#top five meme

ooh okay this is a fun one. decided to go with sff standalones because (a) my genre and (b) the place you are most likely to find series in my experience. also decided to go with ones that I don't see recced quite as often (which means I left off Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik even though I do love it very much).

(and yeah I am still working through these! just. you know. slowly. i'm on vacation, so sue me)

1. Perdido Street Station by China Mieville. Okay, to be fair it's been many years since I read this one (I should do a reread) but it was so formative for me in the sense of being like. "Oh you can do that" but in a very different way than, say, Sarah Monette. More like "sff as a genre is more flexible than I thought it was." I really like China Mieville as an author and I find the things he does very interesting in general, but this is the book I tend to come back to as sort of representative of what I love about his work. (I really do need to reread, though.)

2. Black Water Sister by Zen Cho. I read this one more recently and it was excellent. I sped through it but not in a way that meant it was insubstantial, just that it was really enjoyable, in a satisfying sort of way.

3. The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker. There is technically a sequel to this one but it isn't strictly necessary; you're just fine reading this one on its own. Always a standout to me.

4. The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay. I still haven't read other Guy Gavriel Kay (though I think I would like to), but this one struck me hard. It's only barely fantasy in a lot of ways (set in not!Spain during the not!Reconquista), but it was just a gorgeous piece of work and the triad of main characters and their dynamics together were delightful to me.

5. The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks. Technically this is part of a "series" but the series (at least so far), while linked together, doesn't demand reading as a connected sequence. I've read three of them and this one is my favorite (though they're all interesting and I plan to continue reading them). This is the book that made me go "huh, wonder if Ann Leckie has read this" and also had the climax that made me feel kind of insane (in a good way).

there are a number of books also that I remember loving when I read them but cannot necessarily remember well enough to wholeheartedly recommend them now - I'd include Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor, Benighted by Kit Whitfield, A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar, and Redemption in Indigo by Karen Lord.

I would also note that you don't technically need to read more than one book of Max Gladstone's Craft Sequence - most of them stand fairly well on their own - and I remember particularly liking Full Fathom Five.

Oh, man, anon, this is hard, but okay okay okay, off the top of my head, I'd say:

5 - his face when Beth tries to order something non-alcoholic in 4.01

4 - That moment in 4.14 where Beth and Rio are talking about funding her City Council campaign (but especially his reaction to Beth telling him he does whatever Nick says too)

3 - Rio's entire face journey as he honeytraps Beth in 2.01 (but especially the bit where he laughs)

2 - Rio watches Beth make the money in 3.04 (I mean, this shouldn't be a surprise, haha, this entire sequence wrecks me)

1 That Sequence in 2.09, but specifically Rio's tiny smile at Beth's odd socks. It undoes me.

`

In no particular order:

Kipo and The Age Of Wonderbeasts: Sets the scenery of the post-apocalyptic world perfectly, gives us Kipo, Mandu, Wolf, and Jamack, and just really gives us the mood of the series and its balance of comedy and seriousness.

Gravity Falls: Another great scene setting. 'How we got here' openings are dismally overused, but the absurdity of the situation and and the final hook of Stan's elevator is absolutely perfect.

Futurama: The setup in this is fantastic - there are just so many seeds planted here, and the punchline of Fry being a delivery boy is absolutely fantastic.

The Owl House: All the same points as Gravity Falls hit here, up to the air of mystery. I also really appreciate that unlike a lot of portal fantasies, this leaves the possibility of returning hanging open while letting us see exactly why Luz would choose The Isles (especially since she thinks the situation is temporary).

The Dragon Prince: Plops us right into the world with just enough information to make the story work and tidbits of what's to come, sets our interpersonal conflicts up nicely, and gives us some really great action!

I love this, but I do feel the need to tell you that I have read very little coldflash over the last couple of years. I'm sorry! But my top 5, for sure--

1. those three words over even 'I love you' by @qlala

Let's be real--no one writes porn in this fandom like she does, agreed? Agreed. This fic stars my favorite ep of the series, 'Family of Rogues', features Barry 'I'm a superhero and I'm also fast and very smart' Allen and Leonard 'can't shoot the kid because I've caught feelings, oops' Snart, and SO. MANY. FEELINGS.

2. Keep Cold by @pheuthe (WIP - probably abandoned?)

I daydream about this story often, ngl. She writes the magic of the universe so consistently, and I love seeing the mishmash of comics!canon/CW!canon Rogues. This will probably never be finished, which is a real tragedy.

