#especially considering it’s a YA novel??

[crow-caller]

Scrolled through Aster's insta story out of curiosity and two new lightlark novels are coming out next year

yeah, each lightlark has been a year apart. this is a very short timeframe for a book to be published, actually, especially as she also is writing them in that time (lightlark was her pet project high school draft thing, but I don't think she'd written any sort of sequel until it'd been published). so next november we will likely see lightlark 4. Considering the ending of 3 (she fucks off to the otherworld leaving everyone else behind) I can only imagine what a mess 4 will be.

The extra book is her hot new announcement, yeah. it is very obvious to me what it will be, as she's promised it's for the oro AND grim fans: some sort of novella or short story thing from their POV. probably just retelling scenes from the previous books, maybe one or two new scenes. this is not that rare as a concept, a lot of YA series do this or have done this. For a hot period when ereaders were especially popping off in the early 2010s I think publishers maybe asked for bonus books like this to help capitalize/promote ebooks (they'd often be digital exclusive), because there's a lot.

but yes. I am bloodbound to read it and I shall

[harrowscore]

i want to be specific on one thing: there is nothing wrong with dark romance/romantasy. actually, in theory i love the genre. it's what i like to write most of the time, and often read/otherwise consume. the problem imo is that most mainstream published books in the romantasy genre are wattpad-quality or written as if the authors were 15yo. with this i mean no offense to the 15yo girls who put their heart and soul into their stories - hell, i used to be a weird teen who wrote shitty fics too; these girls make the world go round, and there's some big talent lurking among them. (i'm not counting myself among them, just to be clear lol.) some fics written by teen girls are beautifully mature works, and they influenced little teen val's writing style along with all the classic, modern, and fantasy lit i loved so much.

but wattpad fics are blessedly free. you don't have to pay 23€ for a beautiful hardcover edition hailed as the new literary case. mind you, this is not a romance-only issue - i'm sure there's a lot of bad written thrillers out there, but i've read so many few thrillers in my life that honestly i can't say nothing of value about it. romance, especially gothic-adjacent/dark romance, on the other hand, is my bread and butter (which is ironic, considering i have so many issues with modern romcoms too... but that's another can of worms), so i speak out of love for the genre. but honestly... i've read far better villain/heroine fanfictions on ao3 than many of these "acclaimed" best-sellers. (which also makes sense, because as i've personally experienced when i wrote my first original novel, writing original works is hard and requires exponentially different skills than fanfiction.)

having said that: mutuals/followers, what's a (modern or contemporary) ya and/or romantasy book you've read and enjoyed? i'd love some recs, and to celebrate good authors!

i'll start: probably a basic rec but i'd say spinning silver by naomi novik ❄️

[frogyourbog]

definitely did not just spend the last three days rapidly digesting all of the hunger games novels and end up sprawled out on my bed at almost 4 in the morning crying because goddamn

[orlissa]

A few weeks ago I read a YA book - it doesn't really matter which one exactly -, set in Argentina and Egypt, in the 1880s, and it included a sentence I cannot get out of my head:

[The dress] had a matching parasol, ruffled and useless save for protecting my skin from the sun.

This unassuming sentence, my friends, is one of the stupidest shit I've ever read (I honestly don't know how it slipped past the editor).

On the one hand, like, consider the word itself: parasol. It literally means "to protect against the sun." To say that a parasol is useless save for, you know, protecting you from the sun, is to say something like "a pen is useless save fro writing."

ITS FREAKING PURPOSE IS TO PROTECT YOU FROM THE SUN.

And even that is not useless - a parasol is vital, especially, you know, in Egypt, where 90% of the novel is set. You don't have sunblock in the 1880s, and, vanity put aside... you don't want to end up with a nasty sunburn - hence the parasol. It's not "useless" - it has one specific and very important function - which it fulfills! It doesn't have to do anything else!

And the most infuriating in the whole thing is that you just know that sentences and sentiments like this stem from the misconception that everything women did or wore pre-20th century is the product of the opressive patriarchy and should be condemned. Corsets are yucky. Long skirt are ewww. Parasols are USELESS.

Heaven forbid that all of these things made sense in their given context.

Honestly, I really wanna see some heroines in historical/fantasy books who go, like "no, I feel naked without my corset, it's like my armor" and "you want me to wear pants? I don't know, I'd feel so awkward." And, you know, heroines who thrive in the period specific femininity, instead of trying to dismantle it, because that's so cool.

[tiffanys-aus-and-headcanons]

Terrible Visions

A scrambled timeline is a timeline that has proceeded much like ours, except that some particular facet has been mixed up all over the place. For example, in the scrambled timeline we will consider today, our world's fictional stories have been told by different people, and in different ways.

Bryan Lee O'Malley, in this alternate timeline, is best known as the cartoonist responsible for Homestuck, a popular comic series about a group of children who become embroiled in a cosmic-scale video game known as Sburb. Although Homestuck is probably most often associated with the cult classic Edgar Wright-directed film adaptation released in 2016, the comics themselves are highly-regarded, and the film brought a new audience to them. Netflix has commissioned an animated continuation, The Homestuck Epilogues, which is due to be released soon.

Andrew Hussie, on the other hand, is a figure you're likelier to know if you're overly online. His "MS Paint Adventures" series - most notably including Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, which is kind of like Homestuck but weirder and hornier - have firmly remained a fixture of obsessive Twitter fandom culture. It doesn't help that the best-known iteration, Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, is infamous for stretching thousands of pages of meandering digressions out of a simple and focused narrative starting point. Scott Pilgrim fans have developed something of a toxic reputation, which is not entirely deserved - although of course Knives discourse is interminable, and back in the fandom's heyday there were reportedly incidents of fans assaulting each other "for being evil exes".

Scott Pilgrim fandom was very big back in the day, though, and consequently it was a nexus for other creative figures who would go on to surpass Hussie. Perhaps foremost among these is indie developer Toby Fox. He was literally living in Hussie's basement when he produced ROSEQUARTZ, a universally-beloved retro Goonies-like RPG about a human hybrid boy born to a race of gem-based aliens. He's now developing an episodic spiritual successor, RAZORQUEST, with more overtly dark themes. It revolves around an inheritance dispute among a demon-summoning family.

