#(it was published in 2019 I think for reference)

[nyhne]

.

[lochallthedoors]

Q&A w/ Noel conducted in October 2019 for The Monthly’s 12/2019 issue

Liam did his own Q&A for this feature a few weeks before Noel did his; I excerpted part of it, where Liam accuses the people around Noel of trying to stop him from being with Liam, here.

[ms-demeanor]

This is a good faith/genuine ask. Sorry if you’ve posted this already on your blog! My parents were big into medical woo when I was growing up. My dad’s a chiropractor and while he doesn’t think it’ll cure autism or asthma, I’ve learned a lot over the past few years about its origins and how it’s a pseudoscience. Do you have resources about the pseudoscience or lack of evidence for spinal manipulation? I feel a bit like I’m trying to leave a cult with how embedded some of these claims are from my childhood.

thanks for all your posting about medical woo and pseudosciences! It’s made a huge difference for me.

sorry about formatting, I’m on mobile

Quackwatch has a very good introductory article that links to lots and lots of other articles. That page has been up a long time, so many of the links are broken, but you can find the references at the bottom of the page by searching the full name and title of the articles (which, for the record, is a really great reason to include full citations even when writing for the internet!)

Two of the articles that had broken links that I'd suggest looking at are by Edzard Ernst, who is a researcher focused on CAM who has published a *ridiculous* amount of information analyzing the efficacy of alternative therapies. Both of these are available as free fulltext articles online, they are:

Chiropractic: a Critical Evaluation

Adverse Effects of Spinal Manipulations: A Systematic Review

Like most alternative medicine, it is hard to find "fair" research on chiropractic because most of the people who are reporting on outcomes are the people performing the treatments. There are dozens of "peer-reviewed" chiropractic journals that do little more than function as advertising for the industry and that churn out lots of studies that sound good but are badly constructed and are poor evidence for the efficacy of the treatment.

Even "fair" research that finds that chiropractic is largely ineffective often gets misinterpreted and held up as a win for chiropractic; a 2019 paper found that spinal manipulation therapy was as effective as other recommended treatments for low back pain - the issue is that other recommended treatments for low back pain aren't very effective. Ernst did a write-up on that study too, which provides a good basic model for how to look at research reviews.

Thanks for reaching out and asking, it sounds like you've been dealing with a lot through this and I hope you have a good day.

[sizeofyoursoul]

After the publication of The Queen of the Damned, I requested of my editor that she not give me anymore comments. I resolved to hand in the manuscripts when they were finished. And asked that she accept them as they were. She was very reluctant, feeling that her input had value, but she agreed to my wishes. I asked this due to my highly critical relationship with my work and my intense evolutionary work on every sentence in the work, my feeling for the rhythm of the phrase and the unfolding of the plot and the character development. I felt that I could not bring to perfection what I saw unless I did it alone. In other words, what I had to offer had to be offered in isolation. So all novels published after The Queen of the Damned were written by me in this pure fashion, my editor thereafter functioning as my mentor and guardian.

Edit 9-14-17 -- I fear this gives the wrong impression of my relationship with my editor; her detailed responses to my novels are very important to me, very constructive, and always right on. And there are still times, indeed, often, when she speaks up on a certain line, or a certain character, or a certain moment, asking pertinent questions, asking for more to illuminate, etc. I respect her insights mightily. I respect her responses mightily. ---- And over the years, I've been less threatened my detailed criticism. --- I still believe in the solo voice with all my soul, and when a reader tells me that she loves a certain paragraph or a certain chapter, I must know that I am indeed the sole author of that paragraph, that chapter. But I have become more secure, more able to handle my editor's insights and requests. --- What I have always rebelled against is the popular presumption that all fiction books have to be edited, --- the idea that fiction authors really are eternal adolescents, and, unlike painters or poets, they can't bring their work to perfection without a parental figure at a publishing house going over the work with a blue pencil. I've heard people actually voice this view, that fiction must be subjected to editing by some one else in order to reach its full potential. I have always questioned this. And always will. The publishing house does always have the option to reject a book if they feel it isn't good enough. (

EDIT - Feb. 18, 2019. I came back here this morning because I stumbled on a blog post where some one referred to this post and said it went "viral" in 2018. I was not aware of that. --- Allow me to add this: discussions of editing are confusing because the words involved simply are not precise. Every book published by my publisher, or any New York publisher, is thoroughly copy edited before it goes to the printer. No exceptions. And the copy editor is the final proof reader who catches a multitude of inconsistencies large and small, words that don't mean what the author might think they mean, unintentional repetitions, mistakes in chronology, plain goofs like a blond suddenly described as having black hair, possible dropped words, or sentences that for some reason don't make sense, inconsistent use of capital letters, and a lot of other things I can't now recall. None of my remarks on editors have ever referred to the almighty copy editor. I repeat: every book is copy edited. No exceptions. When I get the copy edited manuscript back, I not only go over ever single correction or query made by the copy editor, I read every single word of the book myself to catch the small mistakes which only I can catch. ---- When I speak of editors, as I have above, I'm speaking of creative editors --- In my case, this means the editor who accepted my first novel for the publishing house, and who has been my mentor, guardian angel, and friend ever since. And she does always respond to my novels with profoundly insightful comments. And she will indeed speak up if she thinks a character or a scene doesn't work as it should. -- My editor and I have one of the longest editor-author relationships in publishing today. We've been together over 40 years. --- I think we're a perfect match. But each such relationship is unique because each author is unique. I found exactly what I needed in my editor. And I count myself as blessed. I hope every aspiring author has good luck in this regard, and I firmly believe that getting to know the editor, becoming relaxed with the editor, and being able to explain one's feelings to the editor are all for the good. Thank you, guys, for all your marvelous comments below.

Anne Rice's thoughts on editors, twice revised for clarity, from her Facebook page.

[zakumipink]

Day 07: "Free Day"

I'm going to take advantage of this day without a theme to share my ship: SaboLaw. I've had them a couple, since 2016, after playing One Piece Pirate Warrior III, You could say I've been here since the beginning, Of course we had no content or material, even today it is not so popular, although it got a big push after the Stampede movie in 2019, the same year I played One Piece World Seeker and added a new headcanon: Roule is the son of Law and Sabo. I should clarify that saying that I added a headcanon refers to my headcanons, not to a fandom or community, since I do not belong to any group of that kind.

I'm just a Spanish speaker and writer, so I've been contributing to blogs and, formerly, Wattpad for years. I lost my blog and many stories, I like Alternate Universes because I can make romantic comedies, with a silly humor that many people think is stupid. Last year I started uploading fanfics to Ao3, and I also translated them into English at the request of two Tumblr friends... Right now I'm using Translator and I usually publish in this language, but I am from Chile.

I don't have the talent to draw, so I only illustrated my fanfics with my sims... Although I also belong to other fandoms, I have always considered this couple as my favorite place. Maybe it's because I need more people to love it... I don't know.

Finally, I want to thank all the artists, fans, and people who like SaboLaw. You don't know how nice it is, after years of being very alone, to find content from my ship. And obviously thanks to whoever organized this week, I had fun and admired a lot of art.

Happy Sabo Week 2025!

[elodieunderglass]

It's not really my business, but honestly it feels like it would be advisable to hire a copyright lawyer. Like I don't feel like you're in it for the money, but it might be gratifying to have the guy milking your idea at least have to formally acknowledge you. I think I'd do it just for the peace of mind to know if I've been "legally" wronged or not. Either way, hope you continue to inspire, and live out a peaceful life.

