#( molly;replies)

[lakecountylibrary]

Can you recommend a cosy historical mystery series? I’d prefer a female protagonist if possible

We can! Historical cozies are a little harder to come by than ones set in modern day, but reader's advisor Susan has some suggestions!

Susan says:

You should try Rhys Bowen. She has two series that would be good; The Molly Murphy series and The Royal Spyness series. Start with Murphy's Law and Her Royal Spyness, respectively

Victoria Thompson writes the Gaslight Mysteries series about a detective midwife set about 1900 in New York City. Start with Murder on Astor Place.

Stephanie Barron has a series with Jane Austen as the detective. Start with Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor.

The Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear might work for you, too. It is set in 1929. Book one is just called Maisie Dobbs.

You might try Mary Roberts Rhinehart. She was often called the American Agatha Christie, so if Agatha Christie is a winner for you then definitely give Rhinehart a try.

And finally, take a look at The Cadfael Chronicles about a mystery-solving monk from 12th-centruy England. If you like them, you're in luck: there are a lot. These were written by Ellis Peters (pen name of linguist Edith Pargeter). Start with A Morbid Taste for Bones.

--

I hope there's something on that list that works for you! We don't actually have many cozy mystery recs in our backlog so I don't have a tag link for you, but I invite others to share their own recs on this post as well!

[anghraine]

Do you have any favorite/interesting short essays? I'm in between semesters and not wanting to fall totally out of practice reading academic writing.

I do! It seems like you're specifically thinking of academic essays, which for me are generally specialized enough that it's a bit difficult to recommend them without knowing what topics someone is interested in.

That said, some academic essays worth reading, which are available on JSTOR:

Julia Prewitt Brown's 1990 review "The Feminist Depreciation of Jane Austen" articulated a lot of my frustration with feminist critics' often rather narrow readings of Austen (it's not anti-feminist, but rather pointing out the short-sighted form of feminism and bizarre hot takes in what was then the established feminist literature on Austen specifically). 11 pages long.

Elizabeth McGrath's 1992 article "The Black Andromeda" about the whitewashing of Andromeda (especially in reference to Ovid's Andromeda) in art and general discourse around her. 16 pages long.

Jacqueline Jones Royster's 1996 essay "When The First Voice You Hear Is Not Your Own." I have a lot of gripes with composition studies, but this one's good. 11 pages long.

William K. Wimsatt and Monroe C. Beardsley's 1946 "The Intentional Fallacy" is very dated, but also very worth reading in terms of the history of anti-intentionalism, especially given how important anti-intentionalism is to modern fandom (usually in reference to Barthes's "Death of the Author" but the basic concept long predates it). 19 pages long.

It belatedly occurred to me that you might be looking for shorter or more casual essays than these, or on less directly academic topics (though maybe not!). For instance, if you're more "here" for SF/F than my other interests, there are some great essays in Uncanny Magazine and Reactor among others (I find Reactor a bit hit and miss, but when it hits, it hits hard). For instance, I recently read and enjoyed "Seven of Nine is a Third-Culture Kid" by Dawn Xiana Moon and "On Learning to Read Generously" by Molly Templeton.

I could also give you some recommendations for essays more directly about history or psychology in some area that I find interesting, but that's likely to be less accessible and I assumed not what a follower of mine was likely looking for.

[joannerowling]

I’m curious - why do you think Fred dying was necessary? I’m not disagreeing but I was devastated so I’m curious what your thoughts are! (Especially after your Percy meta 🤌🏻)

Many reasons! A Weasley always had to die in the last book because, as JKR put it, it wouldn't have been realistic for all of them to survive. They were too involved.

With regards to Percy specifically, well… Percy's return always had to come at a price, to really drive home how poor his decisions were. Percy's arc teaches the reader a lesson about family, and being careful about the sort of wedges you're prepared to drive between them and you, and why, because if you ever change your mind it might be too late, especially in uncertain times. Think about Covid, or the Israel-Palestine war, those are the sort of political situations which can create huge tensions and sometimes tear families completely, and needlessly, apart.

