#but requested chapter 1 on June 23rd

[ayakashibackstreet]

Okay, if I finished this subchapter by the end of next week (unlikely), maybe I could somehow make my deadline

[pilesofnonsense]

RQBB 2023 Writer Sign-Ups Open!

[ID: Picture of a black banner with the Rusty Quill show logos and a text in white and red that reads Rusty Quill Big Bang 2023]

Writer Sign-Ups are now open for the Rusty Quill Big Bang 2023!

Please read through the information carefully to understand what will be expected of you as a participant.

The sign-up link is at the end of the post under the spoiler cut!

You do not need to have decided what you will be writing at this stage, but please consider whether the fic requirements are compatible with what you have in mind, and be sure that you can commit to contacting us on the below deadlines to share your progress (or withdraw your participation if necessary).

Schedule for 2023 (all deadlines at 23:00 BST / 5pm CDT):

Writer Sign-ups: May 8th - 14th

Check-in 1: June 11th

Full First Draft & Summary Due: July 9th

Artist Sign-ups: July 17th - 23rd

Check-in 2 & Art Draft Deadline: August 20th

Final Fic & Art Due: August 27th

Posting: August 31st - September 15th

Confirmation e-mails for sign-ups will be sent out after sign-ups close; if you have not received a confirmation by May 21, please contact us at pilesofnonsense@gmail.com. We ask that you check your email (including the spam folder!) and reply so we can confirm that your registered email address is correct and you still intend to participate.

Participation Requirements:

You must choose whether to join the Big Bang as an artist or writer. You may not do both.

Writers will require an AO3 account; if you do not have an AO3 account, please request one via AO3’s login page.

If you wish to write M or E rated fics you must be aged over 18.

All participants must read and adhere to the Expected Conduct guidelines (see below).

Minimum Final Word Count: 20,000

Maximum Number of Fics per Writer/s: 1

Maximum Number of Writers per Fic (collaboration): 2

Fic Draft Requirements: At the draft deadline (July 9th), we will require a complete draft of at least 18,000 words. “Complete” means that the fic is written from start to finish with no indispensable scenes missing or left as outlines—think, “If I posted this right now, would I be happy with the story it tells?”

Ideally, you will refine and polish your draft in the remaining time, but it can also be your final draft if you prefer.

Drafts will be handed in via a form that will be sent out to you before the deadline. Drafts should be available in Google docs, or if need be in PDF format.

Summary Requirements: A form for the summary will be sent out to you before the deadline. Summaries should briefly outline the general premise, and include rating, ships, triggers and other warnings, and any other relevant details.

Eligible Fics:

Fics of any rating and with any warnings are permitted, as long as they meet the minimum word count (20,000), are centered around at least one Rusty Quill original podcast (The Magnus Archives, Rusty Quill Gaming, Stellar Firma, Inexplicables, Chapter & Multiverse, Trice Forgotten), and are tagged appropriately.

We encourage authors to take this opportunity to challenge themselves to take on a project that they might not otherwise—though please consider what is realistic in terms of the deadlines as well!

Fics must be stand-alone (requires no knowledge of previous fics to enjoy), complete (resolves all main plotlines within the story, as opposed to being part I of a trilogy, etc.), and previously unposted.

Crossovers are allowed, but the focus should be on the RQ podcast involved. For example: a fusion crossover with the Leverage Team replacing the LOLOMG in the RQG!verse would not be permitted, though the RQG characters in the Leverage!verse would be.

Please be aware that fics with obscure crossovers, common squicks, higher ratings, etc., may be more difficult to match, and thus take a little longer to get snapped up. We will do our best to find you a suitable match, though!

If you have any questions about the suitability of your fic, please contact the mods.

Matching Process:

The artist sign-up will include a list of the anonymised fic summaries. Each artist will select 3 fics which they would be interested in creating for, with additional preferences (favourite show/shows they do not follow, OTPs and NoTPs, Do Not Wants, etc.) indicated in the comment field. Mods will then match writers to artists, taking preferences into account as much as possible.

If fics are oversubscribed or if it is otherwise necessary for matching, they may be removed from the list of eligible fics before the end of artist sign-ups.

If you have an issue with your match, please let the mods know as soon as possible.

Do Not Wants:

In this event, you will have an opportunity to Do Not Want (DNW) the types of content that you do not wish to work on. Similarly, if you’ve had conflicts with certain people in the past and do not want to risk matching to them, you can include this in your sign-up or draft submission, and we will avoid matching you with them (details of these will not be shared beyond the mod team).

The mods will always account for DNWs within reason; however, attempts to manipulate matches via DNWs or otherwise acting in bad faith will result in the rejection of your sign-up or draft. We are also not private detectives, and will thus not be fielding any requests such as “do not match me with anyone who has ever drawn/written XYZ.” Please keep that in mind when considering whether this event is right for you.

Expected Conduct:

By signing up for this event, you agree to do your best to meet the deadlines. If you might need a little more time, please email the mods to explain your situation before the deadline passes. Those who miss deadlines without contacting the mods beforehand may be dropped from the event without further contact.

In order to participate in this event, you must be willing to contact the mods directly in the event that you have a question, concern, or issue with your participation (as in the deadline example above). We are happy to help participants with anything that arises, but cannot accept “telephone”-style communiques on behalf of others.

Be in regular contact with your match—if you’re going to be offline for a significant length of time, let them know. Radio silence from your match in events of this kind can be very concerning. (If you are having trouble getting in touch with your match, please contact us!)

Please take care to credit your artist/writer in your own final post.

Our Discord server has its own list of rules, which are listed within the server. If you decide to join the server, we require you to read and abide by those rules.

Be kind and courteous towards your match and fellow participants. This naturally means that all forms of bigotry and discrimination are prohibited, but even where those are not at play, you are expected to treat others with respect.

We, like Rusty Quill, have an “all headcanons are valid” policy. Harassment or mockery of those with different interpretations will not be tolerated. This does not mean you cannot discuss how you see the characters with others or that your artist/writer should not take it into account at their discretion, but insistence that any one interpretation must be adhered to is not allowed.

If you have concerns that a work or participant may be in violation of the rules, please bring it to the mods directly. Harassment of other participants (including but not limited to callout posts, name-calling, baiting, etc.), either publicly or in the Piles of Nonsense discord server, over their identities, fanworks, or headcanons will result in an instant default.

A full overview of the Guidelines can be found on our Challenge Guidelines page. We also have an FAQ.

The writer sign-up form can be found here.

Thanks for reading, and we look forward to working with you!  

[kokiafans]

KOKIA in flashback - 2021

Unfortunately, the year of 2021 is not quite what any of us had probably hoped it would be. KOKIA's activities dwindle down to very sparse opportunities to perform, and so she seeks new ways to reach her fans as yet. Last year's 1 to 1 Live for you livestreams were all free to watch, with the occasional chance to pay optional tickets, but this year, she also hosts streams that are only accessible for a paying audience. These recorded concerts are recorded in big venues in Blu-ray quality to justify the price, and later get a Blu-ray release for those who missed out.

Since August last year, KOKIA has been spending more and more time in London, eventually mostly returning to Japan for business. She still manages to release a new album this year: Kono sekai no katasumi de ('In this corner of the world'), the second entry in her Stars mini-album series. Unfortunately, one of the songs has a sad note to it: she dedicates one to Titti, her dog who sadly passes away this year.

On the other hand, this album is also proof of how many people around the world KOKIA has touched over the years: she requests for her fans to send in a recording of them saying Hello in their native language, and she gets so many replies in just one week that she worries if she can even use them all. The song Hello World ends up collecting as many as she could!

