#plus I'm set to get my period 2 times this month

[iheartgod175]

Some Quick Thoughts...

Sorry for not being on here to make posts like this as often as I'd like, lol! The last two weeks have been busy, what with dealing with work, family and an insane burst of creativity that has kept me on the Blazin' Trails Wiki for over two weeks straight. Oh, and I've been working on some writing again for the first time in weeks, too. So I'm gonna ramble on about that.

I've kinda fallen back into the Hanna-Barbera fandom again, and dragged my buddy @blazing-shadows into this too. All because I started rewatching The Peter Potamus Show to decompress after work, and ended up getting attached to the Goofy Guards (Yippee, Yappee and Yahooey). I mean, I kinda liked them anyway, but now? I'm in too deep. Come to think of it, that's how my obsession with Ricochet Rabbit started, too, lol. XD

My mind went from just having them as a cameo in Blazin' Trails Redux, to them having their own story in Blazin' Trails Redux, to them having their own story in the For Love and Glory universe (which is my Touché Turtle story I don't chat about quite as much as BT, but still love regardless ^^). Said story featuring the Goofy Guards is titled For King and Country, and I'm still in the developing stages of the story; right now, it's just doing lots of intense brainstorming of various scenarios and convos. I wish I had the same time I did when I was wrtiing the original For Love and Glory (I think I wrote that in like 2 days when I was a full-time student, and then rewrote it in like two months. My writing output back then was INSANE O.O), but alas.

Anyway, since this story is set in the same universe as FLaG, there's three guarantees:

There's gonna be some INSANE lore with these three. The tag I put on Ao3? "Canon Gets Chucked Out the Window".

The Goofy Guards are gonna be put through HELL. They do get a happy ending, though, because my original plans were too harsh and bleak on them, to where even I felt bad. And also, my buddy Thanos-snapped one of my original plans in BT Redux, which was to kill off Yahooey ^^ But yeah, these guys get put through the ringer, and boy howdy do I mean the ringer.

Everyone gets to be badass. Sure, the Goofy Guards start out like their cartoon selves, but by the end of the fic you can pretty much remove "Goofy" from their title. Even the King gets to be cool. Well, I'd lie if I said that everyone is awesome. The King's son, who was a brat in the original cartoon, is a bit worse here.

This story, which is gonna be about seven chapters long, is most likely gonna be an AO3 exclusive, but I may cross-post it on FF.net. Who knows ^^

Since the Goofy Guards' inclusion, and since I've included a bunch of crazy lore about them in that universe, I was thinking of a few things: should I extend BT Redux into eight "seasons"? And should I keep the fantasy elements in from FLaG Relance in this? While I was going for a more "realistic" setting that kinda fits the Western time period and boots out the Hanna-Barbera inconsistencies, it doesn't seem right now that the Looney Tunes/Who Framed Roger Rabbit cast is gonna be a part of the BT Redux canon. Plus, a few of the villains from my FLaG series that appear in Redux are outright magic/relic users, and removing that aspect kinda doesn't feel right, because it kinda removes some of their original motivations. I dunno. What do y'all think.

And surprising nobody, I am doodling these goofballs. I actually have quite a few ideas of where to go with drawing them, but settled with "let's take the Goofy Guards and make them BADASS" as my first foray into drawing them XD Just posted a sketch of Yippee and I hope to follow up with Yappee and Yahooey soon!

Now, I'm gonna go and yell about these goofballs to my pal.

See ya later!

[saturniandevil]

November 2024 Important Dates

AKA my notes on The Astrology Podcast's November Forecast hosted by Chris Brennan and Austin Coppock. It's been a minute and I'm glad to be back!

November 1st - New Moon in Scorpio

This lunation at 9 degrees of Scorpio highlights the two big oppositions that will dominate the month: Venus (17♐)-Jupiter(20♊) and Mars (29♋)-Pluto (29♑). These aspects culminate just 2 days later on the 3rd. Placements in mutable signs will see great help while late cardinal signs are getting challenges, and these two configurations aren't very connected--our hosts predict about half the population will be exuberant and the other half distressed. Jupiter and Venus bring enthusiasm, hope, rewards, victory and triumphs over long struggles, especially in the vibrant signs of Gemini and Sagittarius (although it may be a little too much chatter and information or putting too much faith in limited data with Jupiter retrograde).

November 2nd - Mercury enters Sagittarius This is the sign where he'll retrograde (discussed at the end of the post).

November 3rd - Venus opposite retrograde Jupiter, Mars enters Leo Venus-Jupiter discussed above under the lunation. Meanwhile, Mars (29♋) opposes Pluto (29♑) right before he enters Leo...a story that has been connected on the world scale to ruthless warfare and excessive deployments of military force. It's the first of 3 Mars-Pluto oppositions we'll get in the upcoming months, but the only one in Cancer-Capricorn. Mars presides over conflicts generally, and Pluto brings in the shadow element--think sneaky power plays, spying, and information warfare. On a personal level, Austin cautions us not to confuse feelings of powerlessness and paranoia with the real thing and be aware that this configuration will make us blow things out of proportion. One piece of advice for working through such a transit is to name or shed light on the metaphorical demon--don't let your worries stay nebulous, oppressive and all-encompassing. Seeing things for what they really are will bring it back to scale.

There will then be a huge tone change as Mars ingresses into Leo (for example, Mars in Gemini and Cancer brought big shift in US politics). Until the 19th, Pluto and Mars are no longer opposing each other by sign. The volume is turned down for a couple weeks...but it'll be back. Mercury will also join Mars in retrograde later this month (enters the shadow period, or the degrees it will revisit, on the 7th), so we're definitely going to be revisiting things. For example, we can expect delays and complications around the US election. Overall the Mars retrograde story doesn't wrap up until April (plus some personal zodiacal releasing stuff for Trump), which means some part of this story isn't gonna be over until the spring. Probably this means events we don't think are important now will come back to haunt us months later.

We're going to have 2 months of Mars in Leo regardless of anything else going on. Mars in Cancer is very emotional and internal and in personal lives can show up as being concerned for the safety of one's home or family, while on a larger level has indicated turf wars and disputes over origins or homeland. Mars in Leo will externalize and move very quickly; think showmanship and exuberance. Mercury is also moving from a water sign (Scorpio) to fire (Sagittarius), moving us from defense to offense and thinking forward. Additionally, as a fixed sign Leo usually has more certainty and staying power, but because of the retrograde it may take awhile to see what will last and what won't.

November 11th - Venus enters Capricorn She'll apply to a sextile with Saturn that culminates on November 21st. Though sextiles are weak aspects, Saturn is receiving Venus, making this a notable positive aspect of the month. Venus-Saturn helps us set and enjoy good boundaries.

November 15th - Saturn stations direct, Full Moon in Taurus

This lunation occurs at the same time that Saturn stations in Pisces, intensifying its significations. (For example, the Titan submarine disaster occurred during the first Saturn station in this sign). Positive manifestations of Saturn in Pisces involve setting necessary boundaries and restrictions: the Mars-Saturn conjunction in this sign included the first US laws about restricting forever chemicals in the water. Bet on problematic water stories in the news around the 15th.

