#erin leigh speaks

[wehunt-monsters-whatthehell]

List 5 things that make you happy, then send this to the askbox of the last 10 people who liked or reblogged something from you! Get to know your mutuals and followers <3

Thank you Shyday for this ask 💗 I hope something makes you happy today!

In no particular order, five things that make me happy are:

🧶 Uninterrupted time to crochet 💍 Date night with my fiancé (just over 100 days to go!) 🪴 Wandering around the plant section of home improvement stores 📖 New fics from my favorite authors 🍋 Lemon flavored treats

[book--brackets]

Note: Good Omens is by both Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, it just doesn't fit in the character limit lol

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (2011)

The circus arrives without warning. No announcement precedes it, no paper notices plastered on lampposts and billboards. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.

Within these nocturnal black-and-white-striped tents awaits an utterly unquie experience, a feast did the senses, where no one can be lost in a maze of clouds, meander through a lush garden muse of ice, stare in wonderment as the tattooed contortionist folds herself into a small glass box, and become deliciously tipsy from the scents of caramel and cinnamon that waft through the air.

Welcome to Le Cirque des Rêvez.

Beyond the smoke and mirrors, however, a fierce competition is under way—a contest between two young illusionists, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood to compete in a “game” to which they have been irrevocably bound by their mercurial masters. Unbeknownst to the players, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battles of imagination and will.

As the circus travels around the world, the feats of magic gain fantastical new heights with every stop. The game is well under way and the lives of all those involved—the eccentric circus owner, the elusive contortionist, the mystical fortune-teller, and a pair of red-haired twins born backstage among them—are swept up in a wake of spells and charms.

But when Celia discovers Marco is her adversary, they begin to think of the game not as a competition but as a wonderful collaboration. With no knowledge of how the game must end, they innocently tumble headfirst into love. A deep, passionate, and magical love that makes the light flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.

Their masters still pull the strings, however, and this unforeseen occurrence forces them to intervene with dangerous consequences, leaving the lives of everyone from the performers to the patrons hanging in the balance.

The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss (2007-present)

My name is Kvothe.   I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep.   You may have heard of me.

So begins a tale unequaled in fantasy literature--the story of a hero told in his own voice. It is a tale of sorrow, a tale of survival, a tale of one man's search for meaning in his universe, and how that search, and the indomitable will that drove it, gave birth to a legend.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (2015-2016)

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone. . . .

A convict with a thirst for revenge A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager A runaway with a privileged past A spy known as the Wraith A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes

Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.

American Gods by Neil Gaiman (2001)

Days before his release from prison, Shadow's wife, Laura, dies in a mysterious car crash. Numbly, he makes his way back home. On the plane, he encounters the enigmatic Mr Wednesday, who claims to be a refugee from a distant war, a former god and the king of America.

Together they embark on a profoundly strange journey across the heart of the USA, whilst all around them a storm of preternatural and epic proportions threatens to break.

Scary, gripping and deeply unsettling, American Gods takes a long, hard look into the soul of America. You'll be surprised by what - and who - it finds there...

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer (2012-2015)

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth's fate hinges on one girl. . . . 

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She's a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world's future. 

The Princess Bride by William Goldman (1973)

Westley ... handsome farm boy who risks death and much, much worse for the woman he loves; Inigo ... the Spanish swordsman who lives only to avenge his father's death; Fezzik ... the Turk, the gentlest giant ever to have uprooted a tree with his bare hands; Vizzini ... the evil Sicilian, with a mind so keen he's foiled by his own perfect logic; Prince Humperdinck ... the eviler ruler of Guilder, who has an equally insatiable thirst for war and the beauteous Buttercup; Count Rugen ... the evilest man of all, who thrives on the excruciating pain of others; Miracle Max ... the King's ex-Miracle Man, who can raise the dead (kind of); The Dread Pirate Roberts ... supreme looter and plunderer of the high seas; and, of course, Buttercup ... the princess bride, the most perfect, beautiful woman in the history of the world.

S. Morgenstern's timeless tale--discovered and wonderfully abridged by William Goldman--pits country against country, good against evil, love against hate. From the Cliffs of Insanity through the Fire Swamp and down into the Zoo of Death, this incredible journey and brilliant tale is peppered with strange beasties both monstrous and gentle, and memorable surprises both terrible and sublime.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl (1964)

Willy Wonka's famous chocolate factory is opening at last!

But only five lucky children will be allowed inside. And the winners are: Augustus Gloop, an enormously fat boy whose hobby is eating; Veruca Salt, a spoiled-rotten brat whose parents are wrapped around her little finger; Violet Beauregarde, a dim-witted gum-chewer with the fastest jaws around; Mike Teavee, a toy pistol-toting gangster-in-training who is obsessed with television; and Charlie Bucket, Our Hero, a boy who is honest and kind, brave and true, and good and ready for the wildest time of his life! 

The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare (2010-2013)

Magic is dangerous--but love is more dangerous still. 

When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos. 

Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What's more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own. 

Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by--and torn between--two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length . . . everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world. . . . and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman (1990)

The world is preparing to come to an end according to the Divine Plan recorded in the Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (recorded 1655). Meanwhile, a fussy angel and a fast-living demon have grown fond of living among the earth's mortals for many millennia and are not looking forward to the apocalypse. If Crowley and Aziraphale are going to stop it from happening, they must find and kill the Antichrist.

Coraline by Neil Gaiman (2002)

In Coraline's family's new flat there's a locked door. On the other side is a brick wall—until Coraline unlocks the door . . . and finds a passage to another flat in another house just like her own. Only different.

The food is better there. Books have pictures that writhe and crawl and shimmer. And there's another mother and father there who want Coraline to be their little girl. They want to change her and keep her with them. . . . Forever.

[euripidesredux]

Extended credits for Museum at Tomorrow episode 5

Below the cut are all of the folks who I used (and asked to be credited) for recordings in Museum at Tomorrow episode 5- specifically, the "This is not for You" recordings.

(The list was too long for podcast episode descriptions)

These recordings were mixed into the soundscape of the show, heavily processed- so you may or may not be able to pick out your voice. Each unique recording is preserved as rhythem, timber, and shape within the episode.

Thank you for your work in creating the canvas of this piece.

Kate Bullen

K R Forsyth

Vega Jacobsen

Charlie

Rovi

Grace Gamble 

Wesley Lee Balete

Charlie Sloykowski

JC Hendry

Courtney Brothers

Arabella McDonald

Hanc Finestra

Katie H

Galacticguppy 

Beck Smith

GreenHeronHive

Micheal Vee

Mira Singer

Laurent J.L. Hall

Carley Mothersell

woaaah

cmt

November_Clouds

Elliott Neptune

Enrica Jossi

Ace

Jahan Shah 

Morgan Galagher

Niall LG

  Bates

Caroline Mincks

Daniel Kurtz

AJ Fidalgo

Tani

Shura

Zedek H

Halebop

Malia Northstar

Greg Ruddick

Solstice Hannan

Jessamy Thomison 

Cassie A.

Rachel Spokony

miss mr meow

Arti Richardson

Mattie J.

Geddy Cary-Avery,

 Ophelia Cary-Avery

Sophie Kaplan

X Speaks

Devin

Craux

Cap

Joe R

Ray Goldberg

Mog

The Marble System

Tina Case

Kate Bullen

Marionette

LD

Maddy Searle

Remi P

Meg Taylor

Beth

Evan Tess Murray

Amanda Jones

Amanda Ehrhardt

Nathan Fisentzou-Haji-Leonti

Johanna Andersson

Tess Huth

@faeriebullshit

Olivia Lion

Ange

Bridget M. Mueting

Wil Williams

Katie Utke

aceofgames

Savy Stay

Graham Rowat

Meredith

spaceacebreakface 

Molly Walsh

Belinda Parker

Erin Celovsky

liz

Caden Osojnak

Danniac 

Ray Schrader

Atlas Byrd

AJ. S.

JayseHasNoGrace

Fay Blackmore

Sharon Peterson

Katharina Abschlag 

Izzy

Ace Tayloe

kat B

Siz Hart

moth

Kathryn Cox

G. Honnigford

Pine Gonzalez

sisyphus

Essay

artie eigengrau

Rook Davis

Izzi Mata

grayson

Tamara Jones

Willow

G.F.

Leigh sharpe

Zelda MacFarland

Arkyn Wolf

Elany

Elaine Wiley

Mary Lewis-Phillipps

Claudia Elvidge

Kei Burke

Katie Vargas

Karleen Preator

Alicia Babich

Jonathan Sciance

Étoile

Hayden Laver

Barrett Vann

S Kramer

Maya Hiers-Lairson

judas

Archer Hickerson

Malinda

Nicole Liang

LF Haye

Louis Carroll

Stefanie K.

Autumn Wang 

jayvin

Badger Merriweather

Aiden

Sender Paulson

vexxervee

Rob Weiner

Peril

Lotte Schmidt 

fynn

Lor

Josie D. 

