#which is GREAT we love a story with readability but also i'm like

[glowingreverie]

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[springbudeyes]

Please enjoy the first installment of a new series I'd like to call Gamemode 0!

If you're waiting for Mianite Season Four (ha), this will hopefully tide you over. Gamemode 0 is a highly produced mini-series that tells a story through text, dramatic audio narration, a musical score, and images. It stars a villain who was an edgy Grim Reaper in 2015 and it poses the question—how much has Kikoku Botan really changed since 2015?

That question will be answered over the course of – I'm guessing – seven-ish chapters? The first chapter, which you're about to read and hear, is based on a Minecraft RP session held in a single night. Those present for the session include World Historian's original writer (me) and a group of talented role-players. More info under the cut!

Here's the cast:

Moth @robotmothpie as Ginkgo Belshem

CloudF11 @silent-moons-camp as Cloud Endernatus

Metal @mx-metal as Omu Vulcan

Honor @cult-of-athar as Fateshaper (the Big Bad)

Matthew (me) as World Historian

(All characters are voiced by me.)

Background:

The project was Mianite Etherealis. We played on a private 1.12 server for two years, ending in early 2023. The chapter you're about to read (titled Session One) covers the RP session that brought World Historian into the narrative.

I would almost go so far as to say that you're about to experience a canon World Historian mini-series with implications for all World Historian content in existence.

Is it actually canon? I don't know. It's as authentic as you'll ever get for WH, that's for sure. I've spent the last nine years developing the cosmology being used here. I planted the seeds for it when I created World Historian in 2015.

But no, Gamemode 0 isn't Dec-and-Tom-approved canon. And my astounding co-writers aren't offical Mianite writers. And Etherealis isn't a piece of lost Mianite media, though you can think of it that way if you'd like.

Vision:

Gamemode 0 will follow the plot of Mianite Etherealis for one more session, then embark on its own original plot centered on World Historian.

That being said, my aim with Gamemode 0 is to dig up a piece of the past and link it to the future. This series is one of many projects that could result from that effort. If it sees enough support, it could grow beyond text, images, and audio. We have endless headroom here.

If you're looking for Botan's history in Ruxomar, you'll find it. If you're hoping for a glimpse into Akemi and Mina's lives, you'll get it. If you seek all manner of strange World Historian lore, consider it yours. If you just wanna sink your teeth into a juicy hunk of Mianite meat, go get a napkin, you menace.

We have plenty of chapters to take us from the past, to the future, and back again. I could just list the plain facts about World Historian in a lore post, but I could never be satisfied with that. I'm a storyteller.

Disclaimer:

The players own their characters. Most of the dialogue and actions in Session One come straight from the corresponding RP session. I'm just putting it all to a narrative and making readability tweaks for first-timers.

Shout-outs:

Happy birthday yesterday, Honor! We love you!! I guess this is one of your presents. Thanks for letting World Historian take over as the big scary dude for a session. And sorry for writing out our best boy, Oleander. We should co-write something someday.

Cloud, thanks for going back to our defunct Minecraft world to set everything up and take the awesome shadered screenshots for Session One. Also thanks for making c!Cloud such a great POV character. He carries Gamemode 0.

Thank you, Moth, for the un-shadered screenies, for being my PR person, and for supporting me generally all the time. PDA PDA aaaaa!

And thanks, Metal, for being the cool one. B)

Calls to action:

Mianitees, shower love upon my friends. I know Moth and Cloud would jump at the opportunity to answer asks about their passionately crafted OCs. And so would Honor and Metal, I suspect. With the right motivation, who knows what they could create?

The link will send you to my Substack blog, where you'll be able to read, listen, like, and subscribe to my newsletter. The paid subscription has no advantage over the free one; most of you will pick free, but if anyone would like to support me financially, that would be super appreciated. (If we get some traction with subs, I'll set up sub goals and a budget for upgrades to my production.) I plan to release Gamemode 0 chapters as frequently as I can, but I will post something to my Substack every month—Mianite related or not.

Also please like and reblog this Tumblr post if you dig it and want to see more.

Now go and enjoy your food.

[writingjourney]

I’m in need of some advice and kind words. As a fellow writer I’m really struggling to believe people will and want to read my stuff. There’s no real engagement anymore and I’m worried that if I post my long-form fic that no one will give it a chance. It’s really bringing me down because I love it so much but it feels like no matter what I try to do my stuff just doesn’t get seen or liked? I’ve even thought about changing my entire way of how I do things since I don’t think the way I write is working for the masses. How do you keep up the motivation as a popular writer and do you have an advice?

Hello anon!! I feel like this is something many of us currently deal with. And first of all I seriously hope that you do share your story!! ♡

To be completely honest with you the lack of engagement in the fandom has for sure impacted my own motivation which is why I haven't been putting as much time into longer fics (nor the Friday Nights series or IKNBS, I do write but I refuse to force myself). I don't feel any urgency because uploading fics hasn't made me as happy as it used to. It feels like only other active writers are reading fic atm and it creates a lot of pressure on creatives to stay super active.

I'm aware that I'm insanely privileged to have the engagement that I do have, that the type of stories I want to write are also the type of stories that generally seem to appeal. However, engagement tells you NOTHING about the quality of your work, only how many people are active in a fandom or like a specific pairing/character/trope. Your own unique voice matters more than numbers.

I also notice that a lot of people who used to read my works have disappeared which I completely understand. The fixation can ebb away during times of inactivity or when a certain hype dies down. People just don't get that dopamine hit anymore and move on. It's also entirely possible they get tired of a certain style of writing and prefer other writers at times, what do I know. I definitely don't blame anyone for that. First and foremost people should read for their own enjoyment and engage with fandom in a way that makes them happy. It makes no sense to pressure people into engaging. A huge issue right now is people overthinking these things which makes support transactional instead of genuine.

I don't care much about notes but I REALLY miss the feeling of sharing a fic with people who are excited for it, that sense of an active community. BUT the activity will come back – the movie will come out, new music and videos, heck even a whole new Papa!!! That's the natural flow of things. We can't be excited and super active all the time, we need phases of calmness as well (which is an act of rebellion in the capitalist hellscape of overproduction and churned out content. I am honestly glad Ghost is taking it easy).

