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carriagelamp · 4 years ago

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~ Queer Lit 30 Day Book Challenge ~

I decided to do this challenge I came across for June! Originally it was designed as a “day-by-day” thing, but my June was way too hectic to do a write up every single day… so I decided to make a nice compilation for the end of the month instead!

This is perhaps not the “purest” form of the challenge but I wanted it to be personal for me. Growing up when I did and where I did, I had very little exposure to queer books, especially age-appropriate queer books. That being said, there’s some books on this list that are really only “queer” by technically, or through a secondary character rather than the main character. I debated whether to include these but finally decided that, yes, I would. I owe it to myself. Even though some of these books that aren’t “as queer” as other, they were (or are) really important to me as a queer person and my journey is understanding that, so I wanted to acknowledge them!

More info about the books and the challenge under the cut!

Day One: First Queer Book You Remember Reading

Color by Taishi Zaou and Eiki Eiki

Remember how I mentioned a lack of available, age-appropriate queer books? I was one of those kids who was definitely exposed (probably too young) to queer manga/yaoi. It wasn’t necessarily what I wanted, especially as a wee ace teen, but it was the best I had at the time and it meant the world to me at the time, to see same-sex relationships even if looking back on them is very “YIKES”.

I’m sure I read others before this, but Color is one of the first that I really remember and which I a) actually owned and which b) wasn’t completely repellent in hindsight! I haven’t reread it in probably over a decade so I have no idea how it stands up, but at the time it read like a much more “realistic” account of two teenagers developing a crush and starting a relationship and as a questioning teenager it really helped me realize that this was a real, viable option.

Day Two: Queer Book That Reminds You Of Home

The Witch Boy by Molly Knox Ostertag

I hummed and hawed about this one for a long time because honestly I tend to read books that make me feel far from home. I decided to go with The Witch Boy though because it’s a story that challenges gender norms and stars a large family out in the woods, running wild and exploring magic, and honestly it gives me vibes that remind me of vacationing with my extended family. We’re also partially ginger and inclined to run wild in the woods. If we knew magic we’d have used it for sure.

This book is about 13 year old Aster, who lives in a family where the women all become witches and the men all become shifters. Aster, however, has no interest in shapeshifting and instead finds ways to study magic and learn the arts of witchcraft while constantly being pushed out by his female relatives… though everything might change when a new danger, that may or may not be connected to Aster studying magic, begins to appear.

Day Three: Queer Book That Has Been On Your TBR Too Long

Beneath The Citadel by Destiny Soria

That was an easy choice, this has been sitting on my bookshelf for months, staring at me accusingly every time I enter my room. I’m really excited to read it (Magical heist? Rebellion? With an asexual protagonist? Yes please) but for some reason I have not gotten around to it. Some day, baby, some day.

Day Four: Queer Book With A Name Or Number In The Title

George by Alex Gino

George is an absolutely charming middle grade novel about a child named George who the world perceives as male… but who knows she’s definitely a girl. The novel begins when her class decided to put on a play about the novel they had just read: Charlotte’s Web. George is desperate to play Charlotte, her favourite character, but isn’t even allowed to try out because it’s a “girl’s role”. George and her best friend struggle with how to handle this problem and manage George’s secret amid elementary school and home drama.

This book is really adorable – it was a nice, easy, cozy read for an adult, and would also make a great read aloud to elementary-age children if you want to introduce them to transgender characters.

Day Five: Queer Book Where The Protag Has A Fun Job

The Magic Misfits by Neil Patrick Harris

Not actually a queer protagnoist, but a queer side character who plays a major role in the series. Mister Vernon, one of Leila’s fathers, has arguable the coolest job: he’s a retired stage magician turn magic shop owner, which is complete with large rabbit, hidden room, and tons of fascinating gadgets to help a young practical magician learn their trade. He is hands down one of the neatest character in the series and is a major catalyst throughout the series.

The first book follows Carter, a runaway orphan who practices street magic to get by, as he runs away from his horrible uncle and winds up meeting a gang of magic-loving friends in a small town. Hiding from his uncle is only the beginning though, and the mysteries surrounding the town and Mister Vernon become thicker and thicker as the series goes on.

Day Six: Favourite Queer Graphic Novel

Check, Please! by Ngozi Ukazu

There’s lots of fantastic queer graphic novels out there, but I have to name Check, Please! as my favourite (and not just because I’m Canadian and am legally obligated to at least show interest in a hockey story). Check, Please! is the friggin cutest story about Eric “Bitty” Bittle, former figure skater and avid baker, who joins the Samwell University hockey team. The story is told in the form of Bitty’s vlog as he recounts the bizarre quirks of the Samwell hockey team, his struggle to overcome his fear of checking, and his growing crush on the team captain, Jack. Seriously guys, this is cavity-inducing sweetness and you can read it all online for free, here on tumblr @omgcheckplease or at its own website, checkpleasecomic.

Day Seven: Queer Book You Often Reread

Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan

Another book I haven’t reread in years, but this was the first queer novel I ever read (and owned!) so I read it obsessively, first the copy from the high school library and then my own copy (which is, let us say, well-thumbed by this point). It was pure fluff, in an aggressively diverse, relentlessly accepting, rainbow-coloured high school and it was exactly what I wanted in high school, and it still makes me happy whenever I remember it. It’s a straight-up high school romance, pretty traditional to the genre, but it has the most delightful supporting cast you could ever ask for. Maybe I should reread it again this summer…

Day Eight: Queer Book With A Happy Ending

Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst

This was a bit more of a “yeah it was fine” book for me, but honestly… queer people deserve some average, run-of-the-mill YA fantasies. As far as my normal reading preferences go, run-of-the-mill YA fantasies are my bread and butter. And this one has a cute sapphic romance to go with it. It’s about Denna, a princess with a dangerous secret: she has a magical Affinity for fire, despite being betrothed to the prince of a kingdom that aggressively prosecutes and fears magic-users. So now Denna is in a strange land, trying to hide her increasingly volatile magic, solve an assassination that rocked the kingdom, and deal with the growing connection between her and the prince’s wild sister, Mare. It has court intrigue, a murder mystery, horses, and lots of confused sapphic pining so it’s totally worth picking up if you want a light summer fantasy adventure.

Day Nine: Queer Book With (Over) 100 Pages

River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey

I decided to try to get as close to 100 pages as possible! River of Teeth is a 114-page novella that I haven’t quite finished (work and covid stress happened) but which I am fucking losing my mind for. I can’t recommend it enough. It’s peak alternative history, about queer hippopotamus-riding cowboys in Louisiana during the early 20th (late 19th?) century. Like… I don’t know how to emphasize how unbelievably cool this book is. Genderqueer demolition expert with a giant crush and a penance for making things blow up and attempting to poison guests when they’re bored?? Check. Gay gunslinging hippo-riding cowboy with an angsty backstory (and also a giant crush)? Check. Sexy, fat, badass lady con artist with an albino hippo that she spoils? Check. Like damn guys. I’m not done the book and I’ve already bought the sequel because I know the second I pick it back up I’m not gonna stop until I’ve ploughed through it all. This book is the epitome of “refuge in audacity” and “rule of cool”. Is it over the fucking top? Absolutely but that’s the point.

Day Ten: Favourite Queer Genre Novel

The Red Scrolls of Magic by Cassandra Clare

I’ll be honest, I’m a little shaky on what counts as a genre novel (isn’t… everything… a genre??) so I decided to interpret it as “slightly trashy YA supernatural fantasy” because that sure is a hella specific genre I’m weak for.

I really thought I was done with the Shadowhunter novels, I thought they were a goofy series I left behind in teenagerhood that I could look back on with amused indulgence. And then I found out that there was a novel specifically about Alec and Magnus and! Oh no! Ding dong I was wrong. I fell back in hard because listen… I love them. They were one of the first canonical same-sex relationships I ever read about in an actual novel, they meant a lot to me then and still mean a lot to me now. I have nothing to say to defend myself here except that this book wrecked me and I can’t wait for the sequel.

Day Eleven: Queer Book You Love In A Genre You Don’t Read

Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connel

I am very rarely a slice-of-life / romance genre sort of person. I like my stories cut with a heavy dose of fantasy, scifi, action-adventure… something. So a graphic novel that’s not only a romance, but one about an unhealthy relationship and infidelity is like… super outside my usual range of reading material. But it was very much worth the read! The art was stunning, and the complicated emotions it tapped into really touched me. I’m very happy to have read it, and was so damn satisfied by the end.

Day Twelve: Queer Book With A Strong Sense Of Place

Belle Révolte by Linsey Miller

Linsey Miller is one author I very actively follow, I love her works and they always have very distinct, complicated worlds with unique societies and magic systems. Belle Révolte was her latest book and followed a prince-and-the-pauper type of story, in which wealthy Emilie des Marais is determined to learn noonday (magical) arts in order to become a physician, someone who can actually work to make her home a better place… but this is not something a proper lady would ever be allowed to do. So she flees her finishing school and meets poor, but magically gifted, Annette Boucher and offers her the chance to switch places. Annette goes back to school as “Emilie” and gets to hone her skills at the midnight arts while Emilie will use her name to sneak into medical school and fight her way up the ranks to physician. This is a challenging enough task, with rebellion roiling just beneath the surface and the country about to slip into a arrogant war that threatens the lives of hundreds…

Day Thirteen: Queer Book That Really Made You Think

Our Dreams At Dusk by Yuhki Kamatani

This is a four book manga series that is completely breath-taking. It’s touched by magical-realism and completely drowned in visually stunning metaphors and symbolism. Seriously, I’ve reread these books multiples times trying to digest how the wide variety of symbols overlap and contradict and compliment and challenge each other. I still haven’t really gotten a solid handle on it, it’s very fluid, so yeah… definitely makes me think.

The story starts with Tasuku Kaname who believes he may have just been outed as gay by a high school friend, and feels like he’s watching his entire world crumble around him. He is seriously considering taking his own life, when he runs into the mysterious woman “Someone-san” and winds up leading him to a drop-in center that’s run by a local non-profit, and is also a hub for a number of queer people in the community. The books follow Tasuku as he grows, learns, makes mistakes, and confronts his feelings, along with a number of other members at the drop-in center. It is completely beautiful, optimistic, but also quite stark and harsh at its look at homophobia and transphobia in modern Japanese society and how it can effect people in different ways. I just bought book four and can’t wait to read it and see how everything ends.

Day Fourteen: Queer Book That Made You Cry

The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline

Holy shit guys. Listen. Listen. If you don’t read any other book on this list, please consider reading The Marrow Thieves. It is hands down the best book I’ve read so far this year. Another book that doesn’t have a queer character as the protag, but as one of the main supporting characters and listen, his story fucking destroyed me as a person. That romance just… aaaaaaah. AAAAAAAAH.

Anyway. The Marrow Thieves is a Canadian dystopian novel. It takes place in a post-climate change world in which society has been ravaged – partially due to the wildly different and extreme weather patterns, but also through a strange disease that has spread through the population that has left people completely incapable of dreaming. Now unable to rest, process their lives, and dream of a future, people are being driven insane and only one group appears to be immune: North America’s First Nations people appear to be unaffected. And so they begin to be harvested, rounded up and collected in “school” in order for people to suck the marrow out of them to give to white people afflicted by this disease. The Marrow Thieves follows a First Nations boy named Frenchie as he flees the recruiters and tries his best to survive in this post-apocalyptic like wilderness, banding together with other First Nations people who are heading north, where they hope to find communities of their own people with whom they can shelter and start to rebuild their lives.

It’s a YA level novel, not very long, and such an insanely good read. I cannot emphasize enough PLEASE GO READ THIS BOOK.

Day Fifteen: Queer Book That Made You LOL

Mostly Void, Partially Stars by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor

Welcome to Nightvale always makes me laugh and it was a lot of fun to get to read the transcripts of the episodes. I’m a sucker for novelizations/transcripts of shows. It was a nice nostalgia trip and gave me an excuse to go back and relisten to some of my favourite episodes too! If you’ve never gotten into Nightvale… hey, it’s a classic! Podcast is fucking stunning if you’re into podcasts, and if you’re not but would enjoy a weird, queer, eldritch horror comedy then try the book! It’s the first “season” compiled in text form, exactly how it’s heard in the show.

Day Sixteen: Queer Book That Is Really Personal To You

Jughead volume 1 by Chip Zdarsky et al

Including this one because gee golly it sure did make me want to fight a lot of people for quite a while. It was one of the first stories I ever found/read that had an explicitly asexual main character… (and a character I already really loved! Which I now got to feel an even stronger connection to! It was so fun and validating!) so it was super awesome how like half of tumblr decided for a year there that this was apparently a cardinal sin. Imagine… one single version of old, long standing comic series deciding to retcon a character to represent a heavily under-represented community… imagine being so fucking angry about that that you decide to start a hate campaign on the internet. So much fun to live through that as an ace person. Anyway, these comics were nothing amazing but I sure do love them aggressively out of pure spite, even now that the aphobia on tumblr has died back down I will hold this to my chest and adore it.

Day Seventeen: Favourite Queer Book Sequel or Spin Off

The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee

Honestly do I even need to say anything here? Is there any queer person who hasn’t read Mackenzi Lee’s The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue series? If you are someone who hasn’t read it yet… go do that?? Absolutely stunning, one of my all-time favourite book series. It’s the perfect combination of hilarious and goofy, intense action, heartfelt character development, and a dash of “wait was that supernatural or??” This sequel was fantastic, this time focusing on Felicity, Monty’s sister, and her quest to become a physician despite being a woman in the 18th century. Awesome look at femininity, feminism, asexuality, and race. (Also… OT3? OT3.)

Day Eighteen: Favourite Queer Book By A Favourite Author

Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett

One of those “ehh is this technically queer? Not really but close enough, it is in my heart” books. It was one of the books I read as a teenager when I was still beginning to seek out and try to explore queer lit in so much as I could.

Terry Pratchett is, hands down, my favourite author, and though he doesn’t tend to write explicitly queer literature, his exploration of gender through allegory is top fucking tier. Everything to do with the dwarves in his series is fascinating, and a really great challenge/critique/exploration of gender, and this is the book that takes it to the next level (and brings in at least implicitly queer characters). It’s about Polly Perks, who lives in a small, war torn nation, choosing to join the army in order to find out what happened to her brother. However, as tradition dictates, she can’t join as a girl… so she disguises herself as Ozzer, a young man. There’s a lot of twists and turns, and as always Pratchett delivers fantastic humour and just absolutely delicious satire.

Day Nineteen: Queer Book That Changed Your Life

And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson

This was the book that made me realize that I, as a queer teacher, could have queer kid lit in my future classroom. Maybe a comparatively small revelation, but a really important one to me. It made me realize that this didn’t need to be something I kept a secret in my professional life and which could really positively influence children, especially queer children. It was the first queer children’s book I ever bought.

Day Twenty: Favourite Queer Book Series

Candy Color Paradox by Isaku Natsume

Alright… I’ll admit it, this isn’t actually my favourite series, but I’ve used my favourites in other spots. And this is a good one! Definitely more of an actual “yaoi” than the other manga I’ve included (here there be sex) but it has a very different vibe that what I’m used to from that type of manga. The main pair are actually both capable, mature adults, with careers they actively care about, and who get together in the first volume!

The rest of the series is less about them angst-ily toeing around their relationship, and much more about them learning to grow as a couple and balance their work and relationship and society. It’s funny and sweet, and I really enjoy these two losers. It’s a very low-stakes enemy-to-friends-to-lovers story, in which Onoe (a reporter) and Kaburagi (a photographer) are paired up on a news story they’re supposed to dig into together. What starts as a bickering rivalry gradually becomes respect, friendship, and love~ Onoe is a gremlin of a protag, so he’s a treat to follow.

Day Twenty-One: Queer Book That You Recommend A Lot

Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller

To repeat myself: Linsey Miller is awesome! This is my favourite book of hers, the first of a duology. It’s kind of like an intense, edgy Tamora Pierce novel with murder. In this world, the Queen has a team of assassins known as the Left Hand. They’re an elite group that keeps the Queen safe and does the dirty work that needs to be done to protect the kingdom and keep the encroaching nations at bay. When the assassin Opal is killed, a contest is announced to find the new Opal. People from all over come to complete for the honour of being one of the Queen’s royal assassins, including gender-fluid thief Sallot Leon. Sal has some deep motivations to become Opal that go beyond a loyalty to their kingdom, but they’re going to have to survive their competitors if they even wants a chance at it… (Sal generally goes by either she or he in the books, but I’m using they in this instance since it’s in a more general sense.)

Day Twenty-Two: Queer Book That Made You Take Action

The Deep by Rivers Solomon

Uhh, I don’t really have any books that made me take action per se, but this one sure gave me a lot to think about. It’s about deep sea mermaids who originated from the pregnant slave women tossed into the ocean to drown during passage to North America. From those dying women, this race was born and were taken in by whales, raised and protected until they could descend into the deep ocean waters, to form their own safe society. Their collective past is so painful though that as a species they’ve developed a very short term memory. But a people can’t live without any ties to their roots and so one of them, the Historian, holds all the memories for their entire species and shares it with everyone once a year so that the community can be connected to their ancestors before once again returning the memories to the Historian for safe keeping. Yetu, the current Historian, is so overwhelmed by these memories, that she can no longer take it – she flees her people, her responsibilities, and her pain and escapes to the surface instead...

