#i love writing essays about my little fictional men :)

[wordstome]

your brain holds so many scrumptious thoughts and ideas I absolutely adore reading anything you have to say.

that being said, König and his relationship to god and religion, discuss plz

hold for a second.

I'm standing outside your house with a baseball bat, because what do you MEANNNNNN dumb shit. I won't have you speak that way about these ideas that I like so much!!!

Alright then rolls sleeves let's get into it.

To be totally honest with you, Alexander (my König) just doesn't really think about religion at all. He grew up Catholic, but his family was never really that devout, so to him being Catholic is just something he puts down when forms ask him for religious affiliation. However, since I love some good religious guilt in my men, let's crank his Catholicism up to max.

...sorry, I got distracted by the idea of König in a preacher's collar. Can you imagine a little König in a Catholic schoolboy uniform? Ahhhhhhhhh the aesthetic of Catholicism. So much better than the actual religion. Anyway, do you remember that post "this character believes himself abandoned by God?" I think that's the essence of König's relationship with God. I don't know if you guys remember, but being a kid/teen SUCKS, y'all. I can easily see König going through childhood bullying and adopting a "if God exists, he will have to answer to me" attitude. Later in life I can absolutely see this merging with his anxiety coping mechanism, which is his emphasized confidence and arrogance. I don't think he develops a god complex necessarily, but something adjacent to it. It's actually quite well described in @kaiasdevotion's fic Break My Mind, specifically in chapter 6:

"Frankly, it makes no sense to him. He's killed many, butchered plenty, and murdered countless. Most die quietly, and some die bravely. One bunch dies with honor, a fucking joke of duty they pretend to hold onto. The other bunch, however, dies praying. To a god, to a higher power, to whoever strained voices can reach. But why? Why ask for mercy? Who are you asking? God? But it's him that's holding the weapon, is it not? Is it not König who has burning metal pushed down a bleeding tongue?"

(Kaia, you're brilliant.)

König definitely thinks faith is wasted on God, but true to his upbringing and his anxiety, he has a bad, bad, sense of Catholic guilt. If he felt like a dirty old pervert jerking off to your panties before, he feels even worse about it when his Catholic guilt kicks in. He's kind of absorbed a lot of those ideals about purity and sin, but rather than him caring about his own immortal soul or whatever (he's already done enough shit to constitute being sent to hell, and honestly, sometimes he thinks he's already in hell, so who gives a shit?) he worries about tainting you. As if his own existence in proximity to yours, his unquenchable hunger for your touch will corrupt your very being. He definitely beats himself up for that, but he's also got that demon in him, so it's certainly not going to stop him if you reciprocate.

And speaking of you, I can very easily see König doing the whole Hozier thing where his lover becomes his god. He will worship you, pray to you, and devote his life to you if you let him. The Take Me to Church parallels are obvious: "The only heaven I'll be sent to is when I'm alone with you [...] I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies // I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife // Offer me that deathless death // good God let me give you my life" I think König eventually detaches sinfulness from sexuality, and in fact associates it with virtue. The act of pleasuring his partner is like worship. And it’s a lot more fun than Mass, that’s for sure.

That serves as our segue into Foreigner’s God. Especially observant OGs may have noticed that I used some lyrics from Foreigner’s God as the title of a chapter of Shrike, because it just fit so well. But Foreigner’s God is sooo König (honestly reminds me of @kneelingshadowsalome Fatum Nos Iungebit König)

“She moved with shameless wonder // The perfect creature rarely seen” is just the way König thinks of his lover, very reverent. “Wondering who I copy // Mustering some tender charm” I do think König can and does learn to be charming, but it’s definitely something he learns with age and experience, and it’s still easy for him to be caught off guard and become awkward again when talking to a lady. This is kind of emblematic of his insecurities regarding the way he talks to people.

“She feels no control of her body // She feels no safety in my arms” You could take this line down a very dark yandere path, but for a softer König I tend to interpret it as projecting his own anxiety onto his lover: he’s always going to be some big, (sometimes far older) pervert who doesn’t know how to act or put them at ease with words. He worries that when his lover is with him, it’s always because he’s forced them in some way, and they don’t truly like him or feel safe with him.

“I've no language left to say it // But all I do is quake to her // Breaking if I try convey it // The broken love I make to her” sort of a continuation of both of the above. He finds himself awkward and stoic and not charming at all, but he loves his partner, and he thinks the easiest way for him to convey that is making love to them. Which admittedly he tends to be good at, if not with experience then sheer dedication (his size doesn’t hurt of course).

“Screaming the name of a foreigner’s god” While of course this works for a lover who isn’t Austrian/doesn’t speak German, I think König has definitely felt like a perpetual foreigner, othered by society at several points in his life. His lover is his god. He may be unworthy of them, but he will always be devoted. That’s his own sort of religious fanaticism. It’s like this quote by John Keats, which serves as my tl;dr for this entire post tbh:

“I have been astonished that men could die martyrs for their religion—

I have shuddered at it,

I shudder no more.

I could be martyred for my religion.

Love is my religion

and I could die for that.

I could die for you.”

and that’s Königcore as hell.

[lowliest-manifestations]

Okay! I'm finally putting together some of my more specific Bending the Willow thoughts and this passage:

"Perhaps it was as Jeremy Brett noted: 'Women want to possess him, while men want to be him.' There is certainly some truth in that statement, but the idea is incomplete. I believe male readers not only identify with Holmes, but also experience, in the same way that D. H. Lawrence identified what he referred to as a 'blood consciousness' between men, a kind of spiritual closeness akin to love."

Is making me the kind of insane that makes me want to write like 17 essays. But in absence of the time needed to actually do that here are some of my main thoughts in a more disorganized fashion:

Overall I've noticed a really wild amount of gender essentialism within Sherlockian communities/ scholarship, and I know that a lot of that can be chalked up to the fact that even modern writings are done mostly by older white men, but I also think there's something about the text itself that encourages this. Sherlock Holmes is pretty fucking victorian about gender (Irene Adler occupies a weird space but I do not believe she is in any way exempt from those attitudes.) and I think sometimes scholars find themselves reflecting the values of a text that they do not want to admit is imperfect.

I think this passage pinpoints exactly how a lot of people gender their expectations of how reader are to interact with Sherlock Holmes and texts like it, and Sherlock Holmes in turn becomes kind of weird for women to interact with. For the most part people want to see themselves somewhere in the text, but women in particular are told that we cannot find ourselves within the main character. Some people may be fine with that, lots of people don't want to relate to Holmes and their enjoyment of the text does not come from seeing themselves in that particular character. Some women also genuinely want to relate to the text by fantasizing about being in a relationship with Holmes, and more power to them, but their feeling is not a default, no matter how hard anybody pretends it is.

The fact is that plenty of women do want to be Holmes, and they face an interesting dilemma if they are trying to hold that while still operating under the framework hinted at in this passage. Instead of projecting onto him directly they must find ways to be close to him, be a reflection of him, be him but a girl (without replacing him! don't worry!). I think that's why there's sooo much fiction out there about secret sisters, female apprentices, wit-matching lovers etc. (I myself would pretend to be Sherlock Holmes' secret daughter as a kid. I bought into this shit!)

This framework is also not particularly normal about men who may not see themselves in Holmes at all and who may, in fact, also be capable of fantasizing about having a relationship with him! Queer men exist! (within this passage in fact.) And I know Stuart Davies did not mean to acknowledge this when he wrote of "a kind of spiritual closeness akin to love." but he does put it somewhat homoerotically in a way that left me reeling a little bit.

I do understand the feeling described by Stuart Davies, even if the way he writes of it makes me laugh a little in its dramatics. I simply do not think it is a feeling exclusive to men... I don't think any feelings are exclusive to any gender. And in the end I think that's the idea that really frustrates me.

