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cartograffiti · 2 years

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Books that get funky with bisexual mains

...and one movie.

Hi, I'm bisexual and I read a lot! There are a lot of bi characters of sensational quality in books, but this is not a compilation of all the bi characters I have encountered, or even all the ones in books I recommend! Instead, this post is about books (and one movie) that I think do interesting things with writing about bisexuality, whether that's depicting nuanced experiences, or structuring entire plots that wouldn't be possible without a bi main.

I'm also not trying to claim these are higher quality than "bi the way" representation, but I think it's fun to do a roundup of books that go deeper. Some of these write-ups contain spoilers, but I didn't include anything I feel I personally would be disappointed to know going in.

Spotlight on: you know what that is? growth.

These are all books that make me think about bisexuality's journey in popular fiction, as well as being about personal journeys.

In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan. This is a very fun YA book that explores, pokes, and sends up tropes of both high fantasy and contemporary coming-of-age stories. It follows Elliot throughout his teen years, including relationships with girls and boys, and growing into his aesthetic tastes and moral compass.

It's funny and heartfelt, and included here because it's unusual both to have a book where such a young person knows he's bisexual before the book begins (Elliot is initially thirteen and has had a crush on a boy before), and where the reader gets to follow a character through the maturation of their queer identity. A lot of YA stories are only about coming out, or only about one relationship, but this is a book about growing into yourself in many ways.

Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner. This is a 1987 cult classic of tremendous influence on the current fantasy scene. GRR Martin, Neil Gaiman, and Megan Whalen Turner are among the authors I know have praised it. It's a fundamental text of the fantasy of manners subgenre, and a great example of the subgenre I wish would coin a name--historical fiction for places that don't exist.

Two of its four core characters are also bi men. One has a variety of relationships, and is our window into the setting's high society, and the other is a professional duelist whose love for a disgraced scholar forces him into a dramatic series of power plays. It's a teacup rose of a book, lots of detail on a small scale, centered on personal stakes. This is a great choice if you want to remember bi representation isn't uber-new, and read about how queerness can be influenced by class.

Slippery Creatures by K.J. Charles. This is the start of a romantic spy thriller trilogy about WWI vet Will Darling, who inherits an antiquarian bookshop and discovers that somewhere in it is hidden a formula that both the government and a criminal organization want.

Will only has one love interest in the trilogy, the warm but secretive Lord Arthur "Kim" Secretan, but the fact that he's bi is never an afterthought. His best friend Maisie is a former girlfriend of his, and he expresses attraction in passing to everyone from Kim's platonic fiancee Phoebe to real world fashion designer Edward Molyneux. Some of his close friends are also bi, which makes for lovely conversations about vintage terminology. "We're ambidextrous." "I think she meant ambisexual."

Spotlight on: Cat Sebastian

Cat Sebastian gets a whole section to herself because she writes many bisexual characters. I'm inevitably going to read one of hers I haven't gotten to yet and wish I'd talked about it here. These three are highlights. Even if you pick up a different one of hers, it'll be great: she's one of very few historical romance writers who does not equate being high on the class ladder with being happier or safer, and in fact some of her characters consider it a moral deal-breaker.

The Queer Principles of Kit Webb. This is a duology with the book shown beside it, a pair of books about a set of posh best friends who fall in love with a set of former highwaymen best friends. Kit would never have turned to crime if he hadn't first been widowed, so the fact that he had a beloved wife once is as loadbearing to the plot of this romance as the fact that he's attracted to men, and Percy in particular.

A lot of romance books shy away from letting their mains have been in love before, ever. Whether it's through having characters think they've "never felt this so deeply before" or giving them ex-lovers who turned evil, they like to play up the present relationship at the expense of past ones, and this book doesn't do that. Because it allows Kit to have experienced romantic love for multiple genders in a way the text values and depends on, it does something I think is really special.

The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes. Sequel-companion to the above, can be read in either order but slightly better second. Marian and Rob are both bisexual, and in this book it doesn't affected plot events, but hugely affects their relationship with each other.

Marian has been married once and is a mother. Pregnancy was difficult for her, and she is afraid of dying if she goes through it again. She will not have sex that has a risk of conception, and cannot trust a partner who isn't fully on board with that. Neither of them had to be bi for them to work it out believably, but because they're bi, it lets them talk on terms of shared experience and trust while discussing the ways their histories shaped their relationships with their own bodies and specific acts. Very few books so explicitly address how your orientation can form your opinions about sex and parenthood well before they become relevant.

Unmasked by the Marquess. I haven't read the other two Regency Imposters books, but I think they're all about queer couples who can pass as m/f on paper? This one certainly is. Alistair is a grumpy bisexual nobleman who just wants to be debt-free and never be embarrassed in his life. Robin is...well, she's a nonbinary schemer disguised as her dead first love so she can help his sister find a husband. Also she went to Oxford.

Robin is only interested in men, but because Alistair is bi, they become interested in each other when he only knows her as a man. Neither of them has the vocabulary for the way she feels about her gender, but they work it out in a way I found believable and sensitive. Alistair was probably written as bi to wrap around Robin's arc, because his desire to be with her doesn't change as he learns about her, it just puts legal marriage on the table. Much more important to this book's inclusion in this post is that before Alistair can feel loved and supported enough to be open about his legally accepted relationship, he first has to hear from his family that they support Alistair's queerness. So often bisexuality is portrayed as only needing to be embraced if you're in a (perceived) "opposite sex" relationship; it's refreshing.

Spotlight on: Nonbinary love interests

Obviously, you don't have to be bi to date nonbinary people, but these two communities have a...twirls hair...special relationship!

River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey. This is the start of a duology about, uh, hippo cowboys in 1890s Louisiana. It's alternate history inspired by a real proposition once made by the US government, and it's all about a revenge caper to steal a bunch of hippos.

The leader of the heist team is Winslow Houndstooth, a British-Chinese rancher, and he's our bi protagonist. He talks about his exes, has one very plot-important former hookup, and is in love with Hero, the crew's explosives expert. They're black and nonbinary, and the two of them have very moving synergy. A getting-to-know-you conversation has Winslow bracing himself to be asked "So, where are you from?" and Hero bracing themself to be asked "So, what are you?" and neither question ever comes.

Book Boyfriend by Kris Ripper. PK is an aspiring novelist who's hopelessly in love with his best friend Art, whether or not it's reciprocated. To process his feelings, he writes a romance inspired by the two of them, and tries to work out whether there's a way for bookseller Art to figure out it's a declaration of love without having to talk about it. Haha.

Art comes out as nonbinary about halfway through the book, which means there's a very unusual and skillful portrayal of a character in close first person adjusting to the new pronouns of someone he cares about. More pertinently, PK and another man in his social circle talk about how being bisexual/pansexual means sometimes people who are fine with the idea of being gay are awful to them for their actual sexualities. They go on a fake date so this friend can protect his (also bi/pan) girlfriend from scrutiny, it's great.

The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix. A spectacular start to a new urban fantasy series by the author of Sabriel and The Keys to the Kingdom. I love this book, it's so engaging and deft. Alternate 1980s, layered magic and mundane worlds, folklore references--if you like Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London, try this.

Art student Susan Arkshaw is looking for her biological father and instead runs smack into the gorgeous and talented Merlin, a left-handed warrior from an extended family of magical booksellers. He's also figuring out some gender stuff, and considering transition. I would not be surprised if a later book has Merlin come out as a trans woman, but as of book one, I think he's probably nonbinary. Susan is gender nonconforming in her own way, and, like Unmasked by the Marquess, this is a great dovetailing of bi identity with gender exploration--Susan and Merlin know they'll still be into each other however things develop. (This book also has the fastest introduction of transness in anything I've ever read that wasn't primarily about it. Nix emotionally grounds this book in queerness and familial love.)

Spotlight on: it's not straight if it's queer

Bi people deserve happy m/f relationships too!

Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake by Alexis Hall. The start of a romance series about contestants on a fictional equivalent of The Great British Bake Off. Rosaline is competing to better her and her daughter's financial situation, and earns self-confidence as she goes.

That she's bisexual is very important to her, and creates a lot of plot. She faces significant biphobia from her parents and various people she interacts with, and in many ways biphobia is the chief obstacle of her arc. An ex girlfriend of hers is an important supporting (and supportive) character, and Rosaline has two men as love interests, who have very different attitudes to her sexuality. This is the one to grab if you want to scream in recognition and know a happy ending is coming.

A Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone. This is SUCH a good book. It's brand new, read it over Christmas if you celebrate. After all, it's a book set at Christmas, during the filming of a parody Hallmark Channel Christmas movie. Bee Hobbes (alias Bianca von Honey) and Nolan Kowalczk (alias Nolan Shaw) are, respectively, a very successful fat porn star trying to expand her casting and an ex-boy band singer trying to keep his star from burning out. They have massive unattainable celebrity crushes on each other, and now they're starring as love interests! What could possibly happen!

Both Bee and Nolan are bisexual and out professionally. They have wonderful conversations about it throughout the book, including talking about how bi stereotypes about men and women differ, how bi people being seen as sexually provocative or edgy has both helped and hurt their careers, and a sweet conversation that put me on the ground, because Nolan was one of Bee's bi icons when she was a wee teen fan. This is a heartwarming pick, but not sicky-sweet.

All the Feels by Olivia Dade. [EDIT 11/7/22: Thanks to e-b-reads, I took a second look at this book and discovered I had misinterpreted something early in the book and spent the rest of it projecting. Alex is not canonically bi, somehow. I’m not deleting my comments on it because I don’t think it would help anyone if I did, but lol this is the funniest thing I’ve ever done, how did I manage this?]

I didn't read the first book in this series and didn't need to. Lauren Chandra Clegg worked as an ER therapist until she burned out, and now she has a temporary gig babysitting impulsive actor Alexander Woodroe out of doing stuff that the tabloids can spin into bad PR for the last season of the Game of Thrones parody he stars in. They hang out and go on a road trip and annoy each other, it's very charming.

Lauren is straight and Alex is bi. It's somewhat unusual in itself to see a story where a bisexual man has a woman love interest, and more so when she isn't also queer. This book makes reference to his bisexuality regularly, but it's all of a piece with his entertaining personality. He has ADHD and a too-big heart and loves attention. I know guys like this and you probably do too. I love them, Lauren loves this one, ya love to see it, folks. This one's a pretty restful read on the bi angle. It's not a source of tension, just affection. These characters are also in their late 30s, making them the oldest in this post!

Spotlight on: you gotta have friends

Community support my beloved.

The Last Sun and its sequels by K.D. Edwards. I'm pretty sure the protagonist of this series, Rune St. John, is gay, but his queerplatonic partner (Brand) and romantic partner (Addam) are both explicitly bisexual. This is an edgy and tremendously inventive urban fantasy set among New Atlantean noble houses and their power struggles. Rune and Brand do detective and mercenary work that puts them in the path of the undead, time magic, schemes, escapes, a dinosaur... They're very cool and the magic is smart as hell.

It's very important to long-running themes of this series (3 books out of 9 planned) that the central cast has the diversity of sexual identities that it does. A major plotline focuses on Rune's revenge quest against his rapists, and the trio and their allies repeatedly invest in protecting other young people from sexual abuse and exploitation. It's a good example of being able to have a variety of orientations among nasty characters and villains without the text making any villainous implications itself. The core group members co-parent, cook food, pick on each other. They're loved and relatable, and it gives the narrative freedom.

A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows. This is a lush fantasy-mystery-romance about a political marriage between noblemen from neighboring countries just exiting a long rivalry. They're trying to get to know each other, heal after acts of violence, and also figure out who keeps trying to commit murders in the family home--and also eat the most delicious-sounding food I've read in fantasy recently.

