#bookishly

[elenajohansenreads]

So my brother-in-law's birthday present to me is, apparently, a six-month subscription to Bookishly, which I was unaware of before because it's a UK-based company. Also because I don't really pay attention to the various subscription/box/crate services out there until a) they sponsor a YouTuber I watch (like tippsy, which sadly doesn't ship to my state because laws about alcohol shipping are labyrinthine); or b) someone I know buys me one (like Bokksu, which I greatly enjoyed for the three months I got it, a few years back.)

I'm receiving the "Tea and Vintage Book" package. He knows me so well!

It came with a bookmark as well, which is fab, because I'm always in need of more as they get lost or wear out.

The book came wrapped in quite lovely paper printed with a Virginia Woolf quote about secondhand books, very appropriate.

The book itself, Swan Song by John Galsworthy, I had never heard of, and appears to be the first Penguin paperback edition, published in 1967.

It's #6 in a nine-book saga. Fortunately for me, modern technology will supply the first five--they're all available digitally from my library, though I'll be getting a mix of audio- and ebooks to catch up to the paperback. Once my borrow limit rolls over tomorrow I can get started!

[kradogsrats]

sometimes I wonder whether Terry has just not been able to see properly for the past two season or if his glasses were reading glasses and he abandoned his book back in the cave under the Storm Spire like someone leaving a shitty paperback behind on an airplane seat

[grimalkinmessor]

What would an AU where Mrs Shigaraki managed to run away from her husband with her children look like? How would that have changed AFO and Yoichi's relationship?

Well, if we're still imagining that it's in a No Quirks AU, then it would've changed a lot of things!

The catalyst for their relationship (in my own headcanons) was the fact that Takashi and Yoichi were left alone to their own devices. If their mother runs off with them—let's say she has some family back in France that she can stay with for an indeterminate amount of time—then 1) their mother is still around to take care of Yoichi, and 2) the house is likely filled with other people, other relatives that give them all varying amounts of affection and attention. This makes MAJOR waves in what Takashi's original role would've been, because now there are competent adults taking care of he and Yoichi, there are multiple other people for them to socialize with, and their mother is there with the time to teach Yoichi right from wrong. In this AU, Yoichi likely learns about the wrongness of being intimate with family far earlier.

(Jesus CHRIST this got long. Under the cut it goes.)

Now, under these circumstances I could reason that Yoichi wouldn't develop romantic feelings for Takashi at all (I do not think I could ever reason out a way that Takashi does not love Yoichi in a completely unhealthy and mildly terrifying way) because he's got people around him to not only help him develop proper morals, but a healthier mindset that doesn't latch onto its one and only support pillar, because there are now other support pillars and all that love and affection and tension has a proper outlet.

BUT THAT'S NO FUN! So I'm gonna take 'Yoichi still falls in love with his brother anyway' for five hundred, Alex.

Takashi falls for Yoichi on sight, obviously, and as they grow up Takashi is ungodly protective of Yoichi. It's partly the lingering trauma from their shitty dad, and partly him being a possessive little shit. Yoichi doesn't go anywhere with anyone without Takashi knowing about it. The one time they took Yoichi to the dentist without informing him, Takashi attempted to chase the fucking car down and eventually crashes in through the fuckdamn skylight when they stop at a red light. After that everyone always either takes Takashi with Yoichi or carefully explains where they're going and what they're doing.

Now, in this scenario you'd think that the previously Mrs. Shigaraki would do something, right? Would scold her child? Try to reign him in? Keep him in line? NOPE. Because Miss Shigaraki still remembers every time she watched her husband beat her eldest son, watched Takashi take beatings meant for Yoichi without stepping in, even sometimes redirecting her husband's anger towards one of her sons on purpose to protect herself. And so does Takashi :) And he does not hesitate to remind her of it when she tries to parent him in any way :)) She keeps away from him, and he keeps away from her, and they keep civil.

