#as a writer i am IN LOVE with the storytelling

[comicaurora]

Hello! This isn't comic-related, but concerning the Frankenstein's Eyes Incident, I thought it might be worth it to drop by and say that the main thing your classics summaries inspired me to do is actually read more, especially the source materials, including Frankenstein, which became my favorite book a few years ago, and still inspires basically everything I create (the amount of homunculus and artificially constructed characters in my writing are... something). And after being introduced to it through OSP, Dracula was my gateway read into the horror fan I am today. ith the risk of putting too much feels into an ask to a stranger, if I haven't stumbled into OSP when I did, I might not have ended up being a writer at all, and now a few weeks ago my first short story got actually published and that rekindling of love for the art of storytelling sorta kinda maybe changed my life. It's frustrating when people on the internet misinterpret what you're saying and use it as basis for misinformation, but there's also other cases! I'm sure you know about that already but still, a quick "hey, your fascination with stories was so contagious it made my life better" wouldn't hurt, probably. That's all I hope you have a good day!

cool cool coolcoolcool-

[ladyvialana]

Very much enjoyed the first season of The Dead Boy Detectives.

It was fun, with great characters, interesting storylines, good pacing, and a fantastic ability to balance light-hearted storytelling with some pretty fucked up content at times.

Episode 1 was a little clunky and exposition heavy, but it's only really in that first episode (unlike fucking Wednesday!) and it's pretty easy to look past once they get into the main story. The rest of the episodes are much smoother.

Character interactions are great and all of the characters feel rounded with an actual backstory that influences their interactions and distinct personalities and traits that affect their actions. They're not just plot devices or vehicles for narrative.

Before going into any more detail, I'll just say I really enjoyed it. It's probably not as sophisticated or polished writing or style-wise as The Sandman, but it's still a really good spin off. I'd almost put it in the same vein, tone-wise, as The Umbrella Academy, though perhaps not as irreverent. Much better than similar Netflix teen supernatural dramas like Wednesday or Sabrina (and probably more mature and sophisticated, storytelling-wise than those shows).

I really enjoyed it, am looking forward to/hoping for a second season, and will definitely be watching again.

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More detailed spoilers under the cut for those interested in my opinions about a few specific storylines/characters/episodes:

*

SPOILERS:

I am honestly surprised we don't have more people hitting on Charles. He is genuinely charming and charismatic as well as kind of open and sincere. Like, Edwin's a standoffish Edwardian public school boy with weird interests and zero people skills. I adore him. But he has negative charisma, especially compared to Charles' eyeliner and grin. Like, why is everyone chasing after Edwin? It's a role reversal I can definitely get behind, but no one is trying to get up into Charles' personal space aside from Crystal? Really??? And even she probably wouldn't have gone for it if he hadn't made it obvious he was interested in her first. Like, I really do get what the writers were trying to go with here, but it's one of those choices that kind of stretch narrative believability a little.

In saying all of that, I'm kind of a sucker for queer pining arcs that could go either way. So the not-so-subtle reveal of Edwin's feelings was both beautiful and painful in the best ways.

Episode 7 was a highlight for me. I'd been waiting for the pay-off from Edwin's backstory and the hellfire sword hanging over his head. But the flashback to Charles' death was probably my favourite scene in the series. Everything about that episode was fantastic, from the tension to the individual mini character arcs in the episodes (Nico coming in clutch with her reading comprehension skills! Crystal finally kicking David's ass!), to the beautiful release of the confession in Hell. I loved all of the insight we got into all of the main characters, knowing the truth of the kind of people they are. Knowing that, yeah, these are all good people who would do anything to help, and who love fiercely. But also, that doing what you can for the people you love sometimes involves meat cleavers and Molotov cocktails.

[elialys]

"You know, I am a fucking disaster. But I'm also relentless. And I'm loyal. I think we can make you a newsreader."

THE NEWSREADER | 1.01 "Three, Two, One..."

