#it’s franc[e/i]s^2

[deus-ex-mona]

i miss renrennnnnnnnnn

[franceanon]

Audio-grabbed + Cap'd by Me.

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[tarotwithdanise]

HOW YOU GONNA WIN THEIR HEART?

꒰⠀from left to right ; intuitively choose the pile your mind, heart and soul desire for. if you are having trouble choosing the right pile for you, here’s some tips you can do ; (1) take a deep breath (2) close your eyes (3) ask guidance from your guides (4) finally open your eyes and you can choose the right pile for you by the guidance you ask from your guides. if you are still having trouble by choosing the right pile for you let me know because i am willing to help and guide you.

send your donations here

PILE ONE

you're gonna win this person's heart by bringing your authentic self. you need to stay true about yourself, you don't need to change and let yourself show what you can serve on this person's table. honor yourself, feel yourself. show to this person that you intend to win their heart by letting your body sync with your thoughts and your deeds. let this selfless nature attract this person perhaps there are things that we tend to don't like about our personalities but then we can improve our characteristics right? and it sounds miserable when you are trying to be someone else you're actually not. this is someone that may not prefer playing mind games so they prefer someone who has a genuine intention and interest to them.

extra messages: jacket, yellow car, headphones, blue, 333, spiderman, asian, hair clamp, angel with a shotgun by the cab, 14, 02 , L and S,

PILE TWO

this person likes someone who has great humor. they want someone who can make them laugh in a way that they may be able to forget on how to breathe or the thing that their stomach hurts because of too much laughing. It's not that they don't like serious people but they have this motto "to live a life, you need to have fun and laugh". they prefer a long-term relationship with someone who doesn't bore them and a lot of fun and crazy things to do. they may want people to be perceive with their partner as nuts couple.

extra messages: a laugh that is like an old engine, 3 piercings, pearls, crazy, stupid, love (movie), this heart emoji "❣️" , 28, black crossbody bag, rainy days, bus station, pisces, taurus, aries, M, O, Y, T, and J.

PILE THREE,

make them feel heard and important. this person is not honestly looking for any good looking faces but they just genuinely wanted to feel like they belong. shows empathy and give validation about what they feel, they just want someone who is there for their long rants and actively listen in life that it can give upon them. it maybe because this person grew up in a household where their opinions and feelings are not valid. they are also someone who wanted to be seen.

extra messages: a box, hotdog, black dress, a park, a dump/secret account, 91919, G, I, U, C and D.

PILE FOUR

what a very mysterious energy from this person, they don't usually don't care about if someone else is trying to ruin them in terms of relationships. they are not looking for that a long time ago perhaps they may have this cold heart. otherwise, this person may come off as famous or kinda popular as i guess and they may prefer someone who doesn't care at them at all. also i get here that they may want someone who respect them as individual and as a partner, they maybe a serious person.

extra messages: infinity necklace, spiders, birds, a star, an anchor, a beach, a cute laugh, asia, france, 777, M, I, K, R, E and W.

[saint-jussy]

"The (Sur)name and Given Names of Saint-Just and Their Modifications" by Maurice Dommanget - English Translation

Dommanget Maurice. Du nom et des prénoms de Saint-Just et de leurs modifications. In: Annales historiques de la Révolution française, n°173, 1963. 250e anniversaire de la naissance de Diderot (1713-1784) pp. 331-336

I discovered this article while reading Monar's Saint-Just bio, which hit me with the revelation that Saint-Just likely went by "Léon" rather than "Antoine" in his private life. I translated the article to the best of my abilities to get a deeper idea of wtf was going on with Saint-Just's many names, and thought I'd share with everyone else too.

tl;dr He went by Léon with family, Léonard / Florelle in some writings and pre-Convention political meetings, St. Juste on CPS documents when he wanted to be really dramatic (in French his name isn't really so on-the-nose unless you add the e)

(However, the article doesn't get into how he's listed as "Antoine Saint-Just" on the execution records?)

The paternal ancestry of Saint-Just, as far back as can be precisely traced (prior to the last quarter of the 17th century), originates in Chelles, Picardy—a village near Pierrefonds on the current border of the Oise and Aisne departments. The family later settled in Attichy, Nampcel, Morsain, and Blérancourt, on the borders of the same departments (1). 

Notably, the name "Saint-Just" also designates three localities in the modern Oise department: Saint-Just-des-Marais, incorporated today into Beauvais; Saint-Just-en-Chaussée, a canton capital between Clermont and Breteuil; Saint-Just, a château and hamlet in the commune of Belle-Église, near Bornel (2). Additionally, a fountain near Laon in the Aisne department has borne the name "Saint-Just" since at least 1265 (3).

Across France, numerous communes, hamlets, and settlements are named Saint-Just. The nomenclature of communes lists 10 "Saint-Just" without a particular name and 20 with specific names (4). We note around thirty by consulting the nomenclature of the offices of post, telegraph and telephone systems before the war of 1914-1918. Among these Saint-Justs, some do not correspond with a Saint-Just designating a commune name. By estimating around thirty places bearing the name Saint-Just, we are therefore committing an underestimation compared to reality. This is evident, for example, from the fact that the grandmother of the grandiose 1848 revolutionary Ernest Cœurderoy (1825–1862) came from a Saint-Just hamlet near Moutiers-Saint-Jean (Côte-d’Or) (5), a hamlet which does not appear in the names indicated above.

To the extent that the names of places often derive from the names of people, or vice versa, we can be certain that there have existed and still exist Saint-Just families of origins other than the family of the conventionnel. Among his known contemporaries, do we not count the poet Mérard de Saint-Just, born in Paris; the magistrate and constituent Fréteau de Saint-Just, born in Melun; and the writer Godard d'Aucour de Saint-Just, born in Paris, who published all his works under the name of Saint-Just?

Around the mid-19th century, living in La Moulinière, a commune of Villers-Saint-Paul (Oise), was a Madame Martel née Saint-Just (6). One is led to believe that she too did not belong to the Convention member 's own family if one studies the latter 's genealogy closely.

***

Before the Revolution, there is no doubt that the name of Saint-Just's ancestors was always preceded by the particle. However, the father of the conventionnel, registered at birth (1715) as the son of Charles de Saint-Just, married (1765) under the name “de Saint-Just de Richebourg,” and is recorded upon his death (1777) under the name of “Louis Jean Saint-Just de Richebourg.” His wife, son, and daughters appear in parish registers mostly with the particle. The conventionnel’s mother, commonly called Madame de Saint-Just, was nevertheless listed upon her death (1811) as “the widow of Louis Saint-Just” (7).

At his birth on August 25, 1767, Saint-Just was given the first names Louis Antoine.  These appear on his baptismal certificate in the Decize Municipal Archives and correspond to legal first names at the time.

L’Organt appeared in 1789 without an author’s name. It gives us no information on Saint-Just’s first names. Both for the printing of the work and to escape the prosecution it aroused upon its publication, Saint-Just stayed in Paris for at least two months, calling himself Léonard Florelle de Saint-Just.

Why Léonard? This saint is the patron of prisoners. Is it to recall, by protest and in a sort of defiance, the painful time when he was locked up in Paris in 1786? There is hardly any other explanation. (Xiran Note: Actually, it's probably derived from the name of his maternal grandfather Léonard Robinot). Why Florelle? This first name, or rather literary pseudonym, has poetic flair. It corresponds to the cheerful period when the "Chevalier Organt" played the dandy in the capital, completing his teasing of the Muses and launching his tragicomic poem. There is a striking contrast between the two names. But should we simply see the name “Florelle,” as noted by Mme M.-A. Charmelot (8), as the Greek translation of Antoine, Saint-Just’s usual given name? This explanation is plausible.

At the electoral assembly of Chauny (17-26 May 1790), Saint-Just, yielding to the wishes of the delegates, placed in the hands of the president, to be attached to the minutes, his speech in favor of the choice of Soissons as capital of the department of Aisne. He signed this document "Florelle de Saint-Just, elector of Blérancourt." The photograph of this signature with the five and a half lines preceding it is preserved in the Departmental Archives of Aisne and appears in the classic work of René Hennequin (9). But on the following 3 June, in his letter to Camille Desmoulins giving a precise account of the assembly of Chauny, Saint-Just simply signed "Saint-Just" (10). He signed the same in his famous letter to Robespierre on 19 August 1790 (11). In the meantime, the register of deliberations of the General Council of the commune of Blérancourt still referred to him as “M. de Saint-Just” on the dates of June 24 and July 2, 1790 (12).

In June 1791, Saint-Just published L’Esprit de la Révolution et de la Constitution de la France in Paris. This book bears “Louis-Léon de Saint-Just” as the author's name. This same name appears in the edition of his Discours sur la proposition d’entourer la Convention nationale d’une garde-armée (Discourse on the Proposal to Surround the National Convention with an Armed Guard), delivered at the Jacobins on October 22, 1792. Thus, Saint-Just reinstated the particle in his name while removing his regular middle name of Antoine for the public. He therefore abandoned the names of Léonard and Florelle that he had given himself.

Why substitute Léon for Antoine? Ernest Hamel, from a family allied to that of Saint-Just and who has, in a way, collected the family tradition, provides the following explanation: this first name of Antoine having seemed a little common and inharmonious in the family, he was given that of Léon; it was therefore quite natural that he signed his works with the first name by which he was known. (13)

There is no reason to doubt the validity of this explanation. Saint-Just certainly took up the name consecrated by usage. But from now on, thanks to a notoriety acquired precisely at the Jacobin session of October 22, 1792, the young conventionnel would sign and call himself simply Saint-Just.

***

It’s the Journal des Jacobins, reporting the October 22, 1792, speech, that established and in some way accredited in the public the short and simple name of "Saint-Just." Though it credited it with a mistake, printing the name as “Sinjeu.”  As Aulard notes: "This seems to indicate that contemporaries did not pronounce the last two letters” (14). It also seems to indicate, we will say, a writer of Picard origin; because, in the dialect of Picardy, u's are transformed into eu's. The error is corrected in the issue of the same sheet which reports the session of November 4, 1792, marked by a new intervention by Saint-Just. His name, amputated of the particle, is reported this time very accurately (15).

