#we have had haunting discussions and there is seriously something so fun about alternate universe aroroots. theres a ship name. sorry.

[sleepyyghostt]

did you know that you can imagine what sort of fanfics would be written about your dnd campaign if it were some sort of mainstream media. and then become pained by the fact that they do not exist.

uh oh

[hawkland]

Dear Fandom5k Author

My AO3 account (sidewinder)

Hello and thank you for writing for me! I’m excited to give this exchange a try for the first time and cannot wait to read what you can come up with for one of my requests. Please note I’d love any of them equally, no matter if I have more prompt ideas for one or the other. Some I seriously would love just about anything about since they are so rare, others I have more specific requests to scratch itches I haven’t seen written before (or that much.)

General Likes:

Soumates with a twist. I love soulmate/soulbond AUs, as long as it’s just not a shortcut to happily-ever, no-conflict fluff. I want there to be some difficulties or angst involved. For instance, I’d love seeing any fusion/inspired-by fics based off the concept of the AMC Soumates series - where there’s a newly-developed scientific test a person can choose to take to find their soulmate (if the other person out there has also taken the test). That way it’s a choice to find out or not. Would an already established couple want to take the test to find out if they’re really “meant” to be together or not? What if they find out other people are their “soulmates”? What about the possibility of platonic soulmates vs romantic? Discussions for the future if/when one partner dies before the other? I’d love to see these questions played out with one of my fave ships in either a  happy or somewhat angsty/dark way.

Vacation/travel stories. Being unable to travel this past year+ thanks to covid-19 has me desperate to explore and live vicariously through my favorite characters! So I’d love a story involving travel to somewhere new (to them). It could be a romantic getaway/honeymoon trip to somewhere special - and I love it when an author “takes me” to a favorite city/place of their own. Or two friends just going on an escapade together, maybe one sensing the other needs some time away from a stressful situation or workplace.

Smutty likes: I love extended kissing scenes, frottage, light restraint play, sharing-one-bed-for-~reasons~-ooops-how-did-we-wake-up-cuddling, bathing/caretaking an injured partner-turns-erotic, desperate/reunion sex.

Canon-divergent AUs - I’m always good with fix-its, shifts in canon that only change one thing and see what happens next or instead.

Do Not Wants:

A/B/O dynamics, mating heats. (I do like Supernatural fics that explore Castiel and the angels having bird-like behaviors and instincts, however.)

animal abuse/death

anything related to pregnancy/childbirth/kidfic (except for Jack in SPN)

formalized BDSM relationships

scat/watersports

unrequested alternative-universe scenarios such as high school/mundane/genderswap/coffee shop/fantasy/etc. There are a few ships/groups where I would enjoy specific AUs, and those are outlined below.

Completely sad endings/permanent character death or injury that isn’t part of canon

Rape/non-con between requested characters. Dubious consent is fine in situations like magic spells/possession/fuck-or-die, however.

Supernatural

AU - Canon Divergence, Character Development, Established Relationship, Getting Together, Fix-it fic, Interpersonal Drama, Smut, Angst, Canon-Style Plot - Freeform, Hurt/Comfort, Mystery/Procedural, Slice of Life, Worldbuilding, Horror

In general for SPN, I love canon-divergence AUs at pretty much any point in time (especially as they kept having so many dumb reasons in canon to keep Dean & Cas apart just when one or the other seriously needed support or TLC!) I’m okay with post-series Heaven fics as well as canon fix-its/completely ignoring the finale, and I like exploring both human!Cas as endgame or Cas keeping/getting his full angelic grace back (which is a slight preference to me, as he repeatedly seemed to genuinely value/want to be an angel? But exploring all possibilities in fic is cool for me.)

I’m a sucker for Castiel Whump/hurt!Cas in general, so long as the author remembers Cas is a bad ass and not just a baby in a trenchcoat. If he’s going to suffer, I want him to suffer stoically until he just cannot keep up the facade any longer.  

SPN-specific DNWs: mentions/implications of Wincest, past or present; extreme bashing/characterization of John and Mary Winchester, or Jimmy Nowak, as homophobic. 

Group: Castiel/Dean Winchester Group: Castiel/Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester

Give me all the finale fix-it fics - no I’m still not over it, I’m still happy to read any new twist on how Cas got out of the Empty and got back together with Dean (and Sam). If Dean still dies early/ends up in Heaven, I’d like a story that explores what happens when one gets bored of peace-and-happiness-ever-after. (Yes, I’m a big fan of The Good Place and as such it makes me wonder if eternity with no conflict and everything you could ever want would just melt your brain and identity after a few millennia.) So what then?

I’m also stealing a Tumblr rant as a prompt I’d love to read, if you want to get into some good dirty smut:

ive had it up to here with fictional gays being like “i love you and if all i can ever have is that knowledge it’s enough for me” we need more “i have been struck down by horny insanity and i beg you to fuck me once. i’ve had three smirnoff ices and i’m gonna be crazy now. we can pretend it didn’t happen i don’t give a shit just gimme daddy’s blunt instrument” it’s more realistic [x]

Um so yeah. I’d love an au where, anywhere along the line when it’s been their/someone’s/the universe’s life on the life, Cas takes the initiative decides they’re gonna have crazy sex even if it’s just once before the end of the world/we die. But then, oops, we’ve survived, now we have to deal with it. ...Please?

For something different, maybe more romantic/fluffy, I’d really love a vacation/getaway story here, since they never really got anything like that of substance on the show. I want to see Cas take Dean somewhere beautiful and amazing in the world he’s never gotten to see before. Show him there’s more than just greasy diners and the landscape of America to enjoy and experience. If you want, they could stumble on a case/haunting/monster from another part of the world while they’re at it...but I just really want to see Dean having some mind-opening and expanding experiences beyond what’s he’s known and seen so far in life.

In specific with Cas/Dean + Sam, I love another tumblr idea I saw recently where Sam totally keeps bringing up the idea of “Sastiel” as a fun joke between him and Cas, and Cas plays along, and it drives Dean up the wall. Cas has to just keep re-assuring Dean that no, he doesn’t see Sam that way...but why does it bother Dean so much? A.k.a. Dean has to finally own up to the fact that it bothers him because he wants Cas to feel that way about him.

Castiel (Supernatural)

I just love Cas, period, end of story, he’s my One True Character of SPN. I love any stories that try to explore him more fully—be it his relationships in the past with other angels and being a BAMF commander/warrior of Heaven, or what specifically it is that keeps him so tied to the Winchesters. I love stories that feature his true-form in some fashion or try to dig into the alien/different nature of angels vs. humans.

Also, another Tumblr-musing-turned-prompt (I lost who posted it, sorry!) I'd love to see explored in a canon divergence fic focused on Cas. Specifically: 

"I would have loved an arc for Cas (after he got his grace back) where he wanted to help people, like he was helped. Spending time in soup kitchens or healing people, and through that developing a sense of self purpose, leading to his grace replenishing unexpectedly. Sort of fulfilling the traditional angel role (as we know it nowadays) by replacing his faith in heaven/dean with faith in himself, to redefine himself as a protector of humanity instead of heaven's soldier."

