krait | Reading

I recently had the excuse to reread my favorite epistolary romance, Zen Cho's novella The Perilous Life of Jade Yeo, which I love just as much now as I did when it came out in 2012, if not more.

The Perilous Life of Jade Yeo is set among the avant-garde literary circles of 1920s London, and Jade herself is a sharp young Malaysian writer who accidentally becomes the main character of the day by penning a scathing review of the latest book by Literary Darling Sebastian Hardie. Fortunately or unfortunately, Hardie thinks this is the hottest thing he's ever seen anyone do; moreover, Hardie's very accepting wife thinks Jade is so charming; and as for what Jade's handsome and serious editor Ravi thinks ... well, events unfold from there, carried along by Jade's unique and delightful and irrepressible voice. If every first-person protagonist I met had even a quarter of Jade's verve and personality, I would be content, but the fact that they do not just makes me cherish Jade all the more.

If you've not met Jade Yeo, or if like me you have indeed already met her and would like her to live in your house forever, the book is getting a new print edition through the small press Homeward Books and preorders have just opened!

(The Kickstarter also has NYC and Seattle book rec party tiers which unfortunately I cannot attend as i will not be anywhere near those locations but I very much hope someone else does and tells me about them.)

china_shop

‘We have to believe in our work; the only thing that lightens the burden of it, sometimes, is the sense that it matters, and that we've committed ourselves to something valuable, so that even if we don't succeed we'll have an honourable failure.

So there was my imagination, and there was my embarrassment whispering, ‘Why work at something you’re going to be ashamed of?’

However, if I know anything about writing stories, it’s this: that you have to do what your imagination wants, not what your fastidious literary taste is inclined towards, not what your finely honed judgment feels comfortable with, not what your desire for the esteem of critics advises you to. Good intentions never wrote a story worth reading: only the imagination can do that.’

– Philip Pullman, Daemon Voices

My day 24: More pairing experimentation: 660 words. Weatherwise, today was a total contrast to yesterday's gale. We went for lunch in the sun at our favourite outdoor cafe and, later on, took a walk along a stream.

The tally
( Tally )

Day 22:

alightbuthappypen,

badly_knitted,

brithistorian,

chanter1944,

china_shop,

cmk418,

cornerofmadness,

sanguinity,

sylvanwitch,

the_siobhan,

trobadora

Day 23:

alightbuthappypen,

badly_knitted,

chanter1944,

china_shop,

cmk418,

cornerofmadness,

sanguinity,

sylvanwitch,

the_siobhan,

trobadora

When you check in, please say what day(s) you’re checking in for. You can join in or take a break at any time; you’re always welcome back. And please let me know if I’ve missed you.

soc_puppet posting in

queerly_beloved

Scooting in with some Thursday Recs!

Do you have a rec for this week? Just reply to this post with something queer or queer-adjacent (such as, soap made by a queer person that isn't necessarily queer themed) that you'd, well, recommend. Self-recs are welcome, as are recs for fandom-related content!

Or have you tried something that's been recced here? Do you have your own report to share about it? I'd love to hear about it!

edenfalling

Actual words will appear sometime over the weekend. :)

Current Mood: busy
Current Location: new brighton, mn

superfangirl1 posting in

scans_daily

( Read more, )

skygiants

( Yuletide letter )

tcampbell1000 posting in

scans_daily

(Boosted up from 5 installments--I found even more material than I was expecting to. Warning for suicidal ideation, serious drug-use discussion.)

At first, Reagan's portrayals in comics stuck close to the template of a generic "placeholder president," with only the occasional real-life touch to give his character some color. The most notable thing about his first comic-book appearance as president is that it stars, of all people, the "Dial 'H' for Hero" duo. The year is 1981, the comic is Adventure Comics #485.

( Kids these days, always on their phones. )

luthien

Dear author,

Somehow it's Yuletide time once again!

I'm Luthien in most places, including AO3.

I'm really easy to write for. I like most types of stories and most ratings - and I'm sure I'll love whatever you write. Thank you for writing for me!

( Likes, DNWs and requests under here )

lannamichaels

In my reading of Game Of Thrones fic, I developed an urge for fic where Elia Martell Targaryen (why some married women are only referred to by their maiden names and some are always only referred to by their married names, I do not know) and her kids don't die. It would be interesting to see what it would change!, I thought. Surely it doesn't need to change a huge amount necessarily, but it would great to see it!

And so I went looking and found a bunch and it turns out.

It turns out that when you want fic where legitimate claimants to a throne survive, you get a ton of fic about Targaryen restoration. You get so many fics that are love letters to the Targaryens.

I don't care about Targaryen restoration! I don't like the Targaryens and see no reason why I should! (Except for Aemon, the Targaryen maester who is still alive at the Wall, I allow that he's really intruiging.)

Also I will admit the first time I saw the pairing of Jon Snow/Rhaenys Targaryen, I had a full blown "why? why the fuck?"

