Straith 🍉

@straith

D.A. Straith (they/them). Toronto-adjacent fiction person • nonbinary trans & queer settler • work in Augur, Fusion Fragment, SHATTER THE SUN • Clarion West Novel Workshop ‘25 • agent: Laura Zats @ Headwater • straith.carrd.co

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Bluesky

trans

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Straith 🍉@straith· 16d

something satisfying about leaving a book like this

a 540-page softcover held in the photographer’s left hand, showing a decent number of blue page flags stuck in the book at various spots

Straith 🍉@straith· 16d

consent on the page… get him Ysabele

And thereupon my lord Walewein, who knows well how to behave himself, said, “Ah, fair damsel, what shall it be? Shall I die or shall I love? If I am to die, then I entrust to you my soul, fair damsel. If you are to take my life, I would with sweet sorrow die in your lap.”

Straith 🍉@straith· 16d

I’m not saying ANYTHING except that this is accurate to MY canon (EVERY YEAR THE SUMMER, going on sub eventually/soon)

Then the damsel boldly ordered that his armour be removed at once, and next that his hands and feet be harshly bound together, and that he be led before her and thrown at her feet. […] ‘In God’s name, do with me as you please, fair damsel. Kill me; whatever torments you inflict upon me will be a pleasure.’

Straith 🍉@straith· 16d

back at it for round 2

A softcover book: DUTCH ROMANCES, VOLUME 1: ROMAN VAN WALEWEIN, edited by David F. Johnson and Geert H.M. Claassens

Straith 🍉@straith· 17d

TRANS GAWAIN CONFIRMED CANON sorry I will not be accepting any notes to the contrary

When the damsel heard this, she said, “My Lord, by your faith, will you grant it me willingly?” “As I wish to live in honor, I will, indeed, as soon as I learn the truth.” “Then discern, dear father, what the following may portend. A very strange dream came to me last night as I lay: it seemed to me that a knight, a youth well-versed in all virtues came riding here from a distant land – so distant, that no one would believe it! Upon his shoulders stood a head that seemed to be that of a damsel. So it seemed to me, in very truth. What might this mean?”

Straith 🍉@straith· 17d

FIRST MENTION OF THE LADY HERSELF

At that he spoke to the king, “Tell me, Sire, whither I shall journey. I would not delay any longer the fulfilment of my pledge!” “Then you must fetch a maiden, Sir Walewein, whom you do not know. I have loved her for many a day. Those who know her say that there is in this world none so fair nor so good. Therefore my heart grieves that I must live without her for so long. I fear that I shall perish because I cannot win her for myself.” Next to this extract, a blue post-it note with the name “YSABELE 💚”

Straith 🍉@straith· 17d

sorry to historiography but that shit is gay as hell /respectful

Walewein the Fearless saw this, and it moved him to pity the lad because he perceived that he was so handsomely formed and yet rode such a sorry horse. He was broad shouldered, healthy and good-looking. His nose was handsome and straight; his forehead broad and smooth; his eyes were a beautiful gray; brown and narrow were his eyebrows; his hair was curled and fair; his neck white as snow and round; his cheeks blossomed like a rose; his breath did not smell at all foul; with teeth white and small, no one had ever seen a more handsome creature! He had a narrow waist and a dimple in his chin. He was perfectly formed in body and very well mannered.

Straith 🍉@straith· 17d

bro, same

Extract from the Roman van Walewein, a Dutch Arthurian romance edited by David F. Johnson and Geert H. M. Claassens. “Thus prayed Penninc, who made this book. And many a night he sat sleepless over it before he considered in his mind that he had completed the book upon which he had started. Now he appeals to your courtoisie that you all be silent: though it be a too difficult task for him, he will now relate the marvellous tale of King Arthur. | King Arthur was holding court in his hall at Carlioen, and he did so according to royal custom (as he often did)”

Straith 🍉@straith· 20d

sometimes revision is about writing sentences real nice. sometimes revision is about making pivot table of categorized comments

a zoomed-in bit of spreadsheet showing five rows, each with an associated count of the number of times a comment has been categorized under the theme in question. themes and counts: Bertilak 6, Climate 1, Endgame 9, Fae 5, Gawain 11.

Straith 🍉@straith· 22d

few feelings more embarrassing in this life than being on the nth draft of a novel revision, reading the version YOU SENT TO YOUR AGENT, and you find a paragraph that fully cuts off mid-sentence

a comment in the margins of a Google document left by user straith: "LOL THIS SENTENCE JUST ENDS??"

