#Has anyone read Long Live The Pumpkin Queen?

[goddessoftheforgotten]

I heard a rumor that there was going to be a live action Nightmare Before Christmas and since then the thought has not left my brain

[hathay]

second year halloween hc’s pt2.

(i now realize in the splitting of the second years i left riddle by his lonesome with octavinelle, so to him i formally apologize.)

warnings: horror movies are mentioned, ghosts too. also i daurnt proof read😍 (may ooc riddle? i tried on him i am sorry if it sucks</3)

included: floyd, jade, riddle, & azul!

⥳floyd⥴

- he just really, really enjoys spooking people.

- like, a chance to dress up all scary?? to see the lovely faces of people lighting up with utter fear? SIGN HIM UP.

- he’s trying to scare anyone and everyone, let’s not mention how he gets all moody when someone isn’t scared by him and just giggling at his antics instead.

- he hates decorating for halloween it’s way too much effort but lemme tell you, pumpkin carving or horror movie watching? he’s all for it.

- makes the worst jack-o-lantern you’ve ever seen. like seriously what is that? he would quite literally just smile and be like “i love it😄”. he’d give it a name and all.

- he adores horror movies on halloween because he likes giggling when people are super scared, likes to teasing people about it too. (the type to scream in the middle of an intensely quiet scene.)

- steals candy. steals so much candy. actually, forget stealing, he just scares people into handing over candy to him and has NO remorse for it, they should’ve just been tougher, barely even put up a fight!

- he might even consider changing costumes halfway through the night so he can re-scare people or keep himself from getting bored.

⥴jade⥳

- he loves halloween are you kidding me.

- he loves costumes he seriously does, dressing up is just so exciting for him. he likes to look mysterious and all fancy.

- we all know halloween in the sea is much different so he’s still learning more about land halloween and boy is he INTERESTED. especially learning about all the cultures traditions, he’s captivated!

- also quite enjoys scaring people, he’ll wear a scary costume but go around acting like a living angels all night until he gets to chance to absolutely horrify people. then just does his lil soft smirk and struts away (he totally struts.)

- he also loves telling scary stories in the calmest most monotone voice while describing the most traumatizing scary thing ever. (it’s more chilling this way i’m telling you.)

- he would scare people in the most methodical way physically possible and he would act so shocked and innocent as his plan unraveled.

- the opposite of floyd in the pumpkin carving area, his pumpkin would be so gorgeous. like how did this man manage to make an art piece out of a PUMPKIN??

- he’s not a big candy fan tbh, man is floyd or someone else gonna luck out if he decides he’s feeling sweet enough to hand it all over.

♔riddle♔

- i beg of someone show him he can actually time to relax and enjoy himself on halloween.

- if he were to be somehow persuaded to go trick-or-treating i do think he would rather enjoy himself. to give himself a chance to be a bit of a kid, to let loose yk. it would be fun for him to experience something exciting that he hasn’t before.

- doesn’t want candy, he doesn’t like junk food, but mayhaps if he likes someone enough he wouldn’t be opposed to getting candy and giving it all to said person. as long as the queens rules permit it though.

- declines to watch horror movies. he won’t do it, maybe something tamer like halloween town? even then he’s judging EVERYONE in it.

- his costumes are well thought out, they are absolutely not something stupid or spur of the moment like certain people. (*cough cough ace*)

- BUT he lowkey likes being a little scary on halloween, it’s the intimidation factor that he enjoys.

- he won’t carve pumpkins either, way too messy for his tastes, maybe if the queen allows it, he’ll partake in painting or drawing on the front of pumpkins!

✯azul✯

- he’s so excited. so excited. sure sure he may seem like he’s only in it for a profit (he’s THRILLED about said profit don’t get me wrong) but he loves halloween itself too.

- he does enjoy halloween profit but he also just enjoys halloween decorates, he likes all the cute halloween stuff and how he can make it all however he pleases. like little sugar cubes shaped like pumpkins or ghosts? he’ll never tell but he thinks they’re so cute.

- idc what he says he’s afraid of ghosts. like how ghosts are quite prevalent in the coral sea, as a kid he would hide under his covers and sob because he was fearful of them. (it happened i was totally there)

- he would watch halloween movies but would act so hard to seem uninterested or that in that situation he’d be a-okay.

- he convinces people he only likes to capitalize off halloween but he lowkey loves matching costumes and thinks they’re cute. if someone he likes asked him to match i stg he’d be unable to speak. (he turns into mush fr)

- i think he would really enjoy dressing up, he’s an extravagant man yk! if he gets to wear something that makes him feel on top of the world he’s gonna do it.

[baldursfate]

Has anyone read "Long Live the Pumpkin Queen"? If so, what are your thoughts?

I bought this book today to get into the Halloween mood (because it's August now, I only have two months to prepare). I read a lot of mixed reviews online, and several people mentioned there's some major retcon in it. I'm already seeing some issues with research and details. In the first paragraph of chapter 1, the author describes Finkelstein's lab as smelling like sodium chloride and rubbing alcohol. Sodium chloride is odorless, it's table salt. This leads me to believe that the author threw in a term that sounded scientific without doing the proper research to ensure her writing made sense.

I'm also not a fan of the super long literary sentences in this novel. In the prologue, there is a page-long paragraph made up of a whopping two sentences. I get that it's proper sentence structure and grammatically correct, but the writing is a bit too adolescent to really use the style in a productive manner. It just becomes hard to process and a mouthful to read out loud. I'm curious as to everyone else's first impressions of this book, and if they lived up to your expectations by the end. I don't mind spoilers, I'm going to read it regardless.

[detectivereads]

Halloween/Fall Season TBR 2023

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to write down my TBR for the fall/Halloween season and mention some of the new books that are coming out this year. These titles are the ones I read every year and I highly recommend them to anyone who is looking for a scary book to read (or really any murder mysteries, it feels like this is the prefect season to read Murder Mysteries).

~Books that are on my TBR~ : (Pretty much I recommend everything on this list)

Coraline by Neil Gailman

Halloween Tree by Ray Bardbury

Pumpkin Heads

Nancy Drew (This and the next few are perfect for the cozy weather)

Judy Bolton

Dana Sisters

Connie Blair

Hardy Boys

Scary Godmother

Edgar Allen Poe

The Invisible man

Nightmare Before Christmas Long Live the Pumpkin Queen

Bunnicula

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Frankenstein by Mary Shelly

Garlic and the Vampire

Garlic and the Witch

Halloween Party by Agatha Christie (first time I am going to read this)

Sherlock Holmes

Then there was none by Agatha Christie

Addams family

Goosebumps books

Mirror Lake By Juneau Black

The House of Lost Horizon Sarah Jewell mystery

Sleepy Hallow by Washington Irving

Harry Potter (I also read these around Xmas time too)

~OP Books I recommend~

The Shady Hallow mysteries. I love this series and it feels like you can read this series no matter what time of year but the big ones that I recommend from this series are Cold Clay & Mirror Lake.

I love Mirror Lake the most out of the series and the description of food and the autumn ambience is wonderful.

~Soon to release books (I hope)~ :

DeepHaven by Ethan M. Aldridge- I saw the artwork that this author has been posting and I thought it was gorgeous. I did some digging but did not really want to spoil it too much for myself. I am getting very Eldritch horror vibes from the artwork.

Unfamiliar vol 2 by Haley Newsome- I am in love with this series, it has magic it has witches it has food. What more could I ask for.

Twilight Falls by Juneau Black- This is one of my highly anticipated books that are coming out this year. I love the Shady Hollow Mysteries series, this come out after November, but I am still super hype for it.

 Tim Burton’s Nightmare before Christmas the Battle for Pumpkin King by Dan Conner- I have been collecting anything really Nightmare for a few a years now and when I saw this I freaked, I can’t wait for it.

Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree- I loved Legends & Lattes and when I found it there was going to be a 2nd book, I was thrilled I can’t wait for it.

Catch me If you Candy by Ellie Alexander- Recently I have been wanting to get more cozy mysteries and this series is like one of the biggest series I have seen. I am hoping to start collecting the series soon.

~New Books~ :

Most of these books are going to be Cozy Mysteries. I love Mysteries and Cozy Mysteries are right in my alley. First of all, I will not spoil mysteries for anyone if I can help it, so I will keep description vague. Most of these books are new to me and I am keeping myself blind incept for like the over storyline. (These are not new releases they are just new to me)

Fatal Fudge Swirl by Meri Allen- this is the third book in the Ice Cream Shop Mysteries books, I am trying to collect the others and read them in order. So, this mystery takes place around Halloween and there is a wedding, and tragedy strikes at the wedding.

Murder at the Pumpkin Pageant by Darci Hannah- this is another cozy that takes place around time Halloween time. Halloween time is here, and our MC Lindsey is not really jazzed about it, because she lives in the town spooky haunted lighthouse, so teenagers make it a test of courage to come up and scare each other silly.  However, this year her best friend asked to do a spooky episode for her social media what was supposed to be a night of ghost hunting and fun scares turns sinister.

One Poison Pie by Lynn Cahoon- Now this one doesn’t take place on around Halloween (as far from what I know I haven’t not read this book yet, so I fix this later if I am wrong) but it’s having to do with witches and what’s better she is an amateur detective kitchen witch. Mia is our main character and right now she has hit a rough patch in her life when boyfriend has left her greener pastures and she is now jobless. So, she heads back home to her grandma’s house. It’s the first book in this series so I don’t know too much about it.

A Batter of Life and Death by Ellie Alexander- the only thing I know is that this book takes place in fall and I just starting to get into the Bakeshop Mystery series. So, I am keeping my self-blind and I can’t wait to read it.

No Parm No Foul by Linda Reilly- this is the second book in the grilled cheese shop mystery, and it takes place around Halloween. I read the first book and I like it, so I want to try to get the second to see how it is.

