#i am also not really a fantasy person

[squash1]

ok book club <3 what are we reading that’s actually good and would maybe fill the trc shaped hole in my soul???? and don’t say reread. unless you say reread the dreamer trilogy because i’m so close to giving into the urge.

please. please. give me your suggestions.

as a frame of reference here are non-trc books i love & would recommend (different content, same soul):

watch over me by nina lacour

in memoriam by alice winn

under the whispering door by tj klune

these violent delights by micah nemerever

the anthropocene reviewed by john green

summer sons by lee mandelo

a tale for the time being by ruth ozeki

i need an actual book club but tumblr took away my group chats :(

anyway love you please give me suggestions!!!!!

#i am also not really a fantasy person #BUT i like magical realism (i just don’t like the whole world building thing personally) #thank you #and maybe let’s all be best friends and read books together #trc #bookblr #book recommendations #book recs #the raven cycle #the dreamer trilogy #maggie stiefvater #nina lacour #alice winn #in memoriam #under the whispering door #these violent delights #micah nemerever #the anthropocene reviewed #summer sons #lee mandelo #a tale for the time being #ruth ozeki

[beskarfrog]

@limnsaber tagged me in this and.... you know i had to do it to 'em

when his idea of a romantic weekend getaway is being chased by a swarm of evil supernatural bugs (din is hoping for a real vacation soon)

#resurrecting the xfiles au bc limn is my favorite forever and i love that episode #dinluke #the mandalorian #digital art #dinluke art #xfiles au #limnsaber #the xfiles luke is shorter than regular luke for two reasons #one: the height difference between mulder and scully is important to their dynamic and must be preserved #two: gillian anderson is 5'3“ and i am also 5'3” and as a masc nb person i am projecting my shortness onto trans xfiles luke #if you don’t see yourself in the media you make your own lol #fr tho luke and din are both really interesting studies in masculinity as they are both power fantasies but also really invert traditional #masc stereotypes and i think thats one of the reasons i love them both so much

[prince-liest]

I’m reading Witch King by Martha Wells, and now that I have read more than one (1) series by this author, I have been suddenly brained with a two-by-four sharpied over with “realizing that I really enjoy novels by Martha Wells because they live in the specific niche created by the intersection of casually and thoroughly queer casts and non-romance storylines”

I am as ever a sucker for non-human main characters struggling with their very human feelings, which is why I jumped on Witch King the moment I saw “the author of Murderbot wrote another book with a main character that’s non-human,” but I live in this dichotomy where I can really enjoy reading queer romances but I don’t really identify with non-ace characters (which is not actually something I figured out how to differentiate until I was Last Week Years Old). so there are lots of books out there that I enjoy reading but it’s comparatively rare for me to read something that feels like it was written For Me and Martha Wells does that very well

anyway, give me more ace it-pronouns human-spliced robot main characters and people-eating demons who consider rank over gender when finding new bodies to inhabit

#text posts #martha wells #witch king #personal #her castes and universes are also very culturally and ethnically diverse but I've had ace-ness on the mind lately #so it was relevant to my ongoing thoughts #I never really read books that are advertised as specific types of diversity representation #especially with queer books what I like to read is books that are very queer but aren't ABOUT being queer #so I tend to steer clear when people are like read this the mc is a nonbinary lesbian witch without even really saying what the plot is #but martha wells writes books that are queer and brown and INFLUENCED by being queer and brown but #the characters still get to have their stories be ABOUT whatever fun sci fi fantasy shenanigans are ongoing #((inb4: this is my preference not an overal value judgment)) #((I just want to read the same books I read when I was a little kid and have them just ALSO be lovingly diverse)) #((and I only really read SFF)) #in other news I was trying to figure out how to name my flavor of ace #and then I looked up the difference between demi and gray #and I realized gray is what I am looking for #very very dark gray

[hanzajesthanza]

the scene i find most relatable in all of the witcher saga is ciri in the korath desert, and idk what that says about me, but… probably nothing good 😅🙃

