#sue townsend

[do-you-know-this-play]

[19th-century-gay-german-teens]

This is… a REALLY long longshot…

But anyone got a Sue Townsend’s Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4 (The Musical) [2015 Leicester/2017 Off-West End/2019 West End] slime tutorial kicking around somehow?

I’m really not fussed which production or actor playing Adrian, I just kind of want to see the show.

(I will however tag Sebastian Croft’s tag because if any fandom is likely to know where to find it, it’s probably the Heartstopper fandom.)

[janeeyreheresy]

A little Jane Eyre crack

(No, not Rose and her St Olaf stories!)

These two come not from me but from other writers.

First, Lin Haire-Sargeant's book Heathcliff - The Return to Wuthering Heights. No, it's not the wrong sister. However, there's is no way of mentioning it without spoilers--so spoilers below.

***SPOILER*** It's a story of Heathcliff's three years away from Wuthering Heights. In this reimagining, Heathcliff is the son of Rochester and Bertha. Much of the plot takes place at Thornfield and features the familiar merry company. It's definitely an interesting concept, if nothing else. ***END SPOILER*** 

The second crack appears in Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction by Sue Townsend. You might be familiar with Adrian Mole diaries. The best known are the early ones, when he's a teenager in the 80s. He was still kinda adorkable then, plus the first two books give us such a good picture of Thatcher-era Britain. Unfortunately, he then grew up into a total loser, but that's beside the point. Weapons of Mass Destruction takes place 2002-2004; as you can no doubt tell from the title, Iraq war gets a lot of coverage. Adrian is in his mid-30s here. The bookshop he's working at starts a monthly book club and one of the titles is Jane Eyre. When they meet to discuss it, a character called Darren Birdsall says (entry of 26th February 2003):

"I reckon that George Bush is sort of like Mr Rochester and that Jane Eyre is a bit like Tony Blair."

Mr Carlton-Hayes, the bookshop owner, asks who Saddam is.

"Saddam is the mad wife in the attic."

Even I couldn't come up with something that crazy, so props to the late Sue Townsend.

[insidecroydon]

Bazaar & Rummage by Sue Townsend, Sanderstead, May 11-13

Continue reading Untitled

[slattenpat]

ngl

caving and reading kafka’s diaries was a lot like reading sue townend’s classic “the secret diary of adrian mole 13¾”

[vreugd-madelon]

The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole Review

The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole by Sue Townsend is a 203 page contemporary novel. It’s first published in 1984 and is set in 1982/83. It’s the 2nd book in a series, which is 8 books long in total.

At sixteen, Adrian Mole's life continues to be nothing but a set of tragic circumstances: His tempestuous relationship with an alluring schoolmate tortures him, while his intellectualism continues to be ignored by the British press. Despite it all he remains as agonizingly funny as ever in this, the second of his diaries.

I rate this book 3.5/5 Stars.

I read the 1st book when I was in high school for English class, probably over a decade ago, so that is why you won’t find a review on it on my page. So do still have that very same copy on my shelf, but I decided not to reread it, so let’s see how this goes.

I do think that Adrian is a typical 15-year old teenager, with many of the same issues that kids face today (even though this book is almost 40 years old); romance problems, acne, arguing parents. But he also has a flair for the dramatic, like running away with the dog at some point. Since this is an epistolary novel, it’s written like a diary, the book is really quick to get through as you often can read an entry when you have like 5-10 minutes of time, but the entries do vary a bit in length, which I don’t mind. There is also a good amount of humour in this book, both intentionally and also because of Adrian’s naivety, which got a good chuckle out of me at times.

Whenever I come across a copy of another book in this series, I will pick it up if it’s a decent price.

Do you have any questions? Or maybe some recommendations? Send me an ask here on Tumblr or tweet me. If you wish to support me, you can buy me a coffee! Or even buy my debut fantasy novel, The Mending Road.

[esiroa]

Sweet Magnolias S3 Spoilers

Did anyone else think the fight between Maddie, Helen and Dana Sue was so frustrating? Maddie didn't do anything wrong, Helen just lost her mind and couldn't face reality. She didn't like that Maddie made her face the fact that she wasn't happy and then her and Dana Sue acted like Maddie wasn't allowed to ask questions? Like ?????? Isn't that what margarita night has always been? Why are you two allowed to ask her questions about her love life but she's not allowed to ask about Ryan?

