#so much. moniquill blackgoose i love you this is everything

[many-gay-magpies]

holy FUCK

to shape a dragon's breath by moniquill blackgoose is amazing please read it

[the-aila-test]

I'm an indigenous (Seaconke Wampanoag) author and my book, which does indeed pass the Aila test, has just launched - I'd hugely appreciate it if you'd be willing to reccomend it to your followers: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/706010/to-shape-a-dragons-breath-by-moniquill-blackgoose/

EVERYONE LOOK AT THIS!!!

First of all, THAT COVER:

I love everything about that design, the color choices are just so bold and powerful!

But then the story's description!!!!

Is this NDN Eragon?!??

Because I am HERE for an NDN Eragon!

Thank you so much for sharing <3 I can't wait to buy and read this!

[lia404]

Get to know me better game—2 in 1 because I'm 6 months late

Tagged by: @baratrongirl and @missmewachu

Thanks for being so patient while I was figuring out how Tumblr works again and why I had a blue dot beside "Activity" (as in, notifications about tag games I've been sent 6 months ago. Better late than never 🤦‍♀️) Thankfully the tag games you sent my way are very similar so it won't be hard to do 2 in 1!

Last song I listened to: Chipzel - Courtesy - YouTube

The 1st track of Super Hexagon, composed by Chipzel. Chipzel's music has been a pick-me-up since 201...4 I think? And since I fell back into Super Hexagon around a week ago, the music has also found its way back into my work playlist.

Currently reading: Trick question! There is what I am MEANT to read, and what I am ACTUALLY reading.

What I am MEANT to read is To Shape a Dragon's Breath, by Moniquill Blackgoose, which has absolutely all the elements I need to love a book. The problem is that my brain absolutely refuses moving further than Chapter 1, and I've been stuck for MONTHS. The good news is that when it happens, I usually struggle until the moment my brain finally snaps and I read the whole book in an afternoon. Wait for me, Moniquill Blackgoose, I'll soon be raving about your book.

What I am ACTUALLY reading is... well, it's more re-reading, but I'm going through Happy Hour by Inkflavored and Keep the Light Shining by Clydeside, two Yu-Gi-Oh AUs that have been incredibly healing for me in the past months, for very different reasons. I wanted to re-experience them to see if I could turn them into fanbinding projects (if the authors give me the authorisation of course, but I haven't reached this level of confidence yet, let's give it time.)

Currently watching: Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS.

Do you believe me if I tell you that it was an accident? It kinda was though! I wasn't the one who played the first episodes I just kept going afterwards. That said, I have fully adopted Yusaku. I kind of wish he could meet Philip from Kamen Rider W. Things would go so well.

Currently writing: this one is plain cruel, because after a drought spell of almost 2 years, I finally feel like getting back into writing (thank you, current obsession.)

I have 3 WIPs, one PWP because I like a challenge, one backstory of a character that has basically become my OC, and one AU that @wisyhana created and that I'm using as a wonderful sandbox. I am between 2k and 5k into each, nothing is complete, I'm losing my mind. But at least I'm writing again, right?

Spicy/sweet/savoury: Okay yes no it's cruel again and you will not make me pick just one.

If you've followed me these past years you know that I have completely lost my sense of taste between 2020 and 2023. I was lucky enough, and honestly even the specialised doctor said it was a miracle, to have most of it come back to me abruptly in March 2023, after 3 years unable to enjoy a bit of chocolate or a nice gratin. Some tastes are lost forever, but so few compared to what came back that I just can only be very very grateful and very confident in saying SPICY SWEET SAVOURY I'LL TAKE THEM ALL. I LOVE TASTES. ALL OF THEM.

Relationship status: I have been told polyamory looks good on me.

And I am lucky to have the most patient and tolerant lovers ever. EVER. I love them so much and I'm so bad at showing it because I am a mess. There isn't a day where my heart doesn't overflow with gratitude that they are in my life and agree to putting up with my bullshit.

Current obsession: Listen, Mew put it SO ELOQUENTLY I can help but quote:

mentally ill traumatised japanese teenagers and their ancient egyptian guys who hang out in their jewellery all playing card games.

So, yeah, current obsession is Yu-Gi-Oh!, and with it Duel Links, and everything children-card-game-adjacent. I am currently trying to figure out why everyone in this kid's show is so hot and delightfully traumatised. Characters after my own heart, all ready to be projected on and used for cathartic writing purposes. Other obsession is MEW'S FAULT TOO ACTUALLY since it's my newly founded Clan in Flight Rising. Ask me about my dragon Atem.

