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olderthannetfic · 4 months

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Just wanted to share an interesting musing: a friend and I at one point bemoaned how hard it is to find niche unhinged flavors of fanfic in newer fandoms (like "I spawned a crack treated seriously/horny af/goblin idea and I made it your problem" kind of writing) because it always feels like a lot of fanfic feel weirdly hallmark movie-esque (repressed? sanitized? family friendly?). And they wondered if its because of the rise of puritan/morality/censorship ideas in fandom. I had a lightbulb moment and said maybe it's also because fanfic tend to be posted in Big Main Sites (ao3, ffnet, wattpad?) instead of scattered into archives (or even personal blogs) that once existed. Could go on with the possible effect of having social media as your first internet thing and not grasping the concept of archiving and your own personal internet space (as social media doesn't reward you for that). But yeah, do kind of wonder if the weird hallmark vibe we get is both because of a fear of being accused of evil and the urge to be seen and praised in a one-sided competition against an ocean of writers.

Musing on fanfic anon pt 2: Also just generally that having nearly everyone yeet their fic in Main Fanfic Sites (in which! I am not complaining, as someone who has seen LJ and fics getting deleted but-) makes it just hard to sift through what you really want, even if you're using search functions in overdrive. Anyways musing over.

I think you'd have to define what goblin ideas you used to see more clearly because I can't tell what you're actually describing here.

I haven't noticed any particular change in the kinds of fic that astolat's buddies write. A lot of oldschool types, me included, always aspired to write basically sff novels but with more gay or romance novels about our blorbos. You know: professional-ish prose, coherent plots, etc. They might also be horny af and if our kinks are "weird", then the fics will be weird, I suppose, but only someone who's having trouble believing that anybody could really like that kink is going to see them as crack.

I used to see more "LOL, I wrote this on a sugar high!" type author's notes, but they were never big in the part of LJ that built AO3 and so they're not big on AO3 either.

The "I like hobbitses, especially when they touchessss each other" type fic is still mixed into the oldschool LJ stuff, just in the small proportion it always had. (Yes, I saw you all clicking on that in 2005 and pretending you didn't find it hot.)

I guess it really depends on what kind of unhinged you're looking for.

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popentertainment-moviereviews · 9 months

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RED, WHITE AND ROYAL BLUE (2023)

Starring Taylor Zakhar Perez, Nicholas Galitzine, Uma Thurman, Stephen Fry, Sarah Shahi, Ellie Bamber, Rachel Hilson, Malcolm Atobrah, Clifton Collins Jr., Aneesh Sheth, Polo Morín, Sharon D. Clarke, Akshay Khanna, Thomas Flynn, Ahmed Elhaj, Juan Castano, Rachel Maddow, Joy Reid and the voice of Gemma Redgrave.

Screenplay by Matthew López and Ted Malawer.

Directed by Matthew López.

Distributed by Amazon Studios. 118 minutes. Rated R.

The attempts to take LGBTQ romance into the mainstream have not quite caught on as one would expect. Last year’s rom-com Bros was expected to be a hit, but never caught on with bigger audiences. Then the sweet-but-tragic Spoiler Alert made just a ripple in the popular conversation.

Perhaps what is needed is an old-fashioned, cheesy, dreamy, completely fantasy romance. Maybe the characters should exist in rarified air – how about the slow-burning romance between a young Prince of England and the son of the US President? What if both are beautiful enough to be models? And they are both whip-smart and sensitive and just a bit insecure? And, of course, they’ll despise each other at the beginning, only slowly thawing to the other’s charms.

If Red, White and Royal Blue wasn’t about two dudes, you’d expect to find it running on the Hallmark Channel.

By the way, I bet that if this couple was not both men, Red, White and Royal Blue would not have gotten an R-rating. There are a few vaguely explicit scenes, but nothing you couldn’t see on cable TV.

Actually, Red, White and Royal Blue is based on a popular YA novel by Casey McQuiston. As is often the case with YA titles, it is highly pitched, emotional and just a tiny bit predictable. It takes some safe risks – the American is the son of the first female president and of course the whole idea is a bit chancy in the current political climate.

But mostly, you can see where the movie is going from the very beginning. It is the type of film that shows the odd couple vibes in the movie poster with each of the guys wearing colorful socks of their country’s flag underneath their staid suits. (I don’t believe that little weird character quirk actually is shown in the film.) And, if you imagined that they would first be thrown together by an international incident in which the guys arguing caused the knocking down of a huge multi-layered cake, you get a gold star.

As you may see, there is nothing overly high-minded about the storytelling of Red, White and Royal Blue. It’s soapy, silly, funny and relatively unrealistic. But that doesn’t mean it’s not a lot of fun to watch as it is going on.

The two relatively unknown stars (Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine) are charming and funny. Uma Thurman and Clifton Collins Jr. have a good time as the first family (although, Uma, what’s with that Texas accent?) And Sarah Shahi steals every scene she is in as the President’s hardened Deputy Chief of Staff.

Red, White and Royal Blue is not high art, but it is pretty decent pop art. Finally the LGBTQ world gets its own Princess Diaries. Hey, that’s progress, right?

Jay S. Jacobs

youtube

#Red White and Royal Blue #2023 #Movie Review #Taylor Zakhar Perez #Nicholas Galitzine #Jay S. Jacobs #Youtube

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momolady · 1 year

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Monster Valentines: Part Two

Valentines are over, but if you want one of these for yourself I can do you one later this week! Visit this post to see how.

