Nordesse

[meltesh28]

anyone remember this vine

[hikaaa-bi]

“i asked chatgpt—” well i asked the ceaseless watcher to turn its gaze upon you

[7cipher]

kris, i remember you're snowgraves

[zipsunz]

pretending we're something we're not

[duplicarto]

Are you enjoying this?

[suspiciouspopsicle]

I need some good fantasy or scifi to read that doesn't involve romance. preferably urban fantasy or cyberpunk or just downright weird shit, but I could do with more traditional stuff. as long as people aren't driven by lust. I'm so so soso so sososososoooooooo very tired of reading that sort of thing in traditional print novels.

[suspiciouspopsicle]

#this is such a mood. i kind of stopped reading YA and even a lot of adult fantasy bc of the fixation on romance#op i'm preeeetty sure i didn't follow you for murderbot so forgive me if you know it but if not may i recommend the murderbot diaries#the imperial radch series is also some great non-romance-centric scifi#i've been recc'd several different books by Victoria Goddard for platonic/queerplatonic centered fantasy#only one i've read so far is Hands of the Emperor but it was GREAT#others who follow me probably have more ideas#(i hope i have not misread the room here by offering recommendations)

you weren't misreading, I was unintentionally unclear. recs are Very Welcome XD thank you!!

[specialagentartemis]

I keep a goodreads list of No Romance Books for exactly this reason lol.

ABSOLUTE FAVORITES

The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells. Sci-fi series, space opera-ish. You've got a lot of recs for this already.

Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie. Sci-fi space opera. I've only read the first one still but it's brilliant.

Piranesi by Sunanna Clarke. Fantasy. A man lives alone in an infinite House over an equally infinite ocean. Ethereal and luminous and melancholy and beautiful.

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton. Sci-fi thriller. Cloning! Dinosaurs! Math! I still love it.

WEIRD AND INTERESTING

The Jewels of Aptor by Samuel Delaney. Weird 1960s science-fantasy. The main characters could be read as romantic if you want - the homoeroticism can't be unintentional - but there isn't Romance Proper in it.

Werecockroach by Polenth Blake. Alien invasion/animal shapeshifter story. Novella. Zany and fast-paced. Aroace agender protagonist like the author.

And What Can We Offer You Tonight by Premee Mohamed. Sorta dystopian strange fantasy in an urban setting. Novella. The main characters are sex workers of the high-class courtesan prostitute type, and after one of them is murdered by a client, she comes back to life - and sets out on a whirlwind of freedom and revenge and justice she never got while alive.

Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower by Tamsyn Muir. Novella. Fractured-fairy-tale fantasy. Told in a snarky, sardonic style, not nearly as upbeat as it initially seems.

The Black God's Drums by P. Djèlí Clark. Steampunk-fantasy. Novella. YA-ish? Steampunk New Orleans and a Black girl who can talk to the Orisha falls into a plot to steal a scientist's superweapon.

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger. Urban fantasy, YA. Urban fantasy in an all-myths-are-real kind of sense from a Lipan Apache perspective, starring an Apache girl who can talk to ghosts trying to solve her cousin's murder. Asexual protagonist with no interest in romance or partnering; it's refreshing and the sort of YA I would have loved as a teen.

HAVEN'T READ THIS BUT I KEEP MEANING TO

Firebreak by Nicole Kornher-Stace. Cyberpunk. No romance at all. VR and stuff. NKS is aroace and centering non-romantic experiences was her explicit goal here.

SOME ROMANCE BUT IT'S NOT A MAJOR FOCUS

Synners by Pat Cadigan. Cyberpunk. A kaleidoscopic whirlwind of a book with lots of characters with lots of varied relationships; romance is among them but not alone and certainly not the focus.

Three Parts Dead by Max Gladstone. Urban fantasy, sort of - it's like a fantasy-kitchen-sink world with gods whose contracts power the magic in the world, so magicians are lawyers and lawyers are magicians and one lawyer-magician has to solve the murder of, and resurrect, a murdered god before his magic grinds to a halt and the city powered by his magic collapses. I'm not doing this description justice - it was vivid and compelling. The main characters do not have any romance, but a supporting character has a toxic ex she can't fully get over that features as a sideplot in the story.

Finna by Nino Cipri. Weird, universe-hopping science-fantasy. IKEA has a tendency to rip open portals to other universes and the minimum wage employees gotta deal with it. The two main characters were dating but have recently broken up, and they don't get back together but rather figure out how to be friends again after the breakup.

Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee. Military sci-fi space opera with a vast and interesting world and a very violent war. A military captain breaks rank and defies orders, so as punishment she has the digital ghost of a long dead war criminal downloaded into her head and she is pointed at a rebellion and told to crush it. I love Kel Cheris. No romance but some flashbacks to sex and sexual coercion.

[girlfailuregawain]

I hope you don't mind if I jump in with recs because this is my favorite type of book!

The Discworld series by Terry Pratchett- many discworld books have little or no romance, imo. It's a fantasy series set on a flat or "disc" world. The books are only loosely connected so you can pick up whatever book catches your eye. Many readers recommend starting with Guards, Guards! (Fair warning, that one does have a romance, but it has my aroace approval)

The Earthsea cycle by Ursula LeGuin- this is one of my favorites because there is no romance in sight until book 4! And even so book 4 is quite good. It's a fantasy series set on a magical archipelago, and follows the epic highs and lows of life as a wizard struggling with hubris and mortality and destiny. You could read up to book 3 and it would have a satisfying conclusion, or you could read book 4 if you have the patience for romance. Either way its a fun read!

