#i keep rereading it and seeing stuff that i've missed its so good

[serenxdipitys]

i need everyone to read "For the Forgotten Ones" by Im_Sorry_Buddy on AO3 its an UTMV fic and i've been aggressively hyperfixating on it 3 days since i've found it

[mosswolf]

reading summary - april

braiding sweetgrass by robin wall kimmerer: i've read this before, but i wanted to listen to the audiobook after enjoying listening to gathering moss

paladin's faith by t kingfisher: wren <3 paladin's strength is still my fave but really enjoyed this as ever, i love that the demon stuff is being revisited and made more complicated!!! hey judith. whats goin on mate...

gender outlaw: on men, women and the rest of us by kate bornstein: shes really funny. so shes a transfem lesbian who's had bottom surgery, right, and at one point she jokes that more manhating terfs should appreciate her because after all, shes the only person in the room who actually HAS castrated a man!

guides for dating vampires 2, 2.2 and 2.3 by d.n bryn: didn't like these very much, found one of the mcs really irritating. ah well, the first one was good at least...

the last sun, the hanged man and the hourglass throne by k.d edwards: it was super fun to reread these, theyre so easy to read and messy and fun. i was keeping an eye out for plot stuff this time and there was loads of foreshadowing i'd missed!!

the picture of dorian grey by oscar wilde: id actually never read this and wow, by god can that man pontificate. i enjoyed it but am super glad i listened to the audiobook haha...

no one is too small to make a difference by greta thunberg: i was given this because people really know (1) thing about climate change when i tell them i study it haha. it was darkly relatable to read through her speeches in chronological order and see them just getting angrier and angrier,, me too ms thunberg. me too

persephone station by stina leicht: this was so good. i love scifi about fucked up criminals and robots and robot criminals!!! its Quite long, over 500 pages, and i do think it could have been edited down some more to be perfect, but still!! thoroughly enjoyable

the black god's drums by p djeli clark: really enjoyed this as well, steampunky fantasy new orleans with gods and storms and airships!!! nice and compact, blazed through it super quickly.

the other significant others: reimagining life with friendship at the center by rhaina cohen: some of this was definitely aimed at people who arent aro and in poly qprs already (which is fair enough) but even so, i really enjoyed the stories of the people she interviews about their unconventional relationships and stuff!

[lostusagis]

Aaaaah! Is it Shower Dee With Love Day?! Well it IS Munday heheh! *Taps on mic* Ahem. Is this thing on? Can you hear me? Ok so first I'd like to say...

YOU'RE AMAZING!!! 🎤😊

I'm so happy to have met you. I still think about it so tenderly to this day. I'm really really happy to have you not only as my rp partner but also as my precious friend ❤️ You're my favorite person to see on the dash! Anytime you reblog or post something, I can't help but send you my support by giving a like or a comment or both~! You're so fun to write with and super sweet and funny and talented and smart and considerate and patient and supportive and kind and caring and- *BREATHES* I just think ur neat :) SUPER NEAT!!!

You put so many wonderful writing ingredients into all your muses and I want to eat all of them in one big pot of soup... Yes I want to eat them wyd about it? JNHBYUGTCFRTFYVUBHINJ LIKE I REALLY LOVE LEARNING ABOUT WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY ABOUT YOUR MUSES! It's why I always like to send headcanon asks. Your answers are always so good and interesting and I can't get enough!

You deserve all the support and love and recognition like fr people are MISSING OOOOOOUUUUUUUUT!!! I absolutely adore you and our interactions and I'll never stop expressing that. ALSO PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE POST THOSE DRABBLES I KNOW YOU HAVE THOSE GEMS DRAFTED I KNOW YOU DO DON'T HIDE THEM FROM ME THEY'RE CARRYING DUST OVER THERE THOSE FUCKING GEMS NEED TO BE SEEN I TELL YOU SEEN!!! Haha sorry I just love reading your drabbles like seriously I'm your #1 fan! I love your writing and your ideas a lot! Always the best stuff aaaahhhhh. Ok but srsly no pressure about posting those drabbles if ur not ready, but just letting you know that if you have doubts on them just know that they always come out great in the end ♡ I can tell you put so much thought and detail into writing them. It really does shine through. Actually, it's because of you that I ever wrote drabbles here for the first time! I've done a lot of first times here on this blog because of you, in fact. You inspire me in many ways, Dee! 😊

Haha sorry this got long wow. I could go on and on tbh, but basically you're the best and ily so so so so so soooooooooooo much ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

( its 5am and im fucking skdjdjs gonna cry. you really know how to make me emotional huh? I really needed this though thanks. since as of late I've been hating my writing a lot. But man, you're honestly my favorite to see on the dash too. All those feelings are mutual. I LOVE seeing your reactions to my replies or asks, i always look forward to seeing that hahaha. And i definitely always wanna show my support to you too. I like seeing the stuff you rb related to Namida's character, helps me get a better understanding of her y'know? I adore her so much. I want to kiss her on the forehead and hug her tightly and tell her how amazing she is.

You're also super fun to write with, MAN. I still go through old threads and reread. That's how much every interaction was soooo great for me. But you're literally so sweet... So so kind. You're one of the few people I'm confident is interested in my writing & muses. Never had any doubts about that literally. I know I'd literally die for yours. Hmu if you ever write a book I'd buy that shit quick. Every reply, every ask, it's like a dessert. You've truly given me the best rp experience ever. And i wanna do my best to give you a good experience as well because im as invested in your content as you are in mine. You're awesome, amazing, so, so talented and creative. You're also such a great friend, thanks especially for sending me messages currently since it's just been rough haha. Just... Thanks for everything. I've had tough moments on this blog but having you as a mutual is why it still remains :))

But AAAA the ones i havent posted are unfinished, since i keep getting stuck or lose confidence in what I'm writing. I know i started the one i mentioned where the siblings talk about namida recently I'll try focusing on that next. You remain the only reason i still consider posting drabbles ajdjdjsksjd thanks i know i always look forward to your comments on them. But DUDE I'd love to read any other drabbles you'll write. I think so far you wrote the one where Namida got really upset and made a mess in her room & the really smutty one. I really wanna reread the first one so if you have a link pls send i read the most recent one a couple times already jesus. So good. Top tier stuff. Also if i forgot any others you posted please lmk 😩 but also just for u I'll make sure to try finishing more drabbles.

Thanks so much for being such a good friend / rp partner. Sending good vibes to you as well. You made me really happy by sending this sorry if its a jumbled mess ily )

[puellafuriadarkmagica]

So it's been a week, exactly as promised. It's just that it's also been some other weeks on top of that. I'll explain why at the end of this post, what I plan on doing about it, generally where my efforts have been lately, and how YOU (yes YOU!) can get involved.

Chapter 5: The Best Venue in this Small, Pathetic Town

From The Chats - Keep The Grubs Out. I mentioned before that my brother got me into The Chats. They're a world away from the kind of music I'm normally into, but they happen to be really fucking funny. That's generally enough for me to make an exception. Check out the music video to their big hit Smoko and try your damnedest to convince me this isn't one of the greatest music videos ever made.

