#i don't know how to talk without writing a novella i'm sorry ^^;

[titsthedamnseason]

omg yes! i read the final empire a couple years ago now i loved it so much i cried a lot and then told everyone about it and my brother actually bought me a hardcover anniversary edition of the trilogy i barely own any physical copies of any media so that was such a nice birthday present but then last year and this year just the whole process of getting a job and studying beside it has taken a toll and i've barely been reading but hopefully by spring i'm done with that stress and then i can actually take the time to start reading again!

when *that* happened at the end of the final empire like i had a feeling for it the whole time and i was dreading it all the way but really dreading vin's reaction to it and i read it in bed at like 5 am so you know i cried A LOT but i kind of know kelsier is back but idk how physically or if it's just a haunting the narrative kind of thing but i know sanderson suprise dropped a novella from his pov after the mistborn trilogy called the secret history so cosmere wise i'm definitely reading the mistborn trilogy but i don't think i wanna go straight into stormlight i think i wanna read some of his standalones like warbreaker and definitely yumi and the nightmare painter! and you really like elantris so i think i'm gonna go for that because apparently it was his debut standalone but he is planning to make it a series?

then i need to research timeline wise how to read the second mistborn trilogy and if the kelsier novella comes before or after (tbh i think publication order will help with that) but i do feel i will leave stormlight to last from his work because i know they're massive books but also he's having a break from it now because it's supposed to be like a 10 book series but he's half way through and wants to write the third mistborn trilogy before he delves into the second part of stormlight i think. i remember reading about mistborn and finding out he wants it to be a trilogy of trilogies in that world set in different time periods which is pretty cool

i can't wait to talk about it with you and now i've written this in your inbox i guess you can hold me accountable for my plan next year lol

i’m so so sorry i totally missed this! the mistborn series is so special and INSTANTLY pulls you into the cosmere and brandon’s writing. that is such a thoughtful gift from your brother too wow 🥺

we can hold each other accountable because this year my goal is to read warbreaker and then finally start making some progress with stormlight. the kelsier novella i believe should be read before era 2 because after doing extensive research i have already read it lolllll. but actually i think we are talking about different novellas bc i totally read one about kelsier but i don’t think it was the secret history because that is way far down on my list to read (i have it placed after the first two era 2 books but before the third)

i am by no means an expert on the timeline stuff (considering i’ve only read 4 of the books and 2 novellas lol) and i only JUST learned how extensively brandon intends to continue the cosmere but yeah. there is lots to come and it’s insaneeeee. i’m not planning on waiting to read stormlight but i DID do a lot of research into different orders that people suggest reading the cosmere and i have a list im using to keep track of it if you’re interested

i’m super intense about reading things in the “right” order for maximum impact of everything so i watched and read so much stuff about it and there are a LOT of people like you that prefer to push stormlight to the end or break it up between other books so i would look into some tiktoks / youtube videos / web articles of recommended orders and there will be plenty to help you figure out the best way to read it in the order you want without confusion or spoilers. i basically got out my pen and paper (and notes app) and wrote down all the orders i thought i would enjoy the most based on why people liked them and then compiled them into one mega list for myself since most are pretty similar it wasn’t too difficult to frankenstein them together into one master list (although i DO think taking notes is essential or else you WILL forget)

i’ve been thinking SO MUCH about how elantris is super underrated and it genuinely hurt my heart after i finished it and saw people shitting on it so much. the story touched my heart and i haven’t stopped thinking about it maybe even more than i thought about the mistborn trilogy after i finished it. you HAVE to read it! it’s an awesome book that is incredibly well crafted and im so excited that it’s going to (eventually) continue. especially knowing that it was brandon’s debut novel and the story that started it all i don’t understand why people are so harsh on it i truly adore it so much

[elegantmadness]

Final Fantasy XVI RP

I just finished the game a couple of days ago and I'm obsessed. I need to write in this universe!

