#local writer does not know ship names again; what else is new

[errruvande]

Fanfic writer interview

Thank you @thelettersfromnoone for the tag!! 💖

How many work do u have on AO3?

3, not your local AO3 girlie lmao

What's your total AO3 word count?

8 534

Your top 5 stories by kudos/likes

I'll go with Tumblr ones, cause from my 3 AO3 works the biggest number I got is 31 lmao

Anyone but you (Legolas x f!reader)

Night watch (Legolas x Reader)

Well-deserved rest (Haldir x f!Reader)

One messy night (Boromir x f!Reader)

Transition (Haldir x f!Reader)

Honorable mention (since it's not fics but headcanons)

Green Council receiving a hot pic from you (HotD)

TLK men's reaction on being pet named

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I always try to respond to comments! These little things are brightening up my day, so I wanna let the people know that they are my heroes hahaha

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

I really think it's Transition. All in all it's a pretty dark story, a bit depressing I think (I had these intentions while writing at least).

Otherwise, I don't think I have angsty endings fics?

What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

New family members for sure!! Was thinking hard what to choose, cause I think all of my happy ending fics are on the pretty same level on a happy scale, but I remember that I have this gen, non romantic baby and I love it so much ❤️‍🩹 There's a little TLK OMC for y'all

Do you write crossovers?

I wanted to say I've never done this BUT THEN!!! My Assassin's Creed (Ezio) x LOTR little headcanon!!! My beloved child!!

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

No, not that I remember getting any hate on my fics

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I do, tho not much and on rare occasions. I used to write a lot of smut when I was younger (a teen), then I stopped being comfortable with it for a wild few years (tho reading never made me uncomfortable lmao).

Now I started writing smut again, idk what kind? Don't really understand what does that mean lol F x M traditional sex? Pretty detailed? If so, then yes lmao

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I don't know 😂 Maybe, maybe not. I think rather not.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not to my knowledge, I don't think so.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

We tried with my friend a long long time ago. Didn't go well lmao It's hard and kinda stressing, cause you never know what the other person is gonna write (at least we had this SURPRISE system), so... You kinda have zero plot cause everything you want to write plot-wise can be ruined by the second person's plot lmao

What's your all-time favorite ship?

Athelnar?? Athelstan and Ragnar were my first ever OTP (quickly followed by Alfred and Uhtred). You could never beat that Athelnar shit out of my body lmao I've never written for them, but oh I do love them boys!

What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

Now, that's the HARSH one lmao

I think I have at least 3 OC stories that I really wanna write (2 for TLK and one for LOTR), but I'm scared that I will never actually do it. I never was good with multi chaptered stories, and these are indeed not a one shots 🥲

What are your writing strengths?

Ugh... I don't know? I think I was pretty good with dialogues and descriptions of the surroundings to build the atmosphere. But... I guess it's not for me to decide but for the readers?

What are your writing weaknesses?

I rarely finish what I've started lmao I should write everything in one go or else I'll never finish it... Or will finish it in two months even if it's a 2k words one shot

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I love them! I've only done it with my LOTR fics (with Sindarin) but I really love it. But I really love it when the language is different from the language of the settings? Like, if the story is happening in England and everyone is English, but you have two characters who can speak idk Dutch, let them have a Dutch language in their dialogue. I had a rant post about it not that long ago actually lmao You have to think about your in-universe language

What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to?

Ahhh Bungou Stray Dogs! I love them, and I'd gladly try to write something for them. Not a character/character but reader my beloved.

And maybe Stephane Narcisse (reign) my beloved and a reader

What's your favorite fic you've written?

The blood on my hands (Eomer) and Peace (Finan) are definitely my fave ones I think. They are dark and both explore some trauma

No pressure tags: @whitedarkmoonflower @lord-aldhelm @holy3cake @gemini-mama @emilyhufflepufftlk @persephones-journey @solinarimoon @mrsalwayswrite @emmanuellececchi @bilbotargaryen @levithestripper @mrsarnasdelicious @paula-in-dreamland

[otakween]

Digimon Frontier - Episode 41

This episode was great! The animation was on point and there was a lot of interesting visuals for me to screenshot. I think it felt good to return to a digimon village for the first time in a long while (not counting the digimon on the moon). We also got some satisfying character moments. Moving right along to the finish line!

Notes:

Man, they're really focusing on the Trailmon this season. They shoulda just called it Digimon ChooChoo Frontier or something lol (New idea for an OC: a digimon tamer whose partner is a trailmon and they dress and act like a conductor. Maybe they can equip the Trailmon with wheels that work off the tracks lol).

I was impressed by Tomoki being so calm and confident as he clung on for dear life. I guess he's used to being in mortal peril by now.

Not gonna lie, it's a bit of a let down to do a Jack and the Beanstalk thing and not have any giants. Giants are cool! (I wonder which digimon could fill the role...)

Proud of the American localizers for removing Izumi's uncalled for comment to Junpei telling him to go on a diet. Kids don't need to be hearing that...(kinda surprised they knew they should cut that in the 2000s)

The Mamemon were so cute and tiny! I thought they were bigger in previous iterations? I guess they wanted to emphasize their bean-ness. (Question: why do we have a MetalMamemon when Mamemon is already metal?)

Why does every digimon village have the exact same structure? There's always an elder and then everyone else looks like the same lol. The writers were like "if it ain't broke..." To be fair, the elder Mamemon was really cute.

The Mamemon say their own name (like Pokemon) for no apparent reason (Japan be like "because it's cute!")

The scene where the Royal Knights tried to scan Katsuharu's data was actually kind of chilling. We don't know what would happen or what that would feel like to the victim...unsettling.

I'm glad the kids finally reacted to LordKnightmon's eccentricities, their faces were really funny lol. It's more fun when the villains get dunked on a bit instead of just being feared.

Was LordKnightmon...shipping the twins? (They did the shoujo sparkle thing again with Koji and Koichi lol)

I do like how LordKnightmon fights with ribbons sometimes, that's a fun weapon to see animated. Kinda reminds me of

I liked how they wrapped up the stowaway kids' plot line. With the Mamemon village's beanstalk it showed that they had a positive impact on the digital world (even though they can't save it) and the scene where Katsuharu asked Tomoki to push him was good closure.

[prairiedust]

More Last Holiday Musings...

I want to poke at that interdimensional geoscope a little more, because upon reading it over again, I think I splashed it up a little fast and there are a couple of points I’d like to be clearer about. I meant to queue this up to post last night but also want it to be up before Gimme Shelter so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

This is more blue curtains lit crit with a dash of folklore and an honorable mention for post-structuralism. And we’re talking about Supernatural after all, so this is sort of... well, it’s about endings.

Last Holiday was not a typical “filler” or even a typical MOTW episode. It felt extremely insular, possibly more so than any other episode I can think at any other point in the series. As opposed to the usual crowd of “locals,” a spate of victims, and a couple of red herring suspects, the only other people in this ep besides the Winchesters (including Jack) and Mrs. Butters were the two vampires and Cuthbert Sinclair. There was no “case” as in a usual MOTW-- there was no Chuck Struggle, either, and the lack of mytharc was strange against the lack of “filler” schema. That lack of “MOTW investigation” marked this episode also as being about “curiosity”-- the Winchesters all-too-quickly took Mrs. Butters for granted-- Dean even dismissed her as a “Magic Roomba” and that seemed to settle the matter. Furthermore, the moment that Dean spotted Mrs. B in his room, the stage was set for Antics ™ when she held up his goofy Scooby boxers, and indeed a zaniness, an almost manic energy drove the action forward at a breakneck pace. [Spoiler alert, we do get “investigation” in the next episode, 15x15 Gimme Shelter, as stills and the preview show that Castiel and Jack will be teaming up together, in yet another shake-up of the usual “MOTW” template, almost like we can expect the other side of a coin when Sam and Dean switch places with Cas...] These features set Last Holiday apart as not so much “filler” as “between,” as in there was struggle before, and there will be struggle after, but for a while there was cake. (Contrast this to the usual “peril of the threshold” that usually shrouds liminality if you’d like.)

At the end of Last Holiday, however, we finally get to find out what that old blue telescope really is, and with that name we get confirmation that there are no more alternate universes-- Chuck has burned them all. Viewers are left to come to the conclusion that in retrospect the telescope-thing could have changed the course of season 13 completely. The reveal is played off as darkly funny, but it’s also kind of a gut-wrenching moment, too. All the heartbreak of the last two and a half years, reviewed now through the lens of “if only.” If only they’d known about Mrs. Butters from the time they found the bunker, “none of this would have happened”… they’d have had monster radar, they’d have had the geoscope, they would have had supernatural help of a completely different level.

The temptation to read Last Holiday as a Chuck-free episode is strong, but fraught-- the threat of Chuck’s involvement has been established by a pattern this season (well the pattern is woven throughout the whole series really but Dabb has deliberately structured these last three seasons with an exponentially increasing frequency.) I feel like we’ve been conditioned this season in particular to hold ourselves in a perpetual flinch, to be afraid of what we’ll learn “in retrospect.” That geoscope was really_good_subtext, and it is entirely possible, even encouraged, at this point in the plot to take information we’ve learned from the naming of the object, examine our own conditioned response to this episode, and apply both things to the structure of the season so far and make a prediction as to what might happen in the main plot. That’s what I mean about subtext getting loud. We’ve been given the green-light to make a prediction about The Struggle and march forward with it, and see if we will be correct by extrapolating the pattern, or if that expectation will be subverted (the twist is set up to run either way, so either outcome is satisfying.) It is Melville-esque architecture of the highest degree;I could write another thousand words just about that. So I have a prediction that I’m hanging on to, because of what we’ve learned from the geoscope, and what kinds of clues were hung up in Last Holiday, and I’m super excited to either have my hunch confirmed or be frightfully and delightedly surprised. I mean, where the fuck did Jeremy Adams even come from? He’s like our own Mrs. Butters, showing up in the last quarter to run a couple game-changing balls into the end zone, it’s bonkers. I mean, I know writing mysteries is hard and requires still AND cunning, but damn, son.

But anyway, back to the geoscope… 

I’m perplexed, from a very “lit crit” perspective, but this is where I’m at and why I referenced blue curtains-- if you shine too bright a light on subtext, does it evaporate-- like looking through an interdimensional geoscope and not seeing anything-- or is “subtext” sometimes not some ephemeral fever-dream that we as viewers conjure up through our experiential interlocution with the text but something a writer has steeped into the narrative as part of their craft? Or when you’re talking about an evolving iteration of writers, is it possible that one picks up a thread that another wove in for something else, repurposing or amplifying it? And, when perhaps is something deliberately instilled in the text in order to become “text” at just the right time? In Moby Dick, [spoiler alert lol] Quequeg’s coffin-- formerly one of many symbolic vehicles used to foreshadow the doom of the Pequod-- is repurposed as a life buoy and becomes the actual object that saves Ishmael’s life, transforming it from a portent of disaster to a symbol of salvation and then to one of Ishmael’s guilt for surviving Ahab’s madness-- the guilt that had been made text by the very opening line of the book, “Call me Ishmael.” In retrospect, the connotations of wandering, exile and salvation behind the name that the narrator gives himself become crystal clear. The problem that the post-structuralist model of “reading” as simultaneously “creating the text” has manufactured is that the idea that “subtext” can often be discounted as something dreamed up wholecloth by the reader, and thus inferior, imaginary, even delusional (and I use that last word knowing what a loaded term that is in the spn fandom, but this is not about a ship, even) where once it was considered to be a valid and measurable part of the text itself, like that dang coffin. It was the basement, the underpinnings, the catacombs below the opera house sure, but it helped to hold up the structure. And for some reason, putting subtext into a piece of media has become passe, or cringe? Anyway, not to be bitter on main but it didn’t used to be this way, at least not in the heady early days of postmodernism. So that green light? Critical hit against blue curtains. And while yes, some readings are going to be better supported than others, and the wild variety of checklists in this fandom mean that some conclusions have been drawn which can’t pan out, if you’re paying attention to the structure, the subtexts, the alchemical/psychoanalytical/postmodern themata, the ending will be very satisfying. 

So. What was once speculated to be a symbol for emotional lows or turning points (among other things) in the bunker was textually hit with a bright green light, then Dean got curious about it in text, and we were told-- in text-- that oh it’s just a fancy spyglass, and now that the other worlds are gone, it has no purpose…. that’s what I mean about the geoscope now being “pure”-- it wasn’t clear whether the telescope ever had any function, subtetxtual or not, and now that it’s certain what it’s “function” was, it’s now freed up as a “symbol”-- unless like in Moby Dick it’s new “purpose” is revealed later, but right now it’s caught in this liminal place of not-quite-clue and not-quite-metaphor... 

However, and I didn’t put this in my first post because I was trying to be fast and not a wet blanket, but I felt like finally naming the geoscope was an ending. 

This is literally Singer, Dabb, and Co tidying up the house before locking it behind them.

I think when Dean said he didn’t see anything through the “telescope thing,” that we’re to understand that maybe this was the last hurrah of the cute, zany, campy “subtext” or even “metatext” if you’d rather that so many of us have been parsing and which has gotten so weird and bright since season 12/13. I think I said in one of the folklore posts that writing about some of the things I write about feels like making daisy chains in the endzone during the big game. Which is fun, that’s how I personally got through having to be in AYSO soccer for four years, by looking for four leafed clovers and eating orange quarters. And we got a wood nymph in this episode, textually even, so I could easily check the “folklore” box on this one. But the sheer euphoria of Last Holiday and all the sparkles it brought into the story aren’t meant to last. When you look back on fifteen years of text, a lot of it is bleak, miserable stuff. That’s not to say that episodes like Yellow Fever and Hunteri Heroici and Fan Fiction et al shouldn’t be celebrated. But I think from here on out, things are going to be less “golly gee, three birthdays!” and more “There she blows! --there she blows! A hump like a snowhill!”

This episode was a gift in many ways, not just for the sense of glee it transmitted-- it also did so much work and there are things I want to yell about in the way language was hit, the red versus green lighting, the way the backwards holidays worked, the projector as a metaphor for Mrs. B projecting her regrets and fears onto Jack, the amount of food that was created and consumed, how that smoothie was also an echo of “fairy food” or an underworld pact if you squint-- but the stakes are so high now. We haven’t been shown the next valley-- there was no final scene of Chuck rubbing his hands together like the villain from a melodrama, for example-- but the last image we got was Jack blowing out a candle. After the candle is blown out, the cake is dismantled and consumed. Once the story is over, all the themes that are so hard to grapple in a text like a television show can be gathered up and analyzed. (IS that all, though? After all, Dean made his own cake later, which, like, echoes of the “oh two cakes” comic lol...)

Since I really never want to leave anything I toss out on this blog on a last note of doom and gloom, however, I do want to say that I too understand what that last image meant. It meant, as Sam said, make a wish. Think of the future, think of free will, and hope for something wonderful to happen. (or do like me and wonder what the hell Jack wished for with dread and anticipation ha ha ha.)

[lemonlushff-iy]

if you're still taking these, 8 and 9 for dog tags?

HECK YEAH I AM!

The ask box is always open!

Writer asks

8: Did any real people or events inspire any part of it?

YES ACTUALLY!!!

I took a lot of my husband to create Inuyasha in this one. I didn’t see it at first...but...Ok. This is what he wanted to do for Valentinesday 2020. He asked me to take the day off so we could spend the day together, and then we went for a hike, went to my favorite home goods type of store, and then we had sushi (which is like...my FAVORITE food group), and then he made me a bath for the rest of the night. I’M KEEPING DETAILS PG13. He also has a habit of just randomly sending me flowers. Like...they just randomly show up at work sometimes. For literally no reason. Or at home now...because COVID. 

The farmers market was also inspired by a permanent farmers market I’ve been to in Cincinnati, OH, Finnely Market. 

Also the seal thing? 100% happened minus the rain and everything that followed. We were at his cousin’s wedding in (I wanna say Santa Monica???) and we decided to go for a walk on the beach. We found the seal, he called animal control, I cried a lot, stayed there until the seal was picked up...He got major brownie points for that. 

THAT SAID. 

Saucy (Beta for this fic) will swear up and down that I took her navy boy and turned Inuyasha into him. (I’ve never met him, so who is to say?) So really...it depends on who you ask, but I don’t fight her on it because the fic is for her...And my husband works in IT. So maybe Inu is just a fun blend of the two. 

I will also say that I made Kagome a librarian because Saucy is one. Thus...her full name being Saucy Librarian...but I’m lazy and never write that in full.

9: Were there any alternate versions of this fic?

OH YES. 

