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fiddlstyx · 1 year

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Please Tell me about your Spider-Man au (two of my favorite things) ((I am begging))

OOHH BOY OK

instead of trying to invest a time machine, doc instead tries to invent a way to give people the ability to time travel. his first test subjects in this experiment are spiders, of course >:)

now, marty knows not to touch those spiders. does he know what they're for? definitely not. but he does know that they're completely off limits. thats why when he accidentally breaks their enclosure and gets bitten by one, while doc is out, he doesn't say anything.

during this time, doc had also been inventing a device to help him with productivity in the lab, four controllable robot arms

the rest of what goes on follows pretty closely with the plot of the second spider man movie, i actually took notes on that whole movie once for this. doc doesnt actually learn that martys spider man until the end of the movie, after doc had been trying to kill him for however long. but once he breaks out of the arm's control (and DOESNT DIE!!), doc helps him out in his superheroing.

anyway, because of the extra special time spider juice, marty also has the ability to slightly control time (ie. stop it, slow it, speed it up). he only first figures this out during one of his fights with doc, only because he's right about to be killed. by the end of the movie he can still barely control it. doc helps him figure it out, though.

marty is very much Not Having A Good Time. the super powers part is cool and all, sure, but its also not. hes got no clue whats going on, he cant control his powers, his best friend/father figure/the only one who could fucking help him is trying to Kill him, his relationship is going all poopy because of all the lies he has to tell. its just not a good time. and of course when doc breaks free he feel INCREDIBLY guilty, and no matter what he does to help marty and keep him safe and apologize for almost killing him MULTIPLE time, doc has a very very hard time forgiving himself.

on the bright side though, after jenn learns marty is a freaking superhero and thats why he was lying, their relationship gets better. of course it still has the problems all superhero relationships have, but its still better.

i dont have much to say about the plot because its pretty much just spider man 2 so have a couple other fun facts:

needles would probably be harry osborn, though I did just make that up so it can change

george is dead. hes the uncle ben. rip

marty is definitely able to time travel but wouldnt be able to unless under like. SUPER stressful situations. basically, bttf can still happen in this universe, just with some extra spider garnish

if i were to write a fic about this id probably call it "See the Future Through the Haze" which is a lyric from the spider man turn off the dark musical

originally, marty could only stop time for as long as he was holding his breath

the movie notes i made: (i hope my handwriting is readable lol)

the janaury drawing:

other various doodles:

#back to the future #spiderman au #thank you for the ask!#:DD i love this guy #i think this started because marty and peter give of similar vibes? ifk #fiddl’s fiddles #fiddl is sorry about your barn #hehe these are so fun

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maseshine · 3 years

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Hey can you do ‘ You being interviewed and he flirts with you during the interview leaving you ashamed.’ With mason mount please

Ps your writing is amazing

I hope you accept, Mason Mount

Prompt: You being interviewed and he flirts with you during the interview leaving you ashamed.

Warning: Fluff, Flirt

Words: 562

Notes: I don't think it looks so good, but I did my best to make it at least readable, sorry about that, I hope you like it at least a little bit😓

Author's Note: I know a lot of people write with the use of quotes, but I'm used to using the dash, so I hope it's not a problem.

You've been a sports journalist for Sky Sports for two years now. Two amazing years where you covered magnificent games and had the opportunity to interview the best players in the league. At this point in his life there was no complaint to make.

In those two years you had already covered some Chelsea games and interviewed some players. Jorginho, Azpilicueta, Kanté and Mount were the names you interviewed the most.

And if in other games you were already pure joy, then your state of joy was up there. You were covering nothing less than the Champions League semi-final, a game between Chelsea and Real Madrid. Where Chelsea managed to become the winner, advancing to the final of the competition. You had a huge smile on your face when you hugged your cameraman.

You were also an avowed Chelsea fan, but whenever you interviewed the players you maintained your professionalism. After all, you were doing your job and as much as you wanted to scream in celebration you controlled yourself and just let a huge smile show.

He quickly organized himself when he saw the players walking towards the interview area. Due to the social distance you were a few meters away from where the interviewed player would be. You sent Mount a smile as he positioned himself in the right spot, the cameraman already filming him.

━ First, congratulations on ranking, Mason. ━ You wanted him smiling, making him return the gesture.

━ Thank you very much. Means a lot.

━ So, how do you feel about this classification, given that you were the author of the second goal. How does it feel to know your team is in the final?

━ Amazing. It's amazing. We've made a very balanced trajectory so far and to arrive here at this moment knowing that we are in the final is simply incredible. I believe this is the feeling that defines me at the moment. ━ Mount replied, his characteristic smile soon appearing.

━ Yes, the first time Chelsea were champions you were a child, now nine years later you have the opportunity to play in a Champions final when you are still very young. You must be very proud of yourself. ━ You spoke, Mason stirred a little before answering.

━ Well, is age something that matters to you? Because I hope it isn't. ━ You felt a heat run through your cheeks when you understood Mount's speech. ━ Looking back, I'm very proud that I never gave up, I wouldn't be here if my nine-year-old self hadn't pursued its goals.

━ Last question. You won, how do you intend to celebrate this victory?

Mount licked his lips and chuckled before answering the question.

━ Well, I had made a deal with my teammates that if we reached the final I would invite the girl I have a crush on to dinner the day after our qualification. ━ Mount replied smiling, you saw that some of the Chelsea players were on the side listening to the interview.

━ Oh, why don't you take advantage of the fact that we're live and already ask, she must surely be watching. ━ Suggest to him, he fidgeted almost awkwardly.

━ Well, I hope you accept, Y/N.

With a wink and a mischievous grin Mason left the camera angle as you flushed red with embarrassment. Had he just admitted to having a crush on you and invited you to dinner?

#football #chelsea fc #chelsea #ben chilwell #christian pulisic #masterlist #mason mount #masonmountimagine #mason x reader #london #premier league #football imagine #footballer #kai havertz #timo werner #tammy abraham

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itsthemysteryofthedroods · 2 years

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I appreciate this blog so much for always making me smile when I see MOTD content, I got really into the game a little while back unfortunately it crashes Everytime I try to give Chris the bone BUT I was really happy when I saw a blog for fandom stuff I wasn't expecting to see, thnk u for the content it is what I am living on for this smol fandom ((tell me more about the druids?))

Thank you, anon, really. :,) It means a lot to me to know that, seriously. I mean, I love doing this either way but...It's really wonderful when people reach out and let me know they're actually enjoying it.

I just wanted to say that you're the reason I posted those things about Droods bug fixes. Because I can't believe I never thought to share them on here? They'll probably solve the problem you had, anon.

This fandom's just so wonderful, I always feel so safe and happy sharing stuff about my (usually incredibly obscure or at least somewhat unpopular) interests.

Honestly, jokes aside, I'm not the best person to ask about the Druids, there are some people in the fandom who are just so rad at doing research, but I just wanted to say that in case you didn't know, the mistletoe thing is actually true-to-life somewhat and a popular fact compared to everything else. It was basically their de-facto sacred plant...Even though, like all information about the Druids in real life, this fact is very hard to know for sure, let alone prove. I believe, though, that druids might have actually used it, as in real life, ordinarily toxic (when consumed) plants like mistletoe have medicinal purposes, much like the infamous "deadly nightshade". Their medicinal uses are plenty. You can even make mistletoe tea, ah, barring the obvious problems. Anyway, the whole mistletoe thing makes a lot of sense, seeing as druids were (hope I'm saying this right) scholars, and just generally knowledgeable people who would have probably found a use for that plant on a deep level, and maybe even have come to revere it.

The only thing that's quite weird is how mistletoe grows in the game, growing straight out of the ground, but you probably knew this already. Mistletoe (which is actually can refer to several kinds of species, much like violets or almost any other plant really) is a parasitic plant (note that I did not say parasite, it actually doesn't derive all of its nutrients from another plant, so it's only semi parasitic or hemiparasitc if you want to use the proper term), however it does need some kind of host to attach to, it cannot survive otherwise.

Anyway, Tobias himself (the guy with the idea for Druids in the first place) did say he was pretty proud of his level of research regarding the Druids (artistic liberties aside) and I believe him, especially considering that new information about the Druids probably wasn't even available when the game was conceived. I don't know how many people know about this, but the game was indeed supposed to have a sequel centering on Melanie and Halligan (He said so in an interview), so I would've very much liked to know how that turned out, because he did seem at least passionate about the subject and would've probably been able to do more with it as time went on :(

...A somewhat odd fact about the game itself that I bet you is completely useless and probably only has any relevance to me is that there are around 63+ still-frames of animation for Lowry's fan alone (something I learned while painstakingly trying to convert each image into a more readable format), which are all placed on top of Lowry's office, which is another 3D still-image, which is how the in-game animations (not the characters) work. Door opening and closing animations are only 4 frames each, so you can definitely tell what was important to the developers...A significant portion of the game's early frames are dedicated entirely to the "american water-dispenser" in the chief's office.

I don't know why I find that so funny. I'm just really, really into learning about every nook and cranny of the stuff I love on a technical level, so I guess if you want to know about that...You can...Well, you can count on me for that.

Wow, this got long! I don't even know what I'm saying anymore, anon, but thank you again, hope you have a good time :,)

#MOTD #the mystery of the druids #mystery of the druids #Vic's comments #random trivia?#anon ask #ask #my asks #i love getting asks #i love this fandom

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googledocsdyke · 3 years

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for communitynatural: i think it's interesting that while abed & cas are paralleled, as well as dean & troy, abed and dean speak in near constant references because that's how they relate to the world, while cas and troy just. say things. because they aren't scared of being emotional

ALRIGHT unfortunately this is gonna be long. i wanna deconstruct the cas/troy thing but i’m gonna put a pin in that for now because you’re right! but you’re also wrong! both abed and dean constantly mediate the world through pop culture, in a way that initially makes them seem really similar, but actually when you look at the respective ways their References and Homages work, it actually highlights how different their characters are, and how well they work as foils (different, complementary) rather than mirrors (similar, paralleled)

i think the key difference is that abed uses pop culture to make sense of the world, while dean uses it to make sense of himself. like abed has a very clear & coherent internal sense of who he is, and he's comfortable with it. he knows that who he is isn't someone the world always perceives as "acceptable" or "normal", so sometimes he uses pop culture to translate that person into something or someone “acceptable” readable by the world. but it never actually modifies his internal sense of who he is! key moment: in early season 1, where the study group is intent on making him over so that a girl will like him, and "teaching" him to be "normal". he goes along with it, and when the plan fails, they all express regret that they somehow damaged his self-esteem by forcing him to think that he needed to change for other people. and you know what he says?