Now, I recommend you write your story exactly how you want to!!! do NOT change it for the sake of popularity because it will lose its very soul and you will struggle to be happy with it by the end. You know how you want to tell your story and nothing else matters. It will find its readers or you can wait and share it at a later point. I recommend that you approach other writers and readers and intensify that contact, make friends and talk to them about your stories, hype each other up, share snippets. It's even more meaningful to know people you like enjoy what you do. I am currently working on super niche fics for non-Ghost characters and I'm honestly having a great time chasing that dopamine by just writing what I'm really into and sharing it with friends. Fandom is community, fandom is fun and we can work to make it better for everyone.

A few general tips when it comes to making stories accessible: Format them to be readable (paragraphs!!), add a "read more" break, add proper content information and a nice summary to draw people in, add some visual appeal like a banners or stock image edits (like i do for IKNBS) and then tag the fics with relevant tags (and only those). Also make sure to tag the OG post, tags on reblogs do nothing for reach. Engage with the community when you feel like it and it's likely that the community will engage back. Being supportive is worth it, being kind is always worth it even if it amounts to nothing.

[artheresy]

Yingxing Appreciation 🎉🎉

hi, hello, it's Yingxing appreciation time and I'm dragging you into it bc he is my baby and I need more ppl to talk about him

Y'know I see a lot of people like in awe and hyping up DF and just giving him tons of appreciation while analyzing him specifically as an individual which is all so so valid, DF is amazing and very intriguing as a character and I love him sm, but I sadly don't see the same for Yingxing despite him I think also being so interesting. I also see him more so dismissed in the "literally God and some guy" kind of fashion sometimes

So I'm here to rant just a little bit about Yingxing, why I love him, why he's epic and why he ruins my day every single time I think about him! This is for any of my fellow Yingxing lovers who are also starved of any content of him

Firstly, this man is a genuine genius, like lest we forget this is from Baiheng's travelogue in which she met a young Yingxing who was still a child by this point.

He was a young boy but had already become a craftsman, a sign of his ability to learn exceedingly quick under Huaiyans tutelage. And his ability to work and progress incredible fast continues into his time as a young man on the Luofu.

We know he arrived probably somewhere around 18-21 (in my personal estimate) and by the time he saw Jingliu again (which itself was likely early into his stay on the Luofu given HCQ ages and timing), he had already impressed the Master Craftsmen of the Luofu's Artisanship Commission and earned himself a title.

There are also multiple things in game that emphasize his achievements and creations he crafted, some offhandedly mentioned in a readable or item while others are emphasized with importance.

Casually mentioned in the Discarded Ingenium Parts is his feat in the Great Trial of the Furnace (perhaps that trial is for gaining the furnace master title? Once again signifying an earlier achievement in his legacy) where it took him only a day and night to create a whole mechanical lion that moved and looked just like a real live lion from a bunch of defective parts and waste.

More recently in 1.5, they released a readable, the Ten-Lords Criminal Directory, which mentions an imprisonment method designed by Yingxing that keeps “Mirage” in a perpetual state trapped within a hallucination of their own making. Utilizing it’s own powers in order to keep it imprisoned. Something that with proper maintenance seems to have lasted for around 700 years so far.

And of course, how can we forget his most famous creations

The beautifully crafted weapons of the High Cloud Quintet, from Jingliu’s incredibly heavy sword remarked as being as heavy as three thousand catties, to Dan Feng’s Cloud Piercer with the ability to even cut through dragon scales, and the Devastator Glaive as well as Baiheng’s recurve bow. Each impressive in their own ways and seemingly crafted pretty early as well into his time on the Luofu with the HCQ given the distinction of Jing Yuan who (even if he likely was more a teen than a boy) still wasn’t an exact adult yet. So once again, let me emphasize this man’s skill here. With how many things he managed to do so so early into his time on the Luofu. A genius craftsman who deserved all of the praise he had garnered with his works.

Additionally, I know they keep harping about “ugh arrogant craftsman, ugh he’s so full of himself” but every single time we’ve seen his personality, he just seems like a genuine joy to be around. Bright, charismatic, sure he’s cocky but he also gives the impression of being incredibly fun and a bit silly if you ask me.

His behavior as mirrored by the mirage echo in Scalegorge Waterscape is distinctly playful even in what might be a more tense situation, lightly bantering with Dan Feng and even chuckling in certain languages.

In Jingliu’s character stories, it even furthers this bright, playful attitude he gives off with his distinct cheekiness shining through especially with that “toothy grin” of his. And if you listen to Jingliu’s (at least her English) voice lines during Clouds Leave No Trace when she speaks about Yingxing before getting into his transformation, there is a distinct fondness or amusement in her voice as she speaks of him especially that cocky nature of his despite her distaste for it at first.

While Baiheng is hailed as this kind figure in the High Cloud Quintet, perhaps their sun even casting light upon them, it doesn’t seem too far off to say Yingxing was a shining star among them in his own right. His easy going nature with them bringing about a bubbly playfulness similar to Baiheng given their closeness from when he was young. I could go into way more especially in regards to the casualness at which Yingxing seems to speak and treat others allowing for a more equal formation of relationships especially with Dan Feng but I’m saving that for another rant.

And all of this about him especially how expressive he seems at certain points he’s been mentioned, really just makes me so incredibly sad when thinking about Blade now. How severely separated he is from this identity. A division that exists from not only his death but from the way his mental state has been severely warped from his time with Jingliu and being affected afterwards by the mara.

The sheer dehumanization and lack of a personal identity in place of seeing himself as a solely a weapon when put next to Yingxing, with such a clear bold individual identity, really makes the transformation of one into the other all the more jarring and tragic. Especially with the emphasis on how Yingxing hated the abominations of Abundance only to become one himself, something that is still implied to have not been by his own hand. Blade is an immensely tragic character, but that tragedy only holds weight because of the life and identity Yingxing had. It is only with Yingxing’s light which shined despite the circumstances of his life that his descent into darkness hits harder, and it makes me so sad that I haven’t found many others talking or expanding upon this despite my searches because he really is such a well written character with so many details in his story that are both interesting and utterly heartbreaking.

And additionally, I want to say that I think there is a lost potential in examining the Xianzhou through Yingxing. Specifically in the way he is treated as a short life species. We know how the relationship between the Vidyadhara and the Natives, especially as it’s changed after Dan Feng, but there is a very interesting relationship to be explored between the Xianzhou and the Short Life Species the end up there, especially through Yingxing’s relationship to the different Artisans guilds whether on the Luofu or the Zhuming.

In the end, it becomes another sad element to Yingxing’s story. Yingxing managed to change his attitude regarding how the Zhuming masters treated him and even grew more of a confidence, but even in the Luofu's Artisanship Commission, he can never truly get as far as he deserves. Just as Jingliu says

Even with his work impressing the master craftsmen of the Luofu, even after more than showing his skill and earning the title of Furnace Master for that skill, he still would be denied higher positions and could only prove his true worth by the High Cloud Quintet.

