Thursday continues apace

[lunabee34]

1. I am still reading an ungodly amount of Stranger Things fic, and y'all it's so funny reading through the fandom sorted by kudos. I'm on page 23 now, and it's killing me how many of the writers for this fandom are clearly British. It's all boot and mum and maths. Like an overwhelming preponderance that is frankly bizarre by numbers. Also, the punctuation of dialogue is a crime against humanity. So much

"I am very metal." Said Eddie. "Why yes you are metal, my doe-eyed sweetheart." Replied Steve.

And this atrocious punctuation occurs in otherwise excellent stories--good, plotty, angsty, wonderful stories. I have learned to just let my eyes slide right over it and quell the urge to grab a red pen.

Everyone has doe eyes. So many pet names. LOL

2. Josh's dad has found an apartment. He's moving in on February 15. It doesn't feel real. There's still a lot to do to get him there.

3.
Chronically Magickal: Navigating Chronic Illness with Witchcraft by Danielle Dionne

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This contains a lot of practical, hands-on information about what witchcraft actually looks like. Reading books that are more about the history or the cultural context didn't give me a good idea of what practicing witchcraft on a daily basis would actually look like, but this book is very helpful for envisioning that.



View all my reviews

4. ETA: I talked to my parents earlier this week for the first time since Christmas; I called because it was my mom's birthday. It was awkward and stilted. I keep mourning that relationship, which makes me feel stupid, because I KNEW they were like this and thought those things, but hearing it said blatantly out loud made it different for some reason. Dylan called them for the first time this week as well and said they were very careful when talking with them like they realized they had to be.

Comments

[corvidology]

I hope things work out really well with the move. I know it would be a big relief for you. ♥

...Unless you grew up in some terribly abusive situation (and even then sometimes for some people) I think it's normal and unbelievably common to be put in that position of mourning a relationship with parents that was never really going to happen. *squishes you* ♥


I have a really strong aversion to pet names in fic unless they're something actively used in canon.

Like, it's fun to make up ones for Bodie to use because this constantly goes in Pros:

https://youtu.be/AHQ27AST870?t=59

[lunabee34]

It's so weird because Josh and I call each other babe and baby all the time, and we call the kids baby a lot, and it's like I don't even hear it as a pet name or realize I'm doing it. It's just a name. But in fic I find it jarring and weird sounding a lot of the time. I contain multitudes!

[princessofgeeks]

OMG so glad the FIL is moving right away. Thank you baby Jesus in the gold lame diaper.

I am so sorry about the thing with your parents. Truly. Your mourning is real and I hope you are able to let go of feeling stupid. The death of hope is very hard.

ALL THE HUGS

Glad you are enjoying that fandom! And the witchcraft book sounds fun also.

[lunabee34]

That's exactly what it is, the death of hope. I think I had been hoping all this time that they'd be like other conservative people who when confronted with the reality of their own gay family members choose to be accepting, but this definitely cemented for me that they will never be accepting, that for Dylan to come to them is for their relationship to be well and truly over.

[troisoiseaux]

*hugs*

Sorry about the parents situation. I've cut off contact with my dad (for different reasons) within the past year and it really is tough to mourn that sort of betrayal/relationship loss.

[lunabee34]

I'm so sorry you've been going through this, too.

It is hard for me because my parents have objectively been good to me in a lot of ways, and reconciling that with the ways they are not good to me (and my family) is difficult.

[umadoshi]

Josh's dad has found an apartment.

HURRAH!

I keep mourning that relationship, which makes me feel stupid

There's nothing at all stupid about it. *hugs tight* This stuff is complex and hard.

[lunabee34]

It is really complex and hard, and I just don't know what to do with all my emotions.

Why are braaaains?

[spikedluv]

I don't read Stranger Things fic, but your description made me chuckle. And my eyes bleed, lol!

OMG, you'll have your refrigerator back soon!!! No worries that someone in your home is going to *coff* accidentally poison you!

*hugs* I'm sorry about your parents. At the very least, I'm glad they realized they had to be careful when speaking to Dylan. I wonder if they've had any realizations that their attitudes could lose them a large part of their family?

[lunabee34]

I think they did! I mean, they can blame me for keeping them from Fiona or whatever, but Dylan's an adult and in charge of their own life. For the last 3.5 years, Dylan has called them every Monday night of their volition, no prompting from me, and I think they've realized that Dylan can just not do that if they don't want to.

[executrix]

Remember to stand fast and make the February 15 date a real one.

[lunabee34]

I intend to.

*hugs*

[kat_lair]

ouch on the dialogue punctuation :D

[lunabee34]

INORITE?

