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redgoldsparks · 4 months

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May Reading and Reviews by Maia Kobabe

I post my reviews throughout the month on Storygraph and Goodreads, and do roundups here and on patreon. Reviews below the cut.

The Crane Wife: A Memoir in Essays by CJ Hauser

This essay collection focuses on human relationships, many of them romantic, but also with grandparents, parents, sisters, best friends, COVID-isolation pods, and with the children of romantic partners from previous relationships. The title essay interweaves the experience of a broken engagement with a scientific expedition to study the dwindling population of whooping cranes in the Gulf Coast of Texas to devastating effect. Another experience, covering the DARPA Robotics Challenge trails, in which teams test out potential robotic first responders, speaks to the author's own desire to both save others and be saved by a string of problematic men. The author dated a lot of men and a few women in their twenties and processes them through the lens of media (the film The Philadelphia Story, the TV show The X-Files,the novels Don Quixote, Rebecca, We Have Always Lived in the Castle) and the perspective gained with time. I really loved this whole collection, but the piece that keeps rolling around in my mind is "The Fox Farm", about trying to recreate an archetype of a child's fantasy house (full of animals, friends, gardens, infinite rooms) in real life as an adult. I left this book wanting to know more- when did the author start using nonbinary pronouns? Have they resolved their feelings about their tits? Is that guest room in their big upstate New York house still available for visiting artists, and if so, how do I apply for the position of resident writer/new friend?

American Teenager: How Trans Kids are Surviving Hate and Finding Joy in a Turbulent Era by Nico Lang

Queer journalist and author Nico Lang traveled around the US to meet 11 families of trans teens and see how anti-trans legislation is impacting their daily lives. Each family has different circumstances; one teen fears his top surgery will be indefinitely delayed, while another had surgery already and has joined the boys swim team at his high school. Some teens are moved to become activists while others want to just live their normal, low-profile lives. With humor and compassion, Lang shows trans teenagers as they really are: kids trying their best, day by day, to grow into their truest selves and fullest potential. The various chapters are by turns deep, silly, introspective, sweet, and smart, just like teens themselves. I was able to read an advanced copy of this book- pre-order it now, or look for it on shelves in October 2024!

Fool’s Assassin by Robin Hobb read by Elliot Hill

NO ONE IS DOING IT LIKE ROBIN HOBB. NO ONE! After a disappointing journey up the Rain Wilds River, baby we are BACK! And by back, I mean, back in a first person POV and back with FitzChivalry, one of my literal favorite fictional characters ever. This is the 7th book about his life, and the 14th overall book in this series, so I won't be summarizing it. Let's just say that Fitz found his happy ending (minus a few key soulmates) and then his life kept going. More problems, more politics, more magic, maybe stranger than ever before. A new character introduced in this series swept in and stole my heart. I can't wait to dive into the next book very soon!

Rose/House by Arkady Martine read by Raquel Beattie

A brief murder mystery set in an fully conscious AI house in the southwest desert. This story feels in conversation with Ray Bradbury's story The Veldt and has many elements I enjoy, but a somewhat unresolved and slightly unsatisfying ending. I'm honestly still simmering on my thoughts, but looking forward to discussing this in book club soon! Edit post book club: a discussion helped me clarify what I thought was working in this book (tone, setting, themes) and what was not working (too many red herrings for such a short book, and an ending twist that seemed to undercut the book's main premise). I still think it's worth a read for Arkady Marine fans, but it is not as strong as her full length books.

Dances of Time and Tenderness by Julian Carter

In 2016 Julian Carter, a queer author and long-time participant in San Francisco's dungeon kink scene, received an invitation to be part of an archival matchmaking project. The project paired artists, activists, and scholars with specific issues of OUT/LOOK: The National Lesbian and Gay Quarterly. The assignment was to use the issue as a jumping off point to think about queer history and make something "new and provocative." Carter's assigned issue was from Winter 1991, the year the CDC announced 1 million American were HIV positive and AIDS was the 3rd leading cause of death in people aged 25-44 years. One of the many who died in 1991 due to AIDS related complications was Lou Sullivan, one of the first trans men to publicly identify as gay. From this starting point, this book traces paths of queer lineage, both proclaimed and obscured, traveling through history, memory, and poetry. Carter is linked, through friendship or scholarship, to Susan Stryker, pioneer of transgender history, to Zach Ozma, who edited Lou Sullivan's diaries for publication, and to Lou himself. Casting a transgender eye back on a queer history divided sharply into gay and lesbian, Carter allows himself to claim as ancestors sailors, skeletons, writers, lovers, and reaches forward in time towards students, readers, and artists. Including me. I was fortunate enough to be gifted an early copy by the author, and read it back in February back in one delicious rush. I already want to read it again, and more slowly, this time underlining and annotating it. This is a book to savor, but is easy to devour instead. It's sensual and surprising, formally precise, and made me want to dig around in a mess of queer historical papers and also contribute my own to the pile. It's out on June 4, 2024; give it a pre-order or look for it on shelves soon!

49 Days by Agnes Lee

Kit, a young Korean American woman, wakes up on a beach with a map and a watch telling her she's already late. For days, she clambers over rocks and up trails, reaching for an undefined goal. Slowly, the book begins to flash back to Kit's childhood and family, the people she loved and left behind after her accidental death. In Buddhist tradition a soul travels for 49 days before rebirth, and this book follows one version of that path, the grief and slow healing that follow a loss. Drawn in a very simple yet evocative style, the spare ink lines and limited color fill this journey with meaning.

Early Riser by Jasper Fforde read by Thomas Hunt

What a bizarre and delightful novel. It's set in an alternate history in which ice-age level cold spells cause the majority of humans to hibernate every winter, which has ripple effects on the development of technology, societal rules, culture, and family structures. Charlie Worthing was born in a "pool" in the independent nation of Wales, or a group home in which nuns dedicated to reproduction birth and raise dozens of children, in returns for credits from those who can't or don't want to have their own kids. Charlie has very few job prospects, especially ones that will give him access to morphanox, a drug which helps most people survive their months-long winter sleeps. The drug also turns about 1 in 3000 into a brain-dead zombie, but this risk is considered better odds than sleeping without it. So Charlie volunteers for the Winter Consuls, the law-keepers and problem-solvers who stay up all winter to safe guard the majority. There he has to face the three well documented dangers of winter- Vacants (zombies), Villains (the British) and Winter Volk (fairies, whose reality is debated), as well as rumors of a viral dream. The humor in this book is a close cousin to Terry Pratchett's work, in which absurdity and invention mask some pretty biting social commentary and anti-capitalist motives. I did think some of the twists at the end didn't quite pay off, however, I had such a good time with the ride this book took me on that I'd still recommend it.

Blue Flag vol 2 by Kaito

This vol has already taken a kind of melancholy, bittersweet narrative tone which might put me off the series. I still really like the characters and overall think the writing is very effective, out I wish the humor and sweetness of book 1 would last farther into the series!

Critical Role: The Mighty Nein Origins: Jester Lavorre by Sam Maggs, Laura Bailey, Matthew Mercer, Hunter Severn Bonyun, Cathy Le, Ariana Maher

Short and sweet, this prequel comic shows Jester's first meeting with The Traveler, the prank that caused her need to flee from Nicodranas, and a window into Jester's relationship with her mother. It's a slight story but I loved the artwork, especially the outfits and the beautiful city views.

The Book of Love by Kelly Link

Kelly Link, one of my favorite short story authors, debuted a novel 650 pages long. I bought this the day of release but it took me a few months to actually crack it open. I'd seen it described as slow, but I think I'd say leisurely. It opens with an intriguing premise- four teenagers come back from the dead, not knowing how they died or why they were brought back 11 months later- and have to solve a magical problem if they want to keep living. But the book is less a mystery than a close examination of the teens lives in a small New England town in December. The teens include Danial, oldest of many step-siblings, who rejects his new magical powers and just wants to live a small and ordinary life. There's Mo, who lost his parents young, and was being raised by his grandmother, a famous Black romance novelist- who herself died during the 11 months he spent in an underworld. There's Laura, a musically ambitious teen, who comes back to her single mom and sister Susannah, who seems somehow entangled with the magical ritual that killed and might save her friends. And then there's a fourth person who none of the others know, who snuck out of death on their coat tails and has no name and few memories. The book rotates POVs every chapter, with more than 15 different POVs, some of whom only appear once in the whole volume. I love Link's writing style so this worked for me, but I can see how this choice to linger over details not directly related to the plot might not work for some readers. I really enjoyed this but it did take me 3 weeks to read it and I suggest other readers pick it up when ready for a slow burn of a book.

Plain Jane and the Mermaid by Vera Brosgol

This original fairytale opens with teenage Jane mourning the recent death of her parents, after she already lost her younger brother to the sea as a child. Because there's no male heir, Jane's horrible cousin will be kicking her out of the house in a week. The only option she can see is marrying within the week so that she can access her dowry. So Jane walks down to the fishing village below her manor and proposes to a beautiful but shallow fisherman's son. He accepts- then is immediately lured under the waves by a mermaid. Jane runs into the town asking for help but only an old woman with witchy vibes is willing to aid her. The crone gives Jane a potion so she can breathe underwater, a stone which will allow her to walk on the bottom of the ocean, and a shawl to keep her warm in the depths. So armed, Jane walks into the sea after the boy who feels like her only hope. Under the waves she encounters allies and enemies, learns the true power of her own will, and realizes she might have more choices than she's realized.

Blue Flag vol 3 by Kaito

Well, I started another book because the last one ended on a massive cliff hanger, but I think I'm setting the series down after this one. I still think it's very well written, but the main character has such low self-esteem that he shouts at other characters that he sucks, he's a jerk, he doesn't deserve their friendship and they should leave him alone. I bet the arc of this series will be building this character up to where he believes he deserves their love and friendship, but I just don't feel like dwelling in this character's self-pity at the moment. I would have eaten this shit up as a teen though! Especially with the queer characters.

The Free People’s Village by Sim Kern

Set in an alternate timeline in which Al Gore won the 2000 election and declared the War on Climate Change instead of the War on Terror, this novel is an interesting mix of hopeful and dystopian elements. The main character is Maddie Ryan, a white high school English teacher working in a primarily Black neighborhood in Houston, TX. The novel is Maddie's written account of a tumultuous year in which the grungy music warehouse where her punk band practices and performs is threatened by a proposed high way and oil line which will rip up not only their art space but also a historically Black neighborhood. Maddie starts attending activist meetings which quickly morph into a full blown protest encampment surrounding the warehouse. Dubbed the Free People Village, this protest movement goes viral and is met with the exact same kind of violent police response as the current student encampments protesting for Palestine on college campuses. Woven through this depressingly accurate political forecast are multiple queer love stories, interracial friendships, a 101 crash course in anarchist philosophy and bracing look at what long-term activism takes. Folks with more of an organizing or activist background than I might find some of this book a bit basic; but I was completely drawn in by the relationships and conflicts of Maddie, Red, Gestas, Angel, and Shayna. This book feels almost painfully timely, and I hope a lot of people read it and gain both courage and perspective.

#maia kobabe #book reviews #comics #reading #books

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manymanydolls · 4 months

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Since I recently redid my meet photos for all my girls, I thought it’d be fun to do a post with some fast facts about my original characters. Look under the cut to learn more about them!

