#more sapphic Star Wars drawing to come

[carlav-blogs]

Thank you all for reminding me how awful you treat artist in this fandom, because I had just talked myself into drawing those idiots again a bit ago.

[shapelytimber]

Late night kebab ⭐

[PRINT] - [COMMISSIONS]

This is based on sw 5 :) in that movie we're shown that Han and Lando were at the very least good friends and are now giving off major exes vibes. So this is them younger, after a long night at the casino, eating a kebab ! And Chewie is here because Han without Chewie just feels wrong (and I love them)

Process and usual rambling below vvv

My pain my curse my burden is that I love a cluttered scene- I love to draw a mess, with a million little objects and things....... The problems come when it's time to color everything flkflflfk

It's finaly finished ! Lando is now part of my sw sapphic au <3

For their design I went for a 70s inspired outfit, while keeping the cape because let's be real is it still them if I don't keep it. I also kept the mustache thanks to this ask ! They made me see the light of enby Lando :) I'll eventually make sketches to show the full outfit, and do some others because I really want to draw them in an outfit inspired by what they wear after joining the rebellion for a more masc look :3c

And for the colors I chose them based on the younger Lando's outfit because one of the only things I like about disney's star wars, is their young Lando design ! The bright yellow and blue, the tie, the hair- I think it works really well as both a younger, and "modernized" design ! Only thing I found a bit desapointing is that it's too safe- you really want me to believe Lando Calrissian is the type of man to wear the same-ish shirt, pants and cape for 10+ years ? (But that's a default all of disney's sw have, playing it safe to make as few original choices as possible, desperately reminding you of what came before to try to make you forget what you are whatching is mediocre. A constant flow of garbage that's not even brave enough to be bad, just mediocre- But the less I think or talk about disney the better gkgklgkf)

[thecoffeelorian]

And now, for something slightly different...

Hello again, everyone...

...Okay, gang...before we get started here, there's something I think I need to confess here first.

I don't know how in the world I'm supposed to feel about this show any more.

I mean...in the beginning, I thought their arc was clear as a bell: start removing every single darned inhibitor chip they could find, start the evac efforts to an Outer Rim planet, and then start rebuilding new lives, the end.

Instead, it's turned into what looks like a never-ending negative feedback loop: don't lift a finger to rescue a certain person; get told to give a darn about said person by the child character; finally act on the child's orders...but then as a creepy consequence for giving a darn at all, the title squad/'family'(?) starts watching its members not rethink one side of an ideological/psychological divide and leave them; not give up completely on rescuing Troopers/join the Margaritaville Society and leave them; not remember that there are human weight-bearing birds on a certain mountain planet and leave them; finally agree to be caught by the Empire in order to locate Mount Tantiss and leave them...and oh yes, let's add a 'Will They Kill A Brother/Won't They Kill A Brother' game to the mix, if things weren't totally weird enough...I mean, all right, already.

If this show WASN'T about having all six title characters come back together as a true family on an asylum planet, what IS happening here?

How in the world am I expected to respond to repetitive, exhausting moments of disaster and family splintering when for three whole years, I was endlessly told that there was NO disaster, that this was the PERFECT family, that they would NEVER end up shedding members one by one, etc...and...everything that the big-name fans and fandom influencers said WOULDN'T happen IS, in fact, happening right this very minute.

In other words, the squad and family keeps on disintegrating a little bit more with each new season, and I'm left thinking the same thing a few of you must have thought at least once.

Why am I here?

Is it because I'm studying this series as a whole like a certain Chiss studies art, and searching for all of its strengths and weaknesses in order to better improve my own writing? Is it for the sake of wishing to learn how to draw better, and practicing the craft in the safety of something familiar? Or, am I instead becoming some manner of corporate counter-revolutionary, and taking up fanworks as my mode of protest against stories that revolve more around too-short moments of cuteness and horror, sometimes solely for shock value alone...?

I'm afraid I can't answer questions like these just yet, no, not even to myself. I can only read and write and pretty much grieve everything that these episodes/seasons were supposed to be...yet for Force knows what reason, keep getting relegated to the same few plot points over and over again while expecting different results. I can only hope that there's some eventual breakthrough to make it all worth it in the end, if only to rid myself of the thought that this could be the very first bit of Nihilist media in the fandom.

Anyway...*deep breath* Now that I've given you my two cents on this issue...let's get right to my picks of the week, which, thanks to the return of a very interesting sister, I'm unofficially titling this as:

THE DATHOMIR EDITION

The Bad Batch Fan Art

Captain Howzer by @thespianwtch.

She Is Mommy by @anko-art.

Star Wars Rebels Fan Art

Alexsandr Kallus by @ghosty-blues1.

The Bad Batch Fan Fiction

You know, brother by whiteaxolotl

Fight Like Brothers Do by AgentMaryMargaretSkitz

deprogramming by vicious_creature

Whatever Is Necessary by ChopSyndulla

Domiciles by Polyphonic_Garden

Star Wars Sapphic Week, Day 5--Sparring by @violetjedisylveon

Serpent's Kiss by mediumsweet

Not A Soldier by TigerTheSpahget

Star Wars Sequels Fanfiction

What We Do In The Resistance by AgentMaryMargaretSkitz

And now, I'd like to put in a small advertisement, if only to bring more attention to an up-and-coming artist: @ve-ti-ver has started up their own Patreon page, available at this link . So, if you'd like to support them, please feel free to visit their page.

Finally, yes, you probably all know the drill by now...but just in case you need a reminder, here we go: Please give this post a like and a reblog, so that we can pass this post around the Internet and back!

This Week's No Pressure Tags Go Out To: @sharpasanaro @bananasugarwarrior @lazyprofessorpursesalad @callsign-denmark @melymigo @yeehawgeek @littlefeatherr @anko-art @guppyfreedom @giraffedragon-universe @clonebrainrot @gun-roswell @omglisalithium @falconfeather23435 @uuurgh @simply92-me @skellymom @metalatl @dathomirdumpsterfire @kuraiummei @thedynamicworm @ur-pal-ari @advisorsnips @groguandthebadbatch @lee-lee-la @themightychipmunk42 @random-chaotic-bitch @wastingstarsss @flyiingsly @ilovemedia @talesfrommedinastation @swarovski-yoda and anyone else who might be interested in catching more fanart and fanfictions.

Thank you, good afternoon, good luck, and...

[livums]

{ WIP Introduction } The Romance of the Demigods

Content warnings (for full novel) : fantasy violence, potential er*tic elements

THE QUEEN OF THE EARTH and THE KING OF THE SKY--the capricious Fae-gods have had dominion over the land of Brennenhaugh since time immemorial, from their thrones in the far Veyl. The Old Way has long struggled against the encroaching fist of the worshipers of the SONNELIC HOST, the gods that number among the sun and stars.