Jaryn Tyson

Common Blue Icarus

resplendeo

Claire Alpern

skelejor

Matt Weiss

M Zemlock

Kay Eileen

Callisto Holmes

Rhys

Noah Quinn

Sarah Elizabeth

Willow Belden

Amanda McCormack

Esrah Del Carlo

sunny

the Hartmans

Lee Ann Eden

Bob Proctor

Clueless

deda eliensis

Ohallo

Tara Schile

Marzi 

Flameheart Dryad

Sarah Lambrix 

JB Segal 

Ellis C

Ash

Autumn

Jaime Tamar

Haze Peers

Moose

Erin Bevan

Luci Tomich

Bryn

Michael W.

Kim Fukawa

Amy Strieter

Petra Hall

Mal

Charlie Rayshich

Susan Weiner

Everett Blackthorne

Vergess

Tor

ArionWind

M. Alti

N. B. Green

Aiden Nicholson

Jacky Rubou

Nura Lawrence

Gwen Clancy

Ollie M.

Caroline

Duo

Iris

ML Beck

Ray Makowski

Eljay Rich

MV8

Michelle Pigott

Rachel Pfennigwerth

Janika

Jamie Gump

Mason J Miller

Ella Watts

Cole

Mady Oswald

Valerie "ShinyHappyGoth" Kaplan

Anne Baird

Emily Ricotta

el-draco-bizarro

Ansel Burch

Nathan Sowell

LM Heß

Cy

Richard Peers

[jammyreeds]

The Familiar | Leigh Bardugo: Book Log

Disclaimer: All of my thoughts are subjective. I am by no means a professional reviewer. You’re allowed to interact with this book however you like, and as long as you’re respectful I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Overall Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑

I really really loved this book. It was sitting by my bed for weeks and I can’t even remember why I suddenly picked it up, but boy am I happy I did. I totally lucked out, this book hit all the sweet spots that I like in a story while still being original and interesting.

Other Ratings:

On Themes: 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑

Despite my lower rating here, I actually enjoyed the themes a lot! This book had a lot to do with Catholicism (and general religion), heritage, diaspora and poverty. I really appreciated how down and dirty Luzia got, I felt like Leigh Bardugo established the lowest of the low in the world and then took us lower which is always something I love to see in a book. The only reason I wouldn’t rate the themes 5/5 is because I felt very comfortable with what was being explored and didn’t necessarily learn anything about myself or the world that I didn’t already know. Of course that makes theme an entirely circumstantial experience, so this story could settle much differently with anyone else!

On Characters: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕

I think what Leigh Bardugo did with the characters in the book was sooo genius. The characters really made this world for me, they all came alive. And I loved her take on each one’s twisted motivations, I felt that the really dark and evil things became understandable, which made them more chilling. I just think Bardugo is a genius at writing the morally grey character, which is to say—everyone in this story. It’s great, I loved it, I think it made the happy things that transpired all the sweeter because the goodness was a choice, and the terrible things all the scarier because the cruelty was a choice.

On Romance: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕

Obsessed with the romance. It felt destined, but not blind. It was devotion and it was trust and it was scary!! But comforting all the same and yeah it was HOT ok? Great slow burn and didn’t leave me wanting for anything at the end…it was perfect. Chef’s kiss. Magnifique.

On Historical Accuracy: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑

I went into this book knowing virtually nothing about Spain, so I’m the furthest from an expert you could find. From what I gathered searching things up as I read it seems like Bardugo did a good amount of research into appropriate clothing, etiquette, and conduct of the time. It is noted in the back of the book that there are some intentional discrepancies in historical events and the dates they happened, which was done to create urgency for the main ensemble of characters. Those inaccuracies worked fine for me, but again, I had next to nothing to go off of! I think the only thing in this book that itched me was that the dialogue was more open and blunt than would have been appropriate at the time? The characters speak plainly very often, but i think that was maybe a choice to make the text more accessible? It didn’t feel like badass no-bullshit dialogue—which is what really would have made me mad—but I did sometimes want for more subtext or illusion in their conversations.

In Summary:

Would I recommend this book? Yes.

Would I reread this book? Yes.

Some other things I love that this book reminded me of at times: Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast: the Broadway Musical (or just the movie, if you like), Studio Ghibli’s Howl’s Moving Castle, Wasteland, Baby! (album) by Hozier (particularly No Plan, As It Was, Shrike, Would That I and Wasteland, Baby! + bonus NFWMB), The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern and The Grimm Brother’s Cinderella.

[ravenspeakrp]

Welcome to Raven’s Peak, Erin, we’re excited to have you! Kara Sykes (Chyler Leigh, werewolf) has been accepted. Please be sure to stop by the CHECKLIST for the follow list, tags to track, and other reminders.

IN CHARACTER 

FULL NAME: Kara Sykes SPECIES:WitchWerewolf (bitten) AGE: 38 DATE OF BIRTH: August 24th GENDER IDENTITY: ciswoman, she/her NEIGHBORHOOD: Downtown OCCUPATION: Detective WORKPLACE: Raven’s Peak sheriff’s department POSITIVE TRAITS: spontaneous, free spirited, determined NEGATIVE TRAITS: head strong, quirky, loquacious LENGTH OF TIME IN RAVEN’S PEAK: A decade FACE CLAIM: Chyler Leigh 

BIOGRAPHY

TRIGGER WARNING: violence mention

Even from a young age Kara knew that she didn’t quite fit in with the rest of her kind. While her siblings were all ritualistically practicing their magic alongside the coven from the time they could walk, Kara was more fascinated with finger paints and coloring. Instead of following in her parent’s footsteps and using her magic for the betterment of the coven she preferred to prank her siblings or get things to go her way with a bit of persuasion. She was made of pent up energy, a constant moving target that couldn’t keep all of her things straight or show up on time, while everyone else in her coven were calm, collected, and punctual.

Her parents always stressed to her that she needed to get back in line, to join the rest of the coven and hone her witchcraft. She was blessed with powers other humans didn’t have, she should use them to benefit the family, to make an impression, to make something of herself. Her coven always had a ‘too good for you’ type of attitude towards the outside world; they gave off an air of ‘better than’. Better than mere humans, better than the blood suckers, better than the silly dogs. Better than the other covens, even, because they stood united and strong. They were not separate entities, but one whole. They didn’t support creativity, didn’t support being your own person, and it was stifling to Kara. She simply wasn’t one of them.

She decided she wanted to make a name for herself - be it helping people with the powers she been blessed with or finding another outlet for her constant pent up energy. She enrolled in a criminal justice program on a whim - and found a new way to flex her creativity and make use of her skills to not only benefit herself, but maybe even her entire community. Community being - not just the stuck up family that wanted her to fit in their perfect little box. It was upon her siblings’ encouragement that she broke free from her family, and her coven, and started searching for a new beginning. They could tell that Kara was a puzzle piece that just didn’t fit quite the way everyone around her wanted her to.

She finished her schooling, earned her degree in criminal justice, and started training as a detective. While the work was tough and seemed to be never ending, it proved to be an outlet for Kara’s high energy personality and determination. But there was a constant feeling of something always missing, like a tickle in the back of the mind. It wasn’t so much that she missed her coven, per say; just more that connection with people. People like her. She had plenty of friends from the police department, from school, from the ‘real world’ so to speak. But they didn’t quite fill that void she’d made when she left her family behind.

She caught wind of Raven’s Peak and it’s status as ‘supernatural safe haven’ and followed the tip right to its front door, thinking maybe finding her place among people like herself might make the difference. She met a whole slew of different supernatural beings - vampires, werewolves, and witches alike; and felt more welcomed among her kind than she ever had growing up. With some hesitance she joined a coven that at least seemed far more relaxed than her family’s, and for a while she truly felt that she belonged and was whole again.

For years she lived in relative peace alongside vampires and werewolves and she had no problem with them as species in general - in fact, her friend and partner was a werewolf himself. She knew better to be out at night on a full moon, particularly on her own trekking through the woods. But there had been a tip at the station that needed tending to and her partner was…otherwise occupied, so it was up to her to check it out.

Her memories of that night are foggy at best, but the most distinct fragments that still haunt her worst nightmares are those bright eyes and the agony of teeth sinking into flesh. A part of her wanted to believe it would all be okay, that everything would just go back to normal and that it was just some crazy fever dream as she fell ill for a few days. When she came back to herself what felt like a handful of days later with the bite seemingly magically healed, she was hopeful. But it was hard to ignore the lack of magic that used to thrum through her system, instead replaced with louder sounds and brighter lights and heavier smells. Even though a part of her recognized what all of this meant, it wasn’t until a couple weeks later - the next full moon just around the corner, that she really let it sink in. She couldn’t do this on her own. She was scared…and she needed help. So she turned to the people she had met along the way, the ones who would know how to manage what she was going through and more.

Since that day, Kara has worked through the transition into life as a werewolf and, frankly, is mostly thankful for it. It feels freeing, in a way; like now more than ever she’s finally the person she was meant to be.

