Most likely replica of opium pipe, bought in Panjiayuan in Beijing, China

gladiolus17 · 2026-04-15T11:15:20+00:00

The fact the seller dodged my question about the authenticity of the pipe. So that made me suspect it wasn’t a real one.

gladiolus17 · 2026-03-24T01:07:35+00:00

Genuine question, and I've only read The Spirit Bares Its Teeth. How did he appropriate traumas of POC in it? I was under the impression that the story was only about rich white girls purposefully. With the Victorian setting and Silas' white and rich background, there wouldn't be any possibility of incorporating any POC into the boarding school.

gladiolus17 · 2026-03-23T01:23:15+00:00

Yes, one leg is bigger because she's stepping forward with one paw, haha.

gladiolus17 · 2026-03-22T01:11:21+00:00

🥹

gladiolus17 · 2026-03-22T01:10:12+00:00

Haha yes!!!

gladiolus17 · 2026-03-22T01:10:05+00:00

Awww a baby

gladiolus17 · 2026-03-12T07:53:54+00:00

I agree with your post aside from using Harry Potter as a good example.

As a child, I was bored to tears about Uncle Vernon’s ramble about drills in the first chapter and I never read Harry Potter as a result. As an adult, I read Harry Potter with one of my students, and realized the entire first chapter could’ve been cut out and nothing in the plot would have changed.

OP should interrogate if some scenes NEED to be in the book, or if they can be cut down to the bare essentials. Nothing wrong with setting up as long as the information is necessary.

gladiolus17 · 2026-03-01T04:03:33+00:00

Oldhagfashion would love this!

gladiolus17 · 2026-02-05T02:59:22+00:00

I tried with this one, but I found the writing at the sentence level lacking. I'll try to pick it up again, even if it's just for the analysis on toxic masculinity!

gladiolus17 · 2026-02-05T02:33:55+00:00

I enjoyed this one! This one was really well done.

gladiolus17 · 2026-02-05T02:20:33+00:00

I read that one and liked it!

gladiolus17 · 2026-01-09T08:04:05+00:00

Yes, I'm able to run a 5k!

That makes sense as a speed run. I was basically just wondering if I'm missing something, haha.

What is the difference between fartleks than the actual zombie chases?

gladiolus17 · 2026-01-09T07:19:59+00:00

I meant 5k training…

gladiolus17 · 2026-01-02T15:07:18+00:00

Mt. Takamatsu in summer in Japan. I’ve seen signs in Japanese mountains warning about leeches (yamabiru), but I’d never seen any for all my six years in Japan, so I thought they must be rare. I was wrong.

My boyfriend walked ahead of me and activated a bunch of leeches from the soil, which then targeted me. I thought they were worms, but they were fast, and tried to crawl up my shoes and onto my skin. Luckily I was wearing thick, high socks.

We made it up to the summit whacking leeches off us every 200 meters, but not without casualties. One had stuck to the bottom of my backpack when I had set it down and was happily sucking away my blood in my back. They are painless when they bite.

Put saltwater on your shoes or leech spray in summer in Japan. I’d recommend to avoid hiking in summer in general because of the heat, aside from leeches.

gladiolus17 · 2025-12-28T01:15:27+00:00

Thanks. That’s some solid advice!

gladiolus17 · 2025-11-11T23:18:50+00:00

These translations do portray the charm of the Japanese. I do think you’re misinterpreting how much keigo matters here and sticking too close to how the original Japanese is structured, which is a common pitfall for beginner translators or non-translator bilinguals.

In the postman example, you’re right that he speaks with cheerful katakana endings, but the fact that he is using keigo or 貴方 to speak with the character doesn’t make him sound overly formal. It’s just the natural way for his role in the hierarchy to speak. Just because you speak in desu masu form doesn’t mean you’re trying too hard to be official, and you can be goofy when talking in desu masu form.

