#no one I know has even read either of these series ;_;

[petermorwood]

Once there was a bookshop.

Its name was "Dark They Were And Golden Eyed", the title of a Ray Bradbury short story.

I'd seen it advertised in the back of my "Conan The Barbarian" comics, black-and-white UK reprints of the US originals which came out on the same day - Thursday, I think - as a two-hour first period history lesson (9AM-11AM).

So I bought my weekly Conan on the way to school as a pleasant back-of-the-class distraction from such A-Level delights as "Metternich and the Congress of Vienna" or "Bismarck and the origins of the Franco-Prussian War" or "Causes and Consequences of the French Revolution".

I was getting into fantasy at that time because British publishers were bringing it out like there was no tomorrow - Robert E. Howard "Conan" stories from Sphere, Clark Ashton Smith "Zothique" stories from Panther, and the Michael Moorcock book-of-the-month club from Mayflower.

Dark They Were was a sort of holy grail, because London wasn’t exactly round the corner or even a mere long train ride away as Dublin might have been, and my parents weren't willing to let me make a trip like that all alone. (I also suspect Dad had checked a map and found that Dark They Were was in the heart of Soho, a place with Other Kinds Of Bookshop.)

*****

I finally went to London after getting A-levels good enough for Uni, despite my History result not being what it might have been (no idea how that happened). :-P

Dad was right about the Other Kinds Of Bookshop, a couple of which I duly investigated and found to be educational, although not in the way intended. Even though the places I ate and drank and the books and records I bought on that same trip are long forgotten, I can still remember it.

Despite having at least my usual allowance of critical-faculty-blunting late teen hormones, the shops outweighed it with their air of furtive sleaze, like the carpet in a seedy bar that sticks to your shoes - except this was an all-body experience. They certainly filled me with desire, but that desire was for a long, hot shower.

So much for the main attraction of late-'70s Soho...

*****

Far more attractive was my discovery, just a short walk round the corner from DTW, of 58 Dean Street Records, which specialised in soundtrack albums.

I'd been buying soundtrack LPs for years, so what with DTW and 58, I was well laden on my way home, and none of those purchases needed hidden from the parents, either... :->

Despite that, Forever People in Bristol was an even more important SF bookshop, at least to me. For one thing it was easier to reach, less than an hour away when visiting an old school friend who at that time lived in Cardiff.

For another thing, I'd become a keen fan of fantasy anthologies, which were like samplers or tasting menus for different writers - you could call them selection boxes,and Irish / UK readers will know what I mean by that.

FP was where I found imports like Offutt's "Swords Against Darkness" series and DAW's "Year's Best Fantasy" series. I'd already got the first two in Carter's "Flashing Swords" series as UK imprints...

...so the instant I saw the US-import Number 5 I nabbed it.

A bit later, back in Belfast, I found a novel by one of those writers in Queen’s University Bookshop.

It was set in the same world as the short story and though the cover was, er, a less than accurate summation of the contents, those contents made for a fascinating read.

I met that writer twice, at SF conventions in 1985.

Then at a couple more in 1986.

After that came Boskone in 1987...

And the rest is history.

(Pedantic writer note: this has two typos. There's no apostrophe on Authors' - unless it's short for Authors Have A Wedding and I doubt that - and there's an extra O where I don't need it, a first but far from last instance of having my name misspelled in print...)

Happy soon-to-be-38th Anniversary, loved!

[mllekurtz]

Shadowgast Fic Playlists

Some themed lists of my shadowgast works under the cut, including:

atmospheric one shots

modern and/or human aus

academia aus

silly, fluffy one shots

fics set in Exandria

long fics

smutty fics

This was suggested to me a while ago by a friend. I've written a bunch of shadowgast fics with different tags, ratings and vibes, but there are recurring patterns in most of them. I hope this is useful to anyone who'd like to approach my body of work, or reread some of it, or feels in the mood for something very specific, or wants to read the exact same fic again but different.

Atmospheric One-Shots

Fics set in a distant time and place, with a focus on the characters but also a rich backdrop of history and lore. Best enjoyed in a cozy setting with your warm beverage of choice.

the end of all our exploring (the gardener fic)

The Empire of Lights (the vibes au)

remote times and places and ultimate causes (the medieval au)

at the violet hour (the long distance relationship fic)

Modern and/or Human AUs

These stories have an emphasis on the modern setting and are farther from canon. Read if you want to meet the wizards at school, at work, on a train, at a conference...

strange magic (set in "modern" Rexxentrum)

The Empire of Lights (set in "modern" Rosohna)

remote times and places and ultimate causes (set in real life Europe in the Middle Ages)

after hours (they meet in a bar)

all this science i don't understand (small town vibes)

(your face in my hands is) everything good i need (set in modern France and Germany)

Fundamental Forces Other Than Gravity (set in "modern" Rosohna)

Academia AUs

Stories that emphasize the academic setting, with the wizards as either students or teachers. Just a different flavor of nerds in their natural habitat, really.

(your face in my hands is) everything good i need (humanities professors)

Fundamental Forces Other Than Gravity (grad student/TA)

all this science i don't understand (high school teachers)

life's too short to even care at all (they found a school in canon Exandria)

Silly, Fluffy One-Shots

Bite-sized snacks with a high sugar content, with no other purpose than putting a smile on your face. Read as a quick pick-me-up whenever things are hard.

library etiquette (a big misunderstanding)

strange magic (the commuter au)

after hours (the blind date au)

Fics Set in Exandria

Either canon compliant or divergent, these fics are all set in the world of Critical Role. If you're not a modern au person and would rather enjoy the wizards in their original setting, these are for you.

at the violet hour (mainly set in Caleb's house in Rexxentrum)

the end of all our exploring (set in Blumenthal)

eleventh hour (set on a beach in Rumblecusp)

the to make an end series (set in Aeor)

displacement (also set in Aeor)

birds of prey (a Scourger au that eventually becomes a retelling of campaign 2, set all over Wildemount)

eternally present, unredeemable (mainly set in the Cobalt Soul Archive in Zadash)

life's too short to even care at all (set in Caleb and Essek's school, near Zadash)

soft driven slow and mad like some new language (set in the Nein Sided Tower)

