#Yes this is about Margaret Atwood

[rosecorcoranwrites]

Don't forget does the author think she respects women while being wildly misogynistic?

[tweedfrog]

You know that Margaret Atwood quote about how women can never escape male fantasies because you internalize them to such an extent that everything is a performance for men and you effectively become your own voyeur?

I kind of worry that social media has done that for every single person on earth.

[lgbtlunaverse]

My friend has given me a very passionate recommendation of epic: the musical and it sounds so interesting but since that recommendation i've encountered the online fandom for it and they've all been the most insufferable people alive 😔 I try not to let fandom influence my enjoyment of a work but that's usually AFTER i've already consumed and enjoyed it, not before. You fuckers are gonna make me get a bad grade in friendship media resonance.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

How to Write a Character

For creative writing to have as deep an impact as possible, you need to give the reader strong characters they can relate to on a personal level.

By borrowing from tried-and-true character archetypes and giving them your personal spin, you can create heroes, villains, and sidekicks that will affect your readers as if they were real people they knew.

Come up with a backstory

Crafting a backstory can help you flesh out an interesting character profile.

“When I’m dealing with characters,” says legal thriller author David Baldacci, “and I’m trying to explain somebody's situation and motivations, you have to look into their past, because [the] past always drives motivations.”

Ask what experiences your character had in elementary school or high school that shaped who they are today. Your character’s backstory can greatly inform your plot.

Develop a character arc

A character must evolve throughout a story.

“The character has to change,” insists crime fiction writer Walter Mosley. “The character doesn’t have to become better. The character doesn’t have to become good. It could be the opposite. He could start good and become bad. He could start off hopeful and end up a pessimist. But he has to be impacted by this world that we’re reading about.”

Plan out your storyline based on your character's goals and how achieving or not achieving them will change them as people. This sort of template can help anchor your narrative.

Do research

If you plan to set your story in a specific locale or period, do enough research to make your characters seem true to life and believable.

“What does it mean, for instance, in the Tudor era to be a male person?” asks Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid’s Tale. “What does it mean to be a female person? What do those things mean when they’re at different social levels?”

Empathize with your characters

No matter what the type of character you’re developing, try to find some reason you and your reader can relate to their internal conflict.

“You’re living with these people every single day for months at a time—in some cases, years at a time,” says acclaimed children’s author Judy Blume. “You had better feel for them. So, for me, yes, I have great empathy for them.”

When people can empathize with characters, they’re more likely to find them compelling.

Experiment with different approaches

If you usually write characters from a particular point of view (or POV), change things up to challenge yourself.

“Write about someone entirely through the eyes of their friends and family,” suggests journalist Malcolm Gladwell. “So do a profile of someone where you deliberately never talk to the person that you’re profiling.”

There are plenty of ways to craft compelling character descriptions—free yourself up to try new alternatives.

Give your characters flaws

To craft believable characters, you need to give them flaws.

“One, it makes the characters human, just by default, because everybody recognizes that we all have flaws and mistakes,” David says. “But two, it gives you plot elements and plot opportunities because somebody makes a mistake. Why? Because they’re flawed.”

Learn from real people

Pay attention to real people’s mannerisms, personality traits, body language, and physical appearances.

Do research, and be respectful, when you want to write characters with backgrounds that you are not familiar with. Become familiar with different people's cultures, sexual orientations etc.

Talking to people about their experiences will help form your character’s personality.

Let your characters surprise you

Character development can proceed down a host of different avenues.

“Spend a lot of time with your characters and getting to know them,” Judy suggests. “And the way that you get to know them can be different from the way I get to know them. But my way is: They don’t come alive until I write about them, until I put them down on paper.”

As you write, your character’s motivation or perspective might change from what you originally planned.

Play characters off each other

Ask yourself how a secondary character’s personality might thwart the main character’s motivation.

“One of the best ways, as I said, to develop a character is to put that character in relationship to another person,” Walter says. “So as they talk, as they fight, as they work together, we find out more about who they are and what they are.”

The character’s close friends, adversaries, and acquaintances might all have different effects on their behavior.

Take an organic approach

Over the course of the story, be ready for your characters to surprise you as much as the people you know in real life might, too.

Your characters may take on a life of their own.

Avoid static characters by letting yours have their own lives and personalities. Let their stories take you where they lead.

Writing Notes & References

[arthurs-better-half]

John and Yellow (Mirrors and Monsters)

Reblogs much appreciated 👍

1. Julio Cortázar, Los Reyes // 2. Malevolent - Part 23 // 3. Brené Brown, Daring Greatly // 4. Brutus - The Buttress // 5. Malevolent - Part 40 "The Order" II // 6. Minotaur Forgiving Knossos - Moonface // 7. Dawning Night by Joseph Feely / Malevolent - Part 1 / Malevolent Part 21 // 8. Joan Tierney, The Elektra Complex // 9. Malevolent - Part 24 // 10. The Bravery - Bad Sun // 11. Minotauro (Minotaur) by Jordi Garriga Mora (2007) // 12. Malevolent - Part 40 "The Order" II // 13. Margaret Atwood, Corpse Song // 14. Repeat Until Death - Novo Amor // 15. Malevolent - Part 40 "The Order" II // 16. The Calling - The Amazing Devil // 17. @autistic-evil-xisuma (sorry for the tag) // 18. Bad Bad Things - AJJ // 19. Marie Howe, The Affliction // 20. Malevolent - Part 40 "The Order" II // 21. Ragnarok III: Strange Meeting - The Mechanisms // 22. a conversation about identity - tea // 23. Malevolent - Part 40 "The Order" // 24. Requiem - Death Note Musical (English concept album) // 25. Richard Silken, The Long and the Short Of It (Annotated)

ARIADNE Why do you fear him? He is my brother. MINOS A monster has no siblings.

