#quebecois writers

[importantwomensbirthdays]

Marie-Claire Blais

Novelist, playwright, and poet Marie-Claire Blais was born in 1939 in Quebec City, Quebec. Blais wrote her first novel, La Belle Bête, at the age of seventeen. Her debut novel instantly became a classic of québécoise literature, and she went on to publish over thirty books and become a preeminent figure in the Canadian literary landscape. Blais' 1965 novel Une Saison dans la vie d'Emmanuel won Prix Médicis as well as the Prix France-Québec, and was translated into over a dozen languages. In 1968, she won her first Governor General's Literary Award for Manuscrits de Pauline Archange, and in 1979, she won this award a second time for Le sourd dans la ville. In 1996, Blais won another Governor General's Literary Award for her novel Soifs.

Marie-Claire Blais died in 2021 at the age of 82.

[boricuacherry-blog]

Laure Conan was the first woman novelist in French Canada and the first writer in all of Canada to attempt a roman d'analyse, or psychological novel titled Angeline de Montbrun. As she refused to have her true identity revealed, the author of the preface to her book, Henri Raymond Casgrain, made a point of confirming that it was indeed a woman hiding behind the pen-name, and that her anticipating the trend towards this type of novel could be attributed to that intuition natural to women.

In Angeline de Montbrun, Laure Conan broke with what has been called the 'collective romanticism' of nineteenth-century French-Canadian land, with the rural myth, the exhortative tone, and the vast canvas. These concerns are basically absent in her work. Further, she eschewed the details of adventure and intrigue, the wooden, predictable characters, and the transparent intricacies of romantic love in favor of writing about the inner turmoil of an individual character, a young woman caught in a complex web of human appetites, aspirations, and relationships. Because of the novel's realism, one of the most persistent topics of discussion about Laure Conan has been whether or not Angeline de Montbrun is autobiographical. Recent studies indicate it may be. In any case, Angeline was the most complex character in Canadian fiction in 1884 and for some time.

Traditionally, Angeline de Montbrun was regarded as a novel of Christian renunciation, and Angeline as the most holy of heroines. For a long time no one went too deeply into the relationships between the characters, but in 1961 Jean Le Moyne bluntly stated that 'the lovers in the novel are not Maurice Darvel and Angeline, but M. de Montbrun and his daughter.' Since then there has been a proliferation of interpretations and psychological studies of the novel, and there is no going back to the simpler view of it.

[da-birb-writes-sometimes]

Thank you for requesting! Rook is one of my favourites, so my brain went, "Write for the funny French man; give the people everything they want and then some."

Rook would just be the best teacher. Had to lump in the feeling of isolation too for a kicker, since it would be true.... and to tug at people's heartstrings.

Ah, you were not spared from Ananas. That's okay, we all can stare at the corner upon hearing, "Je suis une ananas!" play through our minds collectively. That cursed pineapple is my sleep-paralysis demon. I won't curse the people here with the gifs that exist of him (that's for the main blog and my mutuals to suffer with).

I too know the words to C'est l'Halloween and hum it whenever the Halloween event in TWST happens. Also can poorly sing along to Papaoutai as well. Got a few Coeur de Pirate songs rattling around too.

This was a lot of fun to write, thank you again for requesting! And I'm happy that you enjoyed it!

(also love the Newfie Epel hc, hadn't thought of it before, but it's very endearing to me. Pfttt, Vil would HATE the accent. Just Epel and Rook going around NRC not being understood; yes, please. Funny enough, my first French teacher was a Newfie; my French is slightly cursed, yes.)

Also glad you liked the tags; I try to add a bit of spice in there for fun!

Hello bonjour!

I've been thinking something recently...

As a fellow Canadian (hey!) with some, uh, less than magnifique French language skills, I was wondering how you think our dear francophone Rook Hunt would behave around someone with "cereal box French" (that is, able to understand it, but cannot speak it)?

Would he speak the same amount of the language around you? Even more French? Would he offer to teach the language?

I'm curious as to what you think! :)

Bonjour! I too only have "cereal box French" about the same literacy as a third-grader. even though I have 8 years of classes under my belt, but that's the education system for ya. And also, yes, a fellow Canadian; always a pleasant surprise! But here are my thoughts!

Some of the French is what I remember plus a bit of Word Reference, and much to the dismay of every French teacher that I ever had, Google Translate to fill in the gaps.

Rook Hunt with a Reader Who Has "Cereal Box" French

Okay, so he would notice that, unlike the others, you seemed like you were following along with what he was saying. "Tu parles français, trickster?" He would ask, resting his chin on his hand, waiting for an answer.

"Un petit peu," you answered. "Honestly though, I can only read it. Speaking it? Well, it isn't great. I call it 'cereal box' French."

He would smile, "Well, reading is a start. And, if you want trickster, I could teach you."

If You Accept His Offer

He would be an amazing teacher and would go at your preferred pace. Having difficulty with that one phrase? He's patient and will help you. "Très bien! Bien travail, trickster! For that one word, I would recommend rolling the 'r' a bit more."

He would ask you if you wanted to improve your accent while speaking it, so it isn't a "baguette accent" as some would put it.

It would start small, such as asking, "Comment ça va?" and seeing how long you would be able to keep the conversation going. He would be proud if you just gave him a, "Ça va bien" or proceeded to say a bit more.

Would pass you notes just in français. "Lisez ceci plus tard, mon chou.~" You can decide whether or not you want to bring up him calling you his cabbage.