Of course this passage is also from 1996, it's a product of its time, I get it. I also know that people have had More expansive/critical/interesting ideas about Sherlock Holmes in relation to gender before and since it was written, and I don't think it reflects what everyone really believes. BUT I do think it hit the nail on the head of a phenomena I have noticed since childhood and affirmed that I wasn't imagining things. While also being. Kind of funny.

[storyofthenauseouseye]

The Duality of Woman: Anais Nin

Vogue Magazine, Anais Nin talks about being a woman, 15 October 1971

Anais Nin is a woman of duality. It's been a well-known fact for those who know or love her that she is truly a two-sided coin. She said it herself in her book Henry and June,

"I will always be the virgin prostitute, the perverse angel, the two-faced sinister and saintly woman"(bookquoters.com).

From her intense marriages to two different men on opposite sides of the country, to her literary career, to even her personal reflections and essays, Nin was a figure bathed in duality. How does one split the image of Anais Nin ideally in half? You just have to find the seam between diarist and eroticist.

The Diarist

Anais Nin is most well-loved by her adoring fans because of her published diary. As a young girl, Nin wrote her father a letter begging him to return to the family he had abandoned (The Anais Nin Foundation). This was the beginning of Nin's diary, which would be published in seven volumes, with four unexpurgated diaries later appearing after their original publication.

Her diaries were incredibly personal, full of secrets and thoughts she never thought would come to light. The biggest secret within these diaries was that she was married to two different men simultaneously, something she would remove from the diaries upon initial publication. Years later, Nin compiled the removed sections into one volume, the first of her unexpurgated diaries. It was called Henry and June, and detailed the letters and writings the two shared. The duality of Nin stretched throughout every aspect of her life.

These highly intimate journals struck twentieth-century American women directly in their souls. As one journalist famously put it in an article for The Conversation,

Anaïs Nin dreamed, in all senses. She dreamed of lives and possibilities. She dreamed in slumber and allowed her dreams to leak into the day. As I regularly committed the cardinal social sin of recounting my dreams over breakfast, she seemed a soulmate across oceans and generations (Gorman).

These teenage girls and their daydreams were instantly hooked on Nin's likeminded wonder and splendid prose. She became a sensation after the diary publications almost instantly, giving her a decent seat in literary history.

It wouldn't be long until something else gave her another boost of fame.

Ramon Casas, Decadent Young Woman. After the Dance, 1899

The Eroticist

In the late 1970s, Anais Nine published three volumes of erotic short fiction, each containing approximately ten stories. Despite their popularity, the term erotic is a tad inappropriate. Although she wasn't a follower of the transgressive art movement like Georges Bataille, Anais Nin's erotic stories are more disturbing and controversial than actually arousing.

Nin wrote about such topics as sexual abuse, incest, pedophilia, and other forms of sexual violence within her stories. These works would go on to shock and challenge readers even today (Maza).

Lost Lenore Antiques, Anais Nin ~ Little Birds and Delta of Venus ~ 1st Edition Books ~ Vintage Erotica, 27 August 2021

Works Cited

The Anais Nin Foundation. “bio — The Anais Nin Foundation.” The Anais Nin Foundation, https://theanaisninfoundation.org/bio. Accessed 11 December 2023.

Gorman, Alice. “The book that changed me: journeying to the self with Anaïs Nin's sensual, transgressive diaries.” The Conversation, 25 April 2022, https://theconversation.com/the-book-that-changed-me-journeying-to-the-self-with-ana-s-nins-sensual-transgressive-diaries-176135. Accessed 11 December 2023.

Maza, Sarah, and Paul Herron. “Swinging: The Double Life of Anaïs Nin.” Public Books, 19 February 2018, https://www.publicbooks.org/swinging-the-double-life-of-anais-nin/. Accessed 11 December 2023.

Nin, Anaïs. “Quotes from Henry and June: From "A Journal of Love"--The Unexpurgated Diary of Anaïs Nin by Anaïs Nin.” BookQuoters, https://bookquoters.com/book/henry-and-june-from-a-journal-of-love-the-unexpurgated-diary-of-anais-nin. Accessed 11 December 2023.

Further Reading

[limophoitos]

a list of fictional characters whom i wholeheartedly believe are bisexual (+some explanation)

now, i usually operate off of the policy 'assume bi unless proven otherwise' when it comes to fictional characters, but these are ones that nothing you do can convince me they are not bi

~harry potter; how can you read the books and NOT think this

~ginny weasley; girl likes girls. what more can I say. ig i just also love bi-husband/bi-wife as a ship

~jeff winger; mans clearly likes women but also is a little bit too obsessed with other men's bodies and lives in general for there to not be something. i am a stout believer in jeff x doctor rich. (i could write an entire essay analyzing him as a character but moving on)

~tony stark; semi-canon anyways but like?? have you Seen the man

~loki laufeyson; canon but worth mentioning bc didn't all of us always know it?

~chloe decker; even though she and lucifer are sickeningly in love with each other, seeing him being so open about his sexuality early in their friendship def made her more comfortable about her own

~peter parker; yes, every single interation. tobey!peter had a crush on harry osborn AND mary jane, andrew!peter is basically confirmed, and tom!peter def had his bi awakening through thor

~dean winchester; i don't even like/watch spn but GOD even i know it

~max mayfield; even though i am 100% lumax i know deep in my heart that max and el kissed after they broke with with lucas and mike SPEAKING OF WHICH

~mike wheeler; do i need to explain

~lee cheongsan; he and suhyeok should have been endgame but i love onjo and so does he still

will be extended in the future!!

[witsserviceablesubstitute]

It’s definitely a majority of newer fans who both don’t get the history between Buck and Eddie, but also who don’t care. They came into the series because Buck kissed a man, as well as already knowing the rep that a lot of Buddie shippers tend to hate all the women love interests. So their entire experience watching the first six seasons is clouded by wanting be contrarian.

Which is not a terrible thing since the women didn’t deserve the hate as they got, but rooting for bi!Buck while actively ignoring the relationship built between him and Eddie just so you can not be called a Buddie shipper and champion for Tommy once you get to that season, is weird.

That said, my post was mainly because I was trying to scroll the tag and was only seeing post after post after post about Tommy being the greatest friend and love interest Buck has had, so I was being mildly petty. Because Buck has great relationships with the people in his life, and Eddie is extremely important to him regardless of if they become a couple. There is no need to punch down on him because folks want to uplift Tommy, but they don’t seem to get that.

And I know there are Buddie shippers who punch down on Tommy, but I’ve said before, they’re the same people who dragged the women. So at least they’re consistent. This new wave of drama is purely because Buck is bi now, and a lot of the shippers who defended the women no longer care about them and are actively dismissing Buck’s past relationships to praise Tommy. Which is hypocritical and very common in fandom, but goodness is it annoying sometimes. Especially when it’s as unnecessary as it is in this context.

Heya! There's a lot of magical overthinking in fandoms because it comprises a very large group of different people from different places writing essays about a text (like the nerds we all are). Fandoms are kinda big tutorials and when things become toxic it's a little like when academia becomes toxic. Do you know how many articles I've read that were basically hating on the previous article? I was an English Lit Major— there are entire novels that are aggressive refutations of the arguments made in other novels (so much effort).

Toxic divisions in fandom aren't so much about people trying to be contrary or consciously hateful. It's fear of in-group rejection and trying to say something bigger about themselves, their experiences, and their beliefs and using a text to do so. Cycles of creating in-groups and out-groups within fandoms (which is what ship wars do) is more about what state the individuals are in, and what they're trying to communicate and signal about themselves then it is about the characters or relationship. Protecting a fictional relationship becomes about protecting the ego, the pride, a world view, a sense of self, of self worth, of decorum... Etc. Therefore, a position is chosen and ground cannot be ceded because doing so is an ego death and others doing so feels like a betrayal.

