#I annotate like how I would on a book haha

[infinite-reads]

Switching it up between hard copies and my laptop for reading papers.

[not-with-you-but-of-you]

when did you think rory started falling for jess?

I think it happened when Jess handed her her copy of Howl with his “notes in the margins.” She comes to the conclusion that he has read it before, clearly. Not only does he confirm it, but also lets her know that he has reread it multiple times. But, hold on, that doesn’t add up, because he had said he didn’t read much. And then comes one of his most iconic lines: “Well, what is much?”

And this is her reaction to it:

That is the face of recognition. It��s like she’s going, “No. No way… he is like me?? He’s the same brand of human person that I am???” And if he really is, what does it mean that he handpicked that book in particular to annotate for her after they had just met for the first time? What are the implications??? She probably went home and thought about that for the rest of the week.

If I had to pinpoint it, I would say that was when the seed of love was planted. It might have taken a little longer to sprout (maybe it did during the Bracebridge Dinner episode…) and fully bloom (probably when she decides to go see him in New York), but I’m of the opinion that it all started at that moment. (Excuse the corny analogy, but that’s the best way I found to explain my point of view haha.)

Not to get too sidetracked, but it really stands out to me how similar this scene is to this other one in 6x08:

Jess is always pulling Rory (or pulling her back) to him through books. And how interesting is it that, to wrap up their (on-screen) story, Rory is the one to do it?!

“What was that all about?” It’s just a thing between them.

It’s as though she’s gone through all these stages of realization: “Oh, he’s a reader, in the same way that I am?” -> “He has become a writer, and he says he couldn’t have done it without me??” -> “And now I’ll write a book too, thanks to his encouragement!”

Jess and Rory’s arc is just this beautiful journey of seeing yourself in the other, seeing that you’re not alone, and growing and improving because of it, and helping the other grow and improve in the process too — like two gears that perfectly connect and set each other in motion. And I think that’s pretty much what their love was all about.

[ferigrievous]

kiss me (until my lips fall off).

⊹ ࣪ ˖ kiss me until my lips fall off / kiss me until i start to rot

⤷ masterlist ; requests open

your copy of dracula was well worn. its cover had irreparable water damage, peeling in the corners, and a concerning amount of tabs sticking out of its side. it was well worn, post-it notes on every other page, and indecipherable annotations crammed in every open space. 

tokoyami had looked at you like you were holding a bomb when you had handed him the book, convinced that the manuscript for the original was in your hands with the state it was in.

now he found himself at his desk, pouring over the book, while you lounged on his bed, idly flipping through a FRUiTS magazine.

“have you seen my quill, love?” the boy across from you inquired, rummaging through his drawers to no avail. 

“mm. i ate it, sorry.” you giggled, rolling over and placing the magazine back where it belongs.

he raised a brow at you. “haha. real funny.” he huffed, continuing looking through his drawers, mumbling something about always replacing things. 

rolling your eyes, you reached under the bed and rummaged around, pulling out one of the many things you had hidden a multitude of his things. with the tip of your wing, you dropped it in front of him, not without a light shove to the shoulder.

with a click of his beak, he thanked you, turning and dipping it into his near-empty inkwell. you made a mental note to buy a new one when you went out.

you watched tokoyami with amusement as he meticulously flipped through the pages of your battered book, careful not to rip or tear anything, as if that would make any difference. his furrowed brow and intense focus were a stark contrast to how you laid on his bed, borderline falling asleep. 

you had read thru this issue more times than you could count, and you decided watching him struggle with the book was more than enough to keep you entertained.

as fought to decipher what exactly was going on in your annotations, you couldn't help but admire the way his silhouette was illuminated by the soft glow of his many candles. 

the room felt cosy, and you figured it would only seem that way to the two of you, and maybe that one bird pro-hero you had forgotten the name of. his bed resembled that exactly of a bird’s nest, except it was made with pillows, stolen stuffed animals, and layers and layers of comforters.

feathers were jammed between each and every pillow, ranging in size and colour, but most were that of either his, or yours, a result of being too lazy to clean them up after moulting. in the corners of the bed, stuffed animals of various shapes and sizes were nestled, the only pop of colour in the entire room. among them were different birds of prey, but a majority were either ravens, or crows, meticulously arranged as if they were guarding the two of you as you slept.

“hey,” he started. “have you read wuthering heights?”

tokoyami knew the answer. of course he did. he had watched you attempt to read it during lunch, and put it down after ten pages. you had told him that you didnt have the brain capacity right for it at the moment. he never saw you pick it up again.

“...yeah.”

“you have not. otherwise you would have rambled about it in excruciating detail by now.” he tapped his quill against the table, huffing. “i was thinking we could go to the library to check another book like it. one that takes less brain power, of course.”

“on a date? how sweet.” you grinned, sitting up and tucking your knees to your chest.

“i suppose it is.” he quipped, standing up and making his way over to you. “you’ve been laying in bed all day, love. my legs are going numb.”

he tucked into bed beside you, laying his head on your lap and playing with the tips of your feathers. “do i now?” you wrap your wings around his body in some sort of makeshift cocoon, making up for the blanket you were hogging.

you loved these moments of affection between you two. you pressed a kiss on his forehead, and he responded with a grumble, pressing his face into your stomach. tokoyami lay there with you for a solid ten minutes before glancing at the clock.

“love,” he sighed.” “we should probably get dressed, lest we wish to not make it to the library before it closes.”

“that means i’d have to get up!” 