#i am emotionally connected to these events and her characterization during this chapter in ways i can’t even understand #this chapter is also probably singlehandedly why i think the witcher makes a brilliant YA series even if it’s not originally marketed as YA #ch 6 toc is excruciating but it is so cathartic and relieving to read :’( #because every young person has felt betrayed abandoned powerless and lost #ciri’s entire feeling beginning here which she recounts in ttos ch 1 to vysogota #that she felt so betrayed by the morals and goodness which geralt instilled in her because it was useless and did not save her #the whole series is about: if goodness does not save then what is the point of being good #and then when she goes insane from fire magic and shouts she’s going to make cabbages grow in the desert #this entire chapter is just what teenhood-young adulthood is like lmao #oscillating rapidly between ‘i am going to die here i am utterly powerless’ and ‘I CAN DO ANYTHING’ #and her revenge fantasy exploding into killing everyone she loves because paranoia says they will also one day betray her #idk what else to say. really hit the nail on the head with ciri’s character. i understand now how she is the evil and geralt is the good #the elbow high diaries

[youweremyversaillesatnight]

i love fantasy high and i’m so invested in every choice they’re making but also. i have never been so anxious over a story in my entire life.

#i really didn’t expect it to hit so hard #but they made it back home and everything was different and people were leaving and i just. #i’m at a point in my own life where everything is changing so to have a (generally) lighthearted show shift tone completely to match that #well. i am. doing great (in the same way the bad kids are doing great. which is to say. not at all) #i’m enjoying the story! it’s my first time watching a fh season as it drops! this is only my second full d20 season! #however i am also full of anxiety and stress #i am. in fact. going into a worry. #losing all of the comfort npcs is good narratively but bad for me personally #fhjy #fantasy high #d20 #dimension 20

[dramatic-dolphin]

making gendered 3rd person singular pronouns for your conlang? boring. making a ton of 1st person singular pronouns that denote a bunch of things which can be gender (but is usually not)? NOW we're talking.

#non-exhaustive list of what the 1st person singular pronouns in my fantasy conlang mean: #your humblest servant #your humblest servant but also i'm nonbinary #i am extremely detached from this situation and don't care about you #i am so fucking important and probably a woman or royalty #i am but a child/very young person from the countryside and i don't know anything aw shucks #i am wise and respected OR i am a history nerd. it's anyone's guess really #i am DEFINITELY a history nerd (masculine edition)

[magniloquent-raven]

yall mfers need to stop

#gay characters written with a straight audience in mind are a thing im not denying that #like 95% of one-off queer storylines in the early 2000s were just #''hello i am a gay. i have just enough personality to pass as human in the eyes of the audience. #now let me explain why you should treat me like a person'' #but my god have people taken this phrase and run all the way into hell with it #if i see one more person saying heartstopper is for straight people im gonna start biting throats out #it was created by a queer person first of all #and second of all they did not write an entire subplot about there being no age limit on discovering who you are #for STRAIGHT PEOPLE #that wasn't for them!! it was for all the people in their 30s who watched the first season #and cried their eyes out because they were seeing all the things they never got to have #im so tired yall #i stg any queer media that's even remotely lighthearted or optimistic #is immediately called ''sanitized'' or rejected as some fantasy aimed at straight ppl who dont want to deal with harsh realities #when that just isnt fair at all #also side note the post i saw that prompted me to make this also put ''pretty much all queer media made in asia'' on the list #of queer media for straights #which. feels racist. #i really dont have much of a frame of reference for queer anime/kdramas/cdramas etc. but the generalization feels sketchy #idk man i feel like there's a certain segment of the community who will just say anything they dont like is not For Us #like just because it isn't for YOU doesnt meant no one in the community can relate to/enjoy it ffs

[icewindandboringhorror]

I know multiple of these are likely important to people, but I'm asking in terms of like - which of these do you tend to focus on the MOST, enjoy the most, that is most essential for you to actually care about the media, etc.?

(For example: someone finding "Relatability" most important would likely not enjoy a show much if they have trouble empathizing with the characters/relating to it, even if it were good otherwise. Or, someone might be able to overlook bad acting and ugly costumes, as long as the Character Dynamics are fun to them, because they value that more than Aesthetics- while for others, bad costumes would be a dealbreaker.)

