#charm talks

I have a bit, haven't I? sorry, bub; there's a bit of health anxiety rippling through my existence at the moment, & numerous scans and tests I'm awaiting to have done and hear back from so my mind is more than a little cloudy.

Or, damn, there really aren’t a lot of fall/Halloween/Thanksgiving seasonal TAZ fics, huh?

Right, but in all seriousness, I wanted to create a TAZ fic rec list for the fall/Halloween season. Per my aforementioned point, some of these are not strictly speaking related to either of those things, but fit in a more tangential spooky/eerie/supernatural way. But these are all authors I’ve read things from and whose writing I enjoy, so I hope you do to. As always, mind the tags, and kudos and comment to support these folks!

So, without further ado, in no particular order (I am literally rolling a d10 for that):

1. The Robots of Maureen Miller by AlwaysAmused ( @simplyaskeleton )

A little goofy, a little angsty, a whole lot of accidental robot murdery. Featuring disaster scientist Maureen Miller and a battalion of equally disastrous robots. What could go wrong? Really, Baines, what could possibly go wrong? Baines? BAINES? I guess you’re just going to have to read this good good fic and find out!

2. dancing in a swirl of golden memories by everqueen ( @everqueen12 )

So you’re on my page, so I’m assuming you like TAZ. Also a fan of Over the Garden Wall? Here’s Kat’s OTGW AU fic for a Taakitz week of old. If you’re not familiar with Kat’s work, this is one unknown I’ll yeet you into myself, because Kat is a delightful author. A is for awesome which is what Kat is, B is for boys lost in the woods, C is for comments are the best, and D is for dear God I don’t know how to end this bit!

3. Rest for the Wicked by BoPeepWithNoSheep (@thisiswhyidonthaveatumblr)

This is one of the ones that is really not fully on with the Halloween theme, but Bo can write the creepy and the unsettling so delightfully well that... well, my list, my rules. So there. It’s good fic! A particularly creepy look at what happens when a new antagonist pops up after the world has been saved and they have a little too much interest in Lucretia. Hm. HM. (Mind the tags!)

4. Draw Me Forth from the Otherside by TaraHarkon

1880s post-Civil War spiritualism and seances with Barry, Lup, Taako, and more? YES. As it’s Tara, you can of course expect that more to include the Wonderland twins. Ghosts and spookiness abound, and as always, Tara is an excellent writer.

5. The Clone in the Back Room by M_Logolepsy (@lonelyjournal-keeper)

So who was left with questions about Garfield growing a Magnus body? Who DIDN’T want those questions answered? Great! Enjoy Mads’s fic about Garfield through the Balance arc, where she absolutely fucking nails just how unnerving all that is and makes you laugh while doing it!

6. A Chill Wind Blowing by DragonWrites

Jen herself calls this one a ghost story, so fair game for this list. What happens when the crew of the Starblaster dies during the century? Is our dear Captain really haunting Barry’s denim-clad ass? How is Jen still the best Davenport writer out there even when she kills him? HA! Like I’m spoiling this good good fic for you!

7. Not Your Usual Round... by Jairephix

Definitely the shortest fic on the list, but Briar setting Wonderland and Haunted Doll Watch on a collision course made me cackle with laughter. Absolutely nails the sibling energy.

8. (I Put a Spell on You) And Now You’re Mine by ceilingfan5 (@ceilingfan5)

Chances are you’ve seen some of Larissa’s shorter work floating around the taz fic tumblr world, and I am here to assure you that her work is always that good! Hello fluffy Halloween Taakitz goodness - this is probably sweeter than  the whole of that Orange Creme Halloween Oreo display in the Fantasy Target!

9. In This Town (We Call Home) by Hoothootmotherf_ckers (@hoothootmotherf-ckers)

Didn’t ship Ren and Noelle before well guess what now you do because of this good good sweet fluffy Halloween filled fic featuring girlfriends Ren and Noelle celebrating their favorite holiday. This fic has the feel of eating candy while cozy under a blanket on the couch watching a Halloween movie while you’ve got a cinnamon pumpkin candle burning and I love it so much.

10. stepping back to golden days by Hoothootmotherf_ckers

Another fall fic from Shell, this one focuses on Magnus and Lucretia and their good good sibling energy and also just absolutely fucking oneshot my bisexual ass with the image of both Magnus and Lucretia in flannel shirts with rolled up sleeves. It’s so very fluffy and you get to run around and see all your favorite characters happy and enjoying nifty fall activities and this one is like wearing that flannel shirt out to go pick a pumpkin and eating local caramel apples and popcorn.

*whispers* I have no idea what this means, & am probably very late to the party where its meaning was made clear; but thank you?!

Well, like a big dummy head, I forgot about this, but here we go!

For some context, I started crocheting in March of last year and started a nine month break in June. So, this is not something I’m super good at.

Right now, I have a few projects.

First, an amigurumi bee, which is not going to turn out great, because it’s my first attempt at amigurumi and I haven’t done nearly as much work with working in the round, so that confused me. Listen, unless you TELL me it’s a spiral and not concentric rings, with no diagram, after LOTS of “chain 3 to get up to the next level” my dumbass will assume concentric rings. Also, turns out you’re supposed to turn amigurumi inside out. Who knew! (I did not; thank you internet)

Second is a virus blanket. Yes the name is unfortunate, but the pattern is lovely. I’ve done three virus shawls for this point and opted to do a virus blanket to use my blue yarn and because I wanted something less intricate in terms of requiring my attention for watching TV and listening to podcasts. Like, it looks intricate, but pattern makes brain go brr.

Third is a dice bag for a friend. It’s modified dragon scale bag. It uses the crocodile stitch, which normally has a good number of holes, so I swapped the chain stitches for half double crochet in my first trial bag. Which is confusing, hang on.

First bag was a giant dragon scale bag for myself with an unmodified crocodile stitch so I don’t keep loose dice in it.

Second bag was a small trial run at modifying the pattern and was given to a friend.

Third is a larger scale modified version also for a friend.

Fourth is a C2C blanket, which is a corner to corner blanket. I was sulking because I felt like I only knew how to do two things (virus shawl and dragon scale), so I watched a video on C2C. And promptly started what will be a queen size blanket. I am not a smart woman.

And fifth is I wanna try to start a hat tomorrow but yarn sizes confuse me and the smallest hook I have is a size D so we’ll see if I can match gauge with that or if more shopping is required.

I use the regular, free version of Canva—I just try to steer clear of the pre-made templates, esp when making collages!

IT IS POETRY!! Immersive, dreamy, empowering. A work of art in storytelling. Masterpiece. Print the pages and put them in the Louvre.

well, what do I say to this beautiful utterly wild waterfall of kindness and love?! thank you, probably 🥰 and please know that I say and mean it x100000, & with all my heart. 

do not tempt me to write a full let the rough winds fly prequel tracking a ringside Sansa falling seethingly in love with a sweaty, sweary Jon as he throws his taped-up fists at endless opponents over the years because the potential spice! the extended angst! I cannot handle it. 🔥

there are some fabulous Jonsa boxer aus already out there—esp. this one by the lovely @the-nephelle & this one by the wondrous @woodswit—which I hope you will enjoy in lieu of an Irish-accented one by yours truly, lol.