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queer-ragnelle · 5 months

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favorite queer retellings/interpretations of arthurian legend

hello anon!

this simple question has a complicated answer if only bc some authors seem to have created queer stories unintentionally! & i like them! i'll include quotes from my suggestions below a cut as there will be some mild spoilers but that may help you decide what stories suit your tastes as they vary a lot. you can also just go ahead & assume kay & agravaine are always queer (bc they are, not accepting crit) which makes narrowing down the list difficult for me.

TL;DR: Camelot 3000 Mike W. Barr & Brian Bolland, Exiled From Camelot/Trial of Sir Kay/Hunt for Hart Royal by Cherith Baldry, Spear Nicola Griffith, Guinevere/Morgan/Morgawse by Lavinia Collins, The Queen's Knight by Marvin Borowsky, Arthur Rex by Thomas Berger, The Road to Avalon by Joan Wolf.

Camelot 3000 by Mike W. Barr & Brian Bolland: reincarnation story with transman sir tristan coming to terms with his gender & sexuality so he can accept isolde's love for him & reciprocate. it's really beautifully written imo plus the art is so 80s & my exact cup of tea. it's dated in some of its handling of the subject matter but i think it was done thoughtfully for the time.

Exiled From Camelot, The Trial of Sir Kay, The Hunt for The Hart Royal by Cherith Baldry: the way baldry writes is overall my favorite ever but her kay is unparalleled he is everything to me. unequivocally disinterested in women (without misogyny, very important note). codependent on gawain if not fully in love with him the crown style. lots of hurt/comfort, kissing, holding & worrying over each other. they exchange a ring for god's sake. in exiled it says ragnelle was the only woman for gawain (based) but after she passed he's all kay's basically so this checks all my boxes. love wins.

Spear by Nicola Griffith: butch perceval pulling bitches chapter after chapter it's glorious. ends up settling down with nimue. bonus throuple arthur/guin/lance with a very sweet moment with lance talking to percy about them both. no homophobia (external nor internal) to be found its very enjoyable. beautiful prose. audiobook was wonderfully narrated by the author, which is how i read it, thus i've written out a quote here:

"Secrets may prove a burden. So...Lance, my mother is indeed Merlin's sister but I am not Merlin's sister's son." Lance frowned. "I don't understand..." "I am not his sister's son." His eyes stretched wide. He reassessed the line of her jaw, the size of her hands. She nodded. Then he reassessed how she and Nimue sat with one another. This time, Nimue nodded.

Guinevere, Morgan, & Morgawse by Lavinia Collins: these aren't my favorite (did gawain really dirty, deal breaker) but the fact is they have multiple explicitly queer characters including: kay, lancelot, morgawse, agravaine, isolde, dinadan, etc. plus there were several poly scenes including one with guin/lance/kay, another morgawse/lot/visiting king/queen swinging. wild all around everyone is sleeping with everyone no character is unaccounted for. be warned these books are extremely graphic in every conceivable way. queer solidarity in the face of homophobia is a theme throughout. kay punches phobic urien & agravaine "saw nothing." shh its fine urien sucks. this hilarious convo between agravaine & morgawse kills me.

The Queen's Knight by Marvin Borowsky: an interesting retelling in which mordred is a grown up warlord right from the outset. he also happens to be queer. mind this came out in the 50s & contains pederasty, but mordred does later have a loving tragic relationship with fellow knight calogrenant (yay crackships<3), which others were aware of & helped conceal (kay, for example). agravaine is also queer, he only joins arthur's forces bc lancelot asks him to & continues to fixate on him for the whole book. typical.

Arthur Rex by Thomas Berger: so this book is super homophobic. but it's so homophobic that it circles back around to being pretty queer bc berger saw queerness everywhere, apparently. but the green knight is purposefully queer, so the kissing game's gender-role-reversal/bisexuality....escalates. david lowery wishes. both gawain & arthur are pretty homoromantic with lancelot to the point the narrative calls attention to it & then no-homos their closeness. agravaine appears to be queer too. he's the only unmarried brother (claims to be in love with guinevere but i don't buy it), he wants lancelot so bad he gets all tongue tied & stupid around him...wrecked.

The Road to Avalon by Joan Wolf: what's this? agravaine again? so in this version, lancelot is named bedwyr (inspired by mary stewart's quadrilogy) but he's lance in all but name. anyway agravaine constantly beefs with guinevere for his attention...& loses. plus it's implied agravaine slept with lamorak before his mother which is hysterical. (my fave crackship is thriving<3) agravaine topples the empire for a much older straight man. it would be funny if it wasn't so sad. let's give it up for problematic jealous slutty queers.

these are just the retellings i have read & liked. there are more on my retellings list but those were suggestions from others i haven't gotten to yet with the exception of dishonorable mention to the winter knight by jes battis. it has gay gawain & his bestie transgirl bi kay in that but the writing style was unbearable to me unfortunately i'm so sorry i just didn't like it. anyway thanks for the ask!

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pochapal · 10 months

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32! Do you like HS^2?

i...genuinely do! i think sometimes there's a half-conception that based on the mere premise of my fics that i don't like postcanon all that much (omelette route was misconstrued as an epilogues fix-it fic in certain circles and pickle route is still sometimes seen as a "better version" of hs^2) even though everything i write is in direct conversation with and comes from a place of admiration for hs^2/the epilogues.

with hs^2 in particular i think it had some really electric ideas that we only got to see the very first brushstrokes of (thinking most pertinently here about whatever was going to go down on deltritus that we never saw) that, if they'd been able to get off the ground, probably would have eclipsed the epilogues as the most interesting part of homestuck. from the bits we saw the meat timeline stuff was definitely the weakest. outside of the jade/altcallie possession chapter a lot of that half of the story was fairly unsurprising character-driven extrapolation of the same angst we departed the epilogues with - and i largely agree with @hms-no-fun that some kind of timeskip here would have helped it feel a little less repetitive (although arguably there might have been? three years definitely passed with dirk et al but it was very up in the air as to how long it had been for the pursuit spaceship crew). i get why that never happened - both meat and candy were being told in tandem and candy ended on a buildup to an immediate conflict that needed to be followed in real time versus meat's meandering slingshot towards something more nebulous, so for the sake of structural symmetry that limited things a little.

i think i'm more amenable to a lot of hs^2's storytelling decisions because i wholly and entirely loved the epilogues from the getgo and it was so good to see that theme/tone be carried through to a more "traditional" mspa space, even if i wonder if the comic form damaged the story more than it helped it. i remember a lot of people getting weirdly mad whenever we'd get an extended prose scene instead of visual panels despite hs^2 being a continuation of the text-based epilogues. then again, the mainstream hs fandom as a whole fucking sucked when it came to postcanon and that's even more evident in how they've collectively memoryholed the whole thing so talking about audience reception is maybe not the most useful thing to talk about here lmao. idk i think people forget that homestuck is largely a story about people who suck and then who get better from sucking. it's just that nobody really likes it when that lens is turned inward onto the alphas/betas who outside of a small handful of exceptions in canon never really had any ethical issues that caused problems for them and others so i personally think it was very interesting and refreshing to explore how the kids' complacency wrt their baggage and trauma allowed them and their world to backslide so disastrously! roxy lalonde enabling jane's fascist ascension is fascinating storytelling actually! (side note: read through shadowed eyes)

hs^2's original characterwork is probably where the story shines the most. the fucked up dynamics between the theseus crew was super fun to read because there's honestly nothing more enjoyable than Supremely Divorced people deciding that makes them irredeemably evil now. the egbert gender stuff was really nice! i particularly enjoyed how, even though it came after the june egbert renaissance, it still managed to be its own unique take on egbert's gender arc that i think really encapsulated the originality driving the project. also forever shoutout to the candy kids my beloved candy kids my children who i will die for - for me in particular hs^2 was a fun time because i was developing my own versions of harry/vrissy/tav for pickle route in parallel to hs^2 and it was so enjoyable seeing all the overlaps and divergences with each upd8. also yiffy fucking rules on every level and even though she never got to be more than a promise she sure was one hell of a promise.

