#and THEN i finish the book and hop on tumblr and find out people have been throwing shade at her now that her snarky comments suddenly aren'

[greatshell-rider]

my favorite parts of nona. under a read more cuz long and i do some yelling

[image id: Nona had never seen anyone so sad in her whole short life. It made her nearly afraid to die. “Nobody locks me up anywhere,” said Kiriona. /end id]

@ everyone calling gideon a bitch/jerk/”oh no she’s mean now”/”apparently reading her through her own/harrow’s eyes made her look better” YEAH NO SHIT SHE’S MEAN. EVERYTHING THAT IS HER SELF HAS BEEN STOLEN FROM HER. NOT EVEN HER BODY IS HER OWN. FUCK OFF LET HER BE ANGRY SHE HAS BEEN IN HELL FOR 3-4 MONTHS SHE DOESN’T EVEN KNOW HOW LONG. SHUT UP ! you bitches and your romanticzied mental illnesses don’t know what depression does to a bitch gAH

she is the saddest girl in the whole entire world let her have a MOMENT (while i writhe on the ground in throes of agony over my girl)

[image id: She reached out—she touched the side of the Prince’s face — they both recoiled. Kiriona Gaia recovered first. “You always said I’d come back in a box, Aiglamene,” she said lightly. “They killed you,” said Aiglamene. “Crime of opportunity,” said the corpse prince. And: “Don’t tell Crux — I absolutely, positively cannot give him the fucking satisfaction.” Aiglamene shoved her square in the chest, with the palm of one gloved hand; Kiriona tottered a little and wheezed, “Don’t — that’s where my heart used to be,” but the old soldier’s gaze had already fallen upon Nona. Nona cringed back in Pyrrha’s arms, because the expression was as bad as every single time Camilla had caught her putting a mouthful of chewed-up food in the potted plant or elsewhere. She could read this very old, very furious soldier like a book: the woman was angry, and blamed her. Kiriona Gaia could read her too, because she insinuated herself between them, and said coolly — “It’s not her, Captain — it’s only her body.” Over the Prince’s shoulder, Aiglamene looked at Nona, long and suspiciously, then she sighed, and wheeled around, and said: “Get inside. Now. Complete the gate,” she told a few of the other robed people. /end id]

THEY KILLED YOU. THAT’S WHERE MY HEART USED TO BE. (ianthe’s slap (a full lyctor’s slap) didn’t make gideon even flinch but aiglamene’s shove makes her wheeze) aiglamene knowing who to blame. her FURY. gideon putting her body between aiglamene and nona. THEY BOTH RECOILED (aiglamene from her cold corpse skin, gideon unable to bear her touch when she didn’t react even to nona kissing her)

[image id: ��But maybe we shouldn’t,” she said, holding the eyelids to that little slit — watching the onscreen scribbles flash urgently on the truck glass, watching the widening white crack, watching the river water pound itself back into the place where it wanted to be even if the River itself didn’t. “If we end here, it’ll be just like . . . a bad dream, won’t it? And maybe we’ll wake up somewhere else. I know we won’t,” she explained, “but we don’t have to know that . . . maybe if we all go, it’ll be quick.” Paul looked at her, with those dark grey-brown pupils widening, slightly. “Nona,” they said, “Noodle’s in the back.” The middle thoughts surged. The slit widened all the way. “Oh my God,” she said, in a panic. “I forgot about Noodle.” The windshield cracked all the way across the middle. Paul leant their full weight on the accelerator. Nona drove the truck home. /end id]

what you can’t do for your people, friends and family, you can do for your little beast. yeah muir gets it

[image id: “Camilla, we did it right, didn’t we?” Palamedes said, and now Nona knew he wasn’t speaking to anyone else in the universe. “We had something very nearly perfect . . . the perfect friendship, the perfect love. I cannot imagine reaching the end of this life and having any regrets, so long as I had been allowed to experience being your adept.” [/end id]

burst into fucking tears at this part so it’s a good thing none of my roommates were home lmao. THEY DID IT RIGHT. the sheer care and utter devotion. no regrets, as long as he got to be her adept. WEEPING

[ml-nolan]

Kick's 2023 Fic Roundup (YEEEHA!)

[Please use the Kayne Malevolent voice for that title]

SOOOOOO all domains included—fics, original fiction, nonfiction, and copywriting—I wrote over 300k words this year. Of that, fic was 132,449 words! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 I'm pretty proud of it, honestly, so I thought I'd hop on the rundown bandwagon.

Thanks to everyone who read my stuff, kudos-d it, commented on it, and yelled with me about it on Tumblr and Discord (Honk-Honk to all my honkos!!! 💜🖤💜🖤💜🖤). Y'all have made my life so much more fun this year.

The Sandman - Dreamling

Music When You Speak [Rated E | 72,075 words]

When incognito rock star Dream of the Endless drifts into Hob Gadling's record store, it's instant attraction. Neither of them expected things to get this serious.

This started out as an experiment in "taking time to enjoy the scenery," so naturally I had to [SPOILER ALERT] add a kidnapping subplot that ends with Dream naked and covered in blood.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Oops.

I'm so glad so many people loved it. I loved it too. Still do.

Playlist here

Aaaaand complimentary ficlet, Piece by Piece [Rated T | 610 words].

I'll Make You Sorry [Rated E | 12,035 words]

Things from Hob's past are making Hob's hookups run screaming into the night, and it's really freaking him out. Dream is very concerned (both that other people are dreaming Hob's dreams and that Hob takes so many lovers).

This is my only canon-adjacent fic (so far) that isn't ficlet or pure smut, and I enjoyed making both of them so deeply uncomfortable. Also I need to write more Corinthian because I found his voice disturbingly easy to emulate. 😂😂😂

On Sex Dreams and Anachronisms [Rated E | 1,818 words]: Two embarrassing times Dream dropped in on Hob's sexy dreams and one much nicer one. Second silliest thing I wrote this year.

(Not) Spellbound [Rated E | 1,192]: This is just bondage smut. You're welcome. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

How to Extract Your Boyfriend from Toxic Internet Culture [Rated G | 704 words]: By far the silliest thing I wrote this year. Features retired Dream's stint as a True Crime Wine Mom.

One Tall Dark Stranger [Rated G | 565 words]: From the prompt "Accidental Hand Touching."

You Will Not Be Bothered [Rated G | 420 words]: From the prompt "picking a leaf/flower petal out of their hair, or brushing dirt off of their face."

I'll Be a Better Man Than My Father Ever Was - Chapter 4 by @chaosclimber | for the Dreamling for Ukraine fundraiser.

[PODFIC] Inappropriate Uses of the Dewey Decimal System and Coworkers by Hob Gadling, no PhD (Chapter 2) by @chaosheadspace | for the Dreamling for Ukraine fundraiser.

Metaphysics by @quillingwords

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Sandman - Femslash Weekend!

This was so fun, and I have at least one more femslash idea I really hope to have the spoons to finish in January. 💜🖤💜🖤

You're Gonna Catch Hell [Johanna/Mazikeen | Rated E | 2,116 Words]

Johanna Constantine, a gun for hire, is meeting a very dangerous new client at Club Hell. A mysterious woman who spots her right when she enters the club might pose some complications.

Pure smut, although I have an enormous hc around this AU that I'm not sure will ever see the light of day.

Obliterate All Prior Things [Lucienne/Gault | Rated E | Words 3,421]

Whatever horrible thing Lucienne says is happening to The Dreaming is certainly happening. But the other part—the bit where Lucienne thinks she is the reason for it—cannot be allowed to stand. Run away with me, Gault wants to say. We'll find our own way. Be whoever we want. And you can finally rest.

I have huge feelings about Gaulcienne, which will become extremely clear if you read this.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Magnus Archives — Goof Troop (aka., TimGerry)

Just an Animal Looking for a Home [Rated E | 33,349 words | Love and Nonsense AU - WIP]

When Tim Stoker came to Pinhole Books, it was like someone jammed a foot on the accelerator of Gerry's life. After a health scare, a wedding to his (let's be honest) soul mate, and the exponential growth of the shop, it's showing no signs of slowing down. Now, Pinhole is opening a second location, their beloved Fiona Law is retiring, and Tim and Gerry are bringing a new canine member into their family. But even good changes can be overwhelming, and Gerry finds himself dealing with old trauma he thought he'd left far behind him. Plus, Tim is unexpectedly forced to face old conflicts, which takes him places where Gerry can't follow. With all these stressors on top of the typical growing pains that come with a still-new marriage, Tim and Gerry have to learn to work through their issues together. It's either that or fall apart.

This is the sequel to Hiding in Plain Sight, which I actually started this in 2022 and took a hiatus while I was writing Music When You Speak (so the word count includes 2022 chapters, don't @ me 😂). It's pretty heavy but I think the break will make the story that much better for it, honestly.

Playlist here.

Also in this AU, a couple ficlets set before TimGerry got together.

What's His Deal? [Rated T | 608 words]: Gerry tries to find out what Tim's deal is. Jon is completely unhelpful. From "Blossoming Romance" Tumblr prompt: "Attempting to find out if they are single/available"

Scoop [Rated E | 682 words]: Gerry has just hired a new employee at Pinhole books, and it may just cost him his sanity. Involves ice cream.

Ad Libitum [Rated E | 1,861 words - WIP]

It's Tim Stoker's first week at The Magnus Conservatory, and his piano accompanist hasn't shown up for auditions. An imposing goth swoops out of the shadows to save him, but Tim worries his instant attraction to the man may make it hard to control himself.

I just started this one! Music conservatory AU where Tim is studying voice and Gerry is a pianist. Excited to see where it goes (honestly, your guess is as good as mine at the moment).

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And of course I've got a book and a Patreon with two serials in progress if you're interested.😉😉😉 But I hope to write a LOT more fic in 2024! Love y'all. 💜🖤💜🖤💜💜🖤💜🖤💜💜🖤💜🖤💜

[thedawningofthehour]

I really hope you are doing well.

