#that are not from barnes and noble. i got so many books that changed my life from them

[emeraldgreenbeautiesstu]

MATT X READER PLS.

Then book shopping n it’s all cute n stuff 😻😻‼️

Bernard's & Noble

(see what i did there)

Matt Sturniolo x Reader

Word count: 749

Alexis speaks! : hey guys! thank you for the request (the more requests, the more stories i post 😉) i'm honestly not very proud of this one, but i've deleted it four times already and this is the best i got 💀 once again, comments and likes are greatly appreciated, it helps me know if yall like my style or if i need to change anything! pls don't steal my work, love yall!

-

"Matttt?" i whined from my spot on the floor. i was bored out of my fucking mind. Matt wanted the day to be a 'lazy day' and by that he means he wanted to scroll social media and youtube all day. that was not my idea of fun, i've always been a hands on person whether that be going outside for hours, to the lake, reading, anything other than being lazy at home.

"whattttt?" he mocked, sitting up from his bed, his hair all messed up and funny looking.

i chuckled. "your hair looks great." i smiled, climbing to straddle his lap and fix his bed head. "better" i smiled, kissing him on the cheek. "i have a business proposal."

matt sighed, "what do you want." he rolled his eyes with a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

i hopped off him, standing at the foot of his bed. "i vote we go to barnes and noble today, my book case is baren." i joked. four out of the five of my bookshelves were full completely. but you can never have too many books.

"y/n you have more books than i think i've ever seen anywhere else in my life." he laughed. matt pretended to be annoyed, but he knows the answer is yes. and not just to this scenario, the answer is always yes to everything y/n wants. she had him wrapped around her tiny little finger. "when do you want to go?" he gave in.

i jumped around the room a couple times, silently celebrated with myself. "right now silly." i said. i trotted into his bathroom where i have my own drawer of toiletries and such. i touched up my makeup and threw on my shoes. "ok i'm ready." i beamed up at him. matt basically towered over me. he's 5'8 and i'm 5'3, so there's a pretty noticeable height difference.

he slipped his own shoes on. "i'm ready." he smiled, grabbing his keys.

i just looked at him. "matt babe." i looked at his outfit. "we are not going anywhere when you are wearing basketball shorts and a wife beater. please change." i said, false seriousness evident on my features.

-

"oh my god i'm literally gonna shit my pants i love barnes and noble." i said, climbing out of the passenger seat. I made matt carry my three tote bags i have designated for my favorite hobby, book shopping.

"do i really have to come in." matt complained.

-

we had been at barnes and noble for an hour already, two out of the three of my tote bags were full. so full we had to put them by checkout because they were too heavy to carry. About 15 minutes in i had made a joke that i thought was hilarious, matt didn't really think so.

-

"haha, bernard's and noble." i chuckled to myself, but matt heard me.

"y/n i swear to god i will leave you here."

"deal."

-

i was finally ready to go, the final tote bag full. i couldn't find matt though. i wandered through the multiple sections of books, matt no where in sight. "maybe he did leave me here." i mumbled under my breath. until my eye caught matt. he was crouched down, one hand on the shelf, the other hand occupied with a book.

"whatchya readin?" i smiled over him. my heart melted when he looked up at me, a small smile on his face. i took this time to take in his beauty. the way his slight curls fell over his eyebrows, the way his middle part accentuated his face shape, the way his blue eyes went so well with his outfit. he was wearing the white shirt with 'whatever' in bold print written across it, and baggy light wash blue jeans, his keys dangling from his belt loop.

"some poetry book, i might get it it's kinda fire." he smiled.

"you read poetry?"

"i like finding the good ones and printing them out, i like to look back on the really influential ones." matt said. he stood up and took my bag, his hand resting on the small of my back.

"matt i don't deserve you, you're so sweet." a cheesy grin creeping onto my lips.

"y/n you deserve the world." he smiled down at me, kissing my forehead.

"ok now how are we gonna get all of these in the car?" i laughed.

-

tag list!

@cupidzsq

#chris sturniolo #christopher sturniolo #matt sturniolo #nick sturniolo #nicolas sturniolo #sturniolo edit #sturniolo fanfic #sturniolo imagine #sturniolo triplets #sturniolo x reader #books and reading #book shop #shopping #barnes and noble

[sweetingseva]

Everything to Know About ACFTL ☺️💕📚

Hello, everyone!

With A Curse For True Love coming out next week, I thought maybe creating a compile list of what everything we will be expecting might be helpful to those who want a refresher.

However, if you don't want to be reminded of any of the details that have been shared and want to go in blind, that's cool, too!

All of the information that I have gathered has been from all of the IG AMA's stories, comments, replies, and some from podcasts.

Slight spoilers. Quick refresher below.

Stephanie hasn’t been nice writing this book, but let’s see if the torture is well worth it in the end.

There’s this scene that corresponds to these emoji: 🛏😮🩸🚪🩸🩸🩸😱🍎👑

There are three POVs: Evangeline, Jacks, and Apollo

The answer to why Jacks eat apples is in the book, but according to B&N site, we might get the answer to everything about him!

Q: is there a scene you’ve written that’s made you tear up? A: “So many scenes have made me cry—I don’t tear up, I sob, and writing this series has made me cry a lot more than the Caraval series 💘😭 But don’t be too scared—I’ve put a lot fun scenes in this book. Although, my defintion of fun is a little twisted. 🤭”

Q: Do you already have a favorite scene in “A Curse For True Love”? A: Usually I have favorites but with this book I love every scene. I keep telling my editor to let me know if I’ve gone too far with this story because I’ve had so much fun writing. I keep fearing I must be doing something wrong. 🖤”

There will be more LaLa and Chaos scenes, and apparently Stephanie has gotten carried away with them lol

There will be a few more scenes in the Hollow!!!! YAAYYY!

Her favorite scene has something to with these emojis: 🌳🫀🔥

Stephanie has cried the last time she had read ACFTL.

Q: what’s your favorite scene out of all the books in this series: A: “This is so tough. There’s a scene in CURSE that made me cry and it’s probaly my favorite 💔”

Q: can you tell us who the bonus content povs will be? A: “For B&N and Waterstones, the bonus content is in Eva’s POV. 🦊”

My speculation from the answer above, but this makes me think that the Owlcrate’s edition will be Jacks’s POV if not Evangeline’s.

Q: did u know how acftl would end early on? or did it change as you wrote it? A: “It changed! In January, I hit a wall with the book and after talking with my critique partner @/staceyleeauthor, I realized that I had taken the story in the wrong direction. So I went back, I rewrote, I changed the plot, and I changed a large portion of the ending. This is part of the reason why the book’s publication date was changed from Sept to Oct.”

Q: What three songs come to mind when you think of Evangeline and Jacks? A: “Ooh! It’s hard to pick just three. Here are a few that came to mind first: 1. The Archer by Taylor Swift, 2. You’re Losing Me by Taylor Swift, 3. Religiously by Bailey Zimmerman”

Q: Do you pick the audiobook narrators for your books? A: “I did! @/macmillan.audio is wonderful. They’ve always given me a choice in narrators. The amazing @/rebeccasoleri has narrated all of my audiobooks (so she’s an easy choice). Then for ACFTL I got to choose a second narrator for the Jacks and Apollo chapters and he is also fantastic ❤️”

IMPORTANT TO KNOW ‼️: Q: are there actually multiple copies of acftl with different endings? A: “The book only has one official ending. Which I think is the best ending. However, there are three editions that bonus material in the form of 3 alternate epilogues. The books with bonus epilogues are: 1. Barnes and Noble/Indigo exlusive edition 2. the Waterstones exclusive, 3. the Owlcrate edition. P.S. These 3 bonus epilogues are not canon, they are just for fun! P.P.S. if you get all three, I recommend reading in the order that I shared in this post 😉”

The third map has new locations, along with old ones we have seen like: Merrywood Manor, Merrywood Village, Merrywood Forest, Wolf Hall, Ye Olde Brick Inn: Vacancy One Bed, The Phoenix Tree, Cursed Forest, Tree of Souls, and The Hunt.