Yoichi is the common denominator between Takashi and their mother, and though he loves his mother, as he gets older he starts to notice the fact that she keeps trying to separate he and Takashi. Putting distance between them, making them sleep in separate rooms, even purposefully trying to start fights and arguments between them. Yoichi's love for his mother fades a little when he realizes that she only really loves them when it's convenient for her to do so :') And when Yoichi keeps wanting to hug Takashi, sit in Takashi's lap, be carried around by Takashi, kiss Takashi—and his mother is the one that keeps pulling him away and telling him "No, you can't do that." "Stop that, it's odd." "You shouldn't act that way.", he knows why, yes, but he also is convinced by then that she's trying to alienate him from Takashi and make Yoichi hate him (she is).

Did I mention that Yoichi is still the pursuer in this AU? Because he is :D

Takashi is so busy trying to ensure that no one comes between him and Yoichi that he doesn't really have time to examine exactly why he's so determined to keep him close—and because of Mrs. Shigaraki always telling Yoichi why being so affectionate with his brother is bad and odd, Yoichi is the one who figures his feelings out first. And (I hate to say this it sounds like sacrilege lmao) Yoichi is an honest god spoiled brat. Not in the 'screams and cusses and won't share his toys' way; I mean this in the 'Yoichi smiles at people and they find him so cute that they give him whatever he wants so he comes to expect his desires to be tended to or to be given a damn good reason as to why they won't be" type of way. Yoichi nags and whines and pouts and climbs on you when you don't give him what he wants. Takashi will get quiet and maybe slash your tires or shave your cat if you deny him something—Yoichi gets far more manipulative when he wants something and you don't give it to him. He's very good at making people think that his ideas are their ideas. Yes Auntie Yoichi understands that cookies would ruin his dinner, it's just that he was playing really hard earlier so he forgot to eat lunch and he's really hungry so he just wanted one. Just a little one, for a snack. But if you think it's best to wait....Really Auntie, oh that's so kind of you, you're Yoichi's favorite forever 🥰

All that to say that when Yoichi discovers that he wants romantic kisses from Takashi, he throws a fucking fit when Takashi denies him. He cajoles and cries and shouts and all the while Takashi is shouting right back because in THIS verse, Takashi knows that they've got a good deal. They've got food and shelter and a hefty inheritance coming when their relatives die, and a cushy stay in the meantime—he's a smart boy, he processes the consequences of giving in before he processes the fact that he actually wants to. He knows that they'll likely be disowned if their family finds them, ahem, romantically entangled.

Yoichi does not win that first argument. He pouts and refuses to speak to Takashi for four whole days—practically forever for these freaks that have never been separated for longer than a damn hour—and eventually Takashi breaks, and they fight about it again.

The thing I didn't mention about this AU is the fact that the healthier environment actually DOES help Takashi learn a bit more shame, a bit more of a sense of right and wrong, and that it kind of does the opposite for Yoichi. But only slightly, in BOTH directions.

So the next time that Takashi breaks someone's arm, or sets someone's garden on fire, or cuts someone's car breaks—Yoichi finds out about it. He doesn't like that Takashi ruins other people's things or hurts them, but you know what he doesn't like even more? Not getting his rightful fucking kisses, that's what. So instead of being normal and telling on Takashi, Yoichi blackmails Takashi into being with him romantically :) After getting a promise that Takashi will never hurt anyone on purpose again, of course. That Takashi lies and agrees to, of course. Those rascals ✨

Takashi really doesn't need much prodding after that though—once he uncovers the root of his desires, they just get that much stronger, and Takashi is not really in the habit of denying his impulses, even in this AU. He's just learned how to be quieter about it and not get caught :3

[bookishlyvintage]

Now Available: the Spring Collection [shop]

[uterialmotive-blog]

Book Review: Bookishly Ever After

TITLE: Bookishly Ever After

AUTHOR: Mia Page

SUMMARY:

Two rival bookstore owners. One chance for a happily ever after…

Bookshop owner Lexi Austen’s problems are stacking up. Her dating life is a mess and Sam Dickens – devastatingly handsome, arrogant, and fiercely competitive rival bookshop owner – is hellbent on stealing all of her customers.

