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rcmclachlan · 1 month

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RC, PLEASE share more BuckTommy headcanons with us, everything you’ve said about them so far has been glorious.

Headcanon 1:

After Buck calls Tommy about touring Harbor and they agree on a date and time, he starts researching. Every free second he has between calls is spent watching videos that walk through what all the switches and gauges on a helicopter control panel do. On his days off, he reads pages and pages of posts on r/flying. There are no less than eight biographies about pilots on his kitchen counter dressed in the colorful fringe of all his page markers at any given moment. He devours Chickenhawk in one evening, then falls down a Wikipedia rabbit hole that starts with the article on the Bell UH-1 Iroquois and spits him out when he finishes reading about a municipality in Baku, Azerbaijan called Bibiheybət just as the sun starts peeking through the windows.

The night before he's supposed to meet Tommy, he takes a practice PPL exam for shits and giggles. He doesn't pass, of course, but he scores better than he expected to, and he can't wait to tell Tommy. He can't wait to wow him with everything he's learned.

Of course, it's all for nothing, because Eddie swoops in and steals Tommy right out from under him before Buck can even ask Tommy about his thoughts on the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024.

Once they make their relationship official, Tommy does make good on his promise to take Buck up, and it's so fun to watch Tommy navigate the skies like the helicopter is an extension of his body, like he's barely wowed anymore by the fact he can fly, and he even lets Buck handle the cyclic for a couple of minutes.

They're hovering almost 6,000 feet above city limits, watching the sun set in a sweet comfortable silence, when Buck's almost had his fill of looking at the clean lines of Tommy's profile, he says, "Someday, when I get certified, I'm going to do a Screwdriver Down in a MD-500."

Once Tommy has wrestled the bird out of its sudden 400-foot free fall and back into an even hover, he grips the cyclic until his knuckles bleed white and says, teeth clenched, "Evan, unless you want tomorrow's top headline to be 'Two LAFD Firefighters Die In Massive West Hollywood Helicopter Crash,' I'm begging you to keep the dirty talk to yourself until we're back on the ground."

Headcanon 2:

Tommy has seen a UFO. He's actually seen, like, four. The third time, he'd been flying over the San Gabriel Mountains when something popped up on his radar out of literally nowhere and clipped his tail rotor, sending both him and the craft crashing into the woods.

He doesn't remember anything that happened after that. He woke up in a windowless hospital room where someone in full military dress blues shook his hand and congratulated him on becoming the first ambassador to outer space. Then he made Tommy sign approximately eight million SF-312s and consent to be called upon "if the time should ever come."

This is why he can't watch sci-fi movies with a straight face.

Headcanon 3:

Back in 1996, Tommy's buddies Jamal Kluger and Mitch Henney finally convinced him to go to one of the weekly school dances, mostly because Jamal was determined to slow dance with Amanda O'Shaughnessy and he needed moral support. Tommy didn't hate dances per se. Were there a hundred other things he'd rather be doing? Yes. He had a backlog of Car and Driver that really needed seeing to, but Jamal was practically his brother and Tommy would do a lot worse than dispassionately swaying with a few of his classmates to Mariah Carey in the name of best-friendship.

He'd been in the middle of trying to get Jamal's attention—not that he was ever going to notice, because he was finally dancing with Amanda and everyone else in the gym had probably ceased to exist—with his hands hovering a respectful quarter inch off Laura Lee Moore's hips, who said she'd specifically requested Dreaming of You, when the slow turning they'd been doing put him at the perfect vantage point to see Brett Bennett, pitcher for the East Woodbridge Falcons, dancing with Vanessa Wilson.

Brett was wearing a really nice button-up shirt and Tommy's gaze kept snagging on the way his arms filled out the sleeves, and he couldn't help but wonder if Vanessa could feel the calluses on Brett's hands through her miniskirt. They were probably rough and kept snagging the fabric. Vanessa could probably feel the pull of them, like velcro trying to pry apart. He watched Brett lean down to say something to her and couldn't help but think Brett wouldn't have to strain his neck so much to talk if he were dancing with Tommy. They were almost of a height; Tommy would barely have to tilt his head down. Selena crooned I just want to hold you close, but so far, all I have are dreams of you, and Tommy's heart pounded so loud he was almost certain Laura Lee could hear it over the music. When the song ended, he awkwardly backed away from her and thanked her for the dance, his gaze on Brett and Vanessa, who were still pressed close even though the Quad City DJs were enthusiastically telling people to ride a train. According to his cousin Denise, who was a grade below him and also in attendance that night, Laura Lee spent the rest of the night crying in the bathroom because Tommy couldn't take his eyes off Vanessa.

Almost thirty years later, he and Evan are hanging on the couch, half-watching an episode of Taskmaster and reminiscing about their first crushes—"Really, Evan, your teacher?"—and when Tommy tells him about wishing he'd danced to Dreaming of You with Brett Bennett, Buck presses a sweet kiss to Tommy's arm and says, "Stop making me want to time travel so I can fight an eleven-year old."

Tommy laughs and says, "It was more wanting to slow dance with a cute boy in front of everyone than Brett himself. You have nothing to be jealous about. When we were in the eighth grade, he crushed up a bunch of Altoids and snorted them through a hollowed-out pen during social studies. I've never heard anyone scream like that in my entire life. They had an ambulance come for him and he never came back to school after that."

"Sounds like a real winner," Evan teases, tongue between his teeth. "You really know how to pick 'em."

"Yeah, it's a gift," Tommy deadpans, and then wrestles Evan, who's cackling like a hyena, into the couch cushions.

