Hey guess what, I’ve just realized that Findis and Lotho Sackville-Baggins have something in common

I'm Reading the Drizzt Novels and You Can't Stop Me: Homeland (and some anticipated questions)

Welcome to yet another ongoing series from me, a person who should be doing other things and may abandon it but also frankly will do this for her own entertainment regardless of whether anyone else cares. Let's back up first; if you're not in this car with me, get out of the rearview mirror.

Until now I have pretty much only read the Drizzt novels in situations where I was unwell, tired, or without another easy means of entertainment. Specifically, I read the first few while quarantining with a mild but still unpleasant case of COVID in late 2022, and then some others while dealing with catching up at work/post-illness fatigue/the general vibes of December in the northeast and Midatlantic states of the US. This caught me up to book 6, which represent the scene-setting; more on this later.

I then read Book 7 on a long train ride with nothing else to do, while very tired and probably a little hungover, in January 2023. I enjoyed it, in part because Wulfgar, who I do not care for, dies. (spoilers I guess? I'm not explicitly avoiding spoilers because these books are 30+ years old, but I'm not seeking them out, and I believe he comes back to life eventually).

I then proceeded to read Real Books (TM) for the remainder of 2023, some of which I can recommend highly and some of which were dumber than Wulfgar. Flash forward to getting my car serviced in the tail end of December 2023. I intended to bring my laptop. I did not. I also intended to bring headphones. I did not. And so, with a phone with so-so battery and little interest in watching HGTV, I read book 8. And I thought "what if I started doing this, because I can knock out one of these motherfuckers in a day if I try hard enough." I then thought "what if I slam books 1-7 again and do a book a week in 2024?"

Clearly I did not do this, because again, I have other books to read and things to do. However, I have finally, after another long-ass train ride, finished a reread of book 1. And so, with an unclear but hopefully from now on twice a month at least (?) update schedule, I bring you: Homeland. The rest of these posts will probably be way shorter.

For anyone who is not familiar with Drizzt or Forgotten Realms or whatever: this is a weird choice you've made. Anyway. Forgotten Realms is THE iconic D&D setting; it's where both the Baldur's Gate series is set as well as the D&D movie plus all kinds of adventures. What's it like? Well, it's basically The Tough Guide to Fantasyland, for all my Diana Wynne Jones fans out there. Do none of these references work for you? You'll just have to pick it up as we go along.

The Legend of the Legend of Drizzt is basically, as far as I know (and I don't know much) R.A. Salvatore was hired to write some cool adventures in a D&D setting in the early 90s. The plan, per the suits, was to follow Wulfgar, who was big and blond and very Conan The Barbarian which is, I should note, way more the vibe of D&D than LOTR much as we (D&D players) are loathe to admit it. However, Wulfgar had brains made out of one of the boring adult cereals: dull, and only slightly more fibrous than the fun cereals like Honey Bunches of Oats. Meanwhile, Drizzt, his drow buddy, fucking ruled. And so, after writing three very sword-and-sorcery (or more accurately, scimitar-and-wizardry) books, Salvatore returned to fill in Drizzt's backstory. And thus we begin in Homeland.

Drizzt Do'Urden is a drow, or dark elf, which in this setting are almost universally evil because they worship Lolth the spider queen. Is this Not Great? Yes. I also am reading The Wheel of Time, which is Even Worse About Biology As Destiny. The main purpose of this book is to cover Drizzt's childhood from when he leaves the underground drow city of Menzoberranzan.

Drizzt's mother is called Malice, unironically. The naming of drow makes no fucking sense, while we're at it; Malice, Zaknafein, SiNaFay, and Alton DeVir are all supposed to be from the same language? I'm not buying it. ANYWAY. Drow society is matriarchal bc spiders and because, as this post says, Salvatore REALLY wanted to be stepped on. Drizzt was born the third son, and was going to be sacrificed to Lolth because third sons are useless. His birth was ALSO being used by Malice to fuel an attack on House DeVir, because if you slaughter a whole-ass house in Menzoberranzan it's admirable of you, bc ontologically evil; and Lolth powers are increased by childbirth or some jazz.

Several important things happen here, pretty much all simultaneously, heralding Our Chosen One (Drizzt):

The attack on House DeVir goes super well for House Do'Urden

The second oldest brother, Dinin, kills his wizard elder brother (known as the elderboy by the creative geniuses of Menzoberranzan) which means Drizzt can survive because they need a replacement wizard boy.

We learn that Drizzt's father (one of Malice's several consorts) is Zaknafein, who fucking hates his life and how shitty drow society is but also is really good at murder and so he kind of hangs out doing that for House Do'Urden

A wizard who melted his face off fails to kill Alton DeVir, the last of the house of DeVir, which means technically House Do'Urden's attack was illegitimate. However, Masoj Hun'ett, of another powerful house, kills the faceless wizard and Alton takes the wizard's place, but desires VENGEANCE.

Drizzt has lavender eyes but is not blind. His eye color will come up approximately a zillion times. I considered counting, but trust me it's SO many.

The rest of the book covers the following, roughly in order:

Drizzt is super good at everything from a young age; he is placed in the care of his only full sibling, Vierna. Zak manages to successfully argue that Drizzt's dexterity is SO good that he HAS to be a fighter and not a wizard, which permits him to train Drizzt, who is, as discussed, good at everything. He almost mercy-kills him before school because he'd rather his son die innocent than become a drow, but also he hates the idea of killing a child, and also Drizzt is a really good fighter, and so it doesn't happen. They depart on bad terms though.

Drizzt then goes to fighter school (instead of wizard school) and is an excellent fighter but not naturally deceptive and backstabbing because he is Pure of Heart; he is constantly skirting trouble by asking such questions as "why do we all want to murder each other all the time though" and "why is our graduation ceremony a drug fueled spider goddess orgy"

Masoj and Alton scheme; Alton eventually learns in a hoisted by his own petard way that the faceless wizard was also of house Hun,ett, and that house is willing to help him strike back at house Do'Urden

Masoj has a magic panther named Guenhwyvar who likes Drizzt more than him.

Drizzt goes on a surface raid and fucking loves the surface, and feels bad about murdering the surface elves, so he fakes the brutal slaughter of an elven girl. Lolth sees this and doesn't like it one bit and blames the whole house.

Drizzt proves himself on other patrols, and realizes Masoj Hun'ett keeps trying to fucking kill him, notably on a patrol where they run into deep gnomes (svirfneblin). Drizzt spares one of them as well. Dinin is growing suspicious.

