#i am not a professional poet do not @ me

[earlyspringtranscendence]

btw i think one of the most impt hobbies in the world is having a mostly non-existent, mostly self indulgent crush on a professor/lecturer just to zone out to their classes to and focus instead on their hair and their hands and their dark circles speaking NAWT from experience. maybe a little bit.

[emeraldcreeper]

I need to find a convincing job title that explains why I rarely exit the house alone to go anywhere but a park or the pharmacy, I’ve said cat wrangling and lion taming as suggestions to my mom but I think I’ve settled on the most viable one: freelance writing for exposure. No you cannot read my work it is strictly mildly historical fiction/romance. No I cannot make money with it. It would be very illegal. Quit asking. Fuck you I tame lions I’m not unemployed or between things, I have plenty of job, it’s exclusively my unmonetizable horny hobby that’s my real job

[mcflymemes]

THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT - THE ANTHOLOGY BY TAYLOR SWIFT PROMPT LIST *  assorted lyrics from the album, some lines slightly adapted for meme purposes but feel free to adjust as necessary

even if it's handcuffed, i'm leaving here with you.

trust me. i can handle a dangerous man.

i love you. it's ruining my life.

does it feel all right to not know me?

i am who i am 'cause you trained me.

quick. tell me something awful.

i loved you the way that you were.

we were just kids, babe.

i can fix him.

you and i go from one kiss to getting married.

you said i'm the love of your life.

way up there, i actually love it.

i just don't understand how you don't miss me.

do you hate me?

did you think i had it in me?

what if i told you i'm back?

i still miss the smoke.

i'm not trying to exaggerate, but i think i might die if it happened.

you look like stevie nicks.

it's hell on earth to be heavenly.

i still can't believe it.

this happens once every few lifetimes.

didn't you hear? they called it all off.

it's happening again.

my friends say it isn't right to be scared.

i might just die.

fuck you if i can't have us.

tell me about the first time you saw me.

are you gonna marry, kiss, or kill me?

no one's ever had me... not like you.

stay away from her.

there wouldn't be this if there hadn't been you.

i don't think you've changed much.

that's where i was when i lost it all.

life was always easier on you than it was on me.

i hoped you'd return.

do you believe me now?

what if your eyes looked up and met mine one more time?

what are the chances you'd be downtown?

is it something i did?

oh, we must stop meeting like this.

they say what doesn't kill you makes you aware.

i'm not a donor, but i'd give you my heart if you needed it.

looking backwards might be the only way to move forwards.

the story isn't mine anymore.

what a charming saturday!

none of it is changing.

wild winds are death to the candle.

one bad seed kills the garden.

i'm bitter, but i swear i'm fine.

this place made me feel worthless.

i didn't want to come down.

everything had been above board.

blood's thick, but nothing like a payroll.

you can mark my words that i said it first.

the professor said to write what you know.

all of this to say, i hope you're okay.

your words are still just ringing in my head.

i built a legacy which you can't undo.

who do i have to speak to to change the prophecy?

the effects were temporary.

no, i'm not coming to my senses.

babe, you gotta fake it 'til you make it.

you know you're good when you can even do it with a broken heart.

i guess a lesser woman would've lost hope.

thought of calling you, but you won't pick up.

you're a professional.

long may you reign.

you're an animal. you are bloodthirsty.

now i seem to be scared to go outside.

i don't believe in good luck.

i hate it here.

if i'd been there, i'd hate it.

only the gentle survived.

i'm lonely, but i'm good.

you have no room in your dreams for regrets.

i thought it was just goodbye for now.

are you still a mind reader?

let it once be me.

i haven't decided yet.

i still dream of him.

i'm so afraid i sealed my fate.

it was always the same searing pain.

i can't forgive the way you made me feel.

it wasn't a fair fight or a clean kill.

she used to say she wished that you were dead.

tell me all your secrets.

they tried to warn you about me.

you're in terrible danger.

i'm the life you chose.

yes, i'm haunted, but i'm feeling just fine.

no one asks any questions here.

tell me i'm despicable. say it's unforgivable.

i'm running back home to you.

you should see your faces.

you knew the price going in.

was any of it true?

who the fuck was that guy?

i don't ever want you back.

did you sleep with a gun underneath out bed?

you don't get to tell me you feel bad.

you wouldn't last an hour in the asylum where they raised me.

am i allowed to cry?

there's no such thing as bad thoughts. only your actions talk.

they're going to crucify me anyway.

i know i'm just repeating myself.

that's the closest i've come to my heart exploding.

[iraprince]

I love the entire concept of Cookie... the look, the fashion, the gender... Would you mind telling us a little more about him? I'm also intrigued about why she's named Cooking with Gorgeous!

HI i would LOVE to talk about george thank you so much. also this makes me realize i've never actually sat down and just made a post unabashedly infodumping at length abt an oc before and it seems silly that i haven't. i ask only for all dear readers to please temper their expectations for this post with the knowledge that i just smoked half a joint before sitting down to answer it. a small one. but still. anyway

FIRST OF ALL FOR THE UNACQUAINTED THIS IS COOKING WITH GORGEOUS, aka cookie or george for short. he uses he/him and she/her pronouns interchangeably!

hi sorry that's not cookie that's a horse in a bridal veil that i. found in my stuff while trying to scroll and find my cookie art. i just got distracted and had to show you. okay no for real here's cookie

he's the character i'm playing in a playtest campaign of the absolutely mesmerizing sapphicworld, an in-development ttrpg!!! and if i'm going to be talking about cookie i feel like i HAVE to say i think a huge amount of her charm and dazzle and charisma comes directly from the charm and dazzle and charisma of the setting i created her for. i know i am laying it on really thick right now but that is on purpose. i want, desperately and unashamedly, for this game to get really popular bc 1. it's genuinely that good. and it's not even DONE yet and 2. i want everyone to get into it so that everyone will make sapphicworld characters and then i'll get to see everyone's sapphicworld characters.

EDIT i'm scrolling back up here and adding a readmore bc this is already getting so long lol. you asked for "a little more" and apparently i have graciously decided this means "literally every fact about cookie that exists in my brain"

SO a lot of the info/tidbits i haven't shared about cookie are i guess gameplay-specific stuff... his title (which is like a class/playbook) is "The Noble Sweetheart," though in sapphicworld "nobility" no longer has anything to do with wealth or class, and is instead entirely about amassing a court purely via devotion/popularity; her subculture (which is like, Who You Hang Out With; drifters, goths, poets, debauchers, cowpokes, etc) is Babe; and her kind (which is like ancestries but in sapphicworld is really just like, a physical form, which u can change more or less at will) is Lunarthrope, which is basically a werewolf!! or more broadly a furry, since u always look like whatever were-animal you are 24/7. just MORE at night, tho i suppose i don't represent that aspect much in my cookie art... ANYWAY i am restraining myself from just sitting here and like. transcribing her entire character sheet. but basically what all this means is that cookie's role in the world (at least at the beginning of the campaign) is "Professionally — no, VOCATIONALLY Hot Person who everyone loves so so so so so so much." cookie really enjoys this role.

