Passing For Normal

The m/m discord server/book club I am in is doing a side-read of... House of Leaves? Time to finally do something with my fancy full color edition that's been sitting around as shelf decoration

I did find a cheap physical copy of The Russian Five. Not a used one, sadly. So, I'm picking that back up.

The current read for my m/m book club is Gentleman's Gentleman, which I've read already so I can mostly skip it. I'll leaf through a copy at a bookstore as a reminder.

The next book for that bookclub will be A Spell for Heartsickness, which just barely beat out Like Real People Do by E L Massey. I really wanted Like Real People Do to win because I wanted a reason to give it a chance even though it's teenagers and a hockey/ice skater pairing. Because I needed a palate cleanser after Goaltender Interference, I picked up Like Real People Do anyway and am most of the way through. I am actually enjoying it, despite some of the YAness of it.

For my local bookshop's bookclub I've got Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie, which I've really wanted to read. I am probably skipping The Dead Take The A Train for horror book club. I think I'd really like the book, but not in the headspace for it right now.

For Trans Right's Read-a-thon I want to read is Notes From a Regicide. Dead Collections by the same author is one of my favorite books. I just have no idea how the heck to squeeze it in.

The Virtual Memorial for minoanmiss will be April 12, 1PM EDT (GMT -4)

Other info shared by gingicat:

It's now okay to unlock and make public posts regarding minoanmiss.

The funeral took place on the afternoon of March 13th. If any of you want to go visit her grave, it is in Mount Auburn Cemetery near the corner of Sycamore Ave and Gerardia Path.

Her organs were donated:
- heart to research
- liver to a woman in her 30s
- right kidney to a woman in her 40s
- left kidney to a woman in her 70s

Announcement sign-up:
https://groups.google.com/g/nyani-announce

---

I'm so glad to know MM's final resting place is at a peaceful, beautiful location, and that her friends were able to honour her wishes to donate her organs to those in need. ♥

1. We made mac and cheese for lunch inspired by the ramen mac and cheese we had at DCA last night. Added dashi in the water while the macaroni was boiling, and topped with furikake (all we had was gomashio, which is a mix of black sesame seeds and chunky salt) and it was delicious but we decided adding toasted panko really would make it better, so we actually ended up making it again for dinner with the panko. It was so good. Carla bought a different type of furikake at the store today but I just used the gomashio again and that went so good with the panko. Will definitely be making mac and cheese this way again.

2. A couple weeks ago I got the annual Costco rewards gift certificate and we finally braved Costco today so we could use it. We weren't going directly home, so that saved us from being tempted by any perishable products and we pretty much stuck to our list of basics that we needed to stock up on.

3. The weekend is over and I'm not thrilled about that but it was a pretty nice weekend overall.

4. Molly loves being in this window, hidden behind the curtain.

that the Roman calendar was batshit.

Today is the Ides, okay, and yesterday was pridie Ides, so far so good, and the day before that was three days before the Ides, because the Romans a. counted backwards and b. did this weird inclusive counting, so Friday, Saturday, Ides = three days.

(Which is also how Good Friday is three days before the Resurrection, when it blatantly isn't.)

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I made it to OH. Rocket is happy to see me. Shingles are all over the place. most of my porch is falling in. I need to text all this nonsense to my landlords.

I have no real writing thoughts but I DO have a question. How do you handle the scenes that won't leave you alone even if they are nowhere near where you are in the story? I have a habit of playing them in my head for weeks/months/years until I finally get to that place in the story/series but by then I'm tired of them and they don't feel new or exciting any more. I'd like to find a better way.

Open Calls

The Journal of Compressed Creative Arts Compressed Creative Arts, any genre, has to be under 600 words

Thema: Waiting In Line Waiting in line

Flash Fiction Online Special Call: “Tiny Gods” Flash Fiction Online Special Call: “Tiny Gods”

The Rotting Leaf April 2026 Window Darker ecology-themed stories


Shallow Waters Flash Fiction Contest March 2026 Archival Horror


They Are Still Here Fantasy tales of resistance and resilience

5 Paying Literary Magazines to Submit to in March 2026

Horror Publishers Accepting Submissions. for 2026, this includes major publishers

84 Specialized Manuscript Publishers Open to Submissions


From Around the Web

The Gothic Moors: Why Isolation Still Works

5 Ways to Develop Character Voices

How Do You Know If You’re Ready to Query?