The conversion of the aging king of Brennenhaugh to the New Faith heralds the death of the tenuous peace between Man and Fae. Practitioners of the Old Magic are tried as witches. Weapons of iron are forged with Fae blood. The commonfolk cower beneath the gauntlet of the Paladins of the Host. And the Fae and their gods watch on from above, around, and below...

Kesh is one-of-a-kind, and it fucking sucks. Born of an unprecedented union between human and Fae, she is destined (or, more accurately, cursed) to wander--when she's not outrunning the furious storms of an insulted god, she's ducking the Paladins of the Host, who would like very much to put an abomination like her to the sword. Luckily enough, with the blood of the Veyl warming her cheeks, she changes appearance like breathing, and enjoys a life of mostly-pleasant rambling, roving, and romancing. Free to soak in existence and all of its adventures. Nothing quite heralds adventure, however, like a princess in dire need of help. And, hell, maybe healing the rift between Man and Fae will stop everyone wanting to see her dead...

Nysa, the so-called 'Moon-Kissed Princess', has always excelled at finding third options. When pressed between 'wed the Hierophant of the Sonnelic Host' and 'be assassinated', she chooses instead to flee the once-safety of the palace. Her aim is clear--she must seek the Fae-gods and beg their assistance in the fight for the Old Way, and for her kingdom. She finds the way forward in infamous shapeshifting Demifae, one who claims to know the way to the Aiamede, the fabled domain of the Queen of the Earth. For all that her wits have kept her alive, she has little clue just how close she marches to the arms of the Hierophant...

Eve has known one thing her entire life--she owes her existence to the clergy of the Host. Taken in by the clerics, she has devoted years of training mind and body in service of the Heavenly Bodies. Serving as a paladin is her life's purpose--or so she tells herself. Despite her total immersion in the Sonnelic faith, she can't dispel the gnawing feeling that a spiritual truth exists that the clergy of the Host cannot teach her. When she stumbles into the path of a nearly-assassinated princess, a Demifae that shouldn't exist, and a mysterious former clergyman who shares the strange dreams that have plagued her, Eve sees a path to the truth of the world, and the truth of her nature--though she would rather it come in any other form. Everything she has known no longer seems so simple...

The Sonnelic Host holds the kingdom hostage. Something watches from the Stars. Man and Fae are closer to war than ever before.

Hearts are pulled into the orbit of oblivion, the Heavens fall to the Earth, and somewhere, a Mother yearns for her lost Child.

The key to truth and peace lies in the hands and the blood of those who walk between the worlds.

And no one knows this neck of the woods like Kesh.

THE ROMANCE OF THE DEMIGODS is a New Adult high fantasy romance saga featuring a lively cast of idiots who can't stop falling in love with each other.

THEMES

The joys and pains of romantic love; belonging; self-understanding; multiracial/multicultural identity; organized religion vs. personal faith/spirituality; interpersonal cycles of love and discord & togetherness and separation; passion & devotion (spiritual, romantic); sapphic sexuality & carnality

STATUS

Drafting...

CAST

(non-exhaustive, more TBA? if i'm not lazy about drawing)

Kesh Akesheen fyr Edevanza

“Demifae” to some, “Kesh” to others, the shapeshifter makes a habit of wandering, avoiding iron, and falling in love with just about everyone... except for Eve, the most recent paladin to try and put a sword through her. Tied together by circumstance, Kesh is ready to fight or flee at a moment's notice. She has to admit, though, that as dangerous as it is to lend her magic to a New Faith paladin... it's nothing like she's ever experienced before.

Evening Star "Eve" Aurelim

A paladin of the Sonnelic Host, haunted by disorienting dreams of giant, burning lights, and darkness that stretches to infinity. When she's forced by circumstance into borrowing the magic of the wicked Demifae, the doubts surrounding her faith and her place in the world become all too real. In all of her flailing and questioning, Eve fears more than anything that her true nature will draw her closer and closer to those whom she abhors most.

Nysean "Nysa" of the Royal House au Lloergen, Crown Princess of Brennenhaugh

Nysa is far from accustomed to traveling the open road--and even more unfamiliar with fleeing from the clergy who swore to serve her kingdom. After throwing her lot in with the infamous Demifae, she's plunged into a torrent of adventure and feelings the likes of which she could scarce imagine. As much as she yearns to return to her true love, Nysa must find the court of the Queen of the Earth before she and her allies are caught by the Church of the Host. For the Church will surely take their due--her hand, or her head.

Irial au Ghrianach

An enigmatic former clergyman of the Host, Irial seeks peace in the kingdom of Brennenhaugh above all else. When his ominous dreams draw him to a Princess, a Paladin, and a Demifae, Irial finds that there is much yet to learn about the world outside the Church, and there are yet many roads to peace.

Taglist: visible in pinned!

Tag, DM, reply, or fill out this google form to be added or removed from the taglist! Current taglist visible in my pinned <3

[sapphicstarwars]

After 99 individual polls with almost 200 characters from Star Wars, one sapphic rare pair has emerged victorious! Congratulations to Morgan Elsbeth / Ahsoka Tano! 💝 This ship was introduced in The Jedi, Season Two Episode 13 of The Mandalorian, and has been tugging along since November 27 2020. From those who have been shipping them for years to everyone who just learned about the pair, Sapphic Star Wars appreciates you taking part in our tournament!

The prize for winning is a small fic and art piece being created by the moderators for the ship; it may take us a couple of months to publish (Femslash February has been keeping us busy!) but the works will be published to this blog once completed.

We hope everyone had fun, regardless the numbers. Whether your ship was out in round one or didn't make it in, we still want to hear about it! Please keep writing, drawing, editing, and sharing sapphic content- from the smallest of fanon ships to the biggest of canon relationships. This blog will be here to reblog and cheer you on! Feel free to tag us in anything you would like to see featured 💘

Want to see more sapphic content? Check out the new @swsapphics-ao3feed that is being worked on to post + reblog all sapphic fics set in the Star Wars universe! It is still a work in progess, but you are welcome to tag any of your new or old sapphic fics with their @ to have it picked up into the queue! There are so many amazing events coming up this year too: Velcinta Week, Satine Week, NiteArmor Week, Jyn Appreciation Week, and more! Check out our pinned post for updates.

[chayscribbles]

chayscribbles’ monthly writing update ☆ february 2023

☆ STATISTICS.

words written: 11 606

projects worked on: Andromeda Rogue; The Gemini Heist; and a Third, Secret WIP

proudest accomplishment: i'm about halfway through with AR1 draft 2! and i finished like, a bunch of drawings

books read: Architects of Memory by Karen Osborne; All Systems Red (Murderbot Diaries #1) by Martha Wells;

☆ GENERAL COMMENTS.

why do i feel like i wrote a lot less than i actually did. like i looked at my total and thought "now that can't be right... there's no way i wrote that much."

things are going better for some wips (AR) than they are for others (GH) so maybe my head is cancelling it out lol.

reading comments: Architects of Memory was basically "a corporate war over alien weapons featuring messy sapphics in space" and i liked it but it wasn't quite a coup de coeur, 4/5 stars. All Systems Red was an absolute delight, 5/5 stars, will be reading the rest of the series once my holds on Libby come through.

