#like mary and shannon

[birgittesilverbae]

Maybe it's a curse. Bad things happen to everyone I care about.

TOYA TURNER as SHOTGUN MARY

WARRIOR NUN (2020-?)

[wimbledon2008]

i don't even know how to act right now

[daisychainsandbowties]

i love writing an entire au based off of one (1) page from a comic book 🫠🫠

[knightsofrayx]

Crying because if we also look at their listed heights, Camila would be the same height as Mary, TALLER than Beatrice, and only one inch shorter than Lilith, and I don't know how to deal with that wrecking ball to my mental image of their heights

I just found out that Alba Baptista is a few months older than KTY and I’m just imagining Ava finding out she’s older than Beatrice

She’d call her “baby girl” regularly and become way more protective and tell Bea to respect her elders whenever they get into an argument

Bea would regret ever bringing it up so fast

Same with Camila and Lilith since Olivia Delcán is older than Lorena Andrea

[ourfoxgod]

39 books to read if you liked ARCANE

CAITVI SHIPPERS ��

1. a study in scarlet women by sherry thomas 2. the lady's guide to petticoats and piracy by mackenzi lee 3. plain bad heroines by emily m. danforth 4. the unbroken by c.l. clark 5. iron widow by xiran jay zhao 6. crier's war by nina varela 7. the drowning empire trilogy by andrea stweart 8. the priory of the orange tree by samantha shannon 9. the midnight lie by marie rutkoski 10. the bone shard daughter by andrea stewart

JAYVIK SHIPPERS –

1. vicious by v.e. schwab 2. if we were villains by m.l. rio 3. the secret history by donna tartt 4. the song of achilles by madeline miller 5. the picture of dorian gray by oscar wilde 6. a marvelous light by freya marske 7. the magpie lord by kj charles 8. fever syndrome by angela slatter 9. the gloaming by rory power 10. boys, beasts & men by sam j. miller

TIMEBOMB SHIPPERS –

1. six of crows by leigh bardugo 2. war girls by tochi onyebuchi 3. this savage song by victoria schwab 4. the knife of never letting go by patrick ness

JINX & VI'S RELATIONSHIP –

1. we hunt the flame by hafsah faizal 2. girls of paper and fire by natasha ngan 3. the ones we're meant to find by joan he 4. burn our bodies down by rory power 5. sawkill girls by claire legrand

GENERAL ARCANE VIBES –

1. the aeronaut's windlass by jim butcher 2. foundryside by robert jackson bennett 3. gunmetal gods by zamil akhtar 4. cyberpunk: neuromancer by william gibson 5. frostheart by jamie littler 6. the broken earth trilogy by n.k. jemisin 7. black sun by rebecca roanhorse 8. rebel seoul by axie oh 9. we ride the storm by devin madson 10. the drowned cities by paolo bacigalupi

[elvensorceress]

In all the excitement about bi!Buck, (which— yay! Amazing! Very exciting! No notes!) I think there’s a part of this story we’re missing. I haven’t seen anyone talk about it, so have some rambling.

 It wasn’t just Buck who looked at this experienced, older, queer man and wanted to know him. It was also Eddie. 

We have never seen Eddie go so hard, so immediately for anyone. To the point his best friend of years felt like he was being ignored by him. Yes, Buck wanted Tommy’s attention for obvious reasons. But he was also slighted by the perceived lack of attention from Eddie. 

Suddenly, Eddie is spending multiple times a week going out with this man. Going to Vegas with this man. Working out with him, working on his car with him, doing karaoke and trivia night with him? Asking his alleged girlfriend to babysit more than once so that he can go out with Tommy? Obviously, it was from jealous!Buck’s point of view, but seriously. If Buck felt ignored, what is Marisol even thinking? Did Eddie bother to make time for his new girlfriend? What spare time would he even have if they work several 24 hour shifts and he’s also gone out with Tommy at least three times in one week? And is probably planning more?

Not that I think Eddie’s feelings for Tommy are necessarily in the same vein as Buck’s feelings for Tommy. But my gosh, Eddie giggly and kicking his feet and twirling his hair while on the phone with Tommy was so very loud. And actually a pretty neat contrast to being distracted and trying to text Marisol “hey mari it me eddie” to ask her out. Eddie’s sudden infatuation with Tommy was a thousand times more than anything we’ve seen from him for anyone. Considering that what he stated he wanted was the magical chemistry he’d found when he and Shannon got together, like… is that not what he just found with Tommy? 

Again, it doesn’t necessarily mean Eddie has any explicit romantic or sexual attraction toward Tommy. I suppose he could? But the point is more that wow, there is some kind of intense draw pulling Eddie to him even if we interpret it as platonic. 

Buck says at the end of the ep that they met this guy and he was so cool and Buck wanted to get to know him. Which makes sense given that Buck is canonically crushing on him and going to be dating him. But Eddie was actually the one who got there first. Eddie also had a reaction somewhere along those lines of “he’s really cool, I need to know him” to the point where he’s all of a sudden spending most if not all of his free time with him. 

And I don’t think it’s a coincidence that this person Eddie wants to spend time with is an experienced, out queer man who is comfortable in his own sexuality and his own masculinity. (He has so much in common with Eddie! They have so many similar interests! They have a magical click together that makes Eddie want to be around him all the time! There’s so much they can do together!) 

Eddie might not have even known it, maybe in the same way Buck also didn’t know it, but Eddie definitely latched onto that, too. Which is very interesting, no? Very— queers finding each other and bonding over shared experiences even before they know that’s what they’re doing. 

