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[phtalate]

Write up of WLW Media:

June is over, but Pride continues. (Literally, the parade near me is next saturday.)

In honor of that, here’s my write-up of WLW Media I’ve consumed, horked down, hoovered up, whatever you want to call it and a fairly substantial TBR list.

My goal here is to provide more WLW material, because honestly it’s often kind of hard to find. Recommedations in the notes are very welcome!

I’ve also put books on this list I didn’t like as much, because if you dislike the books I adore they’re probably more your thing. (Having someone who’s taste is opposite of yours is often surprisingly useful)

I intend to make this a half-yearly to yearly thing, because my reading speed is so inconsistent. (Seriously from zero to eleven books in a month everything is game.)

My criteria for WLW media are the following: features a WLW romance or a sapphic character in which the character or the pairing is central to the book. Books with one sidepairing that’s WLW don’t count unless that sidepairing takes up substantial time.

This is mostly fantasy and SciFi: (because they’re my favourite genres)

I'm putting a read more here, because the TBR is out of control and the list got quite long.

The Locked Tomb by Tamsyn Muir

Starting with Gideon the Ninth, this series seriously doesn’t need an introduction or propaganda. It’s the rare WLW story that actually gets shoved in your face!

It’s a sci-fantasy-horror series about necromancy in space seasoned with the occasional meme that’ll make you groan. It’s very good and while it’s relationship focused it’s not necessarily very romance focused, if I’m making sense? I don’t recommend reading parts of the first book at 3 am because it gets seriously scary at times. Also the author doesn’t shy away from body or corpse grossness. If you like you characters sane and emotionally stable, this is not the book series for you.

The Priory of the Orange Tree Samantha Shannon

Described by the author as a feminist retelling of St. George slaying the dragon, this is very much classic fantasy with some modern twists. If you like your books thick and dense this is for you. Features a bodyguard romance.

The Doors of Eden Adrian Tchaikovsky

Evolutionary biology crossed with modern riller. Features parallel worlds. This qualifies by virtue of having a lesbian and her disappeared girlfried as well as a trans lady scientist as two of six view point characters. Dense and thick and takes a while to get into. Adrian Tchaikovsky is a writing style chameleon, but if you’ve read Children of Time he chose a similar writing style for this.

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

The disgraced princess of an empire (she refused to be burned alive) is banished to a temple in an out of the way impoverished province. One of her maids who accidentally encounters her even though they weren’t supposed to have contact with her is the only person she can count on for aid. A former warrior priest acolyte that escaped the burning of her temple as a child is hiding her identity and working in the palace as a maid. Working for the princess is the first time since then that she’s been back on/in her temple. This definitely earned it’s fucked up label. Features some body horror.

Also fucked up sibling relationships both adopted and blood related. (For those of you who like that.) Do not be deceived by how small and manageable the paperback version looks. It’s got over five-hundred pages of densely packed text. First book of a trilogy, third book comes out autumn this year.

This Is How You Loose The Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

Diversity win! The alien entities fighting a time war identify as female! Another one that really doesn’t need an introduction considering how popular it got. Two agents fighting on opposite sides of the time war write each other letters, starting with one taunting the other and developing from there.

Sweet and Bitter Magic by Adrienne Tooley

This is very much YA but not in a bad way. A witch who can only feel emotions by taking them from other people in trade for something and a girl who desperately needs help go on a journey to rescue the world from an encrouching magic plague.

A Memory called Empire by Arkady Martine

Did not like this as much as I expected to and am kind of sad about it, because people whos’ taste I trust liked it alot, so I’m wondering if I missed something? Maybe that something is being a native speaker, since the German friends I read it with didn’t enjoy it that much either. I’m left feeling kind of meh about it. Features a wlw romance. And is about the influence of language on the construct of Empire and identity.

Even though I knew the End C.L Polk

I didn’t really like this one. I felt it was too short and it’s storylines not explored enough. (It’s a novella.) I also tend to not like stories with a definite Christian Afterlife that exists and is definitely paradise. Other people liked this a lot though.

