#The TS Anthology series

[soniruza]

A fortnight passed, and just like Taylor, I surprise you with a double room!✌🏻🤍

The Tortured Poets officially moved into their Department. 🪶 If you wanna tear these rooms apart, I'll just watch it happen. 📜 They aren't mine anymore! 🌑

[swiftiesoliloquies]

Part 3 of characters as t swift songs! Where my Pjo swifties at?

[imgondeletedis]

~𝒊 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖. 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒓𝒖𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆.~ || 𝚊 𝙱𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚌𝚝 𝙱𝚛𝚒𝚍𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚘𝚗 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚒-𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜. || 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚢 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚗𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚋𝚢 𝚃𝚊𝚢𝚕𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚠𝚒𝚏𝚝 𝚏𝚝. 𝙿𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝙼𝚊𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚎

. 𝙼 .𝙰 . 𝚂 .𝚃 . 𝙴 . 𝚁 . 𝙻 . 𝙸 . 𝚂 . 𝚃 .

-started: Thursday, 4th of July, 2024.

𝟎𝟎. 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞

Finished: -

a/n: i haven't finished writing yet so I am not gonna get ahead of myself and add or count how many chapters i am gonna write (which won't be ALOT because this is meant to be a mini-series till now), but i will add to and update this masterlist daily as soon as I finish writing something related<3 I love you all and I appreciate everyone who's invested in this💓🫶

[collecting-stories]

King of my Heart - Jay Halstead

Request: Hi! Can i request King Of My Heart with Jay Halstead?❤️ 

A/N: I just really like the idea of Jay with like a firefighter s/o. I think I've written like two other fics with him and a firefighter s/o, pretend they're all interconnected lol.

TS Anthology Series | One Chicago Masterlist

...is this the end of all the endings?...

Dating with your schedule was not easy. Finding time to actually connect with people outside of work was next to impossible, especially since you’d taken on some paramedicine shifts for Sylvie on your days off from the Firehouse.

While you were trying not to rush into things or make any assumptions about whether dating was the correct term, you’d been spending a lot of time with Jay in recent weeks. You’d volunteered to help at a city garden that Trudy helped organize and he’d been there too and you’d both sort of clicked (at least that’s how you described it to Stella later on because you were too hesitant to admit that Jay had pretty much stuck to your side that whole day and asked you for drinks immediately after).  

“I just don’t wanna like...move too fast.” You explained, pulling your shirt over your head and fixing your hair, “like, okay...what if it’s just supposed to be like a casual thing and I make it this big thing in my head that it isn’t? Then I feel stupid and I can never show my face when he’s around.” 

“Listen, if it’s casual, he’s the one who should feel stupid. You’re a total catch,” Stella replied, always ready to be your cheerleader when you were feeling insecure about something. “You are a total badass, you’re on Squad. You don’t need some guy and he’s lucky you’re giving him the time of day.” 

“I wouldn’t go that far.” 

“I would!” Stella insisted, “you don’t need him, don’t feel like you need validation or something.” 

“I don’t. I’ll admit I’m okay single but, it is kinda nice having someone...I don’t know, want to put in the effort after a long shift. I mean, it’s not like we have easy jobs.” You replied, grabbing your duffel from the bench and slinging it over your shoulder. “I guess I just want some clarification. Are we dating? Is he thinking this could be something more serious? Is he even looking for something more serious?” 

“Are you?” She deadpanned as you both made your way out of the locker room. Most of the other third shift had left already but Stella had hung back with you while you showered, mostly to listen to you have a mini-crisis over your budding relationship with Jay.  

“I feel like I could be.” You shrugged, “that sounds stupid but like, sometimes I just look at him and think like, yeah I could do this every day of my life. That’s really fucking scary Stella...like...” 

You trailed off as you made it out onto the driveway and saw Jay’s pickup parked out front. He was standing there on the passenger side, leaning against the truck and when he saw you he smiled. Stella nudged your ribs playfully before giving you a silent wave goodbye and heading to her car.  

“Hey,” you called out as you got closer, “don’t you have work?”  

“Caught a double yesterday, just got off like an hour ago.” Jay replied, “Figured if you don’t have plans this morning you might wanna get breakfast?”  

“Oh my god yes, I’m starving,” you said, letting Jay take the bag off your shoulder and toss it in the back of his truck. “Herrmann has a new candidate and he offered to make dinner last night-” you shuddered and Jay laughed. 

“That bad?” 

“Terrible! And we ended up getting a call anyway so basically...no dinner.” 

Jay shot you a sympathetic look over middle console, “Shit baby, I’m sorry.” 

You felt yourself warm up at the sound of him calling you baby. You weren’t much for pet names but somehow hearing the word out of Jay’s mouth squashed all the worries you’d been keeping close to your chest.  

- 

“Jay!” You whispered, trying not to laugh and draw anyone’s attention, though most everyone in the house was asleep at this hour. Aside from Herrmann who had gotten stuck on night shift and was currently trying to keep his eyes open to reruns of Lets Make a Deal in the common room. He had ears like a hawk though and you knew he’d come snooping if he heard commotion. “We’re gonna get in trouble.” 