The other major signature of this lunation is that the Moon (24♉) conjoins Uranus (25♉) immediately after, so there's a curveball or unexpected twist set to happen mid-month. Uranus and the Moon are also both on the fixed star Algol (as they were together in July), a star with dark and gory associations. Usually an exalted Moon in Taurus would be stabilizing, but something is disruptive this time around. In personal charts unexpected disruptions and plot twists can turn out to be exciting or work for our benefits--great news, you don't have to go to school because a pipe burst and it's closed for 3 months!

November 16th - Sun opposite Uranus

November 19th - Pluto enters Aquarius This is a major shift in world astrology. Pluto's been going back and forth between Capricorn and Aquarius for the past few years, but now he's in Aquarius for good (he won't return to Capricorn for ~237 years). Chris says cyberpunk dystopia scenarios are playing out, such as billionaires controlling mass media and other hi-tech means of control. The flipside of major corporate control is people using the technology available to them to improve their own lives. Unlike the noir unhappy endings of cyberpunk media, though, we know that there will be a new phase after this: Pluto in Pisces 15-20 years down the road. Thus the adaptations we make today can lead us into the future. Pay close attention to what happens around this ingress to see what the next decade or two will be like. Pluto's ingress to Capricorn in 2008 coincided with the banking crisis/recession and creation of bitcoin--things like AI, robotics, and possibly space flight will start coming into serious play.

November 21st - Sun enters Sagittarius

November 25th - Mercury stations Retrograde Placements from 6-22 degrees of Sagittarius (and other mutable signs) will start something this month that will be revisited, revised, or repeated on December 15th, the day Mercury stations direct. The story won't completely wrap up until Mercury exits his post-retrograde shadow period (that is, goes past 25♐, where he stationed,) on January 2nd. With Jupiter and Mercury in each other's signs there is mutual reception, bringing us victorious and enthusiastic messages...maybe too much so. Be wary of announcing good news too soon. With Neptune squaring them both from Pisces, there's an element of deception or confusion imparted to the beginning of this retrograde. Especially with Mercury in detriment in Sagittarius, there's a risk of telling tall tales or confusing myths for facts. Also coming up during this retrograde: Mercury has his cazimi (exact conjunction to the Sun) on December 7th at the same time that Mars stations retrograde, 12/6-12/7 is an important turning point. Overall, November ends on a cliffhanger that will resolve partway into December.

November 26th - Electional chart (if you must...!)

Between the Mars-Pluto opposition at the beginning of the month and Mercury retrograde at the end, so it's a difficult month to do things. But if you have to while Mercury is stationing, Chris recommends the 26th around 9AM. Having Capricorn rising in your location means the Ascendant ruler Saturn is in the 3rd house in a day chart with a sextile from Venus (17♑) as well as a square from Jupiter (17♊). The Moon is in Libra in the 10th house, applying to a square to Venus with reception (Moon is in Venus's sign) and applying to a trine with Jupiter. Thus, even though Mercury is stationing, the Moon is in good condition and you can get a halfway decent rising sign. It's also about as far away as we can get from the Mars-Pluto opposition. The downside is that with Mercury static you'll probably have to do revisions or run into delays with what you're starting, so keep in mind that you'll have to redo things. (It's still better than having to work with the Moon squaring Mars a few days later.)

[zepskies]

Happy New Year!!! 💖💖 Can I ask for the game #2, #11, #20, & #28? How you have a safe, healthy, and wonderful one!!! 😊

Happy New Year, friend!! 💓💫💓 Yes of course!! (And I hope you have an awesome 2025. 💖)

#2. A piece you're proud of and why

God, I could have so many answers for this, mainly because I wrote a LOT in 2024. 😂 I'm going to cheat a little bit and give you two stories that you might not expect. Not because they were wildly popular when I published them (they weren't), but because I genuinely put my heart and soul into them and got to explore something new with representation, diversity, and storytelling. 💜

Dream With Me (18+)

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Plus-sized Latina!Reader

Summary: When your asshole ex-boyfriend calls for help on a case, you have a tough decision to make. But Dean isn’t going to let you do anything alone. AKA: The last hunt you, Sam, and Dean will ever go on together.

This is a 3-part mini series set in the Midnight Espresso-verse. ☕ It's set in the dreaded 15x20 (or the time gap within In Bad Weather).

The ME-verse is always going to be special to me. Yes, it's a Latina reader and I get to express my culture through her. Yes, she's plus-sized (and I am too) so I get to incorporate some of my experiences and ideas there. But the ME-verse allows me to give Dean the loving relationship I wish he would've gotten on the show.

And Dream With Me was putting a definitive pin on their story, while still leaving room for more in the future if/when I come back to them. 💗

The Honorable Choice (18+)

Pairing: Dean Winchester x OFC 

Summary: June 1872. Captain Dean Winchester of the U.S. Cavalry is tasked with one job: break a wild mustang. He just didn’t expect the woman who infiltrates his camp, intent on freeing her tribe’s horse.

This was the first OFC story I had written in a long time, but also a risk in the sense that I was writing about a culture that wasn't my own (the Lakota people), in a different time period, and Dean and other SPN characters in a Western AU. So I actually did a lot of research for this story for the sake of respectfulness and authenticity.

I also got to post this story in November, which I found out is Native American Indian Heritage Month. Which is a small tidbit, but I thought it was cool that it happened that way, since I didn't plan it. 😂

I got so into this story that I actually wrote a sequel called Outlander (Part 1 coming out on Friday!).

#11. Fandom you'd like to create more for next year

Oooh great question! I feel like I'm going to get more into Russell Shaw (Tracker) in 2024, definitely more Soldier Boy/Ben (The Boys), but I'm also looking forward to Countdown and what Jensen will bring to Mark Meachum. 💖

Also, I know I'm late as hell, but you might remember that I teased the possibility of my writing for Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit fandom with these characters who I've read a lot of fanfic about over the years: Eomer, Aragorn, Thranduil, and Haldir. 💚

#20. Something that made you laugh

Lol I'm watching old SPN con clips and this compilation always make me cackle:

#28. A song that relates to one of your creations

Ooh I love this question!! I'm big on music inspo -- music often fuels my writing sessions, so you'll often see on my fic posts a "song inspo" at the top.

For Break Me Down (Soldier Boy x Reader), I created a whole music playlist, but the two songs that really capture it as a whole are "If I Didn't Care" (Amy Adams version) and "All My Livin Time" by Radio Company.