[bberry005]

the kymerian cuirass and kit's character

okay SO i've collected some thoughts about this and here's a random little kind of rambly theory

i have a very very strong feeling that the armor we see kit wearing in parts of the trailer is definitely the cuirass, but if the armor from skellin was actually the kymerian cuirass but didn't work, then what's up with it?

someone has to be worthy of the cuirass in order to wear it and have its protection, as told in ep 3 when the origins of the cuirass are shared. it's like boorman said when it wouldn't work for allagash, about how maybe a lifetime of thieving and lying made the cuirass not work for him.

i think the cuirass working for kit will be like the turning point for her character. it'll be a symbol of how she's grown and changed throughout the quest and how she's worthy of wearing the cuirass and receiving its protection, both when it comes to her fighting skills and her character. its established very early on that as of the start of the quest, kit has seen a lot less than any other character including graydon (it's very obvious in ep 4 when everyone's receiving their visions in nockmaar). kit's taken the most hits emotionally during the quest so far, with blows to her confidence, her trust in others, and most certainly her faith in herself. she's a very different person than she was in ep 1.

i have no idea how exactly kit would prove herself worthy of the cuirass, but it'll probably have something to do with her doing something completely selfless for someone else in the group. she's going to have to save someone and it'll put her own life at more risk than usual. or it'll be something where she has to put aside her pride, like apologizing to elora and admitting that she was wrong.

also i just feel like kit putting on the cuirass and it starting to glow with the blueish magic we see in the trailer would look SO COOL. i dunno it's just something about heroes having that moment where they're at their lowest, but then during that moment they prove that they're more worthy than many others to be a hero.

ep 5 was the first stepping stone for kit when she told her feelings to jade. she's becoming so much more emotionally mature and realizing that being a hero requires sacrifice and that there's more to life than she originally thought, and i just feel like the idea of the cuirass only working for someone who's worthy of it is a great way to show that

[rollercoasterwords]

i'm in the middle of reading thtf and i really love the way you wrote the relationship between regulus and dorcas. since them being friends is a somewhat popular headcanon, i'd like to know your thoughts on it and how you think it would play out?

hi thank u glad ur liking it!! 💕 not sure how far u are but. thtf basically is my take on a regulus + dorcas friendship so u will see as u read on. but overall/more broadly -

i am personally not a fan of the "slytherin skittles" thing (other people are and that's fine like what u like this is just my opinion disclaimer disclaimer etc etc) in general but especially not in canon-compliant/canon-adjacent fics. personally i think the canonical death eaters were not a fun funky little friend group + i prefer portrayals where they are shitty people. so when the only canon info abt dorcas is that she was in the order, and the only canon info abt characters like barty + evan is that they were death eaters, i'm like....get my girl AWAY from them!!!

however regulus turning on voldemort at the end does, for me, allow more complexity in possible interpretations of his character. so when it comes to regulus + dorcas there are basically 2 ways of interpreting their relationship that i, personally (PERSONAL OPINION DISCLAIMER!!), like, which are:

1. basically what happens in thtf -> they're not really friends but both characters are very morally gray + willing to work together for shared interests; this leads to a tenuous sort of amicable relationship. not so much a solid friendship as an "under other circumstances maybe we could have actually been friends"

2. they are not friends + dorcas thinks regulus is a spoiled fascist <3

so those are my thoughts on the matter lol. of course in an au all bets are off bc both characters have so little canon characterization that u can just do whatever u want with them, but i personally am usually not that interested in characterizations where canon is entirely stripped away, so even in aus i have very little interest in reading abt like. a slytherin friend group centered around the death eaters tbh.

[khruschevshoe]

Being a true galaxy-brained Doctor Who fan is hitting the epiphany that every showrunner had their strengths and their weaknesses and their own interpretations of the Doctor and you can like or dislike any aspect of any showrunner and acknowledge their genuine mistakes/bad choices/yikes decisions (such as racism, sexism, homophobia, questionable undertones, lack of agency for female characters, etc.) and it is COMPLETELY VALID to have that turn you off of a Doctor/showrunner but also acknowledge that some of the things that people have considered bad writing over the years are often personal preference (valid opinion, not always valid fact) and that just as there are clunkers in every season, there's something to appreciate about every showrunner and every Doctor.

After all, "The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things. The good things don't always soften the bad things, but vice versa, the bad things don't always spoil the good things and make them unimportant."

[whollyjoly]

watching mash s11ep4 the joker is wild for the first time and...boy howdy do i have thoughts on bj's trapper complex

[toribookworm22]

Happy STS! Bit of a random one, but what kind of dragons would your characters be? I'm talking color of the scales, wings or no wings, type of magic/fire they'd breathe, elements associated with them, etc. Go wild with it!

Hey, K! Thanks for the ask, love!