Group: Castiel/Dean Winchester & Jimmy Novak Group: Castiel & Jimmy Novak

We know Cas carried a lot of guilt for what happened to Jimmy and his whole family. So I'm interested in a post-finale, canon-compliant (I guess?) fic where Cas tries to reconcile things with Jimmy in Heaven. Maybe Jimmy & Amelia were one of his first "projects" or test cases in trying to build a new and better Heaven with Jack? (And it's what he was so busy with while Dean was still alive.) Or, is it weird in Heaven with Cas and Jimmy looking so similar? Does Cas still fight doubts as to whether Dean really loves him, or just desires this body/form that isn’t his own?

Otherwise, I've been thinking about Endverse!Cas, who had lost his grace/powers as the angels have all left and abandoned humankind. What happened to/where is Jimmy in all of that? (If we go by the canon that Jimmy was not killed, nor went to Heaven, until the end of Season 5, when Lucifer blew up that vessel and Cas was resurrected by Chuck.) Are they now two "mortal men"/souls trapped sharing one body? Is that why Cas is so messed up/always seeking an escape through drugs and sex? (Besides of course Dean having changed so much.) This is one prompt where I don’t mind a very dark/not-so-happily-ever-after ending.

The Police

Angst, Character Development, Established Relationship, Getting Together, Humor, Interpersonal Drama, Smut

Group: Sting/Stewart Copeland

Yeah I’ll always request these two together even though I know it’s a long shot to find anyone else as obsessed about them as I am. Really anything at all whatsoever would make me happy for this ship: Reunion Tour-era fic, early punk days before they grew successful, soulmate AUs...

I’d also love a spooky story where they’re on tour/on the road somewhere and end up in a haunted hotel. Or their tour bus/van breaks down in the middle of nowhere and they have to seek shelter in an abandoned house or farm or something...and supernatural weirdness ends up affecting them or bringing them together.

If you want to go the crack route: it wasn’t enough for Miles to take them all around the world to tour in “exotic” locations back in the day. He’s arranged for them now to go on the ultimate tour...of outer space and alien worlds.

Crossover Fandom

Action/Adventure, Character Development, Interpersonal Drama, Angst, Canon-Style Plot - Freeform, Hurt/Comfort, Mystery/Procedural

Group: Abe Morgan (Forever TV) & John Munch (L&O: SVU)

I’ve had a long running headcanon that these two could have been friends back in their respective 60s/early 70s hippie days. I’d love either a story set back then, “pre-canon”, or them running into each other in NYC later in life. Munch ending up in Abe’s antique shop, for instance, while on an investigation?  

Group: Dean Winchester (Supernatural) & Ezekiel Stone (Brimstone) Group: Castiel (Supernatural) & Ezekiel Stone (Brimstone)

I’m fascinated by the idea of crossing over these two canons. Even if there’s some conflict in their approach to Hell/Lucifer/demons, there’s still a lot in common. Dean & Ezekiel having both put in their time in Hell and being demon hunters, for instance, and their complicated relationships with (fallen) angels. I’d love to see them bonding over their experiences (Maybe they even meet in Hell? Time DOES work differently there…) Maybe somehow after Ezekiel completed his mission for the Devil, he did get his second chance at “life on Earth”…but the devil’s trick is that it’s not HIS Earth, it’s in a different dimension (Supernatural’s). I’m also curious how Ezekiel might respond to Castiel as an angel–perhaps he mistakes Cas for a demon at first, with his powers, but then they realize they are in fact hunting the same demon? Cas is stuck in an alternative dimension and recognizes Ezekiel as a similar soul to Dean’s, and seeks out his help?

Basically I’d love some kind of casefic/demon hunt here, with the characters bonding over their shared/similar past traumas, taking care of each other when/if injured on a hunt, and/or perhaps helping them sort out their complicated feelings for another (ie, background Cas/Dean and/or Zeke/the Devil are TOTALLY welcome here, as I ship both of those ships.)

Law & Order: SVU

Group: John Munch/Odafin "Fin" Tutuola

Character Development, Established Relationship, Humor, Getting Together, Interpersonal Drama, Canon-Style Plot - Freeform, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Mystery/Procedural, Slice of Life, AU-Genre shift

Munch/Fin is one of my eternal OTPs so I’m always happy to see something new featuring them! I’m always good for procedural/case-fics. And this is one request where I’d love to read some AU-Genre or setting shift, reimagining the two in some other situations besides police work. I’ve always loved the idea of John hosting a conspiracy/weird news radio show or podcast, and Fin as someone completely skeptical but who gets wrapped up in one of John’s mysteries. Or John as the owner of a bar somewhere that Fin is one of his regulars, and over time their friendship develops/deepens into something more.

Supernatural RPF

Misha Collins/Jensen Ackles Established Relationship, Getting Together, Smut, Fluff, Slice of Life, Humor

It’s odd for me to be into an actor RPF fandom (I usually only fall for music/band-related ones), but what can I say...these two just make it almost impossible not to see the possibilities!

I was thinking I’d love something set post-Supernatural...their first time seeing each other again after a long time apart? (What with the show ending, covid, Misha’s surgery, etc etc.) Could be at a convention or maybe they get to go off on a getaway together somewhere private/romantic and it’s...kind of tense and maybe nervous/angsty at first? Like with doubts about whether they can/should go back to the way things were before.

Or: putting tin-hatty speculation about the “secret/real identity” of Alma Perpetua aside, I love their poetry and I’d love any “Cockles” fic using one of their poems as inspiration.

[scarlettlawyer]

Part 13 of my reaction/commentary to the Phantoms & Mirages Saga, the fanfic series by @renegadewangs

(Chasing Phantoms): Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

(Haunted Specters): Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

(Vanquishing Mirages): Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9

Vanquishing Mirages / Lifting Spirits: Part 10

Lifting Spirits: Part 11 Part 12

OH BOY we actually made it. Are we actually here? At the Lifting Spirits ending?! :O

It only took thirteen posts and thousands upon thousands upon thousands of words and a couple of AUs and fun off-topic detours but WE DID IT. But it was the journey that counts, not necessarily the destination, no? XD

It was only the three of them- Simon, Athena and Bobby himself who were visiting Lex. There were very few other people who would bother to pay their respects, Bobby supposed.

[…]

The ambassador was probably the only other person who’d visit the grave with honest intent.

I don’t… necessarily think that’s true, to be honest.

I have some thoughts about this that I won’t go into, but, there were many people deeply upset by the fake verdict in-universe.

Lifting Spirits, Chapter 18

ascending.

I can’t it’s so much, the sweetness the…

”His identity was mine up until two months ago and it’ll continue to be mine whenever my uncle deems it time to take me out for some exercise.”

PALAENO OUT HERE GONNA TAKE LEX FOR WALKS LIKE A HECKIN’ DOG LOL? I love it.

While this was a suitable alternative to execution, in a way it felt like they were cheating.

Okay I really liked this line on first read honestly because. Yes.

Like, this ties in a huge amount to what I said in the last post. It… DID kind of feel like cheating to me back then? In the sense that this is such a wonderful, happy ending for everyone to the extent that it almost felt like it shouldn’t be possible given the past and the characters involved. It felt like a bit of a meta line? And I really don’t know if it was intended as such, that’s just how I interpreted/read it!

