#ask Jules

[jules-writes-stories]

Anon was very callous about it but you do write Mithras as a stereotypical twink and have him bottom exclusively; you gave Eris a lot of the same qualities as him (feminine, thin, smaller than his partner, flamboyant) and I think that is probably what throws some people like anon off. Not saying it doesn't work in the story because it does, it's well written, but Azriel doesn't have any submissive traits about him so I think people find it hard to believe he might fit into a submissive role.

Anon,

Long reply ahead: I’ll try and address everything you mention!

1. I never want to imply that Eris is physically weaker than Azriel. He’s not. In the very first scene they’re together, I say he and Az are close in height. Az is slightly taller and Eris is leaner in build.

Eris is a war general and warrior. I try to make that clear multiple times in the story. The story has not offered a chance to show Eris in his role as a warrior/general yet, but there are scenes where he spars with Sylvan and Lucien and he owns the Autumn Council in Chapter 2.

I’m not sure I would describe my Eris as outright flamboyant… (I think Mithras more so, but some of that is affect).

But I want readers to picture Eris how they want, so if flamboyant and femme works, go for it! I definitely say he favors the LoA in looks (a plot device, but I can see how it may be interpreted.)

He is not a bear, and he’s bratty, he’s pretty to look at (all Vanserra boys are imo), and he kikis with Fidel, always serves a look, so Ok. I can see what you’re saying. Bottom line: there’s a lot left to interpretation. And that is intentional. Some of it is vibes and just what the character told me while writing him. I am ok with people reading him as a Twink (although I would warn against reducing him to solely that— he is much more). But I also think I’ve left it open enough that readers are not forced to see him as that, because the term Twink sort of implies he’s just one thing?

2. I can also see how easy it is to equate Mithras x Sylvan’s ship with Azris, since (without giving much away) there are parallels. But a quick reminder: Azriel and Eris have known of each other for 5 centuries and their mating bond snapped (in JEL) at the HL meeting.

Mithras x Syl have known each other for significantly less time. They care for each other and there’s chemistry/potential— I love them—but as of now, they’re not mates. So their sexual relationship is new. They haven’t explored or had the opportunity to grow.

3. One of the reasons I bring up this difference: I have Eris top Az in the last chapter because I want to express that Azris (through their bond, love/shared trauma) have an innate understanding of what the other needs in moments of crisis.

Chapter 12– the Velaris Chapter—Eris is overwhelmed and struggling. Azriel takes him to Velaris and Eris “lets go” emotionally, (musically lol), sexually— and Azriel is there to “catch” him, right?

Chapter 18—after Azriel’s torture scene—there’s a role reversal. It’s not about one character having power over the other— It’s about a character who struggles with vulnerability letting go and knowing his mate will catch him/carry him home (metaphorically).

So even if Eris is a twink (non-comittal because I want readers to have their own views and want to avoid being reductive) I don’t think it precludes him from topping, particularly in the loving/nurturing way he does this for Az, when he realizes it’s what his bat needs. It’s more about Azriel being vulnerable rather than submissive? A relinquishing of control, versus a giving away power.

TLDR: it’s not really about penetration. It’s more about giving each other the chance to be vulnerable, to trust, be cared for and to let go.

Real life example: Troye Sivan is a self described Twink who also identifies as a Vers…

I hope I made sense in this very long reply!

[iambrengo]

Jules. Would you like to spar with Sulane. She's holding me at bowpoint to send this please help /j /silly

". . . . ."

"Please point me in the direction of this individual, please..."