It can easily be someone who is likely confused about their own feelings but knows they are having certain feelings just not the names to put to those feelings, and consequently seeking guidance and reassurance that there are other people who are just like them who have these feelings as well. It’s realizing how they can be themselves, that they can be queer in a way that fits who they are instead of what they might conceptualize as queer because of stereotypes and preconceived notions. It’s learning you can be you and also be queer. That there are people like you out there. 

Eddie found something with Tommy that he hasn’t been shown to have found anywhere else. It’s a new and different thing for him, too. And if it were just about excitement over a new friend, why is it so much so quickly all at once? Eddie’s a social person. He’s a friendly, charming, charismatic person. He has friends. But it feels like this is a very different sort of friendship for him. 

And the fact that this is the same man who just gave Buck his bisexual awakening is verrrry inch resting. 

Also regardless of what kind of feelings Eddie and Tommy might have been having for each other, they were so going on dates. Flying someone to Vegas because you have tickets that have been sold out for weeks to something they enjoy? Like damn Eddie. You pulled a sugar daddy. 

Anyway. Eddie is queer, too. Double sexuality awakenings, ready go!

That is all! 💕

[theslayerbrother]

those Lovely Dresses

If you're still taking sketch requests, how about Mary, Darci, or Shannon in a prom dress?

How about all three? 😁

[duckprintspress]

18 Recommendations for National Science Fiction Day!

Today, January 2nd, is National Science Fiction Day. To celebrate, we asked DPP contributors what their favorite queer sci-fi reads are and we ended up with a list 18 awesome books! Recommendations made by Sebastian Marie, Shadaras, Mikki Madison, Sanne, Nina Waters, Shannon, Alex, Dei Walker, and an anonymous contributor.

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon

Aether Beyond the Binary Anthology

A Memory Called Empire (Teixcalaan series) by Arkady Martine

Unconquerable Sun (The Sun Chronicles series) by Kate Elliott

Firebreak by Nicole Kornher-Stace

The Genesis of Misery by Neon Yang

Empress of Forever by Max Gladstone

All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries series) by Martha Wells

A Closed and Common Orbit (Wayfarers series) by Becky Chambers

The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer

Little Mushroom by Yi Shi Si Zhou

Project Nought by Chelsey Furedi

On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone

Ocean’s Echo (Winter’s Orbit series) by Everina Maxwell

Seven of Infinities by Aliette de Bodard

The Archive Undying (The Downworld Sequence series) by Emma Mieko Candon

What are your favorite queer sci-fi books?

This is the third time we’ve done a rec list for National Sci-Fi Day! You can check out the 2023 list here and the 2024 list here!

You can find these and more queer sci-fi book we love on our Goodreads sci-fi book shelf.

See anything you like? Buy it through the Duck Prints Press Bookshop.org affiliate shop.

Need a place to chat about your favorite books? Join us in our Book Lover’s Discord server!

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

💖 Sapphic Books Out April 2025

🩷 Good afternoon, bookish bats. By now, you know that sweet, sapphic romance books have a special place in my heart. Here are only a few of the amazing sapphic books that hit shelves in April 2025.

❓ What was the last sapphic book you read?

💖 I Hated You in High School by Kathleen Gros 🩷 To Be Loved by Shannon O’Connor 💖 Carousel Summer by Kathleen Gros 🩷 Coming Up Clutch by Anna Gram 💖 Just a Peck by Chelsea Jean 🩷 Francine’s Spectacular Crash and Burn by Renee Swindle 💖 Anywhere You Go by Bridget Morrissey 🩷 Ordinary Saints by Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin 💖 Everything Is Fine Here by Iryn Tushabe

💖 Direct Descendant by Tanya Huff 🩷 The Unlikely Pursuit of Mary Bennet by Lindz McLeod 💖 Reluctant Witch by Melissa Marr 🩷 A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic by J. Penner 💖 The Lie That Binds Them by Matthew Ward 🩷 Renegade Girls by Nora Neus & Julie Robine 💖 Eat the Ones You Love by Sarah Maria Griffins 🩷 Where Shadows Meet by Patrice Caldwell 💖 Waters of Destruction by Leslie Karst

💖 Sometimes We Fly by Cheyenne Blue 🩷 Sweet, Spicy, Delicate by Allison Ashton 💖 Some Body Like Me by Lucy Lapinska 🩷 Advocate by Daniel M. Ford 💖 My Lady Hiraya by Steven Sy 🩷 Whisk Me Away by Georgia Beers 💖 Mothers of Fate by Lynne Hugo 🩷 Lady Chaos by Kate Elliott 💖 A Body Not Her Own by Eileen Farren

💖 Firecamp by Jaycie Morrison 🩷 All Fired Up by M. K. England 💖 In Her Sanctum by Emma Bailey 🩷 Defective by Ivy Lovell 💖 black&white – Episode 1: HUE by Soph Tang 🩷 Every Sweet Thing is Bitter by Samantha Crewson 💖 Skin by Kathe Koja 🩷 Mere by Danielle Giles 💖 Tonight, I Bleed by Katharine J. Adams

💖 A Ballad for Slayers & Monsters by Rita A. Rubin 🩷 You Belong to Me by Hayley Krischer 💖 A Line You Have Traced by Roisin Dunnett 💖 Low Orbit by Kazimir Lee 🩷 Roll for Love by M. K. England 💖 I Love You S’more by Auriane Desombre 🩷 If We Were a Movie by Zakiya N. Jamal 💖 Flirting Lessons by Jasmine Guillory 🩷 Nav’s Foolproof Guide to Falling in Love by Jessica Lewis

