#cemetery boys is one of my absolute favorite books ever

[spacebarbarianweird]

Kid falls asleep somewhere and the caretaker finds them, bringing them to their bed

This is probably one of my favorite childhood memories 🥺❤️

Synopsis: Astarion is carrying his daughter to bed for the last time in her life.

Tags: dadstarion, dhampirs, fluff

This is the fluffiest thing I ever written. And since you all like reading about Astarion's daughter's future - I've written the whole part with adult Alethaine POV as she takes care of her own child centuries later.

Alethaine's age (1st part) - 17-years-old

Alethaine's age (2nd part) - 316-years-old

Thanks @themadlu for beta-reading!

Read on AO3

Masterlist

Headcanons

Astarion is drunk with blood and night. His body is warm but his head is dizzy with happiness. Here, deep in the woods of the Unicorn Run, he can be truly himself.

A predator. A hunter.

A vampire.

He is free. He is fast. He is dangerous. Animal blood satiates him and he feels like the shadows of the past are leaving him.

There are still nightmares. Sorrows. Sometimes he is so angry he smashes things against the wall or tries to tear at his hair. 

But it doesn’t mean anything, after all. It all ended. For good. 

He will never be hungry again. He will never be tortured. Or forced to sleep with strangers. No more pain, no more misery, no more rapes.

He has a home. He has a family. He even has friends who pretend they don’t know he is a vampire. 

He has everything, and no one will take it from him.

Astarion comes back slowly, enjoying every step he makes with his bare feet. His ears twitch in anticipation – he knows he is being waited for at home. Tiriel will welcome him with her genuine smile, asking how his night walk was. Alethaine, their daughter, is probably somewhere else – she is seventeen and Astarion knows she has her own life right now, and he will know details of it only if she decides to tell.

Though, there is one problem.

Somehow Alethaine isn’t interested in relationships. Neither girls nor boys. Once she admitted to him she just didn’t get what all this fuss was about and the only person in the whole town who tried to ask her for a date ended up with a broken hand. Astarion refused to punish Alethaine for violence (“It’s your son’s problem if he can’t take ‘no’ for an answer, not mine.”), but it surprises him how little someone could care about love, relationships, and sex. 

Alethaine read the Necromancy of Thay at fifteen and she understands it much better than he ever will, but boys and girls? Absolutely unknown and weird.

Astarion decides to take a long path to the underground part of the town to enjoy the surface at least a little bit more. It takes him to the town’s cemetery – its old part almost forgotten by humans and halflings whose lifespan is so short that elves and dwarves don’t have enough time to get used to them.

And then he sees a familiar black leather bag with books.

He turns left and sees Alethaine curled on someone’s century-old grave.

It seems like she was reading and then decided to take a nap putting the book aside. Astarion picks the book up. Dragons, wyrms and drakes. The study. Probably one of the books she got from a traveling merchant a month ago. Astarion remembers how she came home with a huge pile of volumes proudly saying that she’s spent all the money she earned by working in the tavern and fortune-telling. 

1000 Poisons and Antidotes, A Field Guide To Fey, Thirty Ways To Skin a Dragon, Myth and Legends of Calimshan and also a few books in Infernal she got to “practice”.There was something else but Astarion doesn’t remember. 

Astarion reaches out for her shoulder to wake her up but then stops. There is something so precious and unreal he can’t take his eyes off Alethaine. 

She is beautiful. People say she looks like him, but he can’t be sure. Pale skin, elven ears, hair as silver as the moonlight. She is delicate like a fey and looks as fragile as a porcelain doll.

Astarion concentrates and hears her heartbeat. 

So alive. So real. So precious.

In moments like this, he can’t believe she is his child. When she was a baby, he mostly adored how cute she was. But now— 

It’s probably the first time Astarion realizes his daughter is almost an adult.

She is a beautiful and smart woman, her very own person, so different from both him and Tiriel. Damn, Tiriel is often asked what crypt she found her daughter in!

Astarion smiles looking at his baby – she will always be a baby to him. No matter how many centuries will pass, he will never forget a tiny dhampir who constantly cried to get his attention. And whom he carried to bed if she fell asleep playing with her dolls.

Astarion feels an itchy sensation on his skin. The sunrise. 

When exactly was the last time he carried his daughter in his hands?

Astarion takes the book on dragons, puts it in the bag, and then lifts Alethaine up.

She grunts something but doesn’t wake up.

“Come on, let’s return home. Days are merciless and cruel for the creatures of the night,” he chuckles.

Alethaine feels almost weightless in his arms as he returns to the underground part of Daggrerlake. Soon Alethaine will leave them, he knows that. She is already preparing to become an adventurer, though he suspects she will spend another year under their roof. Seventeen years is such a short amount of time. 

But it’s her whole life.

Tiriel welcomes them in the yard and chuckles, seeing Alethaine fast asleep in his arms.

“Oh, I thought she was way too adult for that,” she smiles, opening the door. “Where was she?”

“The old graveyard.”

“Well, her favorite place in the town,” she whispers. “Right after the tavern where she frauds travelers with her fortune telling.”

Alethaine lacks any fortune-telling abilities except for good intuition. But strangers who stay at the inn owned by a family of dwarves don’t know that. They just see a very pale and mysterious-looking elf who is advertised to them as a witch. 

Once, a fighter who Alethaine told he would get a wife soon, returned to her angry and pissed because his attempt to matchmake a princess ended up with him being whipped in a town square. It’s probably the only time Astarion had to show up in the tavern during Alethaine’s shift. When he got there, Alethaine was crying and the fighter was threatening her with every awful thing a man can do to a young girl.

The fighter was deliciously scared when a vampire threw him against the wall and broke his dominant hand. Alethaine then told Astarion, no, she wasn’t crying, no she wasn’t afraid of that dumbass, she just got offended by all those mean words he told her.

But Astarion knew she was scared. She was scared like any girl her age after being threatened by a much larger and older man. The fighter begged Astarion to forgive him and he threw the moron at Alethaine’s legs, forcing him to beg her and, if she accepted his apologies, he would let him go. 

Alethaine didn’t forgive him (maybe she was just paralyzed with shock and fear) and that night Astarion dined on his blood. Besides, if the man could approach someone that young and casually tell her he was going to assault her, it probably meant he’d already done it to someone else. Or would in the next village.

Astarion puts Alethaine to her bed. He bitterly smiles, noting that there is no plushie toy or doll anymore that she liked so much barely a few years ago – only books, candles, and animal skulls she collects in the woods.

He also bitterly remembers that, in the very recent past, he could easily help her change clothes into the night dress. But this thing is forever out of reach for him. So, he just puts her boots off and places them in front of the bed.

“Sleep well, princess,” he murmurs, leaving the room.

“Heavy-sleeper!” Tiriel jokes standing in the inner yard. She cuts the wood for the fireplace and Astarion adores the sight of her wielding the ax.

“She is,” Astarion looks away.

She is seventeen. She will soon leave their home. She will live for centuries – and her childhood will be such a minor part of her life that it makes Astarion upset. He cherished every single day since she was born: her first step, her first word, the first time she saw the snow, the first time she went somewhere alone (she was five and Tiriel sent her to pick up herbs from the healer). The first book she read by herself. The first letter she wrote.

And now, there are also the last things.

The last time she slept in her parents’ bed – he remembers how she took her pillow and left them to return to her room. The last time he bathed her – and she looked so innocent and cute in the wooden tub full of soapy water. The last time he read her a book – it was a novel about unicorns and fey. He expected she would bring another one to read the next day, but, instead, he found Alethaine reading by herself. 

The last time he played dolls with her. The last time Tiriel brushed her long hair. The last time they played hide-and-seek in the woods. The last snowball fight.

All these things didn’t seem like the last when they did it, but they became one.

And Astarion knows that the fact he carried Alethaine to bed this day was a miracle. He will never do this ever again.

“Astarion, my love, what happened?” Tiriel’s fingers play with his hair. “Don’t tell me everything's right, I see you are upset!”

“Alethaine grew up too fast,” he admitted. “It’s not fair that elves live so long and yet their childhood is just slightly longer than humans.”

“I know, love. But she is an adult – and we need to see her like one, unless she wants to be occasionally treated like a child.”

Astarion places his head on Tiriel’s shoulder.

“I just… Damn… We both were children. Your childhood was hell and your mother was a bitch, but I don’t remember mine. You know, I just thought—” Astarion would sigh if he breathed. “There was a moment when I was carried to bed for the last time, too. And I can’t even remember who did it.”

Tiriel kisses his forehead — it’s a motherly gesture, not a lover’s one.

And then Astarion suddenly finds himself in Tiriel’s arms ‘bridal style’.

“Tiriel, put me back!”

“Why would I?” she laughs, holding him as if he were a young boy.

“I sometimes forget how strong you are,” he mutters, hoping no one sees them.

“It’s just your hollow elven bones. Though, I can lift human males up too!”

“I hope you don’t do this often because, otherwise, I will start getting possessive!”

“Or throw them in the mud after, don’t worry,” Tiriel kisses him, still holding Astarion as if he were weightless. 

“Ok, then, now you need to carry me to bed,” he pouts.

“I will gladly do that. And then, you will tell me how you want me to love you.”

“I will think on the way to the bedroom, my love.”

They both burst out in laughter.

**

A drake the size of a cat sneezes and burns the dandelions. Then, it looks up at Alethaine with guilt as if apologizing. 

“And can I ask where your owner is?” Alethaine murmurs. 

The drake sneezes again. Aurix – gold in Draconic – demonstrates its tummy to the dhampir and stretches like a kitten.

Alethaine takes a few more steps and finds herself in a beautiful green field full of grass and flowers. The wind makes waves on its surface and Alethaine feels that the night is slowly approaching.