Also feel free to reblog and explain your answer or more information in the tags- I've always been curious about people's relationships to media, how they conceptualize it/what they get out of it, how some people value some parts more than others, how that informs their overall taste and genres they may be more inclined towards, etc. :0c

#I was having a conversation with a friend about our favorite type of media and they said the reason they DON'T like historical or fantasy #media or etc. is because they can't imagine themselves being in those situations like it's too detached from anything that they can relate #to personally. they put themselves in the shoes of the characters and apparently like feel emotions while watching stuff and actually #get into the way the characters are feeling so they kind of judge how 'good' or 'bad' a show's writing/setting/etc. are by how it makes #them feel and if they think the characters reacted realistically based on what they were feeling in the moment/what in their head they #would be feeling if they were in the postion of the character. SO apparently the distance of it being in an unrelatable setting or too #detached from our reality makes it harder for them to relate to and less able to really engage with it on that level. WHEREAS I watch #things exclusively in a very like.. detached way?? I'm INTERESTED.. it's like im intellectually analyzing everyhting that's happening and #can be intrigued by events but it's not in an emotional way? More of like a distant 'intellectual curiosity'. Maybe the premise or the #aesthetics or something about it has piqued an interest for me to observe it. to see what it's like or how it plays out. how the idea #is executed or etc. But like.. I cannot remember EVER really relating to any character or situation or projecting onto a character #or having those sorts of feelings or investment in it. That is just not a central part of why/how I watch things or what I care about #BUT after this I was thinking maybe this is my disconnect? I do not seem to conceptualize media the way some other people do and I often #walk away with an entirely different take on things. etc. So I wonder if maybe it's part of how everyone values different things probably? #maybe I literally just watch stuff and percieve it from a different frame of mind that others. More of a like detached curiosity #vaguely bemused analysis mode. Instead of a 'I am deeply emotionally invested in this and am feeling for all the characters' mode #And also I bet people who care more about plot/story are also the people who mind spoilers. Whereas for me I literally seek out spoilers #intentionally because that element of 'suprise ooh what will happen next!' is not central at all to my enjoyment. I could know literally #everything that will happen and still can find it interesting to observe - since for me #that's not the point. I'd rather know the ending so I can determine whether I want to invest the time in it in the first place. etc. #ANYWAY!! If I had to choose - I would say I'm usually heavily focused on world details and aesthetics. With only a slight preference #towards characters individually being interesting. Group dynamics can sometimes be okay but I get tired of everything being about relations #hips and romance - especially when sometimes it seems to be like. people who could not stand on their own as a character/are fundamentally #boring otherwise lol. I would watch a series of just one guy locked in a closet talking to himself as long as he was interesting and saying #things that were amusing or notable for some reason lol. I actually tend to dislike plot because most 'plot heavy' things like action focus #ed shows ALWAYS feel to me like they're moving so fast just to get from one thing to another that I'm not getting enough details. Part of #why I tend to not like movies. the time limit makes them too quick. I need a 95 hour expostion dump of the history of the entire world #and a series of 17 episodes straight where a guy is trapped in a room & the audience is just psychoanalyzing him. hghj.. Maybe I find all #characters annoying/unrelatable bc people w my personality type make bad characters/are not often represented (or are done BADLY). so then #I'm just picking 'who is the LEAST insufferable? who could i study like a lab rat?' whilst my main focus is the worldbuilding&costumes lol

[thebest-medicine]

randomly found this book on my library app and read it today…….. creepy story involving a “real” (but really imagined kinda) tickle monster

ahehfjgjfkgkgkglgkhlj

#just read this it’s pretty short and creepy but #you know me I do be readin #tickling #the tickle monster #tickle monster #books #not really anything exceptional but #spooky stories #tickle media #also why does this remind me of things I used to imagine as a child lol #there was this octopus creature tickle monster I was like scared / excited about that I imagined #also had nightmares as a kid about a tickle monster giraffe that I called the yellow thing when I was like 3 #had nightmares repeatedly as a kid that it would sneak into my room and tickle me with its mouth / horns #also had a few dreams about tentacles being at the bottom of a pool and pulling me under and tickling me #ALSO had a few dreams about being trapped mid-section down in ice that is just a few inches thick and then my lower body is trapped in water #and there’s underwater creatures / octopuses that came and tickled me and #I am realizing I had a LOT of weird dreams thoughts fantasies even from a very young age lol #HOW DID BRAIN BECOME LIKE THIS AHHH WTFFFFFF #the psychology of knismos is so interesting #personal #ramblings

[alienheartattack]

Me: All fanfiction is valid!

