#I'm not a historian and I'm doing this for fun

[canisalbus]

hihi!! i'm sure this has been asked by, but what era/place is vascochete's story inspired by? they have wonderfully exquisite fits >:)) <3

I'm hesistant to give any precise years, but the majority of their story should fit somewhere between 1560 and 1610. So late Renaissance, shifting into early Baroque. They're Italian.

They first meet in their late teens while studying at the same school in Venice, graduate and separate for several years, then reconnect again in their early thirties by random chance, and stay together for roughly ten years (most of my art of them takes place in this era), until Machete gets murdered in his early 40's. Vasco dies of old age in his 70's. (Or, if you prefer to believe in the possibility of an alternate happier ending that gets brought up every now and then, they fake their deaths, manage to escape somewhere safer and grow old together).

I'm constantly taking bigger or smaller artistic liberties with historical accuracy though, so please don't treat what I do as a good and true representation of anything. For example, a lot of Vasco's (and Ludovica's, to some degree) clothing style is more inspired by 1530-1560's fashion which would already be outdated at their time. It's just a personal preference, I can't really excuse it other than that it looks nice to me. I habitually simplify and customize their clothes, they're far from being faithful reproductions. Machete's formal attires are largely based on a mishmash of the cassocks catholic cardinals have been wearing over the past few centuries. They're in fact very similar to the ones worn today (minus the cunty heels I suppose). His all-black void outfit doesn't really fit anywhere, it's just a strong visual that's quick and fun to draw.

Also I'm still desperate to give them that fancy clawfoot tub I've mentioned before, even if it's blatantly too recent of a creation. Tubs of that style weren't invented until 1750's or so and the earliest ones with that classic white porcelain enamel surface are from 1880's.

[eri-pl]

A long post about why chromaticism is awesome

(in the context of Ainulindale) and what Melkor did and what he didn't and what Rúmil got wrong

Because 17 of you voted for it, one for "don't care" and one for "we don't need anti-Melkor propaganda" which isn't true: we do need more anti-Melkor propaganda :D (Told you I'm going to ignore some of the votes! I like him ok? I just don't like what he did.) (It's not even particularly focused on that… )

So, long post below cut:

Inharmonious?

 it came into the heart of Melkor to interweave matters of his own imagining that were not in accord with the theme of Ilúvatar [to make himself more important]

Let me ask you a question: Did Melkor sing music that wa snot compatible with the theme of Ilúvatar? Yes, you say, 'tis in the quote.

Nay, I say. It came into his mind to do so. So he did try. But he did not do it, because it is not possible. He simply assumed that what he sang was fundamentally incompatibile. Also, it was too loud and badly timed and confused many of the Ainur. Yes, it was ugly and didn't work well. But it was not, on fundamental, harmonic level, incompatibile, as:

And thou, Melkor, shalt see that no theme may be played that hath not its uttermost source in me, nor can any alter the music in my despite

So: no. contrary to common way of talking about it in the fandom, Melkor didn't play anything fundamentally … how to phrase it? The themes were fundamentally good, just in wrong place and too loud.

["A lot of evil is a misprioritized good" is a thing that probably has a lot written about it already.]

The nature of discord

So, time for some music theory (Yay!)

"Discord" is Tolkien's word for "music I don't like, eg the Beatles and jazz", but generally, discordant notes mean notes that aren't part of the current harmony, or even part of the scale, and make spicy intervals with the notes that are already being played.

Except.

A better word for such notes is "dissonance" or "tension". Because they aren't inherently wrong or ugly. They are something that feels like it needs to be dealt with, they create more energy in the music.

Sure, a stiff classical music teacher (the kind who tries to be Mozartier than Mozart and cleans the trumpet only on the outside, you get the vibe) would tell you that you can't have a second, or a tritone (the famous "devil chord" allegedly) and so on.

That's not true.

You can have those, just not for long, and not too loud and they need to go somewhere and so on and so forth. But used properly, the tensions make music richer and alive.

(But of course when someone decides to be a jerk about it and plays them for too long and too loud… Every sensation made too long and too intense becomes pain, and empowering something that should be temporary always ends up badly.)

Fire isn't inherently wrong, but when it gets out of control and burns everything, it's bad. Cold isn't inherently wrong, but freezing to death is nasty. Change isn't wrong, but can be.

Well, "change isn't wrong" becomes true when there are imperfect beings: beings that can change without becoming less. Like, you know, mountains, and trees, and Men.

What was Melkor's calling?

I think it was to add tensions. But to add them in a normal amount. And this required him to do two things: a) to sing keeping the harmonic tension regardless of everyone else singing differently, and b) to not overdo it and frigging accept the fact that everyone else is singing together.

Well, he managed to do half of it. :F Yay. :F I'm gonna make him a sticker saying "you tried". :F

And yes, this is difficult. That's why the most powerful of the Ainur got the job! And he still messed it up. Because he preferred his pride than the actual job.

But yes, I believe his job was to sing "in discord", just politely. And then at the end on the Music get quiet and yield, because that's what you do with the tensions. And then go happily hang out with your fellow Ainur who would appreciate what he did. Because it's very much not "he was made evil", just "he was made different and other, and became evil by trying to make everything like him when he was supposed to be the contrast".

[Pause, because I made myself sad about how much he messed up such beautiful ideas]

Men (and Elves)

Rúmil says they were created only as a response to Melkor's discord. So, without evil there would be no free will, and no people. Right?

Wrong. Rúmil, go home and rethink your life.

If Melkor did what I described above, the themes would still be able to progress normally, just without drama. And we would have Men and Elves and whatnot, because I don't but a "people are inherently a result of evil" setting, my BS detector flares red on that. (Should I say "sorry"?)

I'm not going into "does free will need evil to exist, or just the possibility of evil or some secret third option" because I don't want to go into real-world philosophy with this post.

Chromaticism AKA: what do you mean "rarepair", it's not a rarepair!

OK, so back to the music theory. Remember when I said that dissonant notes are, among others, notes outside the scale? Those are called "chromatic tones" and are used to add more emotion to the music. Usually the sad types (and scary, yes, this too) of emotion.

So, Nienna. The Vala who, among other things said about her, gets probably the best, awesomest description line in the whole book. My fav. The gothy psychopompy evil-in-early-versions weird lady whose windows gaze West of the West, to Darkness. The edgiest but never crossing the edge (unlike you, Melkor!), the one who prefers to weep for so long than to rise in pride.

I love her so much.

Her reaction to Melkor's dissonance was to weep. And how do you weep in music? Chromaticism. Which is a type of dissonance, technically.

Oh, if only Melkor didn't get it into his head to try to court stalk and pester Varda… :(

Also, the text doesn't say that Nienna was one of the main singers in the Third Theme (like Manwë was in Second), but the vibes very much suggest it. And honestly, with a theme that's not finished it is honest to not discuss who was the star of it?… anyway she is closely tied with the Third Theme, I'm sure everyone will agree on that.

So yea, the Third Theme, I'm so veryveryvery about it *deep breath* I'll try to keep it on-topic

The one was deep and wide and beautiful, but slow and blended with an immeasurable sorrow, from which its beauty chiefly came.

I cannt imagine "immesurable sorrow" in music without chromatic tones. I don't care what Rúmil would say, I don't care what Tolkien would say, the Third Theme is (if we imagine it as not physically music: it is the metaphysical equivalent of) chromatic. It just is.