In one version, Inuyasha and Kouga were friends. You can kinda see me setting them up for that in Kouga’s first appearance in the fic, but Saucy asked me to change that so...I’M SORRY KOUGA!!! 

In another, Kagome and Inuyasha didn’t have a long-distance relationship. She was just a local librarian helping him hunt down the owner of the Dog Tag. That idea was quickly scrapped because I asked Saucy if she wouldn’t rather have them be long distance like her and her guy? (Clearly the answer was yes). 

Also...At the moment this is more head canon than written out........BUT....

Since I’m the Inu/Kag “Queen of Angst”...

After Inu got back to the states, he was going to have a phone call from a hospital telling him that, as Kikyo’s emergency contact, she had been hospitalized. This was her ploy to get him to come see her again, and...when he fell asleep in the hospital room due to exhaustion (because let’s face it - he’s the kinda guy who would go see her despite everything), she was going to kiss him and break up with Kagome via his snap chat by sending her a picture.

Inuyasha, meanwhile, is oblivious and had made secretive plans with Miroku and her parents to come in for Thanksgiving to see her and meet them. So...When Kagome, still in the midst of heartbreak (because she had received the photo literally a day before) sees Inuyasha there with her brother, and is all smiles and is affectionate and sweeping her into this long desperate kiss...

She starts wondering what the fuck is going on. 

They get back to her parents' house, which is where they are all staying, and they get to her room and he starts looking around. He comments on the stuffed dog toy he won her, and can’t understand why she’s this chilly towards him. He thinks that it’s maybe because he surprised her and it might be too soon for him to meet her parents, but he does a very dumb horny guy thing (because he’s been on that ship for MONTHS surrounded mostly by guys) and takes off his shirt and says he’s going to go take a shower...and she should join him. 

This is where things changed.

In the OG version, they proceed to have a fight about him breaking up with her and pretending that he never did it. They figure out that Kikyo is the one who sent her the snap, not him, and once that gets clear up, the fight turns into one about trust. Because how could she really believe that he would do something like that to her? They ultimately break up, and he sleeps on the floor in her room after she convinces him to just stay for the holiday. It’s Thanksgiving. He shouldn’t go back to CA alone right now, and he already has the return flight booked...They spend the weekend pretending to be a couple in love, and while they are, they’re also the only ones who know that they are over. When they got back to the airport to drop him off, they kiss one last time, and when he says goodbye...That was supposed to be it. Because they are over. 

She still has a ticket to go out to CA though for winter break, so she does. She stays with her grandparents and goes to visit her brother at his apartment a few times. Inuyasha is still Miroku’s neighbor though...and Miroku is still up to his old tricks. He gets them alone together once, and they slowly work on mending fences and realize that they still want each other. By the time she goes home, they’re back together. 

In the new version, the fight in Kagome’s room isn’t about trust, because she caught on pretty quickly after that “I’ve missed you” kiss that something must have happened...it’s about the fact that he had come back and hadn’t told her, and that he even went to see Kikyo in the first place. He tells her that it was just because he wanted to surprise her for Thanksgiving - nothing else. And he went to see Kikyo because the hospital had called him. They ultimately make up, and she does join him for that shower. 

Things just felt more realistic in version two. It felt like the angst wasn’t going to be natural in version one. Like it would have been forced. And really...Once you stop trusting another person...How do you even come back from that? It just felt like too much, so it got chopped. 

But. 

Then again. 

So did this whole second half of the story...

THANKS FOR THE ASK ANON!!!!!!! You were not expecting a dissertation on this, LMAO!!!

[best-enemies]

For the fandom ask meme thing can I request the whole damn alphabet or is that not very cash money of me? I’m nosy lmao I wanna know all of them!

AHDKAJSDKJAHSKDA JACK YOU’RE THE BEST

A - Your current OTP(s)/OT3(s)/OTX(s)

I’ve had my current OTP for like almost 8 years and it’s, obviously, Thoschei (Doctor/Master). My other current obsession is the Gallifrey OT4 hehehe

B - A pairing you initially didn’t consider but someone changed your mind

It’s funny because I didn’t ship Hannigram at first... I’d thought the idea of a cannibal having a relationship was terrifying because what if they had sex and Hannibal got hungry in the middle of the act? Lmaoooo 

But yeah they’re my endgame now. I watched the show when it first aired and I was about 14/15 years old so now you see why I thought that. Although I’m still afraid I’m gonna be reading a fic and Hannibal will suddendly bite Will’s dick off or smth AKJHSAKJSAHSASKAJ

C - A ship you have never liked and probably never will (be nice)

Uhhh Doctor/Clara. Mainly because I don’t like to ship the Doctor with companions (there may be one or two exceptions but I don’t ship them enough to actually say I ship them lol) and I don’t know I just never vibed with it

D - A pairing you wish you liked but just can’t (again: be nice)

Doctor/River. I mean, I did like it for a while years ago but now it’s just... eh. I think she has a waaay better chemistry with the 12th Doctor, but still don’t ship it. I might give it a try once I listen to the River audios but so far meh. I’m not much of a multishipper anyway.

E - Have you added anything cracky/hilarious to your fandom, if so, what

God. I’ve written a couple of Academy Era (focused on the Deca) crack fanfics and I still have to translate them to English. They’re pure garbage but I love them. I have a lot of fun writing crack fics because they’re easier and I can ignore whatever piece of canon I want just for the laughs

F - What’s the longest you’ve ever been in a fandom

Guess it’s Doctor Who, been here (in and out of the fandom) for over 8/9 years

G - Do you remember your first OTP, if so who was in it

Uhhhh I think it was Han Solo and Leia, since I was a kid really. I wanted to marry both of them lol

H - What is your favorite source text for fandom stuff (e.g., tv shows, movies, books, anime, Western animation, etc.)

I had to google what a source text is and still don’t know

I - Has tumblr caused you to stop liking any fandoms, if so, which and why

I don’t think so, but Twitter definitively has. I remember a couple years ago I was curious to see what voltron was about and watched a few episodes, it was ok, fun and cute but the fandom was so annoying I stopped watching it for good and don’t care about it enough to pick it up again

J - Name a fandom you didn’t care/think about until you saw it all over tumblr

I had definitively forgotten about supernatural until I saw it all over my dashboard in the year of our lord 2020 lmao like in my wholock days I tried to watch the show because everyone on my dash (is it still called dashboard?) was talking about it and I watched about 8 episodes before dropping it. But seeing it again on the dash was actually a happy surprise because the memes are too funny hahaha

K -Say something nice about someone in any of your fandoms

I’m extremely shy irl and on the internet as well but I wanna say that  @janeturenne is one of the best authors ever and her fanfics are a blessing in my life; also @thebraxiatelcollection who brings awesome content to my dash and is also one of the best authors. And of course, you, Jack, also one of the best authors god I’m so BLESSED

L - Say something genuinely nice about a character who isn’t one of your faves (chars you’re neutral on are fair game, as are chars you dislike)

Uhhh I guess I’m neutral about the current companions. They’re not my favorites but I don’t really dislike them - they had a lot of potential and chibs came up with some good storylines but did not develop them well in my opinion. I think Graham is a fun grandpa whom I’m going to miss when he leaves; Ryan is cool and could’ve done a lot more if the writers had kept a few things, it’d be awesome if he vlogged all of their adventures. He’s like the one I was curious to see more but sadly didn’t feel a connection; and Yaz, I hope she’ll keep growing and that her friendship with the Doctor will finally be developed to a level we can connect to her.

It sounds weird because with the fam it’s always ‘what I wish could have been’ because I never felt really connected to them :(

M - Say something genuinely nice about a ship that you don’t ship (or its shippers, or anything related to you)

Ok... I don’t really ship Rey/Finn but I think it’s one of the sweetest ships ever, and if they ended up together I’d be happy. They love each other and are there for each other always so, yeah :D

N - Name three things you wish you saw more or in your main fandom (or a fandom of choice)

I don’t know if I got the question right but it’s three things I wish I saw more in my main fandom? Well, if it’s that, then, 3 things about the Doctor Who fandom: 1) people having more civilized or light-hearted discussions about things. Like, I genuinely disliked an 8th doctor audio I listened once that my friends loved, and they made fun of me and we joked about it. Also once we were in a live twitch video playing among us and discussing doctor who, and then we got into a ship “discourse” as a joke and nobody really cared and just laughed because everyone knew it’s fictional shit so why get mad over it? 2) Doctor Who has a titanic amount of content, it’s all canon but at the same time it’s not, so who cares? If you want to listen to Big Finish audios and if you can afford it, then lisiten; if you can’t, it’s okay, no one has the right to tell you you’re less of a fan. Just tell them to fuck off; 3) The best way to keep fandom alive is by creating content. Here in my local fandom we have several podcasts dedicated to all areas of the whoniverse (the show, the expanded universe, the audios, etc), those old fandom websites who do serious work to bring news to the fans, people who make subtitles for the classic series (we don’t have it available here so they do their best to make it accessible to other fans), accounts dedicated to promoting dr who fans who create content, and we even have people making their own audiodramas with dw characters and writing book-lenght fanfiction to help explain the show to people who’ve never watched it, and a great variety of things. I’ve seen a few of these things in the international fandom, mostly by older fans, so I wish younger fans about my age who have the means to make this kind of stuff would make it too. Maybe there’d be less twitter drama out there lol

O - Choose a song at random, which ship or character does it remind you of

“the killing moon” by echo & the bunnymen reminds me of thoschei. yep it was totally random

P - Invent a random AU for any fandom (we always need more ideas)

The fact that we don’t have a pride and prejudice AU for brax/romana yet is driving me insane

Q - A ship you’ve abandoned and why

I’ve mentioned it before but doctor/river, don’t really remember why idk I just don’t vibe with it anymore. But also because thoschei has so many different pairings in 1 ship that I don’t really feel the need to ship them with anyone else lol

R - A pairing you ship that you don’t think anyone else ships

GOD I NEED TO TALK ABOUT IT BECAUSE IT’S SO SPECIFIC ok fellow academy era stans gather around if you have read Divided Loyalties there’s a scene where it SHOWS that Magnus had a crush on Ushas. And NO ONE HAS EVER TALKED ABOUT THEM and the power couple they would’ve made. I write them into all my fanfics in hopes of making other people ship them but I’ve had no success so far

S - Show us an example of your personal headcanon (prompts optional but encouraged)

The Master is a big fan of musicals and in the 77 years he spent on earth he watched every single one ever. I’m gonna be bold and say that when he was young, still Koschei, he was an artist, and thought about dropping everything to become an actor on Gallifrey. Time Lords do appreciate art, and have their own plays, but it’s just the same old and boring ones the young people don’t care about. The Master then created a shocking performance that was way ahead of its time and the older Time Lords were so appalled they banned him from writing and presenting plays and that’s his villain origin story

T - Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending, about anything at all (gender identity, sexual or romantic orientation, extended family, sexual preferences like top/bottom/switch, relationship with poetry, seriously anything)

1) The Doctor and the Master married on Gallifrey and the entire show is just them having the most litigious divorce in the universe (still isn’t final because the Master has killed all the judges); 2) Ushas/The Rani is ace; 3) The Deca was a 10 people polyamorous relationship; 4) Romana and Livia were girlfriends at the Academy and they hate each other now because the break up was baad; 5) Romana writes fanfiction; 6) Romana/Leela had a thing in Davidia I KNOW it; 7) Leela pegs Narvin; 8) Brax has a life-size painting of Romana at his collection or a statue or smth; 9) Brax’s dream in Reborn is actually REAL and he’s married to Romana, Leela and Narvin all at the same time

U - 5 favorite characters from 5 different fandoms

I don’t even think I’m in 5 fandoms but

Doctor Who: The Master, The Doctor, Romana, Leela, Sarah Jane, Bill (this was the hardest thing ever)

The X-Files: Mulder, Scully, Monica, and can I add The Lone Gunmen too?

Star Wars: Leia, Obi-Wan, Finn, Poe Dameron and honorable mention to Din Djarin and Grogu

Hannibal: Hannibal, Will, Bev, Alana, Chiyoh

V - 3 OTPs from 3 different fandoms

That’s hard

Doctor Who: thoschei ofc, gallifrey ot4.......... uuhh as you can see i don’t ship many pairings in the show

The X-Files: Mulder and Scully. And whatever Scully and Monica had going on because they definitively flirted

Star Wars: Poe/Finn, Han/Leia, whatever Han/Lando had going on too

W - 5 favorite ships and 5 kinks you like best for said ships

WHATVASHAJSKAJSA ok this is a little embarassing but I don’t have a lot of kinks for many ships... I guess I have some for thoschei like, choking, whipping, blindfolds/gagging, bondage, begging, biting, sem-public, phone sex, dirty talk, body worship, praise kink, etc. Alright alright I know it’s a lot but in my defense they've shown half of these on the show

X - top 5-10 characters who are yoUR PRECIOUS BABIES AND YOU WILL DIE DEFENDING THEM

The Master, Romana, Leela, Brax, Narvin, Bill Potts, Martha Jones, Sarah Jane, Donna Noble, Lucie Miller. No particular order for most of them but the Master is my precious baby and I will die for this mf

Y - What are your secondhand fandoms (fandoms you aren’t in personally but are tangentially familiar with because your friends/people on your dash are in them)

Not many, usually the people I follow are in the same fandoms as I am but I’ve seen some mutuals reblog some Hadestown stuff which is a play that I’ve never seen but definitively would because the protagonists look hot 

Z - Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go (prompts optional but encouraged)

I DON’T KNOW WHAT DOES IT MEAN

it took me three hours to do this but it was fun!! thank you bb <3

[atamascolily]

lily liveblogs Atlantis 1x01 - “The Earth Bull”

Okay, @noxelementalist suggested I might like the BBC’s Atlantis, so I figured I’d give it a shot. I watched the trailer for Season One, and I was in as soon as Pythagoras (yes, that one) introduced himself, but I finally got around to watching the first episode tonight.

The hardest part of portal fantasies is getting the modern main character to the new place. I like that this transition happens fast. In the modern world, Jason's talking to a dude about going in a sub to look for the wreckage of his missing father's ship and also he has a necklace macguffin and some cryptic clues about destiny. That's all we need really.

The credits are all backwards. I really hope that's not a trend.

Oh, the dad's ship is named the Oracle, because of course it is.

HOW DID HE LOSE HIS SHIRT *AND* HIS PANTS WHEN THE SUB EXPLODED BUT NOT HIS NECKLACE?

Oh, good, he finds some clothes so he looks like a local.

(Was he in the Mediterranean on our Earth when this happened? NO CLUE.)

Was this filmed in Malta? It looks like Malta.

Oh, we're definitely not in Kansas anymore - there's a two-headed dragon. WHY DID YOU THINK PETTING IT WAS A GOOD IDEA, EXACTLY??

The dragon overturns a vegetable cart, and there's a butternut squash next to a pomegranate and my botany!self calls bullshit on the squash. NORTH AMERICAN NATIVE VEGETABLES DO NOT END UP IN ANCIENT CRETE (or wherever), SORRY.

Why IS there a dragon running around anyway? Shouldn't it be, I don't know, LEASHED or something?

Of course, he's going to destroy the entire market now in the ensuring chase, I don't make the rules.

Oh, there goes a watermelon cart. These originated in West Africa, so, I don't know, like maybe kinda plausible? More so than the butternut squash, anyway.

Dragons like melons - so Jason distracts it with that, then he throws a basket over both its head and pummels it with a stick. Some guards show up, but of course, they're not sympathetic, so he has to keep running...

A guard shoots him with an arrow. OW. That hurts.

INTO THE GARBAGE CHUTE, FLYBOY! Oh, wait, he's going to land on Pythagoras... what a way to meet-cute.

Oh, wait, he falls off the edge and Pythagoras catches his hand. It's been like three seconds and I ship them already. The fact that Jason ends up falling on top of him DOES NOT HELP  with the shipping vibes, okay?

Aww, and then he starts shaking and hugging Pythagoras because he's so scared and relieved and Pythagoras is like "Do we hug? This is... fine?" confused, and I'm just grinning like an idiot because this is ambiguous platonic brotherhood/not-so-platonic OTP shipping at its finest.

Oh, it's Atlantis, that's why there's a dragon AND Pythagoras AND King Minos, I get it now.

THE LOOK ON PYTHAGORAS'S FACE WHEN JASON SAYS "YOU'RE THE TRIANGLE GUY" AHHHHHHHHHHHH *cries in sympathy for my fellow nerd*

(The other part of my brain is shouting "THAT'S EUCLID PROPOSITION 1.47, YOU ASSHOLES" but ignore it, this is really just too cute for words.)