Velasin is gay, and his country is a queerphobic environment. He's moved to live with his bisexual husband Caethari and his family in their very open society. A significant part of both men's lives is queer community. Velasin had boyfriends and queer friends even when he had to be closeted, and he and Caethari consider the support of his queer friends and family crucial in navigating their marriage. There's a lot of emphasis on the interconnected nature of queer identities. Their personal growths relied on kinship and affection with trans people in their lives, and the fact Cae and Velasin have distinct sexual identities from each other is explored to a lesser, but still valuable extent. This is also an m/m book that actively ensures women are visible and active in their lives--a surprising number let women become merely incidental.

Bedrooms and Hallways (1998). Here's the one movie! Why is this in a post about books? Well, because it's my blog, and also because when I was selecting books, I kept comparing them to this movie. This is a romantic comedy about a group of friends, and what happens when one of them meets his brother's friends and the two social groups collide.

In particular, it's a story about a few people in their late 20s and early 30s questioning their sexual orientations. I'm not going to tell you who in it turns out to be bi or anything else, because I didn't know, and it was a complete roller coaster working out over 92 minutes who was going to end up together. It's one of the greatest queer romcoms ever made, that's all you need to know.

Last thoughts:

There are some really glaring shortcomings in the assortment here. Romance and gritty genres have always featured queer characters more prominently, and my exposure to bisexual characters is limited by commercial biases. There are fewer published characters of color in romantic relationships than white characters, fewer queer characters of color, fewer f/f relationships than m/m and especially m/f. It may only be because I'm nonbinary and seek out books with nonbinary characters with effort that I could think of four...and none of those have been well-publicized for the fact.

I thought of quite a few bi characters of color and/or bi women in relationships with women in books I considered including but ultimately didn't, because they just didn't do very much with exploring bisexuality. They're about queerness more broadly, address bi identity only in passing, or feature these characters as secondary friends to (often gay white men) protagonists. This is all ~good representation~ a lot of the time, but it shows me two things. One is that the publishing industry needs to take more risks in portrayals of women's sexuality and the sexuality of characters of color, by including more depth and nuance. The other is that I as an individual reader need to put more effort into seeking out what already exists.

#books #book recs #bookblr #bisexual #bisexual characters #queer romance #queer fantasy #lgbtq books #long post

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ash-and-books · 7 months

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Rating: 3.5/5

Book Blurb: Bestselling author Ava Reid makes her YA debut in this dark academic fantasy perfect for fans of Melissa Albert and Elana K. Arnold.

Effy Sayre has always believed in fairy tales. Haunted by visions of the Fairy King since childhood, she’s had no choice. Her tattered copy of Angharad—Emrys Myrddin’s epic about a mortal girl who falls in love with the Fairy King, then destroys him—is the only thing keeping her afloat. So when Myrddin’s family announces a contest to redesign the late author’s estate, Effy feels certain it’s her destiny.

But musty, decrepit Hiraeth Manor is an impossible task, and its residents are far from welcoming. Including Preston Héloury, a stodgy young literature scholar determined to expose Myrddin as a fraud. As the two rivals piece together clues about Myrddin’s legacy, dark forces, both mortal and magical, conspire against them—and the truth may bring them both to ruin.

Part historical fantasy, part rivals-to-lovers romance, part Gothic mystery, and all haunting, dreamlike atmosphere, Ava Reid's powerful YA debut will lure in readers who loved The Atlas Six, House of Salt and Sorrows, or Girl, Serpent, Thorn.

Review:

A gothic dark academia mystery featuring two rivals-to-lovers who find themselves hunting down the truth about the author of a famous story... only to find themselves fighting against the Fairy King and other dangers as the truth will come at a price. Effy Sayre lives in a world where women aren't afforded the same opportunities as men, and as the only woman in the architecture college (when she wants to be a literature student but it is forbidden for women to be in the literature college), life is hard enough, especially since she is still reeling from the scandal with her advisor... the one in which people think she slept with him to get ahead when the truth is that she didn't want any of it. Effy's only solace from her haunted visions, her terrible childhood, and the assault she faced is her book Angharad, a book that tells the epic story about a mortal girl who falls in love with the Fairy King and destroys him. Effy idolizes the author, Emrys Myrddin and the author himself is shrouded in mystery. Yet when the Myrddin family is offering to let a architecture student redesign the house, Effy knows its her chance to find out more about her author. What she didnt expect was that she would be going with Preston Héloury, a literature scholar who wants to expose Myrddin as a fraud and not the true author of Angharad. Things to also note about this universe is that Effy's home land is at war with its neighbor and one of Preston's parents is from the neighboring war land and he is also faced with prejudices. Effy immediately dislikes Preston because he rented all the books on Myrddin when she wanted them, she is also jealous that he is able to be a literature student. Though they both get off on the wrong foot they both find that they are hunting down the truth of the Fairy King, yet Effy is plagued by visions of the Fairy King and she doesn't know what's real and what's in her head. Yet the more they try to find answers the more danger closes in on them. Will they be able to find the truth before it's too late or will they die trying?

This is Ava Reid's third book and her first young adult novel, it features her gorgeous writing and its definitely an atmospheric read. The story deals with a lot of triggers: sexism/misogyny, a sexually-exploitative power imbalance, grooming, rape and dubcon, ableism, mental illness, an emotionally abusive parent, alcoholism, PTSD and intrusive memories, mentions of drowning, and child abandonment. Effy isn't really a likable character and comes off very very young and the writing feels a bit juvenile at times when it comes to her. I did like the overall mystery but I wish there was some character work on Effy and Preston, I wanted them to be a bit more fleshed out and kind of wished there was a better flow to their romance. I liked the book overall but it's definitely not my favorite of all her books. This is her first young adult novel and it definitely feels young as the characters read a bit more juvenile despite being in college. Overall, it's a beautiful atmospheric gothic read with a dash of mystery, romance, and fantasy!

*Thanks Netgalley and HarperCollins Children's Books, HarperTeen for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

#book review #a study in drowning #bookish

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starlightsinger32 · 10 months

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hi !! I'm a big fan of your fanfics, and I just wanted to ask, what's your inspiration to write?

TLDR: I write fanfiction because I can, because Sniper hot, and because Speeding Bullet go brrr

*deep inhale*

Hi there, and thank you so much!

That's such a great and difficult question! I can't really explain what draws me to a pairing, such as Sniper/Scout, which I assume is what you have read :D, but my fanfics are always based around a couple as I am a sappy romantic.

Most of my TF2 fanfiction ideas have come to me either in the shower or on walks, when I can actually shut my mind off and just play out dialogue scenes in my head. All of my ideas for Speeding Bullet fanfics have to fit my idea of the dynamic between the couple (and that's a whole other post right there). I've noticed other writers portray their relationship as more casual, incredibly random, very sappy, or actually unhealthy and abusive. I am forever fighting not to make my Speeding Bullet stuff too sappy and to not make Scout into a 'weak' character just because I see him as a bottom ;)

'Marry You' was actually slightly inspired by a Bridgerton fanfiction where the main couple elopes to avoid the female lead being forced into an unwanted marriage. Of course, the flavour was very different because it is a period romance, but I found the main concept of a rushed marriage between two characters who want each other but won't spit it out really hot :p

'Not Your Typical Fairytale' came to me on a hike in the fall, before I had even finished 'Marry You'. The moment it all came together was beautiful :) I had read a really cute YA novel 'Goose Chase' about a young girl who escaped a tower she had been put in by two princes who both wanted to marry her, and then went on an adventure through her fantasy world while being pursued by them. I saw the potential, and then got to thinking how I could make a Sniper/Scout story with Scout being the one in the tower and escaping/running from Sniper and the other mercs. I had to find a good reason for Sniper to want him, he's not the kind of man to just get obsessed with a random guy for no reason and then chase him across the kingdom. I can't say more because spoilers.

'Run Rabbit Run' was literally just 'Sniper chasing Scout go BRRRRRR'

I will say that smut does play a part in my writing; these are usually the scenes I think about first, and the ones I enjoy writing most. Loving moments and jealous/light possessiveness come in a close second and third though. At the end of the day, I write what I want to see and what I feel is missing in this beautiful fandom, and pray that my fans like it <3

If you were asking what my motivation/inspiration is to actually sit down and write, it is kind of an escape, ngl. I have also found this community to be the only place I can really talk about TF2 and how frighteningly obsessed I am with two fictional men whom I would not like to meet in real life, haha. I definitely get some validation from people enjoying my work, and I am absolutely a much better fictional writer for all my practice as well. (I also just find Speeding Bullet hot and like reading/writing about it ;))

Man, I hope some of that answered your question!

#speeding bullet #sniperscout fanfic #fanfic #tf2 fanfiction #run rabbit run

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wondereads · 3 months

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Weekly Reading Update (01/29/24)

Reviews and thoughts under the cut

The Realms of the Gods by Tamora Pierce (9/10)

This concludes my reread of the Immortals Quartet! I'd probably place this series as my second favorite of the Tortall books; I feel like it gets overlooked, which is quite unfair because Daine's magic is just so interesting. This particular book completes the story very well, and it also involves the main romantic pairing getting together, which I enjoyed far more than I thought. Things fell into place a little too easily for my tastes, but it's overall a very good conclusion.

Year of the Reaper by Makiia Lucier (8/10)

This book started off very slow, so I wasn’t sure if I would like it. However, once we got into the meat of the story, I enjoyed it! I think there’s a particularly good plot twist in this one, and I actually really liked the main character. He feels like if the typical, tortured YA love interest were the protagonist instead, and seeing him be a little foolish or impulsive was refreshing. Like I said, it takes a while to get into it, I wasn’t even sure what the main plot was going to be for a while, but it’s pretty well-paced after that.

The Past Is Red by Catherynne M. Valente (9/10)

This was an incredibly intriguing novella about waste and global warming. It's a bit shocking and unique with the plethora of cursing and a very unreliable narrator. After I finished this book I felt hollow inside, and it makes you think about the issues of pollution and what it could mean for the future, especially the people who will live then and don't deserve that kind of world. The main character and narrator, Tetley, has a very distinctive voice, and she will often admit to lying to the reader about various things. The only thing I disliked was that at some points it felt like Tetley was going through terrible things just to make her go through terrible things.

Crystal Dark by Julie E. Kramer (2/10)

This is the lowest I have ever rated a book I finished. This is a YA fantasy romance novella, and it is self-published. It shows. I truly believe absolutely no editing went into this book. Most of the writing is either overly simplistic or worded in the most convoluted, backwards way that I simply could not tell what the author meant. There are basic grammar mistakes, typos, and a major side character's name is misspelled at one point. The plot is rushed to the extreme and makes absolutely no sense; why Ceia wouldn't use her magic to flee from an incredibly dangerous situation is never explained. The romance, if you could call it that, is forced and has no build-up, and the "villain" is so cartoonishly evil and defeated with a flick of the main character's hand. There is no explanation for the worldbuilding, and things are just spontaneously introduced to make sure the protagonists always have what they need. It is lazy, poorly constructed, and I can't believe someone put this into the world in this state.

The Absinthe Underground by Jamie Paction (6/10)

Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed by this book. It has a great premise, the aesthetics really come through, and it's got a cute sapphic romance. The execution falls short with just the lack of space for the story. Things happen far too quickly when there are many scenes that really need space to breathe. It affects the tension and doesn't give much room for the side characters to show their personalities. The writing tends to tell instead of show, which may contribute to the rushed nature of this book. This book could have been quite good, but it ends up being somewhat mediocre.

Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor (36%)

The last Nnedi Okorafor book I read was Binti, which I wasn't a huge fan of, but I'm liking this one a lot more. Sankofa is a very intriguing protagonist, and I'm very interested to see where the story is going. It seems to skirt the line between fantasy and sci-fi, especially when it comes to Sankofa's backstory. This book is a whole 100 pages longer than Binti, and I think it's much better for it.