Long Fics

Sometimes you want to curl up with tea and a novel-worth of fic. This list has got you covered.

birds of prey ("evil" au, still in progress)

The Witcher au (your wizards, but as a witcher and a sorcerer)

The cost of living series (unfinished, but still pretty long)

Smutty Fics

I know some of you are here for this, and good for you. These are my spiciest one-shots, enjoy.

jealousy 

discretion (with saturdaysky)

antinomy 

displacement 

remote times and places and ultimate causes 

risk exposure from the birds of prey series

the awful daring of a moment’s surrender from the to make an end series

where's the point in hurrying (when waiting feels so great)

soft driven slow and mad like some new language 

an interlude and musica universalis from the cost of living series

[pirateprincessblog]

𝐋𝐈𝐁𝐈𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐄

( 𝟎.𝟐 ) 𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝.

!𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬! 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞: 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 or here

𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: park seonghwa x oc (alice dawson) x jung wooyoung 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 4.2k 𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐬: dilf!hwa, collegestudent!wooyoung, love triangle, dilf trope, eventual smut, angst, fluff 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐬: yet to come

𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬: this series will be around 10-15 chapters :) please don't hesitate to leave feedback! thank you for reading <33

𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐫: 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐲.

"hey, i know you've been off the phone for a few days, and that you want some time alone. i just wanted to leave you a message so that you know that i am here for you."

"hey alice, it's been a week now. just thought i'd leave another voice message to remind you that i love you."

"rae says you haven't been coming to work. i'm getting worried now."

"why aren't you answering the door? are you okay?"

"you haven't spoken to your mother, either. i'm dying of worry. please at least view the messages i sent you so i know you're alive."

the redhead lies on her stomach, laptop opened on the bed in front of her. her eyes wander the articles on it, ignoring the burn from sleep deprivation and staring at the bright screen for a long time. her bladder is killing her, threatening to burst at any moment. but alice has been too lazy to get up for almost sixteen hours now, and her kidneys are pleading for mercy. she ignores it, clenching her core in hopes of relieving the pain. wooyoung's voice mails echo in the room, and she ignores that too. the knocking, ringing, calls, messages, all of it.

she opens the tab with her account balance again. the zeros on the screen are eating her inside out. the arrow on the screen clicks a different tab, and alice sighs, dropping her head on the pillow.

the famous onlyfans. it would be the easiest, fastest way. but is alice really at that point in her life? selling herself to strangers? well, pictures of herself. but still, to her, it was below her dignity. and she still had some. she thinks. what if they were only feet pictures? who cares about that? she would surely make a ton. enough to heal her mother, find a better place, and escape her pig of a father.

sugar daddy site? how does that even work? like onlyfans, but you only have one fan? and he is disgustingly older than you? what if he asks her for favours she cannot do?

a different job? she already has her dream job, and leaving it would be a disaster. the pay is god awful, but alice has never once spent her shift in a bad mood. always surrounded by the very thing she suffers from: fiction. fiction, daydreaming, imagination, you name it. alice suffers from it all. from the most wholesome and soft ones, to the evil erotic ones.

maybe the sugar daddy site will prove itself useful. they don't all have to be old and disgusting, right? after all, she can set boundaries. no live meeting, only texts, maybe a little role playing, and the money will flow. hopefully.

sugar daddy site

find exactly what you want discreetly, safely and fast. join the other 100 million members, experience love, luxury and sexual benefits.

click here to join now

it didn't take long for alice to click on the highlighted join button. she filled out the form with a fake name and address, but a correct town. after all, if he turns out to be someone actually gorgeous and not a complete creep, she wants to be within his range.

her friend requests are already flooding, along with message requests, and she has to take a moment collect herself. she doesn't have to answer any of them, she knows that. but some of those are extremely vulgar, filthy, and some straight up demanding. only two out of twenty messages are simple greetings, leading Alice to question her decision to join the site.

yourmaster75: hello gorgeous. nice tits. would love to play with them sometimes.

so muchfor a respectful hello. what a click bait. and what a cringe name. she clicks on the next one, hoping for a more appropriate approach.

sk1993: virgin or not?

alice is disgusted. she exits the site, then shuts her laptop. with her head buried in the bed, she reaches for her phone. it pains her to even unlock it, her brain having memorized the zeroes on the screen in the bank app. but she does it, feeling bad for poor wooyoung who was desperately trying to make sure she is alright. all while she was on a sex site.

my darling: i know you hate when i offer you money, but please, at least until you get some of it back, accept my help

my darling: or at least take a look at these job applications that i found

my darling: you don't even have to quit your current one, these are all two or three hours of work a day or just few times a week

alice sighs, feeling defeated. if only she had enough courage to face her father and demand her money back. instead, she is seriously considering getting a second job. perhaps it's for the best. it would serve as a distraction, keep her from thinking about her parents, and exhaust her enough to ensure a good night's sleep. the only downside would be not seeing wooyoung as much as before. but he understands, otherwise he wouldn't have sent her all those links or even offered his help.

my darling: now this one is just outside of town, but i could drive you there and you'd just get on the bus back. and the pay looks very good!

indeed, the pay looks very good. a month of working at this place is worth three of working at the library. and only a few hours a week?

babysitter needed

working hours: 17:00 - 22:00 (mon-wed-fri-sat) negotiable paycheck flexible working hours reimbursed transportation fees experience not required

requirements:

- non-smoker - sociable and extroverted - energetic and creative - proper attire and language usage

for any additional information, please call the number below to schedule an appointment.

it does not state the age of the child, which makes alice feel somewhat uneasy. if it's a toddler, she believes she could manage him. but a baby? an infant? how could she possibly know when it's hungry or thirsty? how would she know if it's in pain, and how would she help if it is? it all seems so daunting, and it discourages her from typing in the digits on her phone.

but the pay is tempting, and the young girl finds herself dialing the number swiftly, before she can change her mind. the voice on the other line is dull and snobby, it makes alice roll her eyes with each word that is said into her ear. she just can't wait to see where and with who she would work. after all, that amount of money and that voice do not belong to a regular family.