◆ Lives and events ◆

January 10 KOKIA utau tada sore dake nano ni ('I just sing, that's all') (Billboard Live OSAKA) ※ 2 performances in 1 day (Promotion: Billboard Osaka 2021)

February 13 1 to 1 live for you vol.12 (1 to 1 live for you, recap)

February 27 Livestream event ※Event exclusively for members of the KOKIA fanclub, club ancoro (Translated blog post)

April 17 KOKIA ~ongaku o kudaru basho~ Vol.4 ('The place where music falls') (Nagano, Yatsugatake Kogen Music Hall) (Promotion: Yatsugatake 2021)

April 29 1 to 1 live for you vol.13 ※ 23rd anniversary stream; KOKIA chats from London (1 to 1 live for you, recap)

July 24 1 to 1 live for you vol.14 ※ Emergency livestream to replace the postponed Billboard Live YOKOHAMA performance (1 to 1 live for you, recap)

August 21 KOKIA 2021 Bon Odori ('Bon Festival Dance') (Billboard Live OSAKA) ※ 2 performances in 1 day (Promotion: Billboard Osaka summer 2021)

August 29 KOKIA 2021 Natsu matsuri ('Summer festival') (Billboard Live YOKOHAMA) ※ 2 performances in 1 day ※Postponed from July 25 due to the COVID-19 pandemic (Promotion: Billboard Yokohama 2021)

September 18 2021 KOKIA live stream concert - THE MISSING PIECE- (online; recorded from Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall) ※ first paid-only concert stream (Promotion: the missing piece)

November 20 1 to 1 live for you vol.15 (1 to 1 live for you, recap)

December 4 2021 KOKIA live stream concert - Missing you (online; recorded from Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall) ※ Paid-only stream exclusive for China (Promotion: Missing you)

December 28/30/31 KOKIA home live Welcome to 1 to 1 live for you (KOKIA private studio) ※Event exclusively for members of the KOKIA fanclub, club ancoro (Blog post 1, blog post 2)

◆ Releases ◆

April 6 Release of original album Kono sekai no katasumi de ('In this corner of the world') (anco&co.) ※ second chapter in the Star series. Mini album consisting of 7 songs (Kono sekai no katasumi de)

October 5 Release of the Blu-ray THE MISSING PIECE & Missing You (anco&co.) ※ Collection of the recordings of this year's paid concert streams (2021 livestream bluray)

◆ Other releases ◆

April Update of the smartphone app game RED - Pride of Eden ※ Performed the new song Nice memories (RED Pride of Eden)

May 25 Release of the smartphone app game Artery Gear: Fusion ※ Performed the theme song Satellites (Artery Gear Fusion)

June 1 Release of the digital album Synapusyu no uta 2 ('Songs of Synapusyu') (tuneCORE) ※ Performed the March theme song Ready to Rock n' Roll (Synapusyu)

December 1 Release of the album Synapusyu aiue-o! de hajimaripushu ('Synapusyu let's start with the ab-c!') ※ Performed the March theme song Ready to Rock n' Roll (Synapusyu)

◆ Other ◆

March Broadcasting of the TV Tokyo program Synapusyu ※ Performed the March theme song Ready to Rock n' Roll (Synapusyu)

August 19 Showcase trailer of the smartphone app and PC game Gran Saga ※ Performed the song Inochi no monogatari ('Story of Life') (Gran Saga)

December NC Japan K.K. 20th Special Thanks ※ Used the song Arigatou... ('Thank you...') (NC Japan)

◆ Videos with links to watch ◆

Showcase trailer of the smartphone app and PC game Gran Saga, song Inochi no monogatari ('Story of Life'): 【Gran Saga】 showcase 【Gran Saga】 KOKIA: Inochi no monogatari

[wipbigbang]

2021 Schedule + FAQ

Schedule

All times are by 8:59pm PST. Convert time zones.

Sign-ups Begin- April 1st

Sign-ups Close- April 15th

Check In #1- April 22nd

Check In #2- May 15th

Snippets Due- June 1st

Art Claims Begin- June 17th

Check In #3- June 22nd

Check In #4- July 6th

Rough Drafts Due- July 15th

Posting Claims Begin- July 23rd

Posting Claims Ends- August 1st

Final Drafts/Art Due- August 7th

Posting Starts- August 8th

FAQ

What is the WIP Big Bang? Good question! This is a Big Bang with one goal in mind: to clean out your drafts folder. These are stories that were unfinished for whatever reason, that authors returned to and completed, and the art that goes with them!

Do I need a Livejournal/Dreamwidth/AO3/etc. account to participate? No! You don’t have to have an account on anything to participate, though you will need to have somewhere to post your finished work. Having one or more accounts will help for you to follow what is going on with the bang (we crosspost to Livejournal, Dreamwidth, Tumblr, and Twitter at the moment), but they are not required to participate. You can always leave comments anonymously or with an opensource ID.

Will I get emails about the bang? We do send out some emails, mostly for snippets and art claims and to ensure communication between authors and artists, but please do NOT rely on getting an email to remind you of due dates. We currently do not keep an updated email list of participants, so we only send individual emails as needed rather than mass emails.

However, email is the fastest way to communicate with the mods. If you have any questions or are having trouble communicating with your artist/author, please do email us! We will do our best to respond quickly.

Is there a minimum word count? 7,500 words, but the sky's the limit, right?

What do you mean by minimum word count to enter? This is a WIP Big Bang, therefore we ask you to have at least 500 words of your story drafted when you enter. It's okay if you have posted a few chapters of your fic already (you never know when the muse deserts you, after all), we just require you to refrain from posting more until posting begins here.

Is there anything not allowed? As long as you wrote it and you want to finish it, you're welcome to participate. Just bear in mind that original work is only allowed on AO3 if it has a fannish connection and might make it hard for artists to work with. But we'll make a dedicated post for that if there will be any.

What are 'Check Ins’? These are a way for us to see what you've been up to and for you to make sure you're still on track. It will give you a little nudge/reminder if you need it, but they are not compulsory.

What are the snippets requirements? In order to allow the artists to make art for the story they claimed, we require you to supply three snippets from your fic, between 500 – 1500 words each. The snippets will be sent to the artist after they have claimed your story. They're to help the artist match your story for artwork the best way he or she possibly can. It’s helpful to choose scenes or parts of scenes that you feel best represent your fic, but don’t feel like they have to be perfect to be submitted. Along with the snippets, we will send your artist the basic fic info and your email, so the two of you can collaborate more if you would both like.

What are the rough drafts requirements? For the rough drafts, stories should be at least 80% complete. You will not have to turn them in to us, just assure us that you are at that point. Anything less is at the discretion of the mods and those authors should speak to one of the mods asap.

What is, and do I need, a beta? A beta is basically a person who goes over your work to make sure that there are no spelling/grammatical errors and they can even be of assistance in helping you with story lines, etc. It is highly recommended that a beta looks over your work before posting. If you are having trouble finding a beta, try this post.

Where can I post my fic/art? Stories and art can be posted to your own personal journal, tumblr, ff-net, AO3, or wherever you like. For those of you with AO3 accounts, we will set up a collection that will go live on the day of the posting. Also, we've enabled moderated posting to the comm (Livejournal and Dreamwidth) for members. We will post a template for posting artwork and stories to the comm closer to the posting date.

If you don’t currently have an AO3 account but would like one, you can contact the mods for an invitation code to see if they have any available. You can also add yourself to the AO3 Invites Request queue.

How do I know when to post? Posting will be tiered; you'll each get your own posting date that you and your artist will decide on together. There will probably be four fics, plus art, posting per day between August 8th and September 30th. The post with date claims will go up on July 23rd and you'll have to choose your date by August 1st.

If you want to post your story in chapters on AO3 or your own blog (or wherever you usually post), you may do so starting August 1st. However, posting has to be finished by your chosen posting date to the comm. One of the things we're hoping to do with the posted dates is to give everybody on the comm a little bragging time in the spotlight. You know, "this story was incomplete for this long, but I finished this sucker." If you don't have time to post on your chosen posting date, you can queue up a post ahead of time and we can post it on the date you picked. Either way works for us. Art will be due on the chosen posting date to the comm.