So, without further ado... have some info!

18+ writer with years of experience looking for another 18+ writer.

i don't shy away from dark or nsfw topics; not necessarily looking for nsfw/smut heavy threads by any means, but i can tell you right now i probably won't mesh well with someone who has to fade to black :c sorry.

i'll write over email, in gdocs, or via a discord server. i can't say i have much of a preference for any over the others; i'm also down for ooc over discord and the actual writing thread elsewhere. please note i DO NOT write here on tumblr.

given how recently the game came out and i finished it, i've not written for this fandom before. i certainly don't mind taking any constructive criticism if you think i've misrepresented/misconstrued a canon character.

i'm comfortable with canon/canon pairs and canon/oc ones of any genders/dynamics/orientations (m//, m/f, f//, trans + nb inclusive). if we can agree on a canon/canon pair, then i'm happy to leave it at that. if you'd like to go the canon/oc route, though, i do require us to double; like most everyone who's ever dabbled in fandom rp i won't be stuck writing the canon for the original without a little reciprocity.

i like long posts. how long is long, you ask? i like to stay at least around 3 paragraphs, though i can -- and do -- write more than that. all in all, i'm a mirror poster who enjoys fleshing out details and delving into characters' thoughts/feelings/motivations. my sweet spot is 4-6 paragraphs, but i'm more than willing to write novella/generally longer posts if you're game!

i don't do rapid-fire or one-liners or short, measly little single paragraphs. they make me sad and tend to indicate my partner's lack of interest or effort. that said, if your motivation is running dry and you need/want to stop, that's completely fine! honestly, if you ghost i won't chase after you, though i'll admit to a slight preference that you give me a chance to try and fix things up?

at the very least one post a week; i'd prefer around 3 a week, personally, but ofc irl stuff happens.

everything has to be in third person; absolutely no first or second. i default to past tense, but i'm perfectly fine with present if that's your preference!

beware spoilers below if you haven't finished the game!

you'll find the pairings i'm most interested in writing/am actively looking for as well as general ideas for plot/plot points below the cut!

so! i'm honestly not super sure about pairs, but i'm more than happy to talk them through with you? off the top of my head, i know i'd be interested in things like:

dion/joshua (it doesn't have to be in the terms of dion's perceived debt to joshua, but there's just such a nice familiarity there, especially after twinside and dion's drowning in guilt; maybe even bringing in memories of them meeting when they were younger)

hugo/benedikta (my favorite amoral duo who both just need to fuck off from dhalmekia and waloed and do whatever tf they want; also, hugo turning benedikta away from barnabas? his actual affection for her takes her by surprise; this dude doesn't actually just want to exploit and use her for his own ends? say whatttttt?)

dion/barnabas (i'm a terrible person; it's fine! :c but the whole dark v light theme? waloed v sanbreque? barnabas' whole crusade to kidnap bearers/dominants?)

benedikta/jill (mayhaps cid comes too late to save jill and benedikta absconds with her from the battlefield? i think they'd be able to relate to one another relatively well tbh, and plus i'd love to see jill a little more assertive/proactive)

cid/benedikta (purely platonic; i'd love to explore that dynamic, flesh out their background more; tbh, it'd probably be set in the background of an actual pair)

cid/barnabas (i’d loooooove the opportunity to explore their dynamic before cid up and left waloed; maybe cid even confided in barnabas at one point until barnabas’ loyalty to ultima comes out and cid feels betrayed? add benedikta into the mix and ooof. lots of drama potential, i think.)

clive/barnabas (especially in the context of clive having just lost to barnabas in a fight? won't master ultima be so pleased with you, mr warden of darkness? but then... wait. why won't you hand over mythos? clive somehow turning barnabas around? you love to see it)

clive/ultima (dark af and i'm not even sorry. but ultima...making it into clive's mind in a botched attempt to possess him? doesn't even need to be romantic or sexual, but just... a fucked up dynamic. ultima hitching a ride in the back of clive's consciousness? more than he already does?)

