#are there a lot of bad messages in a lot of ya novels? yes

[the-hype-dragon]

ok I am a hater but it would do a lot of people who make "literary criticism" content a lot of good not to have bad faith readings of every stupid little word an author puts on paper

like I remember reading a sporking/blow-by-blow of some cassie clare book here on tumblr years ago, this character was saying shit that you were obviously supposed to find objectionable--because he was a villain and he was saying it to his traumatized mother who felt like a bad mom already because of the crap her husband pulled on her in the backstory--but then the person writing this critique went off on this tangent talking about how oh no ladies you aren't a bad mom just because of this that and the other thing and I was sitting there like, are you for fucking real right now, like they were acting like cc was sitting here saying "oh yes, this obvious bad guy is totally parroting my own opinions about women and moms in particular" I felt like I was idk I felt like I was going kinda crazy

[thomawifey]

Hi!! I hope everything is going well for you!!

I was wondering if I could request a Ranpo or Poe x reader. Like maybe the reader drunk calls them and confesses in the middle of the night? Only to try and play it off the next day. Only for the reader to be horrible at playing it off?

drunk confession

pairings: edgar allan poe x reader

contains: ooc, fluff, mentions of alcohol

wc: 850

a/n: HAI ANONN!! so sorry if im late </3 also sorry for not posting, i've been really busy+ writers block but I AM BACK~ (not proofread)

Poe and You were simply just friends, a close one to be exact. Some people might think you guys are dating because you tease or flirt with him too much, but you just like doing it did you?, Poe knew about that.

The bar was a bit crowded, drunkards everywhere. You were out late at night, sitting alone. You brought the whiskey to your lips, taking a sip of it.

After drinking a lot, you're a bit tipsy now– well, drunk actually. You continued to drink more releasing stress you have in your mind.

Everything was spinning, you couldn't comprehend what was happening at this point.

“My head fucking hurt so bad..” you murmured, bringing out your phone.

Scrolling down your phone, you found his number, Edgar Allan Poe.

Not realising what you're doing, you called his number which he answered.

“n-name? it's 11PM, what do you need?” Poe stuttered, a bit worried why you were calling him this late.

“Wanna– hic hear something?”You muttered, taking another sip.

'Oh, the bar.' Poe thought to himself.

He does know about your alcoholic side.

He muttered a 'yes', holding the phone with both of his hands now.

Your lips turned into a smirk, before confessing something–

“I love youu~ did ya hic know what?” you confessed with confidence, the whiskey still in your other hand.

You swore you heard him let out a 'yelp' in shock. Was he not expecting this? Or your stupid teasing was not enough hints?

“U-um.. I– I dunno how to confess but hic yeah.. I love you.. a lot, Poe. Night–”

Before Poe replied to your confession, you hung up on him first. He was a bit disappointed that you didn't wanna hear his answer. On the other hand, you stood up, waving goodbye to the bartender before leaving the bar.

In the morning, you woke up and continued your morning routine like everyday except you took some meds to freshen up.

On the way to work, you opened your phone to see a message from Poe.

[23:54] Poe: Goodnight, name.

[07:35] Poe: Don't forget about the meeting today, see you.

'Pfft- why did Poe say goodnight, what happen–'

Right before you thought about something else, a sudden realisation hits you. Poe? Like Poe you confessed to last night? Yeah, you're definitely not gonna see his face today.

Upon meeting him, you didn't even dare to see his eyes nor face.

'This is just embarrassing, imagine confessing to someone and not even dare to talk to them aga–'

Your mind snapped back to reality, hearing someone called out your name.

“N-name, are you okay?” he asked sounding a bit worried.

He was worried that you didn't look at him at all, and because of last night. Should he be the one bringing this up?

You nodded your head, looking at anything but him.The tension was awkward, both of you sitting in front of each other not saying a word. It was always you leading the conversation but this time was different.

Poe took a deep breath preparing himself to ask you about last night, before you stopped him.

“So.. um, about your novel yesterday? Have you finished it? Haha..” you chuckled awkwardly, eyes still not on him.

“Ah, yes! About the novel, I almost finished writing it, would you perhaps be the first one to read?” he said in excitement, bringing out the novel which was half done.

Nervousness was still with you, thinking of a way to dodge talk about last night. You agreed to read his novel mystery, and he gave you it.

Right before you read it, Poe spoke about it. About last night.

“name.. a-about last night..” he murmured quietly, while your body tense up a bit hearing it.

Putting down the book, you brace yourself to look at him that got him a bit nervous. The tension was sure getting more awkward.

“Right, about last night. I- uh..” you tried to think of the right word for it, not wanting to make a misunderstanding.

While thinking, you felt soft hands intertwined with yours, it was Poe’s.

“Look, I– feel the same as well..”

Within a moment your eyes went wide, a bit shocked by his answer. Did he really love you back or was it just a pity?

While thinking, you felt soft hands intertwined with yours, it was Poe’s.

“Look, I– feel the same as well..”

Within a moment your eyes went wide, a bit shocked by his answer. Did he really love you back or was it just a pity?

“So, does this make us official now or?”

You asked bravely, waiting for his response.

You didn't want to force Poe into a relationship with you, you know there's always the right moment.

Poe gulped before mumbling out a small 'yes'.

Poe swore he could feel the happiness through your eyes and when you gripped on his hands more.

“Ah– I'm also sorry for uh.. trying to dodge about last night.”

“It's okay, name..!” he gave you a soft smile, that gave you butterflies.

He was just too perfect for you.

live laugh love poe guys (THANK U ANON FOR THE REQUEST ILY U REMOVED MY WRITERS BLOCK BLESS YOU.)

[the-modern-typewriter]

For me when I try to read 'popular' stuff or classics or something--and end up hating it--I always feel like I'M in the wrong here somehow. Like, I'm trying to intake content that will help my writing so everyone says to read the classics/stuff that gets published and it just... doesn't take. So I drop it and a year later I find it again and I'm like 'Maybe I was too harsh last time, and I'll like it this go around.' and I still don't. It's like wtf? lmao

So, my two cents. Reading something as a reader (I personally enjoy this) is different to reading something as a writer, to deconstruct it and learn from it and hone your skills.

It's not a problem to not personally like a piece of popular or classic literature. There's no moral or intellectual hierarchy to the books people like. Arguably, you don't even have to read them if you really don't want to. It's important to read things you like. However, I would personally advice against dismissing what is classic or popular entirely, just because you don't like it.

You don't have to LIKE or enjoy a piece of literature to analyse what it's doing and what the impact of the way it uses language has on the reader, or to work on understanding what the message of a story is. Or to appreciate the impact a story had in the time it came out. How successful is it in what it is trying to do? I think it can actually be quite useful to consider why you don't like certain stories, just as much as why you do. E.g. is it that certain tropes don't appeal to you? Do you prefer the more immediate fast-paced YA style? Classics are often slow burn because they're written in an entirely different context to our current world.

Also, (former literature student bias here), it is important to know what came before even if you ultimately choose to discard it in your own work. Both because there is a rich history that provides a lot of nuance, and it's not as simple as classics = good or classics = bad, and because I think you need to understand the rules to break them well. Or, given there are a lot of retellings and adaptions in modern fiction, understand and appreciate the original to best consider how it can be changed and what the effects of those changes would be.

Similarly, fanfiction and published work often improve different writing skillsets, so YES people can absolutely learn from fanfiction and it's great for things like character development and many other things. However, it usually won't teach you how to create characters, for example, or learn how to introduce readers to your world, because that work is done for you by the original text. That's why fanfic can jump right in. There's a shared understanding. Novels don't get that, so they have to approach differently. It's why my recommendation is ALWAYS to read a variety of things.

Anyway. There's an interesting video about 'Reading as a writer' here, in case it is helpful:

[foliejpg]

sage @puppyboymikeyway submitted a bunch of fob asks from this post so here ya go <3 putting it under a read more bc its a novel 😭

tttyg

dead on arrival: which of andy's haircuts is your favorite?

honestly i liked when he had the short bob and it was straight. he looked more like a lesbian then than usual

grand theft autumn: which was the first fall out boy song you heard and liked?

actually its this song 😭 i remember hearing it in a hot topic when i was around 15-16 and going home to look up the lyrics on my computer, then listening to every album straight through from tttyg to srar straight through in order lol srar had just come out

saturday: best concert you've attended?

my first fob show is special to me bc i got m&g tickets, so is the albany show this past march bc i got to meet them again with my boyfriend and a bunch of friends<333 but the best concert that the artist has put on i mean. i have to come clean i am a bit of a swiftie and the eras tour was crazy 😭 and fenway last year during tourdust because patrick did wams during the medley just for me<333 that's My Song

the pros and cons of breathing: do you own any fall out boy albums on cd or vinyl?

yes! here's a picture because there's a lot 💀 not pictured is the we didn't start the fire 7" because its so tiny i didn't see it until after i took the picture lmao

grenade jumper: trohmania or bass spin?

i gotta go with the bass spin sorry joe<3

the patron saints of liars and fakes: last big regret?

i wish i went to the madison square garden show in march but i couldn't afford the tickets</3

cork tree

our lawyer: worst fob rumor you've heard?

i can't really think of one? all i can think of is that one interview where patrick says the worst one he heard was that he was actually 31 and not 21

nobody puts baby in the corner: favorite 80's film?

who framed roger rabbit, clue, and that's all i can think of 😭 i'm not a big movie person

sixteen candles: favorite fob mv?

young and menace, america's suitehearts, hmlag, dance dance

the music or the misery: favorite bonus track?

from now on we are enemies and my heart is the worst kind of weapon, but i like the acoustic version of the latter way more<3

my heart is the worst kind of weapon: last time you said something you regretted?

bro i can't think of anything i don't listen to myself talk 💀

ioh

this ain't a scene, its an arms race: patrick in cardigans or patrick in sweaters?