"Oh, Kimmie, me 'n' Kel had the time of our lives. We had twenny-four hour room cervix, eggs derelict for breakfast..." the television blared feebly through its blown-out stereo system.

I've said it before but one of my favourite differences between our world and that of PFDM is that somehow the existence of magical girls has resulted in Kath and Kim still being on the air in 2009.

Fuck, I miss Kath and Kim.

"You, and me, we have an opportunity / And we, can make it something really good…" Zoey hummed from somewhere in the kitchen.

I also remember mentioning that this passage is included to remind people that despite her generally matronly(??) role to the rest of the cast of Part 1, Zoey's only in her mid-twenties. Bit sad, innit?

Thunk. A metal rail, roughly forty centimetres long, sailed neatly past Marie's head, drove itself clean through the skull of the Incubator perched on her shoulder, and dug itself into an oblique resting place in the pavement behind her.

Oh my God.

Oh my God!

They killed Kyubey??

"Introductions aside, have you run this past Lara yet?" "The thing is I think I've got to… warm her up to the idea first?" Danika smirked. "You can say she's too stubborn. It's not a crime, you know." "She's not as bad as you guys say she is, you know!" "Too right!" Hope leaned forward and coughed into a fist. "See, she's actually worse."

She's actually soooo cool and nice with it.

Hold on.

When did "such-and-so with it" re-enter common parlance? I remember it being a pretty ubiquitous way to suffix an adjective back in the late 2000's, and then it disappeared. And now it's back? Where did it go…

"Cool, cool. Hey, would you mind if I just confer with my friends about some stuff? I'm pretty new to what I do, and if we brought you on board that'd be a pretty major undertaking for both of us." "It's okay," Phoebe protested. "I can train her!" Hope shrugged. "Yeah, that's fair. Now it'll be a major undertaking for three of us."

Taking so long to reread this stuff presents the side-effect that I do find myself laughing at my old jokes that I'd forgotten I'd written.

Phoebe shot to her feet and clutched her skull (still contained within the flesh of her head, of course. Only one person with even the most tangential relationship to her life is intense enough to do otherwise). "I can't deal with you people! I can't… I'm… I need some air."

What?

Holy hell, what?

There's no way I foreshadowed Alex burning off her flesh this far in advance. Are you serious?

We've only just recently learned that she will be doing that, what, 45 chapters later? 46?

Hope's jeans pocket blared a harsh, percussive synth monotone. She noticeably flinched before practically ripping her phone out of her pocket and putting it to her ear.

Back when I wrote this, I said it was probably The Presets - My People. More recently I've locked that in. I was going to write that it's one of the few radio hits that's actually good, but then I realised my vision was completely clouded by nostalgia when I began to pen that. The past half-decade or so has been kind of nuts for mainstream pop. Charli XCX has got a couple tracks joint-produced by AG Cook and Hudson Mohawke on her new album, for crying out loud. Death's Dynamic Shroud is getting mentioned on the same electronic pop lists as fucking Beyoncé. Porter Robinson's… well, he's Porter Robinson. How did we get it so good? Should I be thanking Missy Elliot? Daft Punk? Dylan Brady?

Wait. I'm supposed to be talking about PFDM.

"Sure thing." Marie responded with a thumbs-up goodbye, like some kind of absolute mutant.

Not long after I wrote this passage, I did actually give someone a thumbs-up goodbye. Mind you, I was having an absolutely shit day and was pretty distracted, but I've still gotta live that down, on the inside.

"I'll get it," Hope announced. She opened the front door, saw who was behind it, and closed it again. Lara jammed her foot in the door before it could close. "Evening, Fearnley," she cooed. "Would you mind if I popped in for a chat?" "If I said no…" "I'd find other, less courteous ways to open this door, don't you worry."

I've barely started watching Utena, but she's Nanami, isn't she? She's totally Nanami.

"Shame. What's say you and I underthrow Deckard and find a new girl ourselves instead?" "Under… throw?" "It's like overthrow, but she's our inferior. She's really, really inferior, actually. You know how she spends her time? Going on witch hunts with this new girl just for kicks. I hear Woodward - not the dead one, of course - is third-wheeling whatever it is those two have got going on now."

"Underthrow" is one of my favourite Lara-isms, but it doesn't hold a candle to…

"Well then, why would I do that?" She smirked. "Face it, Fearnley. If I needed to psychologically outplay you, I wouldn't resort to spreading rumours. I've got a rapper wit." "You mean a rapier." "A what?" "She said rapier," Zoey huffed. "That's the expression. Rapier wit." "What, like a sword? That's stupid. The only thing a sword ever thinks to do is cut something, and that's only because somebody else tells it to. A rapper, on the other hand-"

"Rapper wit" is potentially my favourite malapropism of all time, and I came up with it. Thanks, me! Why, you're very welcome.

The Citadel, like all things, is metaeclyptic with an infinity of other things, places, times. One of these things happens to be a lighthouse on the west coast of Ireland, operated by a young man named Douglas Murphy. Though neither of them knew it, at the exact moment Audrey Wong lost her blue socks, he found a pair of green socks he had lost four months ago. The strangest part of all this, he would remark if he understood his circumstances to any meaningful degree, is that his role as a textbook example of metaeclypticism is, in fact, the only meaningful reason for his existence at all. The speaker god has, as it happens, written a proverb pertaining to this feeling of existential ennui, which goes as follows. From here until the end of the last chapter. It also goes as precedes, until the beginning of the first. Due to the impracticality with which one might quote it, it is considered a very unpopular proverb.

This is one of the passages which I think best encapsulates the style of PFDM, and hopefully my writing on the whole. It's definitely one of those key early moments where I Locked The Fuck In.

Well, that was a pretty short chapter, all things considered. I forgot how little time I actually need to write one of these. Maybe I should try for one a week, but given my track record regarding things taking a week, I don't think I can promise anything.

So what happened?

Life got busy again. I've got a job now, which does pretty much drain the life out of me. But it also gives my time some long-needed damn structure, so three cheers. Also, I've gotten a little carried away on an original webfic I conceived of last year and have been tinkering away at the planning stages of ever since. Actually, let's talk about that. And let's call it Project Anubis for short for now, in a pointless attempt to hide its true name - an aspect of the webfic I'm still uncertain about. It does have a name, and I am sort of leaning in-for-a-penny on that, but for now it's Project Anubis.

Sounds cool. What's Project Anubis?

Nothing!!! It doesn't exist yet, and won't for a serious while! Don't rush me here, okay?!?!

Actually, I'm going to talk about it here with you guys because there's like half a dozen of you maximum and I don't want to talk about this publicly yet. You won't see this on my main Tumblr. Anyone who reads that and doesn't read this, who I want to have see this announcement, already knows what this project is, and, in fact, what it's called. I mention it now, because I'm trying to open the doors to my friends who I know would be available for this, and frankly if you've spent the past… I don't even want to think about how long, conversing with my borderline manic ramblings in the comments section of my own anime fanfiction, well, are we not then friends?

Okay, but really, what is it?

Not too thematically dissimilar from a lot of the themes I've been spinning in PFDM. If you liked the oddball humour, the overly-researched science fiction, and maybe the weird underlying philosophical thriller, you probably will like this. If you were only into PFDM for the sprawling cosmology, the fight scenes, and the fact that it's Madoka Magica, you're gonna outright detest it. It will not be for you. Of course it wouldn't be. It's for me.

