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moonlightgrisha · 1 year

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Backstory 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 - Next

A letter came.

The tsaritsa, how thoughtful of her, had written to her distant cousin, your mother. But it wasn't about her.

She was inviting you at the Grand Palace to be her welcomed guest.

You didn't even think she knew you existed. You looked at your mother.

"Don't be naive. She wants to marry you off to some lord", she said.

You were a young woman now and your cousins had already gotten married. Everyone had expected you to do the same.

Still, it was clear to you that you could never live the life of your cousins. They weren't you. They had nothing to hide - at least, nothing like that. You could never share your secret, nor keep it from a husband, and so you had refused any proposal that came by - which weren't many, for the record, as you were known to have a temper.

"That's what distant relatives are for", your mother concluded. "Establish allegiance. And now it's your turn".

It wasn't an invitation. It was an order, and there was nothing to be done about it, but obey.

"If you step off the tracks, they will know", she kept telling you in the days before the journey, while you were packing. "Do as you are told. Stay indoors. And stay away from all Grisha, at all cost".

You wouldn't follow that last advice.

That's it. I don't even know what I'm doing. I haven't written a fan fiction in ten years. English is not even my first language. I came back here on tumblr because I need a little break from reality and just like that I found out there's not much left on tumblr nowadays. It doesn't matter. This is just for fun and if somebody is reading, well, I'm so happy I can share my fantasy with you. But that's it. Just having fun, and I hope you will be having fun with me.

PS I hated S&B season 2. Bad writing is bad writing.

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notelcol · 1 month

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1 for sorrow, 2 for joy🌹

Kaz x Nikolai hurt/comfort

You voted for it, so here it is🫶

Mildly edited, apologies for mistakes🌹

——-

When the newly crowned King Nikolai of Ravka asked for the Crows to come all the way from Ketterdam to help him, Kaz wanted to deny the job. He missed Inej, since she went to sea and didn’t want to help the man who facilitated her leaving. But after seeing the price and the details of the mission….he couldn’t refuse in the end. The Crows were charged to protect King Nikolai’s new weapon plan. It was rumoured to be unlike anything seen before and everyone sought after it. Naturally, at this point Kaz was intrigued. So, that was how he and his four remaining Crows ended up here. Split up all around the Little Palace, with alarm bells ringing. Utter carnage, but what’s new?

Kaz’ heaved as he ran with a box in one hand and his cane supporting his weight in the other. His job was to get the plans out of the palace during the chaos once Wylan set off the alarm system, meeting the King and a few guards out the back for a swift handoff before His Royal Highness escapes back to the Grand Palace under the cover of night. His leg was cramping painfully, but he kept his eyes focused on the little door at the end of the corridor and his mind on the mission. His ache to see the Kings new weapon plan was stronger than his old injury. The closer he got to the door, the more motivation he found. He kept going, until he burst through the door, not forgetting to check for someone following him.

Kaz eyed the three guards, then turned to greet the King.

“Your Highness.” He smirked while holding out the box.

“I knew you wouldn’t let me down.” The Kings smile was as golden as his crown. Before the pass-on was complete, the door flung open again.

“Protect the King!” One of the guards yelled as Kaz was smashed in the temple by a baton. Before he could recover, he was struck again in the rib. He groaned as the impact made a crack vibrate within his body. His hand went limp for a moment and the box hit the floor. Finally he could face his attacker as they picked up the box, only catching a glimpse before they ran into the dark.

“Kaz!” The King pushed past the guards, ordering them to go after the thief, and crouched at Kaz’ side. He went to touch the wound on the injured man’s head to see if it was still bleeding, but he was met with gloved slap on the hand.

“Get off.” Kaz snapped. “I’m fine.” He said while moving to get up. The King watched nervously as the man precariously used his cane to hoist himself up. He was almost upright, when the cane wobbled. Luckily Nikolai’s reflexes were fast and his arms were around Kaz’ waist in a second, lifting him up to stand, but lingering after.

Kaz breath shook as he stood all too close to The King. This man piqued his curiosity, yet in this proximity any questions evaporate with the sweat forming on his lip. All intensified by Nikolai’s eyes, tunnelled in on those very lips.

“Are you okay?” The King uttered out, eyes finally moving from Kaz’ lips, to the wound on his head.

“I can handle it.” The Crow leader stated, in a practiced manner. The blonde haired man, whose hands still ghosted his back, disagreed and reached out to touch the wound again. Kaz’ eyes closed. For a fleeting moment, he wished he could let his skin be graced by the golden King. But as fingers grazed his temple, the sweat on his face became canal water and the gentle hands became cold and dead. He sucked in a breath, to remind himself that he could, and pushed the King away.

Before either of the men could speak and relieve the tension, the door swung again. This time it revealed Jesper and Wylan, who eyed the pair suspiciously.

“Right on cue.” Kaz greeted as if nothing ever happened. “Did you get it?” He asked, confusing Nikolai.

“Of course we did, need you even ask?” Jesper feigned offence as Wylan proudly held out a box to the King. It was strikingly similar to the one Kaz just lost, causing Nikolai to chuckle and turn to Kaz. “I take it you planned this.” He asked the Crow leader.

“Everything up until the broken rib.” Kaz said. “Nina and Mattias will be bringing the thief back as we speak.” He finished.

“Impressive.” The King smirked, finding his eyes meeting Kaz’.

“Not as impressive as I’m sure those plans will be.” The Crow leader hinted and the King’s smirk became a warm grin.

“Alright, alright. I suppose while we await the thief’s return we could take a look.” Kaz almost grinned at those words.

“Come. Let’s go to my lab.” The King ushered, he and Kaz speeding off in step with each other.

Wylan and Jesper shared a knowing look before Jesper spoke.

“Do you think he meant us too or….?”

——-

I enjoyed this pairing a lot more than expected 🌞

Thank you to anyone who voted this in and thank you for reading it❤️

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aleksanderscult · 3 months

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Today I will rant because I want to about that character and how he's treated by some

Lately the rapist comments about him and how he was selfish are getting multiplied which makes me both angry and sad.

When you have the author itself say that she saw the King and Queen as the real villains and that we can make a case about the Darkling's worst crimes then how do some people indirectly call him the worst thing that happened to Ravka and to Alina?

They only treat Aleksander as a villain, emphasizing his sexually creepy moments and selfish motivations and completely disregard the human side of him or his traumatic past.

