#I've been having so much fun writing Rooney

[aceghosts]

🦋 tell us about your current wip

🌞 favourite character from current wip

🍰 where you like to write

<3

Thank you!!! 💙💙💙 I answered 🦋 here.

[Summertime Writers Asks]

🌞 favourite character from current wip

Rooney. Rooney is so much fun to write, with their inner turmoil, torn between love and duty. I also love writing Rooney when they decide to go 'Fuck it', and really kick ass.

In terms of canon characters, I wrote a short part from Vik's POV in the Relic Malfunction fic. He was pretty fun to write, especially when dealing with Johnny in Rooney's body.

🍰 where you like to write

At my desk. I like a nice, tidy, structured environment to write in. I also usually have music playing, inspiring whatever I'm working on.

[ohmeadows]

what are your favorite authors? and which ones you would consider the essentials for anyone interested in start writing?

my favorite authors are, in no particular order but rather how important they have been to my writing:

gillian flynn. all her books play so expertly with genre, unreliable narrator and tapping into generational and contemporary anxieties. she's got such a subtle hand as she arranges everything into position, and a really pleasant writing style.

mieko kawakami. i just love everything about how she writes loneliness, alienation and lingering in the moments of the day.

sayaka murata. she's soooo. god. i love her short stories. i hope more get translated soon.

constance debré, éduoard louis, annie ernaux. i clump these three together because they're approaching class and short terse non-fiction from different angles but all do it in really riveting ways.

tamsyn muir. because it's just a wild fun ride. like. it's a treat to read her books. she made me feel less hung-up about perfect worldbuilding.

also, no less honorable mentions: sally rooney, elena ferrante, carmen maria machado, arkady martine, louise glück.

as for essentials, that's a hard one. i'm a firm believer in building your own personal canon of "books that make me wanna write/writers whose style i want to subliminate into my own", but i'm also a genuine lover of creative writing books, so a short list of those would be:

imaginative writing, janet burroway. (writing to me is so much about a practice, exercises, warm-ups, and burroway really digs into that.) writing down the bones, natalie goldberg. (classic. though i don't turn to this a lot anymore it's still a staple.) reading like a writer, francine prose. (can't be a writer without reading and prose breaks down the way of reading very well.) refuse to be done, matt bell. (bit of a step up. how to write a novel in three drafts, essentially. genuinely the most helpful one i've read in years, i've leaned on it so much for finishing my novel.) and this is more later-stage, but it's also a good reality check for anyone wanting to go professional: before and after the book deal, courtney maum.

[imperatorrrrr]

hello hi there howdy HOW are we surviving this offseason and why does it feel like an eternity until hockey returns (the hlinka gretzky cup is literally on right now)

- 🎨

Hello CCA :)

I got your ask about Holtzy, wasn't ignoring you, by the way! just am waiting to answer that for when I post your gift fic, which I'm trying to do before the teams start coming back for training camp.

It will happen. I promise. I'm so excited to write it. The premise is something I think will be fun and I've been thinking about it nonstop.

I have baseball during the offseason, so that's been a rollercoaster, oh the Mets, and now the Olympics.

And some of the off season content has kept me fed as it tends to do.

I just need my boys back tho. I need to know Jack's good to go, Timo's good to go. I need to see gentle giant Dougie back on the ice. I need BFF Curtis razzing the Hugheses. I need Noesy lightly bullying Jesp and Nico. I need to see how quickly the new guys get themselves into the fold.

What will Chief Keefe do with the lines?! The D Pairs?! The PP units?! The PK pairs?!

And. Can Dawson Mercer sign his fucking contract already. Sheesh.

It should be ramping up now that we're well into August methinks. I think the NHL Europe media stuff happens this month. Rookies training camp is less than a month away I believe. And soon the boys will start making their back to Jersey. Maybe Nico will remember his Instagram password one more time and gift us with not only his annual summer recap post, but also another sponsored Swiss Air post.

I miss hockey so much. Just stay healthy boys, please.

How about you, CCA? How are you holding up in this drought?

we are Kevin Rooney days away from New Jersey Devils Regular Season Hockey

[freeuselandonorris]

questions about books!!! the best kind of questions. thanks for the tag @boxboxlewis this was a fun distraction from pretending to write!

An estimate of how many physical books I own: oh jeez. I would say probably about 400 in my flat (it’s a small flat, too) and then maybe another 200 in storage at my mum’s? So yeah probably 600 or so overall. I’ve probably only read maybe two thirds of them, but I have problems with impulsive spending so they keep on piling up 🫠

Favourite author: Can’t pick just one, but JG Ballard, Donna Tartt, William Gibson, Eliza Clark and Bret Easton Ellis (shut up I know he’s problematic let me live) are my top five.

A popular book I've never read and never intend to read: Honestly probably anything else Sally Rooney brings out. I don’t get the big deal.

A popular book I thought was just meh: See above! But also My Year of Rest and Relaxation. Otessa Moshfegh should in theory be right up my street but I just find her writing is trying too hard to gross me out, it’s too edgelord for me. Which, if you’re familiar with some of the authors I’ve listed above, is really saying something.

Longest book I own: Ooh I’m not actually sure. Maybe The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton? I didn’t finish it though. Or the Succession script books are pretty hefty? OH WAIT no it’s probably Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellman but I haven’t even started it lmao.

Longest series I own all the books to: Probably Harry Potter, unfortunately. I don’t really read series books much!

Prettiest book I own: My copy of The Sick Bag Song by Nick Cave is pretty lovely. The Roads Editions paperbacks are all gorgeous, especially my copy of Venus in Furs. And idk if it counts but my first ever boyfriend (who was an asshole in all other respects) bought me a limited copy of Laments by Jenny Holzer for my 18th birthday which I treasure.

