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laughingpinecone · 2 years

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AO3: laughingpineapple (double-checked a-ok for treats as per the recent AO3 update blah blah)

Hello and thank you for writing for me! I hope you’ll have a great time playing with one of these wonderful canons!

I love a wide variety of fics - from the most delicate gen to explicit, any tense, any format, big yes to all kinds of weird experiments up to and including interactive fiction. In general, I love canon expansion (showing new places in the setting or exploring those that are barely mentioned, just outside the borders, and ditto with events), character work of all stripes (expanding on little quirks, putting characters in situations that complement/challenge certain personality traits of theirs, just... observing these weirdos as they live their lives, for better and for worse), magical realism and adjacent approaches. I eat up emotional moments with a spoon when a fic is character-centric (danger! catharsis! hurt/comfort! the nitty-gritty of attraction!) and also love abstract stuff that is not character-centric at all: fake academia, a wider focus, inhuman povs, anything goes.

For both romance and friendships, I love it when it’s clear (not necessarily to the characters themselves, but to the narrative) what they like about each other, how they get along, if and how they trust each other, what’s annoying but worth it, what flaws of the other are they or are they not well equipped to handle... The specificity of each dynamic! I also love it when the characters are very into something that makes sense for them, be it a hobby or a kink or whatever, even if it’s something I may not personally care for.

For art, I love when characters are doing something. I much prefer a simple illustration of a moment in their lives (basic examples: sharing coffee, walking together) to a more ornate symbolic illustration like eg a tarot reimagining.

DNW: non-canonical rape, non-canonical children, focus on children, pregnancies, unrequested ships (background established canon couples are okay, mentions of parents and paired-up OC randos are okay!), canon retellings

In the rigorous order in which I came across ‘em in the tagset:

Discworld (fic)

(I haven’t read all the books, please no overt spoilers for witches, Tiffany n Moist!) I’m not sure how I landed on “I just think he’s neat” about Ridcully of all people but here I am. I like unflappable characters, for better and for worse, characters who roll with whatever hand they’re dealt, and fishes out of water who somehow make it work - seeing this ridiculous jock lead UU has been a constant highlight of the novels for me. Any fun little situation in or around the university would be amazing!

Death of Rats & Mustrum Ridcully (Discworld): I don’t know what this is about but it compels me. What’s the little guy doing here

Mustrum Ridcully & Ponder Stibbons (Discworld): best beleaguered comedy duo. I love Ponder with all my heart. It could be fun to see a scenario where they’re both right a/o wrong in their own way?

Püha ja õudne lõhn | Sacred and Terrible Air - Robert Kurvitz (art, fic)

BIG HONKING SPOILERS. I can’t stop thinking about all this worldbuilding and cool details all over the place, so if you have something in mind that includes stuff like the Harnankur, the bells, the ZA/UM, zones of entroponetic catastrophe and so on, I’m listening!

Fandom-specific DNWs: overall positive depictions of the Innocentic system, as it were.

Ambrosius Saint-Miro & Ion Rodionov (PJÕL): w-what was it like for them. Did Rodionov know whom he was teaching math to. One would presume yes, given his whole apocalypse math teacher schtick. What’s it like for your math teacher to know the future. Do weird things happen around a future Innocence. why is this guy so cheerful

Ambrosius Saint-Miro & Revachol (PJÕL): you know, it has occurred to me that mr manifestation of the world spirit here probably shares a Twitch chat with the fragments of said world spirit and can hear her. I’m game for anything from mournful nuanced explorations to a take on the “wait unblock me I need to tell you something” meme

Charlotte Lund & Målin Lund & Anni-Elin Lund & Maj Lund: what do you make of the girls’... whole... deal? Something informed by their last scene in ch19 maybe?

Inayat Khan & Tereesz Machejek (PJÕL): I really enjoy their mutual respect, it’d be fun to see them team up or discuss Khan’s collection or something

Julia Dobreva/Jean Abadanaiz (PJÕL): ch6 devastated me. What was their role like in Revachol while it lasted, or maybe some pale shenanigans?

Kraz Mazov & Ignus Nilsen & Ion Rodionov (PJÕL): I need more content about every aspect of these 2 + thirdwheeling soothsayer, from political and philosophical aspirations (that final conversation, according to legend...) to granular leftist infighting (literally 3 top cats, 3 major currents) to Ignus being cringe on main (what about that most important question about communism...) to Ion knowing the inevitability of their demise and still sticking by them. btw if you wanna go Mazov/Nilsen&Rodionov about it, sure, someone’s gotta write them mazovian yaois at some point, ironically or otherwise.

Zygismunt Berg & Inayat Khan (PJÕL): what if they met at the end of the world. Or something. The intersection of their quests.

Twin Peaks (art, fic)

I love to see everyone’s takes on the show’s surrealism! New metaphysical places, weird corners of the red room, a far shore beyond the Fireman’s. I also love the human warmth that connects the characters - a sense that it’s what keeps us here together, while strange things lurk outside, in the dark, alluring woods.

Good with background Albert/Coop/Harry and sides thereof, Laura/Donna, Tammy/Cynthia, Andy/Lucy, Margaret/Sam, Phil/Gordon. I enjoy both book and show Tammy and I even think that they can add up to the same Tammy.