“a horrific possibility.” he hummed.” “we could always go tomorrow, if you are feeling lazy.” he stood up, stretching and ruffling his feathers. “however, we both know that neither of us will be awake before noon tomorrow, so lets just go now, okay?”

you pout, removing your wings as some sort of punishment as you turn away from him.

he raised a brow. “what an injustice. i offer to go on a date with you, and you refuse to get out of bed. im going to have to resort to violence it seems.

in one swift move, he pinned you down on his bed, an indistinguishable smile on his face. “i suppose ill have to drag you to the library.”

“nooo…!” you whined, thrashing playfully.

he giggled, kissing the side of your jaw. “oh, dont be so overdramatic, dear. its just a couple of books, and perhaps some food afterwards. is that so bad?” he gave you another kiss, and another, and another, until your whole face was tingly from the feeling of his beak against your skin.

“are ya’ gonna treat me to dinner, fumi’?”

“thats not even a question, of course i will, my love. now come on, we have a library to go to.” he hummed, pulling you up along side him. “lets get dressed, then we can go on our date.” hopping to his feet, he opened his closet, sorting through until he found something suitable.

“love, where is my vest?”

you looked away from him, buttoning up your dress shirt as you pointedly ignore the vest wrapped around your body.

he smiled, chuckling as he nudged you in the stomach. “where did you even find that?” without waiting for a response, he grabbed one of your vests that you had left in his room the day prior and pulled it on over his band tee.

you’re wearing borderline the exact same outfit, as always. “so, are you ready?”

he grabbed his keys off his desk, and shoved them in his pocket. without saying another word, he pulled you out of bed once more, and began to tug you out the door. “lets go, my darling.”

tokoyami, pulling you down the street, thumb rubbing over the back of your palm. “do you wanna fly, my love?” you grinned.

with one large flap of your wings  you propelled yourself up into the air with tokoyami in your grasp. he could fly too, and you often launched him into the air after you like some sort of rocket launcher. the sight of the city below you two was always breathtaking. you could never get tired from seeing the world so high up.

tokoyami, of course, was holding onto you for dear life. flying was all fun and games right up until the moment when it wasnt.

this time, he held on tight, the wind whipping through his feather, his face buried in your neck. all he could smell was the strawberry of your perfume. he was content like this, holding onto you for his life, as the two of you approached the library.

as you landed, pulling him onto the ground with you, tokoyami’s knees wobbled. he clutched your shoulder for dear life, not trusting in his body to stay upright and not embarrass him.

“you’re  a nightmare, love. i swear, one of these days–” he started, walking through the library entrance after you. “one of these days, what? “

he glanced away, muttering something about ‘one of these days im going to have a stroke.” 

he let go of your hand for the first time since leaving, and led you through the shelved. he paused occasionally, skimming his fingers over the dust jackets. “you never did tell me what you were looking for.��� he commented idly.

“anything but wuthering heights, maybe a little life. i heard shoji talk about it over lunch.”

he chuckled, running his fingers over a shelf dedicated to fantasy. “of course you’d pick one of the most depressing books to read over spring break. you’re such a romantic.”

“love you too, fumi’.”

he shook his head, a small smile on his face. “i love you too, dearest.”

he finally stopped at the gothic lit section, and you watched his eyes light up. tokoyami walked  along the section, examining each book. he pulled a few books from the shelf, and began flipping through one. “the picture of dorian grey. i’ve been meaning to pick this up.

he flipped through a few more, and added another few books to the ever growing stack he and dark shadow held. the bird was not pleased about it, and cawed something about ‘children’s books’.

you rolled your eyes, and took some of the books from the bird, placing them gently in the basket you held. tokoyami had something of a frown on his face, trying to take the books back from you. “i can carry them just fine myself, love.”

“yeah, but then you wont be able to get more, dumbass.”

he stared at you in shock, placing his hand over his chest in mock hurt. “how rude. is this how you show your love for me? calling me names?”

“blah blah blah, i dont wanna fuckin’ here it, fumi’!” you grin, taking a seat at one of the many tables littered around the library. tokoyami set his books down at the table, and crossed his arms. he stepped behind you, wrapping his arms around you and placing a kiss on your neck. his head rested on your shoulder. tokoyami seemed unwilling to let you go, and you weren’t inclined to fight him.

“i love you, evem if you dont listen to me. and take my books. and call me names.”

“i love you too, bird brain. now, lets go check out, yeah?”

tokoyami grumbled something unintelligible underneath his breath, but nodded anyways. he released his hands from your waist slowly, and grabbed the cart of books. 

“did you forget your card again..?”

he scoffed as you led him towards the front desk, placing the books down at the counter. “me? never.” tokoyami reached into his pocket, averting his gaze when he realised he had in fact, forgotten his card.

“i swear you do this deliberately.” you commented from beside him, already pulling out your card.”

“i dont, i promise!” he defended himself, feathers bristling at the accusation.

“yeah, yeah. whatever man.” you roll your eyes and scan all the books, handing it back to your boyfriend to place in his tote bag.

he grumbled, mock offended. “i know, im horrible. im the worst.” tokoyami waited impatiently as you sorted through the books. he was beginning to become restless, rocking back and forth on his heels, dark shadow whining and tugging on your wings.

“mhm, sure. is there anythin’ else you wanna do while we’re out, fumi’?” you hummed, holding the door open for him as he left. the sun had set, casting the buildings across from you in bright hues of orange. “anything but fly home.” tokoyami huffed, purposefully stepping on your toes. 

“can’t make any promises, love.”

“ah, you’re a horrible person.”

