#there are books out there about women going on adventures. they exist. i've read some

[girlscience]

i am so goddamn tired of every single fantasy story being about men. i am so goddamn tired of women being side characters and love interests and set dressing and an afterthought. i am so goddamn tired of women who are powerful but feminine. women who are "dressed to kill" and they are wearing eyeliner and a dress and heels. i am so goddamn tired of women always being healers and having water magic. i am so goddamn tired of men going on adventures and dying nobly. i am so goddamn tired of never being able to find a story about women that i can fall in love with. i am so goddamn tired of all fandom being about men.

[annie0183]

Hating on books and other fiction

This rant came out as some friends were talking about people’s reaction and hate towards some books and authors and how the words shitty and trashy are so used towards some genres. This is going to be long….

I think calling a genre trash is absolutely stupid. BL books are equally loved and reviled by people. Simply because the main target of these stories are women, or more exactly straight women that supposedly fetishize gay relationships. It’s similar to how the books written in the past were hated because they weren’t more than written porn for women. The reason those books were called trash was because they were written by women for women. Which I see as an insult towards women, the same way calling Mame's book's trash is an insult towards those that enjoy her books.

No, I don’t deny that there are straight women fetishizing gay relationships, and let’s be honest, that’s how BL series have appeared. And I don’t deny that some books are nothing more than porn, including those past books. I read those, they were cringy, over the top but I enjoyed them. Easy to read, something to pass time. Sometimes I need that, and there are a lot of people that sometimes need an easy read.

I hate the so-called intellectuals that pretend they are better than the rest because they hate these books. You don't need epic adventures or convoluted storylines for a book to be good. What makes a book good is the people that enjoy it. As long as you take it with a grain of salt and keep in mind that it’s fiction, therefore not real, you can read whatever you enjoy. You’re not superior for hating a book the same way you’re not superior for loving that book. Different tastes people, why do we tend to forget those exist?  

I've seen people saying a book is trash because one character annoys them or is one dimensional. And I'm like... have you met people? Do you ever go out of your room and meet people? Because let me tell you, people are one dimensional, boring, and annoying. Your expectation of epic characters is absolutely unrealistic, and if authors keep their books anchored to the real world is normal to see these types of characters. Every boring person out there is the main character of their own story. You can not like a book, which is normal and, in your right, but labeling a book trash because you find annoying a character, or the plot is not doing it for you it's trashier than the book.

The hate Mame receives in the BL world reminds me a bit of Twilight and how it became a trend to hate the books and the movies, forgetting they were targeted towards teenagers and it wasn’t supposed to be a deep story.  People have criticized Bella to hell and back: she’s a boring character, why is she so obsessed with Edward, why is everyone so attracted to her and so on.

Bella is an awkward teen girl, they are boring overall, half of the girls my year in highschool were carbon copy of Bella, so what a surprise, boring teens exist… Why is she so obsessed with Edward? Hmm, awkward teen with self-confidence issues, parents divorced, a mostly absent dad, absentminded mom and the feeling of being set aside by her mom moving maybe, and look at this, the hottest guy in school is paying attention to her and she discovers that he’s actually a vampire a supernatural being so damn amazing. Of course, she’s obsessed. I mean… have you ever had a crush in your teenage years?

Oh, but why is everyone attracted to her... Small boring town, city girl moving there, she’s not described as being an ugly alien with tentacles coming out of her eyes, so she’s cute at least if not out of this world gorgeous, of course people were curious and attracted. She was the shiny new toy on the playground.

It’s easy to see that if you actually stop and think about it, a lot of those things that were seen as flaws actually had a reason to be the way they were. An adult most probably won’t enjoy these stories, which is ok, because they weren’t written for them. Why do we have to shame kids and teens for what they like?

There is a very dangerous trend of holding fiction work on a pedestal and wanting fiction to be sanitized and even puritanical, with perfect characters and perfect plot and healthy environments. If we keep doing this, we’ll end up with the same book/series/movie under a different title. Let’s not censor fiction and let artists create their art the way they want and need.

I understand not wanting to read about an abusive character or, a scummy villain, but some people enjoy the stories, and NO it's not because they romanticize toxic relationships or SA or DV, it’s because these stories bring out things that happen in the real world and aren’t talked about as they should. Sometimes these issues aren’t dealt with as they should be in the books, but it’s maybe because a lot of these issues aren’t dealt with the right way in real life either.

There are books/series out there for everyone. With boring ass characters that lead boring lives like all of us do in real life, because let’s face it, we’re not out there slaying dragons and discovering new worlds, and epic stories with three-dimensional characters going on the adventure of their life. Go, read and watch the stories that appeal to you, whichever those may be.

You’re entitled to your opinion; you’re entitled to not like a story, but there is a difference between constructive criticism and straight up hating because the books are not your style. The line is fine, but it’s there. Before you go around calling a book shit, stop and think about it. Is it really shit, or you’re just nitpicking and straight up hating simply because the plot and characters don’t appeal to you?

Dedicated to @lutawolf

[ziezie13]

People i want to get to know better

@everythingbutcoldfire thanks for the tag, i haven't done one of these in a while lol

Last song: To Ashes and Blood ‐ Woodkid, watching the new season of arcane and the sound track already has me in a chokehold

Favorite Color: I never know how to answer this one, I love bright red for some things but then blue or green are definitely my favorites for decor or clothes

Last book: The Frugal Wizard's Handbook to Surviving Medievel England ‐ Brandon Sanderson, I've been slowly making my way through Sanderson's quarintine projects and I find them much more accessible than his series books. They are super quick entertaining reads and lots of fun. I'll probably get a copy for my dad for christmas because it seems right up his alley.

Last Movie: Death Becomes Her, it's one of my favorites and wanted to watch it with my sister after she showed me the Sabrina Carpenter music video. She really liked it!

Last TV Show: Arcane, just rewatched season 1 in preperation for the new one!

Sweet/spicy/savory: savory all the way!

Relationship status: in a committed realtionship with me, myself, and I

Last thing that i googled: Las Donas de la Corte, it's a coronation pageant that has existed in my hometown for decades and i wanted to show my friends the absolutely gorgeous pieces of art these women wear, seriously the dresses are put on display at the local art museum after each coronartion and are so freaking cool. I definitely recomend looking them up, they are different every year and the themes go so hard.

Curent obsession: still stray kids, i don't think i will be moving on anytime soon

Looking forward to: i have a new dnd game starting up this week! I haven't played for several years and i'm very excited about my character, she's a gravedigger who stayed in her small town while her friends set out on adventures but one by one they returned in boxes for her to bury. She has sworn a paladin's oath to complete each of their missions.

Let's see i'll tag @brethilaki @chubsthehamster @beedragony if you want to of course

[feminismisstillahatemovement]

Feel free not answer, by the way.

Is there a healthy version of feminism that focuses on women's rights without becoming a cesspool of negativity and hatred for men, while still keeping in touch with traditional values? I don't know if something like that exists but I thought I'd ask anyways.

In your opinion, do you believe women—in the past, at least—were truly oppressed? I feel like the narrative told by radical feminists is incomplete, since they like to approach things primarily from a men hate women perspective.

One last thing, what are your thoughts on SCUM Manifesto? Reading the book, even back then when I was more radfem-aligned, made me feel uncomfortable. I couldn't relate to weird ramblings that she wrote about. Looking back now, I feel like Valerie was a deeply unwell women with a lot of unresolved issues that she dumped entirely on men. A well-adjusted person wouldn't harbour such extreme hatred. I find the same 'unwellness' in most radical feminists and it kind of makes me sad.

"Is there a healthy version of feminism that focuses on women's rights without becoming a cesspool of negativity and hatred for men, while still keeping in touch with traditional values?"

The only things I'm aware of are small pockets called "Individualist Feminism" or more recently "Ifeminism", which focus on equal rights for both women and men and leave it at that. But the women going by that label are such a incredibly tiny minority and are often distrusted or even attacked by the other feminists who, particularly from the 1970s onwards, are so deeply rooted in man-hating "Patriarchy Theory" that anyone refusing to join in is instantly categorized a traitor and enemy.

My point is, women who refuse to blame men (or the fictional "Patriarchy") for everything will never be welcome within the larger movement, so I'm not able to see the point of identifying that way myself.

"do you believe women—in the past, at least—were truly oppressed?"

I suppose I think the great majority of people could be said to be "oppressed" in some way at some point in their lives: any time an individual or the state uses violence against you, any time a person in authority targets you unfairly or discriminates against you, or compels you to do something you wouldn't choose to do, you have some sort of argument for being "oppressed". Feminism is idiotic and actively harmful because it puts forth a conspiracy theory collectively blaming exactly half of the entire human race for things individuals of all sexes, races, sexualities and political affiliations can do, and it wrongly presents that model as the best way of understanding all past and present human events.

Universal gender roles are overwhelmingly a product of evolution, of adapting to the hostile world over millions of years to best survive: if there ever was a society that sent its women out to hunt and to war while the men stayed home and played with the kids while baking bread, that society was quickly wiped out by war or starvation or population decline, and entirely eradicated from history because of how stupid and delusional it was.

The societal demands on both sexes must have seemed unfair to many people at points throughout history, and there must have been individuals who felt hard-done to and constrained by societal expectations in every age, whether it be the teenage boys being shipped off to die in war against their will or sent down a coal mine every day of their life, or the bored middle class Victorian girls who wanted to make more of themselves in work or travel the world having unaccompanied adventures. I've said before that the most repressive societies in regard to women - such as Islamic societies today - can be best understood as overprotection rather than misogyny: the more warlike or under attack a society perceives itself to be, the more it locks its women away to keep them from being stolen or killed.

Don't know if that fully answers your question but those are some of my thoughts on those matters.

"what are your thoughts on [the] SCUM Manifesto?"

I used to own a copy of that book in my feminist youth. Valerie Solanas was obviously a mentally sick, hysterical and evil woman, but sadly she was the canary in the coal mine for what was to come: There are tens of thousands of Valerie Solanases wandering the world today, making life worse for everyone, and they all seem to have a Tumblr.

[depizan]

I hate clicking on/picking up an interesting looking book, only to find out it's a fucking romance. The weird thing is, I don't necessarily hate romances. I will, occasionally, pick up actual romances that are recommended to me, and I have an unholy and completely irrational fondness for gothic romances. But when a book appears to be sci-fi (well, space adventure/sci-fi-lite) or fantasy, but noooope, it's all about how the interesting sounding female main character is goopy over some dude, it pisses me off.