Canon-specific DNWs: any singular Dreamer being the ‘source’ of canon, BOB (let alone Judy) being forever defeated in the finale, Judy being an active malevolent presence in the characters’ lives, clear explanations for canonical ambiguities, ‘Odessaverse’ being the reality layer, the Fireman’s house by the sea being the White Lodge, anything that 4 hours Twin Perfect video says is the explanation of Twin Peaks

Harry Truman & Frank Truman (Twin Peaks): where’d that Arthurian legend nod in Frank’s pre-intro even go? How do these two mirror each other? What kind of Laura and Maddy situation...

Colonel Davis & Cynthia Knox (Twin Peaks): the Air Force counterpart to Blue Rose fascinates me. What kind of boss is Gordon’s foil here? What spooky things did they see?

Albert Rosenfield & Tammy Preston (Twin Peaks): nerd skeptics team-up. I think it’s neat that she ends up doing all the researches he used to do 25 years earlier, and she can be pedantic in a way that complements his own fastidiousness nicely...

Albert Rosenfield & Diane Evans (Twin Peaks): ow their friendship with a Coop-shaped hole in the middle. Also with a bullet hole in the middle! Funny how that goes, for a pacifist. I never get tired of reunions for them, or pre-canon shenanigans

Cynthia Knox/Tamara "Tammy" Preston (Twin Peaks): two federal agencies, both alike in dignity (ie, not a whole lot of it)... could they please team up again in the future?

Baba Is You (art, fic)

How would Baba is You translate to a non-interactive format? I’m down with anything that has some fun with ever-shifting rules. Anything playful in any way!

Baba & Keke: idk I just think they’re little creatures having fun, meeting up, smelling the flowers, rearranging the rules of the universe, as one does.

Baba & Keke & Me: ditto but it’s three little creatures (it felt rude to leave out Me)

Disco Elysium (art, fic)

Helen Hindpere once described the key feeling of the setting as “the shadow of annihilation waiting in the wings next to the unshakeable belief in the greatness of humankind” and I daresay that when she’s right she’s right. I love works that lean on both the upcoming apocalypse, the poetics of failure, and the little things that matter. I’m all for weird little extraphysics! Don’t be afraid to go weird.

Fandom-specific DNWs: overall positive depictions of the RCM, overall positive depictions of the Innocentic system and Dolores Dei in particular, “$character is the next Innocence” what-ifs, postponing Le Retour (handwaving Le Retour is cool), averting the nuke, averting the end of the world, Jean Judit a/o Trant appearing or being mentioned in the fic.

DJ Flacio & DJ Mesh & Kim Kitsuragi (Disco Elysium): Kim meeting his heroes......

Edgar Claire & Evrart Claire (Disco Elysium): okay so there are two of them and I need to know how they function with each other. Is everything in their life a cooperative 7d chess match or. fwiw I think they are sincere in their goal and struggles but also they are in too deep playing the capitalist game. Would it even be possible to achieve their goal without getting in too deep? Probably not, but. Some wrong things were made.

Elizabeth Beaufort/Cindy the SKULL (Disco Elysium): I wholeheartedly stand by this ship manifesto and would love to see anything about them!

Soona Luukanen-Kilde/Lilienne Carter (Disco Elysium): no ship manifestos here afaik but I’m compelled. Do they bond over Interfacing, or is Soona’s skillset more INT-based? I also just think that women who face life with a generous heaping of hermitry should hang out in silence together and maybe kiss. I’m listening to any take on this ship, sell me on these two please!

Neha & Soona Luukanen-Kilde (Disco Elysium): last-minute twist that they were friends, at least enough for Soona to want to go say hi to Neha? Please show me how they get along, I need this.

Ulixes | Echo Maker/Steban the Student Communist (Disco Elysium): oh the intricate rituals to discourse with other men and get someone else to hit them because that’s hot I guess. More prompts here...

Steban/Ulixes & Harry Du Bois/Kim Kitsuragi (Disco Elysium): since Harry is canonically invited to their next Wirrâl campaign and Kim canonically plays (faeries, at that)... UST at the game table? The two couples are such fun mirrors, it’d be fun if something made it click for both pairs.

Steban & Ulixes & Cindy the SKULL (Disco Elysium): (or Steban/Uli & Cindy) so you got this stray cat with an attitude who’s installed her art supplies in your super sekkrit hideout and you feel that she has adopted you. wyd. Seriously I love that they are friends, that Steban doesn’t get her art but valiantly tries to be diplomatic about it, that she’s the first person Uli comes gossiping to, and I love how she seems to collect losers.

Steban & Ulixes & Gaston & René (Disco Elysium): fun pair of “too accommodating for his own good & repressed grump” combos. There’s also the fact that Gaston, who has never picked a side, ever, in his life, still writes to La Fumée to stand up for Steban (and other communist...s...? who are they?) who’s risking eviction. I think that’s sweet of him and would love to see them all hang out.

Final Fantasy VI (fic)

What I love in this fandom is intra-party interaction. They’re all wonderful and don’t get to speak to each other that much, if at all. I’d love to see scenes and/or little adventures during or after the game! I don’t really have ships here so any unrequested character is welcome to feature too but I would prefer gen.

Cayenne Garamonde | Cyan Garamonde & Stragus Magus | Strago Magus (FFVI): I don’t know what this might be about but I’m intrigued! I love them both singularly, anything goes!

Celes Chere & Macías "Mash" Rene Figaro | Sabin Rene Figaro (FFVI): these two did get to speak to each other a bit and I found their odd friendship at the end of the world extremely endearing, and the emotional anchor of one of the most impactful stretches of the game, from the island to getting airborne again. Do they perchance keep speaking to each other as the party grows again?

