Destiny is a myth

[on hiatus] Cinaja | she/her | book discussions | writer

[cinaja]

Before the Wall Masterlist

Five hundred years before Feyre Archeron is born, the world is much different from the one she lives in. Most humans are slaves, seen as little more than animals by the ruling Fae. There is no chance for escape, of freedom.

But things are changing. Humans are growing restless, talks of rebellion spread. Meanwhile, some Fae territories are beginning to consider the possible gain of War. All it takes is one spark and everything will explode.

In a few months, the War will begin. In seven years, the Wall will go up, permanently dividing humans and Fae. But before that, friendships will be formed, love will grow and die - and the world will be forever changed.

This is the story of the War, as it might have been (canon-compliant and I will keep OCs to a minimum edit: still canon-compliant, but mostly as a challenge to myself if I can get the mess that is canon to make sense). This story will focus on Miryam, Jurian and Drakon through the seven years of the War, but Rhys, Mor, Cassian and Azriel will each play major roles (edit: it turns out Azriel and Cassian do NOT play major roles after all. And I started out with a Rhys point of view, but I ditched that after ten chapters or so because I stopped liking him.). There will also be guest appearances from everybody else who was around at the time (Amren, Nephelle, Andromache, Helion, Beron, Amarantha and all the others).

If you want, you can also click here for the link to the story on ao3

We've also got a discord server for this now, the link is here

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10

Part 11

Part 12

Part 13

Part 14

Part 15

Part 16

Part 17

Part 18

Part 19

Part 20

Part 21

Part 22

Part 23

Part 24

Part 25

Part 26

Part 27

Part 28

Part 29

Part 30

Part 31

Part 32

Part 33

Part 34

Part 35

Part 36

Part 37

Part 38

Part 39

Part 40

Part 41

Part 42

Part 43

Part 44

Part 45

Part 46

Part 47

Part 48

Part 49

Part 50

Part 51

Part 52

Part 53

Part 54

Part 55

Part 56

Part 57

Part 58

Part 59

Part 60

Part 61

Epilogue

[coolcurrybooks-deactivated20230]

A sequel to my “adult fantasy books by authors that aren’t straight white men,” this time for sci-fi!

These are probably skewed more towards modern authors and books, but that’s because I tend to read newer stuff, not because only men or only white people wrote sci-fi in the past. 

Authors and books below the cut, including links to Goodreads. I’m not providing trigger warnings (if I make the post too long Tumblr starts freaking out about it), but you can use the search function on Goodreads reviews to find more specifics.

6/26/20: I no longer recommend Ancestral Night by Elizabeth Bear.

Keep reading

[heedra]

I feel like the problem ppl have when constructing redemption arcs is people make 'the character realizes what they've done is wrong' the end step instead of like...one of the earliest ones. a satisfying redemption arc doesn't resolve when the character first feels sorry, it resolves when a character has really journeyed towards atonement and made enough change in themselves to achieve some kind of symbolic victory over who they used to be

[fweet-prince]

Tired of people comparing every forbidden love story to Romeo and Juliet, especially ones about class or racial divides. It’s important to how the story works that the Capulets and Montagues are alike in dignity and that the feud is baseless and petty on both sides. If the Capulets had spent centuries systematically disenfranchising the Montagues, it wouldn’t be Romeo and Juliet. The play relies on both families facing roughly equal losses and being able to make roughly equal apologies and roughly equal reparations. Romeo and Juliet is a play about two kids who weren’t allowed to love in a world full of senseless hatred, and if you give one side a valid reason to hate the other—if either the Capulets or the Montagues are right—it stops being that and starts implying that the opressed have as much to do with the environment of hatred as their opressors do

[croissantcitysucks]

Why why WHY does A*riel have so many stans? He legit spent 500 years obsessing over a queer woman (m0r) who clearly wasnt interested, and spent a whole ass chapter sexualizing El@in and acting entitled to her

oh this ask! the amount of excusing stans do for az/riel is honestly out of this world. i'd say he doesn't have nearly enough character to justify such fervor over him, but that honestly might be part of it.