Hi momo! I'd love a build a monster valentines date! I've loved your stories for ages and I really hope things get better for you soon ❤️ Not picky about a monster type, but I do love vampires orcs and aliens! Male pref but I do love your girls! I'm genderqueer, slightly chubby, gothy/grungy and love creepy/morbid things, but also I loove cute things! I'm very shy and am a selective mute, but I'm very witty and sweet once I'm comfortable enough to talk (I use TTS in the meantime when I have to say something.) I have a calm and go with the flow disposition despite my anxiety and I just like spending time with my people. I also write, read, draw, and cook as some of my hobbies!

Bellcadir

Alien- Delfian

7ft tall

This tall and imposing figure is from the Delfy system, known for its colorful solar system and connected planets. Upon first glance, he is colorless, but he shows colors like a mood ring, and glows at night. He is almost see through like a jellyfish, though his flesh and limbs are very hard, there is a softness to his chest and belly, which he keeps protected by special clothing. As stated before, delfians are tall, but they are also slim and willowy, possessing long limbs that have a twisted, vein like appearance, forming into digits that can spread into individual tentacles, or form three strong fingers.

As a Delfian, his kind are known for their calming, soothing presence and telekinetic abilities. Bellcadir came to earth has part of a student exchange system while in school, but ended up feeling a connection to the planet and decided to stay.

He works in various therapy fields,mostly physical therapy, including massage, yoga, and rehab. He bounces around, enjoying all that work, but unable to feel he can settle with just one. He has a deep desire to help everyone.

Bellcadir enjoys baked goods, finding they are close to what is served back in his home system. Anything that has fresh fruit in it is his favorite. He enjoys peace and quiet, but he loves being in multiple online servers and making friends online. He enjoys texting with people as sometimes human voices can be grating to his sensitive ears. He’s very active in several online communities, especially some baking groups, a few writers’ groups, and one for Star dew Valley, which he will admit he’s not great at but loves.

Hi! I would like a blind date for my oc Sable a hyper femme anthro unicorn. 5'10 with a fat hourglass figure, hot pink hair, blue eyes, and decoden manicured nails. She can be kind of annoying because she's a little empty headed but she's enthusiastic when the vibe is right. She goes by feeling and body language more than intellect. Her hobbies are collecting soft pastel sweaters, drinking hot drinks in cute oversized mugs, reading fanfiction, flirting and watching Hallmark movies. She likes carnivals and fairs, hyper pop and EDM, and supernatural romance novels. Sable likes to tease but it's never mean, so she prefers to be around confident people who can take a good-natured joke. All food is good food to Sable and she will steal a bite from your meal. She remembers off-hand facts about her friend so she can plan random celebrations or make up reasons to give gifts.

Ari was extremely nervous. Luckily, his friends had set up this group date situation, but still, the girl he really liked was going to be coming. He fidgeted around, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket. “Calm down, Ari, don’t look so freaked out. You’ll freak her out.” The dragonborn went into the bathroom to double check himself. He’d talent he extra time to polish his horns and dark blue scales to make himself look good. He stepped bac, took a good breath and smiled at himself. Supposedly that worked to trick your brain. But Ari still felt the same amount of nervous.

Sable was so cute and pretty. And while some of his friends would say she was shallow or flighty, Ari felt that wasn’t fair to say. He had heard some of her other friends talk very sweetly about her. Besides, he liked listening to her talk, even if it was something silly. She always looked so well put together, and she always smelled amazing.

“Ari are you ready?”

“Yeah, coming out.” Ari snapped out of his thoughts and he turned to leave the bathroom. He opened the door, and heard more voices than from when he went in. As he came around the hallway something bright pink ran into him full force.

“Oops!” A sweet voice gasped.

Ari gripped the wall to keep them both from toppling over. The pink object braced as well, pushing off of Ari’s chest. She looked up at him and Ari tensed, his throat even tightened, and he held his breath.

Sable smiled up at him, her hair was so beautifully done in soft waves, her lashes were large and fanned out, her nails were super cute and done pink with pearls, bows, and glitter little jewels.

“Excuse me,” she giggled. She patted Ari’s chest. “Didn’t mean to tackle you like that. Didn’t break anything did I?”

Ari shook his head, slowly taking a breath and standing up right. “I don’t think do. You can try again if you want.”

Sable’s eyes sparkled and she giggled. “You’re silly!” She beamed up at Ari and his heart melted. Her perfume smelled sweet, like soft roses and strawberries.

“It’s always the cute girls who are much stronger than they look,” Ari said offhandedly, but realized what he did say.

Sable’s smile brightened up. “Oh, so your wise to us, are you?” She leaned in close to him again to whisper. “I’ll have to keep my eye on you tonight, just so you don’t give away any of my secrets.”

“I wouldn’t-” Ari said breathlessly.

Sable winked. “I gotta make sure. You don’t mind right?”

Ari swallowed. “I suppose. As long as you promise not to hurt me.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I’m not into that, per se.”

I'm a 25 infp male attracted to men 5'10. Love to talk and learn about other people. (Like to gossip but not in the slandering spreading rumors kind of way) Very imaginative, very sarcastic, very analytical, a bit of an ends justify the means type personality

Friendly and sociable but reserved, I don't like opening up to people ,massive trust issues. I always try to have a neutral viewpoint on things and consider both sides to come to the best conclusion. I love to write, cook, watch movies and spend time with loved ones.

I love night time (night drives, night walks, etc) I really like a guy that can make me laugh, who is kind, romantic, but with a bit of a wicked sense of humor to match my own. I really like to be taken care of and to take care of my partner.

