#I Borg Review

[sol-flo]

ok so we're doing a little friend group book club and my notes have somehow acquired five footnotes. i just finished chapter two.

[2001honda-civic]

reviewing trek movies on letterbox is so scary because god. how do you people think like this.

[i-m-a-few]

Star Trek Voyager | S5x15/16 - Dark Frontier

The Borg Queen is very, very possessive of Seven.

[milkteamoon]

2023 fanfic review ✨

Meant to do a wrap up a few days ago but I got busy — so I'm doing it today! Here's a big long list of fics I read and enjoyed in 2023 (not all were published in 2023, but several were!). Ratings may vary, so please read the tags!

▷ Ask an Exec by shinyopals — (rated T, complete, 6/6) A series of posts to a workplace management advice form made by a particularly strange poster. This one was so fun to read along with, and Opal always nails it with the unique storytelling methods.

▷ And We Are Full of Stories to be Told by saintbleeding — (rated T, oneshot) a meeting somewhere else. Just...just read it. You'll like it, I promise.

▷ Particular by aza — (rated G, oneshot) Jon doesn't like anyone, but sometimes he likes this one. I love a good ace Jon fic.

▷ Stay Here Under My Tail by ravenxavier — (rated M, oneshot) after Jon's statement habits are discovered, him and Daisy take a ride. I love this fic's depiction of Jon and Daisy's relationship, with just the right amount of s4 anxiety.

▷ The Wounded and the Blessed by hihereami — (rated T, oneshot) an au set in the 1950s where a priest makes friends with a very lonely doctor. Y'all, the yearning in this fic...... literally left me staring at a wall for hours after finishing. A must read.

▷ Strange Manner by inkfingers_mcgee — (rated T, complete, 17/17) needing money, Martin signs up for a dubious app for blood donors and meets a very particular vampire in the process. Also kept up with this fic as it was coming out and had so much fun being tugged along for the ride. A great universe and a great lot of fun!

▷ A Measure Outside the Lines by rend_herring — (rated E, oneshot) after fleeing to Scotland, Jon and Martin navigate their post-Lonely relationship. I know there's a million safehouse fics out there, but this one is just...so sweet... There are so many lines I want to quote but I'd just end up quoting the whole fic haha.

▷ It Blooms by godshaper — (rated M, oneshot) Martin meets a mysterious stranger the day before his wedding. Fae au!! This one has a really fun universe and a deliciously excellent fast burn.

▷ On the Factual Particulars of the Death of Mrs. Blackwood by saintbleeding — (rated T, ongoing, 5/?) primarily sourced accounts from one Mr. Martin Blackwood regarding his new job at The Magnus Archives. This is a really fun victorian au that really nails the style and character voices.

▷ Sun in an Empty Room by transjon — (rated T, oneshot) the in between after the apocalypse. I love a romantic bad-ish end fic, and this one is very fun.

▷ Communion Past the Need of Speech by pieandsouffle — (rated G, oneshot) a hologram and a former borg drone have a lunch date. Star Trek au anyone?? Star Trek au.

▷ Gertrude is Still Around by occudo — (rated T, series) an au where Gertrude is still archivist and the archival crew members are her assistants. This one is technically a comic series but I'm putting it on this because it's my rec list and I can do what I want okay!!!!!!

[efangamez]

Hey y'all! Here is Efan's quick rundown and review of almost all the cool games I played this year, as well as my Steam in Review!

1. Darkest Dungeon

I've been playing this game for nearly ten years, and I finally beat it this year. Not a 2023 release, but a huge milestone for myself. After a terrible year before it, I made it a goal to face my fears and beat this game. Lo' and behold, I did, and it's one of my own personal gaming accomplishments. It's solidified as the best turn based game I've ever played, but it does have its late-game issues, specifically with the Crimson Court maps and the final dungeon maps. It's just absurd tbh. However, this is one of my favorite games of all time, if not my favorite, and it's a must have for horror fans, HP Lovecrft fans, and turn based game fans. 9.7/10

