#literary feud

[victusinveritas]

Two men fuming in their rooms and writing poems about one another ...

[alwaysbewoke]

[burningvelvet]

reading about edmund curll, an important figure in erotic literature, and didn't know i was about to stumble across the most chaotic wikipedia page ever... i love historical literary drama

critics have always been the same

and of course where there is 1700s literary drama, alexander pope is always involved. no wonder byron idolized him and was involved in a seven-year long public debate concerning him... honoring him the way he'd like to be remembered (see: the pope-bowles controversy). don juan rly was a tribute to him. we need a series about the restoration era (behn/wilmot/dryden/etc) & of course the young romantics (byron/shelleys/keats/etc) and now we also need the augustan era (pope/montagu/now curll, etc.). someone please pplease please let me do an anthology series (in the vein of ahs or black mirror) about literary communities throughout history already!

cartoonish levels of opportunistic behavior. manipulating every situation to work in his favor like a sitcom character...

the most informative thing i've learned from edmund curll's wiki page is that in the 1700s, the name of the U.S. state "maryland" inspired a whole genre of erotica novels based on puns of the idea of a "[woman's name]-land," as evidenced by "bettyland." staples of the genre included colonization as a metaphor for patriarchal sexual conquest, & erotic descriptions of the female body which borrow from descriptions of natural landscape. much to think about re: postcolonial feminism - this quite literally proves the idea that colonization is inherently patriarchal

[oceancentury]

Andy Cohen and the Real Housewives are like the 21st century version of Truman Capote and The Swans.

[newyorkthegoldenage]

Truman stole from Eudora Welty and Carson McCullers. The only thing he and I have in common is our mothers are both drunks.

     —Gore Vidal, via Patricia Bosworth, The Men in My Life: A Memoir of Love and Art in 1950s Manhattan

Photo: Gore Vidal, Truman Capote, and Tennessee Williams, ca. 1950. Photo: Nick Harvill Libraries

[taletuner]

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" is a timeless classic that has captured the hearts of readers and audiences for over four centuries. This tragic love story, set in the city of Verona, tells the tale of two young lovers whose ill-fated romance is doomed by the bitter feud between their families, the Montagues and the Capulets.

The beauty of "Romeo and Juliet" lies not only in its poignant narrative but also in Shakespeare's masterful use of language. The play is rich with poetic imagery, clever wordplay, and memorable lines that have become ingrained in our cultural lexicon. Who can forget Juliet's famous soliloquy on the balcony, where she muses, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet"?

The characters in the play are compelling and complex. Romeo, the impetuous and passionate young lover, embodies the intense and often irrational nature of youthful love. Juliet, though equally passionate, is also wise beyond her years, showing a remarkable level of maturity as she grapples with the conflicts between her love for Romeo and her loyalty to her family. The supporting characters, such as the fiery Tybalt, the wise Friar Lawrence, and the comic Nurse, add depth and dimension to the story, each contributing to the unfolding tragedy in their unique ways.

One of the most striking aspects of "Romeo and Juliet" is its exploration of themes that remain relevant today: the destructive power of hatred, the innocence of young love, and the tragic consequences of impulsive decisions. Shakespeare's portrayal of the lovers' struggle against the forces that conspire to keep them apart resonates with audiences across generations, making the play as meaningful now as it was in the 16th century.

While the play's ending is undeniably tragic, it also serves as a powerful reminder of the senselessness of violence and the futility of allowing ancient grudges to dictate the present. The deaths of Romeo and Juliet ultimately lead to a reconciliation between the Montagues and Capulets, suggesting that love, even in its most tragic form, has the power to heal and transform.

In conclusion, "Romeo and Juliet" is a masterpiece of English literature that continues to captivate readers with its beautiful language, memorable characters, and enduring themes. It is a play that speaks to the universal human experience, exploring love, hate, fate, and the choices that define our lives. Whether you're reading it for the first time or revisiting it after many years, "Romeo and Juliet" is a work that will leave a lasting impression.

Full Audiobook For Free

[facts-i-just-made-up]

facts about you please

"You Please" is a 1978 novel by Frank Mutterbruder about a hypersexual woman's growing lust for an artist who is only interested in her as a model. The story concerns her attempts to seduce him as they grow more and more outlandish and dangerous. The book's graphic sexuality and implied cannibalism caused it to be banned in several states, though the publisher, Grovemeat Press, appealed and won at the federal level.

Mutterbruder was likely inspired by his older friend, Frankie Powers-Jovani, a famous gay artist known for his Tom-Of-Finland style works depicting men in leather with large, round muscles and other bulging parts. Powers-Jovani had worked with a model, assumed by some to be Bettie Page (though no evidence of this exists) on an unreleased series, said to have been destroyed by either Frankie or the model upon their feud.

The book departs from reality however when its protagonist, Jessica Jellie, creates a love potion to make her artist friend love her back. She mixes the potion wrong and accidentally creates a fluid capable of melting men into a delicious putty. After killing the artist, she begins melting other men and serving the putty as a sort of cake fondant that she sells under the name of "Manzipan."

