#i’m back on my wolf 359 grind

[hellotrickster]

Some podcast recs. Not by any means an exhaustive list! I’ll probably end up adding more and more.

The Magnus Archives

Horror drama masquerading as a horror anthology. Very incredible plotting and character writing, QUEER PROTAGONIST AND DEUTERAGONIST. It’s my favorite. It’s taught me about having hope again in the darkest of circumstances, and the knowledge that horror and tragedy can be cathartic, when done right. I’m still reeling on the floor from all of it.

The Penumbra Podcast: Juno Steel

Depressed bisexual nb detective Juno Steel solves mysteries and murders with sarcastic one-liners he practices in the mirror in a queer cyberpunk future on Mars as he tangles with a clever thieves, ancient alien telepathy, rogue cybernetics, his own trauma and survivor’s guilt, giant sewer rabbits, politicians and mobsters out to get him, and trying to look cool.

The Penumbra Podcast: Second Citadel

A collection of knights and knights-to-be and the monsters that they hunt in a series of rotating stories that eventually unifies all of them. We’ve got queer characters and characters with disabilities, enemies to lovers, a singing castle, a polycule, and a secret inverted pretending to be married, scalies. It’s a delight, and definitely reminds me of a more ensemble-variant of Xena.

Wolf 359

Found family IN SPACE but also like roommates who want to kill each other. Starts out fairly lighthearted and turns into an epic story that destroys you and remakes you and then grinds you apart again. Survival on a station many light years from earth is tough! Also lots of contemplation of personhood, agency, and spaaaaaace. Badass ladies, banter, suffering, love, a plant monster.

Zero Hours

Gabriel Urbina back at it again in an anthology that visits the end of the world — over and over again, each time a hundred years apart, spanning the 1700s to the far future. Sometimes hopeful, sometimes hurtful, it left me feeling grateful to exist. Featuring beloved voice actors from a bunch of other podcasts on this list, it’s a wonderful work of art (though thematically may be a little difficult right now, so please take care.)

Kane & Feels

Horror-urban-fantasy-noir! Lucifer Kane and Brutus Feels are paranormal investigators who deal with problems in the veil between worlds. Of everything on this list, it feels the most like a graphic novel and is fun as hell. Sometimes it’s a little tricky to tell what’s going on but goddamn does it have so much style and fun.

Archive 81

Each season is remarkably different from the one before. In a lot of ways, it’s almost a Lovecraftian adventure series, with parallel worlds and dark rituals with the grimmest of prices exacted. What’s particularly powerful about it is its quality audio and foley design. The intricacies of the rituals in season three compared with the rituals in The Magnus Archives will make you laugh and laugh and laugh.

Wooden Overcoats

Tim Burton-y or Addams Family British comedy about rival funeral parlors. Feels like it should be animated by Don Bluth. It’s very unfortunate and very hilarious, and you might end up wanting all the characters to be happy somehow. The voice acting quality is so polished and phenomenal.

Victoriocity

Steampunk London! Tom Crowley — certified Handsome Voice Eric Chapman in Wooden Overcoats — is here as Inspector Fleet who ends up embroiled in trying to solve a massive conspiracy mystery with the intrepid journalist Clara Entwhistle. Another audio delight, with great comedic beats and fascinating world building. Lots of crime solving hijinks and teamwork, though Inspector Fleet is very reluctant at first to be part of a crime-solving partnership.

Girl in Space

Scientist found family revolution. It’s basically a bottle episode science fiction film, but it’s so sincere and kind I really adore it. X is a scientist surviving alone in a spaceship whose favorite movie is Jurassic Park, and who could really use a friend. Hopepunk to its toes, with the belief in the dignity of every person.

I Am In Eskew

Lovecraftian horror city setting, described in the dreamily calm voice of David Ward. Relaxing horror, with lovely prose and really creative concepts, backdropped by a steady rain. At times totally grotesque, but at the same time really soothing. Excellent for relaxing, since David does not seem shocked or surprised by anything that goes on, and deals with things as logically as living in a non-Euclidean world allows.

D&D and Tabletop

Rusty Quill Gaming

Yes, you know you need it in your life. Fictional steampunk London in which D&D races exist, Greek gods are real, and the world is ruled by a group of dragons called the Meritocrats. Starring: an ex-pirate dwarf cleric of Poseidon, a halfling Egyptian sorcerer, a slippery bundle of knives of a person, and a pompous idiot from the House of Lords whose worst fear is “the poors.” Eventually also a six-foot orc paladin of Aphrodite in bright glowing pink armor, a goblin paladin that will shoot off your kneecaps, and an alchemist that is a cross between Gambit and Jillian Holtzmann. You’ll learn how evil Alex J Newall is, and it’s wonderful.

Campaign Podcast: Skyjacks

Piracy has taken flight as four idiots try to Weekend At Bernie’s their dead captain and sail their airship to riches and adventure. Worth it especially for Gable, a seven-foot-tall non-binary immortal who can’t flirt for SHIT, but I love everybody in their little family. Lots of great improv and group-built storytelling, lots of goofs.

[thought-42]

Fictober day 5: Take what you need.

Wolf 359, Kepler, Young, Clark, cutter, 820 words

"Only take what you need, Warren," Young coos from too close behind him, snatching the wrist sheath from his hand and tossing it across the room to land on the desk. "Surely you don't need that many weapons to deal with a few rent-a-cops."

