#dead sister's favorite book series and the main character was your first fictional crush and just so happens to be based off of your 2/?

[shipping-is-the-shit]

My Loud House Sin kids AU

(Sin Kids meaning- a fandom term for fictional sibling x sibling ship kids or fictional adult/minor ship kids)

So I’ve been getting into the loud house fandom lately and i found out the “sin kids” concept/AU where Lincoln has kids with his sisters and stuff, so yeah you know how that is, anyway i decided to create my own sin kids but between Bobby x Lincoln. The ship was first inspired by @samsuchan​ and by then i hadn’t really thought of the idea of bobby x lincoln but when I actually thought about it it sounded cute so decided to draw their sin kids

(yes i am aware that bobby looks different here, i just don’t really like his headshape plus this is easier to draw)

So this is how my AU goes, It all started normally till after the episode where Lincoln and Bobby hang out,Lincoln finds out that he unfortunately has a crush on Bobby and tries to surpress the feelings because of the age gap and cause he’s dating Lori so later on they find out they have feelings for each other and then start having their secret relationship, it’s all fine and good till one day Bobby drinks Lisa’s potion and then one day unknowingly has a kid, he had no idea about it cause his stomach didn’t even swell and he wasn’t even showing the usual pregnancy symptoms, he just went to take a dump one day and found a fucking baby that looked identical to him and Lincoln, Bobby asks to move out and tries to keep the birth of the kid a secret from everyone except Lincoln, they keep unknowingly having more kids, thinking the effects of the potion would’ve worn off but it didn’t till their seventh kid, when Lincoln turned eighteen he moved out to go live with bobby and the kids but it didn’t take long for everyone to find out what was going on and be surprised and furious, well furious mostly referring to Mr and Mrs Loud, Lori,Ronnie Anne and the Casagrandes of course. They currently have seven kids though i’m still struggling with whether or not this takes place in the original sin kids AU of the loud house especially since Bobby is supposed to be dead in that AU, Well anyways time to introduce the kids!

LUISA   LOUD, 16 years old

She is sixteen years old but mature for her age. She has a studious, serious and formal personality. She dislikes her buck teeth because she thinks less people might take her seriously because of it. She does smile but it doesn’t happen much. She loves reading adventure/mystery novels and is neat and organized like her father Bobby. She is responsible so she gets easily annoyed with her other sisters’s irresponsibility and she always does her best to please people and abide by rules.

  LILIANA LOUD, 15 years old

A total comic book enthusiast,she does play video games but spends most of her time drawing comics and manga and watching anime. She has anxiety and stutters with her words. She can be kind and sweet but likes saying humorous depressed and suicidal lines from time to time which can most times annoy or creep out her sisters and parents. She is an anti-social shut in with no friends and just like her dad Bobby she is very clingy to people she’s close to. She can’t even imagine a single day without her dads and is very clearly not independent on her own. Her favorite comic book series is Ace Savvy which she likes to read with her dad Lincoln plus she also has a hobby of drawing hentai which she tries to hide from everyone.

   LUPE   LOUD, 14 years old

Lupe is extremely irresponsible, feared by almost all of her sisters and sometimes even her parents!, she is considered to be “that one sibling you just don’t want to fuck with” in the house of the Loud and sees herself as a badass and regularly makes snarky comments . She likes to be on her own with her own private space but is not as anti-social as Lilianna . She gets annoyed easily and regularly yells at her siblings (tho its mostly the younger ones). She is not as petty as to do random shit just to piss people off but she’ll do it if she hates you. She also finds it fun to regularly tease people(not in a sexual way) and also likes to play videogames. Her favorite band is also “SMOOCH” though she can’t play any musical instruments so she just listens to music.She can sometimes be close with her sisters Liliana and Luz.She also regularly swears in spanish.

LUPITA  LOUD, 13 years old

She is as cool as a cucumber and is very level headed and chill like her father and doesn’t really care or get bothered by most things though unlike Bobby she is extremely lazy and mostly spends her time lazing around the house much to Bobby’s disappointment. She sees herself as cool and is also obsessed with being cool . She gets unhappy when she has to do work even if it’s for her own good. Her favorite past time is sleeping, she doesn’t really have any skills and even if she does it’s probably something stupid like being able to make a fart sound with your armpit or being able to get your toe to touch your nose, she also uses the word “dude” in almost every sentence. Her laziness can also annoy her siblings from time to time.

    LUZ     LOUD, 12 years old

(yes she’s inspired from the owl house)

  Luz is the main character of my Lincoln x Bobby AU, she is a very happy go lucky girl and is always optimistic. She is trustworthy of everyone around her which can make her a victim of her sisters’s plans as she is gullible, despite being dimwitted she is very good at making plans to get out of sticky or difficult  situations. She also dreams to be an astronaut when she grows up and likes designing spaceship ideas. Her favorite past time is playing video games with her dad Lincoln though other times she considers Lupa as her gaming partner. Lupa and Luz constantly argue but they have their moments. Luz also reads comics from time to time though only if they have something to do with space.

LORENA   LOUD, 11 years old

Lorena is a very mischeivious girl who is always looking for new ways to piss people off all in the name of getting a reaction, she does this to everybody though her favorite victim is Lupa. She likes to be an annoying asshole to almost everyone and rarely abides by the rules. Her favorite past time is pulling ghost pranks and making fun of people,she finds joy in laughing at others misfortunes,she also makes ghost jokes. She likes reading comics about ghosts and has a big interest for paranormal stuff. She is a big fan of ghostbusters and dreams of being an excorcist when she grows up.She also has a bit of a gothish personality. Just think of her entire personality as that annoying and buggy little sister,yeah thats her.

LUCIANA    LOUD, 10 years old

  Despite her age, her street smarts is on a whole other level. She has a huge interest in business or commerce topics or subjects. She has a calm personality but is most times obnoxious, she also really likes money, especially gaining it. She is known to be a trickster both in the house of the louds and even out in the streets. She helps her dad Bobby to run his store and one day hopes to be a successful businesswoman in the future. Her partner in crime and the one she hangs out the most with is Lorena.

Hope you guys like my idea and the characters!

Content about the characters or my AU will always be appreciated!

The original sin kids AU was inspired by (or atleast i think it was) @liosdoodles , @trillhouse-lh , @patanu102​ , @sadistcshy​ 

This is hands down the most cursed thing i have ever drawn lol.

#sin kids #loud sin kids #problematic art #problematic shipping #problematic ship #problematic family #tw age gap #tw age difference #tw problematic ship #bobbincoln

[terramythos]

TerraMythos 2021 Reading Challenge - Book 12 of 26

Title: A Wizard of Earthsea (Earthsea Cycle #1) (1968)

Author: Ursula K. Le Guin

Genre/Tags: Fantasy, Young Adult, Third-Person

Rating: 8/10

Date Began: 5/6/2021

Date Finished: 5/12/2021

Ged is a talented young magician with incredible potential-- possibly greater than any before him. He sets off to join the wizarding School of Roke, and quickly surpasses all of his peers. But in an act of arrogance, Ged tries to bring back the dead to impress a rival student. He unleashes a malevolent shadow upon the world, leaving him traumatized and permanently scarred. 

Soon Ged finds himself hunted by the shadow wherever he goes. None of his magic seems to work on it. Worse, he lives in fear that if the dark creature overtakes him, it will use his body as a weapon to harm others. Ged journeys from island to island in an attempt to find the solution and banish the shadow once and for all. 

Only in silence the word, only in dark the light,  only in dying life:  bright the hawk’s flight  on the empty sky. 

Content warnings and some spoilers below the cut. 

Content warnings for the book: Violence and death, including child death and animal death. Traumatic injury. 

