#ALICE OSEMAN I MISSED YOUR STORIES

[lemonycranberries]

"No, I know they would be [supportive]! Honestly, I... I just can't be bothered to give everyone a vocab lesson" IS SO FUCKING REAL AAAHSJAHJHJHISJHJHK

[littlemisspascal]

Today marks the 3rd anniversary of my fic The Infinity Cube. I can still remember posting the first chapter, hoping at least one person out there liked it, and I can still remember how it felt to reach the end, a feat that wouldn't have been possible without the support of so many kind souls 💗 I wanted to make something for the occasion and having seen so many amazing web weavings out there, I thought I'd give it my best shot 😊

THE INFINITY CUBE: a journey home

Shades of Earth by Beth Revis // I Choose You by Adam Melchor // When Did It Happen? by Mary Oliver // First Love by Jennifer Franklin // The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde // The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons // The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman // 10 a.m Is When You Come To Me by Louise Bourgeois // Maybe In Another Universe, I Deserve You by Gaby Dunn // Maybe When the Time is Right You Will Find Me Again - K. Tolnoe // We Were Missing the Present by Mahmoud Darwish // Persona (1966) // Matched by Ally Condie // In the Pines by Alice Notley // It Wasn't Love // La Pointe Courte (1955) // "My better half" by Pablo J. Davis // The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller // Bioshock Infinite // Calling a Wolf a Wolf by Kaveh Akbar // Oh It Was Meant to Be - Kate McGahan // Pillow Thoughts by Courtney Peppernell // If My Body Could Speak by Blythe Baird // Fourth of July by Sufjan Stevens // Unending Love by Rabindranath Tagore // The Blinding Star by Blanca Varela // Wild Spirit, Soft Heart by Butterflies Rising // Finding You by Kesha // Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want by The Smiths // Web weaving about the untold story in you // "Feel like making a deal with the devil?" // A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara // Reborn: Journals ad Notebooks by Susan Sontag // I love you like a rotten dog // Sax Rohmer #1 by The Mountain Goats // The Bubble (2022) // Rabbit Hole (2010) // Beginning with O by Olga Broumas // How many times can the same thing break your heart? // War of the Foxes by Richard Siken // On Death in Heartbreak // Lonely Day by System of A Down // This Road (The Mirror is a Trap) by Poe // Memory for Forgetfulness by Mahmoud Darwish // "Do you think we're soulmates in another universe?" // Radio Silence by Alice Oseman // "In one timeline we kiss" - Elizabeth Hewer // Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar by Cheryl Strayed // Almond Blossoms and Beyond by Mahmoud Darwish // X // The Collected Poems of Alvaro de Campos by Fernando Pessoa // Excerpt from Moony Moonless Sky's 'I am an observer, but not by choice' // @/lookoflove // Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg // "Do you know what it's like to live somewhere that loves you back?" - Danez Smith // Home by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros // The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White // Home // You and Me

All Pedro Photos - Pinterest // Reader in my story is physically a blank slate, I just really like the photo of Javi + Gabriela touching foreheads

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

💙💜💖 Young Adult Books to Read During Bisexuality Visibility Month

I don't know if you've noticed, bookish bats, but a MEGATON of bi books have come out (hehe) this year! While there's not enough time in the day to read them all, they do deserve to shine all year round. As it's Bisexuality Visibility Month, I wanted to create a series of guides for bi books to spread the love. Here are a few Young Adult books featuring bi characters to add to your ever-growing TBR!

💙 Going Bicoastal by Dahlia Adler 💜 If You Still Recognize Me by Cynthia So 💖 Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigirdar 💙 Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston 💜 Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli 💖 Then Everything Happens at Once by M.E. Girard 💙 Faith: Taking Flight by Julie Murphy 💜 The Girl Next Door by Cecilia Vinesse 💖 Radio Silence by Alice Oseman 💙 Autoboyography by Christina Lauren 💜 This is Kind of an Epic Love Story by Kacen Callender 💖 They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera 💙 Cool for the Summer by Dahlia Adler 💜 You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson 💖 You Don’t Live Here by Robyn Schneider 💙 Some Girls Do by Jennifer Dugan 💜 Miss Meteor by Tehlor-Kay Mejia & Anna-Marie McLemore 💖 We Are Totally Normal by Naomi Kanakia 💙 Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann (asexual & biromantic) 💜 The Disasters by M.K. England 💖 If This Gets Out by Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich 💙 Last Chance Dance by Lakita Wilson 💜 The Kindred by Alechia Dow 💖 Crumbs by Danie Stirling 💙 Ophelia After All by Racquel Marie 💜 Felix Ever After by Kacen Callendar 💖 Perfect on Paper by Sophia Gonzales 💙 When We Were Magic by Sarah Gailey 💜 Flowerheart by Catherine Bakewell 💖 Crownchasers by Rebecca Coffindaffer 💙 Let’s Call it a Doomsday by Katie Henry 💜 Ghost Wood Song by Erica Waters 💖 The Luis Ortega Survival Club by Sonora Reyes 💙 Epically Earnest by Molly Horan 💜 Heartstopper by Alice Oseman 💖 Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli 💙 Running With Lions by Julian Winters 💜 I'll Be the One by Lyla Lee 💖 Verona Comics by Jennifer Dugan 💙 Not Your Sidekick by C.B. Lee 💜 Flips the Script by Lyla Lee 💖 The Girls I've Been by Tess Sharpe

[haveyoureadthisqueerbook]

Tash Hearts Tolstoy, Kathryn Ormsbee, ace

Transmogrify! 14 Fantastical Tales of Trans Magic, edited by g haron davis, trans and many other things

The Secret History, Donna Tart, mlm

Black Water Sister, Zen Cho, lesbian

Spell Bound F T Lukens, nb/m romance

In Deeper Waters, F T Lukens, mlm

So This is Ever After, F T Lukens, mlm

Hench, Natalie Zina Walschots, bi main character

Legends and Lattes, Travis Baldree, wlw

She Drives Me Crazy, Kelly Quindlen, wlw

The Atlas Six, Olivie Blake, idk everyone's bi

These Violent Delights, Micah Nemerever, mlm

The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry, C M Waggoner, wlw

The Girls I've Been, Tess Sharpe, wlw

Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses, Kristen O'Neal, bi main character

Between Perfect and Real, Ray Stoeve, trans main character

Kemosha of the Caribbean, Alex Wheatle, wlw

Tarnished are the Stars, Rosiee Thor, aro and wlw rep

Golden Boys, Phil Stamper, mlm

Vespertine, Margaret Rogerson, aroace

Malibu Rising, Taylor Jenkins Reid, lesbian part-main-character (one of four)

The Henna Wars, Adiba Jaigirdar, wlw

I'm Afraid of Men, Vivek Shraya, trans author (autobiographical)

The Gilded Wolves trilogy, Roshani Chokshi, mlm and poly rep

That Inevitable Victorian Thing, E K Johnston, wlw and intersex rep

Girls of Paper and Fire, Natasha Ngan, wlw

Daja's Book, Tamora Pierce, wlw

If We Were Villains, M L Rio, mlm

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Taylor Jenkins Reid, wlw

Ramona Blue, Julie Murphy, sapphic but questioning main character

The Fascinators, Andrew Eliopulos, mlm

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, Hank Green, bi main character

On a Sunbeam, Tillie Walden, wlw

Wilder Girls, Rory Power, wlw

Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit, Jaye Robin Brown, wlw

We Are Totally Normal, Naomi Kanakia, mlm and some unaddressed trans undertones

Like a Love Story, Abdi Nazemian, mlm

Pet, Akwaeke Emezi

The Girl of Hawthorn and Glass, Adan Jerreat-Poole, nb gay queer rep

Finding Home series, Hari Conner, mlm

The Sea in You, Jessi Sheron, wlw

Love Letters, Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West, wlw

The Summer of Jordie Perez, Amy Spalding, wlw

I Was Born for This, Alice Oseman, trans, mlm, and unlabelled main characters

Radio Silence, Alice Oseman, demisexual and bi main characters

Ash, Malinda Lo, lesbians

Our Wives Under the Sea, Julia Armfield, trans and wlw main characters

Confessions of Frannie Langton, Sara Collins, wlw

A Taste of Gold and Iron, Alexandra Rowland, mlm

Even Though I Knew the End, C L Polk, wlw

Huntress, Malinda Lo, wlw

Hope that's better, sorry I missed the submissions form! I checked everything against your list so these are all new.