"I think I'm far more aware of exactly what I do and don't need than you," Kepler says. "And given if something does go wrong I'll be the one who has to deal with any resistance, I consider a back-up weapon or two only prudent."

Young steps around him, heels snagging at the thick carpet of his office. "It's like you're not even trying. But if this op really has you that rattled I suppose you can have your security blanket."

Kepler shrugs, knots his tie and imagines strangling Young with it. "No, no, you're right. I don't need it. I'll be sure to tell Mr. Cutter about your objections to my weapons when you die tragically because I was only equipped to protect myself."

"Alternatively, I could just shoot you in the limo and save myself an evening of torture. Mr. Cutter would forgive me."

This is a lie. Unfortunately, Cutter would be equally as unforgiving with Kepler if anything were to happen to Young.

There's a knock at the door, and at Kepler's call it swings open to reveal Clark, clearly on his way home for the evening. "I just had to see if the rumours were true," he says, grinning. "Don't you two make a lovely couple?"

"There are not rumours," Kepler says, flatly.

"There are absolutely rumours," Clark replies, smug. "Also a betting pool. Everyone seems to assume the evening will end with one or both of you either dead or tied to a headboard."

"Eww," Young says, stepping away from Kepler.

"The feeling is mutual," he says. They had fucked once, years ago, before they were department heads and before their mutual hatred had had the time to really percolate into the fundamental, soul-deep loathing they feel for each other now. They had both been suffering from blood loss, which is the excuse Kepler uses to console himself whenever he remembers the experience. They had both pulled a weapon on each other at one point in the proceedings. They've both agreed never to speak of it.

"Don't worry," Clark says. "Being sober at these events is practically forbidden, I'm sure you two will be able to self-medicate your way to victory."

"I would never compromise myself with alcohol on an op," Kepler lies. Young coughs delicately into the sleeve of the lacy sweater that is the only concession she's made to the chilly autumn evening outside.

"Ohhhh, did you find them, David?" Cutter's voice floats from down the hall, sing-song and delighted. Kepler winces.

Clark steps back from the door and cutter breezes in, rubbing his hands together and beaming.

"oh just look at you two," he crows, pacing a circle around them like they're livestock he's considering at auction. Kepler straightens up and tries to moderate his glare to something slightly less murderous.

He's aware that, purely aesthetically, they make a striking image. In her heels Young is as tall as he is, and whoever chose their outfits for the mission has managed to coordinate them with each other without it coming across painfully twee. It's exactly the picture they're going for. They're going to this party to be seen. To be very publicly seen, so that when the servers for the host company's proprietary AI vanish, they can be very clear that Goddard Futuristics had absolutely nothing to do with it. It's the sort of mission Kepler hates, and his only consolation is knowing that young hates it just as much.

"I'm glad I caught you before you headed out," Cutter says. "I just *had* to get a photo of the two of you before your big night."

"Sir," Young says, warningly. Kepler keeps waiting for the day that Young's insubordination gets her killed and it keeps not happening.

"Now now, it's traditional!"

"You're a few years late for Prom," Young says darkly.

Cutter beams at them. "Warren, why don't you put your arm around Rachel's shoulders?"

"I... really don't think this is necessary, sir," Kepler says, grinding his teeth.

"You're such a spoilsport, warren. Rachel, put your arm around his shoulders, then."

"with all due respect, Sir, I'd rather cut my arm off. Or cut his arm off. I'm flexible."

Cutter sighs dramatically, pressing a hand to his chest. "I really don't understand why you two can't just get along."

"Yes," Clark says, still lurking just outside the office. "You two should really just get along."

"You won't even see your death coming," Kepler says, mildly. Clark waves a hand dismissively.

"You've been saying that for years."

"Just take the picture,," Young says. Cutter holds up his phone and smiles sharply at them both.

"Say cheese," he says.

[reconditarmonia]

Dear Rule 63 Author

Hi! Thank you for writing for me! I’m reconditarmonia here and on AO3. I have anon messaging off, but, er, I can answer any questions you might have about my requests in my mod capacity if you contact the exchange email ;).

Fullmetal Alchemist | Machineries of Empire | Moby Dick | Spinning Silver | Wolf 359

General likes:

– Relationships that aren’t built on romance or attraction. They can be romantic or sexual as well, but my favorite ships are all ones where it would still be interesting or compelling if the romantic component never materialized.

– Loyalty kink! Trust, affectionate or loving use of titles, gestures of loyalty, replacing one’s situational or ethical judgment with someone else’s, risking oneself (physically or otherwise) for someone else, not doing so on their orders. Can be commander-subordinate or comrades-in-arms.

– Heists, or other stories where there’s a lot of planning and then we see how the plan goes.

– Femslash, complicated or intense relationships between women, and female-centric gen. Women doing “male” stuff (possibly while crossdressing).

– Stories whose emotional climax or resolution isn’t the sex scene, if there is one.

– Uniforms/costumes/clothing.

– Stories, history, and performance. What gets told and how, what doesn’t get told or written down, behavior in a society where everyone’s consuming media and aware of its tropes, how people create their personas and script their own lines.

Smut Likes: clothing, uniforms, sexual tension, breasts, manual sex, cunnilingus, grinding, informal d/s elements, intensity.

