Reading

Organizers say nearly 500,000 at Tel Aviv rally

Posted by AlSweigart

https://www.metafilter.com/209999/Organizers-say-nearly-500000-at-Tel-Aviv-rally

Times of Israel and other reports massive demonstrations in Tel Aviv. Israeli police scuffled with protesters blocking roads in Jerusalem on Sunday as demonstrators called on the government to reach an agreement with Hamas to end the war and release the remaining hostages. Far-right Israeli minister Bezalel Smotrich denounced the protests, describing them as a "harmful campaign that plays into the hands of Hamas".

https://www.metafilter.com/209999/Organizers-say-nearly-500000-at-Tel-Aviv-rally

Caroff. Joe Caroff. 1921 – 2025

Posted by brundlefly

https://www.metafilter.com/209998/Caroff-Joe-Caroff-1921-2025

Joe Caroff, designer of the 007 Logo, has passed away at 103. He also designed posters, logos, and title sequences for such films as West Side Story, A Hard Day's Night, Manhattan, and The Last Temptation of Christ.

https://www.metafilter.com/209998/Caroff-Joe-Caroff-1921-2025

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writing theory

Writing meta: What Middles Are For

Context and disclaimer: Most of these thoughts are not the kinds of things I take into account when I'm drafting. I'm hoping that looking at them in the abstract will a) train my subconscious in useful directions, and b) help me un-stick some WIPs.

I’ve mulched a bunch of Writing Excuses podcasts and Brandon Sanderson's Youtube writing lectures over the years, which have deeply influenced this random crop of ideas. I made some of it up myself, but I'm not claiming any kind of authority or even experience.

What Middles Are For

Arguably a story consists of 1) promises, 2) progress, and 3) payoff (cf Sanderson, Youtube). The promises are "here's what you're in for", including main characters, setting/genre/tone, goals and stakes. Most of that gets set up at the start. The payoff happens at the end, obviously, as all of it comes to fruition or failure. But middles can feel a bit formless. What does "progress" even mean?

Here are some thoughts about what the middles of stories are for.
( Many bullet points beneath the cut. )

Anyway, all of this has been swirling around my head for a while now. What do you think? Do you get stuck in the middles of stories? Do you have other ideas about what middles are for (other than putting some space between the beginning and the end)? Does thinking about it in these kind of terms help you, or do you prefer to frame your writing in other ways? If you look at your current WIPs or just-finished stories, what broadly/structurally are the middles of those stories "doing"? Do you think all this is different for fanfic, where you can assume a certain amount of reader pre-investment in the characters, at least, and where backstory is often canon?

Valorum to Yoda. "It's been a long time, my friend."

Posted by clavdivs

https://www.metafilter.com/209997/Valorum-to-Yoda-Its-been-a-long-time-my-friend

Actor Terence Stamp, has died.
"In a career that spanned six decades, the Oscar-nominated actor starred in films including The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Far From the Madding Crowd and Valkyrie."
Guardian interview: 'Terence Stamp: 'I was in my prime, but when the 60s ended, I ended with it.'

https://www.metafilter.com/209997/Valorum-to-Yoda-Its-been-a-long-time-my-friend

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The Untamed: An Elegant Solution by Giraffeter

Fandom: The Untamed
Pairings/Characters: Lan Wangji/Nie Mingjue/Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng, Jiang Yanli, Wen Qing, Wen Ning, Wen Yuan, Lan Xichen, Nie Huaisang, Jin Zixuan
Rating: Explicit
Length: 205K words
Creator Links:

giraffeter
Theme: Marriage of Convenience, Everybody Lives/Nobody Dies, Fork in the Road AU, Fix-It

Summary: When Jiang Yanli joins Jiang Cheng in visiting Wei Wuxian at the Burial Grounds, the two brothers are on the verge of cutting ties forever — until Jiang Yanli has a better idea. Wei Wuxian doesn't need to leave the sect. He needs to get married, and she has the perfect Sect Leader in mind.