Malice realizes that Lolth is mad and assumes it's Zaknafein, known problem, but Lolth tells her someone already knows

Drizzt tells her about Masoj, under questioning

Drizzt and Zak reunite and realize they are kindred spirits who are like "wait our society is MAD fucked up and miserable" and excitedly decide to run away and stop being miserable, BUT Malice is Scrying on them the whole time.

Drizzt goes out to clear his mind and gets cornered by Masoj and Alton. They try to kill him. Joke's on them! Drizzt kills Masoj, Alton's own wand blows up and kills him, and Drizzt gets the panther.

HOWEVER joke is also on Drizzt because Malice approaches Zak and tells him she's going to murder Drizzt, to which Zak tells her to kill him instead. She does so.

Drizzt learns of this and runs away.

The entire book is threaded through with Drizzt's first person reflections, which are actually quite touching at times but also definitely kind of overwrought so I do keep reading them as if they are Sex and the City/Scrubs/Winona Ryder in the 80s (Beetlejuice, Heathers) diary entries

And so our stage is set. If I recall correctly book two is "you have your father's morals; and his tendency towards clinical depression" so we're going to have a rollicking good time (genuine).

LotR reread - book 1, chapter 3 - (nomen omen) Three is Company

"You step into the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to. Do you realise that this is the very path that goes through Mirkwood, and that if you let it, it might take you to the Lonely Mountain or even further and to worse places?"

That old pre-First-Age road, older than Hobbits and Men! (Do you realise, that it used to run from Moria to Doriath and the drowned Beleriand parts of it, at least, had been built before the Sun rose?)

The Elven hymn:

Oh stars that in the Sunless Year/ with shining hand by her were sown - "Sunless Year" as in the years before the sun? Or since it looks as if it refers to a shorter period (year) does it mean the Darkening? But there were no new stars made then...

We still remember, we who dwell/ in this far land beneath the trees/ Thy starlight on the Western Seas - beautiful lines *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Btw I know at least one Marian song that not only connects the Virgin Mary with the stars ("O douce Dame aux étoiles") but also calls Her "whiter than snow"?? and I'm not sure the imagery is that rare.

"Of the House of Finrod"!! Also you're all very welcome to my headcanon of Gildor as the unofficial adopted son of my favourite elf haha

"We are Exiles" - I'm always subtly tickled by the phrasing because it was sort of self-chosen exile, though I guess that's a thing? But right now there's certainly nothing to stop you from returning so it seems a bit outdated. I suppose the appellation is a proper name for Noldor in Middle-Earth at this point.

The Turin constellation! Rest in peace my problematic fave.

Back to the present... "They spoke of many things, old and new, and Frodo questioned Gildor much about happenings in the wide world outside the Shire. The tidings were mostly sad and ominous: of gathering darkness, the wars of Men, and the flight of the Elves." - similar passage to the one I quoted from the last chapter; also moved me terribly as a young teen and doesn't anymore :(((

"But I already know a little, and I can read more in your face and in the thought behind your questions." - Is Gildor reading his mind here or am I reading (pun not intended) too much into the phrasing?

"The wide world is all about you: you can fence yourself in, but you cannot forever fence it out" ✧*:･🦉

"Chance" again.

"May Elbereth protect you" ✏️ *notes under heading: Elvish customs - blessings

"The Wandering Companies shall know of your journey, and those that have power for good shall be on the watch. [Does Gildor have contact with Rangers?] I name you Elf-friend; and may the stars shine upon the end of your road!" ✏️ *files under same heading as above* (also I loooove the sound of it, and it does have meaning, because if you end up enslaved in the dark lord's fortress you cannot see the stars, I suppose)

Elves like to hear people speak Quenya, it seems (or at least Noldor, the Sindar might have other opinions, though the Noldo-Sinda divide seems to matter little in the Third Age)

Just saw your post about having to block the doctor strange x reader tag, and I must agree it's become the predominant DS fic that comes up as recommended on my feed as well. There are several authors I enjoy reading in that category (although lately the overall amount of fics is overwhelming), but I only started writing them myself as my stephen x ofc fics could never gain a bit of traction. I have a theory that if I went back and changed my ofc's to reader inserts, I'd probably gain a lot more readers--but I can never bring myself to doing that as I wouldn't be true to myself as an author.

I suppose that's just a writerly woe I'm sharing with someone who might understand.😏 But I'm curious; are you open to reading non-romance fics featuring original characters? I've found that tumblr can be quite snobbish towards that species of fic.

I wanted to reply to this ages ago but it requires my computer and some thinking, so I kept pushing it off again and again and again and whelp, here we are. My bad. ><

I'm the same way where being true to myself as an author is writing what I want, so I get you there. Doesn't get As Much Engagement as other tropes would, but y'know what, I can live with that. If anything, I've actually found that the fic I compromised most on (because it was for a themed exchange) is one I want to reread the least. So if anything, a lot of me writes for "do I want to reread this in the future" and that has helped me since.

It's funny since OFC romances used to be pretty popular way back when, but I guess "reader" took over that audience over the last decade because the majority of the people just wanted to insert themselves into the position instead of reading about a full-fleshed character? Honestly not sure.

Right, I keep delaying the reason I took so long to get back to you - non-romance fics with OCs. The answer, by the way, is yes. Great OCs are fantastic, but you don't tend to see many OCs outside of romance, or you only see them as side characters in another pairing's fic. They don't often have starring or co-starring roles. But I wanted to find examples with great OCs which would take time.

And now I'm taking that time. Here's some good OC-starring fics that I scoured through the tag. They're difficult to find. I had to smudge that requirement after a while. Then I gave up after I got to 2 years back in the tag.

Some of the stories that I know have very good OCs are also IronStrange, but I know that's not your cup of tea so I left it out. But I found a handful.

Keshwyn was the author that came to mind when you originally sent this ask, but I wanted to have more than one author when I wrote this. Read their series, highly recommend, top-tier OCs across the whole spectrum, with the main star being female.

This fic by LexLemon is technically PalmerStrange, but the OCs are her parents, so it's basically a delight in my eyes as Stephen's fish-out-of-water act is always funny to me.

Dragonnan writes good OCs, usually the mean sort though, the ones who hurt Stephen rather than befriend him (male and female lmao), but if you're in a whumpy mood at some point...

This isn't technically an OC, but I don't know the character from the comics, so she's an OC to me! This Stephen's new apprentice is Casey Kinmont fic by Stratagem. They just updated recently too, need to cheer them on at some point.