Illuminae by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman (30%)

I'm really enjoying this so far. The way of storytelling, told through mission reports, chat records, and not-Wikipedia pages is very interesting and utilizes all kinds of unconventional, visual methods. There's some great humor in it too; the characters definitely feel like teenagers.

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas (19%)

I've been pretty lukewarm on Throne of Glass for the most part. I hear this book is where most people really start to like the series, so I hope it's the same for me. I will say it's moving at a good pace so far, and I really like where the plot is going. The rescue mission angle brings a lot of suspense, especially since it's a character I actually care about. On the other side, Chaol is being so annoying and it makes his perspective drag for me.

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writey-promptey-gingey · 4 months

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Romance Drabble - Festival Kiss - Introducing my OC's

Also I wrote this randomly because the scene was stuck in my head so this is kinda taking place mid-plot but ya know just enjoy the writing and the fluff!

Context because this is very out of context to the whole lore of the world I'm writing 😭:

Galbana is a country in this universe (They're not actually from there tho)

Opal is Neo’s (the narrator’s) cousin

Mia and Neo are roommates and also coworkers and also vigilante idiots (:

This is a fantasy world so magic is a thing but its not really talked about here-

Obviously, I was a little tipsy. What's a festival for if not to try the various colourful ales random merchants hand you while dancing. Mia seemed to think the same, as soon as I was done talking to my brother I saw her with Opal across the field, holding a glass of a bubbly liquid such a bright yellow it almost glowed against the darkness of the night. She was smiling wider than I had ever seen her do so before. It was either the booze or Opal’s delightful sense of humour, but considering my cousin's depressed demeanour tonight I assumed it was the booze.

The band sped up to the tempo of abnormally fast folk music, urging us to dance. I couldn’t bring myself to move from my spot, leaning against the buffet table, looking at Mia. I watched as Opal and her interlocked arms and approached the dancing, both swaying a little as they walked. The purple dress the festival organisers somehow forced Mia into twirled as she moved, the fabric reflecting the fairy lights illuminating the field, it was like she was wearing a skirt made of starlight. Even without her drunken smiles, I had never seen her like this, partying in a dress, laughing with girlfriends, or relaxing at all really. It was pretty, it made me feel like relaxing too. Not that I wasn’t, after all I make it a sport to be pretty much unbothered all the time. But at this particular moment I was bothered, I was bothered because instead of dancing with the girl I love I was standing there gawking at her like an idiot.

I approached the cultish- I mean jolly- circle of frolicking losers from behind and I waited until Mia and Opal danced themselves into the direction of where I was standing. I tapped my cousin on the shoulder to swap out and she gave me the dirtiest look I’d ever received. I waited for 2 more spins until I tapped her out again. Opal groaned and stepped out of the circle. Mia looked confused and as she found an awfully handsome gentleman next to her.

She giggled, “Neo I thought you were getting pissed.”

Oh man, the impressions I give to people...

“No, actually I was bonding with my brother.” I said with dismay but I couldn’t help but grin at how in awe she looked at me, usually it was the other way around.

“Okay.” She said softly as she looped her arm through mine.

We continued dancing like this for a while. A while, until my back reminded me that it was still fractured only a month ago. Before I could escape back to the buffet table of peace Mia tugged on my sleeve.

“Neo,” she said, “my leg’s starting to hurt again, let's chill somewhere.”

And so we did. I took her hand and led her to a clearing in the field where the music was a bit quieter and the people were a bit sparser, but the lights shone just as brightly.

The band in the distance was beginning to slow down, the tempo was now at a lazy waltz. Unfortunately for my two left feet and broken back, Mia seemed to have heard the new music and looked at me expectantly. But of course, she knew me like the back of her hand so before I could speak she had her arms over my neck and said,

“Just sway with me.”

And so I did. My heart was pounding in my chest like it was going to pop out and kiss her for me.

Why was I even being like this? Did my flirty ballsy act officially die?

We lived together, spent every waking moment together, and yet that night more than ever I wanted her to be mine. I suppose it was special since she was the one holding onto me, just for a second it didn’t feel like an empty pursuit. I knew that when the morning fell, things would be the same again, and then we’d go home into our apartment and keep going about our business as if I don’t love her more than anyone else in this world.

“So, how are you liking Galbana?” I asked quietly, in awe of how magical this stupid country can be sometimes.

“I love it. It’s beautiful.” She said, but when she did she never once looked away from my eyes.

I gazed into hers with the same severity and chuckled.

“Thank you for taking me here.” She crooned.

Before I even had the chance to melt at her sweetness, her head shot up and she pecked me softly on the lips, standing on tiptoes. She exploded into giggles and I just stood there, stunned.

“Mia did you just kiss me?” I asked in disbelief.

“Yeah~” She replied with a sing-songy voice, still holding on to me. It’s a good thing she was since I felt as if I was going to drop dead from shock, and probably sheer joy.

My cheeks hurt from the, probably ludicrous, expression I was making.

“Why, how bold of you.” I teased as I caressed her cheek with my hand. She didn’t flinch away from this touch which I counted as a win. We swayed for a few more seconds until the flirt in me finally got the memo.

“May I return the favour?” I suggested cheekily.

Mia nodded, also smiling massively. I rested my other hand on her face as well.

She gave a little hiccup.

And then it hit me,

“Mia, are you drunk?”

“ Hic - probably…” She replied guiltily.

I dropped my hands from her face immediately. When this passed she was going to kill me.

“Have you even drunk before? Woman, you just kissed me?!? How are you this shit-faced?” I demanded, while also imagining how tomorrow I’m somehow going to get kicked out of an apartment signed under my name.

She looked at the ground in embarrassment, “I don’t really drink…”

I frowned, “Well, how much did you have?”

“Dunno” She replied.

“Oh boy,” I grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her in the direction of the boarding house we were staying in, “that’s it we’re going to bed.”

“No!” Mia whined.

“Come on.” I pushed her gently away from the site of the festival.

“I wanna party.” She moaned some more.

Never thought I would live to hear her say that. I sighed, as cute as she was, she was not in her right mind.

“Trust me, you’re gonna thank me in the morning…”

Somebody please let me know if u like these characters and wanna know more about them and their world because I will make that happen!

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time-to-write-and-suffer · 1 year

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Tell us about the wip 👀

*vibrates and glitches through the map*

Okay so you know the fae changeling stuff? The YA/urban fantasy romance stuff where the main character turns out to be the long lost fae princess and she returns to her real family and there's a dark prince there waiting for her who's evil and wants to kill her but also he's super sexy but also the enemy of her parents' court?

I was thinking ... What if ... I told the story of the human girl who got replaced? What if the fae king and queen kidnapped a human child and put their own in her place, and then left her to rot as a servant or serf in their court, all to "protect" their real child from a prophecy?

And this abused and neglected human child grows up to be a quiet, damaged, but deeply calculating person, who, upon the real princess's return, begins to plan the court's downfall by using that very prophecy? Because even after the princess returns, nobody like ... cares to help protag return to her life? Like she doesn't even get her real name back.

So she teams up with the dark and "evil" fae prince who's supposedly destined to be the princess's killer. By pretending to be in love with the prince herself, she creates a narrative around him that makes him irresistable in the princess's eyes, using the very tropes of "light and dark" and "forbidden fruit" and a heaping helping of "I can fix him" in order to get the princess to fall for this guy. She goes so far as making the prince wear special earrings that let her control what he says, so she can personally poison the princess's mind with his false love. All while pretending to be a clueless, lovestruck human in front of the princess, who secretly gloats to her friends that she's stealing the prince from her human "sister."

And yes obviously the prince 1) is actually pretty normal, as far as fae princes go 2) kind of inept, really, because I love pathetic men 3) falls in love with protag because she's very cool and competent. But protag has issues and defo hates the fae and is just using him to destroy her enemy, and defo doesn't have feelings for him, nu-uh.

This will be a romance but I'd focus more on like ... the protag's evolution into essentially becoming an anti-hero. Like I want to use this fae setting in more standalone stories, and I kinda want her to be an antagonist in some of them, maybe? So this is like her villain origin story.

Obviously the fae who hurt her, and the princess, are all assholes so her anger and actions are justified, but I wanna lean into the idea that she's just straight up ... a skilled manipulator and a force to be reckoned with. I don't want her to revel in the things she does or to be a moustache-twirly Disney villain, but like ... scarily competent, in a way that's perfectly understandable and sympathetic.

I like changeling type storylines in theory, but I always find them a bit ... idk, boring? I get the idea of wish-fulfillment and all that, both the angle where you're whisked away to be important in a fairytale world, and the angle of being oh-so-normal but secretly super cool and powerful. But I want to explore the story where the protag is truly a nobody, truly powerless, and has to crawl and scrape their way up the hierarchy using nothing but their wits, and probably losing pieces of themself while doing so. I also like the idea of having a human character who grew up in the fae world instead of the opposite. Idk I just think it's fun and fresh, at least to me, who can't read.

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franki-lew-yo · 3 years

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The Romantic (2009, R, Gothic Fantasy/Horror), aka the most forgotten animated film in the world

What if I told you there was a movie under serious threat of becoming lost media with no clear reason as to WHY it's been lost other than no one has apparently watched it besides me and a few people on Reddit? What if I told you that movie wasn't half bad and would no doubt have some interest peeked if anyone DID know about it?

The name of that movie is The Romantic.

It was released in 2009 and it's Rated R for nudity and sex scenes [insert Robbie Rotten meme here], though none of it too graphic. It was a pet project created by animator Michael P. Heneghan, originally starting as a flash project for his animation class before he expanded it into a feature film. The film was inspired by movies such as The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth, but what I see every time I look at it is a touch of Jhonen Vasquez, Tim Burton, and Roman Dirge- the guy behind Lenore the Cute Little Dead Girl. It's flash animation especially remind me of the puppet-rigged toons of the 2000s (again like Salad Fingers or Lenore). It's not bad, it's just not inherently 'feature film' quality flash, nor is it exceptionally artistic like Sita Sings the Blues in it's simplicity. Like, really, if you happen to find this thing it's not the worst animated project at all it's just amateur for a professional production. I've seen worse flash movies. Heck, if The Romantic were released in separate parts on youtube or Newgrounds as a series (ala Homestuck) I'm sure it would have been really successful and totally in it's element. But it wasn't.

Because next to no one has seen it and I'm lucky to have not only ever seen it when it was available for free but have also found it recently (hush hush, I ain't telling you how) I'm going to actually give you all a plot synopsis under the cut. There will be some details I leave out and I think I've spelled some characters names wrong. It's a bit of a surrealist film as well, so you might need some things explained.

Spoilers ahead:

The Romantic is set in an autumnal, surrealist world inhabited by humans and monsters and ruled by three gods; Po the goddess of love; Pik the god of Hate; and Pjorrc the god of time though Pjorrc was made to live inside a pumpkin moon as everything he touched rabidly aged and died.

((Tapestry art featuring the main three gods of the film.))

A young man (called “Romance” or “The Romantic” by the other characters) performs a bull sacrifice in order to summon Abbledepopa, the unseen creator of the other gods and ‘storyteller’ of the world. The sacrifice does not conjure Abbledepopa but, when Romance spares a monster that was ready to eat him, the monster tells him of a profit named Patience. Patience is a foul-mouthed dwarf living alone with an army of babies who points Romance in the direction of Po.

((Romance outside of Patience's house.))

Romance wants the god’s help because he has fallen out of love with his girlfriend. Po grants him his desire and restores his love only for Romance to return home and find his girlfriend with another man. Blinded by heartache and rage, Romance kills her. He then swears vengeance on the gods for ‘making’ him do it. In the midst of this vow, a corrupt prophet called Fat Daddy kills the queen of Vauxhaul (Romance's home) and her guards, and forges a new body for his newborn son with their bodies. Fat Daddy rallies the townsfolk behind him in supposedly finding the Queen’s murder into follow a new religion called "The Poetic End".