Jennifer:

Favorite season is autumn

Plays with her mother’s Miss America Barbie doll

Loses track of time easily and will stay up very late working on her knitting projects or watching TV

Katherine:

Has sensory processing disorder and is especially sensitive to loud sounds

Favorite holiday is Halloween

Puts glitter stickers on everything she owns

Evelin:

Favorite musician is Rufus Wainwright

Sets up a hummingbird feeder outside her bedroom window every summer

Got into making amateur radios as a fun way of communicating with her friends during the Covid pandemic

Nancy:

Favorite holiday is Valentine’s Day

Listens to at least three Talking Heads albums a week

Wants Amanda to play drums so that they can be like Van Halen

Amanda:

Favorite book is The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

Broke her wrist skateboarding when she was 11

Watched a TV program about volcanoes once and now is a little afraid of them but also fascinated by them

Rosemary:

Never sleeps with a blanket because it feels too constricting

Favorite food is a grilled cheese sandwich with a fried egg on top

Bakes lemon bars with her Mama at least once a month

Daisy:

Is afraid of ghosts

Loves foxes and has a beloved fox Squishmallow

Pours soy sauce directly on rice to make her grandparents mad (manners in Japan dictate that you dip a bite in sauce instead of pouring it over your food) (and Daisy knows it)

Ruby:

Has a scar on her ankle from a Razor scooter with a vengeance

Most treasured possession is a sunflower-print fleece blanket from her grandmother Marie

Favorite food is 4th of July hot dogs

Marguerite:

Wants to live in an old Victorian house

Has a huge collection of interesting rocks and crystals and wants to have an entire rock display wall

Once had a really intense cottagecore phase and refused to eat bread that she didn’t bake herself

#ag #american girl #american girl dolls #my dolls #jennifer robinson #katherine rosengarten #evelin del campo #nancy feldman #amanda feldman #rosemary douglas #daisy kobayashi #ruby eriksson #marguerite nelson

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msmercury84 · 8 months

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"I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm

South Philadelphia, New Year's Eve, 1945"

From "I Double Dare You-A Rendezvous With Destiny."

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"Off with my overcoat, off with my gloves. Who needs an overcoat, I'm burning with love. My heart's on fire and the flame grows higher. So I can weather the storm. What do I care how much it may storm? I've got my love to keep me warm."

*Author's Note: Some sections are for readers over 18 years of age. In other words, smut warning. The expression "And how!" was popular with Bill Guarnere's generation. He used the expression in the book he wrote with Babe Heffron and I heard my grandparents use the expression, too. The depiction of Bill is based upon the actor's portrayal in the movie.*

A snowstorm was underway in South Philadelphia on New Year's Eve. Blowing and drifting snow made going out undesirable for the Guarneres and no one planned to visit them due to the weather. Since the storm was predicted in the newspaper and on the radio earlier in the week, Leigh ensured that she had everything she needed for a nice supper. She also made sure that the dress Bill gave her for Christmas was cleaned, pressed and ready to wear.

When Leigh returned home from work, it was much later in the afternoon. The snow caused the city buses to run late. She started to prepare supper and put a bottle of champagne in a bucket filled with ice. Employees of the CBS affiliate got champagne along with their Christmas bonuses.

She set about making a very elaborate antipasto while she cooked some steaks that came from her grandpa's farm. Leigh decided to make some spaghetti sauce with Italian sausage to go with some homemade pasta.

Earlier in the week, Bill mentioned that he would enjoy having a small serving of pasta "wit' that good gravy ya make" the next time they had steaks.

Leigh got a good recipe from Augusta for a marinade that was great for beef. The day before New Year's Eve, she combined garlic, red wine, some salt, a dash of pepper and a hint of oregano.

Prior to placing the steaks in the marinade, Leigh used a meat tenderizer on both sides of the steaks. Then, the steaks were placed in a baking dish. The marinade was poured over the meat. A lid was placed on the baking dish and the steaks marinated for 24 hours.

Since a snowstorm was going on, supper was later than usual. Traffic was crawling on all of the major thoroughfares. As the steaks simmered in a skillet, Leigh put on her new red dress, black stockings, a black lace garter belt, a black lace bra, black silk panties and her favorite black open toed high heeled pumps. She touched up her makeup, brushed her hair and headed back to the kitchen.

Leigh turned on the radio to have music playing while she finished the special supper. She donned an apron made of material with tiny red roses. Protecting her favorite dress was top priority.

A good bottle of red wine was open to allow it to 'breathe' before she put it into a decanter. Leigh used her best china plus the crystal wine glasses from the Andrews Sisters. The champagne flutes from the famed trio would be used for a midnight toast to the new year.

When Bill got home from work, he embraced and kissed Leigh after hanging up his snow covered coat on a coat tree in the kitchen and putting his gloves on the coat tree to dry.

"Baby, I love that new dress (he pronounced the word as 'dat'). You look like ten million bucks. Good thing we're stayin' in tonight. The snow is really comin' down an' the wind is ice cold. It kinda reminds me o' the Christmas Eve snowstorm in Aldebourne.

"Thanks, Honey." She winked, adding, "You ain't seen nothin' yet."

"What's goin' on, Sweetheart? Sounds like you're up to somethin'."

"You'll see, be patient. I'll make it worth the waiting."

"I like the sound o' that." Guarnere went upstairs to put on a clean dress shirt after quickly shaving. The atmosphere in the house was cozy, with the Christmas decorations, a fire in the living room fireplace and music on the radio.

Leigh set the table and lit the candles in cut glass candle holders. Bill helped her get supper served. He pulled out the chair for her to be seated at the dining room table. Leigh thanked him. Then, he sat down and asked the blessing.

After they finished their supper, Bill told her,

"Baby, that was one hell of a good meal. Ya went all out wit' the fancy dishes an' wine glasses. Everythin' was perfect. We couldn't get food this good from the best restaurants uptown." Leigh was pleased that he enjoyed supper.

"Thanks, Bill. Let me get the dishes and then we can get ready to celebrate the new year."

"Nothin' doin', Leigh. I'm helpin' wit the dishes. How 'bout I wash an' you dry? That way, your dress won't get ruined."

"That sounds like a good idea, Honey. A sweet, sexy man bought that dress for me." Bill grinned,

"I've gotta admit that guy has excellent taste in buyin' broads' clothes." Leigh playfully raised her eyebrows,

"Oh, so now I'm a broad, not your baby or your sweetheart?" She went into the kitchen to get her apron. Guarnere followed Leigh and stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist, gently pulling her close to him.

"Ya little devil. You know you'll always be my baby an' my sweetheart. I'm gonna tell ya what ya tell me sometimes, you're a sexy smart ass. Speakin' of a sexy ass, that dress shows it off to perfection." Leigh giggled,

"Thank you, kind sir. Flattery will get you everywhere with me." Bill let go of her and rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt. Leigh put on her apron.

"That's good to know. We'd better get to work before we get up to somethin'. I'll bring in the dishes an' I promise to be real careful wit' 'em."

After Bill brought in the plates, silverware and wine glasses, Leigh put the leftover antipasto into a container that went into the refrigerator. While they cleaned and dried the dishes, Bill and Leigh talked about the way they had spent the past New Year's Eves since they got together. After the last dish was dried and put away, Leigh removed her apron and placed it on the kitchen counter. She embraced Bill,

"This year is very special. Not only because it's our first New Year's Eve as man and wife. It's extra special because, thank God, you survived." Guarnere tenderly kissed her.

"The man upstairs done most o' the work keepin' me alive, but you helped by cookin' for me an' bein' there for me. I owe you a hell of a lot, Baby."

"Thanks, Honey. You don't owe me anything. Getting married more than made up for everything. I was hoping to be your wife for a long time." Leigh had a smirk very similar to Bill's smirk when she added, "All you owe me is a good time later tonight."

"Oh, you can count on me givin' ya an extra good time later tonight, Sweetheart. Ol' Guarnere loves to satisfy a certain lady." Leigh got on her tip toes and playfully kissed the tip of his nose,

"And how! Remember when Perconte said he "really enjoyed Christmas Eve with the Guarneres," I was daydreaming about being your wife and having dinner guests over to visit us as I looked out the window at the snow coming down in Aldebourne."

"I asked ya what ya thought of Perconte sayin' that 'cause I wanted to know how ya felt about gettin' married someday. I was a happy man when I knew ya liked the sound o' what he said.

Do ya suppose they'll still broadcast the Guy Lombardo show on the radio tonight? We could have some nice music for our party here at home."

"Yes, Honey, it's scheduled for tonight. I saw the show on our schedule at work. New York City wasn't supposed to have as much snow as we have. The show should be starting in about ten minutes."

"I'll go ahead an' get the CBS channel on the radio so we don't miss anythin'." Bill went to the radio and got it on the desired station.

"I have the champagne chilling, do you want me to bring it in?"

"Not yet, Baby. Let's wait 'til it's closer to midnight so we can toast the new year. I really enjoyed New Year's Eve in Aldebourne when ya played the piano an' sang. Too bad there's no piano here, I'd love to hear ya playin' an' singin'". Leigh sat on the couch with Bill. He got a cigarette out of a pack on the table, lit it and settled back to cuddle with Leigh and listen to the radio.

"I'd love to have a piano, but they're so expensive. Truth be told, I miss playing the piano." Guarnere put his right arm around her shoulder and held the cigarette in his left hand so Leigh wouldn't accidentally get burned.

"Maybe someday I can buy a piano for ya."

"That would be wonderful." They listened to the live broadcast, enjoying the music. A half hour later, the band began to play "Moonlight Serenade." Bill stood up and stubbed out the cigarette in an ashtray on the coffee table in front of the couch.

"Would ya like to dance, Sweetheart?"

"Yes." Guarnere took Leigh's hand and they walked to the middle of the living room floor. Bill pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her as Leigh wrapped her arms around his neck.

They swayed to the music, looking into each other's eyes.

"This reminds me of a very special night at Ft. Benning and our wedding reception."

"Guess this is our song. You're lookin' as beautiful as ya did both times we danced to this an' I'm still crazy in love wit' ya."

"I'm still crazy in love with you, too, Handsome." Bill gave Leigh a tender kiss. After the kiss ended, she added, "Our first New Year's Eve was when you gave me my angel necklace."

"You must love it 'cause you're always wearin' it."

"I adore it." The song ended and they sat on the couch.

"I'm still wearin' the St. Michael medal, even though the war is over. I think it helped save my life. Baby, ya don't know this, but I was standin' outside the door to Teresa's bedroom.

I wanted to know if ya really liked the necklace. I don't think it's right to eavesdrop, but it paid off. I went to bed wit' a big smile on my face when I heard ya tell Teresa that you were crazy 'bout me."

They continued to listen to the radio and talk. At 11:45, Bill got up, went into the kitchen and got the bucket containing the chilled champagne from the refrigerator.

Next, he carefully put the crystal champagne flutes on a small platter and carried the platter into the living room.

"How 'bout a drink, Baby?"

"Sounds good to me, but I don't want to drink too much. I want to enjoy every minute with you later on tonight."

"No heavy drinkin' for me, either, 'cause I wanna make love to you." He removed the foil from the top of the champagne bottle and popped the cork. Bill poured some champagne into both flutes. He raised his glass,

"To my sweet, sexy angel. Seems like ya understood me from the day we met. You're a blessin', Baby. I'm lookin' forward to what ya got planned." Leigh gently touched her glass to Bill's,

"To the handsome love of my life, you're a blessing, too. I plan to make you very hot and hard." Guarnere winked at her,

"That's my sassy angel." They sipped the champagne.

"It ain't bad. Matter o' fact I like this fancy soda pop." Leigh grinned at Bill's comment.

"It is pretty good. The champagne you got the night you proposed was the best I'd ever had."