"when you really know who you are and what you like about yourself, changing for other people isn't such a big deal." like this is a line that is SO key to understanding abed's character, and makes him like truly one of the best characters on television (it would've been so easy for his internal conflict to come from him hating himself for being autistic(-coded), and they DON'T do that, and it's GREAT)

and like. can you IMAGINE dean winchester saying that. like can you imagine him saying that even as a joke. for all his efforts to present himself as a Coherent Swaggering Hero, he has DEEP internal turmoil over who he really is, and all the points at which this heroic masculinity fails. half the time, he is gripped by self-hatred. and when he "changes himself for other people" it's not something he casually flips on and off. it's at the very core of his identity. it's something he cannot remove from himself. he knows full well that "your taste in music? dad's. your jacket? dad's. do you even have an original thought?" he then proceeds to listen to the same music and emulate john winchester in essentially the same ways for the next decade and a half. dean winchester only IS dean winchester because of the external influences that force him to change. and part of this comes from his own compulsion to be written as/write himself as Hot Action Hero at all costs. like literally at the cost of his own life. it's a game that he can't stop playing. when he gets hit by a CAR he wants to know "did it look cool, like in the movies?" abed would never ask that. abed would just know it looks cool. dean has this pathological need to see it reaffirmed by an Audience, a Ceaseless Beholding Gaze that compels him to perform action hero masculinity at all costs

there are two key points of comparison that really cement this for me:

when abed says "i got self-esteem falling out of my butt," it's like an incredibly sincere line. he genuinely is comfortable with himself and has a high opinion of himself. sure, sometimes he gets distressed that the world doesn't see him the way he sees himself, but he knows who he is and doesn't attempt to repress it or lie to himself about it

when dean says "i think i'm adorable" or "there are no men like me" or like any of the "i am dean winchester and i'm amazing and i love myself" swagger lines, it's a PERFORMANCE of self esteem masking, like, a deep core of self-hatred. his entire personhood is built on him lying to himself — (dean to himself in 5x04 voice: i know that lying face i've seen him in the mirror). he can't truly have self-esteem or self-stability because he doesn't truly have a sense of what his Self even is

the han solo thing. in the season 2 finale during the paintball war, abed very consciously takes on a han solo persona because the setting demands it ("it appears we've exited the western and are headed for more of a star wars theme"). he dressed up as han, drops an iconic line or two, and has a Hero's Makeout with annie (who’s “playing” leia) in-character. but as SOON as they're both soaked in paint (and thus their characters are Dead within the game) he snaps out of it with no problem whatsoever. annie calls him "han" afterwards and he literally says he only did it “because the context demanded it.” abed knows exactly when he’s playing a role and when he isn’t, and very consciously turns it on and off.

but dean. OH DEAN WINCHESTER. he is playing the pop culture han solo hero role at all times and will never admit to himself that he is performing. it soaks into like the very core of his being. to quote tumblr user minor-mendings, “dean is trying to be the movie cowboy, the outlaw, the han solo type, with no realisation that that person doesn’t really exist.” i go over this in more detail with my han solo + dean meta - in so many ways he is So Thoroughly Not the pop cultural role that he insists on playing with complete sincerity, and that the writers insist on writing him into with complete sincerity. abed always knows when he is Playing and Referencing and Homaging and Alluding. dean NEVER knows when he is Playing and Referencing and Homaging and Alluding because his whole life is play, an elaborate repetition of stylised acts

so you're right, i think dean and abed are really interesting characters to read alongside each other in that they both 1) sincerely love pop culture in its own right in very fun and neurodivergent ways and 2) use their pop culture knowledge in their own self-fashioning and the way they translate themselves to the world and 3) engage with the world through Homage and Play and enjoy playing Roles. HOWEVER. the way they respectively use pop culture is so deeply different and indicative of fundamentally different processes of self-fashioning and self-perception, that i can't read abed as a dean-figure or dean as an abed-figure. they're complete inverses of each other! dean is a troy mirror/troy-figure and an abed foil

#answered #dean studies #communitynatural #spn #community #wrote this while in line for a covid test wkdffdjfks sasha behind the scenes #anyways communitynatural hive eat this one up #caniwritemywayout

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grainjew · 3 years

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Random ask time! Care to name ten fics, any fandom, that you have or plan to reread? (Not necessarily your top ten because top ten is hard but ten that you genuinely enjoy.)

hi lynse i can’t believe you slightly switched the ask subject from what you were contemplating sending in dms. yes i do care to do this!!! fics follow

these are arranged in literally no order whatsoever except vaguely the order I remembered they existed and tragically they will mostly not be readable for you lynse on account of us sharing fandoms basically never. but in any case!!! let’s go!!!!

A Professor and a Student - LeDiz - Pokemon Anime (Alola) - multichap, complete - Professor Kukui’s pov outsider on Ash, through interstitial set during the first season of Alola anime. This fic is the fic that got me into pokeani in the first place, and I have reread it all the way through at least once and specific chapters genuinely so many times. it’s good! it’s got so many fun reveals! it’s even got a surprise plot! if someone is in pokeani fandom though there’s like a 95% chance they’ve already read it, so it’s kind of pointless to recommend

Broken Rules and Consequences - Redring 91 - Doctor Who (All Eras) - series, ongoing i think - This is one that i’m planning to reread rather than one i’ve already reread: I first read it back when i was originally into dw, in like 2013, and honestly lynse the timing was probably right for me to have recced it to you back then. in any case i have a friend who vouches for its continued quality, and it was straight-up the only dw fic i kept up with for several years after i first fell out of the dw fandom. it’s a really excellent exploration of all the times the doctor has met their past and future selves, and i highly recommend it. it’s also very long, so watch out!

An Unexpected Greeting - kimirice - Pokemon Anime (Alola) - threeshot, ongoing - it’s a fic in the “cynthia runs into ash in alola and dumbfounds his entire class” genre and it’s a good one. my favorite one. i reread it whenever i want to feel serotonin in my bones. serotonin does not go in bones. whatever, this fic is such a joy, it’s pretty short, please read it if you too want serotonin in your bones on account of revealssssss

Phone A Friend - TheBigCat - Doctor Who (Seventh Doctor Era / Gallifrey Audios Era) - oneshot - this is another “reread when i want serotonin in my bones” fic. it really is amazing just how much joy can be stored in a single 1K oneshot, it makes me so happy, that’s ace’s space dad........... wahhh the au - everything’s fine tag on this one really carries it right into my heart

dreamt you a kinder future - Sixteenthdays - Dream SMP - multichap, ongoing - my FRIENDS forcibly got me into the damn MINECRAFT RP. this is all you will see of it on this blog ever because i do have SOME dignity left but if you HAVE gotten bodily dragged into caring about the block men yourself please do enjoy this time travel fixit about pre-plot Dream getting dropped into post-Doomsday era canon and dealing with the fact that his future self is evil and ruined all his relationships. its very good i reread the ranboo chapter regularly

The Red Coast - Maldoror_Chant - One Piece - oneshot - genuinely hilarious pov outsider on post-skypiea straw hats via some idiot bounty hunters who think they‘re easy prey. it’s a lot of fun and it took me three entire rereads to catch the punchline, which i am still mad about. please read this fic i am shaking my fist at it

Though She Be But Little, She Is Fierce - Izzyaro - Pokemon Anime (Kalos Era) - multichap, abandoned(?) - a few years after the kalos crisis, Bonnie sets out on her own pokemon journey. told through the eyes of her very alarmed traveling companion, who so incredibly doesn’t know what to make of her. yes, it only has two chapters and hasnt updated in years. i do not care. the chapters stand alone as oneshots and this fic has done so much for me. its like 90% of the reason i write bonnie the way i do its such a joy

Keeping a Welcome - Gramarye (ao3 | ffn) - The Dark is Rising Sequence - oneshot - did you ever wonder, gee, zeph, why do you write so much loyalty content? and why is it all Like That? well, the answer is that i read this fic at a formative age and imprinted on it like a baby bird, and then subconsciously was shaped by it for the next decade. genuinely it is SO good. it’s so good guys. guys it’s so good im going to cry just thinking about it. o a t h s ,,, wahhhhhhh gramarye is probably my favorite fic author ever i love their stuff SO much. so much. i am going to cry im telling you!!!!!! (also while I'm here I also recommend everything else theyve ever written, especially the Eirias Triad, which i have reread probably as many times as there are fingers in my house, and which is only not on an entry on this list on account of me wanting to keep it at one rec per author)

Nah - soomin - One Piece - oneshot - the straw hats have been stuck in a time loop of their entire lives for many, many years, and boy are they having a good time causing chaos. this is one of the only op time travels that i feel like accurately captures what would actually happen if luffy did a time travel, and i love it. they’re having so much! infinite retries for the best adventure ever!

Insomnia - tikitikirevenge - The Legend of Zelda (Majora’s Mask) - multichap, abandoned(?) - novelization of majora’s mask with a twist: instead of resetting the three day loop every time, link gets exactly 5 cycles, and the whole thing is a stable time loop. its true it hasnt updated since 2015, but it was my favorite zelda fic back in middle school and i still reread it every few years to confirm that it’s just as good as i remember: it somehow always is. and every time, i forget just how agonizing (complimentary) the link&tatl friendship slowburn is like dear lord does this author know how to write a slowly developing relationship hh i wish more people would read this fic it’s really just very good ok dont mind that its abandoned just before the snowpeak temple

#i feel very much like i am committing a grave betrayal with how few of my friends' fics are on here but my friends write things that cause m #e to have emotions. i have enough of those already!!! i dont need more emotions!!!!!#long post #recs #zephflix original #chatter tag #asks and ask memes #pokemon #pokeani #doctor who #sighs......#dream smp #i GUESS that tag has to exist on my blog i GUESS #one piece #the dark is rising sequence #the legend of zelda #majora's mask #i tried to keep these summaries short but i feel like they got longer as i got further down the post. whoops #sorry this took so long to answer!

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averykedavra · 4 years

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20. Do you have a favorite fanfic or author? If so, tag them/post a link and share the love!

!!! An excuse to recommend my favorite fics and authors? Don’t mind if I do! Here’s a top fourteen list of some great fics and a top nine list of my favorite authors, in no particular order! Because I had way too many. (Plus I’m bound to forget a million good ones, so take these with a grain of salt!)

1. chivalry is dead by Uncrowned_King! There really wasn’t another option. After Roman disappears into the Imagination, the other Sides come to look for him, and find several Romans fighting for ownership of the land. My all-time favorite Roman angst, with some beautifully written worldbuilding and my favorite OCs ever and a plot twist that sent me reeling. With some cute DLAMP, too! What’s not to love?