So what do you want from me?

I'm glad youu asked, line of bold text I put before this paragraph! Basically, I want anyone who knows a damn about more or less anything to give me a holler. I've got a lot of research to do for this, and anyone who can point me in the right direction would be a massive help. If you know anything about any of the following:

Speculative biology

Computer science

Feng shui

Biosemiotics

Astronomy

Gestalt psychology

Puzzle design

Card game design

Printing

Logograms

Conlang development

Chances are I'm gonna be coming to you for a lot of help. If this has legs, I might start hiring people to help me make it, too. If not on a stable income I can bankroll a team on, then at least on commission. If you're a visual artist who can illustrate things other than people with weirdly specific demands regarding colour palette and image composition, you're a writer and you feel like you can jive with my style (the more naturalistic, less-uranium-dense parts, at least, because this will not be the fuckin' slog that PFDM deliberately makes itself sometimes), or an actor - even if just for voice or photos - let me know that too. But don't expect anything to come of it, and definitely don't expect anything to come of it any time soon. Right now, I'm just trying to keep track of who I know who has X field of knowledge or Y specific skill. Gimme your email or your Discord or something, or just let me know if I can DM you here on Tumblr.

Why "Anubis"?

I had this idea for a gag in something where the main character dies and meets Anubis, who would be depicted entirely with photos of James Earl Jones. Anubis would then explain that everyone has a celebrity lookalike, and the gods themselves aren't excepted from this. Anubis just happens to bear a striking resemblance to James Earl Jones. I don't think this joke is going to be in anything, but I've been thinking about Anubis ever since.

What does Project Anubis mean for Puella Furia Dark Magica?

I dunno dude!!! I just work here!!! Maybe nothing? Maybe a hell of a whole lot? Maybe PFDM gets delayed for YEARS! Maybe the remaining chapters all mysteriously appear online tomorrow! I really don't know! I've just had a hell of a good idea and now I have to make it. I go crazy if I don't. I go. Crazy. If. I Don't!

Anyway see you all maybe next week I don't know? Bye

[therhythmafterthesummer]

hai hai haiii it's been sosoos long :((

life has been..... intense heh but i'm okay now!! i remember that the last thing you posted was that cute oneshot of our wr!binnie and the bestest autumn and the stress about their wedding!! and i loved it so much!! i keep coming to re read wereroomies all the time because i truly enjoy how you created their little world, and also because it's a great inspiration!! the last instalement i read was the one about hyunlix and moss because i really really miss them :(

but it's okay. i'm really curious about the boys you haven't posted about in that universe, and also about second and even third parts to some of the fics (even if they're standalones i'm super invested and it feels like the kind of series where every episode has its own story but somehow when you put them all together you see the development and... i just need more kajhkajshaks)

i won't ask for spoilers of your top secret wr!projects on docs (👀) buuut i'll sit here and wait for the next update. i was thinking about coming off anon too akjshkajsd (could you guess who am i??) but for the mean time, are there any of your fav works you would recommend rn? no context, just fun. the ones you have a great memory of, or you're really proud about

have a super super nice day rhythm, - ❤️‍🩹 anon

hi hi hi!!

i'm glad you're okay now! and i hope it continues being that way💜

makes my heart warm to think that you come and reread wereroomies often. it's still shocking to me that people do that sdkjnskjdnfsd

i think that's actually a good way to describe the structure of wereroomies... "a series where every episode has its own story but somehow when you put them all together you see the development", i like that~

i can't wait for the day i get to show you all all the stuff that's partially cooked in my docs jkdfnskjdfn i always wonder how y'all would feel with the storylines and personalities i've given to the other boys... but since i've been struggling to write these days, i'm just taking my time, so i won't be able to share anything any time soon i think ):

as for coming off anon... do what's most comfortable for you!

it's hard for me to figure out who's an anon unless they make it really really obvious, so i've got no idea honestly skdjfhnsjfdn

and finally, recommendations... i think Safe Haven is one of the pieces i'm most proud of. i poured a lot of love and work into it. it's something that still makes me smile when i think about anything related to it (be it the characters or the lore or the story itself...). i'm glad i got to rework it last year so i could make it an even better version of itself. i think it's a fun read for anyone that enjoys long stories that involve fantasy and that bit of sci-fi.

also, Five-Point Star is another one i'm proud of. especially the second part. i just loved coming up with it sdkjsdf

[pochapal]

So I am a little bit worried that perhaps people in your askbox are letting themselves get a little too incautious.

Like ok. It’s the most minorest of minor things, but: I do not think you should have been told the words “Anti-Mystery vs Anti-Fantasy.” I think that should be classified as a spoiler.

Don’t mistake me as making this bigger than it is, Iim sure that nothing at all will actually end up being effected by this. Really I’m only bringing it up so I have an example to point to. That being said-

It was genuinely impressive that you picked up so early on a part of the story that won’t be explicitly named/discussed till episode 3. But I hope you agree with me here: when you get something right, people should not show up in your askbox to tell you that you did so. “Detective or Romantic’ is something the author calls ‘anti-fantasy/anti-romantic’, it shows up in episode 3” is something would be perfectly fine for you to have learned once you got to episode 3.

So I guess this is a polite request addressed to everybody, which I hope they at least consider: just…..for the purposes of this interacting with the very entertaining liveblog pretend like all parts of Umineko that haven’t been reached yet have not been written and do not exist. Your piece of fandom trivia, author comment, whatever, you will probably end up having more fun sharing it at a point where you don’t have to cut it free from and discuss it in the absence of every bit of its content.

luckily in this case i did clue onto the "anti-mystery/anti-fantasy" framework pretty early on so other than the name itself i don't think i've really spoiled on anything concept-wise that i hadn't already pretty much figured out but i can see how if this is a Core Theme that doesn't get solidified in the text until several episodes from now that throwing that kind of information around does come with a certain amount of risk.

but that said yeah. i get that everyone is having fun but once again keep it in mind that any information shared with me should not reveal anything more than what i've already speculated unless it well and truly has no bearing on the way i approach/will approach certain parts of the story (in this case something like the "ryukishi07 used to be a social worker which is why this story is interested in exploring nuanced abusive family dynamics" trivia is fine but information that specifically has to do with stuff that has either not been confirmed/hasn't happened yet is best to avoid). a good example of how to behave with it is how everyone left me to wrestle with the non-mystery of the missing rose until i reread for myself the truth even though anyone could have easily spoiled the fun by saying "you already have the solution to the rose mystery. check back in chapter 5".

so far i do think everyone interacting with the liveblog has been good outside of that incident a few weeks back where a post broke containment and i had to disable notifications (but that wasn't really anyone's fault). just yeah. try not to get ahead of yourselves in the excitement!

[littlemisslol-fic]

tell me your favorite fics

AN EXCELLENT QUESTION! Tbh I'm... idk I wouldn't call it picky, but I have a very specific taste in fic 😋😋 while at the same time I'll read basically anything?? I can definitely list out some of my absolute faves though! (Though these aren't all of them of course, we'd be here all day)

I'll continue under a cut to keep it from getting long!