[daisychainsandbowties]

smth smth the way you have to layer oils, ensuring the base is thinned more than the next layer, and the next, and the next, leaving only the top layer fatty so that everything can dry in a timely manner, lest the uppermost layers solidify first and then get cracked open by the shift of drying bottom layers. shannon is so careful in this, in thinning with turpentine, in layering just so, in the thick impasto smears she draws across pieces as they reach their conclusion, adding that last touch of movement, of emotion

she doesn't typically use oils. too long to dry. not long enough to live. she prefers the messy-fingered shadows of charcoal, the impermanence of a watercolour bleeding in the rain when she dashes for shelter from a sunshower. prefers mediums that feel as fleeting as she does, as expendable. pencil sketches in the margins of her field notes when she's on assignments, bouquets drawn for mary of hyacinths and cornflowers and pansies and lilies that she'll touch up later with coloured pencils, shade in blues and yellows and whites. I'm thinking of you and be gentle with me and my love is pure.

it's one of these cornflowers that mary gets inked on her forearm, in the after. she'd kept them all, every scrap of paper shannon had pushed her way with solemnity or with a sparkle in her eye, every sketched bouquet or three panel comic gently mocking one of their sisters. had framed the charcoal sketch of herself that had hung so long at the head of shannon's bed. where, mary had realized all too late, she would have seen it each time she entered that secret room. would have looked upon it and confirmed to herself that this was worth protecting. and now it sits atop the fireplace mantel and reminds mary what she's lost. what she still has left to carry, the burden shannon had thought she needed to shoulder alone.

we protect the ones we love, she thinks, fingers stroking across the careful curves of petals, and i'm protecting them. for me and for you.

ocean vuong - notebook fragments

[littledata]

@princington's amazing art brought me back to this fic so have a little extra for them.

There are many, many terrible things about dating Beatrice.

For example: she manages to wake up at six AM every single morning to go jogging and comes home looking sweaty and sexy while Ava is still dealing with bedhead. She's also organised to the point of insanity and remembers every important date, even the ones Ava didn't realise she knew (like the date she opened the coffee shop. They hadn't even met for fuck's sake), and manages to swoop in with a thoughtful gift or kind word to mark the occasion. Meanwhile, Ava is still scribbling DON'T FORGET DENTIST - TUESDAY?? on the back of her hand like a high schooler.

And if all of that wasn't horrible enough, even after almost a year of dating, Beatrice can still roll up the cuffs of her sleeves or adjust her glasses or recite some complicated piece of research, and Ava winds up hopelessly turned on in public on the regular.

It sucks, actually. Ava's life is awful.

None of that is the worst part of it though. The worst part of dating Beatrice, who is sexy and thoughtful and intelligent, is that she's fucking impossible to buy gifts for.

Beatrice doesn't actually want anything is half the problem. She reads a lot of books but she mostly checks them out from the university library. She drinks a lot of tea, but Ava runs a coffee shop. If her girlfriend wants tea, she has a store room full of it. Other than that, she mostly likes crosswords, the gym, her friends, and… well. Ava.

It's making planning for the first birthday Beatrice has had since they've been together exceptionally stressful. Particularly since Ava knows for a fact that Beatrice's parents believed in a "socks and school supplies" style of gift giving which, as far as she's concerned, barely even count.

"What are you getting Bea for her birthday?" she whispers conspiriatorially to Camila one Saturday afternoon in Mary and Shannon's back yard. Beatrice herself is bouncing the baby on her knee and debating some obscure scientific hypothesis - something about mold. Ava is surprised to find she actually has an opinion on the topic. Probably all those mold documentaries.

Camila snorts, "Have you just figured out she's impossible to buy for?"

"Yes," Ava stresses, "C'mon, what are you getting her? And if it's really good I'm stealing your idea."

"Oh no." Camila shakes her head, "It took me all year to think of something. You're on your own."

"Cam." Ava tries her best pleading, puppy dog eyes. They don't work nearly as well on Camila as they do on Beatrice.

"Ava." Camila pats her hand comiseratingly, "Just get her what every self-respecting lesbian wants for their birthday."

Ava frowns, "Power tools?"

Camila smirks, "Strap-on and lingerie."

So that conversation was entirely useless - mostly because Ava already owns more than enough of both those things and they sort of seem like a gift for both of them more than just Beatrice. And more than anything else, Ava wants her girlfriend to feel special. Like she's worth something great that's for her and only her.

Shannon is her next port of call. Ava corners her in the kitchen where she's refilling drinks and, probably pre-warned by Camila, looks entirely unsurprised to be accosted.

"We normally order some of the gross British candy she likes," Shannon informs her. "And before you even try it - she knows that's what we get her every year, so don't try and steal the idea."

Ava groans despondently, "I'm hitting a wall here. What the fuck do you buy for someone who doesn't actually want anything?"

Beatrice does always say that her best friend is unreasonably logical and practical in her advice. For the first time, Ava understands her plight when Shannon shrugs and says, "Have you tried asking her?"

With nothing else to do, Ava tries. Admittedly, she probably picks a bad time to do it: she's shirtless and sitting cross-legged on their bed while Beatrice massages lotion into the new tattoo on her shoulder. Bea's fingers are gentle and thorough and very, extremely distracting.

"Hey," Ava says a little breathlessly, her eyes closed, "What do you want for your birthday?"

Beatrice, because she is Beatrice, says, "You don't have to get me anything."

Typical. This is why dating her is so difficult. "Obviously I do," Ava points out. "For my birthday you took me to a theme park even though it's your idea of actual, literal hell." Bea had even bought and worn a t-shirt that said "I RODE THE BIG ONE". Camila has the photograph framed in her office.

"Not actual, literal hell," Beatrice argues, "I enjoyed that you had fun."

