Spouse: *expounds on how Warcraft these days encourages you to only play in areas that aren’t so hard that you die*
Me, who has recently leveled up a mage for the first time: “You only play druids. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Thoughts on “Viewers Like You”
When I was a kid, I thought “The Game” was such a silly episode of Star Trek; as I got older, it started to seem more like a really prescient satire.
My feelings about my story, “Viewers Like You,” has gone through a similar evolution, just since last summer. Continue reading “Thoughts on “Viewers Like You””
Looping Through Stargate
Time to start rewatching Stargate Universe!
The last time I watched this, the only other Stargate I’d seen was the very original movie. So this should be fun. Already, I’m very much enjoying the SG-1 cameos, which I’d been totally unaware of before. Continue reading “Looping Through Stargate”
Crossing Over from the Universe Where John Sang “Paperback Writer”
That feeling when you’re listening to a Beatles song you’ve known for decades with a lead vocal by John… and you suddenly realize, it doesn’t sound like John; it sounds like George.
So you look it up… and it’s Paul. Continue reading “Crossing Over from the Universe Where John Sang “Paperback Writer””
Looking for Sentience
by Mary E. Lowd
Originally published in Luna Station Quarterly, June 2019
Light glinted off the tips of the spires that rose from the rocky asteroid base of Kau Meti as Gerangelo’s shuttle approached. The yellow sunlight caught the metal of the spires in just the right way to gleam enticingly, like a wink and the promise of a shiny, exciting future. Gerangelo was not impressed. He was familiar with the promises humans made to themselves and others — with words, with shiny buildings, even with contracts filled with legally binding language. They made promises and broke them. Sometimes, though, when they wouldn’t break their own promises, Gerangelo had to break their promises for them — fight his way through with a machete of righteousness. Continue reading “Looking for Sentience”
Twelve Days of Snow on Crossroads Station
by Mary E. Lowd
Originally published in Daily Science Fiction, May 2021
When the snow began falling inside Crossroads Space Station, all of the aliens stopped what they were doing and held very still. The snowflakes caught on long fuzzy manes and feathered wings; they pinged lightly against hard insectile carapaces and shimmering reptilian scales. The white flakes hung in the air, stirred by the puffs of breath from snouts and beaks. The breaths themselves crystallized in the sudden chill.
It was as if an angel of winter had kissed the air inside the spinning wheel space station. So cold, so beautiful, so unexpected. Continue reading “Twelve Days of Snow on Crossroads Station”
Furry Fiction: The Squishy Edges and the Heart
by Mary E. Lowd
Adapted from threads written on Twitter, May 2021
Let’s talk about the squishy edges of the genre of furry fiction.
Why?
Because a lot of people clearly have no idea what the genre is. And then, once we’ve talked about the squishy edges, let’s also talk about the heart. After that, we’ll take a brief tour through the most common sub-genres. Let’s get this whole question of the nature of furry fiction truly sorted out!
The first question I always get asked by people who’ve never heard of furry fiction before is, “What about lizards? Or fish?” Continue reading “Furry Fiction: The Squishy Edges and the Heart”
Stray Sad Thoughts
I’ve gotten so much joy from AI art over the last year.
But also some very real pain, because I’ve expressed my joy publicly. Maybe I could have been more measured, more cautious. The world has been telling me to temper my happiness my whole life. But that hurts too… Continue reading “Stray Sad Thoughts”
Melt Away by She & Him
The universe gave me a present today — I discovered that Zooey Deschanel’s group, She & Him, has a Brian Wilson tribute album, and the choices of tracks are largely deep cuts that I also would have chosen. It’s absolutely perfect and beautiful.
The best part, perhaps, is that this album probably opens up the rest of She & Him’s music to me, much in the way that the TMBG kids albums made it possible for me to connect to them and Taylor Swift’s pandemic releases opened up all her earlier albums to me.
This is exciting!
I’m still struggling with the downbeat sadness of She & Him… but maybe if I give it another try on a different day I can manage to push past that and acclimate my brain to the sound more.
The Christmas Tree Barn
by Mary E. Lowd
First published in Nature Futures, December 2021, by Springer Nature
The concrete floor of the basement was freezing cold right through Becca’s socks, and the air smelled moldy. She hadn’t properly aired the basement out since it had flooded most of a year ago, last spring. Becca yanked on the corner of the old, beat-up cardboard box with the robotic Christmas tree in it, and the box scraped across the floor as it pulled out from under the tool shelves. Continue reading “The Christmas Tree Barn”