The Darkling did not spend 500 (and possibly more) years of his life to protect his people and stop the wars for you to call him a selfish evil man. If you want to call someone selfish then look at Baghra that stays warm in her hearth and not giving a single fuck for Ravka. If you want to call someone selfish then take a look at the King and Queen who grow fat and rich while their people and starving and think that being orphaned is "marvelous". If you want to call someone selfish then look at Mal who wanted to leave Ravka and never look back (and in the meantime, it was his country that was in danger) or even Alina.

The Darkling was quite literally the only person that decided to take action for a persecuted group of people without wavering once.

You don't give a single glimpse at his tragic elements. You ignore them. But his isolated and traumatic childhood, abusive mother figure, near-immortality that made him witness people he loved die, rare powers that have isolated him further and desperation to see the Grisha being respected and accepted says hello 🙋.

You call us fans of the category "The Darkling did nothing wrong". Well, just because we don't talk about his crimes every day does not mean we don't know about them. We just decide to talk about the Darkling in our blogs as a human, tragic figure that was much more complex than his "evil" actions. If we wanted to read about the Darkling and his evilness we would read KoS and RoW everyday. Zoya, Tolya and Genya were orators of that. But maybe we just decided to look deeper than this. To cast light to the parts he kept hidden and were so human and still valid.

Some call us even misogynistic for judging Alina. I didn't know that just because we judge one fictional, female character means that we hate all women. Wow. For your information, most of the times we judge the way she was handled by the author more than the character herself.

But having people making the Darkling a simple villain with no humanity is probably one of the worst butchering of a character I've ever seen.

Some people literally took an intriguing, complex character with selfless motivations and turned him into a power-hungry tyrant. Bye guys 💀

I don't know. If you expect from me at least to post about how the Darkling was evil, a tyrant and a rapist then you are on the wrong page. I only write about the Darkling as human most of all. With tragic elements and human emotions and vulnerabilities that were actually there. But some people cannot read past the word "villain".

#“But...but...what he did to Alina...”#What he *really* did to Alina was to open her eyes to the truth and she only kept them closed until the very end #The fact that you are stuck only in his “sexually abusive” ways is stupid and childish #the darkling #pro darkling #aleksander morozova #pro aleksander morozova #alina starkov #darklina #pro darklina #shadow and bone #grishaverse trilogy #grishaverse

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sad-outsider · 2 months

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Why I didn't like the ending of R&R. Final part

The final part of my analysis and the main reason for my indignation is that the ending of R&R destroyed the entire arc of Alina’s development as a heroine.

Where does the trilogy begin? Alina is powerless, sick, lonely, not finding a place in this world and the only close person is Mal (although this is a controversial statement). Then, according to the classics, she turns out to be the chosen one, she finds allies, enemies and a great goal. In a good story, the main character is faced with difficult choices more than once over the course of the story, and each such choice changes him; each action has consequences and, as a rule, irreparable ones.

What do we see in the ending of TGT? Alina is back where she started, alone and powerless again, while constantly remembering the brightest period of her life, when she was a Grisha, and Mal, whom she sacrificed for the sake of victory, was ✨magically resurrected✨ simply because it was necessary, because Mal her one “true love”, her ray of sunshine and she doesn’t need anyone else, ugh.

What is the message of this story? Never grow up? Live in childhood? Shift responsibility to others, because you don’t want to do something yourself? Maintain the status quo, because you don't care about other people's problems? if you are oppressed, be patient and hope for a miracle? Do not under any circumstances dare to resist oppression, otherwise you are a villain and deserve to die? Excellent moral, Leigh Bardugo… for some immature people.

This ending is tantamount to what if Harry Potter had not destroyed the Horcruxes at the end, become a Muggle, allowing some strangers to kill Voldemort, and then got a job at McDonald's to provide for the Dursleys and returned to live in the closet, nostalgic for Hogwarts, and the author would have said in all seriousness , that everything was originally planned this way and would present it as a happy ending, and not as a tragedy. Do you think many fans of the franchise would be happy with such a “happy ending”? I don't think so.

For those who say that the ending should not always be standard and predictable, I agree, but you just need to be able to write a non-standard ending, otherwise it is better to follow the well-trodden path. After all, the whole point of surprises is that they should please. If someone shits under my door, I will certainly be surprised, but will I be happy?

And for those especially gifted who believe that I have no right to judge the author, because “this is her world, she sees it that way, and if you don’t like it, don’t read it.” I wouldn't say a word if this were fan fiction. But this is a commercial product, I bought these books with money, hoping to read an exciting story with a dark romance (yes, I am one of those people who started reading and finished it mainly because of Darklina), but instead I got wasted potential and disappointment. And people usually get angry when they aren't sold what they want.

#grishaverse #shadow and bone #ruin and rising #anti leigh bardugo #alina starkov #anti mal oretsev #anti malina #darklina

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corpsebasil · 1 year

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Tea and Spices Part 2 18+

When Nikolai gets engaged, Victoria isn’t a fan.

She was burning up. Had been all evening, and the sight of the Prince pouring himself a drink when she stepped into her rooms made her pause.

"What are you doing?" She demanded, and he offered her a glass.

"Coming to visit my very wonderful, very beautiful best friend."

"Help yourself, why don't you." She scoffed, ignoring the comment about her appearance, and took the drink, taking a large gulp of it and trying to clear her mind.

Her thoughts raced from one to the other—first there were her brothers, who wanted to go back to England, and then that arrogant ass Vasily, and then the whirlwind of so many Grisha and the engagement—she shoved that thought as low as possible. Alina loved Mal, and Victoria didn't give a shit who he wanted to propose to.

"You seem tightly wound, my dear." He smirked in that annoying way of his and took a drink. "Feeling...hot? I could help you relieve tension if you'd like."

"Shove it up your ass, Prince." She huffed, finishing her drink quickly before setting the glass down. "I can unwind just fine on my own." She realized he'd taken that in a dirtier way than she'd meant when his eyes darted across her body, a wicked gleam in his stare.

"Why don't you come to my chambers this evening," Nikolai suggested, taking a large sip of his drink. The way his eyes were drinking her in was so attractive that she almost considered it. Almost.

"You couldn't handle me, Princess." She scoffed, tilting her head to the side. But she moved closer to him anyway, enjoying his reaction when he leaned back farther into the wall, as if trying to get comfortable. When she got barely inches away she reached up, running a hand across the shoulder of his coat as if to brush off dirt. "Besides," she said, looking up into his eyes. "I saw your choices in fiction. I'm not into cowboys or being tied up."