Jay smiled against your neck, placing another kiss there before responding, “I don’t work here so technically...” 

“Well don’t get me in trouble then!” You replied, unable to stop a laugh from escaping this time as you bumped into the washing machine.  

It was nearly one in the morning when Jay had shown up at the firehouse, texting you and telling you to let him in the back door. He’d just gotten off work and you still had six more hours on shift but it was officially your six month anniversary and he was surprisingly sentimental. Although you weren’t sure that making out in the laundry room like two horny teenagers was exactly sentimental.  

You didn’t get much time to consider anything at all because the siren went off, the overhead voice alerting the firehouse, “Truck 81, Engine 51, Squad 3, Ambulance 61.” 

“I have to go,” you insisted, pulling away, “Jay, I have to go.”  

“I know, I know.” He let go of you, stepping away so you could head out to the apparatus. He followed behind you, careful to stay out of the way, stopping at the Squad table. 

“I knew I heard something!” Herrmann laughed, walking through the double doors with Ritter, “Sneaking around the firehouse like a couple a kids!”  

You did your best to ignore Herrmann as you geared up, stealing one more kiss from Jay, “I’ll see you after shift?” 

“Yeah, I’ll pick you up.” 

“Get in the rig lovebird!” Tony called out the window and you rolled your eyes before climbing up into the back with him and Capp.  

You couldn’t resist a last glance out the window as you pulled out into the street, Jay standing there with his hands in his pockets, watching you and grinning. By the time you got to the fire, you’d be clear headed and ready to work but until then, you’d let yourself be a little lovestruck.  

[euryvices]

Hi what are your most Valgrace-core TTPD quotes? I need inspiration and Taylor always gets me thinking about them.

First off, thank you so much for giving me the chance to yap about my two most favorite things - valgrace & ttpd. Second off, Leo and Jason throughout all my hc's are literally the definition of, am i into him or do i want to be him? Also, I GOTCHUUU :

Fortnight : hidden glances, shaking fingers, stolen moments in school bathrooms. "I love you, it's ruining my life." Jason can't stop thinking about Leo. In the middle of the night, when he can't breathe without it sounding like a hymn, he thinks of him - instead of Piper, his girlfriend. "Your wife (gf) waters flowers, I wanna kill her." Leo can't stand how in love Piper and Jason look. The perfect celebrity, vogue-cover couple. And how he wants Jason all to himself. "Move to Florida, buy the car you want." Secret dreams Leo harbors, in that noise-packed, death-of-the-nerd type school.

The Tortured Poets Department : pretending to be alright, bus trips to nowhere, amnesia. "You're in self sabotage mode." Leo needs, he needs with an intensity he can't explain. To counter that, he makes dumb jokes and pushes Jason away. "I chose this cyclone with you." Jason has no idea where he is. Who that pretty brown-skinned boy with a goofy sense of humor is, and who the gorgeous girl sitting next to him is. "Sometimes I wonder if you're gonna screw this up with me." Leo worries Jason will push him away, while actively pushing him away (emotionally).

My boy only breaks his favorite toys : fights with the wind, dreaming of soft brown eyes, fights & running. "The sickest army doll." Jason. Need I say more? More boy-soldier, more army man than before. He gets up at 5 a.m. Leo wonders why he hadn't seen this side of him before. "Rivulets descend my plastic smile." Leo fakes his laughter, and it annoys his bestfriend, Jason, who can somehow see through him. "He runs, because he loves me." Leo runs from emotional conversations because he's in love with Jason. "He was my bestfriend." Until he wasn't just that.

Down Bad : working out at camp, different cabins, campfire, flirting with girls to get over you. "Fuck it, if I can't have him." Leo wants this boy so, sooo bad. Overplays his attraction to women, trying to pretend he isn't in love with Jason. "I might just die, it would make no difference." Leo skipping into the forest searching for a half-dead dragon with homicidal tendencies and constipation. "For a moment I was heaven struck." Jason looks at Leo not looking at him, around the campfire. (In the book he's like, oh cool Leo's sitting next to me, and then gay panic.) "Staring at the sky, come back and pick me up." Leo also wants the sky-uppies. Most definitely. He's jealous Piper had that. "I loved your hostile take-overs." Not explaining this one bc, uh...

So Long, London : moving on, new relationships, crumbling friendships, dragons & lost boys. "Pulled him in tighter each time he was drifting away." Jason tries to keep their friendship afloat, not understanding that Leo is literally running on fumes. "I stopped trying to make him laugh." Leo stops the stupid jokes, because he's so tired (physically and emotionally). (In the books he becomes more comfortable, and doesn't seem like he has to gain more approval from Jason at this point.) "You'll find someone." Jason reassures Leo. He notices that he says "someone" and not "a girl". "My white knuckle dying grip." Jason holding onto Leo as he steers across the cloud. "A moment of warm sun." The sun breaks through the clouds and lights Leo like a stained glass. "Two graves, one gun." C'mon, that's so romantic, I had to add it!