“love you too.”

keeping your silent promise, you walked through the streets of musutafu, one hand on your tote bag, and the other intertwined with your boyfriend’s. he had awfully cold hands for a warm blooded animal. you were planning on beelining straight to the dorms and curling up in tokoyami’s room to read, but god forbid you dont get a sweet treat when you can.

you found yourself in front of an array of pastries, all catching your eye in their own unique way. you werent particularly picky when it game to baked goods, as long as it was good. asking your boyfriend was no help either, he was like an eightball with only two answers. “i have no idea,” and “whatever looks good to you, my love.”

“just a dozen brownies, please, ma’am?” you smiled, placing the yen on the tray and taking the box gently. you watched tokoyami reach into his pocket to presumably pay, but it was clear that he not only had forgotten his library card, but his whole wallet.

he took your hand once more outside of the local cafe you had just visited, dark shadow opening the box of brownies and shoving them in his beak. “so good,” he mumbled through a mouthful of chocolate.”

“stop talking when you have food in your mouth, weirdo!” you smacked him with your wings playfully, sticking your tongue out at him in fake disgust.

he rolled his eyes, waving a brownie in your face. “you want one, darling?”

“well, i was saving those for when we got back home, but someone decided to get a head start. not gonna name names though.”

“stop complaining ! i know for a fact you want one.”

“i do! but if– if i eat them now, i wont have any later..” you pouted, taking the brownie and placing it back in the box neatly.

“seriously, love. i cant believe youre passing up an opportunity to eat something sweet.” he tutted, taking the brownie he had offered to you and swallowing it whole. “what kind of monster are you?”

“a terrible, terrible, one, that only an aspiring pro-hero can tame…”

he stood up on his tip-toes, bumping his beak against your cheek in a ‘kiss’. “unfortunately, i have come to love this dreaded monster.”

you find yourself close to the dorms, and without warning, you pick tokoyami up like a sack of potatoes and launch yourself up into the air, giggling as you shot through his window and landed in a heap on his bedroom floor.

as always, tokoyami was not particularly fond of your behaviour. he was muttering something along the lines of ‘god, kill me now.’ and ‘why did i even agree to this relationship.’ 

after a few minutes, he sat up, and gave his best attempt at a scowl as you could get with a face like his. “do you derive some form of sick, twisted delight by doing that?”

“...a little.”

he sighed and shook his head. he knew better to argue by now. all that mattered were that the brownies were in one piece. he got to his feet, dusting himself off before offering a hand to help you up. “the things i do for love.”

“aww, you love me? how sweet.” you crooned, placing your hands together and twirling him around.

“of course i love you, dear.” he said, taking your hand and lifting up to his beak, pressing a soft kiss to your knuckles.. “its horrible.”

tokoyami tugs you closer, slinging his arms around your waist and pulling you down onto the rug. he placed another kiss on your forehead, “absolutely horrible.”

he sighed, burying his head in the crook of your neck. “why did i ever agree to date you? i was so normal before you, y’know.”

“youre literally like the least normal person i know, fumikage.”

he gave you a pointed look, “and you think youre normal, dear? youre anything but normal. youre… insane.”

“hey. i never said anythin’ about myself now.” you hummed, feeling yourself become drowsy from how comfortable it was laying in each others arms. it was oddly comfortable on your boyfriend’s floor. “i think… ill just fall asleep here. forget the books.” you felt yourself get lifted up by the waist, getting hauled over to tokoyami’s bed and flopping you down like a ragdoll. “we can start the book later, my love.” he shifted around a little, wrapping his arms around your waist and pulling you close.

it was quiet, for a moment, a comfortable silence you’d grown to love. 

“dear?”

“yes, love?”

“...stay here?” tokoyami inquired, voice barely above a whisper. you mumbled an ‘mhm.’ against his neck, he was so warm.

you were fighting a battle against sleep and loosing. “read to me, fumi’.” you murmured.

you felt him nod, moving your wings out of the way to reach over to his desk and grab your copy of dracula. he flipped through the pages once more, searching for the handmade bookmark you had given to him on valentine’s day. his voice was soft, the monotonous hum lulling you into a deeper sleep.

not even five minutes had past before he felt your wings go limp, and when he looked up from his book, he found you passed out on his lap, a bit of drool seeping our your mouth. gross.

he gently closed the book and put it back where it belonged, and rolled over, wrapping his arms around you once more. 

in nothing but the soft glow of the moonlight, tokoyami watched as you drifted off into a peaceful sleep, breathing steady and serene. with a smile, he leaned down to brush a stray locke of hair away from your face, tucking it behind your ear gently. 

carefully, he adjusted his position, making sure not to ruffle your feathers as he held you close. your warmth was intoxicating. he felt like he couldnt get enough of you.

with a contented sigh, he closed his eyes, allowing himself tosuccumb to the soothing rhythm of your breathing, knowing as long as you were by his side, he was exactly where he belonged.

[plum-petals]

hey rosie! so, this isn't related to your perfect/stunning spyverse fanfiction, but with the AMOUNT of writing you do and how GOOD it is. I'm trying to write my own book, but everytime i have an idea i only write 5-7 chapters before getting another idea and restarting the process. do you have any tips? also for writing in a good way and plotting, since it's your specialty! <3

hello!! omg this is so nice 💕 i don't know if i have very practical advice since the two biggest reasons i have the freedom to write so much is 1. desk job and 2. no children. 😂 but here are such of the actual, more applicable lessons i've learned for not abandoning my 300k+ series half-way through:

fall in love with organization haha i use docs for writing but goodnotes on my ipad for plotting! it's a paid app (that i would have loved in college tbh) but i love having a virtual notebook for stories filled with planning stuff with options for paper type, handwriting > text, etc. different ones for different stories with tons of customization options to make things pretty if that's your speed (making things pretty is 100% my speed)

planning looks different depending on the story! since this one was covering a year, i did a timeline style outline once i took all my planning bullet points and i laid it out chronologically. this helped me realize stuff like "oh i don't have them doing like anything for this month, let me fix that" or "too many things happening in this span of time, can i move something?" and even tone-setting notes that remembering the season and relation to any greater events. it also lets me drop in moments of foreshadowing very deliberately and add in fun parallels and focus on the literary themes on a larger scale because i can see all the smaller pieces at once.