When Lan Wangji is invited to come along on Wei Wuxian's visit to the Unclean Realm to spend time with his new betrothed, Nie Mingjue, he agrees — even though his heart is breaking. How else is he ever going to see Wei Wuxian again?

When Nie Mingjue welcomes Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji into his home, he realizes two things very quickly: 1.) They clearly want each other so badly they can barely stand it, and 2.) Nie Mingjue is Into That.

(In which arranged marriage to Nie Mingjue solves just about everyone's problems)

Reccer's Notes: In the normal course of things, I'd say LWJ/WWX is my OTP. This story, however, has made me feral for LWJ/NMJ/WWX. More than that, though, this is a brilliant, carefully constructed fix-it. Giraffeter takes the time to set up every way this reality is changed from canon by the single decision to solve the friction between Wei Wuxian and the rest of the cultivation world by marrying him to a Sect Leader rather than cutting him off in the Burial Mounds. It's a long, immersive story that's well worth the time investment. The sex scenes are also some of the best I've read in my nearly thirty years in online fandom.

Fanwork Links: An Elegant Solution

I see your little petrified skull, labeled and sitting on a shelf...

Posted by Wolfdog

https://www.metafilter.com/209996/I-see-your-little-petrified-skull-labeled-and-sitting-on-a-shelf

Comic Caption Swapper swaps captions on single-panel comics (Far Side, Family Circus, Heathcliff, and Dennis the Menace).

https://www.metafilter.com/209996/I-see-your-little-petrified-skull-labeled-and-sitting-on-a-shelf

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Star Trek AOS: the warp and weft of your being by tardigradeschool

Fandom: Star Trek Reboot/AOS
Pairings/Characters: Kirk/Spock
Rating: Teen
Length: 7,701
Creator Links:

tardigradeschool
Theme: Marriage of convenience

Summary: When getting legally married to Spock is the only way to keep him on the ship, Jim is more than willing to do so. (In fact, upon reflection, it turns out that there are very few things he wouldn't do for Spock.)

Reccer's Notes: Okay, normally, I would not rec a story with 9,000 kudos. First, because that story does not need any help. Second, I usually hate stories with 9,000 kudos. But guess what. I love this story THAT MUCH, and, as our mod, Punk, helpfully pointed out, MAYBE SOME OF YOU HAVE NOT READ THIS. It was posted in 2016, long after much of the Reboot fever had passed (at least for me); I feel glad to have discovered it. Therefore, let me tell you about it.

In this story, Spock is offered a captaincy, which he can't refuse without suffering career consequences. Jim is devastated by the thought of losing his first officer. Fortunately, Spock has a proposal involving a loophole: Starfleet won't separate married crew members.

The Jim in this story is wonderfully Jim, getting his mind stuck on the regulation about public nudity because the reg number is similar to the marriage reg number. He's also delightfully clueless. In fact, this story has all the good Reboot Trek tropes and appearances by the supporting cast. I don't want to give away all the hilarious details that come up, but, despite the hilarity, there are lovely moments of emotional truth that really make this story happen for me.

I like marriage of convenience stories where the characters are already very close friends at the time of the marriage. That is the case here, with the depth of the friendship revealed to the reader in small ways throughout. And, as you might guess, this story also fits the theme "everyone thinks we're dating."

Fanwork Links: the warp and weft of your being

Current Mood: busy

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Climate Change

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跳べます。Maru can jump.

Posted by mugumogu

https://sisinmaru.com/2025/08/18/%e8%b7%b3%e3%81%b9%e3%81%be%e3%81%99%e3%80%82maru-can-jump/

https://sisinmaru.com/?p=32913

新しいソファ、まるさんにはちょっと高さがありすぎるかなー、なんて思っていたら。 I thought this new sofa might be a little too tall for Maru. まる：「とうっ！」 […]

https://sisinmaru.com/2025/08/18/%e8%b7%b3%e3%81%b9%e3%81%be%e3%81%99%e3%80%82maru-can-jump/

https://sisinmaru.com/?p=32913

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Things and Stuff

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Mandalorian finale SPOILERS

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Multifandom: Jump Scare

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Current Mood: busy

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Robotics

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The Hugo Awards for 2025

Posted by Wobbuffet

https://www.metafilter.com/209995/The-Hugo-Awards-for-2025

2025's Hugo, Lodestar, and Astounding Award winners have been announced. Video of the awards ceremony is on Youtube. Administrator's report and voting stats PDFs. Seattle Worldcon 2025 previously. In 2026, Worldcon will be held in Anaheim, and in 2027, Worldcon will be held in Montréal.