And just let me say it again, him being a short life species allows for such an interesting examination of the world and people around him based upon that. While we don't know exactly how they met, we do know that Yingxing was Huaiyan's personal disciple and the only one he mentions of the celestial masters to treat him with respect and believe in his capabilities despite knowing he's a short life species. Through his treatment of Yingxing, we learn quite a bit about him. Through Baiheng's treatment of him as well, we learn a lot about her, more than anywhere else.

He's just UGH I need more exploration from Yingxing's perspective, the lack of it feels as if I'm being starved. He's so interesting, he's so fun, he's incredibly tragic, and he makes me cry every single time he crosses my mind. Please do yourselves a favor and think more about his character so you'll end up as sad about him as me. Or don't maybe. I dunno. All I know for sure is that you absolutely need to read Views of the Universe From a Starskiff: The Zhuming if you haven't. Anyways bye, thanks for listening to this rant, I gotta go cry over him.

Peep the tags also for a rant about my own characterization of YX if you wish to witness my insanity

[clandestinegardenias]

Stole this book ask thing I saw @ruinconstellation reblog (p.s. tag you're it!) cause I love talking about books.

1) Last book I read:

Days Without End by Sebastian Barry. Stunningly lyrical prose, especially the descriptions of the early US landscape. Also a nuanced, complex, and difficult read about American immigrants, indigenous peoples, the way forces beyond their control pitted them against each other and the moments of love that shine through regardless. The main character is queer in a way that is very simple and natural, which I enjoyed as well. Definitely a hard read with no heroes and a lot of villains, but well worth it.

2) A book I recommend:

Easy Beauty by Chloe Cooper Jones.

Y'all. READ THIS BOOK. An intimate portrait of what it's like to live with a severe and very visible physical disability. Cooper Jones has a PhD in philosophy and is interested in how we conceive of beauty, and what that means for someone who's body will never be considered conventionally beautiful. However, it's written more like a memoir, and is super accessible and imminently readable.

3) A book that I couldn’t put down:

The Wager by David Grann. Great real life shipwreck story, including a bunch of excerpts from the diary of famous poet John Keats' uncle, who was one of the shipwrecked men. What really, really got to me in this one was the division into factions and the various reactions to offered help from the indigenous people.

4) A book I’ve read twice (or more)

Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy. Wanderlust, ecological grief, complicated romantic relationships, and a protagonist who can't stop leaving but loves so hard she's willing to die for it. Plus, boats! Scientific research, sort of! Found family! This book was like reading my own soul.

5) A book on my TBR

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. I've been meaning to read it and just picked it up at an estate sale!

6) A book I’ve put down

Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold. I read The Curse of Chalion and loved it, but this one just didn't grab me the same way. Maybe it wasn't the right time.

7) A book on my wish list

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys. I've wanted to read it for ages but just haven't gotten around to it.

8) A favourite book from childhood

Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith. I read it so much my copy it's basically disintegrating. I really resonated with the complexity of Mel-- a young woman who is very practical and unimpressed by fanciness/politics but who comes to understand and value these things, and the people who use them, without losing herself.

9) A book you would give a friend

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. Really interesting take on what a flu pandemic that wipes out 99% of the world's population would leave behind, with a focus on the importance of art. I'd have them read it and then FORCE them to watch the TV series of the same name, because I am DESPERATE to talk to someone about the changes they made (which I absolutely LOVVVVEEE)

10) The most books you own by a single author

Probably Tamora Pierce?

11) A nonfiction book you own

LOTS but I'm gonna say Kon Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl. One of my very first true adventure books and so near and dear to my heart. Those guys really did float on a raft from Peru to Tahiti! For science!

12) what are you currently reading

Just started Lucky Red by Claudia Cravens. I'm a ho for queer westerns.

13) what are you planning on reading next?

I have a couple possibilities on deck, so it just depends on what grabs me (or what comes in from my library holds first). Wavewalker by Suzanne Heywood is by next hold on Libby--I'm fascinated by memoirs about what looked like a charmed life from the outside but was in reality anything but.

[mermaidsirennikita]

Which historical romance books would you recommend to someone who would like to get into the genre but doesn't know where to start? So far my preferred genre was fantasy romance but I think I exhausted it completely at this point so I'm looking for something new. I tried Bridgerton but I didn't like, so I would appreciate any other recommendation. Thank you in advance.

Hey! I am happy to offer some recs. Imo, the Bridgerton books are kinda dated and work for a very *specific* reader, so it's not surprising to me that it wouldn't work. We can find something!

Sarah MacLean is a great gateway--I read every single adult historical she had out when I was first getting back into them in the early pandemic days. She typically writes very strong heroines (not always in a "we do battle" way, but always in mind and heart) and heroes who are just.... like, honestly, MESSES. Guys who can kick ass and fuck hard but are actually, deep within their souls, simps. From her backlist, I'd recommend as entry points:

Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake. Her debut, and I recommend it because it's super compulsively readable and very beloved, with good reason. It's the story of a wallflower type who's like, "Jesus Christ, I am so tired of being this person" and sets out to break these nine "rules" and have adventures. She ends up enlisting this known Slut Man to help her (in exchange for helping introduce his long lost sister to society) and naturally, he is soon after her. I will say, MacLean's first series is the most ballroom that she gets? Her tastes are definitely a bit wilder, and they get so from this book. It's funny, it's sexy, it's a romp. My favorite series of hers is the Rules of Scoundrels series, which is about a group of friends who own a gambling club and like getting emotionally destroyed by their lovers. But since you read fantasy romance, I will also suggest...

Wicked and the Wallflower. This is the first in her Bareknuckle Bastards series, which has a very fantastical, fairy tale-like premise. Basically, this guy's wife gave birth to an illegitimate daughter. At the same time, he had three illegitimate sons born together. So--girl not his, sons his. But he claimed the girl was a son upon baptizing her, and decided he'd pick which son was worthy of being his heir in what was essentially an extended CHILD BATTLE ROYALE. Anyway, the books focus on the grown children years later--two of the sons have become rulers of the London Underworld, taking the girl with them. It's wild, it's fun, the stakes are high.

Lisa Kleypas is a classic writer of the genre. She tends to write very emotional books, often focusing on very competent heroes (except that time she didn't and everyone clapped). For her, I always recommend her most famous series--it's a great crowd pleaser.