"There's really nothing you want?" Ava asks.

Disappointingly, Beatrice's fingers stop their movement and she puts a cap on the lotion, moving off the bed behind Ava. "Is this what you were whispering with Camila and Shannon about earlier?"

"Maybe. They weren't helpful."

Beatrice's smile is affectionate, "They never are." She leans in to kiss her, her hand landing on Ava's bare shoulder and skirting over her neck, "I'd like to spend my birthday with you. That's all."

Ava wraps her arms aroud her shoulders and sighs, "Dating you is the worst."

"Mm, awful," Beatrice agrees, kissing the corner of her mouth and then her jaw. "Shall we break up?"

"Yep." Ava turns her head to press their lips together again and uses her distraction to lie back, pulling Beatrice down on top of her. "We're over."

(On her birthday, they drink tea in bed and do a crossword puzzle with Ava's head on Beatrice's shoulder. Later, they wander through a museum eating wine gums and holding hands. At Shannon and Mary's place, Beatrice unwraps the cordless drill that Ava bought for her.

"Thank you," she says, "It's just what I wanted.")

(Ava saves the strap-on and lingerie for later.)

[my-midlife-crisis]

THE EPSTEIN LIST

Look at number 77

Ghislaine Maxwell

Virginia Lee Roberts Giuffre [Epstein victim]

Prince Andrew of England

James Michael Austrich

Philip Barden

REDACTED

Cate Blanchett

David Boies

Laura Boothe

Evelyn Boulet

Rebecca Boylan

Joshua Bunner

Naomi Campbell

Carolyn Casey

Paul Cassell

Sharon Churcher

Bill Clinton

David Copperfield

Alexandra Cousteau

Cameron Diaz

Leonardo DiCaprio

Alan Dershowitz

Dr. Mona Devanesan

REDACTED

Bradley Edwards

Amanda Ellison

Cimberly Espinosa

Jeffrey Epstein

Annie Farmer

Marie Farmer

Alexandra Fekkai

Crystal Figueroa

Anthony Figueroa

Louis Freeh

Eric Gany

Meg Garvin

Sheridan Gibson-Butte

Robert Giuffre

Al Gore

Ross Gow

Fred Graff

Philip Guderyon

REDACTED

Shannon Harrison

Stephen Hawking

Victoria Hazel

Brittany Henderson

Brett Jaffe

Michael Jackson

Carol Roberts Kess

Dr. Karen Kutikoff

Peter Listerman

George Lucas

Tony Lyons

Bob Meister

Jamie A. Melanson

Lynn Miller

Marvin Minsky

REDACTED

David Mullen

Joe Pagano

Mary Paluga

J. Stanley Pottinger

Joseph Recarey

Michael Reiter

Jason Richards

Bill Richardson

Sky Roberts

Scott Rothstein

Forest Sawyer

Doug Schoetlle

Kevin Spacey

Cecilia Stein

Mark Tafoya

Brent Tindall

Kevin Thompson

Donald Trump

Ed Tuttle

Emma Vaghan

Kimberly Vaughan-Edwards

Cresenda Valdes

Anthony Valladares

Maritza Vazquez

Vicky Ward

Jarred Weisfeld

Courtney Wild

Bruce Willis

Daniel Wilson

Kathy Alexander

Miles Alexander

[thecousinsdangereux]

i just recently discovered your soulmate au and i loves it so much. so incredibly intriguing and well written and damn is it hot 🔥 thanks so much for sharing with us. in your mind, does it have a happy ending for them?

also wanted to ask if you'll be checking in to see the big warrior nun announcement coming tomorrow?

Ahhhh thank you! This ask is kind of tragic now given how everything with Warrior Nun ended up going, but I thought I'd use it as a way to share my ideas for the rest of a beggar in the morning, if anyone is interested in learning how it was going to go. Long story short, it was going to have a happy ending. :)

Here's a full outline for what I had in mind for the second half of the fic. Under the cut because it's very detailed in the parts that I'd started writing. Also in case anyone cares about spoilers? At the moment, I don't plan on finishing this fic, but I do plan on returning to writing in general, so guess there's a non-zero chance that I could come back to it. Stranger things have happened.

Beatrice keeps looking for the recipient of the Letter she's been trying to deliver and starts taking trips out into the countryside. She takes Ava's advice and takes to enjoying the journey - stopping into small cafes for lunch rather than eating in the car, taking the long way when it means she can enjoy a new view, etc.

During one of these side quests, she's told about a man who lives way off in the middle of nowhere who has the last name of Reis (the last name of the Letter recipient: Lara Reis), and she tracks him down. He had a sister who had a child with someone who was not her Match. I wanted to go more into what this looks like (and how the church is still anti-abortion in this world, because they think this could potentially ruin a future match, cue eye-roll) but in this case, the woman was basically run out of town. The man directs Beatrice to an orphanage where the child was raised.

This trail eventually goes cold because the orphanage has no records of the girl. They only know she left when she became of age.

The end of chapter six is basically Beatrice being frustrated and taking some 'advice' from Lilith to find someone to fuck hfkjshlk so she goes to the bar and ohhh nooo Ava is working that night, filling in for someone. Ava gets jealous, Bea does some shots, and it's basically a rehash of the lemon drop scene from the show, but hornier. Eventually, they make out, and decide to be friends with benefits.

Chapter 7 was honestly just going to be porn. lol. It's actually some of the first stuff I wrote for this fic - just a page of porn. Beggar came out of a Secret Santa fic exchange, and my friend Alex asked for lots of sex and a soulmate au. So... Chapter 7 was the payoff (part 2). Here's a few disjointed scenes, in case anyone is interested in reading some unedited very E-rated stuff.

