#SORRY HIT POST EARLY!!!!

[ashauyel]

can you recommend the good harlequin romance novels?

full disclosure I was using the word harlequin in a very loose way that fans of romance do sometimes to refer to a specific subset of romances, romances that are very light on plot and heavy on emotionalism and generally speaking revolve around a set of tropes that is agreed upon by fans of the genre (something that would be reflected in the future in fandom spaces!), and not “Harlequin” as the romance novel publishing house from the 50s that originated the use of the term. I hope this isn’t deeply disappointing to you because I still do have some recommendations off the top of my head!

I have read many (MANY) romances, and a lot of them are bad or contain some good things inside a lot of bad surroundings. The few that I can recommend with a straight face that I can remember:

Rebellion by Nora Roberts— Nora Roberts is one of the best selling and most prolific romance authors of all time and this is for a reason! Honestly I would recommend a lot of her work because she is just a very good author. This novel is one of her earlier works from the 80s before she branched out into fantasy. Set during the Jacobite Rising, starring the tomboy daughter of a Scottish laird who wants to pick up a sword to defend her family, and an English lord who gives up a life in England to help free Scotland from English rule. Kind of like if Pride and Prejudice was sexy and people were stabbed. General warning for the heavy discussion of sexual violence as well as situations of dubious consent.

Jewels of the Sun by Nora Roberts— had to recommend another by her, the lady knows her stuff! This is the first of a three part series, if you like this book you will love the next two! Set in modern day (so… 2000 when it was written lol) Ireland, a practical and stuffy author comes to the small town where her grandmother grew up to reconnect with herself after her divorce and meets the local pub owner who offers to help her write a book about local legends. Nora started dipping into fantasy around this time so this book does have some supernatural elements and some really interesting discussion of Irish mythology! This one is mostly focused on the main characters’ emotional journey rather than an external plot so it discusses finding yourself outside of romance, which I think is really fun!

Scandalous by Karen Robards— I will be honest this is probably the only novel I could ever recommend in good conscience from this author, there are two more in this series that are just okay but aren’t moving. Set in Regency era England, this book stars the oldest sister of a family of three neglected girls whose father dies leaving his entire estate to their estranged older brother, who dies suddenly just before he is due to inherit. The main character decides to pretend he is still alive in order to embezzle their father’s money and secure their future— but wait! A man shows up claiming to be their brother, and the main character is the only one who knows this is impossible. She makes an uneasy truce with the criminal who intends to take her brother’s place… but what if there’s something more between them? (They should hire me to write the blurbs on the back of books.) Protagonist isn’t a typical romance heroine! Warning for situations of dubious consent and the discussion of childhood sexual abuse.

Brigand Bride by Miriam Minger— if you want to read historical romances I would recommend Miriam Minger. She writes everything from Vikings to Victorians and her books are reliably fun reads that stick to a formula that works. Set some years after the Jacobite Rising, the main character is a nobleman’s daughter who moonlights as a ruffian who thwarts English soldiers, who suddenly has to deal with an English soldier who comes to occupy her land but like… feels bad about it? Suffers from romance novel syndrome but it’s still a fun read. General warning for the discussion of sexual violence.

Getting Rid of Bradley by Jennifer Crusie— if you want to have fun AND think about a romance for the rest of your life please read this book. Generally would recommend a lot of Jennifer Cruise’s work, she’s a good author with a very enjoyable style! Our heroine is a woman who has recently divorced her awful husband Bradley, and our hero is a detective looking for a criminal named Bradley. Due to coincidences he ends up moving in to protect her and her hilariously named group of dogs while investigating the connection between the two and silliness ensues. The drama is excellent and the comedy is better.

what I would recommend to anyone looking for romances is just to get into them! especially the ones with paintings of women in long dresses and flowers and stuff on the covers! I genuinely think there’s a lot of good stuff to be found in novels like those as long as you’re willing to wade through some bad stuff lol

[codacheetah]

The start of the Loop segment of the Siffrin & friends twitter QNA, and the message that flipped Loop's answers from silly to dodgy and blatantly upset.

