#and yes by book 2-3 she's a real main character but everyone on this site left book ONE like hey. more of her please.

[kingjasnah]

this iss literally the steris website no one loves steris more than the gay bitches on tumblr dot com. she's the DARLING of cosmere tumblr even back in book one when you werent supposed to like her she had already captivated all with her list making swag

[rockets-capris]

Things I didn’t like about the Rise of Skywalker that I haven’t seen anybody else talk about

So after watching Chris Stuckmann’s and Jenny Nicholson’s reviews, those both about covered it, and everyone else via tumblr or Twitter has brought up everything else, so I didn’t feel the need to make a review for ROTS. And I still don’t. However there are a few things that didn’t get talked about . . . that I would like to talk about.

1. Get Chewbacca out of here.

This one is gonna kinda break people’s hearts because yes Chewie is fan service, he’s an icon, and everything, but he hasn’t had anything to do since Han died and I’m sick of Chewie just being in the background going “rAAAAAHHHH” and that’s about his only role. He doesn’t seem to be significant to helping his friends and nobody can understand him. Chewbacca doesn’t have to die but he can easily be written out. You know maybe that forest planet the resistance lives on just underwent a huge space hurricane and all the strongest of the resistance needs to help lift trees off of little forest huts and stuff. That could be an easy and fun way to both write him out and have him be actually helpful.

2. It was really really stupid for Kylo to try to run Rey over with a space ship.

This scene has been torn apart for a lot of reasons and I get it. But there is a big glaring elephant in the room in this scene. Why on earth would Kylo Ren, who now owns the biggest army in the galaxy, decide to run Rey over with his space ship?! Kylo would want the personal connection of a lightsaber battle. Unlike with Luke where he didn’t originally want a lightsaber battle presumably because A) Luke trained him so it’s possible he would lose and B) Luke is his uncle, and if he gets too close, he might chicken out because suddenly he’s bombarded with all these childhood flashbacks, and suddenly he gets distracted. Besides at least he didn’t run Luke over with an AT-AT can you imagine. Anyway this scene was only created for that trailer shot and you don’t have to give up that trailer shot because it is pretty cool it just can be literally anyone else in the spaceship.

3. Luke learned nothing from Yoda in the Last Jedi.

I thought the whole point of Yoda appearing to host a book burning and then going “just a pile of old books they were!” was significant because it was saying there are no special Jedi objects, and that the power comes from within . . . and maybe this is just me looking way too into stuff but I took that to mean lightsabers too? And then of course in ROTS Luke is like “the lightsaber deserves more respect than that” like whaaaaaat? You came back just to say that???? And then of course Rey buries it in dirt on literally the worst planet in the universe so she didn’t learn anything either.

4. Force ghost Luke stayed on the same planet this whole time. Imagine when Obiwan died instead of following Luke to Dagobah spiritually, he just stayed in that room on that ship, the whole time even as it was being destroyed. Why would Luke want to spend the rest of eternity on that rock planet? Does he have a personal connection to those caretakers? Which I can totally understand those caretakers are adorable and I love them, but still you’d think he could at least tear himself away to be a part of Leia’s funeral! Honestly Disney just shouldn’t have had Luke in this movie and I would have been bummed out but I would have understood cause Luke was the main character in a whole trilogy and he got a significant amount of screen time in tlj and I get it’s someone else’s turn now.

5. Not to be that guy but this new droid suuuuuuuuucks.

This droid, I think he’s called Dio?? Is terribly designed and adds almost nothing. I burst out laughing when I saw him cause he just literally looked like a Windex spray bottle on a wheel. I can’t believe this is our new droid and he’s not even cute. BB-8 is cute and endearing in some way he looks like a little hamster ball or a pretty robot marble. But this one . . . I don’t have much to say other than I’d rather this droid got cut out but it’s fine if you like him or you think he’s cute.

6. Kylo never gets to actually be the supreme leader.

Yeah you remember how excited we all were after TLJ came out cause now Kylo was the supreme leader and that was a huge stakes raiser cause at least Snoke puts some sort of logic to his strategy but Kylo is impulsive, and reckless, and he could easily blow up a planet without even thinking about it and now he’s at a highly emotional place right now! Yeeeeaaaah that doesn’t go anywhere. He never once gets to be an emperor and nothing feels earned at all. He had the chance to be a real villain before he gets “redeemed” (everyone’s already torn apart Kylo’s redemption arc and rightfully so it’s bad we know it’s bad that’s not what I’m here for) and he just . . . did not.

So I can’t really think of anything else but I may add onto this later but I don’t want a giant dissection. I feel like most people are gonna disagree with me and people are gonna be mad on this particular site that I acknowledged Kylo Ren but you don’t even have to like Kylo to know he was out of character in this movie.

[aelaer]

Tagged: All about me and fanfic

Thank you for tagging me @dragonnan! My fan fic history is a long one... and in three fandoms. Which is why most of this will be under a cut for anyone who has a lot of time to waste. And is morbidly curious. But there’s some (okay, dozens) of fanfic recs for three fandoms under there too, sooooo.

Tagging at the top so you don’t have to read my verbose-ness if you don’t want to: @amethyst-noir @cairistiona7 @mdcbd @phierie if you’re interested in giving it a shot :)

1. At what age did you start writing fanfiction?

13. You can still find my earliest works online, too; I kept up anything that wasn't completely deplorable (though fanfiction.net deleted my stupidly popular, several hundred reviews of a story I did in 2004 because it was script format. The bastards xD Popular with all the little kids).

2. Who is your favorite author?

Lmaooooo what a question. Okay so for three fandoms. The big thing that’s common between all my favorite authors is that romance is not a primary genre with any of these writers. So if you like gen (of all genres) you’ve come to the right post.

If anyone here is a LOTR book fan (especially Aragorn), let me direct you to storiesofarda.com. It’s an old site, not even mobile friendly. Anyway, go read the works of Cairistiona and Meckinock. If you're more into hobbits and anything fluffy, go read Shirebound. That I remember their names since I was last active in fanfic in LOTR in 2011 speaks to their quality. I've had the honor of meeting Shirebound several times in real life as well, this last time in New York back in April after several years apart (though I'd like to meet Cair one day for sure, as well). I had a lot of favorites years ago but I’d need to reread the old stuff to see what still lives up to my expectations.

Scanning my favorites in Sherlock, Jolie Black , CaffeineKitty, and hollyesque on AO3. Stillwaters1, chappysmom, Radon65, and Morgan Stuart from fanfiction.net. But I have a couple favorite stories from authors who only wrote a couple fics (below).

Now the MCU (okay basically Doctor Strange, let’s be honest), on AO3: Grim Revolution and merrywil (the latter is pretty new and needs a hell lot more attention, she is a great writer). I love those long, introspective character one shots. There's not a lot of authors who don't focus on romance in the MCU with Stephen as a main character -- indeed, it’s partially nonexistent -- so shorter list. ElenaCee wrote some great stories just after the first film but has sadly moved onto other fandoms.

Dragonnan on AO3 is currently my favourite whump writer. Two of my fandoms and lots of my favorite tropes. I feel spoiled. My favorite romance-is-their-primary-genre writer is amethyst-noir for her characterization of Stephen combined with the oh-so-fun (for us) scenarios.

3. Favorite type of scene to write?

I can usually tickle myself quite a bit when I get some really great situational comedy into a story. I can never be fully an angst/whump writer because I adore comedy. So yeah, situational comedy for sure.

4. What is your favorite fanfic?

Stop asking me these questions ahhh. Okay so I'll be mentioning fanfics not by any of the authors listed above (which are in my most favorite stories too but, well, their works are all favorites anyway. Just look at all their works in said fandom for more favorites if you’re lacking reading material and have similar tastes. And once you’re done reading all the works by those authors, come back here for more. Seriously, read the authors above).

I listed these fics in alphabetical order because that seemed most fair.

LOTR (Most are book-verse. I need to reread a lot of these. Most of these authors have several works for the fandom, though I think each of these particular stories have Aragorn as a primary character):

A Proper Course of Action by GadFlyGirl (absolutely hilarious one-shot after Helm’s Deep about ‘the Denethor situation’)

Across the Years by MistyC (a very creative and well-written story that spins an old cliche in a much more interesting way)

Butterbur and the King by Eledhwen (fantastic character one-shot from one of my favorite minor characters)

Conversations with the King by athelas63 (great characterizations, good healing scenes)

Conversion by Pentangle-linnon (for everyone who says that first person can’t be done in fanfic - read this one-shot, then tell me what you think now. A work of pure brilliance)

Crossroads of Light and Shadow by Mirach (this one I recommend simply for the creativity alone; the art she was able to execute with the text in flipping fanfiction.net is really mind-boggling. Very creative!)

Doomed to Live by fliewatuet (it was never completed, but it’s so freaking good that I am putting it here anyway)

For Every Evil by Mirrordance (fantastic modern incarnation AU that spun out into a series)

Greet the Dawn by Neoinean (a great, very long long-shot with two characters meeting and it’s just a great combination of humor and angst. More great characterization)

Helping Strangers by Imaginigma (fantastic one-shot, really interesting OCs, a wonderful scenario)

In Shadow Realm by Legolass Q (original concept, well-developed characters, engaging plot, truly magnificent)

Light Fingers by Aearwen22 (I think this is the only fic here that doesn’t star Aragorn- he’s a pretty minor character. Brilliant brilliant characterizations of the OCs and a look of a part of society often ignored in LOTR fan fic)

Pale-Faced Tark by Carafinwe (everything by this author is brilliant, but the visceral imagery she managed to capture in two short chapters here still blows my mind)

The Patient by Scribe (another fantastic modern incarnation AU that spun out into a series)

Ransom by MP brennan (man I just continue to see how much the LOTR fandom completely spoiled me with all of these brilliant, plotty fics. Another original concept with brilliant OCs and fantastic execution)

Shattered Stones by MCat711 (a very creepy, original, well-executed one shot that keeps you guessing the whole way through)

The Weight of Power by Nefhiriel (does it follow canon as established by the Appendices? No. Do I care? No. The story’s absolutely fantastic and makes those small discrepancies mean nothing. This was also the first story I ever drew fan art for. I then made something for Shirebound a year later, then didn’t make anything again until that Ebony Maw piece I posted a bit back)

With Hope and Without Hope by docmon (AU scenario in that the Three Hunters are captured while trying to rescue the Hobbits. Very well-thought out and compelling plot, fantastic characterizations all around)

Sherlock:

Annie’s Song by Berouge (One of the only romantic-leaning fics listed here [Sherlolly], but that is due to its excellent characterization and execution. Creative one-shot.)

The Case of the Missing Bus Ticket by Unsentimentalf (I think I burst a rib laughing to this story. Long one-shot. Situational humor at its finest)

Constantly by thesignofserbia (great one shot concerning Serbia)

Drowning by Dayja (I like a lot of her stuff. Angsty.)  

Firestorm by Dustbunny13 (This is... beyond words. So gorgeous. I adored it from beginning to end. Have read a few times. Sometimes accept it as season 3 alternate canon, it’s just fantastic)

Fortune and Bust by ThessalyMc (a wonderful gap-filler fic, very similar to a lot of my favorite authors listed above in quality and type of content)

The Green Blade by verityburns (excellent case fic)

The Holiday by Scriblit (both whumpy angst and humor and case fic? Yeeeessss. Another I’ve read several times.)

Landscape With The Fall Of Icarus by Caitlin Fairchild (another Serbia fic? Yes predictable of me)

London Orbital (another story, very long one-shot, where I burst a rib laughing)

Rigging screws, size 1 3/8 inch, galvanised by AJHall (another excellent case fic)

World Enough, and Time by StoneWingedAngel (an excellent and creative execution of a trope that you'll realize by the time you get to day three)

Doctor Strange (unless stated otherwise, they’re all one-shots. Need more multi-chapter fics... or just gen Stephen content in general):

The Architect by mudgems (a great what-if with Stephen, Loki, and the Time Stone)

Born of the Same Impulse by GwendolynStacy (WIP multi-chapter. Time stone shenanigans send Stephen and Tony back to just before Ultron and a few months after the car accident, but before Kamar-Taj [the accident happens in 2015 rather than 2016 for this to work. It’s brilliant])

Citizen Erased by Imagined (WIP multi-chapter. One of the only romance-is-a-major-genre story [ironstrange] on the list, but the plot concept is incredibly unique, the mystery is being unraveled so wonderfully well, and the collection of characters is really fantastic and in-character.)

The End of Infinity by FriendlyNeighborhoodFangirls (WIP multi-chapter. It’s canon compliant, only Stephen does a fantastic trick after canon and snatches Loki from the claws of death to go back to 2016 and fix everything. Peter, Tony also co-star. I am very much looking forward to where this goes)

Extracurricular Activities by EmptyHead (I am cheating here and linking a series. But it’s so damn creative, and while Stephen plays a big role, he’s definitely not the starring character. Synopsis is that MJ learns the mystic arts. It’s really brilliant!)