(also i started reading Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo this past weekend, and i blame it + it's precursor Ninth House for putting me in the mood to work on Third Secret WIP lately, as Ninth House is partially responsible for the genre shift in Third Secret WIP.)

more specific wip-related comments + featured excerpt below.

☆ COMMENTS: ANDROMEDA ROGUE (draft 2)

i'm about halfway through this draft! i've passed 40k this month!

things are going super well. when i have the magical combo of time and energy and motivation to write i can get through scenes pretty easily, now that i don't have to worry about overall plot as much. plus i get to add little things here and there to beef it up.

i've mostly worked on the second act this month, which is where the team really starts going through things together.

there's one particular Azami chapter right before the midpoint that's a monster of lore-dropping. i had to rework it several times as i had an entire page of editing notes to make sure everything is coherent... and i'm still not entirely sure i've gotten it right 😭

☆ COMMENTS: THE GEMINI HEIST (outlining / draft 0.5)

not much to say about this one. didn't work on it as much. the plot for this wip continues to frustrate me. i'll find myself coming up with little ideas for the characters and the world... but when i try to sit down and come up with actual scenes and plot, my brain turns to soup.

☆ COMMENTS: THIRD, SECRET WIP

this wip is consuming me. devouring me with its teeth. i'm surprised to find i may actually have a plot. turns out letting it hibernate for 3 years and tweaking with the genre has done some good.

i might cave and post an intro in the next month. stay tuned...

☆ FEATURED EXCERPT.

this is from the like, one scene i wrote for gemini heist this month. i just think it's funny. for context, Leo and Gabi are trying to get access to some archives in a university library, and are posing as students.

As [Leo and the archivist] talked, Gabi slipped her hand into the pocket of her ridiculous jacket. Her fingers closed around a small round device. She glanced around. While Leo was doing a great job at keeping the archivist distracted, the commotion had caught the attention of nearly everyone in the room.

Just be normal, she told herself. She inched her hand out of her pocket.

“Which archives exactly do you need access to?” [the archivist] asked.

“Art of the early Viheldan Empiric era,” Leo said. “My paper is on the Gemini statuettes.”

“Ah, that might be why. You need a special authorization form from a professor or another faculty member to access those.”

Leo pouted. “But my professor said he got access for me!”

“Perhaps you can message him—”

“Ugh— can’t you just call him right now and ask? I don’t have time for this.”

“Alright. I’ll give him a call.”

Shit. Gabi wasn’t ready. She fumbled to take out the device, concealing it as best as she could in the palm of her hand. All she needed was to place it on the archivist’s computer terminal without him seeing a thing before he made that call.

The archivist’s fingers hovered over the screen for a second before pressing an icon at the bottom. With a starburst motion of his hand, he expanded a search window and began typing in the name of the professor. Panicking, Gabi slammed the device in her hand onto the side of the terminal.

The already quiet room went completely silent. All eyes turned towards her. The archivist’s were wide and stunned. Leo’s were sharp and furious.

“I, uh,” Gabi sputtered, awkwardly keeping her hand glued to the terminal. The device whirred to life, vibrating softly under her palm. “I-I thought I saw a bug.”

☆ TAGLISTS. let me know if you want to be added/removed to any of them.

general taglist:

@nicola-writes @dgwriteblr @the-orangeauthor @retrogayyde @quilloftheclouds @ashen-crest @writeblrfantasy @celestepens @stardustspiral @pepperdee @extra-magichours @avi-why @lefttigerobservation @chazzawrites @bardolatrycore @innocentlymacabre

andromeda trilogy taglist:

@bebewrites @nicola-writes @dgwriteblr @the-orangeauthor @retrogayyde @akindofmagictoo @quilloftheclouds @nora-theteawriter @ashen-crest @corpsepng @writeblrfantasy @toboldlywrite @celestepens @stardustspiral @pepperdee @cheerfulmelancholies @extra-magichours @writeouswriter @cilly-the-writer @lefttigerobservation @rose-bookblood @drowsy-quill @chazzawrites @cynic-and-chief @enchanted-lightning-aes @aesa

gemini heist taglist:

@florraisons @akindofmagictoo @cream-and-tea @nicola-writes @memento-morri-writes @antique-symbolism @rose-bookblood @afoolandathief @pepperdee @avi-why @zonnemaagd @chazzawrites @analogued @enchanted-lightning-aes @innocentlymacabre @kahvilahuhut @celestepens @cilly-the-writer @extra-magichours @retrogayyde

[anxious-enby-teen]

HI!!!!!

i want to maybe be more active on tumblr and stuff and also i like many many things so let me make a list of stuff, and if you like any of these things you might some stuff i post

- Brooklyn Nine-Nine

- The Office

- painting

- drawing

- writing stories, specifically fantasy or romance, but queer

- Heartstopper

- Young Royals

- music, i really love Taylor Swift and Conan Gray

- just any works of Alice Oseman, ive read a few of her books and i plan to read all of her books in the future

- I Am Not Okay With This

- kinda liked Stranger Things, but s3 was my favourite probably

- Everything Sucks!

- Community (but important detail i very much love and ship trobed)

- The Good Place though im halfway through season 3

- How I Met Your Mother though im halway through season 4

- Star Wars, but i havent watched all of the movies, i have two left to watch, and i havent watched any of those shows on disney+

- i liked the Marvel movies but ive watched not that many of them

so yeah these are just stuff i will probably post about but more so i will be posting whatever comes to mind, anything im very excited or mad about and also if youre queer, specifically enby or lesbian and/or sapphic you also might like stuff i post

[booksandothersecrets]

Hi hello good afternoon I am supplying you with wlw book recs because we all deserve them. Please reblog with your own recs because I’ve only been reading sapphic books for a few months so haven’t covered loads of amazing ones, and hopefully this can become a massive rec list of wlw books :)

Also please please please check the TWs for all of these so that you can stay happy, healthy and safe 💗.

Fantasy:

- The Priory of the Orange Tree: [“We may be small, and we may be young, but we will shake the world for our beliefs”] Look I know you’ve all heard of it. Now read it. Swords. Queer women. Queer women with swords. Dragons. Castles. Battles. Many many many pages of beautiful words. There is nothing missing from this book.