I've tried to get a handle on this before, because it makes absolutely no sense that I will accept romance as a way to get atmospheric old chalets/manors/castles, families with bits of their past that no one talks about, people sneaking about at night (probably by candlelight), and climactic showdowns in thunderstorms in unsafe parts of castles or on top of cliffs...and yet every fiber of my being revolts against accepting romance as a way to get my space adventure or fantasy adventure fix.

Is it because I know non-romance-focused versions of those exist? (Unlike the gothic romances.) Because I came to those genres from stories with male leads, and thereby no equally huge romance plots? So I resent that a female lead inherently means some giant stupid romance plot in an otherwise fun sounding story of intergalactic adventure or fantasy shenanigans?

Is it just that I still don't trust female led sci-fi after all those yeeted-after-the-first-chapter-due-to-rape books I tried from the Science Fiction Bookclub when I was a teen. I mean, if there has to be something wrong with the books, I'd rather it was a romantic plot tumor than rape, but jesus fucking christ, I just want to read adventure stories with leads that don't have to spend most of the book schmooping over some fucking dude. (And, like, 90% of the time if you just removed the romance part, whatever else might be going on between the main character and the romantic interest is perfectly interesting.)

(I am also at least 50% less annoyed if the lead is schmooping over another woman. And, weirdly, I am not anywhere near as put off by romance in fanfic. I don't search for parings, but I don't object to them.)

Admittedly, part of it is probably that the gothic romances are more like those ordinary person sucked into adventure stories that were so popular in the '80s across genres and genders (American Dreamer, Romancing the Stone, Adventures in Babysitting, Innerspace, The Last Starfighter...). The main character is an ordinary person swept up in some kind of creepy shenanigans, and usually kind of come into their own in the process (rather like in the movies above). While the books that flip my rage switch feature characters who are already doing their thing being somehow reduced to romance partner.

...

It's the underlying sexism, isn't it. It really is just the modern, less bad version of the "welp, gotta rape the main character and put her in her place" shit from the books I never finished as a teen. Can't have women as actual full on people doing people things. They're only good as romance prizes, even when they're supposed to be the main character.

Haaaaate.

(And, yes, I know that is the absolute worst interpretation possible. But it is so fucking rare for a story to actually treat a female protagonist the way it would a male protagonist. Which is probably also why fanfic doesn't annoy me...)

[jespancake]

Sexual Content in Media

CW: discussion of explicit content in games, books, etc, brief strong language

So I've been thinking about this for a while, and I decided I'd just scream into the digital void about it, since I have no other outlet.

I've been playing a lot of Cyberpunk 2077 and Baldur's Gate 3 lately, two games which are quite notoriously sexually explicit. For whatever reason, I've been finding myself avoiding that content like the plague. I am allosexual, as far as I know, and a grown adult (more or less), so I have no reason to not enjoy it, but I still cringe and Alt+Tab out of the game window whenever there's an explicit cutscene.

Meanwhile, on the lawless app known as TikTok, a little book called Fourth Wing has become extremely popular, despite (or perhaps because of) being cover to cover porn. I haven't read it myself, aside from some small excerpts, which similarly make me cringe.

It seems to me like sexual content is becoming more and more common across all forms of media, which I have mixed feelings about. On one hand, sex is a simple fact of life for most people, and it's good that it's becoming less of a taboo. On the other hand, my personal aversion to it makes it difficult for me to enjoy media that is otherwise extremely well crafted, like the aforementioned games. Particularly Baldur's Gate.

In the case of Cyberpunk 2077, the explicit content feels natural. The game's setting is a crime ridden, dystopian future city, so of course there's going to be strip clubs and prostitution. Baldur's Gate, however, is a high fantasy adventure story, based on the Forgotten Realms D&D setting, and, at least in my opinion, the sexual content feels tacked on. If the game is supposed to feel like a D&D campaign, then including explicit content is unrealistic, since the vast majority of groups elect to fade to black rather than RP every moment.

BG3 is an amazing game on all accounts, and deserves every accolade and award it has been given. However, I honestly think it would have been even better if instead of spending development time and money on finding out how to model and texture the genitalia of every fantasy race in the game (INCLUDING THE FUCKING ILLITHIDS, for some reason, who, by the way, should not even HAVE genitals, since they don't reproduce sexually) and animating sex cutscenes for every companion and numerous NPC's, Larian Studios allocated those resources to refining the actual story and gameplay even further.

Anyway, If anyone has made it this far in my autism and caffeine induced ramble, I would love to know your opinion on sexual content in media. Especially since, so far, the only people I've found that share my viewpoint are hyper-Christians whose definition of "explicit content" includes LGBTQIA+ people existing and women wearing pants.

[the7continentplan]

Solo female travel. It really does feel like one of the last remaining taboos. Tell anyone who isn't one of us that you're traveling alone, and you could swear you said that you're really into intravenous drugs. I have an upcoming trip to a Caribbean island that will be my first true solo adventure- no tour group, no family, no friends. With that on my horizon, I've decided to talk about my experience with some common SFT myths- list of myths mostly lifted from this article.

Traveling, especially as a solo woman is soooooo dangerous.

For me, this one is dependent on your day-to-day existence. I grew up in a rough city, went to school in a rough city, and I live now in the rust belt. There are certainly places that are more dangerous than the places I've lived in, but let's not kid ourselves and act like America is an easy place for women. If you've lived in suburban Connecticut and going to private school your entire life, while also wrapped in bubble wrap and wearing horse blinders, your milage might vary. Other than that, if you follow the same safety rules you would at home- don't get falling down drunk without back-up, don't get arrested, know where the fuck you're going if you're going to walk around at night. And for the love of all that is good, if you decide to go to a country where women are expected to be more covered up, cover up a little. This goes triple or quadruple if you've decided to go to a religious monument. You're not a feminist for disrespecting someone's religious customs. It won't kill you, and it'll save you from unwanted attention and sunburn alike. If you're really that put off by a country's expectations of women, maybe don't go and give them your money. All in all, it's all about doing your research.

2. Eating by yourself is boring/awful/scary

I have found, far and away, that the US is the worst place to eat alone of the places I've been. I went to breakfast in Chicago once, went to the bathroom for less than 5 minutes, and when I returned my place had been cleared, my coat turned into the lost and found, and another customer seated at my table. In Spain? Was never once a problem. I have become an enormous fan of eating alone. My favorite eating alone experience recently was actually on an AirFrance flight from Paris. Me and an elderly, stereotypically Parisian were sitting in the row directly behind premium economy and had had the supreme good luck of having an empty middle seat between us. Airplane food is not typically a fan favorite, but AirFrance does pretty well. Camembert, beautiful little sandwiches, genuinely good wine out of tiny bottles, and an even smaller bottle of cognac with a Madeline to finish the meal. I made that meal last an hour. I stared out of the window at the Atlantic Ocean, savoring the experience of being in transit. Of what it felt like to come home. If you need a place to practice eating alone, try it on your next flight. You're probably not going to read that book anyway.

3. You travel solo because no one likes you

Yeah, maybe some people do this. Good for them! I support women's wrongs. Be a bitch, collect passport stamps. Work from 'home' in the South of France. I love you. But even if you aren't a bitch, adult friends are hard to plan things with. Someone's got a baby, someone's got no money, someone only wants to go to Italy, and another only wants to go to Japan. There's no shame in not wanting to wait for everything to line up perfectly to go with your friends- or even with your partner.

Uh-oh. I just heard the record scratch. I sometimes have a hard time even convincing other solo female travelers of this. Yes, I have a lovely committed SO of over a year. Yes, it would be lovely to take them along. But our budgets, schedules, and interests don't perfectly overlap. We like traveling together- we even survived a great American road trip in a microscopic car- and we in fact plan to go to Italy together sometime next fall. However, I'm a big believer in maintaining your individual personality in a relationship. I was a traveler before them, I am a traveler now, and I would still be a traveler if we ever parted ways. Me traveling alone doesn't mean anything about my relationship, except that one of us has more PTO than the other.

The comradery I share with fellow STFs- including any women who might read my words and yearn to travel even if you haven't yet- is more meaningful than I can describe, and the friends I have made in this pursuit are more meaningful than I can say. I met a girl on my first leg of a flight who was also going to be traveling solo. We parted after that first flight for different continents, but we meet up for drinks once a month or so. I've met dozens of women that I have mad fleeting, but important, friendships with that I've met in tour groups. Do they hear my work drama? No, we don't know each other. But they like my Instagram posts, and I text them whenever I have a question about somewhere they're been. One girl and I had a riveting and deeply philosophical conversation while I was on my lunch break from the night shift, and she was stuck in the Istanbul airport due to 4 consecutive flight cancelations. And in my upcoming trip to Australia, I will be returning back to the US mere days before a college friend will touch down in Sydney. We tried really hard to make being there at the same time work, but it just didn't. When we finally admitted we couldn't make out schedules work, we parted with the knowledge that we would still be thinking of each other as we planned an experienced.

4. If you are going with a tour group, you aren't a real solo traveler

Yeah, sure, no true Scotsman. If I got my dumb ass on the plane by myself, booked and planned and dreamed by myself, landed by myself, got a taxi to a hotel in a foreign country by myself, and then proceeded to travel with 2 dozen absolute strangers, I booked a solo trip. Solo doesn't mean alone. You can book tours, make friends in hostels, and maybe even meet up with friends for part of your trip. Any part you do without a trusted other makes it solo. Most people won't ever have that level of independence. So, if you're a solo travel purist, and for you that means no tour groups, that's fine. But let's not undercut what tour group SFTs are doing.

Also- solo with a tour group is a great step toward true solo. That's what it was for me. I started with tour groups, and now I'm venturing into 100% solo. But! For me, that's still going to included booked day tours and trying my damnedest to make friends at the hostel. And I am not going to stop going on group tours just because I've done some trips without a group now. For example, for my 2024 Thailand/Australia trip, I'll be doing the Thailand section with a group that includes one of my college friends. This will actually be the first time I travel international with someone I DO know, though I will be getting in a day early and exploring on my own. My rule of thumb going forward is to use tour companies, such as EF or G Adventures, for countries where I will need a translator. Any English or Spanish speaking countries, or countries where the majority of people will speak those languages, I won't be doing a tour for. I will be using tour groups when I want to have experiences that are difficult to plan for if you aren't local or if you didn't book way ahead- such as St. Paddy's day in Dublin or watching wildlife migrations in sub-Saharan Africa.