EXTRAS

FILLING CONNECTION: No INSPIRATIONS: pinterest

[indigolesbian]

chyler is such a dork and such a sweetheart and i love her

[didanawisgi]

In wake of George Floyd’s killing and the protests that followed, many colleges and universities have been rolling out new training requirements – often oriented towards reducing biases and encouraging people from high-status groups to ‘check their privilege.’  The explicit goal of these training programs is generally to help create a more positive and welcoming institutional environment for people from historically marginalized and underrepresented groups.

As I have explained elsewhere, there is a long literature on the benefits of diversity on knowledge production. However, many of the approaches to training people how to navigate and utilize diversity were implemented by corporations, non-profits and universities before their effectiveness had been tested rigorously (if at all).

Although the precursor to contemporary diversity training, sensitivity training, actually dates back to the mid 1940s,  diversity training became especially important beginning in the mid-80s to early-90s. Why? Starting in the late 70s through early 80s, universities began enrolling significantly higher numbers of women, minorities, and people from middle-class and lower-income backgrounds. Soon thereafter, employers found themselves with a much more heterogenous labor pool. They had to face, often for the first time, some of the challenges that come along with the benefits of diversity — as people with increasingly divergent backgrounds and perspectives were put side by side and tasked with common goals.

Beginning in the mid-90s, however, it became increasingly clear that, due to their lack of validation, many widely-used interventions could be ineffective or harmful. An empirical literature was built up measuring the effectiveness of diversity-related training programs. The picture that has emerged is not very flattering.

The limited research suggesting diversity-related training programs as efficacious was based on things like surveys before and after the training, or testing knowledge or attitudes about various groups or policies. And to be clear, the training does help people answer survey questions in the way the training said they ‘should.’ And many people who undergo the training say they enjoyed it or found it helpful in post-training questionnaires.

However, when scientists set about to investigate whether the programs actually changed behaviors, i.e. do they reduce expressions of bias, do they reduce discrimination, do they foster greater collaboration across groups, do they help with retaining employees from historically marginalized or underrepresented groups, do they increase productivity or reduce conflicts in the workplace — for all of these behavioral metrics, the metrics that actually matter, not only is the training ineffective, it is often counterproductive.  

Kalev, Alexandra w/ Frank Dobbin & Erin Kelly (2006). “Best Practices or Best Guesses? Assessing the Efficacy of Corporate Affirmative Action and Diversity Policies.” American Sociological Review 71(4): 589-617.

Naff, Katherine & J. Edward Kellough (2007). “Ensuring Employment Equity: Are Federal Diversity Programs Making a Difference?” International Journal of Public Administration 26(12): 1307-36.

Paluck, Elizabeth & Donald Green (2009). “Prejudice Reduction: What Works? A Review and Assessment of Research and Practice.” Annual Review of Psychology 60: 339-67.

Training is Generally Ineffective at Its Stated Goals

The stated goals of these training programs vary, from helping to increase hiring and retention of people from historically marginalized and underrepresented groups, to eliminating prejudicial attitudes or behaviors to members of said groups, to reducing conflict and enhancing cooperation and belonging among all employees. Irrespective of the stated goals of the programs, they are overwhelmingly ineffective with respect to those goals. Generally speaking, they do not increase diversity in the workplace, they do not reduce harassment or discrimination, they do not lead to greater intergroup cooperation and cohesion – consequently, they do not increase productivity. More striking: many of those tasked with ensuring compliance with these training programs recognize them as ineffective (see Rynes & Rosen 1995, p. 258).

Chang, Edward et al. (2019). “The Mixed Effects of Online Diversity Training.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 116(16): 7778-7783.

Dobbin, Frank & Alexandra Kalev (2016). “Why Doesn’t Diversity Training Work? The Challenge for Industry and Academia.” Anthropology Now 10(2): 48-55.

Dobbin, Frank w/ Daniel Schrage & Alexandra Kalev (2015). “Rage against the Iron Cage: The Varied Effects of Bureaucratic Personnel Reforms on Diversity.” American Sociological Review 80(5): 1014–44.

Dobbin, Frank w/ Alexandra Kalev & Erin Kelly (2007). “Diversity Management in Corporate America.” Contexts 6(4): 21-7.

Folz, Christina (2016). “No Evidence That Training Prevents Harassment, Finds EEOC Task Force.” Society for Human Resource Management, 19 June.

Frisby, Craig & William O’Donohue (2018). Cultural Competence in Applied Psychology: An Evaluation of Current Status and Future Directions. Cham, CH: Springer.

Magley, Vicki et al. (2016). “Changing Sexual Harassment within Organizations via Training Interventions: Suggestions and Empirical Data.” The Fulfilling Workplace: The Organization’s Role in Achieving Individual and Organizational Health. New York, NY: Routledge.

Newkirk, Pamela (2019). Diversity Inc.: The Failed Promise of a Billion-Dollar Business. New York, NY: Bold Type Books.

Training Often Reinforces Biases

Often, when people attempt to do fact-checks, they begin by underscoring the falsehood, and then proceed to try to debunk that falsehood. This can create what psychologists call an ‘illusory truth effect,’ where people end up remembering the falsehood, forgetting the correction – and then attributing their misinformation to the very source that had tried to correct it! A similar effect seems to hold with antibias training. By articulating various stereotypes associated with particular groups, emphasizing the salience of those stereotypes, and then calling for their suppression, they often end up reinforcing them in participants’ minds. Sometimes they even implant new stereotypes (for instance, if participants didn’t previously have particular stereotypes for Vietnamese people, or much knowledge about them overall, but were introduced to common stereotypes about this group through training intended to dispel said stereotypes).

Other times, they can fail to improve negative perceptions about the target group, yet increase negative views about others. For instance, an empirical investigation of ‘white privilege’ training found that it did nothing to make participants more sympathetic to minorities – it just increased resentment towards lower-income whites.

Encouraging people to ignore racial and cultural differences often results in diminished cooperation across racial lines. Meanwhile, multicultural training — emphasizing those differences — often ends up reinforcing race essentialism among participants. It is not clear what the best position between these poles is (such that these negative side effects can be avoided), let alone how to consistently strike that balance in training.  

Cooley, Erin et al. (2019). “Complex intersections of race and class: Among social liberals, learning about White privilege reduces sympathy, increases blame, and decreases external attributions for White people struggling with poverty.” Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 148(12), 2218–28.

Heilman, Madeline & Brian Welle (2006). “Disadvantaged by Diversity? The Effects of Diversity Goals on Competence Perceptions.” Journal of Applied Social Psychology 36(5): 1291-1319.

Kulick, Carol w/ Elissa Perry & Anne Bourhis (2000). “Ironic evaluation processes: effects of thought suppression on evaluations of older job applicants.” Journal of Organizational Behaviour 21(6):  689–711.

Macrae, Neil et al. (1994). “Out of mind but back in sight: Stereotypes on the rebound.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 67(5): 808-17.

Plaut, Victoria  w/ Kecia M. Thomas and Matt J. Goren (2009). “Is Multiculturalism or Color Blindness Better for Minorities?” Psychological Science 20(4): 444-6.

Wilton, Leigh w/ Evan Apfelbaum & Jessica Good (2019). “Valuing Differences and Reinforcing Them: Multiculturalism Increases Race Essentialism.” Social Psychological and Personality Science 10(5): 681-9

Training Can Increase Biased Behavior, Minority Turnover

Many diversity-related training programs describe bias and discrimination as rampant. One unfortunate consequence of depicting these attitudes and behaviors as common is that it makes many feel more comfortable expressing biased attitudes or behaving in discriminatory ways. Insofar as it is depicted as ubiquitous, diversity-related training can actually normalize bias.

For others, the very fact that the company has diversity-related training is proof that it is a non-biased institution. This perception often reduces concerns about bias and discrimination – by oneself or others. As a consequence, people not only become more likely to act in more biased ways, but they also react with increased skepticism and hostility when colleagues claim to have been discriminated against.

Meanwhile, those who are discriminated against become more likely to rationalize mistreatment by others in the institution after undergoing diversity-related training (for the same reason, because they believe the institution must be fair in virtue of its commitment to diversity-related training; indeed, minority employees are often called upon to lead diversity reviews themselves). Consequently, they become less likely to actually report or address wrongdoing.  As a result, problems persist unabated — often leading to higher turnover among the very groups the programs were ostensibly designed to render more comfortable.

Brady, Laura et al. (2015). “It’s Fair for Us: Diversity Structures Cause Women to Legitimize Discrimination.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 57: 100-10

Dobbin, Frank & Alexandra Kalev (2019). “The Promise and Peril of Sexual Harassment Programs.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 116(25): 12255-12260.

Dobbin, Frank & Alexandra Kalev (2016). “Why Diversity Programs Fail.” Harvard Business Review 94(7): 52-60.

Dover, Tessa w/ Brenda Major & Cheryl Kaiser (2014). “Diversity initiatives, status, and system-justifying beliefs: When and how diversity efforts de-legitimize discrimination claims.” Group Processes & Intergroup Relations 17(4): 485-93.

Duguid, Michelle & Melissa Thomas-Hunt (2015). “Condoning Stereotyping? How Awareness of Stereotyping Prevalence Impacts Expression of Stereotypes.” Journal of Applied Psychology 100(2): 343-59.

