#I didn't give you my podcast recs the other day

[sixpennydame]

Sailor, my twin flame, happy one-year anniversary! 🩵

You're such a wonderful writer filled with creativity and kindness - so here's to all your accomplishments - past, present & future. You deserve all the best!

For the ask game, how about ~ 🎀🕯️🪄?

Ahhh, my twin flame...I'm so glad the magic of the internet brought us together. May we both continue to find magic in the most unlikely and mundane places. <3

It's my one-year Tumblr-versary! Send me a writer's ask!

🎀give yourself a compliment about your own writing

I already answered this for Nube, but I suppose it's good for me to think of more, haha. I think I'm good at writing emotions in a way that makes my characters understandable and relatable to the reader. I often hit on some heavy themes, so I'm always happy when a reader tells me that my fics made them feel something.

🕯️was there a fic that was really hard on you to write, or took you to a place you didn't think it would take you?

The final chapters of The Better Man were surprisingly difficult to write. I knew where I had wanted the story to end, but the pain and loss that the Reader was feeling...it really hit me hard. I think because I was also writing some intense chapters for North Star at the time, as well as grieving the anniversary of my mom's death. It just all hit at the same time and was a little overwhelming.

[gaystan]

PRESENTING ME AND @11x13kyle's FIRESIDE CHATS WITH KYLE AND ERIC AKA NICHE INTERNET MICROCELEBRITY AU:

cartman and kyle host a podcast called fireside chats with kyle and eric that’s basically just red scare, cartman is dasha and kyle is anna

they're constantly beefing with each other on twitter and some people are convinced it's staged to promote the show but kyle just hates cartman That Much

a majority of their listeners are just there for the occasional mention of their batshit childhood experiences amongst all the terrible political takes

like "umm i don't wanna hear this insane opinion on al gore i want to know more about how you guys swear that he tried to get you to help him kill manbearpig when you were 8"

fans wonder if these events are true or if they're enabling each other's schizophrenia

cartman is always saying the worst reactionary things while kyle's takes are deceptively normal until he hits them with one that makes listeners go hey WHAT?

kyle resents being called a reactionary but cartman LOVES it, wears the label like a badge of pride

there is CONSTANT discourse about whether or not cartman's antisemitism is ironic or not, with the reasoning "why would kyle be friends with him if it was genuine," and kyle regularly takes to twitter to say "IT IS NOT IRONIC."

kyle peaks the mic multiple times an ep yelling at cartman, says they'll edit it out in post, never gets cut because neither of them can edit

reddit posts go up are after every episode giving timestamp warnings for when kyle gets super loud

cartman has a christian music era, gets tradcath allegations and does little to discourage them

there are people who rpf ship kyman. cartman knows about this and tweets at fans asking them to send him fic recs

secretly jacks off to them

has a bit where he gives a shout out to his favorite kyman fic of the week and kyle breaks the mic every single time screaming at him

he posts unbelievably cringy "ironic" thirst traps to his instagram story at night and "ironic" drag pictures but the outfits and makeup are too good to be a joke

he also posts pictures of butters in bed with like bites on his neck to brag about getting hot tail but it's also just as unsexy

this is how he accidentally comes out, he was so distracted by the need to flex that he forgot he's still trying to beat the gay allegations

the "ironic" kyman fic jokes stop being funny

butters is adam friedland and kenny is the girl he cheated with

the butters show is cohosted with dougie and part of the alt right pipeline

stan is kyle's offline boyfriend in a B list rock band and wears fireside merch on stage sometimes

this includes the isis shirts which he swears up and down he didn't know were isis shirts

deeply apolitical by choice so whenever kyle talks to him about podcast stuff he nods along like whatever you say honey

he still listens to it he just tunes out of the political talk

the day his fans find out he's gay is the biggest day for them since his 2021 single hit the hot 100

everyone analyzing his old lyrics like oh my god. this was about a MAN. it all makes sense.

kenny is a twitter microceleb and socialite, much like with cartman controversy is part of the brand

gained thousands of followers over the butters cheating discourse

thirst tweets about kyle and they're secretly unironic

comes on fireside and rates youtubers he's slept with, kyle is disgusted and cartman is delighted

chapo trap house is craig and those guys

[panelshowsource]

alex talked about that recently in this interview! [rubs hands together like a mischievous little shrimp] i hope we see it one day heh

hehehe it was a fun task! we've NEVER seen alex play such a character during a task like that — he's received cuddles and made demands and eaten meals, but this was next level Alex Acting — so that was really fun!

lucy talking incessantly about alex's legs but mans also got his long sparkly toes

i think people are too quick to call this or that iconic, but ngl the second i saw this final image...it's practically a horror movie poster...PERFECT

can you imagine greg davies being your drama teacher and then he quits to become a comedian and the next day you see him on tv as Massive Greg hand feeding a man with no teeth who is pretending to be a tortoise

honestly if that's the one that haunts you i'd say you got off pretty easy, i scrub my eyes with concrete mix every night to try and forget ass sandwich and yet... but hey at least when he hurt his hand he finally had an excuse for that stupid bandage he wears hahaha

she was being so sincere and he was Such A Little Shit 😭

you know what i was binging some simon stuff as well, since it was his birthday, and ran across this again after all these years!

aw anon i'm so glad ♡

moooost of my fave episodes are like ~2005–2015ish? probably the nostalgia!