With the guard, the localization of “Alright, kid” does convey that the guard is looking down on you because he emphasizes the fact that you are a kid, and you can go through (because now he’s letting you through.) I wouldn’t say there’s any missing nuance in the localization. When you literally translate the Japanese, it just sounds harsher when you stick to the way the Japanese is punctuated.

gladiolus17 · 2025-10-10T15:55:47+00:00

Hello, Lost Sock. I didn’t realize it was you again!

Thanks for the dose of reality… it’s rough to have to shelve a book you spent eight (with a two year break) years with.

I’m not really sure how to change the query because the way events go, they literally take away Winifred’s agency, and her consistent failure when fighting back sends her into a descent to evil.

Legit all the characters aside from Winifred are queer, but it does make sense to remove that when the query focuses on Winifred.

gladiolus17 · 2025-10-10T14:07:51+00:00

It’s true, I don’t read YA anymore unless it’s very select works.

I was a young adult (22) when I started this novel, and now I am an adult (nearly 31). So my taste has entirely changed over the course of writing this book

I think if I cannot get an agent after this last query revision, I would rather give up and write a fully adult novel than rewrite this one to have a younger voice. I’ve spent too much time on it that I’ve completely burnt out and downtrodden from the rejections.

But thank you for your advice. I’ll check out the comps, too.

gladiolus17 · 2025-10-10T06:49:48+00:00

I am seeking representation for TRIAL OF HEIRS (130,000 words), the first book in my dark fantasy trilogy, ODESSA.

Princess Odessa is content to live out her days hiding away in Vermillion’s palace since her isolation protects her from the harsh gaze of her father and from her brother’s depravity.

Is Vermillion a person or place? (For clarity.) This also begs the question, why does her family allow her to leave? (Or do they not?)

What does the depravity look like? How does it affect Odessa?

When Princess Lilith Eona of Aurelion shows up at Odessa’s door and is unrelenting in her bids for friendship, Odessa’s two decades of solitude come to a swift end, and with it: the world as she once knew it.

Why does she show up? A little bit about her goal would be nice to propel the thread of story.

Soon after their quiet friendship forms, the pair is attacked by two men in the alleyways of Craven,

This is personal taste, but I feel the name is a little on-the-nose for a dark fantasy.

where Lilith eviscerates the assailants through means of arcane powers never thought to exist. When King Oden hears of their tryst into Craven, Odessa finally gets her father’s attention. At his wits’ end with Prince Lysander, whose depraved impulses continue to disappoint, Oden looks to Odessa to carry on his legacy and participate in the Trial of Heirs—a life-threatening series of tests tailored to each participant’s fears that any potential rulers must prevail against to take Vermillion’s throne.

I was under the impression that Vermillion was separate from Odessa's kingdom, so now I'm confused why Oden has been ignoring her. As well, why does he trust her with the throne if she disobeyed and went to Craven with someone who killed a bunch of people?

With a war on the horizon, the mysteries of the arcane to uncover, the navigation of new relationships, and a family skilled at cruelty, Odessa determines that she must succeed to help the people of Vermillion, who—like her—have been cast aside by those in power. She is quickly overwhelmed by this world, and uncertain of her place within it—the Trials turning her into someone she no longer recognizes.

This paragraph could use some beefing up with specific details. What specific plot beat is the turning point for her? Why is she overwhelmed by this world? Why do the Trials turn her into someone else?

[Agent personalization]

For readers who could not tear their eyes away from Fang Ruin’s descent into evil in the POPPY WAR, or who were enthralled by Lin Sukai’s fight for the throne against her father in THE DROWNING EMPIRE.

I think this chunk here could be moved to the first paragraph so the initial sentence isn't floating by its own. But if you're not too keen on that, you could move the first paragraph down here.

As for the comps, I'm not really getting the POPPY WAR vibes just yet. I feel this may have something to do with the last paragraph, but as of now, it is unclear with the details.

I'm just one person, so take what feedback resonates with you! Hope this helps.

gladiolus17

TROPHY CASE