#am i thinking about this poem series after 4 years

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - New & Old Tropes Galore

Entirely subjective yadda yadda. Organized sorta by favs in each category.

Sept 2023 Wk 4

Ongoing Series - Thai

I Feel You Linger in the Air (Fri grey) ep 7 of 12 - occasionally I forget that Yai is like 20 and this is his first love affaire. That poem bit gave me very Goethe vibes. Lots of doomed lesbians in this ep. Doomed love in general. Frankly? I was hoping for more oil less sad. Also, these two are making some v stupid mistakes. Also: MORE boys dancing.

Finally... who was it wanted a rain kiss? You got your rain kissing here, okay? No umbrellas to be had, apparently.

Dangerous Romance (Fri YT) ep 7 of 12 - I love them so much. They are so darn adorable. I like how forthright Kang is. Boy has no game and is such a dork but at least he's enthusiastic. I love the “my boyfriend smells good” trope that BL is into these days. I’m into it, too. The bff enemies drunken bathroom shenanigans was v funny. Also @heretherebedork your boys are couple dancing all over the damn place this week.

I guess we get the boyfriends ep next week?

Hidden Agenda (Sun YT) ep 12fin - The conflict really kind of wasn’t in this last ep. But I guess it was a fine, if not a particularly strong, ending. I wish we’d had the family conflict threaded throughout the series. It would have felt like a deeper more honest drama and the actors could have handled it. They’re ready. How pretty were Joong’s single picturesque crystal tears? Honestly, it's been lovely, boys. Not at all memorable, but lovely.

Quick pitch Hidden Agenda: 

A relatively simple and harmless old-fashioned style university Thai BL, that started out Cyrano de Bergerac style but then drifted away into forgetfulness. It felt like it could have fit into the En of Love universe, except that it was high quality GMMTV with very pretty makeup. I enjoyed it for what it was, it's just that wasn’t much. 8/10 RECOMMENDED

Naughty Babe (Sat YT) ep 5 of 8 - Am I mostly watching this for Est and annoyed he doesn’t have a pair? Yes. (Am I writing a whole revenge plot in my head: "seduced to the good side by my enemy's hot bodyguard" with him and the Tem character? Yes. Yes I am. But that’s way too KinnPorsche for this show.) That said, MaxNat really are a great pair. Nice that Dio is figuring out how evil his own family is. Weirdly, I kind of like this speculation that if gay marriage were legal rich families would use it for arranged-marriage power plays. Can you imagine what China would do with this concept if they had access to it? 

Love in Translation (Sat iQIYI) ep 7 of 8 - The morning after was sweet, I do like it when we get these scenes in BL. FYI no one misgendered Bojji except the caption writer. The screaming "discovery" scene was adorable. And I am very much falling in love with all of the side characters. I also love how aggressive Yang is, like he stepped out of a 2016 Chinese BL into Thailand. And I adore the main brother relationship.

I have to say, this is going to be a difficult BL for me to review. I didn’t like the first 4 episodes but it seems like I’m going to love the final 3. I’m actually really looking forward to the finale next week. Boy, do I feel strange about this. In other news, is it just me or is it weird to get a gay kiss from Ngern almost 10 years later? How late is too late for smooching a boy? 

Never too late...

Absolute Zero (Thai Weds iQIYI) - from 2021, Studio Wabi Sabi and New Siwaj finally brings us this “time loop to prevent tragedy” romance based on the novel of the same name. I think we can expect this to be sad (so it will likely slide down my list as I become more confident about this). Mix is a great actor, so I’m not worried about that aspect, but I am warning you this won’t be your classic fluffy Thai BL. It’s a bit slow moving for me so far. Meanwhile, a revelation:

Thai high school BL is all about the hands. I blame Love Sick.

FYI the outdoor movie they watch is Love of Siam Thailand’s first real queer movie, also featured in My Only 12%.

I'm in trouble, Ongsa is such a sunshine cutie and Sansoon is so lost and sad. Pretty sure I won’t have the patience for 12 episodes of this, but I’ll stick with it for now because a pair like this is yaoi-induced catnip for me.

Only Friends (Sat YT) ep 8 of 10 - Ah, Ray, baby, you can’t get what you want if you want the wrong thing. Also, corruption charges much? Is Ray turning into Ton or is that just me? I still hold that Jenny’s is the only story I actually wanted. Although, I did enjoy the two bi boys bonding over Freddie. GMMTV sure is making good use of Title now that they got him away from Wabi Sabi and I’m NOT mad about it (4 shows & counting). Under ordinary circumstances, I probably would have dropped this show by now. But something keeps dragging me back.

My Universe (Sun iQIYI) Right Time Right You ep 6 - This couplet ended up feeling like an amateurish short. It was interesting in that way shorts can sometimes push into unusual territory, but very slow. My favorite so far, but that’s not saying much since we've only had 3. Kinda amorphous ending. 5/10 watch it if you have nothing better to do. Next week's looks pretty but silly: You Are My Soulmate.

Venus in the Sky (Tues iQIYI) 5 of 10 eps - I don’t understand the bit with the girl, car & eyebrows. Was that all just ad copy? This show is so bad I’m mostly fast forwarding now. I mean the leads are cute and earnest but that’s it. NO SINGING! And... nothing happened this ep. 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Kisseki: Dear to Me (Taiwan Tues Viki & iQIYI) ep 7-8 of 13(?) - Buckle up I got A LOT to say. Ep 7 was the boyfriends ep! Look there’s a a lot of problematic going on here by western standards: age gap (FYI age of consent in Taiwan is 16) + teacher+student, but if you’ve been reading this blog for a while you should know that Taiwan likes both high heat and taboo content (and so do I) plus (unlike Mame) they just lean lube into those kinks. And I, for one, am delighted. I talk about taboo in terms of age gap here and stepbrothers here. I’ve never done teacher/ student because we don’t get it often enough (insert sad face). These are not things that I’m going to complain about or rehash, so, moving on...

I found a lot to love about ep 7: tie grabs, smiley kisses, communication, being held down, younger aggressor, AND preliminary research= all good things. They even brought in morning aftercare, and shared trauma! I love a show that’s both unexpected yet entirely classic Taiwanese BL. I love that the family appeared as a plot device and then disappeared again. It’s all highly amusing.

Gaga dropped ep 8 a week early, I’m assuming this was a mistake since they skip next week. But hey! 

Ep 8: def uhaul lesbians. Also cute queer fam moment. Ring finger biting = v hawt. Then of course it all goes south. Tres romantic means of taking the rap, gotta say. No one does gay sappy quite like Taiwan. Also, now we know why he loses his memory and Ai Di has to go in after him. Honestly, I’m not pleased to see yet another amnesia trope raise its ugly… head (why so many this year?). But it seems to be this year's trend. 

And I know there is more trauma coming, but in classic Taiwan fashion it’s all gonna be fine in the end even if that HEA is chaotic and entirely unearned. Don't worry, all. We good.

You Are Mine (Taiwan Fri Gaga) eps 4 of 10 - Oh noes, sunshine has a cold. And not from the rain... just, like, a normal cold. Amazing. But then when baby gets kidnapped, daddy gets v mad. Honestly, I am charmed by the show. It is very old-fashioned "domineering CEO puts little lady up against the wall" and it’s Taiwan, and thus I am not mad about it. This is what we would be getting from Mainland China if China we’re still making pulp BL. I am disposed to simply enjoy the utter "80s bodice ripper but gay"-ness of it all.

Bon Appetit (Korea Weds iQIYI) 1-2 of 8 - from 2022. If you have premium icky VIP you can binge it all now. I don’t, so instead I’m watching it 2 new episodes every Weds. Struggling heartbroken loser-ish office worker who lives off junk food + sunshine neighbor who loves to cook (from his past with a long-held crush). Also there is a "love class" element. Why does Korea like this conceit so much? Do their universities really engage in socialization training? Gotta say I’m getting whiffs of stalker... but only whiffs. Basically, this show is going poster child “way to a man’s heart is through his stomach“. Bit too much flashback, but I like that our chef is open about liking a boy, and I like that they remember things differently and in alignment with their own egos. And I like that we got a confession already. Ah KBL, it is nice to watch something that MUST move plot quickly. 

My Personal Weatherman AKA Taikan Yoho (Japan Sat Gaga) ep 6 of 8 - Jealous weatherman is ridiculous. Japan = queen of “why don’t you guys just talk?” 

Mr Cinderella 2 (Vietnam Sat YT) ep 2 - Ba Vinh & Minh Thao reprising their roles as Dung & Khoa what do we think? 8 eps? 10? We got the stepbrothers (or whatever they are) backstory. Also My Prettiest Cat-boy does certifiable nutcake v well. Psychopath looks hot on him.  

It's Airing But...

Crazy Handsome Rich (Sun Gaga) ep 3 of 10 - The sound. No. DNF 

I Cannot Reach You AKA I Can't Reach You AKA Kimi ni wa Todokanai (Japan Tues Netflix-Japan & ????) - Adapted from the manga, childhood best friends: The cool, smart one who’s good at everything, and his average, dorky friend who struggles. Always by the other’s side, but not together in the way they truly want to be.

Unfortunately I Cannot Reach You, in classic JBL fashion, could not be reached. 

In case you missed it?

Viki dropped Our Dating Sim the movie. I didn’t notice any extra footage and they took out all the in game/high school flashback stingers. At first, I didn’t really miss them but by the end of the movie I really did. So this is going to be one of those rare KBL instances where I recommend sticking to the original series over the repackaged movie.

Next Week Looks Like This:

Upcoming October BL

10/1 Can I Buy Your Love From A Vending Machine? AKA Sono Koi, Jihanki de Kaemasu ka? (Japan cinema release in-country only) - This one is a movie from Japan so in customary fashion who tf knows when (or if) it will get international distribution. Salaryman Ayumu Koiwai just can't tear his eyes away from the strong, muscular man as he checks on the stocks of the vending machine in his office.

