#Also idk why I wrote it this way I just had vivid thoughts I guess
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where: felix's apartment, flashback
with: oskar ranstrom and felix ranstrom @manybcdthings
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He wasn't surprised when his brother didn't join for dinner, given the string of unanswered texts before Oskar returned home. It was more than obvious what Felix decided was a better evening spent, and also precisely why Oskar ensures his visit is bright and early the next morning. The Californian sun has barely peeked above the horizon when he arrives, letting himself into the apartment that isn't even Felix's. Despite trashed and mistreated as if it is. Oskar isn't surprised by the sight he's greeted with, his brother sprawled uncomfortably on the couch, dusty residue on the coffee table, bottles scattered and mostly empty. But he is surprised by the half naked woman in the kitchen area who makes herself known by a startled noise, the situation perhaps made stranger by Oskar's unimpressed and stern glare. But the commotion is enough to stir Felix's eyes open, which is all that matters. "Get rid of her and get showered, we're going for a hike." he says clearly, unfazed if Felix's company overhears as she scampers to a bedroom. Oskar able to glimpse another set of legs dangling from the bed. "Get rid of them," he clarifies, not even a hint of amusement in his tone as he peels to leave. "I'm parked up outside. Maybe eat something." he says, taking a quick glance to the now safe kitchen space. "If you even buy food."
#oskarranstrom.talk#flashback: oskar ranstrom w. felix ranstrom 001#LMAO idk why we did this but I'm already laughing#Also idk why I wrote it this way I just had vivid thoughts I guess#WHatever#Also sorry Bella ur bf was a hoe
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ok ok ok but what kinks do you think mingyu has đđ
okay so iâm gonna start answering the requests now like i didnât disapear for one month :â) and omg iâm excited. I already said this before, I think mingyu is more of a sub than anything, but there are times. there are TIMES. when he doms itâs not too kinky, itâs more like carnal and (very fucking) rough sex in which he gets too impatient to be a good boy and grabs you by the hips, takes what he wants and just completely destroys you,, ANYWAYS, you can read more of my thoughts here. Yâall better sit down and buckle up cuz I have A LOT to say about this man (especially with how fucking much I miss him).
Praise Kink â I HAD to start with this one. I think you can all agree with me how much Mingyu loves being praised. There is actually a video of him getting red all over and whining because he got too happy when he was praised by the other members and ITâS JUST SO CUTE. Mingyu would downright meowl every time you told him how much of a good boy he is and how heâs perfect, so pretty just for me. But I also think he would love to praise you too, wants you to know youâre everything heâll ever need.
Pet names â Idk if this is considered a kink, but please, he gives me such vibes of being into the pet names puppy or pup. We all know heâs considered the puppy of Seventeen, so I think it suits him and his personality a lot, especially because I think he would be so horny and desperate when it comes to sex. Calling him baby boy, angel, sweetheart, he would love it so much. Although he would love to call you by cute names too, and I think his favorites would be princess, prince and my baby.
Degradation â HEAR ME OUT, I absolutely think he would love being degraded. I just,, I canât even begin to explain how much I think he would enjoy that. Mingyu is just so dirty, he would go all red when you tell him how heâs the filthiest little slut or are you that desperate for me you canât even stay still? while he humps his cock on the pillow, too needy to wait for your touches. He could even cum just from such kind of words, in all honesty I think this is one of his major kinks ever, not just the verbal aspect of it but also the physical part too.Â
Begging â Oh, yes. YES. Mingyu is all about begging. No matter how many times I think about it, I can absolutely hear his throaty and whiny voice saying please, please, please, let me cum, I have been so good, and he sometimes doesnât even have to have a purpose or an incentive to do it, he just mumbles it without thinking like itâs the only word he remembers. It would come with the fact that heâs too horny for his own good, seriously, yâall donât understand how much horny energy I feel this man exhuding.
Exhibitionism â We been knew how much he likes being watched. He may be shy about it, but I guess it can be related with his love for compliments. Although Mingyu would not only like people watching him, but also you as well. The way you move your body on top of him as you ride his dick, or the way he would put a hand on your lower back and make you arch impossibly more just so he could drill into you harder; the contrary of how he would cry and beg later when you edge him and tell him how much of a needy slut he is, being this desperate just because people are watching. ALSO ummm,, I try hard not to talk about other members here but, can I just say that I think him and Wonwoo are so much into watch each other fuck people. God, I even wrote like 18K words of porn of this particular thought. You can read it here.
Breeding Kink â Does this even need explanation? Mingyu would feel an almost animalistic need of putting as much cum inside you as he can. This would do as much as make him feral about it, when he has a stressing day or just because he wants to see his seed dripping out of your hole; no matter what compells him, it would get him aroused to the point where he wouldnât even be able to wait until both of you get to the room, would rip and thorn both of your clothes off, put you on your knees and make you suck him off until he cums all over your face, just so he could fuck you against the wall afterwards. Which brings me to the next kink:
Strength/Size Kink â Well, is it possible to have a strength and size kink with yourself? Because he does. Mingyu would love to manhandle you around the place, fuck you against every surface of the house, especially if he gets to hold you up as your back is pressed somewhere. Not only that, but I also think it would be due to the movement of his hips. Or better yet; what comes after it. The way your ass and the back of your thighs would get red with how hard heâs thrusting into you, wonât be satisfied until youâre drooling because of his cock and simping for his muscles, bulging over the effort of fucking you. And I just know, I KNOW he would have a dirty mouth about it, would make questions like yeah? You like how strong I am? All this time on the gym gotta pay for something or falling appart on my big cock like you were made to, hm?. Fuck why am I like this. I LITERALLY BRING PAIN TO MYSELF.
Bondage â I think Iâm writing too much so I hope yâall keep up with my horny ass, because I canât stop until I say everything I want to say about him,, so, about this, Mingyu would love to tie someone up as much as he would love to be tied up... Okay, maybe I think he would love to be tied up more than tying someone up, if Iâm being completely honest. He just gives this kind of vibes, maybe even as punishment for misbehaving, since he would sometimes be too desperate to wait like a good boy, and he knows you end up letting him take what he wants just because you would tie him up later and make him âregretâ (the little shit would never regret anything, and neither would you).
Overstimulation/Edging â Oh, fucking definitely. I have this very vivid image of Mingyu sitting on a chair, hands tied up behind the chair back, legs spread and completely falling appart as you jerk him off. Flick your wrist faster and faster, just to get him on the edge and let go when heâs just there. Then, make that again and again and again, until heâs crying and begging for you to let him cum, and when you finally do, you only keep going, grip unforgiving. Watching his labbored breath of relief turn into little meowls, hips jerking away or closer, none of you are quite sure, but he wants it, saying donât stop more like a moan than actual intelligible word.
Pegging/Anal Sex â Mingyu would be so shy about it at first. He would come to you, mumbling words you struggle to understand and cheeks burning red, until he manages to get out he wants you to fuck him. But oh lord, when he tries it out he would go absolutely insane. I really think he would be into it, into you rocking your hips and nudging your cock (plastic or not) against his prostate. Just imagine him with a dark blush all the way down to his chest, little whines and meowls that sounds too high and sweet for his own ears, body writhin all over the bed and fists clenching the mattress as his back arches. So damn cute and hot at the same time :( he just wants to be taken care of sometimes, being able to just lay down and have someone fucking him to oblivion.
Power Play â More like fighting for power to be honest. He really enjoys subbing, but when he does it he wants you to put him on his place, because Mingyu is irrevocably and completely a brat. He would tease you to the point where it drives you insane, just so you could snap at him and take what you want, as much as he loves when you do the same to him.
Spanking â Hmmm Mingyu and spanking. And he would do it hard. Full on open fingers going down on your ass until he leaves his handprint. To be honest, I totally think heâs the kind of boyfriend who would be possessive, wants his marks all over you neck and body, however, oh however, I also think he really really reeeeeally love when you do it to him. Everything, from the crescent shaped marks on his back, to the bite on his shoulder you accidentaly gave him when he was fucking you on missionary position, to the mark of your fingers on his cheek when you slap him for being a brat. Okay I kind of lost myself in the kink but yes. Mingyu and spanking.
Double Penetration â HOLY SHIT please tell me you agree with me. Like, fuck, thereâs this evil side of him who wants to see you being speared open in more than one cock, wants to see you fucked into another dimension and reduced to an incoherent drooling mess, and itâs just so dirty of him, usually possessive and guarded, to let someone else get their hands on you just so he could watch you fall apart with two cocks. Or even him alone with a dildo, what it matters is to have two things inside you absolutely wrecking you. Or him. Oh shit why did I have to say that cuz now the image of him being double penetrated wonât ever leave my mind IT IS BURNED BEHIND MY EYELIDS FOREVER. Bye.
Choking â You damn right I think about his hands on my neck all the time. They look so big, and Iâm sure itâs also something of his size kink, seeing his huge hands wrapped around your throat would make something ugly, something hot burn in the pit of his stomach. You doing it to him too, especially when heâs tied up, only being able to take what youâre willing to give him.
and thatâs that! sorry (?) for writting too much, this always happens when I stay too much time without writting any filth,,, last time that happened, I speant two years without any smut so then I wrote 18K words of porn in two days (no, I didnât sleep) AND I DONâT EVEN REMEMBER WRITTING HALF OF IT??? and the time before that, I simply wrote 12K words. what is wrong with me. anyways!! hope you liked it, tell me what you think and your opinions too!!
#seventeen imagine#seventeen smut#seventeen x reader#mingyu smut#mingyu x reader#mingyu imagine#mingyu#svt smut#svt x reader#svt imagines
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andddd july flew by, and iâm here to give everyone an unasked for report of...things...i watched / read / listened to this month because why not
kdramas:Â
miss hammurabi
aaaah oh my god the way i told myself that i wonât be watching any more legal kdramas because your honor stressed me out so much--but god. i wound up watching this and fell in love with it so fast? miss hammurabi is about a rookie judge (the gal on the right) disrupting the judicial system with her strong sense of justice. i really wasnât too sure if iâd like her, but oh god. i fell in love with her so fast, with her desire to make the world a better place and her ability to smile even though sheâs had a horrific life of her own.
honestly, i really just loved this show, mostly for how it covers so many issues in the courthouse, from working overtime to the emotional fatigue to the frustrations with those brought to court to the actual cases themselves, which are all civil court things (so we get some stuff about sexual harassment, child custody, medical malpractice, etc). this show really demonstrated that each of these cases were important--and also...really hard-hitting. i think i cried at least once per episode just because...yeah. iâm reminded that no one goes to the courthouse because theyâre happy or because theyâre having a good time, and it really is the job of judges and lawyers to keep a cool head and execute justice the best they can.Â
so basically: i loved this show. i loved it a lot more than i thought i would, and thatâs always a good thing. thereâs also not a whole ton of romance here either, if youâre looking for a show thatâs not really too deep into that. itâs def. more focused on depicting the legal field, as well as all of the complications that come with that. as a result, thereâs a lot of heartbreaking moments in the show, but thereâs also many, many, many uplifting ones that reminded me a lot of why i personally want to enter the legal field. so if youâre looking for a show that might restore your faith in humanity, then i def. recommend this kdrama!
