#outwrite

[colescorner]

The last several years I’ve wanted to really read outside of my comfort zone and read non-fiction and topics concerning social justice, racism, censorship, homophobia and censorship. I found two book yesterday that I cannot wait to start! I’ve already started the book on censorship…and I love it so far!

[atompowers]

[caliburn-not-calculator]

Someone pick between Devil au, canonish hr violation MR-SN and VR-LA, or similarly hr violation pirates

secret 4th option is pre canon maxim and VR-LA

[akascow]

why are education tools all getting paywalled recently😐 u have to pay 9.95/month for easybib now ? whats next ? google scholar ???

[the-most-humble-blog]

Credibility can be easily outwritten in 90 seconds by a man with a blog, a voice, and a goddamn vendetta.

[deviousdayz]

Yeah idk drake needs to shut up and apologize 😭 Kendrick didn’t win a Pulitzer for nothing like why enter into beef with that man😭😭😭

[mooncalf87]

My teachers: wow your ELA scores are through the roof for your grade!! How do you write so well???

Me: hmm yeah idk (glances sideways at all my fics) its a mystery

[thelov3lybookworm]

uhhh its so not cool of u to not tag me actually 🤨 but issokey i forgive you even tho tumblr had to show me this and not you 🤨

ANYWAYSSS HAHA IM HERE TO YAP AGAIN 😌

“You know,” he murmurs, his breath warm against my neck, “you could just let me do that.” He slips his arms around my waist, pulling me gently against him. “Your hands might get tired.”

sighhhh when will i get to experience this hes adorable 🥹😭

But he just tilts his head, a patient smile on his face, like he already knows what I’m about to ask

nothing just something about men being understanding and loving doing things to me over here🥺🥺🥺

"Anything for you.” There’s a gentle warmth in his eyes, a soft devotion that melts me from the inside out.

🥺🥺🥺

Flying over the city, my mind lingers on her, the soft warmth of her laugh, the way her eyes light up when I walk into the room. She’s goddess incarnate, far too perfect for me

*sighs in simp and someone whose definitely not screaming on the inside* cute

I silently thank the cauldron he didn't make this difficult otherwise I would have to clean up before getting to my wife and the thought of keeping her waiting was not something I enjoyed

learn from my man yall 🥹 (the not keeping ur wife waiting part u sadistic creatures 🤨)

GIVE ME AZRIEL PLEASE I NEED HIM 😞i mean im obviously so normal about him but still 😄

Blue

Azriel x reader

Summary: There's a large contrast between the warm and gentle Az you get to enjoy versus the cold and quiet demeanour he reserves for others

Note: FIRST FULL WEEK I HAVE THINGS PLANNED OUT FOR. this isn't entirely my favourite but fuck it we ball <33 enjoy lovelies

@azrielappreciationweek day 1

The kitchen is a warm, flour-dusted haven, filled with the sweet scent of sugar and vanilla as Azriel leans over my shoulder, watching me whisk the batter with an amused glint in his eyes.

“You know,” he murmurs, his breath warm against my neck, “you could just let me do that.” He slips his arms around my waist, pulling me gently against him. “Your hands might get tired.”

I laugh, nudging him with my elbow. “I think I can handle a little whisking.” I turn to face him, catching the soft, rare smile that lights his face, the one that only appears when it’s just us. I lean up, brushing a light kiss to his lips, and feel him pull me closer, his fingers resting at the small of my back.

“Hmm,” he hums, deep and quiet, his lips lingering just a moment longer. “You taste like sugar.”

“You’re distracting me,” I say, trying and failing to keep a straight face.

“Good,” he replies, his voice low. His gaze drops to the cupcakes cooling on the counter, and he raises an eyebrow. “They’re missing something.”

“Exactly,” I sigh, surveying the icing jars and realizing I’ve run out of the last colour I need. I hesitate, glancing at him, knowing he’s had a long week of missions and should probably be resting. But he just tilts his head, a patient smile on his face, like he already knows what I’m about to ask.

“Could you pick up more icing for me?” I ask, brushing a bit of flour off his cheek, unable to hide my smile. “Please?”

He chuckles softly, reaching up to tuck a stray hair behind my ear. “Anything for you.” There’s a gentle warmth in his eyes, a soft devotion that melts me from the inside out.

As he steps back, he squeezes my hand. “Save a few for me?”