And Hercules is his roommate...? Okay... and Pythagoras is gonna make a fat joke, not a fan. Hercules sums up my reaction: "My friend is under the false impression he's amusing."

Ah, now the necklace macguffin is coming into play. So he goes to see the Oracle about it.

Annnnndddd Hercules is already there. With some sort of bull symbol on his forehead.

Turns out the Oracle is expecting Jason because she's just that good, LOL. She has her back to him for the scene, so we can't see her face, but she's got a sweet tattoo of a stylized bull skull on her back.

They sacrifice a chicken and stare at the blood, like you do. The Oracle says there's a multiverse! Turns out Jason's father took him to our Earth when he was a baby for.. reasons. Is she his mom? Is that what this is about?

Oh, his father is either King Minos or Hercules, and my money's on the King.

Oh, wait, his father's dead. This must make Minos the Big Bad. The Oracle punts on the mom question, so that's still TBD.

I wonder... does Jason's quest involve a boat? A journey? Some ARGONAUTS, perhaps? (And maybe--just maybe--some living skeletons? Pretty please?)

Turns out the Oracle admits to her companion that she was lying! So my guesses still stand. Minos probably is the Big Bad, though, because otherwise it's Too Easy to Resolve the Plot and Daddy Issues.

Pythagoras shows up and introduces a plot point: there's a procession to the Temple of Poseidon because they're going to select tributes to offer to the Minotaur. Also: backstory.

There's a curfew, and Jason has nowhere to go, and you can just see Pythagoras gearing himself up to ask Jason to stay with HIM, and I'm just... the writers are making this really easy to ship this, aren't they?

"What about Hercules?" "Oh, he's usually so drunk when he gets back from the tavern, he won't even notice you're there." LOLOLOLOL.

Cut to Hercules, not impressed with Pythagoras's tastes in men. Despite my "only one bed" jokes to the contrary, Jason gets the couch, which is why he sees Hercules sneaking out. Of course, he wakes up Pythagoras and they chase him down, guards be damned. Hercules says the Oracle saw him in the Labyrinth, and he's trying to avoid his fate. This is... gonna end poorly, isn't it.

Oh, now they're being chased by "hunting lions" through the city in the middle of the night. Jason does an amazing flip to escape and doesn't know how he did it.

Cut to the day. Geographically incorrect red-tailed hawk scream. They're all drawing lots to see who gets fed to the Minotaur. I wonder if Jason's going to "volunteer as tribute".

How long does it take 20,000 people to draw lots anyway?

Hercules draws a white stone. There's a girl checking out Jason before he draw a white stone too. LOVE INTEREST AHOY. The King and Queen are sarcastic. Pythagoras draws the black stone. He looks crushed.

Council of war! "Maybe you could talk about triangles and BORE the Minotaur to death," says Hercules. Pythagoras tries to explain that triangles are really fascinating and something about their angles and Herc is not buying it. Don't listen to him, Pythagoras.

Oh, the girl is Ariadne, she's having dinner with her parents, but she's really all hot and bothered about Jason, isn't she?

And... Pasiphae is an archetypal Bitch!Mom. Sigh. She slaps Ariadne when Ariadne obliquely refers to the fact that PASIPHAE FUCKED A BULL and that's why they have to feed the Minotaur... I think? Oh, wait, no, it's an oblique reference to something bad Minos did. Okay, fine. Still archetypal Bitch!Mom even if she's doing it to protect her husband's honor, such as it is.

Jason grabs a sword and the black stone and sneaks out to offer himself to the temple in Pythagoras's place while his friend is still asleep because... destiny. And Herc and Pythagoras are gonna rescue him. (Watching this, I can't help but wonder: So is that a sword under your tunic, or are you just happy to see me?)

MORE WATERMELONS IN THE MARKET. Okay, yes, so this is fantasy!Atlantis, so rules and logic need not apply, but still, this bothers me way more than the two-headed dragon (which no one has explained WHY IT'S THERE, WHY IT WASN'T TIED UP, and why the guards want to murder Jason for harassing it) Does everyone have one? Is it a pet? What is up with the two-headed dragon and why don't we see it again??

Ariadne notices the switcheroo, but no one else does (or cares enough to comment). Oh, and he gets a last bath and no one notices the sword... and Ariadne sneaks in to chat. "Look, lady, I don't know who I am, but I have DESTINY ON MY SIDE, OKAY?"

Ariadne gives him a thread "enchanted by the witches of Colchis" who I hope we'll meet in later episodes. They gaze soulfully into each others' eyes and almost kiss, and she runs away.

Pythagoras confronts Jason as he's walking to the Temple with the other sacrifices (all NPCs) and tells him his theory about triangles is destined to bore millions of children throughout history, and Pythagoras runs home and starts looking for weapons because something something bond of platonic friendship something something SHIPPING.

Of course Herc goes with him after some initial griping because Pythagoras is going to get hurt otherwise. I don't understand their relationship, but okay.

The scarred guard we've seen earlier is clearly a PC. A girl runs away, Pythagoras and Herc get caught, and they get press-ganged into replacing her. The scarred guard is a jerk, so we'll probably see him again. Herc keeps griping.

Jason introduces himself to one of the other sacrifices who will either survive, or die horribly at the last moment. Jason remembers the string and starts stringing. The NPCs wait to be slaughtered. Jason finds one of the bodies, but it doesn't seem ike the Minotaur eats them or anything, so I don't understand what's going on.

Jason runs into Pythagoras. They hug. SHIP SHIP SHIP. More screams. Bones. His new friend is alive, and the Minotaur looks like Pan's Labyrinth. Jason gets tossed around a lot. The Minotaur is simulanteously moving like a bull and a man, which is creepy but Jason kills him (somehow? I think with Ariadne's necklace??)....and he transforms into a person who thanks him for lifting the curse. He's cryptic, gushing about Jason's destiny and how Minos must never find out, while our new party member looks on in awe.

Cut to the Oracle, who's been watching all this in her visions being all dramatic for cryptic expository purposes. Meanwhile, the King pontificates over the survivors. Jason gives Ariadne back her necklace while Pasiphae looks on. Ariadne is smitted, Pasiphae is curious. Hercules has plans to leverage their fame into money. There's some banter, making fun of Jason's name... and we end on a fat joke. Oooookay. CAN YOU PLEASE STOP WITH THE FAT JOKES, WRITERS, THIS REALLY ISN'T AS FUNNY AS YOU THINK IT IS.

Up next episode: The Oracle is cryptic. Fight scene! "My name is Medusa."

WHY ARE ALL THE CREDITS BACKWARDS PLEASE STOP

This seems like a pretty standard introductory episode, but the writers need to work a little harder to keep me interested. I have no idea where this series is going, exactly -- I'm mostly just here for Pythagoras at this point -- so I guess we'll see what happens in the next episode.

[moontheoretist]

Justice for Koth

You know, I wish there was more to Koth's arc in KOTFE and KOTET than him only being mad at you (rightfully so) for killing his people or him appreciating that you didn't kill his fellow Zakuulans, as there is more to him laid out there in the story than we all think and most of it is never addressed or challenged. One of those things is his faith in Valkorion. We can cry before our screens all we want, when he says "He was always good to Zakuul". We can yell to our hearts content that "Yeah, he was good to Zakuul, but murdered anybody else!" and we can even tell it to him in the game, sort of, but his faith is never clearly challenged in a way, which actually would make him think more about what Valkorion is and what worshiping him did to the citizens of Zakuul. 

If writers really cared about Koth they would make him challenge his beliefs, instead of just letting us say to him several times that Valkorion is a monster and always get the same answer to our words. Koth isn't the type of person who easily trusts people, and he also isn't a type of person who just will take opinion of another over his own without any significant proof. Writers could provide this proof as the truth about what Valkorion did was already there, lied in the foundations of the storyline, subtly hinting all this time, that despite what Valkorion says he means and does, he in truth doesn't care about anybody else than himself, and therefore it's easy to actually draw a conclusion, that he never cared for Zakuul in the end. He built this grant society, not because he was bored, or because he wanted to achieve perfection, no. He build this grant society, which worships him as if he was god and listens to everything he says and believes his every word, because he needed some brainwashed pigs for the future slaughter. Pigs which would gladly die for him if he so wished. 

It didn't work as it was supposed to in the end, but did you ever question why Heralds of Zildrog even existed? Especially after Nathema Conspiracy showed that their reincarnation (Order of Zildrog) had access to the planet, which served as the hideout for many of his secrets? (Though they probably know about that, because Vaylin revealed the location to her Guards, including Vin Athrius, but still their very existence means they somehow knew about Zildrog’s power without knowing how it looks and how it works, so seeing it once long time ago would only work if Zakuulans were so primitive at the time that they couldn’t even see a warship on the sky shooting death at them, and instead were only able to see the ray of powerful energy shooting at them straight from the sky, which upon reaching the surface seemed to twist like a serpent or something). Heralds of Zildrog were created, because they were supposed to make Zakuulans complicit to the death and make them accept this as their fate. That's why they are the only ones in the whole society who knew what will eventually happen to Zakuul, and it was also the reason why they were taught to be happy about that sacrifice for the sake of Great Serpent, or Great Dragon - Zildrog.

"Fear the snake who believes himself a dragon" Valkorion once says when referring to Arcann, but ironically those words apply much better to him than to anybody else in the whole KOTFE and KOTET storyline, as he is a liar, backstabber, a snake who believes himself a dragon, but is ultimately doomed to fail. It also refers to the unique connection between him and Zildrog, as after Nathema Conspiracy it's very easy to draw a conclusion that Zildrog was the thing which Valkorion (at the time Tenebrae) used to wipe all life on Nathema (at the time Medriaas) and then performed a ritual which allowed him to consume all those lives to become immortal. We can also assume that he was the one who traveled in Gravestone (Zildrog's body) to Zakuul, fought the Eternal Fleet, pacified it and eventually landed the ship on Zakuul's surface. The rest is probably a history. How he found a champion of the people of Zakuul (probably the original Valkorion, whose name was stolen) and eventually managed to take his body to gain control over population and then started building his pig farm.

Heralds of Zildrog were never told that Zildrog is Gravestone and therefore Heralds couldn't assume that Gravestone in the hands of Outlander means that the death they await can be easily obtained as long as they take over the Gravestone. But they knew what Zildrog was (at least metaphorically) and that it can eat lives, even though its main computer was on Medriaas and therefore its powers shouldn't be known to anybody, who didn't have access to this power or whose history doesn't stretch all the way back to Iokath. There is no indication that there were any survivors of the war on Iokath, but there are indications that Machine Gods and Eternal Fleet were used to attack planets in Wild Space. (Yes I know that Wookiepedia states Zildrog was actually used on Zakuul at least once, but I have my doubts, because if it was, there is no reason for Zakuulan’s to think that Heralds of Zildrog are heretical cult, as Zildrog supposedly predates the beliefs about Machine Gods). It's logical that people who lived on those planets knew about Machine Gods and build whole mythology around them. The only one who seems detached from this mythology is Zildrog which means that Heralds of Zildrog shouldn't be able to know so much about Zildrog's powers to actually be able to found a religion around its whole existence unless they witnessed it’s power on a stage in civilisation development when they didn’t have technology good enough to actually give them insight that “there is some alien warship on the orbit of our planet and it shoots at us”. (Though if it really happened and indeed Zildrog was used once on Zakuul, then it would probably go like this: some life on the planet would be lost to the blast, but not all, and then planet would recover from the blast, as there was no Valkorion at the time to consume the life essence of those killed and create the Void, but even then the idea that whole life on the planet would be consumed when Great Serpent Zildrog appears again could only steam from either exagerration or someone putting that idea into their heads). That's why it's logical to assume that their info comes from a third party, which actually shed some light onto them.

I cannot stress how much suspicious it is, considering that if it was once used to attack planets like the rest of Iokath weaponry there should be visible signs on Zakuul that its life was wiped out at least once before (as Heralds belief Zildrog appeared once long time ago and he is supposed to come back). The most logical conclusion is that Zildrog was never used to attack any planets by Iokath creators and along with other weapons was used to kill only its creators and then was sent to Medriaas, where then it was discovered by Tenebrae and brought to Zakuul by him, and with him the whole new mythology of Great Serpent Zildrog which will one day kill them all (this conclusion would assume that Zakuul never got any direct hit from Zildrog and that the “first appearance” of Zildrog which Heralds proclaim happened was about Medriaas). It’s hard to say though if Zakuul was ever attacked by Zildrog in the past as the only proof we have is Heralds word that it happened. With Medriaas though we have two giant craters on the surface to actually prove that it was hit by something at least twice. Of course, no matter which version is true it's all very convenient for Valkorion, who is used to wiping out whole planets to stay immortal and that convenience cannot be overlooked as even if he didn’t push Zakuulans to create the cult around Zildrog, he still probably planned to use it for his own gain. 

If this knowledge was ever used in the storyline to actually challenge Koth's beliefs by making him discover that shit, he would have definitely easier time to accept that what people around him were saying all this time was true, as the only thing he cares about are people, especially his fellow Zakuulans. As long as Valkorion meant prosperity and safety, he would have no reason to stop believing in him. But the moment he learned that it was all illusion, that they were bred like pigs, kept in comfortable shape and were catered to by the bunch of droids in order to not develop any resistance to the power which rules over them, his whole worldview would be put upside down. Especially with Heralds of Zildrog at the hem, as even if their beliefs didn't actually make Zakuulans all high on dying for the sake of the Great Serpent, not the Emperor himself, it was still something which they would not directly oppose as long as they would not know it's not "just a game" and when they realized it was for real, it would be too late to actually run. Considering that Koth feels grateful to Heralds for keeping relative order in the Old World and that he also feels grateful to Valkorion for making Zakuul safe and prosperous, his whole belief system would shatter at the revelation like this. And even though he believes in Valkorion a lot, he cares about his people far more than about Emperor himself. 

He would not accept this truth at first of course, but eventually he would have no other choice. He would have to challenge his beliefs and break the shackles of Valkorion's inscripted worship and notice the flaws of Zakuulan's "perfect society", which ironically would put him on the same page as Kaliyo, who noticed that long before him (thanks to not being a local) and tried to fight it, bring it down, shatter the illusion of perfectness which Valkorion created. (And even though Valkorion doesn't seem bothered by Kaliyo's actions and even states that she doesn't have enough power to destroy his perfect society as if he cared, he still sees the fall of this society as a direct threat to him, even if he never states that outwardly and instead makes us, the players, believe he cares about Zakuul and do something with Arcann and Vaylin who fuck up his ideal pig farm, so then we would become his puppet to continue growing this pig farm till the time for consumption comes). Instead of that challenge of beliefs though, the only thing which we got was Koth either staying with us, or leaving us forever if we decided to not care about his people at all. Slaughtering innocent people in general is the only thing which makes Koth react violently to presented reality and it was great opportunity to use the very same tactic of exposing Valkorion's lies to challenge his belief system, but also to challenge whole structure of Zakuulan society by someone who isn't considered a known psycho (sorry Kaliyo, but the fact that you challenged the system diminishes the importance of what you had done due to your bad reputation and the fact that audience remembers you mostly as a crazy psycho with “zero depth” which is bullshit) in order to understand what Valkorion was really trying to achieve there. The conclusion is that Koth deserved better than being reduced to someone who has no impact on the storyline in any way and then gets labelled as "someone who throws a tantrum over nothing" by people who do not understand that taking Gravestone from Outlander who indiscriminately kills civilians as if it was something cool and good is actually a logical choice on Koth's part and should be respected.

[ask-de-writer]

MET BY MOONLIGHT : (Part 2 of 3) : Flocking Bay

Return to the Master Story Index

Return to Flocking Bay

MET BY MOONLIGHT

by

De Writer (Glen Ten-Eyck)

5740 words

© 2020 by Glen Ten-Eyck

written 2003 by Glen Ten-Eyck

All rights reserved.

Reproduction in any form, physical, electronic or digital is prohibited without the express written consent of the author or proper copyright holder.

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I was liking Laelia more and more. We ordered lunch and it was so good that we wolfed it down. We relaxed over coffee and watched the harbor. I could see Allison’s little sailboat skimming out past the breakwater. Laelia appeared to be thinking something over. I let her have time.

Abruptly Laelia said, “Just how interested are you in the local history?”

“I find it to be fascinating,” I said. Then with a grin added, “Almost as fascinating as my present company.”

“Flatterer. Why don’t you come to my house and have a look at my collection?” she asked. Then with an impudent smile said, “No etchings — — — Just woodcuts.”

“That sounds irresistible,” I said, reaching impulsively across the table and taking her hand. We left the Stone Oven and strolled up the street, away from the harbor.