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 2/5

Book Blurb: In this magical romance from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Long Live the Pumpkin Queen, an illness cursing the land forces a teen girl astronomer to venture across the wilderness in search of the stars’ message that will, hopefully, save them all.

If magic lives anywhere, it’s in the stars…

Vega has lived in the valley her whole life—forbidden by her mother to leave the safety of its borders because of the unknown threats waiting for her in the wilds beyond. But after her mother dies, and Vega sees the fabled twin stars in the sky, it’s an omen she can no longer ignore, forcing her to leave the protective boundaries of the valley. But the outside world turns out to be much more terrifying than Vega could have imagined. People are gravely sick—they lose their eyesight and their hearing, just before they lose their lives.

What Vega keeps to herself is that she is the Last Astronomer—a title carried from generation to generation—and she is the only one who carries the knowledge of the stars. Knowledge that could hold the key to the cure. And so when locals spot the tattoo on Vega’s neck in the shape of a constellation—the mark of an astronomer—chaos erupts as the threats her mother warned her about become all too real.

Fearing for her life, Vega is rescued by a girl named Cricket who leads her to Noah, a boy marked by his own mysterious tattoos. On the run from the men who are hunting her, Vega, Cricket, and Noah set out across the plains in search of the cure the stars speak of. But as the lines between friend and protector begin to blur, Vega must decide whether to safeguard the sacred knowledge of the astronomer. Or if she will risk everything to try to save them all.

Review:

A dystopian story that is a western meets sci-fi journey. In a world that is slowly being consumed in sickness there is belief that an Astronomer, someone who has tattoos and markings of the constellation on them, is the cure. Vega is the last Astronomer, she was raised by her mother, the previous Astronomer who has died, and after seeing the two twin stars in the sky she knows its time for her to fulfill her journey. Vega must find the Architect, a man who will be the key to guiding her to the sea in order to fulfill her purpose. She will have to travel across different towns, face dangerous people, and find the strength to complete her journey. Along the way she meets Noah, a mysterious boy with his own secret tattoos who will be the key to getting her to the sea... yet with dangerous men hunting them both down and willing to kill anyone to get to them, they’ll have to find a way to trust each other to survive. This story threw me off, I was definitely not expecting the sci-fi/western vibes that this story had, I was expecting something else I guess. This is essentially a story about a girl who is on a mission- meets dangerous people and meets a boy who she falls in love with but has his own secrets. The ending of the book is left open ended ( I don’t know if there is going to be a sequel or not) and its left in a way you wish there was some sort of extra chapter or in a way that the book would be a bit longer to get more of what is going on. The way it ends kind of makes you wish there was just more to finish it and I was left feeling lime it was kind of missing a conclusion to it all. In the end, I generally like Shea Ernshaw’s writing and stories, but this one was a bit harder to connect to and get invested in compared to some of her previous works. Definitely read it though if you are interested in YA Dystopian meets western and sci-fi stories.

*Thanks Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[xhannahsimssx]

Ask game!!!~

I was tagged by @wrixie this is actually my very first time to ever do something like this thank you!!! <3

Rules: Answer all eight questions and tag 9 blogs!~

Fav colour?: Purple and black!~ 🖤💜

Currently reading?: Long Live the Pumpkin Queen ✨️ (Highly Recommended if anyone has seen the nightmare before chirstmas movie!~ 🌙)

Last song you listened to?: Cure For Me By AURORA!~ 🎶

Last series you watched?: Degrassi The Next Generation, its actually pretty good lol

Sweet, savoury or spicy?: I love sweets but i sometimes don't & mild spiciness i like it and dont sometimes, i just have a weird relationship with both lol 🍭

Craving?: Chipotle, i have a weird craving for it whenever i dont have it lol but mostly chips to eat~ 🌯

Tea or coffee?: Um Helloo Sweet Tea Of course!~ 🍵 but i do like ice coffee tho a bit of both for me~

Working on: Currently Trying to post more sim posts 🥺💜 which will take awhile but im trying!~

Tagging: @simandy @kissalopa @ellcrze @sweetlysimss @ezrelea @luutzi @berrysweetboutique @xvampiresimmerx @incandescentsims

[tnbc-thoughtsandheadcanons]

Long Live the Pumpkin Queen: Dr. Finkelstein & Sally

There's a lot of heavy criticism circulating Dr. Finkelstein’s character in the novel. It’s completely understandable as to *why* - he and Sally are the only two major characters to have their stories/pasts completely rewritten, for Long Live the Pumpkin Queen. And if you’ve grown up with these characters & their tales, you’d be taken by surprise with the spin the novel took regarding their relationship.

Spoilers to Long Live the Pumpkin Queen below.

It’s revealed in LLTPQ that Sally is a ragdoll who was born, and her parents are Albert and Greta, the governors of Dream Town. She is part of a Rag Doll species who serve as dream weavers – in the human world lulling children and adults to sleep. The Rag Dolls we meet are the Governors, who tell Sally she was kidnapped as a child, taken through her bedroom window, by a man with a ‘large head and small eyes’. They show Sally her childhood bedroom, toys, and belongings - which she finds vaguely familiar. 

We later get a confession from Dr. Finkelstein, who claims that he kidnapped Sally from Dream Town and brought her back to Halloween Town, where he gave her a ‘forgetting potion’ so she couldn’t remember her prior family/home. He even replaced her original cotton stuffing with leaves. He did this because he had a book about the Holiday realms, and read about ‘Dream Sand’, wishing to experiment with it. So he went into the woods and found Dream Town. Apparently, he had also been failing to create a Rag Doll daughter of his own at the time, and once he saw Sally, made the decision to take her for himself. 

Greta tells us that they searched for her after she was taken. But Dr. Finklestein was the one to completely block Dream Town’s door, effectively making it a forgotten realm. Jack Skellington is furious with this news and sentences him to 100 years of community service for Dream Town.

…As you can see, it’s a pretty big…rewrite for his character. And Sally. 

In the original Nightmare Before Christmas, I always believed Dr. Finkelstein and Sally were a parody of the classic Frankenstein-and-his-creation tale, where she was brought to life by electricity and assembled by the Doctor himself. But the novel tells us that it was simply a trick - that he was lying to her all along, making her believe he created her. That she is actually a living Rag doll who came from her own species.

In a way, I can understand this from a narrative point of view - it brings a complexity into Dr. Finkelstein and Sally’s relationship, having him be her *literal* captor, someone so swept up in his pride and inventing abilities that he claimed to create something that he didn’t. And it would explain Sally’s feelings of being an outcast in Halloween Town, who couldn’t relate to anyone. It works as a storytelling tool – however, there are also…problems with these concepts. 

First off - the Rag doll species. I'm both fascinated and confused by Albert and Greta. The way the novel words it, Sally was ‘born’, and was once a child who grew to the age of 12 before being taken by Doctor Finkelstein. It’s mentioned Albert has graying hair, so we can assume Rag dolls age. But how can it be that they’re born with stitches, assembled and can tear apart? Or, in their world, does ‘born’ mean stitching a baby? Do they periodically build Sally, or does she age naturally? And how do Rag dolls reproduce? Is there any genetic code to them, or do they simply build each other? 

–The novel doesn’t answer these, so I can’t say. 

Another thing to mention – the book heavily villainizes Dr. Finklestein, despite the Sandman being the antagonist until he gets a redemption(a discussion for another post). We’re simply *told* that Sally was taken, and the Doctor was struggling, desperate to keep her – but we don’t get to see the build leading to that. We don’t read about Finklestein struggling to assemble a daughter, failing with his inventions and creations, where it would drive him to do something as extreme as **kidnapping**. This backstory lacks depth because it doesn’t care to spend more time on the Doctor and his intentions, his past, etc. It paints him in the light of ‘man who kidnapped beloved main character from her family, and kept her captive for the rest of her life while lying to her’ — even though it could’ve held so much more emotional complexity if more time were simply spent on him. We’re only ‘told’, not so much ‘explained’, it feels to me.

Dr. Finkelstein isn’t the hero regarding Sally’s story - he has always been her captor, locking her in her room and discouraging her curiosity with the outside world. He’s overprotective. But he deserved more than being heavily demonized for the sake of shock value.

I am divided, personally - I love Albert and Greta’s characters, the concept of Dream Town and Rag Dolls - but Doctor Finkelstein isn’t a one-dimensional character. I can understand the depth to the story Shea Ernshaw gave him - it’s not a bad one on its own, in my opinion - but it lacks genuity in its writing when treated like an afterthought.

[nyaitsu-writes]

✧ arashi, hinata, natsume | halloween part 1!✧

aaaaaa i couldn’t resist °ʚ(*´꒳`*)ɞ° since halloween is just around the corner i needed to write some cute hcs!! i am once again being really self indulgent with my character choices ehehe i’m especially proud of natsume’s so be sure to read the whole thing okayyy? <3

ARASHI NARUKAMI;

✦ ohh arashi is excited! she thinks dressing up has always been super fun but having you by her side makes it x1000 times better. matching!! couple!! costumes!! ଘ(੭*ˊᵕˋ)੭* she is totally in for cute and cheesy outfits! maybe she can be the queen this time and you get to play the knight in shining armor? she would absolutely love that!

✦ arashi will hold to your arm with such a bright smile as you walk through the streets at night, giggling at each other. if there’s some sort of parade or event she will convince you to participate. cutest couple in the area, everyone needs to see you! she will kiss your cheek for every compliment you get for your costumes or how cute you two look so be prepared for a loooot of kisses! 