These are finally all queued! Thanks for your patience :)

[spookykestrel]

What books did you read? I'm curious lol

Ofc only if you wanna answer, no pressure!

I’ve got sorta a weird collection lol - you don’t have to read all my reviews but there’s only 8 so I decided to throw a bit of reflection in there for the hell of it lol

1. Radio silence by Alice oseman - I liked this sooo much better than I thought I would especially given that I found heartstopper too gooey for me

2. The Boy and Girl Who Broke the World by Amy Reed - I read this in like 8th grade and lovedd it. I reread it hoping it would feel the same and it was still good but I was more critical of it and it was a little weird

3. Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson - I read this for a class but wow I would recommend this sooo so much. The stories he tells about the US justice and prison system will genuinely rewire your mind and if you weren’t passionate about it before, you will be after this. Wow.

4. True Biz by Sara Nović - this was recommended to me by my mother bc I was taking an ASL class. It was well written and a good book but I didn’t love it. I seem to be the only person to think this but I felt the book went too slow with too many missing parts that were hastily and unclearly thrown together at the end so it was an unsatisfying read. It is good if you and a good intro to Deaf culture while getting a look into people’s experiences

5. Nimona by ND Stevenson - so cutie and awesome. I went into it with no idea what the plot would be and I adored it. Also I love the art style

6. The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Kline - recommended to me by @coolkidwasteland (ty much) it was so cutie and feel good and pretty to read

7. Persuasion by Jane Austen - lovely Jane Austen novel what more is there to say lol

8. PJO: The Chalice of the Gods - ofc I had to read this. Obviously reading percy Jackson again as an adult feels was different but it was comforting to read a new book from my favroite series and it was exactly what I needed to read this year lol

Ty for the asssskk im sure this is longer than you expected lolll what books did you read this year ig you read a lot what were your favorites ??

[stupidphototricks]

I'm jealous of kids today being able to grow up with the amazing YA books being written now ("now" for me being within the past 15 years or so), but I still read them even though I'm not Young. Here are a few of my favorite YA authors and books, in no particular order:

Patrick Ness, The Rest of Us Just Live Here TW: mental illness, suicidal thoughts I adore that there's a whole epic fantasy battle thing that we see pieces of in the foreground, but the book focuses on the characters in the background who are dealing with their own stuff.

Alice Oseman, Radio Silence and Solitaire TW: suicidal thoughts, emotionally abusive parent (RS), self-harm (S), eating disorder (S) You might recognize Alice Oseman as the author of the Heartstopper comic and TV series. They wrote novels too! Really good ones, although that's not surprising. Solitaire's protagonist is Charlie's sister Tori, and its events take place a year or so after the start of Heartstopper (possible spoilers for season 3, who knows?). Radio Silence is set in the same town I think another year later, and Aled (who was in the comics, but was renamed and somewhat reimagined as Isaac in TV Heartstopper) is a main character though not the protagonist. Nick, Charlie, and Tori make very brief cameos.

David Levithan and John Green, Will Grayson, Will Grayson TW: I can't think of any major triggers in this book, I apologize if I missed something. Obviously both of these authors have independently written other excellent books, but this one is my favorite, mostly because I love Tiny Cooper and his musical so much. This is the lightest (i.e. not dark, and not heavy) by far of the books here. It's mostly really fun but occasionally serious.

Jandy Nelson, I'll Give You the Sun TW: bullying, homophobia, suicidal thoughts, death I read a review of this book that basically said enough with the artsy language and metaphors, so maybe it isn't for everybody, but I found it brilliant. It encapsulates a thought or an idea or a feeling in a way you'd never expect, but that you relate to immediately. Also I think that having the POV switch between twins, but two years apart (one twin at 14, the other twin at 16) with a major life-altering event in between, is an amazing way to tell this story.

Rainbow Rowell, Eleanor and Park and Carry On TW: bullying (E&P), abusive family situation (E&P), vampires (CO) Eleanor and Park is set in the 80s with all of the requisite 80s accessories, and characters that will make your heart break in different ways. Carry On is a sort of Drarry fanfic spoof (and supposedly written by a character in a different Rainbow Rowell novel!). But the characters are so well-developed and engaging that you stop seeing them as caricatures and start caring about them in their own right.

Jesse Andrews, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and The Haters TW: vulgar talk (really just teenage boys trying to be gross), dysfunctional family situation (M&E&DG), death (M&E&DG) I can't overstate how much I love the writing style of these books. Always entertaining and often hilarious, it jumps from normal prose to an outline, to a film script, to a bulleted list, and always turns out to be the perfect way to show whatever is going on.

What's most important to me: In all of these books, the young adult characters are real people who are complicated, and surprising, and funny, and passionate. They may have serious problems but they can have fun and be silly. They screw up but they try to fix things. They love and support their friends, and their friends love and support them. Often there are parents who are also real people doing their best; I appreciate that in a YA book! For the most part these books don't have magically happy endings, but they do end in a good place, with hope.

[forabeatofadrum]

WIP ASK ME GAME

Thanks @bitbybitwrites for the tag. Like many, I am always down to clown about my WIPs.

I just have so many of them, so I am only going to talk about the ones I am focusing on. RIP to the many others who are in the far away ward in my WIP Hospital.

Under the cut because I ramble:

Partially published WIPs:

February Friday Event 2024 - Radio Silence (Alice Oseman)

Only one chapter is up. This is just a collection of 4 short fics that are set in post-canon of Radio Silence. They're based on the prompts from the February Friday Event. 2 of the 3 remaining chapters are partially written, but not finished. One will be about Carys and her thoughts on Universe City. The other is about friendship, but Carys and Aled are once again reminded by how badly their childhood was for them.

Ljubili se - Glee

MY BABY. This is the sequel to Ljubim te, the fic where Kurt and Blaine meet in Ljubljana. Now they're back in America and long-distance, with Blaine being in LA and Kurt in NY. My main reason for being stuck is admittedly that it's getting too ambitious and I need to figure out how to tell a coherent sequel. It's quite difficult, because Ljubim te was written without a sequel in mind and without much space to do more, but I love this world I made so here I am anyway.

Dancin' on that bamboo ceiling - Glee

A series of standalone fic that explore Asian identity and casual racism in glee. I've been working on and off on it for years and I have published some. But I really want to finish more. Right now I have a story about traditional dress and feeling removed from your heritage in my mind.

The Sarah Jane Adventures Extended Universe (SJAEU) - The Sarah Jane Adventures

Yes, my SJAEU is back on my mind. It's a spin-off of the Sarah Jane Adventures (which is in itself a Doccy Whomst spin-off) and it focuses on Luke after he left Bannerman Road and well, my unofficial title is Luke's Big Gay Oxford Adventures. The thing I posted is an overview of the AU, but I have been cooking up actual fics that are set in this AU since 2017 and they're simmering again.