It's sad and subtle, and the description sounds very much like a minor scale, but don't get me into scales and chord types, because then I'll digress into places we pretend aren't part of the discussion.

But yea, "minor ending with a Picardy third" would be a good approximation of the general feel, I guess.

Oh, and do you know how do you make a chromatic thing work— how do you make any "dissonant" (in classical terms) chord work? (No, Melkor (and Stravinsky), not by repetition!!!)

You put it into open voicing.

So, what is open voicing? I'm glad you asked. Imagine you're playing on a piano. Open voicing is when the notes are far apart and you would need longer fingers to play them at the same time. It's generally the notes being far from each other in terms of pitch. This does reduce the dissonances, because for example C4 and D4 clash much more than C4 and D5. So you put the notes in separate octaves as much as possible and it works, and it makes a chord that would be clashing into a beautiful epic-sounding and generally awesome.

Now, ask yourself: Where have we seen (heard?) about something like that? Because we have.

and in one chord, deeper than the Abyss, higher than the Firmament, piercing as the light of the eye of Ilúvatar, the Music ceased

OK, you can argue that the "deeper and higher" mean it is wide, but it doesn't imply that it's a chromatic chord. the implication goes only one way. True.

But "piercing"? Can a purely diatonic chord feel piercing? IDK

…is diatonic/chromatic even still a question at this point?

So, chromatic is a good thing, right? So, Melkor—

Noo… Not like that. Chromaticism is like— like fire. Or electricity. It can make good thigs better, and beautiful things more beautiful, but it's tricky, and needs to be used properly.It's like admin mode on your computer. Like "see advanced settings" button.

Also, Melkor did …provoke (for lack of a better wors) chromaticism in the Music, but his song on its own is the very opposite of chromatic. Which is sad and ties very well to one of my earlier posts.

He's not nuanced. He's just

had now achieved a unity of its own; but it was loud, and vain, and endlessly repeated; and it had little harmony, but rather a clamorous unison as of many trumpets braying upon a few notes

which is as non-chromatic as you can probably get :(

I made myself sad again, end of post.

Edit: Yeah, no, I went to take a morning (noon) shower and ofc realized there's a lot of it left. Like: why is Melkor-being-not-chromatic a sad thing if the chromaticism is tricky?

So, to be explored in a next post some day:

the ("dynamic" says too little, "self-defeating" claims too much... complicated?) nature of dissonant non-classic chords

the nature of Men, their out-of-FateMusic-ness and how does that relate to chromatic and non-chord tones and music in general

idk, probably more

[hearthmistress]

#I feel like the shallow criticism of historians and cultural institutions like museums most often comes from people#who haven’t interacted with either in a long time or possibly ever and it makes me cringe#like you don’t need to immediately echo everything you read online just because it sounds correct to you#go to a museum#read the captions on exhibits#talk to a local historian#and if you don’t want to do any of those things maybe accept that you’re uninformed on this topic rather than posting about it#and spreading misinformation (via @painted-irises)

treating "historians" not only as this unified group but also as a coherent socio-political entity w unified ideas, ideals, goals and methods is actually the reddest possible flag. thats a tell-tale sign that this person doesnt know what the fuck theyre talking about. capital h Historians arent lying to u. capital h Historians arent hiding stuff from u, they dont want u to believe anything, bc Historians isnt an organization or a political affiliation. u know the old saying, 2 jews, 3 opinions? historians r like that too

[inbabylontheywept]

A dumb D&D thing that I do - that I have a lot of fun with - is having recurring background artisans that are extremely well known, but also, never actually in the story. Just as background-lore.

Here are some of my favorites.

First up is Brother Tucker: A long dead brewer who pursued alcohol distillation as path to enlightement. According to legend, he never actually died - he simply transformed into an ultra pure vapor and slid through the physical plane before distilling in the astral one.

According to historians from his era, there was simply no possibility of a body being recovered. The explosion that was his final work reduced a 5 story alchemical lab into a -8 story crater.

Still, some of his work lingers. His early brews are actually safe for consumption, and command top prices among collectors. His later works were enormous casks of, impossibly, 400% purity alcohol. It's stored exclusively in glass ampoules because it explodes on contact with air.

There are two subtypes.

Brother Tucker's Unreasonably Flamable Turbo Apocalypse Juice, Paranthetical, With Lemon.

Brother Tucker's Unreasonably Flamable Turbo Apocalypse Juice, Paranthetical, With Mint.

Top explodes for 5d6 fire, 5d6 force, 10d6 radiant.

Bottom explodes for 5d6 frost, 5d6 force, 10d6 necrotic.

After that, there is Chien Cane, a distinguished portrait artist who captured very vague, fuzzy, impressionist images of people next to hyperrealistic depictions of their dogs. It was rumored that there was a curse associated with all his paintings - the people depicted never lived more than a few years after the painting, while the dogs often lived unnaturally long lives - decades, even, in a few cases.

His masterpiece was a self-portrait made after he contracted lycanthropy. It contains both the fuzziness, hazy, dreamlike quality of all the people he depicted, and the realistic, sharp, crispness of the dogs. He ran into the forest after shortly afterwards, stark naked during a blizzard.

His body was never recovered, but legends speak of a dog larger than an elephant roaming between the trees. Scratching strange shapes into the trunks of trees with its massive, dull claws.

I'm actually having trouble thinking of more. I know I have another one, but he is escaping my mind, and I have already suceeded in my goal of not working on my Babylon-lore story. So. Goodnight y'all.

[archangeldyke-all]

jinx teasing sev and saying that she wouldn’t be able to survive a week without kissing r bc she’s “whipped”

sev takes that to heart and in fact does try to prove jinx wrong, but the second she sees r’s sweet and confused face at her dodging the kiss she breaks and apologizes and promises to make it up to her bc lets be honest sev wouldn’t be able to go even a day without kissing her precious gf

GOD i'm gonna make this roach verse.

i'll give a vague explanation below the cut so people who aren't familiar with that fic and still want to read this blurb can have context

men and minors dni

ok all u need to know is that sevika and reader had a whole enemies to lovers thing when reader got hired as jinx's (age 11ish in this blurb) nanny. they're madly in love now, and sevika has learned to tolerate (love) jinx too.

what sevika doesn't know is that you've been in on it from the start.

jinx was teasing you, about the kisses you're always pressing on sevika's cheeks and the way you're always tucking her loose hairs behind her ears, and you got flustered and blurted "at least i'm not as bad as sevika!"

jinx, of course, cackled and agreed with you, then she asked, "you think you can get her to buy us jericho's tonight?"

you giggled and ruffled her hair. "probably. you wanna have some fun with it though?" you asked.

which is how you're here.

jinx made a bet with sevika that she couldn't last more than a day without kissing you. sevika, of course, took the bait-- desperate to prove jinx wrong without thinking through the consequences.

consequences being, of course, your pout when she dodges your kiss at lunch. (jinx is hiding her giggles behind her hand. sevika is hiding her own pout behind hers.)

you try again when she helps you and lock clear the plates after the gang eats. (jinx tags along, carrying a singular fork as her version of 'helping'-- just to see if sevika fails on her bet) sevika ignores your attempted forehead kiss, making a u-turn and practically running back out into the bar.

and then, you bring out the puppy eyes.

standing just outside of jinx's room while she 'reads her books' you confront sevika. she cringes the moment she sees you, and you just sigh. "sev..."