✦ arashi is extremely nice and sweet with children, so everyone wants to be her little sibling at all costs! holding an open day at yumenosaki for halloween was a wonderful idea and seeing your girlfriend be absolutely swarmed by all the kids that want to have a talk with “ms knight” makes your heart flutter. oh she is SO cute! she’ll sit together and let them have a ton of sweets. and of course, you’re invited too~

✦ talking about sweets, she insists on making a lot of homemade cookies and sweets for the kids so you end up having a very wholesome cooking session together. she might put just a tiny bit of frosting in the tip of your nose so she can kiss you so be prepared ehehe other than that, the cookies come out absolutely adorable, a lot of cute little cinnamon pumpkins and ghosts. they’re so cute you wonder if anyone will be able to eat them... arashi says it’s because everything you do together is perfect because you’re made for each other ♪(´▽｀)

HINATA AOI;

✦ ohhh you’re in for a good one, celebrating halloween with hinata. he’s absolutely ecstatic and has been ever since summer ended. yes he is the kind of person that will keep a “X days to halloween” calendar on his phone because it’s his absolute favourite celebration in the entire year!

✦ i mean you get free sweets or the absolute wonderful chance of pulling a prank and getting away with it no matter what it is, hinata is on cloud nine just by thinking of his many many options for the day. you can bet he has been planning each and every one of his pranks by months so you might have to do some danger control for a bit before he goes overboard with it ehehe

✦ but really, hinata is super excited. his fav time of the year, together with his fav person? 11/10, would love to do it every day! he will do his best to try and get halloween night free just so you can play around together, maybe go trick or treating too. nope, you’re never too old for trick or treating: it’s free sweets so you’re definitely never too old!! (๑•̀д•́๑)

✦ you two will surely get back home with a bag full of sweets, lollipops and everything in between as hinata happily trots down the street. he may accept to share his prizes if you do something for him. maybe a kiss in the cheek? what do you say about holding hands and cuddling aaaaall night long? no, no, both! but even as you accept to do all of that, he’ll keep adding things to the list as he runs away with his rewards so you’ll probably have to run after him too!

✦ talking about running, hinata never runs out of energy even as you crash down on your living room after a very intense day. he’ll grab your arm and poke your cheek until you accept to let him rest against your shoulder, as he feeds you some of the candies. aww you’re getting sweeter and sweeter~ he can’t resist to steal a cute kiss from your lips as he sees you nodding off to sleep. don’t worry, he’ll be a good boy and take care of you. after all, you were the best company he could have ever asked for in halloween! <3

NATSUME SAKASAKI;

✦ once again, someone who does enjoy halloween. we’re talking about everyone’s favourite magician, you mean he can pull magic tricks with an actual excuse this time? he’s in. absolutely, 100% in.

✦ buuuut he isn’t the kind to look excited 24/7. it’s more like he’s scheming something (and has been for a while) because every time you mention halloween he has a knowing smirk on his lips. yes, just you leave everything to your very wonderful boyfriend, you won’t regret your choice~

✦ for some reason, kids keep calling at his door. it’s such a wonderful sight, little kids all dressed up playing trick or treat to natsume out of all people. he does have a huge stack of sweets at the entrance and yet he is asking to be tricked by all the children. why? well, he needs to see what these kids are made of first! and yet he keeps giving them sweets every time but shhh. just ignore that. he’s not being nice. it’s all in your mind, okay?

✦ natsume doesn’t really like crowds so he came up with some good, stay-at-home kind of halloween night. we’re in horror story territory here: this boy has a surprising amount of terror books and games in his room and he’s planning to go through each and every one of them —just to see your reaction. he doesn’t want to make you scared, more like just a tiiiiny bit nervous? just so you’ll cling to his arm a little bit more? not (too) evil intentions, i promise! just some good teasing~

✦ watch this: you’re playing a game together in the darkness, barely illuminated by the tv’s screen and just as the highest tension point is about to come out, the lights go off. yes you are clinging to him whether you like it or not, it’s all according to the plan ehehe (●ˇ∀ˇ●) he might laugh a bit because your reaction is a lot better than he was expecting but he’ll end up comforting you and holding you between his arms. he just wanted to give you a liiitle scare so don’t be too mad at him, hm? you’re sooo cute when you pout, he can’t resist…!

✦ turning on and off the lights is such an easy little trick for him and yet he enjoys holding you against his chest a bit too much to do it again. you’re soft and warm... if you don’t like the darkness, he will show you a couple of his secret tricks: magical sparkles that twirl and grow from his fingers, dancing around you. it’s a really faint light but it’s enough to see his smile. if you point it out, he’ll rest his head on your shoulder, not letting you go anywhere and not letting you see his face ever again (for the rest of the night). he’s the one doing the teasing here so don’t test your luck!! he might pull a biiig trick on you this time so you better be prepared!

[dragon-cookies]

OKAY I actually finished Long Live the Pumpkin Queen now, so obvs spoiler talk below here

I have such mixed feelings about this book because it has concepts that I both really like, and also dislike. The entire concept behind Dream Town, for example, is awesome. It was described nearly exactly how I had imagined it in my head, and I love the idea of an entire world being dedicated to creating dreams. The leaders of said world being Sally’s biological parents though, I’m on the fence.

I like stories where the core message is that anyone can be a hero and pursue their dreams regardless of where they come from, and it feels like that’s the direction Pumpkin Queen’s going in until it suddenly reveals that Sally was actually born to two people in Dream Town and not created in a lab. It feels like it’s saying anyone can be a hero (provided they originate from a special place that gives you a tactical advantage over a potential threat). It kind of cheapens the message it seems to be going for, with Sally coming into her own and finding her place in the world.

That and it doesn’t do much besides turning Dr. Finklestein into an awful, selfish character for literally no reason at all. They could’ve added some more nuance to it, like maybe a band of followers who were loyal to the Sandman kidnapped Sally and dumped her on the outskirts of town to send a message to the governors, and Fink happened across her and took her in, etc. But instead Fink’s apparently just a child-kidnapper who literally just exists as a scapegoat to pin all the problems onto. No nuance, no one else has to reflect on their actions. Even the Sandman, the main antagonist who terrorized his local residents and worked them all to the bone and nearly put the entire world to sleep, gets off completely scott-free with zero consequences for his actions.

That and what I said in a previous post about Sally just admiring the literal Queen Elizabeth II for a weirdly long time, are the two biggest issues I’ve got with the story. It was an otherwise harmless and pleasant read, but it might not resonate with everyone who’s a TNBC fan. I personally really like Dream Town as a concept and would love to draw it and toss around some headcanons, though I feel like it’s going to be hard to do that without including Sally’s parents in some way, so I’m very likely going to be throwing my own personal takes into the mix.

[the-kings-soul]

Roman Alberto is the youngest of the two twins within this tale. He's a more gentle soul, with a heroic heart. He helps others the best way he knows how, and longs to be accepted by others. He believes in fables told around his hope town and wishes to write about them, so less beings are hurt or harmed in any way. With the help of his strength, Remus Alberto, Roman knows he can face any challenge.

Remus Alberto | The Forest Index

Basics:

Nicknames/Titles- 

Ro

Robro

Broseph

Princey

Drama Queen

Age/DOB- 

19

4th of June

Gender/Pronouns- 

Male

He/Him

Species- 

Human

Sexuality- 

Asexual

Homoromantic

Apparence:

Hair-  

Dark brown

Neat and shaved sides 

Eyes- 

Emerald green eyes

Built- 

Delicate

Tanned skin 

5"9

Outfit- 

White t-shirt

Light blue jeans

Red plaid shirt with sleeves rolled up to above the elbow

Beige autumn boots

Pride flag, ace flag, a blue and a green braided bracelets

Maroon infinity scarf

Brown leather satchel

Unique Attributes-

Red glasses

Freckles

Pierced ears

Red nails

Personality:

Positive- 

Charming

Creative

Kind

Neutral-

Ambitious

Stubborn

Whimsical

Negative- 

Cautious

Insecure

Petty

Alignment:

Neutral Good-

Roman is a spirit that desires to help others. He believes that the rules exist for a purpose, but he also knows that some of these rules are unnecessary, causing harm to others. He despises those who have dictation over anyone's choices. He thinks things through and tries to act within the law when it is right. He feels at home around others who are happy and live their lives.

Roman has a very strong moral code, some dictated by society, and some of his own creation where society has failed. This makes him act out of the law if it is justfly wrong.

Abilities:

Roman is bilingual, knowing Spanish and English

Brilliant acting skills

His charisma skills

His ability to read people

Weaknesses:

His weaker body

Remus 

His secrets

Spiders

Confrontation

Backstory:

Roman Alberto was born with his twin on the 4th of June to Mr and Mrs Alberto. Roman was a very weak child, constantly at the doctors. At the age of 5, he and his family moved to Pumpkin Falls, to access the doctors within the town. Around the age of 10, Roman started to feel stronger and was slightly more active, but he was always limited. During his early teen years, Roman was slightly isolated from his peers. He always managed to make others laugh and keep them captivated by his stories, but he was bullied for being weak, not taking part in activities, being "way into" fairy tales, for his love of acting but never taking part in the school play, and for associating with Remus. His parents didn't help Roman with the bullying, also telling him that he had to change the way he acted. 

At 16, with the encouragement of Remus, the Twins came out to their parents, hoping to be accepted as themselves. Romans heart broke as their parents ripped into them, saying they were consumed by evil. Roman tried to explain why he was the way he was, trying to help them learn, but they wouldn't listen. The couple called a priest from out of town to help their children with their evil. The priest harassed and harmed the two twins, mainly focusing on Roman. Due to what Roman went through, he had trouble remembering the months with the priest. He refused to back down and listen to his parents when they disowned Remus, causing Roman to be disowned as well. The twins were left alone in Pumpkin Falls. Despite Roman's protests, Remus convinced him to stay in school and graduate. Roman is grateful for having Remus with him through his life and struggles with health.

Miscellaneous:

The Spanish last name ‘Alberto’ means ‘noble’ or ‘bright’ (The Author is not a Spanish speaker and has received help from a friend who does speak Spanish.)

