#I've read a bit of another interview with her last week

[stromuprisahat]

I think what I hate most about Alina's ending- the cruelty of it aside-, is LB's hypocrisy to claim she had to butcher the girl thus as a punishment for her "greed", since LB as a writer's refusing to break the rules of her own world only because someone's THE hero... then merrily proceeds to literally bring the Blade Boy from the dead and give him his custom-mutilated property, gift-wrapped with a nice bow and Crown-funded mansion to boot.

[beerok23]

2024 FIC Roundup

In response to those of you who tagged me (@pookasluagh @captainblou and @missunderstoodlyrics) here is my AO3 author interview.

What fandoms do you write in? At the moment, only for Good Omens! But in the past I've written for Friends, The Pretender and Alias.

How many words have you published in 2024? So far, 186,754 words. I'll soon have a new Christmas fic to post that will definitely increase the count to more than 200k.

What is your greatest achievement this year? Starting to write for this fandom. When I started reading canon post S2 fix-it fics at the end of 2023 I didn't know that I would fall in love with AUs. Today I'm sure that this is a fandom that can express the best AU - if only for the fact that canon is 'fantasy' and AU are 'realistic'. I've changed my style from AE to BE and I'm trying to strengthen my writing. It's not always easy, but I've found beta readers who are so helpful in the process. I can't thank them enough.

What are your favorite top three fics you wrote this year? I've only posted two long fics, which are obviously the favorite I wrote: The Tadfield Holiday (A human ‘The Holiday’ AU) Runaway Groom (A human ‘Runaway Bride’ AU)

But as I mentioned, I'll soon post my Xmas fic 🎄🎁

What was your biggest pit of despair moment? I don't think I ever got desperate, but sometimes it's not easy being a non-native speaker. And the thing I've struggled with the most? Smut scenes 😁 What have you learned? Go with the flow. When the flow hits, just go with it. I'm saying this after writing almost 40k words in less than three weeks.

Did you beta any fics? Actually, I am! I'm not a useful beta when it comes to language, but I'm the best cheeleader 😁😁😁

What three fics have you read this year that you love? Only three? Impossible. I've read hundreds of them. I always read fics and most of all I re-read my faves. So here's a few.

and salt the Earth behind you by @sunrisesinthesuburbs The love and respect I have for this author is immeasurable. Just RUN read EVERYTHING she writes. Of course her Borrowed Words is a masterpiece, but I have a special place in my heart for Profiler Aziraphale and CI Crowley.

Overboard by @joanofart5 I write film-inspired AUs, and Joan did the same with this little gem. It's based on the 1980's romcom 'Overboard' and it's funny, and lovely and makes you FEEL all the right feelings.

Find the Light by @klikandtuna Oh, what an extremely talented author 💛 You've got Headmaster!Aziraphale and Rockstar!Crowley all cuddled up in an awesomely fluff story. Wonderful ❤

The New Road (is an old friend) by @missunderstoodlyrics Pastor!Aziraphale meets SingleDad!Crowley and his daughter Mira. Pining ensured and angst that made me die a little (a sweet death, mind you). Still one of my personal faves by this incredibly talented author.

I'll tell you who's in charge by @captainblou is still my fave of them. But even in other fics, Blou has this wonderful way with words and smut scenes and writing badass Crowley who's actually the sweetest creature. And the way they write about trans characters is the best in the fandom.

When Hell Freezes Over by @hermiola She has a WIP (subscribe, it's hilarious) and she's recently finished her Pretty Woman AU "Take a Little Love From Me", but I discovered her with this two-chapters one shot featuring a charming Peter-Vincent-inspired!Crowley and journalist!Aziraphale. I'm so glad we are collaborating, because your writing truly inspires me 💙💙💙

But oh there are so many others fellow authors: @bellisima-writes ("The Last Angel" is one of the more complex well-thought plots I've ever read), @feraltuxedo (If "All lines are open" was a book, I would have consummated its pages by now), @fellshish (My gosh, how many times I've read "Trial & error"?), @lyricalkris ("The Devil Built a Chapel" killed me 💚💛).

What ideas are percolating for next year? One too many. That's why I'll probably stop writing for a bit. I mean, there might be another movie-inspired AU project in the work, but...We'll see 💜

Who do you want to thank? My three besties, @pookasluagh, @somewhere-in-wales and @ineffablerainstorm. You know everything already 💚💛❤💜🧡🤍 And also, all the writers who make this fandom the precious, peaceful place it is. We've been through a lot this year. But we get them back together in less than a month.

And I can't wait.

[fkinkindagauche]

Fanfic Writer Interview

Thank you for tagging me @dame-zoom-a-lot! I can never resist a tag from you.

What fandoms do you write in?

Right now just Stranger Things. I wrote one lil OFMD fic and one The Locked Tomb fic years ago, but nothing recent. However, I am working on another OFMD fic for the @fandomtrumpshate auction that I'm excited about. And I'm doing a re-read of The Locked Tomb and champing at the bit to write Gideon again so that may happen, too.

How many words did you publish in 2024?

233K. Which is honestly embarrassing given I started in July. I'm terrified of what this year's total is going to be.

What are your top three fics you wrote last year?

Someone To Bleed, Possibly Maybe, Cocoon

What was your biggest pit of despair moment?

Oh I get into pits of existential despair at least once a week, where I ask myself what the fuck I'm even doing with my life which also includes fanfic writing. But that's just regular Gauche-brain stuff. The biggest pit of despair was probably when I first started posting Someone To Bleed. I was pretty new to the fandom, and the first two longer fics I'd posted were omegaverse, which, IMO, get a lot of love and views even if nobody knows who the fuck the author is, because there's a shit-ton of delightful freaks in fandom who want people to fuck each other wolfishly. I wasn't expecting how much longer it would take for people to find my fic when it wasn't in that omegaverse sweet spot, but instead in the pretty oversaturated vampire subgenre. It didn't get much traction at all when it was first posted, and I loved it so much that it was hard for me to handle as someone just starting out. But I got over it.

What have you learned?

Having a beta actually really helps. I know, WHAT A SHOCK. I started out as a grumpy loner who just wanted to sit on my fanfic hoard like a little goblin and "beta everything myself", but then through the @eddiemunsonbigbang server I started working with @dame-zoom-a-lot as a beta, and then I just made her keep beta-ing my stuff. He would have made me put a period somewhere in that run-on sentence, I'm sure. Not only has it improved my writing (obviously), but it's also just so much more fun to be able to talk to someone about what I'm creating.

Did you beta any fics last year? Any faves you want to shout out?

I'm trying to remember if there were any I actually beta'd last year. I've done a BUNCH already in 2025, but last year... It was probably all Steddie Winter Exchange stuff. I beta'd in the morning by @the-winged-doe, that was a good Upside Down-y twist on sex pollen. One Night in the City by @kayleeofcamelot was a vampire fic AND an omegaverse fic, and very cute!

What three fics from last year did you love?

It's illegal for you to ask me to keep it to three. But I'll fucking do it, fine. - Cheating a little already and saying @dame-zoom-a-lot's whole series for Metalsandwich Bingo, Object Oriented Magicking. Absolutely fantastic worldbuilding, good smut, fantastic Billy characterization (and all of them, it's just harder for me to find writers whose Billy voices I like). Do It Scared was my particular favorite. - The Fish Guy series by @stevieschrodinger. Such cool monster biology, and THEY'RE SO SWEET IT KILLS ME. - Stiff by Day, Stiffer by Night by @oralmisery. Absolutely 10/10 crackfic, I think about it every time I see a mannequin.

What ideas are percolating for this year?

SO MANY. I'm currently writing a Fruity Four murder fic that's very heavy on Platonic Stobin, with side Steddie and Ronance, and I'm really enjoying it. I want to actually do some substantive work on my Twin Peaks AU instead of just thinking about it all the time. Was thinking about doing an arranged marriage omegaverse thing because I need to collect all the tropes like Pokémon. And, of course, the OFMD thing I mentioned for FTH. I am also going to keep doing the Mer Harringrove universe, I just need to get back in the mood.