Laelia’s house was on a side street a few blocks from my clinic. Changer’s Ct. I commented on the name and Laelia responded by telling me that money changers used to have shops along the court. Most of the lots along the street were overgrown with brush and trees. Obviously, few had ever lived here. It took a very long time for brush and trees to reach the size of the ones that I saw.

Laelia’s house was another surprise. At first glance, it seemed to be a thoroughly modern cottage set among large trees. Then I noticed traces of the original drive. There was a maple growing in it that was easily five feet through the bole. What at first I took to be siding proved to be hand-cut, adze squared timbers on closer examination. The proportions of the house betrayed great age. The more I looked, the older I realized it was.

The door was made of oak and beautifully carved. It was topped by the Darkmoon crest and filled with scenes from the history of Flocking Bay. I noticed that there were none depicting the Marquost massacre.

The inside of the house showed none of the betraying signs of its age. All was neat. The walls were finished in modern style and the lights and computer in the corner were up to date. The kitchen where she went to fix a pot of tea was as tidy and modern as the rest.

In the living room was a locked, glass front bookcase of antique design, if not a genuine antique. The dairies and other books of her history collection were housed in it.

Laelia emerged from the kitchen with the teapot and cups. She laid out the service, solid silver, not plated, or I was completely off base. I had seen a set like it once before. In a museum. Hallmarked Paul Revere.

She poured the tea and unlocked the bookcase. I carefully took down the first of the Darkmoon dairies and looked at it. It had been rebound several times and was in excellent condition, given the age of its pages. I took down several other volumes at random to assess their condition.

It was a pleasant surprise. Diaries of that era are usually delicate and crumbling. The Darkmoon Diaries were in excellent condition. Even the Hilstrom Diaries were in good shape. I recognized that the early Hilstrom Diaries had many palimpsest pages. In the 1600’s paper and parchment were dear.

For the first time, I learned the full name of that first ancient enemy. He was Eben (short for Ebenezer) Gaston Hilstrom. I did not find the personality revealed in the pages to be a likeable one. In spite of that, he was an acute observer and had much to tell, including the names, not only of his descendants but those of the other ‘founders’ of Flocking Bay. The massacre was described in great and self-righteous detail. Interestingly enough, the matchlock musket that Eben used to slay the Shaman would never fire again, no matter what was done towards repairing it. It was retired to Eben’s mantelpiece with a small plaque.

They had named the town for the many bird rookeries in its sheltered waters and woods.

The first of the Darkmoons had come a year later, from Civilized Europe, though she spoke English only haltingly. She had been a stowaway, fleeing from a forced marriage in Poland. Two ‘honest sailors’ vouched for her and Eben bought her indenture from them to reimburse the ship for her passage. He was pleasantly surprised at the low price that he paid. At the normal and customary rates, she would be a free person in only five years. Eben altered the price on the document of sale and had her services for seven.

Sipping Laelia’s excellent English tea, I turned to the Darkmoon Dairies. She was busy with official business, working away at her computer in the corner of the room. A few people came and went on routine business needing a Justice of the Peace. A few traffic and parking citations, an application for a marriage license, nothing extraordinary at all. After the marriage license applicant had gone, Laelia got down a large ledger type book and copied particulars from the application into it. She shut the book with a snap and a satisfied smile.

I looked up from my reading. The Darkmoon Dairies were fascinating in themselves but there was something that I couldn’t quite put a finger on. It wasn’t their age. I was certain of that. I determined to get copies of both sets of books, if Laelia would allow it.

“Laelia,” I asked hesitantly, “would it be alright with you if I brought over my digital camera and an ultraviolet light?”

She looked up from her work with a secretive smile and asked, “Why the U.V. light?”

I carefully held one of the first volumes of the Darkmoon Dairies open and pointed to a page. “This is a palimpsest. The older writing was erased, probably with a sponge of vinegar, and new writing done over it at right angles. A U.V. light picture of the page with the proper digital enhancement will reveal the original writing as well as that of your ancestress’.”

Her eyebrows raised up and her pupils widened in interest. She nodded. “I had experts look at them years ago. They thought that these weren’t recoverable. If you think that they are and it is as nondestructive as that, go ahead. I will need accurate copies of anything you get, both the palimpsests and the main books. I need good readable copies to give to Mrs. Alderman at the library anyway.” She grinned lupinely and added, “You cannot believe the determination of that woman where a historical document is concerned.”

“Then I will make three copies,” I replied. “One for you, one for the library and one for myself.”

“Yourself? You will have it in your computer and on disk won’t you?”

“I like the feel of paper in my hands when I’m studying. I’m old fashioned that way.”

She had crossed the room in uncanny silence and I nearly jumped when she laid a hand on mine. “I would very much like to recover those palimpsests but there is a problem. I don’t want all of them to be known. Can I sort which ones are to be available?”

What could I say? It was the only thing possible, so I said, “Certainly. I will have to have copies in my computer and storage devices but I won’t release anything without your consent.”

I hadn’t even realized that she was tense until she relaxed. “Thank you, Dr. Fredricks. I don’t know for sure what is there but I do know, from family tradition, that some of the parchment in the first volumes of both the Hilstrom and Darkmoon Dairies was made from skins salvaged from the Marquost village.”

Hiding my excitement, I said, “I have it on good authority that though the Marquost did not write, per-se, they did have a system of pictographs. Some claim to be able to interpret the few pictograms that survive.” I should know. As the last Shaman, I was one! And I had lied about the writing. The Marquost had been genuinely literate.

Laelia said with some authority, “With my family history, I am most curious about any such things. I made tracings of the ones on the Blackwall before you built your clinic around it. Does your system work on stone as well as paper?”

I grinned back at her. “The photographic system was originated for recovering lost stone pictograms. I made some pictures before I built the clinic around the Blackwall. Do you want to see them?” I was already sure of the answer and was pulling a wallet of photos out of my inside coat pocket.

Laelia looked carefully at my enhanced photos, brows knitted in concentration. Almost absently she opened the bookcase and pulled a slim binder out of a hidden drawer. She laid it open and took my photos in hand. After many minutes she laid aside my photos and looked at her drawings with new eyes. She picked up a pencil and began to sketch rapidly, muttering, “Of course, now it makes sense.” Her pencil down, she looked at me and nodded. “Yes, definitely do your magic on the books. Who knows what will be revealed?”

I agreed at once, before she could change her mind. Over the next several weeks Allison became sure that there was something going on between Laelia and myself because I was spending so much time over at the little house on Changer’s Ct. The job of photographing three hundred years of written history was huge. Also, the dairies were fascinating in themselves.

Among the hardships that the people of Flocking Bay endured were many minor animal attacks. Dog bites, the occasional bear mauling, being raked by an eagle for getting too close to a nest were just a few. Occasionally there was a fatal attack but those seemed rare. There appeared to be little discernible pattern to the attacks.

On the other side, Flocking Bay was not your typical small town that would die out. The small fishing fleet always managed to find the best and highest priced catches. Gardens and surrounding farms bloomed. Stores found active trade. No matter the vicissitudes of the world outside, depressions, wars, epidemics or whatever, Flocking Bay continued to prosper quietly.

Few ever wanted to leave and most of those came back.

Through all of this vast span of time the Darkmoons had stayed and observed. Oddly, there was no mention of marriages or husbands. All of the Darkmoon children were female and carried the family name. In so small a town, it was peculiar that nobody seemed to notice. It was simply accepted that the Darkmoons would cling to their ‘foreign’ ways. They stayed to themselves, out of the way, nearly out of town, on the virtually deserted Changer’s Ct. For almost all of that time, the one thing that they did do was handle the duties of the Justice of the Peace. Animal Control had been added to that office in the 1950’s.

The Darkmoons were always ready with assistance for those in the town who needed help. It might be a loan or perhaps just a suggestion for a way to make money. The Darkmoons showed little or no need for money themselves. They always appeared to have whatever they needed for the people that came to them. Perhaps they were independently wealthy. Nobody knew — or cared.

The Hilstrom Dairies ended in 1867. The Darkmoon Dairies came right up to the present. Laelia was still writing in the most recent volume.

The photography had been, if a long project, at least a simple one. Now the real work began. Allison now thought that Laelia and I had broken up. I spent all of my time at the computer, enhancing the palimpsests first.

Some were of no interest, just old notes or handbills of one sort or another. Others were very different. There was the original Darkmoon indenture contract, now recovered. The forgery to gain an extra two years of service showed too. More important to me were the ones on homemade parchment.

<==Previous   Next==>

Return to the Master Story Index

Return to Flocking Bay

[eldritchsurveys]

784.

Have you ever worn those Drunk Goggles? >> I vaguely remember seeing those as like a gag gift at Spencer’s or something, but I’ve never worn any. I’ve been drunk, though, so I think I’ve got the experience of wearing Drunk Goggles well covered.

Which decade before the 90s had the best makeup trends? >> I don’t know anything about makeup trends before the eighties, now that I think about it.

Can you agree to disagree, or usually get upset over conflicting views? >> I can be upset sometimes, especially if the thing being debated is something I have a particular personal investment in. But I have learned how to be upset by myself, and not make it anyone else’s problem. (Which leads to a lot of unresolved feelings, I’ve also learned, but hey.)

Does it bug you when long socks are constantly falling down? >> I don’t wear long socks, and that’s one reason why.

Rodeos – entertaining, or cruel? >> I don’t know anything about rodeos and therefore do not have an opinion.

Why can’t politicians debate politely? >> Because it’s assumed that the general public will not remain engaged unless there’s some sort of drama. ...Honestly, I can see where they get that impression, but it can also be alienating for those of us who aren’t looking for entertainment from our politicians.

Who is the best female rocker? Why? >> Floor Jansen is one of my favourites. So is Skin, from Skunk Anansie.

Can you even taste a difference between Cheez Its and Cheez Nips? >> I don’t know, I’ve not had both of them.

What about between Pepsi and Coke or Sprite and 7Up? >> Yeah, I’ve tasted differences between both of those and I have preferences.

Do you care what kind of toilet paper you use? >> Yes, I care. I don’t like either extreme (too rough or too soft).

What color of roses do you find the prettiest? >> I’ve never given it any consideration.

Which celebrity has the cutest butt? >> I don’t know. But Sarah Snook, who plays Siobhan Roy on Succession, has a pretty eye-catching booty.

Do you still have any decent arcades nearby? >> Not to my knowledge.

After a holiday, do you go to the store to get candy on sale? >> No, but I might get some for Sparrow.

Did Marilyn Monroe look better before or after cosmetic surgery? >> ---

Bullfighters who get gored kind of had it coming, right? >> I mean, yeah.

If you make surveys, do you care what people rate them? >> I don’t make them, but if I did, that wouldn’t be a concern of mine. The only time I’m tempted to make a survey is because there are questions that it surprises me that no one ever asks, and that I’d love to answer myself. So I’d be making it for my benefit, primarily, and if anyone else enjoys it then that’s just icing on an already-good cake.

Have you ever accidentally found porn when looking for something else? >> Yeah, but it doesn’t happen much nowadays.

Ever run into those ‘celebrity lookalike porn’ blogs? >> Long time ago, yeah. You know, before tumblr changed its policy.

If you’re not religious, is the Bible basically just an old collection of short stories? >> My understanding of the Bible is that it’s a collection of laws and writings -- stories, poetry, letters, op-ed pieces (lol). The New Testament in particular seems to be just a bunch of letters appended to four different accounts of one dude’s birth and early life and concluded with a really dramatic callout post for the Roman Empire. I am very fond of this giant mishmosh of opinions and dramatically-recounted stories, tbh, it’s really interesting from both a historical and mythological perspective.

Do you think religious leaders just like to manipulate people? >> Of course.

Why do so many fans with OTP’s insist that their ship is real? Even when the writers (or real people that they ship) tell them it isn’t? >> I don’t know. I’ve never really delved into why that’s so important to a lot of fans, although it does intrigue me. I think it might have something to do with the varieties of ways in which people interact with and understand stories, but I’m not able to articulate exactly what I mean right now, I don’t have the words all organised in my brain and ready to go.

Do you draw fanart of anything? >> No, I don’t draw. I write fan fiction.

Do annoying city kids ever loiter outside your library and harass people? >> I’ve never witnessed any harassment outside of a library around here. That seems more likely to have happened in NYC, though.

Do you like to hang out at your local library? >> Occasionally. I used to basically live at the library when I was in the City, because I was homeless. I think I don’t go to the library as often anymore because of that -- it’s registered in my mind as “the place you go and sit in all day because you can’t go anywhere else” and it disorients me if I do it now.

On that subject, do you like the smell of books? >> Some books.

What’s on your Reading List, so-to-speak, right now? >> I’m between books right now. I’m still debating whether I want to try to finish The Denial of Death or whether I want to give it up for now, and the fact that I’ve been debating that for like a week most likely means that I should give it up. I can always pick it up again at a later date.

Read any great non-fiction books lately? >> Sure.

What do you like on your burger? >> Lettuce, onion, bacon, mustard or bbq sauce, some kind of cheese (preferably pepper jack). Jalapeño peppers can be good too.

What do you NOT like on your burger? >> Mayo, sometimes tomato (I go back and forth, it just depends on the day).

Do you like ‘loose meat’ sandwiches? >> I’m not sure what that is, but the name isn’t too enticing, let me tell you.

Have you ever heard of the restaurant Maid Rite? >> No.

What is the best thing to put in a grilled cheese (other than cheese)? >> I don’t even remember what things I like in a grilled cheese, I haven’t had one in ages. Oh! HopCat sells one that has honey and apple in it and that’s pretty good. I do like “weird” grilled cheeses.

Homemade tomato soup, or just out of a can? >> Not out of a can, that’s for sure. There are some premade ones that I do like, but they’re never canned (usually they’ll come in cartons).

Favorite thing to see in museums? >> I like sci-tech museums, so, that stuff.

Have you ever seen an unwrapped mummy in person? >> No.

What things have people shamed you for? >> The kind of music I like, the kind of people I think are pretty, the way I look, the way I behave/my idiosyncrasies, my emotional responses, my needs... I mean, basically almost anything you can think of.

Do you always reply to private messages? (On any website) >> I usually do.

What device do you seem to always be buying batteries for? >> I don’t think anything I currently use takes disposable batteries.

What’s worse – snow, or all the mud after it melts? >> Definitely the latter.

Are there any 'adult stores’ in your area? >> Probably. Not in this city proper, but like... around. Somewhere.

Have you been inside of them/shopped there before? >> I’ve been to a lot of them in NYC.

Do you watch The Masked Singer? Any theories? >> No.

Favorite Alfred Hitchcock film? >> I don’t have one.

Do you like Funko Pop figurines? >> Meh. The novelty wears off pretty quickly.

If so, do you have any? Which ones would you like to have? >> Yeah, having a few is how I know the novelty wears off pretty quickly, hah. I have two Marvel!Heimdalls (from two different movies), a Roland and a Walter from the Dark Tower movie, Jesse and Cassidy from the Preacher TV show, Lucio and Reaper from Overwatch, and Vivec from The Elder Scrolls. I actually had to go looking in the living room because I’d forgotten I had that many. That’s another few items for the donation / giveaway bin...

Which ones do you think they should make (but haven’t yet)? >> At this point, I think they should stop, lmao. There are so fucking many.