Ghost Trick (art, fic)

My forever request. I just love this cast and love to see what their lives might look like in the new timeline, with only Sissel, Jowd and Yomiel remembering the tragedy they unmade. How this decade of memories impacts Jowd’s pre-existing relationships, and his trajectory with a best friend who may or may not be pining like a spotless white conifer. And everyone else as well! Weird AUs (fantasy, sci-fi, western, odd jobs..) and what-ifs (friend mentioned the other day what if it’s Cabanela who gets to keep his memories instead of Jowd) all welcome!

Alma/Cabanela/Jowd (Ghost Trick): any slice of life moment! Given this exchange’s reveals date: Jowd might just be the country’s least romantic individual. What does he do for a

Alma/Jowd (Ghost Trick): what changes between them in the new timeline?

Cabanela/Jowd (Ghost Trick): please let them be intensely ridiculous about their attraction

Cabanela & Pigeon Man (Ghost Trick): unexpected intergenerational friendship of my heart, Cabs is A Lot and Pigeon Man expertly wrangles him. Guess he’s good with birds

Cabanela & Missile (Ghost Trick): so. much. enthusiasm. I think if any silly plan went badly for these two they wouldn’t know what to do with themselves. wym sparkly determination doesn’t always work?

Emma & Jowd (Ghost Trick): please let Emma have her fun and Jowd “yes, and” her to infinity

Emma & Cabanela (Ghost Trick): I think they’re both extra, theatrical and stubborn in a way that could be really compatible! A role swap could also be fun - Inspector Emma, novelist Cabanela

Emma & Alma (Ghost Trick): pls friends? Their daughters are friends. Cats don’t bark and ruin a writer’s concentration.

Cabanela & Jowd & Sissel (Ghost Trick): any combo of Sissel using his powers to help a/o prank either of them, Cabanela knowing or not, being ridiculously competent...

Jowd & Yomiel & Sissel (Ghost Trick): cat dads!!! Jowd’s potential bond with Yomiel is so fascinating to me, through the guilt and trauma of it all I think they could reach a certain understanding that no-one else can give them. And Sissel keeps them grounded...

Kentucky Route Zero (art, fic)

Perhaps not relevant to these character combos (or is it?) but I love Act V so much, and everything it says about all the themes up to that point. Maybe that home can be there for these strays too, for a time.

James B. Carrington & Lula Chamberlain (Kentucky Route Zero): please go artsy at will! I’d listen to Carrington ramble on for hours. Lula wouldn’t, but them’s the breaks.

Lula Chamberlain/Donald/Joseph Wheattree (Kentucky Route Zero): the doomed shape of it all... can they ever meet after the end? How were their lives shaped by rushing back to the surface, stagnating deep down, and making a living on the Zero? Symbolically, what do you make of it?

Pyre (art, fic)

I’m really into the whole end-of-cycle, crumbling society, need for new models and ideals thing. We can have little a idealistic canon with a successful pacifist revolution, as a treat. But I also love these striking characters by themselves and I’m interested in seeing them in what-ifs and weird AUs (fantasy, sci-fi, western, odd jobs..) too.

Fandom-specific DNWs: Oralech dead, Volfred and Oralech split end (I’m good with either topside or downside ending), Ignarius/Jodariel, Tariq/Celeste. The Reader being a central character in the fic.

Volfred Sandalwood & Pamitha Theyn (Pyre): does he have a shady job for her, or are they just sharing a drink and a smoke?

Soliam Murr & Oralech (Pyre): if you can find any way to make them meet, I think Oralech wants to speak to the manager

Barker Ashpaws & Brighton (Pyre): so downside Barker invents basketball. Brighton iirc ends up downside anyway, and for all his many flaws he did so love fantasy basketball. Can this be the birth of an odd friendship? (I am not interested in woobie Brighton, I like how hilariously obnoxious he is in canon and Barker would probably not have any of it but otoh they are Bonded By The Sportsball...)

Ignarius & Oralech (Pyre): I’d just like to weaponize Iggy’s fascination for big survivor demons and point it at an unsuspecting Oralech, for fun

Dalbert Oldheart & Tariq | The Lone Minstrel (Pyre): Tariq ditching the Nightwings for an afternoon (especially the previous Nightwings who knew how to be irritating) and spending some time with Dalbert... talking about the Scribes...

Oralech/Volfred Sandalwood/Tariq | The Lone Minstrel (Pyre): catch-all request because I ran out of slots but if you wanna do any sub-section of the triad I love all combinations. For the three of them together I would like to see them, for example, a few years into the future, either topside or downside...

Big Bertrude & Sir Gilman (Pyre): kin is kin whether Bertrude regrets it or not. Underwater adventures?

Big Bertrude/Pamitha Theyn (Pyre): I love how they quietly get each other. Downside postcanon maybe?

Big Bertrude & Volfred Sandalwood (Pyre): can Volfred do something nice for her? Or would that help if he’s the reason the old girl’s got a broken heart to begin with?

Vagabond Girl & Volfred Sandalwood (Pyre): Scribes talk Scribes talk Scribes talk!

#letter

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mischief-lies-and-stories · 1 year

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Fanfiction Author Q&A

This questionnaire is from wing-ed-thing.

Why do you write fanfic? I write fic because the authors are WrongTM. Lol, no, but actually. I write because I want to continue the story, or there’s a part of the story I think could be expanded upon or reimagined and I have an idea for it.

What is your most overrated fanfic? I don’t think I really have an overrated fic per say, but if I had to choose it would probably be (non-Loki) Te Veo or (Loki) These, Our Bodies, Possessed By Light, just because it’s the first fic I wrote since coming back to AO3 so I don’t think it really deserves the hype given how much I’ve grown and improved since writing it.