The long way to a small angry Planet by Becky Chambers

I’ll be honest, I did not like this one and think it isn’t well plotted or has good worldbuilding. It also has no genuine conflict. But since a lot of people seem to like Becky Chambers this is probably a personal taste thing.

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree

Described by the author as „High fantasy, low stakes – with a double-shot of coffee.“ I’m going to disagree on the low stakes bit. While the stakes aren’t world-ending, they are present. This is about an orc who is tired of the mercenary life and starts a coffee shop. The stakes are that this is the life she wants and the business is her baby. Features a subtle romance that doens’t really come into play for a good long while because the main character is still busy with the whole learning to be a person with needs and wants thing. Very sweet though not in a toothrotting way, more like a slightly sweet well made baked good balanced out by the bitterness of the coffee.

Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee

One of the two main characters is wlw though this doesn’t really get picked up on because Cheris is too busy dealing with the empire she’s part of, the frankly quite evil calender and her own identity. This series makes use of the „any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic“ principle by going so far beyond it lands in magic territory. If you like math, original worldbuilding, military fantasy, good prose with a wide vocabulary or all four of these check it out.

The Price of Salt or Carol by Patricia Highsmith

A classic and one of the few things on this list that isn’t fantasy or sci-fi of some kind. Patricia Highsmith first published this under a pseudonym. It was kind of revolutionary at it’s publishing time for featuring a queer romance that had a kind of happy ending. I liked the well built characters and romance and the ability of the author to describe complex, ambivalent feelings.

Other Media:

Anime:

The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genious Young Lady

Typical modern Shoujo style. I was just searching for something sweet to watch and was suprised by the earnestness with which this story was willing to treat its’ themes. Is originally based on a novel series.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Takes the magical girl anime to it’s natural extremes. Kind of a deconstruction, though I have to say that it doesn’t go any harder than Sailor Moon was already willing to go before this was ever written. Gets on this list for a very important side character.

The Witch from Mercury

Has a very much modern Shoujo style but is also a mecha anime. I need to watch the second season. Features a kinda arranged marriage, a mecha school and fucked up things lurking behind the cute exterior.

Trapped in an Otome Game: All Routes Lead to Doom!

Very funny. The main character gets transmigrated into the villainess of an otome game and is very determined to not share that fate. On accident she kind of seduces every available man and the female rivals and the female main character. The result is chaos, a friend group that doubles as a harem and the gayest sleepover I’ve ever seen while the main character has no clue. (Noteably she is completely able to say stuff like „If I were a man I’d marry Maria on the spot!“ without catching on.) I’m rooting for Maria but there are several female characters who have their sight set on the main character.

I've Been Killing Slimes For 300 Years And Maxed Out My Level

Cute. An overworked office drone dies and gets transmigrated into a witch and proceeds to do nothing much for the next 300 years. Then things suddenly get going and do not stop again any time soon, as the heroine gets friends, children (Surprise! She’s a deadbet mom and didn’t know it.) and admirers. I’m rooting for the dragon.

I’m in love with the Villainess!

Very cute. A modern girl gets transmigrated into the heroine of an otome game and promptly proceeds to flirt with the villainess. Is based on a series of novels. Covers themes of queer loneliness and class struggle amongst all the silliness.

Revolutinary Girl Utena

I haven’t watched this in ten years and have forgotten most of the plot, but I remember really liking it. Utena assumes the role of the prince and duels other people for the Rose Bride. This takes place in a school and involves dramatic elevator rides. Also the movie had Utena and Anthy (The Rose Bride) turn into cars for some reason? I need to rewatch this. Also please don’t forget to check the content warnings, most stuff I like is fairly fucked up.

Sailor Moon

This one gets a pass on the strict criteria because it’s a classic and Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus were many peoples first wlw couple.(Though Usagis’ straightness is debateable, miss I’ll follow this pretty girl to her home because I’ve got heart eyes.) The classic magical girl anime and manga, popular for a reason and doesn’t really need me to sing it’s praises.

