#this list is so small and these authors have written other awesome stuff so check em out too!

[nobodycallsmerae]

Hello, Hello!

Soo, a few days back, I had shared a post asking for some BBRae AU fanfiction recommendations, so, let's put the fact aside that it didn't really help... but now, I'm here to share some stories that I've read, and I recommend reading!

So, this list only consists of AU (Alternate Universe) stories where they aren't superheroes, so you can skip it if you want ^^

So... I won't rank them, because I think every story is amazing, (and I'm pretty easy to please,) so, I'm just assorting them as I keep collecting the links :) Also, I'll try my best to review the stories without giving away any spoilers...

Firstly, there are too many good fics to count, but here I am mentioning the ones which stood up in my mental folder. (Also, it only includes completed stories.)

This list includes all types of stories, high school, co-workers, roommates and all... the ratings are between T-M.

(Links lead to stories on Fanfiction.net.)

The Butterfly Effect -by Light NS | Rated M for semi-sexually explicit material and topics of depression and suicide.

This story definitely comes in my top-5 list blindly, and it deserves so much more! The story is about Gar and Raven, who are adults now... and let's just say there are far too many coincidences in this one! It's a lovely story with also a healthy amount of tension... because, I personally believe it can't be BBRae without some arguments *shruggs*. You should definitely check it out if you haven't already!!

Broken -by LightNS | Rated T

Oofff... okay, so this story is actually one of the first BBRae stories I've read and it's really close to my heart...

First of all, I want to say that the characters in this story are freakishly accurate. I mean, the personalities are on-point. In this story, the Titans are high schoolers, but this isn't exactly a high school romance kinda book. To be honest, this isn't exactly a romance book..(?) It's more like an action/thriller... And... it isn't heavily a BBRae book... I mean, yeah, it is based on those two characters, and Gar spends most of his time crushing on her... but, y'know, it's a book that shows both of them growing... and learning about each other -and themselves.

The writer does an amazing job to portray the character's feelings and personalities, and I'm sure her writing won't disappoint you.

The only drawback this story has is... well, it has a discontinued sequel named "Glass", so, it's kinda sad that, I mean, I've fallen in love with those characters... but, they don't really have a happy ending soo…

This writer is also on Tumblr, @lightns881 , so you can also visit her blog and support her!

By the way, there're also really great BBRae communities to be found on Fanfiction.net and you can check them out for more fun stuff to read. The ones I thoroughly recommend are:

"Best Of BBRae" which basically has all the goodness, IU and AU (but, it's a bit old so... you might not see newer fics there.); and

"Best Of BBRae AU's" which is a collection of one of the best AU stories.

Moving on...

Everything Has Changed -by Chibi 1309 | Rated M for Mature themes and language.

This story also comes in my beloved top-5 list!!

I don't really know what to say about this story without ruining it, but if you're on the lookout for an adult Titans BBRae fic, this is definitely your stop. Well, let me just say that, Gar and Rachel are best friends, a troupe I personally adore, and they live together in an apartment in Jump City.

This story has a lot... I mean, A LOT of feels, and the writer... *chef kiss* She really knows what she's doing. May it be the setting, the characters, the emotions... the author could deliver it wonderfully.

It also has a lot of other Titan members, so I like the fact that it also gives us an insight on what's going on in their lives too, rather than just Gar and Rachel.

Hands up in surrender, I won't say anything else, because I don't trust my mouth (or fingers), but this work is definitely a must read.

"Spy vs Spy" by Caitastrophe8499 | Rated M for mature themes, violence, and adult situations.

This... is a masterpiece people. You should definitely read it... like RIGHT NOW!

In this story, Gar and Rae are from rival agencies, Doom Patrol and Titans, and as fate has it, they're forced to work together. Neither of them are happy about it, because of each other's cocky and standoffish attitude and as both of them work best solo... and also... both of them hate each other... at first. This book, it includes lots of action, and if you knew me, you'll know that I am a sucker for crime and thriller. I mean, this story in itself is so great, it could be adapted into an ACTION MOVIE!! Or maybe a graphic novel to start with. :)

And what's best about it is, it doesn't only show two people romance each other, it shows a group of people working together to catch a deadly villain. I won't say much more to build suspense, but all I'll say is, it's entertaining, spicy, and the character dynamic fit perfectly with their relationship and situation, and if you haven't read it, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!! CHECK IT OUT NOW!! This will probably be one of the best recommendations of your life.

Assuming -by magisterquinn | Rated T

This is a feel good, light-hearted BBRae story that I very much enjoyed. So, basically, it's about Raven (or is it Rachel, I forget), and how the (dashingly handsome and) annoying employee won't leave her alone. She also gets a series of mail that sparks her interest, and I don't trust myself to say more without spoiling it.

Magisterquinn, the author, has an amazing collection of the BBRae (AU) stories they've written, "Chivalry Isn't Dead", "Making Mr.Right" (a must read) and "In Paris" to name a few, so, I definitely recommend checking out their profile for amazing and clever reads.

The Malchior Widow -by beautifulpurpleflame | Rated M

...this story...all I wanna say is... if you haven't read it, you're missing out on something wonderful in your fangirl(/boy) life.

This story is based on my favorite troupe, which is where all Gar wants is for Raven to open up to him. It's like, Raven is a reserved, "untouchable" person, and Gar, being Gar... feels an urge to talk to her. After many, many attempts, when Gar finally talks to her, his friends are like, "How'd you get her to talk?" or "How's she open up to you?" and the response is, "No one's ever even tried before."

"The Malchior Widow" goes at a satisfying, feel-good pace... and it's one hell of a journey. I mean, as the title suggests, Raven's a widow, and she isn't exactly open to the possibility of loving... or trusting someone else yet. It shows not only both of them falling in love... but also understanding, knowing, and learning to trust each other.

Another good AU story by Beautifulpurpleflame is "The Beach House", so you can also read that.

Honorary mention::

"How To Save Her Life" (Rated T) by "Beautifulpurpleflame"

If you're looking for a wholesome, toe-curling good, filled with feels, amazing, awesome, family Titans BBRae story... this book will give you everything... or any of Beautifulpurpleflame's stories really...

I mean, that girl... is a legend... Her stories are so great.. just... I'm speechless

Don't forget to check 'em out.

You can also follow this amazing writer on Tumblr, @beautifulpurpleflame , and show her some love and support.

Okay, another story... Now this may be considered cheating, as I'm only including completed stories... but I couldn't stop myself from not mentioning this story...

Nevermore Records -by LilyTimbers | Rated T

According to the author, only one chapter and an epilogue is left... so, I guess we could wave it off with a yellow flag?

I, myself, can't go on a single day without music. And the idea of my favorite team of superheroes... being a Rock Band..? Boy, ya' don't gotta tell me twice!

This is a slow burn story, which includes Gar in his mid-twenties, along with the other Titans (except Raven), being a part of a Rock Band, which plays gigs at different places just as a side hobby. But, as they have real talent, they get a once in a life-time chance to be an officially labeled band, they're ought to be super hit. Here, we also see some other Titans, which is a real sight for sore eyes sometimes... But, just being good doesn't mean that everything's out for them in a gold platter. The team itself faces lots of challenges which is, truth be told, really entertaining. And the fact that Gar's love interest is his own manager? Oooh... you're up for a real good ride...

I'll keep the rest of the reading to you... and believe me, the story is waaay better than my small review.

The author is also an amazing artist, and has many beautiful BBRae fanarts on her Tumblr profile @lilytimbers , so you can follow her for updates! (though tbh I think you already do... but I felt like saying it, soo...)

If you're also a sucker for musical band based BBRae story, don't forget to check out

Harmony -by Kid Walker | Rated M

Here, Raven joins a singing group which does covers, and quite willingly, she can't seem to keep her eyes off of their leader/director, Gar Logan... and looks like he can't either. It's an amazing story, and I believe you'll really enjoy reading it!

(The story itself is complete, just some extra bonus chapters that the Author posts are yet to be updated, so I guess this story qualifies.)

.

There is also a huge collection of amazing BBRae AU stories on Wattpad, too many to count, but here are two stories that I remember... and had a good time reading...

(On Wattpad only: (and only completed ones.))

High School -by anssoftball94

Soo... as you might've guessed from the title, here Gar and Rae are high schoolers. They live together with Rick (Dick/Robin), Kory and Vic in the Tower. I guess we could call it a slow burn, and what I enjoy is it also has the other Titans in a satisfying amount.

What I love about this story is that Gar and Rae don't just jump into a romantic relationship (like most teens do, I'm just sayin'!) and start a romance, no. In this story, first, they understand each other... and in a subtle manner, fall for each other. It's a really sweet and practical story, and I really enjoyed it... (even though I had to wait for the ending for decades!!)

Just one thing that makes this story a bit weird is that instead of "Gar" or "Garfield", Beast Boy is mentioned as "Logan" throughout the whole story... so... it was a bit... y'know? *shruggs*. But otherwise it's a must read.

A+ -by NikolaDabrowska

This story, to be honest, will definitely qualify as a cliché high school romance, "popular basketball kid falls for introverted bookworm nerd", but I really enjoyed reading it.

I mean like, you know what they say about Disney Classics, right? Even though we've read Beauty and The Beast or Snow White, we still like to watch the movies..? This story's like that.

Even though the troupe is kinda cliché, the story itself is executed in a very engaging manner, with interesting character dynamics and some original plots, so, I would definitely recommend reading it. (I, myself, have read it more than five times...)

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So, that was a list of the BBRae AU stories that I highly recommend! There are more amazing (and incomplete) stories out there to read, but these are just the ones I've thoroughly enjoyed (and remembered.)

Also, feel free to share your BBRae story, if you have written any, and I'll happily read and support your story!!

Happy Reading!

Quick endnote, if you've read this post till here, do me a favor and check out my stories too! ;)

On Fanfiction.net and Wattpad.

All of my stories are complete, instead of "Tease Is Just The Cover" on FF.net (which I don't think I'm gonna work on any time soon), so feel free to check 'em out!

Sorry for the advertising, but I also want an audience y'know?

THANK YOU! And I hope you have a good day/evening/night ahead!

#bbrae #garchel #garrae #teen titans #fanfiction #au #alternate universe #recommendations #fanfic recommendation #titans #raven #rachel roth #raven roth #beast boy #changeling #gar logan #garfield logan

[freykitten]

Frey’s fic recs list!

I realised there’s a dry spell happening in my fic reccommendations tag (”can i interest you in this masterpiece”, perhaps with a question mark at the end idk anymore), and we’re off season, so appreciating the writers creating content now is very important, so here’s a very incomplete list of season 12 (with a smidge of CDR) fics I’m obsessed with. 

It’s absolutely not all the fics I would happily rant about to everyone who listened - it’s very on top of my head - but almost all authors I mentioned have more RPDR works, so check that out and browse the tags of ships you’re interested in (that’s how I found a big part of those gems). Oh, and comment, even if it’s just keysmash or screaming. It means the world, trust me on that.

“we didn’t start the fire” by @pink-grapefruit-cafe - lesbian AU, multichap, in progress (Jankie, Ninex, Trixya + I’m hoping for Kamasia)

When I think of this story, I start smiling and bounce with excitement, because it’s just that freaking fantastic. I’m still in awe with how well Charl is executing this concept, and I stopped expecting anything less than splendind from her even before I got to know her. How does she know so much about firefighters? I’m guessing a lot of detailed research came into outlining this story and I have the most respect for that. But the plot! Okay, so it’s a firefighter AU. I can’t tell you too much not to spoil anything important, but it starts with a bang to your own head, and then it doesn’t slow down. We get to explore characters one by one, but through the lense of relationships and dynamic, and it’s done in such a smart way. I promise you’ll be hooked one paragraph in, and by the end of the first chapter- you’ll be addicted.

“A Goode Idea“ by @goodemornting​ - lesbian AU, one shot (Crygi)

I had and incredible pleasure of betaing it, but I’m not biased at all what I say this fic is hilarious. It’s fantastically written and had me surprised at every turn. I had the most fun reading it each time. The idea is, well, absurd. Like, literally. Crystal gets her hand stuck in a vending machine on her way to a blind date. But our girl is not a quitter, oh no, but the machine is runway commentary on Drag Race and Crystal’s hand is jokes about Michelle’s breasts. Just... can’t let it go. Thankfully, there comes salvation in a form of Gigi Goode, who’s been stood up on a blind date. Are you, like, connecting the dots here? Because they’re not. At all. This fic is prime entertainment, give it a read.

“I Remember“ by @imposterzoe - one shot (Jiji)

MY HEART WAS RIPPED OUT, SET ON FIRE, AND STEPPED ON, BUT NOT IN ATTEMPT TO PUT OUT THE FLAME. I thought about this fic and, jesus, it still hurts. It’s a great angst, truly a great one. It’s all loneliness and heartbreak and yearning that makes the lungs burn. “dear god he needed a hug. But the one person he would accept it from was in another man's arms, on the other side of the country.” - I can’t get this line out of my head and I don’t regret it - it’s a very good one, but it just hurts a lot. Incredible, incredible work. 

One Direction (to your heart) by @opalescent-cheetah​ - lesbian AU, multichap, in progress (Jaida/Crystal)

Back to the fun stuff! IT’S A SOULMATES AU. I’M WEAK FOR SOULMATES AUs. And you might not understand my love for that trope (it’s legit my favourite one ever), but you will understand my love for that story as soon as you start it. It’s a fun spin on the soulmate tottoos trope - you’re not born with it, but once you get your first tattoo, it’s mirrored on your soulmate’s skin. And Jaida really doesn’t get the appeal of having the universe decide for you about who you’re going to love - she prefers to make that decision for herself, so when arabic letters spelling “One Direction” appear on her chest, it’s less than ideal. But she doesn’t think too much about it. That, or the fact her new coworker insists of blasting 1D songs all day long. She might not enjoy Crystal’s taste in music, but she sure enjoys her company. A lot. A whole lot.

I almost forgot to mention it, but the fact each chapter has a seperate illustration drawn for it? And they’re all so pretty? Wonderful.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered by @missjanjie - lesbian AU, multichap, in progress (Sportsdoll, Crygi)

I promised myself one rec for one author and with Joley it was the most difficult to stick to that rule (and we’ve had Charlotte on this list, and I’m whipped with everything she writes, so visualise the struggle here). But I chose this one, because it’s just!!! so good!!! Jan is a simple collage student with typical collage student problems. You know, exams, boring readings, pining for your French pen pal, morning lectures, handing in assignments on time. Crystal is her roommate, and has typical roommate problems: sharing chores, remembering which sweets are whose, and telling your secret crush you have to pretend to be in love, because your roommate decided to invite her French pen pal to your wedding, so now you have to stage everything. That’s a normal Tuesday evening for them. And an awesome story for you to follow.

“small wonder“ by wildewoman_22 - lesbian AU, one shot (Jankie)

This list is supposed to be fics that live rent-free in my head, so this one should have been put as the first one. It made me sob. It’s so unimaginably beautiful (I’m already getting tears in my eyes and I’m not even talking about the plot, oh my god). Jackie and Jan decide to have a baby, and it’s the most raw, magnificent, but also heartwarming portrayal of pregnancy and different ways to understand motherhood I’ve read. So absolutely beautiful and filled with love. Just, a masterpiece. So mindblowing.

“Some Things Are Bound To Be” by @dollalpaca​ - lesbian AU, multichap, in progress (Kyara)

In Polish we have that saying, “to approach something like dog would a hedgehog”, and to say that was me with that fic is like not saying anything. I love Zyanny and I’m always going to be proud of the things she creates - be it a fic, a moodboard, or a bullet journal - but I didn’t really watch CDR, and the bit I have seen didn’t convince me. So it took me a while to get to that fic. But when I did. Jesus, the only advantage of catching up on it late was the fact I didn’t have to wait for updates, because it’s so good I’d go crazy, like I am now. Kyne is an accountant in a big company, all she wants is to do her job and mind her own business. Really. Give her her papers and peace. That’s all she’s asking for. So of course she’ll get something else - a rumour she’s dating the daughter of the company’s boss. But Kiara is hot and nice and seeing her laugh makes Kyne’s heart do stupid things, so what the hell. One thing she doesn’t know is Kiara’s past, and that might complicate a few things. I don’t know Kiara’s past either and Zyan won’t tell me and I’m going crazy here. Come join me in my misery - the way her characters are written makes it all worth it.

“countless chances” by @essenceofhall - lesbian AU, one shot (Crygi)

IT’S A HARLEY QUINN/POISON IVY AU, PEOPLE. And it’s blowing my mind. The characterisation in that fic is immaculate - it’s like original personalities of Ivy and Harley were mixed with something very, very original, and it’s owned - done so surely and with so much craftmanship - they feel organic as Crystal and Gigi. This fic is the best way of creating an AU based on existing characters I’ve read, and with a lot of certainty I can say that it will remain as the best one. It’s pure brilliance. I am blown away. Impressed beyond the point of expression. 

“Blue Neighborhood” by @imalwaysaslutfordrag - lesbian AU, a series of astounding one shots, in progress

I won’t write too much about this, because I probably could whip out a separate post about BN and it would be just as long. It’s one of the best stories I’ve read in my entire life, and I don’t mean just fics, I mean all literature. Every aspect I could talk about is entrancing. Phenomenal work that deserves all the praise.

#that got... long #whoops #don't regret a thing #besides not addin 50000 works more into that #can i interest you in this masterpiece? #so there is a question mark after all #support your writers please <3 #frey rambles

[t100ficrecsblog]

an interview with @burninghoneyatdusk​ (she/her) What are you working on right now? Right now I’m prioritizing prompts for the Bellarke Writers for BLM Initiative, which is a mix of new prompts and requests for WIP updates. I just posted a chapter update of my fic Voices in the Water, which is a canon-verse/everyone is a grounder arranged marriage AU with a bit of a twist, and next I’m working on a new prompt. After that, I’ve got three chapters of All Because of You  requested. All Because of You is a modern AU with bellarke as *platonic* coparents. The story is told in alternating flashbacks and present day (every other chapter). The flashbacks focus on them growing closer during Clarke’s unplanned pregnancy and the present is seven years later, where they have to come to terms with their feelings for each other when Clarke gets engaged to someone else.

