#Lauren I love you and your infinite talent

[thebestoftimes]

50 QUESTION BOOK TAG FOR WORLD BOOK DAY

By me, Jess. I made this for world book day but then got depressed and didn’t post it on time lmao but here ya go kids be warned though it’s a long one. Also the numbers thing got fucked up and I couldn’t fix it.  I got a lot of these questions from other tags I’ve seen and google so if something sounds familiar... that’s why.

Who or what sparked your love of literature?

Aw my parents fueled my book habit when I was a kid and took me to the bookstore all the time and since then all my teachers have always encouraged me and made me love books even more than I thought possible.

Do you have an ‘odd’ book habit? (page sniffing/never leaving the house with a book)

It’s true that I never go anywhere without a book. I got one in my backpack or purse or reading on my phone but it’s always there.

Do you have a book that you think has changed your life? How?

A lot of books and series have made significant impacts on my life (like I can’t picture elementary school without Percy Jackson being in my life) but like as a person I can’t think of any one book that has changed who I am. It’s been a team effort.

Which book have you reread most frequently?

I think I reread Hush Hush every year lmao idk why

You can meet any author and ask one question. What author would you chose and what question would you ask?

I’d want to meet Shakespeare and ask him if all his characters really were just that gay or if we’re all reading too much into it.

Best book published this year so far?

It’s only March but The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi

Imagine you’ve started a book and don’t like it. Do you see the experience through to the bitter end, or are you able to talk away from it mid story?

I used to always finish what I started but now that I’m in college and have a mountain of a TBR I’ll just stop.

What book is top of your wish list/TBR pile?

Uhh A Winter’s Promise by Christelle Dabos  is on top rn

Favourite place to read?

My bed. Boring but a classic.

If you buy books, do you lend them out? Ever had a bad experience?

Of course. No all my friends respect my stuff and return them promptly.

What fictional character do you ship yourself with?

So many but I think Gansey and I from The Raven Cycle would make the best couple.

Weirdest thing you’ve used as a bookmark

I use whatever near me so I might have done something weirder but lately I’ve been using tissues because I have a tissue box by my bed and never real bookmarks. But I’ve used graded homework, a toy car, a crayon, earbuds, etc.

Favorite quality/qualities in a protagonist and antagonist

Wow this is s hard okay for protag I am a sucker for like stubborn, smartass with a martyr complex. Sad but true. Antags I love a good morally grey character or anti-villain. Tragic backstory but smart as hell. The worst (the best). Characters like the Darkling from The Grisha Trilogy, and Warner from the first Shatter Me book (I know he’s a good guy NOW but back then we all thought he was a sadistic and sexy villain).

Favorite genre and favorite book from that genre.

YA Urban Fantasy babyyy and that’d be City of Bones by Cassandra Clare or Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare:)

  Best/worst movie adaptation in your eyes

Best: Harry Potter and The Hunger Games | Worst: Percy Jackson

Do you prefer reading your own books, or library books?

My own.

How do you choose your next book to read?

Literally whatever I’m feeling like at the moment.

Your favorite word.

I love many words but I have a soft spot for “lively” and “lilt”.

Book that got you hooked on reading/how you got hooked.

I’ve always been obsessed with reading but The Peter and the Starcatchers Series was like my shift from nicotine to heroine.

Opinion on dog-earing, margin writing, ect.

I only write in the margins of books I have to read for class/textbooks. And that’s for studying and active reading purposes. For any other situation: no.

Top 5 immediate to read in no order

A Winter’s Promise by Christelle Dabos

A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

The Wicker King by K. Ancrum

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E Schwab

Most underrated book you’ve read

Definitely The Foxhole Court/ All for the Game series. Fairly small fanbase for some of THE most amazing books I’ve ever read. And the memes will have you in stitches.

What is the first book that catches your eye when you look at your bookshelf?

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell because of the exceedingly bright cover/spine haha

How do you arrange your books on your shelves?

LOL I do not have a system at all. I keep series and authors together and that’s it. Everything is placed where there is room.

You have the power to change a book’s ending. Which ending would you change and what would you make happen instead?

I’d change the end to Allegiant and SPOILERS SPOILERS not make Tris fucking die over her shitty ass brother. I know why she did it but like Veronica girl wyd with that. And I’d want the entirety of Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins to be rewritten into a book that just focused on the domestic life of Finnick and Annie and no one dies.

Favourite book cover?

This is SO HARD. Either The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin or Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

Which book from your childhood has had the most impact on you?

My entire personality was shaped by the Maxmimum Ride series by James Patterson. For better and worse.

When reading, what do you value most: writing style, characters, plot, world building, pacing, etc?

Characters. I think all of those things are essential and as I read more and more, the pickier I get, but I find myself leaning towards being a fan of a book when I become obsessed with the characters. Like hey!! New friends!!! For my brain!!!

Do you prefer buying books or borrowing them from a library/friend?

Buying them even though I shouldn’t. It’s a real problem.

What books/sequels that are being published this year are you most excited for?

SO MANY OH MY GOD

Okay some of these already came out because it’s March right now but I’ll include them anyways.

SEQUELS/ SPIN-OFFS AND SHIT

The Wicked King by Holly Black; King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo; Dream by Natalia Jaster; Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare; The Red Scrolls of Magic by Cassandra Clare; Capturing the Devil by Kerri Maniscalco, Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater; Defy Me by Tahereh Mafi; The Shaw Confessions #3 by Michelle Hodkin

FIRST BOOKS

The Binding by Bridget Collins; Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan; The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi; A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer; Romanov by Nadine Brandes; The Infinite Noise by Lauren Shippen; The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh

Which fictional character would you want as a sidekick?

Percy Jackson because he’s my firstborn son and one of my favourite characters of all time. He is talented, smart, hilarious, an amazing friend, and the sweetest of boys (when he isn’t the sassiest of boys).

How many books have you read so far this year?

Only 15 I am so behind :(

What’s been your favourite read so far this year?

Oh man. Gotta be Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo :)

You’re stuck on an island with a suitcase big enough to hold five books. What books are they?

I probably shouldn’t cheat and say How to Build a Boat huh

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

The King’s Men by Nora Sakovic

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

If you had to go out to dinner with any character who would it be and why? What would you talk about?

Will Herondale and we’d talk about books

Is there a book you have such a hatred for that you would throw it off of the highest tower knowing that the last copy of it will be destroyed so that not another living soul can read it or would you rather keep it and give it to someone else who might actually enjoy it?

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne or After by Anna Todd

Do you believe books make nice decoration?

I mean. I think they should be read before used as decor but I love showing off my books so I guess both. But I don’t believe in buying books for the purpose of decoration instead of reference or reading lol

Do you listen to music when you read? Or do you need complete silence? 

I need silence or low amount of white noise. I used to read and listen to Taylor Swift when I was a kid but I can’t do it anymore.

Do you have a favorite book? If not are you in the group that believes there are too many great books out there to just choose one?

I tell people it’s City of Bones by Cassandra Clare but in all honesty no I don’t have a favourite.

Do you sleep with books under your pillow.

Nope

Do you go to the library or do you have a book buying addiction or are you one of those lucky people who is able to do both?

I do both. Mostly bookstore though.

Own any book inspired clothing?

Yes. Several items :)

Have you ever read a book in another language?

I read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Tristan and Isolde, and Beauty and the Beast in French. And parts of Les Mis.

Strangest book you’ve ever read?

John Dies at the End by David Wong. Still not sure exactly what was going on. 

Favourite type of non-fiction?

Memoirs babey

Favourite non-fiction?

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

Favourite subject to read about?

History

Favourite book you’ve read in school?

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Favourite work of Shakespeare?

Hamlet

Character you’d love as a mom or dad or guardian?

Hmm Sally Jackson, The Women of 300 Fox Way, or Tessa and Will (they totally count because The Last Hours Series)

I tag literally whoever wants to do this and @fangirl-daydreamer97 @acleeds12 @iviisastrawberry @221bdoom @bicycles-bees-bisexuals @betterthanapit @dippindots126 @vlctorvale

[class-wom]

What if the story of FX's Legion, created and scripted by TV writer (Fargo) and novelist (Before the Fall) Noah Hawley, is less about the story arc of the series itself and more the story about how and why it got made in the first place? Hawley had improbably turned the brilliant Coen Brothers movie, Fargo, into the acclaimed, separately realized vision of a TV series. So what if Legion was a lark from a prestige cable channel rewarding a very smart writer, and the extended generosity ends up being that Hawley, no fan of superheroes, wants to make a Marvel superhero story about mental illness rather than superpowers? And he also wants to mess with the notion that the hero in question has to be heroic at all.

I mean, if you're FX, with a long history of taking chances on exceptional talents, you probably say, "OK, sure, let's see what you come up with." Which is exactly the answer you want if you love television as a creative exploration rather than predictable, formulaic movement from episode to episode, season to season.

It would certainly explain the triptastic, visually stunning first season of Legion, which was basically a more coherent exploration of weirdness than Twin Peaks. And then the perception-changing second season (Jon Hamm as a narrator that didn't exist before!), which seemed intent on taking a Marvel vehicle (that will unlikely be tampered with again) and giving it a kind of Breaking Bad halo, disconcertingly telling its audience that the person at the center of the story, the hero they were rooting for, was in fact pretty awful.

How else to explain the fact that, by the end of that second season, anyone tuning in for a typical Marvel series was probably tuning out. Legion was seemingly moving from oddball project for Hawley into an experiment that wouldn't likely hold, given how busy he was and the inherent limitations of Marvel-centric superhero stories inside the mind of someone not particularly interested in those limitations or the expectations for that genre.

Translation: You probably wouldn't be too far off assuming, at the end of Legion season two, that Hawley's mindset was: "OK, that was a cool experiment but I'm over it." Of course, that assumption could be way off, and the third and final season of Legion was planned as the end all along (that's certainly the narrative) and all that's left is a pro forma wrap-up where the main character, David (Dan Stephens), course-corrects his Walter White excursion and the series closes with everybody doing the moral and ethical thing and putting the world right.

Sure, maybe, I don't know. I'd probably watch that.

But instead, what looks to be happening after last season's experimentation is that Hawley is once again having a blast reimagining a Marvel superhero show. He is tripling down on the visual gymnastics and mind-altering aspects, but with the kind of narrative focus that will culminate in a three-years-is-ideal big picture analysis, lovingly concluding that he got it all right, or at least right enough to be riveting.

I hope that's true, but without the full season to examine at length (eight total; I've seen four), who knows what will happen. But I'm loving the direction the third and final season of Legion is going in because the journey has been less about Marvel and more about Hawley and, given the television track record of each, I'll take the latter every time.

There's an unmistakable creative energy about each episode of the third season, as if Hawley, his writing staff and collection of directors all gathered around and said, "Let's go out on fire." I'd argue that the second season, which simultaneously seemed to annoy fans of the comic and fall short of satisfying some critics, did its job of upending the narrative built in season one. But it also perhaps had to come to terms with the fact that its weirdness was vast, like its stable of excellent actors, and if the third season was really going to be the end, some snipping would have to be done. It wasn't perfect but it was unfailingly creative, funny and risky, which is often more than enough to overcome quibbles.

Look, Legion was doing most things remarkably well — notably giving people like Aubrey Plaza, Navid Negahban, Bill Irwin and Jemaine Clement, to name a handful of random examples, room to explore and crush the acute weirdness of their characters in a way that few series ever do. (There are 10-minute scenes in every episode of Legion where I'd take just that and only that over a full episode of something else.) And while the work of Stevens' David and Rachel Keller's Syd is the no-doors, no-safety-belt rollercoaster car that fuels the Legion story, at least half the fun of the show is watching other actors run around the theme park with their hair on fire.

Which is to say, sure, if you really want to focus on the plotting, that can be your hill to die on. But all this other vigorous exploration of the mind's infinite possibilities (especially for a mutant) is pretty damned intriguing on its own.

I'm assuming but neither hoping nor demanding that Legion will end with a plot arc that feels satisfying. Season three could end with former hero David dying as the villain at the hands of new hero Syd, who saves the world. It could be David coming back from the depth of madness and harnessing his powers (whatever those really are) and there being some kind of interior peace for him. It could (and likely will) end... differently.