General DNW: rape/dubcon, torture, other creative gore; unrequested AUs, including “same setting, different rules” AUs such as soulmates/soulbonds; PWP; food sex; embarrassment; focus on pregnancy; Christmas/Christian themes; infidelity; unrequested polyamory; focus on unrequested canon or non-canon ships; unrequested trans versions of characters; swapping female characters to male; unequal levels of investment in the relationship (including concerns about same that turn out to be unwarranted), or the idea of a character accepting something they're unhappy with as the most they're going to get.

A note: if we matched on an / ship, I generally don't require you to include a kiss, sex, or overt romantic language if you feel that you'd have to shoehorn it in. I'll trust that you wrote it with shippy intent.

About Rule 63 Exchange specifically: I have no strong preference for character names, with a slight preference for sticking with their canon names; it’s up to you whether you want to justify any resulting names that would be unusual for women or just gloss over it. As far as characters’ personalities and gender expression are concerned, I tend to want to see them as similar to their canon selves, just female. I’m probably fine with unrequested characters also being swapped to female, but feel free to check if you’re not sure. I don't expect, nor particularly want, a big deal made over characters' strong gender identity qua identity as female or whatnot.

It's a little confusing to tell with the AO3 interface, but I've requested General Audiences on everything, and additionally Explicit on FMA, Machineries, and Wolf 359.

—

Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist

Ship(s): F!Roy Mustang/Riza Hawkeye

I love Roy and Riza's loyalty kink in canon so very much, so...what if they were lesbians

There are definitely some worldbuilding-y places this could go - the Amestrian military obviously has female soldiers in it, but not as many as male, especially at the higher echelons, apparently, and we don't see any female State Alchemists; does Roy's status as a powerful alchemist also vault her into a position of command and influence that most women, barring Olivier, don't get to? With regard specifically to how their relationship is different worldbuilding-wise, some kind of document or documents (newspaper, history book) or other outsider perspective on President Mustang and her decades-long professional relationship with Riza Hawkeye, so close they even live together/travel together/entertain guests together, neither of them ever married, that sort of thing? Is Roy's obfuscating public image in this AU still about going with a lot of women, or are they men? (butch or otherwise known lesbian Roy is great, but also not necessary)

But I'd be equally happy to see a fic that didn't deal with that, and that was just canon dynamics but more so and with lesbians. I love their trust and competence and stoically hidden but very very intense feelings, the willingness to risk oneself or the other person, or to stake a lot on the other person’s competence (and willingness to hurt or sacrifice the other person because their shared cause says it’s right, too, all the times that comes up), the fighting together in tandem. Is there a dangerous mission (or intelligence-collecting situation) where their deep familiarity/trust/awareness of each other’s presence and fighting style and communication come into play (god, that bit in canon where Hawkeye shoots two guys right over Mustang’s shoulder), or where they worry about each other’s safety? I love the "protect my back" exchange so, so much (I'm particularly interested in fics set during a time when that is already part of their relationship history, rather than fics set in Ishval or shortly after, and I am not really interested in fics set when they were children or young adults at all) and the way that, eventually, ends up playing out with regard to Envy. I love the intimacy of their work relationship and personal history, on levels from casual to very intense, and would love it with sexual tension in how they notice and appreciate each other’s physicality and presence and competence (hands??? muscles?) Pining up to 11, or resolved sexual tension? (I would prefer Riza as dom if you write a d/s take on this.)

Fandom-Specific DNW: framing of the Ishvalan genocide as a bad situation that happened to the Amestrian characters; canon-typical loss of body parts.

—

Fandom: Machineries of Empire

Ship(s): F!Shuos Jedao/Ajewen Cheris; F!Shuos Jedao & Ajewen Cheris

I know sound like a broken record throughout this signup, but I love Cheris and Jedao’s friendship and loyalty kink (“Now and forever, I’m your gun” and the kneeling! aaahhh!) and, you know, what if that, but also Jedao were a hot woman.

I don’t have a lot of specific plot prompts - just a general interest in intense feelings, “codependency” as understood by fandom, loyalty and trust holding up under strain, deferring to someone’s competence or sense of ethics even though you don’t know how it will turn out, making difficult choices, verbal or nonverbal displays of loyalty like the kneeling and swearing and the WHOLE KEL GLOVE THING. I’d be excited to read something set during the Ninefox timeframe when Jedao is in Cheris’s head, but I think I would be most interested in something set post-Glass Cannon when oh my god, they were roommates telepathically bonded, after all the plot events that create that strong Jedao->Cheris loyalty. Jedao’s canonical kinks are *thumbs up* (I’ve requested general audiences fic as well as explicit, so it’s also fine if they don’t come up or if they’re referred to but not, er, acted out onscreen).

Fandom-Specific DNW: I’m aware that there’s a lot of torture and dubcon in canon. I don’t mind if you mention that they exist but I’d like to reiterate that I absolutely do not want any onscreen, or any details of torture even mentioned. DNW (explicitly) male Kujen or Ruo in this AU; if you don’t feel like swapping them to women I would rather they not be mentioned.