Is there a minimum/maximum requirement for my art? There is no strict minimum, but we do ask artists to remember that the authors are writing a minimum of 7,500 words and your artwork should reflect that. You can do anything you like, including banners, wallpapers, icons, mixes, vids, gif sets, picspams, etc. Suggested guidelines for art are 500x500px (or equivalent of smaller pieces like banner + spacers, cover + icons, etc.) for traditional art, digital art, and manips; 2 minutes for vids; 10 songs + cover art for mixes; and 6 images for gif sets and picspams. We also ask that when you are in contact with the author, you work with them to see if there is anything specific they would like (i.e. a wallpaper, book cover, etc.). The art is your work, but having ideas doesn't hurt!

What are 'art claims'? The claims are when anonymous summaries of the story go up for artists to choose from. It is based on a 'first come, first served' basis and artists may choose up to three potential stories (in case their first choice is unavailable). If there are more stories than artists, there will be a second round of claims wherein artists may choose a second story to work with. And on until all stories are claimed for art.

If a fic up for claiming is rated explicit (R, NC-17, etc.), please only claim the story if you are over 18 years of age. Some authors may be uncomfortable working with underage artists on explicit works. We do not verify ages in any way for the bang, so this is solely on the honor system.

Can I get an extension? Community extensions may be given in the event that the majority of the authors/artists need one. They may also be given individually under certain circumstances, but this must be discussed with the mods and will only be a short extension for posting. If you are certain that you won’t be able to finish your story in time, please let us know by June 13th.

What do I do if I have problems or concerns about my author/artist? Sometimes authors and artists do not get along and this may cause problems with working together. If this happens to be the case with you, please email the mods and we will try to do what we can so that everyone has a chance to have fun at WIP Big Bang!

If you have not heard from your author/artist in some time after trying to contact them, you can reach out to us via email and we will try to get in touch with them for you.

Can I drop out? We have high hopes that everybody who signs up can actually finish the round and share in the joy of the reveal with us, but real life can unfortunately get in the way and we completely understand! If you feel like you just cannot finish in time and no amount of assistance from us can help you, just let us know by July 13th (if at all possible).

Is it possible to be banned? We do have a banned users list. We hope to use this to encourage participants who are having issues to communicate with the mods. We want to help you! The way the ban works is that participants, either authors and artists, will be banned for dropping out without notifying a mod. This means that anyone who has not posted or talked to a mod by the time the posting period ends will be banned. Dropping out is not in and of itself a banning offense, so please do not panic if you have to drop out! We understand that there are many reasons you may need to drop, and we want to work with you.

Bans will last one round or until the issue is resolved, whichever comes first. To resolve a ban, authors will have to finish and post the story they signed up with and artists will have to finish and post the art for the story they claimed. Three bans will result in a permanent ban from the bang.</lj-cut>

I have a question/concern that’s not mentioned here. If you need help, you can always contact a mod and we will do our best to make sure that you get your story/art finished. The best and fastest method of contact is through our email, wipbigbang@gmail.com.

[josefavomjaaga]

Helfert, Joachim Murat, chapter 1, part 3

Continuation of my attempt at translating an old Austrian book on Murat’s final years. Negotiations with Austria and Britain get interrupted because ... well, Napoleon called.

The King also established relations with England around this time and finally came to an agreement with Lord William Bentinck, who visited the island of Ponza from Sicily and repeatedly negotiated there with Murat's confidants, to the effect that if the King openly joined the alliance with all his might, he should be free to act in Italy; the only exception would be Sicily, where the English were protecting King Ferdinand IV. On the Appenine mainland, too, the English were to be present with armed force and allow for their forces to co-operate with the Neapolitan ones, albeit under their own command. Bentinck sent an aviso ship from Ponza to England to ask his cabinet for approval of what had been arranged with Joachim's confidants (June 1813).

The gulf between Napoleon and Murat widened. If the latter was already highly incensed by Cariati's mission, the secret meetings on the island of Ponza could not remain hidden from him for long, given the indiscretion of the London journals. The Paris Moniteur published ruthless articles, Baron Durand issued sharp notes to Gallo, which the king, for his part, did not allow to go unanswered; indeed, he threatened, if the Paris papers should again permit themselves to offend him, to have the French ambassador sent his passports. When at last Napoleon, now that the war was breaking out anew and was threatening to take on greater proportions, made the imposition on the King of Naples to send 20,000 men to Prince Eugène in Upper Italy, without any mention of himself, their rightful warlord, Murat became furious, tore the paper to shreds, which he trampled underfoot, and swore: "Not one company shall he get that is not under my command!"

Nevertheless, once more an understanding was reached between the two, for the Emperor, pressed on all sides, could not do without the military aid from Naples and the support of his old comrade in arms. Caroline received a letter from her brother in a cordial tone, Fouché and Ney, who were personally close to the King, had to exert a pacifying influence on him and he decided, no doubt also with the help of his wife, to rejoin the Grande Armée (August 1813). The Vienna negotiations had not reached a conclusion because Cariati did not have the necessary powers; no reply had yet been received from London to Bentinck's request. Murat, however, although he now faced both Austria and England as enemies in the theatre of war, did not want to treat the initiated negotiations as terminated, but left arrangements in Naples to keep the negotiations going in spite of his absence in the field.

On the Saxon battlefields, the brilliant cavalry general fought as boldly and bravely as ever. But disaster could not be averted; the battle of Leipzig completed the downfall of the once Grand Army. Murat saw his imperial brother-in-law once more before he hurried back to his kingdom: but he also saw Count Mier, who had been sent by Metternich to the imperial headquarters (October 1813). When he arrived back in his capital, his mind was set on two things: first, to turn away from Napoleon and towards the Allies, and secondly, to bring under his command the whole Appenine peninsula, at least as far as the Po, beyond which the Austrians were gaining a foothold.

But Bentinck now changed his tone; since the cause of the allies no longer seemed to be in need of the revolutionary king, he no longer wanted to have anything to do with Joachim. A diplomatic agent, Schinina, whom the king sent to Palermo in November, returned to his master in the second half of December not only without having achieved anything, but also laden with the imperious lord's rudeness. On the other hand, the Imperial and Royal General Count Adam Neipperg arrived in Naples from the great headquarters of the allies at the beginning of 1814 in order to conclude a defensive and protective alliance with the king. Neipperg did not enter into negotiations, he stated his conditions and demanded acceptance or rejection in the shortest possible time; Murat decided in favour of the former, because he could hardly do otherwise under the present circumstances, and on 11 January everything was signed. King Joachim wrote a letter to Emperor Franz in his own hand; Neipperg promised to obtain the entry of the other powers into the Austro-Neapolitan treaty.

A few days later, Joachim's troops moved across the Tronto and the Garigliano and occupied Ancona from one side, Rome from the other; the French generals Barbou there, Miollis here, withdrew into the citadels with their crews. The king left for the army on the 23rd and was on the south side of the Po by the beginning of February, from where he was now supposed to manoeuvre against the Viceroy shoulder to shoulder with the imperial field marshal Bellegarde, who was in Verona. But he was not entirely at ease. His French blood bristled at the idea of attacking his own compatriots and decades-long comrades-in-arms, sword in fist. Also, Emperor Francis' personal reply to his letter had not yet arrived, the treaty of 11 January had not yet been ratified, an accedence of the other powers, especially England, had not yet taken place. The Allies, on the other hand, first wanted to see proof of his sincere attitude, he was to show in the field that he was serious about taking up arms against France before they entered into a binding agreement with him.

In these critical times, his wife, who acted as regent in Naples during Joachim's absence, proved to be infinitely more determined than the king. As everyone must understand, it had cost her a hard struggle to break away from her imperial brother, to ally herself with his enemies and to turn the arms of her kingdom against France. But once the step had been taken, she remained true to her new role, because she realised that only undaunted, wholehearted devotion to the cause the banner of which had been seized could secure the lasting support of the allies for her house and throne. As much as she had previously been suspected of being partial to the French, she now showed herself to be on the opposite side. She seized for her kingdom the principalities of Benevento and Pontecorvo, which Napoleon had declared and treated as French imperial fiefs since the conquest of Naples by his guns; she ordered the seizure of all warships and merchant ships flying the French flag in Neapolitan ports; she expelled all French officers and agents from the borders of her country; she severed all communication between Naples and the Empire (February 1814).

