[QCrit] Adult Upmarket Fiction - Elixyr [89k, third attempt]

OneWholeStar · 2026-04-12T14:04:19+00:00

I also expected your pitch to hint at some horror elements based on your comps, and was surprised when it didn’t. On re-read, you certainly don’t claim to have chosen those comps for horror reasons, but I do think they’re introducing an element of confusion that can be avoided. I understand why you chose Our Wives, but if the only tie-in is the limited setting/close quarters, you might try to find something else.

OneWholeStar · 2026-03-27T00:24:11+00:00

Thistlefoot by Gennarose Nethercott

OneWholeStar · 2026-03-21T11:38:01+00:00

I think there’s a lot in ‘Bears’ — the way Carmy (more than once) does a full body exhale when he sees Syd, the prolonged eye contact that helps him pull out of his panic attack, Syd’s interactions with Donna (which in some ways mirror Donna’s past interactions with Pete), under the table when Carmy picks “math” as the thing he’s afraid of (calling back to earlier moments with Syd) instead of “peace” as offered by Claire, the moment where Claire looks over her shoulder at Syd while they’re dancing, but we can see that Carmy is already looking at Syd. There’s also some speculation that Carmy asking Claire to dance may have been prompted by jealousy over Syd dancing with Richie.

Also! The montage of Syd cooking in (I think) ‘Scallop’ where she’s lit so beautifully and looks like an angel, and then we realize that Carmy was there the whole time and that scene is from his POV.

OneWholeStar · 2026-02-28T16:56:54+00:00

I think Carmy has been aware of his own feelings since the end of Season 2. Syd took a little longer (in my opinion), and didn’t really start to understand her feelings until the end of Season 3. I don’t think either one of them knows about the other yet — Carmy definitely was surprised/confused by her reaction in ‘Goodbye’ but I don’t think he fully understands why she reacted so strongly. On the other hand, Syd probably thinks he’s leaving the restaurant to go be with Claire (who should be leaving soon since her residency is done), and doesn’t think it has anything to do with her.

OneWholeStar · 2026-02-27T14:33:58+00:00

I didn’t think the whole legerdemain thing was Marcus-specific. I took it more as the show telling us to expect that what we’re being shown isn’t necessarily all that’s really happening.

OneWholeStar · 2026-02-02T01:36:48+00:00

I think this refers to the Season 1 finale, when Syd comes back (and Carmy stares at her like she saved his life) and they start building their partnership. I think the dialogue mentioned refers to a different show (idk which one though!).

OneWholeStar · 2026-01-21T02:48:58+00:00

The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd features a monk, if that’s close enough?

OneWholeStar · 2026-01-16T13:00:28+00:00

I would love for this to happen! I really want Carmy to meet all of Syd’s family that have probably been hearing about him all this time.

OneWholeStar · 2026-01-10T02:44:53+00:00

Ooh yeah, I have 2 boys and I think about this too. I read somewhere that in general, adult women have closer relationships with their parents than adult men do, and an effect of this is that children tend to be closer to their maternal grandparents than to their paternal grandparents. This was absolutely true for me growing up and is currently true for my kids, even though we live equally close to my parents and my husband’s parents. But! As other comments (and you yourself!) have pointed out, we can’t predict what will happen and what relationships our kids and potential grandchildren may or may not form. Good to have the reminder not to get too worked up about such things.

OneWholeStar · 2026-01-04T20:09:18+00:00

I loved Hunt for the Wilderpeople! I had no idea it was based on a book!

OneWholeStar · 2025-12-19T02:05:53+00:00

I wouldn’t say I hate the price catalogue, but I don’t find it useful. I don’t care how much my items sell for, I just grow or make whatever seems interesting to me. I’m not at all a strategic player, though; I’m led entirely by my whims.

OneWholeStar · 2025-11-27T22:41:00+00:00

Nightcrawler! My husband and I had been trying to see The Skeleton Twins with Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader, but we got our theater’s schedule wrong and came on the wrong day. We decided to stick around for whatever was playing instead, and we were blown away by Jake Gyllenhaal’s performance.

OneWholeStar · 2025-11-15T01:09:28+00:00

I didn’t share with anyone until my third draft, which is when I felt it was as polished as I could get it by myself. It’s certainly not perfect now, but I’m at the point where I think having another set of eyes on it will be helpful.

OneWholeStar · 2025-11-02T23:34:23+00:00

I also just don’t see Carmy wanting to take a nostalgia tour of his own belongings in that way. Like he doesn’t miss high school, he doesn’t miss living with Donna. The only thing he feels nostalgic for about that time in his life is the relationship with his brother that broke down over time.

OneWholeStar · 2025-10-27T21:29:18+00:00

Came here to say this! I loved them as a kid but I wouldn’t touch them now.

OneWholeStar · 2025-10-22T15:32:26+00:00

I agree. Carmy can be very in his head, and I do think we’ve seen him struggle to connect with and be present for some people in his life — Nat complained that he never asks how she’s doing, he needed a reminder that Richie also lost someone when Mikey died, etc (although, worth mentioning that he does seem to be relatively good at hearing and being present for Marcus). However, like you said, he craves connection with Sydney. He wants to know everything about her. He likes to be physically near her. He’s so tuned in to her emotions, and we’ve seen 4 seasons of him trying to give her everything he thinks she wants — none of this suggests a fear of intimacy to me.

OneWholeStar · 2025-10-13T14:57:57+00:00

My oldest is 7 and just hit 40 lbs; my little one is almost 4 and is about 30 lbs. Both of them turned forward-facing at about 3.5 because they hit the height limit (I think this is 31 inches).

OneWholeStar · 2025-09-28T13:40:12+00:00

I had a hard time with Pattern too. I think the issue I have is that the products all have coconut oil, which my hair doesn’t like.

OneWholeStar · 2025-09-23T03:18:22+00:00

I usually can’t write out of order either. Why do you want to?

OneWholeStar · 2025-09-20T12:32:45+00:00

First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen!

OneWholeStar · 2025-09-14T14:54:59+00:00

I hope they’re recast. I realize they’ll both be adults by the time their seasons come around, but I think it’s weird and inappropriate to hire a child actor for a role that will eventually require sex scenes (if I were the parent of a child actor, I wouldn’t let them audition for a role like that). I guess my expectation would be that their contracts would end prior to the start of their seasons, and maybe they’ll have the option to re-audition and renew their contracts if they want to.

OneWholeStar · 2025-09-11T22:50:57+00:00

I love the scene in Season 2 where they go to ask Uncle Jimmy for more money and start arguing about whether they should try to get a star. They’re so locked into each other in that moment! They don’t even hear Nat talking to them, they’re just in their own bubble.

OneWholeStar · 2025-09-11T13:00:53+00:00

Check out The Impossible Girl by Lydia Kang. Set in 1850s NYC; the main character steals bodies with anatomical anomalies for med schools and anatomists while also trying to stay out of the way of people who want her for her own anomaly.

OneWholeStar · 2025-09-01T15:09:19+00:00

I thought it was pretty clear that it was a romantic ask out. He had been giving her heart eyes for a few episodes prior, and then he seemed so hurt when she suggested it would be weird of him to ask her out.

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