#hugo never got to be real be hes real to ME

[takeyourhands]

i miss my wife (i say about a piece of concept artwork)

[drchucktingle]

I watched the 2004 Klaus Nomi documentary and his story reminded me of how you talk about creativity and being genuine. The interviewees talked about how the first time he performed with the persona Klaus Nomi at a vaudeville-style variety show in NYC in the 70s, everyone was stunned. Several of the people describing this event mentioned how the show was meant to be ironic, everyone was doing nudge-wink joking acts and goofing around, the audience/scene was apparently very cynical, but he got up and took it seriously. He was earnest, he was himself, and after a frozen moment of silence, everyone went crazy.

THANK YOU yes this is very reminiscent of what the journey of my career has been like, and this particular trot makes me very proud. all of the buckaroos who mean a lot to me artistically, from the andys (andy kaufman and andy warhol) to the davids (david byrne and david lynch) have had similar ways from 'strange' outsider to legend.

was talkin with some buds about how i think there is possibly a connection between this and my autism trot. there is a sort of ability to see a path that nobody else takes but say to yourself 'that makes sense to me, i do not really care if nobody else takes this path'. others can be bogged down with the 'right' way of doing something

so really being ridiculed like i have is this beautiful artistic TROJAN HORSE, where initially very few people take you seriously but they still let you in. they let you trot around in their brain for a while and very slowly they start to get it.

i think it also goes to show how much art is in PERCEPTION of the creator (i talk on this a lot already but this is very good example). look at something like SPACE RAPTOR BUTT INVASION getting nominated for hugo award. EVERYONE said some variation of 'this is obviously a joke and making fun of gay people and autistic people and erotica itself' and on and on. buds on the left said this, buds on the right said this. it was VICIOUS. and all the while i said 'no this is real serious art and i am doing something that goes outside of the way you see the medium itself' and that just made people MORE MAD.

but now looking back, when i presently have award winning best selling books from major publishers and so on, it is easier to see that the erotic tingleverse, as a whole, is a valid piece of art and expression that resonates with a lot of people.

really the only thing that changed was the perception of ME as a creator

anyway. i am proud of my art and where i sit in the world of artists. i like being a sort of chaotic queer punk rock force. so i cannot complain really

i will say this though. this is all a PERFECT example of how queer and neurodivergent artists have to go above and beyond to even get basic respect from both the left and the right

the years of saying 'i am serious. i am real' the years of taking vitriol, or being constantly made fun of are PERSONALLY okay with me. i am a tough buckaroo. in a strange way, that story is kind of part of the art in itself. HOWEVER we still have to acknowledge that a straight neurotypical person would NEVER have to constantly prove themselves like i have.

i dream of a world where queer and autistic artists are not harassed by one side and gatekept by the other, and believe it or not i think we are moving in a good direction. there is still a LOT OF WORK to go though

fortunately, i think there are easy ways to help. you can support outsider artists you like by reading or listening or just buying their art and puttin it on your shelf (PREORDER LUCKY DAY BY CHUCK TINGLE HERE). but ALSO, if you are an outsider yourself JUST CREATING IS SO POWERFUL. build and craft and speak your unique way into the universe. FILL THIS SPACE WITH YOUR UNIQUE WAY. THAT is how we prove love is real.

see that path that makes since to you but nobody else is willing to try? take it

[mrsparrasblog]

Randome TF141 headcanons

Some of them are weird. But I just know.

Price:

Never go to the toilet after him

has a hut in the forest for fishing but mostly ends up fucking a local in there

because this man is a whore

he is still the most loyal when he is in a relationship

his favorite food is Shepard's pie or red jelly but not the green one and no one understands why

has so hard Daddy issues that he fathers everyone

uses AXE dark temptation to get rid of the cigar smell in his house

smells like Tom Ford tobacco vanilla

his love language is gift - giving and acts of service

NSFW:

he is a munch everyone knows it but still he is the biggest munch

Breeding kink

He is a whore but just because he thinks he doesn't deserve more than a one nighstands , please give this man a soft wife to dot on - preferably me

he hates Anal sex but riming is okay in his cards

says he is straight but bottomed Simon and Johnny on many occasions and likes to get blowies from or favorite pretty boy :)

prefers hair down there

Ghost:

He only Shops at Lidl you will never see him at Tesco or Sainsbury, even with all the coupons and tricks Lidl is cheaper. You will never see him somewhere else.

He hates London with all his heart, if there were a hate page for London he would be the admin. Dirty tube, bad football, and too many tourists.

He has a deep hate against a parrot, if parrots have zero haters he is dead.

Read Jane Austin and enjoyed it.

Has a book of stupid jokes in his apartment and laughs about them

When he is in love he is the cutest man alive, but somehow still creepy, he knows your favorite things in everything even your favorite underwear company even tho you never told anyone.

uses 5 - 1 shampoo .... from Lidl (still very keen on hygiene) 

NSFW 

He watches stepsiblings' porn unapologetically 

Has a mommy kink. I could go into heavy detail about it

He isn't a rough lover more of a service Dom 

Doesn't care about hair down there

Soap: 

He sometimes feels left out in his family, his siblings have children and "normal" jobs. His family doesn't see his lifestyle as something to be proud of

Except for his mom, he is such a momma boy but in a good way.

Was a sperm doner once (more than once) but only because he is a good guy with fertile genes 

His mohawk was an accident, he decided it looked "fresh" so it stayed.

Watches DC instead of Marvel...... why?

Uses Hugo Boss, bottled Night, got it from his grandma, and never used anything else

NSFW: 

Gaz was his BI awakening: after las Almas and the broken shoulder he couldn't wank himself properly, and he got so frustrated because he couldn't even sleep properly with a woman because of it, and he didn't just want to go to the Pub and say "Hey my shoulder is broken can you wank me". So in his half-drunk state, he asked Gaz. And after promising each other they would never talk about it, Kyle did help him. Johnny never cummed that fast. He isn't sure if it was because of Kyle's skilled hands, Kyle's fucking hot body, or that he didn't have a wank in two weeks. And when Kyle licked his cum that was his awakening that he likes men and Women. Of course, he returned the favor after he was healed:)

His favorite porn category is Woman Masturbating or Male Masturbating, everything that is solo is 100000 times better than "real porn".

He lost his Virginity very Young to an older Woman. Johnny always flexed about this, but this isn't a reason to flex.

When you sleep with him - you need to be on the pill because he is mister fucks so hard that every condom breaks.

He wears lingerie sometimes - he pulls it better off than some of us :(

cums way too fast but can last like 4-6 rounds 

loves tit fucking

Gaz: 

smells like Bleu de Chanel 

had a more expensive skincare routine than you 

he loves skincare 

He grew up with two moms.

He loves listening to Taylor Swift. No one can convince me otherwise.

Is deeply in love with me

He played Rugby in school. If he hadn't joined the Military, he would be a professional Rugby player.

Kyle was still somehow that awkward kid in class. Even needed to change the school because he got bullied.

NSFW:

He was disappointed in Johnny's cock sucking skills, but Price is a different breed.

can pull anyone and is mister give everyone an orgasm, not once in his life did he let his lover unsatisfied

had a foursome once when he was like 23, with three girls who were obsessed with him, and who can judge them

he is a guy who doesn't kiss and tell

his fav porn category is Anal Sex

has a CNC kink but is afraid to ask

is shaven down there but doesn't care if you are or not.