"That guy at the front desk (the concierge) really knew his stuff." Soon, the radio featured the voices of party goers along with Guy Lombardo, counting down the seconds until the new year.

While the band played the traditional "Auld Lang Syne", Bill pulled Leigh close to him and gave her a gentle kiss at the stroke of midnight. The kiss quickly deepened and became passionate. When the kiss ended, Bill gently cupped Leigh's face in his hands.

"Happy New Year, Baby. I love you."

"I love you, too, Honey. Happy New Year. They shared another kiss and finished drinking the champagne in their glasses. Leigh got up from the couch.

"As they say in the movies, I'm going to slip into something more comfortable." She had a saucy grin as she added, "Don't go anywhere or start without me, you handsome dream boat." Guarnere had a wicked grin.

"Oh, I ain't goin' nowhere, Sweetheart. I'll wait right here for ya." Leigh went upstairs to the bathroom. She put in her diaphragm, washed her hands and reapplied her red lipstick.

Then she lightly powdered her face, touched up her minimal blush and her mascara. Next, she used her eyebrow pencil. She left the bathroom and went into their bedroom where she carefully hung up her dress.

Leigh got the red silk bra and tap panties set Bill bought her for Christmas out of its box in her dresser drawer. She got the matching red silk kimono from Julia from her side of the closet.

Leigh got some bobby pins and carefully pinned the rose in her hair, placing it above her left ear. Satisfied with her efforts to secure the rose, she removed her bra, panties and slip, placing the items into the clothes hamper by the chest of drawers.

She put on the bra and tap panties. The panties covered her garter belt and her black silk stockings remained on. Next, she took off her black pumps and took them to the closet and places them in the shoebox in which they came.

Leigh got out a shoebox containing red pumps she bought at a clearance sale in a department store. The pumps, with stiletto heels, were a perfect match for her lingerie.

She left the bedroom and stood at the head of the stairs.

"Baby, are you ready to have a good time?" Bill had a big smile on his face as he watched her walk down the stairs. Leigh paused at the foot of the stairs and untied the kimono. She turned around and slowly exposed her shoulders and her back before she let the robe drop to the floor.

Knowing that Bill would enjoy the view, she bent over to pick up the robe. Her tap panties went up slightly in the back to show a small area of her behind. Guarnere once again had a wicked grin on his face.

She draped the robe over one arm and walked toward him.

"Do you see anything you like, big boy?"

"Oh, hell, yes! Baby, ya look like the hottest goddamn pinup girl in the world! That outfit an' those shoes are really doin' somethin' to me." He stood up and walked over to where Leigh stood. Bill gently pulled her close to him,

"You're beautiful, Sweetheart. Absolutely perfect an' you look as sexy as ya did in Paris."

"Thanks, Honey." Bill gently nipped at one of Leigh's ear lobes before kissing her neck. He delighted in her slightly shivering when his lips gently sucked at the skin on her neck.

Guarnere whispered into her ear,

"Does my angel like that?"

"Oh, yes! I love it." His hands moved down to cup her ass.

"Baby, your body was made to drive a man crazy. It should be against the law for ya to wear clothes. 'course I don't want anybody else seein' ya naked. I wish you'd go around the house just wearin' what the man upstairs gave ya."

They exchanged slow, sensual kisses. Leigh eagerly allowed Bill's tongue to enter her mouth. She sucked on the tip of it, provoking a soft groan from him.

Leigh felt his hard cock pressing against her. She broke the kiss for a moment, stepping back to allow enough room for her hand to surround and gently squeeze his cock. Guarnere made a hissing sound through clenched teeth.

She massaged him through the fabric of his trousers.

"Oh, Baby, that feels so damn good." Leigh unbuttoned his dress shirt, licking, kissing and sucking the skin on his neck and chest. Bill moved his hand inside the tap panties to cup her bare ass. He moved one hand to the front of the tap panties.

Guarnere smiled as he felt the obvious sign of her arousal. Leigh gasped as his fingers rubbed her clit. A few minutes later, she slightly shuddered as she came. Bill picked her up,

"How 'bout we take this to the bedroom?"

"We can't get there fast enough." Guarnere quickly carried her upstairs to their bedroom. He gently placed her on the bed as he turned on the light and walked over to pull down the shades.

Bill removed his shirt and let it fall to the floor. He sat on a corner of their bed to take off his shoes and socks. Then, he removed his trousers and boxer shorts, letting them join his shirt on the floor. He removed his artificial leg and sat up in the bed.

Leigh grinned and took off her red stiletto heeled shoes. She started to remove her bra, but Bill told her,

"Baby, leave it on, just for a little bit. Same wit' the panties, too. I got an idea. One time in Aldebourne, ya made love to me an' said it was all for me. I wanna do the same for you. Don't get me wrong, I still wanna make love wit' ya.

How about sittin' in front of me on the bed?" She got on the bed and did as Bill asked. He pulled her as close to him as possible and wrapped his arms around her.

"Just relax in my arms, Sweetheart, an' let me take care o' you." He kissed Leigh's neck, knowing how much she loved it. Bill caressed her shoulders and allowed his hands to roam lower.

"Baby, you have the most beautiful breasts." Leigh thanked him for his compliment.

"That isn't exactly what you wanted to say, is it, Honey?" Guarnere grinned, knowing that she would be aroused by him saying something off color.

You have a sweet, sexy ass an' you know I love your beautiful pussy." He paused to once again suck on the soft skin at the junction of her neck and right shoulder. Bill loved hearing the sounds of passion Leigh made.

Guarnere slowly pushed her bra straps down, uncovering her breasts. He told her, speaking in a soft, low voice,

"I'm glad I bought this set for ya. Sweetheart, red silk looks so good on you. Now, how 'bout I take off this bra so I can give those beautiful tits some attention?"

"I'm more than ready." Bill unhooked her bra and carefully put it on the small table by his side of the bed. He caressed her breasts with both hands as she leaned back against his chest. Then, he gently rubbed her erect nipples with his fingertips. Leigh started to moan softly.

"Your body was made for makin' love." He began to tug on her nipples. Leigh's breathing quickened. Bill kept on tugging on her nipples, knowing that she could come from this stimulation .

Soon, she slightly trembled in his arms. Guarnere was pleased that he made her come again. He moved his hands slowly down her body, all the while whispering in her ear,

"Such a beautiful baby. You're a fuckin' goddess. I wish I could take pictures of ya completely naked." Leigh trembled again, the idea of posing for Bill was making her even more aroused.

He slid the tap panties down her hips. Leigh briefly got out of bed to removed the panties, the garter belt and her stockings. She eagerly got back on the bed and sat facing away from Bill, leaning against him.

Guarnere wrapped his arms around her. He had picked up on the fact that his words inflamed her desire. His breath was hot in her ear as he whispered,

"You'd like that, wouldn't ya, Sweetheart? Posin' just for me." She answered in a breathy voice,

"Oh, yes!"

"I'd start out askin' ya to hold those perfect tits in your hands. It would make ya hotter than hell if I asked ya to play wit' those sweet nipples, wouldn't it?"

"Mmmm...yes, it would."

"I'd want ya to spread your legs an' let me get a nice close up picture o' that beautiful pussy. You would already be kinda wet, wouldn't ya?" Bill was enjoying the effect his words had on Leigh. She was trembling a little more and her breathing was starting to speed up.

"Yes, Baby, my pussy would be very hot and wet." Guarnere groaned, his cock was rock hard, but he was determined to give Leigh as much pleasure as possible. He continued to whisper in her ear,

"Hearin' you say that is so fuckin' hot. I'd ask ya to touch yourself."

"Oh, God! I'd do it for you, Baby." Bill grinned.

"Then, I'd move close enough to taste ya..." Leigh gasped, imagining the feel of his lips on her sex. Guarnere began to caress the soft curls between her legs.

"My angel's enjoyin' this, ain't no doubt about it. You're so wet, Sweetheart."

He stroked a few fingers up and down the open lips of her sex.

"Oh, Bill!'

Then, he began to gently rub her clit.

"Your body was made for fuckin', too, an' you're so good at fuckin'!"

Leigh was almost panting due to his words and the way his finger stimulated her clit. She moved against him, feeling his hard cock pressing into the cleft of her ass.

Bill rubbed her clit a little faster. Leigh couldn't speak, she just moaned louder. Soon, her hips jerked up involuntarily as another orgasm washed over her.

Guarnere continued to hold her and he kissed her neck as she came. When she had recovered, he asked,

"What way does my baby wanna make love? Do ya want me to love ya wit' my tongue and lips?"

Leigh got on her knees, facing him,

"Bill, you know I love that, but right now, I need your cock inside me!" She surprised him by straddling him and quickly lowering herself onto him.

He held her hips as she rode him hard and fast. Bill loved her breasts bouncing in front of him and he managed to wrap his lips around one nipple to suck it.

This made her go faster. Guarnere knew he couldn't last very long this way, but he wasn't about to tell Leigh to slow down or stop. All he could do was thrust up into her.

His groaning got louder.

"Oh, fuck, yes! So good, Baby!"

Leigh felt a tremendous orgasm building. She called out his name, not giving a damn if the neighbors heard her. When he felt her sex contracting around him, this pushed Bill over the edge.

"Goddamn!" They held each other as they came. After they got their breathing rates back to normal, Bill held onto her and gently turned on his side, letting her onto the bed.

Guarnere withdrew from her and then pulled the sheet up to cover them. He held her close, stroking her back as Leigh wrapped her arms around him.

"That was wild and wonderful."

"You're amazin', Sweetheart." He gently kissed her.

"You're pretty amazin', too, Bill. That was heavenly, although we didn't behave like angels." Guarnere chuckled,

"You're so damn good when you're not actin' like an angel. Let me get the rest o' the covers pulled up so we don't get too cold.

Once Bill covered himself and Leigh with the sheet and a blanket, he lay beside her. Leigh put her head on his chest and Guarnere wrapped his arms around her.

They were too exhausted to think of turning off the light or bathing. Before sleep claimed them, Leigh made Bill laugh and kiss her when she said,

"Honey, we definitely started the new year off with a bang."

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mommyymunson · 2 years

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The reigns of Control (E.M smut)

Thank you guys for all the love on my last smut-one shot for big boy handsome himself, if you guys like this one please let me know and if you wanna read my actual fanfic for Eddie- big dick- Munson, it’s under my profile, thank you so much!

Warnings: 18+ only, minors stay away or I will call your grandparents and tell them how big a disappointment you are, daddy/mommy kink, p in v, sub! Eddie, dom! Reader, handcuffs, cum eating

Today was a pretty bad day for Eddie. His alarm clock hadn't woken him up, so he was a half an hour late for his shift at the mechanics. To top it all off, you had tried shaking him awake for multiple minutes since you didn't want him to get in trouble at work. Going to tremendous lengths to wake him from his slumber: smacking his head with a pillow, yelling his name next to his ear, even took some cold water and dabbed it on any open skin you could find; but nothing worked. He'd just roll over to his other side or grumble at you.

When he finally did manage to awaken, he scrambled out of the sheets and threw any basic clothes he could find on his bedroom floor that didn't smell.

"Babe! Why didn't you wake me up?! You knew I had to be awake half an hour ago!" he barked at you, looking at you with so much anger that you swore you could see his irises glowing red and steam blowing out his ears.

"I tried! I've been trying for the last twenty minutes since the alarm woke ME up! Why are you yelling at me when I did the best I could?" You could feel your own anger boiling but it was nothing compared to the hurt of having your best friend, your boyfriend blame you for something you had no control over. All he did was swear under his breath as he grabbed his favorite leather jacket and walked out the door, slamming it shut behind him. He was only in the house for a minute longer, assumingely grabbing a small breakfast from the kitchen before the echo of the front door slamming was all you were left with. Not even a good-bye kiss.