*sigh* Sorry love, I ran out of good OC fics that didn't have background/primary IronStrange that I could find/remember. But yeah. There's some fic/author recs.

(If anyone wants to add to the list, feel free to leave a comment or reblog. I was avoiding IronStrange for the asker in particular but I don't think the asker sees reblogs so go for it if you'd like).

Also, I love the OCs that I've come up with for my various stories in both LOTR and the MCU. I'll ramble all about them if you (or someone) wants me to, quite happily.

Hope that answers the question/reason for the ask, mostly.

18, 20, 26; fic writer asks? :3

Thank you for the asks sorry it took six billion years to get to <3

--

18. Do you title your fics before, during, or after the writing process? How do you come up with titles?

A fun fact about me is that I hate naming fics ;--;. Titles are the bane of my existence. Any title you see of mine was forcibly yanked out of my sad little head by sheer force of "I WANT TO SHARE THIS".

The real answer: after I write fics lol. It is very rare for me to have a title before I go to post on tumblr or AO3 and more often than not the titles are a one or two word thing that are relevant to the plot (see the oh so creative Misfire where Garrus misfires, and Dog Tags where Ryn is...you guessed it, given 'Garrus'' (her) dog tags).

Occasionally I have what I consider a stroke of genius such as And They Were Couchmates aka a play on the iconic vine, or Under the Party Tree which was just a sweet and call back for those who followed along with my first LOTRO fictober.

20. Have you noticed any patterns in your fics? Words/expressions that appear a lot, themes, common settings, etc?

Thematically, over the years, my fics have become a lot more hopeful and generally gear towards having a happy ending. In The Olde Days (about age 16-18) my fics explored a lot of pretty dark, heavy stuff as I inevitably worked through The Angst of Teens and needed an outlet for whatever the hell was going on in my brain. Nowadays I find I write a lot more happiness in dispersed with my angst, which is often plot driven.

Similarly, I've keyed in on the fact that what I write is often a reflection of what is going on internally for me at the time. Misfire was written when I was going through a lot and as such Ryn also happens to be Going Through A Lot.

But other than that, I like to write a LOT of very tightly character focused stuff. I don't tend to do a lot of sweeping plots, its a lot of character interactions. For better or for worse.

26. Which of your fics would you call your wildest ride?

Oooh hm...that is a good question. Does referencing my OLD Fanfiction.net Warrior Cats x LOTR crack fic oneshots count (no you can't find them on the internet)? I know a lot of people want to hide the stuff they wrote at like 12 but I still think that's pretty damn funny.

Lol no, uhm, I am super pulling a blank on this one. For sheer "why did you write this, Deryn" purposes, probably Little Victories because I never engaged with making contact for Check, Please ever again despite really enjoying the series (which I reread last month after not reading it since 2019). And the whole reason I wrote the fic was out of spite because the person who introduced me to it angry vague-blogged about me listing it as a fandom I'd do commissions for despite them introducing me to it (???). So I mentally, at 18, said "fuck you I'll give you something to be mad about"...and for the longest time it was my highest kudos/views/comments fic.

Hey Azriel. I have to do this anonymously, as I despise being known on the internet. I’m a weirdly private person. I have tried to write this for months, but it never felt like enough. You deserve enough. So, you know when you first read a book that just makes your whole body tighten up, makes the good parts in your brain tingle? The first time I read Harry Potter (I was young, and it was before The Horrors..) it felt like I had waited all my life to read it. Every book, every sentence, every word stayed with me. It was like finally coming home. I got that feeling again when I read The Inheritance Cycle. I cried and laughed and yelled and smiled. I had been waiting for this book series all my life. And then I picked up Lord of the Rings. And that familiar feeling returned. I was home. It gave my brain all the happy tingles. I guess you know the feeling of a book that feels like it has been waiting for you to pick it up. Like, “Hello, I’m so glad you’re finally here.” Fanfiction has never given me this feeling. Not until now. I stumbled upon WSJK by accident while lying in bed. I thought I would read a bit, and then go to sleep. But no. I finished the whole thing in one go. Your story made my whole body shake from the first sentence. I can’t really describe it.. I literally shook the whole time reading it. I was home again. And of course I had to see if you had written more, and I discovered You’re Devine. It wasn’t finished yet. And I know myself. I can’t wait for an update. I have to read it all, or nothing, or I won’t feel peace. But hey! 200k words long, and only one chapter left. And you’d be updating in a week’s time. I could start now. I finished it in 2 days… And had to wait. If you thought WSJK made me shake, it had nothing on YD. I sobbed my heart out. If I wasn't actively doing something, I was thinking about YD. This story you had come up with.. There’s no words. The point to my ramblings.. I don’t really know. I just had to tell you that you have fundamentally changed me. In the best way. You made a home for me in your stories. I will follow you, always. You made me feel things I haven’t felt since I picked up LOTR for the first time. It’s incredible. Thank you so much for everything that you do for us.

Please know that i held onto this one for so long because rereading it filled me with strength and light and its something I'll treasure forever. I'm so grateful to you for sharing something of this magnitude and I'd really love to know who you are, you can always DM me, but I'm just so happy that my work has been able to touch you like this. It's so special and precious to me and this was honestly so beautiful and so important, I held onto for a while as I said.

Thank you so much. From the bottom of my heart. All my love, Az.

💜💜💜

I'd love your director's cut on On Wings Of Storm- Esp Elwing's attack on Maedhros! She's so vibrant in your writing, and I love how you portray her desperation too XD

Ooh, my first TRSB fic! First of all, I'm so glad you liked it! Second of all, I had to go back and reread it because I couldn't remember anything about it except for the artwork and like, the logistics of slaying Ancalagon, rather than the scene itself. Good lord it's riddled with typoes I am so sorry I don't have any idea how those happened. I swear I usually proofread my work.

So fun fact: the art was not my first pick for that TRSB; I was in the car on the way to some family Memorial Day thing and the google form glitched and I had to fill it out twice. This art of Elwing was pretty far down the list because I loved it but I wasn't entirely confident I could write something 5000 words long about it.

Turns out I could write over 11k, and honestly if I were to write this fic now it would be a lot longer. As I was reading I kept finding places and characters that I would have loved to see more fleshed out, but when I was writing it, it was for the very first Tolkien Reverse Summer Bang before the "oh no my fic has grown wildly out of my control" culture was established, and I didn't want to end up with a monster fic (hilariously contrasted with '21 and '22 where both fics were around 20k, lol).

