#and to have statements like these in two of her last novels (books that do deal with war head-on) where she wonders if its about gender...

[finelythreadedsky]

Ursula K. Le Guin, Voices (2006) & Lavinia (2008)

[itsclydebitches]

I'm re-listening to TMA and I CANNOT get over the 180 Jon does in "Page Turner." We're four episodes in and the last three have been spent building up Jon as the cliched skeptic who takes a Rational™ approach to his supernatural job, thank you very much. Oh, you encountered a meat puppet trying to lure you into an alleyway? Sure you did, Mr. Drunk As a Skunk. My hometown is housing moaning coffins that dislike being used as coffee tables? Uh huh, says the self-identified drug addict. Oh, the woman who saw the Not!Them didn't have injuries severe enough to induce hallucinations? Alright, fine, but I'm sure there's some explanation for all this. I am Jonathan Stuffy Sims and I will NOT be cowed by a bunch of unverifiable superstitions.

So by now the listener is pretty used to this format. Creepy statement, skeptical Jon, just enough ambiguity to set up the eventual reveal that all this is true. We know how these stories go. Jon will get blindsided by the revelation in like... a season? Maybe two? Poor guy is gonna be so shocked, being a skeptic and all smh 😔

BUT THEN MAG4 slams in with the post-statement to end all post-statements. Jon comes out swinging and just fucking decks the listener with "If I never hear the name Jurgen Leitner again it will be too soon." Oh, you thought the ominous book collector would be news to him, something else to dismiss? SIKE. He already hates Leitner, all his homies hate Leitner, Leitner is an established Supernatural Threat and god dammit, I thought we'd already dealt with this back in 1994. What was Gertrude thinking? We need to stop the spread of evil ozone books immediately. I'm taking this up with Elias, I'm taking it to the TOP, because if we don't keep the clearly undead woman and her heat-averse son from spreading more fucked-up novels around we are all DOOMED. What's that? There was Sanskrit written on her flayed corpse? Oh, of course there was because organizing this archive wasn't ENOUGH of a challenge!!

And then in future statements Jon goes right back to, "The supernatural? I do not see it 😌"

All of which is WAY more fucked up and compelling than the traditional skeptic. Jon is a mess. Truly the most character of all time.

[fallow-hollow]

Heyo! I came by to ask if it’s possible that you could write a Chilchuck x non binary! Reader who has a stutter and hasn’t gotten any help for it since childhood? Like not being able to say sentences properly without suddenly pausing by accident and having moments where the reader struggles on just one word? It’s mostly because I have irl and I don’t see a lot of books about readers that have a stutter as I think it’s used mostly to be cute or uwu- so maybe Chilchuck could try to help them?

cold reading

ft… chilchuck tims x nonbinary! reader

tags… pre-relationship, pining, reader has a stutter, fluff

word count… 882

notes… hope i did a good job! i had a friend who stutters be my beta reader to make sure i did alright, but further notes are always welcome! also fun fact, a ‘cold read’ is a read through or performance of a script or text with no prior practice, so i thought it would make a cute title !!

This may have been your idea, but you were already starting to have some second thoughts about this plan.

Chilchuck was well aware that you often had some trouble speaking, but it was never something he wanted to intervene on without your permission. The man had his own fair share of experiences being babied by those around him, so the last thing he wanted to do was belittle you by acting as if he knew more about what would help you than you did. So, naturally, reaching out about wanting assistance was up to you.

If there was anyone you trusted to help you with this vice of yours, it was Chilchuck. It wasn’t even that he himself was particularly well spoken or collected — no, it was your trust in him from a personal perspective that made it so easier to confide in him. The two of you had always been pretty good friends, and plus, it was rather nice how he never judged you for things you couldn’t control.

Truth be told, seeking help from someone like Falin likely would have been equally as helpful, but if you had to be honest with yourself, you also just enjoyed spending time with the man. Something about his presence put you at ease, despite the standoffish demeanor he had most of the time.

That’s how you found yourself here, trying to read from a book while he sat patiently beside you.

However, this may have been far less embarrassing for you if the book you borrowed for this little practice session wasn’t one of Marcille’s romance novels.

“She tr- trekked across th- across the muddy dirt path, her, her boots… boots covered in…..” Even when reading completely inoffensive narration, you still tripped up on certain consonants and found yourself repeating certain words. Sometimes, you’d even lose your place or space out, and end up unconsciously repeating the end of a word when you ‘picked up where you left off’, so to speak.

Chilchuck stayed silent, of course, not wanting to be rude by calling you out or correcting you in the middle of your sentences, but the long periods of yourself speaking and nothing else did make you feel rather awkward at times. After you sighed and shook your head, signifying that you had given up, he allowed himself to speak.

“Maybe try reading some dialogue instead. It could feel more natural if it’s something you could say to an actual person instead of just narration.” At his suggestion, you nodded, letting your eyes scan the page to the closest piece of dialogue you could find.

…Ah.

Well, it wasn’t that embarrassing. Compared to the other things one might find in a novel like this, it was really rather tame. Yes, you could make this work.

When you glanced up, the half-foot was still meeting your gaze, looking as if he had something to say. You murmured a quick “Yes?”, to which he responded promptly.

“You’ve mostly been looking at the text while you’ve been talking.” One hand gestured briefly to the book you were holding. “I dunno if this is the case, but focusing too hard on the written words could trip you up.”

The statement did ring true, at least somewhat. You’d been very fixated on matching the written words to the pronunciations in your head so as to not mess them up, but maybe that was contributing to this unnatural sort of feeling you’d had while you were reading. Talking to Chilchuck certainly did help you calm down most of the time, so maybe you’d feel more relaxed if you tried that instead.

He didn’t directly tell you to, but you chose to look at Chilchuck’s face while you talked. After reading the words and trying to internalize them the best you could, looking at him was almost a way to relax your eyes. Without focusing on a particular point or feature, you let yourself just… take him in. Register that this was the person you were speaking to. Allow the words to be fully and wholly directed at him.

In hindsight, the method may have been a bit too effective, judging from how the sentence came out almost immediately and with great fervor,

“You have no idea the lengths I’d go to just to see you!”

Hey, why did the man across from you look ever so slightly pink…?

Oh.

“Oh no, no I’m so- s-so sorry! Sorry!” Your hands shot up in an apologetic yet defensive behavior, which seemed to ease Chilchuck’s nerves, judging by the small laugh he let out.

With a wave of his own hand, he responded, “You don’t need to be. Just surprised you’d get so bold all of a sudden.” He then shot you a wink and a point, something that threatened to make you melt entirely. So easily could he touch your heart, yet at the same time it was hard to falter when he smiled at you like that.

“Did a good job on that one, though. Sounded great!”

Either way, if you can one day manage to speak your true feelings to him, then maybe you’ll be able to say all the other things you want to as well.

“Tha…thank you, your help, it, um… it really means a lot.”

[sarawoweeee]

Hi I’m sorry if this isn’t specific enough but can we get a little fic abt Jesus hair era Reid in an enemies to lovers kinda fic with the reader?

"Don't be a jerk."

YESS OFC I LOVE LONG HAIR SPENCER!!!!!! Thank you so much for the support on the last chapter I really appreciate it!!! If you have any requests, questions, or advice pls let me know <33

(Also couldn't rlly find a good gif of Jesus Reid oops sorry)

Your first case in the field! The team is getting closer to you, and everyone really likes you except Spencer. Next chapter is going to be the actual case lol

Warnings: none

Wc:893

After my first day, I couldn't sleep. I thought about Spencer and thought of every possibility of why he could hate me. The next morning, I woke up early, a little too early, the birds just waking up, softly singing. I get up from bed groggily, walking to the bathroom. I take a quick shower, washing my hair and body. I then spend extra time on my appearance, doing my hair, makeup, and picking out a nice outfit. I finally leave and have enough time to drop by my favorite coffee shop.

I walk through the door, the little bell gently ringing. It was pretty much empty this morning except for the few old ladies and soccer moms. I order an iced latte and sit down to wait, cracking open my new novel.

The little bell dings, and I look to see who walks through the door.

My breath catches in my throat when I see him. It's Reid. I try and act casually, continuing to read my novel.

"Y/n..?. Reid looks back at me and grabs my coffee, walking over to my table.

"Stalking me I see." He grumbles.

"I was here first," I grab my drink from him as he sits down across from me. "Thanks." I put my book down onto the table, facing me, and take a sip from the coffee.

"What book..?" He asks, not making eye contact. I turn the book around towards him.

"Ah, Inferno by Dante Alighieri. I remember reading that a couple of years ago." He looks down at the cuffs of his shirt and rolls them to above his elbow.

I slightly nod, mildly confused about why he's talking to me, kind of hoping he would've just pretended to ignore me and go about his day. adjust in my seat and fix my hair. I lean on the table, resting my head on my hands.

"Why don't you like me?" I asked, but it came out more like a statement than a question, monotone.

He shifts in his seat, clearly uncomfortable. He runs his hands through his long hair (bob is fye ❤️). He opens his mouth to say something.

"Spencer..?" The barista calls out. He takes the opportunity to get out of the situation, grabbing his coffee and walking out the door.

I sigh, starting to hate this little game, and it's barely started. I finish my coffee and make my way back to the BAU.

I walk into the office and notice everyone is gone, then I hear muffled conversation from the conference room. Shit.

I knock on the door and walk in. The team turns their head towards me and I can feel my cheeks flush.

