#i will no longer be working on starship iris

[iriscasefiles]

today i finished scripting a first draft of the final episode of starship iris. this means i now have a rough draft of the whole final season.

...i was gonna say something about needing to process my emotions by lying down on my floor for a while but it's night now and probably what i should do is process my emotions by sleeping.

[iffeelscouldkill]

Fic: Growing Things

Fandom: The Strange Case of Starship Iris Wordcount: 100 Summary: How Arkady began growing things. Pre-canon.

I was delighted to recently stumble across the Small Fandoms drabbleathon, which is a drabble fest for small fandoms that runs throughout February!

I asked some friends for prompts and my friend prompted me with "Moist" (thanks XD), which stumped me for a bit until I thought about moist earth and then remembered that I've been meaning to write a fic about Arkady and growing things f o r e v e r.

And so...

---

Moist earth clings to Arkady's fingertips. She looks at it and wonders what the hell she's doing.

The miniature greenhouse sits in a disused storeroom the guards never check. She'd been marvelling at the bright green shoots when the organiser there asked if she'd like to plant something.

The seeds are in the soil now, but Arkady doesn't believe it'll do anything. Plants don't grow just like that. Not here.

It's ten days before she cracks, sneaks back to the storeroom.

There'll be nothing to see.

Except -

Poking through the dents left by Arkady's fingers are tiny, brand-new growing things.

[justgalactic]

hehe season 2 of tscosi gives me an Excuse to relisten to season 1 hehe more found family space criminals

[podcastsaremyjam]

Podcast Recs!

Sometimes it can be difficult to find new fiction podcasts through the jungle of nonfiction ones. I LOVE finding new podcasts through other people’s recommendation’s, so I figured I’d take advantage of tumblr’s “pin a post” feature to pin a list of my favorite podcasts to the top of my page! Be sure to check out the tags on this post too—I try to be pretty consistent with tagging on this account. I’ll keep updating as I find new podcasts!

Fantasy

The Adventure Zone

If you’re into D&D, you’ve probably at least heard of this one, but it’s definitely worth the hype! TAZ was created by the McElroy brothers who, along with their dad Clint, play D&D together. The whole thing is INCREDIBLY hilarious, but each story really gets more complex and interesting as it goes along. The first “season,” TAZ: Balance is my favorite—classic D&D setting following Magnus, Taako, and Merle as they adventure and a larger mystery slowly unfolds. #adventure #dnd #found family

Unseen

A collection of stories set in the same magical universe by the team who created Wolf359. Each episode has been really interesting, and the worldbuilding is really great! #magic #lgbtq+ rep #mental health

The Two Princes

Rupert and Amir are princes of two kindgoms at war who decide to take destiny into their own hands by pursuing the cause of the curse plaguing their kingdoms. To do so, they will have to create an uneasy truce as they forge deeper into the enchanted forest. This podcast is so lovely. The characters growth is just *chef’s kiss* I just found out that seasons 2 & 3 were released exclusively on Spotify, so guess who’s “to listen” list just got longer? #princes #lgbtq+ rep #prophecy #enemies to lovers

Sci-Fi

Girl in Space

Our narrator (who’s name has not been revealed as of the end of season 1) is a young scientist who’s parents have died, leaving her as the sole living inhabitant of the research station Cavatica. Space seems so vast when you only have yourself to talk to...until it isn’t. One of my all time favs—there is so much depth in the story and characters! #space #research #mental health #grief #space station

Directive

Y’all, this one made me cry the first time I listened to it! The story (in season 1) follows Frank as he works as a caretaker watching over the cryogeniclly stored bodies of people on their way to a space colony. It’s such a poginant exploration of the social bonds we take for granted. #space #mental health

Wolf 359

Told through the audio logs of Communications Officer Doug Eiffel , Wolf 359 follows the crew of the Hephaestus as they monitor the star Wolf 359. If I could only recommend 5 podcasts to someone, this one would definitely make the cut. Each of the characters is so well flashed out as the podcast progresses, and the conversations it has about mental illness are handled so well! #space #mental health #space station

Moonbase Theta Out

Ugh, this podcast is so good! The first season follows the researchers and workers on Moonbase Theta as they prepare for base shutdown. However, with political issues threatening the safety of family planetside and those in charge being suspiciously unwilling to provide information on certain topics, our narrator pushes for answers before he goes into cryogenic stasis. Note—the narrator of season one and his husband are sappy and adorable. I love them so muchhhh. #space #politics #lgbtq+ rep #space station

The Orphans

If you love sci-fi, this is the podcast for you! The Orphans tells the story of a universe full of future technologies and humanity continuing to push forward into unknowns. Each season tells a different story arc set in the same universe, interconnecting and building on past seasons. #technology #space #survival

Burst

An adorable anti-capitalist comedy set in space! #space #aliens #lgbtq+ rep #space station

EOS 10

OMG This podcast always makes me laugh so hard! It follows two doctors, a nurse, and a hypochondriac alien patient as they navigate medical appoinments and daily life on the station EOS 10. Shenagains ensue. #space #medical #lgbtq+ rep #aliens #space station

The Strange Case of the Starship Iris

Hooooo boy! Bring on the found family adventures in space we all deserve! Something here about the Each character is just beautifully written, layered in complexities that start to peel away as we get to know them. #aliens #space #found family #lgbtq+ rep

The Bright Sessions

Therapy session recordings of Dr. Bright’s patients. Only, her patients aren’t there for help with anxiety or depression. They’re there because they’re “atypicals,” people with incredible abilities. I love each of the characters in this podcast, and learning more and more as the plot unfolds!

Horror/Supernatural

The Magnus Archives

I don’t normally listen to horror, but I started listening in the middle of the pandemic and HOO BOY. It did not disappoint! The story follows Jonathan Sims working in the archives at the Magnus Institute, an institute dedicated to gathering information about strange and unusual occurances. Each episode is Jon recording himself reading statements people have given in order to better organize the Archives. Starts off a little slow in terms of Jon’s interaction with other characters, but that aspect starts picking up halfway through season 1. #horror #supernatural #lgbtq+ rep

King Falls AM

Though not as terrifying as the other shows in this section, King Falls AM can definitely be unsettling. The show follows Sammy Stevens and Ben Arnold as they host a late night radio show in the not-so-sleepy town of King Falls. Though newcomer Sammy is skeptical of the town’s reputation for supernatural events, there is definitely more to the town and its inhabitants than meets the eye. #supernatural #mental health #lgbtq+ rep

Welcome to Nightvale

My first ever podcast! You’ve probably already decided if Nightvale is your cup of tea if you’re on my blog, but basically WtNV is a radio show covering events that happen in a town where glowing clouds rain dead animals, a country of tiny people exosts under a bowling lane, and librarians will must not escape the library. Vaguely creepy and definitely weird! #supernatural #lgbtq+ rep

Other

Levar Burton Reads

If you love short stories, definitely check this one out! As the title suggests, the immensely talented Levar Burton selects a different short story for each episode and reads it. His selections span lots of genres, and he’s read stories from some of my favorite authors like Neil Gaiman and Nnedi Okorafor!

Me & AU

This podcast is sooooo cute! It follows Kate as she hyperfocuses on a new show called Selkirk and becomes friends with a fellow Selkirk fan named Ella.

Under Pressure

Follows a doctor of literature aboard a deep sea research station three miles underwater.

36 Questions

A musical three part mini-series about the relationship fallout between a husband and wife after the husband discovers that his wife isn’t who she says she is.

[browncoatparadox]

That’s the Highway That’s the Best

The Murderbot discord talked about a modern road trip AU for MB & ART and I ended up writing 1.7k when I was supposed to be doing homework. Title from “Route 66″ because why not.

I’m travelling across the desert in my van and I am completely and utterly bored. The radio cut out a couple miles back, and I’ve listened to every CD in here with Iris about a thousand times. I would look over some of the data I’ve collected, but I need to keep my eyes on the road even though there’s no one else around. The only thing that adds any variety is the occasional interesting rock formation, which doesn’t really catch my attention. I’m not a geologist, and even if I was stopping to study these would only make this trip take even longer. I sigh as I adjust my mirrors for something, anything to do, and see another figure by the road. This one’s closer, almost on the pavement itself. I idly wonder how long it’s been there. Was the road built next to it, or was it deposited later? It takes me an embarrassingly long time (about five seconds) for me to realize that the rock is moving. Specifically, it’s holding out a thumb and waving with its other arm. A hitchhiker, out in the middle of the desert, absolutely covered in dust, wearing a battered backpack and an irritated expression.

I pull up. This person doesn’t look like much of a threat, and even if they are I can take care of myself. That’s why my parents let me do the four-day drive back to the University on my own. Well, that and the fact that they were busy with some of their… “extracurricular” activities. I roll down the window, taking in the figure before me.

“I need to get to RaviHyral,” the person says, and- holy shit. Upon closer inspection they’re tiny. I know I’m big, but this kid looks like they weigh less than a helium balloon. They’ve clearly been out here for a while, drenched in sweat and sand. There’s a bandage wrapped around their leg, and their long hair drapes over their eyes. In short, they look like someone’s who’s had a rough time lately. They look me over skeptically, glancing each way as if they’re checking for someone else. I’d know better than anyone that, at least in the direction I’m coming from, I’m all they’ve got if they want to get out of the sun.

“Hop in,” I say, unlocking the passenger door. The kid slinks in, hugging their backpack close as they buckle their seatbelt. I reach into the back and rummage for a water bottle. When I turn my focus back, the kid’s hunched against the door. They shake their head when I offer them the bottle, pulling a canteen out of their bag. I shrug and turn the engine back on, sighing as I feel the air conditioning kick in. The kid exhales a bit as well (and I should probably call them something else, but there’s no way they’re older than me and it’s not like I know anything about them). The van starts moving back down the road, and I look over at my passenger.

The kid puts on headphones and starts listening to… something. If I really focus, I can make out music, something melodramatic, and people talking over it. I’m concentrating so hard on trying to make out the words that I don’t realize I’m leaning towards the kid until the kid shoves me. The kid glares. I glare back. The kid shrinks into the seat. Fuck. I didn’t mean to do that.

“What are you listening to?” There, hopefully that will clarify my curiosity. And make it so that I’m not just sitting in silence again, but this time with a mystery right next to me.

The kid says, “Episode 373 of The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon. The colony supervisor…”  The kid’s voice trails off. “It’s kind of complicated. If you want to listen, I could put on a new show? Then we could start from the beginning?”

I nod enthusiastically, rummaging through the compartment in front of me for an aux cord. If the kid doesn’t want to talk, then at least I’ll have something new to listen to. I hand it to the kid, who plugs it into their battered iPod and presses play for something labelled as Worldhoppers. A bombastic horn flourish plays out, and I notice the kid start to relax as the characters begin to talk. It quickly becomes less of a concern to me, though, because apparently the kid has fantastic taste in media. The kid smiles a little when I look at them after the credits roll. “Next episode?”

We listen to four episodes of Worldhoppers in between where I picked up the kid and the nearest gas station. I pull over, enjoying the chance to stretch my legs. The kid sits on the hood of the car, legs kicking, as I go to refill the tank. “So, what are you doing in fuck-knows-where, ART?”

“Art?” I ask. I have no idea where that could have possibly come from.

The kid shrugs. “Short for Asshole Road Tripper. You didn’t give me your name.”

I wince a bit. In my defense, I’m not used to introducing myself to people. Most of the people I hang out with have known me since I was adopted, and those that don’t have talked to Iris first. Anyways, it’s not like they’ve given me their name either. “ART works. Just don’t talk about me with binary pronouns- it/its preferably, but if you’re uncomfortable with that they/them is fine.”

The kid startles a little bit, opens their mouth like they’re going to ask a question, and then shuts it again. I’m hoping that means that they aren’t going to start anything with me over my gender. Good. I’d hate to kick out the kid in the middle of the desert, even if they didn’t have what was quickly turning into my favorite show. I give the kid five dollars to get something to eat while I wait by the van. If they want to ditch me, they can. Even with the shelter of the gas station, they’re miles from RaviHyral and night’s coming. I doubt the kid’s going to want to be out when it starts to get cold, especially with the shorts that they’ve been wearing.

The kid comes back. I pretend not to notice them pocketing the change. They scramble into their seat as I close the fuel tank. By the time I settle into place, the intro to Worldhoppers is already playing. I turn the ignition, patting the wheel as my van rumbles to life, and head back onto the road.

The sun sets. I roll down my window and look out at the sky, even though the air has become frigid. I love the stars out here. They’re the best thing about the desert, so close that I can almost touch them. The kid looks out too, eyes widening as they take in the Milky Way splayed above us. It almost feels like flying through space, like my van is a starship travelling between worlds instead of a beat-up camper travelling to a nowhere mining town.

We ran out of episodes an hour ago. The kid had put the finale episode back on after we finished it (which I, for one, greatly appreciated, considering the sheer amount of chaos in that episode), but now we’re just sitting together in silence.

“How’d you end up out here?” I’ve been thinking about this in between Worldhoppers episodes, and while I have a hypothesis of my own I want to know what the kid’s going to say.  