(In reference to this post about the guy who pretends to have invented “Elder Teletubbies,” specifically how he is now kickstarting DnD minis of them.)

Ha, well, it’s all a little tricky I think. I might, hilariously, post on the r/legaladvice Reddit (even though they’re all cops lol) because the only thing I want here is for him to stop selling my “transformative work,” and ideally to stop pretending he invented it (which might be difficult as he appears to fully believe his work is creatively independent.)

I think if anything, my post counts as protected commentary or a transformative work of BBC’s Teletubbies, and I think it’s stinky to profit on that stuff in general (like I’m 190% okay with buying LotR fanart on stickers ! but I wouldn’t dream of trying to publish a fic with the serial numbers filed off. Why?)

I think ultimately I’m not a grifter, I’m a grownup, and I think it’s several levels of eye roll to sell fanart of a tv show on this level. I would be embarrassed to touch money made on that. I’m too fucking scrupulous and artisanal. I have toyed with a silly original novel for funsies since 2019 but keep saying things like, “oh, people will think this is too similar to something else that already exists” as if a silly original novel I write for fun has to somehow pass a Bar of Originality higher than anything salary-writers aim for.

I’m also pretty anti-intellectual-property myself in that leftist sense where I don’t believe people should be acting as if creative works are, like, oil. Like the resource extraction angle of intellectual property freaks me out, I don’t think getting super high-horse and snotty about Magical Brain Property is entirely compatible with the artisanal temperament I personally got going on here. I am like snufkin about this, simply smoking a pipe and making a flower crown saying “poor fools! Producing works for market, and serving as the guard dogs of the market, lest their work lose value if it becomes more common!” I do not have a high horse. I am not going to post 6900 words about the importance of defending fucking… Mickey Mouse. I buy those lotr stickers on Etsy! I do have a horse, but it’s a pretty low horse.

If it was his own work I would not care about this guy doing this in the least (apart from loftily calling it stinky - but hey, nerds are common and nerds are stinky, it’s not rare) IF he wasn’t STEALING FROM MY ANTI-COMMERCIALISATION DREAM TO DO IT.

That’s the bit that PISSES ME OFF too much to ignore: that and accepting compliments for being original like 😌 yes my twisted mind did this idk lol.

Like if you asked him point blank about the artistic choices he’d be like idk my twisted mind just sees the Teletubbies this way teehee! but if you ask ME why, for example, the adult Teletubbies live in the forest I’ll explain that in 2017 I was at a major life crossroads and this dream was ABOUT that. It was goodbye to my identity as a foreigner from the pine forests, and full steam ahead to settling permanently in the fucking shire (where the baby teletubbies on the bbc show live). It was about going back to work having had my first child, and saying goodbye to my various career dreams for myself (famous scientist! Published author!) as I chose instead, finally, the responsibility of working humbly as a public servant for the actual good of society. It is about witnessing the wild and saying “I am not of it, but it is my job to be its witness and voice.” That’s why the adult Teletubbies are dancing in my native forests while I’m watching them from the English hills. This guy doesn’t know that he just vaguely heard “spooky forest cryptid” and didn’t develop it at all, I do more work than that with FANFICTION in my time off!!!

So it’s really about nebulous stuff and ethics and not something worth paying a lawyer for I think!

But thank you so much for this, I think the thing that gets most perennial about it is the TOTAL GASLIGHTING of the “outside world” of the rest of the internet like, fully believing they invented this, and they DIDNT. They’re so wrong on the internet and they don’t know

[solangeloficawards]

solangelo fic awards 2025!

just when u thought it was over, we're back with number eight (better late than never)

"best ____" fic nomination forms

best series nomination form

author of the year nomination form

let me know if you find any mistakes with the forms and i will fix it asap. you can also submit fics via message or ask! submissions end 02/01 and voting will (hopefully) be up by 02/03!

keep reading for past years, categories, & guidelines

best fluff (award for the fluffiest, sweetest fics!)

best au (award for the best alternate universe or trope fics!)

new! best buddies (award for a fic involving more than one person. whether that be a co-author, illustrated inclusion, or a gift fic, let's celebrate collaboration!)

best canon compliant (award for best demigod-centric universe following straight along with the classic riordan universe!)

best angst (award for the most heart-wrenching, angsty fic!)

best oneshot (award for one-chapter, under 5k word fics for our short story writers!)

best wip (award for your favorite unfinished or abandoned multi-chaptered fics! previously best unfinished chaptered)

best misc (any fic that you dont think fits well into any of the other categories! this could include crackfics, crossover fics, miscellaneous oneshots, or any of your favorite tropes!)

best series (award for multiple fics within one series that all relate to the same plot/universe)

author of the year (to show your favorite author some appreciation!)

references:

from the past: 2018 winners. 2019 winners. 2020 winners.  2021 winners. 2022 winners, 2023 winners, 2024 winners

every fic masterlist: 2018 masterlist, 2019 masterlist, 2020 masterlist, 2021 masterlist, 2022 masterlist, 2023 masterlist, 2024 masterlist

guidelines:

you can submit your own work

you can submit as many or as little fics as you’d like for any of the categories. the more the better!

fics published at any date can be submitted; however ,fics submitted after the deadline will not be included

fics cannot be any of the following: fics that have already won in previous years, non solangelo centric, orphan or anonymous fics (if i dont know the authors idk if they want to be included), explicit nsfw or any mention of underage nsfw (nsfw fics otherwise will be tagged as so), rape/non-con fics, graphic depictions of suicide, contains unnecessary racism/homophobia/trasnphobia or any other hateful content, written with AI, harry potter aus, and any other content with oppressive origins origins. fics submitted that violate any of these will not be included

you can submit multiple fics per category, however please do not submit the same fic for more than one category (if this does happen, i’ll just decide what category it best fits)

there is also a chance your fic may change categories from where you submitted it. this is only to help your fic do better, but you can let us know if you dont want that to happen

you are allowed to nominate fics that were nominated previous years; however, please do not nominate a winning fic from last year. the previous years nominations list and winners list can be found above (they will not be included in case you miss this, but if you do know please just save us some time)

in the case that you do/someone else has submitted your work, you are allowed promote yourself, however you cannot offer anything in return for people to vote for your work. theres no prize for winning besides personal satisfaction so theres really no need

please do not be upset at me or anyone involved if you don't win. theres always next year!

all submissions are anonymous. a google sign-in will be required in order to vote when nominations do come out to ensure everyone is voting only once, but emails will not be collected or distributed! you can always nominate or vote via ask (wont publish but ill lyk i received it) or direct message if you wish

please let us know if you see anyone violating the rules! we'll handle it from there!!

if you have any other questions, you can check out our faq! you can also message me or put it in an ask!

all relating posts for this year are tagged with #fic awards 2025! good luck :) <3 with love from cj & liz

[artdcnaldson]

match point aka changeover part 3

rating: M warnings: language, sexual references, no explicit smut in this word count: 4.7k

disclaimer: this is an UNFINISHED draft of the third installment of the changeover series. just wanted to share so it doesn't die in my google drives but again... it's not complete and is unedited

—————

AUGUST  2019

Tashi Donaldson always managed to look effortless— chic and powerful. Even in the dim, golden light of the hotel lobby, she looked radiant. 

Your heels clicked against the floor, like a warning bell, and she looked up. A smile played at her lips, and she gestured to the seat across from her. 

It was quiet— how do you even start a conversation with one of the most iconic women in the sports industry? Especially a woman whose husband you had fucked (and who had fucked your husband) the last time you formally spoke. 