2. Breathe Out by Odaigahara! This is darker than I usually read but so, so worth it! Set pre-canon, Virgil and Janus team up against the other dark sides and find their feelings go beyond platonic after a relationship of convenience becomes something more. It’s a WIP and I don’t know where it’s going yet, but I’m really intrigued and the writing is incredible!

3. The Black Hole Group Chat by Greenninjagal! Definitely my favorite comfort fic. After Logan accidentally joins a group chat and is forced into sticking around, he finds himself making his first friends--but past feelings and present conflicts threaten to tear apart the first place they’ve ever felt comfortable. So good, so funny, makes the most of the texting medium, and I always cry at the end.

4. Monsters of the Subconscious by Quarantinevibes! Ohh, everything by this author is fantastic which goes for all of them. After PoF, Janus visits the Imagination to apologize. Instead, him and Roman are sucked into the Subconscious, a wild land full of mysterious dangers. They must team up to escape, and come to terms with their feelings for each other. Some wonderfully soft Roceit, hilarious comedy and incredible action, and great emotional moments!

5. the feelings in my headspace rearranged by mutemelody! Some canon divergence for the soul. Anxiety doesn’t have a name, and after the AA arc, has to make his way through acceptance and love. Canon turns on its head, old friends make a reappearance, and through it all Anxiety has to find his own identity, nameless or not. Gosh, this fic is incredible--the writing is stunning, the plot is amazing, and it’s some of the best Virgil angst I’ve ever read.

6. There’s a Word For That by plumcat! I cannot recommend this fic enough. Roman, a Slytherin, has been pining over arguing with Patton, a Hufflepuff, since the beginning of time. But with the Quidditch match coming up, his two annoying best friends relentlessly teasing him, and Patton himself spending more and more time with Roman, Roman has to figure out what he really wants and who he wants to be. This fic is hilarious and makes me feel feelings and please, please read it.

7. (i’d never) want once from the cherry tree by ace_corvid! Prinxiety! And a Youtuber AU that really takes advantage of the medium! Virgil and Roman are two of the most popular creators on YouTube and their fans have been begging them to do a crossover episode. The collaboration goes surprisingly well, but it’s one thing to explore a relationship, and another to do it when the whole world is watching. So cute, so hilarious, has some amazing art as well, and I just highly recommend it.

8. double down on the paradigms by remrose! Here’s a lovely college AU! Logan is doing his best to pass his classes, and everything is going fine, despite his roommate Virgil’s concerns about his late study nights and compulsive behavior. Then he meets Patton, and every wall Logan’s constructed slowly begins to crumble. To show how much I love this fic, I have not stopped thinking about it, even though it’s the only one on this list I’ve only read once. It stuck with me that much and hey maybe I should reread it, hold on--

9. In a Tizzy by coconutcluster! Cute fluff, so wholesome, much love. After Logan finds out that Roman gets flustered at compliments, he enlists the other Sides to test this theory. But Roman gets upset when he thinks they’re playing a joke on him by being nice. The writing is great and it’s a fantastic pick-me-up on a bad day! Just so full of nice wonderful feelings!

10. Communication Issues by WaeRose! Analogince! The alternative title that I cut out says it all! After Logan and Virgil find Roman crying in his room, they make an effort to spend more time together as a group. But platonic feelings quickly become non-platonic, misunderstandings abound, insecurities rise, and they’ll have to learn how to communicate their feelings if those feelings could ever lead to a relationship. The writing is incredible, the second-person POV is done expertly, and the characterization is top-notch!

11. a heart he couldn’t control by codevassie! Prinxiety that tore me into a million pieces. Roman traded away his true love’s life to save his brother from a witch, but when he actually meets said true love, he begins to regret his choice. Now Virgil is trapped once again with the witch, Roman is on a rescue mission, Patton and Logan are hiding something, and Janus is definitely not who he seems. Once again, this AU hurts me, and the incredible writing makes it a gut-punch! It’s a WIP but I love where it’s going and need to catch up on it but shhh

12. Another Goddamn Hero Story by rosesisupposes! I’m a sucker for a superhero AU and this one is stellar! Logan and Virgil are a hero team, trying to subdue Patton and Roman, the most famous villain duo in the city. But nobody’s exactly who they say, everyone’s not quite sure which side is right, and past wrongs are coming back to draw new blood. It’s endgame LAMP and the romances are built perfectly! Supervillains Royality is amazing, the action is incredible, and the plot twist blew me away!

13. Hurt, and How We Grow Past It by Jinx72! Another comfort fic of mine, by one of my all-time favorite authors! After Deceit visits the Imagination and lights a fire larger than he intended, Roman is left injured while the other Sides try to put the pieces back together. Old grudges come to light, new bonds are forged, and they all fall in love slowly while all simultaneously being extremely insecure. The characterization is incredible, the writing is top-notch, and the DLAMP is heartfelt and wonderful!

14. Eucatastrophe by arealsword! I added this one last-minute because it’s incredible and deserves to be on this list! The writing is incredible, the world-building is top-notch, and the plot manages to be coherent and incredible while throwing me for a loop every other line! It creeped me the heck out, but I’d expect nothing less from the author of Pick a Side. I’m not even gonna summarize this one because that’d spoil the fun, but suffice it to say, Thomas gets kidnapped by faeries and things get interesting very fast.

And now for the authors! (I chose authors who I didn’t mention above, but all the ones I already talked about are hella good, check them out too!)

1. @/sleeplessinstarbucks. You want good losleep content? Here. You want good QPR content? Here. You want good content in general? Here! Lia has amazing hurt/comfort, beautiful writing, and stellar characterization. I binge their writing every time I get bored. If you want your heart to be warmed, this is where to go!

2. @/theeternalspace. Okay, so Acantha is the Royal of Long Fics. Every one of theirs is a winner! They’re an expert at plotting and characterization, and I’ve been sucked into every one of their many AUs. Plus their writing is godly! And did I mention there are so many chapter fics on their Ao3? If you want a bunch of bingeable emotional rollercoasters, head on over here!

3. @/whenisitenoughtrees. Cat...how. How do you do it. See, Cat writes the best one shots. Their writing is incredible and they’ve written some of my all-time favorite short fics! Their characterization is always on point, and their dialogue always lands, and did I mention their writing is just so deliciously readable--you feel like they chose every word carefully to make it pack as much of a punch as possible. If you want some incredible one shots, this is your writer!

4. @/tulipscomeinallsortsofcolors. I mean, I couldn’t not include Violet. LAOFT is still my favorite series of all time and deserves all the attention it’s got! They’re the expert at well-done short fics that serve a longer narrative, giving everything an almost episodic structure. Plus, their fluff is the fluffiest and the best, and their angst hurts me deep within my soul, so they’re double-powerful! If you want standalone fics or a complex, emotional series, check them out!

5. @/impatentpending. Elena, our writing god, our Deity, which all other writers must respect. Every fic of hers is top-tier, from short to long, and she’s unrivaled at plotting and worldbuilding! You’ll get sucked in to every world and story she creates, and she’s an expert on letting the stories linger. I’m still thinking about Powerless and Monster and it’s been almost a year. If you want expertly crafted stories that leave you in emotional pieces, she’s got them.

6. @/ironwoman359. A classic choice here! She’s got it all--incredible one shots, great characterization, and a big enough master list for basically any ship to be found! She also writes some of the best hurt/comfort in the genre, so if you’re a fan of bad things that lead to good endings, there’s always something to read. If you want a large catalog of fantastic stories, she’s your gal!

7. @/caffeinatedcryptid. You may have seen El’s fantastic art on tumblr, but have you read their incredible stories? If not, you’re missing out! They’ve got several spectacular one shots already written, and each one of them broke me in their own special way. Their writing style is incredible and their characterization is fantastic. If you want longer one shots with well-thought-through plots, head over there!

8. @/astronomical-bagel. Astro, our Lord of Roman Angst, always ready to punch me in the gut with feelings! Act One, Scene Three still hurts me to this day. They’re always ready to turn anything into Roman angst (or any angst, check HDABST) but they’ve got some comfort in there as well! A little bit. Somewhat. Yeah. If you want to be emotionally destroyed, you know who to call.

9. @/green-writes-sanderssides. Green’s fics were some of the first I ever read in this fandom, and they’ve stuck with me to this day! They're an expert at the fluff-angst balance and causing all sorts of Emotions. They’re currently working on an incomplete LAMP fic that just completes me. But I digress. Green is spectacular! They’ve got wonderful canon-verse fics that explore the characters and their relationships expertly. If you want amazing fics with fantastic characterization in-canon, stop by!

And that’s all of them! Again, there are tons more I didn’t get to mention, but these are just a few I love! Congrats if you read all the way to the bottom, I know it was a lot--I just get really excited when I can compliment my favorite writers! Anyway, check them out if you want, I highly encourage it!

#sanders sides #fic recs #sanders sides fic #sanders sides fic recs #tw long post #long post #asks and answers #ask game #anon

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pentanguine · 3 years

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Favorite books of 2020

So....about five months ago now, I drafted a list of my favorite books of 2020, and then I, uh, didn’t finish it. It languished in a draft gathering dust and I forgot that it existed.

But now it’s done! It’s hideously late and also out of date, because I’d change many of the rankings now (see below), but I decided to keep them in the original order to reflect how I felt when I actually meant to post this.

Gideon the Ninth- What can I say about this book that hasn’t already been said? It’s like nothing else I’ve read before, in the most unabashed, off-the-walls, grandiose way possible. It’s incredibly complex, well-written, goth, and full of memes. There are, indeed, lesbian necromancers in space.

Harrow the Ninth- I read this 500+ page book in one day and didn’t notice an earthquake while doing so, if you consider that an endorsement. There’s so much going on here it almost feels like it shouldn’t work, and yet it does, brilliantly—it’s so intricately plotted you’ll want to reread it immediately because there’s no way to pick up on everything your first time through.

The Starless Sea- This is just a magical delight of a story, with prose that flows like honey: slow, sweet, and delicious. The story unfolds like a series of wonders nested one inside the other, with each section adding another layer of whimsy and metafiction. It’s half a dream, and half a maze.

Young Miles (The Warrior’s Apprentice/The Vor Game)- The Miles books (the early ones, especially) are wild and unrepentant romps through outer space, and reading them was one of the highlights of 2020 for me. When I finished the Young Miles omnibus, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d taken such pure delight in a book. Even the heavier, more thoughtful moments were part of a well-told, enjoyable story.

The Stone Sky- Speaking of heavy and thoughtful books…The Broken Earth Trilogy is definitely not a light undertaking, but it’s just a masterpiece of world- and character-building. The Stone Sky is the final installment, and it does not pull a single punch in delivering what the previous books have been building towards.

