#Now what

[zombiecowboy65]

I am just a girl, standing in front of Jean Moreau, begging for any physical traits of Cat and Laila to be described

[sun-e-chips]

You two should kiss already

Pt 2

[tonycries]

she told me her favourite colour was blue so i blue her up (terrorizz) 😘

[sgiandubh]

... but not until the fat lady sings

Just in and somehow bittersweet (the wailings will be heard from the Moon on the day the last episode airs, only):

A never before seen pic of These Two, with C borrowing his wig and S kidnapping Izzy's coiffe. Probably.

'My brilliant partner in crime' - same poignant energy as that BAFTA speech, many moons ago (Flukenzie Floozy, who?).

And of course, this comment by good, old, Rosie Day (remember her? LOL: all shippers do):

The reference to Lofoten (Norway) is clear, since S played Lyngstrand along both Laura Donnelly (Ellida) and Rosie Day herself (Hilde) in the rather forgettable Heart of Lightness movie (2014), partially shot there during the summer of 2013. Not so surprisingly, she is proud of them both (cue in Mordor explaining that she meant Sleepy, the horse, or something).

Slowly, slowly dragging towards a well-deserved denouement.

Thank you for everything, that being said. This brought solace to many, helped millions cross difficult personal spells/the COVID pandemic and ignited fast, deep friendships. Anything else is irrelevant.

[Later edit]: strangely enough, look who liked Rosie's comment, heh:

Surely, she did not mean Donnelly, who isn't a part of the cast anymore. Unfortunately.

[brian-kinney-apologist]

pov: you and your besties just finished watching the final episode of iwtv s2 and now you have to wait god knows how long for season 3

[evelynpr]

How is Todoiida not more popular what. Do we need more artists and writers or something.

[breannasfluff]

Danny puts his hands on his hips, turning to look at the strange landscape. “So, I think we can safely assume this isn’t Earth. Anyone know where we are?”

“No.”

“Never been here before.”

“Negative,” Argus chimes in.

“Well, I guess we…pick a direction and see what happens? Maybe toward the forest?” Danny gestures toward the thicker patch of trees.

[nanowrimo]

When Is a Small Press a Good Fit?

When it comes to publishing, many writers will think about big publishers first. However, there are a lot of different publishing options out there to explore. NaNo participant and author, Clara Ward, talks about their experience publishing with a small press and gives you questions to consider while you think through your publishing options!

NaNoWriMo inspired me to write. Signing with a small press gave me the support I needed to publish a book I love. 

I’d published books before—starting with NaNoWriMo sponsor deals in the early days of online publishing—but I never had the right skill set to promote those books. As a result, they never truly found their audience. 

In November of 2020, I poured my heart into a genre-blurring near-future tale of sailing across the Pacific and building a neurodiverse, queer, and possibly magical chosen family. In 2021, I titled it Be the Sea and asked myself: What am I going to do with that?

1. Are you looking for fame or family?

Small presses are as varied as the people who form them. If you read widely, you may already have a treasured book on your shelf from your publisher-to-be. Try asking NaNoWriMo friends who share your interests if they’ve discovered any surprising or emerging sources for great reads. (At the very least, you may find books you’ll love in unexpected places!)

Admittedly, a small press doesn’t have a fortune to spend on paving your path to fame. But I have never felt as seen as when my soon-to-be publisher, E.D.E. Bell at Atthis Arts, wrote back, “I’m really in love with what you are doing and would like to talk about it.” 

2. Do you have the bandwidth for working with others?

Even with the most supportive small press, you may have to push outside your comfort zone. I know authors who love the absolute control and freedom of self-publishing. For a time, I felt very comfortable just posting my NaNoWriMo fanfiction novels on Archive of Our Own. At most, I had one or two beta readers to offer feedback on those works. Whereas E.D.E. told me in one of our earliest conversations that in addition to our three rounds of editing we’d need “a good number of betas” to cover the range of topics we were working on together.

I was delighted! I knew what I’d written was ambitious, and I welcomed all the feedback I could get. But it turns out, each extra person in a process adds new challenges and delays. I had to stretch my empathy as well as my publishing timeline because, to quote E.D.E. again: “It’s a lot of emotion (as well as brain cycles) to go through...” Outside perspectives will only improve your writing if you are willing to work with them, to truly listen and learn.

3. Can you handle the two-way commitment?

No form of publishing is easy. The myth that authors write while others handle business and promotion is not true at the top, and certainly not with small presses. In my experience, working with Atthis Arts was like joining a team or chosen family. Beyond certain paid tasks, such as editing and sensitivity reading, I discovered a community of authors who freely offered coaching before my first public reading, social media boosting, tips for author webpages, and an extra pair of eyes on letters requesting bookshop readings or other events. While not all small presses work the same way, this supportive culture proved to be an excellent fit for me. Naturally, I wanted to give back whenever possible.

Small presses can only succeed with community. This month, as I promote the launch of Be the Sea at bookshops in Mountain View, Davis, and Sacramento, I will be introducing many Californians to my Michigan-based small publisher, Atthis Arts. When I stand up as a panelist at Norwescon in Washington state or at various science, library, or Pride events later in the year, I’ll be promoting more than Be the Sea by Clara Ward. I’ll give back by sharing my appreciation for small presses, the supportive and inclusive practices they can normalize, and the opportunities they open up for future writers and readers. 

Clara Ward lives in Silicon Valley on the border between reality and speculative fiction. Their latest novel, Be the Sea, features a near-future ocean voyage, chosen family, and sea creature perspectives, while delving into our oceans, our selves, and how all futures intertwine. Their short fiction has appeared in Strange Horizons, Decoded Pride, Small Wonders, and as a postcard from Thinking Ink Press. When not using words to teach or tell stories, Clara uses wood, fiber, and glass to make practical or completely impractical objects. More of their words along with crafted creations can be found at: https://clarawardauthor.wordpress.com

Photo by Hümâ H. Yardım on Unsplash

[wish-i-were-heather]

remember how there's a tree in my room?? it just fucking fell down.

[pandoraroid]

asher told darlin & sam to draw

[unstablequeerbitch]

What will I do without my wife (ao3)? She seems to have forgotten my existence (won’t let me stay logged in) and I am fighting my own battles (I have work for another 30 minutes) but need to rely on her (please log me in. I’m going to have a nervous breakdown over some idiots at work)

[ineffabletimehusbands]

The burden of Mobius' glorious purpose is that he'll never be able to see Loki again.

Season 1 episode 1's title was referring to Mobius' purpose, which is setting Loki down the path to being able to fulfill his. And in season 2 episode 6 the title is referring to Loki's.

[tonycries]

if you yell DADDY TONY three times at 3am in the mirror mahito w cursty toes w come out

Throughout heaven and Earth, I alone am the one about to have a villain origin story.

[ratatattouille]

i wish someone had warned me that WICKED 2024 was going to literally deconstruct my deepest childhood/teenagehood wounds as a black girl in a way no modern movie has ever been able to accomplish/conceptualize. it would have been really nice to have received that warning before i got bludgeoned in the feels by nearly every fucking scene elphaba was in :)

[someonechaotic]

Guys, I did the smoothest come out ever

as biromantic

I am aroace

I didn't come out of the closet...

I went further in, I am now in Narnia