It Would Be Remiss Of Me, As An English History Blog, Not To Post The Goings-on Of The Handforth Parish

Read this if you like sea shanties!

Since we’re all vibing to sea shanties right now, can I share a few of my favorite ren faire bands? I’ve been blessed to see all these folks perform live at my home faire, and they could all use the extra support right now.

The ren faire circuit got hit hard by covid, and most rennies have been out of work since the pandemic started, so if you want to get your Ye Olde Jam On, consider these artists:

Jig to a Milestone (Celtic Folk & Americana) Facebook | YouTube | SoundCloud | Spotify

Just Desserts Singing Wenches (Bawdy A Capella) Facebook | Website | Bandcamp | YouTube | Spotify

Empty Hats (Celtic Folk & Sea Shanties) Website | Facebook | Spotify

The New Minstrel Revue (Folk) Facebook | Spotify | Bandcamp

Lady Victoria (Instrumental Hammered Dulcimer) Facebook | YouTube | Website | Bandcamp

The Harper and the Minstrel (Celtic & Folk) Facebook | Website

Pros of writing a superhero AU: interesting conflict, moral dilemmas, awesome fight scenes, snarky banter, angst possibilities, fun power sets, world-building possibilities–

Cons of writing a superhero AU: what the fuck are their powers and what the fuck do I name them

nightmare prompt for tangfei pretty please 🥺

Person A can tell that Person B is having a nightmare because they’re making weird noises/motions in their sleep so Person A wakes them up and asks if they’re okay

---

Of the both of them, they have long established that Tang Yi is the one who has nightmares. It’s almost counter-intuitive, considering that Shao Fei is the one dealing with violence and blood and crime day in, day out. In comparison, Tang Yi is now living life as a retired gang member and all he does is golf, work, have work dinners, and then spend time with Shao Fei, the days of fights and drugs well behind him.

Well, logically, it is supposed to be behind him, but Tang Yi wakes up in the middle of the night often, the coppery tang of blood filling his nostrils as he gasps for air, his hand reaching out for a figure who’s about to be shot to death, multiple hands grabbing at him in the dark, trying to ambush him while he’s asleep... many more. 

When that happens, it’s always Shao Fei waiting with a hand caressing at his forehead as he comes back to himself. Shao Fei bringing him back to reality with his lips and his touch, his sweet murmurings.

So Tang Yi is a little surprised when he wakes up in the middle of the night this time, and it’s Shao Fei who’s fidgeting in bed and mumbling under his breath while asleep. Frowning, Tang Yi reaches over to the bedside and switches the lamp on, and-

Sweat beads at Shao Fei’s forehead and his face is incredibly pale; Tang Yi barely dodges when hands suddenly shoot out to swipe at him, and it is only reflex and practice from back in his gangster days that has Tang Yi catching both arms in his hold gently, afraid that Shao Fei is going to hurt himself like this.

On closer look, Shao Fei’s bottom lip is bleeding from where his teeth are biting down onto flesh in his nightmare, and Tang Yi startles yet again.

“Baobei,” he murmurs immediately, pulling Shao Fei into a sitting position and holding onto him, not too tightly, but with just enough force to keep him from flailing. “Baobei, you’re having a nightmare, wake up.”

He realizes the moment Shao Fei comes awake, because the body in his embrace goes ramrod straight with a shudder. Tang Yi waits patiently but keeps up with his soft litany of murmurings and kisses to his temple.

“... Tang,” Shao Fei croaks, his voice hoarse as he shakes, “Tang Yi...”

“You okay?” Tang Yi asks, pulling him closer now that he’s awake, “Baobei, it was just a dream. I’m right here, I’m not going anywhere.”

“Tang Yi,” Shao Fei repeats, burying his face into his husband’s shoulder.

Tang Yi doesn’t ask. When Shao Fei stops shaking, he moves to get out of bed, and when Shao Fei refuses to let him go, Tang Yi lifts him out from under the covers as well. 

Standing obediently as Tang Yi undresses him and drying his sweat with a clean towel, Shao Fei feels a lot like a doll. His brain is all mush and refuses to string two coherent thoughts together, and all he wants is Tang Yi. They don’t speak much as Tang Yi pulls a clean shirt over his head, and then directs him back to bed.