Always an open tag, PLEASE do it if you want to even if you haven't been specifically tagged because I am looking you in the eye and tagging you right now, whoever you are.

Specific tags (picking some random moots, sorry if you've already been tagged!): @kayleeofcamelot, @cxwzkeys, @onirislanding, @runninriot, @mojowitchcraft

[sydsaint]

I'm so down bad for him it's despicable. 😩

Summary: The reader has a helpless crush on LA Knight and doesn't know what to do with herself. That is until her bff Samantha Irvinge steps in to help.

You are hanging out backstage for Smackdown with Samantha Irvinge before the show starts. Samantha is chatting with you about plans for after the show before she gets ready to head out to the timekeeper area for the evening.

"What are you doing after the show, Y/N?" Samantha asks you casually as she fixes her lipstick with her pocket mirror. "Y/N?" She asks again when you don't answer her.

After you once again don't provide her with an answer, Samantha sets down her mirror and turns to look at you. You're sat a few feet behind Samantha and looking across the room with a dreamy twinkle in your eyes.

"Y/N!" Samantha pokes at your arm, prompting you a bit louder this time.

"Hmm?" You finally snap out of your thoughts and turn to your friend. "Sorry, what was the question, Sam?" You ask her.

Samantha quirks a perfectly shaped eyebrow at you. "Girl, where were you just now?" She asks you.

"Umm, right here. Sitting with you, last time I checked." You reply with a scoff.

"Girl, no," Samantha replies. "You were definitely somewhere else just now." She insists. "What were you staring at that was so interesting anyway?"

You watch Samantha turn around in her chair and glance in the direction you were seemingly lost in. But by the time her gaze reaches the other side of the room, whatever, or rather, whoever you were staring at is long gone.

"I was just spacing out, okay?" You claim when Sam looks back at you.

"Mhm." Samantha doesn't buy your excuse one bit. "You've been acting all dreamy-eyed and distracted for a few weeks now." She claims. "And I am going to find out who's got you so smitten. Eventually."

You shake your head with a small smile. "It's no one, really, Sam." You insist. "Now come on, we've both got a busy night.."

Samantha sighs but drops the subject for the moment so she's not late for work. She heads out to the timekeepers area in the arena and you remain backstage to conduct interviews for the night.

The camera crew shows up a few minutes later and you mingle with them for a while until you're needed. You smooth out your dress when the crew signals that you've got an interview coming up and wait to see who shows up.

"Y/N! There's my favorite girl!" LA Knight comes striding into the room with his usual confident aura and your heart skips a beat.

"LA Knight, how are you feeling after your encounter with The Bloodline earlier tonight?" You ask, quickly reading from the teleprompter set up off-screen. "Specifically your altercation with Solo Sikoa just a week out from your title match against Roman Reigns?"

You move the microphone away from your mouth and toward Knight, as he towers above you. His electric gaze meets yours and butterflies explode in your stomach.

You've done thousands of interviews with the single and very attractive plethora of men that WWE has to offer. But not one of them has managed to make you as nervous and giddy as LA Knight does by simply making eye contact and smiling at you.

"Ah, you weren't worried about me, were you, sweetheart?" Knight teases you with a chuckle that makes your knees weak. "That bigheaded brute Solo Sikoa ain't no match for The Megastar! You should know that, darlin'." He winks at you playfully.

"Right, of course." You smile to yourself, unable to stop yourself from stroking Knight's ego. "I've just been informed that General Manager, Nick Aldis has pit you in a match tonight against Sikoa, in the main event. Thoughts on that?" You ask another question.

Knight chuckles again, licking his lips as he continues to look down at you with that undeniable charm and swagger of his. "It seems to me like Mr. Aldis knows exactly what he's doing as general manager of Smackdown. He's got the megastar in the main event! Solo doesn't stand a chance against me, sweetheart. And that, honey, is just a fact of life!" He adds his signature catchphrase at the end. "Because who's game is it? Come on, sweetheart, you know."

"LA Knight's?" You can't help but answer him with a wide smile.

"Yeah!" Knight grins. "I'll catch you later, darlin'." He adds before swaggering off to get ready for his match.

You laugh to yourself, adrenaline coursing through your body like it always does after you do interviews with Knight.

Later into the night, Smackdown has come to an end and everyone is waiting to pack up and leave. Samantha catches you backstage again and the two of you chat.

"Hey, Samantha? Can I ask you something?" You ask Sam while you're both packing up to leave.

"Yeah, sure. What's up, Y/N?" Samantha nods and stops what she's doing to listen to you.

You bite your bottom lip and stop packing up your bag as well. "When you and Ricochet first started chatting? What did it feel like for you?" You ask her.

"What do you mean?" Samantha replies.

"Like...I don't know. There's this guy, you obviously know that much, Sam. I've flirted with plenty of guys before, sure. But with this one, it's different." You try and explain.

Samantha nods and scoots closer to you. "You feel like you're a mess around him? Like you're weak in the knees or have butterflies when he talks to you?" She suggests.

"Yes! Exactly!" You eagerly nod. "I've never felt like this with a guy before, Sam."

"That's how it was with Ricochet and I," Samantha explains further. "It always seemed like he knew just what to say or do. When we talked? He made me feel like the only girl in the world. And eventually, I just couldn't ignore the pull anymore." She adds.

You nod, sure that's how Knight is making you feel. And as fate would have it, Knight happens through the backstage area on his way out of the arena. You lock onto him as he walks by and that look is all Samantha needs to figure out who your mystery man is.

"LA Knight, huh, Y/N?" Samantha giggles as Knight passes by.

"What?" You reply, not realizing that you'd been staring.

Before you can get another word out to defend yourself, Knight turns around and saunters over to you and Samantha. "Well, what do we have here? A couple of Smackdown's finest ladies talking about one of my favorite subjects. Myself." He winks at you and Samantha.

"Yeah, Y/N and I were just discussing dinner plans," Samantha replies. "I had plans with my fiance tonight, so I was going to have to raincheck dinner with her. But now that you're here..." She drops a hint Knight's way.

"Well, I'd be a damn fool to leave a lady hanging when it comes to dinner." Knight chuckles. "Especially when it comes to my favorite girl. How about it, Y/N? My treat, of course."

You take a spare second to not shower Samantha with all your love and affection for being the ultimate wingwoman before you reply. "I'd love dinner, yeah." You agree to Knight's offer.

"Perfect!" Knight nods. "Well, you already look absolutely stunning. Just give me a minute to pull my car around and we'll head out." He explains.

You nod and Knight walks off. As soon as he's gone you turn to Samantha and let the beast loose. "I love you so freaking much!" You squeal in excitement.

"I know." Samantha grins as you crush her against you in a hug. "Now go have fun with the man of your dreams, girl! I want the details in the morning. If you can make it out of bed after he's done with you." She teases you.

"Samantha!" You laugh.

"What? You know I'm right." Sam continues to laugh.

