#this is making me want to reread the series twilight always brings me so much joy

[bookwyrminspiration]

…I can’t believe twilight managed to have just of a creative solution as the Kane chronicles did for solving their love triangle (Twilight with Renesme, the Kane chronicles with having one of the guys host the other guy (who’s a god) in his body and them both dating the girl).

So, about imprinting on your mate. What would happen if the imprint died? Would the werewolf go insane?

Also, what do the other characters thinks both Renesme? Does Bella’s dad know about her being a vampire now? (Isn’t Charlie a cop or something?$

I am so lost as to who everyone is besides like the ones you explained and I am so confused that I can’t even begin to have questions. Thanks for giving me more knowledge about twilight then I ever thought I would have /lh /hj

Hope that you are having a good day, and are at least getting some amusement by my lack of knowledge about Twilight

-⚙️

Smeyer sure did do something, that's for sure! Something definitely happened! Also I don't remember much about the Kane chronicles (it's been a few years), but I remember glossing over that when it happened. But now looking back WOW that was wild. two love interests? combine them into one (1) person

As for what happens in the imprintee dies, it would be extremely emotionally distressing and painful--as is any death. But there's nothing specific that would happen to the werewolf different from any other loss. They'd be miserable and grieving, and probably would never be the same. The one difference is that wolf packs have telepathic connections, and they aren't in control of them. It's a constant, complete sharing of thoughts with everyone in your pack when you're in wolf form--no privacy. So not only would the affected wolf be suffering, but so would everyone else because they'd be exposed to that mentally. Also, since killing the imprintee of another wolf is against their most sacred law, the two wolves would fight to the death should the law be broken (the one who killed/helped kill them and the one whose imprintee was killed).

And all the other characters love Renesmee! She's adored by the Cullen family and Charlie (I can't remember if Renee knows about Renesmee atm, but she'd also love her), and practically everyone who meets her falls in love with her and adores her. In book 4 they collect a couple dozen other vampires to witness Renesmee aging and serve as witness against the Volturi (vampire royalty who enforce the laws, eg those about immortal vampires and were coming to punish the Cullens), and like all of them just think she's the sweetest thing. The only people who aren't sold are the other wolves. Jacob's unique because he's imprinted on her, and Seth (one of Jacob's pack, he's the fandom's cinnamon roll) has no problem with her or vampires. But Leah (the other person in Jacob's pack, Seth's sister, the only female werewolf currently) is not happy about it, but respects Jacob just enough as her alpha to not fight it. But the other pack, Sam's (Jacob's former pack before he and the others broke off), doesn't really like it at all. They just can't do anything about it without breaking their sacred law, and Sam (the other pack's alpha) has less authority than Jacob, because Jacob's genetically more alpha than him.

As for Charlie (who is the Chief of Police in Forks), he doesn't know the specifics, he just knows that something's up. He saw Bella post transformation, and went "hey how about you don't tell me what's going on" and so they didn't. He's content to know she's safe and happy after confirming she knew everything she was getting herself into from the beginning, and would rather not deal with all the supernatural and just turn a blind eye to that. He's just glad he still has Bella in his life (they were planning to leave forever to protect him), even if he's not the biggest fan of her choice of partner. He also knows there's something up with Jacob (he got naked and shifted in front of him), but has also requested to Not Know Any More About That Thanks.

I think it's funny that you say you know have more twilight knowledge than you ever though you'd have, but there's so so much I'm omitting and not even getting into rn. I am having fun with your lack of knowledge!! I love reciting the story to people :)

[villanesus]

writers asks: 1, 6, 9, 11, 25, 30, 40, 48, 58, 69, 92, 94, 99.

I honestly would like to hear all your answers put i picked my favorite questions.

Pistachio!! Sooo many questions, I'll do my best.

1. do you know how you want the story to end when you start, or are you just stumbling through the figurative wilderness hoping to find a road?

I usually know where I want my characters to end up, but that doesn't always equate to a proper ending. Endings have always been hard for me to articulate. As a kid in school, I got feedback from a primary school teacher once that I needed to include something at the end of my stories to indicate that it was really the conclusion. My autistic ass starting ending every single story I wrote with the sentence, "And that is all." 😂

6. do you have any kind of consistent writing schedule or just hoping for the best?

Not really. I write when I've got a decent chunk of time open (at least an hour) and I'm feeling writery feelings. Some nights, most weekends. During nanowrimo I write during my lunch break, mostly out of necessity to meet word count.

9. in an ideal world where you’re already super successful and published, would you want to see a tv or movie adaptation of your work? why or why not?

I'd be pretty content just to be successfully published, BUT I'm definitely not turning down an opportunity for Jodie Comer to option one of my books for a TV series a la Big Swiss so I can meet her and be awkward. 🥴

11. what’s something neat you’ve learned while doing research for something you were writing? also, how much do you worry about doing research in general?

I do worry quite a bit about research because I know how jarring it can be as the reader when an author writes something that is pure nonsense wrt something I know about. That said, I don't always know what I don't know, so I'm sure I miss all kinds of things.

The neatest thing I've ever stumbled upon is escaping me right now, but the most recent thing that sticks out was stumbling upon the gem of the towns Sappho and Beaver near Forks for my goosey Killing Eve/Twilight AU (Evenfall). I found that far too funny.

25. what’s your revision or rewriting process like?

I usually start each writing session be rereading the last section I've written and I catch a lot of edits there. Once I'm reasonably confident about a full chapter, I actually listen to it twice using a text-to-speech feature. I find I catch a lot more of my mistakes when I listen than when I read with my eyes.

And then I immediately find like three more mistakes as soon as I share or publish what I've written. Because of course.

30. most inspirational quote you’ve ever read or heard that’s still important to you.

I'm (perhaps weirdly) not big on inspiration or inspirational quotes. And, as noted in one of the other ask games, I'm a little bit of a jerk? So, my favorite quote is actually the running bit in Candide by Voltaire where they make fun of the "best of all possible worlds" philosophy. You will catch me in real life regularly punching down on things by saying, "In this, the best of all possible worlds." I guess this jives with my "things suck, bring a bat" philosophy.

40. best piece of feedback you’ve ever gotten.

I had a computer science professor who took me aside once and told me I should write textbooks because students would actually engage with and learn from my writing. I really like to explain and to teach, so this was maximum flattery for me.

At the moment, though, there's a person who is mostly commenting screaming and keyboard smashes on Evenfall and I'm really enjoying that. 🤣

48. do you reread your own stories?

Not once they're finished. I read and reread as part of my editing process, by the end I'm a bit sick of it. And if too much time goes by and I come back to read, my style/voice/skill has changed and then I feel sad-cringe about my older work.

58. what is the last thing that a fic made you google when you were writing it?

"which movie did edward and bella have sex?" 🫠 hahaha

69 (nice). how do you write emotional scenes? do you ever feel what the characters feel?

I find this challenging because I want to shout at the characters to do the "right" thing and not necessarily the authentic emotional response that they would have? For example, character is going to misunderstand and be hurt or character is angry and won't listen to apology—it kills me to write that sometimes.

The how...eh, I just write stuff and step back and see if it feels authentic. I try to draw from my own experiences and emotions, but can't always tell how well that translates for others because my emotional processing is maybe non-typical as a non-neurotypical individual.

92. first, second, or third person?

Third person is typically my jam as a reader and a writer, though I do love me some unreliable narrator first-person works. My big struggle as a writer is the different flavors of third person—omniscient, objective, partial/limited. I'm bad at consistency here.

94. do you prefer dialogue or description?

Dialogue is really fun for me to write. My favorite thing though is internal monologue? Perhaps a side effect of all the journaling.

99. was being a writer a dream of yours when you were little? or did it spring up when your older? or is it just a hobby?

I've been writing stories since I was a little kid and I've always loved the idea of just being a novelist or writer. But I am both pessimistic and pragmatic. I doubt I'd be happy if writing was my full-time job—making a living on this would be too much pressure. It's a lovely hobby and if I ever write something that other people are excited to read, I'll just be real chuffed about it.

Phew, we made it to the end!

[mscalifornication]

Tag 9 people to learn more about their interests!

@longlive-allthememories thank you so much for tagging me <3

MUSIC

fav genre? pop/pop-rock/rock/pop punk/indie/alternative

fav artist? Casper

fav song? gonna go with Diamond On A Landmine by Billy Talent today

most listened song recently? according to my last.fm my top track of the past 7 days is Pretender by The Maine

song currently stuck in your head? Morirò Da Re by Måneskin

5 fav lyrics? (5 fav lyrics i can think of right now/ ones i can find in my current bujo lol)

i’m not looking to be found, just want to feel unlost — (un)lost by the maine

give me a remedy cause my head wasn’t wired for this world — avalanche by bring me the horizon

i’m growing up but i’m still young at heart, how do i make time stop? cause i’m still waiting to start — still waiting to start by nina nesbitt

and if i’ve done you wrong by not enduring this pain / well, where were you and all your eternal holy grace? — nomoreroses by holding absence

i want the fireworks i want the softest words i want what you deserve and to unlearn my hurt — crying over it all by waterparks

radio or your own playlist | solo artists or bands | pop or indie | loud or silent volume I slow or fast songs | music video or lyrics video | speakers or headset | riding a bus in silence or while listening to music | driving in silence or with radio on

BOOKS

fav book genre? rom-com stuff i guess, and thrillers, sometimes also sci-fi/dystopia stuff

fav writer? i don’t really have one, but so far i’ve enjoyed several books by sebastian fitzek and becky albertalli

fav book? currently still Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall which i’ve read back in January

fav book series? i’ve only read 3 book series in my life, two of them before the age of 16 so i’m not sure if one of them is an actual fav, maybe actually Twilight?! yeah

comfort book? i don’t have one

perfect book to read on a rainy day? boyfriend material??

fav characters? i…don’t have favourite book characters i think? never really thought about it

5 quotes from your fav book that you know by heart? i don’t know any quotes by heart

hardcover or paperback | buy or rent | standalone novels or book series | ebook or physical copy | reading at night or during the day | reading at home or in nature | listening to music while reading or reading in silence | reading in order or reading the ending first | reliable or unreliable narrator (idk? i’ve never paid attention to it) | realism or fantasy | one or multiple POVS | judging by the covers or by the summary | rereading or reading just once

TV AND MOVIES

fav tv/movie genre? (romantic) comedy, drama, thriller, crime

fav movie? idk? i’ve always liked notting hill

comfort movie? spider-man: homecoming and the winter soldier

movie you watch every year? theres no specific movie i watch every year :/

fav tv show? at the moment still 911 and 911 lone star my beloved

comfort tv show? schitt’s creek, full house, 911, 911 lone star, brooklyn nine nine

most rewatched tv show? schitt’s creek

ultimate otp? i don’t have one? Tarlos mayhaps?

5 fav characters? Alexis Rose (Schitt’s Creek), Abby Sciuto (NCIS), Kat Edison (The Bold Type), Travis Montgomery (and Vic Hughes) (Station 19), Bucky Barnes (MCU) this is a very random collection, i literally had to look up previous tag games to make this lol bye

tv shows or movies | short seasons (8-13 episodes) or full seasons (22 episodes or more) | one episode a week or binging |one season or multiple seasons | one part or saga | half hour or one hour long episodes | subtitles on or off | rewatching or watching just once | downloads or watches online

i’m tagging @kaonoppakaos @awayfromsight @briannabaker @quelsentiment @whaleharry @herefortommo @spacerhapsody @holyshit @talkfastcal @counttoinfinityy @plastic--hearts @whatevertearsyou @iamnathanscott @chironmybeloved feel free to ignore this!!

[spnfanficpond]

June 2020 Angel Fish Awards

(New Angel Fish design by @slytherkins!!)

Every month all of you fantastic writers work your asses off to post some truly incredible stories. Our Angel Fish Awards are the way for all of us, as a community of writers and readers, to lift each other up and give praise to those who have captured our attention and deserve a few kind words.

The monthly Angel Fish Awards are peer-nominated, meaning ANYONE IN THE POND CAN NOMINATE ANY POND MEMBER’S FIC. While the Pond was founded to support the Guppies, everyone in this community deserves to be showered with love and feedback, and we hope that by opening this up as a Pond wide system, we’ll be able to share the love as far as it can go.

NOTE: WE’VE BEEN HAVING OCCASIONAL PROBLEMS WITH ASKS GOING MISSING. Please use the Submit button when submitting your nominations and make sure you’re signed into Tumblr or your URL won’t show. (If the form asks for your name and email address, then you’re not signed in.) If you like, you can also send a message to Michelle @mrswhozeewhatsis or Mana @manawhaat to check and make sure we got your submission.

Be sure to read through this whole post as people who were nominated more than once only had one tag activated for tumblr tagging purposes!

WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, HERE ARE JUNE’S ANGEL FISH AWARDS!

Nonimated by @thegirlwhorunswithwinchesters

I Thought You Were Going To Die (oneshot) by @fun-and-fandoms

My nominations for the month wouldn’t be complete without a little bit of angst. Though this one isn’t just that. If you’re easily triggered by mentions of depression and its symptoms, this one’s not for you. But it’s an important topic and I will always encourage any creator who uses their art to remind people it’s okay to talk about it. (Note from Kale, this was actually submitted in May but I missed it.) 

More to Me (oneshot) by @becs-bunker

No spoilers, but I’m so glad this ended the way it did. So sweet <3

Help  (oneshot) by @blushingjared

I came across this fic and was immediately intrigued. Then I started reading and I was captivated from the first sentence until the very last. The author did such a good job with setting the scene and painting the right picture.

Talking Bodies (oneshot) by @ne-gans

This AU-Sam is such a huge weakness of mine. That, in combination with this dangerously filthy masterpiece, is nothing short of perfection.

Nominated by @focusonspn

Into The Woods (series) by @amanda-teaches

So well written, interesting plot and great development. The chemistry between Y/N and Dean is also amazing, and I loved how this mini-series could be so easily part of the show. Totally worth reading.

Nominated by @thoughtslikeamindfield 

Stranger Than FanFiction (series) by @cherry3point14

The premise is similar to the film Stranger Than Fiction – a story about a story being written about you – and it’s just as hilarious. Also, Cherry Pie is still one of the funniest writers in this corner of SPN fandom.

“You’re not supposed to move your head if there’s someone trying to murder you, probably…”

No, I wouldn’t think so, but lollllll

“You’re being insane, out loud.”

Omgggg

“It tried, oh, how the door tried to divert her attention from the unknown men who could be terrible, rule-breaking influences on her. However the door was only wood and she was a stubborn woman made of free will and limbs—a woman who refused to be deceived.”

“Your hand is on the doorknob before the mention of your limbs has finished rattling around your head.  Realistically you don’t want to encourage the voice by doing what it says. After all, the voice’s ultimate goal seems to be killing you.”

BAHAHAHAH omfg you guys

I need to stop quoting from this bc I probably seem insane to those of you who haven’t read this, so stop being judgy buttheads and go read!

Nominated by @flamencodiva

The Choice (series) by @superfanficnatural

A couple of things. 1) this is an amazing fic that highlights Dean unwillingness to let himself go until it’s almost too late. and 2) the smut in this is hot hot hot hot! not for anyone under 18 years of age.

Mert has a way with words and can literally pluck you into one and make you see it as it comes to life in your head.

Mine (series) by @holylulusworld

Lulu has an abundance of different stories she tells and this one is my favorite of her ABO’s at the moment. (although I love all of them) I think this one deserved a mention. I am glad she joined to Pond so I could help nominate and spread her amazing work!

One Night at a Time (series) by @crashdevlin

Another great fic by Cassie! This one shot full of Angst, Smut, and if you squint just the right amount of Dean fluff. She has a way of capturing your attention and putting you in the world as you read.

What He Lost (oneshot) by @jensengirl83

This short story by Brandy is sure to rip your heart out. she leaves just a bit of hope where you think there is a chance only to crush it completely with the ending. This one is sure to bring you to tears if you are looking for the most delicious angsty story to read.

Nominated by @risingpheonix761

Down The Rabbit Hole (oneshot) by @dontshootmespence

So, this was hysterical. XD I love crack fics, and bad smut in particular, and this one hits the spot. (I’ve also learned several new horrible euphemisms lol). The ending, though? Golden!

Nominated by @myinconnelly1

The Affair (oneshot) by @holylulusworld

I love how well all the characters are portrayed I truly hate everyone except the reader! Well done!!  

Red Riding Hood - or how you ran into a wolf... (oneshot) by @holylulusworld

I have nothing to say about this. I will simply allow the puddle I have become to speak for me. 

Last Omega On Earth (oneshot) by @holylulusworld 

This was a great entry in the ABO world. and we need more of this and more like !!!!! Great work!

My Beta (oneshot) by @holylulusworld

I am a greedy little bitch with this fic.  I think I've read it 3-4 since i first read it this month!!!!!! READ THIS FIC!  

Third Period (oneshot) by @fictionalabyss

Some truly inspiring smut.  Inspiring to change my panties. 

