#LISTEN THEY'RE SO ANGSTY FOR 80% OF THIS BOOK

[aaronwarner]

Ivy’s sweater slipped off her left shoulder when she leaned forward, baring skin of golden cream to the morning sunlight. “Okay, I get that.” She didn’t notice when he nudged the sweater back in place with [telekinesis], the temperature too cold for her to be so exposed. [...] “How did they know your subdesignation so fast?” Her sweater slipped again and he nudged it back. “It usually takes time to be certain, even with genetic markers.” [...] Vasic glanced at her shoulder, nudged the sweater back up. This time, she noticed, color on her cheeks as her hand went up to the spot. “How many times?” “Five.” He got to his feet before he could make it six. “I need to rest.”

SHIELD OF WINTER by Nalini Singh

[cailynwrites]

Harry Potter Rec Fest Day 14 - Favorite Series

I have a lot of series bookmarked, but due to time constraints, I often default to shorter stories. There are a few series that I devoured though and I'm grateful for @hprecfest for reminding me to rec them. All of them have excellent podfic versions too!

Do It All Over Again by @dracowillhearaboutthis (Podfic read by @sandstripe) Pairing: Draco x Harry Word count: 468,229 Length: 34:34:15 Rating: E

This is a canon rewrite beginning before first year, when 11 year old Draco receives a letter from his future self. I found it to be well thought out and developed Draco's character in an interesting way.

As for the podfic, the narrator themself states in the notes that the read fast, and they absolutely do. But they speak clearly, recording quality is good, there's no bumps or breathing or other unnecessary sounds, and if you slow it down to 75 or 80 %, I find it to be totally listenable. I honestly don't know how they speak so quickly, it's superhuman!

The Mirror of Ecidyrue by starbrigid (Podfic of the first 4.5 books on Spotify by starseeker) Pairing: Draco x Harry Word count: 1,219,490 Length: long Rating: T to eventually E

This is also a canon rewrite, but with Draco going unwillingly back in time. He doesn't immediately become buddy-buddy with Harry; it's actually Hermione who befriends him. There's funny and angsty and really thoughtful canon adherence and divergence. I haven't finished the series yet, but I've enjoyed it so much. Starseeker reads it very beautifully and still updates sporadically (believe me, I know what a massive undertaking it is to record a series like this of 1.2 million words!), so I'm kind of holding out hope that they'll finish and I'll be able to listen to the rest. They're currently abut halfway through book 5.

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A couple of self-recs for @etl-echo-audiobooks, not for my own recordings ...

Rights and Wrongs series by @lovesbitca8 Podfic read by @beatificbean (with @etl-echo-audiobooks) Pairing: Draco x Hermione Word count: 698,707 Length: over 50 hours Rating: E

Pick your poison based on your mood:

A little angst but mostly fluff: The Right Thing to Do (Hermione's POV)

A lot of angst and redemption: All the Wrong Things (Draco's POV)

Dark, Voldy wins alternate universe: The Auction

@beatificbean reads all three of these stories beautifully (not a surprise). I love a Draco redemption, so all three of these stories hit the spot for me. Mind the tags for The Auction.

Wait and Hope series by @mightbewriting Podfic read by @beatificbean (with @etl-echo-audiobooks) Pairing: Draco x Hermione, Theo x Blaise, Pansy x Neville Word count: 389,063 Length: over 35 hours Rating: E

@heyjude19-writing already said everything I would say about this series, and much more eloquently (obviously). I'll just add that I almost used this rec for both Comfort fics and Fics that make you cry (porque no los dos?), and that @beatificbean does a beautiful job with this series as well. She just cranks out the top-tier drama and romance; I aspire to someday be so prolific and talented. I mean, she recorded over ONE MILLION words just for these two recs, and there's lots more where that came from.

[spaceorphan18]

Glee Musical Retrospective: Borderline/Open Your Heart

Sung by: Rachel Berry and Finn Hudson Original Artist(s): Madonna

Oh hey! It's a Finchel duet I actually like! As well as being a mash up that I think is incredibly underrated. These songs just flow together seamlessly, and I love it.

Story Analysis

As usual, this mash up completely serves the Finchel story. Rachel may be with Jesse, but her feelings for Finn are still very much near the surface. Meanwhile, Finn is not about letting go of his own feelings (even if he's still trying to figure them all out.)

Something in the way you loved me won't let me be I don't want to be your prisoner so baby won't you set me free

It's interesting that Rachel is singing these lines. The first line, especially, speaks to how Rachel is trying to push past her feelings for Finn, but they're still right there in the open.

Stop playin' with my heart Finish what you start When you make my love come down

Again, interesting lyrics for Rachel -- since she's the who's in a relationship now. I feel like this speaks to the previous episode -- where Finn dumped her and now wants her back.

Don't try to resist me Open your heart to me, baby I'll hold the lock and you hold the key

And then we get Finn's lines -- which are pretty straightforward. I mean, look at the intensity he gives off all during the song. He's zeroed in on her, and not letting that feeling go.

Something in your eyes is makin' such a fool of me

Again, a Rachel line! (even if it's repeated by Finn) - right now in her life, she may have found some one who is perfect for her (and, editorial comment -- he is) but the heart wants what the heart wants. And she still has strong feelings for Finn that she's going to have to deal with.