21.01 with jess hynes bc she is an icon to me

21.05 love seeing simon and miquita together

21.07 with martin freeman

22.02 with stephen fucking fry YES

22.04 was crazy like conchords-era rhys darby was there (i LOVED flight of the conchords lmao) and then johnny vegas and danny dyer next to each other? what a lineup

22.12 with josh groban, omid, martin freeman, heston is an ALL-TIME CLASSIC

i LOVE the guest-hosted episodes with martin freeman, rhod gilbert, frankie boyle (especially 24.12 with miles jupp and professor green), jack dee, alex horne, kathy burke, and johnny vegas

23.12 doctor who special HANDS DOWN

24.02 it's hilarious how respectable catherine tate is offset by how ridiculous catherine tate is

25.06 when greg hosted with frankie boyle, h was there just being h, holly walsh angel, it was a riot

john barrowman is also extremely iconic on buzzcocks, probably most so on 19.05 but also when he hosted 25.12

there are tons of older episodes from the lamarr era that i love — bob mortimer is so funny on this series especially on sean's team, 12.05 when jimmy and claudia were with phill, fun to see ian dury on 5.01, and so on — but these above are some of my personal all-time faves!

aw i really appreciate the rec! first i would like to say i looked it up on youtube and stumbled across the american version and holy shit the dude who hosted brainsurge on nickelodeon is hosting that and WOW my brain would have died never having remembered he existed if i hadn't seen him just now — so that was very weird. ANYWAYS i'll check it out!

imo it didn't start with ben miller...rob is always like this... sometimes when the pod episodes are shorter (less than 10min? does he do that anymore), you can tell some of the bullshit is edited around, but now that they're longer-form conversations he is dominating every episode. i'm certainly no rob hater, but it's really unsurprising to me because facts are facts — rob is self-involved, extremely concerned about being seen and being heard, incredibly pouty if not outrightly bitter when he's not recognised, when fame/success doesn't chase him, when he's getting less from life than he believes he deserves. there are aspects of rob in the trip that aren't far from reality, if you see what i mean. rob is, honestly, quite showbiz. don't get me wrong, he's funny, affable, talented, we love him! but he's not a stellar podcast host because he doesn't have the attention span to let someone else have a moment. have a story. put something on the table. there are definitely times i give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he's trying to form a connection by sharing a related experience/feeling/whatever, but other times he's just being self-involved, pivoting the convo, and it is what it is. it's too bad when we don't always get lengthy, insightful content for someone we love — like miles, let's say — and when we finally do rob isn't doing his part; i felt that way about the dara episode. i don't think rob means any malice, it's just how he is...+ a dash of being a middle-aged white man in showbiz...

i got this one yesterday...

...and i'm going to dedicate it to you<3

and frankly sign me up for the woz/vcm experience i am happy to be a little tomato in that flapjack sandwich

you guys are really sweet, it makes me smile ♡ i don't know why some days the trolling can really get to you and other days you forget it in a couple blinks... i feel like i've been having some bad days. last week i saw something on my own dash with thousands of notes outright mocking me and i haven't really recovered from the uncomfortableness/just general hurt feelings. i want be better about letting those things go, but i also think a holiday break will do me good. anyways, thank you for always enjoying the blog and taking the time to be so kind ♡

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[cailynwrites]

Harry Potter Rec Fest Day 13 - Over 100K

I so appreciate the dedication that it takes for someone to write over 100K words; I think even my M.A. thesis topped out at 30K (with much academic padding). I've read a ton of long fics so there's probably some recency bias here for @hprecfest day 13, but I've also tried to share a couple different pairings ...

Blood Magic (Podfic) written and read by houseofthehebrideanblcks and thestralsofspinnersend Pairing: Draco x Harry Word count: 334,676 Length: 33:05:11 Rating: E

@thistlecatfics already said all the things about this fic in their recommendation for the podfic the other day, and said it in a much lovelier and more eloquent way than I ever could. I guess I came at it from a different perspective though - as someone who is very lucky to feel not too traumatized by life or struggling with addiction or mental health (not a brag, just context), I got to see inside the brains of people like that and feel great empathy for them. Isn't that what art should do - put you in the shoes of different people and make you see the world differently? This is a slow, beautiful story of down-and-out Draco AND Harry heading toward something like peace and love, but it's a long road to get there. Also featuring endlessly patient counselor Luna, supportive Ron & Hermione, and lots of magical creatures.

The podfic is also really well done. The authors recorded it as a podcast originally. If the 33 hour single file on InternetArchive isn't really your speed, you can get the podcast version here, which includes their commentary after each chapter. Maybe not for everyone, but I found it interesting as a companion piece to hear their writing process and talk about trauma, treatment, and recovery in their own lives.