Nikolai's chest lifted when he took a breath, and the heat that flooded his gaze sent a jolt throughout her body. He set his drink down beside him. She wasn't sure when she'd started leaning into him, but when his hand grazed her waist, she didn't move. His mouth moved close to her ear and when he spoke, the low gravel of it, his breath against her neck, sent goosebumps racing across her skin.

“I've found that women that are more adventurous with pleasure receive the most of it, Captain." Then his nose ran slowly against the side of her neck, a smooth line that burned with every centimeter, and she tilted her head, needing him to grip her waist harder to keep upright. "Your heart is racing, my love." He murmured, then nipped the shell of her ear before he moved away, striding out of her chambers and towards his own.

She stood there, frozen, then stomped over to the door, slamming it shut behind him. She leaned against it for a moment, trying to catch her breath. He was—when did he become so— No. No, no, no. That pompous ass wasn't allowed to make her nervous. But just as she whirled to open the door a knock sounded against it and she froze.

Heart racing, she opened it, wanting and not wanting for it to be the Prince, back for more of...

But it was Alina, her unbound hair gorgeous in the dim light. She seemed distraught by something and clasped her hands together, eyes darting from the floor back up to Victoria's face.

"I'm sorry," the girl started, an awkward smile on her face. "I um..I just needed some advice. From an unbiased party."

Victoria stared at her then moved out of the doorway, gesturing for her to enter the room. Alina's eyes immediately went towards the half empty glass of brandy on the bar top then to Victoria's face, which was likely flushed.

“Did you have a visitor?" Alina teased, walking over to plop on the soft couch in the main area. "Was it Tolya? I think he's sweet on you."

"That's nonsense." Victoria said, tone flat as a line, and walked over to the glass, knocking back the rest of Nikolai's drink. She still felt flustered. "What do you need advice with?"

"I'm.." Alina glanced down at her hands. "Actually, could I have a drink, too?"

Victoria poured wordlessly, then carried Alina's drink over to her. Victoria sat on the arm of the couch and watched the pretty Grisha take a large gulp before pressing onward.

"I'm going to accept Nikolai's proposal." She said, and Victoria almost fell off the couch.

"What?" She demanded. Unbiased party, her ass. The memory of his teeth on her ear, his nose against her neck still fogged her mind, and she half-listened as Alina explained the alliance and the benefits.

"It wouldn't be a love match," she said, as if worried by the blank look on Victoria's face. "I know what you must think of me, but I promise I still love Mal. I'm not trying to marry up, or anything."

"Are you—um..." Victoria stood quickly, walking back to the brandy. Gods, she felt strange. She poured herself more, then turned, leaning against the wall where Nikolai had stood. Then she quickly moved away. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"I want Grisha to be safe." Alina said, taking another sip. "I don't mind arranged marriage if the Grisha are kept from harm."

"Very noble of you." Victoria mused, turning to look out the window at the night sky. "In my country most royal marriages are arranged for political purposes. Love matches are very rare, indeed." Then she turned, smirking. "Although I hope you don't think you'll get out of having some royal babies. You'll be a queen, not just a wife."

Alina's face went quickly red, then she laughed. She stood, running a hand across her nightgown before smiling softly at Victoria.

"Thank you. I'm going to go talk to him."

"Goodnight, Alina."

"Goodnight."

Victoria waited all of thirty minutes before she stopped pacing, tightened her robe around herself, and tore out of her room. When she got to his door she pounded hard on it, surprised when it opened barely half a second later. The Prince looked surprised as well, his own robe open to reveal a muscled chest and—she looked up at his face, refusing to be distracted.

“So you come to my chambers and get all handsy, and then you get engaged?"

“I thought you knew about the proposal." He looked downright stunned, staring at her like she'd gone mad.

"Well yes but—" she took a breath, unsure of why she was suddenly raising her voice. "You're insufferable, you know that? Insufferable."

"Are you upset with me?"

"Upset? Of course I'm upset. This is stupid. You're stupid and—she doesn't even love you." Coming from the same girl that had just lectured Alina on the rareness of love matches, she instantly felt a bit foolish.

Nikolai let out a sigh and took her hand, pulling her into his room with him. She'd never been inside his chambers before and glanced around, quickly taking in the opulence. Saints, her rooms were almost as nice as his. She wondered absently if the rest of the crew had been granted the same luxury.

When he shut the door he turned around, stepping a foot towards her. She took one back, then jumped a bit when the backs of her legs knocked into his couch. He kept moving, eyes on her face, but they weren't heat-filled and seductive like before. He looked intensely focused, as if he was thinking very hard about something.

"It's what's best for the Grisha and the kingdom." Nikolai told her quietly, reaching out to touch her hand. "We likely won't even end up married. But the kingdom needs a figurehead, and symbols, especially Saints, have power."

"I know that." She snapped, then looked away, unsure of why she felt so...so....

Hurt.

"Victoria, darling." He sighed, his fingers coming up to brush her cheek, then tucked her hair behind an ear. His touch lingered, eyes scanning her face, and she was mortified to find her own eyes beginning to moisten. "Oh, my Victoria."

She sucked in a breath when he leaned into her—his words had been so gently spoken, filled with so much tenderness, that her heart almost jumped out of her chest when his nose brushed against hers and he kissed the corner of her mouth very softly.

Oh, gods.

Her heart was beating so fast she felt a bit sick, and closed her eyes tightly when his other hand came up to cup her face as well, his lips moving to kiss the other corner of her mouth, too.

"Victoria." He whispered, his nose brushing against hers as his thumbs trailed her cheekbones, and her name on his lips sounded like a prayer. She opened her eyes and stared back at him, taking in a shaky breath.

"Nikolai.." she breathed back, but it sounded almost like a question, and the gentle smile on his face was heartbreakingly gorgeous.

"Your Nikolai." He said, and she knew she had made a mistake when he finally kissed her fully, his lips soft and dangerously perfect against hers.

She practically moaned into his mouth at the contact and he made a small sound in return, still kissing her so gently that she feared she was going to pass out, or toss him onto his bed, or saying something very, very stupid. He pulled away and she almost whined, leaning back into him, but he just smiled, moving away from her.

"There's plenty of time for kissing, Victoria." He told her, her face burning hot as he stepped into his bathroom to run the tub. "I plan on kissing you very thoroughly for many, many days to come."

Her entire body felt like it was on fire as she moved towards his bathroom, stepped inside, and practically broke her neck looking away from the sight of his naked back.

"Sorry." She gasped, eyes finding the tile suddenly very interesting, and heard his low laugh as he moved towards her. She gathered every single ounce of the confident, cocky woman she usually was and dragged her eyes up his body, forcing her gaze not to linger...anywhere...for too long.