clive/joshua (shhhhhh. clive literally saying they've become one is just so darn platonic i can't even com pre hennnnnnd. i'd argue clive shows more emotion over joshua than anyone else in the game, and i'd be remiss in not exploring that further)

please note i have zero interest in writing clive/jill :c they're more of a brotp for me. sorry! i'd at least be willing to hear out other canon/canon pairs, but please don't be offended if i don't want to write them :c

i'd also be incredibly down for some canon/oc shenanigans, and ofc i'd happily double! gonna be super basic and ask for my partner to write clive for me tho; could absolutely be down for poly (cough with cid cough) but that's not necessary at all. also, ngl, i'd love to write a leviathan oc (for whom i already have a great deal of ideas...) i know, i know, the medicine girl is who everyone kinda suspects to be leviathan but, shhhhhhh ;o au for a reason, yeah? it's not confirmed anyway.

miscellaneous ideas

dominants v ultima (as it should have been imo; dominants protecting humanity, working together to try and save it instead of clive having to do it all basically alone)

more fallen lore? ngl, i was hit with such similarities from this game and ff12 i was half-convinced it was like, a thousand+ years post-ff12. i know it's not, but it could be interesting to bring in ff12 wrinkles into the fold? all the crysts and crystals and incorporeal beings directing humanity in the directions they want? plus AIRSHIPS. aetherfloods = jagd/myst? we don't have to go in the ff12 direction for more fallen lore, tho.

time-au a la: dominants returning to the time of the fallen/helping in the fight against ultima at dzemekys

some sort of magic that allows the dominants to retain information from previous hosts? warnings about ultima/crystals/the blight/etc?

people have compared ultima and jenova and... lbr. it would be incredibly interesting to see. ultima wants a host? too bad. jenova's cells have infected it; he can't direct it anymore. too bad every time he keeps trying jenova's still there.

these aren't all the plots i'd be interested in writing by any means, but, well. i think i've rambled on long enough. i hope i've managed to pique some interest, and if i have, feel free to reach out!

[kriscynical]

I feel like people are too blinded by nostalgia to give the remakes a chance, as well as basically worshipping Disney. And I say this as a huge Disney fan myself as well as someone who likes some of the originals, but they weren't perfect. Neither are the remakes. And though I may not like all of them, I still appreciate that they're at least trying to improve on some things that would be considered outdated or even offensive by today's standards.

It’s an odd combination, isn’t it? You’d think that if some of these people really worshipped Disney, then they’d be willing to automatically love anything and everything that Disney makes. Instead they’ve turned into the Disneyanna version of old people recalling their own childhoods with rose-tinted glasses and scoffing and anything and everything that’s new. “Well back in MY day…!”

I was raised on Disney and grew up during their 90′s renaissance; The Little Mermaid came out when I was 5 and Tarzan just a couple months before I turned 15. Those movies made me want to be an animator which ultimately led to me to going to art school and being an illustrator, and I love all of them along with their flaws. My family goes to Disney World every year for our vacation. If anybody would be blinded by nostalgia glasses, it would be me! Especially for Aladdin. 

I detailed this on twitter but Aladdin is about as close to absolutely sacred as a franchise can get for me. I’ve been obsessed with it since it first came out, then the TV series, then the sequels. I’ve been collecting toys, knicknacks, oddities, jewelry, dolls, and fine art of it for over 25 years and have probably the biggest Aladdin collection in the US. I have the first movie on VHS in four different languages. I have the soundtrack in three, including the very first print that included the lyric “where they cut of your ear if they don’t like your face” in Arabian Nights. I have an embroidered jacket and daily calendar book that were given to the animators and production team who worked on the original. I’m surrounded by this franchise every single day. I met my best friend of 20 years because of Aladdin; she was the owner of The Aladdin Mailing List back in 1999. 