For Gen Fics:

Gotta start with the OG, Darkness Exists to Make the Light Truly Count by aquaquadrant, this was the first TTS fic I read where I went "yeah this FUCKS". Unfinished and probably abandoned, unfortunately, but damn the stuff that's there is so good it makes me feral

Then I love Labrynths of the Heart by izabellwit, which I binge read in one night, staying up until about 5am to finish because holy SHIT it's so good it makes me insane!! It's funny because I didn't actually meet iza until about a year (?) later but damn was I a fan since day one lmaooo

OH and Return to Me by arcticpersephone owns my whole ass rn, it makes me absolutely bonkers every time there's an update!! The characterization of Varian and Rapunzel especially make me INSANE

There's also Chemiluminescence by ScottyFree, which was a bit of a sleeper hit for me, I knew I was going to like it I just didn't anticipate how much it FUCKS--I really enjoy the uncle Hector content lmao

For a platonic soulmate fix (because I am soulmate trash in all ways) I really loved Tell me, is something wrong by AngstingQueen. It's a really great integration of soulmates into the TTS canon and its GOOD FOOD

THEN we've got Frea the Huts O’ Your Tenant Folk by SiryyGray which just. It fucks. It fucks severely. I loved watching the mystery of it expand and adapt and it drove me BONKERS

Also a recent addition, but The Third Amber by Samuri_Jill is REALLY GOOD I love the apple dad content, it really goes into Varian and Quirin’s relationship and I'm kind of obsessed with it

OKAY I THINK THATS ENOUGH GEN LMAO

For Varigo Fics

FIRST UP is if i hated you (and i really, really do) by miss battybatzgirl, because holy SHIT. Holy shit. Her interpretation of varigo drives me feral, just batshit bonkers, literally anything by her makes me foam at the mouth

THEN we have one iced grande triple espresso by ashdoesfandom aka THE FUNNIEST MF IVE EVER MET!! Seriously, all of ashs fics have such an amazing sense of humor to them, it makes me weep because I can't handle it lololol

This one might be biased since they gifted it to me, but We’re Just Ships Passing in the Night, But I Want You Forever by Cayenneavocado is GOOD. IT FUCKS. It's that perfect blend of drama and lighthearted shenanigans that does me in, every time I stg

Then I'd recommend You Say Jump by bean_reads_fanfic! I loved ella enchanted as a kid, so seeing how that concept plays out in the TTS universe was SO FUN! (Also I know this is you but honestly its a good fic so shhhh)

Also!! Varian Stone and the Vanishing Bandit by Hybrix_Hijinx owned my entire ass while it was posting, I've never listened to Juno Stone so it was totally fresh to me and I LOVED IT

AND FINALLY

(Like the moon) I'll sway the tide and lead you astray by chamiryokuroi and ThatOneGirlBehindYou is FANTASTIC if you're willing to be a bit of a multishipper and stray from varigo 😂 in my defense it pre-dates varigo by quite a bit, and it's *so fucking good* not enough people have read this and it's a damn shame

Thank you for the ask!! This was a lovely trip down memory lane lol, lotta stuff I have to reread on this list, it's been too long ❤️❤️

[sarahtheconjurer]

@ghosttmachine tagged me in a get to know you meme thing (tyyy!!)! So. Here i am posting for oncce lez goooo

Last song:

Technical answer is post traumatic blues by corey taylor, bc ive been using the spotify dj thing and it keeps giving me metal that i o ly kinda like. The funner answer was rhe barbie movie ost since me and my friends literally just got back from it n my friend mariana had me play it in the car. Not rlly my thing was catchy (barbie movie was good btw! Posts abt it being like. Not the deepest critique of social issues and the like are correct but it was a fun time w a lot of heart + rlly great production value + honestly. Very funny. And i watched it w two of my best friends so :})

Currently reading:

For books:

When the Angels Left the Old Country

I haven't touched it in a hot sec, but its a queer, historical fantasy ya book based in jewish folklorex about an angel and a demon that leave europe, after a girl goes missing from the village they've set up shop in. It's very light and whimsical which is not my usual fare, but I'm enjoying it! Its very heartfelt and the two main leads have very good chemistry. And its always cool to see angel/demon lore outside the usual christian sphere.

For manga: steel ball run (part 7 of jojos bizarre adventure) its. A story about a cross continental horse race to find the body parts of jesus. Which is the most coherent way i can put it. Im rereading it w two of my friends rn and im enjoying it! It isnt my favorite part, but its up there, and features some of the best stuff in the series. This is. Also a story featuring a pair of ride or die protagonists with a very strong dynamic and chemistry (honestly, best 'set' of protags in the series) and so much comes from their bond. Its at the point in the series where it started getting a monthly release and it shows, w some rlly gorgeous art. Gyro and Diego are highlights artwise because the former doesnt have a stand he just. Has these steel balls he spins and throws around, so you get very dynamic shots of him just. Chucking them that the author uses in super creative ways to lead the eye and compose panels and the latter. Can turn himself and other things into dinosaurs. Have you ever seen a dinosaur ride a horse? Its fucking sick. It also has some interesting themes of american imperialism and christianity, of all things, which i think are done, well in some respects, esp given the authors track record. IT ALSO HAS SOME OF THE WORST STUFF IN THE SERIES THAT MAKES ME WANT TO KILL HIM W HAMMERS.

Currently watching:

Nothing in particular, but ive got a p big to watch list (Trigun, mob psycho, etc) and i just watched the barbie movie, like i said.

Current obsession:

Guess. Take a guess.

Jfc jojos bizarre adventure is holding me at gunpoint. Its not good its not bad (besides when it is) it its own tier of media. I forgot how much 15 year old me was obsessed w it and so i foolishly rewatched it thinking id be. Normal. I was wrong. God. I've never seen anything like it! It's so clearly a passion project from someone who's very eccentric and so it goes from absurd and stupid and comedic to circling right back to being very human and poignant. Like, it's about love! And familial trauma! And prevailing in the face of great tragedy! And also killing the president because jesus told you so! It's got a myriad of flaws from technical writing issues to genuinely tasteless/bigoted content, so its not some untouchable media, but ive been enjoying it a lot.

Part 5 and 8 are my favorites for very different reasons.

