#Pretty sure it's lecki

[hexedwinchester]

I JUST WATCHED 6.15, THE FRENCH MISTAKE

THE WAY SAM JUST LOOKED AT THE CEILING WHILE DOING "HIS LINES" AFTER DEAN SAID HE SHOULDNT LOOK AT THE CAMERA WHILE THEY HAD TO ACT HAD ME DISSEASED

Your honor I love him-

hiii @ghostlyaccurate

Hahaha!! I know exactly the scene you are talking about! He made bad acting look so good!🤣🤣

"it's because we have no other choice" 🤣🤣

This episode has so many iconic scenes though!

"I'm something called a Jared Padalecki"

"what am I? Dracula?"

the look of pure horror on Sam's face when Dean says "she lives here because you two are married. You married fake Ruby?"

that horse riding picture 😍

lovely, lovely episode! And yes, you are charged guilty of loving him 😁😁

Thanks for this ask! Love it! 😍

[threefolddefencespeech]

WorldCon!

So - WorldCon's over. I'm safely back home, very tired, only mildly ill, definitely getting the con drop or at least experiencing far too many post con emotions (what do you mean there won't be another one nearby for five years?). So perfect time to write a bit about it. I'm not going to get everything in here, but let's ramble incoherently about some highlights.

The Hugos

My spouse (and the rest of their team) won a Hugo! I am so proud and happy for them - it is, I say with incredible bias and no objectivity, very very well deserved. How could getting to celebrate that not be a highlight?

So. Let's move on to some book opinions. This year, I managed to read almost all of the best novel finalists (bar Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, which I'm still a few chapters into and ping ponging off. Let's say I'm pretty sure where my opinion was going to lie). So I get to have some more detailed opinions than most years, which is fun/regrettable for anyone who got an earful from me about Starter Villain!

It's always interesting to see what makes the Hugo shortlist. This year, a truly massive gulf emerged between my two favourites, the middle-of-the-roads, and one real "no, really, why was this here?" option.

Out in front were Saint of Bright Doors (Vajra Chandrasekera) and Some Desperate Glory (Emily Tesh). I can already see this post getting enormous, so I'll try and be quick (this is a lie).

Saint of Bright Doors is wonderful - the first chapter introduces us to a clear chosen one narrative, with Fetter raised with a destiny: to kill his cult leader father. The second rejects it utterly. Fetter ignores his destiny and his mother's calls, and immigrates to a city - one that has elements of socialist ideal, but gradually reveals more and more of itself to be a fascist police state, and in every case is wonderfully strange. He joins a group of fellow religious "unchosen ones". He drifts. His father's cult grows in influence, and threatens to pull him once more into orbit - but this is not so conventional a story as to fully let it. And he becomes fascinated with the city's bright doors, which lead nowhere, and are unopenable. In a less talented writer's hands, this would feel disjointed. Instead it's wonderful - a dreamy-but-grounded, mythic-but-real story of aimless reality pitted against religious destiny, of cults and pogroms and the structures that lie beneath the world. I have my problems with the ending. But had I liked it more, I suspect it would have been a worse book.

Some Desperate Glory tells a story of a militarised future human society, living to avenge the Earth. It is also, in many ways, a cult. Where Some Desperate Glory particularly succeeds is that its protagonist isn't an outlier. How many dystopias have you read in which the lead is an outcast, or always felt subtly wrong in the society, never quite fit in? But Kyr is in so many ways this future society's model citizen. Which makes her growth - her experimentation in the wider world - and the ways in which this society still abuses her, and still fails her because she can't live up to its ideals, far more powerful. She's not a comfortable head to make a home in, at least to start with, but it's a far better novel for that. While what the novel's doing is far clearer than Saint, it does go to some interesting places - and explores these cultish power structures on various scales. I have quibbles and gripes. Do I wish more page space had been devoted to developing the novel's visions of alternative versions of Kyr, rather than slamming in character development in fast forward? Yes, and I would have happily sacrificed a few big action setpieces (which is where I suspect that space went) to get there. But it's still a powerful book.

Saint definitely my preference there, but both worthy winners.

Then we had the middle of the pack.

Leckie's Translation State was... fine? I expected more, though. We had some alien weirdness, but it was wrapped around a story which had the exact same plot arc as a typical YA arranged marriage novel, with the characters ending up in exactly the same places you'd expect. Aside from one, who simply gets forgotten about. It was perfectly pleasant, but revolutionising the genre this is not.

Martha Wells' Witch King is a secondary world fantasy, told with a flashback-interweaving-with-present-events structure, in a way that's far more evenly balanced between the two narratives than most, with the past narrative holding most of the explanation of characters and relationships highly relevant to the present. However, it fails to really make it work - it sacrifices a lot of character development and foreshadowing for the actual plot to get this structure working, which means the actual key revelations fall a little flat when they come. It's not a bad book! There's some fun magic system stuff, some mildly interesting possession-of-different-gendered body stuff... but it's not life changing, just a fun attempted structural twist on an otherwise pretty classic secondary world fantasy.

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi - well, it's a middle eastern pirate fantasy. The historical inspiration is great here - rich and vibrant. But the prose is clunky - it's doing Historical Feminism but in a really obvious, unsubtle way that's clearly just 2024 views projected backwards, or at least that's how it seems from the "ah, we mens often think x about a powerful lady, don't we?" narrator chapter. I like engaging with these topics, but can I wish for a bit more nuance and some better writing? Mind you, I'm only a few chapters into this one, and keep bouncing off. It might get better when I push through. From what others have said, I doubt it - but I can't really say. I'm maybe being harsh from initial impressions here.

So most of this middle group are small twists or weirdnesses upon otherwise pretty familiar genre novels.

Then there's Starter Villain, which is the only "really, why is this here?" novel of the list. I suspect just because Scalzi's a big name in SFF, and name recognition gets you a long way at the nomination stage. While I might quibble with the middle group - probably there was more interesting SFF published last year? - this was a novel-length shaggy dog story. It's not funny enough to be farce or satire - but it's not doing anything else. The protagonist's main defining traits are "very divorced", "likes cats", and I suppose "vaguely nice". Everyone speaks in the same way. And this goes nowhere - other than a few jokes about dolphins and venture capitalists along the way. Maybe if this hadn't been up for the Hugo, I wouldn't have hated this so much. But I expected something. This was my first Scalzi, and I probably won't choose to repeat the experience.

So, how'd the voting turn out? Some Desperate Glory won, which I vaguely suspected - felt like it had broader appeal as a slightly more traditional novel than Saint of Bright Doors anyway. But Hugo votership, why did you do Saint quite so dirty? It's so far down the list. On the other hand - faith marginally restored by Starter Villain ending up in a clear last place.

Which is to say: probably good job overall, Hugo votership, but you're on some shaky ground. :P

The Panels

Panels! I went to lots of them. I was terribly sabotaged by my very first panel, Revolutions in Speculative Fiction, setting the bar far too high. I was largely picking panels based on people + a vaguely interesting topic, with a few exceptions. Ada Palmer's and Arkady Martine's definitely proved that method of panel picking works well.

...after Dublin, the other thing I learned (alongside picking based on people) was that I really shouldn't plan my con too inflexibly or intensively. So despite wanting to go to 4 things in every slot, I paced myself - I missed out on an interesting panel and went to hang out with people or Do Food occasionally, especially when emotion + tiredness demanded it, and I probably had a better con for it.

There were worse panels too. Several on interestingly nuanced topics had a tendency to regress into more basic topics - particularly into cultural appropriation 101. Cultural Appropriation 101 is not a bad panel topic! It's an incredibly necessary one. But it's also a panel I have been to several times now, and while I think other panels should certainly touch on it where relevant, I wanted a bit more than Different Topic 101 from "Ancient Cultures and Context" and the discussion of religion in fantasy, for instance.

Overall though, I had a good time with the panels - even when frustrating (cough, Scalzi showboating and talking over other panelists in "Systems as Villains" when he didn't actually have anything to say, cough), they were fuel for conversation with interesting people, and there were some truly interesting ideas in there too. Maybe I'll manage to incorporate a few into my own writing. I hope so.

Self-Indulgent Gender Stuff

I'll try not to ramble about this too much, but it was pretty significant to my con experience. This was my first con since coming out as a trans woman (it also coincided with my 1 year anniversary of starting HRT). Honestly, coming up to it, I was pretty stressed - despite knowing on paper that a substantial part of WorldCon is queer nerds, it didn't quite make it through to my brain, or at least I suppose endocrine system (I worry about my appearance anyway, and was just coming off a bit of a doomspiral about my features at the 12 month mark, which may not have helped!).

But everyone was genuinely very nice about it - including everyone I already knew, but who hadn't seen me since pre-transition. And you know, it did feel really good to be able to present the way I actually wanted to at other cons (pre transition, I can't deny a certain - large - amount of envy at fem con + cosplay outfits, and I actually get to do some of that now). I even got some compliments on my outfits, which was very flattering (plus one person inexplicably wanting to draw me at the Hugo afterparty).

Did that stop me from worrying? Silly question. I still spent a lot of the con convinced I looked terrible in so, so many ways, and had to frequently borrow some reassurance from spouse and friend (I'm so sorry). There were a few low points. But I'm so glad I did it. Hopefully the start of many more cons presenting more comfortably.