[kazz-brekker]

hotd episode 8 thoughts

hmmm. i remember reading an interview with the writers of this show before the season dropped where they lowkey threw shade at hbo and very heavily implied that having 8 episodes rather than 10 was not their choice and i can very much feel that with this episode

it felt a lot more like a penultimate episode of a season rather than the season finale. all of that set-up with the marching armies at the end of the episode really felt more like a "and next week, a big battle!" kind of thing rather than a "in 2 years, you'll see a big battle!"

why is this show acting like the war is only just starting…we saw named characters toasting each other 4 episodes ago…

i was otto hightower-baited! i saw the name rhys ifans in the opening credits and went !!!!! only for a single shot him in the last minute of the episode, i feel robbed!

i did find tyland lannister's visit to the triarchy very funny. no bureaucrat in the history of westeroes has ever suffered like this man. also sharako lohar was DEFINITELY hitting on him, you cannot convince me otherwise

as someone perpetually annoyed that in game of thrones daario naharis has brown hair rather than blue i appreciate that the tyroshi sailors had dyed hair

the aegon-larys alliance really become one of the unexpected highlights of the second half of this season. they're going on their little essos vacation together!

god rhaena you deserved so much better this season and so much more screentime. we should have seen more of you and jeyne arryn!

entertained to see that ulf is quickly becoming that coworker that no one likes

rhaenyra. girl. i love you but please stop with this bloodless warfare thing. you have six dragons on your side, stop hesitating about using them!

all of those soldiers standing around in the background clearly eavesdropping on criston and gwayne's argument was very funny

kind of loving all this insecurity about his parentage they're giving jace, it's nice to have some conflict with his character

i liked the little dragon heads on rhaenyra's dress at the dinner with the dragonseeds

alys rivers sitting on the edge of daemon's bed like his own personal sleep paralysis demon made me chuckle a bit

his final weirwood vision was such blatant fanservice but as a fan of daenerys and bloodraven i can't be that mad about it

can someone check on that portion of the fandom that used to ship helaena and aemond, i feel like they're not doing so hot right now after those scenes

i did think it was strange that helaena could so clearly communicate aemond's death to him when she had such a hard time doing so with her other visions in the past? but perhaps nothing clarifies your sinister visions of the future like being mad at your sibling

i was really happy that rhaenyra and daemon reunited! i've missed matt smith and emma d'arcy having scenes together this season a lot. plus, i know their relationship is all kinds of fucked-up but i just loved seeing them speak in high valyrian to each other again. and it's always nice to see daemon kneel before his wife

glad that alyn got to really chew out corlys on his failures as a father, that's been a long time coming

i wasn't expecting rhaenyra and alicent to have another scene together this season but ngl it was kind of fun, emma d'arcy and olivia cooke really just eat up every scene they have with each other

plus the reversal of their dynamic from the episode 3 meeting was interesting, with rhaenyra being very unyielding and alicent being desperate to connect

i enjoyed seeing rhaenyra be mean to alicent, especially the whole "son for a son" thing. yes, rhaenyra! alicent's son killed yours! please be mad about it, you deserve it!

i just feel like the end of this seaon lacked the punch that season 1 had, it felt more like a little showcase of all the fun stuff that was coming rather than definitive cliffhanger. i mean, c'mon, we don't even get to see the fall of king's landing????

[isindismay]

WAHHH I WATCHED THE COBRA KAI FINALE! Spoilers ahead! Don't be tempted to click if you haven't seen it yet!

I have so much to say but i LOVED it. Thank god, thank god, i thought this might ruin my whole YEAR. Staying off social media for a week was definitely the right choice, and the spoilers and leaks i did hear about didn't ruin my enjoyment of it. Do i ruin my reputation by admitting i got to the bottom of a box of tissues? It was so damn emotional, man!

Almost screaming at the TV when Da-Eun was faced with her decision. So fucking proud of both her and John for telling Master Kim to fuck off with his revenge bullshit, i was so scared from the preview that this was gonna be their whole thing in these last episodes, obliterating all their volition. Way to break the cycle of violence! This is what i've been saying the show is all about all along so i'm very happy.

Johnny and Daniel getting to be great mentors in their own ways was fantastic to see. And the kids all finding their individual paths was great. Felt like they kinda forgot about Kenny and Devon and Anthony though, which was a shame. Maybe they should have given them the time they gave to really minor characters like Louie's cousin and Chozen's "date" who did the most bullshit tarot reading in the history of television (although that was kinda funny).

Tory getting her win was so important to me, and loved seeing her train with Sam. And Johnny giving Miguel his headband! I was gutted for Robby, but he took it extraordinarily well and got a happy ending anyway. And binary brothers AI Axel was so silly, i loved it! The focus on the romantic jealousy between the rivals was a bit eh for me, but i liked the resolution of Sam and Miguel and Tory and Robby's relationships. Oh and Sam getting Mr Miyagi's mother's necklace was lovely, and a good tie-up of the dubious Mr Miyagi thieving storyline from part 2.

So proud of Johnny for shaking off his "loser" label and getting to WIN! The twist ending where he had to fight was such bullshit but i loved it. Eaglewolf fight YEAH! The whole proposal and wedding bit was nicely done, and somehow intercutting samtory and binary boyfriends scenes was blatant fan pleasing behaviour but nonetheless lovely. The whole family/community that Daniel and Johnny have created around themselves through karate was highlighted and i loved that. The friends we made along the way were more important than anything else ftw!

The Johnny taking over Cobra Kai bit again wasn't as bullshit as i expected it to be (which is not zero bullshit, but it was entertaining and felt right). Seeing Wolf and Terry going oh fuck no they're cheating too that's not fair was totally worth it.

Wolf getting to be even more of an asshole than before, hell yes! And most importantly, getting a name! Although apparently Sensei Wolf is an alias so i guess we're valid for calling him that? Also proud of Axel for standing up to him and fighting his own way, their dynamic was a fun parallel of Kreese and Johnny had it gone another way (they both lost their fights but Axel's loss felt like a win for him.)

I was nervous when i read that TIG interview where he talked about Terry being terminally ill, and falsely thought that storyline had been dropped. Personally i thought they handled it fine, i liked that they showed Terry showing true vulnerability and struggling, but also still managing to be strong and fight. They also highlighted how alone he was which was SAD. (also with him gone there was a reflection of this in how Wolf was utterly without anyone on his side after alienating Zara and Axel, further highlighting how WE ALL LOVE AND SUPPORT JOHNNY!)

I would have liked them to have spent more time on John's realisation about the error of his ways and his chats with Da-Eun, Tory and Johnny, they seemed short and abrupt in typical tv fashion, but i'm not unhappy with what they did, like with Terry it was deeply deeply SAD. Would've liked him to at least give Tory a hug or congratulated her on her win, but eh, the man feels like he has to leave, so it felt right for him even though my heart aches that it felt like he could have been loved and accepted by these people but just couldn't let them.

I feel like i set myself up for horrible disappointment when i get heavily invested in villains, so i was really fucking nervous about their endings. My top choice was they run away together, however murder suicide WAS the only other ending i would have found acceptable. Loved their fight on the yacht. They might have been too repressed to talk about anything other than their students but they got to roll around on the floor together and do horrible things to each other. (I kinda wanted Terry to guilt-trip John for being an asshole to a poor, terminally ill man despite the fact that he didn't mention his illness to him, but hey that's what fanfiction is for i guess.) But you know what the best part is, i mean, other than them having a really fucking cool death, together? CANCER IS A BASTARD BUT JOHN KREESE IS A BIGGER BASTARD! HE FUCKING KICKED CANCER'S ASS! And that will never stop being so important and powerful, at least to me (and to Tory and Devon, if they ever find out). For that alone, he is a hero in my eyes. And Terry didn't have to die of his disease (with the timing i was scared he might just keel over mid-tournament) or see his last chance of winning fail AND he got to die by the hand of the man he said he would do anything for. I am sure i will be sobbing my eyes out over them and writing absolutely devastating fics inspired by their ending for a good long while yet.

HELL YES! The show might be over but COBRA KAI NEVER DIES!

[natlacentral]

'I've got to pinch myself': Paul Sun-Hyung Lee on playing Iroh in 'Avatar: The Last Airbender'

Presumably the people outside a local car dealership a couple of years ago who heard Paul Sun-Hyung Lee let out a “huge whoop” during a phone call with his agent didn't fully grasp the significance of that celebratory sound.

The Toronto actor beloved as the internet’s “Appa” thanks to “Kim’s Convenience” and a popular part of the “Star Wars” universe, too, was about to become the internet’s favourite uncle.

Lee had landed the role of Uncle Iroh in “Avatar: the Last Airbender,” Netflix’s much anticipated live-action reimagining of a well loved animated series (not to be confused with James Cameron’s “Avatar” films).

