#But yeah I'm really just along for the ride with this one however it goes I know it's gonna be good I feel it in me bones

[babacontainsmultitudes]

hello!!! hope you are well!!!!! asking all the dndads folks this .. what are your hopes / predictions for next episode

Hi you!!! Hope you’re doing well too :]

Hopes and predictions huh? Hmmm…

Haven’t put too much thought into the realm of actual predictions for this one, truthfully! I’m *hoping* it’ll be a pretty Linc-centric episode (well, Linc and Grant!), which feels reasonable enough to expect?

Very excited for whatever Matt is gonna bring to the table more generally, really. Aside from Lincoln just being the bestest fucking boy, I think Matt more than all the other players (granted Beth excels here as well) just does a phenomenal job at remembering the core themes of the show (“Family!!!” I scream from the rooftops, “This is a show about family!”) and accordingly pays a lot of attention not just to the arc of his own character but to that of Grant as well (and of course all the intricate ways in which the two are intertwined)- a fact that I think is obvious just by looking at how many of Matt’s dad and teen facts revolve around Grant actually! But that’s another post lol. But yeah, even in last week’s teen talk he stated:

“I’m sure Scary won’t be happy with Grant but like, I think, the thing I’m more concerned [with] is obviously Grant- is gonna be how Grant feels about himself. Him screaming “no” after he did it is like, that’s rough”

Which is just- ugh it’s everything to me. That to say, I’m really pumped for what’s to come on that front, since I have a lot of faith in Matt to steer things in a direction that is narratively satisfying for both Lincoln and Grant. Also, it’s such a small thing relative to all that’s going on but, I really do hope that Anthony remembers that Grant hasn’t heard Lincoln’s new voice yet lol, I don’t want that to go unaddressed! Ugh I almost wanna go and relisten to “The Staircase” just thinking about all of this- I’ve been waiting for Grant and Linc to confront each other for *SO LONGGG* hahaha. As a final note on Grant, cause if not I could go on forever, in the teen talk Anthony stated:

“(…) I’ve already had some thoughts as to what he [Willy] wrote onto Grant’s collar”

Which seems to imply that the kiddads don’t all have the same thing written on their collars, which is very interesting! Makes me wonder about Lark and Sparrow as well (<- this got me thinking: “what if Lark and Sparrow’s collars had things written on them that forced them to be apart from each other” or something to that effect OUGH that’d be so rad anyways anyways total tangent loool).

*Otherwise*, FUCK ANTHONY BETTER REMEMBER NICKY. Lmaooo he better parachute in at some point in this episode or else!!! I’d love to see him have to confront Terry’s death, I’d LOOOVE to see him confront/interact with Grant, and I really hope that his reactions to either of those things isn’t just “fuck this shit I’m out” and then he poofs away as he is one to do. Especially now that Anthony decided for convenience’ sake that Nicky can’t make portals anymore- at least keep that consistent lmao. If he *did* try to just dip though, my hope would be that Taylor steps in and actually confronts his dad about that trend of his. Because really, ever since Waterdeep when you think about it we’ve seen that Nick has this bad habit of running away from his problems rather than confronting them (granted his behavior is I think pretty understandable in a good chunk of those cases) and so… Well I guess now that Taylor has become more attached to his dad I would like to see him actually call Nicky out on those behaviors and how it affects him as his son and let his dad know that, well, he doesn’t want Nick to walk out of his life again, y’know?

Hopefully that makes some sense haha, didn’t mean for this ramble to be so long! But yeah, I guess those are the main things running through my head atm (I’ve also been thinking about Scary and Terry and how all that shit is gonna play out ofc, but nothing concrete to say on the matter as it stands).

:3 Wbu???

[sukunasbow]

idea: patrick fingering reader while they’re in the bathtub. like, he just walks in while reader is taking a bath and goes to town. i know he’d be so smug, pulling orgasm after orgasm out of you, talking you through each one🫣

patrick fingering you in the bathtub ; mdni

after a long tennis practice, you decided the best remedy for your aching limbs was a relaxing bath before your boyfriend got home. however, your plans changed when just a few minutes after you got into the tub and nearly fell asleep, patrick walked into the bathroom and decided to join you as well.

now, you're sitting in between his legs, your back pressed to his chest and his arm reaching around your torso, sliding down to your pussy and curling his fingers inside of you.

"had a long day, hm?" he coos, pressing small kisses along your shoulder.

"yeah, i'm really tired." you cut yourself off with a loud moan when he hits the sweet spot of your cunt. "patrick, i just want to relax with you, i don't think i can take this." you pant.

"you can take it, baby. gonna make you feel better, mm'kay?" he whispers, nipping at your earlobe.

"patrick." you gasp, resting your head on his shoulder. "fuck, 'ss to much."

"be a good girl, it's alright."

you look up at him and are met with the sight of him smirking just as he slides another finger inside of your cunt, stretching you even more. with each movement of his fingers, you feel your walls adjust to them, as if his fingers were made to be inside of you.

he continues finger fucking you, watching your eyes glaze over and your lips part, getting dumbed down from the pleasure he's giving you.

"gonna cum, patrick."

"yeah? cum for me, baby." he nods, his tone mocking your current state.

his words push you over the edge and you feel your cunt tightening around his fingers, then releasing as you ride out your orgasm, your juices mixing with the water. you're left a gasping mess, your chest slowly rising and falling.

"we're not done yet, princess." he pauses, "we're just getting started."

[wormlette]

I do think a LOT about why Chilchuck would join the "save Falin" dungeon dive at all tbh and it makes me feel like eating drywall. Namari is the one who brings up the "I figured you'd be the first one to leave, you never take a job without getting paid" and he's like yeah. I do insist on payment up front. But do you think he was ever going to bring up his motivations on his own? If Namari hadn't? I don't think he would talk about it because I don't think it's really that simple. We find out in the ep that just aired a few things--

1) Chil is paid in advance, and however that works, he's apparently already been contracted for future dungeon dives too ? 2) The adventurer's community is tight-knit and full of gossip, so the things you do will have impact on what kind of work you can do going forward.

There are other things we know about Chil:

1) he's worked for Laios' party for three years. Namari was a member before him (she joined at the same time the husband hunter and some tall man guy joined, iirc) and Shuro was a member after him, but after those two leave, he's the person who's worked with the Toudens for the longest. 2) He's had some really shitty jobs in his past, especially pre-union. He understands very well what kinds of things people will use half-foots for. 3) He is thinking about retiring. He was going to retire before joining Laios' party.

And one thing we learned in the very first episode -- Laios told Marcille and Chilchuck that they should sell their equipment so he could go down on his own to rescue Falin. Chilchuck asks him if he's suicidal and then invites himself along for absolutely everything that goes down after. He's more ride-or-die about eating monsters than anyone other than Senshi. Him breaking his contract is obviously not something Laios would have held against him. Maybe it would have "Changed his clientele" as he says to Marcille about Namari in the latest ep, but also: HE COULD JUST RETIRE.

IDK PERSONALLY I JUST THINK this all adds up to an implication that he is really very fond of the Touden siblings. As Marcille notes when she's making a fanfic of his wife leaving him he's not the type to ever say his feelings out loud so it's not ever really gonna be said in the text of the story and THAT'S WHY I'M HERE. They seem to be a well-renowned party during the events of the story, but when he joined up with them they were just a year out from being bodyguards in a gold-peeling party with a few other no-name adventurers (as far as I know from the extras that have come out so far, the order of main chars joining the party went Laios&Falin->Namari->Chil->Shuro->Marcille.)

Three years AFTER HE WAS ALREADY CONSIDERING RETIRING he is willing to go on a journey that every other character thinks is fucking insane for the chance to rescue Falin, even though he is not an optimistic guy and he probably has a more realistic understanding of how dangerous dungeons are than anybody else in the group. If he started doing dungeon work when he left his home at 14 then he has about 15 years of dungeoneering experience by the time of the story. He would know what he's doing is actually EXTREMELY dangerous in a way resurrection magic doesn't actually eliminate. They are going down into a floor that's so far down the story has expressed "it's really dangerous to go there and most people don't because it will be hard for corpse retrievers and necessary supplies to get to you if you die. if you are eaten you might just be gone beause no one will ever find you."

I think he's harsh on Laios because he really cares about him and Falin. We know he ranks Laios' ability as a party leader as like a 61 or something lmfao but IMHO he is like that stern teacher who is forced by admin to put a 20pt curve on every exam because everybody is fuckin failing. Nobody is doing a good enough job. But he must have faith in the idea that Laios is able to do better if he has the right coaching (kicking and yelling at him). I JUST THINK the Touden party has been the best one he's worked in, or if not the best then his favorite, for him to keep doing it for THIS LONG when he SHOULD absolutely have his pick of contracts, given that "no other half-foots had the expertise necessary to accompany Laios to such a deep floor of the dungeon".

[julienbakerpls]

Happy Birthday Part Two 18+

"Okay... you NEED to get out of the house! We're going out and that's final." Your best friend said finally having enough of your almost 3 month long mood swings.

"Fine, but i'm not going to have a good time." You called out to her from where you were laying on your couch.

"I will literally beat your ass. Go get slutty and hot!" She yelled at you coming to pull you out from under your blanket. You rolled your eyes but ultimately decided that she probably would try and beat you up if you didn't get up.

"Wear that short red dress I love on you!" She called, from where she was styling her hair.

"I can't! I told you I lost the bra that goes with it!" You call out from the bathroom.

"So don't wear one, I've told you repeatedly that dress doesn't even need one!" You hear her call out over the sound of your shower.

You took your time getting ready, partially hoping that she would give up and leave without you. However once you had dressed in the "slutty" red dress (sans bra) and had your hair and makeup done she was still lounging on your couch.

"Took you long enough, let's go I want to go to that new bar downtown!" She still yelled even though you were next to her, jumping up and pulling you out to where her car was parked.

The ride to the bar was filled with both of you very badly singing along to the cure cd that she had gotten stuck in her cd player in high school.

"So what bar are we going to? Damien's?" You asked, once you noticed her start to look for parking.