- Cinderella is Dead: [“I don't want to be saved by some knight in shining armour. I'd like to be the one in the armour, and I'd like to be the one doing the saving.”] Fuck the patriarchy. Dystpian. Gay. Fantasy. Cinderella is dead (wow). Badass main character. Fighting for rights and fighting for eachother. 👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩

- Girls of Paper and Fire: [“Instead of disappearing, she makes me feel reappeared. Reimagined. Her touch shapes me, draws out the boldness that had been hiding in my core.”] We said learning to heal! We said finding safety in eachothers arms! We said fighting the oppressive government! We said fuck the patriarchy! We said fantasy women with swords! We said (kinda) enemies to lovers! We said please check the trigger warnings for this book!

- A Dark and Hollow Star: [“The number one law of the universe is choice, after all — bad things happen to the people who take that option away from you.”] Fantasy that actually uses the words bisexual and lesbian and gay and genderfluid!!! Urban fantasy. Four main characters: two mlm, two wlw. Swords and monsters and fae and powers and tension and fate. Read for the pretty cover, stay for the characters.

- Gideon the Ninth: [“I cannot conceive of a universe without you in it”] This book is dark and horror-y and gory and weird as fuck. This book has skeletons and necromancy and a huge weird haunted house and everyone dying under mysterious circumstances. This book has enemies to i-dont-even-know-what. You will not know what is happening in this book but you will love it. Trust me.

Dystopian:

- We Set the Dark on Fire: [“Maybe this was trust ... Giving someone the power to ruin you, betting your life on the belief that they wouldn't.”] once again, repeat after me: fuck the patriarchy. Rebellion. Enemies to lovers. Dystopian world where every man gets two wives. Guess what happens 👀

Contemporary:

- The Henna Wars: [“I've never really thought about having a type. I guess my type is....beautiful girl. Which is a lot of them. Most of them? Pretty much all girls”]. Girl dealing with the aftermath of coming out to her parents has a crush on a girl who is competing against her in a school competition. Main character is muslim, bangladeshi and lesbian and love interest is black, brazilian and bisexual. Just read it. Don’t do it for me. Do it for yourself. You deserve to smile.

- Her Royal Highness: [“PERRY I’VE FOUND AN AMERICAN!”] Look this book may be cliche and predictable and a little ridiculous at times but it made me unfathomably happy so I don’t care. Scottish boarding school+royalty+an american. Enemies to lovers but not im-gonna-stab-you enemies to lovers (which ive read my fair share of truet me), more like why-are-you-so-unbearably-irritating enemies to lovers you know?

- Written in the Stars: [“I’ll break into your apartment and move everything three inches to the left and fuck with your flow, okay?”] Good, solid contemporary new adult romance. Enemies to lovers. Grump x sunshine. Actually has a sex scene (this might not be everyones thing i just noticed wlw books often skirt around them so thought id point it out). Ugh its just so cute.

- You Should See Me In a Crown: [“When I open my mouth, everything happens so fast—the way I can feel her everywhere, the way my hands steady instead of shake where they tangle in her hair because I’ve maybe never felt so grounded before, so rooted in a moment”] What happens when a Black queer girl tries for prom queen in a weird, cliquey prom-obsessed school? What happens when one of the other competitors is the unabashedly gay cute new girl? This is what happens. Guys. Guys. Guys. Read this one oh my god. I say this about every book but seriously READ THIS ONE. So so so so so good. Everything you could ever want in a queer coming of age book.

- The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo: [“You do not know how fast you have been running, how hard you have been working, how truly exhausted you are, until someone stands behind you and says, “It’s OK, you can fall down now. I’ll catch you.”] I know you’ve all heard this but you’re about to hear it again. Queer women in the 50s? Sign me up! Sign yourself up! Buy this book and then read this book! Freak out about this book! Cry about this book! Tell everyone you’ve ever met to read this book! Cry some more about this book! Make this book your whole personality!

Thriller(?):

- The Girls I’ve Been: [“There is no normal. There is just a bunch of people pretending there is. There's just different levels of pain. Different stages of safe. The biggest con of all is that there's a normal.”] Thriller. Guns. Menstrual cups. Con artists. That awkward moment when you’re stuck in a bank robbery with two murderous men, a child, your ex boyfriend and your current girlfriend. Not romance but has romantic themes (established relationship). Coming to terms with childhood trauma and abuse. This book is short but deceptively heavy with the themes it deals with so, again, please check the TWs.

Ones on my TBR:

- Last Night at the Telegraph Club

- The Miseducation of Cameron Post

- A Memory Called Empire

- This Is How You Lose the Time War

- Girl, Serpent, Thorn

- This Poison Heart

- One Last Stop

- She Who Became The Sun (omg i want to read this so so so badly)

- The Weight of the Stars

- These Feathered Flames

- Honey Girl

- The Chosen and the Beautiful

- She Drives Me Crazy

[npdclaraoswald]

Another crosspost from my instagram, this time for Lesbian Visibility Week. It has been a while since I read some of these, so I may be misremembering and accidentally including some mspec protags instead of just lesbian rep, but they're all definitely sapphic!

[Image: a series of edits all with the lesbian flag as a background with a semi-transparent white square overlaid to make the text more easily read. The first one has text reading “5 Star Lesbian Reads.”

The next image has the cover of The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon. It has an orange background and a castle with one tall tower. The tower has a blue dragon wrapped around it. Accompanying text reads “In the West, dragons are feared and hated. Ead is tasked with protecting a queen whose bloodline supposedly prevents dragons from rising. In the East, dragons are celebrated. Tane has trained her whole life to be a dragon rider. Their lives will come together to prevents chaos from rising across the world.” Above the cover, the book is labeled “fantasy.”

The next image has the cover of Dreadnought by April Daniels. It has the silhouette of a woman standing in front of a cityscape and a colorful sky. She is wearing a blue cape billowing in the wind. The text reads “A closeted trans teenager inherits the powers of the world’s most popular superhero, and part of the powers transform her to her ideal self. She must then deal with being outed by her transformation and also inheriting the hero’s nemesis.” Above the cover, the book is labeled “superhero.”

The next image has the cover of The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar. vIt has a drawing of two girls looking at each other and touching hands over a pink background. The girl on the left has brown skin and eyes and black, wavy hair, She also has a nose ring. The girl on the right has black skin, brown eyes, and black, curly hair. They both have intricate henna designs on their hands. The text next to it reads “Nishat is crushing hard on a classmate but trying to stay in the closet. When the school has a contest for students to start small businesses and her crush starts a culturally appropriative henna business, she becomes even more conflicted.” Text above the cover labels it “contemporary.”

The next image has the cover of This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. It has a cardinal with a bluejay reflected underneath it over a light blue background. The accompanying text reads “Agents on opposite ends of a war across time and space leave notes taunting each other, but slowly develop a fondness for each other.” Text above the cover labels it “sci fi.”

The next image has the cover of The Seep by Chana Porter. It shows a bouquet of flowers with three hands also emerging from it over a black background. The text next to it reads “Aliens peacefully invade, bringing world changing technology. Trina breaks down and must relearn how to navigate the world when her wife uses the tech to turn herself into a baby.” The text above labels it “sci fi.”