This Is How You Lose the Time War- I keep instinctively wanting to call this a novel in verse, although I think it’s technically an epistolary novel with prose-poem tendencies. In any case, the writing is lovely—lush, vivid, sensual, romantic. I recommend reading this one with your poetry glasses on.

Cordelia’s Honor (Shards of Honor/Barrayar)- I tried to limit myself to one book per author on this list, but I didn’t succeed here. I loved the Vorkosigan saga too much, and I had to include the omnibus about Miles’s mother, Cordelia, whose life and personality could easily be the focus of another half-dozen volumes. (And if you’re looking for a well-developed m/f romance, you’ve found it here)

An Unkindness of Ghosts- I think this is the book that kicked off my sudden interest in sci-fi last year. It’s dark and beautiful, definitely character-driven, and everyone is truly strange in ways that protagonists rarely get to be. It’s also got one of the loveliest, most satisfying endings I can imagine.

Code Name Verity- An incredibly intense YA book that delves deep into one of my favorite fictional themes, Morality. It’s a rollicking spy adventure novel that focuses on a close friendship rather than romance (although you can read it as sapphic if you want), with descriptions of flying over England at sunset that made my heart ache.

The Raven Tower- I enjoyed this story for reasons probably particular to me—I like long digressions into abstract questions like “How do we exert power over the world?” and “Where does the meaning of words exist?”, and entire sections of The Raven Tower are devoted to the inner meditations of a very contemplative rock. It’s also a retelling of Hamlet, if that’s more your speed.

Network Effect (and Murderbot novellas)- I’m going to quote my immediately-after-finishing review: “Murderbot always gives me feels. I would love to give a more literary summary, but I’m still overwhelmed by the tentative vulnerability of two bots being best friends and watching TV together after [redacted].” The first Murderbot novel definitely did not disappoint.

The Monster of Elendhaven- Decadent, blood-soaked, and morally depraved, it’s kind of like The Picture of Dorian Gray by way of Hannibal (NBC), with probable influences from a dozen other macabre works and no restraint whatsoever. Reading it felt very self-indulgently delightful.

Before Mars- A deliciously unsettling sci-fi thriller with a refreshingly blunt, unsentimental female protagonist. Also definitely an …interesting book to read at the end of March 2020, but explaining why would definitely be a spoiler. Suffice it to say that the book goes dark places not advertised on the tin, and it made me cry.

Orange World- Karen Russell is one of those writers who make you wonder “how did they come up with this?” Every one of her stories is a totally original marriage between two wildly different concepts (like a Bog Maiden and high school romance, or new motherhood and the devil), and they’re a nice blend of literary and fantasy that I love.

Something That May Shock and Discredit You- It’s so hard to rank this one, because its two primary concerns are Christianity and transness, one of which means very little to me and one of which is breathtakingly important. I couldn’t justify putting it any lower, because it made me feel an ungodly number of feelings, but I couldn’t really justify putting it higher when a solid third of the book went right over my head.

The Ten Thousand Doors of January- A truly wondrous novel, one that fully immerses you in the delight of storytelling and imagination, and the power of escaping to other worlds. It’s very much in the tradition of “books that pay tribute to the love of books,” and an homage to a hundred portal fantasies before it.

Braiding Sweetgrass- I’ve got such a fondness for nature writing that doesn’t even try to be scientifically detached, and instead leaves you with the feeling that the trees and fields around you are bustling with (nonhuman) people.* Kimmerer’s writing is steeped in indigenous ways of knowing, and emphasizes the respect and reciprocity we can hold for the natural world. It’s lovely writing, and I can’t recommend the book highly enough.

Call Down the Hawk- Full of all the ingredients you expect from a Maggie Stiefvater book: fast cars, ancient magic, questions of art and truth, and borderline overuse of the word “cunning.” Every time I read one of her books I want to start taking notes, because she’s got such a signature style that’s both poetic and readable.

The Unspoken Name- For some reason I wasn’t much into epic fantasy last year, but I’m glad I gave this one a try. I love morally grey characters, of which there are plenty, and the plot took a number of refreshing twists and turns.

A Memory Called Empire- Not a fast-moving read, but perfect if you like your sci-fi novels poetic, complex, and intellectual. The worldbuilding is incredibly immersive, in a way that reminded me a bit of Ursula K. Le Guin, and I remember this stuck with me for weeks after I finished it.

*Let me be a nerdy weirdo for a second: Most of the time Kimmerer is writing about New England, an area I’m not really familiar with, but “The Sound of Silverbells” is set on a mountain somewhere in the South, and I adored it. Suddenly she was writing about dogwoods and redbuds and poplars, and I was sitting there going “!!! Those are my friends! My friends are in a book!”

Changes I’d make now:

Bump The Starless Sea down a couple pegs, maybe to #6

Swap out Cordelia’s Honor and Young Miles

Bump The Raven Tower way down to #16 and bump A Memory Called Empire a few spots higher, maybe to #17

Braiding Sweetgrass can go up where The Raven Tower was

#an inexhaustable source of magic #personal #yes i know none of them have the author's name #sorry about that #it you're reading this it's because i noticed i forgot the authors right after i queued it and then went 'oh well' and cleaned my bathroom #and subsequently did not remember and/or find the time #if you're not reading this then i found the time

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rissynicole · 3 years

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Any suggestions for writing dialogues? I mean, when it comes to punctuations and actions the characters perform.

Okay, this ask has been in my inbox for months at this point, and I've been saving it because 1) I wanted to write something meaningful and 2) I didn't know what I could write that hasn't already been said ad nauseam by other writers. I still don't know if anything I say will be particularly groundbreaking, but I'll try to be helpful. Keep in mind, I'm a young writer, myself. I'm still learning new things every day, and I'm far from a guru in the field.

This got long, so I’m going to put it under the cut:

The first thing I did was ask my mother this question, because I was interested in hearing her answer. She doesn't write fiction, herself, but she has been in the editing game for 30 some-odd years. She edits fiction for Harper Collins Publishing and has an eye for these things. However, her answer to this was very plain and simple.

She said, "All editing and punctuation exists to serve one key purpose: to not confuse the reader."

As far as grammar goes, that's the main goal. I was looking for something a little more hard and fast--some sort of rule in a style guide--and y'know, I'm sure there is a rule out there. But in a fairly fluid world of fiction writing and "rules are meant to be broken" mentalities, the most important thing to heed is the comprehension of your reader. As soon as you’ve confused your reader, you’ve made a mistake. Not a failure--but a mistake that needs to be fixed. I’ve made them; I’ve fixed them. Dialogue can be a particularly tricky area, because it’s like a minefield for these mistakes.

I’ll add an example of my dialogue and break it down a little bit:

‘“Soldier?’ Red said, interrupting the beginning of another gushing tirade.

Larb's grin faded a bit around the edges as he glanced up. ‘…Yes?’

‘Just remember: you're walking a very thin line.’

His eyes dropped back down to the controls. ‘Yes, my Tallest… It won't happen again.’”

First and foremost, it should be clear who is speaking. I help this along by making sure the characters’ actions are in the same paragraph as their speech. It keeps it more comprehensive. Otherwise, it would read like this:

‘“Soldier?’ Red said, interrupting the beginning of another gushing tirade.

Larb's grin faded a bit around the edges as he glanced up.

‘…Yes?’

‘Just remember: you're walking a very thin line.’

His eyes dropped back down to the controls.

‘Yes, my Tallest… It won't happen again.’”

Not completely indecipherable, but distracting enough to make the reader re-read it a few times. As far as formatting goes, it’s also not very pretty. Now, I’m not perfect with this. In fact, I still need to go through Parade and reformat some sections that might read like the above. However, it is a readability rule that I’m trying to follow more closely.

Another difficulty with ensuring you’re making it clear who’s speaking can be the use of pronouns. I’ll be the first to admit, writing with multiple characters who all use the same pronouns can be incredibly difficult. You can’t always just use “he said” as a tag. It’s too easy to hit a snag where the reader gets confused and doesn’t know who “he” is.

‘“Soldier?’ he said, interrupting the beginning of another gushing tirade.

His grin faded a bit around the edges as he glanced up. ‘…Yes?’

‘Just remember: you're walking a very thin line.’

His eyes dropped back down to the controls. ‘Yes, my Tallest… It won't happen again.’”

Sure, maybe this short passage isn’t so bad; It’s still fairly clear who’s speaking. But imagine if the entire book was that way: three, maybe four characters in the same room who all use he/his pronouns speaking without any further identification. It would get confusing and distracting. Lots of reading passages over again to try to decipher who is saying what and lots of frustration on the reader’s part. At the same time, always using the characters’ names can be tedious and unnecessary. Finding a good balance isn’t always easy, but it is worth it.

The golden rule, for me, is exactly as my mother said: “Do not confuse the reader.”

Below, I’ll add some additional dialogue tips I have picked up:

Constantly adding a tag can get tedious.

‘“Soldier?’ Red interrupted, cutting off the beginning of another gushing tirade.

Larb's grin faded a bit around the edges as he glanced up. ‘…Yes?’ he inquired.

‘Just remember: you're walking a very thin line,” Red replied.

His eyes dropped back down to the controls. ‘Yes, my Tallest… It won't happen again,’” he muttered.

Sure, this makes sense. It’s clear who’s speaking. But it also doesn’t read as smoothly. Not to mention, the overabundance of different transitive verbs (interrupted, inquired, muttered), is stilted and almost mechanical in how the dialogue reads. Oftentimes, “said” is perfectly fine. Fun words like “muttered” and “interrupted” are great, too, but in moderation. Finding a happy medium can make all the difference.

Sometimes, a tag isn’t necessary at all.

This segues into my next piece of advice: it’s important to write dialogue in a way that still allows the reader to use their imagination. This is where I’ll go off on a bit of a rabbit trail, because this is something I’ve had to learn for myself recently.

Put trust in your reader to make up their own mind on how dialogue is spoken

I recently finished reading On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King (which, regardless of your opinions on King, was a very helpful book. I enjoyed it a lot). In one passage, he tells the reader to imagine an orange sitting on a table. Just that. He doesn’t give any further details. There is a 100% chance that we are all going to see something different in our minds. We are going to imagine a different table, a different room, and maybe even a different orange.

Sometime, description helps. Sometimes, a carefully placed lack of description lets the reader make up their own mind and encourages imagination. This advice has served me well in writing dialogue. I know it’s a tired old saying in any writer’s workshop: “never use adverbs in dialogue!” And to be honest, I still believe there can be a time and a place. But relying heavily on adverbs doesn’t do anything for the reader, except maybe shoehorn them into a state where they have to re-read dialogue with the new inflection.

‘“Soldier?’ Red said solemnly, interrupting the beginning of another gushing tirade.