Favourite colour: I like my colour like my wine—burgundy. (I actually like all sort of shades of purple, violet and red, but I don't know how to list them.)

Tagging: Wow uh who do I know around here who is still active?

@twilightknight17 for sure (although I'm sure you already did it), @wingsonghalo maybe? Uuuh, I think @the-wanderer-of-thoughts and @istadris? You know, considering how inactive I am here, I think it's already a lot, but if you're not in the list and want to do it too, be my guest!

[starrlikesbooks]

Happy May! The best month! 💖🌷

Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli is one of the few books on this list that I have had the great fortune to have already read, and it easily and quickly became one of my favorite books. I love this story of bi-realization and what queer infighting and virtue signaling does to our community, and I love the tender newness of this love story! Thinking about this book makes me feel weepy, and I desperately want all of you to read it.

To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose is a Native led fantasy about dragon training and colonization. This book sounds really, really cool, and seems like it could be a bit of a more diverse Dragon Prince, but academic.

All the Dead Lie Down by Kyrie McCauley would have made it on this list even if it didn't look so intriguing, because I trust McCauley so much to make a captivating story with strong, vivid characters. This time, however, things are going Gothic! This is a creepy story of nannying and old houses and horror writers that I'm sure will be stunningly atmospheric.

Fake Dates and Mooncakes by Sher Lee is a queer romance starring two Chinese men and looks so fluffy and cute. This one has a fake dating of convenience to help boost business and just from that cover alone I'm sure it's going to be sweet as anything.

Painted Devils by Margaret Owen is the sequel to Little Thieves, and while it very much does feel like a middle book in a trilogy (which I'm still so excited about!) it gives all the meddling Vanja and low gods vibes as before, now with more romance and absolute need for therapy. I have read this one, and need the next book in my hands like a month ago thank you.

Venom & Vow by Anna-Marie McLemore and Elliot McLemore is the queer romantic fantasy of my dreams! This one has mistaken identities and hidden identities all due to nefarious plots and fluid genders! I love Anna-Marie McLemore and everything about this screams that I would love it, so I'm gnashing at the bit to get this one!

We'll Never Tell by Wendy Heard is yet another book I know I'll probably love based first and foremost on the author. I loved Dead End Girls, and Heard's 3rd book feels like it'll be a similar vibe. This one is about a group of teen investigators accidentally biting off more than they can chew and causing one of their group to get murdered.

Something Like Possible by Miel Moreland I've already read and have been looking forward to seeing it out on the shelf since last year! If you loved the politics of Red White & Royal Blue but would love a YA, sapphic take- grab this book! The politics here are mostly class president based but everything feels more significant and the themes are just heavy enough to do real heavy lifting. Plus, of course, the romance is impeccable.

Threads That Bind by Kika Hatzopoulou claims to be a bit of a mix of Percy Jackson and Song of Achilles, following descendents of Greek figures who inherit their power. The main character of this is a descendant of The Fates (amazing concept right there!) and must use her powers to solve a string of brutal murders

[swallowtailed]

3, for the books ask!

3. what were your top five books of the year?

in order to not repeat myself too much (imperial radch is really good!), i'm going to interpret this question very narrowly and offer my top five books released in 2023. (and 2022, oops, turns out spear was last year but it's good enough to stay on the list.) in no particular order:

feed them silence (lee mandelo)

every ecologist should be required to read this book imo. it's not marketed as horror, but i experienced it that way--it is such a precise depiction of the greatest failures of my field. abuses of power, basal errors of philosophy, a total refusal to comprehend one's place in the world. it's terrifying. great book.

the spear cuts through water (simon jimenez)

i was just posting about this, but god, this book gets so good. like, unbelievably good, enough to justify my other qualms with it. the front matter is also some of the best i've ever seen. that and the first ten pages of prose will tell you what heights this book can reach. it's a fractal, it's a fourth-wall break, it's a physical thing.

the saint of bright doors (vajra chandrasekera)

i don't know whether or not i like this book, or for that matter whether it is "good" or not, but i cannot stop thinking about it. so it's on the list. there is one of the weirder sex scenes i've ever read, and also a spot-on depiction of research fieldwork, and also no conclusions to any of the promises the book makes at the outset, and also a long and very beautiful sequence set in an unending prison-country. idk. read this and then come talk to me about it.