SWEATERS lemme see that fabric stretch

thnks fr th mmrs: best memory?

i have no idea lmao when i met fob idk i have a really bad memory

don't you know who i think i am?: which high school stereotype would you describe yourself with?

is "snot nosed know it all who thinks she's better than everyone else but is just sheltered and bratty" a stereotype

fame < infamy: do you like black cards?

i'm a fake fan i've never listened 💀 bebe is a queen though

folie

lullabye: opinion on 'elisa stans?'

i don't know what that means these asks are from 2018 but everyone should leave fob's family alone <3

27: favorite instrument

BASS. i love bass guitar i need to feel it in my chest

w.a.m.s. which job would you prefer, waiter/actress/model/singer?

singer bc i enjoy singing and used to be good at it lol i can't act and food service freaks me out i don't want to be responsible for other people's food and also modeling just seems awful 💀

west coast smoker: favorite 80's band?

i love the smiths and joy division bc i'm a basic emo<3

srar

where did the party go: bass lines or guitar solos?

bass lines a million times over!!!! plus sometimes guitar solos make my ears ring 😅

death valley: who would you most like to be greeted by in the afterlife?

idk my cat kayla she passed when i was like 6 she was a good girl or my cat china (my mom named her 💀) she was a good girl too. lots of good girls here

abap

irresistible: which mv was your favorite?

the original one with the basketball game they're so goofy lmao

the kids aren't alright: if you could send a message to yourself five years ago, what would it say?

run for the fucking hills girl!!!!!!!

jet pack blues: which was your favorite fall out boy era?

this one because they're all happy and healthy and living their best lives, having lots of fun on stage and being weird and interacting with fans again<333

novocaine: cause of your last time in the hospital?

uhhhhh i can't remember the last time i was in the hospital lmao

favorite record: do you collect cds or vinyls?

both! i have a lot of both lol

mania

young and menace: are you excited for the future of fall out boy?

of course<3 i hope whatever they do next is satisfying creatively for them because i would rather wait a few years for new music than have them go back to working themselves to the bone and exhausting themselves so i'm sure whatever comes next will be worth the wait, stardust certainly was<3

champion: what's your proudest moment as a fan of them?

i don't knowwww i really like the little corner of the internet i'm in with some friends and mutuals and i get a lot of asks/msgs from ppl so i like that i've made a comfy little space for ppl to talk about fob<3 does that count lol idk i'm also proud of them for like. still doing what they're doing at their age those crusty old men

wilson: if you could purchase one thing being advertised in the wilson video, what would it be?

WORKING MALE MOUTH

sunshine riptide: if you could say one thing to the band, what would it be?

i would say thank you for making art and i would also corner pete and maKe him tell me about the pool ball strike at the beginning of disloyal order he can't get away with this anymore

WHOOOO BOY okay thanks for sending all those i hope you enjoy this essay<3

[quoteablebooks]

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Content Warning: Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Bullying, Rape, Car accident, Sexual assault, Grief

Summary:

In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees . . . Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy. Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side. As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny? Unearthly is a moving tale of love and fate, and the struggle between following the rules and following your heart.

*Opinions*

This book has been on my TBR since 2013, so when I picked books to read for a readathon, it seemed like it was a good one to finally clear from the list, especially since I could get it from the library. I was actually pleasantly surprised with the first third to half of the novel with how it didn’t seem all that dated. Yes, they had printed out MapQuest directions to get somewhere and people sent emails to stay connected, but the issues felt as if things like text messages and modern technology wouldn’t have changed all that much. However, as soon as the romance element became more intense, I did feel myself rolling my eyes. It wasn’t just that I wasn’t a teenager anymore, it was just that ridiculous 2010s YA romance that we all loved back in the day. 

Clara was a slightly frustrating main character, but as she is a sixteen-year-old, that kind of tracks. As someone with angel blood, she has this purpose that her mother has made her feel as if it is the most important thing in her life, but she also wants to be a normal teenager. The relationship between Clara and her mother was very interesting and if I had been reading this for a class I would have dug into it a little more. While most teenage girls do not have an angelic mother, I think a lot of people go through this point as a teenager that your parents are just people who get scared, lie, and make mistakes like everyone else. I will say that Clara is a pretty bad friend, not caring about Wendy or Angela’s emotions when she says and does things. Again, most teenagers are self-centered, it is developmentally appropriate, but it was annoying to read as an adult. 

I did appreciate the way that Hand dealt with the insta-crush that Clara has on Christian because of her angelic purpose. I also enjoyed that relationship became complicated and hard to navigate, which happens even when angelic blood and purpose are not involved. While there were times that Kay was the “evil girlfriend in the way”, there were times that she was humanized and that is groundbreaking for the 2010s. Where my enjoyment started to fade and my annoyance increased is the whole relationship with Tucker. The build-up was fine, Clara learning nature and spending time with him because everyone else left for the summer. However, the declarations were obnoxious to me. Now, I would have gone on a rant about this, but a YA author once tweeted that teenagers do fall asleep quickly, it has kind of calmed my annoyance with the ‘I love you” after three weeks. It just shows that I am not the target audience and I need to be okay with that. 

The climax of this story was very confusing to me. The battle with the Black Wing and the tense parts with the fires keep me flipping the pages. However, the way that everything kind of just wrapped up without a lot of fallout deflated all that. The entire book is about Clara fulfilling her purpose or else, and I know that there are two more books in the series, but I wanted some sort of loss at the end of this novel besides a horse that we see once the whole book. 

Overall, this is a novel of it’s time, which is not a detractor or a benefit. Even with that, this is a rather forgettable story and will not stay in my feelings. As I have to finish everything, I will be reading the rest of the series, but I am not worried about who Clara will choose at the end. This is a 2.5 rounded up to a 3 as I know I am not the target audience and reading it out of its time period. 

[iantimony]

back to your regularly scheduled tuesdayposts

book review edition

listening: im on episode 52 of twilight mirage now! final stretch!!

reading: hooo boy. so. i read 'every heart a doorway' yesterday. not gonna lie! i'm bummed! i thought it was bad! i've been marinating on it overnight and i want to put some thoughts down about it. i saw some folks on goodreads changing their reviews after a few days to be a higher rating because they'd "judged it as a novel, not a novella" and no offense but i think that is stupid. yes, a novella can be approached with different expectations than a novel, but i still expect it to have, like...character arcs?? a Beginning Middle and End???

it felt like it was trying very hard to have Representation and Feminism, yet fell into the trap of "only a certain amount of pretty is ok, if you're Too Pretty you must have a bad personality to make up for it or be otherwise evil" (seraphina) and had a character (angela i think) say "i'm transphobic" and there is zero resolution with that! it is never brought up again! she goes "i think you're a fake man" kade goes "fuck you" and that's it!! then the climax of the book happens! it's totally irrelevant and served no purpose! we don't even know who angela is!!!! it means nothing!!! really bizarre! this isn't even touching the Quirky Token Asian who gets murdered almost immediately. 

in general i think the scale of characters was a little weird. there are about 40 students in this house but it felt very amorphous, especially for the type of story i thought it was trying to tell; i think i would have preferred a smaller cast where we got to learn everyone's names and general vibes at least instead of just "blue haired girl". this isn't a huge problem i just thought it made the setting feel a bit strange. the few characters we got to see named and have motivations were really two dimensional. i don't think this is a problem of it being a YA book, i think it was just too rushed to actually flesh out anyone beyond the most general strokes.

i think the most natural-feeling and fleshed out was kade, i liked him a lot. nancy felt...not like a character, she felt like a collection of Facts. it's nice to see asexual rep, don't get me wrong, but she basically felt like an empty shell of a character. not that any of the other characters felt especially fleshed out, but they all at least has allusions to Character Arcs In The Past, with whole adventures in each of their respective fairytale lands; nancy didn't even have an adventure it seems like!! like she just Stood There A Lot!

and apparently standing Very Still is a superpower, which leads me to my next complaint - why the hell do these kids have magic in the real world still? christopher taking out his little bone flute and reanimating lorelei's skeleton made me put the book down for a minute and take a lap. why! the stuff like standing very still, or lorelei's really good eyesight i could excuse; fully Reanimating The Dead is very silly. maybe i'm missing something but it doesn't seem to serve any purpose. the book would have been missing nothing if that whole skeleton scene was cut. similarly with the aging-backwards therapist, was clearly built entirely for the "oooooh how quirky she looks 8 but she acts like an adult!" factor. it served no purpose. she could have been a normal adult woman. her suspicion of nancy was really silly too. basically magic continuing to exist in the "real world" served no narrative purpose and felt out of place with the message i thought the book was trying to have. and speaking of message:

i think this book's biggest crime is not having a cohesive message. i started this book thinking it would be about loss, grief, and coming to terms with a life you didn't think you'd have. those are all really good messages for a YA book! not that there is a "correct" ending for a story like this but just sending nancy back to her fantasy land was completely antithetical to the book saying "sometimes you just need to move on a little, you can still keep your hope but you have to live your life as well". no offense to mcguire but that ending felt like her choosing an "unexpected" ending just for the sake of it, not to serve any narrative purpose. then again nancy was kinda not a character so it doesn't make the worst sense to just get her out of the way a little. i found myself feeling more bad for nancy's parents than anything else. yes they don't understand, and probably didn't understand her for a while even before she went through her door, but they clearly were so worried about her and nancy really didn't seem to have any good will towards them for it. all teenagers feel misunderstood! all i can think about is these two well-meaning parents grieving for literally the rest of their lives lol. like listen. i get it. i was That Kid. i wanted something like that so badly. but i would have at least hesitated. i know it's just a YA novel but it really rubbed me the wrong way.

in terms of narrative, i definitely saw the twist coming, basically from the point where jill vanished for a little bit following the first murder, which is fine! i'm a little confused on the logistics of it, like her and jack shared a room and the timeline makes it seem like jack would definitely have had to notice earlier. doesn't really matter either way. i would have loved a little more drama around the murders - maybe being suspicious of lundy or even eleanor? especially when lundy was weirdly in kade's room after the first murder. the main characters seemed strangely apathetic to it all, no drive to investigate or search for clues like you'd expect in a YA novel. it's fine. i did really like mcguire's prose, though, she has some nice sentences in there.

idk tl;dr i had high expectations because i saw a lot of people talking this book up a lot but it really did nothing for me except make me a little sad for nancy's parents which i don't think was the intended result. 2/5 stars for me :(

watching: a bunch of mina le mostly

making: i finished carving out my watch block, i haven't done a test print yet but i'm going to try and do that this week! i'm almost done with my tank top knitting project too, i'm on the last strap now.

misc: it's been like a month since i tuesdayposted! hello everyone! i got a really really bad stomach bug when i was in korea but other than that my travels went well! i had a minor breakdown last week when i was puppysitting by myself bc of how sleep deprived i was! but i'm better now! things feel like they're moving veerrrrrryyyy slowly with my research but that's just how it is with that i guess. being home for the summer has been really nice but i do miss having my own space and independence.

[moonlightreal]

Antimagical book review: Moon White

I am weirdly fascinated with books like this: books that warn good Christian girls about the Teen Issue of witchcraft.  This book is one of a series that tackles Teen Issues like drinking, sex, homosexuality, self-harm, eating disorders, divorce, peer pressure, and suicide.  And Wicca.  Now that I type them out, that’s a strange list.  