It's why I hate ship wars so much. It's not about the bigger picture or the queer narratives or about championing anything. If it were then conceding would be easier. I could say something like, "I think the writing for Karen, and Buck and Eddie's love interests is misogynistic but indicative of network television" and it wouldn't feel like an attack. Instead they'd want to expand and evolve my points on misogynistic storytelling. I could talk about how the choices they made with Buck and Eddie were homoerotic, how denying it is unhelpful, without triggering a flurry of passive aggressive refutations. Instead they'd want to engage in why television storytelling is full of socialist brotherhoods (thank you Chinese danmei fans for that term). I could talk about how honestly amazing it is that Buck can explore an attraction to men at all, no matter who he's with, without it feeling like I'm hurting people. Because it is a big deal. I'd argue Stiles and Dean were more bi-coded and they absolutely weren't coming out of that celluloid closet.

Speaking of Dean. Another thing that ship wars do is choose an enemy. This can looks like one side making an enemy out of the institution of television itself and that being the justification for harassment (it's not). When that happens the other side can overcorrect by being the institutions greatest protectors and that becomes the justification for harassing fans in the out-group (it's not). However, unlike people in television who have systems in place to deal with harassment, disenfranchised queer fans do not. And, honestly, the thing that made me hate Supernatural was not Destiel. It was watching a young woman tell Jensen Ackles that Dean meant so much to her as a bisexual woman and the room turning on her immediately. An overcorrection. The rage I felt as I watched her tremble as they boo'd her... I can't watch Supernatural without feeling some echo of it.

[muffichka]

aaaa hi! hello! i hope things are going well for you.

i stumbled on Manufactured Savagery, and am losing my mind over it in the best way. 😩 hoping this isn't an imposition, but it's gotten me curious if you would be willing at all to share and recommend any other writings you love? literature, fiction, poetry, essays, more fanfiction, anyanyanything? i would be immensely grateful!!

Hello! Hi!

I am so sorry to leave this unanswered for so long. This is the best question, and I hope you are having a brilliant day/week/undefined period of time.

I am...a slow and fussy reader. A slow everything, really. But! Here are some things I love:

The most recent fic I've been savouring is Opia by Wanderlust96 - the writing is brilliant. It hits the Suffering Will™️ notes with incision whilst still maintaining the brittle, spiky brutality of him.

BOOKS!

The Claustrophilia series by Ezra Blake is a favourite - it began as a notorious Hannibal fic, a reptutation earned by being so gloriously, unflinching violent. Perverse. In the best way.

Moving away from fandom: Alison Rumfitt is spectacular. Her debut novel Tell Me I'm Worthless is a modern day gothic horror, and much more than this. It scrutinises the existence and treatment of people in the UK who are socially 'Othered'. Subject-wise, it's not a lighthearted read, but then neither is existing, so. Her second novel, Brainwyrms, is also a hell of a journey. It's even harder to describe the simultaneous horror and delight of reading this. Cannot recommend highly enough.

Also loved Gretchen Felker-Martin's Manhunt, which is more splatterpunk but also heartbreaking at times. A solid post-apocalyptic gore-fest. The ter fs do not fare well :)

Anything by Derek Des Anges. He's brilliant. His observations dig a lot deeper than most, without being verbose, and there's a brutal humour underpinning everything. My favourite of his is The Next Big One (written pre-covid) which is (hopefully, still) only partially prophetic.

A little more light-of-heart (as much as a meditation on grief can be): Our Wives Under The Sea, by Julia Armfield.

Also love a good lethal woman story: Boy Parts by Eliza Clark, Maeve Fly by C.J. Leede and Bad Men by Julie Cohen.

That's all I can think of for now. I'm staring at a copy of George Bataille's Story of the Eye that I've been meaning to read ever since Of Montreal referenced it in that song about 17 years ago. One day.

If you have any recommendations, please share them! I am An Uncultured, and always welcome suggestions.

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

s2 episode 11 thoughts

okay!!!! i've kept you waiting long enough. now let's get into the things i liked about this episode while ignoring the stuff i didn't.

first. mulder walking into his office. and scully sitting there in the dark, watching a tape.

this had me HOWLING. how did she get in there? she keeps a key to his house and his office on hand at all times? the level of casualness with which he turned on the lights only for dana scully to be sitting in his office chair, as if it were the most natural of things in the world, floored me. she made herself welcome. she looks up and says hello.

then we get a little lore break to learn about the case and yeah yeah case stuff hold on. did she just say she got there at 6 am?

yes, you heard me correctly, she made her way into his office at 6 in the morning to watch the video and go through all of the related x files. i think i had tears in my eyes at this point and i definitely do now as i recount it. dana scully you are such a little weirdo and i love you so bad. i hope you enjoyed your time rummaging through his stuff. glad his space has really become yours as well.

and his entire lack of reaction to her being there pushed me even further over the edge. like, sure. at this point in their relationship, why not walk in to see her sitting at your desk and going through all your shit? the level of casual intimacy is at once so fucking funny and so heartwarming.

(a few weeks ago i was chatting with a friend about our top five favorite fictional characters, and i made the argument that scully and mulder ought to count as just one character for the sake of the ranking, because of how entirely they blend into one person. and her just being there when he opens the door- and having been there for hours at that point- really solidifies my reasoning. and i had made that argument BEFORE seeing any of s2, let alone this moment)

the next moment that had me laughing was when they went to the convalescent home (which wasn't a word i was familiar with before all of this) and our poor agents get stuck questioning a 74 year old man during his bath time. i already had a "oh noooo" feeling of dread about the whole situation- for how could the academy prepare them for this? and sure enough, he flashed them.

now, this was, like i mentioned in an earlier post, part of an attempt at social commentary that i could and might write an essay on- but let's set that aside here, and just deal with the fact that our poor agents have been put into such an awkward position, while understanding that the scene is being played for comedic value despite how awful that would be irl. because mulder smiles and says "thanks for sharing", while scully also bites back laughter. their faces at this moment had me laughing. it was such a "fuck my entire life" moment for both of them and i felt that extreme case of tv show-induced secondhand embarrassment.

and i think they handled it quite well!!! have we considered giving them a raise? for having to deal with all the haunted children and now creepy old men? god. their poor eyes. "thanks for sharing" stfu mulder... he cannot act seriously for ONE minute!!!!!!

there was another big ass coats moment when they walked outside and spoke with someone involved in running the program. and you know by now that's catnip to me!!!

one of the old men starts choking to death (he was taking mushroom pills he wasn't supposed to) and scully slips into Doctor Mode and it was deeply satisfying to watch. she starts saying fancy words and calling out for certain medications- "this man's in ventricular fibrillation, i need 75 milligrams of lidocaine and one amp of amphinephrine" and i'm sat there like yes. exactly right!!! she's doing serious doctor business!!!!

(i need to edit this image to make it appropriate for when her doctor mode takes over. because this is what i'm always referencing when i say someone is "shifting into ____ mode" and i don't think i've ever spelled that out before so i should here. have not seen seinfeld just saw this image one day and it permanently altered my vocabulary)

there's another moment where she's having a doctor-off with the dude who worked at the place and she said the line "the clinical benefits are marginal at best" and idk man i just like to see her doing her doctorly thing.

