#i highly recommend doing this if you are a shy author struggling to post stories

[daydreamorama]

I posted 944 times in 2022

That's 833 more posts than 2021!

48 posts created (5%)

896 posts reblogged (95%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@foxofninetales

@hils79

@eirenical

@staidwaters

@nightxshade

I tagged 884 of my posts in 2022

Only 6% of my posts had no tags

#dmbj - 298 posts

#meta - 118 posts

#comic art - 55 posts

#writing - 45 posts

#a03 - 41 posts

#the untamed - 38 posts

#heroes - 31 posts

#guardian - 30 posts

#liu sang - 22 posts

#heroes 2022 - 21 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#i thought this was planned betrayal and wuxie's heartbreak cause he didn't want to fake betray su mengzhen despite having promised he would

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Chapter 4 is here!!!

Liu Sang/Wang Pangzi/Wu Xie/Zhang Qiling

Additional Tags:

Alternate Universe - Space

Bai Haotian and Kan Jian have minor appearances

Asexual Zhang Qiling

Asexual Character

Chronic Pain

Massage

Getting Together

Established Relationship

established iron triangle

Mental Link

5 notes - Posted August 1, 2022

#4

AAAAAAHHHHHHHH YOURE WATCHING MEDICAL EXAMINER DR QIN I LOVE THEMMMMMMMMM IM SO GLAD YOU ARE!!!!!

I am!!! Thank you (for putting random shows on my dash to pique my curiosity)! I've probably watched every English speaking drama of this category (modern, medical examiner/crime) and I'm absolutely loving Medical Examiner Dr Qin. I am now ... 6 episodes in.

So far, would highly recommend to anyone who hasn't seen it (though it came out in 2016? so ... not sure how I haven't discovered before now!)

Li Dabao is an absolute delight and I love everything about her character.

6 notes - Posted February 7, 2022

#3

My gen exchange fic!

Category: Gen

Fandom: 盗墓笔记 - 南派三叔 | The Grave Robbers' Chronicles - Xu Lei

Relationships: Wang Pangzi & Zhang Qiling Hei Xia Zi & Zhang Qiling

Characters:Zhang Qiling Wang Pangzi Hei Xia Zi (DMBJ Series)

Additional Tags: Hei Xiazi is more always on Xiaoge’s mind than part of the action Sharing Clothes Zhang Qiling Needs a Hug Zhang Qiling GETS a hug Kittens Cats so many cats Alternate Universe Animal Shelter First Meetings Wu Xie makes a guest starring

Summary:

‘Get a dog,’ Hei Xiazi had said. Xiaoge discovered cats suited him more.

Author Notes:

Funny Story, this was originally supposed to be about dogs not cats, because I am a Dog Person. Xiaoge said no. Consequently I watched a LOT of cat and kitten videos on tumblr.

Also the main Reason Wu Xie is not in this story much, is that every time he turned up and I tried to write him, he went full on feral 'what do you mean this is a 'gen' fic' on me, so he was banned.

9 notes - Posted May 15, 2022

#2

Medical Examiner: Dr Qin Review

To start, thank you @s1utspeare for turning me onto this show.

TL;DR: I loved it, the chemistry between the three main characters was off the charts, and Li Dabao is the most awesome character ever. It is 20 short 30ish minute episodes. For me, it is also very aro/ace friendly.

So I am biased. I have probably watched (or at least checked out), ever american (and probably some english-speaking non-American) show of this category. Mainly modern Crime Scene dramas. This one definitely follows that mold, (beyond some small differences (probably cultural)), this met expectations for it's category 100%.

I will warn this show is... very very gore-y in parts, and much more graphic than American Crime drama's tend to be. So if you don't like seeing blood, dead bodies, and other things involved in autopsies, maybe skip, or be prepared to look away. (I am not kidding, we are talking like Hannibal levels here).

There are three main characters, but I'm going to say, for me, Li DaBao is absolutely the star of the show. She is a woman in a male dominated career, and they don't shy away from making this clear, and making her struggles more obvious than I usually see. As a fellow woman in a male-dominated field, I identified so hard. She at times portrays as more masculine with her style of clothes and hair, perhaps it's to fit in, perhaps it's her own style, and her colleagues refer to her as Bao-ge (brother Bao), which I took as a sign of 'you are one of us' and 'you belong'. (I fully recognize some people may find this problematic, for me I love when my coworkers first assume I am a man, since it means they will respect me. (yay remote work making this possible)).

The friendship between the three characters is just off the charts. There are so many moments they are just THERE for each other, and the way they bounce off each other is just so good. If I could watch this show and it was just 20 episodes of them eating dinner and nothing else, I would love it.

The show is mostly your crime of the week style. (though in typical c-drama fashion I am still confused on why episodes end. Most of the crimes are about 1.5-2.5 episodes long and new cases start in the middle of episodes, so don't watch based on the episodes)

Spoilers behind the cut. (like really)

OMG That ending!?! That was the most intense hourish of my life.

The way Qin Ming kneeled without even a hint of hesitation or anything, just, couldn't drop down fast enough. Best kneeling scene I've seen in C-drama.

My other favorite Scene was when Lin Tao tried to set Qin Ming and Li Dabao up, and failed so miserably. I really hope there's fanfic around that.

I also loved Li Dabao going on blind dates, and the anti she had to meet and her absolutely glorious put down of the guy who asked her to change her career. And then we find out it's the 9th time this happened, and it makes her hilarious put-down incredibly sad because it's not that she just pulled that answer out cause she's awesome (which she is), it's because this KEEPS happening. and the Fact the other two mains always went to the same restaurant to watch her, (with her permission and knowledge I'm assuming from the reaction) and commiserated. Just So Great.

Anyways I have a lot of feels. There's just so much.

19 notes - Posted February 14, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Note: Just a little Heroes drabble for my favorite polycule. I might turn it into a real story later but for now have this modern day everyone's happy and together snippet that I keep rereading whenever I remember how the show ended.

“You’re our sword,” Bai Choufei giggled, drunk, “Sheath, I mean sheath. You’re our sheath.”

Bai Choufei swayed into Wang Xiaoshi, before he steadied himself and went stumbling into Su Mengzhen.  Su Mengzhen smiled fondly down at Bai Choufei.

“So many men hugging!” Wen Rou stated, pouting. 

Wang Xiaoshi turned around and enveloped her in a hug.  Her chest was softer than Bai Choufei’s, and he might be a little drunk himself.  Wen Rou pushed him away and he let himself be pushed, worried for a moment, before he spotted her smile and she playfully shoved him.  He playfully shoved her back.  

Lei Chun rolled her eyes from where she was sitting at the kitchen table doing… something studiously, perhaps the only sober one, though with Su Mengzhen you really could never tell.

Wen Rou wandered off, distracted apparently by Lei Chun’s ‘perfectly shiny smooth hair’.  Wang Xiaoshi watched her go, content.

“Sap,” Bai Choufei said from beside him and mustled up his hair.  Wang Xiaoshi smiled up at him.  

—

Wang Xiaoshi woke up slowly, head aching.  He carefully extricated himself from Wen Rou’s arms and Bai Choufei’s legs, sliding out the end of the bed.  Su Mengzhen and Lei Chun were both still surprisingly asleep, usually they got up before him, and they had perhaps been the most sober the night before.

He wandered into the kitchen and spotted Yang Wuxie in the kitchen.  Yang Wuxie spotted him and poured him a large mug of tea from  the teapot at his elbow and shook out an aspirin from the pill bottle next to it.

“Thanks Zhushi,” Wang Xiaoshi mumbled.  Perhaps it was weird to  call your boyfriend’s boyfriend’s boyfriend ‘advisor’, but the nickname had long since stuck.  It was probably odder to have a bed that fit six (custom made), and a relationship so complicated it required flow charts anyways.  “Ugh remind me not to get into a drinking contest with Wen Rou again.”

Yang Wuxie had the gal to laugh at that.  “I think you’ll find I did.  Last night.”

Wang Xiaoshi groaned.  Every time. 

note; (I'm pretty sure Zhushi is not the right pinyin)

27 notes - Posted July 1, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

[calltomuster]

Star Wars Fic Recs Part the Fourth

[first fic rec list] [second fic rec list] [third fic rec list]

Been a few weeks since I've done one of these and I've read/reread some great fics recently so let me share them with you now!

And I Fear Nothing by @maiseey (Obi-Wan/Cody, WIP, 11/? chapters, 43.4k words) Picture this: I am sitting in the parking lot of my local grocery store, having just bought a load of perishables. I get the email that And I Fear Nothing has just been updated. What do I do: run home to preserve the food I just paid for, or sit in my car and read the new chapter right away? The answer is obvious, of course! That is exactly the situation I found myself in last week when chapter 11 dropped and I did in fact choose to read it in spite of my groceries, that's how much I love this fic. In this fic, Obi-Wan and Cody are raising Luke and Leia together on Tatooine, and they've got so much trauma, and new + old wounds, and love for each other and the children they're raising that it both warms your heart and tears it apart. But that's not all, this fic expands beyond just the small home in the middle of the Jundland Wastes and explores Ahsoka and Rex and their journey to de-chip as many clones as possible. I love this fic because it doesn't shy away from hard conversations, but it does it in a way that makes you want to cry and give everyone involved a hug. Plus, there are some fantastic minor clone characters that you will 100% want to die for by the time you finish reading. Cannot recommend this fic enough.

Obligate by @communistkenobi (gen, one-shot, 23.9k words, Obi-Wan & Anakin & Ahsoka) Just when you thought the Deception arc didn't have enough pain, this AU sees Anakin fake his death instead of Obi-Wan! My heart is physically ripped out of my chest just thinking about this fic, so imagine what it'd do to you actually reading it. Anything @communistkenobi writes is so well-done and I've gone through his works list on AO3 multiple times, but somehow I missed this when it was first posted and it was like a wonderfully delightful surprise when I ran into it the other day. So, so good. Highly recommend!

Moirai by damonkey (gen, WIP, 4/? chapters, 9.2k words, Obi-Wan & Qui-Gon) All I can really say about this fic without giving anything away is that it's a Phantom Menace AU and it's so intriguing. The author is very deliberate in having a vague summary and only tagging as the story progresses, so I truly have no idea what's ahead of me but it's so -- as I said -- intriguing that I'm happy to strap into the ride. Ahhhh I'm skimming through the fic and there are so many things I want to mention but I don't want to give anything away!

Almost Home by @frunbuns (gen, one-shot, 5.2k words, Obi-Wan & Anakin) You know, every time I recc a Modern AU I'm like "I don't usually like Modern AUs but..." and then proceed to gush over the fic. I went and checked and I've recced a Modern AU on almost every fic rec list I've made! Maybe I do like Modern AUs?? Or maybe the fics are just that good -- and this fic is definitely that good. In this fic, the first of a planned series of fics set in a modern Star Wars universe, Obi-Wan is reeling from the loss of his adoptive father Qui-Gon and has to care for a young Anakin. Ooooooof. Definitely hits you right in the feels, this one. Love the non-chronological storytelling too!

Naked and Not Paid by biscuitlevitation (Obi-Wan/212th Attack Battalion, WIP, 6/? chapters, 14.9k words) This fic is essentially ~15k words of the clones thirsting over Obi-Wan and it is the funniest thing I have read all year. I'm not kidding, I just read the last chapter which features space-church-lady!Anakin and I laughed so hard I cried. I'm cracking up just thinking about it. I promise you will have a good time reading this fic. And if the tag "Obi-Wan Kenobi/212th Attack Battalion" puts you off, let me just say there's no sex in this at all, it's just thirst. And it's hilarious.

Full Disclosure by @trixree (Obi-Wan/Cody, WIP, 2/3 chapters, 7.4k words) ROTS AU in which the Force bonds Obi-Wan has formed with a few members of the 212th save them from the chip and Order 66, but it doesn't stop the devastation from happening on a mass scale and they all have to try and deal with Mustafar and Luke and Leia. This fic manages to be both extremely soft and extremely gut-wrenching at the same time, and I wish I could leave more kudos. Full disclosure (get it, little pun there for ya), I will be dying until the final chapter comes out. Time to go listen to Olivia Rodrigo and reread this fic and just live in my feels.

Thirteen Days by @ewanmcgregorismyhomeboy12 (gen, one-shot, 4.1k words, Obi-Wan & Anakin) Post-Zygerria arc, Anakin dresses an unconscious Obi-Wan's injuries and struggles. Ahhhh this fic is one of my favorite Zygerria arc fics, and given that that's my favorite arc, that's saying a lot! Obi-Wan doesn't say a word in this fic, but his presence is very much there, if you know what I mean. And the descriptions of injuries here are pretty graphic at times, but it's so good that you'll want to keep reading even if you have to do it through the fingers covering your eyes.

brother, let me be your shelter by @kenobilovebot (gen, one-shot, 1.6k words, Obi-Wan & Anakin) This fic packs so much tenderness in a short amount of words. It covers an AU in which Obi-Wan's issues from Zigoola never really resolve, and Anakin finds out when -- well, you'll just have to read for yourself. I love Zigoola because it is such an excellent whumpfest for poor Obi-Wan and this fic is great for that, but also highlights Anakin and Obi-Wan's relationship.

A Padawan At War (Again) series by @itstimeforstarwars (gen, 3 parts, 100k words, Obi-Wan & Anakin) In this series, Obi-Wan and Anakin are transported from The Phantom Menace into the Clone Wars and have to deal with all that comes with it: fighting wars, discovering a Padawan you never knew you had, dueling your grandmaster who apparently is a Sith Lord now(?!) and all the rest. This series is a great ride, and I look forward to every update. Note: the first fic in this series is a one-shot that was expanded upon, and it drops you in media res. The second fic is a prequel that shows how they got to that point, and the third fic is the sequel that shows what comes after.

The Desert Storm series by @blue-sunshine-mauve-morning (complete, 24 parts, 1.144 million words) There has never been a better time to start reading this series. If you read Star Wars fics on AO3, then you've definitely seen the Desert Storm series before, but maybe you were daunted by the high word count, or felt like it would be too much effort to go all the way to the beginning of a series but couldn't just jump in halfway. Let me tell you, it's 100% worth it, and now is the perfect time to read this series if you haven't already. This series is complete, but it turns out it's all just Act 1 of the larger story, which will continue in the Rise and Fall series. @blue-sunshine-mauve-morning is taking a break right now before starting the next series, so you have ample time to get caught up, and YOU REALLY SHOULD. Let me tell you, this series had me on the edge of my seat more than any other piece of media I can remember. With the most recent chapters, where everything that has been building for a million words came to a head, I would get so worked up after each chapter that beforehand I would have to queue up calming things to watch afterwards, and it still wouldn't be enough and I'd be too full of feelings to get anything done the rest of the day. Seriously, this series is amazing. And if you HAVE read it before but haven't reread, now is the perfect time for that as well. I've reread this series multiple times and it's so rewarding because the author sprinkled in so many hints as to what will come that you only understand the second (or third) time around. I know I've written a lot for this rec but this is a long series and it deserves it. Go read! Now!

If you like any of these fics, please consider reblogging so they can get more exposure! And if you noticed I missed someone’s Tumblr account, or linked the wrong one, please let me know!

#star wars #fic recs #obi-wan kenobi #anakin skywalker #ahsoka tano #commander cody #qui-gon jinn #commander rex #jedi order #sw tcw

[beesinspades]

Hello! What are your favorite books?

BOI AM I GLAD YOU ASKED

I've actually read a couple very good books recently that made their way into my favourites!! I'll skip tgcf and 2ha since it's pretty obvious that I'm obsessed with them.

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller - I don't think this one needs any introduction haha but yeah achilles patroclus what did hector ever do to me figs me crying on the floor etc etc

Yuwu (Remnants of Filth) by Meatbun Doesn't Eat Meat - meatbun's lesser known and unfortunately least popular of her books. all I have to say about it is that it killed me. the angst is near non-stop and ruthless but boi did I love every second of it. the main pairing stole my heart and I adore them. it's so much pain. so much pain. but it's so good.

Little Mushroom by 一十四洲 - one of my favourite danmeis. Post-apocalyptic setting with cool worldbuilding and I'd love to say more but it's been a long time since I read it and my english physical copy still hasn't arrived >:( but it is Amazing the main character is just a little mushroom and he makes the absolutely tragic and depressing and his 'outsider' point of view on the events happening in this novel more bearable. basically beyond the romance (which I loved) it's a story about humanity's endless struggle for survival.

She Who Became The Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan - this book. THIS BOOK. like I swear to god. the writing is top tier, the characters are so compelling and flawed and human and it all makes me go feral. it's politics/war-heavy but not in an overwhelming way. it's just very well balanced. it's so empowering, too. also, this book is often sold as very gender and very gay but people never mention how it's also ACE, as the main character is canonically ace, as confirmed by the author. (my reading is sex-neutral ace, but could be greyace) I'm eagerly waiting for the next volume!!

The Tarot Sequence by KD Edwards - currently there are two volumes (The Last Sun & The Hanged Man) and [clenches fist] I highly recommend them. it's got a cool urban fantasy setting but it was especially refreshing relationships wise. there's a romance (which I root for) but it's a really small part of the books, and it's not given more care than the platonic relationships. (male) characters show so much emotion around each other, they kiss each other on the forehead, they let themselves be vulnerable and openly show how much they care for each other regardless of the kind of relationship they share. there's also a soulmates concept that's not restricted to romantic relationships aka chef's kiss. it's just really good. (that said it could've used more editing....but if you read fanfic you're probably fine. personally I think more care should've been put into editing but at the end of the day I don't mind much) it also doesn't shy away from exploring trauma and does it pretty well imo. sorry I went on a rant here but this series is just! so underrated! and I can't wait to see where it's going. especially since I was 150 pages from finishing book 2 when my e-reader died and now i'm suffering waiting for it to be repaired

anyways so yeah! those are my faves!