Gods of Twilight (series) by @thecleverdame​

I think i posted this fic in my rec before, but it is so amazing and intricate that i can't stop gushing about it.  Fucking awesome. 

Apple Pie (oneshot) by @bad268​ 

The amazingness of this is great, check this guppy out!

Deal (oneshot) by @bad268 

Comedy at some of its's finest!!! 

Confession (oneshot) by @idreamofplaid

THE FLUFFFFFFF!!!! I don't read straight fluff.  So get the tissues ready.

Fallen (series) by idreamofplaid

My therapist has told me i'm not longer allowed to talk about this fic during our sessions.  So instead i shall now talk about it here... *pulls out soapbox* ahem... *gets pulled away with hook*

Memory (oneshot) by @idreamofplaid

This fic is older, but i love it so much.  I recently went back and reread it, and the angst and reconciliation in this fic are heartwrenching.

Home (oneshot) by @emilyshurley

My dentist bill the month was higher than normal, due to the new cavities caused by this fic.

Imperfectly Yours (oneshot) by @emilyshurley

Cuteness overload as you get Dean's perspective of Home ^^

Second Hand News (oneshot) by @emilyshurley

Alright listen. I am a glutton for punishment.  And this fic, I asked for.  Also i had it set within one of the universes we now own.  That all being said, reading this was like a dose of my own medicine and it fucking hurt.

Honesty And Lies (oneshot) by @crashdevlin

This was super dirty, and great.  Totally recommend. 

Nominated by @deanwinchesterswitch

The Classifieds (oneshot) by @talesmaniac89

This is rip your heart out and stomp on it angst right here. So well written, but so, so heartbreaking.

So Much More Than Perfect (oneshot) by @imagineteamfreewill

This fic is one of the sweetest things I’ve ever read. It made me tear up a bit, but who doesn’t love Dean being the most protective, most adorable dad ever?!

Nominated by @mariekoukie6661

Dear Dean (series) by @smol-and-grumpy

It’s one of those series that makes you wants more after every chapter. It’s a brilliant story.

Left Behind (series) by @kittenofdoomage

It’s the only John Fic I can read over and over and over again. Its hot, the plot is awesome! And it makes me wants more each and every time I read it.

Not Much Left (oneshot) by @impala-dreamer

I think Beka tries to kill her readers every time she writes smut… or she just tap into our mind what we want or what we fantasize about. Every single time I’m speechless by her talents!

Yes Professor (oneshot) by @impala-dreamer

It’s a Misha fic, there’s no one who write Misha the way Beka does!!!

Owe You One (series) by @supernatural-jackles

It’s such a great series! The friends with Benefit and Mechanic!Dean… I just love this so much and I don’t have words to describe how good this one is!!

Flirty In French (oneshot) by @fictionalabyss

This is brilliant, and I know its an old one, but from someone who finally decided to read more and from someone who is from Quebec, this is absolutely brilliant! The flirty french pick up line are so hilarious!

Nominated by @moosekateer13

Watching for Comets (series) by @holylulusworld

This fic beautifully captures the song that it was inspired by.

It also showcases things that when things are meant to be.

I’ll will all fall into place.

Please Trust Me (oneshot) by @holylulusworld

This fic beautifully emotionally captures what it’s like to have trust issues.

Nominated by @fictionalabyss

Last Call (oneshot) by @impala-dreamer 

It was everything we needed and wanted.

Culinary Exploits (oneshot) by @impala-dreamer  

Too utterly ridiculous not to get a mention.

His Omega (oneshot) by @iflostreturntosteverogers 

A sweet little comfort fic of Dean being utterly perfect caring for his Omega. Carrie also pulled off keeping this gender neutral, which isn’t something I see a lot of, and probably something I’d struggle with, so hats off to you, babe.

Poison (oneshot) by @supernatural-jackles 

YES omg i feel this on such a level. I’ve gone through that shit myself. A friend who lets you down so profoundly but then acts as if you’re the most toxic person in the world.  Nothing feels as good as letting go of that shit and moving on to better things. This was beautiful, and perfect, and TRUTH.

Amara (oneshot) by @impala-dreamer  

This one hurt. It really hurt, but it hurt so good that I’m left wanting more.

Take Me Now (oneshot) by @sorenmarie87  

If Dawn doesn’t continue this, I’ll riot.

Stuck On You (oneshot) by @kittenofdoomage  

I rarely read a fic this long (I just don’t usually have the time) but it looked too interesting for me to scroll past, and it had me completely captivated. I needed to know what would happen as if I needed air, even though I could guess how it ended, I needed to read the words. Phenomenal.

Thank you all for the awesome work and great feedback!

These are not actual awards! This system is set up so everyone in the pond has a chance to share the love and promote a fic/author that has grabbed your attention. The more people that participate, and the more everyone remembers to submit their own fics after posting, the better this will be :D

THANK YOU ALL AGAIN, KEEP UP THE AMAZING WORK, AND AS ALWAYS, HAPPY WRITING!

[ive-lost-my-effervescent-mind]

thTWILIGHT TAG GAME!

Thank you to @whyrweheretwilight2020 for tagging me. I may have overthought some of the answers, but this was really fun🐌

Favorite Book: Eclipse, before I realized that Stephanie killed Jacob’s character in order to establish Edward as Bella’s true love. I’m currently rereading New Moon along with the Twilight Phase Podcast, so that’s where I’m leaning more these days, but I might reread Twilight until I can get my hands on Midnight Sun. 

Favorite Movie: Again, Eclipse before I knew why Jacob’s character did a 180. I mainly liked Eclipse for the story, mainly because I feel like it’s the only one with a consistent plot, in both the books and movies. I also really liked Rosalie’s backstory. But, judging the movies as their respective wholes, I’d have to say either New Moon or Twilight. I love the second installment’s soundtrack and the way it is intertwined with the story. The decision to limit the amounts of red in the movie until the Saint Marcus festival and the overall green and gold tones made the movie visually impressive. When watching Twilight, you can really feel Catherine Hardwick’s love for the books. The movie accurately captured the awkwardness of first love. Also, the blue tint established the general moody-ness of the vampire genre.

Human or Animal Blood: Here’s the thing: blood isn’t kosher. And while I don’t keep kashrut very strictly, I don’t eat the things I’m not supposed to eat, or in this case, consume. Even if I were to make an exception to the no blood rule, it opens up more questions as to what blood I would eat? drink? consume? I don’t think I could bring myself to hurt someone, let alone kill them, so no on human blood. But when it comes to animal blood, how do the laws of kashrut apply? Since I’ve already thrown out the no blood rule, do I drink the blood of all animals, even those un-permitted? Do I just drink the blood of kosher animals? If I only drink the blood of kosher animals, then I’m restricted as to where I live. Not to mention the fact that under my bloodlust as a newborn, I might lack the self control to a) not eat a human and b) eat the right type of animal. In conclusion, I don’t know.

Favorite Character: Esme, Kate, Victoria, amd Irina. I know Irina caused some problems in BD, but I understand wanting to follow the rules when it endangers so many and especially when you have past experience with the repercussions. I’m a firm believer that she wanted to save her sisters and Eleazar in case the Volturi some how wanted to punish them as well for immortal child since their two covens are connected.

Most Hated Character: The Cullens, and the Volturi. Also James, to both a lesser and greater extent.

Favorite Underdeveloped Side Character: Pretty much every single one of the witnesses in BD. Yes, even that couple from the Volturi’s witnesses. Also: the wives.

OTP: Hands down Garrett and Kate. When it comes to non-cannon ships, Leah and Angela.

NOTP: There really isn’t a healthy and/or unproblematic couple in the series. I would say save for a few, but the fact that a majority of the characters are vampires, there always seems to be a large age discrepancy (except for Rosalie and Emmett). Additionally, Imprinting is really gross and takes away the pack’s agency. All that being said, the worst relationships and the ones I am vehemently against are Jacob and Renesme, And Quil and Claire. It’s child grooming and it’s disgusting. It’s not a coincidence Jacob and Quil are Native Americans and I can’t believe someone let it get published 

Personal Headcanon: I have a few, some of which I’ve posted about and others that I’m still developing, but Esme having a blog and her sharing a garden with Bella are currently my favorites.

You become a vampire, and are lucky enough to get an ability. What is it?: This is a tough question, especially if we’re going off the idea that a skill/ability you have when you’re human informs the one you have in your second life. The unique abilities I have are so deeply rooted in the human experience that it’s impossible for them transfer over. These skills are: 

holding in my sneezes

having a relatively large bladder

touching my tongue to my nose

Vampires don’t sneeze. Vampires don’t pee. How could touching my tongue to my nose transform into an ability? I’d be a vampire, not a member of the X-men. The abilities that we know of are very abstract, as in they don’t manifest physically. The only exception to this is that one guy who can be invisible (I think he’s Heidi or Chelsea’s mate?), but I’m not 100% sure if he’s even cannon. But I had to choose one, it’d be making plants grow, kinda like the girl from sky high.

I tag @lesboaliceswan @carlislesscarf @team-ziploc-bag-of-eggs @that-crooked-smile  @the-cullens-deserved-better and anyone else who wants too!

[maryellencarter]

Rebels thoughts part 2/?

* I keep thinking Vizago’s first name is Cilantro.

* So I have a sort of rant about the Force, which fits as well here as anywhere else. I *really* didn’t expect to get along with a Jedi character, okay, which is the other reason I’m probably not watching Clone Wars. See, my thing about the “will of the Force” is that I don’t think it exists. I think the Force binds the universe together, and if you are Force sensitive and meditate it will show you things, but I think every single piece of “it was meant to be such and such a way” is the relevant Jedi projecting their own interpretation on the events they see.

(I also don’t believe things in our universe have that kind of intentionality behind them. Shit happens. Sometimes it seems like the universe is mocking you. Sometimes it seems like it’s on your side. It’s all pareidolia. Which is a belief that makes my life harder, but that’s another post. I think.)

* Um. Where was I? Right. So I really didn’t expect to like Kanan. I think why I do like him is a combination of facts. One is that he doesn’t pretend to understand the Force; he was only a padawan during Order 66 and he knows little more than Ezra in some ways. Another is that, being voiced by Freddie Prinze Jr, he doesn’t really have a default “reverent” setting like most Jedi. XD So we have a Jedi who’s doing his best, but doesn’t act all-knowing with his dignity up his ass like most Jedi tend to do at times. Also, as noted, he is very much the mom friend. Which is distinct from being the friend who has the brain cell, but he’s competent at what he does and he tries hard to protect the others, which are both characteristics I am weak for.

* Hera usually has the brain cell. Not always. Unusually for an astromech, Chopper *never* has the brain cell. XD Ezra occasionally gets to hold the brain cell for a hot minute but it tends to slip through his fingers. Sabine thinks she has the brain cell a lot more often than she does.

* I suspect the first new-canon Thrawn novel will make a whole lot more sense to me if I reread it now that I know whomst the fuck Arihnda Pryce is and why I should be interested in Lothal.

* I was able to deal with loth-rats and loth-cats, started to roll my eyes at loth-wolves, and am really rather irritated with loth-bats. Seriously, I put more work into naming vegetables in a grocery store in “Dutybound” than this show puts into naming anything to do with Lothal. (Okay, Leia put in most of the work naming the vegetables, but still. If meilooruns were native to Lothal they’d be called loth-mangoes or something.)

* I did like Captain Rex. I may wind up watching Clone Wars at some point to borrow clones and parts of clone culture for Leverageverse. I don’t remember if I’ve mentioned, but in @camshaft22 ‘s and my Leverage AU, Wes (the Eliot character) is the first non-clone to become a clone commando, some time after Order 66 was prevented, which is where the AU branches from canon. He’s culturally a clone, and sometimes forgets he doesn’t have a clone face, which occasionally causes trouble for him. XD Anyway, so that’s my main thought on clones, and Rex is a suitably badass one, I like him.

(You knew I was somehow going to bring Wes into this conversation, right? ;P)

* Kanan destroying the Grand Inquisitor’s lightsaber wheel in the first season finale was sexy as fuck. Just saying.

* The Inquisitors being able to fly with their helicopter lightsaber blades was utterly ridiculous and made them ironically less scary.

* I do kinda see why people like Hondo Ohnaka. He’s very much a trickster’s trickster. He reminds me of somebody but I’m not sure who.

* The B-wing episode was pretty damn cute.

* There needs to be a LOT more Sabine/Ketsu. I swear to god, people, this is the single biggest problem with fandom is you can’t get femslash when it’s right the fuck there in front of you.

* (This is not actually the biggest problem with fandom but I have opinions.)

* “Legends of the Lasat” was a really neat episode. It reminded me of the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode where Sisko builds an ancient Bajoran spaceship that flies on tachyon eddies, which made me squee loudly in the 24 hour computer lab the first time I watched it. Both of them hit me squarely in the Thor Heyerdahl / Tim Severin fanthingy -- I have a huge soft spot for that whole genre of using ancient techniques to recreate boats and follow ancient travel paths, and doing it in space only makes it cooler.

(No, I am not allowed to tangent off about Odysseus. Some other time.)

* Tarkin and Vader did *not* have the problem of the voice actors not sounding quite right. Whoever does the animated Tarkin’s voice is astonishingly good.

* Kanan being knighted in the Jedi Temple by the ghost of the Grand Inquisitor! That was such a damn good episode. I really like when the show actually leans on the thing where Jedi aren’t just about fighting, where peace and balance are important.

* Rant, continued: The prequel Jedi especially go on and on about bringing balance to the Force, but they don’t want balance, they want the light side to win. They don’t get it. They don’t consider what they’re actually saying, and that drives me crazier than anything else. Balance requires the existence of both light and dark, order and chaos in equal measure. Ethan has a tangential rant I don’t think we’ve ever actually done anywhere, about how modern culture is so very regimented that the only way to move toward balance is to be aggressively chaotic. That’s an argument we probably need to have in more depth at some point, because I like order and agree that I need to be better at chaos but I also very much want to stay within the confines of society and not be a semi-homeless jobbing magician, Ethan.

* Ahem. Where was I? Balance in the Force, right. I have thoughts about Kanan and the Bendu that are still processing. The Bendu really, really reminds me of Tom Bombadil, which... I can go into more depth in if anyone wants, but short version, I’ve never found Bombadil annoying or pointless, and I have an essay on what approximately makes me think this way, but there will be a lot of Elvish in it.

* I really love Chopper’s friend AP-5. He reminds me a whole hell of a lot of Squeaky. I think one of my very favorite moments in this whole series was the episode where it’s Zeb, Chopper, and AP-5 against the infiltrator droid, and Zeb and AP-5 are sniping at each other like Squeaky and Ton Phanan the whole time. :D

* “Twilight of the Apprentice” was one hell of a season finale. I wonder if they thought they weren’t getting renewed, or if that was a worry, because *damn*. Blinding Kanan, sending Ezra halfway to the Dark Side, blowing up Ahsoka, finishing off the Inquisitors... they certainly did close with a bang.

* Baby Wedge was cute but didn’t have much personality. That seems to be an ongoing problem with new canon’s Wedge, from what I hear. Still and all, rather have Wedge than no Wedge. I wish they’d have gone with more Wedge-and-Hobbie though -- poor Hobbie never gets any damn screen time. It’s a sad case when Starfighters of Adumar is still his best outing with two whole memorable moments. :P

* Saw Guerrera (sp?) makes me very uncomfortable. I know he’s supposed to, to show the way the “good” side can become extremists, but I was one slip of an Overton window from becoming him myself for a long time, and I don’t like being reminded. Nor having the writerly part of my brain noticing how I could write him more realistically.

[purplesurveys]

851

How have you been feeling lately? Have you been doing ok? Uncomfortable because of period cramps and the heat WHICH IS STILL HERE, even though it’s supposed to be gone right about now and it’s supposed to be raining at this point. I wish I was kidding saying this but we literally have three electric fans turned on just for the living and dining rooms. It’s crazy and stupid and it shouldn’t be this hot anymore. I’m doing better mentally and emotionally, so at least that balances things out lol.

Are you currently in quarantine? Still am. While all countries are slowly going back to normal, our Covid cases continue to get higher and higher everyday because our government hasn’t done anything except to make us stay home for three months. No mass testing, no alternate public transport plans, and for some reason Duterte keeps borrowing billions of dollars’ worth of loans from the World Bank nearly every week, and we have no idea where the stupid fucking money goes. Our government is convinced they’ve been doing everything right so they’ve loosened up quarantine protocols, so with malls and restaurants being open again we’ve done nothing but reach record high cases almost every day.

Do you wear a mask when you go to the store? I’ve gone outside a total of three times since March and I wore a mask for two of those times. The first time I went out I just genuinely forgot to bring a mask, but in the end it was fine because I only had to stay in the car.

Does your state require people to wear masks in stores? As far as I know it’s not a requirement per se, but fortunately everyone follows the safety precautions anyway.