It wasn't so bad that you'd cry, but you were definitely wounded by the sudden argument. All you could do was pull the covers over your body, laying in Eddie's residual body heat and overthink about the short but impactful conversation; until eventually falling back asleep.

Eddie was having a REALLY bad day. He managed to spill half of his coffee the second he sat down at work, had to deal with shitty customers and still present a friendly, understanding demeanor, and most of the cars he worked on were all major hassles. The worst part of it though was after his anger subsided from the rude awakening, his guilt for yelling at you like that was immense. All he could picture in the back of his mind was your anguished, puppy dog eyes staring at him. The simple image made his heart throb with regret and he spent the rest of his shift thinking of ways he could make it up to you.

But you had your own plans to make him pay. When you woke back up, you did your usual chores around the trailer and when it hit three o'clock, the time Eddie's shift ended, you searched through your shared closet for your best lingerie. A black, lacy bra with white crosses stitched into each cup and a matching black thong that had a small cross etched in the front part of the waistband. You threw on one of Eddie's favorite oversized band shirts and thigh high socks, grabbed a book that you've been recently into and set the scene. Laying on your stomach, reading with your calves crossed; giving him a perfect view of who he messed with. Only ten minutes passed before you heard the front door quietly open and shut. Sounds of items being put down and heavy footsteps getting closer and closer to our bedroom door, show time.

"Baby? You in here?"

As the old door creaked open, you didn't move a muscle. Continuing to read your book and not acknowledging his presence in the slightest. Even under his breath, you could hear the small groan he let fall from those sinful lips. He was only getting glimpses of the forbidden fruit he craved so badly right now. He trudged over to the side of the bed before kneeling next to you.

"I'm sorry sweet thing, I know you're probably upset at me because of this morning right? I shouldn't have gotten upset like that when you we're doing all you could. Please, don't be mad at me princess, what can I do to make it better?"

His fingertips began gliding across the velvet skin of your plump thighs, trying to coax you into letting him win; and while his begging was truly erotic, you weren't giving in that easily. You simply turned over onto your side, back to him and carried on with the written word. He sighed and using his hands, lifted himself back upright with his knees.

"Guess I have to show just how sorry I am, pumpkin."

Now you were truly curious on what he had up his sleeve, so when he started rummaging through the drawers in his closet, you couldn't help your eyes as they drifted from your current page to him. The second you laid eyes on him, you knew exactly what drawer he was going through.

The toy drawer.

You felt the dam start to overflow between your thighs as you thought of all the possible ways he was going to pleasure you, to work for your forgiveness. So when he came striding back over with a blindfold and cuffs, you'd already started inching your body closer to the bedframe, your book long forgotten about.

"Not this time sweetheart, it's my turn.” He gently placed the items into your feeble hands and asked you to move over, which you did with a dumbstruck look across your face. Then he quickly shedded his jacket and tossed it across the room, found a comfortable spot in the middle of the bed and raised his arms above his head; and that was when it finally dawned on you. He was giving You the control!

"To show just how sorry I am, Baby; I'm giving you the reigns to do whatever you want to me. Mark me, edge me, whatever you want." His eyes kept yours locked, his brown irises already oozing with lust. His mouth already panting from being so pent up, and his cheeks dusted with a small tinge of pink. You couldn't believe it, Eddie almost never gave up control, always wanting to handle the scenario in bed and you loved it like that. But the thought of doing whatever you wanted to him always made your mouth water in excitement, and your mouth wasn't the only place that would get exceedingly wet. Fuck the previous plan, this was a way better idea.

Taking his large hand in your tiny ones, you looped it through the bars of the bed frame and cusped the handcuff around his wrist as tight as it could be while being comfortable; then did the same to the other. You were going to put the blindfold on but you had a much better idea in mind. You wanted him to see everything for now.

Once you made sure the cuffs were properly in place, you looked him dead in the eye and made your tone of voice serious, though it wouldn't last long.

"I know this isn't usually my thing to say but...you remember your colors?"

"Of course, Sweetheart," he smirked, mischief shining through his eyes, "Green for good to go, yellow for slow down, and red for stop. Though I have no plans on being any other color than green. Let's see how good of a dom you are, whore.”

Even now, he thought he still held all the power in these positions, but you were going to whip that smug smile off his face. Getting off from the bed, you realize there's one toy Eddie forgot to grab before. Looking through the drawer, you quickly found the perfect revenge you were looking for. A large, girthy, pink standup dildo that resembled Eddie's member quite well. You sauntered your way back over to him, and the second he saw what you were holding; god you wish you could take a picture and keep it forever. His eyes shot up so far his eyelashes were touching his eyebrows, and his mouth agape.

When you reached him again, you straddled his pelvis; his dick already so hard that it would be easy to grind up against it, but you weren't that nice. Tearing off the clothes that adorned his beautifully sculpted chest, you ran your fingernails down his pale, inked skin. His voice squeaking out a grunt even though this was the most you were gonna give him for now. As teasingly as possible, you started to remove Eddie's shirt that decorated your perfect set of tits. Showing off your thick thighs, your clothed pussy that was already starting to form a wet spot, and once the shirt was thrown across the room, your perky breasts that bounced from the movement. Eddie was breathless, no matter how many times he's seen your body, it stills makes him unbelievably hard. Unclasping your bra, your tits fell and his eyes couldn't stop staring. He began wiggling to get free, just for one taste, but he was stuck. You just simply smirked down at him, the power difference now clear to him. Taking the dildo, you placed it onto his torso and lifted your hips over it. Tugging your panties to the side to reveal your dripping pussy, you lined up the head before glancing back up at him.

“Color?”

"G-green, green, baby; lemme see you fuck yourself sweet thing, please. I wanna see that pretty pussy do things I normally can't for myself. I'm gonna cum just from watching, fuck."

He was rambling, which means it was working. Giving him what he wants, you slowly lowered yourself down onto the large girth, feeling the immediate stretch that made you throw your head back and moan lowly. Your moan was nothing compared to Eddie's though, his eyes threatening to roll back but not wanting to miss a second of it. He was a pussy drunk mess without you even doing anything yet.

Steadily rising, you immediately slammed back down; the dildo's head kissing that sweet spot so deep inside. While it felt amazing, you were also making a show out of it. Starting to play with your nipples, pinching and twisting them; getting impossibly wetter just watching Eddie's reactions.

"Fuck baby, you're so sexy...I should’ve given you control ages ago; but I might actually cum in my pants. Please let me touch you, please princess, I c-can't." He was harshly tugging on the cuffs, almost on the break of crying; and even though it seemed mean, seeing him like this made you go crazy. Bouncing up and down, the dick's fake veins and curves just kept going deeper and deeper, making you scream louder and louder.

"C-color baby?"

"Green...I'm okay I just wish I was inside you right now, making you feel good."

You smirked, unable to hold back the pride of making him act like this any longer, "Then don't..fuck... don't yell at me and I won't have to punish you, handsome."

He whined and that almost put you over the edge right there. His scrunched up, sweaty face begged for pleasure, for release. It was so hot, you couldn't get enough of it. An unimaginable high from getting the man that always made you act like this, to seeing him whimper beneath you. Just wishing for anything I'd be willing to throw his way.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck it feels so good, love seeing you so submissive, daddy." You sobbed, bobbing along the groves of the huge dildo. You were getting closer by the second, his panting breaths and his desperate attempts at getting any friction from thrusting into the air doing it to you.

"Are you gonna be a g-good boy for me?" His head finally rolled back, eyes shut as he moaned louder than he has the entire time. So he likes that, huh?

"What? You wanna be my good boy? You wanna please me?"

Furiously nodding his head, you decided to go a little easy on him since he was taking this so well. Placing a delicate hand on his hard on, through his jeans you started palming him.

"Go ahead, then. Hump my hand and make yourself cum in your pants. You said you wanted to please me, and that would be quite enjoyable for me." You gave him a smug smirk, partial payback for all the times he looked at you like that when you were sobbing on his huge cock. His teary eyes widened and without being told twice, started hopelessly thrusting up into your hand.

"Well? Aren't you gonna say 'thank you' for being so forgiving?" Rolling your hips, you were right at the peak; you just needed that one finally push.

"THANK YOU, thank you so much, fuck...shit thank you M-mommy!" The second that two syllable word left his delicious mouth, you were cumming so hard you saw stars. Within the same few seconds your pussy gushed out your climax, you could feel your palm become soaked and Eddie's voice echoed from his moan.

You both took a second to calm your breathing, vision slowly starting to come back as you slowly lifted yourself up; the spilling of any cum that didn't already come out now starting to drip onto his panting chest. You gathered some of it onto your fingers and held them in front of Eddie's lips, waiting for him to realize, be a good boy, and lick them clean. Once he found the strength to open his eyes and register the gift you were presenting him, he slowly sucked your two digits into his mouth and licked off every last morsel of ecstasy left.

"So...do you forgive me?" His puppy dog eyes stared at you in hopes of the answer he wanted, you just smiled and leaned down to kiss him. Just a quick peck before you were grabbing the handcuff key he left in the bedside drawer and unlocking him.

"I guess I can find it in my heart to forgive you." Your smile got wider with your silliness as he just chuckled, stretching out his arms and without warning, shoving your weak body down onto the bed. Before you could even question what was happening, you heard the click of the cuffs being linked around your wrists.

"Good...cause now it's your turn, and it's gonna be a long night for you...Mommy."

#eddie munson #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson smut #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson x oc #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson x you #stranger things

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runawaymarbles · 11 months

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20 questions for fic writers!

tagged by @chubsthehamster- thanks!

1. How many works do you have on ao3?

32, unless you count the book covers. I've got 106 book covers

2. What’s your total ao3 word count?

487,170

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Whatever I get stuck on at any given moment. My most recent ones are 9-1-1, Inception, ATS and Hawkeye, but my repeat fandoms are Spn, X-Men, The Old Guard and Black Sails.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

I'm copying chubs and doing my personal favorites, because my top four kudos'd fic are all for the same fandom (The Old Guard) and written within like three weeks of each other.

The Scroll of Saint Barnabas (9-1-1, Buddie, 15k): recency bias, but I had a lot of fun with this one. I also probably drove my girlfriend*and cousin insane during the writing process. Sorry about that. The basic premise is: we all know how time loop fics go, but what if after the loop is broken the character has PTSD from all the things that nobody else remembers? And also what if you get a knotted dildo hooked onto your permanent retainer? *though we've now established consent and parameters for whether we can have sex if one of us is stuck in a time loop. It's always important to have these conversations in advance!!!

What The Moon Was Saying (Spn, destiel, 16k.) It's about Dean rescuing Cas from the Empty, technically, but it's also about Dean working through things he refuses to think about directly, and it's also about the perspective of dead characters who aren't all-knowing and have no clue what happened after they died, and it's also about Inanna's Descent into the Underworld and how many jokes about Sumerian mythology I could fit in there that probably nobody else is going to think are funny but I think are funny, and it's also about what issues Orpheus would have had if he'd succeeded. The central thesis statement is that Margaritaville is thee Dean Winchester Mental State song.

The Mixtape, Or: Six Things You Learn in Thursday School (Spn, destiel, 6k.) I always had this idea that I was going to write a fantasy book of some kind, where the first part would be about the founding of a religion and then the following parts would jump ahead a few hundred years and see how that religion and that original story change in the telling. Instead of writing that book I wrote 6,000 words about a post-apocalyptic religion whose foundational text was the Winchester Gospels, except they don't actually have the Winchester Gospels, so they're relying on collected ephemera and thirdhand accounts. It is also about both academic and online discourse.