#wah I never get random questions like this....thank you #bee answers #anon #i just think it's funny how it got longer and longer

[temnurus]

Snarry Long Fic Rec List

I’m a shameless mult-shipper when it comes to my fandoms, but Snarry was my very first Harry Potter ship. I am not ashamed of this, and they are still my OTP. If you don’t like it, that’s fine. This post is not for you. I’ve finally gotten around to making lists for a couple of top ten posts for Snarry, just like I did for Drarry. This list contains my favorite ten fics over 50k words. I will do another post for my short fic recs later, so please look forward to it.

1. Title: The Gift of Kindness     Author: hippocrates460     Rating: Explicit     Words: 105,872     Warnings: none     Summary: When Harry arrives at Hogwarts, everything is overwhelming. Luckily he makes some friends, Hagrid who took him to Diagon Alley, Ron who he met on the train, and Severus, who explains why they have to pretend to hate each other.This story spans 7 years, during which Severus and Harry get to know each other and find understanding.

    Thoughts: This fic is a unique and beautiful take on the soulmates trope (which admittedly is one of my favorites), and it features a softer version of Severus than most people probably go for that I just adore. The moments between Harry and Severus where they’re being sweet to each other, particularly when Severus is feeling vulnerable or shy and Harry reassures him make me grin like an idiot every single time. There are also elaborate courting rituals in the fic that Severus pays such special care to that reading about them created a whole new favorite tag for me. I’ve read this story multiple times. I even got a tattoo with themes from the fic, not the least of which is kindness. That’s how devoted I am to this fantastic story. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

2. Title: Breathe, One, Two     Author: SolitaryEngel     Rating: Explicit     Words: 97,316     Warnings: none (does include descriptions of a character with symptoms of PTSD, but nothing I personally would consider triggering, fwiw)     Summary: Shortly after graduating his "eighth" year at Hogwarts, the grand future Harry had hoped for starts crumbling beneath his feet. He can't cope with the aftermath of the war, though with the help of his mind Healer and his new, intense friendship with the mysterious wizard Sebastian, he might have a chance.Only, Sebastian is gay, a quality Harry didn't know was reviled by so many of his close friends. Even so, there's something about the older man that he just can't ignore...

    Thoughts:  This is a lovely portrait of someone's struggle with and journey toward healing from C-PTSD. The fact that it also happens to coincide with my OTP is an added bonus. The bond that forms between Harry and Severus in this is complex and involves many twists and turns on their way to a (hopefully) happy ending. You’ll find out if you read it for yourself!

3. Title: Chrysalis     Author: starcrossedgirl     Rating: Explicit     Words: 84,631     Warnings: Depictions of mental illness including: nightmares/flashbacks, panic attacks, depression, and brief mention of suicidal ideation. Also, non-graphic references to (past) childhood sexual abuse and depictions of its long-term psychological effects     Summary:  In which Harry is a tad messed up after the war, but Snape gives him a run for his money. Or: an epic tale of PTSD, recovery and gay porn!

    Thoughts: First and foremost I appreciate how the author addresses the serious topics of PTSD and being a survivor of sexual assault with such care in the context of fiction. Harry's experiences with anxiety and panic attacks feel very similar to my own, and Severus' conflict within himself after his own trauma is something I'm also familiar with. The shame, the taking on the burden of guilt as if what happened to him were his fault..that strikes a chord, let me tell you. I've only read a handful of fics that handle these topics so well, and this one absolutely stands out as one of the best. As to the story itself, I think that the author handles Severus' character brilliantly. I couldn't be more impressed. Harry's I have feelings about, but I won't go into that in depth. He fits into the context of what happens, into what this story needs, and in the end I am amazed by how he and Severus slowly come together, how well they suit each other, help one another, and find healing in each other.

4. Title: Sending a Raven (ongoing series)     Author: Apassingstory     Rating: Mature     Words: 217,028 (as of last update)     Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence, references to depression and anxiety and past childhood abuse.     Summary:  Voldemort begins to suspect Snape in sixth year and sets a trap to capture him and the Boy Who Lived. His plans don't work as well as he hoped and instead force Harry and Severus to learn to live with one another. Snape is outed as a spy, changing the course of events in a few important ways. *Please note everyone is aged up a year.*

    Thoughts: I devoured the first installment of this in the span of three days and still don’t think I have the words to properly express how good it is. I love the way the author writes Severus and Harry. The characterizations are top notch. One of the tropes it covers is forced proximity, and it is a level above most quality-wise. When the author tagged slow burn they weren’t kidding, but I loved every second of watching these two schmucks fall for each other. The changes the author makes to canon are interesting and work really well within the framework of the story they’re telling. I find it really excruciating to take chances on WiPs, but this one is absolutely worth it.

5. Title: However I Fall (WiP)     Author: mia_ugly     Rating: Explicit     Words: 104,302 (as of last update)     Warnings: Major Character Death (sort of)     Summary: In one timeline, Severus lives. In the other, he dies.In both, he falls in love.

    Thoughts:  I am absolutely smitten with this fic. It's so well-written. Firstly, the idea is so original. The switching perspectives from portrait Snape's universe to the one in which he survives are riveting and fascinating. I love how the author characterizes both Harrys and both Snapes. There’s an OC in it named Evelyn, and he’s absolutely precious. I’m also enthralled with the mystery of the vandalized books in this. The portrait universe makes me ache for what could have been, and I'm on tenterhooks with Harry in the version where Snape is alive and so very much his tetchy, infuriating self. I have faith in Mia, and I will continue to wait for the next update as long as it takes. It really is that good.

6. Title: The Never-ending Road (ongoing series)     Author: laventadorn     Rating: Mature     Words: 636,110 (as of last update)     Warnings: underage (eventually, maybe? author tagged the second installment as such, which is still a WiP, and there’s been no smut as of yet). Also! The author is excellent about giving content warnings in the author’s notes for things they think might be triggering for anyone in any way, shape, or form.      Summary: NER -  AU. When Lily died, Snape removed his heart and replaced it with a steel trap. But rescuing her daughter from the Dursleys in the summer of ’92 is the first step on a long road to discovering this is less true than he’d thought. A girl!Harry story, starting in Chamber of Secrets and continuing through Goblet of Fire. Future Snape/Harriet.     NJE -  AU, girl!Harry story. As Voldemort’s power grows, Harriet has to navigate a path to adulthood in the shadow of war. Snape begins to understand that not only does he have a heart, but it may be under the greatest siege of his life. A continuation of ‘The Never-ending Road,’ beginning with Order of the Phoenix.

    Thoughts: Okay, first off I’m not normally a fan of gender-swapping only one of the characters in a pairing. This and one of the fics that will be featured on my short rec list are the exceptions to that rule. I do think Harriet isn't really Harry so much in this story, as she reacts to things in ways I don't feel the original character would. To be fair, laventadorn made the story their own in ways that justifies some of the changes, and their focus being on how Harry's ability to love rather than other aspects of his personality makes it understandable. So I've sunk into the character as Harriet instead of Harry, and that seems to have worked for me so far.  That said, I've enjoyed the heck out of this absolute monster of a fic. The way the author has taken up the humongous task of retelling the school years from CoS onward is incredibly impressive, and I've been particularly impressed with how they’ve handled the characters beyond just Harriet and Severus. Harriet and Hermione's relationship is absolutely wonderful, and I've also enjoyed seeing Harriet connect with others, including Asteria Greengrass. While updates seem to be rather sporadic I’ll simply hang on and hope for the best because this is a stunning series.

7. Title: No Milk Today (WiP)     Author: Lyowyn     Rating: Explicit     Words: 117,150 (as of last update)     Warnings: none     Summary:  A 9 year old Severus Snape meets an old man who might just be able to change his destiny and set him on the path to redemption. Harry Potter has an interesting conversation with a dead man's portrait. Story spanning Severus' Hogwarts years with frequent jumps to post-war Hogwarts.

    Thoughts: I’m usually pretty meh about time travel fics, but I absolutely love this so far. It’s well written, the premise is interesting, and Harry and Severus’ interactions in both timelines are lively and entertaining. I do admit the last update being as far back as June of last year when I have no prior experience with this author makes me nervous, but I’m not sorry I read it. I anxiously await the completion!

8. Title: Be My Voice     Author: Kazhiru     Rating: Explicit     Words: 59,621     Warnings: none     Summary:  Severus Snape is left to rot in Azkaban, but that doesn't sit well with Harry at all. It begins with weekly visits, which evolve into tentative camaraderie. Harry may have taken on a task too big for him, but he will be damned if he doesn't see Severus back on his own two feet.

    Thoughts:  This is so domestic and cozy and wonderful, and I love it so much. It gets better and better each chapter. When Severus finally got out of Azkaban and got settled in at Grimmauld I was so ready for the sparks to fly, and fly they do. The development of his and Harry's relationship from antagonists to friends is lovely to watch. Harry also develops an interesting hobby which leads to an unusual job for him, and I always love fics where he’s anything other than an Auror.

9. Title: Nocturne     Author: tiranog     Rating: Explicit     Words: 93,699     Warnings: none     Summary:  Auror Harry Potter makes a life altering discovery during an interview with a prisoner.

    Thoughts: Despite the way this was posted it is indeed complete, I promise.  I'm not a huge connoisseur of creature fics, but this is definitely one of my favorites. The care and attention to detail are impressive when it comes to covering what Severus' experience as a vampire is like, and the feelings portrayed by both him and Harry throughout are poignant and very believable. It’s incredibly well-written, and the vibrancy of the emotions in this fic gripped me and left me breathless at times. I highly recommend this. It has to be one of the best vampire fics I’ve ever read.

10. Title: When the Rose and the Fire Are One       Author: perverse_idyll       Rating: Explicit       Words: 81,649       Warnings: secondary character death, dubious consent       Summary:  Harry's haunted by guilt. Snape's warded by roses. Each must free the other in order to free himself.

      Thoughts: This is a phenomenal fic, and I felt completely wrung out after reading it.  Severus is here in all his rough and bitter glory, dark and gritty and mean. Harry being twisted by a curse that makes him carry Voldemort's sins is an interesting premise, and Severus is locked away in Spinner’s End, his punishment for his crimes during the wars (this is an AU that diverges from canon after HBP). The intricacy of the ward magic in this story is fascinating, and one of the author’s OCs by the name of Odile is absolutely gorgeous. I love everything about her.  The writing itself is so rich and smooth that I lost track of time and just vanished into the warp and weft of the story the author was weaving. It’s a heavy sort of fic that really stays with you for awhile, but it is so, so worth the read.

Honorable Mentions:

     Title: The Most Powerful Magic      Author: cjr2      Rating: Explicit      Words: 84,028      Warnings: none      Summary:  Severus Snape wakes up after the war to find that over twenty years have passed and Nagini's venom has wreaked havoc on his body. While he searches for a way to heal the damage, Severus has to find a way to come to terms with the new world into which he's awoken as well as the ancient magic that helped to bring him back.

     Thoughts: I’ve not read another Snarry fic that is even somewhat canon compliant when it comes to Harry’s children, and I have to say I enjoyed the dynamic they offered here a lot. Al and his relationship with Severus is really touching, and the dynamic between the Potters, Malfoys, and Weasleys is interesting. Harry’s self-sacrificing when it comes to Ginny and Draco’s affair cover-up is very on-point for his character in my opinion. Al’s numerous attempts at nudging Harry and Severus’ developing relationship along are hilarious. I’m due a reread of this, I think. It’s got its moments of depth, but it really is a fun, light-hearted read overall, which I appreciate from time to time.

     Title: A Light in the Silence, a Voice in the Dark      Author: Cayce_Morris      Rating: Explicit      Words: 76,153      Warnings: dubious consent (brief and non-graphic/non-violent), possible odd fetish? (I personally wouldn’t call what goes on here a fetish, but just in case.)      Summary:  Severus lives, just barely. Now what’s going on between him and Harry is too shocking for words. Everyone around Harry fears he’s lost his mind, but could there be more to this situation than meets the eye?

     Thoughts: Okay, Severus is in a coma-like state for most of this fic, which is where the weird fetish warning probably comes from. He is aware of what goes on around him, but he cannot move or communicate that fact to others at first. Harry can eventually hear his thoughts, and they communicate through this odd link that forms between them. The concept is intriguing, and I enjoyed it a lot. I love how determined Harry is to be there for Severus, coming to the hospital every day and making sure that Severus isn’t alone. I have to laugh at Harry’s insistence to others that he can hear Severus in his head while Severus is telling him he’s only making people think that Harry is crazy, and of course this causes problems for them later. It does have a happy ending, so never fear.

#fandom #Harry Potter #snarry #rec list #Temnurus rec list

[redisriding]

Reading Schedule

{UPDATED 11 October 2020}

I thought I would share in case anyone is looking for book recommendations, has recommendations, wants to read along, or chat about books.

September

Serpent & Dove - [READ] I really adored this book the first time around, and while wouldn’t say I enjoyed it AS much on the second read, I would still absolutely recommend it to anyone who loves an enemies to lovers troupe. Overall, I’m glad I did reread it ahead of the sequel release because I had completely forgotten what happened in the end!  

Blood & Honey - [READ] This book actually ended up being something of a struggle for me. It wasn’t as good as the first by any means and even the cliff hanger at the end was not enticing enough for me to want to read the third. If you have to ask me though, I think the ending is foreshadowed from the first book and both Lou and Reid are going to die but the book will end on a hopeful note.

The Flat Share - [READ] This was a very sweet romantic comedy and I would recommend it if someone is looking for a cute “AND THEY WERE ROOMATES!” read.  

Your Dad Will Do - [READ] After reading two very tame (romantically) books, I wanted something that was a bit more raunchy and OMG have I got that with this book. It is absolute FILTH from the first page.  There are a number of typos and a couple of problematic elements but if you are looking for a quick read that is going to get those loins a burning, this is the book!

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - [READ] This book was recommended to me by a friend. Its a little off piste from what I usually read but if you want a truly lovely read I would highly recommend.

October

A Promise of Darkness - [Read] This was recommended to me as a book that fans of SJM/ACOTAR would enjoy. In some respects I can see why. A young woman is “kidnapped” by a supposedly evil Prince who actually turns out to be a good guy saving the world, there is magic and Fay, and the Prince’s “inner circle” are a band of colourful characters. However, not only did it lack all of the heart of an SJM book, but the writing was weak, the story very muddled, and even the romance was lacking. I believe there are two more books in this series but I’m tapping out after book one as I care neither about the characters or the story.  

The Unleashing - [DNF] In an attempt to recover from the disappointment that was A Promise of Darkness I picked up the Unleashing, which is a book that I had been wanting to read for sometime. I rarely DNF a book but after getting almost of quarter of a way into the book I just couldn’t read anymore - Every page appeared to introduced a new character, there were numerous irrelevant side plots, the female character was particularly frustrating and un-endearing, and even the romance was weak. I am a sucker from a grumpy but shy hero but even Vig wasn’t enough to keep me reading this book. I did listen to the Heaving Bosoms podcast recap of this book and I’m still none the wiser as to what happened. 

Gifting Me to His Best Friend - [READ] This is from the same author and in the same series as Your Dad Will Do so I knew I was in for a steamy read when I picked this book up, what I was not expecting was how surprisingly sweet it was. This novella is just a weekend in their lives, but I would totally read more about these characters. Devoured it in an afternoon. 

After the Silence - [READING] I have seen a lot of promotion of Louise O’Neil’s latest offering. I happened to see it when I was browsing in a different bookshop to usual last weekend and so decided to give it a go. It has been a long time since I’ve read a crime/thriller and I might need to read something fluffy alongside it, but we’ll see how dark it is.

Ninth House - I have been waiting to read this book for ages as I love Leigh Bardugo (Six of Crows is PERFECTION). I went to buy it a few weeks ago but my local Indie told me I was better off waiting until the paperback comes out as it will be cheaper. I have placed my order for the paperback and it is due to arrive on 20 October.

Burn for Me - I had intended to start this series while I waited for A Promise of Darkness to arrive, but I never got around to it. It is still on my read list, so I plan to getting around to it sometime soon.

November

WATCH THIS SPACE.

December

I had planned to start my ACOTAR reread in December but with the change of date meaning ACOSF is now due to come out mid February I’m going to push my reread into the New Year.

WATCH THIS SPACE.

January

A Court of Thorns and Roses/A Court of Wings and Ruin/A Court of Mist and Fury/A Court of Frost and Starlight - By January it will have been more than a year since I last read ACOTAR, I want to do a reread ahead of the release of A Court of Silver Flames so the series is fresh in my mind. I spend so much time in Tumblr I almost forgot what is on the very page and what is comments/criticisms from the fandom! I don’t know how long a total reread will take me but I’ve put aside a month. I plan to post a lot about it though, if anyone would like to read along with me :)

February

A Court of Silver Flames - HOOK IT TO MY VEINS.

will update this post as I go with what I’m reading. I am trying to get through my “Want to Read” books on GoodReads so the gaps will either be filled in with choices from there, or books that were recommended in these two @smartbitchesbooks podcasts:

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/podcast/414-listener-mail-and-fantasy-romance-recs-with-amanda/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/podcast/418-romance-recs-with-amanda-and-sarah-psychic-pining/

#Book Recommendations #reading recommendations #updated

[teababe27]

Notes From the 2019 Myanimelist.net Challenges - Part 2: Manga

This post will be talking about the Manga Reading Challenge. As with Part 1, this post will be talking about some of my favorite manga I read for this challenge, as well as some others I had thoughts about.

Let’s do this.