my timeline organization is generally helped by my color coordination. red for "basically a canon event/needs to happen here/no flexibility" + green for "needs to happen/flexibility in either location or details" + yellow for brainworm stuff i'd like to include if it feels right. blue is for additions and annotations. which are sometimes just an arrow to where a plot point actually happens because i move it or me crossing out an idea and replacing it with what actually happens. blue is my favorite color so it makes my edits to the "plan" feel less like mistakes and more like progress. don't beat yourself up for changing your mind! i do it twice a day. it becomes a bit of a beautiful, chaotic mess by the time you hit *checks notes* chapter 56 but it's okay! like dain redemption arcs, progress isn't linear!

once i have a plan, it's easier for me to jump around as i feel inspired! staring a blank doc isn't really my speed. it's almost soul-crushing tbh. so i'll just close it and write something else. maybe a scene down the line i'm pumped for, or just brainstorming dialogue for future scenes. who cares if you have to make changes when you get there or if it has mistakes? at least it's on the page. or even something silly! for main fic, it was usually xaden pov at first and look how that turned out haha spyverse started with only like six scenes i really wanted to write and built from there! writing also doesn't have to be linear because a story is!

when you're stuck stuck, try writing other stuff in your universe instead of moving to another idea! it doesn't have to the main story to build your understanding of character dynamics and how the plot works together. two side-characters discussing what happened for a scene that's having trouble coming out instead of the scene itself. a random background character seeing odd things while going about their day. your mc doing something wildly outside of the plot like idk studying physics. basically write a slice of life anime for your own protags if you need to feel connected to them, even if a lot of it will end up unused. it'll make the plot-heavy stuff feel easier! even for fight scenes and stuff i never wrote before spyverse, i feel like i have a pretty good idea in my brain about how violet would react to any situation because i know her and it makes everything easier haha

read your work out loud if you can! dialogue especially but all of it really. i worked in a writing center for years and most awkward phrasing and typos can be caught just by reading out loud. ambiguous grammar rules are ingrained in us enough that even if we don't recognize it on the page, it still hits our ears wrong. it also helps me flesh stuff out... i'll just be mumbling violet clapbacks to myself until i find the right one!

oh i also re-read my own writing to get back into the swing of things before a long session! either a chapter back in my draft or just one of my favorite chapters in the main fic. i used to hate this because i am harshly self-critical but now i force myself to because if reading my stuff doesn't still make me smile, i'm doing something wrong lol

7 tips for 7 dragons! thanks so much for your sweet words 💕

[pynkhues]

I do wonder how they'll explain the rehearsal scene. Lestat looked well, but he also looked unhappy to be there. If he was healthy and at the trial willingly, why did he seem upset? But if he was upset because he didn't want to be there, then why did he look healthy? Had he tried fighting them before and failed until he gave in? Wouldn't it have been easier for him to try to warn Louis and Claudia, to help them escape, if he didn't want the trial to happen? But wanting to hurt them as revenge doesn't make sense with his demeanor at the rehearsal or in the trial itself. I am questioning so many things.

I mean, I've mentioned it before, but it does in some ways come down to whose recollection that is, after all, Rolin's been very clear that the only scene which features the 'real' Lestat is the reunion.

So looking at it with that in mind, it could either be Armand's memory, given he was the only one there, or it could be Louis' recreation of what happened based on Armand's annotations on the script. The more I've thought about it (and rewatched, haha), the more I've actually thought it was the latter? Armand notably doesn't mention Lestat again in that sequence, and the brief scene is intercut with Louis reading, so I tend to think one of Armand's annnotations was a note about Lestat's outburst, and that that memory is less a memory, and more an imagining derived from what was written out, and we already know from the trial that Louis imagines Lestat looking a lot better than he actually looked.

I think the essence of that scene - with Lestat belligerent, but compliant, and his outburst about Claudia - is true, but I think a lot about the trial will look very different next season, and while I don't think that scene in particular will be revisited (again, I think the essence of it will be true), I think the context of the rehearsals will show Lestat was weakened and being coerced.

As for warning Claudia and Louis, he couldn't really? Assuming the show follows the books even relatively closely, Armand's been keeping him prisoner, torturing him, and feeding him the blood of the corpses off the stage after the Coven's eaten them, which isn't something the vampires are supposed to do (it makes them ill), really up until the moment of the trial. As he's their maker, Lestat can't use the mind gift with either Claudia or Louis, and we already know from the friend of the extra on set during the trial that the reason Santiago was scrambling Madeleine's mind was to stop Lestat from trying to use the mind gift with her, because if he could communicate with her, she could talk to Claudia who could talk to Louis. (Which sure, take with a grain of salt, but honestly that was my theory before I read the thread, and I felt validated by it, haha).

The real question to me at the moment is how long the show might have Armand keep Lestat for. In the book, he keeps him in a cell beneath the theatre, and I think there's soooo much potential to have Lestat there with an unknowing Claudia when she's trying to be a part of both the Coven and the theatre troupe. Like, that thought of them being so close to a different ending just really gets me, and I think especially given Ghost!Claudia feels borderline confirmed, I would just like to see it, haha.