His use of French would increase as your skill does. Even though it may be fun that you understand what he's saying, he would much rather speak with you. It would be a nice change of pace since no one that he knows, outside of his own family of course, speaks the language. No, Rollo does not count.

Learning through cooking would also occur. Since you did, after all, call it 'cereal box' French. "Passe l'oeuf s'il te plait, trickster. Merci beaucoup!~"

If You Deny His Offer

He would still speak the same amount of French, but he won't push to teach you if you didn't want to. Maybe just a tad more, but not by much.

He would probably be a tad bit disappointed, but wouldn't show it. At least you know some of what he's saying, and that in itself is enough for him.

Would surprise you with some family recipes that were left in his care by his arrière grand-mère, seeing if you can understand the words by yourself before helping out if you have any difficulties.

Overall, I see Rook as being pleasantly surprised but also happy, regardless or not if the reader takes him up on his offer to teach them. But very relaxed on the subject, not pushing them if they didn't want to learn. Taking it at your own pace with a gentle hand. Also, you two would probably watch French soap operas and films, just saying.

And I'm so sorry if you, much like I did, had to sit through French class watching Téléfrançais. Also, I do love the Québécois Rook headcanon, but I do know it's very niche.

I hope that you enjoyed the little headcanons. Rook, please hold French classes for those of us who want to learn.

[liminalweirdo]

POV you're reading a job description in 2024

HELP WANTED: Writer/Editors who are also skilled in Search Engine Optimization AND administration AND scheduling AND cleaning toilets AND feeding the boss's cat. Also you must be fluent in four languages and they are English, Quebecois French (ONLY. Other French dialects are not sufficient), Old English, and Ancient Greek.

Also you need to have exactly 3 years 364 days 6 hours 23 minutes and .72 seconds of experience and NOT A SECOND MORE OR LESS. Oh, and also you will need to have a skill completely unrelated to this job so i hope you are ready to be on security duty as well as have skills in professional diving.

It's work from home, so you only have to come in 4.5 days of the week. We offer benefits and they are a 25 dollar pre-paid visa card that you can enter a raffle for every other year at the staff Christmas party that's totally voluntary but one that we will put a really weird amount of pressure on you to attend.

Also, sometimes we will have donuts in the staff room! Be aware, there is no health insurance but don't worry because we're super short staffed, so if you're sick you probably only have to come in for 7 hours of your 8 hour shift. You will also get 5 hours of unpaid vacation time per year which you can use to go to the bathroom while you're at work!

PS This is an UNPAID internship but

[monstrousgourmandizingcats]

Some books and stories that I think are worth reading in conversation with Yellowjackets

Shirley Jackson, all works but especially The Sundial, The Haunting of Hill House, and We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Jackson might or might not need any introduction in this fandom. The Sundial is her take on doomsday preppers, Hill House is of course her haunted house novel (one of the classics of that genre), and Castle has a female protagonist who makes Shauna look like a plaster saint.

Flannery O'Connor, The Violent Bear It Away. O'Connor's work has some of the most pervasive darkness and brutality of any major American writer (maybe Ambrose Bierce comes close), and the second of two novels that she completed before her death is no exception. (The first, Wise Blood, is also very good; the intended third, Why Do the Heathen Rage?, only exists as a fragmentary short story.) Francis Marion Tarwater is kidnapped and raised in the woods by his great-uncle, who is convinced that Francis is destined to be a prophet. The great-uncle's death commences a bizarre adventure involving auditory hallucinations, sinister truckers, an evil social worker, arson, developmental disabilities, and baptizing and drowning someone at the same time. Content warnings for all of the above plus rape. O'Connor is also a fairly racist author by today's standards--she was a white Southerner who died in 1964--so keep that in mind as well.

Ruth Ozeki, The Book of Form and Emptiness. Teenage protagonist is schizophrenic and also a channel for a genuinely supernatural force; well-intentioned but poorly-considered efforts to treat one of these issues make the other worse. Sound familiar? There are supporting characters who are affectionate parodies of Slavoj Zizek and Marie Kondo. A minor character is a middle-aged lesbian who cruises dating apps for hookups with much younger women. Some people find this book preachy and overwritten, but I really like it and would plug it even if I didn't because the author is someone whom I've met and who has been supportive of my own writing.

Yukio Mishima, The Decay of the Angel. Can be read in translation or in the original Japanese. This is the fourth and last book in a series called The Sea of Fertility but I wouldn't necessarily recommend the first three as particularly YJ-ish; Decay is because it deals at great length with issues of doubt and ambiguity about whether or not a genuinely held, but personally damaging, spiritual and religious belief is true. There's also more (as Randy Walsh would put it) lezzy stuff than is usual for Mishima, a gay man. Content warnings for elder abuse, sexual abuse of both children and vulnerable adults in previous books in the series, forced abortion in the first book if you decide to read the whole thing from the beginning, and the fact that in addition to being a great novelist the author was also a far-right political personality.

Howard Frank Mosher, Where the Rivers Flow North. An elderly Vermont lumberjack and his Native American common-law wife refuse to sell their land to a development company that wants to build a hydroelectric power plant. Tragedy ensues. I haven't read this one in a long time but some images from the movie stick in my mind as YJ-y. Lots of fire, water, and trees.