Roman works at Hallows Eve Villa during the weekends and school holidays with Remus when Remus is free

~ 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 ~

More notes will be added within the profile as the tale goes on dear souls. Roman Alberto isn't some fairytale figure and can't simply be broken down onto a single page. The list will expand till the end.

Roman Sanders belong to Thomas Sanders and his team. The Author has only created the au and some original characters that will help to move the story along. Please respect the original properties.

A special thank you to these wonderful and talented accounts for the support and inspiration to allow this world to come alive: @sidestone-urban-legends, @thesenesx, @imflynn, and @ace-spiritwell.

[goldenavenger02]

Susz's Halloween Recommendations Part 2: Books and Fics.

Books

Pet Sematary by Stephan King

Dr. Louis Creed and his wife, Rachel, moved to Ludlow, Maine with their two young kids, Ellie and Gage, and their cat, Church. In the woods, near their home is a pet cemetery with a sign that was spelled sematary.

Notes: this book made me scared of my own cats for about two weeks. I really enjoyed it but that scene with the cat was very excessive.

Sadie by Courtney Summers

The book chronicles teenager Sadie Hunter’s quest to find the man who killed her sister. In alternating chapters, Sadie’s subsequent disappearance becomes the topic of West McCray’s podcast The Girls.

Notes: this audio book is so fantastic, especially the podcast elements! Trigger warnings for Sexual Assault and Child Abuse.

The Project by Courtney Summers

But dealing with her ex is the least of Hannah's concerns when a terrifying blood ritual interrupts the end-of-school-year bonfire.

Lo Denham is used to being on her own. After her parents died, Lo's sister, Bea, joined The Unity Project, leaving Lo in the care of their great aunt. Thanks to its extensive charitable work and community outreach, The Unity Project has won the hearts and minds of most in the Upstate New York region, but Lo knows there's more to the group than meets the eye.

Notes: a book about a journalist trying to learn more about the cult who took her sister from her. If you have siblings, this one hurts even more than if you don't. This has a frick ton of triggers, so please look into that before picking this up.

These Witches Don't Burn by Isabel Sterling

Hannah spends most of her time avoiding her ex-girlfriend (and fellow Elemental Witch) Veronica, hanging out with her best friend, and working at the Fly By Night Cauldron selling candles and crystals to tourists, goths, and local Wiccans. 

Hannah spends most of her time avoiding her ex-girlfriend (and fellow Elemental Witch) Veronica, hanging out with her best friend, and working at the Fly By Night Cauldron selling candles and crystals to tourists, goths, and local Wiccans. 

But dealing with her ex is the least of Hannah's concerns when a terrifying blood ritual interrupts the end-of-school-year bonfire.

Notes: a queer witch book with plenty of action and magic throughout! This book is so important to me and I'm currently reading the second and final book!

The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King

Long retired, Sherlock Holmes quietly pursues his study of honeybee behavior on the Sussex Downs. He never imagines he would encounter anyone whose intellect matched his own, much less an audacious teenage girl with a penchant for detection.

Notes: one of my mom's favorites and this is one of the best mysteries I've ever read!

The Devouring Gray by Christine Lynn Herman

On the edge of town a beast haunts the woods, trapped in the Gray, its bonds loosening…

Notes: this author has been involved in some not great things involving being anti semetic (I hope I spelled that right), so if you still want to read this, please don't do it in a way that financially supports her. That being said, I read it before that stuff came out, and I liken it to a queer Teen Wolf season 3 type story.

The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas

First there was the car accident—two girls gone after hitting a tree on a rainy night. Not long after, the murders happened. Those two girls were killed by the man next door. The police shot him, so no one will ever know why he did it. Monica’s sister was the last cheerleader to die. After her suicide, Sunnybrook High disbanded the cheer squad. No one wanted to be reminded of the girls they lost. ...

Notes: an amazing murder mystery and one that I highly recommend! A bit slow at times, but the fast scenes make up for it.

The Assassin Game by Kristy McKay

At Cate's isolated boarding school Killer is more than a game-it's an elite secret society. Members must avoid being "killed" during a series of thrilling pranks-and only the Game Master knows who the "killer" is. When Cate's finally invited to join The Guild of Assassins, she knows it's her ticket to finally feeling like she belongs.

Notes: this takes place on an small island near Wales and it's one of the most atmospheric books I've ever read! The first chapter is really nasty, but after that, it's so good!

Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen. M McMannis

Echo Ridge is small-town America. Ellery's never been there, but she's heard all about it. Her aunt went missing there at age seventeen. And only five years ago, a homecoming queen put the town on the map when she was killed. Now Ellery has to move there to live with a grandmother she barely knows.

Notes: this was like reading a CW show. That's all I can say about it.

The Spiderwick Chronicles by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi

Jared, Simon and Mallory, who finds a mysterious Field Guide hidden in the attic, written by their great-great-uncle Arthur Spiderwick, who studied Faeries — magical beings who hide themselves from Humans using a type of magic called glamour.

Notes: I can't say much about this because I barely remember it. But I remember it freaking the crap out of me.

Fics (all of these are MCU)

Pumpkins and Stitches and Monster Mash by @marvelous-writer

Notes: I told myself to pick one fic from one writer, but with Marvelous-Writer, I just couldn't do it. I'm not gonna give synopsis' for the fics, because you really just need to take my word for it and read them.

too sick for clowns by @hailing-stars

Notes: short and sweet. Hailing-Stars is an icon and everyone needs to follow her.

Vein Drain by @ciaconna on Ao3

Notes: absolutely fantastic and humorous.

Trick Or Treat (Or Traumatize) by @awesomesockes and @whumphoarder

Notes: I just freaking love this writing duo.

No doubts about it by @angels-creative

Notes: my queen, my bestie, and the fic she had to send me the link to cause I couldn't find it XD

And I think that's all for this year! Have a safe and happy Halloween everyone!

[halothenthehorns]

All in the Family

Chapter 80: The Unexpected Task

Lily's landing was actually not uncomfortable for once. She floundered in place upon her back, but it was soft material ruffling behind her whatever it was. Worry spiking if this was some sort of trap to compel her to get comfortable, she sat up abruptly, bunching the silk blanket in her hand suspiciously. She found herself in a luxury room fit for a princess.

The canopy bed was baby blue with pink lace, the pillow looked scandalously shaped perfectly for her head, there was even a thin film draping's that were almost see-through and felt cool as rain to the touch, but were blocking out almost all the light. The moment she pushed them aside, they glided away without a second thought, and she could see a window, leading out onto the Hogwarts grounds. She stood at it for a long time, seeing Hagrid's cabin in the distance, and got a strange guess of where she was, but wanted further proof. She got it almost immediately when she passed the trunk at the end of the bed wide open with Beauxbatons uniforms neatly folded inside, and The Book resting on top. They must be inside their carriage then, possibly with Fleur making a larger appearance in the coming chapter.

Inspecting the area just a bit more, she found a private bathroom that resembled a spa more than anything, and would have believed it if someone told her she spent a weeks worth of time just enjoying being by herself and not thinking of anything but how warm the water was, even if she couldn't read any of the french labels. Once she got out she swayed on her feet for a few moments with comfortable exhaustion, for once, deciding that as she'd landed in here and nobody had come to call yet, another good rest was in order. They'd all stopped plenty of times in the past with mutual sleep at hand. It took nothing else to convince her to crawl back into the strange bed and the slightest of tugs had the curtains back around her before she was out.

Frank dithered uncomfortably in the hallway. He'd grudgingly passed several open and inviting beds in the long, candelabra lit hallway just to find Alice, to assure she was alright and this wasn't some weird trap for Harry's next task, but he'd found her peacefully asleep. She'd even found a room with some muggle invention that had music playing from a big black disk she'd figured out how to work, it sounded like a nice string quartet in the whole room. However, he didn't want to assume just because they'd shared a bed together once she'd be okay with it again, especially in even more, ah, private quarters as all of these rooms seemed set for individuals. He'd just turned away and decided to just sleep in the room across, honestly the floor looked comfortable enough to nap on at this rate, when a giggle behind him made him twirl around to see she'd rolled over and was laughing herself silly at him before beckoning him to get in while wiggling to the far side of the bed.

"But Moony!" Sirius whined, managing to sound like an irritable six year old despite being ten years plus that. "Why not just take the opportunity while we can to not have to sleep in the same place as those two wankers, I quite enjoyed it last time."

"Because last time, we hardly slept a wink," he didn't need to elaborate, and was glad they hadn't found the other two yet as he couldn't quite suppress a blush. "We're finding them first you dolt."

They'd already passed several rooms containing their other quest members asleep, and Remus was just beginning to wonder if he'd passed them accidentally somehow when he came across a room with stripped bedding, and now sure at least they were thinking the same as him, he kept his hold on Sirius and dragged him along until he found what must be the equivalent of a living room in a mansion inside this pumpkin carriage. Peter was already curled up on the queen sized sofa, fidgeting with his school tie despite the fact it was loose enough to come off. James was upside down in a squashy armchair Maxime herself could stretch out in, his glasses placed carefully on top but eyes wide awake.

There hadn't been this much awkward silence between the four of them since their first year, those first few months before they'd even decided if they liked each other, let alone would become the best friends they were supposed to be. Both of them still grinned when they entered, and Sirius couldn't stop a small, albeit grudging smile as he shook his head at the lot of them, calling them sentimental fools as he snatched some covers from the floor and padded down in yet another available couch next to the purple lit fireplace that had wine goblets only half empty he'd save for breakfast. Remus barely had time to smile before he too passed out amongst the synchronized snoring, letting his feet tangle together with Sirius' but resting on the opposite arm of the couch.