5. Hostels are nasty and you're gross for staying in one.

I've stayed in some really nice hostels! Again, just do your research. Hostelworld.com makes it very easy. If you're cool with sharing a bathroom you could get your accommodation for the week for the price of a hotel room for one night.

6. All of those vacations are a waste of money.

We all make different financial decisions. For me, I don't get my hair or nails done professionally, I bought a sensible car and paid off the note, and I live in an affordable city. I have a good job. I have savings set aside for retirement, emergency fund, wedding fund, and to pay for tuition for my master's program each semester, with a percentage of my income going to each of these accounts every week. Travel is the luxury I chose. As long as it's not cutting into my rent money and it makes me happy, it isn't a waste.

7. Traveling is only for rich people.

Firstly, travel doesn't need to be super expensive. My entire budget for Puerto Rico is $750. There are lots of great destinations, that you can get to by driving and you can camp there. The KOA network was great for me as I was just starting out.

International travel is a little bit of a different animal. For most Americans, Europe is likely completely out of the question. However, not being a trust fund baby doesn't necessarily mean you can't travel internationally. For me, 6.4% of my weekly income goes to travel, plus all bonus and any OT I manage to pick up. In 2022, I worked about 100 hours' worth of OT, which paid for everything in my Morrocco trip except for flights. I am on track to work about 180 hours' worth in 2023. For me and my household, this budget and the tradeoffs of me working long hours are worth it to support the travel lifestyle. Another household could be in our same situation and ultimately decide it's not worth it. Budgets are about what works for you!

8. You're not really a traveler if you haven't been to (insert city/country/attraction here).

No, I haven't seen the Louvre. Yes, I am a traveler. And vice versa for those who've only seen European capitals. Is it my cup of tea? No. But you're seeing and experiencing new things that interest you and I love that. The only people I'll really make a face about are the all-inclusive resort folks. It's your money if it's really important to you to sleep until noon in Antigua, but unless you've seen something beside the resort, you aren't a traveler.

I tend to feel like I'm not 'really' a traveler when I think about the fact that I've only actually been to 5 countries. Social media, especially if you follow a lot of travel Instagrams or have friends from traveling, can make you feel like everyone has been to at least 20 countries. It's just a basic probability problem though. If you're on a group tour, you're more likely to have people who go on 2-3 trips a year than you are people who go on one trip every 5 years. This isn't because there are so many of the first kind of people, it's because the second sort have only ever traveled with a few people.

The experiences you have traveling make you a traveler, not the tally mark of countries. Every missed layover, canceled flight, rainout of the one activity you wanted to do, and bout of motion sickness on a bus going through the mountains is turning you into the independent, bull headed, worldly person you know you can be. Yes, it's fun to talk to people who don't travel about what it was like to see La Sagrada Familia in person, but it barely even scrapes how fun it is to talk to other travelers about that time that you had a 6-hour layover in the same terminal as 75 German teenagers on their way back from New York being forced to periodically count themselves off for their teacher.

9. You're so brave for doing that, and I can't do that because I'm not as brave as you.

I'm a little baby about traveling. I get really, really scared. I am always at the airport waiting for my first plane at least 80% hoping that it will get cancelled last minute. I get to hostels and have to practice what I'm going to say to people. I'm worried they'll hate me. I panic every time I get back to my accommodation because I'm 10000% sure I've managed to lose something. I'm not any braver than you. You can do it.

10. Travel *changes* you

It won't! At least, not in the style of Eat, Pray, Love. The reality is much more subtle. I feel like I walk taller now. I have more confidence in my abilities. Is that about travel, or is it just what happens in between 19 and 22? It could be either. I certainly didn't need to go anywhere to *find myself*, and neither do you. Enjoy the pyramids. You don't need to feel enlightened after.

[friendsamongstars]

favorite book/series?

MUNDAY ASKS!

( I will spare you the obvious fact I love most any book written by Dav Pilkey since I hope that's been made clear. if it hasn't, Captain Underpants and Dogman are both great book series and the Dogman series specifically has been getting better and better with it's story.

Other favorite series include:

The Frog Princess by E.D Baker

Princess Emeralda doesn't like dealing with princess duties and finds a frog that claims to be a cursed prince named Eadric. After a mishap of turning into a frog herself they go on an adventure to become humans again. The rest of the series follows them and their relationship picking up friends that include a talking bat, a singing sword named Ferdy, dragons, a troll that's a son of one of Emma's previous suitors and a vampire that marries said talking bat.

A Wrinkle in Time

Meg Murray has alot to deal with including her dad who's missing and goes on an adventure with the school jock with a bad home life, her little brother, and three strange women that turn out to be more magical than she expected. I could go on about this book in an essay length I love it so much.

Hell Phone

A kid living in a trailer park with his single mother is doing his best to balance work, school and time with his girlfriend who's much better off. When he finally buys a cheap phone to be able to keep in contact with her better things go VERY WRONG. He ends up helping people that have family drama worthy of a netflix documentary. Worse, the culprit of said family drama is looking to swoop in on his girlfriend. All the while he ends up in hell and has to get out.

The Graveyard Book

The only other book I've read from Neil Gaiman and the first. Nobody Owens lost his family to a killer and only survived by chance, now being raised by ghosts in a graveyard. He has to stay there for his safety, but being isolated and surrounded by people who grew up eras before you doesn't make for the best life. On top of that, the killer is still lose and wants to finish the job. I adore Nobody Owens with all my heart and he deserves so much in life. He is too pure for this world.

Max Einstein

I learned too late you shouldn't really by James Patterson books but the first three in this series are a fun little ride about an orphan that lived homeless until being picked up for her intelligence by an organization with a rich benefactor that saw potential in her. Along with new friends she tackles various issues, obtains a robot little brother figure, and is overall a delight of a character. Her past is mysterious and while she wants answers, shes glad for her current family too. My only complaints are that the fourth book is awful and does not exist to me and the first three have some bad humor like often joking on the pudgier kid being obsessed with food. Otherwise I think it's pretty cute and Max is just trying to find her place and better the world.

[furiousofpanda]

A LITTLE ABOUT ME!!!

18 • Demisexual • Genderfluid • INTP-A

Hello! I am Wake, your local shapeshifter and jester harboring immortality at it's finest.

I go by any pronouns besides feminine aligned ones (she/her/etc) and I'm somewhat okay with neopronouns as long as you aren't being weird about it.

Because my sexuality and gender are under huge umbrellas, I jokingly use umbrella terms or similar at times (non-binary "non-biney", Trans, Asexual, Gay, Lesbian, Saffic) I'm still figuring out what to alighn with for what I'm attracted to but lets just say... Women

My internet Mascot and Sona is Wake, who is a hyperfix of mine

My favorite games are Portal 2, Bioshock (1&2 only), Stanley Parable and Viva Piñata: Party Animals

I love older or more obscure games that were once popular but I don't watch any television at all or read any books, if I watch TV it's anime or a cartoon series pfft

Particularly 8-bit rpg's, old Xbox 360 games or Friend sims (dating Sim style gamed where you can't or don't have to romance the/a character)

I am part of the closed species fandom. By textbook definition I am a furry and I have a fursuit + draw furry art, but I do not interact and am oftenly severely disconnected to the fandom. If anything the fandoms I interact the most with unironically have been the tf2 and Undertale Fandom even though I'm way too jaded and not all that interested into Undertale anymore.

My username is the same on all platforms, though if your unsure if a platform is actually me, feel free to message me, it's a really long list of how many websites I have accounts on.

My favorite Genres are Horror, Surrealism, Action/Adventure, RPG/Simulators, and whatever genre ENA and Yumi Nikki fit into

I do also like some games for their characters despite not liking their tropes, for example John Doe (from John Doe game) has kinda occupied the back of my mind despite hating the yandere trope and having been stalked before n the trama from it

He's a special kind of cluelessly wholesome aight? I can't describe it :/

I own several original species listed below, some I made, some I've gotten ownership of over time, I'll make posts on them eventually

All except Spinks and nakimi are open species

Nakimi and Spinks are "open" meaning you can make em without asking but they need to be approved by me to make sure they follow anatomy.

Spinks

Nakimi

Ucheraros

Quoins

Feirnix imps (Fluffy imps)

And a few more that are still in development

I ran out of image space but I also have 200+ ocs and about 152 or so on my sales account over on toyhouse! Same user ofc

So yeah I'm chill, this is me, howdy I exist.

I don't judge people unless they do something outrageous stupid that isn't funny, so feel free to message me whatever, I need friends y'know-

[wispstalk]

Tagged by @druidx

Relationship Status: in one

Favorite Color(s): i really don't have one but my wardrobe consists of nothing but black, blues, and browns

Favorite Food: if i had to pick, green curry

Song Stuck in My Head: 'Many Hands' - lingua ignota. i saw her live last night and holy shit. at one point she walked through the crowd holding a tower of light and got up on the chair next to mine to sing/scream the crescendo. two feet away from me. i still haven't finished processing that show and I've been listening to the album all morning

Last thing you Googled: how to flatten a warped board

Time: 1248

Dream Trip: i wanna go to mongolia and listen to live music so bad

Last Thing You Read: if lore books count... the manual of xedilian lol

Last Book You Enjoyed Reading: The last novel I read was Dendera by Yuya Sato. It's about a community of abandoned old women scraping out a rough existence on a mountainside and it's so good.

Favorite Thing to Cook/Bake: i make a pretty killer sourdough sandwich bread. i also like making elaborate salads. salad-pilling all my friends. my Niçoise salad is always a hit

Favorite Craft to do in Your Freetime: i crochet in the winter and sometimes i spin my own yarn

Most Niche Dislike: not exactly niche it's The Gentrification but the phenomenon of vanishing corner stores is annoying me lately. i don't need some hippie drum shop i need somewhere i can walk to get eggs, bread, cigs, and a scratch lotto. fuck outta here

Opinion on Circuses: can't stand em. once i tried playing DnD and the campaign was a murder mystery at a circus (which was fun) but the DM put on circus music as ambience and i was like i'm sorry dude but you've gotta turn that shit off.

Do You Have Any Sense of Direction: i'm a little better at orienting myself than i used to be

Tagging back: @nuwanders @gilgameshians @blossom-adventures @i-might-just-be-dying @dirty-bosmer and anyone else who wants to.