mammoths at the gates (nghi vo)

i read this book cover to cover in the passenger seat of a pickup truck driving down the laguna mountains. every time i looked up, i was somewhere different--the fog rolled in and washed away; the mountains sank downward. i cried, reading it. it's a book about grief, and young adulthood, and coming to understand that everything changes, even the people you love. there are many talking birds.

to shape a dragon's breath (moniquill blackgoose)

god this book is so full of joy. i had it recommended by a friend with excellent taste and then sat patiently waiting for it to come off library hold for like four months. worth every minute. it's an anticolonial ya dragon rider novel that nails the teenage narrator's voice, has an incredible magic system that you have to go and read about because the moments of discovery are some of my favorite parts and i won't spoil them, and perfectly establishes the magic school trope from an indigenous north american perspective. please go read this book it's so fucking good

end of year book asks!

[let-them-sing-of-others]

WAIT I FORGOT ONE!!

i actually have another to share: to shape a dragon’s breath by moniquill blackgoose. I’m actually still working through it myself, but everything I’ve read so far I’ve loved and those who’ve finished it give very high reviews

premise is Anequs, a young Indigenous woman, finds and bonds with a dragon egg—the kind Indigenous to her land that hasn’t been seen for generations (or at least a while). But the Anglish are very strict about dragons and dragonkeeping, so to avoid getting herself or her people in trouble, she enrolls in their dragon school to learn the necessary skills and how to shape her dragons breath. I say “her” dragon for simplicity, but it’s more like Anequs belongs to Kasaqua than the other way around. Anyway, she’s now alone and away from her village and family for the first time, and is the only Indigenous person at this school, and this one is also set in an earlier time period, so she’s facing a lot of open racism and bigotry (someone asks her if she can read, another days it’s so nice the faculty are taking in these savages, etc). By which I mean more blatantly and more casually widespread than today, not that there’s no racism anymore

I couldn’t tell you the overall plot because like I said, still reading, but so far the writing and world structure and characterization and real life history and experiences reflected are so well done. Cannot wait to get back to this book :)

oooo this sounds very fun as well!!!! it’s nice seeing indigenous rep since you don’t see it much, and the premise seems v v cool 👀

the actual dragon aspect of the world building seems quite intriguing, so i’m curious to learn more! this shall also join my mentally catalogued (hopefully) to-be-read list :)

[featherquillpen]

Dear Yuletide Author

I hope more than anything that my prompts help you have fun and be creative. That's what Yuletide is all about.

In general, I like cultural worldbuilding, character study, friendship, taking small canon details and running with them, and Yuletide experimentation and weirdness. If you want to try something Different for Yuletide, consider this your opportunity.

I tend not to like pure fluff, fix-its, strongly divergent AUs, and fics that totally avoid/erase prejudice and bigotry found in canon.

On to the fandoms!

Nampeshiweisit Series - Moniquill Blackgoose

I love this book so much for its complex characters and intriguing worldbuilding. I have requested fic about Sander Jansen, because I loved him and I would absolutely adore a fic from his point of view. Some prompts:

My favorite part of the book was the chapters titled "This is the Story That ____ Told." I would love to see a take on "This is the Story That Sander Told."

What is the relationship like between Sander and his dragon Inga? They seem to relate to each other differently than the other dragon-bonded.

In the book, Sander is shown to adjust fairly easily to Anequs's radically different culture. I would love a missing scene of a moment where Sander and Anequs aren't quite on the same page.

And any kind of missing scene from the academy would be great!

Camp Damascus - Chuck Tingle

I loved this book for its deep dive into what it's like to live in a fringe Christian sect as a queer person, and the way the brainwashing gets its claws in. I requested fic about Saul because he's a cool character with some intriguing gaps in his story. Saul&Willow friendship as a theme is VERY much encouraged. Also, given the content of this book, feel free to get fucked up and disturbing in your fic if you want. Some prompts:

Who is Saul's lost love he doesn't dare to think about anymore? Does Saul seek him out after the events of the book?

How did Saul end up becoming a counselor at Camp Damascus?

What was Saul and Willow's relationship like back when he was her counselor at Camp Damascus? Do they ever end up remembering more about that time?

Anything delving into Saul's unique relationship with religion and any missing scene from the time when Willow lived at Saul's house would be great.