Maybe sealed is not the right word, more like bottled, I think Donnie could have awakened his mystical abilities if he really tried. I don't see ninpo as the source of his power if not as an enhancer, in the sense that turtles have their abilities and what ninpo does is enhance them, almost like super saiyan, but with extra benefits, like creating weapons. Donnie has his own powers, but I think it has been established that mystic is pretty much conected to the soul which still contains the connection to his family, which is what Draxum's spell is there to suppress, after the incident with the mercenaries I was under the impression that even if Donnie manages to tap into his mystic abilities these would end up damaging him like a pipe with too much pressure.

To be honest, before finishing book 2, you said book 3 would be the shortest, which led me and others to assume you meant it would be the shortest in the series, THEN you said it would be shorter than book 2, which didn't contradict our earlier idea, I'm trying to find the posts, but Tumblr post search will be danm. Not to mention that every time I mentioned it you said nothing!!! .... 30 chapters.... * Goes to cry in a corner *

I have a theory that a lot of people find that when a fic is going to be pretty angsty these wait until it's complete to read it, rip off the band-aid in one go and all that, at least that's what I usually do, and I would do it with this fic if it weren't for the fact that I wouldn't be able to log in to the blog afterwards to avoid spoilers!

And I like your posts.

I checked my bank balance and it turns out I have more money than I thought so the urge to die isn't quite so immediate.

The reason the power spike hurt him so badly was because he overextended himself. He had no framework to put his ability into, no sense of how much he could control or even the presence of mind to know he needed to. In canon he knew roughly what was happening and had his brothers around to help him regulate, plus he knew he had to go rescue his dads afterwards and would need his energy. Here, he had no thought other than 'keep these creeps away.' The possibility of what he was feeling welling up being his own mystic powers didn't occur to him because Gale was pretty certain he didn't have any powers. And, you know, he'd been tased and shit.

But it is true that his powers are stronger when he's with his family, and even though he sees Cass as such it really is not the same. Under normal circumstances Draxum's expertise would actually be very helpful in developing his powers-but Draxum joined them in canon, so they had access to his help there too.

All that said, Draxum isn't too terribly bothered by this. He wanted Donnie for his brain, not for Hamato family magic or any potential mystical ability. He started training Gale is the mystics because he was legitimately curious what he could do, (plus it's deffo not healthy to suppress your powers if you do have them-one of the reasons Bella lived with her uncle on and off throughout her childhood) but he really has no plans to utilize his abilities. Galois is more useful to him in the lab than on the battlefield, and any potential combat use would have to be pretty fucking spectacular to justify the risk of that brain being damaged. (plus, you know, that's his son now)

I'm going to be honest, I hate it when people do that. And I don't get it. I'm disappointed when I come onto a fic that's already been completed; half the fun of fandom is interacting with creators and other readers and going absolutely mental for weeks at a time. You're missing out on the experience when you just hop on at the end.

And it just feels very entitled to me? Like, fanworks are made to be interacted with. There are exceptions, of course, but in general the people who wait until a fic is finished aren't interacting with the story as it was meant to, if at all. Like, if I hadn't gotten any interaction with doth, I would have dropped it. It took quite a while for it to pick up any meaningful interaction at all, and honestly the only reason I stuck it out that long was because I had a bunch of the story already written. If I had been writing one or two chapters at a time back then, I would have gotten discouraged and quit. If everyone waited until the end to bother reading, then they wouldn't have any completed longfics to read. Fanfiction isn't paid, we have no incentive to keep going if we're just screaming into the void.

Sorry, that came out really angry. I'm not saying people have to interaction with every fanwork they come across; god knows I don't comment on everything I read. (I am trying to be better about this though) I just had a bad experience with people not reading the tags/author's notes on doth and thinking it was completed and then bitching at me for 'tricking' them into reading an unfinished fic. Honestly, it's kind of degrading to work on something for months, (a year and a half at this point) and then have people want to consume it all at once and then leave. Like bro. You're gonna get indigestion.

[andythelemon]

2022 Reflections

Hi everyone! Given the recent Twitter debacle, I’m glad I quietly keep my Tumblr active even if I don’t speak much. I wanted to thank you all for the support and kindness in another tough year - whether it’s sharing/buying my art or just putting up with my incessant fandom hopping and random posts (World Cup blogging in 2022, man…).

This account turned 10 this year which is terrifying to think about; I’ve gone through many a phase and fandom and whilst I try to clear out old art I’m embarrassed by, I know some of you remember it and if anything it makes me happy I could create work that stays in people’s minds so vividly! Even if I cringe now at XYZ, I’ll always be grateful for something that spurred me to draw. Inspiration can be hard to come by in these times, as we all know. I also have that Atsumu x Hinata story from 2020 in a word doc… I swear I’ll finish my first proper fic and share it one day!

Life has kept me busy, and my late 20s just get crazier, but I’ll find time to continue drawing and making self-indulgent book projects in 2023. Hopefully a few more cons too… I say I’ll retire every year and then never do 😩. I started One Piece and Bungo Stray Dogs among other things recently so god knows what kind of shit I’ll be sharing in the near future (really enjoying both, plus the multitude of other series I’m keeping up with!) and I also want to dedicate more time to original art and OCs. Please hold me accountable for that, I’m terribly shy at sharing my characters and stories! 😣

That aside, I hope life is treating you all kindly and please feel free to yell in my inbox about whatever series or thing I might also be into! Thank you again for your continued support, whether you’ve been following for a decade or a week. Till next time!

[sailtomarina]

20 questions for fic writers!

Thanks for the tag, @the-francakes - mwah!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

32, many of those being shorts I originally posted here

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

218,746

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Harry Potter, though I am contemplating expanding outward to include some of the related games, as well as works like A Discovery of Witches.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

A Slow and Steady Warming (Charmione, 23K, multichapter, rated E) An Insufferable Duo (Dramione, 2.4K, short, rated G) 10-minute Surprise (Dramione, 1.3K, short, rated E) Convincing Granger (No Books Required) (Dramione, 1.3K, short, rated E) A Delicate Bedside Manner (Dramione, 1.4K, short, rated T)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do! I try to respond to all my comments, whether that's on AO3, or here on Tumblr. I always appreciate it when people take the time to leave a message, and I want to thank them for taking that extra effort. It's also wonderful when you can start up a conversation over a delightful little detail you wouldn't have had otherwise.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I don't do much angst. I try to almost always have a happy ending, but perhaps that is something that might change as I practice different techniques.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

All of them? I can think of at least a few that end with weddings.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not yet, but I'm sure it will happen some day.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yes, and mostly F/M, though occasionally I'll branch into M/M or multi.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Not yet, but I'm open to one should I find inspiration!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not yet, thank goodness

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Again, not yet, but I'd be flattered if anyone asked me to. I'm a bit shy so I'd never dream of reaching out to ask someone else unless it was part of some fest or something.

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

I'm a sucker for Dreomione, but I'm also 100% into any Antomione that @hwaetwegardena writes

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Hmmm, do my shorts count? Many of them have the potential to grow into something more, but I cut them off since they're usually daily prompts.

16. What are your writing strengths?

This I don't actually know. My first instinct is to point out something as boring as my spelling, punctuation, and grammar, but that isn't very interesting, is it?

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I actually see my strength as fuel for my weakness, because SPaG often make it difficult for me to just throw all my thoughts out there. I'll keep stopping to fix little things trying to make them perfect.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I'm okay with it, but if you can get someone knowledgeable to check your work, that's great.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

I actually had a lot of fun writing my Panville, Beyond the Garden Gate, for the HP Soulmates Fest this year! It's fairy tale-esque, but with a willful damsel who is most definitely not in distress.

because i'm lazy at the moment, I'm tagging whoever sees this and wants to hop in ❤️

[that-one-lotr-orc]

One post gotta be the first

So, for me Reddit finally died. As a programmer who is generally in favour of making stuff available for as many people as possible, they did right by that for many years. Giving everyone who wanted that access to it was generous of them, and made it a very fun platform. Random bots everywhere, apps catered to whatever preference people had, even -dare I say it- the tiniest bit of the wild-west-internet that once existed. But they got to greedy, flew to close to the sun, whatever analogy you want to have for it. I don't fault them wanting to make money off that, hosting is expensive, but the way they lied to everyone, attacked the Apollo developer for outing their lies, "riding the storm until it died out", it was too much.

So now I'm here, hopelessly lost in land I only got glimpses of on r/tumblr. I don't even know why I write this. I doubt many people will read it, or even see it. It's my first Tumblr post, and it probably will be very rambly, incoherent, and missing any kind of red line. The shortest answer to "Why I wrote this?" is probably "Because some google doc in '#tumblr help'" told me to post stuff!".

And I'm bad at posting stuff. I never done it. In the olden days, when forums were all around, I was a lurker. I'd read about everything, posted when I actually had something relevant to say, and shut up otherwise. I was known within the communities, generally active in the adjacent msn/skype groups, but not on the main spam threads in the forum.

When the forums began to die out, I got on Reddit. My account is 11 years old now, I've been using it almost hourly over the last 6 years, and it has a grand total of 9 posts. There's a bit more comments in that, but it's probably basically nothing compared to the average comments per hour spend on other accounts.

Why do I tell this? Because I might change that here. I've been lurking around Tumblr for the last few weeks, and the interaction and people are way different than I'm used to. Honestly, it's refreshing, and nice to see. But entering a new environment, one has to adept.

And I've been stuck too long in my old habits! I am often hesitant to contribute to anything, because I never did. I don't write, because I never wrote. But having a new environment, new people, new interest around me makes me wanna try out new stuff. And who knows? Maybe I'll like it, maybe I'll find people who like what I write, and I'll have more stuff to interact with.