Geniuses by decotex (Stephen Strange's and Tony Stark's backstories, published before IW came out)

Hearth Sorcery by keshwyn (Another cheat here with a series of 5 one-shots, but this is too excellent and undervalued not to link. Excellent OC and world-building, highly recommend)

Holiday Magic by KarToon12 (Stephen plays Santa Claus for sick kids. It's adorable)

i hope you hold the mirror up (to show me what i chose) by CallicoKitten (Stephen and Tony being assholes to one another, published way before IW. I love it)

Like an Old Coat by ValmureEld (Could definitely see this as a follow up scene to the events in the Doctor Strange film. Great character interaction sequence)

Magic In Our Veins by Luna_Heart (the lack of Loki and Stephen interaction stories is criminal. Absolutely criminal. I want more!)

The Night’s First Watch by fathomfive (omg this is so good. So so so good. Excellent character study, I can’t recommend it enough)

of coffee and (questionable) first impressions by Phierie (Ooohh I love this alternate first meeting lots. Beat up on monsters and a coffee break after the work. Great stuff)

Project Code 131793 by StrangeMischief (Absolutely haunting and incredibly well-executed AU. I would adore to see more in this universe, it is so interesting)

Replay by INMH (the horror of Dormammu and coping with it)

You’ve Got Mail by Jadesfire (it’s about the mail situation with the Sanctum. What is not to love about that concept)

5. What tags do you avoid like the plague?

A/B/O, mpreg, not Mary friendly (for Sherlock), not Team Cap friendly, anti-Steve, anti-Wanda (or similar). Any of that anti-character bullshit, but in the MCU those are the two I see the most (and so probably make me rage the most. I once saw anti-T’Challa for instance and that just confused me more than anything). A bit of a rant in the next two paragraphs (I have Strong Feelings on this topic).

I don't tolerate the anti-character crowd. I really don't. Disliking a character is one thing and completely normal (I have my own list), but expanding time and energy to write just how much this character sucks is mind-boggling (and tends to make for really shitty fanfic. So you create a strawman villain of the character you hate for your favorite character to go against? Good job, you’ve made your favorite character appear entirely too stupid to deal with a well-developed character in conflict, and have made your favorite character 2D. Have a gold star). Your energy can be used elsewhere that isn't focused on hate. If you hate the character but aren’t creative enough to present them as anything but a strawman in your writing, don’t bother. Create an OC for your antagonist instead. Stop making canon characters so ridiculously OOC.

The real world is too filled with negativity to have it as part of a major focus in my fandom experience. It actually really, really bothers me that I cannot save a filter that automatically excludes all those anti tags as they haven’t been canonicalized on AO3. What perhaps bothers me even more is the number of kudos those hate-filled fics with incredibly OOC characters receive. The hypocrisy in this crowd is just astounding when you start pointing out the flaws in their favorite characters, too (FYI: All well-developed characters have flaws. I love Stephen Strange for his flaws. Before Stephen made his debut, Tony Stark was my favorite for similar reasons. It makes them INTERESTING).

Anyway, rant over.

6. What AU do you wish to write but feel like you won’t manage?

If I really really really want to write something, I'll write it. That said, there are things that I don't plan to write that I would adore reading (like that unfinished Stephen travels to the HP universe in Harry's fifth year fic ahhhhh I want that it would have made the 5th year so much better. Maybe if I bribe the original writer with fan art... wardmason you’re killing me).

7. Do you outline, or write as you go?

Depends. The outlines only tend to come into play for long stories with several scenes, and writing tends to happen first before outlining.

8. What has been your favorite story to write so far? Why?

Such hard questions! Uhhh I had great fun writing in my youth but I can barely remember it. Within this last year, uh... can I just say all of them? I've written about 100k in 6 months, I'm clearly enjoying myself here. I’ve had vibrant moments of delight in writing or planning several of them.

9. Do you prefer to write one-shots or multi-chapters? Why?

Both. Just depends on the story I want to tell and how long that story is saying it should be. I like posting a variety too; have one-shots coming out while I am working on the longer stories in the background.

10. What is your favorite kind of comment?

Oh those deep analytical ones that clearly took time to write. They're so lovely and really make my day. Every fanfic writer knows exactly what type of comment I am talking about.

11. Why did you start writing fanfiction? Why are you still writing?

I started because I had just seen the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie and I really liked the characters (before the sequels ruined them in various capacities) and I thought, "I should put them in Middle-earth!" 45 chapters and 7 years later that damn fic got completed (after dozens and dozens of rewrites as my writing abilities improved over the years).

Now, it's because I really enjoy writing and I like playing in copyrighted playgrounds with characters and worlds I love. Yeah, I could write an original novel, but it wouldn't be nearly as much fun.

[talesofsorrowandofruin]

11/11/11 Tag Game

Thanks for tagging me, @candlelitwriting!

Rules: Answer the 11 questions of the person who tagged you, make up 11 questions, then tag 11 people to answer them.

A. What’s your main WIP about?: I can’t even tell which is my main WIP, so I’ll go with The Brave Tin Soldiers Fall, my partially-completed Camp NaNo April project. It’s a sequel to one of my earlier stories, and it’s about: 1. two empires preparing for war; 2. an empress trying to keep her crown; 3. a princess trying to steal her mother’s throne; and 4. a dead girl trying to keep her still-living relatives out of trouble. (It’s a lot more complicated than that, but that’s the basic plot.)

B. Who’s your favourite of your characters?: Gialma! This weirdo started out as just a random background character who only existed to drive the plot. Next thing I knew he was a major character with an actual personality and a subplot of his own. He’s weird and awkward and generally just a disaster, but I love him so much now!

C. If you could choose to be one of your characters, who would it be and why?: Hmm, good question. I suppose I’d like to be Varan, because she’s one of the few sensible people around. And because she’s safe from any disasters or tragedies ahead; she can’t die when she’s already dead, after all.

D. How do you come up with ideas?: It varies, but usually I get ideas from things I like. For example, Soldiers and its prequel are inspired by (in no particular order) Alice in Wonderland, the story of Hades and Persephone, The Chronicles of Narnia, Elisabeth, and my love of C-dramas, history and languages.

E. How do you come up with titles?: Sometimes I use something that’s important to the plot, or describes it in some way. Other times I use a line of poetry, a proverb, a quote from a novel, or basically anything. It depends on what sounds right.

F. Do you make mood boards for your projects? Can you show us your favourite?: No, I haven’t figured out how to make moodboards yet :(

G. How much do you read?: A lot. In the last month I read seven short books, two long ones, and I’m about half-way through another long one. That’s unusual, though; mostly I read two-three books a month. H. Do you write in the same genres you read?: Some of them; I read and write a lot of mystery and fantasy books, but I also read genres I don’t (often) write, like romance and comedy.

I. What’s one word you always pronounced wrong in your head and were shocked when you heard it for the first time?: “Ethereal”. For years I thought it was pronounced “eth-uh-real”.

J. Do you have any more book/writing social media we can follow?: Yes, I’m on FictionPress, Wattpad and Archive of Our Own, as well as a few other writing sites.

K. What’s one thing you want to tell everyone about your WIPs?: ...Only one? I guess I’ll have to go with, I try to make the plots as original as possible. (Whether it works or not is another matter.)

Tagging @megxnswrites, @gooseandcaboose, @writersloth, @ownworldresident, @inthemoonshadow, @isanyonetoknow, and anyone else who wants to do this!

My questions:

A. How many WIPs are you currently working on? B. How many WIPs have you completed or almost completed? C. Do you reuse scenes or themes in different WIPs? D. Have you ever done NaNoWriMo (or Camp NaNo)? E. What do you do when you have writer’s block? F. Do you listen to music when writing? G. Are you likely to kill characters off? H. Is there anything all your WIPs have in common? I. What’s your favourite trope? J. Do you have a specific part of your day for writing or do you write when you feel like it? K. What books or authors are you inspired by?

[fortunatelylori]

Why the Jon/Daenerys romance doesn’t work (Part 1)

Are D&D really idiots?

Disclaimer: So ... my experience with Tumblr is veeeery limited ... as in this is my first post on here so if I fail to link things properly, give credit for gifs, caps or other people’s creations in an appropriate manner, I apologize in advance. Please let me know if you notice something like that and I will change things accordingly.

I have been scrolling around the site for about a week now, after having revisited season 7 of GOT. I will freely admit in advance that I ship Jonsa. However, for what it’s worth, when season 7 first came out, I was more than ready to abandon my Jonsa dreams and get on board with the Jonerys love fest, since everyone around me assured me that it was the end all be all of romance. After seeing the episodes for the first time, I was completely underwhelmed but I ignored my gut feelings because well ... everyone assured me that Jon and Dany were oh, so meant to be. Who am I to fight fate, I thought?!? So I just shrugged and moved on with my life.

However, part of the problem with this ship is that the more time passes, the more people like me, who actually enjoy watching and rewatching the same thing over and over again, start to see the cracks in it. I don’t mean to offend anyone that ships Jonerys, even though I probably will or anyone who likes Dany. Personally, I’ve had a whole host of problems with her character but I will refrain from commenting on my issues with her in this series and just give an opinion on why this story has the deepest scent of red herring since the invention of red herrings.

Before I get into it, I will keep these metas mainly focused on the story from a scriptwriting POV, since that was my job for a time. This series will be less focused on visual cues, camera angles and such. People with far more patience and experience have already done this so I will focus my observations around my area of expertise, such as it is.

In this first part I will try to dispel a few notions about  David Benioff, D.B. Weiss and their writing crew.

One of the common defenses for Jonerys, is that the creators of GOT are simply not every good at their job. They are unable to craft a decent love story for these two characters.

So the guys who created the most popular TV show on Earth, a show that HBO has invested hundreds of millions of dollars into, are hacks. Ok … 

Why do people believe that? Well, for a number of reasons:

1)      The show does not have the thematic scope and wealth of characters that GRRM included in his series

This is true. From the direwolves, to the missing characters, to entire plot threads, prophecies and themes upon themes, D&D have significantly simplified GRRM’s work.

But I would argue this is not because they don’t know how to do their jobs, but rather because they do know how to do it.

GRRM’s himself has said that he started writing ASOIAF out of sheer frustration with being a scriptwriter. Writing a book IS an extremely liberating experience after writing scripts. Why? Because words on a page cost nothing, aside from time and creativity. The sky is the limit.

The sky is absolutely not the limit when you’re a scriptwriter. You are constrained by all sorts of things like: money, sets, weather, daylight vs. night time, actors ‘availability etc. You’re always looking at what you can condense, tighten up. You’re always cutting words out of lines to make them sharper, regrouping scenes so you can maximize your locations, cut out all the fat so you can get an episode that is the required length.

And then there’s the all important element: the audience. People have different reactions to reading something vs. watching something. You read to get lost in a world, the journey is the main entertainment. In contrast, you come back week after week to watch a TV show to see what your favorite characters are getting up to.

Considering all of this, is it really surprising that they would cut out things like the young Griff or fArya from the show? Does anyone believe that the general audience out there cares about them? No. They want to see Jon, Arya, Tyrion, Dany … And they also want to see progression. A season of Tyrion on a boat thinking about stuff is not an option.

Also, GOT has quite a reputation for having a hellava lot of characters. Just watch the honest trailer that Screen Junkies have done:

At around the 3:20 mark they point out all the characters whose names you remember and all those you don’t. And it’s hilarious. Why? Because it’s true.

By season 3, people were still struggling to remember Littlefinger’s actual name. How do you think they’d fair with all the Greyjoys that pop up in the books like mushrooms after the rain?

So yes, D&D and their team cut out themes, characters and storylines for the sake of brevity. That’s what scriptwriters have to do, as sad as it may sound. That’s not to say they do everything right but by and large they’ve done a decent enough job for me not to assume they can’t write a proper love story for 2 characters that they’ve been working with for 6 seasons.

2)      Emilia and Kit have chemistry in real life so if that didn’t translate on screen, it’s because the scriptwriters were doing a terrible job at tapping into it

See, I would almost buy into that if it wasn’t for the fact that their scenes aren’t poorly conceived but rather are actively undermining the budding romance. You never get a sense of completion, of certainty from any of them. I will go through every scene in my next post, but for now, I’d just like to draw your attention to this moment:

(source: @dreamofspring )

We’ll leave aside character motivations on this for now, but if the script writers put that line in there to further advance the Jonerys romance, then they shouldn’t be in charge of writing commercials, let alone multimillion productions.

Are we to assume they simply forgot the other two instances where this line was used?

They revisited the Tower of Joy this season but apparently no alarm bells went off in the writer’s room at this:

(source:  @dreamofspring​)

They paralleled Jon’s arc this season to Mance Rayder’s but nope, simply forgot about this:

This script went through a dozen rewrites and probably 100 hands by the time it made it to the screen and yet at no point did anyone think: “Hey guys maybe we shouldn’t have Jon say good bye to his lady love by quoting Mance right before he was burned alive.” Those silly, silly writers.

3)      The show has taken a dive quality wise since they can’t follow GRRM’s source material any longer

There is some validity to this, I will admit. This season we’ve seen the likes of Tyrion, Varys and Littlefinger lose some of their vital energy and characteristics that have made them such interesting, fun characters to watch.

The Littlefinger plot, in particular, was poorly executed. In their desire to leave us in the dark about what was happening in order to have what amounted to a cheap twist at the end, we were given a convoluted, clunky mystery plot where everyone was playing everyone else but not really. While I’m glad, on principal, that the show established the Stark sisters coming together as a unit against a common foe, giving Littlefinger such a stupid ending left a bitter taste in my mouth. Not a worthy completion to the arc of one of the best players of the Game of Thrones at all. So yes, they dropped the ball on that one.

