#sequel to monster porter

[mxnsterfxckr]

monster clones. werewolf j4 is something that can be so personal

[ibrithir-was-here]

Posted this in the LXGF Discord but I'll do so here too. I wanted to try out the style on some of my spooky girls!

So Here's:

Lu Holmwood from the "Blood of My Blood" AU

Lilie from the "Wretched Family" AU

Lycanthia is from an old werewolf novel I found at my school library that I thought was neat and want to do something with

Rosemary Porter (Basil Hallward 2.0) from "Rosemary is for Remembrance" AU (is it an AU if its technically a sequel?)

And last of all Alanna, from Arthur Machen's "The White People" who I've also got an idea for (retooling Marigold from that Classical Lit Monster High thing I did x)

[thenixkat]

On gods, 'werewolves are always blue-collar, poor, and poc' is not the fucking totality of werewolf fiction, and doesn't even touch on folklore and older works.

Here's some works off the top of my head with middle-class, upper-middle-class, rich werewolves, and or werewolf nobility:

Wolves of Wall Street (2002)

Little Women and Werewolves by Porter Grand, Louisa May Alcott

Mercy Thompson and Alpha & Omega series books by Patricia Briggs (there's rape, incest, and a boatload of misogynistic werewolf tropes be aware if you wish to read these)

The Wolf Man and it's remake

Werewolf of London (1935)

Blood & Chocolate (film 2007)

The Boy Who Cried Werewolf (2010 film)

Bisclavret

Lay of Melion

Le Morte d'Arthur

Sir Marrok: A Tale of the Days of King Arthur by Allen French

The Wolf Leader by Alexandre Dumas

Cursed (2005 film)

Full Eclipse (1993)

Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf

The Howling (film 1981)

Ladyhawke (1985)

Moon of the Wolf (1972)

Silver Bullet (film 1985)

Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King

Teen Wolf (1985) and sequel

Trick 'r Treat (2007)

The Werewolf of Washington (1973)

Wolf (1994)

100% Wolf (2020)

Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman (2000)

Scooby-Doo! and the Reluctant Werewolf (1988) (we don't forget that Shaggy has inherited Confederate plantation owner wealth in this house)

The Beast Must Die (1974)

Bad Moon (1996)

Thor by Wayne Smith

And as always pls fucking read some folklore instead of just basing yer knowledge on monsters on watered-down memes based on pop-culture movies and paranormal romance novels.

[contracat25]

Alright as it is Trans Day of Visibility (Hi still not cis, still here etc.) and the final day of the extended Trans Rights Readathon I thought I would post about a few more of my favorite books by trans authors because hopefully everyone will be reading books by trans authors and about trans characters/topics all year round. Because to me this day is about supporting others in the community as much as anything else. The world is pretty on fire right now so if you can support a trans creator, artist, organization or friend today (and beyond) then do it!

So here are a bunch of shorter reads: books, graphic novels, novellas etc. I didn't really notice how many novellas I had been reading recently till making this list, but there is something about a wel- written short book that just really works for me. Also a lot of these just have really creative or lovely concepts and I am a sucker for those. Plus the characters in these are soooo good! Also a lot of these have lovely audiobooks or e-books, hence me not having a physical copy (yet). Many of these have trans characters as well, but not all of them. Though most have some form of queer rep because I don't read much that doesn't. I included muliple by some of the authors, including sequels because... I just really like them and couldn't pick just one. Most of these authors have other books that are also wonderful. And these are just a handful of examples, there are so many fabuluous books by and about people who are trans.

Six Months, Three Days, Five Others by Charlie Jane Anders

Peter Darling by Austin Chant

The Companion by EE Ottoman

The Barrow Will Send What It May by Margaret Killjoy

Taste of Marrow and River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey

Even Though I Knew the End by C. L. Polk

Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey

Nimona by Nate Stevenson

Gender Queer by Mia Kobabe

The Seep by Chana Porter

Future Feelings by Joss Lake

Pet by Akwaeke Amezi

The Deep by Rivers Solomon

The Black Tides of Heaven; The Red Threads of Fortune; The Descent of Monsters; The Ascent to Godhood by Neon Yang

Finna and Defekt by Nino Cipri Coffee Boy and Caroline's Heart by Austin Chant

ID: Slide one has a stack of 10 books on a teal background. Slides two through four have a white background and four book covers and a boarder of books in the trans flag colors.

[mariacallous]

FIRST SOCIALITE (HUSBAND): “I can’t read this thing!” (Tossing aside Truman Capote’s magazine excerpt from his forthcoming novel Answered Prayers.)

SECOND SOCIALITE (WIFE): “But dar­ling, you must read all of it. If you don’t, we won’t have anything to talk to anybody about.”

The above exchange actually oc­curred, but as often happens with popular hot controversies, the princi­pals prefer not to be identified, even after telling the tale on themselves. The social stakes are too high. Being on the wrong side in one of these tempests in a teabag could be fatal. What if Kitty Miller never invites you again … or “Swifty” Lazar hangs up on you … or the Bill Paleys hear you didn’t step over the line at what has now become the Smart Set’s own Alamo? Or what if Truman Capote prevails and comes out on top? What if he writes a sequel that tells even more?

Staying alive and well in society means never zigging when you should zag.

“Whoever gossips to you will gossip of you,” goes the old Spanish proverb, and this one came home to roost for the International Set’s crème de la crème with the publication in the No­vember Esquire of Capote’s “La Côte Basque 1965” — the “tail” of the long­-awaited “kite” called Answered Pray­ers that is the writer’s next major work of fiction.

Society’s sacred monsters at the top have been in a state of shock ever since. Never have you heard such gnashing of teeth, such cries for re­venge, such shouts of betrayal and screams of outrage. Well, anyway, not since Marcel Proust flattered his way into the salons of the Faubourg St. Germain and then retired to a cork­-lined room to create a masterpiece, re­calling the details of the Baron de Mon­tesquiou’s “preciosities” and rendering him into the “Baron de Charlus,” setting down the vivid details of a world of le gratin where the rich see only one another.

What did Capote write that so en­raged so many? Oh, just everything he ever heard whispered, shouted, or bruited about — the same kind of sto­ries that have been wafting among the fine French furniture crowd since Maury Paul first saw the Blue Book dining out on Thursday and coined the phrase “Cafe Society.”

“La Côte Basque 1965” is a 13,000-word story about a luncheon between “Lady Ina Coolbirth,” a 40-ish multi­ple divorcée on the rebound from an affair with a Rothschild, and the inno­cent narrator, “Jonesy,” at Henri Soule’s exclusive Manhattan restaurant. While drinking Champagne and eating a souf­flé Furstenberg, “Lady Ina” gossips about the International Set, telling one “no-no” after another on one and all, including herself. Capote has peopled his story with real persons, using their real names as well as with a number of other real persons, using fake names. The most shocking of “Lady Ina’s” send­-ups are the stories about Cole Porter putting the make on an Italian waiter called “Dixie,” the one about “the governor’s wife” and her sordid sexual put-down of the climbing Jewish tycoon “Sidney Dillon,” and the histoire of trashy “Ann Hopkins,” who tricked a blue blood into marriage, then mur­dered him after he got the goods on her and threatened divorce.

Other naughty things in the story are the opening dirty joke … the bad breath of Arturo (Lopez Wilshaw) … the duch­ess of Windsor never picking up a check … Maureen Stapleton’s nervous collapse … Carol Matthau’s dirty mouth … Princess Margaret’s dislike of “poufs” … Gloria Vanderbilt’s failure to recognize her first husband … Oona O’Neill fluffing off the boyish J.D. Sal­inger … Joe Kennedy having his way with an 18-year-old school chum of his daughter’s … “Sidney Dillon” and his womanizing and social climbing .. . “Cleo Dillon” loving only herself .. how the famous TV comic “Bobby Baxter” goes off with a hooker and his pushy wife, “Jane,” has the last laugh … the weird young movie cutie who marries the son, then the father, only to find herself divorced because of a German shepherd … Lee Radziwill coming off better looking than Jackie Kennedy, who resembles “a female im­personator” … the love affairs of “Lady Ina,” how much she needs a man, and her envy of the domestic bliss of two attractive lesbians who reside in Santa Fe, “the dyke capital of the United States.”

Capote insists that the gossipmonger­ing central character, “Lady Ina Cool­birth,” is strictly an invention — but friends of Lady (“Slim”) Keith, Pame­la Harriman, Carol Portago, and Fleur Cowles are all nevertheless incensed. “Well,” sniffs Truman, “let them all martyr and identify themselves if they like … let them hang from the cross claiming they’re hurt … those who want to say they are models, that’s up to them!”

Other characters in “LCB ’65” are so thinly disguised as to be seen through tissue paper clearly — among them “Ann Hopkins,” undoubtedly representing Mrs. William Woodward Jr., who killed herself on October 10, seven days before Esquire hit the stands, and “the governor’s wife,” said to be the late Marie Harriman.

Many other names were dropped, some in passing, some to devastating effect. John Hersey has said that “the final test of a work of art is not whether it has beauty, but whether it has pow­er.” But try telling that to the friends of the late Cole Porter, or Maureen Stapleton, Elsie Woodward, Josh and Nedda Logan, Johnny Car­son, “Babe” Paley and her powerful husband, Bill. (I remarked to Truman that I didn’t know that his now ex-friend Mr. Paley had ever been an “ad­viser to presidents,” as “Sidney Dillon” is described in the piece. Truman just grinned and said, “I didn’t either.”)

Everybody written about in “LCB ‘65” has been guessed and second-­guessed at with little or no concession to Capote’s own thesis — that this is a fictionalized version of a world he knows very well.

For years Capote has been society’s adored and adorable resident intellect and court jester. In a world where parties are still often “given against someone” … where bitchery, snobbery, and hauteur are still prized right along with poise, manners, and money … where the merits of plastic surgeons are argued in the same way the reli­gious used to argue theology — gossip has always been the great staple, the glue holding beleaguered life-styles and sinking social values together. But it’s one thing to tell the nastiest story in the world to all your 50 best friends; it’s another to see it set down in cold Century Expanded type.