So I don't remember a whole lot of what I was thinking when I wrote this fic, but definitely a lot of it was me trying to figure out how Elwing would get to that scene in the art, standing on Vingilot in armor with a sword in her hand (God, it's such good art!). I don't usually write her as particularly war-like, and I guess she still isn't, here, but she also knows her way around a sword and she's not afraid to use it.

I'm also not sure that scene where she fights Maedhros is Maedhros, tbh; that might be Amrod or Amras (there's another version of Sirion I've written where it's one of them she encounters before reaching the cliff; I may have been thinking of that). But the Elwing of this fic is not an Elwing who is just going to run away and not put up any fight. She also uses the Silmaril to blind her attacker there which is fun because foreshadowing! The scene on the cliff is also one I had written before, so I was trying to make it different; Elwing's last words to Maedhros are a moment of foresight for her because I was really leaning into her as one of Melian's granddaughters which means she has powers. Also fire seems to be something of a motif, what with Doriath and Sirion burning and then the dragons with their fire--and ultimately the fire that consumed Maedhros himself, though Elwing does not witness that. The reader knows what happens.

Aiwendil gets a cameo because I am very attached to my headcanon of he and Elwing as BFFs.

Curumo also gets a cameo because I needed someone to make Elwing's armor, and I thought it would be neat to see Saruman long before he ever starts down the road to becoming Sharkey; ever since I've looked for opportunities to do that again, but I haven't found one yet. I feel like I probably tried to think of a way to work in Olorin, but that clearly didn't work out. Instead I put in the scene with Nienna, because I needed a starting point for Elwing to start processing her despair and anger and trauma, and that's Nienna's whole jam. The mirror is obviously a nod to Galadriel's later in LOTR, but Nienna has both more and a different kind of power so it doesn't function in exactly the same way.

And the refrain of "She jumped." was definitely purposeful. There's the first time where she jumps to what she believes will be her death, in anger and despair; there's the second time where she jumps into battle with still plenty of anger but not so much despair--and this time she can use that anger, because now she can fly at will--and the last time at the end she's happy, and jumping is just the first step to soaring.

In an unprecedented move, I have created a sideblog so I won’t annoy my current followers with my infinite love of all things tolkien.  Follow me over on @goldberry-bombadil if you’re interested in hearing me scream about hobbits and silmarils.

I think I only ever liked feyre when she was human. Another tumblr person said something like when she was human, she was badass and kicking fae ass but as soon as she was resurrected having every single fucking power in the world it was like ok….now what. And the fact that the ONLY thing that can hurt fae is the stupid ash wood shit got me so pissed even when I was enjoying the books. Like heroes with invincibility suck. And if they didn’t follow any of the fae rules (iron, can’t tell a lie, sworn by oaths) then wtf is the point of calling them fae. Just call them elves so the lotr fandom can come in and shit post 🙄 they might as well at this point.

Even the first few books, hearing what people say about Rhys…it’s like … yeah you’re a hundred percent right why did I think him sexually assaulting her while she was drugged was okay?? And him fingering her infront of the court of nightmares…? Like… why. That was uncalled for. She should have been with the others looking for the orb. She literally had so much power but sjm only finds it useful when she either wants feyre to save the day some how (her transporting mid air or something to save that fae) or for sex with Rhys (did she really need to fucking flow using the summer court powers during her first time with him)

Sorry I’m like on a tangent here, I swear I liked the books (at the time) but idk why I’m even bashing them this hard rn. I guess I’m a little annoyed at people praising it without regarding the faults. Maybe it’s like when we all liked twilight before we realized how problematic it was. Still shaped a lot of my adolescence but I wouldn’t pick it up again.

your opinions are totally valid! i do feel like the maas had this amazing feminist breakthrough and she wanted to show that in her characters. and sometimes it seems like she did okay, like when rhys brings feyre along on dangerous trips versus tamlin who locks her up. and when he tells her that she’s allowed to correct him and she doesn’t need to explain herself, but it seems like all that kinda went down the drain when it came to nesta? so i feel like the intention was great but the execution? i feel like maas doesn’t understand how double standard works and it’s very evident in the acosf especially.

if anything, i’d probably reread acowar and acosf for cassian but not now. maybe when i’ve cooled off a bit LOL

when booktokers hyped this series up, i was so excited. but they were all white booktokers. so when i got to reviews done by POC, which is my fault because as a POC i should have listened to them first, i realized that POC readers have a completely different take on acotar. and i’m like right in the middle.

the story overall is great. kudos to maas’s brain for coming up with it. no kudos to maas’s execution skills tho

I’ve been so grateful for (and obsessively rereading) everyone’s kind comments on my Inklings Challenge story. I’m never sure how one should respond to tags, so I’m just going to take the chance to thank/respond to everyone in a separate post.

@why-bless-your-heart, @rosesnvines, @redheadedgirl, @radiowrites, @mademoiseli: Thank you for your kind comments, and I’m glad you enjoyed the story.

via @incomingalbatross: #oh that's beautiful#and i really love how he's totally conversant with BOTH worlds#genuinely a full citizen of both#you don't see that done very often and it creates a unique perspective i think

Thank you! I always love the intersection between the mundane and the fantastical, and I had so much fun creating a character who’s so familiar with both. If I ever do anything more with this universe, it’ll be to take advantage of the fun I can have with David’s character--he’s 100% the native and rightful king of this fantasy realm and can navigate all the trappings surrounding that, but he can also code-switch and talk with native knowledge of things like video games and television.

via @taleweaver-ramblings: #this is MAGNIFICENT#you know I'm a sucker for a good portal fantasy#even more so when it has this much depth#can I have a whole series please?

Thanks so much! I’m playing around with at least one more short story in this realm. Possibly two or three. I’d love to get to see David in Fable, and there’s fun to be had with how he can navigate both worlds.

via @maltheniel: #oooooooh#oh I love this#I love David as thoroughly a person of both worlds#and missing Fable but determined to stay out of trouble#and he has a point! involving his people in two wars at once sounds bad!#but he's the only one who could plunge his people into two wars and bring them through victorious#I love the dryad#I love so much that she's willing to sacrifice herself to fulfill her mission#I love the way she goes from teenage stubbornness to the stubbornness of old age#I knew her dying would be the catalyst to get David to move#but whether or not it would be in time to save her I didn't know and it made me nervous#I love so much that you brought in the hands of the king are the hands of a healer!#that's such a gorgeous trope and not enough people use ir#and I love the hints of wider magic in this world of Fable that we just get to glimpse#and want to explore#anyway I really really enjoyed this!!!

