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#been so long since i have read sci fi like that
olderthannetfic · 1 day
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You recently mentioned that you've been out since your teens. As a person who managed to overlook a shitton of signs and only realized she was bi in her early 20s, I am wondering how you realized you were bi and also how you found out bisexuality exists?
Sorry if the phrasing sounds weird, I only noticed I was bi because I stumbled over the term on tumblr in 2016 and was like "oh, that's possible??" and then my earlier identity crises during my teens due to feeling attracted to multiple genders and being like "I'm crushing on [female person]. Am I lesbian? Nah, I've also felt attracted to [male person]. But I can't be straight either because this attraction feels the exact same. Am I broken?" were suddenly resolved with the realization that bi is also an option and that I'm not broken due to zigzagging between heterosexuality and homosexuality, but rather just bisexual. In retrospect, it's absolutely ridiculous that it took me so long, considering that as a kid I had crushes on Anna and Carter and Doctor from Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town, and Vitani from Lion King 2, and back in primary school, I used to go to the kids' section in the library and look at the first pages of a sci-fi comic which had one or two women get out of a lab or space station thingy and go bathe in the nude in the first few pages. I don't remember what it was called or what it was about, but tbh I'd love to find it and actually read it properly this time lol.
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Horniness. The hornier you are, the easier it is to notice.
But also... well...
The 80s were all about combating the AIDS crisis and trying to get basic recognition of the humanity of gay people (at least in the US circles I was familiar with). The 90s saw the rise of a much more organized bi rights movement.
And then we backslid.
In the 2000s and 2010s, interest in bisexuality as a distinct thing fell off a cliff as far as I can tell. The "hey, it's not just cis gays and lesbians" energy moved first to trans topics and then to asexuality but without bisexuality joining the stodgy old guard.
The 90s were different. I was hitting my teens just as Anything That Moves hit its stride. I bought that shit at the bookstore. Yeah, this was the Bay Area, but they carried it at all the regular bookstores, not just the gay ones.
On Usenet where I spent a lot of my tween years, one of the big groups was soc.bi. I even spotted them having an in-person meetup in a restaurant in Berkeley where I happened to be having dinner with my parents. I didn't go say hi because I was like 14.
My big eureka moment, though, was on alt.tv.x-files when two groups were having a satirical argument about who enjoyed The X-Files more: people who got to lust over David Duchovny or people who got to lust over Gillian Anderson. Someone showed up and was like "Hah! I get to enjoy it twice as much as all of you! I'm bi!"
I was like "That's a thing????" I'd grown up with very liberal parents and lesbian neighbors, but like a lot of boomers, my mom was pro-gay and deeply clueless about all other queerness.
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So the answer is unsupervised internet access in an age with no algorithms plus things like bisexual magazines actually existing.
RIP Anything That Moves.
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Studio TV Solutions presents Half Life VR but the AI are Self-Aware (2020) [not a real movie]. A movie with a totally improv’d script starring a moltey crew who are sure to give you a rip-roarin’ good time!
anyway hi new au just dropped. i’m calling it HLVRAIM. it’s HLVRAI but it’s a blockbuster movie and the science team are played by actors. i have many thought on backstories n stuff that i will stick under a “read more” here otherwise this post will be hella long on people’s dashes. 👇👍 pls care about this i thought so hard and much
Half Life VR but the AI are Self-Aware was put out by Studio TV Solutions in 2020 and destroyed the box office with how fun it was and how well the cast played off one another. The cast was given a general outline for the script with the goal for it to be mostly improv.
Gordon Freeman: Mannie Flores (Dominican American, age 28, he/him) - Popular Youtuber/Twitch streamer (“Radi0Mann”). Got offered the role in HLVRAI thanks to the creative things he’s done in his Youtube/Twitch career. This is his first “official” acting gig. He was pretty starstruck at first, but then as he got to know everyone, he realized they’re all a bunch of dorks (affectionate). - Started off as a gaming channel, but then started branching off into various creative endeavors as he got more popular. He still plays games too though. - One of the things Mannie did in his internet career that hit the mainstream was when he wrote, directed, starred in, and filmed his own movie in just 2 weeks because he failed a bet with his audience. Except the movie was actually really good and funny and heartfelt (i want to say it was about “a man who got left behind on earth after everyone else was raptured because god literally forgot about him”, but i think the concept might’ve been done already). - Met Benji through HLVRAI. They hit it off and now they’re dating. They tried to keep it secret for a while but Mannie had a slip-up during a stream that sort of blew it out of the water.
Benrey: Benji Song (Japanese/Chinese, age 30, he/they) - Started off as a film sound designer in the industry, then through a series of silly willy little events—possibly even shenanigans—got roped into a role in a passion indie film that became wildly acclaimed and flung him into the spotlight. Been an actor ever since, but isn’t the most proactive in taking jobs much to their agent’s annoyance. People never know where he’ll pop up next. Sometimes Benji will sneak in sound designer work behind their agent’s back. - Honestly likes background work more because everyone’s got these expectations of them as an actor that they feel pressured to meet. But he’s also afraid of disappointing people. He’s working on it. - Met their partner Mannie through HLVRAI. Totally was a fan of his streams/videos beforehand though. When they mention that, Mannie gets flustered. - Does music as a hobby. Electronic stuff mostly—enjoys mashing together all sorts of sounds and trying to make them work. After HLVRAI, Mannie’s streams gets cool new music that’s made by somebody going by “johnwicklover1994.” wink
Harold Coomer: Hau’oli “Hau” Kaleo-Kirchhoff (Hawaiian/Samoan, age 66, he/him) - Old musician who’s supposed to be retired but once in a while will release a song or even do a concert (but nothing crazy). - Hau’oli is pronounced [hh-ow-oh-lee], but he also goes by “Hau” for the haoles’ sake. :) Kaleo is [kah-leh-oh]. also Hau’oli sounds a little bit like the name Holly so that’s a fun coincidence i didn’t realize until later. - Most of his music is chill island tunes but he has been known to dabble in rock and jazz. - Married to Mose (been together for 30 years and counting).
Bubby: Mose Kaleo-Kirchhoff (German, age 69 [nice], xe/him) - Veteran actor—been in the acting industry for a long time. One of his more well-known roles was in a popular sci-fi series. - Married to Hau’oli (they got married the moment it was legal). - i went with a name that started with “M” cuz when Gordon first asks Bubby for his name, xe’s like, “mmm Bubby.” and i headcanon it’s because Mose was about to say xir own name and had to swerve last minute and the thing his brain resorted to was Bubby lol.
Tommy Coolatta: Luis Tanglao (Filipino, age 37, he/they) - Child star who dropped out of the industry when he hit his teens and then came back years later as a comedian. He has material about how fucked up being a child star was. Will only take acting roles if it interests them. - They don’t care about how the public/media sees him. He’ll speak his mind and call out BS when he sees it. Interviewing them can be a war zone. - Hosts a popular podcast with some buds they discuss things like video games, their lives, news, etc. Just shooting the shit. - Sunkist is their actual dog and she modeled for the png photo that was used. Her name is actually Biko. She is a very good girl. <3
Darnold Pepper: Sage Haven (African American, age 40, he/her/they) - Famous cooking show host who gets offered roles in movies. Got popular by how unconventional her meals and cooking methods are and how funny he is. - Has had multiple food/cooking/baking shows over the years. Every competition-based one they’ve had focused more on good vibes, fun, and encouraging one another rather than drama. One show involved people competing to see who could make the best full course meal with the catch being they could only cook everything in a microwave. Many microwaves perished. - Changed their name to Sage Haven during their transition. They chose it because it reflects his passion and also is a play on the phrase “safe haven”, which is what she wants to be to others. - He has an adoptive daughter named Kit. She helped them think up bits and jokes. She also had to help explain what Half-Life was.
haven’t gotten to gman and forzen’s actors yet unfortunately. thinking gman’s actor could be a talk show host? because that would be funny. anyway thanks for humoring me on my shenanigans. bye
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midnightechoes · 5 months
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Five years ago today, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power premiered on Netflix. I had seen a few preview articles about it, and liked what I saw. Those articles mostly focused on She-Ra’s, Adora’s, Glimmer’s, Bow’s, and Catra’s redesigns, and I thought they were fabulous. I loved Adora’s new red jacket and bouffant hair style. Glimmer’s entire redesign was inspired, and I loved that they made Bow black so we could have more diversity in the main cast.
It was She-Ra’s and Catra’s redesigns that caught my eyes the most, though. They made Catra an actual catgirl, and not just in the anime sense where she's just a cute girl with cat ears and maybe a cat tail. She was a full-on furry. It was a brilliant design choice. Honestly it’s no wonder that so many were instantly drawn to her.
And of course, She-Ra herself. I loved her new look, and her huge ass new Sword of Protection. In fact, I loved it so much that I drew this picture of her before the show even came out:
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Then the show came out, and needless to say, I fell in love. And honestly, it changed my life.
I know, I know. That sounds very hyperbolic, and to an extent it is, but in a lot of ways, I’m absolutely serious.
Alright, I have to back up a little. Back when I was in college, and for a few years after, a couple of friends and I tried to make a webcomic called The Devil’s Gate. It was minorly successful but eventually floundered. Then I met some people and we tried to make a video game, which also failed. After those few years, I found myself on my own and trying to rework the concept of my webcomic. Making comics, creating stories, those have always been my dream, and I was desperately trying to figure out a story I could make work, something that I believed in. But it never truly got off the ground. By the end of 2015 I had given up on the comic, realizing that after working on it for years in different forms that I needed to step away from it.
I didn’t really know what to do after that. I was still doing my quick daily doodles, but I wasn’t writing, I wasn’t drawing anything of note. I felt emotionally and physically drained of my creativity. I was honestly getting to the point where I thought it might be time for me to give up on trying to be creative or making things all together.
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power came out on November 13, 2018, but despite looking forward to it, I didn’t actually watch it when it came out. It wasn’t until that weekend that I decided to check it out.
I was instantly hooked. I binged through the entire season in two days, and did plenty of crying and cheering. And then rewatched it immediately. I was in love. I was obsessed. It had been a long time since anything grabbed me like SPOP did. I loved the characters. I loved the colorful, sci-fi-fairy tale world of Etheria. I loved how unapologetically feminine it was. And most of all, I loved how queer it was.
I hadn’t done a ton of shipping before SPOP. I’ve been down bad for harlivy for what feels like my whole life, and I was angry when Mika and HG didn’t get together in Warehouse 13, but more often than not I had just been conditioned not to look for queer things in mainstream culture, and even barely in subculture.
That is to say, when I was smashed in the face with Catradora I was surprised how much I glommed onto it immediately. I was absolutely taken with Adora and Catra and their relationship. Both characters were so relatable, and despite not quite being text (although the subtext was so loud and obvious it might as well have been text), it was impossible to not read their feelings for each other as romantic.
It wasn’t just Catradora, even if that was a lot of it. Spinnerella and Netossa being canon from the start was wonderful. How much Glimmer and Bow screamed “BISEXUAL DISASTERS” from the start was adorable. Scorpia’s crush on Catra was as cute as it was sad in its one-sidedness.
I had never really been in a fandom. That is, yeah I’ve liked things, loved things even, but I never found other people to talk about it at length, never found discords just for that thing, never read or wrote fanfic, barely ever drew fanart. 
But, I watched SPOP, and then I watched it again. And then I drew Catra. And then I drew Adora. And then I drew them again. And suddenly I was on AO3, a site I never frequented, reading Catradora fics. And then I had an AO3 account. That December I participated in Catradora Week 2018 (I’d never heard of this kind of thing) and drew two pictures for it and wrote my first fanfic.
By the end of February I had drawn more in the three months since the show had premiered than I had in the previous year. I was working furiously on a long, multi-chapter fanfic, and writing more words than I had in the previous couple of years combined.