Part 5, Golden Wind, is abt a bunch of weird mobsters on a roadtrip through italy to kill their boss. It has a very charming supporting cast who are a sort of found family of societal rejects, brought together by this guy named Bruno who acts as a leader + mentor + sort of dad? To them. They're all surprisingly fleshed out characters, esp for this early on in the series, and their group dynamic, combined w some of the best fights in the entire show, really sell this part. The main character and main villain are. Not good. Sans a few aspects. Tho. Like i forget giorno is there half the time. (Giorno is my beloved stale cracker of a character but hes MY stale cracke, tho)

Part 8, Jojolion, is uh. Hm. It follows this amnesiac dude who wakes up in the dirt, as he tries to piece together the person he was. It's set in an au version of the town from part 4, w some characters being spins on old ones. Its the most recent part, and it shows. Its a lot better structured, paced, and developed compared to earlier parts. The mystery running through it has a lot of fun twists and turns, the themes are coherent, and the pace is slow, but not meandering. The supporting cast is fun (the lead's romantic interest is an actually decent jojo woman and they have a very cute relationship, and the family the main character is sort of adopted into are all fucking insane) but the real draw for me was the main character. Josuke (the second. Theres another josuke from an alternate universe in part 4, anyway) is probably my favorite jojo. I could go on about him, but compared to the others, he feels the most real? Theres this very grounded sense of frustration abt him as he tries and fails to piece together who he is, while everyone around him seems to have somethimg they need from him, or an idea of who he SHOULD be. He isnt a hero, he isnt even all that noble, hes just trying to find himself and if anyone out there loves him. He's blunt, one track minded, and is doing the jojo equivalent of spamming x to skip through all the dialogue bc hes not here for anyones shit beside his own. Jojolion somehow captures the feeling of being a weird, displaced pseudo adult trying to piece yourself together, while everything Keeps Fucking Happening. I love it so much. But by god does the ending suck hoooooly shit oh my god dude jesus christ. Fucking. I hate tohru i hate tohru i hate tohru fjcjendnxzlzm. Anyway jobin sweep

OTHER OBSESSIONS INCLUDE OCS AND DND.

Im currently running a csm tabletop n curse of strahd game, and am in a ravenloft game. They're all very different but i love them all.

Ravenloft game is a sort of sequel to the curse of strahd game i was in a while bsck

I play pageturn (kenku paladin) and coda (changeling flavored as fallen angel, bard). Ones a 13 year old w a kill drive going through a double crisis of faith while somehow being the heart of the group and the others a shapeshifting corrupted celestial, whos trying to find themself. we are currently exploring the fomain the latter was imprisoned in and have found the eye of vecna and. I am. Excited and concerned for what our wonderful dm has cooked up.

Chainsaw Man game is a high stakes office drama following the worst group of devil hunters youve ever seen. Its more episodic and light than my other games which is a nice change of pace, and i rlly like the energy our group brings to the table. I am always horrified and surprised by whatever new government supplied human rights violation they commit next! Every character is uniquely sad, while still maintaining the token csm dark comedy abt them. We are currently revisiting a mystery allll the way back from our first session and im stoked for some stuff i have planned.

Sippy Crew (curse of strahd game) is drawing to a close and ahh i could make a whole post abt how much these guys mean to me. Its been a joy dming for this group of freaks and watching as they come together not into a found family, but a group of distinctly doomed, but fiercely loyal individuals. They've had two pc deaths, even more close calls, and have lost so much, but they're pushing through like dandelions in concrete. Its genuinely the most emotionally invested ive been in a ttrpg, and am so excited, to see their journey come to a close, and will miss them dearly.

Both jojo and ttrrpgs have been a way to reconnect with friends i dont usually talk to as much, and strengthen the bonds of the friends that i do, which is why theyve hit so hard, haha.

anwyaY this turned out way longer than it needed to be bUt.

@turtleslothart @500sunstone you. Do this.

[inkyquince]

(okay hopefully this is easy to read cuz my thoughts are jumbled half the time djdn)

For when you eventually see this, hi!! I just wanted to say thank you for all of the stuff you've written for the DoL fandom ksnskn

(I've read + reread quite a few of your stuff, but when you updated your masterlist the other day I saw quite a few stuff I haven't read yet so I was like "yayyy I'm gonna have fun later!" as I catch up for the ones I missed didhid)

I admire the range of characters you write for + share headcanons about, and the way you write them feels so well thought out, you flesh out the characters really well and I can't recall a time they've felt out of character :0

Also for this bit it's hard to put into words but I really love your writing style! the descriptions/details, the way it uhh flows (I think that's the word), the dialogue, etc- it all comes together very nicely and it's very yummy

anyway I don't want this to get too long sorry dihdjshs but your stuff is also big inspiration for my own writing and you're one of my favorite authors, and I don't mean that lightly :D

we love you, take care of yourself, and that's all! bye bye 🩷

SO I WAITED FOR AGES TO ANSWER THIS BECAUSE I DIDNT WANNA RUSH ANSWERING IT

This is so fucking sweet and nice. Legit, hopping back in my inbox just to reread. I'm kicking my feet and hiding my face.

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this before but the server with the other foul scrunklies, we have a room just to post some feedback or a message we got that we really like, and legit sent this in to the others cuz it made me feel all warm and fuzzy and good.

The keeping them all in character is such a god tier compliment out of everything really, I always worry about making some of the lads too out of character, but the more i've written for dol, the more relaxed I've gotten about it and it feels super good aND IM HAPPY PEOPLE LIKE MY PROTRAYAL OF THE NASTIES

Legit fuckign melted at favourite author. I know its just smut and fuck but I always want that smut and fuck to be nice to read and therefore quick smut pieces turn into 5k of fucking plot that im still writing a sequel for (i see you shared by three au, you fuck)

This was so nice and sweet and when I got time imma snoop on your blog, just you fucking see you absolute sweetheart.

[sunnisurrealism]

Hi Timmy,

im sorry for my brash previous post. i did not intend to direct the salty energy towards you, i guess towards the universe in general. the fact that the package with the first usb was not delivered was a tremendous blow to me today. i wouldn't say it was karma because i dont think you deserve this but it does seem like some sort of divine irony. when you were waiting around this was probably slowly occurring to you. literally what a fucking troll. i really hope the next one actually sends! i kept the tracking receipt this time.

im also sad today because the smoke from the forest fires might prevent us from going to Assinaboine. if we dont go i'll be hella disappointed. but its been multiple years now that i couldn't go because of the smoke... which only seems to be getting worse... .... this town Jasper in the northern rockies caught fire today. shit is getting more scary :( Alberta and BC is very susceptible to climate impacts.

i dont really know what else i have to say until the package arrives. i guess i thought the cake scene was a confirmation. in general we all faces problems being too hot to the gun, probably. gotta keep the long distance one way interesting somehow with some trolling. i think the Bad Ass Shitey Donk Shitlords sent the package back, only explanation to me.

anyways the most important part of the current package on the way is the new plot stuff. tbh tho i did already explain all the main points in a post a few days back, i just forgot the part about the flute from your spirit dad somehow after you see the snake and bull. therefore there really isnt anything new intellectually. i reread my meanest messages to you breaking down why it wasnt okay and how conditional things do make sense as an apology and to emphasize that i am truly really sorry :( it also includes the og notes / out take drawings of the TFBD (to be passed along to Grimes), some gifts for grimes, some geschenken for MB ^uwu^, and some gifts / a USB for elon. i know this is inconvenient for you to pass along gifts but tbh with the way it went down i knew i had to send you the notes and the usb i was planning on using for you was the one i used for elon but then i found an extra so tbh i just feel like i didnt have the capacity or money to send multiple packages so im kindly asking you to pass gifts along assuming you wont be up tight about it. i did include some voices notes on elon's USB just for him, but i included the one i originally recorded for him about Das Booble Zwei to catch him up on lore on your usb as well. if you are curious of the shit i said to him it's mostly me emphasizing that our strengths compliment one another, and the worst i said was that sometimes i have a hard time imagining timmy and i having sex together. that was like a month ago tho and i've been healing. so if you're curious that's the worst is said.

now that we are just waiting to see if the package sends idk what else i can do. i am really done and tired. im really happy to be in calgary where my mom can cook for me and i have a bathroom close to my bed. my relationship with my family is 100% good.

i dearly miss you, i dearly love the trailer so much and congratulations! i wish more than anything we could cuddle and kiss to heal from all this shit. hopefully *again* in the dreamworld.