"Sorry.." I say softly. JJ clears her throat.

"Its alright, y/n, we didn't start without you." She smiles and I smile back at her.

"Okay," she continues. "A small suburban town called Willowbrook, two women have been kidnapped and found murdered a week and a half after their capture. Law enforcement can't find any connections in the victims, and we need to be there soon. The time period is almost up, and another body should be found in 2 days." She finishes.

"Leaving in 30." Hotch orders.

I'm a little nervous about my first case. I already have my to go bag, and I'm the first in the jet. That is until Spencer walks in. I'm sitting on the couch, and I'm finishing the novel I was reading at the coffee shop. I don't look up at him, but I feel him sit down next to me on the couch. I put the book down into my lap and let out an annoyed sigh.

"Hm." I look up at him.

"I... uh." He coughs awkwardly. "I don't hate you," He waits for my reaction.

My brows furrow and I nod slowly. "Okay, well why don't you like me?"

"You.. I can tolerate you." He clears his throat.

"Alright then." I pick my book back up and the rest of the team gets into the jet. Spencer groans and gets up sitting further away from me. Emily returns in his place and I look up smiling at her putting down my book. "Hey Emily,"

"Hey y/n, how are you settling in..?" She smiles back.

"Uhm." I shoot Spencer a dirty look and return my gaze to Emily. "Great, I could get used to it." I fiddle with my hands nervously, picking at the skin.

"Is everything okay with..." She pauses "the genius and you? He's not giving you any hassle is he??" She notices the look I gave Spencer.

I bring my voice down to a whisper. " Yeah, a little. I'm not really sure why." I avoid eye contact with her and clear my throat.

She lowers her voice also as to not alarm Spencer. "He's not exactly the friendliest to new recruits," She chuckles. "I would know. Hey, just give him some time he'll get used to you." She gives me a soft smile and places her hand on my shoulder. "The rest of us love you, alright? We already consider you apart of the family."

I smile at her appreciatively. "Thanks, Emily."

She nods her head in acknowledgement. "And don't let him intimidate you he's just a six foot something twig. He's not as scary as he makes himself out to be."

@iniyalovesall

[sgiandubh]

Dear 'Hi, darling' Anon

You are so polite and I am so sorry. But I am not going to publish your ask here. The question has been asked before, in many different ways, which tells me a lot about this fandom's - maybe understandable - impatience. The reason I will not answer it in here is simple: as tempted as I might be, I will not write the damn script.

I am an optimist and I believe these two are good people. It is as simple as that.

However, what I can and will do for you, is to tell you a real French story I will try to sum up as best as possible. You take out of it whatever you want. I am just the narrator, here.

I suppose you are not very familiar with this guy, are you?

His name was François Mitterrand, and from 1981 to 1995 he was the President of the French Republic. A cunning, even ruthless politician, he managed the feat of uniting a French Left in shambles and leading it back to power after more than twenty years on the opposition benches. He truly was the master of all combinations, with an almost diabolic sense of human nature and a cult for secrecy and privacy. So much so, that even in a country like France (where people are rather fond of gossip and backstage gaming, provided all of this is masterfully executed) he was nicknamed both 'The Florentine', in an expected parallel to Machiavelli, by politicos & pundits, and 'Tonton' (Uncle), by all the rest of the nation.

His only weakness was to have led a double life for 30 years.

A scion of a deeply Catholic bourgeois family of vinegar distillers from Jarnac, Mitterrand married the atheist and radical Danielle Gouze in 1944. They met in harsh times, while he was one of the chiefs of the French Résistance, after being an underling of Marshal Pétain's Nazi collaborating puppet regime, based in Vichy. They never divorced, even if the couple became increasingly estranged after the birth of three sons, in rapid succession. She found solace in the arms of a Corsican sports instructor and he, by now a rising star of French politics, went his merry way with probably hundreds of affairs. I bet you couldn't tell, by simply looking at his official portrait, but hey - never judge a book by its cover.

By the autumn of 1965, Mitterrand started his lifelong affair with Anne Pingeot, an Art History student at the fabulous Ecole du Louvre, hailing from a well-heeled family in Clermont-Ferrand. She met him in 1957, while vacationing with her parents in Hossegor, a posh summer resort on the Atlantic coast. Both families stroke up a polite holiday friendship, so when Anne went to study in Paris, Madame Pingeot naturally asked 'François' to keep an eye on her daughter. It took him two years to seduce her, with flowers, daily letters, books, midnight walks, art exhibitions, concerts, lies, stories, restaurants and drama - Frenchmen really, really are unparalleled at this cat and mouse game. They never broke up and if Mitterrand never was exclusively attached to her, she remained the love of his life until his very last day on Earth.

The only real crisis moment in this stars aligned story came in 1973, when Anne really wanted out of the whole charade. She wanted a younger partner, an easier plot and (of course) a child. He relented. Mazarine was born in December 1974, in the deepest possible secrecy, somewhere in Southern France (this is a well-known plot device in any good French Nineteenth century novel, by the way). Her father legally recognized her only in 1984, via a simple notary statement. From 1981 to 1995, the second family shared an apartment in a building reserved for the Elysée Palace top level public servants, on Quai Branly, in Paris. At the same time, Mitterrand kept his usual home on rue de Bièvre, steps away from Notre Dame cathedral, on the Left Bank and made sure he was regularly seen there by the press, the paparazzi and the odd passerby. Anne and Mazarine were always monitored by the President's security detail, of course.

Did people know? Many did and at least as many didn't have a clue. Mitterrand was a master at separating his social life into concentric zones, but even as such, lots of people in his intimate circle had no idea he was a new father to that little girl whose toys they sometimes saw in the trunk of his official car, or who happened to be around at political gatherings. They simply assumed the toys belonged to his grand-daughters, the fugitive appearance was a relative and in general, they knew better than asking questions. Sometimes, he joked in interviews, as in 1986, when he told, on a very relaxed tone, to French TV star journalist Yves Mourousi "a certain little miss of my acquaintance told me I have to be more chébran (slang for also slang branché - trendy) and as you see, I am doing my best". Nobody batted an eyelid. When Mazarine dutifully wrote on her first day at school, sometime around 1983, "President of the French Republic" under the Father's job entry on the yearly data sheet every pupil must fill in, the headmistress thought she was joking and never brought it up again. Some of her school friends were even invited for pajama parties at Souzy-la-Briche, at the time the week-end residence of the French President, and even met Mitterrand. Nobody ever spoke.

But some people did know and could not exactly remain silent. When Françoise Giroud, a legend of French journalism, published, in 1983, at the Mazarine publishing house (!), her roman à clef (novel with a key), Le bon plaisir (As He Saw Fit), heavily alluding to the Mitterrand situation, she was forced by her editor to write a very clear frontpage disclaimer. She also had to tinker a bit with details: it was a boy, not a girl, etc. But when venomous polemist Jean-Edern Hallier, disgruntled that his support efforts were left unrewarded, wrote a tell-all pamphlet  L'Honneur perdu de François Mitterrand (François Mitterrand's Lost Honor), in 1984, the manuscript mysteriously vanished without a trace (the book appeared, however, after Mitterand's death, in 1996).

All was revealed in 1995, by a paparazzi photograph being published by the reliable people's magazine Paris Match, with no intervention of the French Presidency administration to stop it. On its cover, a by now terminally ill with cancer Mitterrand was seen standing with Mazarine in front of the (wonderful) fish restaurant Le Divellec, in Paris, under the caption (I will never forget it): La fille cachée du Président (The President's Hidden Daughter). Body language was very clear (another caption: The tender gesture of a father):

And the good people of France could finally see Anne and Mazarine mourning him, on January 11, 1996, after he let himself die upon finding out that the disease attacked his brain:

First row, near the official family.

As I said, draw your own conclusions, Anon. I am not implying anything and I do not think, by any means, this is a copycat scenario. Two fifi la plume (= scoundrel, but also naïve) B-listers are not a powerful French politician, with a decisive influence on the country's society, media and secret services. The UK or the US are not France, never will be. The Eighties had no Facebook, no Twitter, no Internet and no cell phones, able and willing to turn just about anybody into a paparazzo. Mitterrand's fandom, if you want, was the Socialist Party and its army of ambitious technocrats, not the considerable mess that is the OL circus.

What I am implying, is that no secret, no matter how deeply buried, stays forever in the shadows. Have a little more patience and, damn it, faith.

I rest my case.

PS: Anne Pingeot is a Taurus. Don't mind me. I am just babbling, as usually. ;)

[lum13]

is it possible for a Wednesday x Reader where Wednesday meets Reader again and she thought reader died long ago but is actually alive and reader helps Wednesday in her investigations? (Reader actually died but made a bargain at some deity or something and Reader protects Wednesday from Thornhill from a gunshot and before Reader disappears, Wednesday confesses her love for reader for the first and last time)

The ghost of you

“You’re not real.”

You smiled softly.

“Sure, keep telling yourself that.” 

Wednesday Addams x fem! Reader

Looking up from her typewriter, her orbs met yours. Moonlight tracing her skin, she has never been more beautiful.

“I’m back,” You said, “Did you miss me?”

A pause. She stared blankly, before getting back to her novel again.

“I thought I told you to get out of my head.” She replied– her face remaining unchanged.

“Too bad.” You giggled softly, “I’m not inside your head.”