YELLOW: But it was me. I-In a way. ARTHUR (sighing): John. YELLOW: He was... different than me.

I want to experience your vulnerability but I don't want to be vulnerable Vulnerability is courage in you and inadequacy in me. I'm drawn to your vulnerability but repelled by mine.

But why do I lie awake each night thinking "Instead of you, it should be me"? Something wicked this way comes And as I set to face it, I'm unsure Should I embrace it, should I run? What motivates me? Hatred? Is it love?

ARTHUR (sighing, pityingly): Yellow. He never will. You are trapped with him. Forever. JOHN: Trapped?

I was born into this We were all born You were born like a pearl We were all born

YELLOW (in awe): There's a building, with lights on.

ENTITY (surprised): Well. ARTHUR: What? ENTITY: Nothing. I, I just... the city is so alive.

YELLOW: I... appreciate the life I saw. I... am at a loss for words.

ENTITY: I... the city... the life that exists on every street corner. It's... so different than the Dark World I thought I would forever call home.

I tip my head like a dog at the window. The outside world is so interesting, and I am not a part of it; I'm just witnessing.

JOHN: It's nothing, Arthur. I'm just telling you that every time you call him a monster, you're forgetting that I am the same.

I don't know what's wrong with us They just made us this way There's a hole in you and me That pulls us together

JOHN: If killing Larson kills Yellow... ARTHUR: Then you'll be fine! Stronger, maybe. JOHN: Or. I don't know if I can survive with only half a soul.

I exist in two places, here and where you are

Don't go, you're half of me now But I'm hardly stood proud

JOHN: I know you can't promise me. I know you aren't sure. But... Yellow is a piece of me. Can you imagine having to destroy a piece of yourself? Even if it's a reflection of yourself you may not like!

I look into the waters and see a face I don't recognise Who's this (Who are you)

people always talk about evil clones like oooh a dark mirror oohh what if you saw what a cruel person you were/are capable of becoming. and well yes but what if you were the evil clone. what if you looked in the mirror and what you saw was so bright it blinded you. what if you had to know exactly how good you could have been.

So I looked into your eyes And I saw a reflection Of a coward that you and I both hate very much

And he: (and this was almost unbearable) he saw me see him, and I saw him see me.

ARTHUR (quietly): But we all have to face our demons. Even if they're ourselves.

[Verse 2: THOR, LOKI, & Together] Where are you going? For vengeance For love

You're losing in a staring contest With whatever's in your mirror You are me and I am you But we're not one and I'm inferior

YELLOW: I... I... (Quieter.) Why you, John? What did you have to offer? Why does he care about... you?

Gone, who was right or wrong Who was weak or strong Nothing left to learn

The question for this issue was Do you have a human soul and can you prove it? And, of course, there was no definitive answer.

[Tumblr has deleted progress on this like three times now so I'm posting it now while it's done before it can fuck it up again!!! And thank you @ghostnotoast for being so lovely here is the weave]

[bitterkarella]

Midnight Pals: The Sower

Octavia Butler: Submitted for the approval of the midnight society, i call this the tale of the parable of the sower Butler: the parable of the tale of the sower Butler: the tale of the sower Butler: boy that's really not working

Butler: for this story, i think it's time to look to the future Poe: the future? Butler: yes the far distant future Butler: of 2024

Butler: so in the future of 2024 Butler: a christo-fascist government comes to power over a crumbling America bedeviled by climate change and wealth disparity King: Poe: Koontz: Barker: Butler: now you may be asking Butler: how did she know? Poe: how DID you know?

Butler: an America falling apart, states are their own military dictatorships, police are corrupt King: that's crazy that you're so good at predicting America's future King: it's like you live in America or something!

Poe: for real, how are you doing this? Barker: eh i'm not impressed Baker: i feel like predicting the rise of a christo-fascist government in a crumbling America bedeviled by climate change and wealth disparity is pretty much a gimmie

Butler: ok fine Butler: but what if this christo-fascist government comes to power using the slogan "make American great again" Barker: Barker: ok yeah that's impressive Poe: how ARE you doing this??

Butler: simple Butler: i simply looked at the America of the present day Butler: and asked myself what would the future look like King: that's good! i gotta make a note of that King: anyone got a pen? King: these writing tips are gold!

King: that is seriously incredible King: some scary accurate predictions! King: why is everyone always talking about Margaret atwood's predictions? these are way better! Barker: yeah these leave Margaret atwood in the dust! Barker: like, there's no comparison! Margaret Atwood [under cardboard box, through vocoder]: beep boop :(

Margaret Atwood: [under cardboard box, through vocoder] beep boop i am predict-o-tron, the robot that predicts the future Barker: oh we're not interested in that anymore Margaret Barker: your predictions are all so obvious Margaret Atwood: [under cardboard box, through vocoder] beep boop :(

Barker: but go ahead Barker: give us one now Barker: if it makes you feel better Atwood: [under cardboard box, through vocoder] beep boop reproductive health will be threatened by conservatives Barker: oh damn wow Barker: you must have fuckin crystal ball to come up with that one! Poe: clive Barker: oh come on edgar we all saw that one coming

Butler: anyway this christofash government in a collapsing dystopian America only lasts one term Butler: then they vote him out Barker: wait, they still have elections in this collapsing dystopian America? Butler: oh yeah Butler: yeah i mean why not?

King: this is a real downer King: can we hear some future predictions that DON'T come true? Diane Duane: i have some stories about the utopian post-scarcity star trek future King: no i meant like King: bad things that don't come true King: not good ones :/

[akajustmerry]

"speculative fiction is where white people write about what white people do to people of colour being done to them" shut the FUCK up. 2 pioneers of the speculative fiction genre were Isaac Asimov and Octavia Butler. Asimov's work was deeply influenced by his parents experiences as Russian Jewish immigrants in the early 1900s. Butler's body of work is foundational to the genre and is deeply rooted in Black American history, culture, and resistance. Yes, there are speculative fiction works like The Handmaid's Tale that are very white centric and appear to arguably appropriate the oppression of POC onto white people. But acting like that's the whole genre erases the pioneering contributions made by Jewish authors and authors of colour and if any of you bothered to research the genre beyond known TERF Margaret Atwood's body of work, you'd know that.

