Odyssey by Homer.
The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov.
War and Peace by Tolstoy.
As a bonus:
Captain Blood by Sabatini, Poirot and Sherlock Holmes. Those would be truly epic adventures.
Rodri runs the ship just like in Man City. He is the most crucial player in the team. Next comes duo of Cucurella and Carvajal. They both add to press, go forward, overlap and contribute in sync with their respective wingers and midfield. This allows Rodri to do his magic.
Fabian Ruiz is doing well but when Olmo came in he also performed really well.
We can agree that having pacy wingers that like to take 1 on 1 is contributing a lot to stretching opposition but none of that would work if midfield can not support them with passes. Look at England. They are completely toothless. Passing is so boring you wish to sleep. Here they do switch ups because midfield is always keeping a good formation and Rodri just makes it effortless to happen. He is in a way Busquets and Xavi in one player. He has positioning, pass and vision.
However others are performing very very good. I do think if Spain continues as is they take this Euro.
I read a lot and some of that are books or novels with reverse situation. Where females are the dominant gender. Quite fun. However there is only a small amount of books has this novel "equality" which is very very recent thing by the way. And only became such because of technological progress and industrialisation. Which by the way brought world war and serious consequences that diverted quite a bit of attention. For writers/authors to finally shift away from so called prejudices time has to progress as well. Decades and multitude of generations. Let's get this straight, some of prejudice was based straight away on basic biology and biological difference. Which would be a thing well into the future as well. No amount of "liberation" and whatever jargon is going to bridge the gap in biological deficiencies, differences and how humans function in general. Also, most of the time, despite everything, people make it work as partnership between genders or we would have never progressed as species. So whatever is that you might think of our ancestors they did blur the lines of prejudices.
And keep in mind that coming up with fantasy that makes things equal is rather hard not only because there is nothing to fall back on but also because it requires a lot of imaginative and creative effort on top of serious work related to historical and human biological studies. Magic is cool and all but it is not magic itself but biology at play that has to be written about mixed with magic to explain things. Especially knowing that even bone structure is different.
But there is quite a bit of literature in genres like Cyberpunk that blurs the lines so much that instead of gender it comes to other types of strife. So realism there becomes a form of understanding that people(not gender) with a spoon or just assholes are they ones that make life really miserable for others. Not sure what do you even read to say that "realism" is only thing that is conveniently brought in when females are written about as oppressed. I mean, just opening amazon there is quite a bit there when females oppress males and quite a bit of where males even like that. Which is just a basic reverse and nothing more. No equality or freedom.
PS: take into account that gender difference is quite a thing and it sells. Ask yourself how many man would like this strong leading female to be the heroine of book, tv show, game? And then google about it. And afterwards look for statistics of what is popular for males in literature and then compare to female.
Not the current Juve. They are in very very turbulent times.
I've scrambled together list of what I think you might find interesting and based on what you like out of it I might suggest more targeted novels. So enjoy!
Not the story itself but the author, so he, himself, can't update story there anymore. Rewrite of it anyways.
Why ban? Well, I am not entirely aware of all details to it but I can tell in short version what I know.
So, there is an author JackOfHeart. He was putting out mediocre smut stories but main point was that he and some other authors grouped up(MG Driver was among them), set up own discord and where using it to game up Royal Road "Rising Stars", "Popular this week", "Review" and "Rating" sections. Essentially they, without much reading, or no reading at all, left positive reviews and ratings and at some point it went to some sort of conflict with another group of people and authors "Council of Eternal Hiatus". Not all were abusing that but still, I can't be bothered to verify all of that as it is not worth my time.
Most of it is snubbed, authors are very reluctant to speak about anything that happened and as so details are scarce in public availability. MG Driver has a post about it on Patreon as far as I am aware. Maybe other affected authors also have.
However, this: https://www.royalroad.com/blog/58/recent-moderation-actions, was a direct statement from RR about situation after they made some sort of investigation. Bans, warnings and well, life goes on.
There was also a post on Reddit by JackOfHeart somewhere in r/royalroad thread about it.
Well, MoL is strange to see in disliked but having DCC in liked. Okay, I can work with that.