But Daddy, I Love Him : undeniable affection, looks over dumpster fires, coming to terms. "I just learned these people only save you - to cage you/cause they hate you." Jason's amnesia manifests in visions of hurt, pain and loss. He finally understands - his father loves him in the way cacti love camel piss. "He was chaos, he was revelry." Leo is so undeniably in love with Jason. "Bedroom eyes like a remedy." Let's be honest, Jason totally has bedroom eyes when he looks at Leo. And this one hundred percent has an effect on Leo that even Piper can see. "I'd rather burn my whole life down." Leo would rather use his powers and die than lose Jason. "Me and my wild boy/ And all this wild joy." Something shifts when they sit up late at night, while Piper sleeps off her broken leg.

Fresh Out The Slammer : convicts, thieves, silent confirmations. This entire freaking song is THEIR song. Leo thinks he's a monster. Jason thinks he is a disgrace. Where do monsters & disgraces go, if not to each other? "Now pretty baby, I'm running back home to you." That one field scene. Need I say more? "For just one glimpse of his smile." In the books, if I'm not wrong, Jason cracks a joke when they're fighting, and Leo doesn't laugh. "Wearing imaginary rings." They can't get married, timeline-accurately.

Florida!!! : aunts from hell, driving yourself crazy, Medea. "I got some regrets, I'll bury them in Florida." The whole Medea thing is in Florida, if I'm not wrong. She charmspeaks them into doing some shit, and reveals Leo's internalized inferiority complex. "Florida is one hell of a drug." It literally was an acid trip for anyone who didn't speak charmspeak!

[horrorforemetophobes]

Halloween 2022: Part 2!

We’re baaaaaack! This time with a bundle of abundant horror guaranteed to give you ghastly nightmares with no end until November! Feast your eyes on the latest installments of a horror movie countdown, a complete series of anthology horror and even a double bill book-and-movie night for the most relaxing spooky night in you’ve ever had! Sleep with one eye open and you’ll see me again soon!! 101 Scariest Horror Movie Moments: Part 2 Episode 6: 09:50-10:21. Severity: 9/10. Clip from Sixth Sense with v*ing character. 26:31-26:55. Severity: 6/10. Clip from Don’t Breathe, character ch*kes and g*s. Episode 7: Nothing to skip! The Midnight Club (2022) * Please note this series centres around themes of death, terminal illness and suicide. See Other Content notes for more information * Episode 1: Nothing to skip! Ep 2: 27:50-28:30. Severity: 7/10. Character repeatedly v*s offscreen with graphic audio and is shown talking in bathroom. Ep 3: Nothing to skip! There are mentions. Ep 4: 21:15-22:32 As in ep. 2, with mentions of n*. Ep.5: 00:30-00:41. Severity: 8/10. Character suddenly v*s with graphic visuals. Ep.6-8: Nothing to skip! Ep.9: 56:13-end of episode. Severity: 8/10. Several characters v* with graphic visual and sound. Skip to the next episode when Dr Stanton appears. Ep.10: 05:07-05:14. Severity: 5/10. Character seizes and v*s. 05:52. Mentions of stomach p*mping. Other Content: Blood, injury detail, cancer, terminal illness, hospice, medical detail, death, suicidal ideation, violence, ghosts, AIDS, self-harm, needles, drug use, alcohol, parental neglect, absentee parents, religious abuse, homophobia, inspiration porn, homeopathy, animal abuse. — For resources and support, please access wannatalkaboutit at: https://www.wannatalkaboutit.com Grady Hendrix’s Demonic Double Bill! My Best Friend’s Exorcism (2022) * Please note the exorcism scene itself contains sounds throughout that may be distressing. It might be helpful to watch the scene muted with subtitles! * 0:24:50-0:25:05. Severity: 10/10. Character suddenly v*s with prolonged visuals and sound. Mentioned at 0:25:18. 0:57:04-0:58:29. Severity: 8/10. Prolonged scene with mentions of v* and some g*ing. Some warnings removed for spoiler reasons, please read a synopsis for details! 1:17:39. No v*, but character sp*ts. 1:25:30-1:26:06. Severity: 10/10. Prolonged v* scene with visuals and sound. Other Content: Blood, injury detail, possession, alcohol abuse, drug use, demons, casual homophobia, use of slurs, eating disorders, abuse, manipulation, bullying, allergies. Some details removed for spoiler reasons, please read a synopsis if unsure!! Horrorstör (2014, UK paperback edition) Ah, the wonders of working retail. The aisles of pristine product, the neverending beep-beep-beep of the checkouts, the endless stream of deal-starved customers. It’s a long, thankless job, but mercifully predictable, at least for most of us. For the employees of Orsk, not so much. There’s something wrong with their superstore, and three of the employees are going to get to the bottom of it. Pages 117-120. Severity: 8/10. Character has sn*t running from face, then v*s with graphic description. No aftermath after pg.120.