*edit “why conditional things do not make sense” jesus*

klara

[freeuselandonorris]

https://www.tumblr.com/freeuselandonorris/753285320712339456/httpswwwtumblrcomfreeuselandonorris753112932?source=share

hi its gaming anon!! i got busy with life things and im realizing its almost been a month oopsies. im trying to get copies of all 3 books so i can reread neuromancer before the others bc i definitely missed some details listening to the audiobook. i'm gonna end up ordering them online because i can't find any in any book stores near me. here are my scattered thoughts after a few weeks of processing.

molly’s entire storyline is crazy. the sex work to pay for her cyberware, the blackmarket torture stuff and her dreams. waking up and killing the senator. her boyfriend johnny and everything with him. oh my GOD. then fucking riviera digging all of that up?? actually insane. the ending scene where molly, hideo, 3jane, and riviera are all in 3janes room. the allegiances slowly shifting with 3jane becoming annoyed/disinterested with riviera and becoming attached to molly. 3jane taking care of molly’s leg and eye. molly poisoning riviera is so sexy. so is hideo losing his eyesight but being trained to shoot blindfolded or in the dark. i loved that.

i was slightly disappointed with the ending but i don’t really know what i was expecting so i don’t know why i was disappointed. it was a good ending, everything was wrapped up. i think it’s because i want more molly. the fact that it says he never sees her again was so much. i literally cannot stop thinking ab it, it’s good it know she’s in another book! also can't stop thinking about neuromancer creating a copy of linda in the matrix, and how at the end case sees himself there, so neuromancer made a copy of him too??? what the Fuck. real confused about that.

despite not getting the books yet, i did upgrade my gpu and got a new mechanical keyboard and mouse. all my temps are way lower and stay low running high graphics, and the keyboard and mouse have pretty lights that i can program however i want, so that's very fun. i'm playing elden ring so once i finish it and the dlc that just came out, i'm reinstalling cyberpunk and playing that!! i downloaded it after i installed the gpu just to check temps and graphics settings and it ran great so im really excited to actually play it.

i hadn't heard of disco elysium before now but i watched a youtube video about it and it looks cool!! i played the bioshock games when they came out on the ps3 and just bought them on pc during one of the last steam sales so they're now on my list of games to play too. i also bought the stanley parable last week, if you haven't tried it i totally recommend it. it's the most fun i've had in a long time. it reminds me of portal while also being very different.

before i go, i offer my thoughts on your cyberpunk au. i love the anon that mentioned the screws in his jaw, been thinking about that for days and it made me think about other freaky sex stuff lando would want to do with the tech. i feel like he would want to install sex softs and have oscar fuck him, maybe have oscar pick them out without knowing what they are so it’s a surprise for him. also you mentioned lando being a codriver and i’m thinking about some kind of phone sex through a simstim, like lando suggesting they use one because if he can see and feel what oscar does in the car, he’ll be able to give better him feedback on how to improve but as soon as they’re connected through the simstim lando’s telling oscar if he jerked off then lando would feel everything too and oscar realizes it was never actually about improving lap times or his racing line.

hiii anon! omg i delayed replying to this for a little bit bc i just FINALLY finished playing through all of phantom liberty! i think you said you hadn't played it yet right? so i will keep my thoughts spoiler-free but i rly enjoyed it, it was more lowkey than the main storyline and the ending didn't pack the same emotional heft for me but it works really well alongside the main story for me (johnny is involved way more than i thought which i loved!) and there are some incredibly cool and memorable moments. also something that really struck me as i was playing was how fuckin LAWLESS dogtown feels! it has a completely different vibe from the rest of night city, i found myself running through the streets a lot bc you just don't know when you're gonna be attacked or whatever. the way they've made all the different districts so distinct and real is endlessly cool to me. i'm gonna replay the main ending now and go for the sun ending!!

YEP i 100% agree on neuromancer. the one thing i hate about it is how abruptly molly's storyline just...disappears. like, idk if gibson was trying to avoid the natural choice of having them end up living happily ever after together, which i respect, but don't just have her disappear like that! but yeah the whole molly/riviera dynamic is...so damaged and sexy to me oh my god. the bit where they're in the straylight run and he's throwing up all the pornographic/snuff holograms in the hallways... insane to me!!!

cyberpunk AU... okay PLEASE can i steal the idea of lando having oscar pick out the sex softs/BDs without him knowing because that has sent me wild 😵‍💫 and YES there will absolutely be some sort of simstim-style fucking, also kinda influenced by the bit in cyberpunk where panam and v jack off next to each other in the car and can feel each other through the neural link? horny as fuck. i've been dying to write more of it this week but covid brain has me unable to form coherent sentences so i'm just like, building it all up in my head.

i have not heard of the stanley parable! i will check it out tyyyy. i've been playing SO much stardew recently. i'm into autumn of year 2 now and i feel like i've properly got the hang of it, i can't remember if it was you who gave me the tip about the wiki but if it was, my GOD thank you. changed my life.

ps what keeb did you get!! i spend way too much time watching the asmr videos on tiktok lmao. i got an aula F75 recently and the sound is justttttttt delicious.

[jacksmind99]

August 12, 2023 - Books

Oops. I missed several days. My bad. Lets gloss over that, and instead focus on the topic of the day: Books. More specifically the books I had delivered today. Catcher in the Rye and The Great Gatsby. I did not read much in school, only reading those I was forced to for an assignment. Of those books, these two were the books I recall liking. But that was years ago. So I reordered them to give both another try, see if they still hold up.

I have read the first 60 pages of Catcher in they Rye today and hope to keep pace. It I succeed I will finish the book in a week. So far, its alright. But its just the beginning, it hasn't reached the good stuff yet so I can't give my report on it. Back when reading it in school, most of my classmates didn't like the book. Or Holden. I did and couldn't comprehend why they didn't. It hurt, in a way. I saw myself in Holden. I related to his struggle. Loneliness. If I don't talk like Holden enough already, I have no doubt I'll pick up on his mannerisms on here soon.

The other book I got was The Great Gatsby. I'll read it next. I remember watching the Dicaprio movie in 10th grade American lit. I truly enjoyed the movie. And the book. I didn't talk much in crowds, but that book brought it out of me. Made me want to discuss it. I don't recall what exactly I said. I am hoping to bring that back by rereading the classic.

Now, there is a common theme here, right? In these two books. A lonely guy looking for comfort. Maybe that's why awkward teen me liked them so much. It's partly what inspired me to buy them. I got the itch one random morning a few days ago and did what every young person does nowadays: looked it up on Tik Tok.

