#worlds greatest author

[drchucktingle]

lets trot buckaroos plenty of room at the top. in fact, the space up here is endless

[punkahudsonia]

I am about one third of the way into Camp Damascus and I feel so goddamned seen. As a neurodivergent Queer girl from Montana, as the survivor of an especially heinous and weird sect of Christianity, as a child whose sin and salvation was curiosity, as someone who had to survive all her frameworks crumbling under the weight of their untruths, I feel so goddamned fucking SEEN

And to know that I can trust @drchucktingle to tell this kind of story, to acknowledge all the ways my growing up was a kind of horror story, to scare and unsettle me and do it in a way that honors his Queer protagonist and all of us who were once in her shoes? You better fucking believe that this proves love.

[weirdowithaquill]

100,000!

No seriously - I went onto Ao3 to upload the latest chapter of 'Emily the Elegant Engine' and I was greeted with the greatest sight a fanfic writer could imagine:

100,000 hits!

It's moments like this, seeing physical evidence that there are people all over the world who are reading what I write and enjoying it, that make it all worth it. Thank you to everyone who was helped me reach this milestone, and I can't wait to see where this all goes next.

And honestly, every single statistic in that image means so much to me. Seriously, a massive thank you to every single person who has read, kudos, commented and bookmarked a fic - this sort of support and encouragement from the community is incredible.

100,000 hits... it's still a bit overwhelming. Look mum, I'm a minor celebrity! XD

[tankgotstuckinthecircusgate]

"eleanor rigby" is certifed m2 song to me & i don't want to hear anything

[power-handmaiden]

!!!?!?!?!?!?! Hello!!!!!!!

[chiropteracupola]

yes i already know what it is but i would like to hear more of Seaside For Your Health please <3

for those of you who are not jon my good friend jon (with whom this fic was brainstormed in the most literal sense) this is my SECOND fic for the wolf and the watchman. which as I said earlier I said I would write No fics about.

...and also this is in fact the fic where cardell and winge go on an ENTIRELY TONALLY UNSUITABLE ITALIAN VACATION!

look I think I'm allowed to spend thousands of words on winge not actively dying of consumption and cardell going someplace warm where the water doesn't remind him of death and both of them having a nice day for once in their cold sad lives.

“Good morning, Jean Michael.” His words are dry as ever, but today, sound less as if they originate in a throat entirely crusted over with rust. “Hardly morning anymore,” Cardell replies, with a tip of his head to the window. Winge pulls himself upright, his newly folded legs allowing Cardell enough room to properly make himself comfortable on the bed. “You ought not to permit me to sleep so long,” says Winge, but Cardell only scoffs and shrugs his shoulders. In that moment, what he wants more than anything is to push Winge back down and keep him still, to cast him solid in sunlight like an insect in amber until he’s satisfied with their rest. But Winge is already hauling himself to his feet, bracing himself against the headboard with both hands until he is confident that his legs will hold his weight. It’s rare now that Cardell needs to draw him out of bed and set him on his feet himself, for with his recovering health Winge has regained that strange energy and passion that had burned in him as he investigated. It is with that sort of methodical yet quick movement that Winge prepares himself for the day, donning his sole suit of fading crow’s-feather black as Cardell waits and watches. Cardell leans back, bracing his head against the wall, and makes himself comfortable while Winge dresses. There is enough idle talk to fill the room to his contentment — of the city, of their neighbors, of the Roman ruins in the foothills — anything at all that he thinks might pique Winge’s interest. Winge nods along as he buttons his waistcoat nearly to his chin, occasionally interjecting with a quiet hm! and a look back at Cardell. That is conversation enough for Cardell; he is perfectly satisfied to watch Winge ready himself for the day and trust that he will live to see that same day through.

[mundanememorize]

like actually

[rosasappho]

everyone be so thankful i can’t draw lest the kuuga thoughts become reality

[nbstevonnie]

yeah this makes a lot more sense as the first episode of a show entitled 'miracle workers'

[evilhorse]

Let the record show this is the best possible timeline.