The House on Graymalkin Lane (X-Men, background cherik, 92k.) My nice little outsider-POV x-men haunted house fic. It started out as "the x-mansion would be a bonkers haunted house" and then it turned into a love letter to the original timeline (we barely knew ye). It's about the mortifying ordeal of being in high school and also about how all my grandparents died at once and I had a lot of complicated feelings about that.

The Ill-Made Knight (X-Men, cherik, 1.5k) OK so you know that trope that's like "if anyone is going to kill me I want it to be you"?? it's that, but instead of being used as a statement of everlasting love and devotion, it's being used as psychological warfare. And also kind of a statement of everlasting love. But in a fucked up sort of way. Because Cherik.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes! I didn't used to but I do now because I always like it when people reply to mine. Sometimes I miss them and respond years later but like... I got there eventually?

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

the whole estate of mortal man. (Black Sails, silverflint, 40k.) Silver is immortal but has a very impermanent self. Flint is mortal and has a very permanent self. There was only one way that was ever going to end and I stand by it.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Of recent ones, I guess The Most Fun A Girl Can Have? (Kate/Yelena, 8k.) They're having a pretty good time for most of it.

8. Do you get hate on fic?

Not since like, high school.

9. Do you write smut?

Nope. Hats off to smut writers, you're doing God's work. It's very difficult.

10. Do you write crossovers?

I haven't, unless you count every Marvel fic being a crossover. And Good Omens show/book. But that seems like a cop-out.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not as far as I know.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! Some very kind people translated The Punishment of Sisyphus (Black Sails crackfic) and Antebellum (Black Sails, Anne & Eleanor fic) into Russian, Stalefish (Old Guard, Nile-centric) into Polish, and Kidnapping for Dummies (Old Guard, Joe shenanigans) into Spanish. I can only read the Spanish one.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yessss. The #ImmortalHusbands Conspiracy (The Old Guard social media fic) with @phoenix-acid. That was very fun.

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship?

Why would you ask me this. This is cruel. I can barely pick a top 5.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but probably won’t?

The Marvel pirate AU, probably. It's almost a complete story on its own as it stands. There's about half a next chapter written and I could probably us that to tie things up, if I cut out a bunch of things, but I'd have to reread all my research. I did way too much research for that.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Character voices? I hope it's character voices. I watch a lot of youtube compilations before writing anyone to try and get a handle on how they talk.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

The actual romance part of a romance. What do you mean they have to get together after I've set everything up so that they get together? Ridiculous.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I've never done it before, but I respect people who can pull it off. I do really hate that trope though where a multilingual character calls their love interest pet names in their mother-tongue, when they are never shown using it that way (or mixing that language and English in a conversation) in canon.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

....percy jackson and the olympians.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

Since I listed five favorites up there I'm switching this with the kudos question. Fic with the most kudos is Kidnapping for Dummies (The Old Guard, 3.5k)

Tagging @monstrous-femme @thegeminisage @bomberqueen17 @ellelans @annerbhp @significanceofmoths and anyone else who wants to do it. say i tagged you. nobody will ever check to find out.

#fanfic #writing #op #ask meme

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the-rewatch-rewind · 1 year

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I have...many thoughts about this tale as old as time

Script below the break

Hello and welcome back to The Rewatch Rewind! My name is Jane and this is the podcast where I count down my top 40 most frequently rewatched movies in a 20-year period. Today I will be discussing number 17 on my list: Disney’s 1991 animated musical Beauty and the Beast, directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, written by Linda Woolverton, and featuring the voice talents of Paige O’Hara, Robby Benson, Richard White, Jerry Orbach, David Ogden Stiers, and Angela Lansbury.

I assume that most people have at least some familiarity with this movie, but in case you don’t remember the premise, allow me to set the stage with some words that are not my own which I have had memorized for most of my life: Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young prince lived in a shining castle. Although he had everything his heart desired, the prince was spoiled, selfish, and unkind. But then, one winter’s night, an old beggar woman came to the castle, and offered him a single rose in return for shelter from the bitter cold. Repulsed by her haggard appearance, the prince sneered at the gift, and turned the old woman away, but she warned him not to be deceived by appearances, for beauty is found within. And when he dismissed her again, the old woman’s ugliness melted away, to reveal a beautiful enchantress. The prince tried to apologize but it was too late, for she had seen that there was no love in his heart, and as punishment, she transformed him into a hideous Beast, and placed a powerful spell on the castle, and all who lived there. Ashamed of his monstrous form, the Beast concealed himself inside his castle, with a magic mirror as his only window to the outside world. The rose she had offered was truly an enchanted rose, which would bloom until his 21st year. If he could learn to love another and earn their love in return by the time the last petal fell, then the spell would be broken. If not, he would be doomed to remain a beast for all time. As the years passed, he fell into despair and lost all hope, for who could ever learn to love a beast? Spoiler alert: a beauty but a funny girl named Belle, once he finds the way to her heart through his library.

I can’t remember a time when I hadn’t seen this movie. My grandparents had it on VHS, so I watched it a lot at their house when I was young. As a child, I didn’t love Beauty and the Beast quite as much as The Lion King, but I always enjoyed it, and if anyone asked me who my favorite Disney Princess was, the answer was always Belle, I think mostly because we had a similar hair color and we both loved books. But as I got a little bit older, maybe around middle school, I started relating to Belle on a much deeper level. Because while I always did have a few close friends, I never really felt like I fit in with my peers. My schoolmates generally thought I was weird, and not that I think most of them cared much about me one way or the other, but sometimes I felt a lot like I was in that opening number, when Belle is walking through town reading and everybody’s singing about how strange she is. Through all of that, Belle is too absorbed in her book to really hear what any of them are saying. And that was a lot like me. I knew I didn’t fit in, but I also didn’t want to if that meant I had to change my interests or who I was. And as I was entering the age when most kids start really caring what other kids think of them, Belle told me it was okay to keep doing my own thing. And that’s around when Beauty and the Beast surpassed The Lion King as my favorite Disney movie. I cannot even begin to guess how many times I had seen it before I started keeping track, but I watched it five times in 2003, three times in 2004, once in each year from 2005 through 2007, twice in 2008, once in 2009, twice in 2010, once in each year from 2011 through 2013, once in 2018, once in 2020, and once in 2022. I think the break between 2013 and 2018 reflects the fact that I only owned it on VHS, and the main VCR I had access to broke around then. My most recent views were on Disney+ as part of my ranking Disney movies project with my brother. We ended up putting Beauty and the Beast at number 2, which I think is a little higher than he would have put it, but we put The Little Mermaid, his favorite, at number 3, which is a little higher than I would have put it, and I like that our ranking reflects our combined taste. I know I was biased, but rewatching it then reminded me of how much I still love this movie. I basically have the whole thing memorized, but every rewatch still feels magical. I recognize that it’s not perfect, but the things I love about it far outweigh the things that bug me about it.

Aside from the protagonist being a more adventurous version of me, the thing I’ve always loved most about this movie is its music. Every note of the score is gorgeous and contributes greatly to the film’s magical tone. The opening notes in particular are beautifully haunting and still give me chills. Every single song is an absolute banger, full of stellar lyrics and delightfully catchy melodies. Belle and its reprise, Gaston and its reprise, Be Our Guest, Something There, The Mob Song, and the Oscar-winning title song are all among the studio’s best numbers. No team of composers can top the magic of Howard Ashman and Alan Menken. They had just triumphed with The Little Mermaid, and they proved that that wasn’t a fluke with these equally impressive jams. Devastatingly, Ashman passed away before Beauty and the Beast was even released, so although he had started working on Aladdin, this would be the final Disney soundtrack written entirely by the two of them. Obviously I still enjoy songs from other Disney movies, but I don’t feel like they quite reach the same level as the Howard Ashman ones. Ashman was also the executive producer of Beauty and the Beast, and he apparently significantly influenced the story, particularly when it came to fleshing out the character of the Beast, so this movie owes a lot to him. Although I don’t want to diminish the work of the screenwriter, Linda Woolverton, who became the first woman to write a Disney animated feature film script.

Knowing that the screenplay was written by a woman and the song lyrics were written by a gay man dying of AIDS in the late 80s to early 90s, it’s not incredibly surprising that the story’s main antagonists are toxic masculinity and mob mentality. Gaston is an unusual Disney villain because he doesn’t have magical powers or political ambitions; he’s just some guy with a giant ego who thinks he is entitled to the prettiest girl in town. He cannot comprehend her rejection (which is an amazing scene), and so he concocts a nefarious scheme to get her father committed to an asylum unless she agrees to marry him. Then when he sees the Beast as a romantic rival, he stirs up the townsfolk into an angry mob to storm the castle that they apparently didn’t even know existed until now, which means if they’d stopped to think for a moment they would have realized the Beast was not actually a threat to their safety, but mob mentality defies logic. The Mob Song is probably the least acclaimed number on the soundtrack, but I think it’s absolutely perfect, particularly the lyric, “We don’t like what we don’t understand, in fact it scares us.” I know there’s been some debate about whether Howard Ashman intended for this movie to make a statement about the AIDS crisis, but you can’t tell me that line doesn’t perfectly apply to anti-LGBT+ attitudes, both then and now. And of course, Gaston is another perfect villain song, in that it’s almost a parody of a hero song. It’s a sort of Mame/Hello Dolly style number, sung by drunken buffoons who are praising the strangest qualities with delightfully tongue-in-cheek lyrics. Gaston eats sixty eggs?! Every morning?!?! I still don’t even really know how to process that, but I appreciate the way that line, as well as the entire song and character of Gaston, perfectly demonstrate the ridiculous standards society places on men to achieve an acceptable level of masculinity, as well as the way society teaches men (particularly straight cis white men) that they are entitled to whatever they want.

The Beast is an interesting contrast to Gaston. (Side note: I know a lot of people consider the Beast’s real name to be Adam, but that came from a video game that was released later, and as far as I can tell it’s not actually canon in the movie, so I’m going to keep referring to him as the Beast.) Anyway, at first, he too suffers from an extreme sense of entitlement. Gaston’s whole planning their wedding and getting it all set up outside her house and then informing her that they were getting married must have seemed almost reasonable to Belle in hindsight after the Beast imprisons her in his castle in the hopes that that will make her learn to love him. But, unlike Gaston, the Beast is willing to learn. He’s been living as a monster for so long that it takes time for him to find his humanity again, but once he does, he releases Belle, and it’s only after that when she grows to love him. I do feel like there is a way to watch this movie and take away the message that you should stay with an abusive partner in the hopes that you can change them, and I want to acknowledge that that has probably caused harm. But I feel like, as I previously said about Cinderella, the general perception of this movie doesn’t actually line up with what it’s really about. This seems to happen to a lot of Disney princesses. No, Cinderella is not just doing chores and waiting around for a man, and no, Ariel did not give up her voice for a man, and no, Belle does not stay in a toxic relationship in order to change a man. Also, it’s 2023, can we all please agree to stop talking about Stockholm syndrome? It was invented by police in the 1970s to discredit a female hostage who had criticized the way they handled the situation she was in, it’s not a real thing. And even if it was, Belle does not love the Beast while she’s his prisoner, nor does she actively seek to change him into the person she wants him to be. He does the work to become a better version of himself, and then she loves him and wants to be around him. I’m not saying that anyone should try to model real life relationships after theirs, but it’s still very important to me for everyone to understand that Belle canonically does not fall in love with her jailor. If she had, the spell would have broken the moment the Beast told her to leave, since that’s when he started truly loving her. She doesn’t love him in return until he has demonstrated that he cares about her happiness and respects her ability to make her own decisions. And it’s totally fair if you don’t think that’s enough for him to earn her forgiveness for the way he treated her at first. But personally I love stories about forgiving people who may or may not deserve it, which is a big part of why I enjoy this movie so much.

