#star rating review master list

[littlejuicebox]

My Sun, My Moon

Pairing: Spawn Astarion x GN!Reader/Tav Summary/Setting: 6 months post BG3 / Part 2 to my other fic Astarion talks in his sleep. Rating/Warnings: PG-13 / In game spoilers / Alludes to sexual encounters / Mentions of past trauma etc / Pretty much all fluff / It’s so sweet it’s going to rot your teeth Word Count: 2.3K Notes: This is 5/5 Days of "Star-mas!"

*takes a bow* Happy Holidays! Hope you all enjoyed!

I'm also entering this into the #BG3HolidayFluffle23 challenge under the prompt "twinkling lights."

Click here to see my master list.

-----

After Astarion’s sleep-talking gave away his little secret, you’d spent nearly every waking moment anticipating the rogue’s proposal. You were horribly, terribly wrong every time, of course. You began to think that perhaps your original assumptions were right, and that an engagement would come much later on. Maybe he wasn’t quite ready. Maybe he was just planning and thinking about the future… the frustratingly distant future. He’d ask the question when he was ready, you reasoned; in his own time and on his own terms. You could respect that.

But then, on the eve of the Netherbrain Battle’s six month anniversary, you came home to a dinner that Astarion had cooked (almost) entirely himself. Candles were lit, table settings were placed, and your lover chose an expensive wine pairing for the meal. His steak was, of course, entirely raw while yours was seasoned and cooked to perfection. You were certain you had Shadowheart to thank for your half of the meal, but you’d complimented your lover and all his efforts, nonetheless. At the end of dinner, you were quite confident that this would be the moment you’d been waiting weeks for.

“I have something to say.” Astarion murmured, lithe fingers rubbing circles on the back of your hand as he clasped it in his own.

You practically felt your soul leave your body in that moment. Oh gods, you knew what your answer would be, you knew this was coming, and yet here it was, and you were still wholly unprepared. You barely fumbled out a, “Y-yes, my love? What is it?”

“I read your mail.” Astarion responded, his eyes flooding full of guilt at the confession. He expelled a small sigh, flicking his gaze up at the ceiling and then back down to you. “Darling, I know we have been discussing this for months, but I really don’t think we should go to the Underdark. You’re getting so many outstanding offers that require you to remain in the city. You’re the hero of Baldur’s Gate, for god’s sakes. I know you want me to be safe from the sun… but I can’t, in good conscience, do that to you and rip you away from so many wonderful opportunities.”

“O-oh…” Your chest deflates and you catch yourself frowning for just a moment. Astarion’s brow furrows as he incorrectly interprets the cause of your sudden mood shift to be the current conversation and not the crushing disappointment you were trying to shove aside. You quickly try to move into a more neutral expression, but the rogue is already jumping into another worried explanation.

“Darling... Please hear me. I love you more than anything, and I know you better than anyone. You will not be truly happy there, of that much I am absolutely certain. These offers you’re receiving will give you multiple avenues to build the life you want…. the life we want. Imagine the good you could do with that level of influence, my love! Let me help you; I can review contracts, negotiate deals… whatever you need to ensure your success. Do not throw away so much potential on my account. I simply couldn’t live with myself if you did.”

He was right, of course. The only thing you wanted almost as much as you wanted Astarion was to continue the good work you two had been doing for Baldur’s Gate.

You sigh and nod your head, squeezing his hand gently. “You’re right, my love. I suppose it would be silly for both of us to throw away so much opportunity.”

Astarion beamed at your response before leaning over the table to plant a kiss on your lips. You smiled at the rogue when he pulled away to look at you with adoring crimson eyes. Perhaps it hadn’t been the conversation you were hoping for, but it had been a good and much needed one, nonetheless.

-----

Tonight, you and Astarion decided to take a stroll around the city. You were following the vampire’s lead, ambling around the streets as he pointed out more than a few of his old haunts. He revealed some of the difficult moments in his past as you two meandered about… more than one of the tales nearly made you cry with an overwhelm of sympathy for your lover. But you held back, knowing the elf hated eyes full of pity almost as much as he’d hated Cazador.

You noted that Astarion seemed to look back on his experience with more acceptance now. You knew, of course, that there were likely an infinite number of stories he had not yet revealed to you and perhaps never would. But you were still happy to see a bit of lightness in him as he spoke his truth. He hadn’t appeared to have one of his episodes on the entire walk, and as you pondered this, you also realized his night terrors had only occurred a handful of times this month. Such an improvement to what had been an almost daily incidence when you two originally moved in together.

Before long, you and your love arrived at the docks, where just over six months ago you’d felt as if you’d been stabbed in the gut as you watched the rays of sunlight scorch the vampire until he was forced to run for cover. But now, you two stood there hand in hand, resting in a pocket of comfortable silence. Both of you were admiring the twinkling starlight, full moon, and dark, mysterious expanse of the sea.

“The stars were so much more beautiful in the wilds… don’t you think, my sweet?” Astarion asks, his eyes filled with wistfulness as he ponders the sky.

You utter a little hum of agreement as your mind flashes to the first night in camp, when you caught Astarion reclined on his bedroll, stargazing. You turned your head to look at the rogue and remind him of the memory, but found he disappeared from your line of sight. Your vision wanders down and there he is, bent on one knee.

Oh this had to be the moment. Just when you were about to shout yes before the rogue even had a moment to say anything, Astarion looks up and smiles, a small pouch of gold coins in his hand. “Look! I suppose it’s our lucky day, darling. Their loss is our gain, would— are you alright, Tav? You’ve got this strange look on your face.”

Gods, not again. You feel your face flush with embarrassment. In your excitement and overwhelm, you’d almost ruined everything and let Astarion know that you knew his little secret. You made the decision then and there that this would be the last time you anticipated his proposal; let it happen when it’s meant to happen. You were done playing the guessing game. You couldn’t ruin everything with your big fat mouth.

You nod your head slightly before turning to look back at the stars once more, taking a deep breath and hoping to settle yourself.

“Yes, my love. I suppose I’m just thrilled by the beauty of the stars and the full moon, tonight. And by your beauty, of course.”

The rogue stands up, tucking the small sachet in his pocket. He smiles and places a soft, loving peck on the apple of your cheek before wrapping his arm around your waist. The two of you look up at the stars once more, and you spend a few moments pointing out some constellations in the sky. Stargazing had been one of the first things you two bonded over in camp.

Astarion is watching you with devoted interest as you ramble on about the planets and the mythological creatures represented by the patterns in the stars. Finally, there is a small lapse in conversation, and you want to take the opportunity to kiss him, but when you turn, the vampire is once again out of your sight line.

When you look down this time, Astarion is looking up at you, holding a velvet box in shaking hands.

“Tav—" He manages to choke out, but then his eyes fill with tears, and he stops to blink them away, chuckling softly at himself. You immediately come to kneel in front of your love, hands pressed to either side of his face, silently urging him to continue.

The vampire inhales shakily, suddenly quite overwhelmed by the extreme vulnerability he knows he’s about to lay before you. But the softness of your hands on his face grounds him in the moment and he smiles, admiring the look of utter adoration in your eyes.

A couple of tears fall over the edge of his lash line, and you immediately swipe them away with your shaking thumb. Another chuckle escapes the silver-haired elf, and he shakes his head in disbelief.

“My love… I’ve rehearsed this for weeks. I’ve said it all out loud more than a thousand times, I’m sure. I’ve spent almost every opportunity in your absence practicing this. One time I even had Shadowheart pretend to be you while I rehearsed my grand speech. But now that we are here… I’ve nearly forgotten everything I wanted to say.”

You move forward to press a kiss to Astarion’s lips, your hands still shaking as you run your thumb over his cheekbone. “It’s okay, my Star. Please continue, when you’re ready… rehearsed or from the heart… I want to hear it all the same.”

Astarion nods just a fraction and inhales. The shaking hand that is not holding the ring box comes to lay atop your own hand resting on his face. Your love slowly, absently runs his thumb along the back of your palm as he gathers his thoughts. He stares into your eyes with so much love that you almost kiss him again but hold yourself back to allow him to continue.

Astarion exhales a shuddering breath and then continues in a reverent tone, as if he’s whispering a prayer, “My darling. I have lived long life. Much of it was a sad and hopeless one. When we were walking through the city, I pointed out several places where I’d encountered horrible things. Many of those things are still hard to talk about… some of it, I don’t know that I will ever be able to.”

You are crying now, from the overwhelming blend of sympathy for your little Star and palpable feeling of love in this beautiful moment. Tears begin coursing thin streams down your cheeks. Astarion wipes away the tears as they fall, though his lips start trembling from your display of emotion.

“B-but what I do know is that… in many of the places I pointed out, there are also memories of us. Of our friends. Of the time we spent together before saving the city and of the six months we’ve spent here after that. Little by little, we are taking places that only held horrible memories for me and turning them into places that hold feelings of hope and happiness.

I guess what I’m saying is that… these past six months have been the counterweight to two hundred years of misery. And I do not think I deserve you, but I cannot imagine my life without you. You are everywhere I go, everywhere I look, and every happy memory I hold in my heart. If you’ll have me… I would like to spend the rest of our lives, however long they may be, turning this city into a place of hope for us and for the people we hold dear.”

Astarion opens the box, and you gasp in true awe as he reveals possibly the most beautiful ring you’ve ever seen. At the center is a beautiful moonstone, emitting an ethereal glow that shines brilliantly in the darkness of the pier. The setting is gold, and an intricate sunburst pattern made in smaller gems surrounds the center stone.

“Standing on the dock that day, after that long battle… I had the thought that my life was ruined when I realized I could no longer stand in the sun. I thought I might never know true happiness again. But it turns out, that was the moment my new life with you began… and you’ve opened the door to more happiness than I could’ve ever imagined for myself.

Even if I never see the sun again, I have made my peace. I would make the choices I made to be here with you, on this dock, in this moment, again and again in every lifetime. You are my sun and my moon. And my darling, it would be my honor to be your Star for the rest of time. Tav… will you marry me?”