Frustrated, Lexi turns to her shelves for answers. And what have the classics taught her? That when lovers start as enemies, there’s no distraction quite like love…

Lexi plots to charm Sam: she invites him to a ball (well, a party), drags him to a dance class (does it matter if it’s not a quadrille?) and swoons into his arms while taking a turn in the park (note: next time, make sure he isn’t holding a hot drink).

As their rivalry reaches scorching levels, it’s not just Lexi’s beloved bookshop at stake, but her heart too…

A charming, bookish enemies-to-lover romance, perfect for fans of Emily Henry’s Book Lovers and Sally Thorne's The Hating Game.

*REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS*

I have really gotten into books about book nerds recently - I suppose because it's easy to relate to something that appeals to me so much. I was really excited to read Bookishly Ever After as it sounded a bit like You've Got Mail and, let's be honest, who doesn't love You've Got Mail.

I struggled to get into this book for quite a while and even after Sam and Lexi began getting on, it still seemed a bit boring. I stuck with it though because, in the grand scheme of enemies to lovers, they got together quite early on. Things started getting interesting after around the 50% mark and I was glad I stayed with it until it started getting better.

This book felt very dialogue light. I was really looking forward to some hot enemy banter but there wasn't much in the way of this as a lot of the story was focused on Lexi's inner thoughts and her issues with the bookshop.

I think it's important for me to focus on my favourite part of this story - the bookshop. I cried when it seemed that there was absolutely no way out for Lexi other than to sell the bookshop and I really liked the relationships she had with her staff and with the shop itself. I felt this was so well written and it made me want to visit this fictional shop. I hate to say that this was probably the only part of the book that I loved.

On to the bad -

Sam is actually kind of a dick. So, Lexi and Sam sleep together and his response to her wanting to woo him in a "Jane Austen" way was to try and ruin her financially. He did not act like a reasonable human being and just came off as a huge bag of red flags. He then had his ex-girlfriend working at his bookshop, serving drinks, talking in "we/us" and at no point felt the need to let Lexi know that there wasn't anything going on there, until she asked him about it. There was also absolutely zero point to Amanda being introduced. It worked well enough that Sam had an ex who had really hurt him by attempting to use him for his family's money, it served no purpose her being in the story other than to create a bit more drama.

And what was the point of Erin? OK, she appeared and gave some advice when needed but to be annoyed and visibly "frustrated" with your best friend because they have completely blown off by the guy she likes on top of potentially losing a business that was left to her by her grandmother, meaning she would have to leave the country that she thought of as home, all because Erin just got engaged and wants to stay in her loved up little bubble? Absolutely not. Erin definitely came across as one of those friends who wants to know you when things are good but not when things are bad.

I feel like I need to mention again what a dick Sam is. He stole ideas that Lexi shared with him while they were (sort of) in a relationship, purposely competed against her, let her believe he was bac with his ex-girlfriend and just generally acted like an absolute douche, and then ha the fucking audacity to be upset when she said that he had to leave because of him? When he had literally run her out of business??? On purpose?????

Overall, I was not a lover of this book, although that was more due to the walking red flags that Lexi seemed to surround herself with. I would be willing to read by this author again but probably not an enemies to lovers. I am definitely of the opinion that Sam and Lexi should have remained enemies. Did I mention that Sam is a dick?

Tropes:

- Enemies to lovers

- Business rivals

- Book nerds

- Bookshop owners

- Brit in the US

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.

[cdragons]

What are your ideas for dark/toxic!Felix with ex!reader? That sounds super interesting

WARNING: DARK TOPICS (sexual harassment), DO NOT ENGAGE IF YOU DONT FEEL COMFORTABLE READING

So reader is Felix’s ex and she left England during her secondary school years (UK middle and high school). Her parents are very good friends with James and Elspeth. Her and Felix’s relationship was very unhealthy. She didn’t want to cause trouble for her family, while Felix was basically the boy you couldn’t touch. He did some stuff that she wasn’t comfortable with and without her knowledge, and for the sake of not wanting to upset anyone, I won’t reveal it. But the only way she could leave Felix is when Farleigh helped her.