A red-haired elf lies in the grass. Her red hair is messy – she’s been hunting the whole day. Her bow lies at her side. The freckled face is a bit suntanned and her ears twitch a bit as their owner wanders in her reverie.

“Tiri,” Alethaine leans to her sixteen-year-old daughter. “Let’s go home, dad worries you got lost.”

Tiri mutters something incomprehensible. She is young and her reverie is deep. As someone with very few memories to re-live, Tiriel Goldernoot, the only daughter of King Elren and his “witch-queen” Alethaine, probably sees only glimpses of her past lives mixed with human-like dreams.

Besides, her grandmother and namesake was half-human. So, Tiri’s dreams are much more vivid.

“Tiri, get up. If you don't, I will carry you myself.”

“It’s a manipulation, mum.”

“It is, so I see you are awake. Get up.” 

Tiri sits up, numb and dizzy after a reverie and she looks like someone beaten with a bag of sand. Alethaine helps her daughter to stand up and the drake immediately sits on her shoulder.

“Tired?” Alethaine asks.

“Ughm. I’ve been to Corellon’s grove.”

The biggest temple on the isle was ten miles away from Leuthilspar – the capital and Alethaine’s new home – no wonder the girl was so tired.

“I didn’t get inside, I just wanted to see the place from the hills.”

“Come on,” Alethaine takes her daughter’s hand and takes her home. 

“Mum,” she tells her, and Alethaine feels her daughter’s embarrassment. “May I ask— Though no, don’t bother, it’s stupid.”

“You want me to carry you?”

Tiri blushes and nods. They are the same height, mother and daughter, but Tiri is far from being a dhampir, and Alethaine can carry much heavier things than a young High Elf ranger. 

“But as long as no one sees us!” Tiri quickly adds.

“Don’t worry, no one will,” Alethaine promises and lifts her daughter up.

They walk like that for almost an hour. Tiri is exhausted and barely talks and Alethaine enjoys her loud heartbeat and deep breathing. When Tiri was born, Aletaine was suspiciously looking at the newborn baby. Was she a dhampir like her? Did the quote of vampiric blood affect her? Did Alethaine’s obsession with dark arts and demonic studies somehow hurt the child?

And then she remembers the realization. Tiri is as normal as possible. Just an elf. She wouldn’t grow fangs, she wouldn’t want blood, she wouldn’t accidentally reanimate a dead kitten and the druidic circles would never harm her. That moment Alethaine grabbed the newborn girl from her cradle, she came straight to Elren who was meditating in one of the many gardens of the elven castle and pushed Tiri into his arms. “Look at her!” Alethaine laughed as her half-asleep Thiramin was trying to realize what was going on. “She isn’t a creature of the night! The dark magic didn’t hurt her! She is normal! Like you!”

Alethaine catches the scent of other elves and puts Tiri on the ground. Now they walk through the streets like mother and daughter. Even though elves have different ideas of nobility and social structure than humans, Alethaine is still married to the king and she senses respect and fear from other elves (besides, they all know if it wasn't for her none of them would have made it alive after the demons had taken a hold on Faerun).

They needed the dark witch to deal with demons because druids don’t know what real darkness is.

“Hungry?” Alethaine asks.

“Like a vampire.”

“Interesting choice of words, Little Fire,'' Elren says sitting on the floor with yet another book about the ancient history of elves. Elren couldn’t care less about his status (“I’ve never asked to be crowned.”) and usually behaves as if he were still a ranger in the High Forest.

Tiri proceeds to tell her father how she marched through the hills, how Aurix almost ate a fey, and how she didn’t lose a single arrow while hunting birds. And then, she also saw portals to the Feywild but didn’t dare to approach them.

Alethaine walks up to the ceiling and stretches her arms – night is calling her. But she also feels the storm coming and decides she won’t leave the warm walls of the elven castle tonight.

When Tiri goes away to have dinner, Elren stands right below Alethaine. He is way taller than elves usually are and sometimes Alethaine feels very small in his presence. 

His hair is almost as long as Alethaine’s, but it has a golden shade. His eyes are light-blue and he wears intricate ear-cuffs as his only jewelry.

Elren reaches to rub her ear and Alethaine smiles like a content cat.

They met eighteen years ago, almost yesterday considering they are both older than three centuries. Alethaine hates all these sentimental and “star-crossing” things but, to be honest, she fell for the ranger elf the moment he showed up in her witch hut asking her to help him deal with the demons in the High Wood. Probably, the funniest thing for Alethaine is that Elren is so lawful, good, brave, kind, and generous, and is so much to her father’s liking he threatens to turn inside out anyone who wants to harm Elren.

Alethaine smiles, remembering their first encounter – Elren was captured by Drows and held in their torture chambers for a few weeks. Astarion got him out from there and by the time Aletaine found their small camp in the Underdark her father and husband-to-be were sharing stories of their adventures and laughing at the dumb Drows who didn’t expect a vampire to ambush them. 

Maybe Astarion saw Elren as a part of the world he once belonged to. Maybe, he just cared about him because Alethaine did. Maybe Astarion, despite his cynicism, still adores and respects people like Elren because they can do things he can’t. 

Besides, Alethaine knows her father fell for her mother. And Elren has a lot in common with his long-deceased mother-in-law. The same heroism. The same faith in the best. The same belief that says you should always negotiate first, but there is often a greater evil you should fight. 

“Elren, salen thiramin” Alethaine whispers.

“What?”

“Watch out.”

Alethaine relaxes her legs and falls from the ceiling right into her husband’s arms. 

“You know, one day I won’t be able to catch you, my queen!”

“Nonsense, my king, I trust you with my half-dead heart.”

They burst into laughter and their voices echo through the sun-lit rooms.

--

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[xflippinfrogx]

1, 10, 12, 13, 14, 17, 22, 33, 40, 50, 56, 57, 58, 67, 68, 73, 74, 75, 77, 78, 81, 82, 96, 97, 100, 101, 113, 114, 117, 118, 119, 120, 127, 128, 133, 134, 135, 137, 142, 144, 145, 146, 148, 149, 150

MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

1. Who was the last person you held hands with? My best friend because we’re both clingy 🤭

10. Who was the last person you had a deep conversation with? Honestly it was probably you ash, I haven’t gotten too deep irl recently. 12. What are your 5 favorite songs right now? 1. Stick season~ Noah Kahan 2. New Year’s Day~ Taylor swift 3. Kiss me~ Sixpence none the richer 4. The end~ Phoebe Bridgers 5. Bags~ Clairo

13. Do you like it when people play with your hair? People don’t normally play with mine I’m usually the hair player bUT I LOVE IT SO MUCH AGHHHH

14. Do you believe in luck and miracles? Hmmm not sure about miracles but luck sure! I myself have pretty awful luck so we can only hope miracles do exist so it stops😂

17. Do you think there is life on other planets? I’m sure there probably is somewhere in the universe. It might not be exactly like us but cmon there has to be SOMETHING out there?!

22. Where would you like to travel? YOUR HOUSE👹 33. Spell your name with your chin.

woaj hsa DUDE I WASNT EVEN CLOSE

40. What do you want to do after high school? I want to go to college maybe start a band or something like that. Honestly I don’t really know I just can’t wait to move out and have my own little apartment somewhere or something. 50. What was the colour of the last hoodie you wore? Uhhhhh does it count if I’m wearing it right now? Because it’s grey. 56. Favourite colour? Light green and dark red like cherries

57. Favourite food? I love chicken rolls more than life itself🤤 58. Last thing you ate? Funny enough it was a chicken roll- 67. Facebook or Twitter? I don’t actually have twitter so Facebook? I hardly use it though 68. Twitter or Tumblr? TUMBLR 100% I spend half my life on here

73. Do you sleep with stuffed animals? UH DUH

74. How many stuffed animals do you think you have? TOO MANY BUT I LOVE THEM ALL EQUALLY AND THEYRE ALL ON MY BED BECAUSE NO ONE GETS LEFT BEHIND

75. Favourite animal? CATS AND PIDGEONS 77. Chocolate or Vanilla? I love both but for different things

78. Favourite ice cream flavour? Cookies and cream 81. Favourite tv show? I watch so many but maybe the owl house 82. Favourite movie? Juno 96. Favourite actress? Maya Hawke but mainly because I have a big fat crush on her x 97. Favourite actor? hmmmm maybe Matthew Perry 100. How are you feeling? Im actually really hungry but it’s like 2am so I can’t just go get food rn 101. Do you type fast? If you know me at all you’ll know I absolutely do and my fingers move too fast for my brain sometimes and I tend to misspell things lmao 113. What was your childhood nickname? My mum use to call me Lany but she doesn’t anymore 114. Have you ever been out of your province/state? *County and yes I have loads of times 117. Do you like chicken noodle soup? I LIVE LAUGH LOVE CHICKEN SO YESSS 118. Do you like Chinese food? Yeah it’s alright, tbh the Chinese takeaway here isn’t amazing but I like the wontons 119. Favourite book? Cemetery Boys 120. Are you afraid of the dark? No I find it really peaceful. 127. What makes you happy? Seeing my friends happy<3 128. Would you change your name? I don’t think I would now but I didn’t like it when I was younger. 133. Favourite lyrics right now? Will you still want me when I’m nothing new?- Nothing new Taylor swift & Phoebe Bridgers 134. Can you count to one million? Let’s see shall we 1, 2, 3, 4….. (five million hours later) ONE MILLION I DID IT 135. Dumbest lie you ever told? i use to pretend I was a fairy and I told my friends I was friends with the tooth fairy or something 😭 137. How tall are you? Like 5’2? I could be wrong but yeah

142. Favourite month? OCTOBER OMG I LOVE AUTUMN AND HALLOWEEN AND MY BIRTHDAYS IN OCTOBER ITS JUST OERFECT 145. Tea or Coffee? Iced coffee and hot tea💕 146. Was today a good day? Today was kinda boring but yeah it was pretty good 148. What’s your favourite quote? This is one from my music teacher “If you’re only feeling 60% then give 100% of your 60%!” Another one from him, “GUYS THE CARBON IS ALL OUT OF WHACK” 149. Do you believe in ghosts? Id love if they were real because that would be so cool!!! 150. Get the closest book next to you, open it to page 42, what’s the first line on that page?  All my books are in bags rn because of the renovations so I can’t do this one😭

[basiltonpitch]

26, 28, 57, 74, and 77!!!

oooh thank u ayla!!!