that said i do not think it's that surprising that hs^2 ultimately died before its time. the conditions of the story paired with the most demoralising and vicious iteration of the fandom meant the odds were stacked against it in a big way. you can particularly see the strain of that starting to manifest in the final ~6 months worth of upd8s where people were leaving/being pushed out of the project and every part of hs^2 was a completely hostile environment and the quality of the art and storytelling began to get a little shaky - which i can't really blame them for all things considered! it's hard to want to make the best version of a story possible when the overwhelming reception is a bunch of sanctimonious redditbrained weirdos screaming that you're evil and foul for making characters in a piece of fiction do unexpected and surprising things and also being sympathetic to trans women. there were of course issues with the production conditions of hs^2 that would have probably led to some sort of reckoning at some point, but it's very obvious that the traumatic pressure cooker of a fanbase that wanted nothing more than the death of this project and the ruination of everyone that worked on it threw this whole thing off the rails much faster. despite that, you still have to infinitely admire the team for daring to make something challenging and original in a sphere dominated by people who are content to regurgitate the same babybrained 2013 content ad infinitum - for just a brief moment, homestuck was truly allowed to be the literary masterpiece it's been all along. now people just treat it as more fandomslop to consume and that's perhaps the biggest shame of all.

in the end i think hs^2's legacy is best felt in the places haunted by its premature absence. i'm talking about the comic itself of course but also other spaces and people and projects. stuff that really engaged with the meaty thematic frameworks being thrown up in postcanon that now no longer have a mirror to talk back to - stuff like pesterquest and godfeels and the aforementioned through shadowed eyes that all massively are in conversation with the deeper artistic and philosophical principles underpinning this era of homestuck. if anything else hs^2 will continue to serve as a useful prerequisite for getting into some of the best stuff homestuck fans have ever made. we might never see what could have been, but at least the torch is still being carried by people who care.

#spaceengineerjulia #homestuck asks #homestuck^2 #long post #i had more opinions on this than i'd previously thought lmao

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snorlaxlovesme · 3 months

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what is your favorite line/section of your sick CXS fic? It is so good and I love when authors can share some of their thoughts!

i feel so spoiled with these messages from you, thank you for being so kind my godd

(aforementioned sickfic)

it's hard to choose favorite lines bc genuinely i do love the whole fic so much. a lot of the time i'm writing off the cuff and it just flows out of me in one or two sittings (it's why i'm a one-shot writer) but this was a story that took me months to complete because of all the planning involved (and absolutely fruitless research into Chinese herbal soups, since literally NONE of that research made it into the fic lmao) and so the whole thing feels really special and different from my other stories just because of how much thought was put into it.

it took a long time, but i adored writing the second half, getting to write the same day over again and try to make it identical while FEELING totally different. having Lu Guang totally in pieces over every little change he accidentally makes to the timeline was mwaa *chef's kiss*

i think my favorite line was what i eventually pulling from to make the summary on AO3

"Lu Guang is so tired. He wishes he could freeze this conversation, this whole day, and go nap for a thousand hours. The stress of it all is sucking the marrow from his bones. He wishes he could do today over again. He doesn’t know if he’d have the strength to do today over again."

idk i just feel like it really encapsulates the struggle Lu Guang goes through in this fic and might literally go through on a day to day basis trying to re-live the timeline. like i'm sure every misstep feeling like something Lu Guang would want to do over, but how many times can he handle that, emotionally? like this day mentally broke him and it's literally the most nothing day. Lu Guang forgot to make one phone call and almost suffered cardiac arrest because of it.

plus its very sweet that Cheng Xiaoshi, sick as a dog and feeling down on himself for being left alone all day, comforts Lu Guang after this moment because he can see Lu Guang is going through like a panic-induced existential crisis and mistakes it for Lu Guang ALSO feeling ill, sweet boy ♥

i also really liked the simplicity of these lines (it includes spoilers so look away if you wanna read the fic first. )

But Lu Guang thinks of the tear-streaked smile after Cheng Xiaoshi took that first bite. Spending every waking moment agonizing over his next step won’t get him anywhere. Instead, Lu Guang folds up that smile and tucks it into a corner of his mind for safekeeping. Cheng Xiaoshi thanked him for today. Maybe that is enough.

that part wasn't in the original draft. these lines are in response to CXS thanking Lu Guang for caring for him and i think i had a bit of prose where LG internally laments that he spent half the day ignoring CXS and only took care of him when it was clear Qiao Ling wasn't going to be able to, so the thanks wasn't really deserved. or something self deprecating like that

i had sent my "final draft" to a friend after revising some bits in the flashback and said "i wanna post it but i feel like i need to mess with the ending still. it feels off" my friend insisted what i had was great but i didn't know if the last line of the fic ("Timeline be damned") felt earned. Lu Guang had been a slave to the timeline for the entirety of the story, allowing him to kind of/sort of say "fuck you" to the timeline for a brief moment felt like it was going against everything i had just established, of how IMPORTANT keeping to the timeline was to Lu Guang for the sake of being able to save Cheng Xiaoshi in the future.

it was my friend that gave me the idea to write a simple thesis line that shows what Lu Guang has learned from this. that disaster is definitely a potential outcome in Lu Guang's crazy plan, but seeing Cheng Xiaoshi at peace is enough to make him want to try. like you said in your comment on the fic, if you went back in time, you'd want to be kinder. those lines are Lu Guang reminding himself that seeing CXS at peace has an emotional effect on Lu Guang as well.

ALSO idk the "fold up his smile and tucks it in his mind" bit is cute okay? it's a very cute sentence and i'm proud i wrote it lol

this is very long so i'm gonna stop rambling but again THANK YOU so much for asking me this and for all your sweet messages. i truly can't get over how wonderful it's been talking about this story with you, it's only made me love it more and i already thought it was my magnum opus lmao

#you: talk about your writing i'd love to hear your thoughts!#me: feels guilty somehow about doing exactly what you asked of me #mykingdomforapen #link click #kelly got an ask

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box-architecture · 3 months

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CKAU: Part One of ???

I often find myself struggling to write the first chapter of the Communication Knife AU.

When I first started writing awesamdream, it was me spitballing ideas in the dreblr minecraft server when it first opened, and trying to have fun with a ship that, at the time, wasn't considered A Big Thing, or was purely for whump purposes. And while writing for an AU, Sif was also there, poking and tormenting lovingly as a Sif does, and mentioned the concept of Auspisticism, a homestuck relationship, in regards to Dream, Sam, and Punz. And then one thing led to another, and now I have this big thing that makes me happy and had grown a lot bigger than I expected it to, and there's so many little drabbles and snippets and smut pieces that came out of it, that by the time new people started asking what the hell I was talking about, I realized that the context wasn't properly put together and hard to explain.

So I tried to put together a whole fic for it! And it hasn't been going well.

Because I really want to do the fic justice. I want to make it sound really lovely and use all the right words and explain very well all the things that made me insane so you can understand just the way it went when all this started! But in trying to do that, it's become so hard to write. I feel stuck, the words won't come, I overthink and overedit, and nothing is good enough.

But I still really, really do want to explain the AU so you can understand. And i know it won't be the perfect, well designed thing I built in my head, with all the write prose and all the little extra fancy things, but I'd rather you have it imperfectly than not at all.

Here you go, part one of ???:

(Sam: he/him

Dream: he/him

Punz: they/he

just to make sure.)

When things get bad for Dream in prison, he offers Sam sexual favors in return for better treatment, food/blankets/etc., and Sam agrees to this, regardless of the terrible ethics involved. Its not a great situation, for like, Obvious Reasons, and the consent is very much dubious here. Sam's possessive behavior is at its peak, and even if there ends up being less torture as part of the deal, it doesn't change that things are still fucked up.

When Dream escapes prison and finds Sam during Daedalus Arc, after scarring Sam, Dream offers to meet up to have sex again next week, out of a need to feel in control, to prove how he was Totally Not Traumatized he was and how he was absolutely fully capable of consenting to it, and the two continue their sexual activities.

However, Punz, who has been in a comfortably open relationship with Dream since before prison, bristles at the idea of Sam taking advantage of Dream, of the severe power imbalance still being a problem, and comes with him to these sexual encounters to protect him and keep Sam from pushing Dream's boundaries. They set up some rules, and if Sam breaks any or steps out of line, Punz will stab him with a special, gaudy blue knife that has 'Communication' engraved in its handle.

"He tortured you!"

"Technically it was Quackity who did the torturing." Dream corrected him, meticulously sorting his inventory. Their base felt suffocating, tiny, and he wanted to be done and gone already, but Punz seemed ready to fight him the whole way.