What’s something you’d like to write one day? I would love to publish a novel one day. For years I had a YA dystopian/time travel trilogy kind of planned but I poked too many holes in it and want to start from scratch in that regard. Another novel I want to write is one that covers three generations of women, looking at mother-daughter relationships, women in society, generational trauma… a lot of stuff. It was inspired by learning about my grandmother’s life more and thinking about how it impacted her relationship with my mother, and in turn my mother’s relationship with me.

For fanfiction, beyond my current prompts and WIPs, I have two other fics outlined. One is an AU inspired by the movie Plus One. The other is a soulmate AU that’s a bit dark and involves immortality, magic, and essentially Bellamy as a villain with a redemption arc.

What is the fanwork you’re most proud of? I think All Because of You will probably remain my most popular, but right now I’m most proud of Voices in the Water. More so than my other fics, it has a more concise plot and I’ve done a deeper dive into Clarke’s character as an Azgeda assassin and I think the reader really gets into her head more than my other multiple POV fics. It’s also my first canonverse fic and I’ve enjoyed diving into that world and expanding upon it where I want.

When did you first start writing fic? I didn’t start writing fic until the beginning of 2019. I first published in February 2019, which was Homesick (It’s a Bittersweet Feeling). It was my first fic and the only multichapter WIP that’s complete right now, so it’s a special story for me.

What frustrates you most about fic writing? I’ve mostly had only a positive experience with fanfic writing. With the exception of a couple stray comments, my readers have been gracious, kind, and most importantly, patient. But I guess it can be challenging when you self-impose pressure because you’re aware that people are waiting for you to publish so sometimes I rush things. I haven’t personally experienced this, but I think that fic writing can also be frustrating when readers feel like you owe them something or unnecessarily offer negative comments that aren’t at all constructive. Some people forget that people are publishing stories for free, in their spare time, often in addition to full-time jobs or school and parenting.

What are your top five songs right now? 1. castles (freya ridings) 2. maniac (conan gray) 3. fired up (grace carter) 4. I am not afraid (g flip) 5. wanna be (betty who)

What are your inspirations? (books, songs, other fic) I take inspiration from all of those things but I would say mostly quotes and random photos on tumblr. I wrote Homesick because I liked the step-siblings/forbidden trope and wanted to write in a small town setting like the one I grew up in. All Because of You was honestly the classic “this is my bedtime daydream story I think about every night” so it’s pretty self-indulgent with the tropes I wanted to use. Voices in the Water was started because I loved the grounder!Bellamy / arranged marriage trope. The wanheda twist came from me reading the 4x11 script to screen with Clarke trying to force herself to shoot Bellamy to save humanity, but realizing that she can’t.

What first attracted you to Bellarke? What attracts you now? I’m not sure I remember a specific moment but I think I remember bellarke being all over my tumblr dash when I started s2 so kind of paying close attention to them during s2. s2 was of course a great season for them and by the ‘knocking on heaven’s door’ scene in 2x16 I was a goner.

Regarding what drew me to them, I think I’ve always loved a good slow burn with the partners/”I’ve got your back” vibe that they have. My first (and biggest) OTP before them was tony & ziva from NCIS which is a really similar vibe although a very different show.

Besides Bellarke, what character or pairing do you like best on t100? I think that Memori is probably my second place ship. Before s7, I would say there was a HUGE gap between my love of Bellarke and Memori, but this season has made me an even bigger Memori fan. I have to say that while I don’t think there was ever a chance of Murven happening, I do understand why people ship it. I think they have great chemistry/a great dynamic and in another life, so to speak, I would have shipped them. 

Regarding characters on their own, I just love all my delinquents, but I think that Murphy is solidly my third favorite character. Raven and Octavia are probably tied behind him.

Why did you decide to start bellarkefic-for-blm? I credit the reason to Kara ( @queenemori ). (Sidenote: everyone go follow her! She’s an amazing fanfic writer and overall just a really positive, awesome person to have in the fandom). I remember reading her post  - and I won’t try to paraphrase, so please take the time to read her it - but in general it got me thinking about how we as a fandom could support the BLM movement in a substantial way that is more than just spreading posts on social media, and in a way that doesn’t lose momentum as time goes on and the movement becomes less “trendy.” I thought about how many people collectively read our fanfiction and how we provide it for free, and if people could just pay a few dollars or however much they can afford and donate that to the cause, we collectively could make a huge difference. So that’s what I’m hoping this is - making a substantial difference in a way that doesn’t fade in time and also uses the power of fandom in a useful way. We have a lot of power if we collectively put it towards something like this instead of fighting over ships or actors or whatnot. I also figured that maybe we’d have readers who weren’t paying attention to the movement and that maybe because they want to submit a prompt, they’d do some research on where to donate, and that in turn helps educate them on the issue - or is at least a start.

Has it been as successful as you’d hoped? So on the positive side, I do think it’s incredible that in about six weeks we’ve raised nearly $1250 and have been able to donate to a variety of organizations. I’m incredibly grateful for the authors donating their time and the enthusiastic readers participating. I don’t mean to sound negative at all, but if I’m being honest, I do feel a little frustration at the lack of participation across the fandom as a whole or maybe more specifically across the AO3 readers. I know that my WIP chapters average about 1k hits per update. That’s a lot of people. Even if you cut that in half because maybe people are rereading, that’s still 500 people. So why are only about 20 of my readers donating to this initiative? I think it’s a bit discouraging when you look at the percentage in that way. 

That’s not to say that I don’t understand that some aren’t financially in a position to donate, but I’ve made it clear that there are other ways to contribute (e.g. signing petitions, writing to politicians) and there hasn’t been traction with that either. So I think that in general, something is always better than nothing and it has in no way discouraged me from continuing this. But I’m hoping that more people are able to participate as time goes on. It’s truly a win-win situation of generating more fanfics for readers and donating to an important issue, so I hope to see the percentage of fanfiction readers submitting prompts increase and am doing what I can to continue spreading the word about it. 

I guess in summary what I’m saying is, I’m proud of what the fandom has done so far, but let’s step it up. We can do more, we can do better. Maybe people will get pissed I said that, but idk. If you read fic and can buy a $3 coffee, you can donate to this cause. It’s important. As was Kara’s point, let’s not see this momentum fade when the BLM movement becomes less ~trendy~.

What are some things you’d like to recommend? Instead of writing an essay about all the fics I love, I’d like to link both my bookmarked fics which is my complete list of bellarke fic recs.

I also want to recommend visiting the Bellarke Writers for BLM Initiative writers’ page - these writers are incredible so please go check out their existing works and continue requesting prompts for the BLM movement!

On the note of BLM, I'd also like to link this article. It's older, written in the aftermath of the Charleston attack, but it remains one of the most thought provoking pieces I've read on race in our country.

it was my honor to interview burninghoneyatdusk! honestly, if you aren’t reading Voices in the Water, which is Bellarke except Clarke is an assassin, you should be. it haunts me. she also organized the very cool bellarkefic-for-blm. 

#bellarke fic #bellarke #the 100 fanfiction #memori #clarke griffin #interview

[mythopoeticreality]

For the reader asks: What do you wish more authors in your fandom would write about?, - What reader or write do you think most deserves a high five?, and Tell me a headcanon (and who you wish would write it)?

Ohh! Awesome! Just the questions I wanted to answer too! xD Thank you, you wonderful nonnie for sending me these!^^ I umm…I might get a bit long-winded here so bear with me….>.>

What do you wish more authors in your fandom would write about?

Oh dear…you just gave me free reign here to give you my fannish wish-list anon. Do you realize what you’ve done?!

Okay, no but, these are some of the ideas and characters I’ve most wanted to see more explored for such a long time now, so this might get a bit long as I’ve been thinking about some of these things for so long, so…let’s split this up by fandom:

Silmarillon/Tolkien:

More Tinfang please, definately! Probably my most obscure fav here,but he has so much potential? I mean, he’s this haf-fey pied-piper type figure and I just need like…all of the fic of him outwitting orcs and robin-hooding it up across Beleriand just basically ruining Morgoth’s day in his own small ways xD I love the idea of Tinfang being this folklorish figure amongst the elves, and I’d love to see more of that.

On that note: More Middle Earth Fairy Lore in general. Yeah I know most of this stuff is only half-canonical at best and pretty obscure, coming from the Book of Lost Tales, but still, it’s just fun? Again, I love the idea of elvish folklore, especially pre-Valarin folklore and I’d love to see more of it, and incorporating some of these older Lost Tales era ideas is such a great way to do it? Besides, the addition of fairies answers an age old question in Tolkien Fandom:

“…they were born before the world and are older than its oldest, and are not of it, but laugh at it much, for had they not somewhat to do with its making, so that it is for the most part a play for them…”

TELL ME THAT DOESN’T SOUND LIKE TOM BOMBADIL TO YOU!?! Case closed. Tom Bombadil is a Fairy.

Asside from Tinfang and Fairy lore, however, There are a couple of things I’d love to see more of in this fandom as well.

More Amlach would always be a blessing.I don’t really see why he is so often overlooked as a character either. Here’s this guy, he’s like, ‘Okay, I’m maybe not so cool with these Elves dragging us into this war of theirs that I certainly didn’t  sign on for’  but then Morgoth comes along, and sends one of his servants to impersonate him while he’s away. Amlach finds out is all ‘What?! You stole my face?! Oh it’s personal, now…” and then goes to find Maedhros and becomes one of his vassals to fight against Morgoth. He has to be one of my favorite Men in the Legendarium, and I can’t help but picture his relationship with Maedhros to be just…so full of snark. He’s not awed by these elves after all, he’s just here because Morgoth’s an asshole. Honestly, I can’t help but feel that if Amlach feels like Maedhros is wrong about something he will speak up about it. And..Maedhros actually appreciates that? Amlach’s honesty, I mean, maybe not the snark all the time xD I just want to see more of that relationship, and it’s development, blossoming into some kind of respect and friendship between the two. Basically Amlach is awesome and I want more of him.

Finally, I’d love to see more Eönwë/Mairon stuff? This is my ship! The whole tragic lovers-to-enemies dynamic that they could have going? Those moments where Sauron came begging to Eönwë at the end of the War of Wrath and things almost, almost looked like things could have been reconciled, where everything stood on a knife-blade and a held breath? YES, I am here for that. And yeah, I’m a sucker for redemption fics, so I’m here for AU’s where Sauron actually did turn around and seek the Valar’s forgiveness as well.

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell:

*slams fist on table* More JSMN Crossovers! I mean, the King’s Roads literally go everywhere, and I can’t be the only one who sees the potential there! You’ve got all of fiction and reality open to you! For instance: 

Send Childermass off on the King’s Roads exploring Faerie and Looking for a way to read Vinculus, and have him stumble on into the DC Universe to run into John Constantine! They can be Snarky Northern Bastards together and deal with Fairies and Demons and Magic! 

Have John Uskglass wander into Wizarding New York in 1926 and meet Credence Barebone! Can you imagine what that would be like? The Raven King meeting this orphan kid who grew up in pretty much the exact opposite situation to himself, In a world where magic is kept a secret, and who had to spend his life suppressing this magic he had? What would be going through John’s head in that moment? What would be going through Credence’s? Can the Raven King take Credence under his wing, get himself a new apprentice? He should. That would be really cool. 

Oh, or what about Strange and Norrell while they’re trapped in the Pillar of Darkness? Send them to Valinor! Imagine the reactions of the Elves and the Valar at the approach of this huge Tower of Midnight. What New Sorcery of Morgoth’s is this? Is this the arrival of some new evil into their realm, like Ungoliant? Imagine this army of Elven warriors – the very same ones that Durring the War of Wrath fought to take down the source of all evil in Middle Earth – all lining up and preparing for battle…only to discover a pair of fondly squabbling academics

Or you know what? We don’t even need the King’s roads for crossovers! One of the things I’ve been most wanting to see in this fandom is a Sandman/JSMN crossover just…focusing on the relationship between Uskers and Morpheus? Like, I could totally see Oberon’s Favorite Foster Son as having encountered the Lord Shaper over here during his time in Faerie? And just, as a being of Faerie, as a Magician, as a Legend in and of himself, he totally has this connection to Dream? And honestly….why wouldn’t I want to see these two being Melodramatic and Goth and Awesome together? I’d really love to see how they’d interact. (Crossovers involving Daniel would *also* be amazing too of course and I’d really love to see John dealing with the feelings of knowing but not knowing Daniel, of interacting with someone who is at the same time so much older and so much younger than himself. How weird does it have to get to begin to stretch at even the Raven King’s own standards for what is “normal?”) 

Other crossovers I’d like to see: John Segundus and Arthur Weasley hanging out because that would be just…the most adorable thing. And Also Henry Lascelles and Lucius Malfoy, because they just kind of deserve one another really xD

Asside from Crossovers I’d really love to read more things focusing on just the general history and world building in JSMN? I want to see like, the effects of magic on things like the Interregnum and the Restoration! I want to see what sort of History Play Shakespere wrote about John Uskglass and How opening night went! (You Know the Raven King showed up,watching from the shadows. You just know it.) I want to see Isaac Newton as a Magician, dammit! (speaking of that last one I got this lovely fic around Christmas Time about that very thing and I am eternally greatful for it, and y’all should go read it)

And honestly, more fics about the Aurate Magicians and John Uskglass would be amazing? I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I want an entire series of novels dedicated to the Aurate era of Magic. I want *all* of the medieval politics and drama. How does John Uskglass interact with say…Emperess Matilda or Henry V? How does magic change things and introduce new issues that have to be delt with? Also…the characters of this time period just *fascinate* me. Yeah, John Uskglass, but also Thomas of Dundale? William of Lanchester? Catherine of Winchester? Donata Torrel and Margaret Ford and their troop of women magicians? Thomas Godbless? Walter De Chepe? Lookit. I just need *all* of the stories about the Aurates.

Oh, and one more thing: No 80′s AU JSMN fandom? I am Dissapoint. I need John Uskglass hanging out in Le Phonographique as is only his natural habitat ;P 

What reader or writer do you think most deserves a high five? 

But there are so many awesome people in both my fandoms? I mean Just going off of the top of my head…

@jordenspuls and @somepallings just seem like all around really cool people and it’s always a delight to see their back-and-forth crossing my dash (even if most of the time I’m too much an awkward nerd to say anything myself) Not only that but they’re also really awesome writers and if you like Johnsquared you should definitely check out both of their work!^^

@ohveda is also super-cool and is also an awesome writer, especially– again – if you like Johnsquared. Also, it always makes me smile when I see a comment on one of my metas, because we’ve always had nice discussion in the past. 

Of course I’ve gotta mention @regshoe here, for loving the Raven King as much I do, for always being an awesome person to talk to and for writing such amazing fic as well as comments in my own stories.

And on that same note, theseatheseatheopensea is another amazing writer in JSMN fandom (seriously, the writing is just georgous. Go read that Isaac Newton story.) and always leaves such lovely comments in my fic as well!^^

Finally, @thearrogantemu and @prackspoor have both written some of my favorite Silm fics.

Tell me a headcanon (and who you wish would write it)? 

Okay, so for most of my headcanons and ideas I don’t actually have an ideal writer in mind for any of them. I’d just really love to see what would happen if anyone took them up and ran with them.

That said, because I cannot provide any actual writers for these headcanons, I will give three each from each fandom to make up for it 8D

The Silmarillion/Tolkien:

  More Fairy Lore from Arda: Before encountering the Valar the elves would often leave out small offerings to appease the fairies and spirits of Middle-Earth. A few berries, a piece of meat from a good hunt, a dish of milk left out on the doorstep. After meeting Oromë and going to Valinor, the offerings became more craft-oriented and were said to be for the Valar, rather than the Fairies. Many – especially amongst the Vanyar – stopped leaving out offerings all together, seeing them as relics of the misunderstandings of the past, too pagan a tradition to continue with. MírielÞerindë, however did continue to leave out small scraps of brightly embroidered fabric as a tribute to Vairë whenever she began a new project. Fëanor continues on in this tradition, leaving a small wire spiral out on his workbench whenever he starts something new – not for the Valar or to keep the Fairies from interfering – but as a tribute to his mother.

Curufin is actually the best rider and horsemen amongst his brothers and taught Celebrimbor to ride 

Arien and Sauron were actually really close before Sauron’s eventual betrayal. Being some of the few Fire-spirits who remained on the side of the valar gave them a particular bond, and  Mairon was someone for Arien to turn to when the feelings of grief and betrayal that her brothers – The Balrogs – left her with grew to heavy. Well that was untill…

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell:

Catherine of Winchester actually didn’t start out as a particularly impressive Magician. Actually, if anything, magic was fairly difficult for her at first. Where she was impressive was in her dedication to her craft, and her shear stubbornness in it’s pursuit was what actually impressed the Raven King enough to take her on as a student (this one is actually a fairly new headcanon for me, but there is something about the idea that I find so appealing…)

Thomas of Dundale is actually a huge nerd when it comes to Arthuriana and tales of Chivalry. He was actually kind of having a bit of a fanboy freakout when he first learned Chrétien de Troyes wrote a song about him. xD More seriously though, tales of Knights and Brave Deeds were what he grew up on before being stolen away to Faerie, and during late nights in the Brugh, when neither of them could sleep, Thomas would keep both himself and John entertained with the old stories his nurse used to tell him. Sometimes he even thinks of himself and John as a kind of reversed Arthur and Merlin. 