And maybe I don't. Maybe I'll feel too unsure, too self-conscious, to change my lurking habits. I'm fine with that. I got other places to interact about my passions. Most of them are through Discord-groups nowadays, others through the few still-existing actual forums out there, but they still exist.

That's my last thing. I don't know what I even write about. Some of my interest are too different from the usual Tumblr-niches to have any kind of following. While typing this I had a look at the "enlisted game" tag, which has a grand total of 1 active poster. I had some looks at the different Magic the Gathering tags, but (as I expected), most of the people in there are about more about the lore of the game than I do. That's fine, I got my spike-talking places, and I will probably lurk those tags anyway.

The one place I'll probably feel most comfortable is the Brandon Sanderson-aligned tags. I'll be there, maybe even contributing, once I finished the last books (or I find the appropriate tags to block, I probably gotta look into that).

That uncertainty makes me circle back to a point a made a few paragraphs ago. I can explore, I can try out new stuff. Maybe I'll try to add to some of the punk tags here, maybe I'll hop onto some of the computer science tags and see if I can wordvomit there, maybe I'll go to something completely new! I can go exploring again, discovering things I never saw before, and that makes me eager.

[serenanymph]

author ask tag game

tagged by @scribbling-stardust! you can find her post here. putting this whole thing under the cut because boy is it Long. as for the tag... uh whoever I've tagged below who wants to hop in ig (no pressure tho!!)

What is the main lesson of your story (e.g. kindness, diversity, anti-war), and why did you choose it? Honestly my themes kind of grow from the story instead of the other way around, but overall I'd say it's something along the lines of discrimination and how dangerous hate can be. (<< sounds cool, has no idea how she's going to actually write this) But I will say there's a lot of like - mini themes in it too, because each character has their own issues and needs to learn different things to grow. Stuff about communication, about self-care, about finding yourself, about courage, etc etc. Very scattered, ik.

What did you use as inspiration for your worldbuilding (like real-life cultures, animals, famous media, websites, etc.)? I'd say there's a lot of like?? Mythological creatures?? Y'know the classics like vampires and werewolves and selkies and what not. And then I just. Turn it all on its head. All the myths of them still exist in-universe - they're just wildly inaccurate because humans have been passing the stories down for decades. In actuality, Beasts are much more different. (Also and this is rather embarrassing to admit, but I've been stealing aHeM taking inspiration for characters from all of the media I've been watching. Which is. Mostly anime. Plus some worldbuilding details from fanfic aus I've thought up.)

What is your MC trying to achieve, and what are you, the writer, trying to achieve with them? Do you want to inspire others, teach forgiveness, help readers grow as a person? Honestly? I have no idea. As of now, he's mostly trying to survive. I think the issue with Crys is that largely he's not someone who actually has a goal he wants to achieve?? The growth he experiences is not a thing he really decides he wants, but more something he needs, which the narrative basically has to drag him into. As for me... mostly I just want to write my stories and have them reach someone somewhere. It's probably the same for a lot of us who share those stories.

How many chapters is your story going to have? No idea. 40-something?? 50??? I always underestimate my end wordcount and my chapters vary wildly in length.

Is it fanfiction or original content? Where do you plan to post it? Original content!! I've been thinking about tweaking some stuff in Crow Wings (book 1) after I've finished first drafting Witch's Book (book 2), then I'll probably throw it up on ao3 and maybe simultaneously post it here.

When and why did you start writing? Sometime when I was a kid I think?? I'm pretty sure I was vaguely upset and bored and then I just picked up a pencil and started going at it. It was titled 'Survival' and it was basically a ripoff of I Am Number Four, littered with grammar and spelling mistakes, and all the cringefail, mary sue tropes small me could think up. I kid you not, the main character was named Emma, she had blond hair and blue eyes, and she was so good at fighting she was better at it then boys, even. Gasp!! Color me surprised!!!!! Anyway I still have it with me due to nostalgia reasons but it is hidden in my drawer under my bed where the light of day will never reach. Don't judge me, I was like nine.

Do you have any words of engagement for fellow writers of Writeblr? What other writers of Tumblr do you follow? We're all friends here and we're all still learning, so don't be afraid to share your work!! Something you feel might not be "good enough" is a story someone out there will love - and take it from a person with low self-confidence, your writing's often not as bad as you think! :D (also c'mon. it can't be worse than what nine-year-old me thought up.) As for writers... well I am following a lot of people but I'm just gonna tag a few of my mutuals. There's @lyssa-ink (my first ever writeblr mutual!!! she does fantasy with a lot of immortals, fae and court politics), and also @reneesbooks (go check out lacuna. birdie is adorable and jack is so funny to me). Also @macabremoons (vampires. lots of vampires. also super fun to talk to!!!), @sidhewrites (love graveyard lesbians. kaz is an absolute disaster and lucy is just so!!!), and @loopyhoopywrites (the Ex-Quest is peak comedy. every excerpt I read leaves me wheezing). I don't talk as much with @space-writes, @e-klair, @sapphos-scientist or @squarebracket-trick, but they're all lovely, talented writers and I really appreciate that they let me yell about Beast at them!!! There's also @scribbling-stardust (one of my most recent moots. her oc dahlia and my oc dahlia are literally twins. it's hilarious). Lastly, closing off with @allianaavelinjackson, who isn't very active on tumblr but is nonetheless always available to brainstorm (read: listen to me go insane) over Beast. Love ya <3

[lavendershowcase]

If you haven’t heard of The Lavender Book Club yet then oh boy! I have a very appealing club you might want to join.

The Lavender Book Club has one major goal for all of us: to read more books written by and about LGBT writers. Right now, the club is pretty small and all conversations have been very chill. It is a discourse-free zone. If I see people getting too rowdy over anything that isn’t related to the book, they will immediately be kicked out of the server. Any attacks on anyone else’s identity or labels or experiences will not be tolerated.

If you would like to check out our Discord server, you can join here.

Transcript under cut:

An Introduction to the Lavender Book Club: a queer book club hosted by The Lavender Showcase, a blog dedicated to sharing and spreading works by LGBT writers

What Does the Book Club Read?

The Lavender Book Club reads books written by/about queer people. The books currently on our list vary. We have sci-fan, fantasy, YA, contemporary literature, romance, and non-fiction.

Every month, we try following a theme. Every theme is a bit vague. It could be just classics, YA, or non-fiction. There is quite an impressive spreadsheet, so we're currently not looking for any new suggestions. We're trying to pick through the books we've already been recommended.

When Does the Book Club Meet?

The book club "meets" every third Sunday of the month. It's 100% text-based meetings.

Most of the conversation happens in our Discord server, but anyone is also welcome to have conversations on Tumblr. You can send in asks or tag us if you would like to have us engage with your thoughts. You could also use the hastag #lavender book club and see who else is following the tag!

What Have We Read So Far?

The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun. Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas. Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuin. Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu.

How to Join Our Club

Anyone can join any way they want!

The invite link is posted [above]. Meetings are chill so there is no need to worry about how much you're talking. You don't even have to finish the book! A lot of times, in meetings, a good number of us haven't finished the book. Those who have, though, usually use spoilers to black out their text.

You can also just hop on Tumblr when the meeting day comes and chat however you like with other people who have read the book.

There's no pressure to read every book every month. If you just want to join because you think our current read looks interesting, that's fine! If you want to sit out some months because you can't find the books or aren't interested, that's fine too!

[yuliares]

2022 Year-end Writing Recap

Total number of completed stories: 20

Total word count: 87,869

Fandoms written in: The Old Guard (9), Good Omens, BBC Sherlock (4), Our Flag Means Death (2), Inception, Marvel/Hawkeye Comics, and the video games Strange Horticulture and Mystia’s Izakaya.

Looking back on this year is kind of wild! I got a tablet so I could do digital drawings, which has been a lot of fun to play with. And even with all the time I spent drawing, I still did a ton of writing!

Most popular: This Cooktop was meant to Cook for You (The Old Guard) with 378 kudos! A cute, feel-good diner AU where chef Nicky makes sure Joe can keep Halal. Also, the amazing @loftec crafted a teeny tiny physical book version of this story!? It’s difficult to express the sheer delight this brings me.

Personal favorite: Finished just in time for Halloween, Our Flag Means (un)Death (Our Flag Means Death) is a very silly Necromancer AU of that pirate show that I suddenly found sailing onto my Tumblr dashboard. I’m glad I decided to hop aboard, because writing this was a hoot.

Notable: The Knit King (The Old Guard) is my longest story yet with 29.5k words! It took joining the WIP Big Bang event to finish it, and even with 12k words going in, it was a struggle. I was lucky enough to have a great beta (thank you xJane!) and to pair with the artist Kingstoken, who made this delightful cover art!

The premise is crack (What if there was a God of Knitting! Make it Nicky!), but I wrote it serious—and it turned into a fantasy story I hope people find cozy and sweet.

Most challenging: I started 2022 mid-way through writing Let The Full Moon In (The Old Guard) for a gift exchange. It is by far the most explicit story I’ve ever written, and working on it was very stressful! It was like shaking up and cracking open a can of really unnecessary internalized embarrassment. I definitely considered scrapping it and going a PG-13 route multiple times. I was very fortunate to have an amazing beta who helped workshop the kink and smooth everything out (keeping track of limbs in sex scenes is so confusing!?), and I’m really glad to have tackled this story and proud of how it turned out!

Looking forward: 

The very tail end of 2022 was kind of awful, and I’m just starting to crawl out of the hole starting with March. It’s been really frustrating to go from regular creative outlets (drawing! writing! etc!) that bring me joy and then find myself too depressed to engage with them. I’ve been reminding myself that my value as a person is not tied to my output of creative works, and that hard times are just times that I am fortunate enough to know are temporary.

