Other Ever Afters is a kindle deal-of-the-day today, and is temporarily on sale for $2! If you’ve been wanting to read it, this might be a great day to grab an ebook: https://www.amazon.com/Other-Ever-Afters-Queer-Fairy/dp/0593303180/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=2PN22OHAXSFUQ&keywords=other+ever+afters&qid=1689088558&sprefix=other+ever%2Caps%2C171&sr=8-1

💜 Other Ever Afters: New Queer Fairy Tales by Melanie Gillman

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Come visit a happily ever after where princes are spurned but monsters are wed, where castles crumble while villages thrive, and where knights lay down their swords only to have peasants pick them up.

Ok, each story I read- from the first “The King’s Forest” to the last “The People’s Forest”- made me unreasonably emotional. There is so much to unpack with each fable. You have older women falling in love, a princess who realizes happiness isn’t about what you have, a knight without a purpose, a young person choosing a new name, and so much more.

My favorite story would have to be “Hsthete”, a tale of a girl who doesn’t want to marry her betrothed and a goddess of mishaps who helps her.

Each story is unique and diverts classic fairy tale tropes into something more powerful and inspiring to the readers. I love a good happy ending and this book is full of them.

Other Ever Afters: New Queer Fairy Tales by Melanie Gillman

a book from one of my favorite comic authors here on tumblr, @/melgillman! if you've been around this site for a while, you've likely already seen four of the comics she's published in this book: The Fish Wife, Sweet Rock, Hsthete and The King's Forest. def give this book a read if you liked any of those!!

like all comic anthologies, its comics weren't all made equal. i think the four i listed above stood stronger on their own than the newer works made for this book. working under the limits of an image post count and narrow work time frame (even if gillman didn't follow the 24 hour rule to the letter) means you must maximize telling your story in the most efficient way possible to get it across the nebulous audience of the internet. comics made for a published book don't have those limits, which is why i think the newer works didn't have the same impact on me.

this book was still an enjoyable read regardless, and i'm excited to read more of melanie gillman's future works! she's got a lot more work on her tumblr, so check that out with her book as well.

Other Ever Afters' (holiday reading book 10) was was another cute, queer graphic novel. The author has posted a number of them online as a part of various 24 hour comic projects. They're cute stories with fairy tale vibes, and fresh and original plots. This was a very quick read, and each story was short so it was also nice to dip in and out of.

Other Ever Afters - Melanie Gillman

Once upon a time . . . happily ever after turned out differently than expected. In this new, feminist, queer fairy-tale collection, you’ll find the princesses, mermaids, knights, barmaids, children, and wise old women who have been forced to sit on the sidelines in classic stories taking center stage. A gorgeous all-new collection in graphic novel format from a Stonewall Honor-winning author and artist. What if the giant who abducted you was actually thoughtful and kind? What if you didn’t want to marry your handsome, popular, but cold-inside suitor? What if your one true love has all the responsibilities that come with running a kingdom?

tw: death, gore, illness, violence

thank you @the---hermit and @callumnovae for the tag! <3

last read: every heart a doorway by s. mcguire (it’s been on my 23 for 2023 list and it’s so chaotic but cute, i’m very happy to have read it now!)

current read: other ever afters by m. gillman (technically at the time i’m writing this i’m in between books but i’ll be starting and most likely finishing this one in a matter of hours so i’m counting it) (it’s also on my 23 for 2023 lol)

next read: this girl will FINALLY finish the heroes of olympus series so the blood of olympus by r. riordan is all ready to be devoured by yours truly :)

in hopes none of you have done this recently i’m tagging @cupsnpages, @mal-studyblr (bc you’re on break now and finally have time to read again), and @fluencylevelfrench

seriously have been thinking about this all night long. call me autistic but the fact that 90% of workplaces the point is not to get your work done and then be done doing it but to instead perform an elaborate social dance in which you find something to do even when you're done doing everything you need to do in order to show your fellow workers that you, too, are Working . because you are at Work . disgusting why cant we all agree that if there is no work immediately to be done. we just dont do anything

probably time for this story i guess but when i was a kid there was a summer that my brother was really into making smoothies and milkshakes. part of this was that we didn't have AC and couldn't afford to run fans all day so it was kind of important to get good at making Cool Down Concoctions.

we also had a patch of mint, and he had two impressionable little sisters who had the attitude of "fuck it, might as well."

at one point, for fun, this 16 year old boy with a dream in his eye and scientific fervor in heart just wanted to see how far one could push the idea of "vanilla mint smoothie". how much vanilla extract and how much mint can go into a blender before it truly is inedible.

the answer is 3 cups of vanilla extract, 1/2 cup milk alternative, and about 50 sprigs (not leaves, whole spring) of mint. add ice and the courage of a child. idk, it was summer and we were bored.

the word i would use to describe the feeling of drinking it would maybe be "violent" or perhaps, like. "triangular." my nose felt pristine. inhaling following the first sip was like trying to sculpt a new face. i was ensconced in a mesh of horror. it was something beyond taste. for years after, i assumed those commercials that said "this is how it feels to chew five gum" were referencing the exact experience of this singular viscous smoothie.

what's worse is that we knew our mother would hate that we wasted so much vanilla extract. so we had to make it worth it. we had to actually finish the drink. it wasn't "wasting" it if we actually drank it, right? we huddled around outside in the blistering sun, gagging and passing around a single green potion, shivering with disgust. each sip was transcendent, but in a sort of non-euclidean way. i think this is where i lost my binary gender. it eroded certain parts of me in an acidic gut ecology collapse.

here's the thing about love and trust: the next day my brother made a different shake, and i drank it without complaint. it's been like 15 years. he's now a genuinely skilled cook. sometimes one of the three of us will fuck up in the kitchen or find something horrible or make a terrible smoothie mistake and then we pass it to each other, single potion bottle, and we say try it it's delicious. it always smells disgusting. and then, cerimonious, we drink it together. because that's what family does.

‘Mamo,’ ‘The Greatest Thing’ among the nominees for the 2023 Lambda Literary Awards

The annual awards recognize LGBTQ+ books, poetry, comics and more.

Nothing in the world belongs to me But my love, mine, all mine

I wanted to tell you that I bought the hard cover Other Ever Afters for my spouse for Yule. The quality of the book is only surpassed by the beautiful illustrations and stories. Several I haven't read yet. He adores it and keeps hugging it close, saying he finds the bool very tactile and can't wait to read it!

I am so happy he will love your tales as much as I do. Thank you so much for sharing them with us! May you never run out of inspiration, and may you receive much love in return!

This is so sweet and absolutely made my day, thank you 😭💕

So you know of other fairytale-theme school medias?

oh yeah, there's a few! the one I was thinking of specifically was Ever After High; I was mostly into the dolls, but I also really liked the webseries and the Shannon Hale novels! Apple was my definitely my favorite. 🍎

illustrated guide to simons. i Think

dont get me wrong cuz I DO appreciate Larian continuing to work on the game and trying to fix issues etc but like. mr Larian PLEASE stop responding to fan feedback. Theres like 2 million people playing this game ofc some of them will say character x should be nicer or cuter or do a little dance but that doesnt mean u gotta do it. you dont gotta call neil newbon or whoever up like come to the studio we need to rerecord everything bc a person on reddit said theyd like it better. You’ve worked on these characters for over 4 years and you are allowed to stand by your creation. None of what I said applies to Wyll’s underdevelopment btw but you all know that