2. Sun Haven

A wonderful and cute farming sim that scratched an itch no other could scratch. Its characters are fun, the music is solid, the graphics are very bright and fantastical, and the combat was simple yet kinda fun. I really loved the progression in this game too. It still has its issues, such as the late game (it may have been fixed because this game was in early access) and some of the utility of the workbenches you can use. All in all, a very solid farming sim (and just life sim in general tbh) if you like a little bit of fantasy mixed in. 9/10

3. Halls of Torment

My favorite Survivor game. The music, aesthetics, progression, characters, and maps are all different enough to keep you coming back for more. As I am disabled, these games are actually super fun to play because I only have to play with one hand. It was in early access when I played it heavily, so it had some issues like the handling of inventory, some balance issues, and feature creep issues, but they may have been fixed now. 9.3/10

4. Cassette Beasts

A must-play monster battler with an amazing plot, an incredible soundtrack, interesting monsters, and great characters for the most part. If you've been really wanting a game that is reminiscent of Pokemon colleseum but also want that 2d love of the Black and White games, this is a must have. It does have some balance issues (again, early access game when I played), but other than that and maybe some performance issues that are probably fixed by now, it was an incredible game that made me want a 2d Pokemon game more than ever. 9/10

5. Roboquest

A fantastic FPS roguelike game with great gunplay, movement, art direction, and music too. Each weapon feels pretty unique, it has melee weapons (wish there were more though) and a progression system that's really cool. It plays like if Doom Eternal had a kid with Borderlands, and I think plays a bit better than any other RANGED FPS roguelike/lite that I've played. I will say the difficulty settings are really cool, but I think they are a little too enticing due to game balance as of 1.0 due to progression being a bit of a grind. I think that having different endings for each difficulty might be a cool idea, each as satisfying as the other, but I know that can be a pain to develop. 9/10

6. Mortal Sin

A beautifully dark and trippy mostly melee FPS roguelike that takes the intensity of DOOM and the melee weapons of Elderborn and drenches it in a slow-mo filled, heavy swinging fun time. It's definitely the most FUN game this year as I've been craving an FPS melee roguelike for a while. It accomplishes this and then some with pretty cool progression that adds some variety to each game. The art direction reminds me of a more purple and red MORK BORG (fellow TTRPGers rejoice) and I LOVE it. The only issues to me are that the story and lore are a bit boring and lacking, but again it's in early access, so it has time to cook. 9.5/10

7. And last, my game of the year, LUNACID by @stylishkira

What a gorgeous game all around. The music has probably the most atmosphere out of any indie game I've played outside of Darkest Dungeon. Its levelling system is accessible but fun, you can create your own character with their own name and profile picture which I think is SO cool (Mortal Sin should totally do this if it's not too much of a copy). The combat is really fun and the sound design is probably second, once again, to Darkest Dungeon. It was an absolutely magical experience playing this game, and an experience I don't think I'll ever forget. I do think, however, that the ending feels really really rushed, and that sullied my experience a little bit, and the bosses are pretty unbalanced because you can just spam all of your health potions and tank the bosses, but the experience leading up to the ending is amazing. Also, I know the true ending is purposely a little complex, but tbh, if the goal was to have the "true" endings similar to the Souls games, having the final climactic boss (which I won't spoil, but is really cool) be the core of the normal ending, paired with alternate endings WITH that really cool final boss I think, might make the experience a bit more satisfying. It's already kinda implemented, but I loved this game so much that the standard ending just kinda felt....empty. Don't let these critiques stop you from playing this game, however. It's one of my favorites of all time, and I only give these critiques because I love this game so much. This is a MUST PLAY, and for the price, it's an absolute steal and should be priced up, imo. I cannot wait to see where the direction of possible King's Field style games come, because I am THIRSTY for more! 9.6/10

Annnddddddd that's it! Some great other games I played this year were the Demon Souls remake (9.2/10) Shadow of the Colossus (9.3/10), and Bloodborne (for probably the 30th time, and that's no joke, 9.8/10), and Quake (9.8/10).

[deadpanwalking]

Hi Mr Walking do you have favourite interviews with authors, written and otherwise? I was thinking about Kazuo Ishiguro today (I wish he’d publish a new book) and I was reminded of you :)

Off the top of my head, I can tell you that The Paris Review interviews with Faulkner, Nabokov, Borges, Morrison, and Didion (Issues 12, 40, 128 74, respectively) are all sublime, but if we're talking all-time favorites? There's only ever been one. :)

[bernardbedizzyy]

I remember the first time I watched Lego monkie kid I thought that Tang looked similar to Cyrus Borg. So you know what I did?