[yurimother]

Newest Volume of Anthology 'Yuri Drill' Includes a Transgender Character

The latest volume in Kadokawa's Yuri Drill anthology series was released in Japanese on March 27. Included in the volume was an entry about a transgender Yuri pairing.

The single-page entry, written and illustrated by Yuusuke Shiba (I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level), is entitled "TS Yuri." TS here is short of transs****l, a term many people in the LGBTQ+ community consider to be outdated. It can be used in Japan to mean a genderbend/genderswap fiction (although many prefer the abbreviate TG for these purposes). It is possible that the author was unaware of the complexity of the term and its significance to the LGBTQ+ community.

In the manga, two childhood friends ponder one girl's gender identity, and one asserts staying as she now is, affirming her identity.

Some online have questioned in reviews on BookWalker and Amazon if the chapter should be considered Yuri. However, while transgender representation is rare in Yuri, the inclusion of trans storylines and characters in Yuri dates back to the genre's early manga roots. Confirming that transgender Yuri is indeed Yuri.

Yuri Drill is a Yuri anthology featuring various artists, including Fly, Milk Morinaga, Itou Hachi, Saburouta, and many more. The fifth entry includes works by 31 artists. Entries in the anthology are a single page, although artists often have multiple stories in each anthology centered around a theme such as Yuri marriage or boobs in Volume 5. They are accompanied by a single interview question, for example, "briefly explain the intention of your Yuri."

Yuri Drill is not currently licensed for English release.

[diracsea]

Just saw a post on here asking if Elijah Wood got typecast into roles that require lots of walking around after his success in LOTR trilogy, and since I’m currently not allowed to watch movies for a while, here’s a list of (hopefully interesting enough) coincidences about Wood’s characters that I’ve noticed after binging about 30 films starring him in 1 month.

Please note that this is only a non-exhaustive list, because there’re still a lot of his films that I haven’t watched. If you want to add anything to this (supposed you stumbled onto this list floating in nowhere-land first lol), you’re welcome to do so!

Films in which Wood’s characters walk around a lot (and most of whom are also melancholy little boys):

The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Need I explain more? The man walked straight into Mordor.

Over the Garden Wall. The boy Wood voiced wandered with his little brother through many places in a land (a realm? a secret dimension?) called The Unknown in search of a way home. Since it is now October and the spooky season has officially begun, I’d recommend everyone to give this series a try, it’s very good.

Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. Yet another show in which Wood’s character had to drag himself around a lot, this time as a reluctant sidekick to an eccentric self-proclaimed detective.

Everything Is Illuminated. Wood portrayed the protagonist in this film, a young American Jew embarking on a quest to find a woman who had saved his grandfather’s life during the Holocaust. An exceptional movie with an overall talented cast, very much recommended.

I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore. In this film he also played a sidekick (should I call Tony a jock?), but this time is to a depressed woman who just wanted to do the right thing. This film is very strange indeed, but the two main characters (the woman and Wood’s character) owns my heart and I love the positive message of it as well. Also, Melanie Lynskey (who portrayed the woman) also voiced Beatrice the Blue Bird in Over the Garden Wall, so those who adore OTGW can consider giving this film a try, it’s available on Netflix.

Radio Flyer. Wood’s character in this movie was a 11-year-old boy who had to wander around with his little brother to avoid their violent step-father. This film kinda irked me in some ways (not gonna explain because that would be a huge spoiler), still, the acting of the two boys broke my heart.

The Good Son. Another film in which Wood’s character wandered off with another child character (portrayed by Macaulay Culkin), but it took on a darker plot. 

The Faculty. Yeah people ran around fighting monsters in this film. Wood’s character was not an exception.

9 (often referred to as Shane Acker’s 9). Another voiceover work from Wood, this time for a character running around in a post-apocalyptic world in search of his kins.

Cooties. Also this movie is (kind of) a mess, but I gotta give props to it for making use of Wood’s tininess (?) for an important plot point, a detail about him that is rarely employed, except for LOTR. Oh, and Cooties also referenced LOTR too, make sure you catch it. 

Paris, je t’aime. Wood had a total screen time of around 6 minutes in this anthology film, but in my opinion his arc was one of the most memorable. I mean, in this overall realistic and bittersweet film, who the hell expected a freaking vampire story?

Maniac. Wood’s character went around in the city doing messed up sh*ts. If you want to watch this film, please search for all of its trigger warnings, and prepare your mental state properly before walking into it. The only film on this list that made me scream, “Hey man, sit the f*ck down, don’t go anywhere.”

North. In this film Wood played a boy who travelled the world to find perfect parents. That’s basically the premise that I snatched on IMDb because I haven’t watched this one.