Do you know anyone who’s had the coronavirus? Yeah, my mom’s former boss. This is a bit of a stretch but I also know someone personally who had immediate family members that tested positive.

What was the last sweet treat you ate? I had a peanut butter doughnut from J.CO! Soooooooo good.

Was it a nice day out today? No, it’s too hot. Even if life was normal rn I’d prefer to be indoors with air conditioning, like a mall.

Is the weather nice where you live usually? Fuck no. It is disgustingly hot, sticky, and humid 3/4 of the year.

What was the last thing you ordered online? I don’t do a lot of online shopping. When I get something online it’s usually to get food delivered, and the last time I did that it was me and Andrew getting Hong Kong noodles.

Are you expecting a package right now? Nopes.

Have you ever ordered anything from Wish? If so, what did you buy, and did you feel it was worth it? No, though I remember Good Mythical Morning featuring it in a couple of episodes. I don’t feel comfortable buying from stores or sellers that sell things for a lot cheaper because they could always be fake, so I wouldn’t feel comfortable buying from that site.

Are you a youtuber? If so, are you consistent with uploads? and how many subscribers do you have? I’m not, but I do have my own channel. I just use it to like videos and subscribe to my favorites, though.

What is one thing you hate about summer? The weather. Honest to goodness I’d really rather live somewhere that gave me -40C weather everyday.

Did you go outside today? No. My dad wanted to bring Cooper to my grandma’s place and I planned to come along, but at the last minute he changed his mind and did just the errands he was supposed to do.

What is the name of your youtube channel, if you have one? It’s just my full name because my YouTube is linked to my Google account.

What was the name of the last store or restaurant that overcharged you? I don’t know any instances where that would happen. I don’t find service charge inconvenient because I know that directly goes to the servers anyway so I don’t mind how high it gets most of the time. Is your room more often messy or clean? It’s clean most of the time but sometimes when I’m busy I won’t be able to keep it clean and it’ll be clean-messy? Like I’ll leave stuff around but I’ll still know where everything is lol.

Who is someone you miss? ALL MY FRIENDS BRUH

What is something you miss? Being able to go out and freely do activities. Life Pre-COVID < Life pre-COVID, perfectly put. I miss getting an allowance, being out until midnight, having dates with my girlfriend thhe most.

Do you feel like your emotions are often haywire? Not necessarily, but they can get pretty unstable sometimes.

Have you ever received a misdiagnosis from a doctor? Nah but I’ve been given a prescription that didn’t work. We went to our family doctor who made me take a certain medicine for three days, and I started getting worried when three days had passed and I still had my fever. I went to Angela’s mom and she was super quick to tell me that that medicine wasn’t the right one to take for a UTI and prescribed me with something else; and that second one ended up working like magic.

Have you ever been “diagnosed” with a mental illness from an online friend? who is not a doctor? If yes, isn’t that frustrating? That’s never happened before, but if it did I wouldn’t let my frustration get the best of me. I’d just tell them that they should avoid doing that if they’re not a professional because they could very much end up seriously harming people.

Do you have any friends that you can trust and tell everything to? All of them.

What was the name of your favorite roommate you’ve had? Kimi :)

Do you have a favorite book that you’ve read multiple times? Yeah when I was a kid I would reread this book that an aunt had given me for Christmas as much as I could. For many years I forgot the title but after painstakingly Googling the few keywords I could remember I finally found out it again – it’s a series called Three Girls in the City by Jeanne Betancourt, but I only ever read the first book because it was the only gift I got. It’s not my favorite book, but I’d be so happy if I got to be reunited with it again because I don’t think we got to keep it around when we moved houses.

What’s one book or book series that you’ve read multiple times? ^ That, multiple wrestling memoirs, and Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami. I’ve also reread the Twilight Saga once.

What was the name of the funniest kid you’ve ever babysat? I never babysat anyone other than younger relatives, but the one I enjoyed taking care of the most was my cousin Lucas. He was the smartest kid I babysat so it was fun talking to him, plus his yaya was always nice to me, they had a playground and sandbox at home, and all I had to do was keep him company while he watched Thomas and Friends over and over.

Do you enjoy babysitting? Just the younger relatives that were smarter and more behaved. I didn’t like the kids who thought kicking and being rowdy were fun.

Do you have any big regrets? One big one.

Are there things about your past that bother you? Of course. My entire childhood is one.

What was the last thing you saw or read on social media that made you angry? OMG get ready for this one. Our dumb as a rock presidential spokesperson was talking about how happy he is that the country beat UP’s (my school, which the government hates because we always talk shit about them lol) prediction of 40,000 Covid cases by the end of June if the government doesn’t do anything to prevent more cases. How many cases do we have? Fucking 36,000. Our government is happy because they finally beat our school over something for the very first time and they are technically happy that we got 36,000 cases, which if you round up will give you 40,000 anyway. My school had a fucking FIELD DAY over it and now he is a national meme.

Do you often post about controversial topics on facebook? At first I didn’t but that’s because I wasn’t active on Facebook in the past anyway. After I realized that I had a bigger friends list on Facebook I decided to put it to good use and post about controversial topics to educate others. It’s made a bunch of conservative family members uncomfortable and that’s the goal, son. 

Do you think it’s a good idea to post about serious topics on social media? or do you think that it’s better to discuss serious topics in person? It definitely is. In person is good too but you don’t always get that opportunity, so sharing stuff through social media doesn’t hurt too as long as information is accurate. For instance most of my relatives life far from me, so if I want them to get a piece of my mind about Trump or BLM or abortion, sharing informative graphics and tables is always convenient.

What was your favorite book you had to read for school? Without Seeing the Dawn by Stevan Javellana is my absolute favorite. It’s probably the closest thing to being my favorite book. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry is a good runner-up. On the other hand, Dekada ‘70 by Lualhati Bautista is my favorite that was written in Filipino.

Have you ever failed a class and had to repeat it? Nope. I really believe I was meant to fail algebra in my freshman year in high school because I failed every exam, but I think my teacher just took pity on me and gave me a barely-passing mark at the end of the year so that I didn’t have to go to summer school. As for college, I’ve never failed a class.

What class in school did you hate the most? In college I hated my economics elective. I still don’t know why that’s mandatory for us journ students... I also dreaded a couple of journalism classes, but it was more because of the teachers than the classes’ topics.

Have you ever wanted to be a teacher? I don’t think so.

What’s one childhood dream that has stuck with you, and one that has not? Having a big house; becoming a firefighter.

Would you want to re-live your childhood over again if you could? I’ve already said it on this survey, but: fuck no. I’m ok where I am now, even if I am a clumsy adult.

Which do you like more: being an adult or being a kid? Being an adult. Being a kid meant having to stomach the smell of hard alcohol and cigarettes from morning to evening everyday; being caught in the middle of screaming matches between drunk relatives; and being cramped in a single-floor home with 12 people. Like I said, I love where I am now. The amount of independence I gained in college was freeing and felt so nice and I’m glad my parents never tried holding me back. I’m also glad that I didn’t fall into the same alcohol trap, and that I know how to deal with my alcohol responsibly.

At what age were you when you started to feel like you were mature enough to offer others advice? Around college-age, so like when I turned 18.

Did your parents smoke or drink when you were growing up? Neither of them did, because we had enough alcoholism happening at my old home. It was actually my drunken relatives that finally drove my mom out of that house.

Do you enjoy bonfires? I’ve only been to one and I was like 9 years old then, so I wouldn’t know how I feel about them now.

Have you ever stepped on a sparkler? Nope.

What, do you know of, are you allergic to? No allergies.

Have you ever ridden in an ambulance? Also nopes. I always feel bad for the ambulances that I see because I live in a very traffic-heavy city and they always end up getting stuck and crawling through traffic like the rest of us. We do try to swerve, but our roads are so tiny and always cramped that there’s little space left for us to move out of the ambulance’s way, so even though we’re able to make a path for it, the space is not big enough for the ambulance to drive in the speed it’s supposed to.

What is your favorite version of the Bible to read, if applicable? That’s a big no thanks from me.

Do you follow trends? or are you a trendsetter? Yeah, I follow some of them if I think they are nice.

Has anyone ever described you as a trendsetter? Nope, because I am not.

Do you know anyone who used to be loving, but then turned cold? List three people you’ve known whom this has happened to. My mom, Athenna, Macy. The only person I don’t resent out of these three is Macy, because I know she turned distant due to mental health issues and because she wants to fix herself first, which is responsible.

What SAT subjects, if any, did you get a perfect score in? We don’t have SAT.

What were your best subjects in school? and what was your favorite subject in school? I loved taking history electives in college, and I performed the best in them too. I also did well in international relations, which was under the political science department.

Have you ever been abused by a parent or legal guardian? I’ve been verbally and emotionally abused by my mom ever since I can remember.

Do you have a lot of wounds from your past? If we’re getting visual then I’d rather say that I have one ugly, infected gash that gets bothersome from time to time. My past isn’t made up of little tiny scattered wounds.

Has anyone ever called you a jerk? Behind my back, probably.

Are you a jerk? I can be, so I don’t mind being called it. I never said I was the nicest person.

What color were your bedroom walls in high school? They have always been white. My mom doesn’t let us have control over our own rooms, so in the beginning it’s always been plain boring white. Don’t get me wrong, I like my room but sometimes it just feels like living in a cell.

Is there a girl or guy you wish you hadn’t let slip away? I wish I was still close with my high school friends, and I remember saying how they were for keeps in my old surveys so that makes me extra sad haha. I’m civil with most of them, but no longer close. And I only ever talk to them if it’s their birthdays or if they achieved something big. The only people I’ve remained close with from that original group are Angela and Hans.

Is there an old friend that you miss and would like to reconnect with? Not really. Sofie and I have grown apart from each other now and we’re both very happy, so there’s no need to change that. I’m okay with seeing her once or twice a year.

Who has hurt you the most? My mom.

Have you been bullied? Yeah in kindergarten. Long-lasting effects though.

Which talent show, if any, would you most like to audition for? and have you auditioned for one? No thanks. I don’t have the kind of talent that I can show off, like singing or playing an instrument.

Do you know anyone who’s auditioned for American Idol? I don’t think so. But my mom knows someone who auditioned for our local version of America’s Got Talent. He’s a ventriloquist that my mom used to get for our parties. As far as I know he got into the grand finals, but I’m not sure if he won.

Is there someone you think should audition that hasn’t yet? American Idol’s been over for a while now.

What time of day do you usually feel your best? I love the evenings.

What’s one way in which you’ve changed within the last ten years? I was in sixth grade then, I’ve graduated from college now. My mom was purely verbally abusive to me then, now we have brief stints of having an actually healthy relationship. I had one dog then and I have two dogs now; I had no friends then and I have tons of them now. There’s been a lot of tiny changes but nothing that were life-changing.

Do you feel like time goes by fast, or slow? It goes both ways depending on how stimulated I am or how much fun I’m having.

Who do you know who has died of cancer? One of my great-aunts.

Has there been cancer in your family? Yeah, ^ that. Other than her I’m not sure if we’ve had other cases. My family tends to be hush-hush about cancer and only ever call it ‘c’ or ‘the big one.’

Have you ever stayed overnight in a hospital, and if so, what for? Yes, once for a low platelet count.

Have you ever been a victim of police misconduct? No but the cops here are just as corrupt as the ones in the US, so I can very much be a victim any time. It’s just a matter of being in the wrong place at the right time.

Have you ever been so angry you wanted to sue someone? Not so much that I wanted to sue someone, no.

Have you ever been a victim of racism? My country isn’t diverse at all and we’re all Filipinos here, and I’ve only ever traveled to Asian countries, so no. But racism is a big reason why I have no plans to go to other countries known for it.

Have you ever deleted a friend on Facebook for making racist comments? I’ve unfriended those who were being little bitches about BLM and George Floyd’s death, so I guess that kinda counts as being racist. I still have a few racist Facebook friends that I keep around, but that’s because they’re family members.

What was the last thing you ate? Binagoongan.

What was the theme of your senior prom? Clair de Lune, so like the moon and shit.

Did you go to prom? It was mandatory, so I had to go even though I really had no interest.

Have ever been engaged or married? I have been neither.

Are you an aunt or uncle? Nah but I’m a godmother to one of my cousins.

Do you live to glorify God and to do His will? LOL no

Are you happy with the way you are living your life day-to-day right now? It could be better and more filled with activity. But I’m not miserably depressed right now and that’s more than enough for me.

Do you feel like your life was better or worse six years ago? It was slightly better. I feel like 2014 was my best year.

Have you ever made a huge, catastrophic mistake? Not anything that ruined my life or someone else’s, no.

Do you feel like you are currently in a state of suffering? and that not all of your basic needs are being met? If so, how long have you been in a state of suffering? Basic needs?? So you mean poverty? No.

Do you hate social injustice? Absolutely. Anyone who tolerates it is automatically a gigantic prick, I’d say.

Are you happy with the current social class you are in? No. I don’t know how it translates to English, but in Filipino we have this term called naghaharing-uri that comprises the very very very very tiny top of the social pyramid and it’s made up of top government officials and their families, heads of corporations, old money families, etc. It’s no secret that it’s this 1% that exploits the 99% remaining in the pyramid, so even though I’m relatively comfortable in my class, I hate that, when it comes down to it, we’re only being used by this 1% for their own benefit.

Life isn’t fair. True or false? True.

Do you hate that life is so unfair? Sometimes, if it’s for stuff about social injustice and how some people have to be homeless, why homophobia exists, etc. But if it’s for tiny problems, I feel like they’re necessary sometimes so we can learn from them.

Name a few people who seem to have everything handed to them. Some richer kids that I know.

Who do you go to when you’re upset? Sometimes myself, sometimes Gabie.

Do you pray less or more than you did 5 years ago? A LOT LESS, thank fuck I got out of that trap.

Do you pray a lot? Definitely not.

Do you frequently have back pain? Yeah, haha. Kinda expected considering I have scoliosis.

What’s the worst side effect you’ve experienced for a medication? and what’s the worst withdrawal effect you’ve experienced from a medicine? Nothing worse than diarrhea. I’ve never experienced withdrawal.

Have you ever used an epi pen? Nopes.

What’s a name that you like but probably wouldn’t use for one of your kids? Isabella because I’m already an Isabelle and my girlfriend has a sister named Isabela.

What’s your name, and do you like it? Robyn. I like it now.

Would you prefer to give your kids common names or unique names? Common, more old-school names. I just feel like they sound super elegant.

Do you feel like anybody values you in the way that you deserve? Angela, Andrew, and Gab.

Who have you felt the most valued by? ^ Them.

Have you ever been treated like you were inferior? For sure.

What was the name of the biggest bully in your high school? Oh my god this survey is so long... we didn’t have bullies in high school. We had mean girls and mean girl cliques, but as long as you weren’t involved in drama with them you’d be fine.

Do you ever sleep outside? Nah. I’d sleep at the rooftop but there are sooooo many mosquitoes at night.

How many siblings do you have? Two.

Are you the oldest, youngest, middle, or only child? Eldest.

How many kids do you want to have? One or two would be great.

Do you want to get married? Yessssssss.

Best date you’ve been on? Probably that time we went to BGC so we can feel fancy and have a fancy dinner, then when we meant to walk back to our car to go home we ended up having impromptu drinks at like 11 PM when we randomly found a jazz bar loudly playing live music in the area. OH and that time we went museum hopping in Manila and we ended the day having delicioussss Italian food.

Dream date? Traveling out of the country.

Ever kissed someone on New Year’s? Nah. We celebrate New Year’s with our respective families so there’s no chance of that happening. Which is fine, because New Year’s is traditionally a family-centric holiday here so it would be weird for anyone to ditch their families.

Have you ever had an experience so good you felt like you were flying? Sure.

Have you ever been in so much pain you prayed that you would die? YES, with my toothache last year.

What brings you the most joy? My dogs.

What is your passion; what is it that would bring you the most joy and fulfillment in life? I’m at a point where it still keeps changing, so I don’t wanna give an absolute answer to this just yet.

Have you ever laid your dreams aside because someone else wanted you to? That’s never happened to me. I only ever gave up on one dream because it realistically wasn’t attainable, when it came down to it.

Who supports you in everything you do? My two best friends.

Who always tries to stop you whenever you try to go after your dreams? I haven’t had anyone bar me, but if someone tried to they would definitely hear from me.

Do you believe in following your heart, in going after your dreams? Not always.

Do you wish other people would want you to be happy? Of course.

Do you wish you had someone who loved and supported you? I already do.

[libertyreads]

Book Review #70 of 2019:

Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout. Rating: 2.5 stars.

Reread from August 2 to August 3.

Another book down for the month of August. I’m so glad since I’ve been so stressed about this TBR. It was a really easy read and for some reason the Kindle version is 60 full pages shorter than the hardback version so it felt like I was making so much progress even if I only read a couple of pages at a time. And that’s something I did pretty often at first just because of how ridiculous this story is.