Leonard Cohen, Beautiful Losers. Yes, this is the same Leonard Cohen who later transitioned into songwriting and became a household name in that art form. Beautiful Losers is a very weird, very horny novel that he wrote as a young man; it deals with the submerged darkness and internal tension within Canadian and specifically Quebecois society. One of the main characters is Kateri Tekakwitha, a seventeenth-century Iroquois convert to Catholicism who was probably a lesbian in real life (although Cohen unfortunately seems unaware of this). This one actually shows up YJ directly; the song "God Is Alive, Magic Is Afoot" that plays in the season 2 finale takes its lyrics from a particularly strange passage.

Monica Ojeda, Jawbone. Can be read in translation or in the original Spanish. Extremely-online teenage girls at a posh bilingual Catholic high school in Ecuador start their own cult based on such time-honored fodder as Herman Melville novels, internet creepypasta (no, this book does not look or feel anything like Otherside Picnic), and their repressed but increasingly obvious desire for one another. The last part in particular gets the attention of their English teacher, whose own obsessive internalized homophobia grows into one of the most horrifying monstrous versions of itself I've ever read. Content warning for just about everything that could possibly imply, but especially involuntary confinement, religious and medical abuse, and a final chapter that I don't even know how to describe. Many thanks to @maryblackwood for introducing me to this one.

Jorge Luis Borges, lots of his works but especially "The Aleph," "The Cult of the Phoenix," and "The South." Can be read in translation or in the original Spanish. The three works I list are all short stories. The first deals with mystical experiences and the comprehensibility (or lack thereof) of the universe, the second with coded and submerged references to sexuality in general and homosexuality in particular, the third with leaving your well-appointed city home for a ranch in the middle of nowhere and almost immediately dying in a knife fight, which is surely a very YJ series of things to do.

H.P. Lovecraft, "The Colour out of Space," "The Dunwich Horror," "The Dreams in the Witch House," and "The Thing on the Doorstep." Lovecraft in general needs no introduction--the creepiness, the moroseness, the New Englandness, the purple heliotrope prose, his intense racism (recanted late in life but not in time to make any difference in his reception history) and the way his work reflects his fear of the Other. These short stories are noteworthy for having settings that are more woodsy and less maritime than is usual for Lovecraft's New England, for overtones of the supernatural rather than merely the alien, for featuring some of his few interesting female characters, and for their relative lack of obvious racial nastiness. Caveat lector nevertheless.

Herman Melville, Moby-Dick. It's Moby-Dick. Once you realize that Captain Ahab is forming a cult around the whale and his obsession with it you can't unrealize it.

[forcebookish]

thank you for tagging me, @ariadnekurosaki!!!

1 . How did you get into writing fanfiction?

uhh, when i was twelve i wrote horrendously bad self-insert inuyasha (and bleach?) fanfic on a now-defunct website that doesn't exist anymore lol since then i've bopped in and out of fandoms under different usernames across many platforms. often, i'll lose the muse in 2-3 year chunks, but get sucked back in for new fandoms.

except bleach. i always come back to bleach 😩

2. How many fandoms have you written in?

oh god, if we count dc, marvel, k-pop, and thai dramas (+rpf) as all their own respective fandoms (ie. not distinguishing between arrow, the flash, young justice, etc.), it's twelve - if we don't, it's almost thirty. a lot of my exo fanfics only reference other groups/solo artists, so i think that's too generous. the point is, it's a lot lol

3. How many years have you been writing fanfiction?

on and off since i was twelve (although when i was five i wrote a picture book about the disney princesses hanging out with me), but probably a total of 8 years actually active?

4. Do you read or write more fanfiction?

write more. i rarely read fanfiction unfortunately D:

5. What is one way you’ve improved as a writer?

i'm less verbose and my voice is cleaner.

6. What’s the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

quebecois sacres.

7. What’s your favorite type of comment to receive on your work?

when i make someone cry 😈 nah i really love detailed ones with quotations, ones that pinpoint exactly what parts hit them or meant the most to them. but tbh i love short keymashes too!

8. What’s the most fringe trope/topic you write about?

hmmm🤔 i don't think i write anything that out there... yet. i guess i like to write about psychic connections and niche super powers.

9. What is the hardest type of story for you to write?

ones with a lot of worldbuilding. and porn lol

10. What is the easiest type?

ones with a lot dialogue and character introspection.

11. Where do you do your writing? What platform? When?

my office, the tv room, my bed, sometimes outside. i used to write in coffee shops, at the library, work (especially when i worked at the library lol) before the pandemic and i became a hermit. in gdocs, because i write on my pc, chromebook, and phone. all hours.

12. What is something you’ve been too nervous/intimidated to write, but would love to write one day?

there's this one prompt from the bleach kink meme that i've been thinking about for ten years that has the potential to be really gross or really hot. or both. i might write it for the >5k au event in august idk

13. What made you choose your username?

lapmonster: my twitter username for a while before i decided to start posting on ao3 so i made my ao3 to match; it's a pun on rap monster. kairumption: when i started writing exo fic this was my livejournal url; another pun, it's kai + kyrumption (from angel). it's also where my nickname rum comes from. farewellswords: my twitter username changed from lapmonster in 2019 or 2020 because bts got too popular and army were accusing me of being a namjoon anti lmao; it's a chapter title from bleach.

probably should have kept kairumption as all of them, but i like farewellswords 🤷‍♀️ tbh it would have been my url here if an inactive acc didn't already have it. because, i mean, come on.