Months later, Howie and Maddie throw a big party—which Howie's been calling Reception Redux in the OG 118 group chat—in Tommy's backyard, and he's in the middle of an unspoken chicken wing eating contest with Eddie—who's winning, and Tommy has no idea how he's putting them away so fast—when the music changes from some pop song he doesn't know to a familiar tinkle of piano chords. Howie strong-arms the mic away from the DJ and announces with a big grin that the song was requested by someone who wanted to "quote-unquote: dance with a cute boy in front of everyone."

Tommy almost chokes on the wing in his mouth, and he barely wipes the barbeque sauce off his fingers in time before Evan comes over, takes his hand, and pulls him onto the little dance floor they'd put down that morning in the flattest part of the yard.

His heart pounds as Evan drapes his arms over Tommy's shoulders like it's the easiest thing in the world, pressing close until it feels like their bodies are merging everywhere they touch, and then starts to sway. Tommy slowly lets his hands settle on Evan's hips, firm and sure. He doesn't even consider doing the hover thing.

As Selena sings about wishing on stars, Tommy closes his eyes and tucks his temple against Evan's, and for a moment they're in the East Westbridge Junior High School gym, which smells like sweat and cherry Lip Smackers and body odor, and across the room Jamal and Mitch both give him an enthusiastic thumbs up—and Mitch then does something obscene with his hands that has Jamal smacking him upside the head—because Tommy's dancing with the boy of his dreams in front of everyone while his stack of Car and Driver magazines sit unread and curling from the humidity.

"If Brett Whatshisname shows up, I won't be responsible for my actions," Evan says warmly, voice soft against the curve of his ear. "Literally. I already cleared it with Athena."

I'll be dreaming with you tonight endlessly, the song promises, and Tommy opens his eyes in the present. He takes a deep breath, borrows the energy of Selena's vow, and pulls back just far enough to whisper against the corner of Evan's mouth, "Marry me."

#bucktommy #bucktommy headcanons

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mostlysignssomeportents · 5 months

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The true post-cyberpunk hero is a noir forensic accountant

I'm touring my new, nationally bestselling novel The Bezzle! Catch me in TOMORROW (Apr 17) in CHICAGO, then Torino (Apr 21) Marin County (Apr 27), Winnipeg (May 2), Calgary (May 3), Vancouver (May 4), and beyond!

I was reared on cyberpunk fiction, I ended up spending 25 years at my EFF day-job working at the weird edge of tech and human rights, even as I wrote sf that tried to fuse my love of cyberpunk with my urgent, lifelong struggle over who computers do things for and who they do them to.

That makes me an official "post-cyberpunk" writer (TM). Don't take my word for it: I'm in the canon:

https://tachyonpublications.com/product/rewired-the-post-cyberpunk-anthology-2/

One of the editors of that "post-cyberpunk" anthology was John Kessel, who is, not coincidentally, the first writer to expose me to the power of literary criticism to change the way I felt about a novel, both as a writer and a reader:

https://locusmag.com/2012/05/cory-doctorow-a-prose-by-any-other-name/

It was Kessel's 2004 Foundation essay, "Creating the Innocent Killer: Ender's Game, Intention, and Morality," that helped me understand litcrit. Kessel expertly surfaces the subtext of Card's Ender's Game and connects it to Card's politics. In so doing, he completely reframed how I felt about a book I'd read several times and had considered a favorite:

https://johnjosephkessel.wixsite.com/kessel-website/creating-the-innocent-killer

This is a head-spinning experience for a reader, but it's even wilder to experience it as a writer. Thankfully, the majority of literary criticism about my work has been positive, but even then, discovering something that's clearly present in one of my novels, but which I didn't consciously include, is a (very pleasant!) mind-fuck.

A recent example: Blair Fix's review of my 2023 novel Red Team Blues which he calls "an anti-finance finance thriller":

https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2023/05/13/red-team-blues-cory-doctorows-anti-finance-thriller/

Fix – a radical economist – perfectly captures the correspondence between my hero, the forensic accountant Martin Hench, and the heroes of noir detective novels. Namely, that a noir detective is a kind of unlicensed policeman, going to the places the cops can't go, asking the questions the cops can't ask, and thus solving the crimes the cops can't solve. What makes this noir is what happens next: the private dick realizes that these were places the cops didn't want to go, questions the cops didn't want to ask and crimes the cops didn't want to solve ("It's Chinatown, Jake").

Marty Hench – a forensic accountant who finds the money that has been disappeared through the cells in cleverly constructed spreadsheets – is an unlicensed tax inspector. He's finding the money the IRS can't find – only to be reminded, time and again, that this is money the IRS chooses not to find.

This is how the tax authorities work, after all. Anyone who followed the coverage of the big finance leaks knows that the most shocking revelation they contain is how stupid the ruses of the ultra-wealthy are. The IRS could prevent that tax-fraud, they just choose not to. Not for nothing, I call the Martin Hench books "Panama Papers fanfic."

I've read plenty of noir fiction and I'm a long-term finance-leaks obsessive, but until I read Fix's article, it never occurred to me that a forensic accountant was actually squarely within the noir tradition. Hench's perfect noir fit is either a happy accident or the result of a subconscious intuition that I didn't know I had until Fix put his finger on it.

The second Hench novel is The Bezzle. It's been out since February, and I'm still touring with it (Chicago tonight! Then Turin, Marin County, Winnipeg, Calgary, Vancouver, etc). It's paying off – the book's a national bestseller.

Writing in his newsletter, Henry Farrell connects Fix's observation to one of his own, about the nature of "hackers" and their role in cyberpunk (and post-cyberpunk) fiction:

https://www.programmablemutter.com/p/the-accountant-as-cyberpunk-hero

Farrell cites Bruce Schneier's 2023 book, A Hacker’s Mind: How the Powerful Bend Society’s Rules and How to Bend Them Back:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/06/trickster-makes-the-world/

Schneier, a security expert, broadens the category of "hacker" to include anyone who studies systems with an eye to finding and exploiting their defects. Under this definition, the more fearsome hackers are "working for a hedge fund, finding a loophole in financial regulations that lets her siphon extra profits out of the system." Hackers work in corporate offices, or as government lobbyists.

