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goodluckclove · 6 months

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I've been meaning to say something. (100 follower hot take)

Hey! Thanks for stopping by. I hope you've had a nice day. Why don't you rest with me for a while? I made some chocolate chip cookies - with shortening instead of butter, so they're very soft and very chocolatey. I made way too many and they aren't my wife's favorite, so I could use some help in eating them.

You're probably a writer, right? Or maybe you think about how you could be. Browse the tags here, or on other social media platforms. Maybe you used to write stories as a kid. I bet those were fun. Teachers might've thought they were impressive, or they dissected them line by line until the words didn't make sense in your head anymore. Either way, if you're here you're probably here for a reason.

(rant alert)

I dipped a toe in online writing communities on and off. My last attempt was forty-five minutes scrolling through the writing hashtag on Youtube Shorts (so TikTok, I guess? I don't know). I didn't like it. I really didn't. The thing that sticks out the strongest in my mind is one particular video where a woman claims that every story needs a second act plot twist.

Huh? Every story? All of them? Why? Since when? Who are you? What qualifications do you have to make a statement like that?

That's the common thread that makes a lot of writing spaces very uncomfortable for me. Successful writers are really only successful in their genre and for the given moment, so they don't have that much objective authority in the craft. And yet I see a lot of people deciding the things that you can't do in writing. Or the things you have to do, and how you have to do them. It was so much of Writeblr at first glance that I almost dipped out once again. I didn't, though, and I'm glad I didn't because now I get to watch some of the next great storytellers from across the world grow and examine and forge their way forward.

No one can teach you how to write. No, that's not true. Teachers teach literacy. Handwriting. Typing maybe - do schools still teach typing? Let me try saying it in a different way - no one, not one single person on this goddamned planet, has the right to tell you how to make a story.

I was supposed to get my MFA in creative writing before my first breakdown. My uncle stayed in the program I was meant to be in, and a few years after I dropped out he graduated. Recently I had the thought to look up his thesis novella, and as I searched I found myself regretting my decision to leave school. If I stayed and got to develop my writing in an actual class, with other writers and a knowledgeable professor, how much further along would I be than where I am right now?

It was bad. His novella was terrible. It was so bad I had a small existential crisis for, like, three days. He spent so much money on years and years of professional education and came out with a truly soulless story that read as if you prompted an AI to write the next Great American Novel. So if you think you need a writing degree to be a legitimate author, it could help connections-wise, but it ultimately won't be the thing that does the work for you.

Not all advice I see online on writing is bad. I find the people who are able to capture the "I" statements of therapy and phrase advice as things that have worked for them, or things that they personally enjoy, to be fine. Some writing advice can spark inspiration.

But if someone is the type of person to boil every story down to troupes and cliches, and then immediately say that every story that uses the trait they don't like is automatically bad for everyone? I'm dropping the kindness for a second - that's trash. That's a trash take and I see far too many writers use it as a reason to stop before they begin.

I don't like whump. I say my reasons in previous posts if you go back through my blog. But you will never hear me say that any story with whump in it is bad, because I don't know that. You might prove me wrong. I am an adult human being and I have the humility to admit that I can like something I didn't expect to. I genuinely enjoy the direction of The Human Centipede (only the first one) and if you cringed just now that probably means you haven't seen it.

There are so many types of books and movies and plays and comics out there. To enjoy a specific genre is fine, to ignore the existence of everything else is a really, really, really odd thing to do. Maybe someone will hate your story because they think everything should be Neil Gaiman, and therefore have no way to understand your epistolary high-Western. You are not the wrong end of that situation just for existing.

And at there is a definite threshold on how many writing tips you can gather before they stop being useful. If you find them interesting, that's one thing. That's fine. But if the culture of creativity online has made you feel like you need to educate yourself on every possible angle before you can write a story, you are actively harming yourself.

Imagine taking the level of structure you put on yourself in that way and putting it on children playing pretend in the backyard. Oh, Susie, don't you know that it's overdone for your Kitsune have dead parents? Xyler, shouldn't you ask someone else before you decide how Spiderman would react to this? It would make no sense and they do not need it. Kids will make a whole world out of nothing and it's the most fucked thing in my heart that at some point they get access to Reddit and dipshits start insisting that's wrong.

They aren't wrong and you aren't either. Your favorite creative influencer can't tell you your story, strangers on the internet can't tell you your story, your teachers and loved ones can't tell you your story. They can influence it, but they can't write it honestly the way you can.

You do that. That's the thing you do.

Man that makes me upset. I can't tell you how to make a story, either. If anyone sends me asks for writing advice the most I'll do is say what I've done before hopping into your DMs and starting a direct conversation. it's so personal to each individual artist, and I'd like to think that the people selling these classes and software and promoting these platforms haven't thought about that before. Otherwise it does feel manipulative. If you have a willingness to practice and imagine and really experiment with the possibilities, you are ready to write your story.

And if it doesn't work? Try again. That's what you do.

Stephen King has written roughly a thousand books and maybe five of them have decent endings. He is unimaginably successful.

I'm rambling now. I think I got that out of my system. I was really worried to say this out of fear of being too weird or somehow reverse-gatekeeping so hard that it circles back into also being a bad thing. I've just spoken to a lot of people who I still think of throughout my day, and I truly ache for them to get past the fear of creation. Because it's worth it. It's worth it and it's fun, even when it's messy and you're tired.

Let it Be just came on. Beatles. I haven't listened to The Beatles in a long time. Feels a little apropos.

I love you, reader. Reader, Writer, Colleague. Take care of yourself. Especially the little you, still sitting there in the backyard of your soul, bathing in the sun with their bare feet in the damp earth.

Consider joining them, maybe.

#writeblr #writing community #writers on tumblr #queer writers #authors of tumblr #on writing #writing #actually writing #writing resources #writing tips #writing help #writing advice #how to write #writing tips and tricks #writers supporting writers

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avelera · 6 months

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Avelera's Dreamling Fic Status Update:

Keeping Sanctuary (subscribe for updates here) - Giving Sanctuary Sequel follows Dream and Hob from the events of the altered meeting in 1689 up to the modern era. (aka, What if they hooked up after the 1689 meeting?) Current word count: ~7,000 words across several chapters. Realistic progress update: 1/10 complete total, Ch. 1 is about 1/5 complete.

(The rest are below the cut!)

Come live with me and be my love - Dream and Hob fall in love during the Regency Era when Dream loses a bet to Desire. Shenanigans ensue. (aka, What if they hooked up after the 1789 meeting?) Ch. 16 is at 2,500 words, probably about 1/3 done. Current plan is to wrap up Part 1 in the next few chapters then create a part 2 which finishes out their "1 year of marriage" on a month by month basis instead of following them day to day like Part 1 done. Probably won't be a separate fic though, just a change of format.

This Rough Magic - My take on "Hob rescues Dream from Burgess" with a twist that Hob ends up on Burgess's radar himself when he picked up some occult magic skills in the hopes of contacting Dream after 1889 and apologizing. Now he has to pretend to be friends with Burgess in order to get them both out of there, because Burgess thinks Hob can help force Dream to give him immortality. (aka, What if they hooked up after the 1889 meeting?) Ch. 9 is about 800 words in. Story is still very much in progress I just have a lot of WIPs, as you can see.

Joke's On You (I'm Into That) - The 1589 meeting goes very different when Hob proposes to Dream, who is so offended that he just can't let the matter go. A very angry, very horny competition kicks off between them. (Aka, what if they hooked up in 1589 when they were both at their absolute worst as people?) I have literally 40,000 words written for the rest of this fic. The problem is, there's big gaps in that first draft I have to fill in and scenes that need to be added. This might be my favorite WIP but it's also the hardest to write with all the smut scenes so it'll arrive whenever I can manage, I'm afraid.

Banana Daiquiris Ch. 2 - Comic-canon compliant (mostly) - Dream fakes his death to go on a vacation with Hob and Destruction. They end up in Tahiti. Destruction plays matchmaker. Hob doesn't know whether to thank Destruction or strangle him. Current word count 6,000 words. I've been playing around with adding on to this fic for ages. One of these days, I'll pull it all together.

Great Triumphs and Tragedies - aka, "Dream Accidentally Cursed Hob with a Normal Life" Fic - Dream learns that from 1689 on, Hob's life has been safe. Too safe. Improbably safe. Nothing bad or extraordinary or even terribly special has happened to him since Dream began to consider Hob his friend. He knows this because during his imprisonment, Hob's life became exciting again and suddenly went back to normal the day Dream was freed. Hob is not convinced that Dream is the reason for this, Dream disagrees. They talk about it. And fight about it. And some things that they've probably needed to talk about for a long time finally get said. (aka, sometimes the author just needs to write their weird headcanon into a 20,000 word fic that's almost entirely dialogue). Current word count: 19,000 words and about 80-90% finished, 3 of 4 chapters written. I'm hoping that posting what I've got will help push me through the final stretch. Real life interrupted for a bit though.

And for fics that haven't been posted anywhere yet (you can subscribe on my Ao3 author page for alerts about them):

Hob Amesia Fic - Dream and Hob are dating officially now in the 21st century when Hob gets hit with what seems to be a memory loss curse, shaving off 100 years of his life each day until Dream finds a cure. This effectively grants Dream a walk down memory lane as he is reacquainted with the Hob of each era and, in the process, learns how much longer Hob cared for him than Dream ever realized. Current word count: 40,000 words. Currently writing 1489 (1889-1589 are done) and re-writing the opening. It genuinely kills me not to have this one posted lol.

"Fairy God Marlowe" - 1589 fixit fic where Hob and Kit Marlowe strike up a conversation while Dream and Shaxberd are talking. Hob and Marlowe talk about plays, and faith, and salvation, and queer love, and what it means to live forever. Hob gets a second chance at a first impression. Current word count: ~5,000 words. Sadly, it's all dialogue in script format. I'd need to convert it into prose to publish which would be a slog. So it's a bit shelved until I find the energy to do so. No, I will not post it in script format, I'm allergic to the thought.

I've got a few other concepts kicking around, but these are the ones that actually have (*does a quick calculation*) over 100,000 words written that I haven't had the chance to post yet?? And it's driving me insane????

Anyway, I should probably pin this post for those curious lol. Feel free to ask me any follow-up questions, I love talking about WIPs even as they ruin my life!