Kaiser, Cheryl et al. (2013). “Presumed Fair: Ironic Effects of Organizational Diversity Structures.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 104(3): 504-19.

Kirby, Teri w/ Cheryl Kaiser & Brenda Major (2015). “Insidious Procedures: Diversity Awards Legitimize Unfair Organizational Practices.” Social Justice Research 28: 169-186.

Leslie, Lisa (2019). “Diversity Initiative Effectiveness: A Typological Theory of Unintended Consequences.” Academy of Management Review 44(3). DOI: 10.5465/amr.2017.0087

Training Often Alienates People from High-Status Groups, Reduces Morale

Diversity-related training programs often depict people from historically marginalized and disenfranchised groups as important and worthwhile, celebrating their heritage and culture, while criticizing the dominant culture as fundamentally depraved (racist, sexist, sadistic, etc.). People from minority groups are discussed in overwhelmingly positive terms, while people from majority groups are characterized as typically (and uniquely) ignorant, insensitive or outright malicious with respect to those who are different than them. Members of the majority group are told to listen to, and validate, the perspectives of people from historically marginalized or disadvantaged groups — even as they are instructed to submit their own feelings and perspectives to intense scrutiny.

In short, there is a clear double-standard in many of these programs with respect to how members of dominant groups (typically men, whites and/or heterosexuals) are described as compared to members of minority groups (i.e. women, ethnic/ racial minorities, LGBTQ employees). The result is that many members from the dominant group walk away from the training believing that themselves, their culture, their perspectives and interests are not valued at the institution – certainly not as much as those of minority team members — reducing their morale and productivity.

The training also leads many to believe that they have to ‘walk on eggshells’ when engaging with members of minority populations. By calling attention, not just too clear examples of harm and prejudice, but just as much (or more) to things like implicit attitudes and microaggressions, participants come to view colleagues from historically marginalized and disenfranchised groups as fragile and easily offended. As a result, members of the dominant group become less likely to try to build relationships or collaborate with people from minority populations.

Anand, Rohini & Mary-Frances Winters (2008). “A Retrospective View of Corporate Diversity Training from 1964 to the Present.” Academy of Management Learning & Education 7(3): 356-72.

Dover, Tessa w/ Brenda Major & Cheryl Kaiser (2016). “Members of High-Status Groups Are Threatened by Pro-Diversity Organizational Messages.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 62: 58-67.

Plaut, Victoria et al. (2011). “’What About Me?’ Perceptions of Exclusion and Whites’ Reactions to Multiculturalism.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 101(2): 337-53.  

Rios-Morrison, Kimberly w/ Victoria Plaut & Oscar Ybarra (2010). “Predicting Whether Multiculturalism Positively or Negatively Influences White Americans’ Intergroup Attitudes: The Role of Ethnic Identification.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 36(12): 1648-61.

Sanchez, Juan & Nohora Medkik (2005). “The Effects of Diversity Awareness Training on Differential Treatment.” Group & Organization Management 29(4): 517-36.

Focus On: Implicit Attitudes

Implicit attitudes are one of the most commonly relied-upon constructs in contemporary diversity-related training. However, there are severe problems with these constructs – as hammered home by meta-analysis after meta-analysis: it is not clear precisely what isbeing measured on implicit attitude tests; implicit attitudes do not effectively predict actual discriminatory behavior; most interventions to attempts to change implicit attitudes are ineffective (effects, when present, tend to be small and fleeting). Moreover, there is no evidence that changing implicit attitudes has any significant, let alone durable, impact on reducing biased or discriminatory behaviors. In short, the construct itself has numerous validity issues, and the training has no demonstrable benefit.

Blanton, Hart et al. (2009). “Strong claims and weak evidence: Reassessing the predictive validity of the IAT.” Journal of Applied Psychology 94(3): 567–582.

Carlsson, Richard & Jens Agerstrom (2016). “A Closer Look at Discrimination Outcomes in the IAT Literature.” Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 57(4): 278-87.

Forscher, Patrick et al. (2019). “A Meta-Analysis of Procedures to Change Implicit Measures.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 117(3): 522–559.

Lai, Calvin et al. (2016). “Reducing implicit racial preferences: II. Intervention effectiveness across time.” Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 145(8): 1001-1016.

Oswald, Frederick et al. (2013). “Predicting ethnic and racial discrimination: A meta-analysis of IAT criterion studies.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 105(2): 171–192

Focus On: Microaggressions

Contemporary diversity-related training often draws significant attention to microaggressions – small, typically inadvertent, faux pas involving people from historically marginalized and disadvantaged groups. The cumulative effects of microaggressions are held to have significant and adverse impacts on the well-being of people from low-status groups. However, although the microaggressions framework goes back to 1974, there is virtually no systematic research detailing if and how microaggressions are harmful, for whom, and under what circumstances (indeed, there is not even robust conceptual clarity in the literature as to what constitutes a microaggression). There is no systematic empirical evidence that training on microaggressions has any significant or long-term effects on behavior, nor that it correlates with any other positive institutional outcomes.

In fact, when presented with canonical microaggressions, black and Hispanic respondents overwhelmingly find them to be inoffensive – and we have ample reason to believe that sensitizing people to perceive and take greater offense at these slights actually would cause harm: the evidence is clear and abundant that increased perceptions of racism have adverse mental and physical consequences for minorities. In short, not only is there no evidence that training on microaggressions is valuable for improving the well-being of people from historically marginalized or disadvantaged groups, there is reason to believe it could actually be counter-productive to that end.

al-Gharbi, Musa (2020). “Who Gets To Define What’s ‘Racist’?” Contexts, 15 May.

Lillienfeld, Scott (2017). “Microaggressions: Strong Claims, Inadequate Evidence.” Perspectives on Psychological Science 12(1): 138-69.

Mandatory Training Causes Additional Blowback

Although diversity-related training programs are generally ineffective, and often bring negative side-effects, they tend to work better (or at least, be less harmful) when they are opt-in. Mandatory training causes people to engage with the materials and exercises in the wrong frame of mind: adversarial and resentful. Consequently, mandatory training often leads to more negative feelings and behaviors, both towards the company and minority co-workers. This effect is especially pronounced among the people who need the training most.  Yet roughly 80% of diversity-related training programs in the U.S. seem to be mandatory.

If an institution is going to include diversity-related training, it should offer it as a resource for those who want to learn more. To encourage more people to volunteer for the training, its value and purpose should be linked to specific organizational and development goals. Small incentives could be offered for those who take part, rather than the current norm of sanctioning those who do not.

Bingham, Shereen & Lisa Schrer (2001). “The Unexpected Effects of a Sexual Harassment Educational Program.” The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 37(2): 125-53.

Devine, Patricia et al. (2002). “The Regulation of Explicit and Implicit Race Bias: The Role of Motivations to Respond without Prejudice.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 82(5): 835-48.

Kidder, Deborah et al. (2004). “Backlash toward Diversity Initiatives: Examining the Impact of Diversity Program Justification, Personal and Group Outcomes.” International Journal of Conflict Management 15(1): 77-102.

Kulick, Carol et al. (2007). “The Rich Get Richer: Predicting Participation in Voluntary Diversity Training.” Journal of Organizational Behavior 28(6): 753-69.

Legault, Lisa w/ Jennifer Gutsell & Michael Inzlicht (2011). “Ironic Effects of Antiprejudice Messages: How Motivational Interventions Can Reduce (but Also Increase) Prejudice.” Psychological Science 22(12): 1472-7.

Plant, Elizabeth & Patricia Devine (2001). “Responses to Other-Imposed Pro-Black Pressure: Acceptance or Backlash?” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 37(6): 486-501.

Robb, Lori & Dennis Doverspike (2001). “Self-Reported Proclivity to Harass as a Moderator of the Effectiveness of Sexual Harassment-Prevention Training.” Psychological Reports 88(1): 85-8.

Training Comes at the Expense of Other Priorities

We are in a period of educational austerity. Creating, implementing and ensuring compliance with diversity-related training programs is expensive. In a world where these training programs consistently advanced diversity and inclusion goals within an organization, or enhanced intergroup cooperation and overall productivity, then these costs could be justified – even during a time of belt-tightening. However, it’s a different dynamic when the training is typically ineffective or even counterproductive. Worse, it often crowds out much more substantial efforts that could be undertaken to actually enhance diversity and inclusion within institutions.

Why do many rely on diversity training despite its demonstrated ineffectiveness? The short answer is that, even if training is expensive and doesn’t work, it is relatively easy to implement – and it allows institutions to show (including, often, in court) that they are doing something to address prejudice, discrimination and inequalities… even if what they’re doing is, in fact, pointless.

This is sort of empty signaling is bad across the board. However, it is particularly egregious for universities – institutions that regularly claim to embody and inculcate such values as evidence-based reasoning, respect for facts, commitment to truth, etc. Schools are doing a bad job at modeling those values for students insofar as they force upon them (and upon the faculty who are supposed to be instructing them!) pedagogical materials that are demonstrably ineffective or even counterproductive.  