[ozzyfromthecafeteria]

no way. like that one guy? i know that one guy

[curlyhairedintrovertsworld]

"you all make all monotone characters aroace" is so fucking stupid. the reason so many "monotone" characters get this headcanon is because of their lack of interest in sex and or romance, not because they act cold or indifferent to other people.

maybe if the media showed us more bubbly happy go lucky characters, or whatever, with these lack of interests, then we wouldn't have to be dealing with this. maybe that's just going to keep happening until we are finally accepted and understood better in media.

it's not about personality. we don't get to choose the outright nature/personality/physical appearance of the aro/ace coded characters we come across. it's about whether or not we see our ace/aro selves in these characters. it's about whether or not this character is showing signs of sexual attraction or lack thereof, or signs of romantic attraction or lack thereof.

don't forget, so many of these characters are guarded from trauma (and are not actually monotone or two-dimensional) and we don't get to see them open up because the people who write them don't always know how to make them happy without bringing a love interest into the plot.

AND YEAH, aro/ace people are guarded in real life too because we are constantly being told that we're not real, that our identity isn't valid, or that we're rude and heartless and the bad kind of weird and annoying and childish and that we don't know what we're talking about. we get told our opinions don't matter. we get harassed. we get forced on blind dates. we get told we need to be raped. we are told our lives are sad/depressing. we are bombarded with heteronormativity and amatonormativity every waking moment. we're told we're going to die alone and that we're not as important because we're not desirable in the same way others are. the list goes on and on and on.

we are made to feel less desirable, less than human, and feeling like that can lead to being closed off, so YEAH, fuck off to anyone who hates the stereotype. it can be very relatable but is not the end all, and it is not our fault if a character as such, or not, doesn't come off outwardly sexual or romantic.

seriously, tag your aro/ace headcanon characters and your canon characters. maybe they all have the same appearance, or personality but is that really our fault if that's all the media has allowed us? no, it's not, and i doubt we're as full as the same types of characters as we're told we are. or, hell, maybe we are and haters gonna hate us because we and our aspec coded babes don't want to be their friend, let alone anything else.

[hq-screencaps]

Sweet Magnolias Season 1 ↳ 37,062 1080p logofree screencaps

[do-you-know-this-play]

[number-0-iz]

So I am on season 3 episode 6 and what the hell are Helen, Dana Sue and Tyler on? Helen and Dana Sue are gaining up on Maddie. Tyler brought Annie to Jackson when her birthday went to shit at the end due to her weirdass aunt showing up, Mary Vaughn sees him and chews him out and then he gets mad at Annie? Saying that he won't bring her to Castlewood, I understand that, but saying she can't go at all? That's ridiculous??? And he gets all jealous about her and Jackson when they are together? Like dude I like you but you have no right.

[murkyhazed-is-archiving]

they're super secret for right now until i fully catch up

[havewereadthis]

• The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ • The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole • The True Confessions of Adrian Albert Mole • Adrian Mole: The Wilderness Years • Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years • Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction • The Lost Diaries of Adrian Mole, 1999–2001 • Adrian Mole: The Prostrate Years

"Adrian Mole faces the same agonies which life sets before most adolescents: troubles with girls, school, parents, and an uncaring world. The difference, though, between young Master Mole and his peers is that this British lad keeps a diary -- an earnest chronicle of longing and disaster that has convulsed more than five million readers since its two-volume initial publication."

[edwinspaynes]

Did it ever occur to you that just because you want to ship Edwin with CK doesn’t mean he consented to anything TCK was doing? Edwin asked him to take the bracelet off multiple times because it wasn’t safe for him to stay in Port Townsend. He even told the cat king that the bracelet was their only bond. Implying Edwin was in any way “asking for it” or flirting back with him is really gross. Edwin realized he was gay. But being gay doesn’t mean he likes every boy he sees (which obviously upset Simon too, but that’s a different story).

I... what

You've caught me on a bad night while I'm sick so here we go!

