#but I gotta reread the trilogy and then this to see if that's true

[essektheylyss]

I got about ten pages to the end of the False Daughter and decided I had to go read curled up in bed next to my spouse so I was not alone and that was the correct decision.

[dorianbrightmusic]

Carnation, locust and aster for the flower asks? :)

Carnation - what artist’s concert would I go to? In a perfect world, Nine Inch Nails. Since they aren’t touring at the moment, probably Depeche Mode or Alice in Chains - I just really wanna see Dave Gahan feeling himself and doing his little dance onstage; he’s so chaotic, and I love him for it. And seeing AIC live would be a dream come true. (Or Charli XCX - I would gladly go to the Sweat Tour.) Even a live Arca show could also be *amazing*. Maaaan - so many artists I gotta see in this lifetime.

Locust - favourite book as a child? Most likely the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman. No particular favourite of the three - I just loved them all, dearly. Man, I should reread them sometime. When I was about 12-13, I also remember distinctly loving Pereira Maintains by Antonio Tabucchi – I wasn’t used to the speechiness of the prose, so it really blew me away with how gorgeously human it felt. Aster - would you rather be cold or hot? I’m gonna say cold, because while I love deliberately seeking out heat (I sit on ducted heating vents on the regular), I’m really particular about the types of heat I enjoy (must not be humid; must be warm, but if it’s slightly too warm, it’s horrible), and bad heat is so much worse than bad cold. So, I’d rather be cold than hot.

[knickynoo]

Nikki reads the Back to the Future comics: "Continuum Conundrum"

Mentioned that I'd be rereading the comics ( I read them once a long while back and remember next to nothing) and am gonna be dumping out some of my thoughts and adding to the post as I go. This is literally going to mostly be a long post of my rambling commentary, so I'll hide it under a read more to spare you the scrolling.

- The comic begins with our dear Marty being in a funk ever since his return from 1885 (the comic begins in March of 1986) and worrying his parents. Doc hasn't been back to visit since he flew off in the train. Marty is grumpy and sad. Doesn't want to drive his truck anymore. He's getting into fights with Jennifer--who has become an awful bully to him, see here--and doesn't even care to react to Needles' taunts at school. He isn't eating much (the first couple of pages of the comic have him skipping both breakfast and dinner in the same day) and he'd rather lie in bed than be with his family or do anything else. After all the adventures he had with Doc over those two weeks, he's feeling like ordinary life just isn't exciting enough and that his best days are already behind him. Which is, you know, a rough thing to be feeling at only 17 years old. Anyway, Marty is very obviously depressed. :(

I really like that we get a look at what Marty's situation is post-trilogy and the overall way it's handled. Part III ends on such a lighthearted, optimistic note. Doc's found true love and has a family, Marty is back in his own time with Jen, Doc and Marty are reunited, Marty gets the nice little reminder to make the future his own, yadda yadda. And he and Jennifer wave happily as Doc flies off in the Time Train. It's like the trilogy ends on an "and they all lived happily ever after" note, which is nice and all, but like. That ain't it. And I know for a lot in the fandom, the question of what happens to Marty next often comes into play. The kid just had the most exciting and terrifying two weeks of his life (where he was nearly killed multiple times), and then returns to a timeline where his entire family has been fundamentally changed. That's not something you easily assimilate into, no matter how resilient Marty appears at times. And I appreciate the fact that this comic doesn't shy away from examining the aftermath of those trips through time.

- I nominate Dave and Linda for the "Lousy Sibling Award" for their comments to Marty at the breakfast table. I mean, Dave is all, You gotta start figuring things out and get on with your life, Marty. And Linda, who is talking about getting her M.B.A and opening a beauty salon, says to Marty, and I quote: "Guess I got the looks and the brains in this family. You just got the truck."

Linda. Linda, was that comment necessary?? Your younger brother has been mysteriously but clearly depressed for 4 months and you think it's a good idea to tell him that he's ugly and stupid? LINDA.

- It's both funny and terribly sad that Marty resorts to standing in the middle of the playground at the park, telling little kids the stories of his travels through time. Funny because Marty is so INTO IT. He's got all these kids around and he's telling the story of his duel with Mad Dog with such dramatic flair and so obviously enjoying how in awe they are of his bravery. Sad because he's only doing it since he has literally no other outlet for his experiences since Jennifer is sick of hearing him talk about Doc and time travel. (And since she thinks he's making it all up.) And sad because the parents all come and hurriedly take their kids away, while warning them to stay away from "that weirdo."

Speaking of, this little moment just makes me want to give Marty a big ol' hug.

Look at our boy. He is ALL ALONE and everybody is SO MEAN TO HIM. Let him tell his cowboy stories to random children in the park in peace.

- Kudos to George and Lorraine for being caring and involved parents who know something is wrong with their son. It's nice that Lorraine suggests sending Marty for therapy. Idk how common of a route that was to take for people in the 80s, but it's good that the McFlys are open to doing that for any of their children.

Their comments on Doc are interesting, though. While George seems confused as to what's caused such a change in Marty's demeanor, Lorraine is pretty quick to point out that it happened when Doc "moved away." George then responds by saying that Doc was, "always a bad influence." I mostly headcanon that Lone Pine timeline George and Lorraine are both pretty close with Doc, or at least on friendly terms with him, so to hear George speak poorly of him was unexpected. Lorraine, for her part, seems to disagree and defend Doc somewhat by mentioning that Doc helped them when they were younger--a reference to an earlier comic where college-aged George and Lorraine go to Doc's house looking for Calvin and end up both getting relationship advice from Doc instead.

I'm left wondering in what ways George thought Doc was a bad influence on his son. Especially since I'd expect this George, who is all into science fiction and such, to be perfectly fine with Marty having formed a close bond and gotten a job helping a scientist. Unless George is primarily referencing the way being friends with Doc influenced Marty socially? Like, maybe this updated George, being more confident and respected and well-to-do doesn't want Marty associating with "outcasts"? Which would be a bummer to imagine a George like that, but perhaps he's only worried that it would make Marty a target for bullies like he was bullied as a kid?

This is getting long, so I'll end this here and continue my blabbing at another point.

[deadlyglacier]

20 Questions tag~

I was tagged by @mythicamagic thank you senpai~<3

How many works do you have on AO3?

40 right now, plus 1 that is still hidden because of the SOFA Exchange event.  (I’m still a lil fish.)

What’s your total AO3 word count?

486,920!  That’s so amazing to me!

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

InuYasha - A Feudal Fairytale (18)

FullMetal Alchemist (18)

Mass Effect Trilogy (3)

Let’s Play (Webtoon) (1)

Kingdom Hearts (1) But I hope to write for many more fandoms in the future!  I have ideas for fics for Castlevania, Skyrim, Fallout 4, Last of Us Part II, and more!

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

#1.  Stardust FemShep/Garrus, Mass Effect Trilogy, Rated Explicit. A retelling of the Shepard/Vakarian love story, with lots (and LOTS) of sexiness, from Garrus' point of view. Starts from before the Omega-4 and will end sometime after the end of ME3. Trying to stay as true to the game as possible, while adding some things happening off camera and a new ending.

#2.  Flamingo Sess/Kag, Inuyasha, Rated Explicit Kagome's method of beating the summer heat attracts a certain demon lord...

#3.  Hawk Sess/Kag, Inuyasha, Rated Explicit Kagome and Sesshomaru discover they have a mutual attraction for each other after a battle and a slight comedic incident brings them together. At first their relationship seems entirely sexual, but eventually evolves into something real. What will this romance mean for Naraku? Or even the future?  *TRIGGER WARNING FOR CHAPTER 6! MAJOR VIOLENCE AND TRAGEDY* Very, very loosely based on "A Mere Digression" by elle6778

#4.  Daisy Sam/Charles, Let’s Play, Rated Mature Sam wakes up somewhere unfamiliar with a splitting headache with no memory of the night before. Takes place right after the S2 finale.  First chapter was my prediction for what would happen next, and then three other “wishful thinking” chapters happened, lol.

#5.  Chemistry Ed/Winry, FullMetal Alchemist, Rated Mature A look at how the relationship between Ed and Winry developed after Brotherhood ended.  Cute, sweet, funny, and hot (eventually—y'all that know me know I gotta have some NSFW in there).

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I try to respond to everyone, especially when a fic of mine has just been posted, but sometimes I just forget.  If I haven’t responded to your comment, please know it’s just because I’m a big dumb and forgot!  I love getting comments, and I reread them all the time!  I just feel like there’s a time limit to when I can respond to them--if I let too much go by, it’s awkward if I reply.  Gah, but that’s just me getting in my own head, I guess.  I’ll do better!

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

Oof, definitely Psychology, a fic I wrote for RoyEdOTPoly this year.  The prompt I got was dark, and I didn’t see any way around an angsty ending.  Read at your own risk!

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

Well, aside from the last fic, I try to write happy endings for all my fics!  But, if I have to name names, I’m torn between Zoology (another FullMetal Alchemist fic, RoyEd, for RoyEdOTPoly this year) and Stardust (my Mass Effect fic, which is long, but so worth it, in my opinion).  Both are very fluffy in the end!

Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

Argh...  I don’t really like crossovers, to be honest.  I actively avoid them when looking for fics to read.  But that doesn’t mean I haven’t thought of writing them myself.  (I’m a total hypocrite, I know.)  I had an idea for an Inuyasha x The Sims fic, years ago, that I never did anything with.  The premise was basically Inuyasha and Kagome would get trapped in the game somehow (via the jewel or magic or something), and they’d be controlled by Souta, Kagome’s friends, Hojo--all sorts of different people who think the fact that Kagome and Inuyasha are in the game is just some kind of silly mod.  I probably won’t write it, so if anyone is interested in that crazy idea, have at it!  You have my blessing. <3 I also have a crazy crossover idea for what I call an “Ultimate OT3″ of mine that I’ve mentioned to my friends, but I haven’t actually written down yet:  Sesshomaru/Alucard/Sebastian Michaelis.  So be on the lookout for that!

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

I wouldn’t call it “hate” so much as “mansplaining,” but I have gotten a couple of comments that made my eyebrow twitch on Stardust--both on AO3 and FFN.  Just dudes (and I’m fairly certain they were dudes, just from their tone) trying to explain why a certain plot twist wouldn’t work, or tell me how to save Sidonis in the actual game (which I already knew, that person just didn’t read what I wrote). I’ve also gotten a comment on one of my more controversial fics, Hippology, on FFN, where the person asked me if I thought my summary was K-Rated (which, admittedly, it does need to be for the site, and mine wasn’t--because of a single word).  I changed it and messaged them saying it was fixed.  Going to that commenter’s profile, however, proved to be fairly enlightening...  They’re nuts.  They have another profile, too.  Read at your own risk.  Yikes. There’s also a team of people on FFN who make it their life’s mission to report stories with rule violations.  I’ve gotten a comment from one of them as well.  These people are not mods, they just like to pretend they are--one of them even made their name look official!  “CU Administration,” gtfo dude. I also recently got one of my fics removed from FFN.  It wasn’t even one of my sexiest ones!  They put me in timeout for 48 hours, and when I was finally able to publish something new on the site again, I posted Hippology (my centaur smut), and it’s still up as I type this.  (Wonder how long it’ll take them to notice?)  And since the fic that got taken down was a SessKag fic, I’m thinking it might have been a petty SessRinner who reported it to the “authorities” of FFN, because another friend of mine got hers taken down not long after mine, and it was also SessKag.  Just my tinfoil theory, anyway!

Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Yes, yes, yes.  It’s practically all I write.  I do all sorts of smut, from romantic, sensual stuff, to specific kinks, to monsterfucking--all that good stuff.  Can’t change me~<3

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

God, I hope not!

Have you ever had a fic translated?

I don’t think so.  No one has asked me if they can translate one, anyway.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not yet!  I’m open to the idea, and I’ve had little discussions with my fic-writing buddies about it, but nothing’s come out of it just yet.  Keep your eyes peeled!

What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Oh, now come on!  I can’t pick just one!  But I’ll give you a top 3 (in no particular order, because they change places a lot, depending on how obsessed I am with them at the moment). Inuyasha:  Sess/Kag FullMetal Alchemist:  Roy/Ed Mass Effect:  Garrus/FemShep

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

I have a couple of stories that I deleted from my original FFN account that I’d like to re-write and re-post on AO3, but I don’t think I’ll ever get around to it.  There were a couple of Inu/Kag fics I had in-progress, and then a Koug/Kag fic.  I recently rewrote and reposted my SessKag fic from years ago, Hawk, on FFN, AO3, and Dokuga!  So maybe all hope isn’t lost.  I’m even writing a sequel for Hawk! All the stories I have in-progress right now I plan on finishing.  At some point, lol.

What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue, without a doubt.  It’s my favorite thing to write, aside from smut, of course--which is another strength of mine.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Descriptions, ugh.  I try to do them well, but I always feel like they get stale.  So I keep them somewhat vague, because in my mind, I think readers will fill in the gaps themselves whether you describe something immaculately or not--they’ll see what they want to see, and that is totally fine in my book!  Or maybe I’m just making excuses, lol.  I’ll only describe something in a lot of detail if I want the reader to focus on that--usually an outfit, accessory, or weapon--otherwise, I leave it up to their imagination (I don’t want manipulate it too much, I suppose).

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

Wildly unnecessary unless that author speaks the language as well, or if certain words already exist in the fandom’s translations (ex. “youkai,” “alkahestry,” etc).

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Inuyasha, and the fic(s) I wrote in the beginning were terrible.  I want to burn all traces of them off the face of the earth.  I was in middle school.  I was young and stupid.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

I gotta go with Stardust.  It’s the longest fic I’ve ever completed at more than 160k words.  I was so immensely proud when I typed “The End,” and I was able to say to myself “I did it.”

I tag: @glassesmcfancyhair @willowsrain 

[anthonybrxdgerton]

tagged by @intothewickedwood​, thank you!

MUSIC

♡ fave genres: pop, indie, folk ♡ fave artists: taylor swift, syml, bastille, imagine dragons ♡ fave songs: daylight by taylor swift, evermore by taylor swift, achilles come down by gang of youths,  ♡ songs most listened to recently: achilles come down by gang of youths, mood ring by lorde, dear wormwood by the oh hellos, the war by syml ♡ song currently stuck in your head: achilles come down by gang of youths, ♡ fave lyrics: throw yourself into the unknown / with pace, and a fury defiant / clothe yourself in beauty untold / and see life as means to a triumph - achilles come down by gang of youths it’s golden like daylight  you gotta step into the daylight and let it go / just let it go / let it go - daylight by taylor swift in our history / across our great divide / there is a glorious sunrise / dappled with the flickers of light / from the dress i wore at midnight / leave it all behind / and there is happiness - hapiness by taylor swift

radio or your own playlist | solo artists or bands | pop or indie | loud or quiet volume | slow or fast songs | music video or lyrics video | speakers or headset | riding a bus in silence or while listening to music | driving in silence or with radio music on

BOOKS

♡ fave writers: j.r.r. tolkien, jane austen, marissa meyer, katarzyna berenika miszczuk ♡ fave genres: fantasy, sci/fi, contemporary ♡ fave book series: lord of the rings by j.r.r. tolkien, the lunar chronicles by marissa meyer, six of crown duology by leigh bardugo, harry potter series by j.k. rowling  (mostly because of nostalgia these days), percy jackson and the olympians by rick riordan ♡ comfort book: pride and prejudice by jane austen ♡ perfect books to read on a rainy day: various romance novels  ♡ 5 fave characters: elizabeth bennett, rachel elizabeth dare, aragorn, inej ghafa, fleur delacour ♡ 5 quotes from your fave books that you know by heart: “i will not say do not weep for not all tears are evil” - j.r.r. tolkien, the return of the king; “to be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love” - jane austen, pride and prejudice; “i cannot fix on the hour, or the spot, or the look or the words, which laid the foundarion. It is too long ago. I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun.” - jane austen, pride and prejudice; “Am I a troubled kid? Yeah, you cpuld say that.” - rick riordan, the lightning thief; “It is very true,” said Edmund. “But even a traitor may mend. I have known one that did.” And he looked very thoughtful.” - c.s. lewis, the horse and his boy.

hardcover or paperback | buy or rent | book series or and standalone novels | ebook or physical copy | reading at night or and during the day | reading at home or in nature | music while reading or reading in silence | realism or fantasy | one or multiple POVS | judging by the covers or the summary | rereading or just once

TV + MOVIES

♡ fave tv / movie genres: fantasy, rom-coms, action, mystery, drama, crime/police procedural,period romance, ♡ fave movies: thor: ragnarok, pride and prejudice (2005), wonder woman, the old guard, the little women, birds of prey; ♡ comfort movies: pride and prejudice (2005), the old guard, cinderella (2015); ♡ movies you watch every year: pride and prejudice (2005), lord of the rings movie trilogy, anastasia, catching fire, the princess diaries, the lion king;  ♡ fave tv shows: loki, doctor who, good omen, the librarians, the umbrella academy, agents of shield, once upon a time, once upon a time in wonderland; ♡ most rewatched tv show: once upon a time, agents of shield, good omens, the librarians, doctor who; ♡ ultimate otp: elizabeth & darcy (but since they’re book characters i’m gonna add another), pepperony (pepper potts & tony stark); ♡ 5 fave characters: loki laufeyson, diana prince, neal cassidy, nicolo di genova, valkyrie;

tv shows or movies | short seasons (8-13 episodes) or full seasons (22 episodes or more) | one episode a week or binging | one season or multiple seasons | one part or saga | half hour or and one hour long episodes | subtitles on or off | rewatching or watching just once | downloads or watching online

Tagging: everyone who wants to do it

[shrinkthisviolet]

Author Interview Tag!