༺═━─━────༺༻────━─━═༻

the next few days are barely manageable. despite the annoying and obnoxiously loud device being locked away in the drawer, it still manages infuriate alice on the other end of the library. countless of calls and messages from her mother, and an unknown number. she doesn't have to guess twice who that number belongs to. but she could take a guess or two about the reason of the calls.

wooyoung, on the other hand, has given her space. he lets her know that he still loves her, leaving a good morning and good night message every day, along with a flower picked just by the sidewalk near the campus and sometimes a witty hand-written note. and alice sometimes replies, guilt eating her alive, and assures him that she loves him too. she assures herself too, pushing her feelings under the rug. she would never admit it, not even in her head, that she isn't sure in her love for him recently.

the relationship has been one-sided for a while now, with wooyoung doing everything. calls, texts, dates, everything. she was just there, fulfilling the role of the girlfriend. and she was happy while with him, really. but the moment she kissed him goodbye and shut the door, her heart gets drained of those feelings. she is scared to admit even to herself, still hoping that this is just a phase and that it will pass. maybe as soon as her mother recovers, or she fixes the damage her father has done.

yet deep down, she knows that she has cooled down. she doesn't feel the butterflies like she used to, she doesn't initiate anything in the relationship, and the only thing that is keeping her emotions somewhat alive are her books. wooyoung blames it on the situation, but alice knows she is the only one to blame. maybe it's those books, setting high standards that wooyoung can't fulfill. after all, what sane man would hold a knife to her throat as he pounds into her-

"hey, aren't you done for the day?" rae calls, causing alice to twitch and grab onto the ladder. "you were supposed to be out over half an hour ago."

"i was just unpacking the last of today's delivery. suddenly every professor, student and their mothers need this stupid book."

the curly haired girl gasps, putting a hand over her mouth dramatically. "did you, alice dawson, just call a book stupid?"

alice rolls her eyes at the other girl, hiding a smile and acting annoyed. she pushes the ladder aside, picking up the empty boxes and stomping on them to make them flat and easier to dispose.

"also, didn't you have somewhere to go today?"

"yeah, but that's at five in the afternoon."

"alice?"

"yes?"

"it's four fourty-five."

the stomping on boxes is replaced by stomping down the library, legs carrying the girl to the locker with her belongings faster than ever. her hands struggle to unlock it, items falling everywhere as she reaches for her open backpack. she collects anything she can, before storming outside with a quick goodbye to her confused and worried coworker.

the bus has departed long ago, and alice can either run there, or get a taxi. the zeroes on her screen are reducing, and alice is thankful for that. but it feels so painful to spend money now, even when it's needed. having no other choice, the girl jumps into the back seat, showing the driver the address and leaning against the window, hoping to make it on time.

her gaze lingers on the buildings as the car leaves the city behind. winter days approach, with the sun setting earlier than usual and the street lamps already coming to rescue before it completely disappears and darkness swallows the city. as the buildings slowly fade and start turning into grass and trees, her eyes decide to rest for a while.

in such a short time, she dreams of a better life. she dreams of a complete, functional family, a job that she loves but pays well, a healthy relationship with wooyoung again, a house that is not only a bedroom and a bathroom. not a mansion. just a simple house or flat, much like all people her age have.

when she opens her eyes, she sees a house she only ever saw on those luxury social media pages. dark grey stone, with vines decorating it and stopping just near the dark framed windows. large windows. alice steps out of the car, mesmerized by the view that never stops. the gates are open, allowing her to take a look at the path through the greenest grass she's ever seen. fountains, statues, fruit trees, and whatnot. alice has never been a fan of fruit, rather settling for a slice of pizza or chocolate. but her hazel eyes have never seen such deep crimson apples, shining under the last golden rays of sunshine. her mouth becomes watery, and her fingers yearn to touch.

is this what hungry eyes are? she would've never touched one in a grocery store, not even think of eating it. yet there she is, trailing behind the man who introduced himself to her at the entrance and looked at her somewhat disapprovingly, her gaze fixed on the trees.

"watch it, girl." the older man in the suit warns, putting a hand in front of her.

she halts, looking down. her feet are planted at the bottom of the stairs, and had the snobby man not intervened, she might have stumbled, gracing the beautiful cobblestones with a memorable kiss, likely leaving an imprint on her nose.

"you are about to enter the park residence, and it is my duty to remind you of some rules, miss..."

"dawson." she replies, raising an eyebrow. rules?

"lovely. miss dawson, refrain from using vulgar vocabulary, do not chew any gum, candy, whatever it is that is rustling in your pockets, and last, but not least, you are to not talk to mr park."

"and..." the girl's voice comes out raspy, and she takes a moment to clear her throat before continuing, "...why is that?"

"you are here to do business with mrs park. mr park doesn't like to be disturbed, he has a tight schedule and runs on seconds. any minor distraction, his day becomes unsucessful."

"sounds like a happy man."

the older man spares her a glance, before going up the stairs and opening the big doors. she is first greeted by a grand staircase, then hit with a pleasant smell of pastries.

"please wipe your shoes before entering, the maid has mopped the floor twice today already. if she sees a speck of mud again, she will get sent into cardiac arrest."

the redhead glances at her once white sneakers, now grey and dusty, nearly falling apart. one of the shoelaces is undone, but seeing the man already continuing the journey, she simply tucks it into her sneaker and wipes the soles on the mat. she catches up to him, her gaze sweeping the marble tiles reflecting the massive chandelier. it lights up the staircase, unveiling a red rug spilling down the wooden stairs and all the way to the entrance. alice didn't have a chance to stand on it yet, because the man led her through an alternate route. possibly because of the state of her shoes.

alice suddenly feels... cheap. the odd one out. an outcast. the more she looks at her surroundings, the worse she feels. she didn't know such lifestyle exists. used to tripping over clothes and books on the way to the fridge in her own flat, alice couldn't comprehend the vastness of the newly discovered space and everything that came with it. that's why her eyes settled for looking at the man's back, the tailcoat suddenly a very interesting shade of black.

she is lead to a kitchen, equally lavish. dark wooden cupboards, a whole kitchen island, and a cook.