In terms of community, I’m not always online consistently (especially not recently), but I have 3 solid Discord groups full of wonderful people, and I’m dipping my toe in the Winterhawk hot tub, which seems like a nice crowd. The start of this year has been rough, but I look forward to everything to come.

[otptings]

Bear & Bunny

→Idols: Lee Haechan & Na Jaemin (only picture that I could find with Haechan & Jaemin, sorry Jeno Stans)

→Requested: yesss Hi!!!! I wanted to know if you could write a something along the lines of dancing to bachata with jaemin and haechan and it gettin really steamy and you end up speaking in Spanish with them and it really turns them on 😳😳😳 and they end up really whiny and needy . Haechan gets bratty and grinds up on y/n and jaemins whining starts to get annoying so y/n needs to put them in the toilets but someone walks in so they have to be quite but end up leaving to finish off at home and y/n ends up punishing them at home by overstimulating them and making them cry by straping them up with ropes and putting viberators on them while you just watch them and messing with the controls but ends up feeling nice and takes it off them and cuddles them oop thanks in advance:)

→Genre: Smut

→Word Count: 3k+

→Warnings: semipublic sex , three some m/m/w (there is mxm action in here), shibari, deepthroating, edging, brat!Haechan, sweet!Jaemin, overstimulation, sweet aftercare, degradation, female masturbation, oral (m receiving), fluff towards the end,

→Synopsis: Dancing with your boyfriends was a great date idea, having sat through multiple dance practices and knowing that they could keep up. But after your brat affects your good boy you need to take matters into your own hands

→A/n: this took a good minute for me to write, and it took me a while to get a consistent theme going for the writing, I still am not too proud of it, but I like the ending well enough so I'm still happy with it. this is my first mxm anything on Tumblr I believe, so I really hope that you guys enjoy it. if you did please like, reblog, or donate to my Ko-Fi in my bio. If you like this you can request they are open for NCT, Enhypen, SVT, and Treasure.

You loved your boyfriends, it was glaringly obvious. No matter how much you jokingly rolled your eyes at their sometimes extreme displays of affection when it came to you, or jokingly threatened to change the locks on your apartment so that they would finally sleep in their respective dorms it was clear to see. You were completely and undeniably smitten by them, and who could blame you? Haechan and Jaemin were two of the sweetest people you know, and always knew how to woo you. Maybe that’s why the both of them courting you was successful when you had zero plans to date an idol.

Maybe also do to the rare elaborate surprises they planned for you when both of their schedules coincided enough to have a day free. Like when they convinced the company ( and Chenle) to rent out - Haechan’s expensive ass idea - Lotte World for the three of you on your three month anniversary , or when they take you on a really sweet date that causes them both to tease you relentlessly over your crying, like the time when they created the perfect picnic area - Jaemin’s idea -  curated with your all three of your favorite snacks and drinks just to gift you promise rings on your two year anniversary along with a picture book - Haechan’s idea again, occasionally his ideas are cute, and cheap- of random moments from dates over the years.

Their complicated and meticulous dates always made any that you planned pale in comparison. Despite this the boys were always ecstatic when you convinced them to take a day off for a date night. This time you were able to book a practice room - with the help of Taeyong - for two hours and were planning a special date that you hoped would even be on the sama radar as theirs. You were going to teach them how to dance. Not just any dance, bachata. They were constantly wanting to know how to learn Spanish, so why not teach them a special dance?

That was the original plan at least, spend one hour teaching them, and one hour dancing along with them. You’ve sat through many of their practices, including some routines that were bordering on inappropriate for their fan base, so you knew that they would be able to keep up where friends and exes failed. Sure, the dance tended to be more on the sensual side with how close you had to be and the soft music, but you really only had dancing in mind when you planned this.

However, dancing along with them with Jaemin behind you, he likes back hugs and holding you around your waist, and Haechan in front, he gets handsy when he thinks you can’t see them, and you were starting to regret it. The first hour passed quickly, both of the boys catching on quickly due to their lifestyles, so when you joined them the three of you moved in sync. Despite your hips being pressed against Haechan, and Jaemin’s grip on you bordering on painful, they were perfect dance partners despite the unconventional method. The three of you were in casual conversation and you were grateful that they had agreed to dance with you.

“Mis buenos chicos. Tan orgullosa de ti.” Jaemin started to giggle, squeezing your waist twice while Haechan’s jaw dropped, causing a giggle to escape you too. You’ll never understand why the boys are so amazed hearing you speak Spanish. Hell, they speak three languages almost fluently to your measly two.

“What’d you say? Say something else in Spanish.” Haechan’s voice started taking on the whiny tone that you ‘hated’, pouting all the while.

“It sounds so nice.” Jaemin spoke up from his spot behind, placing his head in the crook of your neck so you could feel his breath ghosting over the sensitive skin. Having both of their attention on you tended to be intense, especially now having them pressed so tightly against you with the sensual music playing softly over the speakers.

“Los mimo demasiado a ustedes dos.” You hated how easily you gave in to them, but their shared amazement made it a little worthwhile. “You guys are always so amused. It’s not that impressive.”

“It’s sexy when you speak Spanish.” You smacked Jaemin’s arm jokingly, giggling when his grip on you tightened. Surprisingly through this whole exchange you’d hadn’t stopped dancing, faltered temporarily at the beginning but were still smoothly dancing against each other. Though this dance isn’t supposed to be sexual you couldn’t help but admit that having two extremely attractive men dancing against you, and ones that you were lucky enough to call your boyfriends was starting to get you worked up, and you could feel the fire starting to grow in your stomach.

Haechan is known for his bratty behavior with his groupmates on camera, if only his fans knew how far it truly goes. Like now, his knee sliding in between your legs, purposefully pressing against your clothed cunt. You know that all he wants is a reaction out of you if the smug smirk on his face is anything to go by. Jaemin wasn’t a brat but something about Haechan made him want to act up. That’s the excuse he’ll try to use when you inevitably punish them later. For now all Jaemin can think about is relieving the building pressure in any way possible, even if it means rutting against you accidentally causing you to grind on Haechan’s thigh. That pulled a shaky gasp out of you, and made you come to your senses.

“Stop.” They instantly backed away from you, giving you enough space to take a deep breath without the smell of both of their enticing colognes. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Jaemin had the nerve to at least look ashamed, staring down at his shoes while holding his hands behind his back. Haechan on the other hand wanted to irritate you, smug smirk still painting his face.

“I wanted to have fun. Wasn’t that the point of this?” A pout replaced his smirk, but his tone told you everything you need to know.

“Bunny? Any excuses?” Jaemin only shook his head quickly, knowing that they wouldn’t help the situation. Smart bunny.

“You still want to have fun, bear?” Stepping closer to Haechan you grabbed his chin harshly, forcing him to make eye contact with you and the brat inside of him faltered a little. Knowing that he wouldn’t like whatever outcome.

“I do. If I can’t have fun with you then I'll just have fun with Jaemin. He’ll let me touch him.” Laughing you pulled your hand back, before smacking Haechan’s cheek. A shocked gasp left his mouth from the impact but it got him to finally shut up.

“We still have 20 minutes until your manager comes to take us back to your dorms. I’m going to the bathroom down the hall, you two will pack everything up and meet me. You have five minutes.” Turning around you briskly walked out of the room, smiling when you heard the two of them scrambling to get their stuff. First thing you did was set the timer on your phone for three minutes and 30 seconds - who said the boys really needed the full five - the second thing was making sure the bathroom was completely clear. Last thing you needed was for there to be another scandal about your relationship with the boys.

Excitement ran through you as the timer ticked down, closer to their inevitable punishment. It was down to the last 30 seconds when the bathroom door opened and Jaemin peaked in. Once Jaemin saw you he quickly walked into the bathroom followed by Haechan with 17 seconds to spare.

“Good boys, you’re on time at least.” Jaemin shyly smiled while dropping his bag and kicking it to the corner. Haechan followed suit, not wanting to get in any more trouble than he already was.

“Lock the door bunny. Haechan, on the counter, hands on your thighs. No touching.”

Jaemin locked the door while Haechan hopped on the counter, a pout evident on his plump lips but he knew that he was in no place to argue. Jaemin crossed the room in two steps, tugging his lip in between his teeth while wringing his hands nervously. Grabbing his shirt you pulled Jaemin closer to you until he was pressed against your chest, wrapping one of your arms around his neck and pulling him down into a kiss, ignoring the way that Haechan whined at the lack of attention.

Kissing Jaemin was always soothing even when he knew he was in trouble. Jaemin allows you to lead, constantly relenting all control to you. It wasn’t in him to try and change the tempo or take it further. He was at your mercy and only moved at your pace, sliding his tongue over your bottom lip only after you’d already nipped at his. At first the kiss was awkward, too nervous over where to put his hands, still wary of his punishment but they finally made their way to your waist. Sliding your hand up into his hair you tugged lightly, swallowing his high pitched moan. When Jaemin started to rut against your leg, finally losing the slightest control was when you pulled away.

His blown out eyes, and bright blush lining his cheeks made you want to devour him but you had to pace yourself, and him. Last thing you wanted was for him to cum before you got home and truly played with him. Grabbing the top of his sweatpants you looked up at him, waiting for his subtle head nod before pulling them down to the top of his thighs. Just enough to release his pretty cock.

“This isn’t fair.” Haechan whined from his spot on the counter. How dare you forget about him? Sitting here not getting any attention while Jaemin got everything. Wasn’t this supposed to be a punishment for the both of them? “Why is Jaemin getting all the attention from you? He was bad too.” Haechan was falling right into your trap and didn’t even know it.

“You're right. Maybe you should give Jaemin attention instead. Come here.” Haechan pouted again, realizing that he still wasn’t getting any attention from you before jumping off of the counter and replacing your spot. “You play with Jaemin all that you want, but don’t let him cum.” Haechan being a complete cum slut, already wanted to complain despite getting exactly what he wanted. You were no longer playing with Jaemin, he was.