10/5 If It’s With You AKA Even If I Fall In Love With You AKA Kimi to nara Koi wo Shite Mite mo’ (Japan Gaga) - from MBS a live action adaptation of Kubota Maru’s manga ‘君となら恋をしてみても. Amane has stopped loving people due to trauma until he meets Ryuji. At first Amane just wants to play with Ryuji but… feelings. I am assuming 8 eps and rumored to be taking Weatherman's spot so that date is likely wrong.

10/6 What Did You Eat Yesterday Season 2 AKA Kinou Nani Tabeta? Season 2 (Japan Gaga) - 4th installment in this series (1st series, 1 special, 1 movie prior) about a lawyer who lives with his boyfriend, a hairdresser, and cooks for him. Season 2 will follow the couple as they enter their 50’s. Slice-of-life drama adapted from a beloved manga series of the same name.

10/6 My Beautiful Man: Eternal AKA Utsukushii Kare Eternal (Japan movie Viki & Gaga) - This is the 3rd and final installment the series. The 2nd season didn’t blow me away the way the 1st did, but I still liked it. I'm looking forward to the finale. I hope we get character growth for a change.

10/31 SHADOW (Thai VIU ????) - this is a horror BL featuring ghosts and other paranormal elements in a high school setting. I'm not wild about Thai horror (or horror at all, but if it must be done in BL let Japan do it). It features Singto (who did paranormal BL He's Coming to Me) opposite Fluke N (who's done a couple horror's before). Also Fiat. Dan suffers from sleep paralysis, and in his dreams he sees a shadow that suffocates him. It gets worse when he transfers schools.

October? Bump Up Project AKA Bump Up Business (Korea ????) - BL staring OnlyOneOf that released(??) as a movie in July but is now being recut and reissued as a series. Stars NineMill and from Idol Romance bulled as a love story between a trainee who is about to debut and a celebrity from the same agency (based on a webtoon). OnlyOneOf have been auditioning for this since Libido IMHO. You can watch me chronicle their BL MV work in this post. Idol Romance will do sad but can do good kisses (Wish You, Nobleman Ryu, Once Again, Kissable Lips, Poongduck 304, Tasty Florida, Tinted With You) but I don't think we will get any in this. After that OmegaX Shoulder bullshizz buisness I am very wary of this show.

2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED).

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

There was a ton of truly great stuff in this week's Kiseki, but this was hands down my favorite. (Pun intended.)

Oh and the neck kisses of course.

I LOVE HIM your honor.

GMMTV's ongoing love affair with the scent trope.

Calling out out new couple's dance trope. (Both Dangerous Romance)

(Last week) 

#this week in bl #bl updates #bl reviews #currently airing bl #new bl #bl 2023 #Thai BL #Taiwanese BL #Korean BL #Japanese BL #Vietnamese BL #Hidden Agenda Review #Hidden Agenda #Kisseki: Dear to Me #Dangerous Romance the series #GMMTV #Our Dating Sim #Absolute Zero the series #BLs dancing #new tropes in BL

[netherworldpost]

@thatdarnyeti /

The current (emphasis: current, I'm still chomping numbers and capability) plan is there are going to be 3 monthly zines.

Each zine is 1 sheet of paper folded in half, to make a tiny booklet.

Monsters / the Netherworld / fun stories or poems etc

Real world post office letter mail inspiration stuff

Real world Halloween (spooky, not scary, in line with everything else we do) essay

Each zine is $1 each + postage (in the USA, about $0.70). You're only charged once for postage, so your total will be $1.70 or $2.70 or $3.70 depending on if you subscribe to one, two, or three zines.

Each zine is going to be about a blog-post in length... because a few months after they mail out (probably 3 or 4 months), they become blog posts.

At that point, the PDF of that zine will be "pay if you want" to download, or you can buy a copy in the shop as a normal product, for $1 (then we'll fire up the printing presses and mail it to you).

The advantage of us printing and mailing -- we use commercial printing presses that have really great colors. The advantage of "pay if you want" is you can get it immediately and (if you want) free.

On social media, for the last few years, I've balanced

"here is monster stuff in a fun dimension, sometimes there is smooching"

"here is a love letter to the postal system, yes, a love letter... to.. the postal... system"

"Here is fanfic about Scooby-Doo, or a very specific Halloween commercial from the 1980s, or a love letter to Dunkin' Donuts Halloween donuts"

By splitting the zine into three options, people can focus on "I like THIS part of your work, but am less interested in THAT part of your work."

I want to serve people exactly what they are most interested in. I love making all three lines of stuff pretty much equally, and having 3 focuses to bounce between keeps me in a great flow state.

It works out great.

I am extremely pro-social media, it has given me an inordinate amount of advantages and benefits for many years.

And.

I'm in the classic business scenario of "what got you to where you are won't get you to where you want to go."

The above zine project is explicitly designed around "Hey. Like our stuff? Here is a physical copy priced as affordably as possible. You're getting a blog post / social media post, but in the mail. Enjoy!"

Each zine is going to be wildly experimental.

I look at them as a box.

"I have 1 sheet of paper, folded in half, so a booklet of 4 pages. What can I do this month with it?"

FOR THE MONSTER ZINE, I'm thinking "Okay. One month it is a love story (obviously). The next month it is a series of sketches of slime candy. The next month it is a day-in-the-life of a dragon."

FOR THE MAILING ZINE, one month it is going to be "You should write a postcard to your favorite independent restaurant and tell them exactly how you feel about them. You should share why you order what you order and how happy it makes you. Maybe you went there on a date and it went great, maybe you went there after a really hard day and their food made it a little bit better."

FOR THE REAL WORLD SPOOKY ZINE, I'll do a deep dive into my fan theories about magic in Hocus Pocus.

In the 80s and 90s there were tons of super cheap magazines and comics that were constantly shifting and experimenting and I love that.

It's the energy I'm bringing back.

I've spent too many words on this really simple response, I'm sorry, I'm full of words today.

There will be a giant post on the blog "this is how I'm doing it because I have access to commercial printers, if you do too, here is what i recommend. If you don't, check out how to print it at an office supply store, here are details. If you don't want to do that, here is what you can do at home with a cheap desktop printer."

Wow I am WAY over my word budget (laugh)

thank you sorry getting back to work

[goneahead]

I was tagged by @radiowrites and @stephmcx thank you♥️!!

Hi! I am @goneahead on tumblr. I am also goneahead on A03 and goneahead over on dreamwidth (see links in my pinned post - my internet has gone wonky again)

So, this was definitely not one of my better years. I have three WIPs and while I plodded away at all three, I was never happy enough to post new chapters.

What’s really sad is I finally hit 1 million words posted on dreamwidth—and then I pretty much struck out this year. I’m mostly posting this cuz I think its good for newer writers to realize that yes, even experienced writers have years where things just go all pear-shaped.

My grand total for fanfic was: 1,513😳

I don’t keep track of my poetry word count, but I started the year writing poem #926 and ended the year writing poem #947

Total Number of Fanfics: about 150

Total Number Of Completed Works: this year? 0

Total Number of WIPS worked on this year: 3

How Many WIPs do you still have: 4

Looking back, did you write more than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d expected? Much less. In fact, this year was pretty much a bust.

Did you take any writing risks this year? Well considering I spent all year writing three fics and wasnt happy enough to post anything….

Biggest Surprise: I would love to say I was surprised at how little I posted, but I am a disorganized idjit and—yeah. nobody is shocked.

Biggest Disappointment: see above😆

Do you have any writing goals for the new year? Finish Home verse. Let’s see how that goes….

Fanfiction Questions Below! (if you don’t write fanfiction feel free to skip or rework the questions for your original works.)

Fandoms I’ve written in this year? Hawaii Five-0

Your most popular story of the year? sadly, I didn’t post a new story, just a poem and a tiny addition to another verse.

The story that was easiest/or most fun to write? Still enjoying my MIB AU. Now if I could actually finish it…

Hardest story to write: Lead Me Through the Fire from 2022 was one of those fics where all the different pieces of the plot had to fit together just so. I spent more time than I’d like to admit second-guessing myself on how I arranged the chapters.

Your sweetest funniest story: I have a soft spot for Hawaii Five-0’s Eric Russo. The character is very funny and often wildly inappropriate. I wrote a scene in one of my WIPs where Eric is just soooo Eric

Your saddest scene: I didn’t write anything sad this year.

The sexiest moment you’ve written this year? again, nada.

Your favorite tag: diplomatic javelining😆

Most unintentionally telling story: hmmm. I can’t think of anything too revealing in my fic? Except a tendency to write too many AUs?

Are any of your fics named after/heavily inspired by music? Yes. A lot of my fics have their own playlists and that music definitely influenced those fics. I don’t usually share these songs—or name my fics after songs—because I listen to a lot of obscure stuff most people have never heard of.

What’s your own favorite story of the year? I continued to get a lot of interesting and thought-provoking comments on Care and Feeding of a Super SEAL this year. There are many amazing fix-it fics for S10xE22 written by insanely talented writers—so its crazy and humbling that people are continuing to read and comment on mine.

Fanfiction risks you took this year? sadly, none.

My favorite part of fandom this year: We had new people join our fandom!

You know, I really don’t get what has happened to fandoms these last few years. It used to be that fans just shrugged and continued to write, create, and have fun—even their fandom didn’t have any new content being made. Am I the only one who thinks its weird that most fans now book it for the nearest exit as soon as a show is canceled or a movie series is over?

letsee, tagging um, @cowandcalf @bennyokelly @itwoodbeprefect @stellagioia @redgoldblue

#answered #h50 #a03

[lizziestudieshistory]

2023 Reading Summary

I'm late...again... It's hardly a surprise. However, I've finally looked at my reading for 2023. The only stats I tracked this year was the genre, and even this was a simplified version because I decided I don't care. I spent most of my time this year recording what I thought about the books I read not the data surrounding them. And, if I'm honest, I don't think I'll even bother with the genre in 2024.