I actually created music playlists for a few of my series:

[rainbluealoekitten]

hey so i don't know you at all, but i saw on an old post that you did an IB eng lang+lit extended essay,,, and if you have ANY tips on choosing a topic for that i would literally appreciate it so much,, i have to choose my topic in the next 24 hours (procrastination </3) and i have vague ideas but no clue how i could structure them or what kinds of topics the IB prefers :/ literally any help, via dm or answering the ask, would be so so helpful ((( but no pressure ofc :] )))

omg hi babes, i'd be super happy to give my advice and i hope i'm not too late?

ok so you know the 3 categories i'm assuming? idk what your school is like but if you need more guidance on the ee in general, go to philpot's step by step guide

when you're told to pick something that interests you, DO THAT. you will spend MONTHS on this topic, researching and writing for hours upon hours, so you HAVE to be invested. even if you love love a topic, you might still struggle for a variety of reasons (my tips on this later on). regardless, you are on tumblr engaging in fandom and media for a reason. WHAT is that reason? what compels you? what themes, character dynamics, settings, motifs compel you? what shows, what books, what films? what about in lang and lit class? do you like ad analysis and the societal implications? do you prefer minute details that make a movie just so so good (e.g. lighting)? did you watch the dead poets society and you've been reading poetry aloud ever since?

the ib requires you to write about an "acclaimed" literary or non literary work, which gives you a LOT of choice. you could write about doctor who, for example.

i'll explain my process when i was picking my topic.

i have always liked greek mythology (like a LOT) and my favourite figure is akhilles. i decided i wanted to do something exploring his relationship with patroklos, but alas! i could not look at the iliad as it was not written in english originally, which didn't fit into either cat 1 or cat 2. so... why not the song of achilles? it's well known and acclaimed, plus would be more fitting for a dp level of literary analysis. but how to explore the characters? well... what else was i interested in?

what makes a character a hero?

this was the central question. i ended up changing the specifics of my question a million times which... don't do that. eventually, my question was (more or less), "how does miller conform to and subvert the characteristics of a hero through characterisation?" (that was not the question. i promise that the actual question was a million times better).

NOW. my extra note.

before you start researching and outlining, here is something i recommend you do before starting, based on my own issues. now, i did get a predicted (knock on wood) A, but after way too much deliberation.

make a list of your strengths and of your weaknesses. consider literary analysis vs diegetic and non diegetic sound analysis (idk if that's even what it's called but yk). consider time management skills. consider outlining skills. consider research skills. what do *you* need in terms of help and support from your supervisor? what do you need to do to help yourself? for example, i should have forced myself to pick a question from the start, before even starting research. this is an issue i have in other subjects too, and caused me a lot of grief for my history ia. i also asked my ee supervisor to help me come up with a realistic, step-by-step schedule bc i struggle assigning myself deadlines.

for the second part of your ask, structure is going to be super dependent based on your topic and category. i recommend reading examples similar to your topic (don't waste time reading ad analysis if you're doing poetry aha). i did mine with bg info on the classical view of heroes, then each bp was a different aspect (first conformity, then subversion). i have a friend who wrote hers on a feminist film and her bg was about feminist theory, with mentions of that time period, which then informed her fairly standard-structure analysis.

let me know if this helps in any way at all, and don't hesitate to reach out again if needed! i wish you the absolute best with the ee and dp more broadly :)

[naumin]

november updates

ok so i know november ended yesterday, i did think about titling this post december updates but i know december will be a whole different beast for me... just let me have this... it's been a really long time since i sat down and talked about all my recent projects and goings on!!!! so in case you missed what i've been up to, read on... :)

the free Laios/Marcille fanthology I organised is OUT!!! no tall towers to climb (https://naumin.itch.io/laimar) came out November 10th, and erm only 5 days later than scheduled... it's a big boy at 112 pages with contributions from 14 fans !! I had so much fun organising this and was really touched by the love and care ppl put into their works... fans are so powerful... it's free to download and read digitally or even print and bind your own copy (I am really excited to see your printed and bound copies if you have made them please dont hesitate to @ me...) I love books.. i love making books...

I don't have plans to organise a Volume II however I did start writing a post of my process to maybe help and encourage anyone else who'd like to start a project like this one. It got really lengthy though and I wasn't sure if it was helpful to anyone lol so when I have a minute I really gotta go and edit that thing down

also nobody asked me but the title is based on a poem by 12thc warrior poet Xin Qiji. i guess the tower reminded me of their dungeon misadventures hehe.

also did i mention it's FREE! !!!!!!!

7 months of subscribestar I've officially been making new posts on substar every single week since May ! It's been really fun tbh and I don't have plans of slowing down yet :) I really appreciate everyone who's visited and it makes a huge difference even just subscribing for 1 month or 2, just having that little extra to help out on months where I can't take as many commissions or I'm sick or away from home etc! You may have noticed I've added a tip jar tier ($2.5) for those who can't manage the $6 sketchbook tier... on principle I wanna make it lower but after fees it'd be zilch and I am kind of like if you have $2... maybe hold onto that. lol. maybe use that somewhere else. you can always make 1-time donations through substar or ko-fi (yeah, I have one...) my next projects...

Ballet Yuri Year One, the compilation book of one year of works on Ilze & Evangeline, whos 1st birthday was in September and I haven't had time to look at the files since October but I will look at them again soon-- last spot I left it, it was at least 30 pages... I think it will definitely be double that and could possibly be triple that (omg).

NERD SEX VOLUME III my annual NSFW sketchbook which traditionally comes out around January/February! I'm delusional that this one will be the simplest to put together and so it might be the next thing you see from me. It will be available for all subscribers as soon as it's ready. I also gotta remember to upload Nerd Sex I & II at the same time. for those who dont wanna subscribe, you can get 50% off Nerd Sex I & II in the meantime now :) also i forsee about 300% more lesbians in Nerd Sex III. It's the year of the dyke.

A collaborative NSFW anthology coming next year. This one has a longer production period to give everyone time to work and give me time to get organised lol. Hopefully you'll hear more about this one in the new year! It's for the boys and the ppl who love boys <3

the issues oh my god I've been having technical issues with my ipad the last month. I keep getting random lines and marks while drawing in procreate ! A lot of people said it could be my sweater or hand or case touching the screen while I draw but I don't think that is it, plus it's only started recently. It's not my pen and it's not my settings. it apparently COULD be a technical issue with my ipad model which would suck cuz I got this refurbished (from Apple still) so do i have like..... warranty? will they repair it for me :S? idk. I'll have to look into it though sooner or later cuz it's driving me bananas and slowing my output! AGH! I pray she heals on her own overnight. amen.

commissions I am NOT taking any new commissions in December (unless you are a $10 subscriber) but I am still doing the KISS YCH which also has a very cute wintery version up for this month only lol. same price! check it out if you wanna see your pookies under the mistletoe <3 would make a great present to you or someone u know...

alright that's all. thanks for reading my updates post. did anyone read this whole post besides me? thanks for being there for a while whilst i talked to myself before you presumably left and did something more fun and enriching. i love you.

[allthingsfern]

Why I have not been taking many new photos

So, in about a couple of weeks, I will be getting my cataract surgery for my right eye. As it is now, my right eye is kinda clouded over. I can still bike ride and drive, for example, but when I was at the ophthalmologist's office the last two times, the young man who takes images of the inside of my eye could not capture the back of my right eye because the cataract is so thick, so he had to use some kind of ultrasound thing they do? Anyway, it is very difficult for me to take photographs through the viewfinder because the camera, like all cameras, is pretty much set up for right-handed use. I can look through my left eye, but it is uncomfortable for taking pictures, so I stopped a while back, unless I could take my time and take the pictures at home. And yes, I could take pictures using the screen on the back of the camera, but it is not very bright, and for most light conditions it's just not something I'm comfortable with.