William of Lanchester was actually one of the Raven King’s apprentices in his youth. That first week within John Uskglass’s company was one of the most frustrating experiences in William’s life, and by the end of it he well and truely hated John Uskglass and his particular manner of doing things. It was just so much the opposite to William’s own approach? He swallowed it down and pushed on anyway, because he did want to learn, but he ranted to Thomas (who he got on with brilliantly from the start) a lot about John during those early years of their relationship. Thomas helped him stick it out, Thomas gave him space to vent and honestly? Thomas helped smooth things over between William and John when they clashed the most. “He takes growing used to. But he’ll grow on you, if given a chance.” Thomas would say to him. William would just scoff. “Yes. Like a fungus.” Yet by the end of his apprenticeship, William found himself as one of the Raven King’s most trusted advisers and closest friends – and the thing that surprised William the most? When he realized it, he wasn’t surprised at all.

#Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell #Silmarillion #welp #that ended up longer than I thought xD #in which I talk to people #Anonymous

[holylulusworld]

What’s Lulu reading?

I had a request for some Dean series I would recommand to read yesterday. Here is a small collection of my fav fics or fics I want to read.

I highly recommand checking the authors masterlists. There are many more series and one shots to be found ;).

I have many other authors I’m following all are worth to be read. Just check my list out!

There are a lot more story’s I read or I want to read. I need to go through my fav’s for those. I will add more if I have the time.

@kittenofdoomage

I highly recommand her storys and one shots. Just check her stuff out!

Fate waiting (Dean x Reader, complete)

Paid in full (Dean x Reader, Mafia AU; complete) - please be aware of the trigger warnings! One of the best Mafia AU’s I ever read

Where you never were (Dean x Reader, Dr. Whoish - is that a word?) Really unique storyline

House of the rising sun (MobsterDean x Reader, MobsterSam x Reader, ongoing) This series is freaking awesome.

@acreativelydifferentlove

Carry On (AlphaDean x Reader, ABO; complete) Really good and exciting storyline!

@winchest09

Shatter me (Dean x Reader, ongoing) I wasn’t able to read it so far but it sounds damn good!

@negans-lucille-tblr

She has some great John & Negan storys too.

I want to binge read Prized Posession (Negan x Reader, former Rick x Reader, complete)

Daddy Issues (Dean x Reader, John x Reader) AU, ongoing. Naughty smut with an interesting storyline. Not to forget that Sam and Dean are hiding something from the reader.

His Property (mainly Dean x Reader; Sam x Reader) AU, complete; Naughty smut and a thrilling storyline.

@becs-bunker

Taste of you (ongoing) Vamp!Dean x Witch!Reader Very unique idea.

@waywardrose13

Running with wolves (AlphaDean x Reader, ABO; ongoing) Really interesting but partly dark so be aware of trigger warnings. A must read.

Broken Lulluby (Dean x Reader, ongoing) This one is heartbreaking (angst ahead)

I still love you (Dean x Reader, complete) Angsty and well ... sighs ... heartbreaking. Read it!

@there-must-be-a-lock

Marked (Dean x Reader, Kinky and explicit series) Looks very interesting. I want to binge read the whole thing.

@georgialouisea

I hope she was worth it (not a Dean series from the beginning...but damn well written; ongoing) (Dean x Reader, former Sam x Reader)

Meant to be (Jared x Reader), So damn cute. Ongoing. Big brother Jensen.

Never be his (Jensen x Reader, former Jared x Reader), ongoing

Don’t Tell My Wife (Jensen x Reader) Ongoing, cheating                           

@supersleepygoat

(Read the one shot 'placeholder’ too; beyond angsty and sad)

Better for everyone (Dean x Reader, complete) Heartbreaking and angsty

The Way of Love (StepbrotherDean x Reader, AU; complete; no incest!) Very angsty and so so good!

For the Sam girls: District and domains (ABO; AU; oingoing) Really great series.

Just discovered her Long way home (AU, ongoing; Mechanic!Dean)

@flamencodiva

What could have been (Dean x Reader, ongoing) So, so good. A must read!

@angelkurenai

She has more storys and one shots which are all great.

Naturally Alpha (Alpha!Dean x Reader, French Mistake ABO; complete) Very interesting ABO storyline.

@purpleskiesandcherrypies

When the lights go out (Endverse!Dean; complete) Havent’t read it so far but I will if I find the time.

Teacher of the year (ProfessorDean AU; ongoing) Hot Professor Dean smut - do I need to say more? The story got interesting right now...can’t wait for more.

@maximumkillshot

When you call (AlphaDean x Reader, ABO; ongoing)

The situation - Hilarious crack series; Dean as a girl...;). AWESOME!

@crispychrissy

Bed of roses (MobsterDean x Reader, Mafia AU; complete) Check this one out!

@bamby0304

With wolves (ABO; complete)

This is an Alpha!Dean x Omega!Reader x Alpha!Sam series but seriously read that masterpiece! READ IT! I mean it, read that thing!

Apple of my eyes (Dean x Reader, French mistakish - is that a word?; ongoing)

Her Saviours (ABO, ongoing,  Alpha!Dean x Reader, Alpha!Sam x Reader, Alpha!John x Reader - barely)

@coffee-obsessed-writer

The Stranger (Dean x Reader, complete)

For the Sam girls: The pact (Gothic AU) Sam x Reader

@soaringeag1e

Another World (Dean x Reader, complete) Angsty, no beyond angsty

@our-jensen-ackles-love

Dancing in the dark (Dean x Reader, ongoing)

Wicked Games (Jensen x Reader, ongoing)

@cherry3point14

Mine (complete) Dark and obsessed version of Dean (very OOC!)

@covered-byroses

She also has a lot of other great storys. For all Michael!Dean fans a must read blog. Seriously, check her blog out! Not to forget the porn wars!

Ascension - Demon!Dean x Reader (That one is really dark so be aware of the trigger warnings!)

@i4z-0892-il

Eggshells (Serial Killer AU!) This one is really dark. Dean is a serial killer so be aware of the trigger warnings. It’s well damn written.

Monster House (Sam x Reader)

@luci-in-trenchcoats

Dark Nights (Dean x Reader, ABO) Really interesting.

@jay-and-dean

Love me once, shame on me (Dean x Reader, complete) Will binge read that one.

@larajadeschmidt13

Self Control (Professor!Dean AU, complete)

Homewrecker (AUDean x Reader, ongoing)

@winchasterdean

Noise Complaints (AUDean x Reader, ongoing)     

For all Sam Girls I highly recommand having a close look at those blogs:

@saxxxology

The Cursed (ABO; 18th century AU) Unique storyline.

Crazy Love (Soulmates; ongoing)

Captivated

@thecleverdame

The thing we don’t believe in (ABO; AU; complete) Very good and intriguing ABO series.

The woodsman (ABI; AU, complete) Great ABO serious.

Control & Release (AU, TED!TalkSam, dom!Sam; ongoing)  Very hot!

@squirrel-moose-winchester

Boyfriend and Girlfriend (High School!Sam x High School!Reader AU; ongoing) Really cute series.

NON SPN

@darkficsyouneveraskedfor

I just found her blog. It’s dark and I love it. Marvel one shots & Series.

I really liked Witness (Dark!Bucky x Reader, Dark!Steve x Reader, complete, very dark, a lot of smut but it’s so much more, angsty, intriguing, the struggle of the reader. If you are into some darkness mixed with hot smut but you love a good story too - read that thing!

Check also Happy together (Dark!Steve x Reader, ongoing)

Masterlists collection

Kaytizzle - Marvel Series

shreddedparchment - Marvel

darkficsyouneveraskedfor  Marvel (darkfics - One Shots)

#holylulusworld #spn fanfic #dean winchester fanfic #What's Lulu reading #must read

[oskarwing]

Day 2 - A letter for Santa

Characters: Sam, Dean, Castiel, John Winchester (mentioned), Rowena (minor) 

Words: 1280

Author’s Note: This is still in the same universe as the first thing I wrote for this. So if you are interested check it out. I didn’t really intent for this to be a part 2 but it fitted and now I feel like I’ll just make the whole Advent Calendar in that universe... but maybe I won’t. I’ll just have to see if the prompts fit with this setting. Sorry for rambling. Here’s the story.

"You're such a baby, Sammy," Dean said rolling his eyes. "Am not," Sam said pouting. "Are so," Dean said and sighed. "You're being a baby. I won't write that stupid letter for you." "But Dee!" "No. It's stupid and you're being a baby," Dean said again. The Children's home had a big box that was supposed to look like a giant mailbox but to Dean only looked like a stupidly decorated box with a slit and too much glitter. There was Santa's mailbox written on it, they were supposed to put there letter to Santa in it. Sam pouted again. "Won't you write a letter to Santa?" Dean shook his head. "Nothin' I want," he said and bit his lip.

Sam looked at him. "Yes, there is." "No there ain't," Dean said and looked out of the window where the snow was starting to pile. "Why not?" "Cause there ain't, Sammy," Dean said. "Plus Santa isn't even real so you're a baby for believing in him." "He's real! Kevin said he comes here every year and he brings everyone a present and he's really nice and he's real!" Dean rolled his eyes. "That's an actor, dumbass." " 'm not a dumbass!" Sam said. "You're bein' a jerk." Dean shook his head and shrugged getting up. "Whatever. Find someone else to write your stupid letter, I ain't writing it." "It's not stupid!" "Yes, it is," Dean said. "It's super stupid and you're super stupid." He went to leave the room.

Dean entered his room and let himself fall on his bed pulling the cover over his head. He was annoyed with Sammy and with this whole place. "What's wrong?" his roommate asked from behind him. "Nothin'..." Dean mumbled deciding that he was annoyed with him too. "Are you sick? Should I get Jody or Sonny?" Dean shook his head. "Leave me alone, Cas," he said. Cas wasn't that bad. He hated this place but some of the kids were alright and Cas really was alright. Weird but alright. Just right now Dean really didn't want to deal with anyone. "If you are sick you gotta tell someone, Dean," Castiel said sternly. "I'm not sick though," Dean said annoyed. "What's wrong then?" Castiel asked him softly. "Nothin'. Already told you. Nothing's wrong, Cas." "Yes, there is. You're acting like something's wrong." "Am not," Dean said. Cas was silent now and sighed deeply. Sometimes Cas was acting annoyingly like an adult. They spend a little time like this until Dean's head looked out from under the cover. "Do you write letters to Santa?" he asked suddenly. Cas turned around to look at him. "Yes, I do," he said with a little bit of a smile. "Yeah? Why?" Dean asked sitting up. "You don't believe in Santa do you?" Cas shook his head. "Of course not. Santa isn't real." "So why are you writing to him?" "I like it," Castiel said. "In my family, before I came here we didn't get anything for Christmas. There was no Christmas tree and no other decoration," he said and shrugged. "I just like the tradition, figuring out what I want for Christmas and all that stuff," he explained. "And I know it would make my mother and my father angry if they knew I did it so I... I just write them." Dean looked at Cas and saw that he was blushing a little. Cas didn't normally talk a lot about his parents and why he was here. Not that many children did. Dean hadn't told anyone else about Dad and why they'd been taken away either. "It also makes everything so much easier. It's kinda like talking with someone you can trust but it's really not someone real," Cas said and smiled a little. Dean set up in bed and shrugged while he got out of bed and smiled at Cas. "Thanks," he said.

Sam was sitting on his bed hugging his knees and sulking when someone knocked on the door. "Yeah?" he said looking up. "Hey, Sammy," Dean said and entered the room. Sam looked at him. "What do you want?" "Sayin' sorry," Dean said and set down next to him. "So, Sorry." "For what?" he asked crossing his arms in front of his chest, trying to imitate the way adults acted when they wanted them to apologize. "For callin', you stupid," Dean mumbled and smiled at him. "And and a baby and for saying I wouldn't help you, Sammy," he looked at him and ruffled his hair. "I'll help you, okay?" Sam smiled suddenly. "Yes? Really?" Dean grinned. "Yeah. Really." "Awesome!" Sam said and jumped up grabbing his crayons. Dean followed him to write down what Sammy told him to write.

Dear Santa,

I'm really excited that you'll come this year and that I'll get to see you for real. Here's what I wish for Christmas.

A puppy. It doesn't matter if it's a real one or a toy. Dean says we can't have a real one.

One book that Dean can read to me and I can read later once I've learned how to read.

That Daddy will call at Christmas and also that he'll have a nice Christmas and won't drink too much.

Lots of love,

SAM

Sam wrote his name himself drawing a crooked heart next to it. Dean rolled his eyes. He had told Sam that 'lots of love' was a little much. "Let's put it in the box, okay?" he said and Sam nodded.

It was night and it was dark everywhere in the Orphanage. Rowen liked checking in with it from time to time. She wanted to make sure that every child was asleep and safe. Maybe she cared about them, so what? She was a witch but that didn't mean that she didn't have a heart. She checked in every room and was happy when she found the boy, Samuel sleeping deeply. Then she found a room in which there was still light on and Rowena made a face thinking about the child or children that were still up. She would teach them. Rowena went in her body less state into the room and stopped when she saw one boy sitting at his desk a concentrated look on his face reading over a piece of paper. Rowena went to stay next to him and looked over his shoulder.

Santa.

So, I'm pretty sure I'm not on your nice people list but I don't care you're not real anyway. I got only one wish this year. I just want back to Dad. I don't care if I have to cook for me and Sammy. I don't care that he's always out hunting. I want back. He's a good Dad. I love him. And I know he needs us because if he doesn't have us he'll get lost. Just that's what I want. I want back to Dad. Thanks for reading this.

Dean.

P.S.: Don't give Sammy a real dog. He's too small to take care of it and I'll end up doing everything for him.

Dean nodded slowly and folded the letter neatly. Then he got up and walked quietly through the hall on bare feet. He stood in front of the box and slowly let the letter fall inside it. He looked around sheepishly and went to get back to bed. Rowena decided not to do anything and asked herself if she was getting soft. She watched the boy get back to bed and made sure that he fell asleep immediately after hitting the pillow. If he was getting away with staying up that late he should at least fall asleep as soon as he went to bed.

#spnadventcalendar2018 #Day2 #child!Sam #child!Dean #child!cas #mentioning of drinking John Winchester #again ooc Rowena #ficlet

[violetclarity]

five books meme

@callingdrarry tagged me to talk about five books that have made an impression on me and I could have easily sat on this and mulled for the next two years but as I’m going to be internet-less for at least a week starting on Tuesday I decided to do it now, lol. Thanks for the tag, Gracie! :)

Sorry not sorry/don’t @ me about how all of these are YA, I am just a small adult who didn’t have the time to read for pleasure while in college, okay.

1. The Song of the Lioness series by Tamora Pierce

2. Stardust by Neil Gaiman

3. The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

4. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris.

5. Tricksters Choice and Tricksters Queen by Tamora Pierce.

Honorable Mentions: Beauty Queens by Libba Bray, American Gods by Neil Gaiman, Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen, and 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Explanations below the cut bc they got long!

1. The Song of the Lioness series by Tamora Pierce

Listen...I could talk for days about how much I love these books, this world, and Tamora Pierce in general. I won’t bore you with that now (although if you want to scream about tamora pierce please dm me) but suffice to say I LOVE these books. Little did I know when a friend suggested I read them in seventh grade how much they would come to mean to me. It’s a series about a girl who disguises herself as a boy for eight years in order to prove that girls can be knights! (Eight fucking years people! And she’s so good at it that she becomes part of the prince’s inner circle!) These were the books that cemented my interest in fantasy, that strengthened my feminism and let me revel in girl power; these were the first books I read where romance and sex and menstruation were talked about and presented in an accurate, non-romanticized way; these were the books that lead to me reading every single other thing Tamora Pierce had written; these were the books that introduced me to the world which would become my first fandom, for which I would write my first fanfiction and where I would make my first fandom friends that made high school just a bit more bearable. I reread them two summers ago and they hold up, and I highly recommend them to everyone but especially to the young adults in your life, honestly cannot overstate how much I love them, rant over.

2. Stardust by Neil Gaiman

This is another one where I could happily enthuse about any of Gaiman’s books, but Stardust is the first one I read and so it has a special place in my heart. My small paperback remains a favorite travel book of mine to this day. I was blown away by Gaiman’s plotting ability when I first read it, and that remains one of the things I admire most about his writing. I love the fantasy world he creates in this book, I love how simple-but-complex the story is, and I adore the ending. If you’ve seen the movie, it’s good but it’s not the same.

3. The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

I’m going to be honest...I was not a Potter head as a kid. I read the books, I liked them, I saw all the movies and went to the midnight release parties for books 6 and 7 (despite the fact that, prior to attending the midnight release party, I wasn’t intending to read book 7), but I wasn’t obsessed with the books as so many of my classmates seemed to be. However, I’ve reread them probably more times than any other books I’ve read, I know the story and the world better than any other books I’ve read, I devote my free time to consuming and creating media that continues the story of these characters and this world...I would be remiss not to include Harry Potter on this list. (And of course I loved Hermione as a kid. Who didn’t?)

4. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

No where does this say it has to be novels, so :P This is really just turning into a list of my favorite authors, I fear...Me Talk Pretty One Day was the first of Sedaris’s books that I read and remains one of my favorites, although let’s be real, I Love Them All. Until I read this I didn’t understand that nonfiction could be funny and interesting. All of his stuff, but this book especially, is what I go to when I just need a good, fun read. I've read this one so many times that I could summarize most of the stories in it for you, probably even quote some of them.

If you haven’t read anything by him, check his stuff out. Hilarious and amazing personal essays - Me Talk Pretty One Day is split into two sections, the first stories from his childhood/young adulthood, the second stories that take place after he moved to France with his boyfriend. If you want to see me go into fangirl mode, ask me about the time I saw him read and he signed my book and commented on my name and made my friend pay him a dollar for using the word “awesome.” (Tickets for that were my 18th birthday present because I was a really cool teenager.)