I have so much more ahhhh

[balrogballs]

Sorry I'm sure you've got a lot of questions about your post but please tell me how the publishers reacted to your explanation that the Elrond porn they thought you plagiarized was actually yours

OK I'm just going to answer this one and keep it pinned because I've got a good 6 people in my inbox all asking the same question and I refuse to explain this 6 times 😭😭😭

Tbh the biggest hurdle was not the "twas I that wrote the filth" bit, it was actually convincing them (they were all rather old) that I was not actually writing smut about Hugo Weaving, which if you think implies they genuinely assumed I was writing smut about the actor Hugo Weaving, whom I have never seen in anything except LotR and that one film where he flounces about in a frock, then you would be correct. May be partially my fault though because from what I remember, I replied to a reviewer with an A/N that said I really liked film Elrond but his hair sometimes made him look like a catholic schoolgirl, which they may have... misinterpreted I guess? 😭

So mainly I just had to convince them that I did not have a kink for that poor man, that the smut in question was written about two elves aka mythical creatures, that Hugo Weaving is not actually an elf, and that neither Elrond nor Lindir are real and thus cannot actually sue them.

They then asked me if there was any chance Hugo might sue them had the fics been discovered post publication, and thankfully, considering that man's entire attitude is "jesus fuck guys stop yapping about that goddamn elf he wasn't even that great" bless him, I could confidently say that he would be the last member of the LOTR cast to give a singular fuck about someone writing Tolkien smut, probably because he's put the word "elrond" on his perpetual block list.

But other than that it was all pretty normal, they just looked very surprised and obviously asked me to delete the profile but all in all iirc it went better than expected, except my poor agent, who was sitting there turning multiple colours of humiliation (sorry again V).

[mochidoie]

with you and i - lee haechan

listen to: summer nights by the millennial club and die right here by david hugo genre: fluff, hopelessly in love badboy!haechan wc: 938 warnings: written in lowercase only

a/n: this is for the anon that requested a pt 2 to all i see is you :)

"it's always so nice with you." you peer over at haechan, catching him totally staring at you already. "how do you do that?"

"do what?" he scoots a bit closer to you on the bench. the cotton sky remains above the both of you and in this world, only you and haechan exist.

"make me feel so happy." your pinkies lightly touch, as you lean into him playfully at the serious statement. your smile is so shy that it tugs at haechan's heartstrings.

he knew the exact date to take you on and it wasn't what you two did for it to be perfect. it was how he made you feel so incredibly special to him. he doesn't know why you finally gave him a chance, but he was so thankful.

while you two hung out, he was very conscious of the boundary that being friends set. nonetheless, this date changes how he normally treats you. he could finally show you just how loving he could be. just how much he was in love with you.

under this summer sunset with you, he couldn't believe he found a love he's been dreaming of. around you, he could barely breathe. there weren't many things in the world that makes lee haechan nervous or even the slightest concern.

but you should know, that you're the only one that makes his palms sweat and his heart to race a million beats per second. you're the only person he would drop everything for.

if you wanted him to stop such a dangerous lifestyle, he would. you just had to say it. say that you want him and he'd be at your side in a flash.

"this feeling doesn't have to end." haechan tries to poke the bear, trying to see how much you're willing to give to him. all he wants is to see that bright smile shining on your pretty face. and if he was greedy enough, he wanted to be the reason behind every one of them.

you shoot him a quick look, but a sigh escapes your lips. "i don't know if i could do this to you without feeling like you deserve more than me."

shaking his head, his right hand lands on your knee to soothe any doubt in your mind. "there is nothing else in this world worth more than you. i could die right now and i'd be satisfied that i got to spend a date with you in this lifetime."

"don't be dramatic." you laugh and shit, he can't hold back his own dreamy smile at your contagious charm. the way your head is thrown back and pure happiness under these pink skies.

"i'm not the most into theatrics, you know that." haechan opens his palm up for you to take it. secretly, he is wishing upon every star, blowing out every candle, tossing every penny into fountains that you'd hold his hand.

when you show signs of hesitation, haechan respects it. he wants you to come to him on your own. "i want you, y/n, not in any malicious way. i want you in the way where you'd look at me like i'm the love you've been waiting for."

the silence creeps up on the both of you. haechan's hand still faced palm up on your knee and you're staring up at the summer sky, choosing your next words very carefully.

you love haechan as much as the moon loved their sun, it's a connection that is hard to ignore. you've always been so focused on your career that love was an after thought. however, with the love that haechan makes you feel is whole and free. you didn't have to think about anything, but him.

"you are the love i've dreamt of." and the look in your eyes is more than mesmerizing, the combination of your words and gaze causes him to freeze in his place. "i never told you, but i was falling in love with you."

"was it the near death experience or my totally not trashed apartment?" he doesn't know why he's making these unserious comments right now, maybe the mood was feeling too stuffy and too real. he couldn't believe what you were saying to him.

you don't laugh this time, instead, your fingers intertwine with his as you accept his hold so willingly. your grip is tight and haechan can feel his chest explode with fireworks from this contact.

"it's the way you sacrifice and the deepness of your love." his pupils dilate and his heart thumps against his ribcage so hard that he knows you can hear it. the way you have with words is absolutely poetic and he'll find himself falling in love with you over and over again.

you see him through and through. his vulnerability to you is so raw, so open. it's as if the heat of the summer night fills his lungs and he can breathe so easily around you. just how do you do that?

"y/n, i promise that i'd keep you safe and most importantly, really happy." haechan kisses the back of your hand, sealing the promise with his lips. "we don't have to date if you don't want to, but just let me be there for you."

"hyuck, let me lay with you tonight." your graceful words strike him before he could continue. the breeze in your hair adds to this incredible vision of you, not that you aren't already a beautiful sight on your own.

"as you like." with you and him here together, these are the blissful moments that haechan knows love is real.

[rewritingcanon]

roxanne and hugo headcanons please 🤲🏿

NYEHEHEHEHE OKAY 😋

roxanne:

perfect mix between angelina and george looks-wise. she’s got her mum’s complexion, hair, eye colour, naturally straight teeth and crazy metabolism, but her smile is her dad’s, her eye shape is her dad’s, her hands are long and spindly like her dad’s, and she flaps them around constantly when she’s being dramatic and talking. she also laughs like him. but funnily enough shes shorter than both her parents and she has no idea why.

people think fred and james are the new pranksters because of their namesakes but dont let this fool you. roxanne claims title over this

no for real she is a menace and she is more fred weasley than her brother. which sometimes pisses him off but you can rarely stay mad at her even if she is a shit.

great quidditch player. is a beater. daydreams about hitting her opps with her bat during history of magic class as a preventative from falling asleep

hoards fake tattoos. LOVES THEM. like she’ll never get a real tattoo, but she loves the fake ones

laughs at men who confess their love to her but takes the women who confess to her seriously (she’s not into girls she just respects them more)

pranks her dad the most. then her dad pranks her. fred and angelina… run for cover…

had a situationship with some transfer from durmstrang and literally never lived it down from fred

only got close with rose at hogwarts. shes a year younger than rose and she’s shocked to find out she’s secretly likeable

her favourite uncle is percy— yeah you would never guess. but she loves hanging with people who act like they have a small stick up their butt— it’s more rewarding when she wrangles a laugh out of them. plus percy spoils her the most and she has a sneaking suspicion she is secretly is favourite niece.

people pay her to prank their opps. shes like a clown hitman.

exercised for like a week and got abs from it. everyone is upset. also. is a gym bro. probably the master herder of all the gym bros.

made a secret trolls account to troll people. thought she was so smart for mashing the two concepts together.

ate playdough when she was a kid and was disappointed with how it tasted.

master jinxer. for real, cover your ankles if you’re an opp

opps in general tremble

never fought much with her parents, which is really fucking strange. maybe its because fred fought with angelina and george a lot so roxanne sought unconsciously to balance that out, but she just never thought anything was that serious enough to fight over

but she DOES have fights with fred. sometimes they scrap in the middle of the common room and the reason will be because she chucked a piece of paper at him or something. then two seconds later after she’s got bruises up her legs and he’s literally got a black eye, they’re showing each other their memes.

she’s extremely close with both parents but her best friend is literally her mum and when she gets a letter from her mum at dinner at hogwarts she’ll shamelessly start celebrating and cheering.