Viewers often come to the realization, after several seasons of a drama, that it's not the thing they'd hoped it would be. This is especially true for genre series like fantasy and sci-fi and superheroes. It seems as if more people should know when they sign up that their results may vary (spoiler: most don't know and thus are disappointed). But with Hawley's Legion, if you were expecting something predictable or literal, well, you weren't paying attention from the very first frame.

The journey is the joy here, and if you want yet another confirmation of that, watch the first episode of season three and look what director Andrew Stanton (all things Pixar) does with the material that Hawley and co-writer Nathaniel Halpern give him.

Season three adds David's real father, Charles Xavier (aka Professor X, leader of the X-Men), in the form of Harry Lloyd (Counterpart, Game of Thrones), and his mother Gabrielle in the form of Stephanie Corneliussen (Mr. Robot), who sheds some light on "The World's Angriest Boy In the World," plus an essential new character, Switch (Lauren Tsai), who is a time-traveler.

If the Professor X revelation pulls back in fans of the comic book or X-Men, it probably won't end well for them. Hawley doesn't seem to have particular interest in the franchise or superheroes in general, and was at least partially attracted to the idea so that he could portray mental illness in a different way — while also having a hell of a time with mind-bending visuals, tricky editing and now, in the final season, hallucinatory drugs adding to the fugue state effect.

Maybe, as someone not particularly interested (fine, not at all interested) in X-Men stuff, I fall into that weird subset where Legion is the perfect series. I just go with what's on the screen, revel in the conceptual ideas and applaud the acting turns, willingly negligent about Marvel-universe connections and never expecting — as others seem to be demanding — that this show, of all shows, be more concise, more linear, more understandable.

Cast: Dan Stevens, Rachel Keller, Aubrey Plaza, Jean Smart, Jeremie Harris, Bill Irwin, Amber Midthunder, Jemaine Clement, Hamish Linklater, Navid Negahban, Lauren Tsai, Harry Lloyd, Stephanie Corneliussen Created and written by: Noah Hawley First episode directed by: Andrew Stanton Premieres June 24, 10 p.m. FX

If I had to pick one single sentence from this review to summarize my current admittedly tortured state of mind regarding this show, it’s this:  “Viewers often come to the realization, after several seasons of a drama, that it's not the thing they'd hoped it would be. “  But there are those who already knew this about Yours Truly, whether they needed to or not!  😏  (Also love the unwritten “I’m looking at you, fans of Game of Thrones!”-implications here, lol)

[kismetconstellations]

Tagged! Get To Know The Blogger

The endlessly wonderful and talented @silverlynxx decided to tag me for this, so... without further ado:

Name: Lauren.

Star Sign: Cancer.

Height: Somewhere around 5′4″.

Put your iTunes or Spotify on shuffle. What are the first 4 songs that popped up?

1. “Come See About Me”, by Dianna Agron, Heather Morris, and Naya Rivera

2. “Umbrella Beach”, by Owl City

3. “Bubblegum Bitch”, by Marina and the Diamonds

4. “It Takes Two”, by Zac Efron

Have you ever had a poem or song written about you?

Not to my knowledge. 

When was the last time you played the guitar?

Never. I have no musical abilities at all. 

Who is your celebrity crush?

I think the answer is obvious, and It stopped being a “crush” in 2013. Now, it’s just sad and pathetic. TT___TT

What’s a sound you hate and a sound you love?

A sound that I hate with the fibres of my being is an alarm going off. A sound that I love is a cat’s squeaky little “mrrow”. 

Do you believe in ghosts?

Yes.

How about aliens?

Ditto on this one. The universe is infinitely vast. There is no way Earth is the only planet that has life on it. 

Do you drive?

Nope.

What was the last book you read?

To completion? Release by Patrick Ness. The last book that I picked up and read a section of was The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. 

What’s the worst injury you’ve had?

When I was in kindergarten, I fell off of the top row of bars on a jungle gym, and landed chin-first in the gravel-filled circle that my elementary school’s playground was located in. (Ingenious call, by the way- filling a space meant for tiny children to romp around in, with small stones.) I wound up splitting my chin open, and had to go to the hospital to receive stitches, sans anaesthetic. 

Do you have any obsessions right now?

I’d say The Greatest Showman and Barlyle definitely qualify. 

Do you try to hold grudges against people who have done you wrong?

No. But, if someone wrongs or hurts someone I care about... all bets are off.

In a relationship?

Single till I die. 

----

I tag... @thatwolfboy, @maya-matlin, @efron-the-saxophone, @paperchimes, and @schizanthusim. 

[undiscoveredstory]

Howdy kiddos! Well, it’s sure been a while since I posted a lil fic here, but the time has finally come again! This one goes out to @schuylergirls! Happy, happy birthday, kiddo! I hope it’s been fantastic :) 

The prompt was what happens to Martha in Heathers with the note from Ram, but with Eliza. This is inspired by that, but I changed a few things... Even the Angst Queen can’t be as dark as Heathers. “Read more” after the first few paragraphs just because this is so long. 

Enjoy, and happy birthday, kiddo!!! <333

Eliza Schuyler was on cloud nine. She could not believe that Alexander Hamilton–– the Alexander Hamilton–– had actually written her a love note.

It was weird how it’d all happened, really. Kitty Livingston, Eliza’s cousin, had tracked her down in the hallway between second and third period to thrust the note in her hands. At first, Eliza thought something was wrong because Kitty looked distraught, but Kitty raced off before Eliza could question it. Eliza didn’t have time to race after her cousin, and, besides, her cousin had been spending more and more time around the popular girls lately. Eliza was surprised Kitty had risked being in her presence long enough to give her the note.

Without questioning it further, Eliza dashed off to class, sliding into her seat, practically letting her backpack slam against the floor so she could open the note before the teacher walked in. She unfolded the loose leaf page to reveal a spidery script written in black gel pen:

Dear Eliza,

I've been thinking about you. I miss the simpler times when we were still friends. I'd like you to come to my homecoming party this weekend.

Love, Ham

Eliza had to reread the letter two more times before it hit her: Alexander Hamilton, the boy who had kissed her in kindergarten, still had feelings for her. Alexander Hamilton, the boy she’d had a crush on for the past eleven years, had a crush on her.

Eliza could not believe it. She could not believe it.

She could barely focus for the rest of her classes. All she could think about was lunch period, when she would see Alexander sitting with his friends. Normally, she sat with her sisters and their friends, far away from Alexander, but today–– today things would change.

The morning slowly passed. Eliza swore she could feel each tick of the second hand in the pit of her stomach. When lunch time finally came, she waltzed into the cafeteria with more confidence than she had possessed in the past two and a half years of high school. Angelica noticed the change in her sister right away.

“Someone’s happy today! You do well on that math test?”

Eliza shook her head. “No–– I mean, yeah, I did, but that’s not why I’m so…” she giggled.

“Giddy?” Angelica supplied, an amused eyebrow cocked.

“Yeah,” Eliza said with another laugh. She held the note out to Angelica.

Angelica read it, her brow furrowing in what looked like concern. “Where’d this come from?” she asked, her voice unusually strained.

“Kitty gave it to me!” Eliza said, beaming.

“Um, Eliza, you know Kitty’s been––”

“She’s our cousin, Angelica.” Eliza wasn’t sure what Angelica was going to say, and she didn’t want to know. She dismissed her older sister’s concern with the wave of her hand. “I’m going to go talk to him now.”

Just as Eliza was about to leave, Peggy joined the table.

“What’s up?” Peggy asked. She studied Eliza, her face breaking out into a grin. “Why do you look so––”

“Giddy,” Angelica said flatly.

Eliza passed Peggy the note. Peggy started jumping up and down as she read.

“Oh my gosh! ELIZA! Alexander Hamilton likes you!”

“I know!” Eliza said, jumping up and down with her sister. She glared at Angelica. “I’m glad at least you’re happy for me.”

Peggy smirked as she took in Angelica’s look of disapproval. “She’s just jealous.”

“Am not!” Angelica said.

“Okay, I’m really going now,” Eliza said. She pushed her shoulders back and flipped her dark hair over her shoulder. She wanted to appear confident. She felt like Alexander would like a girl with confidence.

Across the cafeteria sat Alexander with his friends, John Laurens, Hercules Mulligan, and Lafayette. They were laughing over something Alexander had said. John was laughing so hard that milk spurted from his nose, which only made the group laugh even harder.

Eliza would normally be far too intimidated to walk within a ten foot radius of their table, but the note had emboldened her. Alexander wanted her to talk to him.

She was almost there, she was so close––

Someone grabbed her arm. She spun around to see Kitty.

“Oh, hey, Kitty,” she said. “Did you know what the note was about? It turns out that Alex––”

“I didn’t read it, nope,” Kitty said, a nervous tinge to her voice. “Uh, but, uh, I need your advice on something. It’s important.”

Eliza studied her cousin for a moment. Even before Kitty had fallen in with the popular crowd, she’d never exactly asked Eliza for advice. Angelica was typically the advice-giver.

“Oh, uh, sure. What’s up?” Eliza asked.

Kitty led her away from Alexander, back toward the table the Schuyler sisters normally occupied. She sat Eliza down and began talking about how her mom was all up in her business lately and she just didn’t know what to do and…

Eliza sighed. She had really wanted to talk to Alexander, but she didn’t want to be a bad cousin. So she sat there and listened to Kitty babble on and gave some half-hearted advice. She would just have to wait until later that night.

She would just have to wait until Alexander’s homecoming party.

***

“Eliza, are you sure about this?” Angelica asked, anxiety obvious in her voice.

Eliza rolled her eyes as she held up different necklaces in the mirror. “Yes, mom.” She selected the gold necklace with a blue pendant on it. It went perfectly with her navy blue dress. “Stop worrying so much. I don’t know what there is to worry about!”

Angelica was silent for a beat too long. Their eyes met in the mirror.

“What if Kitty… Is tricking you?”

Eliza gasped. “Angie! How could you even think Kitty would do something like that?”

Angie looked down and shrugged. “She’s just been… She’s been hanging out with the wrong crowd. I’m worried they’ve influenced her.”

“She hung out with us for all of lunch today,” Eliza pointed out. “She rarely even did that before, so maybe she’s seeing through them and knows where the true friendship is at?”

Angelica shrugged again. “Yeah, maybe,” she said with a sigh.

Eliza could tell her sister still wasn’t convinced, but she tried not to let it bother her. Maybe Peggy was right, and Angelica was jealous. The thought of Angelica being jealous of her was new to Eliza. All her life, she’d admired and envied Angelica. Was this what it felt like to be the person someone else envied?

Eliza wasn’t sure she liked the feeling. She would much rather Angelica just be happy for her, like Peggy was.

Peggy popped out of the closet, where she’d been going through the girls’ collection of purses. Between the three of them, they had at least twenty.

“I think I found the perfect one!” She held out a gold clutch to Eliza. It matched her necklace perfectly. Peggy was good at making small details come together like that.

“I love it!” Eliza exclaimed. She stared at herself in the mirror.

Behind her, off to one side, Peggy’s face came into view. She beamed at Eliza. Angelica rested her chin on Eliza’s other shoulder. She looked skeptical, but her scowl lightened up a bit when she took in Eliza’s outfit and the smile on her face.

“You look beautiful, Eliza,” Angelica said. “Are you sure you don’t want me or Pegs to go with you?”

“Nah, I’m good! But thanks.” She hugged both her sisters. “Kitty will be there, but I bet once I get to Alexander we’ll have a lot to catch up on…”

Eliza and Alexander had been such good friends when they were five. Of course, everything is easier when you’re five. All they had to have in common back then was the fact that they both liked to play with Hot Wheels and enjoyed building sand castles in the sandbox on the playground.

Eliza knew Alexander liked to write, and that he was a talented debtor, but everyone knew this. He was a journalist for the school newspaper and he had won awards for his debating skills. He probably knew nothing about her. She mostly kept to herself and her sisters.

All the more to talk about, she thought with a smile.

Eliza waltzed down the stairs and into the living room where her parents sat, the younger kids playing with Legos on the floor.

“Well, look at you!” her father declared.