Timeline: The Allies are already in France, Napoleon barely being able to hold them off (victory at Brienne followed by defeat at La Rothière, then a series of quick victories over Blücher who was always an ideal target ...). Caulaincourt is at the Congress of Chatillon, trying to adapt his negotiations to Napoleon’s orders (which change on a daily basis, depending on who won the last skirmish). In Upper Italy Eugène retreats to the Mincio, inflicting a defeat on Bellegarde’s Austrians on the 8th while doing so. February/March 1814 will also be the time when Napoleon and Eugène have their fallout over Eugène not leaving Italy with his troops and coming to Napoleon’s aid in France - and when distrust on both sides becomes so profound Eugène actually suspects Napoleon of wanting to take his pregnant wife hostage.

[newts-fan-case]

Masterlist

*Updated June 23rd*

Here’s a long overdue master list of the little bits and pieces I have written, I just figured out how to link stuff so if there's any problem let me know and I will try and fix it asap. I also have AO3 (see? I did it) if you prefer that platform, anyways, here it is:

Tom Hiddleston

Balance: Claire is a young ballerina that drives Tom mad with the noise her pointe shoes make. 

Chapter 1 

Breaking the internet: requested one shot. Tom and his girlfriend, who is also an actress play “Who’d You Rather” on The Ellen Show. The thing is... their relationship isn't public yet.

A flirting waitress: Tom and Clara go out to have dinner, but the waitress can’t stop flirting with Tom, how would Clara react?

Loki Laufeyson/Odinson/Friggason 

Madness: one shot. A little Loki/Sigyn character study thingy? I wish. Basically me trying to explain Loki’s and Sigyn’s mind-frame between Loki’s fall and his capture in Avengers. 

Love is...: a small Drabble. Loki x OFC. Bought up again by Loki and Sylvie’s conversation about love on Loki’s S1E3

Sherlock Holmes (BBC)

Not Named Drabble?: Sherlock and his girlfriend are a little bit tipsy and very horny. Mild smut, might have been the first thing that I wrote so have mercy please 

Sweet Treats:  a little Drabble for a VDC that I never posted on time, the prompt was “This is an interesting twist on Valentine’s Chocolates”. Mild smut. again which confirms i’m a whore for Sherlock 

Newt Scamander 

The Oh Series: a sweet series of one shots/drabbles featuring Newt, his wife Carlotta and their daughter Y/N (working on the name, sorry)

Oh, no. // Oh!  

Henry Cavill

The Seven Deadly Sins: a series of one shots featuring Henry Cavill and his girlfriend, Olivia. Each shot is prompted by the meaning of the sin they are named after. 

Pride // Avarice // Envy // Wrath // Lust // Gluttony // Sloth

[rj15zq]

The Effects of Media Messages, Celebrities, and Personae (Blog Week 3)

Remember that feeling when you had just turned 13 and you were finally old enough to attend PG-13 movies? (without lying about your age) Or have you ever thought about why a movie is rated R instead of G? 

Rating guidelines all have to do with media content. Does it contain violence? Nudity? Drug use? Profanity? All of these things play a role in media effects. But why is that relevant? We discussed its relevancy in lecture on September 19th. Our brain’s primary function is to pay attention, even if we’re not consciously aware of it. Media’s integration within society has caused audiences to have a degree of dependence on the media for common access to information/stories.

Chapter 2 of our textbook states that “media messages carry potentially damaging information for the public, and that these messages need to be carefully monitored and potentially restricted” (Sullivan, 2010, p. 26). The example given was the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University shooting inflicted by Seung-Hui Cho, who was believed to have been “inspired” by realistic first-person shooter games. Now, while I do believe that media content plays some kind of role in affecting our personal behaviour, no sane person is going to go on a shooting rampage just because they played some Fortnite. This theory was eventually debunked after findings revealed that Cho was more into games like Sonic the Hedgehog. It’s kind of how like some (homophobic) parents are hesitant about the media exposing their children to same sex relationships because it’s going to “turn them gay”. Like, no Karen. That’s not how sexuality works. Although media messages don’t entirely control the behaviour of individuals, they definitely play some sort of role in influencing individuals attitudes and ideas, according to Mass Society Theory.

This connects to the article that we discussed in seminar examining four processes of audience involvement with media personae. Many scholars argue that the rise of popular culture in the last decade has given celebrities/media persone privileged positions of “social influence that can shape, reinforce, and inculate values and beliefs and promote specific social practices within diverse audiences” (Brown, 2015, p. 1). Basically, we want to be like the celebrities we look up to. And while everyone loves to claim that they’re entirely their own person and aren’t affected by the media or celebrities, it’s just not realistic. Even if we aren’t consciously aware of it, the media messages we are exposed to influence us. The four processes of media personae (Transportation, Parasocial Interaction, Identification, Worship) definitely play a role as to what extent these celebrities, athletes or even fictional characters influence us. For example, if you’re a Britney Spears “stan” at the point of worship, you are probably constantly referring to her as Princess of Pop and have a not-so-secret shrine of her in your bedroom:

However, if you’re like me, you are more so at the stage of parasocial interaction (PSI). In seminar I talked about how I personally find myself at the stage of PSI because I often “interact” with celebrities online through platforms such as Twitter, which can create a false sense of interaction in result of my media consumption. For example, I’m seeing Tove Lo live in concert for her upcoming tour in February and have tweeted her some of my favourite songs I’d like to see on her setlist. I don’t do this expecting a response, but I do know that she can possibly see it and that if enough fans are requesting for a song to be on the setlist, she may likely add it due to the impact of audience power. I have also had some “lucky” instances resulting in some interactions with celebrities through social media. Do I think I’m friends with them? Not even close. But do I think it builds and enhances connections between artists (for example) and fans? For sure, audience involvement is a major aspect of media personae.

Think about this though, at what point does audience involvement get “too” involved? I mean, surely most of society have gained some kind of inspiration from celebrities they look up to or are simply just following on social media. For example, I wouldn’t call myself a super-fan of Madison Beer, but I do follow her socials and an account on Instagram called @madisonbeercloset for the sheer purpose of fashion inspo. In this scenario, Madison Beer has an influence on my personal style because I draw inspiration from hers. But what about when celebrities start influencing opinions, values, and/or beliefs? It can result in cognitive dissonance, a theory we discussed in seminar and further explained to us in our textbook. If you are at the point of worship, you are much more likely to be affected by cognitive dissonance than those at the stage of transportation. 

An example we discussed in seminar was Kanye West’s influence on his fans political views, specifically when it comes to Donald Trump. An example I personally found interesting was Kim Kardashian’s “Kimono” shapewear that she had announced this past summer. Kim received a lot of backlash for trademarking the word Kimono as it was disrespectful to Japanese culture and essentially erasing the meaning behind the garment (Scott, 2019).

Cognitive dissonance in this case would refer to Kim Kardashian fans excusing or explaining her act of cultural appropriation, and is an example of selective perception as discussed in the textbook (Sullivan, 2010, p. 40). Kim Kardashian announced through social media that the brand was renamed SKIMS. Below is a tweet I found of a fan defending the original name KIMONO:

This is an example of selective perception due to the fact that the fan would not have responded in the same way if it came from a celebrity they weren’t a fan of. Because this person is a fan of Kim Kardashian, they felt the need to defend and rationalize her actions, although they may not had fully agree with them.

Here is another example of a fan rationalizing Kim wearing cornrows:

Often times during cognitive dissonance, people will explain behaviour they don’t entirely agree with by comparing it to something “worse”.

These are just a few examples of media effects, and the impact that media personae can have on audience involvement/behaviour, which is why we as audience members need to be critical of media messages and their influence on society.

References:

Jennifer Good, Lecture September 19th 2019

Seminar Discussion September 23rd 2019

Brown, W. (2015). Examining four processes of audience involvement with media personae: Transportation, parasocial interaction, identification, and worship. Communication Theory, 25, 259-283.