Other foundational figures in this timeline's internet culture include Alison Bechdel, who helped get the webcomic scene started. Although she's now more seriously acclaimed for her personal memoirs, her gaming webcomic Press Start To Dyke, which premiered in 1998, was once everywhere. It had a broad appeal, and at its height, it was common to see even straight guys sharing pages from it. Time has not been especially kind to it, though, and at this point its main legacy is test.png, a meme spawned by one of the comic's most ill-advised pages.

Then there's John C. McCrae, more often known by his pseudonym Wildbow. A prolific and reclusive author of doorstopping "web serials" - long-form fiction published online - McCrae's best-known serial is still his first, Wind, a noir superhero story set in an alternate history where capes are mostly just a subculture of unpowered vigilantes. Wind landed in a culture already rife with comic book deconstructions, like Alan Moore's 2002 graphic novel Worm Turns, but it nonetheless managed to stand out from the pack with its extensive cast of characters and its themes of coordination problems and the end of the world. Later McCrae web serials include Part (the first "Otherverse" serial; an urban fantasy story about a couple who die in a car accident and find that they have become ghosts), Tear (a "biopunk" story set in a collapsing underwater city), Warn (the controversial Wind sequel), and Play (the second "Otherverse" serial, set in a small Indiana town that helps hide a psychic girl from the CIA).

Last and perhaps least, we should discuss J. K. Rowling. Far and away the most famous of any of these authors, Rowling's name is inseparable from the YA series that she debuted with, the Luz Noceda books, which remain her one successful work. Although it was heavily derivative of older fantasy novels - like Jill Murphy's Academy For Little Witches, or Philip Pullman's Methods Of Rationality trilogy - Luz Noceda was still a monumental and unprecedented success in the publishing industry, and the film adaptations were consistent blockbusters. The final book, Luz Noceda and the Watcher of Rain, contained some allusions to a romantic relationship between Luz and her recently-redeemed associate Amity. Rowling confirmed that this was her intent in subsequent interviews and indicated that she had fought her publishers for it; the film would then go on to escalate matters slightly further.

There have been many lengthy and heated online arguments as to whether the references in the book itself constitute text or mere subtext. Whatever your stance on this discourse, a new complication has been introduced recently: although she has put out no official statement on the matter as of yet, it has become quite apparent from Rowling's shrinking network of contacts and her conspicuous silences that she is certainly TERF-sympathetic, and likely an outright TERF herself. For many, this is leading to a critical reevaluation of the social values inherent in the Luz Noceda series; others, to say the least, are holding off on that kind of reappraisal.

Anyway, Scott Pilgrim just beat Luz Noceda in a Twitter poll for Most Gay Media, and people are piiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiissed

[arcanusarchieves-if]

||DEMO TBA||INTROS||

The Arcanus Archives is an upcoming 18+ modern fantasy interactive novel. Inspiration is taken from: Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and The Olympians, The Mortal Instruments (and various other YA series).

[[Content Warnings]]: This story will include things such as explicit language, violence, substance use, sexual themes, etc.

“That's the thing about magic; you've got to know it's still here, all around us, or it just stays invisible for you.” ― Charles de Lint

The allure of magicae is undeniable. It's a force so majestic that many dedicate their entire lives to its pursuit - something that most people spend their entire lives devoted to.

After all, when one can do practically anything with just a wave of their wrist, why would they even consider wasting their time on things like cooking and cleaning when they could be learning to tame dragons or inventing new spells? Most Magus don't even consider leaving the world of Magicae once they've made a life for themselves.

Of course, you aren't most Magus.

Instead of breaking curses or making potions, you've made the very practical (and totally not boring) choice of settling down in the non-magical world. An odd choice, sure, but it's not like you were exactly going to make it very far as a Magus. Not with your...condition.

Especially now that the war was over.

Honestly, spending the rest of your life as a Debilis was probably the best choice you could have made.

...or at least, that was what you thought until a certain bird flew through your window and let the parchment in their mouth flutter down onto your desk.

So now, instead of being able to live out what would've been your very happy and normal life, you are being dragged back into a world full of mystic and wonder to fight a war that you really don't want anything to do with. You'd be terrified (or perhaps thrilled) if you weren't dreading it so much.

Have fun exploring a world of magic and wonder. Try not to get too caught up in the excitement though - after all, there is a dark side to everything.

Create your own character! Their personality, appearance, gender identity, sexuality and skills will be yours to customize!

Choose from five different houses that your MC could've been in during school!

Look back into your past and all the fun experiences and relationships that come with it. Try not to fall too deeply into it though - you still have the future to look forward to after all.

Join a secret magic organization in order to stop an upcoming war!! Yay!!

Navigate through a series of complex relationships. Will you find friendship? Fall in love? Help mentor and care for the child of your deceased friends? Join the dark side and murder everyone? It's completely up to you!

[goodluckclove]

You Don't Need an Agent! Publishers That Accept Unsolicited Submissions

I see a few people sayin that you definitely need an agent to get published traditionally. Guess what? That's not remotely true. While an agent can be a very useful tool in finding and negotiating with publishers, going without is not as large of a hurdle as people might make it out to be!

Below is a list of some of the traditional publishers that offer reading periods for agent-less manuscripts. There might be more! Try looking for yourself - I promise it's not that scary!

Albert Whitman & Company: for picture books, middle-grade, and young adult fiction

Hydra (Part of Random House): for mainly LitRPG

Kensington Publishing: for a range of fiction and nonfiction

NCM Publishing: for all genres of fiction (YA included) and nonfiction

Pants of Fire Press: for middle-grade, YA, and adult fiction

Tin House Books: very limited submission period, but a good avenue for fiction, literary fiction, and poetry written by underrepresented communities

Quirk Fiction: offers odd-genre rep for represented and unagented authors. Unsolicited submissions inbox is closed at the moment but this is the page that'll update when it's open, and they produced some pretty big books so I'd keep an eye on this

Persea Books: for lit fiction, creative nonfiction, YA novels, and books focusing on contemporary issues

Baen: considered one of the best known publishers of sci-fi and fantasy. They don't need a history of publication.