“You look beautiful, sweetie.”

“You ready to go?” Her father stood up.

Eliza wished she didn’t have to rely on her parents to drive her, but she hadn’t exactly wanted to ask Angelica, who she knew disapproved of her going to the party in the first place––

“Actually, I’ll take her.” Angelica stood in the doorway, car keys twirling around her pointer finger.

Eliza wanted to squeal and hug Angelica. Being driven by your cool older sister was infinitely better than being driven by your loving but awkward father.

Philip sank back down into his armchair. “Perfect. You girls have fun!”

“Thanks, Angie,” Eliza whispered as they headed out the door.

“Don’t mention it,” she said. She was clearly trying to be light, but she was failing. Angelica seemed like she was on the lookout for a predator. Like she was just waiting for something catastrophic to happen.

The drive to Alexander’s house was silent, save for the rock music playing on the radio. When they pulled up in front of the house, Eliza couldn’t help but gasp. It wasn’t like Eliza’s family didn’t have money–– they were very wealthy. But Alexander was a level above her.

Alexander was the adoptive son of George and Martha Washington. George was a US senator, and Martha also held some important position in a government agency. What, exactly, she did, Eliza wasn’t sure. Either way, the Washingtons were loaded, and it showed. Their house was huge. They owned land as far as the eye could see. It would be intimidating if there wasn’t bad pop music blasting from somewhere in the dark, and a bunch of high school students gathered on the porch.

“You sure you’re good?” Angelica asked. “I’ll come in if you want…”

Eliza did want her sister to come with her now that she saw how big the party was. But she didn’t want to appear weak. It was weird, she’d never worried about that with her sisters before. But she felt like she had something to prove, and she was going to prove it.

“I’m good,” she said with as much confidence as she could muster up.

“Okay, well, give a call when you’re ready to be picked up.”

Eliza nodded and hopped out of the car. She waved to Angie as she slowly pulled away, exiting the Washingtons’ circular driveway.

Eliza turned to face the Washingtons’ home. She squared her soldiers and marched forward, her flats crunching against the gravel of the driveway. As she approached the porch, she realized it was Kitty who was out there with her popular friends.

A look of horror passed over Kitty’s face when their eyes met. Eliza couldn’t help but feel offended–– how could Kitty spend all of lunch with them, then be disgusted by Eliza’s face just a few hours later?

“Wow, she came,” one of Kitty’s friends snickered.

Before Eliza could comprehend what that meant, Kitty stepped forward.

“Eliza, wow, you came.” Kitty looked paler than usual, which was saying a lot, since Kitty came from the white side of the family and normally looked quite pale.

“Yeah!” She dropped her voice to a whisper. “I’m here to see Alexander. He invited me.”

“Oh… Did he?” Kitty said, her voice quivering.

“Are you looking for our lovely host?” one of Kitty’s friends asked. “He’s in there.” She pointed to the front door.

“Okay, thanks,” Eliza said. “See you in a bit, Kitty!”

“See you, Eliza…”

Eliza pushed the heavy red door open and the music became louder. It didn’t seem to be in English, but in French. The Washingtons’ other adoptive son, Lafayette, was French, so Eliza figured that he was the deejay currently.

She looked around the dimly lit hallway. Girls laughed too loudly at boys’ jokes. One couple was making out against the wall, nearly knocking a portrait that hung there off the wall. Then she heard his laugh. She heard Alexander Hamilton’s laugh.

She turned, and there he was, talking to John Laurens, who was clutching a can of soda and laughing too hard at Alexander’s jokes.

I’ll just say hello…

Eliza crossed the floor until she was standing in front of the two boys.

Alexander looked surprised to see her. “Eliza,” he said.

Her name had never sounded so beautiful.

“I wasn’t going to come, but then I got your sweet note, and I just had to.” She smiled at Alexander.

“What? I didn’t write you a note…”

“What?” Eliza felt something shatter inside of her. She wanted to run, but she was cemented in place.

“Why would he write you a note?” One of the popular girls Kitty was friends with said from behind Eliza. “You’re a nobody!”

Eliza wanted to melt into a puddle. She wanted to seep through the floorboards. She wanted to be anywhere but there.

“Eliza––” Alexander said, reaching out to grab her arm, but Eliza flinched away.

Before she knew what was happening, she’d raced out of the house and down the Washingtons’ driveway. She’d also pulled out her phone and speed dialed Angie on the way.

“Hello?”

“Come get me. Please.”

“Eliza? You just got there––”

“Angie, please,” she said with a sob. “You were right. You were right.”

“Oh, Eliza. I’m coming right now. Stay where you are.” Angie hung up.

Eliza wrapped her arms around her torso, suddenly so cold. She prayed the darkness of night obscured her from the view of anyone still on the porch.

Suddenly, there was the sound of someone running across the gravel. The sound stopped behind her.

“Eliza?”

Alexander.

“Eliza, I’m so sorry.”

Alexander appeared in front of her. He looked distraught, and quite disheveled. She loved his disheveled brown hair. He usually wore it in a ponytail or bun, but tonight it was down and messed up from running. It was adorable.

“I didn’t know,” he said quickly. “I had no idea those girls had… Been so cruel.”

Eliza looked down at her flats and pushed around a piece of gravel with the toe of her shoe. “It’s fine. It was stupid, anyway. I don’t know why I believed it.”

“Kitty told me what it said. She said the other girls had put her up to it.”

Kitty did it. She really betrayed me like this.

“Let’s just forget it.” Eliza waved a hand dismissively and went to turn away from Alexander, but his hand landed on her shoulder, freezing her in place.

“I may not have written it, but the sentiment is true.”

Eliza was really frozen now.

“I do miss us being friends. And I’m really happy you came tonight. I don’t want you to go.”

Eliza had no idea what to say, so the first thing she thought of just tumbled out of her mouth. “I already called my sister.”

“Angelica?”

Eliza turned to face Alexander again, his hand falling away from her shoulder in the process. She missed the contact already.

“Yeah.”

“Well, tell her she can stay. I’d love to hang out with you both.” The smile on his face seemed genuine…

Before Eliza could respond, a car pulled up beside her. Angie rolled down the window.

“Leave my sister alone, Hamilton,” she practically growled.  

The back window rolled down and Peggy’s face appeared. “Yeah, or you’ll face our wrath!”

“It’s all be a huge misunderstanding,” Alexander said, holding his hands up. “I was just telling Eliza I really want her to stay, and that I would love it if both of you could stay, as well.”

Angie and Peggy turned to Eliza. They were going to let her make the decision.

Eliza shrugged. “Why not?”

Alexander pumped his fist in the air. “Sweet! Come on in, I’ll introduce you to my friends.”

Eliza smiled. “Okay,” she said softly.

Angie parked the car. She and Peggy walked on either side of Eliza as they headed back toward the house. Eliza felt like she had her own security detail.

“Oh, and Kitty and those girls are gone,” Alexander said. “I kicked ‘em out.”

“But they’re popular!” Peggy said, her eyes wide.

Alexander shrugged, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. “Yeah, but they messed with one of my friends.” He looked directly at Eliza. “Nobody does that.”

Eliza couldn’t help the smile that overtook her face. Maybe the night wasn’t ruined, after all…  

[whatsjungkooking]

all the asks ❤️

what’s your favourite memory? - i cant think of a specific memory but it most likely has lauren and jess in it

what song(s) describe your mood right now? - got me like by spencer ludwig

tea or coffee? - neither

sunsets or sunrises? - both!

vanilla, chocolate or strawberry? - in terms of ice cream, vanilla, in terms of cake, chocolate, in terms of flavour of sweets, strawberry

rain or sun? - sun definitely 

is your first language english? if not, what is it? - yas

do you like your ice crushed or in big blocks? - im not fussy

if you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? - c o n f i d e n c e

who are you closest to, your father or mother? - both

what time period would you like to live in other than your own? - hmmm im not too sure

is it hot or cold right now? - it looks kind of cold outside

what is your accent? - english

has anyone ever saved you from a situation? if so, what happened? - my friend zoe at work saves me from situations all the time to do with a guy that likes me lol

who did you last hug? - my dad

who are your top 5 fictional characters? - tris, tobias, juliette, warner, wonder woman 

how have you changed in the past year or two? - ive taken more risks and cared less about certain things

biggest regret(s)? - no ragrets

biggest fear(s)? - having no idea what to do with my life and death

is your room messy or clean? - inbetween

have you ever had a near death experience? - i dont think so

favourite scent? - coconut

would you survive a zombie apocalypse? - i reckon id do alright

what lyric(s) do you love? - tang tang tang fingertip

what do you like about yourself? - my eyes

what would you change about yourself? - in terms of appearance? ima roll with it and say nothing :))))

do you like your handwriting? - yes

how do you like to style your hair? - i usually like to have it up, out of my face, pony tail

what time is it? - 4:19pm

what time did you wake up today? - 8

what are your bad habits? - i say ill do something but i dont follow through, but ya girl is constantly improving 

what was your first fandom? - twilight?

burger or pizza? - pizza

do you have any unusual talents? - i can bend my fingers weirdly

when did you last feel infinite? - um?

when did you last cry? - a few weeks a go i think

who was the latest person to see you cry? - oh jeeeeeeeze i have no clue i usually am by myself

best movie? - mulan

best tv series? - greys anatomy

have you ever wrote fanfiction? - nope, actually maybe those lil paragraphs to jess and lauren HAHAHAAH

are you happy? - yes

do you really relate to your zodiac? - sometimes

what year was you born in? - do you know what im not even going to answer that “what year WAS you born in” jeeze louise sounding like coleford people right now 

do you often find yourself jealous? - nope

are you a fan of 80′s music?- yes

what has been your most vivid nightmare? - being in my primary school playground, a siren goes off and that flippin horrible bear from the teletubbies chases you until you can get to the safe zone which was the actual school, but i would be running so sLOW

what has been your most vivid dream? - ;)

have you ever had your first kiss? - yes

what has been your most intimate moment? - having deep conversations with lauren and jess

do you usually start conversations? - sometimes

are you superstitious? - sometimes

what do you believe in most, ghosts or aliens? - ghosts

what song(s) do you hate? - everything by justin bieber

turn ons? - smell nice, polite, honest, good sense of humour, nice smile always does it for me

turn offs? - dishonesty, no manners, general douchebag mannerisms 

are you comfortable with talking about your flaws? - yes

what are your otp’s? - JAUREN/LESS

do you have any bizarre experiences? - this man at work wanted a pork roll and i showed him sausage rolls bc thats a fudging pork roll mate and he got really iffy and was talking to me like i was stupid so i talked to him back in the same way, t’was bizarre

do you have a night/morning routine? - night, brush teeth, exercise and put my spot cream and lip balm on, morning, brush teeth, wash my face, warm water first then cold then moisturise 

do you have a bittersweet memory? - not that i can recall

are there any friends that you miss? - probably my old work friends

do you have an enemy? - no

are you a night owl or an early bird? - both

what is your dream job? - translator or athlete

if you had to pick a fictional universe to live in forever, which one would you pick and why? - i dont know of any that are actually nice or either too similar to the times now

do you know any form of self-defence? - some

favourite planet? - pLUTO fite me

do you consider yourself to be more masculine, feminine or a mixture? - a mixture but more feminine 

do you rely on others or do others rely on you? - a bit of both?

what do you think happens once someone dies? - i like to think they go to heaven, depending on who they are...

are you a leader? - no HAHA, maybe a support

what question do you hate answering? - any boys on the scene? I DONT GO ANYWHERE FOR THERE TO BE AIGHT

do you believe in guardian angels? - hmmmmmm yes 

can you rap? - IGGY IGGY TOO BIGGY TO BE HERE STRESSIN yes

how do you stay warm? - layers

do you want to be in a relationship? - i wouldnt mind 

how was your day? - it’s been okay thank you

are there any fictional universes you would not want to be in? - most of them HAHA 

what fictional character do you relate to the most? - tris from divergent

who hurt you last? - no idea

[haikyuulovercompany]

Oikawa - king by Lauren Aquilina

King - Oikawa Tooru. 