5. Tricksters Choice and Tricksters Queen by Tamora Pierce

Yes, I’m aware I already included a series by Tamora Pierce on this list. Yes, I really needed to include a second one! Song of the Lioness was what introduced me to her work and the universe of Tortall; the Tricksters series, however, are my favorite of any of her books. I love the protagonist, Aly, a slave-turned-spymaster/general badass, with half of my heart. I love Dove Balitang, her friend and thirteen-year-old genius-turned-courtier/also general badass with the rest of my heart. If I ever get a Tortall tattoo it will be from these books, I just haven’t decided what yet. There is a scene in Tricksters Queen that makes me bawl because it is so powerfully written.

Honorable Mentions:

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray because it is amazing, funny, and bursting at the seams with strong, diverse women.

American Gods by Neil Gaiman because if the plot in Stardust is good, the plot in American Gods is even better, especially if you love mythology. It’s not a short book, but every time I finish re-reading it I want to start it again.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen because I am notoriously skeptical of classics, but this book gave me such an intense, visceral emotional response - picture me bursting into the kitchen and interrupting all of my housemate’s studying to scream at them. I wish I could read P&P for the first time again.

100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez because I read it in Spanish (for a class in college) and it was an amazing feeling, and because it’s so unlike anything else I’ve ever read. The last line gives me goosebumps.

If you want to, I’m tagging @the-cellar-spiral @restlessandordinary @unicornsandphoenix @foularcadebanana @malfoypotterbaby

#tag game #five books #I'm not sure I can overstate how much I love the Tortall books or the affect they had on my life? #if anyone has any good tortall tattoo ideas honestly please share? #I really want one but there isn't anything iconic or obvious to do and I'm bad at ideas #this was fun but I think also demonstrates that I need to read more #as all of these are books I read for the first time minimum five years ago #except 2 of the honorable mentions

[a-big-apple]

TAZ Fic Recs

I’m bad at keeping bookmarks or remembering titles or remembering authors’ names, so I’m keeping my TAZ recs in a post instead! There are TONS of great fics in this fandom, and here’s a surely incomplete list of some that brought me particular joy.

Newest additions to the list are at the top, last updated February 2020.

Hey hey, marry me Barry by @qpenguin98 - rated Teen and Up

If you want to just be emotionally shattered by romance in really lovely and positive ways, please read this fic. This might be my favorite Blupjeans story I’ve ever read. It’s beautiful, it’s skillfully and subtly written, it has great emotional payoff, and I cried a LOT. I don’t want to give too much description of the plot because it was really impactful going in blind, but it’s all about Barry and the rest of Lup’s family ganging up to make her (and themselves) really happy, and it’s beautiful.

because that’s what love is (equivalent exchange) by teacuptaako - rated Teen and Up

This fic broke me a little. It’s Barry’s POV on the Starblaster, getting to know everyone, falling in love with Lup, and trying to figure out Taako. This is a FAB outside perspective on Taako’s weird outer layers of personality. Plus Barry is just such a good dude, it’s impossible to not love this trip inside his head!

Dumb Interspecies Relations series by nah_tho - rated Explicit

If you’re into Taako and Brad Bradson, well, you’ve probably already read this series? But if you haven’t, DO. What starts out as a fun sexy romp gets plotty and full of worldbuilding, Taako is a fantastic mess, and Brad is trying real hard. This series is hilarious, hot, sometimes suspenseful, and the final story made me cry.

got a license to kill (and you know I’m going straight for your heart) by @hoothootmotherf-ckers - rated Teen and Up

THIS FIC WAS MY GIFT IN THE 2019 TAZ CANDLENIGHTS GIFT EXCHANGE, I STILL CANNOT BELIEVE IT. It’s so wonderful!! A multi-chapter assassin AU with some coffee shop and fake relationship in there too, unbelievable. Lup is a badass. Barry is adorable. They love each other, and also get shot at, and also fight Big Pharma. Please go read it, srsly.

After the War by theauthoress - Not Rated

This fic took a twist I haven’t seen before, and I loved it! Dredging up some good angst from Taako’s past and then from Kravitz’s, it delivers a punch and then soothes you again with some good sibling stuff. I don’t want to say more and give away the surprise, but if you like some Taakitz hurt/comfort, do check this one out.

Apogee by @charmandhex - rated Teen and Up

I admit, I am one of those who think Taako won’t ever forgive Lucretia, but that they can be civil again, and maybe even friends. This fic captures that so beautifully, how much history there is between them that neither of them can escape. It’s lovely, and Taako is baller, and I read it twice in a row.

you know, elf practice series by @anonymousalchemist - rated from General to Teen and Up

Yet another one that I can’t believe I didn’t already have on this list. I know the elf practice thing as a meme has mostly vanished into the tumblr ether, but these two fics are on my mind always. They’re just so unusual, and the kind of creepy that’s treated as matter-of-fact (which is the best kind of creepy). What if elves had to, you know, practice? To become elves? Just thinking about it gives me a shiver, I love this fairycore take on Taako and Lup and their upbringing.

the kid, the future forthcoming by @anonymousalchemist - rated Teen and Up

Seriously, how did I not have this on my list already, I reread it all the time! It’s so incredibly hard to make second person work, and this fic really works. It’s a short and compelling vignette of young Taako’s life, and young Taako-and-Lup’s life, and the difficulties of a scrappy teenhood. It’s a little heartbreaking, and full of perfect moments that I think about a lot. Also, tiny Barry cameo that gives me so many feels! Also also, just...the mood of it is so good, the inside-of-Taako’s-head feeling, wonderful.

Taking the dogs home by Anonymous - rated Mature

What an extremely quiet and beautiful story! Set after Story and Song, at Magnus’ house in an almost dreamlike country woods setting. Taako shows up out of the blue, perhaps escaping a problem he won’t discuss, and falls back into Magnus’ small town routine. There’s a lot of subtly layered domesticity and realistic, compelling Taagnus feeling. Also, a dog! 

Heads/Tails by unprofessionalbard - rated Teen and Up

Short and powerful! I loved this fic. A really well-characterized look at Taako and Kravitz, and how their jobs and their personal lives intersect and interfere with each other. I don’t want to give anything away because it unfolds really precisely, I think, so--just go read it! It’s awesome.

and at a certain age the child is grown by bimaukery - rated Teen and Up

This is a really beautiful, bittersweet modern AU. The IPRE family move into Angus’ grandpa’s house, while Angus is still there, and he can’t understand why. He watches them, tries in small ways to interact with them--as they try to figure out what to do about the little ghost haunting their new house. Honestly, go read this and cry over it for a while, it’s lovely.

The Shrike and the Thorn by JoyfullyyoursDav ( @keplercryptids ) - rated Teen and Up

If you haven’t had enough of crying about Taako and Lup, here’s a great fic for you. That Good Sibling Shit, flashbacks, memory loss, beautiful conversations, just...everything I could want in a lovely little package. Also, PLEASE check out this author’s other stories, so many great ones!

(when i think about you) flowers grow out of my grave by @phantomsteed - rated Teen and Up

This Taakitz fic is one of my fav kinds of modern AU: Taako works in a flower shop, Krav is a mortician, they meet cute and fall in love! The ensemble are all there in the background, including a very adorable Angus and a soon-to-be-married Carey and Killian, but what really got me about this is the gentle and steady way our favorite boys fall in love. There are also SUPER lovely illustrations by @karinhart sprinkled throughout!

a fool for lesser things by himemiyaa - rated Teen and Up

This fic charmed the PANTS off me, and made me teary to boot. Taako and Kravitz are new roommates in this community college AU (and, surprise, they end up together). I love the way Taako slowly opens up in this story, to Kravitz, to the community of friends Lup has built that he’s been keeping himself outside of, and especially to Garyl the cat. It feels so real, and like a reminder to myself to be more vulnerable in my own life! Please go read this, it will lift your spirits.

Among the Ruins by @distractedkat - rated Teen and Up

I don’t know how I went so long without finding this fic, and then for a little while I resisted because I wasn’t sure about the description. Finally over the weekend I read the whole thing in a sitting, and I’m SO glad I did. It’s fantastic!! This AU reimagines the canon if Taako’s time post-Sizzle It Up had gone differently. What follows from that is an engrossing and plausible version of events with lots of action, lots of funny lines, lots of feelings, and lots more Lup! There’s a little angst, a lot of twins and Taakitz goodness, and a wonderfully happy ending. If you’re looking for something nice and long to dive into, definitely try this one.

Angus McDonald and the Flight of the Flying V by @mystery-moose - rated Teen and Up

This was one of the first fics I read in this fandom, before I thought to keep track of things I liked or bookmark them to find them again. Then it turned up in @marywhal‘s rec list, and I was overjoyed to find it again! As the rest of this list will show, I have a special weakness for stories about Taako as Angus’ guardian, and this one really shaped my headcanons about their relationship. In the main portion of the story, a grown-up Angus with his own detective agency is working a case--with a bored and lonely Taako’s help. Interspersed with the mystery are flashbacks to their time on the road as Sizzle it Up with Taako and Company, achingly soft glimpses of Angus’ post-finale childhood as Taako and Kravitz’s sort-of-son. I think it was finished before the actual finale aired, so it isn’t entirely canon-compliant, but it captures the same tone beautifully.

i will buy the flower shop by @weatheredlaw - rated Teen and Up

I saved this fic for an emotionally rainy day, because I had a feeling it would brighten things up. It absolutely did! A modern restaurant AU with all the necessary found family feelings, and all of our favorite characters with lives that aren’t perfect but that get better with communication and vulnerability and persistent joy. If you’re looking for something poignant and satisfying, something to lighten a bad day, this fic is an excellent choice.

Taako and Hurley’s Maximum Fun Drive by detectivelion - rated Teen and Up

WHAT A ROMP! If you’re longing to get back to the high speed action of battlewagon racing, this is the fic to read. Set after the Day of Story and Song, the whole crew (Hurley and Sloane included, of course) face off in a madcap race that really recaptured the spirit of Petals to the Metal for me.

Bureau of Badass ( @bureauofbadass ) by @chemicallywrit  and @miceenscene  - rated Teen and Up

This fic almost feels too obvious to rec, and yet I can’t not. SUCH AN ENGROSSING READ! Take all your favorite characters, stick them in the 90′s, give them attitude and relatable problems, and put them on skates--then you’ve got this roller derby AU. I don’t even know what else to say about it, because if that doesn’t make you want to read it, nothing will. As of this writing it’s a WIP, but there are over 100 chapters extant to read and only a few more yet to come!

and the warmth will never die by Junkyard_Rose - rated Teen and Up

This is an extraordinary fic. It’s a modern setting AU in which Taako and Lup were separated as kids and have made lives for themselves while searching for each other, which is wonderful all by itself. What stands out about this one, though, is the non-chronological way it’s told. Every chapter gives little glimpses into the pasts and presents of both twins, sometimes the same events from different angles, revealing a tiny bit of new information each time. I never found it confusing, just extremely interesting and vibrant, and SO emotionally satisfying in the last few chapters! The prose is beautiful too, sometimes I read it aloud to myself!

songs for revelations by @weatheredlaw  - rated Mature

So many of weatheredlaw’s fics wreck me in a variety of ways, but this one is maybe my favorite. It only has two chapters so far, but it’s SO EVOCATIVE and unusual and sometimes I just sit and think about it and wonder what will happen next. It’s the soft-apocalypse-adjacent AU I didn’t know I needed. Or, if you want to get fucked up by something finished, try their series all the way across the universe!

Bury the Lead by @marywhal - rated Teen and Up

Such a brilliant story! High school AUs are hard to do well, I think, and this is one of the best. It’s an ensemble story but from Taako’s POV, filled with extremely relatable versions of all the characters we know and love. There’s newspaper nerdery, wicked cool language stuff, and a million great moments that made me laugh, or cry, or both. Even if you don’t like AUs, I urge you to try this one!

Patterns of Migration by goodnicepeople - rated Teen and Up

Let me preface this by saying that I really want to put EVERYTHING by this author on my list. Their stories are all incredible, soft and beautiful and painful in good ways. It was hard to choose a favorite to list here, but this one is really special and elegantly crafted. It follows Angus and Magnus as child and parent, a progression over time as Angus grows up and Magnus slows down. In later chapters the addition of Taako to the dynamic produces some really lovely scenes, and also some very sad scenes--I cried a TON reading it.

Angus McDonald and the Case of the Mysterious Butter Wyvern by yassan - rated General Audiences

This is one of the funniest fics I’ve read in this fandom so far, and one of the closest in tone to the actual show. THB plus Angus is a great equation no matter what they’re doing, but when they’re shopping for a birthday present for the Director it takes on a whole new level of crazy. 

what can the harvest hope for by lagaudiere - rated Teen and Up

I think this is the first story on this list from Kravitz’s POV, and it’s GREAT. Full of great Reaper Squad interactions and marvelous Taakitz scenes, alternating with a really interesting, sometimes a little creepy, examination of John Hunger in the Eternal Stockade. If you’re into gray-area redemption stories and Kravitz being wonderful, then this is for you.

Oh have you seen my ghost? by greenglowsgold - rated Mature

Let me say first: if abuse or assault with intent to rape are triggering for you, you’ll probably want to give this one a pass. If that’s not an issue, then this is an excellently written and heart-hurting story about Taako’s past with Sazed, as seen through an unexpected and dangerous encounter. It’s beautifully subtle, and the last few lines legit broke my heart.

Reverie - by ltdominic - rated Teen and Up

Update: Reverie is finished! And it’s so beautiful, everything the first chapter hinted it would be. It’s one of my favorite themes, fucked-up Taako recovering from losing memories and getting them back. It’s painful and lovely, featuring a family who can see that something is wrong but can’t quite fix it, intermingled with backstory flashbacks. This story really captures the day to day struggle; there’s a crisis, and improvement, but there’s no perfectly happy ending.

“Cute, but still fucked up.” - by writersstareoutwindows - rated General Audiences

If you’re looking for a short and sweet pick-me-up in your day, this is it! The author drops you into a pitch-perfect and adorable scene between Taako, Lup, and Angus. They’ve captured a teasing-but-loving dynamic between the three that made me grin like a lunatic.

Taste Test (They Were Delicious) - by @marywhal - rated Teen and Up

Another moving and wonderful Taako-centric fic, made up of a series of vignettes set from the Starblaster years onward. Each section features a different meal (with a recipe, which is exciting), and a beautifully-written glimpse into Taako’s relationships. Lup features heavily, as one might guess, but the real through line is Lucretia, who poignantly bookends the story.

it takes a village - series by neverwinter ( @nxymxrjr ) - ratings range from General to Mature

This series is a modern AU full of extremely beautiful and moving found family interactions, told mostly from Angus’ point of view, and heavily featuring Taako as his legal guardian. You will notice if you read through this rec list that Taako and Angus as flawed-father-figure-and-son is MY FAVORITE THING, and this author does it so, so well. There’s some good parenting, some good sibling stuff with Taako and Lup, lovely Taakitz romance, and frequent cameos by the rest of the TAZ family. None of the stories in the series are explicit so far, but mind the tags for things like mental health issues, past abuse, and blood. Also, DEFINITELY check out their other TAZ stories!

with a pace and fury defiant - by redqueentheory - rated Mature

This author explores Taako’s inner life post-finale and the darker emotions that could follow that glorious happy ending. When he locates Kalen, he and Merle plan a road/camping trip with Magnus as cover and set off to avenge Julia. It’s beautifully written, sometimes painfully emotive (in a good way), and describes so much of what I headcanon about Taako’s feelings and how he deals with them that it’s like the author was reading my mind. It’s WONDERFUL (but check the tags, there is some violence). Do check out their other work as well, especially if you are into Bradko!

running into the sun (but i’m running behind) - by @quillyfied - rated General Audiences

Set between Crystal Kingdom and 11th Hour, this is a fantastic THB bonding fic! The bubble cannon breaks and strands the boys in the middle of the Faerun countryside, forcing them into a road trip that alternates wonderfully between sweet moments, drama from the past coming back to bite them, and very funny goofs. Their voices feel really in character to me, and the tone of this story is light enough that it could be a bonus episode of the show. I absolutely loved it, and I reread it all the time! Also, if you are a Davenchurch fan, definitely read i have loved the stars too fondly.

Wizard of Fortune - series by @fiercebadrabbit - rated General Audiences

This author has resisted the temptation to make Taako a Reaper when he dies--instead, he becomes a servant of Istus, creating a unique, beautiful, fascinating version of the far future in the Balance universe. I LOVE IT, so so much. Taako’s unusual personality shines through in all of his interactions, viewed through the eyes of the strangers who benefit from the hand of Fate. The writing has a lovely, mystical feel, which is a style I adore! This author has also written some very charming Taakitz, so check that out as well.

UPDATE: When fiercebadrabbit asked for ficlet requests, I excitedly asked for more Taako as a servant of Istus--and got THIS WONDERFUL GEM in reply! Go read it for excellent sibling sass!

through the days you will dream of losing me and losing you - by @androidsfighting - rated Teen and Up

I love stories about memory, and this one BREAKS ME every time I read it. An exceptionally written look at Taako after the finale and how he recovers (or doesn’t) from the effects of the Voidfish. There’s some really excellent Taako and Lup scenes, some great Barry, some great Lucretia, and lots of very visceral prose about remembering and forgetting and the confusion in between. It’s fairly short, but packs a powerful punch. I feel like this is both the fic I’ve wanted since hearing the finale and also the fic I’ve been trying to write since finishing the finale, so it’s both perfect and intimidating!