Tyrion and Varys are a different matter. The main reason why they’re rather ineffective and sidelined is because they probably shouldn’t be there in the first place. That’s because their entire vision on life, justice and good kingship comes directly at odds with Dany’s “Fire and blood” policy. They are just now starting to worry about this predicament but they’re both far too smart not to have noticed until now. The woman brought 3 dragons and a Dothraki horde into Westeros. What did they think she was going to do with them? Play boggle?!?

If I try really hard, I can find an explanation for Tyrion. I think, probably, he’s still reeling for the trial and murdering dad so he’s not in the best state of mind.

Varys however? He definitely shouldn’t be there. He should be with young Griff which makes much more sense since it’s very likely there is a deep, personal connection there that would make the usually cynical and skeptical Varys trust that the person he is actively supporting is actually best for the realm. But alas, young Griff doesn’t exist so he’s stuck with Dany, until he finally turncoats and gets burned alive. So brevity is at fault here.

All that being said, I think it’s unfair to assert that the show runners have dropped the ball. That’s because the more I think about it, the more season 7 looks like a part of a whole, instead of an arc on its own. There are too many open ended questions, too many character choices that don’t make sense (particularly Jon who is, by far, the central character this season) for it to feel complete.

Season 7 is like the Infinity War part 1 of Game of Thrones. You can analyze it on its own but you can’t really determine its true quality or meaning until you see Part 2.

I know this got very long so thank you to everyone that had the patience to read until the end. J

[homestuckisautistic]

Lanque...why?

I wanna start off by saying three (3) things. 

1. I am feeling much better now.

2. A few months ago, back in July maybe, I had a dream that I was still in high school (yikes!) and I had just moved to a new school (double yikes!) and Lanque went there for some reason and he was also the only troll there. Anyway he was very nice but all his friends called him “fingers in his ass Lanque.” Not kidding about this dream btw! Anyway I just wanna say r.i.p. to that perception of Lanque.

3. I wanna give a shout out to Diemen “I love putting drugs on my wiener” Xicali

This is gonna be an incredibly long post so I’m putting the rest under a cut. 

So where do I even fucking begin. 

I’ll start with Lanque’s life as a character, not his life within the canon of Hiveswap. 

As we all know, Lanque’s design was leaked long before his official appearance in the trollcall. A lot of people thought he was a butch lesbian mostly because of his resemblance to Sailor Uranus who was a lesbian in the original Japanese dub of Sailor Moon and apparently he looked like a character from Utena but idk anything about Utena. 

As we all know after Lanque’s official debut he was revealed to be a transgender man by infamous incest-shipping shithead Cohen Edenfield, (and one other person who idk anything about so I’m leaving them out of this) who also wrote Hiveswap and may I remind everyone that Dammek and Xefros’ relationship was marketed as wholesome and sincerely friendly and later it was revealed to be abusive. All I’m saying is that there’s a pattern here! 

Need I also remind everyone* that after Cohen revealed that he shipped incest it provoked a trauma episode in someone who was formerly a big name homestuck blogger on here and they had to leave the site for months for their own safety. Shit like this does affect people, it’s almost 2019 and we should all have the mind to think about how our words and actions affect others.

Now I’m not trans so I’m not gonna speak too much on this but personally I don’t think they intended for Lanque to be trans but rather what happened was they seen that the transmale community latched onto him and confirmed him as trans because of that. After all the friendsims have been taking cues from the fans (Galora becoming canon is a major example along with Amisia and Chahut being friends). It feels like a mean spirited trick and I can only imagine how shitty it felt for transgender men and boys who were hoping Lanque would be an actually decent person.

Onto the “good” route. 

I don’t even consider this route to be Lanque’s route. It’s a sequel to Lynera’s route. I don’t mind this because I’m always happy to see Lynera but wow I wish I had seen her under better circumstances. 

I’ve seen some people saying that the flower crown Lanque is wholly different from the Lanque from the other two routes but I disagree. It’s well known that abusive people often seem very charming and kind at first. In general, if someone is too charming, too kind, and seems too good to be true then they probably are.

The whole reason Lynera asks MSPA reader to go with her to the party is because she’s scared of Lanque. She fucking admits it to his face in a fit of anxiety. Which is to say that Lanque is an asshole in all three endings, we just see it to varying degrees. Also Lanque’s poem sucks.

As far as the other two endings, what can I possibly say? What can I fucking possibly say? Honestly, what can I say? I’m speechless at what happened. As soon as Lanque called Lynera a bitch tears welled up in my eyes and I only halfway succeeded at holding them back. When men call women bitches it comes from such a vitriolic place and even though the friendsims have no voice acting I could practically hear the hatred in Lanque’s voice. 

There’s really nothing else to say about those two endings.

It’s interesting to note that much of the dialogue in Lanque’s route is very tongue in cheek and breaks the fourth wall (”What about you? Oh I’m not real” “I mean I’ve had feelings for a girl before so it’d be really problematic if I liked a boy now.”) 

And the reason I bring this up is because of that last quote. Literally what the fuck. What was the point of that. Best case scenario is that everyone ignores it and moves on but because I’m typing this right now we all know that’s not the case. Literally all this line is going to do is promote tension between lesbians and bisexual women. It feels very intentional and very much like a jab at how lesbians and bi women seemingly can’t get along. It’s insidious. If someone thinks of Lynera as bi then that’s cool I honestly don’t care but her interactions with Lanque shouldn’t be used to justify that. Here’s why.

1. She outright admits she’s SCARED of him. She admits this in a fit of anxiety where she accidentally reveals her true feelings. IF she did have a crush on Lanque she wouldn’t have said “and I’m scared of you” she would’ve said “and I secretly have a crush on you and I’m scared of looking stupid in front of you.”

Also it’s literally feminism 101 to listen to people when they express disinterest. It’s also feminism 101 to not call people sluts as shorthand for “provocatively dressed” or “scantily clad” but that happens in this route too so whatever.

2. When Lanque starts coming onto Lynera the reader states that they think she’s not into it. Yes you can be flustered around a crush but that should mean that you have butterflies in your stomach and are scared of making a fool of yourself in front of them not that you are literally fucking scared. 

So, how could Lanque have been better?

Hear me out. In his original trollcall card, it says he “still has a livechurnal” (read: livejournal). So they could have made him super behind the times technology wise. Maybe they could’ve shown him having a busted old computer that still runs Windows XP because hey, it still works. Maybe his main pastime is playing minesweeper or virtual solitaire. Maybe he doesn’t even have a smartphone. The plot of his route could’ve been that his old computer finally breaks and he has to get a new one. Also, have him talk a bit about being trans and hire a trans sensitivity reader to make sure everything makes sense and isn’t offensive. 

Also, there is literally no reason for Lanque to be so shitty. The reason why Vriska and even Gamzee to an extent are beloved characters is because they have a motive to o horrible things. Vriska was groomed to be a child soldier and Gamzee was a victim of child neglect. Lanque has none of this.

I’m also very worried for Wanshi and I hope she never finds out how terrible Lanque can be. 

Also, fun fact: apparently Livejournal is very popular in Russia. According to Wikipedia, Livejournal is the largest social media site on the Russian speaking portion of the internet, and half of Livejournal’s userbase is from Russia. The more you know!

 If you’ve read this far then I want to say thanks. I also want to provide a link to “Why Does He Do That?” by Lundy Bancroft. It’s a fantastic book that has helped me understand why my dad is the way he is and if you’re dealing with or have dealt with abuse in the past this book will almost certainly help you. It mainly focuses on abusive men and intimate partner violence but the information this book provides can be applied to nearly every abusive person. Here’s the free pdf: https://www.docdroid.net/py03/why-does-he-do-that.pdf

I’ll be writing a post about the Soleils tomorrow,

- Mod Jessica

[alsjeblieft-zeg]

269 of 2022

asexuality survey.

1. What is your romantic/sexual orientation?

I’m 100% sure I’m ace, not entirely sure about my romantic orientation, except that I’m somewhere in the aro spectrum and definitely homo-oriented.  Maybe actually homo-alterous. One thing is certain, I’m definitely drawn to men. In short version, I usually tell people I’m gay, because I don’t feel like explaining evetything to those who don’t even understand. So yeah, I’m a guy and I’m into guys, easy conclusion. I don’t discuss my orientation with people that much anyway.

2. Are you out? To whom?

To my sister. She’s been very understanding and accepting.

3. How old were you when you realized you were asexual? What made you realize it?

In my 20s or so. That was before I’ve ever heard about asexuality. I guess I’ve just stumbled upon an article about it.

4. Do you identify as a part of the queer community? What communities do you identify with?

I don’t. I am who I am and I don’t overthink it. I also don’t like excessive labels.

5. Tell the story of the first person you came out to.

She’s my sister, she is bisexual herself. This is why she understands better, I think. I just told her one day and she was like “That’s fine, not everyone is obliged to feel it”.

6. Have you faced oppression because of your asexuality, whether institutional or societal?

I don’t discuss my orientation with people, so no. But I’ve heard many times that it’s a mental disorder that needs to be cured, or that it’s not possible because everyone likes sex, and there must be a traumatic experience behind it.

7. Who’s your favorite Doctor? (Or, do you have a favorite asexual character?)

No and no.

8. Do you believe there should be asexual pride? What do you imagine it being like?

To each their own, but I personally feel neither pride nor shame in who I am.

9. What does being asexual mean to you?

Not feeling sexually attracted to others. I do have sex with my husband, though, because I’m sex-neutral and I do it only for his benefit.

10. What have other people said about your asexuality?

I don’t discuss it with people.

11. If you’re out, talk about the most accepting person you’ve come out to. If you’re not out, talk about what you would hope a coming out experience would be like.

I don’t really feel the need to come out to people. My sister is more than enough.

12. Your favorite asexual Tumblr site.

I can’t think of any.

13. Your favorite asexual website.

AVEN forums. Yes indeed.

14. Tell us about a time you met another asexual, whether in real life or online.

Since I’m the member of AVEN and I’ve been for several years, I’ve met a lot of great aces from all over the world.

15. Your favorite asexual character/celebrity/person.

Definitely not Emilie Autumn - I like her music, but she’s fake as hell, and she’s been misusing the term “asexual” without really knowing what it means. Guess she felt like it makes her look cool XD from openly ace musicians, I’m not even familiar with anyone’s music.

16. Your favorite “asexual” book (as in, sex and/or romance are not the main focus).

Sadly, as much as I love to read, and as much as I love books, I  can’t think of any book that doesn’t contain any romance at all. But I love The Legend of Ice People book series, because many of the characters seem to be in the ace/aro spectrum.

17. Your favorite “asexual” movie.

I don’t watch movies.

18. Tell us a funny joke about asexuality.

Nah, I’ll pass. Most of these jokes are actually terrible.

19. What do relationships mean to you?

Having bonds with people I love. Since I’m likely on the aromantic spectrum, I value platonic and alterous love the most. I do experience ‘platonic crushes’ (aka squishes, as officially named), sometimes on multiple guys at once; for me, though, it’s just a strong desire to be close friends with them and including them in my friends circle. With close friends, I’m pretty tactile and I enjoy hugs and such. With other people, I’m not tactile at all. My husband is one of my best friends in life and we decided to share life together. He’s not asexual, but I think he might be aromantic. My ex is gay, but I think he’s demisexual, because he never put much pressure into sex.

20. Tell us about your partner(s). If you are not in a relationship, tell us about your best friend(s).

Oops, I’ve said a bit in the answer to the question above.

21. Your favorite asexual quote.

“Give your friendships the magic you would give a romance. Because they're just as important. Actually, for us, they're way more important.”    ―      Alice Oseman, Loveless    

Also this picture says the truth:

22. What do you believe causes asexuality?

You’re born with it, period.

23. What is your favorite asexual pride image?

24. Write something or post a picture about asexuality that upsets you.

25. What is the worst argument you’ve heard against asexuality?

See above. And calling it “a mental illness”.

26. Who is your biggest ally?

My sister, definitely.

27. What is your favorite types of cake?

I don’t like cake that much, sorry to break it for you. But if so, then cheesecake.

28. What is your favorite type of pie? (Or, is pie an acceptable replacement for cake?)

It is and I love me some apple cinnamon pie.

29. Where did you first learn about asexuality?

Somewhere on Wikipedia, then I found AVEN. Reading other people’s stories and experiences helped me figure myself out.

30. Tell us anything about asexuality that you want to end with.

We are valid.

[sambart93]

2018.05.04 WakasamaGumi Mairu (2): IceCream [Review]

This is the second installment in the WakasamaGumi series! I believe they are based off a book collection (see here). The first installment is here, and the DVD order is here.