But it must be believed that the name of “Saint-Just” had not permeated public consciousness as one might suppose. Indeed, Prudhomme's journal, in its article on the first discussion in the Convention concerning the trial of the king, on the following 13 November, gives the intervention of Saint-Just and violently criticizes it. It reports it as being that of “Méard de Saint-Just,” repeated four times, ruling out a typo.

One wonders if the anonymous writer sought to discredit the conventionnel by conflating him, by virtue of a near homonymy, with the licentious poet Mérard de Saint-Just. It is true that in the same issue, in the usual place devoted to summary reports of the debates of the Convention, the intervention of the deputy of Aisne on November 13 is indeed recorded as “Saint-Just” (17). It is under this name that the intervention of the young member of the Convention will be reported in the subsequent issue on December 27 (18), and thereafter he will not be referred to otherwise.

The dropping of the particle had become a practice of the time. While not common, it was not rare. It successively entered the framework of de-aristocratization and dechristianization. It should be noted, however, that Saint-Just stopped at the elimination of the particle. He did not push the mutation like his fellow Picard Saint-Simon who, as early as September 20, 1790, before the General Council of Péronne, had renounced his proscribed name to call himself “Bonhomme,” in the plebeian manner (19). However, it is not by chance that in the year II Saint-Just modified his name by signing Saint-Juste on the decrees of the Committee of Public Safety (20). It was undoubtedly to better mark his concern for justice on the basis of his name. By the roundabout way of adding a final letter to his name, Saint-Just thus comes closer to all those who at the time changed their name by giving it a moral or civic meaning.

But if the suppression of the particle can be seen in Saint-Just as a democratic pledge, his changes or modifications of his given names do not present themselves in the same light. They preceded year II, and even before the first revolutionary names given to newborns, if we accept with Mathiez, that they date from the Fête de la Fédération. It must therefore be noted that Saint-Just’s given name modifications have no civic character. Moreover, in the midst of dechristianization, in his report to the Convention of 23 Ventôse Year II (Xiran Note: March 13, 1794), Saint-Just condemned the “hypocrites in patriotism” who changed their surnames and given names.

He found it a proud pretension "to usurp the names of the great men of antiquity" and declared that "an honest man who advances among the people, with the boldness and tranquil air of probity, has only one name as he has only one heart" (21). This was a sort of disavowal of his brother-in-law Decaisne, who gave the name Brutus to one of his sons, born in Blérancourt on 1 Brumaire of Year II (October 22, 1793). This was also one of the aspects of Saint-Just 's brake on dechristianization, a brake of a political nature, certainly, but which is linked to his philosophical ideas of which a serious analysis remains to be made.

[morgana-larkin]

hey! could you write a hurt/comfort with age gap chessy x reader where reader feels like she isnt good enough for chessy because of being younger than her and chessy comforts her? (btw just keep up the awesome work!)

Hi Anon! Sorry this took awhile to write but I finally got it finished! Thank you for the compliment as well!! Not edited in the slightest and I hope you like it!

On another note: I miscounted the amount of Chessy prompts I had, I had 4 instead of 3 but I currently have 2 left and I already started the next one which is a mama bear Chessy! Also I just started my period today so yes there's a good possibility that the next 2 fics shall also have smut in it.

Good Enough

Warnings: Smut, reader has doubt

Words: 4.4k

Hey Y/n, wake up.” You hear and you groan before opening your eyes.

“What?” You ask and Chessy smiles.

“I know you don’t work until 11 but I made breakfast and thought you’d want some.” She tells you and you yawn while you rub your eyes. 

“You made breakfast?” You ask her and she nods.

“There’s some scrambled eggs and toast with your name on it. Made it just how you like it.” She tells you and you smile before you get up.

“What time is it?” You ask her and she looks at her watch. 

“Almost 9.” She says and you stretch before you put your slippers on and stand up. “So I was thinking that since I have to go to the market today anyway, then I can bring you to work.” She says as you’re eating breakfast. “And maybe stop and get a nice cup of coffee from the beautiful barista.” She tells you and you smile.

“I’d like that.” You tell her and she boops your nose before kissing your cheek.

“Alright I’ll drive you to work then and pick you up since your car is here.” She says and you nod.

“Thanks Chess.” You say as you grab her hand and she smiles at you.

“What are girlfriends for?” She says and you smile.

“I still can’t believe we’re together, I thought you’d never be interested in me with our 15 year age difference.” You tell her and she shrugs.

“Age is just a number, as long as you’re older than 20.” She says and then goes to do the dishes. “I still don’t understand why you never just ask for an egg sandwich.” She says as she watches you put scrambled eggs on one piece of toast and then adding the other piece of toast.

“Because you’ll make it differently if I do and I like making it myself.” You tell her and she rolls her eyes before adding all the dishes in the sink.

“Do you want anything else? Or do you have something for your lunch later?” She asks and you think about it.

“I’ll just grab an apple or something at the market.” You tell her and she turns around to look at you.

“An apple? I keep telling you to pack a proper lunch for when you work.” She says and you freeze with your mouth open and the sandwich is right in front of your mouth.

“I just never see the need for a proper lunch. I’ll just have an apple and then have some food when I get home.” You tell her.

“Alright then, what time is your lunch anyway? Do you need to grab an apple before work?” She asks and you think about it. 

“No, I have my lunch break around 3-3:30. And the stalls don’t close until around 5.” You tell her and she nods.

You have a shower and then you get ready for work. You put on your uniform and put your hair in a ponytail. Chessy drives you to work and she walks with you to the coffee shop to make sure you get there safely.

“I’ll see you later?” You tell her once you enter the coffee shop.

“Yep, I’ll pick you up at 7.” She says and you nod before giving her a kiss.

“Oohh, who’s your girlfriend Y/n?” You hear and you turn around to see your coworkers there watching you.

“Chessy, meet Ali and Theo. I work with them on Saturdays and Sundays.” You tell her. Chessy walks up to them and sees their full names on the name tags, Alison and Theodore.

“Hi, I’m Chessy.” She tells them and she smiles at you.

“Wait, Jessie?” Ali says and you snort.

“No, people make that mistake. It’s Chessy, C H E S S Y.” She spells out for them. “Short for Francesca.” She explains and they nod. “It was nice to meet you but I gotta pick some stuff up at the market. Bye hon, love you.” She tells you.

“I love you too.” You tell her and she leaves.

You put your bag in your little cubby in the back before grabbing an apron and they’re both looking at you.

“What?”

“Give us all the juicy details.” Theo tells you and you sigh.

“Don’t know what juicy details you’re expecting. Two girls met at the market, they caught feelings, one asked the other on a date and they’re now in a relationship.” You tell them.

“Give us more than that.” Theo says.

“Like when did you meet? Who asked who out? What’s the age difference? And most importantly, is she good in bed?” Ali asks you. You look at the cafe and see no customers there yet as it’s just before the lunch rush.

“We met 5 months ago and she asked me out 3 months ago. She’s 15 years older than me, and I don’t know, we haven’t had sex yet.” You tell them and their jaws drops.

“You haven’t had sex yet? Are you a prude or something?” Theo asks you.

“No, it’s just that…” You try to say but you stumble and then give up trying.

“It’s just what? Are you not attracted to her?” Ali pushes.

“What? That’s not it, I am very attracted to her. It’s just that…the age difference is making me nervous.” You admit and they look at you and tilt their heads.

“She’s 38 right?” Ali asks and you nod your head. “What’s the problem about the ages? Why does it make you nervous?” She asks and you look at the ground and take a deep breath before answering.

“I feel like I’m not good enough. I mean I’m 23, I’m a barista getting minimum wage. I live in a crappy apartment with a roommate and I have no idea what I want to do with my life. Meanwhile Chessy is a live-in nanny who lives in a beautiful house, gets more than enough per month to live comfortably, never has to worry about money and she knows what she wants and who she is.” You tell them.

“Does Chessy know you feel like this?” Theo asks and you shake your head.

“I don’t know about queers, being the only straight one in this room, but in straight relationships, the two people in said relationship talk about how they feel. They communicate.” Ali says.

“Us queers do it too.” Theo tells Ali. “Just this one is being a chicken.” He adds and then someone walks in. 

The lunch rush starts and the 3 of you don’t have time to talk about anything for an hour.

“Hey Y/n.” You hear and you turn around to give the customer their coffee and you see Chessy is next in line.

“You can serve this one.” Theo says and then he walks away from the register. You walk to the register and you look at her.

“What can I get you?” You ask her with a smile and she looks at the options. 

“Considering it’s my first time here and the barista knows what I like, what do you think I should get?” She asks you and you think about it.

“You can just get black coffee, 2 cream and 2 sugars just how you like.” You say to her and she smiles.

“I’m trying to be adventurous.” She says and you offer a couple suggestions for her to try that she might like and she orders one. She gives you the money and she puts the change in the tip jar while Ali makes the drink. “How’s it going? It’s pretty busy in here.” She tells you as she looks around.

“Ya it starts getting busy around 11:30 as it’s the lunch rush.” You tell her and she nods.

“By the way I wanted to ask you something, is everything alright? It’s just ever since you started visiting the ranch, you’ve been acting different. None of the Parker’s said anything bad, right?” She asks you and you shake your head.

“No, nothing like that, just life things.” You tell her and she nods.

“Ok, well I hope you can come to the ranch tomorrow evening. Chillier night so I was going to get a fire going and maybe we can have a nice hot cocoa together.” She tells you and you smile.

“Yes, of course, I love that plan.” You tell her and then Ali comes with the drink and gives it to Chessy. Chessy takes a sip and smiles.

“What a great recommendation and excellent service.” She says and winks at you. “I’ll see you later hon.” She tells you.

“See you later.” You tell her and then she leaves. “Took longer on making the drink, I see.” You tell her and she smiles.

“I just didn’t rush or ‘make it quick.’” She says and you snort at her impression of some of your customers. You take your first break 45 minutes later and you sit outside and just enjoy watching the market. You go back in and you go through your bag to get your water bottle out and you find a container there that isn’t yours. You open it up and see a peanut butter sandwich there and realised Chessy must have slipped in it while you were showering. 

“Those damn mother instincts of hers.” You mumble out loud.

“Mother instincts of who?” Ali asks you and you hold up the container.

“Chessy secretly packed me lunch after I told her I don’t eat much at work.” You tell her. 

“Awww, that’s so sweet.” She says and you roll your eyes and take a sip from your water bottle.

Chessy walks in exactly at 7 to come drive you back to the ranch. You pack up your things and say goodbye to the evening crew before you head out.