Honorable Mentions/Other Notables:

My Girlfriend’s a Geek - completed for the task “Read a comedy or Slice of Life manga”

College student Taiga mainly wants two things: money and a hot older girlfriend. When Taiga applies for a part-time job, he falls right away for his senpai, Yuiko. They eventually get to know each other. When Taiga asks Yuiko to be his girlfriend, she has a confession: she’s a fujoshi. Not knowing what that means, Taiga says he doesn’t care what she is and they get into a relationship.

I thought this was heartwarming and funny at times (reminded me of when I had to tell my mom what yaoi meant - don’t ask), but I feel like the premise kinda wore thin after a while and some of the jokes fell flat near the end.

If I had to pick, this would be the Worst of the Challenge this year.

Arisa - completed for the task “Read a manga with less than 10,000 completed members”

Tsubasa and Arisa are twin sisters who haven’t seen each other in a while. Tsubasa has a reputation of being a fighter and has mainly guy friends. Arisa is more of a girly girl and is the popular girl in her class. Tsubasa just wants to be more like Arisa. When they reconnect one day, Arisa suggests, for fun, that Tsubasa take her place at school for one day. Tsubasa later learns some dark serets about Arisa’s school life and plans to get to the bottom of things.

This may look shoujo-y, but is more of a psychological mystery/thriller, which I like. Generic at times, but fun. I feel like the ending had some problems, though.

Othello - completed for the task “Read a manga ranked below #1000 in the database”

Yaya is shy, naive, trusting, and afraid to speak up for herself, which makes her an easy target. Her “friends” are huge dicks, call her names like “Yaya the cry-ya”, and take advantage of her and play pranks on her. She has a crush on a classmate, she dreams of being a singer, she cosplays occasionally; pretty average things.

Little does anyone - including Yaya herself - know, she has a split personality who is Yaya’s opposite in every way. Nana is loud, bold, brash, fashionable, and not afraid to speak up and dispense justice against Yaya’s “friends.”

This manga was actually pretty fun. I was worried it would be kinda repetitive from the first volume or two (Yaya gets tricked --> Nana comes out and dispenses justice --> Yaya’s crush is curious, etc.), but it got a little deeper into some of Yaya’s psyche. Seeing Nana dispense justice was also pretty fun, even though it could be a little unrealistic at times.

Hana and Hina After School - completed for the task “Read a manga with a cast consisting of mostly one gender”

Hana and Hina are two girls working a part-time job at a toy store. Hana is small and shy. Hina is tall, fashionable, and secretly a model on the side. They get off on the wrong foot at first, but they eventually become friends. Since their school doesn’t allow part-time jobs, they help each other keep their secret and their feelings eventually grow past friendship.

This manga was ADORABLE!!!

I find it good to read yuri/shoujo ai written by a woman rather than a man. The progression of their relationship, while seeming a little fast, was so nice to see. So pure, cinnamon rolls too good for this world. Especially when the manga shows each girl laying in bed thinking about how cute the other one is. A heartwarming ending as well.

Beach Stars - completed for the task “Read a Sports or Games manga”

Nanase Iruka is a short tomboy who loves volleyball. When her school’s volleyball club is shut down, Iruka is pretty upset. When her club-mates try to cheer her up, Iruka discovers beach volleyball. She forms a beach volleyball club at her school with a goal of winning against the local volleyball champion.

A bit fanservice-y at times, but I had fun with this one. It was fun to see Iruka and her friends compete and succeed. I also liked the growing friendship of a couple freshmen who come into the story several chapters in.

Favorites from the Challenge:

Koi Dano Ai Dano - completed for the task “Read a prequel/sequel to a manga that you’ve already read”

The cast from The Secret Notes of Lady Kanoko is back, and now they’re in high school!

Kanoko and Tsubaki are now attending the same high school. They end up getting recruited into their school’s newspaper club by one of their senpais. Kanoko becomes the Chief Strategist and helps the club out in their rivalry against other clubs, including the Broadcasting Club. Also, Kanoko is oblivious to Tsubaki’s growing crush on her.

Pretty much everything I liked about Lady Kanoko makes an appearance here. I still love Kanoko. She has a good head on her shoulders. These characters are not typical shoujo characters. I also love Tsubaki and Kanoko’s chemistry together. Comedy, romance, and a little suspense. Good mix.

The Embalmer - completed for the task “Read a manga serialized in a josei magazine”

Mamiya is an embalmer, a profession treated with disdain in Japan. He seems okay with being an outcast, though. Throughout the manga, we learn why he chose his career, what goes through his mind, and stories from his job.

This manga really made me think. I did not know until now that embalming wasn’t really appreciated everywhere as it is in the US. I honestly did not expect this (pretty sad at times) meditation on love, loss, and grief, but I appreciate it all the same.

Annarasumanara - completed for the task “Read a manhua or manhwa”

There are rumors in town of a magician at a tent in the abandoned theme park. He always starts his show by asking “Do you believe in magic?”

Yoon Ah-ee, a student who is living in poverty, has a chance encounter with this magician that changes her life forever.

The art in this one is pretty unique and cool. The plot was very interesting and the characters had some depth. This is another manga from the challenge that made me think. Thumbs up.

Alice 19th - completed for the task “Read a manga by a female author/artist”

Alice has always been jealous of her older sister, Mayura. Mayura is good at everything she does and is popular at school. Alice is bullied at school and is afraid to stand up for herself. She also has a crush on Kyo, who starts dating Mayura.

One day, Alice encounters a bunny, who turns out to be a magical girl named Nyozeka. Nyozeka tells Alice that she is destined to learn the Lotis Words and become a Lotis Master. When Mayura disappears during an argument with Alice, Alice becomes determined to learn the Lotis Words and get her sister back.

This manga was great. I feel like this should get an anime adaptation. The art is great. The story is pretty cool, with magic focusing on words being something I hadn’t read before, or at least in a while. It’s pretty shoujo-y, but not too cliche.

Kasane - completed for the task “Read a manga that started serialization before 2015″

Kasane Fuchi has inherited her actress mother’s talent, but not her good looks. No one will give her a chance because she is so ugly. Fortunately for her, she has something her mother left her: a lipstick that allows her to swap faces with whoever she kisses for 12 hours.

One day, a talent agent who knew her mother ropes her into being the body double for Nina Tanazawa, a struggling actress. Things go downhill from there.

This wins Best of the Challenge this year on the manga side for me. This manga blew my mind a few times while I was reading it. The story is interesting and unpredictable with plenty of twists and turns. Everyone basically crosses the Moral Event Horizon at some point. An interesting psychological manga. Highly recommended.

#manga #myanimelist #myanimelist.net #my girlfriend's a geek #fujoshi kanojo #arisa #othello #hana and hina after school #beach stars #koi dano ai dano #the embalmer #annarasumanara #alice 19th #kasane

[onwardintolight]

Canon Catchup

With TROS coming out soon, I’ve been doing a lot of catchup on canon material that I’ve missed, particularly that which I think will be most relevant either for the movie or for Resistance Reborn (which I finished yesterday and will talk more about below). I will avoid major spoilers, as excited as I may be about some of them, haha, but I wanted to write out a few of my thoughts here while they’re fairly fresh.

A Crash of Fate by Zoraida Córdova and Galaxy’s Edge by Delilah Dawson—these don’t seem quite as relevant to TROS, but I read these two Galaxy’s Edge tie-in novels a few months ago and I thought I’d say a few words. I REALLY enjoyed the A Crash of Fate; it was such a lovely, heartwrenchingly beautiful story that reminded me a little of Lost Stars in the way that it focused in on a friendship/romance between two people who wouldn’t ever be main characters in the movies. The story was told primarily over the span of a single day, and wow did I not expect my heart to be pulled in so many different directions. Definitely one I will read again and again. 

I’m not sure I’ll do the same with Galaxy’s Edge. It was a super fun read, with some great, Indiana Jones-like action sequences, and I’d recommend giving it a go especially if you’re planning on ever going to Galaxy’s Edge—but it also had a few seriously problematic elements that I just couldn’t overlook. For one, NO WAY is Leia going to force Vi to work closely with someone who tortured her, and speaking of torture, many black people have already commented on the problematic nature of the excessive violence Vi undergoes in this book.

TFA and TLJ Junior Novelizations by Michael Kogge—I wanted to get a refresher on these stories, and since I’d never read the junior versions, I decided to give them a try. Overall I enjoyed these quite a bit. The TFA one was way better imho than the adult novelization by Alan Dean Foster, and both had some really meaningful character moments. There was one Leia scene at the end of the TFA one that brought me to tears.

Aftermath: Life Debt and Aftermath: Empire’s End by Chuck Wendig—I’d originally read the Aftermath trilogy as each book was released, but with everything I was hearing about Resistance Reborn, AND with the return of Palpatine in TROS and the promise of finally figuring out what’s been going on in the Unknown Regions, I thought it was a perfect time to revisit it. I skipped the first one (my least favorite of the three, and also my copy is in a box somewhere from when we moved last and the library’s audiobook copies were checked out) and read a synopsis instead to refresh my memory, then dived straight into Life Debt. Both of these books were as good or better than I remember them. I enjoyed them the first time, but I enjoyed them even better this time around. I feel like they’ve gained even more significance now. My HanLeia shippy heart is happy with some of their scenes, and also I rediscovered that I absolutely adore and would probably die for Norra, Wedge, Jas, Sinjir, Temmin, and crew.

Spark of the Resistance by Justina Ireland—this was a super cute but ultimately rather forgettable junior novel. The best part about it was seeing Rey, Poe, and Rose interacting. I may revisit it sometime after TROS and see if my unexpectedly skyrocketing feels for these characters (see below) makes it better.

The Poe Dameron comic run—I’d previously read the first trade (Black Squadron), the third (Legend Lost), and maybe a tiny bit of the second (The Gathering Storm), and aside from a really poignant bit in Legend Lost I just didn’t find myself very invested. This time around, however, flipped that on its head. Trades 4 and 5 (Legend Found and The Spark and the Fire) completely did me in, and without warning, I found myself 100% invested in Black Squadron. Poe, Jess, Snap, Karé, Suralinda, and L’ulo have officially joined the Aftermath crew in my list of characters I would die for. I just want all my babies to be okay! There were numerous moments in those last two trades (including the AMAZING Annual #2, a must-read for HanLeia new canon fans) which made me cry. I’m not even joking. So good. Well done, Charles Soule.

Resistance Reborn by Rebecca Roanhorse—Buckle up because I have a lot to say! I HIGHLY recommend reading the Aftermath trilogy, Bloodline, the Poe Dameron comics, and watching the Battlefront II campaign (which I talked about in another post) before reading this because HOLY MOLY. You won’t be lost if you don’t, but it will mean so much more to you if you do. Speaking of crying, I literally lost count of the moments that brought me to tears, and so many were significant because of how all the stories I mentioned and more have been so beautifully interconnected in this one. Wedge and Norra, Zay and Shriv, and so many others—each was given their due and it was amazing. One character’s surprise appearance had me practically on my knees with joy and heartbreak all at once, and I would say more but I’m really trying to keep that promise not spoil you, haha. 

If the Poe Dameron comic weren’t enough to win me over, this book has officially cemented Poe as one of my favorite sequel trilogy characters. Tbh, I’ve had trouble feeling much of a deep connection with any of the sequel trilogy leads—I love them, sure, but not like Leia, Han and Luke, the trio I grew up with. I’ve wanted to love them more, I’ve wanted to be more invested in them, but it just hasn’t happened. I’m really glad I read this book before TROS, because I think this has changed that. I was definitely getting a few OT golden trio vibes with Rey, Finn, and of course, my Boi™ Poe—except they’re completely their own characters, and I’m really starting to love them for who they are.

Overall, I absolutely loved this book, it felt really meaningful, and I can’t wait to read it again. 

That being said, when I finished it yesterday I felt a little bit disappointed, like it tasted a little bit bittersweet. I’m still trying to figure out why that is, but I think it may be down to three things: 

1) Though there were a number of fantastic character reveals, there were some obvious people absent and I can’t help but wonder where they are. I hope they’re not dead. I hope TROS includes some of these characters, too. I hope we get the rest of their stories either way.

2) The book is way too short. Especially on the heels of the Aftermath trilogy, this feels like only the first act of at least three. The ending comes way too soon, just after it really seems to get going. This I don’t blame the author or the publishers for at all; they are very limited, after all, in what they can portray leading up to TROS. But it really left me longing for more. This book had such a wonderful focus on character, but in the end, I wanted to see the character arcs get even more resolved than they do here... but I guess they really couldn’t be, and that’s what TROS is for. I just hope the movie does it well! I need all these people to be okay <3

3) It doesn’t shy away from grief, struggle, and the mental cost of war. Honestly, that’s part of why I love it so much, but I think that’s also part of why it left me feeling a little melancholy. The Resistance is in such a seemingly hopeless place, and while things do get better over the course of the book, there’s still such a terribly long way to go.The First Order rains merciless terror on anyone or any planet who gives even the slightest hint of opposing them or of aiding the Resistance. The whole galaxy is afraid. Poe struggles deeply with guilt and with how to make up for the horrible mistakes he made in TLJ (this is not brushed off in the slightest, not by the book or by the characters in it, and I appreciate that). Rey is confused and still unsure of her place in things. Characters are faced with the fact that they will almost certainly die because of their choice to join the Resistance, and it’s heavy. And Leia. Oh, Leia. I am deeply grateful to Roanhorse for her very realistic portrayal of Leia as someone who has lost so incredibly much (most recently her husband and brother), most definitely has PTSD, and probably is dealing with a bit of depression. Leia is weary. Leia struggles to keep stepping forward, struggles to figure out the next step for those she leads. Leia struggles to keep hoping. The battle between hope and despair in the face of terrible loss and terrible odds is very much felt in this book. But as ever with Leia, hope always wins in the end. By the end of the book, you can still feel the struggle, but hope wins. 

I think that because I personally relate so much to Leia, reading some of that was hard. Not because I feel like it’s contrary to who Leia is, but because I resonate with it so much and because it reminds me in a particularly strong way of some of the struggles I’ve dealt with that I’d like to forget. It’s no wonder that my heart felt heavy after I closed the book. But along with that, I also see how Leia perseveres, how she’s finally gotten to a place where she lets herself rely on and be comforted by others, and how she accomplishes the seemingly impossible just because she damned well refuses to give in to despair, no matter how tempting it may be. It reminds me that I, too, can accomplish incredible things despite all my struggles, despite the odds stacked against me.

Anyway, I highly recommend this book. Resistance Reborn hasn’t quite come up to the level of Bloodline or LPOA in my personal ranking, but with future rereads, it very well might someday. 

This book—along with all of this reading—has put me even more on the edge of my seat for TROS than I was before, if that’s possible. I desperately want it to be the best ending possible for the Skywalker Saga and for all these characters who’ve become so beloved to me. I’m trying to temper my expectation—TFA still isn’t especially my jam, after all, and while overall I’m a fan of the ST (the TROS trailers made me cry, for goodness sakes), I have a somewhat complicated relationship with it in general—but goddammit, I’m hoping anyway. There’s so much beautiful setup in the new canon EU, such a deliberate focus on character, and so many hints that this might reach through the whole saga and bring together something bigger than we can imagine. 

I’m hoping anyway.

#A Crash of Fate #Galaxy's Edge book #TFA #TLJ #TFA junior novelization #TLJ junior novelization #Aftermath trilogy #Aftermath: Life Debt #Aftermath: Empire's End #Spark of the Resistance #Poe Dameron comic #Resistance Reborn #Battlefront II #SW books #SW comics #Star Wars #SW meta #SW review #thoughts #I also caught up on some of the latest Star Wars comic line #but I'll write about that in another post

[inkandpaperadventures]

October Book Challenge

So I missed A LOT of days here thanks to bad internet and being away. But now I am back and I thought I’d catch by compiling the questions I missed into one post so here we go.

Day Three: Your favourite series?

My first reaction here was to say Harry Potter but truth be told, I have gone off that series a bit in recent years. Bet you can guess why. I think instead I’m going to say The Shadowhunter Chronicles by Cassandra Clare. The books are full of fascinating lore and lots of diversity and a focus on various kinds of relationships from romance to found family which is something I really enjoy. And, as the series is so large and still growing, there is a book, character or relationship for everyone.

Day Four: Favourite book of your favourite series?

Leading off of that I’m going to say The Red Scrolls of Magic by Cassandra Clare. It’s set in the middle of the original part of the series, The Mortal Instruments, but focuses solely on my two favourite characters, Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood. Sweet, funny and full of adventure, I highly recommend it.

Day Five: A book that makes you happy?

A book that made me really happy when I read it would be Red, White and Royal Blue. Everyone who has read this book will understand immediately and if you haven’t read it, I highly recommend that you do. It’s a sweet enemies-to-lovers romance with a good dose of politics. It’s a book that left me smiling and feeling incredibly hopeful for the future.

Day Six: A book that makes you sad?

The first book to come to mind was The Book Thief. Again, pretty obvious why this one upset me but I will never forget the horror when you realise Liesel is all alone. This book broke my heart but was a brilliant read.

Day Seven: A book that makes you laugh?

I struggled to think of one here and the one I’ve chosen may not be everyone’s first pick. I chose The Princess Bride for this slot as I read it again earlier this year and found it to be far funnier than the first time I read it. Goldman has a very dry wit as he twists the story to confuse the reader by telling a story within a story. And I have to admit that the self-aware stories are some of my favourites.

Day Eight: Most overrated book?

It’s more of a series but The Cormoron Strike novels by Robert Galbraith (aka JK Rowling) isn’t as good as I think a lot of people made it out to be. I’ve read all four of them and to be honest, the only reason I pushed on was for the character of Robin and even then I don’t know if I can put myself through another one let alone the apparent nine still to come.

Day Nine: A book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving?