this post from @flowerflamestars talks about how az/riel is basically so vague a character that stans made up their own character extrapolated from the little bits that canon does say (but doesn't really do anything with). i think a lot of his stans have gotten so invested in this fully fanon version of him that they either don't realize or refuse to admit that the character they like so much isn't really the character who's present in canon, and that what is there in canon really isn't great. having such a pre-set of him also definitely helps them rationalize it away when the actual books do have him act creepy with women.

something else to keep in mind here is that m0r wasn't ever suggested to be queer until ac0war, when s/jm rushed it as a poorly written retcon. up until then she was very heavily pointing in the m0r x az/riel direction. honestly, if it weren't for the fact that he's a professional torturer i would've considered him one of the more inoffensive characters in ac0maf, if only bc there wouldn't have been much there to make him particularly objectionable. so there was at least some period of time where he didn't have the weight of the m0r & el/ain business and was more or less just a blank slate to project onto. after ac0war, though, i don't think it's that much of a revelation that stans will always being willing to defend the creepy straight dude over the lesbian he's obsessing over. s/jm frames m0r being closeted as lying (etc etc "my power is truth but i've been living a lie my entire life" etc etc), so it tracks that her stans follow her example to place az/riel above both m0r and el/ain despite how rlly creepy & unhealthy his interactions re: them are. m0r doesn't owe him coming out and his objectification of el/ain in the ac0sf chapter is disgusting, but in s/jm world the toxic dudes always end up being babied.

tldr: 1) az/riel is literally just a vague outline that people project whatever they want into, and 2) ac0tar fans consistently shove shove women aside to focus on the toxic guys.

[romans-art]

"Her uncle had died, and she had ascended the dais in his stead, a crown placed upon her head. Once, the nobility had tried to revolt. Once, Lord Galldrian of House Riatin had mustered enough support to march on the capital. Once, she had put whole towns to the sword. Once, she had lined the streets of the capital with the heads of traitors — one for every corner, for every street lamp. Once, she had stalked through Cairhien with saidar on her lips and blood soaked up the hems of her dress. Once, she had confiscated estates all across the countryside, throttling the flow of coin into those Houses who had forgotten the meaning of loyalty, who had forgotten their place, letting them die the slow death of obscurity and ruin.

Now, they are afraid to speak her name. Now, the Sun Throne is secure beyond all measure. Now, her rule is absolute."

-Sun Queen Moiraine Damodred from 'kept impulse dormant"

[exclamaquest]

"depiction is not automatically glorification" can and should coexist with "some depiction is glorification and you need to be able to tell the difference"

[zukoromantic]

It's international holocaust victim rememberance day. So let's remember all the Jews that lost their lives in this terrible event and all the Jews that lost families and homes and suffered otherwise because of it.

This is the holocaust memorial in Berlin for those of you who haven't seen it. It was made to be interactive and the ground gets lower the more you go, making the stones go higher. It's supposed to show to show that the event too is not just simple like when you look at the surface, but the roots go deeper the more you unpack it. Signs need to be recognized early and we need to look at our society and ourselves for these problems.

We owe this not just to all Jews who had to go through this horrible time, but to all other Jews who are alive today and still suffer consequences, that we could never understand all pain about, decades later. You should be allowed to not live in fear and live as yourselves. And the rest of us has to make sure that we contribute to a society in which this is possible. Listen to Jewish voices and respect them.

[a-s-fischer]

If you could have any official crossover between shows/any piece of media really (whether it be canon or non canon) which pieces of media would it be?

In the mid nineties, a year apart, two novels, each of which were the first in a series, were published. These novels, although extremely different in tone and theme, hit upon a similar premise. Each had a wall that divided their world between north and south, and on the south side was a fantasy counterpart to England, and on the other were fantasy flavored zombies.