Plus, I have discovered a great secret. My terrible dancing is drastically improved by the addition of a swooshy skirt. (Well, maybe some other stuff helped too, but I'll go with that)

People

I've talked a lot about official, organised things where I was there as a spectator: panels, the Hugos. But really, so much of WorldCon is just spending time with lovely people.

I got to do lots of the con with spouse and a soon-to-be-ex-Oxford friend, who I have really fond memories of doing other cons with. Lots of silly late night dancing. Lots of in depth discussions, from the deeply absurd to the (maybe) absurdly deep (or maybe just the former all over again). I got to see other Oxford friends in the magic con zone! @frith-in-tombs between track stuff and @vivelabagatelle occasionally too.

I got to catch up with other friends, especially the ex-Oxford folks! It was lovely to spend more time with @howlsmovinglibrary again (who also ran some excellent panels, and has definitely sold me on this villainess book), as well as Entourage, @cardboardmoose, and others (if I haven't named you explicitly it's probably because I thought the only way I've got of naming you might be too identifiable, and I don't know your name on here).

I got to meet new people, which honestly is one of the best things at a con. I spent a lovely night chatting to @canmom about all sorts of diversely interesting things, from opera to game design - completely unexpectedly after inexplicably working up the courage to venture a "hey, you're not [tumblr name] on tumblr, are you?" (at least I didn't comment on anybody's shoelaces, is all I can say in my defence). I met a distant friend from Discord and compared very different con plans - and a truly excellent crocheted Mr Pages. I chatted with a few more in panels. I finally got to hang out with Roseanna more than in passing (typically we've wound up communicating only through a mutual friend, Entourage since we've never really overlapped properly - I remember back when she asked me about reviewing, and look how the tables have tabled!) and had a great time dissecting the Hugos. (Another very well deserved Hugo win btw). I also learned that apparently I was referred to frequently as DAF by her and said friend, and she's completely forgotten what it stood for? I have a pressing need to solve this mystery.

And of course, there are some friends I dearly miss being able to con with too. Perhaps one day we'll be able to do so again.

What Next?

As I mentioned, so many post-con emotions! Five years really is too long between travellable worldcons for my liking.

Which means resolution 1 is: maybe I should do more cons? While flying transatlantic for WorldCon feels like a Lot, I've never made it to an Eastercon before, and I think I'd like to.

I've also reached out to plan a few meetups with nearby-ish worldcon people like Roseanna - I miss the con energy, and I think I'd like to get some more chats about books and such in my life. (Alas, distance remains a barrier for yet others!)

I also want to engage with more SFF writing - I read a fair few novels, but I feel like I miss out on a lot of reviews and criticism these days, and I miss that.

And as always, I come away wanting to put more energy into my own creative work - I've been planning a bigger IF-ish game (than my small silly/gift games I've made) for a long time, and maybe this is the time I'll manage the sustained effort to make it happen (and feel like I have My Own Stuff next WorldCon!). Hehe. Well, I can dream, anyway.

I should probably also catch up on sleep at some point.

It was a wonderful, exhausting, fascinating con - thank you to everyone who made it happen, whether more generally, or for me specifically. :)

[meet-you-at-the-north-star]

All-Nighter

Robert Leckie x Writer! Reader

Summary: you’re working late on a project and your eager boyfriend is being annoying. But also kinda sweet.

Notes: fluffy, a little suggestive I guess

Word count: 900

I wrote another sentence, realizing two seconds later that I hated it just as much as the rest of them. I sunk back into the chair with a groan, fingers rubbing my face and my eyelids. I briefly glanced at the clock I’d put on the table right next to my typewriter.

Almost Midnight? Was that right? I shook my head, dispelling the thought instantly. I needed to focus on the task at hand and nothing else.

Not long after my fingers were back on the keyboard again, I heard the light sound of steps behind me.

“Still not done?” the voice of my newly acquired “roommate” asked.

“If you’ve come here to make fun of me, you can go right back where you came from” I didn't take my eyes off the page, continuing to write, still in search of that rare, magical feeling when the words just seem to flew directly out of my brain.

He chuckled: “Not exactly”. He stepped closer until I could sense that he was standing right behind my chair.

“It’s getting very late, I thought you might use a break” He leaned down slowly started leaving a trail of kisses on the side of my neck, getting dangerously close to the collarbone.

“No, thank you” I gently pushed his head away with my hand, earning a disappointed groan from him.

“Come on, you’ve been sitting here for hours… as your boyfriend, I think I have a the right to be concerned about your well being” He protested.

I finally stopped typing and glanced up at him in disbelief, only to find him staring back down at me, his hands now coming to rest on my shoulders.

“Oh sure, I’m sure it’s all selfless worrying about my health on your part and you’re getting absolutely nothing out this” I crossed my arms, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, can a fully selfless act really exist after all?” He rebutted, clearly looking pretty satisfied with his own defense.

“Don’t get philosophical with me Leckie, you know that’s a battle you cannot win” I glared at him warningly.

He gave a hearty laugh. “It’s definitely too late for that” and then the cheeky look on his face was back, “Especially since my plans involve much better ways to spend our time”

Once again I completely ignored his attempts of seduction. “Our time? You mean my time. Tell me, how would you feel if you were running late on a really important article and I barged into the room wasting your precious time?”

“I’m not sure I’ve actually ever had that problem my-” He realized his mistake right before finishing the sentence, his eyes widening, but it was too late.

I abruptly stood up. “Out. Right now.” I began pushing him towards the door with all the strength I could muster.

“Wait, I didn’t mean to say…”

“Oh, save it, I know exactly what you meant, mr. Highly Successful Author Who Can Do No Wrong” The sarcasm was now dripping from my tone.

He’d been backing away, clearly allowing himself to be pushed as to not to anger me any further, but right at the end he stopped, grabbed my wrists and gently pushed them away.

“Please, I’m sorry, that was very insensitive of me.” He looked at me straight in the eyes and I could see please don’t hate me written all over his own.

“You’re an amazing writer and you’re absolutely going to finish this in time, despite the interferences of your idiot boyfriend” He stated softly but firmly, like a fact.

I could tell that his apology was genuine and my rage came to a halt for the moment. “That’s much better” I conceded, still processing the whole thing.

“It is?” His lips curved in an hopeful smile.

“Yeah.” I felt my body relax, the tension dissipating as quickly as it had accumulated, and I smiled back “Thank you for saying all that.”

“It’s true” He said with a shrug of his shoulders, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“Alright. But you’re still getting out of this room and you’re not allowed to open that door for the next 30 minutes” I warned him. “Or I swear to god all you get to do tonight is sleep. Possibly on the couch.”

I saw his mouth instinctively open to protest (his most natural reaction to everything) or say something else, but he managed to control himself, confronted with the seriousness of his situation: “Yes, ma’am”

“Oh, and…Lucky? On more thing” Both my tone and expression had softened considerably and he smiled at the nickname.

“Yes?”

Without a warning, I suddenly pulled him down by his shirt and kissed him hard, locking his lips on mine and tangling both hands in his hair to pull him impossibly closer and not allow him any escape.

When we finally broke off the kiss, his eyes were closed and he was panting, his forehead resting against mine.

A rebellious curl hung in front of his eyes as I backed away and I didn't miss the opportunity to move it aside with my fingers, delicately.

“See you in half an hour” I smirked.

[cherrylng]

MUSE Discography 1999 - 2010 [ROCKIN'ON (August 2010)]

MUSE DISCOGRAPHY 1999 - 2010

SHOWBIZ (1999) ■ A towering origin point that strips everything out. I saw them live and interviewed them at the time of their debut. I wasn't convinced at the time that they were going to be as big as they were, but I'm pretty sure I liked their dramatic world a lot. The band's debut album is a sad, full-throttle sound that shows their determination to carry on Radiohead's naivety and Nirvana's violent impulses, as well as the reality of a new generation.

The album is packed with special songs that have been made into singles, such as "Uno", "Cave", "Muscle Museum", "Sunburn" and the ballad "Unintended" which is sung in a very simple sound with acoustic guitars, an approach that is quite rare nowadays. In addition to that, there are also excellent tracks such as "Fillip", which are also on the album, as if they were commonplace. The songs came out of his body one after another, and Matthew must have been swirling with ideas he wanted to sing. It was also a happy encounter with producer John Leckie, who responded quickly. The title 'Showbiz' is also suggestive in hindsight. Not because of its success, but because of its content! It is a masterpiece that deserves to be proud of. (Shunichi Otaka)

RANDOM 1-8 (2000) ■ A project disc filled with sounds that could only have come from the early days of the band. This is an original Japanese project disc, which is quite valuable nowadays. It was made to commemorate the Tou-Mei-Han (Tokyo-Nagoya-Osaka) tour* in 2000 and is already out of print, but it's well worth getting even if it has a bit of a premium. It's basically a collection of singles that were coupled to singles that were never released in Japan, starting with the popular "Host" and "Coma" from "Cave", and it's a shame to miss out on them! The album is packed with numbers that are full of the nuclear impulses of the early days of the band. The songs, such as "Pink Ego Box" from "Muscle Museum", are in a sense so cluttered that it's hard to imagine them in their current incarnation, but that's what makes them so appealing. It is natural that there is a robust aesthetic that comes from meticulous construction down to the smallest detail, but on the other hand, I often have a special feeling for the beauty of disintegration. These various aspects are often felt because of this kind of project.