[rphelperblog]

Again But Better Quote Rp Meme

@xtinemay1920​ is a fabulous person who wrote this romantic comedy with a time travel aspect. A coming of age story about family and finding your story in a world were sweet moments still linger. Have you ever wanted to go back and make some changes? She has two books. Some things may be edited for pronoun or rp purposes, but please please check it out or show her some love

“It’s weird how we have to get a little older to realize that people are just people. It should be obvious, but it’s not.�� 

“You're bolder than before.” 

“Interesting name for a woman.”

“This is for all the teens/young adults/adults who feel like they’ve been left behind. You’re not behind. You have time to find yourself and love and adventure. It’s all out there, and when you’re ready to push yourself out of your comfort zone and look for it, you’ll find it.” 

“It’s called ‘All Too Well.’ And it’s beautiful. I love the words and the pictures they paint and the way it always tears at my heart. Do you know it?” 

“Is there anything more attractive than a boy doing dishes?”

“Where there’s a nickname there’s a bond.” 

“Well, things inspire me and make me happy and feel more understood … if I can give that to someone else by recommending my things, I want to.” 

“So—why didn’t something happen?”

Because of me. Because I let fear make decisions for me. Because I’ve chosen to let the world push me around instead of pushing my way through the world.” 

“You have this one life. How do you want to spend it? Apologizing? Regretting? Questioning? Hating yourself? Dieting? Running after people who don't see you?Be brave. Believe in yourself. Do what feels good. Take risks. You have this one life. Make yourself proud.”

“I’ve been trying to make you happy for six years now, hoping somehow that would make me happy too, but I don’t think it’s working. You’re not really happy with me because I’m not happy with you because I’m not happy with me.” 

“The young women in all the YA books I loved were high-school age. By eighteen, the majority of them had saved the world, not to mention: kissed people, traveled, been in a relationship, had sex. At twenty I felt like a pathetic, unaccomplished, uncultured, virgin grandma. It sounds like a joke now, but at the time, around all these people my age casually discussing all of the above, I felt so small.” 

“I so badly wanted to read a coming of age story about someone who was 20. Someone who was still finding themselves and struggling with becoming an adult even after they hit the double decade mark.” 

“Harry Potter heals all.” 

“Yeah, as in, lamppost will be our always.” 

“My family has been pestering me about the existance of a boyfriend every few months for the last seven years. How could I not be thinking about it? I've been fine by myself these past million years, but I want to know what's it like to have someone care about me that way. To put their arms around me from behind. I don't want this Achilles' Heel.” 

“I watched all six seasons of Lost that summer after study abroad, and they were fantastic.” 

My heart slunk further down into its metaphorical chair” 

“Unfortunately, I’m allergic to finding a buddy .” 

[stretchjournalemerson]

Everything Stays

By Mila A.

*names of some characters have been changed.

When my parents sat down my 8 year old self and told me that my hamster had died, I just looked at them. “Oh…��� I said after a while. “Can I get a new one?”

I remember them looking at each other with a concerned and surprised look on their faces. “Aren’t you sad?” My dad asked. I gave a quick answer of “yes” and went back to my room.

When my dad pulled my 10 year old self out of the children center at my moms work to tell me that Grandpa had died, I just stood there. “Oh… can I keep playing here?” Is all I said. He said I couldn’t, and that we had to go see mom. My mom and dad hugged and cried in the dingy cafe kitchen at Golds Gym as I stood and watched, their grief beyond my understanding.

Death terrifies me. Not of it happening to me, but of what it does to the people around it. It changes everything, making a home in its witnesses' hearts forever. It’s helpless and powerful and controlling, and I hate it. I was intensely close with my grandpa, a rugged, bearded sailor with a beautiful house and farm in Long Island. He was a veteran and stuck to his intense beliefs about manhood and respect like they were life and death. I was close with him, but I refused to feel his death. I believed that to feel it would mean that I accepted it.

No death is easy, but I wish I could say Grandpa’s death was a simple one: a funeral, family bonding, a grieving period, and coming to terms with the death as you continue on with your life. I wish I could look back on my grandpa's death with only happy remembrance. I wish that his death hadn’t altered the entire course of my childhood. But death is death, afterall. Maybe there is no such thing as a simple one.

During the funeral process we were staying at Grandpa’s house with his wife, Edith, and their young daughter, Ella. Edith is not my biological grandma, and is a decent amount younger than Grandpa. Their daughter was only a few years older than me at the time of his death. Their house was beautiful, with intricate stone walls and high vaulted ceilings. During what came to be my last time in the house, I overheard a whispered conversation between my parents. Much of the conversation went over my head, but I heard mentions of calling a lawyer. I quickly scrubbed the conversation from my brain in hopes that nothing more would come of it. I didn’t tell anyone, not even my brother, in hopes that not talking about it would keep it in some far away land separate from reality. This didn’t work, however, and the legal battle started when we got home from the funeral. My parents didn’t talk about it with me, but I could tell it was serious. All I knew is that Edith had changed my grandpa’s will so that she got everything and we got nothing.

Edith had always been a confusing figure in my life. I couldn’t pinpoint an exact reason as to why, but I always felt watched when around her, as if she was looking for a reason to dislike me. It was her and her daughter, and my family and my grandpa. They weren’t a part of our family and never seemed interested in joining. I never knew anything about her life, what she did, or how she met my grandpa. I had no real reason to expect it, but I wasn’t at all surprised by her betrayal. I also never learned the reason behind it. Was she a scared widow who didn’t know how to get by without her husband, or were her actions completely based on greed? I never really cared about motive. No matter what, her actions were unredeemable to me.

The main attraction of this story happened three years later. The legal battle was in full swing until Edith and Ella went missing. The two had told friends they were going on a trip yet didn’t return. Two missing women and a dramatic legal battle? The media had a field day. News sites from all over began covering the disappearance with reporters contacting my aunt and mom daily. I was 13 at the time and had my first phone, which was my mom's old one. Since the phone number was still registered as hers, I received many of the phone calls from reporters trying to make sense of the situation. I even received a voicemail from Good Morning America inviting us onto the show.

Even three years after his passing, I still wasn’t feeling my grandpa’s death. I also wasn’t registering the fact that my family was. I remember telling my mom about the call from Good Morning America, expecting her to find it as crazy and exciting as I did. Instead, she just looked at me for a few seconds and told me to delete the voicemail. She didn’t reply to any reporters or read any of the articles being written about our family, and I didn’t understand why. I realized later that to my grieving mom and aunt, this wasn’t a crazy kidnapping story but instead a reminder of who they lost to death and greed.

The situation didn’t last very long. It was revealed that the two hadn’t been injured or kidnapped as many had speculated but were in hiding instead. They came back and the legal battle continued. Two years later Edith disappeared again but the media had grown bored at that point. She came back, wrote a poorly rated book about the situation, and continued with the legal battle. Another year and the battle was over. We won mostly everything, including the multi-million dollar house in Long Island and an expensive car.

It wasn’t until after the legal battle was done that I started to come to terms with what happened. My mom told me that we were selling his house and the farm he and Edith owned nearby. My heart sunk as I thought about all the memories that were being sold away. Some of my happiest memories come from Long Island, where he had lived. Grandpa’s house always smelled old, but not in a bad way. There were stone walls and animal furs and a grand piano. I would sit on his leather couches and reread Percy Jackson over and over again. I would get in everyone's way when the family made pancakes in the kitchen. I would wander the farm for hours, breathing in the sour smell of the horse stables. I’d chase barn cats around in hopes of befriending them. I’d sit and watch the ducks on the farm pond and create stories about which ones were in love with each other. That farm was my playground; it was all a young girl could want. Those were my years of childlike wonder.

Grandpa was in the background of each of these memories, completely inseparable from the best years of my life. He'd be reading a book next to me in his recliner, or in the farm with me feeding the animals. The loss of the house and farm is what made me realize how significant of a loss Grandpa’s death was. The fact that I would never be back to the foundation of my childhood reminded me that I would never again see the man who made my younger years so great in the first place.

For a while after this realization, I was bitter. I wondered if I would still be able to go to the house and farm if Edith hadn’t caused all the drama that she did. I resented her for causing division after my Grandpa's death instead of unity. Her selfishness made my family’s grief a spectacle, and her actions drew out the mourning process for years.

Out of everything, my journey towards acceptance was sparked by an Adventure Time song. It came after a 7 episode mini-series called “Stakes,” where the character Marceline thinks about her past and her life as an immortal vampire. Her attempt to cure her vampirism causes her past to come back and threaten the lives of her and her friends. After she goes on a journey of growth and reflection she defeats the evil and accepts the fact that the past is the past and that she will always be a vampire. The song, called “Everything Stays,” plays as the series closes. The chorus goes, “Everything stays, just where you left it / Everything stays, but it still changes / Ever so slightly, daily and nightly / In little ways, but Everything Stays.”

The message of the mini-series and song is that life goes on and changes, but the memories and happiness you once felt always remains. The song made me realize that treating my old happy memories with bitterness does nothing but tarnish them. My childhood happiness exists inside me in the memories I have of my grandpa. The events after my Grandpa’s death did force me out of that childhood wonder, but they didn’t make it disappear all together. “Everything Stays” portrayal of your memories as something tangible and constant inside of you made me choose to hold Grandpa close to my heart.

Death still scares me, and I don’t think there will ever come a time where it doesn’t. Processing my Grandpa’s death did show me I have more control than I thought I did, however. I can control how I hold the memories of those I’ve lost. My memories aren’t symbols of what I've lost, they’re reminders of what once was. They’re happy, innocent, and joyful, even if what happened afterwards was not.

My memories of my grandpa are strictly mine. Not Edith's, and not deaths. I decide what to do with them, and I choose to remember.

Acknowledgements: I’d like to thank Adventure Time for giving me a song that would come to represent the happy memories I have with my grandma, and I’d like to thank Grandpa for being such an inspirational and caring man. I could write 100 more pages about him and his character alone.

[sweetiejunie]

Tonight

Summary: who would have guessed one of the best nights of your life would start with a stranger

Genre: fluff

Beomgyu x reader (ft. Soobin)

a/n: inspired by one of my favourite songs- ‘dont say goodnight’ by hot chelle rae

=====================================

Your pov:

Dressed in black skinny jeans, a fitted shirt and heels, you sat at the corner of the bar, watching as your friends were busy on the dance floor. Surrounded by sweaty bodies and horny men trying to get their attention by grinding on them. The music is all nineteen nineties but they were dancing like it was a jive, twisting, turning, holding hands as they change sides. They were all grins, and even though they looked like idiots, they didn't care.