"jude, could you seat the girl while i go get mrs park?"

"sure thing, franklin."

the aroma of pastries intensifies as the lady opens the oven, fogging up the kitchen briefly before revealing a batch of steaming hot cupcakes. also red in colour, with specks of white in it.

"apologies, dear. i'll be with you as soon as i pop in another batch."

as she busies herself with pouring the batter in the tins, alice decides to take a good look at her. she looks younger than franklin, the butler she assumes, but not young. her face is very mature, and her body language so graceful. clean, trimmed nails, dark haired with grey strands pulled in a tight bun, and minimal makeup on her eyes and cheeks. alice decides she likes this woman, unlike franklin.

"sit down, love. would you like tea? milk? anything?"

"do you happen to have coffee?" she carefully asks, trying to sound polite and not demanding.

"oh, sorry. mrs park hates the smell of it, in any way. coffee is absolutely forbidden in my kitchen, or in the manor."

"then, tea will do. thank you."

the woman, jude, opens her cupboards, reading the flavors she can offer. alice picks one closest to her hand, not wanting to inconvenience her. as she works on the beverage, alice sits at the kitchen island and gathers everything she has heard about the mysterious mrs park. mr park sounds horrible, and mrs park doesn't seem to be a ray of sunshine either. luckily, she would soon find out.

as she blows on the hot beverage, her eyes can't help but eye the pastries that are being aligned on a three tear porcelain plate with a golden rim. her ears don't pick up the distant clicking of shoes in the hallway, too busy listening to the sound of the cupcake wraps and jude's soft humming. it isn't until the clicking is right near alice that she jolts, setting the fancy looking cup on the small plate before her lips have touched the liquid.

"oh, great. a ginger. well, good evening. glad to see you enjoy a nice cup of tea after being late." the tone sounds sincere, but smile on the woman's face gives it away. it is bitter, almost yelling at alice to leave the place right away. "but, that's alright. you don't need to get defensive."

"uh- i was just-"

"you. don't. need. to. get. defensive. clear?" the woman claps her hands after each word, before pointing both of them at alice while still together.

"clear." the redhead says, mind still lingering on the ginger comment.

"good. now, before we begin, i- jude, what is this?"

jude puts the final cupcake on the plate, looking happy with her work. "red velvet cupcakes with white chocolate bits, ma'am. like your daughter asked."

"no, no way. how much sugar is in that?"

happiness drains from her face, replaced by furrowed eyebrows and stuttering. "i- i don't know. not much, ma'am. i promise."

"she's not having that. throw it away and make her an acai bowl or something. how dare you?"

alice's heart crumbles seeing the cupcakes being removed off the plate and shoved into a paper bag, only to be handed to franklin who exits the kitchen and makes his way outside with it.

"excuse me." jude bows her head, then follows franklin's path outside.

"right, alice. how old are you?"

the girl fidgets in her seat, anger flowing in her veins. the woman in front of her is so nonchalant, as if she didn't destroy someone's hard work with a few sentences. she is furious, her hands itching to smack the smile off the woman's face. she is disgustingly pretty, which pisses alice further off. blonde haired, with ice cold grey eyes, and clear tight skin. such a horrible person, with such a nice appearance. unfair.

"twenty two." she replies, trying to remain respectful, although she lost all her respect for her.

"perfect. my daughter turns twenty two soon, so that part is good. now..." she gets a tablet from one of the drawers on the kitchen island, sharp nails clicking against the screen.

"wait, what?"

"do not interrupt me." mrs park points a finger at alice, without lifting her eyes from the device in her hands. "now, would you say that you are active? creative? what do you do in your free time?"

"i read. when i have time."

mrs park frowns, pursing her lips. "anything else? anything that is not... boring to death?"

"reading is not boring." alice defends herself, and her dear books, resulting in mrs park whipping her head at her tone. "with all due respect, ma'am, reading is not boring. but, i guess aside from that... i used to paint and play sports."

"and why don't you do that anymore?"

"i work a lot."

"fair enough. do you enjoy shopping?"

"what kind of shopping? groceries?" alice genuinely asks, making the woman laugh.

"clothes, jewelry. you know, shopping. don't tell me you don't do that?"

"not quite, no." not since every single penny went to her mother's healthcare.

"luckily, it's addictive. you won't have any trouble getting used to that. now, my daughter loves shopping, and money isn't an issue. you'll get along very well."

"i'm sorry, i'm confused."

"well, if you would let me talk, i'd explain it to you. you're not here to babysit. not exactly. you're here to be my daughter's friend."

alice doesn't know if she heard well. she swears she read the article multiple times, and it spoke of babysitting.

"i do have a little son, milo, who will need looking after from time to time. but my priority is clara. she hasn't got a friend in the world, and she is growing really desperate. naturally, i put that article out to find a match for her."

if alice thought that she is pathetic, this just made her feel better. a mother paying someone to be friends with her daughter?

"now, everything fits perfectly, and i'm going to assume that you'll change your choice of clothes the next time you're here?"

looking down at her oversized hoodie and plain black leggings, alice bites the inside of her cheek. this woman's talent is putting other's down. perhaps it's the defiance, perhaps the pay, maybe even curiosity with such a lifestyle and how luxurious it gets, alice finds herself smiling at the woman and shaking her hand either way.

"i'll see you on monday. not late, preferably."

"yes, ma'am. looking forward to it."

"likewise, alice."

leaving the woman alone in the kitchen with a warm chair and a cold, untouched beverage, alice makes her way outside. franklin waits at the top of the stone stairs, speaking to jude. once they notice alice, they stop the conversation, and he takes it upon himself to approach her and offer to walk her out.

"see that car?" the man subtly motions towards the gates, hoping that alice would equally subtly look. but she fails to do so, glancing at the shiny black suv that is driving towards them. "don't look!"

alice jolts, returning her gaze on the butler.

"that's mr park. you are not to speak to him, only bow your head respectfully and stay like that until he enters the house. then, you can go."