I have not, however, stopped working on photography, since I have been going back through my files and reworking some photographs, as well as going through Tumblr and liking and sharing photos on Lux Lit. Plus, I never stop watching YouTube videos and/or reading online articles and I started reading Margaret Bourke-White's autobiography, so yeah, I am doing photography, just not taking pictures.

My second surgery, BTW, will be a few days before Christmas.

I am not very nervous about my upcoming surgeries, because, in great part, I trust my ophthalmologist. He takes the time to explain everything, and he has a sense of humor about the whole thing, which helps me immensely. Also, my sisters, well, my oldest sister (she is the second born, after me) and her best friend are coming to stay with me to help me through my first surgery. They will be here for five days. Then for my surgery on my left eye, a very close friend (coincidentally, the guy who sold me the used Nikon D50 that started me back on photography and a great photographer himself) and his wife volunteered to take me in at their place to make certain everything goes smoothly.

Why am I sharing this? Well, I remember several years ago, when my kit lens for my D50 broke (BTW, the only lens I owned for that camera), that someone who followed me back then mentioned they could not think of themselves not taking pictures often, if not daily. Back then I actually went about 2 months without taking pictures before I wound up buying a used lens that worked beautifully. Since then, I have learned to very calmly accept periods of not making pictures, in great part, because as I mentioned above, I still keep doing photography, which means reworking old images, looking at all y'alls photos on Tumblr and sharing some of them on Lux Lit, and learning about photography via articles and YouTube videos and such. Oh yeah, and every so often talking to photographers I know about our beloved art form. For me, not taking pictures, not making pictures is still a part of the creative process, if one where I don't necessarily "create stuff." I've learned to have a very Zen attitude towards it all.

Kinda like life.

[voxofthevoid]

Twenty Questions for Fic Writers

Tagged by my one and only Jesus @eusuntgratie

I recently cleared out all the ask/tag games in my drafts because I realized I'd reached the pile-up stage of putting things in there and not doing shit. Thanks to everyone who's tagged me in those the last couple of months and sorry I didn't get to any!

1. How many works do you have on ao3?

148

2. What’s your total ao3 word count?

2,005,606 (crossed the 2 million milestone recently and am still buzzing about it)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

I'm only writing for Jujutsu Kaisen, but I'm posting for Jujutsu Kaisen, Bleach, and MCU.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

I was so sure it was going to be all MCU, but nope, it's a mix of MCU and Hannibal. God, that was my first Ao3 fandom, and my Hannibal fics are from 2014. It's surreal people are still reading/enjoying them.

if you're looking for jesus (then get on your knees)—MCU

i'm a ghost, you're an angel (one and the same)—MCU

A darkness seen and shared—Hannibal

Ways and Means—Hannibal

the hand you want to hold is a weapon (and you're nothing but skin)—MCU

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do! I enjoy the interactions and discussions. Plus, since I'm not a Discord (or group spaces) person, it's how I find fellow fans to chat with, especially during my initial foray into a particular fandom. I do have a huge backlog of some 1.1k comments from 2020 to mid-2021 because I didn't have much time for fandom in that period. I'm chipping away at it slowly, but I'm pretty prompt about replying to everything on my post-2021 fics.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Hmm, this Hannibal fic, I'd say: Till the bitter end

Let's just say I predicted the series finale in some weird way.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Most of mine end happily—a few are ambiguous, while others are dark.

8. Do you get hate on fic?

Oh yeah. It's only happened with MCU and Jujutsu Kaisen, and they're mostly cases of overgrown children unhappy that I didn't write the ships or dynamics they want.

9. Do you write smut?

It's my specialty now 😎

10. Do you write crossovers?

Nah. I've done fusion-style AUs, but full-on crossovers aren't something I'd like to write. I'll read them, but I'm picky.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Multiple times (MCU and YoI, iirc), both within Ao3 and offsite.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Multiple times, for multiple fandoms! It's always a delight.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I did write one(1) fic that way, but it got yeeted into the void when my co-author deleted her entire Ao3 account. I have a copy, I think.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

I'm the kind of person who's most devoted to whatever is eating my brain at the time, so right now, it's Yuuji/Gojou from Jujutsu Kaisen.

15. What’s a wip you want to finish but probably won’t?

My writing superpower is that if I lose interest in a WIP, I also lose all desire to finish it and any guilt about it. And these days, I tend to start a fic and work on just that till it's done. So the answer is—none.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I write some smokin' hot porn, and I'm pretty good at threading character study through it. The porn is the plot, in most cases. I also enjoy doing background worldbuilding that serves to give the narrative a sense of depth despite the focus being on characters and relationships.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Fight scenes, ensemble casts, and sustained plotty plots.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Ah, I can feel my Hannibal-era Google-translate Lithuanian judging me.

In general, I avoid it, but when I write for anime set in Japan, I tend to work in honorifics. My mother tongue has those too, so I know from experience that there are no English equivalents that capture the same vibe.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Hunter x Hunter, I think. That account no longer exists. On Ao3, it's Hannibal.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

I tend to be biased toward my newer works, so this keeps changing. At the moment, it's (let me be clear) every version of the story ends with you being slaughtered (JJK, goyuu).

Tagging (no pressure) 20 people because why the hell not: @possibleplatypus, @actualalligator, @joeys-piano, @cursedvibes, @backwardshirt, @m34gs, @naamah-beherit, @dragongirlg-fics, @crossroadswrite, @spacebuck, @jenroses, @calamitouskings, @knivash, @lo-55, @bookwyrmling, @sorrythatwasamistake, @ddelline, @lilyfarseer, @roughkiss and @deunan306

[ncisladaily]

Most men in their late 70s are pretty well into retirement, but Paradise actor Gerald McRaney, 77, has no interest.

"People tell me I'm supposed to retire, and I just can't do it," McRaney tells PEOPLE. "Somehow I have to stay active. When you have a feeble mind like I do, you have to keep it in shape!"

He's joking of course, but the longtime actor, who rose to fame in the '80s, starring on shows like Simon and Simon and Major Dad, is somehow busier than ever.

He credits being cast in Deadwood in 2005 with his career resurgence, and in the last 20 years has starred on This is Us, House of Cards, NCIS: Los Angeles, and Longmire, among others.

After Deadwood, he says, "People began to think, 'Oh, he can actually act!' It took things in another direction, which I'm grateful for."

Now he's in the Hulu hit Paradise, in which he plays Kane Bradford, James Marsden's dementia-afflicted father. The show just got renewed for season 2.

"Even though my character is not the funnest guy in the world. I'm having fun doing it," says McRaney. "Anytime you get to work with people like Sterling K. Brown, you jump on it.”

When he's not on set, McRaney says he's happy to live a quiet life in Florida with Delta Burke, his wife of 36 years. While the two worked together on Burke's show Designing Women, where McRaney had a guest arc, he says their love story actually began before that.

"The first time we met was at the publicist's guild luncheon where we were both presenting awards, and I was sort of fascinated by her from the beginning, but we didn't exchange phone numbers," McRaney says of their first meeting.

"A few months later, the casting director for Designing Women called my agent and asked if I'd be interested in a role. I was about to start another season of Simon and Simon, so I originally turned it down, but out of curiosity, I asked what the show was. When he said Designing Women, I very quickly said, 'I'll do it!'"