"baby, c'mere." she sighs, wrapping her arms around you, folding immediately. if you focus, you think you can hear jinx hyperventilating from holding her laughs in her room. "i made this dumbass bet with jinx that i could go the whole day without kissing you, and i didn't get the chance to let you in on it without the brat around." she pouts. you blink up at her, trying to make your eyes as big as possible.

before you can speak, sevika darts down to kiss you. you can't help but giggle against her lips. when she pulls away, you finally sigh.

"i guess that's alright."

"it's not." she kisses you again. "i felt like i was stubbing my toe each time i dodged you." she pecks you once more. you start to giggle. "what can i do to make it up to you?" she asks.

in her room, you hear jinx's muffled "fuck yes!"

you just bat your eyes at sevika. "wanna take me to jericho's for dinner tonight?"

sevika nods. "do we have to bring the brat?"

you chuckle. "duh. it's her favorite, she'd kill us if we went without her."

"fine." sevika sighs, kissing you one last time before turning around and marching away-- off to do whatever job silco's got her on today.

jinx's door flies open, and the girl comes flying out, cackling manically. "we did it!"

"i told you we could." you say, ruffling her bangs. you pull her to your side and start walking the pair of you toward the stairs. "c'mon. dinner's not 'til late and i'm hungry. wanna share some flamers?" you ask. jinx nods, giving you a quick hug before darting off and scrambling down the stairs toward the kitchen.

taglist!

@fyeahnix @lavendersgirl @half-of-a-gay @thesevi0lentdelights @sexysapphicshopowner

@shimtarofstupidity @chuucanchuucan @badbye666 @femme-historian @lia-winther

@sevikaspillowprincess @emiliabby @sevikasbeloved @hellorai

@glass-apothecary @macaroni676 @artinvain @k3n-dyll @sevsdollette

@ellieslob @xayn-xd @keikuahh @maneskinwh0re @raphaellearp

@iamastar @sevikitty @mascdom @nhaaauyen

@mirconreadzztuff22 @veoomvroom @lushh-s3vik4s @katyawooga @lesbodietcoke

[astonmartinii]

you and me got a whole lotta history | charles leclerc social media au

pairing: charles leclerc x historian!reader

y/n is a historian and it’s not her fault her bf’s job takes him all around the world…

yourusername

liked by charles_leclerc, danielricciardo and 102,561 others

location: melbourne 📍

yourusername: so it’s the australian grand prix and i’ve spent the start of the week exploring this old city. one of my stops was the historic old melbourne gaol. this now museum was once a prison that housed some of the most feared criminals in australian history. constructed in 1839, the old melbourne gaol saw 133 hanged for their crimes between 1845 and 1924. it was briefly used during world war two but ceased operation as a prison in 1924 and was renovated to be part of the RMIT university and the museum it is today. a definite must if you’re visiting melbourne !!

view all comments

user1: my fave part of the race week is y/n’s museum recommendations tbf

user2: i can vision charles being dragged around this place hating his life

charles_leclerc: the things we do for love

yourusername: you said you enjoyed it :(

charles_leclerc: I DID

user2: oops

yourusername: i’ll leave you at the hotel next time

charles_leclerc: it was scary but i enjoyed it because i was with you

yourusername: okay that’s better

danielricciardo: so my farm isn’t good enough for you

yourusername: noooooo danny i thought we were going after the race?

danielricciardo: oof my bad

user3: petition for there to be a teds notebook but it’s y/n giving us a historical guide to the city the race is in

f1: we’re listening @skysportsf1

charles_leclerc

liked by yourusername, scuderica ferrari and 788,341 others

tagged: yourusername

charles_leclerc: tough race in melbourne but a beautiful city regardless

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user4: HE served, we don’t talk about the race

yourusername: i don’t mean to say i told you so but i did say our day trip would be the best part

user5: girl you’re gonna get banned from the ferrari garage

yourusername: they deserve far worse than what i’m saying let’s be real

user5: true

user6: i love how charles didn’t reply ferrari has his ass ON LOCK

carlossainz55: we'll come back stronger

danielricciardo: we can all commiserate at my farm bro

charles_leclerc: your farm better be as good as you're saying now

danielricciardo: nervously awaiting the y/n review

yourusername

liked by charles_leclerc, maxverstappen1 and 104,561 others

location: miami 📍

yourusername: though miami may be known for it's partying (it's all about the U), charles and i took our monday to take a stroll around st bernard de clairvaux church, one of miami's hidden gems. the church was originally built in spain all the way back in 1141 to the style of cistercian romanesque architecture for alfonso vii. the monastry's cloister was illegally purchased by american william randolph hearst in 1926 and in order for the church to be transported it was dismantled to 11,000 pieces and sent to the us where it was rebuilt and still stands to this day.

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user7: i'm never gonna be able to afford to go to miami so why did i read this whole thing like i'll visit some day?

yourusername: history is important and interesting, always good to read even if you never visit !!

user8: she's like the older sister i never had

user9: did charles enjoy this one more?

yourusername: "at least i'll get a tan here"

charles_leclerc: i feel like anyone who reads about me in your comments will think i'm an asshole, i have fun every time i just don't understand most of it

yourusername: i know you have fun baby (and i love you for driving us to all of these places)

user10: have you considered our super historic frat house this saturday night?

user11: imagine thinking you have a chance when her literal boyf is CHARLES LECLERC

user10: every goal has a goalkeeper doesn't mean you can't score

charles_leclerc: i will run you over

user12: omg ferrari's pr is quaking

yourusername

liked by charles_leclerc, lancestroll and 112,677 others

yourusername: it is my biggest honour to announce my position as a history lecturer here at oxford!! i always dreamed of studying here and to get to pass on my knowledge to those looking to follow in my footsteps is a huge pleasure and responsibility.

p.s. no worries, it is not full time so race week explorations will continue.

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user13: so it was true :(((((( wait i just read the whole post my bad

user14: so i guess i now need to turn my Cs into As if i wanna attend a y/n lecture

charles_leclerc: unbelievably proud of you my love - don't miss me too much

yourusername: you sure i can't persuade you to move to england with me :(

charles_leclerc: i'll be there as much as i can be but monaco is still our home

yourusername: always

landonorris: proud of you smarty pants

yourusername: thank you landito

landonorris: so you'll now root for the brits?

charles_leclerc: over my dead body

yourusername: what charlie said

charles_leclerc

liked by pierregasly, yourusername and 1,209,778 others

tagged: yourusername

charles_leclerc: super happy for another win for the season but we keep pushing for the real prize at the end of the season - thank you for your continued support tifosi and my love y/n who stayed up all the way in oxford ❤️

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user20: i don't wanna jinx it but like the season is going well

user21: too well....