Oikawa left the gymnasium holding his head high, andhe kept it like that all the way home. Not a single tear fell from his eyes. Herefused to drop his chin in front of the people he knew looked up to him. Helistened to their coach. He praised everyone, and flattered their skills. 

“You all might feel disappointed, but what you did in the court was impressive.You need to…” Oikawa heard he coach saying as his attention swayed in and out.“The name of Aoba Josai…”

He looked to his side noticing the dried streams oftears on the faces of his teammates, on the faces of the people who trustedhim, and his words. He had promised they would win. They would beat Karasunoonce more, and then they would take Shiratorizawa’s glory out of their hands.

Instead, it was Karasuno the one who beatShiratorizawa on their first try. Oikawa had been able to see how much Karasunohad struggle throughout the whole match. He had pushed Iwaizumi claiming thatthe winning ceremony would make him sick. What was truly happening underneathhim was a complete different matter.

He closed the door of his room behind him watching thedimness it offered. He had faced that darkness before. He was familiarized withit more than he liked to admit. His shoulders grew heavier, and even the airwas denser. Just because he was used to staring into the void didn’t mean ithurt any less. He rested hi back on the door and his head finally fell down. Heslowly slid down letting the weight of his loss to settle in.

His hands went to his head, to his hair, and hisfingers started to scrap his skull and he grinded his teeth in a failed attemptto keep his emotions in control. Inevitably, faint whimpers escaped his mouthas thin lines of water framed his face. Their loss against Karasuno was like anearthquake destroying the foundations of his will. The ground beneath him shookso violently he didn’t have where to stand anymore.

You’realone, you’re on your own, so what?Have you gone blind?Have you forgotten what you have and what isyours?

He had worked hard. He had trained. He had spentyears trying to beat what he thought was his last obstacles just for Karasunoto come out of nowhere and stole what he had been fighting for. All fornothing. Because whatever he did would never be enough, wouldn’t it? Therewould always be someone to remind him his efforts were nothing but uselessreminders of the talent he lacked. When he looked back he only saw failure. Hegrasped victory, but never reach it. He was stuck in an infinite ‘almost’. 

Almost there.  Almost a winner.

Almost, but not quiet.

He could hear his phone ringing but he ignored it. Hedidn’t want to hear about the world. At the moment, even his soul feltpowerless and unable to answer any type of inquiring. There was not a bit ofhim that felt like trying.

He got out of his clothes still hearing his phonetirelessly ringing. He took it and turned it off before getting under hisquilt. His eyes were sore and his body begged for rest.  

——

She stared at the empty seat in front of her. Two daysstraight and he was still missing. Her heart clenched in her chest. She knewthere was no coincidence for Oikawa to be absent right after he lost. Hercellphone marked the thousands of calls she had made. All of them had gone intovoicemail. She had never imagined she would grow enervated of his cheery voice,but his voice telling her to leave him a message had become a nightmare.

She knew she wasn’t supposed to be calling him. If anyof her friends found out, they would sure be giving her a lecture aboutself-respect and self-love. She always saw in Oikawa much more than the othersdid. She had peeked into his heart once and she had never forgotten what shehad found. So it was near to impossible for her to leave him be, to simplyignore the hunch throbbing, indicating nothing was as it was supposed to be.

Glasshalf empty, glass half fullWell, either way you won’t be going thirstyCount your blessings not your flaws

He looked at his reflection on the bathroom mirror. He had big darkcircles around his eyes, and even when he had fair skin, he was abnormallypale. In the last forty-eight hours his life had been a mixed of drifting inand out of his sleep and hollowly staring at the ceiling of his bedroom. Thefood her mother brought him ended up flushed down the toilet.

He had to get up. He was aware that he needed to move on. Yet somehow,his mind didn’t act according to that knowledge. Would it matter? He could backto the gymnasium, back to court. For what?

He would stand behind the line waiting for his turn to practice. Hewould jump, he would strike the ball and hear it smash against the floor feelingunsatisfied because no skills had ever been sufficient to drive him to victory.So why would he make any new efforts, if the ending result would always be thesame? He didn’t want to see the dejected countenances of his teammatesagain.  

There would always be an Ushijima, or a Kageyama. Someone whose naturaltalent was so extraordinary, hard work would never outdo it.

Usually, his train of thought was the complete opposite. There used tobe no force on earth that could discourage him. With so much evidence along theyears there was no other conclusion he could reach. He couldn’t close his eyesto the facts anymore. To keep pushing countercurrent will only wreck himfurther.

He felt a jolt of desperation crossing his body caused by a crescentfrustration. To see himself so defeated made him feel pathetic and piteous. Theperson who was in front of the mirror wasn’t supposed to be him. He swanked hispride, his abilities, proud of who he was. He had sacrificed more than his timeto be who he was, to then just be reduced to that sad reflection.

He turned the shower on, and got in even when the water wasn’t warm. Histeeth clattered and his breath was heavy trying to resist the freezingsensation. Once the water felt hotter against his skin, he finished taking abath. He dressed in sports clothing and went out of his house.

 Youdon’t get what all this is aboutYou’re too wrapped up in your self doubtYou’ve got that young blood, set it free

Oikawa started trotting with a constant rhythm as if he was training. Hewanted to scare the demon that was suddenly living on his back, but it had itsclaws deep down his flesh and in a matter of minutes the trotting turned into amaniac running. Even though his feet seemed to be made of stone, he keptrunning. He wished he could outrun his misery, avoid the thoughts that didnothing but infuriate him.

He wasn’t aware at all of how much time, or how far he had run. Hesimply couldn’t take it anymore. He found himself alone in a public park, andtook his chance to hit the trunk of a tree repeatedly as he cursed under hisbreath. He was jaded. He was furious with himself, with life, with destiny,with whatever force was responsible. He stopped hitting the tree once henoticed the stinging pain on his hand. He also notice thin tears had fallenfrom his eyes at some point. He turned around resting his back on the trunk.

“Tooru,” he heard someone calling him. His eyes flew wide open at thesound of the feminine voice. _______ was there looking at him with the mostconcerned eyes he had ever seen on her. His mouth was ajar but no sound cameout of it. His state was deplorable and he didn’t how long she had been her.For the look of her face, he guessed that she had seen enough.

She walked to him with hurried step and inadvertently held him tightagainst her. “It’s okay,” she whispered to his ear. He stood dumbfounded for asecond.

His body started having small spasms as a soft wail came out of hismouth. His arms wrapped her in return, and he hid his face on the crook of herneck. She started stroking his wet hair as he let himself fully cry.

“It’s okay,” she whispered again. Her own heart was breaking as well.Oikawa had always stood so tall, so powerful. It was disheartening to catch himin such a vulnerable state. “You did well, Tooru, so so well.”

“I didn’t,” he said in a thin thread that sounded nothing like his usualvoice. “I was never enough” he stopped mid sentence. His voice got lost inanother painful sob. “I’m just another good for nothing.”

“You’re extraordinary. Do you even know how many people look up to you?”she broke the embrace and softly took his face so she could see him straight inthe eyes. “You’re an example to not only your own team but to so many others.”She took a deep breath maintaining her own emotions at bay. Oikawa was fullycrying now, endless streams slid down. “Who cares if at the end you lost.You’ve had three amazing years at Seijoh. Don’t you care about your team?” shestopped for a second as he nodded. “That’s what truly matters. They admire you. I admire you. Get over Ushijima foryour own sake. You have achieved so much on your own… Be proud of your team, ofwho you are, of what you had built.”_____ gently wiped away his tears before taking his face again pulling it down.She kissed his forehead and finally let go of him. “There’s more in this lifethan a high school tournament. What you have given to the rest of the team isfar more than important than a trophy. Try to think about that.”

She smiled sweetly, and continued her way. Oikawa didn’t turn to watchher leave. Instead, he walked back home with his head full of her words.

There’smethod in my madnessThere’s no logic in your sadnessYou don’t gain a single thing from miseryTake it from me

In another time, she would have stayed with him. If the circumstancesaround them had been others, she would have surely stayed. She felt tempted,but it wasn’t the right time.

The weekend went on without hearing about him again, but when Mondayarrived and she found him on class again, she felt glad. Despite the historythey shared, she wished him well. She had seen him on lunchtime laughing andsmiling with his in-crowd, and then she was beyond glad. It was nice to see himbeing his usual self.

She didn’t expect him to come to her again, so it was a genuinesurprised when he approached her at the end of the day. He looked as charmingas ever. The person she had seen on the Friday evening was gone. 

“Hey, ______, thank you for… for the other day.”

“Don’t worry. It was a coincidence to find you there. I only did whatevery descent human being would have done.”

“Yeah, I don’t believe that much in coincidence,” he admitted. He restedhis eyes on her taking in that small peaceful moment. They hadn’t share one inmonths. “What you said resonated a lot. It was a wake up call for me, so thankyou. I needed it.”

She shook her head. “Again, it’s nothing. I’m happy to know you’refeeling better.”

“Can we meet this weekend?” Oikawa asked leaving her speechless. “I wantto talk to you about Friday… and the aftermath of that.”

“Okay. That sounds nice.”

“Deal.” He smiled at her and then patted her head. “See you around.” 

You’ve gotit allYou lost your mind in the soundThere’s so much more

What had happened on that Friday evening had been a change of course forhim. He hadn’t lied to her when he admitted her words had been an enormoushelp.

He had returned home looking for the videos of any previous match. Thattime around he didn’t stare at him or at the opposite teams. He stared at histeammates. There was truth on what ______ had said to him. They didn’t have thetrophy, but the team he saw was a winner one. The chemistry between each ofthem, the agility they had was impressive. They were a team that knew how towork things out. At the end, he had led a team full of proud warriors.

His chest had filled with proudness, with that same pride he alwaystalked about. Maybe they weren’t the winning team, but they were a team anyonewould remember.

At the end of it all, everyone will always remember Oikawa Tooru as thecaptain and main setter of Seijoh.

And that was amazing enough.

You canreclaim your crownYou’re in controlRid of the monsters inside your headPut all your faults to bedYou can be king

——

Thanks for the request! I hope you liked it!

[falling-through-lost-spaces]

Books Owned But Unread

Fiction:

Joe Hill - The Fireman

Patricia Highsmith - The Talented Mr Ripley

Emma Cline - Girls

Kirsty Logan - The Gracekeepers

Seth Patrick - Lost Souls

Slyvain Neuval - Waking Gods

Mark Z. Danielewski - The Familiar Vol 1

Graeme Macrae Burnet - His Bloody Project

Austin Wright - Tony & Susan

Patricia Highsmith - Carol

Darcie Wilder - Literally Show Me A Healthy Person

Tracy Chevalier - New Boy

Andy Weir - Artemis

Michelle Paver - Dark Matter

Robert Daws - The Posisoned Rock

Laura Lam - False Hearts

Italo Calvino - If On A Winter’s Night A Traveler

Megan Bradbury - Everyone Is Watching

Sunil Yapa - Your Heart Is A Muscle the Size of A Fist

George R.R. Martin - A Clash of Kings

Sarah Moss - The Tidal Zone

Matthew Blakstad - Lucky Ghost

Toni Morrison - Tar Baby

Jeff Vandermeer - Annihilation

Colson Whitehead - Zone One

Kathy Reichs - Death Du Jour

Ann Cleeves - The Crow Trap

Ward Moore - Bring the Jubilee

Lisa McInerney - The Glorious Heresies

Chuck Palahniuk - Haunted

Michael Crichton - State of Fear

Neil Gaiman - How the Marguis Got His Coat Back

Agatha Christie - The Double Clue

James Patterson - NYPD Red 2

Maud Pember Reeves - Round About A Pound A Week

Paul Torday - Salmon Fishing In the Yemen

Jonathan Safran Foer - Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Daniel H Wilson - Robopocalypse