Frank Mutterbruder died in 1982 when he was himself melted into putty during the Pittsburgh Play-Dough Calamity. His novel has gone largely ignored until recently, when Yorgos Lanthimos optioned it with Emma Stone to play Jessica Jellie and Colin Farrell as artist Yakov Geww.

The original printing of the novel "You Please" also won the Albert A. Gore Award for Most Recyclable Paper, but this is generally considered irrelevant to its literary significance.

[dcxdpdabbles]

DCxDP: Immunity system

Danny gets confused for Tim Drake when he stop for gas in Gotham on his way to visit Dan. His clone had set up shop- a literary comic book shop- in Metropolis.

Danny was going for the weekend to help him run the red dot sale and also spend time with his Clone turned older brother.

Dan after being released from his prison and getting a Core Cleanse in the FarFrozen ectoplasm iced pools, had mellowed out greatly.

It turns out Dan had gone mad after suffering a dip in contaminated ectoplasm. He called it "Pit Madness" and Clockwork assured him it was a real medical condition

Much like getting bitten by a rabies-infected animal, Dan's condition was not his fault despite turning him violent.

After the Big Reveal with his parents - who took the news surprisingly well- Team Phantom introduced Elle and Dan to them.

The two clones had been quickly made official Fentons and now Danny had an older brother and a young sister.

Elle lived at home with Danny and his parents, but Jazz and Dan moved out after high school graduation. Danny was thinking of moving in with Dan to go to college.

He wasn't sure, but he still had a whole year to decide.

Danny found a gas station within his GPS map and stopped at the closest one. There weren't a lot of people around, so he assumed that was a slow day.

He was not aware the locals avoided the area due to the danger of feuding gangs. He was also unaware that while pumping the gas, a Scarecrow goon was watching him.

That goon knew his boss had been getting a bit bored with his experiments, and he knew it wouldn't be long before his boss turned on his employees to relieve his boredom.

He was just starting to sweat, thinking he would be the new genuine pig until Tim Drake himself rolled out of a beat up car in the bad part of town.

He practically gift-wrapped himself for Scarecrow! The goon grins, creeping up behind the distracted young man.

One of the employees' inside the gas station had clocked Tim Drake too and had been staring at him - how could he not when Tim was a Bi icon?- and sees the moment the goon covers the boy's mouth with a clotch and yank him into a van that speeds away.

For a moment, the employee only gawked after the speeding vehicle, too shook to do anything as it disappears around a corner.

He scrambles for his phone to call 911. He prays that his slow reaction does not cost Drake's life.

(His call's transcript pings on Oracle's program designed to pick up the civilian names of the Bats if ever used in the emergency hotlines)

Sadly it is hours before the Bats have even an idea of where Tim (actually Danny) was taken to.

Danny wakes up in a warehouse, strapped to a table. He only had a brief moment of thinking his worst fear was coming true ,his parents, were going to rip him apart molecular by molecular, despite it being two years since they learn.

Thankfully a man dressed in a ridiculous Halloween costume steps into the light and he knows it's not his parents.

"Lovely expression Mr. Drake. Let's see how lovely that fear truly is," the man says in a raspy voice, holding up a needle. He stabs Danny with it and the boy blanches as the hot liquid enters his blood stream.

A minute goes by.

Two.

Three.

"Ugh was that supposed to do something?" He questioned, moving around his restraints to check his chances of escape without outing himself as Phantom.

The camera pointing at him limits his options.

The man dressed as Scarecrow lets out a gleeful cackle. He doesn't answer Danny, instead turning to the door- from where Danny can lift his head, it looks like he's in a basement of some kind- and shouts, "Bring me experiment six two six!"

A bulky man comes in carrying a tray of tubes. Danny watches as Scarecrow carefully selects a tube and pours it into another needle. "Lets see how you handle this"

The answer is Danny handles it very well. In fact he takes all seven tubes without a single reaction. Honestly it's the needle that's a real bother.

Scarecrow is both impressed and slightly insulted by the end of it. "How did a simpleton chloroform work on you but not my brilliant science!?"

Danny squints at him. "I would call this many things but never science, let alone brilliant, you fruitloop."

He gets knocked out again for his cheek with a new chloroform rag.

He wakes to the same made leaning over him again, but this time, there is also a clown in purple. Danny can only stare as the clown cackles.

"I think you're losing your special touch if Tim Drake is immune to your Fear Gas." The clown says, and Danny wonders if a costume convention exists in town.

Danny is happy to see that besides being knocked out and tied him down they haven't really done anything to him. "Who are you supposed to be?"

The clown face spams before a wide, mad grin breaks across his face. If Danny were to look of the definition of madness in a dictionary he knows this guy would be the example for it.

"I'm just a simple chum who wants to see the world laugh," The clown tells him, holding a squirt flower in Danny's face. "Let's see that smile!"

