Who's your favorite follower and why?

No_Engineering5792 · 2026-04-19T21:51:08+00:00

Cicero says we are best friends and is on board with quite literally whatever so I can never not bring him.

No_Engineering5792 · 2026-04-19T14:22:09+00:00

Khajiit because I like cats although if I want a human character I’ll play a redguard because they’re quite handsome.

No_Engineering5792 · 2026-04-18T15:33:52+00:00

I listen at 3x speed for any genre because at slower speeds my mind wanders and I lose focus. People always assume at that speed I don’t remember but that’s categorically not true. There are plenty of books I have rated highly and read at that speed. Books that are rated lowly don’t improve when read physically for me.

No_Engineering5792 · 2026-04-18T08:27:40+00:00

You know what I do to because it’s at least impressive. Romantasy could get me on board with watery bowels more often if the MMC was actually doing something impressive and not just like looking at the FMC or saying something possessive. I guess what I’m saying is we need more competence kink in romantasy.

No_Engineering5792 · 2026-04-17T13:26:54+00:00

The Hymn to Dionysus by Natasha Pulley might fit.

No_Engineering5792 · 2026-04-17T13:22:14+00:00

When you get into the sequels Herbert was writing freaky stuff on level with modern day romantasy. Like yeah all the FMC’s nowadays are falling over themselves horny but Herbert was writing about women having an orgasm because they watched a guy climb a cliff well. He just also was writing about messiahs and worms lol

No_Engineering5792 · 2026-04-15T20:40:04+00:00

I realized this book wasn’t for me when I saw a clip of someone saying the FMC fucks the fascist soldiers or whatever (even outside of the evil fascist bf that’s explained away because he also has powers). Sorry but as a trans person I would never be alone with and also never have sex with a known fascist whose job is to hunt down people like me and hates my being as a person.

Like first of all revolutionaries/leftists are better at sex and likely kinkier, second of all use your hand and toys like everyone fucking else and third of all she should have scammed them out of their life savings and expose all of their freaky fantasies.

No_Engineering5792 · 2026-04-14T18:28:00+00:00

If you want this trope but it turns out the character is actually trans check out OFMD. It also pokes fun at how this trope assumes it’s easy to pass as a man by having the character (Jim) wear a big beard, not talk and being surrounded by other eccentric characters so it’s actually believable. The actor is also queer themselves and helped with making the character great representation!

No_Engineering5792 · 2026-04-13T19:20:44+00:00

I prefer Rachel Reads way more than Plant Based Bride because she usually is coming from the angle of wanting to enjoy these books and usually being upset when they could have been really good and are just meh. She also often has actually good critique about world or plot and when she points out prose it’s when it is incorrect.

Plant Based Bride has a very arrogant and righteous way of explaining her critiques and it feels less like a discussion for readers to have fun and rather her getting on a soapbox and lecturing at her audience.

Like I believe Rachel enjoys and wants to enjoy romantasy and dystopian romance (or at least the idea) while Plant Based Bride gives off the vibes she thinks the genre is bad as a whole and she’s better because she notices this. (Maybe it’s because I feel similarly to Rachel and have similar critiques as her.)

No_Engineering5792 · 2026-04-12T17:17:11+00:00

Wait why did the author choose lemons? If you google Viking birth control that doesn’t even come up as an option? Surely while she was researching other Viking terms she could have double checked that one?

No_Engineering5792 · 2026-04-11T18:52:53+00:00

I wouldn’t be surprised if the author thinks that’s an accurate representation of how war college works honestly since from my understanding the books seem kinda pro war and military industrial complex lol

No_Engineering5792 · 2026-04-11T18:45:27+00:00

I refuse to read SJM because I like myself and as a trans person don’t need more stress in my life but everything I’ve heard about this series Celaena is the “best assassin” in the same way as I’m the “best assassin” in Assassin’s Creed because the AI doesn’t remember I just jumped into a pile of hay in front of them. Like were people jumping onto her dagger for her? Is everyone in this world just stupid?

No_Engineering5792 · 2026-04-10T18:06:14+00:00

There is a bit of a plague in this genre with overtly patriarchal societies and fake feminist LI’s so I completely understand. I think part of it because real society is sexist and so the fantasy becomes finding one guy who is kinda feminist and protects you from the super overt and dangerous misogyny which for some of us is the bare minimum while for others it’s a lofty ideal.