The things that bothered me the most were a lack of world building and the unrealistic relationship between Daemon and Kat. I know that Kat really tries to stand up for herself a couple of times throughout the book, but there’s a real problem with authors showing a stronger guy just pushing a girl around. Either physically or emotionally. I get that it’s a situation where he’s not supposed to be with her so he pulls this hot and cold act. But seeing it being accepted in media is just revolting. I probably didn’t notice that so much in college when I first read this series, but as a 30 year old woman I’ve got problems with this. The lack of world building bothers me less but it is still a sore spot for me. I loved the aliens and seeing all their powers. But otherwise she’s just writing like this is a standard contemporary. Which it definitely isn’t. Give me spooky vibes and a longer backstory. Give me more about the small town they live in.

Speaking of small towns! I almost forgot that I wanted to bring this point up as well. I don’t know where these authors who like to set paranormal books in small towns have lived their whole lives, but being from a small town let me just say that their secret would be out in two seconds. Everyone is always up in each other’s business and there’s no way for a paranormal creature to stay secret. There just isn’t. Also, someone would have noticed all these fights that they get into. New people with powers would stick out like a sore thumb. Set these things in big cities like New York or Chicago. Everyone’s new and weird there.

The few things I really enjoyed were the new concept of what aliens are like. I think up until that point I hadn’t run into anything outside of the small green creatures who want you to take them to your leader. So that was refreshing. I also really like Dee. She can be compared to Alice in Twilight who is also one of my favorite characters. I think there should have been more bonding time with Dee and Kat because they were just so much fun together.

[boyfriem-moved]

the foxhole court bad

(aka the eden’s twilight chapter is gross, the thanksgiving chapter is also gross, andriel is an abusive ship, and nicky and andrew are two terrible people being terrible to each other, a passionate essay by a dude who’s real sick and tired of this garbage)

I was gonna try to reread the whole series so I could factually and definitively prove that tfc sucks once and for all but after 2 chapters I concluded that reading it again was killing my last 3 brain cells, so I stuck with rereading the worst two chapters and gathering a few other moments I thought were noteworthy, and we’re just gonna have to go from there. I’m gonna discuss a bunch of stuff so I’m putting the entire meta under the cut. Also! If you have no idea what tfc is and follow me for other reasons but are intrigued by my hatred I doubt you could get through this whole thing without being bored. I’ve made a couple short posts saying what’s wrong with tfc, most recently this one here, which you could read instead of this long ass mess. 

If you know nothing about tfc and still wanna read, trigger warning for mentions of drug abuse, rape, physical abuse, emotional/psychological abuse, sexual abuse (both of children and adults... well of one adult who was once a child), actually. all abuse. just. don’t read if you’re triggered by any general categories of abuse

You still here? So sorry about that. Now let’s get going! 

I can’t deny that there’s some sort of appeal to tfc. “Sports team for fucked up weirdos” is an interesting concept and one that can draw you in, if it’s done well. But Nora Sakavic thrives on shock value and can’t write to save her life, so it’s not done well. It’s done very, very badly. Now I’m not here to complain about the terrible writing (even though I could, believe me). I’m here to complain about how Nora writes like she gets into tumblr discourse with teenagers and makes anti blocklists. So we’ll just go in chronological order, because I think it makes the most sense that way. 

Eden’s Twilight

Up until the Eden’s Twilight chapter, the bad parts are more or less excusable. Andrew is...being Andrew, but the book has just begun, and as long as he doesn’t get any worse he’s bound to have some character development soon (which ha funny joke but we’re hopeful, the night’s still young). Nicky is likable and seemingly the good guy who’s said maybe a couple iffy things, Aaron isn’t noteworthy (and boy does he stay that way), and we haven’t seen much of Kevin’s “fun alcoholism” yet. 

And then there’s Eden’s Twilight.  The setup to the chapter has a couple interesting moments, most notably Nicky pushing Neil to take out his contacts despite the knowledge that it makes him deeply uncomfortable because everyone just bends to the fucking whim of Andrew apparently (a running theme that I’ll get to later) and a gross bit of setup where Nicky comes onto Neil and Andrew threatens to kill him. 

“...his happy expression faltered when he got a good look at Neil. “Oh man. Neil, you clean up good. Can I say that, or is that against the rules? Just--damn. Aaron, don’t let me get too drunk tonight.” (tfc pg 129)

(Nicky is an adult with a fiancee who he allegedly loves. Neil is 18. Just in case anyone’s forgotten.)

Then they go and buy some drugs! Nora shows a worrying misunderstanding of how drug withdrawal works (Nora do even one ounce of research for your shitty book please ma’am I’m begging you) and they buy some drugs with vague side effects (I have no idea if the stuff they take is based off real world drugs and I’d rather not find out) in a scene that seems unrealistic but I couldn’t tell you for sure (never bought drugs. not about to ask the people in my life who have.). They buy their drugs, Andrew takes some drugs, Nora continues to know nothing about withdrawal, they go to a nightclub! The night is still young!

And now comes the big problem area. 

Their nightclub adventures begin with a complicit bartender who says, “Back so soon, Andrew? Who’s your newest victim?” (tfc pg 133). On a later page it’s established that the bartender was spiking Neil’s drinks and fully aware of everything the siblings planned to do (as is routine with them? apparently?) so. Fun guy. 

They do some drugs, drink some alcohol. Neil refuses to do both. Andrew and Nicky are adamant about him doing drugs with them, but he refuses, so they concede. 

“Drink with us if you won’t dust with us,” Nicky said, holding his open packet in one hand and his shot in the other. 

And Neil does. Because there’s no reason not to, really. Andrew’s gang accepted it when he said he didn’t drink. They’ve so far not forced him to do anything he doesn’t want to. He watched the bartender pour his drink. He has no reason to suspect he won’t be fine. 

So, of course, his drink is drugged, and Andrew, Aaron, and Nicky hold him down as he tries to run away. The twins force him onto the dance floor, then leave him with Nicky, reigning defender for World’s Most Predatory Man. 

“Bodies and lights blurred around him, making Neil nauseous. He clawed bloody lines down Nicky’s arm as he fought to get free. Nicky didn’t let go until they’d reached the middle of the dance floor. He pulled Neil up against him and caught Neil’s chin in his fingers to force his head back.  Nicky’s kiss was harder than Neil expected it to be, and there was more than just tongue in it. Beneath the burn of vodka Nicky shared with him was the sweet tang of cracker dust. Neil didn’t mean to swallow, but it hurt too much to hold it in his mouth.  “This is how the game goes,” Nicky said against his lips. “Stop fighting if you want to survive.” (tfc pg 136)

Nicky is a good guy of the story. Not only that, he’s a fan favorite character. This isn’t even a chapter people gloss over to glorify their faves, either. People often point to this chapter and the surrounding scenes as one of the series’ most iconic moments. Neil’s night ends with him paying a bartender to knock him unconscious to put an end to the drugged abuse, which can be found near the top of pretty much everyone’s “top ten iconic Neil Josten moments” lists.  This scene is fucking disgusting. He’s forcefully assaulted, allowed and encouraged by Andrew, who’s supposedly the force keeping Nicky in line, and who told him earlier in the chapter not to try anything. Aaron and Kevin are complicit in this, as is the bartender. As are the rest of the team members and Coach Wymack, even if it’s to a far lesser extent, because though they’re horrified that Andrew and his gang brought Neil to the club, they’re not surprised. For people who seemed to know it was coming, they did an awfully lax job of keeping Neil safe though they claim that’s their top priority, and Wymack hardly reprimands Andrew. And no one even shifts blame towards Nicky, despite the fact that he’s the worst person here out of all of them.

People tend to ignore Nicky in general when it comes to how bad of people all these characters are. Which is weird, because Nicky is a horrific predator, and this scene can’t be excused. Though he never assaults Neil again, he continues to be interested in him up until his lackluster apology (which, by the way, does not excuse his actions in this chapter so fuck off if you’re gonna say it does), and it’s pretty clearly implied that he only stops flirting uncomfortably with Neil (who, side note, is still barely not a child) because Andrew forces him to, and not because of any personal growth. 

This should be the end of my explanation of why these books are terrible. Writing a scene like this, in which the assaulters are the good guys of the story and will, throughout the next three books, improve as people by exactly 0%, is reprehensible. There’s no coming back from that. But some of you obviously disagree, so let’s keep going. 

There’s more scenes like this, one in particular, but I’m gonna talk about it later. My point is just that “token gay character is a blatant predator” is not a good look, especially when written by a straight woman.

Thanksgiving

Nora Sakavic would not know how to write a rape victim if one punched her in the face and told her she was a horrible writer. I wish I didn’t have to say more. But I obviously do, so let’s go. 

(as always: necessary disclaimer that I am not a csa survivor and if anyone out there is and disagrees with me I’m more than willing to hear you out, however, i don’t think it takes one to tell that Nora Sakavic is a Fraud And Hack) 

This one wasn’t quite as hard to reread as the Eden’s Twilight chapter, probably because even though the acts are worse, it doesn’t have a bad message overall. The rapist is, thank god, the bad guy in this one. 

It does, however, have problems. Because Nora is still unable to write about serious issues without incorporating scenes purely for the purpose of shock value. 

Like, y’all, it’s really not hard to say “this character was raped as a child and has problems with consent and intimacy because of it”. You don’t need to bring the rapist into the story and have them rape the character again only for the main characters to walk in on it and kill the rapist with a lacrosse racket. 

Oh yeah, spoilers, that’s exactly what happens.  

The chapter starts out fine. If anything, it’s tame for a chapter of a book out of The World’s Most Unnecessarily Over The Top Book Series. 

The basic setup is: Nicky’s parents have invited him and the twins home for Thanksgiving after being estranged for 5 years. Andrew refuses to go. He won’t tell anyone why, but after a talk with him Neil learns that it’s because he was raped by his stepbrother and when he confided in Nicky’s dad about it, Nicky’s dad told him it was a misunderstanding. 

Y’all know what that is? Perfectly fucking adequate writing. We learn this thing about Andrew’s past. He has, for probably the only time in this entire series, adequate motivation to do something. But Ms. Sakavic, known Fraud And Hack, said fuck that. We need more. We need to really know what Andrew went through. “Like in a longer conversation sequence?” Someone sensible asked. Nora shook her head. “Like in the second worst scene I have ever written because I am a Fraud And Hack.” 

So they go to Nicky’s house for Thanksgiving! This also gives Nora a chance to remind us all that she is a straight woman and Nicky is a gay stereotype. Andrew is on edge the entire time, but Neil manages to keep him under control for the most part. Then we learn that Nicky’s dad invited Andrew’s rapist ex-stepbrother to the house. And than they’re upstairs together. Alone. 

So y’know, Neil and Aaron run upstairs, break down the door, there’s a page and a half of description of the scene of Andrew about to get raped before their very eyes, Aaron kills the rapist with a lacrosse stick (exy stick, whatever), and scene. I’m not gonna quote this one, because I don’t wanna make anyone read it, but it runs roughly from page 215-220 of The Raven King if you wanna see for yourself. Highly recommend against it. It’s nasty. 

This is a chapter that goes from 0-100 in pretty much too seconds. Someone should probably tell Nora that forcing Andrew to have dinner with the man who discredited his rape is enough digging up of his traumatic past. We don’t need to go deeper. She can stop now. She should stop now. We know Andrew’s history of csa at this point. If Nora thought that wasn’t enough, there are a million ways she could go more in depth without doing this. This scene doesn’t even go more in depth. In terms of advancements in the story, all that happens is that Aaron, Kevin, and Nicky find out about Andrew’s past (something that could have happened in so many different ways) and Aaron kills a man (which doesn’t actually matter because it takes no toll on him and is never mentioned again because nora is a fraud and hack). I was appalled and horrified the first time I read it, and rightly so, because that’s it’s only purpose. 

And putting a rape scene in a book for the sole purpose of shocking your readers is just a nasty thing to do. 

Bonus Point: Riko Moriyama Is An Evil Monster And That’s Bad Even If He Is The Villain 

Riko’s an evil monster! Yeah! Obviously! We’re glad he died! He sucks! But...he’s a very badly written evil monster, and I don’t feel like unpacking all of him, but I just want to point to a couple scenes towards the end of The Raven King real quick since they fit with the whole “Nora don’t write about rape like this” theme. 

I’m not gonna quote this one either because it’s Real Gross. But basically, Riko convinces Neil to spend winter break with him by telling him that he arranged for Andrew to get raped over Thanksgiving, and that if Neil doesn’t comply with his terms, he’s paid off one of the doctors at the psych ward Andrew is staying in and will get that doctor to rape him again. 

So that didn’t...need to happen. It’s quite frankly disgusting that Nora wrote all this (the language in this scene is very explicit). It’s disgusting that she couldn’t think of any other way to portray her villain as evil. This is bad writing. Riko doesn’t need to be cartoonishly villainous. It’s unnecessary, it’s over the top, and it’s sickening to read. 

Also? That scene at the end of The Raven King where Riko handcuffs Neil to the bed and like...stabs him and it’s never said he rapes him but he definitely rapes him because Nora’s predatory subtext is more obvious than a slap in the face? That didn’t need to happen either. 

Andriel is a terrible ship, Nora you FRAUD AND HACK

So Andrew and Neil get together in the last book, because every series written by a straight woman needs a super unhealthy gay relationship for fangirls to call cute.

(This one is...weird because a lot of the fanbase are gay themselves, but I’ve heard there’s gay people who like the captive prince too so. i guess it just be like that sometimes.)

I don’t have time to comb through the entire book looking through problematic moments, and I wouldn’t want to. I’m just gonna grab a couple noteworthy scenes in what I hope will make an adequate outline of this fucked up relationship. 

The Foxhole Court starts by setting up a running theme of Everyone Disrespecting Neil’s Boundaries All The Time with Wymack, Andrew, and Kevin coming to his high school and refusing to leave until he agrees to sign on with their Not Lacrosse team. His first meeting with Andrew is when Andrew hits him with a lacrosse racket to forcibly stop him from leaving the locker room, a pretty good encapsulation of the sort of person Andrew is. They spent the next three books allegedly falling in love.

Neil establishes boundaries. Andrew breaks them.

“I don’t need to be persuasive,” Andrew said, putting a hand to Neil’s chest as the elevator slowed to a stop. “You’ll just learn to do what I say.” 

This is on page 33 of tfc, during their second meeting. Andrew establishes that he’s controlling and manipulative pretty damn early. 

A list of other “romantic and iconic” Andriel moments include:

Andrew breaks into Neil’s room and goes through his belongings

Andrew drugs Neil and allows Nicky to assault him (after threatening to kill Nicky if he tried anything??) because he doesn’t trust him

Andrew uses threats of sharing personal information to force Neil to tell him secrets

Andrew is repeatedly physically violent (their first meeting, beating him up at Eden’s Twilight)

Andrew tells Neil’s secrets to the team psychiatrist, knowing full well it’s a betrayal of Neil’s trust

Andrew delights in Neil’s fear and goes out of his way for most of tfc to make him fear for his safety

Andrew didn’t look at Wymack. “Neil wants to come with me.”  A day ago, those words might have been an order or a threat, but today Neil heard only truth. He’d chosen the Foxes. He’d chosen to trust Andrew, whatever that meant and whatever consequences it brought down the road. (tfc pg. 152)

After that quote the moments are harder to spot (read: I reread less of trk and none of tkm so I don’t have any bookmarks to turn to), but they are still there. The last moment there is from trk, so the abuse doesn’t stop, I’m just too exhausted to keep looking. 

And let me be clear, that quote is barely consent. Andrew physically and psychologically abuses Neil into the position he’s in when he surrenders and sides with Andrew on page 152.  This scene takes place right after Eden’s Twilight, and above all of what went down there, Neil has just been forced into telling Andrew more personal information than he’s ever told anyone. After a night of abuse he feels trapped, like resistance is futile, so he gives in. Saying he wants to be part of Andrew’s crew doesn’t count as consent when his hand is being forced. 

Even though scenes towards the end of the series show Neil beginning to learn how to control Andrew and the two of them coming to stand on a more level ground, their relationship is one built on abuse and violence, and it’s important not to forget that. It’s unrealistic that Neil would come to trust Andrew, honestly. And having the abusive, more mature character give Neil his first ever relationship and teach him that he’s gay (or bi, or whatever he is) is not a good look. Especially when this book has everything else I’ve already mentioned. Especially when Nora is, once again, a grown ass straight woman. 

Nicky And Andrew Are Two Terrible People Being Terrible To Each Other And Actually I Hate Both Of Them 

So Nicky’s predatory and Andrew is violent and their relationship is as unhealthy as can get. Andrew’s relationships with Nicky and Aaron are both unhealthy, but Aaron’s much less so, so I’m just gonna get into Nicky today because I’ve been writing for almost 3 hours and I kinda wanna die right about now. 