Straith 🍉@straith· Jul 7

it’s almost like an invitation! ha ha! I’ll call you back in a minute I’m having a totally normal time over here

an all-white home interior at the junction of several doorways (bedroom, bathroom, etc.), but on the ceiling there is an attic hatch, and the attic hatch is hanging open into darkness. the attic hatch is visible head-on: there is a folding ladder installed into the door.

Straith 🍉@straith· Jul 7

a fresh angle post-nap. So Much Fun!

Straith 🍉@straith· Jul 7

photo evidence of my impending doom

a bedroom doorway in a house, through which an attic trapdoor can be seen from the hinge side. the trapdoor is hanging into the ceiling space

Straith 🍉@straith· Jul 3

Bluesky gets to see this too: my echeveria is blooming, and it has the prettiest coral coloured blossoms 🧡

A close-up of an echeveria blossom. The echeveria itself is a compact, dusty green succulent with fleshy, spade-shaped leaves growing radially in layers. Three stalks have pushed out from between the top two layers of leaves. They have clusters of almond-shaped flower buds nestled among dusty green leaves. In the foreground, a flower bud is very visible, and it has a delicate coral colour. In the background there’s an elephant jade with white and green variegated leaves and blush pink stalks.

Straith 🍉@straith· Jun 22

HEAR YE, HEAR YE: I am now officially repped by Laura Zats at Headwater Literary Management! Laura has a fantastic vision for my very bi+trans, rather mind-bendy throuple-centred Gawain remix, EVERY YEAR THE SUMMER. I'm excited to see what's next! @lzats.bsky.social @headwaterlit.bsky.social

I'm agented! I'm now represented by Laura Zats at Headwater Literary Management for my mind-bending throuple-centred Gawain remix, EVERY YEAR THE SUMMER! (Text is bracketed by headshots of Straith (L), a white person with short black hair and large glasses, and Laura (R), a person with bright red lipstick, bangs, and shoulder-length salt-and-pepper hair)

Straith 🍉@straith· Jun 21

not too bad considering I haven’t done this in 15 years

A spiral bound sketchpad with white paper, upon which are drawn several practice shapes (upper left corner), a stick figure in a low mid-step position (right), and a more massed-out figure (lower left corner) standing with arms in fists above its head

Straith 🍉@straith· Jun 12

ok *sweats* everybody can stop liking this extremely low effort post now and start reading my fiction

A post from straith that reads “also this week I learned that current slang for a crisp Diet Coke is ‘fridge cigarette’ and damn if that doesn’t feel correct as hell” that has 121 likes (plus other engagement)

Straith 🍉@straith· Jun 11

surviving this conference like

a white person’s hand holds a can of Diet Coke with the condensation still clinging to it. the holder of the can wears an extremely cool chainmaille bracelet and sits in a conference room with beige carpet and furniture

Straith 🍉@straith· Jun 2

time for..................... a mid-year writing thing goal: draft of a novel between now and end of august. 778 words a day should get me around 70,000 words. doesn't have to be good, just has to be something to revise. don't have to write every day, just have to keep up the commitment. LET'S GO

hello it's june so it's time for a mid-year writing thing. pleas join me as I attempt to write a first draft by end of august. if I write 777.78 words per day I can finish a 70k draft by then. unrealistic? possibly. will I still try? hell yeah!! June 1 thru Aug 31 c'mon

Straith 🍉@straith· May 27

my main character after confronting the strange apparitions in his house and realizing they're on the same side:

A behind-the-scenes photo from the production of Guillermo Del Toro's CRIMSON PEAK, in which a red-skinned, red-haired, gaunt figure with a wide open mouth (left) fistbumps a long-haired blonde white woman in a voluminous white dress

Straith 🍉@straith· May 23

Credit where credit is due

Production design and art direction: Daniel Haller

Assistant director: Jack Bohrer; sound recording: Roy Meadows; makeup: Ted Coodley; wardrobe: Marjorie Corso; properties: Richard M. Rubin; set decorator: Harry Reid; construction coordinator: Ross Hahn; unit manager: Robert Agnew; production assistant: Jack Cash

Straith 🍉@straith· May 18

SMOOTHIE OBTAINED I call this one “potion of gray” and it is my foremost autism chow (tagging for #food so ppl can mute the term if desired)

a glass stein-style cup with a glass straw standing in it. the cup is full of a greyish-purple opaque liquid. next to the glass is a large blender jar with more opaque liquid in it

Straith 🍉@straith· May 18

TAQUITOS OBTAINED

Straith 🍉@straith· May 11

*hurriedly closes Canva* uh yeah, OBVIOUSLY I'm working on my outline, why are you looking at me like that, it's fine. I'm working on the outline it's fine. I'm Writing The Book It'S FINE

a slide that says "HELIOTROPE by D.A. Straith". the background is "Old Woman in Greenhouse", a 1936 painting by Walter Kurt Wiemken. in which a pale-faced old woman dressed in black and sitting in a largely empty greenhouse stares out from the middle of the painting. there are glass walls, and the struts of the building as well as the underside of the roof are painted in green; but there are only a few scattered plants around the place.

