#I've only finished the desk for the scifi one

[blysse-and-blunder]

in lieu of a commonplace book

saturday, jan 27, 2024

*brennan lee mulligan voice* heeeeeeeelllllllllllllloooooooOOOOOOOOO one and all and welcome back for another thrilling episode of...whatever this is. thank you for being here.

It's 2024! Say hi, intrepid heroes!

reading recently finished:

-orwell's roses by rebecca solnit (audio) - glad I listened, ultimately very gratifying - history, criticism, extremely lush garden-filled prose and love for growing things - nona the ninth by tamsyn muir - felt so much about [redacted] it made me cry. i can unblock ALL THE TAGS NOW - the blue sword by robin mckinley (audio) - catching up on old school fantasy continues -when the angels left the old country by sacha lamb (audio) - beautiful. not not in conversation with good omens but doing something different.

recently begun: -the ministry of the future by kim stanley robinson - can't decide if it's a scifi novel or a policy brief about ways to combat climate change- reading on my mom's recommendation -babel: an arcane history by r.f.kuang - withholding judgment, but i know you probably want me to hate it and so far i don't, really! to my own surprise -the shadow of the wind by carlos ruiz zafrón (audio) - spooky, post-modern but incredibly good at sounding like it is of the time it depicts. many thoughts on the audio book narrator's accent work, most favorable -one corpse too many by ellis peters. wild that i have only just begun reading the cadfael mysteries

listening last week was about discovering and putting on continuous loop the group trousdale on the recommendation of @m2pixie (!) and other trusted friends; the energy, the harmonies! they fill a girl group void i didn't realize i had, it feels like the best kind of throwback, like old chicks or something, some desperately needed bops. exhibit a: bad blood.

today my daylist introduced me to joy oladokun and i'm so glad it did. love her vibe, love this cover art. had to take a picture of my desk, the visuals were so satisfying.

watching the newest series of netflix's lupin!! so far i'm really, really enjoying where this season has been spending most of its time-- the new characters, the new heists, the new stakes. especially fun to watch with friends where we can all shout about the mrs doubtfire of it all, the betrayals, the misdirection, the 'he can't keep getting away with this!.' the original lupin series will always bring back memories of watching it in early lockdown; i'm glad that there's this now to think about and remember instead.

playing hollow knight hollow knight hollow kniiiiiiight. bought it a few months ago when it was on sale, after hanging out and watching @dimir-charmer stream for us a bit, but playing it yourself is a different game. i'm having a blast. it's becoming a problem. i'm having to be so so good and mature in how much i let myself just get suckered in to a full day spent in my little buggy maze adventures. the temptation to keep going until i've made a meaningful advancement of some kind (today: got the longer nail! last time: beat hornet! saved zote the mighty, got the baldur shell charm, and beat the gruz mother!) is very, very real. have also gotten around this by listening to lots of lo-fi hollow knight beats to relax and study to while being 'productive.'

(found this screenshot online, and holy extra health batman)

making pancakes. lots and lots of weekend pancakes. sent a bunch of mail since new year's, and have some new arts and crafts (charcoal pencils!! those little paper cone blender guys! better paper) to fuck around with next time i want to get ~artistic. watch this space.

working on teaching is so all-consuming. it's great, i love it. the course (maps class! if you see that tag, this is that) is going well, i think! first three lectures down. the students i've gotten to know i really like, the material has yet to get old (see one - do one - teach one is so real. i understand this class now, finally, in a way i don't think i did just being the TA, even after three times). it takes so much longer to just copy-paste-change color and font on slides than it should! i've regularly been getting four-five hours of sleep on monday nights before teaching on tuesdays, but it has meant that i don't have the brain space to be self-conscious while i'm 'on', i just. go. having fun selecting teaching 'fits, having (less) fun handling all the students who joined in the second or third week and need help with catching up, but it's not their fault there was a waiting list and lots of turnover.

(petrus roselli - portolan chart of the mediterranean, 1466)

non-teaching: - student letter of recommendation for dental school (DONE) - conference panel proposal (due 1/31) -submit revised conference paper for that prize (due 1/30) -send draft of grant application to A for her to be able to write a letter of recommendation (due IMMEDIATELY WHY ARE YOU ON TUMBLR) (you have until 2/15 to fix it but she needs the draft!) -chapter 3 edits (lmao) -read for that other course you're meant to be the TA for (oops) - give i. feedback on her thing (tonight) -RAship hours (c'mon these are actually paid work, please do them)

[poppiesforthirteen]

3. Do you write fics from start or finish, or jump around?

5. What is the perfect environment for you to write in?

10. Do you enjoy writing dialogue, exposition, or plot the most?

12. Is there a trope you haven’t written yet but really want to?

17. What fic are you most proud of?

18. What is a line/scene you’re really proud of? Give us the DVD commentary for that scene.

19. Who is the easiest/hardest character for you to write about? Why?

3. Do you write fics from start or finish, or jump around?

from start to finish! if i jump around i can't make the pieces fit together

5. What is the perfect environment for you to write in?

it's 11pm, i'm in bed on my phone in the dark, hyperfocused, google docs open. i have one song open on spotify and only stop writing to press play every 3½ minutes. when i resurface it's 2:30 am and i've created a new masterpiece of transformative literature (sometimes this process will also start at 7am and end around 12ish)

alternatively, heavily caffeinated at my desk, with both my laptop and my phone open to the same document before me, alternating between the two every so often, spotify's dark academia classical or creative writing playlist playing. this is better for screenplays due to formatting requirements