"Nah, It's called The Red Door, it opened I think late last year. It's supposed to be very cool." She said doing an illegal U turn and parallel parking flawlessly.

You remembered hearing about The Red Door, but you couldn't remember from who. The two of you made your way into the candle lit bar, looking around. Your friend quickly made her way over to the bar ordering you both shots. After you had both downed them, she quickly abandoned you to go make out with some girl on the dance floor. You knew this is exactly how things would go, regretting not bringing a book or something to do.

"Y/n?" You heard from behind you, turning to see the cause of your horrible mood for the past three months. Your stomach instantly starting to cramp with anxiety.

"Hi." You answer attempting to smile convincingly. Julien came to sit next to you at the bar, she was wearing a white tank top that showed her muscular arms. You tried very hard not to stare, but from the smirk on her face she definitely noticed.

"I was really hoping to see you here.." Julien started, leaving you thoroughly confused.

"What do you mean?" you asked, taking a sip of your drink.

"I mean I told Lucy to invite you here that Friday after your appointment, but you never showed so.." She trailed off.

"Oh wait... I thought she was just telling me there was a bar down the street I didn't know YOU wanted me to go to it.." You said placing your hand on her arm, She looked down at it smiling slightly to herself.

"I wanted to invite you myself but you kinda ran out of the room too quickly for me to." Julien said, placing her hand over yours. You blushed remembering the way you ran out.

"I thought I made you uncomfortable-" You started Julien instantly cutting you off. "You didn't, I swear it's just I didn't want to take advantage of your vulnerability." She finished scooting closer to your stool.

"You can take advantage of me whenever you want.." You said without meaning too, Juliens face as well as your own filling with heat.

"I didn't mean to say that... out loud." You say, trying to backtrack. She laughs, shaking her head.

"I don't want to take advantage of you, I want your enthusiastic consent before I try anything." Julien said placing her tattooed hand on your bare thigh.

"Believe me, you've had it for the past three months.." You say tracing the Hard tattoo on her fingers.

"Oh yeah? Because you're all I could think about.." She says, staring up at you with those big brown eyes.

"Honestly if anyone else had been my piercer I would have chickened out. I was just too enthralled by you to remember to be nervous." You smiled, blush filling your face impossibly more. Noticing the way Julien's smile gets even bigger, you don't regret saying it.

"Honestly, I was so nervous to pierce you.. You walked in and I forgot my fucking name." She laughs, and you think you vaguely remember her not introducing herself right away.

"And then you took your shirt off and I thought I was going to lose my piercing license.." She said taking a sip of her drink.

"Wait why?" You ask, now also moving your stool closer to her.

"Because we're supposed to be completely professional, not almost drooling on our clients." She blushes, running her other hand across your collar bone.

"Because I was shirtless?" You say smiling at her, she shakes her head also smiling at you.

"I was almost drooling before you took your shirt off.. honestly if I were more of a professional I wouldn't have pierced you in the first place." She laughed, leaning forward to place her head on your shoulder. You smiled to yourself leaning your head to rest on hers, feeling her smile against your shoulder.

"I really like you.." Julien whispers into your shoulder. You smile even bigger, pulling away to look at her.

"I really like you." You say back to her, loving her big goofy grin.

"Do you want to get out of here?" She asked leaning back over to just be closer to you.

"I have to check with the friend I came with.. but i'll go anywhere with you." You say looking at her, less than an inch between your lips. The tension between the two of you is almost palpable. Julien clears her throat pulling away from you, her breathing slightly heavier.

"I'll be right back.." You get up, turning towards the dance floor to find your friend. You spot her after about a minute of looking pressed against a different woman in the corner. You make your way over to her having to pretty much pull her away to get her attention.

"What?" She whines, making grabby hands for the woman behind you now.

"I'm leaving, are you going to be alright getting home?" You ask her, once she stops pouting.

"Yea i'll be fine. Wait who are you leaving with?" She asks looking over your shoulder, and smiling smugly. You feel an arm wrap around your waist looking down and seeing the work tattoo, and blushing.

"Either her type is crazy specific or you're the piercer she's been grossly obsessing over!" Your friend laughed, Ignoring you to talk to Julien.

"I guess I am, Julien." She introduces herself, Pulling you tighter to her and squeezing your waist. You watch as Julien turns to the woman over your friends shoulder.

"Lucy, I'm heading out, please text me when you get home." Julien says, going over and kissing her friends cheek before returning to your side. You think you remember her from the piercing parlor, but you can't be completely sure.

"I will, Love you JB. Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Lucy calls, as Julien starts to steer you towards the exit, hands on your hips.

"God, this dress is killing me.." She whispers once the two of you have made it outside. You blush, pressing your back against her front.

"You know, I usually wear a bra with this but I left it when I was running away from you." You say, as she starts pulling you towards her car. She opens the passenger side door, but before you can get in she presses you to the car.

"I think I prefer it without one.." Julien breathes into your neck, running her hands from your hips to your breasts and massages them gently. Your head falls back at the sudden sensation, your nipples hardening under her fingers.

"Oh fuck.. please" You moan under her skilled hands. She continues rubbing them gently until your aching for her to do anything more.

"If we do anything more out here, it would be public indecency and we could get fined or up to a year in jail." Julien said, pulling away from you and helping you into the car.

"Why do you know that?" you laughed as she got into the car.

"I have very irresponsible friends.." She sighed starting the car, the cure filling the quiet.

"I love The Cure" you smiled over at her.

"Good Robert Smith is a legend." She laughed pulling out onto the main road. Julien moved one hand off the wheel and rested it almost under your dress.

"Oh before I forget... open the glove box." Julien said, Stopping at a red light. You looked at her questioningly before doing as instructed, and to your surprise you pulled out your favorite bra that you thought was gone forever.

"You kept my bra?" You smiled at her a little in awe. She started driving again but pulled her lower lip between her teeth.

"It looked expensive... and I hoped i'd get to see you again. And maybe also see you wear it again." She blushed, pulling into a dark driveway. You watched as she parked the car and got out to come open your door for you.

"You can see me where it anytime you want.." You flirt, getting out of the car with her help. She smiles pulling you down to kiss you hard on the lips. Her tongue tracing your bottom lip begging for entrance into your mouth. Her hands tracing their way up your waist to your chest, instantly finding your hardened peaks. You moan into her mouth, tongues now fighting for dominance.

"Julien... Please." You moan out, your head falling back.

"Let's move this inside." She smiles goofily, roughly tugging you to the front door. Taking her time opening it, pulling you in and pressing you against the door. Julien trails kisses down your neck and collar bones stopping when she gets to the top of your dress. She pulls you tighter against her, silently asking you if she can unzip the dress. You nod, chasing her lips and kissing her again. She slowly unzips the tight red dress, letting it fall to your feet leaving you in just a lacy pair of underwear.

"Fuck Baby..." You hear Julien groan, tracing her hands and her mouth up your body.

"How are your piercings healing," She whispers against your collar bone.

"They're great, yeahh" You exhale shakily, Awaiting her next move.

"Perfect." Julien smiles against your shoulder, kissing down your chest and taking one of your nipples in her mouth. Your eyes roll back in your head as you feel her suck harshly on it. You knew that piercing them would make them sensitive, but you had no idea just how much. Julien continued sucking on your nipples, moving from one to the other. You start grinding your hips against her hip bone, gasping at the overwhelming pleasure. She bit down softly on your nipple causing the knot of pleasure building in your stomach to almost snap.

"Fuck Jay uhh," You whined, shaking from how much pleasure her body was bringing you. She bit softly on your nipple again before kissing back up to your lips, losing herself temporarily in the heated kiss. Julien reluctantly pulled away from you, pulling you up the stairs and into her bedroom. You felt instantly at home, welcoming the scent of her cologne that was clinging to the bedsheets.

Julien almost instantly climbing on top of you, grinding her hips against yours her mouth finding it's way back to your nipples.

"You don't know how many times i've pictured this in my head..." Julien said, biting down beside your nipple.

"Oh yeah, did it get you hot, thinking of me writhing beneath you in your bed. " You gasp out, rolling your hips against hers.

"Fuck Baby... it did a lot more than just get me hot," Julien moaned, pulling away from you and taking her tank top off. You lean forward wrapping your arms around her waist, kissing along her toned stomach. You pull her hips forward, unbuckling her belt while still leaving hickeys along her abs.

"Mmmm Y/n," Julien moaned, before helping you pull off her tight jeans. "Come here," She laughed, throwing them off the bed leaving her in just her sports bra and boxers. She kissed her way up your body, pressing a kiss to your nose before licking her way into your mouth. You wrap your legs around her waist, grinding against her. You feel one of her hands travel down your body and under the thin fabric of your underwear, circling your clit. You're unable to control the whine that falls from your mouth as you rock forward into her hand.

"God, you're soaked, is all this for me baby?" Julien asks applying more pressure to your clit, causing your body to start shaking with pleasure.

"Yes, Julien baby it's all for you!" You cry out as she presses a finger into your entrance. You gasp when you feel the cool metal of her ring against your inner thigh.

"You're so fucking sexy, You have no idea how badly I want you." She whispers into your neck, pushing another finger into you. Your eyes flutter closed, basking in the warm feeling pooling in your stomach. You pull her sports bra up and off of her tossing it onto the floor.

Julien started, biting and sucking her way down your body, her mouth instantly finding your clit. She sucked it into her mouth, massaging gently with her tongue. You feel her add another finger, gasping at the stretch. You whine tangling your fingers into her hair, grinding your hips up into her face. You cum suddenly, the knot in your stomach snapping as she pinches your nipple. Body arching into her, before melting back into her sheets. Julien cleans up the mess she made with her tongue before kissing her way back up to your mouth. You moan as you taste yourself on her tongue, the kiss is messy and you feel yourself getting hot and bothered again.

"Jay baby, I want to taste you." You whine into her mouth, rolling her over so you're on top of her.

You can feel the wet heat between your legs start to build up again at the sight of her. You have a leg on either side of her waist, looking down at her flushed face and big brown eyes looking up at you with an adoring expression. You reach down and stroke her face, feeling her heated sweat soaked skin.