Honorable Mention: Rock the Night Away by @pheuthe

If you prefer a story that's finished, this is also one I think about regularly. Barry and Len meet up at Saints and Sinners, and Barry ends up taking Leonard home despite his best intentions. Has a Len that's touch averse, and it's so romantic and intimate in spite of (or because of?) that.

3. you hold an absence at your center as if it were a life by @saekhwa

I may be a little biased on this, because I beta'ed it and @saekhwa has been a longtime friend. BUT. There isn't enough horror in coldflash. And a genuinely Eldritch Horror!Len and a slowly seduced Barry? I mean. Don't expect happy endings here, folks. But if you want to be unsettled for the rest of the day, read it.

4. Drunk Minds Speak Sober Hearts by m4x87

Barry gets whammied by Bivolo with lust! Len is a gentleman, until he's not! It takes 40k for them to to get together! I love this.

And last, but certainly not least:

5. An Exercise in Patience by @sproutwings

There were a lot to choose from here, but I decided to weed myself down to one. But I did, and it's this one! Leonard calls Barry for help which is just. Fucking delightful. The voices are spot on, and I love love LOVE the fact that Len is the one to make the first move.

Thanks friend <3  - I’ve had this in my inbox for a bit because it was a really good one and made me think.  I’m trying to avoid writing my usual essay explanation for each choice...but I did do a top 5 part one and two (which is basically just a top ten but shhh and sometimes included more than one character from the same show) because it was too hard to narrow it down.  I am for sure missing faves that escaped me, but I love all of these characters deeply.

Rose Tyler - Doctor Who

Josh Lyman (but also Donna Moss) - The West Wing

Leslie Knope (but also Ben Wyatt) - Parks & Rec

Bob Belcher - Bob’s Burgers

Blair Waldorf - Gossip Girl

Olive Snook - Pushing Daisies

Buffy Summers - Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Gretchen Cutler - You’re the Worst

Alexis Rose - Schitt’s Creek

Ted Lasso (but also Keeley Jones and Roy Kent) -Ted Lasso

Honorable Mention (that’s right this top 5 is now a top 15 bc what even are rules it’s a pandemic) : Wanda Maximoff - Wandavision/Marvel movies, if only because I’m still catching up on movie Wanda (but I love her so much)

Oooo!

#5: Rossi. I love his sarcasm, I love his intelligence. He just seems like the best grandpa, you know? Plus, he makes Italian food from scratch and that can’t be beat!

#4: JJ. She is fiercely loyal to her husband and family (I refuse to believe that JJ/Reid bs was real), she’s smart, she’s a badass. What’s not to love?

#3: Morgan. The big cuddly teddy bear. He looks like he gives hugs as good as his advice, you feel me?

#2: Garcia. The Goddess of Information. Always there with a warm cup of tea and a smile just as warm. Full of even more love than tech skills. And she bakes! My kind of woman~

put “top 5” anything in my ask and i will answer ok go

Ah....so this one can get really sticky really easily, especially because the definition of what is and is not a “disability” is a huge discourse topic for some things. So for the sake of everyone, I will  not be considering autism a “disability” in and of itself in this post. Same for deafness I think.

I’d also like to clarify that I’m focusing on how much I like the character themselves, not necessarily how well the disability was portrayed. For example, I think Teo (the guy in AtLA in a wheelchair) was less controversially portraying his disability than Toph was hers. However, I find Toph to be much more interesting as a character than Teo is. 

Pearl (PTSD)

Steven Universe (C-PTSD)

Korra (PTSD)

Toph (Blindness, presumably NLP)

1. Pretzel croissants! They’re a signature - same dough and lamination as a croissant, but then once they’re shaped and proofed you prepare them the way you would a pretzel (lye, etc.). The result is so, so good.

2. Sourdough bread.  Always was my weakness and the kind we make is very crusty.  We have all at one point or another cut ourselves on this bread. It is worth it.

3. Fruit tartlets; I’m a sucker for anything with fresh fruit and they’re always very beautiful, with some pastry cream, and they are fun to make because you get to arrange the fruit very artistically

4. This is departing slightly from the question but in terms of dough FEELING, brioche is the best dough to touch, hands down.  It’s very smooth and just the right density, elastic but not difficult to shape.