Loopchat from speaking to Loop 20+ times.

Certified Loop dysphoria post

[necrospellbinder]

It's okay Dyvim, you're not missing anything important. Ivan just has mediocre taste.

[that0nebird]

“Chappell Roan isn’t ready for stardom” just say you want to stalk people and leave

[compacflt]

idk if this question has already been answered or not but idrc, would your ice have considered it "talking about it" to admit his physical attraction towards mav? like calling him beautiful or genuinely complementing him. this goes for mav too

i do feel post debriefing ice would call mav beautiful openly or some sappy bs like that

love your writing 💌

anon i need you to know this ask was so cute it made me physically nauseous. i was sick all week thinking about how cute this ask was. thank you for sending it.

i actually had a couple drabbles where yes ice both pre- and post-TGM mission is like yeah im physically attracted to you, but it’s less like “oh my god you’re so hot 😍” and more like “i mean, yeah, you objectively look like tom cruise so it’s not like i really have a choice.”

but “beautiful��� specifically i had not thought of, and it has knocked me off my feet and made me go feral/rabid/undomesticated for a few days straight, so i will be writing something about this. thanks.

[crossbackpoke-check]

tagged by ko @tofumilanesa for wip wednesday! big shout out to writevember for making me feel like i can actually call any of these works in progress… your guide to my emoji code under the cut

wip!

🪻🐈‍⬛ - the doc title is still just. YOWLING but i am like 7/8 of the way done with omega yamo fic and hopefully salem isn’t reading this so i can just drop it over a year later with no warning <3

🫃2️⃣ - DEWEY^2 P2!!!! she is almost done (i am lying) but she is so close i can almost taste it. sorry to my pwp that grew its own feelings baby

😇🤭 (🕒 -> 🕜) - rip i’m not telling you about this one until it’s posted but it IS complete aside from being ao3 formatted and the eight billion edits i inevitably do right before full-sending it

☁️💧 - cloud petey fic, which exists mostly as an embarrassingly large tag on a different blog and is condensing into a narrative about as well as water at 30° N/S. the time loop fic also falls under this description

eternally in progress (short list)

🌑🐕 - tyler borzoituzzi exists… there is an index of scenes/plot points… it plays like a movie in my head…

💯❕- fantastic! ‘verse

👁️👻 - stevie brandon seeing ghosts au, which has eight different (now nine i guess but you haven't seen the mustache adam post yet) plots. sorry

just. rotating like a microwave

🍎 - because they didn’t have a pomegranate emoji, this is what i used for the fic that feels like it should be a 50k connor bedard character study hanif abdurraqib/cathal kelly thesis about legends and mythmaking in sports and eating your young. yes i know pomegranates aren’t actually pomes and apples are but it’s fine

🦈 - the one cat da fuck they doing over there meme but about the sharks just like. in general. more on this at five

tagging @colap1nto, @songsandswords, @whitenikes, @gordiemeow, @acheronist, and anybody else who wants to share!!

[literaphobe]

Can we get an adrinette preview pleasee

ok FINE anon but only bc u asked so nicely… here’s adrienette in ch4 <3

[clownboymcchucklefuck]

Colored Gaze: Simon is the LI that knows everything about MC.

Yall buckle up for this one its a little all over the place💀

It has been mentioned a few times that there is a LI in Colored Gaze that knows everything about MC and although I've nearly lost my mind trying to figure out who it is, I think I have the answer.

We can go ahead and check Zachary off the list to being the LI. It was said that during the demo is the first time Zachary has met us and that one of the other ones have known us ever since they moved into town. Putting our options to Seth or Simon.

I'll be honest, I was going to make this theory about Simon AND Seth and anaylze the proof between the two but looked at the bigger picture and decided to change it to just Simon since he has the most proof. 

