Two Fic Tuesday for June 16th

Hi, hello and welcome!

So, the theme this week is maybe a weird one, but I put these two stories together because the titles drew me in immediately. For different reasons both of them had mentioned things I'm very much drawn to, and I knew I'd be giving them a try.

Recs

Devil is Fine - Michael Bettendorf - Pseudopod
Something I'm learning about myself is that I really enjoy some Weird West stuff. This story is a part of how I'm coming to that conclusion. I was absolutely drawn into this, and it has the particular brand of body horror I'm really into. I also know and enjoy the song that the title is taken from, so I knew I'd be reading the story just to see how it connects. As it turns out, this was a good choice on my part.

Magpie Rhymes - R. K. Duncan - The Dark
Okay, look, I love anything to do with magpies. They've been A Thing for me for something like a decade, if not even longer. If you want to get me to read a story, make the title or summary mention magpies. So yes, I was super curious to read this one, and have no regrets. This story has a dynamic that I'm really into, and bits of magic that make me happy. The way it goes back and forth between the siblings is also just so, so compelling that I knew I'd be putting this one here.

I wish all of you many good stories,

• Vale

PS: If you want to find me elsewhere, I'm on Bluesky at @howsweetthewords and I have a Ko-fi and Patreon where I post prompts, more personal/writing updates, microfiction, and miscellany. Tiers start at $1, but there is the occasional free post as well.