I was inspired again.
In the 18 months that SPOP ran for, I drew more than I had in years, I wrote hundreds of thousands of words. I felt so rejuvenated and happy about my creativity and free for the first time in years.
It’s hard to put into words exactly how it felt. I was so close to giving up my art and writing, which honestly, would have been giving up a part of myself. An important part of myself. It’s not overstating that SPOP saved me, or at least my creative spirit.
I also learned about the wonders of being in a fandom and fandom things like fan weeks, big bangs, zines. And I made some wonderful friends that I cherish to this day.
Even as I inevitably moved onto other hyperfixations, my love for She-Ra hasn’t diminished. Plushie Catra and Adora sit next to me on my desk every day. Catradora art still hangs on my wall.
The inspiration that SPOP ignited in me hasn’t died either. It’s carried me through a tremendous level of creativity that I’ve been riding since the premiere. It let me create a ton of fan art for SPOP, and then RWBY and then the Witch From Mercury, and I’ve written a ton of fanfics for RWBY and Supergirl. And perhaps the best, that inspiration has helped me create more OC stuff in the last couple years than I had in a long time.
I owe She-Ra and The Princesses of Power so much. I am so happy that it exists and that it happened when it did. I’ll always cherish it.
And for real, Netflix, SPOP spin-off movies WHEN?!
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chimaerakitten · 6 months
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I’ve been thinking today about off ramps in long running stories, especially book series.
By that I mean like, places where a person could stop reading and have a satisfying ending even if they’re not yet at the actual ending. (Someone tell me if there’s an established Tvtropes name for this I’m missing.)
Now, a lot of book series will have an off ramp at the end of book 1, because many first books are written without promise of a sequel. Like sure, there might be a sequel hook, but the actual second book is still up to publisher whims in most cases. So you can read All Systems Red or The Thief or A Madness of Angels and have a perfectly satisfying ambiguous-end sci-fi story or middle grade fantasy romp or inverted murder mystery revenge quest without ever picking up book 2. This is definitely an off ramp but it’s not necessarily the interesting or revealing kind because again. Whims of the publisher.
There’s also stories that have an off ramp after every installment. Leverage is famous for this—they had a philosophy of having every season be a satisfying ending, which says a lot both about the writers and about the story they were trying to tell.
But I think the most interesting ramps are the ones where by design or by circumstance, there’s a single off-ramp somewhere in the middle. One spot where unless someone tells you there’s more, you’d never be unsatisfied with leaving halfway through.
Sometimes these will be signaled in some way, where there’s a big timeskip after the off-ramp, or the series changes names or has a spin-off, or the POV changes, or after book 3 the author publishes a short story collection before hopping back in to novels, or the series suddenly jumps from being only novellas to a chunky 120k novel. (The Raksura books, Percy Jackson/HoE, Matthew Swift/Magicals Anonymous, and Murderbot all do one or more of these)
But sometimes off ramps aren’t visible in series order or marketing. Sometimes they’re organic to where a story happens to leave off at the end of an installment.
The queen’s thief has one of these after King Of Attolia. I know this was a satisfying ending because for seven years I thought it was the end. My local library didn’t have A Conspiracy of Kings, so I thought it was a trilogy. And you really can leave it there! KoA ends with Gen back in his element and recognized as king, the main internal threat to Irene neutralized, and peace on the peninsula. The Mede aren’t yet the immediate threat they are in the back half of the series, since up through KoA they’re mainly represented by the magus’s vague warnings and Nahuseresh, whom Irene thinks circles around. There’s no real reason to assume the Mede are a threat within the scope of the series. Now I absolutely prefer getting the whole story, but KoA is a damn solid off-ramp for anyone who feels like exiting there.
And that’s one kind of off ramp where the end you get is pretty similar in tone (mostly happy) to the one you get if you go on to the rest of the series. I’ve also read books where you can off ramp successfully right at the lowest point in the series and get a tragedy out of a series that ultimately ends happy, or leave at a high point and get a happier end than the main one, or exit at an ambiguous point and continue on with ambiguity. The Giver sequels make it pretty clear what happened to Jonas and Gabe at the end of the book. but you don’t have to read them or have that question answered if you want to.
I don’t have a really solid conclusion to draw here except that I think the positioning of off ramps says a lot about authors and stories, and choosing whether or not to take an off ramp says a lot about readers.
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erisweekofficial · 7 months
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SURPRISE! 🔥❤️‍🔥
We are SO excited to have chatted with Matthew Bassett, the voice actor for Eris Vanserra in the Graphic Audio Production of the ACOTAR series.
Read below for an Exclusive Q&A with Matt ❤️
How long have you been voice acting? How did you get started in the voice acting industry?
I’ve only really worked with Graphic Audio for voice acting, and I’ve been in their roster of actors since 2012. I’ve been a stage actor (with a tiny bit of film) since 2003, and I’ve taught acting in the Washington, DC, area since 2012. When I moved to the DC area after graduate school and started working around here, a number of actors I liked and admired kept mentioning this company that provided steady work on fun material - westerns, fantasy, sci-fi. The comic book adaptations sold me, I’m a huge comics fan. Since 2012, I’ve played countless varmints, monsters, cads, aliens, superheroes/villains, and the occasional good guy. Along with Eris, my larger roles have included voicing The Homelander in all six volumes of GA’s adaption of The Boys graphic novels and Cullen in the World of Lupi series.
Can you describe the process for being selected for the role of Eris (or any other character)? Were there auditions, callbacks, or specific criteria that led to your casting?
Graphic Audio works like a repertory acting company, in that after your initial audition, they maintain your contact information for project directors to pull from when needed. I’ve done a lot of work with Colleen Delaney, director of the ACOTAR adaptations, including several longer character arcs in multiple series, so she thought I would be a good fit for Eris based on similar characters (rogueish, but with hidden depth that is explored over time) I’ve played elsewhere. I’m glad she did! Eris has been really fun.
How did you prepare for the role of Eris in terms of understanding the character's backstory, motivations, and relationships with other characters?
Graphic Audio does a fantastic job of preparing actors and directing us through performances. Colleen sent each actor a brief but rich character description, often quoting directly from the novels, as well as providing a plot description for each specific novel (necessary since the turnaround from offer to recording is very short). During our sessions, Colleen tells me everything I need to know about where Eris has been since the last scene/book and how his relationships have evolved. GA directors also read in as “scene partners,” which, considering they are all performers themselves, makes it very easy to react as I imagine Eris would.
Eris is a complex and morally ambiguous character. What aspects of his personality did you find most challenging to convey in your performance, and how did you approach tackling those challenges?
His vulnerability is very challenging. Eris has had a hard life, despite growing up with every privilege, which is difficult to convey. He hates everyone to some extent, but it all comes from how much he hates his family and himself. The scenes with Morrigan in particular take a while to record - he has all the feelings when talking to her, but he can’t show any of them.
Did you have any creative input into how Eris's voice would sound, or was it a collaborative effort with the production team and director? Were there any specific discussions about the character's vocal tone or style?
Definitely collaborative! His basic vocal character is very close to mine, with the musicality dialed up a bit so he can taunt everyone so well. Where my director really helps is pushing me to find the different levels to his interactions - when he’s teasing (often), when he’s antagonizing (mostly with Cassian), and when he’s speaking from his heart (VERY rarely, usually to or involving Morrigan).
What actors (voice, stage, film, etc) have inspired you? And did any actors or other characters help inspire your performance for Eris?
Hoo boy. Too many to list! For something like Eris, a lot of inspiration from Tom HIddleston’s Loki, Tom Cruise’s Lestat de Lioncourt, and anything Jeremy Irons has ever done. Characters that you can’t take your eyes off of, even as you want to beat the crap out of them.
Were there any specific challenges or unique aspects to voicing Eris compared to other characters you've portrayed in the past? How did you adapt your voice to capture his essence?
Y’know, for all the dirtbags, murderers, literal monsters, aliens, and villains I’ve voiced, Eris is the one with the biggest heart. The biggest challenge is allowing him to have a deep want, hidden from even himself, for some tenderness, the one thing he has been denied his entire life. A character like Eris is easy to just have fun with and play as a smug prick (which he is), but he has moments of aching loneliness that make him much richer. SPOILER: One of my most recent favorite moments was playing Eris’ surprise and gratitude when receiving a “made” dagger for safekeeping. Eris can’t fathom trusting anyone else with something so powerful and important, because he simply wasn’t shown that level of trust or respect. The moment took him by such surprise. It was great to let myself feel that in the playing.
Do you have any advice for aspiring voice actors who are considering pursuing a career in Voice Acting? Any tips for breaking into the business and honing their craft?
Train your voice! I received excellent vocal training as part of my MFA (Master of Fine Arts) in Acting at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. I learned how to care for my vocal health, how to support with my breath, and how to modulate the dynamics of my voice for character differentiation as well as basic performance beats. You may not have the inclination for that level of training, but a regular voice lesson with a singing coach will give you similar techniques. In terms of breaking in: like anything of this nature, it’s relationships. Build a strong resume, but also build strong relationships with your collaborators and a reputation for reliability. Directors know that I’ll prepare so that I can make strong initial choices, but that I am more than happy to adjust my choices as needed to make the overall production its best.
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chillyfeetsteak · 4 months
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5 pieces of animation that knocked my socks off in 2023
TMNT: Mutant Mayhem
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My favorite thing about this movie is how different it looks compared to most of the things coming out of mainstream animation right now. A lot of the rules that studios like Disney have laid out about what makes a character design appealing are ignored here, and it is so refreshing. They’re also doing all kinds of cool and interesting things with the rendering style and effects animation. I loved watching this.
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off
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When I was younger I read the comic and enjoyed the movie a lot, but haven’t thought about these characters much since. I was expecting some cool animated fight scenes and a fun cast-reunion from this series, but not much more. We got that, but we also got some really thoughtful, funny, meta writing that showcases the supporting characters in a novel way.
Nimona
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I’ve cried all three times I’ve watched this movie. When I’ve talked to the people who worked on it it is so clear that it was an incredible labor of love, both to the people who will be changed by it and to animation itself. It elevates the comic in every way while still being loyal to the source material. And it is a miracle that it was finished and released at all after Disney initially axed it. It feels extremely special.
Blue Eye Samurai
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After Primal’s second season last year, I have been hungry for more adult animation that isn’t primetime sitcom. This show scratched that itch in a very satisfying way. It utilizes beautiful 3D animation that mimics traditional Japanese screen prints to great effect. Set in Edo-period Japan, it includes themes on race, gender, imperialism, colonialism, and revenge. Maya Erskine is incredible as the protagonist, Mizu. 
Scavengers Reign
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I have been following @charleshuettner on tumblr for ages, so when I saw he had a show coming out I was psyched. I have long been a fan of his design sensibilities and weird animations. Scavengers Reign exists in the overlapping space between sci-fi and horror. One of my favorite things about it is that it kept surprising me: obvious writing decisions that other shows would have made are continually waived in favor of unexpected and compelling character choices. It doesn’t talk down to the audience, and it doesn’t pull its punches. It is also absolutely beautiful.
Honorable mentions/other recommendations: Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse, Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake, Star Trek: Lower Decks (season 4), Invincible (season 2)
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dduane · 10 months
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Hi! I don’t know if you’ve seen but someone on Tor wrote a lovely post about Deep Wizardry and how great it was, and it made me remember reading it for the first time when I was an adolescent. I’ve since read it a number of times, but I won’t ever forget how I felt reading it for the first time. I was (and still am!) a voracious reader of sci-fi and fantasy, but I had never read anything like it. I felt…honored reading and experiencing it along with Nita. She said yes to something without reading the fine print as so many of us do, and where other books would have had her back out or made the stakes not quite so high you trusted us (just like the fellow wizards trusted Nita) to do the right thing even though it was an impossibly huge thing. And at the end wasn’t some horrible deus ex machina but something that fit both the character and the story. By trusting Nita with these hard choices you in turn told me as the reader that I was old enough to handle the truth of the world. Or at least some of it. And as a child who was not trusted I felt the solemnity of that. The preciousness of that. I was slightly more of an adult after reading that book than I was before it. In any case, sorry for the long ramble I just wanted to thank you for writing Deep Wizardry and all of the Young Wizard books. I’m in my 30s now but they’re still as impactful to my psyche now as it was back then. And I still feel honored to know your work.