"why such rules? is he a nobleman?" annoyance is evident in her voice, eyes rolling at the ridiculous behaviour.

"he is our boss, the man that provides us a roof over our heads and food for our stomachs. i realize basic politeness and ability to adapt to a more sophisticated environment are close to non-existent for you, but at least try to- good evening, sir."

franklin is forced to interrupt his scolding once the doors of the vehicle open, a tall figure stepping out of it. jude, franklin, and the driver all bow their heads. except alice. her gaze is stubbornly locked on the man, jaw almost on the floor.

a gorgeous man, who walks with such grace, and has impeccable fashion sense. a long black coat hangs from his shoulders only, revealing the full outfit underneath. he wears a loose black dress shirt, tucked into flawlessly ironed black slacks, and polished pointy shoes. his dark hair reaches to his collar, curtain bangs falling gently over his eyes, which are fixed on the phone in his hand. the driver gets into the car, going back the same way he came and parking the car in front of the gates.

"evening, franklin. jude." he greets, voice dripping honey.

alice slumps her shoulders as if trying to hide, feeling even more self conscious. she wasn't sure that was possible.

mr park must've noticed a new figure in line, one that doesn't quite fit in with the black and white dress code the manor seems to be following. he looks up from his phone, dark eyes looking into alice's. she could see the statue lights in them, making them as shiny as the silver rings on his slender fingers. he tilts his head slightly, not blinking.

"and who might this be?"

"the babysitter, sir. apologies, she was just on her way." franklin speaks for alice, and she is thankful for that. she isn't sure she can form her own sentence. not while the man looks at her so intensely.

"so joanne finally approved one?"

"yes, sir. she seems like a good fit."

"good." mr park nods, locking his phone and shoving it into his pocket. he approaches alice, face so close to her it makes her audibly gulp. "well then, welcome."

he holds his hand out for her to take. she hesitates, the proximity making her knees weak and legs ice cold. he smells of lilies and sandalwood, with a trace of vanilla, and it reduces her ability to function. franklin nudges her foot with his, jolting her awake. she accepts mr park's hand, feeling a wave of relief as a genuine smile spreads across his face. her hand fits perfectly in his, as comforting as a fuzzy warm hug on a bad day.

"get home safely, miss...?"

"dawson, sir. alice dawson."

"right, miss dawson. franklin, please escort miss dawson to my car and have gulliver drive her home."

"oh, that is not necessary-" alice tries to politely decline, but gets interrupted by franklin.

"right away, sir."

"have a good night, alice."

"good night, mr park."

the butler wishes his boss a good night, then escorts alice to the gates and near the car.

"on monday, i expect you to arrive on time. in proper clothes. no crop tops, no short skirts, no cleavage. polo shirts, shirts, long skirts, long dresses, that is allowed. don't make me send you home to change. and if possible, buy new shoes. ones that aren't falling apart with each step you take. understood?"

"understood."

"good. travel safely. good night, miss dawson."

"good night, franklin."

franklin turns around, making his way to the manor. the driver patiently waits in the car, not uttering a word to alice. before entering the vehicle, her eyes notice the familiar paper bag set on the floor next to the trash bin. even their trash bin is fancy, able to open only with a chip or a password. maybe so that people like alice wouldn't go through it and enjoy their discarded possessions.

without further thinking, alice grabs the bag, the batch of cupcakes still fresh and untouched in it before hopping into the car and saying her address to the driver.

[benevolenterrancy]

("Always. Continuously. With increasing apprehension, and decreasing hope. I will love you if I never see you again, and I will love you if I see you every Tuesday. I will love you as a corpse loves the beak of the vulture. I will love you no matter what happens to you, and no matter how I discover what happens to you, and no matter what happens to me as I discover this." -- paraphrased from The Beatrice Letters, Lemony Snicket)

[ratatatastic]

do you write fic on ao3?

unfortunately for everyone involved i do!

[eddiemunsonsmum]

Just saw this comment on a story posted a month ago.

*cries in Eddie Munson Solo Series no one wanted to read, interact with or request for*

No shade to the person that commented this on their own fic if you recognize it. It's not their fault. I'm not mad at them. More crying in the tags.

[fullscoreshenanigans]

Is CloverWorks entirely at fault for TPN S2's mangled production?

I see so many people default to blaming CloverWorks for being the sole arbiter of S2's horribly disappointing production (sometimes Shirai is added into the mix too, especially by anime-onlys), but every time I do I'm genuinely asking the question of whether that's true and where they're pulling their information from.

I'm not involved in the animation industry at all so I'm interested in receiving input from people who are more familiar with it, but my understanding is the people in charge of the decision to truncate S2 would be The Promised Neverland Committee listed at the end of the opening credits.

(I could not find a single video of the English dub that aired on [adult swim] for the English credits of S1, so a screencap from the Japanese credits)

TPN Committee is comprised of the following entities: Aniplex (Distributor), Fuji TV (TV Station), Shueisha (Manga Publisher), Cygames Anime Fund, Dentsu (ads)

(Sources 1 | 2 | 3)

kViN from Sakugabooru details what a production company is in this post:

"I personally find it enjoyable to see who is involved in a show, and as you’ve seen there is plenty of information to draw from that. Animation production studios are listed in the credits for each show, so it’s understandable why audiences would imagine they have a ton of influence over a production. It’s even natural to think that the company that is actually manufacturing something would have great input! If you start paying attention to these committees though, you get a clearer picture of the finances of production and how each show is actually made rather than assume that studios that often don’t have much of a say are in charge of everything."

And CloverWorks is the more prominent name, especially for English speakers watching the subbed version of the series.

This is also something that Geoff Thew brings up in the last seven minutes of this video around the 18:50 mark:

"I'd bet good money that the last credits were supposed to roll right after that big stone door slammed shut, and I'd further wager that a combination of fan reactions to and dipping ratings for early episodes is what caused the production committee—who are the ones who actually have final say in this, not Cloverworks or even Shirai—to cut their losses and turn that cliffhanger into a skeleton of a conclusion."