As soon as the question comes out of your lover’s lips, you instantly push forward to crash into Astarion, enveloping the elf in an emotional kiss. You both topple over from the sheer force of your ardor, and as you do, the vampire deftly snaps the ring box closed to protect it from spilling out onto the dock.

When you finally break away, panting heavily, both your faces are thoroughly flushed with excitement. The vampire looks up at you, scarlet eyes filled with absolute devotion. You giggle and press one more soft kiss to the rouge before taking your hand in his and pressing a kiss to his knuckle. “Yes, Astarion. Nothing in this life would make me happier than to share it with you.”

-----

Later that evening, the two of you are naked in bed after several rounds of vigorous celebration. You’re admiring your ring, which is still faintly glowing in the semi-darkness of your bedchambers. Astarion takes your hand and presses his lips to the ring with a small smile; his scarlet eyes closely examine the gem.

“I don’t know how it works… you would have to ask Gale. But the center stone glows when I think of you, you know.”

You blink, moving to touch the gemstone in the middle of the ring with curiosity. “But it hasn’t stopped glowing since we’ve been on the docks.”

“I haven’t stopped thinking about you since we’ve been on the docks.” Astarion replies simply, moving his hand to stroke your cheek as a gentle, good-natured laugh escapes his mouth, “Perhaps now you’ll have some insight into how often my thoughts revolve around you, my sweet.”

You feel your eyes welling with tears again. Damn this man and his beautiful heart… he truly never misses a detail when it comes to you. You move forward to pull his lips into another loving kiss, and when you break away this time, a thought crosses your mind.

“Astarion… did you really find that bag of coins on the dock?”

Your lover grins mischievously, his crimson eyes crinkling at the corners as he grabs your ring-clad hand and kisses it once more.

“No, my sweet. But I had to throw you off. Shadowheart told me about my mishap. I wanted to surprise you… but you know me far too well and you’ve never been easily fooled… and the sleepy confession didn’t help things at all. I just figured that you would never anticipate that I’d drop down on one knee twice in a row.”

Astarion knew you just as well as you knew him… and he had been right. He’d fooled you. You roll your eyes and chuckle as the rogue moves closer to you, nuzzling into the side of your neck where fresh fang marks throbbed.

“Now what do you say, darling? One more round of celebration before we go to bed?”

[blacksails-rarepairs]

black sails rarepair week 2024: the week in review

a brief overview of the fics and art posted for rarepair week! there's a delightful array of work here--modern AUs and canonverse, comfort reads and belligerent sexual tension, repression and introspection, gen and queerplatonic and romantic and unrequited affections.

the event is now closed, but the fics & art posted as part of it can be read and appreciated at any time! comments, kudos, reblogs, etc. are highly encouraged!

huge thanks & all my gratitude to everyone who participated--it has been my honor to serve as your host <3

now: the rarepairs!

an introduction by Benja

rated T. Flint & Gates.

fascinating portrayal of Flint's early days as Flint in Nassau, from Gates's POV, with super sharp dialogue

The creation of Captain Flint, from Gates' perspective.

this is what you do at parties (right?) by sunset_waltz (@thenobleprincess)

rated T. Abigail Ashe/Idelle.

new college student Abigail meets-extremely-cute with local bartender Idelle. (nb: sunset_waltz's fics listed here are all set in the same modern & very queer/trans AU!)

Abigail is new in town, and Idelle is too pretty.

let me get this straight by ElectricKettle

rated M. Flint/Gates.

i'm nominating this fic for most apt use of the ao3 tag "Belligerent Sexual Tension" SERIOUSLY oooooough

Hal Gates is a man of moderation. He is not prone to impulse or hotheadedness. So why is it that this all goes out the window when it comes to a man named Flint?

i think it's magic (and i hope you'll agree) by sunset_waltz (@thenobleprincess)

rated T. Miranda Barlow/Madi.

meet!! cute!!! SO much chemistry

Miranda is Abigail's mom. Madi is her teacher.

a love lost or false by @van1lla-v1lla1n

rated T. Billy Bones/Charles Vane.

Jack Rackham reminiscing on the golden days and spinning tall tales about the love life of his buddy Charles Vane (rip).

I met Jack Rackham at a tavern once, long after the golden age of our kind, and he spun me a tale of a love lost or false, I knew not which, and I know not still to this day.

unspoken words (are preferred) by sunset_waltz (@thenobleprincess)

rated M. Bonny/Rackham/Vane but super multiship!

another installment in the author's rarepair-centric modern au, with so many fascinating poly character dynamics

Charles fucks up, and apologizing is hard.

post-XXVII by @kairennart

Flint/Vane art!!!!!! SUCH beautiful colors, amazing lovely expressions, have i mentioned that i'm in love with Flint's freckles BECAUSE. just go look at it <333

by the way (i forgive you) by sunset_waltz (@thenobleprincess)

rated M. Flint/Madi, Flint/Madi/Silver.

(modern au) Silver disappears, and Flint and Madi find each other as they grieve in his absence. & as if that weren't an amazing enough premise: BONUS OT3 AT THE END

After John Silver vanishes, Madi and Flint are left to their own devices--until he comes back.

under the stars and the sky by Veridissima (@thestagthatlovedthewolf)

rated T. Miranda Barlow & John Silver.

a very quiet and comforting middle-of-the-night Miranda-Silver interaction, with background Miranda/Flint/Hamilton/Madi/Silver. super compelling miranda-silver queerplatonic relationship

Miranda hears Silver walking past her bedroom door, and she can't help but follow him outside.

the unnoticed bulge by BilliesBud

rated M. Billy Bones/Charles Vane.

my wife's first fanfiction :''''''') a very tongue-in-cheek portrayal of a deeply repressed Charles Vane confused about why he's thirsting after Billy Bones

Billy living rent-free in Charles' head.

five times Howell was too blind to see what is right in front of him + the one time he wasn't by tahiri_veila (@twopointsinspace)

rated E. De Groot/Dr. Howell + unrequited Howell/Flint.

absolutely masterful portrayal of Howell's unrequited affection for Flint shifting to a requited friends-to-lovers situation with De Groot. (with bonus background silverflint)

"Welcome aboard." De Groot lowers his voice to a near-whisper. "Don't mind the captain's disgruntled mood. He may be a capricious bastard, but he's damn good at his job. The best, I'd say. You get used to his ways."

pourparler by @van1lla-v1lla1n

rated T. Max/Marion Guthrie.

i'll be honest this was mainly me thirsting after Harriet Walter. but don't you want to know what all those meetings between Max and Marion Guthrie were like! this is that.

Max meets with Marion Guthrie for initial negotiations.

joy, and music, and peace by Benja

unrated. Eme/Madi.

ough be still my heart this one is SO sleepy-sweet--literally sleepy like Madi and Eme have a cozy little rest together, a lovely moment of safety and security.

A moment of rest.

[writingquestionsanswered]

One of the most common advice for new writers is to read and engage w books/shows/movies more critically, what does that mean exactly? how do you train yourself to find flaws or inconsistencies or things that were done well in media you consume? (esp when the person who has created these is definitely way more skilled than you are lol)

Learning to Consume Stories Critically

The first thing to learn is that what's good and what's bad about stories is entirely subjective. In other words, there's no single standard that decides that some element is good or bad, or done well or poorly. This is why book, movie, and TV show reviews are all over the place. When something is done really well or very poorly, you might have more audience agreement, but that still doesn't mean you won't find people who loved it. For example, on Rotten Tomatoes, the 2002 movie Pinocchio starring Roberto Benigni has a 0% with all 55 movie critic reviews being negative. However, 33% of the audience who rated the movie rated it at 3.5 stars or above. So, while movie critics panned the movie across the board, there were people who watched it and enjoyed it. Likewise, Colleen Hoover's book It Ends with Us sold 2.7 million copies in 2022 and was the year's best selling book in the U.S. It has over 286,000 ratings on Amazon where it has 4.7/5 stars. However, almost 21,000 of those reviews are 3-stars and below, with 4,000 being 1-star. So, despite the fact that this was a huge bestseller and most people agreed it was a good book, there were still thousands of readers who disagreed.

So, you have to start by learning what YOU think is good and bad about stories. When you watch a TV show or movie, or read a book, pay attention to what you love about the story and what doesn't work for you. When something does or doesn't work for you, think about why. Talk to others and see if they agree or disagree with your opinion. If they disagree, see if you can engage them about why they feel the way they do. Sometimes they may have information that changes your opinion.

Once you get a good feel for what YOU like and dislike in stories, then you can start paying attention to reviews from others. When you finish reading a book, write your honest review, then go see what others thought. Read a few reviews that rated the book higher or lower than you did. Book review videos are great, too. See if you can find some professional reviews, too, and see what book critics are saying. Do the same thing with movies and TV shows. Figure out what you liked and didn't like first, then go to audience and critic reviews to see what others thought. Over time you start to get a more solid sense of what you like and what others like, and that helps you find a happy middle ground (if you want to) when writing. :)

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

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[frommybookbook]

#9: Marlowe (2022)

For my Marlowe Movie Master List, we're starting off with both the worst of the 9 adaptations and the most recent: the 2022 Marlowe, starring Liam Neeson and Diane Kruger and made for Amazon Prime.

I don’t have much to say about this movie because I couldn’t make it past the first 10 minutes. It’s not even an adaptation of a Raymond Chandler novel, it’s based on some 2014 novel that “features” Philip Marlowe and I’m going to assume it completely misses the point of hardboiled fiction. I'm tempted to say this doesn't make it a true Philip Marlowe movie, but if the James Bond movies after License to Kill count as canon for that fandom, then this does too.

Normally I love Liam Neeson and Diane Kruger so much that I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt in anything but this was just awful from the first scene. Neither one seemed to be making any effort—Neeson wasn’t even attempting to do an American accent (neither was Kruger but that may have been in character for her, I can’t say). Even the background shots playing behind the opening credits were a caricature of Golden Age Hollywood and the LA of the 30s. I have no intention of giving this one a second chance because there’s too many other good movies out there I haven’t seen.