Babel - R.F. Kuang

WOW this book rewired my brain. I loved the emphasis on the ways language and translation can be used for colonialism and violence. I chose worldbuilding as my tag for this fandom because as a multilingual person I found the translation magic fascinating. Some prompts:

Empires always think that they were the ones to invent everything they have, but much more commonly, they stole it from somewhere else. In my mind, there must be translation magics that exist outside the scope of the British Empire. What are they? How are they different from the Oxford approach?

Along similar lines: how do Victoire and her revolutionaries use their knowledge of translation magic toward their own radical ends? What is their vision for the role of magic in a more just world?

Think outside the box on translation. What kind of translation magic could you do with Polari? ASL? Would the changes in writing systems in Korea and Japan change anything?

Happy Yuletide!

Poetry

[summersfirstsnow]

June Reads 2023

A Novel Disguise by Samantha Larson aka Local Spinster Has to Do Everything Around Here. This is the reading experience:

MC: is this a romance me: MAAM YOU BURIED YOUR BROTHER'S CORPSE IN THE BACK GARDEN THREE DAYS AGO MC: okay well I have to prepare this random girl's dead body for viewing, a job that is for some reason mine MC: * physically relocates the dead girl's jaw * MC: okay back to what I was saying about this being a romance! me: the fact that you are capable of contemplating romance in this murder mystery is amazing

Untethered Sky by Fonda Lee: if you watched How to Train Your Dragon and thought "okay but what if the dragons WERE incapable of loving you and would leave you for dead in a heartbeat and might try to eat you, wouldn't that be great" then good news! This is the book for you. I did enjoy this one, it's a very quick read (or listen, in my case). This is about giant birds (love it) and hunting monsters!

Mortal Follies by Alexis Hall: This was. Almost painfully tedious. If you're writing a story where both the romantic leads are women, then you NEED to conceptualize women as active characters who are allowed to be both funny and stupid or your sapphic romance will be so so extremely boring. If your female characters are all reactive rather than active, they will never be able to play off each other, because nobody in that relationship will actually provide the initial motion. And an object at rest will remain. At rest. Until we all die of boredom. Also the narrator choice was genuinely baffling, in all honesty. Like. I don't know why the author went "you know what this novel needed? Someone to constantly comment on how stupid all the events are, in case the reader hasn't noticed." Don't worry, Alexis Hall. I noticed. I noticed.

The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2021 edited by John Joseph Abrams & Veronica Roth: These were varying levels of enjoyable for me, but overall, it was a good collection! And This is How to Stay Alive by Shingai Njeri Kagunda made me cry from older sibling feels, among other things. Beyond the Dragon's Gate by Yoon Ha Lee was also a stand-out for me.

To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose: only YA novel on the list for this month, I think! I enjoyed this one a lot. Anequs is definitely a main character who pulls her own story along, and I'm looking forward to picking up the sequel when it comes out. I liked the organic integration of different ways of knowing very much! It does have some of the usual debut novel issues, but hopefully Blackgoose's writing will grow and those will get worked out at the series goes on.

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty: this book rollicked along well! The notorious pirate captain Amina Al-Sirafi is retired, and for a good reason, but finds herself pulled back into the world of supernatural creatures, mythical treasures, and high seas misadventure when she is asked ("asked" in heavy quotations) to track down a noble family's missing daughter. This book takes place in the same extended universe as the Daevabad trilogy, but doesn't require having read it.

Bad Cree by Jessica Johns: when Mackenzie, a young Cree woman living in Vancouver, begins bringing things back from her nightmares, she finds herself drawn back home to the rest of her family, to try to figure things out, especially as the dreams get more dangerous. This is a horror story about monsters, but also a horror story about grief and colonialism. It's about a family of magical dreamers, but also about the ties of family and the strength of those ties, no matter how tattered, in the face of generations of horror. This one is an atmospheric story that I found somewhat disorienting as a read, and has a couple debut quirks, but overall was a good reading experience. It got spooky and I just went "the only way out is through" and finished it at 1 AM.

Spectred Isle by KJ Charles: I feel like Saul just goes "well this might as well happen" about basically everything in his life at this point, which definitely brought a certain energy to the story. This one isn't my favourite KJ Charles book (not that I've read all of them but still), despite the fact that usually fantasy is me preferred genre.

Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant: This is a reread for me, and still the Seanan Mcguire/Mira Grant book that appeals most to me. Still really enjoy the merfolk in this! Deep-sea dwelling and very toothy. Jurassic Park vibes overall. The dolphin sideplot still feels misplaced with the rest of the story, doesn't really accomplish much of anything, which made it a frustrating digression in an otherwise tightly plotted novel.