—

Fandom: Moby Dick

Ship(s): F!Captain Ahab & None; F!Captain Ahab & F!Pequod Crew; F!Ishmael/F!Queequeg

I'd love to know more about these female sailor(s) and what drives them. A female Ishmael might still decide to sign on to a ship whenever she gets the blues, but it'd be socially fairly different, mightn't it? (Worldbuilding-wise, I'd be more interested in a world where sailing and whaling are still typically male things as in our world, even if you make them a little less exclusively male, than an egalitarian or matriarchal world; something that women might do, without necessarily disguising themselves as men, but a GNC thing to do.) Would her already diverging from the "expected" female path in this regard affect her reception of Queequeg as someone who's an outsider to Nantucket society, and the intimacy she offers? What does she still find outlandish? As for Queequeg herself, is her life a typical female life for her home culture, or not?

As for Ahab - just imagine this fanatic, tragic, vengeful character as a woman - with the willpower not only to do all the things canonical male Ahab does but also in a society where women aren't really supposed to sail or kill or lead! Is she the odd one out in an otherwise male crew, or are there more women in the crew by the time she's captain? Was she already a whaler when she lost the leg or, in this AU, did this drive her to become one?

—

Fandom: Spinning Silver

Ship(s): Miryem Mandelstam/F!Staryk Lord

I love Miryem, and I’m so interested in the ways that making the Staryk Lord a woman would change Miryem’s entry into the Staryk world and the romance that eventually develops between them. Maybe same-sex marriage is common among the Staryk, and that’s one of the customs that are new and unfamiliar to Miryem in this new world. Would this be a Miryem who had never imagined being attracted to a woman before but comes to fall for the Staryk Lady, or one who simply couldn’t have imagined being able to marry one and have that be a normal life? (For values of “normal” that include ice lands and gold magic!) How does the fact of the marriage being same-sex affect Miryem’s initial understanding of it as a business arrangement, or for that matter, affect her understanding of the offer of queenship as a marriage at all? What makes them fall for each other?

Canon Miryem wonders what her role as queen is, thinking that she’d know about managing a household and having children and sewing if she were married to a human lord - is it the same if she has a fairy wife instead of a fairy husband, more so because there’s not even the hope of a gendered complementarian aspect to fall back on, less so because the Staryk Lady is there as an example of what a female monarch in the Staryk lands does? Does Miryem try to be more like her, or to find her own accounting-powers-and-personal-bonds niche?

It’s so important to canon Miryem to have a Jewish wedding with the Staryk Lord - what would that look like here? What happens when she comes back to the human world not only the queen of a magic country, but married to a woman (and in love with her, depending on when you set it)?

—

Fandom: Wolf 359

Ship(s): F!Daniel Jacobi/F!Warren Kepler, F!Daniel Jacobi/F!Warren Kepler/Alana Maxwell

My new fandom this year! The SI-5 trio are my favorites, and I'm absolutely wild about the way they openly value and prioritize and trust each other over everyone else who's nominally on the same side. So much of the Kepler/Jacobi dynamic goes directly to my id almost from their first introduction (of Jacobi as Kepler's "good right hand"!) to Jacobi trusting Kepler with his life and following whatever orders Kepler gives and getting angry about Kepler treating him like one of them, not to mention the weird d/s vibes. But I also love their dynamic with Maxwell, not only Jacobi's devoted friendship for her but also the trust and respect Kepler has for her and vice versa (I love the conversation they have about fixing Hera, and the whole episode where Kepler has Jacobi blow up the door to save Maxwell, at the risk of the whole ship because Maxwell is that valuable and Jacobi is that good, and "maybe you were my friend but the Colonel and Daniel were family"). So...f/f? I'd love to see them on some sort of mission or in the aftermath of some sort of mission where that mutual loyalty, even as fucked-up as it can get, comes into play, with Jacobi, Kepler, and Maxwell deferring to one another's judgment and/or orders, protecting each other or deciding when they can risk each other for the sake of the mission, sorting themselves out after... Or just some d/s-y sex, possessiveness etc. Anything really about how they're the only people to each other.

I suppose I envision Jacobi and Kepler fairly similar to their canon versions presentation-wise, which would make them somewhat gender non-conforming as women - there's possibly something interesting there with whatever flavor of performative masculinity canon Kepler has going on - but honestly I haven't particularly given much thought to how they might be different as women, other than that I would find it hot and enjoy a three-way relationship with Maxwell (if that is what we matched on/what you're interested in - I'd be just as happy with Kepler/Jacobi and Maxwell just a friend) more than I would with their canon versions.

Fandom-Specific DNW: role reversal or "subbing to let go/relax" Kepler

—

[caladblog]

2017 The Year in Review

jesus h. fuck, we’re still doing this whole... “the passage of time” thing? really? ugh. okay. give me a moment.

*drags hands down face*

*sighs*

okay! it’s been another year! goddamn look at us go! welcome to my Second Annual Recap of New Fiction Stuff!!

(hark! a disclaimer: this features things that i experienced for the first time in 2017, not necessarily things that were released in 2017, because i live literally underneath a rock and it’s a bit out of step with the zeitgeist down here)

Books

Nominations: Neuromancer by William Gibson, The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

Winner: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. Neuromancer was good but this fic did it better. The Fifth Season was excellent and beautiful-- if you’ve read Jemisin’s previous trilogy about gods, there were aspects and elements from those stories that were really brought into perfect focus here; it’s a testament to her growth as a writer and I can’t wait to get my hands on the next two books in the series.

