#and you struggle to get like 4 anthologies

[take-me-to-valhalla]

regarding the tags on the librarian post: do you know how harrowing you feel when someone asks for something ultra specific and interesting and you don’t have much to offer to them?

[feminist-cult-following]

ranking each song on ttpd: the anthology by how lesbian I interpret them as

1. guilty as sin — literally so lesbian. the yearning, the fantasizing, the pining, the insane amount of religious imagery? “what if the way you hold me is actually what’s holy?” “I choose you and me religiously?” I SAW GAY SO I SAID GAY !!

2. but daddy I love him — the word “him” in the title be damned this is one of the most lesbian songs her in whole discography. the romance being forbidden by the whole town is enough for me. I’m just picturing two women in the south who are deeply in love but stuck in a small, conservative town. so so good and so so lesbian

3. fresh out the slammer — I always listen to this from the perspective of a woman who once struggled with internalized homophobia and forced herself into a relationship with a man. once she’s able to accept herself she goes back to her true love. I like to think to it as a sort of sequel to the way I loved you

4. the tortured poets department — I’m not even a gaylor but this song will always be about phoebe bridgers in my mind (just jokes people). but seriously this song is so gay. the title of tortured poets is reserved for lesbians

5. the bolter — for the girlies who dated men before realizing they were a lesbian and always found themselves sabotaging the relationship without knowing why

6. down bad — this is about your first lesbian heartbreak. the one that feels shifted your entire world off its axis and changed you forever. the heartbreak is one you never get over.

7. the prophecy — whatever you do, don’t think about this from the perspective of either a young girl or an older woman who’s too afraid to come out and fears she’ll never find love. it’ll shatter your heart into a million tiny pieces

8. who’s afraid of little old me? — I love to think of this song from the perspective of a deeply repressed woman with religious trauma that just came out. she grew up being taught who she was was a sin and all of these feelings of rage and resentment have been bubbling up in her for years. it makes for a very cathartic listening experience

9. the alchemy — okay okay hear me out. I will defend this placement with my life! is it about a man who plays football, arguably the most heterosexual sport there is? yes. but you have to get creative with it. think cheerleader and basketball player who aren’t supposed to be together but can’t fight their feelings! “who are we to fight the alchemy?” is one of the gayest lines she’s ever written and I will die on this hill!

10. peter — the fact that it’s named after a dude doesn’t change the fact that this always makes me think of a girl singing to her closeted ex lover. the yearning, the pining, it’s very lesbian

11. I hate it here — really gay if you interpret the secret gardens, lunar valleys, and inner romanticism through a lesbian lens

12. look in people’s windows — another one that’s really only just because I played it on repeat in my breakup era

13. imgonnagetyouback — this is so that one ex you can’t stay away from because she changed your whole life. it’s about that girl who’s like a drug (and it’s how I manifested my ex back)

14. thanK you aIMee — potentially controversial spot in the ranking but if you think about it as a woman singing to her ex homoerotic friendship it makes sense

15. florida!!! — any collab taylor does with a woman automatically earns lesbians points idc what it’s about

16 the black dog — not overtly gay but this one was on repeat during my breakup era so it will always be gay to me

17. the albatross — this one vaguely gives me lesbian vibes if you interpret it as the narrator speaking to her closeted lover

18. chloe or sam or sophia or marcus— this one is more of a treat for our bisexuals!! lesbians love you mwah !

19. cassandra — the vibes are there but not enough for me to justify putting it above any of the other songs

20. fortnight — as much as I would love to defend this as a lesbian song the lyric “my husband is cheating” and the post malone feature make that hard to do

21. loml — a heartbreakingly beautiful song but not very lesbian

22. the smallest man who ever lived — even though I think of my ex when I listen to this it still has the word man in the title which knocks it down by many lesbian points

23. my boy only breaks his favorite toys — “boy” in the title unfortunately makes this drop a lot of spots

24. so high school — absolute banger but very straight

25. how did it end? — beautiful song but there’s definitely gayer stuff on this album

26. so long, london — all I can think about is joebless when I hear this so no lesbian points for yogurt boy

27. I can do it with a broken heart — this is more girlhood than lesbianism

28. the manuscript — great but very heterosexual I fear

29. I can fix him (no really I can) — this is practically the straight woman’s national anthem

30. clara bow — also not lesbian, but definitely the album’s most underrated song

31. robin — not lesbian at all, but cute song!

[spaceorphan18]

I just have some thoughts and, I just... they're just thoughts with zero intention of being inflammatory or derogatory. (I do respect all the other ships on the show, enjoy Kanthany and am looking forward to Benedict/Sophie, and am slightly annoyed I even have to have a disclaimer, my god fandom, sometimes...)

I think that in one way that Bridgerton, as a show, struggles a little (and I suppose I mean struggle loosely) is that it's chaffing between wanting to be (what is essentially) an anthology show vs a regular TV show where the characters are developed long term.

I think Simon and Daphne's story works within season 1. But like the book(s), it's a self-contained story that isn't intended to go beyond the happily ever after other than a cameo here and there. (I do hope Daphne comes back eventually to cameo, it's a shame she wasn't in season 3.) But their story isn't meant to go anywhere else.

Anthony and Kate is the most awkward story at the moment. Anthony is one of the few well rounded characters in the book, as he's the head of the household and in most of the books. And Anthony and Kate having to run the household feels a little like a missed opportunity to be developed on the show. Now -- I know it's because Jonathan Bailey is becoming hugely successful actor -- and the original premise of the show is supposed to be self-contained stories. But it's a shame, because I think Anthony and Kate have so much potential for good stories to tell, and I have a feeling they won't be.

The thing about Pen and Colin, though, is that they haven't been treated like the anthology format the two previous couples got. Their story has been treated in a more traditional, long-form tv style, in which the characters have grown and developed, and so Season 3 was their spotlight, but we've past that and... I still think they'll be getting a considerable amount of screen time in Season 4. (Obviously, not as much as Season 3 - and I hope people don't get their expectations up too much). But look at how much they both got to do in Season 1 and 2. It's A LOT. And Season 4 will probably be on par with that.

I'm super curious as to where we go from here. Season 4 kind of has its expected trajectory, and I can pretty much guess what we're in for (and am looking forward to it!)

But what happens after? Do Benedict and Sophie now fade into the background completely? What are we doing with Anthony now - which is still rich in possibility? Pen and Colin's story probably will wrap up (in a way) in Season 4 -- where do their individual arcs go, or will the by pushed back?

[And, as an aside that I don't really want to make -- if Nicola wanted to get off the ride, after Season 4 would be a good place to do it. I guess that depends on whether or not she becomes the next Jonathan Bailey -- and as much as I would love that for her as an actress, the Pen fan in me's heart would hurt]

And if you don't have these subplots in future seasons, what do we have? Neither Eloise's book or Francesca's book really have any sideplots (Francesca's especially) -- and yet you have all of these characters. I know they want to develop Gregory and Hyacinth more, but idk idk.