COME ON

okaaaay let's tag: @pomslices @retiredficwriter @komari-maxx @ellasaru12 @athousandbyeol @bytheforcebook and anyone else who wants to participate! :D sorry if i forgot you!

[lachiennearoo]

I AM ASSEMBLING A TEAM FOR A LOW-BUDGET ANIMATED MOVIE

I know am asking a LOT right now, but considering this is a passion project without a deadline or budget, I guess it's why I'm asking here (and well, I'm no professional lmao).

In 2019, I wrote a short quebecois (french canadian) cyberpunk, action, sci-fi story novel. It was my most beloved project, and it still holds a big spot in my heart (even tho some newer stories of mine are higher quality). Ever since I made it, all I've done is draw scenes, characters, anything from it. I have a folder of about 200 pictures, animatics and concept art added to it over the years. One thing doesn't work for me to do the project though: I can't voice act, I can't make music, and I can't animate (well, not anything above basic storyboards, and I wanna do something in 3D lmao).

I have... well, not a lot of money (no seriously, I am VERY broke). So well while I can try my best to pay anyone who is willing to help, I can't guarantee it'll be a lot (which I know it can be frustrating, as an artist, to not be monetarily compensated for your hard work, so that's why I'm saying it now).

Due to all of this, I'm only asking for people who are GENUINELY interested. I can't provide much in terms of budget so I don't wanna give anyone false hopes. But I promise that I will work very hard to fill in any position that I can, like script writing, character and environmental concept art, direction, I can even try to voice-act if there's not enough actors! As for the work itself, I allow as many breaks as needed. You're allowed to work on any personal project if you ever feel tired or overwhelmed. I too will take many breaks. I don't mind how long it takes, months, one year, a few years even, as long as I know it'll eventually be done and that the people working are genuinely interested.

Now if you've stuck this far and are still interested, I'll share the requirements:

MOST IMPORTANT PART: I am searching for 3D modelers and animators (if you can do both that's cool but it would be nice to separate tasks so it's less tiring for each person working). My characters are very diverse-looking and expressive, so above all, I'd prefer someone who can animate faces well because that's really what I want to pop out (but if you can't, that's okay too, I'm not THAT picky) (tho despite being cartooney, I'm more in the simplistic, Clone Wars - Arcane department than I am in the realistic Disney - Pixar one)

I need voice actors who speak french. No English-only speakers, sorry. Most should be natively québécois (or french who can imitate the accent fluently) but there's a few characters who are anglophones or have a french accent, so that could help too if you're not from Québec but wanna make a voice. The story is rather dramatic and action-packed, with a lot of violence, fight scenes, screams of pain and agony, all that, so be ready for that

And of course, I'd like to have some people who can do the soundtrack (one person or more working together). The story is sci-fi/cyberpunk taking place in Québec, so I'd expect someone who can go more techno, european (and cinematic too)

YOU DON'T NEED TO UNDERSTAND FRENCH TO WORK. I'm fully bilingual so I won't have trouble communicating with you. The only language requirements would be in voice-acting, or if you're working in team and need to communicate with someone else, but otherwise there really is no need because, well, google translate is a thing, and I can always be a translator for you as well if needed.

BONUS: If there's someone available (you don't HAVE to for that part, it's just to make things easier, but they're not requirements because those are all things I can do myself), I could always get some bonus script writers to help the process go a bit faster, and translators in case someone wants to put subtitles in different languages

Here is the folder of (most) of the art on Artstation: https://www.artstation.com/rosaliegosselin/albums/2467754

And here is a very short animation I did for it a while back (if you don't want spoilers tho, don't watch it, it's one of the last scenes of the story lmao): https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/782216

And here's the story itself (it's just in french tho, sorry about that, but you can just use Google translate): https://www.wattpad.com/story/214223068-magicae-automata

I hope you feel inspired! If you know anyone who might be interested, do feel free to share this with them! I look forward to working with you! Shoot me a DM if you're interested, and if I get enough people, I'll start a discord for all of us to talk!

[thepig]

behavior writers are so quebecois that they dont know how to write americans and it makes it really funny to read given most of the cast are (unfortunately) american characters. thats why the next survivor should be mormon

[st-just]

Hey I know about Wildbow, who is the other Candian dude?

ErraticErrata! Writer of A Practical Guide To Evil (complete, ~3mil words, very meta and self-aware D&D-ish high fantasy) and Pale Lights (Ongoing, new chapters every Friday, dark fantasy in a subterranean world that's halfway to a cosmic horror story, where people make pacts with the contracts with hungry gods in exchange for power). He's (afaict) Quebecois.

[danepopfrippery]

All of it so good! I spotted the freddie writers i think broken up in a few credits (theyre freelance so makes sense). Clearly death threats worked…dont learn from that.

If somehow ur reading and dont get spoilers coming well they are so its on u at this point. Random thoughts below

*Loved Derek’s fashion choices! Also his lil bat jazz hands flourish srsly a+.

*Nandor…incorrectly…thinking its Guillermo’s bday and throwing him a dinner and buying him a gift was very sweet…despite being book ended between insults about never turning him and Nandor not seeming too worried if he died

*my sis and i clocked right away how he wouldnt let guillermo sit next to him at guillermos special fake bday dinner. Nandor u ho. U make him reas u bedtime stories AND brush ur hair but wont sir next to him cuz horny? I refuse to believe any other reason

*WHERE IS THE HELL HOUND?! I MUST HAVE THE HELL HOUND! And i will be angrier than freddie ep if hes gone.