"Don't give me that shit," Punz snapped. "Sam let him in, he starved you half to death, for God's sake, Dream, he r-"

"It was not." At breakneck speed, Dream turned on his heel and hissed. "I said yes. Don't you dare say I didn't."

"You weren't in a position to say no." Punz said fiercely. Something dark and angry crushed their heart in its fist. "You didn't have any choice-"

"I had a choice!"

The world seemed to stop moving, the air stale. Dreams breaths were shaky, heaving, and Punz realized with a lump in their throat that Dream was trembling from stress.

"I had a choice." Dream repeated. "And it was mine. Not his, not anyone's. I'm going to see him again, and that's my choice too. Not yours."

They could stop him, a little voice in the back of their head murmured. They could stop him and- and keep him safe. Prevent anyone else from hurting him again. They could say the right words that would cause him to falter ("for me." Punz had once pleaded, and Dream bent, as he always did) and then Sam would never touch him. They could even kill the creeper hybrid, to be sure. They would destroy the entire server with the Plan, and Dream would finally be safe.

But.

Dream needed this. Whatever he said, whatever he thought, he'd been denied agency for so long. The thought of them being the one to take it away, his friend, when they were supposed to be the one person on the server who he could trust… it made them feel sick.

Dreams trembling faded, and he straightened up, before he throwing his cloak over his shoulder.

Punz made his decision. "I'm coming with you."

"What?"

"I'm your backup, and your mercenary, and your partner. If Sam has a problem with it, just say you rehired me."

At the very beginning, the rules are this:

No Kissing. Punz doesn't think Sam deserves kisses, and they're vicious about enforcing this. Kisses are for Punz alone, and Sam is incredibly jealous.

No marks. Sam has tried to leave hickies or bruises, but it was quickly shut down. When he argued this, Punz told him that he could leave marks when all the marks (torture scars) he already made on Dream were gone.

No cuddling or aftercare. Since Sam insisted that the sex didn't mean anything, clearly that means he doesn't need to be involved in taking care of Dream after. Punz will take him away and they can be the one to hold Dream. (Not that Sam longed for that. He doesn't feel more desperate each time the two leave him behind. Of course not.)

The most obvious one: what Dream says goes. Sam isn't allowed to Override Dream and insist his way is better, and he isn't allowed to take whatever he wants without asking. If Dream needs a moment, or would like to change positions, or even just say he'd rather not, Sam must listen. Punz will make him listen.

And so every week all three of them get together, usually at the prison, and have sex. Its a very complicated, unhealthy dynamic, for a lot of different reasons.

Punz, usually able to gauge what Dream wants/what would make him comfortable, is left blind, because Dream is always a little uncomfortable here, always stressed, and Punz can't fix that. They're trying their best, and they know that Dream could shut down and be unable to express himself if the wrong button is pushed, but in the beginning its a mess. At some point he micromanages where Sam puts his hands, pushing and arguing with him over whose allowed to say where Sam can and can't touch, and neither of the two argue that it should be Dream.

It doesn't help that Punz is jealous. They don't want to be, especially not in this situation. But Sam's possessiveness of Dream, the way he taunts about knowing Dream in ways nobody else possibly could- it sets off that part of Punz that has always been so self-satisfied with his place as Dream's most intimate companion, the other half of his soul.

(Its the server's second stupidest dick measuring contest where they accidentally objectify Dream in the process, while they also compete to see who Dream likes more.)

Sam, on the other hand, is constantly having to reckon with the fact that he wasn't actually as good as he thought he was. Punz doesn't let him get away with spewing the same lines of crap and insisting he's always right. Sam also considered himself A Good Lover and good at getting Dream off (the only one who knows him, who knows him Best), and his ego takes a fucking hit when Punz corrects him. When Punz points out that certain things were actually harmful/not enjoyable, its hard for Sam to accept because it means he fucked up and made assumptions in his head and Punz rubs each of those in.

Sam tries to defend himself by pointing out that Dream went along with it, and which leads to Punz pointing out that he didn't have much of a choice/wasn't in a good situation to make that choice at the time, and that's the one time it nearly comes to blows between them before Dream speaks up to tell them both to knock it off.

(Sam discovers One (1) kink that Punz doesn't know about and he's so fucking smug about it despite fucking up literally everything else.)

(No matter how many wins Sam thinks he gets during their weekly time together, Punz still gets to take Dream home, do aftercare and keep him safe. Sam hates how much he wants that too, despite the fact that according to his own weird moral code he shouldn't.)

And as much as this is most definitely causing more issues, it does leave Dream actually feeling more in control of his situation.

He gets so much praise now! This is basically therapy but better! He even gets aftercare with no torture. He's getting good dick and most of his kinks are getting hit, truly luxurious for a cDream. He's a lot more confident and content, and he isn't constantly on the defensive, because if Punz says he didn't deserve what happened to him, even if its just a single person, Dream doesn't have to fight to prove that he's a person deserving of basic human decency.

But the Most Important Thing That Makes All This Take The Turn It Does: At first, Sam thinks that the proper solution to all of this is to get Dream all to himself again in his prison where he belongs and not fixing his behavior any more than what he needs specifically to get there.

However, during an very short period of time where Sam is able to be with Dream without Punz there to scrutinize, Sam attempts to do stuff like how he used to before Punz, to prove he doesn't need him, that they don't need him.

But now he knows, he knows that Dream isn't actually into a lot of the things he was trying, or at the very least he likes other things more. He had it proved to him, and he's aware that things can be a lot better. Dream's clearly nervous, anxious, and not super into this, and Sam can tell, and now all he can see are all those little signs that he's fucking up, and it's getting into his head.

In the end, he can't even get himself to go through with it, because now it feels wrong and he can't ignore that. He makes an excuse, and he's frustrated and aggressive, but he doesn't try this again without Punz there.

Mentally he can justify it as Punz would kill him if he did. This is just a matter of self-preservation.

But quietly his plans adjust to not just needing to get Dream under his control. He'll need to get Punz too in order for things to be perfect.

#communication knife au #awesamdrunz #there are parts of this that are words that Sif wrote because a lot of the stuff was us rotating together #she gave me full permission to use them before I even asked dkfjghdkfgh<3 #Sif is one of the best rotation friends genuinely. we love and cherish Sif in this house

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supersoakerfullofblood · 2 months

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Seeing lots of discourse about the woman with a shelf full of NA erotica, and then the post saying she doesn't read, she just consumes porn, and then the backlash to that post. Imo both sides are right, there's just a communication gap.

There's always been a holier-than-thou sentiment about reading compared to other forms of media, which admittedly is fair when you compare it to like Youtube and Tiktok. But as mediums like those grow in popularity, so too does the reactionary stance of "reading good," and this has muddied what "reading" actually means. People conflate "reading" with just consuming the written word, like the act of looking at a page is itself a healthy thing to do. It's certainly healthier than other options, but this argument misunderstands the original conceit of "writing > other media." People who love literature don't love it because of the physical product of a book. They love it because books introduce them to another perspective, and stylized prose from that perspective (a book as a physical product is also nice, admittedly). Literature exists as an act of empathy from one lived experience to another, but the medium doesn't matter. It could be a movie or a show or a podcast. So then we get to the erotica argument.

There's nothing wrong with enjoying a book for whatever reason you want to enjoy it, just as you can enjoy any piece of art for whatever reason you'd like. But I think when you conflate books meant to be consumed (erotica) with books meant to be really thought over, you misunderstand why people have always "read" to begin with, what "reading" has always meant to people. So you have two groups of people:

1. People who have always read to try to refine their worldview and understand the people and cultures and etc. around them.

2. People who read books for pleasure's sake.

The best novels combine these in some ratio (though usually not with erotica, but erotica isn't incompatible with thoughtfulness). But both of these flags have been flown under the broad banner of "reading," even though each group is looking for different things in a book, which again, is totally fine. But you end up with increasingly polarizing, pretentious groups of people spouting about what a book should do, bragging about the titles they have or haven't read ("I've read/haven't read Infinite Jest" vs. "I have/haven't read The Love Hypothesis"), and just generally being annoying.