he's named cooking with gorgeous because he's an avid cook, and he wants to share that with you, and he's gorgeous!! though honestly the cooking hasn't ended up as important to his character as it was when i first came up with him, lol — but my initial concept was kind of like, what's the equivalent of a bouncy normie recipe blogger/lifestyle influencer but in the context of the lush horny trans deathless psychedelic universe of sapphicworld. and it's cooking with gorgeous, a doggirl dyke with big blue boobs (six of them!!) who is so devastatingly cute and darling that a bunch of people just kind of pledge their fealty to him for no real reason other than he feeds them. and is cute

also her name is def influenced by the fantastic names of many canon sapphicworld npcs! like, quick example list of some npc names off the top of my head: the booty commie, death cybernetic, princess eureka!, the culinary goof (whom cookie dislikes. btw.), pizza friday (whom cookie loves!!!)

cookie is very very determined, and she's ALMOST always very confident. even when she isn't feeling confident, she's still very good at forcing herself to keep putting one foot in front of the other — maybe just while screaming or crying or uncontrollably barking or at least very ardently complaining. he has a tendency to be spoiled and, like, tactless-via-obliviousness, so sometimes he can be grating to interact with, and he has a petty/vindictive streak; but in general he's an AGGRESSIVELY kind person and usually aims all his shrill, cheerful stubbornness directly toward the goal of refusing to accept anything but the best for everyone.

at the beginning of our campaign cookie has JUST received a brand new castle!!!! (chateau gorgeous.) which he doesn't actually "own" bc, remember, no wealth or class in sapphicworld, but he's the ENTHUSIASTIC new caretaker and is chomping at the bit to renovate it so ppl can live there and he can throw a bunch of magnificent parties and basically continue living exactly as he has been, But Even More Fabulous. obviously this is exactly when the main plot threat of the campaign shows up and spoils everything and compels cookie to go on his First Ever Adventure!!!!!! she HAS to save the world otherwise NOBODY will be able to go to the first big party at chateau gorgeous :((((

at this point to prevent myself from just like, giving you guys a play by play of the entire campaign so far i am going to just start listing every cookie fact i can think of as bullet points

🎀 he owns a magical sword in the shape of a giant microplane. it's called The Microplane. he pronounces this "mee-crow-plah-nay"

🎀 george desperately wants to resurrect The Dog-Lich, an entity that once ruled over all beasts from its palace on the moon but was murdered and torn to pieces in a cosmic war far in the past. her attitude towards this desire is 50% devoted lunar cultist, 50% parasocially obsessive twitter stan

🎀 this isn't really a cookie fact but going back to how his title is The Noble Sweetheart — just for a glimpse at party composition, his fellow party members' titles are The Intimate Scholar, The Tentacle Advocate, and The Tw*nk Controversial (the * is the canon spelling).

^ aforementioned tw*nk. its name is Mwah ("pronounced like the kiss you blow at someone you just fucked over"). mwah is played by @/squiddelyfather on twitter!

🎀 mwah and cookie used to be very, very tight, BEFORE mwah became the tw*nk controversial. now that it's so.... you know.... controversial, well. they're still very close, but it has gotten a little stilted and weird (and watching them slowly un-weird it together as the campaign goes on has been one of my fav roleplay experiences ever honestly)

🎀 cookie's other adventuremates, skarligge and delaryn, are both very indulgent towards him. delaryn acts the most grumpy/dismissive about it but is honestly sometimes the worst about spoiling cookie out of anyone in the party (skarligge's player is twt@/clown_dream and delaryn's is twt@/glaiveguisarme and hey while im at it our fantastic gm is the sapphicworld dev, twt@/ddemoneclipse. hi guys i hope u don't mind me chattering abt ur ocs here lol it's just hard to talk abt the best of cookie w/o bringing up everyone else's characters and roleplay also!!!)

🎀 cookie is very VERY sensitive and will burst into tears at the drop of a hat. the precursor to this is her eyes getting So So So Big And Wet And Round. one of my favorite bits to menace the other party members with is when something is not going cookie's way i will lean into my mic and say "cookie's eyes are getting so so so big. they're getting so big and wet and round and shiny. they're so so round and fucking big her eyes are like big wet black glass marbles" and this is like kryptonite to them. this is like getting hit with deadly radiation

🎀 oh speaking of fashion!!!! one of cookie's perks from being a Babe is that she can always change her look whenever she wants. she will ALWAYS have whatever outfit she needs and can quickchange instantly. wait this reminds me i have a bunch of seasonal holiday outfits sketched out and i don't think i've ever posted them here but it'll only let me put one more image in this post. well here have this one

🎀 okay well suddenly i have forgotten all other george facts so that's all for now!!! from now on i will try to just dump oc facts like this more often tho this is really fun. ty for getting me going lol!!!

[askganon]

Hypothetically if you were to be a professional teacher rather than a... warlord I suppose? ...King, let's go with King.

If you were a teacher rather than a king, which subjects would you wish to teach to impress on your students your wisdom?

History? Gym? Ethics? How to run a home?

Lit maybe? I could also see you being a poet and trying to give people some culture.

I am no educator, but there are several schools of thought that could greatly benefit from my knowledge.

One could surmise teaching of magic or physical education. Both would be schools with which I hold much experience, but I do not teach magic to anyone, and my students would be lucky to survive my physical demands.

History is one such area that could use a scholar whose experience lies outside of Hylian influence.

Students of ethics could also learn much from me, provided they have not already been corrupted by lesser professors.

However, I have noticed a great lapse in one area in particular that demands attention; Home Economics.

[artistsfuneral]

The Road to Kaer Morhen - p.2 (there's an ao3 link now!)

Ultimately Jaskier decided on buying a long coil of rope and use the leftover coin to invest in a little Good Luck charm – not that he necessarily believed in the gods, but he liked the tradition. Given the fact that he had no idea what would await him on the path it really seemed like the best choice, but in the end only time could tell how much that was the case. Purchasing the rope went without any complications. The vendor clearly eyed the puffy sleeves of his favorite red and teal doublet, but decided not to comment on it further than a raised eyebrow.

The second stall though was tended to by a young woman, who had been staring at Jaskier for quite some time now. Like most sisters of the temple of Melitele, she wore a carmine dress and white shawl to resemble the goddess. Their eyes met and the bard immediately broke into the wide smile of a professional charmer. “A wonderful morning, isn't it, sweet lass?” She giggled, holding up her hand to hide how her cheeks reddened from Jaskier's gaze. “You're not from around here, are you?” she asked, busying her brown eyes by looking anywhere but Jaskier's face, who had yet to figure out if she was indeed as shy as she acted or simply a performer like himself. “Oh you are correct indeed, I am a humble traveler on my way south,” Jaskier lied with a flourish bow. “I certainly would have remembered the name of such a bewitching young lady as yourself, had we met before.” A delighted little sound escaped her mouth and she smiled down at her fidgeting hands. “My name is Josi. I was named after a cat.”

Each and every day Jaskier was reminded why he chose a life traveling the country over sitting in an estate all day and ruling over one. While he could very vividly picture Geralt's confused face in his mind, unexpected conversations like this brought him nothing but pure joy. Meeting new people, getting to know the most random facts through a conversation and being able to connect with them one way or another made the bard happy. “That is a wonderful name, Josi. I am Dandelion the Poet, I was named after a flower.” She giggled once more, “I like dandelions. They're yellow and puffy.”

“I like them too,” he agreed, imagining for a moment how he might look in a yellow doublet with puffed shoulders and a matching hat. It had been a while since he last tailored his own stage clothing but if he was spending an unforeseeable time in a fortress in the mountains it'd indubitably give him something to do during the awfully long summer days.