The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien. I never watched the Lord of the Rings movies as a child ad I definitely didn’t read the books. I actually picked up the book because a friend so the first Hobbit movie and said it was good. I wasn’t preparing to hate it but I definitely didn’t think I would love it but the book has become one of my favourites.

Day Ten: A book that reminds you of home?

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. I read this book when I was twelve and ever since it’s been one of my comforts during rough times. The story follows Meggie, a bookworm, as she learns that her father has been keeping a lot of secrets from Meggie. Secrets about himself, her mother’s disappearance and even about Meggie herself. It’s a fun read and if you love books, its incredibly heartwarming with a lot of nods to many childhood favourites.

Day Eleven: A book you hated?

Atonement. Hands down. Everyone seems to love this book (or at least the movie) but I couldn’t get into it and didn’t finish it. Briony was so irritating that I had to keep putting the book down and it was a struggle to pick it back up and eventually I just gave up. The framework of the novel is interesting but it’s unfortunately become a book I’ll probably never pick up again thanks to a bad first experience.

Day Twelve: A book you love but hate at the same time?

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The characters are all cruel and cold and treat one another terribly, so much so that you don’t even know who you are truly rooting for. In fact, I found myself rooting for characters, not because I liked them but because they were challenging characters I really didn’t like. All that being said, it’s a fascinating character study set against the dazzling and corrupt backdrop that was New York in the 1920s. Which is incredibly fitting if you know much about the actual characters. Pretty but awful.

Day Thirteen: Your favourite author?

I don’t know if I have a single favourite author. There are several that have caught my attention whose writing I love. For the sake of answering I will pick one but I wouldn’t classify her as my absolute favourite. Rather she is one of my favourite authors and that is Rainbow Rowell. I’ve enjoyed everything of hers that I’ve read and her characters are some of the most relatable I’ve ever come across, especially Cath from Fangirl. Not only that but she gave back the wonder that was the Harry Potter series in the form of Carry On and Wayward Son with a diverse cast and a more sensitive approach to the creation of the magickal world the characters reside in.

Day Fourteen: Book turned movie and totally desecrated?

I could say the Harry Potter series as I have a lot to say on those movies but I’m actually going to say The Hunger Games. The book is a horrifying dystopian about inter-generation abuse in the extreme but the movie turned the narrative into exactly what the novel was critiquing. The movie is what The Capitol wants the Games to be seen as but rather than critiquing this the movie appeared to endorse it. A horrifying death match between children was turned into a romance which was a disgusting homage to the book.

Day Fifteen: Favourite male character?

This is incredibly difficult as so many characters come to mind but the one I’m leaning towards most is Magnus Bane from the Shadowhunter Chronicles. A biracial, bisexual immortal warlock who loves cats and glitter? Sign me up. Magnus has one of the biggest hearts as well, no matter what he says and is incredibly loyal to those that he cares about, staying behind to face down everything from demons in the pit of Hell to annoying family members. Characters who have stayed kind despite everything that has happened to them are, honestly, incredibly undervalued and Magnus definitely fits the bill.

Day Sixteen: Favourite female character?

Cath from Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl. As I mentioned above, Cath is one of the most relatable characters I’ve ever come across in fiction. A shy nerd who loves her books and writes fanfictions about her otp is probably super relatable to a lot of people. What I loved most about Cath is how unapologetic she is for her nerdy love. She relationships are pretty turbulent during the novel and it is through reading and writing that she finds peace and, eventually, the strength to let the past go.

Day Seventeen: Favourite quote from your favourite book?

This question was incredibly difficult as I do not have a single favourite book but rather a shelf full of favourites. In the end I’ve settled on one of my favourite quotes from Inkheart by Cornelia Funke.

“Books loved anyone who opened them, they gave you security and friendship and didn't ask for anything in return; they never went away, never, not even when you treated them badly.”

Day Eighteen: A book that disappointed you?

Dracula by Bram Stoker really disappointed me. I had such high hopes for such a classic novel but I found that once Van Helsing entered the story it became dull and the horror of Dracula became so distant as to be almost nonexistent.

Day Nineteen: Favourite book turned into a movie?

It’s probably not my favourite but I think this may be one of the most faithful adaptations of a book I’ve come across. The Secret Life of Bees is one that I almost put under ‘a book that made you cry’ but I think its adaptations makes it more fitting here. The changes they did make to the movie don’t detract from the core story and the movie retains the importance of the bonds between all the main characters.

Day Twenty: Favourite romance book?

There are a lot, especially from this year alone but I’m going to pick It Sounded Better In My Head by Nina Kenwood. This book was incredibly realistic with its depiction of the confusion a first relationship can cause. The importance of the main character, Natalie’s, friendships isn’t lost in light of her new romance but rather they run parallel to the romance and are just as important. The book it short, sweet and hits home in a way that left me wanting to read more.

Day Twenty-One: The first novel you remember reading?

The Twits by Roald Dahl. I proceeded to then read most of his novels before turning to Emily Rodda but it was definitely the cruel married couple that started my journey as a reader.

Day Twenty-Two: A book that makes you cry?

The Absolutist by John Boyne. If you are looking for a happy ending this is not the book for you. This book was heartbreaking and left me crying for quite some time. Set in WWI and featuring a pair of young men who meet in a training camp of the Biritsh Army, it follow them as they arrive on the battlefield with very different stances on the war and a forbidden romance brewing between the two. If you do read this book, brace yourself for the ending.

Day Twenty-Three: A book you wanted to read for a long time but haven’t?

Valentine by Jodi McAlistor. It’s been on my to read list for well over a year now and it is currently sitting on my bookshelf in line to be read. A fantasy ya novel set in Australia that deals with fairies is right up my alley and Jodi McAlistor herself is a fascinating author whose studied so much ya fiction, in particular feminist and romance fiction that I feel that this novel is going to be amazing once I get around to it.

Day Twenty-Four: A book you wish more people would’ve read?

The Troutespond Series by Elizabeth Priest. This series is rather niche and only just got off the ground last year but its charming and features four teenage girls as the main characters. The girls find themselves caught up dealing with the world of fairies even as they struggle to study for final exams and getting ready for university.

#books #october book challenge #book challenge #ya fiction #romance books #gothic books #fantasy books #the shadowhunter chronicles #the hobbit #tolkien #rainbow rowell #red white and royal blue #the red scrolls of magic #the troutespond series #inkheart #dracula

[jwminssi]

Jikook Fic Rec

I spend a lot of time reading fanfics (really, a lot) and I just figured I should gather all my favorite stories in one place for when I want to read them again. This is not as big as it should be seeing as I lost my previous list and had to start all over again *insert sad face here* but I will try my best to update it regularly!

bold: ultimate favorites!

updated: Jun, 23rd, 2018

❈ Glass Diamonds by GinForInk [e / 18.5k] ~ Summary:  Jungkook accidentally fires his skateboard through the window of a dance studio. ~ Commentary: this one is definitely one of my all time favorites! Everything about it from the writing style to the characterization to the plot had me begging for more. I’ll have to read it again soon!

❈ Present by pinkmonnie [m / 21k] ~ Summary: “Sometimes I wish I could fall through this wall instead. Spend a few days with just you and the beach and no other distractions. I'd love some quiet in my life.”  One night, unable to take the solitude, Jimin writes a single word on the wall of the abandoned record store. He never expected to get a reply, least of all from a kind stranger all the way back in the real world. One afternoon, as he's working on the repairs of the record store, Jungkook finds someone had written something on one of the walls. And he writes back. ~ Commentary: There are NO WORDS to describe my love for this fic. Seriously, everything is perfect and the plot unravels so beautifully and it’s wonderfully written, I can’t say enough compliments. If you have the time, please read it!

❈ Don’t Think, Don’t Speak, Just Smile For Me by Ragi [not rated / 145k] ~ Summary:  Jimin's not entirely certain that he'll be alive to see his 18th birthday and finally escape from his father's abuse, but Jungkook's music keeps him believing that he might actually make it. ~ Commentary: I couldn’t stop crying while reading this and I still loved every second of it. Mind the tags and the warnings, though!

❈  why don’t you review me? by cedar_rabbits [e / 7k] ~ Summary:  Jimin reviews sex toys on Youtube. Jeongguk has a crush. ~ Commentary: oh, boy, this one! Jungkook’s the cutest baby with a crush and their dynamics are amazing. (Also, Taehyung is a true treasure in this!!!)

❈ All Of This Seems Like A Dream by njhft_mgc [e / 5.6k] ~ Summary: two dumb and oblivious boys, some couch fun, and awkward mornings. ~ Commentary: I am a HUGE bottom!kook enthusiast and this fic not only has that but it also manages to capture JK’s early days persona into it really well.

❈ International playboy (don't answer) by blt_prf [not rated / 39k, not finished] ~ Summary:  the one in which Jimin manages to mess up everything in one night and accidentally texts the guy he has a crush on ~ Commentary: I usually stay away from unfinished stories but this one was out for my heart from the moment I started reading it. It’s got to be the most believable and well characterized texting fic I have ever read, I highly recommend it!

❈ Can You Give Me My Breath Back by DeadpanSnarker [m / 27k] ~ Summary: Six months until the tournament that would decide Jungkook's future. Six months where he and his team were in dire need to monopolize the ice-rink that had taken a liking to Uni’s new sweetheart. Where Jimin made a bet with Jungkook, which, if Jungkook lost, he would have to be taught how to ‘truly’ skate. Or as how Jimin had phrased it, ‘By the time I'm done with you, you’ll have fallen in love with figure-skating’. Surely things didn’t work out in Jungkook's favour. In their fickle game, Jungkook is in for sex and Jimin is in for love. By the end of the six months, perhaps Jungkook would like figure-skating, but he would have adamantly fallen in love with the figure-skater. ~ Commentary: EVERYTHING. ABOUT. THIS. FIC. IS. WORTH IT. Jimin’s characterization is everything we all want in life and I love it way too much to be healthy. It’s really nice to see the way their relationship develops and I couldn’t stop reading it.

❈ peaches and cream by jiminlogy [m / 2.4k] ~ Summary:  the story of how booty shorts ruined jeongguk's life. ~ Commentary: I had the time of my life reading this one. Jungkook’s struggle is the most amusing thing to read and it’s really well done in this, too!

❈ swim by jiminlogy [m / 12k] ~ Summary: everything about the summer is temporary but jimin doesn't want jeongguk to be that. ~ Commentary: YES!! GIVE ME ALL THE BODYGUARD AU FICS! The atmosphere in this fic is so captivating it took my breath away. The way their relationship develops is so beautifully done and the dialogue in this is also really great.

❈ Practice by nochucomethru [t / 5k] ~ Summary: Jungkook is fed up with being inexperienced. Jimin helps him out. ~ Commentary: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! this was so good !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I feel like there isn’t enough just making out fics out there and I’m always looking for more. This one was definitely a great find!

❈  pull me closer by pjungkook [not rated / 2.6k] ~ Summary:  Jeon Jungkook is rather competitive. But so is Park Jimin. ~ Commentary: nothing I say will be enough to explain just how much of a masterpiece this is! Their dynamic is so well written and the tension is so thick you could cut it with a knife. It put me on edge as I was reading it and I loved it!

❈ Hey Kitty, Kitty by jonghyunslisterine [e / 3.4k] ~ Summary:  Jungkook and Jimin have been dancing around each other for ages, then Jimin goes into heat. ~ Commentary: I’m usually not a fan of Hybrid!AUs but something told me to read this one when I stumbled upon it one day and MY GOD am I glad I didn’t ignore it! The smut is unbelievable and I’m always down for some boxer!JK, thank you very much.

❈ got that young love (even when we're old) by offthebeat [m / 12k] ~ Summary:  a three-day trip back to busan shouldn't incite these strange feelings in jeongguk again. but, well, busan is almost always equivalent to jimin, and jeongguk's never been the greatest at dealing with either. post-disbandment!au. ~ Commentary: oh this was so heartwrenching and heartwarming at the same time, the way the story was set and the turns of the plot, plus their internal dilemmas and unresolved feelings just gave this a wonderful atmosphere.

❈ Nu ABO: A Memoir by Park Jimin by decompositionbooks [e / 34.5k] ~ Summary:  The world didn't think it was necessary to give him a guide when it shoved all of these omega hormones at him, so here it is, Park Jimin's handbook on dealing with heats, unrequited love, and Jeon Jungkook. ~ Commentary: I’m sure everyone already knows or at least heard of this one but I just had to put it on this list because it wouldn’t be complete without it. I can’t express my love for this fic with words, so I just suggest you go ahead and read it if you haven’t already (and if you have, well, read it again).

❈ joke's on you (i'm in love) by NaHe [t / 2.5k] ~ Summary:  Jimin plays a prank on Jungkook for his YouTube channel, expecting him to get angry but Jungkook has always had a soft spot for his hyung. Things don't go as planned. ~ Commentary: FLUFF!!!!!! PURE FLUFF I LOVE IT SO MUCH THAT’S ALL

❈  Wish You Were Here by nochucomethru [m / 28.5k] ~ Summary: Jungkook clicked on his picture. And wow. Taehyung was right for once. The dude was gorgeous. His name was Jimin. He was Korean, like them and he had a really pretty smile. Pretty enough that Jungkook actually felt nervous. “He’s really cute. What do I say?” Jungkook asked. ~ Commentary: Listen. Everything about this is perfect, don’t fight me on this. I spent pretty much the entire time I was reading it squealing about how they acted with each other. If you read it, please come scream with me about it.

❈ And Back Again by novilunar [m / 3k] ~ Summary:  Jimin wishes he could stay away from Jungkook ~ Commentary: it was extremely easy for me to identify with Jimin in this and I love it when I can find a fic that makes me feel as much as this one did. Not to mention that the way it was written was just fantastic!

❈ Tastes Like Victory by eumorious [e / 170.5k] ~ Summary: "You fuck me, then snub me. You love me, you hate me. You show me a sensitive side, then you turn into a total asshole." Jeon Jeongguk's, a successful underground fighter, life collides with the damaged, vulnerable stripper Park Jimin who needs training on how to fight and defend himself against his clients. Jeongguk is the perfect candidate for the job. ~ Commentary: okay, so this one... I’ve seen a lot of controversy on it before and after I read it but I can’t help but consider it one of my favorites. Granted, I couldn’t read it all at once like the majority of the stories on this list because of how intense and heavy it is, but I still love it a lot. Taehyung and Jungkook’s friendship is so so so beautiful it’s got to be one of my favorite things about it. It’s amazing to see Jungkook evolve and open up and literally transform in front of our eyes, 10/10 for character development. I highly recommend it, but please pay attention to the tags and warnings.

❈ As You Are by  jonghyunslisterine [e / 19k] ~ Summary:  Jungkook's looking for a model for his Shibari exhibition. Jimin just needs some money. ~ Commentary: there’s a certain feeling to this story that I can’t pinpoint but it left me so immersed in it it was hard to let go when it ended. The characterization it amazing and the use of shibari is perfectly done, it doesn’t feel like just another plot device.

❈ What You Need by jonghyunslisterine [e / 8.1k] ~ Summary:  Jimin's heat hits him early, and it's because Jungkook gets into a fight. ~ Commentary: I know, I know... this author again? It’s not my fault their stories are so amazing, okay, let me be... This is pure smut but it’s amazing and definitely worth your time, I promise.

❈ No Strings Attached by graesun [e / 23.3k] ~ Summary:  Jungkook likes his job, but sometimes he wishes he had someone to do it for him. ~ Commentary: as I mentioned before, I’m all for bottom!kook especially when he’s a shy bunny just like in this fic. Oh, and if that’s not enough to convince you, he’s also a camboy, I mean... how many camboy!jk fics are out there? This one is truly a treasure.

❈ Sweeter Than Your Coffee by TsingaDark [g / 3.5k] ~ Summary: Jungkook had a problem. Okay, maybe it was three consecutive problems that all originated from the same thing. Or well, the same person, to be perfectly honest. Problem No. 1 Jungkook had a massive, massive crush on Park Jimin. ~ Commentary: CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE I couldn’t even wait for class to finish to read this, that’s how adorable and great it was.

❈ BTS: Beyond That Screen by jeonify [g / 5.3k] ~ Summary: "i saw you making a face drinking the coffee i made... again... so here's a little something in case i screwed up your coffee. again." + "i liked a picture of my crush in 2014 while trying to stalk him on instagram. shit." alternatively: your ultimate coffeeshop au meets youtuber au ~ Commentary: this has got to be one of the most adorable things I have read in weeks!!!! Again, I was in class while I read it and I had to stop myself from grinning too hard or making any type of noises because it was just SO!!!! CUTE!!!!! I LOVE IT

❈ your body is a place to stay by jonghyunslisterine [t / 8.8k] ~ Summary:  In which Jungkook juggles a five-year-old daughter, Jimin the pretty bookstore employee, and coworkers who like to tease him too much. ~ Commentary: by now you’re all convinced that I love this author, right? This is another work of art, beautiful written and completely captivating. Jungkook’s relationship with his daughter made my heart warm and the way Jimin surprises Jungkook by being the opposite of everyone else made me cry.

❈ Mono No Aware by eumorious [e / 105k] ~ Summary:  Jimin and Jeongguk were only 18 when they moved to New York City and got married, sure that they were soulmates and destined to last forever. Four unfortunate years later, they're divorced and haven't seen a single sight of each other. That is until Jimin's signed as a model in the company Jeongguk works as a photographer for. ~ Commentary: this one is so heartbreaking, my chest hurt at every paragraph! There’s something so painful about the way this author writes but it only leaves me wanting more. I loved every second of it, but please be careful with the tags and warnings.