"Goodnight, Victoria." He said, very, very amused, damn him, and leaned down to kiss her forehead before he stepped into the bath.

Face still burning, feeling struck dumb, she whirled and moved back to her rooms as fast as possible, eager to take the coldest bath in Ravka as soon as possible.

Im excited for this extremely smutty mini series GO TO THE NEXT PART

#shadow and bone #nikolai lantsov #nikolai lantsov x reader #wattpad #nikolai x reader #shadow and bone imagine #fluff #six of crows #smut #nikolai lantsov smut #Ravka

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misrepresentedmorallygrey · 3 months

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PROPAGANDA

Tony Stark

The whole fucking point of this character is that he is an arrogant billionaire arms dealer who realizes that he Kind Of Sucks and consequently spends the next fifteen years trying to Not Suck to mixed but ultimately decent results. On one hand you’ve got the people who act like hes terrible and like I get it I would hate him in real life too but this is a fictional character and you have to admit theres more going here. On the OTHER hand are his legions of fans who insist that he has never done anything wrong ever, he is the smartest nicest little boy who isn’t actually even a little arrogant, and actually everyone who ever went against him even for understandable reasons (incl. very morally upstanding Captain America) is Evil, actually. I say this as a fan of the character: PLEASE you can like this man and have him suck a little at the same time!!!!! I am begging you!!!! Help!!!!

Literally a millionaire who started out manufacturing weapons for the military. Was then chased by the consequences of his actions while not making any sort of reparations. Of course stayed a millionaire the whole time. Then did not communicate with the team about making a sentient "suit of armor" that turned into a massive slaughter bot. People claim that this should be excused as a result of PTSD but is his responsibility to seek out help and he most certainly had access to whatever treatment he could choose as a -in his words- "millionaire playboy philanthropist". Then supported an accords rife with human rights violations that he was of course exempt from - and refused to hear any of the others rebuttals to it - like they were not millionaires and did not have access to entire legal teams that would work to exonerate them. Then exposes Clint's family and farm which he had revealed to Tony in confidence and kept secret from any authority to protect them. Then Tony spends the rest of Civil War trying to straight up murder Bucky - ignoring that it had already been established that Bucky had no agency nor autonomy in his time as the Winter Soldier, in doing so ignored the Accords he had advocated for. He then kidnapped a 16 year old child - who he did not tell why he was taking him - in direct contradiction with the accords and then allowed for Steve's team to be held in a maximum security prison with no trial. He then proceeded to refuse any sort of communication with Steve, resulting in a delay of him defending Earth from Thanos' invasion. After this - despite his failure playing part in the deaths of half the universe, and the child in front of him he treated as a son - he refused to rectify his failure because he had a family now - ignoring the literal entire universe who had lost their families. Upon his death he was treated as a hero and the one who saved the universe, despite his actions being that of hubris.

The Darkling

Okay so this guy is the main bad guy of the series. He made “the fold” this barren wasteland of darkness and monsters dividing the land, causing like hundreds of thousands of people to die. He killed his mom. He psychologically manipulated his girlfriend (like, he caused her to hallucinate and a whole bunch of other crazy stuff). He made one of his followers (a young girl) use her body to slowly poison the king over time. He started a cult. He did a LOT of crazy stuff. However, we do see his backstory of him as a kid, and learn that he did all this in the name of equality, so people would stop torturing and killing the ‘grisha’ or the witches/magic users. Later, he fakes his own death and starts a cult worshipping him and acts as the leader of the cult, going by his old name Aleksander. He is a very complicated character. So tell my why everyone thirsts after him and is like “he did nothing wrong” HELLO?! He is NOT your poor little meow meow he is complies please please don’t sanitize him

#misrepresented morally grey #bracket a #did nothing wrong bracket #marvel #marvel cinematic universe #tony stark #grishaverse #shadow and bone #the darkling #general kirigan

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luckys-last-brain-cell · 1 year

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I’ve encountered a surprising amount of people who don’t realise that the Grisha in Shadow and Bone are an allegory. The author, Leigh Bardugo, specifically wrote them with the intention that they should tell a fantastical and fictional story that reflects the experience of Russian Ashkenazim in the 20th century.

Worse still, I’ve seen readers and viewers who ignore the allegorical nature of the work because they are uncomfortable with the idea of Grisha being Jewish. They feel the Grisha become less relatable if they’re fantastical Jews, which is something to be unpacked in their own time and not taken out on Jewish members of the fandom. Some people have been accused of “making it about the Jews” because they brought up the parallel.

In short, the Grisha are a Jewish allegory, the persecution of Grisha is an allegory for Jewish persecution, and for non-Jewish fans to separate the Jewish elements from both the story and the author is either ignorance or (in the worst case) antisemitism.

#grishaverse #shadow and bone #six of crows #jumblr #judaism

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ryuichirou · 23 days

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Replies

A couple of replies with fandom stuff, then a couple of twst replies.

irregardlessly-tish asked:

A friend message me "YOU FOLLOW THE LEVI X GRISHA PERSON" and I had no clue what they were talking about but then they showed me the two pictures you drew of Levi and Grisha lol. It made me laugh a lot. Then I helped them found the uncensor version of one of the drawings in your pixiv since the link to twitter seem to be broken (I'm a great friend I know/j). I guess you could say they are big fans of your rarepair work!

LEVI X GRISHA PERSON AAAHH 😭 It’s always so funny to learn how people are referring to us; I was the Zevi artist, the Shroudcest artist… For some reason, being a Guriri (wow Grisha’s and Levi’s shipname is cute, I completely forgot about it) artist feels like such a high honour lol Especially because I had no idea there was someone out there invested in this ship. Your friend’s taste is excellent. A huge thank you to them for enjoying our stuff, and a huge thank you to you for helping to find the uncensored version. You really are a great friend hehe.

It’s honestly a shame that even the pixiv version is still censored (albeit not cropped like the tumblr version), because you can’t really post uncensored stuff there… So now only a few people who had saved our snk smut back when it was posted on our now-deleted twitter have it :(

(it’s a bit embarrassing looking back at those sketches and seeing all the mistakes though, yikes)

Anonymous asked:

I want to shake antis by the shoulders and scream at them all the time cause I see them being sooo unhealthy with themselves, and I've BEEN there I know what they are doing and I know it is just going to get them hurt with the same train wreck I got myself in!!