Benedict (goes by Benny)

29 years old

6’2

Benny is a local hair stylist and beautician who works in a salon down the block. He makes a big deal out of giving customers their dream hair style, and he’s very popular with older women and high school students. He gives the best hugs, since his arms are so big and his belly is slightly soft. He’s very particular with his own hygiene regimen, so his skin is always so soft and he smells amazing. He says it’s important for work, but he’s always done it. Because of his clientele he hears lots of stories and gossip, which makes him the epicenter of chat within the salon as well as his beloved cafe across the street.

Benny is a great storyteller too. He knows how to gather a crowd and pull them in, happy to talk to anybody. But really, Benny is easily embarrassed, but hides it well. He much prefers his days off where he gets to stay home in just pajama pants and fuzzy slippers. His feet get cold easily, and anything that makes them warm pleases him. He loves coffee and tea, and has surprisingly fancy equipment for it in his place. He loves showing it off to people, making them complicated drink just to make them smile.

While he was in school for becoming a beautician and stylist, he worked in his family’s mortuary. His uncle had a dark sense of humor that rubbed off on him, but it’s a taste he rarely gets to sling around in the salon. But occasionally when he’s relaxed enough with someone he lets it fly.

Benny’s ability to be easily embarrassed has left him worried about dating. But he dreams of having a partner he can spoil and take care of, someone he can cuddle and spend his quiet days together without much worry of having to keep up the chat or performance he does at the salon. He wants to figur eout their favorite drink and make it for them when they look down or happy.

#exophilia #momolady monsters

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yourdeepestfathoms · 2 years

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If there's one thing that Noel and Penny can bond over, it's shitty romance novels.

Noel unironically loves them, Penny doesn't understand the plot holes and love triangles that make the story so complicated, but she loves her friend so she'll spend hours with him talking about it and nodding along to Noel's passionate rambling.

Constance sometimes joins in, but she prefers shitty romance movies, Mischa will listen to the duo and put his two cents in about love from his experience with Talia. Ricky likes to shit on the writing if it's really bad but mostly enjoys the cheesy and dramatic plots

Meanwhile Ocean, a full ass ace/aro: What are you two FUCKING talking about!?

YES

The idea of Penny not quite understanding but listening to Noel anyway because she likes to hear him talk is So Cute! He could just be going on about how this one character in a love triangle should have gone with a different character, and she’ll just be like “yes, you’re so right.”

And then the others chiming in! I love it!!

To add on about Constance liking cheesy romance movies: it’s, like, Hallmark-type movies. The others will sometimes watch them with her, and Ocean basically has to have her mouth taped shut because she won’t stop pointing out details that annoy her.

#ask #good concept!!!#ride the cyclone #rtc #rtc headcanons #ride the cyclone headcanons #noel gruber #penny lamb #jane doe #mischa bachinski #constance blackwood #ricky potts #ocean o'connell rosenberg

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mejomonster · 3 months

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Huai Dao: chapter 5. An Yuning has 2 fathers. Chief Mo and Professor An

1 oh i wonder if thats a particular trait template priest thought would be fun to use again (Chief Zhao and Professor Shen as makeshift parents of SID)

2 i always very much appreciate when people of different sexualities are sprinkled in novels. Priest did that in the stories ive read so far. In Modu it was especially nice because well how to say it - in some danmei (and bl and gl and queer novels period) there is the decision to avoid How sexuality and experiencing it in our own Biased society affects our personality and relationship To society.

Think 2Gether thai bl (where sexuality barely factors in regard to value of politics or rights or fears) versus thai bl like Not Me (political activism is tied to human rights the leads have intimate concern with and loved ones friends family lovers affected by) or The Eclipse (where lgbt cafes and mentors are santuaries and the default in the conservative school is to Closet out of fear of danger/punishment/isolation and how the queer kids are more likely to overlap with the schools protestors in part because their identity already makes it Critical they improve their world since they lose more by closeting and remain at risk if the status quo goes unchanged).

Well in modu, luo wenzhou's sexuality actually influences superiors views of him, he lives in a world where his sexuality prevents him from easy dating like Tao Ran or trying to start a family when he does crave that, makes supervisors view him differently and requires he rely on his status as a person with family connections to avoid consequences of discrimination, means how he understands fei dus sexuality and his own biases about fei du being bisexual not gay like him but Also them both being Playboys and therefore luo wenzhou able to empathize with why someone might handle their life that way. Its all shaped by luo wenzhou being gay in a society Like ours. The politics of his existence being treated certain ways by society and therefore Shaping him are present. Its both acknowledged he has a sexuality (gay rather than With an Exception like some old school bl) and also that it influences his relationship to the world (being gay Does affect him socially politically and in relating to other people like straight colleagues vs queer ones) in a way NOT all romance bl care to touch on. Which i understand - romance is an escape or you want it to be an escape sometimes, want to have a story where someone gay isnt treated differently by straight people and isnt isolated by their difference in experience and straight people magically fully relate with zero difficulty or adjustment or consideration to How it is different (including things like universes with gay marriage already and gay majorities in story unlike real life so the straight characters have no commentary to even make regarding a difference in experiejce because discrimination does not exist in this escapism romance or its not something u want to focus on).

Well i like when stories do mention it though, for my preference in enjoying stories, most of the time. Because my life just wasnt like a straight persons. I had fears admitting my first crush, ignorance in figuring out what i even felt, terror at who found out what i figured out about myself, accepting if what i felt could be embraced and why and how much, realizing what id have to do to help myself and people like me to be safe... things some straight people just did not experience (some did! Many kinds of relationship types and people), at least not straight cis people who fit the Hallmark expectation of Ideal romance in how it should work. I dont relate to a character who just never has considered even a little some yhings ive had to be aware of freuqently and navigate. So i appreciate when a story does touch on it, even if its not the focus.

