Replace the fear of the unknown with curiosity.

Cam is a thirty years old pale and tiny human in love with kpop, drama, Bangchan from Stray Kids and strawberries.

[winesharksea]

let's have sympathy for kit in this moment because could you imagine being on a road trip through some of europe's most beautiful cities during pride, a joyful celebration of love, with the boy you never got over but think you can never be with and he's tall and gorgeous and smart and kind and brave and then sometimes he just carries adorable small animals in his pockets???? like CAN I LIVE PLEASE. CAN I LIVE IN PEACE FOR ONE MOMENT.

[cassandraclare]

Hi Cassie! I was wondering what your relationship with your characters is like. Do you view them as your friends, your children, your creations or something else? I feel such a deep connection as a reader and I can’t imagine how much deeper that goes as an author!🩷

This is such a lovely question.

I don't think my relationship with characters is quite like having children or friends, because those are relationships with real people. Characters are something stranger than that. They're part of the toolkit of telling a story, but they're also repositories for things I've observed, experienced, wondered about, or imagined. They often contain pieces of people I've known, pieces of myself, and pieces that are entirely invented.

Sometimes I think they're a bit like diary entries: snapshots of thoughts and feelings I had at a particular time. Sometimes they're more like the imaginary friends I had as a kid. I traveled constantly when I was young, and I spent a lot of time inventing companions. I knew they weren't real, but I invested enough imagination in them that they became deeply meaningful to me. Characters feel a little like that. I know they are not real but the work put into them makes them important.

My relationship with them is also very different from a reader's relationship. Readers have the wonderful ability to experience a character almost as though they're meeting another person. I don't, because I know how they're built. People often ask me, "How's Ty doing right now?" and my honest answer is that he's not doing anything unless I'm writing him doing it. He's not lonely or waiting for me; he's simply not in motion until the story begins again.

I think that's probably the biggest difference between being the author and being the reader. Readers get to believe in the reality of the characters. Authors can always change those characters in a way actual people cannot be changed or altered and that power over them is a constant reminder that in fact, they are not real but serve the same thing you, the writer, do: the story overall. In some ways it's a bit sad we never get to experience them like you do!

[threedollarsdotcom]

dont talk to me or my clone or my shadow self or my reflection or my me ever again

[vintage-babie]

I need a scene in which Ty is getting overstimulated and overwhelmed and Kit whispers Ty's favorite words to soothe him. Because of course, Kit still remembers all of Ty's favorite words as he is THE LOVERBOY !!!

[tys-kitty]

Oh my god you cooked with this

[winesharksea]

i do actually think simon is a viable candidate for ty's previous crush because personality-wise i think simon and kit have a lot in common and simon was one of the witnesses at julian and emma's parabatai ceremony so they would have met

[spotsandclawsthings]

Jem's love for Tessa and Will is something that is holy to me.

I wish it was a possibility for them to be together again without it being a dream or ghost

[deardarlingcarstairs]

the criticism of the early tmi books for being so troupey is so funny to me bc like. city of bones was released in 2007. 2007!!!! i’m sorry but clary fray was the original it girl

[mossyghostreads]

i still cant get over the fact that during the attack on idris, the first thing alec says when he sees magnus is 'you didnt call me back'. like, yes little gay boy u know ur priorities!

[kierancfthehunt]

magnus is such a genius character creation. he's the perfect plot device: he's an outsider, but he isn't; he's a friend of the nephilim yet an advocate for downworlders; he's been alive for centuries; he is the high warlock of brooklyn, extremely powerful, and happens to be dating one of the main characters of the story.

not only is he the perfect way to keep moving the plot forward, a way out of conflicts that otherwise would have the characters scrambling and the plot meeting dead ends, he also provides INSIGHT. he will tell you who every character is, which generation they're from, remind you of connections between series you might otherwise have forgotten about and no other character has a way of knowing. he shows you glimpses of the past. he's there to tell stories to provide the reader with knowledge the characters don't have.

but he's also a genuinely interesting character. he's not just there. he has a story, he has an intrinsic personality, he has morals that don't necessarily align with the main character's. he gives the reader a different perspective and is there to point out the nuance of a situation, kinda brings the reader back from an otherwise biased narration. yet he's still very uniquely HIM.

it's genius.