Not published WIPs:

Just Some Guy - Carry On

Also known as MCD! It's the seven years of Simon and Baz's rivalry (and eventual romance) from the perspective of an outsider who has absolutely nothing to do with it. After all, it must be fucking wild for Watford students to see this wacky enemy to lovers. Matty Chris D. is the blandest person you'll ever meet, which is also why I am stuck. Go Matt, give us nothing.

Untitled TOTK-inspired Snowbaz fic - Carry On

This was marinating in my brain recently. Not sure I will get back to it soon, but hey, it's on my mind! As the "title" suggests, it's a Tears of the Kingdom inspired Snowbaz fic, which takes place after Wayward Son. The gang is back from America to find floating islands in the sky of the World of Mages. 7 years after their return, and 7 years after Simon went missing, Baz decides to find a way to the sky islands in order to find Simon. I don't wanna brag, but this idea slaps and I should get back to it.

Glee x Sense8 crossover idea - Glee and Sense8

I came up with a Glee x Sense8 crossover years ago and this is also back again on my mind. Just like the SJAEU, it's more of a concept with some overall thoughts than an actual coherent fic. It's back in my 2024 vision because, hey, I posted the SJAEU, I could possible post my Glee x Sense8 AU on AO3, because I think it's pretty cool. And yes, it's a crossover, not an inspired by thing. The Glee part is entirely an AU, but the Sense8 part is post-canon where the BPO has reformed, so that the sensates can figure out their shit in peace. And also, Puck from Sense8 will show up at one point. Two Pucks in one fic (because Puck from Glee is one of the sensates).

Anyway I have many more WIPs, like the Zimbits time travel one, or the Glee x Carry On crossover (begone Klaine and Snowbaz, Blaz OTP!) and UGH so many WIPs. If you wanna send me an ask about any of these WIPs, feel free.

Also, I think @bitbybitwrites already spread this in the Glee world, so let me spread it to the Carry On world by tagging @cutestkilla @artsyunderstudy @wellbelesbian @martsonmars @larkral @nightimedreamersworld @blackberrysummerblog @bookish-bogwitch @facewithoutheart

[stainedglassthreads]

ID: A graphic with multicolored squares. Each square has a book, and at least one podcast similar to it, with bullet points about why you should listen listed underneath.

If you liked Alice Oseman’s Radio Silence, you should read:

Welcome to Night Vale. Direct inspiration for Radio Silence. Weird(trademarked) small town. (Gravity Falls vibes.) Community radio format. Beautiful writing that will rewrite your brain forever. The fiction podcast ever.

The Penumbra Podcast. Detective stories on Mars. (The Juno Steel arc.) Universe City vibes! Chaotic bi protagonist. (s1 has slightly too many kissing sounds but it gets better and the story is worth it.)

If you liked Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s Good Omens, you should listen to Where the Stars Fell. Angels! Demons! Sapphics! The end times. Enemies to lovers. Arguing like an old married couple. (English major/scientist hostility.) The main characters have one of my favorite dynamics ever! Autistic and ADHD protagonists. Weird small town. Did I mention that there’s a time loop episode?

If you liked Aiden Thomas’ Cemetery Boys, you should listen to Spirit Box Radio. Radio show about magic and the occult, with a developing mystery. Witches and ghosts. Mysterious tarot cards, haunted houses, flower symbolism. So many cats! Trans protagonist. (Almost) all the characters are queer. Self-described ‘cozy horror fiction podcast.’ I’ve also noticed some very specific parallels but they would contain spoilers.

If you liked Neil Gaiman’s American Gods, you should listen to Alice Isn’t Dead. Truck driver driving across the US searching for her missing wife. Road trip filled with mysteries and conspiracies. Amazing horror elements. Quotes about love that I still think about. Very observational writing style. The theme is a banger. “We are nothing if not absurd”.

End ID

I put together these podcast recommendations based on books a while ago, enjoy (they also work the other way around, I highly recommend these books, I made it my life's mission to make people read radio silence, it's SUCH a great book and it got me into Welcome to Night Vale and podcasts in general. Thank you Alice Oseman)

i'm never good at summarizing things but I tried my best lol

[paloma-ascends-into-hellfire]

might as well do this with heartstopper too. my live thoughts i texted my friend, spoilers beware. also, i’ve cut out their replies. they also follow me so if you’re seeing this, hi :)

Im reading on webtoons and I love Alice oseman’s captions lol

“stares angstily out window”

“I don’t think he’s straight” OH REALLY

NO WE HAD NO IDEA

“The bisexual struggle” real

Poor man

Wait Aled is in this??? Do they have the same name or is Charlie’s friend same guy from radio silence???

Miss Singh is a legend I love her

Oh shit not ben again boo

THE MLM WLW SOLIDARITY

Fun fact: when I see mlm I think multi level marketing lmao

IM SO SORRY I MUST BE BLOWING UP UR PHONE RN

**continues doing it**

Taras gf is an icon I don’t care if she had one line I love her

We stan Charlie sticking up for himself

They kissed already??? We’re literally 31 pages in chill my dudes

31 chapters*

Still percabeth is the ultimate slow burn and I stand by this

I guess it wouldn’t be called heartstopper and be a romance/coming of age if it was a slow burn tho haha

THE GAY NASA LOCKSCREEN IS GOALS FRFR

damn Charlie is one of the biggest people pleasers I’ve seen in a book

Hes so me

A PROPER FULL ON GAY CRISIS LMAOOO I LOVE HIM

Alice oseman is so British I love her

I read so much British stuff that I’m pretty sure my internal monologue is slowly become a ya British thriller

agggtm core

(they replied that they read swear words in nick nelson's voice and i thought that was hilarious)

THE SISTER CASUALLY SPYING ON THEM

Her ship has sailed

She is also so me

“Was that not obvious?” “I’m an idiot” yes u are he just made out with you and cried into your shoulder and had a full on gay panic because of you YES HE LIKES YOU OMG

I mean after what happened with ben I suppose it’s very very justified

They’re so clueless I love them

OH LOOK GUESS IM GAY NOW

THE BABY BROTHER OMG

This honestly has no reason to be this cavity inducing cute

“Why are you so great” he’s literally doing the bare minimum by not outing you you don’t have to thank him bestie

Get these boys some therapy

Why is tori always just appearing out of nowhere to ship them lol

Tao and Aled are delusional if they STILL think nick is straight

Fuck sai

He can die in a hole, disrespectfully

But also… redemption arc?

Manifesting sai and harry’s redemption arc

GAYYYYYY

Not harry- these last few pages

Awww tao and elle <3

Elle is so cute! she is hair goals

… I guess all illustrated characters are hair goals.

WHY IS TAO SO MAD IM SCARED

WAIT DOES HE LIKE NICK IS THIS A LOVE TRIANGLE NOOO

Oh wait

I overreacted :)

Nvm I love him again

AWWW STOP THIS IS SO SAD AND ALSO CUTE

This group is friendship goals tbh

Oh wait I guess it’s kind of my group a little bit? Wait who am I?

I will not take a which heartstopper character am I quiz I will not take a which heartstopper character am I quiz I will not take a which heartstopper character am I quiz

I took the quiz. two actually. i got darcy on the first and elle on the second. I literally know nothing about either one so let’s see if they are accurate!

The waiter lol

Also I love how everyone is just silently shipping them it is percabeth all over again but like fast moving

TINY TAO 😭

Not them kissing behind a menu

“Not because im dirty not because im clean! Not because I kissed a boy behind a magazine!” - Charlie and nick, probably

Craftybookworm25 feel so spoiled by the author. Author, you’re paying my dentist bills for all of the cavities you are giving me.

