#How the hell did it get a sequel. Lord.

[regulusrules]

5 Post-Diamond of the Day fic recs with Happy Endings

Since we’re trending, AGAIN, this fic rec is one of The Basics ™️ to those who finish the series now. Personally I remember desperately navigating ao3 (with tears and snot) when I first finished the show, looking for a happy continuation. So here’s a list you will absolutely need

1. My breaths are run by your compass by @regulusrules. 75K, M.

If I wasn’t the one who wrote it, I desperately would’ve wanted this fic to be the first thing I read after the finale. Because holy fucking hell this fic healed all what dotd did to me. It has a plot that matches the angst of s5, yet the ending we deserved. Sometimes when I’m wallowing in bed, I remember that certain scene of them in the epilogue, and my frantic heart calms. Also when I remember Arthur kneeling there. Holy lord above.

2. The Patter of Tiny Feet on Cold Stone Floors by @theavalonian. 79K, M.

This fic is the definition of perfection. From its perfection, I’ve only read it once (five years ago) and still recall every single detail about it. Which is insane if you know me irl. But it was just simply amazing. A fic bestowed from above. My heart hurt for days while reading it, but at the same time it showed me love I can never forget. I’d sell my kidney for the sequel if dear author is still interested.

3. Winning the battle, losing the war series by @prattery. 27K, T.

“He doesn’t beg again��not out loud, anyway.” This line, and this fic in general, sometimes ring in my ears in a way none do. There is something just so hauntingly beautiful with how Merlin’s journey to recovery here was written. A lifetime of disaster finally resolved, not shrugged. Golden love remaining. Would sell my other kidney if dear author still wishes to bless us.

4. Golden As I Open My Eyes by @queerofthedagger. 2K, E.

Only queerofthedagger could write a 2k fic and stun us all with it. I mean; what was it all worth indeed if we do not get an alcove scene of desperate yearning? We cannot expect canon AUs of dotd to be immediately happy. That goes against the essence of the whole show. But when they work for it— when they consciously choose to leave destiny behind for love’s sake, that’s what makes fics more telling.

5. Something More by @captain-ozone. 5K, G.

If, like me, you finished the show and you were like oh I’d love to read a fic about Arthur’s side of the journey and torment myself even more! then this is the best fic you could possibly read for that. Leave the MCD aside, it is genuinely so good. And the actual proof of that is that I absolutely hate first POV books, but this one was an exception. Bring tissues next to you though.

[For more fic recs]

[opalwatchbooks]

ACOTAR Review: what.

dear god I normally get like. a single note on my posts on this account. but I have a feeling whoever sees this one will not like it.

I honestly have no clue where to start? This is the last time I'm trusting BookTok. I finished reading "A Court of Thorns and Roses" about a week ago and I've been putting off writing this because I've been racking my brain for SOMETHING positive to say (I did find one thing, I'll finish off this post with that).

I'll just start with what I found to be most criminal, and that is the characterization and the way the relationships between characters (fail to) work.

Firstly, Feyre. How do you manage to write 400 pages of a novel and not give your main character an inkling of personality? Feyre's characterization essentially boils down to "Okay so I'm going to make my protagonist dumber than a sack of flour, but she does need some positive qualities... oh I've got it, she PAINTS!"

That's it. That's the character. Through the entire novel, she was acting like that one TikTok audio that goes like "this man KIDNAPPED me! I can't stop looking HATEFULLY into his sexy, evil, sexy eyes. He put me in this sexy dress that's short, and I pretend to hate it to piss him off, but secretly I like it. He offers me food. How do I know he hasn't poisoned it? He takes a bite of it. Damn he's good." (That last bit actually fucking happens in the book.) I've dug through my camera roll and I found a silly animatic with the audio - it's Squid Game yaoi so you'll have to forgive me.

Expanding on Feyre's stupidity - dear lord almighty. "Tamlin told me not to go into the woods- fuck I went into the woods OOPSIES. Literally everyone in the palace told me not to go outside during this holiday- fuck I went outside OOPSIES. Alis told me not to drink the wine- fuck I drank the wine OOPSIES." ALL OF THESE SITUATIONS RESULTED IN TERRBLE CONSEQUENCES. WHY DID SHE NEVER LEARN TO LISTEN?

The main love interest is so forgettable that I had to google his name. It's Tamlin. Okay what does this man have going for him um... well first he's kidnappy and mysterious, then he's super duper sexy (he falls in love with Feyre despite her lack of personality, meaning there's no fucking chemistry between them), then he's all sad and angry, then he's rapey, then he's kidnapped himself, but oopsies there you go, Feyre saved the day. I'm not joking when I say there's no fucking chemistry between Feyre and Tamlin. It's literally just "I have no interest in this man... wait he has a sad backstory and abs, fuck I want him so bad, even though he pinned me against a wall and gave me a hickey after I told him to stop."

I'd like to take a break to discuss that by the way? What's up with YA novels marketing the overstepping of boundaries and consent as sexy? There is nothing sexier than a man who respects your consent. Even though that's just my opinion and people can be into whatever the hell they want, these novels are marketed to teenagers who are still developing their views on what a healthy relationship is, and nothing screams "healthy" like "hey stop doing that... well you overstepped that but I liked the way it made me feel, it so I suppose it must not be sexual harassment and therefore I'm still into you." I'll get back to it in a moment.

You know who else is super rapey? Rhysand. He spends 99% of his time in the book hitting on/manipulating/sexually assaulting Feyre, but in the final chapters of the book, all of a sudden it's not mentioned anymore and the narrative lends him pity, and he's suddenly painted as more of a chaotic neutral? Excuse me? And if my minimal research serves me well, Feyre is buddy-buddy with Rhysand in the sequel? EXCUSE ME? After he sexually assaulted her, humiliated her in public in front of Tamlin, manipulated her into a bargain... he gets to be part of a love triangle? Jesus CHRIST.

Feyre's sisters are too boring to talk about, moving on.

Alis was mildly enjoyable at best but her personality was utterly and completely inconsistent, moving on.

Lucien. I liked Lucien. He was very silly and was the saving grace of this book. He was the only one who seemed to have Feyre's best interests at heart. He was funny and had a personality (crazy that the bar for characters in this book is "have a personality"); he's got a good sense of humor, is the only one who reacts rationally enough to some random human killing off one of his best friends, is admirably loyal to Tamlin, and is the only character who fucking does ANYTHING when faced with the threats against the Spring Court. We stan Lucien.

Okay, besides characterization, I felt the plot/conflict of the book wasn't too poor. It did feel a bit muddled at times, and nothing getting explained before everything is suddenly dumped on the reader makes for a boring-then-extremely-confusing read. It's a bit hard for me to say anything on the plot because it was also not quite memorable for me personally. When Feyre was magically turned into a Faerie at the end of the book through the power of love and magic, I was like "huh that sounds like the ending to Twilight..." Imagine my surprise when my girlfriend googled it and ACOTAR is, indeed, a Twilight fanfic. I also saw online that it's meant to be a play on Beauty and the Beast, which I didn't pick up on, so... that part is subtly incorporated enough, I suppose. The difference is Belle actually has a reason to fall for the beast.

You know what is memorable for me? The stupid fucking riddle at the end. As soon as I heard "solve my riddle," I knew the answer was "love." You can't have a riddle in a shitty fantasy YA novel without the answer being "love." That's just more bullshittery from Feyre I suppose - went through three months in a dungeon with nothing to think about but the riddle, and couldn't even cough that up as a guess. I suppose it would have made more sense if Amarantha stated that Feyre only gets one guess and if she guesses incorrectly, she dies, but that isn't the case. I don't really know what was stopping Feyre from going through every possibility when presented with the opportunity to solve the riddle. Also, what do you mean the crazed-evil-batshit-genocidal-dictator-pimp wrote a riddle where the answer was "love?" That doesn't make any sense. I don't care if "iT wAs A cUrVeBaLl," it just doesn't make sense. When Feyre's life now revolves around her love for Tamlin, why would you make that the solution to the riddle???

A note on the smut - BookTok had me thinking this was the dirtiest, spiciest, messiest smut. Droves upon droves of people proclaiming that they couldn't hold themselves back from Tamlin and his faerussy. Imagine my shock and concern when I found this book in the YA section of my library... and then sudden relief when I finished the book and discovered that the people on BookTok must never have opened AO3, because there was nothing in this. I'm not complaining whatsoever, because if it's written for teenagers, it better not have wild smut in it. If you're going to read this expecting things to get down and dirty, just know the most erotic word in this book was "breast."

I liked the worldbuilding, and the idea of seven courts where each of them has a different climate going on is neat. The descriptive portions were well-done, and the author's use of imagery added an extra layer that pushed me to keep reading when I simply could not care. The sheer amount of dashes and ellipses made me want to cry and had me questioning if ChatGPT was used. That physically hurt at many, many, many points. I digress. I'm also a sucker for fantasy romances, I can't lie. This one was just not it. So naturally, the next step is for me to read the sequels and review those, too. I originally started this series because I saw someone on BookTok label it as "misunderstood villain." There is nothing more I love love love than a misunderstood villain (see: Chrollo Lucilfer from HxH, Lio from Promare, other examples that I'm just too sick of writing to list). I just desperately need a break after that shitshow of a novel, so I'm taking a break to read the "A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Series." I just finished the first book so I assume a review is due on that (pssst... It was much. much better than ACOTAR).

TL;DR ACOTAR gets a 2/10

[blues824]

Hello can I please request a sequel to the undertaker in the remarried empress.

⚰️Imagen her making a mourning locket for heinley after his brother died and him thanking her for it .

⚰️How would everyone react to her telling that she became a grim reaper because in her previous life she comided sueside and that this is a punishment in her world.

⚰️Remember when mckenna gets shot because of sovieshit giving orders to shoot every bird that visits navier and ergi asking her to help mckenna.

⚰️How would everyone react to her her being together with kosiar and her joking to him if he ever kills someone she will hide it but don't go to another undertaker because that's cheating.

⚰️How would everyone react to her refusing to build rattrash a coufin and being shocked that she can hold grudges against people because she is known for her happy personality and chill nature .

⚰️Rember navier gets smugeld in the carage it looks like something the undertaker whoud build but at least the undertaker whoud put padding on the inside to make it comfy.

Part 1

TW: mentions of suicide

Sovieshu Vict

Back in Part 1, I already explained that you had told him to his face that you never wanted to see him or Rashta again, and that you would never make Rashta a coffin because she did not deserve your craftsmanship. While you never stated you wouldn’t make one for Sovieshu himself, it was kind of inferred. You retreated to your parlor, and have banned him from entering your own ‘empire’.