What is your most underrated fanfic? Underrated is either Like the Dawn or Phantom Limb. Like the Dawn is one of my personal favorites, and Phantom Limb more explicitly links Where Mischief Lies with the MCU in a way that was personally satisfying to me.

What is your most overrated headcanon? I don’t know what this means? Something I consider to be overrated? I’m gonna go with a headcanon many people in the fandom seem to agree with maybe. Definitely that Loki didn’t die on the Ark when Thanos supposedly killed him. It’s overrated because we’ve never seen him die and the members of the Asgardian royal family we’ve seen die have vanished to Valhalla in golden sparks, which Loki didn’t do. So it seems pretty textbook that he wouldn’t be dead, whatever a stupid power-hungry titan said about it.

What is your most underrated set of headcanons? As much as I hate it, it’s definitely the headcanon that Mobius is a Loki. (See my post about this for more details.)

What detail did you put in a work that you wanted people to notice? It’s the entirety of Bring You Safely Home to Me honestly, but it’s my lowest-performing Frostiron fic in the series so I’m counting it. It’s a retelling of a Norse myth of where Loki is just before the events of Ragnarok in the Norse mythological cycle.

What thing(s) in canon do you have VERY STRONG OPINIONS ON? In the MCU, definitely how they’ve chosen to represent Loki’s genderfluidity (poorly). In the comics, how well subsequent authors have honored the character development Al Ewing has afforded Loki (not well for most runs since 2013).

What thing(s) in canon do you prefer glossing over in your work? We don’t talk about that Kiss, unless it was a distraction, and comics-wise we really don’t talk about Vote Loki. Loki is a thinly-veiled stand-in for an American presidential candidate who very unfortunately won an election seven years ago, and acts like him, and I hate it. I hate it with every fiber of my being. I hate that he showed up in the tv show, even as a bad guy cameo that got his hand bit off. I hate that I have to see merch for him all over the fucking place. If we never acknowledged his existence again it would be too soon.

What controversial fandom takes do you have, if any? Probably the most controversial are that I ship Thorki and I don’t ship Loki with who he kisses in episode six. Like I ship incest but not selfcest? I don’t know, just how it goes I guess.

What is your writing schedule like? I don’t have a schedule. I get an idea, I think about it, and then go on a day or two or three day writing binge until it’s done, edit it as soon as I’m done, and post it. And then wait for inspiration to strike again. Rinse and repeat.

What fanfic took the most research? Honestly probably Nothing Matters at the End of the World. I spent an obnoxiously long time reading quotes from the series, trying to find relevant phrases to serve as chapter titles. I read a lot of MCU wiki pages, and spent an uncomfortable amount of time reading about dinosaurs and their extinction event.

What fanfic of yours is your favorite? Like the Dawn. (Non-Loki favorite is The Courage of Stars, my most recent Good Omens fic.)

Do you read your own fanfic? Yes, more often than is probably reasonable.

What character deserved more screen time? Like canonically? In Loki-featured comics, Cloud and Verity. In the show, Croki.

What secondary character would you make the main character of the series? I’m gonna answer this in terms of my frostiron series, actually (Nights on the Roof). I like Idunn and Clint’s characters in the series, maybe not as the main characters, but maybe a part from their perspective could be fun.

What character have you written the most for? Loki. That’s why I’m doing this on my Loki blog. After Loki, Tony.

What character(s) would you never write for? Why? President Loki. Fuck that bitch. I’ve already explained why I hate him. He’s a terrible person and he makes no sense for any characterization of the character whatsoever.

What is your favorite fanfic trope? Least favorite? Favorite is enemies to lovers and hurt/comfort. Least favorites are hurt/no comfort, major character death, and Harry Potter AUs. Even when I was a fan, I wasn’t up for those.

Where did you start reading fanfic? Where did you start writing? The N. My childhood best friend was writing a Harry Potter fanfic when we were 13 and posting it on there. I started writing it (online) on Cartoon Doll Emporium (I think) a year later. If not, then I started posting it on AO3 in college, but I’ve been handwriting it since middle school.

Favorite fanfic platform? AO3 hands down. I don’t use anything else.

How old is your blog? This one? Like a week and a half. How long have I been on tumblr (no, I’m not telling you my other account)? Like 13 or 14 years.

When did you write your first fanfic? What was it about? Do you look back and still like it? First fanfic in general was an unfinished Chronicles of Narnia fic I started when I was 13 that I didn’t post anywhere because The N didn’t allow you to post anything until you were 14, and I was a goody-two-shoes who refused to lie about my age. I don’t remember it and I don’t think I still have it, but I probably wouldn’t still like it. First Loki fic specifically was History Books Forgot About Us in 2017. It’s the first version of These, Our Bodies, but it’s from Thor’s point of view. I still like it, and there are some good parts I had to leave out for the rewrite that got published since it changed perspectives, but ultimately the best version of the story is the one that got posted on AO3.

What is your favorite fandom to write for? Marvel, definitely. Within that, probably the Avengers, because I think Tony and Loki have a really interesting dynamic that lends itself to a lot of possible storylines with many options for side characters.

What niche character/fandom/trope is your guilty pleasure? I don’t really believe in guilty pleasures, but probably the most “problematic” pairing I write about is thorki. I have written (unpublished) fanfic of fanfic for this pairing. If you like thorki and genderfluid Loki, the To Know You Anywhere series by triedunture is heart wrenching and perfect.