Day Twenty-Three: Queer Book By An Author Who I Killed Is Dead

Cybersix by Carlos Trillo

I cannot emphasize enough, this is not actually a queer comic, it is in fact a very homophobic, transphobic and sexist comic written by a horrible person.

That being said, he’s dead and I own it now the TV series was essentially about a genderqueer superhero and a very confused bi biology professor who has a crush on both personas. I had a passionate crush on both personas as a child, and I will cherrypick this comic until I die in order to enjoy the only kickass genderqueer/genderfluid noir antihero I’ve come across. I am valid and I am not open to debate or discussion. Do not read this comic it’s horrible (but consider watching the show).

Day Twenty-Four: Queer Book You Wish You’d Read When Younger

The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang

This is such an incredibly soft story with the nicest art. There’s so much understanding and compassion in it and its exploration of gender and self-confidence and being true to yourself would have been very reassuring to me as a child, especially by late elementary/middle school.

Day Twenty-Five: Queer Book In A Historical Setting

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

A retelling of Achilles’ and Patroclus’ relationship from childhood to the Trojan war. So yeah, you can imagine that this was also a candidate for Day 14 :’) I haven’t read this one in years but god it was lovely and emotionally destroyed me as a person.

Day Twenty-Six: Queer Superhero Book or Comic

Overwatch: Reflections by Michael Chu and Miki Montillo

I don’t really read superhero stories very often (the comics have always driven me a little bonkers, trying to find a way to enter the totally unapproachable Marvel/DC canons, and the MCU burnt me out years ago for every other sort of superhero story) so this is the closest I can get. Tracer’s a superhero yeah? Anyway, I, like every other queer person in the Overwatch fandom, lost my fucking mind when this dropped for Christmas a few years back and officially declared Lena Oxton not only the face of the entire franchise but also a lesbian. It’s an adorable little comic and Tracer’s girlfriend is a sweetheart.

Day Twenty-Seven: Favourite Queer Children’s Picture Book

Prince & Knight by Daniel Haack

There’s a number of sweet queer children’s books that are popping up these days, but this is my favourite just because it’s less about “explaining the gays to children” (though those books also have their place) and more of a cute little fantasy adventure in which the actual protagonist is gay. It’s about a prince who sets out to find himself a bride who can help rule by his side, but it quickly becomes clear that he isn’t interested in any of the girls. Instead, when a fire breathing dragon threatens his kingdom, he meets a brave knight who fights along side him. It’s very supportive and the art is lovely.

Day Twenty-Eight: Queer Book That Made You Feel Uncomfortable

Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann

This is a book with an asexual protagonist that I was originally really excited for. I know there are a lot of people out there who really enjoy this book and connected with it, but it didn’t do it for me. Maybe because my expectations were too high, but the protagonist’s experience with asexuality was vastly different than my own and the narrative voice ended up rubbing me wrong (and let’s be honest, slice-of-life romance is NOT my usual genre at all). So it’s not “made me uncomfortable because it’s Bad And Wrong” more just… totally vibed wrong with me. Maybe the perfect book for other people but definitely not for me, I had to return this one unfinished because it’s portrayal of asexuality just made me so deeply uncomfortable.

Day Twenty-Nine: Queer Book That Made You Want To Fall In Love

The Gentleman’s Guide To Vice And Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

This book had to make it on here somewhere, and honestly it could have gone in a lot of different spots, but I chose to put it here because the relationship between Monty and Percy is so incredibly sweet and authentic it really does make you want something like that. TGGTVAV (for anyone who has somehow not heard of it) takes place in the 18th century, and is about Monty, his best friend (and crush) Percy, and his sister Felicity going on a final “hurrah” tour of Europe before Monty's father finally tries to pin him down in England and force every part of Monty that’s deemed “unacceptable” out of him. So Monty intends to live this summer up… until everything goes off the rail and the three of them are suddenly fleeing across the continent with assassins at their heels and a strange, stolen artifact in their possession.

Monty has a lot of growing to do in this novel, and that’s one of my favourite things about it. For his and Percy’s relationship to ever have a chance, Monty needs to learn and change and actually communicate with other people, and it makes the relationship feel strong. Not a fluffy, surface level romance that often happens in YA but something built from the ground up by two friends who really want to make it work. Ahh, it’s lovely. One of my favourite novels.

Day Thirty: Queer Book With Your Favourite Ending

My Brother’s Husband by Gengoroh Tagame

A two-book manga series that was completely stunning. It deals with queer relationships and homophobia in a very stark, real-world manner that you don’t often get in manga, while still being incredibly loving and sympathetic. The book is about Yaichi, a single father whose estranged brother (Ryoji) recently died. One day, a Canadian named Mike arrives, introducing himself as Ryoji’s widower. Mike had come hoping to visit his late husband’s homeland to try to get some closure, and Yaichi ends up inviting Mike to stay. The whole story looks Japan’s societal biases, through Mike’s experiences, Yaichi’s thoughts, feelings and prejudices, and those of his daughter who adores Mike.

Seriously, this is one of the kindest, most earnest looks I’ve ever seen to internal prejudices that critiques them without demonizing the person who feels them. Instead it lovingly embraces grief, growth, and love. This series made me cry multiple times, was good enough that even my straight brother practically ordered me to go out and buy the second book when he finished the first, and the ending was just *chef’s kiss*

Honourable Mentions

A few books I really wanted to fit on my list somehow but couldn’t quite manage it, so here: All Out an anthology of historical fiction short stories about queer teens. The Tea Dragon Society series and Princess Princess Ever After, graphic novels by the amazingly talented Katie O’Neill. Heartstopper a webcomic turn graphic novel by Alice Oseman about a pair of rugby players. The Different Dragon a cute picture book in which the boy has two moms and which is about accepting different ways of being. And Lady Knight a part of Tamora Pierce’s Protector of the Small series because because Kel is word-of-god aro(and/or ace) and I’ve adored that series and Kel since I was about thirteen so by god I’ll take it.

Now for those that wanted to do their own challenge, I found it on @gailcarriger’s blog.

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terramythos · 4 years ago

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TerraMythos' 2020 Reading Challenge - Book 27 of 26

Title: How Long ‘Til Black Future Month? (2018)

Author: N. K. Jemisin

Genre/Tags: Short Story Collection, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Horror, Dystopia, Magical Realism, Steampunk, Cyberpunk, Post-Apocalyptic, Female Protagonist(s), LGBT Protagonist(s).

Rating: 8/10 (Note: This is an average of all the stories -- see below the cut for individual story blurbs/ratings).

Date Began: 9/27/2020

Date Finished: 10/4/2020

I really liked this collection! Jemisin wrote my favorite fanstasy/scifi series ever with The Broken Earth trilogy, and I really enjoyed her recent novel The City We Became. I was in the mindset for shorter fiction so decided to read this collection of short stories. Of these 22 stories, my absolute favorites (9/10 or higher) were:

The City Born Great - 10/10

The Effluent Engine - 9/10

Cloud Dragon Skies - 9/10

The Trojan Girl -10/10

Valedictorian - 9/10

The Evaluators - 10/10

Stone Hunger - 9/10

The Narcomancer - 9/10

Too Many Yesterdays, Not Enough Tomorrows - 9/10

Sinners, Saints, Dragons, and Haints, in the City Beneath the Still Waters - 9/10

A more detailed summary/reaction to each story under the cut. WARNING: IT’S LONG.

1. Those Who Stay and Fight - 8/10

Describes a utopia called Um-Helat that exists solely because no one is seen as superior or inferior to anyone else. Over time we learn it's a future, or potential future, of America. But America today is pure anathema to it due to rampant structural inequality. In order to achieve its utopian ideal, Um-Helatians have to root out and destroy people corrupted by the past.

This story was apparently written as a tribute/response to the Ursula K. Le Guin story “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”. I first read this without context, then went and read the Le Guin story. I definitely see the parallels. Both feature a narrator describing a wonderful utopia in the midst of festival, trying to convince the reader of the place's existence, before introducing something dark that is the price of the utopia. In the Le Guin story, the utopia exists at the price of the horrible misery and suffering of one child, and everyone is aware of it. Most live with it, but a few leave for the unknown rather than continue to live there (hence the title). In Jemisin's story, the price is instead the annihilation of those tainted by exposure to the evils of the past. The choice, instead of leaving, is for those tainted yet capable to become protectors of the new world, or die.

The thesis is pretty clear: that only by abandoning horrible ideologies and refusing to give them any ground or quarter can a utopian society truly exist. I will say that rings clear, especially when one considers Naziism and fascism. Not all ideologies deserve the light of day or debate, and even entertaining them as valid allows it to take hold. I liked this story, though it comes off as a social justice essay more than a story in and of itself.

2. The City Born Great - 10/10

This one is told from the perspective of a homeless young black man who feels a strange resonance with New York City. He meets a mysterious figure named Paulo, who tells him the city is about to be born as a full-fledged entity, and the man has been chosen to assist with its birth. However, there’s an eldritch force known simply as The Enemy that seeks to prevent this from happening.

I've read this one before since it's the prologue to The City We Became. And honestly it was one of my favorite parts of that book. New York City is a phenomenal character. I love that the proto-avatar of NYC is a young homeless black man, one of the most denigrated groups out there. Cops being the harbingers of eldritch destruction is... yeah. It was fun to reread this. The ending is a little different, because in the novel, something goes terribly wrong that doesn't happen in this short story. There is also a flash forward where he is, apparently, about to awaken the avatar of Los Angeles. Makes me wonder if that is ultimately the endgame of the series. But otherwise it's the same thing with absolutely phenomenal character voice and creativity regarding cities as living creatures. I'm glad Jemisin expanded this idea into a full series.

3. Red Dirt Witch - 7/10

Takes place before the (1960s) Civil Rights Movement in Pratt City, AL. The main character is Emmaline, a witch with three kids. A creepy figure called The White Lady comes to visit and steal one of her children.

I love the little twist that The White Lady is a faerie. And the different take on rowan/ash/thorn instead being rosemary/sage/sycamore fig. There is a lot of touching bits about the horrible trials and human rights abuses during the Civil Rights marches (which are unfortunately all too relevant still), but ultimately a hopeful glimpse of the future of black people in America, though hard-won.

4. L'Alchimista - 6/10

Stars a Milanese master chef named Franca, who fell from glory for Reasons, who now works as head chef at a run-down inn. She feeds a mysterious stranger, who then challenges her to fix a seemingly impossible recipe.

This one was fun and charming. I thought the food (and magical food) descriptions were very vibrant and interesting, especially the last meal. I can tell this is an earlier story and it's pretty light hearted, but I enjoyed it. It felt like it needed a little more of.. something.

5. The Effluent Engine - 9/10

In an interesting steampunk take, Haitian spy Jessaline comes to the city of New Orleans to meet one of its foremost scientists. Her goal is to find a viable, unique energy source to strengthen Haiti in a world that wants to see her nation dead.

I really liked this; it's one of the longer stories so there's more time for character development and worldbuilding. And it's gay. I'm not hugely into pure steampunk because a lot of it comes off as very... samey (hyper Eurocentric/Victorian, etc) but I thought this take was fresh.

Like much of Jemisin's work, there is a lot of racial under and overtones; this one specifically goes into the terrible atrocities committed against the Haitians during their Revolution, and the varied social classes of black/Creole people in New Orleans at the time. A lot of this is stuff I was unaware of or knew very little about. I thought it was interesting to bring all of these to the forefront in a steampunk story in addition to the dirigibles, clockwork, action, and subterfuge. Also, everything tries together in a very satisfying way by the end (the rum bottle!), which I love in short fiction.

6. Cloud Dragon Skies - 9/10

Takes place in a post-apoc future where some humans evacuated to space while others stayed behind and took on more indigenous traditions to heal the Earth. The sky has suddenly turned red on Earth, and some representatives from the "sky-people" come to study it and figure out why.

I really enjoyed this little story; fantasy/scifi fusions are my jam, but science fiction specifically told through a fantasy lens is just so cool to me. The cloud dragons were very interesting and imaginative. Also, I love how the opening statement's meaning isn't particularly clear until you read the whole thing.

7. The Trojan Girl - 10/10

This one is about sentient computer programs/viruses that struggle to survive in something called the Amorph, which is basically a more advanced, omnipresent version of the Internet.

Holy fucking shit was this a cool story. Probably the coolest take on cyberpunk I've ever read. The main character Moroe has formed a messed up little family of creatures like him who live and hunt in Amorph's code, but can upload to "the Static" (real life) if needed by hijacking human hosts. The way this is described is so damn creepy and unsettling. I love that while they're anthropomorphized, the characters are mostly feral and compared to a pack of wolves. Soooo much wolf pack imagery. And the ending is so fucking good and imaginative.

This was apparently a proof of concept story that Jemisin decided not to adapt to a longer series, which I'm kind of sad about, but it was REALLY cool nevertheless. The next story is apparently in the same universe and serves as the "conclusion".

8. Valedictorian - 9/10

This one is about a girl who is, well, top of her class in high school, and the stresses that mount as graduation approaches. But while it seems like a familiar setup, there is something decidedly Off about everything, which is revealed gradually over the course of the story.

I originally gave this an 8, but honestly I couldn't stop thinking about it so I boosted it to a 9. It doesn’t become clear how this connects to the previous story until the midpoint. I liked this one because it functions as a nice dystopian science fiction story but also biting social commentary on the modern American education system. I'm not going go say more on it because spoilers. While I personally like the first story more I think this is an interesting followup/conclusion with a more cerebral approach.

9. The Storyteller's Replacement - 6/10

This one's presented as a traditional "once upon a time" fable told by a storyteller narrator, about a shitty despotic king named Paramenter. Desperate to prove his virility, he eats the heart of a dragon, which is said to be a cure-all for impotence. It's successful, but the six strange daughters that result seem to have plans of their own.

Not really my cup of tea-- it's pretty fucked up. But it's definitely cathartic by the end, which I appreciate, and I do like how creepy the daughters are.

10. The Brides of Heaven - 5/10

Framed as an interrogation in an offworld colony called Illiyin, in which a terrible accident occurred on the way that left all the adult men dead. Dihya, who lost her only son to an alien parasite, is caught trying to sabotage the colony's water supply for reasons unknown.

I like some things in this story. I love the trope of alien biology affecting human biology in unexpected ways. I'm not terribly familiar with Islam but thought it added an interesting faith vs practicality vs tradition element to the science fiction. However I found the sexual body horror REALLY squicky which turned me off the story as a whole.

11. The Evaluators - 10/10

Stylized as a collection of logs and excerpts from a First Contact team of humans visiting and studying a sapient alien species to potentially set up trade relations. There's a focus on one team member named Aihua and her conversations with one of the aliens, but there's miscellaneous important hints/excerpts from the survey that hint Something Creepy Is Going On.

This one was BIZARRE and took me two reads to fully appreciate, but it’s a great work of nontraditional science fiction horror. Just... the epitome of "*nervous laughter* 'what the fuck'". I can't say more without spoiling but dear lord. That whole Jesus bit hits different on a second read. Fucking hell.

12. Walking Awake - 7/10

Takes place in a dystopian society in which parasitic creatures known as Masters keep a small number of humans alive to be flesh suits for them, which they take over and trade around at will. The main character Sadie is a human "caretaker" responsible for propagandizing and raising well-bred human children that eventually become the Masters' hosts. She starts to have disturbing dreams when one takes over the body of a teenage boy she was particularly attached to.

This is apparently a response to Robert Heinlein's The Puppet Masters, which I have never read. It's a full damn novel so I probably won't. Google tells me it's about parasitic aliens, but was obviously also Red Scare paranoia about communist Russia. The argument in the Jemisin story is that the parasites are a result of human folly in an attempt to punish/control people their creators didn't like. This went poorly and resulted in the whole world being taken over.

The story itself is disturbing since the victims are innocent children, but it's ultimately about standing up and taking the first step toward revolution. I felt pretty neutral about the story itself; perhaps I would have liked it more if it was longer and I had more time with the world and protagonist. I wanted to connect to Sadie and her maternal relationship the boy who got killed more. Or maybe it's more impactful if you're familiar with the Heinlein novel and can see the nods/digs.

13. The Elevator Dancer - 7/10

A very short story that takes place in a Christian fundamentalist surveillance state. The protagonist is an unnamed security guard who occasionally sees a woman dancing alone in the elevator and obsesses over her.

I like this one but I'm not sure if I really get it. It's heavily implied the dancer is a hallucination, and the narrator gets "re-educated" but it's all a little ambiguous. I think it's about the struggle to find meaning and inspiration in an oppressive world.

14. Cuisine des Mémoires - 8/10

This one's about a man named Harold who visits a strange restaurant that claims it can replicate any meal from any point in history. He orders a meal which his ex-wife, whom he still loves very much, fixed for him years ago.