I love the comments section

Is Alice oseman actually writing down math for their homework? THE EFFORT I COULD NEVER

Oh darcy is taras gf that I liked earlier

Shes a trumpet player??? No sweetie don’t go to the dark side

my band teacher has a story about how he gets awful ear pains if he’s exposed to noises about a certain decibel because of a trumpet player blasting into his ear

“WHAT! WE’VE FOUND ANOTHER ONE!” Darcy recruits people for the gay agenda confirmed

“…why are straight people like this” I don’t know tara I ask myself that every day

Not Darcy being tara’s gay awakening

Omg tara is that one clarinet player who dates a trumpet player

[REDACTED] and [REDACTED] core

Adding actual spanish conjugation? Alice oseman doing god’s work here

“Why do think they call it a cram session, Pete, god!” -literally all their friends rn

Ok I have theories rn

I shall wait and see if im right (i was not)

“You kind of are a gay nerd” me fr

Oh ok sai is being less of an asshole

We love character growth… even if it happens off page

“Do you like musicals?” HES THE GUY WHO DIDNT LIKE MUSICALS DIDNT LIKE DIDNT LIKE DIDNT LIKE A LIKE EM

Harry being a dick as per usual, nothing new there

NICKS MOM IS ONTO HIM

Bro how do people just fall asleep I don’t understand

making out in a photo booth

So cringey and yet very adorable

IN A ROMANTIC WAY NOT JUST A FRIEND WAY

Love that he had to clarify

Like yes, you’ve been making out and being obnoxiously cute for months, but hey, he’s just a friend, lol, no homo

Who tf would make THAT mistake?

🎶everyone is dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb 🎶

HE CAME OUT TO HIS MOOOOM

“I wasn’t born in 1920” lmao

Oh my god my wall of text has become the Great Wall of china im so sorry

HOW LONG IS THIS

WHAT HAVE I GOTTEN MYSELF INTO

“hanky panky”

aw we love ally jocks

THEYRE SHIPPING THEM TOO?

Best platonic bros~

Actually what im calling my friends from now on

Oh shit the coach caught them

They’re not even trying to be subtle at this point

Oh she is an icon

I WORSHIP YOU COACH SINGH

If she was my teacher I might actually enjoy pe

SHE HAS A WIFE

This is so wholesome omg

Oh shit the brother

WHAT HAPPENED

Tara casually lounging on Darcy’s lap

She gives passenger princess vibes

why are you whispering and can I be involved — she’s so me

“Boys and girls may not share rooms!” sly gay smirking. laughing, even.

oh and nick’s brother is a piece of shit and i hate him

SKJHJADSHUDF ALED TOLD HIM ABOUT DANIEL

“Why can’t I see any fish?”

Tao is a night person i love him

Aw he’s so clueless

They all are

Harry redemption arc-

NOO TAO MY CHILD I LOVE YOU DONT FEEL BAD

I repeat: GET THESE BOYS THERAPY

Wait no

Charlie

:(

I’m gonna cry :(

“god i really want to just push you against a wall right now”

“twilight levels of pining” i’m not sure if anything could ever reach that extent

Not the arrows saying “did not think of that” at the “borrowing makeup from the girls” suggestion, I cackled

The teachers have a better love life than me

Where the hell are people finding these communication skills?

HARRY REDEMPTION ARC YESSS

“Why are we like this” count: 3

Or is it 4?

I don’t know

THE TEACHERS AKJKALDFSHL

NICK GOOGLING EATING DISORDERS

I LOVE HIM

Sahar is so cute I love her

Alice oseman is so pretty omg

She can 100% be my wifey

Oh Jesus I’ve read a thousand pages of this

JUST TODAY

I believe that if I pull an all-nighter I can finish this

"Why are we like this?" count: 5

at this point i stopped because i’m pretty sure they were asleep but i finished! it took six hours but that’s not bad for 1578 pages :)

i’m obsessed. literally take my money (i have approximately five cents in my bank account)

[kumikko]

thank you for the tag @cinammonelles <3 i love seeing you on my dash (and also i love getting tagged but i forget if i don't do it as soon as i see it bahaha)

First ship ever in your life: really good question, i didn't know people were shipping characters for the longest time, but uhhh either madoka and homura or sawako and kazehaya. those are the likely starters

The ultimate three ships: hmmmm,,, satosugu, asheiji, and uhhhhhh honestly everything else is kinda just there. not a massive shipper where i ride or die, but those two just pulled me through

The first crush (Fictional Character/Fandom): so i don't get crushes easily (i just like characters a lot), but the closest to a first crush fictional character would probably be oz vessalius from pandora hearts (and it slowly turned into i want to be him, and then that went downhill)

Last Song: shit talk - sufjan stevens

Last Movie: oh interesting question. most likely "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2". i watched that last week and exploded. (big hunger games marathon that day. first time watching them)

Favorite Flower: forget-me-nots (but there are so many pretty ones but those are so fun/ i planted forget-me-nots in 2nd grade in my mom's garden without her knowing and they're still there to this day) (they're probably an invasive species but they stay in their corner)

Currently Reading (you can add a link): just finished radio silence by alice oseman for the third time! moving onto warbreaker by brandon sanderson. also reading "what you are looking for is in the library" by michiko aoyama but very periodically since there are 5 stories in the book and im on the 4th story. might wanna start reading tgcf vol. 7 but still debating on whether a e-pub version would be good for me since i plan to buy a physical version when i fly back home.

Currently Watching: currently? frieren: beyond journey's end, the amazing world of gumball, skip and loafer again (idk which round this is tbh), jjk s2, and i guess one piece (technically)

Last thing I wrote- ship/Fandom?: uhhh... uhhhhh.... i don't write often! last thing i've published online was like 8 years ago. nothing for fandoms, just my brain making up characters and situations.

Currently writing (you can add a link): that said,,,, i am writing out my oc story (still figuring out best format) but writing out the story wouldn't hurt anyone, especially if it's just for me right now. (the story is lost constellations! follows cass and her adventures of trying to reconnect with a friend that she dearly misses. but they're kinda like parallel lines, in that their trajectory is going further and further away from each other in opposite directions) i am doing an oc-tober challenge on my instagram @raspcha and i plan to publish the art pieces here (@raspcha) soon, i just have to get over the activation energy of posting on socials haha

tag just whoever sees this and wants to do it! my brain is shut off for the night

[travelingstrawberry]

Dear Yuletide Writer 2023

It’s another Yuletide season! Thank you for writing for me this year and I hope you have fun this Yuletide!

I am also open to treats, because more cake, so go wild!

Below are some ramblings about my fanfic likes and requested fandoms, but please take them as guidelines. As long as your fic avoids the DNW list, feel free to write what excites you and I’m sure we’ll both have a great time!!

Requested fandoms:

你是我的荣耀 | You Are My Glory (TV)

卿卿日常 | New Life Begins (TV) 

还珠格格 | Huán Zhū Gé Gé | Princess Returning Pearl

如懿传 | Ruyi’s Royal Love in the Palace (TV)

知否知否应是绿肥红瘦 | The Story of Minglan (TV) 

Solitaire - Alice Oseman 

AO3 name: RuanChunXian

Do Not Want: 

dub/non con, ABO, mpreg, bathroom and vomit play/kinks, anal sex , daddy kink, incest, modern AU for historical-based shows, graphic violence, gore, grimdark, hurt no comfort, whump, incurable illness, hanahaki, first and second person narrative (exception for epistolary form), AU with fantasy/supernatural elements, alternate settings such as high school, coffee shops etc. Canon divergence is okay. 