Scott, E. (2019, June 26). Kim Kardashian’s ‘Kimono’ brand under fire for cultural appropriation. Global News. Retrieved from https://globalnews.ca/news/5433008/kim-kardashian-kimono-cultural-appropriation/

Sullivan, J. (2013). Media Audiences: Effects, users, institutions and power

Images: Giphy, Twitter, Google Images

[backtothestart02]

My Fic Recap: June 2017

Amount of updates/new fics posted: 5 Amount of individual fics posted: 3 Show(s) written from: The Flash Ship(s) written: Barry & Iris Challenge(s) participated in: Runnin’ Home to You hosted by @westallenfun​ Series added to: Roll Credits

1) Like It’s the Last Time Type: One-shot Synopsis: 3x22 - Iris requests one more thing of Barry. Show: The Flash Ship: Barry & Iris Rating: Explicit Word Count: 2,976 Series added to: Roll Credits Challenge(s) participated in: N/A Posted on: 6/7/17 Status: Complete Read HERE.

2) One Night of Weakness

Type: One-shot Synopsis: Post 3x23 - Iris insists on staying alone at the loft her first night without Barry. Show: The Flash Ship: Barry & Iris Rating: General Audiences Word Count: 2,445 Series added to: Roll Credits Challenge(s) participated in: N/A Posted on: 6/15/17 Status: Complete

Read HERE.

3) Runnin’ Home to You

Type: Multi-chap Synopsis: 3x21 - Canon Divergent - What if Team Flash decided to keep Barry from remembering until after May 23rd? Show: The Flash Ship: Barry & Iris Rating: Teen Word Count: 3,954 Series added to: N/A Challenge(s) participated in: Runnin’ Home to You Posted on: 6/16/17, 6/21/17, 6/25/17 Status: In-Progress

Read HERE (chapter 1), HERE (chapter 2), and HERE (chapter 3).

[kaciidubs]

Kacii’s Masterlist

Here’s where you’ll be able to find anything I’ve written under the separate categories! This page will constantly undergo changes and updates. Updated: June 23rd, 2018

Italics** means it includes/is a smut (18+). If something is crossed out it means it hasn’t been uploaded yet/in the works! Taglist

| Movies |

Edge** (Jack Wilder x Reader) [Now You See Me]

Hopeless (Peter Parker x Reader) [Andrew Garfield - The Amazing Spider-Man]

| TV Shows |

- Supergirl -

Winn Schott

HIATUS - Remember (Winn Schott x Reader) Preview, Chapters; 1, 2, 3, Teaser 4, 4, 5, 6, 7

Comfort (Friendship/Family! Winn Schott and Alex Danvers) [Request]

Ohmigod You Guys! (Winn Schott x Reader)

Protect (Winn Schott x Reader)

| People / Characters |

Tom Holland / Peter Parker

Amazing Like You (Peter Parker x Reader) Preview, Chapters; 1, 2, 3, 4, Epilogue

Movie Night** (Tom Holland x Reader) Part 1, Part 2

Drunken Nights (Tom Holland x Reader) AU, & Epilogue

Crush (Tom Holland x Reader) Preview, Chapters; 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

You Look Happier (Tom Holland x Reader)

Blurbs

Stairs (Tom Holland x Reader)

Caught (Tom Holland x Reader)

Chris Evans / Steve Rogers

Short Temper (Steve Rogers x Reader) 

Michael Mell (BMC)

High** (Michael x Curvy!Reader)

Evan Hansen (DEH)

Blurbs

Sleep (Evan Hansen x Reader)

Alex Summers (X-Men First Class) *Reader will always be a mutant, unless stated otherwise*

Dead Girl Walking** (Alex x Reader)

First Day (Alex x Reader)

[mercurialscoundrel]

Hello there, Friends and Stuff! I’m excited to enter a new month and bring you some new and brilliant updates!

Dark Divinations – A Victorian Horror Anthology

First, Dark Divinations debuted on May 1st. You can order it now in paperback on Amazon. If you want to get the party pack, you can still get that here! Later this month, I’ll be posting updates about some special videos going up on Facebook… you’ll want to get in on that for sure!

Open Novella Contest

Whaaaat!? I made it through Round 2 of the contest? I couldn’t believe it. My novella, a 25,000-word story about a gay WWII pilot who crashes and washes up on an island reminiscent of Dante’s Inferno, actually had enough score to make it through. You can find the novella here if you’re interested.

Do I think it will win? Hell no. It’s the most artsy-fartsy thing I’ve written in my entire life, and it seems like Wattpad is more interested in YA-focused romantic fantasies or something a bit more… commercial. But the fact I’ve made it through round 2 is really pleasing, because it means the story’s well written enough to make it through despite sounding like it was written by a person totally not in Wattpad’s primary audience.

Changes on the Blog

You’ll notice a few (somewhat unfortunate) changes on the blog. Let’s start with the good and move our way to the bad!

Home Page Updates

My home page has been updated – now it’s easier to find the How-To articles by clicking on the Witty Nib Writing Club. There’s also a new blog-roll going where you can access recent posts more easily.

Expect New Graphics in June

I’m preparing for a few big changes that will go up in June and will reflect some of the things associated with the Dark Divinations anthology. If you stick around and watch the video watch party on Facebook, you may be surprised to see an interesting face and hear a terrible voice! To go along with these revelations, my avatar and a few other pieces of the website will be changing.

Witty Nib Writing Club Changes

Sadly, the prompts and attempts at collaboration with the Club didn’t quite turn out. I’m ever grateful to Robbie Cheadle for her response to the research prompt, but I think among the corner of blogs I survey, there’s a plentitude of prompts. As a result, the Witty Nib Writing Club will change from a monthly prompt and informative post to a monthly informative post alone. You can still join in the club using the comments, but I thought it’s time to retire the club. Maybe I’ll start something easier up in the future!

More Professional Foci

Something I’ve realized in the past few months – while I’ve not had a real job – is that blogging, sadly, doesn’t further professional writing credentials. It does help me meet new people who I love to follow, obtain new info about upcoming releases, and fulfill a long-term audience goal, but it takes up so much time. So much. I’ve decided to reduce the time spent on my blog in order to attempt more short story submissions, perhaps consider doing a poetry submission, and finish my newest novel.

Sadly, I’m probably not going to be reading as many blogs or be quite as responsive. I’ll give it my best shot, but that’s all I can promise!

I’ll also be (at least temporarily) closed to beta reading requests, and any book review requests (while still open) will not be completed for quite some time.

Speaking of Novels…

I’ve got several novels up on the blog: American Chimera, If I Only Had No Heart, and Evolution of the Predator. You can click on each of these links to see their representative pages. However, these links aren’t going to work forever. No – I’m going to be taking my novels down, one at a time, starting at the end of the month with Evolution of the Predator. I was pretty torn when making this decision, but ultimately I think it needs to happen.

The reason for this decision is because they’re second drafts, beta read only by my partner, and they’re not representative of my best work. Because I seek to present a higher level of professionalism, I’m taking the oldest work – Evolution of the Predator – down first because it represents that which was written at my least mature point. That will start at the end of this month, May 2020.

It’s Not Too Late to Catch These Novels!

Nope! Until May 30th, all novels will be available for download. You should head to their pages and download the PDF files if you want to save them for later reading.

Evolution of the Predator

On May 23rd, 2020, I’ll have a reminder post telling about the imminent takedown of the novel. On May 30th, 2020, the downloadable PDF of Evolution of the Predator will be taken down from the Evolution of the Predator page. Starting on June 6th, I will take the post containing the first chapter down. Following that, one chapter will be taken down per week (as long as I don’t forget – but I’ll handle it as soon as I can). They’ll be removed in order from first chapter to last with the hopes that potential readers will be able to read one chapter per week without losing access (though I will probably email you chapters if you ask nicely). The page already lists the dates I plan to take down each chapter. The page and entire story will be gone on November 14th, 2020. All links to it on the site will be broken, though I will attempt to remove links by hand as I can.