I realize that, given how much I’ve complained in previous episodes about how there’s too much romance in movies, it may seem strange how emphatically I’m defending the central romance of Beauty and the Beast, but here’s the thing. It took me a very long time to understand this, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen Belle and the Beast’s relationship the same way that alloromantic, allosexual people do. My first glimpse of this was seeing people analyzing their relationship online and saying, among other things, that since Belle fell in love with the Beast before he transformed back into a human, she must be into bestiality. I do think this is mainly said by people who delight in “ruining childhoods” by inserting mature themes into children’s media, which is just…a very weird hobby to have, but it made me realize that I had never seen their relationship as sexual even after the Beast became human. Which, again, I don’t think you’re supposed to because it’s an animated kids’ movie, but what I’m trying to say is that the whole “love implies romance implies sex” mindset had never occurred to me, in general, but also specifically regarding this movie. Because the thing is, the prologue doesn’t say, “if he could learn to fall in romantic and sexual love with another, and earn romantic and sexual love in return, then the spell would be broken”; what it says is “learn to love another.” (Side note: the soundtrack says “and earn their love in return” but the actual movie changes the pronoun to “her” which I find a bit irritating but oh well.) I didn’t have the language for this until recently, but I can say now that I have never seen Belle and the Beast’s relationship as romantic either, at least in the traditional definition of romantic. And I think that’s another part of the reason I was so drawn to this movie in my adolescence. At the age when allo people start developing crushes, the only kind of partnership I was even remotely interested in was what Belle and the Beast had: someone to hang out with and feed birds or have a snowball fight or dance or read or whatever, with big enough living quarters that you could go off and do your own thing when you didn’t want the other person around.

And I don’t know, maybe all of that sounds romantic to some people, and before I knew aromanticism was a thing I probably would have called it romantic too. A lot of people with significant others say that those kinds of things are the best parts of their relationship, but there always seems to be an understanding that romance and sex are necessary aspects of a partnership like that, even if they’re not the most important aspects. Certainly the servants see the development of the Beast and Belle’s relationship as romantic, especially Mrs. Potts, who doesn’t think her son Chip is old enough to hear about it. The song “Something There” is clearly meant to imply that the “something” is romantic love. And yet. Somehow it doesn’t feel the same to me as other romantic love stories, particularly other Disney romantic love stories. Usually the protagonist and the love interest see each other and BAM! Sparks. But Belle and the Beast seem more like people who were forced to be roommates and eventually grew to respect and care about each other. A sort of Elphaba/Galinda dynamic, if you will, although I know a lot of people see their relationship as romantic as well. We are so steeped in the message that the highest and deepest form of love is romantic and sexual, that trying to argue that two people aren’t in romantic love with each other is often seen as trying to lessen their feelings for each other. But there are other very strong forms of love, and Belle and the Beast’s relationship feels to me like it falls outside of the normative romantic standards of our society. I mean, yes, they do kiss, but besides that I feel like most of their positive interactions are things friends could do together. And long before I knew about being aromantic, I knew that if I ever were to get married, I would want it to basically be just like hanging out with a good friend every day. And that’s how I imagine Belle and the Beast’s relationship continues after the events of the movie. Both of them really needed a friend before they met, so I feel like they would both be happy with a close platonic relationship. I’m not trying to claim that this is what the movie meant to imply; I’m just saying that realizing that I didn’t see their relationship as romantic helped reinforce my understanding of my romantic orientation. Also, the VHS tape that I have is the special edition, which includes a deleted scene, part of which involves Belle helping the Beast re-learn how to read, which is very sweet, and which again I think a lot of people could interpret as romantic, but which could also be interpreted as one friend sharing their hobby with another.

The other part of that deleted scene is the song Human Again. This was also added back in when the movie was adapted into a Broadway show, and while I don’t think it’s strictly necessary, I do greatly enjoy the way it further develops the sidekick characters. Even without that number, I find them extremely fascinating. Lots of Disney heroes have sidekicks, but most of them are focused on helping the protagonist and/or love interest purely out of friendship and loyalty. For example, Sebastian, Flounder, and Scuttle try to get Eric to kiss Ariel because they know how much she wants to be human permanently. Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, Chip, and the rest of the household objects similarly try to get the Beast and Belle together, but they have their own motivations for doing so. They’re tired of being household objects; they want their human bodies back. And that’s what leads them to give the Beast dating tips and to defend him to Belle, even though he clearly hasn’t been treating them very well. And on top of that, they’re just very fun characters, and their design is so aesthetically appealing. When I was a kid, Lumiere was my favorite, I think mostly because I liked the color yellow and I enjoyed his French accent. Now I’m not sure why if they’re all French only like two characters have French accents, especially since Jerry Orbach normally had an American accent, but whatever, I still love it. As I got older, I realized I was more of a Cogsworth, as a constantly anxious rules-oriented nerd. Cogsworth is also, if not aromantic, at least cynical about romance, as evidenced by his amazing line, “There’s the usual things: flowers, chocolates, promises you don’t intend to keep…” which was improvised by David Ogden Stiers, who was gay, so I’m claiming Cogsworth as a queer character. And then of course there’s Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Potts, who didn’t think her voice was strong enough for the title song but then nailed it in one take. She seems a little old to be the mother of a young child, although maybe she adopted Chip? And all the other teacups, whom she refers to as his brothers and sisters? Or maybe the curse made children stop aging, but not adults?

I have so many questions about the timeline of this story. Like, how long is Belle in the castle? In some ways it feels like a few days, and in others, several years. The prologue states that the rose would bloom until the Beast’s 21st year, and Be Our Guest establishes that they’ve been cursed for 10 years – most of which I have to assume they spent choreographing and rehearsing that astonishingly epic number. Holy moly I never get tired of watching that scene, shout out to the forks doing the can-can on the chandelier, but I digress. This 10-year gap between the beginning of the curse and the rose wilting implies that the entire castle was cursed because an 11-year-old child wouldn’t let a stranger into his house, which feels like an incredibly unreasonable response from the enchantress. I suppose the prologue could have meant his 21st year as a beast, so it could have been 10 years between the curse and when Belle first arrived, and then Belle could have been there for 11 years before the last petal fell, but then I don’t understand why it would have taken Belle’s father Maurice that long to go after her, considering the castle could not be more than a few hours by horse away from their village, or why Gaston wouldn’t have given up pursuing her after all that time. Not to mention that nobody seems to have aged. The only explanation that somewhat satisfies me is that perhaps the rose bloomed fully until the Beast turned 21, and then the petals slowly began falling over several years after that, but that still doesn’t really make a ton of sense. Not that it really matters at all, I just like to over-analyze things like this. Anyway, the stage show got around at least some of my questions by changing the prologue to say that the rose would bloom “for many years.” The stage show also changed it so the objects were becoming less animate over time, and when the last petal fell they would be forever frozen, and I like the way that heightens their stakes even more.

While I’m talking about the stage show, I’d like to mention that Beauty and the Beast was the first Disney animated movie to be adapted for Broadway, which I think makes perfect sense because the movie already feels a lot like a Broadway show, especially in terms of the musical numbers. I believe the first national tour was the first live musical I ever saw, when I was around six or seven years old, and it definitely fueled my love of musical theater. I saw it for the second time at the same theatre just last year. It was the first public performance there since the pandemic shutdown, and it was so beautiful and energetic and moving that I sobbed into my mask through most of it. What a wonderful way to be welcomed back to the world of live theater.

Anyway, I know that this story is weird and kind of disturbing and doesn’t make complete sense when you think about it too hard, but it’s told so beautifully that none of that really matters. At its heart, it’s about overcoming prejudices and seeing the humanity in everyone. The Beast was cursed because he was repulsed by the old beggar woman’s appearance. Belle is initially repulsed by his appearance, while he initially sees her as just a means to break the spell. Once they get to know each other as people, they are able to form a deep and powerful connection. Belle has also been very judged for her appearance. The entire opening number is about how the villagers are annoyed that she doesn’t act the way a beautiful girl is supposed to act. And of course Gaston thinks she will be thrilled to marry him, since they are the two most beautiful people in town, apparently. This is an attitude that a lot of asexual people encounter. There seems to be a widespread misconception that asexuality isn’t really a thing, and that people only identify as asexual because they’re not attractive enough to find a partner. So when people like that encounter someone they find attractive who identifies as asexual, they feel the need to “reassure” the asexual person that they’re “too good-looking to be asexual.” It’s kind of similar to the stereotype that only ugly girls are bookish, and that Belle is therefore “funny” for reading while pretty. Because the human brain is so good at finding patterns and categorizing things, even people who don’t try treat others based on stereotypes are unconsciously biased in some way. We always have more to learn about other people. And while it is bittersweet and strange to find that you can change and learn that you were wrong, it’s also incredibly worth it. I love that this movie taught me that at a young age.

Thank you for listening to me discuss – or, more accurately, ramble on about – another of my most frequently rewatched movies. I love this one so much that I find it difficult to articulate my thoughts about it, but hopefully at least some of what I’ve said made a little bit of sense. Beauty and the Beast is my most-rewatched animated film, and therefore the last one I will talk about on this podcast, but I hope you will stay tuned as I struggle to articulate my love for the remaining 16 live-action films on my list. As always, I will leave you with a quote from the next movie: “To do then now would be retro. To do then then was very now-tro, if you will.”

#beauty and the beast #disney #the rewatch rewind #my longest solo episode yet

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serephinastardust · 11 months

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World building for a new story

I forgot how ocd and perfectionist I can be trying to plan out a small part of a new world. It's only been like 3w before I went, "Fuck this", and free wrote 62 chapters and 76k words.

On the positive note, it's not as bad as 3w ago because I'm using a favorite book as a template in what they had already established in 10 chapters.

- main character

- love interest/ex (same person, its a little weird)

- love interest 2 main friends that help balance his personality

- potential rival to love interest

- background, story starts in a flashback, explanation on love interest/ ex and other imp. Info

- 3 major locations, 2 are only for the beginning, with honorabl mention, 1 will be until the story ends

- an academic institution

- bloodlines

- main character master

- and at least 1 important skill she can still utilize with no cultivation.

- and some family plus antagonist

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Here's me:

- main character

- love interest/ex

- love interest has an opposite gender friend who like girls😅 only reason stayed friends

-bloodlines involving kitsune, planned out dormant skills and non dormant, and true v. Divine, and considered hybrid lines

-drew a map of wear mc was banished to and how to traverse back to capital when story gets there.

-she will be a healer, but made it extremely difficult to hit divine level. Needs to of 4 healing practices to reach level 5 grand master, with adequate knowledge, like anatomy hitting that level (though knowledge groups aren't leveled perse), with needing to master everything being top level.

- created a basic family tree for her clan, mother, grandparents, aunt, uncles, cousin, and who's missing, plus birth order of thw grandkids

- created a list of top noble familes, and where main characters family would be if shit didn't hit the fan.

-a family that has the potential to get the same family born into them like the main characters, and made 1 antagonist from there.