Live Action:

Couple of Mirrors

One of a few full length wlw dramas. (I’m aware there are a couple thai dramas, but they’re mostly modern and my interest is fantasy, sci-fi and historical). Historical costume drama featuring a young innocent socialite writer and a girl with a fotography studio and a rather dark past.

Legend of Yunze

One of apperently quite a few Mini Webdramas. It’s essentially just significant scenes stiched together. You need about an hour and a half to watch all of it. Some people have called the central couple the female version of wangxian, though while there are similarities these two are their own thing.

The extra features the line „Stand in the corner, fuckboy.“

Also season 3 when?

You can find it through this carrd: https://legendofyunze.carrd.co/# or through Youtube. An account named douqi has translated this drama and a lot of others including Nü Er Hong which is below in the TBR.

On the TBR:

The Oleander Sword by Tasha Suri

Second novel in the trilogy starting with The Jasmine Throne, I’ve gotten fifty pages in but put it down and need to pick it up again. Tasha Suri also has more books I’ll need to take a look at.

The Unspoken Name A.K. Larkwood

This is the first book. I’ll have to get to the second to get to the WLW.

The Unbroken by C.L. Clark

Also has a theme of empire and rebellion (and assasination). Of the same list as Exile and the sorceror.

The Exile and the Sorceror by Jane Fletcher

Found this through googeling Sapphic Fantasy recommedations. I don’t think I could dig up the specific list this is from again. The cover looks like the fantasy novels in my mothers shelf and I liked the summary.

Sword of the Guardian by Merry Shannon

Apperently a Fantasy Bodyguard romance? Off the same list as When Women Where Warriors and The Exile and the Sorceror.

The Warriors Path (When Women Were Warriors) By Catherine M. Wilson

Describes by the author as like the fantasy stories she loved to read but with women.

Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu

Occasionally reading the classics is good for the souls. Especially if they contain lesbian vampires.

The Traitor Baru Coromoran by Seth Dickinson

Recommended by veliseraptor who has excellent taste. Features themes of empire and collaboration and becoming compliant with the system vs. resistance. Read the synopsis it does a better job than I do on describing what it’s about.

Clear and Muddy Loss of Love by Please Don't Laugh (请君莫笑, Qǐng Jūn Mò Xiào)

and

Female General And Eldest Princess by Please Don't Laugh (请君莫笑, Qǐng Jūn Mò Xiào)

Baihe (chinese gl, female equivalent to danmei) novels that get recommended a lot.

I am bizzarely scared to read these, because what if I don’t like it?

Also if anyone has any more baihe recommendations, I’d love to have them! Bonus Points for dark, fucked up stuff!

The Beauty’s Blade Feng Ren Zuo Shu

Baihe, have seen this one on tumblr before and the description is really good.

Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell

Lesbian horror monster fantasy! I found this trawling Good Reads. I hope it’s good! The description is really fun.

City of Hope and Ruin by Kit Campbell and Siri Paulson

Another fishing in the Good Reads pond find. More in the fantasy space. Looked interesting enough I’ll give it a chance.

Uhh, googeling wlw/lesbian fantasy on Good Reads produces interesting results ‚:) If someone else wants to try, since it‘s not possible to search two tags at the same time or do nested searches, I’d recommend looking through the lists.

She Who Became The Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

I love fucked up women. And political schemeing and characters pretending to be someone else. This seems right up my alley.

A Master of Djinn P. Djèlí Clark

Picked this up without knowing it contained a lesbian detective as a main character! Delightful surprise!

Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett

Once again, picked this up without knowing it contained a sapphic romance! Don’t know if I’ll like this, since unfortunately I don’t vibe with Sandersons style and this is supposed to be similar.

The Stars Are Legion by Kameron Hurley

This is Sci-Fi. And once again I didn’t know this contained wlw, because it wasn’t mentioned anywhere when I got the recommendation.