A book or series I wish more people knew about: Ooh, tricky one. I’m going to say Heroines by Kate Zambreno which is a really beautiful creative non-fiction essay about mental illness and the literary wives and mistresses of quote-unquote Great Authors (white men).

Book I'm reading now: The Weird and The Eerie by Mark Fisher, and The Satsuma Complex by Bob Mortimer. Never let it be said I am not wide-ranging in my tastes.

Book that's been on my TBR list for a while but I still haven't got around to it: I mean like I said I have about 200 unread books and more in my TBR list and sometimes I lie awake at night getting stressed about the fact that I will never have time to read all the books I want to read!!! But the one that springs to mind is The Singularity is Near by Ray Kurzweil which I should read for novel research but it’s a BRICK about the likelihood of machine intelligence destroying humanity. I’m fun at parties I swear. (Disclaimer: I am 34 years old I don’t go to parties anymore.)

Do you have any books in a language other than English: I mean, I have some poetry in translation and stuff but I can’t read it :(

Paperback, hardcover, or ebook?: I much much prefer paperbacks! But I read probably 50/50 paperbacks and ebooks these days since I got my nice shiny iPad.

tagging @lost-decade @zeraparker @formulatrash and @saintdevote if any of you want to fill in!

[thatdesklamp]

Hi! I saw your post around here where you mentioned Ali Hazelwood, and I've been devouring her stories lately. Since I trust your judgment more than my own (that A level in literature really shows), I was wondering if you could recommend other stories you might have enjoyed? They don't have to be in a STEM setting, nor necessarily romances (although those are very welcome). Thank you so much <3

Hello! Yes of course!!

For books that remind me of ‘One Day’ (and therefore encapsulate the vibe I was going for in this fic). Heavy on themes of intimate relationships between two people, nostalgia, time and growing up.

‘This Time Tomorrow’ by Emma Straub: gorgeous insight into getting older and a push for change, explores the relationship between a father and daughter beautifully

‘Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow’ by Gabrielle Zevin: masterful characters and structure. Two friends work as video game designers. The publisher’s tagline is brilliant: ‘It’s not a romance, but it is about love.’

‘Amy & Isabelle’ by Elizabeth Strout: one of those books I know I’ll appreciate even more when I get older. Mother and daughter relationship: if you resonated by Greta Gerwig’s ‘Ladybird’, you’ll love this one.

‘The Time Traveller’s Wife’ by Audrey Niffenegger: It’s famous for a reason. The most original love story I’ve ever read and with such genius and tender plotting that demands rereading.

‘Normal People’ by Sally Rooney: melancholic and bittersweet (aka it was the ‘One Day’ that I didn’t like quite as much as ‘One Day’ but also guys it’s a good book c’mon let’s be fr here)

Romances I’ve enjoyed (these are probably very popular but there are so many shite ones that I’ll vouch for these):

Ali Hazelwood books. I am so adamant that this woman is an absolute legend and her books only get better. Loved her most recent (‘Love, Theoretically’), it’s too fun.

‘Book Lovers’ by Emily Henry. Emily Henry loml.

‘Love and Other Words’ by Christina Lauren: ICONIC friends-to-lovers

For STEM-y books I enjoyed, I liked:

‘Lessons in Chemistry’ by Bonnie Garmus: the main character is absolutely brilliant and I’m the world’s most devout feminist so of course I devoured this book. (Although constantly calling table salt NaCl did annoy me juuust a little. Yes salt is primarily composed of sodium chloride but it’s not purified so calling it NaCl is just a bit silly)

‘The Code Breaker’ by Walter Isaacson: non-fiction (gasp!) but I find CRISPR so interesting. Biography about Jennifer Doudna, the Nobel Prize winner who essentially transformed the world of genetic engineering.

Miscellaneous books I’ve enjoyed:

‘Tender is the Flesh’ by Agustina Bazterrica: chilling dystopia, excellent narration from perspective character, so disgusting and gory

‘Fingersmith’ by Sarah Waters: not usually a fan of historical fiction but Sarah Waters is the loml, brilliant plotting, crime fiction

‘Vladimir’ by Julia May Jones: devoured it in a day. Dark and sensual, with such a sharply-characterised perspective character.

‘The Charioteer’ by Mary Renault: one of the first books to write an unapologetically positive portrayal of homosexuality. Essential reading for any lgbt+ person who likes reading, imo: stands on the same level as ‘Giovanni’s Room’ or… literally any Sarah Waters novel. I read it for background research on a far-off WW2 fic I want to write but ended up loving it. Really sweet.

Huzzah I hope this is up to scratch <3

[hot-soop]

about me: tag game

tysm for the tag @ugh-yoongi ily dearly

name! — bee

number of siblings! — one younger brother (do i have big sister energy? idk)

number of pets! — none currently :') but have had a lot over the years - 5 horses, 2 cats, 3 dogs, 2 gerbils, 1 hamster, a few goldfish, and the most evil rabbit that has ever existed. my last cat ralph passed away in 2022 at the age of 18, he was the best <3

my kids have been after a cat and a dog since ralph passed, so maybe next year after ateez tour europe

favorite color! — most shades of green, blues, some reds

favorite author! — idk that i have a favourite bc it's been a while since i've read anything published, but i did like terry pratchett's nonsense way back when. i also really liked sally rooney's normal people, even though the characters are enormously toxic and it's not exactly a love story to be revered.

favorite song! - again, no favourite as such. lately i've had silver light - ateez, nerves - dpr ian, and disloyal order of water buffaloes - fall out boy on repeat.