The Wallflowers. Four friends who are striking out on the marriage mart agree that at all costs, they will help each other find husbands this season. I recommend reading these in order, but the two strongest entries are It Happened One Autumn (book 2, an enemies to lovers situation, he's uptight and she's wild) and Devil in Winter (villainous hero enters into a marriage of convenience with the shy girl, gets absolutely emotionally compromised because she's actually everything), which MUST be read in order for max enjoyment. All the books are good, though, and book 1 is a great start with this kind of indecent proposal angle.

Monica McCarty's Highland Guard series could work for ya! It's a medieval series that centers on this group of knights who do these kind of black ops missions for Robert the Bruce as he's trying to take the Scottish throne. There's a lot of history, battling, Secret Love Shit. The first book is The Chief, which centers on the leader, this cool and stern guy who ends up in an arranged marriage situation with this woman who wants to Know Him Emotionally. These books have tons of adventure.

The Uptown Girls by Joanna Shupe. This series focuses on three sisters of a prominent man in Gilded Age New York, all of whom get into various types of trouble, some of which does involve organized crime. Fun and scandalous~ with a bit of danger. Also, super sexy.

Elizabeth Hoyt's Maiden Lane series is a great one that takes place in Georgian England. Lots of working class characters, walking on the wild side, danger. I'd recommend starting with book 3 (Scandalous Desires) as a starter, as it centers on a river pirate who basically takes this widow woman into his lair~ (he's actually trying to keep her and his daughter, who she's been caring for, safe--but he has ulterior motives, obvi). These books are super hot and often quite daring. Some of my personal favorites.

I think these are some options you can sample and maybe find a match or several with--imo, finding your niche is important. Like, I know Julia Quinn often doesn't work for me because I prefer books that are a bit ... heavier? And definitely with more sex and passion, often with less focus on the marriage mart. With exceptions, clearly!

[bubbleteasing]

In response to your last answered ask (not the same anon), I just want to let you know that your english is really really great, better than most native speakers that I know. The only mistakes I can think of are all spelling rather than comprehension or grammar issues. Even then, your spelling mistakes are so minor that I overlook them unless I'm reading a fic a second time... or a third time... or a fifth time... basically, any mistakes you have in your fics don't interrupt the flow of reading and your english skills are superb. Your fics' grammar and reading comprehension are all great and the quality of your stories/plot/characters are just so good overall that I don't think many readers would miss out on reading them just because of a few minor convention errors.

I do have a tip for new writers, though, and it's also something that you do really well in all your fics: one thing you must always remember is that whenever a new person is speaking, start a new paragraph.

Tea, you do such a great job at this... the chapter of acaat where reader and red go to couple's therapy comes to mind. I remember at the end notes of that chapter you said something about the dialogue (maybe that you thought there was too much of it? I don't remember exactly). The dialogue was not troublesome at all because it was natural and flowed well, but also because you started a new paragraph for each speaker, making it easy for readers to track who's saying what.

Basically, new writers, if you have multiple characters speaking and you put all their dialogue in one paragraph, it will be very confusing for readers to discern who is saying what, which can cause readers to have to reread and try to guess what's going on, and you don't want that. There are fics i've tried that are awesome in all other ways, but because they did not separate dialogue into different paragraphs, I just could not figure out who was saying what and could not understand the story. You could have all the english mistakes in the world, but it will still be readable if you lay your dialogue out correctly.

Anyway sorry for the long ask... I really appreciate all the work you've put into your fics, Tea! I hope anyone who reads this finds it helpful...

Oh wow, way to stroke my ego… thank you very much anon 😳 I know I still have a long way to go, but fuck it, I’ll take the compliment. Thank you ❤️

You’re so damn right!! I (personally) hate long paragraphs with different character’s dialogues. It’s hard to tell who’s saying what and honestly, I usually find myself dropping the entire fic because of that.

I actually went to check acaat and you’re right; it was on chapter 30 and I did say that I hoped it wasn’t too tedious to read since most of the chapter was just a very long dialogue (I personally love reading dialogues but I know I can’t speak for most people).

Even if you’re writing for the undertale fandom (yes, we know Papyrus’s the one speaking if you’re using capital letters, yada yada), you should separate the dialogue into different paragraphs to make it more fluid. It kind of makes me think everyone has the same voice if that makes any sense? Just let the characters take turns on each sentence 🤷‍♀️

I do have to say I just hate reading long paragraphs (not related to dialogues, just in general) so I end up avoiding writing them myself… which isn’t necessarily a good thing. I know I should describe surroundings to make people’s reading experience more immersive but here’s where my nonnative writer skills don’t come to light: using pretty words to describe common things are not my strength. I wish it was, but it isn’t.

Don’t be like me. Use paragraphs to describe things but separate dialogues when different characters are speaking.

Thank you very much for leaving this in my inbox! I hope the previous anon sees it.

[loremonster]

Hello! I've been browsing through the South Park fanfic corner and stumbled upon your New Kid Stories....well.....stories. Gotta say, I'm in love with it but noticed your last update was 2020.

I can understand if you've been busy, but I'd just like to ask what happened to the NKS episodes and it's latest, the Holiday Special? Are you still working on it? Have you dropped it? I'm very curious and have grown to love the fanfic and its writing so I hope that you're still working on it. If not, then it's a shame but it was a nice read either way.

Hello dear reader!

So! The current project with NKS is porting it over to Ao3 while doing some editing, rewording unclear narration, shortening info dumps to get to the point, and add illustrations when the mood so takes me.

The Holiday Special is intended to be my victory lap after the other eight 'Episodes' have been moved over. With so much time to think about it, I wanna rework the plot a bit.

There is also intention to write a second season of NKS. I have several stories outlined, pages of notes, and I'm really invested in Dee and their adventures, as well as the shinanigans Eric and the gang get up to.

THAT SAID I'm also trying to build more deliberate rest time into my daily habits, so the ETA on everything is I'll Get There When I Am Well Enough To Enjoy The Writing. That's happening more often, but I don't wanna go back to the burnt out place I was in where just reading over the last chapter I'd written was too big an ask for my exhausted brainmeats. So I'm taking it one day at a time, minimizing obligations and deadlines, and prioritizing my health... mainly because not doing that sent me to the ER twice between 2020 and 2022. Then I spent a year afraid to show my face anywhere, and unwilling to make anything for fear that people who were mad at me would come running to yell at me for not working on the last project I suddenly dropped out of... because of the mentioned ER visits and a full on meltdown.