Choice and Chance by @chaoticcrumpets (Podfic by @etl-echo-audiobooks) Pairing: Draco x Hermione Word count: 116,972 Length: almost 10 hours Rating: M

This fic is so interesting. I had gotten a little burned out on Dramione before listening to this fic and this fully resparked my interest. I don't want to give too much away, but it's a mystery, a time travel adventure, and a romance. All the characterizations are very real, even though there might be more than one characterization of some of the characters. Can I use character more times in one sentence? Ah, and the twist at the end!!! *Chef's kiss*

Sweater Weather written by @lumosinlove (Podfic by @itsaash & cast) Pairing: Wolfstar, other adorable OC pairings and more! Word count: 156,108 Length: 15:23:00 Rating: E

I didn't think a hockey AU would be for me, even though I kinda like hockey. I was tempted by the prospect of Everyone Lives (TM) and I'm so grateful for it. This fic is beautiful, the development of all the characters, both canon and original, is incredible. I laughed, I cried, I gasped, I sighed, and when I was done, I wanted to start reading it all over again. At the time, it was newly finished and a sequel was on the way. I've been waiting for a nice vacation or sick day to reread it and its sequel, Vaincre. @lumosinlove has created a wonderful world and I just want to see the characters play around in it forever. I haven't listened to the podfic, but I'd encourage everyone to give it a shot!

************************************************************************

This one barely counts as a self-rec because I'm really just gushing about the author ...

Way Down We Go by @xiaq Podfic read by Cailynwrites (with @etl-echo-audiobooks) with beautiful album art by @abrilas-art Pairing: Draco x Harry Word count: 109,767 Length: 13 hours Rating: T

If you had asked me the ratings of my two out of three of my favorite novel-length Drarry fics yesterday, I wouldn't have thought the answer would be T, but apparently it is. This story, along with Away Childish Things, rewired my brain. I love the pace, I love the development of both boys' characters, I love the ancillary characters both old and new. It's just a perfectly told story. Although I should be encouraging you to go listen to my podfic on AO3 or Spotify, I can definitely also recommend the reading experience. Don't skip the adorable author's notes containing the adventures of the author's dog and grad school woes (relatable).

If you want to get a taste for the podfic before diving in, try this snippet or this one.

[explosionshark]

Hi hi! I was wondering, how do you choose what to read next? I know you get recs from friends and I assume you read stuff from authors you already know you like, but beyond that, how do you hear about new books? Goodreads? Sometimes I have a million books I want to read but other times nothing at the library is of interest to me and I tend to get stuck there mentally while waiting for my books on hold to be available 😂

Also, do you have any recs for horror books about ghosts? I want to read a good ghost book :) bonus points if there are sapphic ghost books!! 👻

there are a bunch of places i check in on to keep up on new titles or find out about interesting backlist stuff

first, for new releases, there are different columns/websites that exist just to catalogue the new stuff coming out (mostly from major publishers, if you're looking for indie or selfpub these probably won't help much)

io9 has their Bookshelf Injection column of new SFF (and some horror) that gets published every month

Jumpscares has a similar list for horror titles

for a more "literary fiction" bent you can always check out Bookmarks' Best Reviewed Books of the Week posts

If you're looking for a little more editorializing/reviewing I'd start looking around on sites like Book Riot (example lists include: Best Werewolves in books, 9 Books with Disabled Main Characters etc) or Electric Lit (Example: 10 Must Read Books set in Cairo, 7 Books About Grotesque Bodies).

Additionally, there are places to get recommendations that feel a little more tailored and personal. There are podcasts I enjoy for this (mostly for horror) like Talking Scared or Books in the Freezer. And there's always booktube (though finding a reviewer you like can be tricky) I like TheShadesofOrange, Petrick Leo, and Jess Owens.

There's also reddit (r/fantasy, r/horrolit, r/lgbtbooks, r/printsf are the main places I go to). Goodreads does have its uses, though admittedly I use it more to track my own reading and to follow friends, authors I like, and a handful of reviewers whose opinions I trust. Overall, I think the GR community as a whole is a total clown show and I don't put much stock into the rating system there.

If you have some favorite authors and they are on goodreads or social media, I'd say it's usually pretty worthwhile checking out the books they're hyping up.

finding new or interesting books is pretty easy, but choosing what to read from my own, admittedly ridiculously huge library? that's trickier. tbh, i mostly go on vibes.

alright for the second part of your question.

i love a good haunted house story!

anyone you ask with any taste at all is probably going to give you the answer i'm about to, but if you haven't read it yet, the #1 haunted house book I can recommend to you is Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House. It's a classic for a reason. If it sweetens the pot for you - the character of Theo is a lesbian. There's great subtext between Theo and the book's main character, Nell. A scholar recruits people who've had experiences with the supernatural to stay with him in a purportedly haunted house to see if they can come up with proof that ghosts are real. Shit gets whacky. One of the finest american novels ever written, regardless of genre.

If you want more sapphics and less house it might be worth checking out Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M Danforth (yes, the Cameron Post author). I had some issues with this one. I wouldn't say I didn't like it, but I know a lot of people liked it more than I did. It's very queer, has an interesting dual timeline - one plot set in the past tells the story of a mysterious tragedy befalling an early 1900s girls boarding school, the other plot is about a movie being made about those events in the present day.