And these are the EXACT lines wherein, tied with the open acknowledgement of the inability to please everyone discussed in the last post, seriously made me embrace and adore this ending one thousand percent.

The “cheating” comment seriously resonated with me and just, by alluding to it feeling like cheating… to just embrace it… The open acknowledgement goes such a huge way. There doesn’t need to be any internal sense of dissonance whatsoever if the story is right there with you in terms of self-awareness.

By saying “not everyone can be satisfied with the ending” in and of itself allows me to be fully satisfied, and to no longer have to worry about the fact that it can’t please everyone, since the story is already aware of this and having pointed out that pleasing everyone isn’t possible anyway.

Mind you, my perspective now is somewhat more akin to hissing “no it’s not cheating back off this beautiful ending is 100% earned and righteous shhhhh”.

I… am really rendered speechless with some of the wonderfulness of this ending… And I’d actually... forgotten a lot of wonderful details too? Because I’d only read it through once before, and the fact that rereading the series to do these reviews has taken some time means the largest gap of time had passed between the first and second reading when it came to these last few chapters (making my memory of them the least fresh before reading through a second time). So the entire time prior to actually reading them once again, I’d been entirely going off memory of my first reading from like… a few months ago now, when discussing things with my friend(s) and thinking up scenarios. So, some things were like reading afresh and they just kinda outright killed me (in a good way) as if it was better than I had even remembered it being. Two examples of this are, 1. I could not recall with certainty an instance of Lex referring to Palaeno as “uncle”, and while reading through Lifting Spirits, noticed that even after the surgery he was still just referring to him as “ambassador”. Which, made me wonder if he had… So, suffice it to say… Reading this ending and seeing how he continuously refers to him as “uncle” & “my uncle” SO many times in such a short timespan, blows me away, and WOW!! WARMTH & LOVELY EMOTIONS ABOUND. 2. THIS IS KIND OF SKIPPING AHEAD TO THE LAST CHAPTER I GUESS BUT SIMON OUTRIGHT ACKNOWLEDGES THEM AS FRIENDS!!!!!!!! PLEASE I DIE OF WARMTH. I did NOT remember that, it is so… casually acknowledged!!! Like yes, yes, it is clear as DAY that, by the end, there is friendship among the trio, but it is casually verbalised by Simon like that and oh my goodness.

Lifting Spirits, Chapter 19

I will have to say that for the Lifting Spirits ending, I was way, way more invested in the themes of family and family dynamics instead of the shipping side of things. But SHIPPERS GOTTA SHIP and I respect that XD

Things spiraled out of control further and further.

Alexander… Luster Jr

Not with someone else, only Benny. …For now, anyway.

…AND HOW MANY NEW PEOPLE IS HE PLANNING ON MEETING WHEN ON HOUSE ARREST, EXACTLY?!

Lifting Spirits, Chapter 20

Really love the parallels vs differences between Benny and Lex illustrated so clearly in this chapter.

He didn’t want her to die. It seemed unfair of her to have to die while he got a second chance at living.

OH MY GOD? I Had TOTALLY FORGOTTEN THAT THIS GETS ADDRESSED/MENTIONED IN THE ENDING WHEN I’VE SPENT THE LAST FEW WEEKS/MONTHS ECHOING THIS EXACT SAME SENTIMENT!!!!

WILD that I had forgotten about this being brought up directly in the text considering how much I’ve been “”complaining”” about this EXACT “double standard”.

My memory must be SO bad I genuinely thought that Mirage didn’t even get any mention anywhere in the ending, and that after Lex’s meeting with her in the prison she promptly Disappears never to be mentioned again in Lifting Spirits, which felt INCREDIBLY unjust and to do her character a severe disservice. Once again I am a FOOL. A FOOL. That’s my entire Phantoms and Mirages reading experience let’s just be clear: me just, fumbling around blindly and making a fool of myself xDD

I actually think this being brought up directly in the text is the precise thing which planted this thought in my head in the first place too, and then I just, forgot that it was brought up in-story and started going around thinking it was my Own Original Sentiment, pffffff. THAT’S UH. A BIT OF A RUNNING THEME ABOUT THINGS FROM THE ENDING ACTUALLY. This is what I get for reading the ending Once and then needing to go off of memory alone for the next few months: suddenly it starts seeming like my ideas are Totally Original, Not Drawn From Direct Textual Hints/Discussion Or Anything. LOL.

Lifting Spirits, Chapter 21

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”

I have no clue if this was intentionally meant to echo one of the Phantom’s statements in Chasing Phantoms, but I found myself noticing it, at least on second readthrough, nonetheless!

“It would be best if you wipe that smirk off your face and hold your tongue, Bobby, as I’m quite certain your assumptions won’t sit well with me.”

Benny is right there? He’s right th

Hhhhhh I guess Benny is ok with the lack of openness then? dfhjbdfjfdkjb but Bobby’s RIGHT and Lex is a LIAR~

“I feel it is our duty as your friends to rub it in. Thirty eight years old, wasn’t it?”

“as your friends” once again, I’m ascending

Simon decided to tune out the remainder of the argument. Much as he believed Bobby had a point- the Jammin’ Ninja really was worthless against an opponent as grand as the Steel Samurai- he had no interest in partaking in the discussion.

SDKJNFDNJLFSDKJ

The former spy dropped himself back in his chair to return his attention to the watch he was constructing.

The

Former

Spy

: D (I misremembered the “former” part being way earlier in the narrative… and was kinda “huh!” whenever the narrative would still refer to him as “spy” long after the surgery on this readthrough… This is an example of my oversimplification of the distinctions the text makes between Lex and the phantom; in reality, there was still a transition involved, and things/characterisation wasn’t as clear-cut as I’d remembered it being in a “before vs after the surgery” sense. The subtle changes are… super great).

Okay, so for this ending (and the plot of Lifting Spirits), there was ONE thing that slightly nagged at me. Ultimately, I couldn’t be happier with how things turned out. But one thing that did strike me is that the Phantoms and Mirages narrative very clearly frames the phantom’s lack of emotions – their impairment as a result of the bone sliver – as a disability. Through the removal of the bone sliver, this disability is ultimately “cured”, and Lex is given the opportunity to become a “real” and good person.

In real life, in the vast majority of cases, there is no ready cure for disabilities, and a person’s disability cannot be readily separated meaningfully from who they are. It is something with them their whole life. It could be said that the disability itself is being kicked aside in this narrative instead of being accepted. (But, of course, given the context, it’s pretty understandable). There’s the slight potential for things to go awry if you warp some kind of message out of the narrative somehow such as “oh, it’s okay, if you’re disabled you can still have a happy ending… You just need to “cure” your disability first!” but that is obviously an extremely unfair and uncharitable reading.

I think it’s important to clarify that the Phantom’s lack of emotions – his disability in and of itself is not what made him a bad person (obviously), it was his actions. And I think that the narrative does make that pretty clear.