Straith 🍉@straith· May 9

the writing setup for this spront

Straith’s writing setup in this moment: on the recliner, with an old brown fuzzy blanket on their legs; they have a Chromebook out. In the background is a tv stand festooned with various anime, video game and Transformers figurines. A clock states that it’s 9:06 AM.

Straith 🍉@straith· May 7

Please look at my maranta it is flowering it has never done this before so I am very excited!!

a maranta, also known as a prayer plant, with flat oval-shaped green leaves shot through with red veins. a single stalk emerges from the heart of the plant, bearing a tiny, delicate pink flower.

Straith 🍉@straith· Apr 30

Hi, reality tech support? Yes. Yeah, time loop. Uh huh, well, seems like the longer it goes, the more the climate uh, unravels? & the more people die? & also try kissing me? Uh huh. Oh—sorry I don't mean STOP, I want them to go back to looping. Tryin to uphold the status quo here #Q #A #F #questpit

EVERY YEAR THE SUMMER: an agent's guide. Text is set against a mixed-media backdrop featuring a largely black-and-white landscape, with one cutout section showing a bright green bit of the landscape with a hunched figure looking despondent.

EVERY YEAR THE SUMMER is a 103k standalone adult weird fantasy. It's A24's THE GREEN KNIGHT meets GROUNDHOG DAY but with an MFM throuple romance. Text is set against a mixed-media backdrop featuring a largely black-and-white landscape, with one cutout section showing a bright green bit of the landscape with a hunched figure looking despondent.

Comps: THE EVERLASTING, by Alix E. Harrow, for folklore-inspired time loop romance featuring memory. THE SPEAR CUTS THROUGH WATER, by Simon Jimenez, for being queer, lyrical and dreamlike. THE BRIGHT SWORD, by Lev Grossman, for Arthuriana not retold, but reimagined. Text is accompanied by various sketches and images of knights and figures: one drowning in petal-scattered water, one holding aloft a sword with their face blurred out, one lying dead with flowers growing from their chest.

"I will not behead you again, beloved."

At Midwinter, one knight beheads another for an audience of jeering immortal courtiers. At Midsummer, he rides into the hinterland to be beheaded by the same man he killed—then returns to life to tread the cycle anew, lest his own body punish him for straying. The only one who remembers the loop, Sir Gavin knows that being a good knight—and a good man—means surrendering to the brutal beheading ritual again and again. It is only by this ritual that the seasons keep turning.

One cycle, the usual Midwinter blizzard becomes a flood, killing the children of Camelot while Gavin is lost in his own apathy. The seasons, he realizes, are collapsing. Gavin, as a good man ought, blames this on some failure of his to uphold his knightly morals, a blame that only escalates when he learns that the world's instability has spread to Hautdesert, where resides the married couple for whom he harbours a secret passion.

There's no time to get swept up in the lord and lady's delicious new kissing games, nor to trade literal and figurative jabs with the beguiling Green Knight. If Gavin cannot soon find a way to repair the seasons while continuing to complete the loop's knightly quests in sequence, the kingdom will drown in the pitiless sea, and with it his beloveds—and it will have been his fault alone.

Straith 🍉@straith· Apr 29

POV: you're a knight stuck in a time loop & yr fave thing is going to Hautdesert every summer so you can hang with the local lady and her unfortunately hot husband but this year she's...flirting with you?? & so is her husband??? HOW? it's a time loop!! WHY ARE THINGS CHANGING!! #Q #A #F #questpit

Straith 🍉@straith· Apr 29

EVERY YEAR THE SUMMER: Totally hypothetically, what if you were an extremely repressed knight and the only way you could save reality was to let yourself be really, really bi? A24's THE GREEN KNIGHT w/ a transmasc protagonist (and this time the MFM romance is full-blown canon) #Q #A #F #questpit

Straith 🍉@straith· Apr 28

cn: food . . . microwave means I can have fondue in 40 seconds any time I have the ingredients. I am an adult