The next image has the cover of Eight Kinky Nights by Xan West. It shows two women. The one on the left has short, greying hair and is wearing a suit. She is sitting in an armchair with a cane resting against it and is holding a leash connected to the other woman’s collar. The woman on the right has long, black, wavy hair and a flower tattoo. She wears a collar, dress, and leather cuffs. She is kneeling on a pillow. There are dishes scattered in front of them, a table holding a menorah with six lit candles is behind them, and a list is taped to the wall. The text reads “Sex educator and sub Leah gifts her newly divorced and novice dom best friend Jordan 8 lessons on kink for Channukah.” The text above the cover labels it “romance.”

The final image has the cover for Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant. It shows a flailing, grayscale arm with blood pouring out of it and spreading as though in water over a black background. The text next to it reads “A group of scientists and media personnel are recruited to investigate the loss of a ship that was filming a mockumentery when they were supposedly attacked by mermaids.” The text above the cover labels it “horror.” End.]

[kimabutch]

I’d love to talk about the relationship between Mechanisms songs and the (usually folk) tunes that they use for their melodies, because honestly there’s some super fun intertextuality there!

There are some that are more obvious, of course — like how Our Boy Jack uses the tune of Bella Ciao, an Italian protest song. 

Or how Gunpowder Tim vs. The Moon Kaiser pulls from a number of different army tunes to satirize patriotism and war-mongering (my favourite being the The Toy Soldier’s Song, which doesn’t just take the tune, but some of the lyrics from Over the Hills and Far Away, turning it instead to “out in the stars and far away.”) 

Or how Cinders’ Song changes “When I was just a little lad, or so my mother told me/ That if I didn't kiss the girls me lips would grow all mouldy” from Haul Away Joe to the far more sapphic: “When I was a little girl, my mother always told me/ ‘Someday your prince will come, my love’/ But as I grew, I knew it was a princess who would hold me.”

But then there are some that I wouldn’t have guessed until I researched the tunes! Like how Picardy, the tune for Sleeping Beauty, is most famously used for Christmas carols (especially Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence), which both makes Johnny’s violent verses even funnier and strangely fits the concept of life emerging from “the warmth and the darkness” in a sort of second birth. 

Or how Underworld Blues takes its tune from The Last Kind Words Blues, whose lyrics echo the fear of eternal painful life in the Acheron — “If I get killed, if I get killed, please don't bury my soul/ I prefer, just leave me out, let the buzzards eat me whole” — and of Orpheus, looking across the Styx for his Eurydice: “The Mississippi River, you know it's deep and wide/ I can stand right here, see my babe from the other side [...] I may not see you after I cross the deep blue sea.”

Or how The Holder of the GRAIL draws from The Rising of the Moon, a song about a failed 18th century Irish rebellion — but unlike the Mechs version, the folk song is from the perspective of the rebels, not the person in power. It ends, however, with the promise of ever more rebels to “follow in their footsteps,” which echoes the ending of the Mechs song: “behind my door they are still coming.” 

And I’m sure I’m missing a lot because I’m just a person who really likes folk music, not a historian by any means! But I just find it really cool how deep the Mech’s allusions to folklore go — not just playing with and commenting on traditional stories and mythology, but also folk songs. 

[obligatorilypretentious]

queer classic book recs!!

Image description under the cut! Please tell me if I did something wrong and I will gladly change it!

The other recs will be in the reblog!

[Each slide excluding the title screen includes 3 photos relating to the book, largely alternative covers of each in a small grid format.]

Slide One: In the center is a box with interior text reading "13 lgbtq classics and 1 “modern” classic. Recs in the comments welcome!" The top left corner includes an image of a calligraphy quill. Underneath this is text that reads "Disclaimer! The beginning of this list is.. Very White, but don't worry it gets more diverse as the books get more recent!!" In the top right corner is a text box reading "Look up trigger warnings or I’ll steal your gender! … or give it back!!" under this is a picture of an open book displayed in the foreground and another stack of books in the background.

Slide Two: Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu.

1872

Lesbian/wlw but written by a man

vampires!

“Following a near-fatal carriage collision, the beautiful young Carmilla is taken in by the narrator Laura and her father.”

While this book plays into the stereotype of the “monteress, seductive lesbian,” it is one of the oldest and most famous classical texts depicting a lesbian relationship. Toxic AF.

Slide Three: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

1890

not explicitly queer (subtext)

but gay (mlm) tho

“Enthralled by his own exquisite portrait, Dorian Gray exchanges his soul for eternal youth and beauty. Influenced by his friend Lord Henry Wotton, he is drawn into a corrupt double life, indulging his desires in secret while remaining a gentleman in the eyes of polite society. Only his portrait bears the traces of his decadence.”

This book contains Anti-semitism, Racism, Sexism and is honestly a product of its time. Oscar Wilde is certainly a character.

Slide Four: Orlando by Virginia Woolf

1928

sapphic/gender exploration

“The novel opens as Orlando, a young nobleman in Elizabeth's England, awaits a visit from the Queen and traces his experience with first love as England under James I lies locked in the embrace of the Great Frost.”

Main Character is racist and anti-Semitic. While her writing is incredibly important and impactful as a queer figure, she will always be white before she is queer.

Slide Five: The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall

1928

lesbian/wlw

originally banned

“Stephen is an ideal child of aristocratic parents—a fencer, a horse rider, and a keen scholar. Stephen grows to be a war hero, a bestselling writer, and a loyal, protective lover. But Stephen is a woman, and her lovers are women. As her ambitions drive her, and society confines her, Stephen is forced into desperate actions.”

This book contains racism, use of the N-word, sexism, homophobia & lots of outdated ideas in general.

Slide Six: Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

1956

gay/mlm

“In a 1950s Paris swarming with expatriates and characterized by dangerous liaisons and hidden violence, an American finds himself unable to repress his impulses, despite his determination to live the conventional life he envisions for himself. After meeting and proposing to a young woman, he falls into a lengthy affair with an Italian bartender and is confounded and tortured by his sexual identity as he oscillates between the two.”

OMG! A classic on this list in which I can't find any evidence of racism or antisemitism! /srs. Imagine that- it's almost like POC classical authors are important to teach about! /hj

Slide Seven: Maurice by E.M. Forster

1971

gay/mlm

fluffy, but homophobia exists in the story as well.

“Maurice is heartbroken over unrequited love, which opened his heart and mind to his own sexual identity. In order to be true to himself, he goes against the grain of society’s often unspoken rules of class, wealth, and politics.”

This book contains the use of the g slur. Please tell me if I missed something!

Slide Eight: HERmione by H.D.