Shout out to In The Dark for this btw. I mean im only 1/6 through the story. But while its mentioned some sexualities realistically how they might actyally get brought up in a workplace, the writing also mentioned overweight women as beautiful. Which i have not run into happening before in like Any other danmei i read or bl i watched (except Maybe not me with Gram flirting with his ex). Also shout out to In The Dark and Huai Dao for having some characters from out of country (fuck it Modu too) which isnt like hyper important, but it does create a sense that these stories take place in a realistic kind of world. Where people do travel, where lives may be lived in more than one area, where you often run into people from other areas eventually who dont have the same one to one frame of the world.

#huai dao #lb #modu

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spaceorphan18 · 2 years

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SO's Bookclub: The Love Hypothesis

Title: The Love Hypothesis Author: Ali Hazelwood Genre: Romance

Goodreads Summary:

As a third-year Ph.D. candidate, Olive Smith doesn't believe in lasting romantic relationships--but her best friend does, and that's what got her into this situation. Convincing Anh that Olive is dating and well on her way to a happily ever after was always going to take more than hand-wavy Jedi mind tricks: Scientists require proof. So, like any self-respecting biologist, Olive panics and kisses the first man she sees.

That man is none other than Adam Carlsen, a young hotshot professor--and well-known ass. Which is why Olive is positively floored when Stanford's reigning lab tyrant agrees to keep her charade a secret and be her fake boyfriend. But when a big science conference goes haywire, putting Olive's career on the Bunsen burner, Adam surprises her again with his unyielding support and even more unyielding... six-pack abs.

Suddenly their little experiment feels dangerously close to combustion. And Olive discovers that the only thing more complicated than a hypothesis on love is putting her own heart under the microscope.

Review:

There's a trend, at the moment, in adult contemporary romance of writing really Hallmark Movie of the Week-slash-fanficy type plots. And you know what? I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. I think taking fanfic-ish tropes and diving head first into cheesy fun is a lot more interesting than the heavily gendered (and often misogynistic) bodice rippers that had been dominating the genre for so long.

When I first found out that this novel was a rewrite of Star Wars fanfic (specifically Kylo Ren/Rey) I was a little weary. I mean, just looking at the cover - you can tell that Adam Driver and Daisy Ridley were the inspiration for the characters. I was worried that I'd be tripping over Star Wars references left and right. And surprisingly?? Other than the fact that the male love interest is literally named Adam - and you can't get away from the Adam Driver-ness of him, I couldn't spot any SW references in it. The cringiness I had worried about just wasn't there.

The story is pretty straightforward (and oh god, so trope-ish that it's delicious). Olive is a STEM student, who to cover up issues from a bad break up, has to fake date one of the professors. And hilarity ensues. I do love the fake dating trope, and this one really doesn't disappoint. I can't say that there's anything new here -- I'm sure i've read every twist the book had coming a thousand times before in actual fanfiction. But I'm okay with that. One of the nice things about the book is that it knows, comfortably, what it is, and runs with it.

There is a somewhat larger plot around Olive working through her studies. And while I'm more than thrilled that this book celebrates women in science (yay!!) I'm gonna be honest and say that I really didn't care all that much about Olive trying to work out future in science. There's also a 'bad guy' of sorts in Olive's world, and I was somewhat uninterested in that aspect of it.

This book is at its best when it's trying to navigate the fake dating trope. No, I wouldn't say it is at all realistic, but it's a ton of fun in the way that reading your favorite fanfic over and over is fun. The characters, while maybe not the most fleshed out or deepest of creatures, are still entertaining enough to make it an enjoyable read.

The writing is pretty straightforward and easy to read. The book never takes itself too seriously, and manages to stay on point throughout the full novel. The romance between the two leads is believable enough, and I'm fond of the grump/sunshine trope, so this one works for me.

I think if you want something light and airy, romantic and fun - this is a great book to check out! I highly recommend it!

Rating: 4.5 Stars

#sbc bookclub #books #book review #the love hypothesis #ali hazelwood

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libertyreads · 2 years

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Book Review #85 of 2022--

In the Event of Love by Courtney Kae. Rating: 4 stars.

Read from June 29th to July 1st.

Before I get into the review, I want to say a quick thank you to both NetGalley and the publishers over at Kensington Publishing for allowing me access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review. In the Event of Love is a queer holiday romance in the style of a Hallmark Christmas Movie. Morgan flees L.A. following a faux pas that becomes the next trending hashtag In doing so, she finds herself face to face with the girl who broke her heart, Rachel. Can the event planner from L.A. help save the local Christmas tree farm? Can the local girl help right past wrongs? In the Event of Love is out on August 30th and is available for preorder now.

There was so much to enjoy from this debut! Courtney Kae shows off her love for Hallmark Christmas Movies with such a movie worthy setting and plot. Despite the fact that it’s been in the 100 degree range all three days I’ve been reading this one, I’ve found myself in a very Christmasy mood because of this novel. I could see this mountain town and all of the acres upon acres of trees so clearly in my mind. And the Christmas spirit gets kicked up a notch when the girls throw the fundraiser to help save the Christmas tree farm. I also really loved the small town feel. I could so clearly picture the town square and how cosy and quaint it all seemed. I felt like the conflicts in this novel were realistic. It never felt like I had to suspend my disbelief when everything came to a head. Which can be a problem with a lot of Christmas romances (books or movies). I really think the author did a great job with this one.

