#someone just found it in a public library and posted about it online

[we-are-not-afraid-92]

started rereading perfume and realized that baby grenouille is literally the “when I was a baby I was evil C:” book

[luxaofhesperides]

greener on the other side.

Danny makes a habit out of hopping into portals and exploring the places he ends up. It just so happens that this time, he ends up in Gotham right as the Signal begins his patrol. Duke meets the strangest, funniest, cutest guy on the roof of the Gotham City Public Library. He knows Batman would not approve of literally anything he's doing, but sue him, he wants a meta friend and this guy seems to be up for it. -- OR: how Duke and Danny get together despite having secret identities and living in different dimensions.

chapter three: how it shines - 8.6k

read the entire fic on ao3!

the final chapter of this fic... and the end to the first fic in the series!! theres a lot i say in the end notes of ao3 so i highly recommend reading this chapter there! . . .

Signal: you ever feel like maybe the world is out to get you

Signal: [attached photo shows Signal lying in the middle of a torn up road, post-fight, his helmet lightly blackened with ash.]

Danny: buddy, the world has already taken me out

Danny: [attached photo is a selfie of Danny, frowning at the camera. Behind him, a large, flying robot is pointing a rocket launcher at him.]

Signal: okay, you win. are you alright???

Danny: lol im fine. this literally happens every week i know how to beat this guy up

Danny: tbh i think the real threat to my existence is school

Signal: so true. one day we will be free of it….

Danny: but not today

Signal: but not today

-

Danny: got a minute?

Signal: yeah what’s up?

Danny: u have a secret identity

Signal: …yes?

Danny: have u told other people abt ur secret identity

Signal: yes? but some of them just kinda found out on their own

Signal: why? 

Danny: how did that go. did they react well? did u have to defend urself from them?

Signal: there were some problems about me throwing myself in danger, but i was always safe with them

Danny: okay. cool. got it.

Signal: everything okay?

Danny: im thinking about telling my parents a secret about me. im kinda terrified of how they’re going to react

Signal: are you coming out to them?

Danny: in a way i guess. 

Danny: gonna recruit my sister into helping me talk to them. and also get rid of all their weapons beforehand so there’s a lower chance of them shooting me

Signal: shooting you?!?!? dude are you going to be okay??? don’t do anything that could get you hurt!!

Danny: gtg

Signal: dude??

Signal: danny?

Signal: let me know how it goes, okay? i can’t travel through dimensions like you can, but i can figure something out if you need a rescue

Signal: good luck danny!

-

Danny: ever get into a fist fight with a walmart knock off vampire in the parking lot of a burger joint?

Danny: [attached photo is Danny’s hand flipping off a man hovering in a parking lot. He’s wearing a cape and vampire-coded clothes.]

Signal: ever have a snack break in the middle of fighting a crocodile man?

Signal: [attached photo shows Signal holding up a half eaten taco, a giant crocodile man behind him with his own box of tacos. They’re sitting next to each other in an alley.]

Danny: point to u bc u actually got food

Signal: 😝

Signal: also, everything okay? with your parents?

Danny: let’s not talk about that.

Signal: okay. but if you do want to talk, i’ll be here for you

-

Danny: idk if dash is trying to annoy me into another fling or if he actually wants me to throw him across the field but if he doesn’t back off im going for violence

Signal: uh

Danny: THAT WAS MEANT FOR TUCKER IM SO SORRY

Signal: should i be jealous that someone is hoping for another fling with you lol

Danny: it was once and will never happen again. 1) he’s not my type 2) he’s so annoying

Danny: also why would u get jealous of anyone ure literally a hero? hello?

Signal: hey man that guy is with you in your dimension and im all the way over here

Signal: totally reasonable for me to get jealous!! this is like a more extreme version of having online friends

Danny: true… hey i can swing by for the weekend if u want!! honestly the less time i spend here the better

Signal: that bad?

Danny: i’ve known everyone here for my entire life. i need OUT

Danny: gothams cool! its a big city with things to do!!! obviously im gonna like it more than Normal Town Illinois 🤮

Signal: weather is bad all week tho…. even if you come over we wouldnt be able to go out

Signal: its been a while since we had a storm so bad

Danny: man if that was happening here i would be able to punch the storm away

Signal: im taking that as a joke

Danny: no i literally punched a storm away before. he was a dick tho he deserved it

Signal: ….this is still Normal Town Illinois right?

Danny: .

Danny: ok fine maybe u have a point

Danny: anyways!!! i just wanna hang out with you dude i would be happy just playing video games or something

Signal: we can do that!! let me know when u get here 😊

Signal: and good luck dealing w this dash guy!!

Danny: ugh dont remind me

-

Signal: hye u know our plana to hang out tody

Signal: maybe rain chek tht im not goos company rn

Danny: u ok? i can always come by some other weekend

Signal: got hit and everythif bad

Danny: did u hit ur head?

Signal: yes

Danny: ok im going to call u so you can stop looking at ur phone screen. just in case u have a concussion

-

The phone rings twice before Signal picks up. He mumbles something that might be a hello, but it’s honestly hard to tell. 

“Hey, man,” Danny says, leaning back in his chair to look up at the faded glow in the dark stars he stuck up on his ceiling years ago. “Are you okay?”

Signal hums a vague response, then sighs, sending static down the line. “Just got a headache right now. Can’t even go out since it’s too bright.”

“Is it sunny in Gotham right now?”

“No, it’s super cloudy and that’s still too much. I hate concussions.” There’s a bit of a whine in his voice that reminds Danny that under the helmet, Signal is a normal guy just like anyone else. And like everyone else, powers don’t save him from the pain of brain trauma. 

Danny would know; he’s gotten pretty good at taking care of injuries and the such through his high school career of getting tossed in lockers and attacked by ghosts. He’s pretty sure parts of his brain are still rattled from the amount of times he’s been thrown into and through walls. 

“I hear you, man,” Danny commiserates, “Head injuries are the worst. But it should start feeling better in a few days, so you can just stay home and relax until the pain stops.”

“Ugh, I wish. I still have to go to school tomorrow.”

“Dude, that sucks. If you can stay home sick, then don’t force yourself to go. Concussions are no joke.”

Signal hums again, then mumbles, “I can’t think of an excuse. Cause the concussion is from being hit on patrol so like. I can’t say that! I have to figure out a reason for my civilian identity to have a concussion.”

“Can I suggest something?”

“Please, I’ll take anything at this point, man. My brain is done for.”

“Make up an embarrassing story. You have to make yourself look silly and people will believe you more and not ask follow up questions because you’re too embarrassed to say more.”

“...Keep talking. This sounds viable. The only advice I got was to basically fake my death or get into a car accident to get more injured.”

“I think you need to fight whoever said that,” Danny says, “That is horrible advice.”

“I know!” Signal laughs. “Oh I shouldn’t have laughed, my head is hurting more.”

Danny lets out a slow breath, tilting his head back to look up at the ceiling of his bedroom. If he strains his hearing, he can make out the rustle of fabric from Signal’s end of the call as well as the murmur of his parent’s voices downstairs. He closes his eyes and focuses on the call, pushing away the heavy weight of regret on his chest that hits him each time he thinks about his parents. 

Now is not the time for that. Signal needs calm and quiet, so Danny is going to give that to him and then let him go to rest.

“Are you drinking enough water? Getting some comfort food?”

“Yeah, I’m being taken care of. Don’t worry Danny, I got a whole crew of dysfunctional caretakers.”

“Good. I’ll let you get back to resting, then.”

“I’m still so sorry I had to cancel. I was looking forward to seeing you again.”

Warmth rises to his cheeks and Danny rubs a hand against them, trying to ignore the butterflies in his stomach that came to life at those words.  “We can always do a different day. Let me know when you feel better, okay?”

“Yeah, alright. Thanks, Danny.”

“I hope you feel better soon, Signal. I missed you too.”

There’s a pause where Danny’s heart pounds hard against his chest, as though trying to escape his ribcage. He bites his tongue, wondering it that was too much, if he made things weird, if Signal didn’t feel the same way. 

And then Signal says with a soft voice, “I can’t wait to see you again. You’re too sweet to me.”

“Okay!” Danny squeaks, cheeks aflame, “Go sleep, Signal! I’ll talk to you once you can look at a screen again.”

“Alright. Thanks, Danny.”

“Of course, dude. Bye.”

Signal makes a soft mumble that could be ‘bye’ but it’s hard to tell with Signal’s voice going all rough and low, exhausting in every sound, and then the call is ending. 

Danny drops the phone onto his desk and draws his knees up to hold them against his chest. He rests his chin on them, filled with longing for Gotham.

Not just for the Signal, though that’s a big part of it. But for the anonymity of a big city in a dimension where he doesn’t exist. A place where he can be himself, just Danny instead of being torn between his parent’s son and Phantom. Plus, Gotham has heroes! Not other ghosts, not ghost hunters, but people with superpowers who help people whenever they can. 

It would be nice to be someplace like Gotham where he wouldn’t have to carry the responsibility of protecting an entire city on his shoulders. It would be nice to have friends who understand why he can’t not give his all to protect people, regardless of how they feel for him, friends who make the same choice, friends who aren’t weighed down by guilt with their part in his death.

As much as he loves Sam and Tucker, he knows that will be something that haunts them for the rest of their lives. 

It’s better now that it had been in freshman year, but it’s still something that changed them all. He’ll always love them, and he knows they love him, but they need to spend some time apart.

In Amity Park, they’re the outsiders who are too weird for the rest of the school, outcasts who stick together, a tightly knit group full of secrets. They’ve been each others only friends for the longest time; sometimes, others come in and out of their lives, like Valerie, but the bond he has with Sam and Tucker can’t be replicated. 

They need to be with new people to grow any more. He can see how they’re holding each other back. 

They’ll always find a way to be together, but they have to be apart first.

Gotham will be good for that. 

Hell, any place in that dimension would be good!

Danny just wants to be more than he is, wants to be better and he can’t do that here or with his friends. 

And he certainly can’t do that with his parents.

After telling them about everything’s he’s done as Phantom, all the times he’s ruined their inventions or fought with the GIW or endangered people through his fights with other ghosts, his parents just stared at him. They were seated around the kitchen table, Jazz standing behind Danny with a comforting hand on his shoulder, as his parents just… stared.

There were no accusations of possession, no weapons drawn, no demands for an explanation. Just a haunted look in his parents eyes as they went silent, still, horrified. 

“Danny,” his mom had whispered, “You mean you’re—”

“I’m Phantom, yeah. The ghost menace,” he had answered.

“You’re dead,” she finished as if he hadn’t spoken. “You died and we didn’t… we never noticed. What— How—”

The thing about being Phantom is that Danny knows he died. He knows he came back changed. But he doesn’t like thinking about it, still wakes up from nightmares of electricity racing through his body, frying him from inside out as it stops and restarts his heart in an endless painful pattern. Yes he died, but he got powers out of it! He got to meet other ghosts, explore the Infinite Realms, do so many cool things no one else is able to do…

But he still died. Half of him is still dead. He’s never going to be the kid he once was.

“It was an accident,” he had whispered, “With the portal. The on button is inside it, and when I went in for some stupid picture, I tripped and hit it.”

“And we only cared about the portal working,” his dad had said, grief coloring every line in his face. “We didn’t even look at you. We just went straight for the portal. We were so happy to be right that we didn’t stop to think about what it meant, how it could have happened…”

The tears he saw well up in his parents eyes made his heart twist uncomfortably in his chest. For several long minutes, silence settled around them as his parents closed either eyes are stared down at the table, refusing to look at him. Jazz had squeezed his shoulder, then pulled him up out of his seat.

“Danny, go upstairs. Or to Tucker’s place. I need to have my own talk with them,” she had said. There was a steel in her gaze that told Danny there was no use in arguing, so he walked out the front door and transformed so he could fly out into the woods where he could be alone, watching the sky change colors as the sun set.

It’s been two weeks since then. His parents still can’t look at him for too long. They can’t look him in the eyes at all.

He wonders if he would have preferred them trying to kill him. At least then they would acknowledge that he’s still here instead of moving around him as if he’s a memory haunting the halls of their home, one they’re too guilty to face just yet. 

He misses his dad’s loud voice and enthusiasm. He misses his mom’s quick wit and quicker reflexes. He misses the chaos of each meal they would have together and how his parents would drag him and Jazz along on random, sudden trips for the sake of science. 

He misses his parents. 

Danny hates that the family he loves died with him in that portal. 

As much as he still loves them, being in the house, and in Amity Park in general, is suffocating. The farther he can get from them the better; Danny isn’t sure he’d react well if he stayed in this universe and woke up one day with his parents decided to break into his new home because they finally feel up to having a conversation with him. 

Maybe he’d talk to Signal about what living in Gotham is like. That might help him make a decision on what to do with himself once he graduates from Casper High School.

He’ll save it for the next time they meet. 

Some things are better done in person, after all. And it wouldn’t hurt for Danny to use it as an excuse to make sure he’s fine. 

But for now, he’ll wait until the days pass and keep daydreaming about better things.

-

Signal: hey man, u doing okay? i haven’t heard from u in a while

Danny: yeah im good! i was waiting for u to text first bc i didnt know how long you’d need to recover from a concussion

Signal: ive been good for a while, dude. dw abt waiting to text me, just send me something and i’ll reply once i can!!