Also me, gripping my bejeweled chalice in rage: Character x reader is a pox upon the land

#HOT TAKE ALERT #i don't wanna yuck people's yum but i hate that shit #it is fundamentally bad writing because y/n is not a character to be developed #i am also just generally in favor of putting at least *some* veneer of creativity on your wank fantasy #cxr is just mask off fapping #and it feels weirdly low effort compared to the alternatives #i don't think you can really improve very much as a writer if you exclusively write character x reader #it's too awkward to sustain a plot so you just get oneshots and pwp #which have their purpose but you don't want those to be the only tools in your toolbox #not to mention that a lot of the characters read as OOC since we can't see their development of their relationship with y/n #on a personal level it doesn't appeal to me because i don't want to fuck the characters #idk i wonder if cxr is the new mary sue self insert but if so it's less creative than develping an OC! #i'd rather see a million obnoxiously perfect mary sue OCs than a single y/n #fanfic is a labor of love and i wanna see that WORK

[saturdaynightghostclub]

Literally do not even mind me, just yelling at clouds, but I’m not playing when I say I actually need everyone on the bookish internet to read at least one essay, short story, novel, etc by Ursula K. Le Guin before you complain about how there’s no good fantasy or science fiction these days.

She will ruin your life and your ability to consume genre fiction without seriously interrogating its motives, but I can guarantee you she will put a name to the thing that’s been bothering you and you will finally know why you’re having a hard time with contemporary fantasy.

#just because I’ve been seeing some frustration re: fantasy lately #personally I’ve been discontent with most fantasy and I really am a fantasy lover most of the time #but socially and politically a lot of it is just extremely white western colonialist etc even more recently #and i think you cannot separate that from the current cultural moment esp in the context of war and violence #and i’m not inclined to let romantasy off the hook either because it’s also wildly susceptible to this shit #i’m looking at that absolute garbage book fourth wing #i’m not saying we all need to be writing dissertations but i do think some of the frustration comes from this cultural awareness we have #and the ways in which that consciousness is at odds with the principles of western fantasy #anywayyyy #goodnight I kinda want to write something long again

[foxceus]

➰

#gbf #granblue fantasy #caim (gbf) #geo (gbf) #my art #i infected my friend with evoker lore and they said that geo and caim would be friends #it would probably start off rough... theyre both stubborn and dont trust easily. but their personalities really are Similar #geo might be curious abt caim being a pactbearer too... and i could see him making excuses about thats the reason he talks to caim #of course its just because they have good chemistry... also they would play board games together and geo could keep up with caim #anyway... thats all. thanks for reading if you did. rbs always appreciated over likes #i am a small artist... if u like it... rb it... thank u...

[void-botanist]

Sheri: A Powerpoint Intro

It is here! A tiny bit of background: Sheri is sort of a companion to Triad, in the sense that it shows some of what happened to the other ex-heir to the Navaren throne, but it takes place after it (by at least 3 months). Also maybe someday I'll come up with a better title for it.

Anyway please enjoy this introduction to fantasy disaster gays.

#believe it or not Niran is an OLD old canon character who I just never did anything of substance with #he was Seriito's 'commoner' friend. because when I was like 10 I thought it was important that the royals had commoner friends #I'm glad to be doing something interesting with him. he is THRIVING in this college environment #I think Niran and Aza would get along really well. they're both animals people #also. 'seducing Gannet' is shorthand for 'Sheri got on fantasy grindr found Gannet and explained they had no more classes together' #'and Gannet accepted this as a fuckportunity' #I also decided on the name Gannet because you will take Negleeglo from my cold dead hands but it's unwieldy #however now I have a basic process for how their language forms nicknames which is awesome #and Gannet is a cool name #and yes. sheri asks kirnus personal questions. this is truly what the 'mega hate' section is for: bad things that are gonna happen #this was what was funniest: sheri panicking about never having hooked up with a trans guy because he wants to Be Good At It #as though asking your sister's trans partner is a way to Know How To Do This #anyway. I'm so excited about this #idk when I'm gonna write it but boy am I gonna rotate it #wip: sheri #powerpoint #rose brambles #undescribed