Chicago Review Press: only accepting nonfiction at the moment, but maybe someone here writes nonfiction

Acre: for poetry, fiction and nonfiction. Special interest in underrepresented authors. Submission period just passed but for next year!

Coffeehouse Press: for lit fiction, nonfiction, poetry and translation. Reading period closed at time of posting, but keep an eye out

Ig: for queries on literary fiction and political/cultural nonfiction

Schaffner Press: for lit fiction, historical/crime fiction, or short fiction collections (cool)

Feminist Press: for international lit, hybrid memoirs, sci-fi and fantasy fiction especially from BIPOC, queer and trans voices

Evernight Publishing: for erotica. Royalties seem good and their response time is solid

Felony & Mayhem: for literary mystery fiction. Not currently looking for new work, but check back later

This is all what I could find in an hour. And it's not even everything, because I sifted out the expired links, the repeat genres (there are a lot of options for YA and children's authors), and I didn't even include a majority of smaller indie pubs where you can really do that weird shit.

A lot of them want you to query, but that's easy stuff once you figure it out. Lots of guides, and some even say how they want you to do it for them.

Not submitting to a Big 5 Trad Pub House does not make you any less of a writer. If you choose to work with any publishing house it can take a fair bit of weight off your shoulders in terms of design and distribution. You don't have to do it - I'm not - but if that's the way you want to go it's very, very, very possible.

Have a weirder manuscript that you don't think fits? Here's a list of 50 Indie Publishers looking for more experimental works to showcase and sell!

If Random House won't take your work - guess what? Maybe you're too cool for Random House.

[lawsvalentine]

Hey, I had this idea and was hoping you could make a fic out of it: Being Law's SO and hanging out with the crew on deck when you notice "room" deploying and suddenly being "shambles"ed into his bedroom to find a needy Law?? 😏🔥

Cee’s note: Love me some needy Law 😮‍💨. Thank you anon for this idea, hope you enjoy 😉����

For my lovelies 💓: @3strapstyle , @444katsuki , @pinkcrystal-rose , @nympheclipse ,

I Want You, Now • Law x Fem!reader • (18+)

Cw: smut (groping, fingering, penetration, backshots, light spanking, creampie, slight dom Law, use of word slut and whore, use of word good girl), Needy!Law

*MDNI*

“Your turn, Y/N!”

You were currently sat criss crossed on the floor next to Bepo and Shachi when Penguin called for you to take his place in the center. You, Bepo, Penguin, and Shachi were playing a game of drunk charades and so far you are winning the game, guessing all their imitations . You guys have been hanging out and playing games for a couple hours now, but you didn’t mind. You always enjoyed spending time with the boys.

Meanwhile, Law was currently sat at his desk in his office taking notes. He had been struggling to focus and your missing presence was the cause of it. You usually would be there with him either reading a novel or trying to get his attention. He realized he hadn’t seen you all day and he wouldn’t admit it out loud but he missed you.

He also was really horny which was rare considering you were the one that usually initiated sex, you being much more needier than he was.

He decided to take a break to go look for you. Ge finally found you on deck and watched with a twinge of amusement at your silly impression of a marine. He made his way towards you once your turn was over.

“Nice one, Y/N! Especially when you…oh hi captain!”, Bepo beamed, causing you to turn your head to see your boyfriend standing awkwardly behind you.

Law gave a flat “hey” to the guys before turning his attention to you.

“I need to speak with you Y/N-ya. I have to…uhm…show you something”, he said, hoping you wouldn’t make him elaborate.

“You think it can wait, we’re in the middle of a game?” You said, completely oblivious.

Law was trying to be discreet considering he didn’t want the guys to know he was basically asking for sex. He would never live it down. You told Law you wouldn’t take long and that you would meet him in his office. Law nodded, before walking off relived to be out of that awkward interaction. He attempted to go back to studying but with no luck, causing him to get even more sexually frustrated. He couldn’t wait any longer.

He went back to where you and the boys were and decided to take matters into his own hands. As you were laughing at something Penguin said, a blue hue circled around you and the boys. Suddenly, the two men and polar bear were gone and you were in what you recognized as the bedroom you and Law shared. You blink your eyes a few times, puzzled on why you were suddenly in your room when it clicked in your head it was your boyfriend’s devil fruit power.

“Law, why did you mmph-“

You were cut off by Law’s mouth on yours, lips moving against yours hungrily, his tattooed hands gripping your ass and pulling you harshly closer to him. The kiss was sloppy, his tongue exploring your mouth, craving more of you. You pulled away, breathless from the kiss

His eyes blown with lust stared down at you making you timid under his gaze. It didn’t matter how long you two had been dating or how many times you were intimate, you were always weak in the knees the moment Law gave you that look. All he had to do was look at you with his gorgeous golden eyes and handsome sharp features and you would completely surrender your body to him.

“I want you”, Law said, his deep voice sending a shiver up your spine. He leaned closer to your ear, his breath hitting your skin as he whispered a “now”. You felt your arousal grow as he started to kiss and suck that sweet spot below your ear making you whimper.

Law peered up at you and smirked at the sound you made. His eyes trickled down to the tank top you were wearing. His hands slightly tugged at the hem of your shirt, frowning at the fabric before bringing his gaze back to you.

“Off”

You immediately stripped off your shirt, exposing your bare chest. Law’s eyes oggled at your tits as he brought his tattooed hands to squeeze the flesh.

“You’re so sexy, Y/N-ya”

His slender fingers started to pinch and rub your nipple. You bite down on your lip, suppressing a moan from coming out.

He continued to kneed your breasts loving the way the squishy round flesh felt under his grasp. He suddenly turns you around so your back was against his clothed chest and your ass pressed against his front. You could feel his bulge as he rubbed against your ass.

“You don’t know how much I’ve wanted to fuck you today” Law growled in your ear.