The Red Tree by Caitlin R Kiernan - okay this one IS also about lesbians but it's probably the darkest book on this list. A struggling middle aged writer moves into a creepy old house after the death of her girlfriend by suicide. In the house, she discovers a lost manuscript of a previous resident who had been researching local folklore and documenting sinister events seemingly linked to the gnarled, tree on the house's property. Things do not go well. Very well written (have some issues with Kiernan but they're an incredible talent and, worth mentioning, they're the only genderfluid writer in the genre that I know of)

Another book I always recommend on this topic is Echoes edited by Ellen Datlow. It's a HUGE anthology of short ghost stories. Some of my favorite horror short fiction ever written is in this collection. It's a great way to be introduced to some of the best horror writers around right now - Datlow is a legendary editor. I recommend anyone interested in horror check out her collections. The stories in Echoes are varied in theme and from a variety of different voices.

Other ghost books that whip ass

Come With Me by Ronald Malfi - after his wife is killed in a mass shooting, a man gripped with grief discovers a secret she'd been hiding from him for their entire marriage. He picks up an investigation she had been secretly pursuing that sets him on a collision course with an apparent serial killer. A story of grief and the secrets we keep from the people we love.

The Good House by Tananarive Due - a woman has to return to her childhood home, still awash in the grief of losing her teenage son there two years ago. While staying there and with the help of an old friend, she begins to unravel the strange tangle of tragedies that have surrounded the house since her grandmother's time, and to uncover the truth of what really happened to her son. A story about generational trauma and breaking cycles.

The Last Days of Jack Sparks by Jason Arnopp - this one's great on audio. This book is told in the style of a posthumously published book from a VICE style douchebag journalist who was attempting to write a book that would once and for all disprove the existence of the supernatural. Extremely unlikable main character, but that added to the experience for me - I was very stoked to get to the part where bad things would begin to happen to Jack Sparks. This one's got a lot of dark humor and some genuinely scary scenes. Love it. Wish more people would read it.

Hope you find something in there you like! Good luck!

[iantimony]

tuez

yayyy

listening: release radar: i get it now (sammy rae) (wauuughhhh. emo. i miss my partner) come over (cat's pajamas) stuck (scene queen) nerima (raspberry pie) never me (penelope) beirut (rob blivion) rule #34 (fish in a birdcage) bourgeoisieses (conan grey) milk town/mr carter (nep) doppelganger - lullaby (ethan bortnick) my baby loves to dance (kenya grace) horror night (starcourt) (@delta-orionis, you will like this one)

some from last week that i forgor to note down: tiny human (elohim), some type of skin (aurora), chukotka (otyken), training season (dua lipa, chloe caillet mix), georgian spirit (equbeats), online (twrp), someone else (kenya grace)

aaaand formentera/formentera ii again.

podcasts: wtyp on the francis scott key bridge collapse, and jim gordon must die podcast of all time

reading: i started reading 'bunny' by mona awad because it came up as a recommendation in libby when i was returning mdzs. i am going to be valiant and give it one more chapter but i do not like it. it feels like its trying very hard to emulate a certain type of vibe that i already don't find super appealing in fiction so the trying-vibe of it makes it even more uninteresting to me. the premise is a girl at a mfa program in nebulous New England Private Liberal Arts School(tm) which like, fine, dark academia or whatever; there are four (five?? i literally cannot remember which, lol) other girls in her cohort who are a weird clique and call each other 'bunny' and are rich and sheltered but harboring a Dark Secret Club. sure. the first few chapters ooze 'not like other girls'-ism, the 'bunny' characters themselves feel flat and like caricatures in an unappealing way, main character's other friend ava also is a caricature in a boring way, just very uninspiring. like i said i will give it another chapter or two but if it continues to bore me i will return it.

i finished the scum villain extras! very charming.

watching: keeping up to date with dunmeshi, yay, and also been continuing to watch endeavor with a friend. it's good! i love a mystery show! it is impossible to watch without subtitles though because they are So British. relatedly i am going to terf island for two weeks in june (london and then edinburgh) so if you know any recs for food, places, etc i am all ears!

playing: this weekend was going to be 3 dnd games in a row ... then monday was postponed to next monday ... but my sunday group, which is normally every other week, has decided to play next sunday as well bc we skipped a few weeks ... so Next weekend is the 3 day dnd combo lmfao. i don't mind too bad.

making: pottery!!! some bisque came out and i am soooo chuffed (<- endeaver tv show britishism rubbing off on me) this will be its own post with more images because i want to @ the inspiring artist, jbbartram-illu on tumblr (shop); i am obsessed with the cave painting mugs from a few months ago that immediately sold out so i was like fuck it i wanna make my own. and i am obsessed with my lil fat horses. i put amaco ancient jasper on the inside and just a matte clear on the outside. hopefully it is matte enough. i also put little hands on the handles and now i want to make some more cave painting mugs that are just the hands, i could cut out some templates to sponge underglaze around maybe...

my beautiful cracked-the-code bowls and two maybe teacups, post-trimming:

and also trying a new glaze technique: bisqued underglaze and then liquid latex over top! that way you can slather a background on and just peel it off after without painting around the details. im ngl peeling off the latex was soooo satisfying. background is laguna celadon froth.