We’ve already established that I don’t like either of them. But let me be clear, it takes a lot for me to admit that Andrew “knives hidden up my sleeves” Minyard is right in any situation. And yet, in pretty much any situation where he threatens Nicky, it’s easy to see him as the good guy, at least up until a certain point. 

Andrew is a bad person. He’s violent and manipulative and has no regard for people’s boundaries. Nicky is arguably worse, painting himself as the peacemaker while being horrifically predatory. 

(A point on Nicky: Nora spends pretty much all of the first book showing Nicky as predatory, then abandons it entirely for the next two books, making it easy to forget the kind of person he is. Just because the predatory behavior stops doesn’t excuse it. Just because Nora thinks one lousy apology makes Nicky a good person suddenly, doesn’t mean it does.)

I’m gonna paste in a pretty massive chunk of text from the foxhole court, but I think it’s all important, so bear with me. 

“Andrew is scary territorial of him. He punched me the first time I said I’d like to get Kevin too wasted to be straight.” Nicky pointed at his face, presumably where Andrew had decked him. “So yeah, I’m going to crush on safer targets until Andrew gets bored of him. That means you, since Matt’s taken and I don’t hate myself enough to try Seth. Congrats.” “Can you take the creepy down a level?” Aaron asked. “What?” Nicky asked. “He said he doesn’t swing, so obviously he needs a push.” ... “Nicky’s scheming to rape Neil,” Aaron said. “There are a couple flaws in his plan he needs to work out first, but he’ll get there sooner or later.” “You’re such an asshole,” Nicky said as he started for the door. “Wow, Nicky,” Andrew said. “You start early.” “Can you really blame me?” ... Andrew caught Nicky’s jersey in one hand and threw him hard up against the wall... “Hey Nicky,” Andrew said in stage-whisper German. “Don’t touch him, you understand?”  “You know I’d never hurt him. If he says yes-”  “I said no.”  Jesus, you’re greedy,” Nicky said. “You already have Kevin, what does it-” He went silent, but it took Neil a moment to realize why. Andrew had a short knife pressed to Nicky’s jersey...Neil knew Andrew meant it. If Nicky so much as breathed wrong right now, Andrew would cut his lungs to ribbons, any and all consequences be damned. 

 So there’s a lot to unpack there. I loose Andrew at the point where he’s ready to murder, but though he’s extreme as fuck, it’s not like he’s unjustified. We learn later from his backstory why he’s so extreme in shutting down any behavior he sees predatory, and rightfully so. (Even though there’s still Eden’s Twilight soon after this... it’s Nora’s incompetent writing isn’t it.) Nicky is a creep. He’s an adult. He has a fiance. And he’s talking about how he’s going to coerce a teenager into having sex with him because he won’t tell him his sexuality. 

He says he wouldn’t do anything without consent, but we know that’s not true. He’s just saying what Andrew wants to hear. 

And as for Andrew, though his violence is excused by backstory and mental problems, it’s a big fucking deal. He nearly killed his cousin, who we know he feels at least some sort of fondness for, because it’s established at this point that the reason he’s so heavily medicated is for attacking men who threatened Nicky. Would he regret it later? It’s impossible to say. He killed Aaron’s mom and assumed Aaron would be grateful. He’s threatened or attacked pretty much every member of the Not Lacrosse team. And I honestly don’t know what Nora is trying to tell us about him. He gets tamer once he’s permanently off his medication, but he was violent before it. I suppose that’s because by then Neil has learned how to calm him down, but is that the message? Abuse a boy into hanging out with you and eventually he’ll be a boyfriend who knows how to deal with you? 

Nicky is a predator and Andrew is a violent abuser and neither of them are the good guys and that’s the only conclusion I can possibly draw from the way they’re written. 

Assorted noteworthy moments that didn’t fit into any larger part: 

the part in trk where Nicky’s parents are homophobic and he tells them he loves his fiance and this is the moment that’s supposed to make us sympathize with him? “The sexual predator has homophobic Christian parents feel sad for him” nice try Nora but he’s not getting shit in the way of sympathy from me, your straight is showing

the part in tfc when Seth says the f-slur is bad because uh. Nora that’s not your word to say

bonus Nicky is predatory bit: Nicky waggled a hand at Aaron. “Quick, have we said anything totally incriminating these past few months?” “Aside from your endless inappropriate comments about what you’d like to do to [Neil], I don’t think so.” (tfc pg 239) 

Kevin is also manipulative! I felt like covering it would be a bit of a rehash of Andrew and this was getting really long but he continually uses exy as leverage to get Neil to do things he feels will put him in danger the same way Andrew uses threats of sharing his secrets. 

bonus bonus Nicky is predatory bit (I’m discovering more and more as I go): Nicky’s stare was appreciative when Neil returned, but for once he kept his mouth shut. (tfc pg 243) Is this supposed to be character growth? Being predatory without explicitly saying anything is barely better Nora!! (Side note, in this same scene Nicky does make a comment about Neil jacking off in the bathroom stall which? Seems kinda bad considering everything else with him?)

I didn’t touch on it very much because no one cares about it and it’s way harder to convince people poor writing about drug abuse is bad than poor writing about sexual assault is bad (even though it shouldn’t be, and i could have tried both but again. long post) but Nora’s attitude to drugs and alcohol is bad. Every character and their mom is addicted to something, with Kevin and Andrew being the most obvious touched on (also Seth but I don’t think anyone cares about him), and Nora’s attitude towards writing it is quite frankly disgusting. She’s offensively misinformed and it pisses me off to no end. But that’s a rant for another day.

Every sex scene between Neil and Andrew is gross. (I think there’s two of them from what I remember? At least two, maybe more.) I googled plenty and I couldn’t find Nora’s age anywhere, but I know for a fact that she’s an adult, and I also know the series took her 13 years to write, so I’m fairly sure she’s at least in her 30s. 

I know I said I wasn’t gonna complain about bad writing but. It’s so bad y’all, and I honestly think it gets worse as the books go along. Every time Neil monologued it took a year off my life. 

So yeah. There’s a lot that’s fucked up about the foxhole court. And the worst part of it is that it never gets better. Andrew makes marginal improvement, but Nicky never does. Nora writes shock value scenes until the series end (I didn’t write about the scene in tkm where Neil gets tortured because it’s the same shock value effect of the thanksgiving chapter in a different sort of way but it’s also bad). I am of the honest belief that this book is far too fucked up to salvage. This is my official tfc bad masterpost, because every time I criticize it someone wants to know more. But I’m also putting it in the fandom tags because it annoys me to no end that y’all support these books, and I’m hoping I can at least change someone’s mind. 

[blackerthanisound]

Rereading Twilight at Twenty-five

What the hell are you doing?:

For some reason, I have decided to revisit the Twilight Series from the perspective of a grown woman. And I’m hoping to have someone else on this journey with me.

Why, though?:

Bruh, that’s a good question .

Honestly, in mid-2008 when a young, more deservedly hopeful version of myself stumbled onto these books, she was hooked. I was hooked. I read them dozens of times, finishing the series and returning to the first page again like it was something new. I devoured fan fiction, I filled dozens of notebooks with stories never published. Then, almost without warning, the passion faded and I found myself scoring the books I had loved. My teen years brought on a wealth of disallusionment and I preened over growing into loving better writing.

But looking back now, I think of all the things I still remember about the series and wonder how my perspective has changed in the last decade.

Background:

I grew up poor, black and shy in a hole in the Bible Belt with books instead of friends. Every spare moment growing up found a book in my hand or next to me, waiting to be picked up. My mother nurtured my love of reading, and always encouraged me to make use of the library. Imagine my excitement when, in my eighth grade English class, we were further encouraged to spend fifteen minutes each class period quietly reading. Even better, our teacher had her own little library of books, shelves tucked into every available corner, filled with books adolescents may enjoy.

I remember gleefully pulling out the two books I was allowed to take at a time, writing my name on the sign-in sheet, reading them in a night, sometimes two, and bringing them back to exchange. Honestly, she didn’t have all that many books . At one point, it felt almost like I had read everything new that she had to offer. Though, there was one book on the shelf I hadn’t picked up yet. It was a big, black paperback with a lowercase title on the spine. I was intrigued. I pulled the book out and reverently stared at it.

The cover, those pale white hands offering that bright red apple. It looked nice. I remember reading the back of the book, then opening it to read the first page. I shrugged and thought: why not?

That night, I devoured that book, then the next, then the next.

The last book, I bought. I read it and even ensnared my mother into loving them like I did. It was the first time she enjoyed a book I had, which only encouraged me to buy the others so that I could read them whenever I wanted to.

I probably read those books at least 50 times and loved them so much. I bought the t-shirts, I saw the movies, I lived and breathed the series for a while. But now that the fever has faded and I’ve grown up, I’m curious about how they hold up and if they were better or worse than I thought. And, again, hoping to share this journey with people who might at least get a laugh out of it.

[aion-rsa]

Infinite Frontier and the Infinite Possibilities of the DC Universe

https://ift.tt/2ZqaA8u

Joshua Williamson has had his hands in just about every big DC story for the last five years. One of the longest-tenured Flash writers ever, Williamson has by necessity been in the middle of every time the DC multiverse tried to burst back into canon over the last five years. After all, you can’t have a Crisis without a Flash beat or three.

But now, Williamson is getting the keys to the bus. Infinite Frontier #0 kicks off the post-Metal, post-Future State new status quo for the DC Universe in March. That status quo builds off of DC’s new multiversal mantra: everything happened and anything is possible. We had a chance to talk with him about what that means on both ends – what the new DCU is growing out of, and what’s coming in the future.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

Den of Geek: Give me an elevator pitch Infinite Frontier coming out of Future State.

Joshua Williamson: What we’re doing is we’re taking all of these things that we love about the DCU and everything that happened through Death Metal and everything that’s happening with Future State. And we’re just taking everything that we love with the DCU. We’re just moving it forward, with the Infinite Frontier Special, Wonder Woman and The Spectre go on this journey where they explore this new DCU [and what] the DCU looks like after things like Death Metal and Future State. One of the themes of Infinite Frontier is anything is possible. 

You’re getting to play with all the toys now. What are your touchstone DC runs? When you think about the DC multiverse and all of the enormous, insane glory, what are the first stories that you think of? What are the trades that you give to people?

Oh man, that’s a tough question. I feel like I would definitely give them Grant [Morrison]’s JLA, I think the stuff that they did on that series was really powerful. And especially once you get to “Rock of Ages” or Mark Waid’s “Tower of Babel” from that same era. [Morrison and Howard Porter’s] JLA #1 is a really important comic for the DC Universe. I think it’s a moment where things started to turn a little into a new era.

I definitely would give people Mark Waid’s Flash stuff. I think you can’t go wrong with Dark Knight Returns or Batman: Year One. [Darwyn Cooke’s] New Frontier is one of the best examples of what DC can be….I think you could also give them Long Halloween. There’s so much stuff you can give them.

I’m always partial to giving things like Knightfall, Death of Superman, just because of how old I am, I think. Those stories were so big when I was coming into the DCU. Kingdom Come is really good and obviously, you get around to things like Crisis on Infinite Earths and Infinite Crisis. I think that build up to Infinite Crisis, when you get to Countdown To Infinite Crisis, plus all the minis and 52 that’s one of my favorite eras of DC, is that block of time.

That Death & Return of Superman era was nuts with how many talented creators were working at the top of their games.

And they were doing that triangle number thing where Superman was a weekly book for a long time and all that stuff was really strong. I still think about that stuff. I actually got to work with Dan Jurgens recently on a few different things. I was originally one of the creators working on Generations. And…he did the cover for Infinite Frontier #0.

So when he was working on that cover, I sent him a bunch of different ideas of what I was looking for and thinking a lot about.  We were talking a lot about New Frontier and…the positivity and the fun of DC…and it’s like, well, this is the next step of the DCU, right? We’re definitely moving forward. It’s a new era in many different ways and so we wanted to find ways of showcasing that. There are new characters, so there’s new characters on that cover. Dan had questions about them and he was texting me and then he just called me and we started just talking about Infinite Frontier and history stuff about DC and his time working on Justice League and his time doing Superman. 

And in the back of his office, he has a piece of art from Reign of the Supermen from the later issues. I think it’s Superman #81, it might be a little bit later, but you know that one that has the green floral cover and it has Superman in the black costume, he’s charging forward [editor’s note: it is Superman #81 and Williamson pulled this from memory]. He has that in his office. It’s so cool to see it, and just to be able to talk to him about it. 

Read more

Movies

Zack Snyder’s Justice League New Trailer Breakdown and Analysis

By Mike Cecchini

TV

Superman & Lois: Behind the Scenes of The New DC TV Show

By Mike Cecchini

When it comes to DC there’s so many different great eras. I look at it as these big blocks. You can break them up by decades. I think part of the motivation behind Infinite Frontier is we saw an opportunity to draw a line in the sand and be like, this is the new era. This is the step moving forward and everything before this mattered, everything counted, all those things you love happened and mattered. So now we want to be able to move forward and just take all that stuff, take all those things we love, all those stories we love and say they happened and now let’s go, let’s get the ground running and go with it.

I’m a continuity junkie. And sometimes I’ve had editors call me out and they’ll be like, “Why are you referencing? What is this you’re referencing?” And I’m like, “Oh, that’s from this comic book from 1997.” And they’re like, “Oh, well, did that happen? Did that happen?” This would come up sometimes during Rebirth where they’ll be like, “Well, did that happen post Flashpoint?” And I’m like, “It did now. Let’s figure out how to make it work.” I think that’s part of the approach now. I think there’s a freedom to reference what you want.

But at the same time, it can’t be all about all these things that happened in the past and just trying to relive it or try to re-glorify it or whatever, you have to tell new stuff. I think one of the most exciting parts about Future State has been seeing its progress, seeing where it started and where it is now, but seeing the response to it. It was really awesome to watch how people are excited about new characters, new looks, new stories, just new stuff. I think right now the DCU is becoming an unpredictable place…not just in terms of the characters, but I think in terms of readers, I think there’s things that you’re going to see that you’re you’re going to be surprised by.

Don’t get me wrong, we’re definitely going to reference the past. I think if somebody is reading Infinite Frontier or the other books that I’m working on for DC in the next year, I’m definitely going to pull things from the past, especially things that I think we’re still missing that I want to bring back in. But that all being said, it’s taking those things and saying, “Okay, how do I tell a new story with it? how do I move those things forward?” 

Future State Justice League is explicitly about legacy heroes in a way that the DC Universe hasn’t really been since the mid 2000s…I assume that we can take that as a hint about what’s to come from you from Infinite Frontier and from your future in the DCU.

When I started reading comics as a kid, I was a casual reader. But when I was able to get on my bike and ride to the comic store and grab the books, the DCU was a different place. I started reading Green Lantern at issue 45 because it crossed over to Superman. 46 is a Green Lantern/Green Arrow crossover and then those issues, like 48, 49 and 50 are Emerald Twilight with Hal going crazy and then issue 51, introduces Kyle Rayner.

So you have Kyle Rayner as Green Lantern and Wally West as Flash and Bart Allen was introduced and there’s a new Robin with Tim Drake and Jean-Paul Valley was Batman for a hot second. And there were four Supermen. All of these big changes, all these new elements were introduced.

I think for readers, it’s important to introduce those new things, because then you can take ownership over it. [As a reader]I have a Green Lantern that was introduced and I got to see the world of Green Lantern through his eyes..

You use that new stuff as a vehicle to reintroduce all this huge mythology that’s out there. So I was very excited about that idea of introducing new things. And so that’s why when we started talking about my particular involvement with Justice League and Future State, I wanted it to be just all new characters.

Jon [Kent] was a no-brainer as Superman.  I was so excited to get Jo [Mullein, the Green Lantern from one of the best GL books ever, Far Sector]. I wasn’t sure I was going to get Jo for a minute. I kept asking about it and we kept talking about it, but that was one of the ones I really wanted, was Jo and then they gave me Jo. 

I’ve written a lot of Flash, so it was important to me to do a Flash I had never written before. And so they presented options to me and one of them was Jess [Chambers, the Earth-11 Flash who is part of the Future State Justice League that Williamson wrote]. And we started talking about how Jess was from the multiverse and what character they were. You can look at how Future State Justice League is and how it is very much about the new, but I’m also using elements of the past and using these classic elements or things that I personally love like the Hyperclan or little hints of things through the Hall of Justice.

And, I like teasing stuff. I love teasing things. I love putting little hints of stories to come throughout books because … When I was younger, I would reread stuff a lot. I would reread Death of Superman and there were times I would find things that I hadn’t picked up on before. If you go and you look at something like so much of Geoff Johns’ stuff in The Flash or JSA and how much he was able to take things that were older, these little seeds of story.

Grant Morrison loves to put ideas on the table that someone else can pick up. I also want to do that. [Now that] both issues of Future State Justice League are out, you can see a couple more seeds of things that are coming. 