As a fiction writer, Ursula K. Le Guin is best known for her Earthsea series, but I haven’t read them until now. She had a big impact on my childhood via a series of picture books called Catwings (they're... about a family of cats who can fly). As an adult, I’ve grown more intrigued as I've learned about Le Guin’s philosophies, especially anticapitalism. I read her famous horror story The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas last year and found it unsettling and thought-provoking. So I decided to read some of her longer works! And, of course, speculative fiction is always the way to my heart. My wonderful sister gave me the first four books of Earthsea for the holidays last year, and I’m finally getting the chance to read them. 

Overall I had a good time with A Wizard of Earthsea. It’s structured differently than a lot of fantasy novels I’ve read. While there is a big overarching plot, the individual chapters usually have their own complete story arc. It’s the type of book where you can read one chapter before bed and feel like you got a whole story; each part advances the main narrative while also providing a complete side adventure. 

There’s a lot of travel in A Wizard of Earthsea due to the setting. Earthsea is a giant, possibly world-spanning archipelago, meaning there’s a ton of islands, each of which has its own way of life. The conflict naturally has Ged travel from island to island and interact with various peoples and creatures. The closest comparison I can think of is The Odyssey, and I’d be shocked if Le Guin didn’t draw inspiration from that. Both stories involve the protagonist traveling by sea and meeting a variety of characters and mythological creatures through smaller, discrete conflicts and interactions. Usually I find long travel sequences boring, but in this case they were one of my favorite parts of the book. There’s always a sense of anticipation on where Ged’s journey will take him next. 

The magic system is also is pretty cool. The idea is that all parts of nature, from humans to goats to oceans, have hidden “true” names. Knowing something (or someone’s) true name gives one power over it (or them). Thus wizards use true names to manipulate nature; giving another person your true name is an act of absolute trust and devotion. However, a big theme of the book is equilibrium. One must always be aware of potential consequences when using magic. Changing the wind in one part of the world could cause a devastating storm one island over. Sort of a butterfly effect type thing. 

Even though violence is one of my content warnings, I’m impressed that Le Guin largely circumvents it in the story. In many fantasy stories, a wizard/mage character uses their magic to fight and crush their foes. Not so much in this novel. While Ged clashes with various entities through the story, he usually just outsmarts them. Thus his showdown with a big, fuck-off dragon boils down to Ged guessing its true name and telling it to leave. Antagonists are usually the ones instigating violence. 

One thing I found odd about the pacing of the book is it slowed down a lot in the last few chapters. There’s a big action sequence with serious consequences around the novel’s midpoint, but everything after that is slower and more reflective. On a surface reading level, I’m not sure I liked this. I’m used to stories ramping up the tension more and more until the end. However, I did like the climax itself, when Ged reveals the shadow’s true name. The central moral of the novel is that one needs to accept everything about themselves, including their past mistakes. Everyone has a dark side, which ties into the central theme of balance, and even the opening poem of the novel (which I used as the excerpt for this review). It’s a pretty universal idea, but Le Guin presents it in a thematically satisfying way. 

I tagged this as a Young Adult novel because Le Guin wrote it for a teenage audience. YA didn’t exist as its own genre at the time, but A Wizard of Earthsea is a coming of age story (a staple of YA), and even has a moral message of sorts at the end. However, sometimes it’s really obvious that it’s intended for a younger audience. As I get older, I’ve noticed that YA tends to be pretty blunt about its meaning and symbolism in a way adult novels aren’t. For example, while pursuing the shadow, Ged gets lost in a mysterious fogbank. To me this was a clear callback to the first chapter, where Ged outsmarts a band of barbarians by trapping them in a fog. But Le Guin also made sure to tell me several pages later, in case I missed the parallel. I’m torn on this when reading YA. While I’m not the intended audience, I feel this approach underestimates teenagers’ ability to critically examine a text. But YA teaches many how to view things that way, so I see why authors do it. Teens aren’t a monolith, but it is interesting to see this tendency to over-explain in a novel from 50+ years ago. 

A Wizard of Earthsea is surprisingly progressive in many respects. Perhaps the most obvious is race. Ged and most of the main cast are explicitly nonwhite and described as such in the text. This isn’t a huge revelation in 2021, but it’s amazing to see something like that in a mainstream fantasy novel from 1968. Apparently Le Guin struggled with publishers for a long time, as many early covers whitewashed Ged for the sake of “sales” until she gained more creative control. And the (shitty) film/TV adaptations of Earthsea are just as guilty. I went through a LOT of covers while researching this book, and even newer editions often opt for heavily stylized art, nonhuman subjects, etc. The cover I chose is from 1984, when Le Guin presumably had more influence on Ged’s portrayal. I’m interested to see how past book covers stack up when I deep dive on the other books. 

However, I found the book to be not so progressive when it came to gender roles (I know, I wasn’t expecting that either). Le Guin makes it very clear that all the famous and powerful wizards/mages in Earthsea are dudes. The wizard school toward the beginning is all dudes. All the adventurers and sailors in the story are dudes. Ged himself makes some pretty sexist comments (though to be fair, that was pre-character development). There are relatively few female characters in the story, and many are either bit parts or (in one case) a seductive, power-hungry villain. Portraying sexism in a fantasy setting isn’t an inherently bad thing. Jemisin’s Dreamblood duology, which I read earlier this year, introduced stringent gender roles in order to explore the insidious nature of misogyny. But A Wizard of Earthsea doesn’t really go beneath the surface level. Yarrow is probably the most well-written female character in the story, and she only shows up in the last few chapters. Again, I’m interested to see how Le Guin handles this in later entries; the next book stars a female protagonist and Ged’s the deuteragonist. 

I liked A Wizard of Earthsea overall, and I think it serves as a good introduction to both the series and a central recurring character. While I have some criticisms of the first book, I do realize it’s a relatively early work of Le Guin’s. The last novel in this series was published in 2001, so I’m interested to see how the characters and writing changed over 30+ years. 

#2021 reading challenge #8/10 #taylor reads

[thecloserkin]

book review: Mira Grant, Deadline (2011)

Genre: Sci-Fi

Is it the main pairing: Yes

Is it canon: Yes

Is it explicit: No

Is it endgame: Yes

Is it shippable: Yes

Bottom line: how is it possible that the book where one half of OTP is dead is shippier than the first one where they’re both alive

Book 2 of the Newsflash trilogy picks up with our boy Shaun, who’s turned desk jockey since he lost George, riding to the rescue of some buddies beset by a zombie swarm. Everyone makes it out alive and Shaun tries to play it like it’s no biggie but the truth is,

I’ve lost one of the integral traits of a good Irwin: I’m not having fun. When I wind up in the field, it’s a chore to be survived, not an adventure to be relished. Without that little spark of gosh-golly-wow to drive me on, I’m essentially a dead person walking … George is the one who stopped breathing, but I’m the one who gave up on living.

Without George he has nothing to live for and so he’s sensibly withdrawn from fieldwork. The one thing that keeps him going is George’s voice in his head, chiding him for (among other things) picking up a coffee instead of a can of Coke. He’s started drinking Coke to appease her. He says it himself: “I am a haunted house pretending to be a man.” As for whether she’s real or just a figment of his imagination, this is Shaun’s take:

Screw sane. I don’t want anything that makes her stop talking to me.

Buckle up for an angst rollercoaster, kids:

One apartment for me and George, who didn’t take up any physical space but was so much a part of every room that sometimes I could fool myself into thinking she had just stepped out for some fresh air.

Several people have said it doesn’t really feel like anybody lives there, and what they don’t seem to understand is I like it that way. As long as I’m not really living there, I never have to think about the fact that I’m living there alone.

Outwardly he’s functional i guess but this is not the behavior of a person who has Moved On.