“Would you like to buy something?” Josi asked sweetly, pulling him away from his thoughts and back into the town, where he was standing at a market stall. “I'd love that,” Jaskier said, smiling when the young woman nodded her head in excitement. “Say, I've been eying that blue charm ever since I saw it, would you sell it to me?” Mimicking his smile she carefully held up a beautifully crafted sachet for the bard to inspect closer. Jaskier, who was drawn in by everything bright and colorful, gently took hold of the bag and openly marveled at it. It was a saturated, bright blue and had little golden flowers and a green vine stitched into it. The embroidery was of excellent quality and the little bag carried the soft smell of lavender and lemon grass. “You can pay less for it,” Josi offered, meeting Jaskier's eyes for a short moment as if to make sure he knew that she was being honest with him. Normally he'd accepted her goodwill in a heartbeat but Jaskier would have no use for coins if he was hiding away in the wilderness. “It is quite alright, dear, I can see that this was put together with a lot of care. It's only fair I pay you the full price.”

“You're very kind, Dandelion,” Josi spoke quietly, making Jaskier's stomach swoop.

“I try to be.”

After paying with the last of his coin, Jaskier bade Josi farewell with a gentle wave of his hand and the promise to think of her the next time he saw a colorful cat.

The way back to the inn wasn't extraordinarily long, but the streets had filled with the town's people and Jaskier had to carefully navigate his way through the crowd without bumping into anyone more than necessary. Meeting the eyes of the baker he winked at the man through his shop window, before opening the wide door to the inn and slipping inside. The air in the entrance was already warm and stuffy, promising an even warmer afternoon. Much like he did with everyone else, Jaskier greeted the innkeeper with a warm smile and a wave of his hand, before making his way up the stairs and to his room.

Upon entering the bard was met with a loud yawn and the view of his companion, sitting up in bed and arms stretched towards the ceiling. He chuckled, “Finally awake, sleepy head?”

please like and reblog if you voted

✨🌿🌼✨

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[mycatsaidwhat]

Things I’ve heard professors say pt. 14

-you guys turn in your assignments, that’s so selfish of you 

-have any of you ever been on a sinking ship? Other than this university? Or the American republic in general 

-and then in this next Federalist painting we have the image of the Bible upside down in the hands of Democratic Republicans, because subtlety

-there is a solution to that, and that is called alcohol 

-yeah it’s not particularly diplomatically conducive to assassinate the leaders of the country you’re trying to wage an alliance with. It would be like if Biden met with Trudeau and shot him.

-the US calling their 1790s an “Indian problem” is like Russia saying they currently have a “Ukraine problem”   

-Thomas Jefferson coined the term “coo coo bananas.” It’s right there in the Declaration of Independence 

-*students point out that Tennessee and Kentucky are mislabeled on a professional academic 21st century map of early American colonies* so anyway–

-(student) do you want us to write our essay as if we’re addressing someone who doesn’t know anything about the American revolution, like our past essays?

(professor) Just write it like an essay, Skyler, Jesus  

-the french motto is “liberty, equality, fraternity.” now this doesn’t mean that all the men are going to join a group and paddle each other while drunk, but lots of shit happened during the french revolution, so who knows 

-I know what you’re all thinking--but what about the serial killer polygamist?!! 

-and because every artist thought they were a poet in the 18th century, there is a horrible rhyme at the end of this political cartoon 

-*trips over a wet floor sign* what are you trying to assassinate me for?

-profilers have feelings too, I guess. Actually no, no they don’t, what am I fucking saying 

-i stole all the textbooks so you don’t have to 

-if anyone is bored enough to read John Locke–

-*trying to flip to the the correct map in his slideshow* where in the freaking hell– 

[kateac12]

Jerome and Jeremiah having a daughter would include...

Jerome

He's over the moon to learn that he's having a girl, and he'll do anything to protect his "little princess"

Will spend hours just looking at his baby girl sleep in her crib

Always takes her to the park and out for ice cream

"Is that boy in your class still picking on you? Don't worry princess, I'll take take care of them" *winks*

Almost never yells (except when his criminal professional life is really stressing him out)

Will apologize over and over for losing his cool. Makes it up by making her favorite meal, or taking her out to do something fun like ice skating, mini-golf, paint-balling

Goes all out for holidays. Birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas, you name it. Jerome didn't have those things growing up, and he'll be damned if he doesn't make his child feel special

Will happily help with projects (especially arts and crafts). His daughter will likely get first place in the science fair for making something blow up

The type of dad that will definitely excited to take pictures of his daughter going to prom (and of course, she'll be going with friends, because Jerome will kill threaten any boy that tries to get close to his baby). He knows how boys are, and he refuses to let his daughter get her heart broken by a dumb teenager

"Aww you look so beautiful in that dress I stole got for you." "Dad, stop, you're embarrassing me!"

"Dad, I'm 17. When are you going to let me have a boyfriend?" "I already told you that you can't date until you're 25!"

Jeremiah (pre-spray)

Acts like he doesn't care much about the baby

High key terrified that his little girl will be like his brother or mom

Over time, he warms up to his child, but he's still a very distant father

"Daddy, do you want to do a puzzle with me?" "My dear, I'm a bit busy with work. Ecco, can you play with her?"

Homeschools the kid in his bunker, because he's too paranoid to let them out

Jeremiah will absolutely insist on his daughter going to university, because education is very important to him

Will help with homework

It's only when something drastic happens (such as his daughter getting injured at school or kidnapped for ransom) that he starts caring more for his baby

"Sweetheart, I know I wasn't the best father when you were growing up. I really do love you. I'm sorry"

He tries to make an effort to spend more time with his daughter, like watching a movie with her or taking her out to eat

Isn't super strict with dating, but he will insist that the boy his daughter is interested in meets up with him first

Jeremiah (post-spray)

It would be a stretch to say that he loves his child. It's more like, in his own very twisted way, he cares about his daughter, but only if she's useful

Is a more hands on father than (pre-spray) Jeremiah. But it's not a good thing because he is just trying to gauge how skilled and intelligent his daughter is

He will absolutely want to know what his daughter's skills are. Is she good at math and science like him? Is she a poet? Is she drawn more to the arts?

Any skill that she has will be utilized for his personal gain

If she doesn't have any talents? She better stay out of his way and not cause any problems

He doesn't care as much about getting an education. After all, why use those brains for college when you can use your intelligence for helping him do crime?

Will make his daughter pull all nighters (because he needs help figuring out how to destroy buildings around Gotham)

"Dad, can I go to sleep now? It's 4 AM." "You can sleep when I successfully take over Gotham."

If a boy likes her, he'll kidnap meet the boy. "You have two choices. Either follow me as your leader, or you die."

If the boy agrees to follow Jeremiah, he will dig up some dirt on the boy's family, or embezzle them for money

"Dad! Please don't hurt him! I love him!" "Sweetheart, anyone who's around my family needs to declare their undying loyalty to me"

[workinprogress14]

Intro / Pinned Post

Hey and welcome to my little tumblr space! It’s about 80% spicy, 20% randomness that I enjoy. MDNI 18+

About me:

- 26 years old

- Female, cis, heterosexual (after a questioning/les/bi era)

- Hold degrees in sociology, psychology, social work…so I can be bit of a smarty pants sometimes lol

- Published author and poet

- Recovering addict (both alcohol and drugs) 11 years sober

- CSA and sexual assault survivor

- No tattoos, but a good many piercings

- Enneagram: 5w4 / MBTI: INFJ

- Beverage goblin (water, coffee, grape Gatorade zero, or ginger ale)

- Former Phone Seggs Professional

- Former Evangelical Missionary

Favorites:

- Sports: Softball, American Football, and Rugby

- Shows: Law & Order: SVU, Big Bang Theory, and Below Deck

- Movies: Captain Fantastic or Nymphomaniac Vol 1 & 2

This didn’t start as an NSFT space, but I think as I’ve done the work to help heal past traumas, I’ve allowed myself to be more free and enjoy sharing my sexuality.