"You're like a dream," You sigh, tracing around her mouth and dipping your fingers into her mouth. She eagerly sucks them, the sight and feel driving you insane. You pull your fingers out of her mouth attacking her lips, and trailing your hand down her body and into her boxers sliding them off of her. Your fingers instantly circling her clit, moaning at how wet she is.

"I wanna feel you cum on my face Jay," You say against her lips, laughing to yourself as she groans.

"Baby, I could cum from just your words." Julien whines out, clutching the bedsheets as you kiss and bite your way down her body pulling her legs over your shoulders. You bite and suck on her thighs, before leaning forward and sucking her already swollen sensitive clit. She rolls her hips up into your face, gasping when you push a finger into her entrance.

"Ah Princess." She moans out, the nickname taking you by surprise and causing you to suck on her more fervently. You thrust your fingers harder, feeling her body clamp down on your fingers. Everything about her tightens and goes rigid, you watch as her eyebrows draw together.

"Baby," Julien gasps, soaking your face and the sheets underneath her. You take your time cleaning her up with your mouth and her discarded boxers.

"You're so perfect," You breathe into her mouth, Kissing all over her face causing her to giggle.

"I'm so fucking glad you decided to get your nipples pierced." Julien smiled, teasingly pinching your nipple.

"I am too," You smile, cuddling down into her neck and pressing a tender kiss there.

- Let me know what y'all think <3

[sentimuse]

Ever After High X Twisted Wonderland.

I was high when I made this please forgive the babble. I needed it to be said.

OKay so arguably the TWSTverse goes the best with the EAHverse. I may rant about Descendants later but lemme get this out first via Headcanon.

Riddle Rosehearts:

Pre OB! Royal Post OB! Rebel

The hedgehogs get along.

He and Lizzie have an odd relationship. They both have mommy issues but they both want to live up to their mothers' standards. Riddle has a hyperfixation for her mom and a deep seeded pride regarding her, that gets strained when he and Lizzie commiserate about shitty moms. Lizzie feels weird cuz he's nice but he idolizes her mom and that's awkward when you both have bad moms you still love in a strained almost begrudging way. They're good friends but don't seem like it due to the awkwardness of it all

He really gets along with Kitty and Maddie. Strangely Maddie is the one that reminds him of Che'Nya (Kitty does too because duh but personality wise). Always talking in riddles and rhymes but still a very good friend.

Gets introduced to Ginger via Trey and has to fight himself internally to not fucking ask for a strawberry tart from her. He's genuinely curious as to what it tastes like but knows that Trey would grill his ass into knowing which one was better and would face Dorm Card Trey Consequences. 

Trey Clover:

Rebel and always has been.

He's great friends with Lizzie due to her being kinda just a tamer Riddle.

Friends with Kitty and Maddie as well.

Has had baking contests with Ginger. (Friendly? maybe.)

Midkey respects Daring for having that pearly white of teeth. He's a little jealous, but Trey has the leg up because Daring is kinda vapid.

Is weirdly close with Mad Hatter cuz Trey is always able to concoct whatever weird flavor he's asked for.

Cater Diamond:

He's a Rebel 4lifer

He and Goldie are fucking ride or die besties. Swapping influencer tips? Yes. I bet they even got matching endorsements.

Him and Maddie are besties but not as much. He likes how bubbly she is.

Cater also really gets along with Briar and they're able to connect a little about insecurities and socializing stress.

Cater would fucking love it here everything is so aesthetic and his Magicam would blow tf up plus he's so girlie pop I don't think the transition would be that hard for him. He fits in really well.

Deuce Spade:

Rebel 

NGL him and Ace also fit into EAH really well they're good people (most of the time) and their flaws are light hearted enough to survive transplanting. Deuce is just a lil ditzy and has some anger issues but really loves his mom and baby chickens??? Just a little guy energy.

He would get along well with Cerise imo. Their vibes are similar to me, that is the best explanation I have.

Probably has a crush on Raven he also relates somewhat to the bad past but wants to be good things.

Ace Trappola:

Rebel

Ace is a shitter. Fucking asshole goofster. But he has a pretty decent head on his shoulders.

Really gets along with Kitty being two shitsers.

Strangely good friends with Lizzie. I mean if you're gonna rule at least be fair yeah?

Epel Felmier:

Rebel

He's absolute BESTIES with Darling. Because they're both feminine and want to break out of what life has assigned them. 

He's also pretty tight with Cedar.

Wants to be friends with Ramona so so so so so fucking bad.

Vil Schoenheit:

I hate to say it but my man is a centrist.

He understands and respects the audacity the royals have to think they can force others into roles they aren't meant for. However that's kinda his whole fucking issue in life. He doesn't mind some of the Royals, Apple is certainly more bearable than Neige and I'm certain that Vil can see right through her.

Sympathizes with Apple honestly. He'd want to like this Evil Queen and has pointed out her good points like being strong at magic and a good manipulator but also she's kinda a bitch so womp womp.

Totally gets along with Raven he's like the midpoint between the two.

Is very annoyed by Goldie.

Hangs out with Cupid and Rook sometimes. 

Good friends with and commiserates with Duchess.

Rook Hunt:

Rebel ofc bb

Bro if so girly pop and hangs out with Cupid. They go on about pretty things and love together. He and Vil encourage her to go after Dexter.

He's aloof enough to fit into the EAH verse.

Does his rounds with the cast susing them out. Has the Leona infatuation with Ramona. 

Isn't fond of Goldie she's too keen to pry into his life.

Idia Shroud:

Is a Doomer Royal with Rebel sentiments.

Bro is maybe too sad for EAH but the books are a lil kwazy soo…

He hangs out with the gamer boys sometimes like Humphrey and Dexter if he has to socialize.

Would rather hang with Ortho but Ortho is hanging out with Cedar.

Fucking hates it here.

Ortho Shroud:

Bro fucking LOVES it here. Absolute Rebel.

He and Cedar are FAST FAST friends for being non human humans.

Loves hanging with Maddie and the girls.

Probably has like a shitpost Snap/Insta with the wackiest fucking pictures of himself, Cedar. Briar, Raven and Maddie. Like drunk college kid shit, tiddlywinks and necromancy.

Is everyone's little brother and he fucking THRIVES being able to be an enabled little shitter. No clue who helped Kitty and Ace with their latest prank. Couldn't be sweet Ortho! He's just a little guy!

Azul Ashengrotto:

Considered a neutral student for business, but is very much a pragmatist about it whatever the fuck that means lmao. He's a Rebel

Is both sad and relieved there aren't more eels.

He and Hopper are besties tho.

Suave cool guys sometimes and fucking trainwrecks otherwise? Kinnies even

Becomes lowkey midkey hydrophobic upon learning Meeshell turns fishy when wet.

Jade and Floyd:

Both Rebels ofc

Floyd and Jade are living it tf up.

Jade is investigating new mushrooms

Floyd is fucking shit up everywhere he goes and teaching them basketball or learning their basketball.

OFC Floyd has the nicknames on DECK

Maddie likes Floyd's silly nicknames and isn't so fond of him being mean sometimes.

She's also like mildly scared of Jade but he's nice to her dad and they talk about mushroom tea and treats so he's okay in her book.

Floyd always be racing Ramona or Cerise or doing some dumb shit with Briar.

Jade does his girlboss info gathering like in the one vignette with Vil where he looks so pathetically malewife.

Cedar is kept very very far from them.

Jamil Viper:

Rebel and honestly most of them are.

Surprisingly hangs out with Justine and Duchess. 

They be dancing N shit y'know.

Surprisingly gets along with Ashlynn.

Hangs out with Duchess when she gets fed up with Leona.

They vent about Kalim and Princess.

Kalim Al-Asim

Rebel but is so bubbly and sympathetic he's almost a centrist.

Kalim is so sweet he'd be like "Yeah Apple I totally get you wanna be queen and stuff but it makes Raven sad. :((("

Man is living it UP per usual.

He's hanging with every single person he can.

Absolute besties with Briar and Melody.

He's such a ball of sunshine.

He'd be so fucking happy here.

Leona Kingscholar:

Rebel ofc and would be a lot more dramatic about it than Raven is/was.

She ripped the page out of the Book of Legends? Bestie Leona would've dusted the whole thing like Azul's contracts. 👀 👀

Okay that's exaggerating he would've done the same thing.. Maybe

Honestly jokes aside he'd be more akin to Idia. A doomer rebel. 

He bothers tf out of Duchess and they're actually good friends.

Her drive to succeed kinda invigorates him.

Honestly bro is the same as ever. He eeps, he eats, he makes Ruggie do shit. 

SIKE!!!

Leona in the EAHverse would come to be like a god-tier version of himself. It would force his character development into being better than Falena imo. Yeah you could look at him and say he's just laze around, but in the middle of not only a class, but a life threatening conflict that is so deeply entwined with his actual life? If you ask me a PostOB! Leona would be all OVER this shit. He would be making full on plans and figuring shit out like well…a king. *laugh track*

Maybe then he'd like leave Ruggie alone or have a heart to heart with Ruggie or some cool emotionally mature shit. 

Ruggie Bucchi:

So audaciously a Rebel.

He hangs a lot with Maddie and Ashlynn.

Rosabella is also very nice to him. They're like sibs imo. She tells him to be nicer he tells her she's short or smthn and gives her backbone a boost.

Ruggie with a more developed Leona and with something solid to stand for would be a force to be reckoned with ngl. Even tho I think Ruggie has the weird trauma impulse that he has to earn his keep or earn others love for him so while I think Leona would be nicer to Ruggie part of that kindness is the unspoken way Leona lets Ruggie "steal" from him or do his laundry or whatever to feel like he has "earned" that money or food when those are just things people should do for you or do their best to provide for you because you exist and you are loved and cared for.

Anyway I just think we'd get a softer and a bit less cynical Ruggie. Not less crafty tho.

Jack Howl:

Rebel obvi.

Absolute besties with the Wolf sisters.