Danny squeaks as the liquid splashes in his face, some going up his nose. He coughs while the two men stare intensely at him.

After a moment Danny gets himself under control. "Ugh what was that? Is smell nasty"

The clown face freezes, rage bleeding into his eyes as the scarecrow one scoffs "seem you are also losing your touch, chum"

"No no no. Our little friend just needs a higher dosage! I'll have him laughing in no time!"

He doesn't. After a gas tank full of that nasty-smelling stuff is forced onto his face, and five different needles stabbed into his arm the clown is forced to admit Danny is immune.

They still call him "Mr. Drake" even though Danny tells them between needles that's not his name.

After hours of attempting to get a reaction out of him- both by clown and scarecrow- , Danny is knocked out again by the little rag.

When he comes two three people stand over him. The two from before, though clown now looks murderous and scarecrow politely interested, and a women in green with leaves splat across her outfit.

So Danny got kidnapped by a Scarecrow, a clown, and a nymph? Sounds like the beginning of a bad joke.

The gas mask is forced back onto his face and another Danny struggles he can do nothing as he is forced to breath in a new gas.

The woman watches his reaction with a keen eye before nodding "He should be pretty far gone now"

Scarecrow shakes his head. "There isn't a single reaction. He isn't affected by your pheromones."

The woman scoffs, leaning over Danny and fluttering her eyelashes "You're going to kill dear old dad for me"

Danny glares at her. "Like hell, I will."

His voice is muffled by the mask but they hear him and the woman actually looks shocked "He might need a higher dosage "

"By all means, give it a try. Neither Joker or I saw a difference in Mr.Drake even after adjusting his intake."

"How is that possible?"

"Maybe because you all suck!"

The clown slams his hands on the table. "I am one of the best chemists in the world, brat!"

"And the ugliest!"

Danny doesn't see the knife until it's pressed repeatedly into his left leg. He screams around his mask as the Clown spits and swears at him.

The other two only watch, neither seemingly bothered by the man stabbing a teenager.

Then the knife is plunged into his stomach, and he screams as the world almost whites out in agony.

Danny, blinks the white hot pain, and is just barely thinking of going ghost when the door bursts open and a group of people wearing more costumes pour in.

A man dressed as a Bat flings the clown away with an outraged cry. Danny can't see where the clown lands, but he hears fighting all around him.

A boy in a hood and mask appears in his line of sight. There is a worried frown on his face as he quickly picks at the locks keeping Danny down "Do not worry, Drake, we are here."

Danny finally gives in to the pain, running to blissful darkness as a man in a red helmet lifts him off the bed and makes a run for the door.

The kid provided cover for them.

[shokiren]

pairing: rin itoshi x reader summary: you, anonymously, run a gossip corner in the schools daily newspaper. the question of your true identity arises in many questions each day, and you must act oblivious to it all at any costs– though, the only people who are aware of your identity are some of the seniors in your literary club, and your closest of friends. though, your anonymity is soon endangered when your quiet classmate, itoshi rin, learns of your little secret. can you charm him to keep your secret?

a/n: yay guys finally an update!! sorry i completely forgot about this, and i wrote this between exam season. it might be shitty i'm not sure, but i hope you like it.

You leaned back into your chair, sighing.

“Dear Gentlest Readers, how have you been? I hope that you’ve been healthy and whatnot, because the news I'm about to tell you is.. something. Are you aware that the Miss Two-Goody Shoes, Yumi Nakamura, has been secretly seeing a postgraduate, Mister Kaito Takahashi? How very obscene!.....”

You covered everything about your school– the events being organised to the latest flings of the students. But lately, nothing really interesting has been happening. It’s all the same. Someone dates someone, and in most of the cases, dumps them because the other person is ‘too much’.

Fuck This, you think to yourself as you get up. You were staying behind in school to write this article in more peace and quiet, which you’d generally not get at home. You walk out of the classroom to walk around, brainstorming about what to write.

Rin Itoshi, the brooding athlete. He wasn’t exactly a ray of sunshine– and didn’t intend to be one either. He mostly kept clear of any rumours, but that was hard to do since his female classmates would practically throw themselves at him. He’d brush them off with a glare.

But recently, he heard about an article in the ‘Gossip Corner’ of the student newspaper. He swears that he popped a vein on his head after what it was about.

“Looks like the Younger Itoshi and the Older Itoshi have a long-going feud. Judging by the cold glares between them when the All-Known Footballer came to pick up his sweet, younger brother…..”

How in the world did this person know anyway? This was something that was strictly restricted for his family only. However, he respects the fact that this anonymous person didn’t go into more details about the said ‘feud’. He was at football practice, and had seemingly noticed that his bottle was missing. He excused himself and went up to get it. He glided through the stairs, running towards the classroom you were previously sitting in.  He did see his water bottle standing on his designated table, but also a laptop on the table you were designated. He was a bit skeptical, and sure, he shouldn’t peek because there might be some personal stuff on there.