Now this is where reading all 972 posts on the C.C comes into play.

It has been hinted at many times that Simon has known MC longer than just in the demo so there's already a bit of proof that Simon is that LI since he's known them for longer than anybody else.

Theres a few more but it literally takes me 20 minutes just to find one post so take this. 💀

That post can also align with this post:

Take note that both of them include "love them no matter what" and I'm pretty sure these were posted close to each other which could give more clues of it being Simon to.

This post is kinda what confirmed that it was Simon for me and I can even use the process of elimination for this.

It can't be Zachary because its been stated that Zachary has never met MC before the demo, the demo was the first time Zachary ever saw MC.

It can't be Seth because if pushed to the point by MC then he'd [SPOILERY THING I WILL NOT MENTION]. Seth is also the only LI that would be okay with breaking up with MC.

I would also like to take a flash to the past (?) and bring up this art that was posted on the tumblr and twitter:

Now honestly, and what I think most people may have assumed is that this was just a little wholesome drawing of Simon, right? Well I think there's more to it and the main thing that caught my attention was the art style to me. 

It kinda reminds me of the devs old artstyle:

So I think this was one of the old drawings of the actual first time Simon ever saw MC.

I could just be analyzing the art to much so I'll give you some other stuff to think about.

You might need some more proof that Simon has known MC longer than just the demo so I raise you this; Simons job. We all know Simon works as a delivery driver so it's more than likely he's seen MC before around town since they all live in a small town.

Seth Argument:

But alas the most confusing part of this for me is that Seth also has some proof for being the LI that knows everything about MC which makes things more difficult.

If I remember somewhere on the C.C somebody asked how the boys would react to finding out MC works for the government/FBI and Seth's mentioned something about "He would be surprised that he didn't find that out while researching MC" and me and Kam have theorized before that Seth might have something to do with the government so he might have access to more information than the normal person. I'll talk more about this in my Seth theory but Seth's intelligence could help him with alot of things such as stuff like finding out information about people.

Seth also has some proof from the C.C as well:

"I already knew what I signed up for beforehand" implying that he might know stuff about MC before dating them.

There was also another ask where somebody asked for the boys reaction to MC texting them that they were at the hospital with the police and to eat dinner without them and Seth's answer really caught my attention because it mentioned that he already knew what hospital MC was at. This could be implying he's the LI or that he's just a stalker.

Simon's Song Playlist:

There's obviously hints to what the LI's are like especially since the dev even said there are hints to how the LI feels about MC or how they met. 

Simons playlist was kinda hard to decipher not gonna lie but I did notice alot of songs and lyrics about being a hopless romantic so yeah, Simon is a hopeless romantic for MC.

There's also this part that caught my attention too:

Now this gives obvious vibes and references to Simon first meeting/seeing MC for the first time.

There were also a few that had a little possessive lyrics and some about what I assume is Simon wanting MC to trust him. And of course some ones implying that Simon was hiding a deep secret. :)

Hints from the demo:

Theres also of course this scene that caught my attention along with another one because I be making sure I pay attention to those subtle hints 💪

Simon was obviously about to say something but was then interrupted by MC's phone call. My first initial guess was something like "I love you" maybe and then after he would probably correct himself or say he didn't mean it like that. That could work because bro is no thoughts head empty (?) and since he's a hopeless romantic would probably say something like that on accident without thinking.

Shoutout to @mysticnebula for saving my sanity and screen recording this scene for me 💪

Something I noticed is that during Seth's route in the demo it mentions that MC forgets to put on their name tag whenever they get ready. However in this scene Simon already calls MC by their name before looking at the clipboard or them telling him their name which gives even more proof to him knowing them before the demo takes place.

There's also of course the walk home scene that it is beyond a doubt that Simon (?) Is the one following us.

We all thought that Zachary was the one at the window but this basically confirms that its NOT Zachary. And it can't be Seth either because even in the route that we don't meet Seth we still get followed and we still see somebody watching us from outside the window. Technically, Simon is the only one you have to deal with throughout the demo if you choose the right options.