This one was certainly different, but I really like the idea of food-as-memory, especially because that's an actual thing. This story just takes it to an extra level. Honestly this story made me feel things... the longing of memory and missed connections/opportunities. Jemisin did a great job with emotion on this one.

15. Stone Hunger - 9/10

Stars a girl in with the ability to manipulate the earth who's tracking down a man she senses in an unfamiliar city. It's heavily implied the world is in a perpetual post-apocalyptic state. When she's caught damaging the outer wall of the city to break in and injured/imprisoned, she's aided by a mysterious, humanoid statue creature with motives of its own.

I have to say it's really interesting to see an early beta concept of The Broken Earth. Orogeny is a little different (and not named)-- there's some kind of taste component to it? Though that's possibly unique to the main character? While hatred of orogenes exists I don't think it's a structural exploitation allegory at this point. Ykka + proto-Castrima existing this early is pretty funny to me. People also use metal, which is VERY funny if you’ve read the series. But I was thrilled to see stone eaters were Very Much A Thing this early and almost exactly how they appear in the series (a little more sinister I guess. At least the one in this story is. I think he basically gets integrated into the Steel/Gray character in the final version).

Anyway as a huge fan of The Broken Earth it's inspiring to see these early ideas and just how much got changed. It's hard for me to look at this as an independent story without the context of the series. I think I'd like it due to the creative setting and strange concepts, but I appreciate the final changes to narrative style and worldbuilding, which really made the series for me.

16. On The Banks of the River Lex - 8/10

Death explores a decaying, post-human version of New York City. He and various deities/ideas created by humans are all that survives in the future and they struggle to exist in the crumbling infrastructure of the city. But Death gradually observes new and different creatures developing amid the wreckage.

I liked this! Despite a typically bleak premise the story is very optimistic and hopeful for the future of the world post-humanity. I like anthropomorphized concepts/deities/etc in general. I thought the imagery of decay and life was gorgeous. Also octopuses are cool.

17. The Narcomancer - 9/10

Told from the perspective of Cet, a priest known as a Gatherer, who can take the life of someone through their dreams in order to bring them peace. When a village petitions his order to investigate a series of raids conducted by brigands using forbidden magic, Cet joins the party. However, he is troubled by his growing attraction to a strong-willed woman of the village.

This apparently takes place in the Dreamblood universe, which I have not read and know nothing about. However, I really enjoyed this story. It's the longest in the collection so I felt I really got to know the characters. The dream-based religion and fantasy was captivating to learn about. It was also romantic as hell, but not in the typical way you’d expect. I thought the central conflict of a priest struggling between an oath of celibacy and his duty to do the right thing (bring peace to someone who needs it) was fascinating.

18. Henosis - 4/10

A short piece, told anachronistically, about a lauded, award winning author on the way to an award ceremony. He gets kidnapped, but there's Something Else going on.

Honestly I get the sense this one is personal, lol. I will say I like the disturbing play on expectations, but I didn't connect much with it otherwise.

19. Too Many Yesterdays, Not Enough Tomorrows - 9/10

Follows a group of bloggers who have found themselves caught in isolated quantum loops. Their only human contact is through tenuous online conversations with each other. Styled as various chat logs and emails interspersed with the thoughts and perspectives of Helen, a young black woman who before the loop was teaching English in Japan.

This one is real depressing and definitely Social Commentary (TM). The central thesis about loneliness and disconnect at the end made me pretty dang sad. Good stuff in an ouch kind of way and made me think.

20. The You Train - 6/10

Told from the perspective of an unnamed narrator talking (presumably on the phone) to a friend about her struggles adjusting to life in New York City. She regularly mentions seeing train lines that either don't exist or retired a long time ago.

This is the kind of story I'd normally really like. I think trains are interesting and like vaguely supernatural, inexplicable shit. The one-sided phone call is also an interesting narrative device. But I'm not sure I really got this one. It comes off as vaguely horror-y but also optimistic? I couldn't really figure this one out, and it was too short to feel much investment on top of that.

21. Non-Zero Probabilities - 7/10

Luck has gone completely out of whack in New York City. Highly improbable events suddenly become way more likely, both good and bad. This story follows a woman named Adele and coming to grips with the new ways of life this brings.

I liked this one well enough but I don't have a lot to say about it. I liked how the story looks at how people would adapt to a life where probability doesn't mean anything anymore.

22. Sinners, Saints, Dragons, and Haints, in the City Beneath the Still Waters - 9/10

A magical realism story about a man named Tookie struggling to survive in New Orleans in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. He meets a talking, winged lizard and the two help each other out. But it soon becomes clear there is something sinister lurking in the flooded ruins of the city.

This story was very imaginative and a great cap to the collection. I thought it was an intriguing time period to set a magical realism story in. I love the little details, especially those of omission -- the "lizard" is never called a dragon, for example. I can see echoes of this story in The City We Became, especially the themes of cities as powerful entities, vague eldritch fuckery centered around hatred, and certain people being guardians of the city.

#2020 reading challenge #BONUS ROUND #taylor reads #8/10 #i am posting this Late but i was basically writing this review as i read so it's like. all done lol

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spnfanficpond · 5 years ago

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January 2020 Pond LiveChat Recap - Writing RPF

We had a great time chatting with Taylor, @impalaimagining! Thank you so much for joining us and sharing your thoughts and experience!

Our topic this month was Writing RPF, and we talked about the legal, moral, and emotional aspects of writing about real people. A rundown of the chat, as well as general Pond news, is below the cut!

We started off the chat with the legal side of things, most of which was covered back when we talked about Monetizing Fan Works back in May. Here are the related links that were brought up:

Wikipedia: Legal issues with fan fiction (The section dealing with RPF is near the bottom under Right of Publicity.) Boiled down, RPF has to deal with a celebrity's Right of Publicity. Famous people have the right to control the commercial use of their name, image, and likeness, sometimes even their broader identity or persona. Most states’ laws on this only apply to uses for commercial gain. So, don't try to get paid directly for RPF, and you're safe.

From NPR: We Stan: Real Person Fan Fiction Comes To Life. This is a fascinating discussion about RPF, the legalities, and how it’s been changing in recent years. This argues that basically since “fiction” is right there in the name, RPF is inherently more legal than regular fan fiction based off of characters. No one is trying to say that the real people involved are actually doing these things, it’s just fiction.

Goodreads Genre: Fan Fiction - Real Person Fiction. When I was researching, this link came up, and I clicked it, not knowing what to expect. Finding that Fan fiction, much less RPF is on Goodreads was surprising to me. (I thought Goodreads was only about books that could be purchased and didn’t touch “unpublished” works, but I guess not?) What I found most interesting was exactly how many of the titles listed on that page are J2-related. There are more J2-related titles than all of the others COMBINED. As a fandom, we rock!

The discussion started with most folks saying they hadn’t considered the legalities of fan fiction, or RPF in particular, when they began writing. Their first concern was just getting the story out of their head and onto the paper. Also, since no one was getting paid for it and it’s so popular, no one questioned the legalities. Also, since it’s fiction, there’s no defamation of character.

@mrswhozeewhatsis (Michelle): Most people know that I generally don’t read RPF, unless it’s an AU. Way way way back, when I first started reading fan fiction, I used to read the occasional RPF. Honestly, before SPN, I never really liked an actor enough to want to know more about them. (I've been burned by some jerk actors in the past.) One of the first RPFs I ever read was from Jared's POV, and it contained a scene where he was on stage at a con, and detailed his thoughts. I forget what the inciting incident was, but suddenly he was thinking, "Great, now they're all thinking about how big my dick is," and it made him spiral. Something about that stuck with me, to the point that I cringe every time I see Jared on stage and anything remotely sexual comes up. That's pretty much what stopped me from reading RPF. I have no problem thinking about how big Sam's dick is, but I can't ponder too much about Jared's dick, or I can't look him in the eye when I see him at cons!!!

Taylor: I definitely think there is a very fine line to be walked when you write RPF, and I generally don't cross into the area of writing from an actor's POV.

Q: Is that how you keep it separate so you don’t stare into their faces at a con during a photo op and think about the smut you wrote about them?

Taylor: It can be hard to keep it separate sometimes but it's actually very easy in the moment of a split second photo op. They move so quickly, I don't genuinely think I have ever had the time to consider the things I've written about them while I was talking to and hugging them!

Q: Anyone else who doesn’t read/write RPF, do you think that the whole not being able to look them in the eye is an internal thing for anyone in your life, or just celebs?

@manawhaat (Mana): For example, I have A. FUCKING. LOT. of sex dreams. With tons of people, celebs and people I know in my real life... and I don't want to say that it's jaded me as far as thinking sexual thoughts about people, but in a way it kind of has. I don't have that moral dilemma of not being able to look Jared in the eye after thinking about his dick. Taylor: I completely agree. I think writing it has made me kind of impervious to it bleeding into my daily life. I see Jared and my heart goes ohmygodwelovehim first and in person, then later when he's not around is when the wowowowbutwhatabouthisdick comes in. Michelle: I don’t think I could write about anyone in a smutty way. Just characters.

Q: I wanted to talk about 'characterization' of rpf. Do other rpf writers out there think of the people as characters and treat them that way, or do you humanize them? Idk if that question makes sense but it's along the same lines of keeping them separate.

@fogsrollingin (Alex): I cast them in other stories when it's rpf. I always write rpf AUs with only a couple exceptions. We know their onscreen mannerisms, so making them astronauts terraforming a new planet with evil aliens on it is like "oh easy". Taylor: Characterization is huge for me. If someone writes an actor outside of the way they portray themselves, it's impossible for me to read. While we don't know these people personally, we know how they act outwardly and in the public eye, and that's enough to get a good idea of the kind of person they would be. Michelle: I have no trouble reading AUs, because it's just another character who happens to look like and have the name of one of my favorite actors. In AUs, they're characters. If they are actors on a show called Supernatural, then it's too humanizing for me. Taylor: See, Michelle, my mind can't separate it to that degree. If I'm reading about someone named Jared who looks like our Jared? It's Jared. AUs give me a lot of trouble, to be honest. Both writing and reading. Alex: I feel like it's no different than if Jared did a scifi movie during his summer break from spn & it's so low budget they just kept his real name for his character name.

Q: Do you feel differently reading ship RPF than reader insert RPF?

Michelle: Most of the RPF stories I read are ships, but I do read some reader inserts, too. It’s not an intentional choice either way. Alex: I don't feel differently about it, rly. I know I prefer reading ships over reader insert but that's just my personal jam. Mana: I have a hard time reading ship rpf mainly because I like the versions of my ships that I've built in my head, so when someone deviates from that it is a little turn off for me. Like, your version of Cockles is not the same as my version, which is totally fine, you do you, but it isn't gonna tickle me the same way ya know. so when I get into like non-mainstream ships it's extra difficult to find writers who represent them in the 'right' ways. Taylor: I feel that way about pretty much everything I read, and I think that has a lot to do with the whole characterization piece of it. I know that my idea of and the way I portray Jared or Jensen is probably a million times different than the way other people, including my readers, think of them. I try really hard to make sure the way the actors come across is "right". Mana: I think the one big piece of characterization is kind of using the way they have presented themselves as a moral compass. Obviously they don't present their whole selves so there's always wiggle room and areas where you are free to project your ideas of them into the fic, but that's also the trickiest area and where so many people drop the ball. Taylor: YES. So, so many people take that wiggle room and take it leaps and bounds beyond what is public (fandom) knowledge.

Q: How do you feel about RPFs that support certain theories about the wives being beards and such?

Mana: I try to not write anything that would feel as if I'm slandering anyone, etc. I wouldn't want to write a Jensen x reader fic where Danneel cheats on him and that's how they get together. If I mention it at all I just say that they've peacefully and amicably parted ways. If I don't mention it then they simply don't exist in the timeline. But never anything negative about anyone, especially the wives. @girl-with-a-fandom-fettish (Kaisha): I don't write smut (only read) so I have a very different interpretation on a lot of the things being discussed. I tend to stick with non-AU, sister/daughter!reader insert RPF fics because I don't feel creative enough branch out beyond that. I feel the same as Mana, and I actually won't read fics that are based on the premise that someone cheated for the storyline to work. Alex: I'm okay if ppl deviate far into fantasy realms tho. As long as it's not too support a real life conspiracy theory about the actors, if ppl wanna write it & others like it, all the more power to them. I mean as long as you're like "I killed the wives during the zombie apocalypse in my fic but I love them in real life please don't kill me" I'm like "cool". Taylor: I avoid bashing fics or beard fics. Admittedly I have one where Jensen and Danneel never got married, but they still had a daughter together and Danneel hid the kid from him until her 5th birthday. That doesn't feel like a bash/slander fic to me because I'm not painting anyone as a bad person - things just played out differently.

Q: The person who suggested this topic mentioned “how to write your first RPF.” Any suggestions?

Michelle: Have Mana finish it for you! (The only one I’ve ever written, she had to finish for me!) Alex: My first rpf was a ballerina!Jared & yogi!Misha romcom. It was so goofy! Taylor: I don't know if I can even answer that question. It literally just poured out of me when I started. I took the tiny little idea I had in my head (my daydream, as it was previously and so aptly named), and put it into words and it ended up being a 10 part series. Mana: How to write your first rpf: READ RPF FROM A LOT OF DIFFERENT WRITERS. find what works for you and for the people you're writing about. do a couple of trial runs with shorter fics. you have room to play, but try not to stray too far from what they've presented themselves as in real life. Kaisha: For me, when I wrote my first RPF (which was also my first fic), I was in a mental place where I was watching a lot of con videos and reading a lot of sister/daughter fics. It was more "I need an outlet for how I am feeling right now and I don't have anyone to talk to"...so I talked to the image of the boys I had made in my head from what I saw of them online.

Q: Does character shipping affect the RPFs you read? Like, if your OTP is Destiel, do you mainly only read Cockles?

Kaisha: I will read almost anything that's related to one of the Js, either RPF or SPN. But I don't have strong ship feels one way or another that changes what I read/write for RPF. Taylor: I don't know if character ships have any kind of effect on RPF ships. Because there are a lot more people involved in cons than we see on the show, and cons are my primary source of RPF inspiration. Like, we see Henry, what, twice in the show? But Gil McKinney is a whole other story. He's all over the convention circuit (or at least he used to be) and also all over fandom twitter. It just feels easier for me to write RPF because I see these actors in my real life, interacting with other real people. I have interacted with them, which makes things feel a lot more real than writing about two hot fictional dudes from my TV screen. Alex: I'm definitely up for Sam/Dean as much as I'm up for J2. Oddly tho it's Mishalecki at real life con panels that's gotten me totally happy to write/read Mishalecki.

Q: (From Taylor) The piece of RPF I struggle with the most is bringing events from the actors' real lives into my stories. Writing about Jensen and the brewery, about their kids and stories they tell about them at cons, that's where my already grey area turns even more grey.

Kaisha: I am right there with you Taylor! My fic started as mostly the reader and JJ interacting and then I remember the twins existed, too. And with my new fic I am trying to figure out if the San Jac and FBBC will work in or not. Mana: I'm interested in this, because I don't seem to have that issue or gray area. It just doesn't exist for me and I'd like to hear more about it from you guys. Taylor: It's so hard haha. I have something coming up that deals with Jared being arrested and of course I didn't post it before that whole event went down so now it looks like I'm taking that part of his life and twisting it for my personal fiction needs. Which feels kinda (adult word for "not good"). Kaisha: For me the gray area thing is because I want to write a believable story. A believable story has realistic details and if I am ignoring or overlooking things that my audience knows to be true, I feel it takes them out of the story. Mana: So it's a case of omit it entirely or commit to it entirely? I ask in regards to like FBBC and the kids. Do you feel differently about incorporating those aspects into your fics? would you be more comfortable writing about fbbc than you would the kids? Or does that gray area cover the same on both? Kaisha: The same thing goes for when I beta read something. A detail that I don't remember or agree with will take me out of the story and send me on a research rabbit trail to know if the author is correct with what they said. I want to stay in the story as much as possible and I want that for my readers too. That's probably a good way to differentiate it. If I state in the A/N that J1 only has 1 kid, then I don't have to consider what year the story is occurring in. But if I tell you it's non-AU, well then everything that is happening in our universe should be happening in my story (otherwise, it would be AU, even to the slightest degree). The kids vs. FBBC thing I think could be very personal on which someone feels more comfortable with. I say that because I know ABSOLUTLEY NOTHING about alcohol. Kids on the other hand I get. Taylor: For me it's the same. Just, actual concrete aspects of Jensen's life are harder for me to write about. Because then - again, just for me - that feels like writing from their point of view, which is something I try to avoid.

Q: Do any of you read/write RPF outside of SPN?

Taylor: SPN is my only fandom. Michelle: I tried to read fics from other fandoms, and just couldn’t get into it. I might be getting sucked into The Witcher fandom, though. Haven’t found any Geralt fics that really align with my image of him, though. Alex: There are CW network RPF AUs I read. Taylor: I feel like, as SPN fans, we have a wonderful privilege and incredible pool of writers to choose from when we want to read. I don't know, because like I said SPN is my only fandom, if any other fandom has this level of talent or dedication.