Tagged by @maipreciation, thanks for thinking of me! This looks really fun :D

(Note: I’m keeping this as a running list, so if you’re ever wondering what fics im working on/brainstorming, make sure to check here! Last update was on 12/12/2020)

Name: Lavi! As of 12/5, I’m no longer going by my real name (see this post)

Fandoms: so many 😂 check my bio, I think I have them all listed. I’ve posted fic for Hamilton and ATLA, and then there was a huge Inktober compilation I posted last year with a whole host of fandoms. Currently, my major fandom is ATLA, and probably Kipo as I’m starting to move through S1

Where you post: I have an AO3 (lavi0123)! I used to have an FFN and a Wattpad, but I don’t use either of those anymore :/ tbh, I’m embarrassed of anything I still have up there 😂

Most popular one-shot: Most definitely we’ll give the world to you (and you’ll blow us all away), one of my contributions to Maiko Week! I’m not surprised it’s an ATLA fic, but I find it interesting that a fic with Izumi in it blew up so quickly. But hey, if y’all want more Izumi content, you won’t be disappointed 😉

Most popular multi-chapter fic: ...I’m really embarrassed to say because I don’t think I’ll ever finish it...but En Hamilton Heights is the only multichap fic I’ve published so it’s gotta be that one 😂 hopefully soon I’ll have another fic to add to that, since I’m working on one (sorry EHH fans but it’s been too long and tbh I don’t remember where I was going with it :/ I’m thinking I might orphan it)

Favorite story you’ve written so far: you think this world is a dream come true (but you’re wrong) for sure! It’s super niche but it’s something I wrote out of love for a movie I discovered this Halloween and absolutely love. Though all you’ve got to do is want something (and then let yourself have it) is a close second. Basically, anything I write that sounds absolutely bonkers as a concept is one that I love 😂 (and it’s no coincidence that both fics are Mai-centric! I love all my Mai-centric fics nearly equally)

Fic you were nervous to post: Is there an “all of the above” option? 😂 I’m always nervous to post. But in particular, I was nervous for if you ran away (come back home), because it was Mai-centric and longer than any one-shot I’d written thus far, and also you think this world is a dream come true (but you’re wrong), because it’s Mai-centric and a Coraline AU, which makes it BONKERS as an idea

Why was I nervous to post Mai-centric fics, you ask? Two reasons: 1) Mai is very different from who I am as a person (I vibe a lot more with Aang and Ty Lee, sometimes Katara and Sokka), so I didn’t want to upset the Mai stans by writing her incorrectly. 2) Mai is generally not well-liked in the fandom at large, so I especially didn’t want to attract antis who would accuse me of writing Mai as too emotional and loving (which is why I tried to justify that in my tags). Luckily, my comments have all been lovely, and I’m far less afraid to post fics about her now that I’ve written three fics with her as the focus! And the shoutout from @nonbinary-crafter-aang praising my portrayal of her?? I was touched 🥺 still am

How you choose your titles: Song lyrics or movie/book lines that speak to me, occasionally a pun. Remember that post I rb’d about how authors title their works? My tags pretty much say it all 😂

Do you outline: Ehh...define outlining 😂 for my one-shots, nope. But for my upcoming multichap works (see below) and Nanowrimo work (original fiction, so I won’t talk about it on here, but send an ask if you’re curious), YES ABSOLUTELY!

For my Nanowrimo work and one of my upcoming AUs (a Soulmate AU), the worldbuilding is so complex that it’s an absolute necessity. For the other upcoming AU (a time travel AU), there are just too many things that need to happen at certain times so as not to interfere with canon events, and things I want to change from canon and things I want to keep...I think you get the idea 😂

Complete: Basically my entire maiko halloweek series! Check it out if you want some fics about the most underrated canon ATLA couple :)

In-progress: ...En Hamilton Heights again...but not for long, sadly. Still trying to decide between a quick conclusion and just flat-out orphaning it. Still haven’t made up my mind, but either way, it won’t be what I originally planned, unfortunately.

I’m also counting my ATLA Soulmate AU on the basis of forever in my mind (only you), which has the worldbuilding and fits into the AU without much problem (the AU is going to be a series of one-shots, not a multichap fic, because there won’t be enough deviations from canon imo to justify multiple chapters. And one-shots are just less pressure for me 😂)

[EDIT 12/12/2020: added another fic because I’m an idiot and forgot about this too 🤦‍♀️😂 it’s a year-old idea that I started writing but I’m picking it back up thanks to the Heist banter in MatPat’s St Jude stream!]

-A fic series combining Escape the Night and Who Killed Markiplier (Heist and Date are part of it too, but only tangentially at the moment. Depends on how involved I want DA Y/N to be). Tentatively titled A Heavy Cost, and definitely won’t happen in any of Mark’s projects, but in a way that’s actually for the best 😂 the canonicity for me stops at ETN S3 (with some S4), then it’s canon divergence

Coming soon/not yet started: OOOH YESSS HERE WE GO

Okay okay sooo we’ve got two main things:

–An ATLA Soulmate AU, featuring platonic and romantic soulmates! I know I called it in-progress, and I stand by that even though I haven’t actually set up the series on AO3 yet, but this AU is about to be SO MUCH MORE than just a few Maiko moments. Because...drum roll...it’s gonna be entirely Aang-centric (with maybe one or two exceptions)! Like Mai, Aang is a character that doesn’t get as many -centric fics as he should (and being an Aang stan also isn’t unanimous for some reason??), so I’m gonna fix that. Plus I want to dive further into his mind, and I think I’m more equipped to do that than I was with Mai, since Aang and I are very similar in attitude.

–Bumizumi time travel AU, which can be read as platonic until the last couple chapters (it’ll be multichap) but definitely has a romantic agenda throughout. So just. Be warned if you don’t ship them. It’s gonna be chock full of comedy and antics! Also A LOT of platonic affection between Izumi and teen Zuko (and just between Izumi, Bumi, and the Gaang in general), because platonic affection is underrated and also I can :D I’m also probably gonna make fun of how some elements of affection have become solely romantic territory, because...um, no, hugging and holding hands and cuddling can be done between friends, thanks! (Maybe it’s the ace in me talking. But regardless)

There are also vague concepts I’m spitballing, like:

-Zukaang telepathy AU (Platonic Zukaang, the only romance I’ll ever write in ATLA is for the canon ships, prompted by a dream because apparently ATLA lives in my head rent-free forever now 😂)

-Evil Zuko AU (Azula doesn’t exist, mostly prompted after watching Aang make fun of Zhao and realizing that if Zuko had been in any position of power during the War...the Gaang would have stood no chance at all)

-Bumizumi Arranged Marriage AU (Bumi and Izumi both think the other is hotheaded/reckless (Izumi @ Bumi) or uptight (Bumi @ Izumi). So Kataang and Maiko (along with Sukka, Ty Lee, and Toph because...duh) set them up in an arranged marriage, with the presented reasoning being that they already know each other’s families, it’ll be a great symbol of unity, and this way Izumi doesn’t have to worry about suitors. They both agree to it (it’s arranged, not forced), and over time, they warm up to each other...and maybe even...fall in love?? Prompted because we need more arranged marriage fics! On that note, I’m gonna plug shadows and steel by @dearestpartnerofgreatness because arranged marriage needs more rep and this fic does it and with Maiko to boot!)

-Zukaang as Brothers AU (I saw a fic about this, but it wasn’t complete. If it’s not done by the time I get to this concept, I’m gonna write it, because just...imagine the possibilities! Zuko and Aang are already basically brothers in canon anyway, this is just making them brothers in blood as well as in their hearts. This is especially vague because I have no concept of how this is gonna work 🤷‍♀️ I’ll get to it eventually)

(Can you tell I’m obsessed with Zuko and Aang’s friendship? Because I am!)

[EDIT 11/25/2020: I’m adding two more because I forgot these have been swirling around in my head too 😂]

-A fix-it fic based on May You Always Be Satisfied, a backstory fic for Who Killed Markiplier by @blackaquokat! I recently reread it and remembered that I was gonna write a fix-it for that fic. Not because the fic sucks, it’s actually amazing! I’m just a sucker for the main (requited unrequited) pairing, and there’s at least five ways to make that pairing canon and avoid the mess of Who Killed Markiplier. And THEY ALL DESERVE TO BE HAPPY OKAY

-A Finnrey fix-it for the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy (this one is especially vague, and I probably won’t write it since a bunch of these already exist, but it’s fun to think about. Maybe if I ever run out of WIPs 🤷‍♀️)

Upcoming story that you’re most excited to write: I’m equally excited for the Soulmate AU and the Bumizumi Time Travel AU! I’m also excited for my Nanowrimo work to be finished, but that’s more so in-progress than upcoming

Tagging:

@nonbinary-crafter-aang @dearestpartnerofgreatness @ohsalamanders @blackaquokat (no pressure ofc, only if you want to! But please tag me if you do, I’d love to see it!)

[jam-is-my-food]

writing asks. all of them. ( for 50 uhh just write a paragraph about how hot emmy raver-lampman is in a suit please and thank you </3 )

fUCK YOU NESSIE

THAT’S IT IM DOING IT JUST TO SPITE YOU

this is gonna be long asf click keep reading at risk of death or boredom

1.     Do you listen to music when you write?

not usually, it's distracting

 2.     Are you a pantser or plotter?

naturally pantser but if i wanna actually finish smth i gotta plot it hh

 3.     Computer or pen and paper?

computer i'm not a boOmer /j i so am

 4.     Have you ever been published, or do you want to be published?

bitch i wiSh

actually technically i was published in this anthology thing once? and i think i have a piece in a magazine somewhere on the internet i forget those are cool

but yeah bye getting a novel published is my d r e a m (gotta write a novel first tho lawl)

 5.     How much writing do you get done on an average day?

n o t  m u c h

unless i get one of my bUrsts aka finishing a 2.3K almoons chapter before 8am the other week after procrastinating it for like two months 

but yeah jdsghliuedskj it um depends often none

 6.     Single or multiple POV?

i answered that for kiri so i'll just copy paste it over loll

mmm it depends. usually i do single? but i do do multiple occasionally. i almost never do alternating chapters, though, it’s usually more like part one is narrated by person a, part two person b etc.