((Romance (right) besides the monster he spared at the beginning of the movie.))

Patience accompanies Romance on his quest and tells him to take Po’s mask, which hides her true face, once he kills her. Romance buys Po’s trust by weaving her a tapestry that tells her story: in the dawn of time Po and Pjorrc were in love. However, Pjorrc gradually became distant and Po became resentful when their daughter, Love, earned Po's original title as the god of romance and love.

In the present day, Romance sleeps with Po for over a year before finally killing her and taking her mask. He and Patience return to his home of Vauxhul only to be chased out by Fat Daddy’s personal army. They flee to Marshallton, the town nearest to the god Pik.

((Romance's hometown of Vauxhul. ))

The king of Marshallton, King Crookie, tells Romance of a prophecy he, Patience, Fat Daddy and all the gods are a part of and that the world is soon to change. Romance then fights and successfully kills Pik when he shows the god of hate his reflection in a mirror King Crookie gave him, but not before losing his hand to Pik.

When Romance comes down the mountain he learns from Patience that nine years have passed since his fight with Pik began. Patience reveals to Romance what Pik saw in the mirror that allowed Romance to take the killing blow; after Love had grown up and married, Po asked Pik to tell her where her husband was always running off to. Pik reluctantly revealed Pjorrc was disguising himself as a human and married a mortal woman. Po found Pjorrc and his pregnant second wife, forcing Pjorrc to leave his human family behind, but not before asking his wife to name their son “Patience”. In retaliation for his treachery, Po proceeded to sleep with fifty men and produce the fifty bastard children in Patience’s house.

((Fat Daddy, the main villain.))

Marshallton and the entire rest of the world has fallen to the rule of Fat Daddy, who captures Romance and Patience. Fat Daddy tortures Patience into telling him how to get to Pjorrc but is unable to convince Romance to take part in his ‘new world’ or give him Po’s mask. Romance and Patience escape and leave the village to be torn apart by the fifty babies Po had, now transformed into veracious monsters after Patience didn’t feed them for the past ten years. Romance confronts Patience when he realizes the latter is Pjorrc’s son. Patience calls Romance out on his mantra of vengeance and points out that all his decisions are his own, not the gods, and instructs him to seek Love herself in Po’s basement. Patience then attempts to confront Pjorrc but is cornered and killed by Fat Daddy before he can do so.

In Po’s basement, Romance finds Love nailed to a wall, her face torn off and half eaten by her deformed husband. Love tells Romance that Po ripped off her daughter’s face in rage over Pjorrc’s infidelity and Pjorrc did not intervene fast enough. Po then threw Love into her basement, turned Love’s husband into a monster, and wore her daughter’s face as a mask - which Romance had broken into pieces moments ago after Patience had shown him his face in King Crookie’s mirror. Romance then finds Pjorrc hanging himself. As he dies, Pjorrc tells Romance to take the hand Fat Daddy had cut off and sew it onto himself, which will in turn help Romance defeat Abbledepopa.

Romance traverses the wasteland and does not find Abbledepopa, but instead a golden loom. Having seen all the destruction he and others had caused, Romance sits upon the loom and accepts his fate as the new ‘storyteller’ of the world, as he begins weaving a new one...

---

I mentioned before the animation quality of the film and why maybe that caused people to overlook it. The only other thing I could complain about on a technical level with The Romantic is it's sound design. Some of the voices and music is a little too quiet and so all these key details I had to go through the film a few times to really piece together. But that leads me to the thing I like about this movie and I'm sure others would to: the lore.

It's very hard to create a new fantasy world w it's own customs, religions, history and rules out of the blue as any YA Harry Potter/Hunger Games ripoff book could tell you. The Romantic is so unique in how it handles the pantheon and culture of these three gods and their kin; really only four or five characters throughout the entire story aren't connected to the gods or prophecy in some way, as there's the main three gods, Abbeldepappa, and the prophets Patience, Love and Fat Daddy, who make up your main cast besides Romance. There's a lot that's intentionally left unexplained and other info that must be explained, like Pjorrc and Po's marriage and Romance's feelings towards the gods, if we want to understand the former. The movie is paced pretty well and knows when to follow up on what, it's just that again some of those animation and editting shortcomings might make it hard to understand...but I don't think THAT hard. Look, if someone can enjoy Starchaser: The Legend of Orin or even better surrealist world-building films ((Fantastic Planet comes to mind)), then I say there's no reason The Romantic wouldn't have a following. There's no other way I can articulate why and what doesn't work about the story except just to recommend you watch it yourselves, but before I get into that I want to talk themes...because I love the themes and tone of The Romantic.

I revisited The Romantic a week before I made myself watch Centaurworld and The Owl House for the first time...and what a week that was~! The Romantic has the vibe of those kinds of shows along with Adventure Time and Infinity Train ((so I hear, I haven't watched the latter)). It's surreal and you'll only marvel at 'woooah wut an acid trip' for so long before you get into the vibe of the universe. It also reminded me substantially of the Broadway musical Hadestown and not just because this movie is also a self-contained, somewhat self aware fable about the relationships between humans and gods - it's very raw in how the characters talk. It's very emotional and blunt in how kind and how cruel they can be, and it doesn't make excuses or really worships any one of them. Romance himself is the world's most likable Incel: he murders a woman he thought he needed to love and blames his emotions on the gods of those passions...except the gods AREN'T the manifestations of love, time, and hate - they simply dictate and oversee it in the lives of men. It's a dynamic I really like in religious works where Gods are powerful but not all knowing or puppet masters to everyone's design- they have morality too and there is only so much you can blame and get from them.

"You made your gods into excuses and your excuses into gods!"

-Patience. This here is a cool quote. I like this quote.

No matter what, The Romantic is not gonna be a film for everyone. We all have our tastes - I think I'm drawn to it and accepting because I've come to love these kind of worlds that used to keep me up at night - these trippy 70s inspired fantasy landscapes given a whole Avatar: The Last Airbender degree of worldbuilding and character worth. It also doesn't feel exploitive in it's violence, it's sexuality, it's grimmness - it doesn't feel like it's trying to hard or going over the top because it happens to be an adult animated film, something that I love in movies like 9 or Hair High but really turns me off in stuff like Sausage Party or Wizards. Whatever go watch The Romantic...

if you can.

-----

When I first saw this film in 2016 it was actually very accessible and was even uploaded to youtube by the creator himself. I don't know WHAT happened to Michael P. Heneghan, but simply put, the man's disappeared...like...REALLY disappeared.

Lookit his IMDB. He has The Romantic and a wapping two other projects to his name. His Twitter isn't very helpful either. He last updated in early 2020 and he says next to nothing about The Romantic. It's so odd that he would one day be happy with the film enough to host it on Vimeo and Youtube but then just cop out.

According to a Reddit user: "On Valentines Day 2011, Heneghan released the film for free online through all kinds of platforms including direct download, bittorrent, Vimeo, and even directly through Archive.org. He even joked about releasing a 300 gig uncompressed version.

I know I watched it on Vimeo probably as recently as 2016. Now I can't find it anywhere. The website is dead, the Vimeo video went private, even the archive.org version has been taken down. It really looks like he wanted to wipe it off the face of the internet. His newer website mentions it, but again, the Vimeo link is dead and even that website is closed for business."

It's weeeird. What happened Michael?

And yes, obviously, other people worked on the movie.

No - I can't find out anything about them either.

I'm betting on three theories at the moment: 1) this film is an SCP or some Candle Cove weirdness with only me and a handful of people ANYWHERE remembering it, 2) something weird is going on w Michael Heneghan and it involves too something about this film. It was a scam or a scheme or a hidden agenda weirdness, 3) Heneghan's doing okay he just doesn't like this film anymore and wants it hidden while he takes a break.

Look, I get it Michael! What was once our life's worth can become cringe as you improve as an artist - you're not the person making the stuff you were ten years ago...but you should still have the film kept alive somehow. Someway.

I'm seriously the only person to have ever made fan art of this movie on the internet. That just doesn't happen, and I don't think I like being in a fandom of one. The Romantic is a testament to the power of design and storytelling > animation quality itself. Too often I see people equate good animation with smooth animation, with a budget with squash and stretch. These animations are good but art is diverse and there's so many kinds of films out there, the value of the medium can't just be in one style/form. There's a lot of honestly wonderful pieces of art out there if you know where to look and you're willing to see where it leads you.

Don't let The Romantic be the most forgotten movie of all time. Reblog this post. Show it to your friends. PM the animation community reviewer people like Saberspark and someone who isn't Saberspark and smuggle them a copy.

Keep telling the story...

#Franki's Features #The Romantic #The Romantic Michael Heneghan #The Romantic 2009 #animation #animation community #underrated animation #lost media #horror animation

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itsany62 · 3 years

Text

SteveTony - Alternate Universe

Here are some Alternate Universe fics that I love. Don't forget to leave kudos and nice comments in every fic!

Food for the Heart, by LagLemon, 14 k >, Cooking, No Powers.

After being introduced to a gourmet food on a budget blog by Pepper (a gift for her elderly, cheapskate mother) Tony starts cooking again. The recipes are good, but the blog owner is even better. Still, Tony isn't so sure Captain America, the guy who runs the blog, can compete with Hot Bagboy, the gorgeous blond who works at the grocery store.

"Free to Good Home" by Captain_Panda, 7 k > words, Alternate Universe - Animals.

"Oliver and Company" AU.

There's a great big world outside the box.

But it's a dog-eat-dog world, and Tony's just one cat. Then a stray dog comes along, looking for a friend.

A Day In Principal Stark's Office, by nannersmelo, 10 k > words, Steve Single Parent, Director Tony.

Tony Stark has his hands full with not only Stark Industries, but also his beloved mother's life project: The Maria Stark Academy, and as he enters his office in order to deal with a ferocious mother whose son was apparently assaulted by one of his brightest students, he was sure this day would culminate in nothing but a heinous headache. Little did he know - he was in for one hell of a surprise.

I Am the Night by gottalovev, 6 k > words, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Vampire Tony Stark, Wizard Steve Rogers.

That's it. Tony is doomed. He rolls on his back, crosses his wings over his belly and closes his eyes. He'll await death here, misunderstood by the world to the bitter end.

C is for Calculus and Compromise, by heydoeydoey, 11 k>, Gifted AU, Post-Divorce, Angts with a Happy Ending.

Steve's just trying to give his prodigy daughter a normal childhood. Enter a meddling school administrator, Tony Stark, and too many lawyers.

tell you my love for you by jelliebean, 22 k > words, Alternate Universe - Normal High School, Based on Love Simon.

A guy at Shield High comes out on tumblr, anonymously. Tony thought he was the only gay guy on campus--not out, because of Howard--and sends him an email.

“Hey, Flying. Same here. I’ve got a secret too, and it’s like I’m hiding who I am, every day. From everyone. All the closest people to me. But I just can’t tell them. I’m gay, too. It feels like I’m putting on this mask, this shell of who I think they want me to be. Even though I don’t think my friends would judge me. I don’t know why. I just. I’ve got a secret. –Shell”

The guy seems great--amazing, even, and then Hammer has to step in and ruin it all.

Mergers & Acquisitions by Robin_tCJ, 33 k > words, Angst, sex as currency.

Steve Rogers is the CEO of the Rogers Corporation, which he built from the ground up. When he learns that Hydra International is making a bid for a hostile takeover of Stark Industries, he decides he has to do what he can to stop Hydra from overtaking the market and becoming an unstoppable, unethical conglomerate. Tony Stark asks for something Steve isn’t sure he should give, but he does it anyway – and it completely changes everything. But when Hydra keeps coming, Steve and Tony realize there’s more to this than they’d realized.

Meeting the Monsters by itsallAvengers, 23 k > words, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters.

Tony's at public school with kids his age for the first time in seventeen years, and he is determined that this year is gonna be his year. He's going to make friends. He's going to be popular. People will like him.