“You died six years ago.” Wednesday snapped, her lips turning into a scowl. You pursed your lips, your eyebrows knitted in a thin line.

“I'm back now.” You tried, but was silenced by a glare. Your eyes averted, you drowned in a mix of guilt, pain, and everything else. Though those feelings screamed otherwise, you smiled bitterly, locking eyes with the raven haired girl.

“Stop trying to make me delusional.” She growled.

“Deny all you want, Wednesday. I’m not dead.” You chuckled, bringing yourself closer, leaning on the desk. “I’m living, can’t you see?”

She didn’t want to admit it. She wasn’t going to admit it. She didn’t want to go through all of it again– she didn’t want to go through the heartbreak again.

She loved you, but the universe seemed to prefer the two of you apart.

“I saw that marking on the statue.” You commented, peeking over, alarming the raven haired girl. “In the hallways? You know what statue I’m talking about, right? Uh, Edgar Allen?”

Wednesday took her moment to compose herself, before turning to look at you.

“Why are you still stuck in my head?” She said, shutting her book close. “I thought I had gotten rid of you.”

“I’m not in your head.” You whined, burying your face into your hands. “How many times do I have to tell you?”

“No matter how many times you repeat that false statement, I will not believe it.” 

You sighed, before giving up. This girl can not be convinced, you realized.

“You could’ve just said a thank you.” You raised your brows, huffing. 

“I don’t thank ghosts.” She claimed, crossing her arms. She scanned your standing figure, before turning back to the stacks of books on the bookshelves. “Be thankful you have your feet. Most don’t.”

You gasped, seemingly offended by her remark. You clutched your chest dramatically, “I’m hurt, Wednesday addams. You think I’m a ghost now.” 

The girl scoffed, rolling her eyes.

“Because you are.” She said, before grabbing her things to leave you alone in the library. You watched her growing smaller as the distance between you two enlarged, sighing.

It wasn’t her fault. It was your fault– you and your stupid younger self.

“I never knew that ghosts party, too.”

Your lips curved upwards at the familiar voice. “Hello to you too, Wednesday.”

You felt the tilt of the couch from the girl’s weight as she sat beside you. Faint music played in the background, making you hum to the melody. You leaned back sleepily, sinking in the chilly atmosphere. 

“Why are you here?” You heard her say.

You lifted your head to scan the girl’s form. Her hair was tied up, out of her usual braid. Her dress fit her perfectly– she was magnificent.

“Ghosts party too.” You grinned, swaying your legs in the air. You could feel her glare, but decided not to bother.

“Who are you with?” You asked.

“Elaborate.”

“Your partner. Who is it?” 

The girl paused, as if hesitant to give an answer. “Tyler.”

“Ah, the weathervane boy.” You giggled, tucking your hair behind your ears. “Do you like him?”

“No.” Wednesday said swiftly, too fast for her liking. “No. I don’t.”

You hummed in reply, wrapping your arm around yourself. You sighed– you were tired. You were tired and wanted to sleep more than anything else. Being in this party sucked all your energy. 

“I recommend not to. He has a bad vibe.” You muttered, before drifting off to sleep. It probably isn't the best choice to fall asleep here, but you didn’t really care about anything at this point.

It’ll work out, you figured.

“What if Xavier isn’t the murderer?” 

Wednesday glanced at you– lying down on her bed, facing the ceiling as you played with your sleeves. 

“He is.” She replied simply, dusting her leather jacket, grabbing her flashlight from her desk. 

“He might not be.” You said, “Always think of the variables.”

“If he’s not the killer, we’ll have to do it over.” She said, “Find out who’s behind all this.”

She stared at herself in the mirror, before her eyes flickered back to you.

“Hopefully we get it right.”

“--but at least I’ll get to kill you, Wednesday.” 

You watched in horror as the scene emerged before your eyes. With Thornhill’s gun pointed to the raven haired girl’s head, you felt yourself freeze, panic washing over you. 

Run, your mind screamed, run and save her.

But your feet stayed planted on the ground. You couldn’t do anything– you couldn’t do anything.

Bang of the gun rang through the school. 

Are you really going to let it happen again?

Your feet moved on their own. You tackled the girl out of the way, a piercing pain following.

The excruciating pain made it hard to breathe. Were you even breathing? You couldn’t tell. Blood stained your uniform, the red blooming from your collarbone– slowly reaching out. You heard muffled gasps and screams, though it was hard to form words due to your extreme pain.

Then you saw Wednesday– her eyes wide and round, shaking your shoulders, desperate to keep you awake. Her mouth was moving– what was she saying?

Then you saw it.

I love you.

You felt the stinging of the tears threatening to come out. It didn’t take long for it to drop.

Familiar feelings of guilt stabbed you in your heart. I’m sorry, you wanted to say. 

I’m sorry for making you go through it again.

You closed your eyes, letting darkness take over. 

Maybe in the next life, you can be happy together.

Maybe in the next life, the universe would let the two of you be.

Oh, how you hoped it would be true.

-

don’t we hate angst.. :)

also not proofread bc it’s like 4am in Korea rn I am this close to falling asleep

[carcarcraziiv2]

Hi! Thank you for my last request! It was amazing! I am so filled with emotions that I wanted to do another request where Reader is Kayn's younger sister. And here's my idea. Reader is still a teenager, but she goes to high school. But like her brother, she has an alter ego. Reader herself is calm and quiet, and is also a pacifist. But her alter ego is her exact opposite. She is very cunning, crazy, and also a skilled manipulator. She can also be aggressive. Once, when Reader was offended, her alter ego brought a kitchen knife with her to school the next day, but she didn't kill anyone, she just scared off the abusers. Because of her alter ego, Reader was nicknamed abnormal. They often say that "she's just as crazy as her brother," but they try to say it outside of Reader's presence because they're afraid of provoking her aggressive personality. Thank you very much!

This is amazingly detailed and a super cool idea, I am excited to write this! Here you gooooo! <3 Thank you so much for your praise on the last one, i was a little nervous about it tbh!

I took a bit more time to actually plan out where I was going with this one. I hope you enjoy it as much as the other one!

CONTENT: Student reader x big brother Kayn. Slight mentions of bullying, seclusion, bringing a weapon to school, mental illness?

There was nothing you hated more than meeting new people. The past month you had not only done that, but you had moved and ended up at an entirely new school- one with no friends, new teachers, and new classes.

The first few weeks were a nauseous display of meet and greets, teachers trying to understand where you left off at your last school, and you trying to get used to all the new overall.

And the students... your peers... everyone was so difficult and different to the people you had been used to where you lived previously. The stress of everything had been getting to you, and the day you dreaded finally came.

It was a normal Tuesday at first, sitting alone in the library at lunch while reading a horror novel you had found shoved behind some dumb teenage-proof books. Your day had gone smoothly up until then, even though you had felt a tad irritable since waking up.

A girl, one who you could have sworn belonged on the cover of a teen magazine, walked up to you and plopped down. She was loudly chewing gum, ripping her books out of her backpack and slamming them on the table. Unfortunately for you, she saw your glare.

"You don't own the library, you know," she spat at you, flipping her long straight hair over a shoulder.

It was a simple statement, really. You were always so quiet, so reserved.

When her words penetrated your ears, you felt yourself go numb at first. It hadn't happened for so long, you almost forgot what was happening. It was like someone turned you off, your eyes rolling back in your head and a deep breath cascading into your lungs. When your breath released and your eyes reopened, you weren't you anymore.

You were her.

She slammed her book onto the table, standing so abruptly the chair underneath her flew backward.

"Who told you to sit here, of all places?", her- your- voice was loud. Louder than it should be in such a place. You gestured to the multitude of empty tables surrounding the two of you, eyes wide with a craze you felt permeating through your blood, heating you up. "Look at all of those tables! Why here?"

"Jeez, I just sat down somewhere, I didn't think about it," the girl huffed, scooping up her backpack and books without bothering to put them away as she walked to a different table. Your gaze followed her the entire way, hands still flat on the tabletop.

When she sat down and looked at you briefly before turning her attention to her phone, the flip switched again, and you were yourself once more.

A blush rose in your cheeks as you realized what you, no, what she had done. That disgrace that lived within you, the same one that affected your brother.

Your other half, unfortunately. The ying to your yang. The chaos to your neutrality.

You tried to steady your heartbeat and your breathing as you leant down to shamefully pick up the chair and shove it back under the table. Quickly gathering your belongings you scurried out of the library, calling Kayn to pick you up early for the day.

When he arrived, his face was twisted into an expression of concern, eyeing you closely as you hugged your bookbag to your chest and climbed into his shiny black car.

"What happened?" he asked, eyebrows knitted together. You shook your head no, refusing to respond. Holding back your tears was no easy feat as you kept your focus on the school building slowly passing by while Kayn began driving.

You did your best to maintain composure the next few weeks until in passing period you heard two teachers talking about stories they had heard about Kayn from friends at your previous school.

Great, you had thought, apparently even the teachers gossip.

"Two of the same, him and his sister. Is she in any of your classes?" One voice said.

"Yeah, she's so quiet all of the time. I'm certain she will snap at any moment. Didn't you tell me Kayn got into a fist fight with his gym teacher?"

"That's what Sharon told me. What a little freak. I wouldn't be surprised if he's locked up now," you couldn't take it. Naturally you wanted to defend your brother. You could feel through the tension in your body that she did too.

You had to go.