They do wolf things together.

Honestly I don't think much would change for him.

He'd be with the Savannaclaw boys being huge Rebel activists because of course they are. <3

Malleus Draconia:

Conflicted but ultimately a Rebel. Understands that people have things they need to do but they should be afforded the choice if possible.

HUGE HUGE BESTIES with Raven. Goth Girlies Unite!!!

Being around Raven and Maddie alot does WONDERS with him being more social and approachable. Maddie is their "cute item"

Hangs out with Cupid a lot after hearing about an old Gargoyle friend she had and REALLY wants to go to Monster High and meet her.

Fucking hates Faybelle. Thinks it's uncouth to crash parties.

Gets so so sad just looking or thinking about Briar.

They're mega besties tho and he like apologizes several times over even though it wasn't his Thorn Fairy that caused this. Immortality sucks dick.

She tells him to chill and shows him how to work a phone. /hj

They cry into ice cream and go on adventures a lot.

Lilia Vanrouge:

Rebel silly

Bro loves it here. The people are so spookable and he's just a cute little guy y'know!

He dispenses his wisdom and has an official ban from all kitchens so decreed by a combined front of (everyone) but mostly Ginger, Trey, and the Crumbs.

Hangs out mostly gaming but also with Poppy!

Poppy does his hair all the time, mostly via magic for funsies.

Also hangs with Kitty and Courtly.

Silver:

Rebel (He's his father's son)

Fits in so well. Really looks like one of the Charmings.

Hangs out mostly with Darling and Chase.

He has a one sided blood feud with both Hunter and Apple.

He's so princely and he's surrounded by birds and is in nature all the time??

Apple thinks he's coming for her place being so pretty when sleeping and surrounded by forest animals and flowers?? C'mon man wtf??

Hunter thinks he's coming for his girlfriend because Silver was nice to/talked to Ashlynn ONCE.

Bro can't catch a break from Briar either. She's the opp of his sleepiness. 

Sebek Zigvolt:

Sebek would be whatever Malleus is because loyalty. He is in all honesty so truly deeply conflicted.

All he wants to do is be a good knight for Malleus. He has wanted this forever. It's like his destiny. But then again he kinda (maybe? Idk I haven't read chapter 7 anything) got to choose this. But he should be loyal to whatever it is Malleus chooses, but what if in this world the book chose some STRANGER to be Malleus' knight and not him? AND THEN WHAT IF

In short he's very likely a Rebel he's just gotta get their. 

Crisis of Identity part 2 aka (I've conquered my internalized racism at being part human but now I'm not sure who I am personality and morality wise. What a conundrum! The Musical The Series The Musical.)

He hangs out with Darling and Chase as well.

Is also pretty close with Cerise and Raven.

All in all things would go pretty well together not that ANY of what I said explains that, but in long:

EAH is based on the idea of Destiny v.s Free Will and talks about the deep seeded fears and problems that would come from a society that tells you you must be one thing your whole life when you want to be another. Which goes very well with how the Overblots happen. 

Riddle is pressured and abused by his mother to be a perfect star child and that pressure is too much for him and he snaps. 

Leona is always considered second best and less than his brother. 

Azul has a poorly written (imo) overblot but he wants to feel comfortable in his own skin and feels he needs to do so by being in total control of every situation so he can look good and not feel inferior, as he was bullied in his childhood.

Jamil has to downplay himself to make Kalim look better and is made to live a life where he can never be his true self. 

Vil also has a poorly written overblot (imo) but he wants to feel loved and appreciated and to not be the villain he's always casted as. (Literally Raven's ENTIRE thing)

Idia wants to be a hero, and cope with the guilt of feeling like he killed his brother.

Malleus is grappling with mortality and not having a "proper" family. (Briar does the first half of this in the show)

EAH also does bend and change these "destinies"

Darling being Apple's "Prince"

Daring being with Rosabella when he was certain he'd be with Apple.

In the books, Cedar coming to terms with "being human" without having to be made of physical flesh and bone or being actually human. Thus disregarding the need for her story. 

Apple being the more ruthless between her and Raven when she is supposed to be kind and sweet.

Red and Big Bad being together.

In the books again, Brooke interacting with the story. 

So in long with shit for details and no real argument. I think Ever After High and TWST would make a great crossover and maybe I just want more people to do more idk modern(??) things with EAH. But also I'm a sucker for X but a Highschool/College thing.

[fluffy-sickfics-art]

[title]

CW: vomit

Kade throws up after a bus ride back from a game.

Introducing: Kade, Braden, Alisa.

Note: clearly i am not a writer but i tried okay T^T i apologize for the abrupt ending

❆

The bus ride back to the university is only two hours away, and their game ended at nine. Thankfully, tomorrow's a Sunday, so he'll have a whole morning to catch up on lost sleep.

Knowing himself, Kade really doesn't want to drink the post-game smoothie or eat the pasta bowl the team ordered (it tastes good, but he throws it back up almost 30% of the time). Eating after an away game usually leaves Kade nauseated the entire ride back, even if he takes his meds. But he knows he needs to replenish the energy he used up, so he sips away at the smoothie anyways. It's a gamble, really.

A fairly celebratory mood is swirling through the air, the team having won their game 3-2. The bus is loud for the first fifteen minutes or so, with most of the team singing along to country songs that Antoine's blasting from the back of the bus, as the rest of the guys finish their food. Kade doesn't each much, already dreading the nausea that's soon to hit him. It quiets down soon, though, since everyone's tired anyways.

Their C captain, Wyatt, is doing some sort of homework at the back, as is his friend Kio, one of the alternate captains. The rest of the guys are mostly chatting away with each other, scrolling on their phones or napping with their earbuds in. Kade's trying to sleep, but as the ride goes on, his headache progresses from a slight dizziness to the point where even closing his eyes doesn't help. He checks the time: 10:30 pm.

Groaning internally, Kade shuts his eyes again. Still an hour and a half left, ugh.

His friend Braden's sitting next to him. Out of all the dressed teammates, they're the only true freshmen, so Braden's essentially the only one Kade spends time with outside of practice, games and team meals.

The next few minutes pass by relatively peacefully, until a bump in the road jostles Kade's already queasy stomach. He suppresses a gag as a cough, successfully catching Braden's attention.

In typical Braden fashion, he completely misses Kade's discomfort (thank goodness) and gives a very random suggestion.

"You should come over to my place tonight," Braden offers. "Jarrett's coming over, too."

"So you can game all night, eh?" Kade asks, chuckling. Conversation's somewhat taking his mind off his churning stomach and spinning head, which is good.

Braden shrugs. "Only until, like, one."

"You don't have any work to do tomorrow?"

"Nah. Doesn't matter, anyways. As long as I meet the requirements to stay on the team, I'm good."

"Alisa would shove you out the window if she heard you say that," Kade replies with a snort.

"So violent for no reason, man," Braden agrees, turning back to his phone and effectively ending the conversation. Normally, he'd say more, but it's clear he's just as tired as Kade is. (Once he turns his monitor on and starts gaming, though, any bit of tiredness miraculously gets sucked out of his veins.)

Around an hour into the bus ride, however, Braden apparently notices that something is off with Kade, who's leaning on one arm, his other arm draped over his stomach.

"You good, bro?" Braden asks, prodding him.

"Yeah, I'm good," Kade responds with little to no conviction.

Braden doesn't believe him, clearly. "You ate, like, one bite of pasta," he realizes aloud. "You sick or somethin'?"

Kade shakes his head, which is quite the mistake since the dizziness increases exponentially. "Just tired. How much more time left?"

"An hour-ish."

"'Kay, thanks," Kade replies, cursing in his head. He can hold on for another hour. It's just a minute times sixty, after all.

The rest of the ride doesn't fly by, but with the "minute times sixty" logic, the arrival at their campus comes sooner than Kade expected. Unfortunately, he's several times closer to throwing up than an hour ago, and the sudden change from a moving bus to unmoving ground somehow only makes him dizzier.

"Good job today, boys," Coach Tyler says as the players all file off the bus, yawning. "I'll see you all Monday. Get some rest tomorrow."

A chorus of "yes, coach's" and "see you's" follow as everyone begins either going to their cars or to the bus station nearby.

Kade can almost feel his eyelids fluttering, and he so badly wants to just take the bus to the dorm, but his room is only a twenty minute walk away and he really doesn't think his stomach can handle a moving vehicle any longer.

He waves goodbye to Braden, backpack feeling heavier on his shoulders by the second, and begins the walk back to the dorms.

He's probably made it about ten minutes away from where the team was dropped off when he has to sit down at a bench, the smoothie and singular pasta he consumed already rising up his throat.

Praying that he's not going to throw up but knowing it'll happen all the same, Kade stands up on shaky legs and turns toward the grass behind him. He leans over on his knees, breathes in deeply in vain hopes that it's just a bout of nausea and nothing more. In... out... in... out...

Somehow, the waiting is even worse than the vomiting, and Kade spits on the grass when the amount of saliva coating the inside of his mouth begins increasing.

He stays like this for another few minutes or so, but without warning, his stomach lurches and he dry heaves, straining every muscle involved. His head is full-on pounding now, and Kade stiffens, as any movement could probably make him topple over.

Retching again, Kade closes his eyes and just wishes that it'll be over faster. The quicker he can get this over with, the quicker he can get back to his dorm, and the quicker he can just go to sleep.

One more gag and everything comes rushing back out, and then it just doesn't stop. It's mostly smoothie, so it doesn't hurt as much as usual, but the pungent smell makes him keep gagging even after he's pretty sure his stomach has expelled everything that was inside. Kade refuses to open his eyes, knowing that seeing his own vomit would only worsen the still-lingering nausea.

His throat burns, his abs continue to clench and unclench as his heart thumps loudly in his ears. He's nearly a mess, and he's thankful no one's there to witness it.

And then-- "Are you okay?"

It's a girl's voice. Alisa's voice, he realizes with a small sigh of relief, because any other girl might take advantage of him in a vulnerable state. Not that he's vulnerable right now. It's just motion sickness.