I see you on the street and you walk on by When you hold me in your arms You love me till I just can't see So you choose to look the other way Well I've got something to say... Open your heart to me, baby I'll hold the lock and you hold the key

They both sing this together... which is kind of where we're at with Finchel. Sure, it's going to take the rest of the season for the two of them to work their way back to each other but how they feel are not in question. And they'll continue to sing at each other until they work through the stuff they need to work through.

Technical Thoughts

Brad is smiling during this song -- what is even going on??

The thing about this song is that the mash up works SO. Well. The songs blend beautifully with each other -- and it makes such a catchy song that you can't help but bopping along to.

Madonna has this relentless energy. Even if this song is a bit angsty -- it's still so upbeat and poppy and driving. The camera work here is fast and whirling, following Finn and Rachel as they float around the school. It's kind of crazy (but so are Finchel) and it really kind of works for the song. The last shot around the piano is absolutely dizzying, but I think it works -- signifying how Finchel is dizzy for each other. (Also - notice they're in eye contact for nearly the whole song?)

So, when they're in the library -- Finn suddenly just starts grabbing books off the shelf and throwing them to the floor. It's so random that I crack up every time I see it. Why, Ryan Murphy - Why?? Also -- Cory is so much taller than Lea, he's half bent during this entire song, lol.

Anyway - here's an interesting thing to listen for. The original Madonna version is very 80s sounding in its use of synth. They've taken most of that out here -- but if you listen to the background, you can hear a little of that synth sound buried. It's kinda cool and a nice nod to the original source material.

Speaking of Easter Eggs -- probably the most fun part of the song are all the Madonna outfit cameos. I don't know enough about Madonna to tell you what is what -- but I do recognize them all, and it's just a ton of fun seeing them all peppered throughout the hallway.

Meanwhile - contradictory to me actually liking this one, I don't... actually like how either of them sound on the song? It's too high for Finn and not really a good style fit for Rachel. But I don't even care - the song is that much fun.

vs. The Studio Version: It's literally a cleaner version of the televised version. Exactly the same. Huh. Probably cause it's a mash-up.

vs. The Original Version: (Borderline / Open Your Heart): Ooff it's SO 80s! Lol. Something I noticed with Borderline - in the mash up they never use the Borderline refrain because they're using Open Your Heart for the chorus, but I think it has some interesting lyrics that fit the Finchel story -- 'you keep pushing my love over the borderline' -- and that's the thing with them. They keep pushing boundaries. Rachel pushed hard during the Front 13, and now it's Finn's turn to see how far he can get....

Meanwhile... what is even going on in the video for Open Your Heart?? You can tell this was a risqué thing back in the 80s. Anyway - comparatively - the Glee version updates the arrangement to make it sound a lot less 80s -- and, honestly, the whole thing really works. I kind of like when the show takes a song in a different direction and ends up making something that not only doesn't sound like a Kidz Bop track, but makes something engaging and fun.

[stuck-in-the-ghost-zone]

HIIII MAC GHOSTIEZONE catkiss i hope u r having a good day even tho it is monday <3 sliding into ur dms with the whole parahumans pitch >:}

ANYWAY. SO. worm is a web serial novel by jc mccrae/wildbow- it's two million words long and it's about superheroes. earlier i compared it to homestuck- a lot of ppl who've read both say that! they're really similar in a lot of thematic ways- they're both about angsty fucked up teenagers, comedic action that turns into horror halfway through, shenanigans with the very fabric of reality, messed up aliens, weird middle-of-story several year timeskips, deep commentary on interpersonal relationships and exploration of forming unhealthy relationships due to unfortunate circumstances, shit loads of death and stuff, and, on a more meta level, incredibly in-depth worldbuilding and overarching storylines and symbolism that are absolutely meant to be analyzed.

it's an action novel that, without giving spoilers, takes a sharp veer into horror partway through, and genuinely it's some of the best horror i've ever read. there's a lot of extremely inventive body horror and cosmic horror, if you're into that. it's not horror for it's own sake though, if that makes sense. also the action writing is insane.

also i would like to advertise the worldbuilding!! because for me the worldbuilding is the most impressive part. wildbow is like, the definition of hard magic- if there's anything that's mentioned in the book, even offhand, then chances are there's in-world explanation and backstory for it. it's extremely realistic in the way in which it portrays a human society where it suddenly turns out that people can get powers. if you want to know the history behind capes in the 80s, the paramilitary private semi-government organizations that regulate capes, the politics between different superhero teams, the impact of living in a part of town where there's a villain overlord, what the realistic aftermath of being in a horrifying kaiju attack would be, how different capes in different cities approach their jobs differently, cape systems in india or taiwan, classification systems for different types of powers, just how massive of a capability for awful things a cape has if they choose to turn their powers towards evil..... there's everything. (also it is rlly fun to figure out what ur power classification/powers/name/etc would b as a cape.) also the way he approaches powers and how one gets powers is. ouhghghghhh it's so good it's incredibly creative.

also the main protagonist is a girl who can mind control bugs. do you want to see how shitty of a superpower controlling bugs is. do you want to know the extent of damage u can do to someone using like. fucking bugs? lame ass protagonist power not gonna lie. : )

anyway!! that's the worm pitch!! it definitely isn't for everyone, and i 100% get if it's too big a time commitment/the writing is too dense/it gets too dark/etc LMAO it. it's definitely a commitment & definitely isn't for everyone. also there's an audiobook which i have not listened to but is apparently v good!!! :}

that being said, here's a link: https://parahumans.wordpress.com/

theres also a description by the author there!

:O!!!!