Q: Have you ever read an RPF fic that changed the way you viewed an actor? Or given you a sense of gained insight into their lives?

Michelle: That's actually why I don't read “canon-compliant” RPF, actually. Because then I might think that idea is real, and won't see that it's not, even when proven wrong. Like, maybe Jared actually loves it when we think about how big his dick is? But I can't stop thinking that it embarrasses him and makes him uncomfortable because I read it in that one fic. Kaisha: @crashdevlin has a Jensen x reader series that also heavily features Tom Hiddleston. My view of Tom has forever been changed because of her story! Michelle: My brain is very malleable. Sometimes, I'm so open-minded, my brain falls right out. I have to be careful what I let influence me. Kaisha: It wasn't something that I intended to happen. Crash just wrote a very compelling character and I think my opinion would have been altered no matter who it was that she used as the face. Taylor: I've never read anything that has changed the way I view the actors. I've certainly read things that have given me new ideas about the things they enjoy (bitey and/or rough smut), but nothing that's changed the way they appear in my mind. I think the biggest part of all of this is just remembering that all of this is 100% FICTION and should never be taken as reality in any way, shape, or form.

To close out the chat, Mana requested fic recs! Here are the recs that were mentioned:

Michelle: If you're into serial killer AUs, There's a J2 AU in my AO3 bookmarks that's genius. Adoration. The other RPF bookmark I have is called Beholder. Jared runs an animal shelter, and Jensen is a homeless man with a TBI who gets dumped at the shelter one night.

Alex: My favorite rpf fic is Tails by keep_waking_up. Werefox!Jared & kitsune!Jensen law enforcement murder mystery AU.

Taylor: One of my favorites to read is by @thecleverdame: Modern Technology. (Jared x reader) This is unfinished but it's quickly becoming one of my favorite Jensen-things I've ever written, AND IT'S AN AU!!! Rockabye. Also, there’s You Saved Me (Jared x Reader). And have a J2 x Reader for funsies! Something is Happening

Kaisha: This is my favorite RPF. Underneath verse (series) - J2 - Jensen is the undercover FBI agent sent to take out Jared, the boss of Chicago. #Self-promo, but I am pretty proud of this one, too: Nanny, Sister, Daughter...Family (Jenneel with sorta daughter!reader)

Mana: Here’s the Cockles x Reader fic that Michelle and I wrote: Rumor Has It And, of course, (Jenneel x Reader) Fools In Love.

Feel free to reblog with your favorite RPF fics!!

Also, the February LiveChat info is still TBD. Feel free to send in your topic ideas and suggest guest speakers!!

General Pond Updates and Reminders

What we’ve got cooking up next: Not much, at the moment, since everyone is busy, so we’re just trying to keep up with the day-to-day at the moment! Our to do list is still long, though, and will not be neglected forever! Next up is organizing the tagging system on the blog to make it easier for readers to find the stories they’re interesting in and for writers to find the help they’re looking for!

Reminders:

Angel Fish Award nominations are accepted all month long! No need to wait to tell us how much you liked a fellow Fish’s work! IF YOU HAVE SENT IN A NOMINATION, BUT HAVE NOT RECEIVED A PRIVATE MESSAGE CONFIRMING WE RECEIVED IT, WE DIDN’T GET IT. Be sure to use Submit instead of Ask!

Don’t forget to submit your stories to be posted to the blog! When your stories are on the blog, then they are easier to nominate for Angel Fish Awards!

Say hi to December’s New Members and January’s New Members! (If we missed someone, let us know!)

Check the Pond CALENDAR to see when Big Fish will be in the Skype chat room/discord general channel and other Pond and SPN events are happening! Know of something that’s not on the calendar, send us an ask or submission with the deets info details! The calendar offers a lot of features, such as showing you when things are in your own timezone! Since we’re an international group, that’s a definite plus!!

We’re getting lots of requests for more Big Fish, lately, but so far, only one applicant! If you know someone you think would be a good Big Fish, tell them to apply!!

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deadbiwrites · 5 years ago

Note

for the "send me a ship+sentence", but it's a song lyric: Supercorp + "I know I've kissed you before, but I didn't do it right" (Mitski)

( @swankserene , this one's for you. And it is also too long, so... whoops?)

'I know I've kissed you before…'

It's startling, almost, how warm Lena's forehead is under her lips. She's finally fallen asleep, having daintily downed three bottles of a nice red on her own over the course of… well, who knows how long really. Lena doesn't stir, and Kara sighs gratefully, pulling away and rolling gracefully to her feet. "You're sure you've got her? I can stay, I know Ruby probably has school…"

Sam shakes her head with a sad smile. "Nah, don't sweat it. I have this routine down pat by now. She's gonna be asleep until at least noon tomorrow."

More startling than Lena's drinking is the word 'routine' being used to describe any part of it. "Right. Um, call, if anyone needs anything?"

"I will, but we won't. Go get some sleep, Kara. I've got her handled."

"Okay." Kara steps into Sam's arms, quickly finding herself wrapped up in the sort of hug only a worried mom can give, all reassurance and softness and home. Kara clears her throat as it tightens at the wash of memories she associates with these sorts of hugs, stepping out of the embrace and adjusting her glasses. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

'But I didn't do it right…'

Lena's nervous.

Obviously she's nervous- giving a speech to several hundred people is never a fun event for her, Kara knows. But there she is, all the same, climbing the steps up onto the stage, her patented work smile fixed in place as her eyes dart around the crowd. Kara grins, pretends to stretch as an excuse to raise her arms over her head, and when Lena spots her, a smidge of her real smile peeks through. Kara waggles her eyebrows, spreading her hands a bit to show off how exactly in the middle of the crowd she is. All the easier for her friend to be able to see her while she's talking.

Lena huffs fondly, takes the podium, and gives the speech that Kara had helped to write, one they're both happy with- proud of, even, especially when one of Kara's jokes pulls a good laugh from those gathered. Lena finds Kara then, and Kara grins at her, a little smug, and blows Lena a big, exaggerated kiss. Lena had wanted to leave that joke out, and so Kara figures she can rub it in a little that it went over so well.

Lena chuckles at her antics, rolls her eyes, and continues on.

Kara relaxes back into her chair, watching as the previously tense crowd does the same.

It really is a great speech.

'Can I try again…'

Noonan's is stupid busy, even for them, even for brunch on a Sunday. It'd taken almost an hour and a very annoyed name drop from Lena for them to get a table, but she, Sam, Lena, and Alex have been coming here for brunch for like a year, so all these newbies can shove it, for all Kara cares.

Lena and Alex are sharing an entire pot of coffee between them, Sam having opted for tea (something about a headache) and Kara, of course, went with their hot chocolate.

"How can you drink liquid sugar at 10 in the morning?" Alex asks. "Hot chocolate is for cold days outside."

"How can you drink that caffeinated sludge ever?" Kara shoots back.

Alex's mouth drops open in shock, and she cups her hands protectively around her mug. "Kara! The magic bean water can hear you!"

"They need their go juice," Sam says safely. "You don't wanna see that one sans coffee."

Lena's affronted. "Excuse you, we're both lovely regardless of our morning coffee.

"Speak for yourself, Luthor," Alex grumbles, humming happily as she sips. "Mama needs her coffee."

"And you are not lovely when you go without, don't try to lie to them," Sam chides. She turns to the Danvers sisters. "She once locked herself in the server room- which is freezing cold- because she left her half-empty, ice-cold coffee in there."

"Yeah, sounds about right," Alex agrees. At Lena's look, she shrugs unapologetically. "Hey, I'm familiar with your work."

"Traitors, both of you," she grumbles. She turns to Kara with her best puppy eyes. "I'm nice before coffee, right?"

Kara squeezes Lena's hand, bringing it to her smiling lips and pressing a quick kiss to the back of it. "You're always my favorite," she says, neatly sidestepping the question.

Lena grins smugly at the others. "See? At least Kara loves me."

Sam rolls her eyes, Alex starts in on Kara because 'Since when am I not your favorite?', Kara jibes back, Lena pretends a bit under all the commotion she's caused as she drinks her coffee, and all is right with the world.

'And again…'

Movie nights are a necessity to Kara. Movies are a good chunk of how she figured out how to be human. They've always been a part of her life on earth.

So when she'd heard Lena say "I haven't seen that one" a few too many times, she'd declared that best friends need to educate one another in pop culture and started catching Lena up. Once a week, they settle on Kara's big, squishy couch in their various styles of pajamas, armed with junk food and every streaming service known to man. It's slow-growing, because usually Lena has to bail after just one or two movies because of work, but they're starting to make real progress. Just last week Kara had started a quote from Tangled, only to have Lena finish it.

She'd rarely been so proud.

Tonight is different, though, because they're watching movies that Lena has seen but Kara hasn't, and neither of them have work tomorrow. They've powered through a frightening amount of pizza, their snacks are scattered over the coffee table, and they're just setting in for the third classic Godzilla movie when Lena scoots a little closer to Kara and drops her head on her friend's shoulder.

"Sleepy?"

Lena shakes her head, her hair tickling against Kara's neck. "You're just warm."

Kara chuckles, dropping her arm across Lena's shoulders to pull her in closer and planting a kiss on the top of Lena's head. She grins when it makes her friend go just a little more boneless against her. "Sure."

Lena grumbles at her, which is offset entirely by how she burrows further into Kara's side.

Halfway through the movie, she's wrapped up in Kara and several blankets, snoring lightly on the blonde's chest.

Kara doesn't mind.

And again…

Lena's been getting really good at starting up acts of affection, and is a lot less panicky now when they're directed her way, accepting them as what they are rather than some sort of trap.

So it's been a lot of her initiating hugs, grabbing Kara's hand when she wants to show her something, looping her arm through Kara's when they're walking together. Little things.

So when she'd given Kara a quick, distracted peck on the cheek as she darted out of Noonan's and back to L-Corp, it's totally fine and normal that Kara's a little bit giddy all day. She's just proud of her friend is all, happy that she feels safe enough with Kara to let her walls down. It's a nice feeling that has nothing to do with the phantom feeling of Lena's lips on her face.

Nothing at all.

And it keeps happening.

Outside CatCo, when she drops Kara off after an early lunch/late breakfast.

Leaving Alex's apartment after game night, Lena gives her a big hug and a kiss on the cheek.

When Kara pays for tickets to that weird foreign SciFi Movie Festival that Lena's been talking about for weeks.

Over and over. But only to Kara. Everyone else gets a hug and a squeeze, no kiss.

And if Kara preens at the attention just a little, well that's nobody's business but hers.

She mentions this to Sam and Alex one day when she's collecting them from whatever drunken adventures they'd gotten up to the night before and both looking worse for wear.

"You know," Sam drawls, "people tend to show affection the way they want to receive it."

"Really?"

Alex nods enthusiastically, suddenly more lively than she's been all day. "Oh, yeah. I read about it in a psych book."

"Maybe you should try giving her a kiss on the cheek," Sam says with a shrug, and if Kara wasn't driving she'd have seen the mischief on her friend's eyes.

"Huh. Okay, I'll do that, then."

She doesn't see the looks this statement receives, either.

It's totally an accident.

Lena goes for a hug after a movie night, and Kara knows what's coming by now- kiss to the cheek, tight hug that's never long enough, step away, say goodbye.

Easy. She'll give Lena a cheek-kiss before the hug part.

But she gets stupidly nervous for some reason and when Lena turns her head, so does Kara, and her mouth lands sorta sideways against Lena's.

They both freeze.

After half a beat, Kara pulls away, lets out an awkward half-laugh, adjusts her glasses. She knows her face must be flaming red. "Oh. Sorry, I didn't. I missed?"

Lena smiles, cocks her head to the side. "It's okay. I don't mind."

'Oh.'

"Oh." Kara adjusts her already-straight glasses again. "I um. I didn't mind either."

"No?"

Kara smiles shyly, shakes her head. "No. But, um… would you mind if I maybe tried that again?"

Lena's smile isn't one Kara's seen before, but she could light up the eastern seaboard with it. "Not at all."

"Cool." And she steps into Lena, and Lena steps into her, and it's everything.

'And again?'

"...so then, the bad guy was shooting this laser beam at me, and I had to fly super fast to beat him. But don't worry, I win every time."

"Do you?" Lena asks from behind her book, clearly amused.

"I do." Kara's hands slide over Lena's stomach, slick with delicious-smelling cocoa butter that Lena won't let her taste.

"Every time?"

"I got you. That's all the evidence I need," Kara says, flashing her a charming grin.

"You flirting with me when I'm fat and crabby is exactly why I married you, you know," Lena informs her.

"I thought it was my nice butt. And you're not fat."

"That's just a bonus." Lena tossed her book onto the couch and works her fingers into Kara's hair, scratching lightly at her scalp until Kara's practically purring under her ministrations. "Keep telling me I'm not fat with that much conviction. I'll never believe you, but it's nice all the same."

"Can do."

"How's the little one?"

Kara closes her eyes, tips her head to the side. "Sleeping."

"I figured- I haven't been kicked in the ribs for almost an hour."

Kara winces. "Sorry. I know it probably sucks, but it's legitimately the coolest thing ever, to me, that you can just… make a human. Like that's insane."

Lena chuckles, cupping her wife's awestruck face lovingly. "It's not so bad when I have you babying me. Not everyone can get authentic Thai at 3:30 in the morning."

Kara shrugs unapologetically. "Other people need to step their game up." Her head cocks suddenly to the side, and Lena knows what's next before Kara even says anything.

"Duty calls?"

Kara sighs, frustrated. "Yeah, car crash on the bridge. Won't take too long, traffic is just too bad for the EMTs to get to them for like, an hour."

"Be safe."

Kara's gone and back in a blur, now wearing her super suit instead of pajamas. "Always." She presses a kiss to Lena's rounded belly, pulling a laugh from her wife when she seizes her chance and licks some of the cocoa butter off of it. "I'll be back, I have more stories."

"Do I get a kiss too?"

Kara rolls her eyes playfully. "But I already give you so many!"

Lena shrugs. "You knew I was needy when you married me."

Kara huffs at her, grins, leans down, and kisses her deeply.

"You're slippery," Lena mumbles against her lips.

"Cocoa butter."

Lena hums, pulls her into another quick kiss. "You were right, it does taste good."

#ask me #supercorp #kisses #prompts!

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comicteaparty · 5 years ago

Text

March 16th-March 22nd, 2020 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from March 16th, 2020 to March 22nd, 2020. The chat focused on The Phoenix by Bri de Danann.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

Comic Tea Party

BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on The Phoenix by Bri de Danann~! (https://www.bridedanann.com/thephoenix)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace until March 22nd, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Discussions are freeform, but we do offer discussion prompts in the pins for those who’d like to have them. Additionally, remember that while constructive criticism is allowed, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic!

Whether you finish the comic or can only read a few pages, everyone is welcome to join and chat with us!

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 1

1. What did you like about the beginning of the comic?

2. What has been your favorite moment in the comic (so far)?

3. Who is your favorite character?

4. Which characters do like seeing interact the most?

5. What is something you like about the art? If you have a favorite illustration, please share it!

6. What is a theme you like that the comic explores?

7. What do you like about the comic’s story or overall related content?

8. Overall, what do you think the comic’s strengths are?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

I'm really loving Cassidy so far - her confidence is infectious! One thing I'm interested in learning more about - the worldbuilding exposition we're given during the intermission. Like, it paints the Alliance in a REALLY positive light... which makes sense, because contextually this is an Alliance-produced ad/propaganda piece. So, I'm curious to find out what the actual story of Marketplace is.

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

Just started reading from the beginning..."You need a blue cat in every scifi creation" is making me feel very called-out right now, heh.

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

Aaaand the cat-guy runs up stairs on all four feet, that's a good touch

I wish a lot of these pages were bigger, or at least had the action spread out a bit more! Like, on this page https://www.bridedanann.com/pg-13-chapter-1 the "And...associate" is a very funny beat, but there's not enough space to put the speech bubbles one-after-the-other, so they read out-of-order and you lose the rhythm of the joke

That overhead shot of the city streets, too -- it's great, cool evocative setting, neat glowy future architecture, solid anatomy and a good feeling of motion with the figure -- so I wish the whole thing had more room to breathe.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I will second that criticism about the bubble order

Also on the topic of criticism, I don't know if the author already knows this or not, but the formatting is a bit messed up on mobile and you have to scroll a lot to reach the page(edited)

BriDanann

Thanks for the layout critique! It's something I've noticed and have tried to fix in my writing and bubble placement in subsequent chapters! I am still learning but I'm glad you like the setting and action! Also, for the mobile viewing on the site I am aware that it is messed up. Squarespace is honestly trash at setting up for mobile viewing, I've tried to finagle it but it won't stack neatly... this is why I put it on tapas and Webtoon, they are set up for mobile and it makes it much easier. Sorry for that inconvenience! I am looking into getting a better site for the home of my comic

RebelVampire

Something I like about the beginning of the comic was it just kind of defied my expectations. Like from the cover I was expecting something a bit more light-hearted, maybe even philosophical. And then nope, it's a space adventure. Yet at the same time I still get some of those beautiful more whimsical shots in the art, and it's an interesting combination. As for favorite scene, definitely https://www.bridedanann.com/pg-15-chapter-1 A very light comedic moment that takes the normal graceful leap of faith and turns it into what it would actually be like in real life for most people. Gotta love that subversion. Favorite character right now is Arerio. As the newcomer to the crew, I just connect with Arerio the most right now, plus I'm invested in Arerio's sort of bodyguard defense roll for the crew. Means Arerio is gonna get them spicy action scenes. So far, I've enjoyed seeing Cassidy and Arerio interact the most. I like that Cassidy is both frank with Arerio while also pushing Arerio to do crazy things like jump off random buildings. I kind of feel too that, again, as the newcomer, their lack of established relationship makes what will develop for it have higher stakes, vs. the people Cassidy has clearly known for a long time.