Overall movie score: 0/5, I couldn’t get through the first scene

Marlowe score: 0/5, Neeson wasn’t even trying, for crying out loud he didn't even attempt to do an American accent

Perry Mason score: 0/5, unsurprisingly there weren't any Perry Mason actors of any sort involved with this film

For a reminder of why I started this series and how I'm rating these movies, you can check out my master Marlowe post. I'll be posting my reviews/rankings of the remaining 8 Marlowe movies using the tag #Marlowe movies so if you're interested, follow along!

[mediaevalmusereads]

Making Comics. By Lynda Barry. Drawn and Quarterly, 2019.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Genre: self-help, art guide, pedagogy

Series: N/A

Summary: Hello students, meet Professor Skeletor. Be on time, don’t miss class, and turn off your phones. No time for introductions, we start drawing right away. The goal is more rock, less talk, and we communicate only through images.

For more than five years the cartoonist Lynda Barry has been an associate professor in the University of Wisconsin–Madison art department and at the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, teaching students from all majors, both graduate and undergraduate, how to make comics, how to be creative, how to not think. There is no academic lecture in this classroom. Doodling is enthusiastically encouraged.

Making Comics is the follow-up to Barry's bestselling Syllabus , and this time she shares all her comics-making exercises. In a new hand-drawn syllabus detailing her creative curriculum, Barry has students drawing themselves as monsters and superheroes, convincing students who think they can’t draw that they can, and, most important, encouraging them to understand that a daily journal can be anything so long as it is hand drawn.

Barry teaches all students and believes everyone and anyone can be creative. At the core of Making Comics is her certainty that creativity is vital to processing the world around us.

***Full review below.***

CONTENT WARNINGS: mildly disturbing imagery

This is another one of those books that has been on my TBR list for way too long. I love Lynda Barry's work, and back when I thought I had a shot at being a teacher, I figured this would be a good guide for the classroom.

Turns out this book is a good guide outside of it as well, and it motivated me to take up my pencil and start drawing again.

I love that Barry focuses not on developing artistic skill but in breaking down barriers when it comes to making Comics. Barry doesn't lay out how to draw action poses or how to do speech bubbles effectively; instead, this book is all about finding your own voice and learning to do away with inhibitions. Barry praises the artwork of children and demonstrates the relationship between stories and images, and as someone who struggles with not feeling good enough, I felt like I was invited to throw myself into the process of making comics, skill level be dawned.

I also really loved that this book felt like a composition notebook filled with doodles (which it probably was, at some point). It's not a clean, pristine how-to guide with step-by-step instructions, but it is clear while also not being afraid to be messy, silly, and spontaneous. Most of the images are taken from student drawings, and there's a charm to them that I love more than professional pieces.

And lastly, I love that this book uses basic, inexpensive materials for its exercises. Barry does not insist that students buy special paper or pens - composition notebooks and felt tips will do. This also helps lower the barrier to entry so that readers don't feel like they need fancy equipment in order to draw.

All that being said, I do think this book will be harder to use if you're on your own or don't necessarily have any interest in comics within a classroom setting. Barry's book is designed to outline what her comics courses look like, and though you can probably do most of the exercises at home, a lot of them will need partners or groups of people. So just be aware going in that this isn't necessarily a how to draw manual for the lone self-taught student.

TL;DR: Making Comics is a wonderful overview of how to teach comics in a classroom setting using hands-on drawing exercises. Barry is a master at lowering the barrier to entry and encouraging students to find joy and expression in art, regardless of skill level.

[ali-annals]

Master Masterlist

Choose how to search for fics:

By Date By Ship By Series By Collection AO3

∘⋆⋅✯⋅⋆∘ ⋅⋆∘✯∘⋆⋅

Fic summary format: ( if you want all the stats, head over to the most master of lists at the top of the page)

⤜♡→ Title | Word Count || ({series}) | Rating | One-Shot/Two-Shot/Series (1S, 2S, S) (| if 2S, sequel)

Summary/blurb

Ship Masterlist:

⋅⋆∘✯∘⋆⋅ CHOOSE YOUR SHIP ⋅⋆∘✯∘⋆⋅

NetteWorth (Alfred x Mari)

⤜♡→ clover blooms in the field/spring breaks loose, time is near | 0.6k | G/T | 1S |

Brucinette

⤜♡→ Pretty Petty Pranks | 1.5k | G | 1S |

Prompt: “Damn right I'm pretty.”/“I said petty.”

Dickinette

⤜♡→ maroon | 3.3k | T+/M | 2S | sequel |

Vampire King Dick meets civilian Marinette. CYOE. Inspired by a reel I saw of a reddit thread. “Can you hold my hand? My ex just walked in with her new boyfriend.” �� "I see no one around besides us."

Jasonette

⤜♡→ Sugar and Bikes and Everything Nice | 0.4k | {MM} | G | 1S |

Biker meet car passenger…only Marinette's the biker.

⤜♡→ Pixie Reviews: Nightwing vs Red Hood | 0.5k | {MM} | T | 1S |

On patrol, Hood overhears a very interesting phone call from a very interesting woman.

⤜♡→ Enchanted | 1.2k || {IbTS} {MM} | G | 1S |

Marinette meets Jason at the royal family of Gotham's ball.

⤜♡→ I Asked for a Date, not a Spouse! | 0.7k | {MM} | G | 1S |

Marinette bemoans her dry love life to her aunt. Jason is done with dating and tells his mom if she wants a daughter-in-law to find one herself. He should've known she would take him seriously.

⤜♡→ Stars Around My Scars | 13.4k | {IbTS} | T | S | (complete)

Marinette has moved to Gotham and gained a boyfriend. Life is finally looking up for her after leaving the Liar and her cronies behind after she defeated Hawkmoth. It's still not perfect, though--her boyfriend has secrets, she misses heroing, her old class is planning their trip to her school…and not least of all, there are some weird new villains in Gotham she has to team up with the Red Hood to fight against!

⤜♡→ How You Get The Girl | 0.9k | {IbTS} | G | 1S |

“Hi, Marinette.” She laughed sharply to hide her hurt. “‘Hi, Marinette?’ Jason, it’s been six months.”

⤜♡→ you don't need to save me/ but would you run away with me? (actually you do need to save me I'm a little tied up here) | 2.5k | {MM} {BmmdI} | T | 1S |

"What if Jason is hunted/captured by someone trying to remake the Lazarus Pit" but make it meetcute.

⤜♡→ The Very First Night | 3.1k | {IbTS} | T | 1S |

Marinette and Jason's relationship inspired by the lyrics of the title song. Marinette’s phone rang, breaking her attention from her friends’ conversation. She checked the caller ID and excused herself. “MDC speaking,” she answered professionally, knowing her friends were half eavesdropping before she moved out of overhearing range. “Pixie, do you know how much I miss you?” whispered Jason. “These annoyances are driving me to do stupid things like call you in front of them just so I don’t blow us all up and alert the people we’re watching to our location!” “Aw, poor Jay,” she commiserated. “You need some reminders to keep you from eliminating your siblings?” “Please.” His exasperated tone in that one word told her volumes. “You’ll be in your family’s bad books if you do that, which means they’ll keep an even closer eye on you, which means you can’t see me without alerting them to my existence in your life.” Jason exhaled sharply. “Thank you, Pix. I shall restrain myself. Two more weeks.”

⤜♡→ Reputation 'Verse | 2k+ | {IbTS} | M | S | (hiatus)

Reputation-Inspired Alternate Universe where Jason and Marinette are soulmates. This is mostly Marinette-centric and about her healing, but there is some for my fellow Jason afficionados as well. Read TWs.

⤜♡→ All's Fair in Love and Prank Wars | 1.7k | G | 1S |

Prompt: "Damn right I'm pretty."/"I said petty."

⤜♡→ Look at those flowers that look like You | 2.6k | T | 1S |

Hanahaki AU of my Reputation AU. May make more sense once RV is completed:)

⤜♡→ Rival Mob Boss AU | 5.1k+ | {MM} {BmmdI} | G/T/M (each drabble rated individually) | S | (hiatus)

A series of one-shots and drabbles where Jason and Marinette are opposing mob bosses.

⤜♡→ high tide came and brought you in | 6.5k | T | 1S |

Little Mermaid AU where Jason is Ariel and Marinette is Eric. One-sided Daminette. Reverse Robins AU

⤜♡→ Renagerie: Enemies or Lovers? | 1.3k | T | 1S |

Everyone knows Red Hood and Menagerie hate each other...but what about Jason and Marinette?

⤜♡→ Chlamian | Jasonette Crack | 0.6k | T | 1S

ScarletImpulse requested: Chloe/Damian or Jasonette, Horror, Serial Killer in a Zombie Apocalypse

⤜♡→ long live all the magic we made | 9.5k | T | 1S |

In Gotham, Jason Todd is looking for Damian's dragonbat, Goliath, when he notices a strange thing in the sky. In Paris, Ladybug is fighting an akuma when a strange creature literally appears out of the blue. It might not be too big of a deal (they've both dealt with weirder things) if it wasn't A DIFFERENT UNIVERSE!

⤜♡→ Is this Hope just a Mystical Dream? | 5k | T+ | 2S | Part 2

Did you know that some soulmates' souls are literally connected, meaning that when one half dies, the other follows them soon after to a personalized deathscape? Marinette and Jason sure did.

⤜♡→ Jasonette Supremacy: M?GI!CW 2024 works | 14k | {ibTS} | T |

⤜♡→ it's a small world after all | 2k | G | 1S

Jason brings his fiancee home to meet his family. She gets along great with everyone! There’s just one problem… They’ve met her before.

⤜♡→ angel, don't fly so close to me (I'll bring you down eventually) | 0.4k | {MM} | T | 1S |

Jason's not the best at flirting; luckily the girl he's interested in thinks his attempts are cute.

Timari

⤜♡→ Gold Rush | 1k | {IbTS} | G | 1S |

Marinette has plans to meet her online gamer boyfriend on her class trip to Gotham, but gets distracted watching Lila flirt with their host, Tim Drake.