The Numbers

In total I read 84 books, which considering I've been working or training full time all year is surprising for me. On average I tend to read 60-70 books in a normal year, usually towards the lower end, so almost 20 books over that is a very pleasant surprise.

The biggest surprise has been my change in most read genre! I've only recorded 4 genres, classic, nonfiction, fantasy, and general fiction, these broke down to:

Classic 53%

Fantasy 31%

Nonfiction 12%

General fiction 4%

Fantasy is usually my top genre with over 50%, so this is a change (I don't think it will be permanent). However the largest shock is the nonfiction! I never read nonfiction for fun, but I guess this is a change from leaving university. I don't have to learn for work anymore, so I'm now looking into these things for fun as the mood takes me. I am disappointed these haven't been history books, however, I'm hoping to change that in 2024 and it has been nice learning more about literature in 2023.

Top Three Books

I tried to do a top 5 but the gap between 3 and 4 was too large, so I've narrowed it down to a top 3.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin

Evelina by Fanny Burney

I loved all of these books in different ways, and I think I've done a mini review of each in the months I read them. However, if anyone wants detailed thoughts then I'm more than happy to talk about any of these books.

Biggest Surprises

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

Silas Marner by George Eliot

Goblin Market and Other Poems by Christina Rossetti

Fugitive Prince by Janny Wurts

All of these were excellent, they just weren't quite in my top three.

Most Disappointing

Witches: James I and the English Witch-Hunts by Tracy Borman

The Fitz and the Fool Trilogy by Robin Hobb (I DNFed this series after Fool's Quest and I'm heartbroken, but I have major issues with this trilogy in a way I couldn't keep reading as it was destroying my love for Fitz.)

Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson (this is standing in for all of the secret project books)

Goals (Sort Of...)

To continue the surprises... I've only listened to 4 audiobooks, so most of those books were read physically or through an ebook. This is huge for me as I used to consume about a third of my books through audio, it's a massive improvement because I don't retain them very well. Listening to fewer audiobooks was a big part of my informal (in other words unwritten) reading goals and I'm very happy to have got it down this far. I do think it'll go up again next year because I've got a lengthy commute to work now, but I've also broken the habit of sitting at home listening when I could easily read the book myself and get more out of it.

I did as well with not worrying about numbers or data surrounding the books I'm reading. I deliberately retired my spreadsheet this year and only kept up with my reading journal. After a week or so I didn't miss it in the slightest. I'm not a hard data/stats kind of person, but I am easily persuaded to keep these sorts of records. I started keeping a spreadsheet in 2019 where I track genre, pages, author gender, and format in addition to the book information, by 2022 I was tracking book info, series, genre, format, author info (just too much to list), pages, month read, where I bought the book, if it was a tbr, new or library read, reread or new to me, and rating. It was too much! It was hard work, I was MISERABLE, and I didn't care. It was performing to the standards of what you see in the reading community online... So, I ditched the spreadsheet and I've been much happier. I've read better books because I haven't had my stats in mind, and I've read more. I had more time to actually read because I haven't been spending an inordinate amount of time researching books and entering data into a spreadsheet! I'm definitely making this a permanent change.

I've also used my ereader a lot more this year, I have no numbers to back this up but I've naturally been reaching for it regularly and it has done me good. I've not only read more frequently and for longer periods of time, but I've been more comfortable while reading (no more back, neck, or arm strain from 1000+ page fantasy tomes!) and I've tried books I was hesitant about buying physically because I could access a digital copy. I did have a massive problem with my ereader in November because my Kobo Libra 2 started to have battery changes that nothing resolved and then it died completely. Unfortunately I lost a lot of my reading data, including my notes, which has upset me. But I have saved my elibrary and bought a "new" device (it's a Boox Nova 3) so I can still read - I might discuss getting a Boox separately. However, I am much more cautious about note taking through a device and I'm sticking to recording everything in my physical journal.

This brings me nicely onto my reading journal. I wanted to overhaul my journal this year because my old journal format was growing stale and uninspiring to use. I was often leaving it for weeks at a time and often scrambling to write up 5 or 6 books in one go because I'd forgotten to do it as I was reading. So, I worked through several different styles of journal and found a new, more flexible, and engaging style that can fit my changing moods throughout the year. I'm definitely going to discuss this at a later date, so I won't say much here. But I am very happy to have a new journal system and I'm excited to get into it properly this year.

#books #reading #books of 2023 #reading summary #end of year reflection #bookblr #booklr #best of 2023 #worst of 2023 #reading goals #reading journal

[railingsofsorrow]

𝙾𝙲𝚃. 6𝚝𝚑; 𝖘𝖕𝖊𝖓𝖈𝖊𝖗 𝖗.

summary: spencer's letter.

pairing: spencer reid x oc!iris valentia 

w.c: 694

warnings/content: a case is mentioned superficially; bird talk; bookworms geeking; fluff.

navi

masterpost

series masterlist

[letter 1] [letter 2] [letter 3] [letter 4] [letter 5] [letter 6] [letter 7] [letter 8] [letter 9]  

October 6st.

Dear, Iris.

Please, call me Spencer.

You said you'd prefer that I drop the honorific, then I'd rather you do it as well. And you are not intruding in any way, if anything, I am, because I asked you to talk about yourself first. I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable or pressured? I am sorry if I have.

I knew someone that really liked birds once, he knew every species at the tip of his tongue. I guess you two would've gotten along.

Did you know that the Garrulax courtoisi is an endangered species? It was rediscovered in 2000 at Wuyuan, China, but it remains rare till this day. It is really close to extinction, at least in the wild life.

That is a... good question. I would like to be an owl, mainly because of their binocular sight much like ours. It would be interesting, in my point of view. I had never thought about this before.

Are you curious about me? I don't believe I have much aspects about myself that you'd find interesting. I do relate to some things you said. I hate loud noises as well, but I guess, I hate crowded places more. These two pet peeves often overlap each other; in my line of work, I have to speak and face lots of people, which makes me anxious.

According to Dr. Jerry Bubrick, a senior psychologist at the Child Mind Institute Anxiety Disorder Center, when kids are excited they are similar to a dog wagging its tail, but they naturally get louder as the excitement kicks in. Also, children don't know how to modulate their volume, that means that even if they are yelling, they might not notice it, although the parent does. My godson does that a lot, so I know what you mean. When he gets too excited, he runs to whoever he's closest to and throws his arms around them. It's endearing.

Oh, yes. I am rather fond of literature. I think Murakami's writing is brilliant but I've only ever read Nowergian Wood, I'll make sure to read The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle next. My usual reading choice is horror, I'd say Edgar Allan Poe's poem “The Tell-Tale Heart” made me fall in love with literature. I've read it for the first time when I was ten years old, it was one of my mother's books that she'd keep really high on the shelf so I wouldn't read it. I stole it and read it anyway. (Technically I did not steal it, it was still in the house, I just left it in my room) I was captivated by Poe's gruesome details and the way he mixes emotions in the narrative. As for a novel, it would be The Romance of the Forest by Ann Radcliffe. She's also an amazing author from gothic literature. Have you ever heard of or read any of these two?

Oh, my day only starts after I've had my coffee as well! I can't function properly without it. I hate plain coffee, it has to have at least five spoons of sugar or I can't swallow — no offense to you, of course, but I don't think sweeteners ruin the taste, it makes it better.

Regarding the Nevada case, it was... eventful. I thought we wouldn't be able to reach a good solution in time but, we did. As good as one sees, at least. It was a hard case which did not bring back good memories. But I won't fill your busy hours with irrelevant venting. How is your week going? Are you still picking up extra shifts at work? I hope you don't forget to take care of yourself meanwhile.

Please don't.

Ps: I'm sure your hair looks beautiful even on “bad hair days” — I've learned this term recently through a friend, I hope I used it right.

Best regards,

Spencer R.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

taglist: @lilyviolets

#sun-bleached paper petals fic #criminal minds fanfiction #spencer reid fanfic #spencer reid x original female character #spencer reid x oc

[smalltownfae]

23 Books I Want To Read in 2023

This post is based on this tag because after the disaster it was with me picking those books I hope I make better choices for this year. No one tagged me though.

1. The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard: As I mentioned before this one was recommended by friends that love it so hopefully I will like it as much. (DNF)

2. The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe: I heard interesting things about this one and the synopsis makes me really curious. I am sure it will at least be an interesting experience.

3. East of Eden by John Steinbeck: I don’t know a single person that did not really like this book and that makes me really curious. Even people that usually have different tastes from each other seem to agree on this one.

4. Life Ceremony by Sayaka Murata: I only have this book left to read by this author (I think). It’s a short story collection but I hope it will be as impactful as her novels.

5. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro: I am really hoping this one doesn’t disappoint me. If I have time I would also like to read The Buried Giant.

6. Goodbye Tsugumi by Banana Yoshimoto: I want to try some books by this author this year and I hope I chose well. 

7. Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner: After loving I am Glad My Mom Died I want to try more memoirs and I heard good things about this one.

8.The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez: I’ve heard good things about this one so I am willing to try a space opera for once.

9. Wild Seed by Octavia E. Butler: I only have this series and the short stories left from this author. Please don’t disappoint me again, Butler.

10. Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo: I listened to 3 of her books this year and it was fantastic! I hope I can also listen to this one on audiobook because it’s written in poetry and narrated by the author so the performance is amazing.

11. Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao: I really liked Iron Widow so I am sure I will enjoy the sequel when it comes out this year. (publication moved to 2024)

12. Small Gods by Terry Pratchett: Hopefully I will be in the mood to read more Discworld novels this year and I own a physical copy of this book so this is the one I picked.

13. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng: Honestly I am just curious about this author’s works in general. I don’t even know what they are about, but apparently they’re really good.

14. In the Lives of Puppets by T.J. Klune: This book seems to be in the same line as the last two by the author and I enjoyed those. Plus, it has robots in nature and one is named HAP! Hopefully, it will be good. 

15. The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin: I just want to be done with this trilogy. I love the first book, but the second not so much. I heard the 3rd is better than the 2nd but not as good as the 1st. I was hoping to reread the first two before starting this one but I don’t think I will have time for that.

16. The Poetry of Robert Frost by Robert Frost: Hopefully an entire year is enough time for me to read all his poems.

17. The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper: I know someone that loves this series and the first book was alright, but the 2nd is her favourite so I want to give it a try.

18. The Grief of Stones by Katherine Addison: Need to catch up even though I thought the previous book was just ok.

19. The Dutch House by Ann Patchett: I heard good things about this author and I hope I picked the right book to start with her works.

20. I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem by Maryse Condé: I heard only one person talk about this book, but that person has good taste so I bought it.

21. Emma by Jane Austen: I have a feeling that I might like this one more than Pride and Prejudice. If I read this one and Persuasion this year I am done with Austen works.

22. The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell: Another one I heard good things about. 

23. Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater: This seems like a fun and cozy book for whenever I am in the mood.

#23 books I want to read in 2023 #2023 tbr #I am not including the ones I am currently reading because it feels like cheating

[bisexualshakespeare]

In honor of this encouraging 'make a press release for your fanfic' post, I made covers for my Dig Deeper Haven fanfic series! I just finished posting the last chapter and I have so many feeeelings!

I wrote Angels and Animals in 2020, almost immediately after watching the season 4 finale and being so upset that I HAD to find fix it fic for it. I read two or three but none really hit the spot so I decided to take the ideas I had read and combine them in a way that appealed to ME specifically! I have a lot of ideas like this but I knew right away that I was actually going to go through with this one, but I didn't know until after it was done that I would want to continue with a nearly 50k follow up!

Multivocal I wrote over 2 NaNoWriMos, writing about 25k each time. This fic was very loosely outlined, which might not seem like a big deal but I NEVER outlined before this fic. I thought of myself as a full on pantser who never even considered writing an outline and didn't understand the concept. But for this fic I wanted it to read pretty close to the show. After the frustration of the ending of season 4, I reached out to a couple friends and asked if season 5 was better and it was pretty much a resounding no, so this had to be MY season 5 because I loved the show (well, i loved the characters) and I wasn't going to watch any further. I started thinking of it in terms of episodes and trying to keep the monster of the week type format the show had going, and having the same pacing. Eventually I let it go and decided that it was okay to write what I wanted to see over what might actually happen in a real TV show.

Both fics and the series are named after the lines from the poem Black Telephone by Richard Siken which I can only find on this tumblr post as the production company's website seems to be defunct. I saw excerpts from it floating around tumblr for years and when I was in the middle of writing A&A, I was looking for quotes that matched the tone for the title. Actually, I might have even remembered the quote myself? It has the line "I am more than one thing and not all of those things are good" and that has embedded itself into my psyche since I read it, so I think I purposefully went seeking where that quote came from.

I have considered writing a 3rd installment called More Than One Thing, but it's not going to happen just yet. I have other things I want to write and other fandoms to obsess over. Still I really am in love with these fics and so grateful to this fandom for somehow inspiring me in a way I've never been able to harness before. This is the longest fic on my ao3 and the longest story I've written that is actually complete! And all this after already spending so much time on my musical episode fanfic?! Haven really unlocked something in me and I will be chasing that inspiration forever.

Thanks for everyone who read this, everyone who read my fics, and everyone in Haven fandom!

Original lighthouse from unsplash. The other is I found in canva.

#haven #i made this #wow the quality doesn't look right artists on tumblr what you make must be *stunning* if this is what they do to you

[alexenglish]

ao3 wrapped (alexenglish edition)

stole this ask meme with the intent of using it as a writing retrospect! please enjoy if you enjoy.

fic round-up ♡ AO3 ♡ writing tag

How many words have you written this year? give or take 60-75k, i'm honestly not sure how many words i have between all my wip docs... my wip folder for my one published wip has three or so docs dedicated to graveyard and rewritten work. i'm suffering profoundly, but i am persevering - i think.

How many works did you publish this year? 5 individual ao3 works, and a short prompt collection with prompt ficlets from twitter.

did notice i feel limited while filling twitter prompts (character restriction, screenshotting, additional character restriction for alt text after screen shots bleh) - my fills are about half the word count of what i would usually do if i was on tumblr, so i think i will be bringing writing short prompts back to the good ol' askbox here.

What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)? without question, my favorite fic from this year is if you let me i might say too much (2min, t, 8.5k). i accidentally wrote a fic with such a lovely, strong sense of identity. some of my best setting and backgrounding work. just a tight little short story that i adore. i'm beyond happy with it and love the way readers love her as well!

What work of yours has the most hits? & let me kiss you (binsung, t, ch1/2 14.7k) ✊😔

What work of yours got more feedback than you expected? probably & let me kiss you! really delighted that people are still leaving comments on it and hoping it'll continue (me too!) haven't gotten any demanding or pushy comments to continue it, just a lot of gentle appreciation, which i'm grateful for hehe

Favorite title you used the mouth of the sun (chanlix, e, 10.7k). i found this phrasing in my poetry tag (where i go when i don't have a song lyric to use). when i looked it up, the real poem might be 'the mountain of the sun' - though i didn't investigate very far past the first few search results. i shrugged my shoulders and thought: 'mouth' is better.

i love 'mouth of the sun' as a combination of a lot of things: felix as skz's sunshine, felix as chan's sun - sunshine, happiness, the dizzying center of his own universe & the toxic ways that manifests for them in the fic - the icarus metaphor i used in fic, this idea of flying too close to the sun & how chan uses it to illustrate how his desire is obvious to those around them and it burns him with how he willingly gets close to felix; the way he flew too close to the sun when he propositioned felix before the events of the fic and got rejected. then the icarus metaphor more largely in the truth and in vinos veritas themes of the fic: the mouth of the sun, literally felix's mouth, that can't stop speaking and chan flying too closely by asking felix to elaborate on his awful truths, burning himself over and over again because he's desperate to know more in the moment and after, during the scene where felix is sober.

If you use song lyrics, which artist's songs did you pull from the most? used lyrics from all different artists, but excited to announce the planned sequel to & let me kiss you also is a 1d lyric title, and the decided series name is, you guessed it, also a 1d lyric <3

Pairing you wrote the most for this year? binsung! my binsung! my best and favorite boys~

Favorite pairing you wrote for this year? again, binsung

What work was the quickest to write? one plus one equals one (jilix, t, 2.1k) - this actually started as a twitter fic thread for their bdays, but i'm nothing if not a wordy bitch, but i knocked it out in like 4 hours which was great!

What work took you the longest to write? i started &lmky in... february 2022... maybe... and published chapter one in may, because i am a fool, and it's still not done so! excited to see if i can complete it before it turns a year old (may, NOT feb)

How many WIP's do you have in your docs for next year? technically only two - &lmky and the sequel! my teeth and ambitions are not bared. keep expectations low and everything else is a nice surprise.

What's your longest work of the year? & let me kiss you, queen

What's your shortest work of the year? one plus one equals one

What's your most common "Additional Tags" tag? "canon compliant" (in the way that 'canon' is working knowledge of idol life and not in the 'this is definitely real' way, thanks)

Your favorite character to write this year? jisung is super fun and easy for me in a lot of ways and his ships are my faves, but i really loved writing chan for the mouth of the sun, there's something so diabolical about getting to write an overly sympathetic unreliable narrator who is actually the cause of Problems. most readers will not see that at all (and they did not), but writing him was [chef's kiss]

The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year? my povs were very easy, but minho in &lmky is the most unwieldy motherfucker. he's not in chapter 1, but all my chapter 2 angst stems directly from the fact that he and jisung have the most whack conversations that i have to redact and rewrite because they're serving NO purpose. can't wait to get him laid in the sequel, maybe he'll calm down.

What's one pairing you want to explore next year? hyunho is the ship for the famed &lmky sequel, and it's gunna be so fucking glorious. i might be looking forward to it more than i am looking forward to finishing &lmky (mostly because i'm at the point with &lmky that's like DEAR GOD WHEN WILL I BE INSPIRED versus the hyunho barely exists so i'm floating on my back in the glittering pool of imagination about it)

Which work of yours have you reread the most? if you let me i might say too much, she really is my beloved!

How many kudos in total did you get this year? 961, and i'm eating them ALL. i am warm and well fed! 🥰🥰🥰

Which work has the most comments? proud of myself for remembering to check the comment thread stat and not just look at the total number and divide by two: & let me kiss you

Did you do any collaborative works this year? @clarz and I co-wrote a beautiful and wonderful secret gift for @sodapopblues and it was easily the most fun i had writing all year!

Did you write any gifts this year? this is probably the first year i didn't gift a fic to someone on ao3 wow! did previously mentioned collab with clara for erin, and did record my very first podfic for clara for her birthday, i love u clara mwah

Did you receive any gifts this year? my lovely excellent and highly talented friend @unseelie-siren/ @pxssnelke was SICK and did a pod of & let me kiss you and completely surprised me, AND wrote two banger fics for me: i just make it easy (minbin, e, 3k) and big things come in small packages (changjun, t, 2.6k). i hope my muse is up to task this year so i can give a little back to fae for faer's kindness 😘

What's your most common category? M/M

What do you listen to while writing? Study Music Alpha Waves: Relaxing Studying Music, Brain Power, Focus Concentration Music, ☯161

Favorite line/passage you wrote this year? hands down, the studio kiss scene at the end of the first chapter of & let me kiss you. the tension. that changbin. it's crazymaking. i'm obsessed with that changbin above all else.