[sheafrotherdon]

I am so glad he found an apartment \o/

There is nothing stupid about mourning. It's all part of the process, and the head can go places the heart takes longer to reach. Sending you big love.

[lunabee34]

That's exactly how I've felt for 20+ years--like my head and my heart are always in two different places. :(

Thanks for the love, friend.

[kaberett]

There is such an emotional difference, though, between "these people know we disagree but are willing to hold their tongues for the sake of our relationship" and "these people care about these positions more than they care, on a very basic level, about not actively upsetting me in person".

[lunabee34]

You're so right. And there's a difference between hoping for something different and finally knowing for sure that they will never accept my kid.

*hugs*

[minoanmiss]

What wise people said above. hugs you sustainingly

I'm impressed with Dylan.

[lunabee34]

*hugs*

I am so impressed by Dylan. I think it helps that they have always known that their grandparents believe things we don't that we think are actively harmful, so they've never expected their grandparents to change or accept them if they come out. Which is another kind of awful, but they don't have the weird, twisted up hope that I do. :(

[amejisuto]

"I am very metal." Said Eddie. "Why yes you are metal, my doe-eyed sweetheart." Replied Steve.

What the ever-loving hell is this?? This is worse than that Dobby/Hagrid fic I heard about. Sheesh.

Yay for an apartment! I'm sure that'll help you a lot, getting him out from underfoot.

I'm glad you liked Chronically Magickal, and I hope there was some stuff in there that could help you!

I'm sorry you've got such toxic parents. I wish I could make it better for you.

HUGGLES!

[lunabee34]

It was a really cool book; thank you for getting it for me. Before reading it, I had a hard time imagining what the practice would actually look like on a day to day basis.

*hugs and love*

[lyr]

1) I, too, am very metal...in spite of my doe eyes.

2) Woot! I'm so glad for you.

3) That's interesting as a specific context of practice.

4) Ugh, I'm sorry. Awkward and stilted is maybe the best that could have gone. *hugs*

[lunabee34]

Also Bambi eyes. Lots of those running around these fics. LOL

*hugs*

Thank you for the support, my friend.

[slightweasel]

Yay for Josh's dad moving out soon!

Parent stuff is so rough. Sympathies. 💜💜💜💜

[lunabee34]

It doesn't feel real. I'm just hoping it actually happens. LOL

Thanks for the support, friend. *hugs*

[archersangel]

glad josh's dad is moving soon. i hope he likes it & stays there.

[lunabee34]

Me too. I don't want him to just be abandoned. As much as it's been hard for us having him here, I want this to be a good move for him.

[annofowlshire]

*hugs* One of the hard things I've had to accept over the last few years is that I'll never have a relationship with my mother, and yeah, there's a mourning involved.

[lunabee34]

I'm so sorry you're also in that position. It's so hard.

Hugs

[timespirt]

"HUGS"

Soon you will have your home back to some sense of normal. Hope all works out for the FIL.

Hope one day your parents will get a clue and change. Sorry they are not supportive.

[lunabee34]

Thank you, my friend. I really appreciate the support.

[kass]

I am sorry about the lost relationship with your parents. That is painful and hard.

[lunabee34]

Thank you.

*hugs*

[author_by_night]

*Hugs*

Re: Stranger Things fic, that's interesting! I'm not into the show nor the fandom. But I can see that. I've noticed the reverse in non-American fandoms, where it's obvious the writer is from the US!

Interestingly, and I don't know why, but when we first met I thought you lived in the UK. (Maybe you'd visited the UK? That's all I can think of.)

[lunabee34]

*hugs*

No, I've always lived in the American South, first MS and now GA for the last 18 years.

I did study abroad in France and Spain when I was an undergrad.

[scintilla10]

Everyone has doe eyes. So many pet names. LOL Ahahaha, omg, as someone also deep in the Steve/Eddie fic mines, I feel this one deeply. XD So many glorious hair descriptions, too!

Are there any you've read that you would rec?

I'm so sorry about your parents; of course you are mourning this. And it can hurt to have good or positive memories of them side by side with the way they treat your family now - it can leave a messy pool of emotions that are hard to navigate. *hugs hugs*

[lunabee34]

Oh yes, the hair! And the Bambi eyes, too.

Honestly, I've just been reading them one after the other and not really saving any links, but I just read this one I liked

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43638745?view_full_work=true

And this one on the first page sorted by kudos is probably the best one I've read so far IMHO

https://archiveofourown.org/works/40084896?view_full_work=true

*hugs*

Thanks for the support.

[jackandahat]

I'm so sorry - I missed the situation with your parents, that sounds so awful. You did right by your kids, I'm sorry your parents are being arseholes about it. <3

[lunabee34]

*hugs*

Thank you so much for the support. It means a lot, Jack.