Still, he couldn’t help his curiosity, and decided to see anyway. On the laptop, there he saw a word with a paragraph half-written, starting with the words that could be recognized anywhere if you were a student of Rakuho High School. 

His eyes widened as he inched closer, reading the paragraph. Oh, it was here this whole time?, he thought. He wouldn’t have given two shits if it weren’t for the mention of him and his brother in one of the articles. 

To be honest, Rin didn’t really notice you a lot other than the times you were scolded for talking too much in class, or when you were being loud with your friends. And now, he noticed you clearly.

You came back into the class– carefree, and humming to the tune of an advertisement you were particularly fond of. So, imagine your surprise when you see Itoshi Rin hunched over your laptop, reading intently.

You shrieked as you hurried over, shutting the laptop as you stared up at him with furrowed eyebrows. Wow, he was a bit pretty when looked at up-close, you thought– but quickly brushing it off.

“So, you’re the snitch?” Looks like someone got caught red-handed.

taglist (open): @raphsimp, @bxddiebloss, @rinitoshisgirl, @someprettyname, @gojoracle + @kurona-theshark

[tanadrin]

For all he talks about and is plainly interested in histories and societies and institutions, it’s funny how much Frank Herbert fails to understand. It’s not just the Fremen Mirage, although that is part of it—he doesn’t understand that a society that is rife with blood feuds and which kills its wounded is one that is profoundly weak, indeed on the brink of collapse. Especially in a very harsh environment—cooperation is the human superpower! It’s cooperation that fosters success and the knowledge that your fellows will risk their lives for you that fosters cooperation. They’re a fun literary construct, but the Fremen don’t really resemble a successful society at all.

[kiwiana-writes]

WIP Wednesday

Thanks to @anincompletelist for the tag! I didn't have anything prepared to share this week and was panicking about it, and Beas offered to give me a number for me to write a few sentences from whichever WIP that number corresponded to on my list, and of COURSE she accidentally picked the fully epistolary one aka rockstar Alex exes to lovers. The fully coded/skinned version with images is under the cut for maximum effect/fun, or here's the text on its own:

TWITTER THREAD: Likely candidates for the topic of ACD’s #TheLakeHouseAlbum, a (mostly ordered) thread: 1/? Nora Holleran: I know they’re on record as being just friends but they’re SO FUCKING FLIRTY… I don’t know, something about the way they interact with each other makes my spidey senses tingle. Though them both being back on the market WOULD be a win for bisexuals everywhere. Evidence in favour: lyrics about losing your best friend and partner in one fell swoop, Deuxmoi stories a couple of years ago about the two of them going to a hotel together + reports of loud sex noises. Evidence against: See last tweet re: repeatedly on record as just friends. 47/? Henry Fox: It’s weirdly hard to find pics of them together, even at events we KNOW they were both at; kinda suspicious. Both gorgeous, queer, creatively talented men (if you’re not familiar with Henry Fox’s books, start with Looking For Orion; I cried for three days). Evidence in favour: all the refs to distance could be literal not metaphorical (Henry’s UK-based), a ton of literary allusions that overlap with ones Henry’s used in his books.<br> Evidence against: There were rumours of a feud a few years ago (vigorously denied by both teams). 69/69 ACD’s guitar: Okay you KNOW I couldn’t leave the thread on 68 but I think there might be some merit to this. The pics ACD puts on insta of his guitar are framed and shot with more love than the pics my girlfriend takes of me. (For legal reasons this is a joke.) Wasn’t expecting this thread to blow up, so a disclaimer: this is all in good fun and I don’t know any of these people. But this album is stunning and raw and heartbreaking and not to get all parasocial about it but I really do hope ACD is okay ❤️

Tagging @affectionatelyrs @agame-writes @celeritas2997 @cha-melodius @clottedcreamfudge @cricketnationrise @dumbpeachjuice @everwitch-magiks @firenati0n @getmehighonmagic @happiness-of-the-pursuit @heybuddy-drabbles @hgejfmw-hgejhsf @indestructibleheart @indomitable-love @inexplicablymine @jellibuns @junebugclaremontdiaz @leaves-of-laurelin @littlemisskittentoes @lizzie-bennetdarcy @magicandarchery @matherines @myheartalivewrites @ninzied @nocoastposts @nontoxic-writes @notspecialbabe @orchidscript @read-and-write- @rmd-writes @sherryvalli @ships-to-sail @smc-27 @sparklepocalypse @stereopticons @three-drink-amy @tintagel-or-cockleshells @welcometololaland @whimsymanaged and, as always, anyone who wants to play! (If you take the open tag please tag me so I can see!!)