As Henry says, hacking isn't intrinsically countercultural ("Most of the hacking you might care about is done by boring seeming people in boring seeming clothes"). Hacking reinforces – rather than undermining power asymmetries ("The rich have far more resources to figure out how to gimmick the rules"). We are mostly not the hackers – we are the hacked.

For Henry, Marty Hench is a hacker (the rare hacker that works for the good guys), even though "he doesn’t wear mirrorshades or get wasted chatting to bartenders with Soviet military-surplus mechanical arms." He's a gun for hire, that most traditional of cyberpunk heroes, and while he doesn't stand against the system, he's not for it, either.

Henry's pinning down something I've been circling around for nearly 30 years: the idea that though "the street finds its own use for things," Wall Street and Madison Avenue are among the streets that might find those uses:

https://craphound.com/nonfic/street.html

Henry also connects Martin Hench to Marcus Yallow, the hero of my YA Little Brother series. I have tried to make this connection myself, opining that while Marcus is a character who is fighting to save an internet that he loves, Marty is living in the ashes of the internet he lost:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/07/dont-curb-your-enthusiasm/

But Henry's Marty-as-hacker notion surfaces a far more interesting connection between the two characters. Marcus is a vehicle for conveying the excitement and power of hacking to young readers, while Marty is a vessel for older readers who know the stark terror of being hacked, by the sadistic wolves who're coming for all of us:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I44L1pzi4gk

Both Marcus and Marty are explainers, as am I. Some people say that exposition makes for bad narrative. Those people are wrong:

https://maryrobinettekowal.com/journal/my-favorite-bit/my-favorite-bit-cory-doctorow-talks-about-the-bezzle/

"Explaining" makes for great fiction. As Maria Farrell writes in her Crooked Timber review of The Bezzle, the secret sauce of some of the best novels is "information about how things work. Things like locks, rifles, security systems":

https://crookedtimber.org/2024/03/06/the-bezzle/

Where these things are integrated into the story's "reason and urgency," they become "specialist knowledge [that] cuts new paths to move through the world." Hacking, in other words.

This is a theme Paul Di Filippo picked up on in his review of The Bezzle for Locus:

https://locusmag.com/2024/04/paul-di-filippo-reviews-the-bezzle-by-cory-doctorow/

Heinlein was always known—and always came across in his writings—as The Man Who Knew How the World Worked. Doctorow delivers the same sense of putting yourself in the hands of a fellow who has peered behind Oz’s curtain. When he fills you in lucidly about some arcane bit of economics or computer tech or social media scam, you feel, first, that you understand it completely and, second, that you can trust Doctorow’s analysis and insights.

Knowledge is power, and so expository fiction that delivers news you can use is novel that makes you more powerful – powerful enough to resist the hackers who want to hack you.

Henry and I were both friends of Aaron Swartz, and the Little Brother books are closely connected to Aaron, who helped me with Homeland, the second volume, and wrote a great afterword for it (Schneier wrote an afterword for the first book). That book – and Aaron's afterword – has radicalized a gratifying number of principled technologists. I know, because I meet them when I tour, and because they send me emails. I like to think that these hackers are part of Aaron's legacy.

Henry argues that the Hench books are "purpose-designed to inspire a thousand Max Schrems – people who are probably past their teenage years, have some grounding in the relevant professions, and really want to see things change."

(Schrems is the Austrian privacy activist who, as a law student, set in motion the events that led to the passage of the EU's General Data Privacy Regulation:)

https://pluralistic.net/2020/05/15/out-here-everything-hurts/#noyb

Henry points out that William Gibson's Neuromancer doesn't mention the word "internet" – rather, Gibson coined the term cyberspace, which, as Henry says, is "more ‘capitalism’ than ‘computerized information'… If you really want to penetrate the system, you need to really grasp what money is and what it does."

Maria also wrote one of my all-time favorite reviews of Red Team Blues, also for Crooked Timber:

https://crookedtimber.org/2023/05/11/when-crypto-meant-cryptography/

In it, she compares Hench to Dickens' Bleak House, but for the modern tech world:

You put the book down feeling it’s not just a fascinating, enjoyable novel, but a document of how Silicon Valley’s very own 1% live and a teeming, energy-emitting snapshot of a critical moment on Earth.

All my life, I've written to find out what's going on in my own head. It's a remarkably effective technique. But it's only recently that I've come to appreciate that reading what other people write about my writing can reveal things that I can't see.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/17/panama-papers-fanfic/#the-1337est-h4x0rs

Image: Frédéric Poirot (modified) https://www.flickr.com/photos/fredarmitage/1057613629 CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

#pluralistic #science fiction #cyberpunk #literary criticism #maria farrell #henry farrell #noir #martin hench #marty hench #red team blues #the bezzle #forensic accountants #hackers #bruce schneier #post-cyberpunk #blair fix

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neil-gaiman · 1 year

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Hello Mr Gaiman, if you don't mind, could you please tell me if the fact that you once asked an official in China that Chinese people need more sci-fi stories to fuel their imagination and hence innovation, hence their invitation of sci-fi writers and yourself many years ago, was a true conversation?

I once found this in one of your journals but somehow I couldn't find it anymore and thinking of digging deeper in your archives through China tags sound way too daunting as I just had many exams today and in one essay I cited this very example and you in it to prove a point that scientists need artists (I see writers as artists too) in this world, and now I'm kind of freaking out on whether I hallucinated the whole story or something.