“That’s not fair.” Haechan whined again but shut up when he saw you rummaging around in your bookbag. He went quiet when you pulled out the pretty vibrating plug, one of his least favorite toys due to your tendency of plugging him before leaving the apartment and sporadically turning it on until his knees turned to jelly.

“Think about it like this. If you make him cum then you’ll be wearing a vibrator until we get home.” Haechan rolled his eyes before turning his attention to Jaemin, looking up at him with his pretty brown eyes that constantly got him what he wanted outside of moments like this. Jaemin gulped loudly when Haechan placed his hand around the base of his cock, not lube or spit, just the roughness of his palm as he started to slowly move his hand.

“How does it feel bunny?” Jaemin wanted to whine at your taunting tone, used to your near constant praise for him.

“G-good.” You giggled at his voice cracking. Haechan never stopped working him over his hand, now placing his pouty lips around the head, causing Jaemin’s hand to fly from his side where he had them balled up by his side to Haechan’s hair, fisting it tightly as his mouth dropped open. Haechan’s tongue darted out and licked over the slit, tasting the salty pre cum as he suckled on the tip.

There was one thing that Haechan did best, and that was tease. Which is why you weren’t surprised when he pulled off Jaemin’s cock, and licked a broad strip up his balls to the head. A loud moan left Jaemin’s mouth, which quickly multiplied and reverberated off of the tiled bathroom walls when Haechan took as much of his cock down his mouth. Jaemin’s cock may have been longer than Haechan’s, but it was skinnier, enough to satisfy you but still leave you wanting more. Explains why Haechan easily made it to the base, pubes tickling his nose while he took a deep breath to relax his throat, the smell of Jaemin’s favorite body wash and slight must from dancing for so long. Haechan looked up at Jaemin as best he could, causing Jaemin’s hand to drop from his hair down to his cheek, stroking it sweetly with his thumb. Jaemin spared you the first glance since Haechan started blowing him and wasn’t shocked to see you sitting on the counter, one leg propped up showing off that you were two fingers deep in your soaking wet cunt, eyes just as blown out as Haechan’s. Smiling sweetly at him you pulled your fingers out, rubbing them over your clit.

The moment was interrupted by someone rattling the bathroom door, causing all three of you to nearly jump out of your skin. Haechan gagged quietly as Jaemin unconsciously bucked his hips. Silence fell over the bathroom as none of you dared to move until you heard the sound of quiet cursing and footsteps heading back down the hallway. Haechan pulled off, coughing lightly as he wiped the drool and tears off of his face.

“Too close. Let’s get home so I can punish you two properly.”

-

The boys deserve their punishment, Haechan actually craves them. You couldn’t allow them to think that if they teamed up against you they could be in control, that they were suddenly the doms in the relationships. Especially when they looked so pretty as your subs.

Like right now, the both of them were kneeling on your carpeted bedroom floor. Both of them tied up - Jaemin with his favorite light pink rope, Haechan with his favorite dark red - the ropes contrasting their skin tones perfectly. It was a simple tie, something to keep their hands bound behind their back, looping over their chest just for a little more stability. A pair of scissors was resting on the dresser safely out of their reach unless they used their safe word. That wouldn’t happen tonight though.

The boys were playing with their favorite toys, Haechan’s vibrating plug and Jaemin’s vibrating cock ring, and the results were already better than you thought they’d be. You’ve already turned down the vibrations multiple times, postponing both of their orgasms until you felt that they deserved it. Climbing off the bed you cupped both of their cheeks, relishing in their flushed faces and bright blushes spreading over their chests. Jaemin’s moans were music to your ear, almost harmonizing with Haechan’s needy whines, both of them wiggling around in their ropes. Jaemin’s moans were beautiful but you needed him to be quiet, both of them actually, if you didn’t want the neighbors to hear.

So you did. Pulling your hand away you slapped Haechan on his right cheek, feeling a twinge of arousal in your stomach at his loud gasp at the feeling. Placing your hand softly on his cheek you turned to Haechan, rubbing his bottom lip with your thumb.

You couldn’t help but feel warmth blooming in your chest at the sight in front of you, Haechan nuzzling into your palm as you rubbed his cheek, soothing the burn from the slap while Jaemin opened his mouth, taking your thumb into his mouth.

Seeing the sight of your two beautiful boys, completely vulnerable to whatever you decided to, red marks appearing on their skin where the rope loosened enough to rub over the exposed skin. Lips puffy and bright red due to their kissing and biting. Knowing that they trusted you enough to let you punish them, neither safe wording even if their knees are getting rubbed raw, and they were shaking from the constant edging.

Though you were punishing them for trying to team up against you, truthfully both of your boys held all of the power.

“So pretty. My beautiful baby boys.” Jaemin ran his tongue over the pad of your thumb, sighing as he sucked on it aggressively. “Wanna come for me?” Pleads of ‘mommy’, ‘please’, and ‘need to’ left Haechan’s lips, Jaemin letting out a garbled moan around your thumb.

“Cum for me then.” Reluctantly you sat back, letting go of them and turning the settings up.

They always know how to put on a good show, even when they’re not trying. Like now, Jaemin was the first to cum, squirting all over his thighs and lower stomach with a loud cry. Quiet sobs leaving his mouth as overstimulation set in before you cut off his vibrator and turned your attention to Haechan. Haechan’s loud moans have only gotten louder since you turned it up, achieving impressive pitch as he finally came. Leaning forward to place his head on the edge of the mattress as his body continued to shake. Turning off his vibrator you allowed the both of them to catch their breath, combing your hands through their hair as they’re quiet breathing filled the room.

Looking at the boys now, cleaned after their shared shower and in fresh pajamas, sleeping practically on top of eachother - Jaemin loves sleeping on someone’s chest - that same warmth grew again from your place in the doorway. Blessed is the true word you could use, that these two amazing boys were all yours. Walking over to the bed you lifted the blanket up, snuggling in behind Jaemin and sighing as his warmth seemed to surround you.

“Bear?” Jaemin’s sleepy murmurs surprised you, having assumed the boys were already asleep.

“No baby. Go back to sleep.” Jaemin groaned lowly, turning around and throwing his arm over your waist, pulling you closer to him.

“Night. Love you.” Jaemin’s sentence faded off towards the end, followed by a deep sigh as he fell back asleep. Reaching over to Haechan, you pushed his hair out of his face, smiling softly as Haechan moved closer to your hand.

“Love you too. Both of you, so much.”

[majestyeverlasting]

Hi! Congrats on your one month tumblr anniversary!! Could you please do prompts 30 and 49 with tfatws!bucky x reader? Thank you!

♡ Hi! Thank you so much!! I've been taking my time with these requests in hopes of making each of them special, so I appreciate your patience. In this one, Bucky and the reader travel down to Delacroix, Louisiana to meet up with Sam, Sarah, and the boys at a nice vacation rental on the lake. There's road trip vibes and reunion vibes with cute moments sprinkled in throughout. I hope you enjoy!

♡ Prompt 30: "How many of my hoodies have you snatched up at this point, hmm?"

♡ Prompt 49: "I've never noticed these freckles on your back."

♡ To make a request for my One Month Tumblr-versary, check out my Fluffy Prompt List :)

I Can Feel It Too

Moment after moment, the world outside passed by in a colorful blur; everything from cityscapes, to green pastures, to the low, rolling mountains of the Appalachian. Evening had fallen, and the two of you were approximately two hours away from Delacroix. As you gazed out the passenger window, the clouds above appeared to be rosy as the sun crept further towards the horizon. Bucky’s hand rested on your thigh as he drove, a pair of sunglasses perched on his head. You guys had been taking turns driving the entire way.

Upon reaching the halfway point the previous night, the two of you had booked a hotel room to rejuvenate before setting back out for second day of traveling. Despite how endless the journey had grown to seem, nothing beat being on the road with Bucky. Perhaps, it would’ve been easier to hop on a plane, but there was an undeniable intimacy to only having the road and each other for miles on end.

A few weeks prior, Sam had told him that he was going to Louisiana come the end of the month. That’s what sparked the idea of meeting him there. It had been a while since the two men had seen each other, and even longer since Bucky had been around the community he carried so much gratitude for. The people of Delacroix had lifted his spirits and made him feel at home when he needed it the most. So after you and Bucky confirmed that you’d be driving down as well, Sam booked a vacation rental to accommodate everyone.

Looking away from the pink clouds, you began to play with Bucky’s fingers. There were a couple of rings adorning them—rings you had gotten him. You twisted them idly. For the longest time, the only “jewelry” he wore were his dog tags. You insisted that he started wearing other small pieces, so he wore the rings to appease you. They looked good on him. Enough so that he grew to like them himself after a while.

You brought his hand to your lips and kissed over his knuckles. “Love you,” you spoke into his skin.

He briefly looked over at you. “Love you too, doll.”

The sound of the tires spinning against the asphalt eventually lulled you into a dreamless sleep. Bucky no longer had anyone to talk or point things out to, but he couldn’t bring himself to mind. Especially if it meant that you’d be getting some extra rest. He simply listened to the soft music playing from the stereo and watched the scenery continue to shift. Later, when more marshy bodies of water began to appear alongside the road, it was evident that you two had made it into Delacroix.

When your eyes fluttered open, it was darker than before. The headlights were illuminating a dirt driveway that winded towards a colonial-style home. A few of the curtained windows glowed with warm light coming from the inside. There were also a couple of lights on the porch to prevent the property from looking too dim.

Upon getting closer, Bucky slowed the vehicle to a stop, and cut the engine with a sigh. Then, he looked over at you with a small smile. “We made it,” he said softly.

You returned his smile. “We made it.”

The front door of the house opened when the two of you got out of the car and began stretching. A familiar face appeared, and his voice pierced the symphony of chirping bugs. “Aye! The Brooklyn crew’s here!”