Suddenly the interaction you had with him earlier was starting to make more sense. If you would have known that this was the reason he wanted to see you, you would have ended the game right there and then.

He started peppering your neck with kisses as his hands went from your tits down your stomach, to the hem of your pants. Unbuckling the button, he slowly dragged your pants down your legs. You help strip the clothing off, kicking them to the side, leaving you completely nude. He bent your body over the bed, your face pressed against the mattress, ass in the air, your leaking pussy in full view from behind.

He quickly rid himself of his clothes, freeing his hard cock from its tight contains.

“Maybe I should teach you a lesson for making me wait. You would like that, wouldn’t you my little slut” Law said, with a firm smack on your ass.

You gasped at the harsh impact, making your back arch. Law chuckled at your reaction before bringing his hand down to rub circles on your clit. You moan at the stimulation. He slowly plunged two fingers inside your wet hole, causing you to move your hips against his fingers, craving more.

“Heh..and I thought I was being impatient” Law chuckled. “Look at you, fucking yourself on my fingers like a needy whore”

You mewl, getting more riled up from the stretch of his fingers and the filthy words rolling off his tongue.

“Law, please” You whine, wanting him to stop teasing you and fuck you already.

Law smirks before removing his damp fingers from your slit. He brought his dick up to your folds, rubbing against them, before slipping inside you.

You gasp at his length filling you and stretching your pussy in all the ways you wanted. He started to slowly move his hips, until he was completely bottomed out.

“Mmm babe you’re so tight” he hums, his hands gripping your waist.

He pulled out slightly, before slamming his hips back into you harshly. You grip the sheets, unable to hold back your cries as Law continued to ram his cock inside you at a quick pace. The sounds of your ass slapping against his pelvis as he continued his ruthless strokes filled the bedroom along with small creaks from the bed hitting the wall. You were sure if anybody walked by the door, they could definitely hear what you two were doing. But both of you didn’t care, too lost in the pleasure you both were feeling.

You reached between your legs to rub your clit, to ease the pleasure you were feeling. Law growled and smacked your ass.

“Did I tell you to do that?”

When you didn’t respond, he once again brought another harsh smack against your ass.

“Answer me!” He ordered.

“N-no Law, you didn’t” You managed to get out between whimpers.

“That’s right, be a good girl and behave for me” he said, before grabbing both your wrists with one of his hands, restraining you from behind. The other hand holding your waist as he continued his unrelenting strokes. You roll your eyes back, lips parted as breathless moans spilled from your lips.

Law could feel you clenching harder around his dick and he knew you were getting close. His thrusts got sloppier as he started to chase his high right with you.

“That’s it baby, cum for me” He grunted, his grip on you tightening.

You started seeing stars as your orgasm hit you, causing your legs to shake as you scream Law’s name. Law groaned, thrusting inside you a few times before emptying his load inside you. He rode out his high before pulling out of your dripping cunt.

You both collapsed on the bed, chest raising as you both tried catching your breath. Law caressed your arm, pressing a kiss to your shoulder. You slightly chuckle to yourself, causing Law to raise an eyebrow at you.

“What’s so funny, Y/N-ya”

You look at him with a mischievous smile.

“Maybe I should leave you alone more often, so you can fuck me like that again”

[altf4d3lete]

I'm always suspicious when it comes to lesbian content and streaming services, especially because shows with lesbian characters are usually not promoted or cancelled, while shows with gay male characters are constantly considered successes and renewed, like Heartstopp3r (even though I have a gay friend who insists that Heartstopp3r is for teen girls, not for gay young men like him). That said, there should be a reason why MGM deliberately chose a writer who has a stream of successful novels with lesbian characters to write this novelization. What do you think?

Alrighty anon. I have like two thoughts on this. MGM are the people who created Wednesday, then sold it to Netflix. Here’s what I think is going on.

1. This is the way MGM intended the series to happen. The author used the original scripts before Netflix got their hands on them, and this is how season one was supposed to go down before Netflix essentially turned it into a YA love triangle nonsense.

2. Netflix wanted to have some course correction of some sort and take out the romance that everyone hated so much and instead put in some wenclair crumbs for the queer fans. Everyone knows that the majority of the fanbase prefers wenclair, and Netflix isn’t stupid. Something like this will (and most likely is) getting them a lot of money.

Whether wenclair will be translated to the screen or not, I’m not sure. My guess is they will leave the series open-ended with hints towards wenclair, if nothing else. But to be completely honest, my bet is with the first option. That this is how the series was intended and it was written using the original scripts. I can’t see why else some of the lines would have been changed in the way that they were. It’s possible that the intended love triangle was supposed to be between Enid and Tyler, because in the book Wednesday shows no regard for Xavier whatsoever. But that’s just my opinion. Of course we have no clue what goes on behind the scenes.

[antimony-medusa]

Guys, every time I post something about like “you may not realize this but you’re really coming up on a kink here, consider tagging”, as the post escapes my circle I keep getting people coming into my notes like “YEAH I’m sick of those FREAKS in the fandom, get them out” and like that is not what I’m saying at all.

I have been posting things because I think some people aren’t realizing how they’re coming across in some cases, or not realizing that this connection is tropes they’re super into has a specific name. It happened just the other day with someone coming up to me like “wait intox kink is a thing”? And yes. These are all things. There are names for all these things.

I’m posting these things because a) it starts to get rude to take some of these tropes and insist there’s nothing but vanilla posting happening in this fic. In the same way as you wouldn’t show up to work in a bikini there are fic subjects that are rude to drop on people unwarned.

And like, when I hit things I’m not into unwarned there’s a whole spectrum there from raising my eyebrows and continuing to having to click off a fic, but I do not have a moral or ethical problem with people writing family relationships I consider to be suspect. I think you should tag it to be polite but in the same way as I would go Huh about someone coming into my work in a bikini, I think they’ve misread the tone of the room, but they have not committed a mortal sin. I’m not saying that this person who showed up in a bikini is someone we should shun out of the community. God, I have hit legit triggers unwarned for before, and I don’t enjoy that, but I don’t think the person who did this is a terrible person or something. You messed up but you’re still like, fine.