For reader insert writers, who do you imagine when you write your reader inserts (OC, yourself, canon character, etc.)? I neither write these nor read these.

What compelled you to your go-to characters? Really? Loki is genderfluid, bi/pan, a fascinating anti-hero, and between Tom Hiddleston in the MCU and Al Ewing’s writing in the comics I’ve come to really latch onto Loki. He’s interesting and I like exploring him in different contexts, with different people.

OC writers, when did you first come up with the concept for your OC? I don’t write these either.

What character(s) do you think you most resemble? Probably Verity. She kind of just goes through her life with this strange best friend who she cares about but is kind of doing his own thing that he occasionally brings to her doorstep. She doesn’t put up with any of his shit but is loyal and kind to him. She’s ace (I don’t make the rules, Al Ewing absolutely made her ace), so she wants nothing to do with Loki romantically. She’s about the only woman Loki isn’t related to who treats him decently, but she’s ace so she’s never gonna be in a romantic relationship with him.

AO3: irishavalon

#loki #fanfic #about the author #irishavalon #thorki #frostiron #lokius

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critic-corner · 6 years

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13 Contemporary Rom-Com Novels That You’ll (Probably) Love

Even though this is a mainly fashion and film blog, I do like to consider this a platform where I get to share my thoughts and opinions on anything of interest properly and well, reading is a big passion of mine. Even though I do talk about it on Instagram a little but, for whatever reason I don't on this blog.

Many of my reader friends ask me for recommendations, so I took this as an opportunity to create some book-related lists even though it's a little hard to do that because lists are never-ending. Anyway, I'll try. Also, don’t worry it’s not gonna turn into a book blog, it’ll just be a small segment of my entire blog.

You can click on the book title to get your own copy!

One Day In December

Laurie is pretty sure love at first sight doesn't exist anywhere but the movies. But then, through a misted-up bus window one snowy December day, she sees a man who she knows instantly is the one. Their eyes meet, there's a moment of pure magic... and then her bus drives away. Certain they're fated to find each other again, Laurie spends a year scanning every bus stop and cafe in London for him. But she doesn't find him, not when it matters anyway. Instead they "reunite" at a Christmas party, when her best friend Sarah giddily introduces her new boyfriend to Laurie. It's Jack, the man from the bus. It would be. What follows for Laurie, Sarah and Jack is ten years of friendship, heartbreak, missed opportunities, roads not taken, and destinies reconsidered.

I have never understood the love at first sight trope but because this story travels for ten years where the characters get to know each other intimately, it worked out perfectly. My favorite part about the book was how you will see these characters grow and make important life decisions. By the end, I was so emotionally invested that I was sad when the book ended.

This is definitely one of my favorite contemporary novels. I have been recommending to all of my friends, even the ones that don’t read that often. If you are a rom-com fan, get this book because it’ll simply warm your heart.

You can get your copy on Amazon - paperback or kindle.

The Royal We

American Rebecca Porter was never one for fairy tales. Her twin sister, Lacey, has always been the romantic who fantasized about glamour and fame. Yet it's Bex who seeks adventure at Oxford and finds herself living down the hall from Prince Nicholas, Great Britain's future king. And when Bex can't resist falling for Nick, the person behind the prince, it propels her into a world she did not expect to inhabit, under a spotlight she is not prepared to face. Dating Nick immerses Bex in ritzy society, dazzling ski trips, and dinners at Kensington Palace with him and his charming, troublesome brother, Freddie. But the relationship also comes with unimaginable baggage: hysterical tabloids, Nick's sparkling and far more suitable ex-girlfriends, and a royal family whose private life is much thornier and more tragic than anyone on the outside knows. The pressures are almost too much to bear, as Bex struggles to reconcile the man she loves with the monarch he's fated to become. Now, on the eve of the wedding of the century, Bex is faced with whether everything she's sacrificed for love-her career, her home, her family, maybe even herself-will have been for nothing.

If you know me, you’d know that I’m a royal family nerd. So, when I came to know about this book last year, I was all over it because it seemed like a perfect escape. And while I was expecting it to be all cheesy, I was surprised by how realistic it seemed. Yes, it has been heavily influenced by the Kate-William romance, but that only added to the thrill of it. If you want a nice royal romance which also seems relatable, this is definitely the way to go!

You can get your copy on Amazon.

This Love Story Will Self-Destruct

Meet Eve. She’s a dreamer, a feeler, a careening well of sensitivities who can’t quite keep her feet on the ground, or steer clear of trouble. She’s a laugher, a crier, a quirky and quick-witted bleeding-heart-worrier. Meet Ben. He’s an engineer, an expert at leveling floors who likes order, structure, and straight lines. He doesn’t opine, he doesn’t ruminate, he doesn’t simmer until he boils over. So naturally, when the two first cross paths, sparks don’t exactly fly. But then they meet again. And again. And then, finally, they find themselves with a deep yet fragile connection that will change the course of their relationship—possibly forever.

This book was been marketed as When Harry Met Sally reimagined and I couldn’t disagree more. Apart from the fact that the two characters meet time and again, there isn’t much else relating this story with the movie and that’s not a bad thing. I just don’t want you guys to shocked like I was. Rom-coms have a fluffy, carefree vibe to them and technically, it has those aspects, but there is an underlying sadness to the story because of the female character (with whom I surprisingly found myself relating with, by the way).

I am that person who prefers character-driven stories over plot-driven ones and while this book doesn’t really fall in either of those categories, I fell in love with the two main leads. It’s been months since I read this book and they still casually pop up in my head every now and then, and I constantly find myself talking about them like they are real people. If you are a fan of emotionally-driven romantic novels, you might like this one.