 7.     Standalone or series?

baha like i could ever write a series (please, please be jinxing yourself rn refster) aside from that one trilogy when i was 7 but uh yeah atm just standalones but a series would be so cool in future 

 8.     Oldest WIP

the aforementioned trilogy. chronicles of clara. it is incREDIBLE. 10/10. so good. so, so good.

 9.     Current WIP

i haven't actually mentioned it on tumblr yet but hehehe it's called the wordweaver's apprentice it's fantasy and i'm v excited about it :DD that was ooc but :DD

 10.  Do you set yourself deadlines?

(also answered for kiri, copy-pasting over)

hahahahhahahuhdkjashdglauhsdaugediuskjlkehdsgihkdskhgdkjx

i? try?

it does not go well?

but then i never finish my projects?

send help pls im dying

11.  Books and/or authors who influenced you the most

lmao the list is too long

 12.  Describe your perfect writing space

somewhere w/o distractions

 13.  Describe your writing process from idea to polished

hm. idea. that's cool. that's cool. write it down. hype myself up. forget about it within a week.

el em mayo

but like

f r LMAO

okay but fr fr idk i don't usually finish stuff but it'd be idea, brainstorm, plot (sort of), write, agonize, write, finish, throw in the other direction and never touch again bc revision whos she

 14.  How do you deal with self-doubts?

cry and spam my friends

 15.  How do you deal with writer’s block?

i don’t - mm. i don’t tend to get writer’s block? or like - idk what to classify as writer’s block? bc sometimes i get blocked for a certain story, but then i get really into like poetry or sum for a week so it’s fine idk

 16.  How many drafts do you need until you’re satisfied with a project?

o n e as i said i don't - revision is a no

 17.  What writing habits or rituals do you have?

uHhHhhhhh idk???

 18.  If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be, and what would you write about?

*laughs in gfc*

 19.  How do you keep yourself motivated?

i don't. if you have any ideas please hmu i need it.

 20.  How many WIPs and story ideas do you have?

m a n y.

21.  Who is/are your favourite character(s) to write?

mmmmmmmmm i love cass i haven't written her in too long but i think she's probably my most well-done character to date and i'm so proud of her badkghewiludkjs

 22.  Who is/are your favourite pairing(s) to write?

c y i l l

though possible imeini (ship name needs revision) in future we shall see (from twa) (the aforementioned newish wip)

 23.  Favourite author

there are Many

 24.  Favourite genre to write and read

fantasy maybe? ooh dystopia is fun

 25.  Favourite part of writing

everything about it when i'm motivated hh, my problem is getting more motivation

 26.  Favourite writing program

oh idk huh?

27.  Favourite line/scene

idk?

 28.  Favourite side character

j o o s t

 29.  Favourite villain

i def have one but i forget

 30.  Favourite idea you haven’t started on yet

too many

31.  Least favourite part of writing

motivating myself :/

 32.  Most difficult character to write

mmmm i'm not really in the throes of a wip atm so idk

 33.  Have you ever killed a main character?

yessir

 34.  What was the hardest scene you ever had to write?

drunk will was surprisingly difficult in a fun way. def not the hardest but yeah

 35.  What scene/story are you least looking forward to writing?

god idk

36.  Last sentence you wrote

And then Mei was gone, and in the space that she'd filled, Imani whispered, "I wish I was like you."

 37.  First sentence or your current WIP

It is said that when we came to this stretch of Tatys land, it was empty.

38.  Weirdest story idea you’ve ever had

mm there was one about anthropomorphic chickens battling sentient fruits, the fruits in question also being six-year olds

 39.  Weirdest character concept you’ve ever had

s e e  a b o v e

 40.  Share some backstory for one of your characters

cass's mom used to have a drug problem & she would leave her alone for long stretches of time, she went to rehab and is now sober but it's where cass gets her abandonment issues from

41.  Any advice for new/beginning/young writers?

just write! no one taught me how to do anything, and there's no rules per se, aside from basic grammatical stuff. do what you wanna do, don't worry about others' reactions. this is cliche asf but true.

 42.  How do you feel about love triangles?

mostly gross, but they can be good.

 43.  What do you do if/when characters don’t follow the outline?

adapt. i  g o  w i t h  t h e  f l o w.

 44.  How much research do you do?

not much usually, depends on the genre of story. i do as much as i feel i need to. and ofc i have the random writer search history.

 45.  How much world building do you do?

in the past, not much. twa (once again my new wip) is fantasy, though, so i' m attempting to remedy that.

 46.  Do you reread your own stories?

i do! it's fun to look back at them after a few years and see how much i've improved.

 47.  Best way to procrastinate

random character headcanons/doodle writey spurt thingies

 48.  What’s the most self-insert character/scene you’ve ever written?

bAHA this one scene in the cHrOniCLeS of cLaRa book two when this girl lisa who was 100% self-insert got annoyed at her little sister daisy (sister-insert) for chewing too loudly and then proceeded to use her wAtEr pOwErs to like flood the house. that part was less self-insert.

 49.  Which character would you most want to be friends with, if they were real?

bye that's so hard. c a d m u s & l a u r e n t tho cinnamon rolls are liFE.

 50.  Write a paragraph about how hot emmy raver-lampman is in a suit please and thank you

i don't gotta write my own bitch i have everything i need to plagiarize from right here

"Raver-Lampman’s enthusiasm is contagious. So is her laugh. It comes from deep inside, just like her voice, and it rings out — ricocheting off furniture and walls. Her head is shaved, all except for a distinctive swath of tight curls on the top and left side of her head. She has the tiniest septum ring in her nose, and a tattoo of what looks like a musical note behind her right ear."

- the clearly gay jessica belt

thank you for the ASKS darLING and thank you if you read this idk why or whether you're okay but yup

[apex-aureate]

'Lo fellow Howler! Welcome! Can you tell us something about your faves? Btw, if u feel like talking about the RR trilogy you can find me at darrowsrising (like Darrow's Rising).💖

Heya! Always happy to talk about these sad, sad children, but it’s so hard to choose definite faves when they’re all so g o o d

So, in no particular order, here’s my top few:

1. Darrow of Lykos 

Like I said in my introduction post, I know he’s a bit of a basic pick, but still. First impression while reading RR was that Darrow is a more mature and realistic take on a typical YA protagonist. He wasn’t some spunky kid- he was a man, with responsibilities and a life. It was honestly refreshing to read about a person who had a good head on their shoulders and who didn’t immediately take to the lofty ideals of revolution. Right off the bat, his arrogance and recklessness were on full display, giving him relatable, humanizing flaws that didn’t stem from a tragic backstory and couldn’t be cured with a rousing speech or two. In fact, they aren’t really cured at all- the bravery and showmanship of his actions is often exactly what the SoA need at any given point, and it’s been really awesome to watch him recognize that about himself, harness the more negative and harmful aspects of his personality, and eventually put them to good use. He’s got so much more depth to him than a ‘tough guy with a heart of gold’ type too- Like he’s just out for blood at one point, but them his worldview is tossed around about a hundred times and he doesn’t know what to believe about the world anymore because he’s overwhelmed by the sheer size and complexity of it all. It’s such a real feeling that isn’t usually the focus of fiction like this agh

Oh, and I love that he makes mistakes ALL THE TIME. His plans don’t always work out. He kills some people he really shouldn’t have, spares some people who didn’t deserve it. He learns a lot over the course of the Institute, the Agustus-Bellona war, and the Rising through lessons that don’t feel cheap or unearned. He’s simple yet smart, deeply flawed yet totally badass, and he grows into a man worth respecting. Love ‘im.

2. Sevro Au Barca 

Another popular boyo but hey, what can you do? At first I didn’t like good ‘ol Goblin. Vulgar characters aren’t usually very high on my list and I was pretty enthralled with what a cinnamon bun Julian (RIP) was to pay attention to that weirdo upon initial meeting. I was convinced he would fill the minor antagonist role for a while (though that role went to Titus pretty early on).

Then, he saved Darrow and Cassius from the lake and we got a better look at him. Gotta say, once the Howlers got started properly, I really began to get attached to the guy. He wasn’t pretty, but the sheer earnestness and trueness of his character and his loyalty to Darrow was unseen amongst the Golds met within the Institute or in the days after. Unlike Cassius or some of the other members of House Mars, Sevro was never after power, wasn’t full of himself or deluded into believing the superiority or honorableness of his color. He was just him- gross and vulgar and crazy for all the world to see. He didn’t really become one of my favorites until Golden Son though, when Darrow realized that Sevro had figured out who he really was, and had still accepted him wholeheartedly and without judgment. I mean, damn. I cried real tears there. 10/10 best friend anyone could ever ask for.

