#To be perfectly honest

[darklight-owl]

Listening to

is probably what sex would feel like if it was real.

[geekgirles]

A biracial lesbian couple? In my Ghostforce? It's more likely than you think.

[colesabi]

okay, I’m cackling at this eBay listing. Those images are masterpieces.

this one!!!

This seller has my utmost respect. We are kindred spirits.

[fooltofancy]

not an enjoyable thing, being in a body. if we're honest.

[siena-sevenwits]

In defence of jumping on the bandwagon

Specifically the bandwagon of enthusiastic discussion. Here’s the thing - if you are having an awesome, joyous, meaningful discussion about a story or show that that’s fine but not a masterpiece, and I already like that thing a bit, I will jump into that discussion with excitement to rival anyone. Even if the story’s not all that. If you are wringing goodness, truth, and beauty from it, if you have tracked down the perfect lens for it - I will join you in loving it, assuming I already felt good will towards it.

To me, it’s like when my students make amazing philosophical breakthroughs by having a conversation about a novel that’s serviceable, but won’t last. (Many of those Bethlehem Books historical fiction reprints, for example.) I go bananas for the awesomeness they found in those books in spite of themselves. I will never call The Hidden Treasure of Glaston a masterpiece, but I will love it forever because it said more than it dreamed to my kids.

I LIKE to be part of a good conversation, I like to be part of unchecked enthusiasm. It seems to me these are good. They are not replacements for masterpieces - and we should be making room for those too! But the thing is, there are worse reasons to love something than the fact it gave you an opportunity to rejoice with someone else.

It’s different if your reasons are egotism or insecurity or slavery to trends - at least I think so.

[adhd-merlin]

merwaine

[starlit-hopes-and-dreams]

Happy STS! We all know about the tropes, elements, and themes we love (and in some cases, use over and over again) in our WIPs! In either Hidden Depths or Shattered Dreams, which trope, theme, or element did you choose NOT to include, and why? Was it a deliberate choice or did it just happen that way?

Happy STS!

Thanks for the ask, Claire!

This is a little complicated for me to answer for both works :')

For Shattered Dreams, I had no concept of elements or themes (really, i still don't 😅, kate has promised to tell me what they are when she betas for me lol), and wasn't familiar with tropes at all. I really just wanted this one particular scene, and made up an entire world and plot to get to it. I only came up with tropes after the fact for a marketing exercise lol

So, aside from resisting the impulse to add another noncon scene at the end of the book, I added everything I thought fit the story and then some :)

For Hidden Depths, I was writing entirely for the specific tropes and themes put out for Whumptober 2022. There weren't any I wish I could do this instead of that moments, it was here's these 31 days of prompts, how can I group them together in order to tell a half-way decent story. I didn't have time to do anything else XD

Later, I wished I could've picked on Carr a little more, so I wrote the AU for that :D (does that count? an after the fact thing? I guess it just happened that way if so; it certainly wasn't deliberate)

[trash-and-trash-accessories]

If your partner wears a mask in public and you don't, you're telling them in no uncertain terms that you don't give a shit if they live or die.

[beardedmrbean]

[seiji-the-ice-drake]

I'm not entirely proud of using the "I'm not going to sugarcoat it" class but Chaosweaver is too squishy and Timekiller couldn't keep up both the shielding and damage

[stellamancer]

niku!! i am just dropping by to deliver some cookies and milk (non-dairy, if you prefer!!) 🍪🥛 for the weekend !! and i am curious !! what is your love language (both/either giving/receiving) ?? and would you and your fave get along when it comes to it 🥺

HAHAHA SEL PLEASE FORGIVE ME FOR HAVING THIS SIT I MY INBOX FOR A WEEK. it's been busy haha...

actually, on the topic of non-dairy milk while i love slurping down regular milk. i actually really love oat milk... the extra creamy kind... for the longest time it felt like there was only almond milk and soy milk and later cashew milk as dairy alternatives and!! oat milk!! my love!!!

uh. for. giving. i'd say it's a split between like... acts of service and gift giving? i like doing both. making... food... giving... food. it's all food related. food is love to me!!! and sharing food! actually i have a funny story; on sunday i worked a really long shift and bf had a bad time at work so when i got off i bought me a bottle of my favorite soda and a bottle of his favorite soda. then i went to pick him up from work and he had a bag from the convenience store next to his work and i asked what was in it and he had bought a bottle of his second favorite soda (because they were out of his favorite) and a bottle of my favorite soda. lmaoo.

as for uh. me and. my. fave. yeah. that. guy. i think we'd get along. coughs very loudly. yeah. i think so LMAO.

[asitrita]

French and Spanish character from a late 16th/early 17th century Spanish perspective (the guy lived in France for a few years, though, as he was exiled from Spain, lol)

[dont-kick-the-god-damn-baby]

dude imagine if later it turned out cartman DID have a tic disorder. would anyone believe him

[doodlesdreaming]

Got myself an early birthday present. ^-^

The artwork within is both inspiring and imitating. XD

And it's written in Azrael's perspective, which is so cool yet also hurts my heart. :')

[archesa]

Oops... I accidentally made another AU by playing around with fashion wars...

Trahearne, Champion of Mordremoth

In which Trahearne "succumbs" to Mordremoth and takes the mantle of Champion, thus keeping enough of his free will to gain the Commander some time for them to slay the dragon.

Alright, now I’mma be reasonable and I will not make a third Anwen in the grand “I would choose you, in a hundred lifetimes, in every version of reality” scheme of things. I. Will. Not. And...

Holy crab she’d be so pretty in that medium armour!! 😳😭

[lfthinkerwrites]

In the past few works, you've seemingly set up a future subplot with Crane - are you going to remove those bits now that you've decided not to write him anymore? I don't particularly care about Scarecrow one way or the other but I do wonder what's going to replace that storyline, or if anything will.

Oh no, don’t worry about that: Crane’s subplot is locked in. No spoilers, but the ending and final thesis statement of PI verse won’t make much sense without Crane. I just meant that I won’t be writing anymore drabbles about Crane for the foreseeable future.