There is a moment where the Spectre and Wonder Woman, they do talk about Future State at the beginning of Infinite Frontier #0. They talk about what she saw, because she sees Future State. And so it’s this idea of what does she actually see and does all that mean it’s just coming to pass and the Spectre, he is like, “It depends.” You’ll see when we get there.

But there is a conversation about what those futures are. I think once you read Infinite Frontier #0, you’re going to see a lot of elements of things that I personally like and wanted to bring in and then there’s some stuff about moving the ball forward. I think that’s what’s really exciting about all the other chapters in Infinite Frontier, because it’s like a lot of what I’m doing is overall the structure in Infinite Frontier, trying to get these balls to move forward but also put things on the table for the next year for the DCU. There are a lot of other chapters in there that are written by other creators that really are a lot about the new, like Tim Sheridan has story about Teen Titans that’s about the new kids coming into Teen Titans Academy. You have Geoffrey Thorne and Dexter Soy doing a story about the Green Lanterns that is awesome. It’s really exciting to see some of this stuff. 

I think people always want all the answers laid out on the table immediately.

When Death Metal was over, I think people really wanted us to release a spreadsheet of, well, here are the rules, this is the thing, this is what happened but I think the characters don’t even know that. They’re still figuring stuff out. That’s part of why the Totality was created at the end of Death Metal. It’s infinite possibilities and now we have to explore what this means. And that’s part of what we’re going to be doing with DCU…What does infinite possibilities in an infinite multiverse? What does that even mean? How does that impact it?

Read more

Comics

How Dark Nights: Death Metal Reboots the DC Universe

By Jim Dandy

Movies

Complete DC Comics Superhero Movie Release Calendar

By Mike Cecchini

And then, at the end of Death Metal, The Presence, The Hands on the other side of the wall, they told Wonder Woman there was a cost there, there was a cost of doing what they were doing and she thought that that was her death, but it was like, no, you’re ascending. There’s something else and, if you get infinite possibilities, that sounds terrific. Right? But there’s a part where Spectre and Wonder Woman are talking about it and he’s like, “Yeah, infinite wonder.” And she’s like, “Yeah but infinite terror. That means there could be something bad out there too.” And she’s aware of this cost and she’s trying to find out what that cost is in Infinite Frontier #0, she’s trying to figure out what it was.

We’re putting all these questions on the table and we’re going to let those answers come or organically again. I think you’ll see when you get to Infinite Frontier #0, is we’re going to answer some questions. But then we’re also going to put some new ones on the table that are going to take a little bit to answer. 

It’s almost more fun when you hear the writer asking the question at the same time that you are, right?

Yeah.

Like, this is something we’re supposed to be concerned about, this is something that we’ve got to watch further, right?

Yeah. We’re all in this together. Just have fun with it.

You’re working with John Timms and John Romita Jr. on the bookend chapters.

Yeah. I’m also working with Howard Porter and Alex Maleev. So I have four chapters, it’s John Timms, Alex Maleev, Howard Porter and then yeah, John Romita.

Those are four very different styles and I know you’ve worked with Porter a bunch on Flash. He’s a Flash legend, Justice League legend. But what’s it like switching gears in your head, especially in the same book, going between those four dramatically different styles, are you bringing anything back and forth between the four different artists like, “Oh, JR Jr. did this or Timms did this and it was cool as hell.” Or are you just throwing up your hands and saying, “You guys are pros, do your thing.”

No, no. I wrote for them.For Alex Maleev I was very specific about which scene I want him to do, which characters I want him to draw and so I wrote it for him, I’m a big fan of his Daredevil run with [Brian Michael] Bendis and so I wrote it for him. I very much wrote a scene that I thought would lean into him, that I knew he would excel at, with a character but I think, I just knew, like you know that guy is going to draw that character. It’s going to be cool. 

Howard draws the Flash part. I definitely in the script was like, “Howard you know what’s up. I don’t have to get deep into who these characters are, you know what’s going on.” But it’s a big moment for the Flash family and I wanted Howard to be the one to draw it and he was very excited about that and he totally knocked it out of the park. 

John Timms and I have talked about working with each other for years. We knew each other back when he had just started working at DC, on Harley Quinn, we were talking. So I’ve known him and I’ve seen him grow as this artist and I think that the stuff he’s doing on Infinite Frontier is his best work to date. It looks amazing and he draws some of the bigger moments in the issue. There’s some really cool, big stuff that he does in it. 

And then with John Romita Jr. I mean, come on that dude is a legend. I mean, that guy, he and I have had conversations over the last five years and he’s definitely been on the bucket list of creators I wanted to work with and so he became the option. I was like, “Oh, he has to do the epilogue.” And what was crazy, I found out as we were getting it ready and I was writing the script for him. One of the big characters that’s in the epilogue, he had never drawn before and I was surprised by that. I couldn’t find it anywhere. And so he actually called me when he was working on it so we could talk out some stuff on it, but I wrote it for him. I knew what he wants as an artist, what he looks for, when he was doing Daredevil: Man Without Fear [with Frank Miller], that was a five page script and he turned it into six issues.

He is a legend and he’s a great story teller. For him, I wrote it in a style that I knew he liked. And when those pages came in, he really nails it and he gets what we wanted from that ending. 

It was awesome working with all these different artists [with] everything else coming through. It was just so great. Jorge Jimenez did the Batman pages with James [Tynion IV]. Those are so cool. And then, James also did a story about Alan Scott, he did the Alan Scott chapter and that was drawn by Stephen Byrne and every time the pages came in, you were just like, “Oh this is so cool.” A lot of it looks really good. Bendis’ pages [with David] Marquez look really great.

Todd Nauck is a friend of mine and I really liked when he was doing Young Justice back in the day. He hasn’t really worked at DC in a long time and so he comes in doing this four-pager with Geoff Johns for Stargirl and it just looks so cool. It’s an interesting book full of a lot of really creative, talented people and I’m excited to share it with people. 

Now that everything counts again, what piece of continuity are you most excited to put back into the puzzle?

Oh, I can’t tell you that. [laughs] There’s a bunch. I’m sneaking them all in. 

Everything? Is there a piece of continuity that you thought of initially and you said, “No, I can’t possibly do that.”

Not yet. Everything could be used as a tool. I mean, listen, there are elements of stories that I personally would not be a fan of that I might not go for but that isn’t to say that they are bad. There’s just not things that I’m personally interested in, but there’s so much stuff that I am interested in, that’s where I focus. All of the stuff that I want to bring in, characters that are missing, things like that, that haven’t been used in a while. I am a greedy person when it comes to that, I am trying to grab all of them and it’s important to me to bring all this cool stuff back in. Yeah.

Now I know [an ongoing Robin series with art by Gleb Melinkov] is what’s immediately next coming out of this but is there something else coming out of Infinite Frontier #0, in the DC Universe that you can share yet? Or not yet?

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Not yet. I think once Infinite Frontier #0 comes out, it’ll be really obvious.

Infinite Frontier #0 hits on March 2.

The post Infinite Frontier and the Infinite Possibilities of the DC Universe appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/2Ztaddq

[howlsmovinglibrary]

All of the question tags!!

Damn, it seems that this is what happens when you run out of phone data and are away from wifi for a while. The 11 questions tags take over.

Imma gonna answer every tag that I can find in this one long post, and sweet jesus I’m not tagging anyone in this particular chain, for fear of starting some kind of infinite loop that eventually becomes sentient and takes over the world.

So, time to seriously overshare!!

From @books-are-portals​

1. Favourite mythological being (of any kind)?

It’s a tie between dragons and unicorns, and you know what that means…..FIGHT!

2. Least favourite drink?

I hate coke/diet coke/pepsi/cola. I’m quite intolerant to caffeine in large doses, so the last time I drank a glass of coke, at like 4pm in the afternoon probably about 8 years ago, it kept me away until 3am D:

3. What book(s) do you recommend for everyone?

The Wicked and the Divine comics. It’s hella diverse, the art is amazing, and it’s about insanely powerful magical pop star gods. EVERYONE SHOULD READ.

4. Can you touch the tip of your nose with your tongue?

No – I have both an incredibly small nose and a very stubby tongue.

5. Least favourite book protagonist?

Ummm, bar all the protagonists from classics that I could endlessly moan on about all day and all night (I’m looking at you, Pamela), I’m going to say Zoey from The House of Night series, for all her toxic slut shaming, double standards, and just generally horribly written narrative voice (‘bullpoopy’ is a word that will forever be branded on my mind).

6. What TV show/film makes you happy?

Brooklyn Nine Nine is my go-to happy tv show, Spirited Away/Howl’s Moving Castle are the film equivalent.

7. Favourite trope?

Anything where a platonic friendship (particularly between two women) gets prioritised above a romantic relationship.

8. What piece of fictional technology would you like to have?

An alethiometer from HDM – it tells you the truth, but not enough to stop you from being in control of your own fate (the beauty of a book about free will, I guess.)

9. Finish sentence: I didn’t get enough sleep last night because…

…my back aches from lugging all my books to storage.

10. Favourite food to eat when you’re feeling down?

To be honest, it’s probably toast (with peanut butter if it’s been a really bad day).

11. Can you knit?

I can, but I can’t knit well. If you want a scarf, I can, in theory, do that. Anything that isn’t just one uniform band of the same stitch and I am not the person for the job.

********

From @heretherebebooks

1. Have you ever fallen out of love with a book? Why?

There are a lot of standard answers: ACOTAR, Twilight, etc. but my most recent is Borderline by Mishell Baker – I really like books with ‘unlikeable’ protagonists so I gave this a very high rating on first review, but I didn’t realise how damaging this representation of BPD is until I read multiple own voices reviews on the subject.

2. What’s the strangest book-related dream you’ve ever had? 

I have a lot of book dreams which feature me as the protagonist in my favourite fantasy novels, but then when I try to use magic to defend myself my brain goes ‘but Emma, magic doesn’t exist’ and so I’m suddenly facing down a demon hoard with no powers whatsoever.

3. Have you read a book that you didn’t really appreciate until later on? 

Ash by Malinda Lo is the main one for this, because  I didn’t appreciate that Ash is not supposed to get with the unbelievably hot fairy prince…until I reread five years later and saw that the hot fairy prince is a dick.

4. What book would you like to see a musical adaptation of? (Bonus: any ideas for song titles?)

To be honest, I just want Starkid to do a ‘A Very Potter Musical’ version of Cursed Child and watch the fanfiction of the fanfiction.

5. Have you ever thrown a book across the room? What was it? 

Ms Marvel Volume 4 (my ship was sunk…for now, anyway).

6. What book cover do you absolutely hate? How would you redesign it?

The Falconer and Dark Days Club UK covers are just super tacky – I’d take the Falconer US covers, and replace the Dark Days standard ‘pretty woman in fragile looking pose’ covers with either ‘plain looking woman fighting a fuck tonne of demons’ or just ‘fuck tonne of demons’, which is what the story is about anyway.

7. Have you ever cosplayed a character? Who?

I’m read this question at a con while dressed as Newt Scamander, so…. (last year I was Violet from the Rat Queen comics).

8. What’s the last book that made you want to scream from the rooftop? 

Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty (the thing I screamed was “MURDER. IN. SPAAAACEEE!” when my housemate asked me what it was about, although I was not on a rooftop at the time.)

9. What’s your favourite subgenre? 

My new favourite is ‘geeky contemporary’, bonus points if it’s ‘geek convention contemporary’ (Queens of Geek, Geekerella, Unconventional)

10. If you could bring an author back to life to write one more book, who would it be? 

I think Angela Carter could write one hell of a feminist YA fairy tale retelling, so I’m gonna bring her back.

11. Mug full of tea on your bed - yay or nay?

I just….I don’t live life this dangerously xD

*********

From @bookcub:

1. Who was the last character you related to and what were they from?  

Luca from The Burning City by Amanda Foody – he was basically the reason I kept reading that book, which otherwise wasn’t really my cup of tea, despite being a perfectly good book. He was the love interest, and was explicitly demiromantic. Although I’m not entirely sure where I place on the ace spectrum, and also felt that his portrayal was a little bit too cut and dry – with no sexual attraction until the MC shows up and then all the sexual attraction immediately at once with not really any grey area – his indifferent attitude towards sex as a general concept until those feelings latch onto a specific person, and his hesitation surrounding how to handle a relationship when it’s not something he’s has to consider before that point, were both very relatable for me. It certainly fitted my experience a little better than Tash Hearts Tolstoy.

2. What’s your favorite genre of music? 

Hmmm…there’s a wide range but I guess singer songwriter covers it? I care more about a song’s lyrics than what genre it’s in.

3. Which tags on tumblr do you follow and why? 

*whispers* I still don’t really understand how following tags works…..(someone plz explain)

4. Do you have any book related jewelry? 

I have a necklace of an owl delivering a Hogwarts letter, and Howl’s earrings from the Ghibli movie.

5. Thoughts on booklr being dead? 

I think the parts of booklr that were active a few years ago might be dead, but that’s just one specific group of people and they’ve probably moved on for a reason. Given it’s only in the last year or so that I’m getting notes and making friends, if booklr truly is dead then it seems that I’m either a necromancer, or having one hell of a party in the graveyard.

6. What are some of your favorite picture books from when you were a kid?

We’re Going On a Bear Hunt is the classic (my parents used to sing it to me to get me to go on hikes). When I could read for myself, Varjak Paw. 

7. What’s the first book you remember reading or being read to you? 

My dad read me the first and half of the second Harry Potter books on the Eurostar train from London to Disneyland Paris.

8. What’s your favorite dystopian novel and why? 

Hmmm, I’m not really a fan of dystopias all that much (more of a fantasy person), but I really like the Wolf by Wolf series, which I think counts due to it being alt. history, and The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. The first because a) it has fantasy elements, and b) A* character development over the duology. The second because it was the first ‘literary’ book I read for school and enjoyed, and because the TV show has been one of my favourite things this year.

9. Where do you get/buy most of your books? 

Truthfully, Amazon. I’m trying to do better now that I’m no longer strapped for cash.

10. Favorite animal? 

Cats. Fluffy, smooshy faced cats in particular ^^.

11. What book release are you anxious for (one you know the release date for) (yeah that means not Doors or Stone) 

It’s a toss-up between The Stone Sky by NK. Jemisin (which is out like, next week!!), Provenance by Ann Leckie, and Warcross by Marie Lu.

**********

From @accidentalspaceexplorer:

1. What do you think of science fiction?

I think it is good when written well, where the focus on world building doesn’t leave the characters one dimensional. Unfortunately I also think it is coded masculine in a number of ways - the focus on a ‘logical, technological’ world rather than ‘illogical’ femme coded magic  -  which means that sometimes I find it quite an frustrating and alienating genre. 

2. What’s one of your pet peeves?

Mansplaining. Currently there’s this really horrible man at my book club who keeps trying to explain narrative to me and I’m like, dude, I’m an English Literature graduate.

3. If you could pick one magic system to exist in real life, what would it be?

Oh, fuck. There’s so many that would be amazing, but I think the main I always gravitate back to is Elemental magic a la the Avatar universe, because that was the first type of magic system I fell in love with.

4. What is your favorite tree?

Cherry blossom

5. Do you have any plants around the house?

I do not own any personally, but my housemate has like fifteen spider plants to which I like to think I am a caring godmother figure.

6. What is the book with the weirdest premise that you’ve read and would recommend?

The Jane Austen Project - time travellers go back to Regency era Britain to befriend Austen and try to steal one of her lost manuscripts.

7. Have you loved books for as long as you can remember, or was there a particular event that sparked you becoming a reader?

As long as I can remember - I remember giving a presentation in class about how I was going to be any author at age 9.

8. What is your favorite recipe?

Lemon meringue cake - cake, lemon curd, a fuck tonne of meringue, what’s not to love?

9. Do you reread books? If not, why not? If so, what’s one that you reread again and again?

Yes. Always reread. My three main ones are The Dark Days Club, Uprooted, and (of course) Howl’s Moving Castle.

10. What’s your favorite weather?

Cold sunshine in winter. 

11. Do you read every day?

Pretty much (I read on my lunch break at work).

I think that’s every outstanding question answered - sorry if I’ve missed anyone!

[pandabearer]

Thank you @readalotsleepyhead​ for tagging me! I’m excited bc i feel like I rarely get to talk about books, but I have so many that I love!

1.) Which book has been on your shelves the longest?

I’m not 100% sure bc I can’t remember which happened first. The first book that I ever bought was Bliss by Lauren Myracle. I wasn’t a big fan of it at all. But the first book that my mother ever bought me was the Song of the Lioness quartet by Tamora Pierce (it was technically one book with all 4 stories included). I think I may have gotten the Tamora Pierce book first though?

2.) What is your current read, your last read, and the book you’ll read next?

I’m reading more than one book right now, but the ones that are my main focus are my rereads of acotar and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and actually finishing Gangsta (hope manga count). Acowar was the last book that I actually finished. And next I’ll probably start on King Hall by Scarlett Dawn which a friend recommended to me recently.