While I found so much to love in this story, I wish there had been a little more depth to the side characters. I know this is going to be book one in a companion series so I’m sure we’ll get more depth from them later on. But I just wish we had another 20 or so pages to get scenes with the side characters that were fluffy or filler. Something to give them more depth. I also didn’t 100% love the epilogue. And I think epilogues can be tricky with romances. It can either make a book a shining star or make the reader doubt everything they had read before it. I liked how the conflict worked out at the end, but I didn’t feel like everything had to be wrapped up in such a neat bow at the end. Maybe we could have finished with a different type of event taking place on the Christmas tree farm instead? (Trying to be as vague as possible here.) But that could just be a me thing.

Overall, I think this is the perfect book to get anyone into the Christmas spirit. Not just us crazy Christmas in July people. It comes out at a great time of the year so people can grab this one and enjoy it on a cool Fall night next to a fire.

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composer-of-the-night · 1 year

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UNECESSARILY DETAILED DISLIKES

MUSE NAME: Erik

LEAST FAVORITE NICKNAME: “La Mort Vivante,” the name he went by for his “act” in the freak show.

LEAST FAVORITE SEASON: Summer -- it makes it harder to cover up when he goes out.

LEAST FAVORITE - HOT OR COLD?: Hot

LEAST FAVORITE HOLIDAY: He doesn’t really care for holidays in general, but if he had to pick a least favorite, it would probably be Christmas.

LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: The porridge his mother would feed him almost every day.

LEAST FAVORITE FLAVOR: Insects -- a delicacy in certain places he traveled to; he didn’t care for them too much.

LEAST FAVORITE DRINK: Fermented mare’s milk (Kumis)

LEAST FAVORITE SCENT: The scent of decay, formaldehyde

LEAST FAVORITE SOUND: A poorly tuned instrument, a well-tuned instrument played by an unskilled musician, Carlotta’s singing

LEAST FAVORITE TV SHOW: We’ll go with novels I guess for the time period -- he hates sappy romance novels (tragic romance is okay though). For a modern AU, he can’t stand reality TV and things like Hallmark movies.

LEAST FAVORITE AREA OF SCHOOL: He’s never really cared for mathematics.

LEAST FAVORITE ASPECT OF HIS JOB: Having his requests be ignored by the managers.

LEAST FAVORITE TRAIT IN OTHERS: Stupidity, laziness

LEAST FAVORITE PLACE: The freak show, his childhood home

LEAST FAVORITE THINGS TO TALK ABOUT: His mother, his past, his face

LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT HIMSELF: His face

LEAST FAVORITE DAILY CHORE: Cleaning up the rats and mice Ayesha kills

LEAST FAVORITE TYPE OF CLOTHING: Casual day/work wear; he dresses formally almost constantly.

LEAST FAVORITE SUPERPOWER: Mind control

LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT BEING IN LOVE: Having it be unrequited

LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT DEATH: Being forgotten

TAGGED BY: @firstsorrow (ty!!!)

TAGGING: @seraphicsoprano , @misdae , @eritvita

#ARCHIVES || headcanon #abuse tw #parental abuse tw #IDEAS || meme

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mermaidsirennikita · 1 year

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Can you recommend any contemporary romance novels? Thank you!

For sure!

One of my favorite contemporary series I read this year was Kylie Scott's Stage Dive series, which I recommend reading in full and in order. It's about a rock band and the women who fall in love with the members of the band, basically.

Lick--hero is the guitarist/songwriter, heroine wakes up with no memory of the previous night in Vegas and oops they're married

Play--hero is the wacky drummer, begins fake dating the level-headed heroine For Reasons

Lead--hero is the lead singer, had biiig addiction issues and is the older brother of the hero of Lick; heroine is his sober companion/assistant, and the professional lines are.... blurred, to say the least

Deep--hero is the bass player, has been tempted by the little sister of book 2's heroine for a while even though there's an 8-year age gap and he's been instructed to... not touch her; one night later and whoops, she's pregnant

American Royalty by Tracey Livesay--pitched as "what if Prince Harry fell for Megan Thee Stallion", and it is, delightfully, hilariously, very heatedly that

The Brown Sisters Trilogy by Talia Hibbert--Very fun, very soft, very hot. Book 1 has chronic pain rep with the heroine and book 3 both leads on the spectrum. I believe the hero of book 2 has anxiety.

Heated Rivalry and The Long Game by Rachel Reid--Must be read in order, TLG is the direct sequel to HR and about the same couple. Ilya and Shane are super-hyped up arch rival hockey players, the best of the best. What nobody knows is that they've been hooking up in secret since their rookie season. It's basically charting their relationship going from pure sex to love. Heated Rivalry is easily one of my favorite reads this year, and TLG is a great followup. Super hot, super romantic, Shane and Ilya are PERFECT leads--very uptight meets wild, very carefree slutty one has a secret emotional side and reserved one has a secret risky side.

A Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone--A porn star is brought in last minute to star in a Christmas Hallmark-type movie, with the knowledge that her porn career must stay a secret. But oops, the male lead of the movie is a former boy bander she used to have a crush on, and he's been subscribed to her OnlyFans for YEARS. Very fun, hot, and Christmassy.

Kiss An Angel by Susan Elizabeth Phillips--A wild 90s-era contemporary. The heroine (spoiled little rich girl) and hero (surly alpha) are pushed into an arranged marriage by the heroine's father, and plan on getting it annulled in six months. But lol turns out he is part of a TRAVELING CIRCUS and she has to spend those six months working the circus with him. Truly wacky and fun, great grovel.