Capote has always been the gossip’s gossip nonpareil. He has been leaving them laughing and quaffing blanc de blanc with the best of them, ever since he came of age as an enfant terrible pet of the rich after Other Voices, Other Rooms catapulted him to fame in 1948. He has sailed on their yachts, master­minded their love affairs, and been such a focal insider that his Black and White Ball for publisher Kay Graham is still remembered as one of society’s best parties.

When the gorgeous women of the world’s tycoons and power brokers sat down to spoon up soufflé with Capote, or when Truman tickled the risibilities of the powerful tycoons themselves with his outrageous tidbits and fasci­nating possibilities, he was always the brightest, most entertaining little imp imaginable. Oh yes, of course, he was — well, everyone knew, “queer.” But in such an amusing classy way — in the manner of the great Italian count who remonstrated with an English lord for snobbery, saying, “My dear fellow, when your ancestors were still painting themselves blue, mine were already homosexual!” You know, that sort of thing. And then, of course, didn’t that more or less make dear “Tru” all the more manageable and “safe”?

Society always thought it had something on Capote, in the same way the French le gratin had Proust’s desperate desire to belong, his suspected inversion, and his Jewishness on him. What’s more, society believed Truman to be a lightweight climber who aspired to stay in its good graces. (Snorts Truman, “Yes, they have always made that mis­take about me! Why, if anybody was ever at the center of that world, it was me, so who is rejecting whom in this?” Summoning up an echo of Beau Brum­mell’s “In society stay for just as long as it takes to make an impression. After that — go!,” Truman continues: “I mean I can create any kind of social world I want, anywhere I want!”)

It seems simply never to have oc­curred to many people that the writer’s goddess might turn out to be not “Babe” Paley, but Truman’s own muse. He was, after all, so seductive, so naughty, so charming. He knew every­thing about everybody and — what’s more — had total recall. But now, the same people who listened so delight­edly and told tales out of school find themselves hoist by their own windi­ness. There they are, splashed through the pages of Esquire like hollandaise that has missed the asparagus. God! And that ain’t all — there’s more to come. It is all going to be bound be­tween hard covers into a book. A book!

Capote, meanwhile, is also a literary name. The almost universal acclaim for In Cold Blood lifted his reputation from that of a poetic mannerist into the pantheon of American belles lettres. So the Establishment world that reads and writes has also joined the hue and cry. The question whether Capote has indeed ruined his reputa­tion by stooping to writing gossip, as opposed to whether he is only doing the same kind of work attempted by ether famous writers in the past, will be argued for a long time. There seems to be no such thing as an indif­ferent opinion of “LCB ’65.”

Feuds and furors flash and die in these media-mad days, but the roar over Capote’s roman á clef vignettes, observed and recorded in explicit de­tail, rages on. “LCB ’65” was a one-shot last November, but its reverberating ripples still lash both coasts.

(Capote yelps: “When I was in New York a few weeks ago everybody was falling all over themselves being nice to me. The machinations going on be­hind the back of the people who are in the book you wouldn’t believe. Most of the attackers are just pilot fish, trying to outdo one another in being vicious in their sycophancy. They all want to stay in my favor but maintain a great front of animosity.”)

Capote rushed back to California from New York to finish up another 30,000-word installment for May pub­lication. The reaction to “LCB ‘65” in­spired him to crank that up to 40,000 words, and now, he says the literary Establishment can sit around waiting for their turn. They are “on” next, and then there’ll be four more magazine assaults before Answered Prayers ap­pears in hardcover.

Dissenters to what one social Don Quixote calls “Capote’s character as­sassination in the guise of art” have been pellucidly vocal: “Disgusting! It’s disgusting!” says society’s favorite extra man, real-estate investor Jerome Zipkin, shooting his immaculate French cuffs. “Truman is ruined. He will no longer be received socially anywhere. What’s more — those who receive him will no longer be received.”

Patrick O’Higgins, a writer and pal of Elsie Woodward — the mother-in-law of the late suicide, Ann Woodward — is himself one of the more exquisite tale-tellers of this same world, but he says: “Truman’s gone downhill. People think, ‘What a shame that a great tal­ent should be reduced to writing gos­sip.’ Some people are really hurt be­cause they’ve been kind to him. The Paleys were always so fond of him. But Elsie hasn’t been hurt. She didn’t even read the piece. She couldn’t care less. All she’ll say is ‘Je ne le connais pas!’ — isn’t that perfect?”

Columnist Jack O’Brian: “He knows what will sell in this market … he’s Jackie Susann with an education.”

Writer Wyatt Cooper, husband of Gloria Vanderbilt: “I hate talking when my feelings are negative. It isn’t constructive. I’m very fond of Truman. We used to have lunch, gossip, and it was fun. But lately it wasn’t. His vi­ciousness ceased to make it fun. I even talked to him about it two years ago and he thanked me later for caring. I think this destroys all the things he has built up. He can’t really pretend to sneer at these people in the Jet Set. He worked too hard to be ‘in’ himself. Of course Gloria is offended! He made Carol Matthau come out tough and bright, but has Gloria looking vapid and dumb, in a very unfair way.”

Wyatt, who collaborated with Tru­man on a television project and has known him for years, continues in his “more in sorrow than in anger” vein: “I had always wanted Truman to write a truthful, non-idealized version of his painful and strange childhood as an outsider. It could have been great. But, you know, he has always had a love-hate for all these beautiful women he has been close to. His mother was an alcoholic and killed herself, and children of alcoholic mothers often end up attacking women. Truman would like to be glamorous and beautiful. He has often acted out fantasies of his own by telling his women friends how to act, who to have love affairs with, by manipulating them. Now he has his ultimate revenge, by making them ridic­ulous in print.”

Gloria Vanderbilt: “I have never seen it and have heard enough about it to know I don’t want to.”

Director Peter Glenville: “Ignoble, utterly ignoble!”

Esquire’s own media critic, Nora Ephron, who didn’t even like the mild version of reminiscence and revelation dished out by Brendan Gill in Here at The New Yorker: “There has always been a disparity between Capote’s fic­tion and the public personality, and now finally the two have come together and the public personality has won.”

William and “Babe” Paley are said to have now instructed their distin­guished relatives to the effect that longtime pal Capote is persona non grata. And society’s favorite current story is of how Truman phoned Paley to ask what he thought of “LCB ’65.” Paley reportedly said, “Well, I started it and dropped off to sleep and when I woke up, they’d thrown it out.” (Zing!) When Capote protested that it was important that Paley read it, his old friend said wearily, “Truman, my wife [get that — “my wife,” not “your friend Babe”] is ill. I really haven’t time for it.” (Zowie!)

Truman found Wyatt Cooper unable to lunch with him when he was in New York over the holidays. (Cooper: “How could I — out of loyalty to Gloria. She says she’ll spit at him if she sees him.”) And Capote tells of being “cut” in Quo-Vadis by “a pitiful old society woman I often took about in Paris be­cause I felt so sorry for her. No, don’t mention her name — it’s too sad.”

Mrs. Josh Logan was said to be so incensed she rushed across a crowded room to call Dotson Rader a “traitor” just because he also writes for Esquire. Nedda Logan informed Dotson that “that dirty little toad is never coming to my parties again.” (Some dialogue in “LCB ’65” refers to a Logan soirée: “‘How was it?’ — ‘Marvelous. If you have never been to a party before.’”)

Then there are the artful diplomats, like those two brilliants who’ve won fame straddling the fine line between practicing journalism and personal social acceptance among the Upper Crust — yes, fashion’s elegant Diana Vreeland, as well as that friend-of-the-“400” (some­times now referred to derisively as “the 4,000”) Aileen (“Suzy”) Mehle. Told that Truman wanted to know why she had never written so much as a word in her syndicated society column about the only subject consuming “her crowd” since November, Suzy says: “Why? Why, there’s nothing for me to write. Truman’s done it all himself!”

And Mrs. Vreeland (rising high above the smoke of controversy just as a perfect hostess ignores a cigarette in the butter) dismisses the gaudy gossip, the sex scandals, the barely concealed identities, the homosexual revelations, the obscenity, the accusations of mur­der, and the matter of whether or not Capote has been “antisemitic,” “anti­-gay,” and/or “disloyal” to friends and playmates, by putting one unerring finger on just what she considers im­portant. “Yes — yes! The paragraph on the fresh vegetables and their size is really unique in the article. It’s a ravishing statement on the rich!”

Then there are the happy cynics like Emlyn Williams, distinguished Welsh actor-writer: “It was terrible, just aw­ful, but it was so funny-riveting. I couldn’t help laughing.”

Then there are the defenders of Art. Rust Hills, a former fiction editor: “Fas­cinating stuff. Yes, of course, it’s okay he published it all. I think the artist does have a supreme right to use any material. Remember, life is short but art is long” … Painter David Gibbs: “Oh, don’t be absurd — all art is revolu­tion! Why can’t people get that through their heads? This is brilliant stuff!” … Dotson Rader: “Marvelous, beautiful writing. It’s unimportant whether it’s true or not, since it is presented as fiction. Truman was always treated by these people as a kind of curiosity, ex­pected to do his act. That was humilia­tion coming from people who had no qualifications other than being rich and social. Everybody in the world has been telling Truman their deepest con­fidences for years and he never said he wouldn’t use them.” … Geraldine Stutz, a woman of fastidious opinions: “It’s only a scandal to a small insular world; most people won’t know, and couldn’t care less about who might be who. What counts is that it is a won­derful piece of writing and an extraor­dinary re-creation of the tone and tex­ture of those days in that world” … C. Z. Guest: “Everyone knows the man’s a professional and they told him those things anyway. He’s a dear friend of mine, but I wouldn’t discuss very private matters with him. I don’t even know who those fictional people are.”