I would pay extremely good money for Sabriel and Lirael from the Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix to show up and wipe the floor with the Night King from A Song of Ice and Fire. For them to just show up and be like our bad, should have taken care of this earlier, sorry you had to deal with this. It's all fixed now. The cast of ASOIAF just stand there blinking going, "What just happened?"

[inthemidstofbuddie]

we're still looking into what Danika was up to?

[cinaja]

If sjm is moving onto the human rebellion now, ig we'll move into the never-at-all-foreshadowed-or-shown thing about her being a rebel sympathizer? That bit was never really concluded in hoeab although I honestly HOPED it would be dropped because absolutely nothing about what Danika said and did ever implied her having even a hint of sympathy for humans in general or the rebellion specifically.

[croissantcitysucks]

"actually the cop who tortures people was always on the oppressed ppl's side even while she was putting them in jail for fighting for their rights" genuinely go fuck yourself s/jm, what the hell.

[inthemidstofbuddie]

i feel like ccity is giving us a new look into sj///m’s belief systems we only saw glimpses of in her other work, and i’m not sure why

[cinaja]

I imagine part of it is that it's set in a more modern world where the social issues being "adressed" are closer to irl stuff? There's just some stuff that doesn't really come up in medieval fantasy, like police brutality.

[cinaja]

I am continuously confused by how much a totalitarian government seems to care about legal technicalities. And yes, I know that Micah is behind the release, but I'd still expect the others to be confused. Letting a known rebel go because of some minor technicality doesn't seem very dictatorship-like.

I am equally confused by the way Danika talks about Philip Briggs here. Wasn't she meant to be a rebel sympathizer? Then maybe we should see her, idk, sympathizing with the rebels at some point as foreshadowing for that plot twist later on.

[inthemidstofbuddie]

we're still looking into what Danika was up to?

[cinaja]

If sjm is moving onto the human rebellion now, ig we'll move into the never-at-all-foreshadowed-or-shown thing about her being a rebel sympathizer? That bit was never really concluded in hoeab although I honestly HOPED it would be dropped because absolutely nothing about what Danika said and did ever implied her having even a hint of sympathy for humans in general or the rebellion specifically.

[witchyangela]

People really need to realise that “media can affect real life” doesn’t mean “this character does bad things so people will read that and start doing bad things” and actually means “ideas in fiction especially stereotypes about minority groups can affect how the reader views those groups, an authors implicit prejudices can be passed on to readers”

[computationalcalculator]

see also the real Jaws Effect, where people saw a fictional bad thing that only rarely actually happens, and proceeded to spend the next 40 years violently overreacting about it in real life

[longsightmyth]

Congrats on finishing hungry! Reading your commentary was very fun, as always. I was wondering, what was that book's climax? Did they actually *do* anything, or were they just running around?

Glad you enjoyed!

Oooh good question okay quick summary.

Somehow after being Betrayed by Basil's drug addicted mother (no sympathy shown despite this being textually how she's coping with the death of her firstborn child) they escape from The Loops (the city) and end up in kudzu land! There they get indoctrinated into a fertility cult that Thalia Apple gets them out of by befriending a Super Secret Farmer Man who somehow knew her deceased and sainted Farmer Grandfather and contacting her parents, of which her mom has done an abrupt 180 because she realized that her serum was The Problem. Anyway her parents arrive via helicopter moments ahead of the corporation's security, they eventually take off with exactly One girl from said fertility cult and her boyfriend and two children (apparently the Only Two People In The Entire Cult who actually Fell In Love and are therefore sub-textually Worth Saving...?) plus Farmer Man escape with Thalia Apple's parents while Thalia Apple and Basil make a break for it up north.

The book ends with an epilogue in which Thalia Apple's family are helping educate Ella and Noam (fertility cult escapees) and their two children. A box containing an apple arrives.

FLASH TO:

Thalia Apple and Basil in a bed kindly gifted to then by Canadian Farmers. Thalia Apple hopes her family got the apple.

I think I see what the author was GOING for, but trust me when I say describing it makes it sound much more exciting than it actually was.