26. Is your current hair color your natural hair color? nope, i dye my hair pretty regularly and almost never have my natural color showing lol. rn i have arctic fox ritual over my natural brown so it's like a burgundy color but its fading a bit so i need to touch it up!!

28. What was the last thing that made you laugh? a tiktok sketch thing of a guy pretending to be an old redneck whos selling a van on facebook marketplace. it was very accurate and also very funny that man deserves to win an oscar for that performance

57. Do you believe in ghosts? i don't believe in them but like. i don't not believe in them. i don't know if that makes sense. like when presented with a story about ghosts or a documentary or whatever i'm 100% a skeptic like "that shit isn't real" but the second i'm in spooky situation im like. there's ghosts there's got to be ghosts i am being haunted

74. What is your favorite book? ooooh actually i don't know?? i love so many books so picking a fave is so hard omg BUT i will say the 3 books i read in the past year that i absolutely loved were the final girl support group, the lost apothecary, & cemetery boys!!!

77. Ever been in love? yeah but it was like. the codependent toxic high school girl best-friendship where at times the lines between platonic and romantic blurred so much that you didn't even really know what you were feeling until you reflect back on it years after the fact and then decide to write a whole bunch of poetry about that particular friendship to get those feelings out bc u will never feel them otherwise and sometimes u still check her instagram just to see how she's doing and u think about messaging her and u type out exactly what u wanna say in ur notes app and end up deleting it bc it doesn't matter anyways bc she moved on and she never loved you like you loved her and it's been seven years since you were even friends anyways and you don't know who she is anymore and she doesn't know who u are and at the end of the day it's better to just. try to forget about the love u felt for her when u were sixteen bc ur about to turn 24 and so is she. and the love isn't even really there anymore well it is but it changed shape it's a bittersweet nostalgic kind of love not that all-consuming kind of love u felt back then. but u still feel it and it still hurts and u dont know if it will ever stop

i went a little off the rails with that last one sorry but thank u <3

ask game

[leatherjacketmixtapes]

My 2022 in Books

This year I read 78 books which is a step down from the last few years (all 100+) but I'm trying to read in a more purposeful, slow way, trying to savor and absorb what I read, which is definitely a challenge since I've always been a very speedy reader.

There's a complete list below the cut of all the books, but here were my absolute favorites of this year:

Six of Crows & Crooked Kingdom - Leigh Bardugo

The Miniaturist - Jessie Burton

Dracula - Bram Stoker (Dracula Daily was probably my favorite thing to ever happen on this beloved hellsite in the last 13 years)

The Storyteller - Dave Grohl (I'm not an audiobook person but it was such an experience listening to him read this)

Taste: My Life Through Food - Stanley Tucci

The Essex Serpent - Sarah Perry

Book of Night - Holly Black

The Key to Deceit - Ashley Weaver

Reading Lolita in Tehran - Azar Nafisi

The Bear and the Nightingale - Katherine Arden

The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafón

I loved so many of the others too, don't get me wrong, but those are the ones I know I'll be re-reading again before long (especially Six of Crows & Crooked Kingdom, which I wanted to start reading again the very minute I finished them).

Off to start my 2023 reads now!

A Spindle Splintered - Alix E. Harrow

Ruin and Rising - Leigh Bardugo

Ruin and Rising - Leigh Bardugo

The Tea Dragon Society - Kay O’Neill

The Tea Dragon Tapestry - Kay O’Neill

The Tea Dragon Festival - Kay O’Neill

Flight, Vol. 7 - ed. Kazu Kibuishi

Boxers - Gene Luen Yang

Saints - Gene Luen Yang

The Fire Never Goes Out: A Memoir in Pictures - N.D. Stevenson

Gunpowder: Alchemy, Bombards, and Pyrotechnics: The History of the Explosive that Changed the World - Jack Kelly

Cemetery Boys - Aidan Thomas

The Eye of the World - Robert Jordan

These Violent Delights - Chloe Gong

This Is How You Lose The Time War - Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

Burning Down The Haus: Punk Rock, Revolution, and the Fall of the Berlin Wall - Tim Mohr

The Puzzle Women - Anna Ellory

An Age Of License: A Travelogue - Lucy Knisley

True Love Bites - Joy Demorra

The Bear and The Nightingale - Katherine Arden

Shadow of Night - Deborah Harkness

Under The Whispering Door - T.J. Klune

Rivers of London: Body Work - Ben Aaronovitch

Six of Crows - Leigh Bardugo

The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements - Sam Kean

Home and Exile - Chinua Achebe

Clanlands: Whisky, Warfare, and a Scottish Adventure Like No Other - Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish

Our Violent Ends - Chloe Gong

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue - V.E. Schwab

The Paris Apartment - Lucy Foley

The Miniaturist - Jessie Burton

Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead - Bert V. Royal

Death in the Air: The True Story of a Serial Killer, the Great London Smog, and the Strangling of a City - Kate Winkler Dawson

The Devil and the Dark Water - Stuart Turton

Crooked Kingdom - Leigh Bardugo

Portrait of a Thief - Grace D. Li

The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music - Dave Grohl

The Sun Also Rises - Ernest Hemingway

The Key to Deceit - Ashley Weaver

The Essex Serpent - Sarah Perry

Book of Night - Holly Black

Cryptid Club - Sarah Andersen

Taste: My Life Through Food - Stanley Tucci

Booty: Girl Pirates on the High Seas - Sara Lorimer

The House in the Cerulean Sea - T.J. Klune

hir - Taylor Mac

All Boys Aren’t Blue - George M. Johnson

The Wedding Date - Jasmine Guillory

Are Prisons Obsolete? - Angela Y. Davis

Other Birds - Sarah Addison Allen

Dracula - Bram Stoker

Demon in the Wood - Leigh Bardugo

The 39 Steps - John Buchan

Wade in the Water: Poems - Tracy K. Smith

Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books - Azar Nafisi

Mexican Gothic - Silvia Moreno-Garcia

The Five Orange Pips - Arthur Conan Doyle

She Who Became The Sun - Shelley Parker-Chan

While Justice Sleeps - Stacey Abrams

Cinnamon - Neil Gaiman

The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper - Hallie Rubenhold

Persuasion - Jane Austen

Illuminae - Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman

No Bones - Anna Burns

Mercury - Hope Larson

Iron Widow - Xiran Jay Zhao

Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens (re-read)

The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom - August Wilson

Year of the Reaper - Makiia Lucier

The Ten Thousand Doors of January - Alix E. Harrow

Paper Girls, Volumes 1-6 - Brian K. Vaughan

[harborpointeblvd]

I Watched Every GMMTV BL Series part 3/?

2016/2017 2018

2020

2019 feels like a turning point. Like, this was the year they decided to try making good series. I know I didn't have great things to say about the older series, but I generally go into a series wanting to like it and I tend to be pretty forgiving.

FYI, I know some of these names have multiple spellings. I'm just using whatever spelling was used in the subtitles on YouTube.

He’s Coming to Me - 2019

After dying on his twenty-second birthday, Med (Singto Prachaya) remains as a ghost in the cemetery. He relives his death every night in his dreams, but can’t recall any of his life. After many years with no human visitors, Med is visited by a boy named Thun who can seemingly see and hear him. Years later, Thun returns as a university student (Ohm Pawat), and proposes that Med live with him so they can solve the mystery of Med’s untimely death.

This drama was so close to being perfect. Ohm gave a great performance. Singto was so much better in this than in SOTUS. It had a healthy balance of drama and comedy, without the drama ever feeling forced. I just felt a little let down by the ending. Spoilers ahead.

So, I was fully prepared for a sad ending. And as much as I love a happy ending, this was a rare case where I felt like a sad ending would have been better. Giving this impossible romance a miracle happy ending felt like a copout. It felt like fanservice. Like they set out to tell a new and interesting story, but didn’t have the guts to disappoint anyone with a sad ending. And then I'm the one left to grapple with the logistics of dating a ghost. But my biggest problem with the ending was that they fucking solved the mystery behind Med’s death and then just forgave his murderer who has been living free of consequences for twenty years and absolutely no one has a problem with it.

Not even trying not to look like a lunatic.

Theory of Love - 2019

Third (Gun Atthaphan) and Khai (Off Jumpol) are third year film majors in university and best friends. Third has harbored secret feelings for Khai for three years, but Khai is a serial dater and (supposedly) straight. Khai constantly takes advantage of Third’s loyalty, unaware of his true feelings. After repeatedly having his feelings hurt by Khai, Third decides to get over him once and for all. But when Third tries to take a step back, suddenly Khai is ready to take a step forward.

I think…I liked this series? I mean, like, I was ready to throw hands every 40 seconds, but that means I was invested, right? I liked Third, but he’s such a pushover I wanted to strangle him. Gun is an excellent actor, but just because he can cry on command doesn’t mean I want to see him do it for twelve episodes straight. Khai is an asshole, not just as a love interest, but as a friend. I don’t think I’ve ever actively rooted against a male lead so hard. The side pairings are kind of forgettable.