10. Do you enjoy writing dialogue, exposition, or plot the most?

DIALOGUE oh i love writing speech - i hate exposition so much and tend to skirt around plot a little but dialogue is my favourite

12. Is there a trope you haven’t written yet but really want to?

i'd love to write a proper bed sharing fic! so far i've mostly hinted at it, but i need to play out all the Actual Tenderness of it

17. What fic are you most proud of?

currently? every version of the story ends with you - it's not necessarily my favourite work or even my favourite screenplay, but it represents a milestone for me. i remember taking a break from writing at the point that (spoilers!) the war snuck into the plot for the second time after i forced it out and telling myself, if you can't write this alien invasion - not even well, just write it - then you're not cut out to be a scifi writer. so i did, i muscled through, finished and posted it, and now i'm applying to writing schools in the uk :)

18. What is a line/scene you’re really proud of? Give us the DVD commentary for that scene.

talking about thirteen meeting the timeless child in we'll do it right

the fic starts with the doctor doing gallifreyan maths on the tardis walls as a stim, to keep her mind on track while she processes what happened to her. i've paralleled it here:

Towards the back of the room, the Timeless Child sits and draws circles in crayon on the wall.

maybe it's a coincidence, but the doctor takes it as proof. nothing really changes. it's a - forgive the pun - circular narrative, in this moment, the doctor feels just as much at tecteun's mercy as the child is. inescapable. maybe the child senses it as well; the doctor is so distanced from herself she doesn't know what she's thinking when their eyes meet:

This is what happens to you. Please tell me you like it.

the doctor is distant from herself, but tecteun's influence is so so close, it's paralysing. no wonder she can feel the child's fear (to the point of a phantom regeneration, they're not dying, but their body reacts like it) across bodies:

She slumps down, leaning against the shut door and closes her eyes as the first hint of phantom regeneration pricks her palms again. Breathes in through her nose and out through her mouth and tries not to imagine sparks flying from her lips.

the doctor is overwhelmed by her own helplessness - she can't cope with being ineffective, so she takes approach after approach after approach ro save herself. the way i see this fic, it takes place just before flux, when (rather than chasing the child's early life) the doctor tries to find her past self in her present. her failures make her relentless, disappointing yaz makes her secretive. a set up for a tragedy <3

19. Who is the easiest/hardest character for you to write about? Why?

paradoxically, koschei is both easiest and hardest for me to write. whenever i write him, i'm flying blind a little, i don't know what he's "actually" like and that gives me a lot of freedom i'm not used to. at the same time, i'm very familiar with my version of koschei, and the experiences that dominate his world - in love with his closest friend, bound by social norms, full of potential, huge expectations, even greater ambitions. living in the moment and yearning for the future

he's tricky to work with, trying to stay true to him and not knowing what to stay true to. it's a lot of fun though lol

thanks for your ask bestie <3 <3 <3 <3

[mynamisfab]

A tag game of sorts! Thank you @bookwyrminspiration :)

Rules!

-Make a new post

-No reblogging

-Tag people you wanna get to know better

Favourite Colour: I don't think I have a favourite colour, a forest green is pretty good though. Or pink! Or like a turquoise

Currently reading: I am not currently reading anything for myself, aside from webtoons that km waiting for updates on (Stray souls by Maf, The Croaking by echorise, Castel Swimmer by Wendy Lian Martin, and TACIT by KimDazzi). I am, however, reading the odyssey for my classics class. Homer really liked coming up with different names for gods.

Last Song: Ghost Duet by Louise Zong

Last Movie: Uhhhhh, idk, i don't watch movies very often- I don't have the attention span- I guess it was the Odyssey (Classics again), but for myself, hmmmm probably the Matrix

Sweet, savory, or spicy: 65% sweet and 35% savory, i need a balance between the two. I physically cannot handle any spice at all, I am a weak boy :<

Three Fav Ships: Of all time? Kappa x Siren from castle swimmer, Mialek x Joen from Stray Souls, and Gaston x LeFou maybe (or Percabeth, I guess)? Man, its hard to rank ships. Tropes are easier (Enimies to lovers, idiots to lovers, big buff softie and little twink evil incarnate)

First Ship: Dude I don't know, I was a weird little child. Going back as far as my memory would allow... Maybe Kai x Skylor from ninjago??? I don't really know what this one was asking of me, there are many ways to interpret it.

Currently working on: At least two drawings that are more complicated than I usually do. One is Fintan in his firey glory, and one is an oc that I've shoved into sci-fi land because he loves the stars so why not

Comfort food: I am assuming anything to be put in someone's mouth to calm them, so I would say chocolate!

Favourite time of the year: Autumn. Very autumn. Or spring. The only times of the year when I can escape the muted greens of the land around me. And spring/summer is when the Kōwhai trees flower and the Tui rush to get the nector. (Fun fact! Kōwhai tree leaves turn into the seeds, and they're similar to fern I guess and you can pluck the tiny leaves and throw it on people like its confetti)

Favourite fanfic: I don't think I have one, but mostly anything mermaid related, My Sweetest Devil by DemonicPiano on ao3 or Time ticks on without you by XxRainbowHeartxX on ao3

Tagssss: @fintan-pyren @its-lord-fintan-to-you @dolentsnows and anyone else who wants to :)