hobbies! — imagining myself writing, astrology, tarot, kpop fanart, animal crossing (i can't believe this capitalist hellscape game got me in a chokehold), looking at park seonghwa and wondering how he exists like that. i live near some big (for england) lakes and mountains so in the summer we do a lot of hiking and kayaking, photocard collecting (not a serious collector but i have a bunch), got back into baking recently and two weeks ago i made the best chocolate & cherry hot cross buns i fear i may never get them as good as the first try

favorite holiday! — christmas!

fun fact / something i’d enjoy sharing! — the best thing i ever did for myself was quit the healthcare industry and start my own shop, bc designing my little kpop pins, tattoos and washi tapes and photocard holders has given me my life back. i might occasionally reply to an email at 2am but it's so much easier than 16 hour shifts on my feet

if you're curious about anything, feel free to send an ask

tagging: i came SO late to this so i'm sorry idk who's already done this, but if you see it please consider yourself tagged <3

[sevencardigans]

Getting tagged in this by the wonderful Silja @wunderlichkind is literally the highlight of my evening. 🫶🌞

An estimate of how many physical books i own: so these are solely the books I collected over the last 5 years, since that’s all I own at this point: exactly 194 (including the 6 books that I ordered yesterday) so not that many

Favourite author: incredibly difficult answer, so I’m going to give two academic and two not so academic answers. I enjoy a fun and easy TJR read, although there are definitely a lot of things I don’t agree with when it comes to her writing + I’m a Sally Rooney girl through and through. A serious academic answer would be Virginia Woolf and Shirley Jackson. 

A popular book I've never read and never intend to read: anything Colleen Hoover. Need I say more?

A popular book I thought was just meh: totally copying Silja here, but I also did.not.get why people went crazy over Where The Crawdads Sing. I also didn’t vibe with The Song of Achilles as much as I hoped I would. It was alright, but I didn’t feel it – Circe is Madeline Millers superior novel.  

Longest book I own: Just from looking at my bookshelf right now, it’s To Paradise by Hanya Yanaghara (which is also why I still haven’t managed to read it)

Longest series I own all the books to: I’m usually not a book series reader, which is also why I own only half of the Harry Potter books in English (not counting my moms full English collection). I also have the unfinished V.E. Schwab Shades of Magic series if that counts. 😅

Prettiest book I own: I’m literally so guilty of only buying books with pretty book covers. I’d say I'm most proud of my Penguin Orange Book editions of We Have Always Lived In This Castle and Ceremony, though. I mean, just look at those gold details! (not pictured: the deckled edges)

A book or series I wish more people knew about: one of my favorite books of all time, and a book I read every year at least once, is I’m Thinking Of Ending Things. It’s a psychological “thriller” novella. It’s incredibly subtle and uses its vagueness to evoke uncanniness in its truest form. There IS a Netflix movie about this book, so I guess it has become more popular. Other than that, All My Mothers is another unknown favorite of mine. It’s a study on mother-daughter relationships, family dynamic, illness, family trauma, and chosen families. It’s beautiful, heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time (also, beautiful book cover if you ask me). 

Book I’m reading now: I’ve sadly been in a bit of a reading slump, mainly because I have too many options and somehow still can’t seem to find the book with the right content and pace for this very moment. But I technically am reading Memphis and listening to The Hunger right now.  

Book that’s been on my TBR list for a while but I still haven’t gotten around to it: literally half of my bookshelf? I can’t wait to read The Mercies (I want to wait for winter) though.  

Do you have any books in a language other than English: I got a bunch of German books since that’s my first language, but I despise reading German books because it takes me forever to get through them. My favorite non-English book is the latest Asterix comic in German, signed by the German translator who I worked with for a reading/Q&A that I helped host. 

Paperback, hardcover or ebook?: Paperback all day long. I have a bunch of hardcovers, but I have to have A LOT of faith in a book/author if I buy the hardcover ones. I also love audible! 

[ninasbookshelf]

mid-year book freakout 2024

hi all! it's time again for a mid-year book review post! to reiterate, this is not my own idea but a trend i've seen make the rounds on social media over the past several years. i'm not sure what the original version of this is or who made it, but i combined several of my favorite questions to make this edition. feel free to fill out your own, and add any other questions or info you like!

also.. i'm thinking of creating a version of this post but for webtoons... i think that would be fun lolol

i did this last year too if you're interested: my 2023 mid-year book freakout

and if you want to do your own mid-year book tag with these questions: blank questions if you want to fill this out yourself

let’s get started!

Amount of books you’ve read so far: 24

Best book you’ve read so far this year: not including re-reads, I think the best book i've read this year is either How to Murder Your Life by Cat Marnell or Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa (very different options!!). Or Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura… i can’t decide!

Best sequel you’ve read so far this year: if we’re sticking with books i read for the first time in 2024, i loved volumes 9 and 10 of Tsubasa Yamaguchi’s manga series Blue Period. i am slowly but surely working my way through the series and very excited to read more of it. as an alternative, i can’t help but mention that i’m currently re-reading The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner (third book in the Queen’s Thief series) and it is sooo good!! it may be my favorite book in that series!? i’ll have to re-read the rest of them to know for sure.

New release you haven’t read yet but want to: Five Broken Blades by Mai Corland! i’ve heard great things about this book, particularly for fans of Six of Crows. it’s at the top of my list!

Most anticipated release for the second half of the year: the upcoming Sally Rooney book, Intermezzo!! i've loved everything i've read by Sally Rooney, and i’m very excited for more.