⤜♡→ from all the memories stored in my heart | 1.3k | G | 1S

"Don't forget who you belong to" but SFW

⤜♡→ Cracket | 0.6k | {BmmdI} | G | 1S

⤜♡→ Here, go stalk (aka the Coffee Phenomenon) | 1.8k | G | 1S |

Nightwing knocked on Red Robin’s mysterious rescuer’s window. She opened it with a stern look. “Really? And a blue and black vigilante outside my window isn’t as obvious as simply knocking on my door?” He shrugged, entering when she stepped back for him.

⤜♡→ Chaotic Coffee Zombies | 3.6k+ | T | S | (in progress/semi-hiatus)

With Hawkmoth defeated, Marinette needs a change of pace from the City of Lights. One move to Gotham later, Mara Stone emerges from the City of Crime. Tim Drake has been trying to commission the elusive designer MDC for ages. His new friend at Gotham Academy, Mara Stone, is a fashion lover who doesn't know or care about MDC--a most discombobulating piece of information to fanboy Tim. Deciding to get to the bottom of this strange girl's life, he uncovers a whole lot more than he was expecting.

⤜♡→ Timari January 2024: Day 30- Blanket | 0.2k | G | 1S |

⤜♡→ Stupid in Love | 2.3k | T | 1S |

Tim meets a competent new companion in his fight to make Ra's al Ghul's life hell. They just might be a match made in heaven (after all, Timari heaven is Ra's hell).

Daminette

⤜♡→ Ice To Meet You | 1.1k | {MM} | G | 1S |

Marinette mistakes her new partner for her coach and a meet cute (meet ugly?) ensues

⤜♡→ The Terrifying Trio | 1.3k | G | 1S | DCxDPxMLB |

Everyone knew about the T3, as they called themselves. No one imagined they were real until they met them, and then they wished they hadn’t; the trio were far more terrifying than their tales.

⤜♡→ Knock knock/ Who's Th-/-Interrupting Bats | 0.7k | T+/M | 2S | sequel |

Damian was kidnapped and the Bats try to find him. Rewind: Damian wants to spend time with his girlfriend and the Bats have really bad timing.

⤜♡→ invisible string | 13k | G | S | (complete)

Marinette defeats Hawkmoth and moves to a place that's better for her mental health. She runs into her soulmate (she actually had one!) and immediately accidentally ghosts him. Damian is confused about the topic of soulmates in general, and is even more so when his soulmate (he had one?) literally runs into him. When he finds her again, he worries about how his...activities...and past will affect their relationship, but soon finds that she has just as many secrets as him, if not more. Everyone else is just confused.

⤜♡→ there was one prize I'd cheat to win | 1.2k | G | 1S |

Marinette can only be roused from her daydreams by one word: Damian. Damian will only respond to one word: Marinette. They're so cute, right? Well, there's one problem… They secretly think the other dislikes them, being rivals and all.

⤜♡→ my tears ricochet | 4.5k | T | 1S |

It was over. Everything was done. Hawkmoth and Mayura were defeated. Ladybug was dead. Marinette Dupain-Cheng’s “friends”/classmates were crying around the fresh grave. She’d been revealed as Ladybug in her death, her transformation dropping one final time. The city mourned their fallen heroine. Chat Noir gave the final Miraculous Team’s press conference, stating that Marinette was dead, attacked by Hawkmoth; though she had defeated the villain and his partner, she had succumbed soon after to irreversible injuries. He would be retiring now as well…The next day, a lone figure made its way back to Ladybug’s flower-covered grave. He was the class’s foreign-exchange student, Damian Grayson. He set a single white rose on the headstone and stepped back to pay his respects. The dirt began to move, and a hand poked through.

⤜♡→ Unexpected Visitors | 0.8k | G | 1S |

An unknown woman shows up on Wayne Manor's doorstep asking for Damian Wayne…

⤜♡→ Mazel Tov | 0.4k | G | 1S |

Talia attempts to arrange a marriage between her son, the Heir to the Demon, and the League of Assassins' rival order's head, the Grand Guardian. The Bats are insistent on stopping the wedding, but the couple don't seem that opposed to it…

Dukinette

⤜♡→ {no results found}

Cassinette

⤜♡→ tomorrow's a flower | 1k | G | 1S |

Mari and Cass experience the meet-cute.

Roynette

⤜♡→ Outflirting an Outlaw | 0.1k | {MM} | G | 1S |

Konette

⤜♡→ Sweet Denials Make for even Sweeter Victories | 0.3k | T | 1S

Conner is back from his trip with the JL, but his girlfriend isn't welcoming him as warmly as he would like.

⤜♡→ Daffodil | Unrequited Love | 0.25k | G | S | (complete)

Angsty, open-ended RavenBug/Marirae hanahaki

⤜♡→ Three's Company | 0.4k || Finale to the RavenBug Hanahaki series | G | S

Marijon

⤜♡→ Marinette "Valkyrie" Wayne | 9.6k | G | S | (complete)

Marinette is adopted by Bruce Wayne after her parents died in a car crash. She figures out her new family are the Bats, but she also has a secret. Meanwhile, Bruce is looking for Ladybug, who retired and disappeared into thin air.

Marirae

⤜♡→ Ravenbug Hanahaki Series (complete)

-> Daffodil | Unrequited Love | 0.25k || Angsty, open-ended hanahaki. Marikon. | G | -> RavenBug Angst | 0.07k || The short WC is for my ao3 WC of 123,456 | T -> Three's Company | 0.4k || This was written for TTT2023. The finale to the RavenBug Hanahaki series! | G

[tandem-interactive]

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[blogof1000corpses]

Movie Review Master List

Hey Slasher Sisters!

As promised, here's the master list of every movie review I've done w/links. The reviews are placed in newest to oldest order and will be updated weekly.

If you're new here, hello, my name is Rachel. I've been obsessed with the horror genre as long as I can remember and feel very passionate about it surrounding my entire life. My blog focuses on a wide range of subgenres within the horror genre including, but not limited to, cult classics, modern horror, disturbing cinema, B-movies, and experimental horror. Really, Blog of 1,000 Corpses is just my love project and source of motivation to become even more widely versed within my favorite genre. I hope to cultivate an audience that's as obsessed with violence, gore, and psychos as myself.

My scoring is a Tier system with S Tier being the highest possible score and F Tier being the lowest. The earliest reviews are based on a 5 star system. Master List Below Cut

Blog of 1,000 Corpses Master List

newest to oldest order

Is August Underground Disturbing...or Just Immature? || August Underground (2001) Movie Review

The Scariest Night of the Year || Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) Movie Review

Is "World's Fair" Too Niche for a General Audience? || We're All Going to the World's Fair (2021)

A Holiday Film to Confuse Your Grandma || ThanksKilling (2008) Movie Review

A Unique Twist on the Slasher Narrative || Maniac (1980) Movie Review

A Vacation to the Uncanny Valley || Tourist Trap (1979) Movie Review

A Slasher Flick for the Common Girl || American Mary (2012) Movie Review

A Nightmare of Eroticism & Scrap Metal || Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989) Movie Review

The Revival Saw Needed || Saw X (2023) Movie Review

The Saw Film That Isn't Saw || Spiral (2021) Movie Review

How Does Jigsaw Hold Up as a Saw Film? || Jigsaw (2017) Movie Review

Is This My Worst Rated Film Yet? || Blue Sunshine (1978) Movie Review

Is It Possible to Adapt H.P. Lovecraft's From Beyond? || From Beyond (1986) Movie Review

Found Footage Horror Done Right || Hell House LLC (2015) Movie Review

This Movie has a Zombie Fighting WHAT?! || Zombie (1979) Movie Review

A Suspenseful Gaze at the Dating Scene || Audition (1999) Movie Review

Could This Be a New Cult Classic? || Aimy in a Cage (2015) Movie Review

Peter Jackson's Ooey-Gooey Splattergore Beauty || Bad Taste (1987) Movie Review

Cult Masterpiece or Missed Opportunity? || Blood Harvest (1987) Movie Review

A Snapshot of American Decay at it's Finest || Gummo (1997) Movie Review

A Coming of Age Story to Make Judy Blume Shudder || Ginger Snaps (2000) Movie Review

Witches and Maggots and Earthworms (Oh My) || Hellbender (2022) Movie Review

Is Damien Leone Reviving the Slasher Genre with Terrifier 2? || Movie Review

A Sadistic Acid Trip of Horrorshow Violence || Where the Dead Go to Die (2012) Movie Review

Is Smile (2022) Truly as Disturbing as Claimed? || Movie Review

Is the Cult Classic Sleepaway Camp as Good as We Remember? || Revisiting Slashers

The Complexity of Religion in Unreliable Narratives || A Review of the 2019 Thriller Saint Maud

The Halloween Sequel No One Watched || Halloween III: Season of the Witch Movie Review

Skinamarink: Kyle Edward Ball's Debut Paranormal Fairy Tale

Why John Waters Continues to Inspire -- A Review of the 1972 Cult Classic Pink Flamingos

[jenniboo311]

I posted 645 times in 2022

93 posts created (14%)

552 posts reblogged (86%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@spiderman-homecomeme

@yes-i-am-happyaspie

@socialbutterflyspidey

@jenniboo311

@bumblie-bee

I tagged 518 of my posts in 2022

Only 20% of my posts had no tags

#spiderman - 301 posts

#fanart - 190 posts

#spiderman fanart - 174 posts

#peter parker - 161 posts

#fanfiction - 90 posts

#spideychelle - 89 posts

#jenniboo311 art - 75 posts

#spiderman fanfiction - 65 posts

#petermj - 55 posts

#michelle jones - 55 posts

Longest Tag: 78 characters

#because they nailed the voice acting and the story and gameplay was incredible

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Seeing Stars (on AO3 here)

By @spiderman-homecomeme , @jenniboo311

Rated M

After a drunken one-night stand on New Year’s Eve, MJ discovers that she’s slept with a famous superhero. As she tries to navigate the awkward after the morning-after, she learns the complications of sleeping with Peter Parker, also known to the whole world as Spider-Man. What at first she thinks is going to be an amusing anecdote soon turns into something more, when the two realize that they can’t seem to stay away from each other.