Likes: 

Humour, especially of the snarky banter variety

Worldbuilding/historical references in historical shows

Missing scenes, especially if it explains plot holes or offers space for exploring character motivations

Friends to Lovers

Romantic fluff or healthy, romantic relationships between consenting adults who communicate

Domesticity

Slice of life

Found family dynamics, supportive friendships

Particularly strong, loyal friendships between women. In fact, in historical shows where the world/setting can be misogynistic, I would prefer stories focusing on the friendships and bonds between women, and how they survive that world, rather than their relationships with men, unless the relationship with men are of the more healthy, consenting adults of equal power variety

On the whole I would rather read about kind, decent men who have a healthy relationship with independent women and drink their respect women juice. However, with regards to a character like Qianlong in Ruyi, for example, I don’t mind exploring what makes him the man that he is, and taking into consideration the historical context of his powerful position. 

Characters, but especially women, being competent, clever, or getting out close scrapes or tricky situations using their wit and intellect

Development/exploration of female characters, especially those who may get less spotlight in canon

Everybody Lives Nobody Dies AUs

I prefer M/F and F/F ships to M/M (Does not apply to Solitaire, feel free to write Nick/Charlie and any other canon ship in Oseman-verse)

I’m open to any rating, and do not mind smut, as long as it takes into consideration the DNWs. 

This is an odd note, but relevant to writing Chinese characters: I don’t mind if you write characters' names as, for example, “Qiao Jing Jing" or “Qiao Jingjing”. You will see even in this letter I use the two forms interchangeably. But please avoid “Qiao JingJing” with capital letters in the middle of the word. 

For most of these fandoms I have requested any character, however below are some prompts that may include some specific characters. Please feel free to take these as just suggestions, and tweak the combination of characters, remove or add characters as the story requires. If you have any other idea you want to write, feel free to run with it and you don’t have to stick to these prompts. 

Now to the fandoms!

你是我的荣耀 | You Are My Glory (TV)

Characters requested: any

Fandom specific DNW: infidelity

This is a 32-episode Chinese drama (Viki, Amazon Prime, Youtube) based on the novel by Gu Man, translation available here. If you are unfamiliar with the drama and don’t want to spend 20 hours watching the drama (though obviously I highly recommend it!!), reading the novel might be quicker as it is an easy read.

What I love about this drama is the heart-warming romance featuring two emotionally mature characters who, despite knowing what they want out of life, still struggle with the high demands of modern society. Reconnecting over 10 years after high school, they learn to appreciate, love and support each other for the people they have each grown to be, and build a life together based on trust and mutual support. 

Since the original novel and the drama make heavy use of things like chat transcripts and Weibo messages etc, feel free to also incorporate this into your fic.

For the fic: I love Yu Tu and Jing Jing, both individually and as a couple, so anything about them goes. I love slice of life and the romantic fluff vibe of the drama and would love to see more of this.

Some prompts:

- The drama and novel take place mostly from Jing Jing’s point of view, but Yu Tu actually undergoes enormous emotional highs and lows throughout the drama, from his feelings about his career to his feelings about Jing Jing. I would love to see some canon scenes written from Yu Tu’s point of view, especially regarding how he gradually changes his perception about Jing Jing and how his feelings for her develop over the course of coaching her the game.

- The first meeting between Jing Jing and Yu Tu’s mother, and Yu Tu and Jing Jing’s parents both took place for less than five minutes and played mostly for laughs in the drama. Since they both have busy jobs and likely only go home about once a year during lunar new year, when is the second time they actually, properly meet each other’s parents? How do these meetings go? Beyond his mother being starstruck, how do Yu Tu’s parents actually feel about their son dating someone as famous as Jing Jing?

- Once the shock settled, how do Yu Tu and Jing Jing’s high school classmates react to this couple? How does the gossip spread around to the rest of their class? How did Xia Qing eventually hear about it and how does she react?

- Money is sort of a pink elephant in Yu Tu and Jing Jing’s relationship. It’s one thing for Yu Tu to be okay with knowing that Jing Jing will always earn ridiculously more than him, but how do they navigate this in their relationship when they are dating? After they got married? What if his mother did have some serious health issue that he is unable to pay for?

- There’s a lot of fourth-wall leaning commentary in this drama about Jing Jing’s acting career, since Dilraba is pretty much playing herself. The drama also opens as she turns 30, which is a weird point in a Chinese actress’s acting career since she would have at this point gathered enough experience to mature as an actress but lead roles for women in their 30s, playing characters that are age-appropriate, are scarce and start to dwindle rapidly at this point. So how does Jing Jing manage her acting career in her 30s and 40s and what are some challenges she might encounter?

- It’s mentioned that Jing Jing won a best actress award about a year after she and Yu Tu got together. Obviously keeping their relationship low key meant that he didn’t go to the award ceremony with her. It would be interesting to see all the behind the scenes of that scenario. Alternatively, how do they manage to keep their relationship lowkey despite Jing Jing’s fame? 

- The drama skips 5 years right after they got married, so a fic filling in the gaps, showing how they transition from dating to being married would be interesting.

- I’d love to see Jing Jing accompany Yu Tu to some university reunion and meet his more snobby classmates like Qu Ming who looked down on his career choice.

- What actually happened at the dinner when Jing Jing met Yu Tu’s colleagues? 

卿卿日常 | New Life Begins (TV) 

Characters requested: Zhao Fangru (New Life Begins), Hao Jia (New Life Begins), Dong Hai Tang (New Life Begins), Yin An's Solar Term Ladies (New Life Begins)

This drama is set in a fictional version of ancient China. The world within the drama is divided into 9 states, each with its own culture and social systems. The drama is about a young woman who comes from a state where monogamy is the norm, to the most powerful ruling state Xinchuan where men have many wives and concubines, where she is chosen to be concubine to a supposedly obscure prince. The story also features many stories of friendships between different women who marry into the state of Xinchuan and how they help each other navigate life . You can watch the drama on Youtube.

Of course what I love best about this drama is the many supportive friendships between different women. Feel free to include any of the requested characters in any combination and/or leave any of them out as you wish. 

Some prompts: 

- I absolutely love how Zhao Fangru and Hao Jia’s relationship goes from rivals to uneasy allies to friends. I would love to see the progression of this relationship after Yin Song’s exile and they don’t say goodbye. Domestic life co-parenting Changle? Working together to develop Hao Jia’s business? Traveling the world together? Feel free to write them as a romantic ship or not! 

- Who was the first of the Solar Term Ladies to enter Yin An’s household and what was the initial relationship with Haitang like? How did they discover/come to the conclusion that they weren’t rivals and become friends? How was life different when it might just be 2-3 of them, compared to where we are in the drama with nearly 20 of them? How do they develop their different ways of coping with life with Yin An? I enjoy the comedic way the drama portrays their lives with Yin An, but feel free to go a more angsty route. E.g. how do the Solar Term Ladies feel about being given new names and their old identifies being taken away? What were their lives like before Yin An and how did they become his concubine? He seems too indolent to go through lengths to take them by force and it’s hinted that he sweetalked them one way or another. You can also focus on any or any combination of the named Solar Term Ladies if you want. 

- I’m also interested in Hao Jia joining the Solar Term Ladies at their restaurant and fitting into this new life. We meet Hao Jia as Li Wei’s friend and while she does become friends with the other women like Shangguan and Sisi etc but due to her life with Yin Song, she is also often isolated from the greater sisterhood. How does she adjust to her new freedom at the restaurant and how do the Solar Term Ladies support her? It takes a village to raise a child, and Changle definitely has a village - give me some simple domesticity at the restaurant!

- I’m totally open to any other idea you might want to write, involving any of the requested characters and/or any other unrequested character. I just love the female friendships in this drama so feel free to just go along that general theme! 

还珠格格 | Huán Zhū Gé Gé | Princess Returning Pearl

Characters requested: any

Watch on Google drive.