[pinkcheerios]

needy, aren’t you, darling? just need someone to tell you what to do, to make you feel good. id have you on your knees in minutes baby, making you beg for me. or i’d have you pressed against the mattress, ass up, rolling into me as i fuck you from behind. you’d take me so easily, like the good girl you are. god i want to be all over you

yes pleaseeeeee i need to be told what to do :) id be so good i promise i will take anything you give me just wanna feel good. ill beg for it. ughhhhhh ur killing me rn RAH please use me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!💗💗💗

[vellichorbindery]

Hey! I’m a big fan of your binds, you are seriously so talented. I was wondering how you made your covers for Crimson Rivers and Grounds for Divorce. I’m very very new to book binding and I’ve only ever made blank covers, and I’m trying to figure out how to make designed covers but most binders use a Cricut and I don’t have one 😅 It looks like those binds aren’t heat adhesive vinyl, so I was wondering how you made them! Thank you SO MUCH!

Hiiii! Firstly thank you for the lovely words, you’re so kind! Also welcome to the most fun & frustrating hobby of all times 🙊. For grounds for divorce I did a wrap cover method where you just print your design on paper and then usually laminate or spray it to protect it from scratching and cover the book boards with that paper rather than using bookcloth and htv.

For crimson rivers- I did use bookcloth and htv for the actual binds but then made dust jackets with fan art for over top.

If you have a printer you can do the following methods for covers:

1) wrap paper cover (as I mentioned above)

2) print on fabric decorated or make your own decorative fabric

3) cardstock with foil using the toner activated foil through a laminator for the front and back covers and a cloth spine piece!

I do have the wrap cover tutorial on my insta and TikTok but there’s others ones I see that are probs more detailed.

Hope this helps!

MUAH,

Jules

[astrosxnthesis]

HEY UR WADE LOGAN ODYSSEY FIC IS SO FUCKING GOOD I NEED TO CRITICALLY ANALYSE IT LIKE UNDER A MICROSCOPE. I LOVE HOW YOU CHARACTERISED THEM BOTH AND WADE'S FOURTH WALL BREAKS AND EVERYTHING. HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY LITERARY ICON OF OUR TIME.

AHH THIS IS SO SWEET, THANK YOU ANON!!!

[hotchxreid]

51 and 60! And as a proviso for 60; how many of those are CM/hotchreid photos? 😂

51. How old were you when you learned Santa wasn’t real?

Well as someone with a shit memory, I don’t know 😂 But if you want a shitty little anecdote, I was in the car when my dad told me, unprompted, that Santa wasn’t real because he wanted me to know the presents came from him. So then I went home to my mom’s and told her and she was pissed af so I’m gonna guess pretty young el oh el

60. How many photos do I have on my phone?

My camera roll says 5,399 😅 Most of them are my cat, dog, and girlfriend respectively lol As for CM and our boys, probably closer to 100? I have a problem with “saving” things and forgetting to delete them. 300 pics are probably just screenshots lmao yes I know I should use google drive or something. Maybe one day

[odo-apologist]

POV: You're a scientist and the little creatures you've been observing have discovered one of the hidden cameras you placed in their natural habitat

[loucifersbitch]

bucktommy + 29

29. sweat

The heatwave terrorizing LA had Tommy wishing he'd chosen an indoor hobby for the day. His gym had AC. So did his little art studio. Even sitting in bed reading would've been a better choice.

Instead, he was leaning under the hood of Evan's Jeep, sweat pouring from his hairline, down his cheeks, and onto the engine where it evaporated almost immediately.

"What's the diagnosis, Mechanic Man?" Evan asked, walking up next to him to lean against the bumper, a glass of lemonade in hand.

Tommy sighed, grabbing the rag out of his back pocket to wipe at his face and greasy hands.

"Your exhaust manifold is cracked. I can replace it, but I'll need to order the parts. It'll probably take a week or so," he explained, nodding gratefully when Evan handed over the glass.

"Good thing I know a great mechanic," Evan smirked. "Not sure I'll have the money right away. Any ideas for other ways I could pay you back?" He grabbed Tommy's waist, pulling them flush together as he batted his eyelashes.

Tommy watched as a bead of sweat made its way down the side of Evan's face, resisting the urge to lick it away.