beyond evilÂ
so.....itâs no secret that iâve been mildly obsessed with this show. i binge-watched it in the span of...i think four (4) days, so thatâs averaging about four episodes (4 hours) a day. let me just say...i was kind of on the fence about watching this, but now iâm really glad that i did because whooo boy, i was in for a ride. basically, this show is about lee dong sik, who was accused of murdering his sister (amongst others) 20 years ago...and han ju won, the young detective / inspector whoâs trying to track down the murderer (who he believes is lee dong sik).Â
lots of other things happen, but thatâs the least spoiler-y summary i can give of this show because....whooooo boy, thereâs just so many twists and turns in this show? as soon as you start thinking you have everything figured out, this show tosses in another thing that reminds you of just how clueless you actually are. that said though, none of the twists felt out of place--they all felt very planned and very smart, so kudos to the writers for that!Â
overall, i hella enjoyed this show--the plot, the characters (who all want to do the right thing, but theyâre all very jaded in their own ways which makes being a 100% good person basically impossible in this monster of a town), and, of course, the relationship between dong sik and ju won. there was just an absolutely fascinating push and pull between their relationship, lots of distrust and mocking each other in the beginning...only to slowly but steadily grow into trust and respect for each other (and in my head, def. something more....but lol iâll let you guys decide on that for yourself ;))Â
i.....genuinely loved this show. i found this show just incredibly smartly written, and all the characters were incredibly intriguing? and the relationships were all fascinating to me? just. god. this show ripped me apart so many times, and i loved it all the more for it. like. guys. i wrote or started writing about six fics for this show in the span of 48 hours because i love it that much.
movies:
the handmaiden
ohohoho this movie has been on my to watch list for the LONGEST TIME, and i was glad that i gave myself some time to watch this movie at the start of the month, because...whoooo boy, it was so good. this movie is inspired by the book the fingersmith by sarah waters, only whereas i think the book took place in victorian england, this movie takes place in japan-occupied-korea. sook hee, a pickpocket, is hired by a conman to persuade the secluded lady hideko to marry him. the conman plans to later inherit hidekoâs wealth and send hideko off to the madhouse.Â
many things happen over the course of this movie, and iâm not going to spoil anything, but oh boy...oh boy. i mean, this movie is pretty well-known for the main relationship between the two protagonists, sook hee and hideko. the romance was such a ride, and i thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of it. this movie really said âbe gay, do crimeâ in the best way possible.Â
as a quick warning though, this movie definitely is erotic. i kinda knew that heading into the movie, and i was still a little caught off-guard. so maybe if youâre a little squicked out by sex/erotica in general, iâd maybe skip over this movie. that said, this movie was beautifully filmed, with beautiful writing, and the cast was just perfect. i donât think iâve seen a movie so beautifully or smartly crafted like this before, and iâm very glad i watched this film.Â
the meg
let me caveat by saying....i watched this because my brother wanted to watch it, so i sat through this movie and...yâknow? it wasnât awful. kinda predictable as far as shark movies go, but it wasnât bad! i found myself enjoying it a little more than i thought i would...? but basically, this movie is about, you guessed it, an underwater research facility that was just looking into a deeper part of the ocean and etc. surprise, they found! a megalodon. multiple megalodons! cue the chaos.Â
so...there were definitely some more suspenseful moments. i shouted âthese people just KEEP FALLING OFF THE BOATâ a few times. there was one character who i was like âoh man heâs gonna be the villain isnât he :( darn :(â to âoh hey he has a heartâ to âoh never mindâ to âoophâ. there were some more slightly emotional moments, but?? not particularly thought-provoking or impactful. so like? overall? it was one of those movies where like....itâs not bad, itâs not really good, but! hey, not all movies need to be incredibly deep to be even somewhat enjoyable! (and like, i mostly just enjoyed watching this movie because my brother and i cracked commentary all throughout it, much to my fatherâs chagrin.)Â
music:Â
so, apparently my music taste changes when iâm thinking about something thatâs not star wars related, and i saw a bit of that when i was making this playlist for lee dong sik and han joo won from beyond evil. as spotify works, it wound up with me adding a few of my songs that i thought fit them, and then i wound up going into the radio part of my playlist and listening to a lot of new songs, and i just have to list some of my new faves here:Â
let me follow by son lux: you know when you hear a song that just feels so...strangely cinematic? like, you get all kinds of vivid images in your head and stuff? this was def. one of those songs. itâs quiet, and thereâs something weirdly...ephemeral about it? thatâs the only way i can describe it. and mildly haunting. and mildly tragic. idk why, but i think big fans of tragedy & the patroclus/achilles kind of feel might like this song. itâs just. god. i spent 2 hours sitting in my bed just listening to this song on loop.Â
not in the same way by 5 seconds of summer: this is a public scolding @ 15 year old me who thought it was lame to like 5sos just because they were getting popular. boo, 15 year old caroline and her âiâm a weirdo, iâm not like other girls or other people my ageâ phase! because 5sos actually slaps, and this was one of my fave songs? idk. another weirdly cinematic song. the refrain is just chefâs kiss, in the kind of rambly way that leads to a shout. i love that kind of stuff.Â
start of time by gabrielle aplin. bro...the way gabrielle aplinâs voice brought me straight back to 2014-2016 era caroline...but weirdly, i havenât heard this song from her before? and bro. bro....iâve never wanted to run to the top of a hill and watch the sunrise with a loved one so bad in my whole life. god. idk. if you need a song that makes you feel like. things just might get better. this oneâs for you.Â
sedated by hozier: okay, so iâve only ever listened to a handful of hozier songs in my whole life (i know, i know, how can i bicon like myself not listen to hozier 24/7? le sigh), but bro.....bro. i get it now. i get why people screech about hozier. i already liked his music before, but...ah. idk. something very powerful about this song. i now understand why people want to lie down in the middle of the woods when they listen to his music.Â
#caroline recs#i didn't watch or read a whole ton of things because....super deep into lsat prep now#but yee here we are
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books and reading in 2021
Overall Iâd like to read at least 65 books for 2021 and Iâd like for most of those to be new-to-me and things I either already own or have listed as to-read on Goodreads.
So far I have read 11/65 books and 4 fanworks.
Themed reading challenge checklists and brief book reviews are under the cut. I may or may not finish any of these challenges; again, my goal is to cut down my to-be-read list and unread books I own, and themes and deadlines help me pick a book rather than hemming and hawing.
Book reviews answer the questions âDid I like it? Was it good? Would I recommend it?â (please note these are very different questions) and how many stars I rated it.
I may put fanfiction, webfiction, and other things that are very much not traditional books down on here as well, depending on how booklike Iâve decided they are.
The FFA reading challenge, 2021Â (2/12 books)
JANUARY - The Pandemic Year - a medical thriller, or a book about medicine The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum Did I like it? Yeah! Was it good? I think so. Â Sometimes the prose meandered in such a way that I felt the author was kind of saying dun dun dun! under her breath at me, and I was like âidk, is that significant?â but usually it was good. Would I recommend it? Do you have a strong stomach? Then sure. 4 stars
FEBRUARY - Macavity/Ratigan - a genre you wouldn't normally read Jane Doe by Victoria Helen Stone, book 1 in the Jane Doe series Did I like it? Yes! Very much! The power fantasy of being able to take vengeance against people who hurts your loved ones, without feeling bad about it, was really appealing to me, a person who feels guilt over a frankly ridiculous number of things. It was also genuinely funny. Was it good? I thought so. The narrator had a really strong voice that struck the right balance between creepy cold indifference and endearing little moments of self-discovery. Would I recommend it? Yes, but with the caveat that thereâs some pretty serious emotional abuse of the protagonistâs false persona (which she encourages and privately gloats about), and she also gets close to committing serious violence, including fantasizing at length about it. 5 stars
MARCH â 100+ Comments of Terror - a book set in the arctic, or a book about an expedition In the Land of White Death: An Epic Story of Survival in the Siberian Arctic by Valerian Albanov (ordered)
APRIL - Sexy John Oliver Rat â a book about animals, or a book with a character called Oliver or Olivia A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear by Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling (hardcover)
MAY - A Feud in Wolf-Kink Erotica - a book involving wolves, the legal system, or ripped from the headlines Song of the Summer King by Jess Owen (ebook)
JUNE - Showerhead Wank - a comedy of manners, an etiquette manual, or a book where someone wanks or has sex
JULY â My Shithead Is What You Are! - a book with profanity in it, or a book about themes of censorship
AUGUST - Yep, Still Indoors - a book involving travel, or being stuck in one place
SEPTEMBER - Socktopus, Maybe? - a book where someone has a secret identity, or a book about aquatic animals
OCTOBER - Politics is Sequestered â a book involving politics or politicians Boss: Richard J. Daley of Chicago by Mike Royko (owned in DRMâd ebook)
NOVEMBER - It's Canon in Spanish - read a book originally written in Spanish, or set in Latin America
DECEMBER - Apple Is a One Syllable Word - a book about language/linguistics/etc., or a book with a two syllable title.Â
Around the Year in 52 Books (8/52 books)
A book related to âIn the Beginning...â: (Using the subprompt a book set in the ancient world) The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Emily Wilson Did I like it? Yes; it was definitely a less comfortable read than prior translations I have read, but a more interesting one, I think. A lot of details leapt out at me that I had either forgotten or that had been overlooked in the 3ish literature classes I have read the Odyssey for. Was it good? Yes! Would I recommend it? Probably, with the caveat that if you are just in it for a cool mythology story you would probably prefer an adaptation rather than a translation. 5 stars
A book by an author whose name doesn't contain the letters A, T or Y The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis Did I like it? I really read this for the worldbuilding of Hell, so I liked that; to some extent I did also like some of the musings on how a lot of human foibles that people like to think of as virtues can actually be kind of shitty. On the other hand, Lewis and I disagree about a lot of things -- mostly that whole Christianity thing. So I liked it with caveats. Was it good? It was okay! Again, I was not really there for the Christianity stuff. I am never there for the Christianity stuff. I am either precisely the wrong audience for all of C.S. Lewisâ stuff, or, if you look at it a certain way, precisely the right audience, but even if you look at it that way, he is never going to convince me; I wrote furious postcanon fanfiction about the dwarfs when I reread the Narnia books as a teenager and realized they were meant to represent people like me. Would I recommend it? Probably not? Unless you frequently write demons or other evil creatures trying to figure out how humans work, which I guess I am. 4 stars but only because that reveal at the end is great