ACFTL has 49 chapters with an epilogue. It only has one part titled, IV. Happily Ever After.

The dedication that was revealed says, “For anyone who’s ever hoped for a second chance.”

The tree on the front cover is very important.

ACFTL’s logline: Two villains, one girl, and a deadly battle for happily ever after.

The three words that Stephanie used to describe the book is: Heart-stealing, emotionally-devastating, and painfully romantic.

Stephanie shared the Pinterest board, which could be found here! Some very good hints in there!

The UK editions of ACFTL will have hidden covers. There are four of them and they are: an apple, Jacks’s dagger, a fox paw print, and a wolf in a flower crown.

Fairyloot edition has a special front and back cover that says, "The Greatest Love Story Ever Told: Evangeline Fox and The Prince of Hearts" and "The Greatest Love Story Ever Told: Evangeline Fox and Apollo Acadian."

Quotes Shared:

“Remember, Little Fox.”

“If you stop fighting, you lose.” His hand moved up to her throat and she felt the cool brush of his dagger against her skin. Evangeline went very still. “ Never imagine you’re safe.” The tip of his blade drew a line over her pulse. Her breath caught. She felt him smile against her jaw.

(Possible Quote) “You have no sense of self-preservation. If someone labeled a bottle with poison you would drink it. You take warnings as invitations. You can’t seem to stay away from all the things that will hurt you … like me.”

Evangeline needed something familiar, something to hold onto that would keep her from collapsing back to the ground. Apollo looked at her as if he wanted to be that. He made her think of a hero from a fairytale.

(Page 21) “No.” “No.” “No.” (Page 100) He wanted a piece of her. (Page 213) “You can’t just tie people up and whisk them to wherever you want them.”

Apollo hated apples.

He enjoyed inflicting pain, not receiving it. And yet he couldn’t bring himself to leave the shadows of Evangeline’s bedroom.

“I’m glad you came.” “I’ll always come. Even when you don’t want me to.”

He wanted a piece of her. To keep her. To use her for later.

“What are you to me?” she asked. His eyes locked with hers. “Nothing.”

“Im the one who will never let anyone harm you again.”

“I’m your monster.”

He considered setting the room ablaze just so that he’d have a reason to pick her up and carry her out, to save her one last time, before he left her for good.

“This will hurt.”

#ouabh #once upon a broken heart #ouabh spoilers #tbona #the ballad of never after #tbona spoilers #acftl #a curse for true love #acftl spoilers #evangeline fox #jacks #prince of hearts #jacks x evangeline #evajacks #luc navarro #marisol tourmaline #lala lagrimas #chaos #prince castor #castor valor #prince apollo #apollo acadian #apollo and evangeline #stephanie garber #fairytale #ya fantasy #the greatest love story ever told #can my heart survive this book? #4 days left!!!!

[drrr-emporium]

What to do if Durarara over

I'm going to assume you've finished the anime and have not gone into anything else Naritaverse wise

So! You can read the novels. Since they're officially licensed by yen press, you can buy the soft cover books or get them as an ebook / kindle from barnes and noble or amazon. I don't really endorse this but I'm sure if you do enough digging around you can find old, still available, free translations like anni_fiesta who did a lot of translating back in the day. Here's the link to their Index of Translation. I still use it since it's the only place I know that has the white day story translated and it's one of my favorites (For Kadota Related reasons haha), plus a couple of other side stories.

(I think the internet archives have the novels if you do some poking around but for Narita Please Write SH 5 reasons, I'll ask you to dig those up lmao)

Speaking of Side stories, Kazinha-726 translated a bunch of drrr side stories But since they haven't updated in a while, you need to change the links from kaedesan721 to their new URL kazinha-726. I'll directly link what you need here

Izaya Spin Off Translations I don't think these are officially licensed for translation so it's fine for me to link. This is the story of Izaya now that he's been forced out of Ikebukuro, and there's two books as of writing this.

Durarara Gaidens It's some gaidens, but It's also a handful of translated convos from 3 way stand of alley relay, the links use that kaedesan721 link, so while I won't be fixing all those links for you, I can at least link the tag for all of them here. you can probably find audio for this game on youtube, though I'm not sure anyone's like.... fully translated? perhaps? Which ALSO reminds me of the relay manga

Durarara Epitome of Eighteen Histories Written along side the release of season 2, we've got some stories involving Kazane Kinomiya, who's the half sister of Shinra, and a reporter. They have all 18 listed there nicely EXCEPT the Erika and Walker Link is a little messed up, and if you search through the posts you can get to it but anyway here's the link to that story specifically

DRRR x Hakata Tonkatsu Ramens Actually I haven't seen HTR or read it so I can't really tell you about this one but if you're into that series--

There's ALSO MiniDura which are little gag comics of the durarara cast in chibis! there should be 4 books as of me writing this. Godspeed on finding translations they seem to be around.... but this post is long and I'm scared of losing it so I'll update later on how many chapters there are so you don't miss any, though I'm seeing up to 10 in my cursory search.

Shizuo, Izaya, and Celty are also in uh.... Dengeki Bunko's fighting Climax, which you might be able to find some stuff on on youtube. but since it's Dengeki Bunko you also have other series... I can only remember A Certain Magical Index / A Certain Scientific Railgun / the other titles in this series as being part of it whoops.

So you've done all that, what do you do next?

Well Narita has other series, like Baccano! which had an anime before DRRR did, which is 16 episodes. Since Funimation lost the license back in like... 2012 it's not officially uh licensed for viewing anywhere, so uh. wink wink. message me if you need more help here.

There's ALSO the novels which... there are so many more than there are for drrr, also available to purchase, though these are hardcovers! Last time I checked they had.... around 20 translated? Since I'm more drrr side I'd have to ask about fan translations and if I can still find them around. But again I don't really condone it since we want more written you know?

Narita also has a couple other series, but the one that's my favorite besides DRRR is Etsusa Bridge (It's pronounced Essa Bridge don't make the same mistake I did. )

And i NEED more people to read that one please please please please

Unfortunately, the person who did the fan translation closed their Blogspot to the public so uh. the first 4 books, and really what is the main story, is available on the internet archive here

Though I'm saying thank you to baka-tsuki for my life by having a page of links here, which includes the 5th book, 5656 part two (NARITA..... I NEED 5656 PART 2 PLEASE...... PLEASE)

and Vamp on the internet archive here and baka-tsuki here

I also know about Hariyama-san but i don't actually know... if anyone translated that one..... Narita has also written for Bleach and Fate Strange/ Fake if you're into those. Straight up just linking this wiki page in case you have any interest in other stuff he's written

And finally! Currently, Dead Mount Death Play (often shortened to DMDP) is a manga written (or co written?) by Narita! which is currently getting an anime and all of his attention.