What I liked about the art most is the spacescapes. Beautiful color choices and blending, such as https://www.bridedanann.com/pg-1-chp-2 And like, if you're gonna have a space adventure, having great spacescapes like this is fantastic! Insofar, I like that the comic seems to be exploring authority and trust and what people do when they no longer trust the people in charge. While I don't have a favorite moment yet, I do feel this is a very important topic these days to talk about, as more and more young people are growing up unsure if they can trust authority figures. As for the story content, I've really enjoyed the world-building. Like that Intermission part was really right up my alley, and I enjoyed how expansive the world is yet balanced to not bring up the world at every turn in the main story. It makes for a good setting for space adventures. For the comic's strengths, I'm gonna say a combo of the world-building, the creativity in the world-building, and the effort put into the spacescapes. All together, these just make the space part of the space adventures seem more interesting, which surprisingly not every story nails in that regard.

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

How much control does Squarespace give you over your CSS? If you can edit that, it would be really easy to do things like make the little spaceship-graphics disappear completely in mobile view, so readers don't have to scroll past them. (A host with a Wordpress installation would give you total control over the CSS. Switching would take some effort, the benefits might or might not be worth it for you, but it's probably worth looking into it and seeing what you think.)

Back to the comic itself -- just got through chapter 1, and, aha, this is an Oppressing AIs Who Want To Be Free kind of Space Empire? Plus, this narration about a planet being "discovered" and happily "added" to the Alliance -- even though it already had native residents, and the Alliance apparently decided to rename it without their input -- is...chirpily ominous.

Chapter 2 cover: oooh, is that a plant-person I see?

Comic Tea Party

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 2

9. Given the comic describes itself partially as a “found family” story, how do you think events in the comic will bond the characters into a family? What obstacles will the characters go through that challenges their relationships, and what is the overall message about family?

10. Why is The Phoenix’s AI being hunted by the Alliance? Further, why are Cassidy and crew seemingly risking themselves to protect the AI from the Alliance? Which side is right in this situation?

11. Why and/or how do you think Cassidy wound up on the Alliance’s bad side? What about Arerio – why doesn’t Arerio trust the Alliance either? Overall, do you think we as the audience should trust the Alliance?

12. What aspect of the world-building so far do you think will become relevant to the events of the story – especially in regards to Cassidy’s crew’s activities? How will the addition of Arerio change how the group operates from what has been revealed so far about their activities?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

Well, the Alliance is definitely evil, and Cassidy said AI Rights. Remains to be seen whether it's a general "the AI wants to have free will and not be controlled by authoritarian programming" issue, or something specific like "the AI refused to carry out a specific mission." I thought it was the ship's AI, given that it's not described as an android/robot/etc -- but now we've seen it enter the scene in a humanoid body, so I wonder if the issue is "it experienced mechanical dysphoria while ship-shaped, and the oppressive space empire wouldn't allow it to switch to a new body."

RebelVampire

From initial impressions, I get the feeling all the main cast are outcasts in some ways, at least as far as the Alliance goes. And I think that along is will what bond the characters, since regardless of events, it can always come back to "at least were outcasts together." As for obstacles though, I kind of feel like there's bound to be personality conflicts and while they might all agree the Alliance sucks, at the end I feel each choice Cassidy makes is gonna divide the crew in some way. As for overall message, though, I think it's that family can be anyone and you're not just stuck with the family or even birthplace you were given. Go to where the people who care about you is. As for why the AI is being hunted, not entire sure, but I'm sure a lot of it is just its an AI. People tend to be extremely fearful of the idea of AI or AI that isn't under control. I mean, there's a reason this is a common theme in sci-fi. So for all intents and purposes, I think a large part is just AI = danger to the Alliance. As for why Cassidy and crew are risking their lives, it's probably just they see the AI as a person, not some hardened criminal threat. As for whose side is right, probably neither in my personal opinion. XD They're two extremes that fail to consider the other point of view.

I get the feeling that Cassidy was probably a bit too free-spirited and rebellious for the Alliance's liking, so they outcasted her and snowballed the whole thing. In regards to Arerio, I feel like he witnessed something horrible and just noped outta the situation. I don't think we should trust the Alliance as an organization. Maybe individual people in it, but the whole organization is surely corrupt. I've talked a bit about the world-building I think, but I want to mention again I actually enjoy the Intermission the most. Really gave some context to the story. I kind of feel Arerio is gonna cause Cassidy to take more risks. Cause there is less of a need to be careful if you've got muscle. And while this may increase good deeds, it will inevitably put them in more dangerous as they become more infamous.

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

The Intermission was hosted by an AI with some kind of official role, so it's definitely specific to AI that don't "follow the rules" in some way. Details to be revealed, I'm sure. And if one extreme is "I am definitely a person" while the other extreme is "You are definitely not a person", that's not a situation where you should try to consider each other's views and find a truth somewhere in the middle! You gotta stand up for the person, insist that they deserve the same human rights (...sapient rights?) as everyone else.

RebelVampire

I don't really view this as an argument of definitely a person vs. not a person for this story personally. I mean I'm sure that's in there. But I think this is more about "AIs are safe" vs. "AIs are dangerous"

Calliope Ψ ^,^

AIs will absolutely be deserving of rights. Their danger notwithstanding, it would be unethical to withhold inalienable rights from a sentient being simply based on their being digital instead of electrochemical.

RebelVampire

Just in case anyone thinks otherwise, I 100% think AIs are deserving of the same rights as people. However, I do think talking about safety is still important and to blanket say AIs are auto safe or auto dangerous are two extremes, neither of which is entirely correct. But obviously I'm basing this off my interpretation of the comic. It could shift to the people vs. not people debate, which would be a different matter to me.

Calliope Ψ ^,^

Humans are just as dangerous as AIs, that much is true, especially given how much we appropriate low-level proto-AIs to do our bidding. Though, I definitely understand where you're coming from ^^

RebelVampire

Yeah. Like i mean humans are the exact same, which is why we take precautions and have laws and enforcement to stop dangerous people. AIs should be treated in a similar respected but cautionary fashion. Just enforcement for AIs will obviously have to be different cause you can't exactly throw an AI in jail and hope for the same results.

Comic Tea Party

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 3

13. What are you most looking forward to seeing in regards to the comic?

14. Any final words of encouragement for the comic?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

mathtans

Found a little time today. So quickly running through the prompts:

1. Liked the setup of meeting someone who doesn't know the plot to act as our window into things... with the twist that Cassidy and crew are actually known by reputation at least.

2. The cloaked ship angle was a good one, I didn't think of that (I was envisioning that moment in Back to the Future II when Marty steps off the roof) and wow leap of faith by Arerio.

I think that kinda shows how the Alliance is bad news. Arerio was practically willing to die instead of be captured (though presumably he figured there was an ace up a sleeve somewhere).

3. Honestly, I like Sequoia. Cassidy's a bit reckless for my tastes, Arerio didn't really ping for whatever reason, and the others we're still learning about... and here's a character who seemingly drinks water by holding hair in a cup. I gather s/he's a type of tree. Seems to hang back and observe. Liking that. Of course, I'm weird.

4. The Cassidy/Tiko felt a little annoying at first but the interaction on the bridge later helped me to realize this is just a thing they do, and I like that they can be so casual with each other. (When it's not some life and death thing!)

5. Each character's distinctly different, though maybe that's more about the background than the art. I also liked the trip up the stairs and the fall off the tower. The visuals conveyed the scale/scope to me.

6. I'm bad with themes. I suppose the idea of coming together (when faced with a problematic Alliance)?

7. The AI thing has set up a good mystery. And maybe I'm watching too much "Picard" lately, but there's different places they can go with that that others have pointed out too... seems to have been a bit of a topic so far.

(I'm fading, I'll hit a bit more tomorrow.)

(Oh, I like the little comments at the bottom of the panels. So maybe that's a strength too.)

RebelVampire

What I'm most looking forward to seeing in the comic right now is just this first mission so we can get a feel as to what the characters are involved in. That will really set a lot of the tone for the rest of the story, so it'll definitely be a positive step forward. Overall, though, I really enjoy the effort put into the comic so far, and it'll be nice to see where it is in a few months~!

mathtans

Just to hit the highlights of the last questions, continuing from last night... there's probably the idea that family is the people who stick by you more than the people you're related to. In fact it might be interesting to see who some of their parents are (assuming they're alive) and whether they approve versus got into similar trouble.

The AI is being hunted because it's mostly armless. Eh heh... I'm wondering if maybe it's obsolete and refused upgrades or something? But maybe Cassidy and team are able to prevent any viral takeovers, the Alliance simply isn't listening? (That got a bit random but I don't think it's been pitched already.) And "right" is probably somewhere in the middle.

Alliance, as others have said, is probably shady (not the least of which because of the art portrayal?). But I guess there's some reason they're still in charge. ("Firefly" comes to mind, not because I was ever one who watched it, but because I think they were in a similar situation? I could be way off base.)

I liked the thought (I think it was Rebel) of the crew getting riskier now that Arerio is there. Though they seem a bit free spirited anyway, so it might be more a case of not raising their guard as much as they have before.

Anyway, I'd be looking forward to a bit more of the secondary characters (like Sequoia) as the twist of their mission (isn't there always a twist?) becomes apparent. Best with it!

Comic Tea Party

BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about The Phoenix this week! Please also give a special thank you to Bri de Danann for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked The Phoenix, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: https://www.bridedanann.com/thephoenix

Bri’s Redbubble Shop: https://www.redbubble.com/people/bridanann/shop?asc=u

Bri’s Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/bridedanann

Bri’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/BriDanann

#ctparchive #comics #webcomics #indie comics #comic chat #comic discussion #book club #bookclub #webcomic book club #webcomic bookclub #comic tea party #ctp #the phoenix #bri de danann

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foundcarcosa · 7 years ago

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ccc.

1. Favorite childhood book? >> (Three hundred surveys posted to this blog, wow. --I mean, over the course of nearly a decade I’ve probably filled out at least ten thousand, but.) I think that distinction would have to go to The Phantom Tollbooth. It’s one of the only books I remember owning, probably because I’d paged through it so many times. I also modified all the illustrations with pen so that Milo looked like a woman. 2. What are you reading right now? >> Condensed Chaos by Phil Hine -- more like limping through it, because I stopped setting aside time specifically for reading so I just end up grabbing a half a chapter here and there. I’ll have to do something about that. I’d started The Poisonwood Bible a while ago, too, but I keep forgetting to continue it. 3. What books do you have on request at the library? >> I rarely borrow books from the library unless they’re e-books because of my tendency to have to repeatedly renew and eventually take it back before I’m finished because I ran out of renews. 4. Bad book habit? >> Not reading. 5. What do you currently have checked out at the library? >> I don’t, for the reasons stated above. But for all the shit I talk about Grand Rapids, it has a lovely main branch, so I’ll probably end up stopping in again soon, maybe spending a few hours there for a change of scenery.

6. Do you have an e-reader? >> I have a phone, which functions as my e-reader. I also have a Kindle, but between its wack amount of storage space and its quick-draining battery, it’s been relegated to the position of glorified mousepad at this point. (It’s too bad, because I like the screen size.) 7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once? >> Two or three at once. I think it’s interesting to see if/how they subconsciously weave themselves together in my imagination, even if -- especially if -- they’re about completely unrelated things. 8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog? >> It’s the internet in general that interferes with my reading habits, not just tumblr, but tumblr obviously plays a part. 9. Least favorite book you read this year (so far?) >> I quit on Cormac McCarthy’s The Road like 10 pages in, and I don’t usually do that but for some reason I got bored really quickly and couldn’t see the point in pushing through. That’s not a total vote in its disfavour because I didn’t actually form a full opinion. Sometimes I just pick up a book at the wrong time and have to wait until I reach the point in my life when I’ll need it. I’ll probably try again in a couple of years. 10. Favorite book you’ve read this year? >> I really enjoyed Reincarnation Blues, I thought it was an amazing story. I also got a lot out of M. K. Asante Jr’s It’s Bigger Than Hip Hop. When the Stars Are Right by Scott R Jones was fascinating as hell, and then of course there was my long-overdue (or maybe right-on-time, considering...) American Gods reread... 11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone? >> Occasionally. The thing is, there are so many books in my comfort zone that I want to read... 12. What is your reading comfort zone? >> I don’t know if it’s quantifiable. I like a lot of different kinds of books. I usually know within 10-15 pages of a book if I’m going to like it or not -- I try not to judge books by their covers, but I definitely judge them by their first chapter. 13. Can you read on the bus? >> Sometimes, but I generally prefer to listen to music and look out the window.

14. Favorite place to read? >> In bed. 15. What is your policy on book lending? >> I’ll give books away. Just take it, read it. Pay it forward. I don’t like to hoard books. 16. Do you ever dog-ear books? >> Hell yes, I do. They’re not a sacred object to me; their contents may well be sacred, but their contents already exist in me because I ate them. 17. Do you ever write in the margins of your books? >> Nah. 18. Not even with text books? >> I don’t use textbooks. 19. What is your favorite language to read in? >> I can only read in English. 20. What makes you love a book? >> It’s a very visceral and subconscious thing, and it’s not dependent on genre or the politics of the author or any of that as much as it’s dependent on who I am at that moment in time, what story I need to hear, and how lovingly the author told it. That sounds like it only applies to fiction books, but it really doesn’t. 21. What will inspire you to recommend a book? >> Some level of understanding of the person I’m recommending it to. 22. Favorite genre? >> I don’t know, honestly. 23. Genre you rarely read (but wish you did?) >> I wish I read more science fiction. The thing is, most of the scifi stories I love I kind of stumbled into accidentally. Whenever I go looking for scifi specifically, I run into a lot of duds (not that they’re badly written or anything, just that they’re bad for me). I’m going to try Philip K Dick soon and I hope that works out okay. 24. Favorite biography? >> I don’t have one. 25. Have you ever read a self-help book? >> Sure, but I don’t make a habit of it.

26. Favorite cookbook? >> I don’t have one. Well, okay, Feeding Hannibal is pretty cool, ngl, but mostly for the information rather than the actual recipes. We can’t afford to (or don’t have the room/appliances to) make most of that stuff. 27. Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or non-fiction)? >> Definitely American Gods, but that’s a hard-to-explain thing, lol. The Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are is a good runner-up, because as far as inspiration is concerned, Alan Watts probably had more than his fair share of it. (Do comic books count, because if so I’d like to also add in Promethea.) 28. Favorite reading snack? >> Alcohol. (But also anything I can eat with one hand, or doesn’t require a lot of, like, attention.) 29. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience. >> I don’t think that’s ever happened. 30. How often do you agree with critics about a book? >> I don’t read critic reviews often enough to know what the ratio of agreement to disagreement would even be like. 31. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews? >> A negative review is just as valuable as a positive review. I’d prefer people not be nasty in their negative reviews, but like... I also don’t have to read their review if I don’t like it. It’s not that big of a deal to me. 32. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you chose? >> Russian, probably. I imagine untranslated Russian lit would be amazing to read. 33. Most intimidating book you’ve ever read? >> And actually finished? Ha! Let’s see... as far as length, I’d probably pick whatever the longest Stephen King book that I’ve read is. (He meanders, man. He fucking meanders. It’s great, but dear god.) As far as content, I’m probably gonna go with Atlas Shrugged. For, I mean, obvious reasons, really. 34. Most intimidating book you’re too nervous to begin? >> That doesn’t really happen to me. If I want to read something, I’ll start reading it. If it proves prohibitive to my limited ability to understand shit, then I’ll put it down and move on. 35. Favorite poet? >> I don’t have one. 36. How many books do you usually have checked out of the library at any given time? >> Zero. When I do check out from the library, I stick to three books max. 37. How often have you returned book to the library unread? >> Quite often. Usually because I ran out of time. 38. Favorite fictional character? >> YEAH, OKAY. 39. Favorite fictional villain? >> Actually that is almost impossible for me to determine because I don’t even put the “villain” flag on characters unless it’s super fucking obvious (like in a comic book) that they’re supposed to be the Token Bad Guy. I just don’t even think in those terms. -- Now that I say that, though, I remembered that Stephen King characters are written very polarised despite my personal interpretations of them, so I suppose my favourite villain is Walter O’Dim. 40. Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation? >> I don’t know, I don’t usually have time to read on vacation. Unless it’s on the plane or something, in which case I just bring whatever I happen to be reading at the time. It’s usually on my phone, anyway. 41. The longest I’ve gone without reading. >> I mean, I don’t go a day without reading something, even if it’s just articles I saw on my facebook feed. 42. Name a book that you could/would not finish. >> Fifty Shades of Grey. (I did try. I wrote detailed posts about my thoughts during my attempt to read it. They’re still on my old blog.) 43. What distracts you easily when you’re reading? >> Everything. It’s just hard for me to turn the “noise” (literal and figurative noise) of the world off in general, which is why I like it quiet when I’m trying to focus. 44. Favorite film adaptation of a novel? >> Well, LOTR. I was going to say Predestination but All You Zombies isn’t a novel. Uhh.... :/ 45. Most disappointing film adaptation? >> Good god, so many. 46. The most money I’ve ever spent in the bookstore at one time? >> Around $100, I guess. I don’t have much money in general so I try to just... avoid bookstores. 47. How often do you skim a book before reading it? >> I don’t. The first-chapter test usually works just fine. 48. What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through? >> Boredom. 49. Do you like to keep your books organized? >> Well, we don’t own enough for a complex system to be required. 50. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them? >> I really prefer to give them away. It’s just... I’m not a hoarder (I don’t even mean that in the negative sense, I just mean I don’t like hanging onto stuff I’m not actively using). I spent just about all of my adult life up until 2 years ago homeless or some version of transient and having to be ruthlessly exacting about how many belongings I had at any given time really changed the way my brain works regarding material items. I love being able to own things now, but it’s... hard to enjoy having too many objects. I get tetchy. It feels inorganic. Maybe that’ll change in the future (these things often do), but for now owning more than 20 or so books feels like an overindulgence. 51. Are there any books you’ve been avoiding? >> I don’t think so. 52. Name a book that made you angry. >> I can’t think of one right now. 53. A book you didn’t expect to like but did? >> The Fountainhead. Any Rand book, actually, because Vlad couldn’t stand her and we had such similar tastes in media that I figured I wouldn’t either. But the immense amount of annoying peer pressure from Sigma eventually got me to pick it up just to get them off my back, and..... well, the rest is hilarious “I’m in love with a crazy Russian woman who makes me want to yell at her constantly” history. 54. A book that you expected to like but didn’t? >> I don’t know. That doesn’t happen very often. 55. Favorite guilt-free, pleasure reading? >> All of it? I don’t feel guilty about anything I read.