“All of them,” I reply with a grin, watching as he heads to the door, wings stretching wide in the golden afternoon light. He gives me one last look before taking off, a dark silhouette against the sky.

Azriel's POV

Flying over the city, my mind lingers on her, the soft warmth of her laugh, the way her eyes light up when I walk into the room. She’s goddess incarnate, far too perfect for me.

The cold air rushes past as I fly, enjoying the time to stretch out my wings to their fullest.

But halfway through my journey, I feel Rhysand’s voice slip into my thoughts, quiet and laced with urgency.

Azriel, we have a guest in the dungeons. I need answers from him if you're available, it's urgent

I think about his words. Maybe if it had been a few months ago Rhys wouldn't have added the part of me being "available" knowing I was waiting at the chance to distract my mind. But ever since y/n walked into my life it was getting easier and easier to spend days doing nothing except enjoy her company. No torture sessions. No constant dagger sharpening. Just time spent with her.

Fine.

Was the simple reply I gave. It would only take a few minutes of my time.

The warmth I felt just minutes ago fades as I turn, heading down toward the underground jail, where shadows and silence reign. My shadows coil tighter around me, sharper, attuned to the work at hand as I descend into the dim halls of the dungeon.

The heavy door creaks open, and I step inside to find the prisoner chained to a chair, his gaze faltering as he meets mine. He tries to summon some defiance, but I can see the fear flicker beneath it, his breaths shallow as my shadows drift closer, surrounding him in darkness. This won’t take long.

I approach him slowly, letting each step echo off the stone walls. Leaning forward, I let my voice drop to a low, controlled murmur, knowing how much more effective a whisper can be. “Let's make this quick. Tell me everything you know"

I didn't have to elaborate on what I meant by everything. He knew what I was here for and I would get it one way or another.

He’s silent at first, eyes darting, and I can see him calculating his options. But there’s no fight in him, not against what he senses I’m capable of. My shadows close in, tightening like a noose around him, each word I speak dripping with cold intent.

After a slow drag of my dagger down the column of his neck the information begins to spill out, fast and frantic. I listen carefully, never blinking, absorbing each detail.

No need for lost blood; I extract every piece with surgical precision, each question laced with the promise of what could happen if he resists. Soon, he’s left shuddering, broken, and silent.

I silently thank the cauldron he didn't make this difficult otherwise I would have to clean up before getting to my wife and the thought of keeping her waiting was not something I enjoyed.

Before I leave, I pause, tilting my head as I look down at him with one last, almost casual question. “Pick a colour.”

His face twists in confusion, fear giving way to bewilderment. “Uh… blue,” he stammers, his voice barely above a whisper.

I give him a curt nod, acknowledging his choice before I turn and leave him to the shadows that linger. As I step into the fresh air aboveground, I make my way to a small shop, selecting a container of bright blue icing, a flash of colour that feels strange against the cold efficiency of what I’ve just done.

When I arrive home, I find her at the counter, surrounded by stacks of sweet heaven. She lights up as she sees me, her eyes crinkling with happiness. "Az! Thank you my love" she says, taking the container and pressing a warm kiss to my cheek.

I'd be lying if i said I didn't melt.

But then she pauses, glancing at me, a flicker of something unreadable in her gaze. “What took so long?”

I shake my head, not wanting her to worry “You don’t need to worry” I murmur, my voice gentle. “Rhys just needed something done”

She watches me closely, as if weighing my words, a knowing look in her eyes. But she doesn’t press. Instead, she smiles softly, letting her fingers brush over mine as she returns to her cupcakes.

I linger there, watching her work, feeling the lightness return to my chest as I settle back into the life we share. She doesn’t push, and I’m grateful.

With her I feel like life is worth living.

note: should have azriel year tbh

[comehomet0myheart]

I truly can’t get over (negative) how Niki is only known by Asian people. She should have Tate McRae or Sabrina Carpenter levels of relevance in NA pop music but instead the mainstream (white) pop audience pays her dust! Tired of it!

[stqrfucker]

"the old world's runner up, the best dresser who died like a dog" mello, sweetheart, i think you need to take your meds and maybe reduce your chocolate intake before you accidentally outwrite shakespeare

[ufokevin]

Harvey sighed and shrugged. His line of work is more calculating odds which makes him an asset and a nuinance at the same time. Harvey let the note sit there, he can believe Hiroji thinks he has cooties. Or Harvey himself isn't thinking well enough to tell.