In her defense, Ms. Carlson 1)can actually write, which is not true of all Christian YA writers and 2)is less awful than she could be. The one on homosexuality gives the main character an arc of going from horribly homophobic to only slightly homophobic, with a message that being a jerk to gay people is Not The Way, they need love not abuse, but being gay is still bad.  So yeah, not a GREAT message by any stretch, but it could be worse.

This book, Moon White, stars Heather, a teenager mourning the death of her mother some years back, dealing with school, friends, liking boys, and ballet.  Her stepmother is a newager.  Heather starts studying Wicca and does some spells seeking to contact her mother’s spirit and make her life better.  Things happen both good and bad, Heather’s life gets worse and in the end she starts feeling spirittual pressure to take her own life.  While searching her car for paper to write a final note she finds her mother’s notebook including a note about her accepting Jesus before her death.  Heather is basically a runaway at this point and seeks out her mother’s friend who brings her to Jesus and many of her problems get better.

The conversion happens quite near the end and reading as a nonChristian I can imagine that Heather’s life turned around not because of Jesus but because she got away from her home and spent time with a stable friendly adult for a week.  

The book does identify some of the real dangers of Wicca:

1) Money.  Heather spends a lot of money on magical doodads, which is a thing real magic users need to be careful not to fall into.  It’s hard to tell the difference between a spiritual calling to an item and the mundane magpie impulse to own the pretty shiny thing.  The owner of the witchy shop Heather frequents also pressures her to buy more stuff and eventually encourages her to to to an expensive spiritual retreat.

2) Wierdos.  Magical people include lots of kind, smart, dialed in folks, and also some flakes, predators, and people who probably need some mental health help.  Of course, you know where else you’ll meet these types of people?

Christianity.

And every other religion, and lots of nonreligious places.  This is a Wiccan issue, and a religious issue, and a people issue.

3) No standard.  Heather meets different kinds of witches with different ideas about magic and how it works.  There’s no way to tell which of them is “right” so there’s no way to test things and know if you have good information or not.  But, know where else you’ll find this problem?  Christianity.  Yes, Christianity has a single holy text but it can be interpreted in many ways and there’s no way to test which is “right.”

So the strategy taken by this book, and a lot of Christian fiction, is to have their main character encounter all the troubling elements of the nonChristian parts of life and none of the troubling elements of Christianity.  You could just as easily write a YA novel about a girl getting into a judgmental church and sinking into despair before meeting a down-to-Earth Wiccan.

The reviews are a thing.  A few Wiccans talking about what the book got wrong, a few Christians saying they couldn’t finish the book because it had too much witchy content!  I do not particularly recommend this book unless you share my strange fascination with seeing from the other side.  Be magical.  Be Christian.  Be both.  Be neither.  Just be sensible and nice to people.

[diifacto]

In honour of the recent release of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, let me just drop some thoughts about Hunger Games.

I’ve been reading a lot of reviews lately, and one thing they all seem to have in common is that most people loved The Hunger Games itself, but lost interest after the actual “games” portion of the novels disappeared. That the complicated politics got boring and the propos were so fake and the love triangle was unsatifisying and out of place amid all this war; that Katniss acted like a puppet in Mockingjay—I’ve seen people complain about how present her PTSD is and how it’s confusing to read; about how everything she did was for show; I’ve even seen her compared to Bella Swan. And I’m here to tell you that all that is the point.

So many authors have tried to replicate what Suzanne Collins did with Hunger Games—she created an entire YA subgenre. But nothing’s gotten it right. Why? Why do so many people love The Hunger Games, but drop the sequels as “boring” and “fake”? Why do so many authors trying to replicate Hunger Games’ sensationalism go off the rails in their third installment? (Looking at you for that one, Divergent.)

To put it simply: politics.

Gonna get a bit English student/history major-ish here, but Suzanne Collins’ writing of the political climate and power struggle in Hunger Games is absolutely fantastic. In Mockingjay particularly, Collins presents a fascinating commentary on authoritarianism through contrasting President Coin with President Snow, showing the former to be—true to her name—just another side of the same coin as Panem’s dictator. If you’d like, connections can certainly be drawn to specific political parties, with Snow, of course, being your far-right fascist, and Coin your far-left communist, but Collins’ message in this commentary isn’t centered on labels like that. In a way, her handling of the issue reminds me of George Orwell’s 1984, with the Party never being specified as leftist or rightist, just totalitarian. The message is the same: whether communist, fascist, far-left, far-right, whatever you want to call yourself—totalitarianism is bad, kids. Authoritarianism is bad. Remember, the political spectrum isn’t a line, it’s a circle—and it all comes down to dictatorships and tyrannical rulers.

And that’s where everyone goes wrong, readers and authors alike. Because Suzanne Collins does what the media does: hides it under all these layers of drama, intrigue, bloodbaths, horror, love triangles, until the politics get all blurry. That’s art imitating life, right there.

Gonna drag poor Divergent along for sec, because it reminded me of The Hunger Games, in a lot of ways. Dystopian YA with some really nice commentary on society. Loved the first book; I still go back and reread it, and while lacking in certain qualities, what novel isn’t? But Roth lost that thread in the conclusion, because I feel, like so many others, she fell into Collins’ trap about what makes Hunger Games so good. The drama. The love triangle. The horror. The bloody, shocking plot twist. Not politics.

Let’s unpack the rest of it, here, too:

The love triangle is supposed to feel fake and out of place, because it is. (I mean, I’d argue there isn’t even a real love triangle, but that’s a whole other debate I’ll bring up again sometime.) It’s a fabrication used by those in power throughout the novel to distract from the Capitol’s crimes, and the fact real people fixate on it in Hunger Games to this is extent means Collins’ commentary on the issue is entirely correct. And similarly, this sort of media war District 13 and the Capital have in Mockingjay, with Katniss doing propos and Peeta being tortured into interviews—yes, it is fake. It’s propaganda; that’s the whole point.

As for Katniss acting like a puppet, I’d argue that as illustrated by a notable plot twist near the end of the novel (and numerous events throughout, on that note), Katniss was acting and thinking independently. I’d also take care to point out that Katniss is seventeen years old and deeply traumatized. One of the things I love about YA are the young, teenaged protagonists doing incredible things, and living through impossible horrors—but I’ll be the first to admit sometimes it gets unrealistic. Collins takes a more realistic approach. Katniss has PTSD; Collins writes this. Katniss has been used as a puppet by the rebellion so long, can she even consider not acting as their figurehead; Collins discusses this. Katniss is a seventeen-year-old whose main concern is protecting the people she loves, one of whom is Peeta; Collins writes her actions to reflect this. Just because Katniss doesn’t go full-badass-archer, front-lines-in-the-war-effort like we saw in the actual Games of the first two installments—and have seen many protagonists do in other series—doesn’t mean she’s not fighting back and staying true to herself the whole time.

Again, it’s a different kind of fight, politics.

So my point is, Hunger Games is driven by politics. Suzanne Collins presents some very intelligent points on politics, to a YA audience. And, ten years after she published Mockingjay, she’s back with a novel on the early life and rise of a dictator. So what, pray tell, might she be trying to say?

[shijiujun]

i feel kinda bad for shl cos all the fans of hyx and spl are blaming shl since their dramas are being delayed :(

LMAO I really don’t get that altho i can see that the timing might be a little back to back, and i’m not a SHL-only stan by any measure but:

For HYX especially,

Firstly it was already having problems since the end of last year with censorship and review. This is mostly due to the reason that 2ha is a pretty big fandom and is the cult fave in the danmei industry - what this means is that there are three types of fans basically right, (1) Normal fans who love the novel + show (2) Those who fanatically love the novel in some extreme ways haha (3) Those who hate it and/or are HYX-onlys - so you get it all in a bag. 

The first type of fans is definitely the easier ones to deal with, but unfortunately in big fandoms you get a lot of (2) and (3). It’s not something that’s exclusive only to 2ha/HYX but because it’s a cult fave, and a controversial one at that, problems definitely arise.

(2) are the ones who head down to the filming scenes, take photos and footage despite crew telling ppl not to do it, not to sneak around filming sites and definitely not to leak photos or footage. They do it anyway. Yeah sure of course it’s a couple of photos every few weeks or a tiny video every few weeks but word gets out. They’re inevitably hurting the show and the fandom with their actions, because shit trends on Weibo really fast, and the censorship committee (not just for the film industry or shows) is always lurking on the site to catch any sign of you know, hate speech for the country etc. and more. Not related, but the point is that social media is watched very closely. It’s not a myth or an exaggeration, you really just got to be careful, and HYX is a show that, despite not having been broadcasted, has consistently trended on Weibo over the last few months. Not always because of leaks, but yeah, HYX is in everyone’s faces. Fans themselves put a fucking huge spotlight on the show BEFORE we even have any content at all, and of course this isn’t enough to like create huge trouble for the show but then we have-

(3), which I believe creates the most trouble - the thing is 2ha and meatbun who wrote the book, has a long line of haters and antis, way before HYX came into the picture. I shall not go into details of how I’ve seen some big accounts on Tumblr here spit vitriol at the book without even reading it just based on the content/trigger warnings and playing the morality card (and I think most ppl who’ve followed me for a while know just what I think about that). Like this was way before any footage or leaks or even HYX being a thing came about - as a cult fave it has its share of haters, and this share is a huge. There are those who get off on their moral high grounds XD and I think especially these ones are the most troublesome, all they have to do is report that HYX is immoral, bad for culture etc. etc. hahaha and yeah the censorship team is always ready to step in on reports, especially on BL stuff.

And of course the larger part is the change in censorship processes - honestly even way before SHL came out in end Feb, HYX was no closer to getting passed by the review committee than it is now. Maybe yes, SHL scenes may be now used as reference for comparison but seriously? People are deluding themselves if they thought pre-SHL HYX was going through the review process smoothly and only hit roadblocks after. I mean, we’ve all seen the leaks, some of them are truly like god-tier scenes that may be hard to explain away. It’s not like they can repackage the script especially because they have to submit everything to the review committee.

I mentioned this in a post yesterday but how SHL passed reviews is due to the fact that they didn’t have to submit a full script. They only had to submit a partial script, and that makes a world of difference. Basically a team, under these requirements, can repackage the script to include the more het looking parts even I feel, and of course some heavy misdirection by the team, it could work. Now that you have to put an entire script up for scrutiny.. I mean, it’s hard. This is just a game of probability.

And the last reason I think is still Tencent. Honestly, I’ve never seen a huge ass MNC like this handle a show this terribly.