*is it weird Guillermo went to you…gene and the sire for turning advice after learning its forbidden? Also im choosing to believe this is a new superstition cuz they didnt seem arsed by it

*rip neighbor dude. Ppl are right its plot holey look its still the freddie writers in there ok?!

*sooo much bad turning in these two eps it was srsly keystone cops style and i was laughing my ass off despite being like derek irl

*nadja u bitch. Making nadjita dance and show her pussy is MEAN! You drunken slut. I dis enjoy taint that can write checks tho

*another plothole: it always seemed nandor was as shit at laszlo as hypnosis and i always took it of all 3 he was the worst (nadja the best). Animal control anyone? Well now he gets to be a pig amongst guinea pigs he’ll brag of this forever

*’cuz his brains fucked’ had me rolling. Also laszlo u liar u hypnotized him when trying to kiss him got u nowhere

*i was off my face w drug blood was also a good line

*colin didnt do much here but his waiter job and greek bit were great

*i am glad despite pussy showing nadjita has more movement finally

*laszlo has no god damned right to look that tasty

*the shit and fart jokes were mostly flat. I was waiting for laszlo to say he thought guillermo was hitting on him or something. That said seems we get jealous nandor next week and thats all i want

*poor guide, poor sean. Mikey u cunt

*the quebecois thing delighted my sis who studied there (france ppl hate ice right? But $8 wine is primo so u know)

*poor guillermo. Hes clearly a slayer vamp hybrid and very sad about it. Cant wait to see Nandor learn this. Also u will never convince me he could kill guillermo. Other than his eyes watering Guillermo has beat his ass like a rented mule twice now. Cheating or not (i say not)

*seems death threats also made note of make nandor better cuz hes followed a hippy self help book. Its kinda sweet cuz thats where his minimal kindness to guillermo comes from. I dont believe he ever through benji a bday dinner let alone convinced the others to come along

*colin seems aware hes been out of the job game for awhile but makes no indication if he knows why. Laszlo treats him basically same as always and vice versa

[bookqueen101]

20 Questions For Fic Writers

Tagged by @probablynottola

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

5 - 3 of which are ones I brought over from ff.net when I started writing on AO3 last year.

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

~ 16,700. That's... more than I thought.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Ted Lasso is my current fandom and the one that's re-ignited my desire to write fic. The last time I wrote fic was for Glee a literal decade ago

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Given that I only have 5 total, I'll just share the one with the most kudos which is When One Door Closes because I posted that one while series 3 was still airing.

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yes, absolutely.

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

I can't remember if they had angst-y endings specifically but some of the drabbles in the Jay Brannan-inspired Klaine collection are the closest I've got to writing angst.

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

Both of my Ted Lasso fics are happy rom-coms, I can't choose between them!

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Nope, not experienced that, thank goodness

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Not yet, and I'm not sure if I will. I am working on a more NSFW fic currently (affectionally referred to as the 'dick pic penpals' fic so far) so I'll see where that goes!

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Nope

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nope

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope

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

No, that's an interesting idea though!

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

At the moment, for writing, my default is TedTrent. In general, I tend to be a multi-shipper in fandoms so I do wonder if I'll end up writing anything else.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

There was a conversation in the discord a few months ago that sparked the idea of a mythological pirate story where Trent was convinced of the existence of mythological creatures but no-one believed him until he met Captain Lasso and his pirate crew and runs away with them.

I dont think I'm good enough yet at writing plot stuff to get very far with that one but it's a good idea.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I like writing dialogue - if I know the character well enough I can almost hear some of the lines in their voice which helps. Stream of consciousness/train of thought bits as well.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Writing actual plot events. What do you mean stuff has to actually happen and I have to describe how it looks?

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

I've not had to do it yet. I've read a lot of Check Please fic though which often has bits of Quebecois in where you can google translate it or get the gist from context as you read through.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

My first fic was a Doctor Who one with a companion who was basically my self-insert. I was like 17 when I wrote it and I did put it on ff.net a few years later because it wasn't totally awful.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

I really like my last one, Something's Brewing, because I wrote it mostly to indulge myself. I also really enjoyed writing a 5+1 fic for the first time.

Tagging: I think I've seen all the people I can think of already tagged in this game so if you want to do this and haven't been tagged, consider this your sign

[lottiecrabie]

what is your favorite book? or favorite writer? i am reading tender is the night atm and i love the way fitzgerald writes it’s like how wes anderson directs :)

i was gonna say i don’t have a favorite book but Thinking about it i actually do. it’s called la femme qui fuit by anaïs barbeau-lavalette (it’s a quebecois book). it’s the (mostly) true life story of anaïs’ grandmother who abandoned her children when they were young. it’s so interesting because it’s written in the second point of view, directly addressing the grandmother. it’s sort of an historical book because it’s set in the crux of a lot of very iconic postmodern quebecois art movements with a lot of leftist uprising (she knew a lot of very famous quebecois people and was even part of those movements, yet her own name is constantly erased). it’s such an iconic and Fascinating moment in quebec history and it’s so cool to be able to read about it in this very intimate way. and then there’s of course the Themes of motherhood and womanhood and it’s just. ugh it’s handled so beautifully. as a woman who doesn’t want children i think it’s my favorite book because it has so much empathy for the mother and although she is objectively doing some very immoral things, anaïs writes it with such understanding and it’s. Heartbreaking. it became very popular so i Think it might have been translated and if so i definitely recommend it has stuck with me like nothing before.