To say he was distraught would be an understatement. Not only was he heartbroken, but now you knew about how things work within the palace. All one needs to do is tell you a joke and you would gladly tell them what they wanted to know. What he didn’t know was that you wouldn’t betray the Empire like that, as it could bring harm to those you loved. Like you loved the Phantomhive family back in your world, you loved the Imperial Family (really the Trovi half).

Sovieshu had hired a hitman, but he never heard back from him. Unfortunately for them both, you were aware that you couldn’t die because being a reaper was your punishment for committing suicide in your past life. It was definitely not a great day for the hitman, because you used your scythe to kill him. It was all kept under wraps (perks of being an undertaker), and you just treated the body like normal.

Rashta

She was aware that you were quite serious about your promise in that you never wanted to see her again, and that when her body is sent to you when she inevitably dies, it would be refused. However, even though you knew how she would die, she did not. Sure, she knew she was human, but she didn’t know you were a reaper. She was younger than you, so she thought you would be the one to pass first.

Anyways, she could see Sovieshu’s distress after you left, and it made her so frustrated. The only thing that calmed her down even slightly was the fact that you were in a courtship with Lord Kosair, and you seemed to be completely in love and thus occupied. Unfortunately for her, you did not give her the information she wanted about her previous owners, and that information would be locked away because of what she did out of jealousy.

The young mistress could beg through letters, but you would not give her the time of day. Spoilers, but when you heard that she was executed, you actually refused the commission of a coffin. You remained cold and set upon your decision from all those years ago. You did, however, attend the funeral held, and you placed a rose upon the rather mediocre wooden coffin. You would most likely see her in Hell, if your punishment is fulfilled.

Navier Trovi

She had heard what you said to her husband, and later found out what you said to Rashta when she was helping you pack your things and bidding you farewell. She had to hold in a laugh at your boldness, since not a lot of people would dare insult the mistress of the Emperor or the Emperor to their faces before storming off without an apology. That was when you decided that you could trust her with information free of charge; you told her that you were a Grim Reaper. She was shocked, but you explained that you used to be human and were being punished for committing suicide in your past life.

With that being said, Navier employed your expertise a few times. One example would be when McKenna was shot. The Empress had a servant rush the bird to you so that you could treat it, and you got to work. You cut through the bullshit though, and you knew it was McKenna and not a random carrier bird. He ended up surviving, fortunately, so all was well. You did, however, send a letter to Sovieshu saying that the bird was a letter from you (instead of Heinrey) to make him feel even shittier.

The last time your services were employed was when you were commissioned to work on the getaway vehicle. It was very last-minute, as no one knew that the Emperor would try to keep Navier within the palace. Understanding of the circumstances, you set to work right away, and you made a compartment that would secretly hold Navier inside of it. You designed it like one of your coffins; soft wood, soft cushions, and the scent of the wood was actually pleasant. You engraved a small message that she would be able to read, and it read “Can’t wait to see you!”

Heinrey Lazlo

When his brother died, you were the one who directed the funeral. Again, you did funerals for everyone, as you thought people who deserved them should have access to your beautifully made coffins; even if families couldn’t afford it, you would grant it to them free of charge. That being said, while you were performing the autopsy, you snipped a miniscule section of his hair and placed it in a mourning locket. At the funeral, you presented it to the now-King Heinrey, and you bowed. 

Then, there was the whole ordeal with getting Navier to the Western Kingdom. You set to work on a carriage, even going as far as to employ other people to assist you. However, when the carriage itself was constructed, you paid everyone and went back to incorporate a hiding place within the carriage. It was in the seat, and you used your expertise and designed it like a coffin. You put padding in it as well, so that Navier could be comfortable.

It was a few weeks later where they came back to the Western Kingdom, and they had permission from the High Priest to wed. You were very excited for them, but there was another enemy on your radar: the widow, Lady Krista. You made it clear that you knew that she (SPOILERS) was in love with Heinrey, but you made her a mourning locket as well to remind her that it would be very inappropriate to go after her brother-in-law.

Kosair Trovi

You both are just a bunch of silly gooses when you are with each other. Many jokes have been shared as well as many fleeting kisses. You told him that if he kills someone, you would be there to deal with the body. Then, you straddled him and came real close to his face just to say that if he ever goes to another undertaker, he would be cheating on you. He responded by placing a kiss on your lips and saying that the only undertaker he would ever go to would be you.

Anyways, he helps you with building the carriage that would transport his future brother-in-law along with his sister. Because he knows what this is for, you trust him to help you in building the hiding spot within it as well. You showed him your secrets, how you build your coffins because you fashioned the secret space just like those glorified boxes for dead people. It was the first time where he had seen you so serious rather than showing a bunch of emotion.

He remembers what you said to Sovieshu and Rashta, and while you are working on the getaway carriage, he asks if you were serious. You turned to him with a flash of anger in your glowing eyes as you stated that you would refuse their bodies if they ever managed to darken your doorstep either in life or death. You could be very scary sometimes.

[lastoneout]

As someone who's curious about star trek: where would you recommend I start? It's a lil overwhelming, but yall seem to be having fun!

Oh lord that is the question isn't it. Honestly the real answer is anywhere, while all of the shows take place in the same universe aside from Picard and Lower Decks they don't really require a huge amount of knowledge about any other series(and hell if you don't mind not getting some references and enjoy raunchy comedy with a heart of gold shining within it Lower Decks is a really fun time), they really do all stand on their own and even ones that are prequels or continuations like Prodigy and Strange New Worlds are pretty self contained.

Personally though(and people will likely kill me for this but whatever) I started with the 2009 Star Trek film and I legit do think it does a really good job of getting a new audience the info they need on how the universe works and who some of the big characters in The Original Series are while also being fun and accessible and, crucially, not a huge time sink. I think a LOT of people get intimidated out of Trek because most of the shows are long as fuck and while I say this with love...not all of them hit the ground running. So yeah, it's snappy, it's exciting, it preserves whats important, and it's basically designed as an entry point, so it's worth a watch. And I'm just a huge sucker for Chris Pine, his Kirk is a bit more openly feral than the original and I honestly love that for him <3

However!! I would NOT recommend watching the other two films, Into Darkness and Beyond, right away. Star Trek '09 is essentially an AU of the Original Series so the story is unique, but Into Darkness is just a remix of The Wrath of Khan and NOT A GOOD ONE at that! Plus it's just...kinda dark and miserable and deviates heavily from the established feel of Star Trek that every other show managed to hold onto, which sucks. If you really wanna watch Beyond you can, and you genuinely should at some point regardless, it also is an original story that stands on it's own and to be honest is the best film of the trilogy and one of my favorite Star Trek anythings ever. It's got all the good Trek energy from the original shows while still keeping it's own identity and that's a joy to watch. So yeah, if you start with '09 I would recommend diving into a show before continuing. And maybe just not watching Into Darkness at all. It's bad.

Now, if you are a fan of animated shows for older kids like Avatar The Last Airbender, Star Trek Prodigy is genuinely a GREAT entry point. It is technically a sequel to Voyager but it is also it's own story with new main characters and it's legit meant as a way to get kids into Star Trek for the first time so it's very accessible while still being engaging and unique, and they explain stuff very clearly in a way that never feels patronizing or like it's talking down to the viewers. I legit got tear-y eyed watching the scene where they explain Starfleet just because I'm so glad it exists to welcom people in to a world I love so dearly. That and it's also SO good like I cannot stress enough this show fucking rules. It even has a nonbinary character in the main cast who I adore!! I love the animation and the whole cast and the story and just ough 100/10 for sure. I would even say for people who prefer ATLA style shows over big sci-fi/action films this is the better start than '09, so it's up to you.

Moving on, as much as I love it I'm not entirely sure if I'd recommend The Next Generation as a starting point, if only because the first two seasons are REALLY rough. Like they def have some good episodes, one of my faves of the whole series is in season 2, but it's clear the show needed a couple of seasons to figure itself out before it really took off. I personally did watch TNG after Star Trek '09, but I have a very high threshold for...weird and kinda bad sci-fi so idk, take that as you will. I was willing to buckle down and get through the weird because I knew how good it was going to get, but that's just me. However, I will say once TNG gets it's legs under it there is no looking back, it gets SO good that basically all Trek shows that came after it up until very recently have been living in it's shadow for better or worse. It does ofc have some issues with racism and misogyny and other isms that are clearly due to it coming out in the 80s, but it's also incredibly progressive for not only it's time but often times ours, and overall it's a phenomenal show that is absolutely worth watching and was a lot of people's introductions to Star Trek, so it's a decent start if you don't mind dealing with some weird energy at the start.

As for Voyager, I won't lie, I fucking love it! It's also fairly self-contained, it doesn't even take place in the same part of the universe as the rest of the shows aside from Prodigy and so you don't need a lot of series knowledge to follow it. It is one of the...campier shows, def gets weird as hell at some points but it's got this wonderful spirit at the core of it that imo it always seems to find it's way back to. It is sadly a product of it's time, however, and the first officer Chakotay, while certainly not the worst Native American rep I've seen, certainly isn't the best either. I've heard Prodigy does a very good job at correcting this, but Prodigy came out like 25 years after Voyager so yeah, it is something to keep in mind if that's gonna be a deal-breaker for you. The show does at least let him be a person outside of The Problematic Bit and I appreciate that, it gives him room to shine without the baggage of writers who have no clue what they're doing weighing him down and thus he's genuinely a really great character and probably one of the best first officers in all of Trek, and again I have seen FAR worse bad rep.

Aside from that while it does get weird in it's own bad sci-fi way, all of Trek is weird in that way sometimes, and anyone who says otherwise has no clue what they're talking about. I really enjoyed Voyager, I like it more than The Next Generation for sure and is a better jumping on point than it as well. It does reference a lot of stuff from TNG though and some characters do make a reappearance, but again it's really not that hard to get the gist as the show is more than willing to explain itself. Also it had the first female captain and truly Janeway is peak I would die for her, and the opening theme makes me feel shrimp emotions.

As much as I love Lower Decks I would not recommend it as a starter show, it's very referential and it has some Pretty Bad Episodes, the end of season 2 is dead to me, and it's also an adult comedy so if that's not your vibe you won't enjoy it. I do think it's a wonderful show but yeah, def targeted at adult fans who like some vulgarity(Trek isn't exactly a kids show but it does try to stay away from swearing and sex jokes and the like) and already enjoy Star Trek. Great show, got some rocky bits for sure, and maybe not the best start for someone new. Interestingly tho I do think out of the shows I've seen it does have the BEST first season of any Trek show. It really hits the ground running and the finale is like up there with Holes in terms of a perfectly tied together narrative. Def great to see!