Screenwriter Joel Schumacher, himself one of the Beautiful People: “If Tru­man had written a glittering vision of society, he’d have been termed an ass-kisser and his work a piece of crap by these same people. They always want some candy-ass lie written about them­selves. This same world thinks it sup­ports art and artists, but never under­stands that all a writer has is his ex­perience. These people feel a good press is owed them. Why? In the fame-­and-fortune game, whether it’s society, show business, big business, or politics, everybody lives on a plane of incom­parable elitism, more money, more privilege than others. So why are they so shocked when somebody tells even a slightly unattractive truth about them?”

So, speaking of Beautiful People, the night before flying to Los Angeles to interview Capote I’m at Pearl’s with seven of them (or what I call semi­-B.P.s, in that most of these work hard yet are still “social” enough to be writ­ten about and invited everywhere). After the lemon chicken has been served and Pearl has stopped clucking over us, the question goes: “What’s the one thing each of you would like to know from Capote?” They told me.

In this gathering, these youthful realists were amused and entertained by Capote’s daring. Most of them thought the writing was important. Only one of the seven Beauties completely disapproved of the piece. This Frito-colored hair and the women with was the most “social” — by whatever terms — person there; also the richest: a person who found “LCB ’65” “disgusting, unnecessary, mean, bitchy, Truman, like some Napoleon on spiteful, disloyal, and not even very well written.”

General laughter and the retort: “We’re sorry you can’t express yourself more definitely.” But such dissenting opinions were in the majority in the weeks to come. And always, the final clincher by Capote’s detractors was that this hideous, disloyal, tasteless thing the writer had done was bad enough in all its aspects, but its chief minuses were that it was “boring” and “wasn’t even well written.”

A society that habitually enfolds ennui and stinging cultural criticism around its shoulders like a familiar sable wrap could make such pronouncements and still not talk about anything else for two solid months.

Beverly Hills: La Côte Basque 1965 may have been a place, as Esquire noted, “where the plat du jour is seated somewhere in sight,” but La Scala, late 1975, is a place where Henri Soule probably wouldn’t have sent his enemy Harry Cohn. La Scala’s food is indifferent and its service based on benign neglect, yet it offers a carelessly culti­vated charm and ambience of New York–in–California. Once inside, out of the relentless 73-degree sunshine, away from the gas-fed fire burning in the Beverly Hills Hotel lobby, away from the denim-tailored suntanned men with Frito-colored hair and the women with smart-looking Mark Cross–type bags that read “Bullshit,” a person can al­most imagine being in New York.

Truman, like some Napoleon on Elba yearning for the East (I fancy), suggests we meet here. He has a day off from his acting role as the portly eccentric who lures facsimiles of the world’s most famous detectives to his mansion for sinister purposes in Neil Simon’s movie Murder by Death.

Enter reporter, tape recorder cocked, to find Truman talking with the depart­ing screenwriter Peter Viertel. We slide into a booth and Truman, looking more and more like a diabolical ver­sion of the character actor Victor Moore, says nix to the recorder. “I’ll have more to say if you don’t use it.” I protest that I haven’t his fabled total recall. “Oh, you’ll do all right. You’ll see, you’ll get a better story this way.”

Already the interview is out of my hands into the subtle control of Capote. Only around Truman do I ever feel a real kinship with those glamorous women like C-Z, Jackie, Lee, Gloria, Carol, Slim, Babe, Kay, Fleur, Pam­ela, etc. He inspires a compelling intimacy. I begin to tell him every­thing. I spurt confidences, betray my instincts, and allow myself to be drawn out. For each question I ask, Truman asks two. “Seductive” is how one long­time friend described Capote, and she is right. I cling to the edge of the table to keep it from turning completely.

Then he orders a double Russian vodka with no ice and a tall orange juice on the side. Oh well, that makes me feel better. If he’s going to drink like that, I’ll be okay. (When the inter­view ends, two double vodkas, a half-bottle of red wine, and four J&Bs on the rocks later, Truman is as fit as ever and I am still in his power.)

Truman answers the questions put by Pearl’s diners. He punctuates his softly drawled, easily imitated, and widely recognized vocal mannerism with bursts of irrepressible laughter. And some amazed and genuine out­rage. He begins most of his sentences with a drawn-out “W-e-e-e-l-l-l…”

WHY DID HE DO IT? WHY GO QUITE SO FAR? asked the retailer.

“Why did I do it? Why? I have lived a life of observation. I’ve been work­ing on this book for years, collecting. Anybody who mixes with a certain kind of writer ought to realize they’re in danger. [Chuckle.] I don’t feel I be­trayed anybody. This is a mere nothing, a drop in the bucket. To think what I could have done in that chapter. My whole point was to prove gossip can be literature. I’ve been seriously writ­ing this for three and a half years. I told everybody what I was doing. I discussed it on TV. Why has it come as such a great big surprise?”

IS THERE REALLY MORE COMING, OR IS THIS ALL? THEY SAY YOU CAN’T FINISH THE BOOK, asked the fashion arbiter.

“This thing was only a chapter. My God, what will happen when ‘Un­spoiled Monsters’ comes out? [Don’t you like that title?] I’ve never before heard it suggested that this wasn’t part of a whole book. Even my ‘Mojave,’ published in Esquire before this, was part of Answered Prayers, though we didn’t publicize it as such. ‘La Côte Basque 1965’ is certainly no short story. Of course it’s a book! [Exaspera­tion.] Lord, I have a lot to say, baby! I haven’t even begun to say it, though the book is 80 percent written.”

IS IT TRUE YOU ARE DYING OF CAN­CER? asked the art dealer.

“Irving Mansfield likes to go around telling everybody I’m dying of cancer, but I’m well now. Oh, that reminds me of a story.”

Truman cocks his platinum head so I get a good view of his flat baby-pink ears, which seem to have come in a child’s size and never grown.

“When Jackie Susann died, the Times called me for a quote. I was reminded of a judge who once ruled against Fa­ther Divine in some property dispute. Later the judge dropped dead of a heart attack and when they asked Fa­ther Divine to comment, he said, ‘I hated to do it, but …’ “

Capote explodes with roars of laugh­ter that rumble up out of his ample belly into a series of hah-hah-hahs. “So I just told the Times, ‘I hated to do it, but …’”

DID YOU WRITE THIS JUST TO MAKE MONEY AND TO SOCK AWAY SOMETHING FOR A LOVER, AS THEY SAY? asked the producer’s wife.

“I have never in my life done any­thing just for money. I’ve never had any reason to. Why would I need mon­ey? My God, I made over $3 million from In Cold Blood and I haven’t spent it. I sure haven’t made any mon­ey out of ‘La Côte Basque 1965.’ That’s absolutely cracky! You know you don’t make money from magazines.

“As for my personal life, I don’t care what anyone says or writes about me personally. I have been a public exhibit all my life. So let them go ahead and make me a monster. I was a beautiful little boy, you know, and everybody had me — men, women, dogs, and fire hydrants. I did it with every­body. I didn’t slow down until I was 19, and then I became very cir­cumspect. But everybody knows where everybody else is sexually. There are no secrets, and that’s why I don’t un­derstand the shocked response to ‘La Côte Basque 1965.’ What is all this business? Are these people living in some other medieval century? I’d never sue anyone for anything, but I’ve been lied about my whole life. I’m just sur­prised they don’t hire a hit man.”

We stop to order. Truman has steak sliced thin as prosciutto, special mayon­naise, fettuccine Alfredo, and Brie. He is emphatic that he won’t be driven out of New York or sell his U.N. Plaza apartment. (“No, no. that’s not so.”) Nor has he bought a house in Topanga Canyon. (“I guess they think that be­cause that’s where the Manson family lived and I’m a monster, too.”) I no­tice a slight tremor to Truman’s tiny hands as he lifts his glass and feel a pang for his strain.

WERE YOU TAKING REVENGE FOR ALL THOSE YEARS IN SOCIETY, LIKE A PET DWARF KICKING THE ROYALS IN THE SHIN AT LAST? asked the WWD biggie.

“I didn’t mean anything vengeful, not even remotely. And I’m disap­pointed in these people, with all their pretensions for reading, art, theater, and culture that they’re so stupid and can’t see it as a work of art. This book is a serious work of art — if you don’t see it as that, then you don’t see it as anything. I’ve always done good things. Would I actually sit down and write about something like that as a joke, as revenge?”

I ask, “But didn’t it really occur to you that you’d be called a traitor and disloyal for publishing this specific kind of work, using people’s names?”

Truman sighs: “Well, it is true no­body likes what you write about them. Even those I was sympathetic to in In Cold Blood didn’t like themselves in print. Loyalty wasn’t the question, but on the other hand, I don’t care. I really don’t. If that’s the mentality — tant pis … I haven’t lost a single friend I’d want to keep in any event. These people say­ing these things weren’t friends of mine to begin with. Nedda Logan has always hated me, ever since I published that Brando piece in The New Yorker. What do the Logans have to do with anything, just because they once gave a party for Princess Margaret, who everyone knows is a terrible bore!”

IS IT TRUE ESQUIRE LAWYERS SHOWED THE “ANN HOPKINS” PART TO ANN WOODWARD FOR LEGAL CLEARANCE AND, RECOGNIZING HERSELF, SHE KILLED HERSELF? asked the designer.

“The most vicious thing about all this is that story! It’s absolutely untrue that Esquire showed her the copy. That’s ridiculous. Of course nobody showed it to her, as it would have been tantamount to admitting it was about her. I never let anybody read it in toto, and that’s why it was impossible for her to have seen or heard of it. The manuscript was kept in a bank vault. I was very careful with it; sometimes I let a few people read part of it with me sitting there. The new portion, ‘Un­spoiled Monsters,’ I’ve never shown to anybody. This book wanders in all di­rections. It’s not just about the ‘Côte Basque’ people, and my God, of course I’m not taking out after Babe Paley in the next part. She isn’t even mentioned. How do these things get started? The book is really about ‘Kate McCloud.’ And nobody but me knows who she is, and nobody is going to know.”

I tell Truman that Elsie Woodward herself does not feel Ann committed suicide for any reason having to do with him. He says, “You see …. “

DON’T YOU CARE THAT ALL THESE PEOPLE ARE GOING TO CLOSE THEIR DOORS TO YOU? asked the play producer.