Danny: i’ll keep that in mind for the next time u get injured 👍

Signal: but fr are u good? tell me to back off if u need but u seem kinda down

Danny: im fine!!! just dealing w the crushing weight of existence, that’s all 🫠

Signal: oh mood. anything i can do to make things better for u?

Danny: nah it’s fine, im just like this sometimes. i promise it’ll pass

Signal: want a distraction?

Danny: please

Signal: so i was just swinging thru the streets as i do and this group called me down while theyre having a huge argument

Signal: so i go bc i dont want things escalating yknow? 

Signal: and idk the context of this argument AT ALL but one of them turns to me

Signal: looks me dead in the eyes

Signal: and says ‘penis enhancement pills are NOT a thing, right?’

Danny: SKDFJALSDJ NO WAY

Signal: oh man. this isnt even the best part of this story

Danny: there’s MORE?????

Signal: its gotham, danny, there’s always more lmao

Signal: so anyways……..

-

Danny: i hope you know that story has been haunting me all week

Danny: dash was being a dick again and i was half asleep so i told him ‘maybe u’d be less of a dick if u stop taking penis enhancing pills’

Signal: THATS GOLD

Signal: my job here is done. nothing will ever top that. i’ll see myself out ✌️

Danny: he looked so shocked lmaooo

Danny: tried to say he DOESNT take any pills but it was too late

Danny: he was too flustered by it no one believed him

Danny: top 10 things to say to ur former bully

Signal: i didnt know he bullied u. good for u! get his ass!

Danny: he’s fine now lol just annoying. we all grew out of the super cliche high school phase after freshman year when we had to work together to fend off ghosts and the government

Signal: nothing like a little anarchy to bring people together

Signal: its why im still good friends w the people who were in a gang i joined when i was younger to be like. street kid vigilantes bc gotham was going bad back then

Danny: everything u say about gotham and ur life is so fascinating literally how are u real?? ure the perfect ya novel protagonist

Signal: thats the sweetest thing anyones ever said to me ❣️

Signal: but also lol. lmao. gotham really is just like that. no one is immune

Signal: u also sound like a ya protag jsyk. 

Danny: literally how im so boring??

Signal: danny. babe. im gonna have to bring out the capital letters for this bc i get the feeling that u really believe that

Danny: oh boy

Signal: Listen. You live in a small town that’s Haunted, fight ghosts, have powers, went from being bullied to being chill with your bully, and can travel the multiverse. You are a YA Protagonist.

Danny: damn i can’t argue with that :/

Danny: why’d i have to be the ghost hunter’s ghost son. i wanna be a side character. give me a refund on this life pls

Signal: do i dare ask clarification on the ghost thing?

Danny: uuuh no? its kinda personal and im dealing w it but its also kinda like ur civilian id?

Danny: its something i’ll share once we’re closer and i know u better and can trust u with it

Signal: totally fair. want me to pretend that part of the conversation never happened?

Danny: please

Signal: cool. watch this

Signal changed Danny’s name to YA protag (real)

YA protag (real): ooooh my god

YA protag (real): im not taking this lying down

YA protag (real) changed Signal’s name to YA menace

YA protag (real) changed their name to YA protag (retired)

YA menace: lmao

YA menace: does this mean… ure my senior…. my knowledgeable mentor… my senpai 🥺

YA protag (retired): i will throw us both into a black hole dont even try me 🔪

YA menace: LMAO

YA menace: fair. just saying that dealt me so much psychological damage

YA protag (retired): deserved

-

YA protag (retired): can we attempt Danny Visits Gotham: 2! Electric Boo-galoo?

YA menace: yeah!!!! im free this weekend if u wanna come by then!!

YA protag (retired): i can do this weekend!!

YA menace: i will do my very best not to get a head injury before then

YA protag (retired): can u maybe aim for no injuries?

YA menace: danny we need to be realistic here

YA menace: my goal is to have no bleeding wounds that need stitches. as long as i don’t bleed its not a problem 👍

YA protag (retired): …..

YA menace: no need for the judgment i have everything under control

YA protag (retired): …………

YA protag (retired): :/

-

YA menace: lmk when ure gonna be in gotham! i’ll make sure to be outside waiting for u

YA protag (retired): i’ll be another hour but i’ll send a msg before i head out!!

YA protag (retired): actually it might be a bit longer i gotta fight some people who are trying to cheer me up

YA menace: should i be concerned

YA protag (retired): nah its fine they’re just annoying

YA menace: if u need to reschedule

YA protag (retired): noooo!!!! i’ll be in gotham soon i swear!!!!

YA menace: ok!! ok!!!! i will keep waiting for you then 🫡

-

Duke waits for an hour and a half, swinging through streets and waving to people, before Danny texts him to let him know that he’s next to the botanical gardens. 

One moment, Duke is perched on the roof of a Mexican restaurant in the Bowery. The next, he’s halfway across Gotham, swinging recklessly from building to building.

So what if he’s excited to see Danny again! That’s normal!

Anyone would do the same in his position.

Plus, Duke still feels so bad about having to cancel last time due to his concussion. The sooner he gets to Danny, the sooner he can start making up for it. He didn’t spend the last few patrols being extra careful for nothing; he only has a few bruise and no bleeding at all! 

Danny’s star glow helps Duke find him behind the botanical gardens, hidden away from the rest of the street. 

He drops down from the roof, using the shadows to soften the impact of landing.

When he looks at Danny, leaning against the building, he’s greeted with a bright smile. 

“Signal!” he says, pushing off the wall to close the distance between them. “I hope I didn’t make you wait too long or anything.”

“Nah, you’re good. You alright?”

“Oh, yeah, of course! It was just some friendly fighting, and they wouldn’t be able to really hurt me even if they tried. I’m all good! So, what’s the plan for today?”

Duke looks him over just in case, but Danny does appear to be perfectly fine. Not a single bruise on him. Maybe it was just a few friends roughhousing with him? That might be it, since Sam and Tucker did try to take each other out last time they were in Gotham. So he’s just going to go with what Danny says! He’s fine, and they can move on!

He’s totally going to worry about it later, but right now is not the time for it when Danny’s waiting to spend the day with him.

“Well, I still have to finish patrol, but that’s just for another hour if you wanna join me,” he says. “And then we can head to the Hatch to just… hang out. Or we can find something else to do, totally up to you.”

“The Hatch?” Danny repeats, tilting his head to the side curiously. Duke has to take a moment and just appreciate how cute Danny is before he can compose himself enough to answer.

“Yeah, it’s like my… secret base? HQ? The place I go for superhero things that is for me, specifically, and that I don’t have to share with a bunch of other people.”

“You have a secret base?! That’s so awesome! I just have—” Danny falters, his excitement falling, and then he plasters on a pained, fake smile. “I’ve always wanted to see a superhero’s HQ. Are you sure it’s fine to show it to me, though?”

Part of him wants to ask about what he was going to say before switching gears, but the drawn expression on his face is more than enough to make Duke back off. “Yeah, man, don’t even worry about it. Besides, it’s not like there’s any other places we can go to without me revealing my identity, you know?”

“Fair enough,” Danny nods. “But maybe one day we can?”

“For sure,” Duke says. “Come on, up for a quick patrol around Gotham?”

“Oh, definitely.” The light returns to Danny’s eyes as he lifts off the ground, floating. The smile on his face is more sincere, and the sight of it makes the knot of worry in Duke’s heart pull loose. He pulls his grapple out and aims for the highest ledge of Poison Ivy’s greenhouse, tucked in the back of the botanical gardens, then takes off.

Danny is flying next to him immediately, a blur of invisibility, and they fall into a rhythm quickly as they head towards the Bowery. As Duke free runs and swings between buildings, Danny flies around him, the occasional laugh slipping past his lips as he circles around Duke. 

It’s hard not to have his attention stolen by Danny, but Duke is here to protect the people of Gotham, so he focuses 90% of his attention to the streets, keeping an eye and ear out for any trouble. 

There’s not much happening today, thankfully. He’s only had to stop a few burglaries, a bank robbery, and chase off a stalker before Danny arrived. Truthfully, the peace is making him nervous; there hasn’t been a big attack to the city in a while, with no word on the movement of rogues and nothing big brewing among the gangs and mobs. Peace rarely lasts so long in Gotham, and Duke is genuinely worried the next thing will be some continent destroying, apocalypse bringing disaster. 

In the last hour of his patrol, he only has to stop a purse-snatcher and help someone move their broken down car off the street and into a parking lot. Danny stays in the air for both, invisible to everyone but him, and the blur of his aura floats around the areas Duke stops at curiously. 

They hit up touristy places last time he was in Gotham, and food trucks before that. Maybe next time Duke can get takeout from a nice restaurant and they can have a rooftop picnic. 

Not quite a date, not yet at least, but something close to it. A testing of the waters. An unspoken promise for something more.

With the hour ends, Duke comes to stop on the roof of a tattoo parlor and gestures for Danny to join him. 

The blur of invisibility fades away and Danny’s features come back into focus as he lowers himself down to the roof. 

“What’s up?” Danny asks, glancing around them curiously.

“It’s about time for patrol to end, so we can head to the Hatch now. But I do need to blindfold you so you don’t see where the Hatch is located.”

“Oh! Yeah, that’s fine. Will I just have to hold onto you or something? Since I won’t be able to see where we’re going.”

“I was thinking I’d just carry you. It’s easier that way.”

“Sure, that works!” Danny closes his eyes, cheeks already darkening with a blush. “I’ll just… let you blindfold me now?”

Duke desperately wants to smoosh Danny’s cheeks together in his hands, but valiantly resists the urge. He’s on a mission! To hang out with Danny! He can cry about how cute Danny is later!

He walks up to Danny on silent feet, circling around him. Then he lifts his hands, picturing the light solidifying in his palms, turning to fabric that darkens and obscures, bending the light to be darker and darker until it’s nearly black. He gently pulls it across Danny’s eyes, leaning in closer to him to make sure he’s not putting it on too tightly.

Danny gasps slightly when his back bumps into Duke’s chest, and Duke can’t help the way his eyes dart down to Danny’s mouth, his red cheeks, the long line of his neck. 

Focus, he tells himself sternly, and draws the ends of his makeshift blindfold back to tie the ends together behind Danny’s head. 

“There,” he says in a low voice. “All done.”

Danny doesn’t answer. He just leans back against Duke, pressing them together slightly, and Duke brings his hands down to Danny’s hips to hold his steady.

“Ready to go?”

“Ready,” Danny answers in a faint voice. “How do you want me?”

Now that’s a dangerous question to ask right then and there. Duke bites back a number of flirtatious, suggestive answers, and makes himself actually think about the best way he can carry Danny while grappling to the Hatch. He’ll need one hand free to grapple, but also needs to keep a secure grip on Danny…

He steps to the side and guides one of Danny’s arms up to wrap around his shoulders. Then he picks Danny up, leaving him to wrap his legs around his waist as he walks over to the edge of the roof and looks towards the area in Gotham where the Hatch is hidden. Duke takes a moment to adjust his arm to keep Danny secure against his chest, then takes hold of his grapple with his free hand.

“Ready?” he checks, tightening his hold on Danny’s waist.

Danny nods against his neck, tucking his face in the crook of Duke’s shoulder. “Ready!”

Duke grins and jumps off the building, shooting out his grapple as they begin to fall. Danny yelps lightly, then clings to Duke even harder, his blindfold still secure around his head. It’s become a bit fainter as Duke’s attention slipped off of it, but he focuses on it again to darken it and keep Danny from seeing where they’re going.

It occurs to him halfway to the Hatch how much trust Danny is putting in him. To put a blindfold on him. To lead him to a place he’s never been to before. To let Duke swing him across the streets of Gotham without using his own ability to fly. 

Oracle’s apprehension about Danny (and his friends) is a heavy weight on his mind, but he can’t help but think it’s unnecessary. She’d understand if she ever met Danny in person. He wears his heart on his sleeve and offers it so freely; how could Duke not trust him? 

The weeks they’ve been texting each other only make him sure that Danny’s a good person, someone he wants in his life for as long as he can stay, someone he wants to be honest with. They just click, somehow, like they’re each holding a puzzle piece that’s been missing in each other’s lives. 

I think I’ve been waiting my whole life to meet you, he wants to say. But the street entrance to the Hatch is just a block away and Danny still doesn’t know his name, so Duke bites his tongue and forces all those feelings back into more platonic territory. 

Just as the reach the building with the hidden panel to allow him entrance to the Hatch, Duke pulls at the light around them to hide them from sight as they drop down from the sky. 

“Almost in,” he says, holding Danny up with one arm as he tucks his grapple away and push the fake brick cover out of the way to punch in his twelve digit access code. 

A hidden door in the wall of the building, the back bricked off from the operating portion courtesy of Wayne Industries funding the restoration project for this area of the city after a major alien attack, opens up smoothly and without a sound. The ground slopes downward at a steep angle; he uses this door for when he’s riding his motorcycle out of the cave networks underneath the city that keep the Hatch connected to the Batcave, but it’s not too far from where the Hatch itself is. 

He carries Danny in, then makes sure the door closes completely behind him before setting Danny down on his feet. “We’ve still got a bit of a walk to the Hatch, but you can take your blindfold off now.”

“I’ll wait until we get there,” Danny says. “I’m going to use this as an excuse to cling to you for as long as I can.”

“Fair enough!” Duke laughs, “Cling away, I’ll make sure you don’t trip.”

