J Patrick Allen

Fantasy, horror, and western writer. Author of the Dead West series by 18th Wall Productions. Co-host of the Rocket Punch Radio podcast. Husband, gamer, tabletop roleplayer and so much more! New short stories every Friday. www.jpatrickallen.com www.rocketpunchradio.wordpress.com https://www.facebook.com/j.allenwrites/

[jpatrickallen]

[solarpunkcast]

What’s wrong with post-apocalyptic sci-fi? I’m not sure if it’s been talked about yet or not.

there’s nothing inherently wrong with it, the problem is that SO MUCH of sci-fi is now just…post apoc bullshit. even when it’s about space, it’s alien invasion or genocide by ai, or corporate dytopia.

there are no hopeful futures, and we need those stories to keep going

[the-last-girl-scout]

If I May

As someone who’s a huge slut for postapoc, my issues with the genre are of course different but I think they stem ultimately from the same source: We’re all just so tired of the hopelessness.

I myself don’t mind reading about the zombie apocalypse or the aftermath of the bad space war or w/e (obviously, since I write those kinds of stories), but like…. I’m here to learn how your characters are navigating the world they’re in, the connections they’re forging, and–most importantly–how we’re making it better. The core of the story shouldn’t be the big dumb event, no; the core of such a story ought to be “You were sick, but now you’re better, and there’s work to be done.”

Whatever the subgenre, the heart and soul of good speculative fiction ought to be a defiant hope and a rejection of despair.

[solarpunkcast]

This is the rest of the answer that my tired brain couldn’t form^^^ thank you

[myriad-rainbows]

“The heart and soul of good speculative fiction ought to be a defiant hope and a rejection of despair” is so beautifully expressed

[the-last-girl-scout]

As a big dumb edgy nerd who cut her teeth as a writer during the big zombie craze in the mid-2000s, I Must Say that learning that “solarpunk” is, y'know, a thing is one of the best things that ever happened to me as an artist and as a person.

[twit-of-the-year]

NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION!!!

[capillaryspice]

alright this one wins we can all go home

[dilf-patton-deactivated20220806]

I was completely in awe, and now I’m cackling. 10/10

[tomboyjessie13]

Oh my god

[dogonthefreeway]

You've heard of Hastur la Vista now get ready for Ligur la Vida Loca

[sillustrate]

- Sailor Moon Trainer Cards - Master Post I was so happy to see how well loved the cards were at the Sailor Moon Convention this weekend, and to hear that so many people had seen them online! So here is a master post of all of them, as I hadn’t printed out every set for the convention. I’m not finished the villain/team rocket cards yet, there will be more to come ;) ((For cons, the cards are printed out in a wider format so that they can easily be put on your DS cases!)) To see the cards individually: 🌙 Moon Family Set 💗 Inners Set 💙 Outers Set 🌟 Starlight Set 🌑 Team Metalia Set

[jpatrickallen]

Can I fumble out haphazard thoughts about representation in media real quick? I started Six of Crows this week, and I'm your stock mediocre white guy. But I've had a prosthesis for over two decades now that affects the way I walk. It's something I struggle with on a self-confidence level. All it takes is seeing my reflection to really ruin my next hour, honestly (At least it's not ruminating for a day or more like I used to, right?).

So within two chapters the author introduces me to Kaz Brekker, self-identified cripple (a term I've often 'jokingly' used on myself) who has to hobble along with a cane. And what's more, he's an utter, ruthless, clever bastard. This is just my ~favorite~ kind of character to read, and has been ever since I first got introduced to Mat Cauthon.

The thrill, the utter elation of being able to self-identify and look up to a character in a book is not something I've felt from a piece of fiction in years. Despite being your bog-standard cishet jabroni.

So if a tiny glimpse of self-identification does all this for me, think about what it does for someone who can't turn on the TV at any given time and reasonably expect to see someone who looks like them?