Unsurprisngly, none of that actually happens.

He does sort-of-maybe fall in love with a vampire in his class that everyone is terrified of, though. So... there's that.

(I Want You To See) The Darkest Side Of Me by ann2who, 45 k > words, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Post-World War II.

In Monte Carlo, Steve meets the wealthy widower Anthony Stark. It’s love at first sight—at least for Steve—and he can’t believe his luck when Tony asks him to live at Stark Mansion, his large estate in Malibu. Never in his life had Steve thought something like this was possible… never had he been this happy. However, soon Steve realizes that Tony is still deeply troubled by the death of his first wife and haunted by the many ghosts she left behind. The longer Steve lives in her shadow, the more he understands that… He can never be what Tony’s wife had once been for him. And Tony might never truly love him.

Gift With Purchase Remix by sabrecmc, 43 k > words, Alternate Universe - No Powers, hooker Steve, Sugar Daddy.

Gift With Purchase Remix wherein Steve actually is a hooker. But for a Really Sympathetic Reason.

The Little Glass Screwdriver by ann2who, 19 k > words, Cinderella AU.

When Prince Steven is forced to find himself a bride, true love gets in the way. As the night of the grand ball unfolds, the prince meets a mysterious knight who might just change his entire life in a way he could have never imagined.

**Cinderella AU**

Covered in Lines by royal_chandler, 3 k > words, Alternate Universe - Student/Teacher, Alternate Universe - College/University, Age Difference.

He can’t lose sight of pale, deft hands that gesture on transitive verbs, an ink-stained thumb edging underneath Tony’s ribcage with an affection that can only be called dangerous.

half-wild and glimmering by deathsweetqueen , 15 k > words, Alternate Universe - Western, Prostitution.

“Give me a drink, Tasha,” Tony sighs as he lands in front of the bar. “I’ve had one hell of a day.”

Natasha raises an eyebrow. “Have you really?” she asks, loftily, sliding a tumbler of whiskey along the well-polished wood.

Tony lets his head hang, the sweat beading on the back of his neck. “You wouldn’t believe what I’ve had to put myself through today,” he sighs, wearily.

“I would not know. You will not let me work the rooms,” Natasha retorts, her voice a little strained, busying her hands in a dirty glass.

“I don’t let you work the rooms ‘cause you’re liable to kill anyone who touches ya the wrong way and we can’t lose that much of our business,” Tony reminds her, wryly amused, sipping at his whiskey. He shakes his head at the burn. “We peddle flesh, darling, not death.”

peers, fears and holiday cheers by jacobby, 24 k > words, Parent Tony Stark.

“He’s only two years older than you,” Tony finally says when the silence becomes too much to bear.

“Dad, Teddy is turning twenty-seven next year.”

“I am not dating your husband—”

“I’m not implying you are. I just want you to be...aware that he’s practically the same age as my husband.”

AKA

Tony Stark's new boyfriend is only two years older than his adult sons. Telling them is one thing, introducing them is another. What Tony doesn't expect is that the past always has a way of catching up to him, of biting him in the ass when he least expects it. Well, at least they're all together for the Holidays. What more can he ask for?

A Higher Form of War by sabrecmc, 292 k > words, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Historical Romance.

Tony is a King with a surprising number of people out to kill him. Steve and the rest of the Avengers are fighting for Pierce's rebellion and end up with Tony as their prisoner. Oops.

you can call me babe for the weekend by complicationstoo, 10 k > words, Alternate Universe - No Powers, actor Tony Stark.

Tony left his small town for Los Angeles after high school, leaving behind everything to pursue his dream. Ten years later, he comes back for the first time and finds that some things are impossible to let go of.

Lord, What Fools These Mortals Be by iam93percentstardust, 72 k > words, Alternate Universe - Theatre.

Famed director Phil Coulson brings Shakespeare’s beloved play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, to Broadway. This production though comes with a twist: a brief but passionate love affair between the faerie king, Oberon, and his attendant, Puck. In the roles of the two star-crossed lovers, Coulson casts America’s darling Steve Rogers, fresh off his third Academy Award, and Broadway royalty, Tony Stark. Steve quickly finds himself falling for the quick-witted and sarcastic actor but Tony is dating the stage manager. Unwilling to come between the seemingly happy couple, Steve steps back but all isn’t right behind the scenes and Tony may need him when everything falls apart.

and so we rebuild by raeldaza, 26 k > words, Alternate Universe - Star Trek Fusion, Soulmates, Mutual Pining.

Sometimes, a voice whispers: you will never atone for your mistakes.

Tony believes that, believes it so strongly some days he drowns in it, but he still tries. Tries through Starfleet, tries through inventions, tries through missions. Then, one day, he meets his new Captain, and things change.

and teach this heart (how to beat with light), by starklystar, 40 k >, AU Hospital, Single parent Steve.

Eight years ago, at a funeral with a baby's cries ringing in his ears, Tony Stark decided to turn his life around. He's a genius, billionaire, philanthropist. What's so hard to adding 'doctor' to that list? And after that, it can't be that hard to add 'husband' and 'father' too, right? But the past has a way of haunting even the very best of us, and in any universe, Tony Stark and Steve Rogers have never had an easy love.

Featuring: drama, chaos, Peter's scheming, meddling friends, and doctors learning again that the heart can never be as simple as four chambers and four valves.

Catching Lightning in a Bottle by sabrecmc, 120 k > words, Alternate Universe - Sweet Home Alabama Fusion.

College student Tony meets janitor Steve at MIT and they fall blissfully in love, until Howard happens and things fall apart. One divorce paperwork snafu courtesy of the ever-helpful Jarvis, and ten years later, Tony has to get re-divorced from Steve.

This does not go as he imagines.

Or, the Sweet Home Alabama AU that no one--well, okay, a few of you--asked for.

The Night Shift by weethreequarter , 16 k > words, Alternate Universe - Hospital.

Welcome to the Emergency Department of San Antonio General where Dr. Tony Stark joins the team fresh from his most recent tour in Afghanistan and - much to the consternation of the other staff - strikes up an instant rapport with Nurse Steve Rogers. Meanwhile, new resident Bruce Banner refuses to give up on his patient, and Dr. Sharon Carter learns something from her own patients. Throw in a pissed off hospital administrator, Clint using the coffee pot as a mug again, and a major car crash and you have, well, just another night shift.

Cake It Till You Make It by ChocolateCapCookie, 10 k > words, Kid Fic, Alternate Universe - Bakery.

Steve Rogers and Tony Stark have a lot in common. They're single parents, they own rival bakeries at the center of town... and they both hate each other's guts.

When a mix-up at Peter and Morgan's school has both fathers scrambling to prove they're the better baker, they do the mature, adult thing and compete in a bake-off. Between the mixing and the creaming, the baking and the icing, Steve and Tony find that hate is actually not that far from love.

Looking for Heaven by foxxcub, 31 k > words, Alternate Universe - Regency, Marriage of Convenience.

When young Lord Anthony Stark learns Steven Rogers has enlisted in the army, he thinks he's seen the last of his tiny, headstrong, haughty stable boy. But four years later, Lord Stark gets an unexpected visit from Steve, whose mother has fallen gravely ill and into financial ruin. Even more unexpected, Steve agrees to a shocking proposal: they will marry, giving Steve the necessary funds to save his mother, and Tony the much-needed reprieve from harassing would-be suitors. It is a business arrangement, nothing more. But as time goes on and circumstances arise, Tony begins to learn that keeping his heart away from his husband is easier said than done.

just a guy, standing in front of another guy by theappleppielifestyle, 12 k > words.

“It’s not real,” Tony says, still smiling, jaw twitching with effort. “The fame. It’s - I’m just a guy."

(Or, Notting Hill AU, with a twist.)

Mother of Exiles (A Titanic AU) by BladeoftheNebula, 21 k > words, Alternate Universe - Titanic Fusion.

“You’ll never guess what just happened!” Steve said, taking a deep breath to try and calm his breathing. “I met someone. A guy from first class.”

Dublin 1912: Steve Rogers is barely making ends meet, living in the tenement slums of Dublin. But a stroke of good luck gives him and his best friend the chance to change their fortune. Two tickets to America on board the RMS Titanic.

The Devil You Know by shetlandowl, 17 k > words, Alternate Universe - Detectives, Alternate Universe - Author/Novelist.

Best selling author Tony Stark revives the bodice ripper genre for a modern audience. From frisky gay cowboys to ravenous lesbian pirate queens, he consistently delivers riveting thrillers full of romance, drama, and the filthy, unapologetically kinky sex that has become his trademark specialty.

Tony has everything a man could dream of - horny, adoring fans, and boatloads of money. Or that's what he thought, until Detective Steve Rogers walks into his life and turns it all upside down.

Bears and Mountains and Lumberjacks Oh My! by justanotherrollingstony (adoctoraday), 24 k > words, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Lumberjack Steve Rogers.

It was supposed to be easy--go meet the reclusive artist and buy some art. And then came the broken down car. And the snowstorm. And the lumberjack with a face like a greek god. So yea, Tony is stuck in a cabin in the woods with a hot lumberjack till the storm clears. Could be worse.

Series: A Furious Vexation by Annie D (scaramouche), 18 k > words, Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse.

A Steve/Tony post-apocalypse AU that exists pretty much just for the smut.

That Feline Beat by Tito11, 5 k > words, Alternate Universe - Animals.

Presenting Steve and Tony in the Aristocats!AU

Tony and his three kittens have been kidnapped from their fancy Upper East Side apartment while their owners are away and deposited on the mean streets of Harlem. Unsure of where they are or how to get back home, they'll have to rely on street cat Steve to guide them. Will they get home safely? Will Tony's fear of abandonment cause him to drive away the best tomcat he's ever known? Only time will tell.

do you fondue? by calciseptine, 16 k > words, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting.

Tony has done crazy things in the name of food, but falling in love with Steve Rogers really takes the cake.

a glimpse of heaven's love by parkrstark, 13 k> words, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Terminal Illnesses.

The child begins to empty his pockets. He starts to count coins on the counter. Tony huffs a little impatiently as he realizes most of them are pennies.

The cashier actually humors the kid and counts along with him. They reach 3 dollars and 54 cents before he shakes his head sadly. "Sorry, kid. There's not enough here."

The kid sounds close to crying. "I need these paints for my Papa. It's Christmas Eve and these...he doesn't have any. The doctors said he doesn't have long. I want him to have these. In case he meets Jesus tonight, I want him to paint one more time. Please."

Tony takes a step forward, arms still full of toys he's buying just because. He can cover this child's gift for his dying father. Money. Money is what he's good for.

"I'll buy them."

Or, the Christmas Shoes AU no one but me asked for.

If you survive first impressions, you're good to go by itsallAvengers, 3 k > words, Parent Tony Stark, Alternate Universe - No Powers.

The first time Peter Parker-Stark sees Steve Rogers, he may or may not be standing in direct path of the man's motorcycle.

His daddy is really not going to be happy about that one.

A Rat-ional Conclusion by BladeoftheNebula, 6 k > words, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Veterinarians, Parent Tony Stark.

He had a strong flurry of patients throughout the morning and by the time it rolled around to noon, he was just about worn out.

He walked out into the reception, stretching until he felt a satisfying pop. “Are we done?”

Bucky checked the screen. “Just about. One more before lunch - a rat, singular.”

Steve breathed a sigh of relief. Hopefully straight forward then. “Great, let me know when they-”

He was interrupted by the bell over the door and looked up to see a little girl cradling a small animal carrier, being shepherded through the door by easily one of the hottest men he’d ever seen in real life.

Oh wow.

Tidal Pull by sabrecmc, 97 k > words, Octopus Tony Stark, Alternate Universe - Shipwrecked.