[johannestevans]

you know sometimes people bemoan about how historical gays used to have a lot more drama and a lot of the time there's this implication that the various interpersonal dramas and sexual tensions and feuds in various literary salons or artistic circles were a reason for or an engine for creation and i myself have absolutely fallen into that same trap of just being like, well, all these complex and fraught relationships must have driven something

but looking back in retrospect, having extricated myself from a developing cult situation borne of what was before a somewhat messy polycule, where genuinely not out of evil but out of simply being like... mentally and emotionally traumatised by past abusive patterns, several people were explicitly and openly denying the reality of certain abusive behaviours in favour of maintaining the status quo, or were outright rejecting things like "let's talk explicitly about our needs and our feelings" in favour of more psychosexual games that involved like. thinking sometimes that one or more people involved would outright try to kill them

i know that for some people there's a big draw in a certain derangement or nonconsensual masochistic cruelty to their intimate relationships, and that for some people, a response to trauma is to only really feel invested or engaged with relationships that feel to some extent dangerous, and that relationships that feel "safe" in fact paradoxically feel very threatening or overly demanding in their stability

and i'm not one of those people, turns out.

this whole situation really hasn't been pyschologically good for me, and what's more, it's not even been creatively good for me. so what the fuck was the point in all that

[mask131]

About the "Tolkienesque renaissance"

The term "Tolkienesque renaissance" is of my own invention and creation, but it is a name I use to designate a very specific wave of fantasy fiction, or rather a specific phenomenon in the evolution of fantasy in the English-speaking literature.

As we all know, Tolkien's shadow cannot be escaped when doing fantasy. Tolkien's works being published began the modern fantasy genre as we know it today. D&D, the other big "influencer" of fantasy, would not have existed without Tolkien. The Peter Jackson trilogy began the fantasy renewal of the 21st century. Epic fantasy is a sub-genre explicitely designed after Tolkien's work.

And the massive influence of Tolkien over fantasy is the most felt in the second half of the 20th century, in English-speaking literature, through something I would call the "Tolkien cold-war". When you take a look at the fantasy books of the second half of the 20th century, you notice a fundamental clash and divide splitting it all in some sort of silent feud or discreet conflict. On one side, you have the "Tolkien followers" - as in, the authors who walk in Tolkien's footsteps ; on the other side, you have the "counter-Tolkien" offering what is essentially a counter-culture in a Tolkien-dominated fantasy.

We all know that Tolkien's success was huge in the early second half of the 20th century. The success of "The Lord of the Rings" and the "Hobbit" and the "Silmarillion" was especially important during the 60s and 70s - Gandalf for president and all that... People loved Tolkien's fantasy, people WANTED Tolkien's fantasy, and so publishers and others were happy to oblige. This began the "Tolkien followers" movement - but this beginning was a very unfortunate one, because it was one that relied on not just homage, imitation or pastiche... But in pure copy-cat and sometimes complete rip-off. Since people wanted some Tolkien, people were given LITERAL Tolkienesque fantasy. The most famous (or unfamous example of this would be the 1977 's "The Sword of Shannara" novel. This novel was designed to literaly be a simplified "The Lord of the Rings" with only a few details changed here and there. In fact, this is most of what people recall about this book - how blatant of a Tolkien rip-off it is. And yet, this book was a BEST-SELLER of the 70s fantasy, and it was a huge success, and everybody loved it, precisely because it did the same thing Tolkien did, and so you got to enjoy your favorite series all other again. Afterward, Terry Brooks, the author of the novel, expanded it into a complete series moving into much more original and personal directions, as he admitted himself that doing a Tolkien copy-paste was more of a publishing and editorial decision to make sure he would sell and settle himself in the literary landscape rather than an actual artistic project or personal desire. "The Sword of Shannara" got its own sequels, and became its own thing (though VERY reflective of what the 80s American fantasy was in terms of style, tone and content), but nowadays everybody remembers it for being the "Tolkien rip-off" in its first novel.

And yet being a Tolkien rip-off can sell well, and if the "Shannara" series hadn't proved it, "Dungeons and Dragons" did, since its first edition in the late 70s went as far as to just take Tolkien's inventions such as orcs, Balrogs and hobbits, and include it in its game. The same way the Shannara series then found its own tone and content, through the successive editions Dungeons and Dragons then began to build a world of its own... But it confirms what I said: it was the era of the Tolkien rip-offs.

In front of these "Tolkien followers", which were back then "Tolkien imitators", there was another movement that drove fantasy forward - and it was the "counter-Tolkien movement" so to speak. Works of fantasy that willingly chose to depart from Tolkien's formulas and archetypes and tropes, to do their own thing. Sometimes they did it out of an actual dislike of Tolkien's books: for example the "Elric Saga" was created because Moorcock hated the paternalist, moralist tone of The Lord of the Rings, and so he countered Tolkien's world with a protagonist serving the Lords of Chaos, using a soul-sucking evil sword, last remnant of an empire of cruel, decadent and demonic elves, in a tragic world doomed to endless falls and oblivions... (Though, ironically, Moorcock would end up initiating a genre of dark fantasy that Tolkien himself had explored in his unpublished texts...). Others did it not because they disliked Tolkien but wanted to prove you could do something else: for example Ursula Le Guin admired and appreciated Tolkien's works, but she was fed up with all the imitators and pastiches, and so she created her "Earthsea" world. No European setting dominated by white people, but an archepilago of islands with dark-skinned characters. No big war or political manipulations, the stories being about about the life, journeys and evolution of individual people. No sword-wielding hero or horse-riding paladin, but wizards and priestesses as the protagonists. No big prophecy about the end of the world, flashy magical sword or evil overlord ready to destroy the universe (well... almost), but rather philosophical and existential battles doubling as a fight against oneself and one's very existence...