Scoffing at the sight, you tried to recall why you agreed to go to the club at on a friday in the first place. It was nearly 1am and you were bored out of your mind. You were never one for overly crowded places or deafeningly loud music. You could always just leave, but you had already paid the, not so cheap, entrance fee and leaving your two intoxicated friends on their own just didn’t seem so responsible.

As you sat watching— well, more like babysitting by this point— you figured you could at least make your time here worth it by ordering a drink. You signalled for the bar tender, who seemed to be occupied conversing with someone. Someone dressed in jeans, converse, a plain shirt and a bomber jacket. Nothing too extravagant, you didn’t even notice him at first. But for some reason, something about him drew you in.

Other than the cute guy the bar tender was talking to, you were lucky, almost the entire club was on the dance floor, leaving the bar nearly deserted.

Making his way to take your order, you read his name tag. Choi soobin. Hmm, cute name. He had tousled dark brown hair, thick and lustrous. He was incredibly tall and well built, looking extremely handsome in his uniform. Yet, there was something about him that was still endearing.

“How can i help you?” Taking your order, giving you a smile.

‘Bunny’ you thought, the moment you saw the adorable way the side of his lips tugged upwards, exposing his front teeth.

“Hi, could i get a gin and tonic?” You ordered, extremely grateful for the wall of glass separating the dance floor and the bar. You had no intentions of screaming for the entire night.

“Classy, coming right up m’lady,” shooting you a wink before going back to make your drink.

His voice was like nothing I've ever heard before. It was smooth, like butter. His tone was as deep as the sun at midnight.

But okay, I’m getting off topic. This story isn’t about the undeniably hot bar tender you met for a brief 5 seconds. This story is about the stranger across the bar that you had yet to meet.

Coming back with your drink, soobin accompanied it with something you didn’t expect to hear.

Reaching for your wallet, you pulled out your card, ready to hand it to soobin to pay for the drink. Instead, he held up a hand, stopping you.

“No need to pay. Courtesy of that guy,” directing your gaze over to the boy sitting at the other end of the bar, who was now busy on his phone.

“Hm, tell him thanks for me.”

Next thing you knew, the cute boy was approaching you. Your heart beat increasing each step he took closer, making your mind race.

Beomgyus pov:

He sat at the bar, waiting for his best friend, soobin, to get off his shift. They were supposed to hang out for the night but soobin had been called to fill in for a coworker. Joining him on his shift, beomgyu figured getting a few drinks on the house would have been enough of an apology.

Sitting at the bar, beomgyu was engulfed in utter boredom. Soobin had been preoccupied cleaning the counter, leaving beomgyu alone to scan the rest of the club. The scene of desperate men hitting on women digusted him. He couldn’t understand what was so attractive about rubbing their bodies against strangers.

Starting to blow raspberries, he looked for anything remotely interesting. That’s when loveliest girl he had ever seen stopped him in his tracks. He sat staring at her, bemused, as time seemed to congeal, to stand still for a moment. The way she sat there, her hair effortlessly styled, her chin resting in her hand, the way she stared into, what he assumed to be, nothingness. There wasn’t anything too amazing about her, yet he couldn’t take his eyes off her. Maybe it was the fact that she was the only one not dressed in an inappropriately tight dress and stripper heels.

“She’s pretty huh,” Soobin suddenly stated, knocking beomgyu out of his thoughts.

“Hmm?” Beomgyu replied, diverting his attention to soobin.

“Don’t pretend. You’re practically drooling like you’ve just seen your first meal in 10 years. I saw her come in with some of her friends just now. Doesn’t seem like she’s having much fun though. You should go talk to her,” wiggling his eyebrows at beomgyu.

“Yeah, no way,” he spat.

Before soobin could protest, he noticed you trying to call the bar tender

“Hey, go do your job.”

“Fine. But this conversation isn’t over,” soobin nagged before making his way over to you.

Beomgyu watched as his friend went up to you, taking your order and gave you a wink as he walked away. Unexpectedly, soobin’s playful act enraged him a little. He didn’t know why and he was afraid to find out.

Noticing how soobin shot him a look, Beomgyu figured his face was an open book and probably said it all. Picking up his phone, he tried to distract himself. But to be honest, this act was just a complete boondoggle.

After soobin was done fulfilling your order, he went back to beomgyu, “you owe me $8. And she said thanks.”

“Wait what?” Beomgyu shot, genuinely confused by his statement.

“I told her you paid for her drink. Gin and tonic, she’s a classy one.”

“Why did yo-,” beomgyu said, only to get cut off.

“She’s been straing at you all night too. I just gave you an in, go talk to her. Now go, before i have to clean the bar from your drool.”

Astonished, beomgyu refused, “what, no. I’m not hitting on some stranger. I-”

“Oh, yes you are. I’m sick of hearing you talk about how lonely you are. No more excuses. Just go, you’ll thank me.”

With him now being down $8 and knowing he won’t win this battle. Beomgyu complied and stood up, walking over to you, mumbling a string of curses at soobin.

—

“Hey, im beomgyu. Im the one that apparently bought you that drink. Can i take a seat?” He spoke in a call tone.

“Y/n. Sure sit. And what do you mean ‘apparently’?” You asked, skeptical at his choice of words.

“The bar tender, soobin,” he started, taking a sit on the stool, pointing over to the boy who was cleaning glasses this time. “He kind of just said that so i had a reason to come over and talk to you.”

“Oh, well thank you. And i guess i should thank him too,” a small smile tugging your lips as you faced your lap, a blush creeping on your face.

Beomgyus mind flooded with thoughts as he tried his best not to blow up from your adorable flustered state.

“Um so, if you dont mind me asking. What are you doing here? You dont seem to be enjoying yourself very much,” he queried, trying to occupy his mind by changing the topic.

“I could ask you the same thing.”

“Ladies first,” he gestured with a smirk.

“Hmm, my friends dragged me here,” you dryly laughed. “One of them just cashed in a check and wanted to ‘make some memories’ as she said,” quoting her and sighed, “Im not much of a club person though.”

“Hm, well, i was supposed to be spending to night with my friend,” he said, turning over to Soobin’s direction. “But he had to work!” Saying the next part loud enough so soobin could hear.

Facing beomgyu, soobin replied, “shut up beomgyu, you should be thanking me.”

Beomgyu tsked, causing you to laugh at their playful banter. As the conversation continued, you both started to relax and the previous nervousness disappeared. With your drinks now finished, you were simply just getting to know each other. Just the basic stuff, like hobbies, pet peeves and so on.

Even though you had only been chatting for... oh, i lost track of the time, oh wells. But you found out a lot about him. You learnt he loves singing, he plays the guitar, he hangs out with 4 other friends, one of which being the bar tender, and the list goes on. Talking with beomgyu was... easy. You told him about the time your friends had gotten you lost. The time it started pouring when you supposed to have a barbecue. And even the time you almost cracked your head open by missing a ‘wet floor’ sign.

Just as you thought the conversation was coming to an end, beomgyu asked you one last question. And if it wasn’t for this question, you might have missed out on the best night of your life.

“What’s your... biggest fear?”

You thought about it for a second before answering, “that’s a good question. I guess i have to say im scared of tomorrow, of the future. Cause who knows what will happen.”

“Huh...” he trailed off, “well, you should just let the universe run its course. Let it align itself. Don’t worry about tomorrow cause tomorrow ain’t tonight right?”

You let out a dry laugh at his reply, looking down at your empty glass. You never thought about it that way.

“Why dont we get out of here? Since we both aren’t having much fun anyway,” he suggested, holding out a hand, locking eyes with you.

You hesitated. One, your friends were here, and god knows how much they’ve drunk. And two, he was practically a stranger.

But you were up for an adventure and for some unknown reason, it felt like you’ve known him for ages. Maybe it was the alcohol in your system, or maybe you were just losing your mind. But he was lean and sinewy, and possessed the sort of angelic good looks that made it almost impossible for you to refuse him anything. You trusted him and your friends’ll be fine. Or at least you tried to convince yourself of the latter.

Momentarily forgetting your friends existence, you grabbed his hand, nodding. An unintentional smile breaking across your face, as did his own.

“Soobin, ill see you tomorrow alright,” saying to soobin as he lead you to the exit.

“Have fun you two,” soobin said smoothly until he remembered beomgyu owed him, “wait! Choi beomgyu you owe me $8!”

“Quick run,” beomgyu leaned down, whispering to you before pulling you away faster, dodging the rag soobin threw at him.

—

You were aimlessly strolling, unsure of where you were going or what you were going to do but it excited you. As you left the club, beomgyu didn’t let go of your hand, making your heart play hopscotch in your chest. You realised leaving with a stranger could have been a really bad decision. But won’t it be such a great story to tell your future kids when they asked how you met? You were swept off your feet by a beautiful stranger at a bar. Okay, maybe not the best story to tell impressionable kids but still, it was an thrilling one.

Wait, wait future kids? Gosh, this was someone you spoke for for one, maybe two hours, why were you thinking of starting a family. This was a guy you barely knew, how could he have this effect on you?

Walking down the streets, it was a ghost town. Not a single soul in sight. But then again, it was way past 3am in the morning. The only people crazy enough to be up at this hour are drunks and witches. Beomgyu swung your intertwined hands, singing a song as you made your way down the street. A song you identified to be not spring, love, or cherry blossoms. When he had come to the rap portion of the song, you couldn’t help but laugh softly.

“What’s so funny?”

“You can’t rap,” covering your mouth as you let out another laugh.

“Shut up. I can so rap. You’ve just never heard a god rap,” he challenged.

“Sure, whatever you say,” you replied sarcastically, grinning and rolling your eyes.

Content with your answer, he continued singing. A smile was permanently plastered on your face as he did so. After walking for nearly 30 minutes, you still had no clue where you were headed.

“So, where are we going?” You asked, curiosity getting the better of you.

“No idea,” he answered simply, turning to face you, a smug smile on his face.

You chuckled, “Well it’s getting kind of late. I think i should probably head home soon.”

“Nooo,” he whinned, “come on, dont say goodnight yet. The stars are still in the sky, the night’s still young.”

“Beom-“

“Shh!” He put a finger on your lips, cutting you off before you could retort. “I’m not letting you go till tomorrow paints the sun across the night.”

With that, he placed an arm around you, keeping you in headlock, not giving you a chance to run away, “i got my sweet mary jane with me. That’s all i need to get high tonight.”

“Hey! Alright, alright, let’s wait till tomorrow. Now let me go!” You giggled, playfully hitting his arm to let you go.