An HBO Starstruck AU for @spideychellebigbang

99 notes - Posted August 30, 2022

#4

Bun in the Oven

Click for higher quality

Find my art master list here

104 notes - Posted March 19, 2022

#3

Free Bird

Click for higher quality

108 notes - Posted April 11, 2022

#2

You Are My Sunshine

Click for higher quality or find it on AO3 here

For @spideychelleweek prompt, "PeterMJ as parents"

139 notes - Posted June 15, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

spider go brr

Click for higher quality or find it on ao3 here

He's cold ok

For @winterwebs prompt "methods to keep warm"

241 notes - Posted January 5, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[myupostsheadcanons]

Books “Read” in 2022

I listen to audio books during work to fill up the time instead of listening to the radio or pod casts. Often a good reader can make a bland book sound better than it is.

I rate these books not totally on literary quality, but by how much I enjoyed experiencing them. Fun Garbage >>> Boring Navel gazing.

List from 2021

Previous entries: 2020. 2019, 2018, 2017

https://www.listchallenges.com/audio-books-myu-read-in-2022

My Top Books/Series This Year

Shadow of the Gods & The Hunger of the Gods (The Bloodsworn Trilogy, Books 1 & 2) - John Gwynne - Was your favorite part of “The First Law” Series everything that happened in The North?  It is cold and grim. Gods once ruled this land, but all that remains now is their bones and their descendants, those tainted with their blood. But someone is going around taking tainted children from their parents, a mother goes on a bloody rampage to get her son back from these people.

Suttree - Cormac McCarthy - dark/stark modern fiction. McCarthy is a master at making bleak and grim stories that show the dirty underbelly of people and society. The main character, Suttree, lives his life on the fringes of the underprivileged, having been exiled/turned his back on his previous life of wealth, escaping one set of social pressures to be faced with the turmoils of another.

Pit Bull - Bronwen Dickey - a book about the history of the Bull Terrier breed of dogs, the laws put in place to regulate ownership, the abuse these dogs go through, and what can be done to salvage the reputation of these dogs. A dog book that made me cry because I’ve own pitty’s and they are perhaps the best dogs we’ve ever owned.

The Demon-Haunted World - Carl Sagan - I highly recommend this book as an object lesson in how to use critical thinking skills and how to debunk basic conspiracy theories. Using science and basic logic Sagan debunks several ‘supernatural’ occurrences commonly believed as true among the superstitious, conspiracy nutwads, and alien abduction theorists. 

The Raven Tower - Ann Leckie - Having one of the main characters be omnipresence and tell the story about the other protagonist by using gender-neutral language, by referring to them as “you” rather than he/she/them/they. Ann is solid when it comes to having complicated main characters that are on the LGBTQ spectrum and do it tactfully and not feel forced in. This is a stand alone book, and a fantasy. Good for someone that doesn’t want to read her Science Fiction work.

A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World - Gender Neutral Main Character. I know the author asks for reviews not to spoil it bc it is kind of a twist at the end, but I think the title itself turns the people that would find this a really good read “off” bc they aren’t looking for another “boy-focused adventure book”.... it isn’t. If you aren’t wanting a post-apocalyptic story as soul crushing to read like The Road or something deep but still appropriate for a tweenager to read.  

Space Odyssey - Michael Benson - An in-depth documentary on the making of Kubrick’s iconic movie and Clark’s writing of the novelization. It doesn’t sugar coat that Kubrick was an ass, demanded perfection, spent hours on scenes, even broke laws on filming scenes that were ether cut or only a few seconds long. It does humanize him rather than paint him as a total demon. Clark also had many short comings. He was scammed out of money by his ex-wife, on the rights to the book/screenplay of 2001, having his finances tied up in a movie his boyfriend was making on the side, then had to fight against peddo allegations when he was older.

Other Favorite Books and Guilty Pleasures

Star Kingdom, Books 6, 7, 8, Asylum (Book 9) - Lindsay Buroker - The second half of my favorite series from last year. These books do not disappoint. I absolutely love the characters, how they interact off of one another, and the conclusion was so satisfying. Asylum should be considered a sequel more than a continuation, and Buroker has hinted at continuing on in the Star Kingdom universe soon.

The Emperor’s Edge (Books 1-3) - Lindsay Buroker - Ex-Cop and Former Royal Assassin team up to create a task-force to protect the young Emperor from within and outside threats. There is a “love triangle” but it isn’t insufferable, the way Buroker writes characters makes many of her romance subplots more digestible and no where near as sappy. The amount of sarcasm and snarky-witty dialogue in her writing is always a treat.

Roxy - Neil Shusterman - a good companion book to “Challenger Deep.” The framing device by giving the various drugs personas is well done, it makes a complicated subject easy to digest for 14-16 YA readers.

The Raybearer, Redemptor (The Raybearer, Books 1 & 2) - Jordan Ifueko - African Mythology Flavored Fantasy. Made for the Young Adult audience, so has the obligatory romance plot in the middle of it, but also has poly, lgbt, and ace relationships. The premise itself is set up around creating a “ruling council” of diverse characters, each bringing a unique magic skill/ability to the table, and the group having to learn to work together. “The younger generation fixing generational institutionalized violence, racism, and corruption.” with a bit of “Jesus and his 12 disciples, atoning for the sins of mankind.”

Too Many Curses - A. Lee Martinez - A satire/comedy fantasy about a kobolt hench that “inherits” the castle and all the responsibility of governing its cursed wacky inhabitants. It is a cute read, mild enough for a tween to read. A YA book that doesn't have a romance subplot in it.

The Sandman: Act 2 - Neil Gaiman - If you can’t wait for the show to make more episodes... the full-cast audio production is a good way to fill that void.

The Victorian City - Judith Flanders - One part biography on Charles Dickens, another part breaking down how daily life was during Victorian London. A good read for people wanting to write stories taking place during that time period or have a love for things like steampunk settings.

Slewfoot - Brom - those damn puritans. a woman wise in folk craft is sold into colonialism and has to struggle against the patriarchy of the church. God vs. Nature, both being portrayed as good and evil. It has a couple call-backs to Brom’s ‘Lost Gods’ but don’t have to read that book to understand what is going on.

Shards of Earth - Adrian Tchaikovsky - Earth is destroyed by Eldritch Space Horrors. The remainder of humanity has to deal with protecting their new home from the return of the Architects and survival among other alien races. Among the best-of-the-best of humanity defenders are the “Amazon Warrior Women” and genetically modified psychic pilots that can communicate with the ‘other side’.  Rag-tag group of misfits suddenly find themselves front-and-center of the war for galactic survival.

Good Books, But Not Everybody’s Cup of Tea.

Provenance - Ann Lickie - Sequel to the “Ancillary Justice” books. It is more in tone with the second and third book than the first one. Lots of Politicking, but in a snarky kind of way.

N0S4A2 - Joe Hill - If you liked Steven King’s works, this takes place in the same universe as The Shining/IT/Pet Sematary (The SKEU... if you will). Same tone and quality as well.

Philip K. Dick’s Collected Works, Vol 2. - Has the short stories that inspired The Terminator and The Thing, as well as a few others I enjoyed. The one about the woman that believe the world revolved around her was neat and also played into Solipsism, the same philosophy that tied back into Jack Campbell’s “Pillars of Reality” series and how the magic system works there.

Flowers in the Attic - V. C. Andrews - if you are “ok” with ASOIAF’s Targaryans, you’ll be fine with this book. My mom said she read the rest of the books after I told her I read this one, I am not interested in the others bc the series becomes a Soap after this one. This book is closer to being a Gothic Horror (of the non supernatural type).

Hercule Poirot (The Complete Short Story Collection) - Agatha Christie - The cases aren’t really the important part, it is the character writing. Poirot will always win in the end.

The Blacktongue Thief - Christopher Buehlman - Trickster Main Character. The book is read by the author, in brogue. It has more singing in it than “The Kingkiller Chronicles” and that book’s main character was a Bard. This main character isn’t ashamed of being a morally gray character and the story doesn’t exaggerate his exploits.

Vampire Hunter D - Hideyuki Kikuchi - The light novels that inspired the future punk vampire genre. If you had seen the movie from the 80s, this expands on a lot of it and explains how their world works better.

Ex-Purgatory, Ex-Isle (Ex-Heroes, Books 4 and 5) - Peter Clines - EP is more fallout from the previous book. It is kind of cruel what happened to “The Karen”... but then, there are more than a few politicians that should have karma happen to them. “It couldn’t of happened to a better person.”

Existentially Challenged (The DEDA Files, book 2) - Yahtzee Croshaw - A satirical commentary on social media, using children for fame, and bogus faith healing.

Sorrowland - Rivers Solomon - Handles issues of racism and lgbtq. Southern Supernatural Horror. It uses the ‘transforming into another being’ as an allegory for the main character not to understand what is going on with her body and feelings, and why they aren’t normal and are being demonized.

The Wizards of Sevendor (Spellmonger, anthology), Arcanist,  Footwizard (The Spellmonger, Books 12 & 13) - Terry Mancour - This is when this epic fantasy series takes a hard turn and becomes a science fiction series. If you read the series this far, just keep on reading. I only like the books that have Minalian as the main protagonist. The books where he isn’t in them very much nor the main focus can be skipped, as events do get summarized in other books later.

Ariadne: A Novel - Jennifer Saint - I liked this one more than “Daughters of Sparta” and “10,000 Ships” but not as much of “Circe.”  The first half is “ok” it picks up in the second half after being left on the island.

Priest of Bones - Peter McLean - dirty, gritty, and grimy (with a pinch of dark sarcasm). A thief/thug earned his priesthood on the battlefield, returns home to “clean house” and ends up climbing social ladders and getting more trouble than bargained for.

A Case of Possession (Charm of the Magpies, book 2) - K. J. Charles - Like the first book, it has a decent mystery/crime plot that moves the story along and characters that don’t overstay their welcome... have to like MLM smexy scenes.