[laviedavantgarde]

Important Fanfiction Personal Update Below!

Putting this below a Read More because it is a but lengthy and I do not want people to scroll too much!

I haven’t updated my fanfictions in awhile, and there are two main reasons why:

I’ve tinkered and refined Julien behind the scenes.

I have major writer’s block.

Back when I began to write Grand Theft Immortal, I initially wrote this fanfiction to be a mostly original parody of the infamous My Immortal fanfic. I did not take it so seriously in the first few chapters. However, with the introduction of my OC Julien, that’s when it really took off.

I stopped where I did in GTI because I did not know how the second part of the fic would play out, and after some time, I was dissatisfied with Julien’s plot. I considered his feud with the publishing head to be way more ambitious than I thought it would be. Considering that My Immortal’s protagonist is a literal Mary Sue, I subconsciously made Julien into a Gary Stu to fit the parody. Am I re-writing his canonical situation to Julien’s mother’s death? Yes.

GTI was a real-time evolution to how I saw Julien and his character at the moment in writing. I put a lot of myself in Julien’s personality at the time, because I wanted to see someone like myself represented in a fic in terms of our trans and gay identities, as well as our love of academia. Julien and I are similar, but he has a more “serious” disposition. I also tried to fix My Immortal’s overused love triangle trope to a polyamorous one, as both Julien and I are polyamorous. Would Julien be involved with Michael? Sure, but he probably would stay far away from Trevor romantically. At the time, I was very invested in trying to write and explain how I saw Michael and Trevor’s relationship.

Now, I have very different feelings about GTI. It did serve its purpose in trying to find my identity as a young scholar and academic in Julien and cultivating and working hard at a polyamorous configuration. (In real life, I have had lackluster experiences with past partners and my ex metas- a poly term for my partner’s partner(s).) The fic served its purpose in working out the nuts and bolts for Julien as an OC. However, I think it is time to “abandon” the fic. This means while I will still have it for people to read, it is certainly not 100% canonical in terms of Julien’s events.

This is still canonical about/for Julien:

He is a professor at ULSA and has a PhD in English

He is a vigilante assassin who works behind the scenes (he rarely gets on the front lines)

His mother’s unfortunate demise

June Margot is his surrogate mother

He is trans/gay/poly

He’s a dual citizen of Canada and the US, but grew up in the US.

He speaks enough French to get by and have a conversation, but he is not 100% fluent. (His mom was French Canadian - Quebecois)

This is NOT canonical for Julien (as of 5/22/23):

His mother’s killer is the publishing head.

He is personally involved with the GTA V trinity and other characters.

He did not write a script for a movie.

You can say GTI is both a fever dream and a fanfic study. I am indebted to the readers and commenters, as well as the friendships I made with others over my fic. However, due to my feelings about where I see this fic now, it is time to shelve that away. Also, with My Immortal’s foundation in being a HP fanfiction and of its series’ author being a major bigot, it feels unethical for me to continue GTI.

That also means Blue Eyes and Homoerotic Vibes is a fever dream in itself, although I still find it quite enjoyable to read. (And downright sexy.)

In terms of my fic with Julien and Juan (Éxtasis en Aguamarina), that is another fanfic case study. Julien in a million years would never associate with Juan due to his own safety in mind. At the time, I was super simpy for Juan and I wanted to write more homoerotic fanfiction.

Fanfiction will always hold a special place in my heart, and I want these stories to still be accessible because I want the guys/masc folks in the GTA V/GTAO fandom to enjoy fanfiction written by someone like me and to see themselves being desired.

I still very much play GTAO, but I have so much development in terms of Julien’s character in the works behind the scenes. If I were to upload that content, it would technically not be fanfiction. It would be original writing. Let’s see where this goes, and I will find a place to house these original works of Julien.

Is this to say I will stop writing fanfiction for good? No. My fanfiction writing comes in waves. I just have to be really hyperfixated on a fandom and have a lot of ideas. Right now, I don’t. My priorities in how I engage in fandom morphed significantly these past couple or so years. I still very much love to discuss and analyze media! I’ve analyzed both as a student and as a young adjunct. I just enjoy the nonfiction parts too. I’m that guy with an iced coffee who will sit down with individuals who want to play Operation on media and discuss, analyze, and critique media in the lens of scholarly and informal inquiry. If that sounds like you, I would love for you to join me at this metaphorical table.

I still very much am invested in Julien, other OCs, and your fanfictions! I am just taking a step back from the fanfiction writing table to focus on Julien’s world buildings.

If you read this far, then you’re a champ. Here’s a gold star!

Much love,

Avant

[homeisfaraway]

I had to add a book by one of the most popular writer in quebec to storygraph 😭😭 i feel like thats what im gonna have to make everytime i read smt cause quebecois writers are 99% of what im reading rn

[abishekmuses]

Creative.

Cole Schafer’s newsletter - it made think a few things. 

This guy’s really good at selling himself. And I don’t mean in that ANY negative sense. He embodies all that is great about the American Hustle. 

Unashamed. That’s the thing. 

And his stuff inspires me to write. 

His brand of creativity somehow gives me the license to create - to write. For the joy of it. It makes it accessible and whatever the opposite of daunting is. 