"I can think of a thing or two," he said, voice dropping slightly. He leaned in toward Evan, stopping just before their lips met. "Starting with the pile of dishes in the sink."

He backed away, turning to head for the shower and smiling at Evan's indignant squawk.

Send me a number and I’ll write a micro story using the word or phrase

[ghelgheli]

hey you might've been asked this before sorry if so, but have you read or do you have any thoughts on A short history of Trans Misogyny?

I have read it! I have a few thoughts.

I think it's a strong and important work that compiles historical archives into sharp analyses of how "trans misogyny" (using Jules Gill-Peterson's spacing) is not a recent phenomenon but a globalized structure with centuries of history. I also think it's flawed, for reasons I'll get into after a quick summary for those who haven't had the chance to read it yet.

JGP divides the book into three main chapters, the first on the notion of "trans panic". There, she traces how variants of this anxiety with the trans-feminized subject have presented—to deadly effect, for the subject—in such different settings as early colonial India, the colonization of the Americas, the racialized interactions between US soldiers stationed in the Philippines and the local trans women living there, and of course the contemporary United States itself. In every case she analyzes this "panic" as the reaction of the capitalist colonial enterprise to the conceptual threat that the trans-feminized subject poses; we are a destabilizing entity, a gender glitch that undermines the rigid guarantees of the patriarchal order maintaining capitalism. Punishment follows.

The second chapter is my favourite, and considers the relationship between transfeminine life and sex work. I posted a concluding excerpt but the thrust of the chapter is this: that the relegation of so many trans women and trans-feminized people to sex work, while accompanied by the derogation and degradation that is associated with sex work, is not itself the mere result of that degradation inflicted upon the subject. In other words, it is not out of pure helplessness and abjection that so many trans-feminized people are involved in sex work. Rather, sex work is a deliberate and calculated choice made by many trans-feminized people in increasingly service-based economies that present limited, often peripheralized, feminized, and/or reproductive, options for paid labour. Paired with a pretty bit of critical confabulation about the histories of Black trans-feminized people travelling the US in the 19th century, I think this made for great reading.

In her third chapter, JGP narrativizes the 20th century relationship between the "gay" and "trans" movements in north america—scare quoted precisely because the two went hand-in-hand for much of their history. She emphasizes this connection, not merely an embedding of one community within another but the tangled mutualism of experiences and subjectivities that co-constituted one another, though not without tension. Then came the liberal capture of the gay rights movement around the 70s, which brought about the famous clashes between the radicalisms of Silvia Rivera and Marsha P Johnson (neither of whom, JGP notes, ever described themselves as trans women) and the institutions of gay liberalism that desired subsumption into the folds of capital. This is a "remember your history" type of chapter, and well-put.

I think JGP is correct to insist, in her introduction, on the globalizing-in-a-destructive-sense effects of the colonial export of trans womanhood. It is, after all, an identity conceived only mid-century to make sense of the medicalized trans subject; and "gender identity" itself (as JGP describes in Histories of the Transgender Child) is a psychomedical concept conceived to rein in the epistemic instability of trans existence. This is critical to keep in mind! But I also think JGP makes a few mistakes, and one of them has to do with this point.

In her first chapter, under the discussion of trans misogyny in colonial India, JGP of course uses the example of the hijra. Unfortunately, she commits two fundamental errors in her use: she mythologizes, however ambiguously, the "ascetic" lives of hijra prior to the arrival of British colonialism; and she says "it's important to say that hijras were not then—and are not today—transgender". In the first place, the reference to the "ascetism" of hijra life prior to the violence of colonialism is evocative of "third-gender" idealizations of primeval gender subjectivities. To put the problem simply: it's well and good to describe the "ritual" roles of gendered subjects people might try to construe contemporarily as "trans women", the priestesses and oracles and divinities of yore. But it is best not to do so too loftily. Being assigned to a particular form of ritualistic reproductive labour because of one's failure to be a man and inability to perform the primary reproductive labour of womanhood-proper is the very marker of the trans-feminized subject. "Ascetism" here obviates the reality that it wasn't all peachy before (I recommend reading Romancing the Transgender Native on this one). Meanwhile, in the after, it is just wrong that hijra are universally not transgender. Many organize specifically under the banners of transfeminism. It's a shame that JGP insists on keeping the trans-feminized life of hijra so firmly demarcated from what she herself acknowledges is globalized transness.