1981

queer/sapphic woman author

poetry

so mf sad bro I mean look at that blurb

“An interior self-portrait of the poet H.D. (1886-1961) is what can best be described as a 'find', a posthumous treasure. ‘I am Hermione Gart, a failure' -she cried in her dementia, 'I am Her, Her, Her.”

To my knowledge, this book isn't problematic- please tell me if it is though!!

Slide Nine: Zami: A New Spelling of My Name by Audre Lorde

1982

lesbian/wlw

A staple of lesbian lit from before the peak of an activist’s career. Great read.

“From the author's vivid childhood memories in Harlem to her coming of age in the late 1950s, the nature of Audre Lorde's work is cyclical. It especially relates the linkage of women who have shaped her.”

Once again to my knowledge, this book isn't problematic

Slide Ten: The Color Purple by Alice Walker

1982

features queer women

has a movie adaptation!

“Separated as girls, sisters Celie and Nettie sustain their loyalty to and hope in each other across time, distance, and silence. Through a series of letters spanning twenty years, first from Celie to God, then the sisters to each other despite the unknown, the novel draws readers into its rich and memorable portrayals of Celie, Nettie, Shug Avery, and Sofia and their experience.”

Once again to my knowledge, this book isn't problematic

Slide Eleven: Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson

1985

lesbian/wlw

“This is the story of Jeanette, adopted and brought up by her mother as one of God's elect. Zealous and passionate, she seems destined for life as a missionary, but then she falls for one of her converts. At sixteen, Jeanette decides to leave the church, her home, and her family, for the young woman she loves. Innovative, punchy, and tender.”

Once again to my knowledge, this book isn't problematic- but warning, there are quite heavy themes!

Slide Twelve: Dykes to Watch Out For by Alison Bechdel

1986

lesbian/wlw

a classic comedy comic + a really good insight & look into lesbian culture

“Grin, giggle, and guffaw your way through this celebrated cartoonist's graphic commentary of contemporary lesbian life.”

Once again to my knowledge, this book isn't problematic*

*contains d-slur used by lesbians in a non-offensive way

Slide Thirteen: Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg

1993

lesbian/gender identity around lesbianism

“Woman or man? This internationally acclaimed novel looks at the world through the eyes of Jess Goldberg, a masculine girl growing up in the "Ozzie and Harriet" McCarthy era and coming out as a young butch lesbian in the pre-Stonewall gay drag bars of a blue-collar town. Stone Butch Blues traces a propulsive journey, powerfully evoking history and politics while portraying an extraordinary protagonist full of longing, vulnerability, and working-class grit.”

Once again to my knowledge, this book isn't problematic

Slide Fourteen: Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters

1998

lesbian/wlw

historical romance

“Nan King, an oyster girl, is captivated by the music hall phenomenon Kitty Butler, a male impersonator extraordinaire treading the boards in Canterbury. Through a friend at the box office, Nan manages to visit all her shows and finally meet her heroine. Soon after, she becomes Kitty's dresser, and the two head for the bright lights of Leicester Square where they begin a glittering career as music-hall stars in an all-singing and dancing double act. At the same time, behind closed doors, they admit their attraction to each other and their affair begins.”

Once again to my knowledge, this book isn't problematic

Slide Fifteen: Under the Udala Trees By Chinelo Okparanta

2015

lesbian/wlw

modern classic imo, look into the coexistence of native Nigerian culture & queerness

“Ijeoma comes of age as her nation does; born before independence, she is eleven when civil war breaks out in the young republic of Nigeria. Sent away to safety, she meets another displaced child, and they, star-crossed, fall in love. They are from different ethnic communities. They are also both girls. When their love is discovered, Ijeoma learns that she will have to hide this part of herself. But there is a cost to living inside a lie.”

Once again to my knowledge, this book isn't problematic

[pippims]

but the memories come home

1326 words, very soft and fluffy zoyalina! written for grishaverse sapphic saturdays week 1

Zoya isn't sentimental. But she can't stop staring at Alina under the moonlight and thinking about how much she's missed her. Or; post-canon, Zoya sneaks to Kermazin to visit Alina and Mal.

[ao3]

Zoya had always aligned herself with the moon than the sun. Maybe that was a remnant of the Darkling’s influence, or maybe it was the result of spending nights curled up in a thin wedding gown and staring up at the moon because it was so cold that she felt she’d never sleep. Either way, she’d always thought there was something magical about the full moon.

And this full moon was particularly potent.

There’s an early-fall chill in the air, enough to deepen the boozy tinge on Alina’s cheeks but not enough to be uncomfortable. Around them, frogs and insects scream a bizarre background melody, but after being holed up in the Grand Palace for weeks Zoya finds it vaguely comforting. A reminder of … not better days, not by any mean, but simpler days. She isn’t sure what, but there’s something soothing about laying on her back, staring up at the moon, mind drifting but not lingering on any one thought.

“Sometimes if I need to get away I come out here,” Alina says. Her eyes are closed and her arm is draped over her chest, almost as if she’s asleep. “I like to look at the stars and try to identify them, see if I can find the same ones. I can’t, but I’m still trying.”

It was Zoya’s first visit since Alina’s death. Genya had tailored her to look enough like herself to be familiar, but unlike herself enough that any normal person wouldn’t see Zoya Nazyalensky.   They’d been writing letters, but somehow it just wasn’t enough. Maybe it was the energy from the war that had never quite dissipated, or maybe Zoya just missed her. Either way, she’d decided to go against Nikolai’s wishes and sneak a covert visit.

The three of them had had a very pleasant dinner, for the most part - Mal was really trying to learn how to cook anything fancier than roasted meat, and had done his best to prepare some sort of stuffed rabbit dish with various greens. He hadn’t realized that the recipe book he’d purchased from an elderly woman was ancient, smudged, and half written in Fjerdan. The result was a meal that was somehow both too bland and filled with too many contrasting flavors, but at least the meat was cooked well. But they’d washed it down with lots of laughs and lots of the champagne that Zoya had brought, and then her and Alina had wandered into the woods for some quiet time.

Alina turns her head to look at Zoya, who looks over at her in turn. “How’s the future of Ravka?”

“A dumbass,” she replies, and Alina laughs, the sound echoing off of the trees around them. “Doing his best, but a dumbass.” She neglects to mention the lingering curses. There’s no need to worry her, not after everything she’d gone through. She was dead and free of the Darkling. Besides, this was a friendly visit. Serious business could wait. “How’s retirement?”

Alina snorts. “Quiet. I’ve started drawing, but I’m terrible. I tried to make some bread yesterday, but it didn’t rise. Ended up feeding it to the birds.”

She looks happier  , Zoya thinks. She’s radiant, and not just from the champagne, and not in the frightening way she’d been when using her powers. She looks like a girl, a bit tired, but glowing against the moonlight. Or maybe glowing  from  the moonlight?  She looks just as good in the moonlight as she does in the sunlght , she thinks, but then banishes the thought. “And your retirement partner?”