The point isn't really that Percy was in the wrong when he stood with Fudge in OotP, his real offense was his refusal to come back after that. He had ample opportunity to do so – he could have admitted his mistake, apologised, and the family would have forgiven him in time. Instead he wallowed in his pride and/or shame. Then the war truly started in DH and even if he'd have wanted to make contact it became either too dangerous or impossible (as he wouldn't have known where they were hiding). And then right as he finds them back again during the finale battle, right as he's making tentative connections (a joke!) with the member of the family he had the toughest time communicating with, giving us some hope for reconciliation and growth… Nope, it's too late.

It ALWAYS had to be one of the twins because they were the ones Percy had the most volatile conflict with. It could have been Arthur, but Arthur had already a close call in OotP and Percy's emotions over that had already been shown so it would have felt repetitive. Plus, as discussed in the previous post, Percy takes his "big brother" status seriously, so it HAD to be a younger sibling he failed to protect and ever fix his mistakes with.

What makes it worse (and therefore better! :D) is Percy COULD have been close with Fred and George: they are the closest in age after all. But the fact they were twins meant they were always their own little team within the siblings + their personalities didn't match with Percy's + they were all competing for Molly and Arthur's attention. (In fact i think there's a good chance that a young Percy at some point wished he only had one little brother instead of the twins, so it could be Bill & Charlie, Ron & Ginny, and him and whoever would be instead of the twins. Obviously, once one of the twins gets actually killed, it wouldn't have been a great memory. I know, i'm extrapolating a lot here, but some people in this fandom think Evan Rosier was fucking Luna Lovegood's mum so just indulge me lol)

ALSO (i'm stopping after that promise), does Percy's behaviour remind you of anyone? Ron is very Percy-like in DH. But unlike Percy, Ron needed to have a bit of Voldemort's evil soul hanging around his neck to make that kind of choice + he regretted it immediately and tried to come back + crucially he was ready to admit his mistake and work on his flaws. He sought the advice of Bill when Percy isolated himself. That's why Ron doesn't get punished, and also probably why Ron's a main character and hero.

Tl;dr: Fred's death is the inevitable conclusion of the tragedy that is Percy's arc about being too proud to solve minor conflicts with his family until it was too late.

[nerd-flash]

[mintaikk]

No, but can you imagine the Body Dysmorphia that Sinners must face?

You go into a realm that feels completely different from yours, and there's no way out. You look down and see your hands, but they're not your hands. They look like a monster. You find the nearest mirror, and you look to see a creature looking back at you. You jump in horror, only to realize it's you. The monster is you.

[consult-sherlockholmes]

How are you dealing with the heatwave in london?

By sneaking staying in the morgue. I can guarantee you it has the best air conditioning, if you are not bothered by the fact it is a morgue. Thank you for giving me access today, @pathologistmollyhooper.

[dream-beyond-the-fantasy]

Tell me Molly and her family's favourite Christmas traditions!

Thank you for the ask!

The Yates family definitely love watching Christmas movies together. Although, Molly and Emily detest the Rankin/Bass holiday specials except for Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman. For Molly's first Christmas, David bought The Snowman on VHS and it has been a regular part of the Yates family Christmas viewing list ever since. Mike bought a copy for when they visited him for Christmas. David replaced the well-loved videotape with a DVD when they moved to the UK. Other staples are at least one adaptation of A Christmas Carol, the first two Home Alone films, and Miracle on 34th Street. After the girls got a little older and arguments ensued over what is considered a Christmas movie, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Die Hard, and Love Actually would join the lineup.

As for food, it's going to be a traditional British Christmas meal, or as close as David can get to it when living in the US. That's not to say that the girls love every dish. They get tired of turkey and hate both Brussels sprouts and fruitcake. Mike always makes Yorkshire pudding. David loves to bake, as he used to do so with his mother when he was young. But as the girls were born and raised in the United States for their formative years, he did have to adapt to some American traditions. Baking Christmas cookies and decorating gingerbread houses are mandatory but fun family activities. They'll even get a bit competitive about it. The girls definitely left out milk and cookies for Santa.

When they were little, David and Mike would take turns reading classic Christmas stories to the girls.

Molly and Emily didn't get to enjoy Christmas crackers until visiting Mike in England for the first time.