“So I noticed a sandwich in my bag today.” You tell her when she’s driving back.

“Really? That’s so weird.” She says sarcastically and you chuckle.

“Thank you, it was sweet of you.” You tell her and she smiles at you.

“It’s not a problem hon, just helping out my girl.” She tells you and you blush. “Are you sure you don’t want to sleep here again?” She asks once you’re back at the ranch and packing up your overnight bag.

“Ya I’m sure.”

“It’s just you said you don’t like your apartment and that my bed is more comfortable.” She tells you, trying to get you to stay over again.

“Well I can’t always stay here, we just started going out 3 months ago. No matter how comfortable you and your bed are.” You say and she smiles shyly.

“I’m comfortable to sleep with?” She asks and you nod.

“You’re very warm which is nice and these…” You say and point to her boobs. “Are very comfortable pillows.” You say and she giggles. “But I have to go home so that we have a chance to miss each other.” You tell her and she strokes your cheek.

“I know, and you’re right. I’ll just miss you.” She says and you kiss her.

“I’ll miss you too.” You tell her and she goes and kisses you again. No one pulls back and you both make out until Chessy moans into the kiss and then you pull back. “I’ll see you tomorrow though and I’ll stay over as I don’t have work on Monday.” You tell her and she smiles and nods.

“I can’t wait until tomorrow night then. You can come straight from work and I'll have dinner ready for you.” She says.

“My hero.” You tell her and then give her a kiss on the cheek before grabbing your bag and walking to the front door. You two kiss one more time and tell each other ‘I love you’ before you go to your car. Chessy watches to make sure you make it to your car safely and then she closes the door when she can’t see your car anymore.

“Things are going well between you two.” Elizabeth tells her from the couch when Chessy walks into the living room.

“They’re going extremely well but I can’t help feeling as if she’s holding back a little.” Chessy tells her.

“How old is she again?” Elizabeth asks as she puts down her book.

“23.” 

“Well she’s at the age where she’s figuring everything out if she hasn’t already. I remember when I was 23, because that’s when I married Nick the first time.” She says and Chessy chuckles. “Just give her some time and she’ll come to you if she needs help with anything.” Elizabeth says to her and Chessy nods. 

“Thanks.” Chessy tells her and then goes to her room.

You go home and enter your apartment building and your roommate is there doing some college work. 

“Nice to see you again, have fun with your girlfriend?” She asks and you nod.

“We didn’t do anything last night, I know that’s what you’re thinking.” You tell her.

“Still haven’t done it? It’s been 3 months. My boyfriend and I did it after a month.” She tells you.

“That’s because you two are very horny.” You say with a smile.

“And you’re not? We have very thin walls, I know what you do most nights.” She says and you roll your eyes. “Is it her that’s holding back or you?” She asks while writing some things down.

“Me, I know she’s ready.” You tell her honestly.

“And why are you holding back?” She asks.

“Because I’m scared. I don’t even know anything about myself and she’s so put together. I don’t even know what she sees in me.” You tell her and she looks at you.

“So it’s still about the age difference, I already told you to talk to her.” She says and you groan.

“I’m scared to talk to her, I mean what if I bring to light things that she didn’t think of about me and then she wants to break up after? Or what if she sees that I’m not the person she thought I was and then leaves?” You tell her and she looks at you.

“You lesbians are so dramatic.” She teases you with.

“Evelyn.” You groan out and she laughs.

“Just talk to her, she’ll either help calm your worries or she’ll end it with you. Either way your worries will disappear.” She says and you look at her.

“Her ending it with me is what I’m worried about.” 

“If she ends it with you then it’s her loss but she seems very into you, well from the 3 times she’s come over here. You honestly hang out more there than you do here. Starting to feel like I’m living by myself and it’s kinda nice.” She tells you and you throw a pillow from the couch at her.

“By the way I’m going there right after work tomorrow and spending the night.” You tell her and she nods.

“Good to know, I can invite my boyfriend over again.” She says with a smile and you sit back on the couch.

“Hey hon.” Chessy says as she lets you in the house. “How was work?” She asks and gives you a kiss.

“Same as always, my coworkers were teasing me again. Because they’ve now met you and keep bombarding me with questions.” You tell her and she giggles. “Theo says you’re a stunner by the way.” 

“Well you can tell him I say thank you.” She says and leads you to the kitchen. “Here’s some soup as the weather is getting colder.” She says and hands you a bowl.

“Thanks, and it’s almost November so I’m not surprised that it's colder.” You tell her and she just leans on the counter and continues the conversation with you as you eat. “Where’s everyone else?” You ask her since you haven’t seen anyone come downstairs at all.

“Hallie and Annie needed help with a project so they’re all upstairs.” She tells you and you nod.

“You’re not helping them?” You ask her and she shakes her head.

“I was but they pushed me out of the room as they knew you were coming over.” She tells you and you laugh. “So we got the downstairs to ourselves.” She tells you and you nod. “You’re quiet, normally you like when it’s just the two of us.” She says to you and you nod.

“I do, just something on my mind.” You say as you finish the soup.

“Wanna talk about it?” She asks and you nod.

“I’m ok.” You tell her and fake a smile. She nods before taking your bowl, putting it in the sink for later and then you both go to the couch.

You both begin snuggling until Chessy leans in and starts kissing you. You expected her to pull away like she usually did, but as of lately she hasn’t been pulling away and that’s starting to worry you. She keeps kissing you and then you moan out and you immediately pull away.

“What’s wrong?” She asks and you look at her.

“Nothing.” 

“Are you sure? It just seems as somethings been bothering you lately and I’ve been trying to wait until you come to me about it but you haven’t.” She tells you and you look down. “You can talk to me about anything.” She says as she lifts your chin up to look at her.

“I know, but I’m scared about talking to you about it.” 

“Why?”

“Because it involves you.” You tell her and she looks at you confused. “We’re both aware of the age difference between us, and I’m trying to act like it doesn’t bother me but it shows all the time.”

“What shows?” She asks.

“The age difference. I have no idea where my life is headed and you have everything figured out.” You admit to her and she gives you a sympathetic look. “I’m a 23 year old barista who gets minimum wage and lives in a crappy apartment and needs a roommate because I can’t afford it by myself.” You tell her. “You’re so together and you live comfortably and never have to worry about money or about where your life is headed as you have it figured out.” You add and she gets you to look at her.

“My life wasn’t always this way, I was hired by Nick and Elizabeth when I was your age to be the live-in nanny when Elizabeth was 7 months pregnant.” She tells you.

“But don’t you want someone who has their life together already?” You ask her and she shakes her head. “I want someone who loves me for who I am.” She tells you. “And you’ll figure out your life, you’re still figuring everything out and I understand that.” 

“I just feel like I’m not good enough for you.” You tell her and she caresses your cheek. 

“You are good enough for me, I love you and I’m willing to stick by you while you figure out what you wanna do.” She says and a tear falls down your cheek. “You’re beautiful, smart and you got a mouth that’s great with comebacks.” She says and then she kisses you. “It’s also great with kisses.” She adds once she pulls back. You lunge forward and kiss her with force and it causes her to fall backwards onto the couch and she takes you with her. “Oomph.” You continue kissing her and she puts her hands in your hair and keeps you close to her.

“Get a room.” You hear and you both look behind you to see Elizabeth and Nick there with a smile on their faces. “Actually Chessy, you have a room upstairs.” Nick says and you look at Chessy before getting off of her. 

“Sorry.” You tell him and then Chessy grabs your hand and quickly brings you to her room. She closes her door and then you immediately kiss her once she turns around.

“Wait wait wait.” Chessy says breathlessly. “If it keeps going then I won’t want to stop.” She tells you and you smile.

“I don’t want you to stop.” You tell her and you see her eyes darken before she goes back to kissing you, then lifts you up and brings you to the bed, all without breaking the kiss.

Chessy wastes no time in taking all your clothes off and kissing and licking all over your body. She makes sure to leave hickeys all over your neck and chest and you know you’ll worry later about how to hide them when you work.

She trails down to your nipples and gives each of them a good amount of attention that you start trying to grind on her and beg, which is probably what she wanted.

“Chessy, please, I need you.” You tell her and she smirks before she places herself between your legs. She wraps her arms around your thighs and brings you closer to her. She then dives in and starts sucking on your clit and the moans and gasps are failing out of your mouth. You grab onto her hair with one hand and the sheets with the other as you feel your orgasm slowly building. Chessy inserts one finger inside of you and you have to bite down on your lip so you don’t scream and let the whole house know what you both are doing. You feel your orgasm is right there and your whole body tenses before you cover your mouth with your hand and feel your orgasm wash all over you. Chessy licks up all your juices before she pulls back then climbs on you until you’re face to face. She kisses you and you taste yourself on her and you moan into the kiss. You then put your hands on her body to feel her and realise she’s still wearing all her clothes and you pull back. “What the hell? Take off your fucking clothes.” You tell her and she laughs before she takes off her sweater, which is followed by her shirt then bra. As you stare at her chest, she takes off her khakis and underwear.

“This more to your liking, hon?” She asks and you nod with a smile. She lays down beside you and wraps an arm around you to cuddle but you want to return the favour. You move closer to her and then you easily find her clit and begin rubbing it. “Y/n.” She moans out and you smile.

“Does that feel good?” You ask her and she quickly nods. 

“Don’t stop…keep going.” She pants and you go faster, causing her to bring your face close to hers so she can kiss you to avoid making any loud noises. “Oh god.” She whines out and you can tell she won’t last long with the way her legs are shaking and that she’s gripping your hair while pulling you in for a kiss. You then feel her body tense up before she gasps into the kiss and then her entire body relaxes. You pull away from her clit and then use the hand to cup her cheek while still kissing her.

“Thank you.” You tell her once you both pull back and she looks at you.

“For the sex?”

“No, well for that as well, but thank you for telling me I’m good enough for you.” You say and she tucks a few strands that are sticking to your face behind your ear.

“I wish you would have told me what was bothering you sooner, hon. I was getting really worried.” She tells you and you look down. “But I’m glad you told me in the end, better late than never.” She adds with a smile. “Wait, is the reason we waited to have sex was because you thought you weren’t good enough for me?” You nod to her question then look down and she cups your cheek. “I’m not mad about having to wait for you, I’m not mad at all.”