(she also gets very doctorly excited about the idea of there being improvements for incurable conditions such as alzheimer's and it's good to see some joy on her)

next thing that had me laughing:

"are you saying that the building's haunted? because if you are, i think you've been working with me for too long, scully" <- said in a flirtatious manner

don't remember what was going on at this point beyond someone had just fallen to death, but i wrote "another scully serving looks moment in the midst of tragedy" and i stand by it. this is really an epidemic. scully stop working angles in front of the dead... or don't because i'm not actually complaining <3

we also see mulder prowling down a dark and damp hall and cracking open a lock to break into a room. which seemed like a typical activity for a guy like him. literally just a tuesday in his life. he found a bunch of mushrooms and i made a frantic note reading along the lines of DO NOT TOUCH THEM because famously mushrooms WILL kill you but he seemed unharmed. thank god.

he's all, what if the mushrooms are what is helping the patients, and scully delivers this banger line: "mulder, mushrooms aren't medicine. they taste good on hamburgers, but they can't raise the dead"

which is 1. a hilarious fucking line just for its sheer ridiculousness, and 2. a critical insight into how scully orders her burgers... which i WILL be adding to my list of useless character facts

the episode winds down with mulder getting trapped in a room with rapidly rising water and we see the door SLAM right before scully can witness the ghosts tossing things about. and the commitment to that gag of her never actually seeing the paranormal stuff really got me there.

then, the door breaks due to the water, and everyone is soaking wet, which is always a good look.

overall, highlight of this episode to me was by far scully breaking into his office at 6 am. nothing will top that for me in terms of comedic value. it has become Her space now. she has claimed you mulder, there is no going back, you are in far too deep and thank god for that because you freaks deserve each other.

[someuncreativity]

Fuck it here’s part two of

My Ranking of How Quickly I’d Let These Fictional Men Rearrange My Organs

Still BotW/TotK edition because look at these men

You get the point, it’s gonna be hella NSFW because read the title

Oh but also this time I’m formatting the prompts like Stanzi Potenza’s “Animated Men I Would Sell My Body To At a Discount Price, The Discount Being Free Because I Would Never Make These Fine Gentlemen Pay For a Whore Like Me” series on YouTube

Cuz why not

But also this is just me thirsting after the most atrocious and/or attractive men in the Zelda universe

6. Master Kogha

This man may not be a fine dining experience, but he’s definitely worth your time for a banana or two.

A solid six-out-of-ten, the only thing that rivals your hatred for his superhero alter ego is his dad bod that puts furry artists on Twitter to shame.

They say that everything’s better with friends, and this man has a couple that would sweeten the deal, and as it happens, red spandex is absolutely up my alley.

A dork playing glorified dress-up doesn’t sound fun until his devotion to a demon king threatens an entire nation, and I am 100% here for it.

5. Revali

Fun fact, my favorite bird to eat is chicken, partially because I’m basic, but also because I could see myself sinking my canines into that cock.

His aim is im-peck-able, pun intended and unashamed, and he’s certain to get a bullseye into my heart.

I know he’s an egomaniac, but in the deep, dark, crevices of my mind, I know he’s mentally ruined. It’s the lifelong trauma and the “I can fix him” for me.

I love Rito clothing, especially since this man’s version of is the sluttiest thing on earth. After looking at him, I’m certain I’m not getting cold anytime soon.

He could treat me like the scum of the earth and I’d still be on all fours polishing his arrow free of charge. He’s like if a Disney prince realized he was a Disney prince.

4. Daruk

The only Goron I’d let pound me like a quarry, this man has warmed my heart like the fiery maw of his hometown’s tourist trap.

I could write a fifty-page essay about how this man’s kindness makes My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic look like more of a joke than it already is.

I know what I’ve said about Gorons literally crushing me to death, but as long as his words of encouragement are the last thing I hear as he erupts inside of me like Death Mountain, that’s all that really matters.

That loincloth isn’t doing much in the way of covering up his Boulder Breaker, and for that, I thank the weak fabric for its service to our nation. On the plus side, it’s white, so if he ever walks in the rain, that cloth’s purpose in life will have been fulfilled.

The fact that he has a grandson makes him not just a DILF but a GILF. In my opinion, fathers age like wine, so this is a win-win for me.

Combined with his white beard which resembles a mane more than facial hair, he’s like Santa if Santa was somehow both more and less cuddly at the same time.

And I know he’s afraid of dogs, but personally, that’s fine. I’m more of a cat person anyway.

3. Teba

Take everything I said about Revali and multiply it by the “white hair equals sexy” principle, and you have the new Rito chief.

I didn’t think it was possible to find anyone edgier than the spirit inside of the Master Sword, but here we are.

It is taking every ounce of my soul not to say “I can fix him” because clearly, I can’t and he doesn’t want me to.

. I would let him cry his heart out after nearly losing everything near and dear to him. There’s no shame, sweetie.

His wings are long, and I know of a few things that are longer. Given that he has procreated, it’s clear that the hot springs aren’t the only things that’ll be hot and steamy after a night with him.

Speaking of which, he’s a loving parent and a loving husband, which makes him a DILF, and let me tell you, the second that word becomes an adjective, the snow isn’t the only white thing covering the Hebra mountains.

If he could fly me into the skies, I would watch the sunset with him in silence as we realized the real magic was inside us all along or something like that. Whatever makes him happy, and yes, if he asks for it, that includes me swallowing a few of his bird eggs.

2. Tauro

Finally, a himbo the people can rely on.

We love seeing strong, partially-head-empty men being strong, partially-head-empty men.

Only I’m pretty sure this himbo is actually smart.

Idk I haven’t played enough or focused enough in Kakariko to find out lol

This man is investigating the ring ruins but he forgot about the ring he he to put on my finger.

He is giving “I’m going to save the world” and we love that. If you don’t, I see why- I did just say I liked villains- but I’m a double-sided coin.

Speaking of coins, flip one: head or tails? Which part of me is going to need to be replaced by Rauru? I don’t know, and quite frankly, I don’t care.

I personally have some depths for him to explore, and let me tell you, it’s gonna be the cave feeling his gloom infiltrate every orifice instead, and the cave will thank him.

His hair is giving the Hot Topic version of Melanie Martinez, and let me tell you, if I wasn’t a Crybaby, this man would have turned me.

I just love that every single Hylian around is taller than Link. I also love, however, that this man also towers over them too. Honestly, that makes things even better for me personally.

As long as Miss Papaya over there doesn’t realize that Link isn’t half the hero her grandma made him out to be, we won’t have problems. No worries here, chief, just doing some Zonai excavating.

1. King Dorephan

It’s known that this man singlehandedly defeated a Guardian, but judging by his measurements, all of which make the Empire State Building look like a stack of building blocks, it’s not hard to see how.

The leader of the Zora, this man is guaranteed to make any traveler feel right at home- hopefully, between the two logs he calls legs and the other two which he uses for other less savory deeds.

Not that I would mind, he could stretch my throat out to a time when the community will stop complaining about how the company keeps retconning the story with one and turn me into a make seahorse during conception with the other and I’d still have room. I have no shame.

If his son is a ten, he would have still been a ten before inflation.

You have to love a rich man with anatomically-correct shark organs. Jaws was really just my wake-up call after all, but not really because I like my men to talk dirty.

All I ask for in life is for this DILF to stretch me like taffy and squash me like a grape. Once that is achieved, I don’t care what Ganon does to Hyrule- I found my own sacred realm, thank you very much.

[ghastlybirdie]

I've been meaning to make a post like this for a very long time and I never know how to start it out but I'm going to wing it cause I dont know my admiration for random people on Tumblr dot com could be made into a pretty essay or something so... I will yap endlessly

Writer Recommendation Series cause I can't express how much I adore my favorite writers <3

Spotlight: @glossysoap

If any of you ever want to have a good friend, a laughing buddy, a bank heist pal? Get you Glossy cause they will ABSOLUTELY be there for you.

Glossy is such a good friend to me, at this point, both on Tumblr and off, theyre such a genuinely good person and I would actually blow up the moon for this beautiful person and I adore them both as a writer and as a person. Movie nights, screaming about fictional men, playing little games, and just venting like the girlies do (gn). Glossy is just a good, genuine person. Someone like that is hard to come by. Genuinely.

I interacted with Glossy like any other; liking and reblogging mostly and silently talking to myself in tags. Then I got brave and sent anon asks, all under the 🌻 anon tag and some, and soon after (literally like 4 days later) she called for the 🌻 anon and BOOM I came into dm's. It's history from there.

Whether it's hurt/comfort (mostly hurt, girl RtC hurts me to this day lmaooo), dark themes, plus size readers, nsfw scenes, Glossy is able to write it and keep me GLUED and I mean G L U E D!!