1. No control over leaks - This is honestly the dumbest shit to do

2. Terrible crisis management response time - When fans leak footage, it’s standard and practical business sense to control it IMMEDIATELY. They shouldn’t just leave it up to the crew to put up notices and as the company that owns the rights to the show, it’s up to them to possibly threaten legal action as well. Basically a sterner stance would have helped a lot, but Tencent is a motherfucker of a company who only cares about free marketing and publicity without any considerations over impact to the show itself 

3. Terrible at communicating with fans - Seriously, I’ve never seen a company or team that’s been this bad at confirming delays etc. and providing updates about a show. I understand that it’s mostly due to them not wanting to affect the review process or create more chaos within the fandom but lmao Tencent allowed the hype to build so much and then goes absolutely silent at crazy rumours. I mean we had to find out about a delay from Cai Bao, their cat mascot, like??? In a really veiled and poetic message that didn’t outright say the word ‘delay’ like damn these ppl have a lot of time

As for SPL,

Lol we don’t know anything about this show. We don’t know if they took out or left in the Yifu part that would supposedly make it less gay or whatever, we don’t know anything about how gay it should have been or could have, so this one might be a tad more ridiculous. I mean none of us have seen any good leaks, and we haven’t seen any of the script, we got ZERO idea about this. Maybe they really went hard on the bromance, how would any of us know hahaha so all the more it’s like people have zero basis to go on, to say that it’s because of SHL. Seriously, everyone’s shooting in the dark.

Technically if laws didn’t change last Feb, I think SPL/WIK should have been passed in the same way as SHL did, but it’s just inopportune time for them.

===

- So tl:dr HYX already had tons of problems, that I doubt were going to go away just because SHL didn’t air, honestly. For SPL, it’s really hard to tell what failed the review, because none of us know what’s going on in the script.

No one cared about SHL, even I only realized the show was airing on the day itself and then made a rec post after I watched the first 4 eps. And if it truly was anything to do with SHL, I’m telling you that the first thing the censorship committee will do is basically shut SHL down, get Youku to take it off sites etc. until it’s reviewed again etc. etc. That hasn’t happened yet, at least not before HYX and SPL were stalled.

===

ALSO!! Don’t have to feel sorry for SHl fans hahaha I’m telling ya a lot of us definitely weren’t OG SHL or TYK fans, seriously! All the bigger accounts I see on Twitter are a combination of CQL/SHL or MXTX/SHL, SPL/SHL and I am personally 2HA/HYX/SHL. The fight is all out on Twitter HAHAHAHA but it’s not that bad, we’ve all got practice. Seriously WHO ACTUALLY is an SHL only stan I’ve honestly not seen much?! HAHAHA the point is we’re all yelling on behalf of SHL as a cross fandom fan, easier for us to do so as well. We’re talking about 2ha/HYX/SPL/Priest dedicated accounts that delved deep into SHL championing for no-nonsense in the space hahaha

[venteamocha]

Hello! Sometimes I see you post stuff from IF blogs and I've recently started playing some IF games, which I've enjoyed so far. Do you have any IF stories you'd recommend in particular? I'm not attached to any particular genre and I don't need romance or a self-insert main character, (though I'm not opposed to either). Though, it's a definite plus if it's LGBTQ+ inclusive! I'm not really sure what the "cornerstones" are of IF so I'll take any and all recommendations haha

Oh god, I play so many IFs. So many. And it’s not even close to all of them, but I’m trying!!

Tbh IFs without romance seems to be very rare, I think because when I think IF I think Choice of Games, and those pretty much always have romance in them. At least, the most well known ones do. But a well done one without romance would be nice too!

Okay, this is a list of my favourites! They’re all LGBT+ inclusive, and most have gender selectable love interests, or at least ones that change gender depending on the gender and sexuality combination you pick. In no particular order, of course.  Behind a cut because I’m gonna give them each a mini review. Because I haven’t done that yet.

(There are so many.)

Mind Blind: I absolutely love our big brother Nick, I love how witty and sharp so much of the dialogue is, I love how the MC clearly has a rather large handicap, but is still such an important person to so many people and not looked down on in the slightest. And when they are, we all know it’s because that person is a jerk! They’re not defined by what they aren’t, but what they are, and that’s a great message.

Shepherds of Haven: Part of why I love this one so much is I just love fantasy settings and this one just pulls it off so well. The cast is full of amazing characters, and I gotta say I die inside pretty regularly for not being able to afford the patreon content, lol. The author puts so much amazing stuff on there, and gives us so much great content in the game and through answers on tumblr, and you can tell this whole thing is just the best thing ever to them, and that makes it the best ever for us readers too!

The Wayhaven Chronicles: I’d be shot if I didn’t mention this one, the series that literally killed dashingdon when the book 3 demo dropped!! Again, another author that cares a lot and does their best to do right by their fans. We’ve been given drip after drip of these amazing characters backstories, and I just cannot wait for more! It’s definitely very romance centered, but the overall plotlines are also very good, and I have to say that no matter who I romance, I just feel like the group as a whole is a family. And that’s wonderful.

Speaker: I really like the lore. I really like the lore. I can’t wait until we get more of the overall plotline. Mostly I want my Speaker to get in deep trouble so Seb, Li and Seer (best sister ever) go off and beat the shit out of whatever is causing it. This probably says something about me, but what can I say, I thrive on angst and inflicting near death injuries on my OCs. Sometimes I even kill them, although all of this is offtopic. Or is it? I guess we’ll find out, although I doubt we’ll actually be able to kill off Speaker. And yes, I am definitely playing the Seb & Li poly route. I love them both so much. 

Wilhelmina: I love vampires, ok? Ok? And this one is based off Dracula!! The OG!! And you can choose Drac’s gender!! Shit, sign me up forever!! Yeah, she might be literally killing my bff, torturing my fiancé and low key fucking with my mind, but vampires are hot!! Let me live! Or not. But yeah, this is a really well done retelling of the Dracula novel and I like how well it works as an IF. Did I mention I like vampires?? Especially when they get all monstery?? (This one has an MC with a set gender, as it’s based on an already existing literary figure. Mina can have a same sex relationship with dracula, if you make drac a female, or with Lucy, a female love interest.)

More Things in Heaven and Earth: Hi Nell!! First off, I gotta uncover a deep shame of mine. My family literally has a Shakespeare heirloom collection. As in, my greatgrandfather passed down through the family a collection of Shakespeare that was published in 1911. In ye olde englishe. I tried to read it when I was like 10 and was like what language is this?? What the fuck? What the fuck??? And ended up reading As You Like It, a bit of Romeo and Juliet, and a little of Hamlet. Didn’t touch the rest of it. I only got into the other stories through trashy ya reimaginings. That said, this retelling of Hamlet inspired me to go read the whole of the original and now I have a lot of fears for these characters that I’m so much more attached to, oh god I hope my Ophelia has a happy ending. I hope Hamlet himself has a happy ending. The dialogue is so well done, everyone is engaging, and yeah it made me finish an old af book when nothing else did. (This one also has an MC with a set gender, female, for the same reason. However, there are two gender variable love interests, so you can very much play a bi or gay Ophelia if you so choose.)

Guenevere: I love King Arthur. All the myths. I have so many books based on the King Arthur mythos, oh dear god. I love pretty much every version of it. All the movie and tv shows too! I just can’t get enough of those knights. I could go on for paragraphs about how courtly love worked and how all the different social castes were, but I’ll try not to. This series lets you customize Guen as a character to an amazing degree, considering that she’s also based on an actual literary figure like the other two I mentioned above. It really feels like she becomes your own character, and yet she still exists within this world very very well. I worry quite a bit that the author might have bit off more than they can chew with the current book they’re working on, what I’ve seen of it looks absolutely massive in scale. What is out so far is a wonderful read though, full of drama and laughter and lots of chances to make the story your own.

Bastard of Camelot: Yep! Another King Arthur series! Sue me! This one lets you set Mordred’s gender though, so it’s more inclusive in that way. It is very interesting to play as one of the “bad guys” of the King Arthur mythos. You can play them as straight up evil, as good, or you know, a bit of column a and a bit of column b. Or they can just be a rude little shit. It’s got dragons too! You get a dragon pet! Dragons are cool. It can be a bit tough to play sometimes, since a lot of people dislike Mordred quite a lot because of prejudices. Hopefully this will change a bit later in the series if you’ve been a fairly good person up to that point. Gotta say though, as a warning, that Mordred is a product of incest. It’s not glossed over, and it does cause a lot of problems for them in the story.

God of the Red Mountain: I just love that this inspired me to read more chinese mythology tbh. There is just so much here! And it’s just such a good read. I wish I was better at describing things. The MC being a spirit that you can define, the whole setting, most of the love interests also being spirits, the massive amount of history and culture and lore, how it all fits together. It is such a well done story. I really wish it got more attention than it does. I still miss Big Sister. I still can’t wait to find out more about the foxes, and how we can heal our MC.

The Nameless: Another one that lets you play as something otherworldly. I love the lore behind this one, and I love all of the cast I’ve met. I kind of like that our MC isn’t loved right off the bat, that we’ll have to win over all of our love interests and even the other npcs. I’m up for the challenge! Everything I’ve read on the tumblr for these characters just makes me love them all more tbh. I love how much they’ve written for all of them! Most of all though, I love Oisein. All the art of them is just *chef kiss* and their personality is magical.

A Mage Reborn: This is a really recent one but!! Wow, it’s really well done! That cliffhanger!! Oof!! Not many books literally start with killing your MC off! That takes guts! I told the author this already, but I love the way they formatted this, the way it starts with the end, so to speak, and then fills it all out. It just made everything feel so poignant, how MC is literally looking back at all these moments in time in the last minutes they have before they die. Shit. That’s powerful. And there’s gonna be more??? Can’t wait for that angst. Give me that drama. Of course I picked the one who had me killed, that’s just how I am!

These are all just the COG type games, there are a few twine games with graphics I’d throw on here, but the list is long enough as it is and they feel like they’re in a different category to me. Maybe it’s just me?

[dumbass-mha-simp]

Hawks x Reader: Bad Idea

Another self indulgent Hawks fic that I've literally had in my notes for months. He lives in my head rent free along with my other 22 fake boyfriend's because I'm ✨mentally unstable.✨ It is a song fic tho, Bad Idea ft. Shiloh Dynasty https://youtu.be/kH9hJnT7KkE

Tw: food, depression, Hawks is honestly just feeling it bro- same dude,

Word count: almost 2k? I think

Requests are open! Honestly I'm probably terrible but the only things I can think to write are those imaginary situations I put myself in

(Y/L/N)- your last name

(Y/N)- your name

Thoughts or emphasized talk are in italics

Also idk why but I imagine he removes his feathers to shower since they probably need different cleaning conditions and also they just seem like a hassle in showers.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Here he was, the number two prohero. Everyone assumed his life was perfect, anything he wanted served on a gold platter. He felt the guilt creep up into him.