“Well, in the first place, I don’t think all these people will. I maintain the people who are really mad are the ones left out. Jean vanden Heuvel said, ‘I hope it isn’t true I’m not going to be in by name. “La Côte Basque” was de­licious and I hereby propose myself for another section.’

“Look, I’m not using Proust as a model because what I’m doing is in the latter half of the 20th century as an American. But if someone like Proust were here now and an American, he’d be writing about this world. People say the language is filthy. I think that’s the way people talk and think now — ex­actly. I think it’s beautifully written. This thing about me never being in­vited again just shows such an igno­rance of human nature that I can’t be­lieve it. People don’t understand how their own minds work. No matter what happens, you have to respect some­body because he is an artist, if you have any pretensions to culture. There’s a fantastic ingratitude in America toward its artists. I mean, you do mar­velous things and they just …

“Well, France is loyal to its artists, England to its artists, even Russia to its artists [chuckle], when they are dead. No other country treats its crea­tive people like we do. Here they wait for you to fail. They love it. If people think I’m just a bitch, then I surely am 100 percent misunderstood. I con­sider myself a fine artist. I drove down here from working in British Columbia to start work on the movie and found the world had exploded. This place has been in the same uproar as New York.”

I say that maybe people in Holly­wood are afraid they’ll be next.

Truman laughs. “Oh, they’ll get theirs!”

He turns serious: “Look, my life has been dominated by my own levels of taste in art, especially the art of nar­rative prose writing, wherein my par­ticular art lies. I have never compro­mised that. I may have compromised other things in my life, personally, emo­tionally, or whatnot, but never that. This book, this whole thing, has been the ultimate of my art. You have to be true to your work. I’ve always said there’s no such thing as writing down. Writers always do the best they can.”

We go out into the sunshine. I take a good look at Truman and am infected perhaps by his own line describing Henri Soulé as “pink and glazed as a marzipan pig.” We walk toward the Beverly Wilshire while I think only in food clichés. I note Truman’s new but­ter-colored moccasins … his apricot-yogurt sweater … his Champagne lick of hair … the strawberry-colored heels of his tiny French carroty hands … his pale raspberry-tinted sunglasses … his soft Cardin hat with its gingerbread texture. l’m relieved to see that he is wearing an ordinary unappetizing pair of trousers that make him look as if he has been hit in the ass with a shovel.

Truman carries his current over­weight bulge before him like some de­frocked Santa Claus. He gives several autographs en route. He tries to buy a denim vest covered with pockets, dis­covers that an expensive camera comes with it, and shrugs, “They should give it to me.” At the hotel we fall into the El Padrino bar and Truman asks for a telephone. Disturbed by reports of Diana Vreeland’s displeasure, he dials her direct.

He calls her “darling,” “angel,” “pre­cious one,” and tells her twice that he loves her. He hangs up triumphant and exclaims: “She says it’s the only important and interesting thing she has ever read about the rich!”

Burbank, Stage 15: I am watching Truman “act.” He stands on a step ladder reading Murder by Death lines in a singularly hideous dining-room set. Peter Sellers, Elsa Lanchester, and Timmy Coco play the scene with him. As far as one can see, Capote makes no effort to “act” but simply plays himself. When the heavy chandelier falls, smashing the table and almost causing serious injuries, Capote quips: “The ghosts of Gore Vidal and of Jackie Susann, no doubt.”

In his mobile dressing room, I ask about this acting bit: “Oh, I just thought it would be fun to do some­thing different and I really liked the script. It’s going to be a good movie. I probably won’t act again. It was just for a change from working on the book, and I knew I didn’t have time to take a vacation. How am I as an actor? [Chuckles.] Let’s see, just say, ‘What Billie Holiday is to jazz … what Mae West is to tits … what Gucci is to loaf­ers … what Schlumberger is to enamel bracelets … what Cartier is to tank watches … what Guerlain is to perfume … what Roederer is to Champagne … what Chekhov is to the short story … what Seconal is to sleeping pills … what King Kong is to penises, Truman Capote is to the great god Thespis!”

Truman is suddenly struck by an idea. “My agent Mr. Irving Lazar has given several parties of late and didn’t invite me. So maybe you’re right. May­be I am a social outcast. Tell you what — call him up and ask about it!”

I’m reluctant, but Truman pays no attention to me. He gets Lazar’s phone number, he dials, and hands me the telephone. I give my message to the secretary, who says “Swifty” will call back. When I hang up, Truman is exasperated. “No, that’s not what I want you to say.” He re-coaches me in my lines. Before Lazar can return the call, Truman is called to the set. When the call comes through I tell Lazar that his client is now a social outcast and ask if this applies in Hollywood, since Truman has not been invited to Lazar’s parties.

Lazar says, grimly, “I wouldn’t have any comment about that.”

Floundering, I say, “You wouldn’t have any comment?”

Lazar: “No.”

I stumble, “Okay, well, I’ll tell Mr. Capote what you said.”

Lazar’s voice rises. “I didn’t tell you to tell Mr. Capote anything.”

“Yes, I know,” I reply, weakly, “and I will tell him that you say you have no comment.”

Lazar screams: “I don’t want you to tell Mr. Capote I said anything. Dam­mit, I knew I shouldn’t have taken this call!” (Slam.)

Truman loves it. He roars over hav­ing discomfited the agent of Richard M. Nixon. Two weeks later he calls New York to ask what people are saying now. I sense that he is anxious. He speaks bitterly of what he calls “the ‘walkers’ … my vociferous critics … what do they have to do with me … with my work?”

Soon it comes out that now the Paleys, the Whitneys, Gloria Vander­bilt, Mike and Jan Cowles, others who were indeed real friends, have drawn the line against Truman. Unlike the Baron de Montesquiou writing to Proust for reassurance that he is not the model for “Baron de Charlus,” Lady Keith does not get in touch with Capote at all. No, she has gone on a trip to the South Pacific with — the Irving Lazars.

Where does all this leave our hero? “Well, I won’t retire to my cork-lined room yet,” says Truman. “I’m just going to a Palm Springs spa to take off 20 pounds before a college lecture tour. Then I’ll drop the other shoe.”

I remind him that nobody can really judge a literary work for 50 years. “This won’t even be dated in 50 years!” says Truman with a bulldog tenacity.

Then I tell him the story of how Gertrude Stein, with all her artistic pretensions, didn’t like the portrait Picasso painted of her and made the classic hick comment: “But it doesn’t look like me!”

Picasso then said, “But it will!”

Truman applauds. He says, “You know. I’m beginning to think what’s happening now is better than the book!”

[jt-artsandfics]

List of fandoms I write for.

Rules: I'm pretty lenient with what I write I'm happy to do alot but these are what I won't write

I do not:

write characters under 18

Non Con, Rape, under age

Abuse

Will write:

Smut/nsfw

Gore

Pretty much anything that isn't in the will not write.

Character inserts

Ships( they are down below that characters)

Stranger things

(not the kids I don't write for them)

Characters:

Steve harrington

Eddie munson

Nancy wheeler

Robin Buckley (x fem only)

Argyle

Jonathan byers

Henry/001

Billy hargrove

Ships: steddie, ronance, Jagyle, harrigrove(on thin ice)

Star wars

(All media games/shows and movies)

Characters: all and any if you find one o won't do I'll let you know but pretty much any star wars character clones, bad batch, mando, OGs, Prequel, sequels, any star wars one I'll try and do I just haven't seen Andor yet (please be patient if it's anyone from that)

Resident evil games

Characters:

Leon Kennedy

Wesker

Ethan winters

Karl Heisenberg

LADY D

Ships: lady d x Ethan, Ethan x Karl. (Cute family Ethan and Rose)

Dead by daylight

+ (movie slashers from dbd in there franchises)

Characters:

All characters in dead by daylight slashers and survivors this includes characters from movie/ game and TV series

Fallout 3, NV, 4

Characters:

Charon

Butch deloria

The king

Benny gecko

Joshua Graham

Vulpes inculta

Nick valentine

John Hancock

Danse

Porter gage

Skyrim

Characters:

Followers in game

Miraak

Serena

Thalmor agents ancano and such

Daedric princes

Dark borhterhood members

Thieves guild members

+ ( lucien lachance oblivion)

Mortal kombat

(I'm trying to get back into writing MK)

Characters: I'll try and write who I can if I can't I will let you know.

The Arcana

Characters: all romance options in game

Lost boys

(I love my vampire boys)

Characters:

Dwyane

Marko

Paul

David

Dragon Age Origins, 2, Inquisition

Characters: all followers from each game

+ krem

Dorian is (male on insert)

Sera is (fem only insert)

Monster boyfriend or Girlfriend of your own design and I'll draw them up too

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Wednesday, November 30th and Thursday, December 1st

Faith shakes her head, having a second thought. FAITH: Uh, Buffy? BUFFY: (faces her expectantly) Yeah? Faith reconsiders again for a long moment, and changes her mind again. FAITH: Nothing. Buffy lowers her eyes, disappointed.