The slightly eerie "Forced In" from Uno, the grunge-tinged "Agitated", the live "Fillip" and "Do We Need This?", recorded for radio and on-air use, are all songs that I miss now. But now you can listen to it all at once with a sharp sense of sharpness that is nostalgic nowadays. (Shunichi Otaka)

ORIGIN OF SYMMETRY (2001) ■ Origin of Muse Sound Brilliant, spectacular, dramatic, excessive - all of these adjectives are now indispensable when describing their music, and Muse have newly defined "their own characteristics". With this second album, the band shook off the 'Radiohead follower' preconceptions and spells that have haunted them since their early days, and established 'their own sound + view of the universe' at lightning speed. The band's sound was fundamentally dismantled and reconstructed as the ultimate form of 'dense sound' with completely new dynamics, although the same John Leckie was employed again as the producer as on the first album. The album features a grand introduction of graceful, classical piano, pipe organ, synths, strings, etc., intense guitar riffs and distortions that are similar to those in metal, and manic, bewitching, over-dramatic vocals. The rhythmic structure is a cross between high technology and eccentricity. Everything is out of the 'rock view' of the British scene in 2001. In fact, no other new release from a newcomer was so 'heretical' in every sense of the word, and the media reaction at the time was 'stunned'. No one could define the 'unorthodox beauty and talent' produced by this country, and there was virtually no convincing critique. I think it was after this film that we began to see many new media terms such as 'neo-progressive', 'opera rock' and 'space rock'. (Yukiko Kojima)

HULLABALOO SOUNDTRACK (2002) ■ The origin of the spectacle. Released just before the band's global expansion after two original albums, HULLABALOO SOUNDTRACK is a two-disc set that includes disc one of B-sides and disc two of live recordings compiled from live performances in Paris, and is intended for core fans. . However, listening to it again now, it is a real treat (and therefore a great entry point) for Muse, reflecting the band's potential in all its glory. In the B-side collection, elements of experimental and folk can also be heard. However, this is not just an experiment, which is what makes Muse so atypical. The band's anti-sensibility and daring songwriting ability, which was far removed from the impression of being 'Radiohead followers' as it was thought to be at the time, is testament to this. The same can be said for the live recordings, which are not the same as the slapdash worldview of a literary rock band, but are more like a spectacle with a highly dramatic development and entertainment value. The soundtrack functions as a document of the band's eve of further success, as well as a text that reveals the band's true nature. (Mami Hatori)

HULLABALOO -LIVE AT LE ZENITH- PARIS (2002) ■ Muse were no longer just Muse. The DVD of "HAARP" goes without saying that it is the definitive live video of Muse, but this work is also indispensable when looking back on their history. Like the Hullabaloo Soundtrack, disc 1 contains footage from the Paris leg of the band's European tour in autumn 2001 (not the entire show, but a 90-minute selection from the two dates), as well as backstage footage and an introduction to the magazines Muse have appeared on the covers of. Of course, it is their live show from 2001 that is a must-see. Muse's second album, 'Origin of Symmetry', had awakened them both in the studio and on stage, but here they are still young and innocent. Despite this, their performances are already perfected. Of course, there are no flashy stage sets, lasers or visions, as there are now. However, there is already a presentation with a touch of irony, such as Matthew's self confetti, and above all, the performance has been built up to a strong level. Rather than a rare live video from the early days, this film should be seen as a prologue to the myth of Muse up to the present day. (Tomohiro Ogawa)

ABSOLUTION (2003) ■ Liberation from Gravity If I were asked to pick one Muse album, it would be really difficult, but I think I would ultimately choose this one. As Matthew said in an interview, this album, released in 2003, was a stepping stone to a full-fledged foray into the US, and from the tour of this album, the band started playing a completely different class of venue in the US. This led to the tangible result of their next album, which debuted at No. 9 on Billboard.

These classic songs still remain highlights of live performances, including "Apocalypse Please," which achieves an unprecedented scale without any heavy guitar outbursts, "Time Is Running Out", which became one of the most singalong anthems in the Muse song list, and "The Time Is Running Out", "Stockholm Syndrome", with its ultra-technical riff going through multiple transformations, and "Hysteria", where Chris' bass riffs make the ensemble sound like a three-piece. The consistency of Muse's discography is unmistakable. In terms of the band's worldview, Storm Thorgerson of Hipgnosis began to design the jackets from this album, and the motif of the limitless universe further unleashed Muse's excess. This was the start of Muse's second chapter, including expansion into the USA. (Takuya Furukawa)

ABSOLUTION TOUR (2006) ■ All about the formula of the greatest live band of all time. This is the second live video collection of Muse's memorable 2004 shows, focusing on their performance at Glastonbury, a turning point for Muse in the year that earned them the title of "the best live band in the UK this century". This album, which is positioned in the middle of "Hullabaloo" and "HAARP", is also in the middle of Muse's career, and it meticulously records how the band, which was a liberal arts rock band that aimed for European aesthetics and style, acquired a kind of athletic loudness and heaviness and ran on the path to becoming a stadium rock band. The album 'Absolution' and the tour that followed were the catalyst for Muse's jump up from being the lone devil of the scene to a band of a different kind that had a hold on the majority, and the drastic transformation can be instantly understood when watching this film. The film also includes extra performances in Los Angeles and San Diego, as Muse had already made inroads into the US and were now setting their sights on worldwide success. At the time, however, their popularity in Japan was still in its infancy. The Bay NK Hall concert, where empty seats were conspicuous, is probably a lie nowadays. (Shino Kokawa)

BLACK HOLES AND REVELATIONS (2006) ■ The Great Trial. The Beatles, The Stones, The Pistols, The Clash. Britpop, which owed much to these 'great British garage rock archetypes', eventually stalled in the safe zone of self-indulgence. Among the British guitarists who emerged in the late 1990s, Muse were quick to free themselves from the cynicism and disappointment of post-Britpop with their fusion of the beauty of classical arrangements, post-grunge modern heaviness and the restoration of passion. “Absolution”, which saw the band achieve something in terms of pushing the limits of their heavy, vertical-fall dynamics-power trio, was at the same time a milestone towards “The Resistance”, with its expanded vocabulary of synths and rhythms. This album, which lies between the two, is still a transitional period in this sense. Some of the songs in the latter half of the album have a sense of 'treading water', where ideas have not been fully realised or have not yet made the leap from the past, and the overall concept is also uneven. However, the idea of creating depth by integrating and narrowing down the sound, rather than just over-laying it on top of each other, has given a clear and highly finished form to the current live essentials such as "Starlight", "Supermassive Black Hole", "Invincible", and "Knights of Cydonia", with simple song ideas and arrangements (for this band), and has created an opportunity to reach a wider audience. (Mariko Sakamoto)

HAARP (2008) ■ The fight to 'embody all music'. "Knights of Cydonia," "Invincible," "Time Is Running Out": A spectacular sight of the most splendid and excessive art form of the band in the 21st century rock scene becoming "everyone's song" one song at a time. It was, at the same time, the moment when Muse transcended the confines of UK rock to join the list of 'biggest live bands in the world'. The Wembley Arena concert, with "Black Holes and Revelations" fully fleshed out and ready to go, was a spectacle of epic proportions. Even the staggering data of "160,000 people in two days!" seems like mere microscopic noise in front of the dynamic performance of the three and the roaring chorus of the audience in response.

Electro, classical, metal, goth, in short, Muse have taken in the beauty and sharpness of the world and have finally become a huge 'music itself' that covers our sight. From the hybrid sound of "Map of the Problematique" and "Starlight", as well as Matthew’s guitar hero-like appearance in "Stockholm Syndrome", the fighting spirit that seems to embody all of music by themselves is exuded throughout this incredible live masterpiece. (Tomoki Takahashi)

THE RESISTANCE (2009) ■ The pleasure of succumbing to the microcosm of self-reliance. Muse's latest original album at the moment is synonymous with being Muse's strongest and deepest original album at the moment. Muse is a band that has basically devoted their energy only to forward movement without deviating from their own aesthetic, so it is no surprise that the most recent album is the one that is most bursting with Muse-ness. The Resistance, self-produced in their own studio in the ancient Italian capital, is a limitless album in which the microcosm of the three exploded in an isolated environment where there was no outside world to suggest a course correction, only justice. As a result, this 1984-inspired album became Muse's first full-fledged concept album. Borrowing boldly from metal to electro-pop and even Chopin, it became the most varied album in Muse's history. Matthew is reasonably concerned about the world and reasonably proposes a better world through the numbers in this film, but his definition of this 'world' is highly fictional and far removed from what we know of it. But the discrepancy is so great that there is no other way but to give in. This is such an extraordinary album. (Shino Kogawa)

Translator’s Note: “Cherry, how many times are we going to keep reading these discography reviews?” Until there’s no more to be published about it, that’s how!

*A Tou-Mei-Han tour is exactly what it says on the tin, which is a Tokyo-Nagoya-Osaka tour. But in context, this is actually the most common tour circuit route in Japan, done by all artists regardless of whether they’re a local one or an international one. Many artists starting out in Japan tend to use this tour circuit route because all three locations have a large population in the cities, an active nightlife, and numerous music venues for low, middle, and high capacities, so it makes for a budget-friendly choice to the touring artist. With sufficient funds and just a van, one can easily do the tour within less than a week.