It's the whole problem with black and white thinking where you go "people treat incest shippers like satan himself, so I cannot accidentally enjoy it or I would be evil incarnate too, and adopted/step is the same thing, so I cannot accidentally like that, and found family is basically the same as adopted, so I have to avoid that, and character A called character B his bro one time, so..." that thinking pattern does not have a stopping point!!!!!! It is so unhealthy!!!!!!!!

And then people realize they can't stop themselves from enjoying unhealthy ships, and instead of separating fiction from reality, they just excuse everything abusive about the ship like it is fine and normal behavior because they cannot accept themselves enjoying something that is remotely problematic. It is so much more likely to get people hurt than just enjoying the porn of some fake brothers fucking 😭

Anon! First of all, sorry for replying late; we received your ask about a week ago but I didn’t have enough time to properly address it. Second of all, thank you for talking about it and sharing your experience.

It’s just like you said; people really don’t want to get ridiculed or hated, especially younger people, therefore, they are afraid of liking stuff that is even slightly problematic. And for some of them, if they don’t want their so-called friends to suspect them loving problematic stuff, they’ll act even more aggressive than they should to overcompensate. I feel like when it comes to antis who talk about us specifically, the most vocal and persistent ones are those whose friends called them out for following my accounts or liking my drawings. And this is honestly both sad and pathetic at the same time; I cannot imagine how bad of a headspace this might be. I don’t pity them though lol

We always talk about it, but still: this is a game you can’t win because the rules are always changing. The only thing that never changes is that there is no nuance, once the crowd decide that the ship is bad, it’s bad. Starting out with the basics, age gaps and incest are bad, right? Right. But what if the characters aren’t canonically related but could be interpreted as brothers? Then it’s still bad, right? But what if they aren’t at all brotherly, but one of them expressed that they want to do bad things to the other? Sounds bad, right? And thus, the only type of dynamic that exists is a romanticised version of a perfect gay couple: they are equal in every way, they love each other, they are SUCH DORKS together who fit perfectly to any “redraw this as your ship” meme that’s the hottest thing these days, they don’t have arguments, they don’t have misunderstanding and rough moments. Their personalities, everything that made their relationship unique or interesting completely disappears and smoothes out, and after that it’s not even a ship, it’s just a nice blend that is perfect for consumption because it doesn’t irritate your teeth, your throat, or your stomach. It’s tasteless, it’s boring, it’s nothing, and it’s not about the characters, it’s about deciding which two characters are unproblematic enough to be transformed into blorbos, and if they have some problematic elements in-canon, it’s okay, we’ll just erase those because being unproblematic doesn’t really matter. What matters is to act in a way that doesn’t go against what the rest of them are doing, because otherwise you’re making people uncomfortable, and if they are uncomfortable with you, they feel morally correct for attacking you.

It’s never about characters. It’s always about control, about cliques, about bullying and making everyone afraid to have an actual opinion. It’s about instilling in people’s mind that attacking strangers on the internet makes you a cool person because you are simultaneously a rebel for being so ballsy and brave, and a saint for having moral standards so high that you can’t stomach bad things even if they are fictional.

Sometimes people just have different ships and that’s okay. Sometimes people don’t have any ships and don’t understand the shipping culture, and that’s okay. What’s not okay is to feel entitled to this control over the way others consume media and interact with it.

Because it makes the fandom experience boring at best and unbearable at worst.

Sorry, I digress lol What I wanted to say is that you are right, it messes with people’s brains. And it is much more unhealthy than fantasising about the things that are 100% fictional (which is, by the way, a huge part of their appeal).

Anonymous asked:

just wanted to say I love your content a lot, it's a breath of fresh air from all the anti content present in the fandom

You are very welcome, Anon! And thank you so much for your support <3 It means a lot to hear that our stuff is refreshing to you.

Anonymous asked:

Is Lilia sneezing on people on purpose, or is it a sneeze button for him?

(this is related to this post)

We’ll never know, Anon, it’s one of Lilia’s many mysteries…

Maybe it started out as a joke, but then he really began to sneeze on people every time his nose gets booped lol

Anonymous asked:

Where can I see the art for the new Shaftlands event?

I don’t think all of them are fully out yet, but people are pretty active on twitter, so simply looking up characters’ names is probably going to work!

Anonymous asked:

…Quick, someone bully Idia into sending nudes.

And be quick about it because Idia could also quickly change his mind and hack the recipient’s phone to delete the pictures!!

#replies

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tirkdi · 8 months

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My Grisha Fic Masterlist

A list of fan fiction I’ve written for the Grishaverse! Rating is “Teen” unless otherwise noted. All book characterizations, mostly darklina.

Multichapter Complete

A Hundred Lifetimes Ago (Alina/the Darkling) (rating: M) (99k words): This fic explores the answers to three questions: What happened to Aleksander and Baghra in those years between Demon in the Wood and The Grisha Trilogy? How might the Darkling and Alina have pushed and pulled and eventually shaped each other if he had reacted to events at the Spinning Wheel differently? And, most importantly: after everything that was done to them, and everything they did to each other, what would it take for our Grisha trilogy immortals to be happy — or at least, have the potential to be?

This is a story of familial love and loss, and other types of love, and anger, and fear. It’s a story about what it means to be alone — and what it means to be together.

The Shadow of War (Alina Starkov/the Darkling, 135k words): Alina’s project in her last year of university has caught Ambassador Morozova’s attention. He convinces her to move to Ravka to bring solar energy to the villages; her role turns out to be much larger than that. Modern day AU and occasional retelling. Nothing Small about this Science.

The Wind and the Darkness (Zoya Nazyalensky, The Darkling): A triptych of scenes with Zoya & the Darkling set before, during, and after Shadow & Bone. Includes rumors, amplifiers, broken ribs, and Alina’s escape, all in the context of two egos large enough that one wonders they can fit in the same room.

Multichapter Incomplete

Mastering the Cut (Alina/the Darkling) (3/4 chapters): Dr. Morozova is a surgical prodigy and master of the cut. Dr. Starkov has the luck and misfortune of becoming his intern. Half crack.

One-shots

A Family Affair (Alina Starkov/Malyen Oretsev & the Darkling): Alina and Mal attend his family reunion. The Morozovas are also there. Features the Darkling’s Terrible Innuendos™. (tumblr)

Three's A Crowd (Alina Starkov/Malyen Oretsev & the Darkling): Immediately post-KoS. Alina and Mal's quiet night in Keramzin is interrupted by a newly not-dead visitor. They never made a very good trio. More of the Darkling’s Terrible Innuendos™.