It's hard, because the verbiage isn't really there for good discourse. You can't really tell someone whose literary diet is 90% erotica that they don't read books like a literary scholar, because that triggers a knee-jerk reaction of "you can't tell me how to read," which, okay, fair, but let's be honest with ourselves. Your bookshelf is color coordinated, almost all of it is NA romance, and there's literal visual porn next to your books. These books are products more than they're art, which doesn't mean you can't read books for their empathetic value, just that you haven't for some of the books you've read. At the same time, if you tell a lit scholar that these are equally valid books, they'll turn their head up, because their definition of a book has always been synonymous with "thing that triggers deep personal inquiry," when in reality, what a "book" is is quite broad.

Again, read what you want, just know why you read and why other people read, and know that these are equally valid and fairly distinct aims, and that, because of this polarization, these aims are increasingly polarized by publishers so that their books sell well--the market churns out poorly written, soulless romance novels just as it churns out curmudgeonly Oscar bait novels at maybe the greatest frequency we've seen because people like picking one of those sides and snapping at the other.

TLDR: At the end of the day, we just can't equate Colleen Hoover and Kurt Vonnegut, and that's okay. Source: I write "serious fiction" and also (admittedly not smutty) McDonalds fanfic

#writeblr #writing #fanfic #writers on tumblr #writerscommunity #bookblr #booklr #books #reading

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wutheringmights · 7 months

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Remember when I read "Daughter of the Moon Goddess" and I complained that the prose was all tell, no show? I had the same problem with a different book I read earlier this year ("Ariadne" by Jennifer Saint), which got me thinking. Both of those books are the only first person novels I've read this year. Is first person perspective more prone to telling too much? Do I just not like first person perspective?

Well, the weather is changing. Whenever autumn starts, there's always something I want to revisit for nostalgia's sake. So I decided to give into impulse and reread one of my most favorite books, ever: "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson.

I first read this book a long time ago: when I was thirteen. I rented it from my school library and devoured it in a single night. It had an immediate impact on me. When Borders went out of business, I bought my own copy for 50% off (it's technically a misprint-- the typeset is slightly off). Hell, I even bought the graphic novel adaptation.

I love this book, but for years I have been too scared to go back to it. I was scared to learn that this book wasn't as good I remembered it, and I couldn't ruin this for myself.

But... I don't know. The shadows are longer. I'm feeling nostalgic. I wanted to experience a good example of first person perspective. So finally, I took it off the bookshelf.

And, man. What was I worried about? Not only is it good, it's better than I remember.

First off, the prose. I love the way this book is written. Yes, it's from the first person perspective, but Melinda's character is shown to us, even as she asserts her own traits. It's a wonderful example of why first person perspective works. The world is filtered through her eyes. You can feel the way she shoves three-dimension people into one-dimension molds. Her thoughts are mean and at times cruel, yet you can tell how she's always coming from a place of hurt. She's a good person. She's just in pain. And sometimes, she's mean because she's just a teen.

And I love the lyricism in its brevity. None of the imagery is drawn out, yet there's layers on layers of motifs and symbols. Anderson has a way of letting imagery sneak up on you that I think I have been trying to replicate my entire life. And she does all of this without losing the voice of a teenager.

Melinda is funny, too. Even when she's being mean, she does it with a dry wit that startles laughs out of you. But the tone and atmosphere of this novel is so strong, you don't even realize how funny it is until you look for it.

And this novel remains as one of-- if not the best--depiction of depression I have ever read. It's so vivid that it can be tough to read. But 13 year old me saw so much of herself in the ways in which Melinda was just trying to cope.

This book is written with such subtly and grace, something similar books in its genre and age range don't achieve. When I first read this book, I set out on a mission to find anything that matched up to it. I read through my entire school library's offerings. Authors like John Green and Jay Asher were too heavy handed and never managed to capture an ounce of realism. Even Andersons's other books like "Winter Girls" and "Catalyst" never managed to show me a similar kind of (for lack of better words) truth.

This book is really good. It's impossibly good. It's short, but impactful. I love it. I think this is the book that got me to care about character and inner journeys in a way nothing else had before it. This is the book that took me by the cheeks and told me that there's meaning in the mundane, that at the root of every story isn't a cool idea but a character we want to see become better. If I were to make a list of the most influential books I have ever read, this book would be in the top three.

I love "Speak." Thank you Laurie Halse Anderson for writing this book.

#i should mention that there is some areas of this book that are outdated but i really don't care #love love love this book #happy autumn everyone #me rambling #me reading #bookblr #books #speak #speak by laurie halse anderson

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iamstartraveller776 · 4 months

Text

FANFIC ROUNDUP 2023

(snagged this from @thecoziestbean)

LIST OF FANWORKS

POSTED

Labyrinth: A Bargain in Bad Faith (T, 499 words), Unforeseen Consequences (T, 498 words)

MCU: Alike But Not (M, 2359 words), Practice (T, 499 words), Locked In (T, 501 words), Breaking Point (T, 883 words), Fun Surprises (T, 1357 words)

OUAT: A Favor (T, 500 words), In the Quiet Moonlight (G, 1968 words), For the Sake of Grilled Cheese (And Nothing Else) (T, 497 words), Disaster Averted (G, 499 words), To Cleave Destiny (T, 3963 words)

Shadow and Bone: Involuntary (T, 1567 words), For the Cameras (T, 500 words), That Which Blooms in Stillness (T, 500 words)

Star Trek: Enterprise: Mission Gone Awry (T, 497 words), Of Necessity (T, 501 words)

LOTR: The Rings of Power: Crossing Boundaries (M, 3739 words), The End of You and Beginning of Me (M/T, 6171 words), no peace in truth (M, 1924 words), Dirty Laundry (T, 743 words), We Are (G, 500 words), Trapped (T, 1589 words), Reprieve (T, 1927 words), Across This Great Divide (T, 500 words), Dangerous Games (M, 500 words), No Peace (T, 499 words)

For a total of 35,680 words—which doesn't seem like a lot, but considering the year I've had, it's incredible. I've had to learn how to fit writing in my life in a new way.

UNPOSTED WIPS

My fic for the Secret Sankta exchange (SAB). Can't give any more details than that.

Black Tie Pact (MCU, T). I have the first part of the first chapter. Not sure when I'm going to get back to working on it.

Legally Bound (MCU, T). I've written the first part of the first chapter for this one too. Again, I'm not sure when I'm going to really tackle it.

TOTAL # OF COMPLETED WORKS/FANDOMS WRITTEN IN

26 completed works in 6 fandoms. Before you applaud this, keep in mind that the majority of these are 500-word ficlets. I did not complete any multi-chapter fics in 2023.

2 in Labyrinth for Jareth/Adult Sarah

5 in MCU for Loki/Jane Foster

4 in OUAT for Captain Swan and Outlaw Queen

3 in Shadow and Bone for Aleksander/Alina

2 in Star Trek: Enterprise for Trip/T'Pol and Soval/Amanda Cole

10 in The Rings of Power for Galadriel/Halbrand|Sauron

OVERALL THOUGHTS

This year has been an exercise in not letting life stop me from writing. Writing has been more about self-care, and most of the time, the best I've been able to manage is a ficlet.

PERSONAL FAVORITE?

Alike But Not (MCU). I love when I really get to use my poetry background to make pretty prose for a story. Also, I love shoehorning Lokane into the more recent MCU films/shows. (It's my version of a "fix it fic." Planning to do one based on the Loki series finale soon.)

MOST UNDERAPPRECIATED?

I'm not sure there's anything that didn't get the engagement I anticipated. I write for smaller fandoms and dead fandoms, so a low number of hits/kudos/comments comes with the territory. I've already lived my fic writing heyday, and I'm totally cool with no longer being in the spotlight.

MOST POPULAR?

By kudos: Involuntary (SAB). By comments: Crossing Boundaries (TROP)

STORY WITH THE SEXIEST MOMENT?

Hands down, it's Crossing Boundaries (TROP). There are two moments that really sizzle in that one:

“Is this what we’re doing now?” He twines his finger in one of the drawstrings, gives it a little tug. “Touching each other’s things?” She tips her chin up in defiance of her heart thudding against her ribcage. “I needed it. Mine was in the wash.” He nods slowly with a hint of a smile. “And if I need something, I can just—” he tugs on the drawstring harder, “—take it?”

And:

“He’s never laying eyes on this again.” She bristles at the authority in his tone despite the chills pebbling beneath his questing fingers. “You don’t have a say in that.” “I do,” he argues, hands gliding down her sides. “This temple has only one priest.” His fingers hook into the waistband of her shorts, and he drops to his knees. “And I’ve come to worship.”

MOST FUN STORY TO WRITE?