All that being said I've been really into Trigun lately lmao

Anyone else feel free to add on or tell me what I may be missing

#durarara #naritaverse #baccano #izaya orihara #celty sturluson #shizuo heiwajima #long post #info #info post

[cosmic-hoboandthehighlander]

20 questions for fic writers

Thanks for tagging me @daddygrandpaandthebeaver yesterday and thanks for the tag today from @babsvibes

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

46, about to be 47

2. What’s your total word count?

236,929

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Bob’s Burgers

I am slowly working on some WWDITS fic as well, but so far nothing has been posted.

I used to write for HP and my work can still be found on ao3.

4. Top 5 fics by kudos

Not counting my co-written fics (because I feel like that doesn’t count since I didn’t write all of it and one of them is a posted RP)

Take a Walk With Me

I Like That Sweater On You

Now I’ve Got It, Do I Want It?

That Over-Hyped Corporate Holiday

Gawky

Just for fun, since all my top fics are HP (I wrote for that fandom longer) I here’s my top Bob’s Burgers fics by kudos!

Wrong

Where You Belong

This Never Happened

Love, Your Sailor

Rainy Day

5. Do you respond to comments?

I try to respond to every single one! I really really appreciate the support from the people who read my fics and a lot of them tend to be mutuals here on tumblr, so it’s nice to know that the people I interact with pretty much daily are enjoying what I put out.

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Never Wanna Say Goodbye

For how much angst I love to write, I hate unhappy endings. This one is ambiguous, I’d say it’s the angstiest ending, even if it’s not the angstiest fic I’ve written. I think.

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

Never Too Old for a Bedtime Story

In a Lifetime

Probably. I don’t know, my opinion changes a lot. If you would have asked me months ago, I would have had a different answer. These two have endings that make me happy personally, so I choose these.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Yes. Unfortunately this was common while I was part of the HP fandom and one of the reasons I stopped writing and updating several of my fics. I usually delete the worst ones before they even get posted because I have comment moderation on all of the HP fics left on ao3 now. The people in that fandom seem to be very particular about their fics. I don’t want to start discourse or create drama, but I will say that I realized that, especially after TikTok and the marauders fandom exploded, my fics had to meet some kind of invisible standard in order to be considered “good” (aka atyd standard) and it feels as if readers come to expect your work to read like a published for profit book you can buy at Barnes and Noble. Considering you’re not paying me to write fanfiction and I do it not as a career but as a hobby in my limited free time, I don’t think that’s a very fair expectation.

I have never once gotten a hate comment on a single one of my Bob’s Burgers fics though.

9. Do you write smut?

Yes! As an ace person who is generally sex-repulsed when it comes to their own body, this is mostly how I experience it. I know it’s not always everybody’s favorite thing, so I don’t write it into every fic, but my characters do tend to be very sexual (For personal reasons I don’t want to get into my past, though I do want to make it clear that I am not ace because of it, I don’t want anybody thinking trauma leads to asexuality) but I do enjoy both writing and reading a good smut scene.

10. Do you write crossovers?

Not typically. I can’t never figure out how to do it write. Sometimes I’ll write fic based in the universe of another fandom, but I wouldn’t consider that a crossover.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope!

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

Yes, back in my HP days my best fandom friend and I co-wrote a series of Snupin fics based on songs from the Lumineers. Another one was an rp from discord that me and my rp partner at the time posted. Other than that, no I have not.

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

Tedmort

Obviously, since I am the (unofficial) tedmort CEO, what did you expect? 😉

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

The Lupin-Snape Family Shitshow (title not permanent)

There is no real title for this because I affectionally have been calling it that since I started writing back in 2021. I wanted as much written as possible before I began posting to ao3, so that’s 77k already written for this mamma jamma! This is a Snupin fic in which Snape and Lupin became best friends after the war, married other people, and ended up cheating on their partners and falling in love.

I doubt I’ll ever finish it, even though I am still very interested in it and really love what I’ve written so far. Unfortunately, I don’t know how well the fandom would accept it (due to the ships and themes of infidelity) and I do not write for the HP fandom any longer. I haven’t even opened this fic since March 2022.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think I write dialogue fairly well. I come up with some good, interesting ideas even if they don’t get posted. Im good at one shots and the one scene sort of thing - I’m a decent short form writer.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I struggle with connecting the dots between scene a lot, which is why I write a lot of one shots and drabbles. Those are the scenes I wanted to write and if I connect them together, I could make an entire story but I struggle with writing the parts that go in between.

Which is also why I have a hard time finishing longer works because I’ll write the “good stuff” first and struggle with making it into a coherent story that makes sense.

Another weakness is my adhd brain losing interest after I’ve posted a few chapters of a fic and then suddenly never feeling motivated to continue again.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language?

I use google translate because most of the languages I use, I don’t have fandom friends who speak it (to my knowledge?) which can be really tricky and can make things sound off to people who do speak that language.

I can only read, write, and speak in English, unfortunately, so on occasion I’ll write words or phrases into English sentences but not full dialogue.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Twilight, though I only posted one fic in 2009 to Fanfiction.net

Followed by Glee, which is when I actually started writing fanfiction for realsies. Up until that point, I had mostly written original fiction and never posted online.

20. Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

If you asked me before I joined the burger fandom…it would have been this one: That over-hyped Corporate Holiday And this awful crack fic that I still adore, years later for whatever reason: Dicked Down in Divination Feat. Severus Snape

But in all serious, this question was really hard. Maybe this isn’t the best work I’ve ever done and maybe I didn’t take ages to perfect it, but it makes me happy. It’s so sweet and I still adore the idea of mortuary student Mort and Navy sailor Teddy meeting in their twenties.

Love, Your Sailor

I’m not tagging anyone because most of the people I’d tag have already been tagged! But if you weren’t please do this I want to see all of your answers!!

#caboose fic #caboose writes #this was so much fun but took some time! #sorry for those of you who don’t like hp there’s a lot in there cuz I just switched fandoms sorry #long post

[elizmanderson]

short story roundup

in addition to The Remarkable Retirement of Edna Fisher, I've had three short stories out in the last year or so. weirdly, my short stories tend to edge a little darker than my novels (???), but they still generally have central older characters, queer characters, and a touch of magic.

"sea change"

From the Depths: A Fantasy Anthology, edited by Mark Bilsborough

a boy marooned on an island listens to a salty lesbian ex-sea captain's tale of the sea goddess she never got over.

2500 words

read if you like...

the ocean is beautiful but dangerous

grumpy older lesbians

sailor stories

hopeless simps

storms

yearning

CWs/TWs: storm, discussion of past physical assault, discussion of near-drowning, implied drowning

buy a copy: wyldblood press | bookshop | barnes & noble | amazon

"the raising of hester macrae"

Dark Horses: The Magazine of Weird Fiction, no. 4

after a small boy is raised from the dead, the villagers suspect Hester's wife of necromancy, but only Hester knows the truth: she's the necromancer herself.

3300 words

read if you like...

necromancy

plant magic

older sapphics who are hopelessly in love

emotions make people lose control of magic

gossipy villagers

tight-held secrets

CWs/TWs: mentions of injury & death, implied threat of violence, brief & temporary off-screen animal death

buy a copy: bookshop | barnes & noble | apple books | amazon

"something witchy this way comes"

Awakenings: A Cute Mutants Anthology,* edited by SJ Whitby

a young girl living in an abusive household flees to a nearby forest, where she finds an unexpected ally in the old witch in the woods.