Kinks / Turn Ons:

Thick men / Dad bods

Beards

Gentle / Daddy Doms

Switch

Biting, Nail-marks, Hickies (not on neck)

Nipple Play

ANR/ABF

Lactation

Breeding

Pregnancy

Exhibitionism

Temperature Play

A vocal and communicative partner

Praise Kink

Eye Contact

Period Sex

Hard No’s:

Choking / Breath Play

Most Bondage (being tied down, handcuffs, etc)

An@l

Doggy Style

Scat/Pee…or really any bodily fluids not naturally present

R@pe Threats/Fantasies

Knife play

Degradation

Racism

Incest

Pet Play / Monster Fantasies / Beastiality

Age Play

Cnc / Free Use

A Few Other Things:

•You can reblog my photos

•I will not show my face so please do not ask

•Asks and DMs are open (I am happy to talk about sex, pleasure, and intimacy)

I BLOCK AGELESS BLOGS!!!

Thanks for reading! Be respectful, have fun, and enjoy! 😊

[windsweptinred]

Shipper tag game

Thank you for the tag @marvagon, you glorious human 💖💖💖.

What ship were you completely obsessed with as a teenager, but now you don't care about anymore?

None. I may not be as passionate about them as I once was. But I still hold all my past ships near and dear to my heart. I'll even occasionally nip into their tags on A03 and have a dip into newer fics.

What ship would you consider your first one?

Daiken/Kensuke from Digimon 02. I remember watching it on Saturday morning and wondering if anyone else was seeing what I was seeing. That led me to discover Fanfiction.net. And the rest is history...

Your first fanfic was about which couple?

My very first full length fic was Corinthiel, posted here on Tumblr. My first fic posted on AO3 was Dreamling, and I wrote both last year. I am a very, very, very late comer to fanfic 😅. I'm honestly much more at home drawing fanart then writing. But will occasionally give into temptation, when an idea obbsessively hounds me to the point of insanity.

Do you remember the first couple you saw fan art of?

I genuinely can't. 😅 I remember it was probably on deviantart.

Have you ever gotten into ship discourse?

I try desperately to stay out of ship discourse. To me people's ships are their joy... And I've got no interest in being a theif of joy. If there's something I want to see more of in the fandom, like a rare pair I'm fond of, I just try and create content and hope someone else joins in (@bobbole loves you 💚🤍😅) . If it's not for me, I just keep scrolling on by.

Did you use to have any NOTP or have one currently?

Again, no. I've always been happy to pick and mix my ships. I have my favorites ofcourse. But I've never outright refused to dip my toe into any ship. Maybe if it ventured into an area I personally deemed problematic. But mostly, I'm happy to try anything once.

Who were the last couple in the last fanfic you read?

I'm currently reading Remy Lebeau x Logan fanfic from Xmen. 😅 What sent me in that direction, I do not know. But I've found some amazing new fics in and amongst revisiting some old favourites.

Currently, do you have any OTPs?

I can proudly say until recently I've never had an OTP. Being a multishipper makes that kind of hard. But I don't know, I may be in too deep with Corinthiel. I'm not sure I could picture Danny and the Second Corinthian with anyone else but each other now. (Curse you @ibrithir-was-here. See what you have wraught! 😆). Them and Charmes (Charon x Hermes) from Hades. Because why would you split up the professional associates like that?! (Again very much your fault @mashumaru 😆) , Damn, I guess I've got OTPs now. If there's an established, happy couple in canon, most of the time I'll respect that and leave them be. So I guess that kind of counts too.

Is there any couple that, to this day, that you are extremely mad about not getting into?

Again no. If the juggernaut ship of a fandom doesn't really tickle my fancy, I'll sometimes stare forlornly at it. And sigh like a sad bohemian poet. But that's all content envy and I know it. 😆

Is there any ship you used to dislike but now you think they're kind of interesting?

🤔 I didn't dislike it, but I never really ventured near Corintheus until I started shipping Corinthiel. That made me backtrack and consider Morpheus and the original Corinthian's relationship from an entirely different perspective.

Do you have any ship that, in the past, would have been considered normal but now you would be cancelled over?

No I don't think so. As far as know they're all still alive, well and for the most part, living in peace and harmony in their respective fandoms.

What is your favorite crack ship?

Bookend, Destiny and his Book. The old book and chain. Living their best, grumpy old married couple, life together. @jazzy-a 🤜🤛🤣.

What is the couple you read the most fanfics about?

Most recently was Dreamling. I'm a bit of fandom butterfly at the moment, fluttering between multiple fandoms, waiting for the next all consuming passion to strike me down. I read, and reread ANYTHING Corinthiel 😅. But of all time?..... I couldn't say. I revisit so many of my ships so often.

What do most of your ships have in common?

Two bastards in love will always be my favourite. I'd love to boldly claim it's all about two morally dubious rogues, being despicable in the kinkiest ways together. 😅 But I know it's more about two people, often misunderstood and maligned... Finding a deep sense of belonging with each other. But I'm an eclectic sort and I've got a lot ships that don't fit that category I still love dearly.

What do you absolutely hate in a ship?

Absolutely nothing outright. I'll sometimes go off a ship a little once it reaches that point where fanon locks in too tight around it. But I think that's a very me problem, as I crave variation/new experiences/ideas. I'll still love the ship, I'll just know that's just my time to move onto something new and come back and visit every so often.

I'm tagging @martybaker @thelostkelpie @missingrache @thirrith @zigzag-wanderer @lucienne-thee-librarian and @tickldpnk8 and anyone mentioned above. If you want to have a go. 😁

[redsaurrce]

DELUSIONAL

SYNOPSIS- If his smiles weren't for your best friend, then whom was it for?

pairing ✦ Yandere!taehyung x fem!reader

genre ✦ high school au

word count ✦ 1.8 K

warnings ✦ Suggestive, mentions of cut, bleed, death, su*cide, killing, obsession, kissing, profanity, rubbing thighs

+-

A teardrop rolled down your cheek, it fell down and mixed with the earthly waters. It was raining hard today, the day of your best friend's death, the day when you stood near her dead body. Almost thinking it was all a dream. You felt so lifeless.

"I like Taehyung so much Y/N that it hurts." Your best friend Sun-ja's eyes crinkled. You scoffed with a smile plastered on your own face, "I seriously don't get you, what's the point of liking someone till it hurts?"

She tilted her head, "You will never understand the joy of it, you single-pringle." You dramatically widened your eyes at the nickname and pinched her cheek, "How about now? Do you enjoy this pain?" "Ah ah ah I give in I give in, you're not single-pringle, you're anti-romanti." You gasped playfully, "You're unbelievable."

"Am I? Or.. are you anti-panty? That rhymes - OMG I should become a poet, why did I hide this talent?! Woah- AHH AA AH" You pinched her a little harder and retrieved your hand.

"Stop being delusional, it was a horrible poem!" You shook your head.

She looked at you with narrow eyes, "Now give me 15000 won for my hospital bill."

"Hospital bill?" You looked at her in confusion. "Of course, look what you did!" She pointed at her cheek which had reddened due to your pinch. You blinked in amusement, "Hey Sun-ja quit thinking about becoming a poet, you should become a robber or a professional schemer instead."