“look guys my mummy replied to me!!” “didnt she literally write to you yesterday?”

had pink hair for a moment in time in fifth year and pretended it was on purpose (she meant for it to be red whoops)

hugo:

looks a lot like ron except has his mums bushy brown hair (because thats canon… i know.. crazy…). very freckley and has a deeper complexion but not like his mum’s (yea hes lightskin 💪). built short like his mum though, and rose makes fun of him until he wakes up randomly one morning and hes 6ft.

personality wise hes a mix between his parents. hes a lot like ron in the sense that hes made of dry humour and loyalty to his friends, but like hermione in that he gets exasperated easily and also possesses undying loyalty. now that i think about it, hugo is just extremely loyal

definition of little freak. you know how as the line of cousins gets younger and younger and the youngest of them all is always just a weirdo? yeah, hugo is the youngest.

has a butt indentation on his bed from sitting on it and playing roblox all day. wont move from bed until he gets banned on the servers and is forced to touch grass

but when he touches grass he is all for the grass. rose has his ass on life360 and suddenly hes taken a train up to bumfuck nowhere to go on a spontaneous nature hike. suddenly he’s signed up to a chess club and queen gambits his way to the top spot. suddenly hes in a random protest and he doesnt even know what hes there for he just likes the energy

is called “snotty rat boy” in rose’s contacts

basically is a punching bag for all older siblings but is numb to the abuse and just accepts it (its all well-meaning and full of love)

is aroace but LOVES valentines. he goes all out to get cards for all his friends and family and makes them little trinkets (he can’t buy them anything bcuz hes a broke baby and has too much pride to ask his mum for money only to get her something thats worth less) and plans platonic dates and gets very offended when they have to cancel to spend time with their actual romantic partners. he once rang his mate up to ask for a refund for his time (he was joking but hugo is dramatic as hell and needs to feel loved at all times or else he will literally die)

is the main character of a cartoon network show. i just dont know what..

ipad kid vibes

cant cook anything but really good homemade pizza for some strange reason???

confirmed he was aroace when he was playing truth or dare with his gryffindor buddies (because hugo is definitely a gryffindor) late at night and got dared to french kiss some guy. after he had to flee the scene and brush his teeth out to get that gross taste away, and yeah, he had his suspicions beforehand but this basically confirmed it. and every time he recalls the feeling of kissing someone like That he gets this thousand yard stare on him… one would think hes having war flashbacks….

despite not wanting to get married like That, he wants to be a dad when hes older. He has a list of baby names on his notes app (or wizard equivalent), but they’re all shitty things you would name an oc or a sim, not a real person. shit like “ebony” or “crystal” or “axel.” he showed his list to lily luna once and she laughed and called them stripper names so he got mad and kept it very secretive from then on.

genius chess player. wizard beth harmon who?

is a vegan. it started as a joint pack with hermione (ron and rose said “fuck no”) but hermione caved after six months because she cant stay away from coffee. hugo persisted though

is the only one allowed to ruthlessly rip into and bully the shit out of rose. im not kidding, her parents cant even do it. theyre too scared. meanwhile hugo will walk past her in the hallway and say “oh you look uggo today” with a deadass straight face

thinks about moving out one day and having his own family and thinks about rose moving out and having her own family and how that family will be her primary family and he will be secondary family and how they will have to leave their parents one day— he instantly breaks down into tears. hes just a baby bird guyz plz!!!

does not have any parent hes closer to. ron spoils him more but also scolds him more. hermione rewards him less but lets him get away with more. it balances out.

very close with lily luna so when rose and albus had their falling out they just gossiped about it the entire time. lily would tell him how albus cried for three hours straight during lunch and hugo would tell her how rose started to fixate on their shower and started deep cleaning it the muggle way at four in the morning like she was possessed

is james’ godbrother but keeps forgetting it 💀

not bad at quidditch but never took a huge liking to it. likes watching more than playing and just agrees with whatever his dad’s opinions are on the teams (indoctrination)

able to cast a patronus before rose learned which had her tweak out a lot.

ive written tonnes…. so i will leave it there lol

[lazycats-stuff]

Hey, I'd love to request Jason x big brother reader, before Bruce adopted Jason he had a big brother who took care of him, but one day the reader kinda vanished and money just randomly appeared near Jason. The reader made some sketchy deal with someone in exchange for Jason to be taken care of. The reader was an experiment and got turned into some sort of monster (still a human silhouette but just a bit different, memories wiped, can't speak etc.) and years later, when Jason is red hood and on a mission with the batfam, they encounter the reader. Jason remembers the reader through some jewelry he gifted them, and he tries and helps the reader remember who they are.

My poor Jason. And the poor reader. Also, why am I writing such short pieces? What is happening with me?

Summary: (Y/N) makes sure that Jason is taken care of. But there is a catch.

Warnings: experiments, not the good kind, monsters, but not in the detail, Jason doesn't remember (Y/N).

Jason looked at a photo from his childhood. He was sitting on the bed in his apartment, looking at the photo from his childhood. It was Jason, but way before Bruce adopted. Years even.

The photo came in a brown envelope, seemingly out of nowhere. It was in his PO box, just waiting in there. At first, Jason thought that it was dangerous and that it had something like anthrax, but after closer inspection, the envelope was fine.

He didn't know who this boy was. They were happy in the photo, just the two of them. Smiles and happiness. One of the rare moments in the Todd household.

But now he wondered where this person was. Where did he vanish? Why did he vanish? When?

But Jason remembered that once the man left, he was... Taken care off? There seemed to be some extra money in the Todd household and that might have been a first. Some extra money. Huh.

But Jason remembered that thing were better for a while. It was somewhat stable and he didn't worry about being hungry or anything like that.

And then Bruce adopted him. Well, Batman was there first so technically, Batman adopted him. Bruce had to personas. Batman and Bruce Wayne.

What does he even do with this? Who sent him this? Should he talk to Bruce? Dick?

He groaned, hands going through his own hair. What to do now?

Jason sighed. There was a mission. Something about human experiments. Jason shuddered at that. And the worst of all? They were in Gotham, under a guise.

Hugo fricking Strange.

Jason never liked him. He thought he was insane and full of himself. Also, he suggested the idea of Arkham City and that, according to Jason was the dumbest idea ever. A prison in the middle of the city?

Hell no.

The facility was kind of empty, if you disregard the dead bodies of what Jason thought were failed experiments. He scowled underneath the mask, gun in his hand, just ready to strike.

This was a disaster waiting to happen. Something out of a horror movie, but Gotham was a horror movie in real life. A psychotic clown, egoistical man who is obsessed with riddles, insane mob boss, a human crocodile who is nuts-

A crash from one of the rooms made everyone jump. Batman didn't, he just walked slower. Jason pointed the gun towards the sound of the crash.

Who knows what was going to come out of the corner. Jason thought about the fact that they were going to die, because only stupid people would go to a facility where there were human experiments.

" You know everyone, I will say it. This is how white people die in horror movies. "

" What about Robin? " Nightwing asked.

" Robin would scare off the monsters. " Jason said, smirking at the TTs he got in return.

He pointed his gun towards the hall, seeing a normal human here. But it wasn't really normal. It was the man from the photo he got. But who was he?

Jason's eyes fell down onto the necklace he was wearing. Oh my God.

" (Y/N)... You are here?! " Jason screamed out, putting his gun back into the holster.

The others looked at one another. Who is (Y/N)?

" It's me, Jason. " Jason started, taking his helmet off.