You’d seen her around plenty, especially when you got a cushy job at a reputable newspaper, when you started going to galas and dinners and the sorts of events Art and Tashi lived and breathed. But speaking? Never.

So it was up to Tashi to break that silence. “Your ring is gorgeous,” She said, holding your hand up towards the light. The diamond there sparkled, blinding. Heat flooded your face immediately. You moved your left hand into your lap like it had been burned. She raised a brow. “What? Is that a touchy subject? If you didn’t like the ring, you could’ve told him— what was it?— four years ago?”

You sighed and shook your head. “It’s not the ring we’re just… taking a break, I think.” The words came out in a wave of hot shame and embarrassment, before you could consider the fact that Tashi was married to Patrick’s competitor. Tashi’s gaze was so intense, felt so scrutinizing that you were like an ant burning under a magnifying glass.

“Really? That doesn’t sound like Patrick.” 

And of course it didn’t. Patrick didn’t do things in half measures. He never did, it was why it had been you that insisted on a break in the first place. It was fucking mortifying— a death rattle in a relationship. He said as much when you proposed it after more than a week of silently avoiding each other  around the house. I think I just need a break, Patrick.

He thought you should work it out, stick together, ride the wave. He didn’t understand that was exactly what you were trying to do. You had to let the hurt cool off, so it didn’t sting just to be near him.

But you didn’t want to think about that. “Can we talk about the article?” You interrupted. “I’m here because I’m writing about Art’s recent string of losses. About the decision for him to compete at what is effectively an insignificant tournament for him.”

“Sure, we can talk about the article,” Tashi said plainly. “Let’s start with the fact that I emailed your editor the second you reached out to me.”

Fuck. Of course she did. You swallowed hard, chewing on your lip as she slid her phone into the middle of the table to show you an email from your boss. Your eyes caught the beaded bracelet on her wrist— Lily. It made an uncomfortable pit form in your stomach. 

“We can talk about how you were told not to write it, for starters. That there is no world in which you would be allowed to cover a challenger that your husband is competing in. Actually, they sent Robert Jacobs. He covered Art’s injury last year. But you already know all of this.”

It was hard to hear her over the sound of your pulse thrumming in your veins, as she read the response from your editor. You twisted your wedding ring nervously, feeling it dig into your fingers— every point and divot. 

“If I write this, it’s going to get published. If not with my paper, somewhere else. It will be… a good fucking article,” you insisted after she’d finished.

She furrowed her brows. “Really? What could possibly be interesting about Art wiping the floor with every person he finds himself across the net from?”

You raised a brow, looking at her intently. She knew exactly why you were itching to write the fucking article, and she knew exactly how ridiculous that was. And she laughed. 

“He is not playing against Patrick,” she said easily, like it was as good as a fact. “You know your husband; you know how he fucks himself over right at the finish line. And if Art does play Patrick, Art is going to win. And you won’t write about that, because it would crush Patrick, and you love him.”

Annoyance ticked in your jaw. You felt like you’d been scolded in class, with your hands in your lap and a sullen expression. How mortifying that eight years later you felt just like you had in that hotel hallway. Small.

“I like your work. I really do,” Tashi said. “Your features are beautiful and poignant, and maybe you can write about Art in a decade when he retires, but you’re not writing about him now.” She stood and gathered her things, officially signaling that your ‘meeting’ was over. She spared one final glance in your direction. “In fact, it would probably be best if you went back home. Art needs to be at his best. You and Patrick are just going to be distracting.”

You stood from the table, eyes set on the hotel bar across the room. You could use a strong drink, or five. 

“I’m not leaving,” you said firmly. “They’re on opposite sides of the draw, and they’ve both been winning, that means they could—”

Tashi sighed, like the conversation had exhausted her. “Can you just go fucking talk to your husband? That’s why you’re here. Not some fucking puff piece about Art and Patrick meeting on the court thirteen years after their match at the Junior US Open. We can save that can of worms for Art’s autobiography.” 

She hesitated a moment before she stepped forward and grabbed your hands in hers. It could’ve been tender. Maybe it was. Your thoughts went back to Atlanta, and the gentle way she’d tidied you up before you went back to Patrick. “You may be surprised by this, but I like you. I respect you and what you’ve built for yourself. That’s why I’m telling you to do what you’re actually here to do, and leave me and my husband out of it.”

She gave your hands one last squeeze before she dropped them, offered a passive goodbye, and headed for the elevator bank.

You pulled out your phone and pulled up your recent messages. It opened, as it always did, to Patrick. He had texted you after he saw you in the stands, watching his game with hands clasped in your lap. 

Can I see you?

That had been over a day ago, but you hadn’t answered it yet. Tashi was right, though. You needed to. He was the entire reason you were there and not back at home on the couch with your overweight lapdog. The article was just a pretense, an excuse to be near him. 

And you really didn’t even need one— he would've taken you back any time, any place. It's why it was so confusing that you wouldn’t just let him. 

Your thumbs hovered over the keyboard, canine digging into your bottom lip as you typed back a response. After your match tomorrow? My hotel.

His response was near immediate— a red heart emoji and a thumbs up. Your lips twitched into something close to a smile. 

——

The problem was that you had wanted it so badly it felt like an ache. With Patrick, it was always, “yeah, but later, when we’re older,” or, “someday.”

But ‘someday’ kept feeling further away. Getting older was happening, it was a daily experience. So when?

He didn’t react when you first told him. I’m late. The easiest words you could use. Much easier than I might be pregnant. He had just nodded, asked if you wanted to take a test.

You took four. Patrick paced in the bedroom while you stared at the wall and tried not to count the seconds in your head. The timer went off, you finally looked.

Patrick didn’t seem to understand why you were crying when you told him they were negative. He must’ve thought it was the stress of it all, or relief. But he knew you better, he should have known.

“Shit… I mean— thank god,” he said with a laugh. Like it would’ve been catastrophic— no— world-ending if the test would’ve been positive. 

“Try not to act so fucking excited, asshole,” you snapped, shoving him out of the way with two firm hands to his chest. His back hit one of your dressers, rattling it. 

You sat on top of your bed, knees hugged to your chest. Patrick stayed against the dresser, jaw set like he wanted to say something, but he knew it would just make things worse. And you knew he was going to fucking say it, he was going to dig his feet in and refuse to budge. Because you did know him, just like he knew you, and he knew where to press and make things hurt.

“I’m being an asshole?” He scoffed, ran a hand through his hair. “I’m allowed to have fucking feelings about this. And you know we aren’t ready to be parents.”

“Who’s we?” You asked, hurt burning hot in your chest. “Because I have been ready. I bought us a bigger place with extra bedrooms so we could start expanding our family two years ago.” He said nothing, so you just laughed wryly. “You don’t fucking get it, Patrick. I’m the one who has to sit here and watch all of my friends pop out babies, and have first birthday parties, and stupid fucking gender reveals. It sucks to constantly answer everyone asking when we’re going to have kids with ‘someday.’”

He scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Jesus Christ, you’re so fucking transparent.”

“I’m sorry?” Your brows knit in annoyance. “I’m trying to explain to you how I’m feeling, and you’re just—“

“It’s not about how you’re feeling, this is about Art, because it’s fucking always about Art.” He rolled his eyes, muttered something under his breath. 

Hot tears were beading on your lashes, the ugly ache of hurt sat heavy in your chest. Patrick didn’t bring up Art, not unless you were fucking. He got off on things like that— like Art was your third, or fourth, because you relished in dropping Tashi’s name too.