But The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet takes home the title because it is pretty much everything I want in a space opera. Everything. A galactic civilization that isn’t just an echo of European colonization. Interspecies conflict that isn’t a thinly-veiled allegory for racism. Aliens that are truly alien, different from humans and different from each other, with societies and cultures and values that logically follow from these differences. Lush worldbuilding (universebuilding?) that never sacrifices the plot or the characters. An artificial intelligence who sidesteps or directly refutes every frustrating AI trope in the book. Three-dimensional characters! Found family! ‘Xe’ being used as the linguistically-normal gender-neutral pronoun! A lesbian relationship between a human and a reptilian!

it’s good is what i’m sayin

Movies

Nominations: Rogue One, Thor: Ragnarok, And Then There Were None

Winner: Thor: Ragnarok. Stop the fucking presses, I saw a movie less than a month after it was released. This has only happened, like... twice in the last decade. Literally.

Anyway. Rogue One was good, but I’m not a huge fan of the war stars universe. I’m even less a fan of the marvel cinematic universe, especially what it’s become since cap2, but Thor: Ragnarok just fucken blows everything out of the water. No contest. It’s hilarious, it’s epic, it’s the first movie to get Thor’s characterization right. It loses points for including B******t C*********h, but it gains more points for everything described in this post, especially the way it specifically called out the way that societies built on imperialism try to cover up or whitewash the shameful bloody parts of their history. (“Proud to HAVE it. Ashamed of how he GOT it!!”)

Video Games

Nominations: Space Pilgrim Saga, VA-11 Hall-A, Fallen London

Winner: Fallen London. Confession time: I played a lot of video james this year, kind of went wild at the steam summer sale, and it was really hard to narrow it down to three nominations. Ultimately, though, Space Pilgrim Saga was nominated for humor and space and an endgame relationship between a gray-ace woman and a bisexual woman. VA-11 Hall-A was nominated for design and good music and queer representation and me being super gay for Dana.

But Fallen London wins because I’ve never played something that so naturally and regularly validates my gender identity and queerness. Not only do you get to choose a nonbinary option when creating your character, you also get to choose how the game addresses you and change it whenever you want, however many times you want. It’s always there (being referred to as a ‘gentleperson’ or any one of several non-gendered titles) but it’s never the defining aspect of your character or the subject of scrutiny/ridicule/whatever by any NPCs. Similarly, every point at which a romance is ‘required’* provides you with a male and a female option (and, as far as I’ve seen, the option to romance them both at once, too) and your choice of these is never determined or impacted by your character’s gender. Despite the ‘historical’ setting.

*in scare quotes because it’s needed to advance some stories and unlock others, but you do have the option of just. not doing them. or seducing the character for money or social status or some other personal gain, and not love. i'd like it if there was a non-romance option to advance these storylines, but eh.

It’s also just really well-written and interesting and funny and free to play-- there are storylines that cost money, and I’ve got my eye on several, but you never have to spend anything to advance. Even just keeping to the free storylines, there’s a ridiculous variety of things to do for whatever sort of person you want to play as. Go sign up now! Beware of wells! Don’t go North!!

Comics

Nominations: Harrow County vol. 3 “Snake Doctor”, Bitch Planet vol. 2 “President Bitch”, Ms. Marvel arc “Mecca”

Winner: “Mecca”

Okay.

I don’t remember if I ever posted it anywhere, but when this arc was being released earlier this year I had a Debate(TM) with myself about escapist storytelling vs. storytelling that holds up a mirror during rough times--how can you write escapism when hiding from problems does nothing? how can you write realism when the world already does so much to grind us down?--and I eventually settled that we need both, to read and to be written. Realism to show us how to fight. Escapism to help us rest so we can get back up.

This arc is so real it hurts, especially when you can only read it in monthly installments, but it’s the same hurt as pressing on a sore muscle. It’s necessary. There’s not a single aspect of this story that isn’t directly related to what’s happened this year, and what will go on happening next year, and the difficulty of resisting it, and the importance of continuing to do so anyway.

Also G. Willow Wilson appears to be the only Marvel writer who remembers that hydra is literally a splinter group of fuckng nazis so like

Podcasts

Nominations: Archive 81, Wolf 359, The Magnus Archives

Winner: Archive 81. What can I say? It’s precisely my shit. In fact, it’s so much my shit that it’s kind of hard to believe I’ve only known about it for a few months. Time is fake? I’ve already written in depth about how much I like this podcast over here, so I’m not gonna repeat myself.

Has to be said though that The Magnus Archives was a very close second. Like, when I started writing this post a few weeks ago, I had most of the winners already chosen, but this one was a last-minute decision. Especially when episode 81 (*EXTREMELY LOUD TWILIGHT ZONE THEME SONG*) was released and marked the first time in my life I’ve ever related to a male main character. Maybe a main character, period? At some point I’ll post a list of sampler episodes you can listen to without being too spoiled for the main plot to see if you wanna invest in a thing that’s got 86 installments so far.

so there we go! that’s been a sample of my year’s experience in fiction. see you all on the other side of this arbitrary dividing line that’s only marginally related to physical reality!

[podcake]

Podcasts & Style/Substance

I must share to you readers that I am in the middle of a very much expected but somewhat rough decision at the moment. After about six or more years of having the same black Toshiba laptop that has stored information from middle school crossover fanfiction to job resumes to questionable png files, I’m afraid it has officially kicked the bucket or at least fallen into some kind of cybernetic limbo. 