Regulus stretched languidly as he awoke, still as disoriented as ever to find the light outside was exactly where it had been when he'd gone to sleep, but the comfortable bed had rivaled his own and who evers room he'd borrowed had good taste. There were posters of all of the French National Quidditch Team doing their signature move, the Blitzen Ballet, across several posters, which had been what had drawn him into the room in the first place.

He pulled some individually wrapped macaroons out of his pocket and began eating those as he went through the rest of this persons belongings, finding several textbooks all in French he couldn't follow, but not the book they needed. He didn't really fancy going through every room to find it, but he also didn't want to start until he knew everyone was awake- "The Unexpected Task." He crumpled a purple one up in his hand in surprise all over the blokes belongings. Well, clearly Evans didn't have those same reserves.

James startled awake with a yelp, flopping right out of the chair and confused for several long moments. Whoever would have thought waking up to the sound of Evans' voice would give him heart failure? The others were stirring with only slightly more dignity, he couldn't even blame Sirius when the first thing he did was reach up and snag those wine glasses to finish them off as her voice echoed around them before they'd even had morning tea.

"Evans does an impression of McGonagall telling off Harry too well," Peter groaned, trying to shove the blanket through his skull.

Remus looked like he was trying to burrow into the couch for more rest without comment, and James and Sirius woke up too hungry to really be paying much attention as their head of house held up Ron and Harry after class for something as silly as not paying attention. The two of them were busy trading a basket of fried fish back and forth and lamenting how fast it was vanishing when they simultaneously choked on the cold batter upon hearing no detention was being served, but quite the unexpected task indeed.

"Harry has to wha-?" Remus actually jerked his head free from his cocoon.

"Get a date, and dance her?" Peter repeated, inspecting the sleep he'd rubbed from his eyes as if expecting to find something else contaminating him.

"Or him," Sirius corrected with a suddenly wicked smile, "maybe he'll ask Ron, you don't know Wormy." The snide remark had slide easily from his tongue as he envisioned the fun of Hogwarts hosting something like a dance, it wasn't until he looked over to see his mate blush and stammer at the idea that he really, fully woke up. He wouldn't have believed it five seconds ago himself.

Peter was smiling to himself despite not able to look over at Sirius, and James swooped in to save the awkward silence. "Listen to this poor kid telling McGonagall he isn't going to do it! A books not good enough anymore, I'd pay money to see this in action!"

For just a moment, they all got a good laugh out of that.

They weren't the only ones, Frank and Alice were having their own fits of laughter still curled up in bed. Frank could at least sympathize with Harry though as he struggled to even conceptualize asking Cho out, he'd had a crush on Alice for months before he'd over heard her struggling with Charms and offering to tutor her. Asking her out, outright and to a dance, would have been insanity at that point. They both listened intently for any hint of what Neville would be up to during all of this. As much as they sympathized with Harry not being able to go alone because of his public dancing, they very much hoped Neville would at least be mentioned going with some friends rather than not at all.

Lily was giving herself a very hearty pat on the back for deciding to read this one alone. She was sure it wasn't just her imagination hearing the obnoxious laughter of the Marauders over this adorable idea, barely a teenager Regulus' pompous expression and possibly boasting he'd been trained to waltz before he could walk, and worst of all Frank and Alice's adoring looks at each other. She liked the both of them, more and more as they talked honestly, but her own life right now didn't leave her in a good position to be happy the only two people she could possibly count as friends during all this were dating and she felt like she was a third wheel half the time around them.

It was even more than that, if she were being honest with herself. While the idea of getting to dress up like that for the evening sounded nice in theory, she had about as much chance of going with anyone as Harry did Cho. Her heart sank for the poor lad as his crush admitted she was going with Cedric. Her prospects were even less endearing. Potter would ask her, of course, and anyone who proceeded to afterwords would likely end up in the hospital wing for one various reason or another until the offers stopped for a time again. And Sev...

She flipped the page hurriedly, it would be too obvious now if she stopped to stew over this, someone may come and see where she was and she wanted to actually enjoy this alone chance while she had it.

Regulus listened with the most absent of attention to these teenagers getting turned down left and right, the Marauders laughter echoing out into the hallway as he went exploring the rest of the carriage. Was he the only one who still remembered someone had put Harry in this tournament for more than embarrassing him? Nobody had even bothered to speculate on a suspect in ages, Regulus didn't really buy it was Karkaroff himself. It wasn't improving his mood he'd had no one to talk to in a while now, of course now that Peter had made up with his friends and they were all chummy again he'd go right back to being ignored. He should have known nothing about his life would ever really change no matter how much he heard.

He startled in surprise upon opening the next door as an orange cat came tottering out of the room, immediately twirling around his legs and purring in affection. Shaking his head in disbelief someone would bring their pet on this trip, he bent down regardless and gave a friendly scratch on the felines rump as he looked around once more, finding something new to wonder on. Why was it the pets were usually present? Magical animals as well, he reminded himself with a shiver of disgust at the basilisk. The paintings had all been present to, but he'd have never considered them as people. What was the criteria then for what was left behind as they were thrown around this place? It was something to ponder on at hand anyways, as he found himself sprawled on the floor, covered in cream colored fur while Hermione Granger dropped the surprise she'd gotten a date but wasn't telling who.

The chapter was finally coming to an end with everyone successfully getting dates, and Regulus snorted in disgust, was he the only one not obsessing with romance around here?

[idorkish]

Fly Away Chapter 7

A/N - Thank you for the patience with this series! We are nearing the end of this part of the series, before the season rewrites start.  There is a mention of homophobia and hints of previous child abuse. 

Need to catch up? Here’s the Masterlist for this series. Want to read some other stuff? Here’s that List. 

Wanted to be added to the tag list? Check out my pinned post for the Google form to fill out, or just send me a private message. If your name has a strike, it means that your settings don’t allow me to tag you. 

Tag list: @petlaufeyson @soafanficluvr1  @redwoodog @chaosmieu  @khyharah @opies-oldlady  @queen-ofthe-bikers-soa-blog  @mrsirishboru @fortheloveofthesoa @samcrolivesforever  @ineedthesons @mwesterfeld1985 @divathelover @happys-crazy-queen22 @kitkat1690 @sons-of-anarchy-imagines-blr @tellermorelli  @mybabysons @jade770 @kacilove26-blog @myworldoffandomfics-blog @brriik @jchona @nessy-bearxb  @dmagicreality @kittenofanarchy @soachibstel1  @cole-winchester​ 

Time always seems to fly faster than one remembers. One moment, Angel was welcoming Happy back to Tacoma and trying to catch up. The next, she was taking her final tests and submitting her senior project.

Now, Angel stood in her bedroom and smoothed down the front of her dress. Graduation day was finally here. She and Johnny had made it the last 4 years together. Things had been weird between her and the club. Angel wasn’t sure where the issues were coming from but she knew not to ask about it. For most of the year, Angel and Johnny mostly kept to themselves. They would make appearances when needed or go to lockdown when told. If the Mother Charter came for a visit, Angel would hang around the club and do what was needed to make their stay welcoming. 

It had been 7 months since Angel last saw Kozik, with some croweater kneeled before him. Part of her ached, she knew she had started to develop feelings for him. The distance was obviously the universe’s way of sparring her heart from hurting more and telling her to get over it. 

Now, it was time to finally be done with school and move on with their lives and Angel couldn’t help but think back on the last few years. So much had gone on and happened that it felt like a blur. Angel thought back to Johnny’s initial meeting with the Sons of Tacoma. Word had spread down to Charming about Angel seeing someone and she was annoyed at how many calls she had gotten so soon after. Bobby had called her laughing, wondering what she was pulling by saying she was dating him. That’s when Angel spilled the beans (well half of the beans) and stated they were just trying to make it believable to trick his family. Bobby had found that even more amusing and promised to relay the message to the rest of the family for her. She hoped they wouldn't tell anyone. The more people who believed the lie, the better. 

Angel had kept writing to Edward and updating him on almost everything that had been happening. She told him about Johnny but could never write about her time with Kozik. She didn’t get many letters back, but she cherished each one. 

The band had been doing so well and they had opportunities to expand out towards Seattle for shows. Angel and Johnny ended up moving into an apartment together. They were over at one of the apartments anyway, and it just made sense to live together and save some money in the process. It also helped solidify their lie even more. 

After the graduation ceremony, Angel and Johnny stood in front of their families and smiled. Angel had begged her family to just play along with whatever Angel and Johnny said when around his family. They had told Bobby about Johnny’s parents. How they were “devout” Christians who beat him when he expressed questions on his sexuality and attempted to send him to a conversion camp when he was a young teen. They didn’t even know Angel and Johnny were living together. He was too afraid to let them know much of anything about his life while in college. 

So now, there they all stood. Johnny had his arms wrapped around Angel's waist and they smiled as everyone kept taking pictures. Johnny’s parents wouldn’t stop going on about their future together. 

“Congratulations to you two! Oh, I am so proud of you both graduating together. It’s so sweet! I bet we’ll be hearing soon about you two FINALLY getting engaged! Four years together is a long time, you’ve both matured. It’s time to settle down!” Johnny’s mom beamed at the two and it took everything for Angel not to laugh. Instead, she gripped at Johnny and looked around for her family to save her.

“Who’s getting engaged?” a voice called out from behind. 

“Daddy!” Angel ran over and threw her arms around her father before whispering in his ear, “Save us before she talks us to death please!”

Bobby squeezed Angel and laughed. “Congratulations pumpkin. The first Munson to graduate college! I am so proud of you.”

“Dad, these are Johnny’s parents, Bethany and Michael.”

Bobby held out his hand and smiled at the two. "Nice to meet ya."

"Nice to meet you as well. Will Mrs be joining us?"

Bobby and Angel froze at the question and Johnny scrubbed his hand down his face. "Dad, I told you she wasn't in the picture and not to ask," he hissed. 