She doesn’t respond immediately, and instead she turns her head back to the sky. Her eyes drift shut again, and Zoya can’t help but stare at the way the wind slightly ruffles her white hair as it’s fanned out against the grass. Eventually, Alina says, “I don’t know. It’s weird?”

“Weird?” Zoya pulls herself up onto her elbow, brow furrowed. “Is he being weird? Is it a man thing?”

Alina shakes her head. “No, no, not at all. I don’t know. We tried the romance thing, and it was nice, but it was weird. Like I love him, and I know that, and he knows that, but it just didn’t feel right. I think… Hear me out, but I think it was like what it would feel like to kiss my brother, you know?”

Zoya wrinkles her nose. “Ew.”

“You don’t need to tell me that!”

Zoya opens her mouth to respond, but she feels something small and damp hit her cheek get into her mouth. She spits into her hand what tastes like... grass? “Hey!” She rips up a handful and throws it at Alina, who throws more at her in turn. Alina rolls away, but Zoya summons a small gust of wind to target a burst of grass to Alina’s neck. They carry on, throwing and running around the clearing until Alina slips in a small patch of mud, landing sprawled out on her back.

By the time they’re done, they’re laughing hard enough that their ribs hurt, and Alina’s white hair is flecked with green. “I think I needed that,” Zoya confesses, and she certainly feels lighter than she has since the war began.

“I think I did too,” Alina says, and the smile lingers on her face. “I’m trying to relax, but I don’t know what to do all of the time? My time has never just been my own.”

“Some of us have real problems, and you’re complaining that you’re  bored  after  saving the world ?” Zoya says with a grin, and that gets another chuckle from Alina. “You’re always welcome to help me wrangle the royal nuisance.”

“And spend time with you?  Never ,” she responds, then reaches to brush a strand of grass out of Zoya’s hair. Her hand hesitates, just briefly, inches from Zoya’s ear, but she continues the motion. “No, but I think I want this. I miss you though.”

“I miss you too,” Zoya says, “And I…”  Say it, Nazyalensky,  she thinks,  You’ve never had a hard time voicing your thoughts before . But this is different. It’s not a random Second Army boy or girl that she found attractive and, because she was Zoya Nazyalensky, they’d kiss her back because she was the best and brightest. It’s Alina, Sun Summoner, someone she was horrible to but who eventually forgave her, one of her closest friends. And she’s been staring at her lips all night, and suddenly she’s a little bit too tipsy on laughter and champagne, and her heart feels like it’s about to burst from her chest. “And I kind of want to kiss you?”

Alina’s eyes flutter, and she fingers the seam of her skirt. For a moment Zoya thinks she’s steeling herself to say no, or to run, but then she turns her head to the side and captures her lips.

Kissing Alina feels like summoning a massive storm, the energy from the lightning running straight through her. Her lips are dry and her breath smells of old champagne, but Zoya is electrified. It’s never felt like this before, not when she’d kissed Genya once while very drunk, not when she’d kissed Mal, not when the Darkling had said he was proud of her and kissed her. She’s never felt so excited and yet at ease. As if she’s  home , a concept she hasn’t considered for years, laying on her back in a clearing and kissing a saint. When she pulls away, Alina’s eyes are half-closed and that small smile remains on her lips.

“We should go back before Mal thinks a hunter mistook us for deer,” she says, hefting herself off of the ground with some difficulty, brushing the worst of the mud off of her skirt. When she gets to her feet, she turns to Zoya, offers a hand, and says, “And we should do that again sometime.”

Zoya stands, kisses her forehead, and they walk together hand-in-hand under the moonlight.

( @wafflesandkruge ; @grishatober )

[cookie-dog-69]

Introduction to Star Wars ocs

ima be doin more shit here, a lot of Star Wars oc posting. here is the basic rundown. probs shoulda done a planet thing first, but fuck it, we’re going backwards like Yoda speak.  Arela: Half-Jackolan half-Togruta girl from the species’ second home of Ondir. Most of her personality comes from her Togruta mother, while physical features come from Jackolan father. Snippy, sassy, strong gentle femdom energy. Chaotic good. Fuckton of trauma from being a Kessel slave and being stolen from her family by slavers but, just like her, we’re going to ignore that.  An’Asti: 400+ year old Po’Abelii (basically if Maurice from planet of the apes was an entire species) who is like the cool grandpa. Amazing cook. Lots of emotional trauma from wife’s death. Has children, though they’re grown up now. Like the rest of his species, he has a very hard time speaking English and prefers sign language, but he does still try.  Maldesh Zarva: Sassy Togruta jedi knight who doesn’t like clothing and is chaotic feral energy. survived order 66 cuz she’s fucking badass and yeah. Sexy af, too. Winds up marrying a shy Ilsisian girl that she meets while working with the resistance during the time of the first order. Hona Ensil: Shy, quiet, very awkward Ilsisian woman who works with the resistance. Nerdy bookworm. Sapphic energy. Winds up marrying a sassy Togruta and survivor of order 66 (not Ahsoka, she marries maul because they’re definetly a thing in my head cannon) who meets her during the resistance vs first order war.  Probably a fuckton more, but yeah. Thats all I remember. If anyone wants to draw these characters, first off I'd be honored and second off  I’’d reccomend looking at the planet/species oc thing I'll do right after this so you know wtf they look like. 

[readatmidnight]

It’s been a while since my last update since most of April and May left me with very little time for blogging. I just wanted to do a quick catch up on what I’ve been reading and what I plan to read in the coming month.

What I’ve Read

Almost 100% of the reading I’ve done in the past two months have been done via audiobook. Bless them for enabling me to finish all these novels while I completed my chores or during my morning commute, I would have fell into a book slump without them. I know at the beginning of the year I said I would cancel my Scribd account, but since I read so much via audio now, the set up is working great for me.

These aren’t even in chronological reading order because I am a Mess.

Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid ★★★★☆ This novel is best enjoyed via audiobook, sorry I don’t make the rules. TJR has a way of making her characters feel so raw and real, if I didn’t know any better I would have been searching for the discography of Daisy Jones & The Six after completing this novel. Epistolary novels don’t always work for me (see: Illuminae), because I sometimes find it hard to connect to the story. 100% not the case here, and I loved how utterly flawed everyone was allowed to be. To tell the truth, I didn’t like most of them, but they sure captured my imagination.

The Dragon Republic by R. F. Kuang ★★★★ HELLO IS ANYONE SURPRISED I AM COMPLETE TRASH FOR THIS BOOK. NO? OK. Ahem. With complete objectivity, this book was a stunning follow-up to The Poppy War. It’s more introspective, it deals with PTSD, it brings in all of the threads that complicates and muddies the war Rin is waging on Nikara and with herself. The ending left me literally reeling and screaming in random DMs for weeks. I still have not completely stopped and I fear I will never be coherent again. Give me book three or give me death.

Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey ★★★★☆ I finished this book about two hours ago and edited the post to include it. Although it contained the familiar tropes like a magical school, a jaded private detective, a dark prophecy, a hidden world of mages, a murder mystery – Magic for Liars combined them in a way that kept the plot fresh and engaging. Imagine if Aunt Petunia never married Vernon Dursley but instead became a private investigator – who’s then called back to Hogwarts to unravel a murder, with Lily as one of the professors on tenure. Except better, because the character work in this book is freaking top notch. Just go read it OK, this is the gay and messy magical school we all deserve.

The Devouring Gray by Christine Lynn Herman ★★★★☆ Billed as The Raven Cycle meets Stranger Things, this is one of those rare instances where the book matches the comp perfectly. While I found the pacing to be slow, I thought it suited this character-driven story. It’s all about families and legacies and finding your own paths despite the weight of all that history. I adored all of the characters, especially Harper – my sworld-wielding warrior queen. I cannot wait to see the sequel and watching how entangled relationships will develop.

Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan ★★☆☆☆ I love the idea of hate-to-love, especially with a villain love-interest, so that’s what initially drew me to this book. When I learned that the heroine could converse with the gods, I got even more excited. Alas, it was a bit of a missed opportunity. I saw shadows of a fanfic-worthy broody bad boy in every scene with Malachiasz. I can understand insta-attraction, what I can’t understand is how poorly the character and relationship development was done. The stars are wholly reserved for Serefin, my drunken drama-queen and the only part of this novel I enjoyed.

We Hunt The Flame by Hafsah Faizal ★★★☆☆ I expected this to be a five star read, so while it was good, I am disappointed I didn’t love it more. The prose were gorgeous and I am definitely checking out whatever Hafsah Faizal writes next. However, the writing style’s penchant for beautiful metaphors sometimes felt jarring with the pacing of the book. While I liked the characters indivdually, I didn’t feel compelled by any relationships aside from the one shared between Altair and Nasir in the beginning. I’m definitely in the minority with my lukewarm response to this title, though – there are tons of fans so don’t be put off by my review.

Verity by Colleen Hoover ★☆☆☆☆ The sole star is for the fact that while the plot of this book was so improbable it veered into farcical, it was a page-turner. Toxic relationships is the bread-and-butter of crime, but there was something particularly tasteless about the way adultery and marriage was depicted in this book. Partly due to the casual nonchalance that CoHo tends to dismiss cheating, but also because even with my few remaining brain cells I could still figure out the plot was BS. The way disability was handled in this novel also left a lot to be desired, and the ‘twist’ at the end disappointed me so much I wanted to hurl this book into the sun. This was 7 hours of my good life wasted.

The Bride Test ★★★★★ I cannot remain calm or objective about Helen’s books, I love them completely – because they’re unabashedly Vietnamese, because they’re proudly diasporic, because they’re filled with characters who feel so real I’m mildly miffed we’re not invited to their weddings. Khai and Esme slowly but surely stole my heart over a course of a long haul international flight. I laughed and cried and went through all of the emotions of first love. Along with its powerful emotional resonance, The Bride Test also offered sharp societal critique on the accessibility of the American Dream. These books are so special to me and I am so glad we have more Helen content to look forward to for years to come.

Ruse ★★★★☆ This is the second and final instalment to Cindy Pon’s high-octane and prescient eco-dystopia – if you haven’t read Want, go visit your local bookshop right now and change this immediately. The bar is raised with Ruse, from the character development, the scope of the world, and the ever heightened stake. I loved seeing the gang again, even though Cindy did not pull any punches when it came to making my children suffer. It was such a satisfying and well-earned conclusion.

Wilder Girls ★★★★☆ Whew, this book was harrowing and intense. It felt dangerous and unknowable, with the plot constantly shifting right under my feet – just as the physical world in the book warps and distorts everything from plants to landscape to school-girls. I read it in a rush over two days because I could not put it down. If you’re after a novel with ride-or-die friendship and sapphic romance, this is one to keep an eye out for.

Red, White, and Royal Blue ★★★★★ I am completely bereft that Alex Claremont-Diaz and Prince Henry of Wales are not real people – for these two I would take up reading gossip magazines again. This book was rambunctious and as irrepressible as the passion that drives its main characters. The supporting cast are equally impressive, and I love the chemistry imbued into the various relationships in this novel. I can’t remember the last time I rooted so hard for fictional characters to overcome and triumph. Although we can’t have Claremont 2020, can we please please please get a Jude and Nora spin-off instead?

Looks like romance is my new favourite genre, judging by my latest two five star reads. Please give me all the recs, but no mayo toxic romance please. I feel like whenever I stray from the usual diet of speculative fiction, I become very picky in which books I read – which tends to mean that I end up loving the ones I do pick up.

What I’m Reading

I usually have numerous books on the go because I have no self-control. I have two going at the moment, but this number will undoubtedly multiply before I have the chance to publish this post.

Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennet – I am about 5 hours into the audiobook and I am already completely charmed by this world and its characters! The rogue-archetype has always been one of my favourite fantasy trope, and to make it even better Santia comes with a snarky talking key. The world building is a marvel, especially the magic system and how it is manipulated by the characters and governing bodies within the novel. I also heard there is a budding sapphic romance in this one – I think I just met the love interest and I already love her as well. Very excited to continue on!

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong – I am three chapters into this novel and it’s already taken my very soul apart. Written by a Vietnamese-American son for his illiterate mother, it’s part-meditation and part-confessional on PTSD, inherited trauma, and how a you learn to communicate with a mother-tongue you can barely speak. I am ready for it completely wreck me.

I forgot that I am technically still reading The Priory of the Orange Tree but I am so exhausted with this brick at this point in time, I’m not sure I will ever finish it. The world building (West and East dragon mythology), and the characters (sapphic Queens and her bodyguard) had so much potential – but I kept feeling like an emotional weight was missing.

What I’m Planning to Read

I am an expert is making up TBR and then not sticking to them. So to save myself the embarrassment here’s two I am definitely reading this month, the rest is c’est la vie.

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson I know y’all keep saying that Enchantment of Ravens is lame because it has no plot but I loved Rook and Isobel with all my heart OK. I know nothing about this one except that it has a librarian babe (maybe?). Therefore, I am very excited.

Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim This is part of the Caffeine Book Tours that Shealea organised (thank you!!). This is one of my most anticipated read of this year because fashion and East Asian fantasy? Relevant to my interest. I think we can all agree that this is the best cover of 2019. I want this illustrator to draw my life.

What are you reading and what are you all up to? I miss you!! Hope you’re going to have an amazing month and Happy Pride everyone!!

June Reading Updates It's been a while since my last update since most of April and May left me with very little time for blogging.