#dreamling #maggie's writing progress #dreamling fic update #1689 fic #1589 fic #arranged marriage au dreamling

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gilverrwrites · 5 months

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ok so this is my self indulgent request; the reader is black mask's girl and he gets jealous and annoyed when the riddler keeps flirting with her. i know that man would be seething lmao.

Easy To Lose

Black Mask/Reader/The Riddler, ≈900 words

A/N: You're speaking my language. Although, while I've been playing with some unpublished Riddler stuff, this is the first time I've posted him in sooooooo long, I hope I still do him justice - even if he is a little shit in this lmao. Also is HoH, I will die on that hill. Anyway, I really hope this scratches the right itch for you 💚

The Riddler takes his opportunity to chat you up when Roman is otherwise occupied. Rating: 18+

CWs: Swearing, name calling (freak, coward, pussy), unhealthy/toxic relationships, jealousy/possessiveness, allusions to (kinky) sex, allusions to violence. Reader is GN but hair longish hair.

Please remember: as long as you're trying, you're probably doing better than you think.

Alerted by the muffled sound of a familiar voice you cock your head up, greeted by the smiling face of Edward Nygma, sitting in the unoccupied side of your booth. Roman who is sitting beside you does not offer the same courtesy, too engrossed in sending an email on his phone. If he’d even noticed Ed at all. The thickness of his mask made Roman hard of hearing at the best of times. Combine that with the loud thrum of the club’s music, and Roman was often lost to the world if he wasn’t looking right at it.

“Huh?” You lean over the table, turning your head to the side, indicating for him to clarify.

“I said;” Ed follows your lead, leaning in until his lips are close enough to press to your ear. His breath is warm, and steeped with the sweet smell of alcohol, something with gin if you had to guess. “What is rarer, and more valuable than gold, but easier to lose?”

Tongue in cheek you glance back at Roman, who remains undisturbed, despite his passive hold on your back having been broken. You wonder how he’ll react when he finally realises what is going on, he’d never been a fan of The Riddler. Ed had never bothered you so much, yes, he could be egotistical and yes, he loved to patronise, but he was also fun, especially when there were drinks involved. Perhaps your time in the bed of Gotham’s underworld had tainted one too many red flags green.

Turning back to Ed you shrug and ask; “What?”

Without missing a beat Ed reaches a hand up and twirls a finger in a stray lock of your hair. He massages it between his thumb and forefinger bringing it to his nose, and inhaling the scent with his eyes closed. You don’t mind the anticipation, watching his coy smile as he eventually drops your hair, and taps his finger to your nose as he gives you your answer. “You, my dear.”

You laugh. You bat his shoulder playfully and laugh, and laugh, and laugh until you feel the smooth, hard press of leather cup the back of your neck. Your body freezes, all for your head which turns slowly to face Roman, who has finally clocked onto Ed's presence, his near-black eyes boring into you beneath the shadows of his mask’s sunken eyeholes.

“What is this?” Unlike Ed, his voice can be heard over the music, likely by anyone in a half mile radius. Although, it occurs to you now that he and Ed had very different intentions.

Before you can answer, Ed jumps in, always eager to hear the sound of his own voice, or to stir the pot. Probably both.

“I simply saw this poor dear looking neglected, and thought to myself, who better to offer them some much deserved attention than myself. You ought to be more careful Sionis, lots of people around who might want to steal this one away. Decent, meritorious people.”

Ed reaches up to your hair once more but before he can make contact, Roman pulls you back by the scruff of your neck until you’re snug beside him again, fingers still digging into your soft skin. He’d never pull or squeeze hard enough to really hurt you, at least not outside the bedroom, but there is enough force in it to offer you a warning, to tell you he’s not happy.

“I can’t hear a word that freak’s talkin’ about.” He informs you. He can tell he’s trying to act calm, but his duel grip on your neck and the wood of the table proves otherwise. His neck is taught and red as he juts his jaw back and forth. “So, I’m gonna ask you this once, you think real hard about what comes out of that pretty little mouth of yours alright? What’s he been sayin’ to you?”

You don’t need to think hard about it. You’re only going home with one of them tonight, and you want to stay on his good side, and if your confession fuels his fire, so be it. Ed wasn’t the only one who could stir a pot.

The wood of his mask is rigid and cool as you press your lips to the spot that covers his ear. “He said I’m rare, and valuable, and that he wanted to steal me away from you.”

“He fuckin’ what.” It’s not a question, it’s an expletive, a threat. In seconds Roman is on his feet ready for a fight, but when you both look over, Ed is gone. Swallowed amongst the sea of clubbers. His bright green attire blending in amongst the ever-changing lights of the club.

“Fuckin coward,” Roman yells, slamming his fists on the table. His chest heaves as he processes his next step, as he decides if he’s going to go after him or not. You help in his decision-making by resting your hand on his wrist and tugging until he looks at you. His eyes dart back and forth between you and the crowd before he gestures to the sea of people. “Is that the kinda man you want baby? A goddamn pussy? Tryin’ to move in on what’s mine and can’t even face me.”

“No…” You coo, shaking your head. When he settles back into the booth you shuffle close to him again. “You know I only want you.”

“Fuckin’ right you do.” He runs a firm hand through your hair until he finds the soft spot at the nap of your neck where he locks his fingers in, using it to pull you even closer. “Guess I’ll have to stake my claim another way. For tonight.”

Request Info || Prompts || Masterlist || Ko-Fi

#the riddler #black mask #roman sionis #edward nygma #edward nigma #the riddler x reader #edward nygma x reader #roman sionis x reader #black mask x reader #gilverrwrites

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novantinuum · 5 months

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Fandom: Steven Universe Rating: Teen Audiences Words: 1.3K~ Summary: “So, wait— what you’re saying is that you want me… to glow for you—?” In which a drowsy, throwaway comment inspires Steven to— fueled by Connie’s implicit trust and encouragement— test the very limits of his self-restraint.

@glowweek

Suuuuper late, but this one was inspired by this event's "Glow or Dark" prompts. I utilized both of the themes in this work.

Essentially, this story is me going "but what if Steven could enter pink mode but on his own terms and with Healthy emotions?" Steven and Connie are 22 and 21 respectively, here. This is the furthest in their future I've posted a work covering so far, ahah.

Enjoy!

“Y’know, it’s kinda a shame you only glow when you’re really, really stressed out,” Connie murmurs out of nowhere that night, nuzzling herself even further into his side. “I bet you’d make for a nice nightlight.”

“Wait, what?” Steven responds, his words punctuated by a sudden peel of bemused laughter. He props himself up in their bed, scooting apart from her wanting embrace (she gives a pitiful but very cute little whine at this, still half-asleep) so he can actually turn to meet her eyes. “Where’s this coming from?”

If he fully understands the underlying question in his fiancé’s drowsy doozy of a comment— a comment he doubts she’d ever make while awake and alert— then she’s probably inquiring about why he never consciously utilizes even half the full potential of his power, not even recreationally.

And if he’s honest, it’s a fair question. He’s been somewhat neglecting this part of himself ever since he moved in with her late last year.

After all, it’s not like there’s much practical use for many of his abilities anymore. There’s no battles left to fight. No empires left to dismantle. No need to host those monthly healing sessions he used to organize ever since he and the Gems bottled a large stock of his saliva for long term use. It’s nice, in a way. It’s like an extended vacation from all the stressors of this facet of his existence. Instead, he’s been able to focus all his time and energy on other stuff— like finally finishing his GED, pursuing enrollment in some community college courses for the fun of learning itself, and doing some experimentation with some new instruments he’s never played.

Little things.

Human things.

That glowing she speaks of, though…

The remnants of laughter fade from his lips as he refocuses on this topic.

He hasn’t snapped pink in weeks. It’s the longest period that’s passed without a flare up since that month his gem fell into an energy conserving stasis immediately following his meltdown in his teen years. So why is she bringing this up now?

What’s really on her mind?

He asks as such.

This appeal for emotional honesty seems to jostle Connie out of the brunt of her drowsiness. She rubs the sleep out of her eyes with the furthest edge of her knuckles and then parts her lips again.

“It’s just… you never use your powers anymore,” she says, her brow creasing inwards. “Any of them. And of course I understand why, but…”

“But—?”

“But sometimes… I wish things weren’t so muddled for you. That you felt free to express yourself as both a human and a Gem in this space.”

His brows thread together as he considers all this, his confusion-addled brain looping right back to the throwaway, sleepy statement that hurtled this whole conversation into being in the first place. “So, wait— what you’re saying is that you want me… to glow for you—?”

Connie snorts. “Well, my actual want is a little more nuanced, but sure. We’ll go with that as a shorthand.”

“And you do know my powers are, uh… extra volatile when I’m in that state, right?”

Her lithe fingers glide their way across the subtle peaks and valleys of his inner wrist. Caught amidst the thorny brambles of his anxiety, such feather light skin contact is grounding.

Mesmerizing.

“Nothing you do could ever truly scare me,” she reminds him, the calloused contours of her hand dancing along every last edge and sweeping curve of the lines etched into his broad palm.

Steven hums, the latent tension in his form unraveling under the spell of his fiancé’s gentle affection.

And with the loving encouragement of her words echoing like a fleeting melody within the drowsy, wandering neurotransmissions of his consciousness comes a sudden thought:

Can he glow pink on demand?

Is it even possible for him to wrest conscious control of this ability? To find a healthy means of tapping into that vast sum of energy lying dormant in his gem without trudging through the burdens of anger, misery, or fear?

Are these diamond powers something he could one day reclaim for good?

His eyelids flutter shut. Inhaling with a deep-rooted purpose and focusing inwards on the familiar, dual sensations of his partner’s knowing touch and his gem’s constant, faint vibrations, he reflects upon the broad menagerie of feelings and emotional states that govern his other abilities:

Responsibility.

Joy.

Compassion.

Grief.

Love.

If he’s intending to tap into this well by choice… to summon this strength and glow for his Connie… what kind of emotion does he wish to anchor himself with?

Nothing you do could ever truly scare me, her promise rings in his ears once again.

The sentiment flows through his veins like sweet nectar, a healing magic all its own.

Trust.

That’s it. Connie trusts him implicitly— without question, without resolve.

So maybe it’s time he finally grapples with all the facets of his identity he’s long neglected and starts to trust himself, too.