Releasing you, you stood up straight again and interlocked your arm with his, shooting him a smile, to which he reciprocated. You felt surprisingly comfortable around beomgyu. Normally it would take you a few weeks of knowing someone before you dared to be this close to them. But, beomgyu was different. It felt different.

Walking for a few more moments, you leaned against him and spoke, “why don’t we go to a beach? I haven’t been to one in a while. And going to one in the middle of the night sounds pretty fun.”

“Hmm,” Beomgyu thought about it for a second before continuing, “the tides would be pretty high now but it would be fun to watch the sun rise and a i know a beach that’s around here but it’s kinda far for a walk.”

“Great, the walk is fine. It’s settled then, let’s go to the beach!”

“Wait, you sure you can walk that far in those?” Giving you a questioning look, gesturing to your choice of shoes for the night. “Don’t get me wrong, they look fantastic on you. But they ought to hurt eventually.”

“Oh,” you looked down and realised he was right. But there was little you could do about it at this moment, “I’ll be fine. Worse comes to worse, i just take them off and walk barefoot. No big deal, I’ll probably take them off when we get to the beach anyway.”

Beomgyu hummed a response at your child like smile as you spoke. “Alright, but if its to painful, tell me, i don’t mind giving you a piggyback ride okay?”

You nodded, giving him a reassuring smile, squeezing his hand to reinforce your statement.

With beomgyu leading the way, it was nearly 4am when you reach the beach. The moonlight shone down, a diffuse glow, reflecting off the waves, lighting the beach from pitch black to charcoal grey. Taking off your heels, you walked to the sand, letting out a sigh. Even though you couldn’t make out much of it, you still stood there in admiration. The sound of the waves crashing against the shore, the sea breeze against your skin and the feeling of the cool sand under your feet. The serene environment was exactly what you needed after being in a noise polluted club for the past few hours.

Beomgyu stood behind you, smiling as he watched your actions. Little did you know, you had the same effect on him as he did on you. You barely knew each other. Yet, you both knew after tonight, there was something there, and you couldn’t deny it.

Walking up to you, he grabbed your hand again. “Follow me,” he stated simply, pulling you along.

Guiding you further down the beach, he brought you to a small pier that overlooked the ocean, walking until you both were at the end. Letting your hand go, he sat down, his legs dangling off the edge as he rested his arms on the rails. Without saying a word, he patted the spot next to him, offering you a seat, to which you gladly accepted. Placing your heels behind you, you sat down, dangling your legs off the edge as well.

You both sat in silence, enjoying the company of the moon and each other. The silence wasn’t awkward, it wasn’t uncomfortable. It was just peaceful. Leaning your head on your shoulder, he rested his own on yours. Right then, all you knew was that this, was the quintessential dream come true.

“Sometimes i wish i could just throw my middle finger to the new sun.”

Beomgyu chuckled at your statement, “what?”

“I just don’t want this moment to end,” you admitted, sitting up to face him, smiling gently. “I didn’t expect the night to go so well.”

“Me neither,” beomgyu replied simply, at a loss of words.

In that moment, you looked angelic, the moonlight spilled onto your face and hair. The smile you gave him, it was as if the stars themselves, decided to rest behind the soft cushion of your lips. As he looked into your eyes he knew, all the beauty of the universe could not even hope to compete with this simple thing: love.

Would he dare admit it? He saw it in your eyes and in the short amount of time he knew you, it felt more than amazing. In the short amount of time, he met someone he never thought he’d meet. In the short amount of time, he actually fell in love with you.

.

.

.

=====================================

Had this drafted for almost a month and finally got around to finishing it. Rly like this so hope u do too! 😣💕

Masterlist

[bobasheebaby]

200 Harry Potter Prompts

Let me preface with this: I love the Harry Potter series, both the books and the movies and have shared both with my son; HOWEVER I don’t support the things that JK Rowling has been saying recently. I refuse to let her transphobia destroy something I love so I propose we take back these quotes from the characters we love and make as many of them as gay as we possibly can. Fuck you JK

1 “Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!” —Albus Dumbledore

2 “No post on Sundays.” —Vernon Dursley

3 “You’re a little scary sometimes, you know that? Brilliant … but scary.” —Ron Weasley

4 “It does not do well to dwell on dreams and forget to live.” —Albus Dumbledore

5 “Honestly, don’t you two read?” —Hermione Granger

6 “Why couldn’t it be ‘follow the butterflies’?” —Ron Weasley

7 “Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can’t see where it keeps its brain.” —Arthur Weasley

8 “It is our choices, NAME, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” —Albus Dumbledore

9 “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.” —Harry Potter

10 “Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” —Albus Dumbledore

11 “I don’t go looking for trouble, trouble usually finds me.” —Harry Potter

12 “The ones that love us never really leave us.” —Sirius Black

13 “What’s comin’ will come, an’ we’ll meet it when it does.” —Rubeus Hagrid

14 “Soon we must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy.” —Albus Dumbledore

15 “I am what I am, an’ I’m not ashamed.” —Rubeus Hagrid

16 “It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be.” —Albus Dumbledore

17 “Twitchy little ferret, aren’t you, NAME?” —Hermione Granger

18 “You’re just as sane as I am.” —Luna Lovegood

19 “I mean, it’s sort of exciting, isn’t it, breaking the rules?” —Hermione Granger

20 “Give him/her hell from us, NAME.” —Fred and George Weasley

21 “We’ve all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on.” —Sirius Black

22 “Just because you have the emotional range of a teaspoon doesn’t mean we all have.” —Hermione Granger

23 “Things we lose have a way of coming back to us in the end, if not always in the way we expect.” —Luna Lovegood

24 “Let us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.” —Albus Dumbledore

25 “Wit beyond measure is man’s greatest treasure.” —Rowena Ravenclaw’s diadem

26 “Every human life is worth the same, and worth saving.” —Kingsley Shacklebolt

27 “It is the quality of one’s convictions that determines success, not the number of followers.” —Remus Lupin

28 “Not my son/daughter, you bitch!” —Molly Weasley

29 “You’ll stay with me?” “Until the very end.” —Harry and James Potter

30 “Of course it’s happening inside your head, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” —Albus Dumbledore

31 “To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.” —Albus Dumbledore

32 “Time will not slow down when something unpleasant lies ahead." — Harry Potter

33 “If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals." — Sirius Black

34 “It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends." — Albus Dumbledore

35 “It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more." — Albus Dumbledore

36 “You think the dead we loved ever truly leave us? You think that we don’t recall them more clearly than ever in times of great trouble?" — Albus Dumbledore

37 “Numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when you finally feel it.” — Albus Dumbledore

38 “The truth. It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution.'" — Albus Dumbledore

39 “Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself." — Hermione Granger

40 “I’ll be in my bedroom, making no noise and pretending I’m not there." — Harry Potter

41 “When in doubt, go to the library." — Ron Weasley

42 “Honestly, if you were any slower, you’d be going backward." — Draco Malfoy

43 “Mischief Managed!" — Harry Potter

44 “We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided." — Albus Dumbledore

45 “Your devotion is nothing more than cowardice. You would not be here if you had anywhere else to go." — Voldemort

46 “Curiosity is not a sin…. But we should exercise caution with our curiosity… yes, indeed." — Albus Dumbledore

47 “Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open." — Albus Dumbledore

48 “The thing about growing up with NAME (and NAME) is that you sort of start thinking anything's possible if you've got enough nerve.'" — Ginny Weasley

49 “Indifference and neglect often do much more damage than outright dislike." — Albus Dumbledore

50 “NAME says people find it far easier to forgive others for being wrong than being right." — Hermione Granger

51 “Once again, you show all the sensitivity of a blunt axe." — Nearly Headless Nick

52 “Age is foolish and forgetful when it underestimates youth." — Albus Dumbledore

53 “No, NAME, you listen,” (pause) “We're coming with you. That was decided months ago — years, really.'" —Hermione Granger

54 “Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic. Capable of both inflicting injury, and remedying it." ― Albus Dumbledore

55 “Do not pity the dead, NAME. Pity the living, and, above all those who live without love. “-– Albus Dumbledore

56 “Anything’s possible if you’ve got enough nerve.” – Ginny Weasley

57 “For in dreams we enter a world that is entirely our own.” – Albus Dumbledore

58 “We’re all going to keep fighting, NAME. You know that?” – Neville Longbottom

59 “I am not worried, NAME … I am with you.” – Albus Dumbledore

60 “Celebrity is as celebrity does, remember that.” – Gilderoy Lockhart

61 “Parents shouldn’t leave their kids unless —unless they’ve got to.” – Harry Potter

62 “Greatness inspires envy, envy engenders spite, spite spawns lies.” – Lord Voldemort

63 “Killing is not so easy as the innocent believe.” – Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

64 “What's life without a little risk?" — Sirius Black

65 “There were near misses, many of them. We laughed about them afterwards. We were young, thoughtless — carried away with our own cleverness.” – Remus Lupin

66 “You care so much you feel as though you will bleed to death with the pain of it.” – Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

67 “You will also find that help will always be given at PLACE to those who ask for it.” – Albus Dumbledore

68 “I mean, you could claim that anything’s real if the only basis for believing in it is that nobody’s proved it doesn’t exist!” – Hermione Granger

69 “To have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever." — Albus Dumbledore

70 “Though we may come from different places, and speak in different tongues, our hearts beat as one." — Albus Dumbledore

71 “Always.” — Severus Snape

72 “Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open.” — Albus Dumbledore

73 “It is important to fight and fight again, and keep fighting, for only then can evil be kept at bay though never quite eradicated.” — Albus Dumbledore

74 “Dark times lie ahead of us and there will be a time when we must choose between what is easy and what is right.” — Albus Dumbledore

75 “Time is making us fools again." — Albus Dumbledore

76 “I sometimes find, and I am sure you know the feeling, that I simply have too many thoughts and memories crammed into my mind.” — Albus Dumbledore

77 “The consequences of our actions are always so complicated, so diverse, that predicting the future is a very difficult business indeed.” — Albus Dumbledore

78 “I just feel so ... angry, all the time., and what if after everything I've been through, something's gone wrong inside me. What if I'm becoming bad?" — Harry Potter

79 “Tut, tut — fame clearly isn’t everything.” — Severus Snape

80 “Well, it may have escaped your notice, but life isn’t fair.” — Severus Snape

81 “Ah, yes,” he/she said softly, “NAME. Our new — celebrity.” — Severus Snape

82 ““I wish … I wish I were dead …” “And what use would that be to anyone?” — Severus Snape & Albus Dumbledore