Johnny was just shushed by his father.

"Don't worry kiddo.  Nah, there is no mrs. She decided very early on that she didn't want to be a mother and left.  I've been raising her with the help of my family."

Angel beamed as she heard the familiar laughter of her surrogate mothers and turned to watch Luanne, Gemma, and Clay make their way over.  "There's our girl! First in the family to finish and get her degree! We're so proud of you sweetheart. And Johnny! Congratulations sweetie!"

"Mom, Dad. This is Gemma, Clay, and Luanne, Angel’s aunts and uncle. Gemma’s dad is a preacher…” Johnny let the words slip out and cringed at the smile that spread across this mother’s face. 

Gemma raised her brow at Johnny before putting a smile on her face and turning towards his mother. Angel turned and hid her face against Clay, trying her best not to start laughing. Clay was doing his best to hold in his laugh. They knew Gemma would play the perfect part but, poor Johnny. He was going to get it later. 

The rest of the evening went by without too many issues. Angel did her best to keep the discussions to non-hostile conversations. When asked what both of their plans now that they graduated, Angel wasn’t sure how to answer. She knew Johnny had already applied to Grad school and would be staying in Tacoma until that was finished. Further education was not for her, at least for now. 

“Johnny and I’ve already talked about this. I’m probably going to go back to Charming and help out with the garage and my Aunt Luanne’s business, at least until he’s done with school. Then we’ll decide.”

Angel knew she should have talked to Bobby about the plan to return, but she had a feeling none of them would mind. Bethany just smiled at the answer while the others raised a brow.

Bethany turned to Luanne, “So what sort of business do you have?”

Angel felt her heart drop to her stomach and stared with wide eyes as Luanne turned towards her and smirked. Was she going to actually tell her…

“Oh, just a little modeling and video studio...for the locals” 

Angel just hid her face in her hands and prayed for the meal to be over soon. 

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Angel spent the next month in Tacoma, packing up all her stuff and making sure that Johnny would be fine without her. It would be weird going back to Charming but Angel had missed it. She would be closer to her family and would have the ability to see Precious and little Robbie more often. Since the divorce, Precious had kept her distance from everyone. She and Angel talked as much as possible on the phone and Precious had managed a visit or two with Robbie without Bobby knowing. Plus, Angel knew there wasn’t anything in Tacoma left for her. She would come back and see Johnny, or he’d come down to see her. That much she was sure of. 

Angel would be moving back into her old room for the time being, at least until she could get on her own two feet. It would be like old times, just her and her dad. The thought slightly terrified Angel. She knew that moving back meant that she would be under the watch of the club. Her every action and interaction would be known because there would always be someone watching her. But there would be Bambi, Robbie, and Donna to help keep her grounded and sane. 

The move back to Charming was almost an uneventful one. It felt like the whole club had made their way up to help Angel move. When she heard the roar of bikes nearing the apartment, Angel squealed and ran out to wait for them. She was bouncing on the balls of her feet as she watched the bikes line up near the moving van. Angel made her way over to hug everyone and let them know what was left. 

She already had most of her stuff loaded into the truck and only had the bigger items. She leaned back against the van with Gemma, watching the men move the remaining things into the van. Once everything was done, Angel watched in amusement as Clay informed Jax and Opie that they would have to decide who was driving the van back down to Charming with Gemma. The two bickered and after a few rounds of rock, paper, scissors, Jax lucked out and Opie was pushing his back up the ramp into the back of the van and securing it down. 

The drive down to Charming made Angel laugh - it looked like she had her own personal guards. Bobby and Clay rode in front, the van behind her, and Jax bringing up the rear. As they started to pull away from the apartment, Angel glanced in the side mirror and smiled as she saw the familiar vehicle pulling up and the figure watching the small caravan drive away. Angel stuck her arm out the window and waved back at Johnny, who blew a kiss before making his way back inside. 

She would call him once she made it to Charming. And although she would miss him, this was the next step of her life. 

[thelittleredheadedmusician]

First Lines

So @klaineharmony @wordshakerofgallifrey and @radioactivepigeons ​all tagged me to do this so uh here it is. This is NOT including academic stuff. But it IS including original work. 

Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all!). See if there are any patterns. Choose your favorite opening line. Then tag some lovely people!

Hitch Hiker - my book:

It’s raining, hard enough to hit the windshield in fat drops though he can still clearly see the wet road ahead. Oliver isn’t speeding, in high school he would’ve flown around the curves out of town. But now? Coming home and in bad weather? He manages to stay just below the speed limit. And a good thing too.

I don’t want to linger any longer - DCU, Batman, Green Arrow:

Alfred was leery of the summer camp. Bruce went to public school partially because of Martha's pointed remarks regarding democracy and public education, partly because of her pointed remarks regarding Thomas's own time at boarding schools and prep schools surrounded by equally rich and entitled boys. Alfred never said anything at the time, it wasn't his place, and would never say anything now but, he whole heartedly believed both. Especially after his own childhood in private schools, even if the times and the British and American systems were very different. Regardless, Bruce was remaining in public school with all the trials it entailed. Including the socializing problem.

untitled post final chapter short for Hitch Hiker:

“I’m so glad I get to be here for this,” Eve practically flung herself onto the couch, bouncing slightly before settling. She’d just gotten dropped off after rehearsal and was miraculously still teeming with energy.

Give Me the Stars - an original short story:

Morgan leaned closer to the mirror, shifting her hair so she could examine the new growth near her scalp. It was a dark, almost dull brown and the scalp itself didn’t seem red or irritated. She half combed her fingers through it while she shook her hand loose of the strands. Where the few centimeters of brown ended, a shifting cascade of colors began. A swirl or wave or reflection of green and blue and purple with notes of black and pink and sometimes silver. Like an oil slick made tangible. Except, after two months it’d lost its glimmer, its shine. Which didn’t really matter since Morgan spent about seventy percent of the time tucking it up under one hat or another.

glitter and gold - DCU:

She hadn’t been expecting the second explosion. None of them had been expecting the second explosion. Luckily, they were all clear of the debris but Steph’s ears were ringing. A gut feeling said her comm had been knocked out but it’s not like she’d be able to tell right now anyway. She swayed, unsteady. But Batgirl had to worry about the people around her, not herself. A cursory glance looked as though the block’s residents had gotten back far enough before the blast hit. Leaving them covered in dust but unharmed.

five phones on the table - DCU, Titans:

The long table with its numerous chairs was, by proximity to the kitchen, a dining table but due to the nature of the building it occupied doubled as a meeting and strategy table. The small net, paddles, and light plastic balls stored in an innocuous box in the kitchen meant it tripled as a ping pong table.

Adulting Fail - DCU, Titans, Nightwing:

“RICHARD JOHN GRAYSON,” Donna says and for an instant he wonders how a woman who has never met his mother can sound exactly like her. But then again, Donna has always been and will always be his older sister, never mind the fact neither are sure if it’s by three months or three thousand years.

Seventh Floor Walkup - DCU, Titans, Nightwing:

Dick may slightly regret asking his friends to help him move. See, he didn’t have the funds for real movers but had promised pizza if they helped. Except Roy and Garth could each eat a whole pizza, Donna could eat two, and Wally half a baker’s dozen. Which left Dick carrying eleven boxes of pizza to his seventh-floor walkup.

Et tu Brute - DCU, Flash, Batman:

“What the-?” Barry shifted his momentum with ease, turning from where he’d been running towards the Batcomputer and Bruce waiting there for him to instead run towards the metallic object low to the ground and glowing a dull green he’d spotted out of the corner of his eye.

you were shunned and burned your cradle - Newsies:

Being a changeling in New York City hurts. It makes his skin itch and his lungs burn and his eyes water. From the iron that surrounds him, fills the very air along with the smoke. If he’s not careful when he reaches out or brushes against something his skin comes away with a sharp, searing scar.

The Devil Wears What? - DCU, Hellblazer, Zatanna:

“What is this?” John slurred, arm flopping towards the television screen.

The Hattrick - DCU, Green Arrow, Hellblazer:

There is a strong possibility that Mia is in hell. It’d be vaguely poetic and certainly fitting if her personal hell were an empty warehouse. The fact John Constantine is here definitely sells the idea.

Inhouse House Party - Les Miserables: 

“I thought we agreed that we weren’t doing Halloween this year?” Enjolras half grumbled, half called up the steps. “In light of the fact that there is a global pandemic and we’ve been responsibly quarantining and social distancing this whole time.” Despite his complaints, he still fixed the ridiculous headband he wore as part of his costume. The halved wiffle ball glued onto it made pretty decent looking fly eyes, but the weight was weird and the whole thing kept slipping as a result.

Second Time is Coincidence - DCU, Green Arrow, Hellblazer:

“Oh c’mon,” Mia groaned, slumping against the bonds that currently had her suspended from the warehouse ceiling. “Not you again!”

Three Musketeers - DCU, Batfam:

Bristol was technically in Gotham City limits. Though the gilted mansions and private woods with pastures and stables seemed like a whole other world in comparison. The residents liked to think so too, especially because – despite Gotham’s robust public transportation system – it was almost impossible to reach the rich suburb from the city proper. It was because they lived in this separate world that Bristol’s wealthy residents often fought to receive special treatment or even secede from the city all together.

Deal? Deal. - DCU, Hellblazer, Zatanna:

“No,” John whined, drawing it out into about six syllables. He stretched his arm out, nearly falling off the couch in the process, but Zatanna just pushed the half-empty glass of whiskey further away from the edge of the coffee table and out of his reach.

Pumpkin Guts - Les Miserables:

There had been strange noises coming from the kitchen all afternoon. Combeferre was staunchly ignoring them because he’s trying to finish reading this journal article before anyone else came home. Having Courfeyrac in the vague direction of behind him and doing who knew what all is more than enough of a distraction. Besides, Ferre can fairly well ignore the sounds coupled with Courf’s slightly off-key humming of Nightmare Before Christmas.