Now, she’s back in Oxford. Her parents’ Alma mater. She’s enrolled under her mother’s name, and she befriends a very bookishly snarky but kind glasses wearing human calculator in one of her classes.

Keep in mind, the way I interpreted Saltburn is that I took Oliver’s POV and telling of his time there with a grain of salt. Because the film is told in his perspective from his story to Elspeth, I found it to be extremely biased and likely not reliable.

I try write Felix in a more realistic perspective and point of view. This is a dude who is completely reliant and dependent on his parents’ money. He partied all the time, and partook in drugs and alcohol. He’s portrayed as a decent guy from Oliver, but I don’t think he’d be like that in real life. But that’s just my two cents in it tho!

[philosophybits]

I was speaking stiffly, artificially, even bookishly; and, in a word, I couldn’t do otherwise than to speak ‘just like a book’. But this didn’t trouble me. I knew, I had felt, that I’d be understood and that this bookishness might even help matters.

Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Notes from Underground

[endreal]

Noticed netflix got a load of DCU movies sometime this winter, figured what the heck I'll watch the suicide squad movies, got titles mixed up and started the last one first, committed to the bit and watched in reverse order over the course of about 4 weeks.

The suicide squad (2021) - kinda bad. Comic bookishly entertaining tho. Not upset about having watched it one time (esp since it didn't cost anything extra to put it on). Unexpected levels of pathos (still fairly shallow, but deeper than I'd have expected). Broadly speaking, satisfyingly attractively casted. Unsure if that's the shark that fucked Constantine or a different shark.

Birds of Prey (2020) - what to say about this movie that hasn't been said before? Sporadically gory comedy action escapade. Not sure if spin-off, AU, or narrative interlude, but serves the focus character (Harley Quinn) very well. Mary Elizabeth Winstead still hot. Only movie I'd seen before, so I knew where to set my expectations. Not remotely mad about a re-watch, even if it took two watch sessions over like 3 and a half weeks to finish. As described to my nesting partner, "it really is a love letter to a breakfast sandwich".

Suicide Squad (2016) - opens with Viola Davis' Waller introducing the idea of task force x. Obviously I'm gonna pay attention when madame EGOT herself is on the screen (authors note: in the course of writing this post, I learned what EGOT means). Is that will smith? Yeah, I trust that guy to play an emotionally complex villain/antihero. Oh wow, this is where the dcu harley quinn started huh? thank god for character growth. Ahh, so this is the joker portrayal everyone had opinions about after this movie came out. what the fuck everything about this man is terrible - I can't tell if it's the character or the actor I despise more. Watched approx 17 minutes, tapped out, removed from my continue watching list, have no plans to return to it. Ever.

[thatforgottenbasilisk]

Was it worth it? (Never. I'd do it again a thousand times over.)

Word Count: 2384 (AO3) (My Fic Masterpost)

Originally Posted on 7/9/2024

Rating: T

Summary:

Tim is dead. He knows he's dead, he knows that this darkness is all there is and all there will ever be, but that doesn't explain why someone's talking to him. That doesn't explain why he's not stuck staying dead.

For Whumptober 2023 Day 16, Prompt #2: Flatline

Tim is standing alone in a darkened room.

He knows he isn't really here. He knows he isn't really standing. He knows he's never waking up again.

It's not the worst conclusion to come to, really. It's not the worst end that he could have been ended by. It could have been the worms, it could have been useless, it could have been more painful than it was; now, he feels nothing. All of his skin was white-hot for only a second, and then it all stopped. Everything stopped, and Tim can't bring himself to care. Why should he? He's dead. He's fully taken himself out of the equation, been neutralized completely by means of mutual annihilation. The Unknowing and him could not have possibly existed at the same time, so they killed each other.

Well. More like Tim killed them both. He ought to take more credit for his own actions.