83 “You don’t want me as your enemy, NAME.” — Severus Snape

84 “DON’T . . . CALL ME COWARD!” — Severus Snape

85 “Look . . . at . . . me . . . “ — Severus Snape

86 “Then you should have died! Died, rather than betray your friends, as we would have done for you." — Sirius Black

87 “NAME was a brave, clever, and energetic man/woman, and such men/women are not usually content to sit at home in hiding while they believe others to be in danger." — Albus Dumbledore

88 “Like the fact that the person NAME cared for the most about in the world was you.” — Albus Dumbledore

89 “You don’t understand — there are things worth dying for!” — Sirius Black

90 “Well, [bad] times like that bring out the best in some people and the worst in others.” — Sirius Black

91 “Oh, I’ve interrupted a deep thought, haven’t I? I can see it growing smaller in your eyes.” — Luna Lovegood

92 “I sleepwalk, you see. That’s why I wear shoes to bed.” — Luna Lovegood

93 “He/She doesn’t think you treated him:her very well, because you wouldn’t dance with him/her. I don’t think I’d have minded. I don’t like dancing very much.” — Luna Lovegood

94 “Come, daddy, NAME doesn't want to talk to us right now. He's/She’s just too polite to say it.” ~Luna Lovegood

95 “Being different isn't a bad thing. It means you're brave enough to be yourself.” - Luna Lovegood

96 “NAME, if brains were gold, you'd be poorer than NAME, and that's saying something.” — Draco Malfoy

97 “You foul, lying, evil little cockroach!” — Hermione Granger

98 “Oh, it was NAME, I was thinking about him and I lost track of things.” — Hermione Granger

99 “One person can’t feel all that at once, they’d explode.” — Hermione Granger

100 “It would be quite nice if you stopped jumping down our throats, NAME, because in case you haven’t noticed, NAME and I are on your side.” — Hermione Granger

101 “Next time there’s a ball, ask me before someone else does, and not as a last resort!” — Hermione Granger

102 “Very well spotted.” — Hermione Granger

103 “Always the tone of surprise.” — Hermione Granger

104 “Sometimes friendship means not having to say anything. Thank yous and apologies can sometimes get lost, but that doesn’t mean they’re unexpressed.” — Hermione Granger

105 “You’d think a bit of kissing would cheer him/her up.” — Ron Weasley

106 “And that's the second time we've saved your life tonight, you two-faced bastard!” — Ron Weasley

107 “I knew NAME was lying about that tattoo.” — Ron Weasley

108 “There's a time and a place for getting a smart mouth.” — Ron Weasley

109 “Oh, yeah, I borrowed it for a bit of bedtime reading.” — Ron Weasley

110 “What are you doing with all those books anyway?” — Ron Weasley

111 “Hang on a moment!” (said sharply) “We’ve forgotten someone!” — Ron Weasley

112 “I never really gave up on you. Not really." — Ginny Weasley

113 “It's okay NAME, it's alright. It doesn't matter." — Ginny Weasley

114 “People think they know all there is to know about you, but the best bits of you are ... heroic in really quiet ways." — Ginny Weasley

115 “Excuse me, but I care what happens to NAME as much as you do!” — Ginny Weasley

116 “Yeah, NAME, because you’re so talented ... at posing ...” — Ginny Weasley

117 “Forgot to brake, NAME, sorry.” — Ginny Weasley

118 “It’s for some stupid, noble reason, isn’t it?” — Ginny Weasley

119 “I never really gave up on you. Not really. I always hoped ... NAME told me to get on with life, maybe go out with some other people, relax a bit around you, because I never used to be able to talk if you were in the room, remember? And he/she thought you might take a bit more notice if I was a bit more — myself.” — Ginny Weasley

120 “There’s the silver lining I’ve been looking for.” — Ginny Weasley

121 “A good first impression can work wonders.” — Molly Weasley

122 “Beds empty! No note! Car gone-could have crashed-out of my mind with worry-did you care?” — Molly Weasley

123 “Where's the fun without a bit of risk?” — Fred Weasley

124 “You're joking, NAME! You are actually joking, NAME ... I don't think I've heard you joke since you were-“ — Fred Weasley

125 “What are we doing here? Has something gone wrong?” “Oh no, NAME,” [sarcastically.] “No, this is exactly where we wanted to end up.” — Ron and Fred Weasley

126 “Where is NAME?" "Still in the showers," "We think he’s/she's trying to drown himself.” — Harry Potter and Fred Weasley

127 “We thought we heard your dulcet tones." "You don't want to bottle up your anger like that, NAME, let it all out," “There might be a couple of people fifty miles away who didn't hear you.” — George and Fred Weasley

128 “I don't think you're a waste of space.” — Dudley Dursley

129 “Yeah, but coming from NAME that's like ‘I love you.’” — Harry Potter

130 “The point is, if we find out you’ve been horrible to NAME —” “— and make no mistake, we’ll hear about it.” — Arthur Weasley and Remus Lupin

131 “What you fear most of all is-fear.” —Remus Lupin

132 “There’s a bigger cause out there. It’s bigger than any of us here. But we stick together, all right? We stick together and look out for each other. Because you four are all I’ve got left. And I’m not going to see you die. Forever alive, all right? We’re not going to die." -Sirius Black

133 “Thought we were supposed to be friends? Best friends?” “We are, NAME.” — Severus Snape and Lily Potter

134 “NAME was scowling at him/her, but NAME refused to be judged by a cat.”

135 “I don’t know everything about life and marriage and happiness. But I do know what love is. And I do know that when love is real, and when love is in its strongest form, it is the most powerful thing on this earth. It kills, saves lives, heals wounds, and most of all, brings hope. That is what you have done for me, NAME. You have brought me hope." — James Potter

136 “I'm sorry too, that I will never know him/her ... but he/she will know why I died and I hope he/she will understand. I was trying to make a world in which he/she could live a happier life." — Remus Lupin

137 “I DON'T CARE! I'VE HAD ENOUGH, I'VE SEEN ENOUGH, I WANT OUT, I WANT IT TO END, I DON'T CARE ANYMORE!” — Harry Potter

138 “You do care. You care so much you feel as though you will bleed to death with the pain of it.” — Albus Dumbledore

139 “He/She must have known I'd want to leave you." “No, he/she must have known you would always want to come back.” — Ron Weasley and Harry Potter

140 “You think I'm a fool?" “No, I think you're like NAME, who would have regarded it as the height of dishonor to mistrust his/her friends.” — Harry Potter and Remus Lupin

141 “You’re less like your father/mother/etc than I thought. The risk would’ve been what made it fun for NAME.” — Sirius Black

142 “The battle is always the same, just with different chapters.”

143 “I will if you go out with me, NAME.” — James Potter

144 “Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be recovery.” — Albus Dumbledore

145 “We must try not to sink beneath our anguish, NAME, but battle on." — Albus Dumbledore

146 “Eat, you'll feel better." — Remus Lupin

147 “Training for the ballet, NAME?” — Draco Malfoy

148 “You’re a fool, NAME, and you will lose everything.” — Voldemort

149 “There is no good and evil. There is only power, and those too weak to seek it.” — Voldemort

150 “What if I don't care?" “I care. How do you think I'd feel if this was your funeral ...and it was my fault ...” — Ginny Weasley and Harry Potter

151 “Greatness inspires envy, envy engenders spite, spite spawns lies.”

152 “I have seen your heart, and it is mine.” — Voldemort

153 “What is it about my presence in your home that displeases you, NAME?” “Nothing — nothing, my Lord!” “Such lies, NAME . . .” — Voldemort and Lucius Malfoy

154 “Come out, NAME ... come out and play, then it will be quick it might even be painless I would not know I have never died.” — Voldemort

155 “Do nothing! He's/She’s mine to finish! He's /She’s mine!” — Voldemort

156 “They never learn. Pity.” — Voldemort

157 “Invite him inside, NAME. Where are your manners?” — Voldemort

158 “As inspiring as I find your bloodlust, NAME, I must be the one to kill NAME.” — Voldemort

159 “Oh, he/she knows how to play, little bitty baby NAME.” — Bellatrix

160 “I don't like to be kept waiting!” — Bellatrix (Hermione)

161 “Ah, shut up, NAME, yeh great prune.” — Hagrid

162 “You think it - wise - to trust NAME with something as important as this?" “I would trust NAME with my life.” — McGonagall and Albus Dumbledore

163 “It unscrews the other way.” — Professor McGonagall

164 “They’re supposed to be, you blithering idiot.” — Professor McGonagall

165 “Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do, NAME." — Professor McGonagall

166 “"I – I didn't think –" “That is obvious." — Harry Potter and Professor McGonagall

167 “Why is it when something happens, it is always you three?” — Professor McGonagall

168 “NAME, that was foolish!" "He spat at you.” — Professor McGonagall and Harry Potter

169 “NAME – you're here! What –? How –?" — Professor McGonagall

170 “I didn't want anyone to talk to me.” "Well, that was a bit stupid of you.” — Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley

171 “Are you really giving us permission to do this?” “Yes, NAME.” “Blow it up? Boom?” “BOOM!” Neville Longbottom and Professor McGonagall

172 “That's the spirit, now away you go.” — Professor McGonagall

173 “NAME, take NAME with you. He/She looks far too happy over there.” — Professor McGonagall

174 “Do nothing? Offer him/her up as bait? NAME is a boy/girl/child! Not a piece of meat!” — Professor McGonagall

175 “That was bloody brilliant!” — Ron Weasley

176 “May I offer you a cough drop, NAME?” — Professor McGonagall

177 “Things at NAME are far worse than I feared." — Dolores Umbridge

178 “You know, I really hate children." — Dolores Umbridge

179 “I'm sure we're all going to be very good friends." — Dolores Umbridge

180 “The time has come for answers, whether he/she wants to give them or not." — Dolores Umbridge

181 “Deep down, you know that you deserve to be punished. Don't you, NAME?" — Dolores Umbridge

182 “I WILL have order!" — Dolores Umbridge

183 “What NAME doesn't know won't hurt him/her." — Dolores Umbridge

184 “As I told you NAME, naughty children deserve to be punished.” — Dolores Umbridge

185 “NAME, do something. Tell them I mean no harm.” “I'm sorry, NAME. But I must not tell lies.” — Harry Potter and Dolores Umbridge

186 “And that, boys/girls, is why you should never go on looks alone.”