I disagree with him on them making the call to retool the series during the clipshow episode between S2e05 and S2e06 though. It doesn’t seem like they had enough time to do that when a single episode of animation takes on average nine months to complete, even with the ridiculous crunch they seemed to be in. My guess is it was made back in early 2020 after Shirai made everyone involved in production aware the manga was ending that year, with the pandemic potentially factoring in to a degree.

He also mentions this a bit earlier:

"It's just such a slap in face to anyone who ever gave a shit about any version of this story. Including the people telling it, apparently, since neither of the anime's screenwriters nor mangaka/series composer Shirai wanted to take credit for the last two episodes. They probably didn't have much say in how it all went down. That's important to keep in mind before you start yelling at animators or even studios on twitter. I guarantee that every adaption that hurts you personally was ten times harder on the people who actually had to make it. As hackishily slapdash as this finale is, a lot of people probably slept under their desks to get it out the door, if they slept at all."

I always come back to this tiny addition toward the end of S2 episode 2 as an indication that on the creative side of things, in storyboarding and animation at CloverWorks, the care was still there at some level.

It was just squashed down in order to cut and condense 146 chapters into 11 episodes for a production that, as ZersEditor puts here, was "bleeding money."

But CloverWorks is less to type out, so they get the majority of the ire over a tragically butchered production in casual conversation.

[deliriousraven]

am being eaten alive by my lockwood and co necromancy au rn (think locked tomb). I've always wished Stroud had gotten more into the actual theory of how death works and all ways Marissa has manipulated it (It's basically implied that Sir Rupert has Sight as an adult and no one ever talks about it?), and I think there's just so much potential to explore there. I think necromancy would just make the whole Problem so much spicier, specifically through the lens of spirit magic.

consider the river and the other place as different layers of the same metaphysical realm (think planes in bartimaeus). Marissa is almost a wannabe jod with all her fiddling with death, but consider the consequences of that on a smaller scale: a localized blockage in the river, rather than totally cutting it off. consider the sexy tlt-esque possession mechanics that we barely got with Marissa. consider the parallels between thanergy and psychic energy, and how sudden and violent death, unfinished purposes, etc allow the dead to stay tethered (just like tlt revenants!). what are type threes? what are the conditions for necromancers to be born (after all, they can only be born on the planets jod killed in tlt), and what level of necromancy is possible in this less fucked up universe? I imagine aptitude and talent are distinct, and not mutually inclusive. Spirit magic is obviously more directly related to everything ghost-related, but how do other forms of necromancy affect Visitors and the other side?

[im-still-watching-anime]

one piece is crazy fr like what do you mean you’re following up Everyone’s Dead™️ with Objectifying Women: The Arc™️

[humanmorph]

I read chapters 1-7 of Magic's Pawn yesterday & was really struck by how much certain parts reminded me of popular fanfiction... Of course I think a lot of that is just as prevalent in the romance genre & YA space, but I guess both of those are less front of mind for me (even if I don't read a lot of fanfiction anymore and generally not the type this reminds me of either, I'm at least closer to those spaces).

It's like. The waking up from a nightmare hurt/comfort is such a classic in fanfics, the immediate love confession, the honestly rather young sounding voice of an adult/mentor character (this started bothering me. I guess I'm not actually sure of Savil's age, but I know she's not a peer to 17 year old Tylendel despite sounding like it sometimes!), and everyone being really emotionally mature & talking about their feelings clearly (even Vanyel very quickly knows just what to say & what he feels once he breaks down). Again, a lot of that probably is very YA-like too, and depending on fandom there's probably an overlap in demographics.

I'm enjoying it ok so far but I'm very glad there's finally some conflict getting introduced. Vanyel and Tylendel are a bit too saccharine for me as is (though it's obvious they're going somewhere with Savil being worried Vanyel is too co-dependent, Tylendel briefly going "wait is she right?" & then "no, actually I'm just as dependent on him, this is fine"). Michael at the end of the last SbG episode said something like "could a fantasy boy be more depressed" & I'm gonna be real? I'm ready for that boy to be miserable again. Maybe even both of the boys.

EDIT: I am learning she had her start as a fanfiction writer. This makes sense to me & kind of makes me wonder on fanfiction tropes then vs now... certain ones have clearly stood the test of time

---

*I actually wish I remembered some of the more romance focused YA I read as a teen better because I bet it'd be interesting to compare this (published 1989) to 2010s YA. Then again I don't think I did read a single YA novel with a gay protagonist back then, so maybe it wouldn't give a very good comparison...

[bidokja]

"han yoohyun sucks as a younger brother" i have not said this phrase in years, like literally years, but how about you meet me in the fucking pit

[daisybell-on-a-carousel]

Oh man it's been like. 4 months of Jason Todd for me huh

[afterthelambs]

.

[cy-cyborg]

Free Manual Wheelchair Reference Models

ID: A banner with grey 3D models of 5 kinds of manual wheelchairs in a line in front of the disability pride flag and text that reads "Manual Wheelchair References" /End ID

For disability pride month, I decided to release a pack of 3D manual wheelchair models.

The pack includes 5 wheelchairs:

2 Active urban-style chairs (one of which includes a smart drive)

1 off-road active chair

1 children's wheelchair

and 1 standard "hospital" wheelchair).

All the wheelchairs are based off either wheelchairs I or friends of mine have used

Downloadable here!

or on the Clip Studio Paint Asset Store (ID 2097442) (there's been an issue with the CSP version, but the models in the download folder can be imported into clip studio paint until I can fix it)

More info about the download contents below:

The first download link includes the original .Blend file with all 5 chairs, as well as individual .obj or .fbx files the chairs (All but 1 have an .obj file, as they're only meshes. The chair with the smart drive is rigged, which is why it has an .Fbx file instead so it will retain that information) as well as a "read me" file that explains in more depth what kind of disability/character/lifestyle each chair is made for (These are just what I had in mind when I designed them, they are usable by other characters who don't fit the suggestions for the most part!) I wanted to include the Read Me contents in the CSP Asset Store listing, but CS said it was too long lol.

Also, as the title says, these files are free to use! While it's not mandatory, I would appreciate credit if you use them (or even just a tag so I can see the cool art you make with them!!)