As for the other shows....I sadly can't say because I haven't watched them yet. I know Deep Space Nine is regarded as one of the best Trek shows overall for too many reasons to list, The Original Series has been one of the longest lasting active fandoms in all of history and is beloved by most fans(I'm really excited to watch it) for both it's depth and it's campy nonsense as well as the insane gay energy going on between Kirk and Spock and you should watch it at some point, I hear Discovery had it's own rocky start but has had fans going to bat for it for years, and Enterprise has a rep for being mid but also to this day has fans who swear more people would love it if they were willing to give it a fair shot(plus Beyond pulls from it heavily which is awesome!), and while I've heard mixed things about Strange New Worlds it also seems to be a pretty well regarded entry point and a lot of people genuinely adore it, and it's nice to see some attention get paid to TOS inspired stuff rather than everything being oops all TNG for so long.

And Picard exists. For better or worse. Maybe worse I've heard. Im not interested in watching it because I genuinely do think Trek needs to get OUT of the shadow of TNG for it's own good at this point but that's just me. Def one that should be watched AFTER The Next Generation though as it's a direct sequel and you probably won't get anything that's going on without that context.

Anyway sorry for the essay it is now 3am and I am an idiot I just LOVE Star Trek more than I could possibly ever say and overall aside from Lower Decks and Picard(and Into Darkness I am sorry I truly hate that film to an perhaps unhealthy degree) you really cannot go wrong with your starter. Also I fully welcome anyone who has seen the other shows to chime in here! I wish I could speak to them but there really is so much Star Trek and only so many hours in a day. I hope this helped though, and I wish you luck!!

(Also sorry if I dissed on anyone's faves this is my opinion ofc everyone is going to like different things and I know plenty of people enjoy the stuff I can't stand. There's a show for everyone in here and we won't always agree, but overall I think it's best to just live and let live, especially given the rare but vocal assholes who swear anything made after DS9 is bad. They are idiots and I will attack them on sight.)

[aurorawest]

The Scottish Boy by Alex de Campi - 5/5 stars

This book managed to rip my heart out at least 3 times. I loved it. Medieval enemies-to-lovers slow burn; very romantic. Kinda read like fanfiction at times but in a good way. 10/10 would read a follow-up love story about Arundel and Captain Wekena. If you like Captive Prince, give this one a try.

Reforged by Seth Haddon - 4/5 stars

Pretty good bodyguard romantasy. Ironically CS Pacat blurbed this one (another am-I-in-the-matrix moment). The world was interesting and I enjoyed the politics, though they're definitely not as complicated as other SFF politics I've gone feral over (see: Captive Prince, Winter's Orbit, A Memory Called Empire). I ordered the sequel after I finished this.

The Doctor's Date by Heidi Cullinan - 4/5 stars

A Power Unbound by Freya Marske - 5/5 stars

Where do I start? I love, love, LOVE A Marvellous Light. It's one of my favorite books ever. None of the rest of the books in the trilogy could live up to it, really, because it's so good. You'll notice I rated this one 5 stars though, because quite honestly I fell prey to a bit of The Academy Paying The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Its Due syndrome. I did love this book and thought it was better than A Restless Truth (which I still loved!) but part of that is, quite frankly, just due to the fact that I prefer m/m romance to f/f romance.

Anyway. This was such a good finale to the trilogy. I loved that the romance was a giant middle finger to purity cultists. I loved that one of the mains was Italian. I loved finally getting the story of what happened to the Alston twins. One thing I thought was really cool was how, viewed from the outside, you totally get why Edwin is such a loner. I really admire from a writing perspective how Marske pulled that off.

I feel like there's a lot to be said about what Marske was trying to SAY with this book, but I definitely need to reread it first before I can articulate any of it. The purity culture stuff is obvious, but the magic system too. I feel like Jack when he's almost able to connect everything in his mind into a bigger idea, but he can't quite get there.

I've got a special edition from Illumicrate coming, so I'll be rereading it when I have that.

Oh also, this book was the embodiment of all that one tumblr post -

The Guncle by Steven Rowley - 5/5 stars

I saw this in bookstores for years before I finally gave in and bought it. The blurb makes it sound insufferable and twee. Ignore the blurb. This was such a good book about grief and learning how to live again after terrible loss.

I Like Me Better by Robby Weber - 4/5 stars

At last I can stop getting the Lauv song stuck in my head whenever I set eyes on this book (it's stuck in my head as I type this). Pretty standard-issue YA, but it was cute and had a good message.

The Stagsblood King by Gideon E Wood - 4/5 stars

Another book about moving on from grief! This is the second book in a trilogy. When I was trying to determine if I wanted to read on beyond book 1, I scoured the internet for information about what happens in books 2 and 3. Eventually I decided, hell, I enjoyed book 1 well enough, even if what I want to happen in the rest of the trilogy doesn't happen, they're worth reading. SO, to that end, I will tell anyone looking for info that Tel gets romantically involved with a new man in this one, which, eh. I still want him to somehow end up with Vared. It was still quite good though.

In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune - DNF at pg 82

So funnily, we were at the bookstore the day I was about to start reading this, and my wife pointed out Ravensong (also by Klune) to me and said, "Do you have this one?" I made a face and said, "That's an older one of his books and I'm wary of his early work after that horrible Verania series. I don't think I've ever read an author as hit or miss as TJ Klune."

I wrote the above when I was 60 pages in and now I have officially DNFed this. Listen. You know how in Thor: Love and Thunder, Taika Waititi was clearly given free rein to do whatever he wanted, so all of his worst impulses made it to the final cut unchecked? Yeah. That's what this book is like.

Here's my Storygraph review: I see Klune is officially Too Big To Edit now. This book has exactly the same problem that his awful Verania series had—a joke that's funny at first but quickly grows tiresome when it's repeated five times per page. The emphasis on Victor's asexuality was also weird and read like Klune was just super proud of himself for writing an ace character.

Lion's Legacy by LC Rosen - 4.25/5 stars

Queer, YA Indiana Jones, but less #problematic. This book had some eerie similarities to my own archaeology adventure novel(s), which made me wonder half-seriously if I somehow know Lev Rosen? Anyway, I feared this would be very heavy-handed and not nuanced on archaeology's ethical dilemmas, since it's YA and also the current culture is to view said dilemmas as completely black and white with no nuance, but I was pleasantly surprised. It manages to examine that, queerness, and daddy issues, plus has time to be a genuinely fun and exciting adventure story. Highly recommend.

Too White to be Coloured, Too Coloured to be Black by Ismail Lagardien - 4/5 stars

I picked up this memoir in a bookstore at OR Tambo airport in Johannesburg as research for Six Places to Fall in Love, since Percy is coloured. A pretty brutal read, but good, and definitely good research. The author was a photographer and journalist through the most violent years of apartheid.

The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson - 5/5 stars

Two nonfiction books in a row?? This is the second book by Erik Larson I've read, the first being the excellent The Devil in the White City. I'm not, in general, all that interested in WWII when it comes to military history, but this book is about the day to day lives of Churchill and the people surrounding him (with brief stops to visit FDR and high-ranking Nazis sprinkled throughout). This is a very, very good book, and I recommend reading it if only as a reminder of the resilience and bravery of ordinary people under terrifying circumstances.

Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh - 5/5 stars

Holy shit. Holy shit is this book good. Imagine the love child of Lost, Person of Interest, and Battlestar Galactica, but queer and with multiverse shenanigans thrown in.

I need everyone to read this book. Now. Yesterday. Get to it.

[reggieblk]

omg i never come on tumblr anymore and had to remember all my logins but i didn't know if u had a Twitter but saw your Tumblr linked in ur ao3 so hi

I JUST FINISHED YOUR FIC IF WE WERE LOVERS AND I HAVE SO MUCH EMOTIONS. first of all I knew I was gonna like this fic because I LOOOOVE your other fic 'equals in life (partners in death)'. i saw if we were lovers being recommended on the tomarry subreddit. I never read non magical AUs like this was forreal my first ever one!! I've never really been interested in them since I love the tension and angst harry and tom have in canon because of their backstories and shit so non magical AUs never appealed to me much for tomarry specifically but man I saw if we were lovers on reddit so i clicked on it and it sounded so interesting. I never was a theatre kid or really cared much about it but always thought it was cool and respected people who did it. hell i would love if I could do shit like that on stage LMAO but this fic sounded really good so I saved it to read! and I'm SO glad I did. I literally just finished it and now im here writing this. first of all I love how you wrote ALL these characters. I really need to bring up theo especially because I never really cared about theo as character tbh and in fics I'm usually like eh whatever but you bought SOOOO much life to his character in this fic that I literally would read a fanfiction featuring your theo lmao. I loved his personality so much even tho I'd probably punch him and get so angry at him if he was my friend because sometimes he really needs to shut the fuck up but this personality also seems to REALLY suit him and I just loved him so much. I loved all the characters!!! you just wrote them so well that I never got bored because they were all interesting!! tom and harrys relationship was the best thing ever I literally wanted to strangle them both so much I loved it. I love how much they love eachother and the PINING and SLOW BURN HAD ME SCREAMING AT MY PHONE LIKE CAN YALL FUCKIN KISS ALREADY HOLY SHIT???? and your writing was absolutely phenomenal. I didn't really know what the fuck was going on during the plays because like I said I don't know much about theatre lol but man it was so awesome to read and I could just imagine it all in my head when i was reading it 😩 also I really loved how you wrote Sirius I cried when harry called him and he relapsed but im so happy he got sober!!! I loved all the professors and how you wrote them as well. I was almost losing my shit during harrys first class with snape and im a snape lover LOL but I was like what the FUCK. later on I'm like ok nvm he cool. I loved how Dumbledore came to visit harry and tom during the Christmas break when they literally were high af LMAO. I feel like Dumbledore would smoke weed too tbh. Also this is such a specific moment but I laughed when all the students were graduating and theo made McGonagall do a fist bump with him i can picture that so well it made me Crack tf up. Ugh I just loved this fic so much I would pay you to write a sequel (jk... unless...haha...) but no fr soooo good. I am on my hands and knees praying that you have more ideas for more long tomarry fics again in the future 😭🙏🛐

oh my lord HI this ask is so nice i love love love getting comments or asks from people who literally JUST finished a fic and have so much to say about it!! it's so flattering as an author bc i get the feeling my passion for the project got spread to my readers!!

my characters....my babies.... this fic really revealed a passion i have for making people LMAO i am so happy you enjoyed these characters all together <3 there exists in my docs a version of these characters together in a canon setting and oh my shaylas... my children they're babies in it!! unfortunately that fic SUCKS so it will most likely nawt see the light of day lol sorry but trust the characters are so sweet in it

believe it or not i am by no means a theatre kid!! in fact in france we don't even have theatre at school, other than analysing texts for the more literary classes! it's just a small passion i have, love how pretentious it is! but honestly thank god most readers are not theatre kids bc i'm sure there are things in the fic that are like....girl this is bullshit... writing is like lying and pretending you know things about things when you don't lol

(dumbledore definitely used to smoke weed, but by the time in which the fic is set he most assuredly discovered edibles)

i am SO happy you discovered ethel cain via this fic!! preacher's daughter changed my life fr! however, listening to it on shuffle....a thousand years in the dungeon!! crazy behaviour i cannot lie

thank you so so much for the ask! (and sorry for the late reply) it really makes me happy seeing people like this fic in particular <33

[zepskies]

Happy New Year!!! 💖💖 Can I ask for the game #2, #11, #20, & #28? How you have a safe, healthy, and wonderful one!!! 😊

Happy New Year, friend!! 💓💫💓 Yes of course!! (And I hope you have an awesome 2025. 💖)

#2. A piece you're proud of and why

God, I could have so many answers for this, mainly because I wrote a LOT in 2024. 😂 I'm going to cheat a little bit and give you two stories that you might not expect. Not because they were wildly popular when I published them (they weren't), but because I genuinely put my heart and soul into them and got to explore something new with representation, diversity, and storytelling. 💜

Dream With Me (18+)

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Plus-sized Latina!Reader

Summary: When your asshole ex-boyfriend calls for help on a case, you have a tough decision to make. But Dean isn’t going to let you do anything alone. AKA: The last hunt you, Sam, and Dean will ever go on together.