Once Again, and Always (Alina Starkov/the Darkling): A bird falls in the darkness and becomes a husband. The Sun Summoner and the Darkling have worn a groove in the universe, and they get up once more to play their parts and say their lines. Deathless AU. (tumblr)

Legal Matters (Zoya/Nikolai) (rating: M): AU in which Nikolai & Zoya are lawyers who casually hook up. Mostly an excuse for banter. (tumblr)

Naming a King (the Darkling): Aleksander meets Alexander. Half a century-ish before Shadow & Bone. (tumblr)

Ficlets

Canon-compliant Aleksander gets a goat * Mal & the Darkling do dinner * Nikolai + Genya in the bathroom * A young Darkling visits Fjerda

Alina and the Darkling rule forever AU Salvation * Yahrzeit * Kittens * Pink * Honey * Blame * Do not. Tempt. Me. * Apologies to William Carlos Williams * Enemy

Other Ivan sides with Alina * Nikolina surprise * Alina as cryptographer * Zoya/Nikolai + honesty * Zoya/Nikolai + drinking * Zoya/Nikolai + bleeding * Alina/Darkling at the camera shop * The Sturmhond

#moving from a url to a post #pinned posts are a thing now!#late to the tumblr party but i brought cookies #grishaverse #grisha fic #darklina

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jomiddlemarch · 1 year

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My 18 yo offers up the following prompt to the Shadow and Bone fan fiction writing community:

“Knives Out x Shadow and Bone crossover: Benoit Blanc comes to the Little Palace and has to solve an Agatha Christie-like mystery. He’s not a Grisha though, he’s just Benoit Blanc.”

#shadow and bone #knives out #crossover crackfic prompt #free to all and sundry #when your mom is a fangirl #you are ready to come up with stuff like this #about me

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stromuprisahat · 1 year

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I do not understand Leigh Bardugo. At the risk of sounding like tokenism, she is a Jewish woman, based Grisha oppression on antisemitism, yet the Grishaverse is...like that. I'm not asking her to speak for all Jewish people but all the same it feels weird

I wouldn’t expect the author to comment on Jewish oppression in fictional world, or “speak for them”. I’m just disgusted by the unacknowledged (sub)text. If you draw inspiration from real-life genocide, insinuating it’s fine, because “they can fight back” is far from okay.

But this isn’t the only issue LB seems to have. There’s the blatant slut-shaming and lecturing on evil manipulative men, when the most realistic abuser remains romanticized...

If we accept TGT as a story inspired by her life, the amount of self-hatred would make me pity LB, but her attitude towards fans she disagrees with, makes it incredibly hard.

#reply #Leigh Bardugo #anti Leigh Bardugo #grishanalyticritical #Grishaverse #Grisha

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moonlightgrisha · 1 year

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Backstory 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

You told nobody about it. You sneaked out on purpose on a full moon's night to go play with moonlight, calling it upon your hands, letting it carry you a few feet off the ground. It felt good. The void inside you was filled with strenght.

Your mother found out.

She made you promise it would all stop. She told you about the horrible things that happened to those mingling with that kind of power. Back in Os Alta, at the Little Palace, they were sent to war, the same that killed your father.

She watched over you all the time, made sure you never glowed again. You were scared, now, and angry.

Time passed. Your sleepwalking got worse. You didn't play with your cousins anymore. You needed time alone. You read, and daydreamed.

Sometimes, in your room, at night, moonlight came to you. You just couldn't help it. Far from your mother's eye, you filled with hope.

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sassy-cass-16 · 1 year

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hate to put a downer in the tag but is anyone else majorly disappointed in s&b season 2? it feels like the show was rushing to get to all the "important bits" without giving them the weight and buildup they deserved. they front-loaded the entire plot of Crooked Kingdom and got to the ending of Siege and Storm in, like, episode 2. And that ending... holy shit, that sucked.

No white-hair-Alina, no orphanage happy ending for her and Mal, no mention of Alina's full-ass cult. Does no one remember the girl with suns tattooed on her face??? I do. she was cool. And what the fuck is up with David dying in the assault on the Fold? He wasn't supposed to die until Rule of Wolves, it makes no sense why they pushed his death to this season. They're clearly expecting to get a season 3, based on the ending with the Crows (which is, inexplicably, the hook of the book that came before the one they adapted for this season????) so why would they not expect to play David's death out the way it happened in the book? And, again, why the fuck did they front-load the plot of Crooked Kingdom? Why is Kaz's most famous scene just kind of tossed in the middle of the season with no actual narrative buildup? Why does the show feel like Matthias, of all people, needs to have beef with Pekka Rollins??? Those two characters have exactly nothing to do with each other--iirc, they don't even interact in the books. It feels like the writing team just sat around a table and went "ooh what if" until they wrote enough words to fill in a script. I can't tell if Leigh Bardugo gave all of this her blessing, or if she just looked away too long and they went rogue on her.

(side-note, killing the king and Vasily at the same time wasn't a great choice. the scene in the book where Nikolai looks his not father in the eye and tells him to get out, or he'll be charged for his crimes against Genya is such a good moment of catharsis for her character, and the queen isn't in enough of the show for her little replacement scene to fill that gap.)

And I know I've mentioned this before, but the Darkling's death in the show is robbed of its weight by the way the show treats the name Aleksander. It's tossed around so flippantly that Alina's final extension of respect for him--calling him by the name he had when he was innocent--feels like she's just... saying goodbye. She's using the name he's had this whole time, rather than specifically calling him Aleksander as a show of respect for the dead. The Darkling is supposed to be a tragic character--not likeable by any standard, he's thoroughly and truly the villain of the Grisha Trilogy, but you're supposed to understand that at one point, he was innocent. At one point, he could have done something good. His death is a reminder of that, in the books. In the show, all you really feel is relief that you don't have to listen to his manipulative dialogue anymore.

Honestly, the season doesn't suck. It's not bad (I have some extra gripes about the sound design but that's definitely a budget issue and not really anyone's fault), it's just disappointing. There were some bits I really did like, too!! Every scene with Genya in it was absolutely incredible, the show did her so well. The humour in this season was consistently good. Show-Wylan lives up to his book counterpart very well. And the subplot with the saint in Shu Han was really well-done, even if I do wish the show had kept the original catalyst for Jesper using his Grisha powers. I know the show can do the books justice (the two Nina and Matthias scenes in season 1 that are literally word-for-word accurate come to mind as examples), and I do want there to be a season 3 so I can find out where they're going with all this. I was just expecting better. I'm sure people who haven't read the books, or are more forgiving of "high-budget fan fiction" style adaptations will really enjoy it, and that's not bad by any means.

Idk. I was just hoping for something the show didn't want to give, I guess.