After the American Civil War, Union soldier Steve Rogers takes a chance on an opportunity to sail with the Stark Trading Company down in the Caribbean. During a terrible storm, his ship is lost. To his surprise, he survives, and ends up stranded on an island that isn't quite as deserted as he first thinks.

Or, a reverse Little Mermaid tale where Steve has to fall for the fish-man.

Twelve Days by elysianprince, 22 k > words, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Ghosts.

In which Tony finds himself in a town that looks like it crawled out of a Hallmark Christmas movie, trying to sell an inn he didn't know he owned, all while dealing with Steve Rogers, the resident ghost who has returned to haunt the inn each December during the twelve days of Christmas for the past seventy years. Tony has only one logical solution that benefits them both: break the curse that binds him - but falling for a man almost a century old wasn't among his plans.

She kissed me by S_Horne, 1 k > words, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting.

“Your mom kissed me.”

Steve blinked awake and lifted his head from his pillow to look over at the silhouette in the doorway. “What?”

“Your mom,” Tony reiterated. “She kissed me.”

“Yeah,” Steve said simply, “she does that.”

#stevetony #stony #fic rec #tony stark #steve rogers #my recs

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a-tired-narwhal · 3 years

Note

Tell me more about your feelings about the details of Caleb's backstory!

Okay listen anon. LISTEN. This is going to be LONG. Did I immediately rewatch/go back through the entire wrap up to take notes? YES I DID. Anon I'm sorry this is so late, I didn't see your ask until after the stream. I hope this finds you (*＾3＾)/～♡

----

Caleb fucking Widogast. Liam O'Brien always creates/portrays characters that CAPTURE ME. And it is purely the undertow of SUFFERING that I crave.

As a survivor of an abusive childhood, specifically with manipulation, neglect, and physical trauma, and having a controlling abuser in a position of power over you - I was surprised and delighted by Liam's playing of Caleb, and I'm sure that I'm probably not the only one, but Caleb's backstory just had me nodding along. Was not surprised at all by what was revealed about the blumentrio's relationship being trauma-bonding and probably why I'll never be an avid shipper of them. Nothing about Caleb's backstory left me gasping - because it's a relatively common abuse survivor story, except it's in the world of dungeons and dragons with high fantasy and magic and more common place murdering than today in places where most Critters presumably live.

Let's break it down.

Caleb was born as Bren to a less than well off family, who wanted their child to have a better life than them. Bren is a gifted child, and this will immediately put a bullseye's target on a child's back, make no mistake, for abusive persons. Now, I don't know if it's a pretty obvious that parents would trust in a teaching figure to take their child for that child's betterment, because I don't have parents who wish for my betterment ¯\_(ツ)_/¯, but I like to think that Bren's parents handed him off hoping for his brightest future.

Trent is basically the textbook example of a Cult Leader. Beyond the experimentation he did on his students; everything he put the Blumentrio through is how you beat down and brainwash people, especially children/adolescents. Textbook. TEXTBOOK. It was the dnd equivalent of the Hilter Youth. Now my personal experience featured the tool of isolation, so I didn't have two childhood friends to pour myself into and have threesome's with, but that's actually smart of Ickythong, because when you're left alone with your whirling brain for too long, and there's no one to hold over your head - we start thinking those rebellious thoughts, and at some point we decide we have nothing to lose, and we will do ANYTHING to shake that control. No, he left them in that abandoned tower together so they would be forced to bond with each other, as well as allowing them not to die of exposure alone.

Trauma-bonding CAN be a manipulation and used against you. Now. We have three adolescents trying not to freeze to death by being as close as physically possible. For those that don't know; sharing body heat works best skin to skin - ya get naked and THEN you wrap up together to stay insulated. Awkward groping is going to happen, and it's more than likely accidental. But when you add raging hormones to the mix, yo it's not going to stay accidental for very long (that in no way indicates non consent, it can be either way), and the feelings can catch hard when you're young and physical and EVERY HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP YOU HAD HAS BEEN TAKEN FROM YOU, IF YOU EVEN EVER HAD ONE. (I do not know Eadwulf or Astrid's home lives so your guess is as good as mine. We should probably ask Liam)

So you've got horny teenagers, with above average intelligence, being systematically abused... Bam. Trauma-bonded Blumentrio.

BUT HERE'S THE THING. Trauma-bonding can only get you so far. And they are children, actively being raised to NOT HAVE THEIR OWN THOUGHTS AND IDENTITIES. The relationship they built, the romantic and sexual, are based off of a shared hostile environment and survival needs. And when those circumstances are no longer there, the relationship tends to fall apart.

I love that Matt talked about Astrid for a bit, sad we didn't get more on Eadwulf - but Matt didn't really spend a lot of time roleplaying Wulf compared to Astrid, so he'd have more insight into her. I also find it interesting that the Blumentrio took 3 very different, but again SO COMMON, paths in dealing with their abuse. But that's a different rant.

Focus with me now on what Matt said about Astrid. She was actively seeking power throughout the campaign, looking always to climb that ladder to the top, for her own purposes which were not stated, and was willing to do anything, sacrifice anyone, to get that power. Was it a burden to her? Yeah I think so. Did it weigh on her? Again I personally think it did. But she was goal-oriented and she wasn't going to let anything stop her, not even herself, and she hated Trent. Matt implies that all three of the Blumentrio did/do. Astrid, Wulf, and Caleb were wildly different people - I don't think they would have stayed together even if Bren had stayed Bren instead of becoming Caleb.

I know A LOT of people were miffed over how Liam and Matt showed Caleb's and Essek's love for each other; and I am SO glad that Liam touched on this; Essek reminded Caleb too much of Astrid and Eadwulf. Now I know we love to joke that that Redhead Dirt Wizard has a Type (smart, ambitious, vaguely amoral), and believe me I LOVE THE JOKE, but Caleb pumping to brakes on Hot Boi makes THE MOST LOGICAL SENSE AND I WAS SO DELIGHTED WHEN LIAM PLAYED IT THAT WAY. Caleb was still trying to heal himself; WHY THE HELL WOULD HE JUMP INTO A MESS CALLED ESSEK? That's some mf UNHEALTHY, TOXIC romance trope ya got there. People fix themselves, not each other. THAT'S WHY CANON SHADOWGAST IS SO GOOD. THEY ARE WORKING TO IMPROVE THEMSELVES FIRST. THAT'S SO HOT.

Ahem.

So the Blumentrio hangout in Astrid's room to sex and study, in threes and twos (I have weird polyam questions, Liam). Now, I'm foggy on the exact timeframe that was together at Academy > kill your parents > Bren is chucked into the Sanitarium; but it's clear that after the murdering of parents, Bren is tagged as the "weakest link" - maybe he broke because he actually loved his family/had a loving family, maybe the manipulation spell from Ickythong didn't sit on him as well as Astrid and Wulf, maybe boi wasn't made for killing (a lie, the boi is a total killer, you have to be in most dnd campaigns), who knows. But he broke, and Astrid and Wulf handed him over - it would be dangerous for them if they tried too hard to protect him.

Because in that environment, in those circumstances, in that set up; you do what you have to, to survive. You hurt people you love, you hurt people you don't know, you even hurt yourself if it means improving your own odds. It's instinct. It's not your fault. You are doing the best you can with what you have available.

I don't hate Astrid and Eadwulf; I just have more emotional attachment and investment in Caleb, and prefer the color purple on him.

Which is actually a great segue into THE WOMAN AT THE SANITARIUM WHO FREED HIS MIND; Matt Mercer you beautiful man, thank you for giving us a Moonweaver connection, my lil widomauk heart was sent aflutter! So, here's the thing. Places like that, sanitariums, psych wards, etc - if you are not certifiably insane before you go in, you will be eventually. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest is not a fucking joke. But the thought of some forgotten Moonweaver Cleric recognizing Bren's torment and just, poof, dissolving that spell? *Chef's kiss* glorious, wonderful, everything I needed.

Anon, I don't know if this is what you wanted or expected - but here it is, my sincerest apologies 🐳

#critical role #cr spoilers #caleb widogast #cr liveblog #campaign wrap up #Narwhal talks cr #child abuse #tw abuse #tw cult #tw self harm #abuse survivor #apologies to all the blumentrio fans #shadowgast

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whimsicalfay · 2 years

Text

I'm once again talking about Once Upon a Broken Heart...

... And I'm not sure if it's in a good way or not.

A couple of weeks have passed since I read Once Upon a Broken Heart. I had the time to sit down and carefully think about my opinion on it with a clear mind. When I first read it, of course I was very excited, but sometimes excitement can cloud your judgment. And while I had some issues with the book that first time, my excitement made me overlook it, but now I can't help but to feel disappointed.

Of course this is just my personal opinion and you don't have to share it! I don't think the book is bad in the slightest, it's just... It wasn't what I was expecting, I suppose.

This book, since the beginning, was sold to us as the "Jacks' book". I mean, in the sense that we were told we were going to learn more about him and find out what happened to him after Finale. So I was expecting a book about Jacks, yes, and the Fates. We did get a book in which Jacks plays an important role, he's the main love interest and we also learn a little bit more about the Fates, but... Aaaah, I don't know.

I guess I was expecting something more magical and out of this world? In the post where I talk about my opinions and theories about OUABH, I did say that it felt less magical to me, but at that time I tried to force myself to not think much about it. But with the reveal of the sequel my true feelings came out to the surface.

The story of OUABH doesn't feel magical at all to me. I don't know, I just feel like this was a missed opportunity, because this book was the chance to create a more magical and out of this world experience. One of the main characters was going to be a Fate! A whimsical and capricious creature that is so alien to humans that he's either seen as a god or a devil. A creature with a completely different set of morals and values of those of a human. Imagine the possibilities! What wonderful stories could you create with the Fates and their world! What strange and extraordinary worlds could be brought to live with a Fate as a character!

But in OUABH characters don't even use that much magic? I mean, yeah, they use magic, but not in this grandiose way that you (or I) would have expected from a book starring Fates! And again, I don't want to turn this into a comparison game, but the Caraval trilogy had way more magic (everything that happened in those three books, every decision made, every action taken, every little detail was deeply entwined with magic, so as the reader you felt like you were surrounded by it) and the main characters were all human (Dante was an immortal, but he was still human after all). So with non-human characters I would have expected something even bigger!

Also, in my opinion, the plot feels less mature somehow? In my previous post I said it feels like your typical YA fantasy romance novel, and I don't have anything against YA (I mean, the Caraval trilogy classifies as YA and those are three of my favorite books, and I myself write YA, although in my native language), but there are YA stories that feel a bit generic plot wise? Like, you have your typical normal girl that's supposed to be just like the rest (but at the same time not like the others) turning out to be the special one or the chosen one, whatever you want to call it, normal girl meets extremely handsome supernatural boy that is a bit (a lot) rude to her, but that at moments shows her vulnerability and treat her with kindness, because he's not all that bad, he just has a sad past! They're both forced to embark on a mission together, despite not getting along (but we know that secretly they have the hots for each other), along the way they end up falling in love. End. HOW MANY TIMES I'VE READ THIS STORY?

With OUABH it just feels like I'm reading it again. Maybe that's why I didn't enjoy Evangeline as a protagonist that much? (not to say that she's a bad MC, just that I, personally, didn't like her that much).

Anyway, this is not to say that I don't like that book. I love everything that has Jacks in it and I will read the sequel when it comes out and if this world keeps on expanding then I will keep on reading about it. Just wanted to give my honest opinion and maybe rant a little, because although my disappointment is my own fault, it feels good to let it out of your system lol.

As I said you don't have to agree with me, this is just my personal opinion and I don't hate the book or anything.

#books #caraval #donatella dragna #fantasy #finale #jacks #legendary #stephanie garber #fantasy books #ya books #evajacks #evangeline and jacks #evangeline fox #Once upon a broken heart #ouabh #ya fantasy

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incorrectlumityquotes · 3 years

Text

FULL REVIEWS: “Enchanting Grom Fright”

The hype for this episode was unreal. We got the crew telling us that we weren’t ready on social media. It was a madhouse. To think that the little ship that could would have this big a leap in canon is unreal. Let’s just get to it.