They hesitate for a moment. “The last car I was in broke down. I ended up going ahead while the driver waited for a tow truck.”

I look at the kid. “I meant before that.”

They grimace. I think about the news alert that was on the radio right before the signal began to deteriorate, about a group of scientists who had found traces of radioactive waste during their biological survey, and a local teen who had helped them find evidence linking the materials to the GreyCris Mining Corporation. About how said local teen had disappeared after being checked out from the hospital, having been shot by GreyCris’s guards.  

The kid sighs, and explains the story. It lines up with what I know. I notice that they don’t mention the injury on their leg, but decide not to push it now. I’ve got a full medical kit in the back that I can use to fix it up when we stop for the night. 

I’m really not liking the situation. I didn’t like it earlier, when I just thought they might be a kid travelling alone through the desert. I ignore the part of me that points out that I’m technically also a kid travelling alone through the desert. My family knows, if not specifically where I am, my general itinerary, and they know that I can look out for myself. Plus, I’ve got a van. This kid has no one, and it sounds like they may be in the kind of trouble that my family can help with. If they need a new identity, a place where they can hide from GreyCris, I can help with that.

I don’t want to press them, but I’m this close to passing by RaviHyral and taking them back to the University with me.

“What do you need to do in RaviHyral?” I ask. I’m not planning on leaving them there alone. If they’re just headed to the nearest town, I can take them somewhere safer.

The kid looks at me, really looks, their eyes taking in everything about me and tallying it all up in their head. They make some sort of mental calculation, nod to themselves, and take a shaky breath.

“I need to find one of my old foster homes,” they say quietly. “I need to figure out what happened to me there.”

My brain runs through all of the possible meanings of that statement. This kid isn’t trying to hide their identity. They’re trying to find it.

Fuck it. My family won’t be too upset if I show up a few days late.

[solarwindswriting]

Oh, The Places You’ll Go

Chapter 6

First Chapter / Previous Chapter / Next Chapter

Loosely inspired by the song Greek Tragedy by the Wombats

Pairing: Scotty x FemalePresenting!Reader

Word Count: 1802

Summary: Y/n and Scotty get to know each other better over a late night cup of tea.

Warnings: none that I can think of

A/N: I mentioned it in a separate post, but something came up recently that has taken my will to write fluff like this right out of me. So sorry, but since this is the last prewritten part I have, I’m going to take a bit of a break. Thank you guys for understanding!

Tags: @mournthewicked @damalseer​

Scotty had finished his prep for the away mission after his break with Y/n, Sara, and Keenser. That was the first time in about 10 years since he’s danced, let alone with someone else. It took him twice as long to finish preparing as he got lost in his thoughts. How Y/n’s hands held so tight to his, or how her hips swayed to the music, or how laughter fell from her lips like the song of fairies on the Scottish hillside. Scotty shook his head as he walked into the mess hall. Grabbing a tray, he looked around the room to see who was there. He saw Y/n sitting with a group of the younger crew, he’d hate to be the oldest one sitting there. He finally saw Spock and Bones eating at a table in the corner. On his way, he hears Y/n say something rather enthusiastically.

“Fine! Yes, I like Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott in an unprofessional way.” she laughs.

He makes eye contact with Sara who was facing him, Y/n soon turning to see him as well. Y/n jumps up and leaves before he can say anything. Sara follows her soon after stopping in front of him.

Sara’s mouth opens and closes a couple of times, trying to find the right words. “If what I saw earlier is true, you need to tell her.”

His brow still stitched together, he sits with Bones and Spock.

“Oh, good. Someone who can settle this debate...” Bones starts.

Scotty mindlessly eats his food as the two commanders continue to debate about whether a certain civilization is ready for the first contact or not. He finishes his food about 30 minutes later, getting up to leave.

“Woah, Scotty, you’re not even going to add a story about your grandmother?” Bones asks.

“Ah, not tonight, gotta prepare for tomorrow,” he lies, leaving the mess hall without another word.

Scotty goes to deck 5 to go to bed. But before he realized it, he’s knocking on someone's door.

***

Y/n opens the door, shocked to see Scotty standing there, bright red cheeks and all.

“Um, can I help you?” Y/n squeaks out, pulling the robe tightly around her body.

“Ay, lassie, can I come in?” He asks with a slight cough coming up.

“It’s sort of late, shouldn’t you be in bed?” She starts. “We have a pretty big mission tomorrow, after all.”

“ I couldn’t help but overhear what you said in the mess hall and thought I ought to come to talk to you,” Scotty almost whispers, looking at the ground.

“No need. I know you don’t feel that same. I’m fine with leaving it at that. Have a goodnight, Lieutenant Commander.” Y/n steps back to close the door, when Scotty sticks out his foot, preventing it from doing so.

“Lassie, will you just listen for just a minute?” He looks at her in the eyes finally.

She steps to the side, lifting her arm, motioning for him to come in. He looks around her personal quarters. Shelves littered with nick nacks from all over the galaxy, and books with worn spines in languages he couldn’t recognize.

“Can I get you anything? Tea? A beer?” She asks, walking to her replicator.

“Tea sounds nice,” he mutters, looking around still.

On the wall hung four certificates; two bachelors in biology and physics, certification in the handling of hazardous material, and training for command of a ship. He walks up to the mall table with two chairs and takes a seat. On the table sat a bowl of fruit and a framed photo of younger-looking y/n, and Sara, an older woman that looks shockingly like Y/n except with completely black iris’, and a dog at what looks like a fair.

Y/n sets a mug in front of Scotty, and peers at the photo. Scotty notices how her hand shakes as she sets down the mug.

“That was from my first year in the academy, back when I thought I was going to be a captain of my very own starship,” Y/n hums to herself, shaking her head side to side softly, taking a seat across from Scotty. “So, go ahead, you have a minute.”

“You have a dog?” Scotty procrastinates the topic as long as he can.

“Yeah, he belongs to my mom. Full bred German Shepard. Why she insisted he be full-bred, I’ll never know. He’s the dumbest creature in all the galaxy though.” She pauses before continuing, “You’re deflecting.”

Scotty takes a deep breath and sips from his mug before starting. “Now, lassie, I’ve been doing this job a very long time. And I threw myself even deeper into it once I thought I’d never find someone to spend my spare time with. I even tried a few times, getting out there and doing the whole dating thing. With this line of work though, there were times when I simply couldn’t be there like I should have been and I hurt those I care deeply about. But I’ve got to be honest with ye, I canne stop thinking about you. And I truly thought myself selfish. You’re so much younger than me, you see. I assumed you’d never think the same of me, some old man who works in engineering. But then we started to have tea most evenings, and I let myself lean into getting to know you, which just made things worse for me.” Scotty chuckles, sipping from the mug, looking anywhere but Y/n.

Y/n noted how his words became thicker with his accent the longer we went on and how he said that all in seemingly one breath. She didn’t know how to respond, that was the last thing she had expected him to say. So she stayed silent, sipping from her mug, waiting to see if he had anything left to say.

“Wait, you were training to become a captain? Well, that explains the odd Starfleet insignia you wear.” Scotty chuckles looking at the woman he was pretending he didn’t just admit his feelings to.

Y/n looks at him confused, shaken by his sudden shift in demeanor and topic.

“I um, yes. But I don’t see how that pertains to what we’re talking about,” she looks at him, head tilting and eyebrows stitching together.

Y/n, quite frankly, didn’t know what to say. She just looks at him for a good long while.

“Should I go, lassie?” Scotty starts to stand up.

Y/n stands, letting go of her death grip on her robe, and grabs his hand.

“You’re much better with words than I am, Montgomery. And I think you think I’m much younger than I am,” her words come out rushed, almost as quickly as her heart is beating.

“How old are you?” Not until now does he realize he never found out her age.

“I’m 29,” she chuckles.

“Really? I wouldn’t have guessed a day over 24,” Scotty speaks, almost shocked.

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Y/n chuckles out before looking up at him with hope filled eyes. “Does that mean you’ll stay and finish your tea?”

Scotty smiles and sits back down, “I’ll stay as long as you’d like, Y/n.”

“I think that unwise, Lieutenant Commander. We do still have a mission to attend to tomorrow.” She chuckles out, sitting back down, herself.

Only now did Scotty notice her robe had fallen open to reveal a strawberry speckled nightie. Shifting slightly in his seat, he averts his gaze, sipping from his cup, and notices something interesting in the photo.

“Oh! I’m sorry, should I go change?” Y/n asks, slightly uncomfortably.

“No, no, it’s fine, lass.” He hums, reaching for the photo to take a closer look.

He squints at the ruby ring on Y/n’s left hand in the photo.

“Were you once married, Y/n?” Scotty asks inquiringly.

Y/n chokes on her tea, coughing to catch her breath. That’s not a question someone had asked her in a long time.

“Um, almost,” she coughs, still clearing out her throat.

“What happened?” He looks to his right, so he can make eye contact with her.

“She, um, wasn’t a very good person and I wasn’t doing great when I was with her. Took me almost getting married and dozens of people telling us we were too young to finally realize it though.” Y/n sighs, finishing her tea and placing the mug in the little sink.

“Ah, I see,” Scotty responds, setting the picture down. “Sorry, for asking.”

“No, it’s fine. I should expect people to ask when I have a photo of me wearing an engagement ring for everyone to see.” She says, sitting down on the edge of her bed.

Scotty stands up with his mug, walking to one of the shelves filled with books, and scans the spines. He likes to think of himself as a reader, but he never reads things in different languages. He barely knew other earth languages, not to mention any alien ones. Sure, he picked up a few phrases, but that was it. He notices how many series of books there were among the singles. He reaches for a thin book that was in English as he sips his tea. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin. He looks over his shoulder as Y/n, eyebrow raised. Y/n was now leaned up against the wall her bed was propped against, legs crossed, robe discarded, and blanket on her lap.

“Isn’t this book for young girls and hopeless romantics?” Scotty questions, sliding the book back into its place on the shelf.

“Until a few moments ago, you thought I was both,” she chuckles.

Scotty finished his tea, placing the mug into the sink like Y/n had done just a minute before.

“I should probably leave. We have a big day tomorrow lassie.” Scotty turns to Y/n.

Y/n stands and follows Scotty to the door. He turns around before opening the door and sees she didn’t put her robe back on. He willed himself to look at only her face. She leaned in, placing her hands on his shoulder, and kiss’ him on the cheek. Before she can pull away, he gently places his hand on her lower back, pulling her in for a kiss on the lips.

Time seems to stop for only a moment. The only thing in the galaxy that mattered to him was her in this moment. Y/n, with her soft lips, her silky nighty, and her soft grip on his shoulders. The moment ended just as quickly as it had started.

“Goodnight, lassie,” He smiles, still holding her close.

“Goodnight, Monty,” Y/n breaths out before stepping away from him.

I made a Spotify playlist to go along with the story since I use music a good bit. There will be music from unpublished chapters though. So listen at your own risk.

[omniversalobservations]

Supergirl (December 2019)

Holy crimson skies of death! Part One of the Arrow-verse crossover “Crisis on Infinite Earths” destroyed Earth-38 and sent Stephen Amell’s Oliver Queen to an early grave after he stayed behind to avert the anti-matter wave from killing billions more people. Even The Monitor didn’t foresee it happening! While all the superheroes assembled to try and prevent Earth-38’s destruction, the episode still managed to include quite a few familiar faces from across the DC multiverse. Here are all the cameos from the Supergirl portion of “Crisis,” so let’s get to it.

Alexander Knox Sees Red Skies On Earth-89 Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman was confirmed in “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” even if the moment was short-lived. Robert Wuhl’s Alexander Knox, a Gotham Globe reporter, appeared in a brief scene at the beginning of the episode. In the scene, Alexander is seen reading the Gotham City Gazette with the headline “Batman Captures Joker!” As soon as the red skies emerge, Alexander notices the Bat signal. “I hope you’re watching, Big Guy,” says Alexander. Unfortunately, even if Batman was around to see the red skies, it was already too late and Earth-89’s fate was sealed.

Dick Grayson Walks Ace On Earth-66 While Burt Ward had already been confirmed to appear in “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” it wasn’t expected for his cameo to be nestled in the opening montage of Part One. The scene in question detailed the multiverse’s birth (and upcoming death) while flashing to different Earths across the multiverse.

One of the Earths was Earth-66, which showed Burt Ward’s Dick Grayson from the 1966 Batman TV series walking Ace, the beloved Bat-hound. Ward played Batman’s trusty sidekick, Dick Grayson/Robin, in the Batman series. Ward’s version of Dick is clearly no longer the Boy Wonder, but it was good to see him again before Earth-66’s unfortunate demise.

DC Universe’s Titans Appear On Earth-9 Arrow-verse executive producer Marc Guggenheim tried his best to bring together a plethora of characters from across DC’s shows and movies, and even asked Nicolas Cage to appear! Even though fans knew to expect the unexpected when it came to cameos, it was still surprising to see Jason Todd’s Robin (Walter Curran) and Hawk (Alan Ritchson) from DC Universe's Titans, which just wrapped its second season and finally transformed Dick Grayson into Nightwing. It was only a quick shot of the two of them, but it does confirm that the Titans exist somewhere in the DC multiverse. Too bad Alan Ritchson couldn’t return as Smallville’s Aquaman, though!