Confident in his decision to at least try, he entwines their fingers together, expressing his endearment through a quick triple squeeze.

Okay.

Okay…

Deep breath, Steven. Deep breath. You’re home. You’re safe. You can pull back whenever you want. YOU are in control.

With one final shaky inhale, he opens his mind to the potent sum of energy swirling within the fathomless layers of his gem.

That familiar glow blooms from his cheeks on command, spreading across the entire span of his body in but a split second and casting their bedroom in a soft, tranquil, shadow-casting pink. It’s almost like flipping a light switch— which makes Connie’s earlier comparison all the more amusing. He can’t help but let out a quavering laugh of relief at his victory, meeting his partner’s eyes as he revels in the sweet euphoria of everything this accomplishment means for him as both a gem and a human being.

Her gaze surges with a wealth of pride and warmth while she drinks in the sight. Flashing him a teasing smile, she dances her hand up the length of his arm and towards his center, splaying her fingers wide across his bare chest, right over his heart. Steven’s breath hitches. Such tactile sensations seem far more sensitive in this state than they are for him normally. The sheer memory of her touch buzzes at his core like a giddy swarm of butterflies in his stomach, each and every minuscule shift in her contact commanding his full attention.

It’s a beautiful moment— and there’s a small segment of him that wishes it could linger just a while longer— but that damned logic within his mind recognizes it’s smarter to pull back now rather than cling to such a fickle surge of power a second too long and risk potential disaster. No matter how much fulfillment swells within his soul for what he’s achieved here, this ability is still untrained… unrefined. Tonight’s accomplishment is only the beginning of his journey to reclaim it.

He exhales slow and steady, willing that glimmering pink pallor to sink back into his hard-light veins. Their room grows dark once more. His gem’s once fervent hum fades into a hushed murmur. A relieved, watery smile stretches across his cheeks as he feels all the lingering remnants of that energy dissipate right alongside his fading adrenaline.

Her head tilting with ample curiosity as she regards him, Connie shifts her hold to his shoulder. “And how did that feel?”

“Not as scary as I thought it’d be,” he admits with a shrug, carding his hand through his curls.

She smiles. “Good.“

Pulling their bodies flush, she plants a swift, tender kiss upon his lips. (Always a treasure to savor, no matter how fleeting the circumstances.) Then, leading by example, she tucks herself back under the covers, patting the adjacent pillow in invitation.

Entirely smitten, Steven follows in turn.

“Anyways, as usual I was completely right,” she says, nestling herself against his side once more.

His brows raises, an amused chuckle rumbling in his chest. “About—?”

Grinning, she reaches up boop the tip of his nose.

“You do make for a beautiful nightlight, silly.”

#su #su future #steven universe #connie maheswaran #connverse #steven/connie #su fanfic #my writing stuff #glowweek

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starplusfourletters · 8 months

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I read vision of the future (hand of thrawn book 2 aka Who Scams the Scammers)

(spoilers) and once again it turned into a liveblog, apologies

Hold up are we doing Warrior Cats? Is this Warrior Cats Planet??

What base is “arm around your waist to serve as a psychic translator conduit”

Omigod I WISH my Warrior Cat name were “Jaded of Mara”

Everything I know about Soontir Fel I learned from x wing but I would not have guessed his primary motivation to be "dirt"

@ luke and mara: the girls are talkingggggg

North Barris Spaceport has me twitching

Ghent not remembering who the president is and just assuming it’s probably Leia. I mean fair

What base is "holding hands to brace yourselves over a swarm of flesh eating insects"

So we’re finally asking why Mara ISN’T actually dark side and the answer is… shrug emoji?

Man Zahn really is stuck on “character bonding hike” as a device huh. But consider I eat that shit up

Oh No Lando is racist

LMAO at “so oblivious you need a child pterodactyl to tell you to just kiss already” to “besides I don’t want my life to be like spiderman three I hated that movie” to “kissing with dubious consent” ALL ON THE SAME PAGE like Zahn finally realized he really needed to get this show on the road

LMAO at Ghent getting a free pass from Pellaeon to hack the empire. Like you’re just going to get the thing you need and not steal all of our military and political secrets right? Riiiight? Even more LMAO at the fact that that would probably not even occur to Ghent

When everyone assumes they're the protagonist so finding this one macguffin is their job personally. Like guys I like the energy but maybe we've got enough different plans to do the same thing (the exception, hilariously, being Luke) (and Oh No it turns out Luke is the one to find the macguffin because You Have to Follow Your Heart and Let the MacGuffin Come to You. I eat that shit up also)

Mara’s just... So great.

Not to make everything about my blorbo but absolutely to make everything about my blorbo I do wonder to what extent Ahsoka’s characterization post-Rebels doesn’t click for me is because a lot of the more obvious directions for Oldsoka overlap with Mara, and the powers that be didn’t want to reinvent the Mara Jade wheel. Not to say they have similar characterization – Mara has terminal sam coded dean girl syndrome – but idk, in dynamic range maybe? Calling out bullshit, weaponizing her own abrasiveness, covering insecurity with humor, being Kind of a Lot with a side of trust issues at any given moment – there are modes Mara and Youngsoka share that didn’t pass to Oldsoka apparently. Idk possibly all this is just me wanting them to TALK

Establishing that you can do evil things for selfless reasons without necessarily being in any danger of falling to the dark side is... Philosophically interesting

We interrupt this tale of political espionage to bring you Jedi Relationship Counseling (spoiler alert: communication is key)

"That part of her life [Mara’s time with Palpatine] had died unmourned" I mean mourned a little bit. Mourned for at least a book and a half

I've been willing to suspend my disbelief on everything in this book until "both Luke and Mara forget that ysalamiri exist"

I will never not be a sucker for The Movements and Transferred Ownership of Emotionally Significant Weapons

Oh No thrawn made a second foundation

The Aing-Tii seem OP but whatever

Oh No the second foundation forgot to close the garage doors

(Re: The Jade’s Fire) I know Mara’s having a Moment, and I promise I’m taking it seriously, but when the warrior cat asked “What is it you want, Mara Jade” my WHOLE BRAIN responded with "I want Hermione Granger! And a rocket ship!"

Moranda has real Kevin from home alone energy and I'm living for it

Is it bad that I’m actually kinda happy the Imperials’ Bothawui shield plan worked? Like, they had a really interesting plan and I’m happy for them. They earned it

WAIT IS MORANDA DEAD FR?

What base is “full mind meld while you’re fighting for your lives”

Who would win: ~1.5 Jedi, 2 sentinel droids droidekas, or Artoo with a sauntering gun

If I had a nickel for every time this duology explicitly established Jedi can’t go completely without oxygen, even when in a trance, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot but which makes me feel like the Ahsoka show had a weirdly specific axe to grind with the source material

Luke’s proposal to Mara is Just. The. Funniest. Thing. That’s some Anakin-level cringe and the prequels aren’t even out yet. He truly is his father’s son.

I mean POV there’s this guy and for a couple years you want to kill him, and then you realize that’s more of a You Problem, so then you’re friendquaitances for a decade mostly because you don’t approve of the shit he’s getting into, and then you have one (1) honest conversation and get caught in a death trap and he’s like “so I think the next step for us is marriage”

LEIAAAAAA! Full Jedi Knight Leia is both terrifying and hot. I would run.

“So it is treason” – Some random guy

Lando needs to be on the New Republic payroll simply for being willing to speak to any of the other characters and also he needs a raise. This poor guy getting called on to command the entire New Republic fleet mid-battle and he’s like “I’ve been a civilian for 15 years and also I knew you would pull some horse piss like this steve”

Mara Jade, Imperial protege. Skills include: Identifying load-bearing walls. (Now all I want is Property Brothers: Sith Edition)

Mara please. Luke please. These absolute idiots. This is some pear scene shit. I hope nothing bad happens to them ever

The whole back half of this book has been an emotional rollercoaster for me specifically because I wanted Flim to be Thrawn FR soooooo baddddd. And now I’m sad. His name literally means scam don’t do this to me Zahn

I’ve been amused by all the Star Wars universe idioms but I gotta take a moment to specifically showcase “burned your sky-arches.” Karrde is a delight to have in class

Having an independent intelligence agency that’s supposed to work for both the New Republic and the Empire seems absolutely unhinged but go off I guess

When the New Republic and Empire sign peace accords and Luke can’t even be bothered to show up

Mara is great and her arc is fuckin hilarious to me. The narrative has identified her as The Damaged One and I’m like???? She came to terms with her troubled past, drew her own boundaries regarding the Dark Side, recognized that there are people who care about her instead of pre-emptively pushing them away, and resolved to form deeper emotional connections. Smash cut to ROTS Anakin whose physical and psychic damage has literally turned his brain into oatmeal

Again I know this was before the prequels Mad points for explicitly saying Mara needed to form attachments to become a Jedi. Zahn being pretty gangsta there

OH NO THEMB

#long post #hand of thrawn #vision of the future #star wars legends #mara jade #ghent #timothy zahn #ahsoka tano #because ahsoka just sneaks into all my mental processes sorry

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pineapplefulfillseveryneed · 4 months

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Sparks tour 2023

Posting this close to a whole year after the fact, but a tour this good really takes time for me to process. My chest was constantly exploding with how much I loved it all and I have no idea how to put that into words. (I've fully come to understand why Sparks themselves stick with a lovely audience photo after every show accompanied by a massive "THANK YOU!".) However I do want to preserve my tour memories with more detail as well, so at a risk of terrible writing... here's part one of me attempting to write it all down. I went to 5 shows (Manchester, Royal Albert Hall x2, Utrecht and Brussels) and I'll be making posts for all of them. (...I am unreasonably excited to talk about the show in Brussels, but all in good time.) This first post will probably be the longest one as I will be including my first reactions to all the songs, and will equally talk about Mr. B's set in detail :) (Spoiler alert: he too was absolutely amazing and contributed considerably to how great everything was.)

Show #1: Bridgewater Hall, Manchester (may 27, 2023)

Things had not gone smoothly at all for me with the ticket sale for this show, but it worked out amazingly as the result was that @where-did-the-groove-go got to be my concert buddy which was such an honour! It was her first Sparks show and my first one of the tour and honestly, you can't do much better than to start of with a Manchester show. I had been worried about how far away our seats would be but it was a lot closer than photos of the venue had made it seem and we had an amazing view: we were in the centre of the middle of the first balcony, the seats were on a slight slope so no heads were blocking our view. Both of us had decided not to listen to the album before the show as it had only been out for a day. It was a tough decision to make, but it was absolutely the right one :D Okay, onto the show!!