But I guess, back to my original point -- the further we go on, the less the anthology style works because we've started spending A LOT of time with these characters. I think the central romances will, for the most part, be fine, but the subplots and the previous couples and the long standing characters -- what does the show do?

I don't have answers, I'm mostly thinking out loud....

That all said - I really, really hope they get to Gregory and Hyacinth's books -- because I think there's potential for a lot of fun to be had in them. (I personally like them way more than Eloise and Francesca's books, so at least Netflix has one long term fan...)

[algoreithms]

A little question for you, if you had to rank the alien movies from best to least favourite? ALSO I LOVE YOUR ART, always happy to see your post

hehehe first off THANK YOUUU I appreciate it so much <3 secondly, my ranking is gonna get me creme brulee'd, flamebroiled if you will, past the first one, but its below the cut lol

1) alien

it's literally a classic and made me develop a love for sci-fi horror that has been going strong for most of my life lol. i feel it's a given it has to be my number 1

2) alien: resurrection

i know it sucks so bad and makes no damn sense canonically sometimes but... it's campy and it has wormed its way into my heart over the years. i could genuinely watch it 7 times in a day and not get bored. i also love how queer it is. ripley 8 and call should've kissed and johner and vriess DID kiss. as a bi trans dude, i definitely love those aspects bc they feel special to me. no matter how much it sucks as an actual entry in the alien anthology, i love it like an ugly christmas sweater

3) prometheus

even though it's more its own thing than a true alien movie, I adore the religious themes, scenery, and I wish there had been more exploration with shaw's character before she got dissected like a high-school science lab frog. but alas.

4) aliens

aka the second one that's named in a very confusing way. I loooove the ambiguity of how sapient the xenomorphs are in this movie. "what do you mean, they cut the power?" is still so fucking scary to this day and it's my favorite movie depiction of the xenos. it's also the first use of the term xenomorph in the franchise I think. dope ass movie, I also love ripleys funky haircut and the theme of the struggles of motherhood

5) alien: covenant

it's not my favorite because when I first watched it the pacing was very jarring compared to other slower alien movies, but I've grown quite fond of it and it's honestly iconic. I find myself thinking about specifically Covenant David's weird ass soooooo often he's such a disconcerting character.

6) alien³ or alien 3 or alien cubed or whatever

not super fond of alien 3. it's the weakest to me and the one i always forget about personally. ripleys character arc confused me and continues to confuse me even after multiple rewatches, but I will say that her look in the film is iconic and I love the buzzcut. sigourney weaver the woman that you are. not much else to say about it as once again to me it's entirely forgettable

tl;dr I live laugh love the alien anthology even if my movie preferences are deranged. ty for asking <3

[hotpinkrathian]

TPD and LoK headcannons?

HELLO ANON I LOVE YOU THANK YOU FOR FILLING MY INBOX

Okay but I have been thinking about the practical uses of TPD for LoK since its release (I've listened to the entire anthology like 5 times now) and some of my *thoughts* are a little disorganized but here they are as they come.

Kya watching Lin and Tenzin grow together and become a couple has her DOWN BAD and I would like to write something in the future, maybe a one shot drawing inspiration from this.

Fresh Out the Slammer is so Suyin/Kuvira coded, whether it's platonically or romantic idc but to me it is THEM. Specifically after the show when Kuvira is feeling empty and alone and trying to get back into her old life but she has to accept that it's not going to work and she has to start all over again.

I Can Do it With A Broken Heart- immediately thought of Asami. Not because of her relationship with Mako or Korra but because of the relationship with her dad. That was such a painful moment for her in the series and sometimes I feel like it wasn't shown enough, her grief was never really processed and maybe she struggles a bit in the beginning. Of course Korra helps her through it : )

Kyalin The Alchemy need I say more.

I feel like there's big potential for an angsty Lin-centered one shot inspired by Cassandra. I haven't fully developed this yet but it's brewing.

thanK you aIMee is another one I feel like would work well with Kuvira. I could see an angsty piece about her slowly building up to the events of season 4. I feel like maybe she has some growing resentment over her childhood and maybe that gets taken out on Suyin or just the Beifongs in general.

For shits and giggles Korra sing smallest man who ever lived to Zaheer because my guy short as fuck

And for non shits and giggles "Who's Afraid of Little old Me" this is AVATAR KORRA. This song I see in the moment before she takes down Kuvira. Like Kuvira is cocky and is convinced she's already won because she's bested korra multiple times now. And Korra is a force of nature. There's room for a powerful dissonance there between season 3 where she as the Avatar is a target. Zaheer wants to get rid of the avatar to restore chaos because the Avatar is too powerful. Korra doesn't understand this, she would never use her powers for evil, she would never use them to hurt people... until she has to. She IS the Avatar, she is the strongest being in the world, and part of her healing process is claiming that power. I can see a conversation going something like this:.

Korra: I don't get it, Asami. It's like no matter what I do, how many times I show these people I'm on their side... someone is always out to get me. It's like they're afraid of me or something.

Asami: Korra, you are the Avatar. The only thing standing between them and their fucked-up ideal "world", is you.

Korra: I don't want people to be scared of me, I want them to feel safe. To feel like I'm an ally.

Asami: and you are, but... I don't know, Korra. Maybe it's not all bad if some people fear you. If Kuvira, or Zaheer had been more afraid maybe... maybe things would've turned out differently.

And then the bad guy is all "you think you scare me?" And Korra is all

"No, but I should."

(I could also see this trope working well with Rangshi but you requested LOK )

Annyywwwaaaayyyyyyy

I hope I delivered

[the-wip-project]

SloMo WriNo: Q & A

A few questions about how the SloMo WriNo challenge have come in, so here's the answers to a few of the easy ones. (Don't worry, more complicated questions will be getting their own posts!)

When does it start? The official start date is November 1st.

However this challenge is about you finding your own long term writing rhythm. So if there’s some reason why you can’t begin for a week, a month, or even until next year, that’s fine. Feel free to jump in at any time, and even if you feel like you can’t ‘officially’ start your novel just yet, perhaps you can still begin trying out writing in a SloMo way. You may find yourself easing into things anyway!

Is this plan/event supposed to be just for novels?

Definitely not! I’ve had one person express their intention to write a series of novellas, another to do a second draft, and others plan on writing fanfiction. It’s for whatever you want to write but have been struggling with.

Do those min/max brackets apply for everything one would write in the year? Ideally yes! At least when it comes to writing you’re doing for your own self. (Writing for work and school obviously need to get done at whatever pace you’re required to do them!) The goal here is to establish writing as a long term sustainable habit. Now as time goes on you will probably want to tweak your minimum and maximum word counts, as you get more familiar with your own process. Please go ahead and do that, and then keep on writing within that adjusted ideal zone.