Obvs I headcannoned them as twins what else am I supposed to do 🙏

Here are my headcanons to my headcanons ‼️

- Tang and Cyrus liked the identical twin look, hence the fact they both have the same exact hairstyle even as adults.

- Tang constantly stole food from Cyrus. Cyrus had 5 cookies on his plate? Nevermind, now he has 4. He looks away for 2 seconds. Oh great. Now there’s 3.

- Despite liking the identical twin look, they never had the same interests. Tang was a historian and was absolutely OBSESSED with JTTW. Cyrus liked tech and all of that fancy modern stuff. Their split shared room was truly amazing.

- Whenever they’d get into those usual sibling fights, they’d have to be kept away extremely far from each other. This is because Cyrus would try and roll over Tangs feet.

- Cyrus considers Mk as his nephew, Tang considers Pixal as his niece.

- both are autistic. U cannot change my mind on this one.

- Cyrus helped Tang make his food review website

- (throwinf in my Tang and Pigsy are married headcanon for this one) Cyrus was one of the first people to know that Pigsy proposed to Tang. Also one of the first people to know that they were dating.

- Both moved out around the same time. Cyrus was the first one to get a job though.

- The ninjas have no idea that Cyrus has a twin brother. Only Pixal knows so far.

- Are in close contact. They give each other regular updates about their lives.

- Cyrus yelled so loud when he found out his twin brother was the potential reincarnation of Tang-freaking-Sanzang

- Tang yelled so loud when Cyrus sent a picture of the destiny’s bounty just parked in the sky somewhere

- Tang tries to visit as often as he can. Mk tries to tag along as much as he can

- Tang always tries to get Cyrus something whenever he’s on one of those mystic monkey adventures. Cyrus absolutely adores the little lantern city pin Tang got for him.

- Cyrus adores the technology in Megapolis, but doesn’t wanna move. He likes it here in ninjago.

- Cyrus adores spoiling Mk. The entire reason why bro has all that monkey king stuff is because of Cyrus. Cyrus best uncle 🙏

- the first time Pixal met Tang, she thought that Cyrus suddenly gained the ability to walk. Then she saw Cyrus entering the room and got very confused.

- The first time Mk met Cyrus, he thought that Tangs ankle injury got really really bad. Then he saw Tang pop out from behind Cyrus and yelled for a minute straight.

- when Mk was younger he’d always ask the next time they’d go back to see Cyrus.

- Tang texted Cyrus that “a random child is in my boyfriends noodle house” and then Cyrus texted back “Play dad”. Tang responded with “okay” while Cyrus spammed that it was a spelling mistake. 5 years later Tang responded to one of the spammed messages with a video of Mk riding a bike and Tang saying in the video “I taught him that”.

- Cyrus always looks forward to the noodles that Tang might bring to whenever he visits.

Hnnnagqhahhahnshha I love the Lego glasses 40 yr old haircut men heesssshhehaggshsh

[quasi-normalcy]

You know...

I grew up with TNG; it’s always been my Star Trek; I spent much of my childhood obsessed with it. And there I was, watching what promised to be the Last! Appearance! by the TNG Crew! Ever!,

and I felt nothing at all.

Nothing had any weight. The Borg Collective got blowed up real good, but they’d already got blowed up real good 20 years ago, and last season set up another, vastly more interesting version of the Borg anyways if only anyone had bothered to mention them or anything else from the first two seasons, so it means nothing. Nothing had any weight. No one even died. No one even got meaningfully assimilated. Apparently you can just peel Borg implants right off your face without, you know, bleeding to death or ripping out a chunk of your brain. Someone should probably tell Seven of Nine about that.

And now I’ve had a few hours to reflect upon it and what occurs to me is: I think I hate it. Yes, that sounds right. I hate it.