She hit your shoulders a little too hard causing you to jerk ahead, "woah Y/N You're just really smart huh!?" She clapped and you shot her a sharp gaze.

"OMG Y/N you look scary" She was so dramatic that you couldn't help but laugh.

"Hey- hey Tae's here." You saw her quickly fix herself and sat as elegantly as possible. You wanted to laugh so loudly at her change of demeanor. She whispered with pressed lips, "Y/N he's looking at us so please for once behave like a human." You raised your eyebrows, "What-"

"Fuck fuck fuck he smiled at my direction- what do i do what do i do-"

"Calm down I guess?" You held her shoulders and made her sit still. "Y/N he smiled at me, how am I supposed to calm down?"

You scoffed and rolled your eyes.

Sun-ja was like that, a happy puppy. People even used to call her sunny due to her sunshine like personality.

Which contrasted her dull personality two months later after she had confessed to Taehyung.

"T-Taehyung I like you." Sun-ja said shyly with a fond smile, eyes glued to the floor. Taehyung tilted his head, "Is that so? Why aren't you looking up?"

Sun-ja's heart filled up with hope so she looked at him in anticipation- instead she looked a face that mocked her guts.

Taehyung smirked, "How bold of you to even think you stand a chance with me." His smirk almost morphed into disgust that is when it changed to neutral when he saw you coming out of the crowd.

You held Sun-ja's wrist, "Let's go. Many people are watching you."

Unexpectedly she yanked her wrist out of your hand, "Let me go Y/N!" She said harshly and turned to face him, "If you think that I don't stand a chance then why did you give out mixed signals my way? Why did you occasionally smile whenever you saw me?" She raised her eyebrows.

Taehyung contorted his and said, "Stop being delusional."

Stop being delusional. Stop being delusional. Stop being delusional.

These words started spinning around Sun-ja's head like a violent storm. At that moment she couldn't comprehend anything anymore so she turned away and ran outside.

You quickly followed her behind. "Stop Sun-ja!! Where are you going?"

"Don't follow me Y/N. You all tell me to stop being delusional. Everyone of you!" She screamed as tears started streaming down.

You were confused by her words. "Sun-ja please!" You grit your teeth as you kept following her. You didn't realize that you were already outside the school and it was the highway.

Sun-ja's visions were blurred by her tears and her screams shunned her ability to hear others. You quickly looked to your right hand side where a car was coming towards her at full speed. You screamed her name but to no avail so you ran with all your might and managed to push her away while you rolled away on the road causing your elbow to bleed and a few cuts on your forehead.

You quickly looked up to look at Sun-ja who was sitting on the road in shock. "Y-Y/N are you okay? I'm so sorry. I'm so fucking sorry." She came to you and helped you stand up to get on the pedestrian side.

She hastily pulled out her phone and called the ambulance. You sighed, she was alright. "These are minor cuts Sun-ja don't fret." You assured her but she kept denying.

"I'm so sorry you're my friend Y/N. I don't deserve this friendship." She said through her hiccups. You shook your head, "Don't say that Sun-ja. Please."

-

You had minor cuts as you had said but Sun-ja was adamant on staying away from you, it hurt you so much but everytime you tried to approach her she would stand up and go away. Because of the rejection she faced on that day, everyone avoided her and she became the outcast of the school.

Several post forums had the video of the rejection up on social media, many people pointed fingers at her for being such a dick to you that you had to risk your life for her. People would come to show you sympathy but they only made you more and more furious for adding fuel to fire. Their words stung like poison to both you and Sun-ja.

-

You ran with all your might, it was raining cats and dogs, the day was gloomy and the news of Sun-ja's death made your heart pierce and your head was hazy.

You stopped at the sight of her dead body. Almost thinking it was all a dream. Your knees became numb, you fell on your knees, you felt so lifeless. You were surrounded with people crying out loud, most probably her family but all you heard was the rainwater dripping down your ears. You asked yourself, "why? Why did she die? Why did she kill herself?"

Taehyung.

His name was the first to come on your mind. It was all because of him.

You used to clearly see Taehyung look at your direction and smile brightly, you used to double check it by looking at your back where there was no one, making you believe that those smiles were indeed for Sun-ja.

Then why on Earth would he be so hurtful with his words? Why did he reject her?

You slowly felt rage burning up inside you. You needed to face Taehyung head on to ask questions.

You managed to get up on your feet and asked one of his fangirls under a post of his social media account to text you his address.

-

As you rang the bell, you saw Taehyung open the door moments later. He saw you soaked from top to bottom because of the rain and his face lit up making you feel confused.

"Taehyung I need to talk to you." You said straightforwardly.

He smiled and said, "Ah sure Y/N, come inside let's talk."

His smile made your stomach churn and had you boiling in anger even more. You took a step inside the door and shouted, "I guess you haven't heard yet. Sun-ja.." you paused as your lips quivered, "she.. died."

He went around the kitchen counter and came with a glass of water.

"Can we have a seat first? I don't like talking to people who are loud and screaming in front of my door." He said as he kept the water on the glass table in front of his sofa.

You scoffed, what an annoying douchebag! You stomped inside, almost wanting to throw the water on his face but you took a sharp breath to calm down a little and sat on the sofa. "You really are horrible Taehyung!" You said with your face turning red in anger.

"For what? For not caring about anyone who's dying?" He asked as he took a seat in front of you. Your eyes went wide in disbelief, did he just call Sun-ja anyone? Did he really have no idea who she was? You were about to throw hands but you knew this wasn't your house, causing ruckus here wouldn't end well.

You drank the entire water from the glass in a single sip and missed Taehyung looking at you intensely with a smirk when you drank it.

You scoffed again, "The girl whom you had rejected two months ago, I'm talking about her."

"Ahhh I see.. so what is it? It's not like I should've said yes, isn't it?" He raised his eyebrows.

You looked at the ceiling trying to not breakdown in front of him, "Sure, there must have been countless confessions you might have received, there would have been countless times you have rejected too. But- But you could have atleast politely rejected her. Your rejection made her a laughing stock for everyone.. and now!? Now she's no more alive." You bit your inner cheek.

He nodded, "ofcourse! but you said it yourself Y/N that I've had rejected countless times so.. I know what those girls are like. They don't take a no for no, that's why I have to be firm when I reject them."

You felt disgusted at his words, "Those girls? Hah give me a break! Then what about you? Shouldn't you have apologized to her for playing with her feelings? Why? If you didn't like her THEN WHY THE HELL DID YOU CONFUSE HER?? WHY DID YOU SMILE AT HER?? WHY??" You stood up not being able to contain your rage anymore.

"I never smiled at her though." Taehyung denied as he blinked.

Just when you were going to ask more you started feeling sleepy. "Wtf? Why am I feeling sleepy now out of all times?" You sat down on the sofa to maintain balance.

You shook your head to kick away the dizziness and looked at him, "then who were you smiling at?"

He got up from the sofa and walked towards you, he bent down and looked into your eyes, "It was you." he answered

Your eyes were becoming heavier with each passing second, "What do you mean?" You breathed out.

"It means be my girlfriend Y/N. I can't stay away anymore from you, it hurts Y/N." He said while caressing your face, you made an attempt to remove your face but his hands blocked your movement.

Just then Sun-ja's verbatim started playing in your ears like a broken record, "I like Taehyung so much Y/N that it hurts."