12,500 words

read if you like...

found family

grumpy older trans witches

grump x sunshine sapphics

plant magic

sentient forest

vicious plants

emotions make people lose control of magic

abusers get eaten

CWs/TWs: mentions/discussion of physical abuse, brief physical abuse on-screen, carnivorous trees, off-screen death

buy a copy**: bookshop | barnes & noble | books-a-million | amazon

*this anthology is set in the world of SJ Whitby's Cute Mutants, after the completion of the original series. there may be some spoilers for the series. that said, many of the stories (mine included) are only loosely tethered to the world of Cute Mutants and can be read even if you haven't read the series. (but I do recommend reading the series, which is deeply queer and confronts difficult questions in the context of an X-Men-inspired superhero narrative. here's the GoodReads page for the first book.)

**proceeds from sales of Awakenings go to Rainbow Railroad, an organization that helps queer people escape state-sponsored violence

#e.m. anderson #writeblr #short stories #fantasy short story #queer book recs #book recs #fantasy books #anthology #short story roundup #books and reading

[nanapodcast]

Nana: A Review

"Nana Komatsu is a young woman who's endured an unending string of boyfriend problems. Moving to Tokyo, she's hoping to take control of her life and put all those messy misadventures behind her. She's looking for love and she's hoping to find it in the big city. Nana Osaki, on the other hand, is cool, confident and focused. She swaggers into town and proceeds to kick down the doors to Tokyo's underground punk scene. She's got a dream and won't give up until she becomes Japan's No. 1 rock'n'roll superstar. This is the story of two 20-year-old women who share the same name. Even though they come from completely different backgrounds, they somehow meet and become best friends. The world of Nana is a world exploding with sex, music, fashion, gossip and all-night parties."

This is actually the first review I've done for a manga and I'm kind of excited and nervous. And if you want to know why it is because this is one of my favorite mangas to date, but I'm also nervous because there are a lot of people out there who don't consider manga a form of literature. They use words like "kiddie stuff" or "boring comics" to describe what I consider to be one of the highest art forms that we have. Better even than Marvel and DC, which I don't consider to be very interesting or worthy of review because they have gone through so many changes and re-tellings and parallel universes for me to care. Also superheroes who aren't Sailor Moon bore me (sorry). Now you know my stance and those of you who don't appreciate my sentiment are welcome to leave if you are offended. But to get back to the review. Where to start? Well, without giving too much away, I'd like to say that this series is perfect for any of you out there who really enjoy "slice-of-life" manga. Or just books in general that deal with people and their day to day lives where no magic or supernatural elements come along to gum up the works. It is also perfect for those who love rock bands and enjoy reading autobiographies about popular heavy hitters such as The Sex Pistols, Marylin Manson, and The Red-Hot Chili Peppers. This story follows the lives of two girls with the same name: Nana Komatsu and Nana Osaki, who meet on a train and end up living together in Toyko while they each pursue their dreams of love and career choices. Again without giving too much away, the trails that each of the girls go through are things that many of us can relate to in our day to day lives. And I'm not talking about whether or not that cute boy in biology class likes us, as most shojo-manga and many teen novels seem to do. The story tackles real life issues such as abortion, sex, cheating, abuse, lack of parental guidance, underage prostitution, as well as what it means to be individually independent. It is a gut-wrenchingly sad story that I think every young person should read because, even though the story has not been completed as of yet, there are pieces in it that will call to you and moments that you will have to revisit again and again as you grow older and begin to understand what it means to make adult choices. That's really all I can say about it for now because this is one review where I don't want to spoil any bit of the plot. Be aware though that copies of the Nana manga are not sold in Barnes and Noble anymore and are becoming increasingly hard to find. But if you keep your eyes peeled in second-hand bookstores there is usually a copy floating around somewhere and if that fails the internet is a solid back up. I promise it's worth every penny.

#aiyazawa #nana and hachi #nanamanga #nana anime #ai yazawa #nana manga #nana osaki #apartment707 #nanakomatsu #nanapod #manga review

[icarus-suraki]

Hi Issy!! I hope you are fine 💖 About the ask game, 6, 18, and 29.

I'm doing way better now that I've got this sinus infection beat! Last week totally sucked.

Weirdly specific and unrelated asks to know someone well

6) do you use a watch? I do not, but I did for several many years, even after people had started using computers and phones in place of a watch (or clock). And now, ironically, there are smart watches. The more things change…

Anyway, I was given a watch for a birthday present before I started 8th grade (I think) and it was ~celestial~ in the way only the 90s could do:

So, yes, it had a little sun (with a face) and a little moon (with a face in profile) that rotated every 12 hours and I loved it. The face of the thing was only about the size of a nickel. I wore it all the time through 8th grade, on through high school, into college, and after college (when I would catch it on the books I had to reshelve at Barnes & Noble when I was working there right after college). I wore out a number of watch bands and batteries for that thing. I loved it.

I also wore it on my right wrist because…I have no idea. Sometimes people would be like "ha ha, that's the gay side!" It was just more comfortable for me. It's probably the ambidexterity thing.

For a while thereafter I had this supremely dorky watch on a carabiner that I clipped onto my belt loop. Why did anyone let me go out looking like that? Whatever. The point was that when it was hanging from my belt loop, it didn't get caught on the books I had to reshelve first at B&N and later at the library. So I looked like a huge dork but it worked.

Anymore I've got a computer in front of me and a phone beside me so a watch seems a bit superfluous, I guess.

18) your boba/tea order? Oh my goooooooooooosh, I haven't had boba in so long. Take me out for boba, okay?

It's a little rare around here, though more common than it was even just a few years ago. (For a while there was exactly one teeny tiny shop/café and it was on a college campus; there are a few more now.) Anyway, I'm pretty basic re: boba and I just like sweet milk tea with just the regular boba pearls in it. Although I did have strawberry milk tea with crystal/clear boba once. And I would love to try rose milk tea sometime.

Besides that, I do like a good tumeric latte/golden milk. I also love London Fog--which is Earl Grey tea with milk and sugar (lots of both), a little vanilla extract, and topped with steamed milk.

If I'm making tea for me, I just go for sugar and milk (if I have any milk in the fridge). Everything else seems to take so much time and effort and equipment that I'd rather pay someone else to do it for me…

29) preferred pasta noodle? I'm sitting here, imagining the texture of all the noodles I can think of…and I think I like ones that are more chewy. So, like, rotini, campanelle, gemelli, cavatappi, radiatori, orecchiette, shells… Little, short, chewy pastas. But more than those, I love tortellini. I'll make myself all the other kinds--they're easy to make. But tortellini are just enough of a problem to make/get and cook that they're more of a favorite.

I'm noticing a trend here… If it's difficult, I don't tend to bother, which makes that thing my favorite. Huh.

#ask game #ask me things #anon is on #go for it

[purple-mothman-majesty]

I recently saw a video of someone showing an asexual book display at Barnes and nobles for pride month. Everyone in the comments (myself included) was saying how happy they were and how shocking it was like, "Oh my gosh, a whole shelf dedicated to us? Aces? I already get excited over just one ace book being included in a queer book rec video!" And, "gasp! I didn't know books with asexual characters existed!" And, "I'm literally tearing up right now... You don't know how much I needed this growing up."

Then it kinda got me thinking about how sad it is that there's so little ace rep and visibility, that something as small as that is something to celebrate. The minute a minor character from a cartoon is confirmed to be ace on twitter, (despite them not showing any signs of it in the actual show) we're already making memes, pride art, and have changed our pfp to said character. I recently saw a flag that said 'HUMAN' and each letter had the colors of different pride flags. The first letter was the asexual flag. I got excited over that, plus the fact that they even decided to include us at all. Sometimes all It takes to make me happy is someone writing/saying 'lgbtqia' when they could have just as easily said 'lgbtq' or something and it would be fine. Things like that are only the bare minimum, but since there's still many people who don't know and/or care that we exist, or people who go out of their way to deliberately exclude asexuals, it makes me happy to see it.