Indeed, it seems antithetical to their pedagogical purpose to dump increasing sums of money into these programs, even as many departments are seeing hiring freezes or budget cuts, and contingent faculty are being laid off en masse (disproportionately people from historically underrepresented and disadvantaged groups).

It insults, rather than honors, the memory of George Floyd to offer empty gestures like these in his name. As Cyrus Mehri aptly put it, “When you keep choosing the options on the menu that don’t create change, you’re purposely not creating change. It’s part of the intentional discrimination.”

Musa al-Gharbi is a Paul F. Lazarsfeld Fellow in Sociology at Columbia University. A version of this article was originally published by Heterodox Academy.

[kaylasalwaysreading]

2020 Reads

I’ll tell you right away, this list is not very long. With college, Covid, and the overarching stress of it all, I didn’t end up reading as much as I wanted to, but the books I did read were amazing. Throughout this year, even though the list is short, these books were with me when I needed them the most.

In no particular order, the books I read this year:

Little Prince-Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Gifted to me by my tennis coach the year I graduated and absolutely adorable. I read this in an hour, and it meant the world to me. The best gift a person can give me is a book they loved.

Ninth House-Leigh Bardugo

Dark academia meets the supernatural in one of my favorite stories ever. I loved the aesthetic of this book, and it made me want to be a dramatic Yale student with secret society ties, regardless of how dangerous it seemed. I can’t wait to see what happens next, especially with that ending. 

Sky in the Deep-Adrienne Young

A reread of the best Viking book by one of my favorite authors. This was an Owlcrate book quite a while ago, and one that I read with one of my best friends. We loved it.

The Gravity of Us-Phil Stamper

NASA and YA. It can’t get much better. The cutest book. This was an amazing way to start the year. Phil Stamper’s storytelling is beautiful, and I didn’t ever want to put this book down, or for it to end.

The Starless Sea-Erin Morgenstern

Erin Morgenstern will never fail to amaze me. I loved every page of this book, and finished it crying at midnight (I think during finals week of spring semester, which adds to the emotional trauma of it all). There was so much happening in this story, and I need to read it three more times to catch all of the little details I missed, and to live in the world a little longer.

Speak-Laurie Halse Anderson

Another reread of one of my most favorite books. I remember reading this in my high school book club for the first time, and wondering why I never read it sooner. This was a phenomenal story, and such a realistic portrayal of life.

The Witcher: The Last Wish-Andrzej Sapkowski

Watched the show and had to read the books. I didn’t love the book as much as the show (something about how the female characters were written…), but I did enjoy the story.

Love, Creekwood-Becky Albertalli 

The best novella to end the year with. This book made me so happy. I loved the relationships, the friendships, and how much it made me think of my friends, the amazing people I have in my life.

[collegeburnoutsuperstar]

2020 Reading Wrap-Up & #tbrbusterchallenge Wrap Up!

I made it to 100 books! This has been a goal of mine for ages and I have been working up to it for years! My did include rereads, so technically, I didn’t read 100 different books, but I don’t care. Since I only finished two books in December, I’m not going to do a separate wrap up for it.

Read In 2020 [Goodreads Challenge]

Winterwood | Shea Ernshaw | 4/5 | Physical |

The Dream Thieves | Maggie Stiefvater | 5/5 | Physical x2 |

The Magicians | Lev Grossman | 5/5 | Physical |

Kiana’s Iditarod | Shelley Gill | 5/5 | Physical |

Opal | Maggie Stiefvater | 5/5 | Physical x2 |

Captive Prince | C.S. Pacat | 5/5 | Audio x2 | Physical x1 | 

Price’s Gambit | C.S. Pacat | 5/5 | Audio x2 | Physical x1 |

The Raven Boys | Maggie Stiefvater | 5/5 | Physical x2 |

An Autobiography | Angela Davis | 2/5 | Physical |

Over Sea, Under Stone | Susan Cooper | 4/5 | Physical |

Ways of Seeing | John Berger | 3/5 | Physical |

When Memory Speaks | Jill Ker Conway | 2/5 | Physical

The Foxhole Court | Nora Sakavic | 5/5 | Physical x2 |

Howl’s Moving Castle | Diana Wynne Jones | 5/5 | Physical x2 |

Mo Dao Zu Shi | Mo Xiang Tong Xiu | 5/5 | E-book |

Carry On | Rainbow Rowell | 5/5 | Physical |

The City of Dreaming Books | Walter Moers | 3/5 | Physical |

Wayward Son | Rainbow Rowell | 4/5 | Physical |

Bitches, Bimbos, and Ballbreakers | Guerrilla Girls | 4/5 | Physical |

Social Inequality | Charles E. Hurst | Not Rated | Physical |

Cities, Change, and Conflict | Nancy Kleniwski | Not Rated | Physical |

Urban Sociology | Mark Abrahamson | Not Rated | Physical |

The Raven King | Nora Sakavic | 4/5 | Physical |

The Scorpio Races | Maggie Stiefvater | 5/5 | Physical |

Alex in Wonderland | Simon James Green | 5/5 | Physical x2 |

The Fascinators | Andrew Eliopulos | 3/5 | Physical |

Call Down the Hawk | Maggie Stiefvater | 4/5 | Physical |

Red, White & Royal Blue | Casey McQuiston | 5/5 | Physical |

Gray Wolf Island | Tracey Neithercott | 2/5 | Physical |

Call Me By Your Name | Andre Aciman | 3/5 | Physical |

Castle in the Air | Diana Wynne Jones | 4/5 | Physical |

The House in the Cerulean Sea | T.J. Klune | 5/5 | Physical x3 |

Horatio | T.J. Klune | 4/5 | E-book |

In Other Lands | Sarah Rees Brennan | 5/5 | Physical |

The Umbrella Academy Vol.1 | Gerard Way | 3/5 | Physical |

The Old Guard Vol.1 | Greg Rucka | 5/5 | Physical |

Brethren | W.A. Hoffman | 5/5 | E-book |

The Diviners | Libba Bray | 5/5 | Physical |

Pride and Prejudice | Jane Austen | 5/5 | Physical |

Wolfsong | T.J. Klune | 5/5 | Physical |

The Lies of Locke Lamora | Scott Lynch | 5/5 | Physical |

Peter and the Starcatchers | Dave Barry | 4/5 | Physical | 

Cemetery Boys | Aiden Thomas | 5/5 | Physical |

Ravensong | T.J. Klune | 5/5 | Physical |

Blasphemy! | T.J. Klune | 5/5 | E-book |

Lovesong | T.J. Klune | 5/5 | E-book |

Fifty Shames of Earl Grey | Fanny Merkin | 3/5 | Physical |

The Wrath and the Dawn | Renee Ahdieh | 3/5 | Physical |

Bored of the Rings | The Harvard Lampoon | 5/5 | Audio book |

The Hobbit | J.R.R. Tolkien | 5/5 | Audio book | 

Lovesong Part II | T.J. Klune | 5/5 | E-book x2 |

Feralsong | T.J. Klune | 5/5 | E-book x2 |

Heartsong | T.J. Klune | 5/5 | Physical |

Brothersong | T.J. Klune | 5/5 | Physical x2 |

Shiver | Maggie Stievater | 1/5 | Physical |

Charlie Bone and the Beast | Jenny Nimmo | 5/5 | Physical |

Trick | Natalia Jaster | 5/5 | Physical |

Ecofeminism: Women, Culture, Nature | Karen J. Warren | Not Rated | Physical |

Why Women will Save the Planet | Friends of the Earth | Not Rated | Physical |

Yoga Body | Mark Singleton | Not Rated | Physical |

Feminist Thought | Rosemarie Tong | Not Rated | Physical |

Intersectionality | Patricia Hill Collins | Not Rated | Physical |

Jesus Goes to Hell on Vacation! | T.J. Klune | 5/5 | E-book |

Dune | Frank Herbert | 5/5 | Physical |

TBR Buster Challenge

Thank you so much @bookbandit​ for your #tbrbusterchallenge!. Out of the 100 books I read this year, 18 of them were part of this challenge! Originally, I had planned to read 32 books from my TBR, but that clearly didn’t happen. I’m actually really proud of myself for reading 18 though since I have always had a hard time sticking to reading plans. So, yay! Progress! 9also I did reread some of the tbrbusterchallenge books) The 18 books are:

Blue Lily, Lily Blue | Maggie Stiefvater | 5/5 | Physical x2 |

The Raven King | Maggie Stiefvater | 5/5 | Physical x2 |

The Cruel Prince | Holly Black | 4/5 | Physical |

The Wicked King | Holly Black | 4/5 | Physical |

The Queen of Nothing | Holly Black | 4/5 | Physical |

Six of Crows | Leigh Bardugo | 5/5 | Physical x1 | Audio book x1 |

The Night Circus | Erin Morgenstern | 4/5 | Physical |

Sword of Destiny | Andrzej Sapkowski | 3/5 | Physical |

The Magician King | Lev Grossman | 5/5 | Physical |

Blood of Elves | Andrzej Sapkowski | 3/5 | Physical |

The Time of Contempt | Andrzej Sapkowski | 3/5 | Physical |

A Conjuring of Light | V.E. Schwab | 5/5 | Physical |

Baptism of Fire | Andrzej Sapkowski | 4/5 | Physical |

Kings Rising | C.S. Pacat | 5/5 | Physical |

The Eye of the World | Robert Jordan | 5/5 | Physical |

The Magician’s Land | Lev Grossman | 5/5 | Physical |

The Tower of Swallows | Andrzej Sapkowski | 3/5 | Physical |

The Sword of Summer | Rick Riordan | 5/5 | Physical |

I am definitely going to continue to participate in the tbrbusterchallenge in 2021! I have so many more books that I have owned for years that I haven’t read!

