acab includes the three act structure

Was reading the afterword to Roadside Picnic, which details their struggles getting it published, and discovered that the official censors of the USSR would have fit right in on Goodreads.

The horse op-ed is an instant classic. I can't tell you how much joy this piece gives me. It should be taught in every introductory writing class in no small part because the horse arguments are so compelling. "I have noticed that human children get to eat cake. But I am bigger than the children."

the nicest thing you can wish upon an artist in 2026 is that their work gains a small but dedicated cult following of kind hearted and politically shrewd weirdos & sickos that keep the fire going. the meanest thing you can wish upon an artist in 2026 is that their work gains a large online fandom

always a pleasure to read new Eruditorum

Please read this entire thread if you consider yourself anti imperialist, and are interested in space (and even if you’re not — it’s still vital reading!) Divya taught me today about the level of genocide enablism there is in Western space races, which has made me reconsider hyping Artemis.

*TWORZY FAŁSZYWY ŚWIAT CIAŁA I MATERII WIĘŻĄCY W SOBIE NIEZLICZONE ISKRY BOSKOŚCI* PRIMA APRILIS!!!

"criticizing AI use in journalism or other creative industries is classist" NO IT IS NOT there is a class that benefits enormously from cognitive surrender, epistemic warfare, and the enclosure of all hitherto produced culture and it is NOT THE WORKING CLASS

jesus christ writing this story is like pulling teeth

not to get too fandom-brained, but i wonder if anyone's made a Yellow Wallpaper/King in Yellow mashup

This part really caught me, I think there's something really interesting in how more SFF stories adopting the relationship-centric narrative structure of genre romance shapes the handling of serious themes like fascism or colonialism especially when one love interest is/starts on the oppressing side

"The color is repellent, almost revolting; a smouldering unclean yellow, strangely faded by the slow-turning sunlight." I made a "Yellow Wallpaper" piece back in 2017, but I re-read the story over the weekend and wanted to try again. Much happier with this version 🖤

There is No Alternative: Garrett Bridger Gilmore reviews Jacob Rollinson's THE TRUTH OF CARCOSA (Union Square & Co)

tv shows, novels... everything

If you’re finishing up your #Hugos ballot and have a slot to spare in Best Related Work, my book-length essay on Sandman, “The Cuddled Little Vice,” is eligible.

All eight #SmallProphets covers are available as a pack of postcards. Buy here: colemandesign.co.uk/shop and love them. Forever. 9/

something like over 80% of professional athletes are men for a reason and it sure as shit isn’t because “women just don’t wanna play sports.”

neuromantasy, is this anything

"Isolated among strange influences, Lavinia was fond of wild and grandiose day-dreams and singular occupations."

@grahamwalmsley.bsky.social in Cthulhu Dark a player can start suppressing knowledge once Insight reaches 5; in Cosmic Dark, they can try to suppress their Changed score once it reaches 3 was there a particular reasoning behind the choice to lower the threshold?

"i'd like to try and disrupt the ritual" "okay! and how do you wanna do that?" "well my first – and so far only – thought is to try and pee on one of the clouds" Cathulhu (Call of Cthulhu but you play as cats) is fun.

I really think to make great morally ambiguous art (which we always need more of!), the artist must have some sense of morality of their own, whatever that might be, then accept that few audience members will necessarily notice or appreciate that.

An abandoned (cursed) linocut print from my #folksongfebruary project. This one was for John Barleycorn which dates back to the 1600s in written form but is conceivably much older; a rural ballad that reads like an especially gruesome folk horror story.

amusing myself by calling Fading Suns "Dune in space" in front of my girlfriend

Had to draw her 🌞

this led to me putting her character as one of the tethers binding me to earth with the following statements: "i love her; i hate her; i'm going to kill her last"

this isn't even my final_final3_FINAL form

The Beauty of the House is immeasurable; its Kindness infinite.

Oh heck yes. I totally understand why some fans love their rigorously defined magic systems. And totally get why others love their cosy, low stakes worlds. But personally I really miss fantasy that feels unheimlich and defies explanation, that is wild, that is dangerous. More of that please folks.

spring's coming, i think it's time i started working on my bog body

Can we take a moment to admire Briardene Books? Four years, four books, all impeccably edited and full of chewy, insightful SFF criticism (full disclosure, one of them is mine). And all with absolute banger covers by Tom Joyes.

the editor's interested in my post-Brexit fantasy essay, so i think it's going to happen sooner rather than later excited to push forward with the second part of the fantasy triptych

Today is publication day for ‘Fairies: A History’ - so I’ve written a special free post over on ‘All Old Strange Things’ to celebrate 📚🧚 open.substack.com/pub/drfranci...

The best thing I've seen in a while. Kinzie and Leamington, Chicago.

see? here's the thing. A lot of people are like, the earth is fucked, it's beyond salvation, it's hit the tipping point, but time and time again we see that if we just fucking fixed the problem, it rebounds so incredibly fast. Imagine what could be done if people actually cared

i never understand "you could solve this love triangle with polyamory" takes on media, because why would i want to solve it. i want to make everyone worse. i'm the writer, for god's sake.

So wait, according to Tech Fascist logic, NPCs are the ones who... have interiority?

The Kickstarter for Play Unsafe, my book about how to play TTRPGs and tell stories, is now live. Go and back it. And please repost this and spread the word! #ttrpg #kickstarter #crowdfunding www.kickstarter.com/projects/gra...

ANDREESEN: Introspection is fake. I silenced my inner monologue with a lobotomy. I'm the first 'dehuman.' I revere the locust. If I dreamed, I'd dream of being the Alien from Alien. INTERVIEWER: Would you call yourself a 'philosophical zombie'? ANDREESEN: [mucosal snort] I don't do philosophy.

No, we did that already and it got pretty bad

Jesus when he comes back to Earth:

I'll launch the Kickstarter for Play Unsafe, my book about how to play TTRPGs, this week. Go and follow it now! And please repost this and spread the word when the time comes, it really helps. www.kickstarter.com/projects/gra... #ttrpg #kickstarter

gonna be fixed in Weird Fiction 2.0

One of the highlights of hanging out with @maggietokudahall.bsky.social the other day was getting to hear her short rant about how video podcasts are a betrayal of the medium. And you know what, she’s not wrong.

more rpgs coming in, really excited to delve into this one by Graham Walmsley

if transitioning didn’t change your sex they wouldn’t be trying to ban it

joining the mycelium network, you guys need anything?