[spritecranverry]

Woe, asexuality essay be upon ye (snippet under the cut)

I’m actually not super invested in ‘proving’ to anyone that being ace is “queer”. I released the burden of proving it a long time ago.

It makes no difference whether you’d put your flag next to ours in the face of our collective lived experiences, which are clearly incongruent with what a society that imposes cisheterosexuality wants from us.

However, I think that this text message is where asexuality becomes clearly demarcated as a queer way of being. To understand this is to imagine what I like to call The Boundary: an invisible force field I just made up where cis-hetero-patriarcho-capitalism (we should really come up with a shorter word) stops you at the door. Well, I’ve already slammed into it a couple times: I don’t like men; that is to say I rarely think about them, broadly. I think the ‘man in my head’ Margaret Atwood was talking about must’ve died of malnutrition up there. I also don’t really fuck with the gender binary. But supposedly the opening in the barrier that every gender identity and sexual orientation can waltz through no-questions-asked is that of sex. That is, having it and actively desiring to have it.

[lullydoesstuff]

- TOP DYSTOPIAN BOOKS -

Well, since I want to use this blog for personal stuff too and not just for requests or stuff concerning my MANY Demon Slayer AUs, here we are talking about some of my favourite books ever.

I love dystopian ones so these three will be very hard-core, I love the Hunger Games, I love Maze Runner, I love 1984 but these three just hit different.

Let's not lose time and let's begin!

3 - Tender is the Flesh (Augustina Bazterrica)

I decided to start with a book that has arrived in my country just this year, I didn't know about it before and I'm so glad I red it, even if it really disturbed me... do you know what the Promised Neverland is? Well, take it but make it Supersayan. And this is the less disturbing one here.

Plot: Marcos works in the meat industry, he always did but recently a virus started spreading, and animals couldn't be edible anymore so what does the government do? They start searching for vegan replacements? NO! They legalize cannibalism. Marcos has a troubled life, his father has gone mad since this "transition" from animal meat to human meat and his wife left him after they lost their son. He works in the meat industry but he swears to himself that he's not like the others, because he doesn't eat meat.

I know what you're thinking, "but this is a book to bring people close to veganism, it's the whole point"... no, congratulations, you didn't understand ANYTHING. This book is way more complex, this because it's about the line that divides humanization/objectification, and this will be a recurring theme in this post.

This book is full of gore (what did you expect?), graphic descriptions, violence, sexual violence so I don't know if I recommend this book to everyone, it's very short but be aware of this if you decide to read it. In any case, the plot is very interesting and it's very well written.

2 - The Handmaid's Tale (Margaret Atwood)

I'm sure many of you have seen the TV series, I've seen it too and it's one of the few cases I say that the series is better than the book, maybe because the series has a more modern setting and so I can actually be terrified by it.

Plot: the world has been almost destroyed by wars and this caused the birth to decrease to 0, and what happens in America? After a coup a new government is instituted... a totalitarian theocracy where religious confessions that aren't Christianity are banned, let's fucking go, this new country's name is Gilead. In this new world women have an only job: being literal baby machines given to rich families to have children.

This is so damn disturbing because, the insemination thing is wild, the man reads a Bible verse from Genesis, and then he just... does it. It's gross, go check for yourselves, human butchering was nothing compared to this.

We follow June, an Handmaid and we just see how things work in this new... amazing... world... I guess.

1 - Unwind (Neal Shusterman)

This deserves the first place, I've never stopped reading a book I loved because it disturbed me too much. I wanted to support the author, he's very good, so I bought all the other books from the Unwind distology... but I finished the first one and never red the second one, please tell me in the comments if it isn't as disturbing as the first one so I can give it a chance or not.

Plot: in the USA a second civil war is fought, but that's not a war where you shoot people from aontoher country to conquer it, or to oppose the government (well... kinda), it's about reproductive rights, many discussions, many things but in the end people decree that you can't abort in any case (*Lully already screaming and tearing off her hair*) BUT you can... well... Unwind your child if you don't want them anymore. But just when he's from 13 to 18.

What does unwind mean? Basically you give your unwanted child to some clinics that literally vivisection them (yes, the person is awake during the process BY LAW) and give thier organs to people that need transplants.

Now you can easily understand why this is the number 1 in this list, it's the destructive combo between "Tender is The Flash" and "the Handmaid's Tale".

We'll follow the story of Risa, Connor and Levi (and this last one oh my God, I wanted to punch his family so bad), escaping their fate of being unwind.

And yes, that scene comes, yes, you will see a vivisection, and yes... you will feel physically sick and need to throw up after, you'll probably have nightmares and life crisis. Also because... the unwind isn't exactly one of the "good guys".

Ah, dear pro-life people that care about a bunch of unborn cells and can't distinguish a human embryo from a dolphin embryo... Read this book, then change your mind about other people's body and take choices just for yours, because it seems we're going back and not aiming foward as we should.

[rippersz]

𝙇𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙞𝙙.

«——..✞..——»

«——..✞..——»

(DEAD DOVE DO NOT EAT) (TW: Mentions of cannibalism, murder, slight glorification of both, gore, etc.) (Larissa Weems x Reader)

«——..✞..——»

“Is that all you want to be? Liked? Wouldn’t you rather be passionately and voraciously desired?” ~ Margaret Atwood

«——..✞..——»

There’s something wrong with you.

There’s something definitely completely entirely seriously wrong with you.

She looks so pretty today.