Biggest disappointment: Strip Tees: A Memoir of Millenial Los Angeles by Kate Flannery. Strip Tees details one woman's experience working for American Apparel at the height of the company’s popularity in the 2000s. i will do a longer post on this book later, but in short i found the writing lackluster and the author's attitude off-putting and disappointing. i still don't know what she was trying to convey with the tone.

honorary mention: Becoming Free Indeed by Jinger Vuolo. i paid for this book on my kindle and quickly realized it wasn’t at all what i thought it would be, which isn’t Jinger Vuolo’s fault but was still disappointing at the time, lol. it just wasn’t for me; i ended up DNFing it. oh well!

Biggest surprise: Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa! this book was a spontaneous purchase on my e-reader before a flight, and i just loved it. such a heartwarming story i will definitely read again.

Favorite new author (debut or new to you): Cat Marnell. she isn’t a new author but is (sort of) new to me. i had her book How to Murder Your Life on my to-read list for a few years (sorry it took so long!) and i finallly read it this year. twice, actually! i love her writing style and am really happy to hear she’s working on another book.

Newest fictional crush: i don't think i have any new ones!! i haven't been reading as much fantasy/adventure as i did the previous few years, and those books are usually where my fictional character crushes come from. i am re-reading the Queen’s Thief series though, and of course still love Gen!

Favorite character: oh man. i could name so many. Gen and Costis, among so many other characters in the Queen’s Thief series… but if we’re going for a series i’m reading for the first time, i’ve definitely developed a soft spot for Yotasuke after reading volume 10 of Blue Period. (and Yatora is a great character as always too)

Book that made you cry: Sweet Bean Paste

Book that made you happy: ...Sweet Bean Paste

A book I want to read by the end of year: there are so many. i’ll go with My Year of Meats by Ruth Ozeki! i’m still marching towards reading all of her works. (i’ve finally started reading it since i first answered this question. progress!)

that’s all for this year’s mid-year book tag! i hope you enjoyed, and feel free to tag me if you fill out your own.

[flyingdonuuts]

1, 3, 17 and 20 for the eoy book tag :))

From this post! Thank you so much for askinggg <3

1. How many books did you read this year?

I've read 46 so far! I've been cramming in books in December to reach 50 lol

3. What were your top 5 books of the year?

This is so difficult 😭 I've been trying to rank all the books I've read, and it's like ranking my babies. But this is what I have so far:

Babel - R. F. Kuang

The Goldfinch - Donna Tartt

시선으로부터, - 정세랑

지구 끝의 온실 - 김초엽

Demian - Hermann Hesse

17. Did any books surprise you with how good they were?

I'm the type of person who researches every aspect of the book before starting to maximize the chances of enjoying it, so getting blind recommendations from my roommate was so fun!

She re-introduced me to Korean literature, which I hadn't read since elementary school. I was genuinely shocked at how differently they narrate emotions?? They're so beautiful and raw 😭

It's a shame most Korean books I read aren't translated into English... Guys read Shoko's Smile by Choi Eun-young pleaseeeee you won't regret it!! Especially if you like Sally Rooney! It's literary fiction and a collection of short stories, and the author is so good at creating characters fjdklsfjs I CRIEDDD

20. What was your most anticipated release? Did it meet your expectations?

I don't think I read any books released in 2023..? I'm a bit behind in times lol

I think the most recently released book is Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (2022). It was so goodddd ;-;

it's about two friends at university - Sam and Sadie - in the early 2000s making games together! The writing style was beautiful fdjsklfs

Thank you again for asking!! I love talking about books fjdsklfj

[uwusillygirl]

i truly loved reading your thoughts about this. it would be so fun if maybe you could occasionally post recs of your favorite books/movies/shows and maybe briefly share opinions on them? only if that would be fun for you of course! i'm just saying i, and i'm positive many of your readers/followers, would be delighted to see them!

you are absolutely right regarding NP featuring a parade of horrifying clueless men masquerading as doms where all of marianne's masochistic tendencies seem to get repeatedly exploited without the scenes being "resolved" in any meaningful or helpful way. & instead of an ideal result of her feeling somewhat better and at peace, they leave her the same raw bleeding wound of a girl. and your take on connell needing to prove to himself he's good and good TO marianne when in reality many times he has been anything but... really brilliant. i don't think i've ever thought of it that way, as lost as i was in my harrumphing about what i took as rooney's repeated portrayal of slow vanilla sex being equated to true quasi-soulmate-bond love and affection. though i am first to admit i am a very sensitive girl who will immediately take things to heart if i see myself in a piece of fiction, and sometimes miss the bigger literary analysis picture. i'm so glad i sent an ask! also lol @ paul and daisy definitely sacrificing some canon information to say get behind me BDSM baddies of all types we got y'all. (also idk if you've seen/heard but paul mescal is in a film called "aftersun" that i believe is playing in select theaters right now which from my understanding is a very dreamy and melancholy potentially-hysterical-tear-inducing two hours of him being a young girl dad. i have not seen it yet because i think it might actually break my brain in a very dangerous way that i am not equipped for atm, and i am already pre-mourning my sanity and emotional stability for when i finally bite the bullet)

also as someone who has full on sobbed to your beautiful cathartic words many times over, i am grateful to you for exploring freaky mentally unstable girls who maybe should re-evaluate their relationship to sex but also maybe shouldn't because sometimes it's ok to be insane and slutty if you have a partner to support you through it! if drugs can't fix you maybe having 15 orgasms in a row can! even though i think i am different from your chrissy in many ways, i have never felt so validated by a character and never felt so hopeful and fulfilled seeing her clawing her way to happiness. sometimes it feels like you've taken stuff from the darkest stickiest ugliest parts of my brain and put it on paper and i'm like ok well now i've got to have a three week crisis to deal with this now, except it usually ends in some necessary acceptance and potential healing and always at least a temporary period of bright hope for the future (which is so difficult to come by some days). so thank YOU!

i loved reading what you had to say, as well! thank you so much for sharing (u actually got my brain all crazy and now i'm writing a little something that'll hopefully be up tonight lmao)! i would be SO happy to share recs (including ones tailored to specific interests!) if that's something people would like! anyone can lmk! i watch and read a shit ton for my work, actually, so i'm always so happy to share thoughts. it'll give my loved ones a break from my random excitable rants, too.

going a little out of order here, but i have found that the day i let go of trying to understand, rid of, or narrativize my sexuality, gender expression, and sexual interests and just say "whether it came from some event or is inherent or is a choice, it just is what it is, and that's okay" it paradoxically became way less of an issue for me, and way easier to express what i like and want just for the sake of it. in my opinion, there's only so much exploring we can do before it becomes a sort of ouroboros of "i'm trying to work stuff out for me" turning into "i'm trying to be sexually palatable in a new way".