You swallowed around a lump in your throat, the corners of your mouth twisted downward. “That’s what you think?”

Patrick closed the distance, crawling onto the bed, meeting you at your level. “It’s what I know,” he said. “You stalk Art and Tashi online like a fucking creep, and you want exactly what they have.”

You rolled your eyes. “You are a fucking idiot,” you sneered. Because of course Patrick deflected with Art and Tashi when something was actually serious, when you actually wants to address the real problem. But you could dig in and play dirty, just like him. “You know that your mom warned me about this? She told me you’d never grow up, and I should save myself the disappointment and find someone better suited.”

He scoffed. “Yeah, and where would you be if you’d listened to her, huh? Still waiting for Art Donaldson to pick you. It’s fucking pathetic.” He stood, paced around the room, fingers twitching like he wanted to reach for a cigarette. 

“Maybe I should’ve listened to her. You haven’t fucking grown up, Patrick. You’re 31 and you’ve never had a job. I’m the one consistently making sacrifices, and saving money, and providing for us so you can fuck off and lose your tennis matches.”

Your chest was heaving as you looked at him, knowing that your words had been meant to sting. His had too. He always knew he could pull the Art card, you could always bring in his parents, his losses. 

“You know what? You should be glad you’re not pregnant. Now you can find Art at another fucking hotel and have him knock you up. That’s what you really want, huh? To play mommy and daddy with your little boyfriend?” He paused, staring at you as your bottom lip wobbled, as fresh tears welled in your eyes. And he fucking doubled down. “If I’m not what you want, why don’t you go fucking beg for him, huh? Go see if he thinks you’re anything more than a tight pussy. Because that’s worked so fucking well for you before.” 

It was the first time that you ever hit him. Your hand stung, you pulled it back against your chest, eyes wide. “Get out. I don’t want to fucking look at you.”

And he did, happily. For the next week, the two of you brushed past each other wordlessly, avoiding each other like the fucking plague. Resentment burned hot in your chest for the first few days, but it settled into a low, aching hurt.

But there was another tournament. There was always another tournament. Patrick tried to apologize before he left, to flagellate himself before you, beg for forgiveness, but you got to him first. I need a break, you said through tears. I can’t be around you right now, Patrick. I just need a few weeks to clear my head.

It felt like a smart idea at the moment— distance so you could stop being hurt about him bringing up Art, distance so you could stop resenting him for not wanting a kid. And it wasn’t like you were innocent, you’d hurt him too, you knew you had. That was the worst part— that you’d both bared claws and teeth and wanted to maim the other the worst way you could think of. 

The first few nights had felt okay— the house to yourself, a warm lapdog curled up beside you. You watched shitty reality TV and found yourself glancing over at the spot on the other side of the couch where Patrick would’ve been sitting. You wanted to hear his stupid commentary, hear him complain about how scripted it was like he didn’t absolutely eat it up.

You texted him, even though you were supposed to be apart from him, supposed to be taking time. Missing him felt like an open wound, aching and messy.

Will you text me when you get there? Just want to know you’re safe.

And he did. Shared his location, texted you when he made it to his hotel, just before he crashed. Patrick choked at the tournament. Badly, embarrassingly. And you knew it was your fault.

Everything in you longed to just call him and beg him to come home, come home, come home. 

He texted first. Staying with my sister until the challenger in New Rochelle. Just want to give you space.

You felt longing like a festering rot. Okay. I love you.

His response was quick. Love you.

That was something, at least.

——

It was early, but you forced yourself to sit in the hotel lobby and write. You’d gotten four thousand words down for your intro— long, but able to be cut down to size. It was always better to shoot over and whittle down than to scramble for more where there was none. 

You yawned, sipped at complimentary black coffee, and persevered. There was something off in the first subsection, more to tweak. Always something you felt you had to fix. 

“Excuse me,” your head snapped up to the sight of a little girl, with dark curly hair and a Disney princess T-shirt. “I can’t find my dad.”

You knew that she was Art’s daughter the second that you saw her— Patrick hadn’t been entirely wrong about you stalking Tashi and Art’s instagram pages. 

“Do you… want my help?” You asked, hesitantly. 

She nodded. “He was talking to the hotel people, so I went to look at the big painting on the wall and now I can’t find him.”

You shut your laptop, tucked it into your bag. It was a fancy enough hotel that you didn’t have to worry about someone knabbing your shitty work laptop. “Okay, let’s look for him.”

The little girl— Lily, you remembered. You had stared at the birth announcement they posted for long enough that it was seared in your brain— held onto your fingers as you walked around the lobby. 

“There’s the big painting,” she said, pointing up at a large canvas that seemed to be violent streaks of color on a pale blue base. Inspired by famous art movements in the boring way that hotel paintings seemed to be. 

“It’s pretty,” you replied absently. You were still scanning the lobby, searching for the bright flash of blonde hair. “Do you like the colors?”

She shrugged. “I like the paintings mommy picks for our house better.” You glanced at it, narrowed your eyes. You’d seen Art and Tashi’s Architectural Digest home tour, you didn’t really blame her for preferring her mother’s taste. Or the taste Tashi had hired someone to have. 

Lily’s hand squeezed yours once as her eyes caught onto her dad’s, almost in suprise, and suddenly she was running across marble floors and jumping into a man’s arms. 

Because that’s what he was now— a man. He outgrew the boyishness, the ease of youth. His brows furrowed with concern as he kissed his daughter’s forehead, once, twice, smiled softly. He asked something you couldn’t make out from the distance, then looked up, meeting your gaze.

Recognition lit up his expression, and he lifted a hand in a greeting. You mimicked it, unsure of what else to do. He laughed, shook his head, and ushered Lily back to the elevator bank. 

You stood there a few more seconds, waiting for… something that didn’t come. When you realized that you looked like an idiot standing there in the middle of the lobby, you returned to your laptop.

Long drink of coffee, a couple of edits to your document. You found a rhythm of adjusting what you’d written so far— all of the context that you needed to create before you could get to that final match. 

The previous night you had been watching interviews they’d given back at the Junior US Open. You were three quarters of the way through a bottle of wine, crying for reasons you couldn’t put your finger on. You saw Patrick, so fucking young, doing so well at something he loved, and you burst into tears that just wouldn’t stop. 

The footage from the doubles final didn’t help— the sheer, unadulterated joy when Patrick and Art won, holding each other and kissing foreheads and laughing and so, so happy. 

You couldn’t help but feel like it had been you that spoiled it all. That you’d unintentionally destroyed your husband’s career, his friendship, his happiness. 

Thinking about it, even twelve hours and a mild hangover later, made your lips twitch downward, made an ache tug in your chest.

“Tashi told me that she saw you.” Art. You looked up, eyes wide in surprise. “She also told me I should stay far away from you, that I have a shitty track record when it comes to you and hotels.”

Patrick’s words from weeks ago flashed in your mind, and you had to force a casual smile to hide the ache it caused. 

“Well, if you’re worried, I didn’t kidnap your daughter so I’d get to see you,” you said, offering a weak laugh. 

“I know, she told me.” He hesitated for only a moment, then sat across from you. Just like in Atlanta. The direct parallel made your head spin. “So… are you here for some grand plan? To throw me off my game?

He was smiling, friendly, open. You registered a little too late that it was a joke, and you sheepishly laughed. “Well, now that you mention it…”

He shook his head, glanced around the lobby. “Patrick has a match this morning, right?” He asked.

It wasn’t lost on you that Tashi might have told Art about the seperation— that she probably did tell him. You wondered if they’d been waiting for that moment— the implosion of your marriage. But the longer you thought, you realized they likely didn’t care enough to feel any particular way. 