Luster - by @lsunnyc - rated Mature

This one is a WIP, but nearly done and worth the wait! After the finale, Taako is abducted from the train on a business trip to Goldcliff. The story alternates between Taako’s perspective, imprisoned but viciously determined to escape, and the rest of the TAZ family trying frantically to track him down when they realize he never made it to his destination. It’s SO DAMN GOOD YOU GUYS. Taako is very in character here and his intelligence and power really shine under stress; the worldbuilding of the “prison” where he’s trapped is also precise and fantastic. Every day that this fic has an update is a Good Day for me. Keep an eye on the tags though, there’s some carefully written dubcon.

Our own, soft hearts - series by @wildgoosery - ratings range from Teen to Explicit

If you, like me, longed to hear more of Taako and Kravitz on dates, then this series is your antidote! They’re so in character, and they’re so in love, and their every interaction is so wonderful. This fic really brings me joy, and also is sexy as hell. Also, the most recent installment is a wonderfully drawn fan comic! The author’s other work is also sexy and great, do check it out!

<3 If you’ve made it all the way to the bottom of this list and want even more fic to read, may I humbly suggest mine? Mostly about Taako, light touches of angst, and hopefully prose that approaches the wonderfulness of the stories I’ve recced here. 

#fanfiction #fic recs #taz

[gublernews]

Fantasia 2017 Interview: Trent Haaga and Matthew Gray Gubler on 68 KILL, Death, Love, Sex and Biting

Trent Haaga has a new film out produced by Snowfort Pictures -- 68 Kill -- but he’s been in the gore and exploitation biz for a while now, with his earliest professional beginnings at Troma. Creative people often have a myriad of interests, and Haaga is no exception.

He’s written several screenplays, most notably for Cheap Thrills (directed by Evan Katz, and also produced by Snowfort) and Deadgirl, but moonlights as an actor, too. Similarly, the cheerful Matthew Gubler is a popular actor, most known for his role on Criminal Minds, and he’s directed some episodes and a few shorts, as well.

So, what happens when you mix the talents of Haaga, Gubler, Snowfort, AnnaLynne McCord, Alicia Boe, Shelia Vand, AND an adaptation (screenplay by Haaga) of a crazy novel by Bryan Smith? 68 Kill -- a kickass, nonstop explosion of Southern Gothic gone awry. I was able to chat with Haaga and Gubler at Fantasia 2017, who were at the festival for their Canadian premiere. Check out a bit of the madness they’ve created in the trailer for the film -- now out on VOD --below.

Tell us how 68 KILL came to be adapted from the book.

Trent Haaga: I was a big fan of Bryan Smith; he’d published four novels under the Leisure imprint. I’m a voracious reader. When Leisure shut down, their authors got the rights back to their work. They started self-publishing on Kindle and dusting stuff off. Smith was hyper-prolific, and I liked his horror stuff a lot, but he also published three novellas that were pulp, which was really my bag. I came up in the horror world, but I really like pulp thrillers. I read  68 Kill, and I thought Smith was really great, but no one knew about him, so I thought about getting the word out and how the book would be an amazing movie.  

When you pick an author like that, it’s real easy to find and reach out to them. He doesn’t have a manager or agent, and neither do I. We were able to just exchange emails and do a handshake kind of deal. Being an independent artist, I scraped up some good faith money and we created a simple option deal.

Then when Snowfort got involved, I’m sure they had some paperwork, but I had nothing to do with that. Bryan was happy, he had some money to pay some bills. A lot of these authors don’t believe that a GOOD film adaptation is ever going to happen. A lot of indie filmmakers want options for free for backyard productions, so that’s what the authors expect. (Gubler laughs in the background.)

When I approached Bryan, I told him I’d done some stuff and sent that over, but when I say I’m going to do something, I’m really going to get it done — we’re going to get this thing made. I might end up filming it in Indiana for $20,000, but I’m going to get this thing made.

Is that where you filmed it?

TH: No, Indiana was where my parents are, where I grew up. But I did some location scouting in Ohio, because we had a producer there. Eventually, because of the tax incentives, a deeper cast pool, and more able crew, we ended up going to Louisiana and shooting there.

But every step of the way, I’d write to Bryan, like “you know what, man? We’ve got a great producer on board, and we’re gonna try to get slightly bigger names — rather than just people that I know. (Gubler laughs again.) And it kept happening in steps; we got a little bit more money than the $20,000 that I raised.

Everything exceeded my expectations — the idea is to push it as far as you can. Here’s the budget; okay, but I’m still going to these locations and do the car chases, even though a lot of people with my experience wouldn’t try those things. The entire thing was, “oh, you’re gonna give me an inch? Let me see if I can take a mile!” And that was for every step of the project.

What special flavor did Snowfort bring to the film?

TH: I’ve known Travis for years; I wrote Cheap Thrills, which is a Snowfort movie. I acted in American Muscle and Starry Eyes, and I got cut out of that. But I’ve known and worked with Travis for awhile and knew he was the right guy for this material. If I made something that was worthy, I knew Travis could get on the phone and get people to watch it. He was on set the entire time, too. We have a friendship where we can yell at each other if we need to (Gubler laughs), or hug each other if we need to — it’s not like he was a guy in a suit standing over there with a calculator, you know?

Let’s talk about your awesome cast. Did you have to do a lot of screen tests or audition rounds?

Matthew Gray Gubler: This was after Trash Fire (Ricky Bates, Jr.’s film, another Snowfort production, also starring Gubler), but I’d never met Travis until this.

TH: It’s like anything; you announce you’re gonna make a movie and they ask you how much money you have. And you go: “I don’t know yet; what kind of names do you think we could get?” People start punching numbers into a column and figure it out , and the money guys have their own ideas. Meanwhile, I’m making my own list with Matthew Gray Gubler at the top. (Gubler: “Awww.”)

You know I would have chosen Gubler immediately, but we had to go through this list with their guys. We do that, and we exhaust all those. Then I get to say, “Let’s try Gubler, we have a Snowfort connection to him, and I really want him — at least get me a meeting with this guy.” After that meeting, it had to be him.

I don’t want to say it was the power of “The Secret,” but it was about mentally projecting me making the movie with Gubler in the role. Then Ricky helped us out with AnnaLynne, and I think Shelia Vand came to us through a casting director, yeah Samy Burch. Sam Eidson (who plays Dwayne), I’d seen in a movie and wanted to cast him in this role. They asked who he was, and I said, “don’t worry, he has Zero Charisma" — that’s Zero Charisma, the movie, guys! We reached out to him directly and he didn’t have an agent, so we were able to reach out to him directly.

Obviously, there’s a lot of violence in the film. Can you tell me about your stunts?

TH: You get some stunt guys and coordinators. It’s interesting — I’ve made way more violent movies! (Gubler laughs again.) If you choose the right moments and create the right impact, people think it’s so gory and violent. In reality, I’ve done way more violent movies that had less impact.

We had a stunt coordinator from Louisiana named Kevin Waterman that was great, and a deep pool of people there that’ve been working for awhile, but Kevin helped us out with a lot of fisticuffs, gunplay, car chases, and things like that.

It’s very tricky; shooting these things take up a lot of time for what ends up being a small portion of the running time of the film. It’s a balance; I can’t take five hours to shoot what will make up two seconds of a 90-minute film.    

MGG: That car chase was two days, right?

TH: One night. It’s always a constant balance between making it look good and the amount of time it takes to shoot.

Now, I had a lot of fun watching the crazy, kickass women in the film, but I wanted to give you the chance to answer back to those who might say the film is misogynist. I don’t get that feeling personally, but I wanted to see how you felt about that, and give you a forum to do so.

TH: It’s one of those things where I feel that it’s a statement more about those people and their beliefs, more than about me or what I’m trying to do, ultimately. I’m juggling a 150,000 things, from costume decisions to performance choices to whatever. As the artist, it’s not my to job to go, “here was what I was trying to say.” Subconsciously, things come out, but I’ve been married to a very strong woman for over twenty years.

MGG: Raised by a strong woman.

TH: I love, respect, and admire strong women.

MGG: It’s a movie ABOUT strong women!

TH: I think so, too!

MGG: I never got the misogynistic thing, because to me, I read it and thought, “oh, this is going to be a movie that’s going to be awesome for the females!”

TH: Right. I also did a movie called Deadgirl, which dealt with toxic maleness; part of that movie’s theme is a male character who sees a woman chained up and dehumanizes her and puts another female character on a pedestal. But what if you have a character who’s beautiful, sexy, and owns her sexuality, but what if she’s a bad guy? She can be that!

MGG: I love that! Yeah, why not?

TH: Exactly! To say that she’s super tough AND virtuous… All I’m doing is not making you a character, but making you representative of all women. That’s not my job. (Pointing at Gubler:) He’s not representative of all men. He’s Chip, the character.  Each of these people are their own character, I’m not looking at it in broad stokes, or looking at it like, these women are representative of all women. They’re not. Liza is Liza.

MGG: Violet is lovely! I’m lost. I can’t believe that anyone would think that! What movie are they talking about? 68 Kill?

TH: (laughs) I can understand it; you do have to be prepared for this. The more people you show the film to, the more opinions you’re going to get.

MGG: It’s a Rorschach test!

TH: But I thought the message of Deadgirl was completely clear and concise — these boys were toxic, and clearly not good — but people told me I was a monster and I endorsed raping of women. If that’s what you want to think, cool, but that’s you. How you feel about it is how you feel about it. No matter how much talking I do, I probably won’t change your mind.

(To Gubler) Well, I imagine you must have had fun being tossed around by beautiful ladies?

MGG: I’m used to it in real life! I legitimately mean that.

What’s the difference between the film and the book?

TH: I’m glad that you asked that.

MGG: It’s massively different, but the book is great!

TH: The author is super happy about it. It was important to me to who loved the book, then watched the movie NOT know what exactly was going to happen. I’d like the fans of the movie to also be surprised by the book and get a whole new experience.

There are certain things in the book that are great, but a movie has different beats. For example, in the book, Liza and Dwayne disappear after Chip runs away. It was an interesting choice. But for a movie, I felt they were part of the main story, so I brought them back. Violet in the book is more of a maneater, she doesn’t represent the possibility of love. The oral pleasure requests at the convenience store were also made by a man, not a woman. But when Matthew has to do it (at the request of a woman in the film), it turns into comedy.

(To Gubler) Last time you were here at Fantasia, I heard someone trying to get close to you got angry she couldn’t, and bit someone.

(Haaga and Gubler explode into laughter.)

MGG: Where’d you hear that??

Publicist Kaila Hier (in the background): It was legendary.

Did you know about that?

MGG: I don’t know about that!

Kalia, do you want to tell them?

Hier: I wasn’t on the ground for that. It was one of our Fantasia volunteers who got bit trying to keep the women away from him.

TH: What the fuck!

MGG: They were probably relatives!

TH: Is this what we’re looking forward to, man?

MGG: No, no, no! I doubt it!

TH: Oh… this is my favorite!

#68 Kill #Matthew Gray Gubler #Trent Haaga

[sjphotosphere]

(My Favorite Mutual Fund) I confess that I play favorites. Back in 2005 when I finally started figuring out what the heck I was doing with my four figure investment portfolio, the first mutual fund I ever purchased without the “assistance” of a commissioned salesman masquerading as an advisor was the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund (TSM). It is still my favorite mutual fund and I suspect I will own it until the day I die. In fact, at 25% of my current retirement asset allocation, TSM is my largest investment holding and may always remain so. It also makes up nearly 100% of my HSA allocation and plays a large role in my children’s Roth IRAs (Target Retirement 2060) and UGMAs (TSM and Total International Stock Market Index Fund.) I have owned it via three different brokerages and have owned all three “retail” share classes (Investor in my Vanguard Individual 401(k), Admiral in Vanguard Roth IRAs, and the ETF in my Schwab 401(k) and HSA Bank/TD Ameritrade HSA.) We spend a lot of time on this website talking about “alternative” investments, real estate, factors and all kinds of fancy stuff. Today, let’s go back to basics and talk about 8 reasons why TSM is such an awesome mutual fund. # 1 Awesome Long Term Performance I don’t select mutual funds based on past performance. There is a very good reason why all mutual fund prospectuses must tell you that past performance is no indicator of future performance. But the process I use to select mutual funds leads to excellent long-term performance, the only kind I actually care about. So what is the track record of TSM? Let’s take a look (all data in this post taken on the date it was written- 1/26/2017.) Let’s start with a quick look at Vanguard’s list of mutual funds. We see that it has already made nearly 3% in 2017, but that column is almost irrelevant. Let’s move a little more to the right. We see that it made 12.66% in 2016, 14.62% (per year) from 2012 to 2016, and 7.23% from 2006 to 2016 (which included the greatest bear market in our generation.) In fact, the admiral share class started in 2000, near the beginning of the tech stock bust. So even including most of TWO of the worst bear markets the US has ever seen, it still made 5.85%. The investor share class was begun in 1992, 25 years ago. Its annualized return is 9.34%. If you can’t retire on returns of 9.34% per year, you have a savings problem, not an investing problem. But even so, absolute performance isn’t everything. It is also important to consider relative performance. I mean, there are other mutual funds out there. So let’s see how TSM did against its peers. Morningstar is the world’s preeminent authority on comparing mutual funds. Here’s what they have to say: Morningstar considers TSM to be a “large blend” fund, which is reasonable if you plot out its holdings. Take a look at the columns, particularly the line at the bottom, “rank in category.” Over the last year, its rank is 20. That means it beat 80% of mutual funds in its category. Same for the last 3 years. But as you move out further, to the 10 and 15 year mark, you see its rank is 12, meaning it beat nearly 9 out of 10 mutual funds. Not bad considering its “know nothing” strategy. # 2 It Isn’t Going Anywhere At this point, a few of you are thinking, “I don’t want to invest in TSM if 1 out of 10 funds are beating it over pretty long periods of time. I want to invest in one of the funds that beat TSM.” Aside from the folly of taking a gamble on something you only have a 10% chance of doing (although admittedly there are ways to increase that percentage somewhat such as only choosing low-cost actively managed funds), the real issue is that those “rank in category” numbers don’t include all the funds that closed over those long time periods. That is not an insignificant number of mutual funds and it introduces “survivor bias” into the data. Morningstar had this to say about survivor bias specifically when discussing TSM: After adjusting for survivorship bias, the relative performance of existing funds looks better. For instance, Vanguard Total Stock Market Index‘s VTSMX 9.5% annualized return placed it in the top 19% of all large-blend funds before correcting for survivorship bias. After this correction, its ranking jumped to the top 9th percentile of the category. That’s not bad for a fund that offers passive exposure to the market. Likewise, the ETF SPDR S&P 500‘s SPY 9.4% return originally placed it in the top 24% of all large-blend mutual funds, but correcting for survivorship bias would place it in the top 11th percentile. Low-cost, broad market-cap-weighted index funds, like Vanguard Total Stock Market Index and SPY, have a better chance of surviving than their actively managed counterparts. Over the 20-year period, only 34% of active large-blend share classes survived, while 55% of index fund share classes survived. Consequently, their relative performance is better than many investors realize. It’s weird to think that 45% of index funds disappeared, but I guess that’s what happens when you open an “index fund,” charge 0.9% a year for it, and hope there are enough idiots out there who will invest in it. # 3 It Is Super-Tax Efficient But wait, there’s more. Many investors are investing in taxable accounts, where tax-efficiency matters. TSM, by virtue of its strategy (which can be found in the prospectus): is inherently extremely tax-efficient. So you should not be surprised that when you adjust the data for taxes, that TSM looks even better than its peers. (By the way, this data, also from Morningstar, does not adjust for survivorship bias either.) As you can see, at the 10 and 15 year mark, TSM is beating 93-94% of its peers, almost 19 out of 20. Now, imagine adjusting that for survivorship bias and running the numbers out to 30-60 years, your likely investing career length. Still want to take a bet on choosing a fund that will beat it? I wouldn’t. One of the reasons TSM is so tax-efficient is it can use its unique ETF share class structure to flush appreciated shares (with their associated capital gains) out of the fund. But the main reason is simply it’s low, low turnover. Since it just buys all the stocks, those stocks never leave the index so there isn’t any rapid-fire buying and selling like you see in an actively managed fund (and to a lesser extent, in an index fund that only covers a small portion of the market.) # 4 No Tracking Error Investing isn’t all about logic. It is also about behavior and discipline. One of the hardest things for investors to do is to stick with their portfolio through thick and thin. That is especially hard when their portfolio deviates significantly from that of their peers and the overall US market which is reported on a daily basis in numerous sources- print, TV, and online. That deviation is called tracking error. Guess what? TSM essentially doesn’t have any tracking error. Tracking error is MEASURED from TSM. That helps the investor to stay the course. # 5 Super-Diversified Diversification protects you from what you don’t know. If you were omniscient, you would simply pick the stock that is going to go up the most and leverage up as much as you possibly could. But you’re not, so you don’t. Instead, the smart move is to diversify. Is TSM a diversified fund? Do skiers love powder? Check this out from the most recent semiannual report: See that “number of stocks” line? 3,650. That’s a lot of companies. What’s going to happen to your investment if a couple of them go out of business this year? You’re not even going to notice (unless the two that go bankrupt are Apple and Google.) Why only own some of the stocks when you can own all the stocks? Lots of people, including Warren Buffett, like the 500 index fund. Sure, I guess 500 stocks is pretty diversified. But it seems downright silly when compared to 3,650 stocks. # 6 Economies of Scale The mutual fund industry has been built, in a sense, on witchcraft. – John C. Bogle TSM is huge. How huge? $498.5 Billion. By comparison, that’s larger than the GDP of 40 of the states in this country. Larger than Sweden’s GDP. Larger than Chile and Finland combined. If liquidated, it could run the entire US military for a year. When you have half a trillion dollars you can benefit from some sweet economies of scale. You get great prices on your trades. People come to you (and pay you) when they want to borrow shares. You can get expense ratios down into the single digits. Admiral shares and ETF shares are 5 basis points and Investor shares are 16 basis points. What does that mean? That means for every $1000 you have invested in the fund, the fund spends 50 cents on its expenses. It is essentially free. You can own the equivalent of every publicly traded company in the most economically successful country in the world for free and buy and sell it online in 10 seconds, for free. Now, there are some “me too” funds out there. Schwab has a TSM fund (3 basis points for the ETF). So does Fidelity (4.5 basis points) and iShares (3 basis points.) Is it worth it to go to these other funds to save 1-2 basis points? I don’t think so, but all of these funds are excellent investments. # 7 No Manager Risk One of my favorite aspects of TSM is that it is an index fund. That means low costs and excellent long-term returns, but it also means that I can “set it and forget it.” I don’t even know who is in charge of managing it. It’s basically all done by a computer, and that computer isn’t going to retire, get dumb, or get unlucky. I don’t have to watch it, check on it, benchmark it, or anything. I certainly don’t have to worry about whether the manager has “lost his touch” or become senile. Why run risk that you don’t have to? # 8 Widely Acknowledged to Be Smart Gold Level Scholarship Sponsor Every investment authority who is worth listening to acknowledges that a low-cost, broadly diversified index fund like TSM is a great way to invest. Warren Buffett: “Most investors, both institutional and individual, will find that the best way to own common stocks is through an index fund that charges minimal fees. Those following this path are sure to beat the net results (after fees and expenses) delivered by the great majority of investment professionals.” Allan Roth: “The S&P 500 fund is a great way for investors to harness the return that capitalism has to give. In fact, I think it’s better than 99.9 percent of mutual funds out there. A total stock market fund is just slightly superior.” Jack Bogle: “The index fund is a sensible, serviceable method for obtaining the market’s rate of return with absolutely no effort and minimal expense. Index funds eliminate the risks of individual stocks, market sectors and manager selection, leaving only stock market risk.” Platinum Level Scholarship Sponsor Jonathan Clements: “Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny should take a few pointers from the mutual-fund industry. All three are trying to pull off elaborate hoaxes. But while Santa and the bunny suffer the derision of eight-year olds everywhere, actively managed stock funds still have an ardent following among otherwise clear-thinking adults. This continued loyalty amazes me. Reams of statistics prove that most of the fund industry’s stock pickers fail to beat the market.” Jeremy Siegel: “There is a crucially important difference about playing the game of investing compared to virtually any other activity. Most of us have no chance of being as good as the average in any pursuit where others practice and hone skills for many, many hours. But we can be as good as the average investor in the stock market with no practice at all.” William Bernstein: “An index fund dooms you to mediocrity? Absolutely not: It virtually guarantees you superior performance.” Taylor Larimore (whose favorite fund is also TSM): “Index investing is an investment strategy that Walter Mitty would love. It takes very little investment knowledge, no skill, practically no time or effort-and outperforms about 80 percent of all investors. It allows you to spend your time working, playing, or doing anything else while your nest egg compounds on autopilot. It’s about as difficult as breathing and about as time consuming as going to a fast-food restaurant once a year.” I think you can now see why the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund is my favorite mutual fund and my largest individual holding. What do you think? Do you own TSM? Why or why not? What part has it played in building your wealth? Comment below! !function()function e()var e=document.createElement("script"),n=document.getElementById("myFinance-widget-script"),a=t+"static/widget/myFinance.js";e.type="text/javascript",e.async=!0,e.src=a,n.parentNode.insertBefore(e,n);var c="myFinance-widget-css";if(!document.getElementById(c))var d=document.getElementsByTagName("head")[0],i=document.createElement("link");i.id=c,i.rel="stylesheet",i.type="text/css",i.href=t+"static/widget/myFinance.css",i.media="all",d.appendChild(i)var t="http://ift.tt/2oFUowK";document.attachEvent?document.attachEvent("onreadystatechange",function()"complete"===document.readyState&&e()):document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",e,!1)(); http://ift.tt/2qH1K3j