You're really, really welcome: thanks for letting me know.
That particular set of plot issues caused a little friction between me and my editor (gods rest her), as she was concerned about the general message the plot was sending. So was I... and in almost exactly the opposite direction.
The disagreement was low-key, handled quietly over the course of a number of editor-to-writer, writer-to-editor letters; as (then as now) I dislike getting overly confrontative when there are other ways to produce the result. And DW being one of my first books, and I still then being pretty new at the publishing game, I was nervous about rocking the boat too much.
But there are some things you have to dig in your heels about. And in this case, the issue of agency was key. Because what kind of heroism is it when you're only as much a hero as other people let you be? (And my previous experience with younger medical/surgical patients in crisis situations had taught me that a whole lot of children are way more heroic than the adults around them.)
At the end of the day, you find out whether you can trust somebody by, well, trusting them. Relationships are, inherently, a proving ground (for one of the older definitions of "proof:" shoot a gun at something and see if the protection the something offers holds up under fire...or buckles). Without daring that test, the relationship in question is at a stalemate. I walked Nita into it, and sure enough, she didn't disappoint.
Anyway: I'm glad to have been of service. Thanks for the kind words about the books. :)
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beskarandblasters · 7 days
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Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Part One: How Happy Is the Blameless Vestal's Lot
Frankie Morales x F!Reader
Series Masterlist | Main Masterlist | Frankie Morales Masterlist
Summary: A story about forgetting and forgiveness.
Series warnings: switches between Frankie and Reader’s POV, reader is able-bodied but has no physical description, post Triple Frontier, angst, discussions of mental health and PTSD, sci-fi elements, smut, no use of y/n
Author’s note: This roughly follows the plot of the movie, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, but with some changes. Frankie and the Reader have some of Joel and Clementine but not all! This also takes place in Florida not Long Island! Thank you to @endlessthxxghts for beta reading!!
Chapter summary: You make a tough decision. Frankie decides to call out of work, changing the course of his life forever. He just doesn't know it yet. WC: 3.4k
Chapter warnings: drinking, mentions of a past drug addiction, mentions of food
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You
“Hi, I’m here for an appointment with Dr. Mierzwiak. One o’clock.”
You heard about this place from a friend. It looks just like a typical doctor's office, bleak and sort of depressing. A few people are sitting in the waiting room. An older woman is crying. It’s making you uncomfortable. 
“Name?” the receptionist asks, looking up from her stack of papers. You tell her your name and her facial expression shifts into a smile.
“Of course!” she says, rising from her chair and coming out from behind the desk. “Right this way.”
She leads you down a rather tight hallway, making small talk with you that you can’t be bothered to care about. You’re on a mission. 
Is it an impulsive decision? Yes. But do you care? No, you’re too hurt. 
She knocks on the door at the end of the hallway, pokes her head in, and says, “Howard? Your one o’clock is here.”
“Thanks, Mary. Send her in,” a man’s voice answers. 
Mary holds open the door for you, looking at Dr. Mierzwiak the whole time with a beaming smile on her face. He pays her no mind. 
“Mary?” he asks just before she leaves.
“Yes?” God, the way her face lights up is unbearable. It’s too happy, too hopeful. 
“Order me lunch after this, will you?”
“Roast beef sandwich with coleslaw and a rootbeer?” she says, like she has his order memorized by heart.
“Yep. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome, Howard,” she says, turning and closing the door, disappearing down the hallway. 
“How are you today?” 
“Um, I’m alright I guess.”
“Do you mind if I turn this on?” he asks, tapping on a tape recorder on his desk.
“Do what you gotta do,” you sigh. 
“Why don’t you tell me what’s going on?”
“Well, uh, I’m sort of in a rough spot with my boyfriend– Fuck, I mean ex-boyfriend.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
You shrug. You don’t know what to say. 
“So he’s your ex-boyfriend?”
“Yeah. I broke up with him a few days ago. Although he was probably too fucked up to remember.”
“That’s rough.”
“Yeah…”
“But the good news is that we can help you. Start by telling me everything about your relationship. Everything about you, about him. And we'll take it from there.”
“Okay… Well to start, he always wore this stupid fucking hat…”
Two weeks later 
Frankie
Frankie Morales wakes up not in pain for once. He stares at the ceiling, his head empty in a rare occurrence. He pulls himself out of bed, sleepily rubbing his eyes as he walks to the bathroom. He looks at himself in the mirror. There’s a scar on his cheek. He doesn’t remember how he got that. 
He gets ready for work, a boring desk job he picked up after he lost his pilot license. He showers and shaves, knicking his neck slightly and cursing when he sees blood. He puts on his dress shirt, tying a tie around his neck. He hates wearing one every day. No Standard Heating Oil hat for him today. It doesn’t go with business casual attire. He wonders why his life had to go the way it did for him to end up here. 
His memory isn’t the best. Hasn’t been that great since he started his coke addiction. He tries to make it better, doing brain teasers and shit. He doesn’t think they’re working. They just make him frustrated like most things these days. He should try cracking open a book for once. 
He glances over at the shelf in the corner of his room. A certain book catches his eye. No, not because of the title or the cover art. But because it looks brand new. How did that get there? Thinking about that for too long makes his head hurt. He grabs the book and shoves it in his bag, telling himself he’ll read it on his lunch break. 
He heads outside and notices something wrong with his car. The driver’s side door has a large dent in it. And he most definitely didn’t do that himself. 
What the fuck, he thinks to himself. A fucking hit and run. Great. Now he’ll have to pay to get this fixed. This is just his fucking luck, isn’t it? 
He opens the door and gets inside, hands squeezing into fists in his lap. He can’t do this today. He can’t go to work and be just another cog in the machine. He needs to clear his mind. He needs to think. 
He pulls out his phone and calls his supervisor, a middle-aged woman named Cynthia. He doesn't mind working with her. She brings him egg salad sandwiches every Monday after she boils her eggs for the week the night before. But today he needs to be alone. 
“Cynthia?”
“Francisco? Are you coming in today?” 
She always uses his full name.
“I’m sorry but I can’t. I’ve been glued to the toilet all night.”
“Oh no. I’m sorry to hear that. Do you think you have a virus?”
“I think it’s food poisoning. I should be better by tomorrow.”
“Okay, dear… Make sure you hydrate,” she says, “And call me if you need anything.”
“I will, Cynthia. Bye-bye,” he says, hanging up the phone and slumping into his seat, letting out a groan. 
He supposes he’ll go to the beach today. He drives himself there, taking his bag when he gets out of the car.
Perfect place to sit and read, he thinks to himself. 
It’s a cloudy day. The gentle waves crash onto the shore. He walks along the water’s edge for a while until he stops at a beach house. There doesn’t seem to be anyone home. It looks like it’s closed up for the winter season. 
But most importantly, it looks… familiar. But he doesn’t know why. 
Thinking about it for too long makes his head hurt again. 
He stops in his tracks. He gets the sense that he’s being watched. 
That doesn’t make sense. He’s the only person on the beach in the middle of a work day. But when he turns around he finds a woman. She’s impossible to miss. Her sweatshirt is the color of a fucking traffic cone. 
Fuck, she caught him staring. He turns around and keeps walking forward, searching for the perfect spot to sit and read. 
He looks over his shoulder and the woman is gone. 
-
He opts for a place less sandy to sit and read– a diner. It’s kitschy but it’s cute. This place is usually crawling with tourists but it’s the off-season and the waitress looks a little bored. 
He glances up from his book and makes eye contact with the same woman from the beach. 
Ah fuck, did she follow him here? 
She smiles at him but her attention immediately turns to the waitress. Frankie can hear what she’s ordering; a grilled cheese with tomato soup. She asks all sorts of questions, commenting on just about everything. The waitress looks annoyed but also amused in the same breath. 
Once the waitress leaves the woman glances down at her book. He tries to get a glimpse of what she’s reading but he can’t make it out. 
The waitress comes to take his order. He goes for a BLT. When she leaves he looks over at the woman again. She’s still looking at her book. Maybe she’s not interested in him. 
Whatever. 
-
After he’s finished his lunch he starts walking back to his car, carrying his book at his side. He gets the same feeling he did on the beach, that someone’s watching him. He turns around and yet again there’s the woman from before. She smiles at him and calls out, “Hi!” 
“I’m sorry?”
“What?” she calls out again, power-walking to catch up with him. “I couldn’t hear you.”
“I said I’m sorry?”
“Why are you sorry?” I just said hi.”
“I wasn’t sure if you were… talking to me.”
She looks around and says, “It would appear that way. There’s no one else here.”
“I didn’t want to assume.”
“Live dangerously. Take the leap and assume someone is talking to you by the empty beach.”
“Sorry. Hi. Hello. Hi.”
“That’s more like it.” 
Frankie gets uncomfortable, shifting his weight between his feet. She doesn’t seem to notice. Or if she does, she doesn’t comment on it. 
“Do I know you?”
“I don’t know. Do you?”
“Do you shop at Barnes and Noble?”
“Uhh-”
“That’s where I know you from!”
“Are you sure? I think I’d remember you.” 
“I’m there, man. But I’m normally hiding in the back. I’ve seen you there before. That’s definitely where I know you from…” she says, trailing off. 
Frankie doesn’t know what to say next. 
“Are you a big reader?” she asks, gesturing to the book in his hand. 
“Trying to be.” 
“What’s that you got there?”
“Slaughterhouse Five.”
“That’s one of my favorites!” 
“That’s nice.”
“That’s… nice?”
“Look, I’m just trying to be… nice.”
“Don’t you know any other adjectives?”
“I guess I don’t.” 
He stops when he gets to his car. 
“Well, this is me.” 
“It was nice meeting you,” she says. 
“I’m Frankie.” 
“Frankie,” she repeats. She tells him her name and Frankie gets the sense he knew someone with that name before. 
“I’ll see you around,” Frankie says, opening his car door and tossing the book on the passenger seat. 
“See you at Barnes and Noble!” she says cheerfully, walking away. 
He drives away, thinking about the different interactions he had with this woman today. It starts to rain. No, it starts to pour. 
And out of all the things he could spot on his drive home, he spots her on the sidewalk. Of course, it’s not hard to miss her with her bright orange sweatshirt. 
Without thinking he rolls down his window and says, “Hey! You want a ride home?” 
She stops in her tracks and turns around to face his car, contemplation on her face.
“You know what? Fuck it. I’m cold.” 
He unlocks the door and she gets inside. 
“Where do you live?” he asks. 
“You’re not a stalker or anything, right?”
“You’re the one who talked to me first,” he points out. 
“Oh, come on! That’s the oldest trick in the stalker book!”
“There’s a stalker book?”
She laughs at that. He laughs, too. It feels like his first real laugh in a while. The kind where your belly hurts after. 
“You know Sherman Drive? Right by the high school.” 
“Mhm.”
He drives her home in silence. It’s a weird mixture of uncomfortable but welcomed silence. 
“I’m sorry if I came off nutso.” 
“I didn’t think you were.”
“Well, I am, okay?” 
Before she can continue any further she points at a house on the right and says, “That’s me.”
“Thank you very much. That was nice of you.” 
And I’m the one that doesn’t know any adjectives, he thinks to himself. 