" What the hell? " Tim wondered out loud.

" This is my older brother. I now know you vanished. You sold your soul, your body to protect me... Oh my God. " At this point Jason raised his hands up.

" B, we have to take him back. (Y/N), can you say something? " Jason prompted.

(Y/N) was ready to attack, but Jason was quick to jump at him and knock him out.

" I have to find out what happened. I have to... " Jason said, looking at his older brother.

" We will. Don't worry. But you need to explain to me what has happened with him. "

[silverview]

amazing bracelets @spcvarney made for me, i love them so much 😭💕💕💕 had a great time again at s/f, got to see a bunch of people from here who were all so cool & lovely, i feel so lucky!!

reece & steve DID come out to sign things this time! we were told not to ask for selfies, so i just got my s9 script book signed by both of them. i asked reece if he'd had a good time & he looked up at me, smiled, and said yes he did, and thanks for coming. 🥹💗

there was also merch for sale in the theatre, and that poster i mentioned is s/f specific, but in a way that's not obvious until you've seen the play.

some further unorganised thoughts about the show + audio links below the cut, spoilers obviously ⚠️

new recordings added here (18-01) [edit 20-01-2025: removed the link] in case you want to compare & contrast (@lapis-lazuliie!) there were a few small changes & the scene change with the video screen was much smoother. i accidentally cut off the coda to the song at the very end in my haste to get to the stage door

in the opening sketch, there’s a reference to an 80s-style production of taming of the shrew. certainly a reference to the play where reece first laid eyes on steve. theatre at the heart of their relationship from the very beginning. it really is all about them and their love story

(when you know the twist in this bit, you notice that toby leaves when steve comes onstage, and then once s & r are onstage together, s just stares at r for a moment too long)

in general, i just love the shakespeare in it. love hamlet obviously and love the range of their theatrical references. i get emo about reece on gbbo “jokingly” griping that he’ll never get to play hamlet, because you know he thinks he'd smash it, and you know he knows he never will. and that he still slightly blames his comedy career for the fact he didn’t get to. and that it's specifically a dream that dies when you get too old. (“the most devastating moment in a young man’s life…”)

goudron & hugo are doing it blake & drew style. as in, here’s a creepy guy. here’s the methods he uses to sexually abuse his female patients. now here he is doing those same things to a man. now let’s not address the subtext of that ❤️ yay ❤️ i honestly am thinking about writing self-indulgent fic about them but not till after the run at least. OH AND the set for that whole bit is turquoise, like the trolley problem. alright.

they've changed that bit slightly so that when hugo comes back in, he's already in the chair, and doesn't need to be restrained. which makes much more sense, and it's clear they should have done it that way from the beginning, except force of habit and reece's need to be strapped to a chair made them try it the other way first.

sidenote, i need goudron carnally, i’m sorry. if i’m acting more than typically horny for steve, you know that’s why. i think the drastic & abrupt shift in fuckability levels from act 1 to act 2 doesn’t help. white coat, sleeve garters, moustache, brown hair.

speaking of clothes, reece as himself at the beginning was wearing smart brown shoes + smart trousers + pale blue shirt + soft grey sweater vest. as marcus at the end he's wearing a jacket over a turtleneck, very cute. also very cute as marcus in hugo's stripy pyjamas with a big cosy cardigan over the top. hugo has curly dark hair with a grey streak, and a big curly moustache that gets a laugh when he takes off his surgical mask.

the guest this time was kevin eldon! he did the line from zanzibar and reece went fully into the hokey cokey!!! i would post the clip but it is mostly just me laughing

i mentioned this briefly in my original post, but it really is crazy that they make it so obvious how len has written his real feelings/anxieties about the relationship into the kidnappers sketch. purely because like… lads YOU are sketch writers. you are making it very clear that YOU put your real feelings/anxieties about your relationship into your work. we knew this already but it's too much too much

it's easy to not tell bf what happens in the show (we're seeing it together late feb) but it is very VERY hard to not walk around the flat constantly singing tears of laughter

on the final night at the end steve really does need to just grab reece and kiss him

[the-himawari-otome]

[Shuuen no Virche] Birthday Short Story - Yves

The birthday celebration of a certain handyman

<Original post here>

･ﾟ･:,｡★ translation under the cut ★,｡･:･ﾟ

Mathis: H-Happy birthday, Yves!

Yves: Thanks, Mathis. And the rest of you guys— I can't believe you went through all the trouble to hold a dinner party just for me...

Adolphe: I mean, you're always helping us out after all. Although... you probably didn't need us to celebrate for you, huh?

Yves: Hey, that's not true. I'm super happy about it!

Adolphe: You say that, but...

*Baaam...*

Ankou: You can't help that thought when you see all the gifts from the townspeople piled up in the garden...

Lucas: Indeed. The moment I saw that huge amount of boxes, I thought you might be moving homes...

Hugo: Haha. He's a real natural charmer, isn't he?

Scien: Well, you won't be running low on supplies for a while.

Yves: Gosh, while I'm grateful for the gifts from the neighbourhood... it feels especially nice being celebrated by my precious friends.

Ankou: ...I see. Our princess and the others should be arriving shortly as well. Please enjoy today's party to your heart's content.

Lucas: I must say, it was surprising that Scien came to participate in the festivities.

Scien: Dahut was nagging me to bring over a birthday gift. I decided to have a drink and a bite to eat while I was at it.

Hugo: Isn't that what the person being hosted should say, not the host themselves...?

Yves: Now, now. Don't sweat the details. 'Tis the occasion, so let's all enjoy it together.

Mathis: That's right! I helped with the cooking too!

Mathis: Ah, but before that... Wouldn't it be better to give him his gifts first?

Lucas: Yes, good point. More guests will be coming later. Let's give him ours first, shall we?

Yves: Huh, you even brought presents? That's too much...

Hugo: Alright, I'll go first. —Happy birthday, partner. Eat this and stay your ridiculously energetic self from tomorrow on.

Yves: Thanks, Hugo. I'll be relying on you too! Is this... a fishbowl? ...And inside is— Woah, there's a fish I've never seen before!

Hugo: It's a big one, right? It's a special catch reeled in by the genius fisher, yours truly.

Yves: It looks like it'll be worth slicing up! I'll cook it up nice and tasty for us.

Hugo: About that. Eat it yourself. Alone. Seriously, by yourself. Down to the last crumb. There's no need to share it with me, got it?

Adolphe: (He's just making sure he doesn't suffer any harm himself...)

Ankou: Now then, as for the gifts from the others—

Lucas: Um. If I am not mistaken, it seems there are ominous sounds and fumes emanating from the gifts all of you are holding...

Adolphe: ...Yours is the same, isn't it?

Scien: It appears all of us had the same idea.

Mathis: I see, everybody brought fresh ingredients that Yves can cook!

Ankou: I-Indeed... However, we also prepared tangible items in addition to the ingredients...

Lucas: Oh my, to think our gifts would overlap to that extent.

Yves: Woah, woahhh...! Is this much okay!? I'm going to happily accept all of it, you know...!?

Adolphe: ...Well, it's fine as long as he's happy. Mine's a whetstone, so you can use it to maintain your sword.

Yves: Great, thanks! ...It really is wonderful to have people who are special to you celebrate your birthday.

Yves: I wonder if it's alright to be this happy. ...Won't God punish me later?

Scien: I won't, so don't worry.

Hugo: Haha. God guaranteed it. Don't fret, Yves.

Yves: ...I see. That's true. I hope I'll be able to continue to spend my birthdays together with everyone I care about.

Yves: And forever with her—who bound me to this fate.

*CLICK*

Yves: ! Hey, come on in. I was just thinking about you. Thanks for coming for my birthday.

Yves: Huh... a present? I see, you also—I appreciate it. ...Can I look inside?