A few months go by and all the nuns visit Beatrice for her bday and they're like huh so what's going on here and Beatrice has to pretend that it's not that serious with Ava (lol). I also wanted to do a conversation between Shannon and Beatrice where Shannon talks about the whole Mary thing and loving someone against the will of god (or at the very least, in the very gray areas).

The end of chapter seven is Ava finally talking about her past, which is that Ava doesn't remember hers. She woke up in a hospital without her memories and then spent the next decade traveling around trying to find something that felt like home.

In chapter 8, a lot of time passes, and the fucking continues. Beatrice is kind of losing it, poor girl.

I hadn't exactly decided what was going to happen next, but Ava was going to overstep in some way (or in some perceived way) and Beatrice was going to panic. Either Beatrice was going to have a brief thought about being in love, they were going to have reallyyyy soft sex, or something like that, but either way, Beatrice was going to have to admit she has deeper feelings for Ava than what's allowed allowed, so she goes back to Spain and ignores Ava's texts/calls/etc.

Eventually she realizes she owes Ava closure. She comes back and kind of explains why she's reacted the way she has. She gets more into why she joined the church and it's not for God or the Church itself, but because she does genuinely believe that love itself is holy. She admits she's falling in love with Ava, but she can't break her vows. She believes giving into her feelings would be putting herself above the whole history of love... the sanctity of the entire universe... and to be that selfish would be monstrous.

There's a callback to their early game of three questions, and how Ava still owes Beatrice one answer. Beatrice nearly asks if Ava loves her, but pulls back because she's scared of the answer. They basically break up, but Ava tells Bea to let her know when she's ready to ask her last question.

Beatrice takes it HARD. She buries herself in her work and starts visiting hospitals in various towns. She finds a Spanish doctor and he recognizes the number (or rather, the system behind the number) that is on Letter Beatrice is still trying to deliver. He tells Beatrice she's not looking for a hospital in Portugal, but rather in Spain - one in a small town in Andalusia. He mentions a patient who was in a coma, who woke up without her memories.

At this point, Beatrice obviously knows and she flies to Spain in daze. She visits the hospital, gives them the number, and asks for the name of the patient. When they'd brought the girl in, no one knew where she came from, she didn't have an ID, memories, etc. Nothing except for an old receipt from a restaurant in Portugal. ("Beatrice braces herself for what she already knows, but doesn't want to face.") The nurse at the hospital tells her they used a generic Portuguese name for the girl and it stuck: Ava Silva.

Beatrice visits Cat's Cradle because what else is she supposed to do? How is she supposed to deliver this Letter to Ava, who she's obviously in love with. She talks with Mary and we get the other side of the whole Mary/Shannon thing, and Mary is kind of like, okay, the Letters matter but they don't Matter. Beatrice asks Mary what she would do if she got a Letter (since Mary isn't a nun and could get one, but Shannon never could) and Mary basically says she would throw it away without opening it because she wouldn't want to give Shannon a reason to go self-sacrificial.

Of course, Beatrice doesn't really think this is her call to make. She's going to deliver Ava's Letter. There's this whole scene of her very dramatically and angstily getting ready for the delivery in the Official White Habit, then walking through the town she's come to associate so completely with Ava. And chapter 9 ends.

When Beatrice walks through the doors of the bar, Ava looks up, but doesn't seem surprised, even says 'oh, finally', which is pretty much the last thing that Beatrice expected, but then again, maybe it should have been the first, because Ava is always surprising her, and shouldn't she expect it by now? She asks Ava if she'd known that she was the person Beatrice had been trying to deliver to all along and Ava looks confused at this, like she hadn't considered that at all. "It's not that. I just knew my Letter would be coming because I'd already met you."

Beatrice is like, no no no. That's not how this works. It can't be me. I've been carrying this Letter with me this whole time - before I met you - and the Letters are only sent to a person when they've met their soulmate. And obviously, Beatrice is a nun and can't have a soulmate, etc. etc.

And then Ava says something like this: “Maybe every once in a while, God -- or the universe or whatever it is -- knows that it’ll be really hard to make two people meet organically, so it fudges the rules a little bit. Makes one girl a nun, makes another one hard to find, and sets up the dominos really early on."

And when Beatrice says she's being ridiculous/it's impossible, she says, "I know what’s in that letter. It’s you. I don’t need to open it to know it's you." and "Maybe it’s like some people say and god arranged it all. Fine. Then god chose me for you. Simple. He made me in this exact way, down to my hands and toes and whatever, so that I was perfect for his favorite creation in all of the universe. Because that has to be you."

And: "Or maybe it’s like what those other people say. You know - the past lives reincarnation stuff. Fine, then in our first lives we fell in love and then I found you in the second and third and the five hundredth. I found you and I picked you and I wanted you every time. Or okay, fine, maybe it’s what the the pseudo science people say. Even if those guys are right, I still know. It’s you because at the very start of the universe - at the very beginning of everything - we were the first two bits of something. The first two tiny little sparks. One of those was you and one of them was me. And even when we split off into a million trillion billion infinite pieces, the core of one was you. And the other one was me."

And: "In every religion or in any theory, the world exists so that I can find you again, and the world will do whatever it takes - bend the rules in whatever way - to make sure that at the exact right time, we would meet. And maybe it wasn’t perfect - maybe it was stupid hard for us to get to this point - maybe there was an easier way to make it happen - but I don’t care. Because it worked and I found you and I fell in love with you and I would do anything for that. So yeah. This Letter is telling me that I’m for you. That’s easy. It’s not faith. It’s just a fact.