The Great Gatsby was mostly just fan cams of the movie and some dissuasion of classic American literature. More boring. The Catcher int he Rye, however, had controversy. That was some fun scrolling. There are two main sides to it: the side thinking the book is about a lonely teen guy going through an mental health crisis and the side that thinks Holden is some sort of incel/male manipulator type. The normal guy side made and makes a lot more sense to me. Considering the general plot and time it was written, those arguments make more sense to me. At the same time, that's not a fair comparison, as the incel guy side doesn't make arguments. They just say its bad then move on. No real deference or care. Idk. That's just what my Tik Tok search showed me. Maybe it knows me to well. But I read comments and there wasn't much there. It did clearly give me a bias though. We'll see if it holds upon reading.

Heres the entire book being read on Spotify: Catcher in the Rye

Here's a song I think Holden would like: All I've Built - Holden Miller

[ash-and-starlight]

OH my atla rewrite basically starts with zuko n azula running away after zuko gets burned (from protecting azula instead of the agni kai) and smuggling themselves out of the fire nation and settling down in the earth kingdom and ofc that changes the whole timeline bc. yeah. i've only posted three chapters so far, n its definitely still a wip, probably need to reread and find more errors in the chapters so far gsjdieigsk but i have it fully outlined (besides a small amount of canon comp stuff that i need to rewatch the episode for) and it just needs to be typed out. its on ao3 called Missing Heirs https://archiveofourown.org/works/38041732/chapters/95019043

on a different note i will be back with the outline idea i have for the pirate au later today, bc i am keeping a lot of wiggle room for lore n stuff. bc 100% ur au i'm just a silly little guy who liked it too much to act normal about it n rolling with and filling in plot holes and dumb tiny scenes that don't change the bigger picture u've established as canon. also i won't like be posting it till like 1. its done n 2. its got ur approval bc. ur au, u get the last word yes yes.

Ooo sounds so interesting @ everyone asking come get your food!

Also I’ll reply here for all your other asks but please don’t worry about my approval! I’d really prefer that you do whatever you want & go wild with it (honestly the outline you sent me was already so much fun I loved it). writing a fic is already so much work, and I really appreciate that you want to make sure to have my input, but 1) I think it’s unfair to make you stick to my ideas and 2) most of the time I don’t even know what these ideas are fjdhdjsk so YEAHH all is good! Do whatever you want it will be amazing & I can’t wait to see it 💖

[xiaq]

Hi, I have a question re:sex and Christianity. Small background: I still go to church, and I still live with my parents even though I'm not much younger than you, because housing is very very expensive where I live (pretty common here, I would say about 2/3 of my friends live with their parents and we are decently privileged kids)

Anyway. How does one get over purity culture? To be clear, I've never been told in church not to have sex, I've never gotten the gendered lessons that you got. But I am terrified of having sex. My first real, multi-year relationship just ended and while there was hand stuff etc, there was never any p in v sex (lol I feel 12). But I still had insane anxiety about being pregnant despite being on bc. And I think its because I know my parents would be so disappointed if I had sex. And if I was pregnant I could imagine all the gossip. And honestly I think im from a pretty open church, b/c one of our previous ministers kids recently got married at 8 months pregnant and lots of church people were at the wedding and supportive and her parents were there and everything.

I dont even think I particularly like sex, i might be on the ace spectrum, but how do I remove it from all the anxiety that's tied to it so I can even give myself the chance to find out???

(Asking because it seems like you've been pretty open about purity culture/removing yourself from it)

CW for sex talk (again)

How does one get over purity culture?

Oh man. That really is the million-dollar question, huh? Obviously, I can only answer re my personal experiences, and this is something you should talk to a therapist about, but I can tell you how I’ve tackled it with my therapist at least.

Purity culture is, at its core, an ideology that is perpetuated by shame. If you’re indoctrinated into purity culture when you’re a kid, the concepts become baked into the way you construct your identity, your perception of self, and your perception of your sexuality. It’s practically intrinsic, by the time you’re an adult, to feel shame any time you’re reminded you have a body, much less a sexuality.

According to the chapels I sat through every week as a kid, a girl's body could be 3 things: an intentional stumbling block for men, an accidental stumbling block for men, or unnoticeable. Women were to strive for the third option so as to keep their (and their male friends/authority figures) purity intact. After all, if a boy, or even your male teacher, had impure thoughts about you, it was your fault for tempting them (which, holy shit. I still can’t believe that was a thing I bought into for so long. If my 45 yr old grown-ass teacher had impure thoughts because he could see my 12 yr old collarbone, that sure as hell wasn’t my fault. But I digress.) The Only time a woman’s body can be something else, is when she gives it to her husband, at which point she must suddenly flip the switch in her brain that she is now allowed to be a Sexual Being and she must perform Sexual Duties despite living in outright fear of her own body and sexuality for years (decades?) up until this point. Jesus take the wheel.

Purity culture isn’t a thing you can just decide to walk away from if you’ve grown up in it. Because its ideology is insidious and internalized. So first you need to submit to the fact that you’re going to be fucked up about sex. It sounds like you’re there. Second, you need to interrogate what you believe. If you’re leaving religion behind entirely, you’ll approach removing yourself from purity culture differently than if you still identify as a Christian. It sounds like you might be the latter, which meant, for me, separating what’s actually biblical and what’s shitty, contrived, doctrine that I was told is biblical but is actually more political than spiritual. This helps you address the shame issue.

You need to throw away I Kissed Dating Goodbye and Lady in Waiting and all those ridiculous books you read and reread in the hopes of somehow obtaining impossible marriage perfection and look into actual scripture interpreted within its historical context. I could write a book on this, but the TL;DR is that the text of the Bible was written, translated, curated, and changed multiple times over thousands of years by human beings with human biases and, often, personal and/or political agendas. It contradicts itself! Reading it as it is—a flawed historical document—rather than some sort of God-breathed perfect document—is incredibly freeing. When you do, you’ll probably realize that purity culture is bullshit on a spiritual level. Which is a good start, if that matters to you. Because any time you start to feel shame or guilt you can ask yourself: does God actually care if I wear a bikini or touch a dick I’m not married to? Probably not. Wear the bikini. Touch the dick.

The most important therapy session for me was when my therapist asked what I would do if I got to heaven and God was actually the God I’d been raised to fear. What would I do if he condemned me for being bisexual and having premarital sex and becoming educated, for arguing with men, and failing to isolate while menstruating, and wearing mixed fabrics? If Montero had come out at the point, I probably would have said I’d pole dance down to hell. Instead, I said I would spit on heaven’s gates. If a god that cruel and that pointlessly demeaning really exists—a god who would create in me condemned desire—I won't worship him. The good news is, I’m 99% sure he doesn’t exist. At the very least, he isn’t supported by scripture.