You can get your copy on Amazon - paperback or kindle.

Unmarriageable

In this one-of-a-kind retelling of Pride and Prejudice set in modern-day Pakistan, Alys Binat has sworn never to marry—until an encounter with one Mr. Darsee at a wedding makes her reconsider.

One thing to always keep in mind before reading a retelling is that you cannot expect it to be amazing. At most, it can be great. I’m saying this because the ghost of the original and the eventual comparison will always be lingering over the book which will definitely hinder the reading experience. So, just go into it expecting a nice time, and not hoping to find your all-time favorite (if you do, then obviously that’s great).

Coming to Unmarriageable, the original premise of Pride & Prejudice fits perfectly on a Pakistani back-drop, or just any desi family. And while I was expecting to fall in love with the romance, I ended up enjoying the social commentary that Soniah Kamal did and that was probably because of how similar Indian people are. All in all, it was not the best Pride & Prejudice re-tellings (I think I’m yet to find that), but I sure as hell had a fun time reading it.

You can get your copy on Amazon.

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine

No one’s ever told Eleanor that life should be better than fine. Meet Eleanor Oliphant: She struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she’s thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of avoiding social interactions, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy. But everything changes when Eleanor meets Raymond, the bumbling and deeply unhygienic IT guy from her office. When she and Raymond together save Sammy, an elderly gentleman who has fallen on the sidewalk, the three become the kinds of friends who rescue one another from the lives of isolation they have each been living. And it is Raymond’s big heart that will ultimately help Eleanor find the way to repair her own profoundly damaged one.

This is one contemporary novel that has managed to step out that genre and successfully enter the literary talks. I have been hearing about this book for over a year and absolutely fell in love with it. If you are not the best in social situations and have a hard time navigating through them, you might like it very much. The story is told entirely through her point of view so it was very interesting to see this lonely person find her way to life (albeit unknowingly). What surprised me was just how funny the novel was. This can easily become one of your favorites!

Also, I have to appreciate the cover designer of this novel. There are two covers and both of them are genuinely so amazing!

You can get your copy on Amazon.

Always Never Yours

17-year-old Megan Harper is about due for her next sweeping romance. It's inevitable—each of her relationships starts with the perfect guy and ends with him falling in love... with someone else. But instead of feeling sorry for herself, Megan focuses on pursuing her next fling, directing theater, and fulfilling her dream college's acting requirement in the smallest role possible. So when she’s cast as Juliet (yes, that Juliet) in her high school’s production, it’s a complete nightmare. Megan’s not an actress, and she’s used to being upstaged—both in and out of the theater. Then she meets Owen Okita, an aspiring playwright inspired by Rosaline from Shakespeare's R+J. A character who, like Megan, knows a thing or two about short-lived relationships. Megan agrees to help Owen with his play in exchange for help catching the eye of a sexy stagehand/potential new boyfriend. Yet Megan finds herself growing closer to Owen, and wonders if he could be the Romeo she never expected.

I was going into the novel fully expecting it to be cheesy or even cringey and got out surprisingly loving it’s realistic portrayal of human emotions. My favorite part was the female character and her straight-forward way of thinking, even though it sometimes prevented her from becoming vulnerable. If you are a Shakespeare nerd, I guarantee that you’ll have a ball reading this one.

You can get your copy on Amazon - paperback or kindle.

The Sun Is Also A Star

Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story. Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us. The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?

Another book that I expected to dislike but surprisingly didn’t. I hate insta-love stories, but weirdly enough this one seemed convincing to me. The characters were likable and do keep in mind that the demographic the novel was trying to reach was young adult and it worked perfectly for that in my opinion. One particularly great thing about the writing-style is the fantastic use of different POVs (point-of-view). If you've ever wondered about the life of those strangers that you only meet for 10 minutes or cross on the street, then I think you’ll particularly enjoy this one.

You can get your copy on Amazon.

My Oxford Year

Set amidst the breathtaking beauty of Oxford, this sparkling debut novel tells the unforgettable story about a determined young woman eager to make her mark in the world and the handsome man who introduces her to an incredible love that will irrevocably alter her future—perfect for fans of JoJo Moyes and Nicholas Sparks.

I went into this book expecting just another rom-com, my bad. I should have paid more attention to the fact that they mentioned Nicholas Sparks on the back cover and you should too because otherwise the second half will completely take you by surprise. This book has all the elements of a giddy romance - Oxford, with it’s Harry Potter-esque interiors, English poetry and amazing fleshed out characters. It will also (probably) break your heart, so keep the tissues close by.

You can get your copy on Amazon - paperback or kindle.

Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating

Hazel Camille Bradford knows she’s a lot to take—and frankly, most men aren’t up to the challenge. If her army of pets and thrill for the absurd don’t send them running, her lack of filter means she’ll say exactly the wrong thing in a delicate moment. Their loss. She’s a good soul in search of honest fun. Josh Im has known Hazel since college, where her zany playfulness proved completely incompatible with his mellow restraint. From the first night they met—when she gracelessly threw up on his shoes—to when she sent him an unintelligible email while in a post-surgical haze, Josh has always thought of Hazel more as a spectacle than a peer. But now, ten years later, after a cheating girlfriend has turned his life upside down, going out with Hazel is a breath of fresh air. Not that Josh and Hazel date. At least, not each other. Because setting each other up on progressively terrible double blind dates means there’s nothing between them...right?