And: "Besides, whatever’s on that paper? It’s going to be you. If it’s a picture of a butterfly, then it’s going to be you because of that time we went to the dam and one landed on your hand and you said “isn’t the world beautiful?” and that’s when I knew I loved you for the very first time. If it’s the notes to the first bar in At Last, then it’s you, because we used to play it all the time in the bar and I always thought it was fucking stupid to think you'd know like that right away, before everything, but it was the song that played in my head anyways when you walked in the bar that first night. There she is, I sort of thought, a dream that I can speak to."

"It could be any single word or phrase or letter and it would be you, because I love you and I love you so much I see you in every part of this entire world. I love you and I want to keep you with me always, and so you’re always there in my thoughts, slipping over and into everything else and I love it. It makes me love everything I see a little bit more, because it reminds me of you. It makes the world more beautiful."

"So, no offense, but I don't really give a fuck about the Letter. I already know it's going to be you. But I think you need to see it. So you know you’re not as selfish as you think you are."

And Beatrice admits that she wants to be with Ava anyways. Even if it makes her selfish. (Even if it makes her heretical.) Love is holy and what she feels for Ava is holy too, even if it's a sort of holy no one else will ever understand.

I went back and forth about whether they actually SHOULD open the Letter. lol. But I think I eventually settled on that they should, and that when Ava does open it, it's a blank page with like, 7 little dots and Beatrice is like??????????????? But Ava recognizes it instantly and it's the freckles on Beatrice's cheeks, the ones she's always tracing, and she does that again, following the ink on the paper.

Beatrice had been ready to give up her religion for Ava, so getting to keep it, maybe, suddenly is a LOT. She can't quite believe something divine would do something like this for her. But maybe she can believe that something divine would do something like this for Ava.

Later, I wanted Beatrice to have a conversation with Mother Superion. I thought it would be interesting to get into the philosophical bits of it. To debate if Ava could actually be right in her ideas about how this could be, and still fit into what they know about god/Letters/religion. I liked the idea of the conversation ending with neither of them really knowing, and Mother S being like, look girl, you'll never know for sure, but that sounds like faith to me. And Beatrice says no, no this is different, capital F Faith is for the divine. This is just trusting that Ava isn't lying about the freckles thing, or won't get tired of me, or won't find someone else. Etc etc etc. because it's panicking time for Beatrice, suddenly. And Mother Superion just raps her knuckles sort of in the most gentle way she can manage and says "That's love, Beatrice." in the way way someone might say "That's pussy, babe."

Beatrice does leave the church (though she eventually goes back to 'consulting' kind of like Mary). And when she does actually physically leave as well, Ava is waiting outside on a bench. Beatrice asks why she didn't just come inside, and she says something about being a little afraid of churches these days. She did steal god's favorite, after all.

And then they walk off into the sunset, with Beatrice being like wait a second, I thought you said this was all God's plan. And Ava shrugs and says that she would never willingly give Beatrice up, so god might come to her senses and change her mind.

I was going to end it there, but I did consider doing an epilogue as well. Early on in planning I had this idea where, years later, all the nuns regularly come over to the Silvas (because Ava does keep her 'second' name, though she does start to learn more about the Reis family, and meets her Uncle - the dude Beatrice learned about the orphanage from). And on one of these occasions, the nuns are all in white, and they're delivering Beatrice's Letter, which is addressed to Beatrice Silva. In the end, I decided against this, because I liked leaving it more open-ended, but nothing had been set in stone at this point, of course.

So yeah, that was going to be a beggar in the morning. lol. I plotted most of it out before I even started writing, because it wasn't the sort of story you could make up as you went and still tell it well. And I did want to tell the story well! There's a part of me that's sad that I wasn't able to, but I do think it was worth writing what I did. I really loved seeing people realize that Lara was Ava, even as early as chapter 5! And I also loved people coming up with theories about how Avatrice would be endgame. Some of them were honestly really good and maybe better than mine fhdskjhfd I had one person be like PLEASE let Ava's Letter be for someone else so they can metaphorically spit in god's face and honestly that was valid.

I don't know if anyone is going to bother to read this very, very long reply to an ask that doesn't actually ask for any of this, but it honestly just feels nice to put all these ideas together and 'complete' the story. Even if I've done it in the most half-assed way possible I am so sorry fhadskjlfhldsj

[rosemaidenvixen]

Arcadia Oaks High School Drama Department Presents: A Christmas Carol

I have no explanation for this other than it came to me in a vision and I knew it to be true. Arcadia Oaks high school puts on a play of A Christmas Carol. Who would be playing what roles and why.

First off who plays the man, the myth, the legend, the star of the show himself Ebenezer Scrooge? That would be Steve Palchuk. This isn't just because of Steve's heel turn from bully to ally (although there is some fitting poetry there) but because he has the best acting chops to pull it off. He can bark out the harshest Bah Humbugs in one scene then be practically radiant with Christmas joy in another. Steve canonically auditioned so well for the role of Captain DJ Kleb he nearly usurped the roll from the actual DJ Kleb. He's a perfect fit for playing Ebenezer.

Next up is Jim as Bob Crachet. Jim I love you but a thespian you are not. Jim an play it cool in tight situations but creating big emotions for big roles isn't his strong suit. Playing Bob Crachet works well because any nervousness he has about playing the role can be worked into the character. Plus I imagine him and Steve have a lot of fun getting into their characters and playing off each other.

Aja plays Mrs. Crachet. Not only do she and Jim work really well together and have good chemistry on set, but Aja has a great time cursing "Scrooge" for his miserly ways as part of her role. Gently teasing her boyfriend about it. Although Mrs. Janeth has lecture the two of them how Mrs. Crachet and Ebenezer Scrooge shouldn't make out in costume where audience members might spot them.