But yeah I get it, if Jon Snow is her long lost half-brother, then it's true Targaryen heritage to ship them. I don't see it, I don't even like the ship, and it's interesting how I have no problem whatsoever with Jon Snow/Sansa Stark, who were raised as half-siblings, but my reaction to Jon/Rhaenys is "I'm completely uninterested in reading this". Also I'm not really into Jon/Daenerys.

Maybe it's the whole enforced-incest of the Targaryens? IDK.

But also.

Reading the fic.

Okay so I am never going to read the books, I have long since been warned off from all the grimdark rape, and I am never going to watch the show, ditto.

I did not realize how small the amount of time the Targaryens have actually been ruling in Westeros. They only showed up like 300 years ago???? In a setting where people are like "my family has been ruling in this one spot for 10,000 years" or whatever, the Targaryens are new kids on the block who showed up with dragons, conquered everyone, had several (!) really bad rulers, constantly married each other (in violation of the local religion, and no one else was allowed to copy their behavior because they're special), seemed to do very little marrying out to the locals because who needs to shore up support, dealt with civil war/rebellion, lost their dragons, had a really fucking awful last king, and then, surprise, they were overthrown.

And you want those folks back? You are nostalgic for the wonderful days of the people who showed up five minutes ago and were generally terrible?

Also blowing my mind was, okay, I had been told over and over again that Baratheons all look a certain way since time immemorial and so that's why obviously if you look into it, Cersei's kids can't be Robert's.

But the Baratheons were founded as a new house by a Targaryen bastard. The looks of the Baratheons are the opposite of the Targaryens. Also this is also only like 300 years ago, and Westeros seems to enjoy a society where there are several pathways to ensure that only one or two of your sons are allowed to have children (maesters, the wall, endless wars).

So all this is kind of amusing from a "reading fic without knowing canon" perspective, the slow unfolding of, oh my god, what is going on in this canon. But also the mismatch of people who have actually read/watch this canon and what they want to write (Targaryen restoration, Targaryen incest) vs. me who has not done that, and what I want to read.

But actually what I want to write is a fic where Jon Snow actually is Ned Stark's bastard. Ah, yes, I see here that "Ned Stark is very honorable". Uh-huh. Well, he had an affair with a woman who is a sex worker/laundress/woman who was interested before his marriage and then, because he is so honorable, he took the child in and raised him, rather than leaving Jon Snow to live in poverty.

This explains nothing about why Ned Stark wouldn't tell Jon Snow about this mother but I'm sure we can come up with something (the mother was already married? who cares).

But I'm not writing this, entirely because I have no idea of a plot to go along with this. Oh and also I'm not reading/watching this, but I wrote an MDZS drabble without reading the book/finishing the show.

if_i_fits_mod posting in

ififitsifics

We now have one outstanding pinch hit for this exchange. Due by October 31st, minimum 1000 words. Please comment on this post, comments are screened, or email IfIFitsIFics@gmail.com to claim

Pinch Hit 1 - I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream - Harlan Ellison, Team Fortress 2, Gravity Falls, Deltarune (Video Game), Red Dwarf (UK TV)

( Pinch Hit 1 - I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream - Harlan Ellison, Team Fortress 2, Gravity Falls, Deltarune (Video Game), Red Dwarf (UK TV) )

kindness_says posting in

yuletide

Hello! A few people have been wondering in the Yuletide Discord whether we would have swaps this year... tl;dr it was dicey, but YES!

You may thank

morbane (even more than usual ;)) for following up on everyone's behalf; Livi and I had been having an extremely slow/distracted convo about it since early September, but as always, knowing people are waiting on us motivated me LOL. But neither of us will be your primary mod this year! It will be the lovely Helen (

patrokla), who started helping out last year. <3

Here is the lil statement I made in Discord, very slightly modified for DW:

Hi everyone! Official announcement (and thank you, Morbane, for playing go-between while we worked things out behind the scenes :)) -- yuleswaps WILL go forward this year, we hope, and we're sorry for the delay!

Indeed I (Kat/Kindness on AO3/kindness_says) had some commitments in Sept/Oct and did not think I'd be able to prioritize swaps this year, and Liviania/anialove is also pretty busy irl atm -- but Helen/patrokla (a great longtime swapper who joined our team last year) is stepping up to give it a shot in spite of their own busyness! We're meeting tomorrow in hopes of getting sign-ups open by the end of this weekend and matches out in early November so as to stay roughly on the usual timeline. Perhaps ambitious, but we will try!

If anybody else was interested in running swaps, Morbane absolutely was speaking for me that we're not offended, and please feel free to ~~DM me~~ comment or email (yuleswaps at gmail) if you're interested in helping out. ESPECIALLY if you are at all code-savvy/great at answering emails efficiently/bursting with ideas for future improvement. <3

You might hear from me again, or you might not! I will def be helping on the backend, for at least this year/as long as I can, and we really appreciate your patience if we're a little slow or clunky this year as we try to sustain/transition. I also apologize to anyone who didn't get fully covered after January (haven't done 2024 cleanup yet... will try if there's time)!