[cinaja]

This sounds... absolutely wild. A fertility cult? How does that fit in in any way with the rest of the story? (Except for, maybe, the weird sex-makes-us-human sentiment.) I would have assumed the climax would have more to do with the entire hunger-thing. Or the rebellion. Or One Word. Was there any resolution at all to that?

[inthemidstofbuddie]

Welcome to Spaceship Editorial!

Hi! As I said, I've had people ask me for years if I'm open to editorial services on here, so I'm thrilled I can finally say yes! I am! Below the cut, you'll find everything I offer, pricing, contact information, and how the editorial process works.

What I offer:

beta reading/proofreading

line editing

sensitivity reading

coaching

packages

Beta reading/proofreading

What this entails: I will read your manuscript in full and write an in-depth editorial letter at the end. The letter will consist of thorough notes on plot, world-building, characterization, pacing, etc. If you have an area of special concern (for instance, if you're concerned about the size of the cast, or perhaps the romance arc), it will be a focal point of the letter.

Pricing: The price for beta reading/proofreading will vary based on the word count of your project. Up to 100,000 words, I charge a flat rate of $250. From 101,000 words to 150,000, I charge a flat rate of $300. Upward of 151,000 words, please contact me for a quote at spaceshipeditorial @ gmail . com

Line editing

What this entails: I will read your manuscript in full and provide line edits as I go along, provided in track changes. Line edits will cover everything from grammar to voice to big picture edits, such as removing a character, rearranging scenes, fixing a world-building element, etc.

Pricing: The price for line editing will vary based on the word count of your project. Up to 100,000 words, I charge a flat rate of $300. From 101,000 words to 150,000, I charge a flat rate of $400. Upward of 151,000 words, please contact me for a quote at spaceshipeditorial @ gmail . com

Sensitivity reading

Areas of special concern:

chronic asthma, chronic pain, chronic fatigue, chronic migraines, severe anaphylactic allergies

nonbinary representation, genderqueer representation, AFAB nonbinary representation, AFAB genderqueer representation

bisexuality, biromantic, demisexuality, demiromantic

Pricing: The price for sensitivity reading will vary based on the word count of your project. Up to 150,000 words, I charge a flat rate of $300. Upward of 151,000 words, I charge a flat rate of $350.

Coaching

What this entails: I will provide feedback on query letters and synopses, and aid in formatting material for submission. I will also assist with finding literary agents in your category/genre, though I will not query on your behalf or provide referrals to any literary agents.

Pricing: For one or more services, I charge a flat rate of $50.

Packages

If you wish to hire me for more than one service listed above (for example, line editing + sensitivity reading), the price will vary. Please contact me at spaceshipeditorial @ gmail . com

Categories I accept: Young Adult, New Adult, Adult

Genres I accept: fantasy, speculative fiction, romance, historical fiction. If you're uncertain of the category and/or genre of your manuscript, please contact me at spaceshipeditorial @ gmail . com

How it works: Upon you contacting me via email, we will figure out what you need and I will tell you the price and timing. When you're on the calendar, I will ask for half the payment to reserve your spot via kofi. You'll pay the other half via kofi upon turning your manuscript in to me, after which you'll receive confirmation that both the manuscript and payment have been received. At the end of your window (which is generally around two weeks, depending on the time of year and my workload), you'll receive the services you've paid me for.

Contact me: spaceshipeditorial @ gmail . com

[spwr-throwaway-deactivated20220]

[runcibility]

The thread got better:

[inthemidstofbuddie]

[croissantcitysucks]

DUDE I CAN'T STAND THE FRAGMENTS. THIS COULD JUST BE ONE SENTENCE. IT IS SO FAUX DRAMATIC. THE FUCK.

[cinaja]

Also, "approaches its crescendo" is just a very weird way to talk about war? I guess it's some non-human character talking, but still. "Crescendo" makes me think of music and more like... a great finale, a really exciting part or something like this. It does NOT fit in with a horrible, bloody, desperate war approaching either the most bloody/terrible/desperate point or the end where it's unsure which side comes out victorious.