This counter-Tolkien genre definitively peaked with the other big name of "dark fantasy" and what would annonce the "grimdark fantasy" a la Game of Thrones: Glen Cook's The Black Company.

But what about the titular "Tolkienesque renaissance" I speak of?

Well, if the "Tolkien followers" had only done bad rip-offs, it would have never lasted, ad the "counter-Tolkien" movement would have won. In fact in the 80s, it almost did! Tolkienesque fantasy was thought of as cliched and stereotyped and overdone and dead. People had enough of these blatant-rip offs, as the hype of the 60s and 70s had died out, and the 80s folks turned to other forms of fantasy - such as The Black Company (Dark Fantasy), or Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser (Sword and Sorcery), or various parodies and humoristic fantasies, but all far from the "epic fantasy". And yet, something happened... The "Tolkien imitators" became "Tolkien followers" or rather "Tolkien reinventors", and began the "Tolkienesque renaissance".

The Tolkienesque renaissance is this group of fantasy authors, most predominant in the 90s though they began their work by the late 80s, that decided they would make the Tolkienesque fantasy live on. Not just by copying it as their predecessors did, a la Shannara, no. But by reinventing it, freshening up the old ways for a modern audience and new times. They took back all the key ingredients, and the famed archetypes and the usual tropes of the epic fantasy a la Tolkien, and they reused them without shame... But in new ways, with twists and turns, playing on the codes of the genre, while carefully avoiding the cliches and stereotypes of the time. Giving what people liked about epic fantasy, while also producing new works that felt fresh and went into opposite directions - taking lessons from the counter-Tolkien movement.

It is commonly agreed that the series that began this renaissance was David Eddings' The Belgariad, published between 1982 and 1984. Just a look at the Wikipedia article mentions this best-selling, very influential fantasy series was the "last gasp of traditional fantasy, and the founding megasaga of modern fantasy"... Now, I actually have to disagree with Wikipedia's words. I do not consider it a "last gasp of traditional fantasy" since it already began the Tolkienesque renaissance and thus a new generation of fantasy ; and the other qualificative is ridiculous since modern fantasy already began with Tolkien, and the Belgariad is not a mega-saga, but just five average-sized books. But the idea of it being a link between an older and a newer generation of fantasy books is very true.

While The Belgariad has to be put first, second comes Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time, which probably is the most famous of the Tolkienesque renaissance works of the 90s and became this behemoth of fantasy literature. And to make a trilogy of iconic works, I will add another 90s success: Tad Williams' "Memory, Sorrow and Thorn". Another iconic work of the Tolkienesque renaissance, though lesser known today than the Belgariad or The Wheel of Time - which is a shame, because Williams' work as a huge and heavy influence on a famous fantasy story of today... "A Song of Ice and Fire", which takes a LOT from "Memory, Sorrow and Thorn" (I even call this trilogy the "missing link" between LotR and ASoIaF).

The thing with these Tolkienesque renaissance series is that today, to an audience that was nourished by Tolkien and D&D and Pratchett and other things of the sort, a superficial glance might make them seem like "yet other rip-offs, yet other stereotyped, yet other clichéed" fantasy series. You just have to see the reception of the first season of "The Wheel of Time" tv series - here there was a clash between two generatons of fantasy.

And what these people who take a superficial glance will miss is how inventive and fresh and interesting these series felt back then because they played with or subverted the tropes and the codes of the traditional fantasy. They all played by the usual archetypes - you have an everyman young chosen one, a magical mentor who must "die" at one point, an evil overlord in an ominous half-disembodied state, evil black-clad horsemen going after the hero, elves and dwarves and trolls... And yet, these series twisted these same ingredients they used to bring new flavors.