Yves: ...! It's a gorgeous gem— You found it at Marché? And you thought it would suit me?

Yves: ...Thank you, truly... I'm over the moon...!

Yves: I really am blessed with encounters. After all, I was able to meet a girl who's giving me such a wonderful present—

Yves: From the bottom of my heart, I love the happiness I feel for having met you, my hope—

And I pray that in the future that awaits, I will be able to dedicate my first "love" to you...

---

[DO NOT USE OR REPOST MY WORK W/O PERMISSION, THANK YOU]

[bloodhoundluke]

i like thursdays

pairing: luke hemmings x booktuber! reader (fc: steph bohrer) description: y/n is a booktuber and and y/n starts to fangirl over luke. things take an unexpected turn and luke starts to become a regular visitor in y/n's youtube channel.

a/n: thank u so much @alonetimelover for the inspo! i really loved your harry styles x booktuber! reader smau, so i wanted to do a luke one myself 🫶 and special thanks to @gladexmuses for always supporting my work! i appreciate it immensely 🤍

yourinstagram

Liked by ynfan945, ynfan103 and 48,963 others

yourinstagram you'll never catch me without a book… swipe to the next slide for a sneak peek of whose book recommendations i am reading atm...

and the last slide is my mood currently bc one of those books keeps breaking my SOUL 🥲 i'll upload it on thursday as usual. so take a guess who the celebrity is in question! here's a few hints: blonde, singer... 🤫

View all 120 comments

ynfan95 thursdays are my fave bc of u 💞

ynfan304 A LITTLE LIFE?? is that someone okay??

yourinstagram 🥹🥲

ynfan241 TAYLOR SWIFT???

ynfan382 sabrina carpenter??! or niall horan???

ynfan095 LUKE HEMMINGS FROM 5SOS?

yourinstagram

Liked by ynfan39, ynfan23 and 56,594 others

yourinstagram it's thursday & u know what that means...i uploaded a new video ❤️‍🩹 some of you guessed but...i read books that Luke Hemmings has recommended and that man has definitely faced the things he turned away from...the link is in bio <3

View all 182 comments

yourinstagram and hey remember that i won't upload new videos for the next two thursdays since i am on a holiday! see u soon though 🫶

twilightmomentswithlu 'that man has definitely faced the things he turned away from...' LMAOOOO

iknowitwellcal Did you listen to WFTTWTAF?

yourinstagram yes. and it broke my heart in pieces. it was everything.

iknowitwellcal Favorite song?

yourinstagram bloodline or saigon 💔

lukesredline23 the taste is IMMACULATE

ynfan405 You sobbing to every book was a mood honestly

yourinstagram i mean...how could you not???

5sos.updates

Liked by calumsshoes, ynfan934 and 2,963 others

5sos.updates Luke talked about the user readwithyn's YouTube video in Zach Sang show which 5sos attended. In case you did not know, Y/N did a YouTube video where she read every single book Luke has ever recommended. Luke revealed that he now has the 'reading bug'.

View all 43 comments

pookieluke poor lu got so flustered :( <3

tooyoungtoodumb5sos "I mean, why would anyone read what I've recommended?" I AM CRYING 😭😭

paintedheartonthesidewalk the man needs a confidence boost for real

disconnected!5sos i absolutely died when zach asked if luke had slid into her dm's and he looked so CONFUSED poor man!!!

redlinelrh I need to know if he slid into her dm's or not 🤯

pookieluke i mean it's luke, if he did, he would have reread the message 10000x times and then sent it :(

redlinelrh Or another option is that the boys encouraged him to send the message???

yourinstagram

Liked by lukehemmings, ynfan23 and 62,495 others

yourinstagram i've found my sweet escape when i'm alone with you

View all 196 comments

ynfan29 You're so beautiful 😭❤️

ynfan203 Someone has been listening to 5sos I see 👀

yourinstagram yeaahh, i'm obsessed with their entire discography 😮‍💨🫶

lukehemmings A good taste in books and music. Also sorry for ruining your life

yourinstagram you're forgiven if you keep releasing bangers after bangers

lukehemmings We're doing our best!

ynfan45 what is THE luke hemmings doing here????

ynfan91 OH MY GOD Y/N CONGRATULATIONS!!

yourinstagram 🥹🥹💞

lukehemmings

Liked by yourinstagram, ashtonirwin and 390,384 others

lukehemmings On the road

View all 2,193 comments

emotionalblenderluke i'm living for the converse content king

tears!5sos Luke reading Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo was not in my 2023 bingo cards 😳

yourinstagram you're the prettiest man i've ever seen

lukehemmings Any tips to make me prettier?

yourinstagram nope...just do you!

liked by lukehemmings and 240 others

yourinstagram

Liked by lukehemmings, ynfan203, and 71,483 others

yourinstagram i traveled all the way to LA see 5sos play. and it was so worth it 🥳🌹💖

View all 204 comments

lukehemmings Glad you enjoyed it 🤘🖤

yourinstagram i mean...how could i not?? thanks for the entertainment 🥰

lukehemmings Of course! Did you have a favorite song?

yourinstagram oh gosh....i loved caramel and vapor!! and ofc ghost of you 🥺🫶 and teeth!! u have too many amazing songs just to pick one

liked by lukehemmings and 204 others

ynfan034 OH MY GOD WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THIS COMMENT SECTION!!!!??!

yourinstagram

Liked by lukehemmings, ynfan986, and 89,213 others

yourinstagram i woke up. and went back to bed. this is 3 hrs later. and now i'm late

View all 374 comments

ynfan304 you are such a mood honestly

lukehemmings 😳😍🔥

yourinstagram 🥹🙌🏼

ynfan875 You're so gorgeous it's unfair

jbhtilthedayidie Luke is simping and I can't blame him 😮‍💨

5sos.updates

Liked by calumsshoes, ynfan934 and 2,963 others

5sos.updates Luke seen before tonight's show!

View all 43 comments

bloodlinelrh who is that with him?

5sos.updates We're trying our hardest to seek information, but at the moment we have no clue. Might be a friend, cousin, whomever who we don't know! The options are endless.

besideash such a cutie ☹️💞

lukehemmings

Liked by yourinstagram, ashtonirwin and 359,421 others

lukehemmings I like thursdays

View all 2,082 comments

calumhood Cool

ashtonirwin Thanks for the information Luke, I really needed it

michaelclifford i swear you didn't like thursdays before, what changed?

lukehemmings 🫣

yourinstagram 🤩🦋💖

yourinstagram

Liked by lukehemmings, ynfan203 and 94,297 others

yourinstagram i had the holiday of my dreams <3 since it's over, it means that i'll upload a new video on thursday ☺️ see u then loves!

View all 384 comments

ynfan056 OH MY GOD Y/N ARE YOU DATING SOMEBODY AND WE DIDN'T KNOW????

ynfan64 THIS!!!!!

ynfan575 y/n in her lover era 🌟❤️❤️

yourinstagram this is actually the cutest thing ever ☹️💞

ynfan293 Can't wait for the new video <33

lukehemmings

Liked by yourinstagram, caramelcal and 345,843 others

lukehemmings So rad

View all 2,445 comments

slsp5sos34 IS THAT Y/N?? ARE MY EYES LYING TO ME??

ynfan92 There is no way that isn't Y/N???

visceralfeelings I mean Luke’s caption on his last pic would make sense if it was Y/N?

howfarisfar LUKE WHO IS THAT??? LUKE I SWEAR TO GOD WE'RE HAVING MINOR PANIC ATTACKS OVER HERE

yourinstagram

Liked by lukehemmings, ynfan126, and 102,963 others

yourinstagram 🔉🔉 it's thursday! my 2nd ever day in my life vlog is now up! hope you like it :)

View all 405 comments

runningbackto5sos LUKE HEMMINGS WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE????

ashtonirwin Had such a fun night! Let me know when you're hosting a wine night again 😎

yourinstagram of course! loved having you :)

lukehemmings I watched it. And liked it 🤩

yourinstagram yay 🥳

5sos.updates

Liked by mikeysguitar, ynfan201, and 2,963 others

5sos.updates A screenshot of Luke and Ashton in readwithyn's vlog!