Boundless (The Lost Fleet: Outlands, Book 1) - Jack Campbell - the first book of a new Lost Fleet Series. The fleet is unable to stay in system as politics fester, so go on a deep space mission to talk to aliens.

Out of House and Home (Fred the Vampire Accountant) - Drew Hayes - shit just got suuuuper serious as the rivalries pick up between the vampire houses. A friend and their home is targeted, the group has to find a new place to live while they recover and plan their move.

Comet - Carl Sagan - it is half a biography on Edmond Halley, the guy the comet is named after, and the other half science behind how we discovered what they were made of before we could shoot rockets at them.

The Magician’s Guild, The Novice, The High Lord (Black Magician Trilogy, Books 1, 2 & 3) - Trudy Canavan - If you had read the “Shades of Magic” books, this series has the same tone/quality (it addresses homophobia and that some societies do treat people different shades of acceptance). Street Urchin finds out she has magic, has to run from the law, but ends up accepted into the magic school... which the head mage is a rather shady. The “ship” in the third book is just as shady.

Tongue Eater (Mage Errant, Book 6) - John Bierce - Revenge at any cost is too high of a price. It is a compare and contrast between how the main antagonist is going about to carry out their plans of revenge and the apprentice group are coping with the betrayal and the deaths of friends and family.  

Average Sauce

The Priory of the Orange Tree - Samantha Shannon - This book is over hyped. It is an average book that gets recommended to progressive-readers just because it has some representation.  The exciting part of the plot doesn’t pick up until the dragon attacks the city 1/3 of the way into the book.

Belgarath The Sorcerer - David & Leigh Eddings - Made during that time when “strong female character” = bitch. If you can ignore the “boys-club” champion, the world building is rather solid.

The Color of Dragons - R. A. Salvatore - By the Numbers Fantasy. It is a Stand Alone, so if you are after a “one shot“ that isn’t very long and isn’t trying to be challenging on any issues.

Two Necromancers, a Dwarf Kingdom, and a Sky City (Unconventional Heroes, Book 4) - L. G. Estrella - The Elf is still annoying, there is some repetition in information, the novelty isn’t as shinny as it was at the start, but the actual plot is picking up more.

The King Must Die / The Bull From the Sea - Mary Renault - The Story of Theseus, grounded less in mythology and more in reality. IE: the Labyrinth is a bull fighting ring, there is no actual Minotaur. 

The House of Sixty Fathers - Meindert DeJong - A children’s book from the 50s that I read during a power outage. It is from the POV of a Chinese child during WWII. Full of Pro-Ally propaganda of the era.

Andria Vernon and the Superhero Industrial Complex & Andrea Vernon and the Big Axe Acquisition (Andrea Vernon, Book 2 & 3) - Alexander C. Kane - the humor is hit-or-miss, some of the character’s powers are pretty neat. I kept yelling “GLARE!” at random.

The Dragon’s Blade Trilogy - Michael. R. Miller - There are a lot of good things in this series, but it just didn’t “stand out” from other series of its kind. It is one of those series that characters “randomly” die, and the protagonists are vilified by history.

Elric of Melnibone (Vol 1.)  - Michael Moorcock - The opening by Neil Gaiman is tone deaf to the rest of the stories. The stories themselves are reminiscent of old adventure stories like Conan and John Carter, and if you like those series, this would fit in quite well.

Machine Learning (Short Story Compilation) - Hugh Howey  - I don’t remember half of the stories from this short story anthology. I do remember a couple and I thought were really good. There is a Wool/Silo story. The rest are rather PKD like. 

Daughters of Sparta: A Novel - Not the best reinterpretation of the character’s I’ve came across. It tries to go “dark” in some places, but doesn’t quite get there.

The Penelopiad - Margaret Atwood - Interesting framing device, with the character telling her story from the after life to a modern person. It is part satire, part Greek Play.

The Science of Middle-Earth - Lehoucq, Mangin, Steyer - It’s educational. Not a whole lot else to say about it.

Casts and Outcasts, books 2 & 3 - Davis Ashura - Solid fantasy story, not a whole lot to make it stand out from the crowd. It has more of a South-East Asian flavor to it than a typical Westernized Fantasy story.

A Bad Deal for the Whole Galaxy, The Worst of All Possible Worlds (Salvagers, Books 2 & 3) - Alex White - It is Science Fiction with a Magic System. Read the first book last year, figured I would finish the rest of them. Group of misfits trying to save the galaxy. One of those average series that gets recommended more often because of people looking for books with main characters that are LGBTQ.

Tides of Fate (The Ronin Saga, Book 4) - Matthew Wolf - A series just interesting enough to pick up the next book each time one comes out. (Gather your new team member, go to magic city, fight the bad guys there, find clues to point to next city.)

Second Story Man, War of Posers, Skull and Thrones (Bad Guys, books 2, 3 & 4) - Eric Ugland - Eric Ugland - Lit-RPG Isekai series. The main character is morally gray and is trapped in the game world.  It is very much “of the genera” but with more dark sarcasm.

Readable/Passable.

Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Cimmerian Barbarian Omnibus. - I don’t remember most of the stories. I actually found the blurbs before each story talking about the author more interesting.

The Wind’s Twelve Quarters - Ursula K. Le Guin - if you are a completionist, read this book. There is a couple stories from her Hanish and Earthsea series in here. The rest of the stories are on par with other contemporary authors at the time.

The Silmarillion -  J. R. R. Tolkien - it is dense. there are few conversations. it would be difficult for anybody to adapt it into live action. it is like reading a bible and a guide book.

From Russia, With Love, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service -  (James Bond) - Ian Fleming - what I realized while listening to these books, it isn’t the plot nor the characters, it is how things are described that are really well written.

The Hunt for Red October - Tom Clancy - you’re fine if you just watch the movie.

Bottom of the Barrel.

Between Planets - Heinlein - It isn’t necessarily a “bad book”... it is very much full of Heinleinisms. “Libertarians in Space.” The Farting Alien is the best character.

[alliseonline]

I posted 1,068 times in 2022

That's 127 more posts than 2021!

18 posts created (2%)

1,050 posts reblogged (98%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@levitatingbiscuits

@gffa

@seainthestars

@padawansuggest

@kckenobi

I tagged 154 of my posts in 2022

#sw - 69 posts

#obi wan kenobi - 53 posts

#tcw - 33 posts

#the kenobi series - 32 posts

#kenobi spoilers - 29 posts

#bobf - 15 posts

#commander cody - 13 posts

#boba fett - 13 posts

#my fic - 13 posts

#my writing - 12 posts

Longest Tag: 114 characters

#they had to release a calendar filled solely with pictures of kenobi because there were planet wide demands for it

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Chapters: 22/? Fandom: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types Rating: Not Rated Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: CC-2224 | Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi/CT-7567 | Rex, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Mace Windu, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker, 212th Attack Battalion & Obi-Wan Kenobi, 501st Legion & Obi-Wan Kenobi, CC-2224 | Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi, Obi-Wan Kenobi/CT-7567 | Rex Characters: CC-2224 | Cody, CT-7567 | Rex, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Mace Windu, Ahsoka Tano, CC-6454 | Ponds, The Clones, 212th Attack Battalion, 501st Legion (Star Wars), the jedi council, Plo Koon Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Qui-Gon Jinn is a dick, Obi-Wan Kenobi Needs a Hug, De-Aged Obi-Wan Kenobi, designated babysitter mace windu and plo koon, Obi-Wan is baby, LITERALLY, Melida/Daan, BAMF Obi-Wan Kenobi, Young Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn's A+ Parenting, he was a good Jedi and a good man but he definitely wasn't a good master, Child Soldiers, Implied emotional/psychological abuse, no beta we die like qui gon, there is barely any proofreading sorry Series: Part 2 of Clone Wars Shenanigans and Self Indulgences Summary:

A mission to a Sith Temple takes an. . . interesting turn, leaving the Jedi and the Clones to deal with the fallout. Well, at least this kid Obi-Wan is cute?

- Obi-Wan Kenobi is de-aged to about 14 years old. The Problem? He doesn't have any memories after that age. The people who love him are about to learn some hard truths.

13 notes - Posted July 28, 2022

#4

my morning class got cancelled,,, to study or to write fanfic, that is the question

14 notes - Posted December 5, 2022

#3

i fucking love fanfiction cuz ppl’ll be like “he would not fucking say that” and others’ll be like “okay but he would fucking say that” and i’m sitting here from a throne of half truths and half lies and all manic glee like “oh but he needs to fucking say that cuz how else will i traumatize this babygirl?”

16 notes - Posted November 9, 2022

#2

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: CC-2224 | Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi, CC-2224 | Cody & Obi-Wan Kenobi Characters: CC-2224 | Cody, Obi-Wan Kenobi Additional Tags: Short & Sweet, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, hurt feelings but only briefly, Misunderstandings Series: Part 9 of Clone Wars Shenanigans and Self Indulgences Summary:

Obi-Wan has known war before. He’s felt it in his veins, felt it run through him like a blade in the hands of men he will never know. He’s known war just as intimately as he’s known his own name, his Master’s name, his padawan’s and great padawan’s name. Knows it like he knows how the list of the deceased grows with every passing moment.

So he doesn’t know why Cody is being so gentle with it as he is now.

18 notes - Posted January 1, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

something about empty spaces

192 notes - Posted August 3, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[sailorstarr-chan4]

Summer Manga Trash: Love Celeb and Honey x Honey Drops

Total Ratings: 2.5 stars out of 5, rounded up for pretty art

Summary for Love Celeb: Aspiring teen actress is quite literally sold, without her knowledge or consent, by her creepy agent to be a Hot, Powerful Teen Celebrity's personal sex toy in order to finally be successful. I'm not even kidding.