“Honestly, I have moments where I think I’ve got to pinch myself because, even as a youngster, I never would have believed that I could be a part of these things, because I never saw anybody who looked like me reflected in any of these shows,” the Korean Canadian actor said, reflecting on his roles in “Airbender” and the “Star Wars” spinoffs “The Mandalorian” and “Ahsoka,” in which he plays the popular Captain Carson Teva.

As Iroh in “Airbender,” Lee has stepped into the robes of another fan favourite character.

First, a bit of a primer: “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” which debuts Thursday, is about a 12-year-old boy, the “Avatar” of the title, on a quest to save the world from the rapacious Fire Nation, which has gone to war with the Earth, Water and Air peoples. Despite his youth, Avatar Aang (played by Vancouver actor Gordon Cormier) is a powerful “bender,” honing his ability to manipulate air, water, earth and fire.

Aang and his friends — Katara, a water bender (played by Indigenous Canadian Kiawentiio), and her brother, Sokka (American actor Ian Ousley) — are being hunted by fire bender Prince Zuko (American Dallas Liu), who’s accompanied by his wise and compassionate Uncle Iroh, himself a fire bender and a former Fire Nation general.

If that all sounds kind of geeky, well, that’s right up Lee’s alley.

The 51-year-old has well-established nerd bona fides as a fan of “Star Wars” and other science fiction (he shares his love of the genre on his Bitterasiandude Inc. YouTube channel). He caught up with the original “Avatar: The Last Airbender” (which aired on Nickelodeon from 2005 to 2008, then moved to Netflix) while he was still working on the CBC comedy “Kim’s Convenience” (2016-21), in which he played a South Korean immigrant who runs a convenience store in Toronto. 

In 2018, as new fans were discovering “Kim’s” worldwide after the series moved to Netflix, the streaming giant announced its remake of “Airbender,” setting in motion Lee's ascent into another dream role. 

“Almost immediately I got fan casted (as Iroh) by all these people on the internet,” Lee said in a Zoom interview. “I was very, very flattered, but I was doing ‘Kim’s.’”

A few years later, though, “Kim’s” had ended and Lee got an audition for what was billed as a basketball movie called “Blue Dawn,” as a coach who had come out of retirement to guide his nephew.

Although he’s “more of a baseball, hockey guy,” Lee taped the audition and then forgot about it, until a callback a couple of months later. Except now, the retired basketball coach Howard was named Iroh.

“There’s only one Iroh that I know of,” said Lee. “And so I remember thinking, ‘Oh my God, this is for “Avatar”’ … right away I got super nervous. The stakes went up and I really wanted this part.”

But, after doing a chemistry read with Liu and not hearing anything for a couple of weeks, Lee assumed he had missed out on the role, which is part of the lot of an actor … until his agent called just as Lee and his wife were about to sign a lease on a new vehicle.

“So I excused myself, leaving the salesman completely befuddled. I went outside and that’s when I learned that I landed the role. And immediately let out this huge whoop. I had forgotten that I was in a public area and there were lots of people outside, and they all suddenly looked at me and I said, ‘It’s OK. It’s good news. It’s great news.’”

There was one more hurdle to overcome, though. 

“Airbender,” which shoots in Vancouver, overlapped Lee’s schedule for “The Mandalorian,” which films in Los Angeles. And playing Iroh meant shaving off the middle part of the moustache that Lee sports as Captain Teva.

“Luckily I was able to have my cake and eat it at the same time,” said Lee. “Lucasfilm was like, ‘Oh, we’ll just build him a little fake moustache to put on while he’s shooting (“The Mandalorian”).’”

Lee isn’t certain how familiar the producers of “Airbender” were with his work on “Kim’s Convenience” — it's an established fact that “Mandalorian” producer and director Dave Filoni was a “Kim’s” fan before he cast Lee — but he considers his latest job to be another of the many blessings accruing from the CBC series.

“‘Kim’s Convenience’ was such a wonderful launching pad for my career,” Lee said. “I mean, that show was kind of my coming out party in terms of the film and TV world.”

Lee, who was born in South Korea but immigrated to Canada with his parents when still an infant, struggled to find good film and TV roles as a young actor in the 1990s and early aughts. 

After graduating from drama school at the University of Toronto, he did a lot of theatre work, but onscreen “I played a lot of doctors, a lot of store clerks, a lot of window dressing-type caricatures, not characters.”

And yet, he persisted. 

Despite not seeing himself reflected in the television he devoured as a kid and from which he developed his love of storytelling, “I thought, well, heck, if there’s nobody (else Asian) out there, maybe there’s a shot for me to get in … that was kind of foolish thinking because maybe you’re the only one because a lot of people have tried and haven’t been able to get through. But I was just too stupid and too stubborn to quit, so just kept at it.”

Now Lee hopes to provide inspiration for the young Asian actors coming up behind him.

On the set of “Airbender,” which has many Asian actors in its cast, Lee became particularly close with Liu, the 22-year-old Chinese-Indonesian-American actor playing his beloved nephew. Just as Iroh is protective of Zuko, for whom he becomes a surrogate father, Lee said he wanted to nurture Liu.

“Every chance that I got to just sort of give him little pearls of wisdom based on my experiences … I couldn’t help but want to see him succeed,” Lee said. “This kid is a superstar,” he added.

Now that Lee himself is part of two much-loved pop culture franchises, “my cup runneth over,” but he still has entries on his acting bucket list.

“Not to sound greedy, but I’d love to do ‘Star Trek’ because that's filming right in our backyard. I’d love to do a ‘Ghostbusters.’ All those geeky playgrounds I never got a chance to play in. I want to be in a rom-com. I want to be in a Western, the genres that I grew up watching …

“But I’ll take it as it comes and I’m grateful for what I have. And if this is the only thing I ever do again I will be thankful for it because a lot of people don’t get these opportunities.”

[ingravinoveritas]

Hi! need some reassurance here. Am i the only one who is sad because we don’t know if we are gonna to see Michael and David working together again? Between the strike (which I totally support) and amazon not renewing GO, nothing is certain right now. I just miss them, i miss the interviews and i need new content. Note aside, I really don’t like the personal content that GT is posting on IG, like the video of David at the festival. Maybe it’s because I’m still new to the fandom and I’m not British, so i’ve a very different kind of humor, but her content somehow irk me… I don’t know. And don’t let me start talking about AL: she seems so phony and rude and i get nothing but bad vibes from her. Why does she always mock Michael’s appearance? I know, it’s none of my business 😅 So yeah… sorry about the rant!

Hi there! Grouping these together, since I'm a bit overdue in addressing some of this.

So as of this writing, the WGA strike has been resolved (hooray!) and the writers are back to work (including Neil, whom I believe is returning to writing GO season 3). SAG-AFTRA (of which Michael and David are both members) is continuing its strike, however, but hopefully it will also be resolved soon.

That said, I am definitely with you in feeling sad about not knowing when Michael and David will work together again. I believe the renewal for S3 is still pending, so it is indeed a time of uncertainty. My hope is that if/when the SAG strike is resolved, we might perhaps get some interviews with Michael and David that we otherwise were unable to get when GO 2 first came out. It may be too late to promote the season, of course, but we have to remember that earlier this year, Michael was popping up on nearly all of David's TV appearances (The Last Leg, Have I Got News For You), so even if a formal project isn't currently in the works, it hopefully won't be too long before we have the chance to see them together again.

To the rest of your Ask and @phantomstars24's, I've had multiple people asking me about what happened with Anna and her being called out, so for those who might've missed it, what occurred was that two weeks ago, someone left a comment on one of AL's Insta posts (the one with the photos from the "family holiday" in Sweden the weekend prior) calling her out for her repeated comments about Michael's appearance over the last few years:

Several comments from people defending AL/attacking the commenter followed these, and the next morning, she responded with this comment (not on the chain of already existing comments, but separately):

My initial impression was to be surprised that she responded at all. If the callout commenter's words truly meant nothing and weren't worth responding to, why say anything? But AL chose to reply, and that was her decision, so here we are. What is strange to me, though, is that she also chose to flat-out lie about something easily provable, given that her comments about Michael's appearance have all been well-documented on her Insta and Twitter over the past three years.

