about halfway thru, love that this is a starkly new sounding voice. Not like any of the previous ones. its great for fiction culture when a writer does that.
I read this in Joe Friday's voice (Dragnet) and it really sizzled. 👌
Oh, and I don't know if this Paully character has anything to do with me, but it definitely triggered me. I AM REAL, DAMN IT. Please don't make me question my own existence!!!! I already have enough troubles as it is. 😅
this so reminds me of a dope Maxim Biller story i read in the new yorker decades a go. i love a {can't say} partner story. so dope, its like a subgenre to the fiction culture.
ARC you're the only person that can find something you read years ago that reminds you of something you just read right now that's fiction faster than me. And it's not like that's a story from the New Yorker most people would remember either. Jesus, it's from 2007?
Cacklesssss….not pissed at you tho…just properly pissed at the obtuseness of the man. Meanwhile, I love the full circle moment when he stopped running from the stalker with Candy and became one. 🤣
I wholeheartedly stand with Candy. You captured Matthew succinctly with his rumination on how he should have pressed Candy to receive love rather than being the vampire of their creative energy. He knew he wasn’t capable of giving Candy anything they desired but he still chased after their energy long after they finished their unspoken temporary contract.
Playback is a stunning portrait of romantic obsession and identity collapse, told with lyrical precision and haunting emotional clarity. Sandy crafts a voice so intimate and fractured it feels like memory itself—raw, looped, and impossible to escape. A quietly devastating, beautifully constructed piece of fiction. Great 4 the culture.
I finished this in one swallow. Out-fucking-standing. I have nothing more to add. The voice to this piece is pitch perfect, and I'd like to echo ARC by saying this is a starkly new sounding voice. I like it. The story is complete as a piece of fiction. It does everything I could possibly want it to do and more.
How much time did you spend writing this one? Did it come out in one draft or did you do multiples? It reads so complete and seamlessly I feel like it all must have spilled out of you in one hypomanic trance.
Stories like this are what's going to continue moving the needle for the culture of fiction on Substack. And I know I haven't had time lately to read as much as I want, but this one you should be incredibly proud of. Hell, it gave me the feelies and I'm not even properly medicated yet.
Thank you for this story, it was a wonderful way to start a day where I've got to do a lot of hard ass apartment unpacking labor.
Thank you so much, Emil! This means a lot. I am extremely happy that it felt natural, like I could have written it in an hour. This bad boy got probably... geez.... 40 hours of rewrites? I am a laborious writer, man. I edit things like a trillion times. (I may be exaggerating here somewhat, but it was edited at least 15 times.
Perfect. The best writing, whether it took seven years of revisions (my own short Our Year) 40 hours (this amazing piece apparently.) or came out in one two hour long vomit, should read like it was effortless to write.
Don't confuse this with the concept of the fiction or prose being frictionless, I just mean that it should seem complete, whole, and have nothing that seems out of place in the story as the author intended, and this piece was whole. If I meant frictionless and smooth and easy to read, well, I wouldn't like Aannex by Blake Butler so much, and a lot of my favorite authors I probably wouldn't read at all.
Lately you've been on a streak with stories though, and I love it.
This is really great. Love how invested you’ve made me in these characters, in the story, and the unseen moments. Very moving too. Especially around identity, and asking: who would I want to be. And the ending, wooo, so dope!
Thank you Miguel! You've been such a huge support for this piece! Yes, these question around identity are very important to me--and I think everyone...
Sandolore, you lied to me. This is a perfect twin flame story! 1. ‘The one time they got close to a fight’, the twin flame theme can make everything so perfect. You’re twins, so you eye to eye on most things. Very little to argue about, which means you don’t really know this person or one of you holding back. 2. ‘I prefer giving, I don’t like receiving’ - exact words from my twin flame situation. I now read it as ‘I can’t be vulnerable around you’.
I have so much more to say. You hit it right on the spot. It’s a true twin flame story. Painful.
Just found this comment! I am so happy the twin flame eeked in there! I know you would have loved the whole cut "Regina" passage, Matthew's counselor (?) who urges him to run after Candy. I love that you connected with this piece so much! Thank you for your comment!
This is such a great story, my god! Just ethereal enough to let us write our own story about Candy but detailed enough to lead us down its narrative. I also adore the structure and the simple lines. Damn good read
Thank you! I am trying to improve my narrative hypnotism (this sounds like I am trying to be funny, but I really am trying to work on capturing the reader!)
about halfway thru, love that this is a starkly new sounding voice. Not like any of the previous ones. its great for fiction culture when a writer does that.
ooohhh... really???
Yes really.
😂 it's also great for fiction when writers surprise themselves!
Best for fiction! Yes, you are very right.
I read this in Joe Friday's voice (Dragnet) and it really sizzled. 👌
Oh, and I don't know if this Paully character has anything to do with me, but it definitely triggered me. I AM REAL, DAMN IT. Please don't make me question my own existence!!!! I already have enough troubles as it is. 😅
Ha! You definitely got a wink there. At least we can suspect there is a voice there... if not a flesh and blood entity.
In all seriousness, I'm honored! 🫠
But don't be surprised when you come across a "Sandolort" in one of my future stories. 😉
I just gave big snortle at this.
🤣🤣🤣
this so reminds me of a dope Maxim Biller story i read in the new yorker decades a go. i love a {can't say} partner story. so dope, its like a subgenre to the fiction culture.
I want to read it!