Anyways, Third mentions the movie Flipped several times, and despite having seen the movie and loving the book as a kid, it took me an embarrassingly long time to realize that this series is just doing Flipped. I have to say, I’m a sucker for the unrequited love switcheroo premise. Which is probably why I like Theory of Love maybe more than it deserves. But I'm not as bad as Third, whose favorite movie is Flipped.

Me trying to get through all these shows.

Dark Blue Kiss - 2019

A sequel to Kiss Me Again (2018), following Pete (Tay Tawan) and Kao (New Thitipoom). After three years together, their relationship is still a secret from almost everyone, including Kao’s mother. This causes insecurity in Pete, especially after Kao starts to tutor his mom’s boss’s son, Non (AJ Chayapol). Torn between helping his mom and placating his boyfriend, Kao decides to continue tutoring Non in secret.

It’s hard to explain, but the way this drama tiptoed over that line into overdramatic hit an angsty sweet-spot for me in a way these dramas rarely do. I’m gonna mark this one down as a guilty pleasure, because despite Pete being an absolute red flag, I loved this series. It was hard to watch Kao dig himself into a hole, but it’s easy to see why he did, because Pete is completely unreasonable from the start. And why, because he felt threatened by some baby-faced high school kid? AJ looks like a toddler in this series. A seven foot toddler who I want to punch in the mouth, but a toddler nonetheless.

Minor spoiler here, Non’s ending felt unresolved. As much as I hated that little punk, seeing him being dragged off by his abusive, homophobic dad was not in any way satisfying.

I am happy to report that you do not need to watch Kiss Me Again to follow this series. It was good to see the whole group of college friends return, since they were one of the few parts of that series I enjoyed. The side pair is also two returning characters from Kiss Me Again. If you tend to like side pairs, you’ll probably like them, but I’m generally indifferent to side pairs, so they were fine.

*dramatic violin*

Soulmate - The One. Like he was created for me, specifically. Sugar Daddy - He may not have it all, but he knows how to spoil me. Friend With Benefits - Despite my better judgment, I went and caught feelings. Second Lead - All my friends love him, but I don’t feel the spark. Overeager Pursuer - Tries to be cute but just gets on my nerves. Vindictive Ex - It’s like he’s punishing me for knowing I could do better. Love Rival - Literally what did I do to deserve this? -

[ranger-kellyn]

I wanna write about them now, but I'm still nervous of making them out of character..

Current mood is, I wanna draw AND write. :/

(this ended up being WAY longer than i thought it would so bear with me)

i know all about that, so allow me to share a quote with you from my favorite book. It's said twice, but the first part is a little long, and potentially spoils some things with what's in between the dialogue pieces so

Page 334, Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

"You ready?" Julian asked, a curious look on his devastatingly handsome face. "No," Yadriel confessed, his voice tight. Julian grinned. "Do it anyways."

A special shoutout to my best friend, @dinosrawr, for finding the pages for me, introducing me to that book in the first place, as well as being the reason i bring this quote up in the first place!

i can't remember what I was stressing over. some art project, probably. worrying i wouldn't be good enough at it/it would be bad/etc etc etc

they hit me with the "do it anyways" line, and something about it was just. enough. to kick me in gear. and while SURE, it meant something extra because we both had read the book, it's something I try to remind myself of when I'm stressing over if something will be "enough".

Do it anyways.

And if it comes out "bad"? It comes out "wrong"? If they're not Perfectly In Character? (and i KNOW how dismissive this sounds and so i apologise for that) It's not the end of the world.

Painters can get paint all over them. Ceramicists can get covered in clay (trust me!! i at least have a degree in that one!!!) In my 2d drawing classes I'd come home covered in charcoal.

Writers seem to be held to a weird high standard. like. Get messy. Write something bad. Write something self indulgent.

Just in my purah/robbie fics alone? -Age of Calamity Epic??? I'm adding so much stuff it's self indulgent and i KNOW I have moments where I'm going to be going against the "balls to the wall confident"-type Purah is. I'm gonna say that she has insecurities. Insecurities that maybe her character wouldn't even actually ever have in a million years. But the fic will make ME happy, and if someone else happens to enjoy the fic as well?? excellent. -Autumn In Goldcliff?? this fic started kind of as a joke, because it's literally using the Hallmark Christmas Movie Formula. That being said, you better BELIEVE they will be 10 kinds of OOC. I'm still excited to write it. -From The Ashes?? oh my god. this is my "all three sheikah end up deaged" AU. you better BELIEVE i'm throwing all kinds of self indulgence in here. -Long Story Short? Big City Hallmark. In this one. Robbie is a country boy from a teeny tiny farming town. Purah is the new CEO of the company that oversaw his parent's farm, and she lives in the Big City. We're romanticizing the Big City in this one bc i'm so tIRED of how hallmark romanticizes small towns (lived in one growing up- not as glamorous as hallmark makes u think) -Untitled College AU? nothing but self indulgence baeby -Press Restart?? this was one of my very first purobbie fics i outlined. in this one, robbie ends up deaging himself as well, post calamity being sealed, and Grante ends up reuniting the two. -Untitled ANGST: Angst Angst Baby -Lick The Frog?? (tentative title) this is a sex pollen fic. I don't need to say any more than that to tell u how self indulgent that is. -Untitled Mindswap Fic??? This one is literally just a JOKE to MYSELF. I lAUGH when I work on this one. This fic is for nobody but myself. -Untitled What Could Have Been fic?? title alone is self-indulgent, and i literally cOULDNT handle the angst so i'm working on two separate "alternate endings" for this fic. -Untitled "5 Times She Almost Saw His Eyes and The 1st Time She Actually Did"- you inspired this one, anon. -Untitled P&R showing off their fossil monstrosities to Impa: a direct quote from Impa, [about Arctozolt] "You ruined a perfectly good pokemon is what you did!! Look at him!! You gave him hypothermia!!" Clearly, I'm only barely taking that fic serious because I would rather have FUN

So like. TL;DR

Be self indulgent. Write the fic YOU wanna write.

To end this with another "quote" that I try to remind myself when I'm stressing over the quality of my work:

“From failure you learn, from success… not so much.”

It's all so much easier said than done, and there's PLENTY of days I have where I can't even get myself to take any of my own advice.

But I believe in you, anon <3

If nothing else, I'm here to support you work <3

[meg-moira]

What's your favorite queer rep in fiction?

My favorite??? I have a hard time choosing a favorite book, let alone a favorite character from them. Best I can do is a list!

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo

This one is a short, stunning read. The main characters is a cleric named Chih (who uses they/them pronouns!), and is investigating the carefully concealed story of an empress and her handmaiden. The book is self-described as a “feminist high fantasy” and it is exactly as fantastic as it sounds.

This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

Have you ever wanted to read a story about two women who are time traveling spies on opposite sides of the time war?? If so, boy have I got the story for you. This whole story is a delightfully agonizing slow-burn enemies to lovers, all wrapped in some of the most gorgeous, surreal prose I’ve ever read.

The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells

This one does fall into the genderless robot trope BUT there are also non-binary human characters and great queer and poc representation all around. Also, this whole series is just so good. Martha Wells has such a talent for writing characters that are so easy to love.

Hell’s Library Series by A.J. Hackwith

The main character, a kickass librarian in hell, is black, pansexual, and amazing in every single way. One of the other main characters is bisexual, and there are side characters (not all of them nonhuman) who are non-binary. Also, Hackwith says no thank you to love triangles, giving us a slow burn poly relationship instead.

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen

When I say this graphic novel made me cry — I mean cry cry. It is about a young boy named Tiên whose parents are refugees from Vietnam. Tiên, who realizes he’s gay, struggles with how to come out to them. Throughout the story, the boy and his mother read fairytales to each other as a way of communicating, and the whole thing is exactly as heartwarming and wholesome as it sounds. I honestly wish I could read the whole thing for the first time again, it’s so so good!

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

Nimona is about a troubled shapeshifter who is taken in by the world’s most infamous villain. The two of them set out to prove that Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin and everyone else at the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics aren’t as “good” as they seem, and the whole story is hilarious, queer, and heartwarming.

Genderqueer by Maia Kobabe

This one doesn’t contain a character, exactly. It’s an autobiographical comic about Maia Kobabe’s life and eir exploration and discovery of eir gender and sexuality. The comic is honest, laugh out loud funny, and incredibly affirming to anyone who might be exploring or questioning their gender.

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

When Yadriel, a trans boy, attempts to prove himself a real brujo, he accidentally summons the ghost of a missing classmate. This one’s an enemies to friends to crushes, and it’s an absolute joy.

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire

This one has an asexual main character! I repeat, an asexual main character! ❤️ I went into this book having no idea about the queer rep, and it was the loveliest surprise. Every Heart a Doorway is about the children who are whisked away to other lands — but then, for whatever reason, cannot stay. These children are invited to a boarding school to help them readjust to the real world. Note: Trigger warning for an upsetting (and somewhat graphic) side character death very early in the story.

I know I’ve surely forgotten some equally amazing ones, but these are a start!

[pumpkinpot]

I love the idea of a witchy lover for the MHA characters. (i am indeed a witch myself and for this I am using my favorite boy, Bakugou.)

I am someone that visits my local cemetery as often as possible to connect to the ones before me. I read at the cemeteries, eat breakfast and share it with the squirrels that live in the trees and leave quarters for safe passages to the after life. This is that imagine.  

For this drabble you are new to town and are just meeting the Pro Hero Dynamight out of a professional setting for the first time. 