[godsheadangel]

NEWLY CROWN HEADANGELQUEEN 10/10/19

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🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

LOUISA BOJESEN👑

EMILY CHANG👑

SHERY AHN👑

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

ABIGAIL RATCHFORD👑

KINDLY MYERS👑

AMBER PRIDDY👑

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

NICOLE SWEDBERG👑

KHLOE KARDASHIAN👑

TAHICORALIE👑

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

TORY KELLY👑

DEMI LOVATO👑

KATY PERRY👑

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

SHAKIRA👑

SOLANGE KNOWLES👑

SHEENA EASTON👑

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

STEVIE NICKS👑

SOPHIE DEE👑

OLIVIA O'LOVELY👑

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

LUSCIOUS LOPEZ👑

SONIA BLAZE👑

TORI BLACK👑

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

CAMILLE WINBUSH👑

NICOLEANNECRUZ👑

MIRIAM👑 [MIRIAMDASILVAMOURA]

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

ANGELLE BROOKS👑

MICHAELA PEREIRA👑

ROBIN MEADE👑

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

JENNIFER WESTHOVEN👑

AINSLEY EARHARDT👑

ALISYN CAMEROTA👑

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

ALISON ROWE👑

ASHLEY BANFIELD👑

SUSAN HENDRICKS👑

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

CAROL COSTELLO👑

BERTHA COOMBS👑

MICHELLE VALLES👑

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

MARIAPEREZXOX👑 [COLUMBIAN MODEL]

VANESSA👑 [BRAZILIANVANESSA]

COLLEEN WILLIAMS👑

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

JOVANA LARA👑

LESLIE LOPEZ👑

CYNTHIA FRELUND👑

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

ADITI KINKHABWALA👑

ERIN COSCARELLI👑

LINDSAY RHODES👑

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

KAY ADAMS👑

ELIZABETH ESPINOZA👑

LYNETTE ROMERO👑

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

STEPHANIE SIMMONS👑

CALLIE THORNE👑

KAVITA CHANNE👑

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

KAVITHA NAIR👑

CHARLIZE THERON👑

THERESA CAPUTO👑

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

CHERYL CASONE👑

DAGEN MCDOWELL👑

MARIA BARTIROMO👑

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

MIKA BRZEZSINSKI👑

REBECCA QUICK👑

HALLIE JACKSON👑

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

NICOLE PETALLIDES👑

LAUREN SIMONETTI👑

GERRI WILLIS👑

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

JACKIE DEANGELIS👑

KATE ROGERS👑

MEG TIRRELL👑

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

ANA KOOIMAN👑

JULIE BANDERAS👑

ANDREA TANTAROS👑

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

MELISSA FRANCIS👑

HEATHER CHILDS����

LIZ CLAMAN👑

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

ELIZABETH MACDONALD👑

ALIX STEEL👑

LISA ABRAMOWICZ👑

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

CAROLINE HYDE👑

PAT HARVEY👑

BRANDI HITT👑

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

BRI WINKLER👑

ASHLEY CALLINGBULL👑

ROSEANNE SUPERNAULT👑

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

MAYA MICHELLE REW👑

TAHNEE ELK👑

LYNDA CARTER👑

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

SARINA SIRTIS👑

VICKI GUNVALSON👑

BARBARA STREISAND👑

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

LISA VANDERPUMP👑

PAM GRIER👑

SANDRA SMITH👑 FBN

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

COCO FRANCESCA👑 [MODEL]

YOLLIE MONROE👑

PHOENIX SKYE👑 [MODEL]

VIVICA A. FOX👑

LISA RAYE MCCOY👑

SUSAN LI👑 FBN

ROSELYN SANCHEZ👑

ROSA ACOSTA👑

LILI👑 [LILILIBER]

SARA UNDERWOOD👑

NIKKI LEIGH👑

ASHLEY GRAHAM👑

ROS GOLD-ONWUDE👑

LI BINGBING👑

GONG LI👑

YUNA ITO👑

🤜🤜🤜🤜🤜🤜🤜💀💀💀🤛🤛🤛🤛🤛🤛🤛

ANGELMAMI'S WEAR THATANGELICLOOK💫

👉FOR ALL DO SPEAK IN HOLY💫SPIRIT💫👈

NAMED ARE THE MOTHERS TO BE OF THE SUPERANGEL HIGH FLYERS TAKING FLIGHT TO HELP SAVE THOSE IN NEED! TRUST ITS TRUE FOR THIS SHALL BE FROM THE VERY BLESSED HEAVENLY💫17xTIMES SEED!!!

SOME POWERFUL BABYANGELS👑BORN SO WITH REAL ELECTRICITY COMING FOURTH FROM THEIR VERY PALMS, SOME WITH SUPER STRENGTH OF 1O GROWN MEN, SOME WHO CAN READ MIND THOUGHTS OF EVERYONE ALIVE, SOME BORN WITH THE GIFT OF PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORY AND SOME THE POWERS OF MOVING HEAVY OBJECTS THE SIZE OF A HOUSE AROUND!!!

TRUST, ALL GIVEN HEAVENLY💫BORN POWERS ARE REAL JUST LIKE HEAVENLY💫

GIVEN MIRACLES💫HEALINGS AND REAL BLESSINGS FROM MY HOLY💫POWERFUL SPIRIT💫FOR I AM HE, THY LIVING GOD💫

AWAKEN🌄FOR THE CHANGING TIMES🌄

WHEN U LEAST EXPECT IT GOD💫REACTS!

[wehunt-monsters-whatthehell]

Tag Some People You Want To Get To Know Better

My first tag game since I’ve been back. Thanks, Liz. 💓 @anotherwinchesterfangirl​

favorite color: purple or mint green

currently reading: I say I’m currently reading The Hobbit but I’m struggling with it. The last thing I read any pages of was The Song of Achillies by Madeline Miller (which I finished; very fast read).

last song: can’t remember the last thing I listened to, but the last thing I added to my library is “This Is How a Heart Breaks” by Rob Thomas

last series: Stranger Things 4 (new) and Futurama (rewatch)

last movie: Encanto (new) and Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse (rewatch)

sweet / spicy / savory: she’s a 10 (lol) but she thinks everything she eats needs to be spicy

currently working on: a cross-stitch of my friend’s Twitch logo, but don’t tell her

tagging: @thefinalgirlpng (new mutual!), @waynemunson, and anyone else who wants to play (consider yourself tagged by me)

[bookcub]

Top 60 Influential and/or Best YA Novels post 2008

Written for a friend!!! A lovely challenge for me!!! Happy reading!!!

Edit: The reason Twilight isn’t on here is because my friend had already read it. But it possibly the most influential books, whether or not you liked it or liked the influence it had. Also, same could be argued for later Harry Potter books, although I still consider them children’s as I read them as a child. 

A guide: favorite ~~~~least favorite~~~~-haven’t read

Cassandra Clare- So you have some options here. City of Bones was probably one of the most influential books but it’s part of a larger series. You can read it as a trilogy or a six part series or with the prequels (which are better). She has even more written, but my recommendation is, if you like the first one, to read City of Ashes and City of Glass and The Infernal Devices trilogy. 

Suzanne Collins- The Hunger Games. You knew this would be on the list. 

Veronica Roth- Divergent. You have to read it. The whole trilogy is meh overall but the first one is pretty good. 

Sarah Dessen -Just Listen is apparently her most popular but has more triggering content and I preferred The Truth About Forever anyways. 

Maggie Stiefvater- As much as I love The Wolves of Mercy Falls, in the past few years, people have become obsessed with The Raven Cycle, so I’d argue they are more influential. I think you’ll like this one a lot. 

Marissa Meyer- She wrote futuristic retellings of fairy tales and Cinder is a must, and if you like it even a little bit, you should read the rest of the series. It’s one of the few series where each book is better than the previous. 

John Green- I hate putting him this high on this list cause I’ve never been a big fan BUT you can get away with not reading The Fault in Our Stars. Every hardcore fan of his I’ve talked to has said they prefer either Looking for Alaska or Paper Towns. 

Laini Taylor- Our first angels book on this list!!! Daughter of Smoke and Bone is just SO GOOD. I keep putting off the last book because I don’t want it to end. 