If ANYBODY was going to be blinded by nostalgia glasses for Aladdin 2019, it would be me.

But as everybody else online seemed to be hating on every little thing about this movie and absolutely shredding it as each trailer, TV spot, and sneak peak was released, I just found myself getting more and more excited. I wanted to see Disney update Aladdin. I wanted to see them get rid of the offensive lyrics and material that flew over my head when I was 8. I wanted to see them reshape it into something new! Meanwhile everybody else was bitching about there “not being a need/point for this movie or any of the other remakes to exist”. 

Since when does entertainment *need* to exist for any other reason than entertaining people? 

Really, when did everything get so fucking serious? 

Of course the remake isn’t a perfect movie, just like the original wasn’t perfect by any means. But both still have that same heart and charm that made the original so good and loved, and I’m happy to see that heart and charm apparently starting to drown out all the cynicism and hate if the box office numbers so far are any indication at all. Despite its faults, Aladdin 2019 is a good movie!

I went off on a tangent there (pft, when do I not?)but yes, I agree. Some people have such thick nostalgia glasses that the lenses are basically opaque and bar them from ever being able to see or appreciate anything new. It’s like when my little sister was tiny and refused to watch anything she hadn’t already seen, to the point of actually crying when I tried to get her to watch Aladdin! (I ended up telling her “Okay, fine. YOU go play with your toys. *I* am going to watch Aladdin.” and by the end of Arabian Nights she was staring at the screen with her mouth hanging open, transfixed.) 

Even for entertainment in general I feel like people are getting overly critical of everything to the point of tearing absolutely everything apart for being ~problematique~ without ever giving themselves permission to just enjoy something for the sake of enjoying it, because holy shit biscuits you can actually enjoy something while acknowledging its faults! Imagine!

Yes, these remakes are primarily being made because they are enormous cash cows for Disney. Basically all movies are made in order to make money, though, so I don’t understand why Disney is magically held to a different standard in that department. They’re a business. They always have been.

The thing is, though, is that these remakes aren’t JUST cash grabs. You can see the love and care and respect for the original that went in to Aladdin 2019! If I can see that with how much of a diehard Aladdin 1992 fan I am, surely other people can, too, if they just give it a chance. If Disney was making these movies solely for a cash grab and nothing more, they wouldn’t put nearly so much effort into them and would rather just coast on the nostalgia factor of the source material and that’s it. You know, the way that most studios do when they make movies for video games *cough* Sonic *cough*. It would certainly be cheaper for them.

People need to lighten up and learn how to let Disney give them some fun for a couple hours at a time. You did it as children, guys, you can do it again. You’re just a grown up child. Walt said that himself. 

Let yourself out to play!

[raeisgrayte]

{Conjunction} Chapter One: Back At It

Go ahead and follow my wattpad account for quicker updates and more stories written by me! Thank you and here's chapter one of Conjunction!

Today felt like dancing in the rain. Today was serene, calm, and I couldn't wish for a better way to end my shift. I work at an old bookstore that people rarely come into. I have my regulars though. Joe, an elderly man who comes to read all our new stock of science non-fiction books. He's a retired NASA engineer and has told me so many stories about how wonderful it is to put a lot of small things together to make something larger, capable of magnificent things. Little did he know he was the magnificent thing in my life.

Then there was Darla, a middle-aged woman who just recently got divorced. Let's just say she stops by to refill on material for her alone time. It's usually the wild west books with shirtless men on the cover that she buys. I always tell her she can just take them since they're so outdated but she'll look me in the eyes and say this every time. "Now if my husband can go pay for some low-life whore, I can surely pay you for my pleasure. I don't want no free gain." Then she'll wink at me and gladly take the plastic bag out of my hands.