#surveysofsamedi #surveys

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dpargyle · 7 years ago

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And Then…there was Ice Cream

So @marisolinspades messaged me at 6:20 AM this morning saying: “Ok, I cannot wait any longer tell me about the ice cream outing” lmao so without further ado…

So Blondie, her two roommates, and I finally went out for ice cream last night

(for those who don’t know – this all started when Blondie and one of her roommates (let’s call her Seraphim) literally saved my life a little less than a month ago – here’s the original post and the rest are tagged under “Ballerina, you must’ve seen her”) –

So all day yesterday I purposely loaded up my day with work so I wouldn’t literally lose my mind overthinking the outing hahaha – I just kept myself focused – doing paying work, finishing a book, blasting Queen on vinyl cuz it was Freddie Mercury’s birthday and I wanted to channel Freddie Mercury’s coolness but of course that’s impossible because nobody will ever be nearly as cool as Freddie Mercury, let’s be honest…

And then my neighbors who are one door down from me (Blondie is two doors down from me) – let’s call my closer neighbors Tarzan & Jane (lmao – they read these posts too so I hope you’re not offended by your nicknames guys!) helped me put a nice shirt over my T-shirt (I didn’t want to go overboard cuz it wasn’t a date but I also wanted to show Blondie I think she’s worth dressing up for? I dunno maybe it was too much but I did look good, so whatevs.)

Anyway, I’d been pretty calm up until that point until about an hour before we were gonna go – so @wonkwizard very kindly messaged back and forth with me to keep me from

which was very kind of her. Thank you!

Anyway, so Blondie, Seraphim, and let’s call her other roommate Brownie (you’ll see why in a bit) are finally walking to the ice cream store across the street from our apartment complex (well, I’m rolling) and we start talking about what ice cream flavors are our favorites (Seraphim asks me, “[Bundles], what’s your fave flavor of ice cream?” and of course I immediately blurt out “mint choc chip!” (because it is objectively the best – FIGHT ME!) and they’re all like “that’s [Blondie’s] favorite too!” And then Blondie goes “yeah – and my second favorite is cookie dough” And I’m like !!! cuz that’s my second favorite too (which I told her))

I mean, ok, it’s not that big a deal cuz it’s just compatible ice cream flavor tastes – but let’s just say our tongues like the same things, know what I mean? :D :D :D :D

Also – I hadn’t really noticed this before but Blondie is a lot taller than I thought she was (or maybe her friends are just short?) – anyway – with me sitting down in my wheelchair the top of my head is at chin level with her friends but with her it’s at shoulder level or even a bit lower – which means I’m at eye level with her backside so I had to keep looking away when she stepped in front of me to order ice cream so I wouldn’t objectify her with my male gaze, cuz, well, to quote Tina Belcher:

Also also – for a ballerina she’s super klutzy hahaha (and it’s kind of super adorable) like when we were walking along the sidewalk (she mostly walked beside me – which, aww!) she kept falling off the sidewalk into like the bushes or whatever and I was worried it was cuz I accidently drove her off the sidewalk (cuz my wheelchair is basically tank-sized) but she was like “no, you’re fine – this happens all the time!”)

And then when we got our ice cream (she sat across from me at the table!!!! And she had a choice too – I sat down first – so she would have a choice if she didn’t feel comfortable sitting across from me) she got a mint choc chip cone and dripped it all over herself (I really don’t think it’s cuz I was making her nervous or anything, I think she’s just a klutz lmao)

so I had to tell them all about how in high school I was even less coordinated than her (to make her feel better but also cuz it’s true) and I was super self-conscious (about my disability – and also, ironically, there was this other blonde girl – but that’s a whooooooooooole other long story…) so at school I just never ate anything cuz I was terrified I’d get it all over me and people would be like “ew” but over the years, I’ve found people don’t actually go “ew” when people drop stuff on themselves – like when Blondie did it I just went ‘awww’ hahaha

In any case, this is why I went with the safe, mint choc chip shake option – no spillage there! I was very smooth.

This is getting hella long – so let me go through the highlights of our ice cream conversations –

It’s very hard to get to know 3 people at once. I did my best, but I didn’t find out too too much – we were only there for like 40 mins, after all – but they are all interesting, sweet people and they seem to like me.

So I think in the end they found out more about me then I learned about them (which I’m totally cool with – the more she knows about me the more informed opinions she can make about me) – cuz I tend to talk a lot because awkward silences terrify me so I just keep talking if I feel one coming – even so, though, I was able to keep asking questions about them and their interests though – so I think it was balanced? I dunno I know a lot of men think conversations are balanced when in reality they did most of the talking so I hope I’m not like that…

Brownie didn’t have any ice cream cuz she’s not the “biggest fan” (????) so I asked her what snack is her favorite and she said brownies (see! I told you I’d explain her nickname lol) – so maybe I should bring them brownies later in the week seeing as how she missed out on the treat? I can’t decide if that would be a baller move or weird? When you like a girl it’s good to ingratiate yourself with her friends, right? What do you kids think?

Anyway - I tried to explain the place in New York where I grew up and I said, you know in the X-men – their mansion is supposed to be in the county I grew up in (which I always found amusing because the county I grew up in would definitely not allow mutants within 50 miles of their jurisdiction lmao – they wouldn’t even let McDonald’s set up in my town cuz it was considered too low class hahaha) and when I said that they were all like

And I’m like “…you’ve seen the X-Men movies, right?” And they all shook their heads and I was like ?????????? – I thought the X-Men were a staple of American culture but I guess not? I am incredibly nerdy lmao – and then I started to worry that maybe she’s not nerdy enough for me

but then I realized that while being nerdy together works for many couples it’s not necessarily mandatory – what matters is the heart and soul and plus people who like other people become more interested in the things their significant others are passionate about – like for example, when my brother met his eventual wife he was a dyed in the wool conservative and now he’s far left hahaha – and his wife said she hated scifi but he gradually got her into Firefly and Star Wars and Star Trek and now she likes it quite a lot – I mean their eldest Shiba is named Kohaku Falkor for the gods’ sakes! Like why am I limiting things just cuz she doesn’t like all the random eccentric crap I like?

In any case – Blondie has told me she likes reading fantasy books – and I’m like 90% sure she wasn’t talking about erotica although she was slightly cagey about exactly what fantasy books she likes so who knows? lmao

I also told them about how old I am (I was talking about my siblings’ ages and was able to slip it in) – so it’s up to her if she’s comfortable with the age gap (I’m pretty sure it’s about seven or so years – I’m not totally sure though cuz obviously I’m too polite to ask a lady how old she is hahaha) (sexist manners are hard to break kids) –

I also found out Blondie only has one sibling so I’m thinking even more that she’s not Mormon cuz those peoples’ White Jesus mandates them to breed like jackrabbits basically so Mormon families usually have like eleventy billion children…

OK – so let’s get to the most important moment - Seraphim was talking about how she’s a snowboarder and so I asked Blondie “do you snowboard as well?” and she said “no, I ski.” And I said “That makes sense, you don’t seem like the snowboarding type.” And Seraphim laughs and goes “what’s that supposed to mean?” and kids….

it must’ve been all the Queen music I’d been listening to all day cuz it was as if the spirit of Freddie Mercury himself descended from the very fires of heaven and possessed me and I communed with my avatar state which gave me this mystical yet all too brief supernatural surge of effortless coolness

because before I even really thought about saying these words, they fired confidently forth from my soul: “I mean that [Blondie] is just too elegant for snowboarding, is all.” And Blondie started laughing her ass off and she might’ve blushed I’m not sure though (I hope she didn’t think I was making fun of her for being a klutz – I did say it from a place of pure genuineness though so I hope that came across) – and then I immediately felt bad I’d insulted Seraphim – so I quickly said, “not that snowboarding is bad – it’s just more cool than elegant – and you’re cool” and by that point they were all laughing so I don’t think any of them took it badly...

So following that Moment of Zen we decided to head back and I let them walk out the door first (cuz I’m a gentleman) but then I told them that if they ever get tired of that kind of sexist b.s. from me they can just tell me to go first (and I told them the story of when @lmnp and I stood outside a door in the snow for an hour and a half that one time cuz we were both too stubborn to go in first but that @lmnp eventually won cuz I was being a sexist dick hahahaha)

Then at the end of the night, I said to Blondie – “this was fun, we should do this (or something else) again – if you want.” And she said something like – “yeah sure” and smiled

Then when I got back to my apartment, about twenty minutes later I sent her a text saying how “I keep forgetting – but here’s my full name – and you can add me on Facebook if you want.” (I want to friend her on Facebook cuz A) I still don’t know her full name and B) to see if she has a significant other) (not that Facebook is like the official way of finding that out – I mean she could have a secret lover, who knows, but it’s more info, you know?) And she (after like 2 hrs) texted me back saying she had fun and that she’s not on Facebook too much but she’ll definitely add me.

Anyway, I’m incredibly long winded – but, to quote Bilbo Baggins – it was undoubtedly “a night to remember…”

#ballerina you must've seen her

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thestuckylibrary · 7 years ago

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Welcome, new mods!

This week we’re welcoming five new mods to help deal with the workload of thestuckylibrary! In a new move, us librarians are telling you, the readers a bit about ourselves. Get to know your mods a little better!

Mod Karin

I’m a biro ace from Canada. I use she/her pronouns. Melancholic, a dog person, asthmatic. I’m an Art History student in my early 20s. I’m definitely an Academic™, I love research, medieval art, early renaissance art, most 1850-1945 art, talking at length about things that interest me and,Scifi and fantasy, historical fiction and writing about things. I have Beef with Greenburg.

I started shipping stucky in like mid 2013 after I binged all marvel movies in a single night after being dragged to see Iron Man 3. At that point I wasn’t into the tumblr side of mcu fandom and just read the few fics there were on AO3. However, that all changed after I saw TWS. Full tilt mcu tumblr multishipping since April that year and I haven’t looked back. I joined the library June 2015 and have been modding ever since, albeit with a bit of a break summer 2016. It made sense as a move to me- I love fanfiction, tend to mostly read stucky fic, love organization and giving recs and have experience with the idea having worked in libraries for many years.

I’m also a traditional artist. I usually work in pencil, pastels or charcoal but I occasionally work in acrylic, oil, ceramics and ink. I make fanart, you can check it out on my fandom blog @samthebirdbae! My specialty is Bucky’s glorious long hair.

Mod Annie

what’s up i don’t know how to use the cool drop down description kinda formatting bc i suck at tumblr also i hate using caps for anything. I’m a bi 18 (almost 19) year old from texas. she/her pronouns. I’m a figure skater and dancer. basically the best description for me is just child of preserum steve and natasha, as im actually very russian but im like 5'1 and have a list of health problems as long as my arm. you may or may not know me as that one black widow cosplayer who met sebastian last year and asked him to choke her. kinda problematic, i know, but also highkey awesome even though i definitely would not repeat. I’m currently not in school although I’m debating between possibly going into massage therapy or cosmetology. I was homeschooled and I grew up in like The Most Conservative christian home so i wasn’t allowed to listen to music or read books or watch any movies unless they were pre approved by my mom, and she was picky with even the stuff from the christian book store sooooo,,,, i didn’t really get into marvel or music or ANYTHING until i was about sixteen and i was finally allowed to use the internet and have a phone but after i finally watched the cap movies about a year and a half to two years ago I immediately fell in love and started shipping stevebucky. as I am a history NUT ofc my fav era is 40s pre/mid war. it’ll definitely show in my recs. I do write as well but i switch back and forth between stevebucky and harry styles fics and rn i don’t have nearly enough time to do either one between work and sports. (I am out rn over a knee injury that might end up requiring surgery so idk. maybe I’ll get The Time.)

Mod Blue

Hello, I’m a librarian from Belgium and the best part about my job is helping people to find what they’re looking for or to answer any question they might have to make their day a little easier. That goes from helping them find books and articles to helping them figure out where their class room is or how they’re supposed to make copies and prints. I’m delighted that I get to do a little more of the same here at the Stucky Library.

Mod Dee

hey friends~ my name is dee, i’m 21, and i’m from new zealand. (she/her.) i’m a history and mythology nerd and know a little too much about booby traps used in the vietnam war? oops. (i promise it’s from fic related research.) i have three cats and four dogs and a niece and they’re all like. the lights of my life tbh. i’m not currently studying, though i’m toying with the idea, now that i’ve found somewhere that actually offers creative writing as a full degree.

i started shipping stucky quite recently, like, probably early-2016, after i abruptly left my main fandom, and saw CA:TWS for the first time. it was like my eyes had been opened, and it was pretty magical tbh. i’ve been into marvel for a lot longer than that (since like 2012, i think) and ngl, my first love was tony stark. (do yall get leavers’ hoodies when you finish high school? we did. i got “stark” printed on mine in place of my own name. little did i know, that was only the beginning of my ventures in marvel fandom.)

within fandom, i’m a fic writer, and pretty much everything i write is au. (which u can find on my personal @jjjakesully if u so desire lmao) about 90% of what i read within fandom is au as well, because i like the idea of “no matter our circumstances, i’d still find and love you in each and every lifetime” and wow that sounds gooey but you get the point. this isn’t the first rec blog i’ve worked on, so like i have seen things and little of what you ask is going to shock me lmao.

Mod Julia

hi, guys! i’m julia (she/her), 24, english teacher from brazil. always tired, always anxious, always crying about stevebucky. i have a deep love for books and tiny fluffy animals.

i read my very first ever stucky fic the night after i saw catws at the theater. in an ~unforeseen turn of events, it totally took over my life. it was love at first ‘mistaken identity’ story, and i haven’t looked back since.

i’m also a fic writer! i’ve been writing for this pairing since 2015, and you can find all of that on my tumblr @hawkguyz. i’m particularly fond of AUs and tooth-rotting fluff. :D

#mod post #it's been over a month but hello!#it's us!

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ancient-trees · 7 years ago

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Reading Meme

(Sorry for taking forever on these, guys...! I got tagged for a lot of memes at once, and this one is long. I apparently have a lot of things to say about books... who knew?)

Tagged by @theticklishpear. Thank you again!

(Tag-ees, btw, don’t feel obligated to read my long rambly answers if you just want to copy/paste the questions.)

1. Which book has been on your shelves the longest?

I have a picture book of St George and the Dragon whose illustrations are BEAUTIFUL (it’s this one). Technically hasn’t been on MY shelves longest - a while ago I found it in our shelves of books from when my brother and I were kids and repossessed it because I love the art so much.

2. What is your current read, your last read and the book you’ll read next?

Currently in the middle of Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire. Also in the pile are The Edge of the Sea by Rachel Carson (whom I love) and Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter by Thomas Cahill (which is ...okay, but more of a slightly-more-opinionated refresher on what I learned in college than anything new). I’m also most of the way through a reread of Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman (one of my favorite books).