Whatever it is, if you managed to read this ask, thanks a lot and hope you have a good day/night ahead!

It was in 2007 in Chengdu, at the first offically approved and endorsed SF convention. Here's Bob Sawyer talking about it on his web site at the time:

And here's Michael Swanwick:

and a Chinese article from the time:

And yes. When I asked why the disapproval of SF had turned to approval, I was told that Chinese fact-finding conversations at Apple, Microsoft and Google had revealed that most of the engineers, creators, designers and inventors had read SF when younger and had become interested in making what they made because of SF, and that the official Chinese position in 2007 was that SF should now be encouraged -- thus the convention.

From the article at the time:

The 2007 China (Chengdu) SF/Fantasy Conference hosted the event. The theme: “Science, Imagination and Future” is an ambitious Chinese effort designed to inspire public creativity toward future scientific and technological development as well as promote national insight for scientific exploration. The conference has been scheduled immediately before the World Science Fiction Convention in Yokohama, Japan.

The conference has designated August 25 as “China Imagination Day”. SF and fantasy lovers signed their names on a banner to commemorate this day during the opening ceremony.

“Imagination is an important premise for creativity. Science fiction literature plays an important role in inspiring people’s imagination and creativity,” said Li Xiuting, vice director of the International Department of the China Association for Science and Technology, at the opening ceremony on Saturday.

“Our (science fiction) words become the world and our words become places that you can visit. They become books and stories that inspire people. It is both surprising and reassuring to know by accident that the places have helped to make a future we are now living. Places like Microsoft and Google, Apple and places like MIT are packed with science fiction readers and fantasy readers,” Neil Gaiman said on Saturday.

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marticoresims · 12 days

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Custom career - Psychologist!

I edited LientebollemeiS2I's Psychologist career, changing nearly everything about it. What stayed are links to uni majors, the icon (which is also a uni major) and some inspiration for chance cards. IMO this career has a strong Maxis vibe, with "start from nothing" first levels, NPC references and silly chance cards.

Each level title has a number added to it, like in this mod.

The 4 skills required for this job are: Logic, Charisma, Cleaning and Creativity.

IMPORTANT EDIT: With LientebollemeiS2I's guidance, I also edited the GUID of the career and changed PTO (paid time off) back to default. Now you can use both our careers at the same time! The GUID is: 0xC6A05A9D. In case you need to check if you have something that uses the same one (it was generated, so might repeat).

DOWNLOAD (SFS)

List of levels with descriptions:

Psychology Books Enjoyer Lvl 1 You'll take any book that has anything to do with the topic of psychology and devour it instantly, hoping this knowledge will be useful some day.

Internet Mental Health Advisor Lvl 2 You dive into web forums to find the most interesting psychological cases and comment on them. Your aspirations are high, but you don't have the skills or degrees yet to become a real therapist. One can dream, though!

Social Bunny Lvl 3 You've actually made it to a real mental health institution, and not as a patient, but as an assistant… sort of. Don't forget to be the fluffiest bunny out there because what you're doing here is really helping other Sims. And all you ever wanted was to help others, right?

Therapist in Training Lvl 4 It's been hard, but you've made it to an actual psychology path. Just stay strong and you'll definitely open your own private practice office one day.

Social Worker Lvl 5 Whether it's leaving children home alone for too long, starving them or not dressing them appropriately to the weather… you'll be there to collect them and find more responsible families for them. It's a tough job, but it's something you have to get through in your training.

Private Counselor Lvl 6 You've finally made it! You're officially a therapist and working in your private office. Now, your mission is to care for your clients in the best way that you can. So don't stop educating yourself!

Psychology Researcher Lvl 7 Your passion for psychology is never-ending. You've decided to take it to the next level and do important research to contribute to the science. Good job!

Personality Specialist Lvl 8 During your research, you've grown very interested in the depths of Sims' personality. What can change it? To what extent is it genetic? What's that thing about werewolves?

Clinical Psychologist Lvl 9 Regular therapy practice and deep research were not quite enough for you. Now it's time to make real diagnoses, assist psychiatrists in their work, and make the world a better place. Keep on learning and you might become the ultimate Therapist.

Therapist NPC Lvl 10 It's time to deal with the real Wretched Outcasts and Doddering Deadbeats. In order to do it, you needed to learn teleportation, hypnosis and partial invisibility. If someone is in crisis, you're the Sim they'll always turn to.

As for clothes and cars (or lack thereof 👀), you'll have to see for yourself in game 😎

DOWNLOAD (SFS)

Hope you like it! I've always wanted a therapist-like career in The Sims 2.

Made with Bidou's Career Editor (now part of SimPE).

#sims 2 cc #sims2 #thesims2 #sims 2 download #sims 2 mods

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crazy-lazy-elder-sims · 2 years

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-THE RAVEN DRESS-

- this started off with me thinking its gonna be so easy but ofc it was actually above my skill level lmao, so my friend @moontaart swooped in, helped me perfect the dress and make it 100% better! truly saved the day and taught me so much! thank you so much!!! -

if you have watched the Wednesday Netflix show you will totally recognize this beautiful dress Wednesday wore to the Raven dance! now your sim can cc shop the look and be as beautiful, kooky and spooky as Wednesday!

if you face any problems with this please send us a message. thank you!

BGC

FREE

16 swatches including 2 Evermore official colors!

8k poly

All LODs and maps.

only femme frame

my TOU

download:

mediafire - SFS (no adfly)

@emilyccfinds @public-ccfinds @lightsleepertrait

color preview:

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sponeszine · 4 months

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Search for Spock - Released June 1, 1984

This First of June will be the 40th anniversary of Search for Spock (and all the Spones goodness of this movie).