I’m thinking - there are lot of stories from my life I’d like to share. Just like his story of his camping trip. That painfully awkward crush he had on that freckled Quebecois girl. 

I have stories like that. 

I guess I’m a “creative” after all. 

I never grew up identifying with a tag like that. Wonder how I would have turned out if I had. Would my associations have been different?

I guess we’ll never know. 

But now I know for sure - I’m a creative. I’m that kind of person. 

Ha - I remember even as kid, I was fascinated with the idea of being a physician writer. 

There was so much romance to the notion.

I also remembered today that I was fascinated with the idea of writing beautiful things and then throwing them away. Morbidly fascinated with the idea of somebody picking up those pages  and reading them, wondering who wrote them. 

I want to get more comfortable with this fact - the fact that I love creating verbal structures. I love expressing myself. It doesn’t need to be towards any end - It just needs to be. 

I have a need for aesthetics. Creating beauty is its own reward. And the best part about creating for myself is that I’ll always be able to see the beauty inherent in it - the limitations or the blemishes, if you will, won’t stop me from seeing how beautiful it is. 

I feel like I have so much to say. 

Do I feel ashamed of judgement? Is that it?

I think so. I think we all are, to varying extents. 

This is what I think it is - I think I want to be associated only with the most beautiful things I can create. Not with the mediocre. 

There is some validity to this notion - I mean, brand value and all. 

But if this is getting in the way of me creating things at all, then fuck it!

Man the linkedin thing is such a bummer. I wonder what it was? The Norway thing - that’s easily explainable though - 

Anyway, I hope it works out and has that effect of making me appreciate it more. 

I want more money in my life. 

I want to create without fear. 

I want to live for joy. 

I want to roam the world free from fear, anxiety and worry. 

I’m tired of worrying. 

I’m tired of thinking about money. 

Which is ironic because the fact still remains that I have a great job - even with the salary cut. 

I want to continue checking out Cole Schafer’s work - I think it will inspire me to create more. I want to create more. I want to put it out there. It would make me happy if people engage with the stuff I create. 

I don’t care if I’m stating the obvious. I like typing. Just for the fuck of it. 

And these are honest words - why would I not like to type them?

God I remember I’ve loved typing for the longest time. I remember - I’ve loved writing words for the longest time - Wonder why it’s taken so long for me to recognise this in myself. 

Is that how pervasively pernicious the South Indian middle class trap is?

Man. I wonder. 

If a guy like me who doesn’t have a single middle class sinew in me can be held back this much - this shit must really be pervasive then. 

I feel my neurosis slipping away every time I write. Maybe Tasha was right about the Gemini energy thing. 

I wonder what she’s upto - she can be really sweet. But also ditsy. She can be profound and dumb at the same time.

What I love about her is this - she has the ability to interact with a certain spectrum of humanity that I struggle to interact with. She does it so effortlessly and seems to be able to see greatness in them - I struggle possibly because of self-consciousness. Possibly because of some misplaced sense of elitism. Some sense of a disconnect? I don’t know. Like - I don’t like the way I’ being seen? Or think I’m being seen. 

This is a lovely change of pace - the words that are coming out now are of a higher order than the usual worried rants to myself that I produce - quotidian affairs. 

So yeah money. Money would be nice. Man Linkedin!

It’ll work out. 

I think I’ll be let off with a warning. 

Time to remember than zen thing - 85% is good. Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast. I tried building my body super quickly - My back fucked up. I tried coming up on linkedin too quickly - I got banned. I tried to make a lot of money too quickly - I haven’t published an article for ONiO in a whiiiiiiile. Patience. 

It’s eluded me. I need patience. I’ll find it I think. Nandi is the man.

Ahh yes I remember. before I got to the desk to write this - I was thinking about how I’m so filled with resentment and anger - how a lot of the stuff I say about India, and “ok sir”, and this and that - it’s not that the stuff itself can’t be well received - it’s the energy - the emotional charge that’s not well received. 

Can I transmute my resentment into humour?

I think I can. I think I am doing that.

Ok. Time to attend to the quotidian. But the supernal shall be where I dwell more and more.

#creative #creativity #selfdoubt #artist

[psych---ologically-deranged]

psych 2x12 the old & the restless

anupam nigam & tim meltreger according

Alternate titles: If you lived here you'd be dead by now TM: It was too long. My first one was called If You're So Smart Then Why Are You Dead? AKA Little Man Hate! Other alternates for this one were Age Against The Machine & Old Case

Brian Doyle Murray TM: Anu is a human IMDB

"We had to make him an anti-henry & we see some of where adult Shawn's philosophy comes from in life. You've got to live by the seat of your pants

(their voices sound too similar for me) I was trying to be professional on set but I was like "I'm sorry can I please get a photo"

smash cut right into the case

AN: Do you write the entire pepisode in a room with a single 40 watt lightbulb hanging from the ceiling?

TM: The writer's room is the heart of our job here on psych, it's the nerve centre where we sit around on couches & beat out stories until they make sense

Shawn being a doula again

Psychfact: they have a routine where they hide Gus in a sack & it never fails

TM is the internet guy. Mr Tim, if you are reading this *kisses you*

TM: I wanted to talk about Gus & Shawn's shirt, both wearing purple, very complimentary (they wear matching clothes. Honestly I wouldn't doubt it in canon.) AN: Henry's just dressing a little loud tonight. "Hey there's that pink safari shirt"

*gus sleeping on henry's shoulder* *henry not stopping him*

set design: Glorious Pines Centre for Assisted Living AN: It's a pretty big plot point that it can't be for assisted living

TM: I have another question. Is it cool to do the rest of this commentary pants-off? AN: Do what makes you feel comfortable TM: *microphone sounds* AN: No I can't help you

Describes the guitar is shimmering TM: What's the name of the guitarist? AN: That would be me! TM: Him! Did you have your pants on for that recording? (I think I got the ppl wrong. Their voices sound very similar. & I'm deaf) AN: Absolutely not!