I’m kinda burned out. Should I even try to attempt this? That’s a tough one, and really something you need to answer for yourself based on your current situation and emotional state. If you do decide to attempt the challenge, I recommend keeping your goal word counts (at least initally) at a level that feels ‘too easy’ and taking at least two days each week off writing. If it starts feeling like too much, dial it back even further, or take some time off. This challenge will be going on all year, so you can hop in and out whenever you need to. No guilt needed!

Who are you and why are you claiming to be an expert on this stuff anyway? Actually no one has been so mean as to say that, but there’s been a little confusion about who I am and why I’m posting here. My name is Maree, and Barbex (the one who actually runs this blog) was kind enough to help me out with this challenge and let me post on the WIP blog and the WIP discord. (you can find my own blog at mareebrittenford.)

I completed my first novel in 2015, and since then I’ve written 8 novels, as well as assorted shorter stories and a few (okay maybe more than a few) fanfics. I have managed to publish 4 of the novels and a few short stories have made their way into magazines and anthologies. Now I don’t claim to be a great writer, but the one thing I’m confident of is that I’ve become very good at is Finishing My Stuff. (And finishing stuff with ADHD is a very special skill!)

I created this challenge to share all my tips and tricks, and hopefully help other people also Finish Their Stuff.

If you have any other questions about the challenge (or for me personally) you can reblog with comments, send an ask, or hop onto the WIP discord

[otaku-tyriq]

Because someone already asked those questions about your fav anime/manga, can I ask your top 5 favorite western animations (can be movies or series)? Why love them?

Certainly you can dear anon ^7^

So some of my favourite western animations of all time include

1) Tangled

Why do I love it so much? Well it has been my absolute comfort movie since I was like 10 years old and watched this movie in theatres with my older sister. I also highly relate to Rapunzel, both due to her personality and her experiences with Mother Gothel. Also to this day I fully stand by the believe that Flynn/Eugene and Rapunzel’s relationship is the single most romantic and beautifully written Disney couple in this studio’s entire history. Lastly: THE ANIMATION IS GORGEOUS! And I think few people understand just how ground breaking this movie was in terms if 3D animation as back then animating hair, and most importantly that amount of hair that Rapunzel has, was a nightmare to animate in 3D, so the Studio had to essentially come up with an entirely new animation program specifically for the protagonist’s hair to move around in a natural way.

2) Lego Monkie Kid

Created by the Australian Studio Flying Bark Productions, the same Studio behind Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, this show means EVERYTHING to me. Because one thing rarely talk about on Tumblr: I am OBSESSED with Mythology. Greek Mythology, Roman, Mythology, Yoruba Mythology, Chinese Mythology, Norse Mythology etc. you name it. Like my bookshelf is nothing but Manga, history books and an astronomical amount of mythology and fairytale books. The show follows MK a hyper and optimistic boy as he is chosen to be the Monkey King Sun Wukong’s successor and learning to be a hero. So as you may have gathered this show is not only inspired by chinese mythology but essentially it’s equivalent of what Percy Jackson is to Greek Mythology. What I adore the most about this show are its characters and the GORGEOUS ANIMATION! I swear the fighting animation especially in this cartoon is smoother than butter!

3) The Owl House

Aka "What if Harry Potter was not written by a biggot”. If you’ve seen the pinned post on my blog, you know that Lumity is one of my absolute favourite sapphic ships. But honestly this ship is only the peak of the iceberg for why i adore this show. The beautiful artstyle, Luz’s character arc over the course of the show, EDA SIMPLY EXISTING AND BEING FANTASTIC, the beautiful world building and magic system, Emperor Beloz being an absolute irredeemable asshole in the most entertaining and bone chilling way. Srsly if you can dear Anon, give this show a watch.

4) Infinity Train

An Anthology Series who up until recently you could watch on Max HBO. This show is both delightfully funny and absolutely gut-wrenching and dark. The show essentially follows on a new set of characters each season who all end up getting trapped on a train with an infinite number of cars and they cannot leave the train until they essentially come to terms with and/or face some sort of trauma or other psychological issue they may be struggling with.

And as you may have guessed those themes of working through psychological issues is something that my mentally ill ass highly relates to. Not to mention these are some of the most well handled depictions of mental illnesses in animation i have seen in years. Especially given the show was originally targeted towards children and teenagers. I cannot recommend this show enough.

5) Nimona & Over the Garden Wall

I know you asked for only Top 5 Favourite western Animations but I seriously could not decide which one I prefered so they gotta share the spot. Hope you don’t mind 😊.

Starting with Nimona: I mean what else is there to say about Nimona that has not been said before? Fantastic and unique world building? Check. Absolute comedy gold? Check. Openly Queer characters? Check. Said characters also being absolutely loveable? Check. A heartfelt message for both adults and children? CHECK. Seriously this movie is just gorgeous and on Youtube FOR FREE! Like there is nothing stopping you from watching it right this instant.

Now onto Over the Garden Wall: I come from a country where we don’t typically celebrate Halloween. So due to a lack of direct cultural ties to Halloween I never truly had any super strong interest in Halloween movies and never had the urge around October to bundle up in a blanket and watch those classic Halloween movies and shows, like some of my friends do. The most I did was carve pumpkins with my sister and drink hot cocoa cuz it’s genuinly fun. Until this Mini Series came along. The atmosphere just absolutely perfectly manages to capsulate the feeling of autumn and the eeriness of that season. Far more than any other Halloween Classic in my humble opinion. Also again I’m a huge mythology Nerd and this show is basically Dante’s Inferno for children in very weird way. But yes ever since this show had come out I instantly rewatch it the second the leaves start to fall outside.

[uovoc]

2023 Media consumption

God tier: media that invoked blorbo-induced euphoria, mini-obsession, or just haunt me

White Cat Legend (大理寺日志, Dali Court Journal) - donghua, seasons 1 and 2. The new vice minister of the imperial court of criminal justice is, unfortunately, a cat demon. Tang Dynasty workplace comedy/political intrigue. Lovely animation, sick fight scenes, and catboys.

Scissor Seven (刺客伍六七) - donghua, seasons 2-3. Netflix summary: "Seeking to recover his memory, a scissor-wielding, hairdressing, bungling quasi-assassin stumbles into a struggle for power among feuding factions." Season 1 was just ok at best, season 2 was great, season 3 was phenomenal, season 4 was meh.

Derkholm duology by Diana Wynne Jones (reread)

God Troubles Me / Hanhua Riji (汉化日记) - donghua. Cringefail loser girl Su Moting, her cringefail smartphone god, and her cringefail cat (demon) have to save the world. But first she has to go to work. And get takeout. And watch dramas. The premise sounds SO cringe but it's well-executed and hilarious. And actually a pretty sharp but good-humored window into the delights and horrors of modern everyday life in china.

The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt (reread). At the peak of the California gold rush, hitmen Charlie and Eli Sisters are hired for a job that Eli is liking less and less. 1st-person perspective of a stone-cold killer, where it turns out the killer is just Some Guy. Who is kind of awkward. And pathetic. And maybe not very bright.