So lets try this way, I'll suggest a list of stories I think fit and small reasoning why and you decide for yourself. Here's the list:
Elydes by Drewells(might not like it due to childish/immature/insecure MC that slowly grows up despite being a 20 something transmigration lad)
Glimpse of Eternity by Lire(again MC is not that strong all knowing kind but he is way more human compared to childish psychopath like in Primal Hunter and slowly grows his character)
Duality by JohnnyKbca(MC older, way more set in his ways. Story is on hiatus but has finished at least around 2-3 books of content and it will be a nice indicator of where to go with suggestions)
The Slave's Son Saga by SpareSomeChange(young lad growing up, available books end at around 15 or 16, author will most likely come back to story after finishing his other book. Quite serious character, story and plot progress)
Realm of Monsters by Frostbid(MC is a goblin. Insecure, borderline stupid and quite murderous but grows over the duration of story, nearly finished as well, at least on Patreon)
Oath of the Survivor by StarswornAdmin(A fairly competent MC that fumbles around figuring stuff out)
Horizon of War by Hanne Lee(MC is on a whiny side a bit but main thing he is more like a strategist and commander than he is a fighter, one of the best written amateur stories there is)
A Soldier's Life by Alwaysrollsaone(Fairly competent MC in a unique setting who is trying to get by when those that be attempt to use him for their own benefit)
A Merchant Swordsman by Nate C.(Confident and strong(compared to his peers mind you) MC that is venturing out to make a name for himself)
Ave Xia Rem Y bt MatHaz(since Reverend Insanity is there, here we go with a western take on cultivation and among best ones there is)
The Storm King by warden1207(same western take on cultivation but with way different focus, MC is, while competent fighter and whatnot, is more into being a form of craftsman and a leader)
The Irwin's Journey by Carrarn(a card based progression, unique setting, MC is a mix of crafter and figher)
Spirit Immortal by Linodo(finished story, one of the best among amateur written ones to this day. Cultivation in western style)
Return of Runebound Professor by Actus(probably the best work by Actus, MC is a quite competent teacher that gets in quite world, story is on a easier popcorn side but characters, interactions and everything else makes up for it)
Honorable mentions:
Arcane Innovator by CosmicQuill(MC is too plain and story does not have much unique to it)
Keiran by EmergencyComplaints(MC is even barebones and arrogant compared to Arcane Innovator by story is more detailed)
The Runesmith by Kuporon(Most average suggestion on the list but it has its own charm)
Knights Apocalyptica by Zach Skye(MC is more of a comic book type)
The Blade's Own Truth by Zachary Dugas(currently two book series and is a bit of stretch compared to what is in liked)
A Black Market LitRPG by M.G.Driver(it is banned on Royal Road but still seems like a story that fits list of liked)
Rising from the Depths by Cogs(A finished story that is again somewhat in the limit of liked)
Caledon's Fall by T.G.Parsons(A completely different style of story, a complete SciFi move away but I do think it might fit. It is completed)
Wisher Beware by Snusmumriken(one of the best and well written amateur stories there is. It is closer to watered down Song of Ice and Fire but with single main MC and support cast than multiple MCs. MC himself has no magic but has other things to be OP)
Depends on what you consider bad.
I don't see how The Runesmith any considered good. It is alright at very best. It is, especially, in the first arc or two, so rough it is drop worthy right there. But I do binge it time to time because certain aspects of it are pretty good. And, obviously, author is getting better. So, I do give authors space to improve as I let chapters build up and read them to see if it getting better.
But if something is something I obviously dislike or is having identity issues like Mana Mirror, I would drop it immediately after up to 10 chapters and no more.
Completely agree. There is nothing here written that even remotely incites to read this book. And knowing Kings works, well, review has to be some absolutely next level content to actually achieve results.
Relationships are a must for a really good story, issue is, writing them are quite hard and require serious though and effort, while usually what is written is so barebones that it is as stupid as litrpg number crunch. Or dungeons. Or fate machinations. Or luck.
So I do like it when there are relationships but most of the time they are so copypaste that I just skip them altogether and just focus on reading story.
That depends if recovery is affecting aging. If yes - that is a no - brainer. If not, depends on how strong danger is and how often I'd be in danger.
What is doing wrong though? He was set to bolt right side and take on players there. Walker rarely if ever overlaps. Bellingham or Foden rarely go to help him out as well since they tend to rotate left side more. Only with Mainoo on pitch did something happen on right side.
The only person at fault is Southgate and his coaching team. They are absolute garbage. The most stacked team and they can't put a single shot on target in full 90 minutes.
You and people down voting can disagree all you want but what I've written is pretty correct. Having a single shot on goal with 70+% ball control in 93 minutes highlights pretty much everything. Especially backwards passing even in front of the box.
England has a defined shape. Both in attack and in defense. Issue is, Rice is not that great at forward passing and he never was. There is no player that does it all that well in lineups Southgate puts forward if we do not take TTA as a sole way of fixing issue of build up.
England has utterly strange pressing patterns, they do not commit to attack the same way Spain does. And Spain is playing same structure and attacking pattern Arsenal was playing previous year. And they do commit wing backs to attack, have wingers either move into middle opening space for wing backs or moving there themselves and backs go into position 8. All while they box opposition completely and leave almost nobody to defend. Exactly because of that they almost got a goal from midfield.