And cling away Danny does, wrapping his arms around Duke’s left arm, holding onto it as they make their way down the tunnel. Duke keeps an eye out for anything that might trip him and carefully steers him past them. 

“Are we underground?”

“Yeah, there’s this huge cave system under the city that we use to get around,” Duke answers. “Though we’ve paved in small roads and made stable tunnels to go through, so it’s all safe.”

“Huh, that’s cool. It would be nice if I had a way to get around Amity like this.”

“Danny, you can fly.”

“That’s not relevant!”

“How is it not relevant?” Duke laughs incredulously, jostling Danny slightly. Danny turns towards him and they trip over each other slightly, clutching to each other to keep their balance.

“It just isn’t!”

They bicker lightheartedly down the tunnel until it opens up into the garage of the Hatch. Duke helps Danny up the stairs to the main area, where he keeps his suit, weapons, and the large computer Bruce installed when the Hatch was first made. Once he’s sure Danny’s comfortable, he leaves to change into his civilian clothes with only a domino mask slapped over his eyes to protect his identity.

And if Duke takes an extra minute to fix up his hair, the long locs in a disarray from being tied back and stuffed into his helmet, then that’s no one’s business but his own. 

Maybe he does need to get a hair cut. He’s starting to get why Steph wants to shave her head and rock a pixie cut like Selena. But, on the other hand, he does like how he looks with longer hair, especially when it’s tied up…

Long hair for now. It makes him look good and he’s here to impress Danny. 

When he heads back to where Danny is, he sees Danny sitting down patiently, his blindfold still on, though it’s become much more transparent than it was before. He can see how Danny’s eyes are closed beneath it, waiting for Duke to return, tapping out a slow rhythm on his knee with his fingers. 

“You can take that off now,” he says as he walks up to Danny. 

“You sure?”

“If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t have brought you in here.”

Danny reaches up and gently pulls the blindfold off, slowly blinking his eyes open. He watches as the blindfold dissolves in his hand, becoming light again, then shyly turns to look at Duke. 

“Oh,” he says softly, taking in Duke, who tries very hard not to fidget and reveal just how nervous he is to be out of his Signal armor before Danny. “You are so unfair?”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“You can’t be kind, a superhero, and attractive! Tell me something you’re bad at so I know you have some flaws.”

Duke grins, flattered. “You think I’m attractive?”

“Stop fishing for compliments!” Danny pushes him lightly, barely enough force to make him tilt to the side. “Give me something you’re bad at, come on.”

“Well, if you really need to know…” Duke takes a moment to think of something that won’t completely embarrass him. “I’m terrible at learning other languages. Vocab doesn’t stick in my head, grammar rules mean nothing to me, and my accent is atrocious.”

“That doesn’t count, that’s normal,” Danny argues.

“It the only thing I can think of right now! I’m just really bad at non-English languages!”

Danny rolls his eyes, shaking his head fondly. “I can’t believe you. You have powers, you’re cute, and you’re good at flirting. Stop winning at life so much, the rest of us stand no chance against you.”

“I promise I’m a disaster when I’m not trying to impress people.”

“Lies. You’re being perfect right now and there’s no one to impress.”

“I’m trying to impress you.”

Danny blinks. “Oh.” He bites his lip in an attempt to force down a smile. “Shut up. I don’t count. You don’t need to try to impress me, you’ve already done that.”

“Yeah? Well, maybe I’ll try to be more of a mess around you from now on.”

“Please do, I can’t be the only one making a fool of myself. Where’s the friendship? The solidarity? Suffer with me!”

Duke shoves him back playfully, and just like that, they fall back into a rhythm of easy conversation and light touches, skirting the lines of friendly with something more. Time slips away from him and Duke spends every second with Danny wishing he could have this always, that they didn’t have a time limit over their heads, that the universe itself wasn’t keeping them apart. He shows off the Hatch and some Bat gadgets, which Danny finds fascinating, then they spend an hour comparing their most commonly used powers. 

Danny has to leave all too soon, opening up a small portal of swirling green with the help of a small pocketwatch-like device, and Duke can only hope that they can do this again soon, but without the domino on his face.

One day, he swears. One day they’ll have that.

-

YA menace: hey quickly rate this guys fit

YA menace: [attached photo is a goon with a black and white striped shirt with a purple question mark safety pinned onto it. They’re also wearing neon purple sweatpants and are glaring at the camera.]

YA protag (retired): ngl thats not the worst ive seen. 6/10

YA menace: 6???

YA menace: 6?????????????

YA menace: danny i say this with all the love in my heart, go get ur eyes checked

YA protag (retired): before u say anything else. look at what i regularly have to deal with

YA protag (retired): [attached photo is a floating man with blue-ish skin an d a very dramatic hairstyle. He’s wearing a long black cloak, a white suit, and a Green Bay Packer’s football jersey on top of all that.]

YA menace: damn. no wonder ur judgement of bad fits is Like That. this guys to blame

YA protag (retired): wanna know the worst part?

YA menace: this can get worse??

YA protag (retired): thats my godfather. 

YA protag (retired): this is a man my parents thought were fit to be responsible for me and my sister if anything happens to us

YA protag (retired): THIS GUY

YA menace: u have my sincerest condolences

YA menace: oh shit more riddler guys are here i gtg they got guns

YA protag (retired): be safe!! please dont get shot!!!!

YA menace: i’ll do my best 🫡

-

YA protag (retired): came home today and all the weapons that were attached to my house disappeared

YA protag (retired): i feel like im in the twilight zone

YA protag (retired): if i start talking backwards or acting like a robot pls know it is not me but something wearing my face

YA menace: the weapons attached to ur house???? 

YA menace: im starting there but i want u to know that everything u said was concerning

YA protag (retired): have i not mentioned it before? my parents are kinda mad scientists and make a lot of weird but working things. mostly weapons to fight ghosts.

YA menace: cant believe ure only just dropping lore abt urself when we’ve been talking for so long

YA protag (retired): in my defense!!!! everyone here knows abt them so im used to not having to say anything!!!

YA protag (retired): people usually just Get It!!!

YA menace: moving on to my second point: having the weapons removed from ur house is whats concerning??? not the weapons being attached to ur house???

YA protag (retired): listen. i have spent p much my entire life with a house that doubles as an armed fortress. when i was a kid i was convinced it would come to life and protect me from monsters. this was also during my urban legends monster phrase and i scared myself reading abt them and needed the comfort

YA protag (retired): my POINT is that its normal for my house to have weapons. so seeing them gone is worrying!!!!!

YA menace: .

YA menace: ok fair enough.  last point: is being replaced by a robot version of urself a concern in ur universe? bc it is here

YA protag (retired): no its not a legit concern here

YA protag (retired): probably. dont quote me on that. i had a cloning situation a few years ago

YA menace: a hwat

YA protag (retired): dont worry about it!!!

YA protag (retired): oh my parents are home. i need to talk to them. Bye!!

YA menace: gl!! let me know if u need rescuing from evil clone robots

-

RED: before I say anything else, Signal this is the price u pay for not letting me play with interdimensional tech after you let O have a turn at it.

YA protag (retired): um.

YA protag (retired): wrong chat???

RED: no this is the right chat. Hi Danny :) 

YA protag (retired): hi???? who are u????

YA menace: oh my god

YA menace: this is NOT NECESSARY RED

RED: as I said. U did this to urself.

YA menace: 🙄🙄🙄

YA protag (retired): wait. did u… hack into this chat?? did u hack the phone????

RED: yeah lol.

RED: was a bit of a challenge but it was fun

RED: had to pull out the spare alien tech to make something that would connect

YA protag (retired): ok 1. tucker will want to marry u for ur brain

YA protag (retired): 2. ALIEN TECH?????

YA menace: i feel like we already talked abt aliens being real in my dimension

YA protag (retired): THATS DIFFERENT FROM HAVNG ALIEN TECH

YA protag (retired): hey red what do u accept as bribes

YA menace: u ask him while im right here????

YA protag (retired): u dont have the alien tech. red does. case closed.

RED: oh wow. Signal….. Wow.

YA menace: what? shut up. cant leave any of yall unsupervised i swear

RED: also, Danny I accept tech from different dimensions and also fun tasting sodas and energy drinks

YA protag (retired): done. i will have the goods ready next time i go to gotham, pls hook me up w alien teach

RED: do u just like new tech?

YA menace: hes a space nerd so he loves aliens

RED: do u just wanna meet an alien then?

YA protag (retired): CAN I??!!

RED: yeah I can pull something together for u

YA menace: omfg. Red can u go stop stealing danny from me

RED: up ur game Signal. We’re ALL going to try to steal Danny away

YA menace: how tf do i kick u out of the chat

RED: u cant 😇 im too good to be kicked

YA menace: put that halo away we all know what u really are

YA menace: 🤡

YA protag (retired): omg….. rip red ur cool reputation will be missed

RED: hey now. What happened to the bribes :( 

YA protag (retired): ur still gonna get them but i am playing favorites

YA protag (retired): and signal is obviously my fave

YA menace: knew i could count on u to have my back danny 💛

YA menace: drop ur location red i just wanna talk

RED: lol no

RED: good luck catching me :) 

YA menace: coward!!!!

YA protag (retired): there he goes…..

-

YA protag (retired): hey u know what i just realized?

YA menace: what?

YA protag (real) changed YA menace’s name to Light

YA protag (real) changed their name to Night

Night: rhyming buddies 😄

Light: i get the light bc of my powers but wheres the night coming from?

Night: bc i love space! the night sky!!

Light: ok thats pretty cute ngl

Light: give me some warning bc u do stuff like that its bad for my heart

Night: stop sweet talking me im busy feeling clever

Light: lmaooooo

Light: fair enough i’ll get back to it in 3-5 business days

Night: good 👍

Night: also is now a good time to ask abt red…. who was that….

Light: that was a nerd. dont worry abt him ok im cooler

Light: serious answer: hes red robin and hes another vigilante in gotham. we’re chill

Night: did u find his location for a throw down tho

Light: i can do u one better: i know where he lives

Night: oh???

Light: yeah his dad is my mentor of sorts so its not THAT impressive that i know

Light: i did steal all his zesti tho lol

Night: not sure what that is but im proud of u

Light: its just a drink that hes obsessed w. i love being a minor annoyance 😇

Night: shaking ur hand. its really the best thing to be

Light: hell yeah!!!

-

Light: hey got a kinda serious question for u

Night: whats up?

Light: have u thought abt ur future?

Light: like what u want to do in college, where u want to go after high school, what career u want

Night: i mean. some. 

Night: not as much as my parents want me to. 

Night: my sister goes to harvard and is super smart. im not that impressive so i keep disappointing them

Night: and with things recently… idk its hard. it kinda feels like they dont believe i have a future.

Night: not that they really see me in the present anyways

Night: sorry that was heavy. short answer is no! not really!

Light: that sounds rough. wanna talk abt it?

Night: not really but not talking hasnt done me much good

Night: my sister would want me to talk anyways. to someone trustworthy at least

Night: so if u dont mind listening…

Light: go for it!! im here for u danny

Light: emotionally at least. not physically but thats not by choice

Night: it can wait tho honestly. whyd u ask abt the future? something on ur mind?

Light: just feeling really lost rn is all.

Light: its like everyone around me has an idea of what to do with their lives while im still surprised that i made it as far as i have

Light: this is really the first time ive seriously thought abt my future and i have no idea what to do

Light: so i wanted to talk to u bc u help make things feel less terrifying

Night: signal…. ur going to make me cry

Night: u make me feel brave too

Night: ♥️

Night: i get what u mean 100% btw. u go so long sure that u dont have a future that u dont know what to do now that its here

Light: exactly.

Light: what am i supposed to do with my life? i dont want to be a hero full time, ive seen how that breaks people

Night: do u want to go to college? or do u just feel like u have to bc everyone else is?

Light: i do want to. 

Light: my parents both went and theyve always wanted me to get a degree and be successful

Light: they may not be around anymore, not really, but i do still want to make them proud

Light: they cant see me graduate, but maybe when i tell them the next time i visit, itll reach the part of them thats still alive in their minds

Light: what about u? do u want to go to college?

Night: yeah. it was always my dream to become an astronaut. work at nasa and everything

Night: no chance its ever gonna happen now tho lol

Night: dying and the health problems that comes w that will do that to ya ✌️

Light: oh man that sucks

Night: yeah

Night: i might still study aerospace engineering tho. even if i cant be an astronaut, maybe i can help others get there

Light: thats a good alternative!! im glad u still have some idea of what u can do that can help u work at nasa and achieve part of ur dream

Night: we’ll see tho

Night: im not really feeling college atm. or life in general

Night: idk i feel…. stuck. like nothing will change even if i get out of illinois. it’ll just be the same stuff at a different place

Night: and i know itll take one visit from my parents to start ruining things for me

Night: i just… dont really wanna deal w that. ive kinda given up on life tbh i might as well just focus on the ghostly side of things. stay in the ghost zone more permanently

Light: i dont wanna judge or anything but that doesnt sound healthy?? 

Light: pls dont disappear into the ghost zone. i’d miss u.

Night: sweet talker

Night: i wont. dont worry. its just a feeling i get sometimes, that it’d be better if i wasnt in this world. if i could just go somewhere else

Light: hey. what if

Light: sorry if this idea is stupid or something

Light: but what if u lived here? in my dimension? u could establish a life and go to college here. 