Films in which Wood’s characters are some kinds of artist or make arts:

Grand Piano. He portrayed a rather young pianist with stage fright. This film centered around a concert, so during most of its length Wood played the piano, and as someone with the tiniest bit of experience, I gotta say his acting looked realistic enough.

Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. Wood’s character used to be the lead singer and guitarist of a band called Mexican Funeral, and even though the band was no longer active, he still occasionally played music with his sister (just the guitar, he didn��t even sing, as far as I remember). 

Over the Garden Wall. The boy Wood portrayed could play the bassoon and write poems. He *spoiler alert* recorded a cassette tape for his crush, in which he played the bassoon and read out loud the poems that he wrote for her. Pretty sweet. Also, he sang at some points in the show.

Set Fire to the Stars. In this film Wood played John Malcolm Brinnin, a poet and literary critic. This film’s cinematography and editing is very stylistic, but I can’t say I know enough about poetry to judge its portrayal of the real-life figures.

Come to Daddy. Wood’s character introduced himself as a music producer, but this detail was not explored further.

Cooties. An aspiring writer who sucked at writing. 

(Not having Frodo Baggins on this category is such a crime.)

Films in which Wood’s characters’ names are the various forms of the name ‘Mike’:

Avalon. He portrayed a young boy named Michael Kaye. Also this film is currently my favorite out of all Wood’s films I’ve watched. A freaking masterpiece.

Radio Flyer. The boy Wood played named Mike (not sure about his surname), and sometimes people called him Mikey too.

The Ice Storm. His character is Mikey Carver (whose surname was changed from the original novel’s Mikey Williams, for some reasons). And people, this is another one of my personal favorite films on this list (alongside Avalon and Everything Is Illuminated) - it’s so subtle, yet so ironic and so powerful. 

Chain of Fools. A quick Wiki search informed me that this was the last Mikey that Wood’s ever played. I haven’t watched this film so I can’t say anything about it.

Films in which Wood’s characters are American Jews:

Avalon. A little boy in an extensive Jewish family whose cultural heritage was slowly lost over generations.

Everything is Illuminated. Explained above.

Final words: To say he’s typecast is, well, not true at all, despite the fact that I do find some similarities in many of his characters. For the past 30 years this man has built up for himself an impressive career with lots and lots of diverse roles. I really enjoy his filmography for this reason, even though I can’t say I’m his fan. Thanks for reading this, hope you’re having an excellent day, and don’t forget to check out Over the Garden Wall during this spooky season! 

[fansofcolor]

See John Boyega, Letitia Wright in Steve McQueen's Small Axe trailer | EW.com

This looks so good!!

[mrsomewhere]

Top 100 most banned and challenged books of the last decade:

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Captain Underpants (series) by Dav Pilkey

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Looking for Alaska by John Green

George by Alex Gino

And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell

Drama by Raina Telgemeier

Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James

Internet Girls (series) by Lauren Myracle

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I Am Jazz by Jazz Jennings and Jessica Herthel

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Bone (series) by Jeff Smith

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan

A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo by Jill Twiss

Sex is a Funny Word by Cory Silverberg

Alice McKinley (series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

It's Perfectly Normal by Robie H. Harris

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

Scary Stories (series) by Alvin Schwartz

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out by Susan Kuklin

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel

It's a Book by Lane Smith

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones

A Child Called "It" by Dave Pelzer

Bad Kitty (series) by Nick Bruel

Crank by Ellen Hopkins

Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby by Dav Pilkey

This Day in June by Gayle E. Pitman

This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki

A Bad Boy Can Be Good For A Girl by Tanya Lee Stone

Beloved by Toni Morrison

Goosebumps (series) by R.L. Stine

In Our Mothers' House by Patricia Polacco

Lush by Natasha Friend

The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

The Holy Bible

This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

Gossip Girl (series) by Cecily von Ziegesar

House of Night (series) by P.C. Cast

My Mom's Having A Baby by Dori Hillestad Butler

Neonomicon by Alan Moore

The Dirty Cowboy by Amy Timberlake

The Giver by Lois Lowry

Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya

Draw Me a Star by Eric Carle

Dreaming In Cuban by Cristina Garcia

Fade by Lisa McMann

The Family Book by Todd Parr

Feed by M.T. Anderson

Go the Fuck to Sleep by Adam Mansbach

Habibi by Craig Thompson

House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

Jacob's New Dress by Sarah Hoffman

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

Monster by Walter Dean Myers

Nasreen’s Secret School by Jeanette Winter

Saga by Brian K. Vaughan

Stuck in the Middle by Ariel Schrag

The Kingdom of Little Wounds by Susann Cokal

1984 by George Orwell

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher

Awakening by Kate Chopin

Burned by Ellen Hopkins

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers

Glass by Ellen Hopkins

Heather Has Two Mommies by Lesle´a Newman

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

Madeline and the Gypsies by Ludwig Bemelmans

My Princess Boy by Cheryl Kilodavis

Prince and Knight by Daniel Haack

Revolutionary Voices: A Multicultural Queer Youth Anthology by Amy Sonnie

Skippyjon Jones (series) by Judith Schachner

So Far from the Bamboo Grove by Yoko Kawashima Watkins

The Color of Earth (series) by Tong-hwa Kim

The Librarian of Basra by Jeanette Winter

The Walking Dead (series) by Robert Kirkman

Tricks by Ellen Hopkins

Uncle Bobby’s Wedding by Sarah S Brannen

Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

[jllongwrites]

