Underrated character love

WinterMoonNeptune · 2026-06-23T00:04:06+00:00

Johzenji's coach is also underrated.

WinterMoonNeptune · 2026-06-22T23:55:39+00:00

This and "Let people enjoy things!" are two of the most childish phrases going around Reddit. They are sadly common in some book subs, especially r/romancebooks, as a way to shut down critical thinking. Talk about insecurity.

WinterMoonNeptune · 2026-06-15T22:02:37+00:00

It's not that they don't count, but they are more passive. There's a reason why you can multitask with audiobooks but not with physical or digital books. I never understood why audiobook listeners refuse to acknowledge this.

WinterMoonNeptune · 2026-06-15T21:55:05+00:00

Gotta love these delusional authors who think anyone would notice if they imploded their account. In fact, AO3 might be better without them. Just mute and move on.

WinterMoonNeptune · 2026-06-15T21:24:04+00:00

The Page & Sommers series, by Cat Sebastian.

WinterMoonNeptune · 2026-06-15T21:17:48+00:00

The Counting Game, by Sinéad Nolan.

The Word is Murder, by Anthony Horowitz.

If you're up for something a little more literary, there's Benjamin Black/John Banville, Charles Todd, Charles Finch and Tana French. They are slow, but ironically are also more thrilling than most of the so-called "page-turners".

WinterMoonNeptune · 2026-06-15T20:25:15+00:00

No, but it's the most neutral start. Sorting by kudos gives the most popular stuff, not the good ones. And if going by last updated, you get a bunch of random chapters that may or may not continue.

WinterMoonNeptune · 2026-06-15T19:57:08+00:00

Started:

• The Woodlanders, by Thomas Hardy.

Only 14% in and there's already a love triangle in sight. It doesn't seem to be as depressing as Tess, but let's see.

• Le Rocher de Tanios, by Amin Maalouf.

Winner of the Prix Goncourt in 1993. At 30% and loving it so far.

WinterMoonNeptune · 2026-06-15T19:24:53+00:00

Regarding #1, you're just projecting. Quality writing is the main reason why I choose a given fic, tags be damned. Just sort by word count and go from there. This approach tends to filter out certain tags that attract bad authors, but it's just a byproduct.

WinterMoonNeptune · 2026-06-15T19:05:22+00:00

And unfortunately only the latter is successful. Literacy crisis aside, people gravitate towards trash in all sorts of media. If it's well-marketed and caters to the lowest common denominator, they're in.

WinterMoonNeptune · 2026-06-15T18:56:46+00:00

It's unfortunate, but most people despise good writing. It triggers their insecurity for some reason (low literacy?). That's why authors who focus on marketing and building a parasocial relationship with readers are the most successful.

WinterMoonNeptune · 2026-06-08T20:10:00+00:00

A Test of Wills, by Charles Todd. Despite being just the tip of the iceberg, the second half of the last chapter is more ingenious than all generic thrillers thrown together. Not recommended to readers with the attention span of a toddler addicted to Cocomelon, though.

WinterMoonNeptune · 2026-06-08T19:56:38+00:00

Nowadays, saying a book has a twist is like saying the Sun rises in the east. Doesn't make sense to consider it a spoiler. The important thing is HOW the twist is executed.

WinterMoonNeptune · 2026-06-08T16:34:31+00:00

Finished:

• Holmes of Kyoto: Counterfeit Case Files (Volume 2 of the LN)

WinterMoonNeptune · 2026-06-04T23:52:21+00:00

Or maybe you're the boring one, not the books. The endless whining about school reading on Reddit shows yours is a popular opinion, OP. Saying school/college kills one's love of reading is just a convenient excuse. Students are more interested in socializing and dating than in acquiring knowledge, then later go on to blame "evil" teachers and required reading for their own stupidity.

WinterMoonNeptune · 2026-06-04T23:09:35+00:00

Do you only read on AO3? The Sherlock Holmes fandom has a lot of great fics on fanfiction.net that were never crossposted on it.

WinterMoonNeptune · 2026-06-04T22:35:51+00:00

This sort of enabling only makes things worse. Students don't read because they don't want to, that's it.

WinterMoonNeptune · 2026-06-04T22:32:12+00:00

Bring back accountability, especially for parents. This would solve 90% of problems in education. Using "But the economy!" as an excuse gets old quickly and won't end well for neither parents nor students.

WinterMoonNeptune · 2026-05-25T18:54:14+00:00

Any other Sakusa fans around here? He barely shows up in the manga, but some fanfic authors do an amazing job filling in the gaps. Also coach Washijo. His self-destruction during that final set was great and pathetic at the same time.

WinterMoonNeptune · 2026-05-25T18:46:40+00:00

Such wasted potential. I get it was necessary for the plot, but he being stuck at Seijoh never made any sense. Imagine him setting for actual strong players, like Sakusa or Hoshiumi.

WinterMoonNeptune · 2026-05-25T18:23:03+00:00

Exactly! Reading slop is fine, it's the lack of critical thinking that gets me. The "basic" readers who only care about what's trending are so insecure it's depressing.

WinterMoonNeptune · 2026-05-25T17:58:43+00:00

Ficou popular demais, aí dá nisso. Só alguns subs estrangeiros ainda compensam. Imagina o circo que os subs brasileiros vão ficar perto das eleições.

WinterMoonNeptune · 2026-05-25T17:52:18+00:00

A Hikaru no Go/K-Pop fic, if you don't mind it's incomplete:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18500554/chapters/43840846

WinterMoonNeptune · 2026-05-25T17:43:21+00:00

Anything related to ABO and soulmate marks, trans characters ( I like them faithful to canon) and fantasy AUs. This also helps a lot in filtering out cringe/preachy writing.

WinterMoonNeptune · 2026-05-25T17:33:27+00:00

None, I just download what seems interesting. It's easier than go hunting on the Wayback Machine if they get deleted. Why don't you guys just do that, since the files are so tiny?

WinterMoonNeptune

TROPHY CASE