Utterly irresistible.

You kind of want to kiss her. But she had lunch earlier. And you are in the middle of a staff meeting. And though she often brushes her teeth and uses breath mints, you don’t really want to taste the lingerings of human tissue. Even if the sounds of her pleasure would make it more bearable.

They probably wouldn’t though, of course. Because kissing a cannibal is not bearable in any way. And you’d probably throw up right after. And you’d probably gag and tell her to get away from you. And you’d probably have to wrench yourself away after realizing that although her mouth feels so good, and her hands feel so soft, she has painted entire walls red with her strength. And she has licked them clean with the same tongue she’d no doubt drag along your teeth.

…So no. Maybe kissing her wasn’t a very good idea.

And she was your boss. There was that too.

“Alright everyone, I think that’s it for today. Swift reminder that the Academy will undergo a planned power outage on Friday. Considering most of you will be chaperoning the students at the carnival that evening, I’ll be staying behind to look after the maintenance crew. If all goes well, it should be restored by the next morning. Please enjoy the rest of your days - if you need me, you know where I am.” Swift and to the point she was. Always so quick to hand out little encouraging smiles. Always eager to provide some words of wisdom or kindness. A very well-built facade.

And of course, because they have no other reason to doubt, they eat it all up with vigor. Little kittens to their saucer of fattening milk. Never ever stopping to question how Principal Weems is the way she is. And why she is the way she is. And what she does during her free time.

“Y/n, will you accompany me to my office please?”

You pause in the doorway, feeling the heel of your shoe touch the floor with a small muted clack, experiencing the drop of your heart as your fate is sealed without a single word.

But she doesn’t really need a response anyway. She knows you’re going to say yes. She knows you can never deny her - not unless she asks you to indulge in another one of her very well-cooked meals.

Compliments to the chef, you supposed.

“Of course, Larissa.”

Of course, Larissa.

What a fuckin’ pansy. You twisted bitch.

“Thank you,” is her soft responding whisper before she’s slipping past you and strutting out into the hall - leaving you to close the door behind you both and trail after her like a hungry mutt.

A strange beast of utter tranquility seems to exist within Larissa at all times whenever she’s with you. Never before have you seen her angry, though you know from stories that- on occasion- her irritation can lead to fury. It’s not a pretty sight apparently. But you know that’s most likely not true. You know it’s probably a very pretty sight - but no one wants to admit it. And no one wants to talk about it. Some women are simply off limits even in mention whenever they become angry. Rage, after all, is a powerful thing. It travels through ears- time- and space.

You know you’ve never seen her that way because she doesn’t want to scare you.

You know it’s because she doesn’t want you to be scared of her. Only her.

But you can’t help but wonder - is it too late for that?

Are you already scared of her?

Or is there still time to put you at ease? Make you comfortable? Help you settle?

No.

No no no.

You will not settle. You will not let her rest. For as much as she hides it, you know Larissa lives on the edge of nervousness. She knows she can only control you but only to a certain extent. And she knows you set the pace; even though one would be led to believe that she has all the power. She doesn’t. It may be her turn to serve, but the ball is, perpetually, within your court.

“Please close the door behind you, thanks.” And with that, you find yourself led into the lion’s den; willingly putting yourself to the slaughter as she goes about setting her things down and straightening her dress to sit.

The door closes.

The silence falls.

You feel a bit nauseous.

You feel a bit excited.

You feel a bit crazy.

Daring.

She may be a murderer, a human-eater, a manipulative mad-woman with an incredible sense of fashion, but she also makes you feel alive. And that’s the scariest part.

Any woman knows that once something interrupts the din of daily living, once something begins to worm and thrive and corrupt, there is rarely any chance to go back. You are infected. The virus spreads. The lightning strikes the bones. The heart starts to pump faster than sound travels. You’re alive. For the very first time, you’re alive. Your mother’s womb was not a home. And the world was not a result of love. You’re alive only due to that thing.

Only due to her.

You want to run out of the room.

You want to face her.

Your heart speaks before your mind does.

She’s looking at you. Contemplating you, which she always seems to do. Running her eyes up and down your back, and across your arms, and over your chest and shoulders and down to your midsection and legs. She isn’t thinking about eating you or cooking you - at least you don’t think so. No. No, she’s just admiring. Allowing herself to be before she has to jump back into her role as ‘The Principal’. Or ‘The Murderer’. Either way, you don’t always like the staring - so you break her trance when you turn and walk over to the chairs opposite her desk.

“What is it now?” Your words come out in a huff when you sit, placing your bag on the floor by your side. “I have things to do.” No, you don’t. You wouldn’t have followed if you did. But that’s also not true. You followed only because you wanted to - because curiosity has always been your greatest enemy. And she smiles brightly because she knows that.

“I was just curious about something,” is her easy response. Her hands move to clasp themselves together.

“Hm. What?” Crossing your arms over your chest and leaning back into your chair is the only way you can maintain an air of control. It probably doesn’t work, but that’s beside the point.

“I’ve been growing bored lately. Summer is so far away and the days are dragging on longer than they ever have before,” Larissa laments, letting out a sigh (most definitely forced) to go along with it.

You raise an eyebrow. Where is she going with this?

“I think they’re coming along just fine. And winter is ending soon so it’s not that far.”

But she’s never been one to back down from a challenge, so instead of taking the hint and changing tactics, Larissa only smiles and gives you a small incline of her head. It’s the only recognition you’ll ever receive in regards to ‘being right’.

“Mmm but think of the events we’re all planning for. They’re fun, sure, but time consuming. Though the carnival, in particular, will provide some excitement for everyone...”

Everyone but me, of course is what she means to say.

You resist the urge to frown.