A book related to the lyrics for the song "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music (The cover depicts a rose with raindrops or dewdrops on it.) Ensnared by Rita Stradling Did I like it? In a sense. In a sense, I enjoyed this book. It was a Beauty and the Beast retelling, and I like Beauty and the Beast. There were robots, and I like robots. And it certainly gave me something fun to talk about. However, it also inspired me to try and figure out when and why I acquired this book, and while I still donât know why I bought it, I was relieved to find that I only paid 99 cents for it. For a more thorough description of the plot, please see my Goodreads review. It was a weird book to start with, and then it really, really didnât age well. Was it good? IT SURE WASNâT. Would I recommend it? No. However, if you decide to read it Iâd love to hear what you think. Please. Please talk to me about this book. 2 stars
A book with a monochromatic cover The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson Did I like it? Yes, very much! Also it accidentally became fic research. I genuinely was just thinking âwhere do I slip Leonard into this narrative so he can try and fail to sabotage the Ferris Wheel?â and then I began to think about how much Leonard would admire and envy H. H. Holmesâ ladykilling ways. But in general it was a really good read and had a lot of... Chicagoness, which I of course am fond of. Was it good? I thought so! Obviously a lot of the narratives of Holmesâ murders were mostly the authorâs speculation, but there were a lot of great research tidbits in there, and the picture the author paints of the Worldâs Fair was vivid and wonderful. Would I recommend it? Yes, with the warning that this is true crime and there is vivid narration of several murders, including the murders of several children. 5 stars
A book by an author on USA Today's list of 100 Black Novelists You Should Read Wild Seed by Octavia Butler, book 1 of the Patternmaster series Did I like it? Yes, but it was intense. It takes a lot of skill to keep me reading and invested through so many horrors; the protagonistâs children and loved ones die on-page multiple times, in horrible accidents or senselessly murdered, and it hurts every time, but I kept reading. Admittedly I am (predictably) extremely here for immortal enemies-to-lovers-to-enemies angst, so that was probably part of it. Was it good? Yes! I am kind of sad that Iâm not just moving on to the next in the series (there are 3 more books), but also, god, Iâm not sure I could handle it. Would I recommend it? Yes, definitely, with the caveat that it is very dark and very sad. 5 stars
A love story Deal with the Devil by Kit Rocha, book 1 of the Mercenary Librarians series Did I like it? It was good! I gather both of the authors who are Kit Rocha were (are still?) in fandom, and it shows in the right ways; it doesnât shy away from depicting sex pretty explicitly but thereâs a lot of emotion in it, and the main couple is a m/f couple without the book being unpleasantly heteronormative. Like, yeah, itâs about a big butch macho dude whoâs broken inside and a woman whoâs very caring, but the big butch macho dude is genuinely kind and not like, violent for the hell of it or overprotectively jealous, and the woman doesnât drop everything to Heal His Pain. (Also I think most of the characters, including the romantic leads, are established to have had same-gender lovers at one point or another without that being considered unusual or wrong in the setting, so thatâs nice.) Itâs also a cheerful and optimistic post-apocalyptic book about two found families coming together to make the world a better place, despite the very grim backstories of pretty much everyone in the story, which is really nice. Was it good? It was okay. It was good popcorny reading; itâs not winning any literature prizes, but it sets out to be fun and readable and exciting, and it is all of those things. Also, as noted above, the prose has a lot of the strengths of fanfic (not being afraid to mix genres, not being afraid of writing sex earnestly and emotionally but also explicitly, strong emotional focus) without the much-derided stereotypical weaknesses of fanfic. Would I recommend it? Probably? This isnât a must-read; itâs happy to be idfic so if it sounds like itâd scratch your id I would recommend it, but it might not be Your Thing and thatâs okay too. 4 stars
A book that fits a prompt suggestion that didn't make the final list (Using the subprompt a book related to a local industry or small business) The Gangs of Chicago: An Informal History of the Chicago Underworld by Herbert Asbury Did I like it? NO. NO I DID NOT. It made me genuinely angry. It was a useful read for fic research and unfortunately Iâve got it in my little fic-writing reference material corner in my office but I DID NOT LIKE THIS BOOK IT WAS VERY BAD. Many questionable or outright incorrect assertions and implications, and extremely racist and sexist. For details, see my review on Goodreads. Was it good? It was actively bad. Would I recommend it? Not unless you are interested in it historiographically, or on the off chance that you are trying to find some fiddly details about a particular bit of Chicago crime history, but also have no responsibility to make sure those fiddly details are correct when you use them in the project. 1 star
A book set in a state, province, or country you have never visited The Last Duel: A True Story of Crime, Scandal, and Trial by Combat in Medieval France by Eric Jager Did I like it? It was okay. It was definitely interesting but not amazingly life-changing. Was it good? It was fine! I did think the underlying rape case was handled surprisingly sensitively given that this was a male author writing about 20 years ago about a medieval rape accusation and trial, but there is a chapter that is basically just the victimâs account of her rape, and itâs very brutal. Would I recommend it? Do you want to understand more about trial by combat in the Middle Ages, and/or learn about how medieval people treated rape victims? You should definitely read this book. But if that doesnât particularly interest you, probably not. 3 stars
A book you associate with a specific season or time of year Summers at Castle Auburn (ebook borrowed from CPL)
A book with a female villain or criminal Sin in the Second City: Madams, Ministers, Playboys, and the Battle for America's Soul by Karen Abbott (owned in paperback)
A book to celebrate The Grand Egyptian Museum The Oasis by Pauline Gedge (ebook)
A book eligible for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation The Memory Police by YĆko Ogawa (on hold at CPL; est. 3 week wait)
A book written by an author of one of your best reads of 2020 The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow (on hold at CPL; est. 10 week wait???)
A book set in a made-up place Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey (paperback)
A book that features siblings as the main characters Sisters One, Two, Three by Nancy Star (ebook)
A book with a building in the title
A book with a Muslim character or author
3 books related to "Past, Present, Future" - Book 1
3 books related to "Past, Present, Future" - Book 2
3 books related to "Past, Present, Future" - Book 3
A book whose title and author both contain the letter "u"
A book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads
A cross genre novel
A book about racism or race relations
A book set on an island
A short book (<210 pages) by a new-to-you author
A book with a character who can be found in a deck of cards
A book connected to ice
A book that you consider comfort reading
A long book
A book by an author whose career spanned more than 21 years
A book whose cover shows more than 2 people
A collection of short stories, essays, or poetry
A book with a travel theme
A book set in a country on or below the Tropic of Cancer
A book with six or more words in the title
A book from the Are You Well Read in World Literature list
A book related to a word given by a random word generator
A book involving an immigrant
A book with flowers or greenery on the cover
A book by a new-to-you BIPOC author
A mystery or thriller
A book with elements of magic
A book whose title contains a negative
A book related to a codeword from the NATO Phonetic Alphabet
A winner or nominee from the 2020 Goodreads Choice Awards
A non-fiction book other than biography, autobiography or memoir
A book that might cause someone to react âYou read what?!?â Missing 411: Eastern United States by David Paulides (terrible pdf copy Iâm not paying $100 for a book about extradimensional bigfoot)
A book with an ensemble cast
A book published in 2021
A book whose title refers to person(s) without giving their name
A book related to "the end"
Thereâs No Business Like Snow Business February Reading Challenge (8/8)
Snow is precipitation in the form of small white ice crystals formed directly from the water vapor of the air at a temperature of less than 0°C (32°F).
Read a book that has snow on the cover or snow in the title. Killing Dragons: The Conquest of the Alps by Fergus Fleming Did I like it? It was okay. There was more about the personalities involved in early mountaineering than I did about actual mountain-climbing, which was fine, but didnât get really exciting until those personalities got really dysfunctional. Was it good? Again, it was okay. The prose wasnât bad, but it wasnât gripping, and there was some odd (lack of) translation on occasion. The research seemed thorough and solid, though. Would I recommend it? Not really, unless you are specifically looking to research the Alps or early European mountain-climbing enthusiasts for a writing project or something, in which case, of course. 3 stars
Precipitation: Read a book that has any weather related term in the title. Trail of Lightning, book 1 of The Sixth World, by Rebecca Roanhorse Did I like it? Yes! This took me back to my first forays into urban fantasy as a preteen/young teen. I loved the Diana Tregarde books and also Harry Turtledoveâs The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump, and whenever I want urban fantasy thatâs kind of the pattern Iâm looking for? An unfriendly world full of myths that are real and living and breathing and otherworldly but also they are probably trying to bum a cigarette off you. I havenât reread my favorite childhood urban fantasy because I think it probably wonât hold up, and later urban fantasy has mostly been not quite what I wanted, but this book was like being that kid all over again. Iâm not super familiar with Dine folklore/mythology so it was neat to learn a little bit about that, too, although obviously to learn those stories maybe donât go to an urban fantasy novel. Was it good? It was pretty good! The prose wasnât like, stylistically exciting, but it conveyed the plot well, and I did like the narrative voice, and the characterization was good, I thought. Would I recommend it? Absolutely. Content warning for violence (as per urban fantasy) and a child dies violently early on in the book, but if you were the kind of kid I was but youâre not really into paranormal romance or Harry Dresden, give it a try. 4 stars
Small: Read a book that has less than 200 pages. A Butt in the Mist: Stirred to the Core of My Bodice by the Duchess Triceratops of Helena by Chuck Tingle Did I like it? I mostly did, but it wasnât super exciting. I liked the free book afterwards better. It was funny, but Chuckâs been funnier. Was it good? This 4,000 word book was written with all the quality and attention to detail that I have come to expect from beloved author Chuck Tingle. Would I recommend it? Not really? It was funny, but I think I like his more metafictional stuff better, and I think he gets a lot weirder with his m/m stuff; if Iâm reading Chuck Tingle, I want it to be weird. 3 stars
Snow is formed of crystals and is a slang term for diamonds. Read a book in which a gem or other mineral can be found in the plot, title, or cover art. Ombria in Shadow by Patricia A. McKillip Did I like it? Mostly! I love the lush visuals of McKillipâs prose; they more than live up to the also gorgeous covers. Dreamy fairytale stuff but with solid emotions and a good sense of place. Was it good? I think so, although the dreamlike quality of the prose does mean youâre liable to miss something if your attention drifts. Would I recommend it? Yes, I think so. 5 stars