Scrooge's nephew Fred is played by Krel. He grumbled about the jokes of how his sisters boyfriend is playing his uncle "So does this make me your brother in law or your uncle in law?" "Watch it oaf" but he slowly warms to the role and throws himself playing Fred with the same enthusiasm he played DJ Kleb with.

Toby would play Marley. A small but critical role as a terrifying specter, perfect for Toby to sink his teeth into. He has a great time "scaring" Steve and haunting him for his sins.

The Ghost of Christmas Past would be played by Mary. The subdued personality of this ghost is a big change from Mary's usual bold, outgoing energy, but she enjoys the challenge and has fun playing a character who's personality is such a contrast to her own. And going over people's past misdeeds and evaluating their choices is right up the social media queen's alley.

Eli grumbles that he only got cast as younger Scrooge because he's the shortest in the grade. But he and Steve know each other so well that they're able to mimic each other's mannerisms. And with practice they're able to have their performances reflect each other perfectly.

Shannon plays the part of Belle, not a huge part but Shannon's busy dodging the embezzlement allegations, she doesn't have the time for a big role.

Seamus as Mr. Fezziwig. Nothing to say here except for that I was running out of characters.

I can see Darci playing Mrs. Fezziwig. She's shown before that she only likes performing in front of a crowd while wearing a mole costume mask. So she's happiest playing a minor role with only a few lines that mostly involves dancing.

On loan from Arcadia Oaks academy is Douxie playing the ghost of Christmas Present. Douxie is a theater kid through and through and brings big "Live in the moment" energy to his character, but also with a touch of seriousness. The knowledge that present actions affect the future. Which brings us to the next ghost.

They say that there's no small parts, only small actors. And while the role of ghost of Christmas Yet to Come might be a small, non speaking role, but Claire absolutely kills it. No lines but a strong, commanding presence that hits home just what a bleak Christmas yet to come looms ahead without uttering a single word.

(But again, no making out with Mr. Cratchet where audience members can spy them)

And of course who would play tiny Tim other than everyone's favorite changeling, Notenrique.

"God bless us, everyone,"

"Notenrique I don't care if you're the star, if you don't stop eating the fake snow I'm punting you into the trashcan!"

With all that said, happy holidays and let the show begin!

[nonerrata-myarchives]

Hating Jameson while liking Joey is actually unfair. Yes, Jameson might have caused problems, but nobody hasn't held him accountable. Meanwhile, Joey would literally say horrible things about his siblings in R6 because when their dad pretended to be good, they took advantage of the situation .

Let's be honest after s6 Joey was a horrible brother who prioritised his girlfriend who was in a healthy (comparatively) family. He was gone more than he was there, which was ridiculous. Aoife was selfish and utterly disgusting towards his siblings. She never truly cared about them, considering she didn't hesitate to cut contact after Joey was in rehab . He treated Shan like a burden in R6, which really annoyed me, considering he was more of the burden than she was . She was stronger than Joey but no one talsk about it

To end this , JoeyAoife are by far the most toxic couple and I'm tired of people pretending that Darren was wrong fir saying that they were . He was wrong about JohnnyShan (which he admitted) but right about JoeyAoife

Thank you for proving my point, anon. This is exactly why y’all can’t handle criticism of your pretty princess. The fact that you—YOU—wrote this mess is actually embarrassing. Whoever you are, you shouldn’t be reading, because you clearly have the reading comprehension of a toddler. I never said I hate Jameson. I said I don’t like him. Can you not read? Seriously, asshole, it’s not that hard.

Now, onto your ridiculous Joey and Aoife take, because you sound like the most brain-dead person in this fandom. Even Chloe would tell you to stop reading her books because of how much of a disgrace you are. The fact that we are even in the same fandom? Ew. You’re giving me secondhand embarrassment.

First of all, Joey is by far the best brother to all his siblings—(better than Jameson ever was and ever will be.) He fed them. He took care of them. He slept outside their rooms when Teddy wanted abuse them.

He was the only one there for them. That is canon. His sacrifices are mentioned multiple times, even in Redeeming Six. When his siblings had no one—absolutely no one—Joey was the one telling them it would be alright. He was their anchor, their sea, their entire damn boat, and he did it all while having no one to hold him up. Nothing.

Yes, he had Aoife to some extent in the beginning, but not much. It was him and him alone looking after four kids by himself. And did he take drugs? Yes. Because that was the only thing he could get.

Starving kids will eat anything—Damon Torrance.

You want to ignore that reality? Be my guest.

Now let’s talk about Marie.

She hated Joey. That was made explicitly clear. She looked at him and saw Teddy. Yet she still tried to be a mother to everyone else, including golden boy Darren. And while what happened to Darren was horrific, let’s not act like he wasn’t one of the worst brothers during that time. He was.

Yes, he got redeemed, but that doesn’t erase what he did. And the fact that you’re making excuses for him while trying to discredit Joey? Disgusting. Be serious. Marie had love for every single one of her kids—except Joey. That’s canon. You choosing to ignore it doesn’t change reality.

Now onto Aoife and Joey. One of the best couples written, period. Argue with the wall, because I know you will. You seem like the type. Aoife spent her own money on Joey’s siblings when he had nothing. She bought groceries. She planned his week. She budgeted for him. And she didn’t have to. That was one scene, but there are countless moments where she defended his siblings—Shannon, Ollie, Tadhg, Sean.

And then you try to say she abandoned them when Joey went to rehab? Are you just stupid? Because that never happened. His siblings were with Edal and John, and I'm 100 percent sure Aoife still visited. So you made that up again.