i've also glazed my citrus juicer, just a plain warm yellow color, looking forward to that :3

glaze: mother's day gift (planter, it's. fine. idk. she'll like it i hope), and also some fixed stuff! didn't bother taking pics, the black eye bowl from feb 6 tuesdaypost is now food safe on the inside because i sanded down the kiln medium bit that got stuck in there and re-glazed it. i also tried to fix the bowl from march 12 tuesdaypost by just lightly sanding the inside and slapping some laguna celadon froth over it...it looks exactly the same now, just with some sort of float-like blue splotches lol. no pictures of it but eh. might give it away, we'll see.

eating: Spicy Clam Pasta With Bacon, Peas and Basil Recipe (NYT): tasty. idk about 'spicy' but definitely yummy.

misc: definitely in a weird spot brain-wise...the anxiety and tummyache link/feedback loop is very real for me now, so i am going back on an extremely low dose of ssri about it, and even though i have been on this med before in much larger amount i am still experiencing aaa about it. i keep going between "going back on this is a good idea" and "or i could just keep taking ~10mg of cbd every other day bc that felt like it was doing something, even if it was just placebo i had a noticeable difference in mood" so like. bluh. idk. i wish i could just Know what the best course of action is instead of having to fuck around and find out. such is life. i am literally taking the world's babiest dose rn (breaking the starter pill in half) so it will be fine. as long as i dont get bad side effects im willing to do a few weeks on it and see what happens.

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 2/14/23

oops! all friend recs edition. this post brought to you by viewers like you. thank you!

listening

green day's last ride in, courtesy of @dying-suffering-french-stalkers. this DOES belong on a daisuke jigen lupinthethird playlist ur correct. not quote four minutes of a laid back, surf rock instrumental. above all this is the american genre of music that Wants you to think it sounds effortlessly cool, and jigen is one of very few fictional characters who puts that much work into looking effortlessly cool.

ran across some apocryphal reddit posts that are like "yeah they came up with this riff during a sound check and liked it so much they decided it didn't need lyrics". sure i'll buy that!

-

reading

The Skylark of Space by E.E. "Doc" Smith, courtesy of @believerindaydreams. restarting this audiobook available through my library, which is apparently the 1946 hardcover edition that differs wildly from editions before and after. what are those differences? who can say! i cannot easily find a breakdown!

critical reception of this book was mixed. i think the criticisms about scientific plausibility (even by 1919 standards) and dialogue are warranted. doc smith was a chemical engineer, who are certainly. types of guys. most of the fun of this book (for me) comes in recognizing the building blocks of the space opera. i like peeling up the seams and following this novel's construction decisions. i don't fully agree that this is where space operas started, but arguments about how it's the most imitated space opera are convincing.

it's quite rare i listen to an audiobook bc my ears are not friends with my brain, and it's easier to listen to chattier podcasts where if i tune out for a moment i don't miss much. the reader? performer? reed mccolm has a voice i do better with (neutral american accent in the baritenor range). i don't really know if i'd find the paper version easier or harder to follow, bc mr mccolm is doing his absolute fucking best with the voicework but doc smith does not seem overly fond of dialogue tags. it is occasionally difficult to figure out who's speaking.

a line that made me stop folding laundry and yell HELLO??? out loud: "Each girl looked at the other, and liked what she saw." unfortunately no gay shit seems to be going on, but we spend a fuck of a lot of time in this chapter going over how the spaceship works, so it's very possible they're engaging in quiet bisexualism in the background and doc smith has simply not noticed. gay shit going on in the background is not critical to our understanding of how the spaceship works.

-

watching

What's Up Doc? (1972, dir. Bogdanovich) courtesy of @nikkifromtabs. i had a fucking marvelous time with this screwball comedy. i could not give you any of the finer details of the plot or who has what bag when but i enjoyed every goddamn minute. as i write this on monday night it is singlehandedly responsible for improving a miserable day. MANY short sharp barks of laughter

i love screwballs but they tend to stress me the fuck out-- bringing up baby is verging on a horror movie for me. even though streisand's character would be the very best of friends with hepburn's character in bringing up baby, this movies stresses me the fuck out WAY less. perhaps its bc it feels more like a stage play, or more deliberately humorous, or just that the stakes feel way lower. the mile a minute dialogue is best appreciated with subtitles

can we go back to the halycon days when dudes were not waxed bare and dangerously dehydrated in order to have a shirtless scene? ryan o'neal is a handsome if slightly bland man and he looks like Just Some Guy with his shirt off. great! love it! give me more!

i was going to write a whole little thing about "everyone is beautiful and no one is horny" but we can boil it down to "seventies beauty standards are wildly different from today's" and "everyone in this movie is almost always too busy sliding in and out of various scrapes to be horny"

kung fu hustle, arsenic & old lace, and this movie are now in a three-way tie for my favorite comedy.