Larb's grin faded a bit around the edges as he glanced up. ‘…Yes?’ he asked weakly.

‘Just remember: you're walking a very thin line,” he replied sternly, in a flat monotone.

His eyes dropped back down to the controls. ‘Yes, my Tallest… It won't happen again,’ he said lowly, almost inaudibly.

Again, this feels stilted, and doesn’t really leave anything to the imagination.

To better emphasize what I mean by this, I want to use a real example of it in action. (I hope you don’t mind, @sunnymelonpan!) Shortly after I read this advice and starting cutting down on over-describing dialogue and using adverbs, I wrote some IZ sickfic prompts. A friend of mine decided to draw up a comic based on one of them. This was not only incredibly flattering, but unexpectedly enlightening. I was able to see firsthand how other readers interpreted my dialogue. And lemme tell you, it wasn’t always exactly how I had envisioned it.

Here’s some dialogue I wrote for the prompt in question:

“Dib swiped the thermometer from him and pushed his glasses up his nose while he read it. ‘That’s because it isn’t going down. Huh.’

‘S-some help y-y-you are,’ Zim sneered.

‘Hey, give me a break. I’m doing my best. This isn’t exactly how I wanted to spend my weekend.’

Dib’s outline rose to its full height in Zim’s dimmed living room. He disappeared into the kitchen with the thermometer, then returned with something else in his hands. Without any warning, he placed it onto Zim’s forehead, scowling at the death glare he received in return.”

When I wrote this, I personally imagined Dib acting and speaking in a sort of annoyed, deflated way. Like he wasn’t really taking Zim’s harsh words seriously. Just a sort of eye-roll “yeah, whatever, Zim,” demeanor. That’s how I saw it.

This is how Sunny saw it:

In Sunny’s comic, Dib is genuinely angry. He gets annoyed, stands up, and actually berates Zim with these words.

I never made it clear how Dib spoke this line. Some people might look at this and say I failed as a writer because I didn’t explicitly say that Dib’s line was more casual than angry. I disagree. I left it up to the reader to interpret it as they chose. And Sunny surprised me by interpreting it in a way that was different. Not wrong! Just different. I positively loved seeing Sunny’s interpretation of my prompt. It let me see my writing in the eyes of others; it showed me that I was able to describe scenes while still allowing my readers to use their imaginations.

As a fiction writer, it is not my job to be a stagehand and tell the reader every minute detail of the scene I’m writing. Instead, it is my job to guide them through the story and allow them to envision parts of the story as they see fit. This is especially true with dialogue.

So let’s go back to the original excerpt from Parade that I was using as an example:

‘“Soldier?’ Red said, interrupting the beginning of another gushing tirade.

Larb's grin faded a bit around the edges as he glanced up. ‘…Yes?’

‘Just remember: you're walking a very thin line.’

His eyes dropped back down to the controls. ‘Yes, my Tallest… It won't happen again.’”

In this passage, I tried to apply all these rules:

Make it clear who’s speaking.

Use tags sparingly. Sometimes, “said” works just fine.

Use adverbs sparingly and don’t fall over yourself trying to describe everything.

The dialogue flows smoothly, it is clear who is speaking, and the reader can decide how it’s being spoken. Is Red angry? Impatient? Completely void of emotion in his words? Is Larb scared out of his wits? Trying to keep up a facade of bravery? Who knows! I sure don’t! I’m just the writer! It’s up to YOU to decide.

So... yeah! I know my advice wasn’t particularly groundbreaking, but I hope it was an interesting read, nonetheless.

#writing advice #rissy's asks #rissy rambles #ladyanaconda #keep in mind #i am not a professional writer #i have my degree in communication not english #i just write a lot and have the help of some professionals in my life #i also still have a lot to learn #so i am in no way some sort of sacred fountain of wisdom #sorry if i have some grammar errors too #i know that must make me look like a hypocrite #i'll try to go through later and fix as many as i can catch #this was kind of a 'stream of consciousness' post

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shiny-parsnips · 2 years

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2 and 26? :)

HAIIII IVAN THANK YOU :)))))

2 - Eheh... eeehehehehe...... NIRVANA!!!!!! I LOVE NIRVANA SO MUCH ITS SO GOOD??? LIKE ALL OF IT IS SO GOOD?? I literally tell you this like everydya but I LOVE NIRVANA I DONT THINK I COULD LIVE WITHOUT IT LIKE EVER........ before I was like yeah I like nirvana my favorite is come as you are or something but now I’m like NIRVANA??? DID YOU SAY NIRVANA?? YES I LOVE NIRVANA EHEH there really is not much to say except WAOW THE CULTURAL IMPACT?? DAAAAYUMMMMM we love to see Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl kicking fucking ass in the 90’s like the boybosses they are I LOWV HOW THEYRE SO ACTIVELY VOCAL ABOUT FEMINISM AND PRO LGBTQ AND POC RIGHTS!!!! They were also really like fun and not serious all the time they were really rebellious lil dudes and Kurt is like......,, my idol he was in a lot of pain my poor guy but he took that pain and turned it into art which is super inspiring like holy shit you’re incredible DID YOU KNOW okay DID you KNOW that Kurt made the album art for Incesticide? So Kurt was really into making these dolls with clay and he would do them in his free time they’re super freaky but in like the best way possible and frankly he didn’t wanna make the compilation album and the producer guys were like “We’ll let you decide the album coverrr” and he was like fiiiiine AND HERE IT IS!!! Very good thank you Mr. Cobain and DID YOU KNOW KURT WROTE EVERY SONG??? Except for one of them which all three of them wrote on In Utero but I don’t remember which song but still YAS VERY GOOD DEFINITELY RECOMMEND THESE GUYS LISTEN TO THEM

26 - So here’s something silly I think I have really bad handwriting cause I write so fast and stuff but now that I look at it it kinda looks like cursive but sloppy and fast I DIDNT EVEN MEAN FOR IT YO LOOK LIKE THAT TOO ISNT THAG CRAZY?? But everyone says it’s legible and readable so that’s fine 👍👍👍

THANKS AGAIN IVAN!!! Love you boar vessel 600-500 bc etruscan ceramic mwah

#Ask

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orangerosebush · 3 years

Text

Thank you so much to @popsicle-stick @fowlblue @sophieisdone45 and @anjupear for tagging me (I’m collating the mentosmorii/orangerosebush mentions here for readability)! Also, if you mentioned liking my fanfic, know that I owe you one (1) life debt (seriously, tysm :’’)! )

#1) who’s your favorite character & why?

Gonna have to go with Butler! I feel like as I’ve returned to the series, again and again, I am always stricken by the way he fills the role of a protector for the people in his life beyond merely being a fighter; his capacity for nurturing and selflessness make him one of my favorites.

#2) what’s one of your favorite scenes in the books?

There’s a scene in book 5 where Artemis and Minerva are just like, randomly squabbling over art and its value, and beyond it being v. funny, I think it was a great way to differentiate them and how they approach intelligence.

#3) if you could be any species of fairy, which one would you be?

Isn’t the whole schtick associated with the kraken in book 5 that it sleeps for centuries? That very much appeals to me, coming out of finals seasons, lol.

#4) do you read af fic? if so, drop one of your favorites!

Yes, I do! The following fic is a WIP, but I think that what is uploaded now stands as a nice snapshot into the world the author’s created.

Too Sentimental by Fowl Fox on ffnet

Artemis Senior reflects on his past and the people he’s lost as he deals with his own current insecurities regarding his wife and son. Takes place between books 4 & 5, as well as decades before then.

It’s an interesting look at what would happen if Fowl Sr. were to become curious about his son’s involvement with the criminal underworld, though ultimately, he’s not quite right about which ‘underworld’ that is. It’s 2 chapters, and it’s quite good!

#5) give your ranking of the books from best to worst!

Probably Eternity Code (3), Artemis Fowl (1), Arctic Incident (2), Opal Deception (4), Lost Colony (5), Time Paradox (6), Last Guardian (8), Atlantis Complex (7). Though, TAC is the only one I don’t care for.

#6) if you could say anything to any of the characters, what would it be?

Probably congratulate Juliet on carving out her own path in life, difficult though it might have been to break from centuries of family tradition. That, or tell Butler to take some time off from work, lmao.

#7) if you’re comfortable w it, share one of your favorite headcanons about the series <3

Probably a toss-up between transmasc headcanons for Artemis or the theory that the Major faked his death in the Arctic Incident, and is still out there, somewhere.

#8) what’s one thing that you would change about the series?

I think I would ask it to engage more deeply with its themes, though I do understand the structure of the series is kind of serialized (and, moreover, still a children’s series at the end of the day). This ranges from having it tackle the implications of mental health beyond the scene-by-scene potential for comedy or drama, to expanding upon the kind of society Haven is technologically and politically beyond (as I said) scene-by-scene potential for comedy or drama (like, dig a little deeper into the power afforded to the Council! Look at how the LEP functions beyond the “one bad apple” Commander plot with Sool).

#9) if we’re not counting book one Artemis, who’s your favorite villain & why?

The human villains in general — I thought Spiro and Fission Chips were incredibly fun, as were Kronksi and the Extinctionists, and, arguably, Minerva!

#10) how did you get into the series/when did you first read it?

I’d say most likely around 3rd grade? We’d gone to the library, and my dad accidentally picked up book 1 from the display section under the impression that it was adult fiction, lost interest after discovering that no, in fact, it was not, and then he handed it off to me.

Tag?

If you’re reading this, then take this as a tag from me! I scrolled through the notes on Sophie’s original post, and it seems as though a fair amount of the fan base has already been tagged in some capacity, and I don’t want to clog anyone’s notifs. Also, thanks + kudos to Sophie for making this!

#artemis fowl #tag game #long post

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theladykit · 3 years

Text

I received an excellent ask from @the-gay-lady-of-ravenclaw-tower and I was happy to answer it, but because I am a Tumblr old I accidentally replied to the first part of the ask instead of the second, and now it’s gone. So I’m going to reproduce it and include my answer below. I hope this can help others, too! Fair warning that I am long-winded and the post is very long as well. If anyone has suggestions about how to make it more readable (I have ADHD and long blocks of text are not my friend, so I get it), send me a message and let me know!

Hi, Ryn! Sorry if this ask is intrusive, feel free to ignore. You're the first non-binary person I've seen on here who's really fully an adult (to me grown up = older than 30-35) and I was wondering if you had any advice you'd like to share with younger queer/non-binary kids. In particular I was wondering how you navigate using gender-neutral pronouns in the workplace and how you build a community/found family with other queer adults. (1/2)

I'm 18, and it's easy to see other queer kids around me in college, but it feels like a bubble. I worry about the world outside of this microcosm and how to navigate queerness in the future. Seeing queer adults like you who have successfully made it through their 20s and survived in the "real world" while building a community is really hopeful for me, especially considering the world was much more hostile in your formative years than mine. Thanks :) (2/2)

Let me first apologize for taking so long on this ask, I wanted to give a considered answer.