❈ loverboy by gangbang [m / 9.7k] ~ Summary:  this much jimin’s figured out: sometimes, somehow, his words make people fall in love with him. ~ Commentary: The writing in this is absolutely fantastic and the emotions designated to each of the characters fits perfectly with them. Their dynamics is also really well thought and well written and I love the general atmosphere of the story.

❈ more golden than a golden snitch by aborescent [g / 4.5k] ~ Summary: Everyone knows that the first year Slytherin seeker Jeon Jungkook's biggest fan is not from his own house but a third year Hufflepuff named Park Jimin. ~ Commentary: CUTE CUTE CUTE PLEASE DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND READ THE ENTIRE SERIES I’M NOT EVEN GOING TO WASTE MORE TIME HERE JUST GO READ IT PLEASE

❈ Surviving Jeon Jungkook by weliveandbreathwords [t / 20.5k] ~ Summary:  The time that Jimin had to sit next to the notorious Jeon Jungkook and had to do all he could to come out alive. ~ Commentary: bad boy!Jungkook being completely taken with Jimin has got to be one of my favorite tropes EVER! It’s amazing how their relationship progresses (the doodlessss my heart!!!) and how we get to see both sides of the story too! Seriously, give this one a chance!!

❈ promise rings by cocksluts [e / 21.8k] ~ Summary:  cliche friends with benefits problems with slight twists of some sort ~ Commentary: I LOVE IT WHEN THEY’RE IN LOVE BUT CAN’T BE TOGETHER GOD DAMN IT sorry but I just- the way Jimin handles the situation and how Jungkook’s the one that spills his heart out yes please give me four thousand fics like this!!!!!!!! 

❈ Taste You by beautifulmoment [e / 2.8k] ~ Summary: The band has a photoshoot to do and Jimin’s been brooding all day until Jungkook finds out why. Or, Jimin and admittedly Jungkook really want to try out something new. ~ Commentary: OH BOI THIS ONE listen- I don’t even know what to say, okay, it’s just great and I really enjoyed it!!!!!!!!!!!!

❈ Cheat by Nochucomethru [t / 2.7k] ~ Summary:  When he got inside he was greeted with the sound of a beautiful laugh that he didn’t recognize. Despite being Sungjin’s babysitter for three years, Jungkook had never met Jimin. He heard stories about him so many times from his younger brother, but he was just now realizing that he didn’t even know what the man looked like. ~ Commentary: so here’s yet another author that has a lot of places in this list, oops? Their dynamics in this is AMAZING, and the way they behave around each other works super well despite having just met. Wonderfully written, and Jimin’s mom is great.

❈ and a circus ain't a love story (now we're both sorry) by sweetmxchi [m / 4k] ~ Summary: in his desire to escape, jungkook ends up finding something that will keep him grounded. ~ Commentary: um yes, hi, here’s some shameless self promo lol the reason I included this fic is because I’ve been going through some changes in my life and it’s reflecting in what I write... this is different from most of the stuff I’ve written and while I am super proud of myself for finishing it (it took me weeks to get it done) I’m also a bit insecure. so yeah, if you feel like it, let me know what you think?

❈  reassurance by blushguk [t / 1k] ~ Summary:  in which taehyung and jimin are a little too close for jungkook's liking ~ Commentary: I cried reading this, that is all. This is not your typical jealous!jk fic and I loved it for it!

❈  It’s always been you by calicojikook [m / 11k] ~ Summary:  Jungkook and Jimin have a history together. Years later, Jungkook works in a body mod. shop with Yoongi and gets an unexpected customer. ~ Commentary: I’m always a sucker for tattoo artist!Jungkook and this one is so so so well done, I had my heart in my hands while I was reading it. A bit painful, but it’s all worth it in the end.

❈ Nanny by Nochucomethru [m / 13.1k] ~ Summary: “I can’t believe I’m actually considering being a nanny. What did I do wrong in my life?” Jungkook sighed, leaning back in his chair. “Probably the entire sleeve tattoo that you couldn’t afford,” Taehyung said. ~ Commentary: I think it’s time we establish that this is one of my favorite authors and literally everything they write is perfect. JK is so soft in this and I love the way the author portrayed his relationship with Jimin’s daughter. I loved every. word. of. it. READ IT!!!!

❈ To the naked eye by mecchayabai [e / 6k] ~ Summary:  It’s one of those meaningless, mandatory classes, and Jungkook is fully prepare to spend it doodling dicks into his notebook. But when Jungkook sees the TA, the only thing he wants to do with a dick is stick it into him. ~ Commentary: YES YES YES!!!! The tension between them is great, and I love Jungkook’s characterization in this!!!

❈ nudity in its best form by yoonnseok [m / 11.6k / unfinished] ~ Summary: Best friends since elementary school, Jeongguk and Jimin agreed to help their photography major friend Taehyung with his new project. But Taehyung forgot (not really) to mention the theme. Which was, nudity. ~ Commentary: this is so beautiful! I have no words to describe how well written this is, and I was so immersed in it from the first paragraph! Although it’s not finished, I still love it a lot!

❈ #jikook by TsingaDark [t / 11k] ~ Summary:  Jimin has a crush on Jungkook and finally meets him when he accompanies Taehyung to a gaming convention. ~ Commentary: this is so cutejkndlsjkndns their characterization is A M A Z I N G and I was smiling all throughout the fic, really!! lots of love to it <3

❈ just stay by hellodarknessmyoldbud [g / 3.8k] ~ Summary:  “Hyung, you don't love me.” the youngest whimpers as tears keep streaming down his cheeks. “You love each other.” ~ Commentary: okay, firstly: this is yoonminkook so not everyone is going to read it, I know... but it’s so sad and heartbreaking and GOD it made me feel so many things, I HAD to put it in here!!

❈ yesteryear’s charms by flitter [m / 18.3k] ~ Summary: After losing a bet, Jimin has to perform the Jingle Bell Rock routine from the iconic Muggle film, Mean Girls, at Hogwarts' annual talent show, dressed in red pleather and black knee-high boots. He receives a bigger reaction from certain people (read: ult rival Jeon Jeongguk) than expected. ~ Commentary: LISTEN!!!!!!!!! All HP AUs are welcome and loved in this household, especially Slytherin!Jimin ones, okay?? This fic, mannnnnn, I actually can’t tell you how much I love it, you just have to read it and see for yourself.

❈ Shy, Curious by onlyalivetonight [e / 17.2k] ~ Summary:  Jungkook goes to a 'Shy, Curious' night for a BDSM club, because he is shy and definitely curious. He meets Jimin and Yoongi, who might just want him as much as he wants them. ~ Commentary: I SWEAR I didn’t mean to put another yoonminkook in here but this one just pulls at my heart strings in all the best ways :(( their characterization and dynamics as couples and a trio are so so so perfectly written, I just wanted more! it’s soft and hard at the same time and I loved every moment I spent reading it!

❈ We Can Smile by njhft_mgc [m / 3.2k] ~ Summary:  rich CEO boyfie jimin buys jungkook lots and lots of pretty stuff ok ~ Commentary: I’m always a sucker for sugar daddy AUs and whipped!Jimin so OF COURSE this gem had to be included, it’s so good :(((

❈ Love Exhibition by busanmonarchy [m / 2k] ~ Summary: P.D.A. (Public Displays of Affection): – acts of physical intimacy in the view of others. Or: Jimin and Jungkook are in love and not trying to hide it. ~ Commentary: this one :( it’s so beautiful, the way it’s written really highlights the nature of their relationship and makes us feel how in love they are and it just warms my heart and makes me sad at the same time

❈ Hey batter batter, hey batter batter, swing! by lovevminkook [g / 2.4k] ~ Summary:  Jimin gets his boyfriend to teach him about baseball. Jungkook might regret it later on. ~ Commentary: this is HILARIOUS plus the high school musical reference really does it for me ejhsdjn read it, seriously, I love it a lot!

❈ fetish for my love by meatykook [e / 4k] ~ Summary: Jimin found Jungkook's lace shirt so distracting that he decided to tell the whole world that. Jungkook is going to show him how really distracting it can be. ~ Commentary: okay so I remember when Jimin said that and I was like djshnjn EXCUSE ME and T H E N I found this fic and OH MY GOD please read you’re in for a RIDE

❈ Itchy Fingers by peanutbutterapple [g / 6.3k] ~ Summary:  Jungkook is on the hip hop team. Jimin does Irish dance. ~ Commentary: um so this is the cutest thing?? their characterization is AMAZING and everything flows really well and I love it

❈ If Only You Knew by pancakejungkook [t / 3.7k] ~ Summary: Jimin was just tying to be a good friend, he only wanted to help. However, when he opened Jungkook's laptop, he got so much more than he bargained for. ((Based off the prompt: You've been typing furiously on your laptop in the library, and have just gone to get a book, so I had a quick look and you're writing hardcore gay porn and it's GOOD.)) ~ Commentary: LISTEN FJNSDKLN JUST THE PROMPT IS ALREADY ICONIC THE REST OF THE STORY IS EVEN BETTER I’M DYING JUST THINKING ABOUT IT

❈ i'm getting way too deep (i'm into it) by jhsmyg [e / 7.3k] ~ Summary: jikook meets on grindr. jimin said he wanted to fuck him later. jungkook was into it. ~ Commentary: there are no comments?? for this??? nothing I can say can make it better or even compare to how amazing this is so just go read it pls

❈ Getting to Know You by mn_bts [e / 5.4] ~ Summary:  Jungkook is just another overwhelmed college student. His hot neighbor, Jimin, has an interesting problem with a bold silver lining. ~ Commentary: Jimin playing innocent to get what he wants will always be my weak spot plus this fic is so HOT I can’t even put it into words (also I just reread this while updating the list so...........)

❈ me and you, living under a paper moon by eutony [t / 6k] ~ Summary: wherein jimin’s a barista who hates rude customers, and jeongguk’s just a guy who wants to order a latte without making a complete fool of himself. or: the “you’re the jerk-face customer that keeps on thumbing through their phone while ordering their drink so I exact revenge by spelling your name wrong on your cup and drawing phallic pictures on your coffee” AU. ~ Commentary: this is adorableeeee and funny too edsnjn Jimin’s characterization is AMAZING and the way Kook just rolls with it yes thank you for this gem

❈ i guess i want too much by jonghyunslisterine [e / 16.5k] ~ Summary: "So, uh, how do you guys know each other?" "We're brothers," Jungkook says, and Jimin chokes on his own spit. Great. He fucked a pair of brothers. ~ Commentary: so I love when Jimin is written the way he was in this fic, that’s already a huge thing I appreciate in this fic BUT it is yoonminkook (admittedly not the only one in this list oops?) so idk if you guys like that... either way, this author is one of my faves as you can see from the number of works they have in this rec and the way they write is AMAZING plus the story is FANTASTIC and the smut is INCREDIBLE not to mention how well the story goes together and their dynamics too.

❈ The Chili Pepper Incident by thisneedsmorefilth [e / 7.5k] ~ Summary: Jungkook always thought Jimin was well...tiny. Short, little hands, small feet, small....everything. But add in a broken laptop charger and a maknae who doesn’t bother knocking and the truth will set you free. And get you laid. ~ Commentary: immediate fave just for Jimin’s characterization. jikook’s dynamics are A+ and the way Kook slowly loses his mind when things don’t go the way he expected is also amazing lmao

❈ in bloom by fatal (cumrich) [t / 2.5k] ~ Summary:  jimin still hasn't wrapped his head around the fact that he has a husband but that doesn't mean he can't appreciate the sight of him. ~ Commentary: okay so the fact is that I don’t usually read ABO fics but this one, man....... it called for me you know? and when I read it it just got my heart in a way that I can’t even comprehend. so here, enjoy it, it’s WONDERFUL.

❈ Emotional Colors by WorldwideWriter [nr / 14.2k] ~ Summary: An AU in which your hair color changes based on the emotions that you're experiencing. or Jimin has been way too obvious about his feelings lately and Jungkook is a hormonal young man who should know that taking off his shirt in front of Jimin is a bad idea. ~ Commentary: LOVE THIS CONCEPT LOVE THE WRITING LOVE THE CHARACTERIZATION LOVE THE SMUT PERFECT YES

❈ I Get Off On You (And You) by HereIGoAgain [e / 15k] ~ Summary: "You trying to fuck him?" Jimin smiled and looked over at Jungkook. He was pleased to see that Jungkook was watching them, even as he shifted and moved with the music. "Or you," Jimin said, and enjoyed the definitive dark flicker that passed through Yoongi's eyes, felt himself internally preen at the fact that it was directed at him. "Whoever you think can fuck me the best." ~ Commentary: so um...... yes, it’s another yoonminkook fic SUE ME but just.... everything about this, the way they interact, the way they were written, the teasing, the dialogue and the smut let me tell you, this smut???????? FUCKING PERFECT there are no other ways I can compliment this fic but it’s SO SO SO WORTH THE READ

❈ Scribbles and Drawings by evil_pandabear [g / 2.3k] ~ Summary: Jimin would draw for his soulmate whenever he could, and in return he got adorable scribbles of random notes. Jungkook was forgetful and would write everything down on his hand, and got to watch the beautiful drawings form on his arm. ~ Commentary: cute cute cute cuTE CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTEEEEEEEE put a huge smile on my face

#jikook fic rec #jikook #kookmin #jikook fic #jikook au #this took way too long #but here it is #i'll update it regularly #well #i'll try

[booksbakingandblogging]

It’s time to step up and do the work to eradicate racism. That’s an abrupt start to a blog post, but it’s also the truth and one that we shouldn’t ignore any longer. Over the past week, protests have erupted all over the world in response to the murder of George Floyd, and it doesn’t look like they’re stopping any time soon – and with good reason. Black people have been faced with racism every day for centuries and they are tired of it. Of course they are. It’s a gross injustice and it’s taking human lives. This isn’t a political issue – it’s a human rights issue, and we need to stop looking away and face it. We live in a world with systemic racism, where Black people (and people of colour in general) face microaggressions every single day. Racism is a system created by white people, so it will need to be dismantled by white people as well. Let’s stand up, and get to work (follow this link to find out how you can help).

That was my little speech. Now, let’s get down to specifics of this post: we need to educate ourselves. A lot of people (myself included) have been too ignorant about racism for a long time, and in order to be able to help, we need to learn. Part of that is reading books by Black authors, both fiction and non-fiction. Fiction can teach us empathy and it can create understanding, which is extremely important. On the other hand, non-fiction faces us with our history and everything that’s going on in the world in concrete terms. Let’s educate ourselves and read books by Black authors. Not just the ones that tell us about pain and trauma, but also the ones about joy and happiness. We need to learn, and this is a good way to do it. Plus, by reading more Black authors, we’re giving off a sign to the publishing industry that books by Black authors are wanted and cherished.

10 books by Black authors to read right now

While putting together this list, I realised that I can do much better myself as well: I need to read more books by Black authors too. Luckily, there are tons of other people out there making lists of books by Black authors, so I’ve found many books to add to my TBR already. I recommend checking out these two lists by Chapters of May and Electric Lit, too. If you’re looking for more non-fiction resources, including articles, films and podcasts, you can check out this list!

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1. The Hate U Give – Angie Thomas (2017)

Let’s start with the most obvious one first given the current situation. If you’re a fan of YA and haven’t read this yet: what are you doing? This novel tells the story of Starr, a Black girl who sees her best friend be murdered by the police right in front of her eyes. It deals with the aftermath of this traumatic and terrible event, as Starr struggles with what happened while having to see her friend be talked about all over the media. At the same time, it’s also a story about Starr as a teenage girl, and her loving family. This book was inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement and it’s extremely important. I’m happy to say that it’s a bestseller and has sold millions of copies.

2. Such a Fun Age – Kiley Reid (2019)

In Such a Fun Age, our 25-year-old Black protagonist Emira works as a babysitter for a white family, caring for three-year-old Briar. The story kicks off when Emira is apprehended by a security guard in a grocery store because he thinks she has kidnapped Briar. The book deals with racism and white privilege and it’s a very eye-opening read. I learned a lot from it in terms of unintentional racism (remember: impact is more important than intent). Plus, the writing is phenomenal. I can’t wait to read more by this debut author.

3. A Different Drummer – William Melvin Kelley (1962)

I read this book last month, and it’s the best book I’ve read in a long time (read my full review here). It is a literary masterpiece: stylistically brilliant and a story that takes on epic proportions. On a random day in 1957, in a fictional state in the deep south of the USA, the entire Black population decides to leave. They pack their things and leave the state, fed up with its racist history and the way they are being treated by the white population. The story is told through the perspective of this white population that is left behind and it is so incredibly powerful. William Melvin Kelley was described as ‘the lost giant of American literature’. Why was he forgotten? Let’s just say it: it was most likely because of racism. Go read this book!

4. Let’s Talk About Love – Claire Kann (2018)

June is also pride month, so I want to add at least one LGBTQIA+ book to this list. Alice is a Black, biromantic, asexual girl in college and she is done with dating after her girlfriend breaks up with her for being asexual. But then Takumi becomes her new co-worker at the library she works at, and she can’t stop thinking about him. This novel explores asexuality in such a wonderful way and I thoroughly enjoyed it and learned a lot from it. I’d highly recommend picking it up!

5. There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyoncé – Morgan Parker (2017)

Let’s throw some poetry in the mix! In this collection, Morgan Parker explores what it’s like to be a Black American woman in the 21st century. She uses pop-culture and political references as her framework and doesn’t shy away from important and difficult topics such a depression, isolation, and exoticism. Thought-provoking and confronting, this is an essential collection for anyone who is into modern poetry.