It ached your chest so much at that memory that your face morphed into amusement after hearing Taehyung's confession, "That's never going to happen, stop being delusional... No matter what happens... your actions.. costed.. her life.. I'm never... ever going to... love you... Taehyung.... even if... it... hurts you.. i don't give.. A fuck.. So stop... being--" and before you could complete your sentence, you dropped unconscious.

He looked at you with loved filled eyes, "Well the one who's delusional isn't me but your best friend. Sure, I'll apologize to her for killing her. The only obstacle in between us is gone now. I'm sure if she was alive you wouldn't have dated me at all costs."

He sighed as he leaned in kissed your lips while running his left hand up and down your thighs.

"But now that you're here, I can finally feel at ease. There's no way you wouldn't love me back." He said and kissed you again as if he was convincing himself of it and a kiss with you made his statements come true.

"So for now let's go get your dress changed baby or you'll catch cold. Tonight let's stay in each other's warmth. Ugh I can't wait!!" He said the last words enthusiastically as he picked you up and carried to his bedroom.

+-

TYSM for reading this piece sweetheart<33 Hope you enjoyed, feedback is HIGHLY appreciated MWAHH 💗!!!

[yourfavsspotifywrapped]

a deeply honest review of the tortured poets department

okay, so i will take this moment to preface that i am not a professional music journalist or anything like that--i'm just very interested in music, and i've grown up with taylor swift for quite a long time. i would also like to say that i think she is capable of making quite good art and that she is an exceptional songwriter, especially for someone who frequently writes alone or with a team of 1-3 close professional friends.

to be totally honest, this album is mediocre. i've seen a lot of blind swiftie praise for it (as per usual) and a whole lot of hate from people who don't seem like they've listened to more than one song (also pretty typical), and i just don't find either to be warranted. it's boring.

though it was perhaps emotionally difficult to parse through, nothing about this album feels like it was challenging for swift to write on a technical or skill-based level. she relies on her old songwriting tricks, which i think can be a good place to start, but nearly all of the tracks on this one feel like second drafts at best rather than songs that were poured over for weeks before she was happy with them.

there are also just. so many corny moments, beginning at the track titles. they lack the maturity that i was expecting from this album. i'm not one of those people who thinks work that claims to be "poetic" has to have an indie-ish sound to it by any means, but i think the lyrics themselves have to have a certain depth and richness to them. i've seen arguments that this sort of corniness in combination with the concept of poetry is sarcastic on swift's part, but even if that's true, it still feels like that just doesn't work or excuse mediocre and cringeworthy lyricism. which is certainly not all that's on this album, but it's there enough that it greatly takes away from my experience.

she also relies too heavily on longtime producer jack antonoff, who can't seem to do anything new or interesting with her work at this point in their collaboration. midnights felt like they just camped out in a studio together for 2 weeks and went "yessss that's so fire" at each other with no outside influence, and this feels the same way except they invited aaron dessner for the latter half and he did what he could to salvage it. the end result is a mix between 1989 2 and evermore 2. i truly feel like she needs someone in that studio with her who hates her to push her to reach something new creatively.

that being said, there are things i liked about it:

-i always enjoy the way swift incorporates turns of phrase and flips them on their heads, which is something she seems to love to do, and this album is full of that kind of wordplay (some of it stronger than others).

-i like the features she picked a lot more than i was expecting to, especially post malone. fortnight is an excellent title track, and he blends so seamlessly into the background.

-there is a lot of religious imagery that is a thread that runs throughout the album (one that is even stronger in the songs i specifically like).

-though many of her tongue-in-cheek moments fall exceptionally flat, several of them work quite well (for example, "is that a bad thing to say in a song?" from florida!!! or "lights camera bitch smile" from icdiwabh).

ultimately, i would say that i think this is a mixed bag album that could've been about 15 tracks shorter. it's not her worst work, and it's not a bad pop album, but it's definitely not her best. it falls far too in her comfort zone, and to me, that makes it only a 6.5/10 album. above average, but not by much. it's totally fine to make average music, that's what creates the average, but i have so much belief that she is capable of better because i have seen it.

[only-drink-to-get-drunk]

hi loves!! <3

everyone keeps doing little introductions at the top of their blogs, and now i wanna :] so here we are!!

hi, i'm fae (or spectra)!! pronouns are they/them. i am 16 (only one year until i'm a dancing queen, then it's over for u bitches). i am a very neurodivergent fucked up chaotic insane lil mess (bsc /ref) — personally i think that makes me lovely and fun, but who really knows (not me, that's for fucking sure).

okay. so. i am: + a falafel (don't ask) + a certified matchmaker (i married @thesunandstarss and @squishy-lemons in the grishaverse swifties server) + a wedding officiator (officiated their wedding (also proposed for them)) + professional spammer + coleader and most active member of the oomens eyeball cult + the best nickyname maker + the best knife wife ever (@lee-says-things this is where u agree honeylee) + ingenious word maker upper + deranged chaos awakener + writer + poet + songwriter + musician/composer + artist take everything in this list as you would a resume. when i say everything i mean the last five things. im not good at them but i do them so i am a Professional Doer of them.

my other blogs: @faeruine // writing, poetry & art shit @tears-on-the-letter // ur here. tada. @a-crisis-of-my-faith // fandomy shit. main fandoms are the grishaverse, throne of glass, the marauders, dead poets society, etc @of-light-and-darkness study blog @defective-angel (why wont it tag??) lil journal and quotes and aesthetic shit idk i like music. music is amazing. my fav artists are: + maisie peters (thank you @its-tortle) + taylor swift + lauren aquilina + victoria carbol + nf + phemiec + jessie paege + sabrina carpenter + three days grace + finneas + hayley kiyoko + skillet + thousand foot krutch and other artists. feel free to send me asks, messages, tag me, talk to me, etc :] please do not be creepy tho or i will block you <3 also im sorry i sometimes take eight years to respond to asks, i like to think its a part of my charm and mystique

btw my tag for my dumb lil comments and rambles is #faerambles so block it or follow it or ignore it, whatevers :]

enjoy the chaos.

[mcflymemes]

AS SAID BY ZEVRAN ARAINAI  *  assorted dialogue from dragon age: origins, updated version

i'll take that as an apology.

if you want to bed me, you have only to ask.

that's rather saucy of you, isn't it?

magic can kill. knives can kill. even small children, when launched at very fast speeds, can kill.

so let us pretend that i do, indeed, believe murder is wrong.

you say that like it's a bad thing.

why have we not made love as of yet?

how will you ever learn how to pleasure each other unless you talk about it?

it drives me mad with desire.

do i detect a bit of jealousy there? feeling territorial, are we?

sounds intriguing, if you ask me.

you get the most delightful wrinkle in your brow when you are curious.

shall i describe the rest of the ritual to you?

those stories you heard? all true.

i see where this is going. downhill. and quickly too.

you seem rather charmed by the idea.

i am willing to take my chances.

it is flattery only if i exaggerate the truth to please you. i am but stating a simple fact.

now i regret that extra pie at lunch.

so let me get this straight. you have... never wooed? not once? you are woo-less, as it were?

perhaps you have people you need killed.

i said no such thing.

politics and death go together like kisses and lovemaking.

you are... feeling all right, yes? perhaps you are tired?

one day you will realize that you have wasted your youth and beauty on bitterness and suspicion, mark my words.

i'm sorry... are you speaking to me?

does that make you jealous?

i admire you. you are a wicked, wicked woman.