David does have a point. He’s a very practical person who’s seen the terrible things that these enemies can do, and Elowen’s asking him to do a very dangerous thing purely on faith. It’s not an easy thing to do! Thankfully, Elowen can outstubborn him (because she does have faith in her mission).

I brought in the dryad’s aging as a way to maintain tension and add a ticking clock, and I’m glad the tension was sustained even though you could see through the narrative tricks.

You caught the LotR reference! It was very intentional (and a nice way to heal Elowen without an extended running-through-Fable scene--I very much wanted the story to end with him going through the door). And actually, as I finished writing this, I realized there was another unintentional LotR reference--I’m forever resentful that the movies took out Aragorn’s triumphant return on the ships, but this story let me write a story that was entirely about the Return of the King.

via @lady-merian: #I’m screeching#Its#Almost like he couldn’t take responsibility for the whole land— not until he was willing to take responsibility for this one individual!#and he was!#But he came to even that point by the hand of Providence#aaaahhhh!#The worldbuilding here is !!!

You are so much smarter than me! I didn’t realize that’s what I was doing until you pointed it out. I guess I knew it, but was thinking about it from the opposite direction? I didn’t want the sword to bloom until he decided to go back to Fable, so I threw in the “in defense of the people” requirement--which would let him misinterpret it as going to war, so he could be blown over when it turned out the prophecy had been referring to this moment instead. But you’re absolutely right--he has to show that he’s willing to take care of one person before he can truly care for the entire kingdom. (And I’m glad the worldbuilding works--it was very much thrown together on the fly, so I’m surprised it held together as well as it did).

via @scarvenartist: #the ending of this gave me SO MANY CHILLLSSSS #okay i LOVE how you used the progressive aging of the dryad to both heighten the tension and move the narrative #i also LOVE how she grows progressively stronger and more direct as she ages #that there's fire in her youth but also certainty and strength in her age #how David goes from intense dismissal to convicted struggle over his calling #there are so many layers to this!! #there's a hint of allegory in it in that he's called to be King in another world #(which is beautifully Lewis-ian) #but he wrestles deeply with unbelief and a desire to keep his own mundane comforts #anyway #just SO VERY GOOD #i'm terribly sorry you had to lose so much of it while you were writing but i really cannot tell#I am going to be thinking about this one for A LONG TIME

Ahhh, thank you so much! So glad the ending worked for you! And glad you caught the narrative tricks behind Elowen’s aging. She does get stronger as she ages, though I wasn’t conscious of it while writing. Part of it’s age, and part of it is frustration at the fact that she’s running out of time. She doesn’t have time to be polite and understanding anymore--this is urgent.

Your allegory comments--I feel psychoanalyzed. David’s struggles are some of my struggles, and you’ve just articulated so much of that struggle in a way I couldn’t have put in words.

(And I’m glad the behind-the-scenes troubles don’t show--the final story’s probably 90-95% the same, but there are pieces that I was very sad to lose).

Again, thanks to everyone who’s commented so far!

So, I saw that you're into LOTR, the Wingfeather Saga, The Silver Eye, and Hunt for The Wilderpeople, and I love ALL of those, so please please will you tell me your favorite parts/books/scenes and favorite characters? (Spoilers are not a concern, BTW)

Aaa really?? That's so cool fam!! I got really excited to answer this when I saw it, tbh all of those are so good and I don't know where to begin so thank you.

For LOTR, my favorites are probably Faramir, Eowyn, Sam, and I'm going to stop myself there on characters for now because there are too many that I could write essays on. Also shoutout to Boromir and Frodo who I used to dislike but I did not give enough credit to and now are favorites also. I've watched the movies more recently than I've read the books and I am not going to list the scenes that just make me want to scream because there are too many. But Eowyn/Gimli friendship and tbh just all of the Gimli friendships in general deserve more love. Very wholesome. Also Boromir death scene??? Absolutely kills me. Denethor/Faramir cut back and forth scene while Pippin is singing? Ouch. Sir Mr. Professor Tolkien and Peter Jackson I'm going to have to ask you to stop.

It's also been a while since I read the Wingfeather Saga, but it's in my top three core favorite series/pieces of media in of all time (there are concentric circles of favorites) along with LOTR and the Chronicles of Narnia. Sometimes I wonder how good old AP would feel about being placed there but that is HIS fault for writing such a good book series and not mine. I grew up reading it and it is just....mmmgood. I love the sibling relationships in that book, tbh definitely made an impact on me and how I treat the people around me (esp. being an oldest/older sibling haha). He works truth into good storytelling so well. Favorite characters...once again difficult but Janner (hmm project much), Artham, Maraly, the Florid Sword, Nia, Leeli, Kal....there are not a lot of characters I dislike in that series. There is just so much redemption going on all around and each of the characters are lovable yet have profound flaws and hurts that they have to work through in a very real way. I really need to do a reread lol.

TSE is not quite in the core circle but one of my favorite pieces of media of all time and definitely my favorite webcomic. There's so much detail in the story and Laura does such a good job writing dialogue and characters, along with having just...astounding art? Apen and Berlyne have both been favorites for a long time but Chara has grown on me a lot and tbh is very underrated. Joe is great and tbh I think knows everything going on because he's standing in the background of pretty much every conversation that's supposed to be a secret, shoutout to Idony for being in the Least Problematic Club with Joe and Chara. Alvarados ftw I guess. There are more characters I dislike in this comic but none because they're badly written, more because they get on my nerves or have made....poor choices....things which I am apt to rant about at length and thus will save for another time. But all the characters are entertaining and really essential to make up the group and have potential so there is that. I'm excited for them to get to Levant and meet more characters (I really wanna see the Shephard sisters). Also if anybody sees me liking TSE posts that they made years ago it's because I've been dredging the depths of this site for more TSE content and I apologize in advance.

I watched Hunt for the Wilderpeople for the first time like two weeks ago and it was just...so good?? The potential for stories with a quirky setting or tone to be a setting for the deeply profound is something I love to see tapped into and Taika Waititi does that beautifully. It's a genre? I dunno how to describe it that reflects the confusion and chaos of the real world very well while still creating a good story. 10/10 will make my friends and family watch.

Anyways thanks for reading my dissertation, I could talk about most of these for hours and have before so this ask just made me go ham.