I mean, Nemesis gets a lot of sh*t, much of it deserved, but like…I actually cried during Nemesis. Nemesis also had a fascinating nature-versus-nurture theme, which admittedly, was a come-down from “All Good Things’…” promise of human transcendence, but at least it was something! This just felt like empty nostalgia calories, wrapped it a blanket with bathetic MCU quips. No thought-provoking science fiction. No exploration of the human condition. Just…bloodless violence for an hour.

And then I thought back to how this series started, my beautiful, flawed, Star Trek: Picard; and here I must admit that I’m one of those sad, lonely freaks who actually really liked the first two seasons. I liked the weighty themes of living in the cognizance of death, and the serious engagement with transhumanism. Above all, I liked the characters. Elnor, Soji, Rios, and especially Agnes. And then I thought: what an absolute Insult this season is! You dump all of the characters and you can’t even be arsed to namedrop them. I mean, shit, there’s a reference to Chekov in the first five minutes, but you can’t be arsed to reference any of the characters whose series you hijacked? You have Raffi sparring with Worf and she can’t even mention that her adopted son is a Romulan swordsmaster? You have the Borg invading, and “no one’s seen them in over ten years!” and you can’t be arsed to clarify why that Borg Queen that we all saw Jurati turn into last season doesn’t count? Literally the only allusion, anywhere, to any of the characters from the first two seasons other than Raffi is Shaw telling everyone to “Forget that weird shit on the Stargazer.” That weird shit. Yeah. One of the only characters in all fiction that I’ve ever meaningfully identified with. Thanks, Terry!

But, at the same time…what a gross insult to TNG! TNG, with its humanist utopia and moral conundra and scientific grounding. TNG, which, at its best, showed us what humanity could be; which challenged us to see the world in new ways. Reduced to this. This hollow, plastic pile of rubbish.

But, hey; the reviews are positive! The series is in the top ten for streaming! And a billion YouTube comments have already informed me that, finally, REAL Star Trek is back! Forget “all that weird bullshit,” this is what we, the fandom, wanted all along!

Anyways, can’t wait to see the next exciting installment of Star Trek: Funko Pop

[emachinescat]

A Year in (Book) Review: My 2024 Reading Journey 📚

#40 - The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

Fantasy / LGBTQ+ / Romance / 498 pages / Published 2019 / Finished Apr. 27

One Sentence Review: A stunning foray into story and myth and art and love and life and death and the books we read and the stories we tell ourselves and Fate and Time, this masterpiece turns the conventions of modern storytelling on their heads and breathes life into a huge, intersecting hive of myths, buzzing with wonder, love, stories, endings - and new beginnings, a tale worthy of Borges himself.

Favorite Quotes

"Someone is trying to keep the story from ending, I think. But the story wanted an ending. Endings are what give stories meaning."

*

"A book is made of paper but a story is a tree."

*

"All cats are guardians in their own right."

*

"Be brave ... Be bold. Be loud. Never change for anyone but yourself. Any soul worth their star-stuff will take the whole package as is and how it grows. Don't waste your time on anyone who doesn't believe you when you tell them how you feel."

*

"A boy at the beginning of the story has no way of knowing that the story has begun."

*

"Strange, isn't it? To love a book. When the words on the pages become so precious that they feel like part of your own history."

*

"We are all stardust and stories."

*

"And no story ever truly ends as long as it is told."

My rating: 5/5

A Few More Thoughts (Spoilers):

I positively adored this book! It quickly cemented its place as one of my all-time favorites. It's unlike any novel I've ever read - the way the separate storylines are not only all connected but are the SAME story, the slow, satisfying way all the puzzle pieces begin to fit themselves together, the coziness, the wonder, the magic, the way the author weaves a new mythology tapestry worthy of Athena herself ... this book is art.

Although I had faith in the author that the seemingly unconnected pieces would come together in the end, the way they did so was a complete surprise. The whole book, I thought the end goal was to save the harbor on the Starless Sea, but no, it is destroyed in the end - and it's not even a bad thing. Bittersweet, yes, but necessary. A story is not a story if it doesn't end.

I could seriously write a dissertation on this book. Its themes of story, and its interconnectedness with life, death, and love are positively delicious. Masterful.

Even the best and most beautiful stories have to end at some point - that's what makes them stories. But the end of one story allows another to begin. Therein lies the beauty of stories: they are beautiful and significant and everything while they last, but even their endings forge the way for new beginnings.

