#and i'd prefer to actually re-read this first volume in any case

[allegorism]

okay, finished the first volume of qjj. while cezhou is interesting on its own, this is wayyy too heavily political for my liking so i don't think i will read the rest

[j0hb0y]

Hiya Papaya! 👋

Oh man Rascal Does not Dream of Santa Claus was goooood.

I think i've never read any volume as fast as this one. I was really hooked!

I loved the story through and through. The cliffhangers of each chapter were so so great that i couldn't keep it out of my hands for long!

And oh man do i love the new characters, that got introduced in this university arc, like Miori and Ikumi. Fukuyama grew a lot on me too and i hope we get more interactions coming the next volumes!

Speaking of...

I'm about to cry. I don't want it to end D:

MAJOR SPOILERS UNDER CUT

Now i wanna talk more about the story itself, so this is the last time to avoid spoilers.

I would've never thought that Touko Kirishima isn't actually THE Touko Kirishima and just a fake. Like the other hundreds of Santas who believed to be Touko Kirishima.

However, that makes me feel concerned. Nene Iwamizawa forget herself and tried to become Touko Kirishima. I'm concerned that being Touko Kirishima is a curse and she doesn't actually exist.

Even worse, if i can recall correctly, Iwamizawa told Sakuta that she gave Uzuki that gift after Uzuki got rid of her Adolescence Syndroms. So there might be someone or something who's the reason behind all these things.

I think that Miori could be a potential candidate for being the true Touko Kirishima, but i really hope that this isn't the case. I don't point my finger at her without reason. The biggest reason is that she is the other one who could see Iwamizawa. Furthermore, she did experience adolescence syndrome too. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Edit: After re-reading pages 14 and 15 from the 10th book, Miori implies that she's still affected by it: [...] "Are you free of it?" "I think...it's still got me." "Any particular reason?" "I mean, I've yet to land a boyfriend." [...] Maybe we find that out in the next book? I want to point out another interesting excerpt (p. 14): [...] "Maybe only the two of us could see her." Miori dropped that bombshell without changing her tone of voice at all. "No way." "What,you've never heard of Adolescence Syndrome?" "......." When had he last heard that phrase? Long enough that he didn't react right away. "People can't see you, you can see the future, there are two of you- all kinds of symptoms." [...]

It's crazy to think that the first time where both of them talk about this is that same situation we got in this novel: Miori being able to see Nene too. In addition to her listing other symptoms, it really feels like foreshadowing. However, i really don't feel like that Miori got a motivation or good reasoning to be the one who gives out Adolescence Syndrome like presents aka Touko Kirishima. Maybe it's Manami ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ So it might be possible, but i'd prefer someone new to make an appearance. We can also throw in Sakuta as a candidate for shits and giggles.

Still, i'm looking forward to the next book as we get to know if that #dreaming prophecy will become true. Let's hope that Mai doesn't cease to exist or rather become Touko Kirishima as she didn't have a dream (just like Iwamizawa). And i'm curious if the fact that Sakuta likely got a concussion comes back into play somehow.

[13eyond13]

Do you read paper books or do you prefer to read on screens?

Hmm, it kinda depends! My preferences and methods for this have sort of changed over the years. I normally do love to own and read a physical copy of a book, but lately I've mostly been reading books on my phone.

I'll just lay this all out very methodically (I'm sure you probably already know about many of these sites and methods of gathering books and such, but just in case you don't, here you go):

What I used to do back when I didn't read a whole lot (up until my mid-twenties I'd probably normally be reading less than 10 books a year): I'd just go to the local big chain bookstore in my town and buy my books brand new/order them online. My local library didn't have that great a selection, and I was also bad at returning my borrowed library books on time, so I'd usually just pick something out that looked interesting at the store instead and buy it brand new and hope that I liked it.

I very rarely do that anymore, mainly because I am constantly reading now, and it quickly gets expensive to buy that many new books. I also own quite a few books already, and books can get pretty annoying to lug around from place-to-place when you move, so I'm trying not to hoard as many of them anymore.

Here is what I do instead nowadays (I am in two book clubs now, so constantly reading something new, and have averaged reading 50-100 new books a year for the past half a decade or so)

FOR NOVELS: -I keep a list of all the books I want to read on GoodReads and also track all the ones I've already read there -I download a free sample of a new book I'm interested in on my phone, either by searching for it on Kindle/Amazon, or just by downloading the entire book as a pdf/epub file on my phone (here is an excellent site for finding pretty much any book as a pdf/epub for free, btw: [oceanofpdf]) -I read the first few pages of the downloaded book to see if it's something that I'd actually like (I can normally tell after about 5-10 minutes of reading if I'm gonna vibe with the writing style and the premise of the book) If it's something that I'm still interested in reading after previewing it, then I'll either:

(1) try to find a physical copy of the book at a local used bookstore or a thrift store (I don't mind paying a few bucks for a used paperback, even if I might not keep it forever or ever want to read it again) or: (2) search for the ebook on the Libby/Overdrive app on my phone that is synced up with my local library. (You can link your Libby account up with multiple library cards on the app, btw. I have a friend from a much bigger city with a much better library who shares their card with me, so I have access to all the books from their city's library as well... if your local library sucks then I def recommend sharing library cards with a friend from another city, if they're down with doing that) or: (3) just continue reading the book as the pdf/epub I already downloaded on my phone, if it was one that I downloaded from that site