Gobelins graduation animated shorts: "Chroniques de l'Eau Salée" (2021), "Last Summer" (2022), and "Go Fishboy" (2022). Available to watch on YouTube. Got caught up on 2021 and 2022 and these are the ones that will haunt me.

Ranma 1/2 by Rumiko Takahashi - manga (reread). Teenage martial artist is cursed to transform into a hot girl whenever he's splashed with cold water. Still some of the funniest and most deranged comedy I've ever read.

"Golden Age" - short story by Naomi Novik set in the Temeraire universe. Hilarious and delightful Feral Temeraire AU.

Just ok: media that I didn't hate, and maybe even enjoyed

A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore

Coyote Blue by Christopher Moore

Fluke: Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings by Christopher Moore

Glass Onion (2022) dir. Rian Johnson

Puss in Boots: the Last Wish (2022) dir. Joel Crawford

Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead

Witch's Business by Diana Wynne Jones (reread)

Chrestomanci series by Diana Wynne Jones (reread) - Charmed Life, The Lives of Christopher Chant, Mixed Magics, The Pinhoe Egg

Firebirds: An Anthology of Original Fantasy and Science Fiction, ed. Sharyn November. Faves: "Beauty" by Sherwood Smith, "Little Dot" by Diana Wynne Jones, and "Remember Me" by Nancy Farmer.

All Systems Red (异星危机) by Martha Wells, Simplified tr. by 黎思敏

All Saints Street (万圣街) - donghua, seasons 1-3

Moira's Pen by Megan Whalen Turner

Enchanted Glass by Diana Wynne Jones (reread)

The Game by Diana Wynne Jones (reread)

Deep Secret by Diana Wynne Jones (reread)

Selected Discworlds: Thief of Time, Unseen Academicals (reread)

The Confessions of Max Tivoli by Andrew Sean Greer (reread)

The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells by Andrew Sean Greer

"Louise", Gobelins 2021 graduation animated short. Pretty good, but not god tier.

The Time of the Ghost by Diana Wynne Jones (reread)

Less by Andrew Sean Greer. Most of it was a slog, but the ending was wonderfully tender.

The Merlin Conspiracy by Diana Wynne Jones (reread)

Secondhand Souls by Christopher Moore

The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories by Susanna Clarke

Are You Listening? by Tillie Walden

Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan

Spinning by Tillie Walden

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (reread)

The Mermaid (美人鱼) - movie (2016)

Exhalation by Ted Chiang. Fave: Exhalation

Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang

Motorcity - cartoon (rewatch)

Sing 2 - movie

Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves - movie

White Cat Legend (大理寺日志) manhua through chapter 186

A Monster in Paris - movie (rewatch)

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse - movie

Lionboy trilogy by Zizou Corder: Lionboy, The Chase, and The Truth (reread)

The Moorchild by Eloise McGraw

Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms (封神第一部：朝歌风云) - movie

Our Flag Means Death - season 2

Skellig by David Almond (reread). Even more unsettling and magical than I remembered.

The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System (人渣反派自救系统) by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

Savvy by Ingrid Law (reread)

The Silent Boy by Lois Lowry

Golden Age and Other Stories by Naomi Novik. "Golden Age" alone was amazing. Every thing else: meh.

Wonder by RJ Palacio except that the ending sucked

蓝溪镇 (Lanxi Zhen/Blue Creek Town) - manhua (reread), through chapter 112

Translation State by Ann Leckie

Disliked and often DNF'd

House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds

A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro

Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn

The Stars are Legion by Kameron Hurley

Phoenix Rising by Karen Hesse

Palimpsest by Catherine Valente

Knives Out (2019) dir. Rian Johnson

The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nhi Vgo

Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots. Genuinely creative concept, enjoyable characters, and horrifying (affectionate) ending! Writing was just very, very bad.

The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove by Christopher Moore

Stowaway by Karen Hesse

Nirvana in Fire (狼牙榜) - ok objectively it was fine. It was just SO long that I started losing patience at multiple points.

Marcel the Shell with Shoes on (2021) dir. Dean Fleischer Camp

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor

Suzume - anime movie

Fairies Albums (百妖谱) - donghua

Link Click （时光代理人）- donghua

The Strange Tales of Oscar Zahn by Tri Vuong - webcomic

Into the Riverlands by Nghi Vo

Journey to the West: Demons Strike Back (西游伏妖篇) - movie

Labyrinths: Selected Stories and Others Writings by Jorge Luis Borges

The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro

Frozen 2 - movie

Logan - movie

The Three Sisters of Tenmasou - movie

The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates. Nothing new.

Bewilderment by Richard Powers

Nimona (2023) - movie

Prophet by Helen MacDonald and Sin Blache

One Piece - the live action Netflix series

Good Omens season 2

Birdwing by Rafe Martin

Blue Eye Samurai - netflix cartoon

Haven't You Heard I'm Sakamoto - anime

System Collapse by Martha Wells

The Cay by Theodore Taylor (reread)

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier

Bottoms (2023) - movie

Daily Life of the Immortal King (仙王的日常生活) - donghua

Witch King by Martha Wells. Actually I enjoyed the Kai/Bashasa storyline a lot. The present-day storyline I found extremely boring. Which was unfortunate because it was more than half the book.

The King's Avatar (全职高手) - donghua

The Apothecary Diaries - anime

Assorted nonfiction

The Electricity of Every Living Thing by Katherine May. Bored. DNF

Alone in the Wilderness (2004) - dir. Dick Proenneke. Documentary of Proenneke's year spent living alone in the Alaskan wilderness. Neat look at one dude building a cabin, furniture, and all his accompanying household implements by hand.

A River Lost: The Life and Death of the Columbia by Blaine Harden. The human and environmental significance of the Columbia dam system.

Gifted Earth: The Ethnobotany of the Quinault and Neighboring Tribes by Douglas Deur. Guide to key native species and their traditional uses.

A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life by George Saunders. Four classic Russian short stories with accompanying technical analysis of their narrative construction. Great look at the process of writing and analyzing stories.

Animals Make Us Human by Temple Grandin - animal behavioral psychology

Animals in Translation by Temple Grandin - more animal behavioral psychology

Crying in HMart by Michelle Zauner. DNF. Felt like the book could have been 1/4 of its length. Mostly nothing new.

Wood in American Life: 1776-2076 by WG Youngquist and HO Fleischer. Wood use in America. Really makes you realize just how many things are now made out of plastic but used to be wood. And how much more difficult and expensive it was to make and replace objects.

Authentic Diversity: How to change the workplace for good by Michelle Silverthorn. Concise and nicely concrete. Would be a good starting place for an executive.

Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O'Neil - how some big data algorithms reinforce preexisting inequality, and how to improve them.

The Relationship Cure by Joan Declaire and John M. Gottman. The classic originator of the "bids for attention" approach. Pretty good, most helpful was the part where it identifies the styles of responses.

