Latest Posts by afkalways - Page 2

Read these 10 YA books by Trans Authors instead of HP

There's a rule I have (that I took from author Emery Lee) that says that every time someone mentions JKR, I have to rec 2 books by trans authors. Here are some of my favorite YA recs if you ever felt like adapting the same rule in your friend groups.

As always, the pictures and jacket copy are from publishers’ sites! If they didn’t have info available, I used info from author sites! :)

If any of these interest you and if you are able, please support your favorite independent bookstores when purchasing these and other books!

Meet Cute Diary by Emery Lee

Emery's book isn't out until 05/04/21, but because I saw this rule from em, I couldn't NOT rec eir book!

Noah Ramirez thinks he’s an expert on romance. He has to be for his popular blog, the Meet Cute Diary, a collection of trans happily ever afters. There’s just one problem—all the stories are fake. What started as the fantasies of a trans boy afraid to step out of the closet has grown into a beacon of hope for trans readers across the globe. When a troll exposes the blog as fiction, Noah’s world unravels. The only way to save the Diary is to convince everyone that the stories are true, but he doesn’t have any proof. Then Drew walks into Noah’s life, and the pieces fall into place: Drew is willing to fake-date Noah to save the Diary. But when Noah’s feelings grow beyond their staged romance, he realizes that dating in real life isn’t quite the same as finding love on the page. In this charming novel by Emery Lee, Noah will have to choose between following his own rules for love or discovering that the most romantic endings are the ones that go off script.

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender

Felix Love has never been in love—and, yes, he’s painfully aware of the irony. He desperately wants to know what it’s like and why it seems so easy for everyone but him to find someone. What’s worse is that, even though he is proud of his identity, Felix also secretly fears that he’s one marginalization too many—Black, queer, and transgender—to ever get his own happily-ever-after. When an anonymous student begins sending him transphobic messages—after publicly posting Felix’s deadname alongside images of him before he transitioned—Felix comes up with a plan for revenge. What he didn’t count on: his catfish scenario landing him in a quasi–love triangle.... But as he navigates his complicated feelings, Felix begins a journey of questioning and self-discovery that helps redefine his most important relationship: how he feels about himself. Felix Ever After is an honest and layered story about identity, falling in love, and recognizing the love you deserve.

TW for a forced outing.

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi

There are no monsters anymore, or so the children in the city of Lucille are taught. Jam and her best friend, Redemption, have grown up with this lesson all their life. But when Jam meets Pet, a creature made of horns and colors and claws, who emerges from one of her mother’s paintings and a drop of Jam’s blood, she must reconsider what she’s been told. Pet has come to hunt a monster, and the shadow of something grim lurks in Redemption’s house. Jam must fight not only to protect her best friend, but also to uncover the truth, and the answer to the question–How do you save the world from monsters if no one will admit they exist? Acclaimed novelist Akwaeke Emezi makes their riveting and timely young adult debut with a book that asks difficult questions about what choices you can make when the society around you is in denial.

TW for discussions about child abuse.

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

Yadriel has summoned a ghost, and now he can't get rid of him. When his traditional Latinx family has problems accepting his true gender, Yadriel becomes determined to prove himself a real brujo. With the help of his cousin and best friend Maritza, he performs the ritual himself, and then sets out to find the ghost of his murdered cousin and set it free. However, the ghost he summons is actually Julian Diaz, the school's resident bad boy, and Julian is not about to go quietly into death. He's determined to find out what happened and tie off some loose ends before he leaves. Left with no choice, Yadriel agrees to help Julian, so that they can both get what they want. But the longer Yadriel spends with Julian, the less he wants to let him leave.

Deep and Darkest Red by Anna-Marie McLemore

Summer, 1518. A strange sickness sweeps through Strasbourg: women dance in the streets, some until they fall down dead. As rumors of witchcraft spread, suspicion turns toward Lavinia and her family, and Lavinia may have to do the unimaginable to save herself and everyone she loves. Five centuries later, a pair of red shoes seal to Rosella Oliva’s feet, making her dance uncontrollably. They draw her toward a boy who knows the dancing fever’s history better than anyone: Emil, whose family was blamed for the fever five hundred years ago. But there’s more to what happened in 1518 than even Emil knows, and discovering the truth may decide whether Rosella survives the red shoes.