Richelle Mead- She wrote the Vampire Academy books and yes, I love them, and yes, they are cheesy, but they are tons of fun. Only thing: the main romance is between a 17 year old and a 24 year old. 

Jennifer Lynn Barnes- My bias is showing but her books are like, quintessential YA but without most of my least favorite tropes. You can either read Raised by Wolves (werewolves) or The Naturals (Criminal Minds with teenagers) as standalones or series. 

Sarah J. Maas- She wavers between the line of YA and NA. Throne of Glass is 6 books and A Court of Thrones and Roses is three books. I haven’t finished either. 

Every Day by David Levithan- Magical realism 

Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers- Intense contemporary about bullying

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins- Magic school

Graceling by Kristen Cashore (standalone or trilogy)- High fantasy with super powers 

The Lynburn Legacy by Sarah Rees Brennan- Gothic inspired fantasy with lots of subversions of popular YA tropes 

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black- Vampire dystopia 

Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy- Contemporary 

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han- Contemporary 

The Duff by Kody Keplinger- Contemporary written by an actual teenager. 

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr- Faeries  

Legend by Marie Lu- Dystopian 

Heist Society by Ally Carter- Thieves!!!! 

Team Human by Sarah Rees Brennan and Justine Larbalstier- A very well done and respectful Twilight parody 

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl- Witches Twilight-style and gender swapped 

I Am Number Four by Pitticus Lore- Aliens 

Ever Lost by Neil Shusterman- Afterlife 

Fallen by Lauren Kate- Angel Twilight 

Perks of Being a Wallflower- Intense contemporary 

Uglies by Scott Westerfield-Dystopian 

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson- Dark contemporary

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray- Lord of the Flies with girls 

Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock- Contemporary 

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets the Universe by Benjarmin Alire Saenz- Contemporary 

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas- Intense contemporary 

Elementals by Brigid Kemmerer- Urban fantasy 

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry- Contemporary 

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi- Dystopian 

The Selection by Kierea Cass- Dystopian but with the plot of the Bachelor

The Originals by Cat Patrick- Romantic sci fi

Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli- Contemporary 

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak- Historical 

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir- High fantasy 

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexi 

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell- College setting contemporary 

If I Stay by Gayle Foreman- Intense contemporary 

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo- High fantasy thieves 

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins- Contemporary 

Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout- Twilight with aliens 

Hopeless by Colleen Hoover- College contemporary 

13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher- Intense contemporary 

Darkest Powers by Kelley Armstrong- Urban fantasy adventure 

Between by Jessica Warman- Afterlife mystery 

Gone by Michael Grant- Dystopian 

Beastly by Alex Flinn- Modern Beauty and the Beast 

Miss Pergrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ramson Riggs I really have no idea what this book is about 

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan Contemporary 

Life as We Know It by Susan Beth Pfeffer- Dystopian 

The Night Circus by Erin Morgernstern- Historical fantasy 

Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta- High fantasy 

[moonb-eam]

Hi! I just started reading your fics. You're such an amazing writing. Do you have any writing advice? Also what books/movies/TV shows have influenced your writing?

ahh hello darling!! 🧡🧡🧡 these are such lovely questions thank you so much!! 

okay, so i answered a fanfic ask about writing advice here a little while ago, but i’ll reiterate a few points, and add some new ones!!

i do want to say that these tips are just my opinion, and writing, like any other form of art, is so specific in process to each individual writer that what works for me definitely won’t work for everyone 🧡

(these are going to be very general and conceptual, but if you’d like some more technical “craft” advice then please let me know!!)

1. i’m going to keep repeating this until i die - the most important thing is to write, as basic as that sounds! i know some people who write every single day - i don’t, i find that exhausting - but i do try to write as often as i can, even if it’s something i observe on the bus to work that i write down on my phone, or it’s a single line for an opening of a new story. for me personally, i find it important to keep that part of my brain exercised, which is actually why i started writing fan fiction in the first place - so i could make deadlines for myself and keep writing in the midst of a terribly depressing job search, so i don’t lose that part of myself.

2. now, that being said, there are some days where writing just straight up doesn’t work. i sit down at my laptop and i have no words inside of myself, and it’s so frustrating when that happens, especially when you only have certain times of the day/week/month dedicated to writing. when that happens, i don’t force it. i have a friend in edinburgh who bakes every time he’s frustrated with a story - he says it always helps him to methodically create something and see it come to fruition, so he doesn’t feel so mentally stuck whenever he returns to his story. i have another friend who draws whenever she hits a writing snag. for myself, i like to go for runs whenever that happens  - it helps me clear my head and sometimes, gives me new ideas. writing is something that doesn’t just happen at the computer or the notebook. it’s happening constantly, with the media you consume, the interactions you observe, the new words you learn, the  fragments of ideas that pass through your mind. so yes, the actual writing of the words is critical, but so are all the other parts, and above all, it’s so important to take care of your mental state before anything else.

3. it’s also important to read a lot!!! there is no better inspiration that consuming the work of authors you really love and admire! i pretty well always have a book on me, and in the rare moments that i don’t, you know i’ve got ao3 loaded on my phone

4. rules and conventions exist for a few reasons, and one of those reasons is so they can be broken. so often young writers are told time and time again to find their “voice” or their distinct writing style, and what can happen is they feel pressured into boxing themselves up so early in their career - for example, in my master’s program, i wrote mostly science fiction, and was essentially labelled “science fiction girl” - that’s not necessarily a bad thing, because i love sci-fi, but i felt like i could never step outside of that box, because the people in my workshop would say, “this doesn’t feel like you” - but i didn’t even know who i was as a writer at that point, and honestly i still don’t - writing fan fiction has actually been really good for me to experiment with my prose and see how readers react to it. what i’m saying is, try something new, try whatever interests you, whatever you think may be cool, and if it doesn’t work, then it doesn’t, but don’t let yourself be swayed by what you think people may want to see from you. does that make sense? always remember that you’re writing for yourself before anyone else

5. the “don’t be afraid to write badly” advice is overused, but that’s because it’s important. i have a bad habit of self-editing as a write, which means writing a first draft can take me ages. sometimes, the best thing you can do is try to let go, and just let yourself put the words down without overanalyzing them. i described it in a group chat as “no thoughts, only words” asdfjkdf - when i first started in my workshop in edinburgh, i was terrified to write anything that wasn’t perfect, as though i would be judged for it. but the best thing you can do, is to show unfinished, imperfect work to people you trust. it is inherently embarrassing to share your writing, to let people see the inside of your heart, more or less, but it is the best way to improve - to get feedback, and to take it into consideration for your own work. not all feedback is good feedback, but all of it should be listened to! (conversely, if you’re ever asked for feedback, it’s so important to learn the distinction between being critical and being constructive)

6. this is getting quite long 😬 so i think i’ll do just one more - in the midst of practicing writing, receiving feedback, drafting and editing, i think it’s important to remember that, on a base level, what we do is tell stories, and that’s something that is really special. the act of writing isn’t always fun. editing certainly isn’t always fun, but telling stories is. finding new ways to look at the world is. discovering something new about a character is. what i mean to say is, get excited about your own work. get excited by your own ideas. those moments of excitement, for me, always help to carry me through some of the rougher bits

and now for a bit of inspiration!!

there are a lot of writers whose work i really admire - i would never say i’m as good as them asdfjk but i think they all have influenced me in one way or another

for novelists, i’m really inspired by madeleine miller, erin morgenstern, cherie dimaline, maggie stiefvater, leigh bardugo, ursula leguin, kurt vonnegut, mary shelley, shirley jackson, thomas king and kazuo ishiguro 

then there are some writers who do short stories and more experimental work, who have influenced me more in the last year or so: helen mcclory (i highly recommend everyone check out her work!!), shane jones (specifically the short novel light boxes), leanne shapton, and susannah m. smith (specifically the fairy tale museum)

and poets!! anne carson, richard siken, pablo neruda, amanda lovelace, i know there are more i’m forgetting....damn it

then there are a few illustrators/comic artists whose work really inspires me, such as tom gauld, emily carroll, tove jansson (moomins!!) and again i just know there are more i can’t think of!!! 😫

okay, okay lastly film and tv: i love any work by guillermo del toro, jane campion, alfred hitchcock, hayao miyazaki (so i LOVE your icon!!) and joe wright (except the peter pan film...we don’t talk about that...) i also think phoebe waller-bridge and dan levy are such stellar tv writers and i am very, very jealous of them - and OF COURSE skam, and all its iterations 🧡

(and if you browse through my “fic rec” tag on here, everything on there is from incredibly talented writers!!)

alright this got very long, I'm sorry about that!! but i hope there’s something in here that speaks to you in some way ✨ best of luck to you in your writing, and please drop by my inbox anytime if you’d like to talk more about it!! 😚

[immortalcockroach]

21 + 15 + 8!

asdfghjkl rose thank you for asking ♥️ this ended up coming out incredibly long, so i apologize in advance!