Essential Retirement Planning for Solo Agers: A Retirement and Aging Roadmap for Single and Childless Adults by Sara Zeff Geber

A Wolf at the Table by Augusten Burroughs

the excellent hyperlocal nature guidebook I bought after encountering the author at the mall

Your Money or Your Life: 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence, by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez. 2018 ed.

[sergeantnarwhalwrites]

Happy STS! (Shh, I'm a day behind.) And because of that, today's a free space! Use it to ramble as you please! ♥️

Happy belated STS! 💙💙

Guess I'll just ramble about some ideas I had but I am just too busy or brain dead to write/draw right now.

1. Saz shaves off her facial hair for a mission. Everyone looks at her in fucking confusion. I feel like someone would probably start crying. XD I want to write this so bad. Saz hates the naked face but their reactions to it almost make it worth it.

2. Peace and Green get into an argument. Lol not out of the usual. But I wanted this one to sting a bit. They both get hella heated. Don't know who starts it but one of them ends up on the floor. And shit just gets worse. Oh it gets so much worse. They'll make up. But they'll remember the fuck out of this.

3. Green says something. Probably being a smart ass or arguably a rash dumb ass. Hollis or Digits responds back with one of the insults I thought up that they'd throw at Green awhile ago. Insult: " You sound like you gargle rocks." (Because Green's got a very gruff kind of gravelly voice) Green silently fumes probably growls beneath her breath. Glares at all of them literally laughing their asses off.

4. I go into a possible backstory thing of how Julie lost her eye. I'm thinking it was an undercover mission. She gets a lot of those cause she doesn't have any very obvious morpher traits. She doesn't have to kill but she is there to intimidate and kind of seduce. The person fights back, struggles. Julie loses her eye (maybe from a glass maybe her victim had clawed at it enough to cause irreversible damage) and they end up dead. The morphers are pissed. Julie's angrier.

5. BLOODY, GORY, SUPER VIOLENT, kinda ragey, kinda depressy piece where Saz goes absolutely rabid in her morpher form. Like these are some brutal deaths her victims go through. I don't know if she'd freak the fuck out, completely dissociate from reality, puke her guts up, or kinda enjoy it. I'm thinking a mixture. Someone helps her wipe the blood off of her face when she returns to her human form. I need it so fucking bad. I just don't know how to write it.

6. An expansion on a blurb I wrote for a tag game. I don't know if I want to keep it exactly the same. Or have it more as Donnie comes in while another person is there. Is kinda in shock that the person is also a cyborg. Hollis and Donnie crack the fuck up hearing how this cyborg got injured. Or Donnie is the one that got injured and Hollis tries not to laugh cause it's a goofy ass injury.

7. I want to work on my fanfics so bad too. But I have no fucking brain cells. The softball one calls to me. But I also kinda wanna make a side off anthology kinda thing based off of my competitive eating one.

8. I love the schematics I made for Digits' prosthetics so much. Kinda want to do Donnie's. But technically he's a cyborg. So he's mostly prosthetics and mechanics. So that would take me a century and a half.

[chungledown-bimothy]

My hottest D20 takes:

I am fine not getting anymore Fantasy High. It’s up to the cast if they want to keep doing it, but we shouldn’t be mad if it doesn’t happen.

I think that all D20 seasons should be 20 episodes or less.

Some D20 fans are too obsessed with getting sequels to seasons they like, and they aren’t ready for what that might entail in terms of the characters they are attached to. Not everything needs a season 3 or 4, or even a spin-off.

I want Gabe Hicks to DM another season. I thought he was really good in Shriek Week but the season itself was convoluted.

-Love that that's a take I've more or less gotten multiple times. Because I wholeheartedly agree.

I think it was Brennan, but it might have been Sam, who talked once about how when they started Dimension 20, the plan was an anthology series, setting it apart from Critical Role and other actual play shows that dive deep into one setting and spend a ton of time in it.

There are SO many cool stories to tell and settings to create and explore, and I'm totally happy with not going back to Spyre ever again.

And that ties into your third take, which I also obviously am with you on.

Did we learn nothing from Supernatural? Let stories end. Love them, remember them, rewatch them. Don't beat a dead horse.

-Absolutely yes. Especially the "or less" tbh. Do not get me wrong. I've watched over 1000 hours of d20 in the last year, I want all of the content.

But, again, it goes back to not making stories too long for the sake of more content. I think Neverafter should have been shorter, for example.

And in general a 20 ep cap makes for much more digestible and accessible seasons. I, like many others, struggle getting into other actual play shows because they seem insurmountable. Like you'll never really be able to catch up, ya know?

-I've not watched Shriek Week yet, but I'm totally with you on more guest GMs, and one of these days I'll get to Shriek Week, I promise lol

[hoochy-coo]

Let us know what you think !!

Very early takes, just off the cuff:

- The album is confused about what it wants to be because she herself is confused. However, this is some of the most honest writing she’s ever done - like ICDIWABH is fucking unhinged but she is being HONEST about it

- Down Bad is a bop but the first 4 songs are Bleachers, Midnights, 1989 vault rejects

- Some of her career highs are on here (BDILH, Clara Bow, TSMWEL) but TTPD (the song) is a career low and should have never seen the light of day

- This is the closest she’s ever gotten to sequencing a track list that tells a linear story

- I do like So Long London and her feelings are hers and hers alone. However, is Joe’s MH struggle known information? I know she’s hinted at him being “blue” multiple times and over multiple body of works, but she seems to be very loud about it on SLL and how it contributed to their breakup

- Confused as to why a lot of the marketing/PR suggested most of this would be about the breakdown of her 6 year relationship only for a lot of it to be about the 6 month fling and how messy it was

- LOML made me cry

- Don’t love Florida!!! But love Florence’s feature on it

- She needs to break up with Jack. They keep doing the same thing as collaborators and it’s stunting both of them

- I will get dragged for this but she’s trying very hard to do what Lana does on a lot of this album???

- I’m like half shook and half laughing at how Taylor is basically telling us that she did not give a f about Matt’s ignorant behaviour and that she was ready to “die for [his] sins” but he ghosted her cause there was too much heat from all the media attention and fan fare

- In terms of bonus track, I’ve only heard Black Dog - which I love and think should have been track 5

Nvm she just dropped the anthology. BRB - more thoughts to come

[marlowe1-blog]

Book Review: Lost Souls by Poppy Z Brite

Still the most disturbing vampire novel

Recently Billy Martin, aka Poppy Z Brite, announced that he was back to writing. He sold a short story to a friend's anthology and he was writing another one. This was met with a great deal of excitement. For Generation X, Billy was the greatest. Then a few days later, dispirited and depressed, Billy wrote on his Patreon that he was no longer writing. He wrote a story for another editor and that editor rejected the story.

On Facebook, the outpouring of love and support for Billy was amazing. Billy has been through a lot and around Hurricane Katrina, he gave up on writing. HIs restaurant books were not selling and his publisher was demanding more horror. He was depressed from a great deal including gender dysmorphia (he still presented as female at the time) and eating disorders.