Official Site here Official Twitter here Press Coverage 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 PreOrder the DVD here My Review of First Stage here

CAST and CHARACTERS

Tamaki Yuki as Minakawa Shinjirou Irie Jingu as Nagase Shiono Akihisa as Sonoyama Kaoru Nakamura Yuichi as Fukuda Harunosuke Yasukawa Junpei as Koyama Miyazaki Karen as Koizumi Sara Inoue Sayuri as Shido Shinako Wagou Shinichi as Maki Atsuyuki Kobayakawa Shunshuke as Souma Koyata Hashimoto Zenichi as Anno Kazuma Takeshi Naoki as Souma Kakunoshin Matsunami Yuuki as Tatsusaki Hiromitsu Onodera Zuru as Katou Tomoe Kamakari Kenta as Tamai Kazuma Itou Yuuichi as A Niwa Reporter Awane Makoto as Koizumi Takuma

Ensemble: Kida Haruka, Nakano Yuka and Ashida Chiharu

*

NON-SPOILER REVIEW Overall: This was a lot of fun (I feel I say this a lot but it is important!). I think I liked it just as much as the first one but for very different reasons. Don't get me wrong, neither version is perfect or what I would be satisfied with but they were good and fun enough in their own way. The first one was a lot of fun because of the story, the cast (I liked many in that cast and even the ones I didn't know I enjoyed for the most part), the songs and because I was new to MMJ so things like the paper props they did were so much fun and fascinating to me. This time I felt like the comedy really shined through and hit the mark very well, the adlibbing was very good, the main story was great (it focuses on Tamaki character Mina-chan and his dream this time), I really liked the side plot with the brothers too. I really liked the cast changes for the most part (I love Tamaki and Shiono, and Yuichi wasn't too annoying -- sorry NY lovers but I've never liked him for some reason). But I don't particularly remember any of the songs being memorable, unlike last time, and personally the romantic story line A. confused me (because of what happens in the first stage and to my knowledge) and B. girls being bitches because of jealous is really over done and just not fun to watch. Also I don't like how much they changed Wagou's character. And I really wanted us to stay focused on the military guys - I wish most of them had been back this time around. I do love Tamaki's Mina's story but I felt we lost a lot of stage time with the Wakasama and such I was really looking forward to see the ridiculousness between Kenta's character and Wakasamagumi. There has been a 3 stage announced so I hope we get more Wakasamagumi and a lot of the military back next time. And less romantic lines. Also I really enjoyed the NEW characters, especially the brothers, so it'll be great if they come back alongside Tamaki next time around. Rating: 6/10

SPOILER REVIEW

The story for me didn't quite have the impact this time round. While I loved the main plot line: Mina-cyhan realising and making his baking dreams come to life, and I loved the brother plot line; one trying to protect the other but both of in severer poverty; the other story lines just bored me; I really, really, really, really HATE romance in stories, ESPECIALLY when it's the troupey 'bitchy girl sabotaging nice girl because she's jealous' bullshit which is what we have here. Also I was super confused; in the first play they make it obvious that Sara is in love with Nagase but THIS time around we see Sara falling for Mina-chan and it's like WHICH ONE WOMAN?! Don't flipflop between your TWO CHILDHOOD FRIENDS!' so that ticked me off.

BUT, I really liked the ending for Sara's development. Most of this play she's either being attacked by the horrible idiotic girl, or she's being forced into omiai's // arranged marriages by her father. And finally at the end she confronts her father and explains 'I don't want to get married right now. I was go out and find out what I can do and do I want to do.' which was really great and girl-power. It was great seeing Sara get her control and power back into her life. She's pretty girl-power and strong in the first stage with all the protests and supporting the right to be 'free' so with this stage forcing conservative views on her and other girls trying to hurt her through jealousy, she does lose herself for a bit in this. But seeing her come out and realising what she wants and what she wants to do is so empowering. I love Sara -- yes, you heard me! She's one of the few female characters that I love and I'm so happy she found the strength to tell her father no. And what made it even better was that her father was understanding and accepted her choice! It was such a feel good moment. I kind of hope, thinking about it now, that the third play is focused around her. In the first one we focused on Nagase and his time at the military, then this time we focused on Mina and his dream to open his own bakery, and hopefully next we have Sara pursuing her dream and focusing on her. It would make sense because they're childhood friends and have always been together so I do hope! I assume the next stage is following the next book so I'll have to find out what the next installment is.

*searches* Looks like the next one is ‘Wakasama to Roman’ and there seems to be a spin off with the yellow cadets too called Meiji, Kiniro Kitan and Meiji, You Modan.... so we’ll see what happens next.

I was completely onboard for the cast changes, or at least I accepted the cast changes for Tamaki and Shiono.... AND now I've only just realised that Yuichi replaced Someya. Which doesn't make sense; I thought it was an obvious end for his character at the end of the first one. I guess that's why he doesn't have as big of a role this time around because he already got his head on straight and already has a girl in his life. But... you could've just not had him in it.

I like the scene in the beginning when the boys are slacking off at Mina's bakery/cafe and an officer walks in and they try to hide but JP forgets his sword and the guy is like 'oi!' and points to the sword and JP hastily grabs it and they run out of the store. I guess they still haven't matured since the first stage xD Shiono's character was funny because he'd get his sword out for any type of conflict or the moment that didn't suit him and everyone else had to hold him back xD I didn't realise until later but he replaced Kubota Hidetoshi which is a shame because I really liked him in the first one, but I guess Shiono is a good choice as a replacement. BUT he doesn't have the scar this time?!? What's that about?! They actually ate sweets during the show and it made me so hungry.

I really, really liked Kobayakawa's character! He was just the sweetest! (haha get it?!)

I've heard that Takeshi is a dweeb in real life but I've only ever seen him as Doudanuki in TouStage and in this and his characters are pretty similar in these two; very angry, very aggressive and very 'my way or the high way' kind of thing, so much so that he hurts the people around him (ie. manba-chan and in this, his brother). But I really liked the ending when he and his brother made up and TamaChan kindly offered them jobs at his shop and all of a sudden Takeshi was just the cutest and happiest character, running around and helping xD

KenKen's character was fucking ridiculous this time around! Unfortunately, he has no where near as much screentime as he deserves. But when he's playing Tamai he's ridiculous and pompous and feels above everyone as usual. But then he falsl for Shinako and becomes this romantic, idiot mess. And then there's other times where he's playing the waffle ghost and going around as like a narrator and doing these stupid dances and just being ridiculous. Everyone was laughing so hard. OH there was a moment when it was Shiono, JP, Yuichi, and KenKen. The three of them were facing KenKen in a line and KenKen had his back to the audience. KenKen started talking but messed up right away and the three of them just broke down into laughter immediately and KenKen tried to keep it together but you could hear him wanting to laugh so hard! It was a really good moment. KenKen was like ‘I’ll beat your ass!’

Wagou's character was also confusing. In the first one he's this quiet, mysterious, starts to get stupid towards the end in a funny way, ninja character. But in THIS one he's basically his Osomatsu on Stage character; a big shot with lots of confidence and completely pompous. So I am not sure why they brought him back and/or why they gave his character a complete 180 change.

The end dancing scene is funny because it's obvious KenKen character is still in love with Shinako. I also liked the dancing scene in general, it was sweet yet still had a nice balance of comedy in it.

TamaChan fell out of character at one point and it was totally cute. Something happened, and he just burst out into proper laughter. It was the cutest thing! Then during the curtain call, KenKen was showing off the marshmallow goods and started opening it up and showed the faces on the marshmallows before putting on into TamaChan's mouth and TamaChan yelled Wagou's character's line of 'DELICIOUS desu!' and Wagou got embrassed because previously in the play he had messed up that line a little so TamaChan was getting payback. Then Wagou pulled this angry sulking face at TamaChan and TamaChan (mouth full) was like 'I swear I'm not making fun!' so Wagou redid this line straight away so he could come out on top xD

Tamaki actually ices the cake here! So god knows how many cakes they wasted in total! I just hope they ate them every time! Or that the cake is fake but just the icing isn't.

JP's repetitive comedy part was catching swords with his barehands and then those swords being ripped out of his hands and his reaction everytime was perfect and so funny! His character is an idiot. It cracked me up everytime!

The Aftertalk

The aftertalk consisted of: Yuichi, Irie, JP and Shiono. It was super funny! They talked about what sweets they like and/or recommend to people so they said:

Irie: Monte Blanc << He mentioned he can eat 6 in a row and everyone was like 'WTF?! HOW?!' Shiono: Crepes and came make them himself. He used to work part-time at a crepe store. Yuichi: recommended Rokkatei which sounds like a famous sweet shop here JP: Choco with strawberries inside. And he also liked Rokkatei here

The Ex-Aid kid, Iijima Hiroki (how many fucking Hiroki's are there?!?!?!?!?) was there tonight! He walked in and he's tall and so freaking skinny!! He looks so much better in real life than on TV xD He has this white t-shirt on and flappy hair; no mask, no glasses. Just waltzed in.

*

GOODS

I’m lucky JP isn’t so popular so I didn’t have to try the random badges myself. I feel like KenKen will be easy to get too.

*

And there we have it! Stay tuned for more reviews/reports coming up!

[my-little-yellowbird]

Fangirl Asks...

I know, I know.  This has taken me 5-ever to complete.  Thank you to @bbcshipper , @elasticmonk , @fourteen-teacups   @thatginchygal and @like-an-officer-and-a-sergeant for tagging me in this fandom questionaire.  I really enjoyed doing it, and got kinda loquacious with my response.  This is definitely worthy of a Reaad More break!

@bbcshipper asked:

1. How much do your real life friends/family know about your fandom life?  My family knows, or think they know.  Friends, nope.  They know I’m a fan, but have no idea of the extent of my madness.  I hold back with “normals.”

2. Have you ever embarrassed yourself fangirling? I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.

3. What’s a recurring theme of fanfictions of you OTP that you find annoying/dislike?  Live and let live, and all, but I avoid nun smut.

4. What are some prompts/ideas you might want explored more in fanfic? (asking this one for some ideas, hope that’s okay!)  I love  fluff, of course, but I really enjoy fics that explore the real-world, ordinary problems and compromises that come with marriage.

5. What’s the meaning behind your tumblr name?  There’s an Everly Brother’s song of the same name, and my Grandmother used to sing it to me.  I commissioned an artist to make a stained-glass yellowbird and its become a sort of talisman.  

6. Favorite moment(s) with your OTP?  The hand kiss, the misty road, “What’s she like?” the so-sexy almost kiss in the tent, Teddy’s birth (I know. Don’t @ me. I complain about the story arc, but I’m not heartless)

7. How far would you travel to meet your OTP in real life?  If I were to meet them IRL, I’d have to pretend I was someone else.  I’m not good with worlds colliding.

8.Do you have a playlist for your OTP? (again, looking for ideas!)  Sorry, not really.  I’m terrible with playlists.  There was an old Youtube video featuring Pink and Nate Ruess of “Just Give Me a Reason” that gets to me.

9. What about your real life would shock your OTP?  Shelagh might find it odd that Patrick looks remarkably like Mr. Birdy.

10. What have you learned from being a part of the fandom?  I’ve learned a great deal about how different people cope with anxieties.  

11. What’s the best thing about your fandom?  My friends.  

@elasticmonk  asked:

1. What was your first fandom?  Call the Midwife is my first true-blue, throw-yourself-into-it fandom.  

2. What’s your favorite thing about your main fandom now?  People get me.

3. What is your main fandom?  Turnadette (sorry--do people actually have others?  jk)

4. Who is your favorite character of all time?  I can’t think of one, honestly, but I’ll say Molly Weasley, because of the next question.

5. What three quality’s do you think you share with your favorite character (of anything)?   Molly Weasley is devoted to her family, not afraid to love them and not let them get away ith nonsense,  and brave enough to stand up for right.

6. Where would you like to see your OTP vacation and why?  I’d like to see them at the beach in Torquay.  If Shelagh could wear the yellow swimsuit with the white band across the top, that would be ideal.  In fact, if they could live out any of my fics, I’d be a very happy bird.

7. What’s your favorite gif from your fandom?  I don’t know how to post an annotated gif mid-post, so I’ll just describe it.  It involves tiptoes, dancing, and a giant hand sprawled across a tiny back.

8. What’s your favorite picture from your fandom?  NGL

9. Who was your first OTP?  I guess I shipped Jo and Prof Bhaer as a kid?  

10. When did you start your main fandom?  I lurked through 2013 and into 2014.  I was very wary of the internet world, so when I finally identified myself, my palms were sweaty!  (My very first post was my first fic ever!)

11. AU or canon complaint fanfiction?  Canon-compliant, but I will read AU if it’s done in a way that sheds a new light on the characters.

@thatginchygal  asked:

1.  What was the first fanfic you ever read?  I can’t remember the first Call the Midwife fic I ever read.  It was all such a blur!! But...I think the first ever fic-like thing I ever read was a published Star Trek novel by A.C. Crispin, entitled Ishmael.  It was a mash-up of Star Trek and Here Come the Brides. So, so right.

2.  What was the first fanfic you ever wrote (if any)? Not Listening

3.  Your last text message is the title of your next fanfic.  What is it (and a brief summary)?

“I got you a glow stick.”  It was for a candlelight march.  I wonder...now i may have to do some research into marches in London in the early 1960′s...Or reinterpret that text for an altogether different purpose...

4.  Do you keep your fandom interests a secret from your RL family/friends?

No, it’s not a secret.  At least, not generally.  My feeling is, I have nothing to be embarrassed about, so if they want to see, then go look.  If they have a problem with anything they see, that would be on them.  Fortunately, their respect for my  right to have something just for myself--added to a little bit of fear of what they might find--keeps them away.

5.  What is one of your favorite scenes between your OTP?  I think Im going to pick the almost kiss in the tent.  It’s SoMarried!! and very sexy.  But you know, add about 100 more scenes and I’m good.