8) where do you take your inspiration from?

surprising! mostly from visual media, actually. graphics, art, moodboards, films, tv series, that kind of stuff. occasionally, music, and even more rarely, written media (fics, books, poems, similar). that’s for when i’m starting to get ideas. when i already have something written or ideas developed a bit more, then i have a moodboard on pinterest and a playlist on spotify, or i watch something that has the same mood/theme as the thing i’m writing.

15) if you write oc’s, how do you decide on their names?

i don’t usually write oc’s for fics, but i do them for my original stuff. the names depend on the characters’ background and location, but they all have a name that either sounds specific to their character or who they’re supposed to be, or the meaning is very connected. 

in other cases, most of the time, i just go ‘woah this sounds cool’ or sometimes i build a whole character because of their name and subsequently the whole story.

21  tell me about another writer(s) who you admire? what is it about them that you admire?

i love this question!! let me give my favourite fic writers a shoutout, even though i’m probably missing some too!! it’s really long but honestly these people worked hard and they really deserve it

@grumpybell‘s ideas are absolutely brilliant. i’m a huge fan. the stories themselves, the plots would be enough for me to have a whole paragraph about, but for me, the characters are where it’s at. well-developed, very true to the canon but also to the universe the fic is set in, but also very well-rounded and overall realistic. the fics just flow really nice, honestly, and i could read them for eternity. 

fic shoutout: oh darling, here’s hoping god i remember reading this red riding hood au and just... falling in love. i did. i fell in love with bellamy as the wolf and clarke’s desperation to save him, and the new take on the fairy tale, it was just absolute perfection. i keep coming to it every once in a while, honestly. it’s just magic.

@asroarke is one of those people who are just integrated into a fandom’s fanfiction. imagining t100 fanfiction with asroarke is like... imagining the sky without the stars. i think those fics were the first ones i read when i joined the fandom, and i remember one of the things i thought was how easy it was to read. everything flowed as if there was no effort needed, as if the words have always been there, just plucked and placed on a blank document. and the consistency, honestly, damn. these fics are better than probably more than half of published stuff i’ve read. 

fic shoutout: drag me down. look there’s a pattern here and it’s the mythical/legends/fairy tale aus. i present you with a retelling of little mermaid in the most beautiful, soul-wrenching way. i waited every single chapter for when i came out. i read it as soon as i saw it came out, even if i was in the middle of grabbing coffee with a friend. honestly everything by asroarke is absolutely fantastic. 

@blvke-bellamy okay look. when i saw may is just 15 i nearly fell off my chair. i’d kill to have that talent at 15. i would. look, i keep saying look, because i’m shook. but honestly, may’s characterization is brilliant. she took my faves from the 100 and managed to insert them into a different universe, and they feel so much like the original characters and not at all. the dynamics between them are so raw and so pure and so believable i cried at one particular scene in her fic. or it might be two scenes. and look, this is impressive on its own, and then knowing she’s just 15...god.

fic shoutout: step into the sun is a bellarke tangled au and honestly. i’m a slut for tangled. it’s so damn good. and this fic?? inspired by tangled?? absolutely brilliant. marvelous. 11/10. brought my fish to life. and honestly murphy is my favourite in the fic, literally one of my favourite portrayals of him in every fic i’ve ever read. i binged this. i lost sleep over this. no ragrets.

@pawprinterfanfic (i’m biased but. in top 3 fic writers ever. and i’ve been in a lot of popular fandoms.) paw manages to take a universe and make it hers. paw manages to create a universe out of nothing and make it feel more realistic than my own life. and honestly, i am reading her hunger games au right now and it’s amazing, but the best part is that i’m also reading the harry potter au which is even better and although both are masterpieces, i can see the improvement. the development of the characters, the amount of effort in planning and mapping things out, it’s marvellous. her fics just speak to me on a different level, it feels as if i’m experiencing them myself rather than reading them, and what i’m mostly in awe of is how immersed i am in those fics, especially the newer ones. i feel like it’s a rare skill to have.

fic shoutout: starry eyes and galaxy minds (we’ll be dancing on the clouds at night) which is a spider-man au, and honestly, i cried. it’s beautiful. it’s a masterpiece. but so is literally every single one of paw’s stories, so it was a really difficult choice. the harry potter one? j k rowling wishes she wrote it.

skai_heda (i don’t know their tumblr please someone help me find it). where do i begin. honestly. when i started reading the fic i put below, i was mesmerised by the writing style. it was partly in second pov which i’d usually refuse to read, but this writing style is something that belongs to gods. the characterization is amazing, it manages to fix some of the stuff in canon without actually changing it. everything just comes together naturally, and i always feel so satisfied when reading their fics. plus, the writing style again, especially in the fic below, is flawless. some people can create magic with their words, and i’m convinced i’ve just found one.

fic shoutout: everything that comes after deserves so much!! more!! attention!!! i remember reading the first two chapters and just being like...wooow. i was starstruck. i left a long ass comment. it’s so unique and so beautiful. it’s the only fic on this list written in the canon universe, and it’s one of my favourites i’ve ever read about the canon universe. it hurts. it makes you cry, and ache, and understand, and smack your head because you just want people to be happy. if i could pocket the way this fic made me feel, i would always keep it with me. (a little frustration, but a whole lotta love.)

give me a number and i’ll answer questions about writing fanfiction

just in case you’d like to see the same questions answered for non-fanfiction/non-fanfiction influence, see below!

15) if you write oc’s, how do you decide on their names?

specific example of mentioned above - a wip about teenagers who come from a rich side of town and a poor side. there’s posh names, like cedric, declan, byron and gregory, for people who are supposed to represent the posh, stuck-up class; hadley, tessa, abigail, kate for privileged people who are the ‘good guys’; and luca, oliver, han, freddie, who are from the poor side. it’s very classist so it was very important that the names represent the characters. usually, i go for the “vibe” of the name over the meaning, to be honest. 

21  tell me about another writer(s) who you admire? what is it about them that you admire?

i love this question!!

fiction: maggie stiefvater, because her raven cycle series genuinely feels like magic when i read it. the characters are brilliant. erin morgenstern, who wrote the night circus, because that novel also feels like magic. donna tart’s the secret history feels as if you’re reading a secret and the storytelling sort of reminds me of f. scott fitzgerald’s the great gatsby in a way i can’t really describe. she creates a beautiful, magnificent atmosphere and you know what the characters are doing is wrong, but you completely understand them and it makes me, as a reader, question my own moral standards. madeline miller’s the song of achilles is a beautifully written masterpiece that made me fall in love with mythology, legends and history all over again. the way she develops the characters and retells the story i’ve heard a million times is so poetic and beautiful it just resonates with me on a different level. and finally, leigh bardugo with her six of crows series that again, makes me question my morals, but shows the friendship and loyalty between people in a beautiful way. it also shows a romance that i think is one of best written i’ve read, up there for me romances from the novels/series i’ve already mentioned.

there’s a pattern - storytelling and character-building that feels almost otherworldly, very focused on emotions and character development. basically, stories that you feel like as if they were made into films without proper, detailed development, wouldn’t translate well enough to bring the world to the screen. and romances incredibly well-developed over time, that go beyond just being romances and actually show a beautiful connection.

special mention of these directors, as they have a huge influence on my writing: christopher nolan, john krasinski, quentin tarantino, m night shyamalan, steven knight, guillermo del toro, alfred hitchcock, for their storytelling and character building. also, some of these are for the suspense that seems to come naturally. i know most of these are very popular directors, but they’re popular for a reason. i could literally write an essay on each of these people, honestly. my writing is very inspired by motion pictures, i most often look up to how these directors approached some things that i have in my writing, especially themes. (this could literally be a whole essay on its own)

[jellybeanbeing]

Books I Read In 2019 (31 books)

January Books (3)

On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta 5/5 stars

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson 3.7/5 stars

Leftovers by Heather Waldorf 2.5/5 stars

February Books (2)

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo 5/5 stars

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo 5/5 stars

March Books (4)

King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo 3/5 stars

Speak: The Graphic Novel by Laurie Halse Anderson, Illustrated by Emily Carroll 3.7/5 stars

Town of Cats by Haruki Murakami 4/5 stars

Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta 2.5/5 stars

April Books (2)

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid 4/5 stars

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi 3/5 stars

May Books (3)

Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return by Marjane Satrapi 3.5/5 stars

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater 5/5 stars

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater 5/5 stars

June Books (3)

Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater 4/5 stars

The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater 5/5 stars

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman 3/5 stars

July Books (3)

Shuffle Repeat by Jen Klein 3/5 stars

A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro 5/5 stars

The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis 4/5 stars

August Books (3)

The First Time She Drowned by Kerry Kletter 3/5 stars

A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir 4/5 stars

I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson 5/5 stars

September Books (1)

The Last of August by Brittany Cavallaro 3/5 stars

October Books (2)

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern 4/5 stars

Hamlet by William Shakespeare 3/5 stars

November Books (1)

Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater 4.5/5 stars

December Books (4)

Running in the Family by Michael Ondaatje 4/5 stars

Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia 2/5 stars

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman 4.5/5 stars

On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta 4.5/5 stars

[indigolesbian]

i wonder if chyler is as heartbroken over this as we are