This is my second Christina Lauren novel and well, I had a ball reading it just as you’re supposed to with any of their novels. This one, in particular, stands out because not only is it well written but the characters felt oddly realistic. The first chapter did feel like the book will probably filled with all kinds of tropes because the female character is so fashionably eccentric but thankfully, non of that happened. It’ll make for an amazing weekend read!

You can get your copy on Amazon - paperback or kindle.

Vision In White

Childhood friends Mackensie, Parker, Laurel and Emmaline have formed a very successful wedding planning business together but, despite helping thousands of happy couples to organise the biggest day of their lives, all four women are unlucky in love. Photographer Mackensie Elliot has suffered a tough childhood and has a bad relationship with her mother, which makes her wary of commitment. But when she meets Carter Maguire, she can't stop herself falling for him, although his ex-girlfriend is prepared to play dirty to keep him. Mackensie soon realizes she has to put her past demons to rest in order to find lasting love...

This is first of the four in the Bride Quartet series and while I would literally suggest all four of them, just give this one a try first. There are a lot of things I like about this book, the main being the sisterhood that is majorly present in the entire series. Secondly, even though the female character has a dysfunctional family that leads her to being kinda sorta commitment-phobic, I like the relationship showcased is so healthy. Normally, in romantic books, there’s a lot of miscommunication to drive the plot ahead but this book works a nice example of how to showcase a healthy couple even if one of them (or both of them) are fighting internal battles. It’s a perfect cozy read!

You can get your copy on Amazon - paperback or kindle.

Practice Makes Perfect

Payton Kendall and J.D. Jameson are lawyers who know the meaning of objection. A feminist to the bone, Payton has fought hard to succeed in a profession dominated by men. Born wealthy, privileged, and cocky, J.D. has fought hard to ignore her. Face-to-face, they're perfectly civil. They have to be. For eight years they have kept a safe distance and tolerated each other as coworkers for one reason: to make partner at the firm. But all bets are off when they're asked to join forces on a major case. Though apprehensive at first, they begin to appreciate each other's dedication to the law— and the sparks between them quickly turn into attraction. But the increasingly hot connection does not last long when they discover that only one of them will be named partner. Now it's an all-out war. And the battle between the sexes is bound to make these lawyers hot under the collar...

This is one of the best workplace romances that I have come across and would highly recommend to everyone interested in that genre. It is a little cliche but it’s not trope-heavy which is definitely a plus. It has the right amount of heat and character development that a good fluffy contemporary demands. It’s just nice, fun ride!

You can get your copy on Amazon.

By The Book

An English professor struggling for tenure discovers that her ex-fiancé has just become the president of her college—and her new boss—in this whip-smart modern retelling of Jane Austen’s classic Persuasion.

If you couldn’t tell by now, I’m a sucker for Jane Austen re-tellings and unlike Unmarriageable, I really liked this one a lot. As I mentioned above, you can’t have your expectations with re-tellings high, but even if you expect some genuinely nice exploration of relationships (like Austen used to do, among other things), but in a modern setting then I think you will really like it. The fact that it’s completely from the female character’s point of view, makes the writing a lot more intimate. Give it a read, you may like it.

You can get your copy on Amazon.

The Upside of Unrequited

Seventeen-year-old Molly Peskin-Suso knows all about unrequited love—she’s lived through it twenty-six times. She crushes hard and crushes often, but always in secret. Because no matter how many times her twin sister, Cassie, tells her to woman up, Molly can’t stomach the idea of rejection. So she’s careful. Fat girls always have to be careful. Then a cute new girl enters Cassie’s orbit, and for the first time ever, Molly’s cynical twin is a lovesick mess. Meanwhile, Molly’s totally not dying of loneliness—except for the part where she is. Luckily, Cassie’s new girlfriend comes with a cute hipster-boy sidekick. Will is funny and flirtatious and just might be perfect crush material. Maybe more than crush material. And if Molly can win him over, she’ll get her first kiss and she’ll get her twin back. There’s only one problem: Molly’s coworker Reid. He’s an awkward Tolkien superfan with a season pass to the Ren Faire, and there’s absolutely no way Molly could fall for him. Right?

Even though personally, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the book because I just didn’t find it engaging enough, I do know that a lot of you out there might love. Not only does it have wonderful LGBTQ+ representation, but there aren’t a lot of book written about introverted young girls who love romance but have zero first-hand experience with it. I liked that it was fairly realistic and the characters were fleshed out. I’d say give it a try, you never know, may find yourself in Molly.

You can get your copy on Amazon.

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night-vale-weatherman · 7 years

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15, 2, 3, 4, 5!!

Character Design Questions @reaganalex

15. Which character is your guilty pleasure?

//Answered here! For another trope/character type that is a guilty pleasure, I’m a sucker for fairytales/myths being reimagined (especially since there’s often a lot of blank spaces to fill in terms of personality). Ask me sometime about my ideas for a medieval superhero reimagining of some of the Disney Princesses.

2. Who’s the oldest character of yours, defunct or not?

//Not counting imaginary friends/stuffed animals/whatever, the oldest character I remember telling stories about was a baby unicorn named Karen (which I believe was loosely based on The Unicorn’s Secret series). I think she had an uncle named Acorn who was a spy (there were evil dragons, or something, and he might have been able to shapeshift).

3. Has creating a character ever made you realize something about yourself?

//Answered here! To add onto that, I’ve also been using character creation to think about sexuality somewhat, since I’m currently questioning.