“Do you know if there is a cemetery around?” you ask, fiddling with your fingers. 

“A couple, why?” He asks over the lip of a wine glass.

“I um-” you swished your reason around your mouth a few times trying to find the best way not to make the Hero look at you- the way he is right now. “I uh- I read in cemeteries. For the spirits.” 

His eyes were glued on you, brows furrowed. “For the spirits, like, ghosts?” 

“I guess you could surmise them as ghosts, yeah.” 

“Aren’t they supposed to be in houses why would they stay in cemeteries?” He said it like the thought of you reading to ghosts wasn’t the problem and it was your illogical placement. That you could work with. 

“Some stay in the places they died or where they have tethers to. If a bit of your soul gets linked to a watch, and your body is buried with that watch then you stay in the cemetery.” 

“And you know this for a fact?” 

You hated that statement. Only siths dealt in absolutes and you were absolutely sure than not one person on the planet was sure about anything. 

“Can you just tell me where the cemetery is?” 

He agrees to show you, if you take him with you. He doesn’t give much more of a reason than, “I just haven’t visited in a while.” 

It made sense that he knew people in the cemetery. Weather it were family or other heroes. 

You gathered your book and, veil and, quarters then made your way to what you thought was the closest gravesite, but you’d passed by two others by, by the time Bakugou turned his car into a tidy graveyard with only a dozen or so stones in it. 

You got to counting your quarters pleasantly surprised that you had enough for everyone. He let you lead, not asking a ton of questions as you went through, placing a coin on every stone you saw ending with the one he sat next to. 

He plunked some red flowers into a vase attached to the stone, scooching over to make room for you. 

“This is a-” he clears his throat. “He was my best friend.” 

You waited for him to translate the name on the stone, but he never does so you nod to the stones script with a respectful smile. 

Bakugou listens to you read from a cheesy adventure book without interruption or correction when you stutter over words. No one living has ever accompanied you in your reading session, and it had you feeling a bit nervous to do your normal theatrics, but Bakugou didn’t seem to mind. The two of you end with a packed snack that you’d prepared, passing crumbles to crows that congregated along the walkways. It was peaceful. Trees stretched around the sight, shielding it from the cities sounds and the markers were well kempt. 

“How often do you do this?” Bakugou asks, throwing another bit of cookie to a bird. 

“Once a week. Usually Wednesdays.”

He looks almost nervous to meet your eyes. He looks from the stone of his friend then hesitantly up to you. “Can I come?” 

From then on as your relationship grew it became tradition to go to the cemetery on Wednesday's and read. You took turns choosing and narrating books. It was a good time for both of you to practice your multilingual skills. 

As time went on and the cemetery began to get biggers with, as you found out, it was a privately owned cemetery for heroes. Somewhere where they could be buried as themselves and not beneath publicized monuments in the cities cemetery.

It eased Bakugou a bit. Being there. Knowing that if, God forbid he ever ended up here before his time, you’d be here with a quarter and a book. 

.

If you like this content here is my  Master List and Rules

[oblivionsdream]

I read so many good books in 2020 that it was nearly impossible to narrow it down to my favorite ten but here are my Top Ten Books/Series of 2020!

*They’re listed in no particular order

**If you have any book suggestions for what I should read next year let me know! I’m always looking for suggestions.

1. Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson- This book OH MY GOD. You’ve got magical libraries (a book worms dream), a feral librarian, a dramatic sorcerer and the best tiny demon to ever exist (Silas is my son). This was just such a fun book to read.

2. The Green Creek series by TJ Klune- This. Series. Shattered. My. Heart. And then mended it back with the love of these characters before breaking it again. It reignited my love for werewolves and had some of the best relationships ever.

3. The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune- After having your heart broken by the Green Creek series the best cure is this book. It is the sweetest, purest, and fluffiest book I have ever had the pleasure to read. One of the best found families and just so heartfelt and guaranteed to make you smile.

4. How the King of Elfhame learned to Hate Stories by Holly Black- A worthy follow up of the Folk of the Air Trilogy. I ADORED seeing more of our disaster prince Cardan plus the way the novella itself read a bit like a fairytale was just lovely

5. Fence series by C.S Pacat and Sarah Rees Brennan (art by Johanna the Mad)- This series is just so fun and cute and I love all of the characters so much! The original graphic novels are amazing and the new novel just deepened my love for this story.

6. Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas- THIS BOOK STOLE MY HEART. I adored the characters so much and I swear I was smiling the entire time (except for when I was crying like the over emotional nerd I am).

7. Villians series by V.E Schwab- Loved loved LOVED how dark this series got. And no matter how awful the characters were you couldn’t help rooting for them. It was the kind of story that you couldn’t get out of your head even long after you’d finished.

8. The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue by V.E Schwab- There were so many beautiful quotes throughout and it had such an emotional element that tugged at the heartstrings. You couldn’t help but root for Addie even when there didn’t seem like a happy ending could possibly be in sight. She will not be forgotten by me anytime soon.

9. Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo- I can’t believe I waited so long to read this one. It had the Dark Academia vibes I’ve been craving, dark and wonderful. I absolutely loved the characters and CANNOT wait for the sequel especially with that cliffhanger of an ending!!

10. The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon - EPIC. That’s how I would describe this one. The world building is exquisite, wonderful diversity, and the way every narrative twists together is a master piece. So many bad ass women plus DRAGONS. Need I say more?

[dreamsclock]

just curious :D

what’s your favorite book/s?

HI thank u for the q :D i used to be a massive reader and i still hold a lot of those books close to my heart and they still inspire me a lot SO !! without further ado here are some of my favourites under the cut :))

if we were villains / m.l. rio

amazing dark academia murder-mystery book <33 the characters are all assholes but still somehow v likeable, they’re all so self destructive, the moments they slip into quoting shakespeare are sooooo good and give so much double meaning to their characters/words, and it’s about theatre kids covering for one of their best friend’s murder. what’s not to enjoy about that :D

vicious / vengeful duology // v.e. schwab

my favourite book series ever :)) i actually have a dsmp au based off it !! two college scientists who uncover people can develop abilities after near death experiences and the absolute horrors that accompany them after they find this out. SO good, the (homoerotic) tension between victor and eli is so good and they’re both sympathetic but Huge Assholes,, and victor is canonically ace !! the side characters are so brilliant and i just love v.e. schwab so much, everything they write us incredible ^_^

the hunger games trilogy // suzanne collins

old series that most people have read but if you haven’t, i 100% recommend it. it’s a very gritty depiction of dystopia and revolution and although it’s YA, it doesn’t understate the cruelty of government or the horror of kids fighting to the death. this series stuck with me for literally almost a decade lol, that’s how i know it’s good.

six of crows duology // leigh bardugo

incredible show stopping amazing fantastic etc. the series is essentially about a group of Unlikely Allies who are tasked with an impossible mission for a ridiculous amount of money, but find challenges/love/found family/betrayal etc along the way. haven’t read the second book but ive heard it’s just as good as the first, and the characters are so loveable. anything by leigh is a good shout !!! i love her work !!

the cemetery boys // aiden thomas

SUCH a fun book and the only one ft. an Explicitly Trans character (the protagonist)!! i haven’t finished it yet but would 100% recommend, all the characters are so full of life (No Pun Intended) and the queer/poc rep is >>>. if you like ghosts, found family, teenagers getting up to no good TM and a (hopefully) happy ending, Read This Immediately Or You’re Transphobic /j

HONORABLE MENTIONS

the secret history // donna tartt

the picture of dorian gray // oscar wilde

the fever king // victoria lee

ninth house // leigh bardugo (!!!)

the revenger’s tragedy // thomas middleton

[corrodedcoughin]

The ever wonderful lex @thefreakandthehair tagged me in a game (thank you!!)

game: share ten different favorite characters from ten different pieces of media in no particular order

Stranger things: Eddie if I can only pick one but my heart wants to add dustin, Steve and max

The cemetery boys: yadriel, I would read so many stories about yadriel

Star Trek: data, if I was talking the jj Abram’s movie I’d say Chekhov but I’ll keep it to the tv series

Star Wars: cassian endor, that man!!!

Heartstopper (novel): mr Farouk, I’ve not read the fourth one yet but mr Farouk in the third had me giggling and clutching my face ohh my god

This green and pleasant land: Khalsa rukhsana. I so badly wish I had a Khalsa rukhsana in my life

Absolutely fabulous: patsy, listen she’s a mess but I love it

Nope: Angel Torres, he has bewitched me body and soul

Fried green tomatoes at the whistle stop cafe: idgie, honestly had no idea what I was going into with this book and I had such a good time

Pride: Jonathon, lissssten the dancing scene was perfection, thank you and goodnight

I’m going to tag @steddiesupportgroup @bobbiewritesstuff and @stevethehairington but no obligation or anything!

[five-rivers]

Glowsticks

Sneaking in before midnight on Halloween~

This is another continuation of Exhumed.

.

.

.

McGee had talked to several people about the strangely popular gravestone.  What he had learned made him feel sick.  Literally. He wanted to throw up.  First, the person buried there was the kid that had been found in the park.  Second, the locals had made him into a cult figure practically overnight.  

Or, at least, a tourist trap figure.  These people had no shame.  

On the other hand… Didn’t they say that Daily person was in charge of cults?  Did Amity Park have a cult problem on top of everything else that was going on?  Was the cult the problem, the root problem?  If there even was an actual cult…

Cults were dangerous and took vicious advantage of legal loopholes.  Maybe he should call the FBI.  They were the ones that were supposed to deal with cults.  

He took a deep breath, pulling himself together. No.  This was his case.  His job. He didn’t know that there was a cult involved, not yet.  Besides, it didn’t matter if they were religious so long as they were breaking the law.  Yeah.  

