Scribbles and Bits

Miranda: I was hoping to make a proper post about all this, but I am freshly vaccinated and rapidly losing my ability to think. So instead I will just post the notes because this interlibrary loan book must be returned to Utah and we need these notes somewhere for later.

Around the time of those touch workshops, Rogan took an interest in trying to study touch more. The two books we've read on the subject are Touch by Tiffany Fields, and now the Power of Touch, by Phyllis K. Davis.

If you only get to read one, choose Fields; her book is definitely stronger, dealing in study data on the therapeutic uses of touch for various ailments and situations. However, Davis does engage with something Fields doesn't: "vicarious touch" and "internal touch"... things that are extremely relevant to us multi-wise, as people who overwhelmingly meet our touch needs through noncorporeal means.

( Read more... )

Miranda: Long ago, in the distant high school past, I read on fanfiction.net a queer Beauty and the Beast retelling called Brendan and the Beast. It was started in 2001. In 2011 (I think), the author completed it, but I had long since lost track of it by then.

A couple months ago, the author self-published it in ebook and paperback forms, and since Biff and I did all the packing and moving logistics, I declared myself deserving of a reward and bought a copy. If nothing else, I wanted to reward the author for plugging away for 20+ years and find out how it ended!

( Spoilers behind this cut, oh my! )

Brendan & the Beast is one of those romances where you are there for the two main leads. That is where all its strengths lie, their chemistry and banter. If that doesn't please you, this book will not succeed, but it pleased me very much; I couldn't put it down. It has some rough copyediting that one associates with self-published books, but that doesn't bother me. If I want more polished Beauty and the Beast retellings that DON'T scratch my itch, I can easily name half a dozen. This book gave me exactly what I wanted, and I am very happy with it.

And now it is on my shelf, the sole fiction prose book we have that is over 300 pages.

Congratulations, Fox Beckwith, for finishing a book after twenty years! Well done on such a long-haul labor of love!

EDIT 7/11/18: This post has been made public, as the more we've learned about Gallifreyan Tradition, the more disturbing the group becomes.

( This is cut text for those who'd like to skip intra-system conflict. )