Opening act: Mr. B The Gentleman Rhymer

I was so excited to see Mr. B! I've known about him for years independently of Sparks and had missed out on seeing him with the Hippopotamus tour, so FINALLY I was seeing Mr. B! He came on in an amazing outfit and graced us with the opening lines of... Here Comes Bob?! I was losing my shit! We're not just being treated to Mr. B, but we're treated to Mr. B playing Sparks?! I am not normally one to enjoy Sparks covers, but I was having the time of my life! I love this guy! He then went on to play the Mr. B classic All Hail The Chap! (my sister would be jealous hehe), which I loved so much! The audience was a little slow to catch on, but eventually got there with doing their part which I was happy about. This was followed up by once again familiar notes... Amateur Hour?! MORE SPARKS?? Are you kidding me right now, what did we do to deserve this! IT WAS SO GOOD! After which it didn't end, because then he went on to play Get In The Swing (which is one of my favourite songs of all time - I was being very normal and chill about everything). It took me a moment to grasp the fact we were being treated a full-blown Sparks medley, because it didn't stop there and he just kept going with the Sparks songs. The medley lasted nearly 10 minutes and my mind was blown at many points. He included so many songs that I had only ever dreamed of hearing live. I was having THE BEST TIME. He ended the medley by loudly singing "ALL YOU EVER THINK ABOUT IS SEX!!!!". I was laughing so much, it really was the perfect medley. The next song was one of his own songs that I hadn't heard yet but it had me chuckling so much, a song called Looking Forward To Leaving that he thought might resonate with the Sparks sensibility and their fans. (All too right, sir, all too right.) He finished his set with a cover of Suburban Homeboy and I couldn't have been happier. THE Suburban Homeboy supreme covering that song, Mr.B you have all my love. Sparks had yet to hit the stage but this evening was already made. (@dinkydiamond had seen the show the night before and like a good friend who doesn't spread spoilers, had only told me that at many points she had thought about how much I was going to love it. I hadn't even thought about the fact that that statement would include Mr. B's set to such a degree!)

Mr. B's setlist

(You may enjoy listening to the medley first before knowing what songs were part of the medley, so proceed with caution. I've added asterisks to the titles of the songs within it that blew me out of my seat the most.)

Here Comes Bob

All Hail The Chap!

Medley: Amateur Hour, Get In The Swing*, Big Boy, Moustache, What Are All These Bands So Angry About?*, Strange Animal*, Mickey Mouse, I Predict, When I'm With You, Missionary Position*, All You Ever Think About Is Sex*

Looking Forward To Leaving

Suburban Homeboy

_____

The music played in the hall was SO TENSE AND DRAMATIC. You just got to love and respect Sparks for their music picks to play in the hall before the show, they really know how to set the scene and get the audience excited and anxious in equal amounts. (A few shows later we learned it was film music by Bernard Hermann, which really was such an amazing choice. I'll come back to this subject later on with a bit more info on the songs in my write-up of another show.)

The big event! ~Sparks!~

HOLY SHIT their entrance music was so exciting and beautiful!!!! Russell's outfit! GOD YEAH. It also immediately became clear this audience was going to be AMAZING, everyone was so ready to go! RON WAS WEARING JORDANS!!!! (A dream of mine to see one day!!!) To a lot of very loud cheering, Russell proceeded to do his famed "So.... Manchester, may we start?" to start things off. Still the perfect opener, and I never tire of when So May We Start kicks off and Russell does the jump. The audience response was amazing, which was really fun to see from the balcony! I was really enjoying the lights, which also were especially great to see from our balcony seats! (Also Russell gets an award for performer of the year for pretending to look at his imaginary watch while singing "it's time to start".)

I loved doing the ah-ah-ah's with the entire audience for The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte, and it was so cool to see it live! The lights were absolutely excellent. But a gif will say what I loved the most about the performance of that song a lot better than words ever could, so:

Russell was being really sweet about how playing Manchester is always really great and then added it was the "first time we play this ProPEr THeAtrE, but uh we'll try to make due anyway". (Footage of him saying this exists and it's extremely blessed.) He spoke about the new album and asked the audience which number it is. The audience incoherently shouted some things back, to which Russell's response was to roast us all by saying "Clearly you don't know."

Eaten By The Monster Of Love was a totally unexpected treat that blew my mind! It's quite possibly my favourite song from Angst In My Pants and I love the synth line so much! So lucky!!! I loved Russell's dancing during Angst In My Pants, I had really missed his dancing and with that song it's always especially excellent. Beaver O'Lindy blew my brains out! I'd not expected that at all! The lights were amazing (the spotlight for the accordion parts, the portraying of the letters, light flashing on Ron from all sides - I've got footage of this and somehow it looked especially good this night), shouting along to B-E-A-V-E-R, Russell's falsetto... What a perfect song, it's got it all :D "Yes I knooow - WOO!" When I'm With You was so special, it's so blessed that they chose to play it. It's how we all feel about them, and what's better than to sing it back at them while they're playing it for us :) It's also a song that highlights Russell's amazing voice especially well, his voice absolutely kills me and I wouldn't have it any other way. I also loved those swirly lights! And what we've gone on to affectionately refer to as "Russell's swim dance". Nothing Is As Good As They Say It Is is an absolute banger and it was my favourite of the 3 singles that had already been released before the album came out - I was so ready to go :D I loved Russell's moves for this song so much! Something that really stayed with me is that he actually spun around for "Take a look around and you'll understand". (Can I love him even more?)

The time arrived for the first new song from the album that me and @where-did-the-groove-go hadn't heard yet, which Russell introduced with these words: "This is another brand new song for any of you who feel like maybe you're not on the right course." *small pause* "It's a song that's called 'It Doesn't Have To Be That Way'." ...I was simultaneously having an out of body and in of body experience and already felt teary eyed, and the song hadn't even started yet. It hit me really hard, it was so beautiful and I am so grateful that this was how I first heard this song. "It doesn't have to be that way, OKAY". I was literally holding my heart throughout the whole song (which I was doing quite often during the show anyway but, I literally couldn't do anything else). Absolutely transfixed. "I'll pay for it, I'll pay for it". Thank you so much Sparks for having our backs <3 Genuinely one of the most beautiful experiences and songs ever. (We all spoke about it for many days, for weeks, even months after the show. And obviously I am still talking about it now. I've got my full essay on it elsewhere so you'll be spared of that here - I think you all understand what I mean anyway.)

BALLS hit me in the face like a brick! (Positive. SO VERY POSITIVE.) It's one of my current absolute favourite songs and I had been raving about Balls all the time for the last year or so! I would have never expected to hear it live, AND HERE WE WERE! I was completely losing my shit!!! It was intense, banging, and also beautiful. Also the lights during the instrumental bit?! The way the light filled the hall?!! R&R were both going at it with full energy, I couldn't love it more! Balls and shouting along to it with my fist in the air was one of the absolute biggest highlights of the show for me! (And there were so many highlights.) I am pretty sure there was at least one BALLS [insert fist emoji here] aimed in my direction which I am so grateful for! It was so cool! *synced up BALLS!* Hearing one of my favourite bits of lyrics live, "Do you want to wait, or crash the gate?", was just something else. Balls is one of THE inspirational songs of all time. At least to me. (After the show 3 friends seperately came up to me and shouted BALLS! at me before saying anything else and I love you all so much, you all really know me well [teary eyed smile emoji] That was really special to me. I've made some gifs of some of my Balls footage too, most of my footage of it is rightfully feral but some of it came out well: 1, 2.)

Shopping Mall Of Love remains such a win live, Ron is appropriately intense and cool (not that Ron is ever not cool - Ron is always cool) and I love the way he performs the song. Russell did some great dancing behind Ron too, and also walked around like a badass while singing his "Come, the shopping mall of love, come with me" parts. Award winning! Also THE CLAPS. Always, THE CLAPS. And Manchester audiences know how it's done [fire emoji] Toughest Girl In Town was yet another absolutely amazing and surprising setlist choice, so cool! What I especially liked was that I could see Sarah and Amanda losing their shit to it downstairs in the stalls, dancing so hard in their seats :D That really added to it - some big Toughest Girl In Town fans down there! (I am so proud of my friends.) Also.. THE TAMBOURINE!!! [heart emoji]

The next song that was new to us was Escalator, and I loved it SO MUCH!!! It had me immediately. The driving machine type of sound, the very clear and bright sounding synth sounds, Russell's escalator dance (!!!!! which he did a lot, btw, almost the entire song), the lights! This song just *feels* amazing, the lights going up and down - hell yeah. Russell's escalator dance really is everything to me. I was holding my heart the entire time. I live in this song now, this is now my new home. You can wake me up in the middle of the night for a live performance of Escalator. Any time. (To say it was an instant favourite is an understatement.)

We Go Dancing was similarly new to us, and sadly it felt like it went over most of the audience's head a bit because obviously very few people had heard the album so far and it's a hard one for catching the lyrics live. A very intense experience but also really cool, it's a super blessed thing to be able to hear songs live before hearing it elsewhere. After hearing it I was excited to find out later what the song would have been about.

*Ron plays piano motif* OH MY GOD BON VOYAGE?! YOU WHAT?!! Russell's vocals were literally everything and I loved all the arm swaying, it was such a sweet experience and another song that so clearly shows how awesome Manchester audiences are when it comes to Sparks. I loved this so much! Russell's moves for the "two of you, two of them" bit were absolutely *chef's kiss* too :D All of this was soon followed by me gasping yet again when the first notes of Music That You Can Dance To filled the hall! My literal reaction was OH MY GOD THEY KEPT IT!!!!! *proceeds to go nuts* One of The Live Songs Ever, a song I already loved before hearing it live, and possibly my favourite live song from the tour the year prior too. (I am pretty sure I screamed quite audibly and notably on the previous tour every time they played it, and I am happy to report I still feel exactly the same.) We all know this gets everyone out of their seats, and with this being Manchester it was especially amazing. It was so great to watch everyone equally going nuts from the balcony, party of all time! Russell's mic stopped working at some point though which was sad, but it only lead to him clapping and dancing harder. So mic be damned, it was possibly even more fun and special because of it.