Yann Martel - Life of Pi

David Wong - John Dies At the End

Lauren Weisberger - The Devil Wears Prada

James Joyce - A Portrait of the Artist As A Young Man

John Ajvide Lindquist - Let the Right One In

Gregory Maguire - Wicked

Richard Yates - Revolutionary Road

Paul Beatty - The Sellout

Jane Shemilt - Daughter

Jane Isaac - The Truth Will Out

Karin Slaughter - Genesis

S.K. Tremayne - The Fire Child

Isaac Marion - The Burning World

Adrien Bosc - Constellation

Laura Power - Air-Born

Laura Power - Earth-Bound

Keith DeCandido - House of Cards

Wayne Simmons - Flu

Harper Lee - Go Set A Watchman

Dean Koontz - The City

Charlotte Bronte - Jane Eyre

Ali Smith - The Accidental

John Burnside - Glister

Lauren Owen - The Quick

Tom McCarthy - Satin Island

Dave Eggers - The Circle

Donna Tartt - The Secret History

Robert Harris - The Ghost

Michel Faber - The Fire Gospel

Michel Faber - The Book of Strange New Things

James Patterson - Pop Goes the Weasel

Jeff Lindsay - Dexter’s Final Cut

Gaston Leroux - The Phantom of the Opera

Banana Yoshimoto - Kitchen

Sinclair Lewis - It Can’t Happen Here

Kurt Vonnegut - Cat’s Cradle

Joseph Heller - Catch 22

Mark Twain - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Bram Stoker - Dracula

Cory Doctorow - Makers

YA/Children's Fiction:

A.S. King - Still Life With Tornado

Patrick Ness - More Than This

Andrew Smith - Stand Off

Andrew Smith - The Alex Crow

Johan Harstad - 172 Hours on the Moon

Ernest Cline - Ready Player One

Tommy Wallach - We All Looked Up

Karen Thompson Walker - The Age of Miracles

Tess Sharpe - Far From You

Leila Sales - This Song Will Save Your Life

Darragh McManus - Shiver the Whole Night Through

Rachel Cohn & David Levithan - Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist

Laura Lam - Pantomime

Laura Lam - Shadowplay

Cassandra Clare - The Bane Chronicles

Cassandra Clare - Tales From the Shadowhunter Academy

Cassandra Clare - The Shadowhunters Codex

Cassandra Clare - Lady Midnight

Cassandra Clare - Lord of Shadows

Andrew Smith - 100 Sideways Miles

Karen Nesbitt - Subject To Change

Anna Day - The Fandom

Brendan Reichs - Nemesis

Chinelo Okparanta - Under the Udala Trees

Nina LaCour - We Are Okay

Sarah Alexander - The Art of Not Breathing

Liz Kessler - Read Me Like A Book

Lisa Williamson - The Art of Being Normal

Laurie Halse Anderson - Wintergirls

Marie Lu - Legend

Eve Ainsworth - 7 Days

Lesley Walton - The Strange & Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender

Malinda Lo - Ash

Larry Duplechan - Blackbird

Makina Lucier - A Death Struck Year

James Patterson - Witch & Wizard

Jandy Nelson - I’ll Give You the Sun

Nick Burd - The Vast Fields of Ordinary

Libba Bray - Beauty Queens

Jack Cheng - See You In the Cosmos

Jennifer Niven - Holding Up the Universe

Becky Albertalli - The Upside of Unrequieted

Lauren Oliver - Replica

Ken Catran - Deepwater Black

Will McIntosh - Burning Midnight

Tahereh Mafi - Shatter Me

Libba Bray - The Diviners

Emily M Danforth - The Miseducation of Cameron Post

Carolyn Jess-Cooke - The Boy Who Could See Demons

Bali Rai - Killing Honour

Gayle Forman - If I Stay

Andre Aciman - Call Me By Your Name

E. Lockhart - We Were Liars

Katie Coyle - Vivian Versus the Apocalypse

Leah Thomas - Because You’ll Never Meet Me

David Arnold - Mosquitoland

Laure Eve - The Graces

Lisa Heathfield - Paper Butterflies

Ransom Riggs - Hollow City

Em Bailey - Shift

Francesca Haig - The Map of Bones

Rainbow Rowell - Carry On

Bryony Pearce - Phoenix Rising

Lou Morgan - Sleepless

Graham Marks - Bad Bones

Jess Vallence - Birdy

Teri Terry - Slated

Non-Fiction:

Brian Cox - Human Universe

D’Arcy Jenish - The NHL: A Centennial History

Greg Oliver - Don’t Call Me Goon

Andrew Hodges - Alan Turing: The Enigma

Susan Cain - Quiet: The Power of Introverts

Carl Sagan - Cosmos

Rebecca Skloot - The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Brian Cox - E = mc“?

Stacey Schiff - The Witches

Julian Sayarer - Interstate

404 Ink - Nasty Women

Lynn Povich - The Good Girls Revolt

Michael Finkel - The Stranger In the Woods

Kent Russell - I Am Sorry To Think That I Have Raised A Timid Son

Luke Harding - Snowden

Mary Roach - Stiff

Yuval Noah Harari - Homo Deus

Bill Bryson - The Lost Continent

Naomi Klein - No Is Not Enough

Dave Cullen - Columbine

Ian Nathan - Inside the Magic: The Making of Fantastic Beasts

Bob McCabe - Harry Potter Page To Screen

Adharanand Finn - Running With the Kenyans

Aurellien Ferenczi - Masters of Cinema: Tim Burton

Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner - Think Like A Freak

Olivia Lang - The Lonely City

Michelle Tea - The Chelsea Whistle

Simon  Singh - Big Bang

Tristan Taormino - The Feminist Porn Book

Kurt Vonnegut - A Man Without A Country

Nick Frost - Truths, Half Truths & Little White Lies

Russell Brand - Revolution

Robert M Pirsig - Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Francis Spufford - The Child That Books Built

Dominic Hibberd - Wilfred Owen

George Vecsey - Baseball

Richard Wiseman - Paranormality

Neil Gaiman - Adventures In the Dream Trade

Nicola Field - Over the Rainbow

Jaclyn Friedman & Jessica Valenti - Yes Means Yes

Elizabeth Kolbert - The Sixth Extinction

Eddie Izzard - Dress To Kill

Stephen Smith - Underground London

Plays/Poetry/Short Story Collections:

Tom Hanks - Uncommon Type

Joe Hill - Strange Weather

Dean Atta - I Am Nobody’s N*****

Amerlle - Because You Love To Hate Me

Roxanne Gay - Difficult Women

Mark Gatiss - Queers: Eight Monologues

Graphic Novels/Manga:

Tsugumi Ohba - Death Note Vol 6

Tsugumi Ohba - Death Note Vol 7

Tsugumi Ohba - Death Note Vol 8

[outroshooky]

CALLISTO MY LEGAL BBY WHOS AN ADULT NOW!!! HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE SWEETEST, KINDEST, MOST AMAZING, AND TALENTED ANGEL IN THE WORLD 🥺💓 you and your words are so beautiful, your heart is made of gold, your smile brighter than the sun, your heart bigger than the universe and your talent as well as your kindness infinite. there aren’t enough words to convey how much you mean to me and how much i adore you!! you’ve made such a big impact on my life, thank you!! i love you, have the best day 💗

HI HELLO 9-1-1 I WOULD LIKE TO REPORT A ROBBERY BECAUSE LAUREN ALSO KNOWN AS SOFTGUKS HAS STOLEN MY HEART??? madame, i would snag every star in the sky and give it to you if that’s what would make you smile. i love you with my whole heart; thank you for being in my life, for it is so much better with you in it. 🥺🥺🌸🌷💕

[prosciuttoe]

top 5 and bottom 5 kudos fic

tagged by the very lovely and talented @clarkescrusade ,whose fics you should check out if you haven’t already! 

rules: tag the person who tagged you, always post the rules, answer the questions, and add the date! (I realized belatedly that this said date and not no.of kudos but I already did it, so.... nvm y’all I’m a rebel)

What are your five most popular works? (in descending order)

1. Every Little Thing She Does is Magic (bellamy/clarke, 16k words, 1,493 kudos)

And this is how it always goes: she curses his ears to twitch all day, and he hexes her so bats fly out of her nose. She turns his morning porridge into concrete and he turns her eyebrows pink. They have Transfiguration together, and Mcgonagall makes them sit at different ends of the room, the only students to have been assigned seats.

Or; The rivalry between Bellamy Blake and Clarke Griffin is a thing of legends, but it doesn't exactly stop him from making out with her either. 

I wanna be SURPRISED that this is my biggest fic yet, but not really tbh? Pretty sure that this is the fic that most people know me from, so yeah. You can’t really go wrong with hogwarts!bellarke progressing from enemies to friends to lovers and eventually getting into a secret relationship.

2. No Space Lies In Between (bellamy/clarke, 15k words, 1,289 kudos)

(She has to remind herself that smirking is not a good look on Bellamy Blake. It’s not.)

Or: Clarke Griffin moves into her ex-boyfriend’s apartment- mostly out of convenience, but also mostly to spite her friends. In retrospect, she really should have thought this through.

Ahh, my exes that are still in love, fic! This was really fun to write, and I think it was one of the first multi-chapters that I embarked on. Definitely was a little floored by the response, mostly because I didn’t think the exes trope was all that popular. 

3. Explain The Infinite (bellamy/clarke, 6k words, 1,092 kudos)

“They respect you,” Bellamy muses, “and they sure do listen to you. But I’m not sure they like you very much.”

“How can they,” she says sarcastically, “when there’s you around, constantly vying for their attention?”

Or; Clarke’s pretty sure you’re supposed to like your soul mate. She really wasn’t expecting Bellamy Blake.

This was based on a soulmates prompt that I received in my inbox, but of course it spiralled into this 6k mess? Canon-verse with soul-marks, so it was a lot of fun to write, though I do remember torturing everyone by posting the whole 6k of it up on tumblr and forcing mobile users to scroll through its entirety. sorry guys

4. See Me in Hindsight (bellamy/clarke, 16k words, 1,032 kudos)

“You’re kind of a mess,” He says mildly.

“Thanks captain obvious.” The corners of his mouth twitch a little, like he’s holding back a smile. She is not remotely pleased by that. Not at all.

Or, the one where they're project partners and maybe, perhaps, friends. (And maybe, perhaps, more.)

My first college au!! Fun fact: a lot of this was based on True Events in my life, including the one where Bellamy gets into a fight in a parking lot and Clarke has to go get his stuff for him from class cos he’s literally bleeding all over the place. (Guess who I was in this situation, lmao)

5. Well, I’ll Be Your Partner in Crime (bellamy/clarke, 11k words, 856 kudos)

“Why not? We’re pretending to date,” he points out, ticking off his fingers. “You’re popular while I’m not. Oh, and we’re also complete opposites when it comes to everything else. Honestly, we just need a makeover scene to round things out. Give it color.”

Or: Apparently, the first step to restoring Clarke Griffin’s celebrity status is to date someone completely outside her stratosphere. Namely, Bellamy Blake. She’s not entirely convinced that it’s a good idea.

FAKE DATING. Celebrity fake-dating, to be exact. Hand to God, this is one of my fave things to write, like. I remember that most of the info I got on celebrity workings was through this one Lauren Conrad book and I just sorta... went with it and prayed it was accurate. I think I did?? Alright?? Or maybe everyone is too nice me how terribly wrong I went. 

What are your five least popular works by kudos? (in ascending order)

1. Right Within Your Heart (This is How it Starts) (bellamy/clarke, 6k words, 324 kudos)

“Uh,” Bellamy goes, bracingly, “yes?” Then, with a shrug of his shoulders, “Hate to break it to you, Clarke. But it’s just a holiday.”

Or: Bellamy has never had a enjoyable Christmas. Clarke seeks to rectify that.

I wrote this for bff’s christmas celebration, and it was p.fun! Basically chockful of good ol’ Christmas traditions like snowball fights and cookie baking set in canon-verse.

2. Nothing But Sheets Between Us (bellamy/clarke, 3k words, 320 kudos)

“Morally ambiguous?” She tastes the words out on her tongue, her mouth dropping open to gape when she finally gets what he’s insinuating at. “Hey! I didn’t know you’re my T.A. when I– when it happened!”

Or: In hindsight, sleeping with her T.A is probably a bad idea. Especially when it turns out that he's someone like Bellamy Blake.

I anger-wrote this after the infamous ‘blarke shit’ incident and can never revisit this fic without experiencing war flashbacks, tbh. I’M SORRY 

3. And The Trail Always Leads Back to You (bellamy/clarke, 6k words, 269 kudos)

“It’s a possible name for the van.” Clarke replies, absent minded, as if she’s not talking to him at five in the fucking morning. “There’s been a string of burglaries over at Ark High, and Raven says we should check it out.”