Who I Was with Her by Nita Tyndall

There are two things that Corinne Parker knows to be true: that she is in love with Maggie Bailey, the captain of the rival high school's cross-country team and her secret girlfriend of a year, and that she isn't ready for anyone to know she's bisexual. But then Maggie dies, and Corinne quickly learns that the only thing worse than losing Maggie is being left heartbroken over a relationship no one knows existed. And to make things even more complicated, the only person she can turn to is Elissa—Maggie's ex, and the single person who understands how Corinne is feeling. As Corinne struggles to make sense of her grief and what she truly wants out of life, she begins to have feelings for the last person she should fall for. But to move forward after losing Maggie, Corinne will have to learn to be honest with the people in her life...starting with herself.

Between Perfect & Real by Ray Stoeve

*This book comes out April 27, 2021 but I'm excited enough about it that I'll share it a week before it comes out.

Dean Foster knows he’s a trans guy. He’s watched enough YouTube videos and done enough questioning to be sure. But everyone at his high school thinks he’s a lesbian—including his girlfriend Zoe, and his theater director, who just cast him as a “nontraditional” Romeo. He wonders if maybe it would be easier to wait until college to come out. But as he plays Romeo every day in rehearsals, Dean realizes he wants everyone to see him as he really is now––not just on the stage, but everywhere in his life. Dean knows what he needs to do. Can playing a role help Dean be his true self?

Can't Take That Away by Steven Salvatore

An empowering and emotional debut about a genderqueer teen who finds the courage to stand up and speak out for equality when they are discriminated against by their high school administration. Carey Parker dreams of being a diva, and bringing the house down with song. They can hit every note of all the top pop and Broadway hits. But despite their talent, emotional scars from an incident with a homophobic classmate and their grandmother's spiraling dementia make it harder and harder for Carey to find their voice. Then Carey meets Cris, a singer/guitarist who makes Carey feel seen for the first time in their life. With the rush of a promising new romantic relationship, Carey finds the confidence to audition for the role of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, in the school musical, setting off a chain reaction of prejudice by Carey's tormentor and others in the school. It's up to Carey, Cris, and their friends to defend their rights--and they refuse to be silenced. Told in alternating chapters with identifying pronouns, debut author Steven Salvatore's Can't Take That Away conducts a powerful, uplifting anthem, a swoony romance, and an affirmation of self-identity that will ignite the activist in all of us.

Peter Darling by Austin Chant

Ten years ago, Peter Pan left Neverland to grow up, leaving behind his adolescent dreams of boyhood and resigning himself to life as Wendy Darling. Growing up, however, has only made him realize how inescapable his identity as a man is. But when he returns to Neverland, everything has changed: the Lost Boys have become men, and the war games they once played are now real and deadly. Even more shocking is the attraction Peter never knew he could feel for his old rival, Captain Hook—and the realization that he no longer knows which of them is the real villain.

The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco

L E T   M E   B E   C L E A R : I never intended to raise my brother from his grave, though he may claim otherwise. If there’s anything I’ve learned from him in the years since, it’s that the dead hide truths as well as the living.

When Tea accidentally resurrects her brother from the dead, she learns she is different from the other witches in her family. Her gift for necromancy means that she’s a bone witch, a title that makes her feared and ostracized by her community. But Tea finds solace and guidance with an older, wiser bone witch, who takes Tea and her brother to another land for training. In her new home, Tea puts all her energy into becoming an asha—one who can wield magic. But dark forces are approaching quickly, and in the face of danger, Tea will have to overcome her obstacles…and make a powerful choice.

And that wraps up this week's list! What books by trans authors are you excited about? Any recs for me?

Arthur Parnassus is such a babe

I read a post about Alex a few months ago that basically said Riordan's portrayal of genderfluid people was problematic because of the way Alex explained being genderfluid to Magnus. I beleive they said it was unnatural and that no one would explain it that way.

I think they may be forgetting that Magnus Chase is for young kids who probably have never heard of the term before. Alex explains genderfluidity in a similar way other characters explain mythology. The characters aren't just explaining the subjects to each other, but also the audience. Who are meant to be children.

Of course you may think that its a rather patronizing way of explaining it to kids, which is fair.