I’m honored that you would ask in the first place. I take advice-giving pretty seriously, especially when someone is reaching out to me because they’re hoping to take advantage of any experience I might have from being on the planet longer. I want to introduce a couple of caveats, though, so you can take my advice in the context it deserves.

As you mentioned, I did grow up in a world that was quite a bit more hostile to queerness. On top of that, I’m sure you know we just didn’t have easy access to queer information, and it was a lot more visible when someone was seeking it. Because of this, I didn’t actually figure out my queerness (though I suspected for decades) until a few years ago. However, I’ve tried to throw myself into the queer community as hard as I’m able, and I was always a queer ally. So I’ve been on the fringes for a really long time, even though it’s only now that I’ve been able to experience it from a place of openness. On the other hand, I do think there’s value in that situation, as well, so, take all of this for what you will.

The other caveat is that I left the traditional workplace prior to my accepting my queerness. I have never had to deal with pronoun issues, and I also come from a place of having the luxury of a decent relationship with my original pronouns. I am non-binary, but I’m ok (for the most part) with people using she/her for me. That said, my background is in accounting, and the firms I worked for, on the whole, probably would not have been thrilled about neutral pronouns, much less neopronouns, especially with anything client-facing. Some of the feelings about this are changing, and some are not. It’s very industry-specific and employer specific, so I feel like the best advice I can give in this situation is to be safe, in whatever way that works for someone.

I would love to just say have the conversation with your employer in terms of pronouns and presentation and that if they’re not willing to accept even the idea of it, you know that they weren’t probably going to treat you with dignity and respect about being outside of the binary, but because society hasn’t caught up in their understanding and acceptance of anything but cisgender and heteronormative ideals, it is still a privilege too many are excluded from. Why human dignity and respect are treated as privileges, I shall never know, but that’s how it is for so many at this moment in time. So all I can say is try your best to assert yourself in whatever way is safest for you, and to know that there are lots of adults rooting for you and willing to help when and where they can, even if we can’t change everything immediately. It still sucks that we have to couch it this way, but I do think it’s important to remember that at least in some places we can have the conversation. It’s not enough, and it will never be enough until we don’t have to think about it anymore, but change is always going to be too slow for marginalized communities.

The found family is where I feel most comfortable answering. My peer group, the oldest Millennials, was really the first youth group to benefit from the presence of ubiquitous, reliable internet as a way to find new relationships, whether platonic, romantic, whatever. And I have to say, we found it in the same ways then as a lot of young adults do now: fandom spaces, very primitive means of social media (ah, the heady days of the message board), various websites and communities that we, along with a lot of other age groups, built. I personally met most of my found family through a fandom space, and while none of us really retain ties to that fandom anymore, our love for each other has only grown. The rest of my sort of extended found family, if you will, I met through in-person spaces, like the classes I took in college, things like that. I think one of the most important pieces of that puzzle is not being afraid to reach out through your interests. I also think that’s not so different from when I was around your age. The spaces themselves are a lot different to navigate, and I do not envy you with the sort of omni-present fight against purity culture, which we did not really have to address, but building a community is pretty much the same no matter if it’s online, in-person, formalized like a city, or anything else. It takes work and commitment and a willingness to see it succeed, and it will change and evolve a lot as you go on. Not all found family is permanent, and there’s nothing wrong with that, either. There are people who have passed out of my life, and rightly so, that I was certain at the time would be with me forever. But it’s ok. I grew as a person, and I grew in a different direction than worked for our relationship. I grew in a direction that brought me toward my found family.

I should also probably point out that my found family is, on the whole, not queer. A few of us are, or have ties to queerness, but there’s a variety of sexualities, genders, etc. I think you’re right to say that queerness can be kind of a bubble, but there are lots of people who want to embrace what may have started out as queer ideals because they recognize it’s how they want to live, even if they themselves are not queer. I think especially people my age and younger are realizing that they want families that are supportive and nurturing, and I am sorry to say it but that’s rooted in queerness in a way that most normative family dynamics are not. We’ve had no choice, we either had each other or no one else. Queerness, on some level, means found family—or at least queerness that doesn’t rely on trying to emulate the cisgender heteropatriarchy for acceptance. So the two ideas are really intertwined and it’s completely understandable why so many queer people gravitate toward families they built themselves. How to do that is as varied as any queer experience, but comfortingly, it’s still the same as any other kind of relationship at its core. Give it time, which is no one’s favorite advice, but that is the best I’ve got. Make sure you’re getting what you need in addition to helping others with what they need. Be kind and loving and supportive, and above all, bring compassion to the table every moment that you can. Empathy is good, too, but compassion and kindness will steer you better, I think, more often than empathy will.

I know this is an incredibly long answer, and this is as concise as I could make it. These are big questions, and I am not a concise person by nature. :) Good luck, and I’m here to talk if you need, and that extends to any queer young adults that want advice. We have to band together, we all have so many wonderful things to contribute, and I for one am looking forward to seeing what you and your peers add to the discussion over the years.

#queer life #found family #queer found family #advice

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arecomicsevengood · 3 years

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TOP TEN OLDER MAINSTREAM COMICS I READ THIS YEAR

I kept track of all the comics I read this year, and not all of them were new. I have no idea who this will help or benefit but at least the circumstances of me only listing the completely arbitrary older work I read for the first time this year will deter anyone from arguing with me. However, for the sake of possibly being contentious, let me mention two comics that fall outside the top ten, because they’re bad:

Trencher by Keith Giffen. David King did a comic strip about Keith Giffen’s art style on this book in issue 2 of But Is It... Comic Aht that everybody loved, and made me be like, ok, I’ll check it out. But it’s basically just a retread of Lobo in terms of its tone and approach, but without Simon Bisley. I don’t really know why anyone wouldn’t think Bisley is the better cartoonist. Also, those comics are terrible. Thumbs down.

The Green Lantern by Grant Morrison, Liam Sharp, and Steve Oliff. I bought the first year of these comics for a dollar each off a dude doing a sidewalk sale. Found them sort of incoherent? I haven’t liked a new Grant Morrison comic in ages, with All-Star Superman being really the only outlier since like We3. This is clearly modeled off of European comics like Druillet or something, and would maybe benefit from being printed larger, I really dislike the modeled color too. But also it’s just aggressively fast-paced, with issues ending in ways that feel like cliffhangers but aren’t, and no real characters of interest.

As for the top ten list itself, for those who’ve looked at my Letterboxd page, slots 10-8 are approximately “3 stars,” 7-4 are 3 1/2 stars, slots 3 and 2 are 4 stars, with number one being a 4 1/2 star comic. The comics I’m listing on my “Best Of The Year” list that’ll run at the Comics Journal alongside a bunch of people are all 4 1/2 or 5 star comics. This is INSANELY NERDY and pedantic to note, and I eschew star ratings half the time anyway, because assignations of numeric value to art are absurd except within the specific framework of how strong a recommendation is, and on Letterboxd I feel like I’m speaking to a very small and self-selecting group of people whose tastes I generally know. (And I generally would not recommend joining Letterboxd to people!) But what I mean by all of this is just that there is a whole world of work I value more than this stuff, and I’ll recommend the truly outstanding shit to interested readers in good time.

10. Justice Society Of America by Len Strazewski and Mike Parobeck. Did some quarantine regressing and bought these comics, a few of which were some of the first comics I ever read, but I didn’t read the whole thing regularly as a kid. Parobeck’s a fun cartoonist, this stuff is readable. It’s faintly generic/baseline competent but there’s a cheap and readable quality to this stuff that modern comics lack. Interestingly, the letters column is made up of old people who remember the characters and feel like it’s marketed towards them, and since that wasn’t profitable, when the book was canceled, Parobeck went over to drawing The Batman Adventures, which was actively marketed towards kids. It’s funny that him and Ty Templeton were basically viewed as “normal” mainline DC Comics for a few years there and then became relegated to this specific subset of cartooning language, which everyone likes and thought was good but didn’t fit inside the corporate self-image, which has basically no aesthetic values.

9. The Shadow 18 & 19 by Andy Helfer and Kyle Baker. I’d been grabbing issues of this run of comics for years and am only now finishing it. Kyle Baker’s art is swell but Helfer writes a demanding script, these are slow reads that cause the eye to glaze over a bit.

8. The Jam 3-8 by Bernie Mireault. I made a post where I suggested Mireault’s The Jam might be one of the better Slave Labor comics. Probably not true but what I ended up getting are some colored reprints Tundra did, and some black and white issues published by Dark Horse after that. Mireault’s art style is kinda like Roger Langridge. After these, he did a crossover with Mike Allred’s Madman and then did a series of backups in those comics, it makes sense to group them together, along with Jay Stephens’ Atomic City Tales and Paul Grist’s Jack Staff, or Mike Mignola’s Hellboy, as this stream that runs parallel to Image Comics but is basically better, a little more readable, but still feeling closer to something commercial in intention as opposed to self-expression. Although it also IS self-expression, just the expression of a self that has internalized a lot of tropes and interests in superhero comics. If you have also read a lot of superhero comics, but also a lot of alternative comics, stuff like this basically reads like nothing. It’s comfort food on the same level of mashed potatoes: I love it when it’s well-done but there’s also a passable version that can be made when depressed and uninspired. But drawing like Roger Langridge is definitely not bad!

7. WildC.A.T.S by Alan Moore, Travis Charest, et al. I wrote a post about these comics a few months ago, but let me reiterate the salient points: There’s two collections, the first one is much better than the second, and the first is incredibly dumbed-down in its nineties Image Comics style but also feels like the best version of that possible, when Charest is doing art. Also, these collections are out of print now, a friend of mine pointed out maybe they can’t be reprinted because they involve characters owned by Todd McFarlane but Wildstorm is owned wholly by DC now.

6. Haywire by Michael Fleischer and Vince Giarrano. I made a post about this comic when I first read a few issues right around the time Michael Fleischer died a few years ago, but didn’t read all of it then. This feels way more deliberately structured than most action comics, with its limited cast and lack of ties to any broader universe, but it’s also dumb and sleazy and fast moving, and feels related to what were the popular movies of the day, splitting its influences evenly between erotic thrillers about yuppies and Stallone-starring action movies. The erotic thriller element is mostly just “a villain in bondage gear” which is sort of standard superhero comics bullshit but it’s also a little bit deeper than that. The first three issues, inked by Kyle Baker, look the best.