There's the sound of her old bike squeaking to a stop behind him, and then Alisa's beside him. "Kade, is that you?"

He doesn't bother to look, already feeling her eyes staring at his face. "Mhm."

"Anxiety sick or sick-sick?"

"Motion sick," he mumbles, clearing his throat when the words come out sticky and hoarse.

"Aw that sucks," Alisa replies, rubbing his hunched-over back. "Where's your water?"

"Bench."

The water bottle's in his hands within seconds, Alisa urging him to stand up and drink some.

He swishes the water around his mouth and spits it out onto the puddle of puke before taking slow sips. He's feeling a little better already, fortunately. Alisa drags him back to the bench, pulling him to sit down next to her.

"How was the game?" she asks once his breathing slows down a little, but she keeps her hand on his back.

"We won."

Alisa claps, smiling. "Yay! Good job!"

He smiles back with a soft "thanks."

There's a comfortable silence, the leaves rustling as they're blown by the fall wind. "What're you doing out here at this hour?"

"Just got off work," she replies, stepping on a leaf. It crunches under her foot. "Why aren't you bussing back to the dorms? It's much faster than--oh. Right."

"Yeah," Kade mumbles, leaning back. His head isn't spinning as much as before, and the nausea is steadily decreasing. The only part of his body that's still uncomfortable is his now empty stomach.

"I would stay and talk but I have to get home now," Alisa says after a moment, standing up. "You should eat something if you're feeling any better."

Nodding, Kade stands up as well. He'll eat the rest of the pasta once he gets back to the dorms. "'Kay. Good night."

Alisa salutes him from her bike. "You too. See you Monday."

❆

additional notes:

kade and braden are closer than how i depicted them here, as are kade and alisa, but it's like this takes place at 11 pm so everyone's tired lol

more to come once i actually finish the 12 drafts i have yippee

[attackfish]

A thing I've noticed is that most people who aren't in the biological sciences, and even a lot of people who are have this tendency to think that evolution is much cleaner and more purposeful than it is, for example if an organism has a trait, that trait must be doing something for the organism, and evolution must have selected for that trait, and that trait must be the best possible version of it for that organism's specific circumstances.

In reality of course evolution is very messy, and is the process of adapting what an organism has or can cobble together, to best meet an immediate need. And genes are connected to other genes in weird and wild ways. A fairly well-known example is the fact that floppy ears are connected to a bunch of other genes in canines that are related to domestication, so when we domesticated wolves into dogs, or they domesticated themselves, or however that process worked, floppy ears came along for the ride, even though they have no evolutionary advantage, and even a minor disadvantage.

So there is this post going around Tumblr about zombies, and why humans are afraid of them, and why we are afraid of things that look human but aren't quite human in general, and it goes through people talking about how it might have been because of other human species that were dangerous to us, and maybe this is a response to that danger, and then somebody else went no no it's probably rabies, because rabies is very dangerous and will make you look like a human but suddenly very dangerous to everyone around you, and you might as well already be dead because you will be dead very soon, and you can make other people be dead very soon too.

And yeah I am willing to admit that the human response to other humans that aren't acting right, that just seemed off in that undefinable way, was probably very useful at helping us avoid contagious disease. Though it is important to note here that the original zombie fear, where it came from in folklore, was a fear of being made into a zombie. This fear arose specifically in populations of enslaved Africans and their descendants and it was a fear of a slavery more total than even their current state of subjugation. It wasn't a fear of hordes of undead monsters, it was a fear of being taken over and used, and having your very self violated, of having death be no escape from slavery.

But anyway, I don't think that the uncanny valley arose to protect us from rabies or any other contagious disease, though it may have been a useful trait for that reason. the uncanny valley doesn't just apply to humans, a very popular type of horror monster is like X but not X, like a deer but not a deer, like a dog but not a dog, like a house but not a house, like a room but not a room. Given my last two examples, it's clear that the thing that this is like, doesn't even have to be alive. Somehow I don't think that's to protect us from rabies.

If you want my guess, and I am a lay person and this is a guess of somebody who is moderately interested in the subject, I think it has more to do with the fact that our brains have evolved to become pattern finding, categorizing meat machines, and this has all kinds of benefits to us, keeping us alive, helping us together food helping us find shelter keeping us out of danger etc etc etc. And our brains really really do not like it when it cannot categorize something, when something breaks a pattern, and it can't find a new one to put it into, or find a new box that this thing belongs in. And we feel that attempt and failure to categorize a thing, as The Uncanny. It's less a separate trait, and more a peek into how your brain actually works.

Again, this is a guess from a lay person, but even if I'm not correct in this instance, it really is important to keep in mind that evolution is messy, haphazard, and works only with what it has, and only sometimes is there a neat correlation between a trait and an evolutionary pressure which that trait evolved to fit.

[journey-to-the-attic]

Ignore this ask if you want to, but my brain keeps thinking about JTTA x Monster Hunter, and I don't think I'll be able to stop until I get it out, so here I am.

I'm looking back at this and realizing I accidentally went on a bit of a rant trying to explain Monster Hunter and adding too much detail in some places, so I apologize for the amount of text.

So, as you can probably tell by the name, Monster Hunter is a game where you hunt monsters, and I don't mean things like vampires and ghosts and what not, but in the world of Monster Hunter, Monsters are essentially just animals that occasionally put entire ecosystems and/or villages at risk of destruction, usually depending on the monster itself.

The people who deal with those monsters are called hunters, and train as part of the Hunter's Guild, which is basically about studying monsters, keeping people safe from rampaging monsters, and all around trying to keep the ecosystem intact and not destroyed.

Hunters use a variety of different weapons (and weapon types) and armor, the majority of which are made with the parts of monsters that they've hunted. Different weapons have different elemental/status effects depending on the parts used to make them, and different armors have different elemental defenses and weaknesses for the same reason.

Hunters will usually have a Palico with them, which is just a felyne (bipedal cat with same/similar intelligence to humans and capable of speech) who helps them in battle. Monster Hunter Rise also introduced Palamutes, which are Canynes (dogs but enough that a human would be able to ride one) that help hunters by fighting monsters and being a sort of mount for a hunter to ride on to chase after monsters and traverse the ecosystem. Both come in a variety of colors (outside of one's you would expect on a cat or dog, so they can be colours like green, pink, purple, yellow, and what-not) and fur patterns.

I think that it would be really neat if IK was from the world of monster hunter and was a hunter in training. Like, imagine if this tiny child showed up and you don't assume much about them, then one day you find out that this child is in training to get into battle with dangerous beasts, some of which are probably 15-20x the size of her.

Since hunters are decently sturdy (obviously the armor helps with that, but still) and strong, along with needing to be agile enough to dodge monster attacks, so I like to think that hunter-in-training IK would be able to, at the very least, be able to defend herself from any demons (Belphegor) who might try to hurt her, even if only for a minute or two. Plus, depending on where she grew up, she may already have a Palico and maybe a Palamute, which I think would be great.

However, I also think it would be funny if IK was somehow already a full fledged-hunter, although she would probably only be allowed to do 1-star or 2-'star since 1-star quests don't involve fighting any large monsters, and the 2-star quests that do involve fighting large monsters aren't for the very dangerous monsters.

On one hand, I'm pretty sure that no matter how skilled IK is, she wouldn't be a hunter until she was older. On the other hand, I think it would be really funny if someone was showing her a picture book of human world animals, showed her a picture of a bear and mentioned how dangerous they are to humans, and IK just casually goes "Oh, yeah. I've killed one of those before."

Oh, and either way, during that one chapter, I think it was during the retreat to Diavolo's castle, when the humans and angels had seperate days to plan activities for each other and the demons based off stuff from their own realms and IK decided to do a classroom where she and Solomon taught everyone about human world stuff, maybe she could still do something along the lines of that, but instead of regular human world stuff, she could teach them about things like monster biology (monsters are sorted into different categories, I think mostly based on their skeletal structure but there could be more}, some monsters are specifically all-male or all-female and their counterparts are so different that they're technically considered to be different monster species entirely) and maybe how the different weapons in her world work. I feel like she would be so excited to teach them that stuff because, despite it being common knowledge back in her world, in the Devildom, it's something only she knows.

I'm going to end this here because I don't want to make this any longer than it already is. If you decide to post this ask, I absolutely want to hear your opinions on it and whether or not you'd be okay with hearing more of my thoughts on it, such as what weapons I think IK would use or things she might do/say that freak out/confuse the others and whatnot.

ooo this is cool!!! okok so, i won't be able to keep this canon compliant with monster hunter BUT

i reckon it'd be funny if ik was basically one of this rugged seasoned warriors despite looking like a totally normal (if anything, weak-looking) kid. you know like in fighting games where gamers have super strong equipment/are super good at the strategy of it all and also insist on using the cute anime girl avatar to do it

maybe the monsters ik hunts existed in the devildom in the past, as a sort of mythical ancient threats. imagine being diavolo, growing up learning of these mysterious beasts that terrorised the devildom in the past and had to be banished with the combined power of like ten high demons, and then you encounter this kid who immediately info-dumps every possible bit of taxonomy about said beast, then mentions she's hunted like ten of them before

in the beginning lucifer keeps subtly interrogating her to see if she's a threat to his brothers and all he really learns is that she is frighteningly hardy. this kid's survived so many kinds of venoms and poisons that he wouldn't be surprised if her blood has been replaced by some kind of toxic chemical cocktail

also i think we all know what's going to happen if ik has a palico. satan is getting in on that immediately (in this case he becomes ik's first friend. though i can imagine he'd be a little thrown off at first by their humanoid nature)

i guess in this case she WOULD just start blasting when encountered with lucifer and belphie's respective attacks... if belphie did kill her anyway she just respawns immediately afterwards

[junpeijackflash]

Happy Pride Month, lovers and haters of Maximum Ride!

I promised I'd talk a bit more about my rewrite by revealing which members of the flock are LGBTQ+, and now that I've finally finished fixed Chapter 7, now's as good a time as any.