That being said, Riordan definitely made many mistakes in portraying his minority characters accurately/respectfully, and he didn't respond to criticism well, but I don't think this particular criticism is fair. If anything it should be a criticism of his writing style.

Of course this is just my opinion, and I couldn't find the original post so I may have misinterpreted it (apologies if I did, feel free to set me straight💙)

I know nothing about castlevainia but I worship the blond he's so pretty

one of my favorite part of the book

(the house in the cerulean sea)

summarizing in one meme:

The sheer power of Arthur Parnassus returning to the island where he was abused and victimized as a child and instead of burning it to the ground, instead of raging and destroying and turning it to ash and slag as he maybe had a right to do, instead choosing to reopen the orphanage that made him a prisoner. To make it instead a place of healing and a home for the lost, to be for children outcast and alone (like he was) a father and a guide and a protector (like others should have been for him), to make the place where he suffered instead a place of safety and love...the power of that is something more then I can put into words.

Arthur chose to write over his trauma and pain with love and acceptance and warmth. He didn't just chose to not let his past define him but instead he chose to redefine his past. And that makes him one of the strongest characters I've ever read about.

Something I find funny is that there's a large gap in Arthurs life that we know nothing about. Assuming he left the DICOMY school at 18, there's 20 or so years that he could have been doing literally anything.

We know what the other adults did

Linus- worked at DICOMY pretty much forever

Zoe - was on the island being her sapphic self and generally being the Greatest

Helen - everything

Charles Werner - actually we don't know this one but based off what we do know it probably involved him being a selfish prick

So I'm taking it upon myself to compile a list of possible things Arthur could have been doing with his life, (getting increasingly unlikely as the list goes on.)

So far I have

studying philosophy Real Hard because as we know he's a Huge Nerd

babysitting or teaching because yknow he'd be good at it

studying ornithology because I'd personally find that kinda cute and funny

maybe he studied marine life bc that one scene where he said chauncey was a jellyfish and I know he probably did all that research specifically for chauncey but my special interest is the ocean so I deserve this

he could have played Jenga for profit bc in that same scene he startled me and Linus with that trick with the books

maybe he studied the blade because he's gay and has a sword

Feel free to add

what if Arthur is able to sneak up on Linus and be silent on his feet because he was abused as a child and needed to learn to move silently?

because I haven't seen anyone mention that but I just reread thitcs for the 5th time and I just noticed that was a thing he did

put Naughty from Matilda The Musical in your Laurent of Vere Spotify playlists you cowards

Shelf-Confidence Book Photo Challenge

February 18 - Favorite Color 💙

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I whipped up some recs for a few different flavors of love and romance 💖 I hope you enjoy! What books are you reading to celebrate love?

☆ what to read next if you loved the house in the cerulean sea! ☆

if you... loved the magical setting

• magyk (septimus heap #1) by angie sage. the better, funnier, unproblematic-er harry potter, with an amazing setting and amazing and SO lovable characters

• inkheart (inkworld #1) by cornelia funke. one of my favorite magical settings of all times. also the plot is basically THE dream of all readers aka: what happens when the real world and the world of a book collide? but make it BAD

if you... loved the vibes

• the starless sea by erin morgenstern. do you love ghibli vibes?? do you wish you could permanently live in a bakery next to the ocean??? then fear no more, because this book is the one for you!

if you... are aching for more soft and yearning gays

• novae by kaiju. it's a comic but its so. it's so. GOOD. also sun and moon and star dynamics + amazing art + fantastic historical settings... what more do we need!

• check, please! by ngozi uzaku. YES this is another comic YES I am biased bc mr jack laurent zimmermann is my favorite hockey bro ever. and what about it.

if you... want to meet more weird children

• the emerald atlas by john stephens. vibes similar to a series of unfortunate events but with an actual happy ending!!! and caring adults!!!!! we love to see it

that's all I can think about rn!!! happy reading friends!

Recent mlm reads

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall - Fake dating, intense fear of emotional vulnerability, domesticity, great group whatsapp banter: chef’s kiss. This was an ace contemporary UK romance.

Hither, Page by Cat Sebastian - A sweet little pre-war detective story set in a sleepy English village, this was a short read that made me crave some Miss Marple TV specials. 