The support was either "We REALLY want to see you writing again, because you inspired us" or "take care of your mental health first".

Writing is a tough gig. It's hard to make money at it. It's hard to believe in yourself. It's almost impossible to sustain that belief over the years. The doubts set in. The rejections pile up. The occasional acceptance can feel false. Like ok, this editor is saying that my story is great and wants to pay me money. What's wrong with them? Most writers build up calluses, stop putting their self-worth in the next acceptance, struggle with the feelings that they suck. We read old stories that we thought brilliant and wince with embarrassment, but also take pride in how far we've come.

Billy didn't benefit from these experiences. He was an overnight sensation. Yes, he wrote a lot of garbage as a teenager like we all do and he had some disappointments and rejections, but he sold his stories to a zine when he was young and then when there were enough stories, got a collection published. Harlan Ellison read those stories and got very excited. So did Dan Simmons.

Then came Lost Souls. Billy was in his early 20s when he wrote this book. Most writers are writing trunk stories and embarrassing manuscripts at that time. Billy wrote the nastiest vampire book of its time, inspiring horror writers - especially splatterpunk and extreme horror writers - ever since.

Unfortunately for modern readers who might love to see anything new from Billy, Billy had to deal with all the self-doubt and struggles afterwards. On Livejournal, I criticized a media tie-in book he wrote for the Crow series and he was pissed. We both apologized for the incident (or at very least the nasty feelings from the incident) years later and we're friends now - well online friends - but it was very confusing at the time.

I was a nobody. I mean I'm still a nobody with a few books published through Dybbuk Press and some stories in anthologies. But back then I was even more of a nobody. I had maybe Teddy Bear Cannibal Massacre published and as far as my stories were concerned, I had sold a few of them and made maybe $20 total. That's $20 spread out over 4-5 markets.

So why was anything I said getting under the skin of the guy who wrote Lost Souls?

T-Nightingale at Devientart

When I revise this for Substack, the above is going to be seriously edited down.

Anyhow, Lost Souls came at a strange time. Anne Rice had written two amazing vampire books, one pretty good vampire book that got real dumb in the last third (Seriously Queen of the Damned has a woman thousands of years old deciding to create world peace by killing all the men? REALLY? That bullshit wouldn't fly in an Introduction to Women's Studies class). Francis Ford Coppola turned Dracula into a comedy. Vampires were more popular than ever, but defanged.

When Molochi, Twig and Zillah come to the French Quarter looking for absinthe and fucks they are fucking intense. Christian, the bartender and the one vampire that might walk through an Anne Rice novel, doesn't like these vampires, but they are fellow vampires. What are you going to do.

Within a few pages, the vampires are revealing their identity to a vampire groupy and Zillah is fucking her in the backroom. Mardis Gras is over and that girl is doomed.

Because in the world of Poppy Z Brite, vampires aren't made by other vampires. You don't become a vampire by drinking vampire blood. You don't kiss your new master and then sink your teeth into his new cut. No. Vampires are born.

Vampires are born by eating their way out of their mothers.

Later on Christian fucks a goth boy who wants to become a vampire. Christian drains him and feels bad about it, but it's not Christian's fault if the normies don't understand vampires.

This scene sets the tone for a book that has zero chill. Nothing, the sad goth boy (and vampire who doesn't realize that he's a vampire) would be a parody of teen angst in another book. Then there's Steve and Ghost, semi-adult band members who have a tangled history and a lot of heartbreak between them. They run the band that gives the book its name but they are also messy characters. Steve is borderline abusive to his girlfriend while Ghost protects Steve.

They are the nicest characters

Nothing is a big fan.

An aside: the writing style is fucking poetry. Seriously check this out

The, last dying days of summer, fall coming on fast. A cold night, the first of the season, a change from the usual bland Maryland climate. COLD, thought the boy; his mind felt numb. The trees he could see through his bedroom window were tall charcoal sticks, shivering, afraid of the wind or only trying to stand against it. Every tree was alone out there. The animals were alone, each in its hole, its thin fur, and anything that got hit on the road tonight would die alone. Before morning, he thought, its blood would freeze in the cracks of the asphalt.

That was later an issue with Billy's writing as Billy did not like editors telling him to change his sentences.

Ok. More tomorrow. I need to actually talk about the book itself past the prologue, but I also have a paper to finish (800 more words to go) and I need to wake up early tomorrow for jury duty.

Fuck Jury Duty.

[ryqoshay]

20 Fanfic Questions

Tagged by @therev28

Tagging @lonelypond who is one of the few remaining active LL authors I follow here on tumblr

How many works do you have on AO3?

"Only" 21, but I tend to focus on multi-chapter works and collections

2. What's your total AO3 words count?

685,120

However, I must point out that at least a dozen k or so are duplicated, as I slowly fit my event entry chapters into their parent fics. I am tracking my actual word count in an Excel document, but I am a bit behind there as I have not tracked said event entries, just the ones that have been copied into their parent fics.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Primarily the first four generations of the Love Live franchise. I have done a little with Star Trek: Deep Space 9 and Dungeons and Dragons, but both portrayed as TTRPGs being played by the Love Live characters.

At least that is what I have posted on tumblr and AO3.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

How to Handle a Nico: A collection of stories that take place at various points in the lives of Maki and Nico from the School Idol Project generation. There are a few recurring themes that run through things to connect them, but I do try to keep them somewhat able to stand on their own as one-shots or short arcs. It is mostly canon compliant. Other ships in my LL fleet show up from time to time.

Happy Life: Like HtHaN, it is a collection of stories that take place over the course of the focal characters' lives, but this time the main couple is Riko and Yoshiko Yohane from the Sunshine generation. I label this work as an Angelic AU, but I have challenged myself to do so in such a way that it remains canon compliant.

Tri-Arame: Like HtHaN and HL before it, it is a collection of loosely related chapters. This work is also my first foray into writing an OT3 as my flagship for an LL generation, as I was indecisive about which ship to sail as said flagship, so I just put them all together. Thus, Yuu, Ayumu and Setsuna from the Nijigasaki generation are a trio here.

How to Handle a Maki: An RPG styled AU with NicoMaki as the primary pairing. This one was inspired by some wonderful fan art by one of my favorite artists. There's only one chapter so far... one really long chapter... and I've written a few extra things as event entries that I've yet to integrate into the parent fic. But I definitely need to get back to this one soon'ish. I really like the idea.

Promptober-2021: My first time participating in an event in the Idol Fanfic Heaven Discord channel. This collection started my habit of worldbuilding my monster theater AU, Putting on Hairs, in event collections. The AU really lends itself easily to many prompts.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I love responding to comments, and even feel bad if it feels like too much time has passed before I do so. As for why I love responding, it is because it is a way for me to interact with my readers. I also know how much courage it takes to leave a comment, as it is something I myself struggle with, so I want to show my appreciation with a response.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

That really depends on how one defines "ending"...

