#in lotr I think he had most of this sass cut but then again I haven’t read the books so idk

[kierancaz]

I wish we got more of Legolas being weird in the movies. Like I haven’t read the books yet but I love the way the fandom describes him as being a little shit and like actually really fucking weird and I just wish we got more of that and also that it came across more in fanfics.

[themagiciansreccenter]

Author Spotlight: @thursdayeuclid

Every week we interview a writer from The Magicians fandom. If you would like to be interviewed or you want to nominate a writer, get in touch via our ask box.

First things first, tell us a little about yourself.

I'm a thirty-something disabled bipolar queer trans guy who publishes original m/m romance novels when I can tear myself away from fandom long enough to do so. I'm pretty blind without my glasses. I usually have blue hair, a nose ring, and a man bun. As Thursday Euclid, I write lots of happily ever afters, and as prettyclever, I do pretty much the same thing, except with other people's characters that I'm just borrowing from a surfeit of affection.

How long have you been writing for?

My first stories were written when I was a very young child, but I didn't try a novel until I was nine. It didn't quite work out--I couldn't sustain the work to complete a work of that length, and I was writing long-hand---but I tried again at twelve and managed to finish about 50k words. I had a tumultuous adolescence but eventually found myself in Harry Potter fandom in the early aughts, and then I took a long break trying to be a professional. Turns out, I couldn't stay away from tragic magical boys.

What inspired you to start writing for The Magicians?

I was irritated with how season four was playing out. I overly identify with Eliot Waugh--he's who I want to be when I grow up; I'm 37 so I'm running way behind schedule--and his relationship with Quentin was *so* important to me. When Quentin got back together with Alice, I was like, "This is it. I've gotta write fic."

That was the beginning. A few thousand words came of it. Ever since the season four finale, though, I've done nothing but write oodles of Queliot fic with my cowriter and best friend clancynacht/charlotteschaos in my every free moment. I was already reading Magicians fic, but there just wasn't enough novel-length Queliot to suit me, so me and Char are remedying that in our own weird way.

Who is/are your favourite character(s) to write? What it is about them that makes them your favourite?

Eliot, because he is me in so many ways, and in all the ways he is not me, he is pure fabulosity and sex appeal. Kady, because she is just the baddest bitch. She delights me to no end. Penny 40, because his sass is killer, as is his tsundere ish, and I just really miss him. Char always writes Quentin and Margo when we collaborate because she's fantastic at channeling them, so I stick to my own faves.

Do you have a preference for a particular season/point in time to write about?

I didn't really start writing fic until s4, but (extrapolated) S5 has been my favorite thing to write. I've also loved the Mosaic fic we're writing based on 3x5 and 4x5. Most of what I read is totally AU, though.

Are you working on anything right now? Care to give us an idea about it?

We've now posted like 225,000 words of Queliot fic, still working on Sound & Color, and we're also working on another novel-length fic for Magicians Hallmark Holiday Exchange as I type this. Since it's all anon, I can't tell you much about our story except that we've already written 65,000 words of it, and the mutual pining is real, y'all. It's very festive, and Quentin is an adorable sad boi and Eliot is very soft and spook and also protective.

How long is your “to do list”?

Char literally made a Basecamp list of everything I should be doing outside of fic, but when it comes to fandom, it's really just MHHE and Sound & Color. We write together really rapidly. For example, when we wrote It's Never Over, we were done with over 100k in a month.

What is your favourite fic that you’ve written for The Magicians? Why?

Definitely It's Never Over. It's crackalicious and full of book canon references, and it's the Magicians Season 5 Queliot fans deserve. I'm so proud of how that one turned out. I've never written a story in fandom that people were so passionate about, either. It was published immediately after that heartbreaking finale, and people really responded to how we resurrected Quentin. Also all the smut, because there's so much smut in that story. Sex magic left and right.

Many writers have a fic that they are passionate about that doesn’t get the reception from the fandom that they hoped for. Do you have a fic you would like more people to read and appreciate?

I hoped Sound & Color would get more attention than it did. It's a long, weird (not quite complete yet) trip through 3x5 A Life in the Day. There's already a lot of Mosaic fic out there, and it's a crowded field, although I think Sound & Color stands apart for being so complete and slice-of-lifey. It's not just focused on the most dramatic moments, but on their entire lives together from beginning to end because I couldn't get enough of imagining it. It's a long, thorough exploration.

What is your writing process like? Do you have any traditions or superstitions that you like to stick to when you’re writing?