Southgate instead is playing somewhat similar tactic to what this year was dominant. Arsenal, Man City, Real Madrid and Barcelona all were using some variation of it based on personnel they have. And that's to name a few. But issue is, England has extremely incompetent setup in everything. There are no pre coached set pieces in attack that can be recognized without literally combing through video replays. Press is done is a manner that defensively they look quite alright but going forward they are toothless. Players selected for starting line up are one of the best or the best in the world in something but they do not complement each other enough. Rice is motherfucking great defensive midfield. But he is not that great going forward unless he gets a clear order to let go of defense and play like box-to-box. This unbalances build up. But that is not even the biggest issue. What is more of a pressing problem is how wingers are isolated and get no help. Saka is completely isolated and rarely has any help from Walker or Trippier. Foden gets stuck near Kane. Bellingham as a 10 drifts left too much and drops too much to get the ball. This leaves empty space but nobody makes any use of it.
Gordon and Palmer look so much better with Mainoo looking pretty alright because they complement each other. Palmer rotates to midfield area and creates overlaps plus he is similar to Odegaard with his vision and pass. Gordon does same thing as Saka does but because there are quite a few players in England attack tend to rotate left he looks fantastic and does what he needs. Him and Saka at the same time would be same as Williams and Yamal. Mainoo and Wharton are confident on the ball and are not scared to pass through even if that can lead to loss of ball. Rice rarely does that and his passing map and heat map prove that through entire Arsenal year and all his England matches this Euro.
Another thing England is rarely using cross switches in similar vein Germany does. Germany has part of their pre coached strategy to literally move half of team to left side, give ball to Kroos and Kroos would do his usual magic pass to Kimmich. That stretches opposition and they work from there. England has same opportunity but hey. Trippier stands freaking alone in forward winger position. Got 0 passes there. 0. Entire match not a single such pass to him. England has highest rate of passes back. That is most likely a record of some sort.
Also there is this question of why Shaw was even called in for NT. Why? Southgate has to seriously step up or better yet get a sack and English citizens riot until whoever is responsible for selecting coach do their job properly.
He did not. In fact, watch Rodri and then watch Rice. That is the difference between actually single man taking charge of midfield and Rice just being good at particular game elements. It does not detract from his play or stats but he is not that great. Look at his passing map. Most is never going forward. Maino was good solution placing him near Rice but still not really enough.
Oddly specific kink I see
You can find idiots everywhere. Whats the point of looking for them though?
Guardiola teams do shots. Quite a few of them actually. This though. This is pathetic.
Coaching stuff has to be better. There are no set pieces done. No 2-3 player pre-coached interactions. They just roll ball around and hope. Compare to Switzerland, Spain, Germany. They have idea what they are trying to achieve. Where they attack, whom they target, what areas are more used what are less. While England needs certain players to step up to even have anything done. That is not a performance that is worthy their Euro participation.
In recent PL season they allowed similar GK interference. So for them it might not be a foul.
This is great. I don't think that great conveys how amazing this looks though. Well done!
Even in this game he started alright but at some point in first half went down after a contact and that was it. He slowly went out of the game right up to substitution.
I just dont expect suspended lads get back to it. Especially Tonali. Lad is has some serious issues outside football.
They need something done in midfield first. There are Jorginho and Barella. That is literally it for their midfield. Others are just not good enough even on their best.
While this seems interesting, honestly I don't care much about this.If women weren't always(and ALL of them in the setting) being portrayed as weak, powerless and always in need of a man's help, I would already be happy.
I don't think it is that hard actually, the fact is that for many writers they end up prefering the "status quo" or women being considered "lesser than" rather than simply treat them as fellow humans with similar rights and demands. You could write a book where the issue doesn't come from their gender, but from their status in society( something that can be changed) and that would be fine and it would still be a way to create drama.
That is a hubris if i've seen one. Imagining is easy. Actually producing something worthwhile is hard. How often are there books like Harry Potter? Or Alchemist? There are plenty of websites, like RoyalRoad, that have amateur author works published there. And only very small percentage gets any success and popularity. It seems to me that you are not reading books in genres that actually have what you look for.
Don't read anime inspired stuff and frankly do not advise to do so. Japanese culture is quite vastly different and anime, even aimed at adults, is usually tinted in oversimplification, over complication or some seriously twisted narrative. Just reading "Some Prefer Nettles" will be huge contrast to anything posted about here.
Some men like it, most seem to want the classic "can't do anything by herself/always needs to be saved" female characters in order to fulfill that "male hero" itch that saves the day and "gets the girl(s)".
Realism in fantasy works being used to enforce gender prejudices
fantasywriters