FOR MANGA SERIES: I always either read them online by googling until I find a good quality scan on a site to read them on, or I check out the manga volumes electronically from my library. When it comes to these super lengthy comic series I definitely prefer not to buy the entire series to read it, unless it's something that is not overly long and also is a huge fave for me that I want to own (like Death Note, for example). I also find reading manga on my computer much more enjoyable than reading it on my phone because I can see the art better that way, so I keep a folder of bookmarks on my browser of the manga series that I am currently wanting to read, like so:

I will also usually open any manga I borrow from the library in Libby on my pc's browser instead of my phone so I can read it on a bigger screen, too. ONCE I'M FINISHED READING A BOOK: I will either keep it if I really liked it and think I'll want to re-read it someday, or I'll get rid of it! If it's one I read on my phone as a pdf/epub that I end up loving and wanting to add to my personal collection, then I will keep an eye out for it in the used bookstores and thrift stores, or I'll just buy it new! But nowadays I only add a book to my permanent collection after I have already read it and already know that it's something I will someday want to read again.

I get rid of the books I bought and read and don't want to hold onto anymore in those mini free libraries that people put on my local neighborhood street corners, or else I just donate them back to a thrift store for somebody else to enjoy. AN EXCEPTION TO THIS:

I will often also preemptively buy books that I know have been sitting on my "to be read" list forever whenever I come across them at a good price in a used bookstore, even if I'm not planning on immediately reading them. This is the stuff like the classics that everybody hears about growing up, but that I have not read for myself yet, and am curious to see what all the hype is about. Once I finally read them I'll either add them to my permanent collection or get rid of them if they really weren't my taste. Here's a picture of my bookshelf that's mostly the books I've accumulated second-hand over the years but haven't fully read yet. They're the ones that haven't quite made it to my permanent collection yet (not including the stuff in the picture like the box sets and the graphic novels/manga, which I already read and then bought new). I have another couple of full bookshelves' worth of books that I've already read and liked enough to keep, but they're all packed away in storage atm:

[scullymurphy]

Hi scullymurphy!

This isn’t a question - it’s another huge THANK YOU THANK YOU for writing and sharing Bending Light and Falling Dark. You were kind enough to reply to several of my comments on posted chapters on AO3, but I wanted to let you know AGAIN (in case I wasn’t clear) how much I ADORE these two stories - or really - this one amazing tale.

I recently recommended them to a friend who is brand-new to the fandom as one of my top 5 of all time (top 3? Favorite?) and my rec prompted yet another re-read - and I loved it just as much for the third time, if not more.

I also recommend and praise BL/FD all the time on r/dramione (I have a different username there) and have singled out your Theo as the very best one I have ever read, in any story. He will always be the way I prefer to picture Theo.

Is there any chance that you will once again visit this particular world, with this Draco (who is also ADORE - one of the best of all time), this Hermione, this Theo, etc to follow up on their post-Hogwarts adventures? I am aching for it!!! (I suppose I do have a question in here after all).

No matter what you write next - I can’t wait. I love all of your stories - but this one - this one is sublime. You create such a wonderful sense of place, of action, of mannerism…I could envision it all so clearly.

Thank you so so much again.

P.S. As an aside - as I was following your music playlists for the story, I hopped from The Waterboys’ Fisherman’s Blues (for Theo and Hermione, if I remember correctly, which brings tears to my eyes) onto their The Whole of the Moon, which somehow stuck with me as a symbol of Draco and Hermione’s joy as they look past the dual love and heartache of their past to the triumph of their future unfolding before them. I cannot hear that song without my heart swelling for H and D.

P.P.S. One more question - as much as Hermione and Draco are IT for each other - can she really let Theo go? Is Theo able to let her go? I am Team Draco for this one - but that Theo…that Theo!!!!

OH what a lovely message to get in my box! Thank you for loving the stories and recommending them. I do lurk on r/Dramione once in a while, but am otherwise cut off from the Dramione recommendation engines. So, thank you for carrying the flags for these stories and especially for Theo. I know a lot of fic that's not in the uber popular echelon just gets buried under the sheer volume of what's new, but I hope that my stories will survive on the strength of some of my characters. Theo being one of them. And maybe Lav?? 😆

You ask if I will revisit this universe and let me tell you I do think about it a lot. I miss these characters and this world! And I have ideas (notes, half-outlines?) about what happens next for all of them. I'd also just love to write them all a little older and more sophisticated. For instance, how fun would it be to explore the friendship between Hermione/Lav/Padma/Ginny about eight years down the road when they're all successful professional women? I can almost see the first scene -- them all out to dinner and catching up.

So yes, it's in my mind! And your questions about Theo would definitely factor in. In some way.

But I have a few things to finish first. My original novel for one. I just completed a first draft and am hard at work editing it and then need to start looking for ways to get it published. And I'm outlining a new mid-length, multi-chap Dramione story (Hermione has to take a class and guess who's her teacher??) that I hope to start publishing in September.

So a lot going on. And a lot of food for thought! Oh and I *love* Whole of the Moon. My husband is musical and he actually plays that one on the guitar. It's an achingly beautiful song. And truly perfect for Draco/Hermione in BL and FD. I'll add it to the playlist!

Thanks again for this ask. It made my week. xoxo