LotR reread - book 1, chapter 7 - In the House of Tom Bombadil

I don't like Bombadil that much per se, though I can see why he's there in the book, but he does get some quotes that move me, so idk...

About Goldberry: "Less keen and lofty was the delight [than that set upon Frodo by elven-voices], but deeper and nearer to mortal heart; marvellous and yet not strange" - hmmm... imo this settles the "who are they even" debate firmly on the side of not-Maiar. Anyway, I don't really take "Maiar" as a catch-all category for everything that hasn't been categorised before; I hc there were many other... beings, I guess that don't fit into the simplest schemas, and Tom Bombadil with Goldberry count among these.

"Chance", again... Mysterious allusions counter on 3.

"Old grey Willow-man, he's a mighty singer" and "[the Great Willow's] song and thought ran through the woods on both sides of the river"... World made by Music, Songs of Power, etc etc

"Sam slept through the night in deep content, if logs are contented" xd

"They heard of the Great Barrows, and the green mounds, and the stone-rings upon the hills and in the hollows among the hills. Sheep were beating in flocks. Green walls and white walls rose. There were fortresses on the heights. Kings of little kingdoms fought together, and the young Sun shone like fire on the red metal of their new and greedy swords. There was victory and defeat; and towers fell, fortresses were burned and flames went up into the sky." *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

I do love that sort of "montage". This one grows sad and frightening father on.

Those kingdoms, First Age or Second? All signs point to First though.

"He had now wandered into strange regions being their memory and beyond their waking thought, into times when the world was wider and the seas flowed straight to the western Shore; and still on and back Tom went singing out into ancient starlight, when only the Elf-sires were awake"*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

"When the Elves passed westward, Tom was here already, before the seas were bent. He knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless - before the dark lord came from Outside"

"He knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless" is a lovely quote. But I cannot make out what the next bit is supposed to mean. "Dark lord" is obviously morgoth in this context, but when, before he came? Before the War of the Jewels? Middle-Earth might have been fearless then; Beleriand certainly sounds like it was. But "Outside" is a strange term for Valinor. Before he returned from sulking around outside Arda after his first defeat? Fits well, but that would have been seriously long ago. Ah well, Tom might be that old; he's a mysterious thing.

AO3 Ask Game

I was tagged by @themarshalstale which, thank you so much! I feel like I always get missed on these (I know why, it’s been 84 years since I published anything but still). 1. How many works do you have on ao3?

46 it seems. Which...look I’m slow man so that’s not surprising. lol Also crippling depression does not make for much production, at least for me.

2. What’s your current AO3 wordcount?

309662 according to the stats.

3. How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

So do I could only AO3 or in like life? lol I suppose it should only be on AO3 since this is an AO3 ask game. Hrm. Basically AO3 can be summed up as: Marvel (in several iterations - all Avengers related) Torchwood Highlander But isn’t it more fun to consider my entire fandom life, which, I’m sorry, I’m old so...yeah. Not all of this is was published and beyond that a lot is not available anymore...which is likely for the best. Highlander Star Wars Babylon 5 Ronin Warriors/Samurai Troopers Marvel (again, several iterations also of note Avengers and X-Men both count) Torchwood Star Trek LOTR Stargate (SG-1, SGA) Mortal Kombat I dabbled with the idea of Potter fic but never got past the ideas stage.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1: You rearrange me till I’m sane Clint finds himself spiraling into a deep depression after the Battle of New York...until the Winter Soldier ends up saving him and inadvertently giving him a new purpose – to save the man that the Soldier had once been – Bucky Barnes. Not one to be outdone, the Soldier decides that his new mission is to ensure that Clint remains alive himself. Protecting a blonde man with a self-destructive streak is somehow very familiar to him. Through the back and forth of who is saving whom they cross the country and learn more about themselves and each other – and perhaps find a reason for living. 2: Five Dates Bucky Didn’t Realize He Was on And the One He Planned Himself To say that Bucky was surprised when Clint kissed him was an understatement. But it was nothing compared to the shock he felt when he learned they'd been dating for months without him realizing it.Clint gets whisked away for a mission before they have time to talk and Bucky is left to figure things out on his own - hindsight being 20/20 he can't help but wonder how he missed things the first go around.

3: Puck Luck Bucky Barnes is used to the ups and downs of an NHL season. He's used to the unpredictability of the game, knows that bounces don't always go your way, but that doesn't make a broken hand in the final third of the season any easier to deal with. Especially not when he ends up with an impromptu roommate/personal assistant in the form of one Clint Barton - his agent, Natalia Romanova's (rather attractive) friend he hadn't known existed before his injury.

It's just for six to eight weeks - what could possibly happen in that span of time?

4: Loose Lips Launch Ships

Based on the following prompt: “We go to school together and I think you’re cute and apparently you’re also the pizza delivery guy and my little sibling opened the door screaming hey sibling! you know that kid you’re in love with? you really weren’t kidding when you said his jawline could cut steel holy shit-” Bucky is the pizza delivery guy. Clint's younger (foster) brother has a big mouth.

5: Indelible Bucky Barnes has a pretty decent life – a good job, good friends, a cat that adores him - but something is missing. He’s always found body art to be beautiful and inspiring, and on a whim (and with the hope that maybe he can find what he’s missing) he decides to take the plunge and get a tattoo. That's how he meets Clint Barton. Clint's talented and compassionate and there is an instant spark between the two of them. It's not long before Bucky finds himself wondering and wanting more from the relationship despite the ghosts of the past that crop back up. Because Clint makes him feel normal in a way he truly hasn't for years...

(this was pre-Alpine so I was totally chuffed when canon confirmed Bucky’s status as a crazy cat lady (affectionate).

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not.

I really really really want to do it but I often times don’t end up doing it. There are a few reasons. First, I am akwward AF and bad at interaction adn I feel like just saying thank you would be...not enough? Second - I often times tend to like...turtle (aka retreat into myself) when life gets Too Hard/Busy which happens a lot to me (sigh) and then I miss the vague window in my mind in which it would be okay to respond and then it’s even more weird. I do love and cherish all of them. Like there was one months ago that made me go “hmm...I didn’t think I was going to do a sequel to that fic (You rearrange me till I’m sane), timestamp glimpses sure but a sequel hadn’t come to mind” but then the comment made me think! So...who knows? lol Anyway, I literally have been rereading some in an effort to try and get myself going again. Know that if you have commented, I love you.