McRaney recalls that they went on just two dates before he asked her to marry him.

Delta Burke Says Dark Period of Drug Use Was 'Worth' It Because She Met Husband Gerald McRaney: 'I Love Him Desperately' "Originally it was sort of an infatuation, but it turned into something else pretty quickly."

He says life has been an absolute joy since. "You've got to marry the right person," he says of his relationship with Burke, who stopped acting in the early aughts and has mostly stayed out of the spotlight since.

“She loved the process of acting but not the other stuff that went along with it,” he says of Burke disliking tabloid scrutiny. “But I just can’t manage retirement. My philosophy is, if you stop moving, you truly stop moving.”

Last year, Burke, 68, gave a rare interview on the Glamorous Trash podcast with host Chelsea Devantez.

“Hollywood will mess your head up," she said on the podcast. "I had always thought, ‘I want to be a famous actress.’ I thought that meant that you would be a famous and well-respected actress, but that’s not what it meant. And the moment I became famous, it was like, ‘Oh no, no, no. This is not what I had in mind at all.”

McRaney says that despite his constant flow of work, they both love being able to live their lives, without being hounded by fans. "Our neighbors in Florida don't care about celebrity," he says, noting he spends his downtime hunting, fishing, hiking and exploring.

“Plus, my level of fame has always been ‘Aren’t you that guy in that show . . . ?’" He adds, "Everybody knows my wife’s name. Now people are finally beginning to know mine — after 50-odd years in the business!"

[omamervt]

The thing that sucks about livestreaming, especially on Twitch, is that they have you chasing metrics that don't really represent how well you're doing during your stream in order to get monetized.

In order to get monetized on Twitch, which also is how you gain access to some of the basic user experience tools like channel points, polls, ability to accept bits/subs, custom emotes, and, oh yeah, LIVE ENCODING, which allows your audience to set the video resolution to match what their home internet can handle, you need to achieve 3 goals. And seriously, they're all pretty meaningless metrics for success.

First and foremost, they want you to reach 50 followers. At the time I reached 50 followers, I was still only getting like 1.5 average views/stream. It was really just a hurdle to clear as I worked toward Twitch's arbitrary standard for success. Just because someone follows you doesn't mean you'll ever see them in your stream again. It's not like a follow on YouTube, where they can watch at their leisure, or a (good) social media site, where they'll see posts from the people they're following in sequential order. If they miss you live, that's it, they missed it. Even if they watch you stream a couple hours later, Twitch doesn't reward you for that.

Second, they want you to stream for a certain number of hours over 30 days, and for a certain number of days. It's a fairly low number for basic affiliate status, just 8 hours/month, to be spread out over a minimum of 7 days. But one of the fastest-growing Vtubers I'm following is a cooking streamer who only goes live for about 2 hours/day, maybe 4 days/week. Granted, that's 32 hours/month, and more than enough to reach Partner status, plus this guy is collaborating with people from Vshojo to Hololive nearly every month, but still, when people talk about streaming being a full-time job there's an expectation that putting more time in is better, but from making published content like my podcast, I can tell you that having structure and quality typically wins out over quantity. Someone could go live once a month and still be super popular because of their YouTube videos, for instance.

And finally, the most difficult goal to achieve, the average of 3 viewers per stream. This is... again, a pointless model that says very little about how well you're doing as a small streamer, because it requires you to ignore that Twitch places basically no value on a Live View, which is the thing that's actually most comparable to a view on YouTube or another publishing platform. A live view is basically the view that gets counted when someone watches your stream for a set period of time. On YouTube, this is the number you're supposed to care about. It holds the most value. On Twitch, however, a view is only valuable if the person sticks around for the whole stream, which is rarely realistic. I could stream for 5 hours and have 10 people stop by for half an hour each, then leave as the next person joins, and Twitch would still say my average view count was 1 viewer. Do you understand why that's not useful when 10 people stuck around for 30 minutes, watching you do your live show? YouTube would call that an engaged audience. Most podcast analytics standards I've seen would have said those people listened to the episode.

All that to say idk, maybe it's not as bad as you think and if you fail to see any noticeable progress toward reaching partner after getting affiliate, it could just be you're learning the wrong lessons from the reward incentives.

[divinekangaroo]

I keep seeing takes indicating T/G would have been living together for 2 years prior to their marriage. This has always bugged me because it would have been a social suicide at the time, a respectable women living with her lover? No way they would have risked it as Tommy was trying to climb the social ladder plus he would not have risked tarnishing Graces reputation? Her family would have disowned her and no one would have turned up for the wedding. Grace was fronting the "single mother and a grieving widow" until it was socially appropriate to remarry? Tommy also looked to set everything up for them to start living together - his trip to NY to bring her and baby back, the wedding, the new house - it just seem to fit that they would have stayed in touch but would have only got together maybe a few months prior to the confirmed wedding.

This was my take watching the show or maybe I'm missing something here. I remembered you addressed this vaguely in one of your fic. I know you do tons of research and I would love to hear your thoughts/facts on this subject :)

I had it in my head that Tommy didn’t see Charlie until Charlie was 6 months old, which was a 15 month duration from conception to Tommy going to New York to collect Grace and Charlie.  This would mean he and Grace only really had, let’s say 1 month pre-wedding honeymoon in New York together, and 6-ish months in Arrow House together prior to the marriage.  (6 months is long enough to float a new charitable institution...)

But, this time gap for me was motivated more by headcanon/thematic desire rather than well researched. I mean, thematically, I just *really liked* the idea that Tommy never saw any of his women pregnant with his children or their early lives (Zelda (Duke-17y), Grace (Charlie-6m), Lizzie (Ruby-3m)). 

There were a few other factors which might lead to the lag between conception and Charlie being 6 months old, but these are more floater thoughts or first perceptions than anything I've double/triple checked:

The biggest one: I assumed Grace went back to America with Clive the morning after Derby Day, because Tommy didn't get back to her in time.  Because she was probably a *minimum* of 6 weeks pregnant at that point, possibly 8 (had to miss two periods minimum; no pregnancy tests back then and cervix takes 6 weeks before it looks different to a gyno), she told Clive the baby was his on the steamer to protect herself on the assumption Tommy didn't want to proceed with her. (If this doesn't happen, and Tommy manages to catch her before she leaves, it's possible she could have physically left Clive then and lived the full two years or so with Tommy and just weathered the scandal.)

The simplest possible divorce (Grace accepts fault for committing infidelity) would be 6 months, however I assumed with an investment banker for a husband, that divorce would be very complicated, so let’s say an 18 month process.

Once Clive died, with no word of divorce mentioned, an uncomplicated estate settlement can also be around 9 to 18 months. (if Clive committed suicide on his own in America without a divorce processed, and Grace was in England, she would have had to travel back to America for settlement)

Back in the day, pregnancy was still fairly high risk, and medical advice cautioned against extensive travel during pregnancy, especially in the later stages, due to the potential discomfort, risks associated with the journey, and limited medical facilities on board steamers.  Given my assumption she went back to America, Grace was probably four months pregnant by the time she and Tommy agreed (via remote correspondence! every letter taking 10 days! phone calls with terrible lag and disconnections!) they would get married and worked out a disentanglement strategy with Clive, they decided to wait until the baby was born before starting any of these proceedings.