Too good to not use Animatronic Saga:

Note: I accidentally got way too into this...

Maybelle - wyvern, short but kinda stocky build, emerald green with little bursts of blue, ganoid scales, small wings for gliding, sharp claws, shorter tail no barb, electricity emission in breath and sometimes body

Gwenevieve - amphiptere, large with a long body, pale blue-- I'm talking color of glass pale-- long feathers, long powerful wings, two long talons on each wing, extra plumage on tail, ice breath

Edward - dragon classica, large strong build, all black, placoid scales, big dark wings, no claws, heavy tail with ridges no barb, no emission; uses pure force instead

Emerson - lindworm, long and/or tall (depending on how you look at it, gorgeously silver, cycloid scales, no wings, short but sturdy claws, extra long barbed tail, molten metal emission in breath

Jade - Asian dragon, slender build, midnight purple, ctenoid scales, no wings, small but sharp claws, plumed tail, fire breath

Javon - dragonette, small build, vibrant violet, placoid scales, sleek wings, claws but uses front legs as hands, ridged tail no barb, no emission; lots of sounds though and will steal stuff to hoard

[planet4546b]

sorta been sitting on this thought since the lightfall release trailer came out, but i think its a frankly very weird to introduce an entirely new location and previously unknown group of people in your second to last dlc (i also think calus becoming the main big bad is...an odd choice, he's not their strongest villain, but thats another thing) but i also think its a good example of how seasonal storytelling + the idea of constant content changes storytelling in really odd ways.

when you CONSTANTLY have to be generating content, you need as many threads hanging around as possible so you can pick up one of them and make a season about it when you need it (or a raid, or a dungeon, or a strike, or an exotic weapon quest, etc etc). introducing a new location introduces new avenues for story development in different directions, just in case you need them in the future, instead of using the expansion to close an already existing story. this is how storytelling in destiny has been going essentially since the seasonal structure was introduced, and it's why we have so many loose plot threads that have been waiting to go somewhere for ages. i think it's in part the reason why ghaul, panoptes, and xol are all permakilled in their respective arcs, but the lunar pyramid, eramis, and savathun are all left on the table at the end of theirs - it's so that writers can do exactly what they're doing now with eramis, and pull those characters into a seasonal storyline when they need someone to be a villain or a focus (and the leviathan mysteriously dissapearing and returning in haunted). we know that things like ana and rasputin, osiris' coma, xivu, savathun's conclusion + whatever's up with immaru, are all probably going to be resolved in seasons eventually - but the reason that they aren't resolved yet is because of the seasonal model, and when they are resolved we're gonna get a bunch of new dangling threads again becuase they need options for what to turn to in the next content they inevitably have to create, which is the function of things like neomuna + the cloudstriders or rhulk and the concept of disciples

and in general thats fine, having unanswered questions and unfinished stories is completely fine!! but when they are so clearly headed into the endgame, and this content delivery method means that instead of actually preparing for the endgame in any meaningful way, they have to keep introducing new things, it's a problem and makes for a confusing narrative.

and to be completely clear, this isn't a judgement on the destiny writers at all - it seems to me that they're making the best of a bad situation, and they're still doing some completely phenomenal writing. it's an issue with how content creatation and consumption works in the game industry as a whole. it's a huge issue that aaa games are moving towards the model of constant content and constant updates, because it drives storytelling to a very very weird place, when storytelling in games is already an issue

[haaam-guuuurl]

There have been so many tumblr jokes I just could not get into, but Goncharov is I think the first one I really fucking love actually.

Yes, it blew up ridiculously fast and ridiculously seriously, and yes, it's hilarious, but it's about the collective storytelling of it all, and it's just fascinating to me to see a whole movie coming alive post by post.

[girl-bateman]

I just gotta say I love writing and then finding like the PERFECT obscure parallels in my ambitious attempts at constructing what feels like the weirdest “a priest and a rabbi walk into the same bar” joke 

[elisaenglish]

What Is By the Faithful Eye Conveyed

��To have all of this life… here, and live it in ways that only hold back living. Destroying the body we live from as well, this Earth, and all things that do not walk in line with rules of our damnation. Destruct, destroy, cage and imprison. The human race sits on its throne, unworthy of wielding its power. A world that pumps and moans with life, and we sit so stoic upon it. Half dead bodies, numbed minds and icy heart endeavours. We spit in the face of the world, we spit in the face of life, we crush every act of beauty and grace. We twist every tale. We smother out every love, and passion where it thrives, lasts only but a moment, leaving all those that try and grasp such profound living bent and scarred.