But I’m also posting it because b) knowing that what you’re into has a name can be an experience full of joy. Mortifying? Yes! Especially if you realize that this is a theme through multiple of your works and you had no idea! Ask me about my fucking discovery that I found dubcon interesting and I’d been writing YA novels with romantic interactions structured around uneven power deferentials. I wanted to throw myself into the sea and never write again.

But once I went ohhhhhhh that’s why I found interactions where one person had a dearth of options to be interesting, I could b) not put it in my work unwarned for and not for all audiences c) investigate that theme more fully and decide if I wanted to celebrate it structurally and focus in on it or just include it as a fun highlight d) seek out other works with that tag and see other people exploring that. e) understand the baffling reactions I had going on from people where sometimes I could bring up a story and it would go well and sometimes they would hate it and it seemed random? Connected to Whump? Me trying to do romance was bad? No, it turns out one of my friends hates consent issues and I think they’re fun. You know how much easier that made interactions with that friend?

Like, part of the posting I have been doing is because there are tropes you don’t bring up in polite company. Incest is one of them. Consent issues. Daddy kink. If I was doing these things and putting them in the platonic tag, I would want to be warned that I was doing it. And sometimes the tone of my posts has gotten a bit hysterical because seeing endless waves of this stuff presented as though it’s vanilla can make you feel like you’re in the mirror dimension. *I* know that you shouldn’t be doing that, but everyone around me had shown up to the exam wearing a banana bikini. They are gonna go out into the work world like that. Do they not know? Etc.

But like if you spend enough time with yourself you’ll find you’ve got one or two interests you have to pick the friend group to talk about because people will think they’re weird. Everybody is like this. People are strange and complex. I don’t want to get into pointing and going ahahahahahahah look at that, and I’m sorry if I’ve gone down that path.

I just think that it would be helpful if we use the right words for things occasionally.

[cripplecharacters]

Hello!

I have a character I am considering be OCD (or possibly OCPD) and she is the narrator/POV character for a large portion (1/3) of the book. My issue is, if I decide to give her any condition related to compulsions, intrusive thoughts, etc, how do I get across the severity of the condition while neither pounding the readers over the head to the point of boredom/frustration, nor minimizing/erasing her symptoms by just ignoring them until they are relevant to the story? (The plot's focus is not on her disability, but disability is an underlying current through the whole book.)

I think this would be much easier of a balance to strike if it were a short story, especially since i have written short stories before from the POV of characters with similar issues, but this is going to be a full-length novel, and she'll probably be the narrator for like 60,000 words, and that is a lot longer for a reader to keep interest in her.

To be clear, I'm not asking for a list of symptoms or anything like that. I have been doing research and continue to, for that. I'm just wondering how to strike the balance between those experiences and turning off the reader from repetitiveness.

Hi asker,

What I think is you don't always have to describe all the thoughts in detail. If there's common themes/recurring imagery or the like in her thoughts, you could focus on that to minimize repetitiveness.

For example, if one of her themes is that she worries she might accidentally hurt someone, you could describe it in the first times it happens in-story as something like...

"As I walked next to Michael, I worried i might hurt him without intending to. What if I tripped and fell onto him? We were near the road. I always worried. I focused on counting my steps to make sure nothing would go wrong."

As in, you don't have to specify how exactly she's worried it might happen, or that her brain is giving her thoughts that it could happen in way A and B and C. And then, at some other point, when the triggering situation happens again, you can do something like,

"Michael walked next to me. I counted my steps. He told me about...."

However, you can absolutely embrace that repetitiveness as a narrative style. The more repetitiveness you write in, the more anxiety you are conveying, because you're conveying the thought loop that OCD causes.

You can also focus on the emotions your character feels during thought loops and compulsions to varying degrees. Sometimes she might be more distressed than other times. Sometimes she might just be annoyed. Sometimes she believes the compulsions more, sometimes she tries harder to resist them.

I would actually suggest picking up books with protagonists with OCD, just to see how this repetition is played with in the stories.

Books I can recall off the top of my head that I have read that have a protagonist with OCD are Turtles All The Way Down, The Goldfish Boy, and OCDaniel, and I don't remember myself getting turned off by repetitiveness at any point. I recommend them as interesting reads, but I read them all a while ago and can't go into much detail. They are all also YA or Middle Grade just because I enjoy those types of books, haha.

Hope this helps,

mod sparrow

[aizenette]

Hey Ettelyn, I hope you're having a good day/night!

So I finished reading the novel, 'The Captor And Captive's Liberation Of Muken' and I really loved it, especially how direct yet refreshing the writing was and I liked how it was formatted the same way as the CFYOW novels. I'm glad the novel is post-canon and really fleshed out the canon details (especially how it mentioned Kyoraku had the main Muken key sealed in his heart like in the manga but it was revealed he extracted it so he could give it to Tanisha in the novel) so it felt as if it was an actual continuation of canon. Aizen's portrayal in the novel was also very characteristic and I really enjoyed his dynamic with Tanisha, so when she liberated him from Muken and they eloped, it felt like they were a canon ship. Ik the novel is not officially licensed or endorsed by Kubo-Sensei but it could be interpreted as semi-canon!

Here is what Chatgpt says about this matter:

So ig we could consider AiTani semi-canon? Lol I'd love for that to happen 🤣

See ya!

Heyy Grimm, srry I couldn't reply sooner. I really love your take on the tcaclom novel and I find myself agreeing with you about AiTani and what it means for a ship to be semi-canon. It also seems as if chatgpt is on our side so it's a win-win lmao.

I also interpret AiTani and the tcaclom novel as semi-canon because the novel quite literally a continuation of post-canon events concerning Aizen as seen in the animanga. Based on chatgpt's answer, we can call the novel semi-canon because it even expands on the story and provides a narrative that does not contradict the established canon.

AiTani for life. Periodt.