(Since there's already so much Spones creating going on, we're not making an official event. However if you happen to create something to celebrate the 40 year anniversary, we will be tracking #SFS40 & #SearchForSpock40. It may also be a great prompt to make something related to SFS for Spones Day on June 26th!)

@fuckyeahspones @sponesevents

#spones #spock x mccoy #spones day #the search for spock #star trek events #tagging our fellow spones blogs in case they want to make a more official event #committee is busy and in heavy prep for the zine so we have plenty on our plate already :')#mod elian #I WOULD LIKE OLD MARRIED SPONES.... just saying

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cochart · 2 months

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Okay, I never thought one could accumulate mental damage through reading romance novels, but apparently one can.

If you’re a fan of k-romance fantasy genre, do not read below!!

*For context, I work for a web novel vendor. So I’m required to read these materials for my work. “Don’t like, don’t read!” can’t apply to me. I have also asked the company that I would like to take on more non-romance titles, but because there is an overwhelming number of romance compared to urban fantasy or SF or anything I like, I have no choice. I don’t hate this work, but I have to admit that some novels do get weird. Also, I think romance fantasy as a genre could benefit from some criticism.

1. Tradwife fantasy

A lot of Korean romance fantasy borders on being tradwife content. A modern woman with an unfulfilling life finds herself as a character in a fantasy world and ultimately ends up getting married to a duke, a prince, or some other rich, hot dude. In the epilogue, they have kids, one girl and one boy.* When in the fantasy world, the female protagonist seldom has a job, her days primarily consisting of sipping tea, gossiping with other women, or going to parties where she would meet the hot guy she’s destined with. Rarely, she runs a small business—I sometimes wonder if I should be thankful that she’s not in an MLM—works as a tutor, or in case of a more fantasy-heavy work, is a mage. Mind that she cannot be a government official, the lord of the castle, or a military leader.* But even if she has some decent job, the epilogue will focus on her awesome new life as a wife and a mother instead.

It’s one thing to read a Victorian novel about a woman’s domestic life, but it is something else to read a contemporary novel about it. There is something disturbing about reading novels where a contemporary woman with a degree and a job ends up in a fantasy world as a tradwife. Often, it is insinuated that her becoming a wife and a mother is a solution to her troubles. One can see how strange this is when looking at isekai fantasy for male readers. In male isekai fantasy, protagonists become some bigshot, saving the world or dominating the market or pulling off some admirable feat. Of course, they also “get the girl.”

It’s not like I expect romance fantasy to be raging feminist works, but I still feel disturbed whenever I realize that some people fantasize about these stuff. They might not go on to fulfill such desires, but they’re still dreaming about it. In romcoms, protagonists still work, at least. I can understand a heterosexual woman with a career wanting family. But wanting to a rich husband and live happily ever after as a wife and a mother is something I can never sympathize with.

There are so many tradwife fantasy in this genre that it sometimes gets mentally draining. It feels like Keep Sweet and Obey Lite. Yeah. tradwife fantasy might not be great for mental health for some people.

*One pet peeve I have is how in most situations, they show clear preference for the boy. Typically, the girl is beautiful and cunning while the boy is sensitive and innocent. Considering how little girls are often accused of being “manipulative” and “mean” while boys are coddled as “innocent” in Korea, seeing the stereotype is not very pleasant.

2. Self inserts

However you feel about self-inserts, I’m of the firm belief that a professional writer/artist should keep it under control in published works.* A little self-insert might not do any harm, but the reader really shouldn’t feel like they’re listening to the author talking about how great they are and how they want a boy with big strong arms. Unfortunately, you can’t have nice things in this world, and quite a few romance web novels are guilty of this. These self-insert protagonists are also raging Mary Sue’s, and sometimes you’re left wondering if you’re reading a romance fantasy or a thirteen-year-old girl’s fan fiction from 2003.

Of course, these writers would never admit that their character is a self-insert Mary Sue. Some writers are transparent about this in fan fiction space which I appreciate. But you can often feel the writer fawning over their own characters, and it gets uncomfortable very fast. Have you ever read something and had a feeling that the writer was pressuring you to feel a certain way about a character whether it’s pity, attraction, or admiration? I once worked on a title where the protagonist was very girl-boss-like (this title is also from mid 2010s) and I got a strong feeling that the author herself was infatuated with the character. There were many sentences that were practically guiding the reader to praise this strong girl boss. Then I have this title I’m working on right now where the author clearly thinks her protagonist is the most tragic and irresistible girl ever.** Unfortunately, in most of these cases, the characters are simply not as charming as the author thinks they are. Motoko Kusanagi is not cool because the anime tells you so, she’s cool because of her actions. Sakura Matou is not tragic because you’re told so, but the actual circumstances presented in the show.

Having such raging self-insert Mary Sue and authors practically trying to coerce you to feel a certain way is just not fun for many people.*** The way I’d describe it, it feels a lot like having a friend with main character syndrome who can’t go a month without having a boyfriend. She might not be the most awful person in the world, but it’s mentally draining to be around her.

*In fan fiction, it’s fine. People can do whatever they please.

**This case was particularly difficult for me because the author also made a big deal about the protagonist being a virgin, describing her as pure yet irresistible and sexy multiple times. And no, the author is not a man, so this is not “man writing women.” One of the many things I find uncomfortable about Korean romance fantasy webnovels or webtoons is their strange hangups on a female protagonist having to be a virgin (but never male ones!). It’s difficult to find works where female protag has had relationships or sexual experiences before even if she’s an adult. Not having relationships is not a sin, but it’s rather weird to realize that it’s the norm for almost every title.

***I get it’s just romance and it’s not deep, but imagine if you had to read hardcore fundamentalist Christian articles for your job. It won’t be too fun, is it? To be clear, I’m not traumatized or mentally scarred by my work. It’s just that shit gets tiring sometimes and I would like to take a paid vacation for a few days. But with the economy in shithole like this? Hah!