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune - A lovely found-family romance set in a world where magical creatures are treated like second-class citizens, and magical children are sent to surveillance orphanages. A civil servant who is very loyal to his intricate bureaucracy is sent to review a slightly unorthodox orphanage on an island, run by an eccentric and kind man. He realises there’s more to caring for children than ticking all the boxes on a form, and falls in love with the whole island along the way.

The Sugared Game (The Will Darling Adventures #2) by K.J. Charles (review of book 1 here) - A bookseller teams up on a smuggling case with his on-again, off-again hook-up, a government spy who is unwilling to risk his job’s secrecy for their relationship. Sparks fly as they investigate mafia nightclubs and high class fashion events. I love this series!

Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen by Lois McMaster Bujold - A quiet, contemplative book about two older partners (male and female) in a throuple, coming back together several years after their male partner died. This is set in the far future on another planet, but the sci-fi element takes a back seat here as they find a path towards a happy retirement together.

My own LGBT YA novel was just released! The Reckless Afterlife of Harriet Stoker is a paranormal horror about ghosts stuck in the afterlife.

 What if death is only the beginning? When Harriet Stoker dies after falling from a balcony in a long-abandoned building, she discovers a group of ghosts, each with a special power. Felix, Kasper, Rima and Leah welcome Harriet into their world, eager to make friends with the new arrival after decades alone. Yet Harriet is more interested in unleashing her own power, even if it means destroying everyone around her. But when all of eternity is at stake, the afterlife can be a dangerous place to make an enemy.

Here, have some ACTUALLY queer books to read if you too were disappointed by the supernatural finale

(links will take you to Bookshop, which supports independent bookstores instead of am*zon!)

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone: scifi novella about time agents on the opposite side of a war who discover free will through love

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune: domestic dads and their found family of monster kids (including the literal antichrist), with a side of rebelling against an oppressive government

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater: if you’re on book tumblr at all you know this one, but this has the deeply Catholic repressed gay and traumatized bisexual you’ve been waiting for

In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan: chaotic bisexual who ends up in a magical world and won’t stop being snarky about it, with a YEARS long friends to lovers slowburn

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland: zombie killing Black girls in post Civil War America; author is a spn fan and this book definitely has the Feel, but with 500% more women, characters of colors, and queer people

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell: chosen one who falls in love with his evil vampire roommate; more drarry than destiel, but its sequel Wayward Son (I know) has that Americana feel

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas: trans boy who’s trying to prove that he’s a brujo accidentally summons a ghost and they solve a murder while falling in love

The Weight of the Stars by K. Ancrum: soft scifi with two girls listening for radio signals from space, found family rights, a love story that feels appropriately epic

Are You Listening? by Tillie Walden: graphic novel about two women road tripping across Texas and healing from trauma, with some fabulism and a cat

Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian: I’m just gonna leave this one here for everyone who’s still hurting from Twist and Shout

LGBT+ Fantasy/Fiction Books and TWs

1. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell-

(Fantasy, Witches, Vampires, kind of Harry Potter-y, Romance, TW for mention of suicidal ideation/self-destructiveness, abandonment, foster care, neglect, murder/violence, gun violence and relationship issues in the second book. It has some heavy topics but is written in a pretty light tone.)

2. Red White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston-

(enemies to lovers, about the son of the President and the Prince of England getting into a fight, they have to fake a friendship to fix their PR situation, TW for being publicly outed and semi-graphic sex scenes, also often politically charged discussions)

3. Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller-

(Ancient Greece, demigods, exile, TW for war/violence and tragedy, homophobia, bad parenting)

4. The Foxhole Court by Nora Sakavic-

(It’s about the mafia/college sports and happens to have a compelling queer storyline in the process. Demisexual main character and other gay characters. (slow burn, it’s a trilogy and the romance doesn’t happen in the first book) TW for a lot of things, it’s about kids from broken homes and the mafia so there is abuse, self harm, murder, police intervention, organized crime, drug use, assault, rehab, all kinds of weapons, manipulation, slurs, etc. The second book has mentions of r*pe (not extremely graphic but it is mentioned a handful of times and there is one semi graphic scene), and torture. It is a great series but it has heavy content and is not light reading if you go in unprepared.)