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

At the moment? Probably: Look at you look at me Bucky's in love with Clint - problem is he's really not supposed to be. For Winterhawk Week 2019 - Forbidden Love (I really don’t want to give away the spin in the fic but...if you’re familiar with the Secret Avengers Vol 2 run circa 2013ish (aka when SHIELD initially ‘took control of the team’) that’s a bit of a hint as to the spin). Were it done, Torch Song would be up there. ;) Torch Song Clint is sent back in time, via an alien device, to 1938. While he tries to figure out how to get back home, he takes up singing and entertaining to make ends meet and does his best to not disrupt the timeline.Then he meets a 21 year old Bucky Barnes. --- A torch song is a sentimental love song, typically one in which the singer laments an unrequited or lost love, either where one party is oblivious to the existence of the other, where one party has moved on, or where a romantic affair has affected the relationship.

7. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve ever written?

Does *wanting* to write crossovers count? lol I want, so badly, to do more crossovers and fusions (which...are kinda deeper versions of crossovers in a way). The only one I do have posted is a crossover between Highlander and Torchwood -

The Immortal Mr. Jones A series of vignettes (some long, some short) in the life of the newly immortal Ianto Jones. My most ambitions project that I have been working on since late 2011/early 2012 is a fusion of the Avengers with Stephen King’s the Stand. I will get that done at some point *shakes fist*  The Stand, for those who don’t know it, is an epic 1000+ page novel about a flu epidemic (I know) that wipes out over 99% of the population and then two figures representing Good and Evil pull the survivors in two directions for a showdown. So basically it’s a non-powered modern AU set in that universe. It’s a passion and comfort project. lol

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Yes. Well, minor bitching back when I was in a prior fandom because I tagged a pairing in a fic but it was pre-slash and not labeled as pre-slash. I got hate on...I think it was Torch Song? And I’ve gotten hate on tumblr re me and my fic in general as well. Fandom! *jazz hands* Oh! And I’ve also been hit by those reviewers within Winterhawk (among general Clint pairings actually) who like rate you on either number scales or the “meh” scale. Which isn’t hate exactly but...it’s passive aggressive bullshit because I can’t believe none of them realize at this point that the authors can see their bookmarks - you know?

9. Do you write smut?

Yes. Do I write it well? I have no idea. lol

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I am aware of. Well...there was, I think, one of those reposting sites that had a few fics on it but I don’t think it was being passed off as someone else’s? I can’t quite recall. It’s why I have a note on AO3 about reposting my work anyway.

11. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not entirely, but sort of. Let me explain - I am part of a PBEM game; which for those unfamiliar since it’s a term that was most heavily in use 15-20 years ago, in which you basically do a round robin type writing thing but rather than everyone writing the same characters you write your own characters and you play off what other people have done. Another way of looking at it is  it’s basically DnD without dice and written down rather than done out loud. You also don’t have to all be around at the same time. It’s a lot of fun and yes I have been in it for 20 years even though there aren’t many of us left but they are some of my dearest friends and fabulous writers. Wins all around.  One of the other writers and I have actually toyed with the idea of doing a co-written fic actually, mostly because we work super well together and keep getting ideas for things but can’t really do them as rpgs since the pbem style isn’t used much anymore.

12. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Winterhawk probably. Though, let’s be real - Han & Leia are epic and amazing as are John & Delenn (from Babylon 5).

13. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Does wanting to expand The Black Stallion books as a wee child count? lol Not much of that was written save for world building ideas but there was a great oral tradition of telling stories to my friends. Otherwise...maybe a tie between Star Wars and Highlander. Star Wars was a love since I was super young but the writing bug didn’t hit me until around the same time Highlander was a thing as well.

14. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written? You rearrange me till I’m sane for sure. Though Torch Song, if it were finished, would be tied I imagine (I suck at picking favorites). Honorable mention to Puck Luck and Indelible. Tagging: I have seen this like a million times (okay 5) so I feel like everyone has been tagged already that I know. But...I guess... @vexbatch @crazycatt71 @heartonfirewrites and @disruptedvice sorry if anyone has been tagged before.

(writing ask) 52

Hi there!

I guess you mean the book questions?

A popular series I love?

Well, I am pretty mainstream about my fantasy reads.

I do a reread of LotR about every other year. It's my first love and the one I'll probably always return to.

I do love ASOIAF but it's more of a frustrated love. Like a person you are madly in love with but who does not really care about you. You try to tell yourself that you have to let that person go. My love probably would be rekindled the moment TWOW dropped.

Harry Potter is like an old flame. I still know why I loved the books once and I'm still fond of these aspects but I would never get together with them again.

I don't know if Brandon Sanderson counts as popular and 'love' would be too strong a word. Intrigued and with a slight crush would explain it best!

Thanks for the ask!

2021 book meme

Tagged by @xserpx. Thank you! :) The first half of this year has been mostly dominated by research-reading and rereading LOTR and The Hobbit, so I’m not sure my answers will be very varied, but here goes!

1. Best book you have read in 2021 so far?

LOTR aside, the best novel would definitely have to be Song for a Dark Queen, Rosemary Sutcliff’s novel about Boudicca. Utterly absorbing and harrowing, it doesn’t shrink from including the atrocities committed by both sides, though without ever being graphic. (That one line - “I will not tell, I will not remember, how they died, those women.” - is absolutely devastating in its very obscurity.) The real history is terrible by itself, and Sutcliff, as per usual, is able to imbue her fictional take with mythological motifs that turn it into a dark, awful (in all senses) tale of sacrilege and sovereignty. I’ve only ever read snippets of Manda Scott’s Boudica series, but from what I’ve seen, this children’s novel makes her New Agey woo-woo take on Boudicca look like a joke.

Also, despite the darkness of the overall story, it’s not grimdark drudgery. There are many moments of warmth and compassion and gentleness (admittedly rendered bittersweet), and she gives the Roman perspective on events through the device of letters written by the young Agricola to his mother, and his voice is very charming.

2. Best sequel you have read in 2021 so far?

Does LOTR count? 😂 

3. A new release you want to check out?

I’ve seen quite a few things that seem relevant to my interests. I really like the look of Mexican Gothic, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. And from various Waterstones emails I’ve seen The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper, and Rumaysa by Radiya Hafiza.