View all 50 comments

ashtonsunshine Fanfiction brought to life

ynfan39 oh my god i think y/n and luke are together???

oscodefender i hope they are :((( y/n seems like such a sweetheart

hemmingscinema It was so weird to see them just casually hanging out with people and giggling in some vlog?? ughh I just love them?? I hope we see more of them in Y/N's vlogs 🤭

yourinstagram

Liked by lukehemmings, ynfan203, and 155,451 others

yourinstagram u guys have been bombing me with questions. so here's an q&a for u little munchkins (with a very special quest) 🧸❤️‍🩹 the link is in my bio!

View all 460 comments

nitswmike You picking Lover of Mine as one of your fav 5sos songs is the reason I trust you

yourinstagram hehe thankss!!

babylonluke You should rank 5sos songs next

yourinstagram omg yes!! lover of mine defo didn't belong in the B tier???!

y/s/nownsmyheart I love you and Luke 🥺❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹

yourinstagram 🥺❤️

lukehemmings

Liked by yourinstagram, 5sos and 469,467 others

lukehemmings The secret's out. Please go and watch Y/N's newest YouTube video 🥰❤️

View all 2,677 comments

ynfan309 You need to film a video of you reading together PLEASE

lukehemmings Sounds like a plan? @ yourinstagram

yourinstagram i'd love that!

ynfan12 couple goals 😍

crystalleigh oh god you are adorable!! 💖🫶🏼

ynfan395 i'm coming for your girlfriend 🥵

yourinstagram

Liked by lukehemmings, y/s/n.islife, and 199,535 others

yourinstagram my fav everything 🧸🌟🎸❤️

View all 523 comments

caramelcal Y'ALL I NEED AIR

ynfan23 too cute 😭😭😭

ashtonirwin You two beautiful souls

lukehemmings And my favorite everything ❤️

yourinstagram ily 🫶

lizhemmings Wow, a beautiful picture

yourinstagram thank you ❤️

yourinstagram

Liked by lukehemmings, ynfan203, and 194,435 others

yourinstagram A SURPRISE VLOG! 🌟 we read 6 books that ultimately shattered our hope in the humankind. there's not enough words in the world to describe the journey we went through...i hope you enjoy our rants though, the link is in the bio as always <3

View all 574 comments

lukehemmings Never reading those books ever again

yourinstagram preach 🙌🏼

karma5sos i need someone to read books with too :( even if they are horrible ones

almondmilkhunni literally i have never giggled as much to a youtube video than i did to this lmaooo, love u 2

yourinstagram thank u so much, i'm glad u enjoyed it lol 🥹🥰

michaelclifford i've never heard luke being so passionate about books wth??

lukehemmings I'm a changed man, pal

yourinstagram @ michaelclifford just wait until he starts to analyze books when the tour continues 😉

calumhood Oh jeez, can't wait for that one

© 2023 bloodhoundluke.

[elizabeth-mitchells]

AAAAND I'M DONE WATCHING LOST! 🛩️🫶

here are some thoughts about the finale:

JULIET!!!! FINALLY!!!!! MY DEAD WIFE IS BACK!!!!!

i literally cheered when she showed up on the screen

kate shooting john was so hot. she should've done a lot more of that a lot more often

Juliet certified milf she's a mom now <3

Shannon!!!! Shannon is here!!!! babygirl!!!!!

JULIET IN THAT DRESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the height difference between juliet and claire has what it takes to drive me completely and absolutely insane. i need more of these two together immediately

no mention of Juliet's life and sister or anything else about her in the flash sideways universe? :( rude. i think her kid has her eyes though. and ngl i do want to know more about the relationship between her and her fake son

Kate and Claire soulmates in every universe confirmed!!!! Kate is always the father of her baby!!!! she came back to the island for her and she got her memories back with her!!!!

i got so excited about that ^ that i literally had to stop the show to explain to my dad how important it was that it was established that Kate came back to the island for Claire (not for Jack or Sawyer) and that she got her memories back with Claire (not with Jack). idc if i looked insane or gay

being a weird magical entity protector of a weird magical island is a thankless job what do you mean neither of them was immortal tf

jack and john getting their memories back with each other was kinda gay, good for them

jin going :) !!! when he saw sawyer was too funny

MAYBE YOU SHOULD READ THE MACHINE ITS RIGHTS

juliet baby i missed you so much!!! she's still a little shit with an angelical smile!!!!

must be soooo weird to remember exactly how you died wow

did jack and juliet spend years together, got married, had a kid, and never once remembered anything together? talk about being a repressed homosexual huh

kate and claire seriously best couple in the show btw

didn't hugo say just on the last episode he was glad he didn't have jacob's job? i'm not sure how good this is

didn't widmore say he put more explosives on that plane? but anyway i'm sooooo glad the plane got to leave <3 yay <3

libby was there :)

i wish ana lucia and charlotte had been there :(

penny was there :)

i'm suing them because i didn't get a hug between kate and juliet at the end >:(

literally not upset in the slightest about all of them being dead like. what did you expect? most of them were already dead? they had to die eventually?

if anything i'm glad the flash sideways stuff wasn't entirely real bc i would've been more upset if the stuff on the island got erased or if that had been a dream

(or did i get it all wrong? lmao)

overall pretty happy with the whole thing! surprisingly not upset at the ending? sure i didn't understand some stuff, i didn't like some stuff, but it was much much better than expected!! plus, i have my priorities, and my girls were always great <33

[marmota-b]

The past couple of years have been pretty terrible, but there are good things to have come out of it.

Like my sister getting really into Tolkien, so now we have the sort of excited, involved fandom discussions I never quite managed to have with anyone in real life, re: Lord of the Rings, since I was about ten and reading it for the first time and discussing it with a friend at a summer camp at the level of involvement you can expect at that age. I mean, it's our uncle who got us into it in the first place, but I feel like his approach to it is different, and I think I couldn't quite express my impressions of various characters to him with the same abandon I now do with my sister.

(We used to be able to do it about Narnia. But Tolkien offers so much more to discuss.)

My sister will - and did - go 'Elrond is one of the few cases where I feel the actor actually made me reconsider the character because I forgot about some aspects of him that he showed me well. But also I still think Elrond is an introvert, and Hugo Weaving is not." And I went "That must be what's been rubbing me the wrong way about him this whole time!" We're both book fans first and always. Maybe that's part of it. Uncle loved the films far less critically. Lots of people did. My sister never managed to watch even the whole of Fellowship; which however also means that when she sings praises to Christopher Lee as Saruman, she really means it. She said that he somehow really managed to portray Saruman as a mythological, supernatural being with his own agendas. Which is a very interesting thing for her in particular to say, because although she's a language major, she spent years buried in mythology for an academic project and her thesis. So she has a pretty good idea of the flavour.

We largely agree on the actors we think really worked in their roles, re: book accuracy / our mental image of them, with only a couple slight disagreements. We agree the wizards were both most excellent and have in fact supplanted our original mental versions of them.

... I wasn't necessarily aiming to describe our movie-related discussion here, because it's definitely not all we have discussed. But it turned out to be a good indicator of why exactly I'm so glad to now have her to discuss it with. It is very much that moment of "You too?!"; in the sea of people who watched the films many many times and admire them so much and are feeling very nostalgic about them, it's amazing to have a person who doesn't but also still shares (some of) my opinions about the things I did like anyway.