Okay first of all ?? I'm a Payneland shipper who thinks Catwin has interesting story potential??? I would not want them to be endgame???

(Also yeah I like catwin and want to read/write fic about them. Fucking sue me)

But that's not the point??

Second of all no one said he was ""asking for it"". That WOULD be disgusting but oh my God I haven't even met a CATWIN SHIPPER who thinks that the bracelet thing was good beyond being PART OF AN INTERESTING STORY. Literally 0 people in this fandom have insinuated that he's ""asking for it"" you're insane.

Third of all TCK's appeal is that he is a literal fucking cat. He behaves like a CAT.

Fourth of all yeah he's not looking to get dicked down by every guy he sees yeah but also. If Edwin isn't attracted to TCK then pray tell what the hell is happening here

Fourth of all don't imply that I don't care about Edwin's being happy because anyone who I've ACTUALLY spoken to in this fandom knows that's my top fucking priority here. There are literally FIVE characters I feel THIS fucking attached to and I consume A LOT OF MEDIA and love A LOT OF CHARACTERS. I would take a bullet for Edwin Payne so shut up.

Please leave me and other people who actually ship Catwin alone. One of the best things about this fandom is the lack of ship wars. Don't make it ugly.

[littlechameleonguy]

Figure Out What the Rest Means (part 1?)

Pairing: Edwin Payne/Charles Rowland

Rating: E

Word Count: 2386

Charles and Edwin might have come out of hell with a little different points of view from the confession. Gladly, Charles finally realizes that too.

Charles watched fondly as Edwin and Crystal bantered about how to handle their research about the new case while simultaneously getting ready to leave the office. They’d come a long way since Port Townsend. Of course, they were still Edwin and Crystal, still bickering, still both too stubborn for their own good but they were also friends now and that was just brills. His two favorite people getting along was a big win in Charles’ book.

“So we’re off then,” Edwin announced to Charles and Niko who were staying behind at the office. Charles had to clean up the backpack and in extend parts of their storage and Niko was still going through Edwin’s books to memorize as many supernatural phenomena as possible. They all had to adjust to the new situation but it was great.

Their agency had grown. Crystal and Niko were in the office almost every day but stayed with Jenny during the nights in a small flat. So the nights still belong to Edwin and Charles and their research as it always had been. Also, the Night Nurse (no, Charles was not allowed to call her Charlie) popped in from time to time to check on them. She was still cold and distant most of the time but Charles was sure she was warming up a little. Everyone liked him eventually.

So things were great, really great. Everyone he loved was around and still, things between him and Edwin had kind of stayed the same, at least when they were alone. But that was the problem though, wasn’t it? After what happened in hell Charles had expected things to be a little different but they weren’t. In fact, Edwin acted like his whole confession had never happened and that was a little confusing.

Charles was of course happy that it hadn’t gotten weird between them, that was truly the last thing he wanted but he’d hoped for a little more. Edwin completely ignored every bit of flirting on Charles’ part and he didn’t say or do anything different than before himself. Which was fine, their friendship was amazing, always had been but Charles had thought that they would move to something else and they hadn’t and he hated to admit it but he was a little disappointed. He’d thought they wanted to figure out the feelings between them and it was just not happening.

But right now Edwin smiled at him and if Charles still had a beating heart, it would have probably stopped for a second. “If you find the book about deep-water plant life, can you put it on the desk for me?” He asked and Charles nodded. The damn thing should be somewhere in the bag. “Sure, mate. Have fun,” he responded to both Edwin and Crystal. “Have fun!” Niko echoed and moved to Charles’ side to see them off. Crystal waved them goodbye and she and Edwin left.

Charles didn’t realize he was staring at the door for multiple minutes until Niko liked their arms. He looked down at her and she was already smiling warmly at him. “I noticed something,” she said with a cute little melody in her voice. She was adorable. “You’re staring,” she finished. He grinned not ashamed at all. “Am I?” She nodded. “You’ve been staring at Edwin all morning and.” She stretched out the word. “you’re smiling a lot while doing so.”