After one faithful day when it gave itself one less kick to grant me the privilege of finishing Miss Koboyashi’s Dragon Maid and was forced onto an infinite black screen for all eternity, it dawned on me that my little pal that has been my partner in blogging for years just couldn’t pull through the strength anymore. 

It was an old, busted thing by now-touch pad now replaced by a wireless mouse, brown-gray dust permanently caked onto the screen and in between the keyboard from lord knows wear, a severe lag that regularly musters an effort to keep my video files and word documents secure as I mindlessly surf the internet, and a battery that kept my computer at a pathetic half way point that threatened to undo all of my current progress if a passing dog were to trip the wire at the slightest. 

Little Tobi (as I called them) was a good friend and I will dearly miss them and the disposable information I will lose from letting it rot in the bottom of my bed for now. I write this now from my mother’s laptop as I secretly plan out my next move. 

The likely preceding from here is that I have plans to buy a new laptop to continue my work, to which you are entirely right. I am already aware that the simple black Toshiba with its decent screen size and functional keyboard are all I need for a few extra years of blogging and book pitches, but it’s so…boring. 

Beyond my desktop customization, there’s not much to old Tobi that really sparked the imagination of what kind of person I am and what business I have with a laptop from the get-go. To any passerby I could easily be an accountant or an overworked college student grinding through an essay. 

It’s a bland but perfectly usable piece of machinery that has done me no wrong for years, and yet I find myself eager to pursue something different. Something more pink.

I am set for my next laptop to be a pink one and my itchy buying finger might just make that happen before the summer ends. And my strong, personal desire for every item within my reach to be pink-or something related to pink-tends to skew my idea about features and actual quality. 

My sights have been set on a smaller computer with less memory and detachable keyboard for about a week and I am so very close to just finalizing the deal without anyone else’s input because…it’s pink. And I like pink.

This got me thinking about how we as content creators and consumers tend to be divided over what we perceive as genuine quality in our media. Specifically targeting podcasts, I do believe the concept of style and substance is a very common recurrence we come across and I have mentioned it at least vaguely in most of my reviews and other articles. 

The term “style vs substance” tends to have a fairly flexible meaning behind it that can pertain to multiple aspects at once. This contrast can come to mind when dealing with everyday obstacles and personal preferences over pretty much anything, though let’s talk about how it pertains to audio fiction since I know that’s what you’re here for.

Substance has to mainly deal with the idea of something’s overall depth and purpose. Substance aims to tell you one thing or multiple things and provide it in such a way that the idea can’t be muddled or misinterpreted. Be it an Aesop or a specific type of theme or message, substance is meant to leave an impression in more of the practical variety.

Style is much different. Style can be easily defined as to how something is done or presented in a way that is distinctly unique. Style aims to be eye-catching, interesting, or to generally appeal to a certain type of aesthetic choice. It wants to look good or cool or scary or weird and will go by any stretch of the imagination to fulfill that.

A story that relies too heavily on substance will certainly have a focal point and a clear narrative that is easy to digest, but it will be at the risk of being unremarkable. It will not stick with a listener if an audio drama has a very clean cut story and characters that all fit predetermined roles but no real flair of individuality that makes its whole plot really ring any bells besides the ones set to a very specific tune. 

On the flip side of this coin, too much style can provide an entirely different dilemma. This creates the situation in a which a show is rich in pretty little details and nice music and the occasional wit, but it will ultimately be as compelling as a screensaver. These stories don’t exist in the realm of being genuinely deep or progressive but rather to just to give off a unique vibe, which can make it rather hollow in everything else. 

In my last article, I did go on about my irritation with podcasts that don’t cater to a story and care more about being quirky for quirky’s sake, namely about the over saturation of the “fake radio show” format that is hopefully being reworked by The Bridge as we speak, but that’s a topic I’ve ragged on enough one March ago.

And despite this, I am lucky enough to be invested in a type of medium that seems to have this style and substance balance pretty well figured out. 

Not everyone is a winner in this department, though I am confident in my belief that many podcast writers know that their vision is not complete without a purpose and that this purpose can stay relevant with just the right amount of tasteful flourish. 

As this is a fairly open-ended topic, there is more than one way to manage this balance. For example, I believe a show is capable of being more heavy on substance while still having a style because the aesthetic of choice was minimalist to begin with. Titles that comes to mind is The Bright Sessions, Wolf 359, and the newest show I’ve gotten around to simply titled OAKPODCAST. 

I won’t go into much detail about each one though all of them do cater more to providing substance over style in a way that works. They are known best for their character focus, engaging dialogue and some occasional thoughtful narration, and mostly realistic portrayal of its setting even though they will occasionally lean heavily on otherworldly elements to show the setting is not as normal as it appears. 

These shows are abundant in the substance category because its ideas are meant to be narrowed down to a few very specific idea pertaining to whatever arc or character they may focusing on. And yet they are still memorable because they exist in a world that is just different enough from our own that we’d like to learn more about it.

Shows that play more into style than substance can be equally engaging. Ones that come to mind are Hadron Gospel Hour and The Meat Blockade, two very different shows that are dedicated to strong stylistic choices that don’t interfere with its narrative. 