My second big complaint with the book is JGP's slip into a trap I have complained about many times: the equivocation of transfemininity with femininity (do you see why I'm not fond of being described as "transfem"?). She diagnoses the root of transmisogyny as a reaction to the femininity of trans women and other trans-feminized subjects. In this respect she explicitly subscribes to a form of mujerísima, and of the trans-feminized subject as "the most feminine" and (equivalent, as far as she's concerned) "the most woman". Moreover, she locates transfeminist liberation in a singular embrace of mujerísima as descriptive of trans-feminized subjectivity. As I've discussed previously, I think this is a misdiagnosis. Feminization is, of course, something that is done to people; it is certainly the case that the trans-feminized subject is in this way feminized for perceived gender-failure. This subject may simultaneously embrace feminized ways of being for all sorts of reasons. In both cases I think the feminization follows from, rather than precedes, the trans misogyny and trans-feminization, and there is a fair bit of masculinization as de-gendering at play too, to say nothing of the deliberate embrace of masculinity by "trans-feminized" subjects. Masculinity and femininity are already technologies of gender normalization—they are applied against gender deviation and adapted to by the gender deviant. The deviation happens first, in the failure to adhere to the expectations of gender assignment, and I don't think these expectations can be summarized by either masculinity or femininity alone. I think JGP is effectively describing the experience of many trans-feminized people, but I do not think what she presents can be the universalized locus of trans liberation she seems to want it to be.

Now for a pettier complaint that I've made before, but one that I think surfaces JGP's academic context. In her introduction she says:

In truth, everyone is implicated in and shaped by trans misogyny. There is no one who is purely affected by it to the point of living in a state of total victimization, just as there is no one who lives entirely exempt from its machinations. There is no perfect language to be discovered, or invented, to solve the problem of trans misogyny by labeling its proper perpetrator and victim.

Agreed that "there is no perfect language to be discovered"! But JGP is clearly critical of TMA/TME language here. Strange, then, that less than ten pages later she says this:

this book adds the phrase trans-feminized to describe what happens to groups subjected to trans misogyny though they did not, or still do not, wish to be known as transgender women.

So JGP believes it is coherent to talk about "groups subjected to trans misogyny", which she thinks consists of the union of trans women and what she called "trans-feminized" groups. If this is to be coherent, there must be groups not subjected to trans misogny. So we've come around to transmisogyny-subjected and not transmisogyny-subjected. Look: you cannot effectively theorize about transmisogyny without recognizing that its logic paints a particular target, and you will need to come up with a concise way of making this distinction. But JGP dismissing TMA/TME with skepticism about "perfect language" and immediately coining new language (basically TMS/not TMS) to solve the problem she un-solved by rejecting TMA/TME... it smells of a sloppy attempt to make a rhetorical point rather than theoretical rigour. It's frustrating.

I have other minor gripes, like her artificial separation of "trans women" from "nonbinary people" (cf. countless posts on here lamenting the narrow forms of existence granted TMA people if we want recognition as-such!) or her suggestion that "a politics of overcoming the gender binary" is mutually exclusive from rather than necessarily involved with struggles around "prison abolition, police violence, and sex work". Little things that give me the sense of theoretical tunnel-vision. But I don't think all this compromises the book's strengths as a work of broad historical analysis. I would simply not take every one of its claims as authoritative. Definitely give it a read if you have the chance, especially for the second and third chapters.