(And he got more of an independent part in MS so that’s a win)

3. The Jackal 

 Oooohhhh man, the Jackal. I’ve already said he terrifies me.

The build up to him in the first book was so well done I-

And the scene where he cuts his hand off-

Oh and the small acts of ruthlessness and cruelty littered throughout Golden Son-

I mean I’ve seen a fair share of INTJ villains before but he’s just so brilliantly done like wow. I can’t figure out exactly what to say about him but he’s definitely one of my favorite literary villains of all time.

4. Roque Au Fabii  (Forgive me)

 Okay hear me out on this one. Of course I was angry with him in the end. He killed thousands of people in the name of pride (personal, cultural, and racial) and betrayed the friends he had fought side by side with for years on largely irrational and emotional grounds. Unlike Tactus, he didn’t show in inch of shame for any of it when the end came.

But I was completely in love with him in the first two books. He would have easily been my #1 pick if I’d been asked this about a week ago. I guess it’s the archetype he falls into as a poet, or the genuine friendship and wise, heartfelt advice he offers to counter Darrow’s driven, tunnel-vision attitude. Heck, he was even really sympathetic through most of Golden Son- from his perspective, it actually did look like Darrow was being a terrible, negligent person who took others for granted and was completely willing to sacrifice his friends in an arbitrary quest for power.

And, like Darrow, I did feel for him as he died even after he had betrayed them all for despicable cause. I know I should, but I just can’t muster up the hate a lot of other people seem to have for him. It’s not just the misunderstood artsy type that’s getting me here either- I just felt like he could’ve been better. He was a good man- among the best of the golds. And yet just like you’d expect of a Gold, he fell prey to the inevitable flaws of those at the top. Pride, entitlement, and a resistance to change all lead to his bittersweet demise. I have more thoughts on him, but I think i’ll sit on it a while longer before I really go off so don’t judge these half baked rambles as a real opinion on the matter lol

5. Eo of Lykos 

 Underrated af. I think a lot of people write her off as exactly what Darrow described her as in RR. More of a motivation, or some lost dream that was to be worshiped and held on a pedestal for the rest of the series than a standalone character. But she was as much a character as anyone else- she had real flaws and made irresponsible, selfish choices to stay true to what she believed in. She wasn’t an angel, and she didn’t end up coming back from the Vale or whatever to tell Darrow how proud she was or to stay faithful to her for life. Like Sevro, she was just a person living authentically and fearlessly for what felt inside, regardless of consequence. I can appreciate that sort of thing, especially in a female character. It’s also really interesting to have gone back and reread her chapters as Darrow’s view of his late wife develops throughout the series. You start to see past his unreliable narration of Eo’s perfection and recognize the girl behind the song.

Ye. That’s probably too many characters to count as Faves, and I haven’t even talked about Cassius yet, but I just had to say a piece about each because I have zero self control. Thanks for asking, by the way!!

[thebestoftimes]

50 QUESTION BOOK TAG FOR WORLD BOOK DAY

By me, Jess. I made this for world book day but then got depressed and didn’t post it on time lmao but here ya go kids be warned though it’s a long one. Also the numbers thing got fucked up and I couldn’t fix it.  I got a lot of these questions from other tags I’ve seen and google so if something sounds familiar... that’s why.

Who or what sparked your love of literature?

Aw my parents fueled my book habit when I was a kid and took me to the bookstore all the time and since then all my teachers have always encouraged me and made me love books even more than I thought possible.

Do you have an ‘odd’ book habit? (page sniffing/never leaving the house with a book)

It’s true that I never go anywhere without a book. I got one in my backpack or purse or reading on my phone but it’s always there.

Do you have a book that you think has changed your life? How?

A lot of books and series have made significant impacts on my life (like I can’t picture elementary school without Percy Jackson being in my life) but like as a person I can’t think of any one book that has changed who I am. It’s been a team effort.

Which book have you reread most frequently?

I think I reread Hush Hush every year lmao idk why

You can meet any author and ask one question. What author would you chose and what question would you ask?

I’d want to meet Shakespeare and ask him if all his characters really were just that gay or if we’re all reading too much into it.

Best book published this year so far?

It’s only March but The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi

Imagine you’ve started a book and don’t like it. Do you see the experience through to the bitter end, or are you able to talk away from it mid story?

I used to always finish what I started but now that I’m in college and have a mountain of a TBR I’ll just stop.

What book is top of your wish list/TBR pile?

Uhh A Winter’s Promise by Christelle Dabos  is on top rn

Favourite place to read?

My bed. Boring but a classic.

If you buy books, do you lend them out? Ever had a bad experience?

Of course. No all my friends respect my stuff and return them promptly.

What fictional character do you ship yourself with?

So many but I think Gansey and I from The Raven Cycle would make the best couple.

Weirdest thing you’ve used as a bookmark

I use whatever near me so I might have done something weirder but lately I’ve been using tissues because I have a tissue box by my bed and never real bookmarks. But I’ve used graded homework, a toy car, a crayon, earbuds, etc.

Favorite quality/qualities in a protagonist and antagonist

Wow this is s hard okay for protag I am a sucker for like stubborn, smartass with a martyr complex. Sad but true. Antags I love a good morally grey character or anti-villain. Tragic backstory but smart as hell. The worst (the best). Characters like the Darkling from The Grisha Trilogy, and Warner from the first Shatter Me book (I know he’s a good guy NOW but back then we all thought he was a sadistic and sexy villain).

Favorite genre and favorite book from that genre.

YA Urban Fantasy babyyy and that’d be City of Bones by Cassandra Clare or Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare:)

  Best/worst movie adaptation in your eyes

Best: Harry Potter and The Hunger Games | Worst: Percy Jackson

Do you prefer reading your own books, or library books?

My own.

How do you choose your next book to read?

Literally whatever I’m feeling like at the moment.

Your favorite word.

I love many words but I have a soft spot for “lively” and “lilt”.

Book that got you hooked on reading/how you got hooked.

I’ve always been obsessed with reading but The Peter and the Starcatchers Series was like my shift from nicotine to heroine.

Opinion on dog-earing, margin writing, ect.

I only write in the margins of books I have to read for class/textbooks. And that’s for studying and active reading purposes. For any other situation: no.

Top 5 immediate to read in no order

A Winter’s Promise by Christelle Dabos

A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

The Wicker King by K. Ancrum

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E Schwab

Most underrated book you’ve read

Definitely The Foxhole Court/ All for the Game series. Fairly small fanbase for some of THE most amazing books I’ve ever read. And the memes will have you in stitches.

What is the first book that catches your eye when you look at your bookshelf?

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell because of the exceedingly bright cover/spine haha

How do you arrange your books on your shelves?

LOL I do not have a system at all. I keep series and authors together and that’s it. Everything is placed where there is room.

You have the power to change a book’s ending. Which ending would you change and what would you make happen instead?

I’d change the end to Allegiant and SPOILERS SPOILERS not make Tris fucking die over her shitty ass brother. I know why she did it but like Veronica girl wyd with that. And I’d want the entirety of Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins to be rewritten into a book that just focused on the domestic life of Finnick and Annie and no one dies.

Favourite book cover?

This is SO HARD. Either The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin or Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

Which book from your childhood has had the most impact on you?

My entire personality was shaped by the Maxmimum Ride series by James Patterson. For better and worse.

When reading, what do you value most: writing style, characters, plot, world building, pacing, etc?

Characters. I think all of those things are essential and as I read more and more, the pickier I get, but I find myself leaning towards being a fan of a book when I become obsessed with the characters. Like hey!! New friends!!! For my brain!!!

Do you prefer buying books or borrowing them from a library/friend?

Buying them even though I shouldn’t. It’s a real problem.

What books/sequels that are being published this year are you most excited for?

SO MANY OH MY GOD

Okay some of these already came out because it’s March right now but I’ll include them anyways.

SEQUELS/ SPIN-OFFS AND SHIT

The Wicked King by Holly Black; King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo; Dream by Natalia Jaster; Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare; The Red Scrolls of Magic by Cassandra Clare; Capturing the Devil by Kerri Maniscalco, Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater; Defy Me by Tahereh Mafi; The Shaw Confessions #3 by Michelle Hodkin

FIRST BOOKS

The Binding by Bridget Collins; Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan; The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi; A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer; Romanov by Nadine Brandes; The Infinite Noise by Lauren Shippen; The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh

Which fictional character would you want as a sidekick?

Percy Jackson because he’s my firstborn son and one of my favourite characters of all time. He is talented, smart, hilarious, an amazing friend, and the sweetest of boys (when he isn’t the sassiest of boys).

How many books have you read so far this year?

Only 15 I am so behind :(

What’s been your favourite read so far this year?

Oh man. Gotta be Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo :)

You’re stuck on an island with a suitcase big enough to hold five books. What books are they?

I probably shouldn’t cheat and say How to Build a Boat huh

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

The King’s Men by Nora Sakovic

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

If you had to go out to dinner with any character who would it be and why? What would you talk about?