And Glossy is so interactive! It's not hard to talk with her, even from a regular Tumblr user! You can talk to her and she's so easy to get along with, naturally funny and honest. She reblogs such good posts, even mine even though I'm a little ol' lady, and she's so ready to scream at the top of buildings about how much she adores other's writings. I can trust her and her taste. Fine cuisine, if you will!

And as with any human being, Glossy is flawed like the rest of us... And despite it all, yall best believe I'd start cheering and screaming at the top of my lungs to defend this baddie (and pretend I shake my ass or something) cause if it's fandom discourse or just shitty people being shitty people (iykyk) Glossy handles it like the ADULT she is. She can hold herself accountable and she will stand her ground, and she'll do it while serving CUUUNT (and then I shake my ass again but no really, Glossy is beautiful, her makeup skills are so sick)

SO lemme just have a list for you, cause I'm gonna go through some and leave you with homework!

Of course, please look through Glossy's masterlist! All of her works are posted there, and I can't touch on EVERYTHING that I love or else... Idk, we all might be here for a long while.

Ready to Comply - Ghoap x Winter Solider!reader I don't remember how this series came upon my eyes but it did, and at first I didn't really have an interest to read it cause I never was a Marvel/Superhero fan. But I saw it reblogged again on my feed and I thought "it must be good" and so I read a minute of the first chapter. And the next. And the next. And then I implanted myself into Glossy's life and here we are. I don't know what about the story or writing really hooked me in. Perhaps it was the pairing (I love me a good Ghoap fic okay), or maybe the creativity? Despite my lukewarm opinion of Marvel, I still enjoyed the story cause it felt seperated from the source enough that I didn't feel like I was missing much, if any, information. Most of what is written is described in a way that I could picture it all in my head comfortably. Speaking on comfort... this is certainly not a comfort fic LOL this is not a story for your grandma! Glossy's written something that made my mind picture hurt and gore and pain in a delicious way! And the more chapters you get into, the better the writing comes out! It's like Glossy is learning more and more ways to hurt me, it almost feels personal. Glossy, babes, do you enjoy giving us pain? That's okay, we like it <3 I adore the series, and every other piece of writing that Glossy provides just keep building up and up. This series holds a special place in my heart, and I love it dearly, even if it's not updated recently, I happily go back and read it when my heart needs familiarity and pain <3 Glossy writes a lot, I admire how often she does cause JesUS girl, how you write so much? I'm linking the fics I've read and remember fondly <3 And of COURSE please read more of her work. It's all so good and they really are a fantastic writer who only gets better as time goes on.

Staring - Weirdo!Ghost x Reader He's a freak, look at his weirdo (i say drooling and affectionately)... I'm also biased cause I (guess i dont remember now) helped with this one LOL

Showering with TF141 - Poly!141 x Reader Listen... I'm a simple man. I see poly and dubcon? I click. I should put this on my wall. Glossy knows what's in my brain, I guess lmaooo

Pushing Boundaries - Perv!Soap x Reader Do I need to say more? It's gospel at this point, and Glossy is giving the sermon

Teamwork - GazPrice x Reader *punching the wall* I think I'm gonna buuuust. Anyways, it's so delicious, please just UGGGGH give me

I could (and should but this post would be literally a mile long) post all of Glossy's works individually but I think, if you haven't already, should go through and read their work. It's worth it.

And it's worth every ounce and every effort and every moment to be a mutual and a friend to Glossy. She's one of a kind. As a reader, as a writer, and as a friend. And I just couldn't keep that to myself. So please PLEEEEASE read Glossy's work, and say hello, and show love. Cause Glossy deserves it.

I love you Glossy!!!! And I hope to have you as a friend for as long as the world spin... or as long as you can tolerate me LOL 💛💛💛

[barbi2709]

12:32 || Will you pick me?

Disclaimer: This and each of my stories are only fiction and are not intended to offend or make anyone uncomfortable, if this type of content makes you uncomfortable, feel free to leave without resentment :]

Paring: Heeseung x bi-with-female-preference!gn!reader

Genre: fluff, established relationship

Summary: Just a relaxing moment with the comforting presence of your boyfriend, until he came up with a curious question, one that you'll gladly answer.

WC: 520

a/n: I just needed to write my Heeseung brainstorm bc this man is driving me insane 🫠🫠🫠. (please like, reblog and comment, also remember that English isn't my first language so if there's any mistakes let me know)

Also, I got this idea after watching an Instagram reel and one comment said that "bisexuals with a preference to woman but that ended up with a guy are annoying" so if I see something like this here I'm gonna fucking block you right away :)

It was almost midnight.

You and your boyfriend Heeseung were chilling in your room, you were finishing uploading school files while he was laying in your bed, scrolling on his phone.

You let out a sigh while stretching your arms still in your chair, you rubbed your eyes softly because of many hours looking at the screen of your computer.

Meanwhile, your boyfriend was still focused on his phone, a specific video caught his attention, his eyes darted from the phone screen to you while a smirk creep on his face.

—Babe! —he called out while opening the camera of his phone and start recording—. I have a question for you.

—Go ahead. —you answered without looking at him, most of your attention still focused on the essay you were finishing.

—Will you pick me up from a room full of men?. —he finally asked while looking at you.

The sudden question made you turn to him, still a little amused by the question, by the time you turned around Heeseung was already looking at you, expectantly and curious, his bambi eyes staring at you intently.

You knew your boyfriend came with the most random and weirdest things out of the blue, but you actually found that question interesting.

—Hee —you started while looking at him in the eyes, the corners of your lips raised subtly as you spoke, leaving a small, sweet smile on your lips—. I will pick you up from a room full of women.

Heeseung's eyes widened at your words, he spected anything but that answer.

He was specting something like "I wouldn't pick you up if you were the only one in the room" or at least a simple "yes/of course I will", but that small sentence made him feel butterflies again.

When you first started dating, you told him about your sexuality and preferences, in fact, he didn't mind, he new that you had chosen him instead of somebody else, you had chosen him before any other girl or guy in the world, and you made him feel oh so loved and wanted that nothing else mattered.

Even if he hated to admit it, your words had a strong impact on him, he was frozen still on the bed, he could feel the heat making its way to his cheeks and the tips of his ears, and he could assure that the color red would probably be well defined on his face.

He tried to play it cool though, so he cough trying to regain his composure, he stopped recording and go back to social media while suppressing a smile with superhuman effort.

—Cool. —he said simply, trying to sound trying to sound as calm and unaffected as possible, making you let out a laugh because you could still see the noticeable blush on his face.

—What?, are you flustered?. —you asked in a mocking tone as you turned back to your computer, Heeseung swore he could hear the smirk on your voice.

—You wish!. —he scoffed at you, making you let out another loud laugh as he cursed under his breath while the blush of his cheeks increased.

[wannaeatramyeon]

hihi!! i thought this was funny and wanted to tell you😭

i was telling my friend about Goo and how i would absolutely marry him and they said that he needs their blessing. i asked what he can do to get their blessing and they said he needed to write them an essay about how much he loves me so, to entertain them, i wrote them an essay from Goo's perspective about why he wants to marry me with a 20 minute timer. it was 584 words in the end and I worked a miracle.

Moral of the story: Goo got the blessing😭so uhhh you can always write your way into someones life??

This tickled me, just imagining the unhinged ramblings from Goo POV mixed with your own. Drop it please.

Inbox clearing time! Non fic requests answered: 6. (Check it - plus my fave Lookism arcs!)

To the non-anon anon that I have not included and I don't know what to do with your message - No, I won't hold your hand while you poop. Good luck with that.

Really?? I feel so... unhinged and nonsensical (even more so than usual) when I rant. Seriously thank you for reading!?!!?

PTJ did somewhat write women with more of a personality in his Life As A Loser Series so it seems more of a shame that he's lost his touch and catering much more towards teenage boys with his current series.