"get behind me bdsm baddies" is so fucking funny. i have actually seen aftersun and was one of the original hysterical criers over it. i can confirm it is a life ruiner, and yet i'm going in for a rewatch on sunday. best movie of the year in my opinion!

i am so flattered that first one's free has moved you! it's more than okay to be insane and slutty! i don't know you, but can pretty confidently say that your darkest stickiest ugliest parts of your brain are not that bad if my chrissy expresses them - she may think she's a mess but i think she (and anyone who resonates with her) is doing just great and is a good person deserving of good things <3 if i didn't believe that then i'd also be so fucked lmao.

hope the near future brings you those good things! glad to hear you're finding spaces to feel hopeful.

please send an ask whenever, i'm so glad you reached out!

[aceghosts]

WIP Wednesday

Hey Everyone! I finally have something to share for WIP Wednesday. I've been tagged by so many people since the last time I shared some snippets, but I've recently been tagged by @socially-awkward-skeleton, @g0dspeeed, @voidika, @imogenkol, and so many others. Thanks to everyone who has tagged me!

Tagging (Opt In/Out): @bbrocklesnar, @marivenah, @alexxmason, @sergeiravenov, @carlosoliveiraa,

@derelictheretic, @hookhearted, @icecutioner, @strangefable, @theelderhazelnut,

@confidentandgood, @simplegenius042, @inafieldofdaisies, @cloudofbutterflies92,

@clicheantagonist, @captastra, @direwombat, @cassietrn, @fourlittleseedlings, and anyone else who would like to be tagged!

So, I've been in strange place lately when working on stuff. I'm either pretty much done with fics and just kind of sitting on them, or start something and can't finish. It's a fun place to be./s For this WIP Wednesday, I'm only going to share the stuff that I've started on.

As you know, I've had a John Wick AU rotating in my head for Rooney. I wrote a little on the AU here, but I decided to convert that snippet into an actual oneshot. I haven't made much progress though, lol. Here is a snippet:

Yorinobu spits in the man’s face, a glob of saliva and blood hitting him squarely in the face. He growls, frantically wiping it off his face. “BASTARD!” He slaps Yorinobu roughly across the face, ringing in Yorinobu’s ears. His cheek stings from the force of the man’s slap. If he had been wearing his glasses, they would have flown from his face, but Yorinobu's glasses had been discarded long ago after the first slap. 

When he lifts his head, he sees a dark shape peeking out from behind a shipping shipping container. He blinks, his vision restored, and immediately, Yorinobu knows who it is. There is only one person he knows with that dark red hair and signature black suit, and it is Rooney Shepard, the Phantom of the High Table. He has only met them twice before, neither meeting particularly pleasant. During their first meeting when Shepard walked past him in the halls of the Arasaka estate, they refused to acknowledge him. Until he grabbed their arm, at which point Rooney glared at him with an absolutely terrifying expression. His second meeting with Shepard hadn’t gone much better, the two getting into a verbal sparring match. Why was Shepard here now?

I've also been working on the first draft for another smut fic since I feel more confident now writing smut. (BTW, if you missed it, you can find my first smut fic here and like this post if you want to be tagged for my NSFW fics.) This fic takes place before the events of cyberpunk, during Rooney and Yorinobu's first relationship. It's their first time together, but also an exploration of Rooney's complicated feelings about their body after being revived by Arasaka, if that makes sense. (Or at least, that's what I'm going to try to explore. We'll see if I actually achieve it.) Here is a snippet:

He squeezes their arm, smiling at them. “Take a seat. I will be right over.” Rooney awkwardly smiles back as he leaves them. They take a seat on the dark couch, watching Yorinobu. Why did they feel so uneasy? Rooney knew they wanted him; they were the one who suggested they go back to Yorinobu’s place rather than the facility. He offered to take them back at first, practically a gentleman. But in the car, Rooney wanted no one else but him, wanted to feel his hands on their skin the same way that they had in their dreams. Perhaps it was the act of wanting something and it becoming real that scared them. The few times Rooney wanted something or someone, it backfired terribly for them. And they didn’t know if they could stand to lose Yorinobu. Yet, it wasn't quite that. It was something else. Do you think he'll want you when he has truly seen what Arasaka has done to you? “What are you thinking?” He asks, handing a glass of white wine to them, breaking Rooney out of their thoughts.

“About you,” They tease with a smile, putting on a false bravado.

“About me?” He smirks, sitting next to them on the couch and sliding his arm around their shoulders. “Only good things I hope.”

“All good things,” Rooney responds, sipping their wine. Placing their wine down on the end table, Rooney places a hand on his chest, the silk of the lavender shirt soft beneath their touch. “I could show you if you wanted.”