~~Revelations~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Demon Trouble by badly_knitted (Buffy, G)

The Monster by Apachefirecat (Buffy/Spike, R)

The Monster by apachefirecat (Buffy/Spike, R)

Recovery by EllieRose101 (Buffy/Spike, M)

Franny's Sweet Girl by JessicaSnow (Buffy/Francine, American Dad xover, Not Rated)

The Twelve Spikes of Christmas by sabershadowkat (Buffy, Spike, G)

The Gift by DeamonQueen (Spike/Buffy, T)

Don't Look Back in Sorrow by CitizenMocha (Angel & Connor, G)

Way Out West in Another Dimension by ErebusBeck (Buffy, G)

What I Like About Spike by RavenLove12 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Recovery by EllieRose101 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Thanks by Holly (Buffy/Spike, PG)

A Very Spuffy Christmas by Slaymesoftly (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

The Twelve Spikes of Christmas by sabershadowkat (Buffy/Spike, G)

[Chaptered Fiction]

Malkia Mpendwa (Ch. 1 - 7) by apachefirecat (Buffy/Spike, Angel/Cordelia, R)

Witches From Under - part 4 by ILLYRIAN (Willow, unrated)

Rewriting History - Ch. 1 - 2 by Into_the_never (Faith/Buffy, Spike/Buffy, T)

Welcome to the Family - Ch. 1 by A_Dark_Lane (Buffy, Dresden Files xover, T)

100 Words Stories - Ch. 1 by RavenclawSlayer (Buffy/Bette Porter, L word xover, G)

Marveling at a Range of Stars - Ch. 1 - 4 by TheDivineDemon (Buffy, xover with Power Rangers and Star Wars, T)

Claws - Ch. 1-3 by mst_52 (Jenny/Giles, unrated) complete

Never Forget - Ch. 1 by Movieslover05 (Buffy/Angel, G)

Lucid Nightmares - Ch. 2 by corvidyus (Scoobies, G) complete

The Language of Magic, or Ten Times Buffy Summers Lived - Ch. 5 by girlpire (Buffy/Angel, T)

Osiris Makes a Counteroffer - Ch. 1-8 by Taaroko (Angel/Buffy, T) complete

Blood Brothers - Ch. 4 by Michaelt (Buffy, ensemble, T) complete

1922 - Ch. 2 by desicat (Spike/Buffy, M) complete

Dawn of the Caribbean 2: Dawn of Time - Ch. 29 by BrennaLynn (Dawn/OC, T) complete

Sandy Places in Tomorrow - Ch. 42 by Raihne (Xander/Spike, M) complete

The Slayer's Guardian - Ch. 3 by WiredDreams92 (Buffy & Dawn, Not Rated) complete

2187 Days - Ch. 8 by Irishrose (Buffy/Spike, E) complete

Vignettes - Ch. 8 by EllieRose101 (Buffy/Spike, T) complete

Not Long to Wait - Ch. 106 by hulettwyo (Spike/Dawn, Angel/Willow, E) complete

Piercings - Ch. 2 by MelG_2005 (Buffy/Spike, R)

Hold My Hand Even Though I’m a Sinner! - Ch. 4 by CheekyKitten (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Daisy in the Dark - Ch. 6 by Dusty (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

Vacation with a vampire (Sequel to The Sphere) - Part 2 - Ch. 12 by Coraline (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Favor - Ch. 8 by EllieRose101 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

A Road So Rough - Ch. 4 by cawthraven (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Better the Devil You Know - Ch. 6 by SlayrGrl (Buffy/Spike, R)

The Thing About Being on the Road - Ch. 12 by scratchmeout (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Fade Away Again - Ch. 14 by Willow25 (Buffy/Spike, PG)

Learning To Be Love's Bitch - Ch. 18 by Desicat (Buffy/Spike, R)

Ties to the World - Ch. 11 by The Danish Bird (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

En hurlant à Une Lune de Béton... L'histoire d'un poète Vampire - Ch. 23 by Violette-Milka (Buffy/Spike, in french, NC-17)

Why Are There 26 Letters? - Ch. 27 by Indi_Shaw (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

What Happens In Quarantine... - Ch. 18 by bewildered (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Psych-Out Wolves 1 ½: The Almost Sequel - Ch. 1 - 4 by calikocat (Xander, Psych xover, FR18)

Mixing colors... by CrazyDan (Xander, Justice League xover, FR18)

Konquest of Champions - Ch. 12 by Sithicus (Xander, Mortal Kombat xover, FR21)

The Burning Wheel - Ch. 4 by Ginger (Buffy/Spike, R)

The Thing About Being on the Road - Ch. 12 by scratchmeout (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

The Road to Hell.... - Ch. 29 by All4Spike (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

The Paper Incursion 2 - Ch. 2 by myrabeth (Buffy/Spike, unrated)

[Images, Audio & Video]

Manip: 3 Graphics Manips for seasonal spuffy by nmcil12 (Buffy/Spike, worksafe)

Gifset: Caritas Music Numbers by RachM (Angel, ensemble, worksafe)

Incorrect Quotes: [Jenny/Giles] Calendiles + Incorrect Quotes by teatimewithgiles (Jenny/Giles, worksafe)

Photo Edit: The Harvest by dan2theyell (Buffy, Cordelia, worksafe)

Artwork: [Buffy and others as animals / furries] by corvidyus (Buffy, Xander, Willow, worksafe)

Gifset: Caritas Music Numbers - Angel [1999 -2003] by sulietsexual (Angel, ensemble, worksafe)

Artwork: Quick amateur drawing by bac_1994 (Buffy, Angel, worksafe)

Artwork: 798 mini books later…I’ve created my own Sunnydale library! by holeystgeorge (Buffy, worksafe)

Artwork: Fanart: 🗡 ATS 120. Warzone 🗡 by tmtmcarlee (Gunn, worksafe)

[Reviews & Recaps]

Buffy Rewatch Project: 6.7 Once More With Feeling by handsofabitterman

PODCAST: Baby Proof Kale - Angel S03E16 by Pop Culture Role Call

PODCAST: 5.04 Hell Bound by Angel on Top

[Recs & In Search Of]

[Spike/Angel] Spangel Humour Fic List - Multiple Fics recced by somekindofadeviant

[Community Announcements]

Seasonal Spuffy Fall 2022 Closing Post by teragramm

[Bangel] IWRY 2022 Master list - I Will Remember You by angelus2hot

Seasonal Spuffy Fall 2022 Closing Post by teragramm

[Bangel] IWRY Marathon 2022 Masterlist

[Bangel] I Will Remember You 2022 Collection by various

[Fandom Discussions]

Buffy and Faith becoming literal cops at the end of the Buffy comics has to be the funniest... by greatrunner

what are Faith's best looks? [BTVS and ATS] by faith-thee-slayer

(and i am so glad joss never took angel and buffy to the bisexual side on tv...) by badrecognition

[favorite and least favorite BTVS ships] by babygirlgiles

[discussion of Wolf Pack] (SMG led werewolf series) by various and Angelic Slayer

Buffy Anne Summers by gmac

Help ep by gmac

Deaths on the show by gmac

[Season2 spoilers] How does Spike smoke? by Dr-Edward-Poe

Joyce was a wonderful mother by delightful_fright

[discussion of BTVS podcasts] Buffering The Vampire Slayer: A Rewatch podcast by MachersHouse

... only just realized that the "here endeth the lesson" quip from Buffy's speech in S7E11 (Showtime) is a callback from S1E5... by bluntlysorrynotsorry

Some thoughts on Season 10 [comics] by Nostromo87

Spike and Quasimodo metaphor, foreshadowing by No-Cut3292

does anyone else think that in season 7, Buffy’s kinda… stupid? by summerpinciotti4

I’m watching season 7 for the first time, and I swear to god, if I hear Buffy say “he has a soul” one more fucking time… by summerpinciotti4

Twice?! [Buffy reads Joyce's mind] by draconetzah

They shouldn’t have killed Professor Maggie Walsh so early... by BuffyLostBish

Watching as a teen vs adult by Electrical-Opening-9

Best/Favourite One Episode Character? by Sea_Photograph_3998

Wesley by Lowfat_milk29

Season 4 [discussion of Riley's role in S4] by MatchingMyDog1106

potential slayers [discussion of mythology consistency] by brian5mbv

Just started watching the show [BTVS] and OMG Angel by GenericAustin

What interesting tidbit did you learn about the cast, characters or the show from attending or watching conventions? by RandomComments2022

Touched [discussion of the First talking to Faith] by ThickPeanut136

Illyria or Fred? by ThickPeanut136

Shame on you! [discussion of Dark Willow] by Omix592

School Bad, let Joyce in by davect01

Which Angel characters would you choose to join Faith's spin-off? by LightBlueSky55

[Articles, Interviews, and Other News]

Vudu Has Switched Previously Purchased Versions of Buffy to the HD Remaster

Sarah Michelle Gellar's Return to Supernatural TV: Wolf Pack "Isn't What People Expect" by Den of Geek

Submit a link to be included in the newsletter!

Join the editor team :)

[avatarskywalker78]

16, 29, 37, &/or 38 - 40 questions meme

`16. If you only could write one pairing for the rest of your life, which pairing would it be?

Seg/Adam from Krypton.

29. If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose?

My Friendly Monster by Mia Vaan, a Lucifer fic written in 2016 where Trixie finds out the truth about Lucifer after he saves her from a criminal, and so does everyone else over the next few chapters. It was a nice complete story, but I'd like to write a sequel because it was such a good story.

37. Talk about your current wips.

Well, there's the next 2 parts of Cobalt Blue and The Flash. I haven't decided the order they'll be in yet, but one of them is going to explore Henry and Malcolm's relationship over the years as it develops from 'son's best friend' to 'I guess he's my son now' (to Malcolm's surprise, given that he's never really had any examples of a good parental figure before). The other will be the direct sequel to Part 1, set a week or so afterwards - originally it was going to be just from Eddie's POV, but now it'll be split between him and Malcolm, as the latter explores his powers and wonders how to tackle his brother's guilt, something Eddie's still struggling with because of the last few years, and because he feels he should've been there for Malcolm when he needed him (they talk things out eventually).

Then there's (possibly) Part 7 of my Mike Barnes series bad boy (no more), which is going to be Tory-centric because in this one...she's going to be his niece (and Brandon his nephew)!! This was inspired by seeing old posts of speculating that Tory was his daughter - something that probably won't happen in canon and definitely won't happen in my fics because Mike wouldn't cheat on his wife!!! But with my headcanon of him being estranged from most of his family, him no knowing he's an uncle (or at least not anything about them) is perfectly plausible.

He finds out a few weeks after 2x10 - this time Elaine wasn't there to break up the fight, and though she didn't see Miguel fall the whole experience still shook her up enough that Mike took her and Alex out of West Valley High, so his mind's been on other things. Then he sees footage of the fight featuring Tory and sees the resemblance not just in looks but also the ferocity with which she fights - it reminds him of himself, and when he and Leah go digging for information they find out that yes, she and Brandon are his younger brother's children, but his brother up and left and the family changed surnames, and Mike and Leah realise that Tory needs serious help that she probably won't get unless someone steps in.