Dirty Laundry (TROP). That story is pure unadulterated crackfic and I had a blast writing it.

HARDEST?

Emotionally, it was That Which Blooms in Stillness (SAB). It deals with a heavy theme that has touched my life.

DID YOU TAKE ANY RISKS IN WRITING THIS YEAR?

Yeah, writing for The Rings of Power fandom. It's always nerve-racking to write for a new fandom, but taking on one based on Tolkien's works??

MOST UNINTENTIONALLY TELLING STORY?

I think it's That Which Blooms in Stillness (SAB). I cried a lot while writing it.

FAVORITE LINES/SCENES?

Nothing exists in this moment outside of the feel of her skirts billowing outward, his fingers at her waist, her mirth reflected in his eyes. She is a child again, untouched by suffering and death. She’s the little girl riding her brothers’ shoulders, picking apples from the high branches. She’s an adolescent astride a stallion at full gallop for the first time. (Reprieve, TROP, T)

Because the Mighty Thor is not all she is, but in this bellicose society, it’s all that matters. She aches for more and is disturbed when she recognizes the same dissatisfaction in his tactile gaze. (Alike But Not, MCU, M)

Her skin is smooth, soft beneath his calloused hands. Against his lips, his tongue. She makes him think of when he fancied himself a sculptor of metal. Her sighs are the bellows to his flame of desire. Her sinuous curves molten alloy, bending to his whims. As she arches her back, she is the pièce de résistance of his collection and he the master of this beauty. (Dangerous Games, TROP, M)

"S'in my pocket. 'Cause this dress has pockets!" She clumsily patted at her hips until she found one, shoved her hand in, and pulled out the black rectangle of plastic with a triumphant smile. "Ta-da!" She giggled at her own joke with a fetching little snort. (Fun Surprises, MCU, T)

She’s like a specter, her pale, slender fingers hiking her skirts up to her knees as she picks her way through the damp grass on bare feet. Her long flaxen hair is wild, glowing in the moonlight, and he thinks she might have been out in the downpour that passed an hour ago. (In the Quiet Moonlight, OUAT, T)

MY FAVE PART OF FANDOM IN 2023

Meeting some really awesome people through the Haladriel (TROP) fandom. I have gone back to mostly lurking, but I've come away with some new friends. <3

2024 WRITING AMBITIONS

F I N I S H ! I have 16 posted WIPs (soon to be 17) in 5 fandoms. For 2024 I am planning to complete at least 3 of them. Aside from ficlets and short oneshots when the mood strikes, I will not be posting any new stories.

2024 FICS ON THE IMMEDIATE HORIZON

My fic for the Secret Sankta Fic Exchange (SAB)

Sealed By Blood (OUAT). The first draft of the entire story is 2/3rds complete (it was my NANOWRIMO project)

Attack of the Vicious Plot Bunnies (Labyrinth). The final installment is halfway complete.

Rumor Has It (MCU). After I finish the above, this one is next in line.

#about me #2023 fanfic roundup #it was kind of cool to look back on the past year

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thescribeoflostmemories · 2 years

Text

The Sweet Fairy and The Bitter Fool; Pas De Deux

(Pierro x Ballerina! reader)

He looks like the type to enjoy Tchaikovsky music. Unedited

Tw: creep watching (just him looking at you too hard while dancing), him touching around (waist, thighs, hands, ect.). Huge ass age gap, Thinking a little too deep (aka imagination going off).

***********************************************

Alone you were in all your glory, twirling, prancing in the empty ballroom. It had been several months since you first visit Zapolyarny Palace. Pierro kept a close eye on you to make sure no foul play is afoot. The Fatui agent who was supposed to be stationed at your door ordered by your honorable knight while he's away, though somehow got rather ill yesterday. A painfully average employee who's lucky enough to receive your attention. You had other options until the other Harbingers were too busy with their work. The smile that plastered on your face only soured his mood, though to think the jester himself would rather watch the performance than to use his spare time wisely.

"Oh!" The director of the organization looked at your figure, dressed in a leotard and the short puffy skirt bounced whenever you moved. The outfit itself is a tease to no end, the way those tight fitting clothes hugged your form. Giving the sense of elegance and grace. Nothing but mockery from the voice of his pessimistic side. He's older, while you? You're still young, with a life ahead.

Your attention went to the phonograph that Capitano bought for you to listen to a Snezhnaya classic. You're rather fond of certain artists, it's obvious which music you would rather have. Given that your body would love to dance to it.

You have been gaining a bit of weight as of late. Though you had told Capitano to lessen your meal for the sake of some of your joys in life. It took a bit of convincing and feeding half of your meal to your bodyguard and personal maid since the service is too much.

Part of you is rather saddened that you couldn't fully express what the composer had written, it affected your performance.

Everything's an art with you. With how you'd carry yourself with such compassion, humility, purity even. Pierro truly believed that the will of the Tsaritsa must be done, so that people like you could live in the cryo archon's reign in the new world.

Soft and gentle music emitted from the record player. Little hops to twirls in sudden pause. The older gentleman had thought a little fairy played around the room instead. Your act is reminiscent of a fairy, a fairy so sweet to hide the hidden sorrows that you, the dancer that carried those emotions, had always wondered how artists could possibly grasp and convey each emotion so accurately.

Once you made a full turn and noticed Pierro by the door, you put a halt to the performance.

"P-pierro! My lord, g-greetings, I didn't expect to meet you here.." the thumps of your heart beat like a hummingbird's.

"Carry on little fairy, your ghostly admirers await for you to dance until not only fragile steps have ached but the wings as well. " Your eyebrows furrowed a bit when he said that, poor girl. The complex prose had muddled your thoughts!

"Aren't you a little uncomfortable watching from there? There are some seats available." Trying to be at least respectful to one of the Harbingers that allowed you to be under their care.

"Thank you, pardon the interruption." The Jester starts to step closer.

"Did that little dove fly in and entice you for a round of applause? " He asked, out of curiosity.

" Uh.. Well, Miss Sandrone and Miss Columbina have given me the opportunity to do this. " Replied, unsure of how to talk to him. The loud steps of his shoes echoed, which only intimidated a small thing like you. In contrast to your steps, his were like a team of mighty horses trained and bred for battle.

" Do you like it?" Returning the question. With no words to better fit it, he just nodded.

“I’m glad.” You gave a small smile, probably big enough for only a finger to enter. “Not everyone I used to know liked the idea of dancing. Most would call it unbecoming of a lady.” Oh, he can imagine alright. It would be more than enough to make a person go feral, especially with a precious little fairy like you. He got closer, lessening the space between you both.

"Do you want me to teach you some techniques? Well I don't know much, but I could try and teach you what I know." Your hand outstretched for him, it's a lot smaller than his own gloved covered hand.

With a bit of hesitance, he took yours. “Please tell me if you couldn’t keep up okay?”

Time has passed as none knows what time is. Pierro worked up a bit of sweat despite being in the region of icy tundra, while you had sweat dripping down your head glistening against the soft light, you remained calm and composed.

The dance continued onward, dipping your body down while your leg raised. There are times in the duet, where you had separated from him, he had to go after you. He never felt so young in his lifetime of misery and duty, chasing after a dame. Keeping you close to him for the majority of the session. Enjoying the most whenever he spun you around. But he is delighted when you go away from him only to run, and perch upon his shoulder. Like a trained little canary, letting out a melodious giggle.

Though in turn he too surprised you. The next time your body dips down, his hands quickly scooped you up, swaying your body until he held you over his shoulder. His strong hand on your belly, near your under breasts. He earned an astonished sound from your lips.

In the end Pierro himself had to let go of the sweet fairy, letting you twirl around. Like his own soul now twain. The warmth of your delicate hands, the feel of his hands on your body. He had wondered if you would willingly jump into his arms if the opportunity reveals itself that your initial protector no longer values a sweet little fairy like you. He had this inkling of hope that you would make him a selfish request.

He left, not wanting to stay anymore. He left just as quickly he accepted your bewitching spell placed upon him. Leaving you all confused and sad, thinking you have done something to upset him. You didn’t, it’s just that he has to take swift care of all those thoughts you gave him. Especially with those (color) lips of yours, to taste and use.

I swear I'm going feral while doing this ngl. Who knew that this old man could be attractive? I'm legit questioning my anime men preferences rn… 😂 Ey yo, ya’ll want me to make a part 2 for pierro? and plesse tell me if I use TW right. I just noticed nearly every one uses it.