“I know,” she says, like she read his mind, “I’m full of shit.” She pauses and adds, “Anyway, I’ll see ya. Happy Valentine’s Day.” 
“Bye,” Frankie says, “I enjoyed meeting you.” Careful not to say nice to meet you. 
She turns around and says, “Do you want to come in for a drink?” 
He freezes, not knowing whether to say yes or no. She makes up her mind for him. 
“Nevermind. Sorry, that was stupid. I’m embarrassed. Good night, Frankie.” 
And she walks away.
Fuck it, Frankie says to himself. 
-
He’s standing in her apartment, looking around at all her belongings and nervously fidgeting. She’s chatting away as she prepares the drinks but he’s too nervous to pick up on what she’s saying. 
She’s got lots of books on her shelves. Of course, she does. She works at Barnes and Noble. What an obvious observation. 
“Here you go,” she says, emerging from the kitchen. “Two blue ruins.” 
Frankie’s looking at a picture frame on the wall, a photo of crows flying. 
“You like that?” she asks. 
“Very much.”
“Thanks. This guy gave it to me kinda recently. I like crows. I think I used to be a crow.” 
She hands Frankie his drink. 
“Do you believe in that kind of stuff? Reincarnation?” she asks. 
“I don’t know.” 
“Me neither. There’s an inscription on the back,” she says, taking the photo off the wall and turning it over. 
“Frost?”
“Yeah,” she says, sounding sort of impressed. “I’m not a big Frost fan by any means. But his stuff is nice, even if it’s a little elementary school… Anyway! Cheers,” she says, clinking her glass with Frankie’s. 
She takes a big gulp and Frankie takes a small sip. She flops down on the couch and takes off her shoes, commenting, “Oh that feels fucking good. Join me.” 
“I’m okay.”
“Well, at least sit.” 
Frankie gingerly sits in a chair across from the couch. Next to the chair is a side table, a stack of CDs sitting on top. 
“You still have CDs?” he asks, sipping his drink. 
“Yeah, why not? If you see something you like you can put it on. Ready for another?” she asks, holding up her glass. 
“I’m okay,” he says, thumbing through her collection of CDs.”What do you want to hear?”
“You pick it!”
“But-”
“I don’t care. Just put something good on!”
He picks out Rumors by Fleetwood Mac and hands it to her when she reenters the living room. 
“Excellent choice, Frankie!”
She pops it in the CD player and sits on the couch. They nurse their drinks in silence which she doesn’t seem to mind but it makes Frankie anxious.
“Well, I should probably get going,” he says.
“No, stay. Just for a little while?” Her eyes are so bright and hopeful.
“Okay,” he says. 
She rises from the couch and takes his drink, refilling it in the kitchen. He takes the opportunity to look around the room once more, looking at all over strange decor. Her place is full of personality, like her. 
She comes back and hands Frankie his drink, sitting on the couch again. This time she doesn’t let the silence return. 
“You know, sometimes I think I’m psychic.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. Do you believe in that stuff?”
“I don’t know. It’s hard to know.”
“I guess… But sometimes I can’t shake that feeling… You’re kind of close-mouthed, aren’t you?”
“Sorry. My life isn’t that interesting. I go to work and I come home.”
“Does that make you sad? Or anxious? I always think I’m not living my life to the fullest, you know?”
“I think about that, too.”
Silence falls in between them again. She’s looking at Frankie with a wide smile. He tries to hold eye contact but he ends up looking down at his drink again. 
“I’m sorry if I’m a lot. You’re really nice. I’m sorry I gave you shit for using that word.”
“You’re alright. It’s a little nondescript.”
“I like you. I think that’s my psychic thing telling me that. I usually never trust it. But I can tell you’re a good guy.”
“Thank you.”
“I can tell you sell yourself short.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah! There’s a lot of stuff going on in your brain. I can tell.”
“You’d be right about that,” he says, finishing his second drink.
“I’m gonna marry you! I know it!” she says suddenly. It’s a strange declaration but it sends both of them into a fit of laughter. 
“You’re very nice… God, I have to stop saying that! I can tell you’re nervous around me, though.”
“No… Yeah. Sort of… Not really.”
“You don’t need to be nervous around me, though. I like you.”
Another pause.
“So I’ve been seeing this guy.”
Frankie’s face must’ve fallen. Because she gets up and says, “You’re so sweet, Frankie!” coming over and kissing him on the cheek. 
“It’s only been a week. But I think he’s a little young for me. And kinda weird, even for me. He’s the one that gave me that crow picture.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah… Valentine’s Day is coming up… I don’t think I’ll call him. We just went to the ice skating rink the other day and laid down on the ice. I used to do that on the Charles River in Boston when I lived up north. We should go to the ice skating rink sometime.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, I’d like that,” she smiles. 
“Sounds good… But I should go now. Gotta be up early in the morning.”
“Okay,” she sighs defeatedly. 
Frankie grabs his jacket and she grabs a pen from the kitchen, taking Frankie’s right hand and writing her phone number on it.
“I would like you to call me.”
“Okay,” Frankie says. “I enjoyed meeting you.”
“You’ll definitely call me, right?” she asks, tossing the pen in the drawer.
“Yeah.”
“Okay… Good night, Frankie,” she says, walking him to the front door and giving him another kiss on the cheek. 
Frankie walks to his car but before he can get inside she opens her door and shouts, “Hey Frankie! Wish me a Happy Valentine’s Day when you call! That’d be… nice.”
And then she disappears in her house.
-
Frankie drives home in silence, replaying today’s events in his head over and over again. What a weird fucking day… But it’s a good kind of weird he decides. 
When he gets home he sits in his chair and grabs his phone, immediately dialing her phone number. She answers on the second ring. 
“What took you so long?”
“I just got home.”
“Mhm. You miss me?”
“Oddly enough I do.”
She laughs. God, she has such a beautiful laugh.
“You said I do! Guess that means we’re married now.”
“I guess so,” Frankie chuckles.
“What do you say? Honeymoon on ice tomorrow night?”
“Sounds good to me.”
“Pick me up at ten.”
“Okay.”
“Good night, Frankie.”
“Good night.”
-
He spends the next day looking forward to the date on ice. Although part of him worries about breaking into the ice skating rink after it’s closed. But she seems to do that all the time so it must be okay. 
Before he knows it he’s picking her up and driving there. She’s a mischievous thing, leading him to a door in the back they supposedly don’t lock. And she’s right. Of course, she is. 
She brings him inside, running towards the ice like a little kid. Her happiness is infectious and Frankie can’t help but smile, too. She lies on the center of the ice, motioning for Frankie to join her. He walks slowly so he doesn’t slip and lies beside her, staring up at the dimly lit lights. 
“You used to do this on the Charles River?” he asks.
“Mhm. I loved to look at the stars.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah… Do you know any constellations?”
“Sure.”
“Like what?”
“You want me to name them? Are you pop quizzing me?”
“Yup.”
He reaches his hand up in the air and draws Osidius. 
“Okay, that’s one,” she laughs.
And for what feels like hours they stay there and draw constellations in the air, imagining they’re under the night sky. But eventually, they run out of real ones and start making some up. She erupts into her classic fit of laughter. It’s like music to his ears. 
But then it’s time to go home. With damp clothes and cold cheeks, they walk back to Frankie’s car, giddy like two young kids in love. It’s the early hours of the morning and she’s feeling tired. She falls asleep in the car but Frankie doesn’t mind. She looks so peaceful when she sleeps, so cute with her jacket covering her like a blanket. 
When he pulls up to the curb in front of her house he gently caresses her cheek, trying to wake her slowly. 
“Wakey wakey,” he whispers. 
“Hey,” she says with a sleepy smile. 
“Sorry to wake you but we’re here.”
“Oh, shit,” she says, stretching in her seat, “Can I come sleep at your house? I’m really tired.” 
“Sure.”
“Okay. Let me go get my toothbrush,” she says. 
Frankie leans over and opens her door for her, watching her walk into the house. He waits for her out front, minding his business. Until a tap on his window startles him. 
It’s a man. A few years younger than him. He has a weird aloof yet piercing stare. Frankie rolls down the window and says, “Yes?”
“Can I help you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Can I help you with something?”
“…No?”
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m not really sure what you’re asking.” 
“Oh… thanks.” 
And then the man walks away, taking off down the street. 
How strange, Frankie thinks to himself. 
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Fic notifs: @beskarandblastersfics
Tag list: @missladym1981 @modernperplexity @secretelephanttattoo @fluffygoffpanda @barzalmatty @criticalarchitecture @penvisions @survivingandenduring @casa-boiardi @watermelon-1999 @jensensational71 @hellfire-state-of-mind @endlessthxxghts @jessthebaker @yorksgirl @jasminedragoon @pamasaur @pr0ximamidnight @hiddenbabynyc @freelancearsonist @pixielou5 @pedrostories @readingiskeepingmegoing
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party-lemon · 2 months
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okay so. the kiss, right? after gathering information and reading so much meta (and fanfiction, because honestly, it has helped form my opinion on this also), I've come to a very long conclusion.
let's start with the fact that crowley apparently didn't realize he was in love with aziraphale. which goes against SO much fanfic and beliefs of SO many good omens fans. as someone who started watching after season 2 came out, i didn't think much of it because i wasn't as familiar with the characters. but now i get why people might have been confused by that writing/plot choice
but it's also really interesting. crowley is, essentially, TOLD that he's in love with aziraphale. and that's fascinating because he's been on earth for 6000+ years, how does he not know that, how does he not know what love is?
but for 6000+ years, he's been surrounded by HUMAN love. human love is fleeting, it's dramatic, it's romantic, it's sexual, it's silent, it's all these different things. human love is not only confusing, but it's distinctly HUMAN. and though they've taken up many human things in their thousand year stay, aziraphale and crowley are distinctly not human. crowley watches films and listens to music, sure, but he might see human love as something fantastical. humans watch fantasy films and read sci fi books and consume media and we think "that would be cool if we could experience that." we know it's fantasy, but it would be cool if it wasn't.
i think crowley kind of viewed human love like that. he knows it exists, but also it's sort of shrouded in fantasy. he's almost...indifferent to it. like it would be cool if it happened, but it won't. i think what he knows he feels for aziraphale is a distinctly NOT human kind of love, of which i don't think we're entirely meant to understand, because they're an angel and a demon and they've been alive for millenia and have known each other as they are for 6000+ years. from what we've seen, it's this deeply burrowed fear of losing one another, this desire to simply spend time together, share things they enjoy, exchange philosophical musings, pester each other, save each other, etc, etc.
and like i said, i think they know that that's love. it's unspoken, sure, but i think they both recognize that this deep, distinctly NOT human thing is love, in their own way. they've just been careful not to show it too much because they didn't think they could (flashbacks of "you go too fast for me, crowley"). after the not-pocalypse, they seemed a little more open to showing it, especially aziraphale.
but then nina lets crowley know that, not only is this distinctly not human love (she doesn't know they're not humans, of course) showing very clearly, but it LOOKS like human love. they look and act like a human couple. and i think crowley realizes that he loves aziraphale in a very human way also, that it's not just a fantasy, it's not off limits just because they're an angel and a demon.
so then the final fifteen happens and both aziraphale and crowley are desperate, and i think crowley kisses aziraphale, mostly, as a last push to show aziraphale what he's feeling. everything beforehand was him silently screaming how he loves aziraphale and wants to be with him in their not human way and that didn't work so he decides to show him in this distinctly human way. he's saying he wants to be with him and love him like a human, and kisses him, because it's what HUMANS do.
not sure if this made sense, and decipher that scene how you will obviously, but that's what i think, after being obsessed with this show since august lol
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heliza24 · 2 months
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Being a physically disabled Dimension 20 fan breaks my heart sometimes
I’ve been thinking about this since last Wednesday’s episode when we finally got a real scene with Lydia, one of the few physically disabled characters in the entire canon of the show. It was nice, but it was really just a lore dump. An excuse for exposition. A moment for Kristen to look good by expending sympathy/pity. (I’m a little frustrated about how that interaction went down. Extending the help action was nice but patronizingly touching the neck of a full-ass adult without consent was not. It was weird and not something she would have done to a nondisabled character).