[is-today-tomorrow-in-nz]

Let's talk about Mal

Malina is a ship that I absolutely loathe. It is one of the worst possible ships to exist and it should not have been in the canon. This does not mean I hate friends to lovers as a trope. But Malina is toxic on so many levels and Mal's traits should not be portrayed as an act of love, in a YA novel no less.

Character Breakdown:

Characteristics/ Background Info:

Gifted First Army Tracker/ Third Amplifier.

Conventionally handsome.

Driven.

Opiniated(Considering the century the story takes place in.)

Beds other women often.

18-19 years old.

Orphan.

Was raised together with Alina.

How Alina sees Mal till she is taken away

Alina has an unhealthy codependency with Mal. She follows him around not just in the orphanage but in the army as well. She pictures them as husband-wife since they were children. She is extremely jealous and is just waiting for Mal to see her and pick her. But she is discovered as the Sun Summoner and taken away to the Little Palace.

How Mal sees Alina till she is taken away

A childhood friend who he thinks he has outgrown. He explores life beyond what the orphanage has offered him. He carries no romantic feelings for Alina(or going by the trope he has not realised his feelings for Alina). But till Alina is revealed and taken away to the Little Palace, she is not someone whom he associated with love or dreamt of sharing his life with. She was just a remanence of his past life.

How their relationship evolves after Alina becomes the Sun Summoner

After Alina was taken away, Mal 'realises' his feelings for her. And with no response to any of his letters, Mal is worried for her 'safety'. In an attempt to reconnect with her, he risks his life to locate the Stag. All noble and admirable so far.

Finally he sees her, he is more angry than relieved. Not to mention, it was her big debut. She had finally embraced her powers, had become healthy.

He claimed to be worried about her safety and was angry that she was safe(?). Once he realises his heroic act to rescue her is not needed he verbally bashes her for becoming who she was supposed to be(?) Practically calls her the Darkling's whore. See, I was a teenager once. I know that teenagers can be incredibly selfish sometimes. But if your bestie, whom you believed was being tortured, is safe and healthy, you don't bring them down, especially when you claim to love them. You will feel relieved. Yeah, it might sting a little to know that she has moved on without you and she is no longer the childhood bestie you grow up with. But, you support them and wish them well. However, Mal acts incredibly jealous and verbally lashes out unable to face his own inadequacy.

From here on it's red flag nation and classic abuser techniques and traits.

He finds runaway Alina. When you find your bestie whom you accused of being a cossetted princess a few days ago on the run, you become worried. But Mal is all 'I told you so'. His ego is soothed . The Darkling is bad just as he said.

He comments about Alina having an appetite. He has seen his friend sickly thin, with breathing issues, cold, hungry and suffering with an unknown illness for 8-10 years. And now he sees her finally healthy and eating and comments on it as if it is an inconvenience for him. This is were Alina should have had an awakening and walked away from him. But LB thinks this is cute and a healthy love. So Alina remains.

We skip to Siege and Storm, they are in incognito. Alina has wasting sickness again. But not a single concern from Mal. He doesn't question why she became healthy or why she becomes sick again. He is just happy that he got the girl he grew up with back.

When Alina is back in Ravka and with a prince no less. We see the absolute worst of Mal. He is jealous, once again of his own inadequacy, and takes it out on Alina. She is being thrust into a world of politics, in a country literally on the verge of civil war and all he can think of are ways to make Alina's new position about himself.

He throws tantrum anytime Alina has thoughts other than him. He doesn't allow her to focus on the war or grow into her new role. He hates that she is no longer the girl he grew up with. He hates that Nikolai is actually making her better, giving her autonomy, coaching her to the life of politics. He picks constant fights with her. Suffocating her more when she was already struggling under the pressure of leading an army.

Alina tries to establish herself as the leader and commander of the Second Army and he thwarts her attempts by telling the guards and soldiers under her direct command embarrassing stories from her childhood to 'humanize her'. She is the Sun Summoner, a living saint, someone who is being courted by a prince. But he cannot have that can he? He cannot let her raise to glory. He has to bring her down to his level to show her that she was no better than him. He does not want Alina to have anything that was not him or given by him. He punishes her for his inefficacy.

When Alina backs away from a kiss, he goes on to kiss Zoya and cheats on Alina and tells Alina she made him do it. This, right here, is how an abuser behaves.

I don't buy his redemption arc in Ruin and Raising. It was a switch up after the negative feedbacks to his characters and nothing more.

It doesn't matter in the end because, Alina's powers which were an integral part of her was ripped out and she ends up with Mal to become his wife. Mal gets his girl he grew up with, who has always been beneath him.

Mal was an anchor who did not allow Alina to move upward and succeeded in his attempts to sink her with him under the disguise of love.

Conclusion

LB portrays the Darkling as the evil guy and retcons the trilogy to show us how bad he was in the duology. But for an author who is so concerned about young girls falling for abusive men, she literally ignores the glaring, mile-long red flag in Mal and packages them as a destined lovers. For an author who is all about morality and opening young girls eyes to the viles of men, she is doing a disservice to her own readers. The chances of me as a woman, coming across an 'evil' shadow man like the Darkling or a literal Prince are zero(not even near zero.) But Mal is a regular guy. A guy whom we see in our everyday lives. You can see him in a friend who grows jealous of your growth and tries to sabotage your career or in a friend who carried torch for you and spreads rumours about you when he sees you with better men than himself or you can see him in a boyfriend who strings you along for a decade while he waits for his dream girl to come. My point is, men like Mal exist in the real world and the author cannot claim a moral high ground with the Darkling and ignore all the abhorrent things Mal did to Alina. I don't care if people reading this are pro Darkling or not but I care if someone calls Malina as a healthy ship.

Note: Please read books like 'Why Does he Do that?' by Lundy Bancroft or please watch the show 'Kevin can f* himself'. You will see the parallels and understand who Mal really is.

[strong-with-the-sarcasm]

Part 10- keep me from my grave

"Well, don't sing me praise. Just keep me from my grave." -Me Against the Devil by The Relentless

Main Masterlist Regent Series Part 9

They met at a bookstore. 