Will Herondale and we’d talk about books

Is there a book you have such a hatred for that you would throw it off of the highest tower knowing that the last copy of it will be destroyed so that not another living soul can read it or would you rather keep it and give it to someone else who might actually enjoy it?

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne or After by Anna Todd

Do you believe books make nice decoration?

I mean. I think they should be read before used as decor but I love showing off my books so I guess both. But I don’t believe in buying books for the purpose of decoration instead of reference or reading lol

Do you listen to music when you read? Or do you need complete silence? 

I need silence or low amount of white noise. I used to read and listen to Taylor Swift when I was a kid but I can’t do it anymore.

Do you have a favorite book? If not are you in the group that believes there are too many great books out there to just choose one?

I tell people it’s City of Bones by Cassandra Clare but in all honesty no I don’t have a favourite.

Do you sleep with books under your pillow.

Nope

Do you go to the library or do you have a book buying addiction or are you one of those lucky people who is able to do both?

I do both. Mostly bookstore though.

Own any book inspired clothing?

Yes. Several items :)

Have you ever read a book in another language?

I read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Tristan and Isolde, and Beauty and the Beast in French. And parts of Les Mis.

Strangest book you’ve ever read?

John Dies at the End by David Wong. Still not sure exactly what was going on. 

Favourite type of non-fiction?

Memoirs babey

Favourite non-fiction?

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

Favourite subject to read about?

History

Favourite book you’ve read in school?

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Favourite work of Shakespeare?

Hamlet

Character you’d love as a mom or dad or guardian?

Hmm Sally Jackson, The Women of 300 Fox Way, or Tessa and Will (they totally count because The Last Hours Series)

I tag literally whoever wants to do this and @fangirl-daydreamer97 @acleeds12 @iviisastrawberry @221bdoom @bicycles-bees-bisexuals @betterthanapit @dippindots126 @vlctorvale

[asbiecat]

Writing a fiction series is like herding cats.

All right, here’s part two of how to make a book! This is entirely about how plans are completely pointless sometimes, and what I do to actually get the words on the page – and then make the words make sense after they’ve been thrown up.

 Most of my ‘drama’ was created by sitting there going, “Hmmm… this character/these characters are really happy. What can I do to make them miserable? Good. How are they gonna react? Is that too much? Yes? No? Hey, Shawn, what do you think of this?” Sometimes he offers even worse things, sometimes he says it’s too much. It varies. :)

 A lot of times I just put the characters in situations and see what they do. Sometimes Shawn and Megg, who know everyone as well as I do anymore, go, “This character wouldn’t do that,” and I go, “You’re right. REDO.”

 I have gotten and taken (and passed on as well) a lot of advice for plot development, conflicts, battles, and relationship development from my readers. This is because I ask for feedback all the time. I’ve personally had one romantic relationship in my entire life, never been abused (just harassed), and participated in zero weapon fights (as long as you don’t count LARP, which I do not). However, I’ve read a lot, watched a lot, heard a lot, and have a very active imagination – and I’m very open to suggestions. Not all of them work for what I’ve built, but if I hear a good idea that I just can’t use right now, I write them down to consider later. My books are not built around a vague main character that could be anyone – or that the reader can sit themselves inside of like a ride, so I can’t just bend the characters to places they wouldn’t normally go. Even when put in extraordinary circumstances, like they usually are, they have to stay true to themselves. My editors and early readers keep the train on the tracks.

 My preferred location to write: on the couch or at my desk, in the dark with the screen brightness on my laptop turned down, usually wearing a hoodie with the hood up so you can barely see my face. Sometimes I wear fingerless gloves, but my current computer is a gaming computer that gives off heat, so that hasn’t been necessary for a while. I do most of my writing from 10pm-2am, because by then I’ve done enough chores and the girls are in bed. This is a lot harder to do now that I work at 8am, but I’m bad and recently started drinking coffee (yeah, I’ve been a writer for 17 years and just this year started drinking coffee).

 I also do a lot of editing on my phone anymore, because I’m away from my computer so much. I read things in Word on my phone, and then copy out lines that I need to fix and paste them into OneNote with my notes about what’s wrong with it. This is synced so I can just grab it on my laptop without having to hook my phone up to it, and then make the edits when I’m at my laptop.

 I used to write in notebooks when I’m on the go. I’ve filled several of those half-sized notebooks (they fit in purses better than full-sized ones and are easier to hide). I still carry one, but I type so much faster than I handwrite, and I know that I’ll just have to retype it later, so I usually don’t bother anymore. It’s also easier to get a good, natural flow for things when you’re typing it. It’s not as fast as my thoughts, but it’s a lot closer.

 I also have terrible handwriting – mostly a result of my brain moving faster than my hands can move. Related, I have mild carpal tunnel. It was only ever really bad when I was pregnant with my first kid, but if I strain my wrists too much I’ve gotta wear braces for a bit. This is a terrible thing to have for someone who writes, draws, sews, and just in general makes so many things with her hands. It doesn’t stop me though, just makes me whine while I keep doing everything anyway.

 I reread stuff I’ve written CONSTANTLY (except The Dark. I don’t read it anymore because the amount of changes I want to make to it are just too numerous – it mentally exhausts me), and I’m almost always making tweaks, edits, and updates, but lately I’ve been reading The Haven and The Hunt to see how the characters were interacting in them, now that I know how they’re going to develop ten years down the line (The Shield/The Streets). Sometimes it surprises me, the subtle things that were in there that I don’t remember consciously choosing to put down. I’m pretty sure I’m just ghost-writing for a bunch of fictional people. I only think I have control over this.

 One example is the sexuality of one of my characters. When I first wrote the stuff, I was a Catholic grade school kid. You know, uniform and everything. Obviously, everyone was just straight then, even if it wasn’t implicitly stated. Then I got older, and the characters stayed the age they were – and when I was finally older than they were, it kind of shocked me. I wrote these people in their early twenties when I was thirteen. I’d been through college, and was in the adult workforce now – and the group of people I called friends was more diverse than the group of people in my head that had been my companions for over a decade.

 The Haven was already done, but The Hunt and the rest of the series was still fluid, so I decided that I needed to change some stuff up. There was no reason that many of the couples I had yet to establish needed to be the way they were. Two of my early readers pointed out that one of the established couples made no sense, so I completely deleted any reference to their relationship (which I agree was contrived, and not organic), and ended up putting one of those people with someone else – that they were a far better match with. The other half of that split couple, if I ever think she can heal enough to trust someone else, will probably be with a woman – certainly not a man. She’ll never trust men enough to do that.

Also, I had been kicking around the sexuality of one of the main characters of The Haven for a bit, not really able to decide what I wanted him to be. Realizing I had a lack of diversity, I figured, why not make him gay? It actually added a lot of character and color to his story, and explained a lot of things I had made part of his character already.

 There’s another pair in The Hunt that was always ‘a thing’ but never to the extent I have now declared them to be. Because I gave the trio in this book so much attention, I had to really dive into their characters in a way that I never had before. Ignoring this was not possible anymore, so as I wrote I was entertained by both the conflict and the unexpected harmony they had. They pretty much hijacked my attention the whole book – especially because at the end of it even I wasn’t sure how to make it turn out.

 Also in that book, one of the characters is bisexual. He didn’t start that way. He started off as just a player who flirted with a lot of girls, but then I made him flirt with a guy to pass the time and was shocked to see the outcome. I say this like I was reading someone else’s book… but that’s exactly how it went. I just sat back and said, “Uh, are we doing this, guys? I guess we are… Well, here goes then!” After I finished writing I went back and searched throughout the book to see if I had to fix anything regarding the bi character that I didn’t realize was bi, and to my surprise, all references he had previously made to his sexuality were very ambiguous. He’d always said that he wanted to settle down eventually, but not yet, and had never once declared a gender for the person he was looking for. The only time someone declared what he was, it was someone that was not him, so I just adjusted that line, and voila, he’s bi, like he apparently wanted. Seriously, I don’t really control this, I’m just herding cats.

 By the way, my previous publisher questioned the intimacy of Malk and Traphian’s relationship in The Haven and wanted to make them a little more manly. I resisted this, because doing so would detract from what I wanted of them in that book. I also resisted this because it humored me that Malkarai and Traphian were apparently threatening to masculinity, and I am all for threatening the shit out of that, ha. If anyone had any doubts about how tough Traphian is, they’re seriously insecure.

 When I first wrote Division 53 in the early 00s (I called it The Dark Series then) the plot was not overarching and unifying throughout the series. It was just a literal series of books with the same setting, and was set up kind of as a set of a trilogy (Dark, Manhunt, Reign of the A*******, with a bonus prequel, Prodigy), a pair (Streets, System), and a single book (Ripper). I’ve since put in a pervasive plot, recurring villains, developed way more of the characters into main instead of supporting characters, split Manhunt into The Haven and The Hunt (+ a lot of things that didn’t exist before), deleted Reign entirely, added two books (The Shield, The Conspiracy), removed the prequel, and made the stories more mature in many ways. 90% of the fights in the series have been written, brand new, in the last two years.