Sometimes I think this series is a how-to manual for small business owners masquerading as science fiction. For Shaun and George, the work used to be everything. Now George is gone Shaun is in the unenviable position of having to make all the tough calls, and second-guessing every last one because maybe George would have done it better. Oy vey. Offhand he informs us that their parents are also suing Shaun for ownership of her intellectual property. I always knew they were vultures but seriously???

So Shaun’s raison d’être right now is to bring down the person or people who murdered George. Obviously this does not mean the ones who pulled the trigger, it means the ones who gave the order & plotted to remove her. In the process of doing this he uncovers an even bigger conspiracy—although maybe it’s merely the same conspiracy from Book 1, only expanded in scope. I’m not sure. What I’m mainly interested in is how bad absolutely clueless Shaun is at signaling or perceiving romantic interest. Like, there’s a co-worker/employee of his, and they’re thrown together rather a lot, and she’s clearly crushing on him hard only Shaun’s too dense to see it. After the whole affair ends disastrously (he sleeps with the poor girl then calls her by George’s name) he ruminates:

”Why would I know what the signs were? I never had to read them before.”

It’s obvious why Shaun, a not-unattractive grown ass man whose other social skills appear to fall well within the range of “normal,” has such atrophied skills when it comes to this one thing. He’s never had to use them. Here’s Maggie the relationship guru:

”Have you ever had a girlfriend?” “Not as such, no.” ”Have you ever been in love?” There’s never been a good answer to that question. I didn’t even try. I just shrugged.

I can’t find the tweet anymore but Seanan Maguire has confirmed that Shaun and George first got together the night after junior prom—they went with other people as a sort of experiment. (@JKRowling see, this is the sort of authorial headcanon that the fans actually clamor for.) The two of them just skipped right over the tentative fumbling awkward initial stages of dating, of getting to know each other, because they already know each other inside out. Shaun says:

Sometimes I’m even arrogant enough to think the Rising happened so we could be together.

Colloquially we use the term two people “being together” to mean they enter into an exclusive romantic relationship. But it’s intentionally ambiguous here whether he means that, or just the two of them finding each other, because what would have been the chances of their being raised together absent a global catastrophe like a zombie apocalypse. Shaun finds it impossible to separate the romantic aspect of their relationship from the familial bond, and that’s why I love incest thanks for coming to my ted talk. Oh, here’s Mahir the relationship guru:

”I mean, I didn’t know…” “What, that I loved your sister? Of course you didn’t, just like you had no idea Rebecca fancied you. You never had to go searching like the rest of us.”

Can I just say, on an unrelated note, I feel SO BAD for Mahir’s wife who’s not even a proper character? She doesn't get any screentime. But this is a small business how-to manual, remember, and the way Shaun is always ringing Mahir at 2 in the morning and Mahir feels obligated to pick up because it’s his boss? Mahir’s wife is a saint, canonize her immediately. Back to my earlier point about how Shaun has less experience with flirting/dating than your average fourteen-year-old:

This sort of thing was easier to handle when George was around. She was always the one who noticed when girls started crushing on me, and she made them go away. One way or another. I’ve never tried to deal with this sort of situation on my own before.

What’s fascinating is that it’s not just romantic entanglements that he’s at a loss to deal with:

I’d never driven any real distance with a passenger—not unless you counted George, who didn’t actually change the way the bike was balanced, or make it necessary for me to compensate for additional weight.

WHEN GEORGE RODE PILLION ON HIS MOTORCYCLE IT DIDN’T EVEN THROW OFF HIS BALANCE!!! He’s not used to having to think about compensating for a passenger’s weight bc with George everything came naturally!!! If this isn’t a metaphor for their entire relationship idk what the hell it is.

She didn’t like touching people, so I touched them for her. She didn’t like emotional displays, so I took up the slack.

She was the yin to his yang, they were a team etc etc. Here is how Shaun reacts when the book’s antagonist gives his Evil Villain Spiel:

”I never gave you much credit for brains, Shaun—that was your sister’s department, God rest her soul, and if she made any errors in judgment, it was in trusting you to watch her back—but I still thought you were smarter than this.” “You take that back,” I whispered.

Shaun couldn’t care less that this fool gives him zero credit in the brains department, but let him impugn George’s judgment even slightly and our boy is ready to throw hands. We stan.

These are my two favorite passages from the book:

George and I shared a lot of rooms exactly like this one, one of us dozing while the other kept working, the staccato click of keys providing the white noise that meant it was safe to sleep.

It’s a work partnership! It’s a sibling bond! It’s a romantic pairing! It’s us-against-the-world, it’s everything! Also this:

George and I used to have shower races. Who could get in and clean and out again in the shortest amount of time. All the guys we went to school with insisted that their girlfriends and sisters took forever in the bathroom, but George always beat me … once a month or so, she’d take over the bathroom for an afternoon to dye her hair back to its original color, which inevitably resulted in her shouting for me to come in and help her dye her roots. The sink on our old bathroom was stained a permanent brown by the time we were sixteen, and we ruined so many towels.

Lol the implied contrast between “other guys who complained about their gfs/sisters” and Shaun who’s been President of the Georgia Mason Fan Club for over two decades.

ANYWAY the twist at the end of this novel is that George is alive. She’s being held at some scary, sterile government facility, and it’s clear from a minor early plot point involving clones that this isn’t George, it’s got to be a George-clone. Because George 1.0 died in Shaun’s arms. But George 2.0 has got all George’s memories so we’re going to go ahead and treat her just like George, which sets us up nicely for alternating Shaun-and-George POVs when we return for the final installment of the “Newsflesh” trilogy.

#book review #newsflesh #georgia x shaun

[pricryo]

All the love asks

“Blush : What do you do when you have a crush on someone?”- i draw art of them and make playlists for them in secret and imagine how cool it would be to hold them… i also try to do whatever i can to make them happy, even if it makes me sad.

“Kiss : What’s the sweetest thing someone has done for you?”- i was once given a series of letters that spanned over the course of december with roughly one letter every day until christmas! it was all good, positivity, lovey-dovey stuff!! i really cherish that. i also really cherish every single time john has drawn something for me!! especially the things that were to cheer me up!!!! 💛💖

“Cuddle : Which one of your mutuals do you really want to hug right now?”- @blondewolfhd come get your hugs, love!! 💛💖

“Heartbeat : What fictional character do you love?”- oh, plenty!! there’s a full list on my carrd under comfort characters, but the main romo comforts are: john laurens (hamilton musical), brightheart (warriors), hollyleaf (warriors), jay merrick (marble hornets), steve rogers (marvel), arthur pendragon (bbc merlin), sir leon (bbc merlin), sir lancelot du lac (bbc merlin), sir gwaine (bbc merlin), and john marston (red dead redemption)! 💛💖

“Romance : Perfect date?”- going to a zoo or an aquarium!!! that would be super fun!!!!! or like… going to a cafe… or really anything!!! like… the perfect part is just being there with my partner honestly…

“Joy : What truly makes you happy?”- being with my partners and just… having fun, goofing off!! or doing things together!!! just being with them and just… loving them… they make me happy.

“Happiness : Who are your kin?”- assuming this means family, i have an older brother and sister, a mother and father, and three nieces and a nephew. not counting my many, many cousins. or my uncles/aunt. however, i don’t really… consider them family, for the most part, other than my older brother and one of my nieces (i call her kidd and she’s got some issues, but she’s pretty chill). in addition, i also co-own one pug (meatball), one blue heeler mix (fluke), one white cat (archimedes), one orange tabby cat (napoleon), one calico cat (mr. meowgi), one albino rabbit (casper), one rabbit with a “wild coat” (acorn), and one rabbit that’s brown with black splotches (berry). i also have… three adoptive dads and four boyfriends!! 💛💖

“Love : Are you, or have you been, in love before?”- yes!! i am deeply in love with my boyfriends!! john and leon are the only two that aren’t in my system, but i love them all the same!! unfortunately, i do have a bad habit of only referring to john, mostly because i typically feel afraid to tell people i’m dating two of my headmates and one of his, and i really wish i could break that. leon, gwaine, lance, john… i love you all equally. 💛💖

“Beloved : What do you love the most about yourself?”- i’m trying harder to learn how to love myself, but i think… my eyes? or better yet, my creative talent. i’m trying really hard to hone my writing ability considering how it’s my special interest and i’m an aspiring author!!