The memory of what was supposed to be the Unknowing is piecing itself together in his head more and more with every second that passes. He's not sure if time is actually passing, but the more he gets used to this not-environment, the more he makes sense of where he was just before this. It had been bright, and loud, and confusing, and he'd been nothing and everything all at once. It was an awful, screaming, burning thing even before the actual screaming and burning.

He'd have thought death would be a little less boring, if he's being forced to be conscious- not conscious, he's not awake- aware through it. He'd have thought he wouldn't be alone, at least; he's not the only dead man he knows.

"Tim Stoker, was it?" A voice he doesn't recognize comes from somewhere behind him, and Tim turns- a very odd sensation, to be spinning in absolute monotonous dark-on-dark-on-dark, strangely more dizzying than it should be- until he sees a man with an unfamiliar face. He's tall, kind of handsome, and dressed bookishly, in spectacles and a dark blue cardigan. He's staring at Tim with a tiny hint of fascination, like he's the most mildly interesting person to pass through a cashier's grocery line that day.

"Yes." Tim doesn't say anything else, he doesn't ask any questions, because he's got the creeping feeling of being an intruder in someone else's home. The man across from him is in charge of this place, whatever it is, or else he's very influential.

"Good. I'm Oliver Banks, and I'm here to make you an offer." The man- Oliver Banks- doesn't do anything after saying that. He just pauses, likely in anticipation of questions, and Tim finally feels like he can ask them. Not all of them, of course, because he's not here to sound like an idiot.

"What kind of offer?" Tim asks, because he doesn't need confirmation of his own death, no matter how much he'd like a second opinion one way or the other. He doesn't need to know what Oliver Banks is doing here, what he even is, because that's not his business. That's not his concern. For all he knows, this man could be the Grim Reaper himself, and it still wouldn't be something he needs to know. He'd rather not annoy someone who could be offering something that he wants.

The man tilts his head just slightly, and moves his hand such that he's resting his temple against it. He still looks rather bored with the whole affair. "The kind of offer that only occurs every so often, to extremely lucky people. Congratulations." That doesn't tell him anything, doesn't even clarify what kind of offer it is, what kind of monkey's paw bullshit he'll be signing himself up for. There's always a catch with these things; no such thing as free lunch.

"How do you mean?" Tim persists, still not quite impolitely, because something that's meeting him at death's door probably isn't the kind of thing he wants to piss off.

"I mean," Oliver sighs, "I mean that you have a one-in-a-trillion chance to escape the End. Well, not escape, really- I'm not asking you to sacrifice your humanity. Death doesn't want you like that." He sounds exasperated, frustrated, as though something about this whole thing is a chore that he doesn't want to do. Is it painful, he wonders? For a thing of death to let go of someone it's supposed to have? Does he care?

Tim thinks about it. He takes less time than he probably should to mull it over, but it's all laughably simple. Does he come back to life or not? Well, that's an easy question- does he have anything to live for? Anything at all? That's an even easier question to answer- no, he doesn't, there is absolutely nothing that he needs and nothing that needs him. Jon, Daisy, and Basira are probably dead. Martin and Melanie can manage without him. He killed Grimaldi, and that's all he wanted. He got all he wanted, he doesn't need anything more.

"What, like magically waking up from all this? Deciding that ending the Unknowing didn't kill me after all? There's nothing left for me after that kind of sacrifice. So, you know, thanks but no thanks. Eternal oblivion's just fine by me." Tim dismisses it; like he said, there's nothing left for him here. Nothing but more misery, and he's had more than his fair share of that. He's tired, in all honesty, and there's nothing else that really needs him to stave off that exhaustion. Everyone else can handle the rest without him; he's done.

"Not exactly," Oliver winces slightly. "Not to be the cliché ghost-of-Christmas-future here, but I'll show you what's going on at the moment so you can understand my point."

Before Tim can say a word, he's suddenly standing next to Oliver at the foot of a hospital bed. The patient is attached to what must be dozens of tubes and monitors, with a steady beeping coming from the easily-recognizable heart monitor. He can't recognize the patient by face, as it's wrapped up in bandages that he can already see some spots of blood seeping through. It's only by looking at the chart at the foot of the bed, documenting the injuries sustained by said patient, that he realizes he's staring at his own body.