The risk of travelling with a newborn was similar, and recommendations in the day suggested waiting until they were older to deal with all the foreign bugs. So whatever kept Grace in America until Charlie was born, meant she had to stay until he was older anyway.

In terms of what did keep Grace in America until Charlie was born, rather than simply getting on the next steamer back to England at 4 months pregnant and dealing with all divorce etc remotely, I headcanon that:

Grace’s strategy was to wait until Charlie was three months old (so she could be fully supported in America) then admit the infidelity and process the divorce

Tommy agreed with her at face value, then promptly executed his own secret strategy, which was to find dirt on Clive and blackmail him into saying he committed the infidelity, and Tommy tried to push this as fast as he could; the quicker the divorce was processed the better, and as far as he was concerned, Grace could get on that ship at whatever point and he’d throw a bunch of doctors on with her if needed to get her there

Whatever Tommy found, whether he tabled it with Clive, whether Grace got emotional and told Clive everything, whatever it was: Clive committed suicide before Charlie was born.  This threw a spanner in Tommy’s ASAP-timeline because Grace then had additional reasons to wait in New York (until Clive’s estate settlement was dealt with, as well as Charlie being old enough to travel safely). In the meantime she was able to be supported by Clive’s money as a widow.  My irony headcanon: inadvertently, this pre-birth/pre-divorce suicide also left her with Clive’s fortune, and after her death, left Tommy with her fortune *gasp*.  For me this fortune-transfer headcanon is also thematically relevant – that whole “everyone Tommy touches” curse, but even as people die around him, all the time his net worth and assets increase. 

So yes – mostly headcanon and themes rather than anything concrete! I don’t think fear of scandal would have bothered Grace all that much. BUT, given how supportive her family actually were – they only picked on Tommy’s corrupt reputation with mild concern -- I can assume there was no hint of pre-marital infidelity or divorce.  Tommy was a dubious match, but there was no suggestion he and Grace committed infidelity, and no one seemed to blink twice about Charlie so would assume the family thought he was Clive’s and Tommy adopted him.  I also had the undercurrent Grace's family thought Tommy was marrying Grace (as another man’s widow/seconds, and taking on another man’s child) to socially advance himself, and they could reluctantly understand that coming from a man like him; they were satisfied enough with the match because he had his military record, he was firmly new money by then, and Grace was, after all, widowed and had a child, had no parents or sibs to support her (they were all uncles and cousins), was very happy with Tommy, and would have been difficult to convince to a different pathway/marry off again. So they acquiesed.

(On scandal -- Grace's whole profession seemed scandalous for a woman (?) -- I just don't think she would've cared all that much about a reputation for infidelity given she was basically prepared to sleep with men (Campbell's orders) as a spy. Society/family might have different opinions but I just didn't see it too much as Grace's motivational concern. In my head, Tommy was probably more concerned about that reputation landing on Grace (hence his scheme to have Clive take the fall) than she was.)

[zepskies]

Hi Alex! 2, 11, and 14 for the writer end of year asks (and Happy early New Year!)

Hey Battie!! Happy New Year, friend! 💖💖

And oooh I love those -- all great questions from the End of Year Asks...

#2. A piece you're proud of and why

God, I could have so many answers for this, mainly because I wrote a LOT in 2024. 😂 I'm going to cheat a little bit and give you two stories that you might not expect. Not because they were wildly popular when I published them (they weren't), but because I genuinely put my heart and soul into them and got to explore something new with representation, diversity, and storytelling. 💜

Dream With Me (18+)

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Plus-sized Latina!Reader

Summary: When your asshole ex-boyfriend calls for help on a case, you have a tough decision to make. But Dean isn’t going to let you do anything alone. AKA: The last hunt you, Sam, and Dean will ever go on together.

This is a 3-part mini series set in the Midnight Espresso-verse. ☕ It's set in the dreaded 15x20 (or the time gap within In Bad Weather).

The ME-verse is always going to be special to me. Yes, it's a Latina reader and I get to express my culture through her. Yes, she's plus-sized (and I am too) so I get to incorporate some of my experiences and ideas there. But the ME-verse allows me to give Dean the loving relationship I wish he would've gotten on the show.

And Dream With Me was me putting a definitive pin on their story, while still leaving room for more in the future if/when I come back to them. 💗

The Honorable Choice (18+)

Pairing: Dean Winchester x OFC 

Summary: June 1872. Captain Dean Winchester of the U.S. Cavalry is tasked with one job: break a wild mustang. He just didn’t expect the woman who infiltrates his camp, intent on freeing her tribe’s horse.

This was the first OFC story I had written in a long time, but also a risk in the sense that I was writing about a culture that wasn't my own (the Lakota people), in a different time period, and Dean and other SPN characters in a Western AU. So I actually did a lot of research for this story for the sake of respectfulness and authenticity.

I also got to post this story in November, which I found out is Native American Indian Heritage Month. Which is a small tidbit, but I thought it was cool that it happened that way, since I didn't plan it. 😂

I got so into this story that I actually wrote a sequel called Outlander (Part 1 coming out on Friday!).

#11 Fandom you'd like to create more for next year

Oooh great question! I feel like I'm going to get more into Russell Shaw (Tracker) in 2024, definitely more Soldier Boy/Ben (The Boys), but I'm also looking forward to Countdown and what Jensen will bring to Mark Meachum. 💖

Also, I know I'm late as hell, but I teased the possibility of my writing for Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit fandom with these characters who I've read a lot of fanfic about over the years: Eomer, Aragorn, Thranduil, and Haldir. 💚

#14 Something new you tried this year

Another great question, because this could mean many different things for me creatively. I could say that I wrote Lost on You, the Soldier Boy x Supe!Reader story set in 1983. It was the first time I wrote an AU story that completely diverged from the main narrative after 1984. It was also the first time I wrote SB paired with a supe!reader.

I could also give The Honorable Choice (Dean x OFC) again as an example. I was very conscious of writing in a different style from my usual one -- most of all in a different cadence to match Mila, the Lakota Indian heroine. For part of my research, I watched YouTube videos of an elder of a Lakota tribe telling stories from their culture, and it really informed the way I decided to write that story and how the Lakota characters spoke.

These are awesome questions. Thanks so much again, Battie! I hope you have a wonderful New Year and lead into 2025!! 💋💫💫

[punxsutawneyfilth]

Tumblr would not let me respond to your post the other day but I just wanted 2 tell u that the same thing with the rejection letters happened to me!!! I applied at Northwestern for a bunch of professor research assistant positions (which i think is similar to what you do) and then I got a diff job. And then HR contacted me for a interview and I was like "Sorry I have a job" and they were like "Are you sure you're our top candidate" and I was like "Yes" and they were like "OK" and then randomly periodically for MONTHS after this I got rejection letters for every single of the 20+ slightly different positions I applied to

I'm a research administrator which means my job is 80% handling the financial and behind-the-scenes stuff for academic research so I actually feel like I have insight into this for you lol SO WHEN you see a job being advertised as a "research assistant" or "research support specialist" or even sometimes "project coordinator" it's usually a job that was written into the funding for a specific grant. They'll usually make postings for these jobs when they get notified that the award they applied for is being funded, BUT, what a lot of professors don't realize is that notice of award funding =/= you can start doing the research now. There's an in-between period of 1-3 months where the college will be negotiating with the sponsor and setting up the actual accounts for the grant. They can't hire these positions until those accounts are established so a lot of times there will be a delay between posting the job and actually hiring people. Plus occasionally (with non-federal sponsors mostly) the award will fall apart in negotiations and not get funded at all.