You know there's little point in sitting down after Music That You Can Dance To (and I don't really want to sit down after that to begin with, if at all, but I am a bit self-conscious about dancing in the balcony), so we leaned on our seats for a second while the opening notes of When Do I Get To Sing My Way were played. It obviously *really* took off again rather quickly :D Unfortunately the mic problem came back but this time it was rapidly solved and Russell got to sing almost the whole song anyway, and I can not overstate how great it was to watch this whole audience dancing.

The party continued with The Number One Song In Heaven which obviously always wins, and of course included Ron's dance - HELL YEAH. However towards the end of the song Russell's microphone stopped working YET AGAIN. He was handed another microphone, which was equally not doing anything, and so he yeeted the mic. (all too right honestly, how many broken mics are you going to hand him?! That was not ok.) Of course this really sucked, especially for Russell, but this man's a true professional and made all of this extra fun for everyone: he went at it extra hard with the clapping and dancing and no one in the audience was going to let this ruin anything either. Russell gestured for the audience to sing the lines and we *really* did our best. ([salute emoji] On it boss!) It ended up being extra special because of it and we all still had the absolute best time. But of course at the same time it was rightfully upsetting. Once Russell had a mic that worked again he expressed his disappointment in not being able to sing the end of the song, which is one of his favourite parts. (Oof tech team, bad job.)

The show went on and Ron did a false start for This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us which is always a great time, people go nuts and then the song doesn't start hahaha. This audience was so phenomenal, it was the best time. And such a party when the song did properly start! Obviously there was a really large applause after that :) Which seemed to only stop because they started playing Gee, That Was Fun. It was so beautiful and touching. And really sad because indeed, noo, we don't want this to end! The standing ovation afterwards was massive and so very love filled. From my perspective even the bouncers seemed in awe with the audience. This audience could switch from going nuts to completely silent to a loving standing ovation in an instant, depending on what was happening on stage. It really was one of the best audiences I've been part of, I loved it so much! ^^ Ron and Russell very sweetly waved before leaving the stage :)

~Encore!~

They came back to a lot of cheering to which Russell said "Thank you - THE PARTY IS NOT OVER!" and we all cheered yet again, as A Love Story started. Another new song! WOOOOHH THIS WAS HITTING HARD! I loved it so much! And the lights with the massive X's were so cool! Absolutely a highlight! When My Baby's Taking Me Home started me and @where-did-the-groove-go yelled out in unison which is still so funny to me and also, all too right, all too right!!! It doesn't matter if you've seen it live a couple of times or if it's your first time - it HITS. The audience was once again utterly amazing, really heightening the experience. (ALSO, the rainbow lights that fades to white!)

During the band introduction Ron was still clapping for the other band members when Russell went "oh yeah..." and went to stand beside Ron and did a cheesy grin, "the guy who writes much of what you've heard this evening and what you've heard on albums 1 to 26", *Ron does a Ron-cringe*, "my big brother, Ron Mael." This started a RON RON RON chant which made me so happy :D When it seemed to die down just a tiny bit, Russell interrupted and said "He says thank you." asdjhds, sir XD He also added that Manchester shows are always amazing but "this one tops them all". [insert teary eyed smile emoji] (True though, it really was one of the best shows I've been to, if not the best one!) After that, All That was such a smiley lovely performance and I did quite a bit of internal screaming with how lovely exactly it all was and had been. (When I watch footage back I can't help but say "aww" out loud quite a few times. It really was so sweet.)

Something I hadn't realised as it happened but learned about later was that they were so happy with their bow - which was so fun. I had avoided spoilers of course but I learned that there was a bit of bowing-chaos in Oxford. So in Manchester there was a 'Wahey, we nailed the bow!!' moment after bowing XD (I made a post about that, it's too good.)

MASSIVE STANDING OVATION. Russell forced the microphone on Ron, saying "Here! He hasn't spoken on the tour so it's only cos it's Manchester", as he proceeds to evily walk away. This moment was so funny to me because Russell clearly knew very well what he was doing and Ron was just standing there smiling looking at this happening, with no chance of handing the mic back. His speech was wonderful and really sweet, starting off with saying that the citizens of other cities were going to hate him for this XD The audience was so silent while he spoke and didn't start cheering until he had actually finished speaking which was real nice. Russell wanted to grab the mic back after that but Ron didn't want to let it go yet, which was another moment I really enjoyed witnessing. Ron introduced Russell as the vocalist of the band, which had Russell standing there smiling really wide, after which Russell quickly grabbed the mic back. (I love them so much hahaha.) Russell asked to take a photo with "all of you fine people" (I am normal about this) and happily bounced after the photo was taken. The applause got going again and it was just the best. Russell blew kisses to people and the amount of love in the hall was just so damn high.

It felt like they didn't want to have to leave that stage and obviously we didn't want them to leave either. Everyone was just so happy to be there. What a show. What an audience. It really was the sweetest :)

Sparks setlist

So May We Start?

The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte

Eaten By The Monster Of Love

Angst In My Pants

Beaver O'Lindy

When I'm With You

Nothing Is As Good As They Say It Is

It Doesn't Have To Be That Way

Balls

Shopping Mall Of Love

The Toughest Girl In Town

Escalator

We Go Dancing

Bon Voyage

Music That You Can Dance To

When Do I Get To Sing 'My Way'

The Number One Song In Heaven (featuring Ron's dance)

This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us

Gee, That Was Fun

A Love Story

My Baby's Taking Me Home

All That

(I did not make it into the photo as I am behind Ron's head, but @where-did-the-groove-go and some other friends did make it in ^_^)

~ Bonus: post show shenanigans ~

After the show we were hanging out with a little group of us in the entrance hall of the venue, quite a lot of our tumblr people and even some of our friends from Japan were present which was so cool! It was so very nice to see everyone, whether it was seeing again or for the first time! I went to say hello to Mr. B who was manning his own merch table to let him know how much I'd loved his set, and that covering Sparks isn't easy to do in my opinion but that he truly nailed it. He said he had been nervous about it and only had had 2 weeks to prepare. (Sir that's incredible!) He was really lovely. He said he hoped to see me again and I gave him the cringiest: "Oh, you WILL!" (With fingerguns.) (...I really am like this.)

Our little group decided to check out the artists entrance, but there were so many people there and so when Ron and Russell actually *did* come out me and another friend both instinctively hid behind a wall. (Normal behaviour. ...but we just really don't want to crowd them.) There was another round of applause, which was really lovely. I was very busy hiding behind that wall though so I am not the most reliable person to say what happened next, but Ron and Russell kept their distance and stayed for a little bit to wave and smile at people which was really lovely. When they entered their car to leave, the fans instantly parted like the sea to clear the road for the car and I love that our fandom is like that :) We all waved as they passed by, and then ...the car had to immediately stop in front of a red traffic light 5 metres away. I absolutely lost it, you just can't make this up XD (We left immediately.) It was so hard for our group to then have to split up after such a lovely evening, but attempts to sleep needed to be made and there was the journey to London the next day. (Not that we slept much at all, there was a lot to discuss and think about.) Luckily a lot of us would be going on to London so at least we'd all be seeing each other again soon :)

#wow I finally managed to write this! *gives myself a medal* - stay tuned for part 2!#sparks tour 2023 #sparks tour 2023 europe #sparks #russell mael #ron mael #mr.b the gentleman rhymer #manchester #bridgewater hall #may 27 2023 #2023 #20's #i was there

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im-a-king-baby · 6 months

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hi ! first of all; i read ELYN over the easter weekend and stayed up till like five am waiting for it to get happy so i could sleep (i gave up) and i loved it so so much. It just feels like such a tangible, realistic outcome for them (if we ignore s3) it made me ache in that exact anxious yearning way the actual show does. Big ask and 100% appreciate it if the answer is no but are you planning to write more for them in that universe? Would love to see them when Wille is at university, or see Wille simply make some (oblivious?) uni friends, or see Sara and Simon interact again or honestly literally anything and everything.

secondly, and who knows maybe (probably) you’re aware of this but the photos/images in the fic do not appear as images but just as a text/error box? Is that intentional or did they break? I kept finding myself curious as to what image was put with the chapters haha

Hi!!! I hope you had a good easter... and went to sleep at some point... 😅

Thank you for alerting me about the images! I was not aware of that :( Although I guess that makes all those hours hardcoding the text threads and tumblr posts so they would work without images worth it 😂

I have gone through it all again and updated the image links so they are working for me now (let me know if they're still broken for you?).

There's nothing in them that's required to follow the fic, you just get to judge the time I spent procrastinating by making album covers and then sorting all the random pop songs I'd invented into albums (something that was definitely vital even though no one but me cares about the difference in vibe between Simme eras 🤣).

If you are just interested in the art, these are the 4 covers I used in the fic:

Sadly this fic was always destined to lose canon status after season 3 (although I am going to keep believing August's arc could go the ELYN route until proven otherwise).

Regarding sequels, prooobably not? Sorry :( I have more notes for Simon pov scenes during and before than anything set after because I'm not sure what more I have to say, (other than wanting to write something of ELYN Wille with Edvin's new haircut but basically all I've got is this:

For a moment Simon thinks Wilhelm isn’t even here, then the bleached blond head turns and it’s Wilhelm’s face and Wilhelm’s eyes and Wilhelm’s mouth dropping open in surprise at seeing Simon in the doorway. “You’re here,” Wilhelm says. “How are you -?” “You cut your hair.” It’s dumb. Obviously. But Simon hasn’t slept and Wilhelm’s hair is almost white, sharp and bristled, and Simon wants to touch it, to see if it hurts. “I…” Wilhelm hesitates. “There were always rules about my appearance, about how I was allowed to look, and I thought…” he reaches a hand to his hairline, his face falling a little. “Do you hate it?” The bristles give under his fingers, impossibly soft. He looks older, but also somehow younger, like he’s reclaiming the rebellious teen years that the crown never let him have. “I want to kiss you,” Simon says. The coffee shop is full of people. At least four that Simon can see are looking at them, not even trying to be subtle. There’s a camera tilted in their direction, but it’s not close. “Can I kiss you?” “I-” Wilhelm starts doing the same glance - who’s watching, who’s filming - then seems to catch himself, snorts a soft laugh and pulls Simon in. It's too short for Simon to catch hold of, but he can run his fingers through it and it's soft or ghost them over to catch the sharp edges of the tips, and it's Wilhelm and he's here, they're both here. And they're going to be okay.