The second thought that came to mind is that this seemed like another attempt on her part at being Georgia--i.e., wanting/trying to give a witty "clapback" to a criticism. Instead, her comment comes across as insecure and insincere, with "magnificent hair growth" being a particularly egregious example of laying it on thick (who even talks like that? No one talks like that.). I was truly surprised to realize this comment was written by an almost 30-year-old woman, as it reads more like a teenager having a fit--though in fairness, there are plenty of teenagers who are far more mature than this.

There is also the notion that we are or somehow should be jealous of the "banter" in her and Michael's relationship, except that this misses two key points. One, that it's one thing for Michael to be self-deprecating about his looks--and that even if he is, it doesn't mean he doesn't feel hurt and is therefore possibly making those comments as a deflection--but it's something else entirely for her to make them. It speaks volumes about her character that she would see/hear him saying these things about himself and instead of wondering if he is okay, decides that it gives her the go-ahead to add to it and snark about his appearance. So many of us have felt self-conscious about our looks at one time or another, but without any response from him, it comes across less like "mutual banter" and more like "one person progressively making passive-aggressive cutting comments over time about the other." Which brings us to the second key point, which is that "in-jokes" are only funny to the people who are in on them, and similarly, banter is only mutual if we are able to see his end of it. The problem is, we never do. Michael does not interact with her on social media (even from his "private account," which many of us have known about for years, as he used to use it to interact with Kate, Sarah, and Lily all the time, yet he doesn't use it to interact with AL, for some reason).

Curiously, this would have been a perfect moment for Michael to do exactly that, or to say something on Twitter in her defense. Of course it is entirely possible that he felt he didn't need to say anything--which is his prerogative, just as it was AL's prerogative to respond. But it's quite interesting to realize that at the same exact time AL wrote that comment, Michael was on Twitter talking about touching David's chest and referring to him as the Thin Dark Duke, and then kept tweeting about GO fandom stuff for the next three hours. Choices.

All this to say that, in my opinion, there was nothing genuine or graceful about AL's comment. And again, you could say well sure, she felt attacked, so there was no obligation to stand on ceremony or mince words. It's just interesting that her comment went in the direction of defensive and sarcastic instead of saying something like, "Michael and I love each other and can handle a bit of teasing." And I truly do hope Michael's fans who rushed to her defense take a step back and realize that she is not a nice person. This is not how a nice person, regardless of who they are dating, talks to other human beings. And she will never reply to them or thank them for doing so because to her, they are a means to an end.

In any case, there was a recap of the callout/clapback situation with AL, for anyone who missed it. To your comments @nightingalecottage, please do not apologize for ranting. As I've said before, I want my blog to be somewhere folks can have these discussions calmly and civilly, and I'm glad you felt comfortable enough to message me with your thoughts. And as always, I'm very aware that I could be wrong about all of this, so I urge folks to read what is here and decide for themselves. Thanks for writing in! x

[shannendoherty-fans]

TV Week - February 20, 1993

TOO HOt TO HANDLE?

AS trouble continues to engulf Beverly Hills 90210's Shannen Doherty, Hollywood is asking: "What is her problem?" The 21-year-old beauty seemed to go off the rails after splitting last year with fiance Chris Foufas. Before Christmas, she shocked patrons at an L.A. nightclub by brawling on the floor with actress Bonita Money, 39. Police decided not to prosecute, but Money is filing a civil suit. Shannen's reputation took another bruising soon after when she walked off as a presenter at the Emmy Awards, complaining about the number of lines she had compared with those of co-presenter and 90210 col-league Jennie Garth. "She's a first-class pain in the ass," says one telecast producer. "She needs to grow up or nobody will bother inviting her to anything." Not long after the Emmys rumpus, Shannen was reduced to tears when she was booed off-stage at the Billboard music awards as fans, fed up with her tantrums, let her know they considered her a bad sport. And now, following reports that a bank is taking court action over Shannen's debts, tabloids are claiming that 90210 producers are seeking a way to write out her character, Brenda Walsh, in the next season of the hit series, beginning in June. Although co-star Jennie Garth recently told TV WEEK Shannen was giving the rest of the cast a bad name, the bratty star has an unexpected ally Jason Priestley, who plays her on-screen brother Brandon. "It's not fair that people have run with some things that she's said and done, like it's a personal vendetta," Jason tells TV WEEK in an exclusive interview. "I've had a lovely working experience with Shannen for the past three years. She is very honest and speaks her mind. When it's going to get her in a world of ... she's still going to say it, and that's something I respect about her."

Shannen herself makes no apologies. "Unfortunately, being a strong woman sometimes can get you pegged as the wrong thing," she says. "Suddenly I start reading stuff about myself being bitchy and it's upsetting. I'm strong and if you want to call that difficult, then yeah, I'm different. But all I am is a woman who won't be pushed around." Although Shannen's TV reputation is shaky, her manager Mike Gursey says movie executives don't seem the least bit concerned with the baggage she reportedly brings to her job. "I think a lot of them realise some of what they read may be true, but there is just as much stuff printed that is a total fabrication," Mike tells TV WEEK. "Shannen is going to star in a feature film when 90210 goes into hiatus in April and that should shut up her critics."

Mike confirms that Chevy Chase and Charlie Sheen are talking with Shannen over projects. "And Castle Rock (Rob Reiner's company) wants her to do a movie called Chasers," he says. "It just depends on whether the shoot- ing fits in with her 90210 break."

From Jenny Cooney in Los Angeles Photos by Andrew Eccles for the February 1992 issue of Rolling Stone magazine.

[tiikerikani]

"I feel that it is time for me to pursue another opportunity that is more aligned with my career goals and values"

I’m 100% quitting my job if they require us to use Gen AI

They did, so I quit. I gave my one months' notice today and will start New Job near the end of next month. Of course I have to credit random Recruiter Guy for showing up in my life at exactly the right time; I wouldn't have left without an exit plan.

I try to be a principled person and there aren't always opportunities to safely stay true to those principles.

-----

When Recruiter Guy messaged me on LI last month, I was intrigued that it actually seemed like he'd read my profile (unlike the spammy messages I usually get). I've never worked with a recruiter before, so it was interesting having a sort of agent pitching you to the company and liaising with them instead of having to be persuasive and do all the arrangements on your own.

Since the technical writer role is a new position in this company, I figured that it would mean they would be open to ideas on how to do things and wouldn't be forcing me to use AI things.

When Recruiter Guy asked for my salary expectations, I gave him a number in the middle of the range that was in the job description. The entire salary range is a significant increase over what I'm earning now[1], so I had literally nothing to lose and everything to gain trying for this. He said he'd ask for a bit more than my figure. (And that's what I'll be getting.)

The role would be a massive step up in responsibility for me and I know it's going to be a challenge; as the in-house writer I'd be responsible for maintaining the entire documentation library[2]. In-house writer is actually the role that many technical writers aspire to. You get to work closely with and really know the products you write about, and you can give feedback during the product development process.

I would have asked about it anyway, but the interviewer wanted my thoughts about using AI, and I said something along the lines of "I know people who do, but I do not because I trust my writing skills and good writing that gets taken seriously needs to have a touch that only a human writer can provide." She agreed that AI text sounds really obviously fake, so I took this as a good sign.

There was a small sample task that I had to do on my own time (given a list of specs, write a brief product description). Not a huge fan of copywriting but a product description is still very factual and not usually trying to sell stuff to people who don't want it. I returned the assignment along with a thank you note for the interview.

The interviewer wanted to speak with one of my references, so I directed her to talk to my master's thesis supervisor. He made such a good impression that she wanted to read my thesis (which IS, in the end, the only formal writing sample I can provide because I can't divulge who I've done work for) and had Recruiter Guy set up a chat for me with their HR person. Whom I spoke to on Good Friday because it wasn't a public holiday in their country and I didn't have big plans for the Easter weekend anyway and I just really wanted to move the process forward as quickly as possible. They were also extremely impressed and went back to Recruiter Guy right away, who then called me that afternoon. I'm sure he would not have done this if he wasn't optimistic about my application since he was very well aware that it was a public holiday for me.