5. The House on the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune -

(fantasy, heartwarming romance, magical creatures)

6. Heartstopper by Alice Oseman-

(MLM, graphic novel, slow burn, coming out TW for anorexia and homophobia)

7. The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater-

(Fantasy, about a secret private school, slow burn)

8. They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera-

(Bisexual Latino characters, whole story takes place in 24 hours because at about midnight- aka the start of the book- they get a phone call saying they’re gonna die, TW for death, family in hospital, violence, police intervention, and foster care)

9. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo-

(queer characters (but no romance in the first book)

10. The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee (Historical Fiction Romance, Travel/Journey, Best Friends to lovers, MLM characters)

11. In Deeper Waters by FT Lukens-

(Royalty, kidnapping, MLM characters not being released until April but it looks great)

12. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz-

(coming of age story, MLM, TW for violence/injury, surgery, transmisogyny, homophobic violence)

14. We Contain Multitudes by Sarah Henstra-

(coming of age, friendship and romance)

15. Love and Other Curses by Michael Thomas Ford-

(magical realism, a curse about falling in love)

16. More Happy than Not by Adam Silvera-

(MLM main character, YA, “it's about a boy who is considering a memory-alteration procedure to forget he's gay because leading a life as a straight teen would probably be way easier for him. It's about science versus nature, friendship, sexuality, and a quest for happiness.” About the happy ending and how even bad moments lead to good. Hopeful but despairing. TW for medical procedure to erase sexuality, internalized homophobia, homophobia from others, depression)

17. I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver-

(Nonbinary main character, nonbinary muslim side character, romance/love and building a family out of people you care about. About finding your voice. TW for coming out and misgendering, family rejection/struggle)

18. We Are Okay by Nina LaCour-

(WLW, moving out and coming of age, self-discovery and childhood romance, TW for loss, depression, loneliness)

19. The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness-

(Contemporary, about the normal people’s lives while living among Chosen Ones. Family/coming of age/acceptance story. TW for monsters, apocalypse, violence/explosions, anorexia, anxiety attacks, unrequited romance)

20. Lizard Radio by Pat Schmatz-

(Dystopian story about a teenager struggling with their gender identity, TW for abandonment, oppressive government, outlawed homosexuality)

21. Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas-

(trans main character, hispanic characters, paranormal YA mystery with MLM characters)

22. Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat-

(Bisexual main character, TW for kidnapping/stockholm syndrome, abuse, sex scenes)

23. Witch Eyes by Scott Tracey-

(fantasy, MLM, supernatural)

24. Simon vs the Homosapiens Agenda by Becki Albertalli-

(romance, MLM, coming of age, TW for a closeted boy being blackmailed)

25. Fun Home by Alison Bechdel-

(WLW, graphic novel, coming of age, TW for csa, pedophilia, teacher/student relationships, none explicit if my memory serves correct)

26. George by Alex Gino-

(Trans girl, slice of life, coming out story, TW for deadnaming, homophobia, transphobia)

27. Afterworlds by Scott Westerfield-

(WLW, supernatural, fantasy)

28. Witchmark by C.L. Polk-

(MLM, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, mystery, Alternate universe post WW1, TW for murder/war, depression/angst)

29. The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling-

(WLW, Sci-Fi Horror, dystopian future, fictional planet, TW for psychological/emotional horror, toxic relationship, death)

30. The Culling by Steven Dos Santos-

(MLM, Dystopian Fantasy under a totalitarian, extremely cruel government. People must undergo ‘the trials’ in order to work for a government task force- if you fail at any of the trials you are forced to participate in the Culling, where the member has to choose a family member of theirs to die. TW for death, extortion, brutal violence, murder, totalitarian government)

31. Deposing Nathan by Zack Smedley-

(MLM, about a court case regarding the main character and his best friend- deals with breaking points in friendships and how people and perception change. TW for biphobia, gay bashing, legal trial, abuse, knives, violence)

32. Ziggy, Stardust, and Me by James Brandon-

(MLM, Gay main character, historical fiction (Vietnam war), about a character dealing with his alcoholic father and family issues who creates a fictional world to cope where he can be out and openly himself. Coming of age. TW for bullying, alcoholism, institutionalized homophobia, familial homophobia, war mentions)

(this list is a WIP and anyone can add to it! If I need to add TWs or further explanations let me know!)