I couldn't forget about Hildi either, she was my favorite customer. She always comes in on a Friday to sit at our tables by the window and write in her journal. She doesn't talk much so I don't know anything about her. I only know that she'll sit there, staring out of the window wistfully, then I'll see a light spark in her eyes and she'll go back to scribbling away. If I had to guess, I'd say Hildi is close to Joe in age, though I'm not entirely sure. She seems ageless every time she comes in.

These three citizens made up my work life. Sometimes I'd get an eccentric tourist who "Loved the old-timey feel and just wanted to stop in to get some pictures to promote it." Little did I know that meant snapping a few selfies of themselves and rushing out without so much as a goodbye.

The best part of my job was dusting. I know that sounds awfully strange, but it gave me a chance to go to the very back of the store where Dickinson and Bradbury humbly awaited an eager child to pick them up. The back of the store is where I first discovered my love for all things related to literature. Plays, poems, novellas, short stories on Tumblr, all gave me such an exhilarating feeling of freedom. I could escape from all the work I had piled up, the agony of it all. With these books, I was left with the world at my fingertips.

"Daphne! Daphne where are you, darling!?" A strained voice yells out through the store. I blink back into reality and turn on my heel to head towards the front of the store.

"Coming! Sorry I'll be just a minute!" I yell back in reply. My heart races with anticipation to see who had traveled to my home away from home. Was it Hildi, finally acknowledging me as a fledgling author? Would she take me under her wing and guide me to success?  I sidestep out of the narrow walkway between bookcases. I finally reach the front of the store and slide behind the counter before giving away the surprise. I place my palms on the wooden counter and excitedly look up. My face falls as my mother turns to smile at me. Her eyes wrinkle as she lifts her head to look me in the eyes. Her burning gaze travels down my body with scorching judgment.

"Dearie, you look so thin. What have you been eating?" She knits her brows together as she stares at my stomach. I let out a small breath and walk out from behind the counter. Let me help you understand something, I was not a small girl. I met the air at about 6 feet even. I've always been tall; I think that's why I'm so good at organizing books. I can reach the top shelf with ease, unlike some of my co-workers. I also was not thin. I used to eat snacks while I cooped up in my room to read a book. I was curvey, yes, but not in that Yay curvey women way. My jeans looked strained when I jumped into them and I was always self-aware of how my belly and arms looked in a shirt. That's why I usually stuck to simple clothing items. Nothing too flashy to draw attention to my appearance. Having my mom scrutinize me was bad enough. My body dysmorphia had definitely gotten better, but there were days where I was incapable of liking any outfit I tried to put on.  Those days were the worst. They felt like I was in a dark hole and everyone's voices were muffled, except my own. My voice was amplified so that I could only listen to the shitty things I was thinking about myself. It was about a year ago, my senior year of high school when I decided that I was fucking done with hating the way I looked just for the sake of hating it. Society had taught me two things, hate yourself and be pretty or love yourself and be the most badass person in the world. I gave up my cutting words that had become like a drug, the high being all the compliments I'd receive from family and friends. I was now beautiful, not because society told me I was, but because I told myself I am.

"Mom, I'm fine. I'm at work, do we have to do this here." I reply, looking around to make sure no one had slipped in and needed help finding something. I hear my mother click her tongue and she walks in front of my gaze.

"I'm just worried about you Dee, you never come home anymore. Your dad and I want to see you." I close my eyes and press my lips into a thin line. My father was not the type of person you wanted to be around for the rest of your life. He was a man of little words and more physical expression. He liked the punch things, throw food around, my dad was a child in a grown man's body. Though, if I even talked about a different opinion, he would spell out every reason as to why I'm wrong. He lectured me on where to find sources for things,

"You can't trust anything they say on the internet! There are so many statistics that prove what you're saying is wrong." His eyes glowered like a lion about to pounce on an innocent gazelle. My body shivered with adrenaline. I didn't want him to win another fight. The second round had begun and I wasn't about to put down my mitts.