I should be thankful. The thoughts ate away at his mind in the rare seconds he got alone. You shouldn't be so selfish. So annoying. So insufferable.

Takami pushed these thoughts back. "No one needs to know how you think, Keigo." He whispers out to himself in his office.

He scrawled at paper work, trying to not let the self depreciating thoughts feast away on his mind. Unfortunately for him, different thoughts came up.

His best friend, Rumi had this friend. (Y/L/N). Smart, attractive, sometimes a little rough around the edges, but amazing. He found his mind wandering to them all too often.

They were mostly unknown, despite their insanely strong quirk. They preferred to stay out of the lime-light, through that irritable exterior sat overwhelming anxiety and shyness. But they always denied it.

He stopped himself as he realized he's spent 10 minutes only thinking of them, a friend. Yeah right.

He lazily walked out of the office waving to all his employees as he made his way outside. His eyes slowly dragged to the darkly faded blue sky, dusted in clouds. Cold, tired, aching. Just how he felt.

He took a slow brisk flight to his house, feeling the wind bash his face and the air flow through his feathers. He gently placed a foot on the metal railing of his balcony, taking a deep step to the ground and opening the door.

The emptiness rung through his apartment like a blaring siren. You have everything. How can you still want more?

The voices in his head screamed and clawed their way out. You're nobody. No one ever loved you. You're so alone. You're nothing but a tool to the commission. You're actual character is useless.

He shed his coat, boots, and pants. Looking to himself in the mirror as he removed most of his feathers. He looked exhausted as he stumbled into the shower, numbly.

The next ten minutes seemed to elude him when he wondered how much time has gone by of him staring at the shower wall blankly.

He dried off a bit then looked around his kitchen for something to eat. Have I eaten today? The buzz and light of his phone on the counter startled him.

"Hey, Hawks." A single, simple message from (Y/L/N). Okay don't panic.

"What's up?" He replied swiftly.

"I had this feeling something was wrong and wanted to check up on you."

"Why would you think that?" He tried to play it off like it wasn't true without actually lying.

"I'm not sure. Do you maybe wanna join me?" You asked.

"Where?"

"Well, every once in awhile when I need a break I go and stargaze with a night picnic. It helps me relax, and if you think it might help I'd want to. I can tell something's off." You were always so convincing. It felt like you weren't too nosy or snoopy but you understood.

"Text me where to be and when?" He let out a gentle smile at his phone.

"The dollar store on 4th in 10 minutes? So we can choose some snacks together?"

"I'll be there."

Did Takami think any problems where going to be solved with some food in the dark? No. But would he skip the opportunity to be with you, to find out how he really felt when it was just you two? Absolutely not.

He landed down on the broken pavement outside of the old dollar store, scanning around to see you.

"Boo!" A bump from behind had him flinching to see the sound as you stood behind him giggling. "Got ya."

"Very funny (Y/L/N) the most amazing trick yet." He rolled his eyes with a slight smile.

"C'mon let's go grab a bunch of terrible snacks and call it a picnic, bird brain."

You two walked into the store and walked a large circle around it, choosing chips and candy and drinks at your leisure. Once you got to the counter, he fights you to his wallet.

"It's my picnic."

"And I'm the very special guest who was so generously invited. I'm paying." He grins as you pout at him.

Grabbing the bags you placed them in the back seat as you offered passenger side to him.

"I don't like cars."

"Why not?"

"Cramps my wings."

You look at him with the biggest puppy eyes you can manage. "You already agreed to keep me company and pay for the snacks, let me do something for you?"

"Fine, but only cause you're pouting kid."

He gently sits in your passenger seat as you strap yourself in and turn the car on. The car hums and the music playing softly on the radio are the only things heard. The peace feeling too good to break.

Once you pull your car up into the parking lot of a small park and grab your bags, you begin leading him to your usual place.

"Hold these." You hand him the bags as you jump and climb up on top of a big metal container. You peer over the side with big eyes and a smile as you say to him, "now hand me the bags and do what I did!"

He looks at you with a wide smirk before simply flying up to join you. "Or you can do it the cheater's way." You pouted and bumped his shoulder.

"It's not cheating, it's using my resources." He says with a triumphant smirk.

"Your cheating resources." You pull out your gummy candies and started eating as you leaned back till you were laying down.

"Do you like the stars, Hawks?" You say like your sleep talking, staring into the night sky.

"Keigo." He shifts to lay down about a foot away from you. "You can call me, Keigo. And... I don't think I've ever taken time to look at the stars."

"No sneaking out away from parents to sit on vans and stargaze? Or watching the sunrise with a partner while eating fast food?"

"What kinda date is sitting in a car for hours staring at the sky and eating?" He laughs.

"Ah one that never really happened, he just said he would. But never mind that repressed shit." A sad laugh forces itself out as you stare between the stars.

"Was he cute?" He tried to sound funny but it came out more sympathetic.

"Sometimes," you laugh with him. "But he had really nice hands."

"Hands? That's an odd thing to find attractive." He turned his head over to look at you as your eyes seemed to burn holes in the dark milky blue sky.

He continued laughing with you about this guy but couldn't help an overwhelming feeling of jealousy. Who was he? Did he look anything like him? Was this recent?

"Keigo?" A voice snapped at his train or thought, "Yes, (Y/L/N)?" He replied rushed.

"Do you want your mini cookies?" You ask looking to him with the bag.

"Oh, yeah. Thanks." He mentions grabbing the bag from your finger tips.

He ate his cookies and thought as you seemed either lost in your head, or lost in the stars.

Loving you would be selfish. As such a high ranking hero, he's made a target for himself and anyone around him. He's broken down, can't feel. You obviously have other people on your mind. Someone like you wouldn't be single long.

"When did he leave?" He blurts out without thinking. Maybe it's a sore subject-

"Long ago." You look lost, your eyes searching and wandering but never grabbing hold of exactly where you should be. "Why?" Well I guess if I'm gonna start prying might as well go all the way.

"He thought that maybe he could love me. But now that's just ridiculous," you laugh coldly. "Who would love me?"

"Falling in love with you seems like a really bad idea. But not on your part." He whispers into the wind, hoping it'll carry his words away from you.

"What do you mean?" You look completely confused, almost scattered.

"You're quiet, and I'm someone who puts a spotlight on practically anyone around me. You'd constantly be put in danger. Plus I'm arrogant and cocky, nothing at all like you." He acted like he could see the stars as you could. He stared into them finding any way he could to avoid your eyes.

"You could get hurt or I could annoy you." He whispers.

"I had no idea you felt that way, Keigo." You whisper back, shock keeping your voice quiet.

His eyes burned holes into the night sky, he felt he shouldn't look at you. The mental image of you already wouldn't go away.

"You wanna know something, Keigo? I can read people like books, I can read stars like stories, and I can read in-between lines like they were in bold font. But, you always catch me off guard. Reading you is like a mystery novel. Sometimes intense, sometimes peaceful, but always keeping me wondering." You smile into the stars, you can tell he desperately doesn't want to see your eyes. "You're always leaving everyone on the edge of their seat, and when you leave you can't stop thinking of the next time you'll come. What you'll bring."

"I....I don't think I understand (Y/L/N)-" Keigo's soon cut off.

"(Y/N)"

"Well, (Y/N)- I don't think I understand." He tries to sit up and look at you.

"You catch me off guard, something about you speaks to me in ways I know you never actually would. I can see it, the way you stumble or hesitate. I can tell somethings scared you into silence." You've never had much chance to talk about the ways you analyze people, you wanted to tell him how you could tell the way he acted wasn't always good.

"I think you might be reading too much into this, kid." He tries to intervene.

"I get if you don't want to tell me." You stared up at the stars, waiting for him to do the same. "You see there?" You pointed to a star. "That's a constellation."

"They just look like stars." He seemed a bit disappointed that he couldn't see stars the way you did, with such knowledge and wonder in your eyes.

"That's cause they are," you giggled to him, "it's not like I can actually see the pictures either."

"You.. you can't?" He looked to you confused but slightly hopeful, how could they look at them but not see too?

"That's the whole point, Keigo. It's being able to see what's not really there. Sometimes I stare into the sky hoping to see any semblance of hope, but that's not how it is. You have to teach yourself to look at what could be there." He stared to you, a small content smile graced your face. You were beautiful.

"(Y/N)?"

"Yes?"

"Maybe, loving you isn't such a bad idea.." he looked remorseful, staring into the stars. Maybe he could see it too one day.

"What do you mean?" You glace to him.

"You see so much, you can read and see the things I want to see. I want to learn, (Y/N). I want to see how you do."

The smile on your face spread.

"I'd love to show you."

[longsightmyth]

Hi! One of my new friends got everyone to read ACOTAR and a lot my friends are obsessing over it now and I don’t know what to say because every single message in the group chat is about Rhys or Feyre and I hate hate hate this series so much and I can’t take this anymore. Me and my one other friend who hate the series are just crying in the corner. It’s only a matter of time before they ask why I don’t like the series and I’m questioning how to gently point out all the problematic aspects.

Sometimes all you can do is nod and say 'I really didn't care for it' or 'it made me uncomfortable' when asked and only go into detail if asked further. Many people will not ask for details.

Sometimes our friends like media we don't (shoutout to @lola-bananas for putting up with me during my medium lived supernatural phase). Sometimes they like media we find abhorrent. If they are willing to discuss it with you or don't get angry that you don't like the same things they do, you're probably fine. If they tell you seriously that you just 'don't get it' or get actually actionably angry at you for simply saying you didn't care for it, that's not a great sign in general (don't discuss at 2am at a sleepover: anything discussed at that time can cause wars based on lack of sleep alone)(am I speaking from personal experience maybe).

People can like different things and still be friends. While we talk a lot on tumblr about how bad these books are and what terrible messages they peddle to (mostly but not exclusively) young girls, the facts of the matter are that while those things are true, the books are also symptoms of our society more than the cause of them, though my eternal argument is that they help to perpetuate them. Your friends are receiving these same messages from many corners, as you no doubt are. ACoTaR falls perfectly in line with the social norms pushed on us today. It's not outside the pale for people to read or enjoy a book that doesn't make them question or think, and that's okay so long as people don't get mad at you for wanting something different.

(Also I don't know how old you and your friends are, but if you are ACoTaR's stated target audience this might be the first adult novel (yes it's marketed to YA. Yes, it IS an adult novel) your friends are reading? I know from experience that can be a weirdly heady thing. Generally people move past it eventually)

[kallypsowrites]

Ruin and Rising Chapter 10

Hey y’all. How’s everyone doing after that trailer? Personally, I am deceased and writing to you as a ghost. But I must complete my liveblogs so, here we go.