It shouldn't be like this. We shouldn't have to remind people that we exist. We shouldn't have to explain to people from our own community what asexuality is. We shouldn't have to say "Do you make an ace one too? What's that? You don't know what ace is? Oh, okay." It shouldn't be normal to go on a page from a lgbtq+ organization and scroll down the whole thing and see nothing about asexuality. We shouldn't have to list off reasons why we belong to the community, reasons why we're queer, reasons why we're valid, hoping we'll be accepted. I guess it's easy to forget about us, brush us off, or even push us away, when you see asexuality as a sexual preference, rather than an orientation and valid part of our identity. Which is exactly why representation is important; if more people knew what asexuality really is, maybe it would be more widely known and accepted. It's like, there's not much rep because a lot of people don't know what it is, but a lot of people don't know what it is because there's not much rep... 💫

And aromantics– Don't even get me started on aromantics... Asexual representation & visibility may be few and far between, but for aros it's somehow even less. People don't even blink an eye when aros get left out of the picture all together, because it happens so often. And then we're left with our crochet pride attire and discount valentine candies, watching from afar.

#it's like a e i o u #and sometimes y 😃 #we're the y of the alphabet mafia #lgbtqia+ #lgbtq #lgbt #queer #aromantic #asexual #aroace #aro #ace #aro rep #ace rep #aromantic representation #asexual representation #asexual visibility #aromantic visibility #my shenanigans

[ashen-crest]

[ID: a dark gray banner. The image on the left is of the “This is Fine” dog, staring off into space with flames in the background. The text on the right reads “Self-Publishing Thoughts (from a newbie).” end ID]

Self-Publishing Thoughts #5: Wide Distro & How to Upload

Okay, so I’m not going to cover every aspect of distributing your book wide. There are so many options and so many things to consider. I’ll just cover the basics here. 

For more resources on this, check out this post.

What Does ‘Wide’ Mean?

Going ‘wide’ means that you’re not publishing through only one distributor. For a lot of people, that one distributor is Amazon (specifically KDP, Kindle Direct Publishing). 

Why Go Wide?

Some authors in certain niches can do very well with one distributor! One example is romance authors & Kindle Unlimited, or KU. Romance readers devour books there, and you get paid per page read if you enroll in KU. The issue with KU is that it’s exclusive- you can’t have your e-book anywhere else.

The general idea behind going wide is that you’re not putting all your eggs in one basket. If your distributor starts changing the algorithm or rules against you, or goes down entirely, you’re not as impacted.

Another benefit to going wide is that you can take advantage of various promos and sales happening across the various platforms. You can also reach a wider audience!

But How, Though?

Oh gosh. There are so many possible avenues here, and there are many schools of thought. I’ll show you two main routes.

#1: Using an Aggregator (Ingram Spark or Draft2Digital)

IngramSpark (IS) and Draft2Digital (D2D) are the biggest aggregate distributors for indie authors. They take your book and handle the upload to all the major retailers, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, and Kobo.

Now, they do take a cut, and IS also charges to upload, but in terms of making your life easier? They’re a good option.

(Note: Amazon tends to prefer its own products, and doesn’t play nice with the aggregators. It’s recommended that even if you use IS or D2D, upload to Amazon separately. Will cover that later.)

#2: Going Direct

‘Going direct’ means that you’re uploading your book separately to the major retailers. Uploading to Amazon, uploading to B&N, uploading to Apple, etc.

The benefit here is that there’s no middle-man, and thus you make more money. However, it is more work.

What are YOU Doing?

Aw, thanks for asking! I’ve decided to do the following for The Stray Spirit:

e-book and paperback on KDP

paperback on IngramSpark

e-book on Draft2Digital

The reasons for this are:

KDP is still a massive market

IngramSpark does NOT handle e-books well, so I did print-only

conversely, Draft2Digital is still in beta stage for handling print, so I did e-book only

The ISBN Upload Issue...

If you trawl through the various indie author FB groups, Reddit pages, etc, you’ll find that a lot of folks have trouble uploading their books across multiple retailers when going wide. Some of the sites claim the ISBN is already in use, when in theory, you should be able to use the same ISBN for the same book and book type across all retailers.

Here’s what I did when uploading to the three companies stated above, and I haven’t had an issue so far:

Start the upload process to KDP. Get to the end, then Save as Draft.

In a new tab, start the upload process to IngramSpark. Get to the end, then Save as Draft.

In a new tab, start the upload process to D2D. Get to the end, then Save as Draft.

Once you’re confident you’ve got all your ducks in a row across each site:

Hit Publish on KDP first. Remember, Amazon does not play nice with others, so do what it wants first.

Then hit Publish on IngramSpark.

Then hit Publish on D2D.

If you are going direct to more retailers, this gets more complicated. For example, B&N also doesn’t play nice with others. I believe you have to publish that in between KDP and IS, but don’t quote me on that.

Omg my head is spinning

Yeah, same, buddy.

I’d recommend sorting out what type of distro is right for you & your genre. Keep both money and ease of use in mind. I chose not to go direct to all major retailers because I’d very quickly go bananas and give up.

Thanks for reading this far! If you’ve got going-wide stories, feel free to rb and share them!

(self-pub taglist below)

@calicojackofficial, @zoya-writes, @joshuaorrizonte, @i-can-even-burn-salad, @antique-symbolism, @kjscottwrites, @nikkywrites, @diphthongsfordays

#self pub #self publishing #indie author #writeblr #writblr

[markcampbells]

from the 50 questions list! 1; 6; 13; 17; 32; 44; 49; 50!

What are three shows in your watchlist that you’ve been meaning to get to?

[laughs nervously] What if you have so many this is a really hard question to answer? 😬 XO, Kitty; The Owl House; Dead End: Paranormal Park; and bonus "Christ I need to finally watch Andor."

What do you use to keep your place when you’re reading a book?

I have a great many bookmarks but you know also I embarrassingly have a great many receipts and those tend to be what I have to hand first.

Do you prefer to write in pen or pencil?

Pen for sure. Pencils break and erasers can be worn down and they annoy me.

What’s the last thing you ordered online?

To use a $5 Barnes and Noble credit, Her Majesty's Royal Coven by Juno Dawson and I Could Not Believe It: The 1979 Teenage Diaries of Sean DeLear.

If you could dye your hair any color, regardless of how you think it would look, what color would you choose?

I think a pink or purple like the shades Megan Rapinoe has done.

What do you do with spare change?

It goes into the zippered middle portion of my wristlet until the rare times that I'm using cash and I have to dig through it to make exact change.

What’s your favorite thing to do when it’s raining?

I should probably say reading but lately I've found that the gray days are a nice time to hunker down with a long level in a video game.

Describe your perfect sleeping conditions.

This year I got into using two blankets, partly for warmth and partly for the pressure (I use my weighted blanket when I can). I used to be a strict stomach sleeper but now I'm a mix of stomach and back. Since this house is small and my room lets in a lot of noise from the living room I keep my TV going with the screen darkened as white noise to help me filter that out.

#ask box #evacampbells #mrsmunsons

[elliepassmore]

He Who Drowned the World release!