Poet Kyle Potvin presents LOOSEN Tickets, Wed, Jan 13, 2021 at 7:00 PM | Eventbrite

Poet Kyle Potvin returns to Gibson's Bookstore, virtually, to read from her new volume of verse, Loosen, from the Hobblebush Granite State Poetry Series. She will be joined by fellow poet Maudelle Driskell (Executive Director of The Frost Place) to discuss the themes of the poems.

About the poet: Kyle Potvin's chapbook, Sound Travels on Water (Finishing Line Press), won the Jean Pedrick Chapbook Award. She is a two-time finalist for the Howard Nemerov Sonnet Award and received a commendation in the 2019 International Hippocrates Open Prize for Poetry in Medicine. Her poems have appeared in Bellevue Literary Review, Crab Creek Review, Tar River Poetry, The New York Times, JAMA, and others. Her work has also appeared in various anthologies. Kyle is cofounder with Tammi Truax of the Prickly Pear Poetry Project: Processing the Cancer Experience Through Poetry, a workshop for survivors and caregivers. A member of the Powow River Poets and Frost Farm’s Hyla Brook Poets, she is an advisor to Frost Farm Poetry in Derry, New Hampshire, and served as assistant director of the New Hampshire Poetry Festival for five years. Kyle runs a public relations firm and lives with her husband and two sons in southern New Hampshire.

[collecting-stories]

Maroon - Steve Harrington

Request: could i please request Maroon with Steve Harrington?❤️❤️

A/N: Sorry this took longer than I expected...I wasn't sure quite how I wanted to write it but ended up putting Steve in Taylor's perspective instead of the reader.

<- Midnights Masterlist | TS Anthology Series ->

✰ so scarlet, it was maroon ✰

“You know,” Steve paused, holding the receiver between his shoulder and chin, “you don’t have to remind me every time we talk,” he insisted. Just out of eyesight, hanging in the kitchen where his mom had nailed it up at Christmas, was a calendar. The picture was a landscape of changing leaves and right on the third week was a circle that had Robin’s name in the center.  

“I definitely do,” Robin insisted. “What if you don’t come?” She’d been reminding him of the opening night of the play she was starring in since she first found out the date. Even after he promised to be there, bought tickets, bought a flight from Indianapolis to New York City, and booked a hotel room.  

It was insane to think that he’d sink all that money into nothing but at the same time, he knew exactly why she kept asking. Steve would’ve been lying to himself if he didn’t admit that he’d considered skipping the play when she first invited him. He’d thought up all the best (or maybe most cliche) reasons why he couldn’t go. Bad stomach, fever, sudden appointment or commitment, parent sick, car accident, missed the flight, work, no money, etc. It didn’t matter what it said, he knew she’d know it was a lie and he’d never been good at letting Robin down.  

“I’ll be there. Front row. Clapping and cheering and telling everybody how you’re my best friend.” Steve promised, “but only if you can guarantee a Tony win.”  

“Oh my god, you didn’t even know what the Tony’s were until I told you...now you expect me to win one?” She almost laughed.  

“Hey, I gotta go.” Steve teetered on the balls of his feet as he looked toward the door. The key was turning in the lock and he didn’t have to guess to know who it was.  

“Angie is invited, by the way...” Robin offered though the invitation sounded strained. They both knew it was a nicety and nothing more. Angie wasn’t invited and even if she was Steve wouldn’t tell her and even if he did, she wouldn’t go.  

“Sure, bye Robin.” 

He hung the phone back up on the hook at the same time that the front door of his apartment closed. From the kitchen he could see his girlfriend...or fiancée he guessed was the correct term now that they were engaged...standing in the entryway taking her shoes and coat off. He hadn’t exactly mentioned the trip to New York City.  

- 

The laughter that was coming from the living room area of the loft was infectious. It resonated through Steve’s bones, setting in like a warm melody against the backdrop of never quiet New York City out the open windows. The fan that churned near the kitchen added a certain ambiance that Steve was almost positive he would never forget and never have to.  

When Robin had invited him to spend the summer in New York with her and her roommate (“an escape from your dad and all that Hawkins shit”) he had jumped at the opportunity. The only time Steve had ever been out of Indiana was on a trip to Disney World for Christmas when he was thirteen. It was his first time on an airplane and he’d stared out the window the entire time, even the clouds were mesmerizing.  

New York was like the airplane and Steve was mesmerized by everything that the city had to offer.  

“This is my favorite song.” The voice that had been laughing earlier interrupted their own merriment to comment as the record skipped a beat and then started on a new song.  