"Yes." Harvey said snapping his fingers in pointing at the cup. "But why wouldn't I be nosy." Harvey pointed out. "If you were in the liquor aisle and suddenly this pops up wouldn't you do a double take." Harvey remembered his own invitation which is suspicious considering they delivered it to the church. Which in turned sparked Harvey's own suspicions. Even if he has lack of proof, he can't shake that feeling off.

Harvey didn't have a date to begin with and he highly doubted he was going to end the night with someon. (Well except maybe seeing a certain scientist that makes his heart skip a beat) . So Hiroji his tentative best friend counted.

"Because I'm not the type to blindly trust dragon berry rum and whatever distillery is making it. What if they're making more drinks on the aisle? Am I going to be drinking something that taste like water again? Hiroji, this isn't shark tank I'm not a foolish investor I need numbers. Would you trust me if I suddenly said I wanted to make my own spin on dragon berry rum?"

Working — sure but far be it from him to get in the way of someone else's job. ( well. that isn't exactly true. but what hiroji does is neither here nor there and he makes it all up as he goes. ) A quick glance down without moving his head, he nods as his hand slides it back. No way in fuck is he putting that note anywhere near him. Incrimination? No thank you, not today! He's already got so much stuff on his plate this evening.

"Alright, but ... does it actually matter? I mean unless you're making something with ..." & he sighs. Better to play along though. Harvey might end up putting his foot into someone else's mouth if he doesn't. "Dragon. Berry. Rum ... then there's really no reason for you to drinking it. Unless, you're just nosy as a fuck." Hiroji would admit that he is too. Kenji showed up with a letter to hand to him and a invitation in scrawling gold ink. It made sense to him, though. Cerberus had their eyes on him like a cat did on a bird in a cage, licking their chops to grab him when he isn't looking. He honestly thought it was a Cerberus ploy. Finding out that it wasn't, he had turned it around into a date.

& look at him now, talking to Harvey ( who isn't his date ) about a company he doesn't know or care to know. This evening just kept getting better and better, huh?

"I mean, I've had drinks worse than dragonberry. I've had better. It really doesn't matter to me what it says on the tin, you're still getting a drink. It bothers you that you can't taste anything? Why? Just order something else."

[dzgrizzle]

Edmund White’s death is hitting me hard. I never met him, but his novels and memoirs were a constant presence during my coming-out years and thereafter. I remember buying his books back in the 1990’s at Charis Books & More and at Outwrite, the LGBTQ bookstore that used to be in Atlanta. The main character in my short story “Time After Time” (which will be published in an upcoming anthology on August 1st) is looking at an Edmund White book when he meets his partner in a bookstore. I have an autographed copy of Edmund White’s recent novel The Humble Lover, which reads very much like a gay John Updike novel (and I say that as a fan of the late John Updike). The world of modern-day queer literature has lost one of its founding lights. Rest in Peace, Edmund White.

Edmund White in his New York home in 2019

[mean-scarlet-deceiver]

RWS Send-Offs

I actually started a list long ago ranking how well done each character's final "send-off" was, in ascending order. Rock bottom looked like this:

Oliver (Christopher damn near forgot that boy existed, the whole way through 😶 I think his name is mentioned twice. Maybe.)

Ivo Hugh (gets no lines)

Rheneas (Christopher has never once let him do or say anything interesting, though in his defense his old man never let Rheneas do that either 💀)

Duck (Christopher has never once let him do or say anything interesting, even though he historically HAS)

Douglas (Why? Just why???? 😭)

Apart from these examples, both Awdrys put some real thought into "send-offs" for their beloved characters — let's just establish that out the gate. Awdry pere loved a good callback, and he made sure to lay down plenty of them along the way, once he started getting into his "am I finally going to retire these stupid books?" phase (which began alarmingly early in the series...)

Christopher Awdry put in even more effort — indeed, sometimes he "did too much." Now, I think his efforts get obscured because he had simply run out of gas by the final book in the series (Thomas and His Friends), a lot of which is simply... ass. Still, even there, we can clearly see that he tried to do this as well as he could with Gordon. He tried hard, and the main reason that (for me) it doesn't work is an old, old, never-addressed Awdryesque sin re: Gordon.