Sunrise Shadows - DCU, Batgirl, Starman:

It was late, or early depending on your perspective, and Steph was that bone deep tired that came after a fight to save the fate of the world. Which was fine, they’d won, but she didn’t really know where in the world she was and Steph really just wanted to crawl into bed. Maybe take her suit off first. Possibly slap some Neosporin on her cuts and scrapes. But mostly sleep.

The Good Stuff - Newsies:

Kath pulled her favorite armchair into the doorway of her apartment. The antique wingback her friends had helped her liberate from a thrift store in Queens and then clean and reupholster. It was, undeniably, too heavy to be shoved across the hardwood like that but Kath wanted to be comfy. And there were the little felt things on the legs to protect her floor.

Salt and Iron - DCU, Batgirl: 

Steph pried her bedroom window open before slipping in and closing it firmly behind herself. Then locked it for good measure. Sure, she’d seen some weirdness since first putting on a mask, and just a few months into her time as Batgirl she’d even fought off some Segway riding vampires with Kara. But this was different. For one, they weren’t real vampires but Dracula from an old film brought to life. For another, it looked like literal hell had overtaken Gotham.

Well, I either have really long opening lines or my understanding of what constitutes opening “lines” is skewed. Also my formatting didn’t always past so poo on tumblr for that. Hmm, this is mostly Halloween fics but also fairly indicative of what I write which is nice. I like that I start with dialogue so often, it’s weirdly fitting for me as a person. The cold open musing on Gotham’s social, political, economic structure at Three Musketeers isn’t my favorite but I am obsessed with it. I think Second Time is Coincidence is my favorite because Mia’s response to John is the only response anyone should ever have to John Constantine. 

All of my friends have already been tagged~ 

[southern-belle-outcasts]

;the belle

real name: Anna Marie Darkholme (known to only people it’s been revealed to)

codename/alias: Rogue

single or taken:  verse and thread dependent

abilities or powers: In any threads unless plotted differently, Rogue is post absorption of Carol Danvers and Wonder Man, meaning her canonical powers include- absorption of memory and emotions connected, life force, significant physical features if they do not appear as a normal human, and powers if present, abilities being absorbed for sixty times the amount of time she had skin contact. psyche absorption is permanent. flight. invulnerability. super strength- listed as class 100, limits presumably unknown. can see in the dark. some ultraviolet vision. resistance to most poisons and toxins. ionized cells prevent illness and aging, reduced need for oxygen. Knowledgeable in martial arts and hand to hand combat. Speaks fluent bayou French.

eye colour:  green

hair colour: auburn with a white streak in the front

family members: Owen, father, presumably deceased. Priscilla, mother, deceased. Carrie, aunt. Raven Darkholme, adoptive mother. Irene Adler, adoptive mother, deceased. Kurt Wagner, adoptive brother. Other non-biological family members, verse dependent.

pets: in v; parle moi sale- Spades, Remy’s black cat (who is still Salty™ Remy brought Rogue home to stay). Default Romy verse- Figaro, Lucifer, and Oliver, Remy’s cats. Other pets verse dependent.

hobbies/activities:  reading- majority fantasy, mystery, and sci-fi (escapism queen here, people), large piece count jigsaw puzzles but only with an audiobook playing or the quiet drives her nuts, knitting (that anxiety gotta go somewhere), swimming (clothing optional), horseback riding (western or bareback style only), drinking coffee (that IS an activity), stargazing, hiking, daydreaming, getting stuck in her head thinking of a million and one things that could go wrong, playing hide and go seek with things she just had because Object Permanence

animal that represents them: giant river otter- peaceful, family group animal, powerful, nearly apex predator, and will kill a person in defense of its cubs. Or like, a Chesapeake Bay Retriever- water loving, suspicious of  new people, protective, strong, lots of wavy hair, loyal af.

worst habits: heavy drinking (she can barely get drunk okay it just LOOKS bad), pulling at her gloves or sleeves, jumping to conclusions, pushing people away when they get close, doubting her self-worth and capabilities, blaming herself for true accidents, raging when feeling emotionally vulnerable or betrayed, thinking she’s unlovable and that all love besides the love she offers is only temporary, LOSING SHIT, forgetting to eat and then getting lightheaded for it (look I’m making the executive decision the canon is wrong and she still needs food and water).

role models: Ororo Munroe, Logan Howlett, Kurt, others verse dependent.

sexual orientation: pansexual, demiromantic (she’s not going to fuck you without feeling close to you, time unable to touch people be damned)  

thoughts on marriage/kids: Craves it but does not easily trust that it will go smoothly or that she deserves good things. She wants very much to have both but she also views them as a giant oppurtunity for her to fuck something up, as she does so frequently in her mind. This is showed in canon with literal years of off and on relationship with Remy, working through trust and abandonment issues before she finally agrees to marry him. Unlike canon, my Rogue never changed her mind out of the blue AFTER being married, doesn’t matter what verse it is, she eventually would like kids. She might not ever bring it up, depending on the partner and their stance on kids as she would rather settle for a partner she loves, then have kids with someone who doesn’t want them, as she feels that was the situation with her birth mother. While she is very nuturing and loves kids, she just doesn’t quite trust herself not to fail with the rolemodels she had growing up, as well as always having in the back of her mind the what if she never gains and/or loses control.

style preferences: She has a very eclectic style. some days she might be in a sweater dress, leggings, and boots, others it’s jeans and a flannel shirt. Regardless of where she lives, she always has a least one bomber jacker and one leather jacket in her closet at all times. Gloves are still a staple, she ‘gets cold’ very easily- while it doesn’t affect her health and won’t get frostbite, she is still Aware of the cold and she doesn’t appreciate it. Card holding member of the leggings are pants club. Lots of greens, greys, blacks, and whites in her wardobe. Typically red and black, or green and white for the plaids. You might have a hard time finding much underwear...well, anywhere. She is not a fan.

approach to friendships: Sus of people getting too close initially but once they have gotten close enough to win some trust they have a friend for life. She considers friends family and will go feral protecting them. She is very prone to people going quiet out of nowhere as an indication they are no longer interested in her and she will not initiate contact without them saying something first. Any sort of perceived betrayal, especially something she would never do to someone, is taken as a serious affront and has potential for her to go cold as ice, and cut ties.

thoughts on pie: As long as it isn’t pumpkin or sweet potato (she cannot stand the texture and eggy aftertaste) or lemon meringue (again, texture, and the sour is too much), she is questioning why anyone doens’t love pie. Eat all the pie.

favourite place to spend time at: The country or the river. Places where you don’t have the smell and sound of civilization, the crowding . OR somewhere with her person. She will put up with the most polluted, noisy, crowded city because they are there so it’s worth it.

swim in the lake or in the ocean: Lake, but obviously only the cleaner kind. The ocean is too much of a run-off site. Even if she isn’t going to get sick from it, it’s the Principle.

their type: Someone that isn’t going to shrink when their exceptionally strong, extremely emotion driven, prone to getting Loud partner Loses It™, or thinks they’re not loved anymore, or is starting to get very angry. So while she very much requires someone that can be kind, affectionate, and okay with clingy (she TRIES not to, okay? She’s aware, she’s paranoid of it pushing people away), she also very much needs someone with a backbone, who can call her on her bullshit, and when needed can be a stabilizer, not toss gasoline on the flames. If that isn’t present, she won’t be able to consider them, aesthetically pleasing or no. She’s also very much an ‘eyes are the windows to the soul’ kind of person. If there isn’t a, for the lack of a better word, spark in them, she’s not interested. 

camping or indoors: Depends on the day of the week, honestly. Sometimes you want to get away and have some campfire cooked food, and enjoy the crickets. Sometimes you want your goddamn bed and a hot ass shower with a microwave.

Tagged by: @mynameisanakin​

Tagging: anyone with Pants

[autumnblogs]

Day 9: Troll Time

Time to get trolled.

https://homestuck.com/story/1527

This is the first of the events that I’ve noticed enough to talk about in Homestuck that alludes to the Alpha Kids. While Roxy on the other side of the scratch is the one actually responsible for the disappearance of Jaspers and the Pumpkins, at this point in the story, we have some pretty good suspects for exactly who disappeared both of them.

I could see myself guessing that Jade’s penpal is one of the trolls, but it wouldn’t be my first guess. I’m going to pay close attention to all of the events on one side of the scratch that are caused by the other side of the scratch, because my theory is that a Scratched Universe, more than anything else, is really terminated rather than truly being retroactively erased. Too much doesn’t make sense from a causal perspective (not necessarily from a temporally linear one) if a scratched universe is actually erased entirely, or even if it is closed off from the rest of existence - why can information enter and leave a Scratched Universe at all from an outside perspective, for example?

Are Side A Side B teleporters, appearifiers, and so on and so on, loopholes? Maybe it has something to do with the nature of Void, the Furthest Ring, and their seeming exclusion from the rules the rest of Paradox Space is required to follow.

The Doylist answer, which in Homestuck is also allowed to be the Watsonian answer, might be that while a Scratched Universe is *materially* erased, information about it is still permitted to propagate through narrative contrivances such as the author. Fenestrated planes can easily be considered narrative contrivances, but if we use this as our theory, it seems like Appearifiers and Sendificators would also have to be Narrative Contrivances (which I’m going to spell with a capital NC from here on out.) I... actually don’t have a problem with this hypothesis, so it’s what I’m going with. Also, since a friend of mine who’s reading this liveblog asked, I’m going to post a link to the tvtropes article on those two terms at the start of this paragraph for anyone who doesn’t know what I’m talking about.