[she-wolf09231982]

Chapter 3- The Letter

Summary: The US Navy had fled allowing the Japanese control of the sea, leaving the marines to fight the battle for Guadalcanal alone. They were vastly undersupplied, and many were on the verge of starvation and some at the mercy of malaria. As thousands of Japanese reinforcements poured onto the island, Kate, Blanche, and the boys were strafed and bombed relentlessly. It was during these harsh times Kate found herself becoming closer to the guys and in a constant state of worry when Hoosier isn't where she could hear or see him. 

A/N: Mature audience, BillHoosierSmithx!FemMedic, WW2, OC/Kate Danaher, Female Pronouns, Cursing/Swearing, Derogatory Slurs, Womanizing Comments, Military and Medical Terminology, Inappropriate Nicknames, HBO The Pacific References, Mentions/Descriptions of Death, Blood, Weaponry, Smoking, 💚Very small Band of Brothers cameo quote…if you blink you might miss it💚

Story takes place Episode 2 Basilone Chapters 1-5

*These stories may not fall entirely in accordance with the TV series timeline. I do not know the real Marines the actors portray in this series, so please understand I show no disrespect. Some or most of historical events and character interactions in my fanfics are fabricated purely for the sake of the enjoyment of fiction* 

~~~~~~~ 

Guadalcanal 

September 1942 

“What’s wrong with him?” Sgt Stone asked Kate while she kneeled over a young marine. 

She had been holding a thermometer to the man’s mouth, and when she removed it, it read 105. 

“His temp is 105. He’s clammy and sweating bullets but says he feels cold-has to be malaria, sarge.” Kate finalized with a frown. 

Sgt Stone shook his head, “He’s the fifth marine to catch this shit.” 

“He won’t survive here if he stays. I don’t have anything to treat him with since that cruiser sank with all the supplies we needed.”  

Sgt Stone nodded, “I’ll try to arrange for transport if it’s available. We’re pretty much on our own out here.” 

Kate nodded, “I’ll do what I can for him, sir.”  

~~~~~~~ 

H Company was due to push forward the following day upon hearing D Company making contact with the enemy some 15 miles ahead. The men were instructed to police their gear to be ready by 0500 the next morning for the convoy. Around sunset, Hoosier scavenged beyond the camp for anything palatable to bring back to his buddies and himself for dinner. 

Leckie, Runner, Chuckler, Sid, and Gibson sat in a 7’ by 8’ foxhole they had dug for all of them to fit in. 

As darkness engulfed the island and thunder rolled through, Hoosier returned with chow. 

“Supper’s on, supper’s on.” he announced as he jumped into the hole. 

“Anything good?” Gibson asked hopefully. 

“What are those?” Runner asked skeptically. 

“Army rations from 1918. Quartermaster at Dog Company claims they’re edible-” Hoosier began as he handed each of them a small, unmarked package of food. 

He noticed the look of disgust stretching across each of their faces as they tried biting into the stale hard-tack crackers that were stiff enough to crack their teeth. 

“-after you suck on them for about an hour or two.” Hoosier added. 

“This is all you could find?” Chuckler asked. 

“You fuckin’ forage next time.” Hoosier spat back. 

They all begrudgingly continued to eat. 

Kate appeared kneeling over the edge of their foxhole. 

“Hey, guys. Just making rounds. Everyone doin’ ok?” she asked. 

“Yeah, just havin’ some dinner while Leckie reads us his letter to his girl back home.” Runner replied playfully. 

“Who said I was writing to anyone?” Leckie retorted. 

“Come on, you can tell us. Go on, read it.” Chuckler pushed. 

“We’d do it for you.” Runner added. 

“Guys, leave him alone.” Kate chuckled, knowing it was all in good fun. 

Leckie shook his head and returned to writing on his pad of paper. 

“So, you guys are ok, then?” Kate reiterated. 

They collectively responded, “yeah yeah,” knowing she’d keep on them until they answered her. 

“Ok, good. Make sure you keep hydrating, too. See you guys later.” she reminded them before standing and walking off. 

“Speaking of girls; how’s that bet going Hoosier?” Runner asked. 

“I’d say I’m in the lead.” he stated assertively. 

“That’s because I’m giving you a head start! She won’t be able to resist me once I’ve unleashed my charm on her.” Chuckler countered. 

“Yeah, and he’s a Corporal now! The ladies love rank.” Runner pointed out. 

Hoosier scoffed, “Yeah? Well, I don’t think she’s that type of girl. She’s not impressed by the number of stripes on a marine’s sleeves.” 

“How would you know?” Chuckler asked. 

“I had a little visit with her yesterday. Sat and talked to her for about two hours sipping on that shit Jap wine that we had left.” Hoosier revealed. 

They all stared at him waiting for him to continue, but he remained silent knowing the anticipation was killing them. 

“And!?” Leckie prompted. 

“And she told me she was only here to do her part for her country by keeping us alive. No matter what I said or did to “charm” her, she went right back into talkin’ about medical mumbo-jumbo or about her two brothers in the 101st airborne,” he paused, “she’s actually real smart.” Hoosier explained. 

“Well, maybe you just don’t got it like I do.” Chuckler returned. 

Hoosier laughed, “Have it at, pal, I’m tellin’ ya, she’s a tough cookie to crumble. She doesn’t melt over the same things most dames do. You’ll have your work cut out for you.”  

“We’ll see!” Chuckler shot back confidently. 

~~~~~~~ 

By midafternoon the next day, H Company caught up with D Company, setting up outlook posts about a mile away in case the enemy approached. With an entire battalion in the same area, a proper aid station was available with tables and cots to tend to the wounded and sick. There was also a chow tent serving hot meals which none of the men have seen in weeks. 

Hoosier, Leckie, Chuckler, and Runner sat in a semi-circle with their plates of hot rice. 

“I hear the army finally landed.” Leckie shared. 

“Nice of them to join the party.” Runner stated sarcastically. 

“They have no idea what they’re walking into.” Chuckler added. 

“Yeah, well word is they came with loads of crates filled with some good shit.” Hoosier voiced. 

“Oh yeah?” Leckie asked, his interest piqued. 

“Maybe we can get at some of that!” Chuckler suggested. 

“If you do, see if you can get some clean bandages, and some morphine. And get me some goddam scissors, I can’t get any.” Kate requested as she walked past the group after hearing them scheming about the army supply delivery. 

“Yes, ma’am!” Chuckler confirmed enthusiastically as he shot a cheeky grin at Hoosier. 

Hoosier released an exasperated sigh as he rolled his eyes at him, 

“You’re a fuckin’ idiot, Juergens.” 

~~~~~~~ 

As the Army staged the dozens of wooden crates and drawstring laundry bags on the beach, an air raid siren sounded off alerting the men of an enemy attack. The newcomer soldiers, unaware that the siren was signifying the attack on the airfield and not the beach, started running for cover leaving the boxes and bags unattended and up for grabs.

The marines waiting in the brush of the jungle like predators waiting to pounce, watched as the last few soldiers disappeared before they took advantage of the situation. 

Platoons of marines scattered out of the tree line like roaches, breaking open boxes and foot lockers, and dumping bags to grab what they could before the army came back. 

Hoosier found a good-sized crate with a red cross insignia painted on it.  

“Has to be scissors in here.” he thought outloud to himself. 

He looked around and found a crowbar lying on the ground. Snatching it up, he got to work on opening the box. As he removed the final nail, he pushed the cover off revealing an assortment of medical supplies to include cases of morphine and first aid kits.  

Hoosier scanned the area around him, “Hey Runner! Come here!”  

Runner trotted over to him and looked into the box, “Nice, you found the medic supply.” 

“Help me grab a few of these, will ya?” Hoosier asked as he handed him a couple cases of morphine.  

“Why don’t you ask Chuckler?” Runner teased as he tucked the box under is arm. 

Hoosier laughed, “You snooze, you lose.”  

Runner snickered as he grasped the handles of three syrette cans in his right hand while slinging a sack filled with tactically acquired treasures over his left shoulder. 

Leckie ran over, “Here! Throw some of those in the bag so we can carry more back.”  

He presented a large empty duffel bag for Hoosier to throw more syrette cases and first aid kits in. 

“Perfect.” Hoosier commended. 