But the thing is,

It’s NOT actually the case that Lex gets suddenly magically “cured” of everything. That’s not the case at all! He must continue to struggle and to strive – he may not be emotionless anymore, but now he has to deal with the opposite, which is a sort of handicap all on its own. There are lasting repercussions from the bone sliver in the sense that now he must learn to deal with the intensity of what he is feeling. With that in mind, to frame it in terms of a “disability being kicked aside” is a pretty incorrect reading.

I said this in a previous post when I kind of touched on this kind of thing:

It’s just, the notion of a character actively striving to be good and overcoming themselves vs a sudden fix that gets externally applied

But another thing is… In my mind, I had exaggerated somewhat just how much of an effect this “sudden fix that gets externally applied” has as well. Lex must not only strive to overcome the extremity of the emotions he feels now, but there continues to be development throughout Lifting Spirits regarding how he interacts with the characters around him. It’s not like he gets the surgery and his characterisation/bonds with the others suddenly and abruptly jumps to where it was at the end and remains consistent through the whole fic; not at all. There CONTINUES to be development as he makes progress towards the point he’s at in the ending, even after the surgery.

Another thing about this ending is that it is so nice.

I think that Lifting Spirits, at its core, is a really beautiful story and concept. It really is. And part of why I had, perhaps, fought against or figured I wouldn’t find a good ending convincing is because I had convinced myself that it just wasn’t possible for the phantom as a character in general to ever achieve any kind of happy ending no matter what, EVEN IF I might like such a thing. I must make some clarification here, because other stories do offer a good kind of happy ending for them, but not in the same manner in which Lifting Spirits does, Lifting Spirits definitely feels like a different “kind” of good ending and a more “direct” good ending at that. I hope that makes some sense, because articulating the difference does seem kinda difficult.

Usually with favourite characters you want them to be happy, but with the phantom it had never been like that… I only ever wanted, or expected, angst or whatnot because… I simply did not think anything else was possible. And I was pretty content with that. But you… You…!

Anyway, there is another big aspect of the ending’s greatness that I want to talk about too. It’s kind of open-ended in the best possible way…

So many things happen that well and truly make it seem like the story is drawing to a close, and YET, simultaneously, there is very much this sense of new beginnings as well, and this ending works equally well regardless of whether there’s another instalment or not.

Something little like Simon getting his hair cut, or Bobby and Simon officially moving in with each other, are awesome things that feel very significant, that make you go “wow, we really are at the wholesome, satisfying, grand conclusion to it all huh? We’ve spent so much time with these characters, but now it’s finally time for them to go on their merry way, and continue to go on with their lives beyond the text written on the page.” They are CHANGES, changes to the “status quo”. You certainly get the impression that even if the story might be “over” for the reader, it certainly isn’t over for the characters – and that is the impression we would still get if there was absolutely nothing else written beyond Lifting Spirits – that their story would continue on regardless, and there would still be… adventure.

Because that’s another thing about the ending to Lifting Spirits. It closes off, and wraps everything up so very nicely. But at the same time, it remains poised, there is just this huge atmosphere of “stuff can still go DOWN” building. It’s the perfect ending where everything gets wrapped up but it is also the perfect set-up for anything to happen beyond the conclusion.

I sense this VERY STRONGLY in the segments where, for example, Benny considers how maybe he might need all the weapons and skills he has. Feels very “calm before the storm”.

Part of what’s so great about something like Simon getting a motorcycle is that the “the subway sucks” and “Simon trying to learn how to drive” subplot(s) have been present in the series from the very beginning. And finally, finally, after trying and failing at learning to drive regular cars, Simon has successfully escaped the subway at the very end.

We are given such hints on what could lie beyond, but also, from the way things are? There are a million different ways things COULD pan out in future, and the audience is only left to wonder.

We are given this strong hint that MAYBE… just maybe, this situation isn’t quite sustainable indefinitely. That perhaps, something’s gotta give at some point.

And that no matter what, the characters probably have some wild times ahead of them. Like that’s the thing: Even if Tracking Ghosts didn’t exist, I’d be left with the lasting impression that events of “Tracking Ghosts” length may still await the characters in the future.

But it’s all left so perfectly VAGUE. All left only in the realm of possibility.

I was satisfied to the extreme with the ending, I had to just take it and run at the time (of course I always planned on reading on), although back then to an extent I was outright BAFFLED at there still being this huge instalment to go. In the words of my friend, back then when I told her that Actually, there’s STILL even MORE to read:

Like, it truly felt like EVERYTHING had already been said and done. So how…?!

And since then, of course, I have not continued reading on as of yet, which has given me plenty of time to think.

And I have since realised that, as well and as thoroughly as Lifting Spirits DOES wrap everything up, there are still tiny, potentially loose threads. Tiny threads that could be unravelled until they could give way to all manner of things, scenarios, plots.

And that aside, there’s so much else that COULD happen as well. The Lifting Spirits ending is rife with potential. It is absolutely brimming with it.

And I also found myself realising that hey, there actually are things that haven’t been said and done yet. That there ARE little tiny things left nagging at me.

Tracking Ghosts contains a whole new threat, elaboration on Lex's emotional instability, road trips through Borginia, lots more 'Mirage' and Domestique LaSoote's backstory (oooh~). Also, the mother of all epilogues and a few more bonus chapters that take place afterwards.

Okay it is actually hilarious how little I remembered of all of this by the end. And that is to say: pretty much none of it. I straight-up forgot ALL of this being even mentioned in the Author’s Note at the end, and therefore have incorporated stuff like “road trips through Borginia” and “Mirage backstory” very VERY little in how I’ve thought about what to expect from Tracking Ghosts, at least in recent times, ahahahaha. Well I’ve got… quite a lot ahead of me, I’m sure.

I am certain that there’s so much more I could probably say about this series, I could continue to go on and on, but for now, there you have it, I think. I have not done this ending justice at all – it’s just so good it defies being done justice, and I don’t think I can fully articulate what I want to. But I’m content. Across so many posts, in thousands and thousands of words, I have already said quite a bit. XD

So now, all that’s left is to take that plunge and finally start to read Tracking Ghosts as I planned on doing once this series of posts was finished, huh? XD

I start my work week tomorrow, so it’s currently looking like… I will start reading it next weekend! It will have to be a weekend, sadly, as I can’t imagine starting and diving into something so huge when I have to try and focus on work/get sufficient sleep, lol.

OH I DON’T KNOW HOW TO END THIS POST-

Thank you, so much, for everything, and uh, apologies in advance for however much I might blow up your inbox/DMs/what have you when reading Tracking Ghosts. GENUINELY DON’T KNOW how much I will liveblog to you, if only a couple of things will slip through or if I’m just outright gonna go completely wild with it XD. IT WILL DEPEND ON THE STORY ITSELF AND HOW I’M FEELING I GUESS/my reactions.

These review posts have been… they’ve been really fun, I’ve enjoyed doing them a lot. They’ve been time consuming, but it was all 100% worth it and I’m very glad I set out to do them. I couldn’t not do them, really. I found myself realising that I just needed to tell you about the incredible journey/ride this series took me on one way or another – and, of course, I just have so many thoughts and so very many opinions about it. It lends itself so readily to analysis for me. But more than that, it feels like it SHOULD be analysed and subjected to analysis.