i do not think you a fool. we are not so dissimilar, after all. i know what you are doing.

if you like, i could hoist you up on my back.

i don't go into forests as a rule.

i can think of many other things we can do other than sleep.

when the prey is caught, it deserves a good death, a clean death.

i am not permitted to tell you what they mean.

surely you can see i am serious now. i honestly wish to know.

didn't you desire companionship during those two years?

adventure has changed you.

so i imagine it has been some time for you.

i simply offer my services should you ever feel the need for... release.

has anyone told you what marvelous eyes you possess?

you should be admired by painters, copied by sculptors, exalted by poets.

i am so confused. i think i may cry. may i lay my head in your bosom?

i couldn't help hearing about your... predictament.

how could one kill such a creature without bedding it, first?

could you destroy something as pretty as i am?

one would have to be blind not to realize how very pretty we all are, and how important that is to preserve.

creating a new life can be a great deal of fun.

your form is wonderous, that's true.

i've thought about your predicament, my friend.

surely this must bring you discomfort, knowing you can never partake in such pleasures.

which girl? i saw many and i watched them all.

on second thought, i suppose it would be rude of me to intrude on another man's domain.

you are only slightly more attractive to me than a slime-filled pool of swamp water.

are you dispensing professional advice now?

and here i was becoming rather fond of the idea of you watching me closely.

that cynicism will serve you well, my friend. hold onto it.

[daydream-cement]

can you please write some larissa x reader where the reader has scoliosis and is super insecure about how their back looks since their shoulder blade sticks out and their rib cage is crooked and is in a good amount of pain from it. i’ve been feeling super insecure and bad about my body and i just want some comfort from her.

Beautiful Bodies

Larissa Weems x student!reader

Authors Note: I hope this can make many of my readers feel comforted in the fact that you all have beautiful bodies. I apologize if I didn’t encapsulate scoliosis in a meaningful way. I tried my best.

I used a poem by a creator named Lydia as a part of my inspiration. Here is the link to her poem. I also used inspiration from Amy Poehler’s book and a favorite poem by Amanda Lovelace.

“Good afternoon, Y/n.” Your ever-professional Principal sat next to you as you studied in the library. You were actually pretending to study, but who cares either which way. You looked up and over to her, looking away from your computer screen, even seated she was much taller than you.

“Good afternoon, Principal Weems.” You give her a light smile, unsure of why she was seated with you. Typically, Principal Weems didn’t see students for the fun of it. She wanted to talk to you about something and you didn’t think that you had committed any infractions.

“The school nurse came and talked to me about your most recent visit to see her…” Larissa gently prodded around the topic, wanting you to speak freely rather than her pry it out of you. She wanted yo to want to speak about your scoliosis and how it makes you feel rather than making you uncomfortable.

You take a deep breath and shift your body so you could speak to her, “I’m okay really. I think I was just having a hard day so I just broke down. I’m better now.”

Your response wasn’t reassuring to Principal Weems. She smiled gently and tilted her head at you, “You can talk to me, honey. It’s just us in here.”

“You don’t know what it’s like.” You tried shutting down the conversation before it could truly get started, but Principal Weems persisted

“No, I don’t, but I do know what its like to not feel beautiful.” You sat there in silence, a little upset with her that she decided to bring up your deep insecurities. You shifted uncomfortably, not wanting to look at her any longer.

“I hated my height growing up and my peers even made it clear that I was a little too tall. When I still dated men, most thought I was too tall. It’s hard trying to fit into the beauty box that others want us in. For a long time, I shape-shifted to not be myself. I’ve never regretted something more.” Principal Weems began sharing her experiences with you.

“When we are young, especially young women, there is a little demon of sorts that begins walking with us. He will tell us all of these horrible things that we sometimes may begin to believe about ourselves.” Principal Weems wisdom was beginning to make some sense, you listened, but you remained skeptical of her words, “Now, with good friends or an even better therapist, we begin to tame the demon, making him smaller and smaller until we can relegate him to a shelf in the back of our closet. Every so often mine comes out of hiding now to tell me my height is strange for a woman or that my stature inhibits my femininity. And I tell him, ‘I am far too busy for your funny business today.’”

Her joke made you smile, but you still weren’t feeling exactly better about yourself. Principal Weems reached out tenderly, placing a hand on your shoulder and rubbing it gently, “As a brilliant poet once said, you don’t need to look a certain way to earn someone’s heart, no matter your shape, no matter your size, be proud of all the space your body dares to take up.”

Principal Weems scooted a little closer and wrapped an arm around your shoulders, giving you the lightest of side hugs, “Our bodies are incredibly unique. I’m sorry for the pain you go through. It’s certainly not fair in the grand scheme of things, but you should know that you, my dear, are beautiful.”

[cartograffiti]

February '24 reading diary

I finished 19 books in February, which sounded like a mistake until I realized I read most of them as audiobooks while doing manual tasks. It's always nice when my ears are on my side (says someone with a hearing disorder).

I like poetry, but I don't read enough to feel knowledgeable about it. I've been trying to read a bit from various countries, and after I enjoyed the Pablo Neruda collection so much in January, I went on to read three other poetry books.

Khalil Gibran's The Prophet is one of those works that I've seen quoted out of context so much that I was shocked to discover I didn't actually know what it's about. It's a series of prose poetry fables with a linking plot in which the titular prophet converses with the people of a city he is departing about different aspects of life. A lot of it is really beautiful and thought-provoking, and I thought it was great. It's become a popular source of quotes for weddings and inspirational goods, but I was surprised and moved to find it's also a text about multi-faith unity; Gibran was Lebanese, and Lebanon had and has striking diversity of religions.

I also really enjoyed The Poetess Counts to 100 and Bows Out, a collection by the important Venezuelan poet Ana Enriqueta Terán. I find her wordplay unusual and her subjects interesting, and even in translation, I found her work to give a powerful sense of humor and hopefulness, and a gift for creating a scene.

I did not enjoy Rupi Kaur's Milk and Honey. Kaur is one of the most famous living poets, and I had read so much praise and disdain for her work that I wanted to form my own opinion. There are turns of phrase I really liked, and it is laid out in an interesting way that means some related poems could be read either distinctly or as sections of a longer thought, which I found neat. But I found myself so grumpy the more I read of it that I ended up also reading a lot about Kaur and other people's analysis of her work, trying to contextualize why I bounced so hard off it. Many critics wrote about trying to separate her style from her content, and chose to praise just one or the other, but I am critical of both. Her style lacks personality that would tell me it was her work as opposed to any other poet's, and her content is full of basic, played-out sentiments of popular feminism and bathetic viral posts. Being reminded of "take me to a museum and then make out with me," "but they said not to touch the masterpieces," is not what I'd hoped for out of this. I do think it's a good thing and a strength of Kaur's that she is able to speak to so many people's common experiences through her clarity and intimate tone; it's a shame it didn't click with me. And unlike several professional opinions I read, I think she's completely entitled to write poetry that is not all self-revealing confessional pieces; that should not be something we demand of any art form. But it's a shame some of her verses suggest that certain kinds of shame and violence are a collective and integral part of womanhood and South Asian identity. She's only a little older than I am, and we were both students when she wrote these. I wonder whether her recent work is more sophisticated. I'm not motivated to find out.

The title of the Kaur book reminded me of some enthusiastic praise I'd read for Mary Robinette Kowal's Regency fantasy romance Shades of Milk and Honey, and I found that disappointing, too. I almost liked it; there's some great bits about making art with magic, and it's a good little world. The most interesting character doesn't get enough page time, a lot of secondary characters feel like flat loans from Austen, and the late-book resolution was forced and rushed.