As he tossed as many as he could into the bag, the army rushed back shooing the marines away. The marines took off running towards their camp, each cackling triumphantly at the soldiers behind them. 

~~~~~~~ 

After the excitement settled down, Hoosier, Chuckler, Sid, Gibson and Runner sat in a more secluded area of camp shifting through the prizes they obtained. Leckie sauntered up while carrying his drawstring bag of goods, sporting his new pair of moccasin slippers to the foxhole as a campfire kindled.

“Anything happen while I was prospecting?” Leckie asked the group outloud. 

“Betty Hutton stopped by giving out blowjobs,” Hoosier replied, “What’d you get?” 

Leckie took a seat on the log and showed off the items he got. While he was handing out cans of peaches to the guys, Kate approached them. 

“Hey, guys, did you hear that the army was looted during the air raid earlier toda-”

She stopped a few feet behind Hoosier as Chuckler was waving a can of peaches at Runner who had been sitting by the tree line with his pants down dealing with a bad case of diarrhea. 

“Peaches? I’ve got the goddam runs, and you had to get peaches.” Runner hissed at Leckie. 

“They were all out of cheese, Runner.” Leckie called back. 

The puzzle pieces started to come together as she looked over the scene in front of her. She noticed Leckie with a pair of comfy patent leather house shoes on, the multiple cans of fruit, and the brand-new M-1 rifles next to each man where they sat. She watched as Leckie excitedly carved an opening in his can, eager to eat the peaches and drink the nectar inside. 

“Uh, Bob, you’ll wanna take that slowly,” she cautioned, “you haven’t had real food for weeks, you might-” 

“I’ll be fine, Ace.” Leckie insisted cutting her off. 

Not at all heeding her warning, he inhaled the peaches and sugary liquid from his can. He slowly lowered it looking suddenly alarmed and pale, apparently regretting his hasty decision. He began gagging as he rushed over not too far from where Runner was and vomited the peaches he just consumed onto the grass in front of him. 

Runner laughed at Leckie, pleased and entertained by his misery. 

“Ugh, I told you, Leckie.” Kate pointed out with her hands on her hips shaking her head at him. 

The others sniggered as they slowly ate from their cans so as not to end up like Leckie. 

“Well, I was going to ask if you guys heard the air raid siren earlier, but I assume you did.” she continued as she crossed her arms in a motherly fashion. 

The guys responded with a collective, “Mmhm.” 

She waited, her lips pursed together as she scanned each of them with skepticism to see if they’d own up to what they had been doing during the air raid. They remained quiet, hanging their heads as they avoided eye contact with her while eating their peaches. She already knew, though. She just wanted to see if they’d confess without her outright asking them. She shook her head again, deciding it best to let it go. 

“Hey, Ace-” Runner called out to Kate, “my ass is killing me, can’t you do anything about this??” he begged. 

“Is there blood?” Kate asked invasively outloud in front of the guys. 

Runner’s eyebrows creased together inquisitively, “Huh?” 

Kate huffed irritably and walked closer to Runner, “Is there blood in your stool?” she clarified, speaking slowly. The others groaned in disgust, each placing their cans down. 

“Um-” Runner looked over his shoulder, “-no.”  

“Ok, good,” she stated as she turned on her heel to walk back, “When you’re finished relieving yourself over there, come see me. The nurses over at Dog Company gave me a case of sodium solution that can help that.”   

Kate walked past the group, “Enjoy your haul, you hooligans.” she said with a playful smile, winking at Hoosier as they made eye contact when she passed. 

Leckie slumped back onto the ground across from Hoosier, “When are you giving her the morphine and shit?”  

“Tonight.” Hoosier affirmed. 

“No way! You found her some morphine? What about bandages? And scissors!? How!?” Chuckler asked genuinely befuddled when Hoosier nodded. 

“Simple, I looked for it.” Hoosier responded smugly as he leaned back on his elbows. 

The guys laughed as Chuckler grimaced, resentfully drinking more juice from his can. 

~~~~~~~ 

That night as Hoosier was preparing the aid kits and morphine to bring to Kate and Blanche, fire clouds exploded in the distance and were steadily progressing closer towards them. Japanese aircraft’s were heading towards them dropping bombshells in their wake.

Whatever man wasn’t under the safety of cover dove into the nearest foxhole they could get to.

Enemy aircrafts soared over H and D Company posts, relentlessly deploying one bomb after the other as they passed. Multiple men shouting to take cover, and some crying out in fear, there was nothing they could do other than wait it out. 

The following morning, every marine across the camp that wasn’t injured or stuck beneath the sand was either digging to find survivors that were buried alive or carrying the wounded to the medical personnel. The entire site was in shambles with Jeeps destroyed and burned to a crisp while fallen palm trees lay across where the men’s foxholes were, trapping marines' underneath. 

The hustle and bustle of the aid station was never ending. Kate and Blanche along with a few Dog Company medics and a couple of nurses scampered from one man to another trying to keep them alive while able marines brought more wounded on stretchers. 

“Put him on that table there!” Kate directed to the men who brought another marine with a wound to his right leg. 

Kate rushed over, “What do we got?”  

“Right thigh wound. He said shrapnel impaled him after one of the explosions went off right by him when he was running for cover.” one of the men explained quickly. 

Kate tore through the pantleg to get to the wound. She knew right away by the saturation of the blood that the artery was severed. 

“Blanche! Bring me gauze, sulfur and bandages! I need to pack this, NOW!” Kate yelled across the floor. 

Blanche hurried over with what Kate needed, unraveling the long bandage and opening a bottle of sulfur to clot the wound. Kate balled up the end of the dressing, pushing it down deep into the gash packing it as tight as she could. The man shrieked and bawled, kicking and grabbing at Kate to escape the torture. 

“Jesus, hold him down! I can’t do this if he’s moving around like that!” Kate bellowed. 

The two men that brought him in pinned him down by his arms while Blanche secured his legs by his ankles. Kate layered the bandage hard into his wound, then when she couldn’t fit anymore, she placed a padded bandage over the top wrapping the ends snug around the thigh tying it down to maintain pressure. The bleeding had finally stopped. 

Kate took a syrette and injected it into the meatier part of the marine’s shoulder. 

“Take him over there where the rest of ‘em are.” Kate panted as she weakly motioned over to the treated casualties, recovering in the shade of a hanging tarp. 

“You doing ok, Kate?” Blanche asked. 

Kate nodded, “Did you see Sid?”  

“No, thank goodness,” Blanche breathily replied, “What about Hoosier?”  

Kate looked at her shocked, “Well, no. But I haven’t seen Leckie, Chuckler, Gibson, or Runner either.” she added.  

Blanche raised an eyebrow at her best friend, “Honey, I know you fancy the man. You don’t have to hide it from me.” 

“I don’t know what you’re-” 

“Ssshhh...” Blanche shushed Kate placing her fore finger over Kate’s lips, “your secret is safe with me.” 

 Kate scoffed at her then rolled her eyes, “We got more work to do.”  

She turned around and made herself busy with the next injured marine. 

~~~~~~~ 

Kate sat alone behind the rickety medic shelter, taking a minute to let her brain rest by closing her eyes and humming a tune quietly to herself. The hum of her voice slowly became words as she sang the song softly outloud.  

“There you are.” Hoosier’s voice came crashing through Kate’s tranquil thoughts. 

Kate gasped as her heart and body jumped from surprise. 

“Bill, you have GOT to stop sneaking up on me like that!” she told him clutching the front of her uniform. 

Hoosier chuckled, “I am sorry, I really don’t mean to.”  

Kate released a long exhale, “Glad to see you’re ok, though.” she admitted looking up at him through her eyelashes as he stood over her. 

“You, too.” he returned. 

Kate blushed, smiling weakly as she looked down at her lap. She looked behind him and noticed a dog sniffing around.

"Looks like you got yourself a new friend." she acknowledged.

Hoosier looked over his shoulder, "Yeah, after all the bombings last night this little fella slipped into our foxhole, so I grabbed him. Hasn't left my side since." he explained.

The dog looked up at him as if he knew Hoosier was talking about him.

"He's adorable." Kate cooed.

“I have something for you.” Hoosier declared. 

“For me?”  

“Yep. But you need to close your eyes.” he instructed. 

Kate narrowed her eyes in suspicion, “Why?”  

“Trust me.” he insisted grinning proudly. 

Kate clicked her tongue at him but closed her eyes as he requested. 

“Hold out your hand.” 

She presented her hand palm up in front of her.

"Stay." she heard him command to the dog.

She felt his calloused palm gently slip under hers. His surprisingly tender touch sent electrical currents up her arm and through the rest of her body. She almost wasn’t able to contain her shudder. 

Just then, she felt a hard slender object placed on her palm as he slowly removed his hand from under hers. 

“Ok, you can look now.” Hoosier told her. 

Kate opened her eyes, face to face with Hoosier kneeling right in front of her, his eyes as blue as the water behind him. She looked down at her hand to find a pair of scissors.  

Kate’s eyes widened with excitement as she smiled at him. 

“You got me scissors!” she squealed throwing her arms around his neck pulling him into a hug. 

Hoosier chuckled as he loosely embraced Kate around her torso, “Yeah, I found a crate full of first aid kits and morphine and grabbed you a whole bunch of ‘em.” 

Kate leaned back looking at him in disbelief, “You did?” 

Hoosier nodded, “Leckie and Runner helped, too so we could get as much for you as we could. I brought them over and left them by the aid station for you. There are at least a dozen scissors over there so you’ll never run out of them again.”  

Kate’s heart almost rocketed out of her chest.

“You didn’t get anything for yourself while you were out there?”

“Nah, I don’t need much.” he dismissed.

She beamed adoringly at him and pulled him back for another hug. 

“You missed your chance to get something for yourself to get me what I needed? Thank you.” she whispered to him.

He squeezed her tighter, “Of course.” he purred back. 

They pulled away slowly, still smiling at eachother. Kate patted Hoosier’s shoulder before standing up. 

“I’m going to go take a look at those kits before anyone tries to get their mitts on them.” Kate proclaimed as she headed towards the casualty collection point. 

Hoosier fixated on Kate as she walked away. He was lost in a daydream relishing the feeling of her pinned against him when they hugged. It was the closest feeling to home he’s felt since he got to Guadalcanal. 

Kate stopped and turned to Hoosier, “You comin’?”  

Hoosier snapped out of his trance and clumsily scurried over to join her for the walk back to the aid station. 

~~~~~~~ 

As D and H Company fixed up the camp as best they could, they returned to foxholes to keep watch of the line. Col Puller (known as ‘Chesty’ to the marines) disclosed intelligence that the enemy was going to try to take Matanikau which was south of the airfield where the Americans currently had control. Most of the battalion was to join the 5th and 1st marines there to help defend the coast road into the airfield to maintain that control. This meant that Dog Company would be entirely alone on the front lines as they relocate to sector 3 of the island. H Company had their own orders. 