Steve rolled his head from one side to the other, hair flopping in his eyes for a moment before he brushed it back and focused, Robin’s roommate standing at the record player with a smirk on their face. Of all the mesmerizing things New York had offered Steve so far, they were by far what he was taken with the most. Sarcastic but never mean, charming in a way that made Steve feel like gravity itself was propelling him toward them, pretty in the best way possible.  

“You said that about the last one,” Steve teased, sitting up on Robin’s terrible recycled shag carpet and reaching for the bottle of red that was sitting open on the coffee table. He took a sip and then offered them the bottle, shaking it side to side as if it would entice them more.  

The label was peeling and they’d pulled it down from the cabinet where it looked like it’d been sitting since the 70’s, though Steve had been with Robin two weeks earlier when she’d bought the bottle. “Well this time I mean it,” they replied, taking the bottle by the neck and sipping some. The absolutely grossed out look on their face after the sip was enough to confirm Steve’s own opinion. The red wine tasted more like soured grapes. “Why did we let Robin choose the wine?” 

“Cause she had the money?” He suggested, watching every movement as they walked to the coffee table and set the bottle down.  

You huffed out a laugh, “you know what that means right?”  

Steve tried his best to look nonchalant as you sat down on his lap, knees pressing into the plush rug. He was almost positive he was doing a lousy job pretending to be unaffected by you but that was nothing new. Robin had explicitly told him that her roommate was off limits.  

“I don’t want you coming here and working your Steve Harrington charm on my roommate and costing me an apartment.” To be fair he’d been highly offended at her suggestion. First of all, he wasn’t trying to date he was trying get out of Hawkins. And second of all, Robin had underestimated exactly how incredibly alluring her roommate was. No amount of Steve Harrington charm worked on you. Instead, he was reduced to a babbling mess every time you were around and when Robin was away, it was even worse. Because at least when she was there he had some sort of buffer. 

“No,” Steve shook his head, realizing that he was supposed to be talking. “What?” 

“That we can’t trust her with the wine next time.” You replied, voice low as you leaned in close to him. Steve gulped, visibly, and you smiled. You’d been crushing on him since Robin introduced him to you, slowly making your move as the summer dragged on. 

“I’m not so sure I trust you with it either...” Steve joked, “I did drink half that bottle of white that you bought.” 

“That wasn’t my fault!” 

“Okay, whose was it then?” He asked, the questioning falling on deaf ears as you leaned closer, the ever present smile slowly fading for something more serious. More akin to the fire he could see in your eyes. You had built up your resolve and you didn’t want to lose it now, not when he was right here and Robin would be gone all day. So you kissed him.  

The kiss was euphoric bliss, the breathless moment he’d been anticipating all summer.  

- 

Steve felt like his breath escape him, feet heavy on the wooden floor of the theatre lobby. There were people milling about, talking idly about the play, not in the slightest aware that Steve felt like he was going to spontaneously combust right there in the middle of the room. No amount of dimly lit spaces could conceal your identity to him, he knew it almost before his brain really registered you. As if something whispered your name in his ear.  

And when you turned, saw him through the crowd, and smiled, he briefly wondered if it would be considered insane to leave everything in Hawkins and move to New York all over again.  

“Steve,” and suddenly you were parting the crowd and walking toward him. You wrapped your arms around him and it took him a full minute to realize that you were giving him a hug.  

“Hi...” he breathed out, face pressed against the side of your head as he took in the scent of your shampoo. The same sage that he remembered from his summer living with you and Robin.  

You pulled away too soon for his liking, “Robin didn’t tell me you’d be here,” you mentioned, without a hint of malice in your voice. 

“Yeah, I uh, yeah. Here I am.” He replied, voice wavering as he spoke. He felt like some kid again, stumbling over his words just because you smiled at him.  

“It’s good to see you.” 

There were two competing thoughts that ran through Steve’s mind simultaneously. The first, was a surprised and somewhat still smitten ‘are you’ that echoed in the back of his head, threatening to belay his feelings to you if you hadn’t already picked up on the obvious pining. The second was a more bitter ‘are you’, one that recalled the brutal ending of a summer affair and the pieces he’d picked up when he left to go back to Hawkins.  

He would never admit to Robin that you broke his heart, not when she was so fond of you as a friend. But he had never been eager to return to New York and Robin knew that. It was why she was so apprehensive to invite him back to the city for the show tonight.  

But before he could say anything, Robin was calling his name and you were taking another step away.  

“It was good to see you,” you repeated, touching his arm. “How long are you in New York?”  

He looked at Robin, waving him over and away from danger, and then back to you, “the weekend.” He supplied, trying to keep his head clear. He tried to think of Angie back in Hawkins or Robin standing there throwing him a lifeline or even the mess of emotions and broken hearts that hung in the space between you. “I promised Robin we’d spend it together.” 

“Well...” you trailed off, that same smile that had Steve drowning in you three summers ago flashed across your face and he repeated all the bad things over to himself, “if you have some free time maybe we could grab some dinner...better wine?” You teased. 