6.  Do you have a playlist for your OTP?  Sorry, no.

7.  Why do I suck at coming up with these questions?? You’re better than I am!

8.  Would you want to live in the ‘world’ of your favorite fandom?  Maybe visit?  Probably not.  I’m content to watch from here.

9.  What is your favorite piece of fandom merchandise? Oh, this is so easy.  I have the companion books to the series, a boatload of Nonnatun Holiday cards, my Yellowbird stained glass statue, but what I love the most are the crocheted Yellowbird my friend Soph made me, and the Yellowbird Christmas card Mushy sent me this year.  It’s framed!

In the fall of 2015, a group of lucky Nonnatuns went to a CtM panel that featured Heidi Thomas, Stephen McGann, Jenny Agutter, Emerald Fennell and Dame Pippa Harris.  A week later I recieved this promotional post card in the mail:

I have to admit, I was a little teary when I saw it, mostly because I was so touched that in the midst of their own fun, two friends had me in their thoughts.  They told the panelists about me, and how their show had helped to build friendships.  Everyone signed messages to me on the back.  I’m pretty sure HT’s message included an invite to tea.

10.  Have you ever drifted away from a fandom only to be sucked back in (perhaps by a new season or change of storyline)? Not really.

11.  Do you prefer canon-compliant fanfic or AUs?  Definitely Canon-compliant.

@fourteen-teacups asked:

1.  How did you come to join your first online fandom? Blame Call the Midwife.

2.  If your first fangirling obsession pre-dates access to fandoms, what was the show and/or your OTP?  In college, a friend was a huge Start Trek fan.  By default, I got interested (alas, not obsessed).

3.  If your OTP came to visit you in your town (in present day) where would you take them?  We have a lot of parks suitable for camping.  I could take them there to see a lovely site, then bring them back to my house for a nice cuppa and fresh sheets.

4.  What three things do you have in common with your favorite character?  

5.  What prop would you most like to have from your favorite show? (I borrowed this question from a behind the scenes CtM interview.)  The photograph of the cricket team on the surgery mantle and Shelagh’s long-lost sunflower brooch. 

6.  Same question but for an article of clothing.  I want the Tan Overcoat of Love.

7.  Where would you like to see your OTP go on vacation and why?  See Elasticmonk q6

8.  Do you have a) multiple OTPs; or are you b) a one-OTP-at-a-time person?  I have a great appreciation for many OTP’s, but for me, there can be only one.

9.  In question 8, if you answered a) list your top three OTPs; if you answered b) what was the OTP you dropped for your current one?

10.  If you lurked in your fandom before joining (or even if you didn’t), is there a fellow fan whom you consider “famous” in the fandom that makes you fangirl whenever they comment on your posts?  I was desperate for @this-unruly-heart to notice me!  One day she messaged me asking if I was the one who wrote a "Letters” fic that she loved. 

11.   Was there a particular person who was especially welcoming and/or helpful when you first joined your current fandom?  Many of the Nonnatuns of old that were supportive of my early efforts have moved on to other things, but the boost they gave to my confidence was immeasurable. Oh, and Sarge, too!

@like-an-officer-and-a-sergeant  asked:

1. When did you start taking part in fandom(s)?  I dipped my toe into the Star Trek fandom back in the late 1980′s.  A dear friend was a huge fan, and her enthusiam was contagious.  Sadly, she died in December 1988, and I had to leave fandoms behind.  Then, in 2005 we moved away from the very close world we had built, and I was lonely.  I started to look around for period dramas to watch and stumbled upon North and South.  I was unbelievably grateful it wasn’t the old Civil War mini-series, and I started to read everything I could find.  I came across C-19, and found fanfic as I now know it.  As much as I enjoyed it though, I wasn’t ready to participate as anything other than a lurker until Call the Midwife came along.

2. Which fandoms? Sorry, I think I answered that in th eprevious response

3. How long did you stay? Ibid

4. Did you write fanfics?  Yes, although sometimes I need a kick in the butt to make sure it doesn’t become a past tense thing.

5. Any memorable funny event in your fandoms?  So many ridiculous things have happenned here.  Hiatus Challenges, Limericks (!!!), Twitter responses (remember when HT used to answer our questions? Flat/house! Names!), Nonnatun Holiday Card Exchanges...It seems that the funniest things would come out of nowhere.

6.  Did you get long-time friends? (even as Real People)?  Definitely.  There are people I have met here that I feel I know as well or better than people IRL.  And one poor soul has had to bear meeting me in person and somehow still continues to be my friend.

So here are my questions.  

How has fangirling made an impact in your life?

What makes fangirling most worthwhile to you?

What have you learned about yourself by being a part of a fandom?

I tag: @elasticmonk @thatginchygal @fourteen-teacups @like-an-officer-and-a-sergeant  @lovetheturners @hihereami  @pellucidthings @gabolange  @missouiser @ilovemushystuff @it-is-bugs @crinklybrownleaves @majsmom   @missbergmans @miss-ute @snoopctm @mg-bsl381 @turnt4turnadette @cooldoyouhaveaflag @eatapinkwafer @weshallc @westcoastwilma @skerri @beatrix-franklin @alice1nwond3rland @sincerelygeertje @silentkw @flyingnonny @anamarialujan @purple-roses-words-and-love @bloghey131313 @poplarpatience @soibhanmannion @kaguyahime1224

and anyone else who sees this. My fingers are tired.

[emmaswanchoosesyou]

CSBB: Part of the Narrative (17/17)

Emma Swan just wants to write the follow-up to her bestselling debut novel, that’s all. But when she gets off to a rough start with her new editor, Killian Jones, she knows it’s not going according to plan. Then, an unexpected figure from Emma’s past reappears and life begins to mirror the crime thriller she’s penning. Suspicion and secrets abound–but love might too. A writer/editor AU with a thriller twist.

Rated E. Includes sexual content, kidnapping, some gore, mild violence, and minor character death–not to mention salty language! On Ao3 here.

Chapter warnings: It’s mostly fluff, but then there might be a thing at the end?

IT IS FINISHED! BUT ALSO PLEASE SEE MY NOTE AT THE END! Thank you so much to all of you who have been reading and commenting and waiting patiently…I just love you all a lot, okay? And of course, thanks to all of you who helped me get here. Thank you to all the wonderful ladies at @captainswanbigbang for all you’ve done to make this possible, and all the support you’ve given. Sophie @shady-swan-jones made the delightful banner and another photoset that I adore. Kayla @bleebug did some incredible art for the first, sixth, and fifteenth chapters, which you can check out here and here and here. And all the love and thanks to Kris @sambethe for beta-ing this and whipping it into shape. You’re a rock star and make the words, like, astronomically better. 

[Ch. 1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16]

Epilogue

Sometimes a conclusion is the beginning of something new...

Eight months later

It was late summer--that time of year where you didn’t know whether to expect scorching days or if you should start thinking about pulling out jackets and scarves.

Currently, Emma and Killian were sweltering. They had just finished grabbing the last of their boxes from Robin’s truck and carrying them up to their new apartment, and they were tired. Most of their things had already been moved over the last few days, but today was the last of it--the most important things.

Moving in together had been a no-brainer. They might have only been officially together for less than a year, but what a year it had been. They were confident in their feelings for each other, in their commitment to each other.

And Killian’s lease was up.

After briefly entertaining the idea of moving into Emma’s apartment, they had realized they needed a space that was theirs. Emma’s was great, and it would forever be the place she had lived when they had met and fallen in love, but they both wanted space to work, and to put their own distinctive spin on a place as a couple. Plus, Emma wanted Henry to have a room of his own when he stayed with them.

Truthfully, Killian was just waiting until they were together a while longer before looking for a house for them to buy. Emma approved, and would never tell Killian, but she had a couple real estate sites bookmarked.

They had used movers to haul the majority of their stuff. (“We’re not callow youths, Swan. None of our friends would accept beer and pizza as payments. Please, let’s just pay someone to move our things.”) A few trips with the Bug and one final one in Robin’s truck had sufficed for the rest of their things, but they had agreed to take a short break before meeting everyone for dinner.

“We should probably also do the showering thing,” Emma pointed out.

Killian agreed with a nod, but raised a eyebrow. “Are you propositioning me, love?”

“Noooo,” she said with a laugh, “I’m too tired right now. But can I defer the propositioning until later or tomorrow? Because then yes, absolutely.”

“We do need to break in the shower,” he replied seriously, his eyes twinkling.

Emma giggled. “Well, mark that in your calendar for tomorrow.”

He jokingly retrieved his phone, but then saw the number of texts waiting for him. “Christ, our friends are impatient. They know this isn’t a house-warming party, right? And that we’re exhausted?”

She leaned over to where he sat atop a sturdy box and kissed him. “Yes, but they’ve been great and very supportive. And they’re paying. So we’re going.”

With a deep sigh of mock annoyance, he stood and said, “Fine, then. We’ll just have to hope that they buy the good booze though.”

&&&

They met everyone a couple hours later at a restaurant Regina had been wanting to try since she and Henry had moved to Boston a few months before.

“I’m tired of commuting between Storybrooke and here, even if I telecommuted more before,” Regina had explained. “With you here and with what we worked out for Henry, it just makes more sense.”

Emma nodded, but smirked. “That makes sense. And I’m also sure it has absolutely nothing to do with Robin and Roland being here either.”

Regina blushed hotly but didn’t deny it. “I...I want to see where it goes. Robin seems wonderful, and Roland and Henry get along so well.”

That had been a little over three months ago, and they were now settled into the house Regina had purchased on Beacon Hill. It wasn’t large, but it was elegant and well-appointed, and both she and Henry seemed very happy there.

After they’d been in Boston a few weeks, Regina had confessed another motive in moving to Boston full-time: being in Maine was a painful reminder of everything that had happened with her mother. Henry still had the occasional nightmare. (Emma and Regina did too, but that revelation had come out even later, over two bottles of wine and a long night of oversharing.)

Cora had been tried and convicted of her crimes. Aside from the kidnapping charges, she’d also been up for conspiracy to commit murder and a slew of finance-related charges. She had hired a phenomenal lawyer, but in the end, it hadn’t mattered. She’d been sentenced to forty years, and had begun serving her time in a women’s prison. It wasn’t high-security, but it definitely wasn’t what she was used to. Regina would be an old woman before she would forget the flash of surprise and anger in Cora’s eyes when the jury foreman informed her of her sentence.

August, too, had been convicted of all his crimes. The judge had quickly issued his sentence, as he had confessed everything. He had gotten life in prison and was currently serving it out.

Emma shook her head as she walked into the restaurant. Her reminiscing could wait--their friends were already at a table, and they had a fun evening to look forward to.

Placing his hand at the small of her back, Killian walked in behind her, waving at everyone as soon as the mâitre d' ushered them inside. It was a full table--Ruby, Belle, Robin, Regina, Henry, Roland, Kathryn and Fred, her husband, Mulan, and Elsa, Emma’s new(ish) agent. His heart warmed at all the friendly faces and cheerful greetings.

The meal was an altogether pleasant celebration of Killian’s and Emma’s new apartment and cohabitation. It was kept from getting raucous by the presence of Henry and Roland, even if a couple of the party (in other words, Killian and Ruby) did insist on using innuendo that fortunately went over the boys’ heads.

Partway through the meal, Emma elbowed Killian. He was about to tease her about her pointy elbows when he saw what she was subtly gesturing to--Mulan and Elsa in close conversation at the end of the table, paying none of the rest of the party a lick of attention.

Now, that was interesting and definitely bore watching. “Don’t get any ideas, Swan,” he whispered to her.

“I don’t need to get ideas, they’re making the heart eyes all on their own,” she protested.

“Still.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Fine, I won’t, but I can hope and dream.”

Pulling her close, he brushed a kiss across her temple. “Love, are you actually turning into a romantic?” he teased her quietly.

“No!” Her response was louder than she had likely intended, and a few of the others looked over.

“Oy, hold off on the snuggling and the like until you get back to your brand new home,” Robin said, laughing. He then pulled Regina close and kissed her loudly, grinning as she turned bright red.

Emma just shook her head at their antics. “‘Do as I say and not as I do,’ huh, Robin? I see how it is.”

“I need to get in on this action,” Ruby muttered before kissing her wife. Belle leaned in for a minute, but then pulled back, rolling her eyes.

Henry buried his face in his hands, clearly mortified by the adults around him. “Someone save me from this nightmare.”

“You’ll understand someday,” said Elsa, even as she patted his arm sympathetically. “Probably, or so they tell me, but they are pretty embarrassing.”

&&&

A couple nights later, Emma and Killian headed down to the office. It was a party, even if it was a smaller one. Killian was relieved--as part owner of the publishing house, now Mills & Jones--a marketing consultant had pointed out that their branding might suffer more for being associated with a convicted murderer--he had begun attending a lot of parties on behalf of the company. Most of them were fancy affairs designed to bring investors together, and he was happy to have more low-key evening where he wasn’t required to network.

Tonight’s festivities were doubling as a celebration for a successful quarter--Emma’s book, Mistaken, had been released to great fanfare--and as a going-away party for Alex and Jamie. Eight months on, they were still trying to heal and put back together the pieces of their lives. Alex hailed from the west coast, so they decided to move closer to his family in Seattle for a new start.

The atmosphere was light, if a little subdued. Most of the attendees were Mills & Jones employees or authors and their plus ones, but many of those who had been there a while also knew Alex and Jamie.