Biggest surprise while writing this year? writing chanlix! despite being my first skz ship, i'm largely neutral on their dynamic - and then disparaging of the way it tends to manifest in fic - so it's moved out of even my top 10 skz ships. my personal meta about them has always been trying to dig into the stuff i feel is deeply out of sync in their dynamic, which is what compels me but never really enough, until felix basically tackled chan and gave him a footrub and then immediately abandoned him when changbin interrupted, and THEN i saw a bunch of weird and whack discourse about how felix doesn't top chan (HA! HA!), that i was like ah i simply must write a subversive fic within a trope i've been eager to write for awhile (sex pollen is among my good friend quinn @fleetwooded's favorite tropes! i wanted to take a swing at it). at first it was only going to be a love triangle, maybe with a hopeful ending, but as soon as it started i realized there was a thread of bad feelings i had to follow through to the end and i'm very happy i did.

THE END! feel free to steal this idea, since i stole it, and if you steal it and do a little retrospect yourself, feel free to send it to me/ tag me! love everyone's writing thoughts mwah!

#alexnotes

[mmescarlette]

Favorite Books Read in January 2023

Since I thought it might be fun to turn this blog into a space to talk about books I've read, here's a roundup of books I particularly liked this month! There may be spoilers for each so feel free to skip between the titles if you like.

The Heir and the Spare - Kate Stradling (personal rating: 4/5)

This was, in fact, the very first book I read this year, a straggler that I started on NYE but put aside so I could read it more at my leisure after my previous challenge was fulfilled, and I'm so glad I did! I SNAPPED this book up. I can't tell you a great deal of what it's about because I kind of liked going into it essentially blind, actually, but it is not a retelling (I somehow thought it was a Prince and the Pauper retelling which it clearly is not but I think that was purely based on the title and not, you know, facts) and it's at my perfect intersection of fantasy, which is the kind of low-stakes sword-and-sorcery tales that I generally tend to write myself.

I believe what I enjoyed and got out of this book most was that it forced me to confront my own relationship with suffering, much like Thorn did two years ago; tw for the main character going through some fairly intense emotional abuse, but for me as a reader, I found it more cathartic and able to make me understand myself more closely, and thus well worth the read for me in particular. I also LOVED the choice to have a second lead who is essentially antagonistic from the start, much in the vein of QoA which I am always weak for. I would say this is low on themes, but high on character work, so if you're looking for an introspective read this is a lovely choice!

The Stolen Heir - Holly Black (personal rating: 4.5/5)

Holly basically OWNS me at this point. There's a high likelihood just based on this book alone that this duology will capture me in its clutches even MORE than Folk of the Air could, simply based on the fact that I love the two leads (and Wren in particular) like there's no tomorrow. For one thing, I think it's such an interesting and quite frankly beautiful and touching change to have both the leads be so downright kind people to their core, as opposed to the chaos gremlins (affectionate) of the previous trilogy. But for another thing, the particular theme that my dash is sucking me into loving this year is that of shared history of love of all along between people, and I looove that is very present here! FotA was very much about learning to love but I'm pretty badly invested in how much this story leans on how to trust even when the love was already there.

The reality also of Wren being this bleeding heart being who will undo bonds and chains and ties simply because it's the right thing to do is something that makes me feel insane! Everything about Oak coming from a family he can never abandon or leave behind because he cherishes them so deeply makes me sob! The entire theme that lingers from it all being "I have never had the true luxury of being free in any way that matters to me so I have the compulsion to save every person I possibly can even if it is at great personal cost" is something that can be so personal and dear to me and I LOVE it so much.

(Also I had a great time wailing at Wren every time she talks about Jude to be like "JUDE WAS SORRY FOR YOU WREEEN SHE FREED YOU ON PURPOSE BECAUSE SHE DOESN'T LIKE PEOPLE BEING BOUND EITHER" and whilst I have no doubt there will be angry Jude in the next book I love that there's this tie of fae-nurtured human and raised-by-humans fae between the protagonist of both the series! There's so much richness of kindness in that dichotomy and I'm so intrigued about where she'll take it.)

Thirst - Mary Oliver (personal rating: 5/5)

I'm always on the hunt for more Mary books to read, and this one is a stirringly beautiful example of her work. Very few things have made me cry like the titular poem does.

Part of the reason why I glommed onto this book so much is because, at its heart, it is a book about grief; from what I can tell, this was Mary's first book she wrote after the death of her partner, and because of that it is so deeply infused through and through with love and light and sorrow and tenderness that it seems almost impossible that I, at least, could not love it. But perhaps more than anything, the reason why it struck me so much is because it filled me with that which I am most on the search for in my life right now, wonder.

Mary's work makes me see the stars, the sun and the moon and the sky, all whilst I'm tucked away in my house, in my reading chair at one in the morning without moving a muscle. It makes me glad to live, but more than that it gives me reason to live, that most tricky part of staying alive and being glad for it. She always finds a way to lead me back to the emotion I am best at and struggle most with, that of gratitude of being here and being well with what I am given, that even when the tossing and turning of life tears at my soul I can always say a prayer in thanks for it and find my way back to something simple and still and true, and that-- is always worth the effort for me.

And while that is me talking about her work at large, I will simply say, this book made me see the stars at night and the rosebuds in late spring and the shadows of the geese making their way across the fragile sky, and for that alone I love it dearly. Also The Messenger is only the poem I have in full pasted on my wall which to me is the biggest peer-review test of all.

Station Eleven - Emily St. John Mandel (personal rating: 4/5)

A read that I embarked on because a dearly loved friend (hi Lu!!) adores this book, so I wanted to take a peek because the themes appealed to me. I'm a big lover of post-apocalyptic media that focuses in on what relationships look like between people in the aftermath and how often it is love, in the end. While this is not my favorite example of that particular genre, it is an extremely competent entry, and a good introduction if you're never dipped into the genre before.

Beautiful, dark, and luminous, Station Eleven is what I would call a slow amble through the book's contents. It neither tumbles you along with the impetus of its own story and pace (as a YA book does), nor does it urge you forward with the hastening steps of its plot that grow louder and louder over time (as speculative fiction often wants to do) but it is quiet, self-contained and self-possessed. From what I can gather, this is the kind of book that either resonates with you deeply, or doesn't whatsoever, but for me in particular I found it scattered with such moments of gentle beauty that made me have to close my eyes and hold them close to myself that I found it worth the read, despite the fact that it is also littered with enough violence and sorrow that it's not truly as comforting as I had expected it to be.

In its heart, this book is very simply about a girl who is part of a wandering troupe of actors in the world after an apocalyptic event whose life is shown in tandem and parallel to an actor who she worked with as a child; but it is also deeply about kindness, friendship, love and loss and the search for beauty when the surface of the earth has been so ravaged that it seems almost impossible that it could still be there. More than anything, Station Eleven is a book about care-- it's about Kirsten's care for her work, for her friends and the rare moments of beauty she carries about, it's about what goodness we can save and spare when all else is lost, it's about me weeping over the joy of electricity casting its light on the sky when that seems impossible. The longer I sit with it, the more I can find to love in it, because what lingers from this story is the love that stays within it through and through.

#reading tag #i also reread 84 charing cross which is a joy as always #read brine and bone which is probably my second favorite of kate's #i LOVED the choices made in the structure of that story so much; being a long-time lover of the original little mermaid #made it all that more precious to me #and i finally read beau brown which sadly i /liked/ but didn't /love/ #because it kind of stressed me out more than i was expecting to! #it lacked the whimsy that makes heyer so precious to me; so lots of the hijinks were just painful rather than humorous & that weighed on me #(whimsy being in the sense of being able to bear heavy things lightly; i'm not very good at defining what it means to me #but i don't mean it in a silly goofy way only; i think it has to have a component of making me laugh but also able to bear it you know?) #however i love the main couple! i think they're just so sweet and they clearly love each other in such a true friends way #and that's kind of the savior of the novel #anyway. i've trapped you all in here with me and i am now subjecting you to my reading life. ha HA!!!!

[ablatheringblatherskite]

4, 10, 20, 135? :)

AAAAAHHH YAYY, thank you so much for the ask, Teaspoon (can I call u that?? Or do u have a better nickname suggestion!)!! So sorry it took a bit, I was trying to PERFECT this answer LOL (the book recc part especially took me a bit HAHA)

4. A poetry book that reads like a story

I think I'm gonna have to say When We Were Very Young and Now We Are Six by A.A. Milne!! I absolutely adore those poem books aaaaaaaa, I left them in our other home and I miss it so muchhh. I'm not sure if the question means all poems are connected or each poem feels like a story on its own, to me they really feel like the latter. They're so cute and beautiful and charming and nostalgic and agghhhhh

here's some of my favorites, just to name two of many:

and

Wind On The Hill

No one can tell me, Nobody knows, Where the wind comes from, Where the wind goes.

It’s flying from somewhere As fast as it can, I couldn’t keep up with it, Not if I ran.

But if I stopped holding The string of my kite, It would blow with the wind For a day and a night.

And then when I found it, Wherever it blew, I should know that the wind, Had been going there too.

So then I could tell them Where the wind goes… But where the wind comes from Nobody knows.

10. A book that got you through something

Okay this is a toughie, but only because I can't remember any specific times. BUT BOOKS HAVE ALWAYS AND FOREVER WILL HELP ME GET THROUGH A LOT OF DIFFICULT THINGS!