“What’s up, man?” Bucky called back. You gave a happy wave.

Sam jogged over and pulled Bucky into a hug, patting him on the back. Then he wrapped you in a more gentle embrace, giving you a squeeze. He was warm and smelled earthy. The night air was crisp and there was a pleasant stillness to being out in the woods.

Sam shook his head as he looked over the two of you. “It’s been too long.”

“Tell me about it.” Bucky ran a hand through his hair. Then his gaze turned curious, more genuine. “How’ve you been?”

“Good, man. You know I can’t complain,” he said, nodding along with his words. “How ‘bout you two?”

Bucky pulled you closer to his side. “Never better, thanks to this one.”

“Ditto,” you said. That earned a laugh from them.

“But, for real though,” Bucky continued. “I don’t think I’ve ever been better.” You gave a hum of agreement.

“I’m really glad to hear that,” Sam said. A couple seconds passed before he clapped his hands together. “Well, let me go ahead and help y’all bring your stuff inside. You guys probably wanna turn in early tonight.” He looked between you and Bucky with a smile. “I know that drive from New York was no joke.”

“It definitely felt like forever,” you agreed, laughing. “But it feels so good to finally be here.”

Sam sighed. “Well, hey. We appreciate you guys for making the trip. It’s gonna be a chill two weeks,” he promised. “Sarah’s making breakfast in the morning and we’re gonna eat out back on the lake. It’s gonna be great.”

Upon entering the house with your bags and suitcases, you and Bucky were greeted by Sarah, AJ, and Cass, who had been awaiting you in the living room. They’d already changed into their pajamas. A loving round of hello’s and hugs were exchanged. In the background, a cartoon show that the boys had been watching ran quietly. The interior of the house was furnished beautifully with neutral tones and pops of bolder colors.

“I’m so glad you two made it in alright,” Sarah said afterwards. “I’ll go ahead and show you which room is yours.”

The bedroom was at the back of the house with a view of the lake. The pale moonlight reflected in the water with a sparkle. Later, after everyone had retreated to their own rooms for the night, and you and Bucky were alone, you gazed out at it. He came up behind you and wrapped his arms around your waist.

“Isn’t it pretty?” You asked.

“Mhm.” He pressed a kiss to the shell of your ear. “Wait a minute…”

“What?” You turned around to face him. His eyes looked over you.

“Is this mine?” He gently pulled the drawstrings of the dark gray hoodie you were wearing. You had dug it out of your suitcase to ride out the slight chill passing through the house. Someone had set the AC a notch too low.

Bucky didn’t seem to mind the temperature, however. He had yet to pair a shirt with his black basketball shorts.

“It’s yours,” you admitted, giving him a playful bat of your eyelashes.

He cupped your chin with his real hand. “How many of my hoodies have you snatched up at this point, hmm?” You couldn’t help a little laugh. And you were humming a second later when he leaned in to kiss you.

“I don’t know,” you said after he pulled away. “I had to pack at least one of them. They’re cozy and they smell like you.”

“And I bet it’s never gonna find its way back onto my side of the closet.” He tapped your nose.

You grabbed his hand and kissed his finger. “It might.”

“We’ll see about that, pretty girl.” You watched as he went to start pulling back the covers on the bed in preparation for you two going sleep. The comforter was a deep olive that matched the color of the abstract leaf painting that hung over the wooden headboard.

When he finished, he laid horizontally across the bed, letting his head fall lax. “Mmm. It's as comfy as it looks,” he murmured. “M’gonna sleep so good tonight.”

You crawled onto the bed to lay beside him. It was extremely comfortable. When he gave you a tired smile, you propped yourself up and began tracing sweeping lines along his broad back. His muscles relaxed even more beneath your touch. You smiled when your fingers came to a particular place near the bottom of his spine.

“Aww,” you cooed. Bucky lifted his brows. “I’ve never noticed these freckles on your back before.” You brushed your fingertips over the tiny brown spots.

“Surprise,” he teased.

You rolled your eyes, but smiled wider. “You’re annoying,” you quipped lightheartedly. A comfortable silence settled between the two of you for a few moments. The sound of the bugs chirping outside was faint but audible. Finally, you said, “Being here is gonna be so much fun. I can already feel it.”

“I can feel it too.”

[izukus-sugar-baby]

Checked out!

WARNINGS: fluff-ish, eventually will be smut, mentions of getting sick twice

word count: 2k

Heres my first writing for tumblr! Hope you all like it!

Part Two, Part Three.

"Hey Miss!!" You peered down at the smaller voice, simultaneously feeling a book slip from your hand and onto the ground. The bookshelf was at least 5 rows high, and you had been standing as far as you needed to reach the top. You were dusting off and replacing the books on the shelf, which... hadn’t been so pleasant with children running around before their daily read. Regardless, you had a job to do. It wasn't gonna stop for a ton of kids. You had been rearranging the books in alphabetical order before the kid startled you. Thank god it didn’t fall on their head.

"Are you gonna read to us today? Or is Miss Maggie?" The kid didn't look over six years old, blue eyes and long brown hair with freckles littering her face in a wonderful way. She wore a small dress full of sunflowers with bright pink shoes on her feet. She had been here before... Although, her name wasn’t ringing a bell.

"I wanted to read one of those pigeon stories you read us last time!" You let out a sigh of relief that the book didn't smack the kid on top of her head prior to climbing down to the ground and leaning down be eye-level with her.

"Pigeon stories?" You've read dozens of books about dozens of creatures and characters. What on earth would relate to a.. pigeon? Leaning down a bit farther to snatch up the book you had dropped, she pushed another book into your arms. The title read The Pigeon Needs A Bath!

"This book is pretty thin, You sure you want me to read just this one book, sweetheart?" You stood up straight, handing the girl the book back before cocking your hip to the side and placing your hand onto it.

"Me and Emmie can go find some more!" She hurried off to find her.. friend? Knowing it had been a child, it could be a stuffed animal! But she sure did leave too quickly to ask any questions about it. You sighed, climbing back up to finish your organizing. Thank goodness I’m already close to being done. You thought to yourself, dusting top to bottom and moving onto the 4th row. Their reading wasn't for another.. what? 20 minutes? You had time to knock out another shelf. Time flew by as you finished the 4th row. It was already time to read.

"I have to stop by Goodwill and get some more books. I also gotta stop at the post office and some.. other errands? You got this reading?" The owner of the store, Maggie, looked over to make sure she had gotten your attention before naming off a few things that needed done in the shop before you closed up shop.

"Yeah! What time will you be back?" You climbed down the last step of the ladder, patting off the dust from the bookcase that had gotten on your apron. It was some cutesy hello kitty apron you wore so the dust wouldn't ruin your clothing but it really just made it look like it was some mini cafe. None the less, you wore it.

"I'll be back in time for that uh, Pro hero guy. I don't know- my wife wrote him in. Ask and she'll tell you!" You weren't too involved with all that hero bullshit, the whole who can save more lives?! You get the most money AND an award. The system in itself was ass and it wouldn't make a difference in your everyday life for one of those snobby people to stop by. You walked around the shelves, watching Maggie leave as you sat down on a small rounded couch. A small chime rang through the shop as it called the children over for their reading, a few already sitting and ready to hear you.

It wasn't a big library, it seemed like a corner store had gotten torn down and then completely renovated into a library for children. The second floor had been where the owner and her wife stayed. It was a cozy little place where about 8-12 kiddos would visit for a read. There were bookshelves in the walls for more book space and 5 separate shelves more towards the middle of the place. They held less books than the ones on the wall. Only two of the five reached over 3ft. Parents would come in just to rent a few books. But more often than not, the owner would go out hunting for new books for everyone to enjoy. Along with cute little toys and those foam floor mats to sit on. All of the children in the shop had sat right in front of you, including the girl from earlier who held 4 books in her hands. A few other kids held thin picture books in their hands as well, but only having 15 minutes to read to them, it might be hard to get around to all of them.

“Alright, Who's first?" You asked, smiling down at them. Every single child raised their hand, some even raising both so your attention was on them. Of course this wasn't going to be easy. You thought to yourself as you put a hand over your eyes, pointing to some random kid. He held a small book, standing up slowly and handing it to you.

"My mom reads me this sometimes.." Poor boy was only about 5, and seemed pretty shy. You gave him a reassuring smile before he went back to his seat. You began to read and in no time at all you finished reading the few books children selected. Thank god it was a Friday, Most children would be picked up right after the reading for afternoon preschool etc. But it seemed like no one wanted to leave. Was it that hero Maggie had mentioned? You sighed, hopping up and heading to the check out desk where you saw a few children wanting to check out their books you previously read to them. You leaned down over the desk to reach for the book, scanning it and doing so for each person. The store bell jingled, as if the creak of the door didn't give away someone walking in.

"Welcome to 'Children's Magical Bookshop,' You paid the person no mind as you spoke, handing the last child their book and letting your gaze fall upon the... very tall man in front of you. Noise filled the small shop, children running up to him screaming-

"Deku!" As loud as their little lungs could. He gave a flashy smile, leaning down to hug the children that ran straight for his legs. He laughed and lifted a few of them in his.. very strong arms. Was it hot in the bookshop? Was the AC fucked up? You force your eyes from the tall man.. Was he looking at you too? Your mind screamed at you to introduce yourself, Quickly walking towards a shelf to do something. Anything bust stand there and gawk at him.

"Are you Maggie?" There were hopping children behind him, playing with his gloves and such as you turned to him.

"No- I'm y/n. Are you that.. pro? She had been talking about.?" You huffed through your nose, turning to him. He extended a hand, nodding with a cheesy grin on his face as soon as you had taken his hand into yours. It wasn’t like you never saw him on the news, but you sure did skip the channel as soon as it was some bullshit hero chart over who had been number one. He was so much hotter in person..