It’s just another thing about Larissa Weems. The guilt. The sympathy. She is not harmful, you try to tell yourself. But she is. She is just a woman, you insist. That doesn’t make it better. She… she needs help. But then you look at her and you know that she doesn’t want help. And want and need are two different things. And whatever Larissa is about to ask of you next, you’re pretty sure it’s something she wants and something you need.

“Okay… and this has to do with me h-”

“I’d like to have fun as well. Just for one evening. Would you be interested in joining me?”

You blink.

This time around, there’s nothing giving her away. In fact, she’s very still in her seat - practically on the edge - wondering if the invisible line the two of you always seem to move around has finally been crossed. Your points of contact consist of meals taken in her study and the occasional quick stroll through the hall. There is nothing outside of that. So what is this? And why now? And what did she mean?

Well. You’ll never know unless you say-

“...Sure.”

What’s the worst that could happen?

You could die.

Meh. What’s a little death?

“Wonderful,” is the slow toothy-smiled response you receive. Though her reaction is all sunshine, with the way her eyes crinkle and her nose scrunches and her head tilts a little bit, some part of you knows she’s surprised. It’s found in the way her eyebrows tick up just the tiniest bit. She was expecting a fight. Or more questions. Or any type of refusal at all. But perhaps you’ve grown soft… perhaps you don’t care.

You do, though. You do care.

But, you reason, in the face of The Devil, would a lone Angel not know that it’s better to play along and wait than to find themselves in trouble, stuck for eternity? Because that is what you’re doing, is it not? You’re waiting, no? Observing? While she may be the predator in the underbrush, staring through the bush, you’re the prey with more speed, faster reflexes, and keener eyes. You peer and you watch, knowing that the moment will come in which you’ll need to race off to the edge of the world - and never look back. Just like the Angel finding their time to leave.

But you are no Angel. Don’t you dare compare yourself to that.

Hm. Maybe not. But nonetheless.

“I was thinking of taking part in a game this Friday evening. One of our own, while we have Nevermore to ourselves…” Larissa says gently, drumming her fingertips on the surface of the desk. “Does that sound amenable to you, darling?”

Darling….

You clench your hands into fists, fighting down a violent shiver. Darling. Oh she was wicked when she spoke to you like that. All low tones and velvet tongue and blue eyes peering up through dark lashes… so knowing in her effects. Using them to her advantage. Like she figures that if she could be sultry for a long enough time, you’d somehow remarkably forget about her tendency to eat people. To devour them. To watch the life leave their eyes and think, yes, this one will be in my breakfast. Perhaps in an omelet. Or maybe a side dish of meat with a main course of cinnamon toast and honey.

“What kind of game?” There’s an edge to your voice. It gives you away.

What makes you think she won’t eat you next?

There’s a flash of pink tongue running over white teeth. A quirk of a smile. A hum rumbling from the throat.

“A fun one. Hide and seek, most likely.”

You’d probably taste good. She’s thought about it before. There’s no way she hasn’t.

“And the terms?”

Ah. Hook, line, and sinker. She knows she’s got you.

“I think we should save that for the night of, don’t you agree?”

No. You don’t.

“Why?”

But it doesn’t really matter what you think.

“Well I believe we all need a little bit of surprise in our lives every once in a while. Who knows?” Larissa shrugs, shuffling in her seat to cross her legs at the ankles, “You too may find that you prefer to know all of the details when the time comes.” She licks her lips. You try not to stare. “And I’ve always been a woman of my word. So there’s no need to worry. Is there?”

Yes. Yes there’s always need to worry. Yes you worry very much. All the time. About many things. But mainly her. Primarily her. Nearly her all of the time. It’s reflexive, honestly. Instinctive. You track her movements with a thumping heart and hungry eyes - not because you want to eat her, but because you want to kiss her. Hug her. Fuck her. Until she forgets that she’s stronger than you. Until her hunger for human flesh dies down into nothing. Until you can cure her. Be safe with her. Be finally finally free with her.

Wishful thinking, of course. She can’t change.

So instead of doing what you do want to do and reach over to kiss her- or stab her with a nearby paperweight- you shoot her a heavy glare. “Why can’t you just be normal?” rests on the tip of your tongue, but you shove it back into the recesses of your throat. There’s no point in upsetting her. And the sight of her sadness makes you wanna throw up. And anything you say could be the cause of your death. So, to a certain extent, eggshells are where your feet rest. And dance. And twirl. And lord knows when you’ll be able to stand on solid ground again. Maybe when she’s behind bars, or in a mental ward, or six feet beneath the Earth… rotting, no matter what, but rotting far away from you.

The sound of her throat clearing has you tearing your eyes away from their spaced out spot on the window - and bringing them right back to her. The very epicenter of your worry. And your horror. And your lust. And everything. Everything everything everything.

“I-…” You want to tell her that you’re scared and unsure, but you don’t know if she’ll care. You don’t know if she’ll use that against you one day either. So without choices left, you sigh. “Yeah, okay. Okay. I’ll wait. Fine.”

And you hate the way her smile makes your heart skip a beat.

«——..✞..——»

Surprised Cannibal Larissa got so much love! I know it’s different, but I quite like writing the uncomfortable things. Lemme know if you’d like to see more of her? Thank you all. - Rip x

«——..✞..——»

[quicktimeeventfull]

re: that beymame post, i'd love to hear more about the love you think beyond so desperately desires! i feel like we spend enough time with misa to get understand what she wants, but beyond is kind of still a mystery to me

hi absolutely yes!! (this is the post in question for anyone else reading.)

okay so frankly there isn't actually much information on beyond & in particular it is never explicitly stated that he feels anything other than resentment towards L. however. the idea that his actions were motivated by some degree of desire to be known and therefore to be loved is a really common fan reading and imo one that is supportable.

in this reading, beyond courts this through a total erasure of the self. he doesn't want to remain beyond; he wants to become an echo of L. that's how he understands love. you make yourself disappear. you hurt the person you love & that's fine because you are one and the same.

i think this is misa's whole deal -- she thinks you love someone by disappearing, by becoming an extension of themselves. she thinks it's okay for someone to hurt her or ask her to slash her own lifespan to pieces because love is a form of disappearance. & she expects that she is allowed to do the same to others. she can kill her best friend for light. she can kill anyone he gets close to, whether he wants her to or not.

so. yes. it's a profoundly toxic love and i think they are a pair that would suit each other perfectly. beyond who enacts violence as a form of love. misa who wants to be destroyed as a form of love. both of them willing to kill anyone who gets close to the other. in the words of margaret atwood they fit into one another like a hook and an eye / a fishhook in an open eye.