You nodded. “Yeah. I think it started an hour ago. Um… against Grey, I think?”

“You’re not there,” Art noted. 

You twisted your wedding ring, around and around. “I don't want to distract him,” was all you said. “I know how important this is to him.”

You thought about Art and Patrick on the court, starry-eyed, fresh faced. Maybe he could feel that again, you could let him have that again. Art, and Tashi, and Patrick. The way things had been before you found yourself tangled in, before you made a mess of things. 

You felt annoying, persistent tears hot and stinging by in your lashline. It was mortifying, trying to blink them away, pinned in Art’s presence. 

“Do you want to take a walk?” He offered. “You look like you could use a break.”

You could have scoffed at the irony of it all. A break was why you were feeling so shitty. A break that was, partly, brought up because his name had been dropped in an argument.

Instead you wiped at your eyes, sniffled pathetically, and nodded. 

You followed him out onto the street, keeping stride beside him. It was a comfortable silence, and the weather was nice, for the time being. Art stole glances at you, a smile playing at his lips. 

“I caught your first match,” you said as you walked. 

“Yeah, I saw you,” His lips twitched slightly, an expression you didn’t recognize. It had been so long since you’d see him , since you talked to him, that most of the things you remembered, you couldn’t trust were still true, or even real.

You nodded, paused at a crosswalk while cars passed, and met his gaze. “I’ve never claimed to be an expert on tennis, but I thought you looked great. Effortless, I guess. It was nice to see, after your injury.”

He nodded, laughed. “I wish it were that easy. Effortless sounds nice, but it's all effort. Days and months and years of constantly just… trying.” The crosswalk sign switched, and the two of you walked across the street. 

“You make it look easy,” you replied. “All of the trying, I guess. I don’t know how to do it.”

It wasn’t about tennis anymore, you both knew it. You were thinking of their picture perfect life— the home tours, the instagram posts, the magazine articles. It was so tidy, so clean and neat and polished. You and Patrick were a total fucking shitshow compared to that. 

“Making it look easy is my job,” he said. “What good is it, rolling over and showing your belly to your opponent?”

Is that what you were doing? Rolling over, exposing your vulnerabilities? It certainly felt like it, but you couldn’t bring yourself to stop. Spilling out secret fears that you’d never shared to anyone. 

“Your daughter looks just like Tashi,” you said, trying your best to be friendly, to make small talk. To change the subject. “It’s like your genetics didn’t even try.”

He laughed, nodding almost proudly. “I think she’s looking more like me as she gets older. Or maybe it’s just that she acts like me sometimes, it makes it all blur together. Just last week, she—“

He seemed happy, talking about her. Lighter. Going on and on about Lily’s penchant for back talking him, and Tashi, and grandparents, and staff. It might’ve been a cute story a month ago, before everything. But instead it just made you sad, made your body ache with longing. 

“Have you and Patrick talked about it?” He asked, snapping you from your thoughts. “Kids, I mean.”

You swallowed, tried to look casual, unaffected. “We’ve talked. Just, uh… you know. Not yet. Maybe not ever. I don’t.. I don’t know right now. It’s confusing.”

He nodded, stayed quiet for a bit. “I can’t imagine Patrick as a dad,” he finally said. He stopped in front of an empty storefront and leaned against the brick wall there. There was something earnest in his expression— a longing, a softness. A siren call beckoning you closer. 

 “I can.” Your voice wavered slightly, fingers twitched against your thigh. “I think he’d be really happy, that he’d be a really good dad. Or maybe I just want him to be happy and amazing at it so badly that I’m creating an entire version of him in my head that doesn’t exist. I dunno.”

He sighed and let your words linger in the air between the two of you. “I never understood what you saw in him,” he said. “You, Tashi… it doesn’t make sense to me.”

“He’s always loved you both so much,” was all you could say back. You couldn’t answer why it was Patrick without explaining why it wasn’t Art, and why it was both your choice and completely out of your hands. 

Art swallowed and nodded. A strange twinge of a smile played at his lips for just a moment before it disappeared once more. “Maybe so.” He paused, met your gaze. “And you?”

You furrowed your brows, eyes narrowing slightly as you considered his words. It felt like an accusation. “Do I love my husband? Of course.”

Art shook his head, pulled you closer by your wrist. “Do you still love me?”

You laughed, rolled your eyes. “Jesus Christ.”

———

I didn’t finish this scene sorry </3 felt ooc of Art tbh teehee

ok and this is later when reader and Patrick meet up for the first time since they’ve like “Separated”. Takes place in the ritz carlton lobby

———

Patrick sat on one of the couches, picking at his cuticles and the calluses on his hands. He stood up when he saw you, scratching nervously at the back of his neck. “Hey.”

You offered a tiny smile, leaned over to kiss his cheek. His facial hair had grown longer in a month apart— you’d forgotten how reddish it could get, how handsome he looked when he grew it out.

“Did you want a drink?” He asked, gesturing over to the bar. “I can go grab us something if—“ You shook your head, gestured for him to sit beside you. 

Patrick had never had a good sense of personal space— his knees were pressed against yours, his arm slung over the back of the couch. So close that you could smell the cheap scent of hotel soap and shampoo. 

“Where are you staying?” You asked, as casually as you could muster.

He shrugged, bringing an easy smile to his lips, like everything was normal. “Oh, it’s a shitty motel on the outskirts of town,” he said with a shrug. He could read the guilt on your face like you’d said the words it’s my fault aloud. It was an act of selflessness that he added quick; “It’s getting the job done.”

You frowned. It felt so weird, imagining the past month of him slumming it in cheap motels between tournaments. He should’ve been with you, sharing a nice hotel like this. That was the way things were supposed to be, wasn’t it?

“And you’ve been…” you trailed off, meeting his gaze. “You’ve been doing alright?” You sighed, shaking your head. Stupid question.

He glanced down, picked at a worn spot on his jeans. “I’ve really fucking missed you. I’ve felt crazy without you, is that what you want to hear?”

You missed him like a part of your soul had been cleaved out and the nerves were left stinging and exposed. “I don’t want to hear anything—“ you sighed. Nothing seemed to be coming out right. Talking to Patrick was so easy before. “Not like— I just mean I don’t want to hear that you’ve been hurting, Pat. I wish I’d never made you leave.”

His hand moved over yours, swallowing it, warm and rough and familiar. You sighed as he tangled his fingers with yours. It made you want to cry, just a little bit. Like your entire body just wanted to weep with relief that he was there, and so close, and so warm. 

———

And that’s all I have idk it also felt weird for them to get back so quick like maybe they are just fucked and should stay apart idk idk idk!

Anyways here it is. The draft <3 thanks for reading lmk your thoughts and stuff

[felassan]

Article from Bloomberg by Jason Schreier, under a cut due to length.