"If you wanted to survive and go on as usual, we're a bit too late for that. There's no coming back from this. You're clinically brain dead, and even if you were to miraculously recover, you'd never be able to breathe on your own, let alone talk or do anything significant- not unless you handed yourself over to some kind of Power, and we both know that you don't want to do that." Tim stares, half-listening, half-wondering why they haven't pulled the plug already. Maybe they're waiting for family to come forward and make the decision for them, not that anybody will. Anyone who cared about him enough to be on any of his paperwork is dead.

"How can you do this?" He asks, nonsensically, because of course the reaper can show him his own corpse. That's actually pretty low on the list of things that are real but don't really feel it, in all honesty, far below a mind-controlling boss and circus clowns taking over the world. This feels downright normal in comparison. Still, Oliver seems like a normal name for the reaper, and he suspects that this man may actually be alive, or used to be alive, or was in some way a person before dedicating himself to Death.

"Easy- I'm dreaming and you're dead. Neither of us is exactly constrained by the laws of reality at the moment." Tim looks back at Oliver, who is staring intently at something that Tim can't see. At least, he figures it's something he can't see, that or Oliver just finds the linoleum fascinating.

"Fair enough," Tim concedes, and walks over to the single empty chair and sits at his own bedside. He finds he doesn't look much better from the side, still made smaller by various tubes and treatments, an IV dripping steadily into his arm, though he hasn't the slightest idea what the hell they need to be dripping into him. Hadn't he had a Do Not Resuscitate order on his ID? Has the hospital even identified him yet?

Looking at his own wrist a few feet away, he sees a standard hospital wristband emblazoned with the name "John Doe." Guess not.

"So what's that offer, really? Escaping the End doesn't seem like all there is to it." Tim asks, watching the manufactured rise and fall of his own chest. He wonders who's going to come in and identify him, and when. He wonders if they'll try to argue against the DNR, or if they'll just let him die. Does anybody want him around badly enough to try and fight it? No, probably not.

"No, it's not. It's actually quite a bit better than escape, I think, but there are caveats. You get to go back in time." Tim snaps his head towards Oliver at that. He gets to go back? He gets to fix things? No, wait, not necessarily- he'd said something about caveats.

"What are they? The- the caveats, terms and conditions, what are they?" Tim's voice very suddenly sounds much more strained, much more desperate than it did a few seconds ago. He's staring Oliver dead in the eyes, watching, waiting for an answer that can't come fast enough.

"You can't pick when you go back to. You'll be in the Archives, I know that, because this little thing isn't strong enough to get you out of your employment contract. The odds are even on if it's before your coworker died, and even then, she's already dead- preventing her from dying when she's supposed to won't be easy. The chances of you succeeding are slim to none." Oliver stops talking, but he doesn't say he's done listing it all out- just when he's gotten to what feels like the dealbreaker.

It doesn't feel like a dealbreaker, not at first. He can't save Danny, he's not that lucky, but there's an infinitesimal chance that he can save Sasha- but, getting to try would require that he's lucky enough to be sent back to before Jane Prentiss attacked. Is he willing to stake everything on that hope? Is it worth it- no, that's the wrong question to be asking, isn't it? Sasha's worth it, of course she is, he may not remember what she was like but he does remember loving her. The Stranger can't fake that, the thing that wasn't Sasha couldn't pull all that out of nowhere, he read the Statements and listened to the tapes.

What if he's too late? Can he stand living through the past year again? Can he stand living with the thing that isn't Sasha, knowing she's still dead and there's nothing he could do to stop it? He can't even kill it, he doesn't have that kind of power, and it's not like he could convince Jon to do it.

What if he is in time? What if she dies again? Would he even know it, or would it just be a repeat of exactly what he's just lived through? What if he does save her, what then? There's still Jon's stalking, there's still the Unknowing. There's still someone who has to die to stop it, and it's better him than anyone else.

"Is she happy?" Tim asks, and he doesn't even know if Oliver knows. He doesn't know if Oliver can know- he's alive, after all. He said he's dreaming.