BUT one book that I am sure has helped me through SOME difficult things is Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. That's honestly one of my main comfort books ever since I was like, ten years old. Some people consider it to be slow but I think that's why I love it 🥺. It really takes time to depict the more mundane, realistic moments in between the high-stakes, perilous ones in their adventure. It's really about the ENTIRE journey, and I really love that

20. A book that got you out of a reading slump

I think one book that ripped me FIERCELY out of a reading slump was Wings of Fire, book 6: Moon Rising. I absolutely LOVE the Wings of Fire series (it's no surprise that it's about dragons LOL. I... love dragons...), and I'll be honest after finishing the first quartet I was skeptical about continuing to the next part of the series just because it ended so well, but I was NOT DISAPPOINTED. Disclaimer: I have yet to find a copy of book seven... BUT CAN'T WAIT FOR WHEN I FINALLY DO 😭

135. Recommend any book you like!

oh GOSH THERE'S SO MANY TO CHOOSE FROM. UMMM. Alright I have two!

Okay so there's Inkheart by Cornelia Funke, a REALLY underrated book imo that I love so much, that I think you'd like if you like fantasy and adventure that takes place in the real world. I don't know if COZY is the right word for it but it'd really cozy to me even if they characters are often in danger lol, but I think the biggest reason I love it so much is because it's a real love letter to books and reading (and even writing as well!). It's about a book binder and his daughter, and the book binder has the ability to read characters from books to life. I read it when I was ten and have loved it ever since.

Then there's the Wings of Fire quartet by Tui T. Sutherland, which I ABSOLUTELY LOVE TO THIS DAY. If you love dragons and fantasy, then you'd probably like this!!! Yeah it's a children's book but who CARES. This book series is about five dragonets who have been told all their life that they are destined to stop the Sandwing queen war, and their journey as they try to do exactly that. The world-building is so cool, with the different type of dragons, and I love the five main characters so much and their relationship with each otherrrrr. Seriously one of my favorite series ever.

ANYWAY IM SORRY AGAIN FOR THE LATE RESPONSE!! I've been thinking about this ask for days I swear thank you so much for asking it 🥹

If you wanna ask me more book-related asks, fire away!!

#asks #offendedteaspoon #books

[theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin]

ello I have no questions to ask but just wanted to say I really love October. The prose in it is so beautiful, you make paintings with your words. Whenever Tom goes to Ubik it truly feels as if I’m looking through his eyes witnessing something eerily beautiful.

I love Tom and Azreal. Just their dialogue, interactions, friendship and everything. It physically hurt when they pretended they didn’t care about each other. How the become friends in Hogwarts has a soft place in my heart. The hand offered on the astronomy roof and them sitting together watching the stars pointing out Mars. The first time I read it I could never have imagined it to be foreshadowing of Ubik. There’s so many beautiful scenes that just stick out in my head.

Right now I’m rereading it for i think the fourth time. There’s some new chapters and I know I could’ve probably read them right away but I like a few building up so I can reread whole story and then get to a few new chapters. Like how people binge an old favorite series before watching the new episodes.

Actually I figure out a question to ask you. What was you plan on where October was going when you started it and how has it changed? Another question, how do you remember everything? The story has been in progress for over 4 years and you have so many other stories.

Conclusion, you are an amazing writer and I really enjoy your work. Also you inspired me to get a poem book by T. S. Elliot and read “Do Android Dream of Electric Sheep”. :D

@boomboombosblog is referring to October.

Ooh thank you, sorry this took forever for me to get to, lost in my inbox somewhere. I really am very flattered and adored that you put in so much thought to, well, this review.

As for your questions...

What Was the Original Plan?

It was supposed to be a fucking one-shot.

It was just going to be some drabbely garbage of Harry is Master of Death, goes to Hogwarts, yadda yadda stuff happens and Tom changes. I had no real ending in mind but I imagined it'd end shortly after the Hogwarts bit with a few rando scenes.

That didn't happen.

As I was writing I went well past the length of a one-shot and said "Well, better post". And then it just kept going...

So we get something that changed a bit from the style of a series of vignettes to actual stories. Still that strange drifting prose and scenes but less drabble like than originally intended.

The Tom/Lily bit was also not something originally planned (and a whole debacle in and of itself that I'm not going to get into again).

So, it's changed a lot as it's kept going.

How Do I Remember Everything?

I fortunately have a very good memory, for when I don't I try to reread chapters I need to in order to remember where I left off and key plot points that have happened.

#ask #boomboombosblog #october

[jezabatlovesbats]

Day 26 of the Unitober challenge is a free day. So, here goes…

Back in the year of 2017, when the Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga remake was released and Minecraft: Story Mode was still pretty big, I was young and ambitious, and I wanted to be a video game developer. I took a computer class at my junior high school to learn the basics of it, but as the school year went by, I realized that I didn’t exactly have what it took. Coding wasn’t something I could easily learn.

And that’s okay. I found something better to be passionate about in life when this show first aired.

The very first episode of Unikitty aired on October 27, 2017, right before Halloween. Right afterwards, in November and December, the second and third episodes aired. No Day Like Snow Day was my first episode; I watched it when it first came out. Later, on New Years’ Day 2018, the show officially premiered, and let me tell you what happened then.

I fell in love with the show, its characters, its wackiness, and pretty much everything else about it really quickly.

What exactly was the appeal? Well, earlier in my life, when I was about 9 or 10, I was into the Lego Movie. Who was my favorite character? Who do you think? OG Unikitty was the only LEGO Movie character I remember trying to draw. There was just something about her that made me feel sweet inside. I used to ship her with an “OC” (if you can even call it that) named “Horsepuppy,” which was basically just a horse-dog hybrid with no personality. Other “characters” from that time were “Pegabunny,” “Turtlebird” and “Geckofly”. They didn’t have personalities either.

So, that’s where that came from. A few days after the show dropped episodes 4-9, I started writing a dumb little fanfiction called “Broken and Frozen.” The very first draft began with an edgy, sad poem written by my first OC, Germafrost, as the prologue. That fanfiction has gone through many drafts and has morphed into an idea for a series. A week or so after I started writing it, I began to write random things in my notes app, pretending to have a Wattpad account because I didn’t have one yet but wanted it badly.

Unikitty was what I would write about 90% of the time, although I occasionally talked about Minecraft: Story Mode stuff and other things. As the months went by, I came up with more ideas and more OCs. I drew fanart, made not-so-cool memes (all but one), talked about other people’s fanarts, talked a bit about what went on in my life, and squealed over Foxodile. It took me a while to squeal over Frock as well, but I’m happy to say that I did! I also came up with a bunch of episode ideas, but I’m not all that serious about them. There are so many more things I wrote in my Notes out of my love for the show.

Eventually, I did get a Wattpad account and a DeviantArt account as well. You can find plenty of Unikitty-related posts and artwork there.

A lot of the ideas I thought up for my fanmade characters are still canon about them today. Other ideas, I’ve let go of. And there are a LOT of ideas I had to scrap.

I got the Sparkle Party DVD in September of 2018, and it’s now a personal treasure of mine.

Even though this show might be over now, I hope that people will still continue to talk about it. This show means the world to me and that is a fact. It’s inspired me to keep drawing to make my art skills the best they can be. It’s also inspired me to check out other cartoons, like Teen Titans and Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart. Though I’ve definitely hit some bumps along the way like anybody would (there are things I’ve done that I regret doing a LOT), I am feeling great about myself and my artistic abilities.

At times when I felt sad, angry, or doubtful of myself, I’d watch Unikitty to pick myself back up. I mean, the whole message of the show is to believe in yourself and stay positive, so it was there for me when I needed it.

Being in this show’s fandom has helped me grow into a better person, and watching this show has let me think about my outlook on life. Watching Unikitty and her friends spread happiness to other people when they need it and help each other gave me the thought that maybe the world didn’t need to be a miserable place. I didn’t have to live my life in sadness. I wanted to focus more on the things that brought me joy. And the more I did that, the more I felt better for it.

One of the best parts about the show that the characters are all perfectly happy being themselves. They have flaws, but they accept them and let nothing get in their way. The best part of it is that no one judges them for expressing themselves. Seeing this, I felt a little less self-conscious about the kind of person I was. I’ve always liked to post super weird stuff.

I love shows with deep messages, realistic character growth and an overarching story as much as the next guy, but sometimes, you just need to loosen up and laugh a little. That’s exactly what Unikitty wants us to do, and it’s great at making us laugh. I’ve surely done that.

This show has been with me since I was in 7th grade. I’m a high school senior now. There’s still a very special place in my heart for Unikitty. I still love it so very much.

In 2020, I drew this pic to give the show a big, grateful hug.

And once more, I’d like to say:

Unikitty, thank you for brightening mine and practically everyone else’s days with bubbly happiness, fun adventures and lots and lots of sparkle matter. People like you are the kinds of friends that not everyone is so lucky to have. I’m grateful that you’re there for other people when you need to be and that you understand what makes them happy. The show wouldn’t be the same if you weren’t the star.

Puppycorn, thank you for being such an adorable and funny young pup. You sure are charming. You provided many hilarious moments that I enjoyed watching. If I met you, I’d ask, “Can I give you a hug?”

Dr. Fox, thank you for your smarts and your loyalty. You always come through for your friends, and when you and your friends are or could be in danger, you do your best to get out of it. The costume I wore for the school play back in 7th grade looked a lot like you, and because of that, you’re the character I’ve always wanted to cosplay. I’m finally doing it for Halloween this year! You’re also super “attractive in the form of endearment or charm,” which is called being “cute” in everyday speech.

Hawkodile, thank you for being such a trustworthy bodyguard and a radical action hero, as you call yourself. You’re always there for the gang when they need you, and you try your best to overcome your fears. You’re such a sweet and selfless guy.

Richard, thank you for keeping the castle and the Unikingdom as a whole from falling apart. You are pretty boring by most people’s standards, but if it weren’t for you, the kingdom would be a destroyed cesspool of chaos by now. Unikitty and her friends are lucky to have you. Come what may, but I’ll support you no matter what.

Master Frown, thank you for being such an amazing and very hilarious villain. I love watching you make mischief anywhere you could. As Unikitty told you, you might be a huge grumpy-grouch, but that’s cool with me. Besides, it’s one of the things that make you who I know and love. 