The cold open starts with Luz trying to find more glyphs in her off time. I thinks it really shows her development so far. Now she’s willing to do the work to figure out her kind of magic, as oppose to say episode two where she just wanted to be great because she was “chosen.”

“My glyph skills are blossoming”

But then reality ensues...

Using the portal to let the wifi signal into The Owl House is not the dumbest reason I’ve heard to open an interdimensional portal between worlds but it is one of the most mundane. SOMEHOW, Luz can still receive texts from her mom FROM ANOTHER WORLD. Not that it makes too much of a difference since Luz barely answers them.

As much fun as it is to focus on the magic and the shipping and the friendship and the curse, Luz still knows that she’s still lying to her mom. The guilt is there, but luckily being a main character keeps her too busy to think about it.

“Luz, time to fill that darling head of yours with...huuh huuh huuh HAKKK, mmm, mmm, mmh, delicious knowledge.”

Never change, Hooty.

It’s that time of year again that Luz doesn’t know about yet, Grom: The Boiling Isles’ weird version of prom. Every fantasy world has one.

*hiss*

Amity bumps into Luz, and I know this is going to sound weird, but I really like Amity’s “Watch it, nitwit.” Amity’s character has changed and developed from our perspective which is the perspective of Luz and The Owl House fam. But she’s not a completely different character. Amity still has a bit of a temper and gets agitated easily. It makes sense to me and I’m glad I haven’t found anyone be like “Hey if Amity is nicer, why did she get mad when she bumped into someone?”

Amity is nicer to Luz and co. because she’s gotten to know Luz and co. You don’t treat everyone in your life the same. Amity is one of those people that you need to defrost with first. Belief is backed up by experience and so are people’s personas. (Not that persona. I’m being serious here.) Because of Amity’s experiences, she’s believed that in order to survive she has to put people at arm’s length, then when she gets to know you, she’ll decide if she wants to let you in or not. So I guess that means that based on her interactions with Luz, Amity has decided...

You know what? I’ll save that for my Lumity meta.

The popular theory is that Amity was going to put her note in Luz’s locker, hence why she bumped into them. But actually seeing Luz and being announced as grom queen probably made her lose her nerve.

“Embrace your dreams...”

Amity is announced to be this year’s grom queen. Luz is happy for her before Amity runs in shock and embarrassment. Okay.

Luz discovers the gym’s weapons cache (not a thing I thought I would ever type) and Amity explains grom. Since Luz is from the human world and all that.

Grom is a monster that lives under the school and needs to be defeated every year so it doesn’t invade the town. It’s a classic shape-shifting fear monster. Odd are I have (and so have you) at least seen three or four of these in our lives already. Amity doesn’t want to show the entire school her greatest fear, especially since she already knows what it is. Luz suggest talking to Bump and Amity says she’ll try.

Another scene of Eda and King laughing and mocking Luz. Because I liked it so much the first time.

Eda gets dressed up herself because she’s volunteered to chaperone grom. Luz tells her that Amity is grom queen but wishes that she could take her place. We get...you know and Luz walks off.

“I think we should kiss to ease the tension.”

Luz randomly meets up with Amity in the woods because I guess Amity had the same idea to take a walk to clear her head. Whatever. Amity tells Luz that Bump wasn’t going to change his mind unless Amity found a replacement. Luz volunteers because...she’s Luz, friend to all.

Except maybe that spider.

Top 10 Anime Betrayals

The Blight Siblings try to help Luz train against grom only for Eda to find out about their little plan. Here’s where we find out why Eda volunteered to chaperone a Hexside event even though she hates that place:

“What’s the fun in watching a kid get eaten by a monster if it’s my kid?”

That’s hilarious. To me.

Luz and Amity have a moment before Luz’s debut and Amity thanks Luz for everything she’s done. They have more adorable banter before Luz takes the stage.

“Wish me luck.”

“Luck.”

I’m guessing that’s not an expression in The Boiling Isles.

Luz faces Grom and it seems to be going better than everyone predicted until...you know

“Mija, this would be such a good shot for the trailer.”

Yup, we all predicted this. Luz’s greatest fear is her mom finding out that she’s been lying to her. Luz panics and takes off with Eda and Amity to chase after her.

Eda comes in for the save when Amity bursts in the scene saying “Boy let me tell you what.” She doesn’t really I just like saying that. You know, in my head. I mean, if you heard the way I was saying it out loud you’d probably think it was funny too but you know...text.

Grom gets a hold of Amity and transforms into her greatest fear. And we see why Amity didn’t want to face Grom in front of the whole school. She didn’t want everyone to see that Amity’s fear is very...emotional. Not physical. She’s not afraid of a giant spider or anything. It’s a little closer to the heart.

Amity clutching at her dress like a little kid is both the cutest and the saddest thing. This fear of hers is so bad it makes this fourteen year old feel like she’s four. I’m so sure she was about to cry right there. Or maybe that’s me. Could be both.

Luz picks up the note and discovers that Amity was trying to ask somebody out before she was announced as grom queen. Amity was afraid of being rejected. Luz tries to ease her fears by asking her out to grom.

Trying seeing it from Luz’s point of view. She has no idea who Amity wants to ask out. Luz doesn’t even consider that it could be her because again, belief is backed by experience. Luz was considered a weirdo with no friends in the human world. She even said earlier in the episode that she got kicked out of her last school dance for dressing like an otter. Luz has no reason to believe that someone would like her romantically. She would like to. It is a fantasy of hers, but her experience tells her that other people don’t see her that way so she doesn’t consider that Amity wanted to ask Luz out.

I’ll save the rest for another blog post, although I did talk about this last year too.

But since Amity did want to ask Luz out and Luz asked her out instead, Amity’s fears are eased. Grom does what every fear monster does when their target overcomes their fears and says “Screw it, I’m just going to kick your ass!”

And then this happens:

As a Star vs the Forces of Evil fan, let me just say this is our Blood Moon Ball moment. The moment that the show tells the audience in John Oliver’s voice, “Yup this is the ship we’re doing so strap in folks.”

Luz and Amity work together to combine magic to take down Grom. It also helps that they eased each others’ fears. Luz can’t think about her mom if she’s focused on helping Amity.

Luz and Amity defeat Grom in a blaze of glory. Luz being Luz, decides to ask Amity who she wanted to ask out just to see if she would tell you. Amity brushes it off.

“It doesn’t matter. After all, I already got to dance with the girl I like.”

Everyone celebrates but when Luz gets home she’s more tired than anything.

Maybe it was Grom, but Luz decides to give her mom a real answer. It’s been tough but it’s also been fun. There are good and bad days. Sometimes she feels like she doesn’t belong. But she has friends. They care about her, she cares about them, and that’s more than enough reason to stay.

THEN THIS SHIT HAPPENS!

Yeah, the Meteora moment in Star vs the Forces of Evil. The moment where the show went “Never mind that shit. Here comes a complete change in the status quo.”

Someone or something is sending Luz’s mom letters. It’s Luz’s handwriting, but it’s clearly not Luz since she can’t spell her name right. Season one already finished and we still have no idea what this is.

I was all happy a second ago. Now I’m nervous as all hell. It’s a madhouse I tells ya. A madhouse!

FINAL SCORE: 5 - LOVED IT!

Wow. Just wow. This episode had everything. Jokes, plot, romance, character development, cameos, dancing, girls, MOM(?), crashing on your couch because technically I’m homeless.

I shipped Lumity before this, but this was the episode that told me that yes it was going to happen. We’re all in.

But it’s not perfect.

Yeah, did any of you noticed that I didn’t even mention the B-plot? I’m going to be honest. The reason is...

I hate it.

I hate the B-plot so much that I skip it every time I watch this episode. I still don’t think Gus is that funny or interesting. Hell, Skara’s mini plot with her date and/or boyfriend was funnier.

But everything else about the episode more than outshines the B-plot so I still give it a five.

Next time we finish up the lumity trilogy next time.

Dammit I said next time twice.

#the owl house #my works #full review #full reviews

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wondereads · 2 years

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What is the best Cinderella retelling?

I did this a while ago with Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, which can be found here, and it went pretty well, so here I am again. This is my ranking of Cinderella retellings, from worst to best.

7th Place: Geekerella by Ashley Poston

Have you seen the movies Starstruck or A Cinderella Story? If you have, congratulations! You don't need to read this book! This book was horrendously predictable, out of touch, and cringey. I will say that the concept was sweet, and the lore is surprisingly in-depth, but that's about where my praise ends. The main character, who loves to disparage other girls for the unforgivable crime of liking a celebrity, verges on not-like-other-girls, and she's a caricature of fandom. Pretty much all the worst parts of 2012 Tumblr wrapped into a person, and this book was published in 2015. Like many YA contemporaries, this book suffers from forced, awkward pop culture references that made it nigh unreadable. Save yourself some time and watch Starstruck.

6th Place: The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey

I quite enjoyed this one; I loved the worldbuilding with all its fairy tale references and rules, and the characters were dynamic and interesting. However, I wouldn't really classify it as a Cinderella retelling. The main character, Elena, is supposed to fit the role of Cinderella before she's recruited as a fairy-godmother-in-training, but that's about where the similarities end. Instead, I would say this is a fantasy romance inspired by fairy tale conventions. (Fair warning: there is some casual homophobia in this book—they mention many times that princesses marrying princesses is out of the question—which is why my personal rating for this book dropped from a 9 to a 7.)

5th Place: The Glass Queen by Gena Showalter

Now, this one is definitely a Cinderella retelling, and it will never let you forget it. In my opinion, a good retelling should be able to stand alone without the fairy tale references. However, this book can't go ten pages without reminding the reader that everything's about Cinderella! Remember it's supposed to be like Cinderella! I found this a decent romance, but it was drug out for way too long. I much prefer its companion, The Evil Queen. Also, this is NOT YA. It is NA romance, and there is a full-on sex scene; I don't know why it's always shelved and sorted as YA.

4th Place: Ash by Malinda Lo

This retelling is unique in that our Cinderella character, Ash, is bisexual. This is done through a love triangle, but I feel like it was handled well with a satisfying ending. I liked the subtle fantasy of the world where fairies do indeed exist but are unknown by the general populace. It was a little slow, especially for someone like me who reads mostly fantasy adventure, but it's also very short at just over 250 pages. I wouldn't really say there's a plot to this book; it is purely romance and character-focused, so if that's something you like, check this one out.

3rd Place: The Blood Spell by C. J. Redwine

I really enjoyed this book. It took the classic elements of Cinderella—the glass slipper, the stepfamily, the ball—and incorporated them into an already great high fantasy plot. Blue was a great protagonist with sympathetic and realistic motivations, and I loved her relationship with Kellan. It fits the trope of childhood-rivals-to-lovers, which I love when I can find it. The antagonist Dinah, was also very well-written; I had my moments when I felt for her, even if I hated her guts. My only complaint is that it gets a little slow in the middle, but otherwise, a great retelling.

2nd Place: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

The Lunar Chronicles are arguably a YA classic, and I believe they've earned their place. The concept of a sci-fi retelling rather than fantasy or contemporary is rather unique and not done frequently. Still, it fits the premise of the story, and I loved how it was woven in. I still think the glass slipper being Cinder's actual foot is a stroke of genius. I know some people have issues with this series for its lacking or inaccurate representation, but for a book published in 2012, the height of straight, white YA, I don't think it's too bad. In terms of the book itself, I find the plot engaging and the characters easy to empathize with, and I think it fully deserves second place.