Light: a total fresh start

Night: thats. not a bad idea actually

Night: i would love that. wouldn’t it be hard to do tho? i dont exist there.

Light: we can make it work. its not like us gotham vigilantes are new to creating new identities/lives out of nothing

Light: i could ask for a few favors, do a few dubiously legal things. you could live here

Night: im planning to take a gap year to figure out if i wanna stay in the human world at all. i could spend that year in gotham before making my choice

Night: if u dont mind me asking this huge favor of u

Light: i dont mind at all!!

Light: danny i would love for u to be here are u kidding me. i’d do anything so we could be closer together

Night: thanks signal ♥️

Night: i made this all abt me im so sorry

Night: wanna talk more abt how ur feeling or ur plans for the future?

Light: maybe some other time. i wanna get to work on making sure u can live here for the year (and more! hopefully!)

Light: tell u what. 

Light: we can talk more abt this the next time we see each other in person ok?

Night: deal

Night: im really glad i met u

Light: me too

Light: im here for u for as long as u want me around, honey

Light: u dont need to worry about a thing with me

Night: ure too sweet.

Night: im going to go now before u make me melt into a puddle of feelings

Night: ♥️

Light: ♥️

-

“Hey Babs, I have a favor to ask…”

[bubonickitten]

The ALA's State of America's Libraries Report for 2024 is out now.

2023 had the highest number of challenged book titles ever documented by the ALA.

You can view the full PDF of the report here. Book ban/challenge data broken down by state can be found here.

If you can, try to keep an eye on your local libraries, especially school and public libraries. If book/program challenges or attacks on library staff are happening in your area, make your voice heard -- show up at school board meetings, county commissioner meetings, town halls, etc. Counterprotest. Write messages of support on social media or in your local papers. Show support for staff in-person. Tell others about the value of libraries.

Get a library card if you haven't yet -- if you're not a regular user, chances are you might not know what all your library offers. I'm talking video games, makerspaces (3D printers, digital art software, recording equipment, VR, etc.), streaming services, meeting spaces, free demonstrations and programs (often with any necessary materials provided at no cost!), mobile WiFi hotspots, Library of Things collections, database subscriptions, genealogy resources, and so on. A lot of electronic resources like ebooks, databases, and streaming services you can access off-site as long as you have a (again: free!!!) library card. There may even be services like homebound delivery for people who can't physically come to the library.

Also try to stay up to date on pending legislation in your state -- right now there's a ton of proposed legislation that will harm libraries, but there are also bills that aim to protect libraries, librarians, teachers, and intellectual freedom. It's just as important to let your representatives know that you support pro-library/anti-censorship legislation as it is to let them know that you oppose anti-library/pro-censorship legislation.

Unfortunately, someone being a library user or seeing value in the work that libraries do does not guarantee that they will support libraries at the ballot. One of the biggest predictors for whether libraries stay funded is not the quantity or quality of the services, programs, and materials it offers, but voter support. Make sure your representatives and local politicians know your stance and that their actions toward libraries will affect your vote.

Here are some resources for staying updated:

If you're interested in library advocacy and staying up to date with the challenges libraries are facing in the U.S., check out EveryLibrary, which focuses on building voter support for libraries.

Book Riot has regular articles on censorship attempts taking place throughout the nation, which can be found here, as well as a Literary Activism Newsletter.

The American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom focuses on the intellectual freedom component of the Library Bill of Rights, tracks censorship attempts throughout each year, and provides training, support, and education about intellectual freedom to library staff and the public.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation focuses on intellectual freedom in the digital world, including fighting online censorship and illegal surveillance.

I know this post is long, but please spread the word. Libraries need your support now more than ever.

[fuck-customers]

Not exactly a fuck customers but more like ‘what the fuck, why are people like this’.

I work at a small library in my little town. Small as in, there are only five people who work here total. So you can probably guess, our building is much smaller than most libraries. We do have an auditorium though, one that takes up like 30% of the building. It can be rented and is used for library programs, but when it’s not being used, the lights are turned off and the two entrances have signs that say that ‘for library use only’ or some such thing, meaning, if there’s nobody in there and the doors are closed, lights are off, it’s off limits to patrons. Makes sense, right?

So the other day, I go in for my afternoon shift as usual. It’s after the holiday so there are a lot of returns. My supervisor goes to grab an extra cart so we can divide up the returns, otherwise I’d never get it done all by myself by we closed. She has to go into the auditorium to get the extra cart, which is locked from the side with the actual library but the other door, which is right by our side exist, must have been open. Anyway, she goes in and while I’m digging through books waiting for her, I hear some sort of conversation/noise but don’t think much of it. About this time I notice a patron come and set up with his laptop at one of work tables and put on his headphones. Our other coworker is on his dinner break and again, I don’t think much of any of this.

Anyway, it gets to be around an hour/half an hour ish before we start closing duties and it’s been slow except for a few people coming and going. During this time we sometimes bullshit while we wait for the clock to run down.

My supervisor notes that the man that was sitting at the work table has finally left and then glances at the security monitor, noting the car that was parked next to mine in the employee parking area of our back lot is now gone.

Come to find out, not only was said guy here right at opening, parked halfway into the employee parking area when that’s a total of like three spots (he’s also not someone she recognized when she’s been there 5+ years), apparently this guy was just chilling in the dark fucking auditorium all day? On his laptop, working away? When we’d been open since 10:30 am and he left at like 7pm? Thats what all the noise I had heard earlier was about. She opened the door to the auditorium to get the extra cart we needed, and just causally found this fucker sitting there, doing his thing? She literally had to say to tell him he was welcome to work online just not in here cause that’s not an area open to the public? I think he apologized but still??? He wouldn’t have even been able to access the wifi without the password. But he was just sitting in there the whole goddamn day. Without anyone knowing. And then it gets dark and he doesn’t even have any of the lights on. There’s signs on both doors about this at eye level? Hun, we couldn’t locked you in and never even known it. The side door is locked 15 mins before close and the other doors can’t be opened from the inside.

I love this job, but some of these people I wanna put under a microscope and study for science.

Posted by admin Rodney.

[local-lesbrarian]

Yesterday, the board of trustees for the library I work at voted unanimously against banning This Book Is Gay by Juno Dawson! This was a huge relief for me (and my fellow staff), and I just wanted to share a few takeaways from this experience.

For context, a library patron had submitted a formal request to have the book removed after seeing it displayed alongside other recent additions to our YA section. He took issue with, of course, the chapter on sex ed and provided pages of out-of-context quotes and straight-up lies to make the book appear "dangerous." Lots of the homophobia and puritanism you'd expect. Per our policies, we formed a committee to address his request, and the committee decided the book was fine where it was. Again per policy, he had the option to appeal to the board of trustees, which he took.

We found out he was doing this 5 days before the next board meeting. And even with that short warning, we had over 150 people show up to a small-town library board meeting that often has few or no public attendees! We couldn't fit everyone in our biggest room! Look at us all!!

Public comments are limited to 3 minutes or less, and that still lasted for more than an hour. People spoke who were parents, teachers, nurses, therapists, voting activists, workers at other libraries, and of course, many queer people. They talked about censorship, freedom of expression, freedom to read, the positive impacts of this book and books like it on youth, their own experiences as queer kids and teens or parents or such, and more--too many perspectives to list here. Every single speaker opposed the book ban. Every. One.

The patron who initiated this challenge was present, but left before public comment was over, without speaking.

So, those takeaways:

This is further evidence that campaigns of censorship and queer erasure are perpetuated by individuals and small groups, and don't represent the common view. You can check out stats on ala.org to back this up, but most people, including most parents, oppose book bans.

This turnout was gathered mainly through texts, email, chats (like Discord), phone calls, and word of mouth. Every town and city has people willing to fight and support those fighting the tides of fascism--keep in touch with your community and your allies, your local friends and trusted acquaintances, and when the time comes for action, they will show up.

Pushback, especially public, visible pushback, demoralizes bad actors. These are often people with little to do except organize and promote their hatred, often people with few material problems demanding their attention. (In this case, a retired eye doctor.) Give them a fight, and they often back down. If they don't back down, see #2 and beat them with numbers and passion.

Even after a victory, stay alert. We're prepping for litigation (not that we think he has a case, but he does have a reputation). We're also keeping a close eye on the smaller libraries in nearby towns and townships. Even if someone like this backs down once, they might try their luck somewhere easier. Keep those contact networks from #2 ready to go.

None of this is comprehensive, and your particular situation may well require different tactics. I'm not an expert, just a chronically online trans woman and librarian who's gotten unexpectedly attached to her current town. It was incredibly heartwarming to see so many people stand up for queer teens where I live, when it usually feels like nobody cares about what's happening to queers in the States. This post has already gone on longer than I expected, I'm just still quite emotional and wanted to talk about it. (Also still mentally drained from the past few days of stress...)

Huge shoutout to everyone who helped make this community action happen. Many of them were more eloquent or piercing in their comments, but here's my 3-minute spiel. It was delivered with none of the eye contact or dramatic reading I'd rehearsed because, holy shit, there were a lot of people there!

[mariacallous]

TikTok creator @lizabookrecs had a question: When did BookTok become political? It was in the hours after Donald Trump had won the election for US president and the subset of TikTok that likes to talk about literature was already starting to fracture. People had started unfollowing fellow BookTokkers whose views didn’t align with their own—mostly people who’d expressed support for Trump—and a lively debate was growing about whether or not the space was a political one. In her post, @lizabookrecs professed, “We don’t need politics ruining a good thing we have going.”

By the following Monday, it seemed as though this crumbling of BookTok had already come to pass.

Unfollow lists, sometimes called red lists, began to circulate. In response, some creators posted that they were beginning to follow red-listed creators as a show of support. Creators asked Trump-supporting followers to get lost. For every person claiming that an online community built around discussing books shouldn’t be a community for discussing politics, there was another person pointing out that most great works of literature have at least some perspective on societal affairs. “You voted for this future,” TikTok user @_onesteph said, holding up a copy of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale.

A few folks stitched @lizabookrecs’ video, which has more than 100,000 views so far and echoed the sentiments of several TikTok users, to respond. Romance novelist J.J. McAvoy likened the post to violence: “When someone tells you, ‘This space is not for’ whatever it is, they are just trying to make you shut up so they can get on with pretending that everything is OK for them.”

In the week since Trump beat Vice President Kamala Harris, these types of arguments have been brewing in all kinds of online communities. Often, the arguments wind their way to the same end point: If this is a corner of the internet dedicated to one form of discussion, why would people now use it to talk about politics? A fair question, but one that implies that politics doesn’t touch nearly every aspect of people’s lives and hobbies. Car enthusiasts could easily wind up talking about Elon Musk and Tesla, or overseas manufacturing, or the merits of EVs. Space enthusiasts could easily find themselves in, well, a discussion about Elon Musk and SpaceX, or privatization of spaceflight.

Books are the same—and different. While, yes, books like The Handmaid’s Tale or Atlas Shrugged or The Hunger Games series confront real political issues with fiction and allegory, many books are also the subject of political persecution of a sort. According to the American Library Association, there were 414 attempts to censor books in public, school, and academic libraries in the US between January 1 and August 31 of this year. That number is down slightly from the 695 attempts made in the same period in 2023—which saw a lot of attention focused on books by or about people of color or the LGBTQ+ community—but still far outpace the numbers in years prior to 2020. Efforts nationwide have sought to remove queer books from schools, and PEN America found that there were 10,046 instances of book bans during the 2023–24 school year. Those bans often come, according to PEN, when the guidance of educators and librarians “are overridden by school boards, administrators, or even politicians on the basis of a book’s content.”

As news of Trump’s win hit BookTok (and TikTok broadly), a narrative emerged that the new administration wouldn’t result in new book bans, one that quickly intertwined with the “BookTok shouldn’t be political” thread. As one poster claimed that smut and dark romance wouldn’t be banned, another chimed in with a stitch to point out that readers can still be concerned even if the books they enjoy aren’t specifically the ones under threat.

As Lia Shields, a creator in Colorado, notes, romance novels can also be political. As she pointed out in a TikTok that has since earned more than 13,000 views, many of the protagonists in the books she reads could one day have rights women in the US don’t. “Thankfully I live in a blue state,” she tells me, “but if I did not live in a blue state, they’d have more rights to their bodies than I do in real life. That’s frightening.”

BookTok collapsing into different factions could have long-term impacts. The platform has become a place that not only launches new authors but also brings older books to new audiences of younger readers. (Last year, TikTok held a Book Awards in the UK and Ireland; one of the nominees for Best BookTok Revivial was George Orwell’s 1984.)

A few days after the US election, author Kaleigh Michele posted a TikTok saying she’d been red -listed based on assumptions that she was a Trump supporter. “I’m a brand new author. I’ve only published one book,” the TikTok text read. “I’m currently working on three new ones and suddenly have people trying to ruin my name, my passion … If I didn’t support a party prior to this, I most definitely do now! … As for me, I’m currently adding every author ‘red listed.’” In addition to the obligatory #fyp, the post had three hashtags: #redlist, #booktok, #trump.

[pub-lius]

I just wanna say, DUDE. The majority of what I know about amrev comes from your blog. Your in-depth posts literally have me FOAMING AT THE MOUTHH I don't have much time to read longer books due to school but I wanna feed my obsession so do you have any books on the shorter side or some websites/archives I can research/read a bit quicker? If not it's totally fine.