Be it Gospel Hour with its love for dimensional travel and ideas directly inspired from seventies and eighties pop culture or The Meat Blockade’s ideas drawn from the likes of Kafkaesque and surreal humor and just the right touch of Broadway, it’s clear where the focus is meant to be without it being a deal breaker on where the story lies in all this. Thus the strange decisions work as a service to the story rather than it being treated as a lesser priority. 

Going back to the Broadway thing, I wasn’t kidding. The Meat Blockade has an entire, roughly four minute segment in their fifth episode where a group of anthropomorphic frogs break out in a music number…and it works really well because it’s ultimately an exposition song that describes their current situation, the hidden lore about the setting, some hints of foreshadow, and nicely transitions into the next scene and leaves on a cliff hanger for episode six.

It’s such a strange choice editing and writing wise and I’m choosing to provide this as an example because it’s a damn excellent way to establish creativity and tasteful zaniness that still works to inform.

But it is also possible to have a fifty-fifty situation going on where the style and the substance coexist so well that one cannot exist without the other.

Our Fair City comes to mind where it’s richly described dystopian world and unique characters are used to explore more in-depth themes and still have one single tale to tell, or, multiple branching tales. 

The same can apply to Greater Boston with just a touch more realism thrown into the mix, creating a fairly stylish and satisfying audio drama about life in a fictionalized version of a real city.

The key here is that the world and its rules play a part in why the characters act the way they do which lets it be equal parts distinct and fulfilling as a story.

Without these aesthetic decisions in mind, some of these shows simply wouldn’t be what they are while the same can apply the substance latent shows who wouldn’t be the same without their choice of character interaction and treatment of specific themes. 

Some are far more likely to lean more towards one than the other but that’s because it’s not a necessity for The Bright Sessions to have a jazzy backtrack and it’s not expected for The Meat Blockade to have a long and detailed monologue about Berenger’s relationship with his girlfriend. 

But that’s the interesting thing about the style and substance equation-it can be switched around as many times as necessary to fit a story’s current narrative. Maybe one day we learn the tragic backstory of a single gag character, maybe one day there will be a stretch of retro-funk music played over a straight faced hero’s inner thoughts. 

It’s when these ideas are of service to the stakes and a characters’ all around presence that the script can be flipped and deliver a much needed change of tone that keeps the listener on their toes.

This won’t only be impressive on a sound design and editing standpoint, but also establish some diversity in the writing style to keep the story varied and interesting. 

Whatever the balance may be, it must be one that lets the story flourish in a way that feels authentic and natural. A concept is only as strong as the effort going into it. 

Don’t allow a story to be expressed in a distinct way then it won’t be remembered but let flair and pizzazz be too much of a focus and your final product will come off as meaningless fluff. 

Let your world building and natural need for sparkle be the thing that draws in the viewer rather than isolate them from the goings on of what is especially important. 

Don’t let characters fade into oblivion from a need to make a story easy to understand, let them be factors and active players, not mouthpieces and exposition machines. 

And if one certain element speaks to your project more than the other, that is entirely understandable. Certain plots are better seen through a substance perspective than a stylish one and some ideas are best seen with stylish decisions being a priority with substance being a smaller part of the equation.

I suppose you could say it’s less a case of style vs substance than it is style/substance or substance/style-it’s a balancing act that comes with compromise and patience rather, not just a case of right and wrong.

So thus my decision about what new laptop I should get to replace my old one is less a choice of a functional laptop or a pink laptop, but rather settling on a functional pink laptop.

[flauntpage]

Morning Wood: Bae Comes Back

What a bunch of losers.

Your fan base is so bad that it doesn’t know right from wrong, basic good vs. evil.

The decision to boo Bryce Harper was so laughably uninformed and wrong-headed that not only did it have the exact opposite effect, spurring him on to a 3-5 performance with a double, home run and 3 RBIs, but it also showed what a classless bunch of sad sacks Nats fans are, all 8 of them and the 2 who remained after the Phillies rained down a hailstorm of extra base hits into their cavernous baseball diorama.

Maybe if the handful of congressional aides who root for the Nationals had looked up from Politico and stopped pining for Mike Allen’s Playbook long enough yesterday to see the big, hulking article in Jeff Bezos’ Washington Post detailing the pair of offers whose structure resembled something more akin to a life insurance annuity than a contract befitting one of the best athletes on the planet they would have known to direct their boos to the owner’s box and not onto the field.

That’s the difference between Phillies fans and singular Nats fan, lone Wolf Blitzer– we would have been clued in to that subtle dynamic and channeled our vitriol according. Dopey Nats fans just brought their weeny little signs and half-assed attempts to feign something even resembling a real fan base.

Hey, losers, boo this:

The return. #Crushed pic.twitter.com/nUMAupbpg5

— MLB (@MLB) April 3, 2019

Let’s Wood!

Blastoff

Bob tackled the home run already, but let’s see that in an instant replay:

Holy Bryce Harper #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/y0Olu4lf9S

— 2008 Phillies (@2008Philz) April 3, 2019

  The bat flip

Gimme:

F U homer of there ever was one pic.twitter.com/HxjB8lLbIs

— Kyle Scott (@CrossingBroad) April 3, 2019

You asked for it. You got it.

Welcome to your 1st Batcast moment of 2019, @bryceharper3. pic.twitter.com/oaIyZesWcY

— Cut4 (@Cut4) April 3, 2019

  The bow

The funny thing is, Harper had already used up his bow for the evening after his RBI base hit earlier. When he returned to the field after the home run, a simple nod and hat tip was all he could offer. It’s like even he didn’t want to fully bury Nationals fans after just one round. Though had he taken a curtain call after the home run, it somehow wouldn’t have felt out-of-place. In fact, it would have been just right.

