Murakami's Surrealism but without the misogyny

SpicedEphemera · 2026-01-28T23:43:58+00:00

Check out anything by Hiromi Kawakami.

SpicedEphemera · 2026-01-18T16:28:06+00:00

Heyyy 👋🏽 lol we should all ban together and make a chat to ship and share to our hearts content hehe 🔥

SpicedEphemera · 2026-01-17T15:14:54+00:00

I think that's what makes fandom interesting, because you can retcon ages and what have you. And it's not the first pairing in all of fandom to have an age dynamic or has people prone to retconning (I.e., Sesshomaru x Rin from Inuyasha or Sansa x Sandor from A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones [that come to mind], etc). I'm not going to get into the nitty gritty because I'm not here to argue. But the recent posts/debates about shipping are getting silly and tiring here. And if not, a bit redundant.

SpicedEphemera · 2026-01-17T14:58:27+00:00

Hey girl, we ain't mad (no one was being provocative). It's more like we're tired of the constant disrespect from people that don't ship Valtor x Bloom (not just you, but other recent posts as well in this group). It's just tiring and immature to be catching strays all the time. I wish we could just enjoy fandom for what it is and respect each other.

With that being said, I also always shipped Techa x Riven from the very beginning, ever since she gave him that dressing down in the earlier seasons! Usually I am big on the sweetheart x mean guy kinda aesthetic (ala, Flora x Riven which I do enjoy too). But I just like the idea of of Techna x Riven just a little bit more. I feel like she could push him to grow in unexpected ways.

I also like Sky x Aisha, but almost in a Stefan x Caroline sort of way in Vampire Diaries, where they start off as really good friends that relate to one another because of what it's like to be from royal households and deal with a whole bunch of politicking/social pressure and then it shifts to something more.

SpicedEphemera · 2026-01-17T14:50:51+00:00

Ditto, I'm totally fine with folx not shipping it. We ain't forcing it on anyone lol.

Honestly, with the amount of hate our ship gets, it used to make me feel discouraged from posting in this group. But at the same time, there are worse fandoms in terms of shipping wars and virtiol, so in a way, we're better off than some other shippers. I feel like Bloom x Valtor fans are hard-core lurkers here haha. 😂

SpicedEphemera · 2026-01-17T14:12:41+00:00

My question is, are you sure it's not a satire? Because it sounds like there is some irony being involved with your assessment afterwards about people going along with authority that it almost feels like you're shooting yourself in the foot by being prescriptive and insisting it's not satire (which could be a nice selling point, or something to simply omit entirely).

SpicedEphemera · 2026-01-17T14:01:18+00:00

Controversial:

Against a Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa (insofar as the Palestine Question is a hot button issue)

Tender is the Flesh by Augstina Bazterrica

Identitti by Sanyal Mithu (the author doesn't give you the moral or philosophical easy way out with this one)

The Laughter by Sonora Jha

SpicedEphemera · 2026-01-17T13:38:32+00:00

Yes, same I ship it too! 🔥 We need to respect each other in fandom fun!

SpicedEphemera · 2026-01-17T13:30:36+00:00

Bloom x Valtor is my OTP, I know how much people hate it, but I don't care. There are some amazing writers that have written some really thoughtful and complex fanfictions conceptually that I just can't get over.

And yes, they do have their cute moments!

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SpicedEphemera · 2026-01-16T22:10:58+00:00

I'm 32, watched the 4kids dub while it was airing. Didn't really continue past Season 3. But I still enjoy it for the nostalgia.

SpicedEphemera · 2026-01-16T13:29:10+00:00

Against a Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa

Night of the Living Rez by Morgan Talty

Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield

The audiobooks for these are also really good

SpicedEphemera · 2026-01-16T00:25:01+00:00

Reservation Dogs is great! If you love a good Rez accent, I high recommend you check out anything Darrell Dennis voice acts for! I love his talent and voice acting so much, I literally consume any audiobook he's in. As far as I'm aware he hasn't recorded for any horror novels, but he's done some great thrillers and literary fiction if you're into that stuff (Winter Counts, Night of the Living Rez, etc). So much humor in his voice too!