Taken as a one-shot, The Incident in HtHaN would be pretty angsty. The play, Detective Otosu (name may yet change), in PoH, has an angsty/depressing/downer ending; I wrote other scenes from the play for the same event collection. And many of the characters in my unposted D&D story have pretty angsty endings to their arcs; e.g. one has their spirit/soul trapped in a gem where they remain in a state of semi-consciousness but unable to communicate with the world around them.

That all said, I don't really do much angst. I prefer happy fluff.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Again, this depends on how one defines ending. I focus on collections or anthologies that will likely be added to as long as I retain interest in doing so. As such, were I to choose specific entries in these collections, I would say that the chapters where the primary pairing or trio finally gets together would be the happiest. These chapters are Morning in HtHaN, the Revelations arc of HL, and Change Overnight in TA.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

While I would hesitate to outright call it hate, I definitely reached a point of utter frustration with a thread of comments that I decided it best to delete them. A graveyard of (Previous comment deleted) tombstones remains on a chapter of HtHaN, forever reminding me of the fated exchange, and that I apparently deleted them in the wrong order, according to the FAQ of AO3.

That said I have received more hate via direct message on various social media platforms for having the audacity to ship NicoMaki and YohaRiko, than for any fic chapters I have posted to tumblr or AO3.

However, I have mentioned a time or two that I deleted my first fanfic.net account due to hate/harassment. But I've done my best to move on from that.

9. Do you write smut. If so what kind?

I have written some smut prior to getting into Love Live, but I have never posted it online for others to see. And I likely never will. And the longer I go without writing it, the less interest I have in doing so again.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

Sorta. As mentioned above, I have written DS9 and D&D stuff, but as TTRPGs played by the LL girls. This isn't to say I won't write some crossover AU in the future.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Again, not to my knowledge.

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

I suppose it depends on how one defines cowrite. My D&D story takes place in a world that was already established by my DM. I take pride in expanding their world with my stories and happily brainstorm with them even to this day, despite not having written much in the last decade or so.

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

NicoMaki has been established in my eternal flagship, and I do not see that changing anytime soon. And YohaRiko and YuuAyuSetsu are fighting for second place.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

I honestly hope I can get around to all of them. But with how things are going, what little I've started writing for my Phatom of the Opera crossover of HtHaN, HL and TA, and my Broken Mirror crossover of every iteration of Yohane across my works.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Finding creative ways of saying things; thesaurus.com is one of my favorite sites.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Probably exposition. I'm constantly second guessing myself about whether I'm writing enough or too much. Occasionally rereading my posted works, I will wonder what I was thinking dumping so much as to risk distracting the reader, or hoping my readers know what is going on.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I mean I happily use Japanese honorifics in all of my posted works, so that may count. I also occasionally use words that I feel translate awkwardly. However, when someone talks a lot in a language other than the primary one of the scene, and the focus character of the scene understands it, I will simply enclose the dialogue in brackets and mention the language used.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Technically, Star Trek, but that was years before I posted anything online. I may still have the wide ruled notebooks with those handwritten stories.

Lucky Star was the first fandom for which I posted fics. But the account associated with those works has since been deleted, and I'm also fairly certain my copies were lost in a harddrive crash.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

Honestly, How to Handle a Nico (1), will forever hold a special place in my heart as it rekindled my desire to write, having not done so for years. When I first posted that short exchange between adult aged Nico and Maki, mostly as a joke, on School Idol Tomodachi, I never expected that it would turn into the 124 chapter, 224k word collection. Nor that I would follow it up with over 400k words spread across multiple other works. Nor that I would retain the desire to continue writing for the LL franchise over half a decade later.

[ashenhartkrie]

4 YA Books to Read in 2024

I graduated university in December, and since then I've been determined to read more now that I finally have time.

So, here are 4 books that I'm revisiting, and that you should read (or re-read!) in 2024.

The Magic in the Weaving

With her gift of weaving silk thread and creating light, Sandry is brought to the Winding Circle community. There she meets Briar, a former thief who has a way with plants; Daja, an outcast gifted at metalcraft; and Tris, whose connection with the weather unsettles everyone, including herself. At Winding Circle, the four misfits are taught how to use their magic - and to trust one another. But then disaster strikes their new home. Can Sandry weave together four kinds of magical power and save herself, her friends, and the one place where they've ever been accepted?

If you like found family, Read. This. Book. Reading this series feels like coming home. Tamora Pierce is probably best known for her Tortall universe, but the Emelan books have such a beautiful charm to them. The Magic in the Weaving (sometimes called Sandry’s book) is the first in the Circle of Magic quartet, and there’s about eight other books set in the same universe. There’s some quiet representation of polyamory and LGBTQ+ (particularly in the later books) and the cast is very racially diverse. I wholeheartedly recommend this entire series for fans of found family, and fans of finding magic in the mundane.

Ingo

Sapphire's father mysteriously vanishes into the waves off the Cornwall coast where her family has always lived. She misses him terribly, and she longs to hear his spellbinding tales about the Mer, who live in the underwater kingdom of Ingo. Perhaps that is why she imagines herself being pulled like a magnet toward the sea. But when her brother, Conor, starts disappearing for hours on end, Sapphy starts to believe she might not be the only one who hears the call of the ocean.

Ingo is set in Cornwall, and is such a truly beautiful book. It’s the first in a series, so if you’re a fan of mermaids, selkie mythology, and magic, Ingo and the rest of the books in the series are for you. I’ve re-read this book a number of times, because it really is a wonderful story. It brings the magic and mystery of the ocean to the fore. This one’s also great for younger readers.

The Gathering

When Nathanial and his mother move to the quiet, safe streets of Cheshunt, he immediately senses something wrong. Violent gangs patrol the streets, feral dogs roam at night, and the oppressive stench from the abattoir lingers over the school. Soon, Nathanial learns that his presence is no accident. As he uncovers the dark secrets of Cheshunt's past, and event spiral desperately out of control, he and his new friends must confront phantoms from their past in the battle to stop the Gathering and its terrifying creator.

TW for animal death/death of a pet. Listen, I loved this book. I was also disturbed by this book. The Gathering is YA fiction, but I’d say it’s for older teenagers. I studied this book in one of my units at university, and there are some heavy themes in it, but it’s also something that I would have related to as a teenager. None of the protagonists are listened to, or believed, by the adults in their life who they are meant to be able to trust. It’s allegorical in nature, and adult readers will immediately spot the links to fascism. Definitely worth a read, but it can be brutal at times.

An Unexpected Party.

Co-published by Get YA Words Out and edited by Seth Malacari, An Unexpected Party brings together the stories of emerging authors from the LGBTQIA+ community. From fantastical realms to real-world struggles, this anthology champions queer identity by challenging stereotypes and exploring the many facets of identity. Written with wit, heart and honesty, these stories take queer protagonists outside the box of young adult romance and centre them at the heart of stories that involve magic, paranormal beings and adventure. Featuring trans and gender-diverse voices – asexual, aromantic, bisexual and more – the stories in An Unexpected Party are as diverse as their writers.