5. Dick Tracy by John Moore and Kyle Baker. These look even better! A little unclear which John Moore this is? There’s John Francis Moore, who worked with Howard Chaykin and was scripting TV around this time, but there’s another dude who was a cartoonist who did a miniseries for Piranha Press and then moved on to doing work for Disney on Darkwing Duck comics. Anyway, Kyle Baker colors these, they’re energetically cartooned, each issue is like 64 pages, with every page being close to a strip or scene in a movie. I’m impressed by them, and there’s a nice bulk that makes them a nice thing to keep a kid busy. (For the record, my favorite Kyle Baker solo comic is probably You Are Here.)

4. Chronos by John Francis Moore and Paul Guinan. I was moving on from DC comics by the late nineties, but Grant Morrison’s JLA was surely a positive influence on everyone, especially compared to the vibe there in the subsequent two decades. These are well-crafted. There’s a little stretch where it uses the whole “time-traveling protagonist” thing to do a run of issues which stand alone but fall in sequence too and it’s pretty smooth and smart. The art is strong enough to carry it, the sort of cartoony faces with detailed backgrounds it’s widely agreed works perfectly, but that you rarely see in mainstream comics. The coloring is done digitally, but not over-modeled enough to ruin it.

3. Martha Washington by Frank Miller and Dave Gibbons. A few miniseries, all of which sort of get weaker as they go, but all in one book it doesn’t feel like it’s becoming trash as it goes or anything. When Miller dumbed down his storytelling in the nineties it really was because he thought it made for better comics, the tension between his interest in manga and Gibbons’ British-comics classicism feels productive. I do kind of feel like the early computer coloring ruins this a little bit.

2. Xombi by John Rozum and JJ Birch. Got a handful of these on paper, read scans of the rest. This is pretty solid stuff, not really transcendent ever, but feels well-crafted on a month-in, month-out level. I read a handful of other Milestone comics, and a lot of them suffered from being so beholden to deadlines that there are fill-in issues constantly. This is the rare one that had the same creators for the entirety of its run. There was a revival with Frazer Irving art a decade ago but I prefer JJ Birch’s black line art with Noelle Giddings’ watercolors seen here. They’re doing an early Vertigo style “weirdness” but with a fun and goofy sense of humor about itself. I haven’t read Clive Barker but this feels pretty influenced by that as well. (The Deathwish miniseries is of roughly comparable quality. I read scans of the rest of that after I made my little post and, yeah, it does actually feel very personal for a genre work, and the JH Williams art with painted color is great.)

1. Tom Strong by Alan Moore, Chris Sprouse, etc. I got bored reading these as a teen but getting them all for cheap and reading them in a go was a pretty satisfying experience. It’s partly a speed-run through Moore’s coverage of the concept of a comic book multiverse seen in his Supreme run, minus the riffing on Mort Weisinger Superman comics, instead adding in a running theme of rehabilitating antagonists whose goals are different but aren’t necessarily evil. It’s more than just Moore in an optimistic or nostalgic mode, it also feels like he’s explaining his leftist morality to an audience that has internalized conflicts being resolved by violence as the genre standard.

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okietrish · 5 years

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Drowning in Anxiety

Pairing: Jake Kiszka X Reader (They are best friends, but they like each other ya know?

Word Count: 1,847

Warnings: Talk about anxiety. Nothing too specific, but lots of run-on sentences that perfectly portray how my mind functions at a high rate pace that I can’t seem to control even thought I try really hard, but I cant...

I’m not sure how I feel about this one, but I wrote it while I was having and incredibly anxious week. Let me know what y’all think!

—

I felt ridiculous. There I was, knocking on his front door, absolutely drenched due to the surprise downfall. I don’t even know how I ended up here. I was walking in a failed attempt to rid myself of the anxiety I had woken up with this morning. I hate days like this, I did nothing to get this anxiety. All I did was wake up and immediately wanted to crawl into a ball and cry. Being an adult doesn’t allow you to do that though.

Getting through the day was... manageable. Sometimes I think of my anxiety more as a bitchy best friend who keeps tapping me on the shoulder to remind me she’s here and waiting very impatiently. Waiting for what? My impending mental breakdown of course; which brings me to where I am now... Holding in my sobs while standing in front of Jake’s door, no doubt looking like a drowned rat who just got run over by a school bus. A mess...

At the sound of the door unlocking I looked up, quickly making eye contact with my best friend with a confused expression on his face, one that fell quickly when he realized who was standing in front of him.

“Y/N what are you doing here? Why are you wet? Did you walk in the rain!?” He was talking fast, obviously worried about my well-being, but I couldn’t say anything. I just stared at him for a moment. My features stone cold before everything cracked and tears flushed my face as I tucked my chin to my chest. I didn’t want to look at him. I don’t know why I came here.

“Oh fuck Y/N.” He spoke quietly now. That’s when I felt his arms wrap around my shoulders, pulling me into him. My hands gripped his shirt tightly where it rested against his collar bones. I needed to ground myself before I spiraled again. Jake instinctively pulled my closer against his body, sprawling his hands out on my back to apply as much steady pressure as possible, a trick I taught him long ago when he saw my panic attacks for the first time.

We stood like that for a few minutes until my breathing was finally steady. Jake pulled away timidly, placing his hands on the sides of my head, pressing my soaking wet hair down on my head. His face was readable, transparent into his emotions. He was naturally an empathetic soul, his eyes were hooded due to his eyebrows being scrunched together in the middle. He offered a lopsided smile, one that I know too well. That smile didn’t hold an ounce of happiness in it. It was forced.

Without saying a word, he grabbed my hand a gently guided me into his home. I stepped aside to allow him to close the door before he turned and looked at me. I couldn’t move. Stuck with my hands limp against my body, face pulled down.

“Do you want to talk about it?” He waited patiently for me to work through my mind.

“There’s not much to say. I just, um, woke up anxious and... and... I just... I fucking hate this Jake. I hate my mind.” Tears were running down my cheeks, though I didn’t feel them this time. No sobs were accompanying the hot streams, no sniffles, no shake in my voice, just tears.

Jake stepped forward, he looked like he was walking on glass, as if the floor would fall out beneath him, but it was me who he was trying not to break. I’m the fragile one.

“Do you want to get changed? You’re soaked.”

“I don’t know.” I squeaked out. For the first time all day my mind was blank. I felt numb.

“Okay. We’re going to get changed. I’ll give you some sweats. We can stay in my room and put on a movie and just wrap up in my comforter. How’s that?” Jake was too kind for this world. His patience in these types of situations always made me adore him even more.

I nodded my head before following him up the steps.

We went slow. I zoned out though… Not really thinking about anything in particular, but somehow still feeling the weight of the world resting on my chest. Maybe it’s just my clothes, they were quite heavy at this point. I left a visible mess behind me, some sort of metaphor there. Water was dripping from my hair, to my shirt, onto my pants, to my shoes, laying itself out over the floor. Fuck. Jake’s floor. I probably ruined it/ I ruin fucking everything. No surprise here. I’d pay for it if it needed to be fixed. I could pick up a few extra shifts, but if I did that I…

“Y/N” I looked up at Jake, he was standing in front of me again. When did we get into his room? How long have I been…

“You’re crying again love.” Was I? I reached my hand up to my cheek, the heat radiating from them instantly warming up my frozen fingertips.

“Oh.. Um… I’m sorry.” I wiped the tears away from my face with my sleeve, but just got my face even more soaked in the process.

“You don’t need to apologize. It’s alright. You’re going to be alright.” Jake walked away for a moment, ruffling through his dresser. “Here take these. You need to change. You’re shivering.” I guess I was, I didn’t notice

“Okay.” My voice sounded like a whisper. My throat was on fire, tight and not wanting to work. Jake offered me a slight smile again.

“I’m going to be right outside the door okay? If you need me just knock.” He placed a warm grip on both of my shoulders before turning to leave. He left me alone.

I felt like a robot, not really thinking anymore, just went through the motions. Soon enough I was stripped completely naked standing in the middle of Jake's room. After air drying for a few moments I quickly redressed. I finally realized just how cold I really was. The fuzzy sweats felt like a warm hug, one that I desperately needed.

“Jake…”

“Yeah?”

I coughed before I relied, “where do you want me to put the wet clothes? And you can come in.” He did just that, but he froze in place as he glanced at me up and down. Probably taking in how I was practically swimming in his sweatshirt and sweatpants. The pants were rolled twice, but they still touched the floor, I looked like a little kid. He looked up to my face again, smiled at how the hood was pulled up and tightened around my face. I properly cocooned myself in the grey fabric.

“I’ll take them and put the in the dryer.” He gathered the clothes from his floor and took off down the stairs. He jogged to the laundry room, I heard him slam the drying and run quickly back up the stairs, I couldn’t help but giggle to myself at his behavior.

Jake was slightly out of breath when he returned. He didn’t miss much though, I didn’t move an inch. He stood there for a moment, regaining his breath and just looking at me. A smile stretched across his features, I tried to return it, but my face just felt like it just twitched before falling back into its statue-like state.

Jake stepped towards me, closing the distance between us swiftly, engulfing me in a hug. I fell into him, I mean how could you not? His hair smelled like vanilla, he smelled faintly of tobacco, most likely smoking right before I got there. All in all he just smelled like Jake. That’s all that I needed, Jake.

Without me noticing, Jake shifted his grip to my hips and began to slowly guide me backwards. I kept my face buried into his neck, trusting him enough to let him take control. The back of my calves bumped into his bed then, he reached one hand over to pull the covers back. Jake then turned around and scoop me up. With a gentle kiss placed to my forehead he laid me down and tucked me in. I let out a whine has he stood up to walk away. I didn’t want him to leave. I didn’t want to be alone.

At the sound he turned back to me, laying his hand on my forehead pushing my hood back slightly.

“I’m just going to lock the front door and turn out the lights mama. I’m coming right back okay?” He spoke so softly to me. His raspy voice coaxing my body to relax into the sheets. I nodded back to him and pulled the covers up to my chin. He would only be gone for a minute.

Jake rushed again, trying his best to be quick and efficient. When he came back he quietly closed his door then walked over to his dresser once more. He replaced his shirt, which was practically drenched from hugging me earlier, with a long sleeve, green shirt that had a purple stripe across the chest. He stripped himself of his pants, but left himself in the tight black briefs that hid underneath, it was hard not to stare at him. He was beautiful. I had to force myself to stop staring more often than not.

Jake shut off his bedroom light before climbing into bed next to me. Instantly he pulled me to him, resting my head on his chest, tangling his legs with mine, my left hand gripping his shirt over his chest as I focused on his heartbeat. He rubbed my back up and down slowly, the pressure welcoming and far from overwhelming.