Or: Bellamy refuses to be a part of whatever sleuthing hijinks his friends are getting up to (with his van, no less.) Too bad Clarke’s pretty persistent.

Ooh, this was based on a prompt I got in my inbox, and I really liked writing it but also there was like... minimal plot, lmao. It was just bellarke being in love and solving mysteries. The End. 

4. Between Two Lungs (bellamy/clarke, 6k words, 255 kudos)

She still feels prickly, flushed from head to toe, like there’s something threatening to burst from her skin and swallow her whole. She thinks of Bellamy’s lazy smirk, the condescension behind the single princess, the glint of his teeth as he launches into another tirade. It feels a lot like waking up after a long nap and breathing in sharp, cold air.

Or, the three times where they work against each other, and the one time they don't.

High school!bellarke. Normally I’m one of those people that forces myself to see things through but for some reason... my inspiration for this fic really stalled mid-way. sorry, guys.

5. Up The Ante (bellamy/clarke, 19k words, 189 kudos)

But they’re together, still, and for as long as they are, well. Bellamy will always have hope.

Bellamy, Clarke, and the life they finally get to lead after everything’s been said and done. (Or: a mini-sequel of sorts to Sleight of Hand.)

Ok so this was a sequel to sleight of hand and I already figured before hand that not many people would be Into it, so it was a v.self-indulgent piece on my part? Just lotsa fluff and bellarke being happy but zero plot, so... not surprised! 

I feel like everyone I know is already tagged but nvm lemme tag y’all anyway: @hiddenpolkadots @mellamymake @rubysvida @madgesundersee @ahmren @grumpybell @kay-emm-gee @wellsjahasghost

[podcake]

Podcast Teatime: Boston Tea Party

Hello again, readers! To cap off this fine interview month, I scored big with pulling aside the creators of Greater Boston Alexander Danner and Jeff Van Dreason for some talk and tea.

(The following is a direct copy-and-paste from the email) 

Question One: I’ve always liked the semi-documentary style of your show. The way it often starts off with an interview that somewhat reflects the central topic of the episode is a nifty framing device. Is there any reason why you chose to do this? JVD: For one thing, our show is set in a real place, albeit a skewed, alt universe real place. Since we mention factual events and history, there’s already some bleeding between fact and fiction, past and present. Further, the show is about a community - a geographical area larger than a city. We have a large cast, but our thought process was the more individual voices that we hear from in the show, the larger our community feels, the more similar to a city and its surrounding areas it sounds. 

The answers we select from our interviews match the tone of what we’re going for, both for the show as a whole and the individual episodes. Some of them are funny, strange, sad, or a mixture of all of the above. It’s a nice, refreshing way to start, I think - hearing something real and authentic straight from someone’s mouth. It’s not written, it’s not rehearsed, it just is.  Finally, it was a good way to make the show more diverse, which was a huge concern for us giving that most of our cast members in Season 1 were white.

It’s a city. Cities are diverse, so it should have a diverse feeling.

Question Two: What is it about Boston that drives you write an audio drama based around it? Are you from that city or do you just personally find it interesting enough to write about?

AD: We’ve both lived in Boston for a long time, but neither of us is originally from here. We’re actually both from different parts of New York. For me, Boston very quickly felt like “home.” I love living in a city that you can reasonably cross from end to end on foot, and pass through such very different places. Boston’s one of the oldest cities in the US, so for good and bad, there’s a lot of history here, and Boston loves wearing its history openly. So it’s easy to find inspiration, both for quirky moments and dramatic.

JVD: Boston is such a weird city! So much of it makes very little sense. There’s this huge sense of working class ethos mixed with higher ed academia, it’s seriously progressive while also being incredibly old fashioned. There’s so much history and it surrounds us everywhere, but then there’s also a ton of development, so you have these old buildings next a bank-sponsored skyrise, the old Trinity Church is dwarfed by the John Hancock tower, but it’s also reflected in its windows. 

That’s Boston in a nutshell; this tiny, old little church directly next to and reflected in an imposing glass tower, Boston’s tallest skyscraper. In the Greater Boston universe, much of what’s happened in the past  remains in the present somehow; the sticky streets from the molasses flood in the North End, the fact that Wonderland is still an amusement park, the trash fire on Spectacle Island – and those are conscious decisions rooted in the fact that our history still surrounds us everywhere we look, whether we’re aware of it or not. 

There’s even some antiquated laws that are technically still on the books in Boston. I remember hearing you can challenge someone to a legal duel on the Boston Common because that law has yet to have been thrown out or redacted. And part of that weirdness to me is urban alienation. Every time I take the Red Line, I think of how weird it is that all these strangers are crammed together in this underground moving box, and everyone acts like they’re completely alone, ignoring the humanity, the community all around them. 

And that’s really a city in a nutshell. We’re all literally in the same situation, we have so much in common, but people sit seats apart from each other. They’re afraid of even their clothing getting too close to another human being. And I get it, because people are afraid of standing out and looking weird, or encouraging weird behavior from strangers. But I feel like the harder we try not to connect with other people? The weirder we all look! 

Question Three: Greater Boston is often described to be a sort of slice of life meets magic realism show…with a subway. Was this the genre you were aiming for or do you deem Greater Boston to be something else entirely?

AD: I think that description captures us pretty well. I worry more about the humor/drama balance than about nailing down a specific genre descriptions. That said, magic realism has certainly been a major influence on my my writing for many years, as have contemporary slipstream authors like Kelly Link. JVD: I appreciate the fact that our genre and tone are difficult to pin down. We wanted to create something complex, something that felt more like a novel in audio form, something that defied classification. It can be a tricky thing to balance, honestly, and we’re both very conscious about making sure some episodes are funny, some are more serious, while all of them sound a little…off, weird, strange, different. That’s the Greater Boston blend we’ve always been going for.

Question Four: Your cast of characters are colorful, to say the least. Is there anyone in particular that’s the most fun to write for?

AD: Well, they’re all fun to write for in different ways, especially because we’ve really tried hard to give them all unique voices. But I don’t think anyone will be surprised to hear that there’s a particular pleasure in writing Mallory. She was only ever meant to appear once, giving her recounting of Leon’s death, back in episode four, but she was just too much fun to write not to revisit her. And now she’s an important part of the full ensemble.

JVD: Mallory is a blast, but she’s also very difficult to write because you constantly have to come up with new and creative ways to swear! I’m not sure I can pick a favorite, honestly, but I love writing scenes with Gemma and Charlotte. They just have such an interesting and complex relationship. I really like Nica too and I use her to express a lot of my personal frustrations and demons. And Leon. Leon’s character is so finite that it’s easy to slip right into that voice.

Question Five: You’ve gotten to collaborate with quite a few people including those behind Ars Paradoxica as well as cameos by Lauren Shippen, Rick Coste, and Ryan Estrada. What was it like getting to work with them and what do you think it’s done for the show?

AD: Oh, it’s so much fun! We’re very lucky to have so many wonderful people who’ve been kind to our show. Getting Beth Eyre in for a recurring part through Season 2 was especially exciting, and she was wonderful! But one of my favorite aspects of this community is how gamely people step into help out on each other’s shows. So many of us have appeared on each other’s shows at this point! (I’m especially proud of my turn on The Infinite Now, in the episode “The Martian Thirst Trap.”)

Of course, that we were allowed to actually *write* a piece of arsParadoxica was a particular honor. They allowed us to write something thoroughly ridiculous for their characters, which was generous and a delight to be a part of. And “Curses” won’t be the last bit we guest write for other shows–but I think we’ll have some announcements to make about that closer to 2018.

Question Six: One of my personal favorite things about Greater Boston has always been the music selection. How exactly did you manage to get a soundtrack that screamed, “This an alternative version of Boston!”

AD: The music began with Dirk and Emily, who are old friends of mine. I actually know Dirk from my days in making comics, and we long talked about collaborating on a project. We *meant* a comic, but Greater Boston became the first project we actually worked on together. He and Emily happened to be talented musicians, playing primarily Irish folk and maritime traditionals, which is perfect for representing Boston. 

They then brought in Adrienne, who introduced the hurdy gurdy to our sound, which was a brilliant addition. Jim, who brings in the drums, is someone we both know through our teaching jobs. We kind of pull talent from all over our lives. Dave Lewis, whose original piano music appeared in season 2, is someone I hadn’t spoken to since middle school, but the show brought us back in touch!

BONUS: I’m sure many people want to know what pushes you to keep writing and creating your work. In something as rickety as the podcast scene, you never know what audience you’ll attract and what success may come your way, so what is it that keeps you determined in such a broad and still growing art field? JVD: A lot of what initially pushed us into the genre of audio drama was our frustration with trying to publish our fiction and produce theatrical work. It’s really difficult to do either of those things and what I love about podcasting is that you can just do something independently. 

It takes time, it takes work, it takes hours scheduling and recording and producing, but you’re able to make something complex and beautiful on your own and with the help of your friends. It’s more collaborative and hands-on than writing a story, and there’s more evolution in story than a produced play. And in either case, you have time to build an audience. 

Neither of us had dreams of producing the next podcast smash when we made Season 1. We just wanted to get our writing and stories into as many heads as possible. We’re actually blown away with how much Greater Boston has taken off. That’s not to say we’re some kind of runaway podcast smash, but it thrills us so much to know we have an audience. A small audience, but a dedicated one. That’s so huge to us. It’s a tremendous responsibility, in some ways. We don’t want to disappoint people. 

We don’t want to let anyone down. But it’s also thrilling and pushes us into wanting to make our show even better, with each new episode and season we write and produce. We also have to credit how nurturing and supportive the entire audio drama community is. It’s one of the best artistic communities I’ve ever encountered and it feels incredibly exciting to be a part of it, right now especially. I think in many ways, we feel really lucky that the show came out when it did, because we were among a lot of other fantastic audio dramas being released shortly before or after we kicked off. I think we’ve both longed to be in a community like this, where we can pop into each others shows or help record something for each other or even write something for another show. 

There’s something so rewarding about that to me. It’s the type of creative situation I’ve looked for my whole life.

AD: And the fact that audio drama is still a growing, developing field only makes being a part of it more exciting. Right now, it’s possible to jump in, and right away have your voice heard, and even feel like you’re influencing the direction the form is heading. The whole experience has been creatively invigorating.

It’s always these creative duos that give me some of the best answers. Hopefully you feel as warm and fuzzy as I do after that interview and are eager to check out Greater Boston for yourself. Thank you all for joining me for tea…now get the fuck off my Red Line.

[missavira]

Tagged by the always amazing @lixana :) thanks!

Rules: Always repost the rules. Answer the 11 random questions posted for you. Create 11 new questions and tag 11 people. Let the person who tagged you know that you’ve answered.

1. If you could meet any person, alive or dead, who would you like to meet?

Honestly, even though I know I probably just sound like a fangirl, I would love to meet Harry Styles :3 Yes, I think he is super cute, but I also think he is incredibly talented. He also seems really really sweet to me and, like, a genuine person, you know?

2. Do you have a favorite band?

Pretending the first answer didn’t give it away...I love One Direction ^^ I love the guys and I love their music ❤

3. What languages would you like to speak fluently?

JAPANESE! I’ve loved that language since forever, and I’ve been trying to learn it, but I’m so bad at studying diligently XD I was able to get by when I was in Japan, but my goal is to go back someday and be able to actually hold a conversation without asking what something means haha

4. Favorite food?

Gosh, you would think this would be an easy question, but for me it is not. I love so many types of food ^^;

5. Favorite season? Why?

Fall because the leaves are pretty and the air is cool and the energy is happy :) and let’s not forget Halloween!!

6. In which fictional world would you like to live in? (I’m stealing this one :P)

Can I say all of them?? Ahh so many hard questions! I want to say Kingdom Hearts because it’s my favorite series and wielding a keyblade and traveling all the worlds would be so cool! Ok, but living in the Pokemon world would be insane too because I love animals and I could be friends with all the Pokemon! But the Jak and Daxter world has zoomers and hoverboards, and Final Fantasy XV is a fantastical reality, and...