However, one book earlier, while he was focusing on the branch lines, Awdry fils pretty much nailed it. God I wish he'd put this energy into more characters, but you know what. Rather than moan, I'm gonna appreciate what we've got. The two best send-offs in the series:

Edward

All right, none of these character send-offs are perfect … but Edward fuckin’ ate. First — he gets a lore drop?? Hot damn. I know all the characters got official backstory in The Island of Sodor but out here, in the real world, that one with books that normal people (cough — kids) read, Edward gets promoted to the rather exclusive club of characters whose pre-Sodor origins are actually acknowledged in-series. (For the hardcore fans, his Furness origins also got upgraded from “maybe?? 🤷” in IoS to a “wait, no, definitely yeah” here.) 

In “Avalanche” he gets to co-star and the story deliberately echoes a lot of his classic canon moments, in fact that could be a whole separate essay. The two big ones are that the story opens with a callback to “Edward’s Day Out.” Of course, in proper “series finale” fashion (albeit this isn’t the series finale, but shut up, it’s Edward’s finale anyway), instead of sitting idle in the shed and sad with the increasing anxiety that he’ll never be “chosen” to work again, here he’s sitting idle at the Works and there’s no uncertainty about his future, he’s being readied for the summer tourist traffic, it’s just that it’s been a week and he’s sooooo bored. Which? subtextually? such a nice problem to have compared to where we found him when he made his series debut; ya love to see it. 

The second major callback is to, like, every time in this series where Edward encourages and listens attentively to some poor sod who has/will barely escaped a fate of obsolescence and abandonment. Before we echoed how Edward’s life has changed over the course of the series; now we’re nodding to how Edward hasn’t changed. We’re gonna play this old tune, one more time. 

And? btw? It’s so well-done? Like normally when Christopher Awdry is obviously retreading something his father did he does not benefit by the comparison. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think we finally found something where Christopher can outwrite the old man. As sweet as those Wilbert scenes are (Edward listening to Thomas, to Trevor, to Skarloey, to Stepney, I’m pretty sure I’ve forgotten one or two), Edward becomes more of a device in those than a living, breathing character; in the Wilbert versions of this scene Edward can generally be replaced by an AI-dialogue generator and a large cardboard cutout (if the cutoff shows him smiling in a vaguely ‘encouraging’ way, of course). He’s performing the same function here with Victoria, but the dialogue is… good? It feels like a genuine, two-way, gently humorous interaction, even though Victoria is doing the bulk of the talking? Edward is a living, breathing, 3-D character here? I’m not sure his personality has ever been drawn more clearly than in these small details? He’s youthful, he’s earnest, he’s curious, and goddamn if this boy doesn’t love working on the Fat Controller’s railway. It’s all here, perhaps in the clearest colours it’s ever been. 

And so, yeah, what more can you ask in a character send-off? The only weakness here (compared to a couple of the others) is that there’s nothing grand (ultimately, this is a boring book) and nothing’s new in Edward-land… but, well, that feels all right for this character, in a way that wouldn’t be acceptable with a lot of others (notably Gordon 💀). Besides, he did get to make a new friend and reconnect with his roots, so that’s a small change of a sort. 

Ultimately, though, Edward’s thriving, and he’s still eager to help see to it that others are thriving too. Oh, you wish in his final appearance we coulda seen that he’s still happily married? Christopher’s got ya fam, in the last story Edward takes Victoria to Knapford… but makes a little stop along the way to introduce her to BoCo ;) 

Toby — and Henrietta

Now, you may think Toby got kinda robbed. In his final appearance, it appears, for like 2 pages, that he’s gonna get the spotlight. The entire book’s premise is that he needs a coach, yeah? And titularly, Thomas has gotta be there, we get it, but this’ll be a Toby book, right? 

And then it’s sooooo not (‘and then it’s Edward with the steel chair!!!1’), and yeah, that kinda sucks. But you know what? Lack of screentime aside, Toby and Henrietta also get a very thoughtful send-off — starting with the fact that it’s very much Toby and Henrietta (and Elsie!), buffer to buffer. Now, Toby has actually done pretty well in the Christopher portion — way more lore drop than Edward ever gets, in fact, plus one of the few Heroic Determination stories that Christopher is ever gonna give us. But Henrietta hasn’t been nearly as centered — and how could Toby’s final appearance ever be satisfying unless it’s side by side with her? It couldn’t. And so, it isn’t. 