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6. Dear Martin – Nic Stone (2017)

In Dear Martin, main character Justyce tries to do everything ‘right’: get good grades, dress appropriately, and be an all-around upstanding citizen. Nevertheless, when he tries to help out his drunk ex-girlfriend, he is arrested by a (racist) white cop, and he realises he cannot escape racial profiling from the institution that is meant to protect him. He feels a lot of frustration and anger at this realisation and decides to try and apply the teachings of Martin Luther King Jr. He begins to write letters to MLK as he tries to find his place in the world, dealing with white privileged, racist assholes (let’s just say it as it is) and police brutality. Another book that taught me so, so much.

7. Why I’m No Longer Talking To White People About Race – Reni Eddo-Lodge (2017)

This is the only book on this list that I haven’t read in its entirety – but I’m in the middle of it and I am learning an awful lot about racism and white privilege in Britain. For those of you who think that racism is only a big problem in the USA: think again, and read this. Reni Eddo-Lodge didn’t plan on writing this book; she wrote a blog post with the same title, explaining that whenever she talked to white people about racism, she encountered skeptical stares and people unwilling to learn. Wanting to protect herself from that in the future, she vowed to stop talking about racism to white people. The response to the blog post was so enormous, however, that she ended up writing this book. It’s been on my radar for a few years now, but I’m ashamed to admit that it apparently took an uprising for me to get up off my lazy ass and actually read this, and educate myself. I urge you to do the same!

8. Children of Blood and Bone – Tomi Adeyemi (2018)

More of a fantasy reader? No problem, I’ve got a recommendation for that as well, even though fantasy is a notoriously white genre. Children of Blood and Bone is a YA fantasy novel based on West African mythology. It tells the story of a land in which magic has disappeared. When that happened, the king ordered all maji to be murdered. The children of these maji remain alive, though, but they become outcasts. They have darker skin than the rest of the population and are judged and discriminated against because of it (sound familiar?). The novel tells the story of Zélie, who finds herself with a chance to bring magic back, but has to race against the clock to do so. This is a YA fantasy story that has an all-black cast of character and explores and condemns racism: such an important addition to the genre.

9. With the Fire on High – Elizabeth Acevedo (2019)

This book tells the story of Emoni, who lives with her grandmother and is still in high school – but also has a young daughter to take care of. Emoni loves to cook, and the novel is filled with delicious descriptions of food and some of the recipes Emoni creates from scratch, which I always love in a book. It also deals with all the prejudice Emoni encounters as a Black teenage mother, however, and how it differs from how her daughter’s white teenage father is treated. Sexism and racism are both explored, but this novel is also a wonderful coming of age story as Emoni tries to figure out what she wants to do with her life.

10. The Sun Is Also a Star – Nicola Yoon (2016)

Spanning one single day in New York, this YA novel deals with racism and immigration, but it’s also a story of two people falling in love. Natasha has one day before her family will be deported to Jamaica, and she is desperate to find a way to stay in the USA. In the meantime, Korean-American Daniel is on his way to his college admission interview. They meet by chance and they spend one day together, Daniel wanting to fall in love and Natasha feeling the absolute opposite. I learned a lot about both of these two characters’ cultures and about what it is like to be an immigrant in the USA. As far as learning about other perspectives goes, this is a very good book to pick up.

With everything that's going on in the world, I wanted to do my part to raise some awareness and hopefully help educate some people. Here are 10 great books by Black authors to pick up and read today! It's time to step up and do the work to eradicate racism. That's an abrupt start to a blog post, but it's also the truth and one that we shouldn't ignore any longer.

#Black Lives Matter #Books #List #Novels #Reading #Recommendations

[joulethieves]

Ri’s FFXII Fic Reclist

(posted 10/17/17; will update and reblog accordingly) I posted a while back asking if anyone would be interested in some recommendations and got a decent response. So, here you go! I’ll try to organize this in the best way possible with characters and pairings and timelines bolded so you can skim faster. If you know me, you know I’m a fervent Balthier/Vaan shipper--but never fear, this rec-list is spread out amongst other facets of the fandom outside of that ship. This is my first installation while I try to find others I’ve read in the past. However, I do have a love for pre-canon, post-canon, and Balthier-centric fics. I’ll try not to rate these in order of favorites, but I do have some top-threes that I’ll post first.

1) Four and Twenty Blackbirds by ColoredInk; Balthier & Fran, Bahamut-centric. as I wrote in my AO3 bookmarks, “the legend. my number one. for all you read in this fandom, read this.” being only shy of 6k, it’s modest, but so, so powerful; Coloredink is one of my favorite XII authors and their Balthier meta has inspired me greatly in my future worldbuilding. The imagery here, the pacing, the darkness the author puts you in. I’ve read this like 20 times, okay.

2) Haunted by Dreams Deferred by Person; Balthier/Vaan, post-Bahamut. This was, hilariously enough, written for me on LJ in 2009 for the BalVaan secret santa. I can’t remember what I requested; I think it was some postgame Bahamut BalVaan angst because that’s my favorite thing, and I think I requested Balthier suffering lasting injuries from it (hell yeah, suffering Balthier, my kink). I was expecting a simple oneshot; what the author wrote was 16k of what is my favorite Balthier/Vaan fanfic out there. It hits all the right spots. Their Vaan is absolutely charming - here he is just the right amount of everything. Their permanently injured Balthier does all sorts of things to me; how he deals with it, how Vaan deals with it, how they both come to deal with it. And Fran’s presence is perfectly placed between them. Really, this partnered with Four and Twenty Blackbirds has done so much for me in my worldbuilding for future XII fics. 

3) The Death of Balthier the Deathless by ColoredInk; Balthier & Fran, a beautifully-crafted postpostpost-game oneshot piece centered around Balthier dealing with aging, mortality, and the like. Airship meta, action scenes, aging Balthier and haunting landscapes really bring this beautifully to life.  And death. Well, what? - The title explains it all. 

more under the cut of various fics featuring Gabranth, Fran, Al-Cid, Vossler, Basch, Cid, Venat, more BalVaan

 Some Watcher of the Skies; Ffamran, Cid, Venat, pre-canon. Once again Coloredink’s interpretation of Balthier outside of canon timeline really adds so much to an already fascinating fan-favorite character.  Ffamran deals with Cid dealing with Venat. Touches on really fun small Balthier-details and a bit about how he meets Fran. Short. (I said interpretation earlier - I would say “understanding” but I find that to be an unfair pedestal to place a fanfic author upon; everyone has their own interpretation, and in fanfic, it’s less of understanding especially in pre-and-post-canon. Understanding is the basis, interpretation is the flesh around the bone. To say a fanfic author “understands” a character sounds too subjective to me.)

Across the Golden Hills - Ffamran-and-Fran-centric, pre-canon; who wants a cute Balthier Meets Fran Fic?? Wow in addition to writing amazing smut Laylah also kills it with the pre-canon meta (on another note, read her other fics re: smut. mmmm) I love reading about Ffamran escaping Archades and he is...so cute here. And Fran is great. I don’t want to give anything away.

Rendezvous & Amorio by ColoredInk - Al-Cid/Balthier, post-canon, two oneshots. Let me have this. They both tickle me. Smutty.

Making His Peace With It by sheffiesharpe - Vossler/Gabranth, Basch/Balthier by sheffiesharpe. Novel-length 100k+ Another Gabranth Lives story but... Wooo--sheffiesharpe. What an author! What a kinky author. I know the fandom has certain sides they take with the Vossler thing so take that as you will, it’s both equally-divided between this ship and I haven’t read the whole thing in many years but it’s excellent from what I recall. I keep trying to re-read it but I can’t find the time, however I totally recommend it. It’s certainly a dedication and labor of love from them and I really remember enjoying how they approach the dynamics between the two pairings. The Vossler/Gabranth is what you’d expect; manly-man things, S&M, macho, angst. The BalBasch is a nice diversion from that to break up that heavy pairing, because face it, BalBasch is cute.

A Clear Line of Sight by sheffiesharpe - Balthier/Basch, post-canon; kind of based off of the above but you don’t have to read the 100k+ fic to understand it, thus why they made this a standalone oneshot fic. It’s just really cute okay. Smutty.

All They Can See by sheffiesharpe - Gabranth, Basch, Drace in-game; a 2k narrative on the attack on Nalbina. Just some interesting meta. I’m not as crazy about the Judges as a good portion of a tumblr niche fandom is here but I find this to be very interesting. 

Something To Keep Him Here by sheffiesharpe - Gabranth, Larsa, beginning of game. Ugh damn I thought I wrote a review for this, I guess I didn’t. I need to. This is one of my favorites due to the absolute vibrancy the author paints into the landscape and action-scenes here. I took so many notes based on how they write. The descriptions are excellent. Gabranth goes on a midnight chocobo ride to get some fresh air and it escalates from there.

Balthier’s Guide to Ivalice by empyrean - Balthier/Vaan, ingame to postgame. Works like these validate this pairing beautifully, starting from the moment Balthier’s attraction is piqued all the way to the denial, discomfort, and finally the acceptance and embracing of his feelings. This work was such a treat. I highly enjoy their ever-aware, forward Vaan. The Vaan that renders Balthier to a sputtering, blinking half-wit. The Vaan that challenges Balthier and proves that, although kind of a dingus and a pretty face, he's no idiot. I wrote a huge review on this anyway so they know how I feel about it.

Way One Moves Time by rabbitprint - Cid, Venat, mentions of Ffamran, pre-canon. Okay--this? This is 10k of freaking excellent and completely 100% overlooked and underloved pre-canon gorgeous meta re: Cid meeting Venat, his struggles coming over to Venat’s proposals, a grieving Cid, an obsessed Cid, a mad and brilliant and infatuated-with-nethecite Cid. Really solid foundation for his character and on-point Occurian dialogue. 

All in Due Time by pennies-4-eyes - Balthier/Vaan, ingame oneshot. This was also written on a request of mine and has stood as one of my favorite little BalVaans ever. Pre-ship tension, a Vaan trying to impress Balthier with some dangerous stunt, Vaan getting hurt, and Balthier’s reaction to it. Oh--and Basch’s presence in this fic is absolutely excellent, a portion of it taking place in his perspective. The author’s understanding of guns and war and PTSD really fit in here. I really love the way the author handles a concerned Balthier as well--it just, hhhh, it hits all the right spots for me. And yes, I’m taking you to FFnet for that one. Sorry.

I Could Drink a Case of You - Balthier/Basch, Al-Cid/Basch, ingame, oneshot - This is so delicious, that’s all I have to say.

as a PS for now - I can’t remember any fics in specific but I do know Threewalls has written over 100 fics of FFXII ranging from long to short 100word drabbles alllll across the board with all sorts of characters and pairings so if you want to do some shopping check them out.

#my recommendations #fanfiction #ffxii #final fantasy xii #balthier #fran #cid #venat #vaan #gabranth #vossler #basch

[bern33chaser]

How to Write a Novel: 10 Crucial Steps

Whatever you write: blog posts, short stories, client pieces – I suspect that, at some point, you’ve at least considered writing a novel.

Maybe it’s something you contemplate every November, when NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) rolls around. Or maybe you’ve had an idea bubbling away for years now, but you’ve been waiting until you have more time to write. His response Writing a whole novel might feel rather daunting, especially if you’ve only ever written shorter pieces before. You may well wonder where to even begin.

Whether you’ve always wanted to write a novel, ever since you started reading “chapter books” as a child … or whether it’s a more recent ambition, this post will take you step by step through what you need to do.

Step #1: Choose Your Genre

In fiction, “genre” describes different types of novel. For instance, “science fiction” is one genre and “romance” is another. Within big genres like that, there are also subgenres (e.g. compare “dystopian fiction” with “space opera”, or “steamy romance” with “Amish romance”).

Some authors know exactly what genre they want to write in: they enjoy reading, say, psychological thrillers and they want to write something similar.

Other authors aren’t sure. Perhaps they have an idea for a novel that doesn’t really fit an established genre. If that’s you, think about where your book could potentially be shelved in a bookstore. What other books are similar? What books are definitely not like it?

It’s important to pin genre down before going much further because most genres have quite specific requirements. Romance readers tend to expect short novels, for instance … and a happily ever after ending.

Step #2: Settle on an Idea

You might have a bunch of different ideas for novels, or maybe just one idea that you’ve been carrying around for a long time. Novels have all sorts of starting points – C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe stemmed from an image that Lewis had in his head of “a Faun carrying an umbrella and parcels in a snowy wood.”

If you don’t currently have an idea that you’re interested in writing about, don’t force yourself to come up with something. A novel is a big commitment of time and energy – you don’t want to embark on it if you’re not feeling engaged with your idea from the very start.

Do, however, be open to ideas. They might come from anything – a hobby, a news story, a very different novel, a piece of art or music, a friend’s dilemma. Wait until your idea arrives.

If you have an idea that you’re unsure about – maybe it has mileage, maybe it doesn’t – then try writing it as a short story or a novel excerpt. See if it falls flat, or if you find that you want to continue working on it.

Step #3: Develop Your Characters and the Relationships Between Them

What’s more important, plot or character? It’s a trick question, really: you can’t separate the two. The plot of a story is driven by the characters’ actions; the characters’ growth (or “character arc”) is driven by the plot.

Personally, I find it easiest to develop characters first, then think about the ins and outs of the plot. If you’re working in a plot-focused genre (like action adventure) then you might prefer to start with the plot and then develop characters to fit it.

When you’re thinking about characters, you’ll want to work out a core cast  for your novel. Don’t be tempted to throw in everyone – regardless of how “realistic” it might be. Yes, your characters probably have parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, best friends … but you don’t need to include all those unless they actually have a place in your story.

One technique for working out your characters is to get a piece of blank paper and draw a mindmap. Put each character’s name in a circle and work out how they relate to the other characters. Think about their key characteristics. (Are they cripplingly shy? Dangerously hubristic?) This is a good point to start working out which characters might come into conflict.

Your story may not have a “villain” as such, but it’s likely that there’ll be some major characters who play an antagonistic role. They could be well-meaning (e.g. a bumbling office-mate), a bit unpleasant  (e.g. a glamorous and witheringly sarcastic mother-in-law) or downright nasty (e.g. a neighbour with serious anger-management issues).

Step #4: Decide How You’re Going to Tell Your Story

With novels, you’ve got some crucial choices to make about how you tell the story. You need to decide on whether you’ll write it in the first person (“I”) or the third person (“he/she”), and also whether you’ll use past or present tense.

(Technically, using the second person, “you”, is also an option, but I’ve never seen a novelist pull that off! It can work for a short story.)

There’s no “right” answer about whether to choose first or third person. With first person, present tense is fairly common (“I roll over in bed and reach for the alarm clock…”) but plenty of first person novels are written in past tense (“I rolled over in bed and reached for the alarm clock…”).

Third person present tense is seen as a slightly more unusual, literary choice (“He rolls over in bed and reaches for the alarm clock…”) but if it’s a good fit for your novel, go for it.

You’ll also want to think about how many viewpoints (also called perspectives) you want to use. With first person novels, it’s fairly normal to stick to a single viewpoint, but that’s not a hard and fast rule. With third person novels, it’s common to have more than one viewpoint, but to stick with one character’s perspective for each scene, only showing their thoughts and feelings.

If you’re not sure how best to tell the story, take a look at what other novels in your genre do.

Step #5: Think About Potential Sources of Conflict

Stories are driven by conflict – with no conflict, there wouldn’t be much story! Conflict comes in different flavours. Here are some key ones:

Internal – this is when a character’s struggles come from their own mind. For instance, they might be very anxious or shy, or they might find it very hard to connect to other people due to trauma in their past.

Interpersonal – this is conflict between characters. For instance, your character might get into a parking dispute with someone else in their block of flats.

Environmental – this is conflict that arises from an aspect of the character’s environment: for instance, it could be a physical limitation that they have, a financial problem, or a snowstorm that prevents them from getting to work.

Obviously, the different types of conflict can overlap – a financial problem might lead to interpersonal conflict (e.g. one spouse hiding difficulties from another) and to internal conflict (e.g. if the character needs to steal in order to feed their kids).

Look at your main character(s) and figure out what conflict you could throw in their path. Who might they end up arguing (or even fighting) with? What internal struggles are they trying to overcome? Is there anything in their environment that could make their life harder?

Step #6: Work Out a Rough Plot

Some authors write highly detailed outlines in advance … I’m not one of them! I do think it’s important to have a rough plot in mind, though; otherwise, you risk writing pages and pages that simply go nowhere.

Here are some good questions to ask yourself at this stage:

Where does your story begin? What kicks off the action? How do things get worse for your protagonist? How does it all end?

You can be as detailed (or not!) with your plans as you like. Keep in mind that you may find you want to change things as you go along, especially if this is your first novel – so don’t spend so long on planning that you’ll resist making necessary changes.

Novelist K.M. Weiland has some great resources on story structure that you might want to check out when you’re plotting your novel.

Step #7: Write the First Draft of Your Novel

This is a pretty big step! You might be surprised that it comes so far down the list – but there’s no point starting your first draft without any idea about your characters and plot.

Some authors like to write their first draft by jumping around between different scenes: they write whatever inspires them on a particular day, then they piece it all together at the end. I don’t think that’s a great approach for most novelists – it can lead to you leaving all the hardest scenes till last, for instance (and running out of steam altogether), and it makes it really tricky to have a natural flow of action and of character development.

So I’d recommend tackling your novel from beginning to end, drafting each scene as best as you can – whilst remembering that it is a draft that you’ll later be able to edit. Don’t aim for perfection at this stage.

Finishing your first draft will almost certainly take several months, and quite possibly a year or more. It’s easy to lose momentum partway, especially if this is your first attempt at a novel. If you’re struggling to keep going, there are some tips at the end of this article that will hopefully help.

Step #8: Read Through Your Whole Draft

Once you’ve finished your first draft, give yourself a huge pat on the back! This is the point in a novel where I like to break out some sparkling wine and celebrate having reached “the end”.