Some relationships I would read anything of: Xiao Yan Zi/Yong Qi, Xiao Yan Zi and Zi Wei’s sisterhood, father-daughter relationship between Qian Long and Xiao Yan Zi and/or Zi Wei. But if you want some prompts:

- Xiao Yan Zi/Yong Qi slice-of-life domestic fluff. Maybe early days in their marriage, including how does Xiao Yan Zi deal with the new responsibilities and expectations that must have been thrown at her as the wife of a prince? I don’t mind pregnancy/baby/children fic but don’t feel you need to go there if that’s not your thing.

- Daily life with Xiao Yan Zi and Zi Wei either before they enter the palace, or at Shu Fang Zhai. 

- What if Xiao Yan Zi didn’t actually get injured and mistaken as a princess? How would Xiao Yan Zi and Zi Wei keep in touch? How could Yong Qi and Xiao Yan Zi meet then and fall in love? 

- I would love to read a story about Zi Wei’s childhood, which must have been difficult because her mother would be a pariah for having and raising a child out of wedlock. What types of difficulties must Zi Wei and her mother have had to deal with? What guesses/speculations did younger Zi Wei have about her father?

- The drama doesn’t really go into Zi Wei and Yong Qi’s relationship, and it sort of always feels like Yong Qi and Zi Wei were more connected by Xiao Yan Zi than anything else. I would love an exploration of this sibling relationship beyond their relationship with Xiao Yan Zi. Maybe some sibling bonding on either the plain clothes inspection trip in season 1 or during their runaway trip in season 2.

- Some pre-canon stories of the characters would also be nice: any glimpse into Yong Qi’s friendship with Er Tai (and Er Kang, but honestly in season 1 it’s clear that he’s much closer to Er Tai than Er Kang) or adventures from Xiao Yan Zi’s childhood. Bonus if maybe Yong Qi and Xiao Yan Zi have met before in Beijing and they could either remember it later or not.

如懿传 | Ruyi’s Royal Love in the Palace (TV)

Characters requested: any

Watch on Viki

I’m mostly interested in Ruyi and Hailan’s relationship, so would love to see a fic exploring that. The relationship between them can be platonic or romantic/sexual, I don’t mind either way, but if it is romantic/sexual, I don’t want that to be portrayed as being a superior form higher than a platonic friendship.

Some prompts:

- The thing I love most about Ruyi as a character is her personal integrity, and the fact that she never compromises her morals even when it would probably save her a lot of pain. Alternatively, Hailan in the drama could have been portrayed as a lot more morally-grey, but the censorship sort of put a stop to that. I would love to see the dynamics/friendship/relationship between them explored, where Ruyi can be too morally upright and Hailan’s efforts to protect her over the years.

- It’s pretty explicitly stated in the drama/novel that Qianlong raped Hailan one day while drunk and Ruyi had to beg him to give her an official position as a concubine because Hailan would have killed herself otherwise. The irony of this relationship when in this story, Qianlong is also a child produced from the emperor raping a maid and casting her aside, is staggering and should be written about more. Alternatively, how did Ruyi deal with the idea that the man she loves did this? If you take this prompt, feel free to waive the dub/non-con DNW as long as the story doesn’t glorify it.

- I am also interested in deeper exploration of Yongqi as a character and his relationship with Ruyi, especially when it grows complicated towards the end of the story. His political ambitions and his insecurities stemming from not actually being Ruyi’s son obviously conflict with his affection and respect for her. Do his insecurities come from witnessing the relationship between his father and the empress dowager, who is also only Qianlong’s adopted mother? How does he manage these feelings? If you write this prompt, and can manage it, I would prefer a light focus on Hu Yunjiao, if you have to mention her at all.

- I would like to see how Hailan copes after Ruyi’s death, and how her relationships with other women in the harem, especially with Xiangjian, Meiruo and Chen Wanyin (Wan Pin) change. After Ruyi dies, Hailan really would only be second to Wei Yanwan in the harem, so how does she use that power in the harem, especially during the years when Wei Yanwan was slowly losing her mental capacity?

- On a lighter note, I would love to see any domestic scenes of Ruyi and Hailan co-parenting Yongqi when he was a child.

知否知否应是绿肥红瘦 | The Story of Minglan (TV) 

Characters requested: any

Fandom-specific DNW: infidelity in Gu Tingyu/Minglan, Changbai/his wife, Rulan/her husband.

Watch on Viki.

 Things I would love to read about for this fandom:

- Exploration of Minglan’s thoughts and feelings for Gu Tingye before their marriage, and her growing feelings for him after their marriage. Obviously she starts out already counting the days when he might stop loving her, but does she realise at any point that she has come to love him/completely trust him?  Given her low expectations of love and everything she had witnessed all her life, how does she deal with that feeling? Does she have a moment of realising he is not like her father?

- Exploration of the relationship between Minglan and Hualan. Alternatively, Rulan is portrayed as more benign than Molan when they were growing up, but Rulan’s actions can still be quite harmful to Minglan when they were younger. An exploration of the maturing sisterhood between Rulan and Minglan, especially if Rulan could be portrayed as more sensible than anyone actually gives her credit for, would be great. How does Rulan and Minglan’s relationship mature after they got married?

- On that note, how is Rulan’s attitude to Minglan so different than how Changbai and Hualan treat Minglan? Is it just because Rulan is the youngest of her full siblings so is more petulant? Is it because she’s closer in age to Molan and just projecting her frustration with Molan onto Minglan because it’s easier? I would love to see the dynamics/different characteristics between Hualan, Changbai and Rulan explored too. 

- Other sibling relationships I am interested in seeing explored: Changbai, Hualan, Rulan, Minglan in any combination. How do Changbai or Hualan get roped into helping Gu Tingye win over Minglan? How do they feel about it? Domestic scenes/any noodle incident with Hualan and Changbai helping/protecting Minglan against their mother/Concubine Lin/even agaisnt Rulan? 

- I love Changbai and Tingye’s friendship/found family dynamics and would love to see more of it in any form. 

Solitaire - Alice Oseman 

Characters requested: any

As indicated above, ignore the “more M/F and F/F, less M/M” preference above for this fandom. Feel free to write as much or as little Nick/Charlie for this fandom as you want. 

I just discovered this novel after binging through Heartstopper, both the show and the comics. In the spirit of keeping this Solitaire-relevant and not just veering completely off to the wider Heartstopper-verse, here be some prompts:

- I am so fascinated by Nick and Tori’s interactions/relationship (friendship?) with each other. Tori trusts Nick as much as she could trust anyone under the circumstances with Charlie’s emotional and physical wellbeing, but how did that trust develop? Did they know each other at all before Nick and Charlie got together through some Truham/Higgs event/activity, or did they just meet because of Nick and Charlie? I would love to see scenes of interactions between Nick and Tori, maybe just as Nick was hanging around the Springs’ home, or during Charlie’s inpatient treatments. How did Nick and Tori support each other during Charlie’s treatment? Did they have further conversations after Charlie’s relapse during the Solitaire novel? Do they bounce ideas off each other on how to support Charlie? 

- It’s clear that it’s not just Tori and Charlie who have mental health issues. Their mother has more than her fair share of it too, which probably contributed to making her children’s mental health worse. But the novel is also from Tori’s POV and she is so deep into her own mental health crisis that there are arguments to be made that her view of her parents especially her mother is not entirely accurate. Meanwhile Olly is in the middle of all of this - how much does he really understand about both Charlie and Tori’s issues and how much do his parents (if at all) explain to him? I would love an exploration of the Spring family dynamics as they all deal with their own problems while also looking each other though the lenses of their own experiences. I realise this is a tough issue and maybe too depressing for a Yuletide story but just throwing this out there. 