When the Tiger Came Down the Montain by Nghi Vo

Second in the series after the Empress of Salt and Fortune, which I omitted because the WLW part isn’t really central. The tiger/scholar romance is more central in this one, so I’m putting it on the list.

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

Was reccomended to me as very modern fantasy and unique, is apperently WLW as well?

Fishing through Novelupdates works better than Goodreads, but also produces as per the nature of the site unfinished and untranslated/partially translated novels. The tag for GL is either yuri or shoujo ai or both, because Novelupdates will let you search for several tags at a time.

Novels that perked my interest, I don’t vouch for the translation or it’s completeness:

The Princess’ Shadow Guard Cannot Be Too Clever by Senlin Zhangchun

The General’s Manor Young Concubine Survival Report by Feng De Lingdang

The Hero (♀) Hypnotized The Demon King (♀) by Sanrokukyuu(this one is a oneshot)

As I Was Reincarnated as the Villainess of an Otome Game, I Panic-confessed to the Heroine to Avoid My Ruin Flag. Since She Was Ok With It, I Will Live a Fake Yuri Life. by Satera Ito

The Witch Nichang by 八千岁 (no transliteration given)

Live Action:

Nü Er Hong

The same account (douqi) that did the translation for Legend of Yunze has translated a lot more Mini-Dramas and I already started this one. I plan to watch more from that selection and dig my way through the carrd.

Carol

Movie Adaption of the book. I don’t always agree with the community on who is universally hot (Keira Knightley does nothing for me.) And think that insisting we all are all attracted to the same peolpe and this is a community shaping shared experience is damaging. But Cate Blanchett can get it and casting her as Carol was an inspired move.

[kindaasrikal]

Glow little glow worm glow

[wardingshout]

Hi Livi!

I finally gathered the courage to send something to your ask box. There’s so much I want to say, but I'm not very good at expressing myself, so if my words seem a bit jumbled, I hope you don't mind.

I started using Tumblr a little over a year ago, and I remember stumbling upon one of your artworks after searching the “alttp” tag. I was so incredibly happy and excited — I loved it immediately, especially because it’s so rare to see ALTTP-related art where I’m from.

Back then, I didn’t pay much attention to who the artist was and just kept browsing. But over time, I realized that so many of the amazing pieces I loved were actually created by you! Honestly, your art is breathtaking. The way you portray Link and Zelda outside of the game’s narrative makes them feel so real. Your inspiration and creativity seem endless.

Your use of bright, intricate, and emotionally resonant colors fills every piece with a sense of story — sometimes with a gentle sadness, sometimes with tiny, charming interactions that make me smile.

I remember seeing that you draw on a particular site, and I tried using it too. It was really hard 😣 and made me admire your work even more — I’m amazed at how you manage to create such rich, detailed pieces on such a tiny canvas and with such limited tools.

Your compositions and the way you frame your scenes are incredible too — the perspectives you use, whether it's looking up, down, or close-up, show such skill and depth. I’ve been obsessed with your artwork for a long time 🥺🥺

And the outfits you design for Link and Zelda — they’re absolutely beautiful. They’re so different from the classic green tunic, yet they feel *exactly* like something the characters would wear. I don’t think any language could fully express how much I love your costume designs. Please allow me to scream for a moment here.

There’s still so much I want to say, but now that I’m writing, I find myself at a loss for words. So I’ll just say this: you are truly an amazing artist. Your work is astonishing and deeply captivating.