Let it be done with, within a dingy room. Let it be spoken for, eyes that blaze with fright. Let them feel, the dull and half-life, the broken, the diseased, the weak, the strong and twisted. Let them be naked and true.”

-Devi Gottschlich, A Novel in Work-

I am not afraid of intimacy. I am, instead, afraid of distortions of thought, rejection of the sun at twilight, doomsday scenarios that arise from profound misunderstandings of fiction. I'm not the target audience, I say. And I'm not. Flaws that glaring have no effect except to hurt my heart—always for what could have been, would have been before.

Susceptibility charts its own course, I suppose. And mine? Mine’s a gossamer love, soft against the cracks now jolted forth from time redundant. Aching somewhere, distant, of the aeons—but also tender, close.

“You’re beautiful,” she says. “You’re so beautiful.”

Then that light where she’s making me a rainbow, and it’s fine that I want to cry. Though it’s nothing like you think, you think. And what’s power anyway? How does it feel? Does it feel? Does it show?

Apparently.

But let’s not mix our anecdotes. Spirits are enough, I’ve heard—or tasted on that tongue of yours. For what am I in daylight but the same nighttime creature at the graveyard paradisiacal, la penchant romantique composed, not deadened into words?

[tiktaalic]

let's all talk about supernatural. i'll start. in 2009 kim manners told misha collins it was gay to sit on a bed. due to the lack of distance. he was right. and misha collins did it anyway. what followed was 12 years of television subject to different directors writers and actors all with different opinions on the subject of whether or not dean and castiel were gay. because of this rotating list of minds and directions the messages you receive are varied. but crucially. there is groundwork laid in closeups. standing five feet apart in bobby's kitchen filmed as if they're face to face. across the room from each other in tmwwbk but cuts between close up to close up. now you could easily argue that camerawork that rejects this method is trying to convey a different message of less empathy. but. we are not working only with camera work that conveys distance. we're working with a foundation of intimate conversations filmed as intimate closeups . followed by intimate conversations filmed with yards and yards between them. for an amv i was trying to use the s8 talk where cas is sitting on the bed and dean walks over sits down and says talk to me and i eventually had to scrap it because they're never in the same frame. i was going frame by frame in that scene trying to get maybe three seconds where you can see both of them but you never can. in the scene where dean sits a foot away and asks. what's wrong. you can tell me. you can talk to me. and cas proceeds to bare his soul. which is one of two things: bad directing, or purposeful directing. bad directing requires us to operate under the assumption that people who work on supernatural are bad at their jobs (likely). purposeful directing requires us to operate under the assumption that people who work on supernatural are good at their jobs, and given an intimate conversation, looked for ways to dilute the emotion in it, and did so. this is also likely. when supernatural shows me castiel telling dean i love you, and does it with shoddy camerawork, they are practicing tell not show. they are turning to the camera and telling me. this means nothing. disregard this. dont you see how they're a good court length apart from each other. doesn't this distance make you feel like you should interpret this with a platonic lens. but what they are showing me. is castiel telling dean winchester. i love you. which comes across even through the janky disjointed shots. the diluted effect still has an outsized emotional impact. so my takeaway is not. well i guess this means nothing. it is. i see the tricks you are trying to use on me. and they dont work on me because i know how to interpret storytelling and i'm not young and shiny and stupid. my takeaway is . wow. dean and cas., are in love for real, and they put it on my screen, and i am going to plant dynamite in director richard speight's home

[forgive-the-sea]

sometimes i'm hit with so much awe by the things people write on here you are all so talented!!!!!!!!

[books]

Writer Spotlight: Jamie Beck

Jamie Beck is a photographer residing in Provence, France. Her Tumblr blog, From Me To You, became immensely successful shortly after launching in 2009. Soon after, Jamie, along with her partner Kevin Burg, pioneered the use of Cinemagraphs in creative storytelling for brands. Since then, she has produced marketing and advertising campaigns for companies like Google, Samsung, Netflix, Disney, Microsoft, Nike, Volvo, and MTV, and was included in Adweek Magazine’s “Creative 100” among the industry’s top Visual Artists. In 2022, she released her first book, An American in Provence, which became a NYT Bestseller and Amazon #1 book in multiple categories, and featured in publications such as Vogue, goop, Who What Wear, and Forbes. Flowers of Provence is Jamie’s second book.