“I’ve been wanting to have sex with you for over a month but my fears and doubts kept getting in the way.”

“Hon, promise me that next time something is bothering you, please tell me.” She tells you and you nod.

“I promise.” You tell her and she smiles.

*2 days later*

“You know if you weren’t such a vampire then I wouldn’t have had to wear this awful turtleneck to work.” You tell her as she drives you back to the ranch.

“I didn’t hear any complaints when I was biting your neck.”

“I didn’t have to spend 8 hours in a turtleneck for the past 2 days.” You counter and she smiles.

“Quit complaining, next time you stay overnight just bring your makeup and I’ll cover up any hickeys myself for you.” She tells you as you reach the ranch. “Will I see you friday?” She asks after you gather everything from her room and you nod.

“Yep, can you survive without me for 2 days?” You ask her and she shakes her head.

“I guess we’ll see, and no pleasuring yourself for the next 2 nights.” She says and you gasp.

“What?”

“I want you nice and needy when you come over.” She tells you and you groan.

“Fine.” You say and she smiles then gives you a kiss.”

“Good girl.” 

“Now that’s cheating.” You tell her and she smirks.

“I never said teasing was not allowed.”

“I’ll see you on Friday, I’ll come right over after my shift.” You tell her and she nods before giving you another kiss and then you get in your car. “I love you.”

“I love you too, hon. Remember to call me to let me know you got home safe.” She says and you nod.

“I will.” You say and then close your door and start your car. You walk in through the door of your apartment building and Evelyn is there and she looks up at you.

“And where exactly have you been for 2 days?” She asks and then sees your turtleneck. “Oh, I see.” She says with a smirk and you roll your eyes. “Did you talk to her as well?” She asks as you walk to the phone.

“Yep.” You tell her and then dial Chessy’s number.

Taglist: @esposadejoyhuerta 

@imaginesmultifandoms 

@idonothingalldays-blog 

@sexysapphicshopowner 

@dvrkhcld 

@lilfartbox1

@ricejucie 

@unicorniusfallapatorius

@a-queen-and-her-throne

@sleep-deprived-athlete

@og-kxsh-420

@sasheemo

@midnight-lestrange

@dashbag-art

Let me know if you want to be added!

[cleolinda]

Weekend links, June 1, 2025

My posts

First things first: I LOVE Pride month on Tumblr, but those posts won't be reflected in the Weekend Links until next time. 

Reminder that Silent Hill 2 commentary #5 is up; I managed to record #6 this past week in two days rather than, you know, a MONTH. I'm very tired from... everything this past week, but we are moving at a better pace with the writeup this time, certainly. I know these are long, so I'm going to be cutting more clips along the way if you want to dip in here and there. Here's my eternal struggle getting Maria into the secret garage.

(I accidentally sideblogged on main yesterday and had to delete that post, mostly because I didn't want something so close to the big game spoiler out there for the unsuspecting. It's not a state secret, though. It's a wobbly commentary outtake about why I want you to like James for as long as you can, and I wish that at the time I'd thought to phrase it as "James is experiencing Silent Hill as the best version of himself to pay for the worst version of himself.")

Ian's Wednesday stream (I just got to Brookhaven Hospital and he just left it) is here. I'm in the chat--we talk back and forth a good bit, actually--and I was jealous because this is one of my favorite areas to fight play. 

If you're on Bluesky, I'm trying to spend more time over there, although I refuse to speak of "skeets" (can't y'all at least call them skytes or something?). 

In terms of needing to play any other game ever, I'd bought Dragon Age: Inquisition on deep discount, and I am currently deciding on character name(s). I am advised to play as an elf first for romance options. 

(I was browsing Steam for free to play and <$5 and... they sure have some games there, huh? I didn't even know you could show that.) 

Reblogs of interest

Mozilla is shutting Pocket down, because we cannot have nice things ever. I'm currently trying out Raindrop and Instapaper as replacements. 

"Are you 🫵 pissed off about the Lilo and Stitch monstrosity remake? Do you want to know how you can actually make a difference in supporting the people and ecosystems of Hawaii?"

"The climate crisis is ongoing. And, also, a bird is building a nest in the eaves outside my window. Come spring, there will be new birth. In shaky hands, I hold these two truths together."

Another beautiful post: "the thing is that childhood doesn’t just end when you turn 18 or when you turn 21."

This post about Magneto and Elon Musk is basically just an argument in the notes as to whether Cybertrucks even contain metal. 

Beneficent chain posts: "Reblog the Money Tubbs and you’ll find money!"

"please dear god everyone look at this przewalski’s horse" (it is extremely shaped)

"Barn Owl (Tyto alba), fledgling chick hauling ass across a lawn"

150 meter aluminum sea serpent skeleton sculpture in Nantes, France. Artist Huang Yong Ping

The book where Eldritch Horror and Gothic Horror meet

I didn't realize that kpop had LORE, and I am now very very concerned

Yashwant Rao Holkar II and Sanyogita Bai Holkar, Maharaja and Maharani of Indore, fashionable supercouple

Khalen Saunders: "Being an ally is [...] also kind of showing up." Also Khalen Saunders: "these hands rated E for everyone lol [...] If you got a problem with what I'm doing then come beat my ass abt it"

"not junji ito. where did he come from."

Lauren Hough seems like an excellent person

The reviews of Arizona Hard Green Tea are in

try staying up for 3 to 4 hours

"We are all fragile as fuck. Swag city"

Video

The new Garbage album has dropped; I think my initial favorite song may be "Love to Give."

In moments of madness I am tempted to play Elden Ring for Ranni, and then I see whatever THIS is. (If you had specifically played as Melina, I would have been back to tempted.) Also, Elden Ring is so fucking hard that even ELDEN RING thinks it's too fucking hard.

NIMBLE DESTROYS THE WEAVE POLES!!!

@hybridcalisthenics: "This helps us walk up things!"

The benefits of Spoonie Threads hoodies

Two orange kittens, one brain cell

"My neighbor's cat gives me an awkward wave every morning"

The sacred texts

"got vowels coming out the oiseaux": A favorite got better

"Fear is knowing that a werewolf is hunting you"

"none pizza with left beef"

"One legitimately weird thing about Tumblr is that we literally can’t code for shit"

"Ah lads not again"

Personal tag of the week

Apparently fashion history is particularly queue-friendly; it had a lot going on this week. 

[liminalpsych]

Queer reading of Vulgate pt 2: Intro pt 1

preface | intro pt 1 | intro pt 2

The introduction is written by the translator of The Quest for the Holy Grail, E. Jane Burns. Burns begins by laying out the context of the Vulgate Cycle's structure, its history and development, and the different expectations historical readers have brought to the text.

Which underscores how expectation colors perception.

What happens if we imagine the possibility of multiple writers with different backgrounds, views, progressiveness, and agendas? Instead of assuming heteronormativity, homophobia, toxic masculinity, misogyny, and a single unified author with a singular agenda and vision - what if we stay open to the possibility of a different concept of gender than we're used to? What about possible queer subtext and the possibility of queercoding in medieval fiction, not just in modern fiction?

What if we look for those things, rather than assuming and looking for explanations that match the modern stereotypical assumptions of medieval people/writers/beliefs? (After all, it's those modern assumptions that lead to the phenomenon of "history will say they were roommates," or the all too common error of "woman buried with warrior stuff? must be religious, can't possibly be because she actually fought.")

That's what I mean by reading with a queer lens. Because most of the time, these works are read with a heteronormative, gender-normative lens, just unconscious or subconscious as a bias, and so any queer elements are missed entirely.

(Like. I still don't understand how anyone can read the passages with Galehaut as anything other than Extremely Gay. How do you miss that? Yet so many people assume it's "comrades" and "bros" despite the text going out of its way to say that it's more than companionship. Because of the default, unexamined lens that they're using.)

….anyway. off the soapbox. Back to the intro.

"Many literary historians… have mistakenly sought in Arthurian romance a recognizable ancestor text for the modern novel" and are disappointed in the somewhat disjointed conglomeration of the Vulgate. They then either dismissed it as incoherent and terrible, or defended it as having an underlying coherence and attempted to legitimize it by imagining a singular author (or unifying editor).

"The unwieldy mix of spiritual and chivalric modes that crisscross unevenly throughout… mark the Vulgate Cycle as a product of the emergent social and political tensions in thirteenth-century France," with the popularized chivalric tales of knights from the mid-twelfth-century getting infused with Biblical allusions and Grail mysteries around 1200. Prose had a more religious connotation and association than verse, which was more recreational (condemned sometimes as "vain pleasures").

"Lady readers, in particular, were exhorted after 1200 to abandon the deceptive tales of Arthurian knights." Which supports the idea that one of the primary audiences for these stories were women! Women of the 1200's French court, in the case of the French romances, though I'm sure readership extended beyond that.

This is another example of how expectation shapes perception. There's a tendency for modern readers to assume that medieval literature will be dry, dull, misogynistic, homophobic, etc… and so I've seen people assume that the vast numbers of unnamed ladies/maidens/queens are a product of misogyny, of being seen as too unimportant for distinct names.

And certainly there was systemic misogyny in the culture, just as there is nowadays - but I don't think that's the core reason for the nameless female characters. It doesn't match up with the Vulgate's characterization of these women as clever, competent, independent, and saving knights more often than being saved by knights. (Nor does it match up with how many women are named.)

I've heard a theory (probably on Tumblr somewhere, I can't remember where) that the unnamed women are the equivalent of "y/n" ("your name") in modern fanfic. Reader-insert. Perhaps the author(s) expected women reading the story to project themselves onto the characters, and so made extra room for them to do so.

…But back to the introduction once more. Burns unravels the idea of a single author or even a solid, novel-like coherent narrative for the Vulgate Cycle, and arrives at this:

"The Vulgate Cycle then provides us with a text that is not a text in the modern sense of the term, a text that is always fragmentary but always a composite of more than one text, a text located somewhere and uncertainly in the complex relation between many narrative versions created by many authorial if not authoritative hands.

"The literary map accurately representing this cycle of tales would contrast starkly with Lot’s set calendar. It would be a map that changed continually as we move through the narrative terrain it charts. Although it might incorporate on one level and for the text of the Prose Lancelot in particular the existence of a predictable calendar of events, a map detailing the whole of the Vulgate Cycle would have to reflect a much looser and more flexible narrative structure.