It had been almost two full months since the Joker had met his end, his head mounted and strangely not decomposed, with Jason returned to the Batfamily Gotham had settled into a lull. Not a quiet one, but a lull nonetheless. 

Jason was taking a break from sorting through cases with Dick, head throbbing from the lack of sleep and patience for annoying siblings wearing thin. 

The bookstore, tucked away in a quiet part of Old Gotham, was often empty of people during the day. Despite its large bay windows, comfy seating and welcoming atmosphere, the Page-Turner would remain a hidden gem to the city dwellers. For Jason, it was a haven he could never feel bad about keeping to himself. 

He’d branched out from classics some time ago, deciding to try other genres he’d long since ignored for the Bard, meandering around the shelves to find a title that caught his eye. 

It was between the mysteries and thrillers that he found her. 

Her. 

She was sitting on the ground with her back pressed against the thriller shelves, slender jean-clad legs tucked towards her chest to cradle a book, eyes never straying from the pages, red hair tied into a low ponytail with what looked like a small braid tucked behind one ear. Jason couldn’t tear his eyes away from her soft features, desperately wanting her eyes to meet his, her lips to offer him a smile and her hands to cradle his own.

 For the first time in his life, Jason finally understood what the regency novels meant by love at first sight… because the man was halfway there already. 

The Page Turner was a haven admist the chaos that was Jazz’s life, especially once she finally admitted to herself and Danny that she needed help to manage her depression. Her little brother was concerned, but also relieved when she confronted the elephant in the room first. He’d been weary of bringing it up himself, not wanting to worry her more. 

(Silly brother.)

(It was her job to worry.)

Nonetheless, Jazz asked around among the living and dead for a therapist recommendation, which she was correct about it being difficult in Gotham, but Jazz didn’t want to branch out just yet. A toss up between disbelief and enthusiasm awaited her, but she didn’t let it deter her from contacting the recommended psychologist- Harleen Quinzel. 

A bit awkward to be in a session with the reformed rogue, dutifully ignoring whatever lingering shades wanted her attention. Harley was a great listener, more importantly she cared about Jazz as a patient, as a human being. Whatever Bozo the Clown had done to her, what she had survived, had given Harley a new lease on life with his death (ironically). 

“It sounds like ya never been allowed to simply be, Jazz.” Harley spoke plainly and evenly, her brooklyn accent barely clipping her words. The redhead had spoken of her childhood, her brother’s death, the neglect.

Opened up about the nightmares, how Danny’s destroyed grave haunted her. Let the truth spill from her lips, free to simply exist in the space between the two women. Sure, Jazz would never spill secrets about the Realms, but where it concerned her guilt, or lack thereof, about the blood on her hands- yes, Jazz knew Harley wouldn’t judge her. 

And it was true, Jazz had no childhood. She was Danny’s caretaker, his first memory, his first steps towards, the first to have his back. There had never been just Jazz, only Jazz and Danny. Every dream she’d once had, broken and scattered in the ashes of Danny’s grave. 

(Danny had no hope of reaching the stars, of being an astronaut, with his death.)

“Sweetie, Danny sounds like he is capable of taking care of himself for a while. Have you considered finding a hobby?” Harley questioned, sincere in her wish to help. 

Jazz sighed, “I wouldn’t know where to begin.” What did she have outside her little brother and work as Regency? 

“Do ya like to read?” 

Jazz huffed, finding amusement with that question. Of course she liked, no, loved to read. It had been her one escape from the nightmares so long ago, but she hadn’t found the time since taking regency to lose herself in a good book. 

Harley didn’t need her to respond, offering a sincere smile in response to Jazz’s lack of reply. 

“There’s a bookstore in Old Gotham, the Page Turner, ya could check out? There’s no pressure to pick up a book, but it would be enough to just get through the door, yeah?” 

“I’ll try.” 

“That’s a good start.” 

As it was, Jazz wasn’t able to find time between Realms Work and patrol to do anything other than sleeping, eating, and various other tasks that filled her days (and nights). The more it itched at her, to listen to the therapist she liked, the more Jazz wanted to read a book. To get lost in a good story, just like she used to. 

Patrols were harder with Hood back, his haunt under his command once more and streets protected by a vigilante in red. Only twice in the few weeks since Jason had been moved from her side to the batcave had the Regent caught a glimpse of him, both as his nighttime persona, and from a distance Jazz hadn’t been able to sense him as clearly as previous. He did seem healthier with the pure ecto and his Proto-Core, though Jazz was in no mood to test her luck by crossing into his Haunt. 

The girls were sad to see the Regent less, even though Jazz remained firmly in the Phantom haunt and was barely a few minutes away at any given time, but it was the principle of the thing. The Regent was one of the good ones and a woman at that. A woman who could kick ass wasn’t rare, but it was rare that they would take up a vigilante role for the occupants of the Alley. 

Red Hood, while awesome and respected by his people, was a man. 

Some of the girls were gradually drifting into the Phantom haunt, or a shitty part of Old Gotham that bordered on the Alley. Regardless of it’s quality it belonged to the Phantom Fraid… and Phantom was a Protector Spirit. 

(With the Regent and the Phantom, crime was all but extinct in their haunt.)

With the decrease in crime, Jazz was finally able to dematrilize her armor, set down her sword and enter the Page Turner. 

A distinct mix of old books, ink, and some kind of body spray welcomed the redhead once she stepped inside, intrigued by the sense of calm that greeted her in place of a human. 

Which was fine, Jazz preferred to browse in peace. 

Grateful for the shelves being categorized, Jazz found herself enthralled by a thriller (They Never Learn by Layne Fargo) and didn’t notice another person in the aisle until they were within arm’s reach. 

Jazz flinched back, embarrassed by her lack of focus and attention to her surroundings, dangerous when one is a vigilante in Gotham. She greeted the man in front of her after a few moments of awkward silence, his stare making the redhead even more embarrassed, but now by her appearance. She'd been too tired to fuss with her hair or clothes beyond ensuring the orange-red strands were brushed into a semblance of order and her clothes were somewhat decent. 