[schizoauthoress]

Today I learned that Van Halen have that rider in their contract about “a bowl of M&Ms with all the brown ones removed” in order to know at a glance if the promoter read the entire contract.  And the reason they do THAT is because they once had a stage collapse because a promoter hadn’t read the proper way to set up all the specific technical stuff.

So if the band goes in the dressing room or catering and sees brown M&Ms, they know they have to double-check the stage setup for safety.

[darkfrog24]

I heard about this on Freakonomics Radio.  Turns out the bit about no brown M&Ms is HUGE, in BIG font, bold, underlined and quotated like they’re on the Group W Bench.

The band was all, “We have fifty-pound lights hanging over our heads and fire being shot out of cannons.  We had to know whether they read our safety regs so we didn’t flamebroil any roadies.”

[gobbochune-deactivated20241018]

interesting how this has become a meme in the music industry about divas. i’ve always heard jokes that amount to “this stuck up celebrity hates the green gummy bears!! they’re refusing to perform just for that???” and its reading stuff like this that i realise how that joke might have come about. people get grumpy that the band refuses to play but cant admit its because THEY’RE incompetent, so they make it all about the M&Ms. another example of artists using a creative method to ensure they have a perfectly reasonable request fulfilled that is then bastardised by lazy people who wanna make money off them. 

[thesylverlining]

…this is like the music industry version of hearing the truth behind the McDonalds hot coffee lawsuit

[backseatfishing]

Elezen Ignis scouting the plains for Miqo'te Noctis, who’s hiding like the gremlin he is, lol.

[jpatrickallen]

I've found a new recipeh!

[desu]

[jpatrickallen]

This movie was wonderful.

[kazoo-goddess]

Visit Original Link

Summoned by @alwaysaprice. Original idea from @gwennovynne.

[alwaysaprice]

i appreciate that you are never content to merely deliver on the terrible ideas atted at you, but always extend and improve upon them

[jpatrickallen]

I guess you could say they found the... Reitman for the job.

[jpatrickallen]

So non-adult blogs are leaving Tumblr because of the censorship changes. Meanwhile, I've been reblogged or followed by a half dozen porn bots in the last three weeks.

[feathersandfortunes]

pls reblog if you’re an 18+ writeblr

I have nothing against teens working hard!!!! I just don’t feel a) comfy talking to minors, b) confident, I feel late to the game at 20 yo oof

[typewriterwitch]

31 over here, you’re not late!

[brewritesbooks]

27 here.

[cemo-writes]

20 as well!

[kidsarentallwrite]

I turned 18 in November! (Adding the date just in case you’re still uncomfortable because personally I keep forgetting and I can’t think of myself as an adult yet)

[jpatrickallen]

Mid thirties and started writing in earnest at 28. It's all good

[jpatrickallen]

Uh. Caithe? You alright there, buddy?

[htg17]

Mushrooms and hats

[jpatrickallen]

Guys. It's just a boggart.

We already know how to deal with this.

[jpatrickallen]

Dead West: West of Pale - Kindle edition by J Patrick Allen. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use

Now on sale for less than a dollar!

Everyone brought something from the old country. Grandfather's watch, and grandmother's china; great-grandfather's folklore, and great-great-grandmother's fairy tales. What is never discussed, however, are the undying characters of the folklore: nix and fairy, goblin and vampire, dragon and eldritch things who all came to America's shores in time with the rhyme of their tales.

After Charlie's father is murdered by something impossible, he discovers a letter that leads him across the wild west. The man who wrote the letter promised to help, if things went wrong.

And things could not go more wrong. His father's murderer is on his trail, materializing from lakes, rivers, and stray pools of water. He will not rest until Charlie has joined his father...

Dead West: West of Pale is the first book in J. Patrick Allen's Dead West series. This novel picks up right where his Pulp Ark New Pulp Awards (2016) nominated short story, "Dragonfly Shadow," left off (featured in 18thWall Productions' From the Dragon Lord's Library: Volume One).