Last thing I finished was Shadowheart, the last book in Tad Williams’s Shadowmarch series. (It’s not without its problems, but overall I really enjoyed that series. It’s got the ensemble-cast-and-unlikely-heroes thing going on.)

I’m not sure what’s next. Fiction might be American Gods by Neil Gaiman or Aftermath by Chuck Wendig... or I might need to keep going with the series and track down the second October Daye book. We’ll see when I get there. Nonfiction - been meaning to start The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt by Toby Wilkinson or Writings from Ancient Egypt (translations from original sources, by the same). But I also have a book about pirates off the coast of Virginia my mom got on a recent trip to Jamestown... and a book about the Silk Road I happened upon in Barnes and Noble the other week, which MIGHT have edged its way to the top of the list... (this is why I’m all for brick-and-mortar bookstores. Search algorithms are great, but they don’t accomplish quite the same thing as wandering the shelves.)

3. Which book does everyone like and you hated?

Ehh, I’m not sure what “everyone” likes, but a lot of the series my high school friends loved I could never get into. I remember really liking the first Wheel of Time book, but got bored of the series pretty quickly after the first one. Same with Terry Goodkind’s Sword of Truth. I tried to like Dragonriders of Pern, but didn’t get far with that one either. And I hear the series gets better after the overenthusiastic-Tolkien-fanboying of the first book, but I really didn’t enjoy The Sword of Shannara.

Oh.. and I never read any Discworld JUST because in high school I knew a guy who EXTOLLED ITS VIRTUES TO THE HEAVENS. Constantly. Now that I’ve learned more about the series and the author I will definitely have to read some someday, though.

(I’m not a big fan of most “~Literature~” either, Pear.)

4. Which book do you keep telling yourself you’ll read, but you probably won’t?

I don’t know. My TBR list is pretty ridiculous, and anything’s possible, so I hate to relegate anything to “probably won’t read” status. Finishing A Song of Ice and Fire might be close. I received the whole series as a birthday gift from a friend (long before the TV show existed), read the first two back-to-back at a time when I really wasn’t in a great place, and got burned out on the grimdark rocksfalleveryonedies of it all. I did enjoy the books, and I’ll probably dive back into it someday, but it’s not really high on my Fun Things to Read list right now.

I also come home with an armload of unexpected finds every time the local college has a charity used book fair... most of which end up sitting on my shelves for a long time, still unread...

5. Which book are you saving for “retirement?”

Nothing really, but I’ve got a big stack of novels from Japan that I’ve been saving for “once I’ve brushed up on my kanji” - since reading is excruciatingly slow when I have to look up every other word. I’m being optimistic and not putting them under the “probably won’t read” heading, though.

6. Last page: read it first or wait till the end?

noo, wait till the end! I will confess that sometimes I’ll flip ahead if I’m at a really slow point, or I know I don’t have time for another chapter but can’t quite bring myself to put the book down yet... but I’m trying to get better about it. I always regret it when I accidentally spoil the book for myself.

7. Acknowledgements: waste of ink and paper or interesting aside?

There should ABSOLUTELY be acknowledgements. The ones that involve stories or interesting background info are cool, but even the ones that are just lists of names 110% should be there - they’re for those people, not the reader, and after all the sweat and tears that go into putting a book together they deserve that place of honor.

8. Which book character would you switch places with?

When I was a kid this question would always trip me up - it would be so cool to be a character in the books I read and have awesome adventures... but at the same time, being in a book-world would mean giving up all the other book-worlds... unless you had access to an interdimensional library and spare time for reading while you weren’t busy saving the world...

If I’m being honest, though, I’d probably end up being Ged from A Wizard of Earthsea. I can relate pretty intensely to a lot of his journey.

9. Do you have a book that reminds you of something specific in your life (a person, a place, a time)?

Quite a few books remind me of a certain school librarian who was always ready with a recommendation and frequently asked the student library aides what books the library should add to their shelves. She was really cool.

10. Name a book you acquired in some interesting way.

My copy of the first Harry Potter book was given to me (right after it was first published in the US) by a good friend whose last name happened to be Potter.. along with a message that said “Wow, Harry Potter has such a cool name! I wish I had a cool name like that! OH WAIT...!”

I also seem to inherit a lot of manga from friends who want to free up shelf space.

11. Have you ever given away a book for a special reason to a special person?

I give books as presents a lot, so nothing specific really stands out. For some reason I keep losing copies of The Silmarillion to people I lend it to who never return it...

Come to think of it, I gave a copy of Howl’s Moving Castle to one of my students in Japan before I left - since she’d been doing extra English language work just for fun, and she was a fan of the Ghibli movie.

12. Which book has been with you to the most places?

I don’t know, offhand. This might be more a Question #9 story, but I remember reading Shadowmarch during downtime between classes in the teachers’ room of my schools in Japan. The other teachers kept exclaiming over how HUGE the book was (~800 pages in mass-market paperback). In Japan novels are pocket-sized - words in Japanese take up less space to print than English, they use thinner paper, and they separate books into Part 1/Part 2 etc if they’re too long.

13. Any “required reading” you hated in high school that wasn’t so bad ten years later?

The Hobbit, actually. I’d read it probably in middle school/jr high or so and thought it was kind of silly and childish. Then when it was assigned representing the fantasy genre in high school lit class, I was annoyed enough that I didn’t bother rereading it - just skimmed it well enough to answer test questions. Once I’d read The Lord of the Rings and gotten into the Tolkien mythos I could appreciate The Hobbit a lot more.

14. What is the strangest item you’ve ever found in a book?

In used books and library books I’ve found bookmarks, old receipts, the usual stuff... I think I found a pressed flower once or twice. A friend of mine used to hide money in her books (to be found as a surprise for herself later, after she’d forgotten about it), so once in a while I’d borrow one and find a random $10 bill or so in it. (I left them there, of course!)

15. Used or brand new?

Either one. New is good for supporting authors, but my town has a really good used book store that I’ll check for older series.

And Book Off (huge Japanese used book chain) is a thing of beauty. So much manga is published so quickly over there that people don’t tend to hang onto their tankobon copies once they’ve finished reading them (they don’t have the space to keep them all), so you can get a ton of books for really cheap. I spent way more shipping them home than I did buying the actual books.

16. Stephen King: Literary genius or opiate of the masses?

I haven’t read much Stephen King, apart from The Gunslinger (which I wasn’t really a fan of at the time) and his On Writing. I admire his work ethic, at any rate.

17. Have you ever seen a movie you liked better than the book?

I think there have been a few, but I can’t think of them now. I grew up with the Neverending Story movie, so I was a little thrown off when the second half of the book continued in such a different direction, but I liked them both. The book doesn’t have quite the same place in my heart that the movie does, though. And I enjoyed the Shannara Chronicles TV show a lot more than the first book in the series (see #3 above), but I haven’t read the specific books the show was based on, so I can’t really say there. (Though “Elessedil” still makes me cringe every time I hear it...)

18. Conversely, which book should NEVER have been introduced to celluloid?

oh god. The Scifi Channel Earthsea miniseries had me laughing-slash-crying within the first five minutes, it was such a garbage fire and breathtaking masterpiece of missing the point. I remember having a similar reaction to Disney’s version of The Black Cauldron, though that was a much longer time ago, and that was less bewildered rage and more a disappointed “what did you do to my Prydain?? And what is this talking schnauzer?”

19. Have you ever read a book that’s made you hungry, cookbooks being excluded from this question?

Not that I can recall. For some reason reading about Tom Bombadil’s always makes me want bread and honey, though.

20. Who is the person whose book advice you’ll always take?

Hah, I don’t know. The friend who gave me the Harry Potter book was a huge influence on what I read as a kid, but I lost touch with her a long time ago, so I don’t know what she’s reading these days.

Tagging: @possiblyelven, @taskitron, @whitherling, @arionwind, @december-soulstice, @byjillianmaria, @eggletine if you guys want to do it!

#meme #books #reading

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claeriekavanaugh · 7 years ago

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Say howdy to Tara Meyers, author of the cozy mystery, You Can Lead a Horse to Murder!

Intro: What is your name, what do you write, and where can readers find you on social media? And just for fun, if you could be any mythical being or creature, who or what would you be?

Tara Meyers (Ellis)

Under Tara Meyers, I write romantic suspense and cozy mysteries

Under Tara Ellis, I write middle grade mystery, young adult scifi, and a true stories of survival series

I can be found on FB, Twitter, Goodreads, Bookbub, and of of course, Amazon!

https://www.facebook.com/TaraMeyersAuthor/

https://www.amazon.com/Tara-Meyers/e/B01MSI04AK/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

https://www.amazon.com/Tara-Ellis/e/B00IVF1JQK/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

I think I would want to be a dragon. I’ve always wanted to fly! 😉

What is your book about? What inspired it?

My book is about a 28-yr-old newly licensed veterinarian who moves back to her small hometown to open her own practice after her mother’s death. Even before her business is officially open, Ember finds herself in the middle of a complicated situation that will challenge her in multiple ways. I’ve been writing a middle grade mystery series for four years now. While I love it (and will continue to write new stories for it), I wanted to go a step further and bring the same type of light, intriguing stories to an adult audience.

I read on your blog that you were a volunteer firefighter and EMT. I think that’s so cool. Did anything you learned during that time of your life influence your books or help you write particularly difficult scenes?

Absolutely! In my young adult series, there’s a scene where the MC has to perform CPR on someone, and I don’t have a problem saying that it’s very accurate and realistic for both the physical and emotional aspects. I was also a support officer, (and 911 dispatcher) so I received training in how to cope with trauma and how the brain works to process certain things. I apply all of these experiences in various ways to my characters to try and make them more both believable and relatable.

You have written in various genres from romance, to suspense, to middle grade mystery. What made you want to try your hand at a cozy mystery?

I already answered this question partway. But in addition to wanting to “up my game” with storylines, I’ve also yearned to write in a genre that has a larger audience. Middle grade is extremely hard when it comes to marketing, and cozies are very popular right now. So, in addition to it being fun to write, I believe (hope) it’s a smart business move.

Do you find there are central themes or elements that are unique to your books? (For example, are you drawn to anti-heroes, antagonists, certain settings etc.) Why do those things stand out to you?

Yes, most of my stories have some sort of outdoors or nature element to it. I think this goes back to the old adage of “write what you know”. I’m a perfectionist, and I want every aspect of my stories to be believable. I love the outdoors, and I have a vivid memory of the sights/smells/emotions associated with it, so that makes it easier for me to write about it. Plus, it creates a great atmosphere and backdrop for a mystery!

As implied by the title, You Can Lead a Horse to Murder, horses and life as a vet feature predominately in your novel. What experience did you have in those fields? Any interesting tidbits you picked up during your research?

Well, as a child, for some time I wanted to be a veterinarian and even considered pursuing it briefly when I started college. However, as mentioned in my book, it’s as much school as is involved in becoming a medical doctor. It’s a huge commitment! I’ve also always had a special love for horses, so when plotting both the setting for my series as well as the first story and how all of the others will develop, it was natural for me to pick both the small town in the mountains, and the role of veterinarian for the MC. I was surprised at how much research was involved in You Can Lead a Horse to Murder. I write extensive plots and outlines prior to writing. My last scifi book took three months of plotting! I thought this one would go faster than it did, because I took special care to make sure what I was including about the horse and the medical aspects were accurate. One thing I had no idea about was the birth process (foaling) and potential problems!

I read on your website that you wrote your first novel, a children’s book, when you were only 16. Can you pick out the three to five biggest things you learned from that experience?

Perseverance, patience, confidence, and to follow your heart. I originally finished it (publish-ready) when I was twenty, and was incredibly excited when, after mailing out the manuscript to several publishers, got what I thought was a legitimate offer. It turned out to be a vanity press and I was seriously crushed by it. So much so, that I literally put it in a shoe box, stuck it on a shelf, and didn’t pull it back out again until twenty years later. I re-wrote it, but kept much of the original story intact. It was basically a massive edit with a couple of chapters added. The fact that it has now turned into a (currently) 8 book series with a decent following blows my mind.

On your blog, you mentioned having to learn the “proper” way to create an outline. There are so many variations on the process. What can you say about your method?

First of all, I should point out that it’s the proper way for “me” to write an outline. I realize that it really is different for every author, and not all of us even like to use one. For me, If I don’t have it I get lost in the storyline. It becomes too convoluted to the point where I don’t want to write it anymore. First, I use an 8 step-method I found online for listing out the plot and plot points, and sub plot points. This helps me create the general story idea and major “beats”. I then list out the chapters, and do outlines for every chapter. Then, I start to write. As I’m writing, I’m filling in any holes in advance by reviewing the outlines for the upcoming chapters, so that when I sit down to write, I already have the scene (and usually the dialogue) straight in my head. It’s what works for me!

What is/are one or two pieces of advice that you learned while publishing your first book that you wish you had known before you started?

Pay for a professional cover artist and pay for a professional editor. I ended up going back and doing both of those things for my first book!! 😊

Favorite quote from your work?

“United we stand, divided we fall.” – Descent, The Forgotten Origins Trilogy

If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be?

Ironically (because I owe my publishing career to the online community), I would turn time back on technology. I think it will ultimately be our demise.

This is random but fun one, if you could pick any time period to live in, when would you live and why?

The mid to late 1800s, in the West. While I might think differently if I actually found myself in the situation, I long for a time when life was simple. In simple, I mean you worked to survive, loved your family, and that was pretty much it.

What is one book you think every YA writer should read at least once?

Not to sound cliché, but The Hunger Games. I avoided reading it for years, because there was so much hype around the series and I’m usually very disappointed when I go to read them. But The Hunger Games is an exceptionally written series. It’s an incredible (if not difficult) storyline, that both sparks the imagination and makes you think about things, especially with the world we live in today. It was what compelled me to write my own trilogy in the first person, present tense. It was an incredible challenge but I’m so glad I did it. It really puts you (the reader) in the story, and especially in the MC’s head. While there is a lot of violence, there’s hardly any language and no sex, which is also hard to find nowadays!

Thank you for the great interview, Tara! Don’t forget to say hi on Facebook and check out her books on Amazon!

f you liked this post, please scroll to the top of the page and type in your email to follow my blog and get update every time I post new content. I have authors of all genres coming on my block to interview in the coming weeks! Don’t miss it!

As always, keep making magic, word weavers!

Check out this #interview with cozy #mystery #author Tara Meyers! Say howdy to Tara Meyers, author of the cozy mystery, You Can Lead a Horse to Murder…

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writera · 8 years ago

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Becoming a Dungeon Master

I feel like a fairly new DM. And most of my RPG experience is as a DM. However at this point I have years of experience, so I'm not sure how long I get to hang on to that moniker.

Getting started as a DM is pretty intimidating, foremost because there is just so much you don't know about — if your players know more about the setting or the canonical character/spell/narrative tropes than you, its easy to let them push you to make calls you wouldn't otherwise make. Trying to adjudicate for very smart, rules lawyering [fill-in-the-game] buffs sounds like an uphill battle.

Briefly, I got my start with 3.5e in college, subsequently played 40k, World of Darkness, a homebrew system, and DM'd two 5e D&D games. I've been a part of four different groups. I had some trouble running good 5e games, and this has directly resulted in a lot of research.

In my 40k game, the primary GM was tired of GMing, but whenever his apprentice GM ran a game, he was "corrected" on a number of things that the apprentice had pretty clearly thought out in advance. Having less experience in the setting, the corrections made no sense — "wow that's a cool idea! It doesn't even matter to the campaign, why is the regular GM nixing this?".

I toyed with the idea of running a few sessions, and studied the one rulebook I was planning on drawing from. 40k has shitty encounter-balancing tools, and I never managed to put something together before that game dissolved.

In the meantime, I was playing board games with a volatile and cliqueish meetup group. After D&D 5e came out, I thought I'd see if anyone in the meetup was interested in trying out 5e. I got a game together to play Hoard of the Dragon Queen. My first time DM-ing!

I had never played with a grid, and didn't want to. I'd forgotten most everything about 3.5, so I wasn't bothered by some of the major changes between 3.5 and 5e. Anyway 5e said all the things I wanted to hear — grid? Don't trouble yourself. Rules dispute? Make a decision, figure it out later. I tried to commit as much of the mechanics and guidelines to heart as possible — even waded most of the way through the spell list, trying to figure out each one — although I seem to have failed to pay attention to class progressions beyond a cursory glance (carefully read the class progressions your players choose, after they choose them! build the game to their abilities!).

I didn't realize that half my group were hardcore min-maxers. That half was there for the full RPG experience and the other half for a glorified tactical combat game. I was so focused on trying to memorize all the narrative and mechanical details that I didn't work on tactical scenarios. Not that I knew how to make combat interesting — for all my RTS computer games, I knew how to build tactics to the terrain, not terrain to tactics. Anyway, the group itself had some interpersonal problems that ultimately was its undoing, but we played for a while before that happened.

I was enthusiastically reading advice on hooking your players and running a good game. I put together an introductory email with some setting material, key terms and character concept ideas, and a map of Faerun (with a note that it was just for context, a character wouldn't know what Faerun looks like). One thing I stressed was creating bonds and flaws that you wanted to see happening in game.