Certain any little thing may trigger her to come out, you shoved your earbuds in with shaky fingers as you made a b-line for the exit.

On the walk home you couldn't stop your thoughts from racing a mile a minute.

Was Kayn really that bad?

Am I going to fist fight somebody?

Please don't come out... Please.

That night went by fast- too fast. Every little thing was upsetting you. It wasn't until you were laying in bed falling asleep while deep in thought that you felt her coming out.

No! You cried internally. But it was too late. Before she had any chance to do anything, your body was already asleep.

~~

The next morning was a blur. Through blinks of haze you saw your hand reaching for a kitchen knife, putting it in your backpack, and getting on the bus. The knife handle was just a little too long, sticking out of the zipper of your bag.

You reached your school, the whole-time sobbing, begging inside your own head to regain control. You just couldn't.

She had consumed your entire being.

You knew she was plotting something nefarious, since the knife was in your bag. You didn't want anything bad to happen, so you tried to focus and regain any sort of your standard conscience.

Before you knew it, you were sitting in the principal's office, the SRO leaning against the wall beside you with his arms crossed. As soon as the teacher saw the handle of the knife in your bag, she dragged you to the principal.

Through the blur, Kayn came in the room. He took one look at you, into your eyes, and spoke to the SRO for a moment. She didn't dismiss the sideways glances from the few teachers in the surrounding office area as you and your brother exited.

"Fuck off! Who do you think you're looking at like that?" Stop! Please be quiet!

Kayn just grabbed your wrist roughly, dragging you along as your other half fought and yanked to go lay your hands upon those giving dirty looks and whispering amongst themselves.

He basically had to throw you in the car to get you to shut up, shoving you in and slamming the door. Your body plopped onto the rough seats and you crossed your arms with a huff, staring out the window as he climbed in and drove away.

"Y/N, you need to come back to me. Can you do that for me, sis?" Kayn's voice was soft, contrary to the stern and somewhat annoyed look on his face. She rolled her eyes in response.

"Why should I let her come back? She is a pushover who would let anyone and everyone talk bad about you as well as herself. Doesn't seem like she can handle the world the way it is," your- her- voice comes out snarky, all the while gazing at the blur of buildings and trees as Kayn drives.

The drive was long, you had to assume he was taking you back to the city you lived before, Kayn pulled onto a remote road right after the city limit sign that led towards a place you were all too familiar with.

The beach.

It was the beach he always retreated too when he couldn't get his other half, Rhaast as he called him, under control. You felt pride in your heart even as your counterpart huffed in annoyance.

Kayn didn't say anything as he put the car in park and walked down the sandy beach toward the oceans waves. For a moment, you felt calm, and you knew she was bound to leave soon.

"I don't want to go," she sighed, fiddling with the hem of the sleeves on your jacket.

Okay... you thought. Maybe we can try and make a deal. We each get our time with boundaries or something... Since we are kind of one in the same.

"Fine," she said, gazing out towards the water where your brother was sitting, his hair flowing in the wind. You felt your heartrate quicken for a moment as your eyes fluttered closed, and you returned to yourself.

You couldn't help it, hyperventilating for a moment before rushing out of the car towards Kayn. You plopped down on your knees in the sand beside him, burying your face into his shoulder as you cried.

He sat in the same position as he was, your head boney on his arm as you sobbed. After a moment he lifted his arms and pulled you into a hug, rubbing your hair with his hand.

"Hey, hey. It's okay," he tried to soothe you. "If you want, I can teach you some tricks to keep her under control."

"I- I- I think I need to do it on my own," you stuttered in response, and he pursed his lips and nodded once.

"If you ever need to breathe, or let loose, let me know. I'll help you, okay? I always come here when I need to think or cool off or just reset in general. Think you can do that, sis? Let me know?"

"Yes, yes," you replied, wiping your nose with the back of your hand as you began calming down. "I don't want anything bad to happen to people. How am I supposed to face everyone at school tomorrow?"

"Oh, yeah. About that, you were kind of... expelled?" Kayn said, a grimace on his face as he weighed out your reaction.

"Fuck," was all you could reply. Kayn rolled his eyes and nodded.

"Don't worry, I'll tell mom and dad I offered to homeschool you," he laughed and you snorted.

The two of you joked around the rest of the time on the beach, taking breaks here and there to just stare off into the crashing waves.

You silently thanked the Gods for your brother. If he wasn't there, what else could have happened?

[scullymurphy]

I’ve just finished BL/FD and they have moved to the top of my all time favorite fanfics. I am going to immediately reread them because the stories and characters were so rich and so moving. I have felt all the feels while reading these stories.

I never knew how much I needed a Hermione/Lavender BFF love story until you gave it to me! She has now become one of my favorite characters. I adore the friendship they built through these two stories. What a beautiful balance and compliment they were to each other!

The dual POV kept me on the edge of my seat and rooting for Draco and Hermione throughout. The tension and attraction and passion you were able to convey was palpable. The pain and angst of the love triangle felt so very real. I think it triggered my own memories of that time in life.

And Theo…my god, Theo! 😍🥹

I didn’t think anyone could replace Draco or Rhysand as my absolute favorite book boyfriend and then you gave me this version of Theo. This funny, beautiful, vulnerable, supportive gem of a human and now I have an obsession with Theo. I can’t get enough of him!

While I ultimately knew he would end up with Daphne and Draco would end with Hermione, and that was as it should be, I was absolutely devastated when things ended between him and Hermione. It brought me to literal tears when he left her to go and comfort Daph bc I knew it was the beginning of the end. They were just so good together. 🥹

With Lavender’s divination background and her cryptic statements about choosing a different path I kept wondering if there would be an epilogue or extra Lavender POV chapter where she has a vision of H and T choosing each other and what that path would have looked like. Does that exist somewhere and I just haven’t found it yet?

This is how consumed I’ve been with this story…I had a dream last night that there was an epilogue that flashed forward like 30 something yrs. After long and beautiful marriages, T & H have both become widowed and they find comfort and healing with one another again. Their paths finally reunite and their love story has its turn. But alas I woke up, finished the book and it was not to be.

All this to say, I would love for you to revisit this world again some day. These characters are beautifully written! I love them all! Thank you

Thank you SO MUCH for this beautiful comment. I can't tell you how much it means to me that the stories touched you in this way. You even DREAMED about them! And to class my Theo with Rhysand!!?? I die! I die! I love Rhys so much too -- it's kind of a problem because I compulsively re-read his scenes. In fact, I read the ACOTAR series right around the time I was writing BL and FD, so there may be a little of Rhys's charm in Theo! I like this theory...

And as for your questions and intuitions about the continuation of this story, I can tell you that I do have a pretty strong headcanon for what happens down the road. I even have a rough outline/zero draft of what could be a third installment someday. I'm still waiting for the time to be ripe to start writing it, although I can't definitively promise it will ever happen. Part of me thinks I should just leave it as-is and let everyone have their own ideas about how it turns out. Also, I'm currently shopping an OC novel around for representation, drafting another OC romance, and preparing to launch a detective noir Dramione multi-chap WIP tomorrow (you heard it here first!!). So my plate is pretty full, lol. But someday, maybe someday. I do miss that world so much and would love to hang out with those characters again.

Anyway, thanks again for coming all the way to Tumblr to tell me that you loved the stories. Your words really touched me. 🥰🥹 xoxo ~ Scully

[sapphsorrows]

“Closeted” bookish radfem-adjacent waayyy too into the YA booktwitters side and at one side I do respect Xiran Jay Zhao as like she does call some shit out that needs to be. Like the review bullshit she should be angry about.

But she is setting herself up for failure this way and it will bitr back. Like I have seen this mental superiority call out persona before. There was another “nonbinary” author Rin Chupeco who made a reputation of not being scared and calling out and being Woke, who than got “cancelled” for a take about use of slurs in historical books. Like the thing is everyone has one controversial opinion or did one shitty thing and when that comes out the payback will be bigger than when you… ironically what they say JK Rowing should do… shut up. Especially if you are so loud i wonder what you are overcompensating for and what you have in your own closet like all these peoples are probably the behind your back bullies they call other people out for. I think she did get close to being “cancelled” once as people got weirded out how she talked about her main poly ship. Like her book is YA, older-YA i think the main character are like 19 so technically adult but the border of it and she kept making if I don’t confuse her for someone else sexual jokes/comments about her main character and their poly relationship while they are barely adult and in the YA space which freaked people out. But i might confuse her for someone else and it led to nothing but i have it vaguely into my mind.

Also she is WAY TOO DEEP into gender brainrot like she is nonbinary with a statement “look everyone can be nonbinary if i could be a wizard with a beard i would but i am Not don’t invalidate” as she is like… 100% a woman to everyone who hasn’t heard her say she is nonbinary. I haven’t read her book yet but i’ve seen a passages going around from one of her books in which she is like “oh gender feelings” and it’s a excerpt of if i remember the mc wanting to rip of her breast as that’s the reason she is discriminated in the society she lives in and i’m just like “girlie that’s just sexism… you are describing an opressed persons reaction to oppression not magic gender feelings”.

And her book too is about sexism. I got an arc of it and I remember that she used the word SEX based opression in there to describe the foodbinding she refers to in the novel… not sure that made it to the final edition. But the fact that’s featured already. Also i need to still read it but i’ve heard her first book for being feminist, has barely any woman nevermind positive woman other than the mc. Like they just aren’t there or otherwise “submissive”. She has tweeted that book two has side characters lesbian and is going to go deeper into class solidarity and that it was on purpose the MC thought about woman that way as a deliberate character flaw but that we will see.