“Sweet: Favorite love song?”- currently, it’s if i killed someone for you by alec benjamin, but other good ones i like include the anchor by bastille, white blood by oh wonder, and i found by amber run!!

“Cute : What’s your aesthetic?”- unfortunately… it changes way too often. over all it’s had a foresty theme for a while, but sometimes it’s also been retro games and pixel art, and sometimes it’s been sunflowers and pastel colors and being gentle, and once it was books and reading and coffee, and once it was pirates back when they were one of my special interests! right now, i don’t really know what it is, and i really wish i did.

“Thoughtful : If you could change your name, what would you call yourself?”- this is also a very hard question! right now, the current name i’m going with is timothy alexander lucas(?) laurens (or technically wright, but then when i marry john, it’ll be laurens)!! but i also like a few of my kin names (merlin, icarus, javier, and bucky namely)! and i’ve probably entertained the thought of a few other names at one point or another, but right now i’m most comfortable with being called tim by most people!

“Charming : Who helps motivate you?”- my partners are my main source of motivation!! 💛💖

“Beautiful : Who is your ideal significant other?”- i’m already with them!!! 💛💖

“Affection : Who do you ship?”- plenty of ships! my biggest ship rn (mostly because of the kin shift) is jovier (john marston/javier escuella)! another one of my major ships is merthur (merlin emrys/arthur pendragon)!! you can ask for a more extended list in a separate ask but rn this is all that comes to mind!!

“Kind : What Pokemon would you be?”- where i kin a lot of pokemon… i have many options, like umbreon, jirachi, pikachu, zorua/zoroark, midnight lycanroc, pyroar, shiny yamask, shiny quilava, the rowlet line, and deoxys! that isn’t even counting my synpaths, either! but right now, i’m feeling mostly like i’d be midnight lycanroc! :0

“Heart Beat : You’re getting coffee with a celebrity, who is it?”- i don’t really know!!;;

“Giggle : Do you believe in love at first sight?”- not exactly!! i believe you can feel attracted to a person, but you can’t fall super deeply into love with them until you know every little detail about what makes them wonderful!! 💛💖

“Laughter : Who can always make you laugh?”- my partners!! 💛💖

“Smile : What do you find attractive?”- i don’t really know!! ;w; i don’t think i have any specific preference, but john says i do, so i’m uncertain!!

“Warmth : What is your happy place?”- a warm bed in colorado curled up with my husbands! 💛💖

“Huggable : What are your favorite flowers?”- mostly sun flowers and tea roses!! there’s plenty of them i like that i can’t remember rn, though!!

“Soul Mate : Who is your best friend?”- without a doubt, my best friends are my partners! 💛💖

“Unique : What qualities do you look for in other people?”- generally, i want the people i’m dating to have similar values to mine (anti-racism, anti-terf, anti-trump, anti-islamophobia, anti-xenophobia, etc!) and be a good person!! nothing else really matters to me!! 💛💖

“Trust : Do you trust people easily?”- i used to trust super easily, but after being put through emotional abuse my one of my best friends at the time and being manipulated after putting all of my trust in her, i find i can’t do that so easily!! however, i’m still slightly easy to trust, from what i’ve noticed recently!!

“Dearest : What item is most dear to you?”- literally anything my partners have ever given me!! like the candles john made!! or the art!! or the letters!!! or the minecraft sheep plushie that i love a whole lot!!! or the blankets!! or the things they’ve taken from the bad house and brought to me!! i love them a lot!!! 💛💖

#blondewolfhd #best of men and best of husbands #ask response #tim.txt #coffee addict #lancelot du lovely #little leon man #long post //// #untagged otherwise /// #may tag later /// #kin #thank you for asking!!! <3 #cc #electric mouse #dnalien #master of illusion #red howler #flaming feline #moon fox #dapper owl #shell of a man

[cozyreviews]

2020 Reading Wrap-Up

This year was extremely cathartic in terms of reading. The past few years I’ve been reading, but not very fast and not very often. I am proud to say that as of today, I have read 31 books this year. Not only was this the most I’ve ever read period, but the most varying in genres that I’ve ever read. Normally I stick to ya contemporary and fantasy, but this year I jumped around from middle grade to adult to new adult back to ya. I also discovered my favorite authors of all time. The books I read this year were fun, eye-opening, and engaging. Some of them I definitely didn’t like as much as the others, but that’s a story for later.

Without further or do...here are my top 8 of the year!

1. The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

This is the book that started my rom-com kick this year. I started off the year finishing up the TATBILB series and I immediately jumped into The Hating Game and my god did I fall in love with it. If you haven’t heard of it, it follows Lucy and Josh who work together and are mortal enemies and well...I think you can guess where it goes. It’s hilarious, it’s sweet, and boy is it sexyyyy. I can’t wait to see it come to life on the big screen with Lucy Hale and Robbie Amell! They just started shooting and I can totally see them both being perfect in their rolls.

2. Josh & Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren

Last year for Christmas, this was one of the books I got - along with The Hating Game. It took a while to start this one but I loved it and it made me see how incredible Christina Lauren is. There’s a way that they write about love that’s unlike any other. This one was also sweet, hilarious, and sexy and the ending had me all emo. Friends to lovers is one of my favorite tropes so if that’s what you love, this one would be right up your alley. It’s about Hazel - a wacky, zany teacher who in college had several run-ins with Josh that didn’t go very well. Years later, they run into each other at a party and become friends. This eventually leads to them going on double dates with people they set each other up with - but they always end up going home together;)

3. The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

O. M. G. This was a WILD ride. I had no idea what to expect with this one but I definitely had many times where I was actually laughing out loud. The premise of this one is insane: our main character’s twin sister is getting married and she just so happens to hate the brother of the groom. On the night of the wedding, the main character and the brother end up being the only ones at the wedding who don’t get food poisoning so they’re forced by their siblings to take their honeymoon trip to Hawaii. If that hasn’t hooked you, I don’t know what will. 

4. In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren

THIS. BOOK. One of my favorites I’ve EVER read. It’s everything I could ever want: romance, humor, and CHRISTMAS! I feel like I should’ve kept this one closer to Christmas but I read it at the beginning of November and it instantly put me in the spirit. With a lot of these rom-coms, it’s easy to predict what’s gonna happen, but this one I had NO IDEA how it was going to end. And I loved every second of the journey. This one follows Mae to her family and family friends’ cabin on Christmas. After a disastrous trip, she gets in a car accident with her family and ends up repeating the holiday over and over again. Oh and there’s a cute boy that she’s nursed a crush on for years. This one had me laughing out loud too and also crying. We absolutely stan this and I will definitely be reading every year at Christmas time.

5. Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Holy. Shit. I can’t even describe how much I loved this book. If you know me, you know how much I love music so this was the PERFECT book for me. At first it took some time to get into, but once I was into it...phew. It absolutely flew by and all I wanted to do was read. It’s about a fictional band from the 1970′s. I don’t even know what to say other than that so I don’t spoil anyone but it is a JOURNEY.  I found myself gasping at some points because of how shocking some things were. Ugh. I loved it. If you like Fleetwood Mac in any way, I highly, highly, highly recommend this book.

6. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I knew I wanted to read this after I finished Daisy Jones, but I actually didn’t get around to it until a week or so ago. I flew through this one too and oh my god. If Daisy Jones wasn’t shocking enough for you then this one. Oh. My. God. It’s about Evelyn Hugo, a fictional starlet from the 50′s (? I think) who asks a small time writer to help write her biography - to be released after she’s dead. Evelyn is such an intriguing character, you just want to know more and more and more. And there’s one thing about her that is absolutely shocking. There are actually so many shocking revelations throughout this book and it all took me completely off guard. Surprisingly, I feel like I learned a lot through this book and from Evelyn. She’s painted out to be not a very great person, and I think I understand why people think that about her, but I don’t see her that way at all. I actually feel like she’s a good person, maybe a bit selfish, but there’s one thing all of her decisions have in common. Love.

7. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Phew. I can’t believe it took me this long to read this book. I thought I’d be okay with just seeing the movie but let me tell you...the book is so much more eye opening and amazing.. After the protests in June, I saw everyone talking about things like White Fragility and How to Be an Antiracist - but I knew those books wouldn’t be for me. Now hear me out...I hate non-fiction. I learn lessons much better through fictional stories and that’s why this one resonated so much with me. Starr is one of the most brave, incredible characters that I’ve had the pleasure of reading. The way Angie writes her story is both beautiful and heartbreaking. You watch as she changes and how the people around her change by the horrific event that has taken place. I’m not gonna try to summarize it, because hopefully everyone knows what it’s about by now. If you haven’t yet, go pick it up. Right now. I feel like this is a story that’s going to be around forever and that we’ll be giving to our children to read when it’s time. As a white person, I can be empathetic, but I truly will never understand what it’s like for Black people, but reading this gave me a better understanding of what is actually happening. The Hate U Give taught me about how broken the system is, and how we can fix the issues that are plaguing the Black community right now. The most poignant and important book I could ever read.

8. On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

After The Hate U Give, I couldn’t not read this one. And wow. On the Come Up follows Bri, the daughter of a rap legend, who is trying to make it in Garden Heights - the same neighborhood Starr is from in The Hate U Give. Bri’s journey is rough, but it’s incredible to see the work she puts in to end up on top. Sometimes the decisions she makes get taken the wrong way, but in the end, her family as at the core of every decision she makes. All she wants is her family to be okay and I think that’s something that a lot of people can relate to. On the Come Up might not be as deep as The Hate U Give, but Angie teaches some incredible lessons through this story too. Also, let me just say...Angie wrote some INCREDIBLE raps for this book and I really hope we get to hear them come to life one day.

Other reads:

Those are my favorites of the year, but I still read a lot of other books this year. I re-read The Hunger Games trilogy! I read The Hunger Games way back in 2010, so it was about time that I re-read them. And let me be honest...I stopped Catching Fire about halfway through...so I never finished them until this year...I have to say they were kind of disappointing. It might just be that it’s been so long that I don’t connect as much with the stories anymore, but they are still great.

I FINALLY read the Percy Jackson series! I had The Lightning Thief chilling on my shelf since I was in 5th grade and something finally got me to read this series. It did not disappoint and I loved every second of it. I can’t wait to see what the Disney+ series is going to be like - hopefully they actually do it justice this time around.

This year I have been obsessing over Tom Holland...lol so naturally I read every book that he was signed on to be in the adaptation for. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness aka the first Chaos Walking book was by far my favorite. The movie is coming out in March! I also read Cherry by Nico Walker and The Devil All the Time by Donald Ray Pollock. Cherry was...interesting. I kind of hated the narrator the whole time so I’m hoping they changed up the movie a bit. I’m thinking they did because I read some BTS stories and some of them don’t line up with what was in the book. TDATT was a little disturbing...but I enjoyed it. The book was much better than the movie, but I definitely wouldn’t recommend either to anyone...unless you wanted to see Tom or Sebastian Stan or Riley Keough in the movie. I’m sure I will be finishing the Chaos Walking series eventually and I’m also interested in reading Beneath a Scarlet Sky which Tom has been signed on to for a while. That one sounds very intriguing and I’m excited to hopefully read it next year.

I finally watched Big Little Lies and I wasn’t going to read the book, but I did end up eventually reading it. It was good but not nearly as good as the series. It might be because I knew how it all would end, but it overall, was not my favorite. I don’t think I’ll be reading any more of Liane Moriarty’s books though.

Oh! So I read The Cursed Child...That’s all I’m gonna say.

I completely forgot to add I also read Roomies and Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren. Roomies was very good and probably could be in my favorites list, but it just didn’t reach the level of the other three. It was fun though, so if you liked any of those three, I would recommend it. Twice in a Blue Moon though...I was so bored. I almost stopped reading it a few times but I just pushed through. It wasn’t a rom com at all, just a romance, which wasn’t for me. A lot of people that liked Christina Lauren recommended Beach Read - which I read, and did not enjoy very much. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t phenomenal, that’s for sure.

There were a few YA books I read this year: Slayer, Truly Devious, Capturing the Devil, the final two TATBILB books...but my favorite was Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare. It’s been a while since I’ve been into her books but wooooww. Chain of Gold was incredible. I loved the characters and I loved that we got to see our favorite characters from The Infernal Devices again. It was a JOURNEY and reminded me why I started reading CC in the first place.

Well...That’s it for my reading wrap up of 2020! Here’s to another great year of great books in 2021!

[incorrectmidc]

50 Questions! Yaayyy~

Rules: fill this out and tag at least one person you’d like to know more about! Or just fill it out! Or don’t! Answer only some of them! Make up your own questions! “What kind of requirement is that”, you ask? A reasonable one! Who am I to tell you what to do? Anything goes!

Tagged by @theempresskaizer and since I can’t sleep (and I really love tagging games), here I am. Thank you, Ythmir! :) I feel you about your favourite pens btw. The only store that sells my favourite pen closed down recently here and the other store that sells it is in Manila. ;^;

1. What kind of food can’t you stand? AMPALAYA (bitter gourd). It was a traumatic experience. D:

2. If you could choose one minor inconvenience to never have to deal with again, what would you pick? if my laptop would just stop malfunctioning every 2 weeks, it would be nice.

3. Have you got any useless talents? i play three different instruments, and it’s not useful now... i think. i really wanted to be either an astronaut or a musician when i was a kid. dad refused to let me enroll at a music school in favour of a “more prestigious” university (parents’ words) so i feel it’s kinda useless now.

4. If you could be really really good at one thing, what would it be? ha! i’m an awesome procrastinator. is there even a word? lol. but srsly, i could be a good musician. if i just put effort into it. XD

5. Name a few people you think are extremely good-looking - well, the concept of beauty is relative. my preferences are kuroba mario, cosplayers hikarin and syo seunghyo, kimura tatsunari, matt bomer

6. What was your favorite way to pass the time as a kid? my sister and i used to sneak into our parents’ room and play with our mom’s beauty kit, like we would mix the lotions, alcohols, colognes, powders and stuff while pretending to be scientists and whatnots. we even tried to eat our concoction, to see what it tastes like. xD good thing someone saw us. lol.

7. What is something you’re proud of? i can learn anything if i just put my mind into it. i’m good at studying (my dad made sure of it lol).

8. What’s one character flaw in people that you just can’t tolerate? nosy. i don’t like nosy people. i’m more of a keep-to-myself person so i really loathe these kind of people.

9. Do you consider yourself to be more of a leader or a follower? both. tho i really don’t like to lead that much since it’s too much work. the laziest person i know is me btw. but i can be a leader when i absolutely have to.

10. What kind of student are/were you? high school, both the teacher’s pet and the kind they hate since i tend to speak my mind. college, i am the ordinary student who doesn’t have any clubs since it’s too troublesome.