[pigswithwings]

think fast jpeg . puts a fish in ur inbox to look after 🐟

ACK🐟 FUCKFUCK FUCK DOES ANYONE HAVE WAT ER

[itz-pandora]

The brothers!

[jules-writes-stories]

who is more powerful--be honest-- in Azris? and how does that factor into your writing their sex dynamic and romance

Why anon, have I ever lied to you before? bats eyelashes...

I love this question because I think a lot about power when writing them. Eris (imo) is the more powerful. He's a HL's son and High Lords are at the apex of Prythian's magical and political power structure (for better or worse).

There are other factors such as Azriel being "lesser" and a "bastard" that put him at a disadvantage in Prythian's (unjust) social structure. We DO have the unknown of Az being the only known shadowsinger.

It gets trickier with sexual dynamics/romance, since this is fanon vs canon ship. But for my Azris, power comes into play here too. I have written them as switches, but (so far) there are a few more scenes with Eris as a bottom (this is subject to change) because I personally believe Eris *is* the more powerful and I think it's interesting to explore the fallacy of the powerless bottom and deconstruct where that comes from both in heteronormative and queer spaces. That said, I've very clearly made them switches as both characters have a white knuckle grip on their control and ultimately will have moments where they need to relinquish that control in exchange for intimacy.

TL;DR: Eris is more powerful structurally, but they view each other as equals in my story because I think power *must* be sexually/politically/magically (lol) non-binary and shared in any meaningful relationship. Plus, they are mates— making them equals.

Ultimately, I'm trying to pull away from harsh power binaries with them through their sexual dynamic, but also within their romantic and platonic relationship. I hope I'm making sense in this rambling essay...

[iambrengo]

Ask Jules Anything!

Jules is ready to ask any question you might have.It could be about herself, her parents, her friends, her home, or whatever question she might be able to answer.

You can send an ask through my blog. Just make sure it’s structure as a question directed towards Jules, not me.

[glow-worms-are-believers]

A Princess’ Crown Jules

“…and that’s how I got my powers from Lazarus rain,” says Circuit Breaker as they are both winding down after a sparring session. 

It was a semi-regular thing since Dani first visited Nevada, and met the hero when she helped in taking down one of Circuit’s rogues. And ever since she’s been visiting when she’s in the area. Today they finished the spar a bit earlier than usual and they ended up sharing backstories back and forth all casual-like. Which is why this last tidbit rams into her like a goddamned sledgehammer. 

Lazarus rain.

Dani may be young but she’s seen lots of things on her travels, and with Lazarus water no longer being an unfamiliar term, Lazarus rain is no big stretch to make out. She still gives herself a bit of time to absorb it.

“Your power over the Still Force,” Dani confirms. “The power over all things inertia and entropy?”

“Yeah,” Circuit Breaker says raising his head a bit from the ground to look at her curiously.

Dani inhales and steeples her fingers “There’s good news and bad news,” she starts. And then, she brings her hand to her mouth and looks into the distance, searching for a way to say this.

“Bad news: you’re at least a little bit dead.”

Circuit Breaker sits up and stares. “What?”

Dani tries for a smile. “Good news: you’re also a good bit alive too!”

[vellichorbindery]

First, I want to say that I adore your binds. They are stunning.

I am working on getting into book binding, but I do have some questions/things I’m struggling with that I’m hoping you might be able to help with.

I’ve designed several typesets and covers, I’ve just not yet made it to the finish line. Perfectionism is kinda kicking my butt tbh.

1. What kind of printer do you use? (And do you love it?) I’ve currently got a b&w laser printer, but I want to be able to print typesets in color, but I’m debating between an ecotank inkjet printer or a color laser printer. I’ve never had a color printer before so I don’t really have a frame of reference for what’s better.

2. My other big issue on my typesets has been figuring out the margins. I’ve been formatting my typesets in MS Word. If you use word, do you mind sharing what you set your margins at? And how much you cut off when you trim your textblocks?