"And you're saying that all the things you've read are fact?" I reply calmly. His eyes ignite.

"How dare you fucking speak to me that way! You ungrateful bitch! I can't even look at you." He lurches forward slightly, like he's about to hit me, but stops just before he's in a standing position. "Go to your fucking room. I'm not your dad. I wish you were never fucking born." My skin crawls with all types of emotion. Anger. Sadness. Pain. Fear. I tentatively pass his chair and rush to my room. "Your daughter is crazy. Does she think she can talk to me like that? I'm her father for christ's sake. She disrespects me and thinks that's okay? She's so fucking stupid." I can hear him talking at my mom. It wasn't with. He did that a lot. Talked at people when he was angry. He didn't listen. He didn't respect the other party. Though, of course, it was still all my fault for having problems with authority and being ungrateful.

"I've been really busy this semester mom." I frantically reply. It was an excuse, I had free time. I just didn't want to spend it crying myself to sleep after a visit to my childhood home.

"You could at least call-" She's cut off by the bell ringing on the door. I peek over her shoulder to see who came in.

"Hey man, sorry I'm late. Your shift has been over for like 10 minutes." Zia, my co-worker, and good friend nods at me. I basically kiss her with my eyes.

"Thank you." I mouth to her from behind my mother's shoulder. She shakes her head and slightly pushes past my mom.

"Excuse me, ma'am, you either need to buy something or get out." Zia curtly states as she goes behind the counter and slips on an apron. My mother's eyes widen at Zia.

"Well-Well I'll be-"

"Ma'am, please. It's store policy." Zia purses her lips together and shrugs. My mother takes one last look at me and then storms out of the store. I wait for her car to pull out of the parking lot before looking at Zia.

"It's store policy." I mock with a smile. "That was gold! Thank you so much!" I laugh and high-five Zia.

"I am a mastermind." She praises herself. I giggle softly as I slip my apron off from around my neck.

"God, I am so glad to be going home right now. Tomorrow I get to play DND with my gang and then Sunday I can just chill. It'll be the perfect October weekend." I clasp my hands together and sigh dreamily. Zia smirks and rolls her eyes.

"Damn Daph, get a room." She chuckles. I whap my apron onto the counter and wink at her.

"Oh I will, I'm going home and I'm going to write the best essay professor Nair has ever seen." I joke. Zia nods and then her brows furrow.

"I still can't get over that guy's name. Must be rough." She laughs to herself.

"Must also be why he's bald." I join in. Zia's eyes widen and then she bursts out laughing.

"God damn Daph! You just roasted the fuck out of your professor!" Zia doubles over and I giggle too.

"You're not the only one who is a mastermind." I wiggle my brows and wave goodbye. "Anyway, I'll see you at rush hour Monday." I grab my coat off the rack and pull my arms through it. I then grab onto my small bag filled with assorted composition notebooks and daily adulty things. Such as my wallet.

"Have a good weekend loser!" Zia calls out as I walk out the door. I throw her the middle finger while walking to my car. My car was gifted to me by the only family member I could stand for more than 2 hours, my grandad. It was a beat-up red honda civic, with sketchy air conditioning. I loved the hell out of this car. It meant a lot to me, especially since my grandad passed away a little while after giving it to me. I know, kind of sad, but it's made me take even better care of this car than I would've. I slide into the driver's seat and throw my bag to the passenger side. I dig through it and retrieve my phone. I set my phone on my lap and put my keys into the ignition. The car starts up with a low hum. I smile to myself and let go of the keys. I grab onto my phone and plug it into the aux. I check the time, nearly 5. I then look up a playlist and decide that Howl's moving castle vibes will be great for the 3-minute drive back to the dorms.

+          +           +           +

"I think that's stupid. Why would they even date if they're just going to break up the next day?" Josee exclaims, her face scrunches up with disappointment. I cover my mouth and yawn into my hand.