If I Only Had No Heart

On July 18th, 2020, I will post a reminder that If I Only Had No Heart will be ending soon. On July 25th, 2020, the PDF will be removed from the If I Only Had No Heart page. On August 8th, the first chapter will be removed. One chapter will removed per week after, starting with the first chapter and ending with the last chapter. The page and entire story will be gone on November 14th, 2020. All links to it on the site will be broken, though I will attempt to remove links by hand as I can.

American Chimera

Don’t worry about this baby for now! I’m still posting this one serially, and she won’t be finished posting until December 2020. It’s also a pretty good little book, just needs some editing. However, I will be taking it down sometime in 2021 (not yet planned fully), so catch it while you can!

What About You?

Do you have any cool new things going on in May? Any excellent accomplishments in April? I’d love to hear about them to celebrate and/or commiserate with you! Cheers!

May 2020 Author Newsletter Hello there, Friends and Stuff! I'm excited to enter a new month and bring you some new and brilliant updates!

[fardell24b]

June 2019

June Overall

May Overall: https://fardell24b.tumblr.com/post/185282339625/may-2019-overall

Church notes - 2nd June 2019: https://fardell24b.tumblr.com/post/185310603375/church-notes-2nd-june-2019

Godzilla: King of the Monsters (1956) rating: https://fardell24b.tumblr.com/post/185312433945/godzilla-king-of-the-monsters-1956

120 Beginnings of 2019 - Voyager and the Convergence: https://fardell24b.tumblr.com/post/185371577945/120-beginnings-of-2019-voyager-and-the

Godzilla 2014 rating: https://fardell34.blogspot.com/2019/06/godzilla-2014-rating.html

2019 Beginnings of 2019 - Reverse Map Game 2019 - 1975: https://fardell34.blogspot.com/2019/06/120-beginnings-of-2019-reverse-map-game.html

Fan Fiction update - The Doctor and Sarah: Destination Gallifrey: https://fardell34.blogspot.com/2019/06/fan-fiction-update-doctor-and-sarah.html

Godzilla: King of the Monsters review: https://fardell34.blogspot.com/2019/06/godzilla-king-of-monsters-review.html

Church notes - 9th June 2019: https://fardell34.blogspot.com/2019/06/church-notes-9th-june-2019.html

52 Tales of 2019 - Reverse Map Game 2019 - 1975: https://fardell34.blogspot.com/2019/06/52-tales-of-2019-reverse-map-game-2019.html

Age of Heroes - Part 6: https://fardell24.livejournal.com/364232.html

120 Beginnings of 2019 - Doctor Who: Mystery in Sydney: https://fardell24.dreamwidth.org/338461.html

120 Beginnings of 2019 - Doctor Who - Peri Saves the Day: http://fardell30.deadjournal.com/39897.html

Lawndale and Sandi Griffin's Genie - Chapter 2 - Part 3: https://www.deviantart.com/brenorenz/journal/Lawndale-and-Sandi-Griffin-s-Genie-Chapter-2-P3-801416471

Beta Request: The Doctor and Sarah - The Deadly Assassin Part 1: https://fardell24b.tumblr.com/post/185539029795/beta-request

120 Beginnings of 2019 - ZooTube v4 - Verecia veriegata: https://fardell34.blogspot.com/2019/06/120-beginnings-of-2019-zootube-v4.html

120 Beginnings of 2019 - Legends of the Belt: https://fardell24.dreamwidth.org/339747.html

Quinn's Code 01 - The Esteemsters Code Part 1: https://fardell24.dreamwidth.org/340041.html

Church notes - 16th June 2019: https://fardell24.dreamwidth.org/340457.html

120 Beginnings of 2019 - Death in the Feild: https://fardell24.dreamwidth.org/340573.html

120 Beginnings of 2019 - The Addams Family - Wednesday Arrives at College: https://fardell24.dreamwidth.org/340905.html

120 Beginnings of 2019 - Endeavour and the Anomaly: http://fardell30.deadjournal.com/40454.html

120 Beginnings of 2019 - Daria - Trouble in Lawndale: http://fardell30.deadjournal.com/40846.html

Church notes - 23rd June 2019: http://fardell30.deadjournal.com/41124.html

Quinn's Code - The Esteemsters Code - Part 2: http://fardell30.deadjournal.com/41292.html

120 Beginnings of 2019 - Daria - Issues of the Cheerleader: http://fardell30.deadjournal.com/41706.html

52 Tales of 2019 - Doctor Who Character Thoughts - World Enough and Time: https://www.deviantart.com/brenorenz/journal/Devious-Journal-Entry-803268209

Daria and the Flynn Fletchers - Daria in Danville - Morgendorffer at 2308 Maple: https://www.deviantart.com/brenorenz/journal/Daria-in-Danville-Part-3-803535570

120 Beginnings of 2019 - Reverse Map Game 2019 - 1972: https://www.deviantart.com/brenorenz/journal/120-Beginnings-of-2019-RMG-2019-1972-803632648

Church notes - 30th June 2019: https://www.deviantart.com/brenorenz/journal/Church-notes-30th-June-2019-803781409

Church notes - June 2019: https://www.deviantart.com/brenorenz/journal/Church-notes-June-2019-803783541

Church notes in 2019 so far: https://fardell24b.tumblr.com/post/185949796330/church-notes-in-2019-so-far

120 Beginnings of 2019-  Reverse Map Game 2019 - 1970: https://fardell24b.tumblr.com/post/185950821635/120-beginnings-of-2019-reverse-map-game-2019

[the-final-straw-blog]

August 19th Prisoner Protest: convo w Ben Turk of IWOC

This week, Bursts spoke with Ben Turk about the August 19th call out for solidarity with prisoners.  The Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee, a project of the Industrial Workers of the World (or IWW) syndicalist labor union is one body organizing the inside and outside actions, and Ben is a member.  Ben's also affiliated with Lucasville Amnesty Last year was a huge time for radical organizing around the U.S.  Prisoners from around the country participated in the September 9th national prisoner strike, the first of it's size and scope that we've seen.  This event mobilized individual prisoners and also sprang from groups like the Free Alabama Movement and it's sister pushes in other carceral states, Anarchist Black Cross chapters, the Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee, or IWOC, of the Industrial Workers of the World labor union and also by just lots of unaffiliated prisoners.  Now, we have what could be called a hard Law and Disorder administration in the White House talking about increasing funding and support for cops, further militarizing the border and terrorizing residents, reviving the 1980's style war on drugs and other repressive actions.  In this context, it feels necessary for those who have a different vision of the world to push back and keep pushing as we were under Obama, under Bush & before. More on IWOC can be found at https://incarceratedworkers.org and more about public call for the strike can be found at IAmWeUbuntu.com Soooooo many Announcements But first, we have a bunch of announcements we wanted to share with you.  If you have things you want announced on the show, send us an email and we may include it! Firstly, if you follow the show on twitter, we're shifting the show's account over to @StrawFinal.  If you're on that or other, despicable forms of social media, consider checking us out for announcements about the show, about related projects and for the occasional anti-social, cat memes. Kevin "Rashid" Johnson in transit An update on the case of Kevin "Rashid" Johnson from http://rashidmod.com :