"New ‘Dragon Age’ Game Faced Turbulent Development The studio head of EA’s BioWare says ‘Dragon Age: The Veilguard’ received nothing but support from EA throughout its lengthy production cycle EA’s BioWare label hopes to find redemption with the release of Dragon Age: The Veilguard Today we’re getting in-depth on the new Dragon Age game A new age for dragons In late 2020, when Gary McKay took over as studio head of BioWare, the Electronic Arts Inc. subsidiary best known for making big roleplaying games, the climate was dire. BioWare, which is headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, had released two critically panned games and was facing turbulent development on a new one — while trying to cope with a worldwide pandemic. “We needed to shift how we were thinking about building our games,” McKay told me in a recent interview. BioWare, founded in 1995 and purchased by EA in 2007, had won over millions of fans with hit single-player RPG franchises such as Dragon Age and Mass Effect. But a 2017 entry called Mass Effect: Andromeda was widely panned, and the studio’s next game, the 2019 multiplayer shooter Anthem, flopped both critically and commercially. Both games had also gone through brutal development cycles that drove many BioWare veterans to exit the studio. At the end of 2020, studio boss Casey Hudson was planning to step down and called McKay to ask if he would take over. “We had a few conversations over the course of the next month around the people and the culture,” McKay said. BioWare’s next big project would be a new game in the popular fantasy Dragon Age franchise. But the game, which had been in development for years, was facing turmoil and had been rebooted from a single-player game into a live-service game with a heavy multiplayer component, which EA had been pushing across many of its subsidiaries in the late 2010s. Hudson, too, was interested in multiplayer games and had been the lead visionary on Anthem. Some employees jeeringly referred to the next Dragon Age as “Anthem with dragons,” which worried fans after I reported on the game at Kotaku. Enthusiasts of the series wanted another single-player game, not a repeat of BioWare’s biggest mistake. When he took over, McKay began to feel similarly. “We were thinking, ‘Does this make sense, does this play into our strengths, or is this going to be another challenge we have to face?’” McKay said. “No, we need to get back to what we’re really great at.” In the months that followed, McKay met with leadership across BioWare and EA and ultimately decided to reboot the next Dragon Age a second time, pivoting back to single-player."

The choice was obvious in many ways. Anthem had flopped while EA’s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, a single-player action-adventure game, had sold more than 10 million copies, helping prove to the publisher that not all of its games needed to be online. BioWare games were popular because of their focus on character dialogue and player-driven narrative decisions, which did not mesh with multiplayer gaming. “Once we made that decision, a lot of things started to fall into place,” McKay said. In the years that followed, he would go on to consolidate more of the studio’s projects, shutting down an attempt to reboot Anthem and selling off the rights to the online game Star Wars: The Old Republic to a separate studio. The goal, McKay said, was “focus.” BioWare then spent the next three-and-a-half years developing what would become Dragon Age: The Veilguard, the fourth game in the franchise. Out this week, the game has received mostly positive reviews and so far topped charts, although EA has not yet revealed sales numbers. Some things went right during development. McKay said they “had the game end-to-end playable” earlier than any previous BioWare product, allowing them to spend extra time iterating. A reorganization at EA, which split the company into divisions called EA Games and EA Sports, allowed Dragon Age: The Veilguard to receive more support from internal teams that might otherwise be stretched thin, such as research and data insights groups. “That gave us an extra boost in terms of the support and focus from the company,” McKay said. But the development of Dragon Age: The Veilguard still faced plenty of obstacles. The pandemic led BioWare to shift to hiring remotely, which McKay said made for cultural challenges. The game slipped past its original target date, although McKay wouldn’t say how much extra time it needed. “I’m never going to call it a slip,” he said. And it went through significant scope changes over the course of development. Then, last summer, BioWare laid off 50 people, including veterans with decades of experience. McKay told me the reduction, which arrived during a period of widespread layoffs across the video-game industry, “was all about focus at that time.” “When you have a really large team, you’re always compelled to keep everybody busy all the time,” he said. “When you have a smaller team, you have the right people in the right roles at the right time, some incredible momentum is gained at that point.” The stakes are high for the release of Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Fans and pundits have worried that a third failure in a row might have devastating results for BioWare. McKay wouldn’t comment on the specifics of what would make the game a hit in their eyes. But said he has felt supported by EA Entertainment & Technology President Laura Miele. The game is so important to BioWare’s future that the company brought in its second team, which has been incubating a new Mass Effect, to help out during the final stretch of development. The Mass Effect team played a major role in finishing and polishing Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Other companies across EA, such as its Motive studio in Montreal, also supported the game. Now, the company will look to see how players react to the next Dragon Age — and, McKay hopes, “bring BioWare back into the conversation as a top game studio.”

[source]

[amyoffline]

In Defense of the Phandom (Mostly): Dan, Phil, and Our Parasocial Social Club

Refer to my previous pinned post for an explanation of and outline for this project. Now that I'm done going through my old reblogs (god, it took forever), it's time to actually research and write this script! This will be my pinned post for the foreseeable future, so you can come back to it by clicking on my blog for the current status of this part of the process. (Note from February 15 - everything is on hold for now while I wrap up my dissertation!)

Script word count: 2,350 | Last updated: January 9, 2025

Research

Peer-reviewed or published literature: ⚫︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎ Social media, forum archives, and fanwork: ⚫︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎ The great rewatch: ⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎ Discussions with other phannies (hey! that could be you, if you want!): ⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎

Writing

Introduction, background, and conclusion sections: ⚫︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎ 2009-2013: ⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎ 2014-2018: ⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎ 2019-2025: ⚫︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎ Long tangents (fandom, RPF, and PSIs/PSRs): ⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎ Editing: ⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎⚪︎

More details below the cut!

Research → peer reviewed or published literature:

I read a few things (like Haidt's The Anxious Generation) while I was in the process of searching academic databases, but most of the 403 works I have saved to Zotero for this are currently unread. They're not all the same length or will take the same amount of time to read, so the completion proportion is just getting updated based on vibes. I'm absolutely not referencing all 403 of these things in the script - I just cast a wide net for materials I thought might be relevant. Furthermore, there are some things I didn't save that I know I'll be referencing, like some of the Pew Research Center's work in the early to mid 2010s on teenagers and technology, or the journalistic coverage of what got my school district in huge trouble in 2011.

Research → Social media and forum archives:

The collection of posts, art, and fic (other than mine) to reference in the video. For regular posts and art, especially by people who have long since abandoned their accounts or whose content went pretty viral, I feel comfortable just showing things in the video with credit as examples. For fic, I intend to just discuss trends more broadly and vaguely since, as a fic writer myself, I know we tend to get more flack and less acclaim for our work and therefore prefer to stay out of the spotlight. Let me know if you think I should handle this differently - the academic impulse is to credit sources and reproducible searches for every single thing you do, but that's definitely not best practice for phandom history since we have so much "forbidden" lore. I'll also be reading the IDB forum front-to-back, listening to things like the phandom podcast, reading the current generation of phanzines, and looking at recent (and historical, if anyone has any) surveys done of phannies within the community. I'm assuming those folks would appreciate credit and/or a shoutout.

Research → The great rewatch:

Rewatching everything DNP-related so I can talk about it from more recent memory (and read what's left of the original comments for DNP videos that are still up at their original locations). I know there's a playlist for this but I also know it's incomplete, so I have been doing some poking around myself and will probably continue to.

Research → Discussions with other phannies:

I read a few things (like Haidt's The Anxious Generation) while I was in the process of searching academic databases, but most of the 403 works I have saved to Zotero for this are currently unread. They're not all the same length or will take the same amount of time to read, so the completion proportion is just getting updated based on vibes. I'm absolutely not referencing all 403 of these things in the script - I just cast a wide net for materials I thought might be relevant. Furthermore, there are some things I didn't save that I know I'll be referencing, like some of the Pew Research Center's work in the early to mid 2010s on teenagers and technology, or the journalistic coverage of what got my school district in huge trouble in 2011. The first task is to sort that whole Zotero collection into more manageable sub-collections (on PSR on PSIs, on mental health, on YouTube platform history, etc), which is what I'm currently working on.