Snow is a dessert made of stiffly beaten whites of eggs, sugar, and fruit pulp. Read a book with a dessert on the cover, or read a book in which a dessert is made. Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke, book 1 of the Hannah Swensen series Did I like it? I enjoyed parts of it, but I thought it really suffered at the beginning, when our introduction to the detective was ânot like other girls, not interested in DATING and MENâ and our introduction to her older sister is âshe was a DITZY CHEERLEADER and now sheâs married with a kid but sheâs a HORRIBLE CAREER HARPY who WORKS ALL DAY and puts her child in DAYCARE and CANâT COOKâ and that was all just very tiresome. The sister does turn out to have redeeming qualities and useful interests, but the way these two and their mother interact is all like, if you were asking yourself whether thereâs such a thing as toxic femininity and what that would look like, itâs these women. Aside from that, it was fine; it was a cozy mystery novel about a bakery specializing in cookies. I will say, I did appreciate the Midwesternness of the small town Midwest setting. Was it good? Not really. I did kind of have to handwave a lot to let the detective get away with all the HIPAA violations and crime scene disturbing that she does, but it is a cozy mystery. Would I recommend it? Probably not; Iâve heard this series gets better so if youâre interested in the series and/or like the idea of cookie-themed cozies, maybe start with a different book, unless youâre a completist like I am. 3 stars
Snow is slang for cocaine. Read a book about drugs or drug addiction. The Man With the Golden Arm by Nelson Algren Did I like it? It was not a fun read, by any means, but Algrenâs prose is fantastic and it was such a novelty to see such a familiar accent represented by eye dialect. (Which I know has fallen out of fashion and is considered the mark of a bad writer, but I really donât mind it if itâs done well.) Itâs one of those books where nobody has a fair shake and everybody is doomed, but it doesnât feel gratuitous.  All the characters are horrible to each other, but in fairness they are also horrible to themselves; itâs all theyâve ever known. Was it good? Yes. It was extremely good and Iâm considering buying a physical copy so I can write things in the margins. This is actually really weird for me to do; in high school we occasionally had to turn our books in so our teacher could be sure we were writing in them Correctly, and I found it a little painful, but I did want to do it with this book. Would I recommend it? Yes, if youâre up for a really depressing story about heroin addiction and poverty. 5 stars
White is the color of snow. Read a book that contains white in the cover. The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin Did I like it? I definitely did. I havenât read much Le Guin yet for some reason, and while this did initially start off feeling exactly like just another â70s SF story where in the future weâve solved all of psychology and itâs super mechanistic, it was really fascinating and surprisingly, unpleasantly prescient. Was it good? I thought so! There were some parts of it that were pretty awkward about race, from a 2021 perspective, but it does actually deal with race in a way that made me think âyes, thatâs exactly what would happen as a consequence of this plot, and it would be horrible, oh no, oh shit,â and it is horrible. Would I recommend it? I am not sure I would! I would recommend it in like five years, assuming those five years are not much like the last five years. Hoping and praying that those five years are not much like the last five, really. The premise of the book -- which I havenât explained, I realize -- is that in this near-future environmental dystopia, the main character can change things in real life by dreaming about them, and he would like to not do that, only he is put under the care of a psychiatric researcher who tries to play God. So this poor man literally wakes up every day to a brand new dystopia and it felt... familiar. 4 stars
To snow someone is to deceive, persuade, or charm glibly. Read a book about a con artist, or read a book about deception. Empire of Deception: The Incredible Story of a Master Swindler Who Seduced a City and Captivated the Nation by Dean Jobb Did I like it? I did. I have joked that my own personal reading challenge this year is to fill up the Chicago shelf/tag on my Goodreads account, and this book was recommended to me in that spirit, and I always like hearing about a. Chicago; b. the 1920s; and c. con men conning people. Was it good? The prose was fine; it was fun but I think the thing I appreciated most was all the punny newspaper headlines. Would I recommend it? If you are someone who perks up at the sound of at least 2 out of 3 of the themes of âChicago,â â1920s,â and âcon men,â yes. 4 stars
2021 Q1 challenge: Changes (3/20)
Read a book that features:
The word "change" (Changes, Changing, or other variations) in its title. Weeds: How Vagabond Plants Gatecrashed Civilisation and Changed the Way We Think About Nature by Richard Mabey Did I like it? It was all right. I like hearing about plant history, and the chapter on plants unexpectedly surviving/thriving on battlefields and bombing sites was particularly interesting to me. Was it good? It was okay, but kind of poorly-organized; there were chapter themes but it felt awfully stream-of-consciousness sometimes. Would I recommend it? Maybe not unless youâre really into botany and Western anthropology. (As in, the study of Western cultures; this book does not do much with other cultures.) 3 stars
The theme of money or money on its cover (loose change). Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik Did I like it? I really, really liked it to the point that I feel kind of silly about it, gotta say. Iâm really, really hit or miss on the authorâs work (both fanfic and profic) but the themes of this were perfect for me; Russian fairytales, a cynical but earnest sort of Judaism, creepy fairy abductions, interesting worldbuilding, and women coming together to help each other. (Also some interesting enemies-to-lovers stuff that wasnât really developed on the âloversâ side, which I would have dug. Like its precursor, this book has a lot of f/f friends-to-lovers subtext and hostile canon het.) Was it good? I donât know? I liked it enough that I genuinely donât know if it was well-written. Would I recommend it? I would, but Iâm not sure you should trust me on this??? Again, this book really, really hit me in the id. 5 stars
An adaptation of its original format (book-to-manga, translation, etc.) Murder on the Rockport Limited! by Clint McElroy et al Did I like it? It was okay, but not nearly as good as the original podcastâs murder train arc. The art was good and all, but, eh. Was it good? It was fine. Iâm not sure how into the DM/character conversations I am, and I found myself having to pause and reimagine the dialogue in the various McElroysâ voices, which wasnât good because it meant I wasnât automatically reading them in those voices in my head, which is a major litmus test I use when Iâm deciding whether I want to keep reading a fanfic. Would I recommend it? Definitely not as a standalone thing. 3 stars
The author's initials found in the word "change" Helen of Sparta by Amalia Carosella (in progress)
Separate book sections or part of a series of three or more books (make change) The Seduction of the Crimson Rose by Lauren Willig (in progress)
An author or character writing under a pseudonym The Makerâs Mask by Ankaret Wells (in progress)
A topic or character about which you feel differently now than in the past. La Belle Sauvage by Phillip Pullman
Changing one's mind about a life decision. A Tapestry of Magics by Brian Daley
Switching careers/jobs. The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
Relocating to a different city, state/province, or country. Fire Season: Field Notes from a Wilderness Lookout by Philip Connors
Cultivating new daily habits. How to Be Fine by Jolenta Greenberg and Kristen Meinzer
A character who shifts shapes or identities. The Lie: A Memoir of Two Marriages, Catfishing & Coming Out by William Dameron
Life changes due to age Two Old Women: An Alaskan Legend of Betrayal, Courage, and Survival by Velma Wallis
A medical transformation Specials by Westerfield, Scott
A life-changing experience. Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, & the Prison of Belief by Lawrence Wright
A changing household The Girl from the Other Side: SiĂșil, A RĂșn, Volume 1 by Nagabe
An action or phenomenon that transforms society or the world. Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression by Studs Terkel
Replacing one thing with another (change out) In Vino Duplicitas: The Rise and Fall of a Wine Forger Extraordinaire by Peter Hellman & Charles Constant
Technological innovation Tubes: A Journey to the Center of the Internet by Andrew Blum
A game-changer. The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 by Christopher Clark
Fanfic Reading Challenge recs (1)
I have a private checklist with the fanfic reading challenge data, but will not be sharing all of the fics; fanfiction is generally an amateur endeavor, and many people do not enjoy receiving (or stumbling across) criticism of their work. Bad reviews are normal and accepted as part of commercial publishing, and professional authors (hopefully!) get paid for their work, so Iâm comfortable criticizing published novels. I would prefer not to publicly criticize someoneâs writing when they are just writing for the joy of it, especially since some of the tasks require me to read first-time authorsâ fics, fics with relatively low kudos counts, fics for ships I donât like, etc. So Iâm only putting the recs here.
Romancing the Tome by Anti_kate Good Omens; Aziraphale/Crowley; ~40k words; rated Explicit Romance novelist Aziraphale Wilder is pulled from his carefully ordered life when his sister is kidnapped and held to ransom. With the help of antiquities forger Anthony J Crowley, he braves the wilds of Scotland to rescue her and keep a priceless book from falling into the hands of dangerous book thieves. Did I like it? Â Yes! Â It was cheesy and cute and basically what I want out of this kind of romcom AU fic. Â Iâm not normally into human AUs and this one wasnât like, super deep or anything, but it was very fun. Was it good? I thought so! Â The dialogue was great, I enjoyed the characterization, the sex was good. Â I do think the Crowley in this fic is pretty self-loathing in a way that I donât see canon Crowley being at all, but I have a weakness for that and I also think self-loathing works for a human version of Crowley. Â One thing it doesnât shy away from is Crowley doing genuinely awful stuff (instead of being a misunderstood woobie) and yet the resolution is sweet and lovely anyway. Would I rec it? Yes! Â Go read this fic. Â Itâs fast-paced but long enough to be worth settling in to read, itâs funny, and itâs sweet. 5 stars
In Holy Matrimony by Myracuulous Good Omens; Aziraphale/Crowley; ~6.7k words; rated General From the private journal of Alisha Jones, wedding planner, concerning the nuptials of Anthony J Crowley and Aziraphale and the planning process thereof, containing an account of chosen decor, guest list construction, and the holy war against the Antichrist that nearly ruined six months of professional organization and a very nice dinner. Did I like it? Yes! It was extremely cute, and I always really like outsider POV. I did appreciate the fact that poor Alisha definitely knew something was definitely weird, but kept telling herself not to question it because a gorgeous wedding with an unlimited budget and zero issues with scheduling, catering, guest limits, etc. is a great problem to have. Was it good? It was pretty good! The climax and wrap-up felt a bit rushed, mostly due to the limits of outsider POV, but I did enjoy Aziraphale unexpectedly embracing his inner groomzilla while also being unfailingly sweet about it. Would I rec it? Yup, especially if you want wedding comedy/fluff and outsider POV
Wrong Turn by anticyclone Good Omens; Aziraphale/Crowley; ~38k words; rated Teen And Up Lots and lots of somethings are wrong. First, Crowley's nearly hit by a car. Then he almost brains himself tripping over new and excessive piles of books at the bookshop. To add insult to near-injury, Aziraphale starts throwing knives at him. Safe to say his day could be going better.
The thing that's the most wrong of all is the universe, of course. In this one there was never an Arrangement. Aziraphale and Anthony (they can't both be 'Crowley') aren't friends and they certainly never agreed to prep for Armageddon. Unfortunately, the end of the world is two days away.
So that's something Crowley really has to fix before they can figure out how to get him home. Did I like it? Oh yes. I had read bits of this on ffa previously, and also anticyclone is a good writer (and a friend) so like, I was expecting it to be good; I was not disappointed. Was it good? Yes! I was particularly impressed at how much alternate backstory is set up in little hints here and there, and then explained more thoroughly in ways that take the AU Aziraphale and Crowley by surprise when they do finally get to talking. Would I rec it? Yes! Especially if you like a nice dose of enemies-to-lovers along with your friends-to-lovers, and also the awkwardness of meeting your alternate universe self.
Finished in January, not for reading challenges (3 books):
The Way of Kings, book 1 of The Stormlight Archive, by Brandon Sanderson Did I like it? It was fine. Was it good? I think so. I am maybe not the best audience for epic fantasy at this point, partly because Iâve read a lot of it and partly because I habitually read 3-7 books at once at any given time. Would I recommend it? Maybe, but I feel like most of the people who would enjoy it have probably heard of it already. 3 stars
Get a Wiggle On, a Good Omens fanzine Did I like it? Yup! Was it good? Mostly, although as usual with zines and anthologies, quality varies piece by piece.  Of the fics I particularly liked âA Head Above Water,â âThe Grapes of Mild Irritation,â and âConcerning the Great Serpent Glykon and the Angel Clothed With the Sun,â all of which are now available on AO3. Would I recommend it? If you like snakey Crowley, yes. 4 stars
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne Did I like it? Yes, very much! A very silly thing I particularly liked (which unfortunately you cannot really replicate) is that the edition I have is an illustrated hardcover book from 1926 which I picked up cheap at a used bookstore, knowing I would like it because Jules Verne. I didnât think much about that specific date when I bought it, but I am now writing a fic set in 1926, with a character who has a habit of reading adventure novels and who I have specifically mentioned enjoyed Jules Verne in his childhood, so when I discovered the date the coincidence made me very happy. The book itself smells very nice, itâs nice to hold, and as I was reading it I kept thinking about what Danny would think of the book, and whether he would try reading it aloud to Crowley, and wondering if the book smelled as nice in 1926 as it does now. Maybe I will have Aziraphale give this book to him as a very small thank-you for all he has done to keep Crowley alive and well. Was it good? For the most part. Jules Verne is prone to wandering off on tangents where he shows you his research, but Iâm sympathetic to that, and thereâs some really cool and atmospheric scenes in this book. My favorite character was definitely Captain Nemo, who we donât really learn much about. Could have done without Conseil, the bland servant character who could be a naturalist in his own right, if he had any opinions of his own, or the period racism/imperialism, which unfortunately is so built into this kind of adventure novel. But the environmentalism was a nice surprise, and you can definitely read some critiques of certain aspects of (Western?) culture at the time into Captain Nemoâs behavior; I have not yet read The Mysterious Island where Captain Nemo also appears, but I do get the impression a lot of people read him as being disgusted with imperialism. Would I recommend it? Probably! With the caveats above. It was a good adventure story with some awesome visuals, and I kept thinking about what a pretty movie it would make with modern SFX, and how sad I would be that they would inevitably not spend just 3 solid hours on cool fish and interiors of the Nautilus and scenes of the lost city of Atlantis and Captain Nemo being very mysterious and dreamy scary, because theyâd probably shoehorn an awkward romance into it. 4 stars
Finished in February, not for reading challenges (2 books):
The Deception of the Emerald Ring by Lauren Willig, book 3 of the Pink Carnation series Did I like it? I did. It was a silly Regency romance novel with espionage elements, it is the third of a series I have enjoyed, and it contained an accidental/forced marriage to preserve a ladyâs honor despite neither party to the marriage particularly liking or wanting to have anything to do with each other, and some misunderstandings about that. Also spies. Was it good? Not really. It was fun and I liked the characters, but I donât think the writing was of particularly high quality. The handling of certain elements of English imperialism was not great, and bothered me enough to note it in my review on Goodreads. Would I recommend it? Iâd recommend the series if it sounds like something youâd like; I might not recommend this specific book. 3 stars
The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley Did I like it? No. It was very dark, and I did not enjoy most of the book. A lot of it was because it was very gritty and grim, and because I frequently donât enjoy military fiction; a lot of it was because many of the dystopian aspects of our present reality that came to a head in 2020 were magnified in the book. Part of it was also that the protagonistâs entire reality and memory was being denied for much of the book, and I think it reminded me of being gaslit. (This is not a criticism of the book, or some kind of weird accusation that the book or its author was somehow abusing me, I just have this personal history. In fact, it turns out the main character is being gaslit to some extent, and the author writes it very well.) It was a minor relief when she finally decided the stuff she was going through was real, and a huge relief when she was able to talk to someone who believed her. Was it good? Yes, I think so. Would I recommend it? Not right now, but I think this would be a good book to read at a time when the world feels more stable. I donât say this because I want you to wait until everythingâs fine to read it; I say this because it feels like a good anti-complacency read. 4 stars (3 for not being an enjoyable read, 5 for the actual plot; it averages out.)
In progress, not for reading challenges (1 book):
Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation by ćąšéŠéè
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For the 3 Asks: all even multiples of 3 please? :D (I was leaning towards ALL multiples of 3 but I thought that's a bit much to ask - you could do the odd ones too if you want tho)
.Alright then here come all even multiples of three, plus n.3 bc I say so, and thatâs gonna be one hell of a long post!
3. 3 songs that mean something to you: Midnight by Tyler Glenn bc itâs the one looped and I wept to when I made the decision to try and fix my relatioship with faith and religion, Cossack Lullaby by Natalia Faustova bc itâs what I sing to myself when the anxiety hits, and Just Another Day from the Next to Normal soundtrack bc it was with me through the shittiest times and now itâs a reminder that Iâm not there anymore.
6. 3 characters that inspire you: Tenar from the Earthsea Cycle (full disclaimer I havenât read the last book yet but sheâs been through so much and sheâs so broken and yet so fierce and full of love, Tombs of Atuan hurt in all the right places and her interactions with little Therru melted my heart), Tomelilla from the Fairy Oak saga (let me be the bamf spinster aunt with half her wisdom and grace and Iâll be happy forever) and Daughter Dooley from Old Gods of Appalachia (girl has no patience for her eldritch masters and if that ainât a mood idk what is).
12. 3 apps that you use the most: whatsapp, tumblr, spotify.
18. 3 dream jobs youâve had in your childhood: inventor, writer, cook.
24. 3 places that make you feel peaceful: the backseat of my parentsâ car, the mountains, the park near my house in Venice.
30. 3 moments you could never forget: having something I wrote be read on a stage by actors of the ComĂ©die Française (crazy proud moment and also I cried), one time at the end of hs when I begrudgingly went to pull away from a hug only for my friend to hold on tighter (I never felt so loved in my life and also I cried), posing for a picture at 12 with a sister by my side, one perched on my lap, and another in my arms (honestly idk why this memory is so vivid, i donât even keep the picture around bc it came out ugly, i guess it was the struggle of holding so many kids in my tiny noodly arms?).
36. 3 ways of traveling that you enjoy the most: train, walking, flying.
There you go! Thanks so much for sending these in!
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Greek Mythology FanFiction - Dionysos
As many people have, so I too learned a lot writing fanfiction. My first attempts were as horrible as all those written by young teenagers, but as I got older and wiser (*cough*) some of it ended up being quite enjoyable if I dare say so myself. If you can keep a secret: I even plagiarise my old erotic fanfiction sometimes. But I have never written mythology fanfiction - well, before publishing my mythology erotica.
Today, I want to share my favourite Dionysos fanfiction with you. Pull up a chair, pour yourself a glass of wine and make a toast to the God of Wine and Pleasure!
Fair warning: Most of these stories are actually quite harmless in terms of erotic content.
10 Bowls of Wine by Cori Lannam
Synopsis: Herakles and Dionysos engage in a drinking contest. One of them is bound to regret it.
Why I rec it: What I love about this story is the way Dionysos is written. He is playful and friendly, but there are also moments when his darker, dangerous nature shines through. The story is based on one of several art works from antiquity depicting said contest and I think the toasts are based on the Deipnosophistae by Athenaeus.
I also very much enjoy the vivid imagery and I confess I was heavily influenced by this story when I described Dionysos' dress in 'Apollo and Dionysos - Opposites Attract'.
Favourite quote: "A second toast, then," Dionysos said, accepting the second bowl from the serving boy and giving a caress in exchange. "To love, which guides our souls, and lust, which guides the rest of us."
Read the fanfic here!
Iakkos and Kallipygos by Alder_Knight
Synopsis: Aphrodite and Dionysos invent the strap-on.
Why I rec it: First of all, the idea to have Aphrodite and Dionysos invent the strap-on by combining existing myths is genius and super fun! I have been told strap-ons were already around and happily used in ancient Greece, so this is a beautiful way of 'explaining' the invention. I also like the way Aphrodite and Dionysos interact with one another. They seem to have a kind of 'friends with benefits' style relationship, which I love.
The story is surprisingly tame, considering the subject matter! Which is why I mean to write a very explicit version of Aphrodite and Dionysos inventing the strap-on - possibly as an add-on to 'Aphrodite's Boy Toy' or its sequel.
Favourite quote: It would not have been their first tryst, nor was it by far their last, but there came a pleasant afternoon when, deep in their cups, the affectionate pair spoke of each of these special apparatus - the wooden phallos, the leather belt.
Read the fanfic here!
Ariadne has Trust Issues by Transposable_Element
Synopsis: A modern retelling of Dionysos and Ariadne's first meeting in chat form.
Why I rec it: Yes, I thought this would be stupid too when I first saw it. But I clicked on it anyway and damn did I end up enjoying it!
It's a well-done transformation of the story into the modern world and with chat lingo no less!
Dionysos is definitely lying about not being into princes, though...
Favourite quote: ur a HOT princes! *princess haha i'm not into princes, usually. just a typo. :-)
UmâŠ
i would totally give up princes for you. :-) :-) :-) ... Ariadne? ...
idk
is it about the princes?
Read the fanfic here!
The Golden Thread by Mlle Shiow Jen
Synopsis: A retelling of Ariadne's story
Why I rec it: I read this story at about the same time I wrote 'Dionysos and Aura', the very first book in the 'Taken by Greek Gods' series. The story is based in parts on the Dionysiaca too, and also features the Aura episode I was retelling, though much, much briefer.
What I enjoyed about the story is the theme of fate and the ill even the favour of the gods can bring about. I also liked the depiction of Dionysos' and Ariadne's relationship, which is in large parts quite rocky. I like complicated relationships more than perfectly romantic ones. This is probably the reason this story spoke to me more than all the other Ariadne/Dionysos fics that are way more romantic. I guess I'm a cynic that way.
Favourite quote: Beware the gods that would favour you.
Read the fanfic here!
Aiodos by silverr
Synopsis: Dionysos and Apollon disagree about many things - the true nature and ultimate fate of music being one of them:
"The centuries will bear out that I and my music are superior," Apollo said. "Oh?" Dionysus folded his arms. "Would you care to make a wager?"
Why I rec it: This story inspired me heavily when I wrote the relationship between Apollon and Dionysos in 'Apollon and Dionysos - Opposites Attract'. Apollon is so delightfully aloof and cold in this story, the perfect foil to Dionysos. The author clearly did his or her research, cites sources and, to my endless joy, uses footnotes!
Also, the author pointed me to '10 Bowls of Wine', which is a plus, because that story also became one of my favourites.
Favourite quote: "And what of it? Possessing things of no value - even a countless number of them - does not constitute wealth."
"I had forgotten you were a mathematician," Dionysus murmured. "Still, weigh well whether all I possess is worthless, Phoebus of the Shining Brow. Lovers come to my bed willingly - and stay there. I have no need pay bribes or punish them for unfaithfulness. Do you know why?"
Apollo scowled slightly.
"The truth is in your music as well as your countenance: you offer light without warmth. Lovers flee from you because they know you touch the kithara's strings the way that you would touch them. Detached, passionless."
Read the fanfic here!
Do you know any wonderful mythology fanfiction I should read? Let me know!
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22/1/20
First post, what is there to say? Beyond recounting the day in no uncertain terms, adhering to my primal urge to write in this stream of consciousness style, what can I add that hasnât already? The fourth day. (I think). Started with an unconvincing run but freeing in a way. I remarked this to Mike after we ran around the perimeter of the KBR park in Hyderabad at 6:30am; Â sort of like zoo animals on show in a way- slicing up the gravel path, and ending (at least my willpower) with a rather lame attempt at some rocky-esque stairs. Running to me is a zen kind of state, as you trudge one foot after the other, with no clear memory of the 10 before you and no clear indication why the next 10 should be any different. I just sort of absorb my surroundings and feel very at one with whatever environment Iâm in, like Iâm supposed to be there as I glide through. Anyway, I digress.