So yeah, I got the offer email just as I was about to leave for the concert last Thursday, and I wrote back immediately to accept it. Recruiter Guy called me as I was getting out of the metro and I really hate talking on the phone in public, but THIS WAS IMPORTANT ENOUGH for an exception. We discussed the start date and agreed that I could have a gap week in between to just...catch my breath and rest a bit.

New Job is a hybrid workplace and they expect people to come to the office at least a couple of times a week, so I hope some social life and networking can actually happen??? Their products include hardware devices so it also makes sense that I need to physically be there to examine the things to document them properly.

__________

[1] With the amount of experience I have now, with a job that requires a university degree and specialized language skills, and living in the Helsinki area, I should NOT be earning BELOW the national median wage (across all industries)!!!

[2] A recurring theme in my art and what I try to do with it is wanting to be seen, so it would mean a lot to me to be able to point to my work and say "I did this," rather than writing anonymously as a contractor.

[thevindicativevordan]

Comics this week ?

Superman #18 - Farewell Campbell, I loved your art on this book when you were actually able to draw it. Most enjoyable part of the Absolute Power event was this tie-in, rarely get to see Supes and Zee team up. Do need to reiterate that all the writers who make a big deal that "Superman never lies/Superman is bad at lying" are making themselves look foolish. Waid at least has tried to justify it in interviews by saying *his* Superman never directly lies as Superman, but Clark is a proficient liar no matter how you try and spin it.

World's Finest #31 - Boring start. Waid defied my expectations with the Imp arc, but this appears like it will live down to my expectations of being half-assed. Reads like Waid is sleepwriting, Eclipso and the JSA have never held my interest and this doesn't appear set to change that. I do want to shout out Gutierrez, his art is fantastic. He's great at drawing facial expressions to sell the comedy bits and he's great at fight scenes.

Wonder Woman #13 - Diana blocking bullets despite being powerless was awesome and the Diana/Steve flirting here was cute. Otherwise this sucked like the last two issues did. I finally get why people hate Damian, he is insufferable here. Normally his bluster is entertaining but here the stilted delivery King writes his dialogue in irritates me. At least it's finally over and we can get back to the main storyline.

Jenny Sparks #2 - Jenny being this emotionally affected by 9/11 is the most ridiculous thing since Doom cried over the Twin Towers. She's done plenty of genocides all by herself, knocking down two buildings is her equivalent to a cat getting stuck in a tree. All the grawlixes need to go, King overuses them to the point it's hard to follow what the characters are actually saying. That said, Jenny and Clark having had a fling in their past is perfect and everyone who got mad at that can get bent. Another $820 billion to Tom King for a Superman mini with Jenny in it please.

Incredible Hulk #17 - First time since Immortal Hulk where I've let out several "holy shit" reactions. Don't think this book will surpass GL: WJ as the peak of PKJ's cape work, but I'm back to being eager for the next issue like I was during the Warworld Saga.

[sleepy-seal]

Welcome back to another episode of: TMAGP & Treats!!!

This week's treat is......... Hot Chocolate Fudge!!!

This is an amazing success after the failures of episodes 7 & 8. Mostly. We don't talk about the marshmallows

And without further ado, here is my thoughts!

- lets get this show on the road

- haha fudge!!! so fun!!!! (frantically looks up how to set up a double boiler)

- interesting title

- uhhhhhhhh

- sam maybe don't say that)????

- damnnn guess theyWHAAAT

- HANG ON WAIT A SECOND

- MAGNUS INSTITUTE????

- that is SO rude dnd is fun

- HEY THAT SOUNDS LIKE MOTW

- oh dammnnnnn it was a trap

- gamblers high,,,,,

- DUDE HE LITERALLY TURNS INTO A SUPERVILLAIN

- this is reminding me of that one arc in taz amnesty

- TEDDYYYYYY YOU'RE BACK

- woahhh is alice jealous??? damnn

- get behind me girl they're gonna think you actually wanna kill celia

- SAM NO

- okay since the fudge is set to cool for 4 hours that Should give me enough time to write my final thoughts and also write some miscellaneous things

FINAL THOUGHTS:

okay so, i can't be the only person who assumed that this episode reminded me of taz amnesty a Lot. maybe i've just been listening to the mcelroys too much lately but the 2d6 thing reminded me a Lot of the motw ttrpg. the dice reminded me a lot about the success of your rolls compared to how it translates in motw. like 2-6 is a hard fail, 7-9 is a mixed success, and 10+ is a full success. it could be a coincidence though. what's also a coincidence is the dice. i've mentioned it already, but the phenomenon of something altering fate that makes good/bad luck occur is so similar to one mini-arc of amnesty where a giant cottonwood tree was literally altering the course of fate with its cottonwood seeds to make bad things happen (accidents, that sort of thing. the mention of how the one guy died in this episode - being hit by a truck and being the only one to die because someone fell asleep at the wheel - reminded me a lot of similar "accidents" during that particular mini-arc).

also, i find alice's reaction to sam's (potential) crush on celia in this episode to be very telling. i don't actually think she's going to Kill celia, just to get that out of the way. but i think she does miss being with sam. maybe that's why she was acting like sam had a massive crush on celia when she was first introduced. i could be wrong though! maybe she's still trying to process her feelings but due to her nature of passing basically everything off as a joke it's being shoved to the side for her to deal with Later. the very classic "this is probably something i have to process but i'll push this aside for future me to deal with". that's not to say that alice and sam aren't good friends! i'm very glad that we have healthy examples of people who have broken up but still remain friends. you don't get that a lot.

also TEDDY!!!!!!! i'm so glad he's returned. i was worried for a moment that he was just not going to come back but i'm very glad to see he's still around. i started to sweat a bit when he mentioned that he already got fired from his last job but i was very relieved when he got a new job interview. stay out of the OIAR teddy.

also i find it very convenient how the moment sam admitted that he is saddened by the dead ends for the magnus institute, another case pops up with a reading on artifact storage with a pair of dice that apparently change your fate and bring you good luck/bad luck depending on how you rolled. And it's read by chester no less. i can't tell if chester is trying to bring sam further into this, or is cryptically trying to tell sam to stay away but sam just Isn't Listening.

going back to the pair of dice, i think it's interesting how the person writing the report for spooky dice stressed that he did not feel compelled to roll the dice in any way, nor did it feel like he was being possessed. he just Willingly did so. and so did everyone who rolled those dice. even the one man who tried to give them away couldn't resist rolling the dice one last time before getting snake eyes. this almost reminds me of gambling addictions, where while you technically Can stop at any time and it doesn't hurt you to (aside from i guess the consequences you already have), you feel the want to keep rolling. you wanna see what happens. you want that rush that you get when you roll high. that's a bit superficial though so i won't say that's the "true meaning" of the statement. i also must point out that this isn't exactly how any prior fears have acted. you could say "this falls under x, y, z, and b fears", but that kinda defeats the point. guy has spooky dice; things go wrong. also i find it laughable that the guy just goes full cartoon villain and dresses for the part of "guy who gives you dice and you roll them and Something Happens To You". sad that he died right at the end.

i like this episode a lot actually! i have to say this is probably my favorite one, genuinely. love the idea of spooky dice that make your life a literal ttrpg. i can't wait for episode ten where "alice and sam go to a place and do a thing". that's gonna be a special episode since that day's pi day! see you soon!

[gretchensinister]

Venom OT4 for the WIP game!!!

This was started some time between the first and second Venom movies. I've realized that when I have a ship I really like, I often end up writing a fairly substantial fic that focuses on everyone involved getting together. This was going to be that fic for Venom/Eddie/Anne/Dan. It starts with Eddie and Venom going over to Anne and Dan's for dinner after Eddie has told Anne about Venom still being alive--she's decided that Dan also needs to know. I wrote up to the part where Venom reveals himself to Dan. Last edit date was in August 2019 and I can't remember what distracted me away from it. If I did pick it up again I wouldn't change it to account for Venom: Let There Be Carnage. As for a plot? The plot is simply three humans and an alien figuring out a) that they want and b) how to structure a very new, very queer relationship.