Hoosier and Runner were tasked to set up a listening and observation post 30 yards inside the treeline. While they were gathering their weapons and gear, Kate walked up with two ammo cans in her hand. A look of concern appeared across her face when she saw a tired rough looking Hoosier with his dog and Runner packing up gear behind him. 

“Where you two going?” she asked. 

“We’re settin’ up a little less than a mile that way along the perimeter.” Runner replied pointing in the direction they were going to be heading. 

“Oh?” Kate queried. 

“Yeah, the Japs decided to go around us to hit the airfield. We got the first watch for two hours at sunset.” Hoosier explained. 

Kate looked down at her boots inadvertently kicking at the sand, “I see.” 

Hoosier stopped what he was doing to look her over and noticed what she had been holding. 

“Whatchya got there, Ace?” he asked gesturing with his head at the small metal boxes. 

Kate’s breath hitched in her throat as she looked up at Hoosier, “Oh-” she looked back down at the cans perplexed like they just appeared in her hands, “-it’s for you guys. I figured you’d need these more than me and Blanche.”  

She walked closer to Runner and Hoosier handing them each a container. Runner opened the can and saw stacks of crackers neatly packed to the brim. Hoosier looked into Runner’s can, then beamed back at Kate. 

“I heard you guys traded your saltines for the peaches and figured once you ran out of fruit you’d need more rations in the field. Good thing I caught you before you two took off.” she remarked. 

“You’re giving us your food?” Runner asked utterly surprised while Hoosier gaped at her. 

Kate’s eyebrows drew in together, “Of course. Someone’s gotta take care of you boys.”  

Kate averted her eyes to Hoosier.  She blushed seeing he had been gazing at her the whole time, his lazy smile and droopy blue eyes, ready to worship the ground she walked on.  

“We’re so lucky to have you.” Hoosier muttered. 

“Yeah, thanks, Ace!” Runner said as he ascended into the cubby hole shelter they all built to share the fresh crackers with the rest of the group. 

“Anytime, Runner!” Kate called out. 

Hoosier, still smiling, walked towards Kate, leaving very little room between them when he reached her. Kate hiccupped when he stood inches from her, looking up at him with her sparkling green eyes. 

“You didn’t have to do that, you know?” he asserted. 

Kate grinned, “I know. You guys would do the same for me and Blanche.”  

Hoosier’s smile widened, “Absolutely.”  

“I have one other thing,” Kate stated as she dug into her dungaree pocket, “-here.” 

She held a sealed envelope with the name ‘Bill’ written in cursive on the front. He took it from her and as he looked it over, he realized he didn’t recognize the handwriting.  

He looked back at her, “Who’s this from?”  

Kate laughed, “Me, silly!”  

A smile returned to his face, “But why?” 

“Well, I heard you saying something about Leckie having a girl back home to send letters to and that you didn’t. So, I wrote you one.” Kate explained. 

Hoosier’s heart melted, practically becoming a puddle at his feet. He looked back at the letter smiling so hard his cheeks started to ache. 

“Well, thank you Kate Danaher. That’s about the nicest thing that any broad has ever done for me.” he admitted. 

“Glad to hear it. Oh, and you should wait to read it when you’re feeling crummy during one of your watches. It’ll cheer you up.” she insisted. 

“What if I want to read it now?” Hoosier asked with a mischievous smile. 

Kate laughed, “Defeats the purpose of me writing it for you! It’ll be worth the wait, cross my heart!” she promised as she drew a crisscross over her chest with her fingers. "-And when you do read it, you'll have to write me back. Those are the rules."

Hoosier was absolutely mesmerized by her childlike innocence. 

“Ok, I’ll save it.” he pledged placing the letter in the breast pocket of his uniform. 

Kate standing on her tiptoes snaked her arms over his shoulders pulling him into a hug as his arms instinctively embraced her pulling her flush against him.

“Please be careful. Both of you.” Kate whispered. 

Hoosier’s heart pounding against his ribcage had his chest heaving as his strong hands kneaded Kate’s upper back. He nodded, agreeing to her request. 

“Promise?” Kate implored. 