[thewanderingzeppelin]

@parlaypeach asked what are nine books I want to read this year. (Thanks for tagging me!) That's pretty much impossible to narrow down, as I have about 1000 books I want to read, and no matter how many I read the list never gets shorter haha So instead I picked nine books/series that I would love to reread this year - books I really enjoyed but now feel a little fuzzy around the edges.

I tag @fairytalesanddragons @incoramsanctissimo @afoolofhope @thequeenofhyperbolee @ioannemos and anyone else who would love to share nine books on their 2025 radar!!

Thoughts/links to my original reviews of these books below the cut, because I get RAMBLY about books!

(All links go to my book blog.)

The Book of Three - It's been years since I read Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain, but I love them so much. Relatable characters, engaging stories, believable magic, and a good dose of humor - I can't believe I haven't read these since 2013!

Eight Cousins + Rose in Bloom - It's extremely difficult for me to pick a favorite Louisa May Alcott book, but it may be Rose in Bloom. Once again, how I have not read these in over 10 years?? WAY overdue for a reread.

The Scent of Water - This is a book I'm almost scared to reread. It absolutely knocked me over when I read it back in 2017. I don't use the phrase "book hangover" very often, but this one got me. What if I reread it and it isn't as good as I remember? But I think I'm going to have to take that risk again soon.

A String in the Harp - It seems odd that I would want to reread a book about grief, but here we are. I remember reading this and thinking that THIS is what "coming of age" books should look like.

Bellewether - On the surface, this doesn't sound like a book I would like, as I'm not really a fan of dual timelines or vaguely "supernatural" stories, but Kearsley really made this work for me. I picked this book for a traveling book club book (where members mail their books around and annotate them, passing them from person to person until you get your own book back), so I would love to reread it and enjoy everyone else's notes in it as well.

Sourdough - Bread-based sci-fi. What more could you want?

Furies of Calderon - This is the first of the six books in the Codex Alera. These are intense. Fabulous world-building, great characters, wonderful story. Despite each one being like 600 pages long, I was COMPLETELY hooked when I was reading these. It's a serious commitment, but I really do want to reread these because they were SO GOOD.

Deep Secret - Diana Wynne Jones can be really hit or miss for me, but I really liked this one when I read it ten years ago, and have kinda sorta been meaning to reread it ever since.

The Night Circus - I actually did reread this one in 2019, but it's just so dang good. I also feel like rereading it would enable me to justify buying a super fun edition...

Have you read any of these/do you have some books that are on your reread list??

[her-canine-teeth]

dreamed of the guy who likes me but I dreamed that he and a friend of his wrote a book about a right wing attack called something like '8 days, 8 thoughts' and he gave me one for free and annotated it. can never tell him bc I know how he'd respond ('ok haha') also he would never do that

[bookwyrminspiration]

HI i picked up that language of dragons book the other day and like.. i was torn on it specifically because i wanted conlangs and at least the first chapter wasn't delivering how i wanted it to with that

does it actually go into the dragon languages and like. really talk about how they work/use sentences/etcetc?? i'm really curious because . as far as i got they were doing the whole "'yes i can speak 6 languages' she said in wyrmian" schtick

(<- i am a conlang freak & there are not enough fantasy linguistic books with conlangs for me haha)

Hi! I'm currently about 3/4ths of the way through, and I'd say both yes and no?

Minor plot spoilers, but the premise is Vivien is set the task of decoding a secret draconic language, which is communicated akin to echolocation. There is some discussion of puzzling out meaning, but I'd describe it as surface-level. So far (could change!) we don't really see the syntax or grammar or features, just listening to recordings and ruminating. I'd also say describing it as a language isn't quite accurate either, it seems to be bordering on something vaguely supernatural?

So yes it does go more in depth on one specific dragon language, but not in a way I think a conlanger would find particularly appealing; it goes more in depth in the fantasy side than the language side. At least so far. I'm not done and its not a standalone either, so that could change.

talking about fantasy linguistic books the first that comes to mind for me is Turning Darkness Into Light by Marie Brennan, which is also about draconic translation; it follows Audrey and her associate(s) deciphering recently discovered draconian tablets, which connects to a political situation they're stuck in. vague description but thats because its been a couple years and i don't remember the specific politics because i was focused on the translation, but i do know it was engaging and well done. i remember enjoying the translation process (it's the plot of the whole book) and the annotations they'd make and the puzzling they had to do, though idk if it'd be up to your standards--and its also a standalone following a 5 book series. but i figured i'd throw it out there regardless :)

[ancientgreecehistorynerd]

hi moottt how was ur day?

i have some bookish questions for u bc why not

-what is ur favourite genre of literature?

-what are your top 5 favourite books?

-what are your top 3 favourite authors?

-do you have a favourite book character? if so, who are they? (feel free to list more than one)

-what is your favourite romance trope?

-what do you like to see in a main character?

-what are your thoughts on queer literature?

-what is a bookish pet peeve you have?

-do you like to purchase books, borrow them, or read them online?