Also, I drew some of your versions of Link and Zelda — I hope you’ll like them! (Screaming again, their designs are just too beautiful 😭😭)

VIOLET HI!!! 💕💕💕

I'm sorry I have no idea where to start here, I'm feeling so overwhelmed in the best way ever! I just barely managed to load this ask before leaving the locker room at work yesterday and ended up hiding there until everyone else left bc I didn't want them to see my cry haha💕,,

I don't think there's any beginning or end to how emotional this got me and to how honoured I feel to have my art described in such a way;; this is!! absolutely everything I've ever dreamed of reaching with my art, so having someone else putting it into words just from looking at is so incredible !!!! ;v; even if it's hard to feel happy about my own stuff it seems like I can still portray the things I want to, this makes me so happy 🥹💕💕

and especially because a lot of this is stuff I absolutely love about your art too!!!! you have such an incredible way of creating soft, yet somber atmospheres and your compositions always come off so intentional and interesting !!! the way you blend so many different colours into everything looks both natural and interesting and it's one of my absolute favourite things from art !! ✨✨✨

Seeing you back on tegaki was such a joy too !!! ;v; even if it ended up feeling difficult, I was so excited to see you there and getting to check your posts for new comments brought me so much joy !!!! I always wanted to send you more comments but got so caught up in the excitement of you posting smth yourself I got distracted from it too often...

in general I'm always so excited to see you post new art !!! and super grateful we get to see a lot of your sketches lately too !!!! you art has such a consistent and pretty style and always comes off so smooth and effortless and interesting and it has inspired me so much !!! 💖💖💖🥹💕

I'm feeling a bit lost for words since there's So much I want to say it's difficult to phrase it properly. but you bringing up fun tegaki memories reminded me of the most fun way to thank people! (I tried bringing out the classic palette too!)

and since I also really love the way you draw them too and I was sad I missed maid day (yet again) them !!

I've been absolutely losing my mind over the way you drew my little guys!!!!!!!;; I've been looking at them so much already they almost feel ingrained into my brain, to the point I almost forgot they were real !!! there's no way I could properly thank you for all of this; the amazing art, the incredibly nice words and all the art inspiration you bring me by sharing your work!!! I'm feeling so so lucky and again so so honoured ;v; 💖💖💖💕💖💕

[charlesemersonwinchesteriii]

if Crozier had a nickel for every time someone close to him kept a mortal wound secret from him he'd have two nickels which isn't a lot but it's definitely enough to give him some very specific trauma for the rest of his life

[vulpine-gentleman]

hey can you tell me about your favorite underappreciated flondon blorbos? the characters who literally no one talks about or they only show up in like some obscure storyline or something like that. tell me about the fellas please :)

[serpentface]

This family dinner is gonna fucking suck

[posi-pan]

for anyone who has ever seen someone claim pansexual was coined on social media by teenagers in the early 2000s, the 2010s, and even in the past few years, and believed it or wondered if it’s true, or known it’s not true and been annoyed by the misinformation, this article is for you!

after listing out all of the claims i’ve seen, i succinctly debunk them by laying out a brief overview of pansexual’s history dating back to the 1960s, both as a term generally indicating universal appeal/inclusion and a term indicating sexual freedom/attraction to all genders. i include a look at pansexual’s use specifically within queer spaces, with a focus on bisexual spaces, as well.

i also touch briefly on omnisexual and polysexual existing in similar contexts to pansexual dating back to the 1960s. and finally, i discuss a little bit about how when, where, and by whom a label is created doesn’t determine the validity or usefulness of it, because these claims come with the implication that new labels, labels created by kids, and labels originating on social media aren’t legit forms of queer expression and identification.

happy pan week! 🥰💗💛💙

[transformers-synergize]

How does your Wheeljack feel about King-Kong?

I G1 one enjoyer I see, I get the references ;)

Ok, but to answer the question, yes, he does in fact like King Kong, along with many other pieces of human cinema, especially the ones with giant monsters or dinosaurs. wheeljack is always looking for inspiration for new projects/inventions, and being on Earth has provided him with tons of new inspiration.

[emily-mooon]

I can’t remember if this has been done yet but anyways here’s your (almost) monthly shitpost from me :]

[the-oracle-of-the-lost]

i know why logs are all dictated in Star Trek and why everyone always calls instead of sending written messages (Star Trek is primarily a visual media and having characters read things aloud or physically talk is an obvious choice) but it does stress me out as someone who strongly prefers writing to dictating/speaking. like what do you mean i can't just type my messages out? what do you mean there are no keyboards in the future??