Results for selected categories ... Best Novel

WINNER: The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett (Goodreads; Storygraph)
Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Goodreads; Storygraph)
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (Goodreads; Storygraph)
Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Goodreads; Storygraph)
Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell (Goodreads; Storygraph)
A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher (Goodreads; Storygraph)

Best Novella

WINNER: The Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler (Goodreads; Storygraph)
The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo (Goodreads; Storygraph)
The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed (Goodreads; Storygraph)
Navigational Entanglements by Aliette de Bodard (Goodreads; Storygraph)
The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain by Sofia Samatar (Goodreads; Storygraph)
What Feasts at Night, T. Kingfisher (Goodreads; Storygraph)

Best Novelette

WINNER: "The Four Sisters Overlooking the Sea" by Naomi Kritzer (Asimov's)
"The Brotherhood of Montague St. Video" by Thomas Ha (Clarkesworld
"By Salt, By Sea, By Light of Stars" by Premee Mohamed (Strange Horizons)
"Lake of Souls" by Ann Leckie in Lake of Souls (Orbit)
"Loneliness Universe" by Eugenia Triantafyllou (Uncanny Magazine)
"Signs of Life" by Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny Magazine)

Best Short Story

WINNER: "Stitched to Skin Like Family Is" by Nghi Vo (Uncanny Magazine)
"Five Views of the Planet Tartarus" by Rachael K. Jones (Lightspeed Magazine)
"Marginalia" by Mary Robinette Kowal (Uncanny Magazine)
"Three Faces of a Beheading" by Arkady Martine (Uncanny Magazine)
"We Will Teach You How to Read | We Will Teach You How to Read" by Caroline M. Yoachim (Lightspeed Magazine)
"Why Don't We Just Kill the Kid in the Omelas Hole" by Isabel J. Kim (Clarkesworld)

Best Series

WINNER: Between Earth and Sky by Rebecca Roanhorse (Goodreads; Storygraph)
The Burning Kingdoms by Tasha Suri (Goodreads; Storygraph)
InCryptid by Seanan McGuire (Goodreads; Storygraph)
Southern Reach by Jeff VanderMeer (Goodreads; Storygraph)
The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson (Goodreads; Storygraph)
The Tyrant Philosophers by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Goodreads; Storygraph

Best Graphic Story or Comic

WINNER: Star Trek: Lower Decks: Warp Your Own Way written by Ryan North, art by Chris Fenoglio (Goodreads; Storygraph)
The Deep Dark by Molly Knox Ostertag (Goodreads; Storygraph)
The Hunger and the Dusk: Vol. 1 written by G. Willow Wilson, art by Chris Wildgoose (Goodreads; Storygraph)
Monstress, Vol. 9: The Possessed written by Marjorie Liu, art by Sana Takeda (Goodreads; Storygraph)
My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, Book 2 by Emil Ferris (Goodreads; Storygraph)
We Called Them Giants written by Kieron Gillen, art by Stephanie Hans, lettering by Clayton Cowles (Goodreads; Storygraph)

Best Related Work

WINNER: Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right by Jordan S. Carroll (Goodreads; Storygraph)
"Charting the Cliff: An Investigation into the 2023 Hugo Nomination Statistics" by Camestros Felapton and Heather Rose Jones (File 770, February 22, 2024)
r/Fantasy's 2024 Bingo Reading Challenge (r/Fantasy on Reddit)
"The Spectacular Failure of the Star Wars Hotel" by Jenny Nicholson
Track Changes by Abigail Nussbaum (Goodreads; Storygraph)
"The 2023 Hugo Awards: A Report on Censorship and Exclusion" by Chris M. Barkley and Jason Sanford