There are a few highlights from this chapter: Baghra backstory and Nikolai x Alina stuff. I’ll start with the Nikolai x Alina stuff even though it comes later cause I’ve got one bone to pick with the Baghra backstory (or at least Alina’s reaction to it).

Nikolai and Alina is cute. I love him immediately hearing about the Darkling connection and strategizing. That was great. But then also his conversation with Alina watching the meteor shower (romantic). I know she doesn’t feel the same flash of feelings for him as she does for the Darkling or for Mal. But there is a genuine friendship and affection between them. They talk very easily. They could be happy together. Maybe I’m just a sucker for the political marriage grows into something more trope.

Then the almost kiss with the “when you’re ready” attached to it. CONSENT! Sexiest thing a man can do. And what character growth. I love Nikolai very much.

Loved getting backstory about Baghra and her being the daughter of Morozova. Brutal that she just...murdered her sister with shadows and then her father brought her back to life and they were drowned (but maybe not).

And then there’s the bits of young Aleksander we get.

“I’ll tell you a story--one I used to tell a little boy with dark hair, a silent boy who rarely laughed, who listened more closely than I realized. A boy who had a name and not a title.”

Bby Darkling!!! A child!!

Seriously, the explanation of Baghra teaching him to embrace his powers and that he had no equal makes a lot of sense given her background. She wanted him to have what she didn’t and then it all very much went to his head. That and all the years he’s been alive. She had good intentions wanting him to harden his heart because of experience but that had its own pit falls.

Now, can we talk about the CONCLUSIONS that Alina jumps to? She leaves the story with Baghra...and this is her thought process--what if her sister didn’t die and DID have powers and THOSE powers were LIGHT powers instead of SHADOW powers but she hadn’t SHOWN them yet but she did show them LATER and then SHE had children and that eventually led to ME, several generations beyond???

First of all. That’s a slippery slope if I’ve ever seen one, and nothing in Baghra’s story really hints at that. And Second of all, the conclusion she takes away from it? Like ‘could the Darkling and I be COUSINS????’

And the answer is no. You couldn’t be. Because like...ten generations have passed. Ten generations of more genetic material getting mixed in. You’re like...seventh cousins five times removed at worst. That’s really not a problem. 

It feels like Leigh is just trying to add onto the ‘reasons not to date the Darkling’ pile and I’m like......You don’t need to do that. he’s done plenty of other things to make Alina hesitate to date him. Like the murder and torture. Hell, even the age gap. We don’t need to add in an incest scare. Especially when its not even a real incest scare (we know this is a red herring for a later reveal). Besides, I just came off the Game of Thrones fandom so if you thought this was going to squick me out, you are sorely mistaken.

I also have more of a...genre bone to pick with this book. And I say genre bone because Leigh is not the only one in a fantasy series who has done this so I’m not just calling her out here. But it’s the ‘villain is a leader of an oppressed group who was trying to make a space for said oppressed group trope’.

Baghra confirms (as does the short story from the Darkling’s POV) that his goal was to make a space for Grisha who were deeply persecuted at the time--murdered for gifts they were born with and could not control. And then eventually his power hunger took over and he ‘wanted too much’ and his ‘methods are bad’.

That’s the theme with a lot of novels like this. Like, yes, the oppressed group is trying to get rights. But like...too many rights. Look at their methods. Their methods are bad. Their leader is eeeevil.

This creates a sort of mixed message in the narrative. One) it lends credence to the people who are oppressing them. Like yeah, the other countries murder them/perform horrible experiments on them/drink their blood, but the Grisha are kinda scary too you guys. Look at their leader!!

It’s not that one can’t investigate the moral grey areas of this trope. I think there are a lot of X men stories for instance that do a really good job with Magneto and not just casting him off as an irredeemable villain (some do not but it depends on the writer). But this book seems to mostly lean on the Darkling being irredeemable, so I can’t say the same for him.

I think there was a lot more potential to dive into this. To the Darkling’s motives and goals. To the importance of his cause even if his methods sometimes cross the line. But I don’t think that’s dissected enough (nor is the plight of the Grisha dissected enough) so it kind of leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth.

It’s not made any better by the insistence that too much power makes Grisha baaaad. The idea that if Alina has all the amplifiers, she will turn power hungry and evil, not because of a choice but because that’s just what power does to Grisha I guess. What if her non-grisha companions have REASON to fear her???

Anyway, I don’t want to go two deep on this YA book. But it’s just a genre problem I see in which they want to make an oppressed group but then make the leader of the oppressed group just straight up evil. I think that trope can do with a lot of reworking.

See you guys in the next chapter!

[sachigram]

So uhh about the Suizaya prompts thing 👉🏽👈🏽 I have one that I would love to see. Yknow shinra is like a really bad friend to izaya? Like in the novels it’s explained deeper but basically their friendship is so toxic (in izaya aside like bruh, the toxic man himself is in the receiving end of the toxicity); I would like to see Shizuo noticing how much shinra doesn’t care about izaya through small things that izaya or shinra mention offhandedly (thanks I if you write it! Have. A good week!)

((You said small things and I almost killed Izaya. Sorry, my hands slipped.))

Shizuo notices it by accident.

He doesn't pay much attention to anything that happens with Izaya's personal life. Hell, Shizuo really doesn't know anything about Izaya aside from him being threat to humanity. He doesn't think of Izaya as the type of person to have relationships with anyone, much less as the type of person to put up with a relationship that's just...kind of cruel to him?

It starts with an offhanded comment, the kind of thing Shizuo thinks he's supposed to brush off or ignore completely.

“You're not injured, are you?” Shinra asks when he answers the door. It isn't an unusual question; Shizuo doesn't come over often, and when he does, it's usually so Shinra can patch him up.

“Nope. I'm here to see Celty. And, uh. You, by association, I guess,” Shizuo says, stepping inside. He kicks his shoes off in the hall.

“Oh, okay!” Shinra chirps, not one to be easily offended. “Just making sure. I already had to put Izaya-kun back together, and I didn't really want to work on two friends in a day.”

“The flea's injured?” Shizuo asks. He's happy to hear it, though he'd rather be the one to bash Izaya up, as he's the one who's earned it most.

“Yeah, it was pretty bad. Anyway, Celty is making dinner, and you're welcome to have some!”

Shizuo frowns. He doesn't pretend to understand Shinra's friendship with Izaya, though the two of them were attached at the hip in middle school, and then through most of high school whenever Izaya actually bothered to show up. Shinra says Izaya is his friend, but sometimes, Shizuo doesn't feel like he means it, or maybe just doesn't understand what friendship means.

Maybe Shinra and Izaya have that in common.

“Who got him? I owe someone a drink,” Shizuo says. He waves at Celty, who is wearing an apron and stirring something in a pan.

“He wouldn't tell me. I didn't want to go over there at all, but it was a request from Shiki-san.” Shinra hums and pours himself and then Shizuo some hot sake. “Shiki-san isn't really the type of person to say 'no' to. I ended up covered in blood. Totally ruined my plans this afternoon.”

“Oh,” Shizuo says. He drinks the sake, grateful for the warmth that spreads through him. He was starting to feel a little cold, but maybe that's just from Shinra's tone.

“Izaya-kun just gets into things, you know? He went and got himself shot—“

“Shot?” Shizuo asks. He can't say he's surprised, but at the same time, if someone shot Izaya, that means they were serious.

Shinra makes a face, and then he pours them both another drink.

“Yeah. He died on me once, but I had to make sure he lived so I could yell at him for ruining mine and Celty's lunch date.” Shinra smiles then and tips his cup against Shizuo's. “Anyway, he won't be bothering you for a while. There's still a chance he could just up and die! Shiki-san seemed pretty worried.”

Shizuo just stares at Shinra while Shinra drinks. Shizuo puts his cup on the table, looks down at it.

“That's kind of... I don't know. Aren't you worried, too?”

“Huh? Why?” Shinra asks, and it's such an earnest question that Shizuo doesn't know what to make of it.

“Don't you care if he dies?” Shizuo asks.

“I care! I just...” Shinra puts his finger to his chin and pauses, lost in thought. “I guess it's because Izaya-kun always does what he wants, and he doesn't listen to anything anyone says. I've been prepared a long time to hear that someone killed him. I've been prepared to hear you've killed him. I can't say he wouldn't deserve it.”

Shizuo thinks of all the time he's spent in hospitals, injured, angry, hurting. His brother was there, and his parents were there, and Shinra, though he was an awful pest, he was there, too.

“That's fucked up,” Shizuo says. “You're treating him like he's dead already.”

“I guess so!” Shinra says, and he just smiles again. “That's how Izaya-kun likes to be treated.”

Shizuo doesn't stay for dinner. He feels unsettled, and he wishes he didn't drink any sake at all, just because it feels sour in his stomach. Shizuo hates Izaya, and if he heard Izaya died, he can't say he would mourn. But at the same time, to hear Shinra say those things as if they don't matter...

It isn't right.

***

A month passes.

Shinra was right to say Shizuo wouldn't see or hear from Izaya for a while. Rumors spread that Izaya is dead, but Shinra assures Shizuo those are false. Again, Shinra says it in a “What can ya do?” kind of way, and it pisses Shizuo off for reasons he can't understand.

As shitty as Izaya is, he's a person, and he's a person who calls Shinra a friend. Shizuo wonders if Izaya knows how little Shinra seems to think of him, and Shizuo can't decide which option is worse, that Izaya doesn't know, or that he knows and accepts it.

It's been starting to rain a lot lately, and Shizuo is a little irritated he keeps forgetting an umbrella. He's stalking through the city, hands in his pockets, when suddenly an umbrella appears over his head. He looks up to see Celty, who waves at him cheerily.

“Oh, hey,” Shizuo says.

“You seem lost in thought.”

“Yeah, I guess I am.”

They move towards the park, away from people. Shizuo lights a cigarette, knowing Celty won't mind it.

“Anything you want to talk about?” Celty prompts. Shizuo exhales smoke, trying to think of how to word it.

“Is Izaya still alive?” he asks. He's been asking Shinra and Celty both that, periodically. Each time, they seem surprised.

“Yes. He's been messaging me about jobs he's lined up for next week. I'll be going out more often since Izaya can't go out himself, but I can't complain much. He's paying me a ton.”

“That's good.”

Celty's helmet cocks to the side, and then her fingers move again.