Emma was mingling happily when she saw Mulan arrive. For a moment she paused and squealed internally, thinking that perhaps Elsa had invited her here as her date. Then she noted Mulan’s dark pantsuit, more appropriate for work than for an evening out. She frowned, then Mulan made eye contact and motioned for her to come over.

Murmuring her excuses, she extracted herself from her conversation and made her way over. Finding Killian on her way, she grabbed his arm and pulled him along. Once over there, she was surprised to see that Regina and Robin were standing there as well.

“So...what’s going on?” Regina asked, curiosity and a bit of impatience in her voice.

Mulan took a deep breath. “Apparently Cora wasn’t expecting the sentence she got. So she offered up some new information in exchange for a deal.”

“What’s on offer here?” Killian asked, brow furrowed with concern and distaste.

Mulan shrugged apologetically, then looked right at Emma. “She says she knows who your parents are, Emma.”

So, uh, now is the time to mention I'm writing a sequel, right? There's going to be a sequel. I really loved writing this all in one go, and it helped with the plotting, so it might be some time before it's ready, but I can't wait to show you all. I'll probably start posting snippets during the new year.  Thanks again for accompanying me on this journey, and I hope you'll tune in for the next part!

[sophygurl]

I love the question memes and my fave kind is the kind @pixiedane​ just tagged me in (thank you!). [Also sidenote: ILU @theawkwardterrier​ for always tagging me in the tagging memes but JSYK I won’t be doing the latest one because I’m just not really a picture person so I don’t really have a lot of pictures saved and the idea of trying to use whatever weird random stuff I might have saved to describe myself would just not work. But you’re the best and I’ll catch ya on the next one!]

The rules:

Post the rules

Answer the questions given to you by the tagger

Write 11 questions of your own

And tag 11 people

1. What’s the meaning of your name? Does it suit you?

Rosemary doesn’t seem to have a specific meaning, although of course it’s an herb, and Rosemary is for remembrance, which is hilarious given my memory problems. Mary means bitter, so some name meaning sites say the meaning of my name is “bitter rose” which I guess is a nice combo of sweet and sad, which I would not really classify myself as. So, no, the various meanings of my name do not suit me.

The name itself? Does. I love my name, and while most people can’t be bothered with a 3 syllable name in casual conversation, my preference is to be called Rosemary and not Rose. Rose does not feel like me.

2. What’s a movie you never get tired of?

A lot of movies fit under this category, but the movie I have probably seen the most amount of times and can still watch either in full or in chunks and still enjoy every single second of no matter what is Dirty Dancing. 

3. Your favourite movie soundtrack?

Are we talking soundtrack as in collection of songs used in the movie and put into an album, or as in score for the movie, or?

Because nothing but nothing beats the Star Wars scores for me. Well, original and prequels and TFA anyway - the last two have diverged quite a bit which has felt odd to me but whatever. [Second place would be the scores for the 70/s80s Superman movies - also John Williams of course]

If collection of songs - then we’re back to Dirty Dancing.

Although if we’re considering soundtracks of musicals, then I’m gonna be reduced to flailing and just naming half a dozen or so, so we’ll just pretend that’s not part of the question. 

4. How would you describe your personal style?

Accidental? I pretty much just buy things that I find interesting, and then put things together that seem interesting to me, and then end up with some pretty ... interesting outfits. One of my roommates actually described my look yesterday as “crazy” if that tells you anything.

Think colors that don’t quite match, conflicting patterns, stripey socks, chunky jewelry, and then at times like now at the end of winter when I haven’t shaved my head in awhile - short floppy hair that is sticking up in all directions that I swear I tried to tame but it just doesn’t take. 

5. Name a fictional crush.

Spike from Buffy. Also Buffy from Buffy. And put them together? Double crush. 

6. What’s your motto?

I don’t really have a motto, per se, but I do have a mantra, which is: love, peace, joy, hope. Those are the qualities I try to embody, embrace, spread, whatever. All four are of equal importance to me. 

7. Are you a gamer?

If by gamer, you mean obsessively playing the Sims, then yes. But most people who consider themselves gamers would probably say no.

8. Would you rather spend time on a secluded beach or at a fancy cocktail party?

How about a fancy cocktail party on a secluded beach? Too much sand in the drinks, never mind.

Ah, these are both problematic for me. I don’t do so well with being completely alone, especially without some kind of distraction or diversion. I guess if I had a book with me on the beach, I’d be okay for a little while, but I’d also get uncomfortable super fast if there wasn’t, like, a comfy sofa or something to recline on. 

And I also don’t do well with fancy, or come to think of it with cocktails since I can’t drink any more with the meds I have to take. 

But, if I had to choose, I’d probably pick the party. I’d be dressed inappropriately (probably something with loud colors and polka dots?), and sitting in the corner mostly people watching, and I’d get overwhelmed and head home early, but still. 

9. Recommend a television series.

oohhhoooomygods just ONE?

I’ve rec’d this one many times, but since it just came back for season two last night (I haven’t watched the ep yet - it’s next on my list), I’m gonna recommend Imposters to you all again.

Imposters is a lil show with a small but dedicated fandom on Bravo. 

It stars Inbar Lavi (Prison Break, The Last Ship) as a con woman and Rob Heaps (Home Fires, And Then There Were None), Parker Young (Arrow, Suburgatory), and  Marianne Rendón (Mapplethorpe) as three of the people who she has swindled. Additionally, Brian Benben (Private Practice, Dream On), Stephen Bishop (Being Mary Jane), Chastity Dotson (Pitch, Veronica Mars), and Denise Dowd (Secrets and Lies, Beverly Hills 90210) star. 

The story of season one is that these three scorned exes find one another and begin a quest to find the woman they all alternately view as their loving spouse and the cruel con who stole everything from them. Along the way, they learn some cons of their own, gain back some of their confidence, and of course discover the power of friendship. 

There are many twists and turns along the way which I won’t spoil for anyone who wants to watch season 1 for themselves, but it involves cons within cons within cons and unlikely teammates. 

Also - Uma Thurman as a hitwoman.

As the finale of season one had our three scorned exes riding off together into the sunset, I am very excited to see where season two leads us. Seriously, you have to watch this show. 

[But if I may very quickly rec some of my other underwatched faves: 12 Monkeys, Colony, Counterpart, Ghosted, Insecure, Kevin (Probably) Saves the World, Madam Secretary, People of Earth, Scream, Speechless, Timeless, UnREAL,You’re the Worst - ask me about my underwatched faves plz.]

10. Do you have any phobias?

Boy howdy, do I! I have OCD, which often comes with phobias as part of the anxiety which leads to some of the obsessive compulsions. [FELLOW PHOBES MIGHT WANNA SKIP THIS PART - PLEASE TAKE CARE OF YOURSELVES.]

I have a slight germ phobia which I mostly don’t go deep into because I don’t have the energy to do what I’d need to do to feel better about it so I just make myself not-think about it really hard, but the underlying anxiety is Still There. 

This is especially true of what I call “poop germs” - which is anything that has ever been inside of a bathroom ever. This makes, you know, having to use bathrooms very upsetting and problematic for me, so again, I deploy my aggressive pretending it’s not there as much as I can, but poop germs can cause me to break down into tears on a bad day. Fun times!

I’m also an emetophobe, which means I’m terrified of throwing up - a fun little phobia to have when you have constant low-grade nausea which occasionally flares up to higher-grade, lemme tell ya.

Another biggie is infestation of any kind - so any kind of insect or small animal that comes into my home. Like, I am absolutely fine seeing these critters outside where they belong - I might even oooh and aaah. But the second I see one INSIDE - I’m screaming bloody murder and waking up the entire apartment complex. 

I’ve worked real hard at being less scared of the harmless single bugs that enter a home, especially the kind that EAT other bugs - so for example I am perfectly fine with spiders (being obsessed with Charlotte’s Web as a kid helps), and even centipedes after the initial screaming over how creepy they look is done. And I’ve gotten where I look insects up on websites that identify bugs and talk about them in positive/scientific ways and have stopped panicking about certain bugs and their larvae now as I can tell which ones are and aren’t actually harmful or prone to infestation. BUT. I’m still prolly gonna scream when I initially see them because eaauughhss. 

Those are the main ones, but the fun thing about OCD is that new ones develop all the time if you don’t stay vigilant about letting those obsessive thoughts do their thang, so I try real hard to ignore those news segments and articles about bringing black lights into hotel rooms and about all of the horrible ways people are committing violent crimes these days and other terrifying and/or gross things that might creep their ways into my fear center. 

11. What’s your rarest rarepair?

Oh, good question. I don’t tend to have rarepairs because the way I fandom is deep immersion into canon and not necessarily delving into fanon/fanfic. So even my non-canon ships tend to be ones that the canon itself at least played with a little bit or that the fandom-at-large has talked about enough that I start to see it. lol

I’m having trouble even thinking about a ship I have that could be classified as rare? It would probably be something involving Spike because I ship that fool with pretty much everyone he’s ever shared screentime with because he is just so yummy, and because Marsters was just really good about getting his character to bring interesting things out of whatever characters he was interacting with, and because he’s clearly so omnisexual that he just oozes chemistry with everyone he meets, but like. I’m also definitely not the only one who sees all that about him and also is shipping him left right and center. So. I’ll just toss out Spike/Harmony because I’ve never heard of anyone else who actually liked them together ha!

Phew! That was fun. I hope all of you all who I end up tagging have as much fun with my questions (and if not, feel free to use some of pixie’s).

My questions:

What is your #mood rn?

Tell me the sweetest childhood memory you can think of.

Favorite mythological/fantastical animal/creature.

What is your favorite mode of storytelling - for example, books, movies, TV shows, graphic novels, video games, etc. - and why do you think that’s your fave form?

Star Trek, Star Wars, or Starlord? (this is not a serious question and you may feel free to expound upon all three if you wish)

Favorite type of geographical location to visit, and is it different from where you prefer to live?

Name a character that you love, but who you would probably hate in real life.

Reboots, renewals, and revivals. Are they ruining your childhood or do you love ‘em?

Tell me about your favorite cookie (or other sweet if you don’t care for cookies).

If there is one thing people could just atomatically know about you upon meeting you that would make socializing with you better or easier, what would it be?

A lot of stories based on comics posit the theory that eventually humanity will evolve into at least some humans developing super powers. Suppose this started happening today - what would the results be, do you think?

Tagging:

(and of course, please consider yourself tagged if you wanna do this - I’d tag all of you if I could but I try and just pick folks I think enjoy doing these. if I’m ever wrong - please feel free and ignore the tag. additionally - please remember to tag ME so I can see your responses! also, feel free to re-tag me in this one since the questions differ and you all know how much I love to talk about myself.)

@absolutelyiris, @dianebluegreen, @c-l-ford, @theawkwardterrier, @the-invisible-queer, @brokenyellowcrayons, @knitmeapony, @fatherjerusalem, @swordsandparasols, @dmphelps, @nightlocktime

[yunholicious]

[Trans] Tohoshinki’s Interview for Japanese magazine 「CREA」- January Issue 2018

Translation:

Joyful dates that the two of Tohoshinki have in their minds.

Q. You just resumed your activities after two years of hiatus, so I guess you don’t have time to think about a date. But today, it will be great if you could fantasize about a “joyful date”. To begin with, do you have any movie or drama in your mind that have your ideal date scene? YH: There are many. I do not know the Japanese title but, there is a Korean movie where a college student couple sneaked into an amusement park after it was closed and spend their time all alone there. It is thrilling and I think that it will be a special memory. CM: Is that about “My Sassy Girl”? YH: Yes, you are right. Well, it is violating the law to sneak into the amusement part (laugh). But I wish to rent the amusement park for my date. CM: For me, it is in “1 Day” a British film. I do not have a particular scene that I like but overall it is a romantic film. Right now, They enjoy spending time together and when they are apart, they still think about each other. They are passionate and it is really lovely. YH: I guess, I’ll change to “Beauty and Beast”. On our special day, I want to dance a waltz like them and do something special.

Q. Okay, if you are going to have a date tonight in Tokyo, where do you go? YH: A real date!? Wait a second. I need to think about it seriously (laugh). CM: Okay in the meantime, I will.. (laugh). If I can say something really personal, I’ve never been to Sky Tree so I wish to go there. The last time I’ve gone up the Eifel Tower, the overview of Paris was unbelievably beautiful. So some day, I wish to see such a beautiful night scene with someone that I love while holding our hands together. YH: I guess I wish to do something that everyone does. Just like a college student couple do, to go somewhere and eat something yummy, and after that I want to spend with her all lone on a cruise ship. For all the time, I am thinking about work, so I wish to take time and talk to each other while seeing a night scene at some place where I can forget about everything and relax myself.

Q. Which situation do you prefer “Star Gazing at Camping just the two of you” or “Having dinner at a fancy restaurant in a city” CM: I prefer the latter. I do not like camping in the middle of winter (laugh). If we are going camping then, I will wait to do so until the weather gets better and I will be prepared. YH: I prefer the former. But I will hire a chef because I want to eat something delicious even at the camp site. What I like about camping is that we will experience something that we are totally not anticipated. But that experience will give us a impressive memory. Q. What about you make fire by yourself because you are a man and cook something for her? YH: I do that all the time (laugh). I need to offer my princess something very special for the X’mas.