1st Place: Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

If you've been following me for a while, you'll know there was truly no other choice. Ella Enchanted is the quintessential feminist Cinderella retelling with an amazing female lead, a charming love interest, and a funny, classic fantasy plot. This book was so essential to my childhood, and its message is important for young girls everywhere. Gail Carson Levine is a master of the fairy tale retelling, and it really shows here. I will never stop recommending this book, and I can't imagine putting anything above it.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more retelling rankings!

#books #fairy tales #retellings #fairytale retellings #cinderella #geekerella #the fairy godmother #the glass queen #ash #the blood spell #cinder #ella enchanted

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moonshinesapphic · 4 years

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So you were disappointed in Throne of Glass...

(DISCLAIMER: This post does not intend to offend anyone who loves ToG. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions and likes and dislikes and is allowed to express that. This post is meant to share books that have similar qualities to ToG for people who were disappointed in the series, like myself, but anyone who does like ToG can absolutely find great recs here! However, if you don’t want to hear anything ToG critical I recommend skipping over this post. Thank you!)

So last week I finally got rid of all my ToG books. I was mostly relieved that I now have more room on my bookshelf but I also felt a little sad. It was a series I really enjoyed when I first read it two years ago, and on some level it will always have a special place for me. It was one of the many books that got me back into reading after a five year slump, it’s the reason I became friends with the wonderful Nicole (@/rainbowbooktheif on Instagram) who was the first person irl to make me feel less alone as a bookish nerd, and it, unintentionally, helped me hone my critical reading skills. However, I slowly began to care less and less for the story and characters as the series progressed and ended up not reading the last two books because I just stopped caring. I wondered why a series that I loved so much in the beginning went down hill so fast for me, but in the process of falling out of love with ToG I realized I wasn’t the only one who felt this way about the series! The lack of diversity (and misrepresentation/mistreatment of diverse characters when they were there), sexism, lazy editing and lackluster world building, among other things, came up many times for me and other former ToG fans when discussing why we became disappointed in the series. But the pitch for the book (badass morally gray assassin taking down a tyrant king for her freedom, so cool!) and some of the elements (romance, female friendships, magic, trials) sounded so amazing even though in the end it was executed poorly. So, I decided to compile a list of books that I have read and loved that have some elements and themes of ToG. This list is by no means exhaustive and is limited by the books that I have read (which is not many when you look at how many books exist in the world) so I would love to see your recommendations! Please feel free to add onto this post any recs that you have! Now onto the list!

1) Graceling by Kristin Cashore

I read this book the summer before I started ToG and completely loved it. It was one of the early books that got me back into reading and it was honestly the perfect book for that. It was exciting and I couldn’t put it down. It follows an assassin for a tyrannical king who begins to realize her own gifts for killing are more then she ever thought they could be. Cashore does a fantastic job developing the lead character Katsa and the ways that she dolls out information to the readers slowly is impeccable. While this book is technically the first in a trilogy of books taking place in the Graceling world, it can be read as a standalone fantasy (which I feel like are very rare). Another part of this book that I really loved was the romance. I usually don’t read very many straight romances (due to the sexist/problematic aspects many of the ones that I’ve read have) but the relationship between Katsa and Po is honestly a breath of fresh air when you’re used to a lot of toxicity and sexism with cishet romances in books. The two take care of each other and their relationship is very balanced. There are no gender roles pushed on either of them and they truly grow to become a team throughout the story and it’s wonderful to see! I would consider Katsa and Po, while canonically cis (there isn’t any explicit queer rep in this book), both quite androgynous characters who often express themselves in a fluid manner which I really appreciate. Over all this is an amazing classic YA fantasy that everyone should check out!

Synopsis: “Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug.

She never expects to fall in love with beautiful Prince Po.

She never expects to learn the truth behind her Grace—or the terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

With elegant, evocative prose and a cast of unforgettable characters, debut author Kristin Cashore creates a mesmerizing world, a death-defying adventure, and a heart-racing romance that will consume you, hold you captive, and leave you wanting more.”

2) Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

This book is the first in a five book series about three royal sisters raised to battle it out for the throne. I must admit the first book in the series is a little lackluster due to the fact that it’s setting up a lot but the second book just blows everything out of the water in a fantastic way. This series is dark and bloody and intriguing. I got completely hooked on this series and it brought out a lot of emotion to the point where I was gasping and shouting and throwing my book around as I was reading it (I got very invested)! I think that’s one of the things SJM can do well is get you hooked on her characters and Kendare can do the same (if not better). I love the dynamic between the sisters, this book does a great job at exploring the darker side of familial and female/female relationships (mostly platonic.. there isn’t very much queer rep unfortunately) that I really appreciate. The magic system and wolrdbuliding are also something that I enjoyed and I though was quite well done. Kendare does a good job at weaving in worldbuilding and magic system seamlessly into the story and I love that so much. Three Dark Crowns is just a fun and exciting series that I think anyone who loves fantasy YA should check out!

Synopsis: “ In every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born—three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions.

But becoming the Queen Crowned isn’t solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it. And it’s not just a game of win or lose…it’s life or death. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins.

The last queen standing gets the crown. “

3) The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

So a little disclaimer, this book is one of my favorite fantasy books of all time. I read it over the span of a few months last summer (its a long one guys...800+ pages) and it was one of the greatest, most well thought out fantasy books I’d ever had the pleasure of reading. I loved the characters, the world, the plot, the magic system etc. I loved everything! There’s some great political intrigue, dragon riders, epic battles, prophecies, weddings, funerals, romance and just general badassery and kickassery happening. Shannon clearly put so much time and effort into this book and it shows. That kind of dedication that shows is something that I really appreciate in a book, especially a fantasy book. Another aspect that I loved so so much is the diversity in this book. It came so naturally and didn’t at all feel like tokenism. The characters, with their differing genders, ethnicities, sexualities, ages, and nationalities etc, and their relationships with each other are truly what made the story. This book also has one of the BEST f/f romances I’ve ever read (as a queer woman I really loved that representation so much and felt very connected to both of those characters). Priory is a long one but if you have the time I highly recommend it.

Synopsis: “ A world divided. A queendom without an heir. An ancient enemy awakens.

The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction – but assassins are getting closer to her door.

Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.

Across the dark sea, Tané has trained to be a dragonrider since she was a child, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.

Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep. “

4) Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

As a queer woman, I’m always a little on edge when someone mentions f/f friendship in a book. This is entirely because of the erasure many many f/f romances experience when they are just brushed off as friendships (we’ve all heard the term “gal pals”). It’s frustrating and even though I love a good f/f friendship when the f/f romances get erased and replaced by friendships it gets exhausting. However, Truthwitch is a true f/f friendship that I can fully get behind! Dennard is an author that I had been following for writing tips for a while before I finally picked up her book. I knew that she’s someone who is invested in making her series diverse, even if she herself doesn’t fit into those categories, and accepts criticism because she want’s to do her characters justice. That’s something I really appreciate seeing from white cishet authors and is one of the reasons I picked up Truthwitch. It’s so much fun and the heart of the story truly is the relationship between the two leads Safi and Iseult. Their friendship reminds me a lot of my relationship with my friends. Books about f/f relationships (romantic or otherwise) are few and far between so I really love that this book exists. Strong platonic relationships are so often pushed aside for cishet romantic ones so it’s SO refreshing to see a series where the book would not exist without Safi and Iseult’s bond. They are truly soulmates and their relationship with each other is the most important one in their lives and that is just beautiful. Not to mention this book has got an awesome magic system and is building up to an amazing fantasy series! There’s pirates, priestesses, princes and, of course, witches! It’s loads of fun all around!

Synopsis: “ Young witches Safiya and Iseult have a habit of finding trouble. After clashing with a powerful Guildmaster and his ruthless Bloodwitch bodyguard, the friends are forced to flee their home.

Safi must avoid capture at all costs as she's a rare Truthwitch, able to discern truth from lies. Many would kill for her magic, so Safi must keep it hidden - lest she be used in the struggle between empires. And Iseult's true powers are hidden even from herself.

In a chance encounter at Court, Safi meets Prince Merik and makes him a reluctant ally. However, his help may not slow down the Bloodwitch now hot on the girls' heels. All Safi and Iseult want is their freedom, but danger lies ahead. With war coming, treaties breaking and a magical contagion sweeping the land, the friends will have to fight emperors and mercenaries alike. For some will stop at nothing to get their hands on a Truthwitch. “

5) Monstress by Marjorie Liu (Writer) and Sana Takeda (Illustrator)

Another disclaimer! This book is my favorite graphic novel, period. There is really nothing like Monstress out there and I think that it’s criminally underrated. Liu and Takeda are the perfect combo of writer/artist to make this GN come together. I’m constantly in awe of the world, characters, and story Liu built and the frankly stunning art Takeda creates to go along with it. It’s steampunk and dark and dirty and beautiful. The lead character, Maika, is one of the few truly morally gray characters that I’ve read. Her decisions will make you question if you’re a good person because you still love her despite the fact that she just killed that guy... and that guy... and those other guys. This graphic novel series is very reflective of the dark animes (like Tokyo Ghoul and Castlevania) that we are seeing more recently and I personally believe Monstress would make a fantastic animated series if it were ever to get an adaption. This book has also some great representation of queer women (Maika herself is a queer, disabled, WoC). It’s totally the norm for the world and all of the lead female characters are queer, which I just love. This story has amazing woldbulding, magic, characters etc. It’ll give you everything from giant dead gods, to talking cats with multiple tails, to demonically possessed teenage girls who need to eat people. It’s honestly amazing. (I would give a major trigger warning for blood/gore so as long as you know you can handle that I think you should check it out!)

Synopsis: “ Set in an alternate matriarchal 1900's Asia, in a richly imagined world of art deco-inflected steam punk, MONSTRESS tells the story of a teenage girl who is struggling to survive the trauma of war, and who shares a mysterious psychic link with a monster of tremendous power, a connection that will transform them both and make them the target of both human and otherworldly powers. “

6) The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen

I never thought I would love a cishet romance as much as I love this one but here I am. The Bridge Kingdom is not really the kind of book I would normally pick up but it was on sale on kindle so I thought “why not!” And I was not disappointed. This story follows the assassin princess, Lara, who was raised to be married off to her fathers rival kingdom and kill the king. However, things get sticky when she begins to actually fall for the king and starts to realize that her father isn’t exactly who he says he is. Not only was this romance steamy as hell (this is an ADULT book folks so there are some explicit sex scenes, beware) but the world is super cool. The political intrigue was something I really enjoyed and I loved to see the world unfold from Lara’s eyes. I also totally loved Lara’s character. She’s complicated and cutthroat but ultimately want’s to do what’s right and is a character made to change and develop. I usually don’t go for that character trope that Lara fits into (beautiful and badass and despite being the MCs they somehow end up being very bland...) but Jensen managed to create a very mature and ever changing version of the YA trope that I ended up loving completely. If you love steamy fantasy romances with cool worlds and intriguing characters this is absolutely the book for you!

Synopsis: “ Lara has only one thought for her husband on their wedding day: I will bring your kingdom to its knees. A princess trained from childhood to be a lethal spy, Lara knows that the Bridge Kingdom represents both legendary evil - and legendary promise. The only route through a storm-ravaged world, the Bridge Kingdom controls all trade and travel between lands, allowing its ruler to enrich himself and deprive his enemies, including Lara's homeland. So when she is sent as a bride under the guise of fulfilling a treaty of peace, Lara is prepared to do whatever it takes to fracture the defenses of the impenetrable Bridge Kingdom.

But as she infiltrates her new home - a lush paradise surrounded by tempest seas - and comes to know her new husband, Aren, Lara begins to question where the true evil resides. Around her, she sees a kingdom fighting for survival, and in Aren, a man fiercely protective of his people. As her mission drives her to deeper understanding of the fight to possess the bridge, Lara finds the simmering attraction between her and Aren impossible to ignore. Her goal nearly within reach, Lara will have to decide her own fate: Will she be the destroyer of a king or the savior of her people? “

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haniawritesfiction · 3 years

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