“You could go see him. Maybe this could be like a—“

“I know what you'll say, and I'm not reading it,” Shizuo says stubbornly, and Celty's shoulders slump. “I'm not making friends with that flea no matter how injured he gets.”

“Fine, fine. I can't say I blame you. It'd just...be nice if you worried less about what he's getting into.”

“Hm.”

Shizuo finishes his cigarette, and then he sighs. He's shitty with words, always has been, so he just does what he always does and blurts it out.

“Shinra is kind of an asshole.”

Celty looks at him in surprise, waiting for him to continue. He fidgets.

“Just, like. That stuff he said about Izaya. They're friends, right? I don't get why, but it's just kind of...” He trails off, and Celty uses the opportunity to type a response.

“I wouldn't feel too bad for Izaya, here. He wasn't exactly sympathetic when Shinra got attacked by that stalker!”

“Maybe they're both just shitty, then. Still, Izaya almost died, right? Just seems really fucked up.”

“I guess so...” Celty pauses. “If that happened to you, I'd be worried sick. Shinra is just... He doesn't think about other people like that. He doesn't worry about them.”

Shizuo lights another cigarette, noting that the rain isn't going to let up any time soon.

“I never thought I'd feel bad for the flea,” he mutters after a bit.

“I think... Well. I can't say for sure. I don't know Izaya very well, so don't hold me to this! From what I do know, Izaya doesn't really have anyone in his life. It seems like he's content to be that way, but sometimes I think he just doesn't know any better.”

Shizuo grumbles, hating that answer.

“It's sad, I agree. But he doesn't do much to make himself likable.”

Shizuo knows she's right, and he himself doesn't even like Izaya. More than that, he hates Izaya, has tried to kill Izaya more than once. It doesn't make sense for this to bother him like it does, but it does. It bothers him a lot. Somehow, it pisses Shizuo off just as much as if Izaya were here attacking him.

“I guess I just have a soft spot for people who think they don't deserve anything better,” Shizuo mutters, and he doesn't know why he says it, but when Celty's hand goes to his back, rubbing soothingly, he thinks maybe he knows exactly why he said it after all.

***

Shizuo feels incredibly out of his element as he walks into the posh lobby of Izaya's building. He's been here before, but never for a friendly visit, if that's even what this is. He tells himself he'll feel much better about all this bullshit once he sees Izaya is alive and well, and when Izaya inevitably turns into an antagonizing piece of shit, Shizuo can go back to hoping Izaya dies a painful, horrible death.

He goes into the elevator, and the closer he gets to the top floor, the weirder he feels. It's insane, isn't it, that he knows where Izaya lives, which apartment is his. He knows Izaya knows where he lives too, because Izaya has sent vaguely ominous letters in the mail, always signed, usually telling Shizuo to fuck himself in some roundabout way.

Izaya isn't the one who answers the door, which throws Shizuo off for some reason. It's a pretty woman with a mean face, and she's raising an eyebrow at Shizuo.

“Uh...” he starts.

“Yeah, I don't care. If you kill him, do me a favor and wait till I'm gone. I don't want to be a suspect, though I guess I would be anyway.”

“Namie-chaaaaaan, how could you?” Izaya's voice asks from somewhere. “Who is it? Don't just let anyone in!”

“It's your boyfriend,” she says, stepping aside so Izaya can see Shizuo. Izaya's head is barely visible as he peers over at Shizuo from his spot on the couch, but then Izaya is flopping back down with an audible 'thump'.

“He's fine, I guess,” Izaya says, and Shizuo stands there like a moron before stepping inside.

“I'm leaving,” the woman, Namie, says. She gives Shizuo a look, and then she crosses her arms while glaring at the back of the couch. “Don't call me when I'm home, I mean it. I'm not coming back over no matter how pitiful you are.”

“You will if I whine enough,” Izaya says, and then his hand can be seen, waving. “See you tomorrow.”

Namie leaves after gathering her things, and Shizuo waits until the door is closed before he moves closer.

Izaya doesn't look like someone who almost died, but then again, it's been over a month. Izaya is sprawled on the couch, a fuzzy blanket over him, and Shizuo can really only see Izaya's face, but Izaya looks as irritatingly perfect as always.

“What can I do for you, Shizu-chan? Did you come to kick me while I'm down? You could probably still twist your fingers in the wound! It's not healing quite right,” Izaya says, and Shizuo scowls at him.

“Shut up. I just wanted to see how shitty you look.”

“Mean. I didn't bother you when you got shot!”

“No, you just sent me a letter with a drawing of Swiss cheese on it.” Shizuo's lip twitches at the memory. It was a large envelope, but inside was only a tiny piece of paper with the doodle. Next to it, Izaya wrote, “This is you.”

“Oh, right! I hope you kept that. It was a gesture of good will.” Izaya winces as he sits up, and Shizuo fights the urge to help him, though he supposes Izaya must be well enough to be left on his own. “Anyway, I'm alive, so you can stop worrying about me.”

“As if I'd worry,” Shizuo says. He's glad Izaya has a sectional, because he can sit on the end of it without being anywhere near the flea. “I'm guessing you know who did it.”

“Mm-hmm.” Izaya reaches for the tea he has on the coffee table. “Yakuza. I only met him a few times.”

“So what'd you do to him?”

“Do?” Izaya asks, blinking up at Shizuo.

“Yeah, what'd you do to make him want to kill you?” Shizuo specifies.

“Oh. Nothing.” Izaya sips at his tea. “He was trying to kill anyone who works with Shiki-san. I didn't really have anything to do with it.” He offers a small shrug when Shizuo just goes on staring at him. “Business as usual, you know?”

“What the fuck? That's not business as usual!” Shizuo snaps. Izaya's eyes are wide, and Shizuo can see Izaya's pupils are dilated. He wonders if Izaya is still on painkillers, though it seems likely he probably is.

“He's already been dealt with. Shiki-san was pretty pissed. It's not as if Shiki-san likes me much, but it was a...” Izaya pauses and waves his hand around a bit. “A... A property dispute, I guess? Like, it was a clear message to Shiki-san that anyone could be dealt with, and then—well. They handled it.”

“A property dispute?” Shizuo asks incredulously.

“Yeah! I'm pretty much freelance, but I have a reputation with doing business with the Awakusu. It's not a secret. I'm usually not targeted for that, but...” Izaya shrugs again, spilling his tea a little, and it confirms Shizuo's suspicion that Izaya is high as hell, though it doesn't make Shizuo feel any better about the fact that Izaya just referred to himself as property of the Awakusu.

“You're stoned, huh? What pills are you on?” Shizuo asks.

“No clue! Something Shinra gave me. I haven't been taking them like I'm supposed to, but today was a rough day.” Izaya sips more tea. “You know how Shinra is. He just throws pills at you and tells you to shut up.”

“Yeah,” Shizuo says, frowning. “Has he been to see you?”

“Sure, for check-ups. He makes bank off me, so he can't lecture me too much.”

“He doesn't just come to spend time with you?” Shizuo asks, and Izaya furrows his brows like Shizuo is speaking another language entirely.

“Why would he do that?” Izaya asks, and it sounds so earnest and innocent, the opposite of Izaya.

“Isn't he your friend?” Shizuo is suddenly very glad Izaya is high. Maybe Izaya won't remember any of this later, or will think it was a dream.

“Well, yeah, but...” Izaya makes a face. “We aren't close.”

“Really? You used to be. Back in school, I mean.”

“You mean back when Shinra was required to be in a building without Celty for a few hours a day? It's not like... I mean, he mostly just followed me around.”

“So you almost died, and then you actually died and got brought back on the table, and Shinra just charged you and left?” Shizuo asks.

Izaya sways a bit, but he remains upright.

“Isn't that what he does with you?”

Shizuo thinks of hotpot at Shinra's, of barging in on Shinra just because he's in the neighborhood. It's true that Shizuo is closer with Celty, and without his friendship with her, he doesn't know how often he would see Shinra, but Shinra calls and checks in, visits sometimes, and very rarely charges Shizuo for medical work. Izaya makes a lot of money, and that could be why he's charged, but either way, Shizuo finds this visit is doing the exact opposite of making him feel better.

“I don't think Shinra is really a good friend to you, Izaya,” Shizuo says, and Izaya frowns.

“Oh.”

“Maybe you knew that already, though.”

“A little. I just kind of thought he didn't know how to be friends.” Izaya rubs at his eye, and for a terrifying second, Shizuo thinks Izaya is crying, but then he realizes Izaya just looks sleepy and very out of it. “I never blamed him, since I never wanted to be his friend in the first place, and also I'm really bad at it, too.” Izaya squints up at Shizuo. “Why're you here?”

“Wanted to see if you were dead yet,” Shizuo says, and Izaya nods.

“Not yet! You've gotta be the one to kill me, you know? Then everyone will see you're a monster.” Izaya reaches his teacup towards the table, misses, and glares as the cup shatters in the floor. Grumbling, Shizuo stands and goes into the kitchen, grabbing a towel. That 'monster' talk pisses him off like always, but the pity he feels for Izaya is watering it down to a tolerable level.

“You're a pain in my ass,” Shizuo informs Izaya, who merely watches as Shizuo mops up the tea. Shizuo is picking up the shards of glass when he feels a hand in his hair, and he glances over to see Izaya petting him sleepily.

“Good boy,” Izaya murmurs, and Shizuo wants to kill him, to throw him out the window, but instead he focuses on not cutting himself on the glass.

By the time the mess is cleaned, Izaya looks close to passing out. He's blinking up at Shizuo, his body covered by the blanket once more.

“I'm gonna go. You're not even sober.”

“Okay.”

“I might come back later, though. You're pretty tolerable like this, and I know you feel too shitty to attack me,” Shizuo says.

“You'll come back?” Izaya makes a face. “Why?”

“To see you, I guess. It sucks being too hurt to move much. I can't imagine how much it must suck to be alone during it.”

“You...just want to see me?” Izaya asks. He looks like he's thinking really hard about this. “You don't want anything?”

“Nope.”

“That doesn't make sense, Shizu-chan,” Izaya says.

“It does, actually.”

“Okay,” Izaya says, and he looks like he's trying very hard to be serious. Shizuo feels warmth in his chest as Izaya squints up at him, and Shizuo can't name the feeling, has no idea what it is, but it's definitely related to Izaya and how cute he is when he's not being an asshole.

“See ya, flea,”

Shizuo makes his way home, relieved it's not raining. It's a nice day out, and he thinks he might walk through the park before going in for the night.

He does feel better, though for different reasons than he expected. Izaya will be fine, in time, and the two of them can go back to fighting as always. Nothing really has to change, and there's a very good chance Izaya won't even remember their conversation, but Shizuo hopes he does.