How much would you give to win the world? Zhu Yuanzhang, the Radiant King, is riding high after her victory that tore southern China from its Mongol masters. Now she burns with a new desire: to seize the throne and crown herself emperor. But Zhu isn’t the only one with imperial ambitions. Her neighbor in the south, the courtesan Madam Zhang, wants the throne for her husband—and she’s strong enough to wipe Zhu off the map. To stay in the game, Zhu will have to gamble everything on a risky alliance with an old enemy: the talented but unstable eunuch general Ouyang, who has already sacrificed everything for a chance at revenge on his father’s killer, the Great Khan. Unbeknownst to the southerners, a new contender is even closer to the throne. The scorned scholar Wang Baoxiang has maneuvered his way into the capital, and his lethal court games threaten to bring the empire to its knees. For Baoxiang also desires revenge: to become the most degenerate Great Khan in history—and in so doing, make a mockery of every value his Mongol warrior family loved more than him. All the contenders are determined to do whatever it takes.

Bookshop.org

Barnes & Noble

I got an ARC of She Who Became the Sun back in May 2021 and was instantly hooked. Zhu’s and Ouyang’s stories have so many layers and interesting parts to them, it keeps you thinking about them long after the book ends. He Who Drowned the World is a fantastic sequel for that book and did not disappoint in the slightest.

The characters from SWBtS change and grow in various directions in HWDtW and some of them take some surprising turns. I liked getting to know the new POV characters too, even if it meant less page time for Zhu and Ouyang. I definitely think it’s difficult to do a sequel when the first book is so good, but Shelley definitely exceeded expectations with this book and it’s probably one of the best sequels I’ve read.

For a refresher, check out my He Who Drowned the World review!

If you’re new to the duology, I also have a review of She Who Became the Sun.

#book release #book birthday #advanced reader copy #netgalley read #book #books #booklr #bookblr #bookish #bookaholic #book addict #book recommendation #historical fantasy #she who became the sun #he who drowned the world #shelley parker chan #fantasy #fantasy book #tor books

[dailylumi]

Jan 3rd

Guess I'm a bit late to the start of this daily blog but knowing me I'll be missing a lot of days coming ahead. I don't really know where to start so I'll just reflect on today and the last few days.

I kind of feel like I'm already starting 2023 on a rough note. I don't know the holiday season is just always a really tough and lonely time for me and with seasonal depression on top of that things have just been hard to get through. I mean I spent new years eve and christmas majorly alone and even if that is better than having to spend it with family it just felt so defeating not having anyone to actually be close to. I feel like things have just been building and hurting and I'm starting to feel disconnected from other people. Even if I know it's not true I just feel like I'm bothering others and constantly asking people to spend time with me to cover up for my loneliness and isolation. Kind of like a parsite.

I know people will say I'm not but it's hard not to feel that way when I already struggle with emotional permanence. I feel like there is just a wall and I'll always be stuck behind that and the classification of an "internet friend" or "long distance friend" to others. There is nothing wrong with that because it is true but you just feel so unimportant at times because of it. It's the feeling that you'll never come before anything in their immediate life that makes me feel like this. I feel like there's nothing wrong with that because in terms of relationships in person ones should be priority. I'm just.. Idk maybe I'm just complaining because I have no in person relationships. I feel so toxic thinking about this whole thing. It's just a woe is me, I'm acting like a baby and want attention moment it feels like. Need to get over myself

I'm probably just tired of feeling alone and in the process of trying not to feel alone I've just come to hate myself for this weakness and desperation more. Just constantly wondering if people will come to hate me if I try to cling so I shut down. It's just an unhealthy cycle and I feel like I'll be stuck feeling like this.

In other news I find myself back in a reading binge of sorts. Probably in connection with my desperation to escape reality but I start at least 1 series a day at this point. Today I read a few short GL series the main one being Handsome Girl and Sheltered Girl. I got recommended it by a friend that was making an edit of the series (10/10 edit btw). It was such a cute and interesting series.

This series should have been much and I was shocked to find out it got axed!? LIKE WHYY they even teased a gay couple developing in the last chapter. It had so much more promise and storyline it could have explored even if it still was a short series.

Also I am so upset I missed out on the hardcover barnes and noble sale! I so could have bought so many art books ughhh

I think the last thing I wanna talk about is probably what I think 2023 will have in store for me. I just know there is going to be so many changes ahead for me. From being out of school right now to moving across country later in the year. Not even mentioning the constant drama and stuff going with my family. I'm excited but filled with so many many worries that I feel overwhelmed at times. I just tell myself not to think on the what ifs and if any come up I need to just drown the thought itself. I get a lot of headaches lately though lol

I think a big realization I came to today is that while I can leave my family literally I don't think I'll be able to cut them out of my life as much I want to. So I might have to actually come out to my family so I can be more open when I am away. Idk the thought of hiding any more than I already do is mentally exhausting but so is the thought of coming out.

2023 will just be messy and a mental nightmare but that's okay I'll try to take things one day at a time

#jan3rd #2023 #daily blog

[starrybluez]

For the ask: daffodil, sage, camellia, jasmine, chamomile, aloe vera, nutmeg 💮

Thank you Sophia! 🙂💙

Plant & Herbs Asks 🌿

daffodil ⇢ do you have siblings? if yes, in what ways do you think you’re similar to or different from them?

I have 3 biological siblings, 1 half sibling and 2 sibling in-laws, but I'll just talk about the 3 who I know best! Similarities: Both my sisters have dabbled in art like me. They appreciate art museums and gardens. My brother, not so much, but we both like our 90's music. He has also been obsessed however with playing the same 2 or 3 reggae songs lately, so that's where I go ahead and leave the room. Differences: They're much older than me - my sisters are even from a different generation than my brother and I. All 3 siblings are extroverts. Two of them can have in-depth conversations with strangers. It's safe to say that I'm the introvert of the family.

sage ⇢ what ‘medium’ of art (poetry, music, fiction, paintings, statues etc.) is the most touching to you? why do you think that is?

I suppose music or film brings the most emotion out of me, but I can't say for sure. It could be through photography, painting, poetry, books or any other art form too.

camellia ⇢ what were you like when you were younger? do you think you’ve changed a lot?

Oh wow, well when I read through old diary entries, I can see how silly and dramatic I could be. So I guess I've probably matured in the sense that I react a bit more calmly and rationally toward things. But on the inside...I don't feel like I've changed that much.

jasmine ⇢ do you have a movie or book you loved but will never watch/read again?

Shawshank Redemption was a good movie that would definitely be way too intense for me to sit through again.

chamomile ⇢ what kind of things do you like receiving as gifts?

One of my friends has started helping me organize my apartment. She's got a lot of work ahead of her (see last question) but she says she loves it! More power to her, because I find it extremely overwhelming. Having that help is the best gift ever! Also, dark chocolate and Starbucks/Barnes & Noble gift cards are nice 👌

aloe vera ⇢ what’s something (mundane) you really want to experience in life?

Hmm I'm still working on getting back to that mundane lifestyle I used to have. Getting too many curve balls thrown at me in recent years.

nutmeg ⇢ how’s your room/home decorated? do you have a specific theme or style going on?

I'd say it looks mostly like the Sanford & Son house when they had an earthquake - but even more disorganized and cluttered. I don't have that much on the wall. It's more just on the floor. I've had to have a couple surgeries (mostly minor) in the past few months so that hasn't helped. This is why I've recruited my friends' assistance! Theme? Nope, not at the moment!

