#have a good day! happy year of the dragon! that ursula k le guin quote about the divine rights of kings!

[b4kuch1n]

small update! much less sick now, fully on the mend. the comic's literally 3/4 done but I will not be posting it (along with all the other s&co stuff Ive been doodling) this week, in accordance with the global strike. I'll be finishing up and rounding out the rest of the e-sim donation comms instead, as well as highlighting similar drives and other fundraising efforts. thank you for your time

[gabessquishytum]

Ten Books to Know Me By!

Tagged by @honeyteacakes! I really loved your list of books, I saw the scarlet pimpernel on there and did a happy scream!

1. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott

This was a formative book for me throughout my childhood and adolescence. I must have read it almost 10 times. I struggle to read it now (some parts just hit too close to home for me) but I hope one day that I’ll be able to return to this wonderful novel.

2. Daughter of Time - Josephine Tey

This book altered the course of my life, no kidding. If you love history or true crime this book is seriously for you. It will definitely make you rethink everything you know about the way history is written, the way historical individuals are portrayed and why stories are so important.

3. Persuasion - Jane Austen

All of Austen’s novels have impacted me massively, but this one is my favourite. The way that romantic love is portrayed in this book is so beautiful to me, the way people’s personal flaws are portrayed as something that can be forgiven and accepted. This is a very hopeful book, and it is also an incredible portrayal of what it’s like to live with anxiety.

4. Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman

I love all of Neil’s stuff, but this one is probably my favourite. It was the first of his solo novels that I read (after Good Omens). It’s fun, imaginative, terrifying. I fell in love with the idea of urban fantasy thanks to this book, and I think it was super influential on the development of my own writing.

5. Santaland Diaries - David Sedaris

I love the combination of cynicism and sentiment in this book. It's funny, it's real (if a little overexaggerared at times). It also makes me feel better about myself and my struggles with employment. Plus, David Sedaris was probably one of the first gay people I was ever aware of.

I also worked as a Christmas elf in a store (not Macy's, unfortunately) so I feel a forever connection to this book.

6. The Wizard of Earthsea - Ursula K. Le Guin

This book confounded me when I first read it as a child. I didn't like the main character, I found the plot complicated. But returning to it years later, I fell in love with it. It's a book about becoming a better version of yourself, about fucking up majorly and trying to put things right. And about love and friendship. Plus there are further books in the series, and a dragon. What's not to love?

7. War of the Foxes - Richard Siken

I know a lot of people have read Crush, and while I absolutely love it, War of the Foxes is a gentler piece of work which explores some of the same themes from a mature perspective. There are some absolutely beautiful poems in this collection and I really recommend it for anyone who wants to contemporary poetry!

8. 163 Days - Hannah Hodgeson

Another favourite poetry collection! This is a beautiful, unique piece of work that discusses life limiting illness, hospital, and what it's like to be disabled in an able bodied world. It takes a lot to make me cry but this book moves me so much and brings me so much joy, too, because it exists! And I can feel just a little bit less invisible because of it.

9. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons

The funniest, most ridiculous book, and an absolutely brilliant satire of British countryside life. I quote this book ALL the time. It is my lifetime ambition to own a cow called Useless.

10. The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller

Another formative book which did so much for me as a young queer person. The fact that this book was "mainstream" and loved by so many people (including people who may not have naturally been queer allies) made the difficult conversations easier. It was really important for me to be able to bring this book home without having to hide.

Thank you for this opportunity to talk about books! I'm tagging @the-art-student-in-221c @aquilathefighter @valeriianz @ineffablyendless @pintobordeaux @reallyintoscience @notallsandmen @akhuna01 but feel don't feel like you have to do it! ❤

[renecdote]

20, 37, and 53?

20. Post a snippet of a WIP you’re working on.

For those first few seconds when he wakes up—he’s safe. It doesn’t hurt. He’s in LA, Afghanistan was years ago, the trauma still lingering (always lingering) but the reality far away.

Then Eddie shifts and—pain, dulled but insistent, fuzzy with the unmistakable weight of drugs—it all comes rushing back. Charlie. Buck. The gunshot. Blood. Pain.

Buck.

Eddie forces his eyes open.

“Buck,” he rasps. He needs—where’s Buck?

Someone takes his hand, leans over him, and—Ana. It’s Ana. Eddie should be happy about that, maybe, but he needs Buck. Buck was hurt? There was blood and he was crying and—

“Buck,” he manages again, weaker, the effort to speak heavy in his chest.

“He’s okay,” Ana says. “He’s okay, Eddie, I promise.”

From a 4x14 coda that may or may not get finished one day

37. Most inspirational quote you’ve ever read or heard that’s still important to you.

I'm not sure if it's the most inspirational, but a quote that really stuck with me from when I first read it is:

As for ‘Write what you know,’ I was regularly told this as a beginner. I think it’s a very good rule and have always obeyed it. I write about imaginary countries, alien societies on other planets, dragons, wizards, the Napa Valley in 22002. I know these things. I know them better than anybody else possibly could, so it’s my duty to testify about them. — Ursula K. Le Guin

Le Guin is a huge inspiration in general, but I love this quote in particular. 'Write what you know' always annoyed me a bit as writing advice, in part because I think it gets misinterpreted a lot. It doesn't mean you should only write things that you have personal experience, it just means don't write from a place of ignorance. And Le Guin's quote is wonderful because

53. What does writing mean to you?

Asking the hard questions 😂 For me, one part of writing is catharsis. It helps me really think about what I'm thinking/feeling and process it. Sometimes it's about escapism, but most of the time that's where I turn to reading instead of writing because I can't just turn myself off when writing. And it's not just about processing deep, traumatic things. Sometimes it's just... looking at the stars and feeling how human such an action is, or getting caught in the rain and writing out my irritation instead of complaining to someone about it.

The other part of writing is about connection. Being able to create something that resonates with other people, that makes them feel things. There are a heap of quotes out there about stories being an important part of being human (although I can't remember any of them off the top of my head) and that really resonates with me. Writing is a way of sharing things I love, of connecting with people over things that we love. With fic in particular, it's a way of rounding out canon, filling in gaps or exploring alternatives—taking what I love and making it more.

I don't want to say that writing is just a tool for these things because it's definitely more than that, but not in a way I know how to put into words. I can't imagine not writing. I just feel like I have so many words and stories inside of me and I have to get them out, even if I never share them with anyone.

Ask game for writers