Let us take the Belgariad briefly, to see how the whole Tolkienesque formula was subverted. Like in Tolkien you've got an order of wizards appeared as elderly, bearded men - but here, they are definitively human beings unlike the otherwordly Istari, and their appearance is explained by them being the disciples of a god that likes to take the appearance of a bearded old man, and who by divine influence made them look like him. You've got a dangerous, all-powerful item the big bad is seeking to destroy the world - but here it is no evil, or corrupting thing. It is rather an item dangerous because of the sheer scope and range of its power, and the temptation isn't becaue it is "evil" power, but just because it is a power so massive it can break the world. You've got a missing king with a stewart/regent holding the throne for him until the lost heir returns - but when said heir returns, the stewart/regent is no evil vizir or scheming usurper, and gladly offers back the throne to its legitimate owner. Belgarath, your Gandalf-stand-in, is far from being the dignified guide and noble mentor of Tolkien, as he is a half-werewolf drunkard that hates any kind of official ceremony or garb and prefers running through the woods or rolling under a table in taverns. And while everything is designed as a Tolkienesque setting, you've got no elves or dwarves or orcs - but humans. And that's a big change compared to more traditional 80s fantasy (like D&D or the Krondor series or Shannara). You have your Nazgûl stand-ins, but they're humans. You've got your Istari, but they're humans. You've got your dwarves equivalent, but they're humans. You've got your orcs equivalents, but human too. And it is shown that it is all a human vs human combat, despite being a world of magic and gods, placing some relativism into it all. (Though the fact they decided to subvert the Tolkienesque good vs evil wordlbuilding by having humans on both sides did cause other aspects of the series to age badly but that's another topic).

I can go on and on but I think you see my point - and this same subversion can be found in the other two series I talked about.

The Wheel of Time begins with the chosen one going on a quest... But which chosen one? That's the problem - there are multiple candidates, and so we begin with a guessing game. And the Aes Sedai are clearly an answer to Tolkien's Istari - but all women instead of all men, and much more numerous and pro-active. As for "Memory, Sorrow and Thorn" we have benevolent trolls that are actually more akin to Tolkien's dwarves and have some Inuit-influence, while the Tolkienesque-elves turn out to either be the big bads of the series and the evil guys ; or to be sheltered, useless side-characters that are not helping anyone and cause more problems than anything (I'm exaggerating a bit here, but you get the subversion). Spoilers - but the Galadriel equivalent literaly gets murdered during her second actual appearance, to make it very clear what kind of subversion we are into.

Because this was the game of these books - and the reason they were such huge successes. It wasn't about avoiding or setting themselves free from the tropes and code and archetypes of the genre. Rather it was about reappropiating them, reusing them, twisting them and modernizing them in order to get rid of the stale cliches and frozen stereotypes. It was all a game of imitation yes, but also of derailing - a subtle, discreet, derailing so that everybody got on board of the same type of train, but said train took different tracks to another landscape and worked on a different fuel. (If it makes sense?). It is a game of subtle twists - but unfortunately it is often this subtlety that makes these series overlooked, as people just focus too much on what is identical/similar and not much on what is different... Despite the differences being key here in this effort of renewing what was a dying style. Placing back these books in their context highlights even more how "fresh" they felt back then.

I have one specific point that illustrates this, but I'll need to write a whole post for it...

[bones-clouds]

books i read in 2024:

"sirens & muses"

antonia angress

rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

genre: academia, art, literary, contemporary, wlw

synopsis:

Four artists are drawn into a web of rivalry and desire at an elite art school and on the streets of New York in this “gripping, provocative, and supremely entertaining” (BuzzFeed) debut

“Captures the ache-inducing quality of art and desire . . . a deeply relatable and profoundly enjoyable read, one drenched in prismatic color and light.”—Kristen Arnett, New York Times bestselling author of With Teeth

It’s 2011: America is in a deep recession and Occupy Wall Street is escalating. But at the elite Wrynn College of Art, students paint and sculpt in a rarefied bubble. Louisa Arceneaux is a thoughtful, observant nineteen-year-old when she transfers to Wrynn as a scholarship student, but she soon finds herself adrift in an environment that prizes novelty over beauty. Complicating matters is Louisa’s unexpected attraction to her charismatic roommate, Karina Piontek, the preternaturally gifted but mercurial daughter of wealthy art collectors. Gradually, Louisa and Karina are drawn into an intense sensual and artistic relationship, one that forces them to confront their deepest desires and fears. But Karina also can’t shake her fascination with Preston Utley, a senior and anti-capitalist Internet provocateur, who is publicly feuding with visiting professor and political painter Robert Berger—a once-controversial figurehead seeking to regain relevance.

When Preston concocts an explosive hoax, the fates of all four artists are upended as each is unexpectedly thrust into the cutthroat New York art world. Now all must struggle to find new identities in art, in society, and among each other. In the process, they must find either their most authentic terms of life—of success, failure, and joy—or risk losing themselves altogether.

With a canny, critical eye, Sirens & Muses overturns notions of class, money, art, youth, and a generation’s fight to own their future.

[kidukami]

☾┅ about me ┅ ☽

hi, call me mika! i'm 21+ and i go by they/them pronouns. i'm a se asian writer + aspiring literary translator based in the uk. this post is essentially a writeblr reintroduction as i am starting anew in the community with this blog, and i'm really excited to share my wips and connect with all you lovely writers out there! i'm also tag and/or interaction friendly (although my reply speed is... not the best especially for tag/ask games, but i'm trying!), so please don't be afraid to say hi ♡

☾┅ writing interests ┅ ☽

important note: my works may contain mature and potentially triggering topics. viewer discretion is advised.