Of course, there’s still more work to do, but take a few days off first – not just for your sake, but also to give yourself the chance to return to your novel with fresh eyes.

After a break, read through your whole draft novel. I like to do this on my Kindle (you can send a Word document to your Kindle by following Amazon’s instructions here) – but you might want to print out your manuscript or even get it bound into a book by a print-on-demand service like Lulu. However you choose to read your novel, I’d suggest avoiding reading it in the same software in which you wrote it – you want to try to see it from a reader’s, rather than a writer’s, perspective.

As you read through the draft, jot down notes about any major changes that you think you need: chapters you might delete, scenes you might add, characters who aren’t really working, and so on. Don’t worry too much about little details at this stage – a clunky sentence here, a wordy bit of dialogue there. These might well get changed or cut during your revisions anyway, and you’ll do a close edit at a later stage.

Step #9: Redraft Your Novel

Redrafting is sometimes called “revising” which means “re-seeing” – this is your opportunity to see your novel afresh and shape it accordingly. You may well find that you need to make major changes – like cutting out big chunks of your story, fixing plot holes, removing or adding characters, and so on.

I know how frustrating it can be to cut thousands of words that you spent hours and hours working on – but ultimately, if those words are making your novel weaker rather than stronger, they need to go. The words you cut out aren’t wasted: they were an important part of the writing process, and they helped you get to this point.

(It’s very normal for novelists, even highly experienced ones, to make major changes at this point. Novels are complex, messy things!)

As with drafting, I like to approach redrafting sequentially: I start on page one and work forward. This means that I can incorporate major changes (like the removal of a character) throughout as I tweak other things, and I can make sure that the pacing and flow of the story still works.

Step #10: Do a Close Edit of Your Novel

The final step is to do a line by line edit of your novel. By this stage, you should be happy with all the major building blocks of your novel: your characters, the scenes, the key points in your plot. During this step, you’re not making major changes, just little tweaks.

As you edit your novel, line by line, look out for things like:

Awkward dialogue – maybe it sounds stilted, or it goes on too long.

Clunky sentences (you might want to read aloud to listen for ones that sound off).

Anything that doesn’t fit with your revisions – e.g. maybe you changed a character so they were much more decisive than before, but you have a couple of paragraphs where they’re dithering about a course of action.

Mistakes and typos – obviously check anything that your spell-checker has flagged up, but don’t trust it to have necessarily spotted all the mistakes. (Conversely, don’t blindly obey the spell-checker – sometimes its suggestions are wrong!)

Whew! You should now have – after probably a year or more – a finished, polished novel. This is the stage at which you could start thinking about submitting it to literary agents, or looking into self-publishing it.

I wanted to finish, though, with some key tips that fit across several of the different steps – I hope these will help you stay on track and produce the best novel you can.

Five Key Tips for Writing a Novel

Tip #1: Set Aside Regular Time for Your Novel

Whichever step of the plan you’re working on, you need to put time aside for it. (Even planning takes time – sometimes a surprising amount of it.) You don’t need to work on your novel every day, but if you want to see steady progress, I’d suggest finding 3 – 4 hours per week for it. That might mean 30 minutes a day or 2 hours every Monday and Thursday evening.

Tip #2: Get Feedback and Support

Most towns will have a local writers’ group (or several) – ask around! If nothing exists, talk to your local library about starting something up. A supportive group of writers will be invaluable in so many ways: you’ll meet likeminded people who “get” writing, and you’ll be able to get feedback from them on your work in progress.

Tip #3: If You’re Self-Publishing, Hire an Editor

If you plan to self-publish your novel, I’d strongly recommend hiring a professional editor. This won’t come cheap (you’re probably looking at $1,000 or more to edit a whole novel manuscript) – but it’s an essential part of publishing something of a professional standard. If you can’t afford to get your whole novel edited, at least pay for an editor to read and review your first few chapters – any issues they spot with those might well be repeated elsewhere in your novel.

Tip #4: Each Scene Should Have a Point

Every scene — in fact, every sentence! — in your novel should have a point. Avoid scenes where characters sit around drinking coffee and chatting, or even scenes where they bicker – unless there’s an actual purpose to it. It’s worth asking yourself, as you edit, “Does this scene advance the plot?” (If a scene reveals character, that’s important too – but there’s not much point showing us more about a particular character unless something is happening as a result.)

Tip #5: Keep a Writing Journal or Record

Every time you finish a writing session, make a quick note of what you achieved (or not)! This could be as simple as logging your wordcount for the day – but you might want to go further and include notes on how you felt about it (e.g. how focused you were, how much you enjoyed writing that scene) as well as anything you want to remember later on in the novel (e.g. that you’ve established a character has a brother, for instance).

Writing a novel is a major undertaking, but one that I hope you’ll find very rewarding. I think it’s something that every writer should attempt at least once. Work through the steps above, and this time next year, you could have a finished draft … and perhaps even a complete, edited novel. Best of luck!

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Original post: How to Write a Novel: 10 Crucial Steps from Daily Writing Tips https://www.dailywritingtips.com/how-to-write-a-novel/

[mrsteveecook]

How to Write a Novel: 10 Crucial Steps

Whatever you write: blog posts, short stories, client pieces – I suspect that, at some point, you’ve at least considered writing a novel.

Maybe it’s something you contemplate every November, when NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) rolls around. Or maybe you’ve had an idea bubbling away for years now, but you’ve been waiting until you have more time to write. His response Writing a whole novel might feel rather daunting, especially if you’ve only ever written shorter pieces before. You may well wonder where to even begin.

Whether you’ve always wanted to write a novel, ever since you started reading “chapter books” as a child … or whether it’s a more recent ambition, this post will take you step by step through what you need to do.

Step #1: Choose Your Genre

In fiction, “genre” describes different types of novel. For instance, “science fiction” is one genre and “romance” is another. Within big genres like that, there are also subgenres (e.g. compare “dystopian fiction” with “space opera”, or “steamy romance” with “Amish romance”).

Some authors know exactly what genre they want to write in: they enjoy reading, say, psychological thrillers and they want to write something similar.

Other authors aren’t sure. Perhaps they have an idea for a novel that doesn’t really fit an established genre. If that’s you, think about where your book could potentially be shelved in a bookstore. What other books are similar? What books are definitely not like it?

It’s important to pin genre down before going much further because most genres have quite specific requirements. Romance readers tend to expect short novels, for instance … and a happily ever after ending.

Step #2: Settle on an Idea

You might have a bunch of different ideas for novels, or maybe just one idea that you’ve been carrying around for a long time. Novels have all sorts of starting points – C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe stemmed from an image that Lewis had in his head of “a Faun carrying an umbrella and parcels in a snowy wood.”

If you don’t currently have an idea that you’re interested in writing about, don’t force yourself to come up with something. A novel is a big commitment of time and energy – you don’t want to embark on it if you’re not feeling engaged with your idea from the very start.

Do, however, be open to ideas. They might come from anything – a hobby, a news story, a very different novel, a piece of art or music, a friend’s dilemma. Wait until your idea arrives.

If you have an idea that you’re unsure about – maybe it has mileage, maybe it doesn’t – then try writing it as a short story or a novel excerpt. See if it falls flat, or if you find that you want to continue working on it.

Step #3: Develop Your Characters and the Relationships Between Them

What’s more important, plot or character? It’s a trick question, really: you can’t separate the two. The plot of a story is driven by the characters’ actions; the characters’ growth (or “character arc”) is driven by the plot.

Personally, I find it easiest to develop characters first, then think about the ins and outs of the plot. If you’re working in a plot-focused genre (like action adventure) then you might prefer to start with the plot and then develop characters to fit it.

When you’re thinking about characters, you’ll want to work out a core cast  for your novel. Don’t be tempted to throw in everyone – regardless of how “realistic” it might be. Yes, your characters probably have parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, best friends … but you don’t need to include all those unless they actually have a place in your story.

One technique for working out your characters is to get a piece of blank paper and draw a mindmap. Put each character’s name in a circle and work out how they relate to the other characters. Think about their key characteristics. (Are they cripplingly shy? Dangerously hubristic?) This is a good point to start working out which characters might come into conflict.

Your story may not have a “villain” as such, but it’s likely that there’ll be some major characters who play an antagonistic role. They could be well-meaning (e.g. a bumbling office-mate), a bit unpleasant  (e.g. a glamorous and witheringly sarcastic mother-in-law) or downright nasty (e.g. a neighbour with serious anger-management issues).

Step #4: Decide How You’re Going to Tell Your Story

With novels, you’ve got some crucial choices to make about how you tell the story. You need to decide on whether you’ll write it in the first person (“I”) or the third person (“he/she”), and also whether you’ll use past or present tense.

(Technically, using the second person, “you”, is also an option, but I’ve never seen a novelist pull that off! It can work for a short story.)

There’s no “right” answer about whether to choose first or third person. With first person, present tense is fairly common (“I roll over in bed and reach for the alarm clock…”) but plenty of first person novels are written in past tense (“I rolled over in bed and reached for the alarm clock…”).

Third person present tense is seen as a slightly more unusual, literary choice (“He rolls over in bed and reaches for the alarm clock…”) but if it’s a good fit for your novel, go for it.

You’ll also want to think about how many viewpoints (also called perspectives) you want to use. With first person novels, it’s fairly normal to stick to a single viewpoint, but that’s not a hard and fast rule. With third person novels, it’s common to have more than one viewpoint, but to stick with one character’s perspective for each scene, only showing their thoughts and feelings.

If you’re not sure how best to tell the story, take a look at what other novels in your genre do.

Step #5: Think About Potential Sources of Conflict

Stories are driven by conflict – with no conflict, there wouldn’t be much story! Conflict comes in different flavours. Here are some key ones:

Internal – this is when a character’s struggles come from their own mind. For instance, they might be very anxious or shy, or they might find it very hard to connect to other people due to trauma in their past.

Interpersonal – this is conflict between characters. For instance, your character might get into a parking dispute with someone else in their block of flats.

Environmental – this is conflict that arises from an aspect of the character’s environment: for instance, it could be a physical limitation that they have, a financial problem, or a snowstorm that prevents them from getting to work.

Obviously, the different types of conflict can overlap – a financial problem might lead to interpersonal conflict (e.g. one spouse hiding difficulties from another) and to internal conflict (e.g. if the character needs to steal in order to feed their kids).

Look at your main character(s) and figure out what conflict you could throw in their path. Who might they end up arguing (or even fighting) with? What internal struggles are they trying to overcome? Is there anything in their environment that could make their life harder?

Step #6: Work Out a Rough Plot

Some authors write highly detailed outlines in advance … I’m not one of them! I do think it’s important to have a rough plot in mind, though; otherwise, you risk writing pages and pages that simply go nowhere.

Here are some good questions to ask yourself at this stage:

Where does your story begin? What kicks off the action? How do things get worse for your protagonist? How does it all end?

You can be as detailed (or not!) with your plans as you like. Keep in mind that you may find you want to change things as you go along, especially if this is your first novel – so don’t spend so long on planning that you’ll resist making necessary changes.

Novelist K.M. Weiland has some great resources on story structure that you might want to check out when you’re plotting your novel.

Step #7: Write the First Draft of Your Novel

This is a pretty big step! You might be surprised that it comes so far down the list – but there’s no point starting your first draft without any idea about your characters and plot.

Some authors like to write their first draft by jumping around between different scenes: they write whatever inspires them on a particular day, then they piece it all together at the end. I don’t think that’s a great approach for most novelists – it can lead to you leaving all the hardest scenes till last, for instance (and running out of steam altogether), and it makes it really tricky to have a natural flow of action and of character development.

So I’d recommend tackling your novel from beginning to end, drafting each scene as best as you can – whilst remembering that it is a draft that you’ll later be able to edit. Don’t aim for perfection at this stage.

Finishing your first draft will almost certainly take several months, and quite possibly a year or more. It’s easy to lose momentum partway, especially if this is your first attempt at a novel. If you’re struggling to keep going, there are some tips at the end of this article that will hopefully help.

Step #8: Read Through Your Whole Draft

Once you’ve finished your first draft, give yourself a huge pat on the back! This is the point in a novel where I like to break out some sparkling wine and celebrate having reached “the end”.

Of course, there’s still more work to do, but take a few days off first – not just for your sake, but also to give yourself the chance to return to your novel with fresh eyes.

After a break, read through your whole draft novel. I like to do this on my Kindle (you can send a Word document to your Kindle by following Amazon’s instructions here) – but you might want to print out your manuscript or even get it bound into a book by a print-on-demand service like Lulu. However you choose to read your novel, I’d suggest avoiding reading it in the same software in which you wrote it – you want to try to see it from a reader’s, rather than a writer’s, perspective.

As you read through the draft, jot down notes about any major changes that you think you need: chapters you might delete, scenes you might add, characters who aren’t really working, and so on. Don’t worry too much about little details at this stage – a clunky sentence here, a wordy bit of dialogue there. These might well get changed or cut during your revisions anyway, and you’ll do a close edit at a later stage.

Step #9: Redraft Your Novel

Redrafting is sometimes called “revising” which means “re-seeing” – this is your opportunity to see your novel afresh and shape it accordingly. You may well find that you need to make major changes – like cutting out big chunks of your story, fixing plot holes, removing or adding characters, and so on.

I know how frustrating it can be to cut thousands of words that you spent hours and hours working on – but ultimately, if those words are making your novel weaker rather than stronger, they need to go. The words you cut out aren’t wasted: they were an important part of the writing process, and they helped you get to this point.

(It’s very normal for novelists, even highly experienced ones, to make major changes at this point. Novels are complex, messy things!)

As with drafting, I like to approach redrafting sequentially: I start on page one and work forward. This means that I can incorporate major changes (like the removal of a character) throughout as I tweak other things, and I can make sure that the pacing and flow of the story still works.

Step #10: Do a Close Edit of Your Novel

The final step is to do a line by line edit of your novel. By this stage, you should be happy with all the major building blocks of your novel: your characters, the scenes, the key points in your plot. During this step, you’re not making major changes, just little tweaks.

As you edit your novel, line by line, look out for things like:

Awkward dialogue – maybe it sounds stilted, or it goes on too long.

Clunky sentences (you might want to read aloud to listen for ones that sound off).

Anything that doesn’t fit with your revisions – e.g. maybe you changed a character so they were much more decisive than before, but you have a couple of paragraphs where they’re dithering about a course of action.

Mistakes and typos – obviously check anything that your spell-checker has flagged up, but don’t trust it to have necessarily spotted all the mistakes. (Conversely, don’t blindly obey the spell-checker – sometimes its suggestions are wrong!)

Whew! You should now have – after probably a year or more – a finished, polished novel. This is the stage at which you could start thinking about submitting it to literary agents, or looking into self-publishing it.

I wanted to finish, though, with some key tips that fit across several of the different steps – I hope these will help you stay on track and produce the best novel you can.

Five Key Tips for Writing a Novel

Tip #1: Set Aside Regular Time for Your Novel

Whichever step of the plan you’re working on, you need to put time aside for it. (Even planning takes time – sometimes a surprising amount of it.) You don’t need to work on your novel every day, but if you want to see steady progress, I’d suggest finding 3 – 4 hours per week for it. That might mean 30 minutes a day or 2 hours every Monday and Thursday evening.

Tip #2: Get Feedback and Support

Most towns will have a local writers’ group (or several) – ask around! If nothing exists, talk to your local library about starting something up. A supportive group of writers will be invaluable in so many ways: you’ll meet likeminded people who “get” writing, and you’ll be able to get feedback from them on your work in progress.

Tip #3: If You’re Self-Publishing, Hire an Editor

If you plan to self-publish your novel, I’d strongly recommend hiring a professional editor. This won’t come cheap (you’re probably looking at $1,000 or more to edit a whole novel manuscript) – but it’s an essential part of publishing something of a professional standard. If you can’t afford to get your whole novel edited, at least pay for an editor to read and review your first few chapters – any issues they spot with those might well be repeated elsewhere in your novel.

Tip #4: Each Scene Should Have a Point

Every scene — in fact, every sentence! — in your novel should have a point. Avoid scenes where characters sit around drinking coffee and chatting, or even scenes where they bicker – unless there’s an actual purpose to it. It’s worth asking yourself, as you edit, “Does this scene advance the plot?” (If a scene reveals character, that’s important too – but there’s not much point showing us more about a particular character unless something is happening as a result.)

Tip #5: Keep a Writing Journal or Record

Every time you finish a writing session, make a quick note of what you achieved (or not)! This could be as simple as logging your wordcount for the day – but you might want to go further and include notes on how you felt about it (e.g. how focused you were, how much you enjoyed writing that scene) as well as anything you want to remember later on in the novel (e.g. that you’ve established a character has a brother, for instance).

Writing a novel is a major undertaking, but one that I hope you’ll find very rewarding. I think it’s something that every writer should attempt at least once. Work through the steps above, and this time next year, you could have a finished draft … and perhaps even a complete, edited novel. Best of luck!

Get our premium subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily. It costs less than a coffee per month! Click here to activate your Pro subscription.

Publish your book with our partner InstantPublisher.com! Professionally printed in as few as 7 days.

Original post: How to Write a Novel: 10 Crucial Steps from Daily Writing Tips http://bit.ly/2VuygFf

[survival0001-blog]

Survival Skills for Highly Sensitive People

New Post has been published on https://outdoorsurvivalqia.com/trending/survival-skills-for-highly-sensitive-people/

Survival Skills for Highly Sensitive People

Traits of a Highly Sensitive Person: All highly sensitive people (HSPs) are unique individuals, but they have certain traits in common. Elaine Aron, PhD, a researcher who specializes in the topic, has developed an acronym that summarizes them: DOES.

D: Depth of processing “HSPs simply process everything more, relating and comparing what they notice to their past experiences,” Aron explains. “When we decide without knowing how we came to that decision, we call this intuition, and HSPs have a good — but not infallible! — intuition.”