[kncrowder88]

The other day, I was scrolling through Voyager and saw the familiar joke about Janeway, Picard, and the Borg Queen. It amused me, as always, because their interactions are interesting. But at the same time ... it has left this thing sitting with me in regards to the story of the Borg within Star Trek and how it was presented to us.

The Borg are first introduced to us in a Q episode, when Picard and his ship are tossed far into space (the Delta Quadrant actually) and exposed to dangers humanity is not ready for. That danger, at the time, specifically is a Borg cube. An entire section of the ship is just cut off and pulled away within the episode. Picard, ends up, by the end, asking Q to help them and get them back. The next time the Borg appear is "Best of Both Worlds".

Picard, at that point, is the face of humanity that the Borg know. Now, the Borg timeline in Trek is honestly a fun thing to look at. You do have the Enterprise episode and First Contact movie, this whole time loop that creates a sort of chicken and egg situation. But also, keep in mind ... the Raven - Seven's parents ship - has already been assimilated by "Best of Both Worlds". The Borg, at this point, have decided humanity needs a liason, someone to ease them into assimilation. And they pick Picard. We get Locutus. Then, after this, you get all that happens within the TNG episodes.

By the time Voyager happens, if you have watched TNG you have seen these episodes (Enterprise hasn't happened yet). First Contact is in 2373, Scorpion is in 2373/2374 ... these two events are within mere weeks/months/etc from each other. Yet, Janeway knows nothing about what Picard and Earth just went through. But, she was in Starfleet during Wolf 359, that battle was 2367. The USS Bonestell was her command - this ship was destroyed in this battle - memory beta says she was in command up till 2366. We dont know who was in command during the battle, for all we know it was Janeway and she is one of the few survivors of that destruction. Could be she just handed command over and the ship went off to battle.

"Scorpion" and "Best of Both Worlds" along with "Q, Who" are such vastly different means of bringing a character before the Borg. Picard is unaware and yet becomes a foil to them, becomes a focal point of the Queens plans. While Janeway, aware of the Borg - having learned previously through simply being part of Starfleet during those events, no matter how close she got to it -, is not clueless to this danger before her. She researches, reviews, looks over it all ... and then she offers up her own foil and focal point. The Borg Queen wanted a representative that could ease humanity into her clutches, and that failed her. Years later, Janeway looked the collective in the eye and said "give us a representative to ease this deal into success" and then she ensured it worked.

Janeway and Picard had two very different interactions with the Borg ... and honestly I will forever be obsessed with that (Janeway even willingly gets assimilated later on) and yet both of them are foils to the Borg Queen who will likely NEVER cease being annoyed that the two are still walking around Starfleet as reminders that resistance is possible.

[bumblingbabooshka]

Saving for my future reference. Tuvok, survivor that you are.... Transcript under cut!

"I fear it is not so simple, Mr Tuvok." Ree's tail began to twitch as it did when he was wrestling with a problem whose neck eluded his jaws. "There are limits to the efficacy of medication. It can only modify the brain's chemistry so much, and its structure barely at all. And your brain Mr. Tuvok..." It's a real mess, he wanted to say. "It has been through an inordinate amount of strain over the past decade. Let me see," he said, reviewing Tuvok's file. "Brainwashing by a Maquis operative...thermal damage from a telekinetic incident...limbic-system imbalance following a meld with a Betazoid sociopath...decades-long infection from a dormant memory virus...extensive brain damage and memory loss from neuroleptic shock...temporary Borg assimilation...and the onset of the preliminary stages of fal-tor-voh." "All of those conditions were corrected," Tuvok insisted. "Yes, but they left their scars. As did the extensive torture and hardship you recently endured at Romulan hands. You are still in the process of healing from that; your emotional control was tenuous for a Vulcan even before we encountered the jellies." Tuvok said nothing but he didn't need to; his shame was redolent. "And even if you had mastered the emotional trauma completely, it would still have left a physical spoor in your neurochemistry, as did all the other neurological traumas you've experienced. Your mind, my friend, bears a proud and admirable catalog of scars. You are a survivor, and should be esteemed for that, but being a survivor carries its costs."