I have watched almost all of D20 (still missing a couple of seasons) and as far as I know here’s where our list of canon physically disabled characters stand: Lydia Barkrock, Jan de la Vega (who feels pretty problematic to me, maybe more on that in a later post), one of the Dwarven statues in the temple in The Seven (who is not given the dignity of being brought to life like Asha), and Pete’s coworker in TUC2 who is in exactly one episode and is so unimportant I have forgotten his name. I guess you could make an argument that Gunny is disabled, but I don't feel that Lou or Brennan really talk about him or play him through that lens. So in terms of canon physically disabled PCs-- that leaves us with 0.
We do a bit better with neurodivergent characters and characters with mental health problems; Ayda (my beloved) is very well developed and Adaine is a PC. There have been some openly neurodivergent players, like Omar and Surena, whose characters also read ND to me. But that isn’t labeled or discussed in canon, so it's hard for me to know where to class that. I am going to focus the rest of this post on physical disabilities, since that is my area of lived experience. If another fan wants to write about their perspective of neurodivergence rep in the show, I would love to hear that, and will happily amplify.
There has never been a character with a sensory disability or a limb difference or a chronic illness (not a fantasy one, a real one) on Dimension 20. The only NPCs we have are nondescript, similar wheelchair users. And there has never been a physically disabled player at the table. On the flagship show of Dropout, a company founded on diversity and inclusion. It feels extremely pointed to me.
In fact as far as I can tell there has only been one (1) physically disabled performer on any of Dropout’s shows. (Shout out to Brett, you were great on Dirty Laundry.) Obviously I haven’t seen every episode of everything they have produced. If I have missed someone, please do let me know in the comments/reblogs. But it’s a problem. And Sam Reich even agreed with this criticism when I asked him directly about.
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I do really hope they’re working on it, as Sam says. But why has it taken so long?
Dimension 20 has had trans and nonbinary and queer players. It has had players of many different races. I’m not saying that the diversity here is perfect; there should always be more POC in the dome, more queer people. We should keep pushing for that. (And we should also push for performers at the intersections of these identities!) But we’ve seen the ways this diversity has expanded and improved the different seasons, because diverse players create sensitively drawn, diverse player characters. They add details to their PC’s experiences that make them feel rich and alive. I’m thinking about each of Ally’s PC’s incredible capital G gender and Aabria “all my characters (even the stoats) are Black” and how excellent they all are. D20 would not be the show it is without this input.
And yet. And yet.
There are 1,000 interesting and complicated themes to explore around disability. Dealing with access. Dealing with ableism. Dealing with compassion and community care. Dealing with none of it and just being a cool fantasy or sci fi character that happens to be disabled. We don’t get any of it.
I watch my favorite show and I see myself in the ace rep and the female characters. But I don’t see all of me. I see a silent but ever present message: you aren’t quite welcome here.
I have this fantasy that I play in my brain sometimes that someday I’ll get to talk to Brennan in person, like maybe if I buy a VIP ticket and risk Covid to go to a live show or we run into each other on the street or something. I am able to look him in the eye and articulate why he NEEDS to include a physically disabled player in an upcoming season. I reference the ways he’s talked about inclusion and writing diversely on Adventuring Party. Maybe I hand him a handwritten letter, or hell, a printout of this post. And because he really cares about diversity and his shows and his fans he would listen to me, and cast a physically disabled performer in the next season.
But I think that might be giving that nondisabled man (whose work I adore, who I respect so much) too much credit. Because he’s had Jennifer Kretchmer, a physically disabled actual play performer, on adventuring academy to talk about access in gaming. He’s hired disability consultants. He knows about physically disabled people, enough to give us shoutouts as inconsequential npcs. And he still hasn’t thought to include us at the table. In over 20 seasons. None of that other stuff matters if we aren't given a seat at the story telling table, and the agency to craft our own narratives equal to other participants in the game.
When Lydia was telling her story in the last episode, I kept wishing for a prequel, where she is more than a plot delivery device and a kind but unimportant parent. I want to know about her adventures with her adventuring party. I want to see a talented, wheelchair-using actor play out the scene when she decides to put the gem in her chest. I want to hear about what happened after. I want to know how she survived. I want it so badly it hurts.
I am in the process of trying to find new indie actual plays that feature more disabled talent. I am learning how to GM myself so I can tell these kinds of stories. But it’s not the same as being a fan of something. Sometimes I don’t want to have to make my own representation. Sometimes I just want to turn on my favorite tv show, the one that I have cosplayed from and written metas about and loved whole heartedly, and see myself included.
If you’re another disabled or neurodivergent fan I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. If you’re not, I’d love for you to reblog this. I would love for the absence of physical disability in this show to be a topic of fandom conversation, at the very least.
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My Official Wish AU Title: 🌟🌟🌟
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Not sure if this will be an entire full length story or just bits of ideas to accumulate yet. It'll depend how much people actually like the idea here. And I need some pics of Valentino's concept so I can come up with a better redesign idea for him, I just keep losing the post that had it. 😅 But, as for the story plot, I can give ya a synopsis: *clears throat*
In the beautiful kingdom of Rosas, the citizens happily live their lives without a care in the world. Thanks to their wonderful and magical rulers; King Magnifico and Queen Amaya, together they created a place where everyone's wishes can come true..... Or so they thought.
Behind the castle doors, the two rulers (and their proud lynx, ) have been taking control of people's wishes, choosing who really deserves happiness or misery. They feed on the hopes and dreams of their citizens, quietly gaining power that will soon become insufficient. Magnifico's true goal is to harness infinite power. To rule with such cosmic force that no one would dare defy him. To catch a Star.
Not all the citizens had the wool over their eyes, as a small group of them quietly fled from Rosas into what was nicknamed "The Enchanted Forest". There the people made their own lives away from Magnifico and his dangerous magic, but they know they could only hide for so long.
Asha, a young woman of 17 who grows restless in the village and wants to venture back out into the world, but still has fear of Magnifico finding her family. Especially with her saba, Sabino growing weaker everyday as a result of losing his wish.
So in an act of desperation, she wishes upon a star for a miracle, for her family and people to restore what was taken from them. Her wish is granted, but not in the way she ever imagined: A Star comes down to Earth, taking the form of an excited, shape shifting, glowing, teenage boy. Together, the duo (along with Asha's loveable and loyal pet goat, Valentino) travel to Rosas to restore the wishes to their rightful places. Only Star has no idea what he's doing....but he'll try. 😅
Its A bit long, and its inspired by the bits of the original movie we did get to see. I thought the hidden village idea was an intriguing idea, really. So if I did do a full on rewrite, I'd include those deleted scenes as sort of bridges to other scenes I write and add interactive fun.
My last addition for now is that Star and Asha's dynamic would be A little more akin to Hercules and Meg, since he's heard stories about Greek heroes and such that humans have recorded in books. Asha is a little more down to earth and Star helps her see the good and magic still in the world despite the looming threat.
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That's all I got for now, and I hope its good. Fantasy is not my strongest thing to write, I'm really into Sci-fi/Superhero, p. But I'm willing to try new things. Its no "Kingdom of Wishes" level of excellence, but if this grows some more, I'd be happy about that and appreciate it.
Thanks so much for reading this!
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Dick Prime
Warnings: (18+ only minors DNI), NSFW, 5k word count, fem reader, self- insert OC character, daddy kink, p in v, rick prime with feelings, big dick Rick, degradation a bit, rough sex, praise kink, marking kink, choking, orgasms, cream-pie, fingering, nipple play, manhandling, calling him God, age gap I guess
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Hi guys, this is an excerpt chapter from a Rick Sanchez fan fic I have been working on - thought I'd share a little taste on here and see if I could get any feedback. This chapter in particular follows my self-insert, Aurora as she is kidnapped by Rick Prime - enjoy :) If y'all would like me to post and share my other chapters pls reblog or comment 💜
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 I woke up in a unfamiliar place٫ my head pounding viscously as my eyes struggled to adjust to the room around me. This place kind of looked like some sort of space motel room٫ but I couldn't remember a thing from the last 12 drunken hours of my life - I clearly needed to dial back my drinking or just not let Rick bet he can out drink me. I’ve never won that challenge. He really does have the hardest working liver in the universe, that's for damn sure. I wondered if he was feeling the same٫ but I doubted he was even remotely feeling hungover since he was used to getting black-out drunk on the regular. 
I flicked my wrist out٫ wanting to portal into Rick’s shoddy bedroom where I could crawl into his sad excuse of a bed (which was really just a small sized cot) with him so that he could hold me tightly while we slept. That plan was quickly cut as I noticed my portal bracelet was no longer on my wrist and it was no where to be found anywhere near me - what the fuck was going on?
Then I realized where I was - the realization smacking me hard in the face like a fucking freight train. The elaborate sci-fi technical patterns covering every square inch of this room should have been a dead give away from the second I laid eyes on it٫ but I was obviously still too inebriated to use my cognitive functions correctly. I was in what I was 95% sure was Rick Prime’s lair - that fucking cocksucker. How had he managed to find me? Much less find a way to lure me back to where he's been hiding this whole time.
As I was taking in every inch of the room in search of any kind of weapon, maybe even some sort of weird sci-fi button on a wall that I could press and magically find a way out of here under Prime’s nose, I suddenly heard a voice behind me٫ the sound striking me so hard I jumped.
“Great you’re awake٫ care to join me for breakfast?” Prime’s voice asked as he nonchalantly yet menacingly stood in the doorway of the room٫ his shoulder leaning up against the doorframe.
“Oh fuck you!” I spit٫ words coming out of my mouth coated in venom like I was a snake ready to strike.
“Like you have a choice. It’s funny that you thought you did. Let's get something straight٫ you’re mine now٫ so it's best you learn early that you WILL do as I say or there will be consequences.”
“What do you even want from me? Wasn’t killing Diane enough for you?”
“Of course it wasn't٫ but you're not here so I can kill you unfortunately. You’re here because do you know how rare you are?” He paused٫ walking forward into the room causing me to back up back onto the bed like a frightened little mouse. Damn, his presence was so intense. He started pacing a bit٫ back and forth٫ arms crossed across his chest as he did so. He turned to me and looked me directly into my eyes before he started speaking again.
“Every conceivable Rick in the universe would happily serve their own balls on a platter for a little taste of what you have to offer - this makes you especially interesting to me. Not only are you one sexy piece of ass٫ you are a Rick’s gateway to so much unlocked potential.”
“Excuse me?” 
“If ‘wife guy’ was smart he would have stolen your research from you a long time ago. Do you know how long it took for me to find you? It makes me horny just thinking about all that untapped knowledge you have floating around in that brain of yours.”
 “Anything my Rick wanted from me he got because he asked for it. Sorry٫ but I don’t barter for things I created especially not to a sci-fi douchebag like you.”
“No one said anything about bartering. I’m simply going to take what I need via brain scan and then you’re going to put out like a good little girl because when in Rome.”
“My Rick is going to kill you ya know? You’ve taken enough from him and he isn’t going to let you take me too.”
“I’ve avoided him this long and clearly he hasn't learned his lesson yet. I’ve recreated the omega device and this time it can fire more than once٫ I’ll wipe out his entire family line he comes anywhere close to me. I’d kill you too if you weren't so valuable - you should be lucky that a guy like me finds any interest in anyone but himself.”
“You might think that you have me right where you want me٫ but I’m gonna enjoy watching my Rick kill you when he finds you and if you’re lucky maybe we’ll have sex next to your corpse.” I said٫ my words carrying through the air like poison coursing through my vascular system.