As last one beef i do have with her that she once tweeted about a “girls in the turning competitive world are using puberty blockers THAT IS THE ISSUE RADFEMS SHOULD BE FOCUSING ON AND A CRIME NOT POOR TRANS KID USING THEM” (turning like with trampolines if i have translated it wrong) while I’m just like… that’s such gender brainrot for me. As according to your logic teenagers can decide if they want puberty. While it’s a scandal and probably pressured by the coaches… according to Gender Logic this falls under body autonomy right? Maybe these teens ALSO have very intense feelings that they want to not age who are you to judge that their feelings are from pressure but no that is the wrong way to do it and dangerous compared to the pure totally-not-affected-by society trans kid feelings. Like it felt like such a double standard the fact that they could feel it was wrong in one situation but not the other was baffling.

.

[wardenred]

Angstober 1: Honorbound

Well, I've had my short break—let's start catching up on another month-long journey! I may or may not use the Angstober prompt to explore this new-ish plot bunny in multiple directions. We shall see.

Coming back home from the rain, I expect a tranquil evening with my nieces: dinner by the crackling fire, an hour or two playing chess with Alita afterward while Norra entertains us with run-on commentary on whatever book has captured her attention last. Instead, I am greeted by half of the manor’s stuff huddled in the entrance hall, pale-faced and wide-eyed.

The sight transports me right back to the big fire from a decade ago. Yet this time, no flames dance on the walls. Nobody’s dying.

Gods, I hope nobody is dying.

“What happened?” I ask, tugging off my gloves. Hopefully, whatever the problem is, magic can solve it. My skills are undeniably rusty, but stress has always been my best motivator. Especially if it affects the people under my care.

The servants look helplessly at me, at each other, at the floor that, now that I think of it, has been polished a little too well. I never thought it should be a necessity to see my reflection in the parquetry.

Finally, the butler steps forward. “My lord, there’s— Um, that is— Well—” I will my eyebrows to stay down. Khosh has always been the most eloquent person in this house. My father used to despise him for it. “You have a—a visitor.”

“In the library,” one of the maids blurts, and immediately covers her mouth with both hands.

I want to frown, to tell them they’re all acting ridiculous, to demand explanations. That’s what my father would do.

I am not my father.

I shrug off my wet cloak and hand it to Khosh when I pass him. “I shall see to it.” Whatever it is.

My footsteps echo on the slippery floor, and I grimace when I realize I’m trudging dirt over the impeccable surface. Outside, the rain intensifies, pounding against the windows like it wants to break in. Thunder rumbles in the distance. The last hour of sunlight we were supposed to get is clearly lost to the storm.

This is turning into a scene from one of those novels Norra especially loves to mock. The ones about destitute young ladies finding shelter in crumbling manors and experiencing the promptly falling in love with the cursed lord who harbors too many dark secrets.

But this is my manor. I am not cursed, nothing here is crumbling, and I certainly have no dark secrets that might threaten me.

Or so I believe, until I swing open the doors of the library and a man with the warmest brown eyes rises from my chair by the fireplace.

I stop in my tracks. My heart follows suit before it bursts into a frenzied gallop. I fear that he can hear it, that throbbing, painful beat in my ribcage.

For a long moment, we stare at each other. He’s smiling; I should, too, but the best I can hope for is keeping half my astonishment off my face. He shouldn’t be here. There is no logical reason for his presence. No ruler comes chasing the recluse that got away, not after ten long years. Moreover, in his own words, he never held that much regard for me.

A crack of lightning cuts open the gloomy sky outside. They say the sky's electricity has the power to reanimate the dead. Something about it certainly jolts my mind back into action.

“Your Majesty.” My back protests against the courtly bow—likely out of sheer spite. It’s been months since my injuries last bothered me, even in rainy weather. “I must confess the shock of your presence is nothing short of staggering.”

“It surprises me you’re surprised.” He takes a step closer. “You haven’t been responding to my letters. I had to come.”

The statement makes no sense. No matter my personal feelings, I always respond to any correspondence received from the capital and crown. I’m bitter, not suicidal.

“I’m afraid I genuinely don’t know what letters you speak of, Your Majesty.”

I search his face for signs of mistrust or anger, but he merely nods, pursing his lips tight. I notice that his golden hair is damp; he must have been caught in the rain, too. This should put us on equal footing, but I only grow more conscious of all the water dripping down from my soaked clothes.

“You haven’t received them, then. Things are worse than I thought.” The King’s eyes light up again. “Oh, well. We’ve always been good at tackling impossible challenges together, haven’t we, Rythan?” The distance between us shrinks when he takes another step; I fight the urge to flinch back. “I hope there are no pressing matters in your province, for I expect you to accompany me back to the court. We can take your girls with us if you wish, provided you’ve been passing your talents onto them.”

His order—for that’s what it is, regardless of his amiable tone—sinks in slowly. I want to refuse, of course. His very presence steers up the kind of emotions I viscerally detest. This province here needs me more than he ever did. His court is a vicious viper nest I should never like to set foot in again.

But he’s not just a shard of my past; he’s my king, and I am a lord of his kingdom, honorbound to serve in whatever capacity he determines.

I can’t fully swallow my pride, though. I’m entirely too out of practice.

“Of course, Your Majesty. I hope you’re going to give me a little more information than that, though.”

His smile is brighter than the next lightning flash. “Most certainly. Come. Let’s sit.” He gestures toward the fireplace, as if he were the master of this place and I a mere guest; the worst thing is, in so many ways that’s precisely the truth. “And stop acting like you’ve forgotten my given name.”

As if I could ever.

[mendimore]

The Danmei Series 01: Tf is Danmei?

Note: This is an effort to convert more unsuspecting fandom children into danmei because I need more people to talk to about this. Enjoy!

Danmei.

If you haven't heard of it before, HAHAHA, you are in for a ride.

Basically, Danmei is a Chinese fiction genre (the name directly translates to indulging in beauty)that features m/m relationships.

Mendi, isn't that just bl? Yes, but specifically Chinese.

Well, Mendi, what difference does that even make? It's all the same thing.

No. It is not.

...Okay, it is a little bit.

BUT, danmei is its own genre for a reason. China, just like any other country is rich in culture. I acknowledge this may be a bit biased, but I am overjoyed that Danmei is flourishing. But, anyway, let's talk about it.

If you have heard about Danmei media in the West, even just a little, It's pretty likely that you came across one of MXTX's works. MXTX or Mo Xiang Tong Xiu is the pseudonym for a popular Danmei author on Jin Jian Wen Xue Cheng (jjwxc) a popular web novel site(a whole lot of Danmei authors publish their work on this site).

MXTX has three novels, and if you hear about the MXTX fandom, it refers to the enjoyers of all three of her novels. These three works consist of Scum Villain's Self Saving System(svsss), The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation(aka Mo Dao Zu Shi, or mdzs), Heaven Official's Blessing(aka Tian Guan Ci Fu, or tgcf). The first of their works to become very popular was mdzs, which has several adaptations(basically any adaptation you can think of). If you were into cdramas at all around 2019, you might have heard of The Untamed. The majorly successful live-action adaptation of mdzs. Or maybe if you are in the anime/donghua community, you heard about the mdzs donghua adaptation. And if you were a fandom child who found Ao3 at the right time, you might know of "Sexy Times with WangXian" which broke Ao3 with the number of tags it had and forced Ao3 to have a tag limit, or a fanfic of the lead actors of The Untamed making Ao3 illegal in China.

Have I scared you? Sorry. Truly, the mdzs fandom is not as problematic as it sounds. I started my own Danmei journey with mdzs, and it holds a soft spot in my heart. I also have way too many opinions on the adaptations and how new viewers of mdzs should approach it to get the maximum emotional value, but that is a discussion for another time.

Anyway, Heaven Official's Blessing, also skyrocketed in popularity when it came out. It has its own donghua that you can find on Netflix with a fully English dub. As well as an extremely beautiful manhua and audiodrama. But of course, I encourage you to read the novels first, especialy because these adaptations are not finished, unlike mdzs.

Scum Villain is the heavily underrated middle child as far as adaptations go. It absolutely does not mean that it is bad. It isn't. I don't wanna get into the debate about how someone isn't a true mxtx fan if they haven't read it, and how it's so much better than the other books. I personally disagree with the last statement. I do also hold a lot of love for Scum Villain, Shen Qingqiu is one of my favorite MCs of all time, the premise is a lot more relatable than the other two, but it's pretty clear that svsss is Mxtx's oldest work. She has definitely been improving. Obviously. go read it, especially if you enjoy her other two works.

But, before you come at me for only talking about one author out of ALL the Danmei out there, I would like to point out that MXTX works are probably the most accessible in the West in regards to Danmeis. They were the first to get a full English translation and along with 2ha (The Dumb Husky and His White Cat Shizun, another very popular danmei written my an author under the name Meatbun), I was able to see them perching on their own little stand in Barnes and Noble.