yourusername: winning looks good on you

charles_leclerc: you look better on me

pierregasly: oh god you've been apart for a triple header and now you're being horny on main

yourusername: says mr. doggy emoji

pierregasly: touche

user22: so charles can mathematically win in either austin or brazil FUCK THEM KIDS I NEED Y/N AT THESE RACES

user23: if she's not there for charles wdc i am personally going to have a sleepover on the train tracks

yourusername added to their story

yourusername

liked by charles_leclerc, lewishamilton and 503,786 others

tagged: charles_leclerc

yourusername: the autodromo jose carlos pace is the crown jewel of the interlagos neighbourhood. the circuit opened 83 years ago and has hosted the f1 since 1972. the circuit was originally meant to be a housing area but due to the 1929 stock market crash the owners decided to construct a racing track instead. interlagos is often a season decider with fernando alonso winning both his 2005 and 2006 titles here, kimi raikkonen winning the 2007 championship here, lewis hamilton won the 2008 championship here, jenson button clinched the 2009 title here and CHARLES LECLERC WON HIS FIRST TITLE HERE IN INTERLAGOS FOR THE 2023 SEASON

on a real note i am so proud of you charles, i have seen the sacrifices you have made and the unbelievable amount of effort you pour into every facet of your racing NO ONE deserves this more than you. i am so grateful to have shared this moment with you, here's to many more xxx

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user26: i am unwell this is so fucking cute

user27: bro this is so fucking crazy

charles_leclerc: couldn't have done it without you, so glad you could be there for me xx

yourusername: always charlie xx

yourstudent: miss y/n you can cancel all of our lectures if charles wins the championship again FORZA FERRARI

charles_leclerc: the people have spoken

user28: insane butterfly effect of the wall street crash to charles leclerc 2023 wdc

user29: they make me believe in love

note: this was super random but popped into my head while at work and i knew i had to write it !! hope you enjoyed xx

[creativepromptsforwriting]

hey, do you have any like science fantasy prompts? thanks!

Had to google what science fantasy is, but I guess it's something like Star Wars (which I didn't really watch). I'm trying my best for you :)

Science Fantasy Prompts

Every good space ship has an alchemist on their crew, both for healing, but also for warfare.

An archaeologist discovers a series of ancient artifacts that possess both magical and scientific properties. Now they are trying to piece together the artifacts' history and finding out how created them.

The world's energy comes from magically playing instruments. When the underlying sound stops, so does the energy and therefore all their technology. So an IT guy, a wizard and a bard are getting send to the cave where the instruments are to fix them and in the bard's case, to play them in the meantime.

In a vast, interdimensional library that contains the knowledge of every world, a librarian with magical abilities and a tech-savvy historian join forces to prevent an attack on the worlds' knowledge.

Dragons used to be a normal part of society, but with the more advanced technology and skyscrapers, they are seen less and less in the cities.

Have fun!

- Jana

[cosmerelists]

Would These Cosmere Characters Read Fanfic?

As requested by @genderselkiera :)

I don't know if fanfiction exists in the Cosmere (has anyone asked Sanderson yet?). But if it did, here is my take on whether various Cosmere characters would be interested. [Full disclosure: I do not myself read fanfiction, despite arguably writing it. I didn't know it existed until, well, graduate school, when I read some because the girl I had a crush on wanted me to. Since then, not so much.]

(Also, cosmereplay & I did one about them reading Cosmere fanfic specifically! Link here.)

1. Jasnah: No

"If I wanted to read fanfiction," Jasnah would say, "there are certain historians I could reread." (She thinks it's frivolous.)

2. Raoden: Yes

He especially likes the ones that bring back a character who died in canon, especially through fun or unlikely means.

3. Galladon: Not often

Galladon doesn't really see the point of fanfiction; it's not like it changes what happens in canon! He will, however, sometimes read one that Raoden begs him to.

4. Vivenna: No

At first, it did not occur to Vivenna that deviations from canon existed, and when she realized that they did, her general attitude was "Huh! Anyway."

5. Yumi: Yes

At first, it did not occur to Yumi that deviations from canon existed, and when she realized that they did, her general attitude was "I WILL READ THEM ALL."

6. Ellista: Yes

Ellista the Ardent is obviously BUILT for fanfiction: writing it, reading it. If it doesn't yet exist on Roshar, she will probably invent it.

7. Dalinar: No--he only writes it

The call of the explicit self-insert fanfiction about Nohadon is too strong: How could Dalinar not write it?

8. Painter: Yes

Fanfiction for Seasons of Regret is VERY popular.

9. Elend: No

I'm not sure Elend even reads fiction?

10. Lyn: Yes

Lyn especially likes the ones that take an underdeveloped female character and make her the star.

11. Tress: Yes

Tress is out there in canon essentially writing cup fanfics in her head. She would definitely read it if she could.

12. Shallan: Yes

Shallan is out there recrafting the pasts & futures of real people through her Ideal Self drawings. I don't see why she wouldn't also like fanfiction.

13. Radiant: No

Radiant understands that Shallan likes and needs fanfiction. But Radiant feels that her time could be better spent doing other, useful things. That's all.

14. Veil: Yes

Veil is there to read the stuff that's a little too racy for Shallan.

15. Hoid: Yes

Hoid has part of his breath memory bank devoted to his favorite ones, I'm sure.

16. Syl: Yes

Especially when Syl doesn't care for the canon couple, she likes to read endless fanfiction where the guy gets the girl SHE thinks he should have.

17. Shai: Not often

Mostly, Shai finds herself getting a little bit annoyed at how little worldbuilding and planning goes into some fanfics. You can't just SAY that they work at a coffee shop now: You need to have all the details of their life exhaustively planned out to get them there!

18. Allrianne: Yes

The great thing about fanfiction is that characters can simply have the emotions you want them to have--you don't even have to work to riot them!

19. Evi: Yes

In fact, Evi thinks that fanfiction and canon are equally important parts of the experience of a book/show, an attitude that confuses almost everyone she talks to.

20. Kadash: Yes

The good thing about becoming an Ardent is that you can read all the fanfiction you want, even the soppy stuff, and no one can say anything about it. (Yes, he read Dalinar's fanfic. He didn't like it.)

21. Mraize: No

Mraize likes to hunt down fanfics that have never before been read, and then he downloads them. But he never actually reads them. It's just about the hunt.

22. Wayne: Yes

Wayne doesn't see why you'd want to read about just one version of someone's life when you could read dozens instead.

23. Dilaf: No

Canon divergence is basically heresy!

24. Hrathen: Yes

Sometimes to get a convert, you need to drop the name of a popular ship to show that you're cool. It's fine.

25. Amaram: Well...

Amaram reads fanfic. Then he uses ChatGPT to "finish" them. He doesn't see why this makes everyone SO upset.

[creatingblackcharacters]

Hi there! Do you happen to have any resources on the cultural importance of wigs, especially for Black women? A lot of the Black women in my life wear wigs, and I don't see the topic in your lessons. Thanks!

I mean, I feel like it's in line with the rest of the history of Black hair, which is creativity and expression. I know growing up I heard "even the Egyptians wore wigs" a lot, and those were emblematic of style and wealth (to be able to afford a GOOD quality wig means you got some money, specially these days). The ability to quickly and conveniently change styles for fun (as Black hair can take a long time), and to have a bunch of wigs for any occasion. Protective styles underneath to properly care for the hair and let it rest. Maybe they got cancer or alopecia and are nervous about it.

Some people might have worn straight hair wigs to present "acceptable hair" to white employers without having to press your own natural hair underneath. But even then, some Black women just like having long tresses, to incorporate our own style and expression into it, and that's okay too. But yeah, it's not much different from why anyone else might wear wigs.