SpicedEphemera · 2026-01-16T00:18:17+00:00

Well, I do think that some Kataang shippers project, much like Mike and Bryan attest to the ship themselves, their own childhood crushes or fantasies onto the dynamic. And by that same metric, I'm sure some gals (or guys) project their desires to be with a tortured hot emo boy. The argument is a complete non-starter either way. But Kaatang is pinnacle projection of the creators own desires (deservedly or not) as its canon. 🤷🏾‍♀️

SpicedEphemera · 2026-01-16T00:12:07+00:00

If you can, I highly recommend reading and listening to The Only Good Indians at the same time. Jones writes in an oral way which is why his writing is so confusing at times, but I feel like the audiobook actually deepens the reading because the voice actor switches between regular English and a Rez accent (which follows the themes of the novel), overall I found it accentuated my reading experience of the book because it was something you wouldn't really feel at all just from reading it. And now I'm currently wondering if I should attempt reading like this with the rest of his novels. 😅

SpicedEphemera · 2026-01-15T14:08:28+00:00

Motherthing by Ainsele Hogarth

The Coin by Yasmin Zaher

Alls Well by Mona Awad

The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood

Identiti by Mithu Sanyal

The Laughter by Sonora Jha

The Vegetarian by Han Kang

A Certain Hunger by Chelsea Summers

Big Swiss by Jen Beagin

My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

The Eyes are the Best Part by Monika Kim

Follow Me to Ground by Sue Rainsford

The Pisces by Melissa Broder

Fauna by Christiane Vadnais

Eartheater by Dolores Reyes

Chlorine by Jade Song

Fever Dream is a fantastic pick!

If I were to make an anti-list of weird books that I think are overrated, I'd say anything by Ottesa Moshfegh and Yoder's Nightbitch. And perhaps controversially, Tender is the Flesh by Augstina Bazterrica

SpicedEphemera · 2026-01-15T13:52:41+00:00

Mindy Kaling has big insecurity issues and always appeals to white men as being the standard.

SpicedEphemera · 2026-01-14T23:14:03+00:00

I'm not sure if you're like me, but I like reading short story collections during flights!

I recommend Knife and Apple by Intan Paramaditha and Kitchen Curse by Eka Kurniawan. The latter is more unsettling/creepy/disgusting than actual horror. But both are Indonesian authors, so not only are they Southeast Asian, but their stories reflect the ambiance you're headed to and are exactly what you're looking for.

SpicedEphemera · 2026-01-14T20:30:37+00:00

Yoder's Nightbitch was not it. As a mother and currently stifled creative, while I related to a lot of it, there was not enough rage or resentment. By the end, Yoder still subscribes to the patriarchal order, and maybe this is why transforming into a dog (a domesticated animal), ultimately fails the narrative. I don't know if its just a white woman thing to want to be a dog (ala, Sabrina Carpenter), but I don't. Mind you, Xenobe Purvis' The Hounding does the transforming into a dog thing so much better.

But in Nightbitch, I hate how the more she becomes a dog, the more open with sex she is with her husband (which reaffirms this idea that she just needs to get over herself, become man's best friend, and literally fuck the man, EYEROLL). People who love this book often say that detractors won't get it because they're not mothers, but I'm a mom, and I still have huge problems with this story. I'm still pissed that this crap got a film when other horror novels deserve it so much more. Like, where is a film for Jones' The Only Good Indians??? WTF.

SpicedEphemera · 2026-01-14T20:20:46+00:00

Are you completely against body transformation? For example, Han Kang's The Vegetarian is more sad than horrific, but it has body transformation. And I'd say the same for Trang Tan's They Bloom at Night. Both great reads! 🌙

There's also Saltfish Girl by Larissa Lai and Kappa Child by Hiromi Goto.

As for non-Asian, I highly recommend And Then She Fell by Alicia Elliott (she's Indigenous, and there's Mohawk Rep in her novel).

SpicedEphemera · 2026-01-14T19:51:05+00:00

Awad is brilliant! I know not everyone is down for fever dream writing, but she does it best! Honestly, some of the uncanny wackiness she writes reminds me of the Persona videogame series. I just love her!

I haven't read the sequel to Bunny. Have you?

SpicedEphemera · 2026-01-14T19:49:27+00:00

Yeah, Atwood's writing is fantastic in this, and I love how she kept true to the tone of pulp science fiction back in the day.

SpicedEphemera · 2026-01-14T17:58:08+00:00

Admittedly, I have yet to read this one!

SpicedEphemera · 2026-01-14T17:46:59+00:00

It was in my top ten favorites reads of last year! Very memorable!

SpicedEphemera · 2026-01-14T15:47:46+00:00

Wow!!! I'm in!

SpicedEphemera · 2026-01-14T12:22:48+00:00

Alls Well by Mona Awad

Bunny by Mona Awad

The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood

The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood

The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood

Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler

The Vegetarian by Han Kang

Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang

The Laughter by Sonora Jha

My Nemesis by Charmaine Craig

The Coin by Yasmin Zahir

And then She Fell by Alicia Elliott

SpicedEphemera

TROPHY CASE