"Yes! I'm sorry I'm a bit early, I finished patrol sooner than I thought! I hope I'm not interrupting anything? The woman on the phone said before six, I told her I was sure I could make it around five!" His eyes traveled to your lips for a moment, listening to you speak back to him.

“You’re fine, There’s plenty of time for you to hang out and sign all of their t-shirts and such. Make yourself at home big man. You can sit in the reading area,” The kids dragged him to where you were just moments ago.. But he couldn't get you to leave his mind. You were beautiful. He needed to make you his.

The poor hero stayed until about six o’clock to talk to you, since all of the kids finally left to go do their summer homework or whatever they had to do. Deku had been leaning over the counter for almost an extra hour to make some conversation with you, he just couldn’t help himself. You cant blame him either! You had this smile that he couldn’t resist. And quite frankly, he wasn’t used to this feeling of butterflies in his stomach. He fought some shit villain every day! What's a few butterflies? Especially as pretty as you. Why wouldn't he want to stick around?

“I really didn’t think it would be so chill this week! It feels like I've done nothing but catch up on papers!” Izuku scratched his neck with his index finger, shaking his head lightly. “I guess I really am doing a good job!- Of course other pros are doing their jobs as well!” He let out a relieved chuckle, looking at you with a big, sincere, smile on his face. “How has work here been? It must be so nice working with so many children!”

You feel your eyes involuntarily roll, shaking your head and leaning against the wall behind you. “It’s nice until some kid gets sick on themselves and their mother isn’t here to help. We have extra clothing in the back because it’s happened more than once.” You groaned as your eyes trailed to the door leading to lost n found, clothes, and other things. You had an unamused look on your face talking about it. He noticed and let his eyes follow yours until feeling your eyes rest upon him once more. Maybe texting would let you come around to him a bit more? Were you bored?

“Yikes- I’ve seen adults get sick after villains show up. But I probably should head back to my agency.” He looked out of the store window before right back to those beautiful e/c eyes of yours. “Do you have a number I can text? I would love to talk to you more y/n..!” He was already prepared for rejection. It was kinda weird to be hitting on you after dealing with kids wasn’t it? Maybe he should take it back. Was he coming off as some sleazy ass hero?

Your eyes widened in the slightest- Enough for him to notice. “Sure, Let me see your phone,” You stepped closer to the counter, seeing him fumble on the pouch of his belt before unlocking and giving you his phone. You went to his contacts, making yourself one of them and handing it right back to him. He had an even bigger, cheesier, grin on his face after he took it back.

“Thank you, y/n!” He bowed his head before quickly leaving out to his agency. Finally, you could go home as well. Not that he was a problem, but that man sure could talk. It was endearing. Maybe I can put enough of those stutters in mind tonight. You joked to yourself, grabbing your keys and walking out to lock up the small bookshop. There was no doubt that you were attracted to him. Every woman in America and Japan was attracted to him in some way.

You let out a small sigh, driving home and turning your radio up until hearing your phone ding. You glanced over at the screen to see an unknown number texting. Assuming it was Deku, you waited until you were home to answer him. By the time you had texted him back, he was quick to reply. You two made plans to hang out soon and have dinner together. You talked for hours until one of you had fallen asleep. He was ecstatic. You really enjoyed his company.

taglist: @tenyaiidasslut @hi-rubi @devilsbooksworld @flamingpastapotatoes @arleneeene @blacklotussai @akam4recs @prinvilmain

a/n: I fucking hate tumblr KWJCHDH ive had to re-write this more than once because they changed the layout if the save and post. Its not my best work and was mostly edited on here instead of Google docs. Learn to edit the first version first i guess 💀 The second part will be much better!

Please Reblog!!!!

[shespeaksinsongs]

masterlist

edit: celebration is now closed!

first of all, i don't even know where to start. i started this account in summer hoping that writing fics would be the cure to my intense boredom. i remember when i was just starting out. i used to write otp prompts because it's what i was reading most of at the time, trying to gain dialogue for my original book.

i took a break and decided to see what kind of fics there were on tumblr, if any. unfortunately, i can't remember the first fic i read, but i remember loving it. i kept reading more and more, hopping back and forth between fandoms.

at some point, i wrote my first fic ever - a very happy birthday. it was short, a bit bland, and something i probably wouldn't have written now. i got a few likes, but nothing over ten in a day.

i kept writing and reading across tumblr and found my favorite authors across any platform, some whom i'm friends with! my first recognition that didn't come from a family member or friend was from @whiterosesonapastelsky. i'll never forget it. that was all it took for me to realize this is what i want to do for people!

now, i look back to only a few months ago when i started with no one. i am so lucky to have each and every one of you in my lives. whether we've talked before or you've only read one or two of my fics, i want you to know how much i appreciate it and you, for that matter.

now, enough of the mushy stuff, and onto the celebration!

throughout the course of the rest of the year, i'll be writing fairy-tale-inspired stories with your favorite hp characters. no, not all of them will be draco, so you don't have to worry about that!

you can submit any of the following as many times as you'd like:

🏰 - give me your favorite color and formal wear (dress/suit) and i'll find you something to run down the halls of your castle with!

🌷 - give me any scenario with any hp character, nsfw or not, and i'll write the other character's pov for you!

🍰 - pick three words to describe you and i'll decide your cliche fairy tale death!

🎠 - tell me your hierarchy in the castle (peasant, duchess, princess, queen, etc) and i'll pair you with a hp character!

🐇 - tell me your favorite fairy tale trope, your name, fave hp character, and i'll write a little blurb for you!

🩰 - let me rate your favorite fairy tale!

☁️ - start a dialogue between you and a royal (or not, ie. peasant) hp character and i'll finish it!

🍧 - tell me your house and sun sign and i'll tell you which disney (fairy tale) character you'd be!

🤍 - build a fairy tale world with me! give me the name of the land, special geographic features, government, etc!

👡 - tell me your favorite hp character and a situation (ex: cedric and you're locked away in a tower) and i'll write a letter from them!

🍨 (moots only) - tell me the name of your kingdom and i'll tell you why people admire you as a ruler!

💌 (moots only) - get a love letter from me!

celebration ends december 1st.

edit: celebration is now closed!

tagging some of my fave inspirations and mutuals down below!

@cupids-crystals @dr4cking @nolunchboxfriendzz @whiterosesonapastelsky @mqriac @silverdelirium @drayslove @sunshinexweasley @i-have-my-issues @yoooespinosa @marcela6malfoy i appreciate you all and thank you for being on this app. <3

[aritany]

Hello, I’m so desperate for advice, and I stumbled upon an ask you answered with a sorta-similar issue, so I hope this isn’t too random.

I’m about 40k words into writing a novel and will probably finish it in the next few months. I really want to go down the traditional publishing route, but it’s so hard to learn about! I have a very basic question about querying: can you change your query and submit it to the same people? (is that the agent?? editor?? No idea).

For example let’s say I query with the plot “Jack and Jill went up the hill” and send it off. If they respond with “I would have accepted it but idk, something is throwing me off”. Could I change it to “Jack and Jill went down the hill” and re-send it to the same person? Is that seen as rude or desperate or anything? I know how busy the publishing industry is, so I’m just nervous about burning bridges, if that makes sense?

Anyway thanks so much in advance if you answer :)

hey there! i asked my agent about this and here’s what she said:

“Usually only if it's significant revisions. Or if they asked you to come back to them with changes.”

so i would lean towards no, generally don’t plan on being able to submit to the same agent twice unless you get the green light from them.

since it seems like this whole process is giving you some stress (understandably, since it’s super vague and scary!) i recommend checking out the FAQ post in my pinned post. i have some asks i’ve answered there related to the querying process and publishing in general. for now, because why not, this is a little rundown of how the process works:

1. querying (it sounds like you already have an idea about this but i’m going to elaborate anyway!)

this is the main step you are responsible for in traditional publishing. write your query letter first! i’ve written and reblogged a couple of posts on that but we know the tumblr tagging system is nonfunctional so if you can’t find any or you’d like to see mine, feel free to hop back in my ask box.

find agents to query! i recommend googling authors who write in your genre and finding out who agented them. often on an agent’s website you can find information on their literary agency, which will tell you how to query them. i also recommend the website querytracker and manuscriptwishlist (especially mswl) to find agents that will suit your query. i found 30 agents that i thought might like my project before i started querying officially.

send query letters through each agents’ preferred method (sometimes it’s email, sometimes it’s an online form)—this is the eternal and terrible part. it can take two weeks or two years. sometimes agents ask for partial or full manuscripts to get a better idea of what your book is about, but that doesn’t always mean they’ll offer. i recommend sending queries in batches of 5 every 2 weeks or so.

don’t get discouraged when you get rejected! my “shoot-for-the-stars” dream agent rejected my query within 10 hours of the very first query i sent. rejection sucks but it’s not about you! they just aren’t right for the project and you want someone who is.

get an offer of representation! eventually someone is going to offer, and then you get to sit down and smugly send emails to the other agents you queried and haven’t heard back from to let them know they have competition. i also recommend having a phone call with the agent who offered to see how you guys vibe & don’t accept the offer until you’ve had at least a day to think about it.

accept offer! ensue champagne. it’s very exciting!