*pls don't reblog

#asks answered #plant asks #nature asks #thanks again! 💙 #these were good questions! #lovely friends #personal #pls don't reblog #i may have exaggerated a tad in the last answer #the furniture is at least right side up anyway

[oversizedbats]

*jazz hands* 1-20 😏♥️ *finger guns*

LMAOOOO GIGI

1, 12, 19, 20 are here so I guess I'll entertain you and answer the rest here. But since you decided to be a menace I feel I need to put it under the cut

Ask game if anyone else wants to play but i'm answering all of them now i guess LOLL

2. top 5 books of all time?

AH um ok so it's going to be one of the ACOTAR books (could change depending on the day but it basically just flips between ACOWAR and ACOSF), A Rogue of One's Own (you already know how near and dear that one is), Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage (the best portrayal of loneliness I've ever read and came to me at a time when I really really needed that), Beartown, and Fangirl.

Subject to change wildly

3. what is your favourite genre?

Flip flops between Fantasy and Romance. Right now I'm solidly in my romance era but it comes and goes between the two.

4. what sections of a bookstore do you browse?

I LOVE the endcaps and themed tables those are absolutely my favorites but I usually skim the romance aisle and general fiction as well

5. where do you buy books?

I mostly get my physical books from Barnes & Noble & Book of the Month. A ton of the books I read are from Libby though so I don't own nearly as many as I've read.

6. what books have you read in the last month?

Since April 15th (my birthday <3) I've read

House of Hollow

The Wall of Winnipeg and Me

The Dinner

Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover

The Atlas Six

The Bromance Book Club

Teach Me

A Good Girl's Guide To Murder

And I'll probably finish Gild today

7. is there a series/book that got you into reading?

There have been a few over time as my reading habits have fluctuated. The Warriors Series was a big one that got me into reading as a kid, Divergent got me back into it in my early teens, ACOTAR and Throne of Glass didn't really get me into reading since I was already into it at the time but they did make me excited about it again after that excitement had kind of faded for a bit (like late high school).

But the thing that got me MOST into reading again was COVID LOL. I was too busy (and also clinically depressed lol) for much reading in 2018/2019, I read 18 books in 2018, 36 in 2019, 77 in 2020, and 100 in 2021 lol. So even now that I do have to leave my apartment again I'm still reading more than I ever have before so that's stuck around (honestly though it's probably also bc I found my bookish people on the internet <3)

8. what is the first book you remember reading yourself?

BAHAHA oh my god this question. I don't remember the title but we had this picture book where there were a bunch of stuffed animals in a classroom that taught themselves to read from the posters on the wall LOL. It was kind of meta bc it was like a book about learning to read but I loved that book and felt SO accomplished when I could read it to my parents instead of the other way around so that was probably the earliest memory I have of reading a book (although to reference Nick Miller maybe I just memorized the words LOL I don't remember). For chapter books the earliest I can remember is either a Junie B. Jones or Magic Treehouse book but I don't know which one I read first

9. when do you tend to read most?

On weekends bc i have a job >:( so weekends and evenings. I also try to read a lot when I'm at the airport/flying or riding in a car.

10. do you have a guilty fav?

Not really, I feel like I try to avoid the idea of "guilty pleasures" in general so nothing comes to mind. Like. Maybe ACOTAR bc I acknowledge it's kind of a dumpster fire these days but I still wouldn't classify it as a "guilty" fave obviously.

11. what non-fiction books do you like if any?

I do enjoy non-fiction from time to time! I absolutely ADORED The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green and Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer they both are so special to me. I've also read some really great memoirs like The Glass Castle and I'm really looking forward to Jennette McCurdy's memoir coming out this year.

13. do you have a goodreads?

I do and some of you have found it. I don't write reviews on there so have fun guessing how i felt about a book from my star review only LOL.

14. do you ever mark/dog ear books you own?

No. I used to dog ear like SUPER tiny but I don't anymore bc there are too many cute bookmarks in the world for that. I don't write in my books either, I tried that as well but it didn't feel like it added anything to the experience for me. The farthest I've gone recently is tabbing a book and that was only ACOSF and that was only so I could get back to my favorite parts faster LOL

I'm very much a "a little wear and tear is fine but I'm not going out of my way to make this look beat up" reader so no marking or dogearing and no spine cracking unless it happens on it's own. I try to respect people who purposefully beat up their books but I also sometimes i feel like they do it for outrage bait on tiktok LMAO

15. recommend and review a book.

I don't feel like writing a review but the last book I recommended to someone was The Wall of Winnipeg and Me so we'll go with that (i recommended it to my boss <3)

16. how many books have you read this year?

32 right now, will be 33 before the end of the day since i'm almost done with gild

17. top 5 children’s books?

Gah I don't even know. I liked Warriors, Little House on the Prairie, Harry Potter, Magic Treehouse & Diary of a Wimpy Kid as a Youth but I don't know if i would say they're in the top 5 like bold of anyone to assume I remember who I was as a child LOL

18. do you like historical books? which time period?

I obviously have a recent soft spot for regency romances <3. Other than that I do read historical fiction but I don't tend to gravitate towards any particular time period.

there's the end of the list, hope you're satisfied gigi

#ask game #gigi tag

[impulsiveswiftie]

2/14/2024 Valentines Day.

I couldn’t really choose just one photo, so I chose multiple.

Despite Not actually meeting her, She’s actually managed to revise/ rework my life. Not particularly in large ways but in small ways and many, (Kaitlyn, a total stranger) inspired different aspects of my life.

A little over the past year Kaitlyn has inadvertently influenced me so much, when it comes to style/music/personal hobbies and so much more. Only being accustomed to the music I was raised around and my own personal taste of Taylor Swift, seeing all of Kait’s tiktoks has not only made me seamlessly fall head over heels for her exceptionally stellar looks but also made me love new music (new to me). On top of the Olivia Rodrigo, Billy Joel and Ofc Taylor Swift I already listen to; The 1975, Harry Styles, Phoebe Bridgers, Maisie Peters and absolutely far from least Gracie Abrams were the new artists in my life that I now absolutely love and admire. Sometimes being the sci-fioving nerd I can be, I love to look at it like the butterfly effect or inadvertently changing a timeline, like If I never was shown these things I wouldnt have done any of those things.

During the winter in January/ February (2023) I need something to do, especially to kill so much time while waiting for the Era’s tour later that May. Aside from playing Fortnite, I’d be playing Minecraft for hours Listening to The 1975 and Harry Styles, listening to ‘About You’ or ‘Sign of The Times’. There are A handful of song I’d have on repeat because I just couldn’t get enough of them. At the end of 2023, I had a wild scheme to drive from NY to Portland, Oregon to go see the last show The 1975 was preforming for the year. (being in the name),I would have impulsively dropped everything day of and went, unfortunately bad luck struck and I ended my year by getting, not only covid but the flu right after. I was out for almost 2 weeks and unfortunately missed the concert. regardless if and whenever the go on tour again, i’ll be there.

After seeing another one of Kait’s videos, It’s almost like two puzzle pieces clicked in my brain. Like one of those ideas that have thinking “huh… why didnt I think if that”. I had never really ever given any thought to reading for fun or enjoyment, I alway have loathed the idea of reading thanks to school. A friend of mine had tried to convince me into reading, however I just happened to choose the worst book to start with. Dune, a bit of a difficult read, especially for a novice reader and that book requires knowing somethings and lire before actually reading said book. So i had got a few chapters in and gave up. My friend had asked before choosing a genre, “what kind if movies do you like? whichever it is, let that be your starting point for choosing”. It had never crossed my mind that Romance would be the best thing to go with, on of my favorite type of movies just in the form of a book. Full credit to Kaitlyn, I had a new lovely little hobby to enjoy. On top reading during that time, I had a list of shows i had been binge watching, again credit where credit is due; Gilmore Girls’ had just jumped to the top of my list and was the only thing I watched, every. single. day. so much that It had cut into my reading time, I had to leave the house to go to barns and noble just to get some chapters in. I was watching so much I managed to get my family involved half way through the show, they wanted to keep watching more than me.