My mother brought kiwis home and I was eating one and mentioned how i like kiwis but they always hurt my tongue and long story short im allergic to kiwi

not gonna stop me from eating them

Arthur Parnassus (of The House in the Cerulean Sea), Norman (of The Promised Neverland), Kite (of Japan Sinks 2020), and Kenya Kobayashi (of Erased) give off the same vibes no i will not elaborate

The House in the Cerulean Sea has the same vibes as Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children except completely different and way better (imo)

Check out towards.utopia on ig for more

did my brothers instructor go to work with covid and without a mask and now I can barely taste my food? huh.

Before you post, THINK! Does it follow the Hays Code?

useful information for next time i wanna procrastinate important things

You bored, or feeling artsy but don’t have any inspiration...? *updated!*

Do you need to distract yourself? Or are you simply bored? Here are some great websites to make the time pass.

create pixel art

Awesome photo editor and art program, all free…!

Totally free transparent textures

make a cute chibi

draw some cool generative art

be a graffiti creator

create a picassohead (you don’t need to be a picasso to do so)

paint online

another awsome site to create pixel art on

and another one

create your own mandala

or color one

create an avatar

or you can try creating your own superhero

here you can interact with organisms in different environments to see how to music changes

here’s a website that translates the time into hexidecimal colours,

Here is a website where you can travel along a 3D line into the infinite unkown

here is a website where you can listen to rain with or without music

Need a model in a certain pose for drawing? here

Want to build your own planet

here is a website where you can create your own galaxies

make your own pattern (very useful if you need a new background)

create next hit comic

make a city which looks like something from 90′s games

draw a mandala like design

jig saw puzzles

more jig saw puzzles to solve

create a stunning HTML5 animation - no coding!

make a movie

create and dress up dolls

play a piano

you can also play a guitar

create sounds

another sound creator

create a logo

design your dream home

sketch rooms

explore fashion trends and create your own sets

build a website

try this app for building a website

Or maybe start learning how to code!

design your own t-shirt or a beanie or sweatpants and order them

design your own phone case

pretend to be a graphic designer with this cool online tool

Make your own Glitch art

Here’s another glitch art maker

And another!

Holy hell, here’s a third!

make an image look like it was created by a commodore 64

freaking cool text generator!

Easy to use word processor

Make up really cool patterns or run your photos through it :)

Write an essay on anything with no hassle

Wanna see how something you write would look like if it was on JacksFilms YGS((Your Grammar Sucks videos on YouTube))?

Make pictures out of text

ASCII word generator

Need an idea for some fanart-here :D

Still haven’t found something that would float your boat? Try these:

watch a documentary

learn to code

do something yourself

workout with the help of this great youtube channels

learn things

play pokemon or zelda or other awesome old school games

waste your time on miniclip

play games at additing games

or try games at agame

calm your thoughts

the quiet place

it will be okay

vent or listen to someone

pour out your soul

explore the sky

look at art from around the world

virtually visit museum of iraq

explore world with arounder

create a music playlist

list through rare books

scroll useful science website

create sand art

brain games

try out tastekid and discover new favorite band or movie or book

interactive 3D anatomy

random street view

post a secret

create a family tree

find our what’s the difference between x and y

help scientists and become volunteer researcher

create your own font

read a classic short story

In the mood to read, but not sure exactly what book to go for?

scribble on maps

listen to letters

play with acrobots

listen to podcasts

make a bucket list

Ever want to see the most truly useless websites in creation?

Prank a friend with this blue screen of death!

Zone out watching the colors drip down

Maybe none of these peeked your interest-maybe you’ve been wanting to create an o.c, but never really knew how to start-or you just enjoy making O.C’s….

This masterlist is to help you in making your own OCs….it can also apply to developing RP characters i suppose! (´ヮ`)!

How to Write Better OCs:

basic tips on how to make your oc even better

tragic backstory? learn how to write one/make yours great

writing specific characters

a wordier, great guide on how to develop your character

kick out those vague descriptions and make them AWESOME

Character Development:

how to actually make an OC

Q&A (to develop characters)

more Q&As

giving your character a backstory

how to write an attractive character

Need an Appearance idea?

Humanoid generator? check

Here’s another one

and maybe if you didn’t like those this’ll work

Need Monsterpeople?

Well, then here ya’ go

Maybe you need Cats?