Q. Do you remember about your first date? YH: I was a freshman in high school. I went to a school of a girl with whom I decided to go out, in disguise, and gave her a single rose as a surprise gift. My friends who were helping me also gave her a single rose one by one and at the end, I took a mask off my face and told her, “It is me.” CM: I should give you an additional explanation. There is a similar scene in “My Sassy Girlfriend” (laugh). YH: I admit that I got the idea from the movie, but I think that I have something common in my personality with the main character. After I gave her the gift, we all got on a sightseeing boat and that I paid from my pocket by saving money from a part-time job.

Q. How was she? YH: She was really happy. (shyly) I tried to be a cool character until then. I wanted to do something for her because it was our first date. But I thought that instead of giving her some gift (that is a bit boring idea) so I planned a surprise gift for her. CM: I don’t know what to say about my first date. I hadn’t dated with anyone in elementary school, junior high school and high school. I am telling you the truth. But if I really need to say something, then when I was the freshman in high school, I went to a river with one of my female friends and we walked along the river, talking… and holding our hands…

Q. I think it was a date, wasn’t it (laugh)? CM: No! We just kept walking.. we also were talking… Can I tell you the truth? I went out with a girl who had a potential to be my girlfriend but…there was not much for us to talk about.. and the conversation was boring.. and that was it. Such a sad story.

Q. Has your view of women changed from that you had when you were young? YH: Actually, my ideal type has changed greatly. I used to like a woman who is much stronger minded than myself. But these days, I have become to like someone who share the same sense of values. CM: It is hard for me to deal with a stronger minded woman to begin with (laugh). I like someone who is kind and interesting to talk to. I like someone that I can communicate with very well. YH: If I find someone that I feel “this is the one”, I want to take her to a date and visit a pet shop. I can see her true self when she plays with animals.

Q. Lastly, which Tohoshinki’s song do you recommend us for a date? YH: Wedding Dress! CM: Straight to marriage!? YH: Ahaha.. I will be in trouble (laugh). CM: I think “Telephone” the lyrics is just about a couple whispering to each other. YH: Okay then, I will chose, “Aitakute, Aitakute” but if people can come to Tohoshinki live tour for their dates, that would be fantastic. CM: It is the place where we can meet again with everyone who had waited for us for two years. So of course, if people come to the concert for their dates that would be great.. but I am really happy that we can meet someone that we’d wanted to see so badly. YH: Two years ago, at the final of our tour, I said, “I-tte-ki-masu (I am leaving)”. So I want to tell everyone, “Ta-da-i-ma (I’m home/I’m back) and show everyone true ourselves. I want to directly convey our gratitude to our fans through singing and dancing.

{t/n: About CREA interview article, i kinda stuck somewhere in translating the narration/monologue part of the interviewer. so if you don’t mind, i’ll just translate what YH and CM talked about.}

Q. What thoughts did you have in your minds when you had the press conference tour in Seoul/Tokyo/HongKong? YH: To be honest with you, I was not sure whether people had been waiting for us since we were absent for two years. But to my surprise, as soon as I met with people in Japan at the press tour, my mind was quickly set to the level that I had previously when I worked as Tohoshinki. I was able to focus my mind, “I will make a brand new start. This is a real thing.” Right now, I wish that I can show you many different sides of me, of course as Tohoshinki but also personally. CM: About resuming our activities, I still feel a bit nervous. But the joy that I feel because I could work again is much stronger than my nervousness. When I returned, my schedule was already all booked (laugh). This is really a great thing. I wish to enjoy working one task at a time, while feeling so happy that I could work again.

Q. About the three songs that you personally selected and included in the new album, “Fine Collection~Begin Again~”. CM: These three songs that we personally selected are songs that we feel very confident about and also we have been loving these songs all these years. I think these three songs are very special to this album because you could feel how matured our vocals and our emotions are.

Q. About the new single, “Reboot” YH: I wanted to make this song to convey the real Tohoshinki right now. It has the color of Tohoshinki but we also integrated the current music style. I think the product is beyond what I have anticipated and it is really great. If someone only listens to this song, I think the person could easily imagine how our tour this time will be.

Q. About the two years of hiatus CM: I thought about my view of life and the way of living. From now on, I wish to broaden my horizons and I want to look around the outside world. YH: As a person, I wish to experience many different things. And I wish to integrate such experiences to Yunho of Tohoshinki and that would give Tohoshinki a new power.

Q. What kind of 30’s do you want to spend? CM: I think my key word is “To enjoy”. I really love music but sometimes I feel stressed if I continue to deal with music as my work. Sometimes, I feel stressed in my personal life and in relationship with other people. In order to reduce my stress level, I wish to do something that I can do while enjoy doing so at my own pace. YH: My key word for my 30’s is “Just the way I am”. I am a passionate type to begin with and I just kept running until now. But I hope I can relax myself a little and show others who really I am. Some time I feel down. At such time, instead of trying to push myself up/raise my tension up, I want to show people how I will overcome obstacles as I do. I think in that way, I look more masculine and mature.

———————–

Credits:

Translation by @beriko0214: 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, Posted and Shared by TVXQ! Express

[dryasiulia]

August 21st: Fanfiction Writers Appreciation Day

This idea is fantastic and I want to support it as best I can.  I’m constantly amazed that you guys take your free time to provide this for us; so this is quite literally the least I can do!  There’s a lot more below~~~~~~

I wish I had the time today to reread everyone’s work; AND to read everything I haven’t yet.  You all deserve pages and pages of praise; I’m sorry this is all I can do today.  In roughly the order in which they were originally consumed:

@claudeng80 Even if it hadn’t been my fanfic introduction (If you don’t count watching GoT), Noble AU would still hold a special place in my heart.  Honestly everything you’ve done is amazing.  I still haven’t made it through the RIDICULOUS amount of happy you made for us during bingo.  And that’s not even considering the ones I DID get to that I want to reread ASAP (omg that fairytale obi dragon one).  And of course Snowdrop~~~  No words~~~~  I even enjoy the stuff you do that is outside my wheelhouse *cough* star trek.  Plus, Akagami on the Bayou is literally perfection.

@sabraeal It’s lovely to see someone who is so talented spend so much time appreciating and supporting others.  The comments/reviews that you (and Joanna and Andi) leave in the community are literally as entertaining as the stories.  That said, obviously now I’m going to mention Seven Suitors because duh.  It is Canon But Better and I hope there isn't a sekrit counter somewhere that shows how many times Ive read it....maybe even with the Haki B-sides inserted timeline appropriately~~~~  And I don’t have enough time to get into Truth In Masquerade (Or In Which There Will be Ascots; yup, I’m pretty sure that was promised, even if it was just in my head it still counts), modern AU, OFC fae AU (why am I capitalizing AU?), high school, daemons, the kiss of life (I may think about randomly at times) all the bb obi backstory stuff, the amazing haki stuff, and the one shots!  Your 100 prompts was frankly, astonishing, and during a Very Bad Time for me.  It was so amazing to have something like that to escape to.  This workings of this site remain a bit of a mystery to me; things that are original and amazing frequently get missed or ignored; and a picture of a shoe with a cat in it like breaks the internet?

@superhappybubbleslove again with the “someone who is so talented spends so much time appreciating and supporting others” For me, watchtower is like “Uncomfortable RL Canon but Won’t Ever be Canon Because Shoujo”  You do such an astonishing job of like Easter Egg Multi Level Pains.  As if the over-arching pain isn’t enough; there are little poison barbs expertly sprinkled in specially designed for the utmost torment.  Of all the pains (main story pains; not touching the B-SIDE pains because I’m still recovering from Friday) the little ones stick with me the most.  Ugh, that part where he drops the spoons is honestly like the worst for me…..I’ve just upset myself again.  And likewise with the I REALLY REALLY don’t want to know my reread count xD  I don’t have the time to even get started on what Melt, the Mountain Lion au, and everything else deserves.  (Like, I’m still kind of angry about how much I enjoy the ballet au - I mean wut?!)

@infinitelystrangemachinex your commentary is ALWAYS +100~  Automation Heart……I love your Shirayuki so much.  She’s always a science badass.  And the chemistry with Obi, LITERALLY no matter what the set up, is ALWAYS perfect.  I’m not comfortable admitting 1. how many times I have read Analysand 2. how many times I then REREread it when you did Overflow — also rereading Overflow obviously and 3. How many times I read St Elmos Fire once I finally realized I hadn’t read it.  Let’s just leave it at….a lot….  There are still a few things from last year I haven’t gotten to; someone might point out that I MAYBE would’ve had more than enough time to read those I had I skipped a rererereread or two….don’t pester me with your logics~  I’m sure they are equally amazing; I can’t wait to get to them!

@nebluus Apparently I’ve missed a few things on the classic “you must read” obiyuki lists.  However, I have at least read Blizzard.  ~~~~A FEW times.  It most definitely belongs on the list.  Everything about it is perfect.  Ugggh….the part about how he would be a great father… “Are you the fire Obi?”  Dead.  Even though no true relationship stuffs happens it literally kills me every time.  

@xaphrin sometimes I worry from your tumblrs you don’t understand how awesome you are; but then I think surely you see how many people tell you your awesome….right?!?!  I can be a little bit of a cinnamon bun when it comes to reading sexy times, but I feel like you always try (nay succeed) to include it as part of the Whole Relationship.  AND AND AND can we talk about how phone sex AU obi is. the. hottest. obi.  Which is so weird…I mean if someone would’ve told me I’d love “phone sex” au I would’ve rolled my eyes.   BUT ITS SO GREAT.  And obviously diplomacy.  OBVIOUSLY.

@ruleofexception for me you are like a box of cakes.  (real talk, some chocolates are gross, all cake is delicious)  “dead obi with oxygen shirayuki” nuuu please don’t do that….omg that was amazing.  Hunger games?!?!?….moar pls all of the hunger games.  Disembodied voices??…..amazing yes please (I loved Knowing You so much!!!).  Whew and there are many things I haven’t yet said about Fall of the Crown….but I super love it’s gothic feels and I am super excite~~  (The knife naming/giving?!?!!)  And you have more I haven’t even gotten to yet; I can’t wait~

@akai-vampire you take the bare-bones of canon and breath life into it~  When the smallest obiyuki bit happens, my initial reaction is “oh god nina will make me pay for this shortly”  Late at Night is so lovely; I feel like “what happened if Shirayuki didn’t make it out” isn’t explored much~  And omg that blurted confession in Dreams…..  And honestly, if you seriously SERIOUSLY get to 50 in “The Fifty Times You Stole My Heart” you WILL kill me.  It’s only at 6 and I can barely make it now~~~ Srs.  All of it.  

@vivianwisteria okay, the “how Obi and Shirayuki met as kids” canon mystery is ongoing…  However, the way you handled it in Adagio Appassionato is my absolute favorite~  (Canon needs to retcon Violin Shirayuki if Sorata ever actually gives us the backstory there.)  I love it so much that when you dropped that bomb chapter I MAY have put off a serious work assignment to go reread everything IMMEDIATELY.   I LOVE all of Conductor Obi with Issues so much~ Okay, and Love and Other Monstrosities I mean WUT.  There are no other words for that…just WUT WUT WUT!!! Whew, and Impasse, the Damon Lindelof (but better) bad guys here are very mysterious and exciting.  And OF COURSE I love found in translation…. And obviously I am SO VERY EXCITE about Ex Gratia~

@jaygirl987 The “worldbuilding” for Neighbors is astounding.  For srs, you have fleshed out Bruce, THE CAT, more than most fiction manages to with human side characters.  I literally can not wait to see where this goes; everyone’s been established so beautifully.  I adore your obiyuki relationship one-shots as well.  I can’t wait to catch up on the bingo stories I missed!!!!

@meibemeibelline I haven’t finished all of Apple Red and Gold yet…I REALLY need to make a obiyuki “to read” list post it note.  However, I did get to Counting Coins and Motel on the Hill during Bingo.  I LOVE your storytelling.  Your descriptions and atmosphere are wonderful.  Counting Coins was adorable, plus Obi as a hot teacher yes please.  Motel on the Hill is so lovely~~~  It’s beautifully melancholy.  I can’t wait to read the rest; I’m sorry it’s taken me this long!!

@codango obviously the road to Clarines is gravel is amazing.  You succeeded where 18 years of my real life experience did not…you made the cowboy aesthetic attractive~  I adore your characterization of EVERYONE in this and I’ve been super excited for every chapter.  Seriously, the individual elements should not appeal to me, but your skill and ability made them in to something I love.  

@glitter-and-golden  Okay, I never knew that I needed a mithra obi, BUT I DID.  If I Walk It's With You Beside Me is a pleasure to read~  SO, I’m also a sucker for fictional food; and after I read this the first time I totally had to eat breakfast for dinner~  I love everything about this, Ryuu, their cottage, Zen, sassy mithra Obi.  I am so excite!

OMG this was supposed to be faster… -.- I’m past out of time, so please forgive my abbreviated loves:

@onoheiwa  - both your kiss stories were absolutely adorable~~ And I loved the amusement park; Obi’s disappointment when the park was closed was perfect.  I can’t wait to read the rest of your stuff!!  

@krispy-kream - I loved haki as the amyrlin and izana as forsaken SO MUCH.  My memories of early WoT are mixed to say the least….If you want to go ahead and redo all the early books I’d be %100 on board with that.