Talking with you is really great, and I hope to talk with you heaps more in future! Not just about your stories, just in general!

Thanks again, and I hope you have a great week! And then it will be TRACKING GHOSTS TIME.

[wiseabsol]

WA Reviews “Dominion” by Aurelia le, Chapter 9: Her Own Blood

Link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6383825/9/Dominion

Summary: For the Fire Nation royal siblings, love has always warred with hate. But neither the outward accomplishment of peace nor Azula’s defeat have brought the respite Zuko expected. Will his sister’s plans answer this, or only destroy them both?

Content Warnings: This story contains discussions and depictions of child abuse, emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and incest. This story also explores the idea that Zuko’s redemption arc (and his unlearning of abuse) is not as complete as the show suggested, and that Azula is not a sociopath (with the story having a lot of sympathy for her). If that doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, I would strongly recommend steering clear of this story and my reviews of it.  

Note: Because these were originally posted as chapter reviews/commentaries, I will often be talking to the author in them (though sometimes I will also snarkily address the characters). While I’ve also tried not to spoil later events in the story in these reviews, I would strongly recommend reading through chapter 27 before reading these, just to be safe.

Now on to chapter 9!

CHAPTER 9: HER OWN BLOOD

Alright, I am tentatively going to try to resume my reviews for Dominion—once a week can’t be too hard, right? Diving right in, the author’s note that start this chapter mentions that “The Legend of Korra” debuted on the same day that this chapter was uploaded, which is a blast from the past.

 In any case, Zuko is sitting on the Burning Throne at the start of the chapter. In a parallel to Azula’s breakdown in the show, now he is the one being haunted by his memories and audible hallucinations. Zuko apparently told Mai all of the gory details of the sexual encounter that occurred between him and Azula, though not the “why” of it—which might have helped her understand it a little better, though I think Zuko’s “why” would be unsatisfactory at this point, since even he doesn’t fully understand what contributed to it, either on his or Azula’s side. As it is, Zuko’s feeling a lot of guilt here, which is better than him blaming it all on Azula, but by focusing so much on his own pain, I don’t think he’s really thinking about her.

 At this point, Zuko hasn’t told the public that Azula has escaped, though if memory serves correctly, there’s a mole who reveals that to the Earth Kingdom. There is mention here of some of Mai’s machinations at court, but which I mean putting some of Zuko’s detractors on his council to look as though he’s taking them seriously, but really getting them away from their supporters and to someplace where they can be watched. Honestly, this shows why Zuko isn’t the best Fire Lord—generally speaking, he has a good heart, but a good heart needs to be backed up by a cunning mind to not get stomped on in a poisonous court. Azula, in a lot of ways, was the more equipped heir, politically speaking, though her paranoia and inability to compromise would have made it difficult for her to maintain her rule for a lengthy period of time. Together, they could probably get farther, though that’s not likely to happen in Dominion itself. Who knows what will happen in the sequels?

 Ah, see, Zuko considers running a nation to be a tedious business. I’m pretty sure Azula would snap at him for being ungrateful of the privilege. This also makes me think that in an alternate universe, he would have had a better time being the “face” of the Fire Nation’s reparation efforts. Beyond providing the appearance of humility on behalf of the Fire Nation—with the only son of the royal family getting personally involved in the rebuilding—that would have allowed him to keep traveling with the Gaang, which would have been better for his mental health. Of course, such an AU would require someone to be ruling the Fire Nation in his stead, possibly Iroh or Azula, provided they hadn’t stacked up too many war crimes to be viable rulers in the eyes of the other nations. But that’s just me spit-balling ideas.

 Anyway, General How arrives, and I’m pretty sure he’s going to be a pain in our butts for the remainder of this story, and sexist to boot. He’s heard that Azula escaped, but more importantly, he comes to tell Zuko that Azula was tried WITHOUT REPRESENTATION and sentenced to death by the Earth Kingdom. Zuko rightly calls the general out on this bullshit, while I’m like, “This was a no-win situation from the start. While Azula was insane, she wouldn’t have understood, let alone remembered, the terms of this agreement. If she was sane, the Earth Kingdom military would have ordered for her to stand trial, and would have found some way to rig it so she would lose, or would kill her on the way to court.”

 While the Earth Kingdom military wants her dead, though, I doubt the Earth King himself is invested in the matter, given how disconnected he was from the war in general, and given that the coup was bloodless.

 Moving on, How asks, “Where were you on the night of her escape? Did you help her?” and of course Zuko can’t answer that question. Then How’s group points out that Zuko could file an appeal, which is more bullshit, because by the time it would go through, Azula would probably be dead. Isn’t the court system fun, Zuzu? I kind of want Zuko to go directly to the Earth King and be like, “Hey, your military broke the agreement that you made that my sister would get life in prison, can you do something about them?” Because really, what even is the point of having a king if the king can’t smack down the corruption in his court with an order or two?

 There is more back and forth about this, where it becomes clear that the Earth King military is mostly pissed that a fourteen-year-old girl pawned them, and will use any justification they can, no matter how flimsy, to execute her. It’s pointed out that Azula stopped acting in an official diplomatic capacity when she went undercover at Ba Sing Se, to which Zuko thinks, “To see Azula’s manipulations turned against her was his dearest desire once. But there had never been so much at stake.” They then list off a bunch of charges against Azula, most of which Zuko also committed during the show.

 We also get the reveal that Azula never tortured anyone, which is refreshing after some of the fics I’ve read that assumes that is the case. The psychological torture argument from How is pretty rich, though, given the brainwashing that the Dai Li did to Earth Kingdom citizens. Anyway, Zuko figures out who the mole was—he was a lot worse than Azula, surprise surprise—and calls How out on it. How then loses his composure and declares that the Northern Water Tribe has agreed to extradite Azula if she’s found there—I personally doubt the Southern Water Tribe would do the same, given Katara and Sokka’s pull there—and yeah, that tracks. The Northern Tribe would be dicks about this, given that it’s a chance for them to get back at the Fire Nation for the loss of their own princess. How then says, “You have to hand Azula over to us too if you find her” and I’m like, “Yeah, keep dreaming, General.”

 Zuko threatens to go to war if they kill Azula, which seems justified in this case. The Earth Kingdom military decided to ignore previous treaty agreements, overseen by the Avatar and the rulers of the three nations, to pursue a vendetta against someone who was, at the time of the war, a minor. This is something you would go to war over. Though first, I’d see if Kuei could address the issue, since he could presumably strip power and lands from General How and his allies, given how they are threatening the peace.

 Zuko goes back to his rooms with Mai and has a nightmare, which is mixing in some memories of Ursa’s departure. It’s revealed in this that Ozai once broke Azula’s wrist while training her—she must have been extremely young at that point, given that she’s maybe eight or nine in this dream/memory—and Azula starts repeating “Never tell,” which Zuko assumes means about where Ursa went. I suspect the mantra more has to do with something he overheard from her on the night of their fight, and backtracking from that, from Ozai’s sexual abuse of Azula. These parallels are reflected in Zuko burning her arm and Azula “bleeding from a hundred wounds he couldn’t see,” which is an apt description of the effects of abuse.