Also of course people are bastards in general and will not notify you when they mentally cross you off the list, but universities in general at least have the courtesy to send automatic notifications to all applicants when a posting is closed.

[capriciouscaprine]

good morning!! numbers, esp. bc I remembered to check in today!

writing things down is SO important when you don't remember things easily like me; I actually thought I had gone up bc I misremembered my numbers from last week, but I'm down 1/2$! ($123.2->$122.6) I'm gonna see if I can have more days like yesterday to continue going down, but I've basically met my relaxed goal for the month already!

I know I need to get my protein up, my body has been loudly craving meat of any kind and now I have some from the farm so I'm having it for as many meals as possible; it's goat, so it's low in f compared to other red meats and thus lower in c's: the internet says it's 143c per 100 grams aka 3.5 ounces; ground beef (which, there are different lean mixes which will vary) is 270c for the same amount! I know it's not a common grocery store meat, so I consider myself very lucky that I can get it, and especially for free

for breakfast, I had 1/4 cup meat and the remaining minute rice/cauliflower rice mix done basically as a hash (with spice mix! not unseasoned!!) plus some ketchup on top for 149, one serving of egg substitute (25) just to see what only one serving looked like (which was so tiny it was silly), and then a tiny bowl of yogurt with berries and granola for 86, plus my coffee (25), for a breakfast total of 285!!!

that's so good for such a big breakfast!! I'm really hoping it helps me stay full today, we've got block schedule so I'm usually STARVING after just the first class period bc I eat breakfast so early and lunch is so late (nearly 1 pm!); deffo gonna go back to being someone who eats breakfast after they get to work to avoid this in the future

for snack/2nd breakfast I'm taking a fiber bar (unwrapped) bc I'm craving chocolate (90), rice crispy treat (80), and cheddar puffs (70) to go with my coffee (25) for 265, and for lunch I've got my usual chicken salad sandwich (300) plus the wild card of the last of my dried cantaloupe (~100 left) and my coffee, so I'll come home at either 875 or 975 running total if I eat everything I've packed

tbh the chicken salad is a little bit killing my numbers here, but it's SO convenient; it's a pre-mixed single serving in a cup that comes in a pack of four, so I can just grab one and go each day and not have to think too much about it; however, I am set to run out of it right after my final presentation is due, which means I'll be able to use my morning time to prepare my own food from scratch, and it looks like while the flavor might be a bit different, I could have more food for fewer c's if I did make it myself

[palettepainter]

General update: Schedule and Commissions

So as the title says, a bit of a general update concerning my schedule and future/current commissions!

I mentioned this on Twitter but over the Easter holidays I'll be helping out at the zoo pretty much every day for a few hours in the afternoon, if I'm not at the zoo I'll be at the family warehouse helping cut stencils or pack orders. Thanks to me working at the family business my schedule can be flexible, however I don't know how much I'll be able to set aside to do commission work. I hope to put aside at least 1-2 days where I can work on commissions. Please rest assured I will be working on them when I have available time, but updates might be a bit slower than normal until the Easter holidays are over!

For those of you who are long time followers or those of you who have brought a commission from me before, you know that I generally try to open my commissions once every month. However ontop of a art display I've been busy making pieces for, on the 25th on May me and my family, plus my Aunt and younger cousins, will be going to Portugal to visit relatives and returning just before June. I've grown into a habit of leaving my tablet at home whenever me and my family go on big holidays like this, but depending on how many commissions I have finished by that point I may bring it with me.

In general though, aside from possibly commissions if I do have to bring my tablet with me, there won't be any digital OC/fandom doodles. I may post traditional stuff during that period, but as we don't see these family relatives a lot (since they're in Portugal) I'll be doing my best to not get carried away with drawing.

Due to this holiday at the end of May, plus the art display I've been generously allowed to do in town, I can't guarantee commissions will open in April. I'll be starting work on the commission slots that where ordered in March and that will probably take a while to complete them all. The earliest I can see my commissions opening again will either be sometime in May - very limited slots as I don't want to have too many piled up before I leave for Portugal - or sometime in June once we return

Thank you for reading!

[ipreferfiction]

20 questions for fic writers

@spyscrapper tagged me (shocking for everyone, i'm sure). thanks beloved

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

26!

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

337,006 (a chunk of which is cowritten)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

posted, i have star wars (totj, kotor, swtor, prequels, and tcw), lockwood & co., and asoiaf. i've also written hotd-era asoiaf fics, a couple of unfinished mdzs fics, and something for grimm floating around.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

The Bond Between: fic i wrote for a tcw zine, Ahsoka & Obi-Wan. 137 kudos.

(note: technically the second fic is one that got hit by the kudos bot, so i am taking it out of the ranking because i cannot trust its numbers)

How Far We've Come: Lockwood & Co., written and set right after TCS. Kipps and the crew. 62 kudos.

Wasteland: prequels/tcw/original trilogy, Obi-Wan on Tatooine having a truly questionable time. 60 kudos.

Dragon's Rise: asoiaf, post-series. Dany, Jon, Tyrion, and Arya go to Old Valyria so Dany can break the Doom and rebuild the Valyrian Freehold. i hate several things i did with characters here, truly, and i am never going to finish it; i'm keeping it up so i can see comments and kudos, because it got a lot of engagement (posted right after the show ended), but i would change so many things now. 54 kudos.

tremble for yourself, my man (you know that you have seen this all before): kotor - Cassus Fett dies on Malachor and wakes up six years in the past, with the knowledge that something is manipulating the war. he kidnaps Revan and Alek right off Dantooine at one point to help him. extremely full of torture! also the cousin of found family, sibling acquisition via kidnapping. 50 kudos.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

i try to, but i haven't been great at it for a while. so occasionally it takes me a few months, lol

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

posted? probably my mando wars novelization. none of the really angsty stuff is finished, and i also tend to shy away from bitter endings because they make me depressed. and i do mean depressed, i have depression and i tend to get a little too into my characters' heads, which is not great when they're having bad times.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

uh. um. the... ahsoka and obi-wan one maybe??

8. Do you get hate on fic?

the only ones that actually hurt me were on a years-old asoiaf fic. i've gotten two or three in recent years when i've been writing star wars stuff, but they're so out of pocket they're absolutely hilarious to me. i make fun of them with my friends. shoutout to the person who told me not to use bitch because it was a slur against women when the context was literally a man calling his long hair a bitch to deal with. i am NEVER getting over that, it's so funny.

9. Do you write smut?

periodically, yeah. it's fun, i just am also horribly embarrassed trying to write it lol. i have very little posted, but i've got a handful of half-finished ones in docs.