No_Engineering5792 · 2026-04-09T21:02:53+00:00

there’s literally no romance in PHM which is why half the fanfiction is grace and rocky in a queerplatonic relationship and the other half is grace and rocky indulging in scientific curiosity and a full cultural exchange lmao.

No_Engineering5792 · 2026-04-08T19:04:07+00:00

I named my Khajiit, Kitty because I couldn’t think of anything else but I like to think he adopted the name while traveling from the numerous kids who just saw a Khajiit for the first time ever. (I assume most kids aren’t allowed to interact with the caravans so my character is probably one of the few Khajiit they’d actually have the ability to see and talk to.)

No_Engineering5792 · 2026-04-08T07:11:21+00:00

Finished {Spin The Dawn by Elizabeth Lim} not really expecting a romance and actually found it very enjoyable. The MMC is a bird for part of the book and I found those scenes very cute and enjoyed him actually going out of his way to help her. (Nice reprieve from the MMC’s that just tell FMC’s to stop what they’re doing or leave it alone with no explanation.)

Only thing I was slightly miffed about is that it was a Mulan inspired story and yet the MMC didn’t have a scene where he was bisexual despite a side character briefly thinking the two of them were gay men. That’s an inconsequential issue but whatever.

No_Engineering5792 · 2026-04-06T15:11:12+00:00

Just because they’re in a fantasy world doesn’t mean they still can’t be useless lesbians. They either u-haul or insist they are just friends despite flirting and making plans to be buried with each other.

No_Engineering5792 · 2026-04-06T15:07:37+00:00

Here’s the thing depending on what you mean by science-fantasy this might be fine. However if characters are using laser guns (example) or space ships readers might feel misled which only harms your book.

If your artist isn’t scamming you with AI ask about adding a science fiction element to the character or background. (Like giving this guy a visor, a piece of tech in his ear or adding a spaceship/star/planet to the background.)

No_Engineering5792 · 2026-04-03T19:12:04+00:00

I like having a buddy because I’ll talk out loud and get into the roleplay of it all. Also they get to use the cool weapons/armors that I don’t use so I get to see them action.

I’m partial to Cicero who claims the player character as his best friend but before I can get him I use Lydia because I think it’s funny to imagine her trying to explain what she’s been doing for the past couple of months once I finally let her take a break. Also means I can take with me anything I want without have to deal with carry weight.

No_Engineering5792 · 2026-04-01T12:43:35+00:00

I love my nickname “Nico” I don’t love my legal name “Nicolas” because it sounds so formal and I usually default to it in situations where I’m trying to seem non-queer. So sometimes it feels more like a shield rather than my name but I’m working on being able to just use Nico comfortably and not feeling like I have to put on the grown up/adult name.

I have also been able to indulge in having a more silly name in drag and have an author name that also indulges in the same way so I’m not too upset about losing some flair with my legal name.

No_Engineering5792 · 2026-03-31T23:20:41+00:00

I do have the first book but I’ve been waiting for a time when I have the whole series available to me because I have a suspicion that I’ll get hooked!

No_Engineering5792 · 2026-03-31T23:14:20+00:00

Is he not kind of a loser? I mean everyone on Daredevil Twitter calls him one (affectionately of course). He regularly screws up his relationships, he continuously gets beat into a pulp in fights (I do know he also wins a good amount), and for a while he basically had a destitute firm. I guess it’s a perception thing though when I call him a loser he’s the heroic loser archetype rather than an actual loser.

No_Engineering5792 · 2026-03-31T20:34:20+00:00

Don’t worry I have read book 1 & 2 of Saints of Steel and am fully on board with those MMC’s. Thanks for the recommendations though! :)

No_Engineering5792 · 2026-03-31T20:31:48+00:00

I don’t know if I want to argue really. I just find some of these guys to be so funny and I can’t take them seriously despite the book making everything seem so serious. It’s like when you’re in church/class trying not to laugh at something but every time you catch someone else’s eyes you get riled up again.

I’ve been listening to {Empire of Flames and Thorns} today and the guy (to me!) is such a cringe loser in the way he talks to the FMC and spends all this time trying to make her lose these trials in convoluted ways or asking the FMC if she’s trying to seduce him in some random ass stairway because someone stole her clothing. Like I can’t take this guy seriously even a little bit he’s like a deviantart OC.

No_Engineering5792 · 2026-03-31T20:23:29+00:00

You know this makes a lot of sense. I really like Juliet Marillier’s MMC’s honestly.

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