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/07/02/the-mahogany-elephant
Thank you for finding this! You are gold, Andrew!
ARC you're the only person that can find something you read years ago that reminds you of something you just read right now that's fiction faster than me. And it's not like that's a story from the New Yorker most people would remember either. Jesus, it's from 2007?
ARC has magical powers.
He does, and so do you, and so do most of the other people I find myself surrounded with around these parts of the fiction tab.
Until the day I die, I will however usually just say, “I’m just a guy doin’ stuff.”
This was a delight to read but also pissed me off in some ways, which is indicative to good relatable art. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for getting pissed, Tabitha.
Cacklesssss….not pissed at you tho…just properly pissed at the obtuseness of the man. Meanwhile, I love the full circle moment when he stopped running from the stalker with Candy and became one. 🤣
Oh! Tabitha... who pissed you off? Candy? or the POV character? I just got really excited that maybe you loved Candy more than Matthew...
I wholeheartedly stand with Candy. You captured Matthew succinctly with his rumination on how he should have pressed Candy to receive love rather than being the vampire of their creative energy. He knew he wasn’t capable of giving Candy anything they desired but he still chased after their energy long after they finished their unspoken temporary contract.
Candy didn’t con Matthew. He conned himself.
Yes! Tabitha!
Candy’s POV was whispered in between the margins.
Playback is a stunning portrait of romantic obsession and identity collapse, told with lyrical precision and haunting emotional clarity. Sandy crafts a voice so intimate and fractured it feels like memory itself—raw, looped, and impossible to escape. A quietly devastating, beautifully constructed piece of fiction. Great 4 the culture.
What an immaculate comment!
As soon as I open up my laptop I'm going to read this. But I can already tell Freddy scan down to the comment button that it's going to be good.
That's one of my few useful magical powers. But right now I'm going to restack this. Because it's lovely.
Thanks for the faith, man!
You more than delivered. I'm not as florid or acute in my blurb as ARC, but I added my "Emil Ottoman's LONG ASS COMMENT (tm)" up there.
This is magnificent!
Thank you Liz!
I finished this in one swallow. Out-fucking-standing. I have nothing more to add. The voice to this piece is pitch perfect, and I'd like to echo ARC by saying this is a starkly new sounding voice. I like it. The story is complete as a piece of fiction. It does everything I could possibly want it to do and more.
How much time did you spend writing this one? Did it come out in one draft or did you do multiples? It reads so complete and seamlessly I feel like it all must have spilled out of you in one hypomanic trance.
Stories like this are what's going to continue moving the needle for the culture of fiction on Substack. And I know I haven't had time lately to read as much as I want, but this one you should be incredibly proud of. Hell, it gave me the feelies and I'm not even properly medicated yet.
Thank you for this story, it was a wonderful way to start a day where I've got to do a lot of hard ass apartment unpacking labor.
Thank you so much, Emil! This means a lot. I am extremely happy that it felt natural, like I could have written it in an hour. This bad boy got probably... geez.... 40 hours of rewrites? I am a laborious writer, man. I edit things like a trillion times. (I may be exaggerating here somewhat, but it was edited at least 15 times.
Perfect. The best writing, whether it took seven years of revisions (my own short Our Year) 40 hours (this amazing piece apparently.) or came out in one two hour long vomit, should read like it was effortless to write.
Don't confuse this with the concept of the fiction or prose being frictionless, I just mean that it should seem complete, whole, and have nothing that seems out of place in the story as the author intended, and this piece was whole. If I meant frictionless and smooth and easy to read, well, I wouldn't like Aannex by Blake Butler so much, and a lot of my favorite authors I probably wouldn't read at all.
Lately you've been on a streak with stories though, and I love it.
achingly sad and real. loved it 🥹
Isn't this a heartbreaker?
This is really great. Love how invested you’ve made me in these characters, in the story, and the unseen moments. Very moving too. Especially around identity, and asking: who would I want to be. And the ending, wooo, so dope!
Thank you Miguel! You've been such a huge support for this piece! Yes, these question around identity are very important to me--and I think everyone...
Yes, identity is very important, and you treat it with compassion and care, thank you for your practice 🙏🏽
Sandolore, you lied to me. This is a perfect twin flame story! 1. ‘The one time they got close to a fight’, the twin flame theme can make everything so perfect. You’re twins, so you eye to eye on most things. Very little to argue about, which means you don’t really know this person or one of you holding back. 2. ‘I prefer giving, I don’t like receiving’ - exact words from my twin flame situation. I now read it as ‘I can’t be vulnerable around you’.
I have so much more to say. You hit it right on the spot. It’s a true twin flame story. Painful.
Just found this comment! I am so happy the twin flame eeked in there! I know you would have loved the whole cut "Regina" passage, Matthew's counselor (?) who urges him to run after Candy. I love that you connected with this piece so much! Thank you for your comment!
This was a great story that captures feelings of both mystery and longing.
Thank you... yes!
these characters sing! beautiful and bittersweet, really great story.
Thank you, EJ! I love that comment...
This is such a great story, my god! Just ethereal enough to let us write our own story about Candy but detailed enough to lead us down its narrative. I also adore the structure and the simple lines. Damn good read
Thank you , Fitz! I really appreciate it!
Lovely. Hypnotic.
Thank you! I am trying to improve my narrative hypnotism (this sounds like I am trying to be funny, but I really am trying to work on capturing the reader!)
Loved this story!
Thank you! That means the world coming from you.