I have LOVED running swaps, well mostly I have anyway ;) for the past 15 (!!) years. Back in the day I did not read coal but was always charmed when friends occasionally sent me screenshots of anons thrilled about swaps, and I similarly really enjoyed skimming like...1-2 years' worth of this discord not long after Morbane emailed me (was very tempted to answer some super old questions but refrained lol). Your enthusiasm has absolutely been the thing to make all the time and headaches worth it.

<3 <3 <3

So that's that!

Love/candy/books/drinks always,
Kat

P.S. For any newer Yuletiders who are interested (or just confused as to what Yuleswaps is), here is last year's sign-ups post, which links to our FAQ, etc. This year's sign-ups post will come soon, if all goes to plan!

Current Mood: fond
Current Location: now exiting limbo

elrhiarhodan

Title: From All The Spaces Between Times
Chapter: Chapter 60 — Shadows Pass Over Our Faces
Author:

elrhiarhodan /

elrhiarhodan
Fandom: Star Wars, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars — Obi Wan Kenobi (TV), Star Wars — Jedi Apprentice Books
Characters Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn, Shmi Skywalker, Anakin Skywalker, The Force as a Sentient Character, Watto, Quinlan Vos, Padmé Amidala, Sabé, Darth Maul, Yoda, Mace Windu, Adi Gallia, Quinlan Vos, Professor Huyang, The Force, Plo Koon, Vokara Che, Siri Tachi, Aayla Secura, Bant Eerin, Bruck Chun, Xanatos du Crion, Sheev Palpatine | Darth Sidious, Hego Damask II | Darth Plagueis, Komari Vosa, Bail Prestor Organa, Bail Antilles Prestor, Rael Averross, Nim Piana, Ahsoka Tano, Sifo-Dyas, Reva Sevander, Lene Kostana (mentioned), Savage Opress, Original Characters, Other Characters To Be Added
Pairings: Obi-Wan Kenobi & Shmi Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Qui-Gon Jinn, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan/Qui-Gon Jinn (yes, we’re arrived)
Word Count: ~ 7200 this chapter
Spoilers: None
Warnings/Enticements/Triggers: Canon typical violence, non-canon death of a minor canon (TCW) character.

Summary: Obi-Wan Kenobi has never known it, but he has always been the Force’s Champion, destined to suffer infinite sadness in defense of the Light. On his last turn on the wheel, responsibility for The Chosen One, the false child of prophecy, had been thrust upon him with no warning, and Darkness held the upper hand.

But this time, the Force has marshaled its power and will protect its Champion until the time is right, no matter how long Obi-Wan has to wait and how much he has to suffer.

Or,

Obi-Wan is reborn as a twelve-year old.

He wakes up on a slavers’ ship, with all of his prior life’s memories intact, and he’s bound for Tatooine with a Force-inhibitor collar around his neck, a bomb implanted in his spine, and no way of knowing what state of the Galaxy is in.

Just another day in the life of the Force’s Champion.

Chapter Summary: Anakin Skywalker returns to the Temple for the first time in three years, for the first time since he had delivered his half-sister Rey into the keeping of Master Plo. He is not sure how he feels, knowing his children are here, his half-sister is here, but he can’t see them or ask about them.

It’s a good thing he can lean on his padawan-brother, Obi-Wan, for emotional support and wisdom in this difficult moment.

From All The Spaces Between Times — Chapter 60 — Shadows Pass Over Our Faces (On AO3)

( Meta — Shadows Pass Over Our Faces )

yuletidemods posting in

yuletide_admin

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Some notes/reminders:

If you don't select characters in a request, it's your author's choice which character or characters to include from the tag set. Please don't say you want a particular character more than others when you have not selected character tags.

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If you are open to treats, feel free to say so - it isn't greedy! It's just letting people know that you haven't disabled the treat setting.

glitteryv posting in

writethisfanfic

I know the weekend is calling all of us, but let's focus on today. ;)

Poll #33755 DOUBLE RAINBOW!

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 10

View Respondents

Thursday vibes are...

View Answers

great! (I wrote)
5 (50.0%)

cool! (I planned/outlined)
4 (40.0%)

nice (I daydreamed/bounced ideas with someone else)
2 (20.0%)

fine (I rested)
1 (10.0%)

I keep track of my writing...

View Answers

with a planner/journal (digital or physical)
2 (20.0%)

a spreadsheet (my own or someone else's)
5 (50.0%)

by posting here!
0 (0.0%)

keeping track of my writing? Erm...
3 (30.0%)

arcanetrivia posting in

dw_community_promo

Ahoy there, adventure gamers!

monkeyisland is a community for the beloved classic game series Monkey Island, featuring the comedic swashbuckling adventures of the improbably-named Guybrush Threepwood, Mighty Pirate™. Anything about Monkey Island is fair game: your own fanworks (art, fic, videos, games, music, cosplay, memes/silliness, whatever), recs of others' fanworks, livestreams/let's-plays, discussions, news and articles, tips for messing about in the game resources or scripting, requests for hints, screenshots, all that good stuff. If Monkey Island is your ~~jam~~ ~~rum~~ rum and jam (it's an old pirate favorite, everybody knows that), then come on over and have a grog.