Nobody's Baby But Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips--Another insane 90s contemporary. Heroine is extremely smart (graduated college at 14 smart) and always felt alienated due to her brain and lack of social skills. She wants a baby, but she wants the baby to be kinda mid intelligence-wise, and figures she should get knocked up by a stupid man in order to have an average baby. She targets a dumbass NFL quarterback, and after some maneuvering, ends up pregnant with no intention of ever telling him. Except, oops, turns out he is actually VERY smart, and he finds out and forces her to marry him because no kid of his will be a bastard!!! Truly insane, and TW because she does poke holes in the condom the first go (which doesn't take). The second go, he's just like "what the fuck ever let's just do this" and foregoes the condom by choice.

The Billionaire's Wake-up-call Girl by Annika Martin--Heroine is desperate to make it through a trial period at her new job because she needs the signing bonus to pay off a loan shark her ex got into trouble with (yes). Her boss instructs her to arrange a wake-up-call service for the company's billionaire CEO, but she puts it off and fucks up, which leads her to pretend to be the service and call him herself. He loves her abrasive attitude, and eventually they start talking... and phone sex happens... And it goes on from there.

The Roommate by Rosie Danan--Uptight heroine moves to take a chance on living with the guy she's always been into, but he flakes out and goes on tour with his band, leaving her with a replacement roommate. Except, whoops, turns out the new roommate is a rather successful porn star, and she can't quite look away from his work.

Priest by Sierra Simone--Tyler Bell is a Catholic priest, and is happy with his lot in life until Poppy shows up at confession. She begins confessing her rather interesting past, leading to him getting hot and bothered and the two of them eventually connecting emotionally. This is an erotic romance, with unique uses of holy oil and altars. Also, it does discuss the sexual abuse of a character off-page--not either of the leads, but it's plot important.

Queen Move by Kennedy Ryan--Heroine and hero were childhood sweethearts until conflict between their parents drove them apart. Years later, heroine is a successful political consultant, and hero is a father getting out of a messy relationship. They swing back into each other's lives and begin to discover the secrets in their families' pasts together.

The Kiss Quotient Trilogy by Helen Hoang--Kicks off with The Kiss Quotient, which is about a heroine on the spectrum hiring a male escort to teach her how to be good at sex, as she feels her stiffness in bed is keeping her from getting a lasting relationship (which is what she feels her family wants for her). Each book features a hero or heroine on the spectrum, and a hero or heroine (or both) of Vietnamese descent. The author is both, to be clear.

From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata--Hero and heroine are figure skaters who hate each other. Heroine's career is on a downward trajectory, and she's given a surprising opportunity to team up with the hero.

#romance novel blogging

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galaxyslime · 2 years

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Re fanfic as an adult: Im nearly 22 aside from the handful of fanfic I've read that's actually good (there is some but it's more in niche / adult fandoms) imo the appeal of fanfic is the same as hallmark movies or mills and boon / harlequin books - trashy / easy to consume romances often for people who's romantic life is lacking. I do not however understand the people who claim its like high art (or yknow good) the fact that it's bad often makes it more enjoyable. Sorry for sending like a huge paragraph you don't have to read all that. (Hope youre well nd having a good day!)

Honestly this is the kind of discussion I'd like to be having so absolutely no shame in sending a long ask!! 💕

That sounds about right, I think the main thing I have trouble with is people who claim that specific type of writing is anything other than "trashy" or explicitly easily consumable. It's very much "mind vacation" stuff and I don't really understand why you'd want to make it a personality trait.

I'm absolutely sure thought-provoking fanfic exists, I personally haven't found any that resonated yet and I think that's another one of the aspects about it that I don't like. Novels you can buy and read are already edited or have an actual blurb so there's a level of quality you can estimate, but with fanfic you have to do the heavy lifting yourself unless you're in an older fandom with well-established lore.

#ask the slime

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battyaboutbooksreviews · 2 months

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🦇 Right on Cue Book Review 🦇

❓ #QOTD What's your favorite rom-com OR recommend a romance novel you don't see promoted often enough? ❓ 🦇 Former actress-turned-screenwriter Emmy Harper is ready to bring her latest rom-com to life. When the production can't find a leading lady, Emmy steps under the spotlight for the first time in over a decade. The last time she acted was alongside costar Grayson "F*cking" West, who she blames for her disastrous first film and the early end to her acting career. When Emmy's leading man backs out, Grayson steps in for the role. Their animosity nearly ruins the film until they discover a way to save the production, their careers, and potentially their relationship, on and off camera.

[ Find my review below. ]

💜 I had the great fortune of reading Just My Type when it was an ARC last year, so I'm delighted that I got to read Falon Ballard's next novel! It's obvious this story is a work of love. This second-chance romance is a reminder that one small moment can have a major impact, both on a relationship and your career. However, it's also a reminder that you can overcome mistakes or false pretenses. Emmy's first project with Grayson, when they were both just teens, changed the course of her life. I loved seeing Emmy heal from that pain while being forced to recognize the pain SHE caused Grayson. The concept of a romance writer keeping romantic interest at a distance, while having an opportunity to heal through her work, was also a delight. The strongest aspect of the book wasn't Emmy, however, but Grayson. His vulnerability is raw and real; proof that a man of muscles still has a heart underneath. The story is peppered with texts and news articles, adding a Hollywood element to the story while putting the relationship under the public's scrutiny--which only puts additional pressure on Emmy.

🦇 Unfortunately, the characters seem a bit superficial. We're not given a lot of reasons to love or relate to Emmy, who is a bit stubborn. While I loved seeing Grayson's vulnerability from Emmy, I wish the story was dual POV, so we could see reasons to adore Emmy through his point of view. One of the biggest mistakes was the lack of a flashback to show, rather than tell us about Emmy and Grayson's first project. Hearing a brief recap took the emotion out of the moment, when that moment obviously had a major impact on both Emmy and Grayson. The reliance on smut to develop the relationship and move the plot along was a bit frustrating, too. I have to warn you guys, there's a third-act break-up (thank you, miscommunication trope). The situation is resolved almost too quickly, making it all a bit anticlimactic.

🦇 Recommended to all the romance lovers out there (especially you Hallmark movie fans). If you want to swoon over a leading man, Grayson is it.

✨ The Vibes ✨ 🎬 Enemies With Benefits to Lovers 🎬 Forced Proximity 🎬 Workplace Romance 🎬 He Falls First 🎬 Second Chance Romance 🎬 Celebrity Romance

❝ “Don’t deny yourself something beautiful because you’re already thinking about what happens if it goes wrong.” ❞

🦇 Major thanks to the author @falonballard and publisher @putnambooks for providing an ARC of this book via Netgalley. 🥰 This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

#books #romance books #romance novels #romance #booklr #book reviews #book review #book blog #book: right on cue #author: falon ballard #forced proximity #he falls first #celebrity romance #enemies to lovers #enemies with benefits #workplace romance #second chance romance #batty about books #battyaboutbooks

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signalwatch · 4 months

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So, here we are in 2023.

In addition to Direct to Streaming Christmas movies, I've been throwing on the Hallmark Channel since way back in November.

Apparently what both Jamie and I need this year is to just zone out for 90 minutes from time to time, and to be able to talk over a movie featuring characters we don't really care about a whole lot. And that's absolutely the intention of a Hallmark Christmas movie - a minimum of drama and plot, reasonably good looking people predictably falling for each other, and a happy ending that guarantees these people will now be as boring as you are, because the events of this movie was the biggest thing to ever happen to them.

I copped to watching the film in 2015 and wrote my treatise on Hallmark movies back in 2017, and I think it shocked a lot of you to find out how very, very much I know about these movies that so many so casually get sniffy about (with good reason, tbh). But a lot has occurred since 2017. We're in the dark future of 2023 now, and the world is not what it was.

A very, very big part of me would love to know how Hallmark works and how these movies come into being. I have some theories based loosely on what I knew from a friend's mom who wrote Harlequin Romance novels, but there's zero confirmation on any of this. I'd just be guessing.

But it's not a mistake that these movies have similarities that go beyond "girl with a Christmas-themed name goes to small town, meets guy in plaid". It's an endless sea of similarities, and there's practically nothing else like it in media - like, they get to do drafts and check stats to see what works in real time as they release 85 new movies each year (this is barely hyperbole - there are 42 in 2023). But I strongly suspect Hallmark is cooking up packages they send out to potential writers with a list of things that their movie should contain, and then they make most of those scripts. Again - I don't know this, but otherwise the similarities would only happen because of Holiday Magic.

Over the years the movies have, in fact, changed as Hallmark has tweaked their formula. Folks who don't actually watch Hallmark Christmas movies assume they're still making the same plot where a young woman realizes she just fell in love with single Santa, but, ho ho NO! That hasn't been a thing for years. They still do royalty, but they tweak it quite a bit. And I am pretty sure I haven't seen a single movie this year about a young woman returning home or stuck in a small town who then meets a kind-of-handsome man in plaid who makes her want to give up her big city dreams (although I've seen men coming to a small town). And not a baking contest in sight.

In the mid-2010's, Hallmark decided quantities of movies was better than quality of movies. And that had multiple effects that carry through to today.

1) The era of FX is done. That means no more movies where they fly to the North Pole or an elf magically decorates a tree. So, no more stories with magical beings, because it means less movies if the budget went to CGI Northpoles and extras in elf costumes. And fewer movies means people tune away faster.

2) So long, star power. Which, honestly, is kind of a bummer. A *huge* draw for me initially was seeing "oh, what's that actress I recognize from that show from 10 years ago doing in this? What's her deal?" But it turns out it's way cheaper to go hire a random Canadian actress than get, say, Alicia Witt. With Canadian local talent, you can make two or three movies, and people will just leave their TV on because they haven't seen that movie yet, but they've seen the Alicia Witt movie and might click away.

Now, people really follow these movies, and that means that the fans have sort of made these Canadian stars into their own niche type of celebrity. They follow their favorite Hallmark stars, because of course they do. Heck, I have a couple. And Hallmark is always trying new people on to see who is going to land.

And, you can go see these actors at a Con. Because of course you can.*

Like I say - Over the years, you could guess there were themes handed down from Hallmark central. "This year we're doing movies about soldiers and/ or veterans", etc... It was always a trick to spot what the new thing was that year. I suspect that they can have, say, Lacey Chabert show up and read five or fifteen scripts with essentially the same premise, pick the one she wants to do, and the rest get handed out to the Hallmark B and C-List stars, and they're going to make the movies, anyway - just with a lower budget.

Themes this year got a little... hard to pin down. In 2023, I think they ran multiple new ideas.

1) Drama. These movies have always had basically the same source of drama - someone misunderstands someone else, and this leads to a downturn in the blossoming romance, but then they figure out it's a silly miscommunication, and head right back to the absolute certainty these people are absolutely going to end Christmas Eve in the sack.

But not so this year. This year, they introduced new plots that were - weirdly stressful. Which is not exactly why I thought these movies existed. Characters were legit stressed out, not Hallmark stressed out - where they would just talk through the issue at hand while having coffee with a pal and walking down a picturesque street. Now it's people mad at parents, not sure who their parents are, and I think I saw two movies where the house construction wasn't done for Christmas.

Look, Hallmark, I don't need reality butting in. Don't get cute now. I want to have these movies on as wallpaper at worst and entertainment I can forget about fifteen minutes later as my best scenario. I do not want to deal with generational trauma or people dealing with the stuff I'm avoiding by watching your sorta-pretty-people handing each other coffee.

2) International travel. Uh, look. This was mostly Americans going to Europe and exploring their European roots, which is something Americans think they should do, but, honestly - we shouldn't. Nothing sucks more than a 10th generation American deciding they need to talk about how "German" they are or whatever. You're from Cleveland, it's fine.

And, look, I'm not sure in 2023 that what you need to be doing is getting people really excited about and romanticizing their European heritage. Like - there's a name for that, Hallmark.

That said, it's wild to see Lacey Chabert and Scott Wolf in Ireland doubling for Scotland, claiming a Duke-dom. Amazing. No notes.

3) Why not a mystery? Well, Hallmark has been defying Lifetime's belief that all people want is stories of domestic situations gone bad and traded that for low-stakes "cozy mysteries" for years. Now their Christmas movies and mystery movies met under the mistletoe and had a baby. A kind of bland, boring baby.

Look, I get that they have a whole channel called "Hallmark Mysteries". I guess it was inevitable someone would decide we'd need to crack the case of the reindeer ornament or whatever, but this is putting a hat on a hat.

A few years back something shifted down Hallmark way. And it kind of needed to. Audiences were noticing these movies were maybe a little too lily-white, which is just not how America works, so the movies began to feel... weird. Why *not* cast more people of more diverse backgrounds? And not just as background characters in the inevitable Christmas Eve singalong sequence that wraps the movie?

I'd say Hallmark has stepped up their game. As always, it's imperfect. But it's not the WASPy world it was back in 2017. There are movies branded "Mahogany" made by and for Black audiences (Mahogany is also a card line from Hallmark). Queer characters get larger parts and are not just coded and a component of the Big City lifestyle that must be abandoned. There are Hanukkah movies. I will now stop listing non-straight, White things one can be, but Hallmark has found diversity, and the creeping feeling maybe you're supporting White Nationalism by watching these movies is reduced a bit.

The move to diversify, however, was not going to work for the former head of Hallmark programming and former Hallmark darling Candace Cameron Bure, who is not as insane as her brother, but who went to start her own TV network just so she could keep making movies just about straight, white people. Which is absolutely telling on yourself, but ok.

So, Bure is now at Great American Family, a network I cannot get at my house and have not missed. But she also landed several of her fellow Hallmark darlings, from Chad Michael Murray to Danica McKellar. So that's where they went.

Some stuff we noticed this year:

The international movies were kind of weird, with the movies filmed in Europe but starring people of the wrong nationality as the people from that country. Irish people as both Scottish and Norwegian people. Just... make an Irish movie.

They kept casting people literally decades too young for the roles they were playing. It was *weird*.

The male talent is now almost exclusively from a very small Hallmark stable, and I have several questions about why I have no facial recognition with any of these guys, learning they've been in 10 of these that I've seen when I look at IMDB

I saw like one thing baked all year, and it was in Norway

The writing is trying to be quirky, and I'm not sure the directors and editors have caught up. It feels almost like the actors have gone off script sometimes or an idea isn't landing because the film just doesn't want to deal with, like "oh, isn't this weird ornament funny?" and we keep going back to it, and... it's not funny?

I couldn't tell you which movies Jamie and I have watched so far - it's a blur. I've probably seen... at least 12 or 15 in part, and that included probably 7 from start to finish. We watched

the oddly snowless Norwegian movie

the one where Lacey Chabert goes to Ireland Scotland

a movie where Kimberley Sustad wears an elephant necklace

one where Lacey Chabert lives in the worst neighborhood imaginable where one is forced to love Christmas

One where Autumn Reeser keeps coming back to a tree lot, thirsty for the tree guy

One where some dumb kid goes off in a boat on the ocean by himself at night on Christmas and kind of ruins the day for everyone

And a bunch I've already forgotten

And many, many parts of movies

Anyway, it's a weird period of transition. I don't blame Hallmark for trying new things. Incremental novelty is going to be the thing that keeps people coming back.

I know it's probably a little mysterious as to why I'm back watching these movies. Again. But at this point I'm just watching to see, year-over-year, what they're going to do next. I guess on some level I enjoy also having something on in which I have no real investment and nothing is asked of me as a viewer, which is what I think a lot of people watch reality TV for. And it's a sort of cultural study at this point.

Part of me will also admit - at the end of the year, I just don't want to deal with, and do not have time for, anything super serious. Which is why I resent very important Oscar movies getting dumped in December. I have neither time nor inclination. But, sure, I'll watch some would-be country music star discover found family in a town with a name like "Festive Corners" or whatever. That sounds about like what I've got mental bandwidth for til January 2nd.

I don't really have access to Lifetime or other channels doing this type of movie, so y'all will need to report in if there's anything to discuss.

*if Hallmark comes across this post and wants to sponsor my trip to 2024 ChristmasCon for some in-depth coverage, I am in

#hallmark christmas movies #hallmark movies #hallmark

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