(I just wanna say, I'm proud of myself for having called all of this article!)

[chocolatepot]

(This has been in my drafts for over a month [<- written in the summer of 2022 lol], let's just finish chewing this thing ...)

Part of the reason I'm obsessed with Our Flag Means Death is the magic of hyperfixation, but there's also something about it that just ... certain scenes, certain gifs, I see them and I absolutely melt. And I'm no stranger to romantic media, especially historical romance, so I had to ask myself why this, so much?

And I think the thing that really gets me about the romance in OFMD is that it's so entirely different from mainstream het romance (and again, especially historical romance) and that mainstream het romance is so often lazily written.

How often do you go to read/watch something where the protagonist and love interest immediately have a positive rapport, understand each other, smile at each other, admire each other, have fun together? And in contrast, how often is the love interest marked out by having immediate hostility with the protagonist, sniping, irrational disagreement, disapproval?

I watch Sanditon and Bridgerton mainly just to be aware of what's going on in them, because like it or not I'm kind of a Regency historian of sorts, but I can't really stand them. In the first season of Sanditon, the heroine, Charlotte was presented with two potential love interests, Sidney Parker and James Stringer. The former was the classic "we act like we hate each other because of our sexual tension," the latter was really adorable and full of smiles and care for each other. And ... Charlotte barely seemed to realize that Stringer was a real possibility, all narrative heft was given to her plotline with Sidney and of course they turned out to be in love. Then the second season rolled this back and brought in two new love interests, again with one having a positive relationship with her and the other constantly arguing and criticizing; the apparently positive one turns out to be a creepy Wickham while the one she initially dislikes turns out to be a good Darcy with manpain to deal with. (Same thing with her sister's love triangle.)

And there are loads of other examples where a potential love interest who is immediately pleasant turns out to be deceptive/meh while a potential love interest who spurs fights is endgame. Basically, this is because you need some kind of obstacle to stop the characters from getting together immediately. In historical romance written in the present day, social class and money aren't acceptable obstacles unless there's a pressing need for them written in (hence the prevalence of "father gambled away our fortune and you must marry well, my dear, to save us from the poorhouse" plots), and "we met in an awkward way and will not get over it" works, narratively, as an obstacle.

In contrast, what goes on in OFMD s1 is so much more complex - the characters liking each other but having internal reasons not to recognize their feelings or act on them gives more room for showing why they actually are good together.

[wisteria-lodge]

hi, i just wanted to drop in and ask if you know of any other blogs that post hp meta/discussion that are also very jkr critical? i love everything you write, but many of the other blogs i find when perusing tags are... questionable. its kind of a requirement for me to know that the people posting hp on my timeline don't hate trans people so if you know of anyone else who meets that criteria, i'd love to be linked!

Okay. Now the last thing I want to do is write a callout post (or the opposite of a callout post? A call-in post?) BUT. I do also know that this site can be hard and frustrating to use before you've built up a good follower list for yourself. I know it was definitely rough for me there at the beginning, when I first exploring HP tumblr.

So, this is not meant to be a comprehensive list, this is me going through my recent reblogs and DMs, and if anyone feels they should be on the list (or wants to be taken off the list - people use their fandoms to have a good fun chill time, and I respect that. Having a good fun chill place to exist is unbelievably important.)

But I would say these are are blogs who regularly write meta about Harry Potter that is primarily rooted in the books, while remaining critical of the books in way that I enjoy, and are some combination of funny, earnest, and academic (and drama-free, that's a big one.) I haven't gone and background checked them all or anything, but these are people who I've either had good, meaty conversations with in the DMs, have publicly posted about disagreeing with JKR and her political views, or that I've just followed for a while without any problems. Or some combo of the above.

As I'm sure some of the people on this list will tell you, we *definitely* interpret the books differently and have different headcanons, but their style of interpretation is one that fits with the kind of experience I want to have.

***

@saintsenara - a new follow, but I'm in the process of reblogging their back catalog, and they've definitely written about how to be a HP fan in post JKR-swan-dive-off-the-deep-end world, in the context of their absolutely hysterical crack ship series.

@thistlecatfics - bio says "fuck jkr in a canon compliant way" which I rather like. Their last post was a link to their new Sirius/Fanon Sirius one-shot - which was so sweet, clever, and well-written. Which I think is very much their vibe. I massively enjoy their "Harry Potter Characters in Therapy" series.

@pangaeaseas - a really fun follow. They post a lot, they're funny and their ideas are unique, original, and sometimes totally off the wall. It's like they keep throwing out fun little bookclub prompts/discussion starters, and then we all have a really nice time.

@its-the-allure - lovely, and my intro into some really fun, chill fandom communities. @etl-echo-audiobooks is fantastic, they do live readings of fic of their discord and then turn them into audio books. Did one of my metas once! Also they're currently running a Drarry fest, I snagged a prompt but there are plenty left.

@the-phoenix-heart - has been a mutual for a while. Their original stuff is mostly art, when it comes to text-based stuff they're more of a commenter and reblogger. But they're a GREAT commenter and reblogger. They know their stuff, and I would feel weird leaving them off the list.

@blorger - always has an interesting take, especially when it comes to worldbuilding, and they always do their research and cite their sources. Their last post was all about debunking the popular fanon that the non-Snape teachers are really prejudiced against Slytherin as a whole. Also, great fic reccomender.

@360degreesasthecrowflies - probably the most political blog on this list, which they would definitely agree with. What I really love about them is the way they're willing to go into historian mode, and find and repost some really excellent HP Meta originally written for Livejournal. I was never on Livejounal, so all this stuff is new to me, and I feel like it also provides a really good perspective on fandom history.

@arkadijxpancakes - really well-written, well-thought out, well-supported meta. Great thoughts on worldbuilding. One of the only blogs I've found that really digs into the Weasleys, but they have great takes on everything. Has a very reasonable, focused, lets-get-to-the-heart-of-the-issue vibe that I really appreciate.

@riddlesmoon - followed me recently, and I know you don't post as much original content as you'd like, but I think your comments are hilarious and very insightful, and you *should* write more meta.

@hollowed-theory-hall - another person who can cite their sources really impressively. Tends to do very comprehensive deep dives into worldbuilding out things like the magic system and in-universe politics, or doing very in-depth text-based character analysis. I also love it when they post designs and art, because they went in a very different direction than the films did, but it still totally works.

@trothplighted - I know them from their main blog, which is about literature in general and not HP, but this post got them to resurrect their HP meta blog! I've had fun discussions with them, and they have good takes on other literature, so lets see how this goes :D

@regheart - A good, mellow follow (but with absolutely zero tolerance for JKR and her antics.) A good blend of art, fic recs, and fun good takes. Just read a post of their reccing fics that are pro-Jilly, but still willing to dig into their potential issues as a couple. Which I think is pretty representative.

I 100% expect to add to this list as I think of/find more people, but that should be enough to get you started.

[archangeldyke-all]

hi angel!!!

went outside today and saw a group of teenagers having a snowball fight and cannot stop thinking about a snowball fight with sevika. she'd laugh her ass off the entire time to the point that she can barely throw. she'd probably fall over belly laughing when a snowball hits her right in the tits. do i just want sevika to have some silly fun with lots of laughter? yes,exactly.