I've been feeling a little braver lately. More and more I can't focus on whatever YouTube I'm watching because I have a scene playing out in my head ( that started up last month ) and I've been sketching occasionally as well. Slowly, I can feel the Drive building up again, yknow?

Dee ain't the only one who will sprint to the point of exhaustion XDDD I just do it creatively... but its no less of a destructive habit. Rest. Is. Required.

Thank you so much for messaging in and telling me how much you enjoyed reading the stories. I loved writing them. That love is why I wanna improve them during the move to Ao3, in hopes of making it more readable, and adding my artistic flare now that I'm on a platform where I can. :3

Also shout out to @obstinate-nocturna who has been super supportive since I've withdrawn. She is an amazing hooman who has an entire AU she writes where Lyssie has a twin sister which we call the ButtTwin universe. There is some fic to read and art to squee at over at @twonewkidsonesouthpark

Again, thank you for writing in, it was a great thing to come back to when I finally logged back into Tumblr 🥰

~Lore

[emptymanuscript]

Take 3... or 30, or, you know, whatever...

Ok.

Time to buckle down. Unfuck all this. Winter is over. The Sun has returned. Life begins again. So I try again. Start over.

Picking a due date. June 1st. That's easy to remember. That's 53 days. That's time enough to do what NEEDS doing. Without too much time to sabotage myself.

I had a good conversation yesterday with Editor Prime ;) and she helped me coalesce my thinking much better.

I am, not just in specific, but in general as a plotted-course of work, trying to do too much. And in that issue I am trying to do two incompatible things simultaneously with Knights of Day, and therefore doing neither well enough to work.

I am trying to BOTH:

Turn the zero draft Knights of Day into a book series that is readable and comprehensible to a wider audience.

AND

Turn Knights of Day into a kind of magnum opus epic so the wider audience loves it the way we love it.

What she pointed out was that the entire reason to make Knights of Day in the first place is that it was epic. It just took its time instead of me trying to shoehorn EVERYTHING in right away and dial every element up to eleven. So I'm not gussying it up so much as building something different on its bones that is LIKE Knights of Day but actually something new.

That resonates with me. Yeah, that has been a repeated issue. Of me trying to make it "Good." And, of course, it doesn't really work. My drafts come out with great writing but the story is... off. Meanwhile Only A Mother comes out nearly ready to go on the first draft. So it's quite specifically something I'm doing wrong in Knights of Day.

It also triggers the thought that I actually don't like the "Good" stuff that people classify as "great epics" very much. As much of a Heresy as it is to say it, Lord of the Rings, while cool, is really not my favorite story. Even within its own universe, I like The Hobbit and The Silmarillion better. But honestly, I like "lighter" stuff. When I started Knights of Day, I was a Potter Head. My favorite series was Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter. My favorite series right now is the October Daye series. My delightful find last year was The Mother of Learning (Try Again). At this point most of my novel intake is "beach read" thrillers.

And what's the advice I give to other writers constantly? Hmmm?

Write what you read!

Which, for me, isn't grand tomes competing for epic trilogy space. It's small books you read in a few days and say, that was fun! about them. And now there's plenty of time to read umpteen more because the series I tend to love are huge. Not in terms of individual books but there are lots of the relatively small books. Churned out shockingly fast.

So... if someone else came to me with my problem, my advice would be: you're writing the wrong thing. Go write what you love, not what you think you should be writing. Because that's just shoulding on yourself. You'll be miserable AND you won't write it as well as someone who does love it will. It's a recipe for disaster.

So why don't I do that for myself?

Anxiety. Fear. Low Self Esteem. Codependency. All the usual stuff.

That's the other advantage of a short time scale like 53 days. If I screw it up and it doesn't work, that's not that much time to have wasted.

Keep it simple. Keep it short. And it might even take less time than that.

And if I screw it up again, I think I am officially giving myself permission to quit. Knights of Day has been going since the tail end of 2005. I don't actually want to spend my entire life on Knights of Day. If I can't make it work under the KISS method, then I think I am not capable of doing better than I already did, maybe someone else can do it, but I should let it go with intent and purpose and move on.

So, yeah, watch for the new tag, same as all the old tags: The Teddy Bear Hustle.

[nikethestatue]

Same anon! I'm glad someone feels as confused with acosf as I did.

What do you think sjm could've done to make acosf better? And were you satisfied with nesta's arc?

Preface by saying that I absolutely don't mind when women have harsh, unapologetic personalities. Nesta didn't need to change into something soft and pliant, to have a good arc. But I think there are a few issues with Nesta 'arc'.

It was never clarified why she had such hateful animosity towards Feyre

It also doesn't make sense why she would have such a slavish devotion to Elain

Those are two very important points which were never addressed in the book and I feel like we as readers are still confused.

Again, I dont mind imperfect sibling relationships. Much prefer it, actually, because siblings dont have perfect relationships. However, we still needed to understand why she'd call Feyre an animal/beast and slutshame her in front of their father, and just be so weirdly gross to her.

Which also doesn't mesh well with other parts of Nesta--caring, devoted, even gentle. She went to the Wall in search of Feyre. She was often kind and caring towards Elain. She fell in love with Cassian at first glance.

I think the emotional component of the book fell very flat. But so did the magical component. We never got to understand what her powers were. She, in fact, seemed kind of weak and powerless most of the book. I think the Trove and the Making of weapons were interesting and made the book readable, but also underdeveloped.

I would've wanted to see Nesta go an a physical journey--where she had to figure things out, use her wits, use her smarts, use her powers. Even if she was in Illyria with Cassian it would've been better, because she'd have to navigate an entirely new life, learn to live with him and grow with him, find friends.

There are fanfics out there that are so much better than the book. They weave interesting stories, they make Nesta DO something. Not just sit in HoW. She is also independent, even if she is with Cassian. Her actions aren't constantly connected or dependent on him.

Think of the scene in Prison, when they go and meet Lanthys and find the Harp. THat was a great scene from every angle. Now imagine a whole book like that! That's a microcosm of a fantastic story--there is an interesting villain, there is mystery, actual temptation, choice to be made, there is action and fighting, there is devotion, there is love, there is magic.

Instead, we got a confusing sex fest, yoga lessons and friendship bracelets, and the weakest villain in history.

[bettygemma]

In no order, here are my reading highlights for 2023

Best literary page turner (LPT)

This is a tie between 'I have some questions for you' by Rebecca Makkai and 'Birnam Wood' by Eleanor Catton. Both about moral quandaries of some sort, both really well written and extremely readable.