This will be spoilers for stuff I've planned further into the future (as in: most of this is only really relevant from book 2 onwards). This also isn't all the LGBTQ+ characters I have. There's a couple of OCs (and a handful of stolen James Patterson characters). Might talk about them later, might not. Who knows.

Characters are below the cut!

Alright, we're all clear on spoilers? (though I guess it doesn't matter in the case of a rewrite with no confirmed release date lol)

Then, in a semi-particular order, let's start with...

Nudge!

Using a new picrew for all of these. Link can be found here: https://picrew.me/ja/image_maker/626197

Nudge is pansexual, which tbh is the headcanon I've had for her for years now, so this doesn't feel like much of a change. I should note here that she - along with the other members of the flock, minus one exception - don't technically use the terms I'm using here to describe their sexuality, for one reason or another.

For Nudge, it's because she doesn't discover any words for describing her experience other than "gay" for a while, and she doesn't really like calling herself "gay" since she doesn't feel like the term fits her.

She doesn't have any romantic relationships, but she does have a crush, and gets incredibly shy and embarrassed about it.

Iggy!

Iggy is, by definition, gay. However, Iggy doesn't particularly like the term "gay". He usually either uses "queer" or just goes unlabeled.

Iggy is also the only character that I have a planned romantic relationship, and it's with a stolen James Patterson character! Place your bets everyone! It's not gonna be who you think it is!

Both Iggy and Nudge are already out by the time book 1 starts. These next two come out after a bit of self-discovery during book 2.

Max!

Maximum Ride is aromantic, realizing this after 14 years of living when she's finally confronted with other people her age and realizes that dating and romance are in fact real things people want to do and not something made up for television.

I haven't decided whether or not she's asexual as well. Feel free to headcanon that, or whatever you want. I'm leaving it up to interpretation.

Of course, Max isn't going to be having any romance, considering she is the last person in the flock who'd want that.

And finally, the last member of the flock, and the only trans member......

...oh come on, like you don't know who I'm talking about.

Fang!

So yeah, I've fallen victim to the nonbinary/trans Fang agenda, and I'm here to make all of you join as well.

To keep things simple, and not spoil all of my Fang Development Plans, here's a basic summary of Fang's pronouns book-by-book.

Book 1: he/him

Book 2: he/they

Book 3: they/he, but in the "Only people very close to me get to call me 'he', everyone else has to use 'they' or I'll kill them" sort of way

Should also note: the flock as a whole is not even aware of the concept of being trans or the fact that people can be something other than male or female until book 2. Finding out helps Fang start questioning their gender.

That about wraps it up. Sorry if this is underwhelming, I never know what I do or don't want to say regarding spoilers. The only two flock members who aren't included on this list are Gazzy and Angel, but that's really just because they're very tiny children and I was thinking less about who they might have a crush on and more about the brand new childhood trauma they'll be getting and living with for a very long time.

[isabellafoster13]

This was requested on Wattpad by CelineCourageux.

This takes place in the modern day. 

I hope you enjoy!

Amusement Park Prize (Mira x Lucy)

"Come on, Lucy!" 

Mira begged her girlfriend while they sat next to each other in class. Lucy shook her head, saying, "you know I'm not interested in Amusement Parks. They're too loud and crowded, and there aren't a lot of rides I'd even go on. Plus, the lines are always a mile long and the games are all rigged." 

Mira pouted. She and Lucy had been dating for a few months now, and all of their dates were in parks, at coffee shops, or at movie theaters. She wanted to go some a bit more fun. When she heard from Lisanna that the annual amusement park was swinging around tomorrow, she decided that it would be the perfect date night. However, she didn't think that convincing her girlfriend to go would be so difficult. 

She felt Lucy rest her hand on her shoulder and heard her say, "we can do something else, Mira. How about we go see that new movie that Evergreen and Elfman saw? They said that it was really good, didn't they?" 

Mira shook her head, exclaiming, "but I want to go to the amusement park! It'll be fun, I promise!" 

Lucy sighed, "well, I don't like them." 

"Have you ever even gone to one?" 

"Yes, once, and it was terrible. I don't want to go to another one that'll just be a disappointment." 

"But, Lucy, this one is amazing! Everybody in school goes every year! It's the best amusement park in Fiore, so I know that you'll enjoy it!" 

Lucy opened her mouth to speak when Natsu dragged over a chair and loudly asked, "what are you two talking about?" 

Mira was the one who answered, "I'm trying to convince Lucy to go to the amusement park with me." 

Natsu's eyes lit up at the mention and grabbed Lucy's shoulders, shaking her as he practically yelled, "you need to come, Luce! That place is awesome! It has the fastest rides you can imagine, the funest games, and, best of all, the greatest food to ever exist!" 

Mira giggled as she watched Lucy try to get out of her best friend's grasp before she got whiplash. The blonde then responded, "I don't know. Is it usually crowded?" 

Natsu answered, "not really. It's big, so you shouldn't be bothered by anyone." 

Mira looked to the front of the room and saw Erza and Gray. She called over to them and, when they looked at her, she waved them over to the back of the classroom. When the pair arrived, she explained, "I'm trying to get Lucy to come to the amusement park with me tomorrow. Lend a hand?" 

Erza and Gray both smiled. The redhead praised, "you really should try it, Lucy. It has something for everybody, I can assure you. If you don't like fast rides, then it has calmer ones. If you don't like rides at all, then you give the games a try. They are a lot of fun to play." 

Gray chimed in, "yeah! The food is great too. It's so much fun, even Laxus likes to go." 

As Lucy hummed thoughtfully and stared down at her desk, Mira clapped her hands together in front of herself, right underneath her chin. She smiled at her girlfriend, blue eyes sparkling with hope. Her silent pleading was impossible to miss. 

She watched with delight as Lucy sighed and relented, "alright, Mira, we can go to the amusement park together." 

Mira cheered as she wrapped her arms around her girlfriend and planted a big kiss on her cheek. She was determined to make sure that Lucy had a great time tomorrow. 

The couple walked through the ground of the amusement park, occasionally seeing some of their friends. Natsu and Gray were going on roller coasters and seeing who would get sick first, it was always Natsu, while Erza waited for them on the ground, eating whatever strawberry-flavored treat she had managed to find. Lisanna and Juvia quickly joined them. Evergreen and Elfman were going on the Tunnel of Love together while Laxus, Freed, and Bixlow competed against each in some games. Levy was pulling Gajeel along, the large man complaining the entire time. They also saw Wendy and Romeo, who were both heading into the Maze of Mirrors after Romeo's father apparently got lost and needed help getting out. 

Mira looked at her girlfriend, asking, "so, what do you wanna do first?" 

Lucy shrugged, causing Mira to frown. The white-haired woman looked around, searching for something that they could do. More specifically, she was looking for a game that looked interesting, guessing that playing a game would be the best way to get Lucy into the park. 

She quickly spotted a game that had a prize that she knew Lucy would love. She grabbed her girlfriend's hand and pulled her toward the game before she pointed up at the prize and asked, "what do you think of that?" 

She watched as Lucy looked up at the prize. It looked like a snowman, with a white body with an orange, horn-like nose that resembled a carrot. When Lucy's eyes lit up upon seeing it and she grinned, Mira placed some jewel onto the stand and asked to play. 

The carny smiled at her as he explained the game, "all you have to do is knock down all of these clowns with that water gun. If you can manage that, then you can have any prize you choose." 

Mira nodded and took up the water gun, resting the butt against the front of her shoulder. She waited for the wooden clown figures to start moving before she began shooting water at them. She silently thanked Laxus for teaching her to win when they were dating a few years ago. 

'Just aim for where the freaky clown think is going to be,' he had told her. She did just that, picking a clown figure to shoot down and aiming at where it was heading. Once it got close enough, she pulled the trigger, a large burst of water knocking it down. 

It didn't take her long to knock down all of the targets. She listened to Lucy clap beside her as she pointed at the large, stuffed toy and announced, "I'd like that one, please." 

She quickly accepted the toy from the carny and handed it to Lucy, watching with delight as her girlfriend proudly proclaimed, "I'll name it Plue! Thank you so much, Mira!" 

Mira giggled and entwined her fingers with Lucy's, saying, "of course, Lucy. Now, how about we go try the Ferris Wheel next? The line is never very long around this time." 

With that, the couple was off to the aforementioned ride, later sharing a kiss when they reached the top. 

[raybyanothername]

...Fine i didnt really expect much else. I will however ask you how many WIPS you have going at the moment. And if you are willing to rant about any of them containing Rhae and her siblings or Targs being absolute dumbasses. (Can you tell I've found my favourite tropes in this fandom?)

I am stuffing my whole hand in my mouth because that gif choice was absolutely hysterical. If you know what happens next... so, you'll get the joke... probably later this weekend sometime? Maybe next week?

I'mma segue into WIPs progress right now... which means I'm going to whine about how they're all picking on me!

Fear In His Eyes - Chapter 2 In Progress! - I'm writing it in a notebook. For whatever reason, this fic refuses to be written on my phone. The first chapter was like this also. They're proper spoiled beasts, like Syrax. The only dumbassery continues to come from Viserys though... everyone else is being angsty balls of awkwardness.

Riding Another Man's Dragon - I'm avoiding eye contact. It knows what I'm about to do and so do I, neither of us are happy about it. Dumbassery will be avoided on a technically!

Concubine Beats King - My baby girl is nearly ready for her debute! And by that I mean the next chapter is almost done. ^^' And is utterly rife with nonsense!

Aegon, Jace, my dears... you're smarter than this. It's okay, Helaena will save you, again. Possibly with an assist from a brother. Not Aemond though. Aemond is winning the Dumbass Award in this chapter, probably. Mostly cause Aegon is pregnant and has an excuse.

Like Mother, Like Son - Oh? Did I call Fear the spoiled beast? Nah. This one. It might actually be longer than Fear Ch 1, given what I've written and how far I still have to go... they haven't even spoken yet this chapter!

So yeah. All of them are annoying me. Rhaenys alone is keeping me sane. And Baela. She goes after what she wants, like a boss, unlike some people.