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playing

Dead Man's Rest courtesy of @jaimehwatson who recced this nearly three years ago and @pasta-pardner who gifted it to me last week. i have played it for three hours got three different routes and none of them are "happy". are any of them happy? is this a commentary on the inherent tragedy of revenge and the inherent tragedy of the american western, never able to escape stolen dreams on stolen land? the tyranny of the small business/farm owner only able to exist on a mountain of skeletons and heavy subsidies from the government? i am rotating this game in my mind at helicopter speeds.

also chase i agree with you this sheriff is definitely supposed to be lee van cleef

storytelling: it is uneven at best. the native american love interest's route is a particular weakness. as a review on steam said, it reads very much like the only media the devs consumed researching this was disney's pocahontas. there are some very moralistic and defensive statements throughout other routes as well that read like the devs trying to get ahead of any accusations, which makes this game much weaker as now it is neither a product of its time or ours. the mystery does unfold in a way that surprised me, and you have to go through multiple different routes with multiple people in order to get more of the solution. this is very hard to pull off and i liked this murder mystery/tragedy aspect of the game very much. i am not a mlm so i can't really comment on whether or not these romances are fulfilling, although they are straight up gay and there isn't a bisexual reading that can be applied. i, noted bisexual cowboy enjoyer, was a little disappointed that the MC cannot have a bisexual reading applied to him, he does seem very firmly at one end of the kinsey scale.

construction: there are four different ways of presenting dialogue. there are SO many routes in this thing and i feel like standardizing the text boxes would have made their lives easier? i do appreciate the vibes-based subtitles for the music and sfx. this is startlingly good caption work for a tiny idie studio.

is it "good"? did i have a "good time" playing it? fuck if i know. compels me tho.

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making

this one is For a friend but it fits the theme. baby blanket progress, about a repeat and a half in. the tentative baby date is march 5th and the tentative blanket date is uhhh probably end of may? at this pace?

[queenofbaws]

Hi! For rhe fic writer asks may I ask number 4,7,9,15 and 26? Thank you and have a good day!

hi!!! and goodness gracious, me oh my, thank YOU for giving me permission to gab and gab and gab over here! :D

4. What piece of media inspired you the most?

in terms of what fandom got me barfing the most words out, it was for sure the quarry - no surprises there, hehehe - but in terms of what media got me pumped/excited/WANTING to create more, i have to shout out the "old gods of appalachia" podcast. i'm a little behind, i'm not totally caught up with the story as of this moment, but i swear, relistening to that podcast at the beginning of the year is 100% what got me so jazzed to write like wringing blood from a stone. no question.

(this is also me saying if you're out there and you've enjoyed like wringing blood, you might want to give old gods a shot, because mmmMMMMMM it's so good. and it's very much the sort of vibe i'm going for with my hackett stuff, lmfao)

7. What character(s) captured your heart?

if you told me when i first played the quarry that i'd have a favorite hackett brother, i would believe you. if you, however, immediately followed that first statement with "and it's chris," i would not. HOWEVER, as is so often the case with me, this year i found myself falling in love with another supermassive character that gets all of 5 lines and a combined 12 minutes of screentime. chris hackett, ily.

9. What fic meant the most to you to write?

surprising NO ONE, it's for sure like wringing blood from a stone. after finishing the (almost)s, i really didn't think i'd plunge back into longfic life, but i'm here, the water's fine, and this project has absolutely become my baby. there's a lot of, like, me put into the story, a lot of (extremely abstracted) personal stories and problems being retold, and it's been a place for me to sort of find my own kind of catharsis while telling what i hope is a compelling story of another family's struggles. it also means the world that it's gotten the readership it has despite being about, uh, a very angry family struggling against themselves and each other, so it's just...it's just the project i'm the most grateful for, absolutely.

15. Rec a fic you wrote or posted in 2023

in the woods somewhere is a fic i wrote about jess. i wish i could say more about it than that, but explaining it any deeper sort of gives some stuff away. it was one of those lightning-in-a-bottle ideas that came to me fully formed and ready to go, and i spent a whole day just furiously writing it down and, to be honest, crying more than just a little ;P we don't see much of jess in until dawn - her night is pretty complicated - so i just really wanted to explore her story a little more...and give her a way to get back home in one piece <3

(i still fucking cry every time i read it, so do with that what you will askdfjaklsdjf)

26. If you had to choose one, what was THE most satisfying writing moment of your year?

i got back into my CREEPs fic!!! 🥳 it was gathering dust for SO long, but i was finally able to post a couple chapters, and though they're not ready to share just yet, i actually have the rest of the fic nearly complete. being able to get back into that WIP and sort of shake the rust off felt so, so good, and i'm REALLY hoping that energy will carry into 2024 and i'll be able to finish off a bunch of stuff i've left on the back burner!

my 2023 writing year in review!!!

[dirty-bosmer]

Me again lol. don't know why I asked the last q on anon. I just made a new blog for fandom stuff and am self conscious cause I don't have much on it. Didn't want you thinking I was a bot! Anywho, I've calmed down and actually have another question re: fic writing. I'm considering writing an Oblivion fic (thank you SO MUCH for the insp, fell in love with fic again while reading yours) and am wondering : What was your inspiration for Lucien and his relationship with Nim? It's so deliciously twisted, and I have only read one other fic that braves the territory you do (have you read Love and Blood on FF? also themes of obsession and the author's Lucien is VILE). Kinda rare to see a story that's not afraid of making him actually villainous, wicked, and believably the murderous lunatic he is in game (I dont want prince charming anymore!!!) I mean hear me out, the fanon is fun too and I got a kick out of it for years, but it's SO refreshing to read something beyond another iteration of the smooth, suave, reticent but romantic characterization in dozens of Lucien/Silencer fics.