CUTEEEEE also hi rigel heeheh ilyy

men and minors dni

"this is fucking miserable." sevika grumbles as she sludges through the snow.

you giggle beside her. "you're such a fuckin' grump. it's beautiful!" you say as you gesture out to the snow covered expanse of the undercity.

"it's horrible. it's cold and wet and gross. if the sun doesn't come out and melt this shit soon i'm buying a flamethrower and taking things into my own ha-ah!" sevika squeaks as she slips on a patch of black ice.

you catch her as she slides, cackling as she starts cursing out the snow. "woah, baby."

"i hate this fucking weather!" sevika kicks a pile of snow, huffing as it explodes under her foot. she trails ahead of you, ranting and cursing, none the wiser to the evil plan you're cooking up.

you bite back you evil laugh as you pack a handful of snow into a ball, then say a quick prayer to janna that sevika won't kill you once you hit her.

you aim for the back of her hooded head. but sevika turns around just as you launch the snowball through the air, and she receives a face full of icy cold snow. your stomach sinks. you're so fucking dead. sevika's going to kill you, and then divorce you.

sevika blinks the snow out of her eyes, and you giggle nervously. only... instead of getting angry sevika just... bursts into laughter.

you blink in shock, then let a smile take over your face.

"you're fuckin' dead!" sevika cackles.

you squeal as you sprint down the street toward your house. you don't make it far before you're being pelted with snowball after snowball, sevika throwing so hard you end up falling face first into a pile of snow.

she cackles behind you, and you gasp for breath between your laughs as you jump to your feet and start packing your own balls to defend yourself with. sevika ducks behind a trashcan, using the lid as a sheild as she makes her own balls.

you're both laughing uncontrollably as you pelt her little shelter with snowballs. "surrender to my powers of ice!" you squeal. you aren't even making snowballs anymore, you're just throwing handfuls of powdery snow in sevika's direction.

and then your wife stands up from her little trashcan, a ball of snow the size of her head clutched in her arms, and you scream in terror.

"sevika, no!" you cry as you run toward the house. you don't get far. sevika tosses the ball up into the sky, and it comes down right on top of you. "oof!" you grunt as you collapse into a pile of snow. you flop onto your back to glare up at sevika as she laughs above you.

"i'm gonna piss my pants!" she cackles, one of her hands holding her crotch. "oh janna, i'm gonna fuckin' piss my pants!"

you can't glare for long when she's laughing like that. instead you just laugh along with her and start making a snow angel where you lay.

eventually, sevika catches her breath and pulls you out of the snow. she kisses you quickly, before intertwining her arm in yours and continuing your walk home. you're both shivering and soaking wet, but sevika's smiling so bright you're surprised the snow doesn't melt.

taglist!

@fyeahnix @lavendersgirl @half-of-a-gay @thesevi0lentdelights @sexysapphicshopowner

@kissyslut @chuucanchuucan @badbye666 @femme-historian @lia-winther

@lavenderbabu @emiliabby @sevikasbeloved @hellorai @my-taintedheart

@glass-apothecary @macaroni676 @artinvain @k3n-dyll @sevsdollette

@ellieslob @xayn-xd @keikuahh @maneskinwh0re @raphaellearp

@iamastar @sevikitty @mascdom @nhaaauyen @annesunshiner

@mirconreadzztuff22 @veoomvroom @lushh-s3vik4s @katyawooga @lesbodietcoke

@strawberrykidneystone @vkumi @fict1onallyobsessed @dvrkhcld @sweetybuzz25

@sluttysierraaa @snake-in-a-flower-crown @ruiwonderz @littlemisszaunite @biblicalcrybaby

@blackgaladriel @nightlyconfusion @dancingqu33n17 @losernb @p1nkearth

taglist!!

@sevikas-baby @ghostscandys @sevikasllver @runawaybaby3 @lesbones

@chezze-its @lez-zuha @vikashoneybee @shanesevikasfuckdoll @imheadintothemountains

[qqueenofhades]

I bought your 'Empire' the other day (which I am excited about; I haven't started it yet), but somehow completely missed that you had written historical fiction, and about the Plantagenets, my favourite historical dynasty, so I'll be jumping on that.

I was wondering if you had recommendations for historical fiction set during the Plantagenet reign? I've tried Sharon Kay Penman and unfortunately didn't get on with her writing, which is a shame as I've heard good things about her series. I know Philippa Gregory has several novels set during that time period, but her books seem to be verging on bodice rippers, which isn't what I'm looking for. Was just curious if you had any suggestions for well-researched fiction set during the Plantagenet reign.

This ask has been sitting in my inbox for several days (my apologies) largely because I was trying to think of a more helpful answer for you. Medieval historical fiction is VERY hit and miss for me, not least because it is often written by people who, uh, are not historians and thus have Certain Ideas (TM) about what the medieval period is like. Or they want to use various aesthetics, or they want to make some (usually questionable) point about how women were treated in the past, or they just go whole-hog on total nonsense. As an example of all of these things at once, let us all stare in horror at this recently-released book description together:

(The book is called the Stone Witch of Florence, by the way. I took one look at this and ran screaming. WHY.)

A stone witch?? So she channels the power of gemstones like a modern-day Instagram healing crystals influencer??? BUT ZOMGZ WITCHCRAFT. In the middle of the Black Death. "Unorthodox cures" you say. But they also need holy relics for protection, and I totally trust the author to understand about medieval hagiography/cult of the saints. Totally. We definitely won't get some half-baked comparison between Sekrit Women Magical Gems Which Really Work and Dark Ages Church Superstition Holy Relics Which Are A Fraud, or.... something??? And our nobly mistreated protagonist will super definitely be a real physician if she gets these and never ever accused of witchcraft (which LET US ALL SAY IT TOGETHER IS AN EARLY MODERN THING!!!!) Because medieval medicine was just a bunch of gemstone vibes anyway! Makes total sense!

...my head hurts.

Anyway, while not all examples are this egregious, the point is: I love historical fiction, but I almost always can't read it when it's set in the medieval era. I read Sharon Kay Penman a while ago and enjoyed her stuff at the time, though I have assorted gripes with it on a stylistic/historical level. While Philippa Gregory does have real academic credentials, she likewise has gone totally down the bodice-ripper alternate-history crackpot theory Secret Women Magic version of things, which is... fine if that's your jam, but just like you, it is not mine. I thus have to read fiction which is set in other periods or which I know less about or where at least I am more capable of turning off my brain and accepting things for the sake of the story. So as you see, I unfortunately don't have many useful suggestions for you in this field, since the kind of medieval historical fiction that I like to recommend is, say, The Name of the Rose. Which is terrific and written for someone of a professional medievalist's level of knowledge, but is not exactly everyone's cup of tea when they just want something fun and easy to understand.

I am, of course, happy to give other book recommendations if you'd like to broaden your request, and I'll do my best to think -- but yes! As I said, I wish I could be more helpful here. I shall persist.

(Also, of course: thanks for buying EMPIRE! I do hope you enjoy.)

[nuggeteri]

pour @jean-phillipedelaporte

(for my best french friend except it's in English let's go.)

(I take any and all requests about the life series.)

-

Scott took a step back.

He was in the Cod Lands.

He didn't know why, per say. A few hours ago, he could've asked his council and they'd probably have given him a dozen good reasons for him to be here. But right at this moment, Scott didn't think any reason would be worth endangering Jimmy.