“I swear it.” Hoosier reassured; his voice low and calm like a song to Kate’s ears. 

~~~~~~~ 

[a-green-onion]

Formal Sexybeing Contest Intro Post

Greetings, citizen, and welcome to the Glove Kink Cinematic Universe Sexybeing Contest, run by our Most Glorious and Immortal Emperor, @a-green-onion (you can also call me Tooth; pronouns he/him).

What is the Glove Kink Cinematic Universe? More commonly called Lesbian Space Atrocities, or "that microgenre in contemporary queer sci-fi/fantasy, yeah you know, that one", it consists of books like Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie, Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee, the Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson, or the Murderbot books by Martha Wells (and many more--these are just my favorites).

If you don't want to see this, the tag to block is #gkcu sexybeing contest. If things get too busy I'll make a separate sideblog for it.

Authors of books being discussed are welcome to participate in any way they want.

Current Status: Nomination form is open until 3/8/2023 or sometime around then-ish.

If you want to be @-mentioned when polls open, you can put your url in the nomination form or reply to this post.

Rules:

Submit characters you personally are attracted to: sexually, romantically, sensually, affectionately, aesthetically, familially, out of a sick sense of horrified fascination, etc. Anyone whose magnetic presence generates desire for you.

Submit as many characters as you like, but one character per form, please! I know we all love a well-functioning bureaucracy.

Only characters from contemporary novels in the sci-fi/fantasy/speculative fiction literary movement sometimes called Lesbian Space Atrocities/Glove Kink Cinematic Universe/etc. This literary movement is nebulously defined and I reserve my right as Emperor to be arbitrary, ridiculous, and unfair in what I include and exclude. You can find some of my personal criteria in the nomination form.

No characters from the Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir. There are too many fans of that series and I want this to be a chill low-volume tournament.

Nominations close in a week or whenever I remember to close them.

I'll make brackets of some kind using the answers and then you can vote on them by Tumblr poll. Which characters do or don't make it into the contest will depend in part on how many nominations each character gets, so nominate characters even if you're confident someone else has already nominated them.

Corruption: This genre is all about the uses and abuses of power! As such, it is my duty as Emperor to abuse my limited power. If your favorite book doesn't quite meet my personal criteria for inclusion? If your favorite character got eliminated but it was really close you swear, maybe Tumblr glitched and counted it wrong? Something else you want from me? I'm morally flexible. Do not threaten or blackmail me; I'm pretty sure that's against Tumblr TOS and also it's not fun. Bribes are welcomed; do not spend real actual money to bribe me. Seduction is technically possible but I'm in a sexually and romantically monogamous relationship so you'll have to get creative.

Rules are subject to change whenever I feel like it.

Have fun!

[ilovedthestars]

for the character ask game: Seivarden

(Send me a character ask game)

First impression

I'm pretty sure it was something along the lines of "wait, don't people like this character? Why is she so obnoxious? (also wow this is just like The Left Hand of Darkness)"

Impression now

Genuinely one of the most fascinating characters in the series to me. I wanna get in her HEAD. Everyone who called her a poor little meow meow was so right. She's an asshole and all of her friends will tell you so. She's been found family'd by at least two spaceships. In a less interesting alternate universe version of Imperial Radch she would have been the protagonist but ngl i kind of want to go to the alternate universe and read that version too

Favorite moment

That time Breq jumped off a cliff for her, and Seivarden decided she was going to follow Breq to the ends of the universe, and Breq was like I hate you why are you still here. Or that moment in the throne room when Anaander revealed that Breq was Justice of Toren, and the first words out of Seivarden's mouth were "That can't be right, no one would give Justice of Toren One Esk an ancillary with that bad of a singing voice." She knew Breq/Justice of Toren so well and not at all.

Idea for a story

WHAT HAPPENED when she woke up in that escape pod after A THOUSAND YEARS. I don't know if i'm equipped to actually write this but I need to read it. I would love literally any Seivarden POV, honestly. The hints we get about what she things of Everything are so tantalizing.

Unpopular opinion

Haven't really gotten deep enough into the fandom to know if any of my opinions are unpopular? I think most people aren't interested in that hypothetical alternate universe Seivarden-focused story the way I am, but it fascinates me to think about as a point of contrast. Like that one time the Murderbot Discord made up the Ember Island Players version of the story, or that post about if TLT was a mainstream romance novel. Seivarden fascinates me because she is so protagonist-coded, in a story where the potentially-villain-coded rogue AI is the protagonist. She throws the Choices that Leckie was making into relief in interesting ways.

Favorite relationship

Seivarden & Breq! They have the weirdest messed up codependent kind of queerplatonic thing going on. I love them and how much they mean to each other and also how bad they are at talking about stuff.

Favorite headcanon

Hmm....Is this gonna be the question I always skip? I don't really do headcanons that much, apparently XD

[sleepy-hyperfixations]

Hoosier: You're too pretty to be this stupid.

Leckie: Excuse me?

Hoosier: Like. I want to shut your mouth. But I'm not sure if I want to sew it shut or kiss it shut, you know?

[hexedwinchester]

Supernatural S02E18 Hollywood Babylon

The Gilmore Girls reference popped and Sam bailed as soon as he heard it. Dean better not find out you played Dean on Gilmore Girls to pay for college 🤭🤭 my god I'm imagining Rory running out from Luke's coffee place calling "Dean" and then both brothers turn around. Dean is happy a movie star knows him but then super shocked when she is googly eyeing Sam instead 🤣🤣

I'm telling y'all, Sam did Gilmore girls and House of Wax and other movies to pay for college. He used Jared Padalecki as a stage name. Might explain why he isn't star struck like Dean is on the set and also how he was pretty sure it's "lecki" in French Mistake

Dean's love for food is too cute

I could be wrong but it seems like apart from meta, Ben Edlund wrote a lot more for Dean like Sera Gamble did with Sam. I'll keep a look out for other Ben Edlund episodes and come back on this..

Sam's polo shirts are bae!

Sam judging the movie is the most beautiful thing in this episode 😂

[lady-inkyrius]

I keep on being indecisive about this, so I'll just let Tumblr choose for me. I have had some of these books sitting on my shelf for a while but just never got round to reading (Schild's Ladder and Rocannon's World especially) while some are very recent acquisitions (like Time War).

The oldest book here is Steppenwolf (1927), while the newest is Serious Weakness (2022). The shortest I'm pretty sure is Invisible Cities, and the longest is probably either Lanark or Serious Weakness.

I considered putting Worm in here, but god I do not have the energy for that at the moment, and also the rest of them are all physical books that I own.

¹ When I say Rocannon's World, I'll probably end up reading the entirety of the Worlds of Exile and Illusion volume that it's in (It would be the shortest book by a lot otherwise).

[blueberry-ovaries]

EPISODE ONE:

PSA: i have no idea what happens please do NOT judge me

- Loving Rob Leckie, if he dies i’m deleting the app.

- JON BERNTHAL?!? what are you doing here 😭

- australia on the map! i’m wondering if the ANZACS are shown in this… in like passing yaknow?

- I hope Manny doesn’t die. i can’t handle losing another bad bitch.

- If i catch Rob Leckie’s dad… it’s on sight.

- Joe Mazzello my beloved

- Sid fucking dies doesn’t he. i just know he dies.

- those look like real nice oranges

- AUSTRALIA MENTIONED RAHHHHHH 🏉🪃🇦🇺🇦🇺🦘🦘🪃🦘🇦🇺🦘🇦🇺🦘🦘🦘🦘🏉

- them landing on the beach is so awkward, like genuinely would die of embarrassment.

- Chuckler is done of my faves tbh

- it’s different to BoB… Like straight into the action instead of starting at training… i’m confused on who the people are atm

- i would not survive this. too many bugs, i would cry.

- did they cut people up???? and tie them to trees?!?

- the doc died?!? 😭 poor man got blasted.

- this moves really fast… time is irrelevant and i have no idea how long they’ve been out here

- the guy who plays chuckler looks like emmett cullen

- “we’re killing ‘em” hmm… are we sure about that one?

- why are we tourturing the enemy?! just shoot them??

- i’m really confused on the time line here??? how long have they been here???

- are those cigarettes up his nose???

- rob leckie is like if david webster was less baby girl and more malewife

- that’s a funky ass infection

- “those guys look like they’ve been through the ringer” yeah no shit?!?

- hoosier confirmed pretty boy???

- SID IS 18?!? HES A BABY!?!?

[servantofclio]

Favorite books I read in 2023

I saw @asaara-writes missing my book posts, and looked back through my tags, and indeed I haven't done any in a while.

Also I seem to have kind of gotten out of the habit of posting on tumblr at all? I'm not sure what's up with that, I am definitely here pretty much every day!

It looks like I talked about books in some meme responses at Christmas, so let's go with:

THINGS CLIO READ: 2023 EDITION

Here are brief notes on things I read and enjoyed (not a complete list of things I have read this year):

Fonda Lee, Jade Legacy: Sequel to Jade City and Jade War and concludes the trilogy, and what a conclusion! The world and timeframe of the series just keeps expanding and delivers character arcs and an ending I found immensely satisfying.

T. Kingfisher, Illuminations: The author in young-adult mode, featuring a family who create magic through painted images. When a long-hidden family secret gets out, it could mess up everything, unless they can put their heads together and figure out a solution. Charmingly quirky and lovable characters, highly enjoyable.

Max Gladstone, Dead Country: I am totally here for more Craft Sequence always. This book takes our original heroine Tara Abernathy home again, older and more experienced. Really interesting to return to her close first-person perspective after several multi-perspective books, and very cool to see her now in a mentoring role.

Fonda Lee, The Jade Setter of Janloon: Novella set in the Green Bone universe, this gives us a great look at the world from the point of view of someone on the edges of the Green Bones' conflicts.

Kate Elliott, Furious Heaven: The second volume of her "gender-flipped Alexander the Great in space" series. I feel like I never see anyone talking about this, and I think she's doing great things with the characters and a sprawling space opera setting. This book left me really curious how far she's going to follow Alexander's historical career.

R. F. Kuang, Babel: This book is incredible. Magic here revolves around translation, and so a young Chinese boy is adopted by a British scholar and raised to be fluently bilingual; eventually he is sent to the great translation center in 19th-century Oxford. Here he and his peers, however, find themselves at the core engine of British imperialism, with all the ethical dilemmas that come with it. The book really captures the joy and camaraderie that can come through scholarship, but also has very sharp things to say about imperialism and exploitation. Intensely emotional, I'm happy to provide warnings/spoilers if desired.

Ann Leckie, Translation State: A much lighter take on translation, this is set in the Imperial Radch universe and, to my delight, explores what's up with the incredibly weird Presger translators. I don't really want to give anything more away; this was a really fun ride.

Arkady Martine, Rose/House: Super creepy novella involving a famous architect's AI-controlled house. Tons of mood and atmosphere.

Katherine Addison, The Witness for the Dead and The Grief of Stones: Two books picking up one of the side characters from The Goblin Emperor (which is also wonderful) and following his new routine. Thara Celehar's ability to touch a dead person and see their memories puts him in a role of problem-solver and sometime-investigator. These books are wonderfully humane and surround the protagonist with an array of compelling friends, colleagues, and clients.

All of these are recommended!

[ereborne]

1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 15, 17, 20, 26, 32, 44, 46 (weird or genre-defying books), 47, 50

Thank you for so many prompts!! This was so fun to do and now it is so long. I hope it's as good to read as it was to write out!

1) Name the best book you've read so far this year: I answered Aftermarket Afterlife by Seanan McGuire to digs just a moment ago, but I'm glad you asked too, because honorable mention goes to Inheritance by Nora Roberts. It came out in November, not technically 2024, but time is fake and 2024 is just beginning anyway, so I'm counting it. Inheritance starts pretty slow and for a bit I was wondering how it was going to manage a satisfying resolution, and then I realized she was doing something new! (unfair. she's been building to this since 2015, it's just that now is when it's starting to really click with me) Instead of a trilogy with three couples whose romance arcs each get centered in their own book, this is going to be a trilogy focusing on unraveling the family curse/haunting, with the four main characters growing tighter as a unit (and forming their two romantic pairs, of course) throughout. I really like the characters and I am delighted by the curse/haunt storytelling. Cannot wait to see more.