And the book’s set-up is the most heartwarming callback in this entire list: In their debut, we saw Toby and Henrietta, faithfully trundling along every day with Toby’s trucks, bereft of passengers — they’ve lost them all to the busses — when they get one family on their platform, it’s a gold-star day on their dying line and they rejoice when the family returns every day for the week of their holiday. Then they leave, and the line is deader than ever… and then the line closes down… :(((… and they’re left alone to face the Horrors… :((((((((

And now! Here we go! As the curtain rises on their final RWS storyline… Henrietta is soooo packed. Oh nnoooo, you guys! She’s overloaded! They’re suffering from a surplus of passengers! It’s at the point where they need to expand the family train.

I don’t know about you, but I’m fuckin’ cheering! Perfect bookend!

WE 👏 LOVE 👏 TO 👏 SEE 👏 IT 👏

This loses some points on the finale mainly because it’s hard to feel perfectly satisfied with the solution — it could be acceptable that Thomas “solves” the problem (is in the right place at the right time) rather than Toby — but the structure of the book, where we get to see Thomas and Edward bond with Victoria but not Toby, does tend to strike readers as a bit of a headscratcher. We’re told at the end that she’s a great addition to the train, and frankly I believe it (Toby has managed to befriend, and in Henrietta’s case at least live in peace with, Mavis and Daisy… in comparison, they’ll have no problem with one sweet, shyly-eager old coach whose long experience with their worst nightmare is something that they can both sympathize with and, to a small but definite extent, relate to is gonna be such an easy sell by comparison)... but it would be nice to have it shown. 

Also some people are just really unhappy with the new addition to Toby’s train, largely for aesthetic reasons. Personally I don’t object — I like mismatched consists — but I will note for the record that this is a loud and sizable portion of public opinion. 

I will co-sign the objection that the very end of this book, the Fat Controller’s speech and specifically the “Toby’s Vintage Train” thing, does feel both… patronising and pat? Maybe? Probably. Dunno. The vibes are kinda off. 

But it earns back a lot of those lost points for ensuring that we have a grown-up Stephen Hatt “in frame,” as it were, for Toby and Henrietta’s final appearance. Little Stevie. All grown up. The current Fat Controller. HELL YES. Yes, the ending feels like it misses just. a. bit. — but purely in execution. It does at least have all the elements it needs (an old friend! a new friend! job security and a loving community!) for me to say farewell to Toby and Henrietta (and Elsie, too) with a full but content heart.

--

It's kind of like @traintrainingmontage was saying earlier today, Christopher is really aware of the weight of time on these characters. He doesn't just make sure to show them happy in a pat way, he really grasps all the history behind each of their appearances and he's invested in showing that everyone is truly secure and loved.

[lilolebambi]

there aren't enough fics where chris is just outwrite pathetic WE NEED MORE

[the-most-humble-blog]

Reblog if you’re not scared of AI because you already write like something it could never imitate. Not because you’re better. But because you bleed. And you’d burn the prompt before letting a machine speak for your soul.

📜 Go create something. Then dare it to match you. <!-- END TRANSMISSION [IT’S NOT A COMPETITION IF YOU’RE ALREADY A SPECIES ABOVE.] -->

[loquarocoeur]

Hi, fucked up prophet from earlier

That’s EXACTLY what I wrote down. Max feeling shitty and being more agreeable than normal, Charles begs him to be bratty- max refuses- Charles gets what he wants anyway because max refusing to do what he asks (even if what he’s asking is for max to refuse) is exactly what he’s missing. (It becomes a game, max doesn’t feel bad anymore- but keeps up his refusal to be bratty on the principle of him deciding to do it. He loves Charles for pulling it out of him anyway)

I literally ended it with “ And then max does just as Charles suggested in the media pen. He is sweet and docile and complimentary and everyone tears out their hair trying to get a max Verstappen comment out of him. PR is either fired or begs him to return to normal. After all, everyone prefers max how he is. “

This is already what’s happening IRL thank GOD cause I crave his bitchy media

- ⭐️🥣

Damnit you little Shakespeare, stop outwriting me in my comments and asks for fuck's sake this is such a good concept!🥺😭

Now I want to write it, stopppp🥺👉👈