7. Any books you’d recommend to others?

The Fallen series by Lauren Kate. Good for people who like fantasy and romance and a plot twist at the end that makes you go “wow!”

8. What’s your favorite quote?

Basically any Kingdom Hearts quote because I’m KH trash haha

But I also really love “the sky’s the limit” and “I feel infinite.”

9. Do you have any OCs? If yes, shortly describe your favorite!

Yes! Actually I made a wiki for my OCs (still a work in progress) because I wanted a place to compile them all together and I like the formatting of the website. You can check in out here if you’re interested: http://missavira.wikia.com/wiki/MissAvira_Fanon_Wiki

My favorite OC is probably Alaina (http://missavira.wikia.com/wiki/Alaina) because her character is the most developed and I’ve spent the most time on her story. She’s a Jak and Daxter OC. She’s a mechanic that specializes in upgrading equipment, and she loves jetboard racing. An injury from her past has left her shoulder weak and her left eye blind, but she tries not to let this impair her. The loss of a dear friend left her reserved and obsessed with work, but through teaming with Jak and his friends, she becomes more open and creates a more balanced lifestyle.

10. Are you interested in mythology? If yes, do you have a favorite ‘god’ or other being? ^^

Absolutely! I actually took a mythology class in college. I really like Persephone and her story, and I like a lot of the mythical creatures especially griffins and sirens.