Okay, rant over. Now I’m going to watch and read some stuff for mental health recovery.

#coch talk

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wearethekat · 8 months

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Anticipated New Releases of 2024

**As anticipated by Me. Mostly SFF. Links are to goodreads because that's what I use, sorry. Anything marked "new to me" I haven't read anything by that author before and therefore can't vouch for the quality. I just think the premise is neat.**

Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands, Heather Fawcett (16 January)

Sequel to the charming novel about the fairy anthropologist.

Exordia, Seth Dickinson (23 January)

Well, it isn't a new Baru Cormorant, but this modern SF about first contact may be the next best thing.

City of Stardust, Georgia Summers (30 January)

New to me. A young woman descends into the underworld in order to break her family's fatal curse.

The Tainted Cup, Robert Jackson Bennett (6 February)

New to me. A sherlock holmes flavored duo solves the mystery of the murder of an imperial official in a labyrinthine fantasy realm.

What Feasts at Night, T Kingfisher (13 February)

The sequel to the mushroom horror book What Moves the Dead.

The Warm Hands of Ghosts, Katherine Arden (13 February)

A ghost story set in WW1 about a woman searching for her missing brother.

The Fox Wife, Yangsze Choo (13 February)

New to me. A detective in 1908 Manchuria investigates a young woman's death in an area full of mythical foxes.

Redsight, Meredith Mooring (27 February)

New to me. Unpowered priestess and Imperial pawn is set on a collision path with a pirate with a grudge for the Imperium (Gay romance).

Sunbringer, Hannah Kaner (12 March)

Sequel about the professional godkiller Kissen.

Jumpnauts, Hao Jingfang (12 March)

New to me. A SF novel in translation from Chinese, with three scientists joining forces to deal peacefully with a first contact situation.

The Woods All Black, Lee Mandelo (19 March)

I liked Mandelo's debut novel very much so I'm excited to read this queer horror novella set in 1920s Appalachia.

Floating Hotel, Grace Curtis (19 March)

New to me. A series of cozy character vignettes on a space cruise ship after a murder has occurred. One of the four (!) space hotel murder crimes books coming out this year.

The Emperor and the Endless Palace, Justinian Huang (26 March)

New to me. Reincarnation gay romance set in 4 BCE China, the 1740s, and modern-day LA.

Alien Clay, Adrian Tchaikovsky (28 March)

Far future space xenoarchaeology by a man trapped on a prison planet.

Someone You Can Build a Nest In, John Wiswell (2 April)

New to me. Bizarre lesbian cannibalism monster romance from the point of view of the monster.

The Familiar, Leigh Bardugo (9 April)

Glad to see Bardugo writing more adult fantasy, and this one is especially exciting because it's a fantasy set in early modern Spain with a Jewish main character. Fun to see a more original historical period.

A Sweet Sting of Salt, Rose Sutherland (9 April)

New to me. Lesbian selkie romance.

Death in the Spires, KJ Charles (11 April)

Charles branching out from romance into historical Oxford murder mystery about a group of friends with dark secrets.

Audrey Lane Stirs The Pot, Alexis Hall (22 April)

The new Hall thinly veiled british baking show romcom. Libby says it's releasing in April but I've heard nothing from the author so I think it may be Alecto'd (shifted to next year)

Necrobane, Daniel M Ford (23 April)

Sequel to the dungeons and dragons-esque low fantasy lesbian necromancy book.

A Letter to the Luminous Deep, Sylvie Cathrall (25 April)

New to me. Sweet underwater epistolary academic romance.

How To Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying, Django Wexler (21 May)

New to me. A young hero caught in a fantasy time loop gives up and tries being the villain in an attempt to escape.

Goddess of the River, Vaishnavi Patel (21 May)

Another woman-centered retelling of Hindu mythology, this time based on the river goddess Ganga.

Escape Velocity, Victor Manibo (21 May)

New to me. Evil and toxic private school alumni jockey for position in a space hotel event in an attempt to escape a dying Earth.

The Fireborne Blade, Charlotte Bond (28 May)

New to me. Gay dragon slaying knight novella.

Evocation, ST Gibson (28 May)

New to me but looks very cool. Attorney and medium David attempts to escape his deal with the devil with the help of his ex boyfriend and his ex boyfriend's wife (Poly romance).

Service Model, Adrian Tchaikovsky (4 June)

In an SF future, a robot kills its human owners and ventures out into a world where human supremacy is beginning to crumble.

Lady Eve's Last Con, Rebecca Fraimow (4 June)

New to me. A con artist seeks revenge on the man who hurt her sister, who's coincidentally also on a space cruise ship (Sapphic romance subplot).

Triple Sec, TJ Alexander (4 June)

An actual mainstream published poly romance (!!) by trans author Alexander.

Running Close to the Wind, Alexandra Rowland (11 June)

Gay! Pirates! Scheming! Alt fantasy world! Monks! I liked Taste of Gold and Iron a lot and I'm very excited for this one.

The Knife and the Serpent, Tim Pratt (11 June)

New to me. Space opera about an interdimensional organization. Also, there's a sentient starship.

The Witchstone, Henry Neff (18 June)

A childhood favorite of mine's adult debut, featuring a demon who suddenly has to shape up at his curse keeper job after eight hundred years of slacking.

Rakesfall, Vajra Chandrasekera (18 June)

VERY excited to read more weird queer sff from this author after a fantastic debut. Looks weird. I'm in.

Foul Days, Genoveva Dimova (25 June)

New to me. A witch in a Slavic fantasy inspired world flees her evil ex, the Tsar of Monsters. There's also a plague and a detective.