#IFTTT #FacebookPages

[sunlightdances]

Prompt: Dean + “we’re best friends and i’ve been in love with you for forever but i’m 3000% sure you just see me as a friend except why is this sexual tension happening rn” Rating: M Words: 2500-ish~ Warnings: Smut, a bit of language, tiny bit of dirty talk. I’m physically incapable of writing anything graphic, okay. Author’s Note: Happy birthday to Dean Winchester! Here’s a thing that popped out of my brain because I have no self control. The prompt comes from this master list that I use a lot, check it out and feel free to send me prompts from it if you want! 

“I hate stake outs.” You mutter from the front seat of the Impala, looking through your binoculars as Dean sighs next to you.

“I heard that the first million times, actually.” 

You drop the binoculars to your lap. “Nothing’s even happening! We’ve been out here for hours. All the intel we have says the guy doesn’t even come home until it gets dark. Let’s go get something to eat.” 

Dean glares, but there’s no real heat behind it. “I can’t believe you’re suggesting we leave our post, Agent.” 

You roll your eyes. “That’s another thing. What kind of fake Agent doesn’t change out of her suit before sitting in a car for hours on end?”

Dean grumbles something you can’t hear, but you know it’s nothing nice. He yelps when you smack him in the chest with the back of your hand. Before you can move, he grips your wrist tight, his eyes sparkling as he turns to you. “This is harassment. I might have to go to HR.”

You swallow hard, his proximity unexpected. “Who’s HR in this scenario? Your brother? Because he likes me better than you.” 

The corners of Dean’s mouth twitch upwards as he tries not to smile. “How dare you. And on my birthday, no less.” 

You roll your eyes again as he lets go of your wrist. Dean has told you no less than seven hundred times that it’s his birthday today. Little does he know that you actually have a gift for him, you just have to get back to the motel before he does to get it, hence your urgency to get out of this car. 

Dean chuckles and looks at his watch out of the corner of his eye. “I guess you’re right. Lunch break won’t kill us.” 

“Thank you.” You say, grinning when he starts up the engine. “You’re back in my will.” 

The running joke between you and the Winchesters was that you had to constantly update your will because you either had no possessions, or no one to give anything to. The three of you were always joking about writing in and out the other two in your wills as a way to bribe. 

“Lucky me, that means I get your entire collection of tea. Goody.” He deadpans, and you snort. 

“Don’t think I don’t know you sneak some of that sleepytime tea when I’m not around.” 

Dean turns the corner of the street and glances at you briefly as he checks for oncoming traffic. “You can’t prove it.” 

The two of you continue your banter until you get back to the motel, and when you get out, you stretch your back, feeling it pop and crack in a few places. “Yikes. I’m turning into a Grandma. Let me change and we’ll get some food?” You ask, turning to Dean, who’s eyes look slightly unfocused. His gaze is decidedly lower than your face. 

“W-what? Oh, yeah. Change. Food. Sure.” 

You bite your lip to keep from smirking as you turn away, deciding to let him off the hook this time. It’s weird -- you’ve been hunting with the Winchesters for a few years now, and you and Dean have always been close, but lately, it’s been like living on another planet. 

Dean’s gaze lingers more, his touch lasts a little longer on the small of your back, your arm, resting on your knee when you sit side-by-side. His smiles are a little easier to show, and all of it makes you feel a little dizzy.

Yes, you’ve been half in love with Dean ever since you met him, but you never thought he could feel a shred of what you feel for him. It just seems impossible, so you never let yourself think about it. 

You head into the room to change, and start rifling through your duffel bag to find your favorite pair of jeans and a comfortable shirt. You’re hoping Dean will want to go to that diner you saw on your way back, because you’re dying for some breakfast, even though it’s lunchtime. 

He comes in the room shortly after you, and you slip into the bathroom to change, giving yourself a few extra minutes to text Sam and ask him to make sure he takes Dean’s gifts out of their hiding spots when he gets back from researching. 

Dean knocks on the door. “You almost ready to go?”

You come out and see he’s already changed, and he smiles at you as you slip your phone into your back pocket. “Come on, birthday boy. I’m starving.” 

.

.

That night, you and Dean stake out the guy’s house one more time with Sam, and are able to stop him before sacrifices some poor teenagers in Lucifer’s name. He’s not a monster, just a nutjob, so the three of you get the kids out of there and call 911 after tying the guy up in his basement. 

There are sigils and incriminating photos of his rituals all over the place, so it should at least be enough to get him in the eye of the cops for a little while. 

After, you head back to the motel, and you’re practically buzzing at the thought of giving Dean his gifts. You spent a lot of time on yours. Not because you want to make some grand gesture, but just because you think he deserves it. You know the brothers don’t really do birthdays or holidays, and you want to do something nice. 

You walk in, and sure enough, on one of the beds, there’s two wrapped presents, just like Sam promised. Dean stops in his tracks, but when he turns around, he’s smiling. It’s a shy smile, but it’s a smile nonetheless. 

“Guys.” He says, shaking his head.

“Don’t even try it.” Sam threatens. “Go ahead and open them.”

“It’s too much--”

“It took me two seconds to wrap those,” you interrupt, “and it was no trouble.”

“Alright, alright.” Dean grumbles, but he’s still smiling. That’s gotta count as a win, right? He sits down on the edge of the bed and reaches for one of the gifts.  He goes for Sam’s first.

Sam gets him a new knife, a really intricate design on the handle and a shiny new blade. Dean really likes it, you can tell by the way he runs his fingers over it almost reverently. 

“Should fit in your boot.” Sam says, and Dean nods. 

“Yeah. Thanks, Sammy.” 

He reaches for yours, and you’re practically vibrating in excitement. “Feels light.” He says, and you punch his shoulder. “Kidding!” He tears the paper off, and you hold your breath when the journal is revealed.

You start talking before you can help yourself, and watch as he leafs through the pages. “It’s mostly blank. I just figured-- you gave your Dad’s journal to your Mom, but you and Sam have seen so much. I tried to put some of the cases we’ve worked in there that stood out -- more monsters than any of the biblical stuff. There’s still some room, so you can use it after we finish up cases, or for whatever.” 

He doesn’t say anything, and you start to get nervous. “If you don’t want it, I can take it back. Or burn it. Doesn’t matter.” 

Dean snorts. “Like hell you will.” He looks up at you. “This is awesome, kid. I mean it.” His eyes are -- it’s a weird contrast. That sparkle from earlier is back, but there’s also an emotion there that you can’t recognize. “Thanks, both of you. This is-- just, thanks.”

He surprises you by getting up to hug his brother, and then he turns the brunt of his affection on you. His arms go around you so tight, and he kinda buries his face in your hair a little bit, sighing contentedly. You almost forgot how great he is at hugging.

.

.

In the middle of the night, you get up to get a glass of water. In the bathroom you stretch, wincing at the sore muscles of your back. 

“Couch bothering you?” Dean’s raspy voice startles you, and you whirl around as he enters the bathroom, closing the door behind him. “Don’t wanna wake Sam.” 

“R-right.” You stutter. “Uh, the couch isn’t bothering me really, just-- too long in the car today, I think.” 

Dean takes a step closer. “You ever hear of a birthday wish?” He asks, and wow, when did he get so close? 

“You’re really gonna keep milking this birthday thing, aren’t you?”

He rolls his eyes, but he’s smiling, his eyes fond. “Hear me out.” He’s practically trapping you against the sink now, and you’re sure you’re not imagining the way his eyes are a little darker than usual. “Every year I used to tell Sam to make a wish on his birthday. Told him it was the luckiest day of the year. Never really wished for anything on my own day, though.”

“Huh.” You say, and then berate yourself. Super intelligent, way to go. 

He smiles like he knows exactly what the brush of his skin against yours is doing, and you kind of hate him for it. You don’t really want him to move away, either. “I know what to wish for, now.” He tells you, his voice barely a whisper.

“Yeah?” You croak. 

“Mhmm.” He hums in agreement, moving closer and bending his head so his nose can skim along your jaw. He exhales, his breath warm as it fans across your face, causing you to shiver. “Just have one question for you.” 

“Shoot.” You say, proud that your voice is steady.

“Is this going to get me written out of your will?”

Your jaw drops. “Are you serious?” You blurt. “You corner me in here, and that’s what--” 

You’re cut off as Dean grins and surges forward, slanting his mouth over yours in a kiss that instantly turns deep, his mouth urging yours open as soon as your lips meet. You freeze for half a second before your brain catches up, and then your hands slide into his hair as you melt into his kiss. 

He groans as your nails rake over his scalp lightly, and it’s the noise that does it for you. You press your body against his, his arm banding tight around your waist as he pulls you closer, his tongue tangling with yours in a way that has you seeing stars and flushing hot all over your body. 

“Gotta be quiet.” He whispers when he tears his mouth from yours for a half second, and then his mouth is on your neck, sucking at your pulse point, his tongue soothing the spot after. “Normally I’d want to hear you, but if my brother interrupts this, I might have to kick his ass, so.” He shrugs, like what can you do? and you almost can’t believe what’s happening.

Instead, you kiss him again, a filthy kiss that sends an electrical current straight to your core, especially when he lets out a low growl against your lips. His hands are everywhere - smoothing over your hips and sliding underneath the soft fabric of your t-shirt, and you pause slightly to tug his over his head. 

His neck and chest is flushed as you stare at him, and his eyes are dark as he looks you up and down hungrily. “This is probably in my top five birthdays, just so you know.” He says, dragging you back towards him, sighing at the skin-on-skin contact when he gets your shirt off. 

“Top five?” You whisper, starting to tug his sweatpants below his hips. “That’s offensive.” 

His forehead thuds against yours as you find him hard and hot for you and begin to stroke lightly, relishing in the soft whimper he lets out against the skin of your neck. “Okay, top three.” He concedes on a choked off groan.

“Can I--” You huff, frustrated with yourself. “I really like you. I don’t want this to be a one time thing.” 

He lifts his head, his sharp green eyes burning into you. “I don’t want that either.” His hand cradles your face. “Just got tired of telling myself I shouldn’t want you, I guess.” 

You smile. “God, same.”

“So... agreed?”

“Agreed.” 

He chuckles. “Cool. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to get back to...” he trails off, his hand slipping under the waistband of your underwear, causing you to arch against him.

“Yep, yeah, you get right back to-- that.” 

He gets you off with his fingers while keeping his mouth pressed to yours, swallowing up your moans and groans. You can’t really do much but grip his biceps, and he looks way too smug when you finally get your release.

“Wanna be inside you.” He whispers in your ear, his voice dark. 

You nod frantically, and then he’s lifting you up on the edge of the sink, your legs going around his waist as he tugs your underwear off. His eyes meet yours with concern at the last second, and he frowns. “Hold on.” He reaches for his pants, going into the pocket on the left side. 

“I’m on the pill--” you protest, but he’s already shaking his head.

“Haven’t been tested in a while.” He insists, and your chest kinda warms at how concerned he is for you. “This isn’t gonna be the last time we do this. Not taking any chances now.” He says, and you smile softly at him. 

“You’re a big softy, Dean.” 

He rolls his eyes. “Remind me to write you out of my will.” 

“God. Shut up and--”

Dean lines up and pushes into you, causing the rest of your sentence to completely fall away. “Fuck me.” He mutters, and you laugh breathlessly.

“Took the words right out of my mouth.”

You fall into silence after that as he thrusts into you at a slow but burning pace, your nerve endings on fire as he mouths at your neck and murmurs into your ear.

“You feel so good. Imagined you like this a hundred times. Always thought about how you’d feel and the sounds you’d make--” He chokes off a groan and tilts his head back. 

“If you keep that up I won’t last long,” you warn, his words sending sparks right to your center. 

“Can’t help it.” He mutters. “Want you to know how good you are, how you make me feel.” 

You sigh, urging him to go faster. The two of you dissolve into moans and whispered words after that, still conscious of Sam sleeping in the room not too far away. He might sleep like the dead, but you’re not taking any chances. 

When you come, Dean is right there with you, groaning into your ear and slumping against you, struggling to keep himself upright as he tries to help you keep your balance. You’re both panting, and when he straightens, he smiles at you with so much affection, it makes your heart race. 

“Hey.” He says, brushing your hair out of your eyes. 

“Hi.” 

“Thanks for a great birthday.” He says, his smile turning into a smirk, and fight off a smile of your own. 

“You’re welcome. You owe me, you know.” 

“Already planning for yours, babe.” He says, winking. You shiver. 

He presses a kiss to your cheek and helps you get cleaned up, and then takes your hand to lead you back to bed. He tugs you away from the couch and right into his bed, into the circle of his arms, and you grin to yourself as you face away from him, letting him encircle you from behind. 

“’Night, kid.” He whispers, and your heart feels like it could burst.

“Night, Dean.”

#dean x reader #dean x you #spn reader insert

[bookgrotto]

Okay, I got tagged in two of those awesome “11 Questions” posts (aaaages ago, oh dear.) and I will cheat a bit and answer them all in one go. Mostly because I probably wouldn’t be able to come up with 22 questions. Or 22 people to tag.  Will put most of it under a tag, though... because I know long text posts can be super annoying. 

First, the questions by @theweirdwaysoftheweylandsreads (Who I just saw tagged me on my birthday without knowing, ha!). Thank you! 1. Ents or Golems?

Ents. Way comfier to sit on, better protection when it cains and the chances of seeing fluffy baby birds is probably higher.

2. Water sprites or forest dryads?

Water sprites. I’ve covered the forest with the Ents. Also, they might know mermaids.

3. Favourite film?

Uh. I’m not like... a film-fan or anything (more of a casual watcher) but I don’t think I can narrow it down to one. It also depends on my mood, since I mostly watch movies when I’m sick.  And the more I think of it, the more come to mind (Lord of the Rings, Les Chanson’s d’Amour, A League of Their Own, Practical Magic, several Disney, anime and superhero movies...)