I actually made these ages ago, the original plan was to use them in a series of posts then release the pack, but I never got around to making the series and so they've just been sitting here. I took a day off from art fight attacks to clean them all up and get them ready to post. If you experience any issues, let me know and I'll try to fix it up.

I had a couple more that were supposed to be in the pack including a sports (basketball/Tennis) wheelchair and some different styles of wheelchair, but I think the files corrupted so once I fix (or remake) them, I'll probably make a second pack.

If you have any issues, please let me know!

[why-animals-do-the-thing]

average United States contains 1000s of pet tigers in backyards" factoid actualy [sic] just statistical error. average person has 0 tigers on property. Activist Georg, who lives the U.S. Capitol & makes up over 10,000 each day, has purposefully been spreading disinformation adn [sic] should not have been counted

I have a big mad today, folks. It's a really frustrating one, because years worth of work has been validated... but the reason for that fucking sucks.

For almost a decade, I've been trying to fact-check the claim that there "are 10,000 to 20,000 pet tigers/big cats in backyards in the United States." I talked to zoo, sanctuary, and private cat people; I looked at legislation, regulation, attack/death/escape incident rates; I read everything I could get my hands on. None of it made sense. None of it lined up. I couldn't find data supporting anything like the population of pet cats being alleged to exist. Some of you might remember the series I published on those findings from 2018 or so under the hashtag #CrouchingTigerHiddenData. I've continued to work on it in the six years since, including publishing a peer reviewed study that counted all the non-pet big cats in the US (because even though they're regulated, apparently nobody bothered to keep track of those either).

I spent years of my life obsessing over that statistic because it was being used to push for new federal legislation that, while well intentioned, contained language that would, and has, created real problems for ethical facilities that have big cats. I wrote a comprehensive - 35 page! - analysis of the issues with the then-current version of the Big Cat Public Safety Act in 2020. When the bill was first introduced to Congress in 2013, a lot of groups promoted it by fear mongering: there's so many pet tigers! they could be hidden around every corner! they could escape and attack you! they could come out of nowhere and eat your children!! Tiger King exposed the masses to the idea of "thousands of abused backyard big cats": as a result the messaging around the bill shifted to being welfare-focused, and the law passed in 2022.

The Big Cat Public Safety Act created a registry, and anyone who owned a private cat and wanted to keep it had to join. If they did, they could keep the animal until it passed, as long as they followed certain strictures (no getting more, no public contact, etc). Don’t register and get caught? Cat is seized and major punishment for you. Registering is therefore highly incentivized. That registry closed in June of 2023, and you can now get that registration data via a Freedom of Information Act request.

Guess how many pet big cats were registered in the whole country?

97.

Not tens of thousands. Not thousands. Not even triple digits. 97.

And that isn't even the right number! Ten USDA licensed facilities registered erroneously. That accounts for 55 of 97 animals. Which leaves us with 42 pet big cats, of all species, in the entire country.

Now, I know that not everyone may have registered. There's probably someone living deep in the woods somewhere with their illegal pet cougar, and there's been at least one random person in Texas arrested for trying to sell a cub since the law passed. But - and here's the big thing - even if there are ten times as many hidden cats than people who registered them - that's nowhere near ten thousand animals. Obviously, I had some questions.

Guess what? Turns out, this is because it was never real. That huge number never had data behind it, wasn't likely to be accurate, and the advocacy groups using that statistic to fearmonger and drive their agenda knew it... and didn't see a problem with that.

Allow me to introduce you to an article published last week.

This article is good. (Full disclose, I'm quoted in it). It's comprehensive and fairly written, and they did their due diligence reporting and fact-checking the piece. They talked to a lot of people on all sides of the story.

But thing that really gets me?

Multiple representatives from major advocacy organizations who worked on the Big Cat Publix Safety Act told the reporter that they knew the statistics they were quoting weren't real. And that they don't care. The end justifies the means, the good guys won over the bad guys, that's just how lobbying works after all. They're so blase about it, it makes my stomach hurt. Let me pull some excerpts from the quotes.

"Whatever the true number, nearly everyone in the debate acknowledges a disparity between the actual census and the figures cited by lawmakers. “The 20,000 number is not real,” said Bill Nimmo, founder of Tigers in America. (...) For his part, Nimmo at Tigers in America sees the exaggerated figure as part of the political process. Prior to the passage of the bill, he said, businesses that exhibited and bred big cats juiced the numbers, too. (...) “I’m not justifying the hyperbolic 20,000,” Nimmo said. “In the world of comparing hyperbole, the good guys won this one.”

"Michelle Sinnott, director and counsel for captive animal law enforcement at the PETA Foundation, emphasized that the law accomplished what it was set out to do. (...) Specific numbers are not what really matter, she said: “Whether there’s one big cat in a private home or whether there’s 10,000 big cats in a private home, the underlying problem of industry is still there.”"

I have no problem with a law ending the private ownership of big cats, and with ending cub petting practices. What I do have a problem with is that these organizations purposefully spread disinformation for years in order to push for it. By their own admission, they repeatedly and intentionally promoted false statistics within Congress. For a decade.

No wonder it never made sense. No wonder no matter where I looked, I couldn't figure out how any of these groups got those numbers, why there was never any data to back any of the claims up, why everything I learned seemed to actively contradict it. It was never real. These people decided the truth didn't matter. They knew they had no proof, couldn't verify their shocking numbers... and they decided that was fine, if it achieved the end they wanted.

So members of the public - probably like you, reading this - and legislators who care about big cats and want to see legislation exist to protect them? They got played, got fed false information through a TV show designed to tug at heartstrings, and it got a law through Congress that's causing real problems for ethical captive big cat management. The 20,000 pet cat number was too sexy - too much of a crisis - for anyone to want to look past it and check that the language of the law wouldn't mess things up up for good zoos and sanctuaries. Whoops! At least the "bad guys" lost, right? (The problems are covered somewhat in the article linked, and I'll go into more details in a future post. You can also read my analysis from 2020, linked up top.)