- Alternatively, just because you have a mental illness doesn’t mean it’s dementors all the time. There are flashes of light and carefree time. Give me so sibling fluffs with the Spring siblings including Olly and throw Nick and/or Michael in as well if you want. Trip to the beach? Park? Arcade? I don’t play video games so I don’t know how many people can play Mario Kart at once, but some insane Mario Kart tournament? 

- The only thing that I didn’t relate to Tori about is her views on Pride and Prejudice. I found this line from her essay particularly hilarious: “I am sorry, Mr Kent, but I have not read Pride and Prejudice. I disagreed with the very first sentence and that was enough for me.” - Don’t get me wrong, I love the fact that for once the moody loner in a novel isn’t a bookworm, and in fact hates reading and books, but does she genuinely not realise that this line is satire? Does she truly think Austen believes it as well? Does anyone, e.g. Mr Kent, even explains to her that it’s meant to be tongue-in-cheek? Does Tori actually care or appreciate that? I would love a Tori take on Shakespeare because god knows she can’t go through English Lit A levels without reading Shakespeare. Considering Much Ado About Nothing also has a lot of sarcastic humour and has a very similar plot to Pride and Prejudice, what’s Tori take on this? Or Romeo and Juliet’s romance? Hamlet’s brooding? Feel free to go fully academia and write an in-universe essay if that’s your thing.

- How does Tori continue to deal with mental health and relationships after Solitaire while transferring to Truham, while knowing everything that’s happened was because of her? Do Charlie and/or Michael and her girl friends help her through this? 

- What’s Tori’s deal with diet lemonade? Is this also some food/drink-related control thing that she shares with Charlie or does Tori just likes it to the point of never drinking anything else? 

~*~

Thanks for reading this really long letter!! Again, if you have your own idea that you’re dying to write that doesn’t have any element from the DNW list, feel free to write that too! Happy writing and I can’t wait to read your story! 

[kotorafern]

I know that this has been said many times before but I’m just gonna say it anyways

The fact that Kit Connor was outed by the Heartstopper fandom in insane to me. Alice Oseman literally wrote in her books that you don’t owe anyone your sexuality and you don’t have to come out immediately if you’re not straight. How did people miss that entirely? It’s like the point of the story was just completely missed.

[the-final-sentence]

Top Final Sentences of 2022

 I was everything I needed.           Xoài Phạm, from “The Greatest Pleasure”

He helped me find what I truly craved and identify what had been there all along: an unwavering sense of self.         Jennifer Chowdhury, from “In Pursuit of Brown-on-Brown Love”

Such an old, old memory, why should it make me cry?         Lloyd Schwartz, from “The Two Horses (A Memory)”

“I love you,” he whispered again, against the top of her head.         Mary Balogh, from Thief of Dreams

And he paused, in the space between inhalation and exhalation, and invited magic in.          Freya Marske, from A Marvellous Light        

“Nothing I didn’t already know, deep down.”         Dante Medema, from The Truth Project

It was a fine cry - loud and long - but it had no bottom and it had no top, just circles and circles of sorrow.         Toni Morrison, from Sula

For just a little while more, I think, let me hide here.         Jonathan Robbins Leon, from “The Same Kind of Monster”

In search of, an approximation:            desire of, love of.         Iliana Rocha, from “Elegy Falling Forward & Down“

I still crave the comfort of a hand in mine, the warmth of being claimed in the daylight.         Laura Bogart, from “A New Kind of Heroine”

And it is you, it is you she is holding like an open book, well-loved, in her hands.         Eve Alexandra, from “Heroine”

We survived to whisper our names to each other even if we could not yet confess them to anyone else.         Anna-Marie McLemore, from “Roja”

And this is the story of how I am caught.         Margaret Owen, from Little Thieves

I’m trying to hold on to this rope, and I’m trying to let go.         Melissa Faliveno, from “Tied, Tethered, Unfettered, Free”

Imagine you don’t fit anywhere, not even in your own head.         Bassey Ikpi, from “What It Feels Like”

I look to the sky and feel her ghost.         Colton Haynes, from Miss Memory Lane

It would be nice if we could talk about how we went online, driven by some sort of longing, and why we stayed there, pushing that want outward, over and over, until it couldn’t be ignored.         Kaitlyn Tiffany, from Everything I Need I Get from You

Care tasks exist for one reason only… to make your body and space functional enough for you to easily experience the joy this world has to offer.         K.C. Davis, from How to Keep House While Drowning

I had become one of the people on the street who knew where he was going.         Andrew Rannells, from Too Much Is Not Enough

Until everything was sea and sky, and the falling was flying, and he realised he was laughing too.         Alexis Hall, from A Lady for a Duke

Under the wrack and wreck of what had come before, the sky was new, and I reached for it with a yearning eager hand.         Nghi Vo, from The Chosen and the Beautiful

My beating heart is still yours, the letter said, and I’ll be waiting for you.         Dana Schwartz, from Anatomy

It won’t last for long, but it’s beautiful for now.         Linda Oatman High, from December

She holds my hand as I leave them all behind.         Erica Waters, from “Stay”

And then I fall back into my sheets, still warm and crumpled, and close my eyes.         Alice Oseman, from “Hands Against Our Hearts”

[pridepages]

All or Nothing: Loveless

I just finished Loveless by Alice Oseman. I have some thoughts.

Here there be spoilers!

Alice Oseman is a gift to LGBTQIA+ literature. She has mastered the art of Jane Austen: writing a book that apparently has very little plot, but is actually a depiction of some of the most important facets of every day life. Her most famous contribution to the canon, Heartstopper, is light, bright, and sparkling in tone. With Loveless, Oseman adds a more nuanced piece of work to her world.

The novel centers around Georgia Warr, a rising first year student at university who is desperate to star in her own romantic love story. She’s imbibed all the intoxicating tropes of allonormative fiction: she knows every meet cute, every slow burn, every AU under the sun. She’s studied up, and she’s ready to go. The problem is that when she tries to take it from fantasy to reality, she finds that she has zero sexual or romantic chemistry with anyone. Worse still, she’s repelled by everyone she tries with. Over the course of many failed experiments, and through an introduction to a lovely friend, Georgia must come to terms with her reality: she cannot find that fabled romantic love story with one person. She’s aromantic asexual.

Asexuality, let alone aromanticism, is a rare study in contemporary fiction. By placing Georgia’s self-discovery at the heart of the novel, Alice Oseman has provided a novelty to a community that rarely finds itself directly addressed. This is a new kind of coming out, and coming to terms, story: what does life look like when your relationships fit no kind of translatable norm? 

The answer provided to us is that Georgia is able to find beautiful, true love stories with her friends. As her new roommate, pansexual Rooney Bach declares to her: “I feel at home around you in a way I have never felt in my fucking life. And maybe most people would look at us and think we're just friends, or whatever, but I know that it's just...so much more than that. You fucking saved me, I swear to God.” 

Because whether we are aromantic or alloromantic, love comes in life in so many different forms. Just because society has prioritized one expression does not mean the others are less worthy.

Just as Georgia must come to grips with how she can give and receive love, so must the others in her life. Some people have been disquieted by the fact that the title of the novel is Loveless, fearing that it represents yet another jab at people on the aroace spectrum. I would argue that the title is, quietly, more nuanced than that: the majority of the rest of the characters may be alloromantic, but that doesn’t mean that they rest easy with the knowledge they are lovable.

Georgia’s friend Pip is an out-and-proud lesbian. But multiple times in the novel, Pip declares that she’s destined to be forever alone. Having been treated as a ‘gay experiment’ in the past, Pip believes she isn’t worthy of anything else. Georgia’s second friend Jason, apparently a straight man, has endured bullying in his life. Because that bullying centered around his being undesirable and unlovable, Jason rushed into romance and dating with the wrong people because he believed that it was his only shot and he didn’t deserve to hold out to be treated well. Newly discovered pansexual Rooney has embraced free sexuality and flirtation, but for her they don’t equate to love. She believes she deserves to be punished for having fallen in love with the wrong person, causing her to have made years’ worth of bad choices and sacrificed healthier friendships.