Secret Prompt Jaegon Fic #1 is about to get 50% of what's written scrapped possibly and it is Entirely Aegon's fault! If he could just, ya know, cooperate? Learn to communicate like a normal person? ...well, the fic wouldn't exist, but I also wouldn't have to scrap so much. So really the only dumbass in this one right now is me. ^^'

According to the Rubric - It's dragon time baby! And some light blackmail... but dragons!

As is true of all of my modern AUs, there is a high level of dumbass behavior. Mostly from Luke for once... who I usually let escape on account of his mischievous little grin amusing me, but not today!

Also almost done with the next chapter. Which makes me happy, cause then the plot will be fully established and we'll be ready to ride the chaos properly.

Secret Prompt Jaegon Fic #2 is debating its genre preferences. I have been dragged along for the ride. Send help. Fluff or smut? Jace is the titular dumbass for this one. To help balance out the other prompt fic focusing on Aegon.

Keeping Up with the Targaryens - A standoff is occurring as I debate the perspective and time frame of the next chapter. Either way, pray for Qarl's sanity. Harwin's already lost his, the Seven gave up long ago. XD

A Targaryen Solution - Oh, we have a proper race for the Head Dumbass position in this next chapter.

Secret Prompt Jaegon Fic #3 - Deep smut zone. No dumbasses allowed. Mostly cause their mouths are busy.

I think that's all the ones currently and actively being written rn... think being the operative word because I've legitimately lost count of all my wips at this point. And I do actually have wips for non-HotD fics too, so things are a bit... shuffled together right now in the document folder. ^^"

There are three more ideas swimming around up in the old noggin' right now. Two other prompt fics (one of them not even for Jaegon!) and some modern fic concepts. Plus there's a Lucemond one shot or twoo being neglected further down the drafts.

I don't know why I used so many Grinch gifs for this, but... he is my whole vibe right now. Which is probably a sign that I should leave my apartment at some point in the near future...

[justiisms]

“I can’t believe the Kokobros’ birthday is right after Uncle Yakou’s! What are the odds of that, haha~!”

“Looks like the Kokonuts really don’t fall far from the palm tree.”

*there’s an excited look on kaito’s face as he turns and spots the twins in question, rushing over and grabbing the two by the arm and dragging them further into the living room, mondo looking incredibly smug as he looks over the two!*

“I wanted to make you a coconut cake but bro not only refused to help me, but actively stopped me from making it! I was stuck in a burrito for almost a full hour while he went and made something else! Hmph!”

“Yeah, no shit. I want them to actually enjoy their birthday instead of worryin’ about whatever nightmare you were gonna force them to eat. Plus, you wouldn’t want them to eat themselves, right?” *mondo laughs as kaito quickly goes from annoyed to shocked before landing on his usual bright and happy smile!*

“I guess it wouldn’t be a nice present if they accidentally engaged in Kokobalism on their birthday, haha~!!“ *it’s then that kaito sits them both on the couch and zooms over to the nearby coffee table, carefully plopping a tray on their laps that is full of chocolate cupcakes topped with vanilla frosting and sprinkles!*

*however… despite mondo’s words, mixed in with the cupcakes are a few with a different frosting, although not even mondo knows which are which as the coconut buttercream blends in with the others, an ‘innocent’ smile on his face as he reaches over and ruffles both kokos' hair*

“Hey, after they’re done eating let’s go somewhere together! You take one Koko on your motorcycle and I’ll take the other on my bike! I’ve gotten a hang of the engine on mine so I bet I can go just as fast as you now! Let’s go out and have a fun time, just the four of us!!”

“Only if they want to. It’s their day after all. Let’s let the birthday kings decide.”

"O-Ohh, geez... they're already starting with the jokes, huh?" Mutters Yuta to his brother with a wry smile, before letting Kaito drag them both in, and gives a brighter smile at him and Mondo!

"H-Hah, why did I joke in my head that's exactly what you would have made if you had the chance? Mondo, our savior... just kidding. We would enjoy our birthday no matter what you guys made! ....But I'm still glad you didn't let him go completely crazy in the kitchen." He smirks, before rolling his eyes and jabbing both of them in the side at those puns!

"If you both keep it up, we'll be wrapping you both in burrito blankets for an hour!" Then as he and his brother are sat down, his eyes widen in delighted surprise when the tray of cupcakes is placed onto their lap! "Oh! Cupcakes! These look good... thank you guys so much! If it's alright, I'd love to try one right now." Grabbing one and taking a bite, Yuta hums at how fluffy and sweet they are! ...Along with a raise of the eyebrow when he tastes....coconut buttercream?! "I..Is this...!? H-Hey, I thought you said you stopped him from making coconut anything! M-Mondo!!! I should have known you had something up your sleeveee...." He squints at that 'innocent' look on Mondo's face!!! Though he's not actually annoyed, of course, in fact breaking into a small giggle when his and Yuma's hairs are ruffled~ "G-Geez...you and Kaito are such a mess! B-But since these cupcakes are very good, I'll let it slide, juuust this time. Heh heh heh..."

As he finishes the rest of his cupcake, Yuta perks up at the idea Kaito proposes. "Oh? Yeah, that sounds like fun: let's do it! I see: I don't mind whoever wants me to ride with him. There usually tends to be something happening in the downtown area, so I bet we'll find something nice and fun to do. I'll be fine with anything! With you three, it will be fun, no matter what! Is that okay with you, Yuma? It'll be great!" Then once he is done with his cupcake, Yuta will stand up and give Kaito and Mondo a tight hug! And if Yuma finished at the same time with him, he's of course pulling him in one, too~

"Mondo...Kaito...as much as pains in the butt you both like to be, aha: I'm so happy we have such awesome and amazing big brothers like you two. Love you guys! Thank you for the cupcakes, and for the only continuing amazing day we'll all have, together! I can't wait to have a blast with you guys!"

[theghostpinesmusic]

Okay, it's Sunday, I'm having fun, and I've had a lot of coffee, so I'm going to do one more of these. This one will be a little different than usual, and likely shorter, though, because I'm covering an Orebolo video for the first time!

For anyone not in the know, Orebolo is an acoustic side-project-y thing that features three of the members of Goose: Rick and Peter (who both sing and play guitar in Goose already) and Jeff (who plays percussion and occasionally sings in Goose, but plays the upright bass and sings in Orebolo). They play mostly Goose songs and cover a few of the songs Goose covers, but they also have a bit of their repertoire (both originals and covers). Long story short, though it's a little reductive, I like to think of them as acoustic Goose: a side project that provides a different take on the band's songbook that allows the lyrics, melodies, and harmonies of the songs to shine through more due to the acoustic instruments and (relative) lack of long-form jamming. As a good example of them Doing Their Thing, you can check out this take on Radiohead rarity "True Love Waits" from the 2/10/24 Capitol Theatre show.

Even Orebolo jams from time to time, though, and while those jams aren't the twenty-plus minute behemoths that are the tentpoles of most Goose shows these days, the more these three guys play together in this configuration, the more interesting their improvisation gets. Personally, I think some of the charm of an Orebolo show is that you get to hear a bunch of songs, and I certainly don't tune in hoping to hear a twenty-minute "Madhuvan" or anything like that; however, during their most recent three-show run this February, there were a few songs that featured some really compelling improvisation, and wouldn't you know it: one of them got posted to their YouTube channel!

This is Orebolo's take on "Thatch" from 2/10/24, a song that is so groove-based, and so funky when Goose plays it that I was surprised to hear Orebolo not only make it their own, but also create a jam out of it that is one of my favorites by anyone in 2024 so far.

Again, there just physically aren't as many instruments going here as you'd hear during a Goose (or Phish, etc.) show, and the jamming isn't quite as complex in a technical sense, so I'm not sure how much I'll have to say about it, but I wanted to share this in the spirit of thinking/writing about something a little different than the usual.

Before I get going, if you're interested in a comparison of "Thatch" as it's played by both bands, here's a video/write-up I did awhile back of the Amsterdam "Thatch" from Goose.

So, this Orebolo version might not have the full-rock-band groove of Goose's take, but Jeff's early hammering on the upright bass (and the crowd's appreciative reaction) are more than "good enough" as an alternative.

It's not part of the jam, per se, but the little instrumental break in the middle of the song proper is great, and a good example of the "usual" extent of an Orebolo jam.

Fortunately for us, they ultimately decide to take "Thatch" for a full-on (acoustic) ride, starting at 5:53 with a quiet breakdown. At first, Peter and Rick hold down the fort rhythmically as Jeff goes nuts on the bass, moving the melody forward. I like Rick's little nod here, as if to say "Yeah man, go for it."

Soon, Peter adds in a repeating little blues figure, and then he and Jeff are trading the melody back and forth while Rick plays some ridiculous rhythm guitar to keep things chugging along. There's a brief moment of tension and then a release at 6:48 that moves things along to the next portion of the jam, which features Peter playing rhythm while Jeff and Rick both improvise some melodic content.

I feel gross for having written "melodic content" as a way to describe music, but I'm leaving it in to self-flagellate publicly.

Jeff moves to the bow, which rules, and Rick responds by arpeggiating at a speed that frankly makes me jealous. If there can be such a thing as an ambient jam with only acoustic instruments, I think we're approaching that here.

Completely ignorant of context, I have no idea why Rick says "Yeah!" into his mic here, but I like to think he was just really into it.

This section of the jam builds until about 8:40, when the tension breaks, much to the joy of the audience. The jam actually continues in a similar vein after this, albeit with Rick and Peter playing interlocking melodies while Jeff takes a more traditional rhythm-bass role, but it feels like a sort of "outro" to the previous build, at least initially.

Around 9:30, the energy starts to build again, in large part thanks to Jeff just ripping the bass. Rick lays down some amazing melodic playing at 10:00, and that slowly brings the jam back down to a simmer...until Rick signals moving to the conclusion of "Thatch" proper at 11:00.

Again, maybe it's not the multi-stage intergalactic exploration that I usually cover here, but I like this jam a lot for the fact that it doesn't rely on straight-up shredding at really any point, there's a lot of wonderful interplay between all three players, and, frankly, these three Orebolo shows have been the main thing I've found myself going back and listening to a bunch over the last couple of months even with all the new Goose content that's come down the pipe lately. They're that good.