 “Stop it!” is what Zuko says in response to Azula, by the way, as if she can control the bleeding, rather than something more like, “I’ll get help.”

 Ooof, then Ursa appears, and it’s her shadow that symbolically bruising Azula. She echoes the sentiment that something is wrong with Azula and slowly starts to look like Azula’s adult self, repeating the idea that Azula can’t be helped. “No matter how she may seem to change, never forget what she is,” she says, in a haunting twist on Ursa’s words of encouragement to Zuko before she left. Again, we see Azula being dehumanized by her loved ones.  

 The dream shifts over to an Agni Kai, mixing in Zuko’s memories of the ones he faced against Ozai and Azula. It also incorporates Zuko’s current anxieties about his friends not being there to help him—that he’s alone against the world now, rather like Azula is. The dream Azula insists that his friends will hate him for what he did to her, and I suspect it is going to cause some serious damage once it gets out. Zuko tries to deflect that blame for what happened onto Azula—that it was her fault that he got so angry and lost control, which is a classic abuser’s excuse. Dream Iroh calls him out on that—that Azula was mentally unstable and thus didn’t have as much control and agency in the situation as Zuko did.

 “Was what he did so awful that even Iroh couldn’t love him anymore?” Probably? Iroh is a sexist and mishandles his interactions with Azula as a result, BUT there’s no suggestion that he ever sexually assaulted anyone. That’s a line he hasn’t crossed that Zuko now has.

 “Why couldn’t he have [a normal sibling relationship] with Azula?” I don’t know, Zuko. Maybe because your parents pitted you against each other from an early age and you blamed Azula for the painful experiences in your childhood, because that was easier than blaming your parents?

 “Why couldn’t she just be normal?” See above, Zuko. Also you slept with your sister. You have given up any connection between yourself and the word normal.

 Zuko idealizes Aang a little in this, saying that if he can’t forgive Zuko, no one could. It’s definitely not Aang’s forgiveness that Zuko should be striving for, though.

 “What did she have to cry about? She hadn’t just been rejected by everyone she knew and loved—” I’m glad that Zuko cuts himself off there and realizes he’s being a pill, or I would have wanted to smack him. There’s also this repetition of the idea that suffering will be his teacher, which—ugh. Ugh to dream Azula immolating herself, too. It’s symbolic that Zuko’s attempts to reach out and hold her are what “destroys” her, though again, I doubt that these two will be able to walk away from each other forever, even though that would be healthier for them.

 Soooo Zuko, shaken by the nightmare, decides to go talk to Daddy Dearest. Mai watches him go, which I never noticed before.

 “Now all Zuko had to do was convince Ozai it was in his best interest to help capture his favorite child.” I think you mean tool, Zuko. Ozai’s favorite tool.

 Ozai greets Zuko as “Traitor” upon his arrival, which is funny in a dark way. Ozai has guessed that Azula has escaped from the increased guard around his cell, too, saying, “The Avatar took my bending, not my wits.” I feel like this man sank a lot of his character creation points into charisma, rather than empathy.

 “The Earth Kingdom have been our enemies for a hundred years. Because you give them everything they ask, does that make them your friends? Have you learned nothing from your failure with me?” This is a fair point and more self-aware than I want to give Ozai credit for, but it’s not like he has much to do other than reflect on the past, these days. Ozai also seems to have pneumonia or some other potentially fatal lung disease. Tuberculosis would serve him right.

 Then Ozai points out that Azula is a bit like a cat—she has to come to Zuko, rather than Zuko chasing her down. Ozai suggests offering himself as bait to lure Azula out, since obviously she would want to free him—which she does, albeit I have some serious doubts that that will ever happen. I suspect that Ozai is going to die before Dominion ends and there can be a father-daughter reunion.

 “You come here asking for advice, when what you really want is a quick fix.”—Pretty much.

 “I may have been close to Azula, but we are not one mind—” You were too close by far, Ozai. Please drown to death in your own blood and phlegm.

 Zuko reveals that Azula wants to go find Ursa, which shocks Ozai, who starts “staring at his son in something approaching alarm.” Possibly because Ursa could start undoing some of the lies that Ozai shaped Azula with? Maybe. Ursa does have some serious issues with her daughter, so he half-lied at most. Anyway, Ozai goes on to question when this discussion happened, since Zuko doesn’t visit Azula. His tone seems to suggest that he doesn’t want Zuko to see Azula, which is curious, but not unfounded, given what Zuko ends up revealing here. Once Ozai corners Zuko about lying to him, Zuko admits what happened during the fight, including the sexual encounter.

 “Zuko watched him uneasily, his own heartbeat thudding in his ears. He didn’t have to tell him anything, but—but didn’t Uncle always say the burden of a secret grew less when you shared it? But to share this with him, it hadn’t even helped with Mai. It just made things worse. But he knew Azula better than anyone, he was the only one who knew how to help her before. Maybe—maybe he could tell Zuko why she did this? And besides, who would believe Ozai, who would ever believe him if he tried to tell—”

 Zuko, some secrets blow up if shared, hence why you have an intelligence division in your court. I doubt that Iroh meant something like this. Also, giving this information to Ozai is still dangerous, because there are people in the Fire Nation that are loyal to him, and Ozai has the spite to use this against you. Also, there is a tiny reflection of Ozai in Zuko here—because Ozai must have thought the same about Azula. Who would ever believe her about what he did to her?

 “An odd stillness crept over Ozai’s face, but he said nothing.” Because he’s probably remembering how some of his interactions with Azula went and can probably tell where this is going.

 “‘You raped her,’ Ozai corrected flatly.” Yes, and Ozai would know, given that he is a sexual predator and is implied to have been one since his adolescence.

 Then we get that nasty admission from Ozai: “You think I trained her to bed so she could whore herself to you?!” Which confirms Ozai’s sexual abuse of Azula, which he justified by claiming that it would make her a more effective female ruler, with her using her sexuality as a weapon. Given that Azula was fourteen at the time, this explains her seductress characterization. This was present because that’s a common way to write a female villain, but, in universe, is incongruous with her age.

 “And Zuko remembered daggers of flame in her hands, when he overpowered her. She meant to do—she was trying to kill him.” I’m not sure that is true, given Azula’s own perspective on what happened, but I can see why Zuko would come to that conclusion.

 “He sounded proud—proud—of what he did.” I think some of the blame here definitely should go to the twin courtesans, given how their own abuse of Ozai, as hinted at in “The Road,” must have affected him. At best, he realizes that other people would consider what he did to Azula wrong, but considered it necessary to make her stronger. This has a dark echo in many adult fantasy narratives, where rape is often used to break and build up female characters.

 Ozai confirms that he trained Azula by committing sexual acts with her, which horrifies Zuko. During the resulting screaming match, though, Ozai makes a fair point: “And what was she to you? A prize to prove your worth? Spoils of war? When did you ever one look at her as your sister?” The answer to this is when she was a toddler and Zuko was five, before the adults in their lives poisoned their relationship. But this does underscore that Azula and Zuko’s relationship has been warped for a long time, and that this breakdown of their sibling bond is a massive contributing factor to the incest.

