Alas, look what the cat dragged in.

After a summer filled with ups and downs (and plenty of social-distance camping to keep my sanity), I’m back to puttering away in the office. As part of this, I wanted to make a quick post about what I’ve been up to over the past couple of months, and where to check out my recent work. I’m also going to dip into new shows and series that I’ve been watching that may be of interest.

Here’s where we’re at.

New Metamashina Episodes

Metamashina has been back on the air for a couple of months now, and as part of this initial restart, we uploaded our last unreleased, archived episodes from 2019. Out of these old episodes, my favorite shows have been:

Episode 054: Too Fast, Too Faerie

Featuring booktuber Shannon McCarter and fanfiction author Chel as guests, Metamashina went on a deep dive into Holly Black’s Cruel Prince series. It’s definitely worth a listen if you want to hear a detailed breakdown of Holly Black’s books in order.

Episode 054: Secretary

Metamashina also covered Secretary, a cult classic movie from 2002 that was responsible for bringing BDSM into the mainstream. While this episode is on the shorter side, I really enjoyed it for its personal touch.

New Articles

After an exciting start to September, I’m thrilled to announce that I now have bylines appearing in Frolic, an online magazine devoted to all things romance.

I wasn’t able to let go of the warm weather just yet, so for my first article, I found five summer-themed paranormal romance books. Yes, I even included some paranormal romance books set in New Orleans.

What I’ve Been Watching

Finally, some things I’ve been watching.

1. Into the Omegaverse: How a Fanfic Trope Landed in Federal Court

If you’re into niche fandom drama on a professional scale, Lindsay Ellis’ video essay on the Omegaverse lawsuit is a great primer for anyone interested in how A/B/O fanfic tropes ended up in federal court. I’ve been following this absolutely wild case since the New York Times first reported on these “legal” A/B/O dynamics in May. Ellis’ breakdown is the best explanation for beginners.

2. The Last Bronycon: a fandom autopsy

If you have the time, I’d also recommend checking out this video essay by Jenny Nicholson re: Bronycon ending. It’s a fantastic, nuanced breakdown of the rise and fall of a fandom from an insider’s perspective. I really appreciate the care and time that’s been taken with the subject.

3. Cursed

Finally, I recently finished Netflix’s Cursed: a fantasy adventure series that is half grimdark, half YA, and very loosely inspired by Arthurian legend.

While I don’t think this show will ever become an official “rec”—you can read my full, complicated thoughts via Twitter—I do think it’s one of those series that is good enough to put on in the background while you’re doing something else.

Keep up To Date

Missed the last update? Then read what the hell happened with March (and other pandemic updates).