MAYBE I SHOULD JUST WRITE ABOUT OREBOLO ONLY FROM NOW ON IF I LOVE THEM SO MUCH

[the-firebird69]

The Batman (2022) "In A Room With A Bunch Of Cops" | FilmVerse

This is from the series Batman on television and it is the start of Batman dark Knight rises with bane and our son was a big fan because you can hear they're kind of a little bit loose on why they're angry and what they're talking about traders and they're all traders more or less and they're not mentioning that big bad guys it's a horrible horrible show and they're pointing the finger at each other and they both look like crap. They're making chaos they're not keeping the Earth together and they're spoiled rotten little kids. That's what it looks like and that's what it is it's coming up soon and however they are attacking the empire but they're also riding them like they always have reading other groups and they consider us to be an easy prey and weeklings and we don't know what we're doing and I suggest you tell him what actually happens and he said that to azog who survives and his wife survives and Deez around somewhere believe it or not he did tell him he said what you saw and very deadly and it's an illusion and they follow him for some reason and they follow the devil who works for him he says can you believe it the devil himself and he kind of laughs and goes and you are Lucifer he says I don't like you very much and that was hell they just tell him to bring her back and he says he'll bring her back plenty of times causing a sack of s*** that leaves and he hears this then it shall be and he says good and I say good too. He doesn't take it seriously and it's horrifying and your people are struggling and they're dumb as hell. And he knows it's very hard for them but he says it too it's very hard for us he says I'm a giant if I'm big I don't know what to do I'll be in trouble but I can get Prilosec so it's really not a big problem and I should make a big deal out of it. And use a little and then lay off it says probably for a while goes into these fat modules fat modules and he said that's right so I get like 6 ft 2 you know Fair bills nothing like you said that's great try for a thousand years and yeah Chinese knock off of Harley by then. It's a long range plan uncle so he started laughing and said this is great news said get out of here I look weird what are you looking at me that way for so he's laughing and says okay she says it's not nervous around me you saw me like Amy might be a little bit for a while but he gets used to it other people don't and it's used to these morons even the mask yes please God tell me he didn't say that yes okay. He says even with my low level of superpowers I can throw like 50 ft and he goes he got to tell a bull that one and d and so he goes and tells them both in the same what are you telling her for cuz it's kind of funny. He's got a low level of superpowers and I said didn't tell him the whole thing and I said you're not afraid of that guy and you used to looking at him he's very weird looking and so he said that and they started to get it. So you have to try it out and see which one of us can throw the farthest I should be bigger by now because you are and you're pushing people around Betty Ford with you the choice lines but it's really not that impressive and he says I seen every movie of yours what you do is impressive and you say it to everybody it's pretty much true. So he buys and he leaves and his left standing there happy and says the outfits really cool and some of the b******* is a little thick. I don't think you should cut it down now these people need it and you've been through a lot so he's really happy about it it's in a lot of fights comes by a few times same attitude and he just kind of horrified at what he finds his people like hunted they're using their son a little to detect it

Nuada Arrianna

And I never did most of the top part most of the whole thing this is going along and these people will regret saying word one to us not to mention this huge diatribe of b*******

Thor Freya

Olympus

[scorbleeo]

Book Chat: United as One

Lorien Legacies (Book 7) by Pittacus Lore

Source: Google Images

The Mogadorian invasion has come to Earth, and they have all but won the battle for our planet. Their warships loom over our most populous cities—like New York City, Tokyo, Moscow, Beijing, and New Delhi—and no army will risk making a move against them. The Garde are all that stand in their way...but they are no longer alone in this fight. Human teens from across the globe, like John Smith’s best friend, Sam Goode, have begun to develop Legacies of their own.

The Garde have always known there is power in numbers. If they can find these new allies and join forces with them, they just might be able to win this war. The time has come for the Garde to make their final stand.

ISBN: 9780718184902 (2016) | Source: Goodreads

This Finale Did Not Kick Ass

I did not just read seven books of the Lorien Legacies series, I read all the extra information and novellas too. When I say this was a long journey, it really was one. Finishing United as One was like finally being able to come up the surface and take a deep breath of air, that's how tediously long the journey felt. And this is not a metaphor describing a magnificent experience because this ending was so underwhelming. The entire time I was reading the book, I was not engrossed in it at all, I just kept thinking when was it going to end. Like I have been saying, this series really did not need to be this long. I don't hate it, it was a good ride but it could have been faster and shorter.

A couple of other smaller details I really wish to complain about. First being Mark. I understand that his character brought nothing much to the final battle but his character was done absolutely horribly. The author should be ashamed.

Next being Five. I never liked this boy, when he came into the story and after his betrayal, I was so annoyed when any bit of the story focused on him. So yes, he pissed me off simply by being one of the Gardes. However, after The Fate of Ten and United as One, I learnt to accept and forgive him. Bear in mind, this boy was never evil to begin with. So, I cannot understand why everyone is so hard on him and just refuses to toggle with the idea that people can change especially when he had such an upbringing and afterwards when he was so willing to fight with them? Did not help that Marina began pissing me off equally as much after Eight's death because she seemed to be the one who refuses to toggle with the idea of repenting oneself. And because she refuses, the rest just goes along with her. Also, that ending with the kiss? Ugh! I never liked the aspect of a possibility between Four and Marina. Four and Sarah bores me but I still liked them more than Four and Marina. That ending? Yeah...no thanks.

Last but not least, the writing. It is very weak for a series that has such a large ensemble. Especially coming from someone who read the in-between inserts of this series? It's so disappointingly weak.

I am just glad I'm finally done with Lorien Legacies.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

More on the Lorien Legacies series here: I Am Number Four (#1) | The Fate of Ten (#6)

[unforth]

There's always been several things about the "you should write because you love it/want to/for yourself, not for popularity/readers/kudos/comments/attention/praise/whatever!" talk that bothered me. It's not solely that it creates this weird implication that people who write with the intention of sharing it, and who want to share their work and interact with readers, are somehow "doing it wrong," though that's definitely one ridiculous element of it. However, I was never able to put my finger on what, exactly, struck me as so incredibly off.

And then it came to me, out of the blue, last week, as a flash of insight, and I can't believe I never realized it before.

"Creating a story" and "writing a story" are not the same activity, and the "you should write for yourself ~uwu~!" proselytizers in no way recognize that these two things are completely different.

Look, here's how it goes. I'm lying in bed, trying and failing to fall asleep, and I'm starting to get anxious about falling asleep, and the more anxious I get, the less likely I am to actually manage to sleep, so I have to come up with a way to distract myself pronto. When this first started happening to me 30+ years ago, I was at a loss, but now it's old hat, I know exactly what to do: envision a favorite character. They might be an OC. They might be from a table top RPG or LARP I've played. They might be from a favorite book, movie, show, etc. And, once I've picked that character, I think - okay, this is who I'm in the mood to think about right now. What kind of story do I want to tell? For me, I usually want an adventure with some romance, and I usually want queer, and I usually want some smut, and, and, and. The precise details depend on my mood, and how tired I am, and how long I'm lying there, and what my hormones are doing, and how my depression is, and who knows what else. Brains are fucking weird, I'm just along for the ride (and hoping I'll eventually maybe actually fall asleep).

Sometimes, I'll fall asleep before I come up with anything I really want to explore.

Sometimes, I'll fall asleep every night for a week before I come up with anything I really want to explore.

And then, when it comes, the pieces will fall together all at once, and I'll start to craft a story.

I'll imagine how the characters meet, what the conflict is, what brings them together, what tears them apart. I'll play out entire dialogs word for word with description and all. I'll imagine them falling in love, and falling apart, and falling and falling and falling until they finally rise, triumphant.

Sometimes, I can tell the entire story in one night. Sometimes, it takes me days, or weeks. The ones I like best I revisit months and years later, whenever I remember them and go, "oh yeah, I loved that one." I'll retell them over and over again, until I could recite to you the entire course of events.

I create a story.

And that activity? Is absolutely one I do solely for myself. It's epic, and it's empowering, and it makes me happy, and it helps me sleep, and it allows me to explore my emotions and picture other worlds and to tell a tale that's exactly what I want. All the best parts, with the happy ending close at hand.

You know what doing this isn't? It's not even close to writing a story.

Let's go to the next step of this process: I've got an idea and I really love it and I decide, "I want to write this down." I have absolutely no reason to do this just for myself. The story is already created. If I didn't want to share it, I literally never have to write it down. It's already in my head. It's already mine. Writing it down is done solely to share it with others - and it's an arduous, incredibly difficult slog. The story I can tell in a night or two or ten will take days, weeks, months, years to codify into elegant words suitable for consumption that communicate the images, ideas, emotions, and story that I've already created for myself. By the time I finish a novel or long fic, I've usually told the story to myself so many times that I'm fucking sick of it. The reason I never write codas and timestamps, even when I've said I would, is that seriously by the time I write "the end" I am so fucking over this garbage that I don't want to think of it again. Because my brain has told that story, to myself, and now to everyone else, and it took so flippin' long to tell it to someone else that I want to tell a new story. Heck, usually by the time I finish a long fic, I HAVE created stories, multiple stories, for myself, because I'm bored of the one I'm writing, so instead/as well, I craft a dozen others to keep myself entertained, ones I'll never write down and never share - stories that are just for me.

I truly think the vast majority of the people who are the hugest proponents of "write for YOU!" have never tried to write something long - something that takes months and months (how long that is, word count-wise, will be different for different people, of course).

I want to, and DO, create stories for myself. All the time. Constantly. Multiple times a day.

But turning the fantasy in my head into something readable? That's work, and it's work that I never have to do if the goal is just to "tell the stories I want to tell." I do that silently 24/7.

Putting it into words? That's about sharing.

And THAT is why "write for you, don't worry about readers!" has never spoken to me. And I can't believe I've been writing for almost 30 years and only JUST figured this out.