Tagging anyone who might be interested in my Doctor Who OC Molly Yates: @curiousdamage @witchofthemidlands @cecexwrites @tempests-of-hope @bardic-tales

@arrthurpendragon @the-time-lord-oracle @watermeezer

[spacedlexi]

Oh my god talking about underrated women in TWDG—season 1? Molly??? Her storyline was cool but this woman for real shows up with her parkour/pickaxe combo, kicks ass, then just dips. I don’t doubt she’s still out there surviving.

MOLLY MY BELOVED!!!!

the way she wouldve killed both lee and kenny immediately if clem didnt sneak out to follow them lol. its so funny how fast she gets them both on their asses. shes definitely still out there somewhere taking names with hilda 💕

[johnhwatsonblog]

John, tell your Sherlock to stop texting me about our 'coffee corner'. Molly says hi.

Is this you, Mike?

Am I not allowed to tell him about your “trophy wall”?

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Steph how are you? Hope youre keeping well! I am in europe and currently dying of thw heat we are experiencing, ah but you know glibal warming and everything 🙃🫠. Aaaanyway, I was wondering if you had any fics where Molly has a more central role, and less so just her being in love with Sherlock and being friends with him instead? All the hugs to you ❤️

Hi Nonny!!

I'm doing alright, thank you!

Oh gosh, I hope you're enjoying or enjoyed your trip to Europe!! It's one of my dream destinations, just don't want to go alone :P

I DO have some fics with Molly in the central role, conveniently on the list called "Molly Plays a Role"! Not many on there, but a good list nonetheless!

I'd love MORE if y'all got them, so please friends, add them so I can add them to the second list :)

Thank you for your kind words and I hope you enjoy that list!!

[zumicho]

ree!!!! dont be afraid i promise yn is going to get her happy ending!!! also yes i can still spite you for keiji angst and do this to you. i contain multitudes. how was your day queen

u talk in tongues idk what to believe

[piratespencil]

Trick or treat!! mollymauk :) 💜

Mollymauk!! Let's go with a cute treat headcanon for Molly. :)

I love the headcanon that tieflings purr. Especially Molly. It feels very Molly. He's just one big cat.

(A bonus headcanon that's not exactly angsty or fluffy is that I think that, if Molly had been around to find out about Nott/Veth's whole backstory, it would have pushed him to think more about his own past. I think he and Nott would have butted heads A LOT about their different views on their past lives, but I think it would have led him down a path to discovering more about Lucien's family... and he might have met Aldreda because of it...)

[strawbrryrush]

closed starter for sansa !! @lcngliive

"oh ! did you need any help with that?" she asked with a smile. "-i don't mind."

[redux-iterum]

Heavens, I didn't know that. Thank you for warning me. When I get to the fish I will absolutely make sure they're all one or the other. I only plan to get 4-5, so hopefully it won't be hard.

[loonarmuunar]

Kicks down the door. Epithet erased monster au lore

Monsters and humans live in different worlds. But there are weak spots, and they can overlap. If you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time, you could slip to the other side. This is how Molly got there.

Monsters are usually stuck in their world, keyword being usually. The weaker spirits have more freedom, and while they’re ultimately tethered to the spirit world, they can pass through to the other world and back easily. Stronger spirits are trapped.

The monsters are people who died unsatisfied. This unsatisfaction stays into the afterlife, and they lose their memories and a part of their soul to it. They want to make themselves whole, to find that missing part of themself.

Monsters try to fill that missing part by feeding off human souls. They can’t remember who they used to be or that they even used to be living people, so they don’t actively know or want to go back to it. It’s more instinctive than a conscious desire. Like “hunger”, kinda.

[dream-beyond-the-fantasy]

What has been Molly's most favorite Christmas gift?

In 1998, Molly and her family spent Christmas in England with Grandpa Mike for the first time. The four-year-old was devastated when she didn't receive the present she really wanted -- her mother. David decided to give her something that he had been holding onto for a while, the ring that her mother left with her on the night she was born. David had put it on a silver chain so that Molly could wear it around her neck. When Molly is older, she wears it on her right ring finger.

Tagging @themaradwrites @witchofthemidlands @cecexwrites @tempests-of-hope @bardic-tales

@watermeezer @arrthurpendragon @the-time-lord-oracle