4. Any minor characters that have either taken over or branched off into their own stories?

//Answered here! Although now I’m remembering this character Ike (short for Icarus) who was originally just a side character in the story of Jacob (they’re both homunculi), but I like I said before, I love fairytale/myth retellings so the story ended up focusing more towards Ike for the parallels with the Greek story of Icarus.

5. Do you prefer to make human, animal, monster, or _____ characters? Why?

//Definitely human, mostly because I am a human :P Sometimes things will venture into supernatural territory but it’s usually more of the “this is a human with strange powers” than “this person is a werewolf.” When I was a little kid though, I made a lot of horse/unicorn/pegasus type characters because I read a lot of books/had a lot of toys of those kind of creatures.

#ooc #about the mun #ask meme #//thanks for asking!#reaganalex

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laughingpinecone · 9 months

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Candy hearts exchange 2024 letter

AO3: laughingpineapple (double-checked a-ok for treats as per the recent AO3 update blah blah)

Hello and thank you for writing for me! I hope you’ll have a great time playing with one of these wonderful canons!

GHOST TRICK

Alma/Cabanela/Jowd: Jowd navigating the "whoops turns out I'm bi" part of the whole thing is always fun Alma/Jowd: what's their dynamic, exactly? I'm open to many possibilities, for example an Alma who's just as much of a cosmic pessimist as her esteemed husband! Cabanela & Pigeon Man: unexpected intergenerational friendship of my heart, Cabs is A Lot and Pigeon Man expertly wrangles him. Guess he’s good with birds Cabanela/Jowd: please let them be intensely ridiculous about their attraction Emma & Jowd: double menace pls Jowd & Pigeon Man: what sparked PM's unshakeable devotion toward Jowd? Alma/Cabanela: fashion! and legs! Clothes swap? Some time on their own?

PYRE

Bertrude/Pam: they get each other quietly… anything based on their paired ending, especially Downside? Ignarius & Oralech: I’d just like to weaponize Iggy’s fascination for big survivor demons and point it at an unsuspecting Oralech, for fun Oralech/Tariq: beyond the Scribes' vision… Oralech/Volfred: Downside reunion! How do you let go of all that mis-aimed anger AND mourning? Volfred & Pam: here's a guy who's very pragmatic about reaching his idealistic goals, and a gal who's a trained agent. Or maybe just two teammates after a rite. Volfred/Tariq: Tariq's small attempts at defiance?

DISCO ELYSIUM

Call Me Mañana & Steban: that time when Steban tried to talk Mañana into joining the group and it sounded like he was hitting on him (at least according to Harry, who is, on occasion, an uncannily accurate judge for this sort of thing) was fun! What about a second meeting between them, or would Steban be willing to just sit next to him and talk? DJ Flacio & DJ Mesh & Kim: I just want Kim to meet his loud, vulgar, communist-leaning (according to one line in reply to Harry, at least) heroes. Maybe after he got his shout-out? (Harry and Kim/Harry welcome if you want) Liz/Cindy: Things got very real very fast for Liz at the tribunal, can actual gang member Cindy help her through it or make things worse? Dros & Nilsen: bitter, cancelled old codgers, how unpleasant could they get? I like to picture Nilsen's ghost bothering assorted leftists in the game and Dros could do with the company… Uli/Steban: a Wirrâl session turning intensely homoerotically charged? Anything else turning intensely homoerotically charged (looking at the canon slap, it's kind of what they do)? What Mazov/Nilsen parallel do they see in themselves?

SACRED AND TERRIBLE AIR

Khan & Nilsen: as one of Elysium's famous disappearances (as per a stray line by Lilienne in the game), Nilsen should by all means be part of Khan's special interest. Khan who, for his part, dresses as a dialectical materialist, so did he like what he was reading about Elysium's Most Cancelled? Khan & Tereesz & Jesper: any exploration of their strange, frayed friendship, the ways in which they care for each other, their breaking points, how they're all called to the void… Khan & Zigi: does Khan find him, at the end of the world? Or is Zigi forever out of reach, beyond even the totality of the pale? Or does Khan manage to reach Rodionov's Trench at last, in dreams or otherwise? Mazov/Nilsen: they held hands… any exploration of any part of their lives (first meeting? Nilsen's return from his feral hut era? Reunion in the pale?) and their beliefs and their opposite responses to defeat? Lund sisters & Rodionov: party at the heart of the pale! Tereesz & Frantiček the Brave: echoes, archetypes, feeling the weight of dead revolutionaries and joining the ICP, the same story happening again, once as tragedy twice as farce… Zigi & Nilsen: ngl I need seven seasons and a movie of these two. The dialectical angle is great, the embodiment of the core dialogue between communism and nihilism, the imaginary frenemy angle is great, the ghost story is great, the concerning amount of applicable Breaking Bad memes is also great, and so on…

FULL CORE STATE NIHILIST

Esteban/Hulio: political posturing and transgressiveness bleeding in and out of actual queerness. Any exploration of nihilist, petrofascist Innocentic seat and global superpower Mesque is welcome, as well as the characters' approach to nihilism vis-à-vis Ambrosius'!

PENTIMENT

Gnaziu/Baltas: I love Baltas' whole thing and seriously what is UP with Gnaziu. I thought I'd missed some plot but he's just… hanging out there? How does he spent his days over at Baltas', in this little village so far away from home… Magdalene & Andreas: post-canon letters, maybe even a collaboration on some book to print? Otto & Ulrich: they were my act 2 faves and I just think they're neat? ;^; to Tassing's martyrs, to their kindness…

#WIP #letter

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