I've only written some of it, but it's looking likely it'll focus more on the women - Tory doesn't trust anyone at first, but slowly opens up to Leah and Elaine, and eventually she'll open up to the rest of the Barnes clan (Alex and Brandon get along well too), and it'll end up being an S3 AU because a Tory with a support system is a Tory who really won't rejoin Cobra Kai, and Mike and Leah have words to say when Kreese tries to bring her back into the fold. There'd also be a genuine apology from Tory to Sam - not full reconcilation, but a start, and possibly even one between Mike and Daniel, but that part I'm not sure about yet.

I'm also working on a fic set in the world of The Protectors. For those not in the know, The Protectors was a 1972 action series from Gerry Anderson - creator of Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet, among numerous other shows - which was one of his live-action ones and the only one not to feature any kind of sci-fi or fantasy slant. Instead it focused on the titular internation crime-fighting group, led by Harry Rule (Robert Vaughn), Contessa Caroline di Contini (Nyree Dawn-Porter) and Paul Buchet (Tony Anholt).

My fic is set a few years after the end of the show, and features an OC, Layla Williams, an ex-thief turned security tester, who befriends Paul while on holiday in Paris, and who ends up getting kidnapped as leverage against him and Harry. This ends up backfiring on the kidnappers as she uses her skills to escape her bindings and kick several people's asses on the way out, reuniting with her friends - though various circumstances means she doesn't meet Paul again for six months. At the moment there isn't really much of a plot - it's more a self-indulgent fic as Layla eventually ends up with Paul (who is my favourite character), but she'll definitely be getting more chances to showcase her skillset, along with her other friends in her team.

I'd answer question 38, but the problem is nearly every comment I get makes my day, so it's impossible to choose just one to talk about.

40 questions for fic writers!

[hjsshoes]

Random tierlists I made because I was bored

No one asked but again I’m bored

Female Cartoon Hotties

All I’m gonna say is i love toph and mabel but they’re in wtf because even I’m to old for them (also i did not make the tierlist title)

Disney/Pixar Movies

We’re missing some moves and sequels but yeah

Monster High Characters

I would do anything to date porter and/or catty 🫶🫶🫶

Male Cartoon Hotties

I have a type 😭😭 (Again i didnt make the title)

Dream SMP Characters

A few ppl are missing but thats not important besides Charlie my beloved who I would put in I love you *holds gently*

Dream SMP Members I could beat in a fight

Techno is in god tier again bc he would outsmart me to win

Barbie Movies

I have my reasons

Skz Ships

Yeah

Okay the end

[toopunkrockforshul]

Finally finished the last book for full blackout for 2023 bingo!

All hard mode except the robots one because I wasn't sure going in what role the robot would play. I don't think I can in good conscious claim that he was a protagonist though.

5 star reads (in order of prompt number):

Sunshine by Robin McKinley

When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb

Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh

The Pomegranate Gate by Ariel Kaplan

The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home by Jeffrey Cranor and Joseph Fink

Full details below the cut:

Title with a Title (Hard Mode: Not a title of royalty) A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark - 4 stars

Superheroes (Hard Mode: Not related to DC or Marvel) Ordinary Monsters by J.M. Miro - 4 stars

Bottom of the TBR (Hard Mode: None, its already hard enough) Mister Impossible by Maggie Stiefvater - 4.75

tars

Magical Realism or Literary Fantasy (Hard Mode: Not one of the books in the Magic Realism recs thread) Uncommon Charm by Emily Bergslien and Kat Weaver - 4 stars

Young Adult (Hard Mode: Published in the last 5 years) The Way Back by Gavriel Savit - 4.75 stars

Mundane Jobs (Hard Mode: Does not take place on Earth) Mindtouch by M.C.A Hogarth - 4.75 stars

Published in the 00s (Hard Mode: Not in the top 30 of r/Fantasy best of 2023 list) Sunshine by Robin McKinley - 5 stars

Angels and Demons (Hard Mode: Protagonist is an angel or a demon) When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb - 5 stars

5 SFF Short Stories (Hard Mode: Read an entire SFF anthology or collection) Love After the End:An Anthology of Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer Speculative Fiction by Joshua Whitehead - 4 stars

Horror (Hard Mode: Not Stephen King or H.P. Lovecraft): The Voice of the Blood by Jemiah Jefferson - 4.75 stars

Self-published or Indie Publisher (Hard Mode: self pub and has fewer than 100 ratings) The Dying of the Golden Day by Carrie Gessner - 3.75 stars

Set in the Middle East/Middle Eastern SFF (Hard Mode: Author is of Middle Eastern heritage) The Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamnia - 4.5 stars

Published in 2023 (Hard Mode: Debut novel) Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh - 5 stars

Multiverse and Alternative Realities (Hard Mode: Characters do not walk through a literal door in order to get to another world) The Pomegranate Gate by Ariel Kaplan - 5 stars

POC Author (Hard Mode: Takes place in a futuristic, sci-fi world) Hexarchate Stories by Yoon Ha Lee - 4.25 stars

Bookclub or Readalong Book (Hard Mode: read as part of a bookclub and participate in the discussion) Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia - 2 stars

Novella (Hard Mode: Novella is not published by Tordotcom Publishing) The Seep by Chana Porter - 4.75 stars

Mythical Beasts (Hard Mode: No dragons or dragon-like creatures) Drink Slay Love by Sarah Beth Durst - 3.5 stars

Elemental Magic (Hard Mode: Not V.E. Schwab's Shades of Magic series or Jim Butcher's Codex Alera series) The Last Sun by K.D. Edwards - 4.75 stars

Myths and Retellings (Hard Mode: Not Greek or Roman mythology) The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie - 4.25 stars

Queernorm Setting (Hard Mode: Not a futuristic setting) The Door into Shadow by Diane Duane - 4.25 stars

Coastal or Island Setting (Hard Mode: The book also features sea-faring) The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by S.A. Chakraborty - 4 stars

Druids (Hard Mode: Not The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne) The Dawnhounds by Sascha Stronach - 4.5 stars

Featuring Robots (Hard Mode: Robot is the protagonist) He, She and It by Marge Piercy - 3.5 stars

Sequel (Hard Mode: Book 3 or on in the series) The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home by Jeffrey Cranor and Joseph Fink - 5 stars

[wikiuntamed]

Top 5 @Wikipedia pages from a year ago: Wednesday, 4th January 2023

Welcome, velkomin, velkommen, welcome 🤗 What were the top pages visited on @Wikipedia (4th January 2023) 🏆🌟🔥?

1️⃣: Damar Hamlin "Damar Romeyelle Hamlin (; born March 24, 1998) is an American football safety for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Pittsburgh and was selected by the Bills in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Hamlin spent most of his..."

Image by Tom Williams

2️⃣: 2023 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election "2023 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election may refer to: January 2023 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election October 2023 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election..."

3️⃣: Byron Donalds "Byron Lowell Donalds (born October 28, 1978) is an American politician and financial professional serving as the U.S. representative for Florida's 19th congressional district since 2021. His district, which was once represented by former senator Connie Mack III and former CIA Director Porter Goss,..."

Image by United States Congress

4️⃣: Avatar: The Way of Water "Avatar: The Way of Water is a 2022 American epic science fiction film co-produced and directed by James Cameron, who co-wrote the screenplay with Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver from a story the trio wrote with Josh Friedman and Shane Salerno. Distributed by 20th Century Studios, it is the sequel to..."

5️⃣: Ken Block "Kenneth Paul Block (November 21, 1967 – January 2, 2023) was an American professional rally driver with the Hoonigan Racing Division, formerly known as the Monster World Rally Team. Block was also one of the co-founders of DC Shoes. He also competed in many action sports events, including..."

Image licensed under CC BY 2.0? by EKSRX

[nachoaveragejoe234]

ironically most of this demonization of girly girls and romance and "damsels" come from women. Specifically the fringe feminists. They do this with dolls and whining about "Barbie/Monster High makes children want to be anorexic/bimbos/consumerists!", but will never complain about GI Joe or He-Man making kids want to be buff and violent or in the case of Joe specifically, join the army (GI Joe is blatant nationalist war propaganda and a worse influence than princesses or malls or fairies, for both boys and girls). They will always attack characters who are more accurate to describe as damsels like Princess Peach. They also complain a lot less about non princess characters. They always go after Aurora or Snow White or Ariel, but they'll conveniently leave out or talk less about the following who actually get in danger, even the strong ones: Wendy Darling, who spends a lot of the movie being targeted by Neverland residents bent on killing her. Tink. The mermaids. The pirates.

Jane Porter: She gets chased when she first enters the jungle, Tarzan has to save her. Then in Tarzan and Jane, she gets kidnapped by a spy. Then in the cartoon series, she gets targeted a fair amount by other villains like Queen La and the Russians.

Belle: She gets harassed by Gaston, gets attacked by wolves, and in the Christmas movie she almost drowns.

Esmeralda: Chased by a lecherous old man who equal parts wants to marry her and wants her dead. She almost gets burned at the stake.

Alice Liddell: She almost drowns in her own tears, is almost set on fire when the Dodo lights a match (in between her legs which is kinda sus btw), and almost gets her head cut off.

Penny from the Rescuers: Kidnapped by Madame Medusa.

Eilonwy: Kidnapped by the Horned King.

Olivia Flaversham from Great Mouse Detective: Kidnapped by Ratigan, then he tries to off her (oh add Queen Victoria as a bonus damsel who is almost fed to a cat).

Jenny from Oliver and Company: Kidnapped by a mafioso.

Melody from Little Mermaid 2: Morgana freezes her as she turns human, leaving her to die.

Kida: Held hostage by Helga, in the sequel she and Audrey are kidnapped by vikings.

Pocahontas: In the sequel, she's locked in jail, then she's almost stabbed by Ratcliffe.