 I learned a lot about writing in grade school, high school, and college, but even though I spent a large portion of the high school and college years figuring out how to get published, I’ve learned the most about writing work for publishing and public consumption in the past three years. I’ve learned to let go of things for the sake of pacing, to rewrite and not get so attached to things, and to take all opinions worth a grain of salt, professionals and amateurs alike. This knowledge is why I don’t read The Dark anymore. I know that I need to sit down and rewrite a lot of it to make it stand next to the rest of the books on equal footing. It isn’t bad, but it isn’t as good as I could make it today. I’m trying not to look backward for now. A new version of it can always be released in the future, but I need to tell the rest of the story first.

[aesarctic]

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Ship of the Dead, by Rick Riordan

The third book in the Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard trilogy. Finished it a month ago, but I just got the review done.

Read on Goodreads

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

FOR THE SUPER NON-SPOILERY AND THE NON-SPOILERY PEOPLE: This is the third book. Can't say much. Here: The Sword of Summer

FOR THE SPOILERY PEOPLE: Oh. My. Dear. Gods. Let's talk about my thoughts pre-book. I got this book maybe two days after it came out--in my defence, it was a busy time in my life. Marching band is a big deal. Marching band ending in my senior year of high school is a bigger one. After marching band, school got in the way. I wasn't able to read the book. A sad life, I know. I was looking forward to this book for forever at that point. (Where "forever" = about 1 year) But then. A four day weekend was coming up. It was time. I picked up the book. And I read it. Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Ship of the Dead is an end-book. The last book. It's the last book in the Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard trilogy. I've read three other end-books by Rick Riordan: The Last Olympian, The Serpent's Shadow, and The Blood of Olympus. The Last Olympian is by far my favourite of the three. In fact, it's high up on the favourite-end-books list. It's amazing. TLO SPOILERS:  The entire thing is dedicated to the battle that has been built up for four books. The battle is amazing. There was the right amount of death. The ending was near perfect. I loved it. END SPOILERS To be honest, I don't remember much of The Serpent's Shadow. If I wasn't on a rereading ban, I'd probably reread that series. And then, Blood of Olympus. We all have feelings about that book. Mine aren't the best. Not the worst, but not the best. The point is, I didn't know what to think about this book. Was it going to be a good end-book? Would it wrap up everything? What the heck was going to happen? Percy Jackson is my all-time favourite character in any Rick Riordan book in the history of Rick Riordan books. When I finished the second book, Annabeth ended the book by saying it was time to meet Percy.I remember thinking that this meant Percy was probably going to make a cameo at the beginning, teach Magnus a couple things, and be on his way. AND I WAS RIGHT. Some people I knew thought that he'd be throughout the book, and they were angry because of it, but no. Nope. Personally, I'd love more books with Percy as the main character. I know he needs a well-deserved break, but he's still my favourite. I'd even go for a series that just follows his current life. Anyway, I loved the beginning. And we finally got to know what Percy's baby sister's name is! Estelle! It feels like such a difference from the other names in these books, and it caught me off guard at first, but I actually really like that name. And he's so excited to be an older brother! I love Percy. Moving on, fast-forward to looking through Randolph's place. We get to see more of Alex's sass, which I love. The whole cast of characters in this series is fantastic. I didn't really think much of anyone other than the main four until this book, but now I love all of them. Which I'll get into later. Spoiler for The Shadowhunter Chronicles: Anyway, so originally, when naming Magnus Magnus, Rick asked Cassandra Clare if he could use the name Magnus, since Cassie also has a character named Magnus in her books. And Magnus gets together with Alec. In these books, Magnus gets together with Alec. I don't ship either, but I love the parallels. When we meet Sam, we find out that it's Ramadan, and I think this is really cool for a children's book to touch on. It also shows how powerful Sam is. She's an amazing fighter, and she can do all of it while going through the month of Ramadan. Talk about a powerful character. She's incredible. Sam has been struggling with her shape-shifting and resisting Loki when he tries to control her. Magnus says to her,"You'll find a way. A way that works for you." And it's never really mentioned in the book if she does. It's highly implied, shown in pages 363 and 373 (hardback, first edition) when she resists Loki. I do kind of wish we got a line about figuring it out, though. Chapter nine: I Become a Temporary Vegetarian. This needs a shout-out because this was definitely one of my favourite moments of the book. Aegir asks if there are any dietary restrictions. Sam imediately says that it's Ramadan. Aegir: "I see. Sorry. Yes, I don't think dwarves are halal. I'm not sure about elves." And I love this, because Sam then says, "They're not, either. In fact, it's Ramadan which means I need to break my fast in the company of dwarves and elves, rather than eating them or being around anyone who does eat them. It's strictly forbidden." Conclusion: Sam is amazing. But it gets better: Magnus claims he's a vegetarian and Alex claims he has green hair. Green hair of course means that he can't eat dwarves or elves. There are so many other funny moments and lines I wish I could highlight on, but I don't have the time to type all of them out. When Magnus challenges Loki to a flyting, Loki refuses. This made me so excited. It didn't occur to me that he might refuse. Probably predictable, but I was excited for the plot twist. Very, very excited. Then a couple pages later it turns out they're having a flyting and I could never describe the disappointment that arose from that. I have to say though, Magnus' speech had me kind of speechless. And embarrassed. I really liked it. I'm a sucker for friendship stuff, and it made me feel. In the end, we get a phone call between Magnus and Annabeth. This next bit contains spoiler's for Riordan's Trials of Apollo series. ToA and MCGA take place at the same time. In The Dark Prophecy, Apollo joins up with Leo and Calypso, they go through some times, and then the book ends with Apollo meeting (waking up) Grover Underwood. I admittedly don't remember too much, but that's what I think is a good summary. So, I don't know about you guys, but Grover coming back to reality seems pretty good to me. I missed him. So, when Annabeth seemed to be crying, you have no idea how badly I wanted the third ToA book. What happened? What's the bad news? Gods of Olympus I need to know. It was intense over on my end when I read that chapter. END SPOILERS Magnus and Alex opened the mansion for homeless kids in need, and I thought that that was incredibly noble and true to Magnus' character. I loved it. All in all, the book was good, I'm not sure where I'd place it with the other books, though. The first was my favourite, then maybe this one? I really liked getting to know the characters in this book. However, as a series ending, it wasn't the strongest. I expressed earlier how worried I was that it would be a bad ending, and it definitely wasn't the best I've ever read. I think major battles should feel major--not a couple pages long. Also, every Riordan book ends with a huge meet-and-greet with the gods at the end. I've read it so many times, I'm ready for something new. There must be some other way to end these books. A lot of our characters develop in this book, or we get to know them better, and I thought it was incredible. Here's some highlights and thoughts: Alex: She seems to be a lot happier in this book, and her relationship with Sam is strong The piece of evidence I have on me right now is on page 168, where Alex is texting Sam because she wouldn't just leave Sam on the boat without updating their cellphone plans and making sure they're able to text at all times. Alex even says, "Well duh. Gotta keep in touch with my sister." Maybe it's small, but as someone who is close to her sibling, it means a bit more to me. Also, her relationship with Magnus went through some major developments. Most of it was pretty embarrassing for me, and I really don't have much to say about it. Speaking of Alex, she has a lot of moments where it seems like she's forcing gender identity into the reader's face. I think that this is good. This is a children's book, and it's good to introduce kids to these things, because they're reallyimportant, to some more than others. It may even help out someone who's reading the book. It's also important to just educate the audience as a whole. And if you're wondering how I'm deciding to use which set of pronouns, I use the pronouns that match the section of the book I'm talking about, and if I'm talking about a generalization, I use she/her pronouns because that's when Alex said to do in the second book. TJ: He cannot back down from a fight. This is why he must fight Hrungnir, and we get to know a lot about him. We got a glimpse of what his life was like and how he came to be involved in the war. It was glimpses, but it's also a huge deal. Mallory: First, we learned how she died, then we learned who her godly parent is (Frigg, only the queen of the Aesir), where she is told that she's the key to retrieving Kvasir's Mead. Mallory then kills all the thralls, which of course gets them a step closer to getting the mead. That's a really short version of it all, but it made me from hating her character to liking her, and I was impressed. I still don't understand why Magnus wants to call her Mack, though. Halfborn: We start learning about Halfborn when he tells Magnus that they're heading towards the places that Mallory and Halfborn died. It gets worse as the crew heads towards Fläm, and it's revealed that that is Halfborn's hometown. Sixty pages later, we learn that Halfborn wanted to get out of Fläm--he wanted to be known. Be famous. Then, later on in the book, Fläm gets insulted, and Halfborn was not having it. He has a rather one-sided conversation about it with Magnus, and it was really nice to have a bit of closure to Halfborn's mini get-to-know-him arc. Halfborn's not my favourite, but at least I can respect him as a character now that he actually is one. I was really happy to know that we were getting to know his story as well (because this was before I knew we were getting to know everyone's stories.)