Perhaps, given the proclivity for the Void to preserve lost information in the form of dreams and memories, and given the nature of Space as the medium through which events normally propagate (as well as the fundamental medium of storytelling from which all other storytelling mediums derive their medium-ness), and their proximity on the Aspect Wheel, Narrative Contrivances are objects which have are shared between these two domains - as objects associated with the Void, Narrative Contrivances are permitted to follow their own set of rules which to someone outside of the universe are obvious, but to anyone inside the universe are a complete black box, and as objects associated with Space, Narrative Contrivances function as a means by which to propagate information in such a way as to preserve causality, the logical topology of Paradox Space, and with them, the self-fulfilling nature of Paradox Space. They allow the world-line of objects travelling through the narrative to remain consistent, even when they would violate material geographical conventions.

This description of Narrative Contrivances makes me think a lot of things could be Narrative Contrivances, like First Guardians, for example, who can violate the speed of light.

This is all a lot of silly bullshit, but it’s fun to come up with theories to describe and predict Homestuck (and future Homestuck works, even though I’m not terribly invested in them.)

This has been a long Cold Open. More after the break.

https://homestuck.com/story/1529

John gets cyberbullied!

Man. Cyberbullying has really gone from being an individual concern to being an apocalyptic issue. Who knew? Maybe in writing the trolls and their cyberbullying as being inextricable from the apocalypse, Andrew Hussie predicted this.

I’m not trying to understate John’s issues by comparing them to stuff like massive social media disinformation campaigns - receiving Death Threats as a thirteen year old is terrifying, and on a general level, the fact that this kind of horrible shit was commonplace in the earliest days of social media should have been a big indicator that what was yet to come was going to be so, so much worse.

I’m also not trying to jocularly exaggerate the threat that almost completely lawless social media has on society. If you haven’t already, check out the excellent documentary The Social Dilemma, and then delete your Facebook account if you haven’t already (and since you’re reading my extremely anti-capitalist anti-patriarchy liveblog on tumblr, you’ve probably already done that. If you have, good for you!) And your twitter for good measure, come on, you know who you are. Mabe your tumblr too while you’re at it.

Cyberbullying is part of a larger theme in Homestuck, another one of those things that it’s Capital A About. As a work that is not only about growing up, but specifically about growing up in the information age, Homestuck is repeatedly about the ways that Social Media don’t just bring us together, but keep us apart from one another. Cyberbullying is one of the effects of Social Media pushing people apart - it’s so, so much easier to threaten to kill someone when you don’t have to look them in the eye while you’re doing it, and when you have the anonymity of a string of alphanumeric characters as a name to hide behind.

https://homestuck.com/story/1537

The Black Queen is a very bad woman. It’s always intrigued me that the Queens allow their counterparts’ agents free movement through their territory like this even on the eve (or the advent?) of full-scale war between their kingdoms. PM is just allowed to wander around Derse unsupervised.

I suppose that if even God and Satan can afford each other a bit of token civility while discussing the fates of sinners, so can Prospitians and Dersites.

https://homestuck.com/story/1542

@zeetheus​ John’s definitely proceeds Rose’s bluh.

Rose sips her Mom’s martini for the same reason that she later falls prey to alcoholism. Trying to grow up without help, Rose interprets the martini as a symbol of parental authority, the same way that she interprets the partaking of beverages in general as being a ritual of intimacy with her Mother. Empty signifiers.

https://homestuck.com/story/1549

Jack Noir’s grating voice is so outrageously distracting that it prevents itself as an intrusive thought in the Narrative for PM.

Actually, come to think of it, *all* of the Carapacians talk pretty much exclusively via narration. I wonder if that’s representative of an altered relationship with their narrative reality, which is the first time ever I’ve had that thought pretty much at all.

I always just chalked it up to one of the quirks of Andrew’s writing style, but especially when we take into account the fact that Homestuck is as metanarrative as it is, and that Carapacians are the only characters in Homestuck Proper who interface with the narrative prompt except for the audience, Andrew, and Caliborn himself, I can’t help but wonder. Maybe as living gaming abstractions, in spite of their limited intelligence and abilities, Carapacians have a unique relationship with the narrative laws of Paradox Space (perhaps in the same way that Narrative Contrivances do?)

https://homestuck.com/story/1569

Riffing a little more on the “Fetch Modus as analogous to thought processes” motif previously introduced, Jade’s excellent visualization abilities and vivid imagination serve her well as a Space Player, but tend to misfire, running wild, and seeing patterns where they don’t exist (intrusive thoughts make her see Johnny 5 in her Eclectic Bass and whatever the fuck mecha she’s about to accidentally imagine, I don’t know, I’m not a weeb.) Jade sure does think about robots a lot.

https://homestuck.com/story/1579

I have to say, I consider Terezi’s manipulative abilities to be genuinely pretty strong. I have never known a better way to strongarm me than by pointing out traits that I don’t know whether I feel good or bad about - it just terminates my thought processes.

Although in John’s case, it helps that he is, in fact, a weenie, a stooge, and most importantly, a nice guy. All these facts make him extra manipulatable.

https://homestuck.com/story/1584

<3

I have no reason to believe everyone in Homestuck’s universe isn’t stupidly badass, but I choose to believe that no one is as stupidly badass as the leads because it makes me happy to imagine that these kids are just ridiculously OP superhumans.

(That said, it’s kind of fucked up the level of violence that these literal children are involved in, maybe I shouldn’t get so excited about it. Should we be enthusiastic about the kids’ triumph over their dangerous enemies? Horrified by the travails they are being put through? Probably both motherfuckin’ things.

https://homestuck.com/story/1588

I think about this page a lot.

Rose Lalonde is a very dangerous young lady. She is ruthless, pragmatic, calculating, and cool. She’s even a killer, and literally just killed two imps before fighting this Ogre!

Why is she choosing to show mercy to it now? Is she just trying to get Dave’s goat? Maybe the answer is, deep down, she doesn’t really want to hurt anyone or anything.

https://homestuck.com/story/1589

Kanaya and Dave have a great relationship and I love them as friends very much. I wish dearly that there was more of them in the webcomic. They have approximately the same relationship with authenticity, which is to say that they don’t have an insincere bone in their respective bodies, but practice insincerity nonetheless to impress someone they care about.

For Kanaya relating to Rose, I think it’s a lot more innocent.

https://homestuck.com/story/1590

The least eloquent character in Homestuck has his brief, and I’m pretty sure only encounter with the most eloquent character in Homestuck.

Poor, poor Tavros. While Rose is pretty much always on this level, it seems a lot more innocuous when she’s talking to her friends, or the more mean-spirited and (relatively) competent trolls, the way she treats Tavros almost feels like bullying because of how obviously pathetic he is.

That said, he turns right around, and invokes exactly what’s coming to him. Y’know as much as Tavros is an authentic abuse victim and Vriska gaslights him into thinking a lot of the bad things that happen to him are his fault, there are a lot of times where he does stupid shit that invokes the justifiable wrath of the people around him.

https://homestuck.com/story/1592

While I could pontificate about the fact that Kanaya and Rose are my favorite couple, and squee enthusiastically, instead I will call attention to the fact that, by way of mixing her metaphors, Kanaya has been the victim of an authorial pun - she’s a Fruit Ninja. (Unless Fruit Ninja didn’t exist at the time of writing? It may very well not have.)

https://homestuck.com/story/1596

As the Page of Breath, Tavros sucks at communicating. Here, he sucks at communicating because in spite of his objectively pretty sick rhymes... he is talking to someone who just can’t be arsed.

https://homestuck.com/story/1602

This is one of those absurd moments that at first blush seems meaningless, but I think helps to decipher the kinds of things that John Egbert cares about. It’s one of the moments where he ritualizes an action that one of his heroes takes - John Egbert thinks that Nic Cage is cool, and wants to be like him, so he roleplays Nic Cage for a little while.

https://homestuck.com/story/1603

We’ve barely met the trolls, and they are *already* using the humans as a convenient method to troll each other instead of staying on task.

Karkat also establishes his love of RomComs before his introduction even rolls around.

https://homestuck.com/story/1618

Conceding ground to implacable enemies is generally the correct means to win in Homestuck, usually by getting them to destroy themselves or each other purely by their own unsustainably wicked or stupid conduct. Only a being as powerful as Lord English is sufficient to destroy the Significance-hoarding antagonist that is Vriska, as she threatens to overshadow everyone else in the universe by her own inflated self-importance. Only Vriska, so arbitrarily lucky, could possibly get into position to destroy Lord English. They were made for each other. They deserve each other.

One of my favorite dialogues in the whole comic. Man, I sure love Act 4. There’s something indescribable about the dialogue Andrew writes for this part of the comic. Homestuck at its best whiplashes from silly to scary to heartbreaking to heartwarming, and back to silly again, from beautiful to ugly, and I don’t think that even Act 5, as it piles up layers upon layers, well past the number of parts needed to make a whole, captures the essence of Homestuck as well as does Act 4.

Homestuck is different in every part, of course, and for everyone who says that Act 4 is peak Homestuck you will meet someone who says that Acts 1 through 3 were peak Homestuck, or who says that Act 5 was Peak Homestuck, or that Act 6 was Peak Homestuck. I do not mean to demean any portion of the work by saying that Act 4 is my favorite. The things I like in Homestuck the most are just the most themselves in this portion of the story.

https://homestuck.com/story/1627

I’m feeling less and less intelligent as I read more and more of Homestuck, because honestly, my theories read less like honest-to-god insights, and more like somebody who just wasn’t paying any fucking attention. Here, Jade spells out basically what I’ve been saying.

https://homestuck.com/story/1640

We’ll pause here for the evening. Reading was a little sparse today, but it’s a good place to leave off, especially since for some of these I wrote just stacks of theorizing.

Until tomorrow, Cam signing off, Mostly alive except for a bit of a cough, and not alone.