Charles still wasn’t ashamed, he didn’t care that he got caught. Edwin was damn pretty, sue him. “I have, haven’t I?” he agreed still grinning and Niko hugged his arm even tighter in return. “If I wouldn’t know better, I’d say you like him after all.” Charles raised a brow. “Who said I don’t?” Her smile faded a little and she tilted her head questioning to one side. “You?” She answered confusing Charles further.

“Of course, I like Edwin, what are you talking about?” That on the other hand seemed to confuse Niko further. “He confessed his feelings for you, didn’t he?” She asked and Charles nodded even though he wasn’t sure how much Edwin had told Niko. “Yeah,” he answered slowly. “And you told him you didn’t like him back that way, right?” She investigated further.

Charles blinked multiple times before he was able to form a sentence again. “Is that what he said? That I don’t like him back.” Niko shrugged but then nodded. Charles gasped for air he didn’t really need. This had to be a joke but part of him already knew it wasn’t because suddenly their whole not changed situation made a lot more sense. “That is what Edwin got from that conversation? Bloody hell.” He tried to stay calm, this wasn’t Niko’s fault.

“What did you say to him?” She asked and at this point, Charles saw no reason not to tell her. “I told him that I love him. I told him that he is the most important person in the world for me. I told him that there is no one else I would go to hell for. I just…” he hesitated because this was so frustrating and his voice had gone louder with every sentence. “But I also said that I can’t say that I’m in love with him,” he concluded a lot quieter.

He looked at Niko and felt almost desperate for her to understand. She wasn’t Edwin, she wasn’t the person who needed to understand but right now Charles just needed anyone to understand. “I told him that we’ll figure this out, that we have forever to figure this out but Niko I love him, of course I love him. How can he not know that?”

Her smile returned and she hugged his arm a little tighter for a moment. “Because he’s Edwin, he rarely expects good things to happen. Neither do you by the way,” she added and raised both her eyebrows for a second. Again, he blinked confused. “What do you mean?” Her smile got brighter. “That you too are missing the point here.” He still didn’t get it. “You like Edwin and Edwin likes you,” she clarified. “And even though you have known that for the last couple of months, he hasn’t.”

His frustration vanished. She was right. Edwin hadn’t acted on the fact that they both liked each other because Edwin didn’t know. “I have to tell him,” he concluded and Niko happily started to bounce on her feet. “Yes! We can fix it!” She sounded excited and somehow that made Charles excited too because she was right. It just wasn’t right that Edwin didn’t know that he meant the world to Charles. He needed to make this clear so that even Edwin’s thick, self-deprecating head would have to understand.

“Right, you’re right. I can fix this, I will fix this.” He grinned and so did Niko. “You’ll help me, yeah?” He asked and nodded excitedly. And so they started planning, completely abandoning the tasks they were supposed to work on today.

If Charles had had more time, he would have liked to prepare more but Niko’s phone had buzzed about ten minutes ago with a message from Crystal that she and Edwin were on their way back. Niko had bought him a little extra time by asking if they could bring food but Charles still had to wrap this up.

They were on the roof because it came down to this or the office, and he didn’t want to do this downstairs. The office was their place but it certainly wasn’t a really romantic place. The roof suited a love confession much better, not that Charles could use a worse place than Edwin had. Also, Niko was amazing, she had brightened up the place in no time.

There were fairy lights and candles and a nice place with blankets and pillows for Charles and Edwin to sit. Charles had mostly just done what she’d suggested and he didn’t regret it, it looked cozy. He’d also added the little touch of him and Edwin he needed for this. There was the lamp Edwin had brought when Charles had died, the same one Charles had used in hell to save Edwin. It was just fitting and also he wanted a little more light than just the fairy lights and candles because he also had brought books. He didn’t want to read them particularly, he more wanted them to just be around.

There was the book Edwin had read to him the night they’d met and a play of Orpheus and Eurydice Edwin had got for him after he confessed in hell, so that Charles knew how this story ended. (He’d never finished it. He already knew it ended badly, so he didn’t want to know.) Also, some other books he just knew Edwin liked, including the one he was currently reading and the deep-water plant one he found in the bag so he’d at least done part of his assigned job.

“We should go back downstairs, they should be here any minute now,” Niko said and Charles nodded. She searched his eyes. “Are you ready?” She was probably as jittery about this as he was. He grinned. “Yeah.” Then he shook his head. “Also no.” She chuckled. “I’m sure it will be great.” He smiled and then he hugged her. “Thank you.”