When the Comments Section Is Challenging

The Perfection of the Wrong Word

In Medias Res: It’s Not About the Explosions


From Betty

Five Ways to Add Conflict to Your Story

Five Steps to a Great Plot Twist

Accounting for Character Identification

The Three Ways to Keep Your Story Short here's one for me to absorb

Five Ways to Solve the First Officer Problem

Is Your Story Cohesive? What You Should Know

Using Contradictions to Create Microtension – Part 6.

Reading and Hearing

Ooo La La: 5 Steps to Write Uncomfortable Scenes

Healthy Coping Mechanism Thesaurus: Celebrating Small Wins

When to get feedback on a novel

Celebrate Your Writing Progress Even When Life Isn’t Perfect

How to Keep Writing When Life Gets Busy: 3 Practical Tips for Writers

When Writing Advice Conflicts: How Writers Can Discern What to Change

My Brain is Not My Friend Right Now: the Challenges of Working with a Quirky Brain

Reality…But Better: Never Let Facts Get in the Way of Fiction

Five Worldbuilding Mistakes Even Enthusiasts Make

Six Ways to Keep Characters in the Danger Zone

Establishing and Satisfying Plot Threads

When Dark and Sensitive Content Is Worth It

Using Contradictions to Create Masterful Microtension – Part 4

Using Contradictions to Create Microtension – Part 5

Play Isn't the Opposite of Discipline

The Two Things Every Novel Needs


Research Words of Wisdom

Five Tips For Increasing Tension

Why We Procrastinate and How To Stop

How to Write Powerful Story Beats

How to Write Authentic Character Behavior

Coping Mechanism Thesaurus Entry: Overindulging

The View from Inside: On Adding Interiority to Your Fiction

your query letter isn't the problem

How to Write Epic Fantasy Without Overcomplicating Your Story

How to Overcome Writer’s Block with a Simple Writer’s Affirmation Video

Why Writing by Hand Boosts Memory, Creativity, and Brain Health for Writers

Kishōtenketsu Story Structure: What It Is, How It Works, and How It Compares to Western Plotting

Embodied Writing: How to Get Out of Your Head and Into Your Story.

When a Writer Does More Than One Thing

Reading as an Agent

Actor Jake Phillips, AKA The Cultured Bumpkin, serves up a platter of Southern-fried Shakespeare:



Courtesy of keepcalmandcarriefischer: https://keepcalmandcarriefischer.tumblr.com/post/681474233797328896/httpsvmtiktokcomztdquxw52-i-think-i-found

It looks like the Buffy the Vampire Slayer sequel that was in development isn't going to happen after all.

But apparently Firefly of all things might be getting an animated series set between S1 and the movie.

I've known minoanmiss online for decades, and got to meet her in person twice. She turned fifty in January, and two weeks ago she had a fatal seizure. Complicated family stuff meant delaying saying anything in public.

MM had an infectious smile and took joy in sharing art, music, and food. She always had stickers to give to children she encountered when out and about, she cooked meals for her local food bank, and she spread drawings and poetry online and in tangible form. I have many postcards, holiday cards, and magnets with her work, and I've enjoyed many of her fruitcakes and confections. In a last act of giving, her organs gave life to three other people.

Due to an abusive past she struggled to see her own value sometimes. But she also saw the many friends who gathered around her and the unknown people she helped in the world, and I hope that that helped her get through rough times. There was a non-religious service on Friday (which I attended on Zoom) and an in-person memorial gathering today in Boston, and it stands out how many people from different circles were together in those places. There's going to be a virtual memorial on April 12; details will be shared later on the announcement list (signup link).

She was doing what she loved -- cooking -- when it happened, way too early. I miss her.

 
Does that make the aggressor in non-con a consent scab?

I'm here as a representative of the Noncon Union, local 69. You pay those dues on time, or else.

Or else what? /bats eyelashes

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Not to worry, I'll return it. We have plenty enough as it is.

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Down to 1034 fandoms wrangled. Almost exactly 100 dropped since last check-in.

I did a big “invitation to all wranglers, look through my list and grab any webcomics you want” post, and managed to hand off 80+ that way. The rest are from dropping more A’s and B’s.

Only 39 of these have any tags that need wrangling. Higher than usual. I didn’t wrangle as much last week…tbh, I was low-key hoping some of the lightly-active webcomics would get claimed in the big invitation post.