Can you tell us about how The Flowers of Provence came to be?

I refer to Provence often as ‘The Garden of Eden’ for her harmonious seasons that bring an ever-changing floral bounty through the landscape. My greatest joy in life is telling her story of flowers through photography so that we may all enjoy them, their beauty, their symbolism, and their contribution to the harmony of this land just a bit longer. 

(Photograph: Jamie Beck)

How do your photography and writing work together? Do you write as part of your practice?

I constantly write small notations, which usually occur when I am alone in nature with the intention of creating a photograph or in my studio working alone on a still life. I write as I think in my head, so I have made it a very strict practice that when a thought or idea comes up, I stop and quickly write the text in the notes app on my phone or in a pocket journal I keep with me most of the time. If I don’t stop and write it down at that moment, I find it is gone forever. It is also the same practice for shooting flowers, especially in a place as seasonal as Provence. If I see something, I must capture it right away because it could be gone tomorrow. 

(Photograph: Jamie Beck)

You got your start in commercial photography. What’s something you learned in those fields that has served you well in your current creative direction?

I think my understanding of bridging art and commerce came from my commercial photography background. I can make beautiful photographs of flowers all day long, but how to make a living off your art is a completely different skill that I am fortunate enough to have learned by working with so many different creative brands and products in the past. 

(Photograph: Jamie Beck)

Do you remember your first photograph?

Absolutely! I was 13 years old. My mother gave me her old Pentax 35mm film camera to play with. When I looked through the viewfinder, it was as if the imaginary world in my head could finally come to life! I gave my best friend a makeover, put her in an evening gown in the backyard of my parents’ house in Texas, and made my first photograph, which I thought was so glamorous! So Vogue!

You situate your photographic work with an introduction that charts the seasons in Provence through flowers. Are there any authors from the fields of nature writing and writing place that inspire you?

I absolutely adore Monty Don! His writing, his shoes, and his ease with nature and flowers—that’s a world in which I want to live. I also love Floret Flowers, especially on social media, as a way to learn the science behind flowers and how to grow them. 

How did you decide on the order of the images within The Flowers of Provence?

Something I didn’t anticipate with a book deal is that I would actually be the one doing the layouts! I assumed I would hand over a folder of images, and an art director would decide the order. At first, it was overwhelming to sort through it all because the work is so personal, and I’m so visual. But in the end, it had to be me. It had to be my story and flow to be truly authentic. I tried to move through the seasons and colors of the landscape in a harmonious way that felt a bit magical, just as discovering Provence has felt to me. 

(Photograph: Jamie Beck)

How do you practice self-care when juggling work and life commitments alongside the creative process?

The creative process is typically a result that comes out of taking time for self-care. I get some of my best ideas for photographic projects or writing when I am in a bath or shower or go for a long (and restorative) walk in nature. Doing things for myself, such as how I dress or do my hair and makeup, is another form of creative expression that is satisfying. 

What’s a place or motif you’d like to photograph that you haven’t had a chance to yet?

I am really interested in discovering more formal gardens in France. I like the idea of garden portraiture, trying to really capture the essence and spirit of places where man and nature intertwine. 

Which artists do you return to for inspiration?

I’m absolutely obsessed with Édouard Manet—his color pallet and subject matter. 

What are three things you can’t live without as an artist?

My camera, the French light, and flowers, of course. 

What’s your favorite flower to photograph, and why?

I love roses. They remind me of my grandmother, who always grew roses and was my first teacher of nature. The perfume of roses and the vast variety of colors, names, and styles all make me totally crazy. I just love them. They simply bring me joy the same way seeing a rainbow in the sky does. 

(Photograph: Jamie Beck)

[toribookworm22]

Happy STS! I hope you’ve had a great week :D do any of your OCs have any sentimental items? If so, what are they and why are they sentimental?

Hello, lovely! Thank you for the ask!!

Maybelle Clark (Animatronic Saga) has a handful of items. She always wears her mother's rose-gold necklace and a silver necklace with a flower charm inscribed with May. She also picks up her dad's old watch early on in the story and refuses to admit how much it means to her.

Kib Gree (StormWatcher) shares a rubber bracelet with her sister that's the only thing they have left of their mother.