"She's dead. She isn't anything." Oliver says, in exactly the same matter-of-fact tone he's had this whole time.

"I'd like to think she's happier than she would be if she lived to see what we all became." Tim says it aloud as he realizes it. Saving Sasha, which is just about the only thing he thinks he can do to make any of the past year or so more bearable, is in itself a selfless act- but, combined with the circumstances, it would really just be for his own benefit. Sasha died thinking she had the ability to quit; Sasha died thinking the Archives were normal; Sasha died not knowing the depths to which people she once called friends were willing to sink.

Is it playing god to leave her like that? Deciding for her what's best? Sort of, he thinks. He'd rather be left in ignorance, but Sasha wouldn't. Sasha would kill him herself if she knew he was trying to keep her ignorant of anything. If he's remembering right, if the thing that wasn't Sasha left those memories intact.

He loves her, he does, but does he love her enough to risk more misery and hatred and pain for the slightest chance of getting her back? Or does he love her enough to let her rest?

Somebody still has to die for the Unknowing. Somebody still has to pull the trigger. He did it once, and he doesn't know if he'd be able to do it again, especially if he knew he had anything to lose. Tim didn't, doesn't, have anything to lose. Consignment to oblivion is all he wants, really, and he has it already. He can only hope that Sasha's going to meet him there.

"It's a generous offer, really," Tim starts, not looking at Oliver in the eye anymore and instead letting his gaze drift back to his own body lying in front of him, "But I think I'll have to decline." He says it with a finality that his phrasing doesn't afford him. In the corner of his eye, Oliver nods.

"I'd say it's a shame, but personally, I think you're making the right choice. Not that I'm supposed to say anything." Oliver shrugs while Tim stands back up. He walks back over to the foot of the bed, a sense of looming finality washing over him. Dying, he thinks, isn't all that scary. It's just an ending, and Tim knows all about those.

"You ready to go?" Oliver asks. Tim nods, not trusting his voice. He shoves both his hands in his pockets and watches the heart monitor go flat.

"Come on, then."

[tracingpatternswrites]

Mal! Good morning :)

Could you give me some random Lily headcanons?

Hello my darling! Oooh, Lily headcanons. Here are some random ones:

Working class and poor Lily. She is so very dear to me. I picture Cokeworth (based on how it's described) as an old industrial/mining town. I think both her parents worked very hard and led rather hard lives which might be one of the reason why they passed so early and would also explain Petunia's obsession with how she appears and her concern with how the neighbours view her. I think that Petunia (sorry, I know this wasn't supposed to be a Petunia hc but...), by marrying Vernon, did some social climbing which is why she's so protective of her new life.

She twins her hair when she's nervous or just when she's thinking. Like twirls it around her finger and when she was a child she would sometimes get stuck and her mum or dad had to cut her loose. She doesn't get stuck anymore but she still does it.

She's very smart. Not bookishly smart, really, but just clever and she's very good at making connections.

She had tattoos. A lily, of course, but she also had a petunia because she missed her sister even if they no longer talked.

She loves sleeping in and has a really bad temper in the morning.

Getting pregnant with Harry was an accident and she wasn't even sure that she wanted kids.

She's a terrible cook.

[emberwhite]

"I knew I was speaking stiffly, artificially, even bookishly, in fact, I could not speak except “like a book.”

Dostoevsky, Notes from the Underground

[grasshopperdoingdogpaddle]

I love how it's Canon that clay enjoys figure skating.

I love how bookishly smart Clay is in general!

Other characters make a lot of blunt jokes about how they assume he's "slow" and stupid because he's big and from the south, and they even say so to his face multiple times. So I love that not only is Clay a really clever outside-the-box thinker who comes up with simple solutions everyone else is blind to, he's also just genuinely straight-up brilliant and well-rounded.

He knows lots of random animal facts, has a good vocabulary, and he's a huge fan of a very technical, “sophisticated” sport like figure skating, and can infodump about its most complicated moves with ease.