 Zuko also shows an ugly side of himself here: “I’ve done more for her than she ever deserved!” Which frankly isn’t true and is the kind of talk that contributes to Azula’s dehumanization.

 Ozai calls him out, saying that Zuko only helped Azula to make himself feel like the better person. While I think that is true, he then adds, “There is no such thing as true selflessness in this world,” which definitely isn’t. However, that does show us one of the cornerstones of Ozai’s worldview: that everyone is selfish and no one will do anything for you just to help you, so why not be selfish and take as much for yourself as you can? That, no doubt, is based deeply in the neglect he went through as a child. If I ever write the Aunt Tam AU, I wonder if that will remain true, given the friendship she and Ozai had when they were young? I suspect it will, since Tam would still go to war when Ozai is relatively young, but perhaps that is an argument they can have someday.  

 Anyway, Ozai wants to know how Zuko managed to “best” Azula, whether it was because she was drugged or had another mental breakdown, but Zuko is still shook from Ozai’s confession. He asks Ozai how he could do it and Ozai is super gross with his response: “Well, who else was going to teach her? Her mother?” This makes me want to reach into the cell and shake Ozai, because that isn’t how ANY of this is supposed to work. Azula should have fooled around with Chan and other interested adolescent suitors like a normal teenager, rather than getting any…practical experience…from an adult, period. That it was a parent who abused her makes it even worse, psychologically-speaking.

Zuko burns the hell out of Ozai in response, which is understandable under the circumstances, and will probably kill Ozai down the road, since his health is already fragile. As the guards drag Zuko away, Zuko realizes: “This look he’d caught on her face during [sex]—The distance in her eyes. Like she wasn’t even there. Like it wasn’t even him that she was seeing. Oh Agni. When she changed, those things she said to him… The things their father—said to her—”

 Yep. She wasn’t seeing you at the time, Zuko. She was reliving one of her encounters with Ozai, thanks to you triggering her by burning her and grabbing the back of her neck.

 Zuko says that he wants to return to the palace, and oddly, there is a palanquin waiting for him—no doubt sent by Mai, who guessed where he was going and knew he might need help getting back home. Again, I never caught this detail before, but it shows how much Mai knows him and how calculating she is as well, to the point of being able to predict this outcome. It’s no wonder that Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee went as far as they did together. Between the three of them, they had a ton of brains and social acumen to help them overcome any obstacles in their way. I don’t know if Ozai’s Angels will ever get back together, but this makes me wish they could someday.

 In any case, that finishes chapter nine! I hope to work on ten soon. Thank you as always for the read, Aurelia.

 Sincerely,

WiseAbsol

[nofomoartworld]

Art F City: This Week’s Must-See Art Events: Reading is Fundamental

Start your week off with a dose of Civil Rights history Monday at IFC, where fierce pussy is screening The Black Power Mixtape and Wednesday at ICP, where Hettie Jones will be talking about what Making America Great really looks like. Thursday, we’re looking forward to two book launches. Andrea McGinty will be releasing her Ah Yes Bad Things at Printed Matter and Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art is throwing a party to celebrate the catalog for their current exhibition Queer Threads. Friday night there are mysterious but promising exhibitions opening all over Brooklyn. Then it’s DUMBO open studios all weekend. End the week with a day trip to New Haven (seriously, it’s a painless train ride) where Bortolami’s ARTIST/CITY program has paired Tom Burr with a Marcel Breuer masterpiece that now finds itself surrounded by an IKEA parking lot.

The world is a strange and wondrous place. We’ll see you out in it.

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Mon

IFC Center

323 Sixth Ave at West 3rd St, New York, NY 8:00 PMWebsite

fierce pussy presents The Black Power Mixtape

Queer feminist collective fierce pussy is hosting this screening of The Black Power Mixtape, which everyone should see. The film is the result of Swedish journalists travelling to the United States in the 1960s and 70s with the intention of exposing the country’s lesser-told realities. It features appearances from Angela Davis, Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton.

After the film, join fierce pussy at Julius Bar (159 West 10th St. at Waverly), the oldest gay bar in New York City, for drinks and discussion.

Tue

Black Ball Projects

374 Bedford Ave. 1st Floor Brooklyn, NY 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM Website

Just Cause

This exhibition includes the work of three artists from the international Residency Unlimited program: Maria Agureeva (Russia), Juan Sánchez (Spain), and Benjamin Brett (UK). All of their work is extremely different, but intersects along “by way of conceptual concerns and intellectual reason, paired with doing something ‘just because’—instinctual and driven by a sense of chance and play.”

Here, that conceptual concern is the balance between external politics and free will. We’re curious to see how that translates to each artist’s respective practice—Agureeva uses her own body in pieces that function as both painting and sculpture, Benjamin Brett makes conceptual paintings that combine narrative and abstraction, and Juan Sánchez uses economical materials and art historical references to comment on labor and impermanence. This should be a heady show.

  Curated by Jason Tomme, Ana Wolovick

Wed

The International Center of Photography

1114 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 7:30 PM - 9:30 PMWebsite

Radical Conversation: Making America Great - Hettie Jones: The History of Greatness

ICP has been responding the current political crisis with a programming series that’s pretty on point. This week, they’re hosting a talk by Hettie Jones on exactly what making America “great again” really means. Jones has a long history of working through publications—she published the radical Yugen magazine from 1958 to 1962, numerous books for children of color when they were a rarity, and was a chair of the PEN Prison Writing Program. That’s a lot of experience and wisdom to share about working in the face of adversity, and boy do we need it right about now!

Vector Gallery

199 E 3rd St. New York, NY 8:00 PM - 11:59 PMWebsite

Vectorian New Year : HAPPY 2030 AD

Who ever knows what the hell is going on at Vector Gallery? We applaud AFC alum Whitney Kimball for her in-depth attempt at deciphering their mysterious ways. Whatever “Crown Prince of Hell” JJ Brine and his accomplices are up to, it’s usually fun. If you need a break from reality in these stressful days, this celebration of the 2030 Vectorian New Year might be just about the closest thing to experiencing an alternate universe on a Wednesday night in Manhattan.

From the event page:

Facebook has rejected the language of this event ad on numerous ocasions due to the asymmetrical relationship between SHAY culture of 2017 and the notion fo a 2030 temporality by Vectorian reckoning. Therefore Eye am left with no other choice than to state the following : all symbological designations of time and its passage, Gregorian or otherwise, are conceptual art proects purporting to account for the laws of now, then, soon, and when was that again?

Thu

Printed Matter

231 Eleventh Ave. New York, NY 6:00 PM - 8:00 PMWebsite

Book Launch: Ah Yes Bad Things by Andrea McGinty

We’re big fans of Andrea McGinty. The artist has a rare capacity for conveying bittersweet, humorous reflections on contemporary living with economical combinations of mass-produced products. That might be a vibrator dancing endlessly around a juicer or a humidifier wrapped in workout clothes with optimistic platitudes. For anyone who’s felt alienated by the endless barrage of ever-more-unattainable “wellness” or “self-care” promised by consumer culture, her work feels like a poetic confidant to share a skeptical eye-roll.