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form

WINNER: Dune: Part Two (Fanfare)
Flow (Fanfare)
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (Fanfare)
I Saw the TV Glow (Fanfare)
Wicked (Fanfare)
The Wild Robot (Fanfare)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form

WINNER: Star Trek: Lower Decks: "The New Next Generation" (Fanfare)
Fallout: "The Beginning" (Fanfare)
Agatha All Along: "Death's Hand in Mine" (Fanfare)
Doctor Who: "Dot and Bubble" (Fanfare)
Star Trek: Lower Decks: "Fissure Quest" (Fanfare)
Doctor Who: "73 Yards" (Fanfare)

Best Game or Interactive Work

WINNER: Caves of Qud (Website)
Dragon Age: The Veilguard (Trailer)
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Trailer)
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes (Website)
Tactical Breach Wizards (Trailer)
1000xRESIST (Trailer)

Best Semiprozine

WINNER: Uncanny Magazine
The Deadlands
Escape Pod
FIYAH Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction
khōréō
Strange Horizons

Best Fanzine

Best Fancast

WINNER: Eight Days of Diana Wynne Jones
The Coode Street Podcast
Hugo, Girl!
Hugos There
A Meal of Thorns
Worldbuilding for Masochists

Best Poem

WINNER: "A War of Words" by Marie Brennan (Strange Horizons)
Calypso by Oliver K. Langmead (Goodreads; Storygraph)
"Ever Noir" by Mari Ness (Haven Spec Magazine)
"there are no taxis for the dead" by Angela Liu (Uncanny Magazine)
"We Drink Lava" by Ai Jiang (Uncanny Magazine)
"Your Visiting Dragon" by Devan Barlow (Strange Horizons)

Lodestar Award for Best YA Book

WINNER: Sheine Lende by Darcie Little Badger (Goodreads; Storygraph)
The Feast Makers by H.A. Clarke (Goodreads; Storygraph)
Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao (Goodreads; Storygraph)
The Maid and the Crocodile by Jordan Ifueko (Goodreads; Storygraph)
Moonstorm by Yoon Ha Lee Yoon Ha Lee withdrew Moonstorm from consideration (Goodreads; Storygraph)
So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole (Goodreads; Storygraph)

https://www.metafilter.com/209995/The-Hugo-Awards-for-2025

"SDGs are speculative fiction."

Posted by clew

https://www.metafilter.com/209994/SDGs-are-speculative-fiction

Applied African SF: scientists, writers, game makers, teachers, government, you? via an excellent Worldcon panel.

https://www.metafilter.com/209994/SDGs-are-speculative-fiction

"There's nothing to watch"

Posted by chavenet

https://www.metafilter.com/209993/Theres-nothing-to-watch

Discover movies through an interactive visualization. Explore tens of thousands of films in a unique force-directed voronoi diagram interface.

https://www.metafilter.com/209993/Theres-nothing-to-watch

Greg Holden

Posted by jeffburdges

https://www.metafilter.com/209992/Greg-Holden

We Didn't Learn a Thing, Off With Their Heads, What Am I Supposed To Say, Fuck It, Humans

I linked only new-ish songs above, since he appeared here previously, but I do recommend his older songs too, so see his his youtube.

https://www.metafilter.com/209992/Greg-Holden

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Blue Lock: Allsagi Fanwork Exchange

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Leverage: Fanfiction: too much twinkle

Title: too much twinkle
Fandom: Leverage
Characters: Eliot Spencer, Alec Hardison, Parker
Length: 200 words
Rating: Teen
Warnings: none
Summary: Parker’s tree might have a little too much twinkle.

( too much twinkle )

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admin: poll: theme

Round 178 Theme Poll

Poll #33498 round 178 theme poll

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: Just the Poll Creator, participants: 99

Pick the next theme of fancake:

Food & Cooking
42 (42.4%)

Manners & Etiquette
26 (26.3%)

Whump
31 (31.3%)