“Are you okay?”

McGee almost jumped out of his skin, his hand twitching towards his firearm before he realized that the person who snuck up on him was a kid.  The kid from earlier, to be precise.

The boy’s eyes narrowed.  “Were you about to pull a gun on me?” he asked.  

“No,” said McGee.  

The boy blinked, suspicion still evident on his face. “You’ve got to be more careful with guns,” he said.  “There’s no reason to go for one just because someone surprised you.”

McGee didn’t grace that with a response.  “What are you doing here, anyway?  Weren’t you across town, earlier?”

“Yeah.  So were you,” said the boy.  Danny. His name was Danny Fenton.  “Why are you here?”

“I asked first.”

“You shouldn’t ask questions you aren’t willing to answer yourself.”

What the hell was up with this kid?  “I’m just trying to get a better feel for the town.”

“Hm,” said Danny.  “I help out here at the cemetery, sometimes.  Got to lay all those ghosts to rest, you know?”

“Don’t you think that’s a little much?” snapped McGee. “Death isn’t supposed to be a roadside attraction.”

“Oh, don’t worry.  We take death very seriously around here,” assured Danny.  “But seriously.  I do help out.  The caretaker lets me take that stuff away when it gets to be too much.”  He nodded at the blank headstone and all the offerings around it.  “Mom likes the flowers.  Jazz is making a collage of some of the cards.  You know.  Stuff like that.”  He shrugged, angling himself away from McGee.  “Someone left a tiny copy of the Tempest once.  In one of those teeny tiny books.  Post.  It had that one passage from Ariel’s Song decorated.  It was nice.  I liked it.”

“What?”

“Ariel’s Song.  Full fathom five thy father lies;/Of his bones are coral made;/Those are pearls that were his eyes;/Nothing of him that doth fade,/But doth suffer a sea-change/Into something rich and strange. Shakespeare.  I think it’s supposed to be a commentary on ghosts, but the guy in the play isn’t actually dead, people just think he is.  So, I’m not really sure how to take it.  You’re a detective, right?  What do you think?”

McGee stared at the teenager. The kid who was buried there was his age.  “This isn’t a joke,” said McGee.  “A person is dead.”

Danny tilted his head. “I’m not joking?”

“How are you even connected to all of this?”  McGee waved his hand, frustrated.  

“I just told you how I’m connected to the cemetery.  If you mean the town…  Well, I do live here.”

“Why do Patterson and Collins know you?”

“I know everyone,” said Danny.  He started backing away.  “You should go get something to eat soon, if you don’t want to be late.”  He turned and disappeared in the crowd.  

What the hell.

.

McGee did not go to get food. He went back to the station.  He had some questions to ask Cameron Daily, and he got the impression that the man was the kind of person to practically live at work.  

When he opened the door, though, he had to stop.

“What is this?” he asked, loudly.  

“Glowsticks,” said one of the secretaries.  “You have seen them before, right?”

“Yes, but why?”

As much as the police department had been infested with Christmas decorations before, it was now covered with glowsticks of all varieties.  

The secretary shrugged. “You’ll find out.  And, no, this isn’t hazing.”  She broke a new glowstick with a snap.

“Right,” said McGee.  “Where’s Daily?”

“Cameron Daily is in the computer bay,” said the secretary, pointing.

“Thanks,” grunted McGee, once again wondering why there was a separate computer bay when everyone had their own desks, computers, and, in some cases, additional laptops.  

Screw it, he might as well ask.  

“Hey, Daily.”

“Mm?”

“Why’s there a separate computer bay?”

“Oh, it’s shielded,” said Daily.  

“Shielded.”

“Yep.  No signals, and the Fentons did some pretty neat stuff to the walls.  Bunch of, ehm, nasty hackers.  We learned our lesson, eventually.”

“The Fentons.”

“Yeah.  And Foley did the firewalls.”

“They’re the ones who did the computer filing system.”

“Uhuh.  Kids are geniuses.  The parents aren’t too shoddy, either.”

“The—” No.  There was no way.  “Are they the same Fentons that hunt ghosts?”

“Yeah.  You wouldn’t think it to look at them, but apparently they live off of their patents.  Made a bunch of fiddly little things that every other mass production factory in the country uses.  Also, they own a toilet paper company.  Not my favorite brand, but it isn’t the worst, honestly.  Kind of wish we’d buy it here, but, no, we get that gross single ply. I swear, that stuff should be classified as a crime against humanity.”

“You let the ghost hunters deal with your computer security.”

“Oh, I know that tone. You met them, huh?”

“Just the kid.”

Daily looked up at McGee over the computer.  “What?”

“I only met the kid. Danny.”

Slowly, Daily uncurled from his hunch in front of the computer.  The man was taller than McGee thought.

“Then what’s your issue? Danny’s a good kid.”

A good kid whose parents were allowed to run roughshod over the town, who was allowed to steal from graveyards, and knew all of the police officers.  For some reason.  

“I heard you’re in charge of monitoring the cult?”

Daily snorted.  “You make it sound like there’s just one.”

“Excuse me?”

“Well, after all the ghosts, most religions had to modernize, you know?”

Oh, god, this was part of the tourist trap.  Or the tourist trap was part of this.  Did they recruit from people who actually believed this nonsense?

“There’s more than one cult?”

“Yep.”

“Sounds like quite a job.”

“Eh.  I’m mostly just keeping track of their online activity.”

“So, how are the Fentons involved?”

“They aren’t.  They’re pretty areligious, overall.  Danny’s been almost kidnapped a few times, though.”

“What?”

“What?”

“Kidnapped.  By a cult.”

“Cults.  Gotta remember the plural, man.  Cults.”  Daily was hunching again.  “But, hey, if you’re interested in the subject, I can give you a thorough run-through of this new group that started up last week.  Their philosophy is wild.  I can’t even tell you—”

“Hey.  You’re early,” said Patterson, leaning through the door, her braid swinging.  “Great. Have you eaten?”

“Yes,” lied McGee.  

“Get better at lying,” said Patterson.  “Come on, let’s go.”

.

Patterson and Collins weren’t the only ones there.  In fact, there were more people in the station than there had been that morning. All with glowsticks.  Said glowsticks were being loaded into unmarked cars while office staff and police officers whispered back and forth.

“Did you get the green stuff?”

“Yeah, don’t worry. Gave me more than enough.” Glowing green milk jugs were loaded into a car.  The car McGee would be riding in with Collins and Patterson.

‘Green stuff.’  Was this some kind of bizarre drug smuggling ring? McGee had fallen behind in drug slang, if so.  ‘Green stuff.’  Were they lacing it with glowstick fluid?

Never before had he felt so lost on a case.  Amity Park was messed up.  

“You’ve got the howlers hooked up?” asked Collins.

“I asked Daily to do it this morning.”

“But did he do it?”

“I mean, it looks like it. Are the howlers really that important?”

McGee had no idea what was going on.  

The cars all started off in a group.  Their car was the last to leave and soon peeled off to trundle slowly down back roads.  

“You probably have questions,” said Collins.

“You could say that,” said McGee.  

“You’ve been a good sport about them,” observed Collins.  

“So,” said McGee, drawing out the word.  “What is this about?”

Patterson swallowed a laugh. “Ever hear of the Men in Black?”

“Look, I’m humoring the ghosts.  Conspiracy theories are where I draw the line.”

“Keep telling yourself that. Maybe it’ll stick.  Anyway, here in Amity Park, we deal with their less intelligent cousins.  The Guys in White!”

“That’s not their actual name,” said Collins, glancing back over his shoulder.  “But, well, their appearance fits.”

“Alright, let’s say I believe you.  What does this have to do with the jugs of glowstick fluid in the trunk?”

“Oh, that’s not glowstick fluid,” said Patterson.  “It’s waste from the reactor that powers the town.”

“Don’t worry,” said Collins, hastily, the car swerving somewhat.  “It’s completely harmless!  Not radioactive at all!”

“That’s not what—” started Patterson.  

“You absolutely will not get cancer from it!”

McGee raised a hand.  “You have nuclear reactor fluid in the trunk?”

“It isn’t nuclear reaction fluid,” protested Patterson.  “It’s—"

“Back on track,” interrupted Collins.  

“Yeah.  Anyway.  It’ll trip the Guys in White’s sensors—”

“Eventually,” Collins grumbled.  

“—so we can lead them on a chase.”

“And…  why do we want to do this?”

“Because it’s a quiet month,” said Patterson.  “Don’t want the Guys to get antsy.”

“What does that even mean?”

“It means what it means. You’ll see in January.”

McGee looked between his two ‘partners.’  “Are you trying to get me to quit?”

“Because you’re a spy for the county?” asked Patterson.  “Oh, no, never.”

Before McGee could process that statement, the car’s radio crackled to life.  

“We’ve got a class-3 northbound on Orion at 35 miles per hour.  Ectosignature suggests an amorphiform ghost—”

“Hah!” shouted Patterson. “That’s us!  Punch it!”  She twisted the dial on the radio as Collins slammed his foot into the accelerator.  “Bogey to Redrum!  We’ve got followers!”

“Copy, Bogey, this is Redrum. We need a few more minutes to set up. Can you stay out of sight?”

“The hell?”

The radio crackled.  “Forgot you had the new guy!  Don’t shake him up too much, okay?  Over.”

“Copy.  Collins you catch that?”

“Yeah, don’t worry, I’m taking Pan and Laurel.  The holiday tour.”

“Ooh, good choice.” Patterson held up the radio again. “Yeah, we can manage.  Over.”

Collins went faster. For the next several minutes McGee occupied himself with not throwing up.  He succeeded.  Barely.