#long post #shadow and bone #shadow and bone s2 #shadow and bone spoilers #shadow & bone spoilers #shadow & bone

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darwinsfinchesx · 7 months

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9 Favourite Books

Thank you @daisymae-12 for the tag. Compiling this list made me realize I have read a grand total of 2 books this whole year, which is depressing for someone who calls herself a bookworm. I also realized that this list is very classics heavy but i guess you can blame by Eng Lit degree for that lmao.

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas: This is my current favourite book. It's a mammoth (at 1243 pages) but i wasn't bored for a minute. The story is so intricate and dense but its also fun to read it all culminate and make sense at the end. I cannot recommend this book enough.

Orlando by Virginia Woolf: This book is bizarre, convoluted and just plain wierd. It's also incredibly well-written , personal and is packed with wit and humor.

Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness: Don't let the horrendous Tom Holland movie sway you, this trilogy is genuinely amazing. Im very rarely moved to tears by any piece of literature but this series made me bawl my eyes out. Its a YA series unlike any ive read.

The Lord of the Ring Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien: The book and movie series are very close to my heart. As i child i was completely awestruck by the world Tolkien had created. The series has become a big source of comfort for me over the years.

Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie: This book is not everyone's cup of tea (my college roommate loathed it lol) but it's one of my all time favs. I think this is one of the most intelligent, complex and evocative pieces of work I've ever read.

Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo: I cannot possibly leave this duology out of this list. I rarely reread books but ive read both SoC and CK atleast 3 times and I never get bored of revisiting the Grisha world. Some of my all time fav characters belong to this series.

Know My Name by Chanel Miller: Should be a must read for everyone. That's all.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte: Reader, this is an excellent piece of literature and the one of the firsts which fueled by love for classics.

Maus by Art Spiegelman: Im a big fan of non-fiction graphic novels and Maus stands out in this (unfortunately small) genre. I loved the ingenuity of Spiegelman telling his father's experience of the Holocaust while imagining the characters as various animals.

Tagging anyone who wants to take up the challenge. I have no idea how many of my mutuals like reading sorry.

#tagged #text post #i suck at writing short reviews can you tell

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ofbreathandflame · 10 months

Note

I’m not sure if you want to answer this (you don’t if you don’t want to). When you say the X-Men thing fails what do you mean? I’ve seen it said a lot and just wanted your opinion

Hi anon! Sorry for just now getting to this its been sitting in my drafts bc I didn't want it to get deleted when I mass-deleted my anons and I totally forgot about the anons in my drafts! I will be getting to those too!

But sure I'd love to talk about this! I actually got something similar when I talked about my problems with Falcon and the Winter Soldier. In bits - I liked the show, but its focus on passivity and its demonization of radicalization (in response to Western imperialism and racism) is something I just could not get into. This is a problem I had (in retrospect) with AtLA and especially Legend of Korra.

The X-Men allegory - for all intent and purposes - is not a bad one. It makes sense within the narrative we're given in a vacuum. So the problem is never about the X-Men properties in the world. It's not a secret that the X-Men property is influenced by Civil Rights and so on the surface level - the problems that the mutants face run parallel to the ones we saw Black people facing. As an allegory, that's fine. But what happens with X-men (and many other pieces of media with fantasy racism) is that at many points the media (or the fans) always like...try to transcend the allegory by equating the fictional issue on par or even more important than the issue that influences them. Or the story tries to replicate systems of oppression while also insinuating that the people who traditionally deal with them are a part of the oppressive force. Or the allegorical piece of media implements a white savior to convey these points and then essentially sidelines the actual oppressed groups (* coughs LOUDLY* DISTRICT 9, AVATAR).

For example: Kitty Pride. I think all comic book heads already know where I am going with this. Kitty Pride and her use of the N world is just one moment out of many that the allegory begins to crumble. Because then the story is (1) acknowledging that racism as we know it actually exists in this universe (so anti-blackness, the civil rights moment, slavery, etcs. all exist within this world) and (2) the story is trying to make the point that the world 'mutie' is somehow just as bad or worse as the N-word. At this point, the story is transcending the idea of X-Men being just an allegory to the civil rights movement and it demonized the real implication of racism (and the people who still go through it) in the story. Of course - different comic book runs evoke different things - but I think many X-Men runs don't deny that racism as we know it, and history (more broadly) as we know it are things that are existent in the world. I also think that X-Men only works when we don't consider the history of racism and why it exists in the first place.

addition: and I think a good example of this recently is the story SIDELINING the black god-tier mutant - Darwin - while still trying to be an allegory. It's a very hard slap in the face IMO. like-- if the Xmen series is historically about civil rights and racism...its a wild choice to then kill off (or sideline if you count the unreleased) REAL LIFE embodiment of that struggle.

X-Men works in a vacuum. It doesn't really work past that. Nor do I think it always tries to, it's just a very good example of how fantasy racism doesn't equate to an understanding and consciousness of real-life racism. Hence why I also believe that fandom doesn't equal allyship.

But I also think that in this case and in the case of Shadow and Bone the allegory is only meant to inform. The Grisha may be informed by LB as a Jewish woman, but it isn't a 1:1 allegory. I think I would love to make a post about Children of Blood and Bone because it suffered the same problem too. It's a world that is informed by Tomi's identity as a Nigerian-American woman, but at some point in the story, the allegory merely informs the vague dynamics in the world. It's not like a 1:1 allegory. And some of the parts that are (i.e. the orishas, the racism, and the colorism) don't always mesh well with the story. And in that case (much the same with LB) all of the fantastical elements muddle some of the perspectives. But It would make sense that both and Jewish woman and a black/Nigerian woman would write stories that are influenced by their lineages. It doesn't always mean it works but it's there. It doesn't make them racist or anti-Semitic (which is honestly a very wild, and very unfair way of critiquing marginalized women's work). Did I like how Children of Blood and Bone turned out? No. Do I think Tomi is somehow anti-black because some of her ideas didn't mesh well with the story at hand? No. Not in a million years.

The idea that people have taken to is that LB's use of her own background to influence a fictional system = the story is a 1:1 rundown. It's not. Like Underworld: Rise of the Lycans was co-written by a black man (Kevin Greivioux - this was a fact that made me very happy when I was a little girl) and the conflict is partially influenced by issues of race. It's very apparent. But the story ends the allegory there. I remember running to look up who wrote that movie because even as a kid, I thought there were some subtle hints that a black person was partially involved. Sometimes, points are made. At the same time, the allegory doesn't equate to a 1:1 allegory. It's definitely informed by it, but it is still a story about vampires and werewolves. And even then it is just that: an allegory. Spiderman: Across the Multiverse was an allegory as well. Miguel was an allegory for how people denied that a black man could be Spiderman. Is Miguel racist in world? No. Does it inform the plotline - yes. But the story is also telling...a story. The whole anomaly plotline was very brilliantly done IMO. It's a very good example of how to integrate allegories for racism in a way that doesn't get meddled when the fantasy elements get added in.