So, you may have noticed something. I talk a lot about the web novels. maybe if you're into bl or yaoi, you will notice that a lot of those adaptations are in the form of graphic novels. Why is it that there is more emphasis on the actual novel? I know I know, why do these people want to make us actually just READ words instead of look at pretty pictures of pretty people. Disgusting. I understand your pain. I actually do not have anything largely conclusive to tell you why this is, but based on my observations here are two contributing factors: 1. it's easier to hide subtext, specific cue words, and satire in text media(I mean it's pretty clear when a character is desperately holding on to another character, yelling "My, love, when will you return," when you skim through a manhua, then if there are just a bunch of words), this also means its easier to hide from censorship; 2. the Chinese language itself is very poetic and if you have interacted with Chinese people, the number of references and idioms will drive you nuts as a language learner, in manhua form it can lose some of its humor and imagery, particularly with Danmei because a lot of the subject matter and the nature of the romances is kind of idealized and poetic; 3. Danmei is actually very plot-centric, the romance is often like a little cherry on top of the mounds of story, drama, and character, and so when you see even manhua or donghua adaptations of the stories, I would say that often quite a bit of the depth gets lost for the characters and the story, it's the same as what happens with a lot of blockbuster films. I'm sorry but book >>> movie almost every time.

Of course, there are options for you if you are stuck on graphic novel-style stories. Chinese manhua generally has a distinctly pretty and clean style. It does depend on the artist, obviously, but if you are a huge fan of pretty art, I tell you Manhua knows what's up, just give it a shot.

Anyway, all this yammering and I haven't talked about the actual content.

Many things set a lot of Danmei apart, content-wise. Chinese fiction has its own fantasy genres of wuxia and Xianxia. Wuxia, translating directly to martial hero, is a low fantasy genre that centers around martial arts in a historical au including sects, master-apprentice relationships, cool fights, etc. It has a lot less supernatural or magical elements, and instead often focuses on what is feasible with the human body alone. Xianxia on the other hand(translating directly to immortal Hero), can vary with very cool magic systems and worldbuilding based on Daoist and/or Buddhist influences. Xianxia is high fantasy and often includes supernatural themes, immortality, spiritual cultivation, etc. It may include mentions of the three realms. where you can ascend to godhood, haunt the mortal realms being unable to find the land of the dead, or go through the cycle of reincarnation.

Danmei can be based in some Chinese historical settings as well, separate from wuxia and can be from ancient times or during the more recent period of militant china, often with some emphasis on Peking opera.

Of course, Danmei has plenty of works set in contemporary or futuristic timelines as well that are similarly unique in their own way.(right now I just started Little Mushroom, and I really enjoy the futuristic worldbuilding so far)

Additionally, I mentioned before that Danmei is in fact very plot and character-centric.

Ha, yeah right, Mendi. Plot. The plot is romance, that is the genre, what plot could there possibly be.

Well. A whole lot.

I gave you a little taste with the mentions of some cool worldbuilding, but you will get a taste of insurmountable joy and boundless despair, reading some of this stuff. Many of your favorite tropes appear often, from enemies to lovers to pretty guys with long hair falling down cliffs(ok that is just an MXTX thing, I don't care if you think my taste is basic because i love MXTX, the stories are good). Also, you get a dose of east asian ideals and culture. For Asian Americans like me, it was very refreshing to feel somewhat understood in a way that I didn't see in Western media. The emphasis on family relationships, age hierarchies, reputation, and the way your asian aunties will gossip about you both right in front of you and behind you and have no sense of boundaries, and dramatic-ass idioms(iykyk). The way that these relationships are built is through the plot, and that is something I miss sometimes with a lot of the romances I've read. There are plenty of points of interest, from being do-gooders trying to be a good person and then getting roped into and wrongfully blamed for some elaborate scheme, or a hefty, intricate revenge plot based on some deep hatred and a not so healthy does of body horror. You will have a blast.

So, now that I have sold you on danmei content. Let's talk about another factor why you may not already be a Danmei enjoyer.

Danmei is enjoyed by many women in China and internationally, which also means there is a lot of controversy regarding the fetishization of m/m relationships. While I agree that this is a problem, I disagree that enjoying a gay romance is fetishization. it can be, but it more than often is not. Just like how I can enjoy a poetic, well-set-up, straight romance, I enjoy a lot of really beautiful Danmei stories in much the same way. For a lot of Chinese women, Danmei allows them to remove the societal constraints put on women in a relationship. it's a way of escapism, this might also be a reason as to why a lot of these romances are so poetic, even if tragic at times. Having the stigmatism of fetishization might push more heteronormativity into media. As long as you can enjoy the romance healthily, appreciating the characters as characters, and the plot as plot, and not specifically enjoy the fact that the relationship is between two gay men, you should be in the clear. The fact that some people are driven away from these stories because of the stigmas around boy's love saddens me. You don't have to be a connoisseur or anything, but if the sole reason you reject a piece of media is because it has a gay pairing in it, that is pretty homophobic. Although I will say, there is a difference between not wanting to read it because it's gay and not wanting to read it because you don't want to read smut. I understand some Danmei has smut, and some people aren't comfortable reading that, ok. But if you are intrigued by the premise, I would say just do your best to skip the smut scenes, if you really don't wanna, ok, but I think for things like smut, you can really get away with not reading it usually. Also if you think all danmei has smut, you are sorely mistaken. There are plenty of Danmei fics with no smut, and a lot of the adaptations sometimes don't even have real romance, which is sad, but if that is your concern, seriously don't. Also, in regards to censorship, if that is your issue. Unfortunately yes, it is an issue, but, there are plenty of options in the Danmei world, I'm certain you will find something.

Anyway, some of this is just my opinion, I am still actually relatively new to Danmei, I have read my fair share, but if this encouraged you to get into some Danmei, I have fulfilled my mission.

I will be back, probably talking about mdzs adaptations next time or some recs or working on some reviews, but I hope you enjoyed!

NOTE: About MXTX official translations, I have heard some mixed reviews. I, personally, read all three of the works as popular fan translations online, so I have not reread the full official translation. I have heard there are some distinct changes, including smushing some of the chapters together, which is something I am not sure about. it's unfortunate, but its only something to keep in mind. The novels should still be faithful to the original story.

[asterdeer]

six-sentence sunday

When Jon remembers Mister Magic, he remembers, primarily, the color black. The magic that the children created under Mister Magic’s care was always bursting with color, so vibrant and lush, like candy melting in the palm of his hand, but behind the rainbows was always a rich, velvety depth darker than midnight, dark and starry as deep space. Anything could come to life against something that lushly empty. He is one of the early-thirties crowd who can claim they watched the final episode of Mister Magic as it aired. There are very few left who’ll claim it publicly. Not even a full twenty-four hours afterward, the television station released a statement about technological difficulties, resulting in a finale that cut out halfway through; the episode that went out on syndication ended as all of the other episodes did, with the circle of friends folding up Mister Magic’s black cape and setting it on the floor. Jon seems to remember seeing all four children just before the traditional camera-pan to the cape: Antigone, all dark clothes and braids and childish freckles that didn’t belong on a solemn face like hers; Richard, smallest of the group, ginger-haired and brilliant; Sammy, the serious one, always playing peacemaker and trying to keep his glasses clean; and Michael, the youngest, golden-curled, hesitant, always the last to trust the magic. Jon’s memories include Michael in the final shot of the circle of friends. But Michael wasn’t there, and Jon knows it because, whatever he thinks he remembers, he watched Mister Magic devour Michael whole.

so maybe it's a lot more than six sentences but i don't get to post this fic until nearly two weeks into october so i'm doing what i want. this is from a(nother :') ) crossover fic between four separate radio shows/podcasts and is an au from a book that was massively mis-marketed and not very well written, and i kind of feel bad for au'ing the concept because it turned out to be kiersten white's allegory for being ex-mormon but this isn't so much an au of her actual novel as it is for the marketing of her novel. the marketing is all campy 90s-flavored psychological horror and while i don't know if i'm doing 90s-flavor, i'm absolutely going for campy psychological horror. it's going to have almost nothing to do with the plot of the book itself. sorry ms white.

[cursed-man-prayers]

I read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo so you don't have to

I, like many gaylors, heard about TSHOEH because of the connection to Taylor Swift. I finally got around to reading it last week and, to be honest, I was underwhelmed. My main problem is that Taylor Jenkins Reid had a really great concept on her hands and did very little with it. The premise of an Old Hollywood star known for her relationships with men actually being queer is rich with opportunities for character depth, strong emotions, and gut-wrenching plot twists. Reid mostly just leans into the gut-wrenching plot twists.

SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT

TW: Domestic abuse, suicide, discussion of weight/beauty standards and eating disorders.

My first issue was the framing device. The story is set up by introducing us to Monique Grant, a journalist recently separated from her husband. She gets asked by Evelyn Hugo to write a tell-all biography. Monique does not know why, but there are two main reasons that get revealed near the very end of the book. We'll get to that.

So, Evelyn tells her story to Monique. Most of the book is chapters from Evelyn's perspective, describing events and time periods in her life. Now, TSHOEH is not a long book. But it should've been. The framing device should've been dropped almost entirely. The story reads like a first draft, edited for grammar and structure, but not to add more depth to the plot and characters.

I want to use a real celebrity memoir as an example: Jennette McCurdy's I'm Glad My Mom Died. Jennette uses very specific moments from her life and describes them in great detail. It's extremely effective at communicating the emotions felt, the impact of specific moments, or how specific moments exemplify the situations she was in. Instead of saying "I was working on tracking my moods during meals for several weeks with my therapist," she gives us a scene where she's doing it, using it as a vehicle to describe the time period in her recovery. Jennette does this throughout the entire book, making the story feel grounded and personal because it is. It's not just a salacious memoir exposing Nickelodeon; it's a brutally vulnerable exposure of her life, her experiences, and her trauma.