Lastly, I started a fic about Rooney having a break down after the Cynosure Facility in one of the Phantom Liberty endings. It's related to the death of Rooney's squad to a Rogue AI when they were 21 and being in the facility, hunted by the robot, brings up a lot of bad memories for Rooney. I don't think I'm going to finish this one, but I figured I would share a small snippet (TW for discussions of death):

Getting deeper into the bunker is no challenge. The tram still works, bringing Rooney further into the facility, further into the belly of the beast. As they sit, leaning forward and staring at their palms, Rooney remembers the broken way So Mi looks at them, the begging and pleading in her eyes. They also remember the red, so much red, infecting her. Rooney’s hands shake as So Mi begs and pleads for them to kill her. And they do. In the end, if Rooney were in her position, they would want someone to honor their final wish. Would anyone do that for them?

“Thinking that way will lead you down dark roads.” Johnny makes his first appearance, glitching into existence across from them. Rooney stays quiet as Johnny sighs, “Listen Shepard, doing this is only going to make things wors-.”

“Stop.” Johnny’s mouth drops open at their harsh voice. “I need to see it’s corpse again. I have to see it for myself. And if the worse should come to pass…” Rooney swallows, “I’m only sorry that I dragged you down with me.”

Johnny’s reaction softens, shifting uncomfortably. “I,-.” He drifts into silence as the tram continues to hum along, hurtling down the tracks. 

[thelegendofjenna]

Jenna!! beloved!! how are you?? I'd love to hear about your list of favourite books (and if you don't mind your thoughts on them) <33 hope all is well 💝

Myle <3 I'm doing well, and I'm even better now that I have your lovely presence in my ask box!

I'm so bad at picking favorites, so this is going to be a pretty haphazard collections of books that I like a lot and can remember right now 😅

The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen: My whole adolescence was kind of defined by reading Sarah Dessen books, and I think she's a masterful storyteller in the genre of teenage-girl-slice-of-life. I think Dessen has probably influenced my own writing more than any other author. The Truth About Forever is about grief and finding healing in unconventional places, about discovering who you are beyond the family and trauma that has defined you, and of course it's about a romance with a very hot guy. What's not to love?

The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald: I know that this is like the most stereotypical "I was an English major" favorite book, but - it is not overhyped, it's so good. It was the first piece of capital-L Literature that I ever fell in love with. Fitzgerald's language is so gorgeous and even though it's a very short book it packs so much in. Every time I reread it I'm in awe of how good it is.

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Steifvater: There is so much to love about this series. It's deeply atmospheric - I've never been to the hills of rural Virginia, and maybe they don't always feel like they're steeped in an ancient and unknowable magic, but by reading Stiefvater's work I feel like I'm there. The characters are all so well-developed and distinct and I love them. The books meld genres and tropes so effortlessly that they feel unlike anything else I've ever read, while being completely cohesive. I need to reread the series because I've only read the final book once, but I don't think I'll ever get this story out from under my skin.

The Mediator series by Meg Cabot: So I've loved these books since I was like 12, and they have a deep hold on my heart. They're about a sixteen-year-old girl who can talk to ghosts, so in each book she deals with a different spectral conflict while having the larger arc of learning more about her powers and falling in love with the very attractive spirit of an 1850's rancher's son who haunts her bedroom. I recently reread the first two in the series, and while they're not literary masterpieces, I think they're very effective at being what they want to be - fun, fast reads with the right mix of action and humor and teenage drama.

And then I'll give a lightning round of books I've read more recently that I really liked:

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee, all three of Sally Rooney's novels, Beach Read by Emily Henry, both Red White and Royal Blue and One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston, and I'm currently reading a book called There's a Word For That by Sloane Tanen that I'm thoroughly enjoying.

Thank you for asking me to ramble on about books, it was very fun 😊

[dhaaruni]

I don’t mind sally rooney, like I don’t like her books but I just avoid them lol. But I truly dont understand why they’re hailed as so profound and literary when they’re really just not. It’s a tired writing style and characters and relationships that I have no interest in. They give me such a like millennial buzzfeed vibe and I just don’t get it. Truly what is there?

I totally agree, and the following article is relevant to that point, namely this excerpt:

"This art revolves around an archetypical Young Millennial Woman – pretty, white, cisgender, and tortured enough to be interesting but not enough to be repulsive. Often described as ‘relatable,’ she is, in actuality, not. The term masks the uncomfortable truth that she is more beautiful, more intelligent, and more infuriatingly precocious than we are in real life. But her charm lies in how she is still self-hating enough to be attainable: she’s an aspirational identifier. She’s often wealthy, but doesn’t think too much about it. Her life is fraught with so much drama, self-loathing and downwardly mobile financial precarity, that she forgets about it, just as we are meant to. Her friends, if she has any, are incorrigible narcissists, and the men in her life are disappointing and terrible. Try as she might, her protest against the world always re-routes into a melancholic self-destruction."

I really liked You Had Me At Hola!!! I think Alexis Daria is so talented and fun and not at all patronizing to the reader, which is rare in to find in contemporary romance lol. I'm glad you liked it too though! One of my attempts to convert people into reading romance novels worked!!

I've been meaning to finish up A Lot Like Adiós but I haven't had much time and I'll try to do it on the plane home this weekend!

[patternsintraffic]

My 100 Favorite Albums of the 2000s: #70-#61

I'm back with more albums that I love. Listing is fun! Who knew?

70. Rooney - Rooney (2003)

In the days of mp3.com, Rooney was one of the bands that I would stream during my Software Apps class in high school. I probably heard "Blueside" and "I'm Shakin'" a hundred times at barely-audible volume before this album came out. The sunny, bouncy melodies, synths, chord changes, and throwback lyrics are reminiscent of the Beach Boys or The Cars. I just love the carefree feel and youthful energy of this album, and the tunes are great. This is a quintessential California album from a verified California band.