Never calls him grandpa after that. Throw in a good algonquian moshum

"our" grampy. Maybe he's only his grandfather in the eyes of the law, not as in adoption but as in marriage

"When your episode gets shot, the psych people will fly YOU up to watch the episode

*five minute walk to the studio if you're in LA* *airplane if it's in BC*

I call my paternal grandfather grandpapa. he was quebecois. Opa! That's what I SHOULD be calling my maternal grampa but he was the youngest of like 13 & his older siblings went to school during or a bit after wwii so they got beat for speaking german.

gus does a GREAT agitated

Shawn & Henry matching colours

*Gus knowing random facts*

This is like when they sent Shawn to the mental hospital

REAL retirement community. ily kelly kulchak "I get that it's an old folks home, but do they have to look old?"

Henry "I'm going to teach you a lesson, even tho normally I'd storm out of here & leave you in the lurch" I mean they did trick him into coming here

Love a good old naming scheme

Love all the gus medical terms they had to do research/lh for

"I'm pretty sure when Chris Henze emailed me I walked out of my office into the writer's office & yelled I've got booger!"

Henry: Life lesson 20. People lie & they leave without warning. *looking at Shawn* Shawn: *rolls his eyes & shoulders in the biggest natural sigh ever*

idk anything abt marathon running

AN & TM used to run marathon in high school

BG: You can't get Indian Blood by working in a casino Me: That's what fist fights are for Fun fact, JRr is actually half mexican, & a ton of mexican population is mestizo (sort of like the Metis of canada, which I am) so by extension you could say he does have "indian blood" if you really wanted

Yeah, as an fnmi person it does strike me as weird that they'd say indian not native american but like this was 2007 & anupam is India Indian too lol

Some ppl say "asian indian" & "indian" not "Indian" & "american indian" really???? At that point just say native american bro. I guess "native american" implies USA when indian is used to mean anyone from the americas. Fine. (But then a lot of the time ppl also forget greenland still. Greenland is mostly inhabited by the inuit, but is owned by iceland, a european nordic/scandinavian country)

AN: & what's the name of your band, Tim? TM: *Gasp* the friendly indians! It's systemic! AN: & when you say Indians you mean people like me bc we're all very friendly TM: Absolutely. & You are very friendly. .. Although our story does have a very long "why we're called friendly indians" story that has something to do with political correctness. In some ways it's ironic but it doesn't bear talking about here.

yk what I'm happy this is finally mentioned. It's been smth around my head for a while, I just haven't cared to say it.

AN: I thought this was a neat clue!

Jason Enzler? idk. Great shot tho.

I forgot my man wasn't wearing any pants

AN had to stand in for that actress when she got held up in makeup (you need someone of comparable skin tone & height) "If there's something I don't like it's having to read my work aloud in front of other people, so I was standing there shaking, having to read my script"

OFFICE MOUSTACHE COMPETITION? "That's it, I'm putting my pants back on!"

I love henry's bathing suit

"My s-- grandson Shawn & his--... Gus"

"The extra we asked to [fall in the water] was PETRIFIED of the water!"

Yeah how DOES juliet know that if she went to cop school in miami?

yeah I DEF see the difference between seasons 1 & 2

*right after Chelsea puts her leg up on shawn while tango dancing* "She had hip problems"

DH is a skilled dancer & they put him on the dance floor standing STILL

Shawn: Where did my dad learn to tango? Me: where did YOU learn to tango?

... "for anyone listening" like me "what would you the writer do on the set?" I've never been to the set?

HS: I'm your father, do not call me dude Me to my mom: dude

tim *spot pitching jokes to the actors*

Yeah nursing home vs retiring home. I've been to low-care old folks homes, basically an apartment complex where you can cook your own meals & stuff but they still have a dining room (my 103y/o great great uncle lived there), mid-care where you have tons of freedom but it is still a care facility, & high-care dementia homes where people need two lots of care.

*all in one location* *network loves it*

DH& JRr: dancing for several minutes DH, rhythmically: When Is Ensler Going To Say Cut

They were supposed to take JJ the kid to prison for this shit but they couldn't. There was supposed to be lassiter graffiti on the walls

I like it when they say "I wouldn't change a thing"

oh he hurt himself on his mountain bike This may have been the first ep since it healed

"What is the collarbone called?" "The Collar Bone" "You're a medical guy!" "The clavicle!" "Ok now you need to name six bones to redeem yourself!"

Traditional Breakdown

"I dreamt I went to heaven & met god & he sneezed!"

Bang! *watching the stunt man on the styrofoam rock* my man has a reputation for killing people & he has only killed one person in his five episodes

Curtis *tickling her bc he can't find the pills*

"jervis babey" TM: They exit Jason E: they limb over the railing. Henry doesn't get a fist bump. Homage to the shining.

Show me don't tell me I struggle with that so much but you DO need a balance

Ooh Jason E, love this shot.