#pierro #reader insert #pierro x reader #pierro x you #pierro x y/n #fatui pierro

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crimeronan · 5 months

Note

For the wrapped, 1, 18, and 29!

from the ao3 wrapped questions!

1. How many words have you written this year?

i did a bunch of original fiction writing and a SHIT TON of partial fanfic drafts / outtakes, which i'm not counting because i definitely can't find them all skdfljsk. as for published on ao3 -- it's apparently 78,314 words of new fic. if you count chapter 9 of wwaitsoatl (the other eight being published in 2022), then it's 86,914

that is..... WAY more than i expected. wow. i don't really remember the writing process or a lot of the content in those 82k words due to The Horrors, but wow yeah. this was a more productive year than i thought.

18. The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year?

probably camila in the current princess luz WIP, tbh! it's harder for me to get her voice right than anyone else i've written. i've written camila in other fics in the past, but i think the difference here is how much emotional strain she's under and how fraught her relationship is with luz. trying to figure out how she approaches meeting her daughter when she's trying to balance Not Being Overbearing with wanting to be able to hug luz until the end of time..... It's A Lot. hopefully it'll be decent but we'll see!

29. Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?

oh man. i guess i have to decide. hmm. stand by i'm paging back thru my fics.

back after several minutes of scrolling to say all my fave lines and passages are horror-related, Unsurprisingly

there are so many scenes in the luz POV princess fic that i'm still so happy with, in terms of themes and prose and feelings and canon parallels and whatnot.

i picked and then changed my mind about like five things. i GUESS i'll settle on the moment that luz kills belos in the princess AU (in which he's raised her as his heir):

His eyes widen. There’s no real time for the situation to register, but Luz still might see a hint of fear. Sorrow. Betrayal. Wishful thinking, most likely – there is an enormous, vindictive part of her that wants him to feel just as awful as she does. She wants him to put aside the surprise and the rage to wallow in grief so powerful that it eclipses the universe. She wants him to understand that she’s killing him, his Luz, his daughter, this girl that he’s tried to mold into the perfect apocalypse for an innocent world. She wants him to recognize that his life’s work was all for nothing.

without prior context it probably reads as edge for the sake of edge, but the thing is like. i wanted luz to still feel very much LIKE LUZ, to have all of canon luz's best qualities and hopes and dreams and feelings. she's more deft and sly with manipulation than canon luz, but in ways that canon luz ABSOLUTELY could have / would have been if she'd known belos better (remember how many times she played him like a fiddle)?

and these feelings aren't very luz-like at all, so much so that they made a couple readers worry that this was the start of a heart of darkness spiral. but even in this, she's still herself -- crazed with grief and desperation, so so so angry, so so so scared, but what she really wants is for belos to recognize her AUTONOMY. she wants him to know that he couldn't make her into what he wanted her to be. that she's chosen who to be & that that choice involves killing him because he needs to die.

in conclusion. story about killing your abusive parent with hammers and then everyone goes "wow it was so cool and awesome of you to kill that bitch with hammers"

#replies #abuse m #ask game #my writing #toh #princess luz au #long post #i suppose. sorry this took so long to answer i truly had to think so hard on that last one.#cause there are So Many bits i can write equally extensive meta about

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ddarker-dreams · 1 year

Note

You’re writing never ceases from fascinating me and I’ve been meaning to ask this for a while now, but could you perhaps give us some book recommendations? There’s no fixed criteria, nor any fiction or non fiction preference, I really just would like to know what sort of books you enjoy and how they’ve impacted you!

Sorry if there’s any grammatical errors, I don’t use English quite often and my apologies if you’ve answered this question before and I simply did not notice :’)

your english is excellent, don't worry!!! thank you so much for your encouraging words, i really appreciate it 🥺💖💖💖

as for books i'd recommend, you can check out the definitive list here, but i can expand on the impact my favorites have had on me!! i don't think i've done that yet, at least. i'm always down for an excuse to gush about my favorite books.

“I think the devil doesn't exist, but man has created him, he has created him in his own image and likeness.” The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoevsky

ah, my favorite author, who i mention on this blog frequently. TBK takes the crown of being my absolute favorite book. it deals with themes that resonated with me personally, since i grew up in the christian faith and have experienced no small share of skepticism with what was essentially my childhood foundation. while there are plenty of intriguing themes explored throughout this work, dostoevsky's take on the age old question "if there is a god, why does he allow such terrible things to happen, and if such a god exists, can he really be called 'good'?" is a sight to behold. he takes the question very seriously and doesn't settle for simple platitudes to explain it away. at its heart, TBK is deeply human, delving into our flaws and triumphs.

“I admit that twice two makes four is an excellent thing, but if we are to give everything its due, twice two makes five is sometimes a very charming thing too.” Notes From Underground, by Fyodor Dostoevsky

the novella's protagonist, the underground man, embodies some of our more unsightly thoughts and beliefs. he's openly bitter, resenting the 'common man', while secretly pining for the simple joy they're able to live life with, unburdened by being overly self-aware. it's a fascinating look into how self-contradictory people often are. one of the themes this story tackles was a philosophy gaining traction at the time, determinism. through the underground man, dostoevsky posits that humans are not so simple as to always take the best course of action for themselves, as rational egoism would claim. trying to understand people by thinking they'll always act in their best interest, while a nice sentiment, just doesn't match with what we see in reality. people are weird and do weird things, sometimes just for the sake of it. dostoevsky has such a solid grasp on human nature and how confounding it is.

“You will always be fond of me. I represent to you all the sins you never had the courage to commit.” The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

there's nothing like a good ol' fashioned fall from grace. here we get to see the slow yet steady degradation of innocence into depravity, the highs and lows that come from it. the conversations between dorian and lord henry are some of my favorite dialogue exchanges in fiction. there's this wry social commentary, sharp wit, and undeniable charisma. it's almost as if we the reader are being seduced by lord henry's libertine inclinations in the same way dorian is. oscar wilde is another author who has some of my favorite prose. he knows how to paint a scene with words. it's always such a delight to read his work.

“I do know that for the sympathy of one living being, I would make peace with all. I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one, I will indulge the other.” Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley

gothic elements and references to alchemy? i'm running at top speeds. i loved watching this tragedy unfold. frankenstein's monster was always my favorite perspective to read from. his handling of the curse of being created, his initial naïve desire to belong to humanity, then the burning rage upon his unfair rejection... it's so eloquently written. even as he devolves into committing cruel acts, i still felt sympathetic toward him, and similarly lamented 'what could've been' had people been kinder. it's a classic for a reason.

“Thus each of us had to be content to live only for the day, alone under the vast indifference of the sky.” The Plague, by Albert Camus

albert camus is a very fascinating author to me. i'm especially interested in his absurdist philosophy, there are a lot of beats to it that i find appealing. maybe it's due in part to recently experiencing the covid 19 pandemic, but man did this book hit close to home. beyond the metaphysical themes of just living in a world that doesn't care about you and how to handle that realization without falling into despair, it also mirrors a lot of what we saw these past few years. an initial reluctance from positions in power to acknowledge a plague outbreak, the wide range of people's responses (trying to live on as normal, turning to religion, turning away from religion, looking for a way to make profit, looking for a way to help others...), the steady numbness to seeing numbers that represent those taken from the plague every week. camus just nails it. at the same time, the book isn't overly pessimistic or optimistic. there aren't any gallant heroes or nefarious villains. there are just... people, doing what they can, in spite of overwhelming circumstances.

“I was pretending that I did not speak their language; on the moon we spoke a soft, liquid tongue, and sang in the starlight, looking down on the dead dried world.” We Have Always Lived In The Castle, by Shirley Jackson

shirley jackson's prose... i can only describe it as magical. it tickles the brain. right from the beginning, we have a tale of intrigue told from an unreliable protagonist who, throughout the story, you slowly get the sense is somewhat off. there story feels dreamlike in a sense. it's rooted enough in reality where your suspension of disbelief isn't shaken, yet there's also this uncanniness to it that makes for a unique experience.

#sweet asks #recommendations #answered #Anonymous

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justynakulisa · 1 year

Text

On art and literature, and why it's not just "content"

Forgive me in advance for the incoming salt, but this is a rant I've been sitting on for ages. A tweet I saw* only cemented my need for the aforementioned rant, so here we are.