Earth-X’s The Ray Makes A Comeback! The crossover “Crisis on Earth-X,” which saw Nazis crash Barry Allen and Iris West’s wedding on Earth-1, introduced a freedom fighter named The Ray. Originally from Earth-1, The Ray helped the Arrow-verse heroes defeat Earth-X’s Nazis. He’s briefly seen flying across the skies, presumably while protecting his earth from those who wish to destroy it. However, the cameo is brief as he and Earth-X vanish in the anti-matter wave.

Source: Cinema Blend

The baton has officially been passed.

In hour 1 of the CW’s “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover, which aired on Supergirl Sunday night, Oliver Queen/Green Arrow (Stephen Amell) and his daughter Mia (Katherine McNamara) joined the rest of the Arrowverse’s heroes on Earth-38 to fight the Anti-Monitor’s shadow army. Before wading into battle, though, Oliver gifted Mia her very own Green Arrow super-suit.

Katherine McNamara opened up about how much this exchange meant to be both Mia and her personally when she dropped by EW’s after-show Crisis Aftermath, which was hosted by Kevin Smith and aired on the CW following Supergirl.

“That was one of my favorite moments to shoot definitely just because Stephen and I have spent most of the season together and getting to watch him work and being a part of this story and this being my first crossover,” said McNamara. “That was such a big moment for both characters and I think we both felt that.”

Shortly after this, though, Oliver is mortally injured battling the shadow army, and the Monitor returns him to the Team Arrow bunker, where he dies surrounded by Mia, the Flash (Grant Gustin), Sara (Caity Lotz), and the other heroes. McNamara felt a very weird mix of emotions when they shot that scene.

“That was a historic moment in many ways for me personally. It was my first day on set with everyone in the suits. It was my first day wearing my suit on set, so I was so excited,” she said. “Then I get to set and I realize, ‘Oh I have to cry over my dying father. Let me reframe my entire headspace.'” She continued, “It was so wonderful, and Stephen killed it. Everybody really came together because Stephen, in a sense, was the beginning of this entire universe.”

With Oliver’s death, the Green Arrow mantle is now firmly in Mia’s hands. But, as Smith wonders, does Mia actually want this responsibility?

“That’s been the toughest kind of struggle for Mia throughout her entire process of being involved in this,” said McNamara, who will be the new Green Arrow if The CW orders the in-development spin-off Green Arrow and the Canaries, which will have a backdoor pilot in Arrow‘s final season. “She was raised in a world in which vigilantes were villainized and she’s come full circle with that having met her father and kind of gotten a look into the difficult choices he’s had to make. Now, she’s been through and worked through all of these issues and has a wonderful relationship with her father. She doesn’t want the responsibility because she doesn’t want to lose him. She knows she can take it on. She knows she’s ready for it. But she’s finally filled the one missing piece of her life and doesn’t want to lose that. That’s kind of the tragedy. Yes, there always needs to be one Green Arrow, but there’s only one Green Arrow. So she knows that’s coming to an end and it’s difficult.”

Crossover executive producer Marc Guggenheim added that legacy is a big theme in “Crisis on Infinite Earths.” “It’s not just the passing of the torch from Oliver to Mia,” he said. “There’s a lot of passing the torch and keeping the flame alive.”

Guggenheim also revealed a very intriguing detail about the Arrow hour of the crossover, which doesn’t air until January. “We open with the mother of all flashbacks and we basically do the secret origin of the Monitor and the Anti-Monitor,” said Guggenheim. “Actually that whole sequence, the first draft, was written by [Crisis on Infinite Earths comic writer] Marv Wolfman.” He added, “We give you an explanation for the [Monitor’s] outfit.”

Source: Entertainment Weekly

The Arrowverse's biggest crossover ever takes place over all five superhero series on The CW, starting with Supergirl. Crisis has been building since last year's Elseworlds crossover, which introduced the cosmic being known as The Monitor (LaMonica Garrett), who began 'testing' the many worlds of the Multiverse to see if they were strong enough to survive the cataclysm to come. Crisis has accelerated throughout the current seasons of Supergirl, The Flash, Batwoman, and Arrow but now the end is here.

With the anti-matter wave sent by Crisis' big bad, the Anti-Monitor, threatening the Multiverse, Harbinger (Audrey Anderson) gathered Green Arrow (Stephen Amell), Mia Smoak (Katherine McNamara), Superman (Tyler Hoechlin), Lois Lane (Elizabeth Tulloch), Sara Lance (Caity Lotz), Ray Palmer (Brandon Routh), Batwoman (Ruby Rose), and The Flash (Grant Gustin) to Earth-38, the home of Supergirl (Melissa Benoist). The heroes had to defend Kara Zor-El's world from the anti-matter wave using a Quantum Tower constructed by the Monitor and repel an attack by a horde of Shadow Demons. However, despite their best efforts to evacuate the planet with the help of Lena Luthor (Katie McGrath), they couldn't save Supergirl's world.

Crisis Part 1 delivered on the promise that the crossover's stakes are life and death on a Multiversal scale. Literally billions died in the first chapter of the epic and this, shockingly, included one of the Arrowverse's founders and greatest heroes. Here's the body count of Crisis Part 1, which is just the start of the cataclysm that will reshape the Arrowverse:

* Alura (Erica Durance), the mother of Supergirl. Alura was introduced in Supergirl season 1, when she was played by Laura Benanti but Smallville's Erica Durance took over the role in season 3. Helped Superman and Lois launch their infant son Jonathan on a rocket before the antimatter wave struck, in a moment poignantly echoing Kal-El's origin story, so Jon Kent survived, though he landed in Earth-16's Star City in the year 2046 and had to be saved by Lois, Brainiac (Jesse Rath), and Sara Lance. Of course, Durance will return as Smallville's version of Lois Lane later in Crisis.

* Everyone on Argo City, the last surviving city of Krypton. Unfortunately, Argo had no starships to evacuate besides the spacecraft Alura saved for baby Jon so the people of Argo were all wiped out by the antimatter wave. Luckily, Harbinger teleported Superman and Lois to Earth-38 at the last minute.

* Earth-38 was destroyed, including 3-billion people who couldn't evacuate the planet in time. Despite the superheroes' efforts to defend the planet, they couldn't stop the antimatter wave from wiping out Supergirl's adopted world. While a wave of spaceships supplied by Brainiac and many of the aliens who took refuge on the planet was able to evacuate 4-billion lives to Earth-1 (thanks to a dimensional portal built by Lena Luthor), they couldn't save everyone. The Monitor said 7.53-billion people lived on Earth-38 so over 3 1/2-billion people died when the planet was destroyed.

* Green Arrow (Oliver Queen) gave up his life to help the evacuation of Earth-38 after the Monitor had teleported the rest of the superheroes to Earth-1. Out of arrows, Green Arrow took on the army of Shadow Demons by himself and was fatally injured before the Monitor rescued him. Oliver had long expected to die during Crisis and he spent all of Arrow season 8 preparing for the inevitable. On his deathbed, Oliver confessed to Barry Allen and Kara Danvers that he made a deal with the Monitor to spare their lives in exchange for his during Crisis - but the Monitor revealed that this wasn't the death he foresaw for Oliver, which casts serious doubt on how the Arrowverse's heroes can defend the Multiverse in Crisis On Infinite Earths.

Source: Screen Rant

In the beginning there was only one. A single black infinitude. Then the infinitude found release, and finally, the darkness broke, filling it with life.. With the multi-verse. Every existence multiplied by possibility. And spread out before space and time in infinite measure. Civilizations rose and fell. And rose again across reality's expanse. Life. A precious gift persevering in the face of every obstacle, until finally, the age of heroes was born. Chaos. The constant enemy of life, kept at by champions across the multiverse. Joining forces to fight on behalf of all creation. They found each other just in time because now, the entire multi—verse is about to come under attack. There is a malevolent force at work, one driven by a singular goal. The destruction of all there is. I have planned, there are those who say I have schemed, but the time for preparation has passed.

Source: TVMaze

(images via YouTube)

[jaggedwolf]

Tagged by @walkthegale - thanks!

your name: jaggedwolf is what I go by around these parts. I came up with it because wolves are my favorite animal and jagged seemed like a cool enough modifier.

fandoms you write for: uhhh, right now it’s been mostly The Strange Case of Starship Iris. (can’t stop won’t stop not sure how to stop, I say, as I look at my list of ficlets) Also, Critical Role!

where you post: AO3 for the things that actually get edited. Tumblr for the random ficlets my brain spits out.

most popular one-shot: For most hits and kudos, it’d be  i don't want to be a burden (please don't strain yourself on my behalf), which is a Wynonna Earp fic. Pretty sure the Waverly/Nicole tag is responsible for this, and I’m still divided on having tagged it as such. It’s about Nicole dealing with the consequences of Waverly’s deal with the Iron Witch, but Waverly does not appear at all. (....I might have convinced myself into changing the tag for a freeform one)

most popular multi chapter fic: I’ve never written a multi chapter fic, maybe by the end of the year! Depends on whether I die under a pile of exchanges.

favorite story you’ve written: Okay, don’t laugh, but it might be the Soulmate Goose of Engagement nonsense that is if that red string could bite (Violet/Arkady, TSCOSI). I think it’s funny and more tightly written than anything else I have up there. 

I have a soft spot for No Bold Moves (Violet/Arkady, TSCOSI), because I like having written 15k of fake-dating for undercover reasons, and there are very specific moments in it that I really like, that other people also seemed to like.

story you were nervous to post: Uh, definitely let my mouth taste like carrion, not yours (Sana/Arkady, TSCOSI) because 1. I hadn’t posted anything smutty in namespace before 2. I hadn’t written anything longer than a ficlet for the ship before 3. It was an exchange treat 4. It involved coming up with actual backstory details??

Thankfully exchange timelines meant I was inebriated and not looking at my computer at the time of reveals, so I was saved most of the nerves.

how do you choose titles: mostly riffs off lines from canon (i don’t want to be a burden, adrenaline makes you do stupid things, had some friends back in the day), or random words my brain throws at me (if that red string could bite, to restrain yourself is to already lose)

do you outline: mostly, no, with the exception being that fake dating fic in which I scrawled on three unusable-by-my-mistake large envelopes what would happen in every scene. I still have them lying around.

how many of your stories are complete? all the posted ones are

how many of your stories are in progress?   please don’t talk to me about my WIPs folder, sometimes I read them and hope the author updates soon

coming soon: Gonna sign up for Trick or Treat, so something’ll come of that. Also finally back to working on my torture funtimes CritRole fic now that I’m back in Beau and Jester feels, so crossing my fingers there.

do you accept prompts? Sometimes I reblog those prompt meme things, so at those times, yeah.

upcoming story you’re most excited to write? The aforementioned CritRole fic. I finally have ideas for it again since I’m caught up with the show, I might even be able to work it into the current timeline, who knows?

tagging: idk which of y’all are chill with/want to be tagged for this sort of thing, so knock yourself out with this meme if you so desire :) 

[sanvitheartificer]

Fic author meme!

Tagged by: @charmandhex and @everqueen12; thanks dears!

Your name: Sanvi! 

Fandoms you write for: Mostly the Adventure Zone, a bit for a few others. I get inspired for different fandoms all the time, but being in a fic writer discord has helped me hang on to inspiration long enough to actually do something about it. 

Where you post: Mostly ao3 @ https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanvitheartificer! I used to post on fanfiction.net, but that was Long Ago and probably embarrassing. Tbh even my ao3 is embarrassing, so.. yes. Also I guess tumblr, occasionally? I feel weird posting on tumblr bc i don’t do oneshots often and other stuff is unwieldy to post on tumblr.

Most popular oneshot: I guess it depends on how you count one-shots? “fourteen-thirteen”, which is a Umbrella Academy fic, is unlikely to ever be finished and it’s technically one chapter, but also the story is bigger than one chapter even if it’s not a story I’m going to tell. “endings alone”, also for UA, is in second place, and that’s for sure a one-shot! I got those published right when UA was booming so that’s why, I think. 

Most popular multi-chapter story: deffo ‘how seven idiots stole the light of creation’! A silly TAZ fic set in an ostensibly modren age which is basically just an excuse for me to write mysteries and falling in found family love. It is pretty big in scale!

Favorite story you’ve written: See, I’m torn between seven idiots and Pokemon Balance: Bronze. Bronze is one that is soothing for me, that it even exists, and I’ve done some very cool art for it, and I love my worldbuilding for it. and I’ve been retroactively Nervous about ‘seven idiots’ for months now, for a variety of reasons! but like, i cannot tell you how many nights I’ve spent grinning my face off working on seven idiots and figuring out the plot twists, and it’s the farthest I’ve ever gotten into a story that big. It’s a really cool story and I can’t wait to finish it. 