4. Do you read/write fanfiction? And what fandom? I read fanfics for basically every fandom I’m in. Or at least I try, but sometimes there either aren’t any or I don’t like the ones I see (especially in anime fandoms). I used to write a few fics ages ago (for Lost, Naruto, Captain Tsubasa, Kyou Kara Maou and a German tv series called Doctor’s Diary) but I haven’t written anything in probably a decade? 

5. Art? yay or Nay and what type?

Yay. I guess? 

6. Favourite music genre?

Uh. I’m not a music person. I like music. I appreciate music. But I don’t have some vast collection or anything. I don’t really care about artists (I do get sad about thinking some who died way too young). I don’t have a favorite. I just have favorite songs. And most of those are somehow related to movies/tv shows and stuff like that. If I had to guess, it would probably be pop?

7. Last song you listened to?

Turn! Turn! Turn! (to Everything There Is A Season) by The Byrds was on the radio earlier before I turned it off. (See? I LIKE that song. I’ve listened to it quite often... because of a tv show aka Cold Case. I still had to google the title and artist.)

8. Audiobooks? I use them to fall asleep. Which is also why I only listen to books I’ve already read. Who could fall asleep to a new story? One would need to pay close attention to not miss anything!  Sadly, this is also the reason why my collection is still quite small. There are a lot of books I’d love to have as audiobooks, but they simply... don’t exist. Or are just for download. I want them as CDs.

9. Film or tv adaptations of books?

Depends on the book and who does the adaption/how much money will go into it. I mean, in general I would say “TV show!” but then I think of some of the ones currently on TV and go “Let me adjust that a bit.” ... aka I would prefer all books to be adapted into mini-series of 4-12 episodes (per season if it’s a book series) depending on how much one would need to do the story justice.  And then let me rent a cinema and watch them on the big screen. 10. Video games?

I don’t own any... except Final Fantasy X-2. So random, I know. I assume that I could get really into them, if I ever started but I don’t think I will.

11. Your worst injury.

Luckily, I’ve never been seriously injured. I did fall down a stone stair case when I was 18 once, though. As in, I slid down the stairs on my shins all the way down to the bottom. I still have a scar, but it could have been way worse.

And now to the question @bibliophilecats came up with! Thank you! 1. Do you listen to music while reading?

Only if I have to aka when I’m in the living room and my mother is listening to music and situations like that. Never when I’m on my own.

2. Do you keep a list of all the books you own?

No. I mean, Goodreads counts I guess? But I don’t have all my books added there.

3. First-person or third-person? Third person. There are of course a few books in first person that I love, but it takes a special kind of author/story to make it work for me. 

4. Do you find it easier to identify with a main character of your own sex?

No.

5. If you own an eReader, what do you like most about it (especially if it’s something that is not usually advertised)?

*shifty eyes* I can put my favorite fanfics on it and carry them around.

6. If you own an eReader, how do you decide if you get the physical copy or the ebook?

Sometimes I can get an e-book really cheap and use that opportunity to check if it’s worth starting a series, because just having the first book in a series standing around on the book shelf just looks weird if I don’t like it. 

7. If you know you’ll be reading in public, do you try to take an “impressive” book?

No. I’ll take the book I’m currently reading with me. Unless it has an embarassing cover. Why do erotica books for example have those horrible covers? 

8. Do you listen to audiobooks? Radio dramas?

Since I already answered the audiobook question above, I will just add that yes, I also listen to Radio dramas (sadly not as often as I’d want to). I just listened to some of the Torchwood ones for example.

9. If you do listen to audiobooks, which is an audiobook everyone should listen to? My favorite audiobooks (because BOTH the story and the voice acting are A+) are: The Fire’s Stone by Tanya Huff (read by Bill Hensel) and Cyteen by C.J. Cherryh (read by Gabra Zackman and Jonathan Davis) Tintenherz/Tintenblut/Tintentod by Cornelia Funke (read by Rainer Strecker) I actually wish Goodreads would allow a seperate ratings for audiobooks, because I think a narrator can make or break a story. (If anyone has listened to the audiobook of a book I have given 3 stars and more to on Goodreads and loved it, please tell me!)

10. If you could decide on the new cover of any one book, which book would you choose and why?

Oh, there are several actually (basically almost every fiction book with real people on the cover)... but I’d probably have to go with the Tony Foster books by Tanya Huff. Every time I rec them to people (which is a lot), I tell them to ignore the new covers, because they’re so generic and nondescript. The old ones were better, but could still use a makeover.

11. Is there a poem you really like? Which one? I like them when I see them... some move me more than others... and then I usually forget the title/author and never see them again. So yes, I like them and respect the people writing them a lot (I have zero talent in that area) but I’m not INTO them. As in, I probably wouldn’t buy a book full of poems (never say never, though.)

Phew, okay that was a lot. Now my questions:

1. If you could bring one (or three if that makes it easier) dead character (book, tv show, movie) back to life, who would it be? (Don’t forget to spoiler tag of course) 2. Do you think there should be age restrictions on books, like there are on movies? 3. If you could change the ending of one book, which one would it be? 4. Do you include books that you don’t own (yet) on your TBR? 5. We had vampires, werewolves, zombies etc. Which fantasy creature do you want to be the next big THING? 6. Was there ever a hyped book that you disliked or simply refused to read because you knew you wouldn’t like it? If yes, which one? 7. What book (series) deserves a bigger fandom (or one to begin with)? 8. What magical creature would you NOT want to run into? 9. Would you buy a second (or third, or fourth...) edition of a book you already own, because you like the cover better? 10. What author (dead or alive) do you want to meet the most? 11. Assuming they’d be well written, which tv show should have a book adaption?

Tagging some people on my dash: @riversrunningfree @just0nemorepage @bookscatsandprettythings @munakatareishi @bookandwords @buttermybooks @beckisbookshelf @bookstacksonstacks​ @faerielament @happybibliosaurus @jaimedsworld

#about me #11 questions #11 q tag

[sg2tiger]

Analyzed the fuck out of all meta/magic scenes and whatnot in the prior Episodes (especially EP2) and if i were a person who experienced Umineko as it released, I can see how that would be a little too much of a task to ask your readers to undergo. You can't exactly ask people to spend 10-20 hours of their lives analyzing a novel just to figure out what it really means. Its much easier to do that when its done. (cont)

“You can’t exactly ask people to spend 10-20 hours of their lives analyzing a novel just to figure out what it really means.”

*sweats nervously*

Well, I honestly don’t agree with this, and hope this isn’t what it seems like I’ve been trying to imply when I talk about how upset the sentiment about Ryukishi and EP8 was at the time. In fact, it’s the opposite - people did spend countless hours of their lives trying to analyze the novel. Like, I’ve mentioned this before, but I was only on the Umineko Train for 2 years before it ended because I got in between EP4 and 5. If you think of the people who got into Umineko from the start (mostly people who already loved Higurashi), that’s four years of their lives. And when I say years…I do mean years. Because speaking from experience, I literally did devote multiple hours, every day, over those two years, to doing Umineko stuff. It could be dumb shit like all the Umineko Hell videos I made, or it could be all the times I sat down and wrote up huge pages of notes about various theories, or all the time I spent on the AnimeSuki forums and in more threads on /a/ and /jp/ than I could possibly count. Far, far beyond 10-20 hours, I think most Umineko fans would tell you that all the time spent analyzing the story is where the fun came from to begin with.

The problem was the lack of payoff, and the fact that it felt like our efforts were invalidated. I went into more detail on those issues in this post (the stuff under the Read More that was in response to yasuda-yoshiya), though, if you’re interested, because I’d rather just link that than writing another 10-page essay repeating the same sentiments :P But the TL;DR of it is that the problem wasn’t that making the readers analyze it was ‘asking too much’ - that analysis is what drove most people to the series in the first place. It was the fact that we felt like we came away with nothing to show for the countless hours we did spend analyzing it. 

I think ‘waiting to do that when it’s done’ is the very thing Ryukishi didn’t want fans to do, because that means you’re not actually thinking for yourself and trying to reach an answer - you’re just a goat who wants the truth handed to you on a silver platter. And people like that, who aren’t actually reasoning and trying to understand the story on their own, don’t deserve the truth because they didn’t put in any effort to searching for it. I don’t disagree with Ryukishi on that at all. My problem lies with how dismissive he was to all fans who were upset with the lack of answers, as though all fans were waiting until they could see the answers without even trying to find it. It’s the fact that fans like me, who indeed I feel were the majority (at least in the western fanbase), who actually did struggle our asses off searching for the truth. We definitely weren’t saying ‘thinking is a pain just tell us the answers’, at all. All we wanted from the end was the ability to check the answers we reached after struggling for so long, to have some form of validation that said ‘you got it right’ or ‘you got it way wrong’, so we didn’t feel like everything was a waste of time.

I also think it’s a bit problematic to say that Ryukishi is somehow hindered by being Japanese, and that’s a dangerous line of thinking. I’m sure you didn’t mean anything negative by it, but realistically that’s like saying ‘Japanese authors are not nearly as good as western ones, Ryukishi’s talent is wasted because he wasn’t born in the west’. And well, I don’t think I have to explain why that starts to sound a bit…wrong. 

Ryukishi is Japanese. First and foremost, he’s writing for fellow Japanese. His stories were always aimed at his own culture, and I remember how surprised he was to find out about Witch-Hunt and that Umineko was so hugely popular in the west to begin with. He’s not trying to look down on his peers and say ‘I’m better than you, and because you’re all Japanese, you’d never understand the COMPLEX topics in my stories’. In fact, I’d say it’s very much the opposite - Ryukishi would not be writing these stories at all if he wasn’t writing them for his fellow Japanese. 

If you’ve read the Higurashi VN, you’ll know that the Kai arcs all had a personal afterword written by Ryukishi to the readers (the question arcs had Otsukaresama-kai, which was what Umineko’s EP1 tea party is supposed to remind you of). At the end of…I wanna say it was Minagoroshi-hen? He left a note about the importance of talking to people about your problems, and how this was something he wished could become a more widespread concept in Japan. Because it took so much effort just to get Satoko into child protective services because of Japan’s general ‘mind your business’ attitude, and because of Satoko’s own belief that her brother would come back if she shouldered all of this herself…it showed just how prevalent that sort of idea is in Japanese culture. Rika, too, is a huge example of that, and one of the main messages of the story (and Minagoroshi-hen specifically) was how Rika could have gotten so much further if she had actually talked to her friends about what troubled her sooner. Rena, too, in Tsumihoroboshi-hen. A big theme of Higurashi was trust and friendship, and talking to people instead of bottling up your problems. And it was also to be the one to talk to a friend, and help them, if you felt they needed it, rather than doing the standard Japanese thing of ‘it’s not my business’. Ryukishi was writing about these themes to try and send a message to his own people, to his own culture, and to maybe, if just a little, influence the thinking of his readers to help foster a new generation to break through some of these cultural taboos.

Higurashi would not work as a story if it wasn’t written by a Japanese man, to the Japanese people, as a story about Japanese characters…because these concepts are so important to understanding a lot of the major themes. Let’s say, instead, that Ryukishi had moved to the US and started writing Higurashi here. We don’t have a doujin industry, but let’s say he just published it as a fanfiction online, and it got a bit of a popular following. What do you think the reception would have been about the inherent themes of Minagoroshi-hen? Because I can absolutely envision a western comment section for it. “Why didn’t they just bust into her house and see that her uncle was lying?!” “If I were Keiichi and the others I’d have gone and kicked his ass” “Why would Rika rather keep quiet about Satoko than try to help her? I thought they were best friends?” And so on and so forth. I think a lot of people wouldn’t get why Minagoroshi-hen was such a long, dragged out process…because the western mindset for this sort of thing is so different. We can’t imagine that child protective services would be so passive!! The meaning of their struggle in that arc would just be totally lost - Hell, for all I know, that’s exactly what happened for western readers not super familiar with Japanese culture reading Higurashi for the first time (I say reading because if I recall, like most things, the anime sorta streamlined the whole thing for the sake of time and it didn’t seem like nearly as long of a process as it does in the VN and manga). I bet there were a lot of western fans who genuinely didn’t understand a lot of Higurashi’s themes, and this is no fault of their own. This is because Higurashi was written specifically with a Japanese audience in mind, an audience that wouldn’t need to have this attitude explained to them because it’s an inherent part of their culture.

I won’t pretend to be an expert on Japanese culture myself, of course, but I absolutely don’t think Ryukishi’s stories would work if they were actually written for a western market. Of course they both have a strong western fanbase, but I’d wager that only a small fraction of that fanbase is made up of people who weren’t already anime/manga fans. IE, people who already know a bit about Japanese culture because they’re already exposed to a lot of Japanese media. And while I think Umineko has a bit more western appeal in its themes than Higurashi (which is a very Japanese story in more ways than one), it was still clearly written for a Japanese audience, with a Japanese mindset. Again I go back to the fact that a big part of the issues in Umineko is that the family members never liked to talk about their personal problems. If they had come together and tried to talk and help each other, the tragedy could absolutely have been prevented. Yasu would have been able to come to terms with herself and not be pushed to the brink feeling like her life was hopeless. Battler and Rudolf could have made up much sooner, rather than waiting for 6 whole years. Rosa and Maria could have healed their mother-daughter relationship and try to come to terms with their own psychoses. The list goes on. So much of Umineko could have been prevented if the characters didn’t bottle up their personal problems…which, yeah, is something westerners can relate to and appreciate, but I think would be received much more strongly by a Japanese audience.

Ryukishi is Japanese. He writes for the Japanese. The fact that westerners latch onto that quality of his stories so much is certainly interesting, but to insinuate that somehow his own culture and the very mindset that drives him to write these stories is somehow hindering him…I can’t agree with that at all. I think it’s awesome that his stories are identifiable enough to reach a much wider audience than he could have ever expected…but to think that somehow his work would be better off if he wasn’t Japanese, or writing stories to appeal to his own culture? I think that’s a very mistaken viewpoint, myself.

#umineko #umineko no naku koro ni #higurashi #higurashi no naku koro ni #umineko spoilers #asks #down-the-rabbit-well #umineko asks

[goodra-king]

Transcript of Advice for Entrepreneurs Who Want to Sell Their Companies

Transcript of Advice for Entrepreneurs Who Want to Sell Their Companies written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing

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Transcript

John Jantsch: Hello and welcome to another episode of the Duct Tape Marketing podcast. This is John Jantsch and my guest today is John Warrillow. He is the founder of the Value Builder System, a company that helps business owners improve the value of their company, and he’s also the author of the bestselling book, Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You. So, John, I have to say actually welcome back because I think we had you on for Built to Sell.

John Warrillow: You were good enough to do that. It’s great to be back. John, thanks for having me.

John Jantsch: So let’s just start, there’s a lot of business owners out there, some of whom are listening today, I suspect, that want to sell their company. So if I wake up one morning and think, “I want to sell my business,” what’s the first thing I need to do?

John Warrillow: I mean, the easiest thing to think about and the toughest thing to do is how well would your business thrive without you running it? Essentially, that’s the essence of building a valuable company because when somebody, obviously, buys it, it’s got to run without you. And if it runs well without you, you’ve got a valuable asset. If it doesn’t, then you’ve got changes to make. You got some changes to make.

John Jantsch: Well, does it also not have to be able to run without you? Do you have to actually demonstrate that as well? I mean you have to sort of prove that so that somebody can clearly see, “Oh, this isn’t dependent on you.”

John Warrillow: Yeah, for sure. I mean the smaller the company you have, the more skeptical a buyer is going to be that it runs without you. If you’ve got a 20, 30, $40 million company, nobody assumes that that’s being all run on the back of one owner. But if you’ve got a $500,000 company or a $300,000 company, that’s when their radar of the potential acquirer is way up, and they’re like, “Okay, what happens when we write you a check, and you hit the beach, does this whole thing kind of fall away?” And so the smaller you have a company the more skeptical they’re going to be.

John Jantsch: So you in the Value Builder System kind of lean on these drivers of salability kind of the things that people use to determine or demonstrate that a company has value. And I’m guessing one of them certainly is a lot of, “What’s the revenue? What’s the profit?” But does it go in terms of the financial part? Does it go kind of beyond showing a profit and loss statement?

John Warrillow: You’re right. Financial performance, I mean, you can’t get away from it. It’s important to acquirers, right? So what’s your top-line revenue? The more revenue you have, the more valuable your company is going to be, generally. Obviously, profitability’s going to be important. Things like gross margin are also important. Here’s why. When an acquirer looks at your company, if your gross margin is dropping consistently year over year, they’re going to draw the conclusion that you’ve lost your marketing differentiation. I know that’s something you talk a lot about with your customers.

John Warrillow: The idea that if you are starting to have to sort of compete and “buy business” and, therefore, your gross margin is dropping, they’re going to assume that the growth cycle of your company has matured and that’s going to be a real downward pressure on your value. If your gross margin, however, is consistent or growing, they’re going to assume that you’re increasing your pricing authority, meaning you’re becoming more differentiated for what you sell or do and, therefore, your business is going to be more attractive to acquire. So it’s important. Financial performance is important, but there are some nuances associated with it as well.

John Jantsch: I had somebody reach out to me a couple of years ago and they said, “Hey, there’s a company in your industry, they want to buy you out. They’re going to a couple of companies like yours and you’re a real target and they want to roll all these companies up.” And so I was like, “Okay, I’ll play, tell me what you’ve got in mind,” and they send me this list of about 47 things that they needed to see. And I was like, “I’m done. I’m out of here. That looks like a lot of work.” So in addition to just like your QuickBooks profit and loss, I mean, it seems to me people, I mean, they’re buying a business sort of on faith, but maybe they’re going to need more than faith.