And don’t even get me started on you claiming that Joey treated Shannon like a burden. Are you okay? Shannon and Joey found strength in themselves and in each other. That is stated over and over again. Your claim? Completely baseless.

And finally, your last point. Darren the saint said Joey and Aoife were toxic? You believe him? Wow. You’re even dumber than I thought. You’re a joke.

Seriously, log off, take a reading comprehension class, and stop embarrassing yourself.

You Jameson stans that can't take criticism are so funny like carry on.

Xxx - Caity..

@two-braincells-in-total @thecircularlibrary

[jtl07]

Hi! Welcome back! For shenanigans, any or all of the following that tickle your fancy:

Avatrice, this post:

https://www.tumblr.com/alterumsinealterononest/769889024736444416/i-just-saw-a-video-of-a-girl-scattering-tea-bags?source=share

Avatrice (or AvaLil) as astronauts accidentally stranded together for 9 extra months

Shannon x Mary enemies to lovers and they're lawyers on opposite sides of a case

oh gosh Alms you always bring the fun prompts XD i'm going with the second one though i can guarantee it ended up not where you'd expect (mostly bc i may or may not be working on a fic centered around Bea's thoughts on aikido 👀). always fun to see what you send in, i hope this is alright!

"Wait you're a black belt? You could teach me! 9 months is enough for me to get to black belt too, right?" 

The laugh that escapes Beatrice surprises both Ava and herself. Beatrice nearly covers her mouth but Ava's already wiggling, her grin stretching wide across her face. 

"C'mon Bea, we've got nothing better to do!" 

"On the contrary, we have plenty of things to do," Beatrice says, gesturing towards their checklists. 

Ava rolls her eyes, does a lazy backflip and lands against a bulkhead. "Don't tell me you haven't been curious about how it'd feel to do that kinda stuff in space." 

Beatrice knows they're talking about martial arts - they'd been talking about Ava's many hobbies and somehow, as conversations with Ava now usually go, Beatrice had ended up sharing about herself as well - but the suggestive way Ava waggles her eyebrows makes Beatrice blush. 

"It isn't relevant the mission," is all Beatrice says, ignoring the heat in her cheeks. 

Ava, thankfully, also ignores it. "You never know, Bea: what if we run into evil space aliens and we have to fight them off when they infiltrate the ship?"

Beatrice rolls her eyes. "You've watched too many sci-fi movies." 

"No such thing as too many. So, are you ready?"

Beatrice's brow furrows. "Ready for -"

"Here I come!"

It's instinct that takes over Beatrice's body, has her hands moving, her hips turning - Ava shrieking as she tumbles to the far side of the open space. It's instinct again that fixes Beatrice in place, replaying her technique, taking it apart, finding places to critique - 

"That was amazing!"

If the gravity was on, Beatrice is sure Ava would be bouncing literally off the walls. Here in zero gravity, however, Ava's settled for wildly waving her arms and legs to express her excitement. She looks silly, so free, so joyous. Beatrice can't help but laugh and let herself feel the same. 

"What was that called?" Ava asks - and Beatrice wonders how a person can grin so wide, so much. 

Beatrice shrugs. "Koshi-guruma, it's a judo technique that -"

"Aw, but I want to see aikido! Please, Bea?" 

Beatrice opens her mouth but finds herself unable to speak. It's bewildering, having someone so eager to share in something irrelevant; in something she loves. Has found herself bewildered countless times, now, because of Ava. 

She shakes her head, feels her body already shifting to respond. She's learned enough - from martial arts, from the dogged determination of Ava's smile - to know when resistance is futile. 

"Fine," Beatrice sighs, ignores the way her mouth wants to curve up to match Ava's expression. "Fine." 

Ava whoops as she drifts back towards the bulkhead, uses it to launch herself at Beatrice once again. Beatrice is ready this time, and her mind splits like it does when it's calm like this: one part executing movements written now into her bones, the other part watching from the outside-in.

It's with that part of her mind that Beatrice thinks how it's not that different without gravity, even without the gi. How her hands still know how to lead, how her hips are still free to shift and twist and redirect. But here, there is no weight - of expectation, of perfection - no need to go through the technique too quickly. There's time: to feel her body moving, to hear Ava's surprised gasps, to take what she knows and make it into something new. 

She lets her body and mind still once Ava is out of her arms, watches her tumble harmlessly through the air. (And that too is different, a relief to know that here, they're both safe.)

"The fuck - did you just clothesline me?" Ava's squawk is more in delight than affront. 

Beatrice tilts her head, thinks back on the technique and laughs. "I suppose I did," she admits. 

"Damn I didn't know aikido had some WWE type of shit," Ava says, floating back up to Beatrice. 

"Well, there is some overlap, actually. Many of the joint locks for example -" 

"Okay wait, we're gonna have to make a list now of everything you need to teach me."

Beatrice raises an eyebrow. "You? Make a list? The thing you said was for 70-year-old grandmas?" 

Ava rolls her eyes - Beatrice notes the light flush creeping up her neck. "I can be organized! Anyway, I wanna learn that one - what's it called?" 

"Irimi nage," Beatrice answers - and this is instinctive, now, though new: the way she feels herself respond to Ava's eager questioning. From somewhere outside of herself, she can see the way it's different with Ava, the way she's different; the way everything is easy and weightless. 

And as she watches their hands fit together, Beatrice thinks how 9 months may not be enough. So this is what it feels like, she thinks as she watches Ava tumble through the air, listens to her laughter, feels her own heart stumble and soar: this is what it feels like to want more.