Brock, thank you for your lovable nature and how you’re such a good friend. You make me happy with how funny you can also be. You and Master Frown have a very healthy relationship, and it’s pleasing to see because of how good you guys are at working through problems. I also like you because of your easygoing nature and your lenience. I’d totally try one of your cookies, too.

I would also like to thank all of the other villains, heroes and characters in the show for being awesome and the people who worked on the show for making them so awesome. They all played a part in entertaining 12-year-old to present me, and I’m the most grateful I possibly can be for that. 

This show has taught me things about happiness, life and self-expression. My heart goes out to Lynn, to Ed, to Aaron, Phil, Christopher, Dan, Roy, Jill and Sam. I would also like to give my heart’s deepest thanks to @careeningle, to Brock, Casey, Bill, Adriel, Neil, Andrea and Anna for their hard work. A very special thanks to the incredible voice talents of Tara, Grey, Kate, Roger, Eric, Michael, Keith, and all of the other talented VAs who lent their voices to the show. Finally, a very, VERY special thanks to every single other person who was involved with Unikitty and made it as fantastic as it is. You each poured thousands of hours into something amazing.

I would also like to send my love to all my fellow Unikitty fans. Thank you guys as well! You all are so awesome, and you can reblog this post and explain why you love Unikitty if you want to. We’ve all gotta celebrate if we feel we should.

I wish you all bright futures and nothing but the best. Stay positive. 💖

All my love,

Jezabat 🦇

(Hailey W.)

#Unikitty! #Unikittytober #my thoughts #important #Youtube #i love bats and also queue

[malinaa]

2022 WRITING REVIEW

tagged: @rosesau @ttimbradford <3

1. number of stories posted to ao3: 27 (±2 bc i updated 2 fics that i started last year) but i reached over 100 works on ao3!!!!!

2. word count posted for this year: 101,410 (technically More bc i wrote ofic but that is obviously not posted anywhere)

3. fandoms i wrote for: marvel (spider-man), dc (batman, superman), pjo, the atlas series, six of crows, the raven cycle/the dreamer trilogy, hp, and goncharov 😭

4. pairings: petermj, petergwen, percabeth, libbynico, kanej, bluesey, blue/adam, clois, gonchandrey

5. stories with the most

kudos: accidental heroism (the batman) 3,357 bookmarks: the jones-watson-parkers (spider-man) 844 but since that was posted last year it's technically accidental heroism again w 640 comment threads: yet again... the jones-watson-parkers with 133 but it is still accidental heroism with 47

6. work i'm most proud of (and why): ummmm idk actually the work im most proud of is my ofic theo and i cannot Show that to u anyway it's bc i have never rly fully revised smth like. overhauled it n all that bc i finally Understood theo's character and it was such a RUSH to work on her fr and ive produced some of my Best Writing To Date!!! for fic tho uh??!??!?!? im pretty proud of most fic ive written this year bc i have tried rly hard ok 😭 usually i can pinpoint a single fic but i think ive written consistently well ???

7. work i'm least proud of (and why): a home for two (spider-man) mostly because i did Not vibe writing it i was literally pulling teeth trying to finish it but ppl seem to like it idk

8. share of describe a favorite review you received: this comment from a fic i posted last year bc "this fic is so PRETTY, literally poem in prose form im weeping. there's such a... melancholic vibe to it. or perhaps nostalgic. just, wow." has stuck w me forEVER!! and genuinely any comment i have even received from ao3 user Fairy527...u will ALWAYS be famous 2 MEEE!!!!!!

9. a time when writing was really, really hard: uh not for fic but i was tearing my hair out writing theo partially because of the content and partially because it is quite literally Difficult to write what's perfect in your head and i haven't even written theo to my own standards ngl

10. a scene or character you wrote that surprised you: the entirety of final goodbye because. Well. who knew i would be writing goncharov fic actually who knew goncharov would even exist fr

11. a favorite excerpt of your writing: ok not to have an ego but there r a fair few bits

Here's the thing about loss: sometimes you grow up and around a person, fitting and stretching and expanding to add them to the patchwork of yourself, and when they leave, there's a scar between both bodies. One here, one gone. An open wound. It's surprising how much time you can spend with someone and still come out the other end empty-handed. (slip of reality | spider-man)

Touching her eclipses his image of Elysium. ANDDDD Annabeth faces her past self, a funhouse reflection of who she once was. Neglect and trauma have warped Young Annabeth into something smaller—into someone smaller. (the annabeth project | pjo)

The Ronan after was broken, a raven of a boy, all hollow-boned. Yearned for flight, yet trapped by a cage of his own making. (the living lynches | tdt)

The very fact of her breathing astounds him for some reason. There are working lungs, a network of veins, a beating, beautiful heart hidden inside her body. She is wonderfully, colossally alive. (a kiss without a kiss | trc)

12. how did you grow as a writer this year: oh i have learned to appreciate writing first person bc of theo <3 and writing a little longer things bc i am a serial 1-2k oneshotter and i have Exceeded that a bit

13. how do you hope to grow next year: perhaps i will Finally finish a multichapter fic jesus christ

14. who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer, beta, cheerleader, etc): seedemma <3 u made me worse as a person. also tangentially em's professor . why has that random man infiltrated my life i've never met him. anyway jack im also kithing u on the mouth btw

15. anything from your real life show up in your writing this year: none that i can point out at the top of my head ! well. except for theo 🧍🏻‍♀️ i gave her too many lysisms which is concerning considering everything wrong w her n her chronic patheticness

16. any new wisdom you can share with other writers: new wisdom??? god not rly but here is some OLD wisdom that i feel like other writers shld always listen to... read MORE BOOKS!!!!!!!!!! i swear u can taste the visceral difference btwn someone who writes and reads n someone who writes without reading n like ive read a fair few books this year and it has def seeped into my writing fr

17. any projects you're looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year: working on the Novel™ n also attempting to finish all these wips i have left in the grave

18. tag some writers whose answers you'd like to read: ngl i forgot who writes fic im sorry so @bluepinstripes & @ogiroud (who won't see this until jan fr)

#tag games #my writing #writing wrapped #text #tais toi lys

[hopepaigeturner]

🎄Giftmas Day 6: Subscription Service--Philoise

Modern AU set about three years after the events of Six Days and Six Poems. But you dont have to read them to understand anything here. (Check them out on AO3 username: xxHope_Paige_Turner_99xx)

El recieves a book subscription from Benophie and starts chatting to another recipetant--@PlantDaddy01.

*~*~*~*~*

Christmas: Foreword

“What the?”

Eloise slipped open the envelope to find a little notecard.

Rare Birds Book Club: Welcome Aboard.

“It’s a book subscription service,” Sophie explained snuggled in Benedict’s arms. “Monthly, you get two anonymous blurbs to choose from, then it arrives all wrapped up to ensure it is a surprise!” Sophie’s eyes sparked, like when the pair talked about literature—particularly Sophie’s PHD. “They specialise in female authors—ofcourse—and there’s a whole community you can access.”

“We thought, with your big move, that it might be a nice reminder of home and a possibility for something new.” Benedict chimed in. “Until you find your feet and your favourite book café.”

“A new chapter,” Sophie added.

Eloise put on her best smile. She had always wished to fly the nest, but her heart still panged. No more would she be able to pop over to Benedict and Sophie’s for a late-night chat. She wouldn;t be able to pop down from Manchester for a comforting embrace and listening ear.

“Yeah…yeah.” She turned the postcard over, “I’ll give it a go."

1.Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Everisto

“I found the balance between the individual plots/styles and the overarching themes/structure of the novel to be a line well-toed. I feel it reflected the nature of race in Britain; at once so individualistic yet also overlapping.” PlantDaddy01.

“I agree with @PlantDaddy01. While I am not from a racial minority group, I liked how the book was intersectional, not just with race but class, gender and sexuality.” @E_classic-not-plastic_Bridgerton

“What do you mean by ‘intersectional’ @E_classic-not-plastic_Bridgerton ?"

“I’m referring to the idea of ‘intersectionality’. An idea that we need to look at issues through multiple lenses together—e.g. race AND gender—to fully understand the complexities of an issue. I can send you some articles if you want?” @E_classic-not-plastic_Bridgerton

“@E_classic-not-plastic_Bridgerton, that would be great. PM?”

2. Unwell Woman by Elinor Cleghorn

“Another great read! As a scientist myself, I found it very enlightening.” @PlantDaddy02.

PRIVATE MESSAGE:

El: A scientist?

Philip: What? I am a multi-faceted individual, a man who is “intersected by a variety of other determinations and ideologies”. Don’t judge a book by its cover, Eloise.

El: You read the essays I sent you?

Philip: Yes? Why wouldn’t I?

El: Oh, I usually overwhelm people with my opinions. Most of my family tune out or roll their eyes now. LOL 😂

Philip: Well those people are not worth your time—or are too narrow-minded to appreciate proper intellectual brilliance.

It had taken Eloise a while to respond after that.

3.Circe by Madeline Miller

Philip: I’m never looking at Greek legends the same way. Rick Riordan who?

El: I know it was so gripping! The description utterly entranced me, the romance, the heartbreak... Sorry that was a bit of an emotional spiel.

El: Also—Rick Riordan is still solid, thank you very much.

Philip: You like those too? After How to Train Your Dragon, that was my childhood book series. Going to be a bit controversial—Percy Jackson > Harry Potter. * goes and hides in his allotment*.

El: I TOTALLY AGREE!! I still hold the belief if stupid Universal hadn’t f—ed up the films then PJ would have been just as big as HP. FIGHT ME!

Philip: I think I know by now not to get in the ring with you—but always up to listen. Educate me El!

4.Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Philip: Wasn’t there a movie adaptation about this? Have you seen it.