John Warrillow: They sure are, and by the way, that’s a typical fishing letter used by either a private equity group or a business broker, as flattering as it can be, it probably doesn’t mean a whole lot. There’s you and 10,000 other people like you got the same letter, so it can be quite flattering but at the same time, I would have my radar up at letters like that and really be fairly conservative in their approach.

John Warrillow: Look, they’re going to want to know how repeatable is your business without you? And beyond just revenue and profits and gross margin, they’re also going to want to understand your recurring revenue. So subscription-based, annuity-based revenue, why is that important? Well, it predicts that in the future that revenue will come in again without you as the rainmaker. A lot of people know business owners are the sort of rainmakers in their company, and so acquirers want to know, “Okay, if we pull you out of the equation here, is this revenue going to continue?” That’s why they love service contracts, subscriptions, anything that where there’s that sort of a tail to the revenue.

John Jantsch: Yeah, and you actually wrote a book about that. I can’t remember, forgive me, A Subscription Economy or something like that?

John Warrillow: It’s not indelible in your mind, John?

John Jantsch: I’m sorry.

John Warrillow: It’s called The Automatic Customer.

John Jantsch: The Automatic Customer, [crosstalk] but that was the basis of it really, right? And I think that beyond the saleability of your company, I mean I think that’s just a great business practice, isn’t it? You need to build in some sort of recurring revenues?

John Warrillow: Yeah, I mean, it takes a lot of the stress away from running a company when you know at the beginning of the month you’ve got most of your revenue is already spoken for. I used to run, this goes back 20 years ago, a project-based consultancy and there was nothing worse than the beginning of the month because the beginning of the month you had to like being on a hamster wheel, start it all over again, right. And try to piece together [inaudible] revenue because win some projects, bid on some stuff and it was this constant scurrying around trying to find revenue, and in a good month you pieced it together like a patchwork quilt but for a lot of months, you didn’t. And so recurring revenue is one of those sort of de-stressors for people. It helps you predict what you’re going to need in your company many years or at least months in the future. I’m reminded of the guys at H.Bloom. Have you heard this story about H.Bloom before?

John Jantsch: I don’t think I have.

John Warrillow: So H.Bloom is a subscription-based flower store, a flower company. Essentially, you can buy a subscription to flowers. You might say, “Well, who on earth buys flowers on subscription?” Well, it turns out that a lot of very boutique-hotels and sort of upscale restaurants buy flowers every two weeks from H.Bloom because they want to give that professional image. Well, turns out the typical flower store throws out, garbages, 60% of its inventory every single month. Why? Because the stuff is dead in the fridge, right? They guess wrong on how many flowers they need to buy, yet H.Bloom’s spoilage rate is less than 2% per month because they know how many people are buying flowers that month in advance because they’re all buying them on subscription. And so yeah, it makes your business way less stressful and also helps you kind of figure out how many trucks you’re going to need on the road or how many guys you’re going to need or gals you’re going to need, six, 12, 18 months from now, which is huge.

John Jantsch: So you mentioned the idea of growth potential. You see every day these IPOs coming out of companies that we work, for example. Just had an IPO and last quarter they lost $700 million.

John Warrillow: Right.

John Jantsch: So are people banking on growth potential and if so, how do you demonstrate growth potential? Let’s go down to the small business. I think my business is awesome. I’ve done a lot of amazing things in my business. So clearly the growth potential is huge. So that was said facetiously, but, I mean, that’s obviously an important factor, but how do you demonstrate that or how do you even quantify that?

John Warrillow: Yeah, so growth potential is really important to investors and acquirers and a lot of it is going to be predicated on the industry that you’re in, right? So if you’re a law firm, most acquirers know that for a law firm to scale, it requires hiring a bunch of associates, onboarding them, training them, and it takes years to really get them to be effective associates, and as a result, those companies don’t scale very quickly, and their multiples are what people are willing to pay to buy a law firm tends to be fairly low. Whereas, if you’re a manufacturing company, and an acquirer can look at your business and say, “If we can get the sales and marketing right and bring in lots more business, we can just put on another shift, make the assembly line run twice as fast, or they can stamp out their widget much more quickly,” they’re going to pay a much higher multiple.

John Warrillow: It’s why technology companies, ones, in particular, that are based on SAS-based software, for example, are getting tremendous multiples because acquirers know they don’t need to invest in a lot of infrastructure to scale. They can simply grow quite quickly by winning new customers. So you’re going to want to demonstrate what’s the model? I love looking at cost per account acquired as a key metric to share with potential acquirers.

John Warrillow: So being able to demonstrate, like I put $1,000 at the top of the funnel. I invest a $1,000 in whatever marketing, telemarketing, Facebook marketing, whatever you choose to do in your marketing, I put $1,000 in and I get three customers. In other words, my cost to acquire account is $333, that’s huge information for potential acquirer because guess what? They’ve got lots of money, typically. So they can say, “Okay, if you’re getting three customers for every $1,000 I invest, well, it stands to reason that if I invest $10,000 a month, I get 30 customers and if I invested a hundred grand, I’d get 300 customers,” and so that information cost per account acquired is huge.

John Jantsch: Yeah, and if you could really nail that, I mean, you can make a case for saying, “Let’s go out and borrow money to do that, right, almost. I mean, if you can really get sure about that. “If we can make more money off of a client that it costs us to acquire and we know exactly what it costs us to acquire them, that’s a pretty valuable ratio.

John Warrillow: That’s huge. It’s huge. A lot of small businesses, and when I say small, I’m referring to kind of 10-person companies, 5-person companies, 20-person companies. They’re acquired, they’re purchased not by other companies, but by individuals and individuals buy businesses with debt. And they typically, in the United States at least, get an SBA Loan, Small Business Administration Loan. And the SBA is basically a government-guaranteed loan that a bank will offer, and it will allow an acquirer, an individual, to buy a business that they couldn’t ordinarily afford. Well, in order to be “bankable,” meaning a company that a bank would lend to, you have to have some of these metrics dialed in.

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John Jantsch: So long, long, long time ago, we’re talking 25 years ago when I started my consulting-

John Warrillow: Before I was born, Jantsch.

John Jantsch: When I started my consulting practice, I looked up one day and 60% of my business was coming from two customers. And, lo and behold, for no reason related to my work for them, they both decided to fire me and I had to scramble. What percentage of businesses kind of find themselves in that same boat and obviously, what role does something like that play in the salability of a company?

John Warrillow: Yeah, you’re talking about a value-driver we refer to as the Switzerland Structure and the Switzerland Structure, it’s named after the country of Switzerland, which as you know, is sort of obsessed with this idea of independence, not cozying up to any one kind of geopolitical faction, whatever. The same can be true of the most valuable companies. Meaning the most valuable companies are not dependent on any one constituency. And the typical three problem areas for a lot of small businesses are either they’re too dependent on a single employee, to dependent on a single supplier, or as you said in your example, to dependent on a single customer. And so most acquirers are going to get their radar up if more than 10% of your revenue comes from a single customer, and that’s because they’re just going to see that as a risk factor, right?

John Warrillow: They still may buy your business, but they might buy it and use an earn-out, which is a formula they put in place that says, “We’re not going to give you all of your money upfront. We’re going to give you part of it, but then you’re going to have to work for the second half by making sure those customers that you’ve been serving stay through the acquisition,” which is sort of the enemy for most entrepreneurs. Most entrepreneurs want to get their check and leave the next day. And so the only way you’re going to do that is if you can demonstrate that you’re not too dependent on a single customer. I shouldn’t say the only way. One of the important things you need to do in order to get up a high proportion of your money upfront is to demonstrate you’re not too dependent on a single customer.

John Jantsch: So because I’m a marketing consultant, I happen to think marketing strategy is the most important element of any business, and central to that is a strategy that allows you to differentiate yourself from the competition. I mean, just otherwise you’re competing on price. I mean, so I teach that greatly, but how important is that in somebody thinking that they’re going to buy a business that yeah, they may not have it forever, but they’ve got some sort of key differentiator that makes the competition a little bit irrelevant. I mean, obviously, that’s kind of the Holy Grail of selling your business, isn’t it?

John Warrillow: Oh, that’s so important. I’m so glad you brought this up. When an acquirer looks at buying a company, they make a secret little calculation that they never tell you the small business owner about it. It’s done behind closed doors in a boardroom somewhere. And that is the build versus buy decision, right? So they sit there, and they say, “Okay, John’s built this great company over here. Is it easier for us to just simply compete with John? In other words, basically replicate what he’s created, or should we just buy him?” And if the answer to it, “It would be cheaper to compete than buying him because he hasn’t really created anything that unique,” then they’re going to do just that. They’re going to create it, and so if you’re undifferentiated from a marketing perspective for what you do, if you’re responding to requests for proposals, RFPs, or if you’re pricing your product by the ounce, by the yard, the chances are you’re highly commoditized as a result.

John Warrillow: An acquirer is going to say, “Well, why do I need to buy this guy’s company? I’ll just lower the price, and by the way, I have much deeper pockets to weather a pricing war. I’ll just lower the price and pick up all his business.” Whereas if you’ve created something truly unique, and there’re two ways to make your business unique, right. One is to create some technology or something that really … a better mousetrap. But very few small businesses in my experience, have a better mousetrap. But a lot more of them have the second point of differentiation, which is better marketing, right? The belief in the eyes of their customers that whatever they do is unique. I’m looking at on my desk, I’ve got, I don’t know if you’ve seen these, they’re all over the place in REI and stores like it in the United States. Have you ever seen these YETI cups, John?

John Jantsch: Oh, yeah.

John Warrillow: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I go to a lot of my kids’ baseball games and every dad has an adult beverage in the YETI cup and we await … These guys have done a tremendous job of taking essentially a cooler glass, basically, a highly commoditized product that we all have in our kitchen cabinets and make it into a product that we’re spending, 20, $30 per cup, right? Because we believe it’s unique. Now, some of that is that it is unique. It’s a unique insulative cup, but a lot of it’s marketing and that’s huge for small businesses.

John Jantsch: Well, they all just chisel it out of the $700 cooler that they sell you as well.

John Warrillow: Right, you’ve seen those too. I haven’t been tempted to buy a $700 cooler quite yet.

John Jantsch: Nor have I. So a few years ago, somebody could have good marketing, have good revenue and good customers and everything looked hunky-dory, and then the internet came along. And now, if you’re not keeping your promises, somebody leaves a review, they create a YouTube channel talking about how awful you are, how important is that sort of social proof now become in the salability factor?

John Warrillow: Yeah, it’s big. It’s one of the other drivers we talk about at Value Builder and that is is how willing are your customers to refer you? And we use the standard kind of format that most acquirers have adopted, which is called Net Promoter Score. And I’m sure you’ve seen this, I mean it’s become sort of the gold standard among enterprise companies for measuring customer satisfaction. It’s developed by a guy named Fred Reichheld, made famous by Scott Cook at Intuit. Michael Dell at Dell uses it. These very large companies are all using the same methodology to measure their customer satisfaction, and it’s a single question. And when I tell you the question, you’ve heard it a thousand times, you’ve been asked it a thousand times, I’m sure, it’s simply, “On a scale of zero to 10 how likely are you to recommend us to a friend or colleague?” And if you’re a Rackspace user, or you’re an Enterprise rent a car customer, you’ve been asked that question hundreds of times, and it turns out that question is highly-predictive, highly-correlated, statistically linked to behaviors.

John Warrillow: Number one, the customer will indeed refer, and number two, the customer will repurchase. And so if you think about the sort of currencies or the raw materials for organic growth, and we go back to a growth potential is one of the drivers we talked about earlier, that’s really the raw material. And so that’s why you really want customers who are willing to refer you. And one of the ways we measure that is using Net Promoter Score at Value Builder but there’s lots of ways you could measure it. But the essence is, “Are my customers happy? Are they willing to talk about me and say nice things to their friends and colleagues?”

John Jantsch: So we’ll go back to the beginning kind of where you started all this, that it really comes down to how likely is the business to thrive without the owner? A lot of owners have kind of, I mean, they started it, they were the chief salesperson, they were the chief innovator. They were the chief implementer. Maybe eventually they brought people in who did some of those, but they’ve never really fully broken away from the control of the business. And I’m sure that sometimes, one of your consultants will come in and say, “Well, you have to give up control of the business. We have to start putting in processes that allow somebody else to make it rain.” Does that process happen overnight or does it take years?

John Warrillow: Oh, man. Yeah, we call it hub-and-spoke, but for a lot of small businesses they are hub-and-spoke managers, meaning they’re the hub in a wheel and all their customers, suppliers, vendor they’re all spokes and if anything needs to get done if a discount needs to be approved. If a customer wants a deal, if an employee wants a vacation, they have to go into the hub. In other words, the owner to answer that question. And, of course, hub-and-spoke models can be enormously efficient, right.

John Warrillow: It cuts down on a lot of backchannel communication if you’re a hub-and-spoke manager right up until the moment you want to take a vacation, in which time the entire business basically collapses without you. And so that’s the definition of an unsellable company when you’ve got a high hub-and-spoke score, meaning you’re really, you haven’t sort of empowered your people to make decisions without you. So that’s a big one, and to your point, I think it’s a journey that we’re all always on, to some extent. I’m reminded of, do you remember Peter Drucker, the guy who-

John Jantsch: Of course, I cite him all the time, The Practice of Management’s probably my most popular book.

John Warrillow: Yeah, so I mean he was sort of thought of as this sort of, I don’t know, the modern-day pioneer of management theory, and he talked about that managers and senior managers, should focus all of their energy or the vast majority of their hours in their day on two behaviors, on two kinds of tasks. One, product innovation, and two, sales and marketing. Those were the two sort of areas that he believed senior executives should focus on in terms of their time.

John Warrillow: And if you think about it, most business owners are in some ways spending most of their time focused on those two things. At the same time, and not to contradict what Drucker said, it’s those two things that you have to actually put into other people’s hands in order for your company to be transferable. So as counterintuitive as it feels for most owners, because most owners, they feel it’s the product or the service they offer where they really got to be front and center or winning new customers. Those are the two behaviors or the two tasks, you’ve got to somehow get into somebody else’s hands. And as you said in the beginning, it’s a journey. It takes a long time. It’s not something that you can buy some software, spend a course and teach people. It takes, in many cases, years.

John Jantsch: Whoa. In many cases, it’s deep psychological scars that have to be removed in order to let go the reins of some of these things as part of the challenge.

John Warrillow: Yeah. You joke, but we’ve just done some research and built a little tool actually called Pre-score. It’s fascinating. If you look at the data on business owners, and their mental health after they sell. Turns out 75% of business owners one year after selling end up regretting the decision to sell, 75%. Think about it. To the outsider, right, it’s like winning a lottery. You sell your company, it should be right up there with the birth of your child, your marriage, it’s these wonderful days, but 75% look back a year later and regret it. And you touched on, I think at just a critical point and that is that business owners are too emotionally tied to their companies.

John Warrillow: They haven’t done dis-aggregated or separated their ego, our sense of self-worth and our reason for being from their company. And if there’s one thing I would leave your listeners with beyond the practical stuff of recurring revenue and all that stuff is really do some thinking about who you are as a person. What other rules that you play in the world. Maybe you’re a coach or a dad or a volunteer firefighter, whatever you are, or a mom or whatever, and really getting clear on the value you add, and the rule those things play in your life. Because if you just cut the cord and sell your company, man, it’ll leave a huge void if you haven’t done some thinking about other areas of your life that give you a sense of purpose.

John Jantsch: Amen to that. So what I want to ask you one last question. On average, and you may not have a good number so you can generalize here, but on average when somebody contacts a Value Builder System Coach or what you’ve seen, how long is the process of actually getting like, I’m sure you have a checklist to say, “Wow, we’ve got to go work on these three things and cleaned them up.” I mean, what’s kind of the process before somebody really is ready to sell?

John Warrillow: So interesting. We did a study actually with one of our certified Value Builders, a guy named Steve Sutton, and we took a group of 40 small business owners through an eight month study, and we had them all complete the Value Builder question at the beginning of this study. We had them do it again at six months and again at eight months. And on average, the average participant in this study improved the value of their company by 18% so you may say, “Okay, 18%. Well, that’s not a big deal.” Well, actually, if you think about the context of this is your most valuable asset, most likely your business may be your house, but it’s probably even more valuable than your company and then your home. And we’re lucky to eke out five or 7% growth in our home.

John Warrillow: If we can create 18% of increased value in our business in just eight months, you annualize that, it’s whatever, more than 20%, so it’s a huge impact. So I think it’s a lifelong journey, John, as long as the business exists, I believe you should be tweaking it and fine-tuning it to sell, but even in as little as eight months, I think you can make a material impact on the value of your company.

John Jantsch: So, John, where can somebody out about, I know you have an oral assessment, that will help people get started on these eight drivers. So tell people where they can find that.

John Warrillow: Valuebuilder.com and you’re right, there’s the Value Builder questionnaire. It’s free to take. It’ll give you your score out of 100. A typical user-average is about 59 out of a possible 100. The folks that achieve a score of 90 or greater, so those would be our sort of all-stars are getting offers more than double that of the average user. So it’s just at value builder.com.

John Jantsch: Well, John, it was great catching up with you as always, and I know you’re going to be working with our consultant network depending upon when people are listening to this October in Savannah, Georgia. So that’s just another one of the benefits of being part of the Duct Tape Marketing Consultant Network. You get to hear from smart guys like John. So, John.

John Warrillow: I can’t wait to that session, because I think the other thing that we’ve talked about today is how important marketing is to almost every one of these drivers. So I’m keen to kind of be with your guys and learn from them as much as they’ll maybe take away a couple of things from me too.

John Jantsch: Awesome. Thanks again, John. Hopefully, well, I know, we’ll see you out there soon on the road.

John Warrillow: Looking forward to it.

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