Also off topic but I'm loving "It Began About Dusk" on AO3 <3

OH MY GOD THE FLATTERY‼️‼️‼️ you’re making me blush here anon. im so glad that you find my posts helpful!!! AND IM SO GLAD YOU LIKE MY FICS i have a chapter of it began about dusk in the drafts rn so you’ll get more content soon

now this is a tricky question because im absolutely insane and ive barely ever read short books. right now im reading His Excellency by Joseph J Ellis and i recommend it!! its only around 2-300 pages which is the shortest history book ive got VSJWBW primary sources can be really good to get in book form, things like Common Sense by Thomas Paine, Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior (Washington’s rule book), and Memoir of Lieut. Col. Tench Tilghman, Secretary and aid to Washington are all primary sources i have on my shelf that are short and sweet.

i also have Hercules Mulligan by Micheal J. Obrien which i haven’t read but is VERY small. there is also James Monroe by Gary Hart which is short but i have not finished (i dont even truly remember reading it but i annotated part of it apparently), The Drillmaster of Valley Forge by Paul Lockhart is a little longer than those others, but still isn’t chernow levels of wrong, but i also haven’t read that one. Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates by Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger isn’t the most serious history book, but it is pretty good and an easy read.

as for secondary source websites, start with encyclopedias ie Britannica, which post short articles on different historical figures and events that give you the overview. from there im gonna point you to the National Park Service. this is the best thing the US government has ever made for researchers. this is all your battlefields, winter encampments, historical reproductions, and former capitals. also check out private residences turned museums, such as Mount Vernon, Monticello, and Schuyler Mansion. these institutions have an abundance of easily accessible information on more than just the people who lived there.

now the Library of Congress was a good decision on Jefferson’s part, but it can be inaccessible if you don’t know how to use it well because their website is one of my least favorite things about being alive. so instead, i recommend using Founders Online for any primary source regarding the founding fathers or amrev figures. the Washington Papers are filled to the brim with almost everything that went out of headquarters during all 8 years of the war. founders online is the shit

all of these websites i’ve mentioned are free to access, because i do not pay money on any research tools besides books out of spite for late stage capitalism. also any primary source is 100% accessible online. that includes memoirs and court transcripts, which can be very helpful

also i really do recommend watching documentaries and informational videos on the subjects you’re interested in while doing work or other things if you’re someone who does that (ik some people don’t have background noise but im just assuming you’re as neurodivergent as i am) because you can absorb just a little of that information and it being about a subject of interest can make academics seem a little less miserable!

i hope this is helpful and if you have absolutely any further questions, feel free to ask. i know im very privileged to have the time and resources to read long ass books, which is why i very freely share the information i absorb with the public bc i believe education should never be gatekept by anyone. so if you have any questions, im happy to research them for you, or at least point you in the right direction. love ya!!

[fatphobia-is-stupid]

I hope one day you actually educate yourself and are able to go into a deeper breath of the problems at hand. Really sick of the blogs or people on the internet where it's clear that they did not do any research and are just pirating familiar viewpoints that they picked up from the same people who are self-masbutory pseudo intellectuals who feel intelligent for repeating bare bones statements and their audience feels intelligent for repeating bare bones statements. I mean the fact your blog is themed around spreading misinformation and harmful stuff about fat people and to fat people was enough and then I got to your posts complaining about people tearing down monuments and that was like the nail on the coffin. LMFAOO. Please grow and change as a person 🙏 fuck off until then! Blogs like this and people like you is why eating disorders are a thing. You people claim to care about mental health but are doing things that make people mentally ill in a thousand ways and mental illness kills people on the daily. Maybe, just maybe, fat people aren't mentally ill because they are fat, they aren't insecure because they are fat, but because people like you exist. And maybe try to go to verifiable sources for your information, not random right Wingers on the internet or articles with clear bad bias towards fat people. You're on the wrong side being fatphobic. Ever heard of a fascist who was pro fat people? No? I wonder why 🤔

Wow alot to unpack here.

All the information I have you can find online in the .gov or either public research medical studies that you can read. Such as

Any people who have done the research and testing can be found there.

This has nothing to do with the "right wingers". Just because you don't agree with it doesn't mean that there wasn't researched done on it Hun. They are also credible.

As for mental health well that's still new in regards to research. Last I checked only 5 dos volumes have been made. You see it takes time to figure out what the heck is going on with the human body let alone the brain. As we keep on living there is an adaptation process as well. Not to mention environmental/social changes that cause different outcomes to how humans react. Heck depression wasn't even a thought until recent. There are just too many factors to what could be causing mental disorders, and it's not just because someone's feelings were hurt. At the end of the day they are just words on here, so why get triggered? Unless it was something that happened in the past, and from there you just do deduction. I literally have had to do that myself. I figured out that I have suppressed certain things that have happened in the past, and reasons as to why it caused panic attacks or binge eating. There isn't a pill to make that disappear unless you actually have a chemical malfunction in the brain, and those cases aren't as common as once thought. 🤷🏻‍♀️ You have to do the work on yourself and use exercises to help with the process, and it's not a short period of doing this but years possibly.

As for the tearing down monuments blog I did. The full article shortened, was me stating that since we are getting rid of certain parts of history we are doomed to repeat. That's a saying for a reason, and hurt feelings isn't going to change what happened in the past.

Fascism has nothing to do with the health problems that people are facing due to unhealthy eating and living. It's hard work to not take shortcuts for health. I'm not saying that I haven't fallen into it, because I have and am still trying to get healthy before it becomes irreversible. Once your health goes down it goes down fast. There have already been a couple pro fat activists that have either changed their livelihood or just straight up die. Being fat is not sustainable, and comes with more cons than pros.

Facts have been served to your wishy washy anon comment/question.

[peachdoxie]

I can sort of answer this! I'm not an expert on zines and MARC records, but I did add several hundred zine titles to OCLC last year when I worked for a special collections library with a large zine collection, so I can tell you what my experience was like.

The librarian I worked under described it as trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. MARC records aren't designed for things like zines, which are often, by nature, inconsistent and non-standardized. A lot of the things you'd put for a book or serial publication, for example, might not be found in a zine, like the author, publisher, issue number, location, date, edition, etc. We'd also have many zines whose details changed from issue to issue, sometimes requiring different records because they were technically different publications. I had many questions for the librarian, who had to go consult other zine librarians in order to figure out what to do, and sometimes the answer was just "I dunno, make your best guess."

My library considers a zine anything published by an individual or a small or independent press. We aren't particularly strict about what qualifies, though a general rule of thumb is that a zine doesn't have an ISBN, usually. We have stuff from amateur press associations, traditional xeroxed fanzines, handmade volumes, and even weirder ones. We have a zine made from a toilet paper tube, a Victoria's Secret bag, an empty bag of potato chips, and plywood.

We do catalog unique items with only one copy, though that's up to the discretion of the library to decide if they want to do that or catalog it as a manuscript—a lot of other places with zine collections don't add their MARC records and instead put them in a manuscript collection. My library wants the zines to be easy to find in the catalog, so it's in our best interest to have them in the regular catalog rather than a manuscript collection.

As for the MARC records, we catalog zines as "continuing resources," though a lot of records created by other places cataloged them as "books," which made for some inconsistent cataloging when I was deriving records instead of creating new ones. They're also cataloged as though they're serial publications (even though many are single issues) because there's no way to know for sure if a zine is randomly one day have another issue, which is a situation that occurred with a lot of older fanzines where it could take a decade to get another issue out. It's rare but it does happen.

I was mostly focused on the 100, 245, and 264 fields (author name, title, and publisher information) as well as the 520 (summary) and 650 (subject headings) fields. Unfortunately, this information was not often easy to find! As mentioned above, many zines are inconsistent and don't conform to publishing standards. This is, of course, one of the charms of zines, but makes it a challenge to catalog because no one thinks of the poor archivists. Frequently, I had to search the zine online and hope someone else had compiled the relevant data I needed (mostly the year of publication). I became very familiar with Fanlore for the fanzines and places like the Grand Comics Database or the illustriously named Poopsheet Foundation for other kinds of zines, as well as people's personal websites, Etsy accounts, and random blog posts from the 2000s. Cataloging a single title could sometimes take 20 minutes if I really felt like digging to find the metadata. But there are still many zines that aren't online or are unique editions, so I just had to give up and put [Publisher not identified] or [1990s?] instead. And sometimes, it was extremely difficult to tell what the zine was about, resulting in very vague summaries and no subject headings beyond our usual ones.

There IS a genre heading for zines in the 650 field, thankfully, which according to the librarian took some badgering to the Library of Congress before they finally relented and made one—it makes it so much easier to find zines to browse in the catalog.

Some notable oddities from cataloging:

Zines with multiple publishers listed, like the USA and Australia, or Virginia, USA, and Tel Aviv, Israel. This was common in fanzines where the publishers gave permission to a different publisher outside of the USA to print and distribute zines.

The author named "Greywolf the Wanderer." Neither the librarian nor I had any idea how to format that in the 100 field and had to consult with the other library units. I think we just left it as is, though I can't remember which indicator we used.

Subtitles upon subtitles upon subtitles! Sometimes they went three or four layers deep.

A zine where the author numbered the issues at random, jumping from like 7 to 284 to 55. It's not exactly a problem for OCLC, more so for when the zines get added to our LMS, but I spent a LOT of time searching online to explain how this guy put out like 250 issues of his zine in the span of two years. (We only had three and a special edition, iirc, so the incomplete run didn't give any indication of what he did.)

A duplicate title to ones we already had, but only some were duplicates (we had the first 6 already but the donation was like 5-8), and for some reason we already had TWO copies of 6 and 7 but they were in a different record from the first 5 because the publication information changed between 5 and 6, but it turned out that we only had one copy of 6 that was somehow in both records, and the two copies of 7 we had had different publications locations for some unknown reason—or something like that; I can't quite remember. But it was confusing trying to figure out what different catalogers had done in the past, especially because the standards my library developed for cataloging have changed over the last 20 years.

I hope that gives a little insight into zine cataloging and MARC records! It's a mess sometimes!

the whole point of a zine is that it's cheap to produce, amateur and homemade. if you're being asked to apply to participate in a print project, it is not a zine. if the final product is being printed and bound professionally, it is not a zine. if you are being asked to enter into any kind of licensing agreement more complex than "my work can be reproduced as part of this publication" it is not a zine. nine times put of ten if the final product costs more than $5 you have left zine country. im so serious about this.

[douchebagbrainwaves]

THE COURAGE OF REPORTERS

Though better than attacking the author, this is still a weak form of disagreement, we give critical readers a pin for popping such balloons. Language designers, or at least one of them from doing too much damage. Failing at 40, when you could start a startup right out of college are only aware of the average value of 22 year olds, which is what that title CEO means. Because they can't predict the winners in advance? I think even Spamhaus would admit is a rough guess at the top spammers. If you write software to teach Tibetan to Hungarian speakers, you'll face ferocious competition, precisely because that's such a larger prize. The reason startup founders can safely be nice is that making great things is compounded, and rapacity isn't. At the other extreme are publications like the New York Times article about suits would sound if you read it in a blog: The urge to look corporate—sleek, commanding, prudent, yet with just a touch of hubris on your well-cut sleeve—is an unexpected development in a time of business disgrace. Both make it harder to seem good. Contradiction can sometimes have some weight. There's still debate about whether this was because of the scale of the successes.

In a language with prefix syntax, any function you define is effectively an operator. The manual should be thin as well. So it's not surprising that so many news articles are online, I suspect Google has done better than they would have made in an ordinary job. The most successful founders are like that. It's obvious why transparency has that effect. There will be plenty of time to work on ways to organize libraries. But they grew into it really quickly; some of these guys now seem about four inches taller metaphorically than they did at the beginning of the summer, turned out to vary a lot.

Brevity is underestimated and even scorned. Once you grasp that, you advance quickly to the next step, which is what that title CEO means. And I think there are five reasons people like object-oriented programming, and three and a half of them are bad: Object-oriented programming is such a big deal. Some examples will make this clear. How lucky that someone so powerful is so benevolent.1 We say this sort of hill-climbing could get a startup into an optimization problem. The web is turning writing into a conversation. That was the kind of people who do that tend not to have much power in big companies, because it suits the way they write software.

Most investors feel the same. Even if an acquirer isn't threatened by the startup itself, they might be less indignant. Object-oriented programming is popular in big companies, software tends to be a total slacker. This is a mistake, because the very idea of Web-based software you can use something like continuation-passing style to get the effect of subroutines in the inherently stateless world of a Web session. It's people writing what they think. When one person is in charge he can take risks that a committee would never agree on. A string of rich neighborhoods runs along the base of the hills, then heads uphill through Portola Valley. It makes people trust you. Now that so many want to take a shot at it. Jessica and I were a boss making people work this hard. Ripped jeans and T-shirts are out, writes Mary Kathleen Flynn in US News & World Report.

In almost every domain there are advantages to seeming good. And even if they don't want to. The combination of founders, investors, and acquirers forms a natural ecosystem. Let's start with a distinction that should be obvious but is often overlooked: not every newly founded company is a startup. Along some parts of Skyline the dominant trees are huge redwoods, and in their own blog posts. Why don't acquirers try to predict the companies they're going to have to pay for the servers that the software runs on, and the next stop seems to be correct. If there's something wrong with the senator's argument, you should take the riskiest investments you can find. We talked about YC all the time. Growing slower might be slightly dangerous, but chances are it wouldn't kill them. Fairchild Semiconductor is considered the first VC-backed startup, and they are arranged in a confusing maze.2 These guys want to get rich. If we project forward we see why.