El: I heard. And not really. I don’t trust movie adaptations that much. PTSD from the PJ movies.

Philip: I understand the pain.

Philip: I’ve just look it up, T Swift did a song for it.

El: I’m always in two minds concerning TS. As a teen I really brought into the whole ‘she only writes about boyfriends’ crap. Gradually appreciating her music—especially Folklore.

Philip: Oh, Amanda loves her.

El: Is that a friend?

Philip: Sort of, not really.

Eloise decided not to look too closely at why relief flooded her system after that message.

Philip: Anyway, we could still see the movie.

Eloise’s heart stuttered.

El: Yeah, that might be nice. If it’s terrible we can throw popcorn at it.

Philip: I’d have to sort a couple things out, but you could come over to mine? Could only do Friday tho.

El: My roommates out this weekend so the flat is free. I have a sofa bed if you need to crash?

Eloise swore.

What the hell was she thinking?

Yes, she might have had a couple fantasies about Philip over the last months, (maybe more than a couple), but he didn’t need to know that.

However, a couple moments later a little star popped up in her notifications.

Philip: Sounds great. It’ll be nice to meet you in person. X

 El put her hand over her mouth—even though there was no one to see her blooming beam.

5. Oh no! Unfortunately, your surprise got lost in the mail!

Philip: Hey El. I know after last week you might not want to see me again. I get it, trust me, I do: a 24-year-old single dad with 6 year old twins isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. My life is a mess, I’m an utter mess. I should have told you about Amanda and Oli, that’s on me, and I am so sorry. I totally understand if you want to go back to messages or break contact.

But I really, really like you, Eloise. You’re smart, witty, intelligent, funny and gosh, just beautiful in every way. When I talk to you, for those moments, I feel like me. The real me. Not the reposnible dad, not the researcher, not the guy-with-the-kids. I can just be. I love it, I love us…whatever we are. I loved our night last week and I meant every word that I whispered to you under those covers and the ones I said when we woke up.

But I will respect your decision, Eloise. I will, whatever you decide. I don’t care if you want to return to being friends or pen pals…I just need my life to have you in it.

6. Diving into the Wreck by Adrienne Rich

Eloise tucked her book under her arm and rang the doorbell. She bounced on her toes outside the ground-floor flat and tried not to fiddle with her scrappy bun.

She hadn’t dressed up--hadn’t even applied makeup—on the virtuous idea of vulnerability. She had wanted to be Eloise, just Eloise—brash, coarse and raw. After all, Phillip was literally opening her heart up to her due to the invitation.

However, a ride on the bus had slowly eroded that conviction. She tried to inspect her features in the faint reflection of the window. No use.

The door swung open and Eloise’s heart fluttered.

Theo's smile transformed his face.

“Hi." He pushed his wire-framed glasses up his nose.

“Hi.” Eloise did a little wave. “It’s good to see you.” Philip startled slightly and nodded.

“Yeah, yeah—sorry,” he leant forward and kissed her cheek, “I just… his eyes slid over her body. “I am a very lucky man.”

“So am I,” Eloise replied with a blush, “a lucky woman that is—not man. Obviously.”

Philip chuckled and went to reply when—

“OLIVER! THAT’S MY CAR! GIVE IT BACK!”

Philip winced.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” He asked.

“A wise man once told me to ‘never judge a book by its cover’.” Eloise replied, stepping up and entwining her fingers in his own.

“He sounds like an interesting guy.”

“The best,” she said, allowing him to lead her inside to start the next chapter of their story.

*~*~*~*~*

Post Christmas I might add to this, (so it's not just text messages) to add to the Six Moments series.

I used Phillip in this one even though I am more drawn to Theo (in the show, especially in comparison to bookPhilip). Although I have my own feelings about who showEloise's love interest should be.

#12 days of giftmas #bridgerton #philoise #book club #online love #long distance romance #honourable mention:Benophie #writing challenge

[lizzybeth1986]

Hello! If you're still taking asks for the Writer's Ask Game, could you answer, please, 1, 4, 6, 17 and 19? I wish you a lovely day!

YES! I love these asks and I'm so glad you sent this ask 😃

1. When did you start writing?

A. From a non-fan content standpoint... I probably was around 6 or 7 years old? I used to write poems and short stories about all kinds of things and that's how my love for writing in general developed!

From a fanfic standpoint...it was shortly after I joined the Choices fandom in 2017 I think! I was getting treatment for a really bad back and wrote short fic in my free time. I don't think any of my stuff now could ever be that short again 🤣🤣🤣

4. What is your favourite genre to write for?

A. I used to love doing spoken word poetry, and I am fond of CNF too. Fic wise...I love exploring friendships! Funny thing is I love reading fluff (and sometimes smut) but I enjoy writing friendship fics!!

6. What topic would you love to explore in writing?

A. Over the years, food writing has something I keep coming back to! My current crop of books to read and podcasts to listen to, explore cuisines, and I am a big fan of incorporating that into my writing. There's a lot you can explore just by talking about a character's fave childhood meals.

A thing I really loved doing with series', movies, fan-stuff I love, is to explore parts of the story that are left unsaid. Like Liam and Olivia's friendship in Cabernet Franc and Chardonnay, which sprung from a dialogue Olivia made about showing Liam around the day before the Lythikos Ball in TRR1. I love making hcs and exploring such moments within the limits of canon (until the point where canon ceases to make sense...at which point I just throw my hands and say "fuck canon!").

17. Tell us a fun fact about your current WIP.

A. Oooo 😁😁 It features a character that was mentioned by Leo in RoE, but never spoken of in the actual TRR series! Also if Eleanor has been Carb Queen this whole series, then I'm happy to say that little Prince Liam is well on his way to following his Mum's footsteps, and becoming Carb King! xD

19. Show us the line you want readers to remember from your story.

A. From a recent Hayden&Sloane friendship -fic I did this year:

But already Hayden’s mind is going in a different direction, telling her stories about her own single mother. Tales from Sloane’s own childhood, coming out of a stranger’s mouth. Sloane tries not to wince.

And here's one from Ch 3 of Eleanor's Kitchen:

Kiara’s raises her chin and scowls in defiance. “Well I think that’s just a vatful of mer-”

“Language, Kiara!”

Her mother’s eyes narrow dangerously at her, and Kiara freezes mid-sentence, before frowning and folding her hands on her lap.

“- mercredi,” she mumbles instead, sulkily.

I had SO much fun writing this section, coz as a kid I've been in situations where I almost cussed at an age I was considered too young to cuss, and the end-results, in retrospect, were always quite hilarious (though a younger me at the recieving end of a parental death-glare would beg to differ! 😅)

Thank you so much for the questions!! This was so much fun ❤️❤️

Writer Ask List from here!

#ask me #ask lizzy #writer asks

[aewinning]

Hey you!!! Long time no chatting (uni is still kicking my ass, possibly harder than last time) it's me, the anon who begged for the scara/tighnari maintenance fic (tbh i still brag about that, it was an AMAZING fic). I just read "A Certain Dreamlike Quality"!!! Fucking chef's kiss. Very very nice. Lovely concept as usual. And Kavetham felt even more in character than ever. I really really liked the comment about Kaveh treating Alhaitham's granny's journals with care, it was very sweet. And i also started thinking about that whole porn trade in Port Osmos. Like yeah it makes sense, Teyvat SHOULD have pornography. Probably not what u wanted the reader to focus on but it did seem like a nice subtle world-building element. Either way, really good work!!! Also ur gonna get Baizhu soon!! I think i remember u being excited about him finally being playable. If im mistaken then sorry lol. Im saving up for kaveh. Anyways have a nice day!!! Looking forward to more delicious writing!! 🤗

Hello hello! Welcome back and I hope university eases up on you soon! Thank you for the kind comment and I'm glad you enjoyed the fic, it was so much fun to write. I do hope to do more for them at some point especially after Kaveh's profile/lore drops, but right now I'm working on getting out the third fic in my Baizhu/Childe/Zhongli series haha.

I did spend a lot of time figuring out where Alhaitham would go for sex research of the places we've been, lol. I probably thought about it TOO much, to be honest. My thoughts:

Mondstadt probably has plenty of naughty content, being as open as it is, likely in poem or novel form for the most part? Liyue probably has more traditional erotic paintings and a few instruction manuals, often in less savory sales stalls off the main street (like under the docks).

Same for Inazuma, though it may not be an art form that's flourished while Inazuma was in the grip of so many decrees. I bet it's about to undergo a renaissance though, with the loosening of restrictions and resumption of imports. And Sumeru...the Akademiya probably has some dry old books on sex from people that have never had it, focusing on anatomy, but I imagine Port Ormos the party town probably had quite the fun knowledge capsules when the Akasha was functioning, haha.

Fontaine is probably about 5 years out from filming the first adult movie. idk about Natlan's current status due to the game's allergy to giving us Natlan lore, but Snezhnayans probably pass dirty mags around the barracks and give each other handies to keep warm. And you KNOW there are a lot of pinups that look suspiciously like the Harbingers, lmao.

You are also correct that I am hella looking forward to Baizhu! He's who I've most looked forward to ever since I met him when I started playing in 1.3. Two years of waiting! I have about 360 wishes saved for next patch and unfortunately I want Nahida, Nilou, Baizhu, AND Kaveh, but the good news is that I'm 40ish into pity on a guarantee right now. I may decide to skip Nilou in favor of going for Baizhu's weapon, we'll see. I refuse to go below 180 pulls before his banner, he WILL come home one way or another.

Good luck on your own Kaveh pulls when the time comes! He looks like a really fun unit and I'm planning on triple crowning him myself b/c babygirl deserves to be treated just as well as Alhaitham even if he's not a 5 star. (Which will make...4 dendro guys triple crowned for me. Send help, I have an addiction.)

#aewinblabs #aewinanswers #long post #/ #// #anonymous