“Steve!” Robin called again, waving him toward her, tilting her head and fixing him with that ‘don’t do it’ look he’d grown so used to in the years that they were friends.  

“I have to...” he trailed off, moving away from your touch and looking back at Robin every couple of seconds, trying to keep his head above water. It’d been three years, he tried to remind himself, three years of silence from your end and he had moved on. Or so he had been able to convince himself when he was in Hawkins, hundreds of miles from New York and your smile and the summer he’d spent with you.  

But as he walked over to Robin, looking over his shoulder one more time because he couldn’t stop himself from wanting to find you, he realized that all the miles and memories and emotions didn’t seem to matter. He couldn’t erase the feeling that settled all over him when he saw you. That one that made him positive he would have followed you right out of the theatre and into New York without looking back if it wasn’t for Robin.  

[farsight-the-char]

This looks incredible.

Solid line-up.

[psychecoffee]

Reintroduction

I’ve been quite inactive the last year admittedly, and some things have changed, so I feel I should reintroduce myself.

I’m Lonnie, gender is a social construct, and I’m going to be studying Mental Health Nursing at University this September. So I might become a bit of a studyblr to get my adhd ass into gear. Or I might become a bit of a ghost again ;;

I’m currently a rather unproductive writerblr, which in part was not my fault since my iPad decided to hide all my wips for 4 damned months. Seriously I cried when I could redownload my wips again, which my mum found to be quite a funny sight.

My wips are:

Dager, which I feel is like my unruly child which won’t let me concentrate on it when I am in front of my damn iPad or any writing utensil. Within this universe I am writing a sort of prequel currently entitled ‘The Sound’ which is supposed to be a metaphor for the sound of mourning and how grief leaves an echo. I feel that theme is so prevalent within Dager and TS that I have to admit that they have the same feeling, and even if both the main characters have experienced it in different ways, the feel of it is the same. These are my most psychological intensive books, so it’s taking me a bit longer to write them. It is safe to say these are not YA novels, and are at the core crime novels.

Rerum (the Aenir Prophesies) which include three books (including a very important prequel) that scream at me from all ends before I can even begin completing chapter six of the first book!! The first two books focuses on a prominent group of individuals in the mist of a ‘plague’ (referred to as a ‘misery’), and the deep desire to destroy the group who created it. It is full of deceit and secrets, and the small loneliness that draws the group together. The prequel focuses on the Heir of Aenir, whom is glanced upon in the original books, and is based about a decade after them, and deeply focuses on the Heir trying to prove herself capable of her title.

And Death Defies Zir, which is an anthology of stories from the afterlife, and the organisation that helps run it. Honestly half of them are emotionally exasperated or repressed assholes. Green Light is another small wip, based on a sweet lesbian giant of a women going through her first heartbreak, trying to find her footing in the world of medicine while trying to discover her passion in life. Honestly I turn to GL whenever I’m feeling particularly sad or uncertain, which I do feel reflects quite well on the feelings on the POV.

I’ve decided to put ‘Dager’ on hold for a bit, as I feel somewhat inexperienced to truly write Maeve’s and Christians story, with how psychologically rich it is. While I say that I am still writing TS, which by extension means I’m still getting the foundations up for both the novels. They both involve the same killer, however that individual is never the frontline of either novels. Instead both novels focus on the emotional chaos that is left in the wake.

Books I love include: Howls Moving Castle (Sophie and Howls relationship is base line chaotic and I live for it), Jane Eyre (because I’m a simple soul that loves independent women and wild fools like Rochester), Pride and Prejudice- really anything by Jane Auster (its the FOOLS I tell you!!), The Great Gatsby (because be bi and do crime- also I am an absolute mad lad for unreliable narrators), the Lincoln Rhyme books (I never have gotten over how stella Denzel Washington and Jolie were in the movies), and anything by Maria V. Snyder, Trudi Canavan and Cassandra Claire. Seriously I go especially feral if Maria V. Snyder’s Poison Study is mentioned because uGH intelligent FOOOOOLS 💕👌🏻

I also play interactive fiction such as: The Wayhaven Chronicles (and it is not an understatement when I say I am a FOOL for them!!), Breach: The Archangel Job (ugh gosh my heart and mind and ugh everything about this game is fantastic and intellectually gratifying), and The Soul Stone War (I am feral for all the characters, I would simply die for them- they’re all so damn loveable and funny, but if anyone simply touched my Mare I would surely deck them).

Random rubbish about me: I’m chaotic good (which explains a lot), I love coffee and herbal tea and hot chocolate, don’t ask me which is my favourite it changes all the time, I love cats an insane amount, I love horror films and binge watching series (currently binging Grey’s Anatomy and Criminal Minds- both for the first time), and I absolutely cannot watch or read anything sad. I’d say I was passive aggressive but I’m too passive to be aggressive haha. I am a simple chaotic creature.