It probably wasn’t in my best interest to be taunting Prime the way I was٫ but I refused to let this son of a bitch have it easy especially when it was his dumb ass decision to kidnap me. He knew my Rick was looking for him and he knew he was getting close hence why he even bothered making such an elaborate take on his own already ‘overkill’ device. All that brain and this motherfucker couldn’t grasp the fact that killing peoples’ loved ones doesn’t really warrant being left alone. 
“You think I couldn’t just take you right here if I wanted to? I’d bend you over that table and destroy that tight little pussy of yours and I just might considering you have no idea when to shut that bitch mouth of yours.” He grabbed me by the throat as he said that٫ squeezing the sides of my neck hard as he pulled me up and close to him. If I didn’t hate this Rick - I would have thought this interaction was so hot٫ too bad it was Prime.
“I’d like to see you try.” I said before spitting in his face٫ which in hindsight might have been a mistake٫ but it was too late to take it back.
Prime still had me by the neck٫ but he sighed heavily before shoving me onto the floor - catching myself on my hands before I hit the ground. 
“Don’t even bother trying to use any of your cybernetics - I put a lock on all of your tech and good luck putting up much of a fight without it.” 
---------- 2 weeks later —--------
   Over the few weeks that I had been here٫ regardless of how much of an asshole Prime was٫ no matter what it was that I needed or asked (within reason) for he was quick to give it to me. He didn’t appreciate any of my back talk and if I overstepped too far he did with hold things from me as a punishment٫ but for the most part it seemed like his intentions with me weren’t entirely evil - something I not only found puzzling٫ but very difficult to believe was actually genuine.
I pushed the limits of what he would allow a little bit further everyday٫ hoping to gain his trust so that I would be able to either escape or find someway to get a message to my Rick. I still wasn't exactly sure where we even were in relation to the universe - the curve - or maybe we were outside it? It was hard to know with the very little freedom within this elaborate sci-fi base that I was allowed. The most I could do while here was think - run through multiple plans and assess the probability of success rate to each plan I thought of. Most٫ if not every٫ plan I had managed to conjure up was far from impervious to any snags or complete failure given then sheer innate ability of Rick Prime to always somehow be 10 steps ahead. 
Today felt different though٫ I couldn't explain it٫ but as I sat across from him eating the breakfast that he had prepared for me - I could feel a different kind of tension in the air.
“Do you want to know why exactly you’re so special٫ Aurora?”
“I’m sure you’re gonna tell me even if I say no, so why the hell not?”
I was pushing around my eggs with my fork now٫ waiting patiently for his response. He kept telling me how ‘rare’ and ‘special’ I was to his grand design٫ but no matter how often he brought this up (which felt like constantly)٫ he refused to tell me how and why. Until now that is٫ which also struck me as weird.
“In order for you to even exist at all٫ Diane had to die you know? You’re familiar with the big bang I assume?”
“Nah٫ I just have a PhD in Quantum Physics for absolutely no reason at all - in fact٫ I just printed it off the internet completely fabricated credentials.” I said٫ the sarcasm clear in my tone as I spoke - I ran the risk of him punishing me for doing so٫ but he was usually lenient with my sarcasm since it matched his overt cynicism. It was my sharp tongue for disrespect and foul insults that really got under his skin.
“Well when I created the omega device to wipe out Diane٫ I didn't think to solve for any kinds of ripple effect that it might cause.”
“Meaning what exactly?”
“Well not completely unlike the big bang - the destruction of Diane’s life across infinity somehow resulted in the cataclysm that created X-258.”
“You’re saying you're responsible for me even existing? How is that even possible? Rapid succession in an inflationary epoch?”
“Precisely - well said. This means that without my omega device٫ you wouldn’t exist. How do you think ‘'wife guy” is going to react when he finds out that I literally made his new slam piece?”
“If you’re even telling the truth٫ which I suppose it is possible therefore also equally not possible by association. I guess given the rightly distribution of a negligible density gradient in order to deter the collapse into just a black hole and taking into consideration cosmic acceleration - I can’t disprove your theory٫ but that doesn’t mean you aren’t just bullshitting me right now.”
“As much as I love bullshitting and torturing other Rick’s for my own amusement٫ this is as real as real gets Aurora. You are only here because Diane had to die. You’re welcome and I’ll be accepting all forms of payment as a thank you٫ especially sexual favors.” 
“Wow٫ so my whole life is a lie - imagine that.” 
“You don’t seem too deeply affected by this revelation?”
“Did you expect me to lose my mind over a random occurring cosmological event? There was no way you knew your elimination of Diane would result in the formation of a universe that randomly produced me - so you did something by accident which is literally how 80% of all scientific findings usually occur. You aren’t special or interesting just because you managed to create a random event in spacetime - I do appreciate your massive need to milk your ego about it though.” 
“Spoken like a true Rick - which you are as far as I’m concerned. The most intriguing out of any possible iteration.”
“So what exactly about that makes me so valuable to you?”
“Other than the fact that ‘'wife guy” loves you٫ according to my advanced research using your brain scans and blood and tissue samples٫ I should be able use both to develop the infinite Rick serum which would make me immortal. I’m not referencing no low grade cybernetic٫ tech bullshit either. I’m talking real٫ invincible immortality. An actual God with the power to create and destroy whatever and whoever I want - 100% unstoppable.”
“Wow٫ who could have possibly guessed that the power hungry evil٫ emo٫ sci-fi Rick with a nondescript haircut would want something so nuanced and lame? If you’re immortal that kind of takes away from the pay off does it not? Not that doing anything honorably is a concern of yours of course.”
“So what do you think about giving your input on something for me?”
“Once again - why bother even asking if you’re just going to make me do it anyways?”
“I guess to give you the illusion of free will or just maybe I kind of like you - don’t get a big head about it though I would still kill you without a second thought if I ever needed to.” 
“Okay what exactly am I giving my input on?”
“I feel it may be best to just show you - meet me in the lab after you’ve finished your breakfast. Don’t keep me waiting long, it won’t end well for you.”
I rolled my eyes at his threatening tone as he got up from the table and left the room, I don’t know why I was so attracted to Prime the way I was - especially after what he did to my Rick, but I came to the ultimate conclusion that it was because him and my Rick were indeed so similar. The two Rickest Ricks in all of the infinite number of Rick’s that existed - the only two Rick’s to actually invent portal travel. In a way, my Rick only existed the way he did because of Prime’s destruction of his simple, domestic life. Prime was literally just my Rick without any sense of moral obligation and no matter how much I tried to convince myself that this fucker was bad and that I needed to distance myself - I simply couldn’t. I felt like my dna was so entangled up in having love for Rick that despite Prime’s obvious evil, I still loved him for simply just being a version of Rick. How fucked was that? Jesus fucking Christ - I needed out of here and soon before I really fucked up.
I finished my breakfast and headed out of the kitchen and into Prime’s elaborate sci-fi laboratory - this guy never did anything subtle that was for fucking sure and his attention to detail was absolutely infallible. He had something pulled up on the screen above where he was sitting and the closer I got, the more my eyes focused on the image. It was an image of me with a younger Rick, my Rick and Birdperson when we were together as freedom fighters on Glap-Flaps Third Moon. The Battle of Blood Ridge - this image was obviously a snapshot taken from my mind when Prime brain scanned me, but I didn’t really understand its significance to him. But, I’m sure he was going to tell me even if I didn’t exactly care to know.
“Blood Ridge?” I questioned, my arms crossed across my chest as I approached his sitting form and stood beside him to wait for his response.
“Seems like Nietzsche wasn’t totally blowing smoke out of his ass when he said that whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster -”
“And if you gaze long enough into the abyss, the abyss will gaze back at you. What does Nietzsche have to do with Blood Ridge?” I cut him off by finishing the Friedrich Nietzsche quote he was referring to.
“Well I’m so glad you asked Aurora…” He started as he pulled up a replay of Rick and I’s interaction with Birdperson after the Battle had been won. I watched the playback intently, hoping to see something within my own memory that maybe I hadn’t noticed before in order to try to put together a theory of where exactly Prime was going with this. 
-Playback from ‘Aurora’s Memory’ initiated-
Memory Rick: “Damn that shit was cash.”
Bird Person: “It was extremely bad ass. The Battle of Blood Ridge is over. The Federation lost. I am in your debt.”
Memory Rick: “Come with us.”
Bird Person: “To somewhere…nearby?”
Memory Rick: “Anywhere. E-Everywhere.”
Bird Person: “Rick, Aurora, I don't expect you guys to keep fighting, but this war is…”
Aurora: “Far from over…we know.”
Memory Rick: “Dude, we share this with almost nobody, but we could take you right now to this same battlefield, in a universe where we lost, or another where we won, or another where the war never even happened. All equally real, all equally unreal. None of it matters.”
Bird Person: “Then why did you help?”
Memory Rick: “Because I respect you. And I wanted you to know you could respect me.”
Bird Person: “Even though nothing matters?”
Memory Rick: “Okay. You matter... to me.”
Bird Person: “Uh, the relationship that we have…”
Memory Rick: “I NEVER used that word!”
Bird Person: “... is not worth my integrity…”
Memory Rick: “Oh, my God. It's not a complicated transaction, my man. "Would you like to join me doing awesome shit that matters?" "No, I would not. I would rather be a judgmental dork." Case closed. Really no need to drag it out.”
Bird Person: “If you need me, use the beacon.”
Memory Rick: “Yeah, I'm gonna use that beacon a lot. I hope... hope I don't wear it out. Come on Aurora, lets get the fuck out of here.”
—- Playback Finalized —--
“Okay, so what exactly does my memory of Bird Person rejecting my Rick have anything to do with you?”
“Seems allegorical in relation to how Diane died don’t you think? His rejection of me, Bird Person’s rejection of him, you either die a hero or see yourself live long enough to become the villain.” 
“Are you trying to suggest to me that my Rick has essentially turned into you? I hope you’re not because that would be absolutely nonsensical.”
“You see Aurora, your Rick isn’t all he’s cracked up to be either. He’s murdered hundreds if not thousands of innocent Ricks, he’s manipulated a version of our adult daughter to get a divorce, he sells weapons to hit men and other criminals, he Cronenberged my original dimension and left my daughter, my granddaughter and my Jerry behind to rot in a world that he ruined, he exploited and threatened to destroy a microverse that he created to control his fucking car, and the worst possible one he trapped all the people in his original reality into an endless mental time loop while their bodies still grew old. Your Rick isn’t and never was the saint you believe him to be - so why hate me for something so small in the grand scheme of things?”
“You’re literally the reason why he did most of that. I don’t think my Rick is a saint, I think he’s a sad, broken man who is trying his best to continue on in his life after losing the very thing he used to live for. What makes my Rick so different from you is his capability to feel and connect to human emotion - his wild callousness is just a front so he doesn’t have to feel the pain his life radiates. He has surpassed you in so many ways, but he will NEVER be the monster you are because he is capable of changing. You know nothing about him and even sitting here under the guise that you do is ridiculous. You will never be him and he will NEVER be you.”
“You’d defend him even if he was the one who killed your husband wouldn’t you?”
“My husband died because you killed Diane - because you accidentally created X-258 where my husband was killed in a freak fucking accident. To even insinuate such an asinine thought is in bad taste even for you. If anything, you’d be indirectly responsible for the death of my husband, big fucking shocker there.” 
“How would your husband feel if he knew you gave up on him to be with Rick?”
“My husband has been gone for 25 years, Prime and I loved him dearly when he was alive, but Rick, my Rick, is the love of my life. I don’t have to explain ‘love’ to you especially because you are literally incapable of ever fucking getting it. Killing your wife across infinity because some alternate versions of yourself pissed you off? The mother of your daughter - you have some fucking nerve.”