[reggies-eyeliner]

Rules for Requesting and Asks!

Heyo, you beautiful little bean! Before I start the rules and all that jazz:

(or shoulder pats, if you don’t like them hehe)

So: Rules. Oh boy. I’m not a fan of rules-- rules feel like it’s just “blah blah blah, do this, not that, blah blah” so Imma try to make these as easy as possible for y’all who are excited to ask >:D

1. Soulmate/Normal Matchups (Closed)

What I Ask of You:

You can be as detailed as you want, or you can just make it the bare minimum, do whatever is easiest for you, my dear :D

Just try to include enough about you so that I know which result/outcome would make you the most comfortable

I might be a bit dismissive, so I’ll send you a notif for when I get the ask! Anons are also 1000 percent welcome :]

Yes, I have dedication issues. This is why I’m only in love with fictional characters and not real people xD!

Oh, and I won’t match you with Willie or Alex unless you’re also a dude, but I might match you two has best friends!

Please try to be as respectful as possible in your ask 🥺🥺🥺

I’m not asking for you to worship me or scream at me with thank you’s, but just don’t scream at me for taking too long. Try not to curse every two words because I’m trying to keep my brain *jazz hands* holy

No, jkjk it’s just that there might be younger users reading over these xDD

OKAY SO ANYWAYS

Try to include:

I literally don’t care!! I want you to feel as free as possible while writing yours. Talk about anything you want. I don’t care if you speak of you and your passion for eating raw cookie dough (but same lmao), or if you hate almond milk. Just talk about whatever you want!! I’m here to make people smile and nothing else, sugarcakes! d;

What You Get in Return:

Over 500 words worth in writing per each fandom

Yes, over 500 (it hurts like heck but it’s *throws skittles* okay)

A gif/fanart piece per fandom

You’ll get yours back either: Within 3 days, if you only requested only one fandom and you were very nice hehehehehe , three days if you wre still hecking amazing but I was busy, or it can go to AT MOST, AT MOST I PROMISE around 18 days if I’m having: an exam week, a pinned post, getting a lot of asks, or yours was really complicated and my brain exploded

At times, it may never come if *cough* TUMBLR EATS IT

I will also throw you fifty virtual hugs and skittles

And yes, every ask comes with a thousand hugs, compliments, and shoulder pats!!

A bunch of dating headcanons

If you put in your name, yes, I can customize ;D

What the person I matched you with does when you feel down

How they support you

How you support them

90 percent of it is mainly me rambling about how sweet everyone who asks is, but what can I say? Y’all are precious as heck

Example of Matchup: Hi! Can I please have a matchup for a male character in Julie and the Phantoms (besides willie + alex)? I’m an INFP-T, 5′4″, Aries, and I’m also very annoying haha. I like writing, dance, and singing-- usually, I write a lot of fantasy novels and I want to be an author when I grow up! I also really like baking desserts, particularly brownies, and I also like to make mocktails if I ever get the chance. I love reading, John Green books especially, and I’m usually the funny person in the group to lift everyone’s spirits. Thank you so much :)

2. Band and Song Matchups (Closed)

These are definitely one of the most fun things to do! You can ask for this to be included in your other matchup, but a quick summary of it would be:

Send me your description, but this time add your physical description as well!

A few of the extra-curricular activities you do

Send up to 8 emojis describing your personality and aesthetic (haha it sounds weird but please trust me on this XD)

Your favorite JATP song

Your favorite genre, and/or your fashion style

And wabam, that’s it!

I’ll reply with who I’d see you as in the band, and what song you would be in Julie and the Phantoms. Seems ridiculous, but heyy ya know XD

3. Headcanons, Imagines, Blurbs, Scenarios, Full Stories

PLEASE SEND HOWEVER MANY NUMBER OF THESE LIKE AJAJJAJAJAJAJAJA

I’ll write for any “X READER” that you request

Literally anything

Angst, major character death, if you’re sad, I GOTCHU

Request for as many characters as you want!!

I can write NSFW, BUT I SUCK AT IT SO PLEASE TRY NOT TO REQUEST IT LMFAO

I’ll write everything else

No, like everything else ever

Okay I won’t write like a Reggie x Cowboy bootes but ya know (...that’s actually not a bad idea-)

It doesn’t just have to be a character insert, it can be anything else!! I really don’t mind :]

TRY TO INCLUDE:

What word count you want (or you can write that you’re chill with anything)

Your gender

Which POV you want it in

And I’ll send you what date I can get yours in!

4. Customized Asks:

I have never done this before, so this is kinda new!

IN CUSTOMIZED ASKS:

Put in a lengthy and concise description of yourself-- it should be a lot more detailed than a matchup. Include your personality type, a lot about your personality, anything you want to add, but make it worth it!! Write A LOT about yourself!! Also, be sure to include your name.

Once you have the full thing, private-message me (please make sure you have an account!!) and I’ll send you my Tumblr asks email so you can send your description (or, send it in the submit form or asks, if you’re okay with it being public).

In return, I write you a reader insert with your real name (not y/n hehe) and make it customized just for you. I’ll make it perfect (or try to,) with your personality, your height, your likes, your interests, and your name so that it’s built just for you and no one else!!

The best part??

YOU DON’T HAVE TO PAY ME REAL MONEY HEHEHEHEHHEH

That’s right! A customized ask that goes from 3,000-10,000 words that should come within three weeks! Instead, all I ask is for some support in any way 🥺🥺🥺 It can be through reblogs, (remember: REBLOGS> LIKES d;), a simple follow or shoutout, or even just a thank you. I’m only here to make people happy!! Thank you so much if you do plan on supporting <333</p>

4. Random Asks/Advice

Scream at me. Vent whatever you want to me. Ask me to help with your math homework. Your ELA homework. Ask for love advice. Tell me about what you did this morning. I LOVE, LOVE GETTING THESE ASKS!!

I love it when people come to me not just for asks and such, but just to tell me about their lives or to ask me quetsions!! And I bet a lot of other creators do, as well! So please support them <3</p>

SCREAM AT ME ALL YOU WANT HON, IM HERE TO LISTEN

I’m sorry that this was a bit long, but if you read the full thing, HIGH FIVE >:3

Thank y’all so much!! Stay safe ^U^

[bookaddict24-7]

I said at the beginning of the year that I would share my reviews more on my blog instead of just on Instagram and Goodreads. I’ve been reading a lot so far this year, so my reviews will be delayed on here. I’ll hopefully post five (mini-ish) reviews per week!

Friend me on Goodreads here to read my reviews in real-time!

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31. Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“TW: Fat Shaming, Gaslighting I absolutely loved this book, not just because of the amazing representation, but because I saw myself in Charlie. I grew up as the fat friend. I lost my father when I was young and grew up with a mom who didn’t always say the right thing about my size. My mom and I are in a much healthier place now, but seeing Charlie experience the feelings she does brought back a lot of memories and endeared her to me in ways I can’t ever explain. Her relationship with her best friend was, in my opinion, the centre point of this story. Yes, her mother obviously had a huge impact on the story and so did the romance, but ultimately I think this is a story about the power of friendship and perspective. No one is perfect and just because we see things through our eyes, it doesn’t mean that there aren’t other perspectives. And while Charlie’s experiences sometimes are heartbreaking, she is a young woman on the incredibly tough journey of learning how to love herself. I love YA books that feature realistic friendships and don’t sugarcoat the realities of what it is sometimes like to be the “fat friend”. I think this author captured those insecurities mixed with the love between these two friends beautifully. This book also features great representation for LGBTQ+ (Her best friend is Pan and it is actually mentioned in the book!!), there are BIPOC characters, and important discussions regarding fat phobia, the toxicity of diet culture, and the common misconception that fat automatically equals unattractiveness are explored. If you love books with Latina characters who have strong opinions and have great character growths, then I think you’ll enjoy this one. Also, if you like imperfect friendships and really cute romances, then you might also love this one like I did!”

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32. Don’t Kiss the Bride by Carian Cole--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Okay, this was sooooo good. This book was everything I was hoping TORN by the same author would be. It was so spicy and I don’t mean it in the usual way, but in the connection between the characters. Their angst, while sometimes frustrating because they belonged together, was also endearing because it made their HEA so worth the wait. Also, there were a couple of characters who had high audacity levels. If you love age gaps, some spice, and a hot chemistry, then you’ll definitely enjoy this one!”

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33. Shine by Jessica Jung--⭐️⭐️

“Wow, this book was disappointing. I almost DNF’ed it at the beginning because I wasn’t really into the tone of the novel, but decided to keep going. I get what the author was trying to do, but this book was full of so many toxic characters. I don’t know if the author was trying to make the MC someone the reader could empathize with, but she was kind of awful. And that ending!!! Literally felt like everything I’d read was for nothing? There were so many plots that were just never truly concluded. I get the message that was being shown in this book, but holy crap it just felt like I was reading a drama that didn’t have a real conclusion. *SPOILERS* What the hell was that ending? It’s like the antagonist won because sure there was that one last shot the MC got in, but there were zero consequences for the antagonist’s actions. I know it’s part of a series but I felt like there wasn’t a solid conclusion to this book. I won’t be reading the sequel because this one was so disappointing, but I hope the sequel is better for those who WILL pick it up!”

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34. How to Catch A Queen by Alyssa Cole--⭐️⭐️⭐️

“This romance had a lot more going for it than I anticipated and again, this is me not having read the synopsis, aha! I really enjoyed seeing the female MC fighting for women’s rights and being such a go-getter with her goals! The reason why I’m not giving this a very high rating was that the story was just okay? I expected a bit more but it honestly kind of felt like the kind of book you read during the summer beside the pool and promptly forget after the summer is done. But I WILL say that this book had some good spicy moments. There’s a particular moment where the male MC says something about sitting on a throne and...well...that was caliente. If you want a quick read with a strong female MC, then you’ll like this one. Don’t expect anything mind blowing, but know you’ll probably have fun while you read it!”

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35. Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“I actually enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would (but probably not enough to read the sequel, aha). In true Stephen King fashion, we got a really jaded MC and a REALLY messed up antagonist—to the point where you almost felt sorry for him because of all the abuse he experienced growing up, ALMOST. The language in this book is jarring, especially during Black History Month. That’s one of the things that’s always either made me widen my eyes at this author, or side eye him so hard that I’m sure he feels it. But the mystery was great and I enjoyed the MC’s determination to catch the bad guy. I’d recommend this book for fans of King, because you know what jarring language to expect. But if you’re new to this author, keep in mind that he writes like this to make you uncomfortable. It’s his thing.”

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Have you read any of these? Would you recommend them? 

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Happy reading!