Summary for Honey x Honey Drops: Young commoner student accidentally offends a rich asshole fellow student, who then "buys" her into servitude as his "honey," which her family happily accepts because Financial Backing for her expensive AF schooling, and she also eventually embraces (it's a fucked up master/slave servant system in the academy, in which "honeys" help their "masters" grow and achieve good grades; the series reeeeally tries to convince you that it is Good Actually, because masters find love with their honeys or some shit lmao).

~~~

Review for Both Series:

(Technically, this mostly fits Love Celeb, but Honey x Honey Drops is verrrrryyyyy similar with themes, non-con scenes, etc, sooooo yeah)

These two titles are, hands down, the trashiest manga I've yet read. And I low-key liked them lmao.

Would I ever recommend them? Not in a million years.

Would I own them? Only if I found the entire series for a couple bucks at a used bookstore, otherwise, nah, not worth it.

Did I enjoy them? Hell yes, they are both pure soap opera entertainment madness!

The characters are awful people! The romances are toxic and borderline abusive! There's sexual assault or at best dubious consent in basically every single chapter! The "plots," if you could call them that, are all over the place! But they're both so over-the-top in its absurdities, so dramatic, so deliciously, shamelessly horny, that it's impossible to take them seriously. If the romances were in any other kind of manga, I'd rake it across the coals. As it stands, I just found them both hilarious in its trashy state.

The art was also pretty damn good, and the erotic scenes were both tasteful and shameless, and every twist and turn was as batshit insane as you could expect. They are both just... a ridiculously fun ride.

~~~

Pros vs Cons:

Pros: Good art, cute moments, hilariously absurd drama

Cons: ........ I won't lie. Consent is a motherfucker Issue™ in both series and is rarely given freely and enthusiastically. *siiiiiiiiiiiiigh*

If I really had to compare the two series..... Honey x Honey Drops is lowkey better because the characters are shockingly more endearing??? And slightly better written???

Kai (the male love interest) actually grows and improves and is accountable for his mistakes???? Yes, he's still a horndog who sucks at accepting "no" for an answer, but he's a helluva better at reading the room, as well as trusting his "honey," Yuzuru (our hapless female protagonist).

Yuzuru has somewhat more agency, even if she's constantly tricked by This One Rapist Bastard (whom she NEVER develops feelings for, thank Christ), and the side characters are fun in their own ways.

Not to mention, it's the only one between both series that actively points out that sexual assault is.... ya know..... A BAD THING. I mean. It doesn't stop the series from showing it, but I genuinely appreciated that Kai and his friends never ever ONCE blame Yuzuru for her unfortunate situations, but ALWAYS blame the man who assaulted her. Which.... is kinda a miracle in these sorts of stories, tbqfh.