Best fantasy

'Babel' by R. F. Kuang. After I finished Babel I had to stare into the void for a little while to recover. One of the questions the book asks is, is it actually possible for those with power to be truly friends to those without power, and it answers pretty firmly in the negative. Which I remember being sad and sceptical about when I first read the book in August but now, on this side of the Voice to Parliament Referendum, it feels extremely prescient (*laughs bitterly*).

Best Australian fiction

'Love and Virtue' by Diana Reid. Also best campus novel of the year (I read lot of them in 2023 coincidentally!) I was devastated to end this book, not only because parts of this novel are set in my home town #representation but more importantly its genuinely brilliant and empathetic and recognisable. Also has multiple moral quandaries.

Best retelling

'Home Fire' by Kamila Shamsie which is a retelling of Antigone. I knew nothing about Antigone going in so found it super intense and surprising. Just like 'Love and Virtue ' I could have spent a hundred more pages with these characters.

Best Lenten read

'Passage' by Connie Willis. Willis is now probably my second favourite writer after Dorothy Sayers, and this book is up there as one of her greats, along with 'Doomsday Book' and 'To Say Nothing of the Dog'. A book to read to when death is near and you are in need of hope.

Best memoir

'Educated' by Tara Westover. Also wins the prize for being the book that made me the most thankful for my parents and for them sending me to a normal public school (honourable mention for this prize goes to 'I'm glad my mom died' by Jennette McCurdy').

Best feminist read

'Wifedom' by Anna Funder. Part biography of Eileen O'Shaughnessy, part novel, part memoir, this book is possibly the best investigation of the toll domestic inequality has on women I've read for a number of years. Read it if you're interested in biography and women's history and the literary canon. In one of the many passages that jumped out at me, after praising her husband for his modernity and equal mindedness, Funder writes:

"This was not enough to protect me. The patriarchy was too huge, and I was too small or stupid, or just not up for the fight. The individual man can be the loveliest, the system will still benefit him, without him having to lift a finger or a whip or change the sheets. This is the story I tell against myself. And against the system that made this self, as well as my husband's, and the system that put her into his service. Wifedom is a wicked magic trick we have learned to play on ourselves."

I mean??!?!

And finally, Book I recommended the most

'This is not a book about Benedict Cumberbatch' by Tabitha Carvon. I hyped this book to nearly every woman I know. Extremely funny if you were in Tumblr in 2012 or have ever participated in any fandom. A great companion read to 'Wifedom'. May it inspire you to find joy.

[nekyn-alb]

Lies of P Demo: Gameplay and Style Review

Style and Narrative

The game looks excellent, from small clutter to massive building fronts. Every street corner is packed with traces of human life ripped apart by the puppet uprising without being stuffed, floating furniture or badly aligned windows are rare, although they do exist here and there. That's completely fine, it happens in every game and often more obviously than here.

Areas are interconnected nicely, although not particularly complex so far. Being able to climb to another level here and there and not dying for jumping off a low roof is good fun.

The hub is not too large, has a lovely atmosphere, and you can see from the stargazer teleport which (additional?) NPCs are in it. Being able to groove with sad tunes is a great design choice. When talking to NPCs however, I have to ask: why can't I talk to them from any direction and why do they take such long pauses between their lines when every other readable prompt disappears two seconds too early?

In many aspects, I find the game too derivative of Bloodborne. Blatantly so, to be honest. Stalkers are hunters, puppets are beasts, both appear to be bereft of humanity. Workshops are workshops, Sophia is a firekeeper (with standard greeting!), the petrification disease stands in for a beast plague driving victims mad, the aesthetic and layout of the city is vaguely adjacent to Yharnam--not gothic of course, but bridges and plazas and carriages and boxes are all so strongly reminiscent that I sometimes felt like recognizing Cleric Beast's bridge, Gascoigne's summoning spot or Arianna's alley. Ergo and otherworldly materials will probably develop into an alien influence adjacent to BB's Great Ones and the arcane cosmic.

But don't fret, the original story elements possess some intrigue of their own. Next to the mystery of maddened puppets, it appears we will come across fairy-like influences that explain the origin of Geppetto's automaton vision, which has been wiped from at least two puppets' minds.

The petrification disease could also be interesting. I am not sure if it comes from the puppets yet, maybe an influence of their ergo, but having more cause of chaos than brutal mayhem is always good.

I always love me a good critique of large companies, so the different depictions of how they influence Krat's life on the large and small scale are welcomed. Soulslikes tend to struggle to put meaning behind their copies, but here I can already posit theories, like the struggle representing P's drive to gain a speck of humanity.

Hooray for making the dingy Daedalians blow up, boo for implying that Venigni is going to be a rad wheel-spinning robogrinder instead of the greedy loser he is meant to be. Knowing the genre, he's probably going to end up mad anyways though.

P should be voiced. No reason not to, really. He is a character with development, not a blank slate. FromSoft allowed Sekiro to speak, you don't have to cling to other titles' concepts.

Gameplay

So you don't think I'm just salty, here's my Souls Cred (I'm a bit proud of these, fight me): Finished DS1, DS3, BB, Sekiro & Elden Ring, the middle three several times, and recently beat DS3+Ashes at SL1. I gave up on my BL4 and No Beads Runs halfway through because I hate getting one-shot. On my first playthrough, I beat every (and I mean every) ER boss bar five in less than 10 tries. I like these games a lot and would like to believe that I know what I'm talking about.

Let's start with the compliments!

Enemies appear in plentiful sizes and shapes with interesting models and varied move sets. Regular puppets have a fun amount of health and deal dangerous but not overwhelming damage.

P's quickly unlocked weapons are equally versatile, even if they only seem to have two light/heavy attacks each. For the most part, they feel appropriately weighty and I never noticed a swing being too fast or slow. Reassembling weapon parts can be strange because the handle determines the moveset, so a blunt mace head might adopt a rapier's quick stabs. Funny enough to not be off-putting.

P himself moves adequately well. He doesn't slip too easily from the thin catwalks bridging Krat's roofs and turns quickly. Same for the camera, this is the first game in a while where I didn't crank the sensitivity up to 8.

Dogs don't teleport. Good dogs.

I skimmed most of the tutorials because they are just Souls mechanics, but they do a fine job of explaining the basics. Being able to see that you have enough ergo by the number becoming blue is a wonderful idea.

The skills seem to be fairly extensive and might allow for a solid build once you get far enough. They should be unlocked earlier though.

There is a rewarding amount of items strewn throughout the world and even the frequent sawtooth cog drops feel nice. It's cool to have something to trigger traps with from afar!