11. If you could be any mystical creature (mermaid, unicorn, dragon etc.) what would you like to be?

Oooo definitely a fairy, but a dragon or griffin would be pretty cool too!

~~~

Thanks, that was so much fun! I tag: @lixana back because I want to hear your answers :D @bakedpotatochips @lady-suzuka @gamerssoul and that’s all because I’m lazy ^^;

My questions:

Favorite song at the moment?

Favorite thing to wear?

PC, console, or handheld gaming?

Daytime or nighttime?

What skill would you like to learn or improve?

Ever been on TV, in the newspaper, or magazine?

Favorite place to go on vacation?

Sky, earth, or sea?

What mobile game do you play the most?

What kind of animal would be your sidekick in an anime or game?

What makes you the happiest?

[isabelleseleneho]

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damn. got 5k+ views on this one!

tho I was in hermit mode feelin’ emo, I had a strong feeling that I needed to get this one off my chest almost as if nipsey wanted me to speak to the collective.

well I now know why my brother. we need to wake the army up!

we gonna ride for you. for you and all our brothers and sisters who’ve fallen.

this isn’t the end, only the beginning 💪🏻🙌🏻🌹♥️

a captioned written piece:

rest in paradise fellow light warrior, nipsey hussle. stepping out of your physical vessel, into your infinite consciousness, your death has not only impacted the world, but those who identify with your will and determination to bring meaning and impact to your lives as well as the lives of others.

something really notable that I heard while listening a podcast (link in bio) talking about nipsey hussle and what touched me was the fact that though he was talented in the music he created, his death was mourned from the uncovering of his integral actions behind all the fame.

the world was witnessing karmic justice. 3D ways of simply ordering a hit to silence a light warrior on the way to transmuting denser energies is not effective as it once was. it’s primitive. the world has evolved, consciousness is going to hit critical mass and you can’t stop it. love is always stronger than fear, fear becomes love once healed.

the love nipsey had for a better future for his collective not only himself touched the hearts of so many. gangs coming together, the community standing strong in solidarity. that’s something that would’ve happened had he still lived to this day, but it just comes to show that his spirit lives on through all of the seeds he has been planting this whole time.

a beautiful man with a beautiful soul. a sacred masculine who was walking his path right with his sacred feminine lauren london.

blessings are coming, nipsey hussle the work you did here on earth was not in vain.

together we will rise.

together we will put an end to this silence.

once again, we will prevail.

ain’t nobody gonna stop us.

nobody.

source: @awakenedinmyfeelings

[hamiltonschoolmusical]

Graphite and Ink (Alexander Hamilton x reader)

Summary: Reader is an art major and avid sketcher who loves nothing more than sketching Alexander Hamilton, the most talented person on campus. Let’s just hope and pray he never finds out. (University AU)

Genre: mostly fluff, with a bit of angst

Warnings: mentions of anxiety/insecurity

Word count: 1,138

Notes: this is my first ever reader-insert/imagine, and my first Hamilton fic! It’s pretty meh, so please leave comments on how I can improve! Request from @hamimagines document. ☺ (also apparently you don’t have joint honours in the U.S. It’s basically like a double major but to graduate you need an 85% average. Double majors for really smart people.)

Move, you willed him. Move your damn head! You had almost finished the sketch. All you needed was for him to tilt his head back away from you so you could do his hair. Alexander Hamilton had these amazingly luscious locks that somehow always looked better than yours. But it was times like these, when you were silently sketching him, that you cursed his hair for being so thick and shiny. You shimmied a little closer and picked up your pencil, trying (and failing) to capture the way the sunlight bounced off his chestnut mop. All of a sudden, he ran his hand through his hair, knocking you over with his elbow.

“Whoa! (Y/N)! Sorry! Are you okay?” Alex pulled you up and put a hand on your shoulder. You immediately pulled away from his touch and rubbed your head. “I–I’m fine. Thanks,” you replied, giving him a shy smile. “I’m really sorry,” he apologised. “I didn’t know we had gotten so close.” He winked at you as your heart stopped for a minute. You tried to stutter out a response, but were interrupted by Alex’s group of friends, all very good-looking and all very popular. A curly-haired, freckled boy plopped himself down next to you, out of breath. “Alex! This kid won’t stop talking about how he’s going to get together with his friends and start an All Lives Matter rally! We need you! ” John Laurens was Alex’s best friend and the leader of the university’s Social Equity club. “It can’t be that urgent, can it? I’ll be there in a min–” “He’s wearing a Trump for Prez t-shirt.” Alex jumped to his feet, his face turning scarlet. “The minute I see him, I swear–” John cleared his throat. “Um, the girl.” “Oh, of course.” Alex scratched the back of his neck. “Maybe, as an apology, I could take you out for coffee this evening?” Was Alexander Hamilton, maybe the most handsome, possibly the smartest, and definitely the guy you had a huge crush on, asking you out? No. This couldn’t be possible. He was a English and Poli Sci double major with offers from nearly every major law school in the country, and here you were, barely passing an arts course. This had to be some kind of prank. It had happened to you once before in high school, so why not now? No. You wouldn’t fall for this. “Uh, I can’t. Sorry. I have to, um, study.” You immediately felt dizzy. You had one shot, and you threw it away! “Rejected!” Hercules Mulligan, one of Alex’s best friends, called out, as he sauntered up. Alex turned away, clearly disgruntled. “Whatever. It’s no big deal. I had debate club anyway. Let’s go kick some white supremacist ass.”

If you couldn’t focus on your drawing before, there was no way in hell you could now. 

He had asked you out. Why had you said no? It was the same reason you hadn’t tried out for high school plays and never went to prom. Fear. Rejection. Anxiety. You had passed up too many good things because you were worried they wouldn’t work out. Just add Alexander Hamilton to the list. You let out a deep sigh. Maybe a change of scenery could do you some good. Your notebook went in your messenger bag, along with your phone and wallet. You were too poor to afford a car, so any place farther than two kilometres away was out of the question. The campus library would have to do. It wasn’t bad there–in fact, you volunteered in the mornings–but after 6 pm, it would get loud, crowded full of students who certainly weren’t there to study. After grabbing a coffee, you mad your way to your favourite spot, a quiet corner on the top floor that looked out over the city, only to find him sitting there. “Alex? What are you doing here? Don’t have you debate?” He barely looked up from his laptop. “You know you don’t own this corner, right? Just because you volunteer here doesn’t mean–never mind.” “How did you know I volunteer here? I don’t think I’ve ever told you.” A hundred thoughts raced through your head, but whenever Alex was around, you couldn’t process them. “I said forget it!” Alex slammed his laptop shut and walked into you, knocking you over for the second time today. This time, however, your sketchbook fell out of your hands and onto the floor, laying open on a drawing you had done of Alex the day you first saw him. To this day, it was still your best. “(Y/N), what is this?” He bent down and picked up the journal, thumbing through the pages before stopping on the tracing you had made this morning. “Did you do this?” You felt blood rushing to your head and a ringing in your ears. “It’s not what it looks like, I swear, I just–” “You’ve been watching me.  Drawing me. Since the day we first met.” By this point, you were on the verge of crying. “I know I’m awkward, okay? I know that I’m just an outcast, a weirdo, and you’re over there with your joint honours and three million scholarships. What can I do? Draw? Barely. I don’t even know if I’m gonna graduate! Look at you. You’re amazing. Intelligent, talented, gorgeous. You’re gonna go on to change the world. And I’m just… me.” You cast your head down shamefully, instantly regretting every word you said. Gently, slowly, Alex put two fingers under your chin and raised your eyes to meet his. “(Y/N)…You are just you. You, in your purest, brilliant form. You, maybe the only person on campus who works as much, as hard as I do. From the day I first saw you across campus, pencil in hand, I could see you were as driven as I was, as creative, as determined to strive for perfection, that you were going to be my equal. I was wrong. You are so much more than I’ll ever be.” Before you had a second to react, Alexander dropped one hand to the small of your back and cupped your cheek with the other, and pulled you against him as your lips met. It felt strange–heartbreakingly amazing, certainly, but different. All through life you’d been made of graphite; a little cold, a little hard, a little too much pressure and you’d snap. Now, with him, with Alexander, in this moment, you felt ink in your veins: strong, sure, powerful. The two of you kissed in front of the window, in your corner, in the library, at the university you both went to in the town you both loved. You were together and infinite. It was dark, only distant streetlights and skyscrapers illuminating your shared silhouette. It would have made for a pretty drawing.

[americanahighways]

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There are circumstances that unquestionably reinforce your opinion of people. This undoubtedly was one of those situations. A little context, AHI, though originally from Ontario, now joins a formidable list as one of Toronto’s prized musical exports. The singer-songwriter has been nominated for a Juno in the Contemporary Roots Album of the year category. Previously, he has won well deserved awards from the Canadian Songwriting Competition as well as the Stingray Rising Star Award at the Folk Music Ontario conference. The man is an incredible, gifted talent. Yet there were only about a dozen of us seated at the Blue Door on a Wednesday night to see him share those talents with us. A damn embarrassing reception to say the least.

AHI last visited the Blue Door in the Spring of last year, joining Patty Griffin as she began a series of dates for her tour. The show that night was sold out, a standing room only affair, that saw a fan tucked into any available corner or space. I was blown away by AHI’s mesmerizing set of songs as well as his engaging, confidence filled personality and demeanor that warmed the room. The audience loved him and I did too. I simply couldn’t wait to see him return for a full set of his own. Blue Door owner Greg Johnson undoubtedly felt the same. The Blue Door has scaled back some of it’s week night shows as Johnson battles some health concerns, yet Johnson made a point of booking AHI for a now rare Wednesday night performance. Whatever the reason, few showed up. It was certainly their loss. This was a beautiful night of music and circumstances that made the best listening room in Oklahoma all the more intimate and the songs more special.

I’m sure there was at least a moment of some disappointment weighing on his mind as AHI took the stage with his band of Shawn Killaly on drums and new addition, Jordan Peters on guitar. If there was, he pushed it aside and focused on those of us that were there to listen. Over the next hour and 45 minutes or so, AHI and his talented band shared songs, stories and humor with us, surrounding the room with their positivity and affirmations. “Closer (From a Distance),” “The Architect’s Hand,” “Ol’ Sweet Day” and the contagious “Goldenous,” a song that always creates a smile. AHI also treated us to a pair of new songs, “The Promise Land” and “Lift Me Again” as well as a stunning cover of Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come.” Though some of the circumstances may not have been ideal, AHI, Shawn and Jordan refused to allow that to be the focus. Instead, they lifted the room with songs, and perhaps their own spirits as well. Witnessing AHI’s approach and how he in particular handled the situation simply endeared him to those of us present even more. AHI is the type of troubadour you really want to succeed and hope the world for.. AHI continues a headlining tour while also supporting Lauren Daigle on the ‘Look Up Child’ tour. Find all the information here: https://ahimusic.com/

Originally billed as an evening with AHI, I was surprised and extremely happy when local songwriter Chloe-Beth was added to the evening’s festivities. The young songwriting talent grew up in Enid, OK and now lives in the OKC metro area. Vocally, she’s a powerhouse, and infinitely compelling. Chloe-Beth is one of several incredibly talented women songwriters in Oklahoma that have become a force to be reckoned with on the songwriting scene. Rightly so, these Oklahoma ladies have the advantage right now, and it’s only a matter of time before their names are common place on pages such as this. A testament to this is that earlier this year Chloe-Beth won the People’s Choice award at the second annual Jimmy LaFave Songwriting Contest. No easy feat with the talents she found herself competing with. While her set tonight was a short one, she used it masterfully. The occasional smiles that graced her face as she performed seemed indicative that she is having the time of her life doing what she loves. That confidence and energy fit in perfectly with the rest of the evening. I’m now definitely looking forward to catching another opportunity to see her share her songs and get to know her and her songs better. In fact, I really regret not having done so already. She and her songs are just that impressive. Chloe-Beth has a debut album “Remnant” available, and I highly recommend checking it out. Find out more information here: https://www.chloebethmusic.com/

Show Review: AHI show at Blue Door with Chloe Beth was Incredible, Gifted Talent @AHImusic @bluedoorokc @alleyesmedia @chloebethmusic #americanamusic #AHI There are circumstances that unquestionably reinforce your opinion of people. This undoubtedly was one of those situations.

[clayray3290]

Clayray Closeout 2018

Another momentous year has passed, and I am feeling reflective about my tastes and my year, so once again, clayray is closing out the year. Usually I don’t do this, but this year, I traveled a lot, like A LOT a lot, and I made the move across the country to LA, so before I reflect on my media consumption, here is a list of all the places I went to this year:

January - Baltimore for a baby shower February - San Francisco Sonoma for a wine tasting trip with college friends March - New York City to see musicals April - Las Vegas for PBS TechCon Two days after getting back - Sarasota for Roadshow Less then a week after - Tulsa for Roadshow May - San Francisco for CAAMFest Louisville for Roadshow Literally the day after - LA San Diego for Roadshow June - Detroit for Roadshow Toronto with mom Montreal to see Sarah July - Charlotte to meet up with Colleen and Katy Smoky Mountains for a bridal shower New Hampshire for a wedding September - Moved to LA! October - San Francisco for a wedding Boston Newport for a wedding November - Florida for Thanksgiving

Whew! As you can see, August and December were the only months that I didn’t travel, and that was because August was spent preparing for my big move and in December, my family came to me. What with layovers, I was on 33 flights plus 5 significant buses plus several “road trips” with friends/family, too. And some of these trips were so back-to-back that I barely spent any time sleeping in my own bed!

Now, I’m still in a weird period of transition, but soon enough, I will develop a routine and establish a place here. I moved across the country with no job, no apartment, and very few friends, and it was a humongous change to make. But as scary and hard as it can be, I think I have enough faith in myself that it will all work out and I will be okay. And with that, I’m looking forward to 2019!

But meanwhile, continuing to look back:

Music - Artists

La Luz

Joywave

Jesse McCartney

Younha

Saint Motel

30 Seconds to Mars

Betty Who

The Aces

BTS

Infinite

As always, artists that I saw live are a huge presence in this list: La Luz, Saint Motel, 30 Seconds to Mars, and Betty Who, and technically I was walking up to the venue when Joywave was playing (which I am still bitter about, for the record.) Other artists I saw live this year: MisterWives and Walk the Moon opening for 30 Seconds to Mars, Tamia, Duckwrth and Buyepongo at the Made in LA Festival literally my second day in LA, Gymshorts opening for La Luz, Vincent Vallières and Brigitte Boisjoli and Martha Wainwright and Michel Rivard and Klô Pelgag at the Fete in Montreal, Bleachers, Sara Bareilles at MisCast, Dionysia and Bazmati Vice, Gryffin, and I guess technically I saw Pregnant Boy.

I have been in love with Jesse McCartney since I was 11 and he released new music this year, which I adored (which you will soon see in the Top Tracks), so of course he’s that high up. Similarly, Younha released an excellent album this year and I’ve always loved her. I actually didn’t find Infinite’s album particularly thrilling, but I guess I liked it well enough that I wouldn’t skip their songs whenever they came up.

I had actually listened to The Aces before, but this year was when I really got into them. Their album is stellar and I love their sound and their look!

And as for BTS, my mom’s actually a huge fan and there was no escaping their immense worldwide popularity. I remember when they debuted! It’s great to see how they have grown to be the K-Pop group that has “made it” to the States.

This is the first time in a long time that my all-time favorites like Secret and McFly haven’t been in the top. Secret’s disbandment really hurt, even though we all saw it coming, and I’m still not over it.

Odesza didn’t make it up to the very top, but I also listened to them a lot with my boyfriend. :)

Music - Albums

Younha - RescuE

The Aces - When My Heart Felt Volcanic

Infinite - TOP SEED

Hamilton OBCR

Alexz Johnson - A Stranger Time

Dan Masterson - When Reality Calls

La Luz - Floating Features

Janelle Monáe - Dirty Computer

Eric Nam - Honestly

Anastasia OBCR

Unsurprisingly, my top artists are showing up in the top albums. I was surprised to see that the Hamilton OBCR was so high, but then I remembered that I featured it heavily in my 4th of July playlist that I played during my party. I’ve been fond of Alexz Johnson since Instant Star, even though I didn’t actually watch the show, and my friend Schuyler and I had a bit of a phase reminiscing about that era of “teen show” singers like her and also Drake Bell.

Dan Masterson is, full disclosure, a friend of mine from college, but his album is really excellent, and you should check it out if you’re interested in piano-based singer-songwriter tunes!

What is there to say about Janelle Monáe except that she is a beacon of brilliance, and we are lucky just to be able to witness it.

The other musical on this list is Anastasia, which is one of the musicals I saw this year. I saw it on Derek Klena’s last evening performance, which is actually one of two times that I saw him. I also saw him in Jagged Little Pill at the A.R.T (he is not the best part of that show, though, Lauren Patten’s “You Oughta Know” is hands down unequivocally the showstopper). The other musicals I saw this year were Allegiance, Hello! Dolly, and I saw the Genies’ Jukebox. Not a musical, but I also saw the off-Broadway show Puffs, which was hysterical.

I’m not sure why I didn’t pay attention as much, but Death Cab’s album this year is pretty great. I didn’t love the Arctic Monkeys’ album as much as I wanted to, though they actually just missed being in my Top Artists by 10 listens. Robyn’s album this year was also pretty stellar, but it was released pretty late in the year.

Movies

As always, subjective ranking and not numbers-based.

Won’t You Be My Neighbor? Okay, biased, what with my children’s media thing and PBS thing. Tbh I don’t even like documentaries that much, but this one. I wept. And we really needed this film right now.

Blindspotting I saw this at the Independent Film Festival Boston, with a Q&A with Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal afterwards, and just wow. This is an incredible tour de force. Brilliantly crafted and visceral and hilarious, too. I know a bunch of people were drawn to it because of Daveed Diggs and his Hamilton fame, but genuinely, he and Rafael Casal’s passion for this film and overwhelming talent shine through in this.

Searching Look, I love love loved Crazy Rich Asians and Asian August and Asian-American women bringing back the rom com. As an Asian-American woman, I have been waiting for so long for this to happen. But I picked Searching because as a film, Searching takes the screen footage tactic, heretofore only really used in horror films, and capitalizes on it to such amazing dramatic and emotional effect. John Cho is fantastic, of course in this very tense and very stressful film.

Black Panther I cannot believe it hasn’t even been a year since Black Panther. Can we start using the term BBP and ABP for Before and After Black Panther? I saw somewhere that Letitia Wright is the biggest box office star of the year, which is fabulous because she is fabulous (and a Disney princess!). The world-building is amazing, the action is amazing, the eye candy is amazing (Helloooooo Michael B. Jordan and Chadwick Boseman and Danai Gurira and Lupita Nyong’o and...you get the point).

Ralph Breaks the Internet I spent a lot of this film marveling at how only Disney could have pulled this off, this massive ambitious bringing together of so many brands and characters and, y’know, the internet. I also enjoy that this is not a romantic love story, and it is a story about love in other ways. Loving your friends and caring for them and respecting them is so important, and dealing with insecurity is as well. This is such a smart movie, and as somebody who cares about children’s media, that is the standard to which we should aspire.

Honorable Mentions: A Quiet Place (Though of the horror films this year, Hereditary and Annihilation were also very good), Madeline’s Madeline for Helena Howard’s performance, I Tonya because um duh figure skating but does not make the list because trying to pass off Margot Robbie as teenage was laughable, Three Identical Strangers

Movies I Want to See But Haven’t Yet: Eighth Grade, Sorry to Bother You, Support the Girls, Widows, Creed II, The Hate U Give, Halloween, Burning, RBG, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Dumplin’ (My roomie’s in it!)

Movies I Should See But Haven’t Brought Myself To Care About: A Star is Born, Mission Impossible: Fallout, Mary Poppins Returns, Green Book, Love Simon, Paddington 2

2020.12.02 EDIT: I was wrong about Paddington 2. It is an incredible film.

Television

Sharp Objects I’ve read the book (and own it somewhere...) but it had been a while, so Sharp Objects did what a good mystery does - even upon a revisit, the things you don’t remember are tantalizing and the discovery of new clues and revelations keep shifting your perspective and giving it a jolt each time. Amy Adams is phenomenal in this (as she always is) and Eliza Scanlen as Amma gives a piercing performance in this.

Queer Eye All of the remakes happening incessantly is tiring and also eyeroll-inducing (it’s cliche but honestly, where are the original ideas nowadays?), but then we get something like Queer Eye. Reality TV gets a hard rap, but with Queer Eye, you get the entertainment factor and also incredibly moving emotional heft as well. Also, I genuinely wonder at how Bobby gets all that house remodeling done and he doesn’t get enough credit for it!

The Haunting of Hill House I love the Shirley Jackson story and also the original movie (I have not watched the 90′s movie and I don’t think I ever will), so my only real gripe with this show is that I wish they didn’t call it The Haunting of Hill House because it really isn’t. But what it is, is a brilliant family drama launching off of the Hill House story. It is captivating and beautiful and spooky, and also the casting of the young kids is impeccable.

Nailed It! Sometimes you just need to guffaw over people’s ridiculous failures. This show doesn’t take itself too seriously and because it embraces the silly, it’s full of heart and joy.

Élite I love foreign teen dramas. I love murder...in my television/movies. Of course I was gonna love this show. But just because it has these two elements doesn’t mean that I automatically was going to think it’s a great show (It does probably mean I would automatically enjoy it, but that’s different). Both of these genres are rife with tropes, but this show takes them and executes them in such a way that it rings true and doesn’t distract from your enjoyment.

Honorable Mention: Memories of the Alhambra only because it’s still ongoing! It’s a brilliant way of looking at technology and combining it with all the elements of a K-drama that you could want. It’s kinda like if a good episode of Black Mirror (because goodness knows that quality varies) combined with a K-drama.

Also of mention are some excellent series that continued this year. I can’t believe I didn’t watch them when they first came out, but The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Big Mouth are both so so good. Though I have strong feelings about the second season of Maisel and think the Paris bit was just an awkward flex and should have been cut, and the Catskills could have been an entire series of its own. Also, I actually saw Nick Kroll do some readings of all the characters in Big Mouth at the Vulture Festival this year!

In addition to the show-watches-from-the-beginning that I am still working through (Parks and Rec, The Wire, Gilmore Girls, Mad Men, etc.) I’ve also started watching Ugly Betty and Strong Woman Do Bong Soon from the beginning.

There are a few new shows from this year that I really have been wanting to watch but haven’t yet: Killing Eve, Kidding, Homecoming. Mostly Killing Eve for Queen Sandra Oh and also the girl from MMFD!

Okay, whew! That’s enough of that. Where do I even find the time to watch all this stuff??