I wonder if he’s ever personally gotten for iceskate or if he’s only ever gotten to watch it on TV?

He seems pretty good at balancing on ice-- knees bent, weight forward, arms outstretched, head up.

And there are quite a few ice-skating rinks in Texas, so maybe Mama Bailey has taken him before?

[cecilyrenns]

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Hi I'm Cecily!!! I'm a punk rock bunnygirl who writes pop music. You should listen to my music and stuff!

I used to be shadowbanned but now I can show up on your notifications again.

I'm in a band called MIDI Bunny! :D

Website

Bandcamp

Spotify

Discord server :D

[bookishlyvintage]

coming feb 10: The Retro Collection [shop]

[noones-untruly]

Hey, so, uhm, I did a thing. I'd really like to share it, although I'm very insecure about it. But yeah, here we go.

1 like and I'll continue :D

"A man once had a friend. A friend that could travel the worlds through dreams. And this man was very envious of his friend and yet he fell in love with him.

The friend was an artist. He wasn't really famous but had a small audience. He barely managed to sustain himself with his paintings but refused to switch career paths, as he couldn't bear to do anything else except art. It was what made his life meaningful. The other thing that made his existence bearable was dream walking. The moment he falls asleep he finds himself in a wonderful place. It could be any place, actually. For example, once he had "landed" in a gorgeous castle and spent the entire night strolling in a garden with a beautiful maid, talking about flowers. The other night he appeared on a futuristic space ship and explored an unknown sector of galaxy with a crew. Once he also went to a magic academy and studied secrets of nature alongside geniuses. Sometimes he managed to go to the worlds he already visited, and it appeared that anyone living there still remembered him. The life in the Dreams was always full of joy, without any real inconvenience, pain or suffering. The only reason not to abandon the awakened world and get lost in the dream realm, was the fact that it's impossible for him to create art while dream-walking. So even though the live in the Dreams was much better, he couldn't bring himself to stay there forever without his passion.

The man, on the other side, was a scientist. He was a person with a will to understand the world and its magic. He had a decent job, a nice and cozy apartment, and some other friends, but also that sucking feeling of something lacking.

He only understood what was it, that feeling, the day he met this friend. He lacked the ability to dream and create. He could only think, connect the dots, and copy what he sees, but never had he ever managed to come up with something new. It never really bothered him, until he saw his friend drawing. That moment it hit him. How desperate he was, to be able to create.

It all began with envy. He saw his friend creating and lost his sleep for days. The moment the brush touched the canvas felt like someone stabbed the man. His heart skipped a beat just to find a new rhythm. It went faster and faster as if there was no limit to its speed. The scientist felt that he couldn't breathe properly. Everything suddenly became so vivid and bright that it almost caused pain. On that invisible razor blade of an edge between suffering and euphoria the new chapter began.

The man started to meet the artist regularly. He watched him draw, never commenting on the process nor engaging in a discussion. He listened to the creator silently. Any other sane person, if witnessed them, would say that the scientist was obsessed with the art and the artist. He rarely blinked when looked, his breath was light and irregular, and he sat? still as if he was a statue.

The artist never noticed anything weird about his friend's behavior. Actually, it flattered him, to have such an engaged fan. It was a highly pleasing feeling to have someone who'd listen to everything he says, someone who'd be stunned by his genius so much he would freeze. He loved attention, especially from skeptical people, such as his friend, the scientist. After all, he was a bit egocentric like any other creative person.

This wicked relationship did not go unnoticed, though. Every single of their mutual friends had an opinion on what was happening between the two. Those who were more prosaic claimed that there is no friendship only mutual unhealthy obsession and that it should not continue. On the other hand, those who were less realistic and much more naive found the relationship quite adorable and bookishly romantic. Some of them even actively encouraged it.

But the artist and the scientist never listened to any of the sides, preferring to ignore them.

But unfortunately, nothing lasts forever in this world and thus the feelings had to change... "

[the-book-queen]

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Putting these lists together takes time. If you appreciate this content, please consider buying me a Ko-Fi. http://ko-fi.com/danielletbq