Got any book recs for characters or relationships like the ones you write about? (hope this okay. I'm srsly just so excited rn like u kno the feeling when you finally get a fic that does it the way you see in your head and are like YES THAT LET ME CONSUME IT anywho here i'm rambling again good day)

My kind of people lmao. First of all, goodness, thank you again! I don’t know what I’m going to do with all these compliments besides become a puddle on the floor. 

That is seriously so sweet of you (despite the morbid nature of the content you are complimenting). And yeah, look, it's a story about two murderers and their descent into madness. The companionship forged between them is obviously not going to be pretty, heh. For a long while, however, I was worried no one would like it cause I gleaned that fanon Lucien is a little more... tame? Or he’s sexy XD Anyway, I've had people comment on how much of a sicko edgelord he is in the fic (both positively and negatively lol). I really appreciate that you love what I’ve done with him but just want to say there is no right or wrong way to do it! There’s stuff out there for everyone’s taste, and I am not and never will write with the intention of making the story palatable to everyone. I decided to give it my all writing him menacing and icky and pyscho cause that’s what intrigued me,. I'm happy with it! And I am Infinitely more happy that you like it too 🥰

And yeah, it makes me feel weird to say aloud that I love all that dark, twisted stuff in fiction, but the heart wants what it wants 🤷‍♀️ I just love a “romance” story that's not actually a romance at all but rather a work of horror— an exploration of the dark recesses of the human psyche that breed obsession and the all-consuming need to devour. I got a healthy, fulfilling relationship irl. I want my fictional characters to squirm a bit, and damn but I want to be equally uncomfortable when I indulge, ya know??

Gonna put the rest under a cut here:

As for inspiration regarding the relationship/Lucien, this is gonna sound so weird lol but Griffith and Guts from Berserk, Hannibal the TV show, the band Deftones (hit me up for song recs). Some creepy uncomfy books that explore similar dark themes: Damage by Justine Hart, The Vegetarian by Han Kang, Lolita by Vladimir Nabakov, You by Caroline Kepnes, Boy Parts by Eliza Clark. Also soooo many movies. There are too many to name (hit me up again hehe).

For Lucien, p much anytime I read/watch a character being a sick little freak I take note of it (see above). I’ve also listened to Dr. Ramani Durvasula’s podcasts about narcissism (she is a doctor of psychology and a leading expert in the field who was studying narcissism loooong before it became a commonly known personality trait). It really helped me understand the human capacity for manipulation and cruelty, how someone can go through life working to get what they want while only being capable of loving themselves. 

Oh, and you know, I looked it up and think I started Love or Blood a really long time ago but haven’t read any fic on FF in years cause the site is p much unusable to me. Was it about Janus Hassildor? I don’t think I ever got to the Lucien bits. Maybe I’ll pick it up again. I’ve read so many Lucien fics, I can surely read another, and if it’s similar tropes, I’ll probably enjoy it. 

While I have your attention, I would be remiss to not mention some other DB/Lucien fics that I enjoy. Next of Kin features a younger Lucien, and he and Tal (the MC) are delightful and dirty and so real. They have a great dynamic. The relationship feels earned. Also Lucien is believably a career assassin and rotten at the core while also retaining his humanity and the capacity for tenderness. I’m picky with romance in general. I can't do heavy handedness and often times I find the characterization of a loving Lucien kind of contrived or saccharine or just not for me (and that’s okay! It wasn’t written for me. We all have our preferences and mine do not skew tender D:), but this is flawlessly executed, lemme tell you. The writing is PHENOMENAL. Truly some of the best I’ve read among fic. I’ve raved about it on my blog, as it’s quite rare to find a story that balances its themes as well as this does. Also Fortune’s Favorite is very dear to me. It features another monstrous Lucien who is undeniably gross and predatory. He’s not the main focus, but the story is otherwise full of angst and sadness. So too light and love and oof, I got misty eyed at several parts. There are multiple relationships in this fic, each of them juicy, but Lucien’s relationship with the MC is a horrific descent, quite a disaster (in the best of ways) and truly so entertaining to read.

So yeah that was... a lot lol. Hope it helps. Also please tag me in anything you write! I get so excited to see new Oblivion fics and would love to talk shop and writing. It’s how we learn knew things and improve :)) 

[ravencromwell]

I love my country. By which I mean I am indebted joyfully To all the people throughout its history Who have fought the government to make right. Where so many cunning sons and daughters Our fore mothers and forefathers Came singing through slaughter Came through hell and high water. So that we could stand here And behold breathlessly the sight. How a raging river of tears Cut a grand canyon of light.

--Ani DiFranco

[rainbowintheskyf1]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favourite five fics that you've written, then pass it to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love 💖

Thank you @sebchalex for the tag! It was fun to go through all my stories and be amazed at how much I’ve written already.

carry me home, 16k, seb/kimi, explicit

Turkey 2020: The day starts like any other race day does. But when Kimi notices the impossible date on his phone, the strangest things just keep happening to him, until he realizes he’s stuck in the past. An old - or rather young - friend helps him out, in more ways than one.