He lets Shao Fei curl right against him, and his hold is much tighter than usual, but Tang Yi doesn’t mind.

They’ll talk about Shao Fei’s nightmare tomorrow morning, when the terror of the night no longer haunts him. 

For now, he guards Shao Fei’s sleep and smiles a little when Shao Fei’s breaths even out against his neck.

This episode in a nutshell:

Also:

me_irl

I always tell myself I’m going to write the idea down and that’s even assuming I remember I had an idea lol…

do you think adult fantasy/fiction has to have sex scenes in it? Like if a work is adult in tone/style/other content but sex scenes are more like...fade to black, do you think that's more YA?

hi anon! so no, Adult books don’t need to have sex scenes. they can, of course, have explicit sex scenes (though, depending on how explicit, this runs the risk of the book shifting from Adult to erotica, since there’s a line that differentiates them; in fanfic terminology, and to really simplify it, “mature” is Adult while “explicit” is erotica), or sex scenes that are mature but not with anatomical terms (Red, White, & Royal Blue is a good example of this), but they can also have fade to black scenes, or no sex scenes at all. it’s all up to the author and what they want to write, and the rules and expectations of the genre they’re writing. my books fall under either category fantasy romance or (in the case of my current WIP) category romantic comedy, and the sex scenes i write have importance to the characters’ arcs (both as characters and as a romantic pair), so i include them, but that’s my personal choice as an author (plus, i’m tired of authors being afraid of using the word “cock” in their romance novels, y’know? @bittenwrath has talked about this before, too). if you want to include fade to black scenes in your manuscript, go for it! your book can still be Adult with the tone/style/other content if it has fade to black scenes :) 

My thoughts on LGBTQ+ Exclusionists:

It's embarrassing. It really is just embarrassing.

Now wait, before you go rushing to the comments or my inbox to yell at me behind the anon button, keep reading.

You're mad because there are some people who don't experience attraction or gender the same way you do?

You think they should be cast out until they can qualify as "normal" by your standards?

Do you know who you sound like?

You sound exactly like the cishets who hate us.

Just wait. Keep reading. You'll get your chance.

Here's some advice, from an "older" queer who has seen this before: homophobic cishets will never accept you, because in their eyes, you are fundamentally Different.

And that is not something to be upset about or mourn. Your difference is what makes you powerful.

But what does it say about you when you use that difference, that power, to hurt and oppress others?

Others with whom you have more in common, than you will ever have with any cishet?

Keep going.

Do you know why we have this merged community? Why we stand together instead of apart?

Because together, we are stronger. This community is meant to be a source of strength, of love and acceptance, in a world that thinks we're wrong, or broken, or diseased.

We have all suffered. Some more than others. Many of our people aren't here anymore. We have lost so many of our community over the years.

But turning against each other? Its weakening the entire community. And the cishets know this, and they love it.

If we are too busy fighting each other, we cannot fight them when they come for us. When they come for our rights and our very lives.

Is that what you want?

I love this community. I was hurting so badly, growing up in a homophobic household. Having slurs thrown at me by family, friends, and bullies alike, before I was even self aware enough to realise they applied to me personally.

When I figured it out, I was terrified. I was depressed, suicidal, and so scared of letting people down. All because I was different.

Then I came here. And I found people like me for the first time. I found a home. Within the blogs of strangers that I'd never met, whose names I didn't even know, I had people tell me that I'm normal. That my attraction isn't bad, or wrong. That I am not broken.

It saved me. This community saved me. And it has saved so many others.

Do you really want to be the reason that legacy ends?

So the next time you sit at your keyboard, and you start up another post about how X Group doesn't "belong" here, I want you to sit and think for a moment. How would you feel if someone said that about you? About your sexuality or your gender identity?

And then after that, I want you to do some genuine research into your community and its history. Chances are, you don't know as much as you think you do. And that's okay. You can learn.

My DMs are open. If you're willing to learn and be civil, I'm willing to speak with you and help you educate yourself.

However, if all you're willing to do is mock me, the community, or anything I've said in this post? I will not hesitate to block you. This will be your only warning.