Writing → Introduction, background, and conclusion sections

See old pinned post for the outline. Will expand details here once research is mostly done (I plan to read and watch everything in the research section aside from talking to other phannies, then complete the script's rough draft, then talk to others on call, then integrate that with and finalize the script).

Writing → 2009-2013

See above.

Writing → 2014-2018

See above.

Writing → 2019-2025

See above.

Writing → Long tangents (fandom, RPF, and PSRs/PSIs)

See above. These tangents are kind of mini video essays in and olf themselves, so I may write them while I'm reading through my saved stuff in Zotero and before I rewatch all the DNP videos.

[your-name-is-jim]

TOS fans, you may want to read this comic series!

Sooo I recently read this series of comics called Star Trek: Year Five, published in 2019-2021 by IDW Publishing; I heard it was good, but I didn't expect it to be that good!

If you haven't read it, I suggest to check it out! (it's also not hard to find it if you get what I mean)

The art overall is great and, more importantly, the characters act like themselves and there are several references to their canon backgrounds, past and future experiences! What I absolutely loved was also seeing a lot of "old faces" from TOS show, as well as mentions of events from the series and the movies.

As the title suggests, the story takes place during the last year of Kirk's five-year mission on the Enterprise. I'd like to tell you more, but I enjoyed the surprise of a lot of things I didn't expect, so first of all I'll post a few pics without major spoilers from the first 11 issues (there are 25, so you still have a lot to discover!):

I especially love how Bones and Sulu are drawn, they really look like them! Scotty and Uhura too, but that depends on the artist. Speaking of them, if you like a little Scotty/Uhura, this series has something good about it!

The joke about Kirk thinking there's something strange with the way the Klingons look now cracked me up. LOL

Also, I'm not sure Chapel would call McCoy "Bones", but she is very right in that panel. :)

The last panel is classical James T. Kirk's ass appreciation lol

Sulu has a love story with an alien who doesn't understand human genders and uses they/them pronouns. As someone who headcanons TOS Sulu as attracted to any gender, that was great to see :D

I'm also posting this "end-of-the-episode" panel because it's just perfection. TOS in a nutshell. Aww, look at Kirk and Spock just looking at each other! <3

I must say, you may be a little disappointed if you expect to see many moments with Kirk and Spock together, BUT the scenes they have together are really good! I won't say anything more, just read until the end and you'll see! :D

By the way, this series has a Valentine's Day extra, which is the only part where Kirk has a love interest (a female original character). Yeah, you heard me: in the main story, Kirk doesn't have new romances with anyone; Sulu is the one who gets all the action! ;)

The Valentine's Day issue is not linked to anything else and I don't think Kirk's female love interest is mentioned outside that story, so you can easily skip it if it's not for you. However, even if I can't say I'm especially happy with that story, I personally found something interesting there, for example this:

I think I saw this out of context once, but I didn't know where it was from, so sorry I'm just going to lose my mind thinking about ladies or GENTLEMEN in Kirk's life and Kirk not correcting her about his sexual preferences. Anyway, I might make a separate post someday about this special from a Kirk/Spock shipper's perspective, because I do have a lot of thoughts about it :)

So, if you haven't read Star Trek: Year Five, I hope I convinced you to check it out! I hadn't been lucky with other Star Trek comics before, so I had almost lost hope to find something good… and then here it was! Something that made me feel like it was really written with a lot of love for The Original Series! I really needed it!

If you decide to give it a try, I'd love to see your thoughts and see your favorite parts! I hope you enjoyed this little review. :)

[joannerowling]

If you don't mind me asking, could you tell me when this whole transgender drama started?

Was it in 2020 or before that? Or was it low profile and just became high profile in recent years?

If you mean the trans drama specifically related to JKR, it fully started when she defended Maya Forstater on twitter in December 2019 (Maya Forstater is a woman who was fired from her job because she "misgendered" a co-worker who had been harrassing her, to briefly sumrise it).

Before that, Jo had been on trans activists's radar because she had liked tweets of various people who had questioned gender ideology, most importantly Magdalen Berns. I strongly recommend watching Magdalen Berns's videos on youtube, if they're still up. She was brillant, funny as hell, and i miss her. She kept me sane in the years between 2014 and 2019 when i thought i was going crazy about this issue. Berns sadly passed a few years ago, she had a brain tumour - i'll let you imagine how delicate TRAs were about that.

In June 2020, JKR published an essay on her website developping her view on transgenderism and particularly on the topic of self-identification (which is a policy supported by the current trans movement, that aims to simplify gender recognition to the extreme and effectively means that you'd have to believe any man who claims to be a woman on his say-so and nothing else, and let him into any space meant for women, or women and their children, such as public bathrooms or domestic violence and rape shelters). You can find the essay here. She pretty much made the topic mainstream by speaking up about it, before that it was relatively niche, which is why TRAs hate her so much.

If you're asking about the general trans issue, i think it started to become a problem that straight men were becoming too involved and started to make demands from lesbians early in the 2010s (maybe late in the 2000s, someone more informed than me could tell you about it). A trans woman made up the term "cotton ceiling" in 2012 to refer to the fact that he couldn't get into lesbians's pants. Obviously, lesbians didn't like that. (And also err normal people like me, who didn't like to hear about lesbians being pressured to have sex with men. Because. That's bad.) The trans train really started to get more steam after gay marriage was obtained in the US, so circa 2014 i think? That seems to be the timeline most agreed upon, anyway. Lobbyism and various economic interests are definitely to blame for it.

[the-crepuscular-queen]

There is something really poetic about how one book series from when I was a preteen, one that I picked up the first book for and felt seen/comforted and would continue reading the released books for the series as I got older, had the last book published in 2019. The same year when Gideon The Ninth also became published as the first book to its own series that has also made me feel comforted and also has let me think deeply about the themes and characters with lots of references from just about anywhere.

These books have nothing to do with each other, but I think the similarities where they exist make a lot of sense why they both hold a strong grip on my soul ( and why both now and when I was little I would make anyone and everyone I could read the books so they could understand why I loved them)

[onefleshonepod]

tlt art and skin colour thoughts. under the cut because idk if i'm articulating this very well.

for a series which is ostensibly about dismantling an imperialist ethnostate whose actions mirror our world's colonial extraction from the global south, there is pretty minimal engagement with race in at least the first two books of the locked tomb. which is part and parcel with muir's storytelling style of illustrating themes through subtle detail... but it's maybe too easy to miss.

i feel really bad for artists new to the locked tomb who draw characters as white and get dogpiled, because imo a LOT of the fault lies with tamsyn muir for not explicitly stating her main characters' skin colour until a single sentence about nona's skin being the colour of an egg carton (?) in book THREE of the series.

if i'm not mistaken, there are no te reo māori words and no references to māori people in book one at all. all of the covers are very, very ambiguous and white-coded, especially the nona cover. gideon is prominently described as having red hair, which is a stereotypically white european feature. you could absolutely come away from reading gideon with nothing in the text contradicting a mental image of gideon as a white person. i'm almost tempted to call this an egregious oversight.

muir's own post from 2019 about her characters' appearances, where she breezily states that she encourages readers to throw out her authorial intent and instead think of naberius tern as a monitor lizard if they prefer, makes me inclined to think that she hadn't fully grappled with the importance of race as a theme in the series until writing nona.

so if you're an artist who's excited to draw fanart, and you're not an extremely careful reader, and you haven't read nona yet, and you also haven't seen the author's obscure tumblr post about characters' appearances from a blog she hasn't actively used in five years, and you're unconsciously biased from decades of fantasy and scifi being extremely white genres which have historically not published and not marketed writers of colour and books with non-eurocentric characters and settings... i completely understand how you could mistakenly draw these characters as white.

i feel like there's some room for nuance on this topic and some reason to extend some grace and benefit of the doubt when speaking to artists who are new to the fandom and maybe haven't fully examined their internal biases when drawing these characters. i know i've seen some great posts kindly sharing resources and references for drawing māori people and facial features so i will try to find some and rb.