In TSHOEH, we get broad, sweeping statements about Evelyn's life. It's all vague. It's an overview instead of an in-depth look. Celia St. James, we are told, is the love of Evelyn Hugo's life. And even though their relationship is the most developed relationship in the novel, it feels hollow. We are told that Evelyn is in love with Celia, but we never really feel it. There isn't enough time to feel connected with the relationship before it's broken up the first time. The only reason I cared about any other characters is because I cared a little bit about Evelyn Hugo, but I didn't care that much about anyone.

Now, there are a few moments from the book that do stand out to me. The scene where Evelyn and Celia are drinking wine at the house Evelyn shares with her abusive husband is moving and sweet; it shows a genuine connection between the two women. Evelyn chipping her tooth on the TV during the Oscars, that being referenced later--that's good shit. But it's so rare. When Evelyn and Celia are in lavender marriages and essentially sharing a house, we get a broad overview of what that was like instead of a detailed moment that exemplifies what it was like. It's so dry.

Also, the author seems so obsessed with people's weight, especially at the beginning of the book. Every major character has their weight described. If they're someone to root for, they're thin and attractive. If they're not to be trusted, they're "portly." Gaining weight is explicitly framed as a bad thing by Monique at the beginning of the book. She talks about eating less due to depression being a positive thing. Evelyn's chapters have her constantly describing how hot she is because she has massive tits, but no ass. Remember that. She has no ass. Don't worry. You won't forget. Because she reminds us seemingly every chapter. ("My ass might as well have been a flat wall. You could hang a picture on it." is an actual quote and for what reason.) The aforementioned abusive husband is shown to be repentant, and one of the proofs of his change is that he lost weight and is attractive again. There was a huge missed opportunity to show how the pressures of being a female celebrity (and celebrity in general) leads to eating disorders. But Taylor Jenkins Reid did not take that opportunity, which wouldn't bother me as much if she didn't actively feed into the idea that being thin is better than being anything other than thin.

Speaking of issues that were brought up but not done justice, let's talk about that abusive marriage. It's mentioned that it's a common thing happening in Hollywood at the time. It's mentioned that the next person to get married to that man also gets abused. It's mentioned that Evelyn feels guilty for not warning her. But overall, in this book, abuse is just set-dressing. It's just a justification for Evelyn to want out of the marriage, for her to be open to being with Celia. I mean, I'm not expecting an essay about why abuse is wrong, but it's so oddly discussed, especially with Evelyn forgiving her abuser while he, in the end, faces little consequence. It's especially infuriating that Evelyn works with him in a movie, filming a nude sex scene that almost permanently ends her relationship with Celia. For a man. Who abused her. And other women. Evelyn makes a lot of choices that negatively affect Celia, but this one was so obviously stupid and fucked up.

Let's talk about the twists at the end of the book. First, it turns out the Monique's dad was in a romantic relationship with Harry Cameron, Evelyn's long-time beard, and was killed in a car accident because Harry was driving drunk. This was Evelyn's reason for choosing Monique to write the biography, and ALSO because of Monique's piece on medically assisted suicide. Because Evelyn was planning on killing herself. And at the end of the book, she does. And Monique doesn't do anything about it. The entire third act feels like emotional manipulation. Harry dies, and that's sad. Celia dies, and that's sad. Evelyn's daughter Connor dies, and that's sad. Evelyn dies, and that's okay actually because she didn't have anything to live for anymore?? Like, yes, those are emotional moments, but it feels like those were planned out before most of the story was written. In fact, most of the book feels like filler to get to the fun moments that Reid wanted to write.

For example, chapter 26, or as I like to call it Chapter Twenty-Kissgate. In a flurry of words that convinced me of what I suspected all along, Reid takes Kissgate (when Taylor Swift and Karlie Kloss were seen kissing at the 1975 concert) and puts it in a slightly different setting, even including that Evelyn was about to enter a PR relationship with the person whose concert she was at before facing gay rumors.

And look, there are a lot of parallels to Taylor Swift. There are references to lyrics. The whole thing screams Kaylor. But it's not a very good book. If you're in it to read Kaylor fanfiction, it's fine, but there's probably better stuff on Ao3 for free.

Here's some stuff I liked: A couple of times during Evelyn's chapters, she tells the story from second person POV ("The first thing you need to do to get a man to elope with you..."), and it's really effective at representing the dissociation Evelyn experiences in those moments (the abusive marriage, and then the loveless, lustless elopement).

I also liked the articles used for exposition. It made sense with the story, it kept track of time, it added context. I think they could've been used more to open up the chance for Evelyn the character to go more in depth about how she felt. We could get more concise exposition dumps and then get to the actually good stuff. Character development. God this book needed more character development. Not in the sense of arc progression (that too), but just in who these character were, what their motives were outside of Evelyn, how they acted with each other outside of Evelyn.

Oops I started talking about the problems again.

tl;dr: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is a book with an excellent premise and lazy delivery. Decent Kaylor fanfic. Emotionally manipulative and otherwise hollow. I honestly don't recommend spending money on it (I didn't). Despite being from 2017, it has aged poorly. It doesn't earn important character moments or plot developments. The framing device takes away from the actual story being told. It feel superfluous. I was only hooked by it being gay. Didn't really have anything else going for it.

[freifraufischer]

So I'm stepping away from this Harry Potter re-read podcast after book 7 because I want to check out some other potential similar podcasts and see if I like them better.

My take on this one was that they were very good at spotting some of the crimes of JKR. Her centrist politics, her view of how social change happens, the terrible slavery and antisemitism, and a few other things.

But there were a few fatal flaws in these two hosts take. The first and foremost in my mind is that they fundamentally don't understand how fascist states work and think they do. They also seem deeply unfamiliar with the genre of resistance stories. This leads them to have some particularly bizarre takes on what they consider "bad writing". But neither of these things really surprised me because since these episodes were recorded across 2018-2021 so I know exactly what their real life politics are. Imagine two Bernie Bros who think Elizabeth Warren was someone to mock and who were very bitter that people were happy Joe Biden won the election and what the flaws they might have critiquing centrist politics. Yes they have some valid points but just because JKR is wrong doesn't make their ideas good.

For @darthmelyanna one of the bigger issues is that they don't remember or know or understand Lord of the Rings as well as they think. For me they don't understand 1930s politics in either the UK or Germany as well as they think they do. And for both of us they really don't understand Christian allegory or Christianity which is really bad when they try to read absolutely every element of book 7 as some kind of "ham fisted Christian allegory". And to me that's kind of one of the flaws here. Yes JKR had Lord of the Rings on the brain but they misidentify the elements she's lifting. Yes there are Christian allegories in this story but the entire story isn't a Christian allegory. They spot some of these elements apply their misremembered or incomplete understanding of the thing and decide that JKR doesn't understand what she's doing or is lazy.

I mentioned this earlier that they also thought the last few books were adult books written for adult audiences. Which causes them to make a lot of fundamental mistakes. Those books were messes and I'm not saying JKR wrote good books there by any means. Just that if you know just a bit more about a subject than these hosts did what they're saying becomes complete gibberish and one of the things that worries me is that it undermines the project they are doing which I think at it's roots is good.

Which is all I think the fatal flaw of this project but there are some what I'll call more minor sins. I think they have shipper brain rot despite the idea that they think they were giving the books a fair chance. JKR regrets about pairing off Ron and Hermione are somehow valid because they fit their own shipping takes but all her other post books statements are somehow bad and terrible. Romantic development they don't like is not character development. Their favorite characters were given extremely generous readings while other fans interpretations which were at least as supported in the books (or more so) were fan fiction.

And on the subject of fan fiction one of the hosts clearly read a lot of fan fiction and says that the last novel "reads like fan fiction" and says repeatedly that that there is nothing wrong with fan fiction. But she clearly means it as an insult when talking about the actual book. I also think there was a dynamic between the podcasts hosts that didn't help things here where one of them would dominate the other and unfortunately the one who would dominate was the weaker of the pair for the task they set before them.

I listened to about 150 episodes of this and while I don't think it was a waste of my time all of the above was why I wasn't going to recommend it.

[incorrectinfinity]

Ok I am gonna talk about the things I like in this post because it's fresh in my mind and most of these things will be spoilers! Also this could be long.

First of all hi pjo mutuals!!! Idk if any of you are reading this but I really am thankful so many of you decided to stick around despite the Cookie Run hell of it all.

It's been like two years now and even if we haven't talked much in that time, you guys mean a lot to me <3

ANYWAYS THE SUN AND THE STAR!!!!

This book has been on my mind since it was hinted at at the end of TOA, so it's been a sec. The idea of this book actually helped me quite a bit when I wasn't doing very well mentally, which is very sad!

Ok, first thing's first.

Ok my soul can be put to rest now.

Second of all, my statement still stands:

For the most part the queer representation is pretty damn good this time around!

Epiales and Menoetes immediately getting defensive was a bit jarring and a little bit worrying to me but thankfully their bursts of anger about it last like five seconds each.

I'm really glad they say the words gay and queer naturally and not like they're some forbidden line to be crossed in a novel for young teens/late tweens. It genuinely made me smile.