[sunshinelivesforever]

the way ty trusts kit totally and completely enough to give him his headphones and show him what he's listening to 😭 the way kit gave ty his jacket, the jacket he's been emotionally attached to for 4 years 😭 IT'S LIKE GIVING SOMEONE THE KEY TO YOUR HEART AND TRUSTING THEM TO NOT BREAK THE LOCK

[gangler]

Barnes and Nobles is gonna start serving food and alcohol.

Everybody’s cracking jokes about how it’s a desperate attempt to stay relevant in the age of Amazon.

But you know what? Props to them. This is exactly what Blockbuster didn’t do. At no point was Blockbuster like “Hey, movie rentals aren’t the lucrative enterprise they once were. Perhaps it’s time we become known for our cheesy garlic bread.”

[mackasaurussex]

Okay but…if someone wants to take me on a date to a Barnes and noble and get me dinner and a drink and then let me peruse the stacks like I’m not saying no. A sandwich, a beer, and 2-5 books on various topics I hope I’ll someday read about? Good night.

[silvysartfulness]

The Swedish equivalent of Blockbuster is now best known for its candy, snacks and sodas.

[thestraggletag]

This is El Ateneo Grand Splendid, an old theatre turned bookstore in Buenos Aires:

The stage itself was turned into a cafe:

You can’t even begin to comprehend the massive amounts of money this place makes, despite the fact that they turned the theatre boxes into reading nooks like this:

I’ve literally spent days holed up in there reading books for free while also consuming massive amounts of coffee and pastries.

Adapt or die, people.

[frayedcobweb]

Take me to Buenos freaking Aires… Leave me in this bookshop… Never look for me, you will not find me again.

[my-ot8-is-fate]

Changbin: My beautiful, perfect Hyunjinnie, it's time to wake up.

Hyunjin, half asleep: Five more minutes…

Changbin: The plane landed, my lovely prince.

Hyunjin: …

Hyunjin: Okay, two more minutes…

Changbin: Lee Know-hyung's coming.

Hyunjin, disheveled and frantic: I'm up!

[cassandraclare]

Hi, Cassie. Since Tessa's ability is shape-shifting, could she simply turn into Will to remember the exact colour of his eyes by looking in the mirror, or would it be too painful for her?

I just don't think she imagines there would be any point. Forgetting the precise color of Will's eyes isn't about the color. It is about forgetting Will. She doesn't just forget his eye color, she forgets his laugh, and as time passes, she knows she will forget more.

It's like Will turning around to talk to Jem and realizing he isn't there. Eventually he'll stop doing that, and that stopping is also a loss, because it's the acceptance that Jem is gone. Tessa turning into Jem wouldn't help Will, and her turning into Will wouldn't help her.

The eye color is just a symbol. It's not the loss itself. Tessa's power might be able to reproduce Will's appearance, but it can't restore what she's actually mourning: the experience of living in a world where he is still there.

[1cupids]

witheeyaa

[photographersunite]

[sandersstudies]

Every time you go in a public place and something ISN’T disgusting it’s because somebody cleaned it. Every time you feel comfortable using a public bathroom or sitting at a restaurant table or setting something on a gas station counter or playing on a playground it’s because somebody cleaned it.

Thank you to everyone who cleans the world, especially those who are underpaid and under appreciated.

[my-life-is-a-sidequest]

I worked in a supermarket for 7 years and I don't think I can understate just how much cleaning you had to do for it to look clean (it very often where not in the places you aren't supposed to see)

[sandersstudies]

True for food service, retail establishments, gyms, outdoor areas, schools, religious buildings, office buildings, hospitals and medical buildings, etc. People usually only notice when a space is NOT clean, meanwhile every time a space is clean it’s only because of the diligent work of janitors, maintenance staff, custodians, parks workers, or volunteers.

[ekrixart]

hope nobody minds if i do a little pony posting