11. Butterfly effect question! Has there ever been a seemingly minor decision you’ve made (at the time) that ended up having a profound influence on your life? yepppp!

12. Name your most irrational fear/aversion clowns. i don’t like clowns. i hate mcdonald’s mascot.

13. Are there any fictional characters you find especially relatable? yes. kei tsukishima of haikyuu!! especially. :P

14. If you drink, what kind of drunk are you? Alternatively, what sort of person are you at parties? i don’t like parties. i never go to parties if i don’t have to. i hate large celebrations (birthdays, family and school reunions). i prefer the company of my closest friends and immediate family over parties. i only have 4 friends irl that i still keep in touch with tbh. on the other hand, drinking. i have yet to get drunk. lol. but when i have enough alcohol in me, i tend to become the philosopher. like, why do we even exist? are our existence significant or are we just a mere speck in this vast universe? yeah, that kind. oh, my friends and i usually go to karaoke when we get buzzed.

15. Do you fall in love easily? Or does it usually take a long time for you to trust someone? i’m not even sure i have fallen in love yet. i get long-time crushes tho. in fact, i still like this certain guy since i was in 1st year college. XD

16. Would you rather have one close friend or 100 casual friends? the former. please refer to question 14 for the explanation lol

17. Do you consider yourself to be more of a slob or a neat-freak? my dad tells me i have a landfill for a room. lol. i don’t mind. it’s organised chaos. XD

18. Describe a place (imaginary or real) that you would find incredibly cozy my room, on a rainy day with no one else at home and i have unlimited internet connection and books and coffee. and did i just mention i’m alone?

19. Do you have kids? If not, do you want them someday? i don’t have one. not seeing myself getting married or having a child. i’m having another baby sister/brother soon tho so i think it’s enough. :D

20. What was your favorite book as a child? the two-can first encyclopedia series. i love the one that features the solar system.

21. Name one thing you just don’t get what all the hype is about WHAT IN THE WORLD DOES A FIDGET SPINNER DO

22. Name one thing that you think is tragically underrated fanfiction writers. i have nothing against fanarts but i would appreciate it if the same attention is given to fanfiction writers.

23. If you had to be glued to a person for a month, real or fictional (who you have never met), who would you choose? kimura tatsunari hehehe

24. What’s something you’d like the chance to do someday? have the time, and the money, to visit japan and prague. and then go to russia. oh, travel the world. alone. XD

25. Do you typically speak your mind when you have a controversial opinion? Or do generally prefer to not rock the boat? depends on my mood. sometimes i just want to see the world burn.

26. What’s the dumbest fad you’ve been caught up in? what’s a fad?

27. What’s something you thought was cool as a kid/adolescent, but now cringe at yourself for? telenovelas. i wanna live like the heroine back then and now i try to forget all about it. XDD

28. What’s a trait you consider to be very admirable? kindness is something i admire and at the same time so foreign to me. sure, i can be nice but i’m never kind. i will never be kind. i know this person who’s so kind to everyone and i wonder what it’s like to be like that.

29. Is there a particular kind of item people always tend to give you as gifts? (For instance, people always get you things with ducks on them because you like ducks, etc.) i’m a hoarder of cute/pretty notebooks and pens so every year, during my birthday, my family and friends always have a new notebook/pen for me. i even got a fountain pen for my birthday last year which i haven’t used until now. XD

30. Do you speak multiple languages? Which ones? yep. filipino/tagalog, english. this native dialect called cebuano and a little bit of ilonggo. i’m currently studying japanese (self-study cos paying for lessons is expensive). i’m shit at kanji tho.

31. Would you rather live in the big city or the countryside? in the city tho not at the center of it.

32. Has there ever been something you were certain you’d hate, but ended up loving? HAIKYUU!! my online bff has been convincing me to watch haikyuu!! for 4 years now and i was adamant at refusing cos i’m sure i’d hate it. i don’t even like volleyball. but when i watched it last year, i got hooked. now my main fandom is haikyuu!! //facepalm

33. Do you mind being the center of attention, or do you prefer the spotlight to be on someone else? noooo. i don’t like being put on spotlight. lemme work quietly in the background.

34. Favorite holiday? CHRISTMAS! i love seeing the decorations and the lights. i even go to malls just to stare at the decors and listen to christmas songs. i even have my own christmas tree in my room. it’s a small one tho. with christmas lights and all. hihihi. and also my birthday. i can do whatever i want on my birthday. nyahahaha

35. Are you a more go-with-the-flow type of person, or do you need to have things planned meticulously? i only have a plan when i’m writing. i don’t even know what i’m going to do with my life. orz.

36. Is there something you loved so much you wish you could forget it and experience it all over again? (A tv show, book, series–anything.) yes, there is, but i’d rather not forget it and experience it all over again. i’m content with the fuzzy feeling i get whenever i remember it. ^^

37. What hobbies do you have? playing games, going to cons, sleeping a lot, reading, and writing. my only extreme hobby is going mountain climbing. we even went once without any gears. it was fun but i’d rather not do something that unsafe again. o3o

38. If you could have a superpower, but it was only mildly useful, what ability would you want to have? the ability to learn different languages easily. wait, how can this be mildly useful? or maybe change my hairstyle at will? lol

39. Something people are always surprised to learn about you that i’m 26. srsly, when i go to transact with government offices in behalf of the company i’m working for, they always think i’m an intern. wth.

40. Something that took you way too long to figure out this sounds silly, but putting back the chiller part of the fridge. i dislodged it once and i spent almost half an hour trying to put it back. XD

41. Worst injury you’ve had? i never had one. not a broken bone or anything. i only got hospitalized 2 times - when i was 2 and 9, respectively. and both because of dengue.

42. Any morbid fascinations? i like skulls and blowing zombies heads off. my most favourite game of all time is left 4 dead.

43. Describe your sense of humor corny and dry. sarcastic even.

44. If you had to be born in another era/place, which would you choose? in the gundam universe, like Cosmic Era, where people can live on another planet. i would relocate to saturn in a heartbeat.

45. Something you are irredeemably bad at being patient. patience is not my virtue.

46. Something that sucked but you’re glad you went through an hour of jogging for a whole month to prepare myself (and increase the stamina) for a mountain climbing activity 2 years ago

47. Would you rather have a really godawful ugly tattoo in a place that is only slightly inconvenient to conceal with clothing (upper arm, thigh, etc.), or the coolest, most beautiful tattoo ever in the middle of your face? (Neither tattoo can be removed or concealed with makeup, and the ugly tattoo will deeply offend anyone who sees it.) the ugly one. i don’t really like markings on my face.

48. Are you more of an optimist or a pessimist? for a pessimist, i’m pretty optimistic. (wait, is that a song? lol)

49. What would be the most flattering compliment someone could give you? tbh, compliments about writing and work are the ones i’m usually flattered with. tho i suck at accepting compliments.

50. Something you feel people often misunderstand about you this is a fact. i have a resting bitch face so people often feel i’m always irritated/annoyed by them. 

you don’t have to do it if you don’t want tbh, but i’m tagging @lustfullyleocrawford @kakihoden @passengersaraht @emigotchi @leorysxi @oh-my-otome @spyroeden @acrispyapple @devanofficial @astridapples

#tagging game #tag me more #hihihi

[queerfictionproject]

Queer Fiction Rec List #1: Contemporary Novels

WLW:

Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour: A love letter to the craft and romance of film and fate in front of—and behind—the camera from the award-winning author of Hold Still. A wunderkind young set designer, Emi has already started to find her way in the competitive Hollywood film world. Emi is a film buff and a true romantic, but her real-life relationships are a mess. She has desperately gone back to the same girl too many times to mention. But then a mysterious letter from a silver screen legend leads Emi to Ava. Ava is unlike anyone Emi has ever met. She has a tumultuous, not-so-glamorous past, and lives an unconventional life. She’s enigmatic…. She’s beautiful. And she is about to expand Emi’s understanding of family, acceptance, and true romance. [Notes: Hold Still seems interesting, although I don’t think it has any queer narrative or characters. It also deals heavily with suicide, so a warning in that respect]. 