In May, I went to go see Maisie Peters in Radio city, in NY. The whole show was such a unique experience, sitting with all the fans during the acoustic set but there Q&A segment was so sweet and felt so genuine and personal, I was in love with everything and Maisie. I had accidentally gotten tickets for a night in Philadelphia, so I brought a friend and saw her again in August. Maisie and her team are an absolute riot. Again, had I not seen Kait’s tiktok with the song “Not Another Rockstar” playing, I wouldnt have been introduced to Maisie Peters, I wouldnt have listen to her songs, I wouldnt have been there to experience the release of ‘The Good Witch’ and finally wouldn’t have attended the tour twice.

This past January I went to Sydney Australia to attend The Good Riddance Tour, to see Gracie. One could say If I had not been introduced to her, I wouldn’t have gone to Australia or even like Gracie Abrams for that matter. The people, their outfits and love and appreciation for Gracie was insane. After the show was over I dont think i had ever felt so sad that it was over.. The entire week building up to that friday night, and it was over in just a few hours. I was so happy and so emotional during and after the show, I had just wished that that day, that night, could have just lasted a little while longer. After it was over seeing everyone crying and hugging made me feel like I was at the Era’s tour again. I had the heart breaking feeling of, it’s over and she’s gone, off to her next location. Regardless i’m still so greatful I even had the opportunity to fly from NY to Australia and see her. It was a hell of a night.

In the conclusion, what i’ve seen across social media, Kaitlyn has me head over heels for her, she’s has made the biggest imprint on my life anyone has ever made. My love for Taylor and her music has grown exponentially because of her, My emotions for Gracie and her music have become so intense that she’s become a big part of my life just like Taylor. Taylor Swift said that, ” You are what you love” and my room design feels so much like me, more than it ever has, being influenced by Kaitlyn and everything I love. I could go on and continue this super long essay and talk about how unbelievably beautiful and pretty Kait is; Talk about how her heavenly cute hair compliments her sparkling smile that is the best anyone on this planet could ever have. I wholeheartedly believe in another universe, me and Kait are best friends.

This ‘confession of love’ Is me airing my feeling about Kaitlyn and how she’s changed and influenced my life, regardless of not knowing her, It’s funny how just one person can effect your life so much. She doesn’t know it but, she’s so incredibly important to me and i’m just her biggest fan.

#Spotify #valentines day

[scwilder]

Pyromania: Seventy Years of Fahrenheit 451

“We need not to be let alone. We need to be really bothered once in a while. How long is it since you were really bothered? About something important, about something real?” — Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451

Growing up, my favorite thing about my birthdays was not having everyone over, cake, or even having my loved ones sing to me. I never liked being in places with so many people, I had a strong disdain for cake, and I always felt awkward whenever they sung to me; what was I supposed to do? Who was I supposed to look at? I’m almost twenty and it drives me mad that I still haven’t figured out the answer to this. My favorite part, though, was watching the candle get lit. Taking pictures was a common practice during birthdays, and to my mother, grandmother and aunts, taking pictures was always better in the dark with a violently high flash that has made my eyes prone to assault from any and all forms of vicious light. In the darkness of the room, the fire was beautiful. It was small and tame, and in the back of my young mind I knew it could devour us all, scorch us and make us feel like we had left the City of Dis. That was not the case.

My relationship with fire was always somewhat odd. I enjoyed the spectacle surrounding it. This was around when I was four years old. When I got a bit older, I was introduced to Legos. One of my all-time favorites was this Lego City firetruck. Around the same time, in grade school they began to teach us a bit about the structure of society. Why do we need police? Why do we need teachers, doctors, but most importantly to me, why do we need firefighters? For a while, I was bent on being a firefighter. Now? Not so much. I have turned to the desire to be a professor, writer, maybe even columnist or local politician. Firefighters, to me, were like real world superheroes, and I’ll always have a fantasy world where I’m jumping right into an Inferno.

Fahrenheit 451, if you’ve never read it, is a dystopian novel written by Ray Bradbury, published on October 19, 1953. The world is defined by the State controlling the people through endless and mindless entertainment. To help fight against opposition towards the State, firefighters are equipped now, not to put out fires, but to set fire to the sacred possession of books. Books are deemed dangerous in Bradbury’s twisted rendition of the world. However, things take a turn as a fireman named Guy Montag meets his neighbor, Clarisse, who sets him on a path of enlightenment, questioning himself and the world in which he inhabits.

I had to read this book for my tenth grade English class, alongside Orwell’s Animal Farm and Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. Tenth grade brought numerous changes and questions. I was an honors student taking a couple AP classes, already thinking about college but also questioning my writing, whether I’ll make it as a writer. My biggest dilemma and insecurity at that time was; how could I be a writer if I disagree with books. I was going through a major reading slump. The only book that partly took me out of it was Lord of the Flies, a book that, while legendary, wasn’t exactly some biblical, life-changing piece.

I’ve read Fahrenheit three times now. The first time I read it was the exact same day my parents had took me to Barnes and Nobles to buy all three books. I began reading it in the car, finished one part a day, and quickly finished it. In my mind, I never understood the implications then. Looking back at it, I think my failure to grasp it the first time around was based on actually finishing the book. Action scenes between fire, men having heated discussions, and running away from society did captivate me.

The second time I read it, was right after my birthday. My birthday is on the first of January, and being on Winter Break, I had to read it before we all went back. Being a couple months since my last read, knowing what to expect and having prior knowledge about the book, everything else besides the fire and escaping society seemed to make more sense. I appreciated the story more, while also paying attention to Bradbury’s style, most notably repeating words over and over, like an imagination whose gears never stop working. It was odd, and I knew right then and there, that there was more to the book but surface level. I could’ve gone online, SparkNotes or CliffNotes, but I knew my teacher back then would elaborate. I rested easy that night, but there were some scenes in my head that stuck with me.

Seat six, my seat for all four years as this teacher taught English I and II and AP Language and AP Literature. I still remember him standing over his podium with his binder full of notes and lesson plans for the entire year. As soon as we were all settled down, with our copies of the book and pen and paper, he began to lecture. He spoke about Bradbury’s life, style of writing, use of figurative language and even symbolism. Hearing that lecture did many things to me, and I could even argue it was potentially one of the most influential days of my life. Hearing that lecture somehow inspired me to appreciate other writers more, look at them and their work as being sacred, it made me want to read and write more. Listening to my teacher explain the novel’s innermost dimensions was like being at Church for the first time in a while, having my faith restored after a series of dark days. I was given a torch with a small flame to help me find the way to an even brighter light. I became more confident in my writing then, and I would keep the novel at my desk as inspiration for any writing I did in the future. My copy still shines bright four years later.

I cannot talk about literature without mentioning this book. This is the book that pays homage to the past and what we, as a collective society, have learned from it. In my case, it has driven me to look towards the past, to the Greek myths, Latin literature and even medieval works, like the Canterbury Tales. Fahrenheit 451 was the torch I needed all along as I explore infinite literary avenues and will continue to do so until the day I die.

S.C. Wilder

September 17, 2023

#ray bradbury #fahrenheit 451 #writing #writers on tumblr #writerscommunity #writeblr #writers #science fiction #column #literature