[kyleknight]

what I feel for you

17: At this point, I don’t know if I want to kill you or kiss you. Alucard and Trevor requested by @redvioletz warnings for.. language I guess. I dont know anything about cosplay. and I keep slightly changing the wording of the prompts. love you red

~~~

Trevor is a simple man. He sees Adrian Tepes, he’s immediately filled with the urge to yell and smash his own head through the nearest wall.

But that would fuck up the cosplay he’d been working on for the last four weeks. The thought of ripping even a single stitch before the judging makes his chest ache. He’s so fucking proud of this one, and up until now— meaning, up until seeing Adrian— he was confident he would win. The clothes are perfect, the wig is perfect, and the giant sword he’s carrying is possibly the most detailed replica in the world.

At least in this convention.

But… fucking Adrian Tepes. Trevor really hopes one day the impossibly pretty bastard is going to run out of goth characters in intricate vampiric attire to cosplay. He recognizes Adrian’s cosplay as someone from a game Trevor saw but never played. Fuck, it looks amazing even from a distance. Trevor practically vibrates, torn between his rage at the damn perfectionist and his intense desire to go look at Adrian’s work.

Fuck that guy.

Oh fuck he’s spotted Trevor.

Oh fuck he’s coming over.

Trevor scowls as Adrian walks up to him. Up close, it looks so much better and— Adrian is wearing red eyeliner that is not fair—

“I’d hoped I would see you here,” Adrian says, his tone cool and smooth.

Trevor glares, hating how fucking tall Adrian is. “Kind of hoped you’d stuck yourself with a pin and it worked like a stake does on a vampire, honestly.”

Adrian smiles, but Trevor feels like he’s mocking him. Asshole. God, he hates how fucking pretty Adrian is, all dressed up like this. Adrian opens his mouth to say something, but someone else’s voice cuts in.

“Oh, um, sorry, excuse me,”

Trevor turns to look. There’s a shy looking young woman next to them, holding her phone in her hands. “Could I, um, get a picture? Of both of you, if that’s okay.”

Adrian looks at Trevor with undisguised annoyance, but it’s replaced by a placid smile. “Of course. If that’s alright with you, Mister Belmont.”

“Fine,” Trevor spits at Adrian. Just to make a point, he stands so close to Adrian that they’re touching. The fabric Adrian used is smooth and cool— faux leather but one of the better kinds. Trevor catches himself before he tries to actually intentionally feel it.

The girl gets her picture and starts asking Adrian something about the video game character he’s cosplaying. Trevor escapes before he unintentionally stops to listen to how Adrian made his jacket. Whatever, he doesn’t care. He prefers putting more effort into the weapons, and he knows he’s damn good at it.

Hopefully good enough to win.

~~

Not this time, clearly.

Trevor takes home second place, and he would be fine with that, except first place is taken by the woman who thinks it’s cute to just go by a shitty alias. She’s been pissing Trevor off lately, because she’s just got the worst attitude towards her competition. At least Adrian is polite. The politeness gets on Trevor’s nerves sometimes, but Carmilla’s bitchy attitude definitely gets on Trevor’s nerves all the time.

He storms away from the competition area as soon as the photos are over. Fucking Carmilla and her fucking perfect metal plate armor and fucking sword that wasn’t nearly as well detailed as Trevor’s. Even Adrian’s gun was better than her shitty sword.

God damn it, Trevor wants to get the fuck out of here and get fucking wasted.

“Trevor!”

Trevor stops mid-step. That’s… Adrian.

He’s not sure why he stops to wait for Adrian to catch up with him. Heck, a few hours ago, he wanted to kick Adrian’s pretty ass. Now… okay, he feels pretty bad for him and all the cosplayers who had to watch Carmilla walk off with first place.

“I think both of us can agree that was absolute bullshit,” Adrian says.

Trevor raises an eyebrow. He doesn’t think he’s ever heard Adrian say the word bullshit before. It’s kind of funny.

“Yeah, any interaction with that woman leaves me feeling like that,” Trevor says.

Adrian looks like he’s about to say something. But he doesn’t. He makes an uncomfortable face and looks away, and then back at Trevor. What the hell.

“What the fuck do you want?” Trevor asks. “Is it finding Carmilla to shove her prize money down her throat? Cause I can’t get in trouble for ‘aggressive behavior’ again—”

“Would you do a pair cosplay with me?” Adrian says suddenly.

Trevor stares at him. It takes a moment for the words to sink in. Huh?

“I overheard Carmilla talking about the next con she’s going to,” Adrian says quickly. “With one of her friends. I’m fairly confident she’s doing a couple cosplay for that. I’d really… really like to beat her, and you’re… the best cosplayer I know.”

Trevor is confused. “You know I don’t especially like you?”

Adrian rolls his eyes. “Whatever. You dislike Carmilla more, don’t you?”

“I think even Jesus would dislike Carmilla,” Trevor says.

“Don’t you want to see her lose?”

Trevor does want to see her lose. Right now he’d love nothing more than to absolutely crush her. He scoffs. “Pairing with you… this is going to be a bad idea.”

“I think it’s a good idea,” Adrian counters. “Your unpleasant personality aside—”

“Hey!”

“You’re incredibly skilled and your eye for detail is like nobody else. I’ve learned quite a bit from seeing how you bring characters and their props to life.”

“You’re going to drive me insane,” Trevor groaned. “Ugh. What did you have in mind?”

“A few different options. We can look them over and decide later.” Adrian pauses. “So… you’ll do it?”

Trevor answers by taking his phone out. “What’s your number?”

After Adrian gives it, he actually smiles. Trevor is still kind of irritated at how pretty he is, but he feels oddly good about the idea of having that on his side. Against Carmilla. Fuck yes.

“I’ll be looking forward to hearing from you,” Adrian says.

Trevor shoves his phone back into his pocket. “I’m still not sure if I want to kill you or kiss you for this—”

“Excuse me?” Adrian scoffs.

“But I want to beat Carmilla, so yeah. Same goes for me.”

[bondsacrosstime-blog]

Remaining Orders Announcement

Hi! My name is Cari, or @Storyofthedoor online, and I will try to explain what is taking so long with the shipping! :D Sorry this announcement is really long, it is quite detailed, I tried to thoroughly explain what has happened with the remaining 60ish orders.

TL;DR version: 60 orders to go! Struggling with getting money transferred from one mod to the other. Still trying though!

Long version:

First I want to apologize that it is taking so long to finish the last orders. When I joined this project, I really wanted to make sure the shipping was fast! I’ve been a part of, and purchased, a lot of zines that take months and months and months …. To the point that I’ve wondered if the zine is actually coming or….? So I didn’t want that to happen to Bonds Across Time. I’m sorry that for some orders, they have had to wait a long long time.

So I’m gonna start at the beginning, and then try to explain the difficulty.

In the beginning there were two mods! They were Nayuun and (x). They worked on Bonds Across Time together throughout the making of the zine. Nayuun organized artists, and (x) organized writers, and the zine came together to the point of being a book ready for preorders. At this time, I was just an artist. My total involvement was to make an art, and occasionally talk to Nayuun. I didn’t attend to anything other than that.

And then the paypal problems started.

Some of you who have been wanting a book since the beginning of January remember the paypal account being frozen with funds in it just a little bit into preorders. There was never a way to get the funds out of paypal. Nayuun tried to talk to paypal several times, and if you’ve ever had a problem with paypal, you can imagine how that went. Their customer service does not particularly deserve applause. At all. There was no resolution, all the preorders were returned to the buyers. Around this time, (x) needed to leave the project. Their work is still in the zine, but they had no other involvement after the initial paypal problems.

This left Nayuun by herself, and this is her first zine. It is most definitely difficult to run a zine, especially as a single mod, and especially if you’ve never done it before.

So I, Story, joined the mod team! C: My duties are getting stuff printed, and shipping out US and further abroad orders. Nayuun will handle Canadian shipping.

I’ve run a few projects, including kickstarters and a tarot deck zine, so I feel comfortable working with printers and doing shipping.

With this new layout of mod tasks, Nayuun and I opened preorders again! This time with payments being directed to Stripe, through the Storenvy shop.

Now begins the second round of financial problems. Remember: Nayuun has not run a zine before, so couldn’t see this coming. I *have* run zines before, but I and my fellow mods have been completely US based while running them. Nayuun and (x) are both Canadian.

Preorders go great through Storenvy with Stripe receiving payment! Honestly thank you for that. C: We are both really grateful that the preorders went well.

Storenvy is set up to receive payment in USD and dish it out to Stripe in CAD. (Because both prior organizers are Canadian this set up makes sense. This right here is where the problem happened. If hindsight was helpful at all, I would use hindsight to make Stripe receive funds in USD.)

No problems so far.

Because I, Story, am handling the printing and most of the shipping, we determine it’d be easiest if I received the payout from Stripe.

Stripe is holding the money as CAD.

My bank accounts are all in USD.

This isn’t really that big of a problem ….? Americans and Canadians transfer money to each other and conduct trade all the time…..?

We deposit the money into Nayuun’s bank, Stripe won’t let anything else happen.

There are plenty of ways to transfer money internationally. Paypal comes to mind, but we’ve just had huge problems with paypal freezing funds. Also they take a percentage instead of a flat fee. So two other methods are more common with large amounts of money. Wire transfers, and money orders. I’ve done both wire transfers and money orders, but only to US and China receivers. I’ve never tried to receive a wire transfer or money order from Canada.

I think a wire transfer is faster than a money order. It only takes a few days. So I tell Nayuun to try it.  I provide bank info for me.

For this first wire transfer attempt, I use my local credit union. I go in person and speak to them, they say a wire transfer from Canada is fine? It just needs to land as USD. Sounds fine.

A few days later, Nayuun’s bank receives the money back and claims they can’t send money to my credit union. To be fair, that credit union I use is small, who knows if they even know what they’re doing.

So I use a larger online bank for a second attempt at a wire transfer.

I guess which banks we’re using is not terribly important private information. This is a wire transfer from TD Bank in Canada, to Discover Bank in the US. These are two giant, common banks. They both know how to do wire transfers. I mean they probably both do wire transfers, to each other, dozens of times a day, independent of Nayuun and myself. Is there something I’m missing or not understanding?

We wait for the transfer to work. Nothing. TD Bank says it will take 4 - 5 business days.

I call Discover Bank. They say it will take 14 business days. They also say they cannot look up the wire transfer without a firm USD amount. When we initiated the wire transfer, it was for this large sum of CAD, and I assume a fixed USD amount was not given because it would be based on the exchange rate the day the transfer occurs……………? Discover Bank will not look up the transfer with the firm CAD amount. Who knows why. No amount of asking or calling will change their refusal. If I were to try a wire transfer a third time, I think we should initiate it as a firm USD amount, and whatever CAD is required is what goes. Not exactly convenient there but possibly more traceable by Discover.

TD Bank now claims the wire transfer may take up to 20 business days.

We wait ….

We waited a week for the first wire transfer to fail.

Now we wait four weeks.

The second wire transfer fails.

No explanation is given. None. At. All.

I know it’s hard for you, the preorderers, to count out the time here and understand why things are taking so long.

We closed preorders mid Feb or something like that?

And then had to wait about two weeks for Stripe to release all the funds to Nayuun’s bank.

And then we work on the zine and put it all together and get the printing going. Maybe a week or two for print prep and initiate the printing. I think I paid for printing beginning of March on all the merch and books.

A week to try a wire transfer.

Four weeks to try ANOTHER wire transfer ….

And we arrive now at mid April.

This …. Might? Maybe? Lead you to ask how any merch has been printed at all? Or how any zines have been shipped at present? If the funds have been tied up in multiple failed wire transfer attempts?

I, Story, have been paying for the printing and the shipping so far, just on my credit card. I don’t mind getting it all going. I do really care about the project. C: I love zines, and I love self publishing. I really want people to feel happy preordering an artist produced book, too! The helpfulness of a credit card is it does allow me to get a project going! While I wait for Stripe to make funds available … while I wait for a wire transfer … and a second wire transfer … but of course a credit card payment does come due. I paid for all these things at the beginning of March. That billing cycle closes end of March. That bill becomes due end of April, and I must pay the card bill or pay an additional interest penalty. That is how the credit cards do the do.

So! Here in a week or two I am indeed paying this card bill, for a few thousand dollars of printing and shipping. ^^; I have a bit of money saved, it will be ok.

But I’ve got about 40 orders left to ship, and about 20 orders that are Canadian and need to go to Nayuun for her to ship. And I have no more money to get stuff going until one of these methods of fund transfers works out.

It is pretty tiresome and frustrating that the funds exist, they just can’t be moved from Canada to the United States? None of our banks will tell us why.

Now we are trying a money order. When I last shipped a proof copy of the book to Nayuun, it took about 9 days? She lives in Alberta, I live in Maryland. Maybe in 9 days I’ll have a money order in my mailbox? *But can I just point out here that we have experienced first hand that MAIL DOES INDEED MOVE BETWEEN US …. Ok money order, you have no excuses.*

I’m sure you can imagine, I feel pretty dumb now. I’ve spent a lot of money, and am struggling to be reimbursed, and it is no one’s fault. Not Nayuun’s, not mine, just cosmic bad luck maybe. All we can do is keep trying to find a way to deal with a funds transfer? If not a money order through the post office … then…. Western Union? Or we try paypal again (my hopes are not high.)

I’m sorry again that I’ve got all this stuff printed and I’m unable to get the remaining orders going until we can manage this funds transfer. ;_; I really hope a money order would finally work. That would be really great if this kind of old fashioned method could just go through and be fine. ^^;

Thank you to those who have received your orders so far and loved them! You’ve made all the effort worth while, and I really appreciate it. C: I hope that when the remaining orders go out, they will be worth the wait.

[sukunasdirtylaugh]

Surprise Me  (2/?)

Word Count: 2.6k

Pairing: Bucky x Female Bookstore Reader

Summary: Bucky finally decided to go out to the city. ( I really want to say more but this story will most likely make you a wreck and I don’t want to spoil it). All I can say is, be warned, enjoy it, laugh, smile, cry, and squeal if you must because you have just signed yourself to the RMS- I’m gonna fucking die if you don’t update this shit- ship.

Current Summary: You better be ready sweetheart because these two dorks are flurrying up some sarcasm. Honestly, why can’t they date already? And why do I want to date Bucky Barnes? 

Chapter 1    Chapter 2

A/N: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE SUPPORT IN THE LAST CHAPTER! I’d love to hear some more feedback if that’s alright please 

It’s been a week since that particular stranger came to your (well it’s not really your) bookstore. God, you were so stupid for not knowing his name.

 “And you didn’t ask him for his name?” your friend, Cordelia asked. 

You shook your head, “No! I didn’t! I was too busy thinking about what book to give him! It was as if I forgot to function- you know I’m not like that, right? I always introduce myself, always.” 

Your other friend, Macy giggles, “So let me get this correctly: you were working in this bookstore on a Friday when all-of-a-sudden, this tall, dark seemingly handsome stranger walks in and talks to you having no idea what kind of book he wants and you couldn’t get his name? Oh sweetheart! You’re still so young in the name of love!”

You smiled at your old friends as you leaned against the counter-getting support from your elbows-noticing some new grey hairs in your friends hair. “Well, you can’t really blame me! I haven’t really…”

 “Haven’t really what? C’mon sweetie, you’re young and beautiful-not to say kind as well. Haven’t you got a boyfriend? I’m sure you’ve got boys piling up at your doorstep-maybe you don’t realize it!”

You mentally laughed.

 Ha ha. Boys. Boyfriend, me? Have you seen me?

To be honest, you had your fair share (not really). You went out with this guy once when you were 17 but he never called it a date so was it a date? The two of you talked for a bit but the poor guy was too nervous to even talk. You both decided to cut it short and left with an awkward hug and smile-that’s it. 

Your second encounter was when you were in college; there was this guy in your Literature class and he seemed nice but you already had a feeling something was going to happen. He asked you out (again, not even calling a date) and the two of you met at an ice cream shop. He seemed to not be interested and he excused himself to take a call outside and never came back, leaving you inside for almost an hour. When you got to class that week, he sat next to the new girl that just transferred into your class that semester. Yet she happened to be the smartest girl in the class. Leaving you at second. 

Can’t really say you’ve had dating experience either. You were just the ‘girl to ask about boy problems’ in your local dormitory. Girls who had boyfriends would show up to your room and ask you for advice while you yourself had never held hands with a boy except your baby cousin’s. Even the popular cheerleaders would ask you. Learning that you were actually good at talking with girls at 2am, mascara running down their eyes and half-melted strawberry ice cream on their laps, you realized you were pretty damn good at doing what you did. 

Besides giving advice, you were also pretty damn good at writing.  Unknowingly, your professors would comment on your work-some even encouraging you to publish a book.

Little did they know you hoped for that.

You hoped for something great. Working in a bookstore was like a dream come true. There was no one else but you and Mrs. Antilly. That was it. It was both relieving being alone and handling things yourself but you also wished for help at times-but always pulled through. You liked that independence.