"Gosh, if you're so tired then go home." Cooper butts in. I side-eye him from across the table. I stick my tongue out and he flips me off. I roll my eyes and feel a kick under the table. I glance down and follow the leg up to meet Josee's gaze.

"Why did you kick me?" I grumble. Her once disgusted face is now filled with concern.

"We could've rescheduled? You look really fucking tired. Did you stay up all night writing again?" She questions, her eyes darting around my face for some sort of explanation. I close my eyes and take in a breath. I'm about to reply when my phone buzzes in my hand. My eyes widen as I look down to see what had happened. "What?" Josee questions, straining her neck to peek at my phone. I tap on the text I'd just gotten and furrow my brows.

"What the hell...?" I trail off. Josee grumbles and yanks the phone out of my hand. The rest of the group looks at me expectantly. I blink slowly and open my mouth to tell them the contents of the message, but Josee speaks up before me.

"Principal Hogan wants our little author to read one of her poems at the coordination ceremony for homecoming next weekend!" She states happily. "Holy shit Daphne! This is super exciting!" Josee taps on the table with enthusiasm. The rest of the gang, which consisted of Copper, who is the bard of the group. He was a gay man with many, many boys trying to date him. He's our little heartbreaker. Then there's our cleric, Kylie. Kylie was the mom of the friend group, otherwise known as the calm one who tried to keep everyone on track. She was our therapist and there was no doubt she would help the world by going to college for it. Lastly, there were the twins, Darren and Isa. They brought chaos into our lives, Darren being one horny motherfucker while Isa was a calmer type of horny. Listen I don't know why they talk about sex so much, but it's constantly on their mind. Isa is a lesbian with long black hair, bright blue eyes, and a muscular body, they were also a heartbreaker. Darren was in a long-distance relationship with his girlfriend of 7 years. Her name is Sam and she's in Iowa right now! Hurray for her.

"Eww, do you think Gale will be there?" Copper questions, a look of disdain appearing on his face. Gale was the only guy that copper had even considered to date once. It didn't end well for both of them.

"I don't know man. He wasn't really the type of guy to go to these types of things, but I will definitely tell you if he shows up." I reply and salute Copper. He scrunches his face up and sticks his tongue out.

"You'd better fucking spill the tea right when you get off that stage. I'll be waiting." Copper points two fingers at his eyes and then gestures to me with them. I raise up my hands in defense.

"Okay okay, jeez, I thought you were over him," I grumble. Copper gasps and covers his mouth.

"How dare you." He narrows his eyes and playfully slaps my shoulder. "You know I'm over him, just not his dick." He shrugs. The whole group erupts in laughter. Isa taps on the table lightly after she stops laughing.

"Well, I think you should do it Daph, it'd be a really good opportunity to get your work out there." She smiles sweetly at me and I can't help but grin back at her. I see Darren start to nod out of the corner of my eye.

"I agree, even if it's just our community there, that's still a lot of people who have a lot of connections. Sam's dad is going to be there and he's a professor for creative writing at our college." He furrows his brows and then points outside. "Come to think of it, that's probably why she didn't go to college here with us." He sucks in a sharp breath. "I'm actually going to go call her, I 'll be right back guys." He waves to all of us and steps through the garage door to the outside. We all look around at each other and then start to giggle.

"That's my brother. The biggest simp in the world." Isa chuckles with a warm smile on her lips.

"So, what are you going to do Daphne?" Josee questions, her eyes scanning my face for an answer before I even open my mouth. I roll my eyes and shake my head.

"I really don't know. You all make it sound like I should go so maybe I should. Plus, it'd be cool to see some of our old friends in the senior class." I knit my brows together as I genuinely start to give the invitation some validity.

"Don't forget you'll also have an excuse to wear that slutty dress we bought together." Copper chimes in. My eyes widen as my eyes shoot to him. Our eyes meet and he grins mischievously. "What?" He shrugs and then gives me a wink.