It would also make sense for Simon to be the only one that knows where we live because of his job. Or it could just be him (?) following us home.

Theres obviously going to be alot more hints in the next update so we'll just have to wait for that. Until then we can only go off of these little clues and hints here and there :)

_______________

This theory may be a little all over the place because this is the first time my Host alter is writing and posting the theory but I hope its good 😭

TAG TIME: Simon belongs to @clrdgaze @dont-wannadothis-anymore

[its-all-papaya]

"dual POV" but this is the word count split:

[ratatatastic]

"oh ekky isnt coming off rehab hes coming into the season healthy and with forsy he'll be able to focus on his offence again we'll see him score more-" PUCK MEET POST. PUCK MEET GOALIE.

[tinyplanetss]

^_^🦔

[sskk-manifesto]

(｡･ω･｡)ﾉ♡

[sunnykeysmash]

something we have discussed is how dennis was the only one who could understand mac and that's great but can we also discuss how it must feel for mac that no one can understand him

this seems to be accentuated by how off he keeps being about things (offering of war/dennis being shot being "awesome"/being unable to read subtext both with dennis ["figure of speech"] and donald) and how much he's looking for a sense of meaning that he used to find in his identity until s15 made him realize how pointless it was (in a way that reminds me of his crisis in goes to hell 2...), but legacy, history, money and prizes are worth nothing if your heart is not in it.

and in a way I think dennis is coming to the same conclusion which is why he's the only one who can understand mac.

dennis "you're just being honest about how you feel" reynolds, so concerned with authenticity and upset by the perceived lies when it's just his own denial making it that way. that's building the biggest lie of all.

if we're looking for the Point, then the point is to have fun and embrace feelings. Big Mo already showed this.

it's interesting to me how it seems that mac and dennis are working off of each other in the way sunny works as a whole. because if mac is the structure and the text, and dennis is the subtext and the jokes (it's how he's trying to communicate in inflates but it's also the whole reason he comes with mac in madbu), they kinda NEED to be working together for the show to work... they need to find their harmonies, they can't just one or the other lead, they gotta have each other's back.

and also like, a small coda. this season deals so much with nostalgia vs how the past really was, there's so many flashbacks.

becoming aware of denial and reality can feel really upsetting but ultimately it's a positive development.

if "the hair is a lie" chopping off the head isn't the answer, that was the old way of doing things (in times of war... murder, betrayal, beheadings... "we figured out what works a long time ago"), but now we're looking for peace. basically, death isn't the answer. building your legacy doesn't have to be like pulling teeth. "this doesn't have to be a scam"

it's a good thing if we start seeing things for what they actually are, because it means less denial.

[microwaving-tesilid-argente]

head in my hands im trying to come up w prinzhes headcanons but i literally cannot because prinz is like. a pink and less tragic and less headache-inducing version of tesilid.

they're both very gentlemanly, they both can fight, if someone is unfair to them they're more likely to smile and try to smooth it over than to fight back. if hestio is going to find prinz attractive then he'd have found tesilid attractive too, but if he isn't nursing a massive crush on tesilid by the time he meets prinz then it means that tesilid gave him so much blood pressure problems that they're no longer his type.

so anyway in conclusion teshes solos- wait what? how did this turn into teshes propaganda

[namelessprince]

chip had already decided to try to win the fight by the time jay went down, but the second she did it was like a switch flipped in his and gills heads. they looked at each other and said lets end this.

[swordatsunset]

Something something whilst I’m sure it’s annoying to have a friend who can’t take a compliment despite being obviously hungry for compliments, I did unfortunately spend most of my childhood and teenage years being told in no uncertain terms, from Many People in my life, that I was ugly and unlovable and a deeply annoying person who would never be enough and so that makes accepting compliments slightly difficult. Which is a me problem! I can admit this!! But still. It’s tough