#elyn fic #I do kind of want to write the fic where Simon leaves Bjarstad with Candace #but that is... not the happy ending...#local angst author can't imagine what happens after happy ending #I do want post-S3 roadtrip fic though and I might be prepared to write it

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speaker-of-the-void-cats · 4 months

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"You must learn to tease apart the hues of your own heart." —Parables of the Allspring.

Hey all! I'm a Warlock main named Matt and I've been posting my scattershot Destiny musings, ramblings, and theories since Lightfall's release. In that time, I've really enjoyed exploring the mysteries of the lore and honing my thoughts on Destiny's story through various posting styles. Particularly, I've loved exploring topics like the nature of the Darkness and the Veil, and their place in the story, as well as the generally rhyming, looping, spiraling structure of the game's narrative. I also love Eris, Drifter, Savathûn, and Osiris!

Sometimes I get a little all over, especially in those early posts, with big leaps and a lot of my own writing connecting the dots in an attempt to see a bit into the future. You'll have to pardon some of them, as I'm sure a few have aged pretty poorly or are just straight up bad. But as we've gone through the seasons and learned more, I've tried a sort of variation on web-weaving and assemblage by using lore entries, images, video, and sometimes song lyrics and poetry in a particular order and context to evoke specific moods or convey big, hard to articulate ideas and speculation. Sometimes, I just explore a theme or specific lore nook that fascinates me. It's a weird little practice in meaning-making I really like and the process has helped me unearth possible connections between things I've never considered in my many years following the lore.

As we move through The Final Shape, I wanted to finally compile a list of links to all my posts. Pardon the amount of repetition and, probably, off-the-wall speculation, but I hope you find something interesting if you decide to check them out! Also, keep an eye out for links. Sometimes it's simply the source text on Ishtar, other times.... something more. Please keep in mind that all these are products of the moment in time they were posted in, so topics I explored in early ones may have questions answered in the seasons since, or theories may have been proven unequivocally wrong. The list will largely go from earliest to most recent, and I'll put a * next to my favorites!

The Veil, Nezarec, and Jakob Bohme

Seeing the murals above the Veil enclosure

EMBRACE THE DARKNESS

Thank You, Verse 154i:4 - Call the Thrall

MCXLLII-I, forthcoming.

The EDZ saw paracausal conflict long before the Collapse

Pattern is system and system is sequence, but what is sequence?

Forsaken Lightfall

Deterministic Chaos

Eight

SALVAGE THE TRUTH

Aren't they beautiful?

"What is this feeling? I do not want it."

"They desired meaning. A Winnower to shape the garden."*

"How many legends of katabasis do we have, Ikora?"*

The Sundial

The Dreaming Cities

Not Light, not Dark: Power.*

Chiasmus*

Conspiracy Theory-D

The Truth in the Darkness...

Have you ever been afraid of your own Shadow?*

[I could be wrong. Is it possible the Black Heart will beat again?]*

Prismatic Hearts*

"We are unique emanations of the same shared Light."

Kugelblitz

Final attempts to understand before the Shape is unveiled*

[The following posts contain entries, imagery, and spoilers for the Final Shape and Echoes]

Paradrome

Speaker's Sight — Study the voice. Gaze into the heart.

"Focus. The Pyramid distracts. Nothing more."

It all means one thing

DECRYPTION KEY: 3136664202-777

Ruinous Effigy

There is only SUFFERING

SPOILER ALERT

Hope for the Future

It's not over

Echoing

Echoes of Deep Hidden Truth

Solipsism

Anima Mundi

Caught up in a web

II. Theory**

Gardener|ɿɘwonniW**

Cipher**

Eclipse**

"What is 'OXA,' and who was 'MSund12'?"

I know you're not afraid of a little dark...

How do I live?

Half-Truths**

!lettinggo*

Abyssus abyssum invocat***

THE POINT***

Eyes up, Guardian

"The road ahead is unknown, but time tells us many things. The moments that become past in turn become blueprints for the future. In this space, there is no right or wrong. "We find a contemporaneous merging of what is known and what is unknown here. Somewhere between the knowns and unknowns lies the real. The tangible. "There is a weight to it; a feeling that tells you what you hold is true. "But what if the truth hasn't been told? What if the truth is a lie? "New paths present themselves. Blueprints change. We walk the line of truth every day. "But now, the line that holds the gentle balance has been crossed. "The truth is, this won't be the last time."

—Excerpt from the Symmetry pamphlet, "A Place Between"

Reading for world-building is a skill. I have seen brilliant people, laureates, inventors, Ph.D.s, try to read fiction with deep world-building and fail completely, looping back, rereading, never following events, trapped in a sense of muddled wandering. Reading for world-building requires retaining information without context: a term, a place, a coin, a category comes up once and we know what that is—a puzzle piece—and that our task is to gather up these pieces as the author drops them, and to slowly assemble the whole. This is not easy. Human memory needs hooks for facts: a mnemonic, a story, context, something; grueling textbook rote-learning fades quickly, but a story of the statesman or the king, that's what makes knowledge stay. To retain puzzle pieces that don't connect, dropped without context, is a skill that not all have. All had it once: it is how children read, every book, poster, and headline a stream of unknown terms, far too many to ask about them all, but the child retains them, trusting that they will connect to something someday. Kids collect Earth's puzzle pieces every time they read, but as we move to grown-up books they all use the same picture, and define immediately those terms they fear a reader may not know. Thus the skill of keeping puzzle pieces fades, unless we read books set in other worlds, new puzzle pictures which make us retain the skill, as frogs sometimes retain their tadpole tails into adulthood. This—many have observed—is why most F&SF readers come to the genre young, it's hard to start in adulthood when one's puzzle memory skill has sat atrophied. We find dozens of other puzzle pieces—creatures, buried engines, monstrous plants—but they don't connect either, no explanations, no recurrences. We trust. We ponder. We wade through the clutter of clashing technologies, tales of degeneration, glories lost, but there's no fall-of-space-Rome story to connect it up. We can guess at one, as we can guess the missing end of the story of the strange plants, as we can guess at several ways rats could gain language if time passed and—click—we see it. These puzzle pieces do not fit together—rather this puzzle-maker trusts that we are puzzle-masters and know the archetypes that must fill in between (a rise, an age, a destined king.) So we spread our disconnected puzzle pieces out, not assuming that the strange creatures come from one origin, the ruins from one era, and as we spread out, looking not for direct connections but for fragments of arcs and colors, our 100 puzzle pieces let us glimpse an image so vast it would take 100,000—an image large enough to capture true Deep Future, years numbered in millions, where contours that do connect do so at scales which make the layers of Freud's Rome appear shallow as coats of paint.

—Excerpts from The Path of the New Sun by Ada Palmer, introduction to The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe

#trace the vermicular path #destiny 2 #destiny #destiny the game #destiny lore #d2 #destiny2 #destinythegame #pinned post #intro post

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alianoralacanta · 28 days

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hiii alianora! i was thinking about your essay regarding ferrari PR 2022, and as a new fan i was wondering about the events that took after. did charles really threaten to leave ferrari and did ferrari hire vasseur for him (charles probably isn't the only reason but is it safe to say he played into the decision), charles denies he played a part in binotto's exit but then again he wouldn't expose team internal politics. a journalist leo turrini mentioned "Leclerc's fractured relationship with Binotto" as one of the reasons why his position was at risk when the rumors first came out, but i don't know how credible he is.

i also read that elkann had been looking into fred being a replacement a year before 2022 (if that Italian press report is to be believed), and that the former ferrari CEO actually wanted to bring fred into the team in like 2018 (?) because binotto was never meant to be TP, instead he would have been in the technical department if the CEO had his way.

i am most curious about if it is true that charles really did threaten to leave the team and if this was the final push for ferrari to hire vasseur. of course charles denies all this, ferrari denies all this, and i'm not so sure which reports to believe haha

Warning! Long post alert!

Firstly, I promise that I do not share my Tumblr account password with anyone and only I can read the messages in my inbox prior to posting the responses.

This disclaimer is because this is the second time in three Ferrari posts that my thought process has been interrupted by Charles Leclerc answering part of the question for me. In this case, he was in the press conference and it was mentioned that Mattia Binotto was going to Monza. Charles' face fell so fast (video) that it could only have been caused by hearing about Mattia's weekend plans. (I've heard that Nico Hulkenberg reckoned Mattia might not be Audi team boss yet, but am not yet sure what to conclude about this or Charles' reactions to this).

He never said one word against Mattia, did Charles. However, those who have followed my mini-series answering OP's Ferrari questions will understand by now that this makes things worse, not better. The silence indicates less liking and respect for Mattia, not more.

That is not someone who wants Mattia to be anywhere near him. This is one of those rare relationships within F1 where "fractured" might be the right word - and I don't think Charles has healed as much from it as he thought prior to the conference.

I don't think Charles had to say that he was threatening to leave Ferrari. Just say that he had to believe in the projects within which he worked. We can connect the dots, even if Charles was never going to leave in 2022 and that this qualifies as another "lie to defend his chosen team".

Rather like in 2023, where Charles didn't have to say he was considering Red Bull (even though he totally was), only hint that he was willing to respond to Red Bull's entreaties with more than a polite rebuff this time around. Plausible deniability through elision.

Verbum sapienti. The Ferrari board can take a hint ;)

The biggest factor, I think, in Mattia Binotto losing his place at Ferrari was that Mattia didn't truly know what to do with a plan that had progressed ahead of schedule. However, the board also knew that it couldn't long-range plan around Carlos Sainz the way it could around Charles Leclerc. Carlos may have understood the conventional part of Ferrari but could never have grasped the mythic element. (That won't be a problem for him at Williams, whose mythic element leaned heavily towards pragmatism and is more a light dusting rather than a major factor these days). I think Fred Vasseur has been interested in the Ferrari position for a long time, but I don't think Ferrari was ready for him until Mattia Binotto left. That was more to do with "vacancy and interest finally matched up" rather than anything Charles Leclerc-specific. Especially since Fred Vasseur had also previously worked with Carlos Sainz. I don't recall Fred even being in the conversation in 2018. There were two factions within Ferrari in 2018 for what should be done about its F1 team following Sergio Marchionne's death. There were those who supported Sergio's expressed preferences, including promoting Leclerc, and those who preferred to go a different direction, including keeping Kimi Raikkonen. I do not recall either side being confirmed as having a preference about the new Ferrari team boss, but I would not be surprised to discover each side had a different preference and that at least one of them had been disappointed on that front. Mattia Binotto had already been in a senior position on the technical side when all of this began, so he'd probably have been head of the engine or chassis department, or a technical director of both, had someone else been made the team principal.