Fly By Night and Fly Trap by Frances Hardinge- this is a middle-grade/YA duology set in a sort of steampunk, vaguely European world where writing has been heavily censored and reading is considered a dangerous skill. The protagonist is a feral little 12 year old who is obsessed with reading. I love her dearly. There is some background romance happening with adult characters but the protagonist is so thoroughly uninterested it's hilarious to read from her perspective. I love this duology so much.

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison- Recommendations for The Hands of the Emperor seem to go hand in hand (lol) with The Goblin Emperor. If you enjoy one, odds are good you'll enjoy the other! The Goblin Emperor is a stand-alone fantasy about an unlikely heir who has to navigate court intrigue now that he is on the throne. There's also a series set in the same world (The Cemetaries of Amalo series) which follows a different protagonist, and is also very good but arguably does have romance in it. The final installment isn't out yet so the outcome remains to be seen, and again, it has my aroace approval.

The Angel of the Crows by Katherine Addison- while I'm at it I might as well recommend another one by miss Addison. This one is a Sherlock Holmes retelling set in a supernatural version of London. Its got a for reals, canon aroace + agender Sherlock and I love it for that reason!

Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson- fantasy YA set in a world plagued by ghosts and the undead, this one features an aroace protagonist as confirmed by the author. It's a stand-alone novel and a quick read, and I desperately wish there was more. Don't be put off by the blurb on the cover: "venom meets Joan of arc" sounds like trope-y booktok garbage but this book is actually extremely good. 10/10.

[suspiciouspopsicle]

this picked up a lot more traction than I had expected. it's great to have so many titles to go check out. ^^ gonna reblog this version since it seems to have the most recs so far.

I'm regretting not listing a few of my faves in the actual post when I went on my rant, bc while I've seen Discworld and the Matthew Swift books recc'd (Matthew Swift is my GOLD STANDARD for urban fantasy), I hadn't seen two other really good ones that I'd mentioned in my tags.

The House of Discarded Dreams by Ekaterina Sedia is a wonderfully surreal story about being adrift in life, and finding strength by coming to know yourself. It features a poc lgbt protag (and a bit of a crush, but that's not at all the focus), and the action itself is a magical and bizarre blend of myth, folk tales, history, and dream-logic.

The Secret History of Moscow is also by Ekaterina Sedia. It's a melancholy and poetic story that follows a girl trying to save her sister from a curse, and meeting figures out of Russian folk tales along the way.

Zod Wallop by William Browning Spencer gets an honorable mention on this list, bc a pair of side characters have a...kind of romance. But it's not the focus, and the rest of the novel is a beautiful and heart-wrenching look at a father dealing with grief after the death of his child. I have never in my life read a novel that would have been more suited to be a Satoshi Kon film than this book.

[calliopeorgans]

starting a collection

[fishmechs]

[medievalthymes]

bro your whimsy. you forgot your fucking whimsy. your solemn and somber attitude is scaring the hoes

[art-by-wei]

Corazon & Law

[convolutedblasphemy]

Being ace in fandoms is so awkward sometimes because yeah the allos like the irredeemably evil villain who has murdered countless innocent people and experiments on children because he's conventionally attractive, what's my excuse? I like this guy for his personality. His personality is a burning truck of chemicals without a driver rolling at 220 km/h down the hill towards the daycare.

[official-asexual-posts]

official asexual post

[nattousan]

*doom music starts to play* I actually kindof like scheduling these kinds of appointments now...

but seriously Fellas, don't forget to schedule a pap smear every couple of years just in case. If you still have a cervix you can still get cervical cancer. ilu

this has been a psa

[nattousan]

i've had this as an idea since 2017 btw

[nattousan]

damn, tumblr says my art is ass and trans people is eye strain so no blaze for me :\

it'd be a shame if this...

blazed the old fashion way...

[tigeristired]

i think 'I trust you with my life but not your own' as a trope is one of the ones that can always fuck me up no matter what

[marvellouslymadmim]

"I trust you with my life because you are good and kind and noble--I know you will not hesitate to do everything in your power to save me.

I do not trust you with your own life because you are good and kind and noble--I know you would not hesitate to sacrifice yourself to save me."

THAT is where it's at!!!!!

[lilybug-02]

Tonight’s NEWS: Tiny warrior bug made of darkness captured by 11 year old.

First || Next ->

Masterpost

This was the little Hollow Knight comic idea I was thinking of before I made my other mini-comic yesterday. I just find Hollow Knight being a bug civilization in modern-human times so so funny. And there’s like- no fanfics on the topic??? Come on guys, I want comedy. I want action. I want Bug-Human relations. I NEED the Shenanigans.

Give me that Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue vibe RIGHT NOW.

Anyways :) I’m really proud of that bug book I drew because I referenced a book I had on hand!

Proof of my love of all things creature.

[vimbry-moved]

got chased by a skeleton but when they caught me they just gave me a kiss and hug. turns out it was an xoskeleton.

[vimbry-moved]

this one's a big hit with the ghosts

[malacandrax]

Every few months I'm like oh yeah! I can paint! Some hurt/comfort speedpaints >:)

[some-internet-stranger]

The sages! (and Link)

If there's one thing that I really love about tears of the kingdom, it's that you're no longer alone.

Breath of the wild really makes you feel the lonliness, everything is so big and so empty and quiet.

In tears of the Kingdom that's no longer the case, you have the sages with you at all times and you fight together and its Just ah. Very nice. Me Like it a lot