-do you often read books translated from other countries?

thats all for now :) have a nice day

hello! i’m doing okay in the middle of moving tho so stressful haha

help did i never answer this? i’m sorry i’m actually tumblr illiterate like crazy

My fav genre is probably hm… def fiction haha young adult and contemporary…? it said those were genres i’m so sorry i don’t know the names of them and i’m an anxious mess! but if it’s got gay people and mental illness i’ll take it. i like dystopian as well!

top five NOT IN ORDER LOL

-girl in pieces by kathleen glasgow

-solitaire by alice oseman

-radio silence by alice oseman

-the perks of being a wallflower by soeben chbosky

-blood of olympus by rick riordan

(they change all the time haha)

-for authors i would def say

-rick riordan

-alice oseman (obv)

-and hm i haven’t read more than one of glasgows books so possibly suzzanne collins maybe? AUGHH IM SO INDECISIVE! (i do have fav fanfic authors tho haha)

NICO DI ANGELO THE SON OF HADES AND WILL SOLACE THE SON OF APOLLO THEYRE FROM RICK RIORDANS GREEK DEMIGODS SERIES(S) AND I LOVE THEM SO MUCH THEYRE MY SPECIAL INTETEST THEIR COOL AS FUCK AND HE IS SO ME I AM SO THEM THEYRE MY EVERYTHING AND I LOVE THEM MORE THAN LIFE ITSELF (wait that’s not a good comparison uhh) I LOVE THEM MORE THEN FOOD ITSELF 🗣️

as someone who is demiromantic i’ve got to say friends to lovers since nothing else makes sense in my mind haha other then that hurt/comfort and just being domestic are UGH love it! SUNSHINE X GRUMPY as well. I eat it up everytime.

i love when main characters are similar to me so mentally ill gay very sad etc etc lol but besides that i would say complex? i hate it when authors make “i’m so happy all the time” characters the main character like i need DEPTH where’s the FLAVOR. so i suppose just not being perfect?

there needs to be more of it lol. i’m loving how much of it is being made to day but tbh in my opinion some authors do it wrong… i love when being queer is a major part of a characters personality because well they’re proud! but it’s when an author makes the entire character based off of that with no other personality traits. sexualizing queer relationships too like…. yikes! would love to see some more aroace and genderqueer rep that isn’t just boy/nb/girl tho!

when endings are rushed! it’s terrible i remember i loved this one book when i was younger that had the og “i’m nothing like y’all” as the cover haha. i forget what it was called sorry! but there was a great story and then it ended with her friends saying “sorry for excluding you and they went on to win the state math fair!” what. YOU JUST HAD A FULLY FLESHED OUT STORY AND YOU DID THAT??? i’m sure nobody likes them but they especially piss me off. skipping over important scenes as well and just showing the aftermath! non floppy books. FIX ITTTTT. also tbh smut? i mean i don’t mind it but that’s what ao3 is for i’m fine with the smut where they don’t show it like in charlie and nicks first time in heartstopper where it’s just kinda vague but as soon as i see a dick beint described im OUT. and books that just are smut like dude there’s so many better things you could be writing about!

ngl i am a massive book purchaser. i used to get them all from the library but thennn i got a bookshelf and discovered what annotating is… i just love being able to go back on what i’ve read whenever i want! and the covers are pretty :)

no actually! i don’t think i ever have tbh? i think the only time that happened was when i translated an official nico di angelo short story from italian haha

thank you if you listened to my yap! also i’m so sorry i didn’t see this :( also if i already responded to this and i forgot you can just kill me please and thank you. also have a good day too so sorry i didn’t see this! :(

[chuuyrr]

ate i BET your mom’s fried garlic rice is soo good when i read thru your answers i started craving some too (miss home ‘n jolibee already HAHA TᴖT) also TWINNING we’re both reading crime & punishment at the same time !! how do you like it so far ?? :)

EEE it really is the best PLEASE i wish i could send u some right now revie (new nickname unlocked?) because she made some today !! am also sharing you some of my frothy coffee but the froth ain't frothing anymore JDHSJWKS

and yes crime and punishment !! i haven't gotten half of the book yet since i stopped reading it since the last semester got me so busy (biochem kicked my ass fr) so i just resumed it recently, but oh my gosh.

i love it so far? i honestly thought i would have trouble reading it because every word is so in-depth but it's actually great, and i also like to analyze things and annotate so that's probably why i take so long to read on my ipad 🫂😔

[liminalspacesandplaces]

Hi! I stumbled across your blog by looking through the Tulsa tag and I saw your photo sets of the Promenade mall (what used to be one of my favorite places) before it closed for good. I also went through your blog and I think it’s so cool how you managed to find so many dead places in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I was just wondering if you’re from there? I am but I moved away a while ago and would love it if you could possibly share the names of different dead/liminal space sort of places in Tulsa that you’ve found, if it isn’t too much trouble! I’ve just never really seen anyone post much about my hometown especially not in the liminal space community so I just thought that was really cool. Anyways sorry for rambling! Have a great day x

Hahaha don’t apologize for rambling! Rambling is my middle name 😂 I am from Tulsa! Born here, grew up in Owasso, moved back here about 7 years ago. I’m so glad you enjoy my blog! I’ve been blown away by how many people enjoy such a niche subject.

Most of the places I’ve found either give me liminal vibes late at night when there aren’t any people around like Dollar General or Dollar Tree before closing. Then there are places that have been permanently closed like one of the antique stores, the old lawnmower parts store, Family Dollar, and Walgreens. There are the dead malls of course, Promenade closing and Eastgate being repurposed. And lastly, I am an opportunist if you will haha. I take advantage of the everyday finding corners in used book stores, hallways in schools, pulling into parking lots of places when I’m en route to somewhere else, etc.

I typically annotate where the place is or what it was called if I’m posting from actual photos I took myself here in town and tag them. If you ever have a question about a specific one let me know! Thank you so much for saying hello!

[rickybaby]

yeah just saw that dax's podcast is going to do "readings" of that daniel book so you're 100% correct about him

Yeah saw that and someone sent me the screengrab from his story and he has the book bookmarked???

Telling your friend haha there’s an erotica written about you is one thing, but to actively read the book and annotate and bookmark parts of it is down right weird? creepy? psychotic?

Like forget the whole doing readings on the podcast thing, why would you even want to read content like THAT (even if from what I’ve been told it’s not the nastiest kind of erotica out there) about a person you know personally?????