187 “NAME, listen ...” [quietly] “I can’t be involved with you any more. We’ve got to stop seeing each other. We can’t be together.” “It’s for some stupid, noble reason, isn’t it?” — Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley

188 “It’s been like ... like something out of someone else’s life, these last few weeks with you. But I can’t ... we can’t ... I’ve got things to do alone now.” — Harry Potter

189 “When you have seen as much of life as I have, you will not underestimate the power of obsessive love."

190 “You are protected, in short, by your ability to love!” — Albus Dumbledore

191 “NAME’s man/woman through and through, aren’t you NAME?” “Yeah I am. Glad we straightened that out.”

192 “He/She accused me of being NAME’s man/woman through and through.” “How very rude of him/her.” “I told him/her I was.”

193 “He/She will only be gone from PLACE when none here are loyal to him/her.” — Harry Potter

194 “Working hard is important. But there is something that matters even more, believing in yourself.” — Harry Potter

195 “One can never have enough socks.” — Albus Dumbledore

196 “People find it far easier to forgive others for being wrong than right.” — Albus Dumbledore

197 “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” — Albus Dumbledore

198 “The best of us sometimes eat our words.” — Albus Dumbledore

199 “Time will not slow down when something unpleasant lies ahead.” — Hermione Granger

200 “Don’t you tell me what to do, NAME!” — Hermione Granger

[deathvsthemaiden]

omg I love your book recommendations list you just wrote! the more and more I hear about the stormlight archives the more I want to read it, but I've just got the Mistborn book and I'm going to read them first, what do you think of them? I know some people have had an issue with the women in that trilogy but I did see Sanderson himself talking on reddit or something about it how he's trying to write better or something. he seems like he's generally getting better I think. so I'm looking forward to stormlight archives when I get to it.

also, have you read Wide Sargasso Sea? one of my favourite books that's based off Jane Eyre! the relationship between Rochester and his first wife.

I'm trying to get into fantasy a bit more, have you got any other specifically fantasy favourites? x

Ooh! 💖💓 Thank you, I’m glad you liked the answer!

I really enjoyed Mistborn tbh! I’ve only read the first trilogy, but I think for the most part women were handled well because 1) I’m pretty sure Sanderson purposefully set out to write a good female lead and imo it shows even if it misses the mark sometimes, like I’m pretty fond of Vin and was invested in her story the whole time, and 2) there’s definitely things to criticize about Mistborn’s portrayal of women, but I’ve seen much worse, and I actually think Sanderson’s Warbreaker is what deserves the most scrutiny in this aspect (it’s one of my faves of his because of the world building and because one of the only other cosmere characters that holds a candle to Kaladin is in it) but anyway enjoyable as it was it was also most blatantly misogynistic and I live in fear that one day a friend I’ve mentioned the cosmere to a ton of times will finally cave in and choose to start with Warbreaker of all things! 😭 (semi joking) (ideologically/morally speaking Warbreaker is just not Sanderson at his best even if I love a good chunk of the book)

Anyway you’re right! Sanderson is very open with his fans and admits to old biases and prejudices showing in his earlier books, and his improvement shows in his writing which I think is the most important thing! Mistborn era/trilogy 1 is a really nice starting place, I’m still very very fond of the characters and I think that’s why I haven’t moved on to Mistborn era/trilogy 2 yet 🤧 Era 1 is a solid adventure and while I didnt love the direction the plot went at times (and did not dig certain character deaths! 😑) it was an overall absorbing time and I might buy the trilogy sometime. It should be noted that Mistborn draws attention to the existence of sexual violence but it’s never described or at the forefront of the plot, Sanderson in general just doesn’t really go there.

Also no I haven’t managed to get my hands on a copy of Wide Sargasso Sea yet! 😭 I really wanna, but my library doesn’t have it in any digitized format 😔 I know you said it’s one of your favorites but if you wanna expand on that and tell me more of your (non-spoilery) thoughts on WSS I’m all ears! 👀👂🏽 no one I know irl has read it I don’t think 🤔 I do have my eyes on an ebook version of Mr. Rochester by Sarah Shoemaker, another Jane Eyre prequel I hope to read when school gets off my back. I have noooo idea if it’s gonna be good or not though, I’d never heard of it before when I stumbled upon it abzhsbs. The only other Jane Eyre inspired book I’ve tried to read was The Eyre Affair and while the premise was fascinating, I couldn’t stand the prose or characters so I dropped it qgshshshshh

As for fantasy faves! A majority of them are like fairytale/folklore retellings/inspired, I actually haven’t read as much high fantasy as I wish I had yet 😰 (feel free to drop some recs in my ask box if you have any 👀) anyway: Keturah and Lord Death and Sleepless, which I mentioned in the last ask, Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett (first book of the Founders Trilogy, an insanely fun ride, Sanderson himself left a good review on it and the world building in it is similarly lush as in Sanderson’s works! Definitely darker than almost anything Sanderson has ever written but I loved that), Till We Have Faces by CS Lewis (Cupid and Psyche retelling), The Abhorsen trilogy by Garth Nix (Sabriel, the first book, is still an all time fave), Tamora Pierce’s Beka Cooper trilogy and Circle of Magic series are old faves too, Damsel by Elana K. Arnold (🚨PROCEED WITH CAUTION🚨 it’s nauseatingly graphic and deals with repeated sexual assault, I think the end makes it worth it but others might understandably disagree. It’s a dark subversion/exploration of the whole ‘knight rescues maiden from tower and they get married’ trope), N. K. Jemisin’s Dreamblood Duology (definitely buying this eventually!!) and Egg & Spoon by Gregory Maguire was very solid and fun from what I remember.

I also rec T. Kingfisher’s short story collections Jackalope Wives and Other Stories and Toad Words and Other Stories (some of the works in both books are free online! So if you want a taste of her work def look up T Kingfisher short stories) and I’ve also read Bryony and Roses by her, which I remember enjoying but it’s been a while. Also Helen Oyeyemi’s work is rlly fun and gorgeously written, and in general has lots of fairytale references (out of the books I’ve read so far at least! Which are only Boy, Snow, Bird and Mr. Fox but I have the audiobook for Gingerbread checked out and the one for Peaces on hold)

[itsclydebitches]

Are people not afraid to admit that certain types of art is bad? I've never encountered anything that is considered high art that hasn't been criticized to death. Where are you getting that people are afraid to admit that? So much of online culture is built around criticizing everything. I just can't think of anything that has been made that is so highly regarded it is beyond criticism. you mention elitist, but elitist are even harsher towards everything.

You’re absolutely right that criticism exists for everything. Any piece of media ever produced will have a “this is bad” attached to it by someone, but that doesn’t erase the culture of upholding certain types of media as inherently better than others. Not necessarily because it IS better, but because there’s that feedback loop of powerful people upholding media they like, putting it into privileged positions, and then if others contest that position they’re deemed too ignorant and/or stupid to understand how great the media actually is. Bear with me, this is easier to explain with an example. 

Let’s say I was designing a high school english curriculum. What sort of books am I expected to include? 

The Great Gatsby

The Catcher in the Rye 

Hamlet 

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

The Giver

The Lord of the Flies

Etc. 

A small sampling, but one I’m sure will seem very familiar to lots of kids in American schools. Why do we read these books over and over again? Well, part of it is because they are good in many respects (I particularly love The Giver). But it’s also–perhaps even mostly–because we’ve developed an educational canon; a culture wherein if anyone is asked to name the “best books” they rattle titles like this off instinctually. That’s not necessarily because they’ve read widely and come to the personal conclusion that these are indeed our “classics,” far superior to anything else they’ve read. It’s because they were introduced to the “classics” at a very young age and taught that they’re the best, hands down, no questions asked. I mean, why else would we be teaching them in schools? Putting them on every rec list? Using them as a measure of intelligence? (If you’ve read them all you must be amazing.) I’m sure it has nothing to do with rich, white, heterosexual, able-bodied men controlling academia for so many years–the particular elitism I’m talking about. As I’ve said before, popularity breeds popularity. Or, in this case, worth. Once enough institutions and people claim that these books are The Best, who are you to question that? You’ll probably even agree, just because academics must know better… right? Thus perpetuating the cycle. You say they’re the best and the next person in line eventually believes it. 

And yes, as you say, criticisms still always arise. The high schoolers ask, “Why are all these protagonists guys? Why are so many authors guys? Why are we reading books that are so racist? So out of touch with the modern world? Aren’t any of the characters disabled? Or gay? (Beyond, you know, that very old and tiring subtext…) I’m bored out of my mind. Shouldn’t art be able to teach AND entertain?” It’s all valid criticism. The thing is, they’re high schoolers. Their criticism doesn’t hold any weight. They’re obviously just stupid kids who don’t “get” how fantastic this novel is /s. And when they–or anyone else–criticizes something online, there’s only a very small chance it will produce any sufficient response. They’re complaining into a void. It’s not going to change the curriculum. But a few of them might grow up to be teachers and when they say, “Hey, how about we read some more novels by women? People of color? Some YA stuff? Multi-media texts?” 

They get so much pushback. Less so in college. Less so in liberal, progressive schools… but it’s still there. The kind of pushback that would make people question your worth as a scholar. Might even threaten your job. There’s a big difference between complaining about Lord of the Flies to your roommate and standing up to make the case that we should replace it with something else. Something–dare I say–better. 

In short, there’s a whole WEALTH of literature out there just as good as Shakespeare and Salinger and all the others, but as a culture we’re too afraid to admit that because we’ve been immersed in that idea of “high” literature vs. “low” literature. Compare a paperback romance to Jane Eyre? Psh! Are you crazy!? Well… have you ever seriously read both while actively trying to overlook that knee jerk, “This is somehow intrinsically bad literature” response? I can, for example, make a very strong case that fanfiction is just as good (however you want to define “good”) as that canon we’ve developed, but the average person is going to laugh in my face at that comparison. The point is that they don’t laugh because they’ve read the canon, read widely in fanfic, and have come to their own conclusion that my comparison has no merit. They laugh solely because of ingrained views of what is automatically a worthwhile text (that character study book you read in high school) and what is not (that character study story published online). Presumably, reading them isn’t required to know what’s “best.”

So yes, we criticize high art, but that criticism doesn’t have the same level of impact that, say, criticizing a YA novel would. And personal criticism–such as that done online–seldom undermines those lessons we learn young. “Sure, all my friends criticize Huck Finn, but three english teachers made me read it so… I guess we just don’t get it.”