"Supporters have received word that Kevin “Rashid” Johnson was picked up by Virginia officials and removed from Clements Unit on Thursday, June 23rd. He is no longer being held by Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Thanks to so many people phoning Virginia Interstate Compact Supervisor Terry Glenn, we have found out that Rashid is now in Florida at a “reception facility”. However, we do not know where that is, if he can receive mail there, or where he will end up. We will keep you informed as we find out more, and in the meantime will be asking people to phone Glenn back on Monday. Rashid is Minister of Defense of the New Afrikan Black Panther Party (Prison Chapter); he is a Virginia prisoner organizer and revolutionary communist. As a result of his organizing he has been repeatedly transferred out of state, under a setup called the “Interstate Compact” which is used to remove rebellious prisoners and exile them to locations where they have no friends, support, etc. For the past four years Rashid has been held in Texas, where he has been beaten, threatened, had his property confiscated,  been set up on bogus infractions, and more — nonetheless, he used his time there to forge connections with other prisoners and to write a series of powerful exposés about violence, medical neglect, abuse, and murder in the Texas prison system. Transfers can be opportunities for prison officials to arrange for violence and abuse. Rashid was beaten when he was first brought to Texas, and lost much of his property at the time. Outside supporters and people concerned about prisoners’ rights and basic human dignity need to make sure this does not happen again!" Kevin "Rashid" Johnson's support site suggests people call the following prison employee to support Rashid, and there's a simple script for calls available at http://rashidmod.com: Mr. Terry Glenn, Interstate Compact Supervisor Virginia Department of Corrections P.O. Box 26963 Richmond, VA 23261-6963 Phone: (804) 887-7866 Fax: (804) 674-3595 QTLUG & VPNs When this show is over, consider bringing your linux or soon-to-be linux laptop, tablet, phone or whatever device over to Firestorm for the QTLUG.  A linux and open source software enthusiasts' meetup. Asheville Queer & Trans Linux User Group (QTLUG, pronounced "Cutie Lug") aims to provide a welcoming environment for queers, trans folks, women and others who want to explore technology and receive support from peers. QTLUG meets monthly and can be contacted at qtlug@tuta.io .  Today, June 25th at 3:30pm EST there'll be a VPN clinic, where attendees will be helped to set up Virtual Private Networks, or VPNs, on their devices.  Little to no experience necessary! Self-Protection Class Today at 4 to 6pm, and every Sunday, in Haw Creek Park at 40 Avon Rd in Asheville there will be a self-protection class taught by folks at Mountain Forge.  This class is informed by Combat Systema and other tendencies. J20 benefit with Thou Tonight, on June 25th at 7pm at the Pinhook in Durham, NC, there'll be a benefit concert to raise funds for J20 defendants, those swept up in the kettle on January 20th in D.C. during the protests against the inauguration. Bands playing include the New Orleans, anarcho-doom band THOU as well as Bad Friends and Slime. Info Session on Stonewall On Tuesday June 27th, the other Tranzmission in Asheville will be hosting An Information Session downstairs at the Pack Library in Downtown AVL from 6-8pm.  "Learn about the Miss Major, Marsha P Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. Myka Johnson from TQPOC, Charlotte (Queer Trans People of Color, Charlotte) will teach us about the leaders who kicked off the modern day LGBTQ movement, trans people of color!" DIY Screen Printing workshop On Wednesday, June 28th, you can attend a DIY Screenprinting workshop// Taller de serigrafía from 7-8:30pm at the Kairos West community center, behind Firestorm at 610 Haywood Rd in West Asheville. Bring a blank, light colored tshirt to print on! Trouble #4: There Is No Justice... Just Us On Friday, June 30th at 7:30pm, there'll be a showing of the 30 minute, 4th installment of TROUBLE, the new serial documentary series from sub.Media.   This episode has a focus on Repression and Movement Defense with examples around support for Fernando Barcenas in Mexico, defense of water defenders from the #NoDAPL struggle, support for #J20 defendants, La Fuga anti-carceral organizing across Chile, Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee about U.S. prison strikes and more. This'll be followed by a conversation based on prompts from the film makers.   Prison Books packaging On Saturday July 1st and every following Saturday, Asheville Prison Books Project will be hosting a weekly book packaging and letter writing event in the back of Downtown Books & News, 67 N Lexington Ave, Asheville.  APBP sends free books and letters to prisoners around the South Eastern U.S. Stonewall Folk Punk concert Also on July 1st in Asheville, the other Tranzmission will be hosting Folk Punk Transtravaganza at the members-only bar, Broadways from 7-10pm. Performances by  Gullible Boys, Bless Your Heart, Brynn Estelle and ATL's wWaylon.   NVDA training against Coal Ash & Pipelines On Sunday July 2nd, there'll be a Non Violent Direct Action training camp from 9am to 5pm hosted by Claire and Coleman in preparation for a protest on July 4th against the Duke Energy coal-ash pit and Atlantic Coast Pipeline that Duke is investing in.  The action is entitled "Lake Julian Action: Independence From Fossil Fuels".  The action camp will take place at 406 Overlook Rd Extension in Arden. There's also a request on that fedbook page for fundraising for the direct action. Blue Ridge ABC letter wriitng Letters save lives! Join Blue Ridge ABC each month for an evening of solidarity with incarcerated comrades. Celebrate their birthdays by sending words of encouragement and support. From 5-7:30pm at Firestorm Books & Coffee,  more info on the group at BRABC.Blackblogs.Org Needle Exchange July 4th falls on a Tuesday and every Tuesday at 1:30pm, the Steady Collective, a harm reduction project in Asheville, does it's Needle Exchange at Firestorm, 610 Haywood Rd.  Show up if you need clean needles, information on Narcan, or wanna start helping out!  They'll also be at the Haywood Street Congregation, 297 Haywood St in downtown from 10am to 3pm every Wednesday. July 4th Critical Mass Bike Parade Also on July 4th, from 5:30pm to 9pm, there will be an Anti-Nationalist Critical Mass Bike Ride and bike parade in Asheville.  Leaving from Montford Park Place, near between Panola and Cumberland, the ride will be a reasonable distance at a reasonable pace to allow more participation and will return to the park for cool-down, vegan popsicles, or vice lollies as they may be called in the U.K., plus speakers, info and maybe music.  From the announcement:     "Gather with us on July 4th to demonstrate resistance to nationalism and the american empire's history of genocide, slavery and ecological devastation. Especially in the present climate of rising white nationalism, attacks on indigenous sovereignty, and disregard for impending climate disaster, we reject this holiday and its gratuitous flag-waving propaganda. Instead, we'll celebrate collective resistance by taking the streets in a critical mass bike ride through downtown. Show your opposition to war and eco-devastation in this pedal-powered parade!" More on this event and other local events to WNC, check out http://avlcommunityaction.com Anarchist Summer Camp, Register by July 5th! The Institute for Advanced Troublemaking, which is "a small collective of long time anarchist organizers seeking to create a lasting movement education hub in the Northeast of the so-called US", is hosting an anarchist summer camp which will be held August 11th – 18th in Worcester, MA this year. Some information about the group from their website "The I.A.T. aims to raise collective capacity to target our enemies at the systemic level with effective direct action and campaign work. As Trump’s presidency spurs a swell of anarchist organizing and renewed interest in anti-state anti capitalist perspectives, we want to escalate by building skills in direct action, creating movement infrastructure, and community organizing for new anarchists. We also want to bring experienced organizers together to innovate strategies and tactics for our contemporary context. Rather than an activism 101, our intention is to cultivate deeper understanding and praxis of anarchist organizing among people who are already doing some of that work." The main idea is to build on the social and political potential of events like conferences and bookfairs to expand what is possible in this upcoming era in which it feels increasingly vital to have a vibrant and adaptive anarchist praxis. You can see more information about this event at https://advancedtroublemaking.wordpress.com/ which will include a three part presentation by some past interviewees about Burn Down The American Plantation! Registration ends on July 5th, and will prioritize "people of marginalized identities including POC, working class, trans or gender nonconforming, those with dis/abilities, LGBTQI, and women, but recognize that many of these may not be visibly apparent". When There Is No 911  On Thursday, July 6th to 9th from 9am to 5pm each day in Knoxville, TN, there will be a workshop entitled "When There Is No 911: Emergency Care".  This will be hosted by Mountain Forge "Learn the skills for the Right Now emergencies. There is no time to google for the answer, you can't consult your mentors, the stars, or your power animal, you need to act NOW ! Now what? Skills that will help us to take care of ourselves and each other. This class will start you off in the fundamental skill of emergency care in urban, suburban, rural, wilderness, and disaster (short, long, and very long ) emergency situations." More info, including the location and the requisite pre-registration, can be found at their fedbook page. BK Punk Rock Karaoke If you're in Brooklyn on July 14, consider the Punk Rock Karaoke benefit for Certain Days political prisoner calendar.  The karaoke will take place from 9:30pm til 12:30am at the Pine Box Rock Shop at 12 Gratton st in Brooklyn. Meet Your Local Redneck Back in Asheville, Carolina Mountain Redneck Revolt will be having a public event in Carrier Park (220 Amboy Rd) on July 16th from 12 noon to 4pm. This'll be a meet and greet with the local chapter in the hopes of networking, discussion of community engagements, Redneck Revolt praxis and more.  This is a potluck with veg options, and it's suggested you bring sides to share. Playlist

Check out this episode!