3.) Which book does everyone like and you hated?

I don’t really think I’ve ever really hated a book I’ve chosen to read. I eventually stopped reading the House of Night novels bc the heroine started getting on my nerves, but I was more disappointed in the authors than anything. There were still some aspects of the books that I liked though. Maybe Percy Jackson? I never got all the way through the series, but the fandom really turned me off of the books.

4.) Which book do you keep telling yourself you’ll read, but you probably won’t?

I keep saying I’ll finish the Divergent series but it’s pretty unlikely. I finished the first book, but then my twin spoiled the end and a major death for me so I haven’t been able to bring myself to finish it and I probably won’t.

5.) Which book are you saving for “retirement”?

I guess I’m saving the entire asoiaf series. There are so many books already, with 2 more hopefully on the way. I want to save the books until they’re all published at least, bc I don’t want to get frustrated waiting like so many people already have. Plus there is so much that I definitely need a while to get through it all.

6.) Last page: read it first or wait till the end?

It depends on whether the book is a physical copy or an ebook. I never bother going all the way to the end to take a peek with an ebook. But I’ve been known to read the last paragraph or so of a physical book before starting from the beginning. (I majorly spoiled myself once doing that though and never even bother reading the book, it’s still just sitting on my self </3 ).

7.) Acknowledgements: waste of ink and paper or interesting aside?

I think that it really depends on how the author executes it in regard to them being interesting. I rarely care enough about the author to read the acknowledgements (oops) so I think that is also a factor. If I’ve read another story by the author, or the plot was amazing, or the characters really drew me in and had me invested then I’m more likely to appreciate and bother with acknowledgements. So overall I’d say it varies, but for me they mostly don’t matter.

8.) Which book character would you switch places with?

This one is super tough. I’m going to say Hermione though. I think that the opportunity to experience magic and that world and it’s creatures, along with being around such extraordinary people and forming such strong relationships would make the trying and traumatic experiences that she goes through worth it tbh.

9.) Do you have a book that reminds you of something specific in your life (a person, a place, a time)?

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince reminds me of all the times I fucked around with my friends during study hall in 6th grade (I’m 21 in a month how do I remember this).

10.) Name a book you acquired in some interesting way.

I’ve bought all my books or been gifted them by my fam. All of them except two. During my last 2 years of high school I was home schooled and the school sent me the books I was supposed to use. At the end of the year they emailed me the ones that I was supposed to return by mail. The list didn’t include To Kill a Mockingbird or Our Town by Thornton Wilder, so those 2 are still on my shelf.

11.) Have you ever given away a book for a special reason to a special person?

When I was younger I was super possessive of my books (more so than I am now) so I never would have willingly given them away (I legit only let one friend that I trusted even borrow my books) plus my mother would have killed me for doing that with something she spent money on. But me twin let a friend borrow our shared copy of the first Maximum Ride novel and we never got it back so that could count right?

12.) Which book has been with you to the most places?

Probably either The Host or The Hunger Games. I know I took them both to school when I was younger, and to friends’ houses. I’ve also taken them to college to reread when I’m bored and have some time.

13.) Any “required reading” you hated in high school that wasn’t so bad ten years later?

I don’t remember a lot of the required reading, but I liked the majority that I can remember like The Great Gatsby, To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Outsiders. We always saw the movies after finishing the books too, which was fun. The ones I didn’t like reading (that I can remember) were things like The Scarlet Letter, which was hard to understand, and A Separate Peace, which was full of details that a bunch of 14 yr olds were supposed to find deeper meaning in. I didn’t like them then and I’m still not a big fan now (but it’s been less than 10 yrs so I still have time I guess).

14.) What is the strangest item you’ve ever found in a book?

Probably just some notes and underlining in a used copy of Don Quixote that I bought. Now the strangest item that I’ve ever put in a book is another story. It was a library book that I’d checked out and I had written down a bunch of misleadingly sexual URL’s that I’d found online on the receipt. Things like penisland.com (pen island). Then I forgot the receipt in the book when I turned it back in.

15.) Used or brand new?

I prefer new, but if I’m tight on cash and I really want the book I’ll buy used. Lately I’ve just been doing ebooks bc they’re pretty cheap and I can start reading right away (give me that instant gratification).

16.) Stephen King: literary genius or opiate of the masses?

I’ve never entirely finished a Stephen King book, and the ones I’ve started I barely remember so I can’t really say. I’ve liked the majority of the movies and shows I’ve seen based on his books and short stories, but I don’t know how accurate they are to his actual works.

17.) Have you ever seen a movie you liked better than the book?

Pride and Prejudice probably. I’ve liked all the interpretations I’ve seen more than the book surprisingly, even the zombie version, and don’t think I don’t feel like a heathen bc of it (I still like the book though, don’t get me wrong). I think it just translates well to the screen, or maybe we’ve just been lucky. In most cases though I like the book better, even if I do enjoy the movie too.

18.) Conversely, which book should NEVER have been introduced to celluloid?

Twilight

19.) Have you ever read a book that’s made you hungry, cookbooks being excluded?

If we’re not allowed to count cookbooks then the answer is no, not as far as I can remember.

20.) Who is the person who’s book advice you’ll always take?

Idk if I would always take anyone’s advice about books. I mostly trust my own instincts over anything else. Probably the person I trust most would be ma girl Ash who does the most reading of any of my friends, including me. But she’s not very selective about the books she reads, she’ll try just about anything, whereas I’m a little more particular about what I like. If she’s really emphatic about a book though I can generally trust it to be good.

This took longer than I thought it would. I had to try looking up a couple books bc I couldn’t even remember their names. Hmmm, I guess I’ll just tag @starswove since I’m not sure who all are readers. @lev-viathan I don’t know what all you’ve read, but if you wanna do this you can just put a different warrior cats book for every answer :3c

[jixiani]

In defense of fanfiction

I’ve been thinking about fanfiction lately, (really I’ve been thinking that I should really be taking some of this time to write more, but that’s another post) AO3 just had their yearly fundraiser so of course the old discourse over the site and its history was dragged up again and then Sarah had brought it up this morning and well, I have a lot of strong feelings on the subject. Let’s start with a little personal background: I have been reading and writing fanfic since the late 90’s. It started out as something silly my best friend introduced me to and we would sit in her mother’s computer room and giggle over ‘speculative fan fictions’ and participate on months-long roleplay scenarios on chat boards and take turns passing notebooks full of handwritten stories back and forth which were every bit as terrible as you’d think two 14-year-old girls could come up with. Unfortunately, we were in the Vampire Chronicles fandom so we had a front-row seat for the Anne Rice and her lawyer's debacle that will from here on out be referred to as “The Dark Times”. We watched our friends’ work get pulled, our RP sites close down, we feared that we’d get a cease and desist letter, we hid our notebooks and dreamed up our stories exclusively verbally.  I was deeply ashamed of my secret love of fanfic for years. I kept writing, but I kept it secret, I kept reading it but would never admit to it. Fanfiction was something shameful, taboo, some terrible sin akin to watching porn, and not the good socially acceptable kind of porn. But time moved on and fandom moved on and fanfiction started to be more acceptable. I joined Fanfiction.net, I wrote some stuff on Livejournal (although I still kept it set to private). I read A LOT of fanfiction, jumping fandoms, and leaving reviews. People I admired came out as liking and writing fanfiction. Of course, then the purges hit. Strikethrough and the like. I’m not going to get into that here, because that’s a rant all its own. Anyway, those were also some dark days as fandom searched for somewhere to land. I stumbled over Archive of our own a few years ago and I aggressively support them whenever I can because they fight for the fandom. Now I speak out in defense of fanfiction whenever possible. I’ve attended panels at conventions about fanfiction, I support and share posts about it from my favorite authors, I let everyone know that I’m proud of my fanfic (although I still don’t post it, that’s because I tend not to finish things and I don't’ want to get someone excited for something I know I’m going to abandon in a month, not because I’m ashamed.). So let’s talk over some points because Sarah brought up a good point today. Why is fanfiction such a shameful thing in the fandom community, and in the writing community? One of the people on my friends list who I admire and is a professional, published author once rolled their eyes and scoffed when I said that I wanted to go to the fanfiction panel at a convention. Yet, no other facet of fandom is treated this way. I brought this up on Sarah’s post and I’m going to reiterate it here. Fan artists are not scoffed at, people flock to their tables in artist’s alley. Fan-made comics and doujinshi have led to careers writing and drawing comics and scripts for the same series their fanwork was based on. No professional costumer or prop maker sneers at cosplayers, in fact, there are now professional cosplayers. Fans wait in line for hours to watch masquerade skits at conventions. Fan-dubs like Dragonball Z Abridged and Nescaflowne are hugely popular and have led to professional voice acting gigs and production studios. But if an author dares to mention that they got their start in fanfiction? The horror, the outrage, the hate mail. Yet so much of our media could arguably be called fanfiction. Dante’s Inferno? John Milton’s Paradise Lost? The Aeneid? Classics? Yes. Fanfiction? Also yes. Joyce’s Ulysses is just an AU of the Odyssey. Anything written about or based on myths? Anything involving King Arthur? Sherlock Holmes? Shakespear...Oh you can cry adaptation all you want. Let’s face it if it’s written by some old white guy it’s literature and a classic and an innovative reimagining but really it’s just fanfic and it’s everywhere. West Side Story is a fanfic of a fanfic since Shakespeare based Romeo and Juliet off a poem by a similar name. My Fair Lady? Pygmalion AU. Hamilton? Real Person Song Fic! 50 Shades series, Mortal Instruments, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Jean Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea, hell there are literally hundreds of published Jane Austen fanfictions. John Gardner’s Grendel is a retelling of Beowolf. The Wiz, Wicked and the rest of Gregory Maguire’s books? The Wizard of Oz doesn’t enter public domain until 2035. The Magnificent Seven? Kurosawa called and he wants his seven samurai back, he’d also like to reclaim Yojimbo from A Fist Full of Dollars. Speaking of tv, how about Black Sails? It’s a fanfiction prequel to Treasure Island. Any comic book not written by the original creator. Any book series based on Star Wars, Star Trek, Dungeons and Dragons, World of Warcraft, etc. I could go on all day. So why is it, when so much of our popular culture consists of what basically boils down to fanfiction, that fanfiction is seen as a shameful indulgence, as “cheating”, as trash?Part of it boils down to sex. Read any article that brings up fanfiction and there will invariably be a line where the author distances themself by saying something along the lines of they don’t personally read it, or how slash fic isn’t their thing but to each their own. (Both quotes from some of the sites I pulled the above list from) A lot of people seem to think that fanfiction is just porn, and while yes there is some fanfiction that is porn and some of it is very good, the same can be said for regular fiction as well. People don’t blush and giggle over Lord of the Rings, yet when I say that I’ve read fanfic that’s longer than Tolkien’s trilogy I may as well be talking about how I read Aragorn/Boromir slash fic regardless of what the actual subject matter was.  Yes, there’s sex in fanfiction. A lot of it is gay sex. You can read Lolita in school but Harry Potter fanfic? Gasp, think of the children! Even if that fanfic happens to be about what if Petunia loved Harry like a son instead of pushing him away and neglecting him. There is some really fantastic fan fiction out there. Some of it has sex, some of it doesn't. Some of it deals with queer characters and experiences, some of it doesn’t. There’s nothing inherently wrong with erotica and it’s an entirely separate issue. Not every fanfiction is a 50 Shades-eque erotic rewrite of Twilight, and even if they were, so what?  A lot of fanfiction has to do with wish fulfillment. You want to know what happens next, or what would happen if this had happened instead, or if there was this character. You want to see someone like you in your favorite fandom. I had wanted to adventure with Bilbo when I was a kid. I wanted to go on adventures and fight and ride dinosaurs. These desires don’t go away just because we grow up. I got into roleplay and larp and gaming because I still enjoy make-believe. I write for a lot of the same reasons. Everyone wants to be the main character. Fanfiction gives you that chance. You can write yourself into a story, you can write someone that’s like you, you can write someone that’s nothing like you but what you want to be. So, let’s discuss our old friend Mary Sue. She gets trotted out as an example every time someone brings up fanfiction (or any uppity female character ever). Mary Sue was born in the 60’s. She is an actual character from a Star Trek Original Series fanfiction. Yes, fanfiction existed in the 60’s. Mary Sue was the brightest and prettiest girl to come out of Starfleet, she managed to be in all the right places at the right times to save the ship and capture the heart of Spock. Self insert fics and Mary Sues are at the heart of why we should be terribly ashamed of our fanfiction habit. Except, what was Luke Skywalker if not George Lucas’ self insert Marty Stu? There are countless male characters that are as bad or worse than your typical Mary sue and they are never called out for it. Seanan brought this up in a post once about her character October Daye, her editor had said that the character was too competent, too cool, and that it was unrealistic and she should tone it down. She had him replace the character’s name with “Harry Dresden” and reread the story and suddenly it was fine. There are a great many articles and essays about our friend Mary Sue and I implore you to read some of them. She is not the enemy we make her out to be. Fanfiction, on the rare occasion that it is accepted, is seen as some sort of training wheels, or baby’s first writing. It’s amateurish, it’s juvenile, it’s just not very good. If we are not ashamed of it, then it’s expected that we are only using it as a starting point to hone our writing and move on to professional published works. It’s either that or something terribly self-indulgent that should be kept to ourselves. Some fanfic writers do go on to become “real” writers. Seanan McGuire has always been very open about how her agent first approached her after reading some of her Buffy/Faith fanfiction. Some “real” writers also write fanfiction. Neil Gaiman won a Hugo for his Chronicles of Narnia Fanfic. Ursula Vernon and Mercedes Lackey write fanfiction in their spare time. Some fanfiction writers never become published authors, not everyone wants to. Some are happy to have a dozen 150k fics about their favorite fandom, or maybe just one 500k epic, some, myself included, may only have one short fic posted somewhere. There is nothing that says that you have to use your hobby to turn a profit. (By the way, for reference, War and Peace is 561,304 words, Dune is 187,240 words, you cannot make the argument that fanfic writers don’t put time into their craft when they have more words than Tolstoy under their belt.)Some of the ‘training wheels’ analogy is true. Fanfic is a terrific gateway to writing. It teaches pacing, plot, character development, how to take criticism. If I ever do write something professionally I will not be nearly as afraid of the red pen as I am of bad reviews. Anonymous readers are the most ruthless critics. May the literary gods preserve you from ever having your fanfic read aloud as an example of how terrible and ‘cringy’ fanfiction can be. There is a lot of fanfiction out there that is written by teenage girls, and it reads like it was written by a teenage girl, but the only way to get better at something is to practice. Fanfiction allows budding writers to do that. There are no rules, no one standing at the gates to bar entry, and entire communities of people willing to give advice and commentary. Sometimes it’s less helpful than harmful, but there is something about posting a new fic and waiting for that first ‘like’ or ‘kudos’ or a review. There’s something to be said for instant gratification. I have read a lot of really terrible fanfic. I have slogged through stuff that would make Mary Sue herself cringe. I have read about the ½ vampire, ½ werewolf, ½ fairy long lost princess. I have read grammar that would make your eyes bleed. Not all of it has been confined to fan works. I have read fanwork that has had me convulsing with silent laughter to the point that I wondered if I would die. Dialog that was ten times better than anything I had read in a professional novel. Fanfiction should not be judged by its worst offenders. We don’t hold Dune to the same standard as Twilight. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is not terrible and cringy because 50 Shades of Grey overuses the phrase “Oh my.” There is some absolutely terrible fanfic out there and there is some pretty terrible published fic as well, but we don’t hold that against most novelists, so why do we hold it against fanfiction writers?I guess that brings us to the elephant in the fandom. Sexism. Fanfiction has historically been something written by and for young women and there is nothing more shameful than something liked by a young woman. Boybands? The color pink? Horse Girl books and Sparkly Vampires? Society hates them. We mock them. It is not acceptable to enjoy them. Sound familiar? How many times is something considered cool until a woman decides that she likes it? We as a society hate women and hate the things they enjoy and we hate teenage girls the most. Think of how much people hated selfies and duckface and instagram. How much hate was directed at Britney Spears, One Direction, Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber? Whether it has a basis in something or not, we hate them, we make jokes, we share the memes. We write them off as having no substance, as being stupid, not worth our time. Belittling of teenage girls for their interests and fandoms isn't a new phenomenon. Remember Mary Sue? Not only that, but a lot of fanfiction is gay. Women and gays are still the punchline to a lot of jokes and we can’t ignore that that plays a big part in people’s hatred of fanfiction, even if it’s not on purpose. Fanfiction has always been a bastion for people that couldn’t find stories about them in popular fiction. A lot of mainstream main characters are straight guys. A lot of fanfiction main characters are young women or gay men. Now, I admit that I’m oversimplifying this, and especially in recent years as it is becoming safer for people to come out as other genders and queer and as having mental illness or not being neurotypical, you are seeing more of that reflected in the fanfiction community. I don’t want anyone to think that I am purposefully leaving anyone out of this. The fanfiction community has not always been so great at being inclusive of people of color or transgender, it’s getting better, but I’m not going to stand here and pretend we’ve always been perfect. In the last several years I’ve seen a lot more inclusion. As I said, fanfiction has always been a home to the “Other”, as that expands to include more individuals so too does the community. Fanfics provide us with a place to work through issues and present perspectives that we don’t get to see anywhere else, without having to create an entire world from scratch. It’s accessible to everyone. I’ve spent the better part of an afternoon researching and writing this. I hope that I was at least partially coherent and I got you to at least take a look at why you feel the way you feel about fanfiction. I’m not sure if I exactly got across the points I was trying for, there’s a lot more eloquent, well thought out arguments out there from more knowledgeable people. Check out Seanan McGuire, she’s got a lot to say on the subject.