This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp: Everyone has a reason to fear the boy with the gun.10:00 a.m.The principal of Opportunity high school finishes her speech, welcoming the entire student body to a new semester and encouraging them to excel and achieve.10:02 a.m.The students get up to leave the auditorium for their next class.10:03 The auditorium doors won't open.10:05. Someone starts shooting.Told from four perspectives over the span of 54 harrowing minutes, terror reigns as one student's calculated revenge turns into the ultimate game of survival. [Notes: Obvious violence here. Don’t worry, they survive]. 

Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira: It begins as an assignment for English class: Write a letter to a dead person. Laurel chooses Kurt Cobain because her sister, May, loved him. And he died young, just like May did. Soon, Laurel has a notebook full of letters to people like Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse, Amelia Earhart, Heath Ledger, and more -- though she never gives a single one of them to her teacher. She writes about starting high school, navigating new friendships, falling in love for the first time, learning to live with her splintering family. And, finally, about the abuse she suffered while May was supposed to be looking out for her. Only then, once Laurel has written down the truth about what happened to herself, can she truly begin to accept what happened to May. And only when Laurel has begun to see her sister as the person she was -- lovely and amazing and deeply flawed -- can she begin to discover her own path. [Notes: The LGBT romance is a side romance, although it is given as much attention as the main one]. 

Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley: In 1959 Virginia, the lives of two girls on opposite sides of the battle for civil rights will be changed forever. Sarah Dunbar is one of the first black students to attend the previously all-white Jefferson High School. An honors student at her old school, she is put into remedial classes, spit on and tormented daily. Linda Hairston is the daughter of one of the town's most vocal opponents of school integration. She has been taught all her life that the races should be kept separate but equal. Forced to work together on a school project, Sarah and Linda must confront harsh truths about race, power and how they really feel about one another. Boldly realistic and emotionally compelling, Lies We Tell Ourselves is a brave and stunning novel about finding truth amid the lies, and finding your voice even when others are determined to silence it.

About A Girl by Sarah McCarry:  Eighteen-year-old Tally is absolutely sure of everything: her genius, the love of her adoptive family, the loyalty of her best friend, Shane, and her future career as a Nobel prize-winning astronomer. There’s no room in her tidy world for heartbreak or uncertainty—or the charismatic, troubled mother who abandoned her soon after she was born. But when a sudden discovery upends her fiercely ordered world, Tally sets out on an unexpected quest to seek out the reclusive musician who may hold the key to her past—and instead finds Maddy, an enigmatic and beautiful girl who will unlock the door to her future. The deeper she falls in love with Maddy, the more Tally begins to realize that the universe is bigger—and more complicated—than she ever imagined. Can Tally face the truth about her family—and find her way home in time to save herself from its consequences? [Notes: This is the third book in a “loose series”—apparently they’re pretty much stand alone.]

Not Otherwise Specified by Hannah Moskowitz: Etta is tired of dealing with all of the labels and categories that seem so important to everyone else in her small Nebraska hometown.Everywhere she turns, someone feels she’s too fringe for the fringe. Not gay enough for the Dykes, her ex-clique, thanks to a recent relationship with a boy; not tiny and white enough for ballet, her first passion; and not sick enough to look anorexic (partially thanks to recovery). Etta doesn’t fit anywhere— until she meets Bianca, the straight, white, Christian, and seriously sick girl in Etta’s therapy group. Both girls are auditioning for Brentwood, a prestigious New York theater academy that is so not Nebraska. Bianca seems like Etta’s salvation, but how can Etta be saved by a girl who needs saving herself?

Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld: Darcy Patel is afraid to believe all the hype. But it's really happening - her teen novel is getting published. Instead of heading to college, she's living in New York City, where she's welcomed into the dazzling world of YA publishing. That means book tours, parties with her favorite authors, and finding a place to live that won't leave her penniless. It means sleepless nights rewriting her first draft and struggling to find the perfect ending... all while dealing with the intoxicating, terrifying experience of falling in love - with another writer.Told in alternating chapters is Darcy's novel, the thrilling story of Lizzie, who wills her way into the afterworld to survive a deadly terrorist attack. With survival comes the responsibility to guide the restless spirits that walk our world, including one ghost with whom she shares a surprising personal connection. But Lizzie's not alone in her new calling - she has counsel from a fellow spirit guide, a very desirable one, who is torn between wanting Lizzie and warning her that... BELIEVING IS DANGEROUS.

Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel by Sara Farizan: High-school junior Leila has made it most of the way through Armstead Academy without having a crush on anyone, which is something of a relief. Her Persian heritage already makes her different from her classmates; if word got out that she liked girls, life would be twice as hard. But when a sophisticated, beautiful new girl, Saskia, shows up, Leila starts to take risks she never thought she would, especially when it looks as if the attraction between them is mutual. Struggling to sort out her growing feelings and Saskia's confusing signals, Leila confides in her old friend, Lisa, and grows closer to her fellow drama tech-crew members, especially Tomas, whose comments about his own sexuality are frank, funny, wise, and sometimes painful. Gradually, Leila begins to see that almost all her classmates are more complicated than they first appear to be, and many are keeping fascinating secrets of their own.

Ask the Passengers by A.S. King: Astrid Jones desperately wants to confide in someone, but her mother's pushiness and her father's lack of interest tell her they're the last people she can trust. Instead, Astrid spends hours lying on the backyard picnic table watching airplanes fly overhead. She doesn't know the passengers inside, but they're the only people who won't judge her when she asks them her most personal questions--like what it means that she's falling in love with a girl. As her secret relationship becomes more intense and her friends demand answers, Astrid has nowhere left to turn. She can't share the truth with anyone except the people at thirty thousand feet, and they don't even know she's there. But little does Astrid know just how much even the tiniest connection will affect these strangers' lives--and her own--for the better. In this truly original portrayal of a girl struggling to break free of society's definitions, Printz Honor author A.S. King asks readers to question everything--and offers hope to those who will never stop seeking real love.  

Between You and Me by Marisa Calin: Phyre knows there is something life-changing about her new drama teacher, Mia, from the moment they meet. As Phyre rehearses for the school play, she comes to realize that the unrequited feelings she has for Mia go deeper than she’s ever experienced. Especially with a teacher. Or a woman. All the while, Phyre’s best friend—addressed throughout the story in the second person, as "you"—stands by, ready to help Phyre make sense of her feelings. But just as Mia doesn’t understand what Phyre feels, Phyre can’t fathom the depth of her best friend’s feelings . . . until it’s almost too late for a happy ending. Characters come to life through the innovative screenplay format of this dazzling debut, and unanswered questions—is "you" male or female?—will have readers talking. [Notes: Alright, so. This one sounds like it could get sketchy, but we’ll try it out anyway].

MLM: 

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz: Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship—the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be.  

Bi-Normal by M. G. Higgens: Brett Miller is one of the kings of Elkhead High. Everyone knows the kings rule the school. Football stars. Pretty girls. The in-crowd. Brett and his buddies are the tormentors; nobody messes with them. Then Brett meets Zach …”It’s a crush. I’m crushing on a friggin’ guy. That’s sick. And I don’t know what to do about it. … I want these feelings to go away. At the same time, I don’t want them to go away.” And his life is turned inside out. Everything he knows about himself is wrong. And he doesn’t have anywhere to turn for answers. He’s heard the word “bi” before; it has nothing to do with him. But in his gut he knows. And he doesn’t have a clue what to do about it.  