The story that made me believe I can actually write longer, compelling stories. I’ve wanted to write this for ages but never got the confidence to really go for it. But once I started, everything just clicked and I’ll forever be a bit soft for this universe I created.

nowhere to run, 27k, seb/kimi, mature

Sebastian is looking forward to an amazing boat trip to some of Indonesia’s most beautiful islands, but when the dream becomes a nightmare he has to depend on a (not so) complete Finnish stranger to survive.

The cliche “stranded on a desert island” that I wrote after listening to a podcast about the subject. I just love this story, because it was one of the first where I could focus completely on the story telling and slow born and not necessarily the smut. 😂

geek in the pink, 6,5k, seb/mark, explicit

Seb knows exactly what to do or say to get a reaction from Mark and Mark always lets himself fall for it, walking right into the trap and making a fool of himself in the process.

Today was no exception.

It’s the reason how he ended up here actually. David had found him still breathing hard - his eyes screwed shut and fists balling, counting till ten after another confrontation with Sebastian - and practically dragged him to the clubs. And somewhere, somehow during the night, they’d ended up here.

In a fucking gay club.

This story gave me a headache and I very nearly quit halfway through writing this. But since it was for an exchange and for the biggest martian simp out there, giving up was not an option. I’m glad I didn’t, because it turned out to be one of my favorite stories that I’ve written!

ain’t it funny how the night moves, 12k, seb/kimi, explicit (!)

It was one of those days where Kimi didn't have time to spend on niceness. He needed sex and he needed it right now.

Or the day Kimi met Seb at a gloryhole.

I feel like the explicit rating should come with an extra exclamation point lmao. It’s a story I wrote with my bestie @sewismi-agenda who’s the greatest storyteller ever, combined with my talent for smut, we wrote an absolute banger of a story. 😌

kiss me with your eyelashes tonight, 2k, seb/jenson, seb/mark (implied), explicit

Jenson sniffed, a faint but familiar smell hitting his nose. It took him a second to work it out before he snickered softly.

“You smell like Mark,” he stated, and in turn Seb only buried himself deeper into Jenson’s embrace, shifting his head slightly to give him a kiss right on his heart.

“Hmmm, yes went to see him,” Seb mumbled.

Just a filthy pwp, but I love it. It got me out of my writers funk and made me realize I should write whatever the hell I want, not what I think others want to read.

[rascheln]

1) That's dedication to watching those seasons. I can honestly say that the fanfiction is more memorable to me than the show (which doesn't say a lot as that happens quite a bit to me)

2) I think watching it worked for me because the version had a little explanation to give context to Japan at that time. But, Psycho Pass sounds interesting

3) I remember liking Pandorum. Suspiria looks cool/interesting. Have you listened to the Left Right Game podcast? Have you seen Squid Game?

4) Thanks for the fantasy recs!

5) I haven't seen the new Blade Runner but you're not the only person who has said that.

Thank you for the pic of BB, who is tiny and adorable and looks very soft

^_^

Putting these under a read more again, whoops!!😊

1. Hahaha, I actually started watching Supernatural when it aired on german TV, got yelled at a couple of times because they episodes aired at 10 or 11pm and my mom wanted me to go to bed :'DD So before I even knew what shipping was I was deeply invested in s1-4. The fic though... I think I still have bookmarks in a folder from that time. So many bookmarks. No idea if any of them still work, though!

2. Psycho Pass is really good in its first season, but sadly drops off a lot in later seasons. Try to avoid spoilers for it, it has some pretty great twists if you wanna watch it! There's definitely historical anime or even slice of life ones out there that work with adding explanations. I think my favorite manga/anime that does that is Golden Kamuy, which is a fictional story but explores the real culture of the Ainu people in Hokkaido as well as the historical context it's set in. The manga especially is such a great mix of beautiful art, hilarious jokes and brutal fight scenes :D Oh, I also found one of my attempts at making a list of all the animes I watched... except I'm pretty sure I still forgot a bunch even with that list.

3. The Suspiria movie from 1977 is like... a fairy tale movie for adults. It has magic! It's beautifully shot, with crazy colors and it's set in a dance school that feels like a castle. The remake is good as well, but it's very differently shot and not as dream-like.

LOVED The Left Right Game!! Tessa Thompson is amazing in it! Sadly most other productions from QCode media have been... disappointing. Ages ago I made a mini rec list for horror podcasts on a sideblog and my eternal struggle is quenching my thirst for more horror and sci-fi audio dramas. If you have any you want to recommend, throw them at me!

It feels like I've seen most of Squid Game through my dashboard, but I never watched it myself. One of those instances of my allergy to TV shows probably keeping me from watching it for a while. I mean hell, I didn't start watching Stranger Things until 2020, even though i knew it was good!😂😂

Ahh I hope you find something entertaining if you check anything out- Sabriel by Garth Nix in particular is some of my all time favorite worldbuilding to this day. Kinda reminds me of Dark Souls in terms of how civilization has decayed actually.

Here's another pic of BB just for you Anon, thank you for talking to me<33

This is how she chooses to sleep??