Or, well, the Codfather, but he insisted on being referred to as Jimmy by Scott, for some weird reason. Even if he got all riled up whenever Fwhip dared to utter that name. He guessed that came with allyship.

It didn't matter either way--he didn't even know if that offer still stood true or not. He definitely wasn't allied with Fwhip anymore, his standing with Gem was shaky at best, and he's still not solved the conflict between him and Shubble. If he had the misfortune of fucking it all up, Jimmy definitely could take him in a fight.

Which was a weird thought, wasn't it? The Cod Lands had always been made fun of for being the weakest Empire. Standing here, though, Scott couldn't help but feel as though power meant nothing if he didn't have allies.

Katherine wouldn't help him in a war--she'd be allied with his ennemies. And Jimmy actually had many allies, like the Copper King, Queen Lizzie and King Joel.

He's spiraling, he knew this. It didn't stop him.

"Penny for your thoughts?" A voice interrupted his thought process--it couldn't be anyone other than Jimmy. And he sounded so friendly, Scott didn't even know why he was spiraling in the first place.

(A step back and frost on the ground told him exactly why, but he gulped and ignored it. He had things to do here---though he couldn't remember what.)

"You're not helping your case here." He said instead of voicing any of his thoughts. Why would he ever, anyway? Jimmy just looked at him--brows furrowing making the confusion crystal clear on his face. "What case?"

"With the nickels." He clarified and Jimmy just groaned---getting a chuckle out of Scott.

"What do you want anyway Scott?" He asked to change the subject. Scott let's him--he'd let Jimmy do anything.

"I can't quite recall," He answered honestly.

"It has been a while since we've seen each other. We can just hang out."

The reminder hit him right in the gut.

He hadn't seen anyone in a while because he'd been away doing his pity party in the Wastes, leaving his council in charge while he figured out his powers. Not like he ever did, anyway.

"We can't." Scott answered, once more, honestly. "I'm a busy man." Which is not all that honest, but it would get the job done...

"Busy visiting my Empire?" And that is the worse. Jimmy is not calling him out on his bullshit, his voice is filled with pure curiosity. Scott plays on it. "We don't have a lot of books on mer-above-land culture."

Which wasn't untrue.

"The Cod Lands are young, my apologies. We don't have many historians yet."

Yet they could beat him in a war, because Scott didn't have allies.

He sighed and looked over the horizon--it being the ocean. As an Avian, he could see further than most species, meaning he could see the outline of the Ocean Empire from here.

"Rivendell has always loved writing. I don't doubt I could send some journalists your way, then?" He proposed, because while he was curious---he also didn't want to make his visit worthless.

(There was Jimmy. How could anything ever be worthless if there was Jimmy? Scott's really selfish, isn't he?)

"That wouldn't bother me at all. More exposure, really. My Empire also loves writing, mostly stories though."

Rivendell... Doesn't actually have many fiction writing, really. Autobiographies, sure, plenty of poems and historical books, but very few novels. "You've peeked my attention."

"The Cod Empire is just approaching it's fifteen birthday. Most our authors are teens, believe it or not. Creating romance between mer, because they have never seen it depicted. It's quite sweet. I don't imagine they have the talent of full fledged Rivendell authors, though." Jimmy didn't know that Rivendell didn't actually have any novel authors. He doesn't break the news to him yet, though.

"Have some faith, art is art. I have never seen mer love stories. Care to share?"

"It can vary a lot. From coral to kelp, hot and cold waters, sand dust and gravel, mud and dirt. Ice, too."

Ice?

"Ice?"

"Yeah, well, ice is water, is it not? Water magic can still control it."

"Really?" He can't help but thinks about his magic. "How come you haven't shown it in Rivendell?"

"That would be an act of war, wouldn't it? Affecting the environment without consent." He said and Scott can't help but think about the many empires he's accidentally frozen. "But we also kinda did. The pond, the cod never really died when it got frozen over, did they?"

Jimmy knew about that? It wasn't the time to dwell on it, though, because Jimmy was.. right.

His hands start to form fists. He can feel ice spreading on his palm and he didn't want it to get out of control.

"Come on, big guy, let me see," The Codfather said as he approached Scott--Scott took one step back, simply one, which is why Jimmy gets to him and softly takes his hand.

In a matter of seconds, it all melts back to water.

"See? Ice doesn't only have sharp edges."

[authorhjk1]

Reply not needed

"Is 'No Nut November' actually a thing? Or is it just an ancient internet meme that got way out of hand?"

" I don't know... Maybe? Look, I'm not an internet historian. I know some guys do it just for the sake of doing a challenge. Helps them focus or something."

"Have you considered doing it?"

"No, never-"

" You should do it!"

That's the conversation playing in your head when Karina revealed this:

Chaewon, Minju and Yena are going to be at your place when Karina is away gearing up for Aespa's comeback. (Ok technically it's Karina's place when she bought it with her sweet Kwangya money). You're no stranger to them, you've always enjoyed their company when you're somehow included in their "girls' night".

The only difference this time: They are essentially living with you for the whole of November.

You would've offered to go back to your old place or stay with a friend in the meantime. Karina's cuteness begging you to stay with them quickly dispelled that idea.

You're still really unsure this is a good idea and the stress is getting to you. That's when you're intrusive thoughts gets louder.

What if they are wearing those hot dolphin shorts with their cute little ass cheeks hanging out? The wet hair looks with a hint of shampoo smell when they just got out of the shower... Maybe even just wrapped in a towel with a hint of cleavage... Would they invite you to join them in the shower? Hmm, how good is it to have Yena's dick-sucking lips wrapped around you? A sex marathon with Chaewon pushing her to the limit? Minju just fully wrapped around you as you bottom her out, your abs hurting as you squeeze every ounce of cum inside her.

Damn it. Think normally. YOU ARE NOT CHEATING ON KARINA.

Is this some cruel test that Karina tailor-made for you? Or does she secretly gets wet when her hot idol friends make you desperately want to cum but you can't because it's inappropriate?

Is this just Karina's secret plan, using her friends to edge you, weaponize the concept of No Nut November just so she gets to have you in a sex-depraved state all for herself.

Or maybe you'll get rewarded and end up fucking all of them side by side, breeding all of them until their pussies overflow.

What happens if you can't jerk off since they would be constantly around? You have a bad feeling that No Nut November has just started for you whether you like it or not 🙈

===

Being constantly in a confined space in close proximity with hot idols especially when everyone is sexually charged 😳 The idols intentionally and unintentionally tease you😏

Would this be the case of OC cheating on Karina? Would OC secretly have sex with Yena, Minju and Chaewon individually without letting the others know?

Just a rough idea so you don't have to take any of the above seriously. I hope the setting/scenario would help inspire some fun and kinky scenes of smut.

Feel free to change up the idols any one of them is hard to write for you. Just throwing these idols out here because of the GIFs 😊

Surviving NNN

Part One : Temptations

You look at the four women in front of you, unable to form a word. Your girlfriend smiles at you.

"Hello, oppa!"

Karina steps forward to kiss your lips. You lean down a little, but she still has to get on her tiptoes. Holding the back of her head, you feel her silky hair as you smell her shampoo. Vanilla.