Which. Fine. Action manhwa - great. BUT if your target audience are teenage boys then yknow, wouldn't it be even BETTER to write some strong badass women so these impressionable youngsters realise that not all girls need saving, and oh look. Girls are human too. With their own ambitions and flaws and imperfections, just like everyone else.

If you must make them simp, form a harem. Also. FINE. At least give them something beyond that.

Hey Black Anon! Sorry again for how long it took me to respond to your ask before, and hope it's going much better for yourself since your last request.

I'm muuuuch more responsive with DMs so if you ever wanna come out of anon - come shout at me in my DMs!!

HTF s2 is really... something. Completely lost the meaning of HTF and Viral Hit. Don't blame you for dropping it. Alas, the Taehoon grip on me is still going STRONG.

LOL. Me in a similar position, wondering if I should get into JJK.

Can I... recommend some of my fave arcs if you ever do decide to read Lookism? The ones I like are generally more story driven.

Vasco's backstory (prepare the tissues) - 52 - 57

Johan + Zack + Mira backstory (cult warning, another sad arc) - 132 - 138

Goddog (another pretty sad arc with Johan) - 199 - 213

Jacedichi Files (silly crime solving with Burn Knuckles) - 215 - 218

One Night (Johan + Jace!! Fun action) - 258 - 262

Jake Kim (PLEASE READ THIS IF NOTHING ELSE) - 302 - 318

Workers (2A) (Rescuing Sinu. Honestly, I cry almost every time. Read Jake Kim's arc to appreciate this!) - 372 - 392

Let me know if you ever get into it!!!

Me??? Mine????? I cannot write that guy so thank you - that means A LOT to me! I will try harder to write a decent Eli (that doesn't devolve into ranting about his current direction).

Thank you for reading and being so friggin CUTE!! 💖

I feel a vaguely threatening tone from this.

Like something Goo would recite before walking into a darkened warehouse with a crowbar 🤔

Baby there's nothing noble about this, but it is actually more satisfying than my normal job lol (lolling through tears).

Thank you so much for reading!! My single braincell has been firing quite well with these ideas.

Anon. Honestly this is adorable, I've screenshat this for a pick me up ahhhhhhh 🥹

My dear 🕊️ anon, thank you for reading my DG fic! I also feel very little for DG but I will admit I am coming around to him.

YES!!! I LOVE the idea of someone getting close to James Lee in his younger years, and him being soft for the reader.

And then I also like angst so let's bring those 2 things together. Heh.

Eeeee I also added that Remember fic to my list of faves that I have written.

Please. I also have a list of fictional men I am unwell over. Let's start a support group! 🫠

[girljeremystrong]

✨best books i read in 2022 in no particular order✨ 

Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang (2021)

This "memoir of an undocumented childhood" is a beautiful story of a family who cared for and looked after one another and of a child who had a lot of fears but was at the same time wonderfully brave and curious and determined.

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante (2011)

This is the story of Elena and Lila, two childhood friends living in a rough neighborhood on the outskirts of Napoli. We follow their story, narrated by Elena, until they become teenagers, when their paths diverge and their friendship is transformed forever.

Persuasion by Jane Austen (1817)

Persuasion tells the story of a second chance, the reawakening of love between Anne Elliot and Captain Frederick Wentworth, whom eight years earlier she had been persuaded not to marry.

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin (1956)

This is the story of David, an american man living in Paris, living off the little money his father is willing to lend him, while his girlfriend is in Spain, On a night out he meets a young bartender named Giovanni and goes home with him.

A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders (2021)

Paired with iconic short stories by Chekhov, Turgenev, Tolstoy, and Gogol, the seven essays in this book are intended for anyone interested in how fiction works, how the mind itself works while reading, and of how the reading and writing of stories make genuine connection possible.

Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger (1961)

When Franny’s emotional and spiritual doubts reach new heights, her older brother Zooey, a misanthropic former child genius, offers her consolation and brotherly advice. These two stories offer a touching snapshot of the distraught mindset of early adulthood and are full of insightful emotional observations and witty turns of phrase.

Jazz by Toni Morrison (1993)

a passionate, profound story of love and obsession that brings us back and forth in time, as a narrative is assembled from the emotions, hopes, fears, and deep realities of black urban life.

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers (2021)

This is the story of Ailey and her ancestor's journey in America through centuries, from the colonial slave trade to our days. We meet Ailey when she is a child and watch her grow up, until the moment when, as a college graduate, she embarks on a journey to uncover her family's past.

Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart (2022)

Growing up in a housing estate in Glasgow, Mungo and James are born under different stars--Mungo a Protestant and James a Catholic--and they should be sworn enemies if they're to be seen as men at all. Yet against all odds, they become best friends.

Real Life by Brandon Taylor (2020)

Almost everything about Wallace is at odds with the Midwestern university town where he is working uneasily toward a biochem degree. But over the course of a weekend, a series of confrontations with colleagues, and an unexpected encounter with a straight, white classmate, conspire to fracture his defenses.

The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach (2011)

This is the story of Henry Skrimshander who gets recruited by a small college to play baseball and quickly becomes the star of the team, and of Mike Schwartz, the baseball team captain who recruited Henry, and who doesn't know what to do with his life, as his relationship with Henry becomes more and more co-dependent.

Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett (2022)

Emma was set to start med school but her father got sick with a brain disease and she decided to go back home to New Hampshire. At home her dad and her mum are in a fight, her brother is just out of rehab her childhood best friend is missing and Emma’s dad started seeing ghosts.

This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1920)

Amory is a boy with family money who attends a private high school, and then Princeton and then gradually becomes disillusioned with life.

Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri (1999)

Navigating between the Indian traditions they've inherited and the baffling new world, the characters in Jhumpa Lahiri's elegant, touching stories seek love beyond the barriers of culture and generations.

Fight Night by Miriam Toews (2021)

It is told in the unforgettable voice of Swiv, a nine-year-old living in Toronto with her pregnant mother, who is raising Swiv while caring for her own elderly, frail, yet extraordinarily lively mother.

Scoop by Evelyn Waugh (1938)

William Booth is a young man living in the countryside, writing for a newspaper little colums about nature, and he is sent by mistake (he has the same surname as a much cooler novelist) to the fictional country Ishmaelia to cover a war for his newspaper. Various other little mishaps ensue.

Maps of our Spectacular Bodies by Maddie Mortimer (2022)

This is the story of Lia, Harry and their daughter Iris, a beautiful loving family. Iris is a teenager and has to navigate all that comes with that while, at the same time, learning to live with the fact that her mum's cancer has come back, and doctors are telling them it's terminal.

Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897)

When Jonathan Harker visits Transylvania to help Count Dracula with the purchase of a London house, he makes a series of horrific discoveries about his client. Soon afterwards, various bizarre incidents unfold in England.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (1937)

It narrates the experiences of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced migrant ranch workers, who move from place to place in California in search of new job opportunities during the Great Depression in the United States.

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah (2016)

The memoir of one man’s coming-of-age, set during the twilight of apartheid and the tumultuous days of freedom that followed.

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway (1952)

It is the story of an epic struggle between an Santiago, an old, seasoned fisherman and his life's greatest catch of fish, after eighty-four days that he has set out to sea and every time returned empty-handed.

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (1925)

One day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway. She is getting ready for a party she is hosting at her house. It is also a day in the life of a young veteran, Septimus who fought in WWI and got shellshocked: his last day. The two move around London and think back to episodes of their past.

Peril at End House by Agatha Christie (1932)

Poirot is vacationing in Cornwall, meets young "Nick" Buckley and her friends. He is persuaded that someone is out to kill her.  Though he aims to protect Nick, a murder happens that provokes Poirot to mount a serious investigation.