In the Emelan group read, we finished! We read Melting Stones, an Evvy-centered book that I really enjoyed until it became repetitive in the second half, and feel pretty mild about, and The Will of the Empress, reuniting all the original kids as older teens, which I thought was just great. Pierce in top form, and one of the best of this setting.

Lois McMaster Bujold has a new Penric & Desdemona novella out that I haven't been able to borrow yet, but in the meantime I discovered there was one I missed. Penric is a physician mage devoted to an unusual god, which means he's benignly possessed by his demon friend Desdemona, and they have adventures and solve mysteries. This one was Knot of Shadows, about a puzzling corpse and curses. Great fun. Don't start here.

In the land of romance, I've been really enjoying Mimi Matthews's Belles of London series, about a friend group of interesting Victorian horse girls, so I read The Lily of Ludgate Hill as soon as I could. These are no-sex but sexy books with a lot of skill. I've been easily invested in each couple so far, the friends are well integrated into each other's lives even after resolving their own storylines, and their new beaus are introduced smoothly. More than that, there is a lot of consideration for the social issues and new ideas of the period. My favorite is still the first, but Anne and Felix have a strong second chance romance backstory and they're fun to see squabble and cooperate.

More romance: I finished another Gail Carriger novella, this time Defy or Defend. Dimity Plumleigh-Teignmott in the Finishing School series was only learning to be a spy because her evil genius parents wanted it. Her actual dream was to marry a nice politician of not too much importance and be a domestic goddess and social power. Now an adult working for the government, her professional partner is also her perfect man, and she hopes he'll admit to mutual feelings while they're on a mission to rescue a vampire hive from dangerous disintegration. It's very much a Cold Comfort Farm or The Grand Sophy plot of a cheerful girl solving everyone's problems, which is perfect for Dimity: I love her and I love this premise. Felix's internal conflict is a bit of a nonentity, but I don't care, he's too busy adoring Dimity and taking the trans vampire to buy new clothes.

And the last romance for the month, The Companion by E.E. Ottoman. An extraordinarily efficient novella about Madeline, a writer whose spirit has been crushed by trying to break into the industry in NYC in the 1940s. A friend arranges for her to go stay with Victor, a successful author lonely in a too-big inherited house upstate. She is quickly attracted to both him and his artist neighbor Audrey, and they adore her. All three are trans, and the core of the plot is Madeline navigating these new relationships while settling into the unfamiliar safety and encouragement offered to her. In Madeline's POV, Ottoman very much treats the poly triangle as two distinct romances and a third observed at a close distance, which means doing about 2.5 times the work of most. I went wild for the execution, which felt like magic. You do have to like reading about people trying to write and cooking, which fortunately I do. Highly recommended.

A very different book about a writer that I was impressed with this month is Malice by Higashino Keigo. In translation, this is the "first" of a longer detective series that I can't remember where I heard about. That was to my advantage, because I wasn't primed for the premise, alternating between the deductions of Detective Kaga and witness statements. It quickly becomes apparent who did it, fitting best into the why-dunnit class, and using my expectations as a mystery fan against me. Higashino does not idly use an author as one of the POV characters; his profession creates a surprise that taught me something about how writing works mechanically. Very cool.

Also a book about books: Sunyi Dean's The Book Eaters. My oldest friend and I both listened to this as the audiobook wonderfully read by Katie Erich, and we both complained that the interview in the bonus material killed a little of the mystery for us. Despite that, we loved the main character, Devon, and it's full of interesting ideas. It's about a group of families who eat information instead of food. It's about...fairy tales and it has a unique form of dragon and vampire myths and a slow-burn escape from Christian cults. It's about figuring out you're gay when you're already a parent. It's weird and fascinating and upsetting. I think Dean made very smart choices about when to reveal information through flashbacks, and I think Dean sometimes over-explains things to the reader in the narration that would have been stronger if I was left to interpret them myself. L and I both think we'd be interested in another Sunyi Dean book, but not a sequel to this one. It is a complete concept.

I feel that way about Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon by Wole Talabi, too. This one is a fantasy heist with lots of backstory starring Shigidi, who is a kind of minor nightmare god, and Nnemoa, who is a kind of succubus. They have gone freelance, breaking from the corporation of Orisha and taking their own jobs through the living and spirit worlds. I particularly like Nnemoa's backstory chapters and the heist, but Aleister Crowley is involved for some reason and much less repulsive than in real life, and I was disappointed the heist is a pretty brief element. I'd like to read another Talabi book, though, and this was the first adult book I've read that features the orishas of the Yoruba religion which have been a welcome part of several recent YA fantasy books.

The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water is not the Zen Cho book I thought it was when I checked it out, but I'm glad to have read it. It's a wuxia novella about a nun and some bandits involved in rebellion, told with a lot of humor and thoughtfulness about the role of holy objects through the POV of a trans bandit with his own history with the nun's order. I love Cho's style!

That was a one-sitting project audiobook, as was a full-cast play recording of The Importance of Being Earnest. This is a sensational play that I had put off reading because I thought it had probably been overhyped. It hadn't. This is the source of a lot of Oscar Wilde's best quotes, and it's a jewel of drawing-room comedy and dialogue that operates on multiple levels of significance. I'm glad I happened to listen to actors doing it, which I wasn't expecting when I tapped on the first audiobook that came up.

More old books: I found an Agatha Christie mystery I didn't like! How sad! This was The Big Four, a series of spy short stories starring Hercule Poirot and Captain Hastings, compiled together into a loose novel. The effect is somewhat disjointed, and not every story shows her ingenuity. It's full of 20th century political paranoia of conspiracies and spies, with anti-Asian racism and antisemitic tropes I can often count on Christie to avoid or subvert.

And Steppenwolf, by Herman Hesse, which is a very strange and influential work of literary fiction about a man who believes--not to minimize it by putting it this way--that he has a secret wolf-self inside him, much like certain middle schoolers of my acquaintance. The edition I listened to opens with a letter from Hesse in which he remarks that this book is frequently misunderstood, which I will admit put my back up. Maybe there's stuff in your book you didn't intend, Herman! I enjoyed its vagueness, I adored the complexity embodied by Harry Haller's friend/alter-ego/mother/girlfriend/boyfriend Hermine, and I got a lot out of reading literary analysis that gave me better context for the transmigration of souls and Jungian theory. It also suffers from didactic passages, racism and antisemitism, and dogmatism about artistic quality. Very worth reading, difficult to say whether I "liked" the book.

Carrying on with Dorothy Dunnett's Lymond books, I went straight from GK into Queens' Play, which I loved every moment of. It's easier to read than the first book, as she pulled back on stylized spellings and puzzling quotations, without losing any sparkle or punch. It's sooo fun. It's sooo distressing. Spies! Plots! Assassins! Disguises! Escapes! Messy bisexuals! I told my Lymond friends this book was funnier, but that feels like the wrong word for some of the things that happen in it. Giggling and kicking my feet and crying.

And a book I am very solidly neutral on: The City Beautiful by Aden Polydoros, full of vibrant personality and a great premise, but the plot gets in its own way in complexity and the pacing was a real struggle for my taste. The core cast is really strongly varied Jewish immigrant characters in Chicago in the 1890s, some teens have been murdered, there's a dybbuk, and gay kissing. I think I would have enjoyed it more when I was a teen; some YA takes me that way.