Meg: Kidnapped by Hades.

Amelia from Treasure Planet: Kidnapped by the villain.

Elsa and Anna: Hans tries to kill them both. Anna by leaving her in a cold room, Elsa by stabbing.

Giselle from Enchanted: She's a parody of this damsel trope.

Gogo and Honey from Big Hero 6: They get in danger in the cartoon several times.

Tiana: Gets captured by rednecks in her frog form.

The harp lady from Mickey and the Beanstalk: Kidnapped by the giant.

Where's the attacking of these characters? Only Snow, Aurora, Ariel, and Cindy are bad I guess

Fandom femmephobia seriously needs to be talked about more. 

We know all female characters face fandom misogyny of all times, but no one talks about how sometimes fandom will mercilessly rag on and hate the more conventionally feminine female characters the most, how often those people will dismiss the feminine female characters as shallow and stupid, how often they see them as weak, scheming bitches, or as mean girls, while praising a more masculine female character in a positive way or as “not like other girls”. 

Like, aside from the whole Sansa Stark scenario that is decades old, there is also the Disney Princess fandom with how they treat the earlier princesses(Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora) as weak and nothing more than damsels-in-distress, ignoring the fact that they, Cinderella in particular, show that kindness, softness, and vulnerability don’t automatically equal weakness, that female characters don’t have to be warriors or aggressive or stereotypical “strong independent women” to be strong. And how they were all forced into traumatizing situations, Cinderella was literally ABUSED with nowhere to go while Snow White was a fourteen-year-old girl being hunted down to be killed because her stepmother envied her beauty, and Aurora was cursed at birth because an evil fairy wasn’t invited to a party. And yet they remained kind, optimistic, and strong through it all. But go on about how they are weak and passive role models for little girls. And often this is coupled with treating Mulan, Merida, and Pocahontas as better and placing them in the “not like other girls” category because they take on more traditionally masculine roles and are praised for being tomboys in comparison to the more girly princesses(when Mulan and Pocahontas aren’t even tomboys), especially Merida just because she doesn’t sing or have a love interest, as if singing to birds or falling in love makes you weak. 

People also love to do this with Ariel and Rapunzel, writing them off as shallow cardboard cutouts, pretending Ariel only wanted to be human for a guy or that Rapunzel was a weak fragile damsel in distress who needed saving by Flynn from her tower, ignoring the fact that she tied him up and forced him to take her to see the floating lanterns, even threatening him with her frying pan again when he tried to back out of the deal. And it is her compassion and willingness to dream that stop the hypermasculine ruffians and thugs at the Snuggly Duckling to stop their mindless violence and open up about their own hobbies(some of which are seen as traditionally feminine!). But a lot of you don’t seem to be willing to realize that! 

Even in the Encanto fandom, this attitude prevails. Look at how Isabela and Dolores are often demonized and villainized by the fandom, how Isabela’s issues are all brushed aside in favor of seeing her as just a one-note mean girl, how Dolores is seen as the “true villain” of the movie(and how I’ve seen more than one people say that Dolores is someone who “intentionally” goes after married men because of her prophecy), how Pepa is often demonized for her emotions when being highly emotional is often seen as a stereotypically feminine trait, and how fans often gloat about how Luisa merch outsells Isabela merch by portraying Luisa as a “not like other girls/strong female character” and Isabela as just a pretty face and only being there to look beautiful, because “haha well would you look at that, little girls want the masculine strong girl and not the feminine pretty girl!”, while also masculinizing Luisa at the same time. Or how they’ll say they hate Isabela because they’re tired of “pretty slim girly pink princesses” as if being that way is an insult or a bad thing. Plus there are many fans even today who think that Isabela herself is not like other girls because she breaks out of the norm of perfection in the end, and mistaking it for breaking out of femininity. Because obviously femininity is a trap that renders girls weak and docile and obedient and incapable of being themselves or more than pretty ornaments to be looked at, and the only way to be independent and strong and embrace your individuality and do what you wanna do is by ditching your femininity and being masculine, right? 

It’s just annoying to witness and I wish it would stop. Let’s please stop shitting on female characters for being traditionally feminine/pretty/glamorous/soft/compassionate and prioritizing traditionally masculine traits of aggression/violence/stoicism. You can be strong and also be feminine, and embarrassingly this obviously true fact still falls on deaf ears. Let’s do better as fandoms, people. Not just the Encanto fandoms, but fandoms across the board. 

[frankensteinmutual]

2, 3, 14 :)

2 - did you read anything? if so, what?

am I just supposed to list every book I read this year? I mean. alright ahfnfm

• the house in the cerulean sea by tj klune

• good ones by neil straightman (in 2021, can you believe. listen, no one's suprised, this book is amazing, but also fuck off neil)

• dirk gently's holistic detective agency by douglas adams (I loved this, especially because it was a completely different story from the show, so it felt like a whole new experience)

• the word for world is forest by ursula k. le guin (not as good as the left hand of darkness imo, but still very good. planning on reading the dispossessed next)

• piranesi by susanna clarke (perfection. 11/10)

• lanny by max porter also basically perfection. 10/10)

• ghost wall by sarah moss (it was a good book but I feel like I had the wrong expectations for it based on the synopsis etc. I kept waiting and waiting for the story to start and then it was over lmao)

• oedipus the king by sophocles (surprisingly funny)

• giovanni's room by james baldwin (so many underlined passages. so many.)

• the fifth season by n.k. jemisin (I had such a good time with this, I really want to continue with this series but like I said, it's always kinda hard for me)

• silver in the wood by emily tesh (I genuinely think everyone on this website would adore this book. it's only 100 pages. just read it!)

• drowned country by emily tesh (unfortunately an unnecessary sequel. I would not recommend reading it, just leave the story where it's at at the end of silver in the wood)

• this is how you lose the time war by amal el-mohtar and max gladstone (this reprogrammed by brain)

• die svenborger gedichte by bertolt brecht

• in watermelon sugar by richard brautigan (best trip I ever had)

• you will get through this night by daniel howell

• 17776: what football will look like in the future by jon bois (yes I'm counting this)

• over the top by jvn (I love them even more now)

• all boys aren't blue by george m. johnson (guys this was so surprisingly bad like. genuinely terrible. don't read this)

• entangled life my merlin sheldrake (this was so amazing, completely on the other end if the spectrum, everyone should read this)

• less by andrew sean greer (a little boring but overall very charming)

• the hawkline monster, a gothic western by richard brautigan (disappointing)

• picnic at hanging rock by joan lindsay (this took me YEARS to get through. YEARS. I don't know why, I was so fascinated by the story and it's such a short book but my god did I give up on ever finishing it a lot of times)

• his dark materials by philip pullman (I can't believe I actually finished a series, I usually never manage to which is why I mostly read standalone books. but I loved this, even though the last book dragged a bit and Alos took me forever to finish, 1 and 2 were much better imo, especially 1)

• a study in scarlet by acd

• the sign of four by acd

• the adventures of sherlock holmes by acd

• the castle of otranto by horace walpole (one of the few books I had to read for class that I actually finished. even though it was one of the most boring ones lmao)

• the memories of sherlock holmes by acd

3 - what were your top 5 books of the year?

• piranesi by susanna clarke

• lanny by max porter

• in watermelon sugar by richard brautigan

• the word for world is forest by ursula k. le guin

• giovanni's room by james baldwin

honourable mention for 17776 which isn't a book but was def one of the best things I've read this year

14 - what books do you want to finish before the year is over?

I really really want to finish the goldfinch, I've been reading it for months now ahdnfn

I'd also like to finish white noise by don delillo, I was supposed to read it for class but I didn't finish it (like most of the books I have to read for uni, unfortunately)

[adamwatchesmovies]

Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)

No movie has ever been quite like Zack Snyder’s Justice League. After all the hubbub, I think everyone's curious to see the end results. Have the petitions, billboards, and millions of hashtags been worth it?

Following the death of Superman (Henry Cavill), a series of ominous dreams warn Batman (Ben Affleck) of an ancient evil's return. Bringing together Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), The Flash (Ezra Miller), Aquaman (Jason Momoa), and Cyborg (Ray Fisher), might be enough to stop world-conqueror Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds) and his army of Parademons before he can assemble the three matter-altering Mother Boxes hidden on Earth and use them to reshape the world.

If you’ve seen 2017’s Justice League, you’ve mostly seen this movie... but not really. Obviously, the running time is much longer, which means everyone gets more opportunities to show off their abilities and develop their characters. The big winners are The Flash and Cyborg, who kind of become the hearts of this adventure. The Flash plays a huge part in the finale. Now enormously endearing, you can't wait to see more of him. With Victor Stone/Cyborg’s father, Silas Stone (Joe Morton) we get a much more emotional story than before. Surprisingly, Steppenwolf also gets a lot more material. Rather than a generic gray CGI monster, he’s a gray CGI monster with just enough dimension to make you wonder how you feel about him. Though he remains a force of destruction, his backstory is expanded upon greatly. He’s been sent on a mission by the lord of Apokolips, Darkseid (voiced by Ray Porter) following a failed coup. If he cowers in front of Darkseid’s enforcer DeSaad (Peter Guinness) and barely dares utter his lord's name, how big a threat are the heroes actually facing?!

Also different is the overall tone. Whether you care for Zack Snyder as a director or not, he has a distinct, recognizable style and that’s always preferable to a gooey mush no one has put any kind of mark upon. The score is consistent with the previous Man of Steel and BvS films, the humor is significantly downplayed, and the violence (you might call it edginess) is dialed up. There’s also a lot more slow-motion. With the seven narrative acts, this feels so much like a living comic book that all you can think about are double-page spreads. It’s still moving, but you have the time to drink in all of the details.

The fights feel epic - even though you already “know” how things will end. The fallout of Superman’s death is handled so much better you’ll never look back at the way it was previously handled (actually, I kind of like what they do here more than in the original comic it takes its inspiration from). All of the actors get to reprise/expand upon their roles, the best bits you saw before remain but the plot is clearer, more satisfying. If you helped convince Warner Bros. to make this happen, you’ll be over the moon.