[rad4learning]

My feminist-related reading progress

My thoughts on different texts I've read

Most recent: Feminist Revolution

For all of these I'm not going to point out everything wrong or that I disagree with in them; I assume you'll be reading critically, taking value and discarding other stuff. I'm writing these from memory of my impressions and key points. I may get things wrong - please feel free to lmk if I do :)

Feminist Revolution - Recommended reading - Produced by Redstockings (radical feminist group) - Radical Feminism Theory text / collection of writing from various authors - Redstockings are well known for the pro-woman line "woman are messed over, not messed up" (don't focus on conditioning or sex roles, focus on power imbalances, women cannot opt out of misogyny via individual changes) and for consciousness raising (learn about women's condition through analysis of lives of women in the group and their struggles) - I love the focus on power and agree with many of the critiques of lifestylism - However I also think some of the authors were guilty of overgeneralising what women in general want from what women in the group wanted and pedestalling heterosexuality - Each section is a pdf only a few pages long (from their website) and the language is not convoluted, so it's easy to read a bit at a time or pick out essays of interest to you

The Book of the City of Ladies - Not knowing much European history I struggled with placing a decent chunk of the names (she draws extremely heavily on examples) - As can be expected from a book from the 1400s it is not a radical feminist theory text - It is a moral defense of women and the author is a Christian woman, which is clear in the text - You really do get that sense of "she was commenting on that then and it's still a problem now" Women, Race and Class - Recommended reading - I particularly liked the discussion on wages for housework - It offers what the title says: examination of the intersection of women, race and class - US focused - feminist history and theory text The Dialectic of Sex: - I really wanted to really like this, my expectations were very high so that may well be part of why I feel underwhelmed by it - I think it is worth reading - although I expect other readers to also object to components of it - even if for no other reason than to interrogate her assertions about the requirements for womens' liberation - Straight after this I read women race & class which briefly criticises this text for perpetuating myths irt black men sexualising white women - I agree with Firestone's claim that the condition of women and children are highly linked and I support children being able to have more autonomy. I cannot agree with the idea of removing childhood entirely (she is explicit about this including irt sexuality) & I think the treatment of children's vulnerability was unfortunately shallow - which is especially unfortunate given her recognition of the links between childhood and women's liberation - Explicitly radical feminist theory text

Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982: - Short read, fiction - This is an easy, quick read suitable for women without background in feminism - It's great at identifying the "little" (or not so little) everyday misogyny that permeates women's lives - Don't expect it to give you direction or theory knowledge - Focus on South Korean women, the focus of the book on pointing out the unfairness of what typical resonates cross-culturally

Daring to be bad: - Recommend reading - Can be a bit difficult at the v. start if not familiar with US 1960s history to keep track of the groups but soon becomes easier - Provides information about US radical feminism, how it started and how it went from a focus on gender abolition up to political lesbianism & idea of men and women having innately different natures - Explicitly radical feminist history text focusing on 2nd wave (author's views are also apparent) - Self aware about it but focus again on the stereotypical group The female eunuch: - I mostly read this because it was recommend to be by an older self-identified radical feminist who talked about how influential it was at the time - Still relevant today - I thought the concept (something like: women being used for sex and yet having our sexual desire/energy stripped from us) was interesting and worth reading - Explicitly radical feminist theory text focusing on 2nd wave - Very much focused on the stereotypical feminist group - white, western, heterosexual etc. Talkin' up to the white woman: Indigenous women and feminism - Wayyy too postmodern for me - difficult read -- I particularly hated how she comments on some Queer Theory authors including bestiality in "Queer" -> without criticising that - Aileen Moreton-Robertson wrote this based on her dissertation - Relevant criticisms of white feminism and discussion of Indigenous understandings

Who cooked the last supper? The woman's history of the world - I mostly read this because of how much a woman whose blogging I respect hypes it - don't get me wrong there were good bits (and I certainly wouldn't take back reading it) but it wasn't that groundbreaking for me - You might like it more if matriarchy is smth you get hyped about - Expect mentions of other groups but still a relatively stereotypical focus The hidden face of eve - Recommended reading - Nawal El Sadaawi is socialist feminist, not radical feminist, still read the book - If you're not convinced search her name up, learn about her, then read it - Discusses feminism in an Egyptian context and provides guidance to readers on not using feminism as an imperialist bludgeoning tool Gyn//ecology - This book should not be recommended for beginners - Seriously, I cannot emphasise the above point enough. - The ways she uses language requires adjustment -- Including being like "Lesbian is for women-identified-women, not mere female homosexuals, for whom I'll use lowercase 'lesbian' " (I'm paraphrasing from memory but that is the gist / it is really THAT bad) - quote from Audre Lorde's An Open Letter to Mary Daly "As an African-american woman in white patriarchy, I am used to having my archetypal experience distorted and trivialised, but it is terribly painful to feel it being done by a woman whose knowledge so much touches my own." - There are some useful criticisms of patriarchy in there but the above should make it clear I consider the text highly flawed - Part of the "Lesbian Feminism" branch (read: political lesbianism)

Invisible women - Good "look how feminism is still relevant!" text, recommended for that (yes, including to radblrians), - Easy read & good book to loan to other women in your life - I really liked it but don't expect it to challenge or deepen your ideological understanding that much - Recent feminist text, focusing on statistics Sexy but psycho - imo: some good some not so good in there - this book may mislead you if you are not familiar with the relevant subject matter & there's alleged dodgy ethics stuff with the author - Dr Jessica Taylor openly describes herself as a radical feminist. She does have a PhD in psychology (not in clinical psychology) - I disagree with her thesis that all mental illness should be viewed through a trauma lens & imo the handwaving away of the biopsychosocial model as bio-bio-bio is intellectually lazy - recent feminist text focusing on (poor) treatment of women in psychology & psychiatry The beauty myth - good text to read if you're trying to care less about your appearance, particularly if you are white and western - Naomi Wolf treated some of the statistics poorly so be aware of that (take any stats she lists about anorexia with a grain of salt, there's a research paper on this). She's also a conspiracy theorist, so makes sense I guess? - Feminist text form the 90's Ain't I a woman - Recommended reading - Illuminating text focusing on how Black women in the US have faced the double burden of racism and misogyny as well as overlapping misogynoir - Explicitly discusses feminism and Black women's roles in it

Right wing women - Recommended reading - Very radblr friendly - don't expect much ideological challenge - Radical feminist theory text focusing on why right wing women would work against their own liberation

I read I think 6 Sheila Jeffrey's books in the span of less than a week so they've blurred together - can't provide much useful commentary but those were my first intro to feminist theory books I think Abdullah Öcallan's ideas on needing to restructure the family to restructure society & his ideas around what that society would look like are interesting to read. (If unfamiliar look up who he is before diving into Jineology research) Honorary shout out to why does he do that? - also recommended reading I also recommend looking up statistics for women in your area (including dis-aggregated ones for different groups of women) & of course talking with and learning from women irl.

There are maybe, 5ish others I've read that are on feminist drives and that sort of thing but I can't be bothered writing any more rn and at first I forgot them for inclusion so clearly not the biggest deal (they're not key theory texts or anything).

[redheadgleek]

January 2024 books!

I had some vacation this month. I also had an entire week when I was stuck at home without internet due to the ice storm. So I read a lot, mostly very light, fluffy comfort read books.

What I read:

Nine Goblins by T. Kingfisher. A novella about war as experienced by goblins. As usual from a TK book, a little gory, a lot witty, with some fun characters.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. I've read so little of Neil Gaiman's books and I really enjoyed this one. I thought it was quite inventive and I liked how the passing of time was framed.

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry. It's an odd experience reading a book written by a person who has died. He had a lot of mental health problems, and I'm so sad that the medical world failed him so much.

All Systems Red by Martha Wells (audiobook). I read the novella last year and have been wanting to read the whole series, but I had already forgotten details, hence the audiobook. It was a great way of seeing things through Murderbot's eyes. I just got the next book from the library, so that will be my next listen, I think.