I like to listen to Radiohead when I write. It's inspiring and relaxing and keeps the words flowing. Also, Char often creates Spotify playlists for our stories, and I'll listen to those to set the mood as we write. Sometimes I listen to Kpop while writing too, because I only understand one word in fifty and it provides excellent background rhythm.

Because I collaborate with Char on just about everything, we used to write together in Google Docs before migrating our process over to OneDrive through Microsoft Word, which also lets us see each other's work in real time and edit each other's additions to the story. In a lot of ways, it's similar to roleplaying, which is why we can write 100k in a month without getting burned out. We've been working together like this for more than ten years now, so we've got it down.

Do you write while the seasons are airing or do you prefer to wait for hiatus? How does the ongoing development of the canon influence and inspire your writing process?

I prefer writing canon-compliant stories during hiatus and writing AUs while the seasons are airing. Historically, I tend to only read in a fandom until hiatus, and then I start writing. Coming from a book-based fandom (Harry Potter), Magicians feels very different dynamically and has different demands.

What has been the most challenging fic for you to write?

Definitely The Fake Dating One Where El's Parents Come to Visit, because it was different from what I'm used to writing. For one, it was short(ish) and two, Eliot's parents were drawn from my parents, who are also extremely religious, conservative, small town bigots. It cut closer to the bone in a lot of ways, but it was also different because Quentin ended up taking a more dominant, protective role, really exhibiting his innate bravery, and it was a little uncomfortable letting Eliot be rescued by Quentin just because I identify so much with El.

Are there any themes or tropes that you like particularly like to explore in your writing?

Idiots in love, mutual pining, fake dating, dicks & daddy issues, biphobia and bi erasure in queer culture, mental illness, family of choice, friends-to-lovers

Are there any writers that inspire your work? Fanfiction or otherwise?

Lev Grossman, JK Rowling, JRR Tolkien, George RR Martin, Stephen King, NK Jemisin, Owlet (her Infinite Coffee series is incredible if you like Stucky), and Olen Steinhauer.  

What are you currently reading? Fanfiction or otherwise?

I just finished reading Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari, which I admit I read just because Chris Evans recommended it, and wow am I glad I did. Changed the way I look at the world.

Now I'm working my way through the Inheritance Trilogy by NK Jemisin, the Raven Tower by Ann Leckie, the Fever King by Victoria Lee, and All the Old Knives by Olen Steinhauer.

What is the most valuable piece of writing advice you’ve ever been given?

Practice makes perfect. If you don't give it your best every day and work on it even when you don't feel as inspired, you'll never develop the muscles it requires to perfect your craft.

Are there any words or phrases you worry about over using in your work?

My characters murmur way too much. Also honestly, just, like.

What was the first fanfic that you wrote? Do you still have access to it?

It was called "Isildur's Bane" and it was a really insanely nerdy LOTR fic about Isildur and the One Ring. It was gen, and it had none of the characters/pairings people actually wanted to read about, but I was damn proud of it. I have no idea what happened to it. It's been almost twenty years.

Rapidfire Round!

Self-edit or Beta?

For fic, Char and I edit each other as we go. I'd love to have an actual beta, but I do not have one.

Comments or Kudos/Reblogs or Likes?

Comments feed my soul. They used to give me anxiety, but now they are my everything.

Smut, Fluff or Angst?

angst with a happy ending

Quick & Dirty or Slow Burn?

slow burn, to read and to write

Favourite Season?

Season Three

Favourite Episode?

All That Hard, Glossy Armor

Favourite Book?

The Magician’s Land

Three favourite words?

herculean, susurrus, callipygian

Want to be interviewed for our author spotlight? Get in touch here.

[paintedimagining]

Top 10 favourite characters 

Thank you so much to @whimsicalseasonal for tagging me!

Rules: List ten of your favorite people from ten different fandoms and then tag ten people! 

1. d'Artagnan- The Musketeers: Yeah, no that was an obvious choice right? But look at this adorable little badass. He wears his heart on his sleeve and isn’t afraid to show his emotions and he’ll end you if you so much a think wrongly of his wife, but he has a tender heart. He’s a total badass but not your usual a-typical macho or one dimensional or an infallible Disney Prince™ .  He can be immature and ruthless and spiteful and hotheaded, but he learns and he grows and he loves fiercely. Plus he’s a total puppy and a dorky charmer and insecure all in one.