[sendme-2hell]

The Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore - Kim Fu

Summary: A group of young girls at sleepaway camp get stranded in the woods by themselves in Canada (sound familiar?). The narrative alternates between what happened in the woods, and a vignette from each girl in their adult life.

Yellowjackets connection: This book is so spiritually similar to Yellowjackets it’s wild. The way that we see what happened in the woods and flash forward to the adults and how it affected them. The way that it's partially about the viciousness that comes out when girls are left alone. The way that hierarchies break down in the woods. I find myself thinking about this book while watching Yellowjackets.

Is it queer?: only a very little with one character in her adult life

My Brilliant Friend - Elena Ferrante

Summary: Elena and Lila are two intelligent girls growing up in poverty in 1950’s Naples. They have an obsessive and competitive relationship. Elena is able to get an education when Lila is not, and their paths diverge here. The entire four-part book series follows their relationship and distinct lives into late adulthood.

Yellowjackets Connection: My Brilliant Friend is about a lot more than just female friendship, class differences foremost. But obsessive homoerotic female friendships and their complications are front and center. The Neapolitan series follows Elena and Lila as they grow into adults and have their own children, so it shows young women and the adults they grow into. Also has themes of trauma, unreliable narrators, patriarchy, jealousy, ambitious women. 

If you follow my tumblr you know I will connect anything to MBF but Yellowjackets writers did it for me in the show. They literally said Shauna/Jackie = Elena/Lila. If you don’t remember, this is when adult Shauna has dinner with Jackie’s mom who says she’s reading MBF and that the girls in the book remind her so much of Shauna and Jackie. She meant it as an insult to Shauna but it really is a great comparison. Especially since Lila and Elena def had something vaguely fruity going on (but also for other, spoilery reasons). Elena Ferrante is pretty much the go-to when it comes to writing about complicated female friendships so it is not a surprise that they reference it in the show. If you are obsessed with the Shauna/Jackie “friendship” this book series is for you! 

Is it queer? if you consider Jackie and Shauna’s relationship to be queer then yes. There is a lot of subtext and in the later books a little more than subtext. 

Cat’s Eye - Margaret Atwood

Summary: A painter returns to where she grew up and memories that she blocked out of a traumatic childhood friendship resurface.

Yellowjackets connection: Women thinking about their traumatic friendships! And how these affected them going forward in life. The girls in this are a little younger than Yellowjackets girls but I think it is still a foundational text about traumatic female friendships and unreliable narrators. I am absolutely a Margaret Atwood apologist so don’t come for me (or do. I love messages in my inbox)

Is it queer?: no ):

Big Swiss - Jen Beagin

Summary: Greta is a transcriber for a sex therapist where she learns all sorts of intimate details of his clients. She becomes obsessed with a client and even starts a sexual relationship with her! She does not disclose her prior knowledge of this woman so things get messy. 

Fun fact for Killing Eve fans: It is going to be made into a series starring Jodie Comer!

Yellowjackets connection: This is the only book on this list that doesn’t really flash between old and young versions of a character (a bit at the end). Yet I think it deserves to be on this list because messy queer women and obsession and mental illness. Also now that I am thinking about it actually the main character does think about her childhood in the woods a bit...

Is it queer?: The main relationship is between two women and they have a lot of sex. So, yes!

Trust Exercise - Susan Choi

Summary: Don’t want to spoil any of the big reveals but it’s vaguely about highschool  theatre kids and their unhealthy dynamic with their abusive theatre teacher. Trigger warnings for statutory rape and general predatory behavior.

Yellowjackets connection: The reason I put this on my list is because it is about women in high school going through trauma and their adult selves dealing with it. It is about the stories they tell themselves to cope. It is about unreliable narrators. It is about narrative and truth and figuring out what actually happened. The book will not tell you directly, you have to discover it yourself (or read a review that explains it).

Is it queer? no ):

[fussystreetlight]

https://youtu.be/D_aRzXXCv4s

I'm referring to the comments on this video because they give me a headache. No one thinks more about sex, and kids, and "kids in sexual situations" than pro-censorship people do. I don't know why they think book banning is "making sure the Kama Sutra isn't in elementary schools" but...it's not. It's really not. (I also don't like how most of the commenters are acting like the other side is just blowing things out of proportion and making a big deal out of nothing so they can hurt kids because that's what they were told. The first part of that rhetoric can easily be used by certain people to commit or sweep atrocities under the rug. And the second part, that's just the typical anti-lgbtq+ rhetoric...)

Anyway, that's not really the majority of the stuff that gets banned.

I only know about book bans in America so I can't speak about other places. And this is the site I normally use: https://pen.org/

Some of the top banned books were:

Nineteen Minutes by Jodie Picoult:

"Sterling is an ordinary New Hampshire town where nothing ever happens--until the day its complacency is shattered by a school shooting. Josie Cormier, the daughter of the judge sitting on the case, should be the state's best witness, but she can't remember what happened before her very own eyes--or can she? As the trial progresses, fault lines between the high school and the adult community begin to show--destroying the closest of friendships and families. Nineteen Minutes asks what it means to be different in our society, who has the right to judge someone else, and whether anyone is ever really who they seem to be."