  Numbers

Bryce Harper is batting .429 with a 1.770 OPS, two doubles, three home runs, and five RBIs. He has reached base on more than half of his plate appearances and he’s hitting the ball farther than he ever has before. His 458-foot home run last night came on the heels of his 465-foot blast the other day, giving him two of the three longest home runs in baseball this year. He only had two 450+ foot home runs all of last season.

  Who wore it better?

Who do you think spent more time practicing their dig in the mirror last night, Tom McCarthy or the Nats’ Twitter person?

I’m gonna give the edge to T-Mac here. I like feisty T-Mac, when it’s obvious the Nationals are building their entire branding campaign and identity this year around hating Bryce Harper. Oppo research that turns up nothing.

McCarthy after Harper’s first strike out: “These Nats fans have never won a championship since coming back to DC, but they’re celebrating as if they’ve won something.”

Nats Twitter person after both strike outs:

thank u, next

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) April 2, 2019

Yo homes, smell ya later. pic.twitter.com/3Jf1aR8mJq

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) April 3, 2019

The best part is, the Nats’ account didn’t Tweet until 100 minutes later, when they cut it to 8-2. They never mentioned Harper again. Weird.

  The Latin Quarter came up strong

Cesar Hernandez-Odubel Herrera-Maikel Franco were a combined 6-9 with four runs scored.

  Tom McCarthy reads Crossing Broad

Last night, T-Mac noted why it made sense to sit Aaron Nola, citing his stats after five days rest.

Sounded familiar:

And here are his career rest splits:

Four Days: 41 games, 17-18, 4.73 ERA, .256 BA, 30 HR allowed, .426 SLG% .735 OPS, 1.281 WHIP Five Days: 43 games, 23-7, 2.29 ERA, .210 BA, 21 HR allowed .309 SLG%, .580 OPS, 1.036 WHIP

I see you, Tommy. Give me some code on the broadcast today.

  Dopey little Nats fans

Between the ass-whooping the Phillies are putting on the Nationals or the fact that Nats fans can't even spell traitor right, I'm not sure which is worse, but I'm loving every part of it #RingTheBell #RingTheDamnBell pic.twitter.com/Ho4EbRO01P

— Mr. Feeny (@CoachFeeny) April 3, 2019

  Wave

The wave is quickly becoming the best thing about the 2019 Phillies. I mean:

Me in Little League pretending I don’t see my mom waving to me from the stands. pic.twitter.com/9XUBFbEOhp

— CogginToboggan (@CogginToboggan) April 3, 2019

MOOD pic.twitter.com/gKgfMf33LZ

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) April 3, 2019

More of this, please.

  Betting

From yesterday:

I don’t know why you’d read any other site!

  Hardballs

Actual analysis from Bob

Gabe Kapler once again rolled with the same eight position players in last night’s game. That streak will probably come to an end this afternoon, but it speaks volumes about the manager’s confidence in his starting lineup. Unfairly criticized for his lack of lineup continuity last season, because the lineup was brutal, Kapler didn’t start the same eight position players in four straight games until early June. Amazing how we’re seeing some consistency from him after receiving upgrades from what was just slightly better than a JV offense to one that is currently posting MLB’s second-best OPS (.965) and top-ranked slugging percentage (.577). Yeah, it’s early, but these guys can rake.

Some other way-too-early rankings from the Phillies’ offense: BB% (2nd), OBP (3rd), ISO (1st). Nerd shit, I know, but let’s put it like this—the Phillies have the third-lowest O-Swing% (out of zone swing percentage) thus far, meaning they’re being selective at the plate and capitalizing on opposing pitchers’ mistakes. That’s the name of the game, and while this level of production isn’t entirely sustainable, some of the deeper numbers suggest that what we’re seeing isn’t exactly a fluke.

If you want a practical application of those pitch selection numbers, take a look at what the lineup did last night against Max Scherzer. Indeed, Scherzer had nine strikeouts and only allowed one earned run, but the Phillies had him out of the game after only five innings because he threw 96 pitches. They won’t just rely on the long ball, they’ll continuously grind away at opposing starters. Pair that with their considerable power potential, and, well, good luck, National League.

Finally, Aaron Nola goes today. I wrote yesterday about why it was smart of Kapler to hold his ace back another day. Take a look at Nola’s rest splits from last season:

Four Days: 13 games, 7-4, 2.71 ERA, .201 BA, 11 HR allowed, .359 SLG% .611 OPS

Five Days: 17 games, 10-1, 1.83 ERA, .186 BA, 4 HR allowed, .261 SLG% .521 OPS

And here are his career rest splits:

Four Days: 41 games, 17-18, 4.73 ERA, .256 BA, 30 HR allowed, .426 SLG% .735 OPS, 1.281 WHIP

Five Days: 43 games, 23-7, 2.29 ERA, .210 BA, 21 HR allowed .309 SLG%, .580 OPS, 1.036 WHIP

That’s what using your data to maximize player output looks like. Nola faces Anibal Sanchez, with extra rest, and a scorching-hot team behind him. I didn’t know it was possible to feel this level of serenity so early in the season.

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