╳ i'm mainly a prose fiction writer, although i may dabble in scriptwriting and poetry at times. ╳ genres: speculative fiction, historical fiction, thriller, literary fiction. ╳ themes: sociopolitical commentary, satire, dark comedy, angst/tragedy, tragicomedy, morally grey characters, queer romance. ╳ open to reading all genre and themes! you're more than welcome to reblog this with your wips or tag me in them, whether or not they feature any of the above. the above lists are not exhaustive because to this day i still don't know how my writing brain works. ╳ i take plenty of writing-related requests (beta/proofreading, critique, collabs, translation work, etc.)! please refer to my carrd for more info, or contact me directly for inquiries.

☾┅ main wips ┅ ☽

will o' the wisp :: adult sci-fi/thriller novel. ╳ award-winning talk show host and journalist noe crane is constantly treading a tightrope as he assumes his secret vigilante identity behind closed doors, but things get worse when his past comes back to haunt him. ╳ features: tragicomedy, morally grey characters, lgbt+ characters, complex relationships, modern setting, superpowers, conspiracies ╳ wip intro here!

the duña duology :: adult weird fiction duology. ╳ a troubled man in his 30s attempts to escape from his past and seeks refuge in a run-down inn, only to find himself caught up in a dangerous conspiracy against the world. ╳ features: adult (30+) characters, unlikeable protagonist, multiple universes, high concept, complex worldbuilding, retrofuturism, found family, conspiracies, aliens (?) wip intro coming soon! message if you want to be tagged.

a history of the tenshima gang feud (working title) :: new adult sci-fi/romance novel. ╳ when a national museum tour guide somehow travels back to the city's deadliest era in history as one of its disgraced figures, he will soon find that his beloved city isn't what it claims itself to be. ╳ features: time travel, alternate future, fictional setting, criminal underworld, ensemble cast, sociopolitical commentary, morally grey characters, lgbt+ characters, love triangle, lovers to enemies, friends to lovers, mcd, tragedy wip intro coming soon! message if you want to be tagged.

lilium carnage :: historical steampunk visual novel (collab with @nana7esque) ╳ four characters on two sides of the same coin. each of them are determined to deliver their own justice in the corrupted land of navona, even at the cost of their own lives, but little do they know that there will always be a bigger price to pay. ╳ features: alternate history, fictional setting, choice-based story, multiple endings, morally grey characters, lgbt+ characters, tragedy, enemies to lovers, complex chara dynamics wip intro coming soon! message if you want to be tagged.

☾┅ side wips ┅ ☽

shelved wips, wip ideas i have yet to develop, etc.

╳ by the kiss of the sleeping night :: thriller/romance webtoon collab with @nana7esque ╳ retelling of the nyi roro kidul myth ╳ modern setting character-driven script with each characters being an allegory to the seven deadly sins

feel free to interact with this post especially if you're also a writeblr! ♡

[remy-lupin]

Theme: Flirting with the Enemy

1. person A and person B are spies for opposing agencies. During a high-stakes mission, they cross paths and person A starts flirting to distract person B. Their cat-and-mouse game intensifies, and they both begin to question where their true loyalties lie.

2. person A and person B work for competing companies. At a networking event, person A flirts with person B to gain insider information. As they interact more, they realize how much they have in common, making the rivalry harder to maintain.

3. person A and person B are candidates in a heated election. During a televised debate, person A’s playful banter turns into unexpected flirting. As they continue to spar publicly, they find themselves drawn to each other’s passion and conviction.

4. person A and person B are officers on opposing sides of a conflict. They meet during a clandestine negotiation and person A flirts to gain an advantage. The encounter leaves them both intrigued and conflicted about their roles in the war.

5. person A and person B are star players on rival sports teams. At a pre-game event, person A’s teasing turns flirtatious. The playful rivalry escalates, creating tension on and off the field as they struggle to keep their feelings in check.

6. person A and person B are top students vying for the same scholarship. person A starts flirting with person B to throw them off their game. The more they interact, the more person A realizes that their rival might be the only person who truly understands them.

7. person A and person B are neighbors embroiled in a property dispute. During a heated argument, person A makes a flirty comment to disarm person B. The tension turns into a sizzling attraction, complicating their feud.

8. person A is a member of a crime family, and person B is an undercover cop. When person B infiltrates a mafia party, person A flirts to test their loyalty. The dangerous game of seduction blurs the lines between duty and desire.

9. person A and person B are authors with competing book releases. At a literary festival, person A flirts with person B to sabotage their confidence. As they engage in witty exchanges, they discover a mutual respect that challenges their rivalry.

10. person A and person B lead opposing activist groups. During a protest, person A flirts with person B to diffuse the tension. The chemistry between them becomes undeniable, forcing them to confront their differences and the possibility of a deeper connection.