This is a 3-part mini series set in the Midnight Espresso-verse. ☕ It's set in the dreaded 15x20 (or the time gap within In Bad Weather).

The ME-verse is always going to be special to me. Yes, it's a Latina reader and I get to express my culture through her. Yes, she's plus-sized (and I am too) so I get to incorporate some of my experiences and ideas there. But the ME-verse allows me to give Dean the loving relationship I wish he would've gotten on the show.

And Dream With Me was putting a definitive pin on their story, while still leaving room for more in the future if/when I come back to them. 💗

The Honorable Choice (18+)

Pairing: Dean Winchester x OFC 

Summary: June 1872. Captain Dean Winchester of the U.S. Cavalry is tasked with one job: break a wild mustang. He just didn’t expect the woman who infiltrates his camp, intent on freeing her tribe’s horse.

This was the first OFC story I had written in a long time, but also a risk in the sense that I was writing about a culture that wasn't my own (the Lakota people), in a different time period, and Dean and other SPN characters in a Western AU. So I actually did a lot of research for this story for the sake of respectfulness and authenticity.

I also got to post this story in November, which I found out is Native American Indian Heritage Month. Which is a small tidbit, but I thought it was cool that it happened that way, since I didn't plan it. 😂

I got so into this story that I actually wrote a sequel called Outlander (Part 1 coming out on Friday!).

#11. Fandom you'd like to create more for next year

Oooh great question! I feel like I'm going to get more into Russell Shaw (Tracker) in 2024, definitely more Soldier Boy/Ben (The Boys), but I'm also looking forward to Countdown and what Jensen will bring to Mark Meachum. 💖

Also, I know I'm late as hell, but you might remember that I teased the possibility of my writing for Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit fandom with these characters who I've read a lot of fanfic about over the years: Eomer, Aragorn, Thranduil, and Haldir. 💚

#20. Something that made you laugh

Lol I'm watching old SPN con clips and this compilation always make me cackle:

#28. A song that relates to one of your creations

Ooh I love this question!! I'm big on music inspo -- music often fuels my writing sessions, so you'll often see on my fic posts a "song inspo" at the top.

For Break Me Down (Soldier Boy x Reader), I created a whole music playlist, but the two songs that really capture it as a whole are "If I Didn't Care" (Amy Adams version) and "All My Livin Time" by Radio Company.

I actually created music playlists for a few of my series:

[greenconverses]

Recently read: Deeply behind on my reading recaps, but idk if anyone cares? Here's the rest from February and a little into March.

The Partner Plot was a cute introduction to Kristina Forest as a contemp romance author. No super high stakes or real plot tension, so it was a bit boring in places, but overall a decent afternoon read. (★★★)

Because it's a narrowed autobiography of her time on the first Star Wars set and afterward, The Princess Diarist was fairly thin and limited in scope. God, did that affair with Harrison mess young Carrie up emotionally. The writing was rambling and mildly incoherent in a few places, but that's just Carrie Fisher for you. I listened to the audiobook, and it just reminded me of how much I miss Carrie as a celeb. (★★★)

Loved The Notorious Lord Knightly - something about this second chance romance just hit on the emotional level and when Lorraine Heath hits, she hits - and In Want of a Viscount was pretty great, too. (★★★★ and ★★★.75)

Never Blow a Kiss by Lindsay Lovise gets the honor of being my first DNF of the year. The anachronistic dialogue started early, which is usually a big red flag no-no for me. I was willing to push forward, because god knows I've given other historicals leeway when they do it, but as soon as the hero called the heroine "Noodles" as a pet name, I was out. I am begging romance authors to stop trying to make uniquely stupid petnames in the early stages a thing. BEGGING. (★)

Erin A. Craig needs to cut like 75-100 pages out of her drafts because the House of Root and Ruin was bloated as hell. There's no reason this needed to be 544 pages. I did really like this book. Craig's excellent imagery and the concept of a creepy mad doctor's haunted house were great, but the main romance was dull as a dirt and unfortunately there's too much page time dedicated to it. The twist ending got I gasp out of me, so good for her, but if there's a sequel, I'm probably not going to read it. (★★★.5)

[fallen-knight]

Would love to hear about Vengeance (love hearing anything about Maul), Casualties, and The Dragon’s Ascent!

— @corellianhounds

aww hell yeah! Okay, here we go...

maul fic, as the story currently titled Vengeance was simply named for years before I dusted it off to try rewriting it in 2024, is the beginning of a "what if" Clone Wars AU wherein, through the power of brotherly love, Maul kills Sidious on Mandalore and both Savage and Satine survive. Basically an excuse to give Maul some honest-to-god revenge, force the Mandalorians to resolve their family issues, and make sure Order 66 never happens. My comfort AU, my rules <3

...It also inevitably led to a bit of theory spiraling about the nature of the Chosen One, the concept of Sith'ari, and the bringing of balance, which has given me ideas for a sequel exploring the impact of Sidious' death on the Force and the wider galaxy through both Anakin and Maul's points of view. I'll get to it someday. Probably.

The first sight that greeted him when he awoke was the familiar shape of a Mandalorian helmet, hovering above his bleary eyes. “Lord Maul?” the Mandalorian said. Their tinny vocoder-modulated voice sounded concerned, and it would normally have irritated him, but for some reason he didn’t even mind when they waved their hand in front of his face. “How many fingers am I holding up?” they asked. “Two,” Maul huffed, pushing them away and sitting up carefully. He drew a deep breath and looked around. The first light of dawn had washed over Sundari, illuminating the area; there was the mural, and Sidious’ shriveled remains nearby, reeking of the Dark Side and surrounded by a tense and watchful cordon of red-armored Mandalorian commandos. The Death Watch had moved into the area after the fight, then. “How long was I out?” he asked, getting stiffly to his feet. “No more than half an hour, Lord. According to the security footage, we arrived only a few minutes after your victory. Your brother is in stable condition now, and our best medics are working on-” “My-” Maul staggered on unsteady legs, his mouth going dry as his eyes reflexively widened, glancing first to the area where Savage had fallen to see that it was empty before staring back at the Mandalorian in suspicious disbelief. “He’s- Savage is alive?” “Affirmative, m’Lord.” The Mandalorian reached out and boldly grabbed his arm as he reeled away, and he discovered that, just this once, he was fine with leaning on someone else while he got his wits together. “Lord Opress is in the palace medbay. It was touch and go at first,” they said calmly, “both lungs were punctured and one heart had stopped by the time we got to him - we had to resuscitate him several times - but he’s stable now and pulling through.” “My brother,” Maul said again. He didn’t know what was happening anymore; his head felt so unreasonably light, he could have laughed. He did laugh. A raspy chuckle caught the Mandalorians by surprise, and helmets swiveled to stare as their leader threw out his arms and spun on trembling steel legs, giddy as a child. “My brother is alive,” he cried to the city, “we’ve won.” The Mandalorians understood his triumph, and responded. “Parjai,” they shouted in unison, raising their weapons to the clear sky. Victory. As he crouched down by Sidious' remains, a Mandalorian - by their armor, Rook Kast, he remembered - broke away from a small group of chattering commandos and walked over to stand next to him. "If I may… who was that, Lord Maul?" Kast asked, her helmet tilting to indicate the Sith Lord's remains. "They appear to have been a formidable enemy, yet we had no warning of their arrival." "Darth Sidious." The name hung heavy in the air, though he doubted the Mandalorians would recognize its significance. "Count Dooku's Sith master, and… formerly, mine. The self-proclaimed Dark Lord of the Sith. He came here to challenge my right to Mandalore." Though not the whole truth, it was all they needed to know for now. "A master of manipulation and deceit, but in the end, merely another of our foes who fell to my blade." Maul called Sidious' twin sabers into his hands and let his eyes trace their fine details for a moment, remembering how he'd coveted them as a child. The authority of a god was now in his hands, the old god dead at his feet. He stood up with some effort, hands on his knees, and rolled his shoulders with a grin, sharp teeth glinting in the pale sunlight. “Only the strongest shall rule. That is the way of Sith and Mandalorian alike.” "Aye, m'Lord." Kast nodded in approval as he echoed Vizsla's dying words. "Claiming the title of Mand'alor, and now Dark Lord of the Sith; I dare say none could earn greater respect." The crowd murmured assent. "Bring fuel and oil," he called to them. "Let us send this wretched corpse to hell."

Casualties is a Clone Wars saga that I've been working on since 2019, about sibling bonds, trauma recovery, and giant service lizards.

After Padawan Avir Konshi's life is saved by a trooper who loses most of his mobility in the process, she's informed that he and many other clones who could otherwise recover are slated to be terminated due to expenses. Unfazed, she wages a one-teen war against Republic medical bureaucracy and mortality itself, with the eventual help of her older Master, a jaded former Jedi investigator. The troopers, including her new friend Haze, manage to prove their strategic value as a misfit company of cyborgs and tactical specialists behind desks, and once their legion is assigned to Pijal, quickly bond with the local varactyls as both a means of transport and companions on the battlefield. In their efforts to combat Separatist and Republic plots alike, they come ever closer to the truth behind the scenes of the war...