[princesscolumbia]

Star Trek Captains, A Review and Categorization III - The Search for Captains

So there was little enough response to the last poll (a single vote) that I didn't think anyone was interested in more...but this is one of those posts that keeps on giving, so I'm going to at least finish this up with the two that I've gotten the most anecdotal (non-poll) feedback to do.

If you missed it, the first post in this series.

And since nearly EVERYONE missed it, the second.

Captain Seven

Star Trek said Trans Rights! So very done with your shit! Hasn't yet met her younger brother Dal, but probably will approve of every single choice he's ever made. She doesn't know everything, but she knows more than you. Only marginally less of a badass with a phaser than Admiral Crusher. Can make a Sapphic's panties spontaneously combust from a lightyear away. Can make a starship spontaneously combust from a lightyear away, it just takes more effort on her part. Borg Queen? Nah... my Queen!

Scorecard

Found Families: 3

Timelines she's personally been involved in rewriting: At least 3

Hearts broken: 3 (No, Raff, you only count as one)

Mothers: 3

Category: Sempai!!!

Captain Shaw

Salty? Salty! Just some dipshit from Chicago. Walking trauma nerve, do not cross. Does NOT like jazz. Will work his way into your heart while still being the Doctor House of the Starfleet Engineering Corp. Ride or die, but goddamn had you better be ride or die, too, or he'll break you. He'll find a way. The angry sonovabitch that says all the words that tell you he hates your guts but will make you into the best version of yourself against your will.

Scorecard

Times he handed Starfleet legends their ass in verbal spars: Countless

Times he managed to keep an aging, neglected starship from falling apart around his ears in such a way as to make other Starfleet legends amazed: At least 1

Times he's set aside his personal (almost justified) prejudice against Borg to nurture and promote his first officer: 1

Times he was traumatized in such a way that we can kinda understand why he's such a massive tool: 1

Category: Angry Neighbor Shouting At Kids When They Lose Their Ball Over His Fence...then the ball is 'mysteriously' on the kid's porch the next morning with the leaks patched, re-inflated, cleaned up, and with a note about proper throwing technique

Will there be more? Maybe, if there's enough of a demand I might just do another post like this.

[msvelawciraptor]

I'm on my third listen of Three Sisters today, after a quick review of the story at the beginning of Everybody Down, and I have Thoughts.

There is no Dana; there is only Azuuls.

We are SO gonna see the Teds again by the end of the season.

We are so NOT gonna see BertBert. Because how will we tell her from Kazi?

Oh Caspar, your first days/weeks/months in the diner fucked you up big time, didn't they?

Zeb and Effie were trying so hard. I love them more and more.

Effie talking about how she is with baking bread is so very me when I'm in my groove in the kitchen. She and I are kindred spirits. Except I argue with God a bit more.

Ah, the blind prophet. It's a classic for a reason.

Oh, early Diner Caspar. You break my fucking heart, buddy.

The song!

Effie trying to make small talk about Teta's horns is adorable.

Love that someone else knows the Teds' rules.

"Who wants pie?!"

But WTF was she saying about an electric toothbrush?

Again, poor baby Caspar. He was so fucking broken.

I love that everyone talks about the Teds the same way. "Intergalactic empire of fuckheads." Teta and Gloria will get along well.

Were those Swamp Borgs?

Are the Swamp Borgs somehow still in the deep freeze? Cut off from their collective, did they become like Hugh?

Cryptessia. Will Verge make it to the main storyline, too? Will we get the Verge/Lief reunion so many of us dream of?

There will probably be more thoughts. But it was a draining day with much driving (which is part of how I'm on my third time through) and I'm sleepy, so those thoughts may have to be a later problem.

[elwenyere]

hey! this is more of a general question, do you have any book recommendations for someone who wants to start writing and get a better handle on language? if that’s too silly of a question, can you maybe just list your favorite novels/non-fiction books that influenced your writing? :)

Hello Anon! Thank you so much for this great ask: I think reading is an essential part of growing as a writer, and when I'm feeling blocked or dry or burned out, there are very few things that refresh my mind like spending time with beautiful, startling, upsetting, moving prose and poetry.