A bit of context first. I worked at a bullshit, huge corporation for almost 6 years; after that, I've moved on to a corporation that's way smaller and involves some actual work rather than bullshitting for 5 days a week, but it's still a corporation. That's a background experience I'll be relying on, mixed with observations of the absolute hellhole that LinkedIn is, with a sprinkle of mainstream media attitude. For the sake of clarity, I usually refer to art and literature as "art", but I'll be using art&lit in the post. With that out of the way, LET'S DIVE IN.

If there's one thing that's aplenty in every corporation, it's the amount of self-affirmative spam you receive every day. Department status updates, newsletters no one reads, trainings and videos to watch, and so on, and so forth. And it is, regardless of the corp and the type of spam, called "content". It's an apt name for it, because it's neither art, nor anything useful. Just a barrage of words some poor soul had to put together. Oh, I'm sorry, not a poor soul. A content creator.

I can say I'm a content creator at my day job. I write software documentation and manuals. It requires some thought and some effort, it's not a bullshit job I could ignore without any negative consequences to me or the company or the world at large. But it's not art I create there. It's content. It's got no artistic value whatsoever except maybe for explaining concepts in an easy-to-understand way. The companies themselves have got no qualms about calling that type of fruit of their employees' work "content". That at least doesn't bother me. "Content" is an adequate term for repetitive, artless form of work that require creating something out of nothing.

But when the same term is applied to art&lit, when artists and writers are called "content creators", I grow spikes like a porcupine.

I understand why it's easy to use those terms. They're easy, umbrellous enough, and carry their meaning well. It encapsulates people who don't do art&lit, but dabble in education, design, what have you. But the results of their work isn't content as it's seen at its core and at its roots.

You churn out content daily and often without effort. Those instagram accounts posting variations of the same photo every day? That's content. A book written for 3 years and edited for the next 2, full of gorgeous prose and magnificent storytelling, or a painting that took weeks to finish? That's not content. That's art. And people who let it into the world by effort of their hands are artists.

That line of thought brings me back to that tweet I linked earlier. "Media consumption" is just as dehumanised, nebulous term for experiencing art&lit as "content creation" is to refer to the act of writing and painting/drawing. It assumes the interaction with content at the speed and rate it's created. Which is: fast. Then faster. And faster and faster, until both you and artists end up in an ever-rushing cycle of more, more, more. (I already ranted about streaming and the effect it's got on media, so I'll stop myself from doing it again ;)). But, FOMO, anyone? I'm sure all of us have experienced it at least once at some point. Corporations and mainstream media have got a way of slithering into our lives and taking terms and things that make us happy for themselves. They also tend to flatten nuances, limit imaginations, and produce countless iterations of the same trope if only they realised it was popular. (Side note: it's very obvious in traditional publishing when agents and editors seek stories centred around a motif for some 5 years after the first book with that motif made a breakthrough. That's something to talk about for another time, though.) And after all traces of what made an idea unique and brilliant, after art&lit have deteriorated into simple content, then both terms truly become equivalent.

I don't think that simplification is something we as a society should condone.

___

* - as often happens, given tweets' fleeting nature, this on too no longer exists. (should've made a screenshot, that's what). it had something to do with commercialisation of entertainment and the push for new films and shows and stories be published faster and faster as a never-ending stream you cna drown in. or so i think, at least.

#culture #crossposted on my website #modern media #contentisation will kill art and us artists with it and we can't let it do that

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polutrope · 7 months

Note

Now it's your turn, smut sis! 😁 Don't know if you've answered these already, but here they go: for the smut asks, 1, 6, 18, 19, and 24 for Maemags, please?

Thank you for the ask! From this list (feel free to send more, I left in the tags which I've answered).

Share your philosophy of smut. Why do you write it, and what does it mean to you?

Sexual arousal is a feeling just like sadness, anger, amusement, and all those other things writing can help us to feel and process. It happens that one of the things I seem to enjoy and be good at helping people feel is horny. So be it. (That being said I go through spells of wanting nothing to do with it and then write Genfic about kids or something.)

I genuinely believe putting characters in a state of sexual arousal is an amazing way to explore who they are and their dynamics with other characters. The previous point notwithstanding, smut does not have to be hot. No smut will be hot to every reader. But it may help a reader think about the source work, themself, or just the human condition, in a new way.

How do you think your smut writing has evolved?

Answered here. Will add that my adventurousness has definitely evolved and continues to evolve (it seems) with every piece. I am no longer shocked by anything that bubbles up in my mind.

What’s the weirdest thing you have researched for the sake of a smut fic? Can be within the scope of Tolkien canon or on a topic completely outside it.

Answered here. I know there are more but annoyingly cannot think of them.

Share a smut rec for Maedhros/Maglor

Two recent contributions to the tag which I think you have already read:

Dark Flavour: and some of us returned by @i-am-a-lonely-visitor. This was initially posted on Anon because it's a silmkinkmeme fill and I was not going to read it because of the tags but I took a peek and was immediately drawn in by the gothic kidnap fam framing and the gorgeous prose. Probably not a fic for everyone, but if you feel up to giving the tags a chance, it's all handled with dark and sensitive beauty imho.

Funny Flavour: Mapmaking by @meadowlarkx. Lark excels at wit and sex and this was both hilarious and hot and tender. So much teasing.

I have to add one that is not fully smutty (though it still has scenes that titillated me), Such a Marriage by DifferentSong. This is a silmkinkmeme fill the author just posted to AO3. I hope they get more encouragement to continue because it is such a beautiful fic and a nuanced treatment of the characters and relationship.

Share a favorite passage from one of your smut fics.

Already shared two but happy to provide! Luthien tops Daeron in my bisexual fantasy in Of Changing and of Shifting Shape below the cut.

“How is this?” She passes the tip of her finger into him and he gasps again. It slides in so easily, and he feels himself loosen around her. “Good.” He swallows and thinks, ‘Better than he was,’ because whatever Lúthien has managed to produce with her own body feels exquisitely warm and viscous, without any of the discomfort that usually accompanies this act. Another finger slides inside him and she begins to pulse with her hand. “And did he take you from behind? Or did you face him, staring into each other’s eyes as you chased ecstasy?” As she speaks, her fingertips find the spot that spatters his vision with stars – only, when she does it, there is heat radiating from her, setting his nerves alight. Daeron has to pant through his reply. “I was - ah! - facing him. He hooked his strong arms under my knees and –” suddenly, unwelcomely, Lúthien pulls her fingers from him and does as he has just described. Daeron lifts his neck to glance down. She has hiked her dress up to her thighs and his eyes widen at what he sees. In place of her beautiful, soft folds she has a thick, straight shaft, turgid and wet. It is not something Daeron ever imagined wanting but when he sees her kneeling over him like this – her round, plump breasts hanging like swollen dew drops as she brings herself forward, her nipples dark and pert, and beneath that the most perfectly-shaped cock he has ever seen, its head blushing a deep red and gleaming – seeing her like that he is making fists around the tangle of blankets beneath him to avoid spilling over his stomach already, simply imagining her inside him, filling him completely.

#asks #smut asks #daeron x luthien #maemags

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des-no9 · 5 months

Text

Des' fav BG3 fics...so far

Inspired by @mightymizora gonna do a small post of my fav BG3 fics so far with a couple of comments as reviews. I mean, most of my target audience has seen them I'm sure (our githyanki corner is small) but if you're ever interested in Voss and Orpheus and haven't read these yet, please enjoy <3

All of them are one shots, however my Orpheus/Voss/Vanquish fics are part of a series that spans from young Orpheus and Voss, during in-game Acts and eventually to post BG3 and the githyanki rebellion.

first among many Tav(Vanquish)/Kith'rak Voss 5k; E

When Voss visits their camp, revealing his and the githyanki's truths, Vanquish asks him to stay. For Lae'zel's sake, or her own?

"so do you want my first born? or maybe all my mortal possessions? my money? my entire life? nothing i have could possibly come close to repaying you for this absolutely delectable meal you’ve given us" "Well, now I have a new fixation. Thank you, this was wonderful."

V. Tav(Vanquish)/Kith'rak Voss 10k; E

Where a few weeks after her first night with Kith'rak Voss, her guardian pulls back the curtain and reveals all, and Vanquish makes an impulsive nightcall to Kith'rak Voss at Sharess' Caress.