“Jake?” I tilted my head to face him. He glanced down towards me humming in response to tell me to continue.

“You have cute legs.” The blush that ran up to his cheeks was adorable, but that didn’t sway his calm and relaxed attitude.

“Oh is that so?” He smirked, seemingly amused at my compliment.

“Mmmhmm. Quite the ass as well.�� I smiled at him. It was a real smile, one that spread across my entire face. I felt calm. Being wrapped up with him made me feel as if the rushing world around us didn’t exist. If he was holding me, nothing could hurt me.

He chuckled as he rolled his eyes. “Good to know my fine ass helped you feel better.” He kissed my forehead, pressing and holding his lips there for a few moments before retreating to giggle some more at himself.

“Ya know, next time you feel really anxious I’ll just send you a booty pic. It’ll save you a walk in the rain.” I nuzzled my head into his chest, laughing at the sheer idea of Jacob Kiszka sending me a booty pic.

“I’m going to hold you to that Kiszka.” I tapped his chest twice, still giggling at the kind boy. Another laugh roared through his body. His laugh was intoxicating.

“Anything for you Y/L/N”

#Jake Kiszka #jake kiszka x reader #jake kiszka imagine #Greta fic #greta van fleet imagine #greta van fleet fanfic #I want a hug from jake kiszka and I want it now #fluff

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manuscripts-dontburn · 4 years

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Children of Virtue and Vengeance

Author: Tomi Adeyemi

First published: 2019

Pages: 404

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

How long did it take: 7 days

The first book was a solid beginning (if full of tropes) of an interesting adventure, which had especially its setting and cultural background as the main attraction. The second book, at first, seemed more interesting to me, with the characters aiming for the same goal but having vastly differing opinions of how to achieve it. And then, little by little, it somehow fell all apart. The plot did not advance beyond never-ending planning and the characters all either disappointed or became downright abhorrent. I sincerely hope the author will manage to pull it all together for the next instalment in the series, but she had some major job ahead of her.

The Mistresses of Cliveden: Three Centuries of Scandal, Power and Intrigue in an English Stately Home

Author: Natalie Livingstone

First published: 2001

Pages: 512

Rating: ★★★★☆

How long did it take: 16 days

This is a beautifully executed book, written in a very accessible, yet sophisticated manner, and introducing characters of five very interesting women. It is rather a "bummer" that none of those women actually comes across as likeable, in case of Nancy Astor the "unlikeable" became even "terrible" at times. Still, if, like me, you were previously not acquainted with these women, the book provides a solid introduction covering all the important moments of their lives. One thing that the book failed to do though was to actually explore the house of Cliveden. Given that the house was really the only major thing the five ladies had in common, it is used as a link, but never feels strong enough and the house appears as an afterthought rather than the focal point. I suppose the enjoyment of reading this book depends on what expectations you bring into it.

Opal

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

First published: 2018

Pages: 38

Rating: ★★★☆☆

How long did it take: 1 day

Gorgeous writing and atmosphere, but not much to hold on to in ways of a story. A sweet glimpse of three of the characters I enjoyed a lot in the previous books

Beneath the Sugar Sky

Author: Seanan McGuire

First published: 2018

Pages: 174

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

How long did it take: 1 day

Unfortunately, I was mightily bored with this one. Even though this story is about a quest, it felt rather ... plotless.

The King of Crows

Author: Libba Bray

First published: 2020

Pages: 547

Rating: ★★★★☆

How long did it take: 12 days

Review HERE

How to Be a Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals

Author: Sy Montgomery

First published: 2018

Pages: 208

Rating: ★★★★★

How long did it take: 3 days

I give this book five stars for the sheer, pure, overwhelming love for our animal companions that pours out of every single page. This is a very simple book that does not preach or deals in clichés, it is simply a love letter to the goodness of animals and everything we can learn from them.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

Author: Suzanne Collins

First published: 2020

Pages: 517

Rating: ★★★★☆

How long did it take: 5 days

I am going to go against the general consensus this time and say: I enjoyed this book. Perhaps my expectations were already low, and to be frank I was not bothered, like many other people, that the main protagonist is actually President Snow. Oh, the book has its problems for sure! For example, I can imagine the same story being more engaging if it was not told in a strictly chronological way and it did get somewhat slow and lengthy at times. The biggest issue is undeniably that this book was NOT NECESSARY. We know how this whole story ends after all. But if you want more from the Hunger Games world, this is not bad. I did find it very interesting to see the world from the point of view of someone as cunning and ambitious as Snow. I think the author capture very well his self-serving attitude and how his inherent selfishness coloured his decisions, while all along he could always justify everything to himself and actually believe he was in the right, he was a good person. The ending was actually brilliant, even though I would have liked a teensy little bit more clarity on the fate of a certain person. So... yeah.... subjectively speaking.... I liked this. More like 3,5 than a 4 stars, but you know Goodreads.....

Clap When You Land

Author: Elizabeth Acevedo

First published: 2020

Pages: 432

Rating: ★★★★★

How long did it take: 2 days

Elizabeth Acevedo has incredible power as a writer. In snippets of thoughts rather than whole sentences, she manages to express and stir so many emotions. In this book, she once again makes you feel and makes you care. Beautiful.

Take Courage: Anne Bronte and the Art of Life

Author: Samantha Ellis

First published: 2017

Pages: 352

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

How long did it take: 4 days

Review full of hurt to be found HERE.

Station 11

Author: Emily St. John Mandel

First published: 2014

Pages: 328

Rating: ★★★☆☆

How long did it take: 4 days

I am sorry to say I found this a fascinating concept but the book did not live up to its potential. The parts dealing with The End itself and the Symphony were great. Anything Arthur bored me and, IMO, did not provide the story with anything profound.

Young and Damned and Fair: The Life and Tragedy of Catherine Howard at the Court of Henry VIII

Author: Gareth Russell

First published: 2017

Pages: 512

Rating: ★★★★★

How long did it take: 5 days

Given how little is actually known about Catherine Howard, I am walking away from this book with a feeling that I got to know her. Where facts are shaky or missing, Gareth Russell offers information from various sources and draws possible conclusions, which he never fails to support with logic and knowledge. What I appreciate was how unbiased he is in his approach toward the people in this story. Way too often historians let their personal perceptions colour their research and make them highlight the theories and facts which best suit their chosen narratives, but that is not the case of this book. The result is a very readable book which presents both Catherine herself and the world she knew and that shaped her in vivid colours and complexity.

The Underground Railroad

Author: Colson Whitehead

First published: 2016

Pages: 306

Rating: ★★★★★

How long did it take: 4 days

A brutal story magnificently told. The author struck the perfect balance between the terror and respite, the hopeless and hopeful, the reality and make-belief. Extremely powerful as both a literary and educational experience.

Come Tumbling Down

Author: Seanan McGuire

First published: 2020

Pages: 206

Rating: ★★★☆☆

How long did it take: 2 days

Yeah... well.... aside from the second volume in this series, it has been pretty underwhelming. The book cannot decide whether it is poetic and passionate or whether it wants to see everything through a bunch of snarky (and not really funny at any point) teenagers. It tries to do both and the result is just not very good. It´s.... fine. (Also yeah... I am stupid so I skipped the fourth book by accident).

#booklr #wrap up #June 2020

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sciencenewsforstudents · 4 years

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When she was young, Christine Liu didn’t plan to become a scientist. But chasing her curiosity led her to love neuroscience, the study of the brain and the nervous system. She’s now a graduate student and researcher at the University of California, Berkeley. There, she studies what nicotine, the addictive chemical in tobacco and e-cigarettes, does to the brain.

Outside the lab, Liu makes art, including some that communicates science. As half of the collective Two Photon Art, with environmental scientist Tera Johnson, Liu makes self-published magazines that illustrate science concepts. And the pair designs and sells science-themed items such as jewelry and clothes. Liu also shares her work on Instagram (such as the posts embedded in this story).

Christine Liu sells some of her art at a zine festival.

CREDIT: TERA JOHNSON

Liu isn’t yet sure if her future is in the lab or making art, but she knows that neuroscience will be a big part of her career. In this interview, Liu shares her experiences and advice with Science News for Students. (This interview has been edited for content and readability.)

What inspired you to pursue your career?

I pursued neuroscience because of a curiosity about how the world works. Even as a little kid, I was interested in how people experience things differently. So I would ask questions like, “Is the red that I see the same as the red that everyone else sees?” When I started learning about psychology and biology and answers to these questions that researchers proposed, I got more interested. In college, I jumped at the opportunity to get in the lab as soon as I could. And I quite like doing lab work. But I’ve been doing research for almost 10 years. So I might take the opportunity when I graduate to do art more seriously.

How did you get where you are today?

I grew up not really being that great at anything. It wasn’t like I knew I had a special talent in science and that I was going to become a scientist. I also grew up low-income. My family didn’t have a lot of money. As a kid, I spent a lot of time helping out around the house. I translated documents for my family and made sure that the rice was cooked before my parents got home. And I started working part-time jobs really early. In high school, I worked at a Jamba Juice and at a science museum. I did a bunch of jobs in college, too.

My college applications weren’t very strong. So I didn’t get into the colleges in California I actually wanted to go to. Instead, I needed to apply last minute to the local state school. I went to University of Oregon in Eugene. It wasn’t on the top of my list, but there were a lot of opportunities in neuroscience there. I was really able to take advantage of them. I overcame a lot of what I thought were shortcomings in my ability and competitiveness to do science.

When I started doing research, I was lucky to be in a lab with other female students. And I had done summer research programs with a diverse community of students and researchers. But when I started grad school, I was a little surprised at how few women and people of color I saw.

I also wasn’t sure how to express myself — if I needed to conform more or if I could really be myself. But then on Instagram, I found all these women who were not compromising how they express themselves. They were doing incredible science. And they were wearing lipstick and doing their hair and being feminine. This was something that I hadn’t realized was missing in my life. I immediately tried to connect all of us on Instagram, and I created a group called The STEM Squad. (STEM is short for science, technology, engineering and math.) We now have over 1,000 people who identify with the gender that’s been underrepresented in science. We each share our experiences and support each other.

How do you get your best ideas?

I get my best ideas when I’m taking a break. This happens for a lot of people. It’s like getting your best ideas in the shower or on a walk or right before you fall asleep. I find that when I’m taking care of myself and getting enough rest and social time, I come up with ideas I’m really excited about. Oftentimes, I’ll have a breakthrough in planning experiments when I’m not thinking about them. It’s the same for artistic ideas of what to draw or make. I think when I let my brain rest, it does its own thing in the background and ideas just spark.

#science #scied #sciblr #art #neuroscience #sciart

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