Persephone even bringing up the notion of aromantic people almost made me lose my shit!! I am aromantic!!! That's me!!!! Just like me fr!!!!! But seriously I kinda feel forgotten a lot in queer media and literally any mention of aromanticism makes me smile, it was a very nice thing to see.

That's barely even mentioning the queer characters!

Nico bluntly saying he's gay is so fucking satisfying to see now, it's so nice to see him so comfortable with who he is.

Will canonically being bisexual is really nice to see, I could feel the writers' sigh of relief as they put the discourse to rest.

SPEAKING OF DISCOURSE... Piper MyQueen! It's nice to see a questioning character because I haven't really seen one represented before! She's still figuring herself out after the months following the end of toa and it's nice to see the message that it takes time to figure yourself out being shown because it's a surprisingly rare one to see. I appreciate how she also gravitates towards the queer label :)

Now minor characters:

Epiales: I appreciate them because of how ridiculous their existence is

Hiss-majesty: iconic and also that name makes me confused

Menoetes: my beloved

Geryon: Ok that's just hilarious I cannot deny that

Thirdly....

BIANCA DI ANGELO MY BELOVED MY ULTIMATE FAVE I MISSED YOU HOLY SHIT.

Besides uh....

That. I have LOVED seeing how Bianca and Maria have affected Nico over the years! It's so tragic and amazing and YES.

Seeing Bianca one last time and Maria for the first time ever was so so so satisfying even if they didn't say much. I almost teared up a bit. A lot. I got emotional.

Nyx using them against Nico was SO fucked up and I love it

Speaking of... Nyx.

Design.

Design.

Very cool, moving on.

Hades and Persephone's growth was so unexpected I am just gonna be real.

Hades was going to happen naturally because of what we say in HoO but him caring enough to send Nico a prophecy? And bring back Maria and Bianca? That's so sweet! I love that! I love that SO much! And also he isn't completely not an asshole which is appreciated.

Persephone is my favorite one of Riordan's interpretations of the gods.

I never thought I would say that sentence ever in my life. She's so caring and sweet for the 10 minutes we see her and I really appreciate her growth and seeing how she's finally getting over her grudge. It was unexpected and completely welcome.

Also I appreciate clarifying that Hades and Persephone's relationship is a good one from Persephone herself.

Also Nemesis is a badass and I did not realize how much I missed her! She has no reason so be so cool and yet she still is.

Gorgyra's chapters were all wonderful, I love her SO much and I hope Bob visits her sometime.

Speaking of which: Bob and Small Bob are amazing as always.

I appreciate the theme of change around Bob's character, he's different from how I remember him being is HoH but that's probably more natural than Nico's change in character (which I don't mind as much as most people I've seen but is still jarring) because of him and Iapetus switching every two seconds for over a year so yeah.

Small Bob is Small Bob. Cat. Gato. Wonderful.

Will actually having more of a character was nice to see too! Also his ultimate magic hidden deep within being hayfever is very funny to me.

Actually talking about the trauma these characters have been through and addressing it is also very satisfying.

Overall I think it was a good send off to these kids who have been through too damn much. I will have a post airing my criticisms probably but I really did like this lovable train wreck of a book, me from two years ago would be very pleased.

Can't wait for the road trip book where both Percy and Annabeth come out as bisexual simultaneously and for this series to be OVER!!!

[lunaamatista]

There seems to be a fair amount of confusion over what this means in the notes, so I wanted to give my two cents. Most of this comes from the answers linked in the helpful FAQ linked over in Mr. Gaiman’s Tumblr, but I’ll still quote relevant parts of posts or external sources whether they are included in there or not. I’m only including the questions, in bold, when the quoted parts would not be understood without them.

To the statements saying that Aziraphale and Crowley were “intended to be canon back in the 90s” and “planned as in love since the ‘90s,” we’ve received quite the clear answer on this before:

I don’t think of Good Omens the novel as a love story – we were making it up as we went along. [x]

However, the TV show is. 

I definitely planned Good Omens the series as a love story. [x]

We do also know why this is the case:

I think that the TV series leans in more to Aziraphale and Crowley and away from Adam and the Them, but that has more to do with the nature of TV and Adam and the Them not turning up for eleven years after the story begins. [x]

I needed to make Crowley and Aziraphale the stars, which meant they needed more of a plot than they had in the book. [x]

Mostly because the show needed focus, and because it solved the narrative problems of neither of them being in episode 3. [x]

It gave me a shape to Crowley and Aziraphale and let them be the stars of the show. But it also made it all much easier to get to the plot that Terry and I had talked about for the second book. [x]

It should go without saying that they are in love in the TV series, but what about the book? We do have an answer for that, as well:

I have, for the last thirty years, believed firmly that anything anybody wants to bring to their Aziraphale and Crowley [...] headcanon is good with me. [...] As far as I’m concerned, what’s on the page or on the screen is the Only Truth, and anything imagined beyond that is headcanon, so at best I’d just be telling you what I (half a book author, whole TV series author) happen to think. [x]

I understand that could feel non-conclusive, but I’ll give some of my personal input here. 

Sometimes, stories and characters have a life of their own, outside of what the authors intented. This is rather known a phenomenon: 

Many fiction writers say that their characters seem to have minds of their own. [...]  This feeling, the “illusion of independent agency,” is quite common. [...]  Marjorie Taylor surveyed 50 fiction authors and found that a full 92 percent of them experienced this phenomenon of their characters having their own agency. [...]  Mary Watkins has documented evidence of many famous authors who insist that their characters are autonomous and out of their control. [x]

(This, I might add, rings true for my experience while I was sole editor in a literary circle for three years of my time as a Literature student, and for my experience having worked as an editor for half a decade after that).

While I cannot say for certain whether Neil Gaiman (or Terry Pratchett) believes that this is the case for these particular characters, I don’t particularly feel it’s too far-fetched to think so—do note the discussion of the characters as if they were “old friends” with some autonomy, rather than characters who only exist as the words they put to the page:

Terry Pratchett and I were talking about Crowley and Aziraphale over dinner the other night and wondering what they'd been up to ("...on the South Downs? You really think so?"). It was very pleasant, honestly, like catching up with news of old friends. [x] 

It’s not that they didn’t know what their relationship could have looked like to other people in the book itself, and when the only point of reference was the book...

Q. I had read it as Anathema thinking that she had, in fact, just been run over by a very campy gay couple, and a campy gay couple wouldn't harm her. But my mum read this as Anathema, who she thought could feel that Crowley was a demon, realizing that she was also in the presence of an angel, and an angel wouldn't harm her. A. The version that Terry and I had in mind when we wrote it was the former. [...]  She thinks they’re gay. And she was safe. [x]

(In regards to Fandom making a Good Omens primer post back in 2019, when the first season aired). This is so lovely. And inspiring. And an honour. Thank you, Tumblr folk. I think my only correction of any kind would be that people have been shipping Crowley and Aziraphale since the Book was published in 1990. [x]

...but if I had to guess, going back to that very first quote that “we were making it up as we went along,” Gaiman could possibly not want to attribute intentionality to an element of a book whose creation is recounted as being fairly unplanned (I’d expect a lot of people involved in fandoms would be aware of how tiring it is to fans for authors to retroactively make these claims), and especially not a book co-written by someone who is no longer around to weigh on this himself, a sentiment we do arguably have at least a notion of: 

I'm not going to change what's in the book [...] without consulation with my co-author. [x] 

Lastly, a story can have characters in love without being a love story, as the latter is generally understood to be a narrative about a love affair or a tale of characters’ love. Like with many other parts of literature, there is no strict guideline on the beats a love story needs to include, but there are infinite resources on structuring one and, other than directly calling it a love story, Gaiman has explicitly said it is written with the beats of one: 

I wrote the TV series with the beats of a love story. [x]

I'm sad you didn't perceive Aziraphale and Crowley's relationship as a love story that begins on a wall in Eden and which we leave in the Ritz to "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square". It may make you feel better if I assure you that lots of people did see the love story there. [x]

PS — I feel I’d be remiss not to mention that some people go as far to make a distinction between a “love story” and a “romance,” with the former not necessarily requiring the happy ending that the latter does. This was a bit of a hot topic of debate in the publishing world in the mid 2010s as, per the Romance Writers of America association, romance had the following elements: 

Two basic elements comprise every romance novel: a central love story and an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending. A Central Love Story: The main plot centers around individuals falling in love and struggling to make the relationship work. A writer can include as many subplots as he/she wants as long as the love story is the main focus of the novel. An Emotionally Satisfying and Optimistic Ending: In a romance, the lovers who risk and struggle for each other and their relationship are rewarded with emotional justice and unconditional love. [x]

I cannot claim which definition Gaiman subscribes to, but if it is any consolation, we do have the following:

Season 3 is all planned and plotted and, if I get to make it, will take the story and the people in it we care about to a satisfying end. [x]

Q. Please, we need to know everything will be ok. A. Everything will be okay. [x]

Q. You did say everything would be okay, and thankfully we all know a writer would never lie! A. I wouldn’t lie about that, anyway. [x]

Hello!! I have a question about the ending of s2 ep6 (loved the season by the way!!)

What lead you to making Crowley kiss aziraphale? In the past i recall you mentioning that you felt unsure to stray too far from the original material or say anything new about their relationship without Terry Pratchett being here so i wonder what caused you to change your mind? Not complaining, just curious :)

I said I wasn't going to change anything about the nature of their relationship in the first book, and I didn't. I know what Terry and I had planned for the sequel, though.