To me, getting my bearing has been pivotal to establishing what I call âhomeâ. After finding the supermarket, walking through the streets- eating questionable street food with no discernible side effects (thank you dearest Chairman- thisâll make sense later/eventually dear reader), I finally have a âbubbleâ that feels like I could navigate should I be lost or âallegedlyâ cognitively diminished- I feel like thatâs always a safe feeling that you could find your way home practically on autopilot.
India has been fascinating and eye opening in a lot of ways. Not that itâs too different than the culture shocks of yesteryear, but realising Iâm living here and this is my life now is certainly a different tack. I guess in a way Iâm desperate to understand how I fit here so I can feel like I belong (as much as that is possible). Regardless, a developing though process that will surely see more nuanced exploration as time goes on (hopefully). This morning culminated with a peaceful walk through KPR park ft. V, M, B and her fresh-out-of-the-oven child, Â through natural Indian scrub and all, as the honks of the streets dissipated and were replaced by insect chirps and the dull fear of poisonous snakes apparently around every corner (as indicated by signs). Here we were asked for our first photo with an Indian man, and please note dear reader- certainly not our last. This resulted in a rather protracted convo of us getting his contact details and him indicating to us that heâll give us all the local knowledge we need, minus the actual tour guiding.
I guess what this is is it just shows, as we were told by a travelling Nigerian musician we met, that helping is part of the Indian culture to a degree (open to being completely wrong and insensitive). People just want to help you, they want to cut you deals, they want to show you were to go- they want to tell you their story and share it. I love the openness and friendliness, at least to us foreigners itâs just very wholesome to see, and it just makes me want to open MY arms more and fold into their culture, to respect them for respecting me.
This has ended up far more ESOTERIC than I anticipated, but whatâs new. Back to the recounting, we then dealt with some sim card bullshit- everything in india seems like a) a bureaucratic mess, and b) like itâs never been done before and boggles everyones minds that you want to do this very normal thing (i.e like get a sim card). But itâs still just enjoyable seeing everyone in their element and embracing the moment.
V, M and I then ended up heading to Golconda Fort, which should be an essay within itself, but I probably wonât recount fully here. Ended with many photos with many Indian men on the street- but really I was just utterly fascinated by the fort itself, how beautiful it was in the afternoon setting sun and accompanying haze- as the soft yellows danced along the large grassy, Arabic gardens interspersed by long forgotten empty crumbing buildings, all in the shadow of the great fort which seemed to have risen out of the mountain itself- as natural rocks were incorporated to their indescribably large walls (one was legit like 20m tall, wouldnât want to be the (what I can only assume was) slave who put the top bricks up.
There was an amazing view of all Hyderabad at the top, temperature was perfect and the sun glazed the sharp white edges of the top citadel, an Arabic sort of building, and the hindu temple that was built up there seemed equally as sacred and eerie, as no sound from the city penetrated up here. I guess maybe you had to be there? Not sure if this explains anything well, I never do, but itâs certainly vivid in my mind.
P.S Donât expect further posts to be this long and rambling, itâs the first one, b nice.
Fast forward to the Old town, predominantly muslim area, we saw a girl with what V and M thought to be some sort of disease (Iâm not perceptive enough). I guess what I want to say about this (sorry M) is his insightful comments after just seemed to be so compassionate in a place where often people like this are left to their own devices. The overwhelming urge he described to comfort seemed like something to reach for, whether you have that quality or not- in the moment I was mostly in awe of the reflection and grasping of the moment in a way. Fully understanding where he was, who he was, and what he wanted to do- rather than being mostly distracted like me- itâs moments like these, the little ones, that I think do snap those gears into place in your head- if you let them be profound. We then ate dinner at a populated restaurant (weâre reckless but not THAT reckless) in the hopes of avoiding gastro while also trying to get gastro- lucky so far. The biryani is delicious, I donât care what anyone says.
We then saw mike perform at an open mike night (????), and its only day 4- who is this mystery man???? I appreciate the leaps he takes (I chickened out). Finally, had a super stimulating conversation about friendship that Iâll likely forget.
Also the new Mac Miller Circles album is about as emotional as it gets :(
Idk why I wrote this but I clearly enjoyed it??? Will try to include pictures
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End of the year writing reflection 2017
Iâm trying out this thing where I gather all of my thoughts about my writing and growth as a writer-person from the past year into one place. This is a long post, fyi. Here goes:
I had two workshop classes this year, one in the spring and one in the fall, and a writing conference during the summer. At the end of all this, right now as I calm down after finals, I feel like I have more self-doubt than I had at the beginning of this year, but I also feel like Iâm more okay with that self-doubt. I can live with it more easily now. I might change my mind tomorrow, in a week, in a few months, but this feels like a real change and not a mood.
Before I always had this background noise of âyou have to be good. You have to be the best. You have to be amazing. Youâre not right now, so you have to work and get there sooner rather than later. You canât miss any opportunity because it might be the only one.â
Maybe this thought is true in some respect. Maybe I shouldnât let my guard down. But I wrote some stinkers in my fiction studio in the spring. I felt like my prose was okay but the stories were scattered and too much lived in my head and not on the page. The story I presented to my workshop group in my summer writing conference still deeply embarrasses me. I had written it a year ago, and it was a short story that was trying hard to be a modern folktale, as if the genre made up for the fact that nothing in the story was grounded. No concrete characters, setting, the plot was a thin moral. I love the concept or trope or whatever-it-is of reincarnation in stories but I put it into that Terrible story so now I have this weird heartburn whenever reincarnation comes up in shows or books. I had to re-watch the entire first season of 90s Sailor Moon to lessen it with overexposure (sure, that was totally the only reason I did that). To be fair to myself, I thought that workshop group in particular was a stinker. They made me doubt if I wanted to be a writer or befriend any writers because writers seemed to be, on the whole, a species of pretentious assholes trying to show-off or belittle anyone who makes the mistake of breathing in the same air as them. Iâve gotten over that doubt, partly.
At the end of the summer I just⊠let go. I tried to stop thinking about possible, future publication while writing every story. I stopped looking up story contests and submission deadlines. In the fall semester fiction studio, I still got righteously angry at some stories and commentary in my workshop because getting righteously angry over minor social interactions is my thing. But way back at the beginning of this year I also started a job as a writing center consultant. I leaned into that training, I started treating workshop pieces as if they were brought to me by some courageous student just trying to do well in their classes.
This was so freeing. It didnât feel like much, in my mind I thought of it like briefly giving up, a hiatus. I knew that I would try to summon up all of my ambitious feelings again but I needed a break from myself. I needed to shelve the perfectionist within me and go on a mental pilgrimage to just ...think about storytelling as a concept and not specifically about ME and my DREAMS. The fall semester helped. I had to take a required algebra class on top of classes that needed a lot of mental energy. I tried to do NaNoWriMo but got too caught up in everything else. I was too busy to care or feel devastated that I didnât draft a long manuscript.
I wrote around three short stories for my classes, and all of them were about haunting in some way. Still canât tell if this is from my mood or if this is my new(-ish) interest. Two of them were throw away stories that were one or two scenes that Iâll either never touch again or will have to completely rework. But one of them, the longest and first of the three, is the ghost garden story, which Iâm excited about. This was the first story I felt like I made progress with in the revision assignment for class. I see so much potential in it, I want to explore that world. I want to make it hopeful, bittersweet, and pretty, dammit. I donât know if this will be a serious project or something I use to make myself a better writer. Technically, the start of this school year is my fourth year as an undergrad, but I have a double major in Brit Lit and in Creative Writing, so Iâm going to be here for another year trying to fulfill all of these dumb requirements. Maybe this has also contributed to my change in moodâIâm more relaxed about this now. I have a new project and a new school year ahead of me, and I can settle in and stay put for a while. Iâm not going anywhere in a hurry and thatâs okay.
Tl;dr: This year I learned to chill out, a little, and this helped me grow as a writer, a little. Â
Some related but miscellaneous thoughts:
On writer friends: This was true in high school and I guess itâs true in college, too. At least for me, I always feel settled into a school during the last or later years Iâm there. I have been at this university for three and now almost four years and just this last semester I finally feel like Iâm making friends. Some of them are writers. There are writers around me who are not condescending or pretentious! Iâve found them! Just now, this year. This actually came about, partly, from the summer writing conference. I didnât make any friends there, but the two other people from my school who were nominated to go are awesome and the summer conference gave me a reason to talk to them. They also complain about the conference, Iâm not paranoid or a debby-downer. So thank you, writing conference, for killing my confidence and showing me the friends that were near me all along. No, I kid. Kind of.
On prose versus story: Moving forward, Iâm going to try to write cohesive stories. Everything groundedâsolid characters, solid settings, solid conflict. Iâm still the kind of writer that puts logistics last on my priorities list, but I think I lumped in âdevelopmentâ in with logistics before and thatâs not good. Iâve had this goal for a while, but the Terrible summer workshop story has made me even more determined. If this means writing extremely short, simple stories as exercise, so be it! I think that Iâve helped myself by figuring out why my stories havenât been very grounded so far. I took the creative writing lesson of âyour reader is smart, donât tell us everything, showâ too much to heart. My studies in just the last semester helped me realize this and brainstorm ways to work past this.
I had to read several books for a current writers class and I had to read a fiction by an established âmasterâ writer for my senior level fiction studio, and then reflect and write essays about how these works ticked. I ended up writing three to four essays railing against the teaching that makes us hold back on exposition. Each of these writers used exposition effectively in their unique narration style. I think this is the keyâI think that Iâve been afraid of using exposition because Iâm a fantasy writer. I think that I should be afraid of clumsy, clunky exposition, instead. Showing, not telling, is great but my reliance on this, and not using much exposition, has left my workshop readers confused and slightly angry for each story, so I need to learn moderation.
Books: one of the books I read for the learn-by-reading reflection assignments was Margaret Atwoodâs collection of short stories, Good Bones, Simple Murders. I didnât read all of them because of time, but the many I did read were amazing. Most of the stories are concise, at about two pages long, and are brilliantly written. Beautiful, poetic, evocative, righteous, hilarious. There were also little pen-drawing illustrations by the author which were also amazing and complemented the stories so well. One of the main features in the stories is this close, personal narrative voice. The person is either first or second, or a mix of both, and usually reads like a letter, a diary entry, or a piece that addresses the reader directly. One or two were fake magazine ads. You kind of have to have a bit of exposition when your narrator is so direct, but this was coupled with a vivid voice and poetic language, so it totally worked. My next writing exercise idea is to write a flash fiction that mimics this style.
More books and stuff: I took a Chaucer class, which was fantastic. The Canterbury Tales are great and made me think more deeply about framing devices than I ever have before. The Canterbury Tales also were way more interesting once I had read more of Chaucerâs work first and got a sense of his meta and satirical style. If anyone wants to read The Canterbury Tales, Iâd recommend some critical edition or something with a lot of academic notes if you can afford it, because there is so much in academic studies and even in the allusions and themes Chaucer himself uses. Itâs a great thing to dig into.
