#also in relevance to this blog i DO STILL WANT TO finish the story with the little adventurer... goursh I have just had so much going on..

[lucalicatteart]

 sculpted a strange shimmery two headed snail, speckled with wild flowers on it's shell~

[david-talks-sw]

any new Star Wars essays in the making, or are you moving on?

I don't know, honestly.

Part of it is "life gets in the way," I'm working a lot and so whatever time I have left is spent just messing around or meeting with my loved ones.

I've got a bunch of stuff in my drafts. I don't mind sharing it here, most recent to oldest:

Sort of a joke post of me pointing out how stressful being George Lucas' producer must've been, like this guy really DIDN'T WANT to write his fucking scripts, did he? Poor Rick McCallum. Abandoned because who gives a crap.

'Ask' reply on how EU-fueled fandom perception of the Jedi was flipped by the prequels.

'Ask' reply about the themes in Ahsoka and why the show doesn't know what it's about. Problem is, I go about it starting from the basics, so nobody's gonna sit through reading a tematic breakdown of the first Pirates of the Carribean movie, The Batman and the original six Star Wars films before I even get to the show at hand.

"Part II" post about what Ahsoka, Rebels and TCW get right about lightsaber duels, which the Prequels never did.

Quote collection & analysis on just how complex the Prequels were meant to be (in the late 80s, Lucas intimated that the Sequels were the story that was supposed to have gray morality, not the Prequels)

Quote collection on how the themes and principles of Star Wars align with Lucas' own opinions and philosophies.

Quote collection on Lucas defining Anakin's flaws.

Quote collection on Lucas talking about the fact that we need to be more proactive, which aligns with what Lumi points out sometimes about the Jedi: they should've been more politically engaged because we all should be.

Why I approach Lucas as "word of god".

Personal life/joke-y post dating from the time of the WGA strike about how Jack Black's School of Rock lyrics "In his heart he knew, the artist must be true, but the legend of the rent was way past due!" applied to me. Abandoned because I didn't wanna bum everyone out.

Correcting the notion that Dark Times-era Jedi such as Kanan or Ezra or Ahsoka represent what Jedi were supposed to be.

A comprehensive end-all outlook on how Anakin's flaws all tie together. I've written this one twice and I don't know how to differentiate it from my other posts.

A secret "Part 3" to my TLJ Luke post, in which I point out that RJ's being too "indie", while being a strong point for a big chunk of the film, hampers the film's ability to make Luke feel as badass as he does on paper. I want to illustrate a storyboard for this one, but that takes time.

The evolution of Star Wars' approach to transmedia.

Debunking Star Wars myths: a (very) comprehensive outlook on children in the Jedi Order.

Problem is that only like 2/3rds of these are fully-written... and I still need to find the relevant clips, turn them into GIFs, etc etc.

There's many other interesting Asks in my inbox btw. But I'm already behind on all these, so I haven't begun to touch them.

Then there's the drawings.

I wanna draw a comic of the meeting between Yoda and Dooku in Dark Rendezvous. I wanna finish the comic fight between Maul and Ben. I wanna draw Mace, Shaak Ti, I've got a Luminara fan-art that was supposed to be ready for Jedi June 2022 and an Anakin drawing that looks weird. No time, nor am I skilled enough. (Like, I trace, that's what I do, it's not a secret I've said so before... but it takes me a long while to do so. I'm not fast at drawing, let alone coloring.) I could commission some of these, but there are obvious obstacles there.

There's fun tidbits I've discovered here and there but nobody will care about them and I usually try to not drown my blog with bs posts.

Then there's the bigger problem.

All the things I've listed above? I'm not 100% motivated to finish. But a lot of the new stuff I wanna write about is hella negative.

I had a lot of stuff I wanted to say about Ahsoka. But it wasn't all good. It was mostly me bitching, be it about the show or the fandom's reactions to it.

I've also got more stuff to say about Filoni's take on Star Wars, but I've talked about why it's inaccurate like 8 times already, and I don't actually dislike the guy, like there's plenty of things he knows and does that I think are awesome but also people won't stop putting him and his takes on a pedestal and--

oh shit, there's Acolyte too, I forgot about that, gray morality galore, here we come. But here too, like... I've talked a couple of times about why this entire gray morality thing is actually just the gen X-ers trying to make the prequels "cool" and "complex". but I've never explored properly, with quotes and research and shit. but i've talked about it so many times that at this point it'd end up like the Filoni rants, redundant. "we get it already." as if this show didn't have haters lined round the block for absolutely sexist reasons.

Don't get me started on the mountain of lies and/or idiocy that is the YouTuber Star Wars Theory.

And yet he said one thing a few months ago which struck a chord within me and it's the fact that Andor is awesome, excels on all levels because it's treated seriously, like a proper show, not a Disney Plus one... why wasn't Obi-Wan Kenobi? Why wasn't Book of Boba Fett? And I've already established multiple times that I enjoyed Kenobi (yes, including the Reva parts) and I've established that I know what they were going for in Fett and I've established that this is mainly a "Disney Plus didn't know how to structure a fucking show pre-WGA strike" issue more than anything else... but when I think about how these could've been treated instead? When I look at the characterizations and emotional stakes of like Fargo Season 5? It's infuriating. Because it's not bad (talking about Kenobi, BOBF is awful)... but it could've been EXCELLENT and instead it was just "okay" to "good".

I just miss live action lightsaber duels, man. Like, good ones.

and i dunno. maybe I should just let it rip on all this. "go off, king!"

but I think there's so much negativity re: Star Wars that adding my thoughts on these subjects, no matter how structured and reason, will just blend into a wave of needless, un-constructive hate.

maybe I should finish the writings in the drafts and just post them with no gifs, maybe just still images?

but doing any of that feels like a step back.

So that's where I'm at right now.

[rickie-the-storyteller]

Steph's Crew - Book 3 Summary

I was meant to post this last year to sort of close the Steph-related content and focus more on other projects. Actually, I was meant to post a lot of things last year...

Bretanie analysis (