absolutely love how when the doctor bigenerated they were excited and giddy and hugging each other but when the rani bigenerated the new rani immediately started beefing with mrs flood 😭
Chatting with oomf about RTD and I just re-pissed myself off about the interstellar song contest because why did they look at ncuti gatwa, a rwandan refugee aka a GENOCIDE SURVIVOR and go "yeah let's make him torture a genocide victim and frame it as good actually" BRO WHAT
do love that rylan seemingly comes out of cryogenic suspension for interstellar eurovision every year without any preparation or context but just goes out there to host it lol.
i imagine his life is just never-ending eurovision. hosts it, goes to sleep, immediately wakes up the next year to host it again. never truly knows what's going on cause he never takes a break or wakes up a day before the contest to get briefed on it so he's just very good at it.
Contains: strong female mc being guided by a funny fatherly figure, LGBT+ representation in later books, action scenes and humour, a skeleton detective, a secret magical society, a long series, set in Dublin (Ireland) mainly
Themes/Genres: found family, betrayal, inner conflict, detectives, magic, secret society, monster hunting, acceptance, bigotry and discrimination, destiny
good for ages 11+ but it does get dark in places, especially later, very gripping, available in audiobook form (pretty sure theyre on youtube for free)
2) Shiverton Hall (Book)
supernatural/fantasy/mystery
Contains: school setting, chilling vibes, violence and action, cool storyline, small series, no LGBT+ representation as far as I know
Themes/Genres: found family, generational trauma, coming of age, bullying, revenge
I'd say 11+ and i used to love it because it had very chilling scenes but I can't remember that much about it but it was really good
3) Shadowhunters/The Mortal Instruments (Book, Tv Show, Movie)
fantasy/supernatural, romance, action
Contains: gay, lesbian, asexual, aromantic and arguably pansexual or bisexual representation, strong female characters, including the mc, vampires, werewolves, fae, angels, demons, warlocks, magic, multiple books, multiple seasons of TV show, one movie, racial and ethnic diversity
Themes/Genres: action, adventure, discrimination, hierarchy, societal expectations, found family, coming of age, slight horror/gore, secret magical society
I'd say about 13+ although the tv show is marked a 15 and I'm fairly sure the movie is too but you know
4) Vampire Academy (Books, Movie)
Action, adventure, supernatural/fantasy, romance
Contains: no LGBT+ representation, strong female characters, including mc, female friendships, racial and ethnic diversity, secret society of magical vampires, school setting, book series with spin offs, one badly done but well loved movie, a terrible "TV show" that somehow did worse than the film because the plot didnt makes sense and I couldn't make sense of what the hell was going on half the time (although I did like what they did with the casting! I was so excited 😭 each to their own tho, if you wanna try it, go for it!)
Themes/Genre: Action, mystery, romance, coming of age, discrimination, class hierarchy, honour, found family, political turbulence, societal expectations, duty
ages 15+, no graphic sex scenes but the themes are mature and youll see why i said 15 and not 14 directly below
WARNING: this book contains a romance between a 17 year old student and her 24 year old mentor - no, I do not support it but by god i used to love this series and I love the main character. Having said that, if that makes you sick to your stomach, please skip this one because their "relationship" does continue after they leave school.
Other than that, there are some very ocassional questionable opinions in there but that is mostly from Rose, the main character who speaks strongly, and she often outgrows them or learns to respect people who choose a different path from her. Basically, this whole story is about her maturing and growing up from the way she used to be and realising the gravity of her duty to her best friend
5) Simon Snow series (Carry On Book)
supernatural/fantasy/romance
Contains: gay representation, secret society of magic, school setting, vampires, enemies-to-friends-to-lovers, mental health issues, coming of age
Themes/Genre: found family, magic, romance between two rivals
I'd say 15+? I dont much remember about this series because I last read it soooo long ago but it's literally been described as gay harry potter before so please do give it a try! It's good!
edit: As someone helpfully pointed out, there are some spicy scenes in later books so the age has been updated to 15+! (thank you!)
Books by trans authors in the fantasy/supernatural genre:
1) Peter Darling by Austin Chant - Peter Pan as a trans man who is trying to grow into the man he is without the societal expectations of the time and place he's from, figuring out what it means to be a man, escaping to Neverland, got a gay romance too involving Captain Hook (cis man) and Peter Pan (trans man) - PETER IS 18+
2) Wonderland: Welcome to the Party by Juno Dawson -
Trans lesbian mc, racial and ethnic diversity, its trippy, its dark, shes got a crush on the girl shes trying to find, its very good! Oh! and its set in this rich, elite school where everybody basically sucks so its got class themes
3) Her Majesty's Royal Coven by Juno Dawson -
A secret society of magical women protect their witch society, its wlw, feminist, etc. I didn't actually finish it, I couldn't get into it, which is unlike me with a feminist type book tbh! but there we go, I'm sure people adore it (shes a great author) and it did intrigue me!
4) Say Her Name by Juno Dawson -
I read this one so long ago but I don't think its got any lgbt+ representation in it. It's really good tho! It's horror, thriller and mystery about a spirit who haunts a group of teenagers and the female mc has to figure out a way to escape it, got a dash of romance on the side too
5) To Summon Nightmares by JK Pendragon -
a supernatural, magical story, involving a gay romance between a trans man and a cis man, intriguing plot, good writer
6) Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White -
supernatural, apocolypse setting, gore/horror, trans man escaping his cultist family who think he is a woman and their chosen one, its devastating and amazing and empowering. This is a YA novel but he does adult ones too. There is autistic representation and gay romance
These are not always perfect stories with perfect messaging, they are not going to be exactly what you want to replace Harry Potter but for the love of God, find another muse. If you really want to, you keep Harry Potter in your heart (I get it, ok? I know) but cease and desist with giving that disgusting woman financial and social wealth. I promise you, these are good! At least give them a try!
Added from comments:
- Lockwood & Co. by Jonathan Stroud
I hope somebody found this worthwhile, but if not, feel free to add more! and if I got something wrong, please let me know!! I haven't read these books in so long!!