[deadpresidents]

Hi there!

Do you have any good book recs for first and second ladies?

I started to answer that I don't think I have that many books just about First Ladies, but then I started looking at my bookshelves and found WAY more books than I realized I had and have read about First Ladies!

•The First Ladies Fact Book: Revised and Updated: The Childhoods, Courtships, Marriages, Campaigns, Accomplishments, and Legacies of Every First Lady from Martha Washington to Michelle Obama (BOOK | KINDLE) by Bill Harris and Laura Ross [2012] This is a great reference book to have nearby if you ever need something like that about First Ladies or First Families. It's definitely come in handy for me a few times over the years.

•Lady First: The World of First Lady Sarah Polk (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) by Amy S. Greenberg [2019]

•Betty Ford: First Lady, Women's Advocate, Survivor, Trailblazer (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) by Lisa McCubbin [2018]

•Becoming (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) by Michelle Obama [2018]

•Untold Power: The Fascinating Rise and Complex Legacy of First Lady Edith Wilson (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) by Rebecca Boggs Roberts [2023]

•Ellen and Edith: Woodrow Wilson's First Ladies (BOOK | KINDLE) by Kristie Miller [2010]

•What Happened (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) by Hillary Rodham Clinton [2017]

•The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) by Eleanor Roosevelt [2014/Originally published in 1961]

•No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) by Doris Kearns Goodwin [1994]

•Eleanor and Hick: The Love Affair That Shaped a First Lady (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) by Susan Quinn [2016]

•The Matriarch: Barbara Bush and the Making of an American Dynasty (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) by Susan Page [2019]

•The Triumph of Nancy Reagan (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) by Karen Tumulty [2021]

•First Family: Abigail and John Adams (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) by Joseph J. Ellis [2010]

•Crowns of Thorns and Glory: Mary Todd Lincoln and Varina Howell Davis: The Two First Ladies of the Civil War (BOOK) by Gerry Van der Heuvel [1988]

•Florence Harding: The First Lady, the Jazz Age, and the Death of America's Most Scandalous President (BOOK) by Carl Sferrazza Anthony [1998]

•Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy: Interviews with Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., 1964 (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) by Jacqueline Kennedy and Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., edited and annotated by Michael Beschloss [2011]

•First Ladies: Presidential Historians on the Lives of 45 Iconic American Women (BOOK | KINDLE) by Susan Swain and C-SPAN [2015]

•First Women: The Grace and Power of America's Modern First Ladies (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) by Kate Andersen Brower [2016]

•Lady Bird: A Biography of Mrs. Johnson (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) by Jan Jarboe Russell [1999]

•Lady Bird and Lyndon: The Hidden Story of a Marriage That Made a President (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) by Betty Boyd Caroli [2015]

•A White House Diary (BOOK) by Lady Bird Johnson [1970]

•Lady Bird Johnson: An Oral History (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) by Michael L. Gillette [2012]

•Lady Bird Johnson: Hiding in Plain Sight (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) by Julia Sweig [2021]

[angstics]

I’m kinda a new fan had some questions. Are any of the members religious? I saw Gerard say god spoke in his head or something (I hear alot of Christians say this)

Regarding that whole thing does he hallucinate? I don’t mean to be rude I’m just wondering if he’s kinda schizophrenic. I really don’t mean to be rude.

Were they on drugs during the creation of black parade? Did they do drugs during the creative process at all? (Sorry to be weird)

Did Gerard write comics before the band? Was he successful? Did he actually work at CNN? Did he want to join military after 9/11 (I’ve heard him say he wanted to join in a tweet) ? Is there any pic of his art portfolio during college?

Did Mikey go to college?

hi! these arent weird questions. you just want to know what everyone else knows. im gonna answer your questions as best as i can from my own recollection. anyone can add if im wrong or forgot something. disclaimer, of course, there's a lot the public doesnt know so ill just be regurgitating What Is Known, and where you might have gotten these ideas. below the cut ->

"Are any of the members religious?"

the ways grew up catholic. Gerard has talked about his relationship with religion a few times. Most substantially this twitlonger in 2013 (from this tweet). i dont know if we know his Current Status. i feel like he talked about it in this 2019 podcast maybe. he def talks about his and his wife's relationship to "witchcraft" in there. In the second nj 2022 show he referred to bury me in black as a song from back in the "catholic days". whatever that means

frank used to go to catholic school. i think he no longer identifies with catholicism. i dont think we know what ray or mikey practice.

"I saw Gerard say god spoke in his head or something (I hear alot of Christians say this)"

he probably did say that, i just cant remember when. what i do remember is that he often talked about "hearing voices" (2014) and "being touched by god" (2007), particularly relating it to joan of arc.

"Regarding that whole thing does he hallucinate? I don’t mean to be rude I’m just wondering if he’s kinda schizophrenic."

so, he's never talked about any specific mental illnesses. he's only ever talked about symptoms. on purpose! there's this infamous tweet of his, "Labels: my therapist and I don't use them. I am chemically imbalanced, so I take medication to help with that. In fact-" "I don't use labels for anything. Using labels only gives others the leverage needed to categorize you or use you as a political tool." (2016 1, 2)

he talked about depression & mania. he's talked about "hearing voices" around the break up period, 2013-15. some attribute the paramour mansion hauntings to mental illness. it's vague

"Were they on drugs during the creation of black parade? Did they do drugs during the creative process at all?"

frank and gerard talked about doing drugs during the recording of three cheers in 2003 (2011, good discussion "After our grandmother died..." on). gerard went sober second half of 2004 and the band has talked about being sober around him in support. so i dont think they did any drugs while making black parade (which was when they were touring 2005 & in 2006). i think they've even said they smoked a lot of cigs because they couldnt do drugs.

frank has talked about his drug dependence during the black parade tour 2007-08 ish. mikey went sober around the break up. i dont think ray did drugs (in the last source, ray said, "I had no idea any of that stuff [drug use] was going on [in 2003]. I was so naïve.")

drinking & weed & cigs not withstanding

"Did Gerard write comics before the band? Was he successful?"

afaik gerard only worked on three published comics before umbrella academy in 2007.

1993 (age 16): "On Raven's Wings" (writer, 2 issues)

1998 (21): DC's "The Big Book of the Weird Wild West" (pencils & inks, page in 1 issue)

2000 (23): "Foot Soldiers" (writer, back up story in 1 issue)

"Did he actually work at CNN?"

he interred for CN (cartoon network) & pitched a cartoon to them that wasnt accepted.

"Did he want to join military after 9/11 (I’ve heard him say he wanted to join in a tweet)?

just the one time, he talked about considering joining the military at 23, which wouldve been 2000 (2014). he never talked about joining the army after 9/11

"Is there any pic of his art portfolio during college?"

i dont think there's photos of his portfolio anywhere. but there are photos of his college artwork. collected here and here.

"Did Mikey go to college?"

he did for a short bit! dropped out. only gerard & ray have degrees. i dont have any sources for the following info so im just going to give you want i remember. I THINK: mikey went to college to meet people to get in a band, met frank there, dropped out before mcr started, and worked for eyeball records.