10. Do you write crossovers?

nnnnnnot really? i toss them around for some of my OCs and original works (between each other), but i don't really write them or post them. now, fusions? yeah, i write those. the hp au is the only one i've posted, and also is my favorite. read the main fic before you read the oneshot, though, because besides being utterly awful (affectionate) it also makes no sense without context. not that the series has given basically any of that context yet, but, yk. it's coming. eventually.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not as far as i know. there's less theft in really niche communities like the stuff i tend to write.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

nope

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

yes!! @spyscrapper (i keep typing revanchxst as your url beloved when will you change it back) is my coauthor for the hp au and for our big swtor novelization, plus a couple of totj fics.

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

frankly, a couple of my ocs who live rent-free in my head at all times, from one of my original works. 1920s monster hunters, secret government organization, repressed queer people (person. the others are not at all repressed he's just a dumbass about emotions), constant threats of violence, morally grey pov characters, murder. i am literally insane about them. also a different set of ocs from fic that developed their own original work as well: magic university, depressed gay people, Plots, the usual. i am constantly chewing on them. in fandom, knight/scourge and cassus/ultimate, probably.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but probably won't?

most of my asoiaf stuff, tbh

16. What are your writing strengths?

prose. give me a good several paragraphs and i will give you gorgeous prose. flowing, poetic, great imagery, the works. i am not afraid to say that's what i'm good at

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

FUCKING dialogue. i hate dialogue so much. no more talking society has progressed past the need for talking. i can do a sentence or two, but full conversations? evil.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fics?

I'll throw in a word or two without translating, because single words are easy to remember and write a glossary for at the end of the chapter. full sentences, though? They're either in italics (if the fic is generally speaking one language and this is another), or unmarked except by dialogue tags (much rarer, generally only do it if the pov character would mostly be speaking another language and so marking it as unusual doesn't make sense. e.g., Cassus talking to other Mandalorians isn't gonna be italicized because it being in Mando'a is expected.)

19. First fandom that you wrote for?

sherlock, i think? i wrote an OC fic that has now evolved into its own original universe because i ended up hating sherlock after season 4, and also the fandom was so fucking annoying. i was writing doctor who and supernatural OC fics around the same time, but i'm pretty sure sherlock was first.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

tremble for yourself, my man (linked above) or start a war, for posted fics. for unposted stuff, a cassus wip i will eventually. eventually finish

tags: @zaolat, @hermitmoss, yeah that's all i've got lee got all the other people i know lol

[ultravioletfuture]

ULTRAVIOLET VISIONS: Perfect Dawn and New Portal Plus+

Hello UVF! This week, I honestly don't have a ton of new releases to talk about but I have a couple releases in my bandcamp collection I'm gonna recommend to everyone. It's been a busy couple weeks getting UVF releases scheduled, finishing the UVF magazine, and wrapping up the final mix and masters for Perfect Dawn, but I've got some things to talk about for the future of music on the portal side of things.

Next week the first Perfect Dawn single, "Back To You Pt. 1", drops on Friday the 15th and we can't wait to share it with you all! Working on Lunar Data Garden has also been super refreshing and Perfect Dawn has come to be something Truman and I are super proud to be a part of. Aside from Lunar Data Garden, I've been wanting to work on more portal related music and already have 3 new mixtapes planned out as part of a new sub-alias, "New Portal Plus+".

New Portal Plus+

These new mixtapes I've been working on are composed of some B-sides from ULTRAVIOLET CATHARSIS, tracks I made during the Perfect Dawn production period that didn't necessarily fit the sound, or completely new tracks that complement the concepts. I've been wanting a space to host new music I wanna work on that isn't as high in concept or tediously produced and sitting on my hard drive to release until perfect. Lately I've just been feeling like I've put a lot of time and effort into meticulously putting my albums together so far to create very concise sounding records, but sometimes I just wanna make a collection of tracks, throw them together and drop them on Bandcamp without having to worry about a ton of promo. These mixtapes will still have effort put into them just like I do with all my music, they won't just be looming over my head for over a year until I get the song to sound perfect. I will still be working on more conceptual, thoroughly produced mainline albums for portal.rwb and portal.flx, these mixtapes are merely just extra albums that I probably wouldn't even think about releasing without a mixtape club setup like this. The process so far has been extremely refreshing and has eased my mind to be able to still put out music for those that are interested without having people wait a year between album cycles. I'm still on the fence about setting up a subscription club for these mixtapes, but regardless, the first 3 mixtapes will be available for free to the public as a sorta sample to what the club will be and if a subscription club happens, it will only be a couple bucks for my entire catalog plus exclusive mixtapes. More details will follow in the coming months but I can't wait to share what I've been working on for you all!

Other than this, I've been working on the next couple months for UVF releases and currently have 5 albums scheduled to release in the next coming months! I'm beyond to excited to start UVF Year 2 soon and to share these new releases with you all! The UVF Magazine is also coming very close to full completion and should be ready to send out for printing in the next couple weeks. Depending on the reception of this 1st Edition, I might end up doing more editions routinely, but it's been a huge mission to get so many people involved and am happy enough just to get this 1st Edition out to you all for now.

Album Recommendations

I honestly haven't had a ton of newer releases I've been able to check out this week, but if you guys have any releases new or old that you'd like me to cover, be sure to send it over!

アバドン (aka Abaddon) is an artist I suprisingly haven't brought up on the blog before, but I highly recommend you all give them a listen!! You may be a little more familiar with their album Perfect Fake , but if you haven't heard them by now, they are easily one of my favorite artists in the Vapor scene rn and are constantly pushing the boundary for Vaporwave and Electronic music. I highly recommend starting here if you are into any works by death's dynamic shroud and have a soft spot for K-pop samples. If you are looking for something a bit dreamier, definitely reach for Perfect Fake afterwords, or The Lady In Black for something much more dramatic and darker in tones.

Gonna shout out the new super going project "Wake Up" for it's incredible deep and rich atmospheres throughout. super going specializes in Experimental Electronic music and showcases a nice blend of glitch, noise, and ambient on this new release. The album definitely embraces more of a noisy distorted field-recording sound in the first half and then leads you into very airy and ethereal atmospheres in the second leg of the album. If you are looking for something to scratch that itch for something mildly ambient with heavy electronics, definitely check out "Wake Up".

"In A Silent Way" by Nico Niquo has been my go to ambient record for the past couple months now since first discovering it. If you are into anything from the Orange Milk label at all, this release will surely be right up your alley. The album is a perfect blend of minimal instrumentation and electronic music that just keeps me feeling warm and welcomed. Each track feels like an airy trip floating through the sky in an endless sea of sonic clouds that fill you with emotions of comfort and peace.

Thank you all for checking out this weeks UVF blog! Sorry there wasn't a ton for me to cover, but I hope to have more to talk about next week. Maybe during some of these dryer weeks where I don't have a ton of specific releases to talk about, I might ask for your recommendations on any topics to talk about and have a dedicated segment towards. Be sure to tune in next week for the new Perfect Dawn single and I can't wait to see you all next week <3 ! -portal from UVF