[brightlotusmoon]

An incomplete list of shit TMNT 2003 got past the censors:

1. Stockman decomposing in real time while he runs around hallucinating at April.

2. Leo cutting off Shredder's head.

3. Shredder picking up his head and putting it back on.

4. Mikey blowing up alien soldiers with their own grenades on purpose by playing pretend.

5. Mikey blowing up his villainous alternate father on purpose with no noted processing.

6. Same As It Never Was. All of it.

7. The tentacle creature in Darkness Within. With its shaped tips and thick secretions.

8. Raph saying "YO MAMA."

9. Agent Bishop saying "Very well, Michelangelo, when you scream my name, pleading to make the pain stop, begging for mercy, you may call me Bishop." In the same tone as Hugo Weaving as Agent Smith.

10. Agent Bishop attempting to vivisect Mikey with a surgical buzz saw in front of his brothers.

11. Baxter Stockman winding up a brain and eye in a jar. And he still finds it funny.

[greenerteacups]

One of the biggest book crimes is Harry naming his son "Albus Severus". I feel like the Marauders were done so dirty and it makes no sense to me. I hope you right this wrong in Lionheart!

I've never seen any fandom come together so unanimously to reject a writing decision with the same vehemence that they have Albus Severus (save, like, the ending of Game of Thrones). Everyone looked at it and went "weird, no thank you." Beautiful moment of unity for the fandom.

It might be realistic for the first generation after a major war, but naming all the kids after their grandparents seemed cliché to me. Rose and Hugo and Scorpius were much better, and seemed more like real names that you might pick out because you liked them. Harry doing that to honor his parents specifically because they never got to have normal and long lives is a nice gesture, but it's then weird to use the name "Albus," who lived a very long and successful life, tragic as it was. (I've sometimes tossed around the idea that Harry gives Albus II that name because he wants one of his kids to have a proper "wizarding" name, i.e. something that ties them unimpeachably to the wizarding world, rather than the muggle names given to James II and Lily II — almost an effort to cement his family as being Magic.)

But I was never going to be the right audience for the Potterlets, anyway. I'm not a fan of timeskip epilogues — they work when it's a short jump, but years (or decades) stretches it too far. Either the characters feel like strangers, or they feel the same, which is almost weirder. Which is why I've been on EWE copium since I read the books.

[gayleafpool]

Hit me with some Hugo and/or Varian headcanons

u got it boss

hugo:

-his nose is crooked from being broken and then not healing properly like 3 different times

-his vision is ASS im talking like running into walls without them. velma where are my glasses type of shit. what a loser

-has a habit of hiding injuries or illness bc he doesn’t want to show weakness or vulnerability

-has a really hard time accepting help from people bc he doesn’t wanna feel like he owes anybody anything

-he likes animals but the idea of being responsible for keeping a little creature alive stresses him out so he built olivia

-doesn’t actually know how to dance but knows how to fake it from sneaking into so many royal parties and events for various jobs and trying to blend in w the crowd. like he just makes up steps as he goes and it’s never an actual real dance that exists but he just pretends he knows what he’s doing and people buy it. this actually applies to a lot of things he does. fake it till u make it babey

-he did all of his own piercings

-he never uses those spiky googles he has bc they don’t fit over his glasses and he can’t take the glasses off bc then he can’t see. he has no idea why he still has the googles. none of us know. what is wrong w him

varian:

-if he actually went and saw a therapist he’d be diagnosed with bpd two seconds after stepping into the room

-short king. srry but that guy is never surpassing 5’3

-uhhhh prison was shall we say not a good time for him

-likes to write about things he did in a day or thoughts he has w little drawings to go along w the thoughts. it would read kinda like the journal mae from nitw has. just a bunch of goofy ass things

-i think he’d be super into learning new languages and would pick them up really fast. he probably can speak like 4 languages at least

-type of guy to chew on pens and then accidentally bite it so hard the ink explodes everywhere

-major sweet tooth he loves sugary stuff

[threefolddefencespeech]

WorldCon!

So - WorldCon's over. I'm safely back home, very tired, only mildly ill, definitely getting the con drop or at least experiencing far too many post con emotions (what do you mean there won't be another one nearby for five years?). So perfect time to write a bit about it. I'm not going to get everything in here, but let's ramble incoherently about some highlights.

The Hugos

My spouse (and the rest of their team) won a Hugo! I am so proud and happy for them - it is, I say with incredible bias and no objectivity, very very well deserved. How could getting to celebrate that not be a highlight?

So. Let's move on to some book opinions. This year, I managed to read almost all of the best novel finalists (bar Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, which I'm still a few chapters into and ping ponging off. Let's say I'm pretty sure where my opinion was going to lie). So I get to have some more detailed opinions than most years, which is fun/regrettable for anyone who got an earful from me about Starter Villain!

It's always interesting to see what makes the Hugo shortlist. This year, a truly massive gulf emerged between my two favourites, the middle-of-the-roads, and one real "no, really, why was this here?" option.

Out in front were Saint of Bright Doors (Vajra Chandrasekera) and Some Desperate Glory (Emily Tesh). I can already see this post getting enormous, so I'll try and be quick (this is a lie).

Saint of Bright Doors is wonderful - the first chapter introduces us to a clear chosen one narrative, with Fetter raised with a destiny: to kill his cult leader father. The second rejects it utterly. Fetter ignores his destiny and his mother's calls, and immigrates to a city - one that has elements of socialist ideal, but gradually reveals more and more of itself to be a fascist police state, and in every case is wonderfully strange. He joins a group of fellow religious "unchosen ones". He drifts. His father's cult grows in influence, and threatens to pull him once more into orbit - but this is not so conventional a story as to fully let it. And he becomes fascinated with the city's bright doors, which lead nowhere, and are unopenable. In a less talented writer's hands, this would feel disjointed. Instead it's wonderful - a dreamy-but-grounded, mythic-but-real story of aimless reality pitted against religious destiny, of cults and pogroms and the structures that lie beneath the world. I have my problems with the ending. But had I liked it more, I suspect it would have been a worse book.

Some Desperate Glory tells a story of a militarised future human society, living to avenge the Earth. It is also, in many ways, a cult. Where Some Desperate Glory particularly succeeds is that its protagonist isn't an outlier. How many dystopias have you read in which the lead is an outcast, or always felt subtly wrong in the society, never quite fit in? But Kyr is in so many ways this future society's model citizen. Which makes her growth - her experimentation in the wider world - and the ways in which this society still abuses her, and still fails her because she can't live up to its ideals, far more powerful. She's not a comfortable head to make a home in, at least to start with, but it's a far better novel for that. While what the novel's doing is far clearer than Saint, it does go to some interesting places - and explores these cultish power structures on various scales. I have quibbles and gripes. Do I wish more page space had been devoted to developing the novel's visions of alternative versions of Kyr, rather than slamming in character development in fast forward? Yes, and I would have happily sacrificed a few big action setpieces (which is where I suspect that space went) to get there. But it's still a powerful book.

Saint definitely my preference there, but both worthy winners.

Then we had the middle of the pack.

Leckie's Translation State was... fine? I expected more, though. We had some alien weirdness, but it was wrapped around a story which had the exact same plot arc as a typical YA arranged marriage novel, with the characters ending up in exactly the same places you'd expect. Aside from one, who simply gets forgotten about. It was perfectly pleasant, but revolutionising the genre this is not.

Martha Wells' Witch King is a secondary world fantasy, told with a flashback-interweaving-with-present-events structure, in a way that's far more evenly balanced between the two narratives than most, with the past narrative holding most of the explanation of characters and relationships highly relevant to the present. However, it fails to really make it work - it sacrifices a lot of character development and foreshadowing for the actual plot to get this structure working, which means the actual key revelations fall a little flat when they come. It's not a bad book! There's some fun magic system stuff, some mildly interesting possession-of-different-gendered body stuff... but it's not life changing, just a fun attempted structural twist on an otherwise pretty classic secondary world fantasy.