I knew the dress he was referring to. If you can even call it a dress. This was in the beginning of my confidence high, so I was still a little stupid. That's why I let Copper convenience me to buy a mini black dress that barely covered my thighs. The neckline was very low and showed a lot of cleavage. I've only worn it out twice and one of those times was when I tried it on in the store.

I bite my lip and shake my head slowly. "No, I don't think I can wear that. I think Principal Hogan would have a heart attack if I showed up in that." I laugh. Isa waves her hand around in the air.

"That's exactly what we want to happen. You're so hot Daph, give that old man a heart attack so vice-principal Norris can take over." I raise my brows at her and she shrugs it off. "What? We all didn't like him." She defends. I sigh loudly and clap my hands together after a moment. Nearly all of them jump. I smile and look at Josee.

"Fine, I think I'll do it," I state.

[luna-rainbow]

On the one hand I'm also the type who skips the sex. On the other hand I had to wince at "why can't it all be like C-novels". Caveat: I haven't read MXTX's novels (the Chinese opinion for her works is...shall we say...controversial), but a simple Google search turned up a document called "MDZS with full sex" so...I would say the fact that MXTX's stories having no sex was not by choice.

History lesson guys: "no sex in C-novels" is what happens when AO3 does not exist!

MDZS was published on JJWXC, which is a big Chinese publishing site for a lot of internet novellas. The danmei scene back in the late 00s were...quite something. There were a lot of great authors writing dark and gritty stories with a lot of violence and sex (and violent sex probably) that became classics of the genre. You really can't see any of that sort of angst fics or dark fics on Chinese sites these days. A lot of them came straight off the angsty manga of the late 90s CLAMP and Kaori Yuki, and had the same melodramatic, anguished tone, and the same broken toxic relationships. Yeah they weren't pretty but they were cathartic for people.

Now, in China there would be regular "anti-porn" sweeps and all the BL/danmei sites would go underground for a couple of weeks to months to tide it over. JJ unfortunately got so big and popular that it wasn't an option anymore, and the site began to crack down on all kinds of sex...and other stuff.

I joined JJWXC maybe about 3-4 years ago. By then none of the novels on the site had any sex in it and this was NOT by choice from the writers. A lot of writers would be writing in the A/N "sorry...gotta stop there because...you know". The ramification of not stopping? The chapter gets locked, which means no one can view it or pay for it, which means angry readers and no pay for the author. If the chapter isn't corrected, the whole story can get locked (and a lot of old stories of big name authors are now locked because of how stringent the rules are and because the writers CBB going back to edit them to fit the new rules).

You think "oh well, I don't like reading sex anyway, so whatever". It wasn't just...no sex. I've seen chapters locked for the very things mentioned in the tags -- intimate caressing, kissing, undressing. There's no clear cut rule of what is deemed too "sexy". The story is naturally progressing to the next level of the relationship and as soon as there's any physical intimacy involving people getting their clothes off...it gets cockblocked locked.

This is not to mention some other restrictions on the writing, such as police and military have to be portrayed positively, or the main characters must not engage in criminal activities (these rules were 2 years ago so I don't know if they've changed). I remember one of my fave authors writing about detectives working in a drug squad and saying she's had to make multiple major edits because....uh yeah, can't write the main characters getting involved in crime because impressionable young people, right? She was writing about adult men in adult relationships, and sometimes they gotta do adult things. Luckily she's based outside of China so she'd dump all the sex on AO3 - which at the time could be accessed via VPN. (TBH that was the first time I learned about the existence of AO3)

So...while most of the time I prefer not to see the sex, I'm much happier scrolling over them than have a situation where authors can't even write about two people snogging without having to make 10 edits to pass the censor.

(@olderthannetfic just tagging because you talk about fandom history and you seem interested in danmei. Please ignore if this isn't your alley ^^)

The clinical urge to skip the sex scenes in explicit fic