Our startup spent its entire marketing budget on PR: at a time when one failed to do something they'd promised to, even by being late for an appointment. It's interesting to see the VCs' offices on the north side of Sand Hill Road precisely because they're so boringly uniform.3 The market is a lot more disagreeing going on, instead of just doing the default thing. I don't see why it ought to be out there digging up stories for themselves.4 The catch is that phrase over time. By giving names to the different forms of disagreement is that it will make the people who deal with money to the people who pay the most for it, is not at all what you might expect, considering the prizes at stake. But unfortunately it's common for counterarguments to be aimed at something slightly different. She's so sensitive to character that it repels her even to fight with dishonest people. A good PR firm won't bug reporters just because the client tells them to; they've worked hard to build their credibility with reporters, and they don't want them. The constraint between good ideas and growth operates in both directions.

Notes

Management, 9:1,99 2,000. Whereas when the country turned its back on the scale that has a finite market value. Innosight, February 2012.

While the space of careers does.

Incidentally, Google may appear to be good employees either. They thought I was as much income.

I called to check and in a domain where you currently are. We're only comparing YC startups, because even being Genghis Khan is probably no accident that the stuff one used to place orders. And when a wolf appears, is that you're talking to a degree, to allow multiple urls in a city with few other startups must have faces in them. It turns out only to emphasize that whatever the false positive rate is 10%, moving to Monaco would give us.

[alchemistoftheend]

Pageturner (Case #0132806)

Pre-Statement

Statement of Dominic Swain, regarding a book briefly in his possession in the winter of 2012.

Original statement given June 28, 2013

Date of Event: November 10, 2012

Statement

Dominic found a book bound in (maybe) leather with the title Ex Altiora on the spine in faded gold letters

Seems old and likely handbound

From the library of Jurgen Leitner

“several black and white illustrations – woodcuts I think – each showing a mountain or a cliff or in one picture what appeared to be an empty night sky”

“I felt an odd sensation when I looked at that image as though, simple as it was, I was about to fall into it”

He’s in the theatre and smelling ozone but cannot pinpoint the source

There are about 12 illustrations

mostly mountains and cliffs

one appeared to be a tower, looming over the surrounding countryside at an odd angle, with tiny birds just visible circling the summit

One was an empty sky; few stylised stars

“I just couldn’t look at it for too long. It seemed to open forever, nothing to do but fall into it”

The music is also getting a lot more intense as he discusses the woodcuts

Latin fell out of favour as a language for academic texts in the 18th Century. Since then it has only really used for religious texts but the book certainly didn’t look like it was full of prayers. (Again this felt important 🤔)

The only relavant information online was a listing on EBay

titled “Key of Solomon 1863 owned by MacGregor Mathers and Jurgen Leitner”

won by deactivated user grbookworm1818

Leitner had been a big name during the 1990s; a Scandinavian recluse whoc custom bound or paided authors write books for him

He dropped from public view around ‘95, but he used to have extensive dealings with Pinhole Books, and gave me the details for Mary Keay, who owned it.

More dizziness and that ozone smell

Mrs. Keay is a very old, thin woman with a clean shaven head, complete covered in tattoos of some script

A son named Gerard Keay who’s often looking for Leitner books

On Mary’s desk was old papers, fishing wires, safety razors, and a picture of an eye

Incredibly detailed, almost photo realistic, with patterns and symmetries that formed into a single image

Written below it were three lines, in fine green calligraphy: “Grant us the sight that we may not know. Grant us the scent that we may not catch. Grant us the sound that we may not call.”

Gerard made the painting

Mary’s Leitner book was written in Sanskrit

did this book just summon a pile of BONES😨

The books change when they pass through shadows

“The woodcuts were starker, somehow, and in the background of each there were new lines, thick and dark, stretching down from the sky. And then I came to the picture of that empty night, but now it had a stark, branching pattern carving through it. A pattern I recognized”

The pattern is known as the Lichtenberg figure. It shows the diverging paths of electricity on an insulating material

He saw those patterns on the back of his childhood friend, Micheal Crew, who had been struck by lightning because of him.

powerful ozone smell, cut through with the scent of cooking meat

Gerard Keay is at this man’s house

a man in a long, dark leather coat. His hair was dyed an artificial black, and he had the unshaven look of someone who hadn’t slept in a couple of days

Mary Keay died in 2008 due to a supposed overdose, but it was judged a murder due to “extensive post-mortem mutilation”

Large pieces of her skin had been peeled away, and hung up to dry on fishing wire, all around the room 😧

Gerard was tried, but some kind of in inadmissible evidence was found clearing him

just casually set this man’s trash on fire 😐

The ozone smell did stop though

Post-Statement/Thoughts

Leitner was already a case in the Magnus Institute

There was some kind of incident with his library in 1994

all the books from Leitner’s library have been custom editions of known texts on dæmonology or the arcane

The skin that was hanging had Sanskrit written over them in permanent marker

John has distain for Leitner that u can hear in this voice

Apparently Ex Altiora translates to “from higher things or from higher goals”

I like to believe this could be in relation to a god/deity of some kind

in one picture what appeared to be an empty night sky/I felt an odd sensation when I looked at that image as though, simple as it was, I was about to fall into it”

When I tell u that this is the MOST BLATANT DESCRIPTION of the The Vast that I’ve ever heard I mean it 😤

Betting money on that 💰

“Key of Solomon 1863 owned by MacGregor Mathers and Jurgen Leitner”

King Solomon was a figure from the known for his wisdom and wealth and son of David and Bathsheba

His epithet was “Solomon the Wise”

He also built the first temple in Jerusalem

This temple might match the description of the tower in the woodcut

It mentions toward the “end” of his story that in Solomon’s later years he departed from the worship of god and adopt other idolatries

won by deactivated user grbookworm1818

GR alsolutely stands for Gertrude Robinson

The Institute was founded in 1818

And I assume a bookworm would be interested in reading through archived statement or maybe she just likes books

There was an “Incident of ‘94” and Leitner seems to have fallen out of the public zeitgeist in 1995

Gerald and Mary Keay??? Maybe they were resurrected or cheated death or faked their death i really don’t know however when taking about Mary, Sanskrit keeps coming up

The Eye painting obvious has something to do with the entity but I’m gonna focus on the caption

Grant us the sight that we may not know. Grant us the scent that we may not catch. Grant us the sound that we may not call.”

Someone (presumably Gerard Keay since he made the painting) is asking or making a plea to a god, let’s say The Eye for the sights, scents, and sounds that they cannot perceive

The Eye itself, I assume is an omniscient god but as I type this I wonder what god could not have omniscient and still be considered as such

Also what about taste and touch, omniscient means all-knowing so why have those two been left out

I don’t know how’d you portray that in an audio but my point still stands

Finally, when Dominic passed his book through the shadows he describes how the image of the woodcut got starker with now visible Lichtenberg patterns

Dominic recognized these patterns bc of an incident with his friend Micheal Crew, who was struck by lightning and now has scars across his body with this exact pattern

The book is absolutely associated with The Vast but the Lightning imagery is also associated with him so I don’t actually know what this means but I’m sure there’s a connection somewhere that I can’t articulate

Also adding that lighting is associated with the sky

[ghostonly]

Is Executive Dysfunction Keeping You From Supporting Your Local Library?

Here are some things that might help

(U.S. Centric)

There have been lots of posts circulating for the last five years or so about how important it is to rely on your public library, now more than ever. However, there are a lot of things that can keep you from actually following through on the things you mean to do to help support it. This is especially true for people with executive dysfunction, like those with ADHD or autism.

I took until just a minute ago to actually do anything library related, because I really wanted to show support for Maus and it got me to take the first step. So I've put together some information for people like me who struggle to do something when they're lacking enough information or direction.

1. If You Don't Know Where Your Local Library Is

"Why would someone not know where their local library is?"

Lots of reasons. I, for one, only moved to this area about 2 years ago, and I don't have my license, and Corona, and so on and so forth.

This may seem obvious to someone without executive dysfunction but really, just Google "city, state, local public library"

If you get multiple results, there might just be two branches of the same library not far away from each other. Google will probably list the address under the location result, so you can just pick whichever one is closest and go to their website. Just make sure it says "public" somewhere on the website, so you know it's government-run and tax funded.

Most libraries have a website, even if it's not specific to the exact branch you'll be visiting. The library may be named after the county and then have 5 branches in 5 different cities/towns in that county.

For example, where I grew up in Washington State, I had a card/account with the Kitsap County Regional Library. That's what the website was called, but the places I visited were called The Manchester Library and The Kitsap Library, which are branches of the regional library.

The overall website for the county library is where you should go. Different libraries have different website qualities, so you may get something that looks like it was made in the 90s, or you may get something very modern. Best of luck with getting one of the better ones lol

2. If You Don't Have Transportation

First, you don't necessarily have to go to the library in person to get a card. Some may require it, but many don't. A lot of libraries have probably newly introduced online sign-up because of Corona, so it's a good time for getting a card without transportation.

Once you have a card, getting books doesn't necessarily require transportation either. Tons of libraries offer e-books, and others can even mail you the books you've requested.

Even if you do prefer hard copies, there are enough libraries that you may even be able to walk to yours. There are a lot more libraries/branches than most people realize - they're often just so small and out of the way that you don't see them unless you're looking. See where yours is located and it may be within walking distance (I'm talking less than a mile), or a two-minute bus ride.

3. If You've Never Had a Library Card Before

Getting a library card for the first time (or the first time as an adult) can be mysterious and spooky. In most cases, it's actually very easy.

For example, I myself just googled and found my local library, and their website, right at the top, says, "Don't have a card? Get one now." With a hyperlink.

I clicked it and all it asked for was my name, address, phone number, and a pin for the card. It asked if I wanted to pick up my card or have it mailed to me, so I selected mail, since I can't drive. It then gave me a temporary card number to use immediately while I wait for my official card to arrive. I could then go request a bunch of books to be put on hold without my card even being here yet.

Some older fashioned libraries may require you to come in person and show proof of identity. In the case that you have to go in person, bring a photo ID and your birth certificate with you. This is usually plenty, even for stricter libraries. They may have you fill out a form when you get there and, after that, they'll give you a card.

You shouldn't have to wait for one to be made, like you would a new state ID or some such, because they're all the same with no name printed on them. The bar code on each card is just different and will be connected to your digital library account.

4. If You Don't Know How Using the Library Works

If you've never used a library before, figuring out how one works can be really intimidating. Here's a general breakdown of what you need to know:

Each library usually has multiple branches. A branch is just one building in the library's "network"

Your library card will work at any branch in the library's network

There is usually no limit to how many books you can check out at once

Most libraries let you check out a book for 2-4 weeks, though the checkout period may be shorter for popular books with high demand

If you're not at the library in person, or if a book is currently checked out by someone else, you can use the library website to put a book on hold. This means you're in a queue. If the book is in stock, a librarian/employee will go and get it, put a slip of paper with your name on it in the book so that it's visibly sticking out, and shelve the book with the other holds near the checkout. This makes it easy to "shop" for books online and then go pick up all of your holds at once the next day or so.

Books will usually be held for 3-7 days before being reshelved

If you haven't finished reading a book yet and it's due soon, you can also renew it, so long as nobody else is in line for it. This can usually be done online by logging in to your account, going to your profile (or wherever it shows the books you've checked out), and hitting Renew. If someone else has put the book on hold, you won't be able to renew it, but can put it on hold yourself and get back in line. You'll have to return it but, once the rest of the queue has finished with it, you can check it out again.

Returning a book usually entails one of 3 things: 1) bringing your stack of returns to a returns desk and leaving them there; 2) going into the library and putting them into a drop-off slot; 3) putting them into a return drop-off bin outside, which is available during closed hours as well.

Fines are typically negligible for the average person. It's usually about 25¢ per book, per day overdue. If you've got one book a week overdue, you owe a couple bucks. This is manageable. Just be careful not to checkout ten books and then forget to return them because that adds up really fast.

Libraries usually don't bother you much about fines unless you hit a limit. For many libraries, if you hit about $20 in fines, they'll make you pay them before checking out anymore books.

5. If You're Trans or Otherwise Have a Legal Deadname

If you would rather not have your deadname associated with your library account, whether there is good news or not heavily depends on what library you're going to. If your library is less concerned with proof of identity, like mine, you can sign up with whatever name you want, no fuss.

If your library requires documented proof of your identity, you may have to sign up with your deadname. However, in more liberal areas (or with a nice employee) you may be able to request that your account be put in a preferred name. With legal proof of identity already there for your deadname, there may be some locations that would be fine with creating your account under your preferred name, perhaps with a note somewhere in the account with your deadname noted for legal reasons. Try your hand at asking though. It's worth a shot.

And for those whose library will not let you use a preferred name and requires your legal name, the silver lining is that the cards usually don't have your name on them, so you won't have to cringe every time you see it in your wallet

Best of luck supporting your local library!

I hope this information was enough to help some of you take that first step!