I was angry now, my words slicing into Prime’s direction like a knife and he was clearly getting upset with my tone towards him. I don’t know exactly what his end goal with me was - he had my blood and tissue samples, he had my brain scans. Why not just let me go or kill me if he got what he had said he wanted? Then it hit me. Prime was in love with me. A man that I had labeled as so incapable of feeling had some sort of feelings for me - what a fucking mind fuck that was to take in. I had made myself speechless as I waited patiently for him to say something to either confirm or deny my theory, but he said nothing so I spoke once more.
“You love me, don’t you? You have feelings for me.”
His silence after I said that was deafening and he quickly stood up from his place in his chair to grab my face in his hands roughly and smash his lips to mine. I knew it. He kissed me so roughly that I barely even had time to react, but once I was finally able to comprehend what was happening, I deepened the kiss. I was actually enjoying this despite how fucking wrong my moral compass knew that it was. He pulled away from me gently, his blue eyes looking me dead in mine before he said in a very demanding, yet hot, tone;
“Strip for me.”
And I did exactly as I was told.
—----------
 His hand bent around the curvature of my neck brushing it softly as he continued to walk around me٫ his other hand finding my breasts and taking a nipple into his free hand subtly. He rubbed the nub between his thumb and forefinger as he continued to eye me up and down with an obvious hunger in his eyes٫ his other hand snaking down my body slowly till it found rest on my hip gently pulling me to him as he did so. 
“You are so beautiful.” He whispered٫ his eyes glued to my chest as he spoke eloquently.
He was still fully clothed٫ but I was determined to change that - I reached forward and begun unzipping his jacket٫ him allowing it to fall to the floor as I pushed it off his shoulders. I found the hem of his long sleeve next٫ my hands creeping slowly underneath to touch his warm skin and my god his skin felt like I was touching pure electricity the more my fingers danced over his adorable blue happy trail to find a home on his belt buckle. I began undoing it roughly٫ pulling his belt through the loops in his jeans and throwing it elsewhere. I unbuttoned his jeans with my hands٫ quickly slipping my fingers under the waistband of his boxers where I longed to have his dick pressed up against any part of me.
I smirked up at him as I pulled him even closer to my naked body٫ his hands wrapping around me in all the right ways as I felt his extremely hard member pressing into one my thighs now. The length and the girth simply drove me insane as I continued to work diligently to undress him. He suddenly grabbed the back of my head with enough force to crash my lips to his٫ our lips melding together perfectly and I couldn’t help٫ but let out a small moan in favor of his wicked foreplay. The more he touched and teased me٫ the more I desperately wanted to beg him to just destroy me right there. I was so fucked. Fucking Prime. What was I doing? At this point I was too far gone to care - I wanted him and I wanted him BAD.
  I pushed his black jeans down past his jutted hip-bones٫ them falling down his tall stature to pool at his feet before he stepped out of them and led me back up against the wall. His fingers left my breasts٫ trailing down until they reached the very top of my mound - him allowing a single digit to pass between my folds to feel the abundance of wetness that I had increasing with each moment between my legs. 
“So wet for me already٫ such a horny girl for any Rick aren’t you?” He licked his lips as he pulled away from mine to speak٫ him looking me dead in the eyes as he said that - the lust obvious in his gorgeous icy blue eyes. 
“You have no idea how much I long for you to absolutely destroy me.” I whispered back٫ my fingers grappling the side of his boxers before pushing them off of him in one swift motion that now left him vulnerable and naked in front of me like I had been this entire time and ugh was it so worth the wait. 
Prime had so many scars littering his whole body٫ adding a sense of mystery and a hot toughness to his already sexy body. I felt guilty that I was about to do this٫ but he was still a Rick whether he was evil or not and holy fuck did his extreme callousness and his “I don’t give a single fuck” attitude turn me on even more. I was like putty in Prime’s hands right now and he was loving it. 
“I think I have a pretty good concept٫ but you have no idea how fucking gorgeous you are. If I could٫ I would put you on display so that everyone could see me destroy a perfect little pussy like yours. Holy fuck.” 
“You want to fuck me in front of spectators?”
“I want them to revel in jealousy over how I get to be buried in a perfect little thing like you.”
“They should be jealous of me too٫ getting to be a good little cock sleeve for your perfect and massive cock. I love the way you feel pressed against my thigh right now٫ I almost can’t fucking take it.” I whispered in his ear٫ rolling my hips so that I brushed myself up against his rock hard penis - it almost jumping after me over the sudden sensation. 
“Mmm what a good girl٫ stroking daddy Prime’s ego. I think it's high time I reward you for such good and filthy behavior.” 
He grabbed me harshly by the hips and lifted me till I was straddling his waist with my back up against the wall as he placed himself at my entrance. He parted me gently with the head of his dick before slamming into me so aggressively that I cried out as I felt him ram into my cervix hard as he stroked my g-spot on the way there.
“Oh my god.” I panted٫ holding on to him with a death grip around his neck and my fingers tangling in his powder blue hair as he continued to thrust up into me skillfully. 
“That’s right darling٫ I am your god.” He said٫ his lips attacking my neck and jawline with an abundance of sloppy kisses - him using his teeth to mark me however he wanted. The sweet feeling of the slight pain driving me crazy as I held onto him tighter - slowly rocking my hips in tandem with his getting a small moan from him in return as I bounced on his cock dexterously.
“It’s like universe literally created you just for me٫ the way your pussy just grips the absolute fuck out of my dick. Fuuck Aurora٫ no fucking wonder why “wife guy” is so obsessed with you٫ you take dick like a fucking champ.” 
“It's not hard when Rick’s have such dynamite dick game - I’ve never ever been disappointed by a Rick sexually.” I purred٫ gripping tufts of his hair and pulling hard enough to hear him moan against my skin. 
“Is that so, mmm you were so worth the wait.”
“I want you to come in me so hard that you see fucking stars, baby.” I growled in his ear as he continued to fuck me hard up against the wall, one of arms on the side of me bracing himself and his other hand was wrapped around my neck holding me to the wall tightly. I hadn’t noticed before now, but his ‘6,5” frame had me up in the air so high, holy shit - I felt like I was practically floating off of the ground at this moment. Damn the sex was good. 
He soon moved his arm against the wall in order to place his long, lanky fingers on my clit, abusing the nub gently as he continued to go in and out of me. He was watching his dick as he pumped his hips, a smirk plastered on his handsome face as he was enjoying watching his dick disappear inside of me with each thrust. I was moaning loudly now, thankful that we were basically in the middle of nowhere in space because I could have probably awoken a whole cemetery.
“That’s it baby, come for me.”
I could feel that he was close and my eyesight was starting to get blurry the faster his fingers worked to bring me closer to my own climax. 
“Oh my god - Prime - I’m - ahhhhhh Rick.” I moaned out as he pushed me over the edge, my pussy pulsating around his dick as he also released into me, burying his face into my shoulder as we rode out the highs of our climaxes together. Both of us sweaty messes as we tried diligently to try and catch our breaths from that  absolutely intense workout we had just finished.
Fuck. I seriously just fucked Rick Prime. Fuck. 
What had I done?
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aaronsrpgs · 9 months
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"Ancient World Fantasy" Reading List
(A little context to start. If you just want book recs, scroll on down to the first image.)
As I’ve been getting into RuneQuest (Wikipedia link), one striking component of the culture and community surrounding the game is that they’re very into the lore of its fictional world, Glorantha. I’m saying this as a comparison to a game like D&D, where the game is spread across tons of settings with no real sense of obligation to keep things in line with earlier editions.
Glorantha’s canon and worldbuilding has been going on since it was published in 1978 without, as far as I can tell, any big reboots. Which means that, unlike D&D, where people are bringing in all kinds of influences and doing direct adaptions of Jane Austen books and whatever, the RuneQuest game remains pretty tightly tied to the original setting. (There have been some exceptions. But not many!)
But since I run games for people who have ADHD or aren’t interested in studying up, I’ve been looking at all kinds of inspiration to drop into the game. Here are 20 novels that are roughly “ancient world” or “Bronze Age” like RuneQuest and deal with people interacting with strange gods, tight communities, and a world without fast overland travel or transferal of information.
I’m presenting them alphabetically by author’s last name.
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The Brazen Gambit, Cinnabar Shadows, The Rise and Fall of a Dragon King by Lynn Abbey
I'm sorry for starting this post off with licensed RPG novels, but these are good! And I don't mean "good for licensed RPG novels." I've read tons of them, and most are so bad! But these are actually fun. Good character development in a sword-and-sorcery world. It's also an ecological apocalypse world, with godlike beings oppressing common folks, leading to a lack of technological advancement and knowledge of the past.
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The Long Ships by Frans G. Bentsson
Written in the 1940s as a series of novellas, these stories take you on a tour of the Viking-era world, from Europe to the Middle East and beyond. Like a bunch of books on this list, this places them post-Bronze Age, so they're not officially "ancient world." But it gives a big spread of cultures, from the more clan-based Vikings to the bustling metropolises of Turkey. And it doesn't place any of them on any kind of linear advancement scale or whatever other gross way people "rate" cultures.
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Tales of Nevèrÿon and Neveryóna by Samuel R. Delany
The master of weird sci-fi and gay historical novels, Chip Delany also wrote a fantasy epic. And it rules! Set on pre-historical(ish) Earth, these books describe the stories that maybe inform the myths we tell today? Dragons and slave revolts! A sort of "What if Game of Thrones was good?" series. Lots of good stuff about how people learn and how understanding expands.
I'm not listing the third book only because it's also a historical look at New York during the AIDS epidemic. It's an amazing book! But it strays from the "ancient world" aesthetic.
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Baudolino by Umberto Eco
Another novel expressly set after the Bronze Age (this one starts in the 12th century). BUT it's about Medieval people's interaction with the knowledge they inherited from the past, specifically the myth of Prester John and the works of Herodotus.
I think I keep putting books like this on the list because roleplaying in a fantastical ancient world is not too far off from how Medieval people might have worshipped and referenced works from ancient Rome and non-European places.
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Black Leopard, Red Wolf and Moon Witch, Spider King by Marlon James
One of our best living writers! These are fantasy novels expressly set in a fantastical version of ancient/Medieval Africa. The books explore the same events from multiple points of view and are full of cool magic, awesome spirit combat, and a vast number of places and cultures that actively deconstructs most games's portrayal of fantasy Africa as a homogeneous place.
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The Wake by Paul Kingsnorth
I think Kingsnorth has been outted as a sort of eco-fascist? I totally believe it, so feel free to skip this one. It's a historical novel set in England in 1066, as the Normans invade from France. It's written in a faux Middle English language and focuses on the lower classes and how they try to resist the invasion. A good reminder that "Medieval culture" (and especially the Renaissance as a time that "culture advanced") is often based on certain classes of society, such as rich people and/or men.
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Iceland's Bell by Halldór Laxness
Speaking of how class intersects with technological advancement, this book is set in the 18th century, but it focuses on Iceland at a time when it was ruled by Denmark, and the lower classes there were under an enforced poverty. It's a book about how a rich Icelander was trying to recover the stories of his people in order to create a sense of national identity and resistance. But it's also a story about how a destitute man acts like a total weirdo when he's not allowed to fish in his own waters and is cut off from understanding his place in history.
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The Raven Tower by Anne Leckie
A big part of RuneQuest is people interacting with and enacting their gods. That's what this book is about! And it's about the strange vertigo that comes to people when they try to interact with the impossible timelines that gods exist on. Very good stuff.
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Night's Master and Death's Master by Tanith Lee
Ostensibly set on Earth back when it was flat and demons roamed the world, which is basically RuneQuest. Sort of like a series of hornier, gay bibles? With lots of gender fuckery, fun sex, and cool monsters.