We’re excited to see how this strategy translates to publication form. McGinty is launching her first book from local publishers Soft City, Ah Yes Bad Things. The book comprises ephemera from her smartphone: Tweets, messages, notes, and images from the camera roll. That’s an increasingly common approach to compiling artist books, but we’re guessing McGinty’s will be singularly insightful, weird, and funny.

Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art

26 Wooster St New York, NY 6:00 PM - 8:00 PMWebsite

Book Launch: Queer Threads

We haven’t had a chance to check out Queer Threads, the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art’s survey of LGBTQ+ fibers artist yet. This looks like the night to do it. AMMO Books is launching a 192-page color catalog featuring the work of and interviews with 30 queer fiber artists. It’s a good mix of local, national, and international artists. It sounds like a keeper. JD Samson (queer icon behind feminist bands such as MEN and Le Tigre) will be DJing the event.

Curated by John Chaich

Artists: Chris Bogia, Melanie Braverman, Jai Andrew Carrillo, Chiachio & Giannone, Liz Collins, Ben Cuevas, Pierre Fouché, James Gobel, Jesse Harrod, Larry Krone, Rebecca Levi, Aubrey Longley-Cook, Aaron McIntosch, Allyson Mitchell, John Thomas Paradiso, Sheila Pepe, Maria E. Piñeres, Allen Porter, L. J. Roberts, Sonny Schneider, Buzz Slutzky, Nathan Vincent, Jessica Whitbread.

Fri

This Friday or Next Friday

89 Bridge Street Brooklyn, NY 6:00 PM - 9:00 PMWebsite

Tough

What’s this show going to look like? If Alicia Gibson’s oil painting “Nail Polishing Club” (above) is any indication, great. The event page only lists the artists and the below list of tough stuff, so we’ll have to wait until Friday to satisfy our piqued curiosity. Even the artists we’re familiar with aren’t an indication—conceptual painter Joshua Bienko’s work always seems to look different, but it’s almost always good.

Tough break Tough shit Tough cookies Tough nut Tough luck Tough love Tough as nails

Artists: Alex Sewell, Alicia Gibson, Joshua Bienko, Jenna Gribbon, Sam Jablon

Present Company

254 Johnson Ave. Brooklyn, NY 7:00 PM - 10:00 PMWebsite

Sharper Image

We love Dina Kelberman and Milton Melvin Croissant III (two of the artists in our Providence College show Geographically Indeterminate Fantasies: The Animated GIF as Place). Kelberman samples pop culture or the endless archives of the internet with often hilarious, often overwhelming ends. Croissant (yes… real, awesome name) creates insanely detailed CGI renderings of the corporate blandscape and various other digital environments. Whatever they’re showing here, it’s going to be great.

Andrew Brischler, Milton Melvin Croissant III, Matthew Deleget, Rico Gatson, Adam Henry, Dina Kelberman, Andy Mister, Adams Puryear, Christopher Rivera, Emily Mae Smith, Wendy White

Grace Exhibition Space

840 Broadway Brooklyn, NY 7:00 PM - 11:55 PMWebsite

Heartbreak Hotel

Heartbreak Hotel is succinctly described as “Five hour simultaneous durational pieces with bells, whistles, and fog.” Sounds like a fun haunted house?

The show features work from some of our favorite artists in the Bushwick scene, such as FlucT’s Sigrid Lauren and video/installation artist Miles Pflanz.

Generally, I’d say five hours is more of an endurance challenge for the viewer than the performer. But this format and lineup might just keep things engaging all the way to midnight.

Artists: Angeli, Camila Cañeque, David Ian Bellows/Griess, Sigrid Lauren, Whitney Mallett, Miles Pflanz

  Sat

20 Jay Street, Smack Mellon, A.I.R. Gallery, Art in General, Janet Borden, Inc., Made in NY Media Center by IFP, MINUS SPACE, Smack Mellon, This Friday or Next Friday, United Photo Industries, Usagi NY

Brooklyn, NY 1:00 PM - 6:00 PMWebsite

DUMBO Open Studios

Thanks to Two Trees’ Space Subsidy Program (of which we’re also a beneficiary) AFC has some pretty cool neighbors. Come meet them at Art in DUMBO’s open studio crawl. Participating spaces include New York Studio School, The Sharpe-Walentas Studio Program, Triangle Arts Association, A.I.R. Gallery, Art in General, Janet Borden, Inc., Made in NY Media Center by IFP, MINUS SPACE, Smack Mellon, This Friday or Next Friday, United Photo Industries, Usagi NY.

It’s a lot of art to see, but it’s mostly within a block or two of 20 Jay Street (where about half of the participants are tenants). If you can’t do it all at once, come back on Sunday, when studios will also be open.

Artists: Cey Adams, Alejandro Avakian, Sharon Buttler, Chantal Calato, CAM, Davide Cantoni, Elise Church, Jennifer Paige Cohen, Marsha Cottrell, Beth Dary, Eva Davidova, Blane De St Croix, Marc Dennis, Peter Drake, Rodolfo Edwards, Gabriele Evertz, Michael Farmer, Jen Ferguson, Celeste Fichter, Marney Fuller, Tom Fruin, Anne Gilman, Tessa Grundon, Teri Hackett, Michelle Handelman, Elizabeth Hazan, Daniel Horowitz, Julian Hsiung, Diana Jensen, Dale Kaplan, Laura Karetzky, Jerry Kearns, Kevin Kelly, Minku Kim, Stefan Killen, Brian Kokoska, Pavel Kraus, Jen Lewin, Eric LoPresti, Roxi Marsen, Jamie Martinez, Mary Mattingly, Gregory Mirzayantz, Vladimir Nazarov, James Nazarov, Anne Peabody, Bundith Phunsombatlert, Margaret Reid Boyer, Elizabeth Riley, Jennifer Riley, Kara Rooney, Natalie Rye, Andrea Sanders, Shelter Serra, Richard Sigmund, Deborah Simon, Jiwon Song, Laetitia Soulier, Susan Stainman, Thomas Stevenson, Auguste Rhonda Tymeson, Alexi Worth, Zach Zeeger, Darrel Hostvedt, Weixian Jiang

Sun

Former Armstrong Rubber Building

450 Sargent Drive New Haven, CT 11:00 AM - 4:00 PMWebsite

Tom Burr: New Haven

Bortolami’s ARTIST/CITY initiative famously put Eric Wesley in a Suburban Midwestern Taco Bell last year (the idea behind the project is to pair the gallery’s artists with unusual spaces outside of NYC to make new work). But the most exciting pairing might be Tom Burr’s takeover of the IKEA-owned brutalist landmark Pirelli building. Designed by Marcel Breuer, it’s one of the many modernist gems sprinkled incongruously around the small city. At present, it sits empty like a sculptural object in the parking lot of an IKEA. It’s an odd example of suburbia sort of subsuming the utopian architecture that just-barely preceded it.

Tom Burr has been creating works in response to the building (which was designed, coincidentally, in 6-foot segments; exactly the artist’s height). This should definitely be worth the Metro North ride (and like, a trip to IKEA!). It’s one of the few Bortolami ARTIST/CITY projects within the NYC metro area, so be sure not to miss it.

RSVP required: EMMA@BORTOLAMIGALLERY.COM

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