You started out small. Since there were Schools and a nearby University, some students would occasionally pop in in search for a book. You offered writing help and with the money you eventually came to earn, you put some of that money in funding that bookstore and the current club/organization you had; not even knowing you had made new valuable elderly friends. 

“Oh no,” you laughed it off bringing yourself back to reality, “I don’t have one.”

“Oh please, haven’t you been in love yet? Look at yourself darlin’!”

Darlin’  a voice echoed behind her. 

-

“Do you like it?” She had asked.

“Well Darlin’, I haven’t even read it yet.” He lied. “What made you want to give me this?”

“You looked like you needed something, different. You seem like you need something new, refreshing. You need change.” 

-

It was almost as if he spoke behind her behind her ear.

“Look at yourself!” Cordelia pulled you out of your thoughts, “You’re an angel! You’re sweet, kind, and funny! Any guy would be stupid not to fall in love with you,”

You smiled at their words and looked down at the counter shaking your head. 

“Was it nice?” You asked, “Falling in love? How was it?’’

The ladies gave you a look of what seemed to be motherly adoration and their answers were filled with anecdotes and themes you could pull from.

You sighed nodding. You were glad to have them.

‘’Do you think he’ll come back?” you asked them.

“Who? Book Boy?”

You laughed and nodded, “Yeah, book boy.”

“I give it a week,” another voice called. Your heart dropped looking from the source of this new voice. It was masculine.

“Oh Richard!” Macy called out, “You came!” 

“Of course I did, Baby.” he said before wrapping an arm around Macy; he tipped his hat down. Richard was Macy’s husband. He worked for the NYT Newspaper as a writer and he met Macy through a rush down the subway. Quite romantic actually.

“Now, I hear there’s this boy? What’s going on?” he asked as he adjusted his collar shirt.

“Oh it’s about this boy that came into the shop and we think that our little Tilly here is finally getting a boyfriend!”

You bit the inside of your cheek trying hard to not laugh or blush but failed.

“We just talked! I just gave him a book, Rick! That’s all, a book.”

“Yeah,” Cordelia snickered, “A free book.”

Macy stepped in, “Honey, that’s like the equivalent of a girl that would now-a-days flash a boy.”

Your cheeks flushed red and your eyes widened.

“Ha! See? I’m right! That guy was special after all!” Cordelia says as she throws in a finger to further prove her point. 

“Thing is, Ricky,” his wife said, “She didn’t even trade names with him which is so unlike her! And now we’re thinking when he’ll come back.”

“How long has it been?’’ Rick asked you.

“A week,” you say as you and him look at one another.

He nods and places his hand on his chin, he’s thinking. Rick looks into your eyes and continues to read you very well before he nods again.

“A week,” he said. “I still give it a week,”

“But it’s already been a week!” Cordelia whines. “Why is this boy taking so long?”

“Still, a week.’’ he said decidedly. “It’s been 7 days. If he comes back on the 10th, he’s definitely hesitant but if he comes today, the same day of the week he came last week, then he’s traditional-or just worried that he might not see you again. Had to wait all this time in order to catch you again. It’s too soon to tell where he stands; you don’t know what is going on with a boy now a days but you keep being yourself sweetheart. The boy isn’t worth causing your pretty little head headaches if he can’t seem to respect your self dignity. You’re not here to please him-just yourself. Drop him if he does, okay?” he finished as you nodded thankful for having a somewhat father figure in this big city.

Not really having a father figure really did cause this sense of unbalance within you; making you take the role of a mother and father along with your mother while raising your sibling. Rick was probably one of the first (if not the only) to ever give you this kind of advice, or fatherly protection. A protection you never had but always felt like you wanted. Trying not to cry, you nodded-thankful for having him in your life.

“Thank you Rick. Thank you Macy, thank you Cordelia, you’re all the best.” you said as you absentmindedly wrapped your arms around yourself.

They all noticed before Rick called you out on it.

“Oh come on and give us a hug Tills!” he said as you smiled-tears threatening to fall as you sucurriedly headed their way as you gave the 3 a group hug.

And that was it.

Well for now at least. Rick, Macy, and Cordelia would always step in the morning to say hi and then leave to run some errands you wished you could help but you already had your own responsibilities. Later that day, Cordelia and Macy would stop by at around at 3 along with other elders to come join your self organized and funded (with the money you earned for tutoring) Knitting club held every friday from 3 to 6- something you were internally proud of hosting. 

Quite frankly, you loved Fridays. There really wasn’t much to do since you had all your preparations done for the day so all you could do right now was sit in your laptop and write. And that’s what you intended on doing for a couple of hours.

So you decided to write.

Popping in your earphones, you began writing a story that you would hope others would find interesting.

After writing for what seemed to be minutes, you look at the bottom right corner of your laptop it’s been almost two hours of writing.

It’s 11am, you thought. He came around 11 last week. Oh my god it’s officially a week and I’m just realizing that the girls are doing something to me. It's just a guy!  You think as you make some facial expressions mentally arguing with yourself. 

Let’s get back to writing now. Just for 5 more minutes. 5, nothing more. Then, I can get back to checking the shelves again even though they’re already in good shape. 

Little did you know, someone was on their way for a little visit.

Hearing a bell ring from the background, a part of you hoped for it to be the boy from last week. Taking a moment, you looked from the corner of your eye and noticed it was him. Your heart started palpitating in agitation. 

Dang it he’s here! What am I supposed to say? Should I have had some lines prepared or something? You asked yourself. Of course not! Your conscience says. You just met him a week ago! This isn’t some romantic movie from Netflix, Tilly. Get yourself together! C’mon, he’s waiting for you and you’re going to do this: look up, take your earphones off, and look extremely cool, calm, and collected. Yeah, the 3 C’s haha. Oh my gosh that was cool- DO IT!!!  That voice yelled from the back of your mind. 

Doing exactly what you planned, you gave him a small smile, “Oh hey, book boy. I see you came back,” you comment as you motioned to the book that you let him have.

“Of course,” he says as he walks up to you and the counter, “couldn’t leave one of my favorite bookstores in New York without comin’ back.”

You scoff in response, “Oh I’m flattered. You know, you don’t have to flatter me to get another book you know? There’s actually this method I hear of where people just ask for something and if they’re nice enough, that person might help them?” you say as you look at his facial expressions-getting a better view than last time. 

Dark hair, watery steel blue eyes…

“Well I’m glad that I’m talking to the right person,” 

You hum in response as you repeat his words in your mind. ‘Well I’m glad that I’m talking to the right person.’

“So what did you think of the book?”

He either liked it or hated it, she thought.

I finished it in two days, Bucky thought. Maybe even in one if it weren’t for Sam’s constant bugging. 

By now you had moved and tilted your laptop slightly to the side.

“Well,” He started as you noticed him leaning on your counter. Your counter.

“For 422 pages, Fitzgerald really did himself. He wrote quite the book actually. It was like… trying Champagne for the very first time, or trying on a new suit. Like you said, it was very refreshing. Who knew he would get so much success for a book inspired on his relationship with his wife?”

“What an analogy,” you say sarcastically as you rest your chin on your hand. “You did some research didn’t you?”

Bucky’s eyes widened. Fuck how’d she know?

She could tell his surprise. “What’s the matter, book boy? Cat got your tongue?” You teased with a smile and a knowing look.

He didn't say anything so she decided to keep the conversation going. “I’m just messing with you.’’ you say as you let out a slight nervous laugh, “Glad to hear you liked it.”

“But I didn't say I liked it,”

“Doesn’t matter, you read it and did research on it. I could tell you liked it by the way you were talking to me moments ago. Sounds like a paraphrased NYT review if you’d ask me,”

You continued to talk. “You were using words from others,’’ you lectured, “It’s not a bad thing to get inspiration from that but don’t let that take control over you; don’t let it take over who you are as a person alright? Not even to impress others,”

“Who said I was trying to impress you?”

Your stomach churned a little at a loss for words for a split second

You burst out laughing and changed the subject, “Okay you definitely need a new book.” you say as you get off your seat, “ Fitzgerald you is starting to irritate me and we just met. You need something else.”

Internally, Bucky felt as if he just won that battle.

“Fine by me, Glasses.”

You turn your head in his direction, “Glasses?’’ you parroted, “Is that supposed to be an insult?”

“Oh no,” he says as he places his hands in his pockets, “It quite suits you,”

“Yeah but it’s not as ironic as Book Boy,” 

He shrugs, “True-but I’m not as quick-minded as you when it comes to talkin’, Glasses.”

You raise your eyebrow at him-an amusing grin fills your smile, “Flattering again, book boy? Geez.”

His dark hair moves swiftly on his shoulders and he releases a chuckle, “It’s not really flattering unless the person sees it as flattering,” he says as he shoots you a look; a look that you dodge.

“Just gotta ask, book boy,” you murmur under your breath loud enough for him to hear. 

“So…” he starts after a moment of silence, “How long have you been workin’ here?” 

You raise your eyebrows at him in surprise, “Oh so now we’re sharing life stories now, huh?  I see how it is,”

“Maybe,” he shrugs, “Maybe we should. Tell you what, how about you give me any book in this shop and I give you one. We read them, then we discuss. Oh, and I should have paid you for-”

You raise your hand and shake it dismissively, “No, no, it’s okay. You don’t have to pay for it. Consider it as a gift.”

He nods, “I see,” he says as he looks down in thought for a moment, “Are you busy right now?” he asks.

You shake your head-a nervous lump forms in your throat, “Not really.”

Book Boy smiles at you, “Okay,” he nods, “How about I buy you a coffee in return from the book you gave me last week?” he asks.

Your eyes widen and you swear you feel like you’re living in a Hollywood movie and you feel your heart go from your chest to your esophagus, “Right now?” 

“Why not?” he questions, “I could use someone to talk to right now and who better than you, Glasses?” 

A/N: IM DYING I SWEAR IM SO SORRY FOR UPDATING TWO DAYS LATE BUT THIS FEELS RIGHT! I ALREADY HAVE PARTS DONE FOR CHAPTER 3 BTW AND PLEASE DON’T FORGET TO LIKE AND REBLOG-I’D LOVE TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS PRETTY PLEASE

[meremennen]

This is going to be a thematical series.

1: Work In Progress Works

Okay, hear me out. Work in progress works are so underappreciated. 

And even though I’m not sure if all of these works will be continued, some probably not, but I love them for a reason and they deserve a shout out. They are all honestly so great for various reasons (for plot, for characterisation, for the idea itself, for writing style or for editing, etc.) and I don’t regret any minute of reading them. 

The list, sorted by current ratings:

aphelion (modern/ G /space pirates, loosely based on Firefly, multiple POV)

Arrangement of a Lifetime * (modern/ G/ fake/pretend relationship)

Heaven Can’t Wait (canon/ G/ kidfic, fluff and angst)

Hello, Princess  (modern/ G/ college/university, slow burn, Maths nerds, humor)

I Know I Don't Deserve It, But Stay With Me A Minute (modern/ M/ 10 Things I Hate About You AU (loosely)

Let’s Go to the Mall! * (modern/ G/ denial of feelings, high school)

mind if i check you out? * (modern/ G/ bellarke library au, rivalry)

The Rest Was History * (modern/ G/ fake dating)

The Will ‘o the Wisps (modern/ G/ fantasy, faes)

This is where you fall, this is when you get up * (modern/ G/ cowboy!Bellamy)

Baby Mine (modern/ M/ Jane the Virgin AU)

Now and Then * (modern/ M/ best friends to lovers, past and present)

The Art of Disappearing * (modern/ M/ fake marriage)

Up In Flames * (canon/ M/ post season 1 AU)

Win a Date with Bellamy Blake (modern/ M/ slow burn, fake dating)

All Is Love (modern/ E/ kid fic, unplanned pregnancy)

Bite Me (canon/ E/ season 1, affectionate insults)

Friends With Benefits (modern/ E/ college/university, friends to lovers, humor)

The Prisoner and The Cure * (modern/ E for gore/zombies)

Weave Me A Myrtle Crown * (modern/ E / firefighter!bellamy, paramedic!clarke)

Happy reading!

I don’t know everyone’s tumblr, or if they have any, so if anyone is actually reading this and you wanna tag them, please do so.

Ratings are indicative and might change.

* – probably won’t be updated, but we can always hope

***************************************************************************

All Is Love (E) by @bisexualbellamyblake (AO3: lightyears )

135k+

Summary: It all begins because Raven declares that she's on a sex ban for three months. Clarke reminds her of this when her life is turned upside down. Raven reminds Clarke later, when everything finds its place again. / Or, Clarke finds out she's pregnant six weeks after Bellamy leaves. 

*** S l o w burn. And that moment when they reunite, or when Bellamy finds out about Clarke’s little secret tortured me in ways that hurt a lot. But hey, still breathing ;-) ***

aphelion (G) by @kindclaws  (AO3: kindclaws )

45k+

Summary: It's been two years since the spaceship Aphelion mysteriously disappeared, its crew branded by the ARK as traitors to be shot on sight. Jake Griffin was on that ship, and with him, a dangerous secret that could change civilized space forever./ Now, Clarke wants some answers - and revenge, if she can get it. Bellamy wants a bigger ship - specifically, Clarke's. Wells wants to fix the system his father broke. Octavia wants a little fun. Miller wants everyone to stop making poor life choices. Harper wants to kiss the new girl. And Raven? Well, Raven just wants to blow shit up./ The universe won't know what's hit it. (Space pirates AU!)

*** what I love the most about this fic is the multiple POV! It is so rare to have these kinds of stories, and honestly, it gives such a unique feel to it. I am so, sooo grateful for this fic. ***

Arrangement of a Lifetime * (M) @ FFnet: moomolie1709

55k+

Summary: He needed her to pose as his girlfriend, and she needed him to make her unfaithful ex jealous. But what began as a simple transaction between two business partners soon becomes more complicated than either of them could have ever anticipated.

*** without giving too much away, there is a really cute bedsharing scene and another scene with Clarke in a dress that I loved a lot. Sadly, it also ends after a huge cliffhanger, and I really doubt this will ever be finished, but it deserves to be on this list. And like with every other WIP, You NeVER kNOw. Your comment might just be the one that makes the lovely writer to finish it.*** 

Baby Mine (M) @ AO3: stumblesun

80k+

Summary: A routine doctor's appointment, a mix-up and an artificial insemination...what could go wrong?

*** I haven’t watched Jane the Virgin, but you don’t have to. S l o w burn ***

Bite Me (E) by @notnicorette (AO3: notnicorette)

10k+

Summary: 'Bite me' is a common insult, right? People say it all the time. Except...Clarke ends up screaming it at Bellamy... And, for once...he does take one of her orders.

*** good old season 1 feels!!! And you know, who says it didn’t happen, just because we haven’t seen it on screen ***

Friends With Benefits (E) @ DreamofInception on AO3

60k+

Summary: Clarke Griffin and Bellamy Blake hate each other. But they like each other naked.

*** Such an excellent humor!!! And heartbreak. ***

Heaven Can’t Wait (G) by @randomly-random-jen (AO3: justanotherjen ) 

45k+

Summary: With the Apocalypse banging at their door, the Arkadians and what's left of Trikru take refuge in the remains of Alpha Station and hope for the best./ Over 500 souls crammed into a tin can, but there's only one that has Bellamy wrapped around her little fingers.

*** post season 3 canon divergent, it’s so raw and emotional, and I love this Bellamy so, so much!! ***

Hello, Princess (G) @ AO3: moonyredmoon

Summary: Professors and TAs were supposed to teach and help you. They were supposed to appreciate students who took the time to come see them and ask questions. If nothing else, they were supposed to have a clear explanation when it came to questions on grading. Instead, Clarke had even more questions and only one new piece of information… / Bellamy Blake was an asshole.AU with Clarke in college as a pre-med student, and Bellamy her Calculus TA. More characters and tags will be added as they are introduced.

*** SLOWBURN, Maths nerd Bellamy tutoring Maths nerd Clarke is such a unique concept and I love it so much!! ***

Let’s Go to the Mall! * (G) @ AO3: Willaphyx

20k+

Summary: Clarke Griffin was looking forward to a summer of working at her favorite art store in the local mall. That is until she found out who works at the bookstore across the hall: Bellamy Blake, who quickly becomes Clarke's least favorite person. But it would seem like Bellamy doesn't quite feel the same. With the whole summer ahead of them, who knows what could happen?

*** It’s super cute. ***

mind if i check you out? * (G) @ AO3: earthandsky

5k+

Summary: "'Literally, he’s the only clerk to get requests from patrons,' Monty had told Clarke a few days ago, rolling his eyes. 'People come to the desk with all of their stuff and will specifically ask for Bellamy to check them out.' / Raven had grinned. 'I think they’d rather check him out.' / Monty had pulled a face but didn’t disagree. Apparently, Clarke was meeting him today. And he was going to train her. Awesome." / Bellarke Library AU.

*** Just read it. It’s great! ***

Now and Then (G atm, though it’s rated M) by @100yearsofbellarke (AO3: InfiniteBeauty93)

30k+

Summary: Growing up since birth together Bellamy and Clarke have been through the best and worst of times. But when Bellamy gets engaged and Clarke confesses her love to him he rejects her leaving her heartbroken. Now spending a week at her family's vacation house with Bellamy's in preparation to his wedding the past and present collide.

*** well, normally I don’t read anything with e.cho but this story was posted before the dark days, and trust me, it’s good. I’m really loving the alternating timelines!!! ***

I Know I Don't Deserve It, But Stay With Me A Minute (G, possibly turning M) @ AO3: belgardebells

45k+

Summary: Octavia Blake isn't allowed to date until her big brother Bellamy does, so she calls in a favour from her best friend Clarke Griffin. All Clarke has to do is seduce Bellamy, fake date him, and then break things off when Octavia starts going out with her waiter conquest. It's supposed to be quick, easy, and painless. And it is. Until Clarke starts falling for real.

*** this author has multiple WIPs (I recommend them all) and a really unique writing style and humor ***

The Art of Disappearing (M) @ AO3: Jenye

20k+

Summary: The first night they met they witnessed a grisly murder. Now they’re being placed into the Witness Protection Program. Starting life over in Ark, Minnesota was definitely not part of Clarke’s five-year plan. And gaining a wife certainly wasn’t something Bellamy saw himself doing this year.