4. Most anticipated book release of the second half of the year?

Not actually for myself, but Silverlight, the posthumous Le Carré which is being published in October, couldn’t come along at a better time, since my dad recently became a Le Carré nut. So guess what he’s getting for Christmas! ;)

5. Biggest disappointment?

Probably Persona Non Grata (aka Ruso and the Root of All Evil) by Ruth Downie. This one’s been sitting on my shelf for years, so I decided to reread the first two in the series to refresh myself (which I enjoyed again), and then that. Downie has a really nice touch with humour, but the mystery plot was so obvious it hardly seemed worth the bother, but most of all I came to the realisation that I really Do Not Ship the central couple. Now, if you come here often, you’ll surely be aware that Nice Dude Roman Soldier/Strong-Willed Brigantian Slave is a dynamic that is dear to my heart, but tensions aside, their relationship is very short on any kind of tenderness, emotional intimacy, or even the sense of the two of them united in their efforts to solve the mystery. (Funnily enough, it was a similar issue that made me decide to bail on the Falco series just three or four books in.)

6. Biggest surprise?

I don’t think there have been any particularly?

7. Favourite new author (either new to you or debut)?

Hm. The only new-to-me authors I think I’ve read so far have been Amyas Northcote (In Ghostly Company) and Keith Roberts (The Boat of Fate), but since I wasn’t exactly wowed by either of those... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

8. Favourite new fictional crush?

Don’t think I have any new ones, but certainly reading LOTR just reinforced my undying love for Faramir. *sigh*

9. Newest favourite character?

Probably Facilis from Island of Ghosts, by Gillian Bradshaw. He starts off as (apparently) your typical horrible, bigoted centurion character, but as the story goes on, he reveals hidden depths. His hatred of the Sarmatians turns out to stem from the fact that his son was killed by a Sarmatian warrior - while he was unarmed, no less (like Sutcliff, Bradshaw is very good at exploring the outrages of Roman imperialism, while pointing out that all sides in war are capable of atrocities) - and he and the Sarmatian protagonist Ariantes end up becoming friends as they work together to prevent a war. He also helps a slave girl escape from her abusive mistress and later adopts her as his daughter. And he has even greater depths, but they’re rather more spoilery...)

I just love characters like this: ones that demonstrate the common humanity, even between enemies; and outwardly horrible characters who turn out to have unexpectedly compassionate sides.

10. A book that made you cry?

LOTR again, gosh, so many times. Can’t remember exactly, but I’m pretty sure I cried at Song For a Dark Queen as well.

11. A book that made you happy?

LOTR and The Hobbit are unending sources of joy. Island of Ghosts was also a very positive read, a story essentially about finding healing and peace after loss and trauma.

12. Most beautiful book you have bought or received this year?

Is that beautiful as in content, or beautiful as in the object itself? Going by the latter, I’ve actually been trying to avoid buying too many new books, but I’ve just got myself new copies of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales, after failing to find my old copies, and they look rather swanky.

13. What book do you need to read by the end of the year?

Don’t think there are any I need to read, but there’s plenty I want to read. I’m still very much on a Middle-earth kick, so I’d like to read The Silmarillion in full at last. I started Rosemary Sutcliff’s autobiography Blue Remembered Hills back in *gulp* December, so I should probably finish that! I’ve also got quite a lot of books I want to go through for novel research.

Apart from that, I’m trying to clear space on my bookshelves (because I actually have none left), so there’s quite a lot of books, mostly cosy mysteries and random history books, things I know I’ll probably only read once. I want to get a fair few of them read, so I can just cart them straight down to the shop when I go back.

I tag: @pythionice, @bryndeavour, @themalhambird, @tatzelwyrm, @theresonlyzuul, and anyone else who feels like it!

This or That

thank you for tagging @stebeee :D

tagging, but no pressure: @tiesanjiao @leonzhng @drownjngindreams @inkblue-black @dramaloverrants @twinklebrain and anyone else who wants to play

hardcover or paperback - hardcover anyday, they are sturdier, especially since I read some pretty hefty novels ^^;; though I do own paperbacks as well

rent or buy - as far as books are concerned, always buy :D

reads in silence or reads with music - I love music as much as I love reading so yeah, I tend to give them individual attention ^^

standalone or series - I don't particularly care if its standalone or a series, as long as I love the plot and characters, either is fine.

annotations or pristine pages - pristine, because as a kid, our teachers never allowed us to annotate anything in textbooks or notebooks, so weirdly, I got used to not scribbling

ebook or physical copy - physical copies always, because I love the smell and feel of books (think leather bound!!) and have some form of irrational hatred towards ereaders in general. Sorry ebook lovers (´._.`)

dog ears or bookmarks - absolutely DON'T ever dog ear a page, remember the page numbers or use a fancy bookmark, there are loads!!

mismatched series or complete set - mismatched ahhahaha but that's just my Discworld series. Like some are complete such as LoTR, I do have a few collections missing a few stories (only because they aren't available or out of stock) T_T

Cover matters or you don’t judge - I've picked many a book with a plain or really poor cover art, which turned out to be fantastic! So yeah, absolutely no judging from my side.

lend books or keep them to yourself - I learnt a harsh lesson lending out a book so never again. If you don't wanna be my friend because I refused to lend you a book from my hard earned collection, bye bye!

enjoys lit classes or despises them - I rather like them as long as I don't have to sit an exam haha!

browses shops or orders online - both! I love browsing bookstores and generally buy a lot of books like this. But, I also read a lot of non-Western authors (not including danmei), whose books are quite hard to come by in libraries or stores. So these ones end up via online orders most of the times.

reads reviews or goes in blind - a bit of both, but I do also read reviews. Of course, bad reviews haven't stopped me before...

unreturned books or clean library record - ahahaha!! ^^; so I have just the one book from a library that I forgot to return 13 years ago, but the library never reminded me either so clean record!! >_<

rereads or once was enough - always rereading my faves haha

fanfic enthusiast or a stickler for canon - fanfic all the way. Those ships could use extra help for sailing xD

deep reader or easily distracted - deep reader, I read the back of shampoo bottles with the same amount of concentration as I would read a thriller...

must read the book before seeing the movie or order doesn’t matter - I tend to treat them as entirely different stories altogether haha. So I don't really do the comparison between the two.

has neat bookshelves or messy bookshelves - neat because I have no other way of finding out what book is where xD (I have too many books in my tiny flat!)

skips ahead or resists temptation - I ❤️ spoilers ^_^ (detective genre is the exception)

reads aloud or in your head - sometimes, I'll do them voices in my head too xD

guesses plot twists or never sees them coming - Sometimes I'm bang on the money, but honestly, those times are super rare!