Dropping ergo in front of the boss room is very kind and a good conclusion when you hand the player infinite homeward bones with the watch.

I like the pulse cell regain through attacking. Could go a bit faster though, you don't have that many to begin with.

And now we get to the detailed negatives, much of which comes down to the ever-maligned frame data.

Parrying needs a few more frames. Maybe guard should linger on its own instead of being spammable. Since they basically do not have to recover after a parry, slower weapons get one hit in, then they strike again and hyper armor through anything, even charged heavy attacks. This does not feel good by being unresponsive to player actions. Where's my reward for nailing three perfect parries in a row? And why do I sometimes take damage after I get the SUCCESS vibration and ping? Even red attacks shouldn't knock me down and punish me for perfect parrying.

Perhaps there should also be an indicator like Sekiro's red kanji, whose fading tells you when to act. The red sparks only tell you that a special attack is coming sometime in the next five seconds. Subverting Sekiro's kanji into not being able to dodge the red attack is also an odd choice, since you can dodge it with proper spacing. Without mikiri counter or jumps it only leaves parrying, and again, odd choice. The game didn't need this feature, considering…

Dodge has no travel distance and struggles to actually dodge. I am fine with limited iframes, but if I can't move out of an enemies range with two dodges, I question why I even have the ability. Another factor for the insufficient dodge is how little Capacity improves your carry weight. If I want to stay under 29% for a somewhat acceptable dodge, I can't use a club AND armor pieces. The legion arm was thrown right out because of how heavy it is.

Strongly delayed attacks a la Elden Ring are just annoying. Malfunctioning puppets have an actual reason for doing it, but it's not natural. You have to memorize attack patterns instead of reacting to them. Waiting three seconds for an attack to come down in an instant feels weird.

The waiting game makes for a lackluster combination of Bloodborne and Sekiro. There need to be larger windows between attacks for heavy weapons and less recovery after striking back.

The weapon durability system isn't very appealing to me. The game moves too fast for this tactical element, which would work better in something paced like earlier Souls titles. Bouncing off the opponent with everything, including weapon arts, is bad. That's not how durability works or should be represented. Just make me deal less damage instead of stealing my turn for surviving until the end of the fight. You also forget about it because the areas are too short for your weapon to degrade noticeably.

The stronger watchmen feel like they have too much health (I was level 30 with a balanced build + rapier at the end). Not a lot too much, but their resistance could be lowered for more enjoyable mini bosses inbetween areas of enemies.

Dummy traps could last about 1.5 seconds less.

Why do you only get rally on chip damage? There is no lore reason like in Bloodborne, and I doubt there could be any that would make sense for it to be restricted to blocked attacks. Enemies (bosses!) should not have access to rally, period.

Enemies feel like they have block or jagged models/boxes that won't let me pass. When P collides with them, they stick instead of sliding past each other, which often meant that I was stuck right in the enemy's weapon arm. This is particularly obnoxious with long-limbed bosses, who will just trap me with their left arm and attack with the right. Because of the long dodge recovery, I can't adjust after this happens either.

Why are there six enemies with what appears to be instant parry next to each other? Give that to one or two in a group, otherwise you'll be ganked (completely fine) and an attempt to strike back after parrying one enemy will be punished.

Watchman Paarl leaves shock traps that sometimes hit you as soon as you get up, making it an unnecessary double punishment. He also has two very fast attacks with barely any windup that are inconsistent with his regular attack speed (and another fast one that winds up for about 2.5 seconds). Since all his strikes are either right-left windup while crouching or standing, they and the grab are difficult to distinguish.

Since all his larger attacks place him right on top of you (slams and Sonic slam), he can just combo any attack from there and hits. The grab often caught me because of our models sticking together when I tried to dodge after such a slam or a shock trap. The grab also reaches too far and has unintuitive windup-followup, which messes with dodge timings too hard for an early enemy.

Speaking of shock traps, the radial burst with random lightning bolts surrounded by a ring of lightning doesn't feel fair. Where am I supposed to dodge with my half-inch frolicking steps? Run startup is too long to flee, what fires first is hard to foresee. And when he decides to do another Paarl burst right after, which doesn't have the appropriate charge before blowing up, you've just eaten three to five attacks without seeing any of them.

I enjoyed my time a lot, some improvements and this'll be a great game!

[cangrellesteponme]

13, 14, and 19 for the writing asks!

What feedback did you receive for your writing that stuck with you?

This is going to sound very stupid, but what haunts me is the importance of making your work readable.

How well or shittily you write doesn't matter if your work is an ugly wall of text that no one will read. I was taught about that in detail when I was around 11 (harsh teachers...), and then I was told how to do it a bit better when I was 13. As you know, I'm 20, so... yeah never forgetting that.

But yeah, learn from me (and my French teachers) and fix your format. Prescriptivism is inherently wrong and all but if you want to listen, or at least know the rules before you break them, it's easy.

A new idea is a new paragraph. Dialogue is a new paragraph. Use the right quotation marks for your language. Use the right dialogue format too. Free Indirect Speech or Thought is a new paragraph unless it actually fits into the idea you're developing (and italicise that shit, for the love of god, unless you're intentionally making it unclear). Use your tenses correctly (English literally has two. Just pick one and stick to it, or if you want to switch it up, do so only if it actually adds to your storytelling).

This is like, some basic Writing Format 101, and I have a lot more things to say (especially as someone who has corrected, proofread, and reviewed a fuckton of writing from their peers) but that would take hours.

What is something that you feel weird/uncomfortable writing about?

Plenty of things, actually.

We all know that I only write sex scenes if I'm paid to do it, so there's that. I may fit the "all aces write good smut" cliché but I am not willing, okay.

But also writing very emotional characters is out of my comfort zone. For Open The Door, I wrote from Virgil's (the literal embodiment of anxiety) POV and through the whole thing I was like "what does severe anxiety even feel like... i think i'm actually writing sensory overload there let me fix that... oh no that's PTSD... eh, that works" because I'm simply not a very anxious person. And I struggle with big emotions in general for the same reason - I'm just a very repressed rational bitch.

I also have a hard time writing empathy, comfort, and all those complex... social things. I'm not talking in terms of skill, or ability - I mean that I'm honestly just not having a great time with those things because it takes so much effort (but I balance it out with more fun stuff! like heartbreaking angst <3).

Show us the line you want readers to remember from your story.

I'll answer this for Staring Contest, obviously.

It has to be one of those two:

"Baldroy does not like many things about many people, but today he decides that he particularly hates the way Sebastian Michaelis looks at their young master."