O: Overstimulation “What’s overstimu­lating to each person is different,” says Bevin Niemann, who coaches HSPs and self-identifies as highly sensitive. “It could be noise, bright lights, crowds, emotional situations — the scratchy tags in the back of a shirt might be intolerable.”

E: Emotional reactivity and empathy “We connect deeply with art, music, theater, nature, animals, stories, and books,” Niemann says. Studies have found HSPs to be especially empathetic to others, sometimes to the point of being overgiving.

S: Sensing the subtle Highly sensitive people are attuned to signals that others might miss, Aron asserts. “Our awareness of subtleties is useful in a number of ways, from simple pleasure in life to strategizing our responses based on others’ nonverbal cues.”

By all appearances, Lynelle Trigalet was thriving. In her early 40s, she managed the hectic costume shop for a theater company, where she led teams of up to 30 employees. As soon as she left the shop in the evenings, however, things changed: She had little energy for the rest of her life. She’d make dinner and then almost immediately fall asleep in front of the television. Her husband half-joked that she had an on/off switch.

Trigalet wondered why she didn’t seem to have as much energy as other people. Assuming the problem was her long work hours, she quit her job to ­become a wellness coach. But something was still not right. Her life — including her marriage — was falling apart, and she felt like “a failure in every aspect.”

Planning to switch careers again, Trigalet enlisted the help of a professional mentor, who happened to ask her if she was a “highly sensitive person,” or HSP. She hadn’t heard the term before, so she took a self-test designed by sensitivity expert Elaine Aron, PhD, author of The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You.

Trigalet scored high — “really high,” she says — and her initial reaction to the label was shame. Like many people, she associated the word “sensitive” with being weak or overly emotional.

But HSPs aren’t simply overwrought or neurotic. Highly sensitive people — a designation that includes about 20 percent of the population — have uniquely receptive nervous systems. The trait runs in families and even appears in animal behavior.

These types have a harder time filtering out potentially extraneous information, so their brains absorb everything. They may be hypersensitive to sounds, bright lights, tastes, and scents, which means they get overstimulated easily. But these people are also often highly creative, detail oriented, and capable of synthesizing diverse information in novel ways.

Once Trigalet recognized that she was an HSP, events in her life that had been puzzling before — like the fact that she cried every day after school during junior high — made sense. She hadn’t been depressed; she was tired and overstimulated from interacting with people all day.

The reason for the exhaustion she felt after work became clear, too. Because the brains of HSPs absorb so much information, they require extra downtime to process it. When she was busy managing her teams, usually working straight through lunch, Trigalet had no downtime whatsoever.

Her entire life improved when she finally began to understand the trait she’d carried since birth. Her marriage stabilized as she and her spouse recognized the reasons behind her need for space and quiet. And instead of beating herself up for being “different” and struggling to fit into jobs that didn’t suit her, Trigalet used her perceptive and conscientious nature (another HSP trait) to become a transformational leadership coach who works primarily with HSPs.

Reframing past events and recognizing one’s strengths are among the key steps toward thriving as a sensitive person, says Aron. These strategies can help you support HSPs — whether it’s yourself or a loved one.

Mental Self-Care

HSPs are often mistaken for introverts. There’s an overlap, but they’re not the same. Aron estimates that 70 percent of HSPs are introverts and 30 percent are extroverts. And, while it may seem more feminine in nature, the trait appears equally in women and men.

Similarly, many HSPs are labeled shy or socially awkward as children, but they may not be at all. “Sensitive people just need a little bit more time to process,” says Bevin Niemann, a coach and mentor for HSPs. “We’re going through a database of experience. We address patterns, look at ideas, and then pull all that together.”

If a sensitive person grows up in a culture that judges reserve and sensitivity as weaknesses, it can lead to feelings of inadequacy. But reframing earlier experiences can help HSPs understand past awkwardness and move forward with confidence.

Trigalet reappraised her teenage tears and adult exhaustion, learning to view them as products of her sensitivity rather than as personality flaws; Aron suggests other newly realized HSPs might do the same — and feel a greater sense of self-acceptance.

If someone you care about is highly sensitive: Make room for a sensitive person’s need for downtime — it’s a wonderful way to show support. You might also try practicing patience while your friend or loved one takes a bit longer to process information.

Physical Self-Care

Psychologist Michael Alcée, PhD, identifies as an HSP, and he finds the trait helpful for his practice. “It’s easy to intuitively pick up on different registers of feelings, almost like a good musician learns to track the complex interplay of dissonance and consonance within a song. You’re able to see finer gradations.”

To accommodate his sensitivity, Alcée has made adjustments to his physical environment — installing softer lighting in his office, for example. “I knew those fluorescent lights would be blaring in my face the whole day,” he says. “By changing them, I could be more present and therefore more helpful.”

Highly sensitive people often benefit from making similar small alterations to their workplaces and schedules, such as politely requesting that a colleague wear less perfume or seeking permission to take a quick nap after lunch, something one of Trigalet’s employees did years ago.

“I didn’t really think anything of it at the time,” Trigalet recalls. But if she’d known then what she knows now, Trigalet would have done the same thing herself. Taking time for naps and maintaining good sleep habits (regular bedtimes, a minimum of eight hours’ rest) is vital to helping HSPs stay grounded.

Regular meals are also important, says psychiatrist Judith Orloff, MD, author of The Empath’s Survival Guide. Because low blood-sugar levels can spark sensory overload, it’s helpful for these types to avoid getting too hungry.

Finally, any type of gentle movement — yoga, long walks in nature, bike rides — can provide HSPs a chance to physically dispel anxious ­energy without causing overstimulation.

If someone you care about is highly sensitive:Managers, parents, and others in supervisory positions can benefit from knowing that sensitive types function best when offered some quiet downtime. Sleep is crucial for HSPs — it allows them to recover from all that stimulation — and because many are prone to insomnia or interrupted sleep, naps are especially beneficial.

Emotional Self-Care

HSPs have intense feelings — a lot of them.

They exhibit intense empathy, often sensing the emotions and needs of those around them (which can cause them to slip into an off-putting “fix it” mode). Their sometimes-porous personal boundaries can present a real challenge to loved ones, who may feel disrespected or may unconsciously exploit those caretaking tendencies.

This means that developing strong boundaries is especially key to their emotional health.

“HSPs can pick up on things that are going on with other people,” Alcée says. “And it’s an important art to be able to say, ‘This is theirs; this is mine.’ Just because you can be receptive doesn’t mean that you have to be.”

Good boundaries are like a good jazz composition, he says. “I need to come back to my own instrument and make sure that I am in tune and know how to ‘read the changes’ before I try to make music with others.”

Practice setting boundaries by saying no, Orloff suggests — starting with easy interactions. “Say the telemarketer calls,” she explains. “You can practice by saying, ‘Please don’t call me again’ and then hanging up.

“You don’t have to make it into a big, long explanation when you set a boundary,” she adds. “‘No’ is a complete sentence.”

For HSPs who tend to feel the emotions of others, Orloff recommends repeating a mantra, such as “Return to sender.” Differentiating ­between one’s own emotions and those of another is a valuable skill that gets easier over time, but just having enough awareness to repeat a mantra is an indispensable first step.

If someone you care about is highly sensitive:When you interact with sensitive people, try not to take it personally when they say no or set boundaries in other ways. Remember that it’s difficult for them to set limits, so rather than being disappointed or annoyed by their awkwardness, you might consider celebrating their courage instead.

Social Self-Care

Social events (especially parties) can be a challenge for highly sensitive types. The stimulation of a loud, crowded place is unlikely to bring out their best, and because they tend toward deep thinking, small talk can be draining. Ideally, HSPs will plan plenty of downtime, both before and after group experiences.

There are other steps they can take to make these gatherings more enjoyable. “Prepare in advance,” suggests Jacquelyn Strickland, LPC, who counsels HSPs. “Get adequate sleep. Wear comfortable clothes. Eat a small protein meal before you go.”

Periodically stepping outside or retreating to the bathroom can help reduce sensory overload, and breathing exercises will amplify a break’s calming effect. Strickland recommends inhaling for a count of eight, holding it for a count of four, and then exhaling for a count of eight. Or just close your eyes, breathe deeply, and tune out additional stimuli.

If someone you care about is highly sensitive: When attending a party with a highly sensitive friend, be prepared to leave a little earlier than you may prefer; HSPs will reach their saturation point sooner than most. If you know you’d like to stay late at a gathering, consider planning for separate transportation.

These suggestions are all provisional, of course. “The No. 1 thing for highly sensitive people is to have a self-care plan that’s based on who they are,” Strickland notes. HSPs may have many similar traits, but each one has unique needs. With some acceptance and forethought, those needs don’t have to be a burden. Proper self-care can transform that sensitivity into a blessing.

Take the Quiz: Find a variety of quizzes and informative articles, as well as a test to determine if you’re an HSP, at

This originally appeared as “The World According to Highly Sensitive People” in the January-February 2019 print issue of Experience Life.

Source

Survival Skills for Highly Sensitive People

[analeoftwocities]

Book Read: Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi 

Beer Paired: Burial Beer Company (again!) Bonedagger 

What We Love About the Book 

You know how it feels to read an amazing new book that you just want to shout about to the world? Well, I have been ready to burst with excitement over one of my latest reads. I couldn’t wait to tell you here! Are you ready? I cannot say it enough, RUN out to read Tomi Adeyemi’s new novel, Children of Blood and Bone. It is so worth it, and so very, very good.

In all honesty, I heard about this book on Good Morning America a month or two ago. It immediately peaked my interest, mostly because of author Adeyemi’s eloquence, intelligence, and obvious spark. But, I was also a little skeptical. I am a huge fan of Young Adult Fantasy. I feel like anyone who grew up loving Harry Potter automatically has a soft spot for this genre, and as I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I also love His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. So, I love the genre that Children of Blood and Bone falls into, but I am also very, very picky about this genre. This may not be a very popular statement, but I didn’t love The Hunger Games. With this, and many other YA books, I struggle with the lack of substance in characters and the lesser quality of writing. Although, the stories might be for young adults, I don’t believe that excuses a lower caliber of storytelling, complexity, and writing. It may not seem like it, but I can be a tough critic.

I am always skeptical when someone says a book series is the “next Harry Potter.” That is a lot to live up to. But, Adeyemi and her novel sounded so different and so special, that I got it. Let me tell you, I was not disappointed. This book was wonderful. Taking place in the made-up country of Orïsha, and drawing heavily on West African mythology, Adeyemi’s story of Zélie, the young maji, is breathtaking. While it follows much of what is expected structurally in this genre, think the hero’s journey, Children of Blood and Bone goes above and beyond the normal in an invigorating, refreshing way.

As you read, Children of Blood and Bone, the setting will enchant you, the characters will draw you in, and the story will leave you wanting more. It is unique, special, and exactly what we need in the world right now. There is a huge and much overdue call for representation and diversity in every aspect of life, and the book world is not exempt.   Children of Blood and Bone follows through with this. I could praise it for Adeymei’s beautiful writing, I could tell you all about the remarkable characters, I could even go on about the fascinating plot, but what I found most important about this novel was the level of dynamics and the depth found in its African culture. It is rich with life, understanding, and the celebration of a culture too often pushed aside or ignored.

That being said, I am white. I do not claim to understand the importance of this representation, and honestly I know very little about West African culture or mythology. However, I can appreciate a well-written novel. I can also recognize an under-representation, and rejoice and support moments when representation comes. So, that is what I am doing. This novel deals in with important, real, and very difficult issues that plague our world today, issues that need as many voices raising them as possible. Adeyemi has heard the call and answered in a powerful show of force, skill, and bravery.  In Caitlyn Paxon’s review of Children of Blood and Bone for NPR Books, she explains,

“Adeyemi has created a powerful metaphor for the cruelty of racism and the way that it weakens and divides a country. Fantasy novels are so often about a quest to overthrow evil — in Children of Blood and Bone, that evil is the oppression of a people based on the fear of their differences. Adeyemi doesn’t shy away from the violence that oppression creates. We see the maji enslaved, tortured, and beaten down, and like Zélie, we want them to have the power to rise up and shake off their oppressors. The narrative empowers without preaching, weaving its message deftly into a rip-roaring tale.”

I could not have said this better myself. Tomi Adeyemi has given us a gift. While hers is not the first or only novel to tackle these issues, it is a stellar one. With grace, understanding, and stunning perception, Adeyemi gives us a book that is relevant, powerful, and inspiring. She has so much to say, and it is all important. I can’t recommend this book more. Read it. Tell your friends about it. Tell them to read it. Pass it along. I hope that it reaches everyone, and touches each person the way it has touched me.

Now, I just have to patiently wait for the next installment. Or, impatiently, I should say.

What We Love About the Beer

As if Children of Blood and Bone was not exciting enough on its own, we go so lucky with this beer! We finished this book several weeks ago, and have been waiting to post a review. We knew we needed to find the absolute perfect beer to pair with this special novel. And then, we found it – Bonedagger by Burial Beer Company. This beer is the absolute perfect pair.

First of all, there are the obvious reasons for this pairing. Without giving anything away, as you read Children of Blood and Bone you will find that there is an actual bone dagger that plays a very significant part in the action of the story. How cool is that?! In addition, the beautiful artwork for this beer looks like it was drawn just for the novel. Empowering, a little dark, a little magic, it’s the perfect fit.

This light, hoppy, American Pale Ale is very easy to drink. It is refreshing, and citrusy. Like the book, before you know it, you are nearing the end of its perfection, and don’t want it to be done. In fact, my biggest issue with this beer was that I wanted it to be packages in a bigger can. I wanted to keep drinking it. Similarly, we didn’t want Children of Blood and Bone to end, and now we are unhappily awaiting the second installment. But, that’s no reason not to try it.

In fact, I highly recommend you try it. Bonedagger (the beer) is juicer than you run of the mill pale ale, and its dry, hopped flavor really comes through. You won’t find too much sediment in this beer, and though it is dank, it is also refined. Like how Children of Blood and Bone is a book you want to read, this is a beer you will want to drink. Both are accessible, fast paced, and totally refreshing. We can honestly say both beer and book will be staples in our household from now on. They are just that good. We hope you give them a try, and as always, tell us what you think!

THANKS FOR STOPPING BY TODAY! WE HOPE THIS PAIRING BRIGHTENED UP THIS GLOOMY MONDAY. HAVE YOU READ CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE? HAVE YOU TRIED BURIAL’S BONEDAGGER? PLEASE, LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK! AND, DON’T FORGET TO FOLLOW US HERE, ON INSTAGRAM, ON FACEBOOK, ON TWITTER, AND ON OUR WEBSITE!                                                                       CHEERS, CHRIS & ALEXANDRA

#ya fantasy #american pale ale #book review #beer review #tomi adeyemi #children of blood and bone #bookblr #burial #craft beer

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Today’s Author Spotlight is on Deborah Baldwin, one of our incredibly talented host authors for the Kindle Fire 7 & $100 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway! By leaving a comment on this post, you will receive 1 Bonus Entry. You must enter the Giveaway to receive your 1 Bonus Entry. Enter Giveaway Here

Deborah Baldwin is an author, drama teacher, and director, and one of the wildcard authors who’ve chosen to support the Kindle Fire Giveaway!

Deborah’s children’s book “Bumbling Bea,” which is included on the winner’s Kindle, has been a finalist in the Writing Shelf book award contest and won a Purple Dragonfly Award for Excellence in publishing and writing.

  Here’s a look at the blurb:

Beatrice thinks she has no acting talent but that doesn’t stop her from auditioning for the annual middle school play. Easy! Except Michiko, a new girl from Japan, shows up and ruins everything! So begins Beatrice’s diabolical and hilarious plan to scare away Michiko. But Michiko has goals of her own with no plans to leave soon. Then there’s that other girl who is such a blabbermouth. What’s a girl to do? Plenty. A great book for those who love theater and every part of it–the good, the bad and the crazy.

My Review:

Content: 5 Stars Tone: 5 Stars Prose: 5 Stars

Total: 5 Stars

“Bumbling Bea” is suitable for early tweens, perhaps around 8th grade. It’s an adorable story. I was glad that I had a chance to review a children’s book, especially one based off of Deborah’s experiences from Japan. I love that after visiting a Kabuki Theatre in Japan, Deborah found a springboard for “Bumbling Bea.” As many of you may know, I work for a Japanese company and have traveled to Japan three times. It’s a beautiful country and I can easily understand how someone would be inspired by one of the thousand facets of Japanese Culture.

“Bumbling Bea” has the right “voice” for a children’s book. It doesn’t shy away from challenging vocabulary and has situations that I believe 12~13-year-old’s could relate to and enjoy. I do think the cover makes this book seem younger than it is, but I was happily surprised by the content inside. I’m an avid reader of YA, so this isn’t such a leap for me, just a bit younger. There are “coming-of-age” struggles everyone goes through at that age, and “Bumbling Bea” does a great job showing us a day in the life of Bea and offers great morals for growing youngsters.

I highly recommend “Bumbling Bea” for anyone who has tween avid-readers!

$2.99

Here’s how Deborah Baldwin gains you entries into the Giveaway:

1 Entry: Comment on this post 1 Entry: Join Deborah’s Newsletter 1 Entry: Follow Deborah on Twitter 1 Entry: Like Deborah’s Facebook Page

4 Total Entries! Thank you, Deborah!

Stay tuned for our next author spotlight with another bonus entry!

Author Spotlight: Deborah Baldwin (1 Bonus Entry for the #Kindle Fire #Giveaway!) #amreading Today's Author Spotlight is on Deborah Baldwin, one of our incredibly talented host authors for the Kindle Fire 7 & $100 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway!