Alex Pendragon

5k words in, and you know the "it's just the author's barely disguised fetish" meme? 😳

If they didn't want us to mess with the tropes, then they should've locked them in display cases 😂

Do it! I would rather read people who fight for a brief-and-potent-even-if-eventually-doomed HFN - gimme characters who've been driven delirious with need, even if they realize they can't necessarily keep that feeling forever.

😂 I oscillate between that and "shit, I'm doing this terribly, people are gonna be LIVID"

Even though I'm not entirely sure who "people" are in that scenario, or the downside to their being livid!

I also do completely believe and respect in peoples' desire to read about something lasting, and foundational, and which persists despite everything: even if that may not be a true reflection of how reality is. Escapism is good, and I don't want to harsh anyone's pleasures!

Honestly, your "it's just metadata" description is really refreshing to me, because I do agonize about this stuff. I still feel like a guest in Romance As A Genre sometimes; like I'm not doing it "right" in structure or content or whatever. Like there are rules you don't know until you break them.

Part of it, I suspect, is because I often write about "young love" and that feels fraught to me: it can be intense and wonderful, but people are still changing. A relationship can come to an end, and that doesn't invalidate how special the HFN was at the time.

I think there's an agency element to it, which makes me feel like HFN requires more conscious acknowledgment and work that "we stay together because we want to be together" by the characters. But I may very well be overthinking things 😂

Ah, no, I got that 😁 And I agree! I was just trying to dig into what makes me feel uncomfortable, personally, with it, even though I totally see it's a "romance has a HEA" structure. Like, fundamentally, you could read my HFNs as HEAs, so why does that make me uneasy?

Oh, that one's definitely less likely 🤣

Right! I just find myself feeling generally uncomfortable with the idea of "HEA": things change, people evolve. Personally, I find there's something more powerful in the idea of people choosing to be together for as long as that works, and then choosing differently when it stops working.

I *could* just be a cynic 😂

There is no such thing as a HEA, only a Promising HFN.

I had the option to order pancakes on the side of my lunch yesterday, and didn't, and am still filled with regret 24 hours later.

Don't be like me. Don't make the same mistakes I did.

Pancakes, Megan. Pancakes.

Thanks Jamie! I hope you enjoy it 🤞

Hi Jamie! You liked my pitch (thank you!) but I just wanted to make sure it was appropriate for what you're looking for, as it's an adult romance rather than the YA/MG your MSWL covers. Obviously I'd love for you to read it, but I don't want to waste your time.

It was the perfect Sunday-morning-with-coffee read!

I love Felicia's essays, because not only do I invariably learn something interesting, but her voice is just so pleasing to read.

Copy of the most recent files on my phone. There were times I was waiting on the plane, in airports, etc, and wanted to check something or add a detail, but couldn't get to a cloud version for whatever reason.

Howl normally gets the Allen Ginsberg love (and it certainly deserves it) but I always preferred Many Loves for its combination of bluntness, tenderness, and self-discovery.

www.tumblr.com/casualnarp/7...

I wrote a little about some of the little details you might have missed in this video and why it hit me so hard as a trans person this morning:

www.burnsnotice.com/you-have-to-...

Happy Birthday! 🥳

Damn him for being so pretty. Damn him!

brb doing some googling for... uh... science...

*turns and looks pointedly in Jimin's direction, with a "go on, then" expression*

We've been so good, we deserve it

To be fair, if I had abs like that, I'd be flaunting them whenever possible too.

There are times when a huge space opera is just what I'm looking for, the more pages the better!

I'm hoping my brain will kick into action this weekend, and I'll jot some silliness down! 😁