#f1 #ferrari #charles leclerc #fred vasseur

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sonkitty · 8 months

Text

The Tied Hands (Good Omens 2)

This post was last updated 03/12/2024.

The Pocket Trick uses word play. Know that. It's also, in my experience, a very difficult collection of puzzles.

This concept was the most funny alarm set off in my head when I found it though it certainly took some time to appreciate as it sunk in. There is a lot of theorizing on top of theorizing. I am reasonably sure of my main point here though.

We are going over only Triple Part 1.

The images below are significantly brightened to show things. The GIFs are slowed down too.

First, let me show you the whole thing that will not be as slowed down as its parts:

Watch this:

Did you see it? As Crowley's left hand moved forward, the tassels of his tie hid themselves. The one furthest to Crowley's right hid behind the jacket on the jacket's outside. The one closest to Crowley's left hide itself inside the jacket.

The tie strands are connected to the hands.

Do you hear me?

The tie strands are connected to the hands.

No, really. They are. They are his Tied Hands.

The tie strands are connected to the hands because they are Crowley's Tied Hands.

The tassels are their thumbs. All four thumbs hid themselves.

These Tied Hands are also mirrored. The tie strand closest to Crowley's right is tied to his actual left hand. The tie closest to Crowley's left is tied to his actual right hand.

The one furthest to Crowley's right was not completely hidden, but it was not showing as much of itself when the clip started. The left thumb is not visible on screen, but the left hand is at least.

Meanwhile, the strand furthest to Crowley's left was more visible, just like his actual right thumb was visible on screen.

Am I sure? You have no idea how many times I had to check this clip to be sure because I definitely missed it the first time around on trying to document the found touches for The Pocket Trick.

Let's watch some more.

Stop. Look at this thing.

From what I've looked up, that's something like a vertex touch from the left thumb joint to the jacket though the blur is giving it a pass, probably because of what will happen soon. They are edges meeting each other. I've resorted to calling this moment the "hinge" or a "hinge touch".

This hinge moment is going to be enough for whatever the touch wants all the same. It looks like we have another such vertex touch between the left jacket sleeve and the back of the jacket. They help create a small pocket with the watch involved. More clarity will happen with the left thumb joint later. The watch is on red alert.

We'll go over that soon. Remember that this thing happened here.

Now let's check the GIF again:

The tassels showed themselves again as the thumbs showed themselves again. As the left hand moved down toward the bottom of the screen, its corresponding tie strand, the one furthest to Crowley's right, mimicked the left hand, as indeed a mirrored hand would do. That clasp at the top of the tassel is its thumb joint. Crowley's actual left thumb joint is visually in front of an edge. The tassel tied to it is at the edge of the lapel of the jacket.

It is following the left hand...for now.

Let's see some more:

This time, both tassels still hid themselves even though the right thumb is partly visible. We can probably thank the index finger, but we are not going to dwell on it.

My current point is still...the tie strands are connected to the hands.

Now watch this:

In fact, this part is so important, let's take the exact shot I want others to notice:

This moment right here, this moment...is when the Tied Hands' mirror flipped.

How did the mirror flip?

Oh dear me...

Way over to the right is a human carrying a red purse. She was on screen from the start though not on screen the entire time. She has started us off with a Rainbow Connection. We are on red since that's the understood starting color for a rainbow. If she didn't start us off just from being on screen, then the red alert from the watch made it happen and initiated the entire thing because then red was ready.

There is a pocket between Crowley's left hand, the watch, the left jacket sleeve, and the left jacket side-to-back area. It's a lot like our previous vertex touch but not quite. This pocket is special because the left jacket sleeve is more evident to be over the edge of that back area of the jacket. Their connection is not direct edge-to-edge, or close enough anyway, like the earlier version. One edge extends over the other. Other parts of the apparel were more evenly lined up with edges before too, but here, they are not trying so hard. Due to the lack of a helpful manual for The Pocket Trick and the need to use my imagination with word play, we are calling this thing an over-the-rainbow touch.

At this point of the tied-hands' mirror flip, Crowley's own reflection can be found in the window pane he is near. Through that window pane is a car reflection that can be found.

That car has a rear light that is red—which is probably how the watch received the red alert. Not only that, somehow, through lighting, angles, movement, whatever, more red can be found partly in Crowley's reflection itself.

So now we have not just a Rainbow Connection...we have a Rainbow Connection Reflection.

That is what flipped the mirror of the Tied Hands.

Am I sure? In this cut, yes. It is far harder to determine potential flips later.

It seems this particular touch is to introduce us to these Tied Hands. They'll swing around in the next touch, Triple Part 2, and do some confusing stuff in the Single, but otherwise, it has taken me a lot of play to figure out that the Tied Hands are active a lot of the story. They are not limited to The Pocket Trick.

Much like the touches of The Pocket Trick, retying is probably determined by figuring out the clues, and that's probably better suited for another post if I can ever figure out how to explain these clues to my satisfaction. I am yet to find a way, but I've at least found enough patterns to say the following: I think the Tied Hands retie for crossing thresholds. I think their imaginary mirror flips a lot more often than I ever thought until I started to examine the first few scenes of episode 1 cut by cut.

Crowley's belt is his Belt Head. I've never thought of it as having a mirror that flips, but it sure seems to work with the Tied Hands in some way.

Studying scenes cut buy cut is tedious work, so I'm not sure I'll ever get around to finishing and then further explaining to others.

Moving on...

The watch never gives the red alert again, but do you know what does?

Rear red lights on cars! They aren't available every time, but they are available a significant amount for the rest of the game. I guess they've been somehow collected into the Pocket Chain, likely through the first video frame showing a red rear light within the grate seen through the building window that is one of the sides of the Pocket Frame. It is the camera's left side, in particular.

Crowley turned his head—which is connected to his belt. That matters too, I'm sure.

Let's watch those tassels after the mirror flipped.

Did you see it? As Crowley's left hand went down at the start, the tassel on his left went down and hid in the jacket.

Then as his left hand went up, that tassel also went up.

The tassel on the right moved further inward to the jacket.

Both tassels got really sneaky because it was the one now newly tied to Crowley's left that had its own moment of visibility with the right-tied tassel out of the way. I had to check frame-by-frame repeatedly to catch that this thing happened that way. And think about it.

If the touch was waiting for a stronger clarity of both the left thumb joint and the jacket, it made sure it happened when that left tassel came out. The jacket has a vertex touch to its sleeve in front of a garbage bin that I did not mention earlier because I want to point out the tied hands. The left thumb joint has a vertex touch between what looks to be the front open area of the left side of the jacket and the belt. It's hard to tell with the dark clothing, even when brightened.

After this special moment, both tassels seemed satisfied with their job being done and lifted themselves off the vest, ensuring each respective tip is actually on the jacket by the time the whole affair was over.

I speculate the Tied Hands were being untied there.

All the same, my point from the start remains.

The tie strands were connected to the hands.

That is just one of so many things happening in The Pocket Trick.

Here are a couple of pictures I made. The first one was for humor's sake, but it helped nonetheless. The second is based on it with a few other notes. It's still funny. I am never ever getting over this thing.

...

I also tried to figure out more on the Rainbow Connection. That can be found here:

The Pocket Chain Rainbow Connection

...

Here are various posts I've made in my attempts to study retying:

GIF Set

Retying Work in Progress

Retying Work in Progress Part 2

Possible untying in the park

Retying studies continue... (park)

Park Reflections

Retying Study (coffee shop)

That's all I have for this post. More can be found in other parts about The Pocket Trick.

#crowley #good omens 2 #good omens #good omens s2 #david tennant #good omens season 2 #good omens analysis #good omens meta #crowley good omens #good omens crowley #good omens 2 threshold tricks #good omens 2 the pocket trick #good omens 2 meta #meta #word play #good omens gifs #good omens 2 gifs #good omens theories

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never-forget-viva-la-pluto · 21 days

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just so you know, you can be sued for stealing a cat, especially if its collared and microchipped. dont be a vile human being. have some compassion. maybe that persons cat is just an escape artist.

maybe if someone stole your pet, youd be fine with it, idk if you just let your pets go when youre tired of them. idk you.

but not having compassion is actually disgusting. do better.

Ok let's break this down since I'm going to, probably incorrectly, assume that your intentions are good and you are just woefully misinformed. For the sake of clarity, when I say indoor cat, I mean 100% indoor, and when I say outdoor cat, I mean a cat that is regularly let outside without a leash and isn't a feral or working barn cat.

1) "You can be sued for stealing a cat, especially if it's collared or microchipped".

Okay, so if you microchip an outdoor cat, you have wasted your money. Microchips are for finding your cat should it go missing. If an outdoor cat goes missing, you better hope someone picked it up and took it in bc 9/10 if your outdoor cat goes missing it's dead. Full stop. Hawks, coyotes, dogs, other cats, cars, eagles, wolves, cougars, etc all see that cat as food and cats may be OP for their size but a pack of coyotes whose territory is being shrunk by the day will find that cat very tasty. And in case you are confused, coyotes don't care if you sue them, they will eat the microchip and leave the bloodied collar with the bones.

But let's say you are worried about me getting sued, my response is: ok????? You seem to be under the impression that I am taking cats for a selfish reason and i am definitely not. I would do this for the cat's benefit, with no worries for my own. I'll get sued, I'll gladly take the court case if it means they keep their pets inside. But how would they know I took their cat? They wouldn't because I don't let my cats outside ever. They won't see the cat again and it won't be because a coyote ripped it to peices while it was taking a shit. And it would be a lot harder for them to sue a coyote, so I've done them a favor once again.

2) "Don't be a vile human being. Have some compassion. Maybe their cat is just an escape artist."