So first session, after my little speech about bonds and flaws, including a half-thought one-liner about "not picking something really far away or irrelevant", one player — hereafter known as Bob — asks me — "can my bond be the grandfather tree?" — and talks a little about the grandfather tree. I thought — great! I was worried they might not go along with this. So I make a point of praising the idea. Meanwhile the players are ignoring me and laughing at me, passing around my map of Faerun pointing at a little dot labeled "Grandfather Tree", as far away from our starting point as the map allows. So I say — That map is just for context! I can put the forest where-ever I want! It can be next door.

Half the table stares at me incredulously ... "are you sure you don't want to look at the map?"

For Bob and his friend Byron, the game was completely about optimal positioning. Eventually it became pretty clear that the power gamers were unhappy, and I agreed to use a whiteboard to draw battlemaps. This time, HotDQ prescribed an ambush. As usual, the game ground to a halt during combat while Bob ran around sniping enemies — with no idea that eight covered leveled bad guys might be above their power-level. I tried to drop helpful hints, and the rest of the party eventually got it together and regrouped, but Bob's character continued kiting to the long drawn-out end, and finally! by fair tactical combat got chased down, knocked unconscious, and dragged off "to the rape dungeon!" as Bob energetically interjected.

It wasn't all bad, but it was a constant fight. Worse, while the B-men were most excited about gaming the system, they had no interest in making believable choices. HotDQ has a lot of leading questions (it's a railroad as written) — and I was ready to try to round-about recyle the chapters under different conditions to make the game flow, and I even said so when Byron commented something along the lines of "gee, I wonder where we're supposed to go next?". I wish they had tried at least *somewhat* to assert their will in the storyline. But those two didn't really care. And the other two bought the story hooks.

Those other two players (Bianca and Eadward) probably didn't get the game they deserved, either; in part because I was focused on dealing with the first two. Bob took the floor, but also completely ignored the will of the other players. During a hostage crisis, for example, he got all the hostages killed when the rest of the party could taste victory. But I had recently moved to a small town and didn't know anyone else who might play.

Anyway, to me, that first campaign (which we didn't finish) felt flat and the combats tedious. I doubled down on my efforts to figure out why. Some time passed, my two favorite players moved away, and I found another group of players: a DM, a soon-to-be-DM, a Pathfinder guy, and a newbie nerd who wanted to play a powerful necromancer.

I hear a lot of advice repeated over and over again. The internet is kind of an echo-chamber — maybe nobody knows what they're doing. So here's my thoughts on the systems, and process of becoming a DM —

The process of becoming a DM sucks. Maybe you've got a supportive group of players, or maybe you are working with what you have, trying to accommodate them. I had ideas and creativity, but I didn't know how to efficiently turn them into encounters, social situations, and adventures. For my second campaign, I homebrewed the world, a metropolis, the society, an underlying plot, the traditional world-building minutiae, and monsters, dungeons, ... almost everything. I put in so much work — almost every day, and a lot of my weekends I went down to the coffee shop, researched, wrote backstory, adjusted power levels or made up new challenges. And I still feel like it was easier than trying to learn all the details of an established setting I've never played, like Faerun.

Because Faerun doesn't make sense to me. I make up part of it, only to find when I look for a detail somewhere else, it's tightly coupled to the part I replaced! Without a model of how Faerun works in my head, I'm not sure how to move my chess pieces. I need someone to break it down at every stage into the simplest pieces possible — treating a nation as an NPC, identifying important NPCs and their relationships, NPC roles, propensities/motives, and power. And then breaking down organizations into some kind of organization-space, treating them as NPCs, building a web, and mapping organization-space onto a geographical map. And then breaking down cities into NPCs and organizations, and then districts, and then guilds, and then society. Because, otherwise, it's too vast for me to understand out of context, and it's too easy to break immersion, to give too much political power to the PCs (so that there's no point to strive for anything anymore).

So of course, I was excited when the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide came out. I figured — this is the ticket for me to understand the broad strokes of Faerun! But it most definitely isn't. I'm not going to hate on the book, if you have time and money, and it seems interesting, by all means why not peruse it? I appreciate WotC's intent — but the book is more like an encyclopedia and less like a novel. A novel?

When I started out my second campaign, I handed out a detailed questionnaire. I listed scifi & fantasy books, and asked players to order them by favorite theme. I had questions testing interest in various settings, playstyles, character goals, greyscale morality vs black-and-white, miscellaneous ideas I had, and possible responsibilities players might want to take on (food, side-quest DMing, writing, etc). After the first campaign, I wanted to gauge player interests. I had been doodling setting ideas for a while, and wanted to know if the players would care. I decided my setting was an important demiplane or whatever man, and that there were secret portals typically accessible by ship (a plot point) which I could use to plug it into another setting whenever I wanted (I planned to plug it into Faerun). Interestingly, I had more than enough material in my own world, and my players never got to Faerun.

What did those questionnaires get me? Absolutely nothing. One player nixed "Game of Thrones style" on his questionnaire, for all the good it did him (it just made me fret about my grand plans, I should never have asked — how is he supposed to know my world-building secrets anyway? Also, what is Game of Thrones style?). The rest of it was just idiosyncratic preferences, although it was interesting to look at. So while it's good to feel your group out, I don't think you need to go overboard here. "Will you bring the drinks?" "Do you have to get up early the next morning?" and "Do you like hack and slash?" "Do you like political power?" "Do you like experience points?" "Do you like dungeons and treasure?" or something similar will suffice.

A novel? The Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide (SCAG) isn't a novel? When I started out my second campaign, one player asked if the Elemental Evil supplement was allowed. I ended up with an elf, a half-elf, a drow (who I guided away from "drow, moon elf drow, because the elves can be subdivided up into sun and moon elves" — too bad I didn't think of half-drow half-moon-elf at the time), and a svirfneblin. Now, I had read the SCAG and PHB treatises on Drow. I was blissfully unaware of how crazily subjugated my Drow were, and how fanatically wrathful they must be feeling. Oh well, my world. But the EE supplement requester let something slip about the Legend of Drizzt books.

Obviously, I read the first 17 books in short order.

While these books helped fill out some understanding of Faerun, I only really feel like I understand the motivations of Icewind Dale. Possibly because it's a small setting, with easily identifiable factions, and a battle or two. It's also remote, and Drizzt didn't go adventuring to far off made-up dungeons while he was there every other day. And the underdark, which I now think is amazing! I'm going to keep reading these books, I am looking forward to learning about Neverwinter (the glosses I've read are so vague).

But I'm not sure reading those books are the right way to begin to understand Faerun.

One thing I've discovered recently is 1e and 2e settings books. The right settings books. Not even necessarily the Faerun settings books. Back when I was planning my homebrew campaign, I was researching mechanics for worlds which get very cold (and also seafaring). I did some research and bought some 2e and 3e pdfs from the DMsGuild which looked relevant. They were filled with irrelevant system-specific mechanics, outdated math, and segmented, wandering descriptions. It put me off reading anything published before 5e as labor-reducing material for my 5e campaign. And the adventures — I was building my own, I had no interest in those outdated railroads (HotDQ was the only published adventure I had tried to absorb).

But after continued research, I acquired 0e, 1e, Dark Sun, Planescape, and Spelljammer. These are amazing books, and I'm currently searching out the other best early books. It doesn't help that they're not compiled into a complete, chronological, and categorized list anywhere, and that it would cost a fortune to [legally] acquire the collected works (on pdf, no less). I'm going to come back to the fact that I bought 0e and 1e, but if I have to pick one of these books to recommend, it's the Planescape boxed set.

Planescape is the kind of thing I can pick up and read, and not fall asleep. It also is far superior to all of the DMG/PHB/wikipedia descriptions of the outer planes. I just had to remember to skip sections that didn't catch my interest. Basically, it's one man's account of the planes. He has a lot of colorful advice, much more narrative, to the point, and subjective than SCAG, which half-heartedly not-really adopted a subjective narrator. It's humorous, non-definitive!, and all-inclusive. It's also the source material which created the planes — everything else written is a revision. It's like a creative writing prompt.

Continuance

One source of DMing wisdom that has had a major impact on my thought patterns is The Angry GM. He might repeat himself and slowly elaborate on the same ideas he's been stewing on for years, but I only realized this after reading the majority of everything he has on his site. I could put together specific article recommendations if anyone cared. Also, support him on Patreon!

I like articles like Angry’s because he lays out his thought patterns while constructing the models you want to use. These are self-contained predictive (crassly, "generative") modules. How do you build a chase scene?

You deconstruct the idea of chase into its components parts, examine the theory of roleplaying, identify the important parts of roleplaying for various players, apply literature theory (I read a number of books on authoring fiction, I guess you could do that too), add tension, modularize, and reconstruct.

When you're done, you have either an encounter to play out with triggers and mechanics, or an encounter and encounter-mechanics building set of meta mechanics, or perhaps even meta-meta encounter-mechanics mechanics building mechanics, if you're applying yourself.

I really appreciate being able to read and understand an adventure or optional rule. By applying structure to some pile of text you hand me, I can start to compile your input into a useful program of sorts, that I can use to reason, and generate predictions for behaviors of various chess pieces.

After I read a lot of The Angry GM’s articles, I bought all the published 5e adventures, and set to analyzing them. There's a great variety. I wouldn't advise you to do this: maybe only one at a time.

I also watched youtube playthroughs of most of them (and some extras, on top of that).

In my opinion, Princes of the Apocalypse has the most interesting story structure, followed by Storm King's Thunder. Out of the Abyss turned into an amazing playthrough. And if I understood the Ravenloft better, Curse of Strahd might be my favorite of them all. But I don't understand it hardly at all yet. So I'd be more likely to run the other ones I mentioned.

The Angry GM mentions in passing a number of divides in the RPG gamer community, none of which should come as a shock to anyone who has used the internet to read about D&D or any other RPG ... storytellers vs tacticians, "improvisers vs railroaders" (a meaningless dichotomy, he explains), the choice of maintaining thematic integrity (think Dark Sun) vs allowing players any choice or capability they can articulate with their mouth-things (think Acquisitions Incorporated). I knew all the echo-chamber soundbytes about these divides before, but now they mean a lot more to me.

Most importantly. I watched a youtube video which talked about the evolution of D&D — and I was very surprised how 0e and 1e read. I had heard about the ebb and flow of mechanics vs DM intuition. But when I actually looked at the early D&D texts, they read like creative writing prompts, not rulesets or algebras. Eg, here is a system I made up. I wanted to do a thing, and so I hope you like it. Oh, and another thing might help you mitigate some problem — to the point.

I'm a scifi buff, and I thought it might be easier to run a science fiction RPG than a fantasy game like D&D. I tried to research the best scifi RPG, and the first time I searched, the jury cried out "Traveller"! I'm currently watching Babylon 5 for the second time (and honestly, I'm getting impatient writing this, I want to watch B5, but if I stop writing I likely won't continue later).

If you like Babylon5, you probably agree that Traveller has a pretty great premise. I unfortunately made a rookie mistake and bought Traveller5, which was supposed to be the ultimate be-all-and-end-all of Traveller RPGs. It's not, because it's an algebra book.

I can't stay awake reading Traveller5, no joke. It requires intense mental exertion to see and make sense of the unexplained patterns and arcane rules. It's very complete — with systems for social interaction (which I feel divided about), crafting, and detailed world-building. It doesn't provide a setting beyond a few pages (out of 700!), but instead tools to build a cohesive setting. It really is the distilled machinations of years of game design, but it's inaccessible to the layperson. And from some of the reviews I've read, that's not an uncommon opinion.

But the thing that really is the kicker — some people like Traveller5 style rules, and some people like 5e/1e style rules. And there's nothing you can do about it to change their minds. Some people like rules lawyering — this occurred to me while listening to Happy Jacks RPG — they like to sit down for their session, use their encylopediac knowledge of the rules to optimize and evolve their character and actions, sticking to every last convention — sitting down and debating the best course of action. Not quickly resolving actions and moving on with the action or story, not the excitement of battle, nor promise of immersion. Some people like tactically planning every move before execution, and won't hesitate to spend every moment of their time evaluating, debating. Because that is the fun part for them.

I've read flamewars on forums between these two camps — and anyone with a bone to pick will claim the buzzwords for themselves. My way is "immersive"! One bozo claimed that 5e was terrible because DMs weren't required to build NPCs using the same process PCs are built, so certain pregen NPC stat block abilities weren't accessible to his PC — because this inconsistency in *rules* breaks *immersion*. To me, this sounds like a bit of stretch — I think thematic (which heavily involves adjudication) inconsistencies break immersion, not rules inconsistencies. Or maybe he is immersed in something, and it's just not the story.

Anyway, this guy liked 3.5e better than 5e — not only, but he thought 5e was trash.

Is it? My final closing remarks here are going to be on 3.5e versus 5e, which is I think the question you have been waiting for — or maybe not, I don't know.

Most recently, I have been cross-referencing 3.5 with 5e. Some of it's coming back to me now, and some of the surprised questions my second group asked about rules are making more sense to me.

3.5e is better in some respects. It has more structure. It makes more sense, in a limited capacity. The rulebooks are much more poorly written. They are extremely repetitive. I appreciate the crafting system, because it unifies spells, magic items, and provides the ability to create new spells. In 5e, there's not really a difference between rods, wands, and staffs.

In my 5e games, I've been surprised at how useless the low level wizards have been. That statement is flamebait, and I've seen it in action

In 5e, magic users, and wizards in particular, have been nerfed hard. No matter how you phrase it (and I've seen people try), wizards are much much less powerful in 5e. Yes ... they got ritual spells, disposed of Vancian magic, and got some silly cantrip pseudo archery attacks, sure; but they have fewer slots, less spell selection, no ability to create magical items or bank spells, all the spells have been made less powerful, and no ability to create new spells.

As a DM, you can add all that back, but it will break 5e's balance. I've heard it said that in 5e, all classes are magic users. Well, I have to say, in 5e, all classes are fighters. Chew on that?

Full disclosure. I like 3.5e wizards. I feel that unfair level of power is appropriate — when you read Order of the Stick or other D&D fantasy literature, the wizards are 3.5e style powerful. It feels wrong and disappointing to me for wizards not to hold Earth-shattering power. (But, my first character was a melee tank, who once dealt ~150 damage in one turn.) Restricting a wizard to a supporting "role" instead of encouraging a supporting role seems like a loss to me. Who would want to play a wizard then? If you don't get earth shattering powers? Non-earth-shattering powers is mundane, and I'm playing a fantasy game.

Detractors will argue for the poor oppressed mundanes. As a DM, you have the power to make everybody cool. You can keep balance in check, allow wizards to be powerful in and of themselves, and keep fighters and the like out of their shadow. If a wizard is overshadowing a fighter, talk to the wizard, tell them to get off his toes.

And/or maybe beef up the fighter. In 3.5e you could add a prestige class. I'm sure you can figure something out in 5e.

Anyway, if you love balance and hate wizards and 3.5e, you're in good company with 5e. But if you love rules to the bone, you might like 3.5e better. Or if you somehow want to be involved in what I consider the DM's work, you might like 3.5e.

Regardless, 5e has easier to remember rules, is better balanced, easier to introduce new people to, is on the other side of the scales from the abstruse algebraic systems with idiosyncratic notations, and you can always modify it to make it imba. So I approve of 5e, but I have to say —

I had to do a lot of research to understand it. I feel like a 500 page, non-wandering, topical, focused essay on the art of DMing and RPG gaming would do wonders for a D&D 5e companion book. Because those missing rules — they are missing — it is good that they are not hard and fast, but it is bad that there are few well motivated optional functionality modules which you can pop into your game to improve it.

Long story short — make it up when you feel like something is missing, and find what inspires you — really inspires, not what you think inspires you or you think will improve your knowledge. Be fair, attentive, and pro-active.

PS On the topic of good combats — Angry wrote an article titled something "Running Combats like a M#@&*^## Dolphin". Having an efficient style, having a style at all, to running a combat, as he describes, speeds combats up and makes them seem more interesting. I mean, it only speeds it up a little bit, but come on.

Just as useful — building good combats — if they're dragging on, get them over with as soon as possible. If you're employing good tactics for your baddies, and/or providing useful tactical features, you might be prolonging the battle. You don't have to stop doing that, but do be aware of it. So, you can just throw falling lava into the battle, and KAPOW, both sides take damage faster! Fight end sooner! And adding interesting features is standard advice, but *active* features — if the PCs don't use them, let the NPCs use them. That way even "passive" features are active — and I prefer to deal side-neutral damage than provide cover or healthy unrelenting reinforcements. There's some other advice out there, read Angry's long diatribes.

Also, standard DMG advice — use objectives. So what you say? How will that speed combat? Make sure to change the situation enough to cause a re-evaluation of how best to achieve the objective, and BAM, a properly applied change might reduce battle time.

And, what? You are doing nothing now but just attacking over and over again? Just call it. Unless your players rebel. "They don't stand a chance." "You guys are heading for TPK ... "

I guess I have had trouble running combats in the past.

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