Okay. The final thing you need to do is figure out what you actually want, sexually speaking. This bit is probably the hardest. I’m still in the early stages of this myself. You say: “I dont even think I particularly like sex, i might be on the ace spectrum, but how do I remove it from all the anxiety that's tied to it so I can even give myself the chance to find out???” Bro, I wish I had an easy answer for you. For me, whenever I’m feeling anxious about Sex Things, I tell myself: 1. My God does not equate my worth to my sexual habits. 2. My partner does not equate my worth to my sexual habits. 3. I do not equate my worth to my sexual habits. It seems silly, but reminding myself of those three things is massively helpful. If, after I’ve sorted through those, I’m still anxious or uncomfortable, I stop doing the thing. I evaluate. Am I overwhelmed and I need to try again some other time? Do I just not like the thing? Sometimes it’s hard to tell. Sometimes you change your mind. Sometimes you just don’t know. That’s why having a partner who you trust and who’s willing to patiently explore your interests (and respect your disinterests) is so important. Half the battle, for me, was having a partner who told me they’d be ok with no sex at all. Because that took the pressure off me. If the bare minimum they need is nothing, then anything more than that is a bonus! Hooray! This is maybe TMI, but let me tell you. I thought I was asexual* right up until I was able to have moderately non-anxious sex. Never in my life did I think I would initiate a sexual situation but… I do now. It’s a fun thing to do with a person I love and, holy shit. I am furious that I nearly missed out on it.

Finally, re birth control: I don’t know how you can approach that fear in a way that works for you. If you don’t want to ever have penetrative sex, that’s fine! If that’s a point of anxiety you can’t get rid of, then don't push yourself to do it. If you find out you like other sex things, do the other sex things! If you don't like doing any sex things, don't do any sex things! Also, have you considered sleeping with people who can’t get you pregnant? Always an option if it’s an option you want to consider. ;)

Okay. I hope this was even a little bit helpful. Sorry if it’s a little convoluted, I typed it up in bursts during my work breaks.

*This is not at all to say that asexuality can be “fixed." Rather, it’s to say that things like purity culture can drastically confuse your sexuality in general. If you’re asexual, then this process is still important to discover what you like/dislike. Then you can be explicit about those necesities and find a partner who’s a good fit (if you want a partner at all, that is).

[ladydarklord]

In which I talk entirely too much about rereading, magic, and the future, all within the context of the Boosh. A loosely-connected ramble? You betcha.

I love a good review.

There’s a special pleasure that comes with repeat consumption of any good media. If a book really touches me for whatever reason, I’m going to reread it. If a movie or a television show warms my heart, I’m going to rewatch it. It’s comfort food for the soul, an elixir of good feelings that promises me, “Nothing bad is going to surprise you. When this is over you will feel satisfied that it was time well spent.” What’s not to love?

The other reason I like to re-consume media is that I can get something new from it every time. The first time I read a story, I am focused on the plot and the characters presented to me, face value as it were. But on a second, third, fourth read-- who knows? Maybe I’m swept away by the author’s detailed knowledge of art history, or how their words put me in the driver’s seat of a souped-up Ford Granada when I haven’t got the foggiest idea of how to drive a stick shift. Sometimes I’ll watch a TV show again only to notice how much detail they put into set design. It’s a heady mixture of familiar comfort and new discovery that leaves me asking, “How on earth did I miss that the first time?”

And of all the things I love to rewatch, I see this combination most clearly illustrated in The Mighty Boosh.

There’s a paradoxical duality unique to the Boosh. On the one hand, every single moment we’re reminded that this is a Noelian love child, every scene slaved over until it was perfect. As fans we seek out interviews, bloopers, and episode commentary because we want more of these reminders, until we’ve cultivated this extensive behind-the-curtain knowledge-- an understanding that, rather like watching a play onstage, The Mighty Boosh is very much a production put on for our entertainment.

On the other hand, I often feel that Julian and Noel were so successful in their endeavors that Howard and Vince have a life of their own, and are exactly the sort to change the episodes just to be cheeky. (Or to quote a friend, “Boys be sneaking back through time and space to move stuff around and snog in the broom closet when we’re not looking.”) It’s magic, really. It’s why I can watch Party a hundred times and expect every time that maybe this time they’ll keep snogging on the roof instead of falling and chucking each other over for girls. 

It’s magic, and that’s why a film or a fourth series could still work.

Because here’s the thing: I am an advocate for letting things end when the story is over and the time is right. I hate when a show outstays its welcome and taints everything that came before it (this is a whole rant all on its own, honestly).  I think of Will Sharpe who said after the second series of Flowers, “I feel like I've said everything I need to say with these characters and this world.” But that’s the beauty of the Boosh: they didn’t break up, and I’ve never met a soul who thought that The Chokes was the end of the line. Tell me I’m wrong (you can’t).

While we’ve come to terms with the fact that Noel and Julian are not on anyone’s schedule but their own, the conviction remains that they have more to say and that in doing so they would neither ruin what already exists (as happens with so many “comebacks”) nor would they even miss a step in sucking us right back into their world. Give them some time for their shy giggly reacquaintance, and watch them reinhabit Howard and Vince in the present day, probably surprising even themselves with what their characters say and do.

When the boys talked about how they wanted fans to believe that the world they created was real, because it was real to them-- why not take them at their word? If we can acknowledge the magic of the Boosh (and how can you not), it stands to reason that Vince and Howard could just as easily inhabit the ‘20s as they did the Nineties and the Naughties.

In the meantime, catch me watching the episodes over and over again (this time Vince won’t let Eleanor have her way with Howard), enjoying new things every time while savoring the best comfort entertainment I’ve ever found.

[theteapotofdoom]

Rereading something good is always fun because no matter how many times I've already read it, it seems that every time I end up picking on something new that I missed the previous times. Maybe it's just because I'm stupid and cant pick up on all the subtext in one read lol. So maybe it's just me but chapter 14 felt like a season finale of a show to me, like how a few conflicts which had been here since the beginning finally ended like tomura's exhibition contest and stuff and the whole thing about things not being the same and everyone reminiscing on the past and thinking "what now" its interesting! Also I finally picked up that sako and kurogiri seem to be having some problems? Maybe regarding marriage? This makes me think that we'll maybe get to see some black magic angst or a wedding or both ? I'm really excited anyways

Just a reminder of how much I love this fic and you ❤

Thank you so much!!! Your messages are always so sweet and full of details, I love them so much! I'm absolutely going to finish the fic no matter what, but it's the messages and interactions like yours that truly keep the motivation strong! :D

It might sound a little narcissistic, but getting to talk about my ideas and writing process with you all is one of the best feelings in the world! I'm truly sorry that I don't update very regularly, but it makes me super happy to know that there are people out there who are still passionate about this story and love to talk about it!

And yes, you're completely right, it does feel like a season finally of the sort! It's interesting that phrase it like this because I often think about how Something Good (like most fics tbh) is more of a serialised story than a fully-fledged novel. It has a more episodic nature since each chapter has its own little story. So you could probably say that chapter 10 (the kiss) was a first season finale (or mid-season break) and that the latest chapter was another finale! I really like this, I like that the fic has different "seasons" with different themes and relationships being explored.

The whole "what now" theme of the latest chapter was both very fun and very melancholic to write, there was a kind of meta subtext. Things have changed for the characters, but also for me the writer, and probably for most of the readers as well. I often re-read early chapters to check continuity stuff, and it's often a little bittersweet. I was a fully different person when I started this fic XD

As for the Kurogiri/Sako subtext ... I won't say too much because of potential spoilers, but you're definitely on the right track about a lot of things >:D

Thanks again so so so so much for all your kind messages, for you patience and your support! :D