2. submission

now that you have an agent, y’all are gonna do some edits. sometimes they are substantial but usually not too bad. for my project i changed a couple of typos she found and rewrote one paragraph. EZ.

your agent is going to go to bat for you with editors at publishing houses. you don’t have to do a thing and it’s both wonderful and a horror show if you’re a control freak like me and you just have to sit there and bite your nails and wait.

you probably will get rejected a lot again! that’s okay! publishing takes for-EVER.

eventually you’ll meet with an editor to talk about prospective changes, and that either goes well or it doesn’t. (my first meeting with an editor went… so badly. she wanted to restructure the book and change the concept and there wasn’t even an a guaranteed offer waiting for if we did. we said no.)

if it goes well, then usually there’s an offer coming! if you accept that offer, then you move on to:

3. editing/prepping

this is like editing with your agent but on steroids. this is the editor’s job. i’ll keep you posted about what this is like as i haven’t personally gotten into it yet but soon (like… next week)

they do all the heavy lifting with cover art, audiobook, advanced reader copies, marketing, etc. that’s one of the perks of trad publishing, since when you’re self published you have to do this yourself and you don’t get professional help unless you pay for it. (this isn’t a dig at self publishing. i am 100% for self publishing and don’t see it as a lesser form of publication, i’m just 1. lazy and 2. had some specific writerly dreams i couldn’t achieve without trad publishing)

advanced reader copies go out, early reviews come in, and then it’s publication time!!

so that’s traditional publishing in a (enormous) nutshell. i hope this helped allay some of the uncertainty you’re up against!

a few additional notes you didn’t ask for but i feel would be amiss to omit:

don’t query your first draft.

if it’s your first novel, don’t query your second draft either.

WAIT between rounds of editing to give yourself fresh eyes. i recommend at least 4-8 weeks.

if you can, get a second and third pair of eyeballs on your project between drafts.

ask Literally anyone who will listen to help you with your pitch and query.

good luck with finishing your novel! you’ve got this!☺️

[envythepalmtree]

fma blogs to follow?

Ooh I've actually been planning on making this post for a while too!

Art blogs that ID their own posts that you should follow

@morningsaidthemoon - does ids in alt text! I really love their pieces - they're kinda soft in like. color and lines? and tender if that makes sense. Multifandom, they tag fandoms.

@mildly-artsy - @mildly-nerdy's new art blog! also does them in alt text. Her lines are so clean and I love how people look in her style. Mostly FMA.

Other blogs that write IDs and/or look through the notes for IDs (that you should follow and reblog the IDed version of posts)

@liathgray - they're the author of Blackwell Springs, an extremely popular fic I have not read yet, and the A Hop, Skip, and a Jump series that I'm very much obsessed with. Multifandom, they tag fandoms.

@nerdywriiterchild - bro I love their xerxes fics so much 😔 Multifandom.

@xingeseprince - IDs almost everything. Good descriptions! Sideblog, all FMA.

@princess-of-purple-prose - the meme ID person! (They're one of the people who started a huge doc of ID templates for memes to save people spoons, which is cool.) Multifandom, tags fandoms, mostly not FMA.

Other art blogs I love

I wish I could tag like. every one of my art mutuals but alas I'd be making color of the sky 2.0 😔 So sorry if I didn't tag you, I'm kinda just scrolling through my following list and picking urls at random here, all of you guys are amazing!

@chewytran - their royai college au!! is so cute!! All their royai stuff is just. chef's kiss. Art sideblog, mostly FMA. Other fandoms are tagged.

@wawayu - their use of light and colors man!! Art sideblog, majority FMA. (Also. check their notes when rbing their art because I rb and ID like. everything they post lol)

@neorei - their homunculi art!! Wish I had art-critic-training (is that a thing) so I could properly express the emotions that their art invokes. but. ahh it's so melancholy and kinda abstract, the kind of art that you could find different meanings in. Sideblog, all FMA.

@fmamangacaps - Photoshop counts as art. Their cleaning up of manga panels and tagging system is a godsend.

@humming-fly - you probably already follow them but their team greed comics are just so funny!! I always have at least one of their pieces in my drafts that I'm procrastinating on IDing lol. Multifandom.

@pumi-envy - just. lots of art of Envy. Sometimes I'm looking through the Envy tag and the majority of it is me and this artist. I love that for us. Their style's super cute. All FMA. (again. check the notes on their art 'cause I reblog and ID everything they put on my dash)

One of those Royai writers whom posts from me and my positivity blog mutuals always seem to make it to

Don't ask me why this is a category, it's just funny to me when my positivity blog posts or posts from my positivity moots make it to Royai tumblr.

@firewoodfigs - Xingese squad!! Her prose is beautiful. So poetic and meaningful. And her poetry?? is gorgeous. Ownvoices Xingese Roy content 💚 Mostly FMA.

@lantur - wrote delicate. Go read it right now if you haven't (but also tw for parental abuse and older military officers taking advantage of mentally ill young women while they commit genocide together) Multifandom, fandoms are tagged.

@hanamuri / @royriza - literally the sweetest person and runs like 4 blogs which is iconic. Her psychoanalysis of FMA characters is super interesting. All FMA.

Other writers I love

I have a habit of reserving way too many books from the library meaning that I haven't gotten around to reading most fanfics yet, oops. That's on me.

@ta1k-less - I adore her writing style!! Fun fact, one of her atla fics was probably the first multichap fic I had finished in roughly five years. She's very funny. Love how she fleshes out Ishvalan culture. Also draws sometimes and has started IDing her own art. Mostly FMA, multifandoms, tags fandoms.

@edisacornball - boomer he knows Edward very well, if that makes sense. Like, reading his fics I can tell that he understands Edward as a character very well. His Edwin fics are great. Has been in the FMA fandom for 15 years or something, which is crazy to me. Multifandom, mostly FMA.

@calangkoh - metas count as writing. So not a fic writer, but their 03 metas are wonderful. Obvious spoilers for 03 if you haven't seen it yet. Sideblog, all FMA.

Well fuck, now I'm realizing that I haven't gotten around to reading any fics from the vast majority of the writers I follow. Y'all are such lovely people sorry I still need to read your fics!! I gotta update this list once I get my act together and clean up my AO3 marked for later list, lol.

[kiefbowl]

Do you have any book recommendations?

sure :)

House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende - a favorite of mine, I re-read probably once every 3 years since HS at this point. Isabel Allende is the niece of Salvador Allende, the democratically elected socialist leader of Chile that was removed from office by a US backed coup. A piece of Chilean/American history not oft taught to American students. Isabel wrote this novel about an aristocratic family leading up to the coup. It does detail sexual assault and rape, but the story is focused on multiple generations of women.

The Second Shift by Arlie Russell Hochschild - A book I had to read in college for a sociology class that was called "Psychology and Marriage" or something to that nature. That class and this book specifically were instrumental in leading me towards radical feminism (despite neither being about it). Sociology books on gender are a great way to put your feminist framework to work, and should not be overlooked as important texts to feminism. This book is an engaging read about the labor of housework, written in chapters detailing the lives of specific families.

Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth - I just finished this so it's on my mind, very quick read and engaging read. The tv show is based on this memoir, and on her following two memoirs as well which I have yet to read. There is a spiritual/religious bent to it that might be off putting, and Jenny does write at times in some strikingly sexist and tone-deft language that is shocking to find considering the subject matter, but it's no more so than what you would find from an average woman I suppose. What's more important is that it's her account of her times as a midwife in Poplar in the 50s, aiding extremely poor women through their numerous pregnancies in her own words. Very eye opening to the reality of post-war poverty in the UK, as well as the reality of obstetrics pre so many of our now common modern-day medical advances.

Why does he do that? by Lundy Bancroft - Some books are worth the over-recommendation. This book has been instrumental for me in navigating my life with the relationships of men I have, not just purely sexual and romantic, but in friendship, work, and community. Recognizing patterns of male dominance and entitlement is an essential tool to survive. It also has helped me navigate my relationship with my mother, who can at times be selfish and manipulative. There are posts floating about detailing accusations made against Bancroft that I would not be able to find without some serious digging, but yes Bancroft is a man (some women don't know this). He has an extensive career working with abusive men and their victims, so he has incredible insight and yet also has been accused himself entitled to women. This has, in my opinion, brought a deeper understanding of his words in that he might think he is detailing the minds of the abusive man, I see him as detailing the minds of men who will abuse their power over women. In any case, I have recently been re-reading it at leisure.

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster - This book has been high in my mind the past few months as the author passed away in March. What a lovely children's book, delightful exploration of the English language in fun and magical ways. I had a teacher read this book out loud to us at the end of each day in either 2nd or 3rd grade and it's been a favorite ever since. It's a little long for a children's book, and the adventures are repetitive to some degree, so it might be hard for an adult to want to read through the whole thing as their go to book, but flipping through it now and again is delightful. If you have an 7-10 year old kid in your life, it's a fun thing to share with them.

Wise Child by Monica Furlong - Maybe there's something to analyze about me that I'm recommending two children's books...but I'll let that be my problem. I read this a few years ago as my train-commute book. For some reason, I've been thinking about it a lot lately and want to pick it up again. It's about a witch and her child apprentice in a Scottish village. That's it. But the imagery was very cool and I love magic and witches so it was my jam. I picked it up for free in a neighborhood "little free library" so maybe my heart just goes to it for being given away despite it being a cute book about a female relationship.

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett - This book comes recommended to me by my boyfriend's mom, who I adore and who is an amazing, hilarious, thoughtful woman, and is the book I'm about to start since I literally just finished reading Call the Midwife last night. It's a long, meaty historical novel about building a cathedral. So if you're interested in reading a book along with me in spirit, especially ones recommended by an amazing older woman, especially if you like giant novels that are hard to carry around dense with details about architecture and the lives of peasant and noble people living in Kingsbridge England in 1123-1174, then girlfriend hop on with me and let's make this monumental smash hit suddenly start trending with 20-30 something feminist women on tumblr this summer for no discernible reason.

Around the Corner by Jeremy J. Majewski - I haven't read this, I'm only recommending it because someone I know wrote it and I want to support the people in my life :) It's a fantasy novel and it might not even be good but it's self published and I bought a copy because I think writing a book and self publishing is a feat worth celebrating. AND! It might be very very good, I just haven't gotten to it yet. :) So if you want to support independent authors that I know, please buy this book for under $10.