"Never again apologize for something being "too long", you. I was lamenting my scroll bar nearing the end of the page well before any words actually ceased." "This is INTENSE. Vanquish and Voss are once again fantastic together in all their complicated sexy ambiguity.......but last of all: I love both the art and the dictionary! The created phrases and tir'su drawings add so much to what is already a fantastic fic."

the one who bleeds Orpheus/Voss 4k; E

A snapshot of young Orpheus and Voss and a look into their lives, the meaning of Orpheus' tattoos, and what it means to be the one who bleeds.

"Such poetry, my god, everything about this was dreamlike and wonderful, absolutely fantastic!" "This absolutely bangs. What a beautiful prose style! I love how it evokes the rhythms we hear in Tir’su......Absolutely thrilling to read."

godless grace Orpheus/Reader 5k; E

You're Prince Orpheus' saviour. And tonight he's going to thank you.

"Oh gosh, this one had me equally enthralled and on edge....You continue to write infatuation with Gith so beautifully, and I am here for it!" "I have read this several times just, enjoyment the whole way through. Finding words for this feels important, yet keysmashing in glee has been most of what I've had until now.......Gods. I really appreciate your attention to detail. It makes these works so much more toothsome and whole."

personal show Tav(Vanquish)/The Emperor (and the unwilling guest, Orpheus) 1.3k; E

Where Vanquish and The Emperor give the chained Orpheus a personal show.

"heellloooo!! i’m going insane" "what the hell dude this is POETRY so good <333 thank you for blessing this world with this fic"

#bg3 #bg3 fanfic #orpheus/voss #tav/voss #tav/the emperor #des writes #thank you this is a super cute idea and was very fun!!#des' fics #bg3 fanfiction #githyanki #kith'rak voss #orpheus bg3 #bg3 orpheus #bg3 tav #the emperor

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professorspork · 11 months

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Any chance you'd actually want to do a breakdown of the writing and literary techniques you used in Newsbees? Any excerpt of your choice honestly, I'm always curious about how other writers think about their own work

A) I just want to say that what truly delights me is that this hit my inbox last night, a full 12 hours before the epilogue was posted (and contained within it a request for asks just like this). Way to read my mind! It made me happy!

B) Oh gosh this is so broad WHAT SHOULD I TALK ABOUT

okay after much dithering, using an online dice-rolling tool to pick a chapter to talk about and then being like 'this tool didn't pick the right chapter' I am going to talk about chapter 12, aka the romance novel bed-sharing one right before everything goes to shit.

Before we begin, you'll note that I still insist on calling a wolf at your door chapter 12 even though on AO3 it's chapter 13. I get why for coding reasons AO3 probably can't support calling a prologue "chapter zero" because something like 0/21+ is not a helpful chapter count in the same way 1/23 is but still the discrepancy chafes and I'm glad people have mostly indulged me on this point.

ANYWAY

Firstly, I'll point out that the chapter bears all of the usual hallmarks of what I know defines my prose and which I lean into with some degree of purpose. To pick a portion from the section on Blake's panic attack as an example:

She sinks shakily to the tile and curls into a ball to cry. After hours of gripping onto what remained of her sense with white-knuckled desperation, forcing herself to at least dissociate long enough to find a place to get out of the storm, she can’t fight it any more. Every single emotion she’s been barely keeping at bay—the powerlessness, the fear, the self-hatred, the sorrow—crashes through her all at once, bulldozing the fragile internal structures she’d relied upon to stay upright until there’s nothing inside her but splinters and wreckage.

It’s over. It’s over.

Gods, why won’t she fucking stop crying?

She bites down on her fist—anything to quiet the violent, hiccuping sobs that are wracking her lungs and depriving her of much-needed air—but it’s no use. You’ll wake everyone up, shut up, shut up, you stupid, sloppy bitch shut up.

Inane. Infantile.

Pathetic.

She has no idea how long she stays there, blubbering on the shower floor like a toddler. Time stretches like taffy, malleable and meaningless. She weeps until she’s empty; until even the derogatory, incisive shame is gone and only her hollow husk is left. And then…

…ever so slowly…

…cognizance creeps back in.

Apparently, she’s shivering.

The air in Yang’s apartment, which had felt near-stifling upon Blake’s arrival, is now crisp and biting against her clammy skin.

Gee, can you tell I like alliteration? In just this singular 226-word excerpt, there are eight uses of it (sinks/shakily; stupid/sloppy; inane/infantile; time/taffy; malleable/meaningless; hollow/husk; cognizance/creeps; crisp/clammy)-- and that number goes up, even, if you count incidental usage like 'with white-knuckled' or 'been barely.'

As I've matured as a writer I've shied away from prose that's florid just for prettiness' sake, but I do still indulge in this sort of... lyrical, tone-poem narration, especially in moments of great introspection or emotional import, as Blake's breakdown certainly is. All my writing-- not just dialogue-- is something I both hear and listen for, and the cadence and rhythm of the sentences is something I will tweak over and over and over again throughout the editing process until I'm satisfied with its flows and eddies. This is why I'll often use entirely unnecessary em-dashes to indicate breaths and pauses; to me, that sort of mouthfeel of the phrasing is just as important as the vocabulary is. Alliteration is a great way to get at that sort of smooth, elevated and heightened affect without being too conspicuous; my hope is that no one actually noticed "jesus christ there are eight alliterative pairs in this one half-page's worth of writing" until I pointed it out. It's... a flavor, a seasoning, that provides a bit of lift.

This excerpt also provides a few examples of another favorite thing of mine, which is pairing TWO adjectives for specificity's sake (and that sort of breathing meter). Blake's sobs could have been violent or hiccuping instead of both, but using both gives their brutality and physical embodiment emphasis; time being both malleable and meaningless shows two different facets of the sort of warping she's experiencing; her shame being both derogatory and incisive gets at how it hits both emotionally/verbally and internally/physically. (That's twice there I've said how I want the words to feel physical, to put you in Blake's shoes, and that's also very much a hallmark of my writing and this work specifically. There's a reason Blake throws up or nearly throws up so many times in this story, including in this chapter. I wanted her anxiety to feel LIVED IN, this toxic thing that her body literally has to reject and expel any way it can.)

The last thing this excerpt has that I want to remark upon is an incredibly considered simile-- how Blake's panic attack "crashes through her all at once, bulldozing the fragile internal structures she’d relied upon to stay upright until there’s nothing inside her but splinters and wreckage." I think it's always a worthwhile project to come up with metaphors that haven't been used a thousand times, because readers deserve novelty and forethought, but I really considered how I wanted to portray her feelings here. In other chapters, I compare Blake's panic/trauma to a treacherous ocean filled with dangerous creatures, or to a runaway train; Yang, of course, gets her big moment where she feels like a volcano. All of these things are scary and unpleasant, but they are so in radically different ways. Whereas the ocean metaphor is sort of all about depth and playing the long game, getting dragged under and the process of erosion, I wanted this one to be sudden and impactful. The first thing I came up with was a tornado, but that a) felt a little tired to me and b) still came from the natural world, which didn't feel quite right. The sort of manmade, architectural language I ended up going with reinforced far better the point I was making: that Blake built and constructed her sense of calm purposefully, and it was now being torn down by someone else's violent efforts.

PHEW okay I think that's enough talking about that one small section.

Overall, the chapter also contains a lot of the sorts of tricks and modes I relied on throughout the fic-- playing around with time, explicitly referencing callbacks to earlier in the story, the Adam that lives in Blake's head. This chapter is also, of course, the debut of The Font, which was really fun for me. Blake falling asleep instantly in Yang's bed after two dozen chapters of how bad her insomnia is was a payoff that had been in the outline from the earliest stages. The Hug is both important in its own right but also a reference to yet another musical, Waitress ("I hope someday, somebody wants to hold you for twenty minutes straight..."). Seeing as this is a Newsies adaptation, I wanted it to feel in many ways LIKE A MUSICAL-- to have those big, bold feelings-- but the one thing Newsies isn't is a romance, and I found myself thinking often of love songs from other shows to sort of fill in those gaps. That could honestly be its own post so I won't get into it more now, lol.

OKAY MY GOODNESS THIS IS GETTING LONG I'M GONNA CUT IT OFF THERE. But I hope that was interesting for folks, and if so PLEASE ASK ME MORE QUESTIONS I LOVE QUESTIONS.

#newsbees au #fic what i wrote #rwby

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