I think what this book is all about is really that we all struggle with what it means to love. Love comes in so many forms, and those forms shouldn’t be discounted just because they don’t fit preconceived notions. Love in all its forms is so rare in this world. When it comes our way, we need to keep eyes, arms, and heart open. Don’t miss it.

To my asexual, aromantic, or even allo family who dread feeling forever alone: I implore you to stop and ask yourself where you find love in this world. I have had days where I didn’t want to live anymore, but I asked myself who would take care of my dog if I wasn’t here? So, I decided it was worth sticking around a little longer. Calmer reflection reminded me of parents who try their best. Of friends who chose me even when I didn’t believe in myself. Of mentors who pushed me forward. Of kids in my classroom who gave me unexpected hugs and told me I was their favorite teacher.

Sometimes, love feels like an all or nothing affair. Either we’re the heroes of some grand romance or we’re the also-rans. But the reality is so much different. Love can be all around us. If we don’t stop and look around once in a while, we might miss it.

[zachandalextime]

Review: Heartstopper S1 (and some thoughts)

You might be tempted to just scroll past Heartstopper, Netflix’s adaptation of Alice Oseman’s book of the same name, assuming it’s just another bland recycling of the “gay tale as old as gay time” simplified for a LGBTQ+ YA audience.

Indeed, the series does fall back on well-worn tropes (spoilers?): “knight in shining armor fends off the homophobic bully”, “the misunderstanding at the party”, “I can’t fall in love with my new straight best friend”, and “in-and-out of the closet mismatch”, most of which I’ve written about myself, at times. 

But if you did, you would miss out on a gem that showcases stories and characters that span the LGBTQ+ experience; you would miss a delectable soundtrack that nails the mood of each scene, infused with a British pop/house vibe emblematic of the UK setting. And you would miss out on truly some of the strongest acting ever brought to the queer screen. 

The performances by the leads are nuanced and heartfelt, propelling a predictable plot forward by making the stakes of a high school romance and all of its struggles feel inexplicably... monumental. Which is exactly how it should feel, to a teenager.

Joe Locke plays Charlie Spring, our earnest and self-doubting protagonist. As the only out gay teen at his school, Charlie blazed a singular trail... into bullying and harassment so visibly severe, that other closeted and questioning classmates dared not follow, leaving him often hiding on the floor of the art room and being heaped with advice of questionable helpfulness by ally Mr. Ayaji (Fisayo Akinade). 

Joe inhabits his character masterfully, walking a thin line of the normally understated and quiet kid whose feelings for his classmate over time inspire a new boldness, and become nearly unbridled. The way he looks at his crush -- and only his crush, mind you, not the jerk he’s hooking up with at the start of the series -- is a genuine mixture of inimitable happiness, ingrained shyness, deep attraction, and measured hope. It’s the distilled essence of first love in a glance. 

The popular red-headed Nick (Kit Connor), meanwhile, gives a compelling performance as a confused rugby jock who is struggling to understand what he’s feeling (bi visibility!). Through Kit’s genuine portrayal, we deeply feel the weight of the forces and choices that pull at Nick; yet he makes it clear that the greatest force is love, and he is always able to do the right thing, and protect Charlie. Normally I would insert a PSA here that goes 

“don’t actually fall in love with your straight best friend IRL, folks...” 

But I’m now compelled to add: 

“... unless he’s acting the way Nick acts toward Charlie.”

He can be forgiven for his confusion; Nick’s journey of self-awareness is propelled at breakneck speed in today’s internet Information Age, for better or for worse.

The acting chemistry behind Charlie and Nick is so powerful that the little lovey-dovey cartoon animations that pop up during scenes of intense connection / infatuation feel like they were summoned into being by the force of will of the characters, not that they were added in post-production as VFX embellishments.

And so what if the plot is formulaic? At the same time, it somehow achieves a sort of timeless quality: this series is set in today’s generation of kids, but the same struggles and confusion and hope and love faced kids growing up in the 2000′s ... or even the 90′s (except for the reliance on smartphone drama, of course). 

Heartstopper is a good reminder that even in today’s age of greater LGBT acceptance, coming out (to one’s self, and publicly) is still incredibly difficult journey. As the pendulum of society and culture swings, acceptance of LGBTQ+ waxes and wanes. Same-sex marriage laws in the U.S. and the U.K. seemed like the final frontier, finally accomplished. Entire LGBT rights organizations closed their doors for good after that victory. Yet with the shift of the U.S. Supreme Court, and the next generation of Republicans jockeying to be the most extreme presidential candidates of 2024, odious attacks like the Don’t Say Gay bill and the banning of books in Florida and other states shows that the fight for acceptance, happiness, and love isn’t over.

I sure hope Netflix optioned all of Alice’s books and plan to renew. The world and the community need it now more than ever.

[gayandtierdoflife]

Radio Silence

okay so im gonna start with some trigger warnings ( please tell me if I missed anything), they are not necessarily in this "review" but good to know about.

TW: Mental illness, animal abuse (ish), abusive parents

So I just finished reading radio silence last night, and I am obsessed.

I am really bad at describing my feelings and stuff but I'm gonna do my best ig

Aled Last is my favorite bean and I would literally die for him. obviously I knew him from heartstopper already, but this is like HIS book and I love him so much. I would just like to give him a hug and therapy bc he needs it

Carol last is the devil in human form, I hate her so fucking much. Put me in a room with her, that bitch is dead

Frances is really sweet and I do love her very much. I believe that we have *similar* experiences with school etc. with is why she is so relatable for me. ofc im not as driven as she is but I do feel like there's a lot expected of me, school vise. I do have good grades and so, and I really fell a lot of pressure, mostly from myself around it. anyway, what I feel like I can relate mostly to is the whole "school friends" situation. okay I just started ranting here literally no one cares but yeah anyway

i'm not gonna go in on the other characters as much but yeah a little bit 'bout each of them can't hurt

Carys - a queen, respectful, love it

Daniel: I love him so much I can't even

Raine: slay. just slay.

Lana: Best mom award goes to-, Carol and charlies mom wishes that they could be as slaying as ms gurl here but nu uh, perfect, an angel

I can't remember any more significant/important characters rn so yeah.

One of the things I really thought about, reading this book, is how well written and easy to read it is. I believe that I really noticed it because of the fact that I read "call me by your name" - a pretty complex book, that I found really hard to read, right before I started radio silence. the contrast just really made me appreciate her writing 110% more. everything just flows, and that is a thing that I rarely reflect over, because it so rarely occurs in the books I read.

If you are looking for platonic relationships, this is the book for you. Aled and Frances's relationship is the DEFINITION of platonic soulmates and you cannot tell me otherwise. I love that this tory isn't centered around romance. oftentimes books will start with a plot, good characters, and then after like 100 pages the story is about a white cishet relationship, and all the characters loses their personality. I personally love that Frances doesn't "end up" with anyone. There is romance in the book, but it is barely even a subplot tbh and I adore that so much.

the REPRESENTATION - ofc this is an Alice Oseman book, so im not really "surprised", it just still makes me so happy to see such good representation in media. its just so rare to read a book about a biracial bisexual girl, a gay demi bestie, his asian gay bf and a whole cast full of queer, diverse people.I have in fact not, in a long time if at all.

there are of course thousands of more things to be said about this masterpiece, but I unfortunately do not have time to do so at the moment so this will have to do :)

love ya bye