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood:

"In Margaret Atwood’s dystopian future, environmental disasters and declining birthrates have led to a Second American Civil War. The result is the rise of the Republic of Gilead, a totalitarian regime that enforces rigid social roles and enslaves the few remaining fertile women. Offred is one of these, a Handmaid bound to produce children for one of Gilead’s commanders. Deprived of her husband, her child, her freedom, and even her own name, Offred clings to her memories and her will to survive. At once a scathing satire, an ominous warning, and a tour de force of narrative suspense, The Handmaid’s Tale is a modern classic."

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison:

"In Morrison’s acclaimed first novel, Pecola Breedlove—an 11-year-old Black girl in an America whose love for its blond, blue-eyed children can devastate all others—prays for her eyes to turn blue: so that she will be beautiful, so that people will look at her, so that her world will be different. This is the story of the nightmare at the heart of her yearning, and the tragedy of its fulfillment."

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie:

"Junior is a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot."

Yes there are some of Sarah J. Maas' books on the list, but they're trying to ban that from high schools (teens and toddlers are different age groups people, please stop infantizing teens).

Censorship isn't really about protecting kids from "books that predators will use to groom them" or "child molesters", it's not about not giving kids access to sexual content when they're too young for it, it's really not about protecting kids at all, and it's not about getting rid of "icky sex books" in general.

It's mostly about control and having power, especially over LGBTQ+ people and minorities. It's about the people in charge getting rid of any narrative that they personally don't like or silencing any voice that doesn't resemble theirs (anyone who's not a straight white rich man really).

And it's not about the fact that "well you can still get these books so banned books are a myth!" It's the fact that people are trying to make it harder for students to access these books. Books that can help them. Maybe they're going through a difficult time, maybe they're struggling with mental health issues, maybe their home life isn't great, maybe there aren't many other people in school like them. And these books have characters just like them, going through the same things. And it makes them feel less alone or helps them realize things about their situation and come to terms with it. But these helpful stories are the ones targeted the most. And it gets harder for anyone who's even slightly different to feel like they belong or that it's okay for them to exist and be themselves. Books being challenged and removed from libraries is about making people conform to what the people in power want them to be, and again, what they want them to be is what they can tolerate and use.

PS: some schools in Florida also had to take away and review dictionaries for "sexual conduct" because of a relatively recent bill (that seems to also be against teaching students important sex ed, "along with requiring schools to teach that "reproductive roles are binary, stable and unchangeable"). But also the Bible is apparently still allowed, despite having all that stuff people claim to dislike.

[mariacallous]

TikTok creator @lizabookrecs had a question: When did BookTok become political? It was in the hours after Donald Trump had won the election for US president and the subset of TikTok that likes to talk about literature was already starting to fracture. People had started unfollowing fellow BookTokkers whose views didn’t align with their own—mostly people who’d expressed support for Trump—and a lively debate was growing about whether or not the space was a political one. In her post, @lizabookrecs professed, “We don’t need politics ruining a good thing we have going.”

By the following Monday, it seemed as though this crumbling of BookTok had already come to pass.

Unfollow lists, sometimes called red lists, began to circulate. In response, some creators posted that they were beginning to follow red-listed creators as a show of support. Creators asked Trump-supporting followers to get lost. For every person claiming that an online community built around discussing books shouldn’t be a community for discussing politics, there was another person pointing out that most great works of literature have at least some perspective on societal affairs. “You voted for this future,” TikTok user @_onesteph said, holding up a copy of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale.

A few folks stitched @lizabookrecs’ video, which has more than 100,000 views so far and echoed the sentiments of several TikTok users, to respond. Romance novelist J.J. McAvoy likened the post to violence: “When someone tells you, ‘This space is not for’ whatever it is, they are just trying to make you shut up so they can get on with pretending that everything is OK for them.”

In the week since Trump beat Vice President Kamala Harris, these types of arguments have been brewing in all kinds of online communities. Often, the arguments wind their way to the same end point: If this is a corner of the internet dedicated to one form of discussion, why would people now use it to talk about politics? A fair question, but one that implies that politics doesn’t touch nearly every aspect of people’s lives and hobbies. Car enthusiasts could easily wind up talking about Elon Musk and Tesla, or overseas manufacturing, or the merits of EVs. Space enthusiasts could easily find themselves in, well, a discussion about Elon Musk and SpaceX, or privatization of spaceflight.

Books are the same—and different. While, yes, books like The Handmaid’s Tale or Atlas Shrugged or The Hunger Games series confront real political issues with fiction and allegory, many books are also the subject of political persecution of a sort. According to the American Library Association, there were 414 attempts to censor books in public, school, and academic libraries in the US between January 1 and August 31 of this year. That number is down slightly from the 695 attempts made in the same period in 2023—which saw a lot of attention focused on books by or about people of color or the LGBTQ+ community—but still far outpace the numbers in years prior to 2020. Efforts nationwide have sought to remove queer books from schools, and PEN America found that there were 10,046 instances of book bans during the 2023–24 school year. Those bans often come, according to PEN, when the guidance of educators and librarians “are overridden by school boards, administrators, or even politicians on the basis of a book’s content.”

As news of Trump’s win hit BookTok (and TikTok broadly), a narrative emerged that the new administration wouldn’t result in new book bans, one that quickly intertwined with the “BookTok shouldn’t be political” thread. As one poster claimed that smut and dark romance wouldn’t be banned, another chimed in with a stitch to point out that readers can still be concerned even if the books they enjoy aren’t specifically the ones under threat.

As Lia Shields, a creator in Colorado, notes, romance novels can also be political. As she pointed out in a TikTok that has since earned more than 13,000 views, many of the protagonists in the books she reads could one day have rights women in the US don’t. “Thankfully I live in a blue state,” she tells me, “but if I did not live in a blue state, they’d have more rights to their bodies than I do in real life. That’s frightening.”