(Jazz was more concerned with her bracelets being concealed under glamour and sleeves.)

(The metal, eternally cool against her warm skin, offered some comfort in times like these.)

(She was the Lady of the Acropolis, once student of Pandora, the Ancient of Peace.) 

(There is nothing that can make her feel lesser without her consent.) 

“Uh, hi.” 

(Oh how eloquent, Jasmine.) 

“Hi.” The deep voice, smooth and accented like a native Gotham, made Jazz finally move her gaze from his chest- nice chest as it was, it was his eyes that made her breath rush from her lungs. 

Jason. 

.....Jason!

(Oh yes, Jazz picked a good day to walk into the Page Turner.) 

(She was finally able to talk to her dream man.)

(She wasn’t disappointed.) 

(And by the smiles they had as walked away, neither was Jason.) 

A/N:

This isn't the best, I know. Hey, they finally meet! Keep an eye for the updated masterlist, because I'll be putting the link up and changing some of the chapter titles. Thanks for reading!

Update: “They Never Learn” by Layne Fargo is an actual book, with a female Anti-Hero who kills bad men. I don’t want to say more because I’ll spoil something, but it’s a great book.

[feminismisstillahatemovement]

To circle back to soemthing from early : The writing of male characters by female writers have repeatedly made me stop reading , especially when I recongized what I like to call the 3 archetypes : The friend , the jerk and the lover , sometimes these mix together but rarely.

The lover : mostly found in YA novels but sometimes adult and potentially pre-teen aimed romances of stories , a guy who seems prefect in description and rarely if ever does anything to hurt or offend the protagonist who is usually a stand in for the writer. the few negative things you can say about him out of the story are treated either as quirks or endearing qualities by the end. Sooner or later the emotional sensitive side is revealed and boom even if they were "The jerk " they're now considered redeemed or potentially redeemed by love. Big example (and the most obvious ) Edward Cullen and Christian Grey are those.

The friend: usually nerdy , kind of fades into the background at a certian point after the protagonist is with the lover, is clearly romantic interest of the protagonist if it's a YA situation , but these feelings are unrequited, they're soundly rebuffed of admitted or it's ultimately a "you have to look into how they're written " to tell. If written at all back in, it's usually to help the protagonist get to the lover & usually ends up with a lover that's either very much like the protagonist , potentially the protagonist's best friend or family member, or someone completely unlike the protagonist. Big example :Jacob from Twilight

The jerk : the bad boy who may be at first seen as an antagonist/working with the antagonist, usually does soemthing notably evil in their first big solo scene. But then that slowly gets walked back especially if they're the lover by the end. Even if they don't end up as the lover they've been given enough pathos that some fans will even say they want the leading protagonist with them or will write oc self inserts trying to help them get better. Possibly may die at the end to help make sure the protagonist lives or ensure the big plan succeeded. Big example : Snape from Harry Potter.

Mind you these aren't solidified hardened absolutes. I'd definitely say, however ,if you look at like 5 or 6 female written stories especially multi book series where it's female character going on an adventure almost all the male leads who are the woman's age who aren't relevaties commonly fall into those 3.

Yes.

Of course, there are a bunch of cliched and awfully-one-dimensional female characters in most male-written fiction too, but for me the biggest difference is there have always been women, in every age, wondering aloud about how a particular male author writes women so well, whereas I really don't think I've ever read any male character in any work by any woman that feels believable and an accurate representation of the internal thoughts, behaviours and motivations of a man that I've been able to connect to. I don't think women are really capable or all that interested in truly understanding the Y chromosome experience, and so their male characters tend to read only like either slow-witted and defective women, cartoonish mustache-twirling villains or alabaster objects of wealth and success. Because of this, the women authors I like I tend to read for what they tell me about their individual female experience, not for what they tell me of the wider world outside of it.

[itgetsbetterproject]

Back-to-school tips for LGBTQ+ youth from a QUEER TEACHER!

It's that season, y'all! 🍎✏️ So we asked queer 8th grade English teacher Sarah from Memphis, TN what tips she would share with LGBTQ+ youth going back to school:

Look for supportive adults.

Is there a teacher always sporting a pride pin? Are there safe space posters hung up in their classroom or pride flags displayed? These are strong indicators that adult will affirm and uplift your identity. If you are unsure but want to test the waters, ask an adult what their pronouns are. Judging by their response and if they return the question, something small like this can help you determine if they are a safe person. 

Find a queer-affirming club(s) at your school. 

Does your school have a GSA or diversity club? Consider joining to build a supportive community and form connections with people you can relate to. If your school does not have a pre-existing club, consider finding an adult advisor to help and start your own GSA. Find more tips on how to do so here: https://gsanetwork.org/resources/10-steps-for-starting-a-gsa/

Trust your gut.

If you don’t feel safe in a situation, trust your instincts. If possible, remove yourself from the environment and ask for help; know that it’s ok to not share your identity with everyone, especially if you feel they are not a safe person. Conversely, if someone does make you feel safe and loved, believe that feeling too. You are in charge of who gets to know you.

Check out YA books exploring queer identities.

An amazing way to learn more about queer experiences is to read about them. There are countless young adult novels and graphic novels that can help you better understand yourself and others. Titles like The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes, Taproot by Keezy Young, Out of Character by Jenna Miller, and Mooncakes by Wendy Xu and Suzanne Walker are all great stories to explore. For a more comprehensive list of LGBTQ+ YA books, visit https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/15/books/review/lgbtq-ya-books-authors.html

Seek social support.

What would life be like without friends? Although you may not click with everyone at your school, you are not alone. LGBTQ+ people are everywhere, even if it’s hard to see sometimes. Find friends who support your identity or are a part of the community as well! 

Remember! You have every right to be exactly who you are.

You are the only person who can define your identity. The terms you use to refer to yourself can evolve over time, or can remain the same, but as long as it feels right to you that’s perfect. Believe yourself, and do not doubt your worth. Growing up is a difficult process but remember, it gets better. 

Read it on the blog itgetsbetter.org too!