This is a better movie than the one we saw before but it isn’t the best movie it could be. The running time must be criticized. For the most part, you don’t really feel it, particularly not at home. You will grow restless during the Epilogue, however. This segment feels self-indulgent. We're not talking a quick tease of more to come (even if this movie doesn’t get a sequel, you just assume the adventures will continue). We get at least 20+ minutes of new characters and plots. Be grateful for what you got, Mr. Snyder, show some restraint.

My final criticism concerns the screenplay. It’s terrific that this movie is better than the two-hour version in every way (including the special effects) but I'd argue almost every movie could be made “better” if it were longer. Anyone can write a novel that spans 10,000 pages or shoot a 7+ season TV show with fully-rendered characters. What’s impressive is delivering all that in a fraction of the time. Zack Snyder’s Justice League does not successfully do everything it wants as efficiently as it should.

I never expected Zack Snyder’s Justice League to happen. Now, here we are, and I’m grateful. This is a fun movie, even when it does teeter towards becoming an edgelord’s idea of what a superhero adventure should be like. It’s better paced, edited, scored, and realized. Its epilogue is a bit much, however. I say cut the movie off after the scene with Deathstroke and you have a better end product. It may be self-indulgent towards the end, but this new Justice League is what we hoped for. (March 28, 2021)

[dragoncxv360]

Oh oh I have tons of favourites

The Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall by Katie Alender

Very good, have read it multiple times

deals with ghosts and mental health and death

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

still need to read the sequel but I loved this, ragtag band of misfits my beloved

Three Dark Crowns series by Kendare Blake

haven't finished the series, I think there's some fade to black nsfw? But no actual explicit scenes. It's good but dark since it deals with three sisters fighting to the death for the throne

Of Fire & Stars by Audrey Coulthurst

kinda forgot what this is about but it has lesbian princesses, also it has one scene of very vague nsfw but like it's less than a page and not very detailed so you can skip it. Also it has a prequel called Inkmistress and a sequel called Of Ice And Shadows, haven't read them yet tho

Has lots of lesbian rep :D

RoseBlood by A. G. Howard

phantom of the opera retelling, very good, super interesting interpretation

The Hearts We Sold by Emily Lloyd-Jones

warning this has a very bittersweet ending so if that's not your thing I don't recomend it. I was fine the first time reading it but when I reread it back in 2020 I had a pretty big breakdown 'cause it deals with abuse and death and it hit too close to home

Has lesbian and trans fem rep :D (they don't die, just to clarify, they're like...secondary main characters?)

Deals with demons, literally, they make deals with demons, trade parts for wishes, it's very interesting

In Deeper Waters by F. T. Lukens

omg one of my favs it's so very gay and magical :D

Has princes and stoaway boys

So This Is Ever After by F. T. Lukens

also very gay and magical :D

Has princes and mages and a ragtag band of misfits

Also has a bi gal in it

F. T. Lukens is easily one of my fav authors now and I'm excited to read their next book that I have of theirs, Spellbound. Also they're nonbinary :D. Also I love their cover artist's art, I actually went and followed her on insta and she makes so much gay art it's amazing

The Witchery by S. Issabelle

Omg this one was so good

3 of the 4 main characters are black and there's a lesbian (or possibly bi) character and a minor character who's trans fem

The author is also black

This book is getting a sequel next month and I am so fucking excited omg. Also shout out to this book for being the first published book I've seen with trigger warnings in it, it was incredibly nice to have a warning about what the book deals with

Vassa In The Night by Sarah Porter

Based on a russian folktale, Vassasilia the beautiful I believe is the name, it feels like reading a painting honestly, the way it's written is gorgeous

The Asylum series by Madeline Roux

I love love love this series, it kept me on the edge of my seat

It talks loads about mental health which is super nice, tho it deals with a lot of triggering topics about old asylums and it has a lot of unreality

Also in the main series, one of the characters is gay and in the prequel the two main characters are a bi guy and a trans gal :D

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Very gay, very good

It deals with drugs tho so if that's not your thing def don't read it

Honorable Mentions

Simon vs the Homo Sapians Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Splintered by A. G. Howard

alice in wonderland retelling, haven't read the rest of the series

Project Paper Doll: The Rules by Stacey Kade

About an alien gal living on earth, haven't read the rest of the series but I def want to

Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

Really good YA book, talks a lot about anxiety in the end

Made You Up by Francesca Zappia

Also talks about mental health, tho this time it's about schizophrenia. Obviously with that territory does come unrealiable narration and unreality and some of the later scenes in the book of her having breakdowns could def be triggering. Has an almost nsfw scene but they end up deciding not to do it

Also the author is also an artist and has some more original stories on Wattpad, like the Hypnos Children and a tease of Monstrous Sea in written form (it's a comic mentioned in Eliza And Her Monsters that Eliza writes)

Hey hey anyone got any book or fic recommendations? I wanna make a list skjsjs

[fizzyxcustard]

Prompt Masterlist

THORIN OAKENSHIELD (The Hobbit)

Kiss 1 Kiss 2 Kiss 3 Kiss 4 Kiss 5

“At first I was unsure” moving into “I want more” kiss

“That was, by far, the stupidest thing you’ve ever done.” 

“You have no idea how much I want you right now”/”I’m right here where I belong”

Brush of lips  (demon!Thorin)

Kissing whilst stumbling and moving around into things 

“What did you break this time?” and ‘Stop talking” (Yours and Thorin’s son, Prince Thrain III)

“Did you get a haircut?” 

Yours and Thorin’s daughter has a nightmare

You are a ‘little bit’ pregnant 

Nervous to tell Thorin you’re pregnant

“You make me feel safe”

Comfort

Lingering kiss

‘Let’s run away together’ kiss

“What’s in the shadows?”

“You aren’t the boss of me” and “what gives you the right?”

“I don’t want to talk to you” and “Don’t be nervous; you can come closer.”

“Why are your eyes so red?” and “Am I the reason you cry every night?”

‘Hands exploring body’ kiss

“I’ve had a bad dream. I normally sleep with my mom and sister. Can I sleep with you?”

Distracting kiss

Surprised kiss 

“You’re worthy of my love”

Comforting Thorin when he is overwhelmed and you tell him it’ll be alright

First kiss under the mistletoe

Tree buying and decorating for Christmas with modern!Thorin

“They can’t keep us apart. We belong together.”

“Maybe you could stay. Just for tonight.” 

“We’re going to be a family.” 

Comforting cuddles

Giving birth to twins

“Our story does not need to end here.” 

"I might have to kiss you if you don't stop saying such things."

"Because I care for you more than you know."

FILI (The Hobbit)

Kiss 1  Kiss 2

KILI (The Hobbit)

Kiss 1 

LEGOLAS (The Hobbit)

Kiss 1

THRANDUIL (The Hobbit)

Kiss 1

RAYMOND DE MERVILLE (Pilgrimage)

Raymond comforts his daughter at night when the monsters visit 

Dance with Me (Modern!Raymond)

Dance with Me (Medieval Raymond)

Cornered by Raymond when you deliver breakfast (Medieval Raymond. Warning: Sexual abuse/leading to rape)

Surprising Raymond for his birthday (Modern!Raymond)

Raymond comes to your aid after someone attempts to burgle your flat (Modern!Raymond)

Vampire!Raymond pays you a visit in the night (Modern!Raymond)

“Carry me up to bed”

“Can you still sleep at night?”

“How many more innocent people have to die?” and “Will you miss me at all?”

“You’re so damn attractive, you know?” (Modern!Raymond) and sequel:  “Do you trust me?” (modern!Raymond)

“Do not think I won’t carry you if I have to.” 

Raymond and his lover in the woods; he is protecting her as she gets worried by animal noises. 

“Do you think me a monster?”

“You were going to leave me for her, weren’t you?”

“You are shivering. Are you afraid of me?”

“Leave me. It’s better this way.” 

“You are mine to own. Do you understand?”

“Will I ever see you again?”

"I cannot pretend anymore."

GUY OF GISBORNE (Robin Hood)

A reunion after many years with Guy 

“Give me attention”

“I’ve had enough” 

“Stop hogging the blankets”

“How much of that did you hear?”

“Keep talking. Your voice helps me sleep” (Modern!Guy)

“What would you do if I didn’t come back?”

‘At first I wasn’t sure’ turning into ‘I want more’ kiss

“I had a bad dream. I used to crawl into bed with my mom and sister. can I sleep with you?” 

“I didn't want to say anything until I was sure, but I’m pregnant.” 

`”You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to do that.” and the sequel - “You’re mine” / “Who did this to you?” and further sequel “Did you regret it?”

JOHN PORTER (Strike Back)

Christmas and New Year with John

“What the hell were you thinking?”

“Stop being an arse” (sequel to “What the hell were you thinking?”)

“You should sleep in my bed more often”

JOHN THORNTON (North and South)

“Will you stay a little longer?” (Modern!John)

‘Hold me’ kiss

“I’m not getting into bed with you. Your feet are cold and you’ll use that against me.” (Modern!John)

DWALIN (The Hobbit)

Short!Reader can’t reach top shelf

FRANCIS DOLARHYDE (Hannibal)

‘At first I was unsure’ kiss, becoming ‘I want more‘

Various sentences (Francis has killed your boyfriend who is an abuser)

Overwhelming day and Francis comforts you

You are pregnant and suffering morning sickness. Francis comforts you

JOHN STANDRING (Sparkhouse)

‘At first I was unsure; now I want more’ kiss

DANIEL MILLER (Berlin Station)

Kisses that start on fingers, run up arm and end on lips. 

SCOTT WHITE (Sleepwalker) 

“This is a dream, isn’t it?” and part 2 “This is still a dream, isn't it?”

RAY LEVINE (Stay Close) 

Comfort/fluff

SEAQUEST DSV/2032

“Why are you whispering?” (Lucas Wolenczak)

MERRY BRANDYBUCK (Lord of the Rings)

Merry x Fem!Hobbit!Reader watching each other across a crowded room