I also took an Arthurian lit class in the spring and this did not make me want to read more Arthurian literature. Instead, I want to read more by Marie de France. We read her lai âLanval,â and I remembered reading âBisclavretâ (a great werewolf story to check out if you havenât read it) from Medieval Celtic Lit.
Also, reading her short stories made me want to start reading Margaret Atwoodâs work. Iâve read The Handmaidâs Tale but thatâs it for novels. This last weekend, I binge watched the Netflix series Alias Grace. It felt very Gothic to me, and had a lot about haunting, and since Iâve been obsessed with haunting as a theme, I should probably read the book. Idk what it is about haunting thatâs caught me lately. Probably itâs a quick, easy way to evoke the feeling of the uncanny in a story. I mean, whatâs more familiar-made-unfamiliar than a haunted house? Liminal spaces, man. Theyâre the best. Â
Thatâs it for this reflection. If youâre a reader and/or follower who has made it this far, kudos to you! No, seriously. I wrote this mostly for myself and I have no idea if any of these thoughts are of interest to anyone else. But I feel like writing is so much an individual, lonely thing that I like to share my thoughts or be as direct with people as I can be, when Iâm allowed. This isnât always a good thing, but despite the crushing embarrassment I feel sometimes, I prefer to be optimistic and put myself out there (sometimes) rather than have no chance to be heard at all.
#in which the envoy uses the word stinker a lot to refer to her own stories for some reason#the envoy speaks#writing#reflection#personal#long post
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AMA Transcript: In The Silence I Hear You
Recently, @skadventuretime, @eerna (JoKay on Discord) and @amberlehcar stopped by to chat about their 2016 Resbang, In The Silence I Hear You! Hereâs some of what went down:
Q: Okay, first of all thanks for single handedly getting me to finally watch YLIA lol! My question to madi is, what was the inspiration behind soul's nightmares? Because that was something I noticed was different from the source material! I mean, they were there but yours were way more nightmarish and horrifying lol! (That is absolutely a compliment by the way.) What made you go that route?
madi: ahahaha 1) You're very welcome, that anime Ruined me and one of the first things I did after watching it and Soul Eater around the same time was look for the AU, because surely it had to be a thing. When it wasn't, I was like welp, I know what I must do. As for the nightmare inspiration, it was part Soul having them in canon and part just what sort of came out of me as I wrote. It wasn't planned per se. I tended to sort of let what happened happen at those parts and just intuited nightmares there, though I did sort of intentionally have them stop as he began to open up to Maka more.
Q: I would like to know how Jo determines how many sparkles to put in an art piece for maximum heartbreak.
JoKay: Simply. I just really love sparkles and let them do whatever they want in my work.~~ BD
madi: OkAY. CAN I JUST FIRST SAY MY FAV THING ABOUT JO'S ART. Because the way she did the mirroring is incredible. Like, this is my desktop background. They go together so well:
Q: Favourite moment in the fic or about the art?
madi: I think my favorite moment was writing Soul beginning to get through his block. I ended up having a lot of fun with the over-the-top synesthetic music bits and that part was very heartfelt for me.
JoKay: Favourite moment in the fic: the hospital visiting. I wanted to illustrate it really badly and ranted to Madi like. For days. About all the ideas I've had. It was heartbreaking but colorful and vivid, and the way Madi writes the two is just.... ahhhhhIhhhHHHH
madi: And like, Jo paid attention to the little details?? ? ?? Like, his tie isnt tied there. I just threw in some little bit about how he thought his tie would be crooked since Maka wasnt there to help him and ladjglkdsfg. I forgot about it tho til I saw her art.
JoKay: You threw in so many little details that struck me and I thought "YES I WANNA MAKE THIS A PART OF THE PICTURE SOMEHOW"
Q: Care to talk a little about your process? What program do you use?
JoKay: Sure! I start off with rereading the text I want to illustrate about ten times. I die a bit and try to remember the feeling to capture it. I make a traditional pencil sketch. For the Maka picture I had to take some references of myself with a violin, which... took a long time to get right haha. Next I take a picture of the sketch and do lineart in an app called MediBang Paint on my Samsung. I choose a color palette, pick the bg color, and put down basic colors. I shade, then add multiply and overlay layers to add lighting, and this is where the final palette and overall feeling gets formed. And then, best for last, the sparkles! Which usually take 3-4 layers, depending on opacity I want.
Q: This was a difficult read (in the best way); what scene/scenes did you find most difficult to write?
madi: I ended up going back and rewriting a good chunk of the beginning third of the fic around November/December because it just wasnt getting at what I wanted, tone or writing quality-wise. I have a ~12k doc of dumped/scrapped stuff from this. /cries. But specific scene wise, hm. I agonized a bit over the hospital scene with Spirit a little, because I wanted that to hit a certain kind of helpless sadness where there is nothing you can do to fix anything.
Q: This had such emotional depth to it and lots of moving pieces of grief and accurate descriptions of guilt/grief that hit me hard. Was it hard to write something so emotional and was it as much of an emotional journey writing as it was reading?
madi: I guess, well. writing for me, and I think a lot of people, can be a very intimate look at who a person is, and I think that's where the guilt/grief came from. I tend to internalize a lot of that stuff, especially with the grief/regret/wistfulness, so I think that's where all that came from. And it's funny, it wasnt hard to write in the moment, as I was listening to a bunch of ridiculous music and yelling at/with Bones about her Resbang at the same time, but looking back I can definitely see a journey and it was as much because of the friends I made during this process as much as the act of writing. [For example], around the part where maka dusts off the piano, Bones came in with some Real Piano Experience and helped me understand what actually goes into that and how long it'd take for things to actually lose tone, etc. and I was like, heck, i didnt think about that, having not played a classical piano. Moral of the story is this is why betas are gr9. It's fucking sappy as shit, but it's true. I learned sO much about not just writing, but also life and irl shit from my betababes. Part of my Process turned out to be letting Bones throw me all sorts of cognitive dissonance shit and terrorize me with very emotional music, and then I'd mix a drink and get to it. I stg it felt like I was tripping balls when I wrote most of the music scenes, tipsy and listening to BT. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyGf2mTP2_Y).
Q: That golden swoop in her dress on the right side is what really kills me. That exiting feeling.
madi: So fun story: Jo sent me her second piece a few days before posting and I legit teared up.
JoKay: Handkerchiefs all over the place.
madi: All. Over. I also tried to sort of avoid the awkward love triangle in the anime bc i didnt feel like it really fit SoMa. Also, this is what me and Jo's convos looked like a lot towards the end:
Q: Adverb gate time?
madi: To explain adverbgate, basically, Bones came in and 1) made me realize I overused adverbs 2) this led to me realizing oH by not using them and applying better characterization things, all is better than the first time. I told all my betas, and part of the reason I asked who I asked, [was for them] to not hold back and if they saw something they thought was off or whatever, to tell me and not worry about hurting my feelings because i was in this to improve and learn. I'd much rather have it done like this, because now I really feel like I learned a lot and got better. Bones went from the 98 edits in chap 1 or 2, to 4 [edits] in the last one. And one of them was this: http://imgur.com/R3L4S9b
Q: I wanna know Amber, what made you decide to do a VA project? It turned out so freakin well and you guys were so good T.T
JoKay: The VA was so perfect, I teared up a bit. Beautifully done.
AmberLehcar: I was an amateur voice actor on YouTube prior to joining tumblr (good luck finding anything I was in though. /cries) And I'm a competitve asshole so I was like "I'm gonna be different."
Q: Anything in particular that made you choose that specific scene to do?
AmberLehcar: I asked Madi right away what she wanted. And it wasn't even written yet when I asked lol.
madi: Like, okay, when she sent me the first clips, I was blown away because they sounded better than over half the English dubs I've seen. Yeahhh I uh, I could have been more on top of things. But I knew that scene was gonna be in there and it sounded like the kinda emotional moment that would be good for her project, so I wrote that scene out of order.
AmberLehcar: I love it, it's so good. Madi was there while Brian was recording. She's a director now :3 She heard all the ridiculousness.
madi: You guys were soooo gooood! And your puppy, ahhhh. I still have that laugh track, too.
AmberLehcar: My pup wanted to be a star. I was so nervous [that] the piano bit was so bad people would hate it. It dragged so long. In writing it works so well. Listening, though...
madi: Man, you captured the transition well tho, of him slowly finding his sound and no longer needing to hear it through her.
AmberLehcar: Playing badly and repeating playing badly is tough, dude, so I'm glad it worked nicely.
Q: Did you make a public playlist of the stuff you listened to?
madi: OhH yes, yes i did /slinks off. Not fully included on there is the copious amounts of BT and Stuntin Like Mufasa I chainsmoked: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhw3nWRXdsh-jPe7SXHPy-NOT4-PtY1yt. I also feel obligated to note that Bones did play a p important role not only as beta, but as general conspirator/friend and writing mentor, and being free with her music trenchcoat.
Q: Jo, do you have any art/style/artist inspirations?
JoKay: Yeah! Artists that make my inspiration wander could be found on tumblr as viria, lukrecious, loish, mormoc, also IG mizymiyajima and cyarine. IRL I live for Alphonse Mucha's work.
Q: I feel like we should put an honorable mention for amanda's and zxanthe's contribution.
madi: YES, ZXANTHMANDA'S COVER OF HALLELUJAH WOUNDED ME SO PLS LET IT WOUND YOU: http://zxanthe.tumblr.com/post/157041732943/so-in-honor-of-skadventuretimes-resbang-in-the.
Q: How often do you draw, outta curiosity jo? I remember it being A Lot, but...
JoKay: Depends? If I'm not too busy with school I can make pages worth of sketches a day.
madi: Dark Jo, your sketch books are amazing.
JoKay: Madi, if you saw them, you'd change your mind. They're a hellhole of faint traces of suffering teens and stupid decisions.
Q: Are you working on anything else now Jo? What is on the Horizon?
JoKay: SfTF is the only fic in my opus! Idk I just don't feel confident to write anything else...
madi: (It is a Noragami MMA AU type deal >:))
JoKay: As for paintings... boy does The Lunar Chronicles' fandom have some stuff in store for them once I find the time. I will save up for a proper tablet soon, so that will be a new beginning for me.
madi: Man, the world isnt ready.
madi: I would also attribute this Resbang to teaching me that I apparently can't listen to tone-appropriate music while doing a scene, so that was a learning curve. I ended up with a bunch of upbeart mashups/disney rap during the sad scenes. Like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdSo1oY_GB4
JoKay: It was fun talking to all of you and listening to more behind-the-scenes discoveries of this great fic~
madi: I also wanna take a sec to be sappy again about everything I learned throughout this process from my partners and betas. Y'all are super swell.
Thanks to the creators for stopping by! That ends our AMA Transcripts for the Resbang season - thanks for reading and congrats to all of this year's Resbang participants :) We'll see you all in 2018!