"It would be a map with no fixed perimeter, and no set or authorized format, a map that could shift and reshape itself at successive moments and with successive readings."

A shifting mélange of a narrative, flexible and unbounded, containing multitudes, eluding attempts to define or confine it into one single known element…

…Well. That sounds like the very definition of queer.

[whatsaboomlakalaka]

rules: share the first lines of ten of your latest fanfics (or up to if you have less!) & tag 10 people. (or as many as you're in the mood to.)

tagged by @bilvaye and several others i can't remember specifics oops !

only using complete works bc i want to tyyyyy

saving mr tumnus (mattdrai, 1.2k)

Leon's surprised by two things when he finally gets to Matthew's Florida house.

2. tell me tomorrow i'll wait by the window for you (mattdrai, 1.2k)

"I can be there, if you want?" Leon says down the phone with full sincerity. It wouldn't be ideal, in the grand scheme of practices and sleep schedules, but he could make it work. Gladly, if Matthew wanted him to.

3. louder every moment (mattdrai, 1.2k)

Leon lets the sun beat down on him for a moment as he steps out of his rental. It's a stark difference from the December he just left behind in Edmonton.

4. france 2k27 🫣🌚 (mattdrai, bridgerchuk verse, 3.6k)

Matthew added Leon, Keith, Chantal, Sandra, Peter, Brady, Timmy, Aisling, Lena, Billie, Ciaran, Lily, Maddie, Xander, Taryn, Kim, and Niklas to a group

5. set your spirit free (mattdrai, bridgerchuk verse, 10.4k)

By the time he makes it into Davo's kitchen, Leon is grateful that the sounds of thumping techno mixed with children’s choirs that seem to make up the majority of festive mash-up ‘hits’ have given way to the gentle background sleigh bells that come with the more classic Christmas songs from his youth.

6. do re me (mattdrai, bridgerchuk verse, 1.5k)

“Piano lessons!?”

7. doin' what comes naturally (mattdrai, bridgerchuk verse, 10.9k)

The trick to a good surprise is looking casual as it all unfolds. Matthew’s good at casual. Matthew’s so good at casual.

8. i get you and you get me (dasey, 2.4k)

Glimpses of ideas pass through her mind at speeds she can’t even follow, fully formed and over before she can even catch the beginning of them. It’s like words and feelings wrapping around and around themselves, messy and tangled and pulsating in equal measures and she can’t grab onto any of them. There’s nothing to focus on. Nothing to reason with. Nothing to latch on to and hitch a ride out of her own head on.

9. X. M. A. S. W. I. T. H. S. K. Y. E. (dasey, 6.5k)

There’s just enough time between morning skate and warm-up for Derek to go to the airport. It’ll be clos e, timing wise, and if he’s even a minute late for pre-game he’ll be penalised for it, but he knows it’s absolutely worth it.

10. Evacuate The Dancefloor (dasey, 2.9k)

The one thing Derek knows for certain the first time it happens is that he’s not as drunk as she thinks he is.

p sure all my mattdrai mutuals have already been tagged so looping in @betanoiz @grantairesbottle @wroteathingtoday for some fandom spreading <333

also ofc if u see this and want to do it just say i tagged you. i'll lie if you need me to !

[dramioneasks]

Can someone drop what they think are the best arranged marriage fanfics? I loved Entanglement but it was abandoned :(

Title: Contract Era Author: crochetaway Rating: T Genre(s): Romance Chapters: 8 Word Count: 19,716 Summary: Every generation only one or two Muggleborns are born. They are rare and very precious. Lady Hermione Granger finds out she’s a witch and sent off to Hogwarts. It comes to light that she has to accept a betrothal contract by the end of her seven years or she risks starting a war. Regency AU. Complete.

Accidental Proposal by CJRed - M, 36 chapters - Hermione finds out that she is really a Nott, and there are so many rules to being a Pureblood, too bad Draco Malfoy seems to have forgotten one of the most important rules of all! Hermione/Draco. Theo and Hermione are siblings. Ignores epilogue and off canon in some other places as well. Set in 8th year. Language, Fluff, and Lemons. Complete.

Riddle This By: CJRed - M, 47 chapters, Words: 177,707 - Everything Hermione knows about the war, herself, and the wizarding world is a lie. Friends become enemies, enemies become friends, and Dumbledore is not a leader of justice and light. With Snape as her mentor and a father she never expected, Hermione will ensure Harry’s survival and kick it to the ministry. Dramione. Lemons. Character deaths. Weasley Bashing. Updates weekly. (M)

Alexandra By: Gallopin’ Gorgons - M, 35 chapters - After restoring her parents memories, Hermione finds out she isn’t who she always believed to be. However, she decides not to let this new development affect her live at all. Problem is, life does seem to happen when you’re busy making other plans. Especially, when a charming Draco, a meddling Narcissa and 2 rogue Death Eaters turn it upside down. M for a reason

Nocturnus by In_Dreams - E, 57 chapters, Words: 214,617 - When an underground power stirs in France and threatens the fragile post-war balance in England, Draco steps into a seat of power to which he is the heir by birthright, determined to protect his family. Intent on justice, Hermione volunteers for the role of his partner and adviser, neither of them aware of the ancient and twisted web of chaos they’re about to walk into.

-Lisa

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Hi Steph! I recently got into f1 and i was wondering if you have any fics where john and sherlock are racers? I thought it would be interesting for them to be in that sort of environment, especially since john is a thrill-seeker and enjoys danger, i thought racing might give him that same rush.

Hi Lovely!!!

I know of these few, only because I've been meaning to read them forever and haven't LOL:

The Chequered Flag by littleweedwrites (T, 9,405+ w., 6/16 Ch. || WiP || Racing Car AU || Car Accidents, Implied / Referenced Homophobia, Eating Disorder, Death Mention, Therapy) – John Watson used to be a top class racing driver, before. Now he's a wreck and if he stands any chance of getting back behind the wheel he needs all the help he can get.

Fly Very High by yalublyutebya (E, 46,533 w., 31 Ch. || Racing Car / Formula One AU || Rivalry, Permanent Injury, Hate/Angry Sex) – John Watson was born to be a racing driver, and even a crash isn't enough to keep him out of a car for long. But coming back is not that easy, especially when he meets his new teammate, Sherlock Holmes. Part 2 of Formula One AU

Red Lights Out by days_of_storm (E, 333,458 w., 103 Ch. || Formula One / Car Racing AU || Mechanic John, Driver Sherlock, UST, Friendship, Pre-Slash, Romance, Perfect Cooperation, Accidents, Manipulation, Slow Burn) – John Watson is an overqualified mechanic and former rally driver who works for McLaren. Silverstone GP is impending when he meets Sherlock Holmes, a prodigy driver whom nobody takes seriously, except for McLaren boss Greg Lestrade.

====

I imagine there's more by the author of the first one since it's part of a series, LOL.

And I did a search for "racing" on my offline lists and I got this one for Horse Racing:

In the Deep, Where Dark Things Sleep by HardlyFair (M, 184,979 w., 26 Ch. || Scorpio Races AU || Graphic Violence, 1960′s, Slow Burn, Past Drug Use, Bed Sharing, Water Horses, Folklore, First Kiss/Time, Horror Elements, Vet!John, Protective John, Magical Realism, Horse Racing, Mutual Pining, Angst with Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort) – The closer time crawls to November, the more water horses the Scorpio Sea spits out. The colder Thisby becomes. Sherlock Holmes is an islander - completely surrounded by the water. John Watson, he knows, comes from the mainland and lives for the Races. On the first of November, Sherlock will race. The man holding steady by his side is someone he never expects. A Scorpio Races AU (Maggie Stiefvater), but no knowledge of the book needed.

=====

ANNNNND I cannot forget about this legendary Bike Racing fic that I have also been procrastinating on:

Slipstream by khorazir (M, 290,208 w., 25 Ch. || Tour de France / Sports Cycling AU || Room Sharing, Cycling Injuries, Discussions of Drugs/Doping, Awkward Romance, Hurt/Comfort, Bickering, Case Fic, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, Internalized Homophobia, Mutual Pining, Bed Sharing, Jealousy, Bi John / Demi Sherlock) –It’s going to be the last Tour de France for professional cyclist John Watson. Despite the hardships of cycling more than 3000 kilometres in three weeks, in blistering heat and torrential rain, over dangerous cobblestones in northern France and the mountains of the Alps and the Pyrenees, battling thirst, hunger, injury and exhaustion, not to mention bitchy rivals, doping allegations, and the ever scoop-hungry press, he is going to enjoy the ride, damn it. That’s what John keeps telling himself – until he meets his new teammate, Sherlock Holmes, who adds a whole new list of problems as well as an extra dose of excitement to John’s life.

=====

Sorry these are all the ones I know, but I would love more if y'all got them!

Feel free to give us more, friends! I hope, in the meantime, that these will scratch that itch for you, Nonny!! :D

[my-deer-friend]

Hi!

I was just cleared by my professor to write a 35 page paper concerning the relationship between Hamilton and Laurens.

I've been following your blog for a while now and truly appreciate the nuance you approach 18th century relationships with homoerotic subtext. I was wondering if there are any sources or articles that you could think of that could possibly help? I'm trying to be as thorough as possible with this project and figured that the good people of tumblr would be a great place to start!

That's so exciting!

I've already shared a bunch of general/context-setting works here, some of which include mentions of the Laurens-Hamilton relationship. You especially want the Godbeer text.

Here are a few other articles that might be worth looking at:

Weir, R. M. (1976). Portrait Of A Hero. American Heritage, 27(3).

Lyons, C. A. (2003). Mapping an Atlantic Sexual Culture: Homoeroticism in Eighteenth-Century Philadelphia. William and Mary Quarterly, 60(1), 119.

Haggerty, G. E. (2012). Gray Agonistes: Thomas Gray and Masculine Friendship. The Age of Johnson, 22, 331–XIII.

Richter, S. (1996). The Ins and Outs of Intimacy: Gender, Epistolary Culture, and the Public Sphere. The German Quarterly, 69(2), 111–124.

And then a few considerations from me (because I've never seen a soapbox I didn't want to climb on):

Context is everything. If you're looking to evaluate the relationship effectively, make sure you are consulting sources that cover the right social, cultural and temporal contexts (in this case, Anglo-American late 18th century). Male-male relationships underwent a lot of change during the 18th century, as did the socially-acceptable (or not) codes and expressions. They also varied a lot by culture, so a source about men in France in the 1720s is only going to be tangentially relevant here.