I also had the goal of getting more Venom-form EddieandVenom involved in sex with Anne and Dan--for some reason the last time I was actively reading in the fandom threesomes and foursomes with Venom weren't getting weird/creative enough for me (or if they were, they weren't getting on screen enough. Things might have changed since then.

Here's a snippet:

“Eddie!” Dan smiled at him as he opened the door. Eddie waited to feel weird about being welcomed into a place he’d thought of as home for years, but it didn’t come. Of course, his weirdness-meter had been redlining regularly these days, and maybe had been recalibrated, too. This wasn’t even worth a wiggle of the needle, now.

Instead, he felt mostly the bewildered dismay he usually did upon realizing he was going to be spending time around a very attractive person and he had to make sure that said attractive person could never even suspect that he’d had those kinds of thoughts. But, whatever. Anne would only intensify the feeling, and he’d still probably end up giving something away. Her ability to spot things like that was what had led her to ask him out in the first place.

But in the end, that would be another thing that caused barely a wiggle on the awkward meter, because the reason he was here was to come clean to Dan about what he’d come clean to Anne about earlier that week.

And that was what was making him feel intense wariness along with everything else.

Hey, V, could you maybe tone it down a bit? We talked about this. Dan was doing what he thought he had to in order to save my human life.

And that is something I approve of, but he still tried to kill me when we last saw him. And he is standing between us and Anne.

Cut the crap, you know from me and Anne that’s not how good relationships work. It’s understandable that you’re scared, but we’re together now. When it comes to Dan…well, I’ve got us.

Okay, okay. Eddie started to feel less like he was trying to figure out how to decline a vital interview because it was being held on the observation deck of the Empire State Building and more like…well, that he was about to have dinner with his beautiful ex and her handsome new boyfriend and that he was going to tell the handsome new boyfriend some seriously weird shit during that dinner. Which was still a significant reduction in stress.

“Are you okay?” Dan asked. “Look, Anne says you’ve been doing better, and I can see that you are, but if I’m too much of a reminder of…everything that happened, I understand.”

“Sorry, no, you’re fine,” Eddie said. “Anne really thought you ought to be part of our conversations. And she’s right.” He held up the pastel pink box he’d brought with him. “I even brought social grease.”

“A Casey’s cake!” Dan gave him another big smile as they both finally crossed the threshold and headed up the stairs. “What kind?”

“Chocolate Apocalypse,” Eddie said, wondering just how weird it was to be noticing how nice Dan’s ass was at this moment.

We have a nicer ass when we’re together.

Yeah, but who’s going to get close enough to appreciate it?

Isn’t that what we’re trying to investigate tonight?

Uh. No, that wasn’t a conscious desire. No.

Are you serious? It was very obvious.

[bookaddict24-7]

REVIEWS OF THE WEEK!

Books I’ve read so far in 2023!

Friend me on Goodreads here to follow my more up to date reading journey for the year!

___

148. The Message by K.A. Applegate--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This series continues to be incredibly entertaining and fun!

I loved this one because of the animals they turned into and the almost suspense-like thrill of it. Also, some of the opposing animals they meet. But most importantly, because something new is added after this one, promising to make this series more than just a linear "and then this happened" storyline.

Also, the multiple personalities shined through this one. I really, really wished I had read these as a kid!

___

149. 6 Times We Almost Kissed [and One Time We Did] by Tess Sharpe--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Loved, loved, loved.

Tess Sharpe killed it again with another novel full of emotion, complex relationships, and character history full of depth.

One of the things I loved most about this, beyond the adorable will-they-won't-they sapphic relationship, is the level of support the characters got from each other, despite the circumstances and the one character who was drowning for so long in their grief that they forgot to take care of those who were still surviving alongside her.

I also really liked the concept of us exploring the moments where the two MCs almost kissed because it added more layers to their relationship. Their history was so intertwined that they were, of course, the last ones to finally see it.

Loved the friendships, the grandmother, and the cuteness of just how much these two young women care for each other. The grief in this story was palpable (both for the loss of a parent, and the loss of innocence that one of the characters used to have before her life changed so irrevocably.)

Highly recommend, especially because Sharpe has such a strong understanding of what it means to be a human who carries trauma in their heart and the connections that can help lift some of that burden.

___

150. Masters of Death by Olivie Blake--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I received a copy from the publisher for an author interview I did for Indigo on Instagram. This didn't affect my rating in any way.

This was my first book by Blake and I was pleasantly surprised! There was so much humour in this book, alongside gorgeous and poetic writing. I think I highlighted quite a few of her lines just because they were either hilarious, or so beautifully written.

The concept was unique and I loved how experimental some of the writing was presented, it made it so conversational--making meeting some of the characters a fun experience. I especially loved the character of Death and how unapologetic he was in how he saw the world. Especially that first quote when he's introduced, "Hello children. It's time for Death."

While there were definitely some slower bits in the heart of this story, I overall really enjoyed the storytelling. I think this will definitely be a book for those who love dark academia stories and character-led plots.

___

151. A Tap on the Window by Linwood Barclay--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I think this is one of my favourite of Barclay's books. Having already met the MC in later books, I went into this already knowing his quirks and the men he becomes after the tragedies he faces in this book, so I was excited to see how his past happened.

My heart broke for him as he tried in vain to find out who sold his son the last drugs he had before his death and how the repercussions of his actions came back to haunt him. But I especially enjoyed how he transferred his fatherly worries to the new missing person's case on his hands because he had front row seats to see it all go down.

Through corrupt policing in a small town, a grief-stricken couple, and a mystery that kept revealing more and more secrets, Barclay weaved an entertaining story that I couldn't put down (again). I'm really glad I've gone through his history of books and have slowly been reading them all. They're so entertaining!

___

152. Don't Want to Be Your Monster by Deke Moulton--⭐️⭐️⭐️

I went into this expecting...more? I've read a few middle grade horror books that genuinely spooked me (as an adult) and while I know that it's ridiculous for me to expect more in a kid's book, this was definitely more of a metaphorical horror than a literal one (which was interesting considering that the mcs are vampires.)

That being said, the family connection was great and I loved the LGBTQ+ rep of the one sibling! I also appreciated the comparison of hunting creatures like Vampires for being different and for the stereotypes and the genocide of Jewish people during WW2. I never thought of making that comparison, but it is a very fitting one. Especially when the author explained at the end of the novel of the influences behind Dracula and the consequences of such harmful stereotypes.

The hunter was a creepy and evil man and it was very hard watching this man not give a crap about the fact that he was threatening to kill children.

This wasn't a favourite, but the message behind it is a powerful one. I recommend this, not for the "spook factor" but for the comparisons the author makes!

___

153. The Predator by K.A. Applegate--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I loved to read from the perspective of this character because it allowed me to see more depth than what we usually see. He is more than the annoying kid who always complains about having to do dangerous things, even though those dangerous things are about saving Earth.

What we learn is about the grief he and his father live with and just how much their lives changed when his mother was lost at sea. I got to see the anxiety of the new pressures put on him by a best friend who is so ready to fight, and the beautiful girl friend who is always ready to jump in front of danger.

I think this one is actually one of my favourites, also because there was a hilarious lobster moment in this. I laughed way too much. Absolutely loving this series.

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154. I Survived the Attacks of September 11th, 2001 by Lauren Tarshis--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really enjoyed this addition to the series, not just because it gives a young reader the perspective of the attacks of 9/11, but because it also tackles the issue of how playing Football can cause concussions that have very real repercussions in the future. While it, of course, wasn't the main topic of this book, I liked that the author touched on that topic.