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi - well, it's a middle eastern pirate fantasy. The historical inspiration is great here - rich and vibrant. But the prose is clunky - it's doing Historical Feminism but in a really obvious, unsubtle way that's clearly just 2024 views projected backwards, or at least that's how it seems from the "ah, we mens often think x about a powerful lady, don't we?" narrator chapter. I like engaging with these topics, but can I wish for a bit more nuance and some better writing? Mind you, I'm only a few chapters into this one, and keep bouncing off. It might get better when I push through. From what others have said, I doubt it - but I can't really say. I'm maybe being harsh from initial impressions here.

So most of this middle group are small twists or weirdnesses upon otherwise pretty familiar genre novels.

Then there's Starter Villain, which is the only "really, why is this here?" novel of the list. I suspect just because Scalzi's a big name in SFF, and name recognition gets you a long way at the nomination stage. While I might quibble with the middle group - probably there was more interesting SFF published last year? - this was a novel-length shaggy dog story. It's not funny enough to be farce or satire - but it's not doing anything else. The protagonist's main defining traits are "very divorced", "likes cats", and I suppose "vaguely nice". Everyone speaks in the same way. And this goes nowhere - other than a few jokes about dolphins and venture capitalists along the way. Maybe if this hadn't been up for the Hugo, I wouldn't have hated this so much. But I expected something. This was my first Scalzi, and I probably won't choose to repeat the experience.

So, how'd the voting turn out? Some Desperate Glory won, which I vaguely suspected - felt like it had broader appeal as a slightly more traditional novel than Saint of Bright Doors anyway. But Hugo votership, why did you do Saint quite so dirty? It's so far down the list. On the other hand - faith marginally restored by Starter Villain ending up in a clear last place.

Which is to say: probably good job overall, Hugo votership, but you're on some shaky ground. :P

The Panels

Panels! I went to lots of them. I was terribly sabotaged by my very first panel, Revolutions in Speculative Fiction, setting the bar far too high. I was largely picking panels based on people + a vaguely interesting topic, with a few exceptions. Ada Palmer's and Arkady Martine's definitely proved that method of panel picking works well.

...after Dublin, the other thing I learned (alongside picking based on people) was that I really shouldn't plan my con too inflexibly or intensively. So despite wanting to go to 4 things in every slot, I paced myself - I missed out on an interesting panel and went to hang out with people or Do Food occasionally, especially when emotion + tiredness demanded it, and I probably had a better con for it.

There were worse panels too. Several on interestingly nuanced topics had a tendency to regress into more basic topics - particularly into cultural appropriation 101. Cultural Appropriation 101 is not a bad panel topic! It's an incredibly necessary one. But it's also a panel I have been to several times now, and while I think other panels should certainly touch on it where relevant, I wanted a bit more than Different Topic 101 from "Ancient Cultures and Context" and the discussion of religion in fantasy, for instance.

Overall though, I had a good time with the panels - even when frustrating (cough, Scalzi showboating and talking over other panelists in "Systems as Villains" when he didn't actually have anything to say, cough), they were fuel for conversation with interesting people, and there were some truly interesting ideas in there too. Maybe I'll manage to incorporate a few into my own writing. I hope so.

Self-Indulgent Gender Stuff

I'll try not to ramble about this too much, but it was pretty significant to my con experience. This was my first con since coming out as a trans woman (it also coincided with my 1 year anniversary of starting HRT). Honestly, coming up to it, I was pretty stressed - despite knowing on paper that a substantial part of WorldCon is queer nerds, it didn't quite make it through to my brain, or at least I suppose endocrine system (I worry about my appearance anyway, and was just coming off a bit of a doomspiral about my features at the 12 month mark, which may not have helped!).

But everyone was genuinely very nice about it - including everyone I already knew, but who hadn't seen me since pre-transition. And you know, it did feel really good to be able to present the way I actually wanted to at other cons (pre transition, I can't deny a certain - large - amount of envy at fem con + cosplay outfits, and I actually get to do some of that now). I even got some compliments on my outfits, which was very flattering (plus one person inexplicably wanting to draw me at the Hugo afterparty).

Did that stop me from worrying? Silly question. I still spent a lot of the con convinced I looked terrible in so, so many ways, and had to frequently borrow some reassurance from spouse and friend (I'm so sorry). There were a few low points. But I'm so glad I did it. Hopefully the start of many more cons presenting more comfortably.

Plus, I have discovered a great secret. My terrible dancing is drastically improved by the addition of a swooshy skirt. (Well, maybe some other stuff helped too, but I'll go with that)

People

I've talked a lot about official, organised things where I was there as a spectator: panels, the Hugos. But really, so much of WorldCon is just spending time with lovely people.

I got to do lots of the con with spouse and a soon-to-be-ex-Oxford friend, who I have really fond memories of doing other cons with. Lots of silly late night dancing. Lots of in depth discussions, from the deeply absurd to the (maybe) absurdly deep (or maybe just the former all over again). I got to see other Oxford friends in the magic con zone! @frith-in-tombs between track stuff and @vivelabagatelle occasionally too.

I got to catch up with other friends, especially the ex-Oxford folks! It was lovely to spend more time with @howlsmovinglibrary again (who also ran some excellent panels, and has definitely sold me on this villainess book), as well as Entourage, @cardboardmoose, and others (if I haven't named you explicitly it's probably because I thought the only way I've got of naming you might be too identifiable, and I don't know your name on here).

I got to meet new people, which honestly is one of the best things at a con. I spent a lovely night chatting to @canmom about all sorts of diversely interesting things, from opera to game design - completely unexpectedly after inexplicably working up the courage to venture a "hey, you're not [tumblr name] on tumblr, are you?" (at least I didn't comment on anybody's shoelaces, is all I can say in my defence). I met a distant friend from Discord and compared very different con plans - and a truly excellent crocheted Mr Pages. I chatted with a few more in panels. I finally got to hang out with Roseanna more than in passing (typically we've wound up communicating only through a mutual friend, Entourage since we've never really overlapped properly - I remember back when she asked me about reviewing, and look how the tables have tabled!) and had a great time dissecting the Hugos. (Another very well deserved Hugo win btw). I also learned that apparently I was referred to frequently as DAF by her and said friend, and she's completely forgotten what it stood for? I have a pressing need to solve this mystery.

And of course, there are some friends I dearly miss being able to con with too. Perhaps one day we'll be able to do so again.

What Next?

As I mentioned, so many post-con emotions! Five years really is too long between travellable worldcons for my liking.

Which means resolution 1 is: maybe I should do more cons? While flying transatlantic for WorldCon feels like a Lot, I've never made it to an Eastercon before, and I think I'd like to.

I've also reached out to plan a few meetups with nearby-ish worldcon people like Roseanna - I miss the con energy, and I think I'd like to get some more chats about books and such in my life. (Alas, distance remains a barrier for yet others!)

I also want to engage with more SFF writing - I read a fair few novels, but I feel like I miss out on a lot of reviews and criticism these days, and I miss that.

And as always, I come away wanting to put more energy into my own creative work - I've been planning a bigger IF-ish game (than my small silly/gift games I've made) for a long time, and maybe this is the time I'll manage the sustained effort to make it happen (and feel like I have My Own Stuff next WorldCon!). Hehe. Well, I can dream, anyway.

I should probably also catch up on sleep at some point.

It was a wonderful, exhausting, fascinating con - thank you to everyone who made it happen, whether more generally, or for me specifically. :)