Trans:

Gracefully Grayson by Ami Polonsky:  Alone at home, twelve-year-old Grayson Sender glows, immersed in beautiful thoughts and dreams. But at school, Grayson grasps at shadows, determined to fly under the radar. Because Grayson has been holding onto a secret for what seems like forever: “he” is a girl on the inside, stuck in the wrong gender’s body.The weight of this secret is crushing, but leaving it behind would mean facing ridicule, scorn, and rejection. Despite these dangers, Grayson’s true self itches to break free. Strengthened by an unexpected friendship and a caring teacher who gives her a chance to step into the spotlight, Grayson might finally have the tools to let her inner light shine. [Notes: This is actually middle grade lit, one of the first of its kind].

I Am J by Cris Beam: J always felt different. He was certain that eventually everyone would understand who he really was; a boy mistakenly born as a girl. Yet as he grew up, his body began to betray him; eventually J stopped praying to wake up a "real boy" and started covering up his body, keeping himself invisible - from his family, from his friends...from the world. But after being deserted by the best friend he thought would always be by his side, J decides that he's done hiding - it's time to be who he really is. And this time he is determined not to give up, no matter the cost.

Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher: Everyone has that one line they swear they’ll never cross, the one thing they say they’ll never do. We draw the line. Maybe we even believe it. Sage Hendricks was my line. Logan Witherspoon befriends Sage Hendricks at a time when he no longer trusts or believes in people. As time goes on, he finds himself drawn to Sage, pulled in by her deep, but sexy feminine voice and her constant smile. Eventually Logan’s feelings for Sage grow so strong that he can’t resist kissing her. Moments later, he wishes he never had. Sage finally discloses her big secret: she was born a boy. Enraged, frightened, and feeling betrayed, Logan lashes out at Sage. Once his anger has cooled, however, his regrets lead him to attempt to rekindle their friendship. But it’s hard to replace something that’s been broken—and it’s even harder to find your way back to friendship when you began with love. [Notes: This one.... does not look like it will be the best, so read at your own risk. I could be wrong, though].  

Being Emily by Rachel Gold:  They say that whoever you are it’s okay, you were born that way. Those words don’t comfort Emily, because she was born Christopher and her insides know that her outsides are all wrong. They say that it gets better, be who are you and it’ll be fine. For Emily, telling her parents who she really is means a therapist who insists Christopher is normal and Emily is sick. Telling her girlfriend means lectures about how God doesn’t make that kind of mistake. Emily desperately wants high school in her small Minnesota town to get better. She wants to be the woman she knows is inside, but it’s not until a substitute therapist and a girl named Natalie come into her life that she believes she has a chance of actually Being Emily.

Happy Families by Tanita S. Davis: Teenage twins Ysabel and Justin Nicholas are lucky. Ysabel's jewelry designs have already caught the eyes of the art world and Justin's intelligence and drive are sure to gain him entrance into the most prestigious of colleges. They even like their parents. But their father has a secret—one that threatens to destroy the twins' happy family and life as they know it. Over the course of spring break, Ysabel and Justin will be forced to come to terms with their dad's new life, but can they overcome their fears to piece together their happy family again?

Brooklyn, Burning by Steve Brezenoff: Gorgeous, sad, and hopeful Brooklyn, Burning is a love letter to Brooklyn, a love letter to music booming from the basement, and most of all, a love letter to every kind of love (but especially the punk rock kind). [Notes: This is really vague, but from what I understand, its about a trans teenager not finding love at home, so they “search for it on the streets”.]  

Luna by Julie Anne Peters: Regan’s brother Liam can’t stand the person he is during the day. Like the moon from whom Liam has chosen his female namesake, his true self, Luna, only reveals herself at night. In the secrecy of his basement bedroom Liam transforms himself into the beautiful girl he longs to be, with help from his sister’s clothes and makeup. Now, everything is about to change-Luna is preparing to emerge from her cocoon. But are Liam’s family and friends ready to welcome Luna into their lives?Compelling and provocative, this is an unforgettable novel about a transgender teen’s struggle for self-identity and acceptance.

Asexual:

How to Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standiford:  From bestselling author Natalie Standiford, an amazing, touching story of two friends navigating the dark waters of their senior year. New to town, Beatrice is expecting her new best friend to be one of the girls she meets on the first day. But instead, the alphabet conspires to seat her next to Jonah, aka Ghost Boy, a quiet loner who hasn't made a new friend since third grade. Something about him, though, gets to Bea, and soon they form an unexpected friendship. It's not romance, exactly - but it's definitely love. Still, Bea can't quite dispel Jonah's gloom and doom - and as she finds out his family history, she understands why. Can Bea help Jonah? Or is he destined to vanish?

Bonus Round: 

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray: When a plane crash strands thirteen teen beauty contestants on a mysterious island, they struggle to survive, to get along with one another, to combat the island's other diabolical occupants, and to learn their dance numbers in case they are rescued in time for the competition. [Notes: Obviously, this one seems a bit.... out there. But I know a lot of people seem to like it, and it has just about the whole spectrum of representation. I say have at it].

If You Could Be Mine by Sara Farizan: Seventeen-year-old Sahar has been in love with her best friend, Nasrin, since they were six. They’ve shared stolen kisses and romantic promises. But Iran is a dangerous place for two girls in love—Sahar and Nasrin could be beaten, imprisoned, even executed if their relationship came to light. So they carry on in secret—until Nasrin’s parents announce that they’ve arranged for her marriage. Nasrin tries to persuade Sahar that they can go on as they have been, only now with new comforts provided by the decent, well-to-do doctor Nasrin will marry. But Sahar dreams of loving Nasrin exclusively—and openly. Then Sahar discovers what seems like the perfect solution. In Iran, homosexuality may be a crime, but to be a man trapped in a woman’s body is seen as nature’s mistake, and sex reassignment is legal and accessible. As a man, Sahar could be the one to marry Nasrin. Sahar will never be able to love the one she wants, in the body she wants to be loved in, without risking her life. Is saving her love worth sacrificing her true self? [Notes: WLW +trans (obviously).I’ve heard the ending isn’t great, but there’s no death.] 

Boyfriends With Girlfriends by Alex Sanchez: Lance has always known he was gay, but he’s never had a real boyfriend. Sergio is bisexual, but his only real relationship was with a girl. When the two of them meet, they have an instant connection–but will it be enough to overcome their differences?Allie’s been in a relationship with a guy for the last two years–but when she meets Kimiko, she can’t get her out of her mind. Does this mean she’s gay? Does it mean she’s bi? Kimiko, falling hard for Allie, and finding it impossible to believe that a gorgeous girl like Allie would be into her, is willing to stick around and help Allie figure it out. [Notes: WLW and MLM.]

Geography Club by Brent Hartinger: Russel Middlebrook is convinced he’s the only gay kid at Goodkind High School.Then his online gay chat buddy turns out to be none other than Kevin, the popular but closeted star of the school’s baseball team. Soon Russel meets other gay students, too. There’s his best friend Min, who reveals that she is bisexual, and her soccer-playing girlfriend Terese. Then there’s Terese’s politically active friend, Ike.But how can kids this diverse get together without drawing attention to themselves?”We just choose a club that’s so boring, nobody in their right mind would ever in a million years join it. We could call it Geography Club!”Brent Hartinger’s debut novel is a fast-paced, funny, and trenchant portrait of contemporary teenagers who may not learn any actual geography in their latest club, but who learn plenty about the treacherous social terrain of high school and the even more dangerous landscape of the human heart. [Notes: MLM and WLW].

#lgbt fiction #lgbt fiction rec #queer #queer fiction #book recs #reading list #ya lit #gay lit #queer fiction project #johnlock #representation #lgbt representation #queer representation