Reading this book reminded me of how a lot of people who were alive during the 9/11 attacks often wonder where they were and what they were doing when it all happened. The videos will always be the heartbreaking proof of the events, but having a perspective of a child of a family of firefighters was a wholly new way of seeing that day. This series is so important. Even if it's all technically fictional, the events are very real and kids reading these (even adults reading this) may gain new insight and empathy for those who did survive and for those who sadly lost their lives.

Highly recommend this series--bite sized historical snacks in between bigger books.

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155. The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

After having this book partially started on my shelves for years, I have finally finished it!! I'm glad I did, too, because I really enjoyed it. It was strange reading a mythology book by Riordan that wasn't connected to the other ones, but it was just as fun as his other series.

Much like his other books, Riordan explores more than just mythology in this one. He also talks about the very real discrimination mixed raced kids might experience when one looks different than their siblings--and we even see it in how family members treat one of the children. We also see the personification of "the grass is always greener" in the form of how very different both of these siblings' lives were growing up.

The mythology aspect was so cool and I loved learning about the different Egyptian deities. Other than the exploration of race, discrimination, and trauma, the mythology and stories associated with them are always a favourite of Riordan's books.

Will definitely be picking up the next book soon!

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Have you read any of these books? Let me know your thoughts!

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Happy reading!

[pastedpast]

These are a few of my favourite pics from about ten years ago. The last one I named 'Shaman Calling Her Allies'. (I suppose I ought to find out what its real title is!). The writer Emma Mitchell ('The Wild Remedy') curates bits and bobbins of nature and takes aerial photos of them because she suffers from terrible depression, and it's been proven that such activities have a positive effect on brain chemistry. I wrote quite a good article about it ages ago - there's a special term for the process, though the word escapes me, I have forgotten - on one of my now-deactivated Fbk profiles. Anyway, I can relate to what she says, as I find curating pictures I've found on the Internet and photographs that either I or Tch have taken, to be equally therapeutic. It probably sounds odd, but pictures become a comfort, like familiar friends, which is really useful when you don't have many/any!!

Ideally, I'd like to print out most of my pictures which I've saved scattershot in various devices and accounts and store them in scrapbooks so they'd be easier to view, but it would be far too costly to do now. If only I had done this as I went along, the cost would have appeared minimal if carried out gradually.

I'm reminded of a time about thirteen years ago when I was having something of a panic attack. I was desperately waiting for the result of a job interview I'd attended for a library post in Fife, literally sitting by the laptop with my e-mail account open constantly from Monday 9am to Friday 5:30pm. Patience is not my thing at the best of times, but in this instance the waiting was excruciating. I got into such a state one evening that I ended up going to the walk-in centre in town and the nurse kindly gave me a paper bag to breathe into. When I got back home, still anxious, I decided to look at my photograph albums of pics I'd taken on my travels across the country while attending other job interviews. And this was like taking a chill pill - it calmed me the f**k down, at least while I was looking at the photographs.

The e-mail (a computer-generated "Sorry, on this occasion you have been unsuccessful") took three agonising weeks to arrive. I remember being so fraught on the Friday evening of the second week, knowing I had a whole weekend of silence ahead of me, that first thing the next morning I caught a bus to The Works stationery supply shop and bought loads of cheap paints, brushes and canvases. I spent all weekend painting. Now, I have no talent with paints and my efforts ended up in the bin afterwards, but for those two days I was, again, in chill city.

It's not always easy to remember these little strategies when you are feeling deeply unhappy, to shift your arse out of the pits of self-pity, or the depths of despair, but both activities were almost miraculous in lifting my mood. Another example was a day when my state of mind was horrendous - I just went onto the Pinterest website and organised loads of pictures into categories, hoping to engage the logical parts of my brain rather than the emotional; I still felt terrible, but less so.

It's rare I feel depressed these days, but it can always strike again, so it's useful to try to remember these simple coping strategies. Anyone reading this might also find these suggestions helpful.

[sinsiriuslyemo]

Splinter by Jasper Hyde

Book Review 4/5 ☆s

I recently had the distinct pleasure of receiving an ARC copy of Splinter, a spooky, sexy Sleepy Hollow retelling by indie author, Gigi aka Jasper Hyde in exchange for an honest review. Let's talk about it.

So picture this, ya'll: I had just finished writing a little over 2500 words on my WIP, and wanted to give myself a little reward for doing so, as it's been my best word count this week. I knew I would be going to the library for a bit because my husband had an interview this afternoon. So I figured, What a perfect time to read a couple of chapters of Splinter! That "couple of chapters" was a lie, my friends. Instead, I was thrust into the world of Sleepy Hollow, a small town in Upstate New York and I did not want to leave until I had read every last page.

Our heroine is Doctor Drusilla Van Tassel, she's the Medical Examiner who finds herself investigating the gruesome deaths of her twin sister's friends.

You guessed it, ya'll - these cats have been losing their heads.

Meanwhile, Drusilla's former best friend/lover, the one and only and also hot as hell Ichabod Crane - monster hunter - just came back to town, and it turns out that he is on a mission too. Capture the Headless Horseman before any more people die. Seems simple enough, right?

Nope. Guess again!

Drusilla is not happy that Ichabod is back in town, but all of that changes when she comes face-to-face with the Headless Horseman, which leads her to discover that she has mysterious magic powers that she didn't know she had. Forced to turn to Ichabod for help after her sister goes missing, the two work together to uncover Drusilla's family secrets and find a way to banish the Headless Horseman for good.

Sounds awesome right?!

It was! I legit could not put this down. I started reading around 1:30 pm and finished at around 11 pm. The characters are so well thought out, relatable and their history so rich. The settings are vivid and really give you a feel for this quaint little town and literally makes you wanna visit to grab some coffee at The Grindhouse Cafe and settle in the vast wooded area with an awesome book, though maybe not do that while the Headless Horseman is there.

The magic was so fun to read about, and just the mystery of it all was compelling and made me want to keep reading. (I mean, duh, I literally kept reading until there was nothing left to read)

Lastly, we must, but we must talk about the romance/sexy tension surrounding Drusilla and Ichabod. First, Drusilla is written as a bisexual introvert, who has trouble connecting to people. She's great at her job, and passionate about it, which is very apparent. She has a strained relationship with her twin sister and has trouble speaking up for herself sometimes (mainly because as one of very few Black people in town and even fewer Black woman, she has to hold herself back from speaking her mind the majority of the time). It was interesting to watch her grapple with her need to solve this case, which is incredibly personal for her, especially after her sister goes missing, while learning how to put herself first for once.

Now, Ichabod, my man, aka: my dream-boat. Ichabod is demisexual, and as I read, I tried to remember another book I've read that had a demisexual character. For the uninitiated, demisexual simply means a person who must have an emotional connection with someone before they can sleep with them. I couldn't think of one. To be perfectly clear, I mean to say that I couldn't think of any other book I have read in which a character is explicitly stated to be demi sexual. I've read plenty where a character can be interpreted as such. But Ichabod states more than once that he is demisexual, which was incredibly refreshing. As someone who resonates with that label, it was cool to see a character, especially a male lead, proudly claim this label unapologetically. Ichabod has his own issues, though. He's doesn't work that well with others, at least from what I gathered, and tends to keep people at a distance, mostly because his job is so top secret.

Also, sidenote, but when I tell you I could not stop picturing Dante Brasco as Ichabod, ya'll...I could not. Just saying.

The pacing of the romance between Drusilla and Ichabod was realistic, it was interesting, there was tension, there was history! Every time they interacted, I was swooning, like what is my life right now?!

Bro, I was shipping them so hard that by the time we got to the love scene, I was literally like this:

I don't wanna give any spoilers because you just have got to read this book. If you like retellings with a diverse cast of characters, magic, sexy times, romance and general bad-assery both in the morgue and out in the woods, this book is absolutely a great choice for a cozy, exciting read.

You can find Splinter on Amazon, Kobo, Apple Books and Barnes and Nobles, and be sure to leave Gigi a review, it helps push their book out to more readers and I'm just betting that it'll put a smile on their face.

Sinceriously,

Hero