Miss Buncle's Book by D.E. Stevenson. A very charming book about a woman who scandalized her hometown by writing a book about them. Reminded me a lot of L.M. Montgomery's short stories.

Lord of the Butterflies by Andrea Gibson. A book of poetry exploring love and family and gender. So much emotion packed into every poem. Truly lovely.

The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett. I've also not read much of Sir Terry's and everybody has recommended the Tiffany Aching series. It was a lot of fun and had some very unique characters.

Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros. This is not high fantasy, but when the frozen world was coming down around me, this was exactly the kind of escape fiction I needed.

Weyward by Emilia Hart. Three stories woven into one about generations of women who are witches. There wasn't anything that really unique about the book, but it had great atmosphere.

An Unexpected Twist by Andy Borowitz. Not sure I should really count an 18 page essay as a book, but I enjoyed this perspective of the medical system from somebody experiencing complications.

Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan. Okay, it mostly stretched credibility, but I enjoyed the banter between the love interests. And I especially liked the way the MC was dealing with her grandmother's dementia.

Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn. I enjoyed this one. I appreciated that while it was a "going home to the small town" trope, it also didn't paint that as solving all of the problems.

Upstream: Selected Essays by Mary Oliver. I started reading this last year and it took me to finish. Some of the essays were gorgeous, some felt unfinished, and others felt like book reports.

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Huang. I nearly DNF at 90% because I was so mad at the "chivalrous" macho possessive behavior of the male character. There was a lot of gender roles and conformity and casual (and not so casual) sexism throughout. Oh the other hand, the sex was plenty and pretty well described.

What I'm currently reading:

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr. My sister recommended this. I'm about half way through and it's a tale interweaving people from the past and the future. It's at a point where it feels like bad things are going to start happening, so I'm a touch anxious, but it's been excellent so far.

Poverty. by America by Matthew Desmond (audiobook). I'm an hour in and it's utterly horrifying and gutting.

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. It's a 20 year old book at this time and needs an update, but it certainly makes science understandable.

The Six: The Untold Story of America's First Women Astronauts by Loren Grush.

The Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Key. I remember reading this in high school and really liking it (while also feeling dirty because there was some swearing and a sex scene in it). This time though? It's obvious he's channeling Tolkien, the writing is painfully stilted and the premise is weak and I've found out that it's a sort of King Arthur retelling, so I'm just not sure about it.

What I plan on reading next:

Emily Wilde's Map of the Underworld, Tom Lake (audiobook), and The Starless Sea are next on my list, I think.

[loadednachosao3]

(Hiii @eros-thanatos89 here!)

You've been on such a roll lately and just dazzling Lacho nation with an absolute embarrassment of riches of fic, and I've just been gobbling it up like the thirsty little gremlin I am! So thank you!!

Since I love your writing so much, I'm curious: who are some of your favorite writers/what're some of your favorite novels or short stories??

hmmm... GOOD question! I used to work for the library, so I read a LOT (more than just fanfic!), which makes this a hard question as well, lol. especially since I read more nonfiction than fiction!

but let's see...

my favorite classic/taught in schools novel would have to be 1984 by George Orwell. (hilariously/depressingly, right after trump got elected, my department had to buy hundreds more copies because they got requested so much). Orwell's writing is much more accessible to me than many older writers are, save for that whole proletariat essay thing in the middle that made me wanna cut my eyes out. the book is a very relevant and scathing hate letter to fascism, and the right co-opting it when they're the ones it's written about will never fail to piss me off. THEY HAVEN'T EVEN READ IT I KNOW IT I KNOW THEY HAVEN'T

Suzanne Collins may get a lot of billing as a YA love triangle author, but she's absolutely nothing of the sort. The Hunger Games may be a YA series WITH a love triangle, but they're ABOUT so much more. the way she so perfectly captures the flaws of our society in a way that we then completely validate when we make the movies? beautiful. poignant. 10/10.

Bones and All by Camille DeAngelis is one I admittedly never finished, but loved what I read of it. there's a movie that... ok I also didn't finish that one I HAVE ADHD OKAY but the very concept of a girl who, when she experiences feelings of deep love, gets the irresistible compulsion (and the ability) to eat them then and there is just a wonderful concept!

one of my childhood favorites is this book called Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism by Georgia Byng. I picked it up thinking it was a manual, lol, but it's actually this cool little story about an ugly orphan girl who gets the power to hypnotize people, and uses it to become rich and famous. they made a movie out of that too, I think, but I never watched it.

the Unwind series by Neal Shusterman is about a dystopian future where the "compromise" to stop abortions is that parents are, up til their child turns 18, legally allowed to give their children up to be "unwound," a process that involves cutting them up and donating their body parts to donors... while they're still alive, so they're not "technically" killing anyone. chilling, particularly the sequence in the first book where we get to see from the perspective of a teen being unwound.

I will never forgive Hollywood for what they did to the Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness. it's an AMAZING trilogy about a village that contains only men, who are all forced to broadcast/hear each other's every thought (the first few pages capture the chaos of this situation by using varying fonts and font sizes placed haphazardly around the page in a chaotic mess). the reason for the lack of women is a spoiler, so I shan't say more, but lemme just say, Mads Mikkelsen, baby, you were so good as the villain, but the movie version that smashed 3 books into 1 was so trash. talents WASTED.

Ness also wrote A Monster Calls for a younger audience, a haunting but comforting book about grief. I'd recommend it to anyone whose loved ones might be going through a long bout of illness or something of the sort, if you need to feel less alone.

so those are my top fiction picks! nonfiction is a whole other story, haha (no pun intended). I might remember some more later, but I hope this has given you a bit of insight into why I am the person that I am, and where I get some of my writing inspo! thanks for the great question!

[honeythispodcast]

I've just discovered y'all and have been going through your episodes in reverse order. I just got to the episode about horror, vampires, and zombies where you also touched on werewolves and omegaverse, but didn't get much further because this particular monster doesn't really appear in MCR's work, and the thought came to my mind that "yeah, because it's about toxic masculinity and male aggression, which doesn't seem like it'd be an interesting topic for them". I actually had a whole little essay sketched out ages ago I'll probably write sometime, but the Cliff Notes version is that much of werewolf media seems to focus on a typically heteronormative male who is bitten by the werewolf and is gifted strength and physical power but cursed with uncontrollable, animalistic aggression. Some papers talk about this as a puberty metaphor, but I like to think of it as more about toxic masculinity and machismo culture--cultural influences that often do give men power over others, but at a cost to them and the people around them. The Wolfman, I Was a Teenage Werewolf, and both the Teen Wolf movie and tv show play with these themes. The Wolfman cannot control his aggression, baby Michael Landon's preexisting aggression is exacerbated to a homicidal degree, and Scott's achieves success and popularity at school but cannot always control his actions. In a similar vein, a lot of omegaverse fiction (whether queer or not) mimics traditional values and ideas of masculinity and femininity. The "alpha" is typically attractive, physically strong, and sexually virile (also rich??? he's rich a lot??) and the "omega" is usually depicted as smaller, weaker, and thereby feminine, regardless of gender. They may be mouthy, but are usually swayed by the alpha's masculinity and sexual prowess or their own uncontrollable "biological", sexual urges. It's the very masculinity of the alpha that makes them incapable of saying "no". And, when pregnancy becomes a storyline, even the most reluctant of characters eventually fall into domestic bliss of homemaker and childrearer, happy to serve the hypermasculine alpha. As a band whose members typically do not align themselves with traditional masculinity, I can see why maybe werewolves didn't really resonate as much as other monsters. I'm sure there are other, mayve queerer reads on werewolf fiction, but when I consume works from this genre, I swear the toxic masculinity metaphors are all I can see. Anyway, that's my two cents on werewolves. Sorry this is so damn long. Love your work, friends.

This is a great short essay, and we loved reading it on the pod! We respond to it at 1:11:12. Thanks for making us talk about omegaverse again!