[wipbigbang]

2019 Schedule + FAQ

Schedule

All times are by 8:59pm CST. Convert time zones.

This year we also have a Google calendar you can subscribe to with the schedule.

Sign-ups Begin- March 23rd Sign-ups Close- April 13th Check In #1- April 20th Check In #2- May 11th Snippets Due- May 25th Art Claims Begin- May 29th Check In #3- June 8th Check In #4- June 22nd Rough Drafts Due- July 6th Posting Claims Begin- July 10th Check In #5- July 13th Posting Claims Ends- July 20th Final Drafts/Art Due- July 27th Posting- July 27th

FAQ

What is the WIP Big Bang?

Good question! This is a Big Bang with one goal in mind: to clean out your drafts folder. These are stories that were unfinished for whatever reason, that authors returned to and completed, and the art that goes with them!

Do I need a Livejournal/Dreamwidth/AO3/etc. account to participate?

No! You don’t have to have an account on anything to participate, though you will need to have somewhere to post your finished work. Having one or more accounts will help for you to follow what is going on with the bang (we crosspost to Livejournal, Dreamwidth, Tumblr, and Twitter at the moment), but they are not required to participate. You can always leave comments anonymously or with an opensource ID.

Will I get emails about the bang?

We do send out some emails, mostly for snippets and art claims and to ensure communication between authors and artists, but please do NOT rely on getting an email to remind you of due dates. We currently do not keep an updated email list of participants, so we only send individual emails as needed rather than mass emails.

However, email is the fastest way to communicate with the mods. If you have any questions or are having trouble communicating with your artist/author, please do email us! We will do our best to respond quickly.

Is there a minimum word count?

7,500 words, but the sky's the limit, right?

What do you mean by minimum word count to enter?

This is a WIP Big Bang, therefore we ask you to have at least 500 words of your story drafted when you enter. It's okay if you have posted a few chapters of your fic already (you never know when the muse deserts you, after all), we just require you to refrain from posting more until posting begins here.

Is there anything not allowed?

As long as you wrote it and you want to finish it, you're welcome to participate. Just bear in mind that original work is only allowed on AO3 if it has a fannish connection and might make it hard for artists to work with. But we'll make a dedicated post for that if there will be any.

What are 'Check Ins’?

These are a way for us to see what you've been up to and for you to make sure you're still on track. It will give you a little nudge/reminder if you need it, but they are not compulsory.

What are the snippets requirements?

In order to allow the artists to make art for the story they claimed, we require you to supply three snippets from your fic, between 500 – 1500 words each. The snippets will be sent to the artist after they have claimed your story. They're to help the artist match your story for artwork the best way he or she possibly can.

What are the rough drafts requirements?

For the rough drafts, stories should be at least 80% complete. You will not have to turn them in to us, just assure us that you are at that point. Anything less is at the discretion of the mods and those authors should speak to one of the mods asap.

What is, and do I need, a beta?

A beta is basically a person who goes over your work to make sure that there are no spelling/grammatical errors and they can even be of assistance in helping you with story lines, etc. It is highly recommended that a beta looks over your work before posting.

Where can I post my fic/art?

Stories and art can be posted to your own personal journal,Tumblr, ff-net, AO3, or wherever you like. For those of you with AO3 accounts, we will set up a collection that will go live on the day of the posting. Also, we've enabled posting to the comm (Livejournal and Dreamwidth) for members. We will post a template for posting artwork and stories to the comm closer to the posting date.

If you don’t currently have an AO3 account but would like one, you can contact the mods for an invitation code to see if they have any available. You can also add yourself to the AO3 Invites Request queue.

How do I know when to post?

Posting will be tiered; you'll each get your own posting date that you and your artist will decide on together. There will probably be two fics, plus art, posting per day between July 27th and August 24th. The post with date claims will go up on June 10th and you'll have to choose your date by July 20th.

If you want to post your story in chapters on AO3 or your own blog (or wherever you usually post), you may do so starting July 20th. However, posting has to be finished by your chosen posting date to the comm. One of the things we're hoping to do with the posted dates is to give everybody on the comm a little bragging time in the spotlight. You know, "this story was incomplete for this long, but I finished this sucker." If you don't have time to post on your chosen posting date, you can queue up a post ahead of time and we can post it on the date you picked. Either way works for us. Art will be due on the chosen posting date to the comm.

Is there a minimum/maximum requirement for my art?

There is no strict minimum, but we do ask artists to remember that the authors are writing a minimum of 7,500 words and your artwork should reflect that. You can do anything you like, including banners, wallpapers, icons, mixes, vids, gif sets, picspams, etc. Suggested guidelines for art are 500x500px (or equivalent of smaller pieces like banner + spacers, cover + icons, etc.) for traditional art, digital art, and manips; 2 minutes for vids; 10 songs + cover art for mixes; and 6 images for gif sets and picspams. We also ask that when you are in contact with the author, you work with them to see if there is anything specific they would like (i.e. a wallpaper). The art is your work, but having ideas doesn't hurt!

What are 'art claims'?

The claims are when anonymous summaries of the story go up for artists to choose from. It is based on a 'first come, first served' basis and artists may choose up to three potential stories (in case their first choice is unavailable). If there are more stories than artists, there will be a second round of claims wherein artists may choose a second story to work with. In the event that there are more artists than stories, the remaining artists may choose a story to work with and those stories will have two artists working independently of each other.

If a fic up for claiming is rated explicit (R, NC-17, etc.), please only claim the story if you are over 18 years of age. Some authors may be uncomfortable working with underage artists on explicit works. We do not verify ages in any way for the bang, so this is solely on the honor system.

Can I get an extension?

Community extensions may be given in the event that the majority of the authors/artists need one. They may also be given individually under certain circumstances, but this must be discussed with the mods and will only be a short extension for posting. If you are certain that you won’t be able to finish your story in time, please let us know by May 25th.

What do I do if I have problems or concerns about my author/artist?

Sometimes authors and artists do not get along and this may cause problems with working together. If this happens to be the case with you, please email the mods and this will be dealt with immediately so that everyone has a chance to have fun at WIP Big Bang!

Can I drop out?

We have high hopes that everybody who signs up can actually finish the round and share in the joy of the reveal with us, but real life can unfortunately get in the way and we completely understand! If you feel like you just cannot finish in time and no amount of assistance from us can help you, just let us know via this link by May 25th (if at all possible).

Is it possible to be banned?

We do have a banned users list. We hope to use this to encourage participants who are having issues to communicate with the mods. We want to help you! The way the ban works is that participants, either authors and artists, will be banned for dropping out without notifying a mod. This means that anyone who has not posted or talked to a mod by the time the posting period ends will be banned. Dropping out is not in and of itself a banning offense, so please do not panic if you have to drop out! We understand that there are many reasons you may need to drop, and we want to work with you.

Bans will last one round or until the issue is resolved, whichever comes first. To resolve a ban, authors will have to finish and post the story they signed up with and artists will have to finish and post the art for the story they claimed. Three bans will result in a permanent ban from the bang.

I have a question/concern that’s not mentioned here.

If you need help you can always contact a mod (@voldiebuns or @biffelderberry) and we will do our best to make sure that you get your story/art finished. The best and fastest method of contact is through our email, wipbigbang@gmail.com.