The fact that Daniel appeared to laugh it off and joke about how jacked he is doesn’t make it any better because Daniel’s the kind of person who’ll always be nice and affable and that was also his initial reaction to finding out. So there’s no telling how he felt after they maybe dug deeper into it as well

Anyway someone in the tags yesterday said it well - Dax Shepard uses his celebrity status to clout chase f1 drivers, which makes his content even weird because he’ll talk about Carlos’ lips at length and then go on the grid and shake his hand. I get his podcast is meant to be a sort of pop culture take on f1, but if it was a bunch of girls creating content like he does, we’d be accused of just watching the sports because we find the drivers sexy

[bbnibini]

apothecary diaries anon here again! yeeees, the amount of times i've thought 'this would make a great icon/meme' while reading the manga is amazing! pretty sure most of them are of maomao too haha. (very tempted to edit her and jinshi into the 'woman screaming at cat in restaurant' meme lol) aaaa, don't get me started on how female friendships are treated in fiction; a story app i play keeps on having so many 'rivalries' or 'pretended to be your friend but isn't' plots, but it's almost always with women! like, no, can't i just befriend the characters??? have lovely friendship scenes??? i cry

unfortunately, i haven't had a chance to watch the anime of apothecary yet, i've just seen gifs and screencaps of it. instead, i binged over 10 chapters of the manga when i first messaged you, then another 10 the day after lol. i think i know the triggering plot point you're talking about though; like you say, it's amazing how they put all these dark details in the story, but handle the topic well and sprinkle it into the world building/character backstories. i'm at chap 26 rn, and i'm super interested in a certain character who just showed up + their motivations. (ooh, i'll check out ascendance of a bookworm too; sounds like my cup of tea!)

ah, as for the light novels, i looked it up on amazon (the only place i know where to buy light novels in the uk) and there's a physical release date for next year! i understand what you mean abt LN vs manga collecting; i like having a physical book in my hand for novels, but having digital copies for manga.

thank you for your reply before; it was fun to read!

🐱🍃 - (emojis that remind me of maomao)

Aniwkwkdkdk I REALLY NEED TO READ THE MANGAAAA maybe I should go the same route as you and just buy manga digitally and novels physically cause there were some manga I bought that I kinda regret buying physicals of. 🥲 (By that I mean I don't reread them as much and it feels awkward to read manga physically? Is it just me?? Maybe I got used to longscrolling in manhwa lol)

Right?? I can't judge the manga cause I haven't read it but in the anime, the tone is wonderfully executed and it's the right balance of exposition and pacing. WAIT WHAT REALLY?? OMG next year fr?!?!? if that's the case I'm gonna continue gatekeeping my digital copies and wait for the physicals! 😭 Thank you for this info!! (I only use my digital copies for annotating and for reading in bed. Idk ik I'm weird. If I really like the series I buy the soft copy and hardcopy wkjdkdkdkdk).

Honestly it's why I got tired of shoujo isekai. They always pit women against each other over some guy. It's so hard to find good series in that genre anymore cause they almost all have the same formula. I want my female MCs but I don't want any of the unnecessary catfighting. I just really hate how that side of the community has blatant misogyny cause you know fr they won't treat a morally ambiguous and handsome male character in that way. :/

Let 👏 women. Support women! 👏 (The emojis are really cute! ;v; <3 I just realised her name sounds like a cat's meow! That's so cute omg)

[unethicallypleistocene]

for the character ask: queequeg (until YESTERDAY i thought his name was QUEERqueg lmao) aaaand [drumrolls please] denethor! *wink* would it really be me if i didn’t bring him into every convo? i know he’s not exactly ‘popular’ in this fandom (HA! biggest understatement ever) but i want to see what u think of my guy! :)

Thank you my dear friend! Excellent choices <3

Queequeg: How I feel about this character Quee(r)queg is my absolute favorite Moby Dick character. He's just so incredibly cool and it's really interesting to me that Melville managed to write such a fundamentally good character while also being very deeply racist about him (Melville writing Queequeg is a constant seesaw between surprisingly not-racist and really racist but THAT'S A DISCUSSION FOR ANOTHER POST). Melville and 1851 notwithstanding he's my gay harpooneer blorbo of all time!

All the people I ship romantically with this character Ishmael OF COURSE. I have a very vivid memory of reading the first chapters of Moby Dick for the very first time and annotating all their interactions with "HUH? GAY???" I was expecting homoerotic tension but wow it really surprised me. They're married in canon and they're the best whaling husbands I know.

My non-romantic OTP for this character The harpooneer crew! Daggoo and Tashtego. They don't interact THAT much in canon (we're too focused on Ahab Happenings while at sea) but I've got some headcanons about them and how they're all besties.

My unpopular opinion about this character I don't know if it's really unpopular per se, but engaging more with Queequeg's fanon side is definitely more comfortable for me. Obviously Moby Dick and race have a fraught relationship and it's definitely worth discussing, especially in the context of fandom. I just think it's nice to take a break from the discourse and appreciate what we as modern readers can like about these very old characters, and add to them in ways Melville couldn't.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon. Spoilers for a 173 year old book but uh. He dies. It would be very nice if he didn't die haha. I think Queequeg and Ishmael should have made it back to shore together and went on to live in a cozy cottage somewhere warm and dry, never to return to sea. Maybe they start a whale-themed publishing business after the explosive success of Ishmael's book.

Denethor: How I feel about this character As you know I am extremely supportive of your Denethorposting and blorbofication. I think the best Denethor media I've consumed was this one series of fics mostly focused on Faramir and Boromir growing up together, but it had some really wonderful characterizations (citing my source: The Tragicomedy of the Children of the Other Húrin by Hwestalas). It had some really lovely Denethor/Finduilas one-shots too! (I've seen some fic recs for that pairing on your blog that I REALLY need to get around to reading) So overall I think he's a really interesting character and I love when his relationship with Finduilas is explored.