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Would you convert to a different religion if your fiancé/fiancée was of a different faith? No
The world is ending, and you can save one group of five people: who would be the five people that you save? Mom, dad, best friend, SO if I had one, myself. I wonder if any of them would resent me though for getting 4 people I care about while they only get me
Is happiness a delusion? Is happiness only real when shared? Why or why not? No, itâs as delusional/real as any other emotion caused by chemicals in the brain
What would the cover of your biography (presumably written by somebody else who never knew you, postmortem) look like? Probably a picture of me. Or maybe of me with like 50 guys I like
Write about a really good or creative Tumblr URL that you see frequently on your dashboard. I-run-with-scissors-to-feel-dangerous. Iâve just always thought it was funny
If swear words were not things like âshitâ and âfuckâ what would they be otherwise? Whatever else society thinks is taboo
Write a very vivid description of what is/would have been your most perfect way to lose your virginity. What is your exact definition of âlosing your virginityâ? Also: will you/would you have liked to save your virginity for marriage? Why or why not? It would have been more perfect I guess to lose it with someone who was also a virgin, and we both cared about each other. My definition is the first time you have penetrative sex (unless you are a lesbian in which case I donât really know because I donât know enough about lesbian sex). I would not want to save it for marriage because sexual compatibility is an important part of a relationship that I would not want to leave up to chance
Write a six-word fortune cookie. You will buy another fortune cookie
Why do you think eyebrows exist? Arenât they supposed to help prevent stuff from getting down into our eyes? Just like eyelashes, even though majority of the time if I have something in my eye itâs an eyelash⊠but yeah. Also, eyebrows are way of like communicating or expression. Like when you raise your eyebrows out of concern or surprise, or when you scrunch them out of confusion or anger. < What that person said
If you could only have one contact on your phone, who would it be? Crap idk
Your bucket list is limited to three items. Marry someone amazing, sing a duet, win an oscar
Do you wake up first or do you open your eyes first? Uhh wake up probably?
Write a love/thank you/appreciation letter to someone you take for granted. Thank you mom and dad for everything you do which I definitely donât reciprocate
What makes you feel infinitely sexy? Good eye makeup
Make a video and talk about something for two minutes. Anything. And donât edit out any parts of it. Lol nah.
Write a poem youâd stick on a refrigerator. Nah. You can look at my poetry tag
Are you afraid of aging? Why? Yes because I feel like Iâm not taking full advantage of my youth and itâll only be harder as I get older. And Iâm afraid of getting too old to explore things romantically and just be expected to know what Iâm doing
Describe one time you basically thought you were the shit, when your self-confidence was soaring through the roof. This is meant to be a positive thing. It was pretty high the summer before junior year when I was working out more. And it was also high sometimes in grade school when I always got top grades
If there was one person you could get drunk with and kiss and then later blame it on alcohol, who would it be? My friend who I work with on film projects. I donât like him romantically enough to risk ruining how well we work together, so Iâve never pursued anything. But this scenario would actually be kind of great
Does perfection exist? If the word perfection did not exist, what word would be in its place? What would perfection mean instead? I donât think perfection exists. Mathematically it could but in actual physics there is always error. And other types of âperfectionâ are matters of opinion which are not the same for everyone. I donât know what word would replace it
The next book you see that has over 300 pages, open up to page 136. Find a sentence you like, copy it down, and then write about it. Na Iâm sitting
Who makes you laugh the most? Captain
What is one thing that you are proud of, that you think lacks praise/lacks appreciation from the people around you? It could be a simple thing; it could be a secret thing. Most things Iâm proud of get adequately praised
If you could accuse somebody of being fake/a bitch and not suffer any repercussions, who would you accuse, and how would you do it? Iâd tell one of my friends that their SO is awful and that the relationship is toxic
What is the funniest one-liner Tumblr text post youâve ever read? Idk bruhÂ
Rewrite a verse of lyrics from your favorite song. They have to sound good when you sing it out loud along to tune of the song. I wrote an entire Let It Go parody about essay writing. Iâm not gonna copy it all here though, you can find it at tagged/frozen parody
If the SATs/grades did not exist, in what way should colleges/teachers evaluate applicants? maybe through actual work? <<<<
Do you feel at home in your home? Is home a place for you? A book? A thing? A person? What would you want your home to be? Not yet. I just moved in a couple weeks ago so it doesnât feel like home yet. My room is getting there other than when there are spiders and I get all anxious, but the common areas still feel like their space since theyâve all lived there for a year. Home is generally a place. I also have a stuffed dog that makes things feel more like a home
Write your own eulogy. She was cool
What is something you felt like you deserved or should have belonged to you, but you never got? A relationship. Itâs 2017. Itâs time.
Do you feel âconnected to natureâ? Do you frequent outside? Do you believe that a connection with the earth we live on is necessary in the first place? Nope. Nope. I think that we should respect it but donât need to feel connected
Your opinion on oral sex? Itâs ok. There has only been one guy who really made me enjoy receiving, and giving is ok but I kind of avoid it when I can because I kind of gag on it and if they last too long which they usually do it kills the mood for me
If one TV show could be real, which one would you want it to be? Which one would screw our world over? Not sure. Iâd want Harry Potter to be real but thatâs not really a show. Something like The Walking Dead would screw us over
How many kinds of love are there? âThere are all kinds of love in this world but never the same love twice.â -F. Scott Fitzgerald
Which word needs to exist (or be used again)? If it doesnât exist how would I know about it?
What is the absolute hardest thing about staying alive? You need food, and for food you need money, and for money you need a job
What is a book that has been recognized as âgreat literatureâ that you dislike? Why? Most of the books we read in school because a lot of them are slow and boring and anything interesting about them gets ruined by having to write stupid analysis papers
What is one change that you would make/have made to your life that will make/has made it better? Exercising moreÂ
Is everything you do for yourself? Can you truly be selfless? Iâm not good at being selfless
Are you the same person you were two and a half years ago? No, but similar
Can you possibly conquer the labyrinth? If thatâs that shit with the dude with the eyes on his hands then nope
As a hyper intelligent pan-dimensional being, what is the answer to the ultimate question, the life, the universe and everything? What is the ultimate question? The pretension in this question just knocked like a week off my lifespan
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Want to write but idk what to write.
Ahahah. Mm. Ok let's try to reply. - Ahahah. Mm. Ok let's try to reply. // Live in songs, live in heart, this is hard. But ahah why does "live in song" makes it sound like a goodbye adios HAHAH boo Hm see ok let us have me be truthful. I am baina baina, pendulum, much, between: 1) "And then once upon a time I was done. I wanted to truly pull cold chords." vs 2) "Homegirl. I don't want to lose this friendship." and then now its like idk ah, hahah I rmmbr one of my earliest early opensilvers I wrote about how I wanted to play the role of a lighthouse and a pantau and I wanna look out for you ish without being stifling. but then I also wonder if that's even my role to play and if it's my place to hold high expectations upon you and. See like when you said moral amphibian phase is back and clarke quay is a big hint to wtv like. Idek if I hm idk :( and ya la like see hahahah it's not my place to put disappointment upon anyone either and of course it's much a breeze for me to uphold instead the image of hey this boy is trying in his deen etc etc hahah but yeah. Truest true of companions would see us for the real us. So hm. (ahahah so ya lor actlly now that I do a quick scroll, much of my unpublished writes probs revolve around these themes) (I still do wanna know how your days go but yeah ahah idky I can't just drop u a text or wtv entah ego hahah) So ya ok lel but yeah I guess if we were "cool street friends" which means minusing all the fratata of fitrah flow, it's probs easier to accept you for you, and I wouldn't hold thaaaat high hopes for you but yeah while I'd still root for better, brave, righteous you who'd leave all vices and be protected and all, but yeah ahahah stupid eh why does it hurt to know you'd dabble in vices (ok la actlly idk if you do, so I try not to think abt it and I try to think of sunshine you and the seeker you and you with great ilm and advices and you with gusto and enthusiasm to crash good gatherings and you who'd help your mother and nenek and you. Happy bright you. But yeah ahah people are people and we each are whole because of our broken parts too but ala hahahah ah kk rambles)(maybe I should just publish my other previous writes that's probs more coherent) // But yeah ahahah but then I also rmmbr what you said about "oh if you think you're doing it for me then don't bother. It'll backfire and not worth it." // But then I also think about how you're one of the few who'd catch my more artistic poetic, life in symbols metaphors and multilayerings, and like ya hahahah you catch my thoughts and our frequency is decently good and ya la. Your mind is a wonderment and ya. The whole we vibe decently good thing. // So macam mana? Hahahah flow all ways but takut dried up but then again there's the whole "If it comes, let it. If it goes, let it." and Yeah ahah. I'm not here to play superhero, and yeah goes back to your "don't bother, backfire" thing And like I'd be tempted to just: "If I promise I'd go back to not pulling cold chords, and to invest more into being a friend/mirror/kindergarten/chillerdeepdiver who's there for you etc etc, at least for the next 3/4 months will you promise me to try your hardest to hustle hard, get it tgt in wtv ways, leave all moral amphibian and be the best you through baby steps and a journey?" But. Ya ah see I'm not here to play superhero and who am I la to impose wtv tho ykno of course I wish good for you :( and the whole "love for your brother what you love for yourself" and yeah. I once wrote how having companions journey through with us, is a great gift, through it all but hm. Idk idk idk. Ahahahaha ok la HAHA idk how to end this and ya basically idk I guess this friendship is too cool/precious to let it die but haiya haiya. HAHA Ah. :') + :'( oki. I liked Gene's class today tho. Ahah and then I also got a chance to hear ust Nuzhan share about qurban and sacrifice today and yay guess who is on part time security officer duty now .... Me :) HAHAGA aka night shift so yeah I guess I could squeeze in time to write either on trips back from work or night shift or off daysssssss ahah speaking of which how wassss the kidsexplorer thing AHA I didn't know you were into kids but yaaaaa twas one of those places that I would have applied at if I was looking for part time job or yeah the other one Id do would be like camp instructors ah. But yeah some friends weren't encouraging me to, cuz they were looking out for my solat etc which hm yeah I guess they have a valid point. so did you go for tafsir tuesday today? :) ahah. Aight ok until then here's to abrupt ends HAHAHAH drop me a text whenever ah or idk you could letter writes back but YA, HAHAHA I still think it's queer bcuz ruminating is for all to read whereas open silver is truly idk hahahah I guess only you read (but of course Allah As Shaheed) mmm but yeah. High key lowkey of such a friendship. Sirr. Unsirr. Hm. Ahah. Until then, mir'a (are we sure it's even the right word ahah) Ummmm and yeah ahahaha clarke quay. Hm hahahah. I rmmr I once referenced clark quay in one of my old writes. "Ask me How are you So that I could answer That lately I've been fumbling And losing grip of the 2 ropes And that the chilly nights So much so as Inspire me To want so bad Some companionship Upon sitting by the midnight river And drunkards backdrop And pretty lights of skyscrapers to speak of metaphor scars That recently have been peeling Today I figured I'd never actlly had a Chance and a one To talk me through that. Thorough and through to clean slates. /// 19 to 20 but swear, it's almost like I'm back to the square root Of 13." Aight. Until then. Ahah also(!!) the other time when I had the vivid dream there was this quote I'll just screenshot and post ah. It was intriguing but yeah. couldn't exactly figure. Until then until then. 3:12am type of incoherent rambles :"") (lmao my phone died and yada yada but ok here's to posting my writes) 26/7
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