Battered, bruised, aching all over, he was approaching the last hill. Avir was keeping up easily, spurring him on now and then with a poke in the Force. Haze bit his tongue, looking at the steep slope ahead, but he gathered his strength as they reached it and began to climb. Avir bounced behind, looking around at the blue sky as if she didn't have a care in the galaxy. Haze knew otherwise, and it was part of the reason he let her boss him around so readily. If he could prove to her that he was all right, she'd worry less, and - He tripped, fell on both knees, felt himself slipping back. Avir let him slide. She wouldn't help him unless he asked, and they both knew he would never do that. Haze grunted, grabbed a root, clawed his way a meter or so up, began to slip again. He turned and looked down at the ground. It would be a nasty fall. He twisted around, looking up. Still farther to the top. "Are we going to be here all day?" the Padawan said aloud. Haze furrowed his brow, lunged for a steep stair-set of boulders, and pulled himself up with a clatter. "No," he gasped triumphantly, clambering up. When the rocks ended and he found himself facing dirt and matted grass again, he winced. "Can't we take a breather though?" "Once you've reached the top," Avir said merrily. Haze blinked - she was above him now. He said nothing, just moved on, kicking his toes into the dirt for a better grip, grabbing plants now and then. And then suddenly he was at the summit, looking all around at the sprawling fields and towns, the hills and half-mined mountains of Pijal. Avir was sitting in the grass, staring at it all with a distant look in her eyes. "It's beautiful," she said. Haze couldn't bring himself to think of anything but tactical advantages and disadvantages when looking at the terrain, which areas were of strategic value and which presented a weakness, but he nodded, and then sat down, content to be there in the sun. The enemy could turn up at any moment, so while they had this opportunity to rest, he was going to take it. "Lazy Haze," she smirked as he flopped back in the grass with a sigh, arms behind his head. He grinned and shut his eyes. "Casualties need their rest," he said. Avir sighed, somewhat impatiently, and went silent. Haze opened an eye to see her wearing his helmet that she'd been carrying. He chuckled. "Like the view?" "No. It's confusing," Avir said, muffled. "Every time I blink, it does something weird. Like -" Her voice cut off as the helmet apparently went into silenced mode. Haze grinned wider, sat up, then lay down on his front, studying the insect life in the grass around them. He was so absorbed in tracking the progress of a beetle that he barely noticed when Avir yelled his name. Getting no response, she threw the helmet. It bounced across the ground towards him, and he jumped, scrambling up and looking around wildly, half expecting to see vulture droids screaming in on top of them. "Don't do that," he said, scowling at her once the panic had subsided. She ducked her head, looking genuinely remorseful. "Sorry, I won't. But a transmission just came through - we've got to head back."

And The Dragons' Ascent is my rewrite/expansion of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, exploring the implications and themes that I was disappointed to find the game kinda did nothing with, and altering a few major plot points in an attempt to do the characters more justice. Also the Zonai are literal ancient aliens with their own motives and ambitions now. (You're welcome, Nintendo.)

“Good people, pray attend,” the King called brightly. “Magister Mineru and myself will now grace you with a ballad of the Zonai, a dance heaven-sent, that this evening be brightened even further.” As whispers ran around the hall, Rauru muttered something to one of his attendants, who nodded and slipped away to speak to the musicians. He cleared his throat, and took a few deep breaths as the lights dimmed and a slow, rhythmic drumming began. Sonia reached up and patted his back reassuringly. Mineru stepped out onto the floor below the dais, poised and sharp-eared, and lowered her jade owl mask over her face, then nodded to her brother. Slowly, gaining confidence with each note, he began to sing. Zelda and the court watched with bated breath as the masked Zonai took one step forward, then another, then spun, the ribbon that floated above her shoulders and down her arms like long sleeves rippling hypnotically. As Rauru’s voice picked up, the instruments rose again to join in, and Mineru took another two steps, swaying to the beat. She spun again, sharply, flaring her arms out and extending the ribbon’s ends with them, the gold markings glowing softly in the flickering light of the dimmed braziers. As she twirled across the floor, the spinning sleeves formed the rippling shape of a flower bud around her; then she slowed and dipped her arms downward, the flower unfurling. Rauru reached the end of the stanza and began again, and it took Zelda a moment to realize that he was singing backwards - effortlessly reversing the syllables and melody, in an otherworldly chant - a sound she recognized, she realized, as the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She looked over to Sonia, but the queen was smiling serenely, silently enjoying the performance. Even the stern young chamberlain was drawn into the beauty of Mineru’s dance, wide-eyed and grinning. Zelda exhaled and tried to push memories of the cave from her mind. Mineru furled the ribbons around herself again, reversing her movements with an uncanny smoothness until she stood at the foot of the dais once more. The pattern of forward-and-back repeated a few more times, Rauru’s tune subtly changing and picking up speed, the court musicians doing their best to follow along as the Zonai sang in words none of them knew. Mineru’s movements shifted from stanza to stanza as she swayed theatrically, snapping her arms wide and shaking her mask at the audience, who rippled with half-fearful applause. At last she spun to a stop and froze, rapt, in the center of the floor, arms held to the sky. Rauru held a long note that wavered and faded away, and she exhaled and bowed deeply, throwing her arms wide and trailing the ribbons with them. The braziers were undimmed a moment later and Mineru stood and removed her mask, the court’s tense silence giving way to enthusiastic clapping and delighted murmurs. “A wonderful performance, love,” Sonia said to Rauru as the king sat back down. He mopped his forehead with a napkin and smiled. Zelda took the chance to lean over to him. “That song was… beautiful, what was it about?” she whispered, unable to drive the sounds of the reversed chanting in the cave from her mind. “And how do you sing like that?” “Practice,” Rauru said, a touch smugly. Sonia rolled her eyes. “It’s an old ballad of the Zonai,” he amended, “telling of the early days of our civilization. It’s sung forward and back as a way to instill balance, and the reversed sections have… well, a hidden meaning of their own.” “Fascinating.” Zelda filed the information away to look into later, and found herself wishing once again that Purah and Robbie - and Link, most of all - were here to lose their minds over the unveiling of history with her.

Thanks so much for the tag and ask! I really appreciate the interest and the invitation to ramble about my silly guys. <3

[davekat-sucks]

the weird part with the good fandom antagonist is that we have so many of them theoretically in post canon. you have alt calliope, although it could be argued that she's neutral fandom given that she is a total shutdown of all fanon. you have both meat and candy callie, which lets be honest, the two timelines are definitely colluding. they're not directly evil, but goddamn is the constant secrecy aggrivating. you have the sprites, see previous comment about secrecy. and then you have mspar, which pq couldn't decide if they're not a bad person who just wants to help, or the next incarnation of the demiurge and a total selfish prick. like for a story that originally painted its main villain as a mockery of old act 5 fans, and is supposed to be a positive story about fandom, its weird how many jabs at said good fandom exist.

mind you i'm not complaining about people having negative feelings about fandom cause given where we are, I Get It, but still. feels a bit disingenuous.

Ah, but Pesterquest is LOCKED OUT from the base canon or sequel dubious canon webcomic. MSPA Reader is not part of it. Why try to tie in that now so late when it barely had relevance in the first place? MSPA Reader also doesn't just represent the good fandom. It just represents the general audience, the readers, etc who read the webcomic. The sprites that aren't ARquiusprite for plot because Lord English component or Davepetasprite^2, are nothing more than jokes. Why else they kept Fefpetasprite still talking like "833" and not with actual words despite all the supposed JOKES that she is a chatterbox. Did they give Erisolsprite^2 any significant role for Vriska's Hell? Considering both boys (Eridan and Sollux) do have connections to Vriska's actions (one was an ex and the other was used by her to kill Aradia)? No. Any implications of it is OFFSCREEN. Just like how most of the shit for Post Canon tends to be. Jasperosesprite^2 is special case because they are also active in the role of assisting or going along with Jane Crocker in the side bonus story, even if it has not been updated yet but not outright cancelled by James Roach or HICU. How are they supposed to represent the good fandom if they help the antagonist of the shitty sequel? Plus, Japserosesprite and Davepetasprite talking is nothing more than another ROSE AND DAVE CONVERSATION. Take out Jaspers and Nepeta out and nothing about them as characters or their interactions about what is going on in the plot, changes. They are still Rose and Dave in a different coat of paint. The two Calliopes working together as one full antagonist could work as it may mirror to how Caliborn manipulates for everything going his way. But Calliope's method may be more passive that she barely does much and only does small pushes on other characters doing the work to help achieve her goals. A contrast to Caliborn's brute force when he had to make sure his ascension as Lord English will always come. Plus, Homestuck^2 was originally made not only just out of spite from Andrew Hussie and the crew towards the fandom, but also as a money laundering scheme to payback Viz Media. The sequel is already disingenuous itself and James Roach & HICU are just building on top of it. It's questionable why they continue it despite the controversy behind it. That's like saying you would work on animation series in the same studio that had horrible crunch labor.

[thealmightyemprex]

Fantasy month:Middle Earthathon Part 3 The Return of the King

.......OK....This might be one of the most baffeling movies that exists simply cause it exists .So this has nothing to do with Ralph Bakshis Lord of the Rings Film ,this is done by Rankin/Bass who did the Hobbit .Now a rumor is Rankin/Bass made this to cash in on Bakshis film when it was clear he was not making LOTR Part 2.....Thing is that just plain not true ,animation takes a long time and they started on this before the Hobbit was even finished.Nah the plan was always to follow up the Hobbit a light childrens story.....With the final book in a TRILOGY that is connected to the Hobbit ,while not unkid friendly is a bit more complex.Why did Rankin/Bass think that going about a sequel in this backassward way was a good idea.....They didnt think people would sit through a whole trilogy .....So this is kind of a dumb idea for a film ,and whatever my oppinion on the finished product it is made on shaky ground ....Buthey its done by Rankin/Bass and while not every project they make is gold ,theyve made some pretty good stuff and while their Christmas Specials are what they are known for....Theyve done some damn good fantasy :Ive already discussed my love of their Hobbit,Flight of the Dragons is a total blast and The LAst Unicorn is a personal favorite of mine,so maybe this'll be great too....Well-OK lets get into the review

In this 1980 TV movie Gandalf (John Huston ),Elrond (Paul Frees ) and the hobbits Frodo(Orson Bean ) ,Samwise ( Roddy McDowall ) ,Merry(Casey Kasem ) and Pippin (Sonny Melendrez ) are celebrating the 129th birthday of Fordos uncle Bilbo(Also Orson Bean ),who asks Frodo about what happend to his magic ring ,and thus we get a tale of war ,death,of litterally carrying the world on your shoulders....All set to Glenn Yarburough songs-OK We gotta talk about it

Look....I dont hate this movie ,I actually quite enjoy it .....Despite how technically it is NOT GOOD .Ya know how the biggest criticism of the Jackson Hobbit films is they try to take a childrens story and fit it in the mold of a grand epic.....Its the same problem here but reversed ,they take a grand epic and try to make it a childrens tale.Also I cant imagine how confusing this film mustve been to kids in 1980 who had never experienced any version of LOTR or just knew the Hobbit cause this is clunky as hell ...That said it is such a weird idea I cant help but find it charming in an odd way