*** Bellamy and Clarke falls in love in witness protection ***

The Prisoner and The Cure * (E for gore) @ AO3: PaintedGhostOrchid 

30k+

Summary: The US has been transformed into a barren, post-apocalyptic wasteland after a viral outbreak leaves society in shambles. But Clarke Griffin is a girl on a mission to her mother's research facility to deliver the only-known cure- if only she can avoid the free-roaming criminals who are determined to kill her, led by one particularly terrifying (and handsome) escaped prisoner who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. / Loads of Bellarke tension, human survival, the occasional zombie (but not much), jealousy, and romance.

*** Bellamy as a grumpy prisoner trying to save his sick sister. And then, there is Clarke. She is special. They are fighting their way through the zombie apocalypse.  ***

The Rest Was History * (G) @ AO3: Tate

25k+

Summary: Historian Bellamy Blake needs to impress his potential bosses at ARK Enterprises. He's got everything they're looking for, except the girlfriend that his best friend Raven Reyes assures him will win them over. But that's okay, because Raven's found just the girl. Only, there's one problem. Bellamy Blake and Clarke Griffin really, really hate each other.

*** ummm, quite a few tropes in this. One of the details I really, really loved is the name of the car and fLUsTeREd Bellamy.  ***

The Will ‘o the Wisps (G) @ AO3: DracoTerrae

5k+

Summary: With his kingdom falling to darkness, Jake Griffin barely managed to escape to another world, his young daughter, Clarke in tow. Twenty years later, Clarke wanders a little off the designated trails and stumbles into the very world her father left behind. Now desolate and under the shadow of darkness, Clarke slowly gathers a ragtag group with whom she will fight the powers that brought this world to its knees.

*** it’s very mysterious at the moment, only a few chapters in, but I cannot wait to read more. On hiatus, but I have faith ***

This is where you fall, this is when you get up (G) by @queenofchildren (AO3: queenofchildren )

35k+

Summary: In which Bellamy is a grumpy cowboy, Jake knows a good steak when he eats it, and Clarke makes a decision.

*** COWBOY BELLAMY, WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED? ***

Up In Flames * (M) @ FFnet: lucawindmover

60k+

Summary: AU Post Season 1 finale. They were meant to be used as a new influx of genes for Mount Weather. But Clarke Griffin and her band of survivors would not be going along willingly.

*** The MM made them do it. Sooooo, I wish I could say this story will continue!! Anyway, I just love this one so much, it has to be on this list. ***

Weave Me A Myrtle Crown (E for abuse and sexy times) @ AO3: AJRedfern

75k+

Summary: Clarke's not a woman easily shaken - she has a reputation of being 'logical, level-headed if a little cold-blooded'. And then she gets assigned as the new Paramedic In Charge to Firehouse 82. Amidst the people she's starting to call her friends, is Bellamy Blake: heroic firefighter, exemplary Lieutenant, complete asshole. Normally, this would have been fine - it's not the first time she's had to work with someone she despised. Except dreams keep plaguing her. Dreams that start the day she first met him. Dreams of a different life, a different time, a different world. Dreams of him, of her, of them. Dreams that start to feel like memories. Yeah, her carefully constructed facade isn't going to survive Firehouse 82.

*** Reincarnation (?) AU. I wish I could say this will be updated, but I have doubts. Regardless, the parallel timeline/flashbacks are giving the story an amazing flavour, and the UST is excellent ***

Win a Date with Bellamy Blake (M) by @bittyab18 (AO3: Bittyab18 )

125k+

Summary: Clarke Griffin's best friend enters her in a contest to win a date with Bellamy Blake, famous actor/Hollywood heartthrob/bad boy. Except, Clarke already knows Bellamy, and she's not a fan of him or his movies. Because her life sucks, she wins, and now she's reintroduced to the guy she loved to hate in high school. 

*** So much UST, so much angst and so much cuddling. A true s l o w burn. ***

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

I hope you will give it a go and show these writers some love.

***************************************************************************

Coming up next (probably): 

Fake dating/Arranged Marriage/Accidental Pregnancy

[caffeineivore]

Spirits, now with...

Rated PG13 (!!) I know.

Prompter: Adrianna Sharp

Prompts: Snow, Cat, Soup

Ship: A/Z

**

“And in other news, six-year-old Katrina Davis had a close call today in Central Park. The first-grader’s sled slid straight into the pond, and she likely would have drowned or frozen to death had it not been for the quick and heroic intervention of a local pediatrician. Dr. Raina Mariner, Head of Pediatrics at Bellevue, dove in after little Katrina, and in what the responding officers are calling a miracle, managed not only to find the little girl in 40-degree water, but pull her to shore before hypothermia could set in...”

Zhen is halfway down the block before he realizes that he’s moved. It’s mid-afternoon and the streets are packed with people coming and going from all directions, and it would be too exhausting to cast an illusion large enough to move all of them out the way. The people going about their business don’t pay any attention as a man ducks into an alley, or when what appears vaguely to be a stray cat darts out past them, rushing between pedestrians’ legs and the tires of cars stopped at traffic lights. Perhaps had they been more astute, they would have noticed that the tracks left in the snow were the wrong shape, or wondered why any animal would be out in this weather-- in broad daylight, no less.

But Zhen can evade almost as well as he can enthrall, and he jumps aboard the next ferry to Staten Island brushing improbably bits of snow and road salt out of the curls of his hair, sick with worry. It is illogical, but logic has no place here and now. 

I am of the line of the Gwragedd Annwn. She’d whispered those words-- her secret-- against his skin when they’d danced cheek to cheek on their second date, and it explained a lot, really. Water-Fae with an affinity for the Healing Arts. On a rational level, he knows full well that Raina would not have leapt into an ice-covered pond had she not been reasonably confident that she’d survive the ordeal. A sensible girl, his lovely one. And yet...

Zhen had befriended a German writer in those fraught years between the first and second World Wars-- one who had then gone on to become a Nobel Laureate-- and had been amongst the first to read what would be known as that writer’s Magnus Opus. Zhen had greatly admired his work without finding much in common with it-- the writing had been all too philosophical and metaphysical to relate to in the here and now-- but just at present, he recalls one famous line, and understands it so deeply that it aches. 

If I know what love is, it is because of you... 

He whispers it to himself, heart pounding, fist raised and poised to knock, and it’s the height of rudeness, really. Even the most socially awkward of mortal men would-- hopefully-- have the wherewithal to call first. He has no idea if she’s even home. It would be just like her, really, to go straight to work after that harrowing ordeal as though nothing could possibly be wrong. 

But the door swings open a second before his hand could touch it, and Zhen finds himself staring down into Raina’s lovely, startled face. Her lips part on an exhale of his name and she’s very much alive and her hair is still damp and he can still see beads of water on her long, dark eyelashes, and that just about breaks him. 

He’d been decorous enough on the first, and second-- and fifth, and ninth-- dates, giving this softspoken, sweet-faced siren no more than gentle clasps of the hand and a chaste kiss goodnight at her door. He didn’t bother her during her working hours no more than she bothered him during his. But now he brashly pushes his way through the gap of the open door, both hands reaching for her, and a blink later finds that door kicked shut, her back against it, his face buried in wet hair that tastes like snow. She runs colder than he does-- chilly fingers, smooth, cool lips-- but now he tugs her close with all his strength, as though maybe if neither could tell where she ended and he began, some of his warmth could leach into her skin and body. 

“I’m all right,” she whispers against his neck, soothingly. “I’m here-- I’m here.” 

Those last words are spoken to reassure him, and she leans back just far enough to smile up into his face, brush a light kiss against the corner of his tense mouth. “I’ve certainly swam in rougher waters than this.” 

“I saw you on the news,” he mumbles, turning his face just enough that his lips meet hers squarely. Once, then again, and again for good measure. “I didn’t think... I just ran.” The adrenaline is finally, finally giving way, but not to anything even remotely resembling exhaustion. One hand clenches almost too-tightly in her snow-damp hair, and the other anchors at the small of her back. “You still feel cold.”

The corner of her beautiful mouth quirks up. “I’m always cold, compared to you.” Her cold fingers stroke up his neck, pause against the pulse in his throat. “Your heartbeat is racing.” 

“I had a-ways to run,” he dips his head. Some part of him-- a decent, decorous voice definitely at odds with his intrinsic nature, argues that it’s not gentlemanly to keep kissing her. It’s self-serving at this point; she’s not the cavorting sort, and she deserves to be respected and cherished and revered -- anything but devoured, mauled, fucked against her own front door. But he can’t bring himself to stop, not when her lashes droop in the most incredibly seductive fashion, not when she licks her bottom lip in a completely maddening way when they part for breath before her cold fingers skim under his shirt to find hot skin.

Much later, he manages to walk the short distance to the couch in the living room, and sinks down onto it, with her still curled up in his arms. Her apartment is small but tasteful, and he spots a fleecy throw blanket in shades of blue that he wraps around her naked shoulders as her lips part over the skin of his jaw. “You taste like salt,” she says by way of explanation at his burning gaze, and the smile which crosses her kiss-swollen lips quivers with tenderness. “Road salt and a racing heartbeat. Did you really worry so much about me, then?”

He should give her words-- something to let her know that the innumerable years he’d lived and the countless women he’d met along the way were simply a path which led to her. But he doesn’t want to woo her with someone else’s words, even Hermann Hesse’s, so he nuzzles his nose against hers, manages a smile that might have been rakish were it not for the devotion. “Well. Maybe I should have stopped to get you some soup on my way. I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

[thirteenthspirit]

I would, my friend, Fernando (Part I)

Where to start… You know how they say you instantly know it when you meet ‘the one’ – you know, that person you think you’re meant to spend the rest of your days with, grow old together, the whole shebang. Well, I think it happened to me. Emphasis on the ‘think’ bit.

I met him as a random grindr hookup – sure, not the prettiest beginning to a story, but I’m sure I’ll weave a prettier lie at our wedding. It was nice and all, but we barely bothered to learn each other’s names.

A few months later, I was about to do a Raid in Pokémon GO with the usual team when he showed up, joining the party. I didn’t instantly recognize him, but as we kept raiding the following days and he kept appearing, I realized it was him. The random hipster hookup from a couple of months ago.

When I say hipster, what I really mean is… I have no idea. Somewhere between fashionable and trashy, cool and geeky, ‘lumberjack chic’ – but, as he himself would put it, sometime later, “skinny legend fashion icon”. Just rolls off the tongue, am I right. So you have a clearer picture, he is very tall, appears to be in his early 30s and is overtly fond of beanies and skinny jeans – oh, and of course, the moustache. Not the gross overgrown kind nor the plain ‘single line’ one, but a perfect blend of both, just looks good and different on him. The kind of person that draws everyone’s gaze in, when they enter the room.

He eventually joined our local whatsapp group for Pokémon GO raids and we began to see each other more often. It was a fun game of “we have met before but we don’t really acknowledge it”, between me and him. He sent me a friend request on Instagram, and we began to chat one-on-one from there.

The conversation began developing after I learned that he needed a Spinda, of which I had 2, so I offered him one. He lived literally across the street from me, so we could trade from our respective couches. I think that same day, since we lived so close together, we arranged to go for a walk after dinner, to catch Pokémon. The never-ending “shiny hunt”.

And again the following day.

And the next. And the next one after that too.

The conversation deepened. Since we met in that fashion, there were no boundaries regarding our hookups and sexuality. It didn’t take long for us to become very good friends and talk on a constant basis. Plus we had a lot of interests in common – we were both somewhat emotionally-distant people and with a peculiar sense of humor.

For us to connect so easily, it was definitely a weird thing - my area of expertise is Finance (I currently work at a bank) and my professional experience has always been at several desk jobs. Some better, some worse, but ‘inconsistently consistent’ (the reverse of Grace Helbig). A corporate man, I guess, leaning more towards the realistic side of life, rather than pandering to the dreamer and ambitious one. He is on the opposite end of the spectrum. He is an elementary school teacher and an editor for a magazine and has even written (and successfully published) his own book. A writer in every sense of the word.

Personality-wise, I am what you would call an introvert by nature – not exactly shy, but definitely the proud owner of a handful of unresolved childhood issues caused by enthusiastic bullies and shame. I wear glasses, which help in conveying the whole ‘geek’ category and am of an average build and somewhat tall. I’ve still got my share of face imperfections and pimples at the age of 25 and look younger than my actual age – something we both have in common. Our personalities just clicked though, his extremely offensive sense of humor contrasts well to my fake well-behaved and nice demeanor and we’ve bot got similar personal values and empathy when dealing with others. A couple of nice chaps, is what the ordinary passerby would think.

We became best friends. He confided in me about his past relationships, the good the bad and the (very) ugly and I vented to him about my insecurities and depressive thoughts. We saw each other roughly every day, during our usual “old ladies” walk through a nearby park, always worshipping that battery-draining app. On the weekends, we unknowingly formed the habit of getting breakfast together and basking in the sun for a bit. I was going through a tough time at the time, what with my mother not being in her best shape or form, mentally speaking, leading me to come out to my parents amidst an argument (NOT the best way to do it) – this situation worsened after we had a little house-fire scare. So his presence really helped and comforted me.

Time passed. Mall trips, community days, ex raids, regular dinners and breakfasts and breakfast-lunches. He was pretty much the person I saw the most. And quickly became my favorite.

I was always keenly aware of how close we were getting, and how it might be affecting me and my ability to connect with other friends, but I never gave much thought to the situation escalating. He was 38 years old, and I was 25. The thought alone made me never overthink the relationship.

Until I did. Until the “what if” statement popped into my mind. And the age gap just… lost its entire relevance. I tried to push the feelings down, but as all feelings do, it just made them get bigger and more intense. You see, my past relationships have been failed ones, because I wasn’t emotionally involved in them – I was like meh. So I didn’t really know what it was like to actually like someone. But I was smart enough to recognize it – this was probably my first real interaction with “infatuation” and dare I say it, love.

Here’s the part of the story where the sky is bright and the road ahead is hopeful and sunny.

Spoilers: It’s not.

Why not? Well. Because it’s completely one-sided. Unrequited love. Nothing less, nothing more, the usual boring sappy story of friend in love with his best-friend but unable to do anything about it.

“Well, why not do anything about it? Tell him!” The Jiminy Cricket in my head says.

I definitely let him know, I drop hints here and there, statements like “we’ll be together in 20 years” and getting notably jealous when he’s texting or telling me about his sexy-time and dates with other men (this part hurts particularly). So he knows. If he’s choosing not to see it, I know he has good reasons for it and I am good enough a friend to know not to act on it. It’s cruel on my part to try and force something that shouldn’t happen.

And why should it happen? I don’t really have much to offer him. I’m not his type, I still live with my parents (which I attribute to the ridiculously high rents here in Lisbon) and am overall kind of an emotional mess. Tbh, I wouldn’t pick myself either. But that’s an issue for another day, it’ll get resolved eventually. By myself, not by piling it onto somebody or using a relationship to distract from it.

Also he met ‘the one’ already. Or what he says he’s afraid might have been the one. His last boyfriend, who we name ‘psychopath’, definitely earned his nickname. Physically and emotionally abusive, he left a scar. And Fer is smart enough not to get into a relationship this soon after said breakup, as there is still too much fresh baggage, ready to be thrown at the next man in.

And there are (many) candidates for the ‘next man’ position. He’s a fascinating man and they are immediately enthralled by him (here’s the pot calling the kettle black), so he does leave a string of broken hearts behind him.

I don’t like hearing him talk about this. I can see there is a hint of pain in his eyes when he jokingly says he’ll never find anyone and is fated to remain single his entire life, to which I jokingly retort he’ll never be alone, as he’ll have me. And this is the part that really hurts me – I am content. I am content with being the best friend and I’ll eventually have to deal with him finding someone else, and watching him be happy in a (hopefully) long-lasting relationship. And I’ll be there. The pathetic best friend story from the B-list storyline of Hermione and Ron from Harry Potter. I’d rather have an Elio and Oliver thing, as fleeting as it might be, over a lifetime of longing for something that will never be. I want nothing but the best for him, he deserves it. But… we could be happy together. We could have a life. And that realization kills me.

Then again, years haven’t passed. Time does cure all wounds. Maybe time will heal these feelings, some days they are stronger, somedays they are weaker. Some days I am sure I can call them love, others it’s something darker.

I have realized something, though – I should let myself feel them. It’s ok not to act on them, if I think that’s the best course of action. But I should not repress them. I do love him (how could I not?) and that’s okay. I felt pathetic for feeling them, at first. Especially the jealousy bit I always judged my friends for, that one is a particularly nasty feeling.