Saints of Storm and Sorrow, Gabriella Buba (25 June)

New to me. Filipino inspired anticolonialist fantasy novel about a nun who is secretly practicing the religion of her goddess.

The Duke at Hazard, KJ Charles (18 July)

A queer regency with an incognito duke by one of my particular favorite romance authors.

Long Live Evil, Sarah Rees Brennan (30 July)

!!! Very excited to see a new adult fantasy by Brennan. A reader is dragged into a fictional world and finds herself the villain.

A Sorceress Comes to Call, T Kingfisher (20 August)

A retelling of The Goose Girl from reliably good fairy tale stalwart Kingfisher.

Buried Deep and Other Stories, Naomi Novik (17 September)

Collection of Novik's short stories.

Swordcrossed, Freya Marske (8 October)

VERY excited to see a new book by talented writer Marske. A man falls in love with the duelist hired for his arranged wedding. MEANWHILE. details of the fantasy world wool industry.

Feast While You Can, Mikaella Clements and Onjuli Datta (29 October)

New to me. Small town queer cave horror.

The Last Hour Between Worlds, Melissa Caruso (19 November)

Multiple reality murder mystery spy vs spy type antics, with lesbians.

#book recommendations #on the tbr #now I would Like to put alecto the ninth on this but as we know. NO news (sobs)#long post #updated 3/8 with more books I've added since I posted this

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keirosims · 19 days

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I'm participating in Simblreen!!

Official Simblreen FAQ by @simblreenofficial

Yes I know it's still over a month until Simblreen but I'm excited aight shush!!

The Plan

Weekend 1: October 18-20 Weekend 2: October 25-27

How many treats? I will (hopefully) be releasing six pieces of cc, one for each day of the event! What will the treats be? Occult/Spooky custom content! ⁽ᵖᵒˢˢⁱᵇˡᵉ ᶜᶜ: ʰᵒʳⁿˢ/ᵗᵃᵗᵗᵒᵒˢ/ᵖᵒˢᵉˢ⁾ How can you get my treats? I will be turning my porchlight on during each day. Send me asks off anon during the time my porchlight is on! I will pin these posts on my blog. I'll be linking to a private post that has links to SFS and Dropbox incase SFS borks itself lol. There might also be a secret 🎃 somewhere on my blog. What's the schedule? Ideally be evening/night time (GMT+1) UK time! I'll update if there's any changes. When will everything release? October 31st!

#simblreen #simblreen2024 #simblreen 2024 #sims 4 #the sims 4 #simblr #simblreen participant #I just finished treat 1 and treat 2 is like very close I'm buzzing

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nattaphum · 1 year

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Man Suang latest updates

If you go to specific theaters in Bangkok, you can find these beautiful popcorn buckets 🥹

Today, a new official poster was displayed at a movie theater in Bangkok (SF Cinema MBK)

THERE’S CHAT 😍!!! AND KHEM DANCING IN THE FRONT

(X)

Another day of post processing 💪🏻

Translation of Pond’s comment: Apo is really high talented. Anything difficult he can do it all. Never ever tired. In order to send the best #Mansuang to everyone.

MileApo with Koolsingha

His comment: Follow Mile+Apo in Cinema Life soon.P.S. The first sentence that Mile said is: "your shirt is so cool. I listen to Arctic Monkeys". He’s so cute !!

New interview of Mile and Apo to promote Man Suang (with World Y)

💖!!!

#THEY ARE THE PRETTIEST !!!!#AND THAT POSTER OMGGGG #kinnporsche #mileapo #apo nattawin #mile phakphum #man suang #mileapo movie

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charlieactuallydiesforreal · 25 days

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Charlie Actually Dies For Real

A Smiling Friends AU by @Scribbly07 / @ScribblyShipping

This pinned post will serve as a “hub” that’ll contain links to everything important in the blog!

Plot: This AU serves as a fun “what if” scenario, where Charlie doesn’t come back after dying. (This means that no events after the episode don’t happen, too.) During his time in Hell, he progressively becomes more demonlike, with some unfortunate reminders of his death permanently stuck with him. He runs into some familiar faces along the way, too. Hes having a pretty hard time. And, despite what he hopes, things aren’t going so great in the realm of the living either.

I’m not too sure just how I want to tell this story yet. I have a basic plot rundown from beginning to end, but I’m unsure on how to tell everything and bridge the gaps. It might just be a mix of art and rambling posts, maybe even something more fanfic like if I can muster it.

I’ve decided that people can ask questions directed at the characters as well! You wanna know what Charlie’s up to in Hell right now? Go ask him!

ASK STATUS: OPEN!

Cast:

(Click on the links to see individual references and info!)

Charlie

Pim

Other Notable Living Characters

Smormu

Grim & Gnarly

Other Notable Demons

######## (INFO NOT FOUND)

Lore (in order):

As I publish more of this story, I’ll be sure to organize it here, so anyone new to the blog can pop in and catch up! There will be major plot events happening! ;]

FAQ:

This will be updated as more questions come! But I wanted to get a few out of the way first.

Where’s Zoey?

Personally, I don’t really like Zoey, and will not be including her in this AU. She’s never really brought any sort of major impact in the show, so for all intensive purposes, she never existed within this timeline.

Where’s Mr. Boss?

Similarly to Zoey, I don’t really like him. He makes me uncomfortable on a much deeper level than Zoey, though. I don’t really want to touch him at all, so he’s just sort of in the background of this.

Where's Duncan?

Some as the two above this, I don't like him. His whole bit is being fat and throwing up. Why would I even give him the time of day?

Is there Charpim?

Well… they never got the chance to really make things official, but they were always very close, together on a deeper level than friends, but never found the words to confess.

Can I draw fanart?

OMG YES PLEASE! Feel free to tag this account and/or my main if you do!