Be sure to consider adjacent topics like masculinity, virtue, family life, and the influence of antiquity. All of these helped to model what a man should aspire to be, and how he should engage with the other people in his life (and thereby, what would count as transgession).

Don't forget friendship! Whatever else Laurens and Hamilton were, or however else we want to label it, they were also close friends. This sometimes gets erased or overlooked and it's very frustrating. Friendships were the cornerstone relationships of young men's lives at the time - sites of companionship, values-building, intellectual stimulation and social support.

Good luck with your paper!

[franceanon]

Audio-grabbed by Me.

{DO NOT REPOST} {PLEASE ASK TO USE}

[sunbeamsandmoonrays]

❄️Sunny Watches the Oldies: January Edition❄️

I got the idea to do this from one of @daughter-of-winterfell 's posts. Thanks for the inspo, Lydia! So without further ado, here are the classic musicals I've watched in the month of January with my review. (Putting everything under the cut because I'm sure I'll ramble lol.)

I'm not even sorry to admit that a majority of these movies will either star Judy Garland or Gene Kelly (or both). I went down a rabbit hole with both of them because of:

1. The Pirate (1948)

Have I watched this before January 2025? Yes, several times. But! It did set off my current classical musical journey, and I did watch it in January, so I'm including it. This movie gets better and better for me each rewatch. The songs actually take a few viewings to really appreciate (and there are still only 2 catchy ones). Loooove the costumes/hair. The storyline is hilarious...Gene Kelly and Judy Garland are hilarious - and their chemistry??? It's 🔥🔥🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥. Just look at the above gif! Like!!! This was the sexiest musical MGM ever made, and studio head Louis B. Mayer h a t e d that it was. (I swear I think he purposely made MGM not promote it as much so it wouldn't do well in the box office.) I will probably be on my deathbed thinking about what the choreography was for the Voodoo dance number that was too sexy to live lol. And it had to be...pretty graphic...due to what actually made it in the film! Gene pole dancing! The cigarette kiss! The french kisses with Judy! Judy fantasizing about Gene's thunder thighs in short shorts! The caressing! Judy's orgasmic singing while sliding down a pole in Love of My Life! The prudes of 1948 may not have appreciated it, but I did (lol)! Anyways....my only critique is I wish there was an actual duet between Judy's character and Gene's (other than Be A Clown). But other than that, I love this movie so much.

Rating: 9.5/10

How I watched: 🏴‍☠️ (heh) (Now I own it on blu-ray)

Favorite Number: Niña (the production of this number alone is INSANE. Vincente Minnelli, man...an ARTISTE🤌🏼) (also I'm sure Gene insisted on doing the 3 continuous shots at the beginning.)

Did I spot Dorothy Tuttle? Duh.

~~~

2. For Me and My Gal (1942)

My Gene Kelly/Judy Garland mania continues to their first movie together (and Gene's first ever movie). Ohhhhh myyyyy goddddd. I was actually kind of surprised at how much I liked it. The movie is set during WW1, and Gene and Judy play a joint vaudeville act trying to get the coveted performance spot at the Palace Theatre in New York. Most of the musical numbers are the characters performing either in their act or later on in the war for the troops in France. Gene's character is...very hard to like at first. He's a heel, and very ambitious, which makes him short-sighted wrt pretty much everything else - especially matters of the heart. His determination to perform at the Palace is what ultimately makes him lose Judy's character...until he redeems himself. Whereas I disagreed with the general audience's reaction to The Pirate, I do agree with them wrt this movie, because apparently they felt like he didn't do enough to redeem himself in the initial version - so they did reshoots. And I think the finale they ended up with is perfect. Hits me right in the feels! Critiques: the time marquee at the beginning drives me crazy lol. It says the year is 1916, then a lot of time passes in the film before you see a newspaper headline that the Lusitania sunk, which was in 1915. I wish they either said the time was 1914 or 15 (or not include the marquee at all haha). There were other historical inaccuracies but they were pretty minor imo and could be ignored. My other critique is I just didn't like the song Oh, You Beautiful Doll. There were so many implications in there and...blech. It's a shame that that was the only number that George Murphy performs that stayed in the movie, because it looks as though he's a great singer/dancer.

Rating: 9.5/10

How I Watched: 🏴‍☠️ (Now I own it on blu-ray)

Favorite Number: A tie between For Me and My Gal (check out how the tap portion is one continuous shot) and Ballin' the Jack (with even more great dancing)

Did I spot Dorothy Tuttle? Sadly, no.

~~~

3. Summer Stock (1950)

Gene and Judy's third and final movie where they were romantic leads 😭. Gene's character in this is the sweetest and gentlest I've ever seen him play (I think it had partly to do with what was going on bts 😭😭). When he traded his car in for a new tractor for her *swoons*...and that look on his face when the camera pans to him in the Friendly Star number?? *actually dies* And!!! Why was there a cut in their first kiss scene? Did the damn censors strike again?? *shakes fist* Anyways, they were ofc great. Will now never not be obsessed with them and their movies. Critique time: aside from a few side characters, I...actually wanted to murder everybody? Which is an unusual thing to want when you're watching a supposed feel-good musical. At least Judy got to deservedly yell at people.

Rating: 8/10

How I Watched: 🏴‍☠️ (Now I own it on blu-ray)

Favorite Number: The first 2 versions of You Wonderful You, Portland Fancy, Get Happy

Did I spot Dorothy Tuttle? Yes! This movie is when I decided to look up who she was because I recognized her from The Pirate (and then I started to see her in all these other MGM musicals lol).

~~~

4. Ziegfeld Follies (1945)

There's no plot to this one really; it's just an excuse to show off the top MGM stars in unrelated sketches. Was only here for the musical sketches, tbh; the acting/comedy sketches were just okay. The production value in the musical sketches was incredible - I think Vincente Minnelli directed most if not all of them, so that tracks. Lucille Ball steals the show in the opening number. She enters standing on top of a ginormous horse. Iconic. I absolutely loved the first dance number with Fred Astaire and Lucille Bremer...then I shouted in dismay at their second number. They were in yellowface 😩...like...why.... (And that's not even the first time I've shouted in dismay at seeing Fred in a racist as hell number. 😩) Judy's number was really funny. Fred and Gene's number make my purchasing this on blu-ray worth it. I cannot believe MGM didn't actually put them in an actual movie. I can think of a premise right now that would have been perfect for them. What a shame.

Rating: 7/10

How I Watched: I decided to go ahead and buy it on blu-ray.

Favorite Number: The Babbit and the Bromide

Did I spot Dorothy Tuttle? Yes, but I will confess that I was actively looking for her since I remembered this movie in her list of credits on imdb.

~~~

5. Cover Girl (1944)

This movie was so good that MGM never loaned out Gene again. I think his chemistry with Rita Hayworth is second behind his chemistry with Judy. Obsessed with Rita's hair and costumes. I can see why redheads of the time wanted to be called Rusty after her lol. The one dance number of hers that's on a sound stage is a feast for the eyes. I could see hints of what Gene would later choreograph in Singin' in the Rain in Make Way for Tomorrow. But speaking of Gene and choreography - the dance off with himself in Alter Ego??? HOOOOWWW the fuck did they accomplish that?? In 1944?!?! I've read about the process and I still can't wrap my head around it?? Bravo, dude. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Rating: 9/10

How I Watched: youtube

Favorite Number: The Alter Ego Dance

~~~

6. You Were Never Lovelier (1942)

Soooooooooo cute! Rita and Fred have great chemistry. I also love their dancing; I feel like Rita brought out a playful side of Fred I haven't seen in his other films. I am once again obsessed with Rita's hair and costumes.

Rating: 9/10

How I Watched: 🏴‍☠️

Favorite Number: The Shorty George

~~~

7. Du Barry Was a Lady (1943)

Silly and fun. Historically significant because this is the movie that made Lucille Ball a redhead. Excellent costumes and wigs in the fantasy portion. (I swear, Lucille's Du Barry wigs make her look like Dolly Parton lol.) Songs were meh, though.

Rating: 6/10

How I Watched: 🏴‍☠️

Did I spot Dorothy Tuttle? Yes! In the opening number. (For my sanity, I'm going to pretend she and the other dancers don't have that fake tan.)

~~~

8. There's No Business Like Show Business (1955)

I'm including this in my list even though I technically didn't finish it yet (I got 3/4 the way through). I watched with my mom, and we both were let down by this. Maybe the part we didn't see would have changed our opinion of it lol. But anyways, the production value was fantastic. I love a majority of the cast. The older brother played by Johnnie Ray was a complete miscast, though. The way he sings was a popular style for a brief moment in time and it's definitely outdated today. (He's also not a good actor lol.) And this is probably sacrilegious to say for a review about a musical, but I felt a lot of the songs went on too long? If they had cut a few verses off of them, that would have helped a lot with the pacing. And them repeating Alexander's Ragtime Band four times so each family member can showcase their talents was overkill (I love the concept of showing off their strengths, but it could have been in one number.) Donald O'Connor is the best. The only number I really enjoyed was his solo one.

Rating: 6/10

How I Watched: youtube

Favorite Number: A Man Chases A Girl

~~~

9. Call Me Madam (1953)

Now THAT'S what I'm talking about! This movie was much better. Ethel Merman's character is so funny, and her costumes?? J'adore! And omggg Donald O'Connor and Vera-Ellen were sooooo gooooood. I can see why 20th Century Fox tried to pair them up again in White Christmas. I was in awe of their dance numbers in this. And Vera-Ellen's white ball gown with a hint of pink in the skirt?? J'ADORE!

Rating: 8/10

How I Watched: youtube

Favorite Number: It's A Lovely Day Today, What Chance Have I With Love?

~~~

10. Calamity Jane (1953)

Very fun with catchy songs! I usually never go for ot3s or ot4s, but even I couldn't ignore the strong ot4 vibes in this lol. There were an unfortunate high number of Native American slurs, judging by how many times my tv bleeped them out.

Rating: 8/10

How I Watched: it was on tv (but I think it's also on HBO max?)

Favorite Number: The Windy City and I Can Do Without You

~~~

11. The Harvey Girls (1946)

A feast for the eyes. I really love how this was directed. The costumes, hair, and makeup were top notch. Judy Garland is stunningly beautiful. And so is Angela Lansbury! I also enjoyed seeing bb Cyd Charisse and Ray Bolger (Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz). I'm glad Ray and Judy had a dance scene together. The plot kind of petered out at the end. And...I'm sorry....but Judy's love interest creeped me out. 🙈 I know I would like their dynamic a lot if someone else played him. (And according to imdb, Gene Kelly was initially considered..... *internal screaming*)

Rating: 7/10

How I Watched: I decided to go ahead and buy it on blu-ray.