Theres a lot of songs and dream sequences (Mostly performed by Glenn Yarburough as the Minstrel of Gondor )they are all pretty decent though my favorites are

Leave Tomorrow Till it Comes which is paired with a nice fantasy sequence of Frodo imagining a more peaceful journey complete with friendly orcs

Towers of the Teeth :A really solid villain song mocking the heroes forces

Frodo of the Nine Fingers which....Full disclosure is kind of a meme in my family ,easy way to make us laugh is to say "Frodo of the NInnnnnnnnne Fingers and the ring of Doooooom "

And of course the orcs song When Theres A WHip Theres A Way which maybe my second favorite thing in the entire movie,it humanizes the orcs and is really catchy

The cast is basically mostly the same people from the Hobbit .John Huston is still commanding and grand as Gandalf ,Brother Theodore is legit menacing and creepy as Gollum .Paul Frees replaces Cyril Richard as Elrond and hes good ,John Stephenson plays the Witch King and I kind of love the weird Skeletor esque voice he gives him and his design is pretty awesome ,and Don Messik is good as both Theoden and the Mouth of Sauron.Of the returning actors the one who really impresses me is Orson Bean ,who made for a great comedic protagonist in Bilbo ,but as Frodo hes pretty good capturing the wearyness and I especially love his evil laugh once he becomes corrupted by the ring

Im sad to say aside from one,,,,,,I dont have much to say about the new cast members ,as Merry and Pippin dont do much (Though Casey Kasem has a few good dramatic moments which legit impressed me considering I mostly know him as Shaggy from Scooby Doo )Nellie Bellflower get a good scene as Eowen but since theres no build up to her she falls flat and the same goes for William Conrad as Denethor as while Conrad does the madness well....All his scenes are cut so hes just a crazy old guy.Hell Aragorn the title character.....IS BARELY IN THIS AND WE GET NONE OF HIS BACKSTORY ,we dont know hes friends with Frodo,hes just some vague king guy and while Theodore Bikel definately makes him imposing and kingly ,like the others hes flat

However the film SHOULD be watched for one thing :Roddy McDowall as Sam.McDowall is one of my favorite actors but on paper hes a weird choice but thankfully McDowall NAILS it ,putting aside his refined mannerisms to fit Frodos trusted gardner ,and he fills that heroic latter part of the story Sam really well .Honestly due to how good McDowall ,Bean and Brother Theodore are ,there scenes are the best part of the movie .I also wont lie the emotional moments did get me misty eyes

So this film IS an oddity ,but a pretty interesting one and very fun to watch and again Bean and McDowall are fabulous .Its a bit of a mess but its got some good stuff there

@countesspetofi @theancientvaleofsoulmaking @the-blue-fairie

@ariel-seagull-wings @themousefromfantasyland @princesssarisa

@amalthea9 @barbossas-wench @filmcityworld1

[monsoon-of-art]

Donut Hole - Chapter 19

Plant Life

I saw a ghost on the stairs And sheets on the tables and chairs The silverware swam with the sharks in the sink Even so, I don't know what to think

I've been longing for daisies to push through the floor And I wish plant life would grow all around me So, I won't feel dead anymore So, I won't feel dead anymore - Plant Life, Owl City

[In which Laventon is MVP, and Dawn feels a bit betrayed.

[ao3 link]

Not quite out of the woods yet…but soon :) I do have ideas for a sequel fic, btw. But we're not there yet. And! HAPPY ANNIVERSARY POKEMON LEGENDS ARCEUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MAN!!!! Thanks for sending me back down a hyperfixation rabbithole that has somehow gotten me into buying retro Pokemon Games and DS consoles!]

Dawn turned towards Deertrack heights. “Help! Please!! He won’t wake up- please! ”

She knew someone would come eventually. Either from atop Deetrack heights or from Jubilife - she could’ve sworn Palina and the Professor were just behind her.

Someone was bound to help.

Someone had to be nearby to answer some questions at the very least.

How long had Barry been in Hisui? Why was he in such a rough shape? What had happened to him? Why hadn’t anyone told her? Sure, maybe she wasn’t exactly friends with the Wardens and Leaders, but didn’t they trust her? Didn’t Adaman and Irida listen to her sobs about Barry? Surely they would’ve remembered…

When she called for help, Dawn did not expect the metaphorical avalanche of people and pokemon that began descending down the hill.

Leading the charge was a strange pokemon, one that was strangely familiar but equally as alien. Dawn could recognize the traits of a ralts evolution when she saw one, but this was…not right. Somehow both, somehow neither.

Regardless of what it was, it was tearing down the mountain like a crobat out of hell with murder in its eyes.

Running directly at her-!

Dawn yelped, trying to move her body to shield Barry from whatever this pokemon was going to do.

Luckily, her bag shifted as one of her pokeballs forced itself open.

Her Alpha Lopunny, Daffodil.

The charging pokemon came to a skidding halt just before her and the Lopunny, the two engaged in a fierce, yet silent stand-off. The Gardevoir-Gallade stood, bristling with barely contained anger.

It moved to attack, what looked to be a close combat. But the rabbit was faster with her own attack, play rough. It was clear just from the Mystery Pokemon’s expression that it did not expect the attack, and that it was very painful.

And yet, it charged again. Hellbent on attacking her for whatever reason-

It clicked. This was Barry’s pokemon.

“Daffodil, st-” she began to say, but there was no stopping Daffodil now. Not in the heat of combat. The lopunny ducked under the punch that the Gallade-Gardevoir tried to throw and threw her own.

The second play rough hit just as hard as the first. The Gallade-Gardevoir stumbled back, trying hard to stay standing. But its legs buckled, and it collapsed to its knees. Finally, it fell onto the ground.

The pokemon was unconscious, for now.

It did not stop the horde currently coming their way.

Lord Adaman and Mai arrived first, on the back of Wyrdeer. Adaman began to say something along the lines of ‘put the boy down’, but was unable to finish. Unfortunately for Adaman, he was swiftly descended upon by an Alpha Honchkrow.

The rest of the Wardens and Nobles were subsequently attacked by seemingly rogue pokemon - the aforementioned honchkrow, a snover, a prinplup, and a shiny mothim. Some of these pokemon weren’t native to the Fieldlands, how far had they traveled to get here? Why were they so aggressive?

Dawn’s head was swimming with questions. So much was happening all at once. Trying to decide on what to do first was difficult, but she settled on quelling the furious rogues.

The enormous rabbit slowly turned to Dawn with her wide, unblinking eyes, waiting for commands.

It was honestly a miracle that she listened to Dawn at all. If she had to guess, it must be a 50/50 chance. A flip of the coin.

Dawn glanced over at the chaos, seeing the Honchkrow grab a large chunk of Adaman’s hair in its beak and starting to yank. But upon noticing her, the enormous bird let him go and started to head her way.

“Take out that Honchkrow!”

Flip of the coin. Heads.

Daffodil rubbed her paws together, creating the static electricity needed for a Thunderpunch.

Diving down, talons raised to swipe at Dawn, the honchkrow was either oblivious to the incoming attack, or maybe it thought it could take the damage.

Either way, Daffodil slammed her fist into the bird’s stomach, knocking the large bird out of the sky with her electrical attack.

Daffodil watched the honchkrow fall to the ground, then turned her dark eyes to the other rogue pokemon. She needed no instruction for what else needed to be done.

With blazing speed she surged into the crowd, readying her paws for more of her signature punches.

Palina and Iscan caught up to the chaos, Lord Arcanine whining as he slowed to a stop.

“Such chaos, caused by a single child-” Palina began to say.

“Why didn't you tell me?” Asked Dawn, voice trembling with hurt feelings and fear. “Why didn't you tell me sooner?”

Palina looked into the girl’s tear-filled eyes, mouth open…but nothing came out. She tried again, glancing at Iscan for support, but words still evaded her.

Daffodil made quick work of the Snover with a drain punch, tossing the unconscious pokemon next to the honchkrow. The prinplup and mothim had noticed that their comrades were swiftly falling to the fluffy behemoth, and switched targets to attack the lopunny instead.

Adaman and Irida could finally approach Dawn without risk of being attacked. “Dawn, oh thank Sinnoh you’re here!” said Irida as she dismounted.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked again, hoping for an actual answer. “You knew! You knew! And you kept me in the dark! Why didn’t you tell me?!”

Irida shut her mouth faster than a shellder at that. “Because…” Adaman started to say, looking apologetic. “Because we weren’t totally sure. And I didn’t want to raise your hopes in case it wasn’t.”

Dawn tried to blink away tears, turning away to not look at them.

Finally, Laventon and Rei, her saviors, arrived. The professor was panting and sweating, but here nonetheless. “R-Right…right…now, what’s…all the fuss?” 

He placed a hand on Dawn’s shoulder (or was he using her as support? Either way, she appreciated the gesture) and looked at Barry. “Good God, he’s in a state, isn’t he? This is him, right?”

“Yes, yes, and he might be dangerous-” Irida tried again. “Please, Dawn, put him down-”

“No! No no! He’s not dangerous! He’s my friend! He wouldn’t hurt a beautifly- he’s hurt! He’s hurt!”

Palina felt the need to step in again, finally finding her voice. “Don’t treat the boy like a criminal, Irida, look at him. He’s completely unconscious.”

The rest of the clans cautiously approached now that they weren’t being harassed by rogue pokemon. (Daffodil had defeated the prinplup and quickly added it to the pile, and was now chasing after the mothim).

“He is a criminal!” Melli shot back, despite not being part of this conversation, “Remember the damage he caused?! Our settlement under rubble? Your settlement on fire?!”

“Melli. Hush.” Ingo hissed.

Everyone was talking now, including people she hadn’t even met before. It was all blurring together into a horrible white noise. Dawn started to hyperventilate, squeezing Barry tight. If he were awake, he’d be trying to comfort her, trying to pull her away.

But he was unconscious in her arms, and no one was helping him.

“Professor Laventon.” Dawn pleaded, tears threatening to roll down her cheeks. “We need to take him to Jubilife, please.” When she squeezed Barry tight, she could feel his ribs and his spine, something she never could before.

“Here, let me take him-” Laventon began to say, holding out his hands to take the boy.

“No!” shouted Dawn, squeezing Barry tighter. “He did all of this for me! I’m not letting him go!”

He had traveled across time and space for her. He had traveled all over Hisui for her. He had worked himself down to exhaustion just for her.

Laventon knew very well that Dawn was close to her breaking point. He needed to get her away from all of this chaos, all of the yelling, all of the stress. Maybe then she’d be more comfortable with separating from her injured friend.

He clapped his hands together, speaking above the crowd.. “I think the Wardens should return to their settlements then! You clearly have some troubles back home, and I do think we can take it from here.”