[st4rstudent]

bugthinker but I just did whatever to him

bonus slop

[lady-merian]

I'm curious-- why did Til We Have Faces fall short in your book?

Ooh yay I get to rant. XD

Short version: I’m not the target audience for it. I’ve never been a fan of mythology (and this myth is in particular is abhorrent to me for the sheer reactionary ICK I feel when thinking about a woman sleeping with someone she’s not even allowed to see).

Longer version: it’s probably influenced by how little I like the myth, so do take my opinion with a grain of salt, but I found most of the theology iffy at best. Trying to make a story with not only multiple gods but multiple gods with opposing goals (at least in the original myth, I don’t remember getting a clear understanding of how Ungit and the god of the mountain even work but it did still seem like their goals were not aligned) and make it say anything True without muddling things just doesn’t work for me.

Aside from the myth, the story itself depressed me and I only kept reading because I thought “this book is so highly praised it *has* to get better” and to me it just kept getting worse. I was reading it initially for a reading group but I decided to go ahead and finish it early rather than drag it out a chapter a week because every time I finished a chapter I would end up in such a bad mood, hating everything. I was hoping the ending would make up for it somehow, only the ending itself was deeply unsatisfying to me. It may have worked better if it’d shown something like Ungit being a false god, and falsely attributed to being the god of the mountain’s mother, but the god of the mountain being the true God. Maybe. I probably wouldn’t have liked it any better, but it may have helped the sense of wrongness I had with the book that I consider separate from my vehement distaste for it. Or even something like Ungit not being someone to be worshipped directly but a forerunner in a sense of the god of the mountain in the same way that Lewis saw the pagan beliefs as being preparation for the acceptance of Christianity. It could be that him setting Glome within our world is also not helping matters.

In short, it doesn’t completely destroy my opinion of someone’s taste if I find out they liked it, and if God has used it positively in someone’s life that’s great! But you couldn’t pay me to reread it and put myself through that again.

[trans-yllz]

people who genuinely think a 16 year old wei wuxian was at fault for the wens invading lotus pier are wrong and insane on many levels but I also think it shows a spectacular lack of real world political literacy - the invading army that conquered and slaughtered all of the other cultivation sects did not come for yunmeng because a teenage boy was mouthy, that's an excuse, it's a thing to point to and go awe, if only this minor thing hadn't happened, we wouldn't have to kill you, really it's your fault when you think about it :( they didn't need a reason to burn the cloud recesses, or sack qinghe, so why would the actions of wei wuxian who, again, was at the ripe age of 16, mean anything in terms of who the wen sect did or did not subjugate? come on now

[kursedmayo]

Dating Donnie Headcanons!! (Rottmnt Donnie x Reader) 💜💜

He leaves you for uranium

[yuttikkele]

about william shatner; i keep seeing people say "he is an interesting specimen" or "i need to study him." and yeah, upon further inspection, i kinda want a look into his mind too cause from the little glimpse we have of his life you just kinda look at it and go "???"

i don't like speculating about people's personal lives, but the man is 94 and also a celebrity so i doubt this would get close enough to even bother him.

william shatner be like "i'm fighting demons." whole time it's bisexuality.

that's my best guess for why he acts the way he acts.

[gammija]

genuinely, it's so funny to me when jon.elias shippers hate j.mart for the specifically stated reason that "martin isnt good for jon". Yes, the guy with realistic flaws and traits that occasionally create conflicts with Jons own flaws and traits is bad for him, so jmart is toxic. Jon deserves someone who treats him right.

In fact, you know who's good for Jon? The person who effectively used him as a puppet, made a plan centered on scarring him for life 13 times and executed it without remorse, then used his body to end the world, an experience so horrifying that Jon would rather literally kill everyone on earth than risk someone else feeling it too. Now that's a guy Jon deserves!