MONTHLY REC LIST: APRIL EDITION

Blank Notepad doc on my laptop

No planning outside of what my fevered brain holds

No gods

No masters

Just me and a brick of text in consolas regular

hello writers.

Is this the inverse of the Tiffany problem?

I’m watching Splash (1984) which is a romcom about a guy who falls in love with a mermaid, and when she chooses a human name she chooses Madison and guy says “that’s not a real name, but alright” which seems to imply that Madison was not a name until at least the 80’s and all girls named Madison are actually named after the mermaid. thought you should know

I have writer's block this weekend, so I thought I'd post my OTPs!

Some rarepairs, some popular pairs. Just a general mix 'em up.

I'll throw in some other fandoms outside my mains rn just for giggles

Stardew Valley

Haley/Penny

Shane/Elliott

Fear & Hunger: Termina

Daan/Marcoh (shout out to the five other Daarcoh fans lol)

Abella/Olivia

JJBA

Jotaro/Kakyoin (specifically in everyone lives Part 4 AUs)

Jonathan/Speedwagon

Johnny/Gyro

Rohan/basically every man lol

Suikoden I/II

(A lot of these are based on my headcanon playthroughs)

Riou/Jowy

Viktor/Flik

Leona/Hilda

Eilie/Nanami

Rina/Oulan

Death Mark

Mashita/Yoshiki

This is an incomplete list and I might come back to it later :)

As much as I desperately want my fics to be up to the same standard as a traditionally published work, I’m not a literary editor.

I’ve been an editor of professional copywriting for many years, but I’ve come to learn that there is a gap between the skills needed for professional/technical editing and literary editing. Maybe not a vast gap. It’s still there.

All that to say, fanfiction gives writers and editors an opportunity to learn new skills. We should always keep honing our craft, no matter what that looks like.

I hate that there’s a stigma around fanfiction writing because it presents such a rich opportunity to grow as writers and editors.

And I hate even more that such a stigma stems from misogyny. There’s a pre-conceived notion that writers who are women (often queer women) and young don’t have anything worthy to offer. Of course, it swings in every direction for women of every age. Misogyny is no respecter of age, but the way some folks talk about young women’s writing makes me want to throw hands.

You — yes, you, fanfic writer reading this — need to keep doing what you’re doing. There is no more noble endeavor than creating something you love in earnest.

Don’t stop. Please.

I have read fanfics that have left me in tears, both happy and sad, had me laughing my ass off, wanting to scream. Fanfics might be seen as weird and taboo (weirdly enough) but no one can say that some fics aren’t so well written it feels like you’re reading a best selling book!

Adorable! I love this for him.

And relatable because this is the standard reaction I get from anyone I make listen to The Decemberists.

Hi, hello.

All this recent talk about Shane coded songs made me think about Harvey a bit. I’m of the opinion that he’d be a fan of the Decemberists, and from that thought came what has got to be the most self-indulgent little thing I’ve ever written.

Look below the cut for some SFW fluff.

Contains: domesticity and conversations best suited for those of us whose musical tastes crystallized in the 2006 indie folk scene.

Harvey had a vinyl collection. It was endearing, his dedication to physical media. Mostly jazz albums, smooth and smoky, all warm and rich through his speakers.

You weren’t much for jazz. He had some other options too, but you weren’t sure those were for you either.

“Why do you listen to music about dead babies?”

You’d asked it while washing the dishes. Harvey nearly dropped the plate in his hands. “What!?”

You shrugged. “I put on one of your records and the guy was singing about a dead baby.”

“You… what album?” Harvey’s eyes were crinkled in bemusement.

“It had a boat on it?”

Harvey thought for a second, then his face lit in recognition. “The Decemberists! They’re wonderful!”

You laughed. “Didn’t know your taste was so… edgy?”

“Oh no no no.” Harvey was blushing. “That track… not a good representation. Here.” He dried his hands, grabbed yours, pulled you into his hobby room. You leaned against the door, trying to control your smile as he rifled through his albums. He made a small “ah” sound as he pulled one out. “This is a better starting point.”

Strings filled the room, and you settled in on the floor to listen. You liked this one a little better, but…

“Is this a song about a couple jumping off a cliff together?”

“…yes?” Harvey ducked his head, an embarrassed smile playing on his lips.

“I mean, I like it better than the dead baby one…”

“Hmmm…” Harvey fiddled with the player again. “They’re known for this one. Might want to sit down, it’s long.”

You appeased him, doing your best not to knock into the model that was drying on the table next to you. Harvey joined, picking up a bit of sandpaper. He worked away at a few small pieces of wood as you spent the next nine minutes trying to follow the action of a rambling nautical tale.

“So let me get this straight,” you said as an accordion reeled through its outro. “This dude bankrupted the kids mom and gave her an std or something, so the singer took to sea to kill him, but then they both got swallowed by a whale, but he’s still gonna kill him?”

Harvey nodded, keeping his eyes on his project. “Yup. That’s… that’s about it.”

“Huh.” You sat and watched him for a moment as he smoothed away at a rough edge. The track transitioned, a gentle guitar picking, the lead singer’s lowing tenor sliding through a simple melody.

You recognized it.

“I think I know this one?” You tried to place it. It sounded a little different in your head. Softer. Hummed.

Harvey was blushing again. “I get it stuck in my head sometimes. It’s one of my favorites. ‘Of Angels and Angles.’ Makes me think of you.”

“Awww…” You couldn’t help the slow smile. That was exactly it. Harvey would hum it sometimes around the house, or, now that you were thinking a little harder, when you were in bed, head on his chest, the melody rumbling beneath you as you grew up warm and tired and relaxed.

Harvey’s lips were moving, singing without singing as he brushed away a bit of dust from the wing he held.

There’s a swallow

There’s a calm

Here’s a hand to lay on your open palm today

You stood, wrapped your arms around his shoulder, buried your face in his hair as the song wound its way to its end. “Alright,” you said. “That was a lot better than the first one I heard. What else you got?”

Harvey tilted his head up at you. “Ever heard the story of the crane wife?”

You hadn’t, but now you couldn’t wait to hear all about it.

I think that we live or die under the tyranny of perfection. Socially, we are pushed towards being perfect. Physically, beautiful to conform to standards that are cruel and uncommon, to behave and lead our lives in a certain way, to demonstrate to the world that we are happy and healthy and all full of sunshine. We are told to always smile and never sweat, by multiple commercials of shampoo or beer. And I feel that the most achievable goal of our lives is to have the freedom that imperfection gives us. And there is no better patron saint of imperfection than a monster.

Happy 52nd Birthday, Guillermo del Toro! (October 9, 1964)

me and my beloved reader who tells me my fic made them cry

I had such high hopes for how much I would write this week.

But then I discovered Look Outside and put like 15 hours into that instead.

And my first Rarepair week fic ballooned out of my control.

Life amirite

Jeremy Brett was easily the best Holmes

I had to download the episode and cut out this scene because I need this clip from Granadas The Speckled Band. It's the scene that made me fall in love with Jeremy Brett. <3

The laugh! The smile! This man was such a treasure. <3 <3 <3

BELIK has some of my absolute favorite designs this season.

Maybe we’ll get to see some in JoJoLands 👀

(If they’re not already there… I’m not up to date)

BELIK Couture 2025 if you want to support this blog consider donating to: ko-fi.com/fashionrunways