@another-miracle - your intermissions are beautiful~  your prose is also lovely in general,  I’m so sorry I’m behind!!!  I’m VERY MUCH looking forward to reading everything you’ve given us~

@littleaverill - your role reversal au was great~~~  I love the idea of obi growing up in the shop~ I can only imagine how he’d be different.  I REALLY love your style; there’s an element of the unknown and the implied that always leaves me like I just had a piece of cake that was EVER SO SLIGHTLY smaller that I would’ve cut myself — super delicious but if you even want to send me another slice I’d be okay with it! xD

@nonstopdoodle - The Spice of Life was so cute!   Ryuu as AI was perfect~~  There was something very nostalgically Firefly about it that I loved so much~  And just ftr, your ponies are SO SO SO CUTE

@rebeccaravenroth - okay, the balcony-plants story for bingo was so adorable.  I am fluent in passive aggressive post it notes.  I adore your writing style and storytelling~

I’m sorry I left out a few AO3 people that I don’t know their Tumblr blog name or may not be on Tumblr!!!

[playhub]

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[authorstalker]

The Author Stalker Interview with Sarah Enni

You probably already know Sarah Enni thanks to her podcast, First Draft, where she interviews all your favorite and soon-to-be favorite authors about their major influences, career journeys, and upcoming work. Now the interviewer has become the interviewee! Sarah let me ask all kinds of nosy questions in celebration of Tell Me Everything, her debut novel about art and anonymity in the age of social media.  

You host my favorite bookish podcast, First Draft, where you interview storytellers about how they make their magic happen. In honor of First Draft, I stole your standard first question: where were you born and raised? I’ll add: how did your hometown shape you as a reader and writer?

I’m so happy you enjoy the podcast! Thank you so much for listening, and for turning my own question around on me, ha! Honestly, it’s a complicated answer. I was born in Tacoma, WA, then moved to Tucson, AZ; Arlington, TX; San Jose, CA; back to Seattle, WA; then to Washington, DC; and then to Los Angeles. I’ve never lived anywhere longer than six years (though that streak is likely to end here in LA—I have no plans to move anytime soon!). 

I think moving around shaped me into a reader because, though everything around me kept changing, books were constant. As far as writing, the landscapes of Washington state (particularly the peninsula) and coastal Northern California feel absolutely magical to me, and I’ve returned to them again and again in my books. Tell Me Everything is set in Sudden Cove, California, which is a very thinly veiled, fictional version of Santa Cruz. 

The first line of your author bio can serve as inspiration to anyone toiling away at a less-than-glamorous day job: Sarah Enni has come a long way from her first writing job, a journalism gig covering the radioactive waste industry. Were you always planning to be a writer or did you consider other career paths? When did you feel ready to focus full-time on your personal/freelance creative endeavors (which include writing books, producing a podcast, and moderating publishing panels)?

I went into college knowing that writing was the one natural talent I had. But it never occurred to me to pursue creative writing, because authors felt like magical creatures who lived in clouds—that, and I have a very pragmatic streak. I majored in English and Journalism, and worked for magazines and business publications for years after college. Writing and hosting and producing the podcast are each full-time jobs in their own right, so doing the journalism day job at the same time was burning me out. I was able to quit my day job a year and a half ago, which was amazing. It’s also a privilege that I try not to take for granted.

I love learning about how writers write. Do you write in a specific place or can you write wherever? Do you created a detailed outline or go with the flow? Music while you write: yes or no? Tell me everything (I say this constantly, so the title alone would have convinced me to pick up your book). 

I feel much more creatively energized out in the world, usually at coffee shops. Thankfully there’s a great community of writers in LA, so there’s almost always someone down to meet up and write with me, too.

I outline projects, though I constantly revisit and adjust that outline as I go. For Tell Me Everything I wrote a synopsis and a chapter-by-chapter breakdown. For my newest project—which is a rewrite—I also made a chapter-by-chapter breakdown of the five main relationships in the novel, so I could see how each chapter was moving all those arcs forward.

I absolutely listen to music while I write. I actually tend to find one song that suits the tone of the project I’m writing, and I’ll listen to that single song on loop for every writing session. My Spotify stats are completely wacked out.

Tell Me Everything is your debut novel. Can you describe its path to publication—how long did it take to write and then to sell? As a first-time author, which moments have been the most thrilling? The most surprising?

Tell Me Everything has had a somewhat unique path to publication. I’ve been writing fiction for 10 years, and at this point have written seven books. I was connected to my editor at Scholastic, Amanda Maciel, by a mutual friend. Amanda had been working on a nugget of an idea for Scholastic, and she thought I might be the right fit to write the book. It was just a paragraph, but I loved the concept for Ivy’s story right away. I wrote a sample chapter and synopsis, and Amanda really enjoyed my take on her idea, so we signed a contract in May 2016. But writing a book after selling it was a wild experience, and drafting Tell Me Everything (all three times) was tough. Thanks to Amanda’s guidance, I found the right way to tell the story and I’m so thrilled with the book.

I’ve been in the publishing world through writing and hosting First Draft for a long time, but it’s thrilling to finally be able to talk about and promote my own work.

Tell Me Everything is a timely book; it focuses on activism and anonymity, artistic control and free speech, all through the lens of a social media app called VEIL, which is a hyperlocal Instagram-Snapchat combo. VEIL is an artistic app with three caveats: 1) you can only see posts by users in a five-mile radius, 2) all posts are anonymous, 3) the content disappears at the end of each week. Lots of VEIL-inspired drama ensues, much of it thanks to Ivy, the novel’s socially anxious, VEIL-obsessed protagonist, who performs a random act of kindness whenever she discovers a poster’s identity. Why is Ivy so adamant about VEIL remaining anonymous when she goes out of her way to not only identify users, but to let them know she’s identified them?

Ivy wants VEIL to remain anonymous because that’s what allows the local artists to be so brave with what they post. But at the same time, she longs to know who the artists are because she’s been personally touched by their work. The inherent contradiction of those two things isn’t immediately apparent to Ivy, who’s also working through her fear of sharing her own art publicly. That’s the crux of the novel: sharing the vulnerable parts of ourselves is scary, but it’s also the key to creating personal connection. Ivy is struggling to grasp and accept that.

There’s a divide in the book between those who think the anonymity makes VEIL problematic and those who think it encourages free expression. Ivy, who I would describe as a Real Deal Artist, absolutely loves the app, though she’s not brave enough to post her own work. She’s a background player surrounded by activists; in a line I found at once patronizing and motivational, Ivy’s best friend tells her, “At some point you have to start participating in your own life.” Was VEIL ultimately good for Ivy or was it holding her back?

Ha, you are so right—Harold says that to Ivy, and he has his own issues. Namely, thinking he knows what’s best for everyone around him. I think VEIL was ultimately good for Ivy, for a number of reasons. One: it showed Ivy that artists are everywhere, around us at all times. Two: it allowed her to make the distinction between being shy and being anonymous. Even though the site was totally anonymous, she couldn’t bring herself to post there! So Ivy had to start thinking about what was really holding her back. And three: by seeking to engage with artists she found on VEIL, Ivy went outside her comfort zone and forged some IRL connections. By the end of the book, VEIL has done its job because Ivy doesn’t truly need it anymore.

Tell Me Everything lightning round! 

Favorite Jeff Goldblum movie?

THIS IS HARD! I’m a 90s kid, so I have to say Jurassic Park. It’s such a classic.

Garden gnomes or Bigfoot?

Bigfoot, hands down!

I have to know: how did you come up with the name Rake Burmkezerg?

Rake Burmkezerg is an anagram of Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook. It’s the most fun I’ve ever had naming a character.

Was Teenage Sarah more of a Harold or an Ivy?

In total honesty, I was an Ivy as a young teen, and grew into a Harold by the end. I was definitely pulling from personal experience in writing them both.

Last question! What advice do you have for all the aspiring writers out there?

Honestly? Patience and perseverance. Learn to revise—it’s the key to this art, and it will set you apart from 90 percent of other writers.

You can find Sarah Enni online at her website or on Twitter @SarahEnni. Her podcast is truly one of my favorites, so check out First Draft, too! Tell Me Everything comes out on February 26, 2019. 

[i-just-like-commenting]

Expanse season 1 rewatch episodes 1-4

Advertising for seasons two of The Expanse keeps referring to it as “Battlestar Galactica meets Game of Thrones,” and while that’s not entirely off as a descriptor of the aesthetic and the high preference to politics over action that the series gives, on at least one level I deeply resent this comparison. And that is that, unlike Game of Thrones, The Expanse actually improves on its source material rather than dumbing it down. I’m only taking about Leviathan Wakes, the first book of the series, of which The Expanse covers about half in its first season (so if you wondered why it ended on a cliffhanger, there ya go), because that is all I’ve read so far. Now, I’ve already written a fairly detailed review of why I found Leviathan Wakes enormously disappointing, but I thought having now read it and now rewatching the show, I would go through and catalog things I love about the show vs the book (and a few things I’m not as crazy about):

Things I love about the show vs the book

Miller as a traitor to the Belt. Yes, it’s out of character from the book for him to be this corrupt and Earther-friendly at the outset, but it sets up for a great character arc, as Anderson Dawes is proven right: he really is a Belter underneath it all, and that realization comes along with him becoming increasingly violent and unhinged, which will continue on presumably in this coming season.

Also, Thomas Jane = perfect casting. He is basically space!Punisher by the end of this season, and even now earlier on he’s the right mix of intriguing hardboiled cop and total asshole on the verge of a breakdown. They’re also clearly using his torch-holding for Muss as a stand-in for the ex-wife he’s not over in the book (who we never meet there, of course, because why have character scenes when you can just have plot? fine fine it’s not that bad but still not as good as the show).

Chrisjen being introduced right away, giving us a POV on Earth. Chrisjen is also just kind of a fantastic character in every way and I am really looking forward to reading Caliban’s War after this seasons is over to meet her in the books. I like that she’s not...good. She’s not truly evil, but she has an ambitious need to win and a willingness to bend moral codes for what she sees as the greater good. She walks this fine line between being an antihero and an antivillain, and she knows this. It’s...kind of fantastic. And knowing things that happen later, her conversation with her grandson about rocks falling from the sky... *shudder* (ep 4)

Adopting a more floating POV in general, so that you can have Holden be on the main deck of the Donnager (ep 3-4) and see the action going on there afterwards rather than having everyone trapped in the holding cell, only hearing about things secondhand. When Yao has to scuttle the ship...that moment. Ouch.

Oh, and having Holden by a newly-appointed and reluctant XO (ep 1), and watching him earn the respect of his crew and discover his own leadership skills over the course of the series. That is also good drama.

The scenes involving water rationing should become a classic example of how to do proper “show” rather than simply “tell.” (ep 2) In the book we are told there are frequent water shortages, in the show we see Miller lose his shower halfway through and then rejoice when he finds out Julie’s ration is still at 97%. It’s a great moment, totally non-plot essential, but adds to much for world-building.

Speaking of world building, just a ton of extra dialog to establish stereotypes different zones have about each other, what daily life is like, how radically advanced technology has become, etc. SyFy had a run-down of the real science behind a lot of these, and it turns out that the show’s adjustment to have most Belters be more normal looking than described in the books is a valid extrapolation of already-existing bone density hormones - it becomes a marker of class whether you can afford them or not, which cleverly allows them to have a range of Belter physiques.

Making Havelock Hispanic and Muss Middle-Eastern. The books have this annoying habit of only ever describing someone’s race if they are not white, which still assumes white as a default, and who knows? maybe 200 years from now white supremacy will still be ubiquitous, but I sure hope not. So the show took two characters whose race was unspecified and cast them with a Mexican-American and a Canadian of Greek and Egyptian ancestry because why not. The show still has a ways to go to get to global racial parity, plus one major case of whitewashing (see below), but it’s doing good relative to most TV for reasons like this.

Havelock in general, but especially his relationship with Gia (ep 3). Havelock is a completely flat character who shows up, hangs around to be a sounding board for Miller, then he leaves as soon as OPA sentiment rises. In the series, he’s invested in wanting to be a good cop for Belters, forming a friendship with a sex worker named Gia as he pays her to tutor him in Belter creole. It is quite sweet, and he’s very affable, a good foil for the cynical, antisocial Miller.

Things I am not that crazy about the show vs the book

The whitewashing of Ade (ep1-2). Usually I’d be 100% enraged by this, but for once I actually kind of sympathize with the decision. Basically the showrunners were faced with having a dark-skinned black woman as a prominent character - the love interest of one of the main POVs! - who is immediately killed off. End of the first episode, fridged. And while I’m a white women, I’ve read enough responses to similar things happening in other shows to know how much that could feel like a sucker-punch to many dark-skinned black women coming into this without having read the books, who want lasting representation for themselves. Which is all my way of saying that while I get why they did this, they owe their audience one race-lifted dark-skinned black woman who doesn’t die at some point, and they’d better come through on that.

The way Fred Johnson is introduced out of nowhere (ep 4). We just suddenly cut to Tycho and the Nauvoo construction site, and we don’t know who he is or why he’s relevant, we just know he’s turning his radar in towards the Donnager. While obviously I know who he is now, this entire scene was confusing the first time I watched it, and it might have been better to save it as part of the next episode, where Fred becomes a prominent character.