[theamazingannie]

All these once in a lifetime global events that happen every week make it really hard to be a realistic fiction writer lmao

[drchucktingle]

WELCOME TO THE TOP BUCKAROOS

[punkahudsonia]

I was lucky enough to attend Chuck Tingle's book signing this evening with @cairavende and let me tell you there's something really incredible about seeing a bunch of people commit to just sincerely enjoying something and embracing their uniqueness and their Queer, neurodivergent joy. Man name of Chuck is legitimately a delight to hear in person, and it was so so great to be able to thank him in person for Camp Damascus.

It's so easy to be tired. It's so easy to be grieved. And it is so freeing to be able, for a space, to set those aside and be easy and joyful instead. This proves love, you guys. This very very much proves love.

[paladin-panoply-of-pax]

“Use your gifts and your talents to greatest possible effect while you can. Spread joy wherever possible. Laugh at jokes. Tell jokes. Make puns and bugger the embuggerances. Read books. Read my books. You might like them. You might find something else you like even more than them. Look for these things in life.

Question authority. Champion good causes. Speak out against injustice. Do not tolerate bullies or bigots or racists or anti-intellectuals or the narrow-minded. Use your education to challenge them. Broaden their perspectives. Make the world you interface with a happier place.

These are your choices. Choices you have been fortunate to have been given, so don’t waste them while you have them. Don’t look back in years to come and wish you had grasped a fleeting opportunity. Grasp it now with both hands, Live. Strive. Love.”

from A Little Advice for Life taken from ‘Terry Pratchett: from birth to death, a writer.’

—Sir Terry Pratchett; April 28, 1948 – March 12, 2015

One of the greatest compliments I've ever received is that I resemble Sam Vimes.

Mind how you go.

[theniftycat]

What other Neil Gaiman work might you like?

The biggest thing to know about Neil Gaiman is that each work of his is a mixture of horror, fantasy, and subtle comedy.

That being said, each of his projects is pretty distinct from one another and there might be some that are more up to your tastes than others.

I haven't read some of his newer stuff (because I largely stopped reading as much since the early 2010s), but I'll do my best to remember what matters in other works.

Horror

The Sandman is a great work for horror fans. It's also great for mythology fans and other nerds, but horror is a major push and pull factors.

The comic is probably the greatest body of work Gaiman produced and it's recommended if you're a goth at heart and are comfortable with themes of death and humans being gods' toys.

The Sandman (TV) is a great adaptation, but it's very short so far and doesn't cover the best stories.

Coraline is a horror story for children. It doesn't have anything that's not suitable for kids, but it can be viscerally scary to some people. Both the book and the film are great.

Mirrormask is my personal favourite, it's a low budget film with mindblowing surreal imagery and one of the best soundtracks ever.

It's about a teenage girl who has troubles with her parents (who run a circus, btw) and who gets swiped up by her imagination into a bizarre world that is being eaten by her depression. Not a scary film, per se, but it's disturbing. However, it's a very warm film and it always makes me feel better.

Fantasy

Neverwhere is set in a dimension of twisted London Underground where everything that's straightforward in our world becomes weird and too real.

It really tickled my imagination, I highly recommend the book.

Stardust is set in a more high fantasy setting.

It features kings, witches, ghosts, and a star that fell to the Earth. It has a young protagonist who's not exactly the best or the brightest person, so if you hate such things, stick to the adaptation. In my opinion, the book is just lovely.

American Gods is a darker fantasy that asks the questions: "What if every god people ever believed in became real through the power of their worship? And then what if that worship started fading?"

It's set in the USA and because that country is such a melting pot, there are many gods. And not all of them are happy. This is the book that gave Neil Gaiman his reputation of a writer who loves weird sex scenes.

Humour

Stardust the film is often compared to Princess Bride. It's lighthearted, funny, full of imaginative adventures.

Just a very nice film with an all-star cast.

Anansi Boys is a spin off of American Gods, but it's a lot more lighthearted.

Anansi is a trickster god, so you know things will get funky.

I haven't read The Graveyard Book and The Ocean at the End of the Lane yet, but I hear they're very good as well.

Also, short story collections or Norse Mythology might be a good place to start if you want to get a feel of Neil Gaiman as an author first.

[scary-senpai]

I can confirm that several years later, I am not at all sorry for the dad jokes.