[235uranium]

back from the barbie movie and I certainly have Thoughts on what the movie was doing but overall I do think it's worth seeing! it's fun

#☢️.txt #spoilers in tags! #i think what they did with ken is actually really fascinating and while i do get why the movie doesnt focus on his motivations #or the fantasy politics of barbieland #i AM personally interested in them #like his frustration is coming from a legitimate place and the movie does acknowledge that both barbie (margot) and the barbies overall were #Not In The Right and its not the actual solution to the issue of feminism #in the same way that the movie acknowledged that barbie didnt solve feminism and in many cases ended up playing into #the very ideas that prevent women from pursuing the jobs barbie is often shown in #im sure ppl will critique the movie for not going far enough but like. i dont think their point was to make a massive statement? #so much as it was to make a campy blockbuster that gently acknowledges the ways people can so often feel left out #its not the feminist piece of a generation so much as it is a love letter to barbie that acknowledges how shes #an inherently flawed consumerist brand. but one thats deeply cherished by generations and has left a massive pink stamp on our culture #(its probably worth noting that i have generally positive memories of barbie) #(despite being a weird fat kid i never personally felt alienated by barbie and my memories are extremely fond) #(i didnt like baby dolls bc. i never have liked kids but barbie was a fantasy in sparkly dresses) #(she was married to my dinosaur toys. ive always known what im about yes) #my favorite barbies were swan lake a halloween witch barbie and a halloween ghost barbie #(also idk is this an autistic thing for me to only learn most young girls compared their bodies to barbie at like 14?) #(like it just never dawned on me to compare my looks to a toy tbqh. i was more upset by the actual lack of clothing in my size)

[sorceresslodge]

anyway all that being said: here's saera's playlist.

#cytherea.txt #oc: saera #it's weird but i actually am really proud of the fantasy instrumental to the bidding opening up with this choral part before becoming poppy #so my personal annotations are: the bidding is kalen's theme and when he comes into her life #labour and EVIL are about her breakup with lolth #the sweet escape is obvious lol but it's about escaping the underdark and that theme of “you made me a bitch so put up with it” #and cult of dionysus is about her finding eilistraee #nobody is about her sort of her isolation and it's not the WORST her life has been but also... my god i'm so lonely #relay and can't catch me now are her escaped the cycle of violence songs (haha... unless..?)

[obstinatecondolement]

Try though I may not to get invested in people who are Perfect Strangers to me just because they have an affable online persona, I do find myself very endeared to Brandon Sanderson. I have read none of his books, but I think his YouTube videos are very enjoyable and I am much relieved that he has both vocally affirmed his support of LGBTQ+ people in general, and trans people specifically, and has apologised (in a way that seems very sincere and earnest to me) for clumsy and unintentionally homophobic things he has said in the past. Which is, like, more than can be said of some fantasy authors.

#I knew vaguely that he was a member of the church of lds and was like... wary #but he seems to be taking the position that if mormonism is going to get less hostile to lgbtq+ people #that can only be accomplished by sincerely devout lgbtq+ allies staying in the church and making it a more inclusive and welcoming place #which I like... feel is misguided #but also I was not raised mormon and do not have a mormon spouse and family and I am not a sincere believer in the mormon faith #so it is very easy for me to say 'just don't be a mormon anymore' #he also says some stuff I feel is reeeally misguided about how it's good actually that dead people can be baptized mormon #and that mother theresa was good #and communism is bad #but like... I think he is a sincere and kind person who is trying his best #and I appreciate the honesty of him saying 'I believe these things and I won't pretend I don't' #I like when people don't humour me and really do try to be my ally instead of just repeating the party line so I don't think they're Bad #and given that his views on the queer community have evolved #I don't think it's impossible that he could realize a few years down the line that it is not okay to baptize the dead into your religion #but also as I said up top: brandon sanderson is a complete stranger to me and I should not devote this much time and mental energy #to trying to better understand his true character‚ values and beliefs #because that is not relevant to me or something I can ever know #@me just enjoy him being enthusiastic about writing fantasy novels on youtube in an unreflective and uncomplicated way‚ you big weirdo