Favorite Number: On the Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe and Ray Bolger's solo

Did I spot Dorothy Tuttle? Yes! (See above gif.)

~~~

12. Anchors Aweigh (1945)

Maybe I wasn't in the right mindset to watch this, but I was disappointed? Gene's dance solos and Frank Sinatra's singing solos were spectacular, though! The plot meandered a bit...and I think I ultimately didn't like Gene's character that much. 😬 And Kathryn Grayson's soprano singing is not my cup of tea.

Rating: 7/10

How I Watched: I decided to go ahead and buy it on blu-ray.

Favorite Number: Probably gonna be controversial and go with La Cumparsita (though Gene being a not-disney princess in the Jerry Mouse number was the first of its kind and iconic because of that)

Did I spot Dorothy Tuttle? No.

~~~

13. On The Town (1949)

Cheating a bit because I have already seen this one, but it was a loooooong time ago, so it felt like the first time watching. And it was amazing! Stupendous! Hysterical - I was howling with laughter at some parts! And it's hilarious at the amount of dirty humor they got away with - Comden and Green supremacy! And for a movie where all the characters are super horny, it was so sweet and wholesome! I think I can add a few more exclamation points!!! Lol in all seriousness, this is definitely in my top 5 Gene Kelly musicals ever.

Rating: 10/10

How I Watched: I decided to go ahead and buy it on blu-ray.

Favorite Number: All of the songs are great...but's hard to beat New York, New York. Special mention should go to the A Day In New York ballet.

Did I spot Dorothy Tuttle? Yes! In the Miss Turnstiles ballet number.

~~~

14. Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949)

I decided to go ahead and watch this once I found out that Betty Garrett and Jules Munshin, who were in On the Town, were ALSO in this film. And I'm glad I did! It was very entertaining. I have become a Betty Garrett stan. She and Frank Sinatra steal the show for me. I know I probably shouldn't love their relationship as much as I do (Betty's character is pretty much a stalker and definitely harasses Frank's character), but I somehow don't mind it? Lol I'm just chalking it up to their natural charm and chemistry. And how can I not love them when Betty literally carries Frank around like it's no big deal? The one thing I didn't like in the movie was the Yes, Indeedy number. Yes, I understand Gene and Frank's characters are lying through their teeth about their exploits while on their vaudeville tour (and I think the song is also making fun of men in that time period), but some of the lyrics went too far.

Heartbreaking fun fact: Gene supposedly came up with the story idea, and his love interest K.C. Higgins was thought of with Judy Garland in mind. *wails in the unfairness of it all*

Rating: 7/10

How I Watched: 🏴‍☠️

Favorite Number: O'Brien to Ryan to Goldberg

Did I spot Dorothy Tuttle? No.

~~~

15. The Red Shoes (1948)

I always thought this would be purely about the fairy tale for some reason? But it's about the ballet company putting on a show based off the fairy tale. Moira Shearer is a phenomenal ballerina. And I really enjoyed the movie. Sometimes, I felt as thought it went a little overboard with the symbolism, but that's my only critique. And I also had the passing thought, "Oh, this is where Joe Wright got his train imagery in Anna Karenina," not even halfway expecting to be right...and apparently my offhand observation was accurate! Lolololol.

Rating: 8/10

How I Watched: HBO Max

~~~

16. What A Way To Go! (1964)

H i l a r i o u s - another banger from Comden and Green! So glad I caught this on tv. Shirley MacLaine is a wealthy widow who wants to give her fortune away to the IRS because she believes the money is cursed. They think she's crazy and refer her to a psychologist. She proceeds to tell him of how her four husbands (Dick van Dyke, Paul Newman, Robert Mitchum, and Gene Kelly) all became greedy once they achieved their fortunes and how that led to their demises. It's very stylistic and clever. I love how each honeymoon period with the husband was portrayed by a different film genre: Dick van Dyke - silent film, Paul Newman - b&w French film, Robert Mitchum - made fun of the current (50s/60s) expensive/stylistic films, Gene Kelly - musicals ofc. Paul Newman looked so hot with a beard omg. And I was wondering how racy the French film portion would get....and I was surprised at how far it did go lol. The real highlight for me were the Edith Head costumes. Oh. My. God. They spared no expense. I don't even think I can choose a favorite. They were all outlandishly fantastic.

Rating: 10/10

How I Watched: on TV...but apparently it's on youtube, as well!

Favorite Number: On a Houseboat

~~~

If you got this far, thank you so much for reading. Catch y'all again in March!

[zazaamaya]

Ugly?

I'm trying to understand how Netflix promotes The Dragon Prince. My account has 5 profiles, 4 are adults (E,S,M,Suivi), one is for youth (Jeunesse).

Each profile watched the seven seasons of The Dragon Prince several times, likes it 👍🏽👍🏽 and has the show in "My list".

I was happy to see that Netflix France put it in a "Big success" (Grand succès) row for 2 accounts (S and Suivi).

I shared this picture on X and a hater answered "It's ugly". Of course I didn't agree but I could understand. I watched a few episodes of Arcane and was not comfortable with the graphics. The same happens when I'm visiting some famous art museums in Paris or elsewhere. The first time I saw the Eiffel tower for real I was a bit disappointed.

I fed the troll. Maybe someone who is working at Netflix could also say : "We won't pay 3 more seasons because myself and a guy on the internet find this show too ugly, even if it's a great success."

How to answer the "It's ugly" comment? I have difficulties to change my own mind so I won't change the haters one. I won't even have him watch The Dragon Prince. I tried to answer in order to convince the guy from Netflix to give a third arc.

First of all I said "This is art" and it's OK to dislike some great paintings. If The Dragon Prince wasn't known nobody would give a negative point of view on it. I highlighted several artistic sides of the show. I love the soundtrack!

Then I had a look at what was not ugly for the hater... He has a lot of Pokemon! Ok! If he loves yellow, pink and blue posters, he might have some difficulties with darkness.

The understanding of the show also requires some maturity. I love the debates about details such as the symbolism of the apple human Aaravos gives to Callum!

I found some of the haters comments to fans really nasty and not constructive. I changed the "Who can answer" to the people I follow. I try to follow every TDP fan account on X.

We need to speak about this beautiful show more and more. By getting everyone's attention we will also be a target for haters...

[miirshroom]

The Shadow and the Anagram

At the start of June 2024 I released a post about anagrams in Elden Ring. Mostly because I found it a little too convenient that "Radagon" is an anagram of "a dragon" and an argument with the naysayers inspired me to search for other possible anagrams.

And now there is one confirmed anagram in Elden Ring! It was added with the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. Count “Ymir” sits in the Cathedral of Manus Metyr above the Finger Ruins of “Miyr”. Furthermore, contained within the characters found in the Cathedral of Manus Metyr I suspect references to at least three works of fiction, including two that I already referenced: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code…and video game Devil May Cry 3.

1) The Harry Potter Series

Count Ymir himself is affiliated with the Carians considering that he teaches 3 Carian sorceries and a Raya Lucaria sorcery by default. Any magic school is bound to prompt comparison with Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry - but also I have seen this exact comparison made about Raya Lucaria.

And I suspect that Jolán is part of this reference for a few reasons:

a) Her name’s similarity to “Joanne” Rowling. The near portmanteau of Jolán and Anna makes Joanne, although “Anna” has its own separate significance. b) The weapon skill of her sword being “Witching Hour” c) It makes sense for her to be found in a Cathedral. Harry Potter as a series upholds a Christianized society of witches and wizards. This is shown through the following characteristics: the use of Latin in spells - which was the language of the Catholic Church for 1000’s of years, quoting bible passages for inscriptions on tombstones, avoiding comment on the real history where in both official and unofficial capacities the Christian church was responsible for witch hunts - and treating this real history of burning people as “witches” as a joke. d) The Sauron costuming of her armor set. Both JK Rowling and JRR Tolkein are British authors, and I would agree with an assessment that Joanne Rowling has used her overwhelming wealth and social capital to become something of a blight on the landscape of fantasy in recent years. Is that an extreme and negative characterization? Yes. But the point of media with subtext is that things like this are utterly unprovable by the people who would sue for defamation. Same goes for the armor set - enough features are different that it would be frivolous for the rights holders of the film design to take legal action....but I mean, what are the odds that the "Armor of Night" keeps so many similar features by accident.

2) The Da Vinci Code

Similar to Rowling, this book in particular makes use of a puzzle-phrase anagram: “O Draconian Devil” and “Oh Lame Saint”, which would resolve as a pair of anagrams: “Leonardo Da Vinci” and “The Mona Lisa”. What is especially awkward about this example is the linguistic hoops that need to be jumped through to make it work, as the setting of the book is France and these anagrams are created by a French-speaking man. Note also that the French name for the painting is “La Joconde”. And then there is the second anagram “So dark the con of man” which resolves to another famous Da Vinci painting: “Madonna of the Rocks”.

The answer that Dan Brown invents for why English is used in both cases: English is a “pure” language and the language of science that is used to create ciphers by secret societies opposing the Catholic Church. So the anagram word puzzles in this case are tied explicitly and indelibly to a concept of Anglo-supremacy. The logic of the world is contorted so that Dan Brown can have an exotic European setting where his American English professor self-insert character has an advantage in identifying the type of puzzle faster than the actual trained cryptographer who is actually assigned to the case.

This is different from what I have found to be the philosophy behind the anagrams of "Radagon". Casual knowledge of modern English is NOT enough - I looked at German, French, Tolkein's languages, and whatever popped up on wiktionary for each syllable.