Now, I know. Something something something facts don't matter this much in our post-truth era, stop caring so much, that's just how politics work, etc. I’m sorry, but no. Absolutely not.

Laws that will impact the welfare of living animals must be crafted carefully, thoughtfully, and precisely in order to ensure they achieve their goals without accidental negative impacts. We have a duty of care to ensure that. And in this case, the law also impacts reservoir populations for critically endangered species! We can't get those back if we mess them up. So maybe, just maybe, if legislators hadn't been so focused on all those alleged pet cats, the bill could have been written narrowly and precisely.

But the minutiae of regulatory impacts aren't sexy, and tiger abuse and TV shows about terrible people are. We all got misled, and now we're here, and the animals in good facilities are already paying for it.

I don't have a conclusion. I'm just mad. The public deserves to know the truth about animal legislation they're voting for, and I hope we all call on our legislators in the future to be far more critical of the data they get fed.

[pipermca]

New AO3 Tag Wrangling Policy and the Transformers Fandom

Edit in the event people come back to the original post: Please do not email AO3 about this issue. See their response about this issue!

(This is a long one, folks, but I think it's important.)

A new tag-wrangling policy on AO3 has the potential to create some massive confusion and chaos in the Transformers fanfic community, with regards to fandom tags. There is a Reddit post about it here with a focus on anime fandoms, but I want to give some concrete examples for the Transformers fandom on why we DO NOT WANT this, and why I think it's a horrible idea.

The Problem

Basically, AO3 is looking to get rid of the "All Media Types" fandom tag across the board, either by dismantling them or just not maintaining them. The Transformers - All Media Types tag has been an all-purpose tag that you could select when your story doesn't fall into any one specific continuity. Additionally, all most (see below) TF continuities on AO3 are considered a subtag of the Transformers - All Media Types tag. For example, if you look at the link above for all works in the All Media Types tag, you will see fics that are also tagged ONLY with Transformers: Animated, because it falls under the All Media Types tag.

One exception: With the upcoming Transformers: One movie coming out imminently, there will likely be a big influx of stories tagged with Transformers: One. In fact, there are several already. However, it hasn't been linked to the larger Transformers - All Media Types tag yet. I wasn't worrying about it though, because I know these things can take time.

With information about this new tagging policy, however, I'm now wondering whether it'll EVER get linked to the All Media Types tag. If that happens, and when more continuities are developed in the coming years (since you know Hasbro loves creating new universes) this has the potential to cause massive confusion when looking for stories to read.

Searching for Stories with the New Tagging System

So let's say the All Media Types fandom tag isn't accurate anymore, because it no longer includes ALL of the continuities (such as TF:One). You will need to include ALL the Transformers continuities when browsing for TF fics.

How many tags is that? Well, here are all of the tags currently listed under the Transformers - All Media Types tag:

Note that this doesn't include Transformers: One since it hasn't been categorized yet.

You will potentially have to have 40 or more different fandom tags in your search, just in case the author tagged their story with something you weren't expecting.

This massively decreases the findability of a story.

Tagging with the New System

The email response from the Tag Wrangling group (see the linked Reddit post above) seems to be a bit flip in the response to the user's concern. "...encourages creators to tag with the media they intend."

While I appreciate what they are attempting to do, this policy change feels like a solution in search of a problem, especially in larger fandoms with multiple continuities, versions, and media types that are all cross-pollinated in both canon and fanon. While I'm focusing on Transformers fandom, imagine a creator in the DC comic universe writing a story that incorporates bits and pieces from a dozen different reboots.

For example, let's say that I am writing a fic about Ratchet. I am using the setting of the original G1 episodes, but I also am using the characterization of him as a bit of an old man grump. That characterization originated in the Animated continuity, but I want to incorporate bits of pieces of his other characterizations as well (old friend of Optimus from TFP, Ratchet ran a faction-free clinic like he did in the War for Cybertron series, he's got a Decepticon boyfriend like in IDW1 - or maybe even Cyberverse, etc.)

With this new tagging structure, I might potentially have to tag the story with ALL of those continuities. So instead of just slapping down the "All Media Types" tag (and maybe one other fandom tag that matches the characters as best I can), I'll have to analyze my story and try to figure out how best to tag for the characters I used.

And what if you're doing a completely AU version of the story? For example, a humanformers story, or merformers? Using the All Media Types tag along with a Alternate Universe - Human or Alternate Universe - Mermaid tag worked perfectly, since you weren't writing the story to fit into one specific continuity. But now, that might not be an option.

What To Do??

The first thing I would suggest is to contact AO3 (using the Feedback and Support page) and let them know (nicely) that you think this is a horrible idea. Give them some examples on how you use the All Media Types tag to find stories to read, or to help you tag a story. People outside of the Transformers fandom don't always appreciate how absolutely tangled the continuities can be with each other, and providing examples might help them see why this would be a really messy change.

Readers: Be aware that when you are looking in the All Media Types tag, it will no longer show newer continuities. And if AO3 starts dismantling that tag like they suggested they are doing, be aware that some stories won't show up in that tag like they used to. You can also create and then bookmark a custom search page that includes all 40+ continuities. REALLY annoying, but it's a workaround.

Writers: Until they start dismantling the All Media Types tag, ALWAYS ALWAYS tag your stories using Transformers - All Media Types... Especially for newer continuities. This will be especially important if you are writing a Transformers: One story. Right now, anyone who is only browsing the All Media Types tag will not see a story tagged only with Transformers: One. Make sure you're aware of how tags work and how they can affect the visibility and findability of your story.

Epilogue

Ugh. That's a lot of words for a long-weekend Saturday. And maybe I'm overreacting a tiny bit. But my work involves information architecture, and this change just absolutely baffles me. It's almost as though they want to make it harder to find stories. Considering that AO3 won a Hugo partially because of its fantastic tagging system, this change seems like AO3 is doing its best to shoot itself in the foot.

When you have a square hole, a round hole, and a rectangular hole… Yeah, you DO want each peg to go in the "right" hole. But if all of the pegs fit in the square hole, who cares? You got the job done.

I love you @ao3org, but please reconsider this change... Especially for IPs that are as old and are as varied as Transformers.