69. Rock Kills Kid - Are You Nervous? (2006)

The only full-length album from Rock Kills Kid was just a few years before its time, which is a damn shame. When bands like Two Door Cinema Club came around in 2010 and captivated the indie rock world, few knew that Rock Kills Kid had been pumping out danceable alt-rock four years prior. "Paralyzed" and "Run Like Hell" should have been the songs of the summer. "Life's a Bitch" should have been a staple of high school mixtapes everywhere. Instead, this was a band that just didn't fit in with the musical climate of 2006 and regrettably fell off the map. At least we'll always have Are You Nervous?

68. Feeder - Pushing the Senses (2005)

Feeder have been a UK rock institution for 27 years now, releasing ten full-length albums over that span, though they’ve never made much of a splash in the States. My favorite Feeder album, Pushing the Senses, strays from the band’s signature guitar-driven power pop for a mid-career foray into the Britpop style popularized by Coldplay and Keane. The band received criticism for chasing the sound of the times, but their take on it felt genuine and sounded amazing. “Tumble and Fall” and “Tender” could stand toe-to-toe with any of the soft-rock output from those aforementioned bands. Feeder even let the guitars loose on “Feeling a Moment” and “Pushing the Senses,” two of the most undeniable singles I’ve ever heard paired on the same album. Coldplay and Keane have never reached such energetic heights.

67. Lifehouse - No Name Face (2000)

Lifehouse have become somewhat of a punchline over the years, as they’ve continued to release pretty standard and inoffensive alternative-rock fare, usually with one or two big singles coming from each album. It seems like most people enjoy a few Lifehouse songs, but no one is really a Lifehouse enthusiast. I think that the band’s best material comes from their 2000 debut No Name Face, and though their output since hasn’t made me into a true Lifehouse fan, I will always go to bat for this album. “Hanging by a Moment,” “Sick Cycle Carousel,” and “Breathing” are the songs most would be familiar with from early-2000s radio, and they are all excellent. There’s nothing particularly fancy about the rest of the album, as the songs don’t need any embellishments to shine. They are organic, earnest, and beautiful, and though I’m sure there’s some nostalgia involved I never regret revisiting them. Lifehouse might be kind of a stale name in music in 2021, but No Name Face shouldn’t be forgotten.

66. Acceptance - Phantoms (2005)

Until reuniting for Colliding by Design in 2017, Phantoms was the only full-length Acceptance album. It's not hard to see why this band continued to grow a cult following during their inactive years, as people tend to want more after an album as good as this one. It had the lyrics for the emo kids, the guitars for the rock kids, and the hooks for the pop kids. It's actually pretty surprising that Acceptance didn't make a mainstream splash in 2005, especially since this album was released on Columbia Records. A lot of that may have been due to the exceptionally poor choice to release "Different" as the first single. It's a great song, don't get me wrong, but there are so many upbeat tunes on this record that would have done a better job catching ears and piquing interest in the band. At least we finally got the follow-up album 12 years later, and the band have remained active since. Sometimes everything turns out OK in the long run.

65. Cursive - The Ugly Organ (2003)

I’m not sure what drew me to The Ugly Organ in 2003, at 15 years old. Listening to it now, it’s brash and angular, and not particularly accessible. I was just starting to stray from the music on rock radio at the time, and I came across “Some Red-Handed Sleight of Hand” and “Art Is Hard” online. I think there was something about the urgency in Tim Kasher’s voice, and the acidic way that he spit out the pointed and sarcastic lyrical content, that left me wanting more. It may be the cover art or the cello that permeates these songs, but something always felt a little creepy about them, like the band were performing in a haunted house. There aren’t many vocalists like Kasher, who seems to meld multiple levels of meaning into each line while drifting effortlessly from gentle singing to yelling to spoken word. This is a good one to dust off around Halloween. What a treat.

64. Long-View - Mercury (2003)

Long-View was a short-lived UK soft sock outfit that released one full-length album, Mercury. Nothing terribly surprising here - it sounds like an early-2000s UK soft rock album in the age of Coldplay and their contemporaries. The music is simple and often quiet, the vocals are smooth, and the tempos are mid. But despite it feeling like one of many on the surface, Mercury is charming and engaging. "Further," "Can't Explain," and "When You Sleep" have great hooks. The lyrics sound personal and conversational, and despite being cliche at times they feel poetic against the backdrop of Long-View's delicate instrumentals. An exemplary take on an oversaturated genre.

63. Augustana - Can't Love, Can't Hurt (2008)

After "Boston" put Augustana on the map in 2005, they traded in their indie rock sound for a set of rootsy, earthy anthems on their sophomore effort Can't Love, Can't Hurt. While the songs still sound like Augustana, there is a more classic, timeless quality to this album that has kept it fresh 13 years after its release. The slow build of "Twenty Years," with its swelling strings and piano leading the charge, was the kind of song I didn't know the band was capable of writing before this album. And "Sweet and Low" has one of the most sublime hooks I've ever heard.

62. Barcelona - Absolutes (2008)

This Seattle indie rock outfit is anchored by pianist and singer Brian Fennell (now of SYML fame). I had never heard of Barcelona prior to this album, and it took me by surprise. Fennell's vocals are captivating, winding through catchy pop melodies while deftly maneuvering from delicate to powerful. They pair with the band's guitar- and piano-driven arrangements to cement Absolutes among the best in the genre. There is a 2007 independent version of this album which is preferred by many who heard it before it was remastered and rereleased with an expanded tracklist in 2008. While I understand being attached to the version of the album you first fell in love with, I just can't agree with the opinion that the album is better without the standout tracks "Come Back When You Can," "Colors," and "The Takers."