You have to think of something else. You have to win this bet. The price is worth it.

"You know the girls, right?"

You nod your head. Of course you do.

Choi Yena. She has the nickname "duck" for a reason. She looks cute whatever she does. Even when she fights with Chaewon. Her voice changes somewhat, which makes her into an angry duckling. Her new pink hair makes her look more like a celebrity in your eyes.

Kim Chaewon. She can be just as cute as Yena. Although that can change quickly. You have seen it first hand. She becomes quite flirty when she drinks a little. You hope she doesn't do it any time soon.

Kim Minju. The youngest of the four. You haven't seen much of her so far, but you do follow her on Instagram. Her wide hips....

You mentally stop yourself to continue this thought. Without the bet you made with Karina, it would've been fine thinking about her. But not right now.

Since the four of them hang out quite often, you occasionally do have lewd thoughts. You can't help it. Yes, you do have Karina and one might argue she is more than enough for your brain to comprehend. And yet there is something different about the other three. They all have their own charms. You would never cheat on Karina, but sometimes it does look tempting.

"What do you mean?"

You furrow your eyebrows after Karina explained the situation.

"Why would they all stay here?"

"You don't like us?"

Chaewon's question makes you shake your head.

"It's not that. But we have to be careful."

This might be the proper moment to mention that you are an idol as well. A soloist. A lot of eyes are on Karina for obvious reasons. But you could say you are her male equivalent. Your last MV just broke the 100M views mark a couple of day ago. For groups like Twice or Blackpink, that's standard. But to do that within a week? You find it not so bad.

Of course you can imagine what happened, when the media caught you and Karina on a date. You did try to hide to the best of your capabilities, but it wasn't enough. Picture of you walking alongside each other, holding hands, can't be interpreted any other way. A lot of MY's did send you rather odd messages, but you try to ignore them. Your relationship with Karina is now public for around six month.

That's why it's a bad idea to let her friends sleep over for a whole month. Especcially since Karina is going overseas for her comeback preperations. And also because of the bet you made. If you succeed No-Nut-November, Karina has promised you a special gift on December 1st. You keep wondering what it is. But the problem is the punishment. You will have to do everything that Karina wants for the end of the year. Which doesn't just include sex. But cleaning, taking out the trash and so on. You two live together in one apartment after all. You just hope the gift is worth all the risks and trouble.

In the end, as always, Karina did convince you to let Yena, Chaewon and Minju stay here. You wonder if that's her way of trying to sabotage your success. She did have to promise to not seduce you during this month.

And there you are now. Sitting on the expensive black leather couch, watching TV, while you hear your knew roommates around the apartment. It has two bedrooms, but because you and Karina sleep in one bed, one is always empty. That room is now occupied by Yena and Chaewon. You tried to convince Minju that you have no problem with sleeping on the mattress in the living room, but she refused to take your bed.

You hear the shower stop as you watch the kdrama "Bloodhounds" on the big screen. Since your overall concept is kinda bad boyish, you always try to watch stuff like this. The melody for your new song is already finished, only the lyrics are missing . You even have a title by now: "Dangerous game"

When the door to the bathroom opens, you instinctively turn your head. It turns out to be a grave mistake.

Kim Minju is standing in the doorframe. You might have been incredibly glad the she isn't just wearing a towel, but what she is actually wearing makes your head spin.

Her dark hair is still wet from the shower, the warm air slowly crawling out of the bathroom. It partially hides her face and you can even smell her shampoo from where you sit. A fruity scent. Similiar to strawberries. Her black top stretches a little over her chest, which you woudn't really have noticed if it weren't for the 13 day without cuming already.

But your main focus definitely lies on her lower body. She is wearing black denim high waist hotpants, which show off her small waist and wide hips. Especially her thighs. Oh my god, her thighs. They look nice and full as always. They jiggle slightly as she walks out of the door.

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Hi erveryone, I hope you like the first chapter of this mini series. The theme is fitting for this month, so I thought "Wy not?" This chapter doesn't really have any action in it, since it's mostly the introduction. I hope you enjoy it nonetheless.

[bad-system]

the neighbours — let's talk KCD3

disclaimer: this post is a continuation of my previous KCD3 posts on speculation of the events and lore that i'd like to see explored in the next installment(s) of the KCD story. and as per my last post; these are only speculations born of my own biased narrative and hopeful bastardizations of real events. this is not representative of ALL the real historical persons and events as there is either info missing on them, they were altered by WH for the sake of the game or i'm plain wrong. PS: i am not a historian. i just like history.

PART: 1 2 3 4 5

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in this post, i'd like to speculate on why hans capon/jan ptaček joins his pro-sigismund neighbour due to family relations. i know this could be explained in easier ways and that there are simpler theories but i wanted to engage (read: kill) my brain with data that was half missing, incorrect or there was no source i could find. if you do have a source that would help me correct this i would love it if you could share it with me. again; i'm not a historian.

so let's get to the point — Lacek of Kravař from Šternberk or Petr Konopišťský of Šternberk ?!

the biggest hiccup i've encountered during my research is none other than petr- or lacek- of šternberk...

in the wiki entry of jan ptaček it is noted that it was petr of šternberk among the leaders of the battle of vyšehrad. and according to wiki it is indeed that petr of šternberk, the pro-sigismund anti-hussite neighbour whom he had sided with.

however, hans' codex entry lists a different person as his anti-hussite neighbour- a lacek of kravař from šternberk + source. this lacek was both a king weceslaus supporter and a follower of jan hus, as per sources.

thus, i present to you a... mind map more than a genealogy chart that i made to help myself visualize the 2 possible events.*

(please refer to the legend before trying to comprehend the image.)

(*once again a big fat disclaimer... please do not use this as a reference or learning material. this chart takes artistic freedom into consideration like WH does with some characters.)

in the case #1, we take into account the wikipedia sources. in this case, petr konopišťský of šternberk, is indeed a poweful pro-sigismund neighour of jan ptaček. in this case, jan ptaček sides with petr due to obvious political reasons- his neighbour, even though he's a sigismund supporter and an anti-hussite, is simply more powerful than ptaček's estates. signing with the enemy to protect his people makes sense from a practical point of view rather than a moral one. his obligation is to protect his people. = CONFLICT

in the case #2, it gets a little more complicated. case #2 takes into consideration what is written in the games' codex itself- and makes the aforementioned 'close neighbour' one lacek of kravař from šternberk. why does this make it more complicated?

well.

if that was indeed the case, then jan ptaček and lacek had no political conflict. both jan and lacek were wenceslaus supporters, and lacek was also a vocal supporter of jan hus. so if there was no conflict between the lords- why was lacek mentioned?

i believe the conflict of interest could stem from lacek's wife- eliška of šternberk. while lacek's family wasn't anti-hussite itself, eliška's side of family was and if they were indeed the 'powerful neighbours' of ptaček's, i could see that being the source of internal conflict (within family) which could have swayed lacek (temporarily?). i haven't found proof of this (at least not online) and am skeptical they could improvise that so it remains as the theory i favour the least. or WH simply has the sources i do not.

then why did they put his name in the codex?

like i said; this data is inaccessible to me and WH have more trustworthy sources (which is the likely scenario) OR WH decided to improvise and take creative liberties with this historical figure.

remains to be seen!

but it was definitely fun to think about the potential reasons.