BookTok collapsing into different factions could have long-term impacts. The platform has become a place that not only launches new authors but also brings older books to new audiences of younger readers. (Last year, TikTok held a Book Awards in the UK and Ireland; one of the nominees for Best BookTok Revivial was George Orwell’s 1984.)

A few days after the US election, author Kaleigh Michele posted a TikTok saying she’d been red -listed based on assumptions that she was a Trump supporter. “I’m a brand new author. I’ve only published one book,” the TikTok text read. “I’m currently working on three new ones and suddenly have people trying to ruin my name, my passion … If I didn’t support a party prior to this, I most definitely do now! … As for me, I’m currently adding every author ‘red listed.’” In addition to the obligatory #fyp, the post had three hashtags: #redlist, #booktok, #trump.

[measureformeasure]

@lesbiancassius' january reads

@goosemixtapes did this and i'm a thief so i'm doing one too.

books (well like one book and a bunch of plays)

Through the Woods, Emily Carroll - a beautiful horror/folk tale graphic novel. recall seeing the 'the wolf only has to catch you once' art from this book EONS ago and was kind of jumpscared by it reappearing. i put an e hold on this for a course i dropped last semester and just ended up reading it now when it came in

Switch, Isobel Williams - Williams asks the yet unasked question of what if Catullus was about rope bondage? and the answer is 'you can do a lot of fun translations about it'. yes, maybe there are safety scissors in my closet now...do not look at me

If We Were Birds, Erin Shields - jesus fucking christ can Erin Shields write a play. A staged version of Philomela and Procne's story and like the third play I read this month for acting class

Trauma and Recovery, Judith Herman - I am admittedly never a non-fiction reader but I found this book really interesting. I had seen @ chthonic-cassandra recommend it and I'm very glad I got around to reading it.

The Penelopiad (play), Margaret Atwood - read this for acting class. don't ask me for an opinion i am just delighted to do Odysseus drag.

Passion Play by We Quit Theatre, a linocut zine of improvised erotic Bible stories...I mean what more is there to say than that.

I also read Problem Child by George F. Walker but that was just miscellany for acting class.

articles (i will just list the hits because i read like five million articles this month)

“The Slaves Were Happy”: High School Latin and the Horrors of Classical Studies

The Body in Question: Looking At Non-Binary Gender in the Greek and Roman World

Reflections on a Starved Decade, Charlie Squire (content warning: this is about an eating disorder. it is also really, really good)

Transition, Akwaeke Emezi

on my nightstand (tbr)

Enter Ghost, Isabella Hammad (started this - already quite in love with Hammad's prose)

catch up on the Thebaid readalong I've barely started

Winter Harvest, Ioanna Papadopoulou (I want to read this so bad and the cover looks SO sexy on my nightstand and yet I keep not opening it)

Roaming, Mariko and Jillian Tamaki

Elektra by Jennifer Saint but only because I have book club.

finishing Ellen McLaughlin's Greek Plays

very slowly picking at a French translation of Madeline Miller's Circe I picked up at a secondhand bookstore the other day

godsong?? will I finally fucking read max goosemixtapes' godsong??? who knows but I want to I really do

[bitterkarella]

Midnight Pals: A New Scam

L Ron Hubbard: hey friends its me again, your old pal Honest Ron Poe: what's your scam this time ron Hubbard: i'm hurt, friend, hurt! Hubbard: i'm just an honest merchant, a purveyor of quality goods, services, and occasional religions!

Poe: ron every time you come here you've got some new scam Poe: we're not falling for it again Poe: right guys? King: that's right Koontz: yeah! Barker: we're not that stupid Lovecraft: not this time ron! Hubbard: well i just happen to have this machine that'll put a star on your belly

Hubbard: are you feeling blue, friend? melancholy? down in the dumps? Hubbard: [holding colander] listen friends i got the cure for what ails you Poe: how does it work? Hubbard: you just put it on your head and, bzzt, presto! Hubbard: all your thetans are cleared out!

Hubbard: i'll demonstrate for ya Hubbard: i just need a volunteer from the audience Hubbard: you, sir! Hubbard: now you you've never seen me before right? Jack Parsons: uh yes that is correct Poe: then how come his face is on the colander? Hubbard: Parsons:

Hubbard: you're the worst shill I've ever seen, parsons! Hubbard: you're a disgrace to whole patent religion business! Hubbard: this isn't working, i need a new scam Hubbard: hmm what's this AI thing I've been hearing about

Hubbard: step right up, step right up Hubbard: are you tired of the rat race? tired of always writing stories using boring old human ingenuity? Hubbard: is your writing too sparkling? too vital? too inspired? Hubbard: well i got the cure for you right here Hubbard: an endless fire hose of tasteless gray slurry

Poe: how does it work? Hubbard: it's simple! Hubbard: [readying hose] just open wide

Hubbard: take a spin on our patented, bona fide, genuine AI chat bot and you'll agree: I'll never read human-produced art again! Margaret Atwood: [under cardboard box, through vocoder] beep boop plagiarism-o-tron lives

Hubbard: soon all the publishers will be using plagiarism-o-tron Hubbard: archaic things like human writers will be a thing of the past! Poe: no one will want to read this garbage! Hubbard: thats ok, human readers will be a thing of the past too! Hubbard: just robots writing for robots

Hubbard: with this new genuine, bona fide AI you'll never have to pay a writer EVER again-- Harlan Ellison: [instantly appears, smashes plagiarism-o-tron with one blow] HARLAN SMASH!!!

Hubbard: okay okay i can take a hint Hubbard: seems you folks don't like AI Hubbard: don't worry, don't worry, i got a million of 'em Hubbard: how bout some beanie babies? pokeman cards? princess diana commemorative plates?