All the people I ship romantically with this character As previously stated, Finduilas of Dol Amroth!

My non-romantic OTP for this character Not totally sure! His relationships with his sons are definitely the most important in canon, so I love different interpretations and angles of how he feels about them.

My unpopular opinion about this character Movie Denethor is much-reviled (feels like Faramir's character assassination dialed up to 11) and while I think that evil tomato man logically works as a narrative device in a time-constrained storytelling medium, I honestly think with a bit of tweaking he could have served a more better role. PJ didn't even give him a chance, smh.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon. Kind of wish Finduilas had stuck around long enough to be an actual character and play off of Denethor's. LOTR has enough dead moms, methinks.

[decepti-thots]

Since you have MTMTE notebooks 1-4: what kind of content do 3-4 add? I mean, I know they’re author commentary and all, but are there any fun new highlights that really change the way you looked at something that weren’t in 1-2? (And as a side note do you think JRo will ever do a 5-6?)

It adds content from much later on in the process, basically! It includes extensive notes relating to planning for post-s1 content and shows how the process changed alongside alterations to the original "plan" Roberts had as stuff externally came in (so e.g. stuff changing because Dark Cybertron happened, etc).

Which is definitely interesting because it's planning in a different way than vol. 1-2 showcase. Those are someone doing "pre-production", whereas this is doing work while you write the comic to lay future groundwork. In that regard it's very interesting. There's some really bonkers "throw shit at the wall" ideas in there above and beyond 1-2, I think because of that element most likely, haha.

Things that stood out to me a lot was how late in the game he was still coming up with possible non-Primus alternate ideas for Rung, a lot of interesting stuff regarding bringing the new characters on post-women-exist-again mandate in terms of how he approaches it, and a lot of stuff regarding possible approaches to the Getaway mutiny. Overall I just think the notebooks are. A fascinating document. It is UNHEARD of for a comic of this type (intellectual property tie-in) to get this sort of extremely granular behind-the-scenes stuff released in huge quantities. (The scripts too, it's so WILD to me we have. Counts. At least 30 extant, sometimes-annotated scripts, I think???) If anyone has any specific questions about stuff in these feel free to ask btw, I can check them when I get home.

There will almost certainly be 5-6 bar disaster. I assume those would cover Lost Light, and given the high interest there's no reason not to if he enjoys doing it. I wouldn't expect them next year though, necessarily, since he's working on that fanzine book too. It should be very interesting to see what he says about the abrupt cancellation announcement from a BTS perspective, I think.

[natgoodmans]

hey love! i just wanted to hop in and see how you’re doing 💜

i heard you’re in a bit of a book slump rn, and my sincerest sympathies, those always suck. i don’t really have any advice on how to get out of it, but i really want you to know that you don’t have to feel stressed or guilty over it. you’ve read an insane amount of books this year!!! i’m so immensely amazed and proud of you. idk early this year i hit a major tv slump, so i just paused and didn’t force myself to watch something if it didn’t intrigue me (that actually led to me reading a ton more!) annotations seem like a fun project, so maybe like making yourself a goal to annotate x amount of chapters per day could help? that way it’s more of a hobby and craft than just entertainment? idk just a thought!

i’m kind of in the middle of a slump right now? my reading pace has just slowed exponentially. i’m reading the all souls trilogy (a discovery of witches) and while i really do enjoy the story, something about it just makes me take ages to read it. i know i will reach my reading goal by the end of the year, but it still kind of stresses me out (also i want to finish the new septembers readathon by the end of the month - i know, i know, i’m still doing it. it was basically just a fun way for me to knock off books that are already on my tbr).

something fun that i want to do next year is read and reread a bunch of shakespeare and watch the adaptions (since someone posted a masterlist on here). i would also love to buddy read the odyssey (or was it the iliad?) with you! i’m planning on getting both on thursday when i go to the bookstore. i’ve never buddy read, so you’ll have to be patient with me, plus it’s kind of a daunting book ngl, but i think it would be fun 🥰 another book i would love to annotate would be the starless sea, i think it would be fun to mark down the different literary references and motifs (though honestly i didn’t understand half of the plot. i was just there for vibes)

lindsay!!! hi friend 🤍 i am in a book slump for sure; part of it is just that i have been very very very busy but i also just haven't really been enjoying a lot of things i've been reading so even if i have time i'm like "i don't reallllly want to read now". i had such a spectacularly phenomenal reading year last year so this year has just been like :( in comparison haha! i was doing that with les mis for a bit and then got super busy and stopped doing that! i think my problem is also that i've been trying to annotate fantasy (the night circus — and i'd started starless sea at the beginning of the year, but then got in the largest fantasy slump ever and now i'm just trying to crawl my way out.

how are you enjoying the all souls trilogy? i've never read it! you've got lots of time to reach your goal — and it really is just a silly number! you can also always pack it with poetry, plays, webcomics, graphic novels, etc! and i'm glad — that's what the readathon was intended to do! 🤍

i think this is the masterpost you're talking about! i've been audiobooking some shakespeares this year and have been having a blast with that! and i would be down to do either; i already own the odyssey, but can always obtain a copy of the iliad! i hope you have the best time at the bookstore! and we can definitely take our time with it — we can set goals / checkpoints, discuss, etc. if you want! and yes the starless sea is SO fun to annotate (i just haven't ... been able to read fantasy lately :( )

hope you're having a good monday!! 🤍 🤍 ily!