-only have the king created for the royal family

-created Master Fox for the main character

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Things I still should consider:

- cultivation ranks by stage

- if anyone who dislike MC has a title from an important place like divine lord or sacred lady...etc. And what power house bestow it. And that's if I put it in the early chapters.

-how much detail I want to go into for cultivation arts (that could be 10 rants and then some)

-how many obsticles and how much hate talk I truely want to put my main character through

- and what is her personality? Is she still happy go lucky, as she is more mature than her age lets on

- etc.

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Writers block turned to this, but now I don't know how to plan out what I'm working on, so new stories it it😅

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gwenivere · 1 year

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* 💘 — what and/or who do you consider near and dear to you? ✈️ — ever traveled anywhere interesting? 🎮— favorite video game(s)? 🖊— any tattoos? 🍰 — favorite sweet(s)/dessert(s)? 🐶 — any pets? 📕 — favorite book/series? 😗 — what are some of your favorite things to do when you have some time to yourself? 💯 — share three random facts about yourself that your mutuals may not know about you. !! › @manaborn , prompt [ … ] accepting

💘 — what and / or who do you consider near and dear to you? obviously , at the top of my list , there's my family , composed of my mother , father and younger sibling . also high up there is my girlfriend , carmen , who was also one of my first partners on here funnily enough . these four , alongside my best friend , are the people i consider the closest and dearest to me . in terms of objects , i'd have to answer books and tea , if only because i love both and they play an instrumental part in my daily life . i would also consider my job to be something near and dear to me , if only because i'm lucky enough that i get to do something everyday that makes me happy .

✈️ — ever traveled anywhere interesting ? there are two places i consider to be the most interesting . the first is sidney by the sea , a small town on the island of vancouver in western canada . sidney by the sea is the country's sole booktown , and i had the privilege to spend an afternoon roaming through all of the various bookstores before watching the sun set in the sea at the nearby beach . it's a wonderful place , if you can afford to go . the other interesting place i've traveled to is lebanon . i might be biased since i'm lebanese on my father's side , but i genuinely think the entire country is gorgeous and worth visiting , and i miss going there , although it's harder to visit now that my grandparents have both passed away . i also sometimes joke with my family that lebanon is the only place in the world where you can choose to go ski in the morning and go to the beach in the evening .

🎮 — favorite video game(s) ? bloodborne is my favorite game ever , but other games i enjoy include the soulsborne series , identity v , the dishonored series , celeste and the house in fata morgana . i also want to try splatoon , in spite of being bad at shooters , lol .

🖊 — any tattoos ? unfortunately , no , since i'm scared of needles . i was toying with the idea of getting the scarlet wing's flower or the red butterfly from mia goodwin's tomboy down the line , but since i'm approaching my thirties , i'm debating on whether or not i should since i am starting to consider myself too old for tattoos .

🍰 — favorite sweet(s)/dessert(s) ? i'm fond of french pastries , mostly st. honoré cakes and religieuses , as well as more traditional lebanese sweets like qatayef and kadaif . i also like strawberry shortcakes and mochis , as well as most gummies , peach rings especially .

🐶 — any pets ? none unfortunately , although i'd like to have one in the future once my girlfriend and i move in together . i'd like to have a cat , but my sibling's allergic , so maybe a dog .

📕 — favorite book/series ? there are too many to enumerate , but some of my favorites include paradise rot by jenny hval , my sister the serial killer by oyinkan braithwaite , drive your plow over the bones of the dead by olga tokarczuk , her body and other parts by carmen maria machado , all's well by mona awad and nous , anastasia r. by patrice ordas and patrick cothias ( which is available in french only ) . in terms of series , i'm quite fond of the radiant emperor series by shelley parker-chan , the burning kingdom series by tasha suri and the magic of the lost series by c.l. clark . books i'm looking forward to are silver nitrate by silvia moreno-garcia ( which will include lebanese-mexican rep !! ) and a study in drowning by ava reid ( my latest hyperfixation ) .

😗 — what are some of your favorite things to do when you have some time to yourself ? read and drink tea . i also enjoy listening to music on my phone , although i am lucky enough to own a couple of cds by some of my favorite artists . walking and exploring the nearby city is also something i enjoy doing by myself , alongside visiting bookstores or the national library .

💯 — share three random facts about yourself that your mutuals may not know about you. 1. my favorite flowers are lilac , hortensia and lavender . 2. i work as a teacher specialized in teaching immigrant kids and teens . 3 . my copy of a river through time ( the first guinevere jones book by random house australia ) is signed by tamara hope , who played gwen in the show .

#manaborn #answer .#thank you for sending me all of these #the book question in particular forced me to think

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iheartsunset · 2 years

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is it ok if i ask more abt Kohaku Nyoka and Terrence? think they have interesting designs

Of course! I always love talking about my OCs. These three might just be my favorite trio out of all of them. The three refer to themselves as “The Fashionistas,” but most of the student body has taken to calling them “The Outcasts.”

Kohaku Masuda: 🐸 💖😊

-A 17 year old 2nd year at Sakura Bay High School who lives with her aunt Joelle and aunt Sibyl. She is part of a set of triplet, with her siblings, Kei and Kanna, attending the faraway Croquembouche Preparatory Academy on academic and sports scholarships.

-Kohaku is energetic and tends to hyperfixate on various movies, shows, books, and video games. While others at school find her cringey and loud, Kohaku’s TikTok, ribbit_in_ribbons, has tens of thousands of followers for her art and cosplays. She always plans elaborate group hangouts and often has to-do lists for their parties and sleepovers. Still, her favorite thing to do is sleep, and she can often be found sleeping on someone’s lap, her friends’ shoulders, or a completely random and weird place.

-She had a great relationship with her siblings, but her average grades and poor physical ability makes her feel inferior to them. Her aunts always encourage her to find her own path, but Kohaku can’t help but wish that she could be with them at their fancy school. She likes to imagine Nyoka and Terrence as her siblings because of this. When the other two come back for the holidays, Kohaku is always in the highest spirits.

-Kohaku is so unintentionally funny. Her humor and comedic timing is immaculate and her jokes are clever. This has earned her the class clown superlative.

Nyoka Inaba: 🍬🏄🏼‍♀️🍡

-A 16 year old 2nd year at Sakura Bay High School. She lives with her parents, Jabali and Umeko; her grandparents, Lucille and Faraji; and her half brother, Mwenye (another OC of mine).

-Whip smart and precocious, Nyoka has had many offers to attend Croquembouche Preparatory Academy on full academic scholarship or to skip grades altogether. She could easily be top of the class if she put any effort into actually attending school, but everyone constantly underestimating her only drives her further away from schoolwork. When Nyoka does attend school, she talks back to teachers, disregards the rubrics, and breaks every class rule. She has found a bit of a following online and in school because of her interest in gyaru fashion and dance.

-Nyoka often ditches class to go to 50’s style diners, parties, photo shoots, the mall, and movies. While it annoys her friends that she’s never at school, she does always come back at lunch to bring them food from the diner or party favors she stole. Mwenye is well aware of her skipping and doesn’t care if it results in her failing school, but he only calls her out on it to looks better in front of others.

-Nyoka is indifferent to Mwenye and once respected him, but he’s threatened by her because she’s much smarter and more likable than him. This leads to him constantly snitching on her, demeaning her, and undermining her achievements. Nyoka does love her parents, but they do absolutely nothing to defend her against Mwenye’s insults and threats both at school and at home. Her grandparents are always on her side and do call Mwenye out on his behavior, at least. Because of this hostile home environment, Nyoka spends 99% of her time out of the house or with her friends.

-Her collection of makeup, purses, and clothes are S tier. Like any Pinterest and TikTok post about y2k and Gyaru fashion is yielded within her closet. Adriana went inside once and fainted in shock. She lets Kohaku borrow her things all the time, but the last time, Kohaku broke her ankle from a set of 6 inch leopard print heels.

Terrence Jiang: 🍘🍁🥮

-A 17 year old 2nd year at Sakura Bay High School who lives under the care of his elderly grandfather, Muchen, while his father, Grant, is perpetually out of town on some strange expenditure.

-Terrence has the tendency to always get inside his own head and immediately jumps to the worst case scenario, causing his face to be in a perpetual state of gloom. He’s paranoid and always on high alert, but he always seems to let his guard down in the worst situations. The only people who can calm him down are his grandpa and his friends, along with any fluffy animals.

-Terrence is the manager for the lacrosse team and actually gets along with all the boys there. He vibes with Luo and Atom, but he ends up chasing Yumeno around the field with a hose most of the time.

-Terrence resents his father for always leaving him to take care of the house and his grandpa. His father’s self destructive habits and immaturity mean that Terrence always has to look after him when he IS home. His grandpa appreciates Terrence’s care and loves to tell him dark fairytales and scary stories.

-He reminds me of Malleus from TWST for some reason. Maybe it’s the whole gothic vibe and all that.

-Nyoka and Kohaku act as his wingwomen because he has a huge crush on Eve. Their methods include a mistletoe and a plate of cookies with milk, but all attempts to set them up have ended in something on fire. They like to tease him when he tries to awkwardly ask Eve out. Eventually, they do get together on Christmas Eve after breaking into the same house to deliver presents. That house was Jojo the Food Critic’s, and Prudence also broke in to do the same thing. They all spent Christmas Day in lockup.

As “The Fashionistas/The Outcasts:”

-They met in elementary school, but they didn’t really become friends until middle school. Basically the teachers would be like “get into groups,” and they’d be the only people left over and had to form a group. They’d always get picked last for stuff and were liners in their own right. Eventually, they just started partnering up for everything, and that blossomed into a friendship.

-They protect each other from angry teachers, terrible families, and bullies. They all like to insult Mwenye when he’s being mean to Nyoka while they also drew a crude mustache on all pictures of Terrence’s dad. If you bully any of them, prepare to find yourself bombarded with pranks, dragged to filth in the group chat, and exposed online for all of your misdeeds.

-“Three tickets to the Barbie movie, please.”

-They all celebrate differently during the holidays (Kohaku celebrates Hanukkah, Nyoka celebrates Kwanza, and Terrence celebrates Christmas), so they throw a huge holiday party for them, Kohaku’s family, and Terrence’s grandpa.

-Terrence has made friends with Luo and Lakira, Nyoka is the muse of the Powerpuff trio (Adriana, Lakira, and Icy) and Atom’s study buddy, and Kohaku posts cosplay duets with Nelly.

-All in all, they are just a bunch of idiots in a found family trope and I would lay down my life for them.

#papa louie #flipline studios #flipline #my hcs #kohaku masuda #nyoka inaba #terrence jiang

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survey--s · 2 years

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381.

Have you ever had a dream that your teeth were falling out? Nope, I don’t think that’s ever happened before. Do you have a fence? No, our garden is walled, but we did put trellis on top of one wall as the dog could jump over and get into next doors’ house lol. Do you think that in the end, everything will fall into place? Nope. I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s a lovely idea but the world just doesn’t work like that. When was the last time you went bowling? About six years ago when we went to Blackpool. Who was the last person you disappointed? I have absolutely no idea.