(By “lightly” I mean “there are 1-5 new tags.” It’s still not an overwhelming burden, here. Just a mild annoyance to check lots of individual tag bins.)

While I’m at it, AMT updates: My “please combine the redundant Frosty the Snowman fandoms” request was approved, so my count will go down by 1 when that gets processed. The Madoka Magica requests I mentioned last month…are still on the waiting-for-approvals list.

I haven’t actually made the request to restructure the Fake News tree. The wranglers of other fandoms involved have all signed off on it — but now I’m waiting on a response to a different question. Which I kinda suspect has been forgotten at this point. Maybe I’ll just go forward, on the premise of “since nobody has responded to say [thing] is a roadblock for the tree, that means [thing] is not a roadblock for the tree, and I won’t worry about it.”

I was fretting that I'd permanently broken my iPod (it disconnected without being ejected, which meant the music on it wasn't accessible and iTunes didn't see it), but this method worked for me!

The Life You Build (18285 words) by Hannah
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Top Gun (Movies)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Tom "Iceman" Kazansky/Pete "Maverick" Mitchell
Characters: Ron "Slider" Kerner, Tom "Iceman" Kazansky, Pete "Maverick" Mitchell
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Period Typical Attitudes, Period-Typical Homophobia, Ron "Slider" Kerner is a Good Friend, Jewish Tom "Iceman" Kazansky, Catholic Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, Don't Ask Don't Tell, dishonorable discharge, Los Angeles, Gay Pride, Gay Wrath
Summary:

§ 925. Art. 125. Sodomy

(a) Any person subject to this chapter who engages in unnatural carnal copulation with another person of the same or opposite sex or with an animal is guilty of sodomy. Penetration, however slight, is sufficient to complete the offense.

(b) Any person found guilty of sodomy shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.

-

I officially have a new record for walking in late to a fandom with Starbucks. It's how I've come to describe joining an established fandom, looking around at what's been written, trying to find a story that seems like it ought to have arrived by now, struggling to believe I have to do it myself, and having to do it myself. The last times I've done this for specific fandoms, it was about 21 years since their debuts, both for Deep Space Nine - Julian Bashir never getting the genetic modifications, with DS9 coming out in 1993 and the fic getting published in 2014 - and for Buffy - an all-human AU where it's still Sunnydale, Buffy living on into retirement and enjoying her life, achieving status as public figure, her and Spike simply making a wish to have a baby, with Buffy coming out in 1997 and the first of several fics getting published in 2018.

There's been a handful of times it's been for tropes and general ideas that could go to just about any fandom, like that one I wrote for mpreg where the technology to get men pregnant was developed to achieve maternity leave reform in the United States and the character exploration simply happened to be for the show Scrubs when it could just as easily have been for any number of reasonably grounded fandoms that take place in what's more or less the real world. In fact, I'm certain there's a few fandoms where having that level of medical technology in the background would have the canon make somewhat more sense given what we see them do. And it wasn't a take on mpreg I'd ever seen before. I just happened to wander in after several decades of fandom and do it myself.

I've made a habit of doing this, and like I said, I have a new record for it.

Because in the forty years this fandom's been around, nobody's written anything where Iceman and Maverick are dishonorably discharged from the Navy. Nothing. There's been fics that tackle the culture of secrecy, or Don't Ask Don't Tell, or the legalization of gay marriage in the US. There's been fics that take place in a much kinder world where it's not an issue. There's been fics that skip past it because it doesn't work with the kind of story the author's trying to write. But there hasn't been anything about receiving a dishonorable discharge and living with what comes after.

Lawrence versus Texas happened when I was in high school. I saw Don't Ask Don't Tell come and go. I remember the pictures from the San Francisco courthouse and the wave of joy from Obergefell. I like to say that fandoms like Top Gun deliver a particular type of yearning you can't get anywhere else, especially not contemporary ones, and a lot of that's from the world those fandoms take place in. It's not a world most people want to visit, and it's the world I grew up in. I didn't mind going back there for a while.

Sometimes I feel like people forget how recent all of this is. Forty years is a long time for a movie to be around, and for people to be writing fic about that movie. For the idea to have taken this long to arrive speaks to what the fandom wants to write about. I can understand that people would rather avoid this kind of thing. Just as much, I can't grasp why nobody else thought to give it a try. I'll admit to being a little proud for being the first one to do it, and a little grateful that this is a reflection of the world that was, not the world that is.

Forty years is a good long time.