Ok, that's on me for not making myself clear. If a cat is missing, and there are posters, online posts, text psa, etc I will see them. I actually follow a local missing pet group that alerts me to every pet in my area that's gone missing, and each includes the info about the pet and if they are indoor or not. When I have time I go and look for them around my town. But again, not far from the feral cat colonies is where the coyotes run so I have yet to be successful. If a cat owner has stated that their cat has escaped and are indoor cats, then I am on the streets, in forests, marshes, behind malls, etc, to return that missing family member. But cats are the equivalent of a toddler in terms of ability to navigate life, and it is definitely neglect to leave your toddler outside unattended.

Moreover, there is a bitch who lives near me who buys kittens, doesn't get them fixed, and when they get out she doesn't even bother to look for them and I have rescued several of those and their subsequent kittens(many of which did not survive even after given professional care bc the mothers were still kittens themselves and can't care for their babies). That bitch has been reported many times and guess what the cops do??? That's right, what cops do best, which is jack shit. I have spent months doing tnr just cleaning up her messes so you have no right to tell me I am without compassion or that I'm vile. I had a cat who was an escape artist, but I at least made sure she was fixed in case she ever got out(she only ever got out once and after I reinforced the screens on our porch).

But again, if your outdoor cat goes missing, what good would returning them do? The cat will just go outside again and face the same shit that caused them to dissappear in the first place. It's actual insanity and those people shouldn't be cat owners(personally I think they should be charged with neglect but whose counting?).

3) "Maybe if someone stole your pet you'd be fine with it. Idk if you just let your pets go when you're tired of them. Idk you. But not having compassion is actually disgusting. Do better."

Okay here is where you lost me.

No one would be able to steal my pet unless they literally broke into my place, because again my cats NEVER go outside. And advocating for pet owners to keep their cats indoors only is something that is vital to the cat's health and the environment, so that is literally the opposite of letting your cat go when tired of them. I don't know where you got that from and honestly I don't care because, no, you don't know me and if your reading comprehension wasn't piss poor you would have seen in the tags you are referencing that I HAVE LITERALLY NEVER DONE WHAT YOU ARE DESCRIBING BC I LIVE IN AN APARTMENT WITH A PET LIMIT. ✨️ I've never taken a cat off the street and kept it!✨️ I can't, or I'll get evicted! Ive fostered for a short period but ive never taken in a cat from the street. But make no mistake I would if I could.

My compassion is why I try to remain educated and informed about why it matters to keep your cat inside. I am compassionate toward the 3 month old cat that it's owner let out in the dead of winter, unfixed, that gave birth to 4 kittens under our car, all premature and 1 was a stillbirth. She was too young to be a mother and her instincts never kicked in. She didn't know to lick away the umbilical cord, she didn't know how to feed them, she didn't know what to do and even with my sister, my mother, my coworker, a volunteer foster, and 3 vet techs and a veterinarian doctor, none of the kittens lived more than 2 days.

I am compassionate towards them. I am compassionate toward the owner of a cat I trapped, fostered, and took to the vet, who after adopting this cat, fell on hard times and when her card declined at the register, she put all of her human food back and just bought cat food(I offered to pay for it but she refused).

So maybe read what you have written and before you hit send, maybe do some research. Maybe think about how you would feel if some stranger just barely read what you put in a tag and decided to tell them they are vile and without compassion while in the same message saying that you don't know them or how they treat others.

Good on you for not turning on anon and saying what you believe with your whole ignorant chest, but still

Do better.

#animal death #animal death ment tw #animal aduse #animal neglect

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iridescent-moo-n · 9 months

Text

Kalopsia writing again

I think there’s like 2 people that look at this blog but for you guys I’m working on an updated Kalopsia master post!

Anyway, onto the writing cause I do that and stuff.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jay's vision returned to them fuzzy and split in two, and swiftly following the return of one sense, Jay tasted the bitter and dry earth they lay face first upon.

Great. It got control again. Just what I needed today.

They pulled themselves into a tight ball, and then pushed out, stretching their limbs as if they were a cat. It was a silly way to stretch but it made them feel better. The novelty of it.

Slowly sitting up the cool stickiness of their clothes alerted them to the unfortunately present dampness of their clothing where it had been touching the forest floor.

So I've been out for a while then. Wonderful.

They held out their palm, focusing carefully on the now gentle warmth in their chest, they dragged it out into their hand, freeing the fire from it's temporary confinement a small flame hovered above their hand, and the familiar whispers of pain in their ears along with it.

With their free hand they carefully cleared the ground behind them and made a pile of the drier leaves and sticks in the centre. Once satisfied the fire wouldn't jump and burn down the forest they placed the still flickering flame above their hand on the pile of kindling, letting it grow and burn away the dampness of their clothes.

Better start walking soon,

The thought crossed their mind as they stared at the forest that was initially behind them, the familiar trail of scorched earth, dead plants and flame-kissed trees; a long path of destruction easily followed. And it would be. They were probably already following the trail. With any luck *Aries* would be there too, smugly walking along the black earth with a squadron of lackeys in toe.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They trudged into the little town, entering from a quaint cul-de-sac near dusk. They attracted the odd stare, they were grubby (an understatement) and these people seemed more upper-class than anything, so naturally, they didn't particularly want to welcome a scrappy teenager with open arms.

By the time they had walked all the way into the centre of the uncomfortably polished settlement the first stars were twinkling mockingly in the blue-grey sky.

Wholly distracted by staring up they slammed into a passer-by of the town.

"FUCK! What the hell was that about you dickhead?"

Tangled in a mess of shoelaces and a bulky scarf lay one of the most amazing people Jay had ever seen. Their hair was cropped, but the bulk of their clothes made up for the shortness of their hair. Their face didn't seem to say 'I feel the same' back to Jay, but more of a 'I have somewhere to be'.

"Pffff. Look up idiot. The stars are out. I don't go around hitting people on purpose." Jay said as comically as they could muster.

"Of course they are. Do I look stupid? It's fucking night time. That's a horrible excuse for running into me." This stranger was clearly not impressed.

Jay pulled themselves out of the thrall of the stranger's scarf and stood. Figuring they were unable to make amends with this clearly irritable denizen, they offered them a hand not out of a need to 'win them over' but just to piss them off.

Surprisingly, the stranger grabbed onto Jay's arm and used Jay's weight to pull themselves up, standing uncomfortably close to Jay, they noted that their eyes were exactly level.

God that doesn't help.

"My name is Emery. If I see you again you owe me some stargazing for this incredibly annoying stunt. Or just a bit of money to dry clean this scarf. It's cashmere you know." They brushed as much of the dirt off their scarf as they could and swiftly walked away in the direction they were originally headed.

Somewhere to be, as I expected. These people.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A little excerpt of Jay meeting Emery!

(This is so absolutely subject to change.) but I figured it would be a nice sketch to contrast the pure angst I posted about Jay on this blog.

#kalopsia #ocs #writing #oc writing #jay x emery

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formulatrash · 1 year

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hi hazel! i hope you’re well. i totally understand if you don’t want to answer this since i’m sure you get a lot of Working In Motorsports questions. but basically i read your post about breaking into the industry and how you should never work for free…unfortunately i’m not that smart and do, in fact, Work For Free. i’m at the point now where getting paid would be quite nice actually, so i was wondering what your advice would be on taking the next step? tl;dr experience under my belt but seeking a paid role. where do you think are the best places to look? thank you! <33

hello,

honestly, understandable, it happens to a lot of people. god knows I have done a fair amount of work for free in the past year and I should surely know better.

anyway, where to look depends really on what you're looking for. if it's specifically motorsport journalism work then it's worth reaching out to people at publications* and saying "this is my experience, I appreciate you probably have a full roster at the minute but if you ever need someone to help out, I'm really looking to take the next step. include some links to your work, say what you're really interested in covering and what you can cover in a broader way and if you're available for travel.

be polite and keen and show that you understand the publication you are writing to, reference stories they already have that are the sort of thing you would like to write. if you don't hear back, email them again in a few months, persistence has weirdly paid off for a bunch of people I know; make sure you're bringing new ideas and talking about new things, saying "I know it wasn't last time but just wanted to say I'm still interested."

there are then broader industry publications where you might get commissions or where you can pitch motorsport stories. JournoResources does a newsletter every week which includes freelance pitching opportunities, all of which are paid.

if it's not journalism then start chatting to and getting in touch with people in the area you want to work. if it's social media then follow agency accounts, look out for chances where people are asking for people. speculatively getting in touch with individuals on their personal accounts isn't ccol but look out for the agencies and places like Pace Six Four, which is a huge agency, have a page to submit a speculative application in case you don't fit their roles at the moment but they might have something in future.

don't shoot over the sun by emailing Ferrari to ask if they've got any social jobs going - clearly, if they did, they'd advertise them - but it's worth asking eg: junior teams if they need any extra coverage during what's about to be a very frantic part of the season with every series racing simultaneously in Europe for weeks on end. showing you understand motorsport doesn't begin and end with F1 goes a long way.

LinkedIn is a hole and I have absolute no idea how Gen Z use it with a straight face (you guys, what the hell is this 'weekly update on my goals' business come on, millennials might be cringe but not that way) but it can be useful to follow team PRs and be able to pick up on opportunities. it's also worth following companies you want to work at, to get job alerts - check the parent companies of magazines or agencies and keep an eye out.

overall: good luck. it is incredibly rough out here at the moment and there is little to no work. I don't say that to discourage you, I say that cus if it's a struggle for you it's not because you're useless it's because everyone is struggling.

*By this I mean paying ones. of which there are astoundingly few. Autosport, Motorsport.com, Top Gear, CAR, Motor Sport Magazine and RaceFans are the only ones I can verify/vouch for are paying legal wages that are motorsport-specific in the UK - do not accept ultra-low-paid work, I've heard one publication pays £50 for a weekend of coverage which is about an eighth of minimum wage. £100 per day is still below minimum wage a lot of the time but a semi-depressing benchmark of where things are broadly at, unless you happen to have hit the big bucks (this is what I get paid). do not participate in having your labour abused, anyone doing that is not going to help you in your career.

in Europe, AutoHebdo and AmuS pay but I'm not sure much beyond that, in the US then Jalopnik, The Drive, ESPN, Road & Track, ARSTechnica etc all pay but have relatively few, if any, motorsport commissions because they tend to go to staff writers - if you can come with a unique or grassroots story though, they will pay attention. Motor1 has also just been sold so may start commissioning again soon but there's some flux going on there. I don't know if The Athletic accept motorsport pitches.

#work asks

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