[hermanwatts]

Sensor Sweep: D&D Cartoon, Tim Kirk, Lin Carter, Literary Swordsmen and Sorcerers

Animated Cartoons (CBR.com): When CBS ordered a series based on the latest trend, fantasy role-playing games, perhaps they didn’t know what awaited them. Debuting on Sept 17, 1983, Dungeons & Dragons (inspired by the game created by

Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and published by TSR) came to air already surrounded by controversy. The game’s use of occult imagery wasn’t the only factor disturbing parents groups. Some even declared it a literal danger to young people.

      Art (Black Gate): Tim Kirk, another artist who has had a major professional career, was nominated for Best Fan Writer 8 times in the between 1969 and 1977, winning the Hugo in 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, and 1976. It would be fair to say that for me, coming into contact with fandom in this period, my image of “fan art” was formed by Tim Kirk’s work, along with two more artists who won for their 1970s work, William Rotsler and Alexis A. Gilliland. (Not to slight the excellent Phil Foglio, but for whatever reason his art didn’t enter my consciousness until later. And Alicia Austin, four-time nominee and 1971 winner, was and is a favorite artist of mine, but for her professional work.)

        Fiction Release (DMR Books): DMR Books is proud to present our next release: the picaresque fantasy novel The Road to Infinity by Gael DeRoane. It will be available in digital and trade paperback editions very soon (within the next few days), and the classic size edition (6.5” x 4.25”) should be released before the end of June. Read on for more:

Poised on the brink of manhood, young Aran Dyfar makes a rash and momentous decision that will either elevate him to glory or seal his doom.

  History (Barbarian Book Club): “No silver, no Swiss,” commented Gian Trivulzio, a Milanese Condottiero during the Italian Wars. He was talking about the Swiss Mercenaries that served in the armies of the Italian City States. They were expensive and often sieges and sacks depended on the city’s ability to pay foreign soldiers.

A more recent quote “Amateurs talk about tactics, but professionals study logistics,” quoted to Gen. Robert H. Barrow, Commandant of the USMC.

  Fiction (Uproxx.com): Martin is no casual fan of Lovecraft. He regularly cites the writer as one of his earliest reading obsessions. He’s visited

Lovecraft’s grave in Rhode Island, and even wrote some elaborate fan fiction back in 2011 pitting Jaime Lannister against Cthulu in a deathmatch. When George sat down to speak with Stephen King, their conversation kept leading back to Lovecraft’s influence on both of their writing.

  Fiction (DMR Books): When I was eleven years old, I preferred Lin Carter’s Jandar of Callisto series to Edgar Rice Burroughs’ books about Mars. Sacrilege I know, and that’s not the case today, but as a kid, I liked that the Callisto books were written in modern language, and the events described not only took place within my lifetime, they were still occurring now, in the 1970s when I was reading them. I could almost believe they were true.

  Gaming (Player One): What happens when you have a cyberpunk futuristic world and put in the themes of H.P. Lovecraft? You get the latest offering from Stormling Studios, Transient. Aside from this announcement, Stormling Studios also released a reveal trailer. So what is the game all about? It begins in a distant and post-apocalyptic future. Whatever remains of mankind are now living in the Domed City Providence, an enclosed citadel that was created in order for humans to survive the harsh environment. Amidst all of this, the story focuses on Randolph Carter, a member of ODIN, a hacker-for-hire group.

  Robert E. Howard (John C. Wright): The Devil in Iron was published in the August 1934 issue of Weird Tales, several months after the previous story, Queen of the Black Coast. It is the eleventh published story in the Conan canon. We have reached the halfway mark of the published Conan stories completed by Robert E. Howard.

Howard here recycles elements of his own previous stories – there is a magic blade as in Phoenix on the Sword, the sole bane of an otherwise invulnerable eldritch monster, who is a resurrected necromancer as in The Black Colossus. 

          Comic Books (Paint Monk): Our tale begins as Conan, Bêlit, and Zula battle Stygian warriors in the catacombs of Luxor. As the fight progresses, the trio finds a secret passage that allows them to descend further into the depths beneath the city.

Zula shows some empathy toward the Stygian soldier’s fate – Conan and company are killing them simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Bêlit declares she will kill any Stygian, because they were the people who helped her Uncle overthrow and kill her Father.

  History (Real Crusade History): Henry was born May 3, 1217, the third child but the first son of King Hugh I of Cyprus and his queen Alice de Champagne. (Alice was the daughter of Isabella I of Jerusalem and her third husband Henri de Champagne.) When Henry was just eight months old, his father died suddenly, while absent from the kingdom on the Fifth Crusade. According to the constitution of the kingdom, a minor king’s regent was his nearest relative resident in the Latin East, in this case, Henry’s mother Alice de Champagne. However, Alice showed remarkably little interest in wielding political power.

  Fiction (Eldritch Paths): I  was reading The King Beyond the Gate, the second book in David Gemmell’s Drenai Saga. I really enjoyed the larger-than-life heroes in Gemmell’s first book, Legend. Druss the Legend was an awesome character, taking on scores of baddies and coming up on top. Even the leader of the enemy invasion force respected the strength and sheer force of will that was Druss. I was expecting, no, wanting more of the same from the second book. Most of this second book seemed to deliver.

  RPG (Pulp Rev): Designing for games is vastly different from designing for stories.

Readers engage a prose story through the plot, characters, and prose. The writer guides them on a journey in the mind, directing the story from start to finish.

Gamers engage a game through its mechanics. By playing as their avatar, they create their own experience.

Readers and gamers have different ways of approaching their chosen media. The requirements of these media lead to different design choices.

  Writing (Mad Genius Club): Write the soldier as he (or she) is, not as you wish to caricature them, not as your narrative demands.  Haven’t served in the military? Start looking through your list of friends for somebody who has. Sit down and ask them questions (bring drinks), listen and be respectful.  See, contrary to popular belief, we will talk. If you show yourself to be trustworthy, we’ll tell you the unvarnished truth about life in the service. What hurt, what sucked, what made us laugh, made us cry, made us mad, made us happy, what made it home for us.

  RPG (Brain Leakage): About three or four sessions into my current campaign, I noticed that my players didn’t really like the abstract nature of D&D combat. No matter how much narration and dramatizing I did, combat just felt too passive to them. Specifically, they wanted to do something besides stand there and take it while the enemy rolled against their AC. Now, one thing I’ll say in favor of D&D combat RAW. It’s streamlined. And if the players are happy enough to fill in the blanks by imagining feints, dodges, and other maneuvers happening in between declared actions and combat rolls, then it’s fine.

  T.V. (Pulpfest): Rod Serling’s THE TWILIGHT ZONE ran on CBS from 1959 to 1964. It remains in syndication to this very day. A new version of the series — narrated by filmmaker Jordan Peele — premiered on CBS All Access on April 1, 2019. Sixty years after its original debut, Rod Serling’s remarkable creation is still very much embedded in the public consciousness.

The creator of THE TWILIGHT ZONE was born on December 25, 1924 in Syracuse, New York. His brother, the late novelist and aviation writer Robert Serling, said: “We were fairly close as kids and we played together a hell of a lot, despite the seven-year difference. The two of us used to read AMAZING STORIES, ASTOUNDING STORIES, WEIRD TALES — all of the pulps. If we saw a movie together, we’d come home and act it out, just for the two of us.”

  Lit Crit (George Kelley): Just by chance, I stumbled across this 1976 Arkham House edition of L. Sprague de Camp’s wonderful Literary Swordsman and Socerers at my local public library. I immediately took it out and read it. De Camp’s informational essays on these fantasy writers made me want to drop everything and reread some of the great books by these authors. I’m a big fan of Lord Dunsany, but I haven’t read more than a fraction of his oeuvre. I’ve read most of Lovecraft, but I can always pick up one of his collections and find delight in its pages.

        Sensor Sweep: D&D Cartoon, Tim Kirk, Lin Carter, Literary Swordsmen and Sorcerers published first on https://sixchexus.weebly.com/

[chronicles-of-a-paper-heart]

Cait over at Paperfury created this tag and I immediately loved the idea. You connect books to colours, or rather to the emotions they’re commonly associated with.

She also allowed everyone to steal the tag and a wise kangaroo once said: The people want to break rules and be rebellious, they just want someone to tell them it’s okay.

So, here I am ���stealing’ that tag for my very first #tagtuesday.

  BLUE – Book that made you sad

I went over to my bookshelves to see if I had any book on there that could get me to cry, I assure you that’s quite an achievement. I don’t usually cry while reading. But there was a book that recently managed just that.

Gregor and the Code of Claw. That book ripped my heart out. My best friend visited me a few months ago and we read books aloud to each other. She always pestered me to read that series but I only read the first two books before she came, so we read the last three ones together. Before we started the last one she told me that I probably had to read most of that book because she cried multiple times every time she read it. And oh boy do I now know why! So SAD!

RED – Bookworm problems that make you angry

Oh, where to start. First, I could copy every word on Cait’s list for this prompt. couldn’t agree more. Stickers on Covers (and what’s even worse, fake stickers that are actually printed on the cover. Still worse when they are A PRICETAG!! ON! THE! FREAKIN! COVER! (I’m still salty af about that)

Cover Changes mid-series! I don’t think I have to say a lot about this one. Everyone knows about the anguish, everyone suffers! In that same vein … when books from the same publisher, same, edition/cover etc. don’t have the same height. Like what do those 2mm give you?? Other than my wrath! It doesn’t look good on my shelves. And why do it?? It doesn’t even make any sense?

And when people try to police what others can read or enjoy. Like ehm, no?? You do you, and I can enjoy whatever the heck I find enjoyable? Why try to convince to have less thing to be happy about? You enjoy fluffy romance? Gritty crime? Ya? New Adult? Who cares?! (Sorry rant over. Just had this conversation recently and I just don’t get it)

  YELLOW – Upcoming book(s) you’d be happy to have right now

Well I tried to stay away from all those ‘Most anticipated releases’-post because I want to reduce my TBR and that doesn’t work if I constantly buy new books (of course I found ways to still get a lot of new books, sneaky Slytherin brain trying to trick me and my book buying ban!) But I still have a few for this prompt:

Vengeful by V.E. Schwab. I actually preordered this and I CANNOT WAIT! I need it now! The Cover is gorgeous, Vicious is one of my all-time favourite books and the little snippets we got, have me hyperventilating!

A Thousand Perfect Notes by C.G. Drews aka Paperfury. I wanted this the minute Cait announced it. It sounds so intriguing, heartwarming and -breaking and like everything I never knew I needed. And well, it’s from Cait! (Also, coverlove!)

Das Schloss der träumenden Bücher by Walter Moers (The Castle of Dreaming Books). He is one of my favourite authors and this is the third (actually the second part of the second book) book in The Dreaming Books Series and I loved that series, that world. But it gets pushed back and back and I NEED IT! The expected publication date is 8th October 2025. 2025!! That’s pure torture!

King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo. I mean, a book about Nikolai??? YES PLEASE! NOW! PLEASE! Enough said.

Oh and the last one I kinda need now, but I also don’t want it because I don’t want the series to end? Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J Maas. I am relatively calm right now, but I know that will change as soon as I start my reread. I love Aelin and those books helped me through a hard time so they’ll be forever in my heart.

  GREEN – Favourite unlikely friends

The first group of friends is probably not that well known, (I only know two other people who have read these books) and that is the group of friends in the Emperor’s Edge Series by Lindsay Buroker. They are all so completely different, one all stoic and serious, another one book-y and sad, another one extremely driven and chatty etc. And their little group grows with each book and still fit so well.

Also Harry and Luna, I love their weird friendship. It’s a quiet sort of friendship, but they still really help each other. I think they both needed each other.

Aaaand also The Raven Boys and Blue. Ronan and Gansey, so different and still so loyal. All of them.

  GREY – Books you are totally emotionless about

This one was actually quite hard. But I got a few.

First, I agree with Cait on Classics. Don’t really care either way for most of them. Same with YA Contemporary with the main focus on romance.

But as for specific books:

Fathomless by Jackson Pearce It was an okay plot, okay characters. Already forgot most of it. but I think I liked it while reading? But yeah, three stars. Don’t care for it much.

Twilight. I was obsessed when I first read them. I kid you now I walked around between ensemble (guitar) practices with the book in front of my nose and my friend guiding me so I wouldn’t run into walls or anything. but nowadays, I don’t really have any strong emotions about it. I don’t hate them, I don’t love them. I just don’t think about them most of the time.

Four by Veronica Roth is a short story collection that I probably should have read shortly after finishing the Divergent Series (which I really enjoyed) to actually care about it. But since I read that book a few years later … Couldn’t bring me to care. Meh.

Also, Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. That book was the definition of meh. And I don’t know what happened. I love Maggie, okay? What went wrong?? It was just so bland (still great writing style though)

  PINK – Book ending (no spoilers though) that you love

Even the Darkest Stars by Heather Fawcett. I really liked that book. The setting is FANTASTIC and I really liked the characters and story too, but the ending was amazing! Made the book so much better! (Changed a few peoples opinion for the better if you read reviews)

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake. I loved that book. Mainly because I loved Katharine and was already expecting the slower pace (which I think threw a lot of people of since it was marketed very differently). And that ending! I had to start One Dark Throne immediately!

The Raven King! That was a great ending. And one I certainly didn’t see coming.

  PURPLE – Book you never really understood

The Woman Behind the Waterfall. It’s not that I didn’t understand that book overall. But there were parts in it that just went over my head. I really like that book, and still think about it, but yeah. Didn’t get certain more magical realism type of scenes.

And I don’t get the hype about the Mortal Instruments Series. Honestly, I hated Clary! So! Much! And I don’t think I can suffer through three more books with her. I will give Cassandra Clare another chance with The Infernal Devices Books but … yeah. We’ll see how that one goes.

Oh, and Rick Riordan. Unpopular opinion time: I really don’t like his Percy Jackson Series and I don’t really get why so many people are obsessed with them? They’re predictable and just … I don’t get it.

  WHITE – Author you’re scared of (they are so mean to their characters)

I haven’t even read anything by him yet, but I’m still scared? Jay Kristoff.

Also, V.E. Schwab! Honestly! So mean! So great!

And Sarah J Maas. At least a little. I don’t think she’ll really kill anyone important off but I’m still a bit nervous.

Oh and maybe GRRM because I only have three characters I absolutely don’t want to die! (Spoiler? Kinda? If you wanna see it just mark it Dany, Tyrion and Ser Jorah (And maybe Sansa). The rest can die for all I care. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (Especially Jon Snow!)

  BLACK – Book you think is powerful and influential

The first book that came to mind is George by Alex Gino. It’s own voices and middle grade and such a lovely hopeful and important story. Especially for middle grade. If you haven’t read it yet, please do.

And I think Harry Potter was pretty influential. Don’t think I have to say anything about that one.

And maybe The Hunger Games? It’s so much more than the love triangle. It has so many political and moral statements/questions. And it kinda started the whole dystopian craze.

  ORANGE – Playful characters who are just too adorable

Now, that one was HARD. Apparently, I don’t read enough books with people that aren’t assassins or broken beyond repair (or both). But I still got three. Although I’m pretty sure a lot of you won’t know them.

Boots, Gregor’s two-year-old sister. She is just the most adorable thing in the world. I love her and I honestly would have read the Gregor books just for her. She is cute, and funny, and open-minded and just exactly like you would imagine a two-year-old to be like.

The Booklings. Just all of them. I general. They are so CUTE! and I want to cuddle them and put them in protective blankets and let know one near them to harm them. Pure cinnamon roles.

And maybe the Cheshire Cat (not from Alice in Wonderland, but from Madness by Maja Köllinger). It’s definitely more playful than adorable. But … oh well.

  And that was my list. this was so much fun and I’ll definitely do more tags in the future. What would your answers be? Are there any fantasy books with adorable, playful characters that you could recommend? I’m clearly missing something there! What was a book you didn’t understand or the love for an author you don’t get?

  Emotions in Colours Book Tag Cait over at Paperfury created this tag and I immediately loved the idea. You connect books to colours, or rather to the emotions they're commonly associated with.