But more to the point - Ymir’s questline reads as a spoof of Dan Brown’s plot structure used both in this book and in Angels & Demons:

a) A mystery is happening with a religious theme b) There is a scavenger hunt that involves travelling to various religious landmarks and solving very simple puzzles c) At the climax of the plotline the religious scholar who was a mentor for the quest turns out to have been a villain all along in a bizarre plot twist

3) Devil May Cry 3

This is more tied to Jolán’s questline and the decision whether to give her the Iris of Occultation or the Iris of Grace. If you give her the Iris of Grace, then Jolán’s identity is immortalized in the form of Spirit Ashes. If you give her the Iris of Occultation then Jolán’s identity is obscured (i.e. in the way that no writer attached to Elden Ring has ever cited the Harry Potter series as a reference), but her sword becomes available (i.e. the concept of “witching hour” - capitalizing on a young adult audience raised on fantasy stories of witches and sorcery and the dark academia aesthetic. The “witching hour” concept can be seen also with Bloodborne’s College of Mensis who research the blood moon that manifests at Midnight according to the astral clock).

The actual appearance of the witching hour skill is a series of katana slashes that have an appearance similar to the rapid katana combos used by Vergil from Devil May Cry. In Devil May Cry 3 (2005) Vergil is infamous for being a skill wall that needs to be overcome, and repeatedly asking “where’s your motivation?” as a taunt. This iris of grace/occultation questline basically acts as a soft confirmation of the idea that a character’s weapon acts as a visual representation of a character’s “motivation” or their “soul”. This is similar to another concept in Devil May Cry where the souls of defeated devils are transmuted into thematically appropriate weapons. Example worked through here for Maliketh's Black Blade.

The anagram comes from a semi-obscure Devil May Cry light novel released in 2002 where a bandaged-wrapped man named “Gilver” causes death and destruction and is implied to be “Vergil” operating under a fake name. This “Gilver” was later quietly retconned to be a demon clone by the time of DMC3 in 2005 - and the main feature that stuck with the character was his wielding a katana.

These references are consistent with a common trend in the Shadow of the Erdtree that it is fairly overloaded with pop culture references - but it’s easiest to identify them in places where it was already suspected of the base game. Other examples that I’ve looked at in particular being Midra as the King in Yellow, Hornsent Grandam as Enya the Hag from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, and the sum total of weapon/ashes items found at Taylew’s Forge being a reference to the Wheel of Time book series.

Also one new anagram became revealed as of the DLC having the "rada fruit" item:

“rada gon” - From Old Czech “rada” means “advice/council, wisdom”, and from Old Polish it means “advice/tip, thought/decision”. There is also the Polish “gon” meaning “chase/pursuit” or the obsolete “hunt/hunting” which would frame Radagon overall as “decision hunting”. As in, literally eternally hunting a decision on how to fix the Elden Ring, but never achieving it.

[rladpeps]

all the books I read in 2024

 “Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand

“The Do-Over” by Lynn Painter

 “Ash House” by Angharad Walker

“The Prince and the Pauper” by Mark Twain

 “Jane Against the World: Roe V. Wade and the Fight for Reproductive Rights” by Karen Blumenthal - ⭐️

 “The Ghosts of Rose Hill” by R. M. Romeo

“Scattered Showers: Nine Beautiful Short Stories” by Rainbow Rowell - ❤️

 “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka - ❤️

 “Salt to the Sea” by Ruta Sepetys - ⭐️

 “The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power” by Deirdre Mask - ⭐️

 “The Ghost of Midnight Lake” by Lucy Strange

 “Again, But Better: A Novel” by Christine Riccio

 “Emma” by Jane Austen - ❤️

 “The Shame” by Makenna Goodman - ❤️

 “Can We Talk About Israel? A Guide for the Curious, Confused, and Conflicted” by Daniel Sokatch - ❤️

 “The Help” by Kathryn Stockett - ⭐️

 “Far from the Tree” by Robin Benway - ❤️

 “The Lost Property Office” by James R. Hannibal

“A Little Princess” by  Frances Hodgson Burnett - ⭐️

 “Instant Karma” by Marissa Meyer

 “Once Upon a Broken Heart” trilogy by Stephanie Garber - ❤️

 “Rosehead” by Ksenia Anske

 “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame” by Victor Hugo - 7/10 (❤️)

 “Sorcery of Thorns series” by Margaret Rogerson - 5/10

 “The Fountains of Silence" by Ruta Sepetys - 7.8/10 (❤️)

 “Gumiho” series by Kat Cho - 5/10

 “Caraval” trilogy by Stephanie Garber - 2/10

 “Realm Breaker” trilogy by Victoria Aveyard - 7/10 (❤️)

“Anna Karenina” by Leo Tolstoy - 8.5/10 (⭐️)

 “Mansfield Park” by Jane Austen - 6/10 (❤️)

“Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow” by Gabrielle Zevin - 6.8/10 (❤️)

 “Gilded” duology by Marissa Meyer - 7/10 (❤️)

 “The Midnight Lie” (Forgotten Gods series) by Marie Rutkoski - 7/10 (❤️) 

 “Afterlife” by Julia Alvarez - 6.5/10 

 “When We Had Summer” by Jennifer Castle - 5/10

“Yolk” by Mary H.K. Choi - 9/10 (⭐️)

“How It Feels to Float” by Helena Fox - 7/10 (❤️)

 “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding - 7/10 (❤️)

“Where the Crawdads Sing” by Delia Owens - 7/10 (❤️)

 “14 Ways to Die” by Vincent Ralph - 4/10

“The Brothers Hawthorne” by Jennifer Lynn Barnes - 7/10 (❤️)

“Family of Liars” by E. Lockhart - 4/10

“I Am Not Okay With This” by Charles Forsman - 6.5/10 (❤️)

 “The Tatami” series by Tomihiko Morimi - 7.5/10 (❤️)

“Redeeming Love” by Francine Rivers - 6/10

“The Case for Christ: A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus” by Lee Strobel - 8/10 (❤️)

“Mere Christianity” by C. S. Lewis - 6.5/10

 "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan - 7/10

 "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath - 8/10 (⭐️)

 “What Do We Know About Atlantis?” by Emma Carlson Berne - 5/10

 “Blue Period 1-9” by Tsubasa Yamaguchi - 8/10

“What Do We Know About Bigfoot?” by Steve Korté - 5/10

 “The Graveyard Book” by Neil Gaiman - 6.8/10 (❤️)

 “Children of the Whales 1-15” by Abi Umeda - 8/10

“Lolita” by Vladimir Nabokov - 7/10 (❤️)

“Blue Period 10-14” by Tsubasa Yamaguchi - 10/10 (⭐️) 

"More Happy Than Not” by Adam Silvera - 7/10 (❤️)

“The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place” by Julie Berry - 6/10 (❤️)

“Dragonslayer (Wings of Fire: Legends) by Tui T. Sutherland - 6.5/10 (❤️)

 “Monsters of Verity” series by V.E. Schwab - 7.5/10 (❤️)

“The Midnight Library” by Matt Haig - 7.5/10 (❤️)

“The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue” by V. E. Schwab - 8/10 (⭐️)

 “Two Roads from Here” by Teddy Steinkellner - 4.5/10

“History Is All You Left Me” by Adam Silvera - 8/10 (⭐️)

 “Good Omens” by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman - 9/10 (⭐️)

“The Hollow Heart” by Marie Rutkoski - 7/10 (❤️)

“Qualia Under the Snow” by Kanna Kii - 9/10 (⭐️)

“The Setting Sun” by Osamu Dazai - 9/10 (⭐️)

“Vicious” & “Vengeful” (part of Villains series) by V. E. Schwab  - 7/10 (❤)

“Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Chalice of the Gods” by Rick Riordan - 7/10 (❤️)

“American Gods” by Neil Gaiman - 7/10 (❤️)

“Iron Widow” by Xiran Jay Zhao - 7.5/10 (⭐️)

“Our Dreams at Dusk” manga series by Shimanami Tasogare - 8/10 (⭐️)

“When the Angels Left the Old Country” by Sacha Lamb - 7/10 (❤️)

“Aristotle and Dante” series by Benjamin Alire Sáenz - 9.5/10 (⭐️)

“The Gilded Wolves” by Roshani Chokshi - 3/10

“Hearts Overboard” by Becky Dean - 6/10 (❤️)

“The Poppy War” trilogy by R. F. Kuang - 10/10 (⭐️)

“Yellowface” by R. F. Kuang - 10/10 (⭐️)

“Babel” by R. F. Kuang - 10/10 (⭐️)

“If You Could See the Sun” by Ann Liang - 7/10 (❤️)

“Permanent Record” by Mary H. K. Choi - 6.5/10 

“The Book of Tea” duology by Judy I. Lin - 7/10 (❤️)

“Something Wicked This Way Comes” by Ray Bradbury - 6.5/10 (❤️)

“1Q84” by Haruki Murakami - 7/10

“Six Crimson Cranes” duology by Elizabeth Lim - 7/10 (❤️)

“Her Radiant Curse” by Elizabeth Lim - 7/10 (❤️)

“The Folk of the Air” series by Holly Black - 6.5/10 (❤️)

“The Stolen Heir” duology by Holly Black - 6.5/10 (❤️)

“Girl Made of Stars” by Ashley Herring Blake - 7.5/10 (❤️)

“Dry” by Jarrod and Neal Shusterman - 8.5/10 (⭐️)

“Remarkably Ruby” by Terri Libenson - 7/10 (⭐️)

“Surprisingly Sarah” by Terri Libenson - 6.5/10 (⭐️)

“Always Anthony” by Terri Libenson - 7/10 (⭐️)

“Demon in the Wood” by Leigh Bardugo - 6/10

“The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic” by Leigh Bardugo - 7/10

“Letters of Enchantment” duology by Rebecca Ross - 7.5/10 (❤️)

“Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries” by Heather Fawcett - 8/10 (⭐️)

“Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands” Heather Fawcett - 8/10 (⭐️)

“Song of the Six Realms” by Judy I. Lin - 6.8/10 (❤️)

“These Violent Delights” duet by Chloe Gong - 7/10 (❤️)

“I Must Betray You” by Ruta Sepetys - 8/10 (⭐️)

“Wrath of the Triple Goddess” by Rick Riordan - 6/10

“When Haru Was Here” by Dustin Thao - 6/10

“Rise of the School for Good and Evil” & “Fall of the School for Good and Evil” by Soman Chainani - 6.5/10

“The School for Good and Evil” #1-3 by Soman Chainani - 6/10

“An Enchantment of Ravens” by Margaret Rogerson - 6/10