Do you want to read more, but don’t want to commit to a novel or series? Read an Unexpected Party. Yes, maybe I’m biased, but there are some absolutely stunning short stories in here from a beautiful spread of very talented emerging Australian authors. I’m particularly fond of the Parade of the Weeds, and Shellshocked. There's a massive variety of different speculative fiction short stories here, so if you'd like to explore a new genre or just love speculative fiction, check it out. You might even spot a familiar name! ;)

If you liked this, please go check out my Vocal.Media page where you can find this article and a bunch more!

[slusheeduck]

Fic Writer Interview

Nabbed this from @thana-topsy, and I'm tagging @im-fairly-whitty and @sheepwithspecs!

----

How many works do you have on AO3?

42

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

670,970

3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

In reverse order:

The Liberties You're Taking - my prequel fic for Coco

Duty-Bound - A Victuuri royal arranged marriage AU I wrote out of spite

Casual Banter - My fictober/one-shot anthology for BG3

Puppy-Dog Eyes - A missing scene one-shot of how Hector and Miguel entered the music contest

The Way You Keep Me Guessing - The Coco Teacher!AU I wrote with @im-fairly-whitty

4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Sometimes! Depends on my mood--I get in "I need to say thank you to every comment or I WILL die" moods sometimes, and then others I don't respond to anything unless there's a question/comment that bears responding to.

5. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

I've got a good few--I'm a sucker for a good bittersweet ending. A lot of times, like with Liberties and Time and Circumstance, the angst factor comes from knowing how the story ends in canon. Probably the angstiest writing was And Therewithal I Cut My Hair.

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

Probably Teacher AU. Literally everything tied up neatly for the happiest ending possible.

7. Do you write crossovers?

The Ruy stories (from Villain AU, which I worked with Wit on but he ultimately wrote) were a crossover with PatF, but otherwise not really. I think about it sometimes with various fandoms tho.

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Uhh, not really unless you count my pre-AO3 days when a guy gave me a dressing down over a fic I was begging people to read when I was 13 and didn't know what I was doing. (Grateful to that guy, in the end! I learned how to format properly out of spite.) I did have one person come in to all my Frozen fics and rewrite them in the comments on ffnet, though. Not hate, but...strange.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I just wrote my first full smut scene in a fic and I'm still recovering.

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not stolen, but one person did rewrite a fic I've written to be more angsty.

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I...think someone translated Teacher AU, but I can't remember fully.

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Oh just a few.

13. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Honestly, at the end of the day, probably Victuuri. I've had other ships, but the 30 day challenge I did for them was one of the most fun things I've written.

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Oh, I don't know. Probably my Gravity Falls fic or my Iduna/Agnarr Frozen backstory. I still have those guys percolating in my head and periodically want to come back to them, but I have so many other projects.

15. What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue dialogue dialogue. I thrive with that, and my stuff frequently ends up being people sitting and talking for a whole chapter. No one's complained yet tho.

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

Endings. I always struggle with ending things, and there's a few fics where when I reread them (because I'm a big fan of reading my own fics, since that bitch writes exactly what I want to read) that I just straight up do not read the last chapter because I hate it so much.

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I do this with reckless abandon and I do not apologize ever. Sometimes I translate, sometimes I leave it to context clues.

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

The Nightmare Before Christmas

19. What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to?

I'd love to write some Bloodweave one of these days, but alas, it would have to be for an ask or something.

20. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

My favorite fic is always the one that I'm currently working on, so currently it's this one. But for long-term staying power, probably these ones (in no particular order):

The Liberties You're Taking

And Therewithal I Cut My Hair

The Merchant And The Toad King

Reset

Like Daylight Fading As Dusk Spreads

[transmasc-wizard]

im thinking about getting into the magnus archives, so i was wondering if you could give like. idk what i should expect from it/a synopsis? /not forced

i am ltierally ALWAYS willing to talk about the magnus archiges

SO

the magnus archives is a fiction horror podcast written by jonny sims, about the Archivist, jonathan sims. no they are not supposed to be the same person, jonny is just shit at character naming. there's like 4 michaels alone (michael shelley / michael distortion / mikaele / mike). btw if i say "jonny" i am refering to the writer, if i say jon/jonathan i am refering to the character

so, Jon works for the Magnus Institute, London, an institution dedicated to documenting and investigating paranormal experiences. he used to work in the research department, but after the passing of the former Head Archivist (Gertrude), he found himself suddenly promoted to the archivist job. Now, he reads people's written "statements" (supernatural) so they have audio versions.

each episode contains one statement + jon's thoughts on it at the end. in this way, it is an anthology horror series; each episode has a sort of "monster of the week" that is its own disconnected and fully-fledged horror story. BUT!!! BUT!!! it is,,, connected. there is a Grander Plot. as it goes on, connections start to be made between the statements, with several developing plotlines and b-plots, and supernatural happenings even start to go on in the institute itself. it is REALLY thought out; my relisten has me finding tiny connected details in almost every episode.

TMA has to be listened to in order, from episode 1-200; i say that because i was told it doesn't and almost started with ep 187 (every day i mentally thank the person who told me NO NO START WITH #1 AND GO IN ORDER. every day). additionally, each episode, or "MAG", is about 20 minutes long, and TMA is split into five 40-episode seasons.

some various stuff: it's queer! jon is ace & bi and its not a big deal bc, you know, he's busy with The Horrors. several other characters are queer as well. speaking of characters, they're great; you get quite attached to both the main ones (Jon, Martin, Tim, Melanie, etc) and several side ones (Sasha, Gerry, Michael, Helen, etc).

a note: the TMA creators care a lot about being respectful to marginalized groups and when handling careful topics, but they fucked up sometimes. in particular, early "spiral statements" (stories abt lies, confusion, and the human mind) sometimes lean into the "ooh scary hallucinations" thing in season 1. as it goes on, it does get better (changing the focus to things such as "it's horrifying not to be believed about your struggle with mental illness"), but it is worth warning about, imo. (There's about... 2? i can think of? that specifically give me pause.)

a second note: TMA is very much horror, if it wasn't already obvious. It deals with things like cannibalism, insect infestation, heavy isolation, skinning, body horror, police brutality, spiders, paranoia, being watched/spied on/Known, etc. It is also a tragedy. With those two things in mind, please remember to take care of yourself, first and foremost, and take breaks/stop if you need to.

third bonus note: my pfp is gerry keay from tma and im love him <3 that is all

tma is really really really good, surprisingly emotional, full of creative horror and compelling stories, and has some AWESOME themes and storylines centering around monstrocity, what it means to be human, abuse of power, and what you can do in a system that fundamentally just wants to hurt you, and i 100% recommend it if you want to try it out!!

the-magnus-archives.fandom.com/wiki/Content_Warnings <- trigger & content warnings, broken up per episode

THE MAGNUS ARCHIVES #1 - Anglerfish - Horror Fiction Podcast - YouTube <- episode one!

have fun & stay spoooooooky :D