When I Finished Watching White Collar, I Dove Straight Into The Rabbithole That Is A03 & Fanfiction,

The Scholomance story Beside the Golden Door by Stellarete details Chloe growing up in the New York Enclave.

The Scholomance books Deadly Education, The Last Graduate & the pending: The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik detail El's story in the magical school the Scholomance.

Chloe is a fascinating character who has learnt growing up to be blind to the intensity of the privilege she grew up with and yet learns to open her eyes throughout the series and to become a genuine friend.

The enclave's teachings are so similar to all the messaging in more privileged societies. I am a university educated European and know rationally that I hold an immense amount of privilege even if there are still a lot of hardships and intense challenges in life. Chloe doesn't ignore her privilege, but does learn that her value and existence are not intrinsically tied to it. She works to be a better friend and person.

This story highlights Chloe's character growing up and the subtlety of the messaging and teaching. It's not even maliciously done: survival is paramount and these parent do lovingly want their children to live come what may.

The Scholomance by Naomi Novik is an intriguing and wonderful story and I am very curious for the conclusion that'll be published in September.

While we wait, this fanfic story is a lovely glimpse into this universe and character.

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - Day 15: Crossing the Half-Way Point Today

I struggle to believe it, but we are about to cross the half-way point! How are all your energies holding up? How is your word count? Regardless if you are far ahead or far behind: remember that there is still another half of the month to go & anything is possible! We can do this.

Day 15: Crossing the Half-Way Point Today

Take a moment to bask in the sensation that we made it here! These markers are a good place to reflect on all our achievements thus far, be they large or small. The sheer fact you are still here is to be applauded. Take a breath. Look around. Celebrate. And keep writing: one word at the time!

The Timeless story Finding Light in the Darkness by Ultra is a wholesome, 19th century AU tale that features Lucy & Garcia unashamedly falling in love.

It is a story of found family - of choosing where and with whom you make your home in the world. It's a sweet & lovely tale. Iris is precocious & the ten-year-old knows what she's doing. Jiya & Rufus are sweet (as can be considering the backstory for Rufus that luckily gets resolved). Karl makes his appearance & Lucy's journal is featured.

(Interesting sidenote: it made me think how in the show we see lots of evidence of Lucy having written (her journal & books) but we never really see her put pen to paper & record her thoughts. Found that intriguing.)

It was this amazing story about a farmer who finds one of her chicks hatched a dragon egg by @dycefic that inspired me to try and draw a tiny dragon. I think she's very cute indeed even if she doesn't quite match the dragon description from the tale. @dycefic's stories are wonderous to read and I highly recommend exploring their blog!

To whomever is interested: I am participating in Fandom Trumps Hate this year! It's a charity auction: you bid on offers & donate money directly to (selected) charities when you win. In return, you get gifted a personalized fandom gift as a thank you.

My auction page can be found here

The past two years, it's been a pleasure reading the stories written as a thank you for me and conversing with my favourite creators. This year, I'm hoping to enjoy the creator side of the auction as well & I am looking forward to seeing what I can gift away 🤓.

I'm offering a fanart gift for the fandoms: Timeless, White Collar or any of Naomi Novik's published work (Temeraire, Uprooted, Spinning Silver, Scholomance) respectively.

For Timeless fans: the incomparable SallyExactly is hosting an auction as well. She's one of my absolute favorite fandom writers, and seeing as it's good for charity: see if you can outbid me! 🫣🤫😎

Bidding is open till Sun March 5th 2023 8:00 pm EST - so don't wait too long if you're interested!

Marianne' Cartoons: Day 2: Are You Having Fun?

Day two of NaNoWriMo is upon us! The early beginnings of a project can feel giddy and exhilarating and fun. We get to meet our characters and write our hearts out. It's like being a kid at a playground and having a blast. Perhaps you have build up a nice cushion of words and face the NaNo challenge with confidence. Give yourself a pat on the back and keep writing. Perhaps yesterday was a struggle and self doubt is creeping in early. Give yourself a nice warm hug and keep writing. Your story is your playground. It is wild, and limitless in its possibilities and you get to play! Sometimes it's scary; mostly it's fun. Sometimes we fall, but we always get back up and keep going! What brought you joy today? What inspired your characters? You got this. Let's write!

A Flynn Family Portrait

I had fun practicing my art skills again! The Flynn family: Garcia, Lorena & Iris were not treated well in Timeless canon, to say the least, but their memory and existence matter so much in the story we saw. This is a portrait of happier times.

This drawing is made with Jaycee (aka RedGold or @timelesshonesttrailer) in mind who loves the Flynns and wrote my favourite headcanons about Lorena Flynn. Her series Team Flynn is wonderful & poignant & I love it.

There are not nearly enough fanfic stories where Lorena & Iris live, but she's been working hard to fill that void. Thanks to all the fanfic writers who imagine better futures for them ❤️. I love reading it.

Now also on AO3

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - Day 5

NaNoWriMo is a personal writing challenge and a massive community event at the same time! I enjoy the knowledge that there are so many others who are typing away with me and finding their own stories to tell.

Day 05: Checking in with Our WriMo Buddies!

Let’s shower ourselves and our buddies with encouragement and good vibes. We are approaching the end of our first week and everyone who is still here: you are marvelous! The courage of putting your story to paper is to be applauded and celebrated. Any word you’ve written is more than you had and I cheer you on!

As always: I am always happy to hear from anyone if you enjoy these cartoons. I hope to bring a smile to your faces and encourage you even when the goings get hard. Let’s keep being awesome together.

The Temeraire story The Diplomat's Dragon by indecisive_lotus is such a joy to read.

For those unfamiliar with the Temeraire books by Naomi Novik: it's the Napoleonic wars with dragons and it's marvelous. Arthur Hammond is a diplomat who gets unwittingly & initially unwillingly adopted by an Incan dragon named Churki. As he's been strongly encouraged to retire at the end of the series, he's now run out of excuses to introduce Churki to his family.

Throughout this entire story he's essentially fighting a losing battle to Churki & his mother who outmanouver & outsmart the fiercesome diplomat. It's hilarious to behold how Hammond finds himself at a loss and fails to see the traps he falls into, while still wanting to maintain his decorum & social graces.

The language of the story mimics that of the period and the social context of the time is well-represented and thought out.

I enjoy the humor of this story, the increasing desperation of Hammond, the character portrayals. Churki is very in character, and, as a massive dragon, knows when to adopt the customs of the English gentry when it suits her, but also how to completely ignore them when it suits her purposes better.

Mrs Carter is an intriguing dragon's companion. I look forward to reading more of this story & how it develops, for it's been wonderful to spend more time with these characters.

The stories by @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels have entertained me, amused me and kept me up late. Mads is a prolific writer and I've thoroughly enjoyed reading her work on Timeless and then continued with her work in other fandoms that I haven't actually seen. She's well-known for her explicit smut, garcyatt and such, but she's also exquisite in writing alternate universe stories. Taking characters we well know & love and placing them in different timeperiods & settings in intriguing ways.

The short story The Gutter and The Stars by @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels (story also available on Tumblr) features Oscar Wilde, 19th century language and intriguing imagery. It's short, and humorous: Flynn as the inspiration for Dorian Gray.