Would you ever get a significant other’s name tattooed on yourself? Nope, I don’t really like name tattoos anyway. Name one unpopular opinion of yours: Religion is dangerous. Has the person you like ever made you upset? Sure, I mean, we’re married and we’ve been together for years. Arguments and upset is a normal part of any relationship imo. What is one thing people automatically notice about you? The fact that I wear glasses. Does anyone know your deepest darkest secret? I don’t really have a deep, dark secret. If you were getting unwanted attention by some creeper, would the person you like stand up for you? Of course. Favorite kind of soda? Pepsi Max or Tango. Are you closer to your mother or father? My mum, by far. Are you afraid of the dark? Nope. What’s your favorite shape? Stars or circles. How social are you? I’m really not very sociable as a rule. Don’t get me wrong, I do like going out and socialising sometimes but it has to be on my terms and I always like to have a built-in excuse ready just in case, hahaha. What’s your favorite primary color? Blue. Do you like hot chocolate? I love proper Italian hot chocolate, but not the horrible powdered stuff. What do you have pierced? Earlobes x 3, cartilage x 2, nose and belly button. What’s your favorite type of tea? Earl Grey or Yorkshire Biscuit Brew. Green Tea is okay too. Who are you subscribed to on YouTube? A bunch of people who upload TV shows I like. What’s your favorite thing about the winter? Christmas break, my birthday, snow, Christmas lights, food etc. What motivates you? Money, mostly. Would you rather have a hot tub or a pool? A pool with a jacuzzi bit in the corner lol. Realistically though we’d use a hot tub more as the weather around here is rubbish. What’s your favorite Yankee Candle scent? I’m not a fan of Yankee Candle but I use a lot of scented wax melts. My current favourites are orange and vanilla, cherry, gingerbread, cinnamon buns, raspberry and sandalwood, honey and woodland smoke, vanilla and lime and vintage book store. Would you rather learn how to play the ukulele or guitar? Guitar. If you are up after 3 am, what are you most likely doing? I am NEVER up that late unless I’ve woken up for a wee lol. Would you ever keep your favorite animal as a pet? No. As cute as they are...no, lol. What are your thoughts and feelings towards work/jobs in general? Meh, I love my job but if I won the lottery, I’d quit tomorrow lol. Do you believe in astrology? Not even slightly. What is something that you’ve made/created? Do you take pride in your creations? My business, and yes, I’m bloody proud of it. Do you have any cultural or family traditions that you know are uncommon in the area that you reside in currently? No, not that I can think of, anyway. What are you grandparents' names? I’m not going to be naming them here as they’re all quite unusual names. Have you ever been bitten by a dog? Yes, twice. The last time you got blood drawn, what was the reason? Blood tests to check for a hormone imbalance. Where are you, exactly, right now? I’m on the sofa in the living room and watching TV. What is your relation to the last child you spoke to? He’s the grandson of one of my customers at work. His name is Max and he’s super cute, lol. Are you scared to look at your own organs on x-ray or ultrasound? Nah, I think it’s pretty cool to be able to see inside your own body. Have you ever walked on a frozen lake/river? Yeah, Lake Louise in Canada. Have you ever seen a volcano? Yeah, a few. Have you ever met an Alaskan? Nope. Describe how you’ve broken a bone, if you have. I fractured my skull falling off the monkey bars when I was about eleven. Choose 5 friends, and briefly describe their relationship status. Sophie - married with three children. Susie - in a long-term relationship with a grown up child. Jade - married with no children. Suzanne - married with an 11yo son. Tracey - married with grown-up kids and a couple of grandchildren. Describe the last situation in which you found yourself feeling awkward. This morning when someone let their dogs run upto mine even though they were both on leads and one was growling like fuck. CONTROL YOUR ANIMALS. Do you have a neighbor you'd like to get to know more? Nope. If you're female, would you rather be called a girl, woman, gal, chick, b*tch, or lady? Woman. What magazines did you like to read as a teenager? Teen Vogue, ElleGirl, GirlTalk. Did you use Lisa Frank folders in school when you were younger? No, it wasn’t really a thing here. Do you watch any doctors' channels on YouTube? I watch Dr Pimple Popper and some of those other spot squeezing ones. Have you ever lived in a house that was on a street corner? Nope. What’s your favorite app? BeatStar. Do you want any tattoos? I’ll happily have more but I don’t have any real plans at the moment. What is the saddest song you’ve ever heard? Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton or Sarabeth by Rascal Flatts. Are you afraid of snakes? Nah, I think snakes are pretty cool. Which “famous couple” is your favorite? I don’t really care much for celebrity couples. What’s your favorite love song? I don’t really have one. How important is it to make a relationship official (p.e. on Facebook)? Not particularly, but that being said, I’d be pretty pissed off if my partner was actively against it being on Facebook. Are you the “dominant” or the “submissive” part in a relationship? I’m probably more dominant. What career do you want? I love what I do at the moment. What about having kids? Nope. Not for me. I really wanted kids a while ago but now I’m seriously glad that we never went down that road. Do you think you’ll marry your current significant other? We are married. How did your first serious breakup go? It was horrendous at the time. [TW: SELF-HARM] Have you ever cut yourself? Yes. The first time you dumped someone, was it hard? I suppose so. Do you regret who you lost your virginity to? No. Do you watch WWE Raw? Nope. Do you dye your hair? Not really anymore, but I do go through phases of wanting to. Which of your parents will you see next? My mum. Have you ever been hospitalized? Yeah, twice. Three times if you include when I was born. Do you make fun of obese people? No. Who does that? Do you eat when you’re upset? Yes. I’m a huge comfort eater. One word to describe your most recent ex? Liar. Fried, poached, boiled or scrambled eggs? No eggs. Bleurgh. Where, in your current country, would you like to live, other than where you do now? Skye. Where wouldn’t you want to live? London. Name three things that are overrated: Crocs, high waisted jeans, pumpkin spice lattes. List four things about your facial appearance: I wear glasses, my nose is pierced, I have a tiny birthmark on my chin and I have brown eyes. List four things about your general appearance: I have multiple piercings, I have one tattoo, I’m quite tall and I have curly hair. What was the last thing that made you laugh out loud? The dog came running downstairs with a waggy tail demanding a cuddle lol. It was just really cute. How many weddings have you ever been to? Just my own. I have no interest in attending anyone’s wedding, really. Would you ever wear real authentic leather? Yeah. How old are your parents? My dad is 68 and my mum is 64. What song is stuck in your head at the moment? Nothing at the moment. What’s your boss’s first name? Do you call him/her by that name? I’m self-employed.

#survey #surveys

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wallflowerglitter · 1 month

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2, 16, and 29!

Awwww thank you!!! ♥️✨♥️✨♥️

2. My favorite color is yellow! It has been since I was a little kid, and now I just find it so comforting (my mom said it was almost blue though.) I wrote a silly little poem about it in English class when I was little. These days I think green is a close second because it makes my mind feel clean and alive?

16. I feel most at home at my grandparent’s house, though it feels really empty now that they’re gone. I practically grew up there as my mom went to nursing school when I was two and I spent a lot of time with them (when I wasn’t at preschool.) And when I was a baby I lived there for a while before my parents divorced. They lived in the middle of nowhere almost and there were so many trees to climb. My Grampa built a huge playhouse for me to put on my plays, he painted it all kinds of colors (yellow, pink, red, blue), but my aunt painted it gray and white a few years ago. The monkey bars he built me are still there but the sandbox has been turned into a garden and the swings were given away. Some of my favorite trees were struck by lightning a few years ago. Some of the lights don’t turn on until you touch them, the stairs are steep, but I can run down them at top speed bound across the landing and slide across the kitchen floor in seconds, and if it rains enough there are billions of wild blueberries. It’s still the closest I’ve ever felt to home and we were really really close.

29. When I was a kid I collected so many things! My mom always called me a packrat. I really loved that episode of Winnie The Pooh after that and would ransack the kitchen for shiny things (like copper measuring spoons, and those little tea strainers that looked like houses) with a pillowcase. I was really into rocks though. I had buckets full. My Grampa bought a tumbler and made me a necklace once. As an adult I guess, I somewhat casually? Collect Taylor merch. It’s kind of impossible to be a completist because it’s so hard to get some of the merch due to scalping. And the last time I ordered rare vinyl it got stolen in the mail, or miss delivered and never returned, who really knows? I have more lipstick than anyone should ever own, my room is overflowing with books. But mostly, I think I collect little trinkets. A broken watch with a moon in it, a little plastic flower candle holder, those clear pacifier beads they used to make, every letter or note anyone ever sent me, little jingle bells I had as kid, vintage tins and candy dishes, old perfume bottles, a unicorn music box, a few old starcastles. As for hobbies I really like movies and I like to make people unhinged gifts sometimes. I like vintage cameras, though film can be expensive so I don’t take as many pictures as I would like. I’m trying to get back into beads and I’ve been trying to learn Enchanted on the kalimba (I wanted to learn the smallest man who ever lived but I couldn’t find a tutorial for that and I can only read vocal music.)

It was so sweet of you to send me asks!! ✨💖🌙

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fangirling-heart · 2 months

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Ask game! Hope you’re having a good day :]

3,7,15,26,39

Hi! Day's going well, slow and nice and hot (thank God for ice cream).

Now let's get to those asks! ^_^

3. favourite quote?

That's tough... I have several favorite quotes from different media... I'm gonna put my top 3:

"Look kid, everyone wants to believe they're "chosen". But if we all waited around for a prophecy to make us special, we'd die waiting. That's why you have to choose yourself." From The Owl House

"Maybe in the end... we are what we are and nothing more. Neither what our grandparents were, nor what our parents were... Isn't that what you believe?" From In The Nick Of Time

"Pain is about being human, Xemnas." "Really? It must take... incredible strength." From Kingdom Hearts 3

7. what is your love language?

A mix of touch, words of affirmation and acts of service.

15. you can only wear one colour for the rest of your life, what colour is it?

Probably blue. Actually come to think of it, a good amount of my clothes is some shade of blue. Purple is a really close second.

26. you can only read one book for the rest of your life. what book is it?

Part of me is thinking this question came because of my post about finishing Loveless yesterday. And yes, that's the one I'd pick! It is such a good book!

39. you can dye your hair any colour and it would look good regardless, what colour are you dying it?

Purple or blue. Oh, maybe both! Maybe blue with purple highlights! Or starting blue and changing into purple! It would be so pretty!

#Thanks for the ask!#:)#Answered asks

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msmercury84 · 7 months

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"I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm

South Philadelphia, New Year's Eve, 1945"

From "I Double Dare You-A Rendezvous With Destiny."

youtube

Author's Note: Some sections are for readers over 18 years of age. In other words, smut warning. The expression "And how!" was popular with Bill Guarnere's generation. He used the expression in the book he wrote with Babe Heffron and I heard my grandparents use the expression, too. The depiction of Bill is based upon the actor's portrayal in the movie.*

Earlier in the week, Bill mentioned that he would enjoy having a small serving of pasta "wit' that good gravy ya make" the next time they had steaks.

Leigh got a good recipe from Augusta for a marinade that was great for beef. The day before New Year's Eve, she combined garlic, red wine, some salt, a dash of pepper and a hint of oregano.

Leigh turned on the radio to have music playing while she finished the special supper. She donned an apron made of material with tiny red roses. Protecting her favorite dress was top priority.

When Bill got home from work, he embraced and kissed Leigh after hanging up his snow covered coat on a coat tree in the kitchen and putting his gloves on the coat tree to dry.

"Thanks, Honey." She winked, adding, "You ain't seen nothin' yet."

"What's goin' on, Sweetheart? Sounds like you're up to somethin'."

"You'll see, be patient. I'll make it worth the waiting."

Guarnere went upstairs to put on a clean dress shirt after shaving. The atmosphere in the house was cozy, with the Christmas decorations, a fire in the living room fireplace and music on the radio.

After they finished their supper, Bill told her,

"Thanks, Bill. Let me get the dishes and then we can get ready to celebrate the new year."

"Nothin' doin', Leigh. I'm helpin' wit the dishes. How 'bout I wash an' you dry? That way, your dress won't get ruined.