If you'll permit a momentary digression, I think one of the key parts of reading like a writer, no matter what the text, is to develop your sense of what you can pay attention to, in order to understand what the language is doing and how:

What effect is the text having on me? Is it disorienting me or producing a sudden sense of clarity? Revolting me or seeking to attract me? Asking me to make a connection or to draw a distinction? Drawing me in for a closer inspection or obscuring something in distance? Cultivating intimacy or refusing disclosure?

How is the text doing that? Through the way words are used (familiar or unusual, concrete or abstract)? The way sentences are put together and sequenced? The way the narration shifts (from a close focalization to a distant one, from present to past, from a blow-by-blow account to a summary)?

These are questions that help deepen textual analysis, and they can also be used to enhance your ability to riff on what other authors do that you dig - like disassembling a machine to see how the parts fit together, so that when you build your own, you have a wider array of components to draw from and functions to employ.

Beyond that, which texts scratch our brains in the most inspiring way probably depends on a number of things - like taste and prior exposure and what styles open up a new way of looking at the stories you need to tell - so your mileage may vary. But here is a non-exhaustive list of texts that have taught me something about various aspects of craft (revision, setting, plotting, narration, etc.). I've tried to pick some different options than the ones in this list from a while ago, but feel free to check those out as well!

Kiese Laymon, Heavy: a memoir that combines gorgeous writing in its own right with incredibly compelling reflections on revision and the work of memory. I love the way Laymon talks about revisiting and rearranging words as a way to revisit and rearrange thought patterns.

Patricia Lockwood, "Malfunctioning Sex Robot": Lockwood (of Miette internet fame) is one of the funniest people alive, and this review essay (about John Updike's writing) is one of the most remarkable examples I've seen of joining uncompromising clarity with capacious generosity in reflecting on another author's work.

Tracy K. Smith, Life on Mars: Smith described this poetry collection as an elegy for her father, who worked on the Hubble Telescope, and it also explores how we represent/picture space in other forms (in the family home, in racial segregation, in the sci-fi cultural imaginary). I love the way the poems play with scale and the way they mix kitschy particulars with existential abstraction.

Jorge Luis Borges, Ficciones: Borges collections are master classes in what stories can do, in part because they are often meta-explorations of storytelling (like a review of an imaginary book or the description of an infinite library), informed by the incredible amount of literature Borges read. Layered, allusive, and genre-bending, each story is like trying to see language with an extra dimension.

Ling Ma, Severance: a fascinating novel in many ways, including a non-linear plot, an uncannily prescient speculative premise, and a deliberately elusive narrator, Candace, about whom I change my mind every time I reread. Ma creates one of my favorite examples of what sometimes gets called "an unreliable narrator," and a strong contrast to the omniscient style in the next entry.

George Eliot, Middlemarch: in my heart of hearts, the greatest novel ever written. There's so much to admire in Eliot, but in terms of narration in particular - and the narrator's movement from tracing the contours of a particular fictional mind to knitting together reflections on the web of human connections - she has very few peers.

I hope this post is helpful, Anon! Thank you again for the wonderful ask, and happy reading/writing. <3

[christiansorrell]

MeatCastle GameWare Annual #1 is out NOW!

My new store is now live! MCGW Annual #1, a zine collecting all of the previously digital-only supplements and freebies I've released over the last year or so into one, eclectic collection of TTRPG goodies, is now available IN PRINT.

Annual #1 includes supplemental material for Mothership, Mork Borg, system-free bits for both fantasy and sci-fi, plus 2 microgames (including A Sunless Space, my Andor-inspired game of rebellion against an endless empire).

Pre-orders will run via my store through the end of the month. On Nov. 1st, I'll be ordering the print run and they'll ship out ASAP at that point.

You can get a print copy HERE!

Keeping in spirit with the TTRPG Freebies from the Missives, you can also get the digital version of Annual #1 as a pay-what-you-want product on Itch (which, of course, includes for FREE). Reviews, shares, comments, etc. are all appreciated!

Lastly, if you'd like to get future supplements like this straight to your inbox, I do one each month as part of my monthly TTRPG newsletter, Missives from the MeatCastle. You can subscribe HERE!