Diversity

adding more racial diversity

avoiding tokenism, AKA, how to add diversity to your cast not just because you “need” it

writing sexuality and gender expression (doesnt include non binary, if you have a good ref to that, please add on!)

masterpost on writing more diversity into your story

cultures of the world

guides to drawing different ethnicities (not just a great art reference, but also really helpful in appearance descriptions!)

Mary Sue/Gary Stu

Test to see if your character is a Sue

Explains subdivisions of Sues/Stus

Powerful Characters Don’t Have to Be Sues

Villains

villain generator

need an evil sounding name for your evil character? bam

villain archetypes

what’s your villain’s motive for being a villain?

Relationships

character perceptions (What your character thinks of themselves and what others think of them)

how to write strong relationships between two characters

8 ways to write better characters and develop their relationships with others

OCxLove Interest Handbook

develop your couple with good ol’ Q&A!

how to write realistic relationships

how to write relatives for your characters (this is more OC related to a canon character, but will help in writing family members in general)

ARCHETYPES

12 common archetypes

8 archetypes for male/female characters

female archetypes (goes pretty indepth from two main categories)

a list of archetypes

NAMES

how to name your character

random name generator

most common surnames

surnames by ethnicity

APPEARANCE

tips for better design

basic appearance generator

pinterest board for character design (includes NSFW and images of skeletons/exposed muscle (?) so tread carefully!)

clothing ref masterpost

Clothing generator

Another clothing generator

More clothing generator

Aaaand even more

Steam punk clothing

Char Style preference

Dress Generator

DETAILS

give your character better powers

a list of professions

proactive vs reactive characters

positive and negative traits

interest generator

skills generator

motivation generator

123 ideas for character flaws

list of phobias

Oh shit someone died

Backgrounds and stuff? yep

Quirks

Personality. you need that shit

Need something fandom related?

City generator hell yeah

location? got ya

World-building?

make your own god damn laws

Landscape.

Need Item names?

Fantasy/sci-fi/etc. medicine names

Stuff to make things more interesting.Weapons, clothes, treasures… whatever your characters need.

Item & Artifact Generators

Other stuffs!

Genre, Plot, & Story Prompt Generators

How did your characters meet?

Fanfic plots. you bet your ass.

They probably named him after Bacchus, the Roman god of wine and fertility

*white parent voice* i cant believe kanye and kim named their baby North West!! thats ridiculous!! oh no, its almost 4:30, i need to pick up my kids Mackaylikiah and Ashleighyie from their water polo practice!

I watched it when it first came out and have regretted it ever since.

I was so excited bc if the movie was good I could show it to my friends and actually talk about it with people. But the movie wasn't good. And I felt betrayed.

Years ago I read the first 9 books of The Last Apprentice series and only recently realized they turned the first book into a movie. Watching it now and I want to die. I can forgive ageing up the characters since they are aiming for an older audience but why….? Why did they make the witches hot? And why did they make Alice Mother Malkin’s sister?! It ruins the whole plot twist that is supposed to happen! 

They really took a gritty, dark, coming-of-age story and turned it into a typical action film with hot ladies.

This series could have easily turned into another Harry Potter or Percy Jackson movie franchise but they had to ruin it 😒

At this point, is it even possible for a studio to make a good book-based movie?

!! I was wondering when someone would bring this up!!!

For the longest time I was trying to figure out why they thought pansexuals were simultaneously bisexual and biphobic and after extensive research I've figured out that it's because panphobes have no critical thinking skills.

Someone: "Pansexuality is the same as bisexuality therefore its biphobic so im panphobic >:((("

Me: "So you're saying you're biphobic?"

Them: "no-"

Me: "By your definition they are the same thing, so if you're panphobic you're biphobic. By your definition, because that is what you said."

Them:

Them: >:(

tumblr ads are something else huh

DNI if you hate sharks

Update: I respect cookie cutter sharks but theyre on thin ice

Sharks I respect

All of them

Sharks I don't respect

None of them

An article I read for class said " do you know how much plastic human beings consume each year? Each year, More than eight million metric tons... "

And I sat there, wondering how we eat so much plastic until I read on and it's actually talking about how much plastic we collectively use, not eat. "...More than eight million metric tons of plastic end up in the ocean."

Anyway I'm an idiot

Sharks I respect

All of them

Sharks I don't respect

None of them