But hey, for someone who thought himself to be emotionally shipwrecked, the ship floats! I think that should be my takeaway from this. That’s a positive outlook, right?

And more than anything, I should be grateful to my best friend for showing me something new I wouldn’t have known otherwise.

So if you ever end up reading this, Fer, know that it’s true. Also sorry it’s in English! And sorry if it’s all too much. But I do love you, and will always be a part of your life, in whatever role you deem fit. Now I’ll close this, as it’s time to go on our daily Pokémon run.                                                                                                                                                                                               -João A. (Xanuda)

Link to Part 2 “I Wish I Hadn’t”: http://thirteenthspirit.tumblr.com/post/183770872439/i-wish-i-hadnt-part-ii

[headlesssamurai]

Have you seen Altered Carbon? If so, what do to think of it?

Alright, I finally bucked up enough courage to do another honest, non-sarcastic, write-up for a piece of media. Just been somewhat bitterly reluctant to voice my true opinions on fiction, or anything else really, since it seems like lots of folks are quite intensely engaged in violent uproars of one kind or another. No need to add more noise to the feedback loop, if you know what I mean.

But you’re, like, one of a dozen or so dudes who asked me about this series. So I reckoned I’d write it up for you, it being such a popular subject and all. I’d also like to thank you for your curiosity. It’s pretty damn humbling to know anybody cares enough about what I think to even ask after my thoughts. I’ll make sure to offer a notary warning before I spill any spoilers.

I became acquainted with Richard K. Morgan’s Kovacs-verse a few years back, but accidentally read one of the protagonist’s later adventures before backtracking to the original novel. I found it to be a respectably well-written futuristic detective story in the grand tradition of vintage writers like Robert B. Parker, even if including the predictably pornographic sex scenes in the grand tradition of modern urban sci-fi/fantasy writers like Laurell K. Hamilton (maybe the ‘K’ middle initial is a code for graphic sex content). In preparation for watching the new Netflix series, I re-read Morgan’s Altered Carbon to refresh my knowledge of the future he created.

Now, I’d like to say I’m a prolific reader of novelized fiction and other books, but I’m not one of those “hardcore” purists who always cries “the book was better” while pounding my fist on the podium. Thus in my effort to avoid any such farcical nonsense, I’m going to sort of examine both the book and the Netflix series of Altered Carbon at once, and write about what I enjoy and dislike about both versions, instead of directly comparing them.

I’ve grown so cynical with modern film and TV, I tend to unintentionally generate lists of what I think they’ll change about a book’s story once they adapt it, and what they’ll add and leave out. Usually, these lists are fairly accurate. Game of Thrones, for instance: how depressing it is to be absolutely correct some times. Not that the books were much better, but a pinecone up the ass doesn’t make a kick in the nuts feel any better.

A lot of people would describe Altered Carbon as having cyberpunk vibes, and this is true, but I believe it fits more comfortably into the realm of biopunk than anything else. If you’re not familiar with the concepts herein, Altered Carbon involves a distant future in which humanity has colonized the stars over many generations using sleeper ships, and with a little help from recovered alien star-maps, but has not achieved faster-than-light interstellar travel. The central technology in this universe is the cortical stack, a type of neural backup which allows a person’s consciousness to be digitally stored in a “disc” and uploaded into a new body if they die.

The new bodies are referred to as sleeves, and the filthy rich clone themselves so their sleeves are all identical and genetically enhanced, but most common folk have to accept whatever body is available or is covered by their insurance, or even a synthetic sleeve (which in the novel is a cheap and distasteful thing, but in the series synthetics seem to have superpowers). People can only travel quickly to other star systems in the settled worlds (known as the Protectorate) by transmitting their stored consciousness into another cortical stack on their planet of destination and uploading into a new sleeve there (a process called needlecasting), but physically transporting anything still takes a really long time for ships to travel across the vast distance of space.

Straight out of the gate, this concept does not appeal to me at all. If there’s anything that drains your story of tension and thrills, it’s got to be the idea that everyone lives forever. The way the universe is constructed however, it ends up making the story far more interesting than what I had anticipated. Not everyone can afford to live forever, first of all, since re-sleeving can be an extremely expensive undertaking, and even those who have the money rarely feel the desire to live more than two lifetimes. Additionally there are complications which can arise, such as personality fragging, a type of insanity which occurs when a person is sleeved in one too many different bodies throughout their life.

Certain religious groups also vehemently resist re-sleeving, and for law enforcement various lengthy sentences of storage without the possibility to re-sleeve are the primary means of punishment for most crimes. There are even interesting concepts like criminals who copy their consciousness into several cortical stacks at once, making them difficult to apprehend once and for all. Other criminals and intelligence operatives also utilize virtuality to torture people in a digital environment, allowing them to subject victims to days or even months of agony which equates to only a few hours in real-time. Real death can also still occur, if the individual’s cortical stack is badly damaged or destroyed.

The actual plot involves a former soldier named Takeshi Kovacs, who is paroled early from a criminal sentence and re-sleeved by a rich tycoon who offers to exonerate Kovacs of his crimes if he can solve a murder. While reluctant to work for some rich asshole, Kovacs is almost instantly attacked by mercenaries which makes him curious enough to take the case. Kovacs then works to investigate the purported crime while getting himself into a bit of trouble with the locals, and trying to deal with extreme trauma from his combat experiences.

It’s surprising that in the case of Altered Carbon I was entirely incorrect in everything I thought the producers might add/change/amputate from the original story. I also could not have predicted what they decided to add and how they decided to change certain elements from the story of Morgan’s novel. I believe the series they crafted from his story is competently scripted, very well cast, doesn’t waste too much time with any silly subplots, and is generally a well-paced, adult-themed sci-fi story. Altered Carbon really wants to take itself seriously, in the same vein as things like SyFy’s praiseworthy diamond The Expanse, but its unique setting gets a little too bogged down in conventional tropes for my liking. Gratuitous T&A (as well as other, less commonly exploited extremities) and generous helpings of the fuck-words do not an edgy and intense sci-fi experience make. Good but not great, would be my general assessment of the series.

Don’t get me wrong here, Altered Carbon is plenty intense, even thrilling at certain points, but a somewhat bland smattering of writers and directors, thrown into the recipe with a few others who are brilliant geniuses, create a mixed bag of stylistic choices which don’t always fit together very well. So you’re often left with an unusually faithful adaptation of a badass novel, wonderfully enhanced in certain aspects, but grotesquely mutated in others, and some of the conflicting storytelling elements feel hurriedly stitched together. A Patchwork Man of a story, rather than prime quality tank flesh. None of Altered Carbon’s flaws are crippling however, and all-told I’d say the series is eminently watchable and very worth your while if you enjoy futuristic sci-fi stories.

WARNING: Spoilers ahead.

First the good news. This series stars an extremely talented cast of performers who own their roles with wonderful conviction, and very convincing poise.

Joel Kinnaman has been on my good side since he appeared in The Killing, and even his unfortunate role in the Robocop reboot didn’t water down my appreciation for him. I feel like his role as the newly sleeved Takeshi Kovacs was perfectly cast. Martha Higareda is just a little too cute to be such a badass, but she winds up playing Detective Ortega to that strong female archetype in a far less sensational and much more casual way than what you might expect from the modern trends of scripting for such characters. Though quite the opposite of Higareda in terms of the role she plays, Renée Elise Goldsberry brims with charisma as Quellcrist Falconer, a sort of futuristic Che Guevara if he had also practiced Zen and gong fu, and was a woman. Chris Collins is also incredibly memorable as Kovacs’ A.I. hotel manager Poe.

Ato Essandoh as Vernon Elliott became one of my favorite characters as the series goes on, and though I wasn’t totally sold on the arc of her character Hayley Law as Elliott’s daughter Lizzie completed a very nice trifecta of beautiful lead women who just happen to be racially diverse. The third of these ladies, of course, is Dichen Lachman who I’ve got to say delivers probably the most convincing and most nuanced performance in the entire series, having to run a wild labyrinth of different emotional expressions which all feel very genuine. As was the case with Sylvia Hoeks as Luv in Blade Runner: 2049, Dichen Lachman as Rei hooked me instantly and woudn’t let go. Maybe I just got a thing for sociopathic women or something.

There are also a few minor roles worth mentioning, Marlene Forte does a great job as the overbearing mother of detective Ortega, which again felt very genuine and not forced, Tamara Taylor as ambitious sleazy attorney Oumou Prescott gave me chills with her smug smile (again perfect casting), Kristin Lehman and James Purefoy seem a perfectly matched pair of megalomaniacs, Byron Mann and Will Yun Lee kick ass portraying Kovacs at very different stages of his troubled life, and there is some terrifically believable acting on the parts of child actors Morgan Gao and Riley Lai Nelet.

All that being said, not everything the actors are given to do is particularly well-written, in my humble opinion.

Takeshi Kovacs is something called an Envoy, a type of specially trained soldier who is mentally conditioned to be hyper-aware at all times, integrate and adapt to new environments and circumstances, and even manipulate his own bodily chemistry, allowing him to eliminate the pain threshold, instantly recover from debilitating drugs, and avoid lingering trauma from torture. The Envoys were created to help the Protectorate put-down political dissidents and rebels, which were running rampant throughout the settled worlds at the time of the Envoy Program’s inception. Many of these rebels often followed the outlawed “Quellist” writings of an infamously respected revolutionary leader called Quellcrist Falconer who fought, and lost, against the Protectorate hundreds of years before the time of the novel (and long before Kovacs was born). When she was born, Quellcrist Falconer, like Kovacs, also happened to be from Harlan’s World. In the novel, this reputation causes Harlan’s World to be viewed as a backwater source of rogues and misfits by citizens of more civilized worlds (which is fair, since it’s described by Kovacs as being overrun by crime syndicates and swamp gangs). But even compared to Harlan’s World, Earth is considered a polluted over-populated shit hole.

In the novel he was trained by the somewhat fascist forces of the Protectorate, and the Envoy Corps was an elite black ops group who could be transmitted to any planet and topple the regime in less time than it would take a massive army to win a single battle. In the series, Kovacs is just a random soldier burn during the time of the Quellist revolution, but Envoys were created and trained by revolutionary leader Quellcrist Falconer to combat the very fascist forces of the Protectorate, whom were too used to conventional warfare to properly adapt to Quell’s asymmetrical tactics.

The problem for me, with this particular change in the writing, is that much of the details have been glossed over. I never got a sense of how Quell was able to so efficiently condition her soldiers into such a formidable force, nor did her portrayal emphasize her military acumen in this manner very convincingly. Quell’s character is certainly charismatic and sympathetic to the audience, but I find it much easier to accept that Envoys are the product of sociopathic, strict, and brutal military conditioning than to grasp the concept that a fairly undisciplined group of freedom fighters were able to develop such a sophisticated method of training. If Quell’s rebels were portrayed differently, it might be easier to accept, but in the series they seem more like hippies with guns than hardened elite warriors.

This is one of my only major gripes with the series as a whole, and it wouldn’t even be that big of a deal to me if it didn’t play such a large role in the plot and arc of Kovacs as a character. I didn’t like the way it changed his backstory either.

See, in the novel Kovacs is a former Envoy turned career criminal since Envoys are generally feared by everyone despite their having fought for the Protectorate, so they don’t have a lot of options and their skillset is only useful in a limited context. He’s haunted by his combat experiences, regrets his role in assisting the government in putting down various rebels, and has a cultural misunderstanding of Earth because he’s from Harlan’s World. His criminal ventures could be seen as his own personal revolution, and Kovacs has spent about a century in and out of storage since leaving the military, but has only been consciously alive for about forty years. He isn’t portrayed as a morally centered person, but he has his own system of honor, and he selfishly accepts Laurens Bancroft’s offer because it’s a way out of a lengthy sentence. This gives him a nice arc, because he slowly becomes more morally invested in what he’s doing as certain things come to light, and ultimately risks it all toward the end basically to avenge the death of a prostitute and save a single life, which is a nice shift in contrast from the Kovacs we see leave storage at the start of the book.

In the series Kovacs is a lovesick puppy dog, who misses his one true love. He’s a former Quell revolutionary who also became a career criminal, but the moment he got caught they put him in storage indefinitely, because he’s the last of the Envoys, the rest of which were mercilessly butchered by stormtroopers from the evil Protectorate which has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. When the series begins, he awakens 250 years after he was captured and he finds that the galaxy has become what he always feared, a one-percenter’s paradise ruled by the rich, where the poor are exploited and marginalized and everyone with even the slightest sense of prominence is an irredeemable asshole. Politics aside, this change makes his character arc far less interesting to me, because he doesn’t want to help Bancroft but his reluctance comes from a very different place than the book, and ultimately Kovacs accepts the offer not out of selfishness but because the ghost of his dead girlfriend tells him to.

This also deeply conflicts with the first time we’re introduced to Kovacs, in his usual East Asian sleeve on Harlan’s World where he speaks of caring only for “getting paid” and seems like a typical devil-may-care bad boy. Then when he’s talking to Bancroft, he tells the tycoon “Some things can’t be bought. Like me.” So which is it? Do you only care about getting paid, or can you not be bought? This makes for a somewhat confusing characterization of Kovacs, who one minute is murderously avenging himself upon psychotic bio-smugglers and claiming he cares for no one, only to turn around and behave like a typical romantic the next. It isn’t entirely jarring, but for me it hurt the dark tone and mature themes to discover the central core of the series is a centuries-old fairytale love story.

Sorry. I like fairytale love stories. But I also like darkly thematic dystopian science fiction, and in my opinion the two mix about as well as apple liqueur and olive oil.

This is all, however, as I said one off my only major gripes about the series. And even the sum of its parts aren’t badly executed. Like I said, Quell is charismatic, Kovacs is haunted, and all three actors (Kinnaman, Goldsberry, and Kim as Kovacs in his original sleeve) deliver convincing performances as well as share a great sense of chemistry, so the love story is believable at least. Visual effects and set design are also wonderful, and for such a high concept sci-fi setting it all feels very seamless. Dialogue is well-scripted as well, and most of Poe’s interactions with other characters are some of the best scenes. It’s also nice to see a series that exploits the naked female form to a fault, yet also makes a point to ensure you get just as much if not far more male nudity to surprisingly counterpoint its shamelessness. I haven’t seen this many swinging dicks since the last time I read YouTube comments. Just makes you feel better when the characters finally ride the stuffed unicorn, know what I mean?

Many of the minor roles from the novel are also modified to make certain characters more important, and some of their roles have been altered so that they are completely different people. Some of these changes work better than others. Rei, as Tak’s sister rather than just some asshole crime boss he once knew, was a change in the story that had the reverse effect of how I felt about the altered Kovacs/Envoy backstory. It makes Reileen a more interesting character than just the Big Bad you might expect in such a story, and causes her motivations, maniacal as they remain, to be far more empathic and invested in the events of the plot. In that light, they made the villain stand out as memorable among the bland villains we often get in movies and TV shows now, thanks to the K-Mart quality antagonists so popularized by the Marvel movies.

While certainly not perfect, Altered Carbon still manages to offer fans of science fiction a fascinating world populated by characters who are easy to give a damn about, and a galaxy spanning story of heartbreak, betrayal, and retribution. I personally wasn’t that big a fan of the romantic warrior monk stuff in this particular story, but that doesn’t mean it won’t appeal to others. There’s enough mystery here to keep you guessing, and enough solid dramatic force to keep us wanting more on its own merits, not by virtue of any stupid cliffhangers. Much of the visual style and action sequences are just icing on the cake, really. Though, I confess, I almost jizzed my pants when I got to see the Phillips Squeeze Gun in action. And there’s nothing quite like one of those sci-fi stories where someone picks up a samurai sword, let alone during the finale.

All told, I’d watch Altered Carbon again, and you should too. Regardless of whatever I say, or my own personal preferences, it deserves your attention. Because it may be adapted from a novel, but a least it’s trying to be something different than most of what’s out there right now, even if its poetic love story doesn’t want it to be. So, ignore cynical bastards like me, watch the damn show and decide for yourself.

                    侍    headless