#im not sure i wanna tag this #maybe just #x-men meta #fantasy racism #leigh bardugo #shadow and bone #marvel #children of blood and bone

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the--art--of--reading · 1 year

Text

I posted 18 times in 2022

18 posts created (100%)

0 posts reblogged (0%)

I tagged 17 of my posts in 2022

Only 6% of my posts had no tags

#book review - 17 posts

#booklr - 16 posts

#books & libraries - 15 posts

#ya books - 12 posts

#books and reading - 10 posts

#reading - 9 posts

#books - 7 posts

#ya fiction - 7 posts

#diversity in ya - 6 posts

#historical fiction - 5 posts

Longest Tag: 50 characters

#asian american and pacific islander heritage month

My Top Posts in 2022:

book review | The Marvelous

Author: Claire Kann

Genre: YA Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Mystery

Rating: ⭐⭐

From the blurb: The Marvelous “follows six teens locked together in a mansion, contending for a life-changing cash prize in a competition run by a reclusive heiress.”

Sounds good, right? Well, it wasn’t (at least for me). I really, really wanted to like this book. The representation was great, the premise sounded fun, and I wanted to give Kann a second chance after I DNF’ed her other novel, Let’s Talk About Love. Unfortunately, it failed to meet the hype.

The execution was terrible. The book has only 3 POVs, but is still confusing and lacks any distinction in character voice. Luna, Stella, Nicole, and Jewel felt like the same person. I'd get through an entire section and feel like I'd somehow skipped over a few paragraphs. The mystery game aspect was interesting, but it’s hard for readers to try and solve the clues because of how the plot is set up. The worldbuilding was vague--I'm still not exactly sure what Golden Rule is. All of these aspects put together made for a book I struggled to get through and characters I couldn’t connect to.

One thing I liked: the cover--I love seeing hand drawn artwork on books. Liz Dresner and Rachelle Baker did a great job with the design and artwork respectively.

While reading Goodreads reviews, I saw The Inheritance Games mentioned a few times. I’m not familiar with it, but it might be worth checking out if you’re looking for a different book with a similar premise.

15 notes - Posted January 9, 2022

quick review | Vengeance Road

Author: Erin Bowman

Cover Illustration: Teagan White (this cover is everything)

Genre: YA Fiction, Historical Fiction, Western

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Revenge is worth its weight in gold. When her father is murdered for a journal revealing the location of a hidden gold mine, eighteen-year-old Kate Thompson disguises herself as a boy and takes to the gritty plains looking for answers—and justice. What she finds are untrustworthy strangers, endless dust and heat, and a surprising band of allies, among them a young Apache girl and a pair of stubborn brothers who refuse to quit riding in her shadow. But as Kate gets closer to the secrets about her family, a startling truth becomes clear: some men will stop at nothing to get their hands on gold, and Kate’s quest for revenge may prove fatal.

I have never read a Western before and this book made me realize how much I’ve been missing. This was one of the most entertaining books I’ve read in a while. There is a wonderful balance of description and action, a morally gray protagonist, and a plot twist that brought the plot down perfectly. If you’re looking to try something new, but want to stick with YA, this is a read to consider.

28 notes - Posted February 28, 2022

book review (ramble) | Shadow and Bone

Author: Leigh Bardugo

Jacket Design: Natalie C. Sousa and Ellen Duda

Genre: YA Fantasy, Fantasy

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Finally, finally got to read this. I’ve been a Six of Crows fan for some time, but I’ve danced around getting deeper into the GrishaVerse as I’ve heard mixed reviews. Fantasy is an iffy genre for me, but Shadow and Bone managed to draw me in with excellent worldbuilding, mysterious characters, and plenty of dark elements. I really enjoyed Alina Starkov’s voice and experiencing the world of the Grisha through her eyes. I won’t go into the plot too much, but I do like the choices the author made in terms of pacing. Bardugo has masterfully set up this series and I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes (hopefully it won’t loose steam in the second novel as with other fantasy series). I can’t give any definite reviews yet, but if you liked Six of Crows (or any other magical/dark fantasy novels), Shadow and Bone is worth the read.

32 notes - Posted January 8, 2022

quick review | There There

Author: Tommy Orange

Cover Designer: Tyler Comrie

Genre: Adult Fiction

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Tommy Orange's wondrous and shattering novel follows twelve characters from Native communities: all traveling to the Big Oakland Powwow, all connected to one another in ways they may not yet realize. Among them is Jacquie Red Feather, newly sober and trying to make it back to the family she left behind. Dene Oxendene, pulling his life together after his uncle's death and working at the powwow to honor his memory. Fourteen-year-old Orvil, coming to perform traditional dance for the very first time. Together, this chorus of voices tells of the plight of the urban Native American--grappling with a complex and painful history, with an inheritance of beauty and spirituality, with communion and sacrifice and heroism. Hailed as an instant classic, There There is at once poignant and unflinching, utterly contemporary and truly unforgettable.

A powerful book, an unforgettable book, an important book that adds so much to the understanding of what it means to be an urban Native American. This book is written from the perspectives of multiple characters which made the narration shifts and time jumps a little disorienting, but I eventually found my groove. Orange writes with such a confidence that forces the reader to pay attention to the realities he is conveying. This is a must add to your reading list.

174 notes - Posted March 1, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

quick review | American Betiya

Author: Anuradha D. Rajurkar

Cover Art: Saqiba Suleman

Cover Design: Angela Carlino

Genre: YA Fiction, Romance, Realistic Fiction

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was a rollercoaster of a book. I thought the premise was interesting, but the first few chapters almost lost me. I struggled to connect with Rani and the decisions she made and the parts with Oliver were uncomfortable to read at times. In the end, I do appreciate this novel for the story it tells. Shedding light on the intersections between culture and identity and toxic relationships is not easy to do, but Rajurkar does it with wisdom and authenticity.. My favorite sections had to be Rani's time in India and the realization and healing that came with it. This book is hard to read at times, but worth it for the themes it holds.

469 notes - Posted February 5, 2022

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#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #book review #books and reading #books #booklr #100th post

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