[toadlett]

an incomplete list of things you can probably* do in your local library

borrow books and stuff! That includes comics, manga, various languages, audiobooks in various formats, and nonfiction including handbooks for citizenship, driving tests, study guides for academic subjects. If we don't have something we can likely order it in.

Our libraries recently stopped using any overdue fines, so you don't even need to worry if bringing the book back on time is a barrier, and a lot of other libraries are doing the same.

accessible books and audiobooks, specially designed for people with dyslexia or other neurodivergences, plus large print, and we often have magnifiers people can use if they want.

Also ask for recommendations, library workers read a lot and we can help you find that good shit.

ebooks, eAudiobooks, digital newspapers (including in languages such as Ukrainian and Urdu) and magazines! a lot of these you will be able to access through your phone, tablet etc, but you can also come into the library to access online resources we have such as Which magazine and genealogy sites.

Free wifi

Computer use, with scanners, printers, laminating and photocopying facilities.

help with computer/ IT issues, and courses to help you improve your IT skills.

access to jargon-free health information, including a wide range of information from macmillan to help with cancer diagnosis, and regular drop-in sessions where you can talk to a macmillan worker.

public information boards where people can post about local events and points of interest, from local council members holding office hours to country dancing.

books and other media for sale from withdrawn stock and donations. always very cheap, eg books at 20p and videogames for £1 each. but often we'll let you take what you'd like for whatever you can afford, we'd rather it go to a good home!

Events! Most libraries run programs of events over the summer and other school holidays aimed at kids, but also regular clubs, such as code clan - which teaches kids coding skills, books groups aimed at variois age groups and interests, and knitting/ crafting groups. we also have events aimed at adults throughout the year, such as author visits, talks from local experts, quizzes and first aid workshops.

Free stuff:

free sanitary products

free hearing aid batteries

free colouring and activity sheets for kids - and hey if you're really proud of your colouring and want to give it to the library staff to put on the wall we love that.

free compostable waste bags

free dog refuse bags

free calendars showing when your bins will be collected

usually free books that we're given as part of various events

free stickers, and often pencils or other extra gifts if you ask nicely.

A warm, generally fairly quiet space with accessible public toilets where you can hang out. If it's hot, we give out cups of cold water. Last winter we got supplies so people could have free hot drinks, we likely won't get that this year but frankly a lot of library staff will get you a hot drink and a biscuit if you need. And if you need to ask for information or help, whether with the simplest smallest thing or something big and scary, it's a good place to go. I've helped a customer figure out if a text was a scam, and I've sat and waited for an ambulance with someone, and I've found lists of phone numbers to help someone talk to mental health support, and i've helped people find information on their local MPs so often I have a word doc with all the names and contact info ready to print. Just ask, library staff are usually up for helping.

Oh and joining is always free, and usually requires minimal ID. We recently dropped the requirement for proof of signature, so to join where I work you just need something with your address on - if you don't have a permanent address you can ask us to put the library address. If you're under 16 you need someone older than 16 to be a guarantor, but we can give you a form to get someone to sign and bring back and that's enough for us to join you.

I'm making this big angry list because libraries across the UK are being absolutely slashed right now - in the council area where I work we're likely to lose a third of our local branches. I love working as an artist, but i also really love working in the library because it is a reminder of how simple it can be to help people day to day. That's what libraries are for, and you should value and use yours, because that's how we show the people holding the purse strings that they are needed. Also there aren't many jobs (especially ones that'll employ my autistic ass) where i can get a living wage but also read at work if it's quiet.

*based on my experience working in north Lanarkshire libraries in Scotland, services differ depending on different local authorities.

Hey if you're able to access your local library, do me a favour and use it. I guarantee they'll have services or events that might be useful or interesting. At the very least its a chill place that's always free to hang out.

[levisgirll]

oki it me again uWu back with another request because I really enjoyed the first one!!!💗💗 couldn't find the exact words to phrase this but what about aomine (from Kuroko no basuke) as your boyfriend in university. I look forward to what you will write!!

𝐀𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐢𝐤𝐢 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝

text: hello again!! thank you so much for reading my posts and the fact that you like them makes me happy c: 💗💗 I'm glad you enjoyed the other request so, I hope you enjoy this! (also, aomine is my second fav in knb ^^ he's just so attractive oml-)

synopsis: aomine daki, the great basketballer player at your university is your boyfriend! how is it like to have aomine as your boyfriend though? and how does he act with you? (get ready for this-)

Once Aomine is your boyfriend, get ready cause this guy will show off and flex a lot when it comes to you. Whenever you stay and watch his practices, he flexes a lot with his back muscle and he would turn around if YOU saw that. You are just sitting there, all blushed while covering your face, "Oh god, this idiot..."

Sometimes, the basketball club would invite student for 'Learning the basics of Basketball' and the first person he wants to invite is, of course, his girlfriend. While he is waiting for her, he would just sit in the bench and lots of people go to him for help, but he would ignore everyone and say he is tired and to leave him alone. But once he sees you, y/n, entering he is all energetic and comes running to you. "Aomine, let me change wait" , "But darling, I was waiting for like 10 minutes...you have to make up for that."

Once everyone leaves and its just you two, he gets all hyped up cause he loves it when you are alone with him. He gets extra clingy towards you and keeps on hugging you and you can feel his tensed muscular body. "Sweetheart, you looked amazing today."

Okay but this guy, would fuck up and beat any guy that even showed any sort of disrespect. He is not standing there with a glare or bumping into them if someone laughs, or says something mean to you. He will go up to that person and hold them up while saying "Okay, you started this. Come here."  You have to stop him before he gets physical towards them, "Aomine! Stop!! They just said to me to move". "Yea, 'Move you', what the fuck is that? Asshole, learn some manners! Do you know who you even spoke to!"

This guy is smart, so he knows all your university spots, so don't be surprised if you see him out of nowhere. "Hey its that guy! He is always following you!" Kagami would yell out, "Fuck, you have some stalker Y/N" Kagami would say while glaring at him, he was your university best friend. "That's my b-boyfriend."

Your man will also buy you a lot of snacks, and if you say you skipped breakfast. He is dragging you to the university café and will force you to eat after he buys you food.

Oh my god, your boyfriend loves to tease you A LOT. Like there wont be a day he wont tease you. If you somehow changed up your hairstyle, he will make a huge scene. "No WAY! Sweetheart, you look so good! Wow, that's my GIRL! You all heard that??!"

Aomine makes you laugh like crazy, and there also wont be a day he wont make you laugh. He just loves it whenever he hears your beautiful laugh and small giggles, he founds it so cute and you really warm his heart whenever he hears that.

He will never forgive himself if he ever made you upset or cry. Aomine will probably think about it the whole day and he will keep spamming you "I'm sorry" multiple times. If you don't reply back, he would come to your lecture hall and he is gonna make a scene. "Y/N I SAID IM SORRY!"

You definitely boost his ego, like crazy. Whenever he feels low before a match he would call you and he just wants to hear his girlfriends voice motivating him. "Aomine, don't worry you got this! Besides, didn't you tell me the only one who can beat you...is you?" "Fuck, you are right. Darling, I'm gonna win this and I'll come and hug u after this match. Wait for 20 minutes" And he actually does it.

This guy sticks with his words, so if you tell him meet up at 2 pm. He is there at 2pm waiting for you. If he says he will do literally anything for you, he fucking will.

Once he got, really upset and emotional and he said to you during a call at midnight. "Y/N, Dont leave me like how everyone does.". You then recalled about him telling you about this past and how his old teammates left him, so you would say "I wont, I'm your girlfriend aren't I?" And he is up on his bed all hyped hearing that, "Can I see you now!" "Aomine it's 2am and I have a quiz tomorrow bye, shutting my phone love you!" But this guy wont leave you and spam you in EVERY social media. "Nice try, but I know you have discord on your laptop. Wait, I see you online I'm calling you now."

One time, he came to your huge lecture hall and he sat right next to you, and he would just turn and look at you, focusing on what you are doing, and play around with your stuff and hair. "Aomine, I am trying to focus!" You say all blushed and can't even write anything on your notebook. "Of course, cause you are focusing on me right? Sweetheart, I know, I know I am great." Now you wanna smack him.

Whenever he sees you, he gives you that hot smirk of his and it gives you butterflies. "Ha! Wow literally everything I do, you love it don't you?" . Y/N then turns to him and gives a small chuckle, "Don't get ahead of yourself, Aomine." He then goes near you and lays his arm on your shoulder, bring you closer and he would whisper to your ear "Why not? your my girl so, I want to impress you."

You both love it whenever you guys hold hands around university, this guy is really tall so you always feel so relaxed and also great when your boyfriend squeezes your hand, and walks you to your lecture. "Okay now try to focus on your lecture and not your mind all about me alright?"

He actually loves it when you cheer for him and that really boost not only his ego but rather his self-confidence. "Y/N! I'm gonna win this match for you!" He would yell out during the match and everyone is looking at you.

He would go for academic help for you sometimes and you guys meet up in the library to study. You are the reason he passed some subjects, don't get me wrong, he is intelligent but super lazy.

His wallpaper is a selfie of you both and he looks at that before every match. He sometimes pecks his phone when he finds a picture of you.

Speaking about his phone, this guy has a folder with just you, all your pictures, screenshots of chats, even screen records of your voice notes and videos. He just loves you dearly, and he gets so fucking mad if someone touches or even goes near that gallery. He protects that with all his life, your pictures are important and he is not the type of guy to show his friends your pictures, in fact he hates that! "My folder, my girl, and no one gets to see that. Go away."

Whenever he is bored or isn't doing nothing, he would open his phone, and check every social media app to see your online status. "Oh OH, I see you online darling! Answer me, wanna go out and get ice cream? Please say yes."

He is actually such a great motivator and brings your mood up whenever you feel like giving up during university. He won't allow that, like never. "What so you will just give up? Stop? After all this time, you let this one test fuck you up? Don't you dare let that bring you down, you idiot." He actually even inspires you.

Before you go for the whole day cause you had to work on your report he would say "Smile for me one last time?"

When he sees you from afar, he would yell out and say "That's my girl! Don't move, I'm coming for you!" And this guy jumps at you with his embraces and sometimes picks you up. "L-Love put me down!!"

He actually loves teasing you like that in public, he wants everyone to know that are are HIS girl and his only.

He messages you during his practices and even would skip practice to see you.

Y/N: Oh you don't have practice today?

Aomine: Nope! And besides, I am the captain so doesn't matter. (He is not the captain- its akashi but lies)

He says that and then goes on how he knows everything about basketball and the team and he keeps doing that till you can compliment him ‘Please Y/N say anything’ he would think and you know that but tease him back not saying anything.

*meanwhile in his basketball groupchat* 

Kise: aomine, WHERE THE HECK ARE YOU?!

Akashi: Probably ran off to see his girl.

Atsushi: Whatever, my chance to leave and eat outside.

Kuroko: Can I join you?

Atsushi: No.

You would treat his injuries and he would just sit there, looking at you with a smirk.

Aomine: "Oh yea, here even hurts darling!"

Y/N: "Love....you are lying aren't you?"

Aomine: "What! No!...Maybe?" 

You let out a sigh "Ah, you are an idiot...stop hurting yourself all the time." He would suddenly lift your chin up and say "You know...that I love you yea? You also better tell me everything and if you need help, just say it" He can be really soft and sweet sometimes, but he gets all cringy and shy about it and he gets up rubbing the back of his head. "I-I mean that's what a boyfriend does right?! Come on, get up I'm taking you out."