Charles tried to act natural after they went down but he was restless about this. How could this be so hard? He already knew that Edwin was in love with him, there was nothing he needed to worry about. He still did. If he’d still been alive his heart would be racing right now and his hands would be so sweaty. There was no point in denying it, he was nervous. He couldn’t stare at the door, he needed to calm down. So instead he fixed his eyes on the desk.

When the door opened, Charles turned again and suddenly the world seemed to hold. It was a good thing that he didn’t need to breathe anymore because seeing Edwin and knowing he would confess to him tonight made him forget that breathing used to be a thing. Edwin was beautiful and of course, Charles knew that, he’d known Edwin for decades but at this moment it hit Charles with full force. Edwin was radiant.

Charles hadn’t realized that the others were talking until Edwin addressed him. “Charles, are you all right?” For a second that felt far longer Charles couldn’t speak. “I love you,” he blurted out. Edwin just smiled fondly. “I know, I lo…” “No!” Charles interrupted him. “You don’t know, that's the problem.” He sounded more angry than he wanted to, he wasn’t angry after all, just frustrated.

For a second the room got uncomfortably silent. “Okay, I think that is our cue to go,” Crystal said then and took Niko by the arm who gave Charles a weak smile. He smiled back. “I’m sorry, that’s not quite how I planned it,” He apologized but she just smiled brighter and gave him two thumbs up while she and Crystal left.

Only when the door had fallen shut, he turned back to Edwin who wasn’t quite looking at him. “Listen, mate, I’m sorry, again not what I’ve planned but I hate that you don’t know. How can you not know?” Edwin still didn’t look at him. “You said you were not in love with me.” His voice was barely more than a whisper. “Well no, I didn’t. I said that I can’t say that I’m in love with you.” He moved a little closer to his best friend. “I also can’t say I’m not in love with you.”

Edwin finally met his gaze. He looked shocked. “Elaborate,” he asked and Charles was only too happy to oblige. “I love you,” he said again, both because Edwin needed to know and because it just felt good to say it. “But in love seems big, very big. When I say that to you, I want to be one hundred percent sure that I mean it. Shit, man, we were in literal hell, we haven’t even kissed and you expected me to say that I’m in love with you just there and then, nay. I want to do this right. I owe you to do this right.” He shook his head and then corrected himself. “I owe us to do this right.”

Edwin drew in a breath he didn’t need. He still looked so uncertain and Charles hated that. “I’m still confused, Charles. What does that mean exactly?” Charles couldn’t stop himself from actually groaning in frustration. “Okay, let me make it absolutely clear so that even you get this into your thick scull; I love you, as more than a friend. I want to be with you. You’re the smartest person I know, how can you not get this?”

“Charles, I…” “Nah,” Charles interrupted him. “I’m not done.” He moved another step closer so that there was almost no space left between them and cupped Edwin’s face in his hands. Edwin leaned into the touch and suddenly Charles had no idea what he’d been about to say. “You’re so beautiful,” he said instead. Edwin made a sound that was somewhere between a laugh and a sob and he let his forehead gently fall to Charles’.

“Just to be sure I got this properly into my thick scull; You love me?” He asked and Charles made a sound that sounded pretty similar to the one Edwin had just made. “Yes, Edwin Payne, I love you,” he answered without hesitation. “I love you too, Charles Rowland,” Edwin answered and Charles felt like he could swallow the sun.

He chuckled. “Took us long enough, didn’t it?” “I was warned that it might take literally forever,” Edwin joked and Charles wanted to kiss him. Instead, he moved back a little to lock eyes with Edwin. “Do you want to see what Niko and I had actually planned for me to confess?” He asked and Edwin raised a brow. “Planned?” Charles grinned.

Now that the hard part was already out of the way, he was excited to show Edwin what they’d prepared on the roof. “Come on,” he said and he took Edwin’s hand like he’d done a million times before. Only this time it meant so much more.

************

But why don’t they kiss? Easy, the story’s not done! But honestly, no idea when motivation might strike again, sorry ^^° Wish me luck!