"There’s something fragile and worn, a breath away from breaking, bubbling under the surface but ready to cool down in a second."

Obviously, Staring Contest has no dialogue (except one line from Ciel, because I simply couldn't be bothered to change it) and a very honest focaliser, which kind of restricted my ability to hide the truth in a bunch of lies so I had to work a lot with omissions.

With the first line, I think what I'm implying is obvious (even the second, more disturbing layer of it also is. i mean we've all read the manga. canon seb is a creep), and I want the reader to keep that in mind, for reasons similar to the second line. For the second one, I wanted it to be a sweet, memorable line with just a hint of carefully sprinkled pain.

For both of those, what you should remember is that appearances or suddenly developed feelings of paternal affection don't matter - this is still a dangerous demon whose sole intent is to get that dinner. The affection is fragile not only because it's new, but also because it can and will be crushed if needed. Both of those line highlight, in different ways, how fucked up this all is. But yeah it's all hidden in the fluffy dadbastian vibes.

[mikelogan]

Hi! That's great! Which was your favorite? I have started all of them and have been meaning to finish them for a while now. I also find them super readable but I didn't wanna finish too fast which is why I was reading two at a time. I feel like that motivates me to read both more or be at the same spot in each. Then I took a break from reading for a while but I am hoping to get back to it. I also like to read two to compare them and see which one I am liking more but I have a hard time deciding my favorite so far. Everyone has different favorites which I find so interesting. What do you think is your ranking?

hi!! look at you, being all smart about it when im over here literally reading one per day 💀 i plowed through them lmao but yes, I definitely agree, I think they're super readable and idk, I'm not going to claim they're the best writing in the world, but that's not the point to me? and that's not to say i think her writing is bad bc it's absolutely not! idk like when i rate things, be it books, movies, or shows, my rating is based on how the material makes me feel and how sucked into the story i get. with all her books, i got so invested, which is why i consumed them with the speed of a cheetah on cocaine. also all of them made me laugh out loud SO many times!!

anyway! i thoroughly enjoyed all of them and almost all of them ended up making me cry 😭 but here's my ranking:

happy place (5/5)

beach read (5/5)

people we meet on vacation (4.5/5)

funny story (4.5/5)

book lovers (4.5/5)

i literally loved all of them so much!! and will be impatiently waiting for whatever comes next 🥰

[littlewalken]

may 6

The purple strips are all sewn to black strips but in small units that now need to be arranged in a pleasant order and sewn in to one sold piece which will then be sewn in a tube which will be cut in to strips and then only one seam will need to be undone to make the final piece.

The goal is to have the purple and black staggered, it will be either a purple or black stripe but at regular intervals it will be a different purple or patterned black. And for the love of me I can't find the pic I saw of a quilt top that inspired me to do it that way.

Oh well, pics when it's pieced. It will look far more complicated than it is.

Also have a set of rose print strips and Kona black but no idea what Ill do with them exactly, I have half yards of the same fabric so a checkerboard sashing or boarder isn't out of the question. Kind of want to see how big the purple one comes out.

Will also be looking for a sale or good coupon on the least amount of safe rotary cutter and mat combo I can get away with unless I cna figure how to cut what I want with scissors.

Or I make a friend with a rotary cutter and buy them a new blade in return for doing my cuts for me.

Also had the thought that only having a mending machine is a great way to remind cheapskates I don't do commissions. "It will cost you more than purchasing this exact same sewing machine and doing it yourself."

In other projects I started taking notes for the boy band story to try and rewrite it again and I suppose after having let it rest this current draft is okay to the point that it can be typed up and as I'm doing that I'll be working on what ever parts feel like they need it.

Also puttering with the notes I took about Grease 2 reviews. I thought I'd be writing some sort of article(s) but in a way it's looking like a lot of the work might have been jsut to give me something to do at the shit shack.

I'm not throwing the notes away, I'm trying to organize them and then work out how to do the write up. The goal kind of was a retelling to make it a more readable story, and perhaps some inspired by stories, along with some insightful commentary. All posted for free like fan fiction stuff.

Another thought that hit me is to divide the plot up if it were being done as a miniseries, six episodes easily, can we make it up to 9-10, and of my inspired by ideas where would they fit in to pad things out in a meaningful way.

How would you expand a movie in to a miniseries is a good writing exercise anyway.

[libertyreads]

Book Review #16 of 2024--

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djèlí Clark. Rating: 4 stars.

Read from March 2nd to 4th.

Before I get into the review, a quick thank you to both NetGalley and the publishers over at Tor allowing me access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review. The Dead Cat Tail Assassins are not cats, nor do they have tails. But they are assassins. This story follows Eveen whose job as an assassin is put at risk when she goes to kill her mark and has a memory--the one thing no Dead Cat Tail Assassin has ever had. The problem is that once a contract is accepted the assassin must complete the contract--or else. We follow Eveen as the sands in the hourglass fall, her time running out, while she tries to get to the bottom of this memory. Can Eveen complete her contract? Or will she be the one meeting the end of a dagger? The Dead Cat Tail Assassins comes out on August 6th and is available for preorder now.

I struggled when it came to the rating for this one. I don't love shorter works because it lacks in the details I really need to feel grounded in a story. Yet this was such a fun and compulsively readable novella. There are little touches here and there that can really ground the reader while also pushing the plot forward, always forward. I did have to fill in quite a few blanks on my own based on my reading history but that's sort of to be expected when you're reading a Fantasy story that is SO short. It says the final copy should be around 200 pages which is just so, so short for a Fantasy. (I've literally written a review for an almost 800 page Fantasy novel saying it should have been longer. I LOVE some chunky Fantasy.) Yet, I feel like I knew enough about the magic to understand what was happening throughout the story. I also felt like the characters felt realistic. I would have loved more from them but they still had enough good and bad qualities to seem well rounded. I will say that I guessed a component of the plot twist very early on. Possibly because of books I've read in the past, but most likely because of a tv show I'm currently watching that had a similar-ish twist. (If I even say the title of the tv show, you'll guess the plot twist so I won't spoil that for you.) I think this would be a great pick up for people who already really enjoy this author, but also for people who don't like getting bogged down in the details of most Fantasy novels. People who don't love Tolkein spending three pages describing a tree but who still want to enjoy Fantasy will probably have a good time with this one.

Overall, this was such a fun and quick read for me. I know that P. Djèlí Clark is a beloved author on the bookish parts of the internet so I felt so lucky to get this ARC. I would love to read more from them in the future.