“Bogey, this Cam,” said the voice of Daily, “followers are gaining.  They’re on Brassica, just passing High Street.  Triggered the speed cameras.  Over.”

“How many and what type? Over.”

“Three gliders.  Don’t think they’ve spotted you yet, though. Over.”

Gliders?  Who did these people think they were kidding?

“Copy, over,” said Patterson. “Not like those guys care about speeders, though,” she muttered.  McGee could barely hear her over the beating of his own heart.

“Sharp right, brace yourselves,” said Collins, split seconds before matching action to words.

“Redrum to bogey, we’re moving out now, over.”

“Copy.  We’re on our way.  Over.  Head to the park, Collins.”

“Gotcha.”

It didn’t seem possible, but Collins somehow pushed the car to go even faster.  Then, just as quickly as the whole ridiculous thing had begun, the car skidded to a halt in a parking lot.  Seeing his chance, McGee clawed at the door handle and dragged himself out onto the pavement.  

Collins and Patterson, meanwhile, were pulling the almost-certainly-toxic waste out of the trunk and launching it into the glowstick-filled woods with—

“Is that a bazooka?” demanded McGee, so far past his wit’s end that he couldn’t even see it anymore.

“Nah, just a modified T-shirt canon,” said Patterson, stowing the object away again.  “Fentonworks special.”

“I don’t believe you,” said McGee.  

Three – Three things – McGee did not want to call them gliders – raced overhead, jets roaring and wind whistling.  They came to a stop approximately where the ‘reactor waste’ had fallen.  

“What the hell?” whispered McGee, passionately.  

“Come on,” said Collins.  “Time for us to go.”

“Yeah, better to spectate from afar,” agreed Patterson.

“I agree,” said a third voice.

“Oh, Danny,” said Patterson.  “Didn’t expect to see you here tonight.”

The boy walked into McGee’s field of view and glanced down at him before shrugging.  “Couldn’t sleep.”  He looked up, at the park.  “Thanks for this.”

“Had to get them to blow this month’s budget somehow,” said Collins.  “But, really, we should all go before the fireworks start.”

Danny sighed.  “Hope they don’t blow up the fountain again.  It just got fixed.”

“Same,” said Patterson.

“Well, see you later.”

“Yep, we’ve got that wellness check tomorrow,” said Collins. “You don’t have any excuse to forget, this time.”

“Yeah, yeah,” said the teen, waving over his shoulder as he walked straight into the dark.

“What,” said McGee.  

“That’s just Danny for you,” said Collins.  “Great kid.  Super creepy.”

“Yeah.”

“How’d he even know we’re here?” asked McGee, trying to keep his voice even.  

“He did give us that eeeeehhhhhhh—reactor waste,” said Patterson.  “Come on, get up, we’ve got to—”

A small explosion sounded from the park.  

“Seriously.  I don’t want to have to pick you up.”

“I’d wind up doing most of the lifting,” grumbled Collins, who was sliding into the driver’s seat.

Patterson put her hands on her hips.  “Excuse you?”

There was another, larger explosion.  McGee climbed back into the car.

As they drove, he realized that no one had made fun of his name. Not even once.  

Amity Park was weird.  

[steveharrington]

ms steveharrington do u have any book recommendations

YES starting with my most recent fav

The Secret History by Donna Tartt: this book is always just pitched as dark academia and while the label definitely applies, i would mostly describe this book as a slow burn thriller with a fantastic cast of characters. the story centers around the narrator, richard papen, who enrolls in a prestigious college and becomes involved with a mysterious and closely knit group of greek students who drag him into a very high stakes mystery. donna tartt’s prose is so vivid and beautiful and she creates both protagonists and antagonists that give meaning to characters you love to hate. i can’t express enough how much i absolutely love this book and i highly recommend trying it out

Summer of Night by Dan Simmons: if you’ve ever wanted a book that captures the same vibes as It or Stranger Things but a little more brutal and willing to lean into the horror genre, i Highly recommend summer of night. it’s about young boys in a small town where weird shit (that adults either can’t see or may be involved in) starts happening at the start of their summer break. i’m not kidding when i say this book actually shocked me halfway through and totally upended what i thought was going to happen. also made me cry!

Pet Sematary by Stephen King: i’m sorry i have to <3 this book essentially confirmed for me that books can be terrifying! it handles the topic of death and grief so well through the lens of a family living in their new home right by a pet cemetery, where buried things come back to life slightly…off! of all king’s books i’ve read (a lot 😔) this one has stuck with me the most and i firmly believe it remains his best idea

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier: this remains my favorite book i’ve ever read for any class ever!! the narrator of this book is one of my favorite female characters in literature because she feels so real throughout the entirety of her insane twisting story that focuses on her new life as the bride of the wealthy maxim de winter, stepping into the shoes of his deceased former wife rebecca. there’s an amazing alfred hitchcock movie adaptation but i really suggest reading this beforehand so the twists hopefully surprise you as much as they surprised me!

Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple: okay i feel like all my recommendations thus far have been really dark and kinda heavy so here’s a book that’s just really fun and entertaining. it’s so clever in the way it satirizes wealthy suburban communities through bernadette, a wife and mother with a successful past who suddenly disappears from her average lifestyle. another book with really good twists and turns that’s genuinely funny without trying too hard. there’s a movie as well but i never watched it bc i don’t like cate blanchett <3

[sinterblackwell]

i don’t know who exactly created this tag but i wanted to thank @arywizm for being the one who happened to make me aware of it since it does seem cool.

book tag:

- how many books are too many books in a series?

my recent two favorite series (the skybound saga by alex london + the timekeeper trilogy by tara sim) both consist of just three books, which works pretty well for me.

but then there’s also the raven cycle series by maggie stiefvater, which consists of four books (+ an additional short story). with each book that i read, i fell deeper and deeper in love with this world the author built so i can’t forget that.

with that in mind, if i do the math, the maximum is five books. any more than that is overkill.

- how do you feel about cliffhangers?

they’re amazing.

ex: “chainbreaker (timekeeper, #2)” by tara sim.

- hardback or paperback?

some hardbacks come with a special design underneath the printed cover depending where you order them from (ex: “cemetery boys” by aiden thomas) so it is really cool to see that, plus the feeling of holding a hardcover book in my hands is immaculate.

however, paperbacks are better.

my copy of “white rabbit” by caleb roehrig proves it. it’s so floppy and brilliant, i can’t get enough of it.

- least favorite book?

“the unfortunate importance of beauty” by amanda filipacchi. it is the first (and hopefully last) book i ever gave a 1-star rating on goodreads.

- love triangles, yes or no?

i feel mostly meh about them because i just don’t care. i would prefer if there not be one because then there’d be less relationship drama but it could sometimes be fun seeing how readers are at such opposite sides when it comes to the ships.

(ex: addie & luc vs. addie & henry from “the invisible life of addie larue” by v.e. schwab. it’s not much of a love triangle but it’s close enough, i guess you can say).

i personally love addieluc.

- the most recent book you just couldn’t finish?

i tried giving “the inheritance games” by jennifer lynn barnes a second try over a month ago but i just couldn’t get into it.

if it was an adult, or even new adult (everyone in the online book community knows how many more books we need under the 18-22 age bracket), the story probably would work better, in my opinion, because it being in the young adult category just makes the writing feel off to me.

- a book you’re currently reading?

there’s two: “the weight of the stars” by k. ancrum + “china room” by sunjeev sahota.

- last book you recommended to someone?

“vicious” by v.e. schwab to a close friend of mine. i raved to him about eli ever and he found the premise really interesting so fingers crossed 🤞🏽

i have a bad habit of recommending books to non-readers but i genuinely can’t help it when i know the book in question would just be absolutely perfect for them.

like, i recommended aftg to this same friend a long while ago and it’s become so incredibly important to him, especially the character andrew, so that’s just a little fact that matters a lot to me.

- oldest book you’ve read?

“we have always lived in the castle” by shirley jackson (first published: 1962).

- newest book you’ve read?

it technically hasn’t even come out yet but it was my book of the month pick for august so it was an early release: “the heart principle (the kiss quotient, #3)” by helen hoang; it’s set to be published on august 30.

note: it can be read as a standalone.

- favorite author?

adam silvera was the first author i ever considered my favorite and he still is. but there’s also olivie blake.

- buying books or borrowing books?

i love that feeling of adding books to my personal collection but 9/10 of the time, i prefer borrowing them first so that i know for sure i want to own them for myself.

- a book you dislike that everyone else seems to love?

i don’t necessarily dislike it but i didn’t care too much about it: “the mark of athena (heroes of olympus, #3)” by rick riordan.

it was my least favorite of the series, although, “blood of olympus (heroes of olympus, #5)” was slightly disappointing, but only just because of how rushed the ending felt.

- bookmarks or dog-ears?

bookmarks!! there’s these charm ones i buy off of etsy and they’re really cute.

- a book you can always reread?

“autoboyography” by christina lauren; i originally answered this one with “masters of death” by olivie blake because it has become a huge comfort book of mine in the last couple of weeks but then someone by michael schulte just popped up in my shuffle and my mind changed.

the song’s always reminded me of sebastian & tanner from “autoboyography” so i couldn’t help including them in this tag because they mean a lot to me.

- can you read while listening to music?

i just listened to the entirety of taylor swift’s “red (deluxe)” album while reading “it ends with us” by colleen hoover so……yes.

- one pov or multiple povs?

multiple!! i especially love it when authors include the perspectives of some minor characters since personally, i think it adds more depth to the story (ex: the skybound saga by alex london).

a booktuber complained about this in “the jasmine throne” by tasha suri but it just made me that much more excited to read the author’s new adult fantasy.