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Circe by Madeline Miller
The story of the witch from The Odyssey, told from her point of view. Beautiful prose, tragic and beautiful characters, and a great share of mythical strangeness. Perfect if you want to learn how to run NPCs that are adversaries without being shallowly evil.
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Ronia, the Robber's Daughter by Astrid Lindgren
Semi-Medieval again, but low class and vague enough that it could exist throughout ancient history. The daughter of a robber grows up in a tower full of robbers and generally has a wonderful time. Lots of weird monsters live in the woods, and there's a great starcrossed romance with someone from a rival robber gang. Perfect inspiration if you're running some cattle-raiding runs in RuneQuest; this is how to make robbers fun and sympathetic.
Read the book, watch the 1984 Swedish movie (which includes a great comedic scene of full-frontal dudity), and then watch the Studio Ghibli series.
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A Stranger in Olondria and The Winged Histories by Sofia Samatar
Set in a world of pepper farmers and religious fanatics who worship a mysterious inscribed stone, these books do a great job of showing how people might interact with religion, rival cults, and mystery rites. It also portrays literacy and learning to read in places where it's gated behind social gatekeeping. And once again, the prose is beautiful.
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The Palm-Wine Drinkard by Amos Tutuola
The first African novel published in English outside of Africa, The Palm-Wine Drinkard is a funny, hallucinogenic story about getting drunk, stumbling through weird landscapes, and encountering fantastical spirits and people.
Tutuola also wrote My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, the inspiration for the famous(?) David Byrne/Brian Eno album. I haven't read it yet, but I'm keeping an eye out!
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The Green Pearl by Jack Vance
This is a sequel to Lyonesse, which I haven't read because I love staring in the middle of things. Set around a mythical British Isles when Atlantis was still above the sea and part of the group of islands. Some great wizard shit, warring clans, romance, and a wizard whose name is fucking Shimrod (in case you need more convincing).
Those are my 20 novel recommendations! I'm gonna come back to add some nonfiction, comics, and myth resources for running games in fantastical ancient worlds. You can read SpeedRune, my ancient fantasy game, here.
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thekristen999 · 2 months
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Seven Sentence Sunday
I was on a roll today and felt like sharing early. Been a long time since I've had this feeling. :) Tomorrow's going to be a reading day, so I thought I'd share a snippet from my Sci-Fi of Doom fic.
..
The air felt different, recycled, tinged with metal and something Buck couldn't place. It was freezing, like there was no source of heat. His breath visible with every exhalation.
One thing was certain, they were inside a large underground structure with hallways leading to the east and west.
“Captain, maybe we should head back,” Chim said, shining his flashlight at the floor.
Buck pulled out his own light, scanning the ground, his lip parting in surprise. “Why are there bullets everywhere?”
Eddie put his medical bag down, crouching to study one. “They’re shell casings. Looks like an automatic rifle.” He bit his lip. “There’s hundreds of them.”
Buck swallowed past a large lump in the back of his throat. He was a first responder, having witnessed numerous accident scenes and his fair share of scary situations. But this was different. All the hair along the back of his neck stood on end, a queasy feeling of dread lodging in his stomach. 
He took a step back, looking from Eddie’s grim expression to the worried faces of his teammates, his gaze settling on Bobby, who was obviously struggling with the next decision. 
...
no pressure tagging : @mellaithwen @homerforsure @renecdote @eddiebabygirldiaz @shyaudacity @diazsdimples @exhuastedpigeon @hippolotamus @sherlockcrossing @spaceprincessem @ci5mates @andavs @spotsandsocks
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madlittlecriminal · 11 months
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Sweet Tooth ☾ Steven Grant × Female!Reader
Request: yes! from @bubblegumfanfics - Totally require a Steven Grant fix where the reader is a hella good baker and Steven loves her little treats. She tries confessing to him by making him chocolates and all of the things he loves but he isn’t getting a picture. One day the reader turns up at his place with chocolates and freshly baked snacks for a movie night and as they’re doing that Steven just goes like “You know I’m in love with you, right?”
Warnings: if you have a sugar craving or crave something as soon as you read it, i apologize. trust me, im craving sweets now & i don’t have much of a sweet tooth. also, if you don’t like Peacock, im sorry :,) I’ve been watching a lot of stuff on there recently & it’s free unless you don’t want ads so naturally, my broke self loves it & im tired of Netflix rn 💀
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Another day, another batch of left overs from the treats you made for your bakery. Usually, you would save them for the next day, but since it was Friday, you decided you’d take them home to try new recipes you found in cookbooks and on YouTube. Fridays were also one of the days in the week where you get to see Steven Grant; your favorite customer and the man you had a crush on. He’s always been so nice to you and, although sometimes shy and awkward, made decent conversation with you. You probably wouldn’t admit it to his face, but you absolutely loved it when he rambled about Egypt and different historic items as well as their Gods and Goddesses.
Not only did you know of his love for all things Egyptian, you also knew of his love for sweets, especially when it comes to chocolate, so each time he came in, you’d always add some form of romance to his goodies, but he never noticed. Today was different though as you both had a tradition to go to his house to watch a movie every other Friday.
You finished cleaning your bakery before packing some brownies, some homemade chocolate bars, chocolate chip cookies, some macarons and a few slices of cakes of different flavors. You locked up the bakery before making your way to Steven’s apartment, debating whether or not you would tell him before or after the movie since you wanted to get it over with.
When you got to his, he invited you in and helped you put the goods in the fridge as well as stealing a brownie from the container you brought them in. “So, what are we watching? A comedy? A documentary? Sci-fi?” He let out a nervous chuckle. “A romance actually.” You raised an eyebrow at his words. “Steven Grant watching a romance? That’s something I never thought I would witness.”
“Well, I do hope you don’t mind.” You shook your head before grabbing a chocolate bar from the fridge and sat on his couch. “No, it’s fine. I’m just surprised is all.” He sat next to you before scrolling through the romance section on Peacock. The silence was a bit awkward as the only sounds sound you heard was the occasional crunch of the chocolate bar as well as the the sips of water Steven took.
Suddenly the scrolling stopped and you looked over at Steven who was looking at you. “Do I have chocolate on my face?” You grabbed a napkin before wiping your mouth and he chuckled. “No, it’s nothing of the sort. I just feel like I have to tell you something, but I have no idea how you’ll take it.” You nibble on your chocolate bar, waiting patiently for him to continue. “How long have we known each other (Y/N)?” You took a sip of your water before saying, “I think it’s been almost two years now…?”
“Well, I think I’ll take this risk,” you looked into his dark brown eyes, searching for any hint of what he was going to do or say, but he hid it well, it was scary. “You know I’m in love with you, right?” At his confession, you choked on your own saliva, causing him to panic and quickly give you your water. After you downed it, he began apologizing. “I didn’t know you would react this way. I’m so sorry!” You shook your head and rested your hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay, Steven. I didn’t know though because every time I’ve tried to tell you, you never noticed.” He became shocked at your words.
“Since when?!” You laughed before pointing out all the little things you did for him that had hints of you liking him. “Since you never noticed, I didn’t think you felt the same way.” He leaned over and kissed your cheek, causing them to warm up. “Now you know that I do and I’m sorry for being oblivious to your attempts, love.” You rested your head on his shoulder and smiled. “That’s okay, Steven. I love you too.”
~~~~~
requests are open! feel free to look through my masterlists in case you want to request someone that isn’t the moon boys! :)
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aceofwhump · 5 months
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Hi everyone! Welcome to my blog!
I decided to make a new pinned post with all the information that is available on my desktop site but that will be more accessible for mobile users. Plus a few extras 😉
So an introduction.
I'm Ace. I started this blog back in February 2018 after seeing a post that referenced the whump community. I had no idea there was such a large community here on tumblr! As soon as I saw that making a whump blog was an option I immediately made one. And I haven't regretted it since. I love this blog, I love this community, and I'm thrilled to be here three years later! 
Here on this blog you'll see lots of gifsets both reblogged from wonderful creators and gifs made by yours truly. I also write fanfics on occasion. You can check out my work on AO3 under the name "aceofwhump" or you can look under my tag "ace writes stuff". That tag will have some stuff not on AO3 too. I also do whump lists for certain characters, trope lists, video clips of good whump, and fanfic recs.
Click on the read more for even more information and important links to things like gifmaking tutorials, my trope tag list, my show/movie tag list, my fanfic masterlist, and more!!!
My favorite tropes are:
Emotional: panic attacks, nightmares, insecurities, feeling inadequate, fear, grief, flashbacks, flinching, emotional breakdowns full of sobbing, emotional outbursts, scar reveals, anxiety, self hatred
Environmental: accidents, natural disasters like earthquakes or storms, hit by a car, collapsed building, falling through ice, heat exhaustion, hypothermia, falls, burns, infected wounds from lack of medical equipment, sickness, being unable to breathe, drowning
Small moments: limping, feeling weak and seeking support, breathing through the pain, moving wrong in a way that aggravates the pain, and the sudden seizing of his body, shaking hands, pressing the heel of his hand against his temple because of a headache, taking a moment to close his eyes because he’s light headed/exhausted/has such a bad headache
Sci-fi: space illness, oxygen deprivation, isolation, being locked in the brig, hull of the ship getting damaged, alien attacks
Injuries: broken bones, gunshot wounds, hidden injuries, bruises, beaten, concussions, collapsed lung, slings, casts, crutches, knocked unconscious, blood loss
Torture/Captivity: Being strung up by their wrists from the ceiling, drugged, chained up, caged, tied to a chair, handcuffed to a pole, interrogated
Comfort/Caretaking: hugging, “Are you okay?”, “You’re safe now”, “I’ve got you”, hand holding, helping to walk, ice packs, covering someone with a blanket, a cool cloth on their forehead to help with a fever, a fever check, touching their face to offer comfort
Magic: magical healing that causes pain, draining of powers, powers that are painful to use, curses
Stoic or defiant whumpees
Team whump
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Long detailed look at how I make my gifs
Gifmaking tutorials:
Gifmaking for Begginers: my ginormous all you need to know tutorial
Another look at how I make a gif
Tips for beginners
Tips on brightening dark scenes
How to get into gifmaking
Photoset dimensions
How to make a layout gifset
Gif speeds
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Links from my desktop blog for mobile users:
My gifs
My whump videos
Ace writes stuff
My Writing Masterlist
Trope tag list
Show list
My Whumptober Masterlists
Fanfic Rec Lists
Blog Archive
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Introducing…
ACEOFWHUMP’S FANFIC MASTERLIST!!
This has been a massive, ongoing project of mine for a while now in which I am endeavoring to catalog and categorize every fanfiction I’ve ever bookmarked. I fear this project will never be complete as I'm always reading and bookmarking new fics but I’m going to share it anyway.
Inside, you will find links and summaries to the fanfictions I’ve read over the years on both AO3 and FF.net. Each fic is sorted by the specific whumpee that they center on. So there’s a page for Danny Williams, for Mike Warren, for Lucifer Morningstar, and many many more. The fics are 90% whump with a touch of fluffy ones thrown in too. This list is based on the fics I’ve read and bookmarked so it leans heavily on my favorite whumpees and my favorite tropes. 
I’ve been working on categorizing every fic by its tropes (so theoretically you could search for say seizure fics or sick fics) but that’s taking me a loooong time because I have to reread every fic in order to determine what kind of categories to make and to look for the specific tropes. So for now you’ll have to make do with the fic summaries and using the search function. When it’s done, each whumpee will have their specific trope categories so you won’t necessarily find the same tropes in each category but it should help narrow down the fics better once I’m done. This is an ongoing project for me.
The list gets updated all the time so check back in every now and then. There might be something new.
I do take suggestions of fics to add to this masterlist but please keep in mind that it may not end up on the list. It's nothing personal I promise. I just can't add every single fic in the world.
Here's the link (note that it opens best on desktop browser because it is large):
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