Is selfshipping okay?

I would prefer it if people who selfshipped with Charlie or Pim not interact with this blog. But, besides those two, every other character is open range. I ask that you tag this account and/or my selfship blog if you create selfship art for the au! I'd like to see it :]

Can I make an OC/Include my OC?

Yeah! Anyone can make an OC for this or do something like make a demon version of your OC. However. Unless you're a friend of mine, your character will not be considered "canon" to this AU.

Can other SF Ask Blogs interact?

I've always dreamed of interacting with other ask blogs and roleplaying so YES! I will say, though, that characters like Charlie and Pim are ones I have very Strong connections to that I may be uncomfortable responding to depending on the interpretation. Don't be upset if I never respond, it's just a weird brain thing I have!

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nonsensical-pixels · 1 year

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happy true maxis thursday! i have officially converted jenny smith's outfit... for males. please ignore the blatant misspelling of the title, i spent way too much time on this and got tired

i never thought i'd see this day until @oceansmotion started spamming me with the request... and yes, that is general buzz grunt in the preview. aoife wanted him to remarry pol 9 in her strangetown, and take over jenny's place. how could i say no?

to my delight, the top fits perfectly texture-based on the male nude mesh; the pants have their own new mesh (600 polys). the shoes are the only wonky part; they look slightly... off? idk how to explain it. but if you're fine with that, the outfit comes in just these exact swatches 😊

if you really want this set (for whatever weird reason),

DOWNLOAD: SFS | MF 👯‍♀️

credits go to @oceansmotion for the idea! i hope buzz and pol are happy foreverafter 💝

if there are any issues that you find with this set, please don't be afraid to let me know! happy simming, and when you download this, do keep in mind,

#s2cc #sims 2 cc #the sims 2 #sims 2 #4t2 cas #sims 2 download #true maxis thursday

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starsreminisce · 3 months

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Papa Archeron favors Elain so he must have seen some potential in her. What other potential or speculative skills do you think Elain could have that can aid her in becoming an independent actor from her sisters and the Night Court? Do you think she got some of her skills from her father?

What kingdoms or courts do you think the next book (if it's an Elucien book) would explore and expand on?

If political drama were to be the focus of the next ACOTAR book, which political actor (could be any HL, non-HL, or any person of power) are you excited to see more of?

Lastly, fears for the next book that you are not looking forward to that you think can possibly happen.

Sorry for the many questions.

You're fine with the questions! I worry that I'll ramble and give you like a dissertation that ends up being too long to read so if you managed to get to the end of it, I hope your pillow stays cold. thank you haha!

I found it interesting that Elain was described as someone who can convince anyone to do anything with her pretty smile, and her father was a great negotiator who managed to temporarily free Vassa from Koschei, whom Elain had also dreamed about.

I think Elain stays close to her father and picks up on how he conducts his dealings, learning to read body language and details for negotiations. Cassian said that Elain saw it all and understood why—she has shown this ability when she pinpointed that Papa Archie's death caused Nesta to spiral, and when she read Azriel's decision and agreed (hence the confusion). Feyre would not have had the use of the house to meet the Queens if Elain had not convinced Nesta to allow it, showing her influence.

It's also notable that Elain is a seer, and this can tie into Papa Archie's background as a merchant, relying on intuition. We were told that Papa Archie gambled on three ships to Bharat to pay off their debts completely. Although he lost their wealth, part of being an entrepreneur (or merchant, in this case) is knowing and calculating risks for a high payoff—sometimes it works out, and sometimes it doesn't. With that, we did see Elain gamble on some decisions, and I wonder if her ability to assess risks and potential payoffs quickly plays a role in this.

I also wonder if Papa Archie set up something related to the key to freeing Vassa or defeating Koschei that only Elain would understand, which could come into play later. It's notable that Lucien is the only one who met Papa Archie, and it was for Elain's sake that he found Papa Archie in the process. Lucien spent time with Papa Archie while he was alive, and this connection may deepen his bond with Elain, much like how Papa Archie's death connected Nesta to Cassian through his understanding of her grief over being too late to save his mother.

Since the political drama and questions about the courts sort of blend together, we will likely see Autumn. We have to — there's the bargain between Eris and Rhys, of which only Eris's end has been fulfilled. We left off SF with Beron becoming more proactive about allying with Koschei. I would also love to see more of the Day Court and Helion in action.

Honestly, I'm not thrilled that we are going back to the Spring Court because it feels like… we've been there already, you know? We'll probably see some interaction between the Spring Court and the Human Lands since they border each other. From the sounds of it, if Vassa will be leaving soon, it's likely much more stabilized now. Hopefully, we won't spend too long there (possibly up to Part One?) before moving on to the Day Court and/or Autumn.

This last question though...

I'm worried that the next book may not meet the extremely high expectations being set.

It will officially declare where SJM stands in the ship wars, and there are two groups of people that will have to be satisfied: those on the other side of the ship, and those who have grown dissatisfied and critical with her writing. I fear it won't be as well-received as I hope, especially if it's a book about my favorite ship in the series.

Of course, people can ship who they want, and endgame status doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things, but I love Elucien and hope to see that appreciation for them come through, even from those who didn't initially support the ship, and that it's done right by those who feel SJM has lost her touch.

With that said, I don't mind waiting for the announcement. I'd rather have a well-done book that took time to refine than a rushed release that needed more polishing (looking at you, HOFAS, even though I liked you).

Also, I'm feeling a bit jaded after the last couple of series I've read fell flat for me despite my initial excitement for their release.

If you made it this far, nonnie, I hope this answers most of it! Thank you again for taking the time to ask and I hope you have a great day!

#elucien #pro elucien #lucien vanserra #elain archeron #papa archeron #acotar #asks

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