- do you read a book in one sitting or over multiple days?

depends on the book, really.

i read the entirety of “firestarter (timekeeper, #3)” by tara sim all while laying in bed with very few social media breaks in between.

on the flip side, it took me over a couple weeks to finish “these violent delights” by chloe gong.

- who do you tag?

i wasn’t tagged to do this, it was just something i thought could be fun and it was. i hope maybe there’s any titles that stuck out to anyone who comes across this, reader or not, since i do believe that there’s always a book out there for everyone.

if this is something that could be fun for you, i tag: @tawmlinsun @kritiquer @flying-elliska @dreamingoftinystars and @minyardss

[audikatia]

if you receive this message you have to tell me some of the best books you read this year!! thank you <3

Hello! I love this! I read a couple really great books this year haha

Not including rereads of some of my favorites, the best books I read this year were (in the order that I read them):

Cloud Atlas by Daniel Mitchell - Beautiful, beautiful piece of fiction that spans over centuries and generations and is just absolutely gorgeous

Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo - late to the party with this, but a fantastical YA duology of heists and complicated love and emotional baggage

Mister Impossible by Maggie Stiefvater - the latest installment in my favorite universe, but also just a really fantastic piece of action writing on its own, tbh

Borne by Jeff Vandermeer - post-apocalyptic future scifi that was hopeful and fantastic and introspective and beautiful

The Burning Girls by C. J. Tudor - a religious thriller murder mystery... there were dead crows in a church, what else could I want?

Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo - Repressed gay/bisexual men deal with ghosts in the south while not dealing with their grief in a healthy way or doing their graduate work either. Beautiful writing and also they talked a lot about the importance of air conditioning. Also, street racing. LORD. I LOVED THIS. I AM FOAMING AT THE MOUTH ABOUT THIS.

Fuzz by Mary Roach - Non-fiction book about animals breaking the law and humans who try to hold animals responsible for breaking the law. Spoiler alert: the dingo did eat the baby. Mary Roach could write about literally anything and I would love it.

Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe - History of the Sackler family and their role in the opioid epidemic. Keefe is one of the best investigative journalists I have ever read; it's so comprehensive and fascinating.

The Girl in the Haystack by Bryon MacWilliams - Biography of a woman who escaped the Nazis during WWII by hiding in haystacks with her dog. She kept quiet about her survival story for years until Trump's time in office when the similarities to his politics were too similar to Hitler's rise and she felt she could no longer stay quiet. She relayed her story to the author, who I had the pleasure of speaking with a few months ago.

Honorable Mentionings to:

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater (Horse racing on a November beach, except the horses want to eat you and also people are falling in love and losing their house. Very atmospheric)

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas (People are mysteriously disappearing/dying and there ghosts and people are falling in love. Are we sensing a theme about what I like to read about?)

Einstein's Dream's by Alan P. Lightman (what if time was different and we all wanted our minds fucked with? This was like beautiful poetry and science all at once)

The Witches: Salem, 1692 by Stacy Schiff (the most comprehensive book about the Salem Witch Trials I have ever read ever, omg. And I have read a few, haha)

Rabid by Bill Wasik (honestly, the most fun I have ever had reading a book about rabies)

The Bright Ages by Matthew Gabriele (really fascinating bit of history about the "dark" ages, which is a time in history I don't really know much about. Resonated amazingly with everything going on today, which was awesome, and was excellent research for Transubstantiation haha)

The Anatomy of Evil by Dr. Michael H. Stone (the science of how serial killers are so fucked up, I love it)

[all-drarry-to-me]

Queer book recommendations 📚

Okay, so I received this super nice ask, kindly requesting another list of book recommendations, but when I finally got around to answering it, Tumblr (being the hellsite that it is) ate the ask. Emi, I hope you know how thrilled I was to see that in my inbox — not only have you read some of my favorite books based on my recommendation, but you liked them enough to ask for more! I’m happy to put together another list, and please feel free to message me at any time to talk about books!

Without further ado (and in no particular order), here’s part two of some of my favorite queer books:

1. All for the Game trilogy by Nora Sakavic: I could talk about this series for ages. Listen, I know it’s problematic: they’re not the most well-written books, the plot is insane and there’s a whole host of trigger warnings that go with the series. It focuses on college athletes, who come together through Exy, a made-up sport that the mafia is involved in. Somehow, despite all of that, I managed to fall in love with the series quite quickly. It’s like nothing I’ve ever read before, and the characters — even with their numerous flaws — really drew me in. The found family trope is so well executed (I couldn’t help but root for the Foxes throughout the series), then I absolutely love the way they handle consent. Of the core characters, there’s two who are gay and one who’s definitely on the ace spectrum, though it’s not outright stated in the book. And while I said they’re not the most well-written series, which I do stand by, there’s also a handful of BEAUTIFUL lines from the books.

2. “Running with Lions” by Julien Winters: This is the only other sports-themed book on the list, I promise! Some of my love for this book likely stems from my own years running around the soccer field — this takes place at a summer training camp, but that’s definitely not the only reason it’s on this list. I’m a big fan of enemies to lovers, and while this is more ex-friends to lovers, there’s definitely some animosity to be worked through when Emir unexpectedly shows up at the soccer camp. I love the way he and Sebastian bond, and the way their friendship evolves before becoming a more romantic relationship. There’s some standard coming-of-age vibes within the book, but the plot and the characters are interesting enough to help set it apart from others in the genre.

3. “Orlando: A Biography” by Virginia Woolf: This one is a little different than the others on the list, but I wouldn’t recommend it any less. I feel a little in love with Virginia Woolf over the past year and, of her books that I’ve read, this one really stands out. It’s from the 1920s and features a main character who lives for 300+ years — and who’s trans (Orlando is born male, then wakes up one day as female). With the way time works and the plot itself, it’s a bit strange, but I found it captivating, and the whole thing is a love letter to Vita Sackville-West, another writer with whom Woolf was in a relationship with. (Don’t get me started on their relationship — there’s a book of love letters between the two of them that’s achingly beautiful, but the book is hard to find.)

4. “Upside Down” by N. R. Walker: This is trope-y and wonderful and I would highly recommend. It has issues with pacing, but it made me genuinely happy as I was reading it. I finished it in a day, maybe two, because I couldn’t put it down — and I have two of the author’s other books in my Barnes & Noble cart as I’m typing this. In “Upside Down,” both of the main characters are ace; one is sure of his identity and the other is just starting to figure it out, and they work to navigate that together. It’s sweet and a quick read if you’re looking for something fairly fluffy.

5. Iron Breakers trilogy by Zaya Feli: If you take the plot from Captive Prince and mix it with the writing of All for the Game, that’s a close approximation of Iron Breakers. The main character is hard to like at times (he has a lot of growing up to do) and the plot isn’t groundbreaking — there’s a lot of similarities to Captive Prince — but there’s also a lot of positives the series has going for it. The world building is really interesting, the love interest is wonderful and the series has some compelling twists. The first book is free through Nook and I bought the second two immediately after finishing it, then could not put those down until I was done!

6. “Olivia” by Dorothy Strachey: There’s not enough wlw romance on here, which is one of the reasons I wanted to add “Olivia.” It’s another one that’s slightly different than the others on the list; it was originally published in the 1940s and is loosely based on the author’s own life, telling the story of a girl who goes to finishing school and falls in love with her teacher. It’s the story of first love, and forbidden love at that.

7. “Cemetery Boys” by Aiden Thomas: This book absolutely worth a read — Yadriel is trans, and is trying to prove to his family that he’s a “real” man by summoning a ghost to help solve his cousin’s murder. Instead, he summons Julien, then proceeds to fall for the ghost while trying to help Julien figure out how he died. Thomas creates such an interesting world within the book and the three main characters (Yadriel, Julien and Yadriel’s cousin/best friend Maritza) are so much fun together.

8. “Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda” by Becky Albertalli: Look, I think most people have heard of, if not read, this book but I’d be remiss if I didn’t include it on my list. It was actually recommended to me last time I made a queer rec list and it didn’t disappoint. In some ways, it’s a relatively standard coming out novel, but it has some really interesting differences. The way in which Simon is forced to come out makes the plot unique, and I love how supportive Simon’s family is — there are so many books where the character comes out and is subsequently kicked out, and it was nice to see a different take (I may have cried a little at that point, but that’s neither here nor there). If you haven’t read it, I’d definitely recommend.

9. Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo: This is like, “Ocean’s Eleven,” but with teenagers. I liked the first book slightly better than the second, but they’re both great — they focus on a group of six planning an elaborate heist, with Kaz as the leader of their little gang. Each character is really well-developed, and both the plot and the world-building are first class. There’s a mlm romance on the side, so this one’s a bit more subtly queer than some of the other recs, but they’re still great books.

10. “The House in the Cerulean Sea” by T.J. Klune: This book is wonderful in so many ways. It’s focused on Linus Baker, who’s sent on a classified mission to a magical orphanage, where six “dangerous” children live with their caretaker, Arthur Parnassus. The characters — all of them, big and small — are compelling and interesting; they’re well-thought out and unique, which I think is a huge strength of Klune’s, visible in this book and the others I’ve read by him. Linus and Arthur are a bit older (in their 40s) and I love the way that contributes to their relationship and their character development, then the plot is somewhat simple, but the characters and the world are compelling enough that you don’t need any major twists or turns.

Next on my to-read list is “The Mercies” by Kiran Millwood Hargrave, which I’m absolutely psyched about, and I’m counting down the days until “One Last Stop” by Casey McQuiston is released.

(You asked if I've read anything by Seanan McGuire — I haven't; any recs for what to start with?)

Please let me know if you ever want more recs and I’ll be happy to throw some titles out there, and I'd love to know what you think if you end up reading any of these!