He didn’t wait for an answer before gently taking Dawn by the shoulders and beginning to lead her away. “Come, come. That’s it, my girl. Let’s go back home.”

Then, Laventon looked over his shoulder to the clan leaders, mouthing harshly, “You two. Come WITH.”

“Lu- Rei. Rei . ” Dawn shimmied Barry in her grip to grab his bag, handing it off to her fellow survey corps member. “I think….those pokemon are his…can you see if they have pokeballs?”

Rei frowned. “How would a stranger know how pokeballs work?”

“I just…have a feeling he used them. He's very smart. Daffy! Daffy we’re leaving!”

Daffodil the lopunny tossed the unconscious Mothim onto the pile with a satisfied huff. Job completed, she parted the crowd of nobles and wardens to follow.

Mai crossed her arms. “Well, Adaman? Irida? What are we doing now? The boy seems to be in decent hands now. I doubt he has the capacity to do any damage in that state.”

“And if so, it’s definitely not our problem.” Gaeric added.

Irida hesitated. Adaman did not. “I think Laventon said it best. Return to the settlements, we'll take it from here.”

Sabi smirked, “Have fun explaining this to Kamado!” 

Jubilife had barely recovered from the surprise visit of Lord Arcanine when the survey team - flanked by both clan leaders and a giant rabbit - returned. 

Zisu was first to greet them. “You all caused quite the stir! Kamado is furious! Breaking our gates like that?” she shook her head. “I hope you all have a good excuse, or I honestly think he might start spitting fire.”

Laventon spoke first between panting breaths. “If you’d please…go tell Pesselle…we have a young boy in need…of medical attention.”

Zisu glanced down at Barry in Dawn’s arms. “...who is that? You know what? Doesn’t matter. Let’s get him to Pesselle. But you need to explain this to Kamado and Cyllene. I’m not risking my head getting bit off.”

Dawn made a quiet noise of fear. Laventon rested a hand on her back, speaking softly, “My girl, everything will be just fine, I will make absolute sure of it. Let’s get your friend to Pesselle, and she’ll fix him right up.”

Zisu jogged ahead, with the group following close behind.

The doors to the Galaxy Hall swung open. Adaman and Irida stepped inside, but before Dawn could enter, Laventon stopped her. “My dear girl. We can take it from here.”

Dawn shifted from foot to foot, glancing down at Barry's face. He looked dirty and scraped up and thin. 

“B-But professor-”

“I know. I know. But I want you to go home and relax. Because once we get your friend into the medical wing, Kamado will want an explanation.” he said in a reassuring hush.

The idea of speaking to the terrifying force that was Commander Kamado was enough to cause Dawn’s face to drain of all color.

“Exactly. And quite frankly, you are completely innocent in this whole mess. The Leaders are the ones who kept this whole thing to themselves, and it spiraled out of control. You did nothing wrong.”

She squeezed Barry tight. For a moment, it felt like he was squeezing her back. “...can you promise me he'll be OK?”

Laventon nodded. “My dear girl, I won't let anything happen to him. I'll take him straight to Pesselle, and when things are settled down, you'll be the first to know.”

Dawn finally relented, carefully handing off Barry to professor Laventon. “He’s…lighter than I expected! Thank goodness for that!” Laventon said, trying to crack a joke.

“Why don’t you wait in your home. Rei or myself will come get you when everything is settled, alright?”

Dawn’s lopunny nudged her with a soft rumble, giving the girl a lick on her head, trying its best to be comforting. She took the offer, absentmindedly stroking its long ears. “O-OK professor. I’ll…I’ll go wait. Everything will be fine?”

Laventon nodded with a smile. “Everything will be fine.”

[sombreboy]

Whine lips⇢vampire!pjm

⇢sfw ⇢pairing: vampire!pjm x reader (no gender) ⇢genre: fluff, fantasy ⇢word count: 1.2k ⇢warnings: Alcohol, mentions of blood

A/N: Haven't posted anything in a while. No smut, but there could possibly be a sequel that follows up on this. Just wanted to write something and see if I still know how to do it haha. Lmk if you enjoyed it. xo Also yes I spelled it 'whine' on purpose dw.

“Door’s wide open.” You’re laying on the floor in your living room, eyes moving to the side when you hear the soft sound of the vampire's steps come to a halt right at the threshold of your open front door. 

“You have to invite me," Jimin hisses through his fangs. However, it is clear by the way his eyebrow lifts playfully that he likes when you give him a little bit of a tease for his 'condition'-his vampirism. "where are your manners?"

"Heh," You shrug and reach your arms above your head, still laying on the floor with your back pressed against the soft carpet, "Do you want to join me tonight?"

With a small groan, you stretch your spine, basking in the way Jimin's eyes seem to follow every movement of yours. He nods, brushing the tips of his tapered fingers against the doorframe.

"I invite you into my home, oh lord of darkness, chomper of jugulars." You snort quietly, rolling over to your stomach to reach for the half empty glass of wine next to you.

Jimin's dark eyes almost whiten completely for a second when they roll back in annoyance at your remark, but his teeth poke out in a little grin. He's heard your jokes about him being a vampire probably a thousand times at this point, but he never seemed to get used to the way you deliver them. It charms him to no end.

Curiously, the vampire saunters inside of your home, the door closing behind him as if it was mother earth's way of locking a monster inside anytime she could. In reality, it is just one of the perks of vampire powers.

"Wine?" Jimin questions as he flops down to his knees next to you, watching your neck as the muscles dance with each swallow to force the drink into your body. He exhales slowly, then smirks when he picks up the bottle to read the label, "What on earth have gotten into you, drinking red wine all by yourself?" He swiftly steals the glass from your hand, spilling some of the red beverage to drip down your lower lip. He refills it some, then brings it to his own lips to taste it.

"It makes time pass quickly when you're not here with me." You whisper sweetly, giving him a daring, warm hand that tastefully sneaks below the hem of the vampire's white silk shirt.

Jimin seems used to your antics, rolling his eyes again. With a small sip, he tastes the wine and scrunches his nose, putting the glass down immediately. His hands catches yours and pulls it out from where it was touching his stomach, holding it between his cold fingers.

"My darling," He sighs, "I will bring you a better wine next time, that one is awful."

"It is kind of awful, isn't it.." You smile, squeezing your hand between his, "But it looks kind of cool, like I am drinking blood too."

"I see how it is." Jimin licks his lips clean from the wine taste, unaware that the tone of his normally pale pout is sweetly stained by the red. However, he does notice that the drink did the exact same to yours, "I can assure you that blood tastes deliciously sweet in comparison to that hell-drink."

"Sounds like you're trying to convince me." You let to of Jimin, going back to your original position on the floor, eyes on the ceiling, "Would you do it?"

Jimin's expression doesn't show it, but he is mildly confused. And excited. Of course he would do it; but such a choice doesn't come without consequences. But the selfish part of him? He would do it a hundred times over. To own you in a way where he'd literally created you-- given you eternal life to spend with him alone?

Only thing he'd miss would be that warm scent of yours.

He's never fed off of you before, but he's been so close every single time you met. With time, it was easier to ignore the hunger. But now he has the chance to possibly turn you; which means he'd get to feed... once. And once is more than he ever expected to bargain for.

"Jimin?"

His eyes shift to you in a second. Apparently, his mind had wandered a bit too long.

"I, hm..." Jimin pouts his lips, then decides to join you on the floor. He rests on his side, leaning his head against his palm and watches you with brows that tense with each second, "Are you messing around with me again? You know you'd never see the sun again."

"I don't go out much anyway."

"You can't enjoy any food."

"I hate meal planning.."

"Okay," Jimin smiles when he sees the mischief in your eyes again, moving his body a little closer to yours. His breath is like a sweet breeze, still mildly tainted by the alcohol, "I will do it, but on one condition."

You nod, waiting with anticipation. Your gaze wanders from his tinted lips to the darkness in his eyes as they meet yours.

"Just one more time like this," Jimin's canary voice couldn't get any softer even if he tried. The gentleness in which his free hand reaches out to rest on your chest, searching for the spot where he can feel your heart thrum against his palm the most, "I will do it, just let me feel your warmth until dawn arrives."

The vampire feels the way your chest rises with each breath. A little soft gasp at his words, followed by what he believes is what people would call it when a heart 'skips a beat'. Jimin feels a little rush of excitement knowing that he is the reason for your body to react so strongly.

"And one more thing." He says, with a bit more stability to his voice. His hand grazes the skin where the neckline of your shirt ends, touching carefully at your neck until his nail prods at the jugular.

You gulp.

"What could that be?" You ask.

Jimin leans in closer, his pointy fangs exposed in a smile that could melt a lover, or terrify an enemy. His lips, however, could down anyone, anywhere. He notices your eyes wandering down his face, and he seizes the moment. His cold fingers felt like they were burning against your skin. A stern but gentle hold on your jaw to guide your mouth to his in a sweet, wordless kiss. It was all he needed to do, and anything he says after is a given.

"I get to feed on that darling blood of yours when it boils the hottest, then I will turn you." His lips grazes yours as he speaks, leaning back in for another kiss to truly seal his words. He inhales your warmth once again, then moves down to rest his head against your chest instead, "And you will stay with me in the dark for eternity."

Your breath shatters when you can no longer hold it. If he would ever be mistaken for another being than a vampire, a siren would be a close second.

"Deal." You push the word out of your lungs, moving your arms to squeeze him into your embrace, "I will be all yours."

Jimin's cheek presses harder against your chest, and he relaxes in your arms.

"Then, I will return when the sun goes down tomorrow again," he hums, "and it will be the end before our new beginning."

© ꜱᴏᴍʙʀᴇʙᴏʏ 2023. Do not repost, edit or translate.

[transparentlyfallingasleep]

7. How do you choose which POV to write from? (Especially for starbucks)

25. What fic do you wish you got more of a response on?

26. Which of your fics would you call your wildest ride?

39. Share a snippet from a WIP

aw wow! People never ask me questions on here.

let’s see number 7. Honestly I tried to come up with a better answer than this but it’s just the vibe of the thing. The first story was really just a response to “Clint Barton shows up 15 minutes late with Starbucks” insert Troy with the pizza meme that was out in the ether post his absence in Winter Soldier. I decided to try making myself write from Natasha’s perspective after the Clint heaviness in marketplace etc but in the Starbucks sequel I just wanted to imagine/ write down the Robert Downey jr voice in my head reacting to spy kid 3D. And then they all joined in. Clint’s voice is my most comfortable place to be Natasha, Cap, Maria, Jarvis the least but I think that’s because being that fucking competent seems heptapod level alien.