Love Celeb is........ it's fine. It's fine it's fine they're fine she's fine he's fine it's fine. It's fine. It's FINE. 🙃

~~~

I now need to make a list of my Top Trashiest Manga that's helluva fun to read, even they're still like. super fucking awful lmao

[digitalaamir]

A Comprehensive Guide to Schema Markup for Beginners

Learn the basics of Schema Markup for Beginners in this in-depth guide designed to improve your website's SEO and visibility. Discover what schema markup is, how it helps search engines better understand your content, and how to implement it for your website. This beginner-friendly guide will walk you through the key types of schema markup and the steps to apply them, making your site stand out in search results.

If you’re looking for ways to make your website stand out in search engine results, understanding Schema Markup for Beginners can give you the edge you need. Schema markup, also known as structured data, helps search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo better understand the content on your website. This not only helps search engines categorize your information more accurately but can also lead to enhanced search results that attract more users to your site.

In this article, we’ll break down the basics of Schema Markup for Beginners, why it’s essential for your SEO strategy, and how to implement it on your website to boost your online presence.

What is Schema Markup?

Schema markup is a form of structured data that uses specific tags (microdata) in your website’s code to provide extra context to search engines. These tags define what different sections of your content mean. While search engines can crawl your site without schema, using it makes their job easier and more accurate.

For example, let’s say you have an online store. Schema markup allows search engines to identify product pages, reviews, prices, and availability, which can then be shown in rich snippets. This is extremely useful because rich snippets make your content more appealing and informative in search results.

For beginners, schema markup is a powerful yet straightforward SEO tool that can help boost your website's visibility without needing advanced technical knowledge.

Why Schema Markup is Important for Beginners

You might wonder why you need Schema Markup for Beginners when other SEO strategies like keywords and backlinks exist. While those are important, schema markup gives you a competitive edge by:

Improving Search Results: With schema markup, your content is more likely to appear in rich results such as product listings, recipe cards, or event snippets. These enhanced listings are visually appealing and offer more information at a glance, increasing the likelihood of a user clicking on your link.

Enhancing CTR (Click-Through Rate): The more engaging and informative your listing is, the more likely it will attract clicks. By offering details like star ratings, prices, or event dates directly in search results, schema markup boosts your click-through rate.

Providing Structured Information: Schema Markup for Beginners helps ensure that your content is properly categorized by search engines. This leads to more accurate results, which can improve user satisfaction and help your site rank better over time.

Common Types of Schema Markup for Beginners

There are various types of schema markup, each serving different purposes depending on the kind of content you have. Here are some common types that are useful for beginners:

Article Schema: Perfect for blogs or news sites. Article schema helps search engines understand the title, author, date published, and main content of an article.

Product Schema: Crucial for e-commerce sites, product schema helps to display information about products, such as prices, availability, and reviews.

Review Schema: If your website includes reviews, this schema lets search engines show ratings (like stars) directly in the search results.

Event Schema: Hosting an event? Use this schema to show the date, time, and location of the event in search results.

FAQ Schema: This is useful for displaying common questions and answers, making your page more likely to appear in featured snippets.

How to Implement Schema Markup

For those new to SEO, implementing Schema Markup for Beginners might seem complicated, but there are several tools available that make it easy. You don’t have to be a coding expert to get started. Here’s how you can implement schema markup:

Use Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper: This tool is user-friendly and designed for beginners. Simply highlight different parts of your webpage, and the tool will generate the necessary schema markup code.

JSON-LD Format: The easiest and most recommended format to use is JSON-LD (JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data). JSON-LD can be placed in the head section of your webpage, and most content management systems (like WordPress) allow for easy integration.

Schema.org: If you’re manually adding schema markup, Schema.org provides a complete list of markup types. This resource is essential for anyone looking to understand the full scope of schema markup tags.

Test Your Structured Data: Before you go live, it’s essential to test your schema markup using Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool. This will ensure there are no errors, and everything is properly set up.

Best Practices for Schema Markup

Now that you know how to implement Schema Markup for Beginners, here are some best practices to keep in mind:

Be Specific: Use schema markup only for the most relevant parts of your content. Adding markup where it isn’t necessary can confuse search engines.

Stay Updated: Keep your schema markup current. For example, if you’re using event schema, ensure that the date and time are accurate. Outdated information can negatively affect your SEO.

Avoid Overloading Your Site: While schema markup is beneficial, don’t overdo it by tagging every small piece of content. Focus on the critical elements that will enhance your search result listings.

For more, you can also follow us on Instagram-https://www.instagram.com/prinikacademy/

[mediaevalmusereads]

Any Duke in a Storm. By Amalie Howard. Sourcebooks, 2024.

Rating: 2/5 stars

Genre: historical romance

Series: Daring Dukes #4

Summary: Historical romance takes to the high seas. Famed spy Lady Lisbeth Medford is on a ship bound for the West Indies, but the only thing more dangerous than her mission is the elusive Duke she's trying to capture. Lady Lisbeth Medford, Countess of Waterstone and famed international spy, is caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. She's determined to infiltrate a notorious smuggling ring in the West Indies while on a covert mission as a ship's captain. But even when her identity is compromised and she's forced to flee, the men chasing her are still hot on her heels. The trouble in front of her, however, might be even worse. Raphael Saint, the Duc de Viel, is her ship's new aggravating and dangerously charming sailing master, who might very well be part of the smuggling ring Lisbeth must bring to justice. But when a new deadly threat on the high seas looms, the only way out of danger might be to face it… together.

***Full review below.***

CONTENT WARNINGS: child endangerment, violence, blood, explicit sexual content

OVERVIEW: I saw this book on a list of aromantic/asexual-spectrum romance reads and was curious. I've read one other Amalie Howard book and had generally good feelings, so I decided to jump into this book despite not reading the others in the series. While I very much appreciated the wide range of skin tones and sexualities, the plot and characters as a whole left me disappointed. This book wanted to be a spy novel, pirate novel, romance, etc and didn't seem to do any of those things particularly well, so it only gets 2 stars from me.

WRITING: While Howard's prose is fine for the romance genre (as in: it's about what one might expect, which is good for reaching its intended audience), I personally found it lacking. It depended a bit too much on telling over showing, often filling in gaps or narrating things that happened off-page. As a result, I felt like I was being expected to care about things I didn't experience along with the characters.

Howard also had a tendency to repeat certain phrases and descriptions, and while it's not too distracting, it was noticeable.

The humor also just was not for me. Some of the jokes are raunchy or a little jeuvenile, which is fine given the setting. It just wasn't my jam.

And can I just point out how much I hate this line from the "sea shanty": "she'll gut you good and make you pee." What???

PLOT: The non-romance plot of this book follows Lisbeth, a countess-turned-British-spy who poses as an infamous smuggler, "Bonnie Bess," in order to take down a notorious criminal known as the Prince. Along the way, she runs into Raphael Saint, a disgraced French-Trinidadian duke who happens to be the nephew of the Prince. Saint is out for revenge after the Prince caused his family's downfall, and Lisbeth must reach her target without blowing her cover.

Personally, I found the plot to be a mess. It wasn't sure if it wanted to be a swashbuckling pirate story, a spy novel, a maritime road trip, a 19th century romance, or some combination of all. This doesn't mean I think books should only choose one genre, but it does mean that when genres are blended, I think it's important to do so well. Howard's attempt did not feel well-planned: Lisbeth was not exactly a clever spy, and the pirate vibes were a bit uneven. I also got the feeling that I was reading a story about a bunch of elites dressing up as smugglers and playing at pirates and spies, sticking it to "the man" only to come around and reclaim the privileges they shucked off in the first place. I was never sure who we were meant to root for: in a spy novel, the government is usually the "good guy," but in a pirate story, the pleasure comes from subverting the government (or, at least, companies). In this book, I had no strong feelings about the world in which our characters were operating, which made it feel more like they were just "playing" at spies and smugglers.

To be fair, perhaps more groundwork was laid in the previous installments of the series. I did jump in on book 4, so I want to acknowledge that some of my disorientation might be from that. But I also think this book could have been more intentional with its plot, creating scenes that aided in each character's personal arc as well as their arc as a couple. As it stands, everything felt a bit too random, like it was using type scenes.

CHARACTERS: I find it difficult to discuss whether or not I "liked" the characters. The heroine, for example, was fun in her fiestiness and I loved seeing a female ship's captain. I also loved the demisexual representation and the portrayal of someone with a praise kink. However, Lisbeth did not strike me as a particularly good spy; she stood out way too much, and her motivations formatting to take down the Prince were impersonal (at least in this book). Her arc is supposed to be about learning to trust people and form attachments, but there isn't much within the plot itself that supports that journey. It's all told to us while Lisbeth is busy getting into fights.

Raphael, the hero, is a little better in that his revenge quest is personal. However, I was a little confused by his strong desire to be both honored by the French emperor and be a criminal in order to disperse goods to colonized folks. Howard seems to write him as a kind of nautical Robin Hood, which is fine, but his arc is all about reclaiming social status, which kind of takes away from the feeling of freedom outside of "polite society."

Supporting characters are fine, if a little dull. The crew of Lisbeth's ship are loyal and are just kind of there - they don't really serve much purpose other than to do their jobs on the ship. Nari, an orphan who stows away, is charming but her pirate antics make her feel younger than her age. I think she could have been used more to develop Lisbeth's stance on attachments.

The Prince - Charles Dubois - is a disappointment. For all that Howard plays him up as cunning and conniving, his ploys were obvious and his plots easy to subvert. He also spends some time explaining himself, which gets tedious. As a villain, he only really seemed to be bad because he supported the slave trade - all his other actions seem to be standard pirate/smuggler fare, so I was unsure if we.were supposed to be mad at him because he's undercutting the government or because he's willing to kill his own blood to do so.

ROMANCE: There are some things about Lisbeth's and Raphael's romance that could have been great. I appreciated, for example, the interracial and queer relationship, and inserting some kinkiness to subvert more "vanilla" romances is great.

However, it took a long time for the two characters to gel. For the first 40% of the book, Raphael was less charming and more annoying, and their banter was not pleasing to read. They didn't seem to be getting on each other's nerves in a productive way - they just let their emotions get away from them.

As time went on, things got better, but I was skeptical of their attraction in part because I was told about it more than I was shown. The thing that made them click was was Raphael dives into the sea to save Lisbeth and Nari, but other than that moment, the plot doesn't do much to help the protagonists develop as a couple. Mostly, it has Lisbeth giving up some of her power and control, which could have been productive but didn't quite read so.

TL;DR: Any Duke in a Storm is a hot mess. It doesn't know what kind of book it's trying to be and tells far more than it shows, to its detriment.

[ho3ology]

MY ANIME LIST

ratings:

💜 HIGHLY RECOMMEND

❤️ loved it!

🤍 liked it

🩶 decent

MOVIES:

✓ weathering with you 💜

✓ silent voice 💜

◦ mary and the witch’s flower

✓ princess mononoke ❤️

✓ your name 🤍

✓ ponyo 🤍

✓ spirited away 🤍

✓ howl’s moving castle ❤️

◦ mfkz

✓ my neighbor totoro 🤍

◦ castle in the sky

✓ kiki’s delivery service ❤️

◦ tales from earthsea

✓ a whisker away 🤍

◦ okko’s inn

◦ hotarubi no mori e

◦ blue spring ride

◦ ride your wave

SHOWS:

SHONEN

✓ fairy tail 💜 ♾️

✓ naurto 💜 4

◦ one piece 💜 1

✓ attack on titan 💜 1

◦ demon slayer 💜 2

✓ seven deadly sins 💜 2

✓ dr.stone 🤍 1

✓ hunter x hunter 💜 2

✓ blue exorcist ❤️ 2

✓ plunderer ❤️ 1

◦ black clover ❤️ 1

◦ jujutsu kaisen 🤍 1

✓ boku no hero 💜 2

✓ haikyuu!!! 💜 4

✓ bungou stray dogs ❤️ 1

✓ black butler 💜 1.5

✓ high school of the dead 🤍 2

✓ fireforce ❤️ 2

✓ the promised neverland ❤️ 1

✓ snow white with red hair ❤️ 1

✓ spy x family ❤️

✓ seraph of the end ❤️

◦ food wars ❤️ 1

◦ kuroko no basketball ❤️

SHOJO

✓ maid sama ❤️ 2

✓ fruit basket 💜 4

✓ ouran high school host club 💜 4

◦ inuyasha ❤️ 1

✓ yona of the dawn ❤️ 1

✓ love is hard for otaku 💜 3

✓ kamisama kiss 💜 2

✓ kiss him, not me ❤️ 1

✓ how to take care of a mummy 💜 1

✓ koto oto tomarel: sounds of life 💜 1

✓ horimiya 💜 1

✓ shonen maid ❤️ 1

✓ grandma and grandpa turned young again 🩶

JOSEI

✓ given 💜 1

✓ diabolik lovers 🤍 1

✓ akkun to kanojo ❤️ 1

✓ why raeliana ended up in the dukes mansion 💜

✓ raven of the inner palace 💜

✓ sacrificial princess and the King of Beasts 🤍

SEINEN

✓ haven’t you heard? i’m sakamoto ❤️ 1

✓ million dollar detective: balance - unlimited ❤️ 1

haven’t seen yet:

◦ anohana: the flower we saw that day

◦ sanrio boys

◦ say “i love you”

◦ blue spring ride

◦ grand blue

◦ interspecies reviewers

◦ my little monster

◦ stars align

◦ number24

◦ yuri!!! on ice

◦ deadman wonderland

◦ corpse party - toutured souls

◦ when they cry

◦ god eater

◦ free!

◦ dakaichi

◦ pandora’s heart

◦ devils line

◦ parasite

◦ is it wrong to pick up girls in a dungeon

◦ erased

◦ how heavy are the dumbbells you lift?

◦ fate series

◦ run with the wind

◦ golden time

◦ orenchi no furo jijo

◦ dakaretai otoko

◦ big windup

◦ toliet bound hanako kun

◦ rave master

◦ paradise kiss

◦ how to not summon a demon lord

◦ magi

◦ science fell in love so i tried to prove it

◦ engaged to the unidentified

◦ redo of healer

◦ sk8 to infinity

ones with check marks are the ones i’ve seen and finished. the numbers are just how many times i’ve seen it 💀

i don’t think i have some of them in the correct category so pls lmk if i need to make any changes ☺️

[meltotheany]

Goodreads | Amazon US | B&N | Blackwell’s | Bookshop 1.) Throne of Glass ★★ 2.) Crown of Midnight ★★★★ [2024 reread] ★★★ this is an anthology, short story collection, of five tales set prior to the events in throne of glass. they are told in chronological order, with each one building off the previous one, and ultimately showing us how celaena ended up in the salt mines when we meet her for the very first time. we also get introduced to a lot of characters who we will meet in this universe, with some backstory on how celaena met them for the very first time. ultimately, i did enjoy this, and i truly just enjoy the project of this – i wish more authors would give me short stories set in worlds, with characters, that i already am established with and love. yet, i don’t think they add too much to the throne of glass world. sometimes it felt like they were really just showcasing how celaena is a good person and sjm really, really just wants the reader to know that, but i still had a fun time reading these. i do think they add to the overall series, and i do recommend you read these, but the enjoyment is for sure going to vary from reader to reader – more than most reading experiences, i feel. down below i break down each short story in this anthology, give them individual star ratings, and list their trigger and content warnings! (my favorite being the assassin and the healer, because i am a yrene fangirl, and my least favorite probably being the assassin and the underworld, because celaena was just being too annoying in it for me lol.) ━━♡ 0.1) The Assassin and the Pirate Lord ★★★ this first short story starts off in an assassin’s guild, two years before the events of tog, and where an emergency meeting is being held by the king of assassins himself, arobynn. someone is murdering assassins, and celaena and sam are tasked with a mission to go to skulls bay, have a meeting with the pirate lord, and give him a sealed letter from arobynn himself. yet, when they get to skulls bay, they realize there is a much more heartbreaking situation going on, and sam and celaena decide to do something about it all on their own, regardless of the costs. i really liked seeing sam and celaena start to get to know each other, and start to figure out the people they want to be together, too. i also loved seeing the skulls bay setting, and why the location is the way it is currently in the book series, because of the actions in this novella. i wont lie, this read a little too white savior in 2024, but i still enjoyed reading this opener in this anthology collection, and it setting the tone for what is to come. tw/cw: death, loss of a friend, grief, slavery, human trafficking (with an emphasis on children, as well), captivity, fighting/battle, explosions, violence, blood ━━♡ 0.2) The Assassin and the Healer ★★★★ please know i am truly screaming at my 2016 review for this short story because i was fully like “this is filler, who is this girl?” lol. oh sweet summer, me shipping celaena and chaol, so hard i didn’t see the dots were dotting right before my eyes, child. this short story takes place obviously after the first, but we get to see how arobynn punished celaena for her actions in skulls bay, and continuing to punish her by sending her to train in the red desert. but while she is waiting for her boat, she is staying at an inn where she helps a worker. And that worker? ends up playing a very big role in the rest of the series. yrene towers is a healer, stuck in a small port town, while hiding her magic that is now outlawed. this story switches povs between the two women, and it was just really heartwarming. i really do love yrene, and just seeing her really want to master her gift that was passed down from all the women in her family at a healer academy, and just really want to heal and make the world a better place – it just gave me all the feels. i for sure appreciated this novella more in 2024. tw/cw: extreme physical abuse in past, abusive relations...