2. Thor Odinson- MCU: and not just because of those many pretty pretty half-nakey scenes. But because he is biggest, strongest, most intelligent of them all, yet he’s still a humble puppy, and is nearly always trying to broker for peace. Well done on your character arc sir.

3. Eowyn- LOTR (Books/Movies): I honestly don’t know what I can say to express how much I love Eowyn. She became and instant favourite when I read the books. She’s a badass, and a sword-wielding Macbeth-esque wraith killing badass, but its her silent forbearance and support over the long the years caring for her enchanted Uncle that really shows off her strength and fortitude. 

4. Captain Edward Pellew - Hornblower (Book/TV Series): The original Captain Dad. My favourite thing is that at the end of nearly every episode he’s like: ‘You just fucked everything up you little shit….but it was freaking awesome.’ lol Oh and you can’t forget that one episode were he practically said he loved Horatio (Hornblower) like a son actually out loud- I quote: “It is very hard for a father to watch his children grown up” I mean COME ON NOW, and of course Horatio didn’t get it.  Or how many times he smirks with shameless smug pride at something his adopted problematic navy duckling has done to piss off the Admiralty YET AGAIN. Plus, he’s total snarky sass-master. 

5. Evelyn Carnahan O’Connell- The Mummy 1&2 (we don’t speak of the travesty that was 3): Probably one of my first female role-models.  Plus I was totally obsessed with Egyptology at the time this move came out, so you know…but she’s a badass yet doesn’t have to compromise her femininity or her intelligence. She saves the world through books and cunning.

6. Lizzy Bennet- Pride and Prejudice (book/movie): Who doesn’t love Lizzy Bennet? Feisty and independent, witty and stubborn and wants more than just to be married to some respectable man of good fortune that she hates.  She’s a total sassy missy, but isn’t perfect and shown to so with her prejudiced opinions and all too quick judgements.  She makes mistakes but learns from them. 

7: Scarlet O’Hara- Gone with the Wind (Book/Movie): Not gonna lie she is a total and uncompromising Queen Bitch and she’s more of an anti-heroine than a heroine, being as she is vicious and selfish and spiteful, vindictive, cunning and conniving, and cruel etc and yet she’s so inspiring. Yes, she’s an utter bitch, but she is one exceptionally strong woman and if she wasn’t that sort, she and her family would not have survived the war.  She doesn’t care what anyone else thinks about her, is fiercely independent, uses her charm and beauty, and goes out and gets what she wants and never backs down and does whatever she has to do survive.  She’ll steal her sisters fiances and marry one out of spite and to get into the family of the man she's in love with who's marrying someone else, and then one for money sure, but she’ll know how to put that money to better use to save them all from destitution and even raise their fortunes.  She’s amazing really and a survivor, and proof of what any woman can actually accomplish if they have that ‘fuck you I do want I want’ attitude and a perfect (literal) murder face. 

8: Jack Sparrow- Pirates of the Caribbean: Come on who doesn’t love Cpt’ Jack? Need I say more?

9: ‘Doc’ (Eugene) Roe- Band of Brothers: My precious Cajun baby. He volunteered to join the army and was assigned as a medic even though he had no medical experience. He’s a badass racing out into hail of bullets to save lives, (the real ‘Doc’ Roe if you read the book was even more of a hero and a total dork- there was one story about the medics practising their training in the US and they anaesthetised their much hated Captain Sobel and actually cut into him in a mock appendix operation just for laughs) and he is the only one would can actually yell and tell off his superior officers without getting his arse courtmarshalled. What he goes through is harrowing, and through him you see the cost of this war and the effects on the men, including himself in the episode focuses that on him, highlighting ptsd and the true horror of war.

10. Jamie & Claire Fraser (shhhhh they come as a pair)- Outlander (books/series): I don’t know even where to begin with how much I love these two. They are the epitome of *relationship goals* and the most epically badass power couple to ever epic. They are soulmates who love and support each  other so fiercely. She’s a badass from the future who accidentally travels back in time to the 1700′s, and he’s an 18th century feminist that just LOVES HIS WIFE SO MUCH OMFG and not your a-typical macho hero. I mean don’t get me wrong he is macho- but he’s also a giant freaking puppy omg and so much more than just your usual hero sort…I mean the guy keeps tracks of his wife’s periods in the middle of a bloody war…he’s too precious 

I tag @hacash @neon-green-bra @iamanathemadevice @i-own-loki @cowboyaddie @silvertyger and anyone else that want to do it