2) Favorite fantasy book(s): this is so hard. okay, okay, brief rundown. brief. I can do this. bookshelf by bookshelf, I think. we'll take as granted everything by Seanan McGuire, sure. Bayou Moon and Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews. By the Sword and From a High Tower by Mercedes Lackey. Bryony and Roses and Summer in Orcus by T Kingfisher. The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley. Deep Wizardry by Diane Duane. The Long Patrol-Marlfox-Taggerung by Brian Jacques, which I always read in a shot as if they were one book. Similarly, the Protector of the Small and Magic Circle quartets by Tamora Pierce, and the Icewind Dale trilogy by RA Salvatore. Tangled Webs by Elaine Cunningham. The Return of the King by JRR Tolkien (really all the LotR trilogy, but even I cannot say I sit and read them all three straight through as if they were one). The Wee Free Men and Thud! by Terry Pratchett.

4) Favorite science fiction book(s): The Ship Who Sang and Dragonsdawn by Anne McCaffrey. Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie. Exit Strategy and Network Effect by Martha Wells. The Galaxy and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers. Rescues and the Rhyssa by TS Porter (also a favored queer fiction book, but I love the alien worldbuilding so much it has to be here)

8) Favorite queer fiction book(s): Humanity for Beginners by Faith Mudge. Nightvine by Felicia Davin. the Harwood Spellbook series by Stephanie Burgis (also a down-in-one-shot series). Holly and Oak by R Cooper.

12) Favorite horror book(s): I haven't read too many horror books, so my pool is limited here, but The Twisted Ones and The Hollow Places by T Kingfisher both gave me the shudders so bad.

15) Which genre(s) are your favorite? Fantasy! I love all the fantasy subgenres, and especially the magical realism overlaps.

17) Favorite finished book series: How finished is finished? A lot of my serieses are made up of several trilogy/quartet subsets together in a world. hmmmm. The Protector of the Small quartet again by Tamora Pierce, I think.

20) Where and how do you find new books to read? I mentioned in my reply to digs that I'm subscribed to a ton of newsletters, but I feel like I undersold their effect on me. I don't know how many I'm subscribed to--just sat here and off the top of my head counted to eighteen that post at least weekly and I'm so sure I'm missing some--and I love having that regular infusion of book progress and reviews and writing thoughts and commentary. I really do recommend that folks subscribe to their favorite authors.

26) Favorite novella(s): Silver Shark by Ilona Andrews. The Seven Brides-to-Be of Generalissimo Vlad by Victoria Goddard. Jackalope Wives by T Kingfisher.

32) Name your favorite author(s): massive overlap with everybody else I've listed here. who haven't I mentioned? Jennie Crusie, Jayne Ann Krentz, JD Robb (which is a Nora Roberts penname but they've got distinct enough works I want to list them out separate). Patricia Briggs, Patricia C Wrede, Max Gladstone, Gail Carriger, Nalini Singh. And Ed Greenwood, about half the time.

44) The book(s) whose stories have become part of your very makeup: The Lord of the Rings trilogy by JRR Tolkien. Watership Down by Richard Adams. Agnes and the Hitman by Jennifer Crusie. Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs. The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett. Phoenix & Ashes by Mercedes Lackey. The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard.

46) I like (weird or genre-defying books), recommend me a book to read, please: First thought was the Humans Are Weird series by Betty Adams, though that might not be what you mean. They're intensely fun collections of 'humans are space-orcs' style vignettes. Maybe more directly books that are weird would be the Craft Sequence series by Max Gladstone and Hammers on Bone by Cassandra Khaw. Very toothy complicated magical realism. And my favorite genre-blending books are always the Elemental Masters books by Mercedes Lackey. A Study in Sable for instance is equal parts a Sherlock Holmes story and a retelling of The Twa Sisters fairytale, and also a coherent installment in an ongoing historical fantasy series about elemental mages in early 1900s England.

47) What are the last three books you read? Indexing by Seanan McGuire, Die in Plain Sight by Elizabeth Lowell, Pirate's Honor by Chris A Jackson

50) What kind of book have you never read but always hope to find at some point in the future? This is such a fascinating question. I don't know that there's anything in particular that I've always wanted and never found, but there are things I'm always looking for more and better examples of. I'm extremely picky about soulmate AUs, so a good one especially captivates me. Oh, or a really well-handled impromptu adoption! Child characters and bureaucracy are both tricky to write and things I know a lot about, and when they're done well they hook me so hard.

[inverse-problem]

hiii you posted something about having read most of the like, recommended books with robots in them and i was just curious if you would be cool with listing some that youd rec? trying to read more books with robots in them and curious for ideas :]

sure! was gonna do a whole organized post but I may as well just get some down for now. not gonna be an exhaustive list (there's a bunch on my to-read list I don't want to rec before I read it myself), my summaries may be dubious, my taste may also be dubious, but here's a few I liked. I definitely recommend seeking stuff out outside of my list bc honestly it's quite limited now that I'm looking at it lol. be warned also that a lot of these deal with heavy themes of stuff including identity, bodily autonomy, etc. (idk which specific topics may be an issue so be sure to consult a trigger list if necessary). also I have yet to find anything with a robot romance that I find particularly compelling but ah well

the murderbot diaries series by martha wells: pretty much everyone's gonna recommend these to you, and for good reason imo, they're quite solid. main character is basically a security guard cyborg (humanoid but not human) who hacked its programming and is trying to figure out what it actually wants to do with itself now that it has free will. all it wants to do is watch tv shows in its head and avoid interacting with people, but life-or-death situations and its penchant for wanting to rescue people keep getting in its way

the imperial radch series by ann leckie: sentient spaceship ai that once had hundreds of human bodies all networked to a central ai, on a revenge quest. lots of themes of identity, lots of space geopolitics, a big horrendous empire that people are grappling with being complicit in, and an interesting take on a single-gendered society inspired by ursula leguin's the left hand of darkness (also a solid book, no robots there though). gets quite intense at times because of the sorts of horrors that evil empires get up to

17776 by jon bois: (note the link is to a website that turns into the story when you scroll through, watch out if flickering/eyestrain/etc is an issue) technically not a book but a multimedia webnovel of sorts (with short animations and videos, but mostly written as dialogue between characters). it's the year 17776, a lot of places are underwater, humanity has found itself immortal, and several space probes have gained sentience. now, the space probes busy themselves with watching and discussing what the humans are doing to entertain themselves, which mostly involves really absurd games of football. a bit absurdist and existential but very fun, even if you don't know much about football

the monk and robot series, by becky chambers: this one is very chill; a monk in a cozy post-industrial future setting doesn't know what they want from life so they go on adventure on impulse and meet a robot. robots have been out of contact with humanity for a long time, so both of them learn a lot from each other

the wayfarers series, also by becky chambers: haven't read all of them yet but the first book is a chill character-driven space road trip story with a friendly ship ai. lots of found family themes, and great if you like seeing a story where people are working together and are really in their element. the sequels tell other stories set in the same universe, most of which also feature robot characters, and there's interesting alien characters there too

activation degradation, by marina j lostetter: a robot gets activated on a space mining platform during an alien attack, and has to deal with a bunch of ensuing chaos and misinformation. I mostly found the plot twists interesting here, the characters themselves were so-so to me

obligatory asimov recommendations, caveat that his work is old and has historical biases etc, but also that's where you get the three laws of robotics so welp. I, robot is an interesting collection of short stories, mostly focusing on how the three laws of robotics actually can break down in various situations. there's also the robot trilogy which is basically a buddy cop detective story with a human from earth and a robot from space and they solve murders. lots of caveats with this rec (for one, I'm not big on cop shit to put it mildly) but asimov does do some interesting worldbuilding and society building with how the earth and space societies differ. there's the foundation series that follows from these books but I haven't read that haha

the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy series by douglas adams: only one prominent robot here who sporadically shows up, but also this series is just a fun time. the premise is that earth gets destroyed by aliens to make way for an unnecessary space highway, and one very tired human survives and bounces around the galaxy encountering all sorts of weird situations. lots of humourous satire, some a bit dated at this point but much still holds up. also douglas adams just has a way with words

individual short stories:

fandom for robots by vina jie-min prasad: a robot learns what fandom is! a very fun read imo

a guide for working breeds, also by vina jie-min prasad, whose writing I really like in general tbh: robots dealing with a contract job economy

68:hazard:cold by janelle c. shane: robot stranded on an ice planet. I really like the description of how a robot's view of the world and communication protocols might look

cat pictures please by naomi kritzer: an ai wants to be helpful to humanity but doesn't quite know how; a nice benevolent ai story

there were other short stories I also liked but I can't find where I put them now, welp. let me know if you read and enjoy any of these, though!

[amemoryofwot]

3 books 3 sentences game!

pick 3 books 📚 you have enjoyed recently (define recently however you want) and try to convince your followers why they should read them - but you only get one sentence per book! And then tag some people I guess? 😁

Thank you @tyrantleto for the tag! I'm pretty sure most people here will have read what I have recently read but here goes:

Victory of Eagles - Naomi Novik

The French Army and a disgraced member of the Chinese imperial family hate him and want him dead, but his dragon and government said Traitor! you will live forever.

2. Ancillary Sword - Ann Leckie

What if you were a ship pretending to be a girl surrounded by girls pretending to be a ship and also your 1000 year old employee whom you hate but drag around like a sickly dog because you can never get back what you lost but goddamn your Caring About Your Crew module is still active and firing and you WILL fix this space station.

3. System Collapse - Martha Wells

You've fucked up a perfectly good intelligent bot construct is what you did, look at it, it's got PTSD

Tagging @lordgolden @sixth-light @cozcat and whoever else might want to play!

[picklebrinedgoblinmind]

Fanfic writer ask game!

2. talk about a notable time a narrative or character has looked you dead in the eyes and said “fuck your plan, here’s what we’re actually doing.”

9. in an ideal world where you’re already super successful and published, would you want to see a tv or movie adaptation of your work? why or why not?

17. what is your favorite line you’ve ever written?

19. what are some books or authors that influenced your style the most?

89. sarcastic narrators: entertaining or overdone?

Thanks for the questions, this was fun! 🥰

2. Generally it's just my muse looking me dead in the eye and saying "fuck your plan to write, here's what we're doing instead (nothing of any value)." But there is a story that I started a couple years ago that was supposed to be a quick little PWP (the porn is even fully written!) and it just keeps growing and morphing and growing again.

9. Uhm... yes? Not sure what channel or studio would fund a show about Rick and Evy (and sometimes Ardeth) having a lot of sex, though.

17. Oh geez, I wrote soooo much for a while there, and some of it was even pretty good. The one that sticks out for me, off the top of my head, is this (certainly more than a line, but it needs the context):

"When Evelyn decides you are family, there is no use in denying it." 

"Don't I know it, buddy." Rick's grin is as wide as Ardeth has ever seen, so much warmth in his eyes as he watches his wife from across the room. "Best damn thing that ever happened to me."

"Should we be worried about her fondness for collecting strange men from the desert?"  Rick laughs, but the warmth doesn't leave those blue eyes as he turns towards Ardeth. "At least she has good taste."

19. Hmm. This is a hard one, honestly. There are certainly authors that I adore or that meant a lot to me at one point – Stephen King, Tanith Lee, Neil Gaiman, Chuck Palahniuk as a teen. N.K. Jemisin, Ann Leckie, Ursula K. Le Guin more recently, just to name a few – but my writing style feels very much my own. I will say that I think Arkady Martine's writing style feels close to my own, not that I'm as talented as she is!

89. So overdone. One of the quickest ways to get me to put a book down, honestly.