[ourmrsreynolds]

stuff i read November 2019

Brandon Sanderson, Words of Radiance (2014) (Stormlight Archive #2) “I don’t want my life to change because I’ve become a lighteyes … I want the lives of people like me—like I am now—to change.” Kaladin Stormblessed, ACTUAL LOVE OF MY LIFE. Contrast: Dalinar whose “well you just have to be twice as good by distinguishing yourself in the position I gave you, that’s how you change the world” rhetoric makes my skin crawl. Nah it ain’t fam. Dalinar may be be a good person who has never personally mistreated a darkeyes, but that’s beside the point. He still benefits from a highly unequal, unjust arrangement that places him at the tippy top of the social, economic & political pyramid. And the parshmen at the bottom. If the next book isn’t 100% about Parshmen Rights I'm outta here. this book—well there were moments i was on my feet cheering, like that four-on-one-duel where Kaladin is the only one with the cojones to jump into the ring, and Adolin’s “bridgeboy” goes from a term of disparagement to a term of endearment. When we found out the Shardbearer whom Kaladin killed in Amaram’s service was Shallan’s brother that was WELL-PLAYED SIR that punch really landed. Renarin turning out to be a Radiant is a pretty harsh indictment of the overvaluation of martial prowess, and I liked that too, but on the whole I didn’t like this book as much as Book 1 because I wanted MOAR KALADIN.

Arkady Martine, A Memory Called Empire (2019) “Nothing empire touches remains itself.” They say that science fiction is psychology and fantasy is sociology. If that’s true (and I don’t remember where I heard it) this book bucks that trend because it’s all in for both sci-fi (it’s a space opera!) and sociology. It’s been getting a lot of well-deserved buzz and I really enjoyed it. I do think it’s fair to point out it’s a story centered on whip-smart highly-educated bureaucrats and the imperial court they orbit; that the perspective of “ordinary” people is missing, and you feel the lack because in the course of the book there’s a revolution/coup?? But I mean, if you think about the Roman Empire (the author is a Byzantine scholar) the kinds of “barbarians” it attracted were always from the better-off stratum of “barbarian” society. I guess the chimney sweeps wouldn’t have been reading Catullus. Nothing empire touches remains itself.

Robert Galbraith, Lethal White (2018) (Cormoran Strike Mysteries #4) The unresolved tension between the leads is A+ 10/10 but I feel like the actual mystery plot is not resolved as elegantly as I expected from JK Rowling? She’s like, the queen of tight plotting and I didn’t think she’d just round up 7 suspects only to let 6 of them off the hook with an apologetic shrug of “whoops that was a red herring.” There’s a metric shitton of gratuitous bashing of socialists & other lefties, which didn’t even faze me. What bothered me was the novel’s unevenness. The portion of it that was dedicated to character work was phenomenal. Rowling’s always had a gift for invoking petty and/or aggrieved secondary characters and she absolutely nailed it here, plus the main characters experience extraordinary personal growth while still bearing the scars of their traumas. Yet tbh Chamber of Secrets is a better mystery novel and I say this as someone who ranks Chamber of Secrets dead last on my personal “HP books, ranked” listicle.

Silvia Federici, Caliban and the Witch: Women, the body, and primitive accumulation (2004) Pluses of academic writing: you get to raid the ENDNOTES and BIBLIOGRAPHY for more texts devoted to your topic of interest. Minuses of academic writing: dense as hell, puts you to sleep. Praise be to Silvia Federici whose arguments are uncommonly lucid and contain almost no bloat, though the sections covering the New World are definitely weaker than the European sections, which is where Federici’s speciality lies. She argues that the witch hunts of the late Middle Ages were a political project, a campaign of terror designed to decimate the power of peasant women, sever them from their communities, and subjugate their reproductive capacities to doing USEFUL stuff like accumulating surplus for capitalists. The parallel between the enclosure of public commons and the enclosure of women’s bodies & labor power—all done with an eye towards private profit—is one that will haunt me for the rest of my life. What an absolutely staggering work of scholarship. So glad I sprung for the physical copy so I could annotate copiously.

Louisa May Alcott, Little Women (1848) It’s been 20 years and I’m still salty about Jo/Laurie. This is the first time I’ve actually reread it cover-to-cover instead of just reimbibing the shippiest bits and I gotta say, props to Louisa May Alcott who is a much better writer than I recalled. Her treatment of the process and the craft of writing is also right on; the 1994 movie by contrast just has Jo climb up into the garret and don her writing hat and hey presto, a manuscript. What I’d forgotten was Alcott’s mastery of tone to skewer a character—I don’t wanna say she rivals Jane Austen in this department but she comes close. I had also forgotten how much of Part I in particular is just Jo repressing her desire to marry Beth and cart her off to a lesbian utopia bursting with grand pianos. My girl is dead set against any of her sisters marrying, insists she’ll man up herself in order to keep the family intact, and if you only read Part I you may well conclude she’s not wrong. Part II is painful because it’s where Alcott sinks my ship. Hate to say I can see why she does it?? It’s because Amy and Laurie have the most to learn from each other, and Alcott is all about GROWING and LEARNING as a person. You know what, the text doesn’t belong to Alcott. The text belongs to all of us, and I will proclaim Death of the Author from the rooftops. Jo and Laurie love each other without labels, they’re not “romantic” or “platonic,” they set no limits on that love.

Cat Sebastian, The Lawrence Browne Affair (2017) (Turner Series #2) You know why this mlm Regency was absolutely DELIGHTFUL? Because it’s literally kidfic. They bond over the kid, that’s the story. It’s not the whole story, I just mean the arrival of the kid kicks the plot into high gear, even if there isn’t undue focus on the kid as a character in his own right. God this book is so relatable: They both have the worst case of imposter syndrome. “Neither of us is normal but have we ever thought to question whether fitting in is good, or normality is desirable?” It’s that trope where “I’ve insinuated myself into your life under false pretenses and now I’ve gone and fallen in love with you, how do I make a clean breast of it,” meanwhile your romantic interest knows FULL WELL you’re a con artist and it doesn’t lessen their attachment in the slightest. Also relatable: Lawrence likes being alone, clings to routine because unscripted social interactions give him anxiety.

Bernard Cornwell, The Last Kingdom (2004) (Saxon Stories #1) I marathoned all three seasons of the BBC/Netflix adaptation earlier this year and I gotta say, lead actor Alexander Dreymon and his combination of martial arts background and tenderness 100% makes the character. Whoever does the score for the show also knocked it out of the park. In comparison, the book falls flat. Uhtred comes off as merely bratty rather than deeply conflicted in his loyalties, which could be a function of his extreme youth—he’s 18 I think at the end of this installment. The Danish vs Saxon identity contest is less prominent here; he pretty much accepts he’s a Saxon. @Bernard Cornwell your English ass is showing. There isn’t a real tight three-act structure, the plot just sort of meanders along from one battle to another (which is a hallmark of Cornwell’s writing, and never bothered me in his Grail Quest trilogy which are some of my favorite books of all time, so idk why it seems like weak sauce here) . One thing that remains constant is that Uhtred becomes irrational when threatened with the loss of things or people he considers MINE. Uhtred: sees a random dog paddling along in the middle of a storm. Uhtred: IS THAT RAGNAR’S DOG. Lmao.

Brandon Sanderson Oathbringer (2017) (Stormlight Archive #3) I opened this book with some trepidation because it is Dalinar’s book, the way Book 1 was Kaladin’s book and Book 2 was Shallan’s. I mean, all the flashbacks belong to Dalinar. You can tell Brandon Sanderson built this world around Dalinar, that Dalinar is more foundational to this ‘verse than any other character. And I gotta hand it to him, when I put the book down there were actual tears in my eyes: “The ancient code of the Knights Radiant says ‘journey before destination.’ But if we stop, if we accept the person we are when we fall, he journey ends. That failure becomes our destination. To love to journey is to accept no such end. I have found, through painful experience, that the most important step a person can take is always the next one.” I think about when Kaladin took the first oath way back in Book 1, when we first heard “journey before destination,” and I say BRAVO SIR BRAVO. I think about how Gavilar’s assassination is this primordial scene we keep circling back to; with each new book we return to the scene of the crime with a different POV and we keep peeling back the layers and upending everything we thought we knew. Other things I am here for: Shallan referring to Kaladin internally as Brightlord Brooding Eyes (I’m still recovering from how Sanderson sank my Kaladin/Shallan ship). Kaladin running into his archnemesis & ex-bully and all he can think is “Adolin would never be caught dead in a coat three seasons out of date” lmao Kaladin x Adolin brOTP of the century. Ok but remember how I said while I was reading Book 2 “I hope Book 3 is 100% Rights for Parshmen”??? Well I called it didn’t I. Turns out humankind are the invaders—they literally rolled up from another planet which they had accidentally destroyed, they came as refugees and they proceeded to…enslave the indigenous parshmen. What. The fuck. Brandon Sanderson was born and raised in the USA, where the ideology of settler colonialism is fucking hegemonic. We are REALLY GOOD at conflating preemptive warfare with self-defense, dispossession with property rights enforcement. We tend to think of democratic self-rule as coextensive with coercive rule over alien subjects. Sanderson’s choice to dismiss out of hand the “would you give the land back to the parshmen” argument is troubling because it absolutely bolsters the settler colonial narrative that indigenous elimination is a necessary condition of settlers’ “freedom”. I realize that the parshmen are currently being led by Hitler but that’s a choice on Sanderson’s part. Giving us 95% human POVs is a choice. This is the story of humans reckoning with their blood-soaked history, not the story of parshmen throwing off their chains.