Okay, I hope you enjoy this and anyone who did! Aomine is such a dork but a sweetheart and I can see most of this happening :,) 

If anyone enjoyed reading this, please then leave a like or a reblog! It means a lot and have a great day <3

[onyourstageleft]

I absolutely love that you found this post from 2017 bc although it has been 8 years since I made it (how?!) it is still a mood. I first discovered Tamora Pierce when I was in late elementary school, I genuinely don't even remember which book was my first read (I think maybe Kel's series?) but I know I picked them up at the library, my dad bought me Alanna's quartet on ebay, and before I knew it I was in deep. the local librarian printed a list of all of Tammy's books for me and I hung it on my bedroom wall and marked them off as I read them, highlighting the ones that I had my own physical copies of from the local used bookstore (the owner had my number on file and knew to call me if she got any Pierce books in so I could have first dibs on any copies before she put them on the shelf). I still don't have all the books in physical copy, but I was reading a lot on my Nook at the time, so I have all of them in ebook format - I like finding the print books at used bookstores rather than ordering them, it's like a scavenger hunt

literally anyone who knows me on a personal level has heard me talk about Tortall books. I have read the first Circle of Magic series but even though I have copies of some of the follow-up books, I haven't actually read them, not entirely sure why either bc I do love that series too, I guess I just didn't discover them during the exact right time, I just imprinted on Tortall at the age of like 10 and never looked back (27 now and still going strong)

the person that I made this post about was someone I worked with over a summer theatre carpentry job and I mentioned Tamora Pierce and when she said that she had read some of the books, I genuinely started gushing and asking questions, and she got kinda tired of it real fast. in the meantime I have taken matters into my own hands and converted people to talk to about Tortall - I read my mom Alanna and Aly's series like a decade ago, and last year I started reading them to my husband - I read my husband Aly's series first (as much as I love Alanna I know that her books wouldn't have been a great place for him to start in the world) and now we're reading Alanna's series, we're on book 2 right after her fight with Alex and he's been pointing out the slightly questionable things in the series (George's first kiss for example) and I keep telling him to just wait, it does get a little worse before it gets better, but that's just part of the charm of them for me at this point. my other partner is also reading the books, although she prefers to read them on her own rather than having me as her personal audiobook narrator, and she's just finishing up Alanna's book 3 - she's reading them in chronological series order (minus Beka, bc I honestly think that her books are better appreciated after reading the others despite being technically a prequel) and we've talked some about her thoughts, but not as much as I'd want to bc I'm trying to avoid spoiling other future things for her

oh I also literally wrote my MA thesis about Tortall (Cultures & Colonization in Tamora Pierce's Young Adult Novels, and it is indeed public access if you wanna read about me going on about Tortall in an academic fashion for 40+ pages) so I am in DEEP. I think my main problem is that I sometimes have a hard time (even with people online) figuring out what to talk about. like other than listing the things I love about the series, I'm not that great at making observations and connections, so it's easier for me to follow along with other people's theories and ideas and bounce off of them rather than creating my own stuff (although I would like to practice actually theorizing of my own accord)

I have recently been deep in fanfic, I'm not sure how much Tortall fic you've read but the fandom has been popping off in recent years with some absolutely stellar writing if you need to feel more feelings about it. I'm glad to hear that you love Beka too, I think that sometimes her series can be underappreciated (and underrepresented in fandom spaces) just because she doesn't have that in-world overlap that the other characters benefit from - we get to see Alanna from the beginning of knighthood all the way to motherhood and beyond in the background of other stories, but for Beka all we have is Beka's series. she's definitely my comfort character though, I have the audiobooks of her series (the narrator of it is absolutely phenomenal) and I relisten to them almost yearly. if I ever try my hand at fanfic I would love to write a Beka fic, but I really struggle with writing dialogue, so I've never actually tried beyond having Ideas

I just realized exactly how long I've made this reply and I apologize for writing an absolute essay, I thought "let me pull out my laptop it will be easier to type on than my phone" and then didn't stop typing. also, happy early birthday!!

I want to make more friends who have read Tamora Pierce books bc my one irl friend who I just met recently who has read them I think is already tired of me talking about them.

pls message me if you’ve read any Tamora Pierce book I will love you forever

[tomtenadia]

My Thursday crush

Rowaelin month - Day 4 - Library or librarians

It was a nice spring day in Orynth and Rowan was slowly walking to work. Headphones on and a book in his hands. He had developed the skill of reading and walking to the point of perfection.

His friends made fun of him but he always replied that if it was socially acceptable for people to walk with their faces in their phones and not paying attention, then a book was surely better. And he never bumped into anyone.

He stopped at the coffee shop around the corner from his job and got his usual order, placed the thermos in the backpack and walked the last stretch.

The library was still closed and it was his job to open it. He had volunteered for the morning shifts since he was a morning person and was happy to open up.

Once he was inside he went through the motions of opening up for day and getting the library ready. Rowan switched on the public computers and then did a walkthrough to make sure everything was looking good. He found a few books abandoned in places where they did not belong and groaned. He loved his job, he loved books. 

He had a degree in library studies and once graduated he applied and got a job at Orynth main public library. The place was huge and he had grown up visit the building a lot. He had started using it thanks to his mum who had passed her love for books to him. That love never left him and growing up he realised he wanted a job where he could spend his day with books. But people? People annoyed him. The way they would just abandon books after using them, or the way they sometimes they would not respect the peace of a library. He was not a people person. 

He grunted again and placed the books back where they belonged. Then he growled savagely when he noticed one abandoned on a chair, upside down, spine broken and a dog ear on one page as bookmark. Some people deserved to have their library card cut to pieces.

At 9am on the dot he opened up and welcomed his morning regulars “Good morning mrs MacLeod.”

“Oh, good morning, Rowan darling. Is my book here?”

He smiled at the woman and went to the shelf where they kept the returns that had been booked by someone else and grabbed her book.

“Yes,” he passed it to her “it was returned yesterday and we set it aside for you.”

The woman gave him a huge smile and he finished the loan procedure “I hope you will like it. It’s a nice story.”

“I am sure I will, darling. You always recommend me good books.”

He helped her to the door and went back to work, preparing the loan requests they had got online. A wide smile spread on his face at the name he saw on the list. He was not a fan of people but there was one person whose presence he had started to enjoy deeply. She was another regular and a bookworm like him. She had told him that she had to get some of her books from the library to avoid going broke on payday. He had laughed at the joke because it was the same for him.

She was a teacher and on Thursdays she was off and would always visit the library to return a book and get a new one. They would talk about what they were reading and he discovered they had the same tastes and he had been reading a lot of her recommendations. She was just obsessed with books as he was. Rowan had started to admit to himself that he was crushing on her. She had stolen his heart when one day she came to the desk and complained, outraged, that the book she wanted to borrow had a coffee stain on a page. They had raged for ten minutes together at the animals and his heart skipped a beat. It did help as well that the woman was stunning. Her hair was a deep gorgeous blonde and she had the most incredible blue eyes with an unusual ring of gold. Yes, he was definitely a fool in love and Thursdays were his favourite day of the week. Since she started visiting he had never had another Thursday off.

***

Aelin had a bad morning already. She had gone to the gym and found it closed for some obscure reason. Then an idiot on his phone bumped into her and made her spill her coffee. She had shouted a large list of expletives at the savage and left. It was Thursday and she could not let anything ruin her favourite day of the week. She was on her way to the library to collect the book she had reserved. But if she was to be honest to herself, she was looking forward to see Rowan. The librarian had become one of his favourite people, although they only meet once a week, her time spent with him talking about books was always precious. 

It did help that the man was hot. As in so unbelievably handsome that he was so out of her league. In the months they had interacted she had developed a crush on him and not just for his unique features. He had short silver hair and the deepest pine green eyes and the days he rolled his sleeves up to his elbows she had spotted a wonderful tattoo in the old language. He had an incredible nice build and tanned skin. He was hotness incarnated. A heart attack on two legs.

Knowing her luck with men, he was happily married, although on a closer inspection she had not spotted a wedding ring. Well, probably a super hot fiancee. She definitely stood no chance with him.

But she had liked him as well because he was smart and loved books just as fiercely she did. He was always ready to suggest some new titles and all his recommendations had been spot on. She had enjoyed every single book. A part of her wished she’d have the courage to ask him out and talk about books perhaps in front of a coffee. Aelin was actually curious to discover what else he liked.

Twenty minutes later she finally reached the public library. She loved that building and her parents had nudged her towards becoming a bookworm. They would read to her and once she was able to read alone, they would gladly buy all the books she wanted. Her childhood home also had a proper library and she would spend hours in there travelling with her imagination. 

She stared at the building and finally walked in. She climbed the marble stairs and reached the adult lending library section. On the lower floor they had an area all dedicated to kids.

She opened the glass doors and her eyes went straight to the desk scanning the area for a head of silver hair. Sadness hit her when she did not see him around. It really was going to be the day from hell. She walked to the fiction section and as she turned the corner around a stack of shelves she crashed into someone. What was with her and crashing into people today?

She was about to apologise when she looked up and noticed who she had bumped into. It was Rowan. Gods, even his name was perfect. That day he was wearing a blue shirt, the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, jeans and a pair of rimless glasses. She had so many improper thoughts.

“Aelin, sorry I didn’t see you…” his voice thick with his accent from Wendlyn. 

“Hi,” she managed, trying to bring her feelings under control “I thought you were off. I came in and you were not around.” Oh she sounded like a lovestruck teenager.

“I was placing some books back on the shelves.” He indicated the pile in his arms.

Aelin spotted one of the titles “that is a great story. I read it about five times already.” Pointing to a specific title.

Rowan had a look at the book and read the blurb “I’ll set it aside.”

“You look good with glasses.” She blurted out and then blushed. She was flirting like a moron.

He gave her a smile that reached his eyes and her heart skipped a beat. Gods, the things she’d do to him…

“I have the book you reserved, by the way,” and he started walking back to the counter and she followed. 

Aelin gave him her card and he processed the loan for her “you know the drill, right?”

“I am going home and spill coffee all over it.” Had it been someone else she knew he would have been horrified but that had become their inside joke. He knew she would never do anything of the sort.

***

Rowan processed her loan and took that moment to think about a good way to ask her out for coffee although he was afraid he was going to get a crushing rejection. She was probably taken already. A woman like her was definitely not single. Plus, she was definitely out of his league. He was about to ask her but froze and decided to leave it.

“I’ll just go and have a look around.” She told him, and he knew she was trying to put some distance between them. How could he even hope she would fall for him? He was the most boring man on earth. That was what Lyria had said when she dumped him. He sighed heavily and went back to his job but his gaze followed Aelin through the bookshelves. In his head he had different conversations he wanted to try. He usually was quite good and in the past he had picked up his share of women in pubs. But with Aelin it was different. He did not want to pass as a pig. All he wanted to tell her was that he found her attractive and fascinating and take her out for a coffee. Then he had an idea.

He walked to a shelf and picked a book that he knew she’d love. He was planning on recommending it to her another time but that was now his tool for his plan.

He scribbled down a note on a post it and placed it in the book, then walked to her “I was meaning to recommend you this one. Loads of angst but it’s a great story, and the female main character is just as badass as you like it. I already checked it out for you.”

The smile she gave him left him breathless “Thank you, Rowan. That’s why you are my favourite librarian.”

Eventually she had to leave and he wished it was Thursday already.

***

It was later in the afternoon when she got home after all her errands. She took her two books from her messenger bag and flipped through the one Rowan had given her until she spotted something bright green through the pages. She reached the post it note and read it.

I think you are perfect and a very fascinating woman. I will eagerly wait for next Thursday. Hopefully you will let me take you out for a coffee. Rowan.

She squealed in delight and texted Lysandra straight away to tell her about the message Rowan had left her. Rowan, the hottest librarian in the whole of Orynth wanted to go out for coffee with her. She could not believe it was happening, and she had to wait until next Thursday. She was off on Saturday but she had no idea if Rowan worked. She could try, she was so impatient to see him again that waiting was not an option.

***

Rowan got home later that night, got changed and crashed on the sofa and noticed the book abandoned there. It was one of the many Aelin had recommended to him. It was a great story, she definitely had great taste. He grabbed the book and thought about Aelin and the message he had left her. He had been so stupid. It was not high school, they were both adults and leaving messages like a lovestruck teenager was beyond pathetic. He should have talked to her like human beings did. He ran a hand through his hair and leaned back against the sofa. He had probably blown every chance with her. Who would ever go out with a guy who couldn’t even ask a girl out?

The following Thursday

Rowan had opened the library as usual but on that day a sense of unease was making him nervous. He still could not think about the stupid move about putting a message in a book for Aelin. He was positive she was going to ignore him the next time, or stop visiting altogether.

The morning had been busy with new applicants, his usual customers and an avalanche of requests to set books aside. Panic caught him when he saw one from Aelin. Which meant she was coming in and he was not ready. What could he say to her? Sorry I am bad at talking to people so I write secret messages like a teenager? He was embarrassed and he was not ready when he spotted her golden mane of hair appear at the main entrance. He tried to hide but she had spotted him and was now walking towards him with a huge grin. His heart started racing. Was just an impression or she was more gorgeous than usual?

Rowan saw her come to the desk and diligently wait for her turn while he finished serving the three people in front of her.

“Hi stranger,” she said to him once it was her turn.

Rowan felt a savage blush rise on his face “Hi you. I assume you are here for your book.”

Aelin nodded and passed him her library card “and for a coffee date.”

Rowan froze halfway to the computer. He cleared his voice “so you saw my message.”

“And I loved the idea. It reminded me of one of the books I read recently where one of the guard is in love with the princess, they are both bookworms and leave each other messages in books because they need to keep their relationship a secret.”

Rowan smiled “You got me. I took the idea from that book.”

The smile she gave him had the power to almost knock the breath out of his lungs.

“I don’t have school on Saturday. Fancy going out for a coffee?”

Rowan nodded “do you know the coffee shop around the corner from here?”

Aelin nodded in assent “I love that place.”

“I am off this Saturday, so if you want we can go then. It would be lovely to know more about my favourite customer.”

She took a step closer to him, only the counter separating them “favourite customer, eh?”

“Well, the one who gets outraged at people mistreating books. The one who understands my pain.”

Aelin cackled and her hand brushed his when she grabbed the card he was returning to her. 

“I have only one condition.” He added softly.

“Hm?”

“You let me pay. You can scoff as many pastries as you want. It’s my treat.”

She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek “it’s a date.”

When she pulled back she noticed his beautiful green eyes set on her. Maybe she had been too forward?

He grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled something down “my number.”

Aelin grabbed the piece of paper happily and winked at him “Now I have to go. I have loads to do.”

Rowan was sad at the idea “Of course. I will see you Saturday, then?”

“Saturday.” Her heart raced and then walked out of the library thinking that she could not wait two more days before seeing him again.

Rowan followed her with his gaze, happy that she had appreciated and understood the message idea. His hand touched the spot on the cheek that she had kissed and he was positive he was grinning like a lunatic.

They had a coffee date. He could not believe his luck.

But most of all he could not wait for Saturday.

He went to the stacks, looked for a specific book and checked it out under his name, then scribbled a message on a post it and placed it in the book and set it aside.

Ready for Aelin.

She was his Thursday crush.