Plancescape: The Palace Moon

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by Damir Šnajder

Tzimisce fashion show ft. Nikifor and Laszlo the Revenant

The Transfeminine Review

12 Spooky Books by Transfemmes to Read This Halloween (CW #7)

Vampires, living dolls, and dysphoria, oh my!

As the clock strikes midnight at the dawn of Halloween, I come bearing spooky books! Check out these cool recs for horror and paranormal novels by transfeminine authors that'll make your day a little darker 🖤

I visited a market yesterday and picked a card from the Tarot that a vendor had splayed out at her table. I tried for the card most hidden, and eventually picked the second of two cards that were stuck together.

I flipped it over for the witch manning the table. She read it aloud. "The Candelabra." She thumbed through the pages of a Tarot meanings pamphlet, and continued her reading. "This could mean Crossroads. A Junction. Paths. A Journey. Whatever that may mean to you."

I don't take much creed in the magical, but sometimes it's fun to indulge. And I wanted to indulge. I didn't speak of it, but to me 'Crossroads' meant the choice to come out to my family that night. To do it, or not to do it. 'A Journey' meant that I was ready to take the path. Ready to tell them what and who I am.

I was excited, to say the least. My parents had invited my Husband and I over to watch TV that night. My whole family would be there, it would be perfect.

But it wasn't. My husband and I got home after a big day at a local comic convention and we were exhausted. We fell asleep.

It's now 11 after midnight. The next day technically. I know that the Tarot has no real hold over my life and the path I take, but it feels like I missed the opportunity. I didn't tell my family. I missed my exit off the highway, and I'll need to wait for the next turnoff before I can circle back. I felt so ready but I'm not so sure anymore. I've felt so euphoric lately but now all I feel is dread.

Maybe I should give it some time. That readiness will come back soon.

I have my own Tarot deck at home. It may be time to open it up and do my own readings. Maybe it'll tell me the proper time to do it, or maybe I'll decide against whatever doomsaying it tells me and I'll do it anyway. Whatever. Sounds fun.

Any tips for personal tarot reading?

How to Write on Final Draft (without it feeling so daunting)

It's incredibly difficult to open up a Final Draft document without feeling like you're literally writing your final draft, so here's a few features you can use your advantage!

1. Turn on dark mode

Dark mode makes it look like less of a script and more of an outline. Edit and rewrite in light mode, you will feel the difference.

2. Use speed view

Speed view gets rid of pages and page numbers and therefore you are only looking at the words you type.

3. Use focus mode

Focus mode removes the scenes, page numbers, and outlines you have at the top on the program while writing. Another way to forget about focusing on progress.

4. Make a messy beat board

Throw all your ideas onto the beat board, it should help make the document feel a bit more lived-in and less pristine.

Bonus:

5. Set a template with your formatting and use that to start every script you write

While a script format is very ridged, there are things you can do to personalize it. When you find those things, make them in a Final Draft doc (without actual writing) and save as your own template so you don't have to change all the elements every time.

FKA twigs

🧦☕🧸A Guide to Writing Cozy Fantasy

Check out my masterpost for more tips :)

What is "cozy fantasy"? 🧺🪵

Cozy fantasy is a subgenre that is characterized by a more everyday approach to fantasy.

While its definition is not as clear-cut (everyone will have a sightly different idea of what it needs to look like), there are some general approaches to writing in this subgenre.

Elements of Cozy Fantasy 🕯️ೀ

A comforting, healing ambience 🍪

Rather than bloody battle and cunning witches, we have our next door wizard baker chumming up his special pumpkin pie.

Every magical book at their deepest core evoke a healing quality, but for these cozy novels, this warm element takes control.

2. "Kindness” and ‘gentleness” tropes 🍂

Found family/community, a sense of togetherness

Kind hearted protangoists

Plots gull of joy, hope or happy endings. Give your readers reassurance that everything will work out. And they do.

Ambience woven in the worldbuilding that gets the reader intitamely close to the world

Slower pace, allow the reader to delve into the story world and build stake in these kind, loving characters.

Slice of life: provide personal insight into the character’s “mundane” lives. 

The plot must take this "happy" nad kind" element as the MAIN theme. Every book provides catharsis at the end, but if the process if filled with dark, dangerous adventures, that's not cozy at all!

3. Cozy doesn’t mean “no/low stake” 📖

No novel would be interesting without conflict and some kind of loss.

Think of “personal” stakes. Cozy fantasy can be grand adventures, quiet magical quests, fairytales or healing slice of life stories.

For example, the protagonist can develop new relationship around town and figure out her passion to express the theme of importance of enduring. 

4. Generally slower pace, focusing more on the inner development of the protagonist and the main side characters.

Cozy Fantasy Starter Recommendations 🎧🌙

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

Can't Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J.Klune

Bookshops & Bonedust by Travie Baldree

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

If you like my blog, buy me a coffee☕ and find me on instagram! 📸

Sister Of Chaos Undivided by Rotaken(DA)/Rotaken(Tb)

Fun fact: the skitarii are so radioactive that every organic lifeform that they "save" will end up dying of terrible cancers sometime later!

I'm still new to Warhammer 40k, and I have gotten attached to two unit types that seem to be very prone to death (kriegers and skitarii), and I'm not sure if it's just coincidence and I have the tastes of a factually inaccurate lemming, or if it is so that everyone in the 40k universe is very prone to dying.