61. Kill Hannah - Until There's Nothing Left of Us (2006)

Kill Hannah played anthemic goth-pop that belied their violent-sounding name. Until There's Nothing Left of Us is a triumphant, stadium-ready pop rock record that had the synths, grooves, and hooks to take the radio by storm in the early 2000s. If this album came out two years earlier, Kill Hannah might have been a household name. How did "Lips Like Morphine" not enrapture a generation of high schoolers? This is one of the many albums on this list that had absolutely all of the ingredients, but it somehow didn't add up to musical stardom.

[lovefool-mp3]

3 4 12 22 23 for the books ask!

thank you anon! :-) putting most under cut to save ppl's dashboards haha

3. what were your top five books of the year?

this is a tough one!! i believe i only read four 2021 releases, so i'm taking the question as "books i read" rather than "books published."

pride and prejudice automatically secures this spot because i've read it somewhere around five times this year alone. 🙃it's just such a comfort book for me, even though i can barely get through a scene without cringing.

crying in h mart is the book i finished most recently, and i adored it. i've been a japanese breakfast fan since psychopomp, which is what originally sparked my curiosity, but this book is beautiful totally on its own merit. the last line completely did me in.

i have a love-hate relationship with every book i talked about in my thesis tbh, but i think anatol really deserves a spot on here. i could write (and i have written) pages and pages on the whole "i feel like i'd be losing so much if one fine day i found myself strong" bit.

much ado about nothing is a banger start-to-finish. i feel like there's nothing more i can say that hasn't already been said by the whole world.

one last stop was such a fun read, and i found myself surprisingly invested as well. i'd read red, white, and royal blue i think in early 2020, and as delightful as i found it, i wasn't quite as emotionally drawn in, so i was expecting something similar with one last stop. which was mostly the case until a couple chapters to the end, at which point i promptly lost my mind and stayed that way.

4. did you discover any new authors that you love this year?

answered here (sally rooney) and here (henri bergson). i don't think i could fairly say i discovered or even rediscovered austen this year, since i think i started reading her in literal primary school, and emma especially i would return to pretty regularly, but i would say my enthusiasm for her work this year reached new heights, so... i'm counting that for something.

12. any books that disappointed you?

answered here (on earth we're briefly gorgeous).

also, my sister, the serial killer. this was one of the first books i read this year, so my memory isn't too exact, but i think it was another situation of coming in with really high expectations. it was definitely a decent enough book, but iirc the relationships just didn't feel as developed as i would've liked them to be.

22. what’s the longest book you read?

answered here (emily dickinson collected poems).

23. what’s the fastest time it took you to read a book?

under ideal circumstances, pride and prejudice is a single-day endeavor. i've managed to restrain myself a couple of times (mostly when i have wrangled someone else into reading it with me), but, yeah... i just mainline it. time doesn't exist for me then. usually, i prefer to read plays in one sitting, but unfortunately i had to split most of them up a bit this year.

[ninasbookshelf]

catching up

hi all! it's been awhile since i did a chatty post. i figured i'd share some casual life & reading updates.

lately i've been taking my sweet time with the books i read. i think for awhile i rushed through reading so that i'd have more to post about at the end of the month. i find that practice draining and of course hard on my eyes, and as much as i love to read, i want to work on balancing my hobbies. anyway, i'll never read every book in existence, so what's the rush? i'm interacting with literature the way i used to, before i started keeping track of what i read or feeling like i had to keep up with anyone. i like doing it this way. it's intimate. i'm really enjoying the books i read and i'm slowly digging deeper into topics i care about. it's organic and inspiring.

as a result, i am toying with cancelling my fairyloot subscription. i really enjoy receiving the box each month and checking out the new releases they send (and of course the fun extras), but i'm at a stage where i want to focus on reading books that i intentionally pick out. i tend to feel obligated to read the fairyloot books right away, since i know another one is coming soon and i've paid for it already, and i don't want reading to feel obligatory. i prefer to read according to my mood and current interests. that being said, it is fun to read something i never would've picked up... so i don't know! maybe i'll keep it, and force myself to get comfortable letting the books sit on my shelf for awhile. i keep going back and forth. it's a silly problem to have.

i'm currently reading Ruth Ozeki's novel All Over Creation. i mentioned in my mid-year book freakout post that i'd like to read the rest of Ozeki's work. A Tale for the Time Being is one of my favorite books which i return to every couple years, and i loved The Book of Form and Emptiness when i read it recently. my goal is to finish All Over Creation and My Year of Meats by 2024.

in terms of writing, i have a few casual blog posts in mind that explore the topics bouncing around in my brain over the past few weeks and months. one post is on environmentalism in books/media, and one is to share the written media i've been enjoying outside of books (think specific newsletters, substacks, magazines, etc). i'm also working on a (more structured/formal) book recommendation post that i think people will like. if you're a sally rooney fan, that one's for you. they're all in the works. it'll be awhile.

on another note, here's a big life update: i'm strongly considering getting my master of library and information science degree. this would allow me to work as a librarian! there are tons of online courses available, so i've been digging into the options and trying to come up with the best one for my situation. exciting!! if any librarians/library science students out there find this post and have advice to share, i'd love to hear it.

oh, one last thing! i'm thinking of doing NaNoWriMo next month. i've been in NaNoWriMo-adjacent friend groups my whole life but i've never actually sat down and committed to doing it. i have a very vague idea for a story and no real plan, but isn't that what first tries are all about? i might as well do it. it doesn't have to be good.

i hope everyone is doing well! autumn always helps me make changes in my life, and it also encourages me to appreciate the small things, like the cool comfortable weather, colorful leaves tumbling through the air, crunchy leaves on the sidewalk, my favorite fashion season, and good food. as Anne Shirley says, "I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers."

i'll have more posts for you soon. thanks for reading. 📖 🍂 🍁