I can’t seem to find the best balance between wasting space/paper and having margins that look too small.

Thank you! :)

Hiiii! Thank you for the sweet words 💖🫶🏼

For printers—I have a canon pixma ip8720 that I use for wrap covers, dust jackets, paperback covers and endsheets. I LOVE this printer so much (any of the pixmas are solid color printers) I also use off brand ink bc I can’t be bothered to spend $$ on brand name and it works like a gem.

My other printer is the canon imageclass which I love/hate. It’s a color laser printer so works like my b&w but with color (so I could do foiling on it) the quality is great but I did have issues with it once I put off brand toner and I need to clean the cartridges so I don’t fully love it 100% yet. Still a fan though for the price point. Thats what I used for my Sugar High & ‘tis the damn season typesets. Otherwise I just use my brother b&w for typesetting.

For margins I typically go for .6 on the side margins and usually .5 top and bottom for hardcover. Larger for paperbacks. I try to cut the least amount off on my guillotine but I def have cut off far too much sometimes.

Make sure your layout settings in word are for a letter sized paper and under book fold. Then update the margins and then you can upload it into book binder js to make the pdf into a signatures! (Also I would HIGHLY suggest using Blak Bindery’s macro (find them on insta) it saves me so much time with typesetting in word. (Also ALWAYS hit control A to highlight the entire doc before changing margins/page layout (have learned this the hard way hehe)

Hope this helps!

[wuthering-tempest]

A little misty told me you have a sinner oc and I haven’t been able to find an oc tag or anything, so please tell me about em or gimme the tag or whatever you’re comfy with!

-Ink Anon

OHHH HI!! I don't really have a tag for her here because I haven't actually posted her much on this account and I'm always really shy about fan ocs but 👉👈 i'll put most info/extra drawings under the readmore, a lot of her outfit/design is still a wip so forgive the messiness

Meet Captain Nemo! She's based directly around Jules Verne's Nemo of 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea/Journey Through The Impossible/The Mysterious Island! She is an extremely intelligent and knowledgeable woman, but alternates often between calculated aloofness and bouts of impassioned agitation and can occasionally be provoked into furious outbursts, especially now that she's been dredged up from hiding.

She's got a very complicated past with many fixer associations and syndicates alike, and her place of origin is a complete mystery, as is her real name and reason for why she's so averse to life in the City and disdainful of it's many rules. Whatever it is that caused her to be this way is what pushed her to craft the Nautilus, her beloved magnum opus made of various tech from all across the City. She originally intended to use the ship to completely escape the City and it's rules, but due to mysterious circumstances that she refuses to speak on, the ship and much of it's crew have disappeared without a trace.

Her distinct habits include introducing herself to strangers by a wide variety of pseudonyms, a knowledge of many languages and codes, her general quietness unless something directly involves her input or expertise, smoking very particular cigars, and a strong dislike and surprising inability to remain impartial when matters of the impoverished people (especially children) of the Backstreets are involved.

As for actual gameplay, Her base ID does slashing Gloom and Pride, with some applying bleed count and others applying rupture potency. Her weapon, Nautile, is composed of three chakrams inlaid like an astrolabe, with the largest having a handle in the middle. It seats into a glove on her right hand, but can also connect to either side of a tactical harness she wears and can be hidden by her LC coat in case she doesn't need it ready! Her base E.G.O., Infini Vivant, is Wrath affinity and themed upon the electric ampoule-based gun Captain Nemo used to hunt underwater, and does piercing bleed damage and adds rupture count.

Although I like to think of scenarios where she would interact with canon sinners (she would have a preference for those like Ishmael and Meursault and a dislike of those like Outis and Hong Lu), she's more treated as a Sinner who exists in a noncanon smaller mobile unit dedicated to working with the LCD and handling things like Monoliths and Distortions.