25: I wish people read unfinished business more… it was my first story in the marvel space and my second fanfic ever. And I still kinda like imagining it’s running in the background of the avengers… and it could have too if not for that pesky Joss Whedon. I also I’m proud of my Game of thrones fic. It was an attempt to self sooth and I think it turned out rather well all things considered.

26. I’m not sure I do wild rides I’m definitely not much of a plot writer. I tend to focus on small intimate character moments. Probably because I suck even more at the other stuff, possibly because being a speech pathologist I’m better at getting voices of characters ‘right’ than I am at making things happen. But I am proud at how I salvaged age of ultron for the rewriting in Market Place and how much I was able to reuse, reduce, recycle might be surprising to readers.

39. So my clinic shut down suddenly in September. If you are Australian I will just say this about it. The NDIS and in particular the Government have been making it harder and harder to work as a paediatric disability clinician and hell bent on telling our clients that it’s because we are rorting the system. I didn’t want my clients to loose their therapeutic alliance and a speechie that has known them most of their lives so I started my own sole trading. It’s long hours, crazy stress and I don’t even know if I will be able to afford the audit come 2025 but for now my kiddos are safe and getting therapy. All the govt has managed to do is privatise the old block grant system and lie about choice and control and that’s all I have to say about that. As a result I’ve got no real WIPs but I have this… you can see that I write dialogue first.

If you’ve come to tell me I’ve besmirched my honour, that the castle is in an uproar… I care not. 

Your grace. 

Ser Davos I am no princess. 

The laws of the realm say

So Tyrion Lannister crowns my brother and frees the north for my sister and now I am smothered by titles? I knew I should have killed that-

Id never really thought about it like that Milady. Allow an old man a small courtesy? I accepted my title for services to Stannis Baratheon. Plenty of times I thought better of it but I did it for those who came after me. Lord Gendry well he doesn’t say, quiet sort that he is -

Surly 

As you say, but i think I’m right in saying he had similar thoughts. I don’t think either of us thought that there might be others on the other side of it. Born to the titles and the power and wanting none of it, wanting to be rid of it. 

He is a good lad lady Arya. Give him longer. He can’t stay this angry for long. 

I can’t stay ser Davos

Forgive me but I’ve lived longer on decking than I have on dry land or had till your brother made me hand. The tides they come again. Like circles they are. Why not tarry even if he’s determined to make himself unpleasant. 

He doesn’t have to put effort into that. He’s had it mastered for years. You are married Ser, children? 

Aye My Lady

[fanaticsnail]

The comments' section has not enough space to express how wonderful Sapsorrow is coming out and I can't abuse the poor DMs.

The pinning just keep growing!!! 🌲🌲🌲

Governess wandering the castle at the early morning!!! Are you really a lady protagonist in a gothic castle if you haven't wandered the halls in your nightdress while perusing your growing feelings for the lord of the land???

And the twist of the tale with Mihawk in the place of Sapsorrow!!! I live for this kind of retellings. And of course, he's going to keep his secret identity now that he's found a way to interact with her without the pressure of their station. Ohhh, that's going to payout later XD

The ghosts gossiping to Perona is so funny! That first glimpse of Croc and the moon had me all 😱 Mihawk is asking for help to the other pirate lords and then boom! The calls!

Buggy calling him baby, I can't XDDD I read it exactly with Buggy's voice when he's sweet talking Arlong XDDD

I can totally envision Shanks doing lingerie as a hobbie 😳 but come again, he had a ring too??? There's literally ten rings out there at the hands of ten Pirate Lords waiting for some unsuspected women to be married to them??? 👀👀👀

Shank's may be so sure he got rid of his (and why was he actually wearing the ring? How on earth he didn't proposed to some random woman while drunk at a bar? XD) but with how these things work, his may be found by some sexy huntress who managed to catch that sea beast and found the ring while butchering it... And now we have a sequel XD

We can't have a fully domesticated Zoro. He has to get cocky from time to time. And of course he would be the kind of guy who gets a crush on his teacher XDDD

I can't wait for the ball!!! There is no better scenery to fertilize the pinning soil than a good ol' ballroom. This I say!

Also, I've made something 🫣 I told you I have a design degree to abuse and sometimes it kicks (me) until I use it. And all fairy tale related themes get me all creative.

I don't know why I have a feel this story is going somewhere and it needs a proper fairytale title to go with it 💌

I may or may not know how to bind books 🫢

OH. MY. GOSH. MS. VITA.

Holy shit. what the hell did I do to deserve such beautiful words and imagery.

I am screaming, crying, throwing up. Oh my gosh.

I am in the process of brainstorming lore for Sapsorrow's Rings, but absolutely Shanks had one. T'would be a shame for it to, I don't know, wash up on a deserted island to be found within the hands of someone wild huntress of a woman.

You really do have to have a midnight explore in a castle in your nightdress. It wouldn't be the same without it: especially if it means she gets to catch out a precious Farm-Hand bringing her fresh flowers and humming to himself.

I am IN LOVE with the banner. I can't even believe it. It's beautiful. Stunning. So fairytale and absolutely charming.

[acr1ms0n-d3scend]

Greetings.

Welcome to my first experience on listening to all EIA songs for the first time, except i'm actually feeling EXTRA positive. Will not rate the singles since we already heard them,but still love them tho!! (Emergence and Damocles my loveee!!)

So, let us begin. Watch me being extremely normal.

↓

Look To Windward -

OH MY GOD?? THE FANTASY RP GAME VIBES IN THIS ONE?!?! This is honestly perfect for a END song to Final Fantasy 7 and IDGAF about it!

"Will you halt this eclipse in me?" SOLAR ECLIPSE MENTION! YEAAAAAA

Ah yes, falsettos. My favorite. ✨

The way I get slapped by the scream and the guitar. Wow, just wow.

So many callbacks. I love it.

Jeneksvsjsbeh WOW.

If you mix The Apparition, Dark Signs, Euclid and Descending all together- YA GET THIS!

Rap lyricses are my favorite honestly, all are so catchy!!

"I used to know myself, and you, you used to know me well." RAHHHHHHH

The growl, I did not expect this.

Past Self -

Perfect for a song in In Stars and Time.

So he did say a new bad word huh, noice.

"Keep me alive, keep me beLIEEving!" RAHHHHHH

This is basically DYWTLYM advanced edition, ITS ALSO THE REASON WHY IT'S MY 2ND FAV SONG.

Siffrin singing this ejbehshshsjebd

The instrumentals so CATCHY AND BEATY AT THE SAME TIME SJSHHSBS

"I just don't wanna be lost again." 😭

Very sad lyrics..

Dangerous -

Vore sequel?? The song theme feels like one.. but man I love it.

GUYS!!! GUYS!!!!! HE SAID IT! HE SAID THE THING!! SHOW ME HOW TO DANCE FOREVER!!!

I literally was caught off guard by the amount of "Whoop!" and the new stuff they added- expect me to dance this song sm btw.

Now watch me being so "normal" for Even In Arcadia—

NEVERMIND.

Even In Arcadia -

THE TEASER JINGLES ARE HERE!!! RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH ITS HERE ITS HERE ITS HEREEEEEEEE

THE PIANO SHEET TEASER INSTURMENTALS TOO, ITS ALL COMING TOGETHER NOW RAHHHH

Was surprised in 1 second when Vessel starts singing ejhsbdbdb

"Turns out the gods we thought were dying,were just sharpening their blades." CHOKEHOLD CALLBACK!!

"Have you been waiting long for me?" HE SAID THE THING YOU GUYS!! OH MY FRICKIN' GOD.

Oh my god the instrumentals, the piano and the sfx is JUST SO COOL!!!

BUT THE ORCHESTRA PART?!?!?!? THE SUGAR CALLBACK?!?! OH MY GOD?!?! I AM LOSING MY SANITY TO THIS OHEHSSSGAGSJHAGSSKHSSUJSEPKWESWKFEXWSKCSXWPSPC

"It seems that Even In Arcadia, you walk beside me still." Jejsbsjwbne

The scream dude.. he sounds so pissed and hurt.. :((

THE CELLO PART AT THE END IS JUST WOW, THE LITTLE VINYL SFXS THO, ITS SOO GOOD!!!

Anddddd that's the reason it's in my top 1 favorite song. Yeah.

Provider -

Uh oh, Possessive Vessel??? Did not expect this. THE ORGAN PIANO THO.

THE ICU PART IS SO FUNNY LMAO XDDDD

I'm literally blushing to this song, this is an official love song now.

I SEE YOU KEYBOARD PIANO SOUND MOTIF, heard it on the song Mine many times and I did not expect this! IT WAS SO COOL THO?!?!

Like That callback.

I'm declaring that this song is indeed a love song. Because me, an AroAce person, is starting to feel a fascination to this song hehehehehe- ( in a loyal, platonic way. )

I think Vessel officially found someone new now!! HELL TO THE YEAH! ✨✨✨💓💓💓

Gethsemane -

Okay, we already know that this song would be sad. I didn't even know it'll actually shoot me.

This song is a mix of early 2000s rock and modern 2000s rock. Man I enjoyed this so badly.

OUCH OUCH OUCH OUCH— MY GOD THE LYRICS HURT ME TOO MUCH- TOO MUCH! I wish to type which lyrics, but it's best that this actually hurt.

Gods callback. Except it's saddening af.

I was so surprised by the crowd sfx. We'll always never forget you Vessel.. :(

The falsetto. Calcutta vibes. AND IT CAME OUT SO WELL.

This is in my 4th favorite now. Expect me to cry now.

And as someone, no matter when I am trying to heal, i'll always be reminded by the events that hunted me.

Now, the last one.

Infinite Baths -

THE 8-BIT IN THE BEGINNING!!! GOOD LORD!

This is literally a reverse version of Atlantic and Fall For Me, Vessel may have been suffering, but he won't go back now. He won't get back to the darkness now. Because he had become someone new.

He had fought so long, now he won't come back. To the suffering.

He's now here in Arcadia, and now he won't turn back and leave this time.

THE DRIFT PART! WOW!

I first thought the song goes sad but no- instead? This feels like an acceptance song. He accepted to be new. And that's how Acceptance is about, aka the last part of 5 stages in grief.

The ocean parts is just so— Wow-

GO II!!!! BRO IS KILLIN THE CYMBAL IN A GOOD WAY!

Despite you had enough with the pain, all you must do..is to endure it. Embrace the things you wanted, you don't even care about someone putting you down, because you will fight back. Do whatever THE hell you want. Suck it haters!!

THE ECLIPSE PART IS BACK!!

And now here is my most favorite part ever. And it's....

THE TEETH OF GOD PART. I WAS WAITING FOR THAT TO HAPPEN AND NOW IT IS HERE!! I AM SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW.

-

Anddd... It appears I'm finished. What a journey dear people. No bad songs, no skips. It's just pure perfection.