Story you were nervous to post: Hmm, I think I was nervous to post ‘endings alone’, which involves several different neo-pronouns? but i was also filled with a huge ‘fuck-you-die-mad-about-it’ energy, too. usually i’m Really Hyped when i’m posting things, tbh, overwhelming any nerves. 

Do you outline: Yep! It’s often the first thing I sit down and bang out. I’ve recently started doing a thing where i outline just before i write something, like, outline a scene and then later go back and tie the scenes together, and that’s been working really well! But I think with longer WIPs, that fits into the skeleton that I create with Big Outlines. 

How many of your stories are complete: Um. do u mean ‘abandoned’  ...the real answer is, a solid six, with a few edge cases of ‘i guess you could probably count that as complete’? A lot of those are... hoooo boy. old writing. and none of them are more than one chapter. 

How many of your stories are in progress: Also a complicated answer, as it turns out! On AO3, I definitely plan to finish ‘seven idiots’ and ‘pokemon balance: bronze’, eventually, and I hope to finish the ‘forgiveness in seven parts’ series eventually, which is really just seven different parts of one story.  ‘The Woods’ is ancient and basically drawing mostly from the first season of Young Justice, which is to say it has an audience of Me Only, but I’m still a slut for codependency and poly and my caricatures of those characters and all the reasons I started writing it, so it may possibly get picked back up!  Hoooowever, the only thing I am actively in the process of writing for right now is an unpublished TAZ fic... Coming soon: About Lup and Davenport bonding and Merle and Lucretia bonding during the Stolen Century; working title, ‘father-daughter day!’ It’s very cute, and should clock in about 10k. Progress is slow but steady. 

A oneshot prompt from Charm! 

Evil Overlord Lucretia AU!

Finishing 'seven idiots’ and ‘bronze’ and maybe even ‘forgiveness in seven parts’!

Some other stuff on the backburner: i’d love to do more brainstorming for pen pals au, which was a back-and-forth tumblr thing that i contributed to a bit yyyyesterday I think. Really want to write some fic for The Strange Case of the Starship Iris, the Bromeliad Trilogy by Terry Prachett, possibly Girl In Space, and Fate and the Fablemaidens, though I don’t have any well-formed ideas for them. 

Do you accept prompts: Mmmmm I’m gonna say no not really. it’s hard enough to get myself to write the stuff I wanna write. I... yeah, prompts are not a way my brain can work. 

Upcoming story you’re most excited to write: I’m really fucking excited about all my projects but I am dying to get into Evil Overlord Lucretia; it’s just a super cool story and it has a bomb playlist already and I love it a lot. 

Tagging: @cakeandpi, @simplyaskeleton, @shadow-and-purgatory, if you wanna! <3

[waveridden]

AUcember 2018 Masterpost

AUcember is an annual challenge that I do every year where I try to write a new AU every day in the month of December.

This year’s 31 fics included stories about: The Adventure Zone, ars Paradoxica, Campaign (Skyjacks), Campaign (Star Wars), Critical Role, Greater Boston, NeoScum, Sugar Pine 7, and Wolf 359. You can find individual links to each fic both on Tumblr on Ao3 below, sorted by fandom.

Read the collection on Ao3

Read the collection on Tumblr

#

The Adventure Zone

dal capo, professor au, implied kravitz/taako, 1.9k [tumblr] [ao3]

ars Paradoxica

unless we lift it up together, mateo/nikhil as doctors, 2k [tumblr] [ao3]

Campaign (Skyjacks)

i’ve been stood up by my calling, good omens fusion, 2.1k [tumblr] [ao3]

you’ll always chase a pedigree, magical realism, 1.9k [tumblr] [ao3]

the end of all things, inception fusion, 2k [tumblr] [ao3]

Campaign (Star Wars)

versus the world, campaign/evil campaign roleswap, 2.4k [tumblr] [ao3]

sublime, aava/lyn modern magic, 1.8k [tumblr] [ao3]

too large for any moment, pacific rim fusion, 1.9k [tumblr] [ao3]

dream me, o dreamer, blue/zero as monsters, 1.4k [tumblr] [ao3]

window blues, tryst/aava heist, 2.1k [tumblr] [ao3]

chain reaction, aava/leenik trapped in an elevator, 1.8k [tumblr] [ao3]

in the middle, tryst/aava/leenik animal shelter, 1.7k [tumblr] [ao3]

a treatise on making things, blue/zero as artists, 1.8k [tumblr] [ao3]

eyes closed, eyes low, gen road trip au, 1.9k [tumblr] [ao3]

(write to me and) escape, blue/zero roommates/tinder, 1.9k [tumblr] [ao3]

i’m writing your name on every page, restaurant au, implied tryst/leenik, 1.1k [tumblr] [ao3]

some things you just can’t refuse, white collar fusion, 2k [tumblr] [ao3]

i’ll be there next time, leenik/tryst & blue/zero holiday party, 1.7k [tumblr] [ao3]

Critical Role

seeing blind, beau/yasha blind date, 1.4k [tumblr] [ao3]

Greater Boston

by the light of day, louisa/nica wedding planner, 1.9k [tumblr] [ao3]

NeoScum

longer nights (with lesser feelings), tech/lance as superheroes, 2.5k [tumblr] [ao3]

glued together moments, gen college au, 2.1k [tumblr] [ao3]

apple cider, i don’t mind, dak/tech parent/teacher au, 2.9k [tumblr] [ao3]

going going gone, gen stuck at an airport au, 1.8k [tumblr] [ao3]

fast talk, the strange case of starship iris fusion, 2.3k [tumblr] [ao3]

i want so bad to be steady, dak/tech alice isn’t dead fusion, 1.7k [tumblr] [ao3]

helpless, dak/tech as neighbors, 1.4k [tumblr] [ao3]

the neon limelight, gen band au, 3.5k [tumblr] [ao3]

put your colors on, xanadu as soulmates, 1.5k [tumblr] [ao3]

Sugar Pine 7

car wrecks & thunderstorms bright, parker/cib post-breakup, 2.6k [tumblr] [ao3]

Wolf 359

living on your own time, undercover as married, 3.1k [tumblr] [ao3]

#

If you enjoyed these fics, make sure you send some good vibes and gratitude towards @travismcelrcy, who was my sounding board, my moral support, my cheerleader, my proofreader, and the greatest person in my life. They are a bright light and a brilliant writer, and I am lucky that I get to have that in my life. Thank you, darling. I could never ask for anything better than you.

If you enjoyed any of these fics, I have a ko-fi that you can use to tip me. This is completely optional, but deeply appreciated. If you are not both willing and able to tip me, the next best thing you can do is reblog this post or tell a friend about the fics. That’s deeply appreciated, too.

I’d like to thank everyone who read, reblogged, liked, quoted, commented, bookmarked, kudosed, told a friend, or generally enjoyed anything on this list. It was such a delight to work on this year, and the fact that other people enjoy these fics is icing on the cake. Happy new year, everyone. <3

[bookenders]

11/11/11 Tag Game!

Tagged by @writer-by-the-window​! Thank you thank you! I love doin’ these. Everyone comes up with such good questions! 

Rules: Answer 11 questions, ask 11 questions, tag 11 people.

1. Did you outline your wip or are you writing by the seat of your pants?

Both! Ish. I usually write by the seat of my pants, but I am outlining this time since it’s a longer project. Everything I’m outlining is being written from said pants seat, though! It’s a surprise every time I sit down. Ba-dum-tss.

Who’s your favorite character to write about and why?

In H2H, I like writing about Oz and Harry. But I also like writing from Gemma’s POV, which is good, since nearly the whole story is from her POV. Oz and Harry have such a fun dynamic. He’s a cactus, she’s the cactus wren who makes the cactus habitable... Okay bad metaphor, but you get what I mean, yeah? 

Gemma is a big nerd who gets excited about things and feels pretty strongly, even if she doesn’t care to show it a lot of the time. And her thought process is fun to write, too. She’s very different from other characters I’ve written. She’s super intuitive and perceptive. 

I’m looking forward to writing about Mel, too. I have a lot of info about her that’ll be revealed in the story and my friends, it’s juicy. Like a mango.🍑 (there is no mango emoji how dare)

  What’s your favorite medium for storytelling other than novels(TV, movies, video games, podcasts, etc)?

Ooof. Favorite to create? Interactive storytelling, like with Twine. It is Difficult. I enjoy it. I did one and am working up the courage to do another. Or I’ll go back and fix the one I did. Who knows?

Favorite to consume? Can it be a tie between video games, TV, and movies? Because I just started getting into podcasts after The Adventure Zone, and the only streaming I really watch anymore is Critical Role. I wanna get into Starship Iris though! Looks super cool. 

I’m a huge ho for video games. Especially RPGs. I have played Dragon Age: Origins too many times for it to be considered a hobby at this point. I was a big WoW gamer, too. And Assassin’s Creed. And pretty much anything with a good story.

How long have you been working on your WIP?

Since late October 2018! Not the longest I’ve worked on one project though. My thesis took me a little less than a year. I thought I’d be finished by December. HA.

What are some of your least favorite tropes in fiction?

Rape/non-con for character development. Fridging characters and the ever so popular Disposable Woman. Magical Healing Penis. Romanticizing horrific circumstances and serious & terminal illnesses. Some things Me Before You did. To name a few.

Do you have any writing role models? If so, who are they and why?

My biggie is Laurie. Halse. Anderson. Read Wintergirls when I was a kid. Taught me that people do actually like to read the dark stuff, which is the opposite of what a lot of people told me. She’s a badass who lives in the woods and writes amazing books about difficult subjects that people, especially younger people, need to read about and be aware of. 

AND I’M GOING TO A SIGNING THIS MONTH. I GET TO MEET HER. AHHH.

(Also, if anyone likes Tom Leveen, author of Party, Sick, Mercy Rule, and Random, I can vouch for his extreme coolness. He subbed for my YA Lit professor one time and taught us all about how to handle the business part of becoming an author.)

What do you like the most about your writing?

How emotional I can get with so few words. I’m real good at making readers cry. Hehe.

What are some songs that you have on your writing playlist right now?

My Heart to Heart playlist is right here! And I have individual character playlists that I’ll be posting once I’m “finished” curating them. If I’m ever finished. 

Do you have any characters based off of real people?

I try not to. I think it gets a little weird if I do that. I’ve only recently started letting myself be inspired by people I know. Like Mary is definitely based on one of my aunts, and Harry has some qualities that I stole from my best friend. I gave Mel my love of fanny packs/bum bags if that counts. I love how weird they look and how useful they are! You get made fun of for wearing one to Disneyland on a class trip until you are the Keeper of the Wallets. Then who’s laughing, fools?

How would you describe the aesthetic of your wip?

Warm apple pie, cumulus clouds, walking down the street at sunset holding hands, smoking beakers, one of those electricity balls that look like bottled lightning, kitchen giggles, Saturday morning Scooby Doo marathons, plant sprouts pushing their way out of the dirt, neighborhood block parties, that brain-pokey feeling when you know something isn’t quite right.

Favorite line you’ve written?

From the story I read in front of like 80 people:

Looking at something pretty only makes you feel good for as long as you look at it, for that one tiny slice of life, and then you blink and turn away and it fades, unless you’re lucky and it keeps cropping up behind your eyes when you go to sleep at night.

My questions!

Do you own and fun socks? What are they?

How many notebooks do you have? What do they look like? How full are they?

Grab the book nearest you. Turn to page 70 (or 16 if it’s a tiny book). What is the 8th line on that page? How do you feel about it?

Have you read any short stories? What’s your favorite? 

Have you ever tried knitting? Do you still knit? What about other crafty things? What do you make?

Of the books in your living space right now, which has the coolest cover?

Do you know any camp songs? What did you used to sing in school, or at recess?

What’s your favorite fairy tale? How would you twist it?

Are there any cool local events where you live?

What’s your favorite sea creature? 

Do you like turtles? Why?

Bilbo Taggins: @aslanwrites, @quilloftheclouds, @mvcreates, @drist-n-dither, @carumens, @hannahs-creations, @haileyavril, @nightskywriter, @penzag, @capricious-writes, @mythwords

[grifalinas]

Podcasts I listen to, ranked by how much I like them:

We’re So Bad At Adventuring (the next season was supposed to be released in May, but it’s only June so I’m not too bothered by the delay, except there’s been no word since March and that was just a tweeted reply assuring us that they were working on it, and the last updates across the board for everything else all date back to November, so I’m hoping something comes up soon because I really do want the next season)

The World of Alba Salix (this is actually three different podcasts, Alba Salix, The Axe and Crown, and The End of Time and Other Bothers. Other Bothers is the only one currently updating, and it’s been ages since we’ve heard anything about the new season of Alba Salix and I think Axe and Crown was a one off. In any case all of these take place in the same continuity and are by the same people, so I list them all together.)

The Bridge & Saffron and Peri (Two unrelated podcasts, I just genuinely can’t decide which one I like more. The Bridge is really spooky and creepy and S&P is very silly and hijinks, so tonally speaking they fulfill opposing needs and there’s no reason to pit them against one another except in a ‘what do you like more’ way anyway.)

Misadventures By Death (I like this one, but it’s hard to get through a whole episode in one sitting, and it’s taking forever for the protagonist to grow on me, for all that he’s the most relatable character I’ve ever known. Still, the plot itself has me hooked and the banter between the characters is great.)

The Strange Case of the Starship Iris (This one actually has four new episodes since the last time I caught up, but I can’t remember anything that happens in the previous bits so I mean to binge the whole thing in one go. So I actually have no idea what’s going on in the story at this point, because I can’t bring myself to listen to the whole thing over again.)

We Fix Space Junk (I’m actually predicting this one will soon be much higher on the list, but I only just started it and haven’t even finished the first arc so I’m leaving it down here for the time being. We’ll see what happens.)

Have Spellbook, Will Travel (I hate that this one is so far down on the list because it seems fun and the framing device is entertaining, but I’m taking so long to get through each fifteen minute episode and I still have no idea who all the characters are, so I’m mostly only listening to it to see how the first plotline ends. We’ll see how it fares after that, maybe it just takes a little time to build up steam.)

Rude Alchemy (Okay, this one doesn’t really belong on the list and I’m probably going to drop it soon, because it’s picking up more and more dealbreakers with each season, but I’m actually invested in the Narrator’s plot and I want to see how Carver Cranebottom’s tale ends since we kinda ended in the middle of it first season, so I’m gonna hang onto it for a bit longer at least. I in no way recommend this podcast; we all know how much more lenient I am with iffy content so if something is a dealbreaker for me y’all probably wouldn’t like it much at all. It’s your choice, of course, that’s just my two cents.)

[iffeelscouldkill]

Any day breathing

“Captain Tripathi. You’re alive!”

He presents it as a joke, to mask the very real fear that lies underneath those words. The fear that someday, she won’t come back to him safe and whole.

–

A/N: I wrote another thing :3

To the folks in the Starship Iris Discord: I finished it! This started out as a little ficlet idea that I had a while back: a Sana/Campbell concept based on Campbell’s stock greeting of “Captain Tripathi. You’re alive!” I wrote half of it down (I got sidetracked partway through) and then let it sit in my Starship Iris ideas notes file (god, you do not want to see the length of that thing) for ages.

Then, a conversation in the TSCOSI Discord about Campbell, pining, and Campbell’s probable reaction to the Rumor reports being uploaded to the public net (which I had totally forgotten about asfdfgsgsdgsg) inspired me to pick it back up.

It was meant to be a short, whimsical, feels-filled ficlet about Sana and Campbell’s conversations through the years. It turned into something… much longer than that.

Enjoyyyyy~

–

“Captain Tripathi. You’re alive.”

The first time he says it, the surprise is genuine. It’s hard not to be surprised to hear from this woman again – someone whose name had been only a rumour to him until very recently. He’d heard about her from contacts of contacts, mentioned here and there, always with a reverent tone. She had some kind of revolutionary past, he’d heard: was jailed as a dissenter, or had taken part in an uprising. One version of that story said that she’d led an entire planet in an uprising. He also heard that she’d hijacked a high-level Regime starship – possibly in mid-flight.

Whatever he was expecting when they finally met face-to-face, the slender, wiry woman in the brightly-coloured shalwar kameez with a streak of engine grease near her hairline and elaborate floral tattoos adorning muscular arms is not it. Sana Tripathi walks straight into his base of operations – a network of winding corridors and tucked-away cubbyholes in what’s meant to be a confidential location – flanked by a younger woman with a murderous expression and more visible weapons than he can take in with one glance, and demands two full sets of new identification, impeccable and untraceable, to get the IGR off their tail.

“I heard you were the best,” she tells him, a challenge.

Campbell holds out for a full fifteen minutes, but by the end of it he’s agreed to everything she asks for and feels distinctly like he’s gone ten rounds in the sparring ring they used to blow off steam back in the military, verbally speaking. She agrees to pay half up-front, with the promise of the rest once they safely reach their destination.

It’s an hour-long job, and he doesn’t know where the two of them go to lie low while he’s working, but exactly an hour later the glowering, heavily-armed woman is back to pick up their documentation. He’s a little disappointed that it’s not the Captain who came to collect.

The other woman – who tells him shortly that her name is Patel; the name on the papers he’s made for her is Kay Grisham – pays and leaves. He later hears that the IGR is conducting randomised searches at every checkpoint, detaining anyone whose background doesn’t quite check out neatly enough, or whose personal or ship ID papers look a little too new.

Campbell is completely confident in the quality of his work, but he’s not sure that Tripathi could pass a visual check, if she’s been on an IGR watchlist – and that friend of hers didn’t really seem like the subtle type. After thirty-six hours with no word, he figures the rest of the money is lost, but chalks it up as an interesting story to tell.

Two hours later, he gets a call from an unknown number. After running the standard traces on it (the IGR aren’t as good at disguising themselves as they like to think), he accepts the call.

“Is this Ignatius Campbell?” asks the voice on the other end – brisk, but with the hint of warmth and humour lurking underneath.

“Captain Tripathi,” he says in surprise. “You’re alive.”

“Of course,” the Captain replies blithely. “We delayed our departure slightly in order to catch the shift changeover for the randomised checks. The outgoing agents are always tired and less likely to bother with a full database check, and the incoming agents have never been briefed properly. Then we had to make sure that we weren’t being tailed.”

“Of course,” Campbell echoes. This woman is no amateur, and he realises that he’d managed to underestimate her even after everything that she’d managed by tracking him down, coming to him and persuading him to work with her. He makes a mental note not to do that again.

“So, I assume this call is about payment,” he adds, when Captain Tripathi doesn’t volunteer anything further.

“How very astute of you,” the Captain replies, too good-humoured to be mocking, and then proceeds to brazenly haggle him down a further twenty-five percent.

Campbell doesn’t believe in love at first sight, and he never will. But he does believe that there are people whom, when you meet them, the universe demands you sit up and pay attention to.

–

“Captain Tripathi – you’re alive.”

Even after resolving not to underestimate Sana Tripathi, Campbell is still surprised when he hears from her again. It’s been eight months, and during that time, his best-placed informants hadn’t picked up a single trace of Captain Tripathi or her companion. Not under the names he’d created for them, and not under the names they’d given him when they met.

It’s unheard of for him to be unable to track an alias he’s created (he wouldn’t be able to stay ahead of any potential threats unless he had that advantage), but he knows that the Regime has ways of making people vanish completely. It’s a cold, unpleasant realisation, and he experiences an unusually strong pang of regret considering that he barely knows this woman. But he’s sure that somehow, they must have slipped up and got caught.

So when Captain Tripathi contacts him again like nothing has happened, he realises he might just have to get used to unexpected developments.

He’s somehow not even surprised to hear that since they last spoke, she’s picked up a Dwarnian and some kind of renegade translator who has a history with the mafia. “He’s an academic, so he won’t be seeing any action, but he needs to have papers that will hold up if the ship is inspected while we’re docked,” the Captain explains casually.

“…Naturally,” says Campbell. “And speaking of your ship – I suppose you have a full work-up of papers for that, too? You know they’ve tightened the regs on those a lot recently.”

He tells himself he’s only saying it so that he can squeeze an extra job out of a contact he’s fairly confident will be good for the money. Not because he’s concerned.

“Are you suggesting that my ship’s paperwork is less than completely impeccable?” Captain Tripathi asks him with mock indignation.

Campbell suppresses a smile as he replies, “Given that it was made by someone other than myself, I’m surprised it’s held up this long.”

Their conversation concludes with him agreeing to redo the ship’s paperwork – somehow at a much lower price than he would usually charge for a second-time client.

–

“Captain Tripathi. You’re alive!”

It’s already become a joke between them by this point, the fact that Campbell answers Sana’s calls this way, and he waits in anticipation of the sarcastic response that he knows will follow. They’ve been in relatively regular contact since Campbell started playing middleman for some of their cargo, using his network of contacts to move it on and taking a cut. He’s stopped bothering to deny to himself how much he looks forward to their conversations.

But this time, the voice that comes down the line is not Sana Tripathi’s, but Arkady Patel’s. “It’s First Mate Patel, actually,” she says brusquely, and Campbell sits up slowly. “I know you guys traditionally open with like, twenty minutes of banter, but we don’t have time for that right now. We’re in a bind.”

Campbell has a cast-iron policy of not offering any favours, offering help to contacts, or otherwise sticking his neck out any further than he needs to. He keeps his relationships strictly about business and nothing more. Much like his ability to track an alias, it’s what’s kept him off the IGR’s radar for so long.

There are one or two folks whom he goes way back with – like Theodore “Red” Gregor, who was in his unit and a fellow dishonourable discharge. Campbell helped him set up his business on Elion. There aren’t many who could manage to stay in business while avoiding both the mob and the Regime, but if anyone could, it was Red.

But they’re rare exceptions to a very strict rule. Anyone else is on their own, or had better be prepared to owe him for a long, long time.

Campbell thinks about all this before he says, “What do you need?”

–

Campbell is ashamed of how long it takes him to realise that Sana is a fellow Telemachian. He’s usually good at identifying fellow homeworlders, even ones who have lived elsewhere. Telemachians have this spark, this spirit, a distinctive culture that even the Regime couldn’t stamp out of them.

They’re diverse, sure, and numerous, but you can always spot a fellow Telemachian if you know what to look for. They’re the unruly planet on the edge of a solar system, a little too far away from any established IGR base to monitor closely; a little too big to be brought to heel. There’s a reason that most protest songs originate from Telemachus – and that there’s been periodic unrest every few years since the coup.

They’re making small talk at the end of a call (something Campbell indulges in far more than he should), and Campbell is talking about evading the IGR’s latest clampdown and how hard it’s becoming to operate underground. “It’s enough to make me want to give it all up and become a vegetable farmer somewhere.”

“Wouldn���t you get bored?” Sana asks, playfully but with a hint of curiosity lurking underneath.

“Yeah. Probably.” Campbell’s not sure. Maybe if he had the company of the right person, it wouldn’t be so bad. “Just, all this running in place… it feels so futile.” It comes out sounding more tired than he means it to.

“Well, you know what they say,” says Sana, seriously. “When their foot is on your throat-”

“-any day breathing is a victory,” Campbell finishes. “I didn’t know you were a homeworlder.”

There’s a pause, and he thinks that Sana is weighing up what to say next. She hadn’t meant to give so much away, he realises – for all that he’s got to know a fair bit about the smuggling business that she runs, and the odd detail about life on board the Rumor, Sana is very cautious about revealing anything about her own past, or that of her crew, beyond what is strictly required to do business. Campbell has never minded that – he can respect a person’s boundaries. He doesn’t need to pry into Sana’s past to be sure that she won’t screw him over.

“I’ve moved around a bit,” she says, finally. “I spent a few years off-planet in the late 70s. Since then I’ve been… transient. Well, you knew that.”

Campbell inclines his head, though he knows that Sana can’t see it. He’s still considering what to say when she carries on,

“I don’t go back to the homeworld much these days. Actually, when we first approached you to work with us-” Campbell gives a wry smile at how much of an understatement that is, “-it was the first time that I’d been back to Telemachus in years.”

“It’s still home, though, isn’t it?” he says, thinking of the time that he’d spent in deployment; the years that he was on the run, unable to get word to his sister or his nephews. “After everything.”

“Yeah, it is.”

–

Campbell doesn’t really think twice the first time he invites the crew of the Rumor to have dinner with him.

It’s late in the evening, and the crew has just touched down on Telemachus a full twelve hours later than they’d originally planned. First there’d been some unprecedented solar flare activity en route, forcing them to take a detour, and then they’d been boarded by Regime agents in a “random” check on entry to Telemachus. Krejjh had been quickly hidden away in one of the ship’s many nooks and crannies, and the paperwork had all checked out (of course), but the agents had been both suspicious and thorough. All in all, the crew is obviously exhausted and a little fractious by the time Campbell meets them to pick up the cargo. Sana is doing her best to keep things businesslike, but she wilts visibly and rubs her hand over her eyes when she thinks he isn’t looking.

“Hey. Listen, we can go over all this tomorrow,” Campbell says, as gently as he can. “You guys’ve had a rough journey – what d’you say we grab a bite to eat instead?”

Arkady’s frown deepens, of course – it’s her job to be suspicious, and Campbell doesn’t take it personally. More to the point, he knows that it’s just her way of trying to look out for the crew. Arkady Patel is a lot more caring than she tries to let on. She might show it with jibes in the background of calls, or with threats and occasional bodily harm in the direction of anyone who threatens her friends’ safety, but she shows it.

For her part, Sana looks extremely relieved at the idea of being able to put business off until the morning.

“That’s really kind of you, Campbell,” she says. “It’d be great to take a bit of a breather, but we don’t want to impose…”

“It’s no imposition,” says Campbell, shrugging. “I was planning to go out to eat tonight anyway – I’ve been cooped up indoors too much lately. There’s a great hole-in-the-wall two blocks away from here – it doesn’t look like much, but the food is something else. Krejjh can come, too – they get all kinds in there.”

Sana tells him they’ll consult Brian and Krejjh before coming to a decision, but Campbell has a feeling that the answer will be yes, despite Arkady’s clear misgivings. Sure enough, Sana is back minutes later with a mild-mannered translator and an excitable Dwarnian (disguised with a large pair of novelty sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat) in tow.

Over the months – almost a year, now – that Campbell has been doing business with the Rumor crew, he has a sense of how they work together as a group: Krejjh piloting the ship and executing daring last-minute escapes; Brian joking and mediating and cooking slightly disastrous food; Arkady watching Sana’s back and intimidating obstacles into submission; and Sana alternately leading and mothering, driving ruthless bargains for the benefit of her crew.

But it doesn’t compare to the experience of eating at the same table, drinking the Rumor’s lethal home-brewed moonshine, listening to outrageous tales and laughing until his sides hurt.

The next day, Campbell is unsurprised when he doesn’t hear a word from the Rumor crew until nearly two o’clock in the afternoon. He himself only crawled out of bed at noon, and has since been avoiding light sources and slowly regaining his humanity over strong black coffee.

“Incoming call from Sana Tripathi.”

“Captain Tripathi,” Campbell says as he answers his comm. “You’re alive?”

“The jury’s definitely still out on that one,” Sana replies, her voice low and rough. Campbell chuckles, and then hopes the sound wasn’t too loud. “We’re at various stages of recuperation, but at a minimum, Arkady and I will be able to meet you with the cargo at our rendezvous point by three.”

“Make it four,” Campbell says, in deference to how utterly wrung-out she sounds. To cover this up, he adds, “I only joined the land of the living about half an hour ago myself. I’m going to need at least three more cups of coffee before I’m functional.”

“Four it is,” says Sana, businesslike, but with a clear undertone of relief. “We’ll see you there.”

“See you both soon. And, Sana –”

Campbell stops, wondering if he’s overstepping. Last night had been so easy, so fun – by the end of it, the Rumor crew felt like old friends. But it’s harder to recapture that feeling in the light of day, sober. What can he say – ‘Thanks for a great night’? ‘We should do this again sometime’?

(‘You have a beautiful laugh’?)

He clears his throat. “Don’t let Brian forget about that drink he owes me. And uh, you and the rest of the crew are always welcome to make a stop. To refuel, or…” He clears his throat again. “Or for whatever reason.”

“Thanks, Campbell,” says Sana, warm and genuine. “We’ll see you soon.”

–

Things start to get a lot tougher over the months that follow – on Telemachus and on every other planet that Campbell has contacts. Forgers and traders he’s worked with for years go silent, or are rarely heard from; he gets wind of abrupt crackdowns, the Regime imprisoning people who show the slightest bit of dissent, petty criminals being sent down with lengthy sentences.

Telemachus starts to stir. He hears murmurs on the streets. A leaflet is shoved into his hand by a hooded young person who is gone before he can blink. Campbell skims enough of it to know that he would probably be arrested if he were found with it on his person. He burns it, but he knows it’s only a matter of time before the protests start.

On his next call with the Captain to arrange a routine cargo drop-off, he can’t stop himself from urging her to be careful. Sounding amused, she promises him that she will.

“Are we still on for drinks at that bar you promised to take us to?”

“I don’t know what their house policy is on home-brewed moonshine,” Campbell warns her. “But of course we are.”

“Great. We’ll see you in a week, Campbell. Sana Tripathi out.”

He’s not expecting to get another call from her just three days later. Campbell is tense as he accepts the call, sure that something must be wrong.

“Captain Tripathi.” He hesitates over the second half of the greeting, and Sana speaks before he can say anything else.

“Campbell, hi.” She sounds well, but Campbell doesn’t relax, sensing bad news in her tone. “Listen, there’s no good way to say this, but… we’re going to have to miss our drop-off.”

“Oh.” Of all the things that Campbell might have thought were coming next, that wasn’t one of them. He knows he should be angry over being left in the lurch by a business partner, about how badly this will put him out, but instead he’s just… disappointed. And concerned. “What’s happening?”

“It’s – hard to go into too much detail right now, but… we’ve got to make an unexpected stop. Something’s come up, and… there’s no way we’re going to be in range of Telemachus for a while. I’m sorry.”

So, not just missing a drop-off, but possibly not making any stops for some time. Campbell is silent for a few moments, absorbing this.

“I know this will put you out in a major way, and I promise that we’ll make it up to you,” Sana says. “You’re our best customer, and we would never bail on you unless it was urgent.”

That’s what concerns me, Campbell thinks. “I… understand,” he says finally. “I’m not going to pretend I like it, but sometimes, that’s just how things are. I can find another supplier for the Scotch. They won’t be you, but…”

“Sorry, again, Campbell. We were… really looking forward to seeing you. Listen, we’ll give you half price on your next shipment. As an apology.”

Somehow, bartering isn’t as fun when Sana is just offering him a lower price – and when she’s doing it as an apology. “We’ll work something out,” he says. “I know you’ve got to keep Krejjh in hot sauce and Arkady in those elaborate hair products she denies using.”

Sana laughs. “Yeah, we might have to ration the hot sauce for a bit, but we’ll survive.” There’s a pause, and then she adds, “I’ll call as soon as I’m able. Let you know when we might be in the area again.”

“Do that. Good luck with… whatever it is that you have to do.”

“Thanks.” For a moment, Sana seems like she’s about to say something else, but then she closes with, “Speak to you soon. Sana Tripathi out.”

–

Campbell doesn’t hear from the Rumor crew for another three weeks after Sana’s call. All told, it’s been nearly four months since they last stopped by on Telemachus. Once upon a time, he would go much longer without seeing or hearing from the crew and not even think about it. But he’s got used to more regular contact – drop-offs every couple of months, and regular calls, sometimes not even about business. He enjoys finding out what the group has been up to, listening to the way that they joke together, the way Sana alternately cajoles and corrals them. How fond she sounds when talking to her crew, her found family.

He’s sure, sometimes, that he hears the same fondness in her voice directed at him. She’s never hesitated to match his banter, and he looks forward to the calls where they haggle over prices, exchanging insults that sound more affectionate than anything. Campbell would hate to cross a line too soon – he doesn’t want to ruin what is also a great business relationship and friendship. But on his calls with Sana, his catch-ups with the crew, their now-regular drinking escapades with ill-advised amounts of moonshine and ridiculous stories… he’s sure that there’s something more there.

He finds himself thinking about Sana at odd moments during the day: dwelling on her voice, her laugh; picturing her smile, her arms, her tattoos. He hopes that she’s safe, that whatever mystery errand took her away from Telemachus wasn’t dangerous. More than once, he’s tempted to put a call through and make sure she’s okay, but he stops himself. Sana said she would call as soon as she was able, and she’s always been a woman of her word.

He brightens when, in the middle of a slow evening, his terminal lights up and his computer intones, “Incoming call from… Sana Tripathi. Incoming call from…”

“Captain Tripathi,” he greets her cheerfully. “You’re alive!”

–

Then, Elion. A body turns up by the landfill. Sana’s accusation.

“In what universe would I turn on you for them?!”

Then they don’t speak for some time.

–

There’s a massive protest happening in the centre of Nestor, the district of Telemachus where Campbell is based. It’s loud enough and vehement enough that Campbell can hear it, just faintly, from where he sits in his cramped office, distractedly going through some accounts.

Normally, the Regime would have deployed riot police by now, violently suppressing the protest and arresting the instigators. But in contrast to how jumpy the IGR had been before, the machinery of the Regime has been oddly absent in recent weeks. As if all its resources are being focused elsewhere. This is the third protest in about ten days – and the largest. He also heard that there’s been some kind of major incident at a Regime lab in New Jupiter – a fire or an explosion or something. He’s willing to bet that it’s just the tip of the iceberg. Something big is going down.

Giving the accounts up as a bad job for now, Campbell dismisses the holographic screen with a wave of his hand and stands up. He needs some air.

Once he’s out of the house, it’s almost impossible to avoid the protest – it seems to be everywhere. Out of sheer morbid curiosity, Campbell walks towards the crowds, his coat collar turned up to obscure the bottom half of his face. Soon he’s close enough to hear some of what they’re shouting.

“THE RUMOR CREW DID NOTHING WRONG!” yells a man nearby, and Campbell’s heart almost stops. “JUSTICE FOR THASIA!” 

“JUSTICE FOR EMILY CRADDOCK!” another voice yells back.

Someone stuffs a leaflet into Campbell’s hand. He looks down at it. It’s a cheap, quickly-printed thing, just black text on off-white paper, and it reads:

WE THE PEOPLE DEMAND A FULL AND TRANSPARENT STATEMENT FROM THE INTERGALACTIC REPUBLIC ABOUT THE DISCLOSURES IN THE RUMOR RECORDINGS OF THE WIDESPREAD USE OF SPY TECHNOLOGY IN PEACETIME ASSASSINATION, ABDUCTION, AND THE INSTIGATION OF AN INTER-SPECIES WAR THE RUMOR CREW DID NOTHING WRONG!

Campbell roughly grabs the shoulder of the man who was shouting nearby. “What are these Rumor recordings?” he demands, brandishing the leaflet.

The man looks alarmed, and Campbell forces his posture to become a bit less “military”. “I’m not one of them,” he says, quickly. “I just want to know what’s happening.”

“They’re all over the public net, man,” says the protestor. The ‘where the hell have you been?’ is strongly implied.

“You should start by listening to Report 1: Violet Liu,” another protestor supplies helpfully.

“Thank you,” says Campbell, and lets go of the man’s shoulder. The man shrugs and rejoins the crowd, chanting,

“JUSTICE FOR ALVY CONNORS! JUSTICE FOR THE CREW OF THE STARSHIP IRIS! YOU CAN’T MAKE A PERSON DISAPPEAR!”

Back at home, Campbell discovers the man was right: the files are all over the net. The IGR is clearly penalising anyone who shares them, and trying to shut down the websites hosting them – his search turns up a lot of dead links and mysteriously deactivated accounts. But there are far too many sources to eradicate them all, short of completely shutting down the public net. Before too long, Campbell has a complete set of the recordings, Reports 1 to 9.

He starts to listen.

The report starts, after the introduction from someone who is clearly an IGR drone, with the panicked voice of a woman who sounds vaguely familiar. Campbell has a good memory for both faces and voices, and he’s sure this woman is the new recruit he’d heard briefly on the call with Sana before the Rumor landed on Elion. It might explain her link to the Rumor crew.

Sure enough, a few minutes later he hears Arkady, using the Kay Grisham alias that he’d made for her, years ago. He recognises the con she’s pulling, a trick that Brian Jeeter grandly refers to as “the Carmen Gambit”. He wonders what was so important about this woman that the Rumor crew went so far out of their way to rescue her. He looks for a timestamp on the recording, but it only shows when the file was uploaded to the public net, which was a few days ago. But Campbell has a feeling this was the reason that the Rumor crew skipped their drop-off in Telemachus.

He wishes that Sana had told him what they were doing. God knows he wouldn’t have been angry about them going to save a person’s life. He wasn’t really angry about it to begin with.

Campbell keeps listening, and learns the real reason for the Rumor crew’s detour: a cryptic message from a friend he thinks Brian might have mentioned once – Alvy Connors, a gifted coder moonlighting as a bartender. Campbell’s sorry to learn about his death. He realises that the protesters had been chanting Alvy’s name – but why would they care so much about this man’s death? Where did these recordings come from?

Two more reports in, and Campbell is starting to put the pieces together to form a horrible picture: how the Regime had known that the Rumor was headed towards Elion. How the crew’s IDs had become compromised. They were listening to every word, he realises. But how?

Sana and Arkady discuss trading with the Fowleys – a particularly low breed of scum that Campbell avoids dealing with if at all possible, but he knows the Rumor crew can’t afford to be that picky – on Elion, and Campbell realises that he must be about to make an appearance in the recordings.

Sure enough, as the group realises that they need new IDs, Sana makes the call. It’s surreal to hear his own voice coming from the computer, and Campbell realises he needs to be very careful from now on. Whatever event caused all these files to be leaked onto the public net, he’s now clearly implicated in it, too. At least the Regime don’t have a visual description, but they have his voice and his location, as well as some details about his contacts. He’ll need to warn Red Gregor.

The exchange between Arkady and Sana in the elevator on Elion makes him cringe. “Did it seem like he was hitting on you?” Ridiculously, he finds himself hoping that Sana will give some indication of how she might feel about that, but instead she expertly turns the conversation around on Arkady. “If we wanna open that door, can I just say that you and—”

“No, that door is shut and locked.”

Campbell thinks about how Arkady talks to Violet Liu, her upbeat mood in response to the other woman’s admiration, and smiles.

Things go downhill quickly after that. Campbell is tense as he listens to the exchange with the guard, the Carmen Gambit once again coming into play. It almost works – until the fatal announcement over the comms that blows the crew’s cover. Campbell reflects that the Regime’s ridiculous, stifling bureaucracy was probably the only thing that kept them from getting caught sooner.

He cringes again as he hears his own call come through, and Sana immediately decline it. He’d been a bit over-eager, calling as soon as he’d got Red Gregor’s message to say that the job had gone off without a hitch – he was really just looking for an excuse to talk to Sana. Clearly, Campbell needs to get a grip.

The recording ends, and Campbell looks at his holo-screen, thinking about what the next recording will surely contain.

“Computer, outside call. Ignatius Campbell to Sana Tripathi.”

“Attempting connection…” the computer intones. “Attempting connection… Attempting connection… Attempting connection… Connection not available.”

He guesses he can’t blame Sana for declining his calls, after everything that he’d said to her before.

Reluctantly, he plays the next recording.

He listens to Violet’s attempts to speak to Arkady, Brian’s theories about the robot nanoswarm, and then Violet and Arkady’s conversation in the kitchen and Arkady’s gift of her mint plant. Campbell feels slightly indignant about the fact that Arkady never let on she was a fellow gardener. They could have exchanged tips!

Finally, he hears Sana accept his call in her room, and the friendly conversation quickly devolve into a tense exchange. He’s replayed that conversation endless times in his head, but it somehow sounds even worse than he remembers. Campbell wasn’t angry at Sana – he wishes he could have explained that somehow. But with everything that had happened, she was in no position to give him the benefit of the doubt. He wishes he could go back in time and…

He doesn’t know.

Then, something unexpected. Another call comes through to Sana’s comm, and she accepts it without waiting to hear the name – but Campbell knows that wasn’t him.

“Campbell, I agree it’s a bad idea for us to talk right now, but I just wanna say that if it was only me, I would probably risk it. The thing is, I can’t, I have to think about my crew, and you—”

Campbell’s heart stutters in his chest. “Computer, outside call,” he says, not bothering to pause the recording. “Ignatius Campbell to Sana Tripathi.”

“Attempting connection… Attempting connection… Attempting connection… Attempting connection… Connection not available.”

Campbell sighs and runs a hand over his face. He’s finally starting to get the picture, and he’s desperate to talk to Sana, to tell her that he understands now. He thinks about the way she’d spoken to ‘him’, the vulnerability in her voice. Damn it, he needs to talk to her. He has to make this right.

A man is speaking on the recording now, and Sana responds to him with anger. Campbell realises that he still has three reports left to go. He’s still far from understanding what has happened and where these recordings came from. The least that he can do is take the time to listen to them and understand what Sana has been going through.

He’s afraid of what the other reports might contain. But he would have known if Sana was hurt or worse – wouldn’t he? Surely Sana would still have come to him for help if she really needed it?

Nothing could have prepared him for the contents of the last three reports: the stunning revelations about Thasia, about why the war began; about the Regime’s use of a sentient swarm of nanobots to spy on dozens of its own people, indiscriminately, in every waking moment. His fists clench, hard enough that his nails dig into the palms of his hands, as he listens to Major General Frederick’s cold declaration that future strains of the nanoswarm will include a ‘kill-switch’. He listens to the sad story of Thasia and their doomed childhood friend, Emily Craddock. He understands now why the crowd had been chanting their names.

The crew’s hours of drunken singalongs and fake ‘confessions’ make him smile, but the smile is quickly wiped from his face as he hears the passage of time at the end of the report. “Two weeks have passed since our last update. As Major General Frederick said, we expect diminishing returns via this swarm of strain H.”

Then, the last few seconds. “Agent McCabe, look out the window!”

“Holy shit—”

Campbell can’t believe the recordings end there. He goes back to the site where he’d downloaded the files, to make sure he hadn’t missed one – but the website has already been taken offline. He scours discussion boards for any scrap of information. All of the commentators agree that there are only nine reports, but they have theories about what might have happened next – linked to the explosion (it definitely was an explosion) on New Jupiter. Odds are, it was the Rumor’s destination. But what happened?

He thinks about the words of the other Violet Liu. “If Plan B fails, not all of you will live long enough for Plan C.” He thinks about Violet coughing, Krejjh coughing, an inexorably deadly swarm of nanobots in the air. The Rumor crew taking one last, defiant, heroic stand because none of them could stand the alternative: to save their own lives at the expense of so many others.

“We have a saying on Telemachus, that when their foot is on your throat, any day breathing is a victory. So, I vote we push our luck.”

Campbell’s breathing is unsteady, and his throat feels tight and painful. He tries to fight down the rising panic in his chest, the voice in his head that fears the worst. Sana is alive. She has to be. He rubs at one eye with the heel of his hand, and it comes away wet.

“Computer,” he chokes out. “Outside call. Ignatius Campbell – to – Sana Tripathi.”

“Attempting connection… Attempting connection… Attempting connection… Attempting connection…”

“Campbell?”

Campbell is so stunned that for several long moments he stares at his computer, at the holo-screen displaying a successful connection, counting up the seconds on their call. “Campbell?” Sana says again. “Is that you?”

“Captain Tripathi,” he manages finally. “You’re…”

“Alive,” finishes Sana, with a smile in her voice.

[idiopath-fic-smile]

Oh my goddd I was scrolling back through your blog and the 1950s lesbian exr is a thing that just could not conceivably be any further up my alley (I realise what this sounds like and I apologise), so I was wondering if we could get another little snippet? No pressure ofc. PS I love your writing and even if we never get any more of tscosi it's still probably my favourite podcast of all time

Hi!

Thank you so much. There will definitely be more Starship Iris eventually, but I really appreciate that.

Re: the fic, I was simultaneously trying to write a historically accurate-ish look at 1950′s American lesbian identity and activism, and give it a bit of a noir feel, which in theory I think you could do because holy shit these women were risking so much, and they had to basically be spies anyway because the FBI was legit trying to keep tabs on them and their meetings. I don’t really know if I’m the person to do it, though; this feels pretty damn far out of my lane, to be honest.

I really wish there was more historical fiction about this cause in this period; you can find some fascinating shit just doing a cursory wikipedia crawl. Like, the first lesbian periodical was created in 1947 by a 25-year-old who was working as a receptionist at RKO Studios; her boss was like ‘just look busy so people think I’m a big deal’ and so she was secretly using company equipment to type and format a zine about lesbianism, like 25 years before the APA stopped calling homosexuality a mental illness.

Anyway, I only wrote about three pages; I stopped when I realized how long it would need to be, and how much work would be involved, and also frankly it’s a lot easier to situate Enjolras in a fic about queer activism post-Stonewall, because the D.O.B.-era organizing tended to be pretty assimilationist. Like, I think their work was important and has been unfairly neglected, but I still think Enjolras in any era would chafe at their gradualism. 

Enjolras isn’t even mentioned by name in this, but uh I think you’ll be able to find her. 

(Head’s up: this is the very opening of the story, it’s from Grantaire’s POV, and she has not begun to work through her issues yet, so quick content warning for period-typical internalized homophobia and self-loathing, as well as period-typical sexism. Also, historical note: from what I can tell, “lesbian” had negative connotations even within the community at the time.)

“Grantaire, are you alright?” said Murray. He didn’t try that hard to hide his laughter. “You look a little pale.”

“I’m fine,” she said, too quickly.

“You’ll need to set aside your small-town attitudes if you want to succeed in the big city,” Chester added. “There’s all sorts here, as you can see.”

Grantaire nodded. There was nothing more dangerous than someone desperate to prove they were more Bohemian than you, she thought. She wondered if they were only doing this because she had corrected Chester about Rothko. Maybe she should’ve kept her mouth shut. She could have just let him be wrong and avoided the whole adventure, or prank, or byzantine office hazing ritual–whatever had inspired them to take her here, of all places.

The Musain. Run by the mob, of course, but that wasn’t what made the place so notorious. There wasn’t exactly a neon sign screaming gay bar! But even if Grantaire was as naive as Chester and Murray seemed to assume, she probably could’ve put the clues together herself from the clientele, men mingling with men and women mingling with women. 

How much looking was too much looking? It all felt like too much. She tried focusing on the grimy wall of bottles behind the bar, except one of the bartenders had hung a poster of a pin-up girl back there, naked but for a strategically-placed ukulele, grinning a slick, lipsticky grin. There was no safe real estate to rest your eyes on. Every inch was dangerous, an admission of something.

“I’ll be right back,” she croaked. “Ladies’ room.”

“If you can tell which one it is,” laughed–Chester? Murray?–who even cared, she thought, ducking into the crowd.

The water did not help like she’d hoped. Grantaire switched off the tap and wiped at her face, badly wanting a cigarette. She wondered how much longer she could hide in here before it got suspicious. Two or three minutes, she figured, but when she stepped back into the bar she’d need to be perfectly composed.

Then again, neither of her new colleagues seemed too perceptive. Case in point: this present stunt, designed to unnerve her in an entirely different direction. Even now, she could at least detect a certain sick humor about the whole affair. She was still half-smirking when a woman walked in. Grantaire looked away on instinct, but foolishly, right into the mirror, to be pinned instead by the stranger’s reflection. There was just no catching a break tonight.

Grantaire had seen the stranger already from the other side of the bar, would have noticed her from a hundred paces. She was tall and athletic-looking, dressed like a man in a button-down shirt and trousers. Normally a girl of that stature slouched, pulled in her shoulders as if apologizing for taking up the space, but every line of this woman’s body was utterly assured, self-possessed. Her hair was cropped short, and there was a stark beauty in her strong brows and sharp cheekbones, feminine without a trace of softness.

Her eyes slid to Grantaire and away again: registered and dismissed in a single motion.

Grantaire dried her hands—slowly, because she still did not really want to go back. Anything was preferable, maybe including this.

In a way, it was almost a relief to see that nothing had changed. Seasons came and went but Grantaire was still Grantaire: a bundle of too-tight nerves and awkward elbows, scratchy throat, furtive gaze bouncing everywhere it shouldn’t. Still nursing a fascination with the most dangerous-looking female in the area. A puppy dog panting after a wolf.

Grantaire snorted, echoing in the cramped space. The woman looked back at her.

“Sorry,” Grantaire mumbled.

The woman raised an eyebrow. “Your friends seem to be having a good time,” she said. Her voice was cold and dry as the Arctic Desert. Searing sun, powdery snow.

Chester and Murray weren’t friends by any stretch of the imagination. They were barely co-workers; Grantaire had only been at the magazine for five days, had only arrived in the city three days before that, had been hired sight unseen by the eccentric editor-in-chief on the strength of a portfolio sent by mail and a first name that could pass as a man’s. It was even odds that once the bossman returned from his honeymoon and discovered his brand-new cartoonist was a she, Grantaire would be right out the door again, no chance to slip a single drawing into the lineup. As it was, her presence at the office had the air of a lingering typo.

Best-case scenario, her new employer would turn out to be one of those awful tyrants who refused to acknowledge any degree of fallibility, and he’d keep her on out of sheer hardheadedness. Perhaps after a year or two, she’d fade from a novelty to a background detail, and she’d finally grow up enough to stop trying to prove herself when it mattered the least.

None of it was worth explaining.

“They’re harmless,” said Grantaire instead. “That new intellectual type. They like modern art and smoking marijuana and pretending to understand poetry. They’re not here to gawk, not really.” She could not make herself shut her mouth. It was like having a fit. “They only brought me by to try to get a rise out of the girl from Skokie,” she was saying. “They’ve got nothing against your kind.”

“My kind,” the woman repeated, and Grantaire gave a helpless inward flinch. Was it rude to imply someone was a homosexual simply because she was wearing trousers at a gay bar? It didn’t look like a costume; she wore it with too much grace. “Don’t you mean ‘our kind’?” the woman said.

Grantaire froze, still clutching a wad of paper towel. She hadn’t expected to feel caught out. She had almost hoped for it, maybe, some slight terrified swoop of the stomach, but one foot inside the Musain, one glance at the flesh-and-blood patrons flirting under threat of police raid, had put it to rest.

(“Welcome to city life,” Chester had said, with a chuckle. “Meet your new neighbors!”)

Grantaire could only stand there, in the drab skirt and blouse she had picked specifically to blend in at the office, and measure the distance in miles, in light years.

She threw the paper towel in the trash, made herself meet the woman’s eyes. Grantaire was a head shorter, but somehow it was her spine that craned down, her shoulder blades that pulled together, her posture that begged forgiveness for the sheer fact of her blood and muscle and skin.

“I’m nothing like you,” said Grantaire.

“Really?” came the reply, unimpressed. “Because I could’ve sworn I saw you in here last week. Minus your friends.”

It had to be a bluff, thought Grantaire. Without two rowdy men at her back to make the whole thing a joke, she had barely managed to step in before she’d hightailed it back out.

It had to be a bluff, unless it wasn’t.

First Chester and Murray, and now this. Grantaire had just about had it with people trying to shock her by telling her things she already knew. Sex perverts exist, Grantaire, on one hand. You’re one of them, Grantaire, on the other.

At some point, a girl reached her limit.

“Oh,” said Grantaire, “I’m a lesbian, if that’s what you’re getting at.”

The woman blinked at her, not expecting—what? The directness? The word? The slightest illusion of a backbone?

Grantaire bared her teeth in a grin: another illusion. Nothing but well-honed reflex at this point; every bone in her body knew how to lie.

“And that’s the beginning and end of what we have in common,” Grantaire said. It had been a long day; she gave herself the petty satisfaction of slamming the door on her way out.

“Feeling better?” Chester asked, all mock-sympathy, when she returned. “Maybe a ginger-ale to settle your stomach?” It had the shape of an offer but the taste of a dare: can you stay long enough to drink it.

“Throw in some whiskey and you’ve got yourself a deal,” she said. Murray laughed. Her head hurt.

“Don’t look now, but there’s a woman, if you can call it that, watching us,” said Murray in a low, amused voice. “Think she’s got her eye on you, Grantaire.”

For once in her life, she wouldn’t rise to take the bait. “You’re hilarious,” said Grantaire without looking up. “A regular Bob Hope.”

“They still laughing at Bob Hope out in Skokie?” Chester said.

“It’s Illinois,” she snapped, “not the Mesozoic Era.”

“Mesozoic,” said Murray, as though he’d never heard anything so ridiculous. “Big word for a little lady.”

Mesozoic. Eight letters. But it didn’t matter how you contorted yourself; somebody would always find a way to be sore at you for being too much of one thing or another.

Grantaire hunched down on the stool, away from the sweep of those imagined eyes, and forced herself to smile.

[iriscasefiles]

The Strange Case of Starship Iris: AUDITIONS pt 2: INFO & ROLES

All actors must be at least 18, as per Procyon Podcast Network guidelines. Beyond that, you are not required to be the exact same age as the characters, as long as you can credibly sound like you are.

You are more than welcome to record a couple of different takes, with different interpretations!  You are more than welcome to try out for multiple roles!

Send an mp3 file of your audition(s?) to iriscasefiles at gmail.com, along with the following:

1.       Your name (a pseudonym or online handle is fine) ETA: and the role(s?) you are trying out for

2.       Are you potentially okay with being cast in a role besides the one you auditioned for?

3.       Are you potentially okay with being cast as a morally ambiguous person, and/or villain?

Auditions go from January 23 to February 2. Callbacks are February 3 through 6. My goal is to have all the roles listed here cast by the end of February 6.

There will be another round of auditions for a few more roles in April.

For now, available roles are below!

MAIN CAST

 Brian Jeeter

He/him pronouns. A trans man (seeking trans actors only, please!)

Note, because this is something I’ve been asked: I don’t have set headcanons about where Brian is with regards to transitioning; if you wanna try out and you’re not on testosterone, you should still totally try out!

Any race

Sounds to be in his mid-twenties to early thirties

A laidback, friendly affect, to the point of maybe coming off like a slacker. You’d probably need to talk to him a few times to realize that he is deeply loyal, and intensely passionate when it comes to his areas of expertise (xenolinguistics, making pizza bagels).

To audition, perform this section:

(Laughs) I dunno, though. Wasn’t all bad. I made some cool friends. That’s how I met Krejjh, actually. I’d been doing fieldwork out in Neuzo, and— (realizes the word and the place are both going to require explaining) Sorry, the Neutral Zone. It was a cluster of planets and stations, kinda out by Telemachus, founded by this very weird Libertarian billionaire. Technically outside any government, so it was one of the few places humans and Dwarnians could trade, talk, whatever.

Shady place. We’re talking arms dealing, gambling, drugs you’ve never heard of. Like, name a vice, you know? Crawling with spies, too. People used to say that’s why both sides kept it standing; they had, like, intelligence assets or something.

But it wasn’t violent. Not like you’d think. Not at first. There were these rival mafias, and they kept the peace? Kinda. I mean, everyone’s fortune was built on keeping Neuzo out of the war, keeping the war out of Neuzo, so there weren’t, like, laws, but nobody was allowed to kill anyone. At first.

Sana Tripathi

I wrote the character with she/her pronouns but I’m flexible on this if a nonbinary and/or genderqueer person wants to audition

Any actor trying out for this role should be of Indian ancestry (Indian-American or Indian-British, etc, is totally fine) ETA: Changing this more generally to “should be of South Asian ancestry.” (ETA2: Elsewhere in a different post, I mistakenly said “Southeast Asian” but I meant more generally South Asian: India, Nepal, Pakistan, etc. The moral of this story is I need to actually look at a map before I type words. I’m so sorry.)

Sounds to be mid-thirties

Warm, decisive, and extremely competent. Comfortable being in charge, but prefers to work via consensus when possible, if only for ideological reasons. A certain daredevil streak surfaces every now and then. The sweetest person you’ll ever meet, until push comes to shove and you see the core of steel that’s been there all along.

To audition, please perform this section:

You’re right, Brian, I’m not your mom. I’m your captain, and I’m your crewmate. And that means I am depending on you to take care of yourself so you can do your part to keep us safe.

(Weighty) Look, you know how tenuous it can get in the deep. You know how much more life is worth out here. That includes yours. We need a translator, Brian. We need a translator and we need a guy who has our back. We do not need a martyr. (A beat, and then, lighter) Also, I’m the boss, and you have to do what I say.

Krejjh

Seeking a genderqueer and/or nonbinary actor of any race

Note: the character is part of an extremely humanoid race of space aliens whose culture finds the whole notion of a gender binary confusing and goofy. Obviously, this is not a perfect analogue to being a nonbinary human; I mean, we are talking about a purple space alien. But the character definitely doesn’t identify as cisgender, and after a lot of discussion and soul-searching, this seemed like the most respectful option.

Sounds to be mid-twenties to early thirties

Concept: Dashing, silly, and generally in love with life. Fun at parties. Has more than a little classic fighter pilot swagger. A sucker for compliments. Adrenaline junkie. 

Note: in a later episode, you are gonna have to speak in a made-up alien language, but I’ll try to write it out phonetically. No big deal.

To audition, please perform this section:

(making an announcement over the ship’s PA system) Folks, I wanna apologize for the turbulence. We are currently flying at—downright unsafe speeds through a debris field that is—taking some damn impressive stunts on my end. Gonna advise that you all make your way to the nearest secure spot and—WOO!!! Yeah! (triumphant laughter)

If conditions persist, you might wanna take a sec and pray. Deity of your choice; I figure, cover as much ground as we can. And if conditions get much worse, I’m gonna need Crewman Jeeter up here, pronto, for a little good luck kiss. Can’t hurt, right?

In the meantime, I advise you to remember that the closer we are to danger, the more clearly we can hear the elemental thrum of our own vitality! In this moment we are living!

…Kids, you are gonna want to hold onto something.

SUPPORTING CHARACTERS

Alvy

He/him pronouns

Any race

Sounds to be mid-twenties to early thirties

A chill and fun dude.

To audition for this part, please perform the following section:

Jeeter, my man, my pal! What is up? No doubt this message will be unexpected. Get in line! Surprise assignment. A short vacation from the lab. Safe to say I’m living large. Of course, the mission’s secret but: exotic locales? Limited work? Seems almost designed for me.

Eejjhgreb

Seeking a genderqueer and/or nonbinary actor of any race

Note: the character is part of an extremely humanoid race of space aliens whose culture finds the whole notion of a gender binary confusing and goofy. Obviously, this is not a perfect analogue to being a nonbinary human; I mean, we are talking about a purple space alien. But the character definitely doesn’t identify as cisgender, and after a lot of discussion and soul-searching, this seemed like the most respectful option.

Ideally, sounds to be about forty or older. I am willing to be a little flexible on this point, though.

Concept: A diplomat. Stately, commanding, traditional. Not unfeeling, but emotionally repressed like it’s a period piece.

To audition for this part, please perform the following section (that is not in the podcast because most of Eejjhgreb’s actual lines contain spoilers)

There’s not much more to be done about it. The agreements were reached, the papers were signed. Do I wish it had gone differently? Perhaps, but it’s a matter of obligation. It’s a matter of loyalty. I know you don’t think so right now, but it is possible you’ll understand someday. Assuming you don’t get yourself killed in the meantime.

Campbell

Any actor trying out for this role should be of African ancestry (African American, African British, etc, is totally fine)

I wrote this character with he/him pronouns but I’m flexible on this if a nonbinary and/or genderqueer person wants to audition

Sounds to be between late twenties and mid thirties

Concept: A brilliantly talented forger and counterfeiter. Easygoing, charming—that rare person who seems to be friends with everyone. Definitely friends with the crew. Good in a crisis. Hard to really shock.

To audition for this part, please perform the following section:

Tell you what, send me your info. I’ll work on it remotely and pass it over to my contact in Elion for printing and pickup. How many IDs do you need? Four? We can have them done in two hours.

Yeah, I know that’s probably longer than you want to wait, but uh. It’s getting scary out there. You don’t wanna cut corners on this.

Don’t worry about payment, we’ll handle it later. I’m guessing you’re too nervous right now to really try that hard at haggling anyway, takes all the fun out of it. Sending you my guy’s coordinates for when you land. Ask for Red Gregor.

Guard

Any race

Any gender

Any European, Australian, or distinctly regional American accent

Just trying to do their job out in space, far from home

To audition for this part, please perform the following section:

Attention! We’re conducting a sweep of all interstellar vessels. I’m going to need you to comply with the following instructions. (Pause) Attention, attention! Rumor, do you copy?

Ricky

I wrote this character with he/him pronouns but I’m flexible on that if a genderqueer and/or nonbinary person wants to audition

Any race

Sounds to be late twenties to mid-thirties

Persuasive, self-centered, one of those people who considers themselves to be extremely rational and reasonable.

To audition for this part, please perform the following section:

Listen, that’s the nature of the beast. You don’t always win. It’s not my fault if you drew a weaker hand. You’ve got the option of not blaming me for it, you know? Take it or not, but you’ve got that option.

Junior Agent

Seeking a genderqueer and/or nonbinary actor 

Any race

Sounds to be early twenties

Unlike Agent Park, hasn’t yet reached burnout in the job. Might get there pretty soon, though.

To audition for this part, please perform the following section:

I’ve taken the liberty of trimming about an hour of audio from this portion of the transmission, all available in the archive in the, uh, in the honestly pretty unlikely event it is needed? Resuming in the cockpit, forty-four minutes after the Rumor touched down on Elion. On-ship time estimated to be seventeen hundred hours. 

[learnedtodance]

Yuletide Letter

Dear Yulegoat,

Hello! Yuletide is upon us again, so first of all: THANK YOU! For signing up to write a story, for loving any one of the below fandoms as much as I do. I already love you just for that, anything from now is a special awesome bonus :)

So getting the admin out of the way. My serious Do Not Wants are non-con, dub-con, main character death. I'd rather not see underage sexual relationships or any uneven power dynamic pairings. If you want to write super explicit sex, that's fine as a part of a whole but I tend to skim when it gets porny so I'd rather if it wasn't the whole fic.

Likes: I love found family relationships, I love a good romance but I'm just as happy with a high quality friendship. I looove anything clever, with twists that catch me by surprise (Cons and crime are great!). Plotty fics are awesome.

I've tried to give a prompt idea for each of my requested fandoms. If that's not speaking to you, feel free to write whatever you want! I love the worlds of each of them so maybe not an AU for preference, but if you think you have a great one that preserves the characters and spirit I'd rather you write something you're passionate about than just try and tick boxes for me.

Magnus Chase:

The children of Loki! I would love to read about them doing trickster things, maybe something that paralells a Loki myth in a modern way or them interacting with Loki's other children (hello Fenrir?) :) I don't mind you including any other characters from the series, but I'd like one or both of these to be the focus.

I'm not interested in shipping these two, if you want to ship them with other people that's cool. Please respect Alex's gender identity.

Class (TV):

QUILL was such a fascinating character to me over the whole series. I'd love to see more of her history, how her species interacted with Charlie's and what it felt like when she was triumphant as well as when she was defeated. Future would also be interesting, with that pregnancy, but I'm more interested in that as a framework to looking back.

Lilo and Stitch

COBRA BUBBLES ONCE CONVINCED THE GALACTIC COUNCIL THAT MOSQUITOES WERE AN ENDANGERED SPECIES.

ahem.

I'd love to find out that story :) Or anything else about what it was like working for the men in black and why he decided that actually social work was calling him. Generally anything on the Life and Times of Cobra Bubbles will likely make me happy :D

The Strange Case of Starship Iris

Arkady Patel clearly has an interesting past, I'm here for literally any stories from it. Cons, tricks, fights, any or all would be much appreciated. If you want to ship her with someone, go ahead. If you want to chuck in original characters, that's cool. I love space and crime so anything pairing those two things and you've won me over :)

The Wind on Fire

I love this trilogy so much. The epic scale, the grand sense of everything. Kestrel and Sisi's friendship is amazing, Bowman and Sisi's relationship works so well in parallel. I'm pretty open to anything here, a snapshot of them while travelling, a post-trilogy story about coping after (rebuilding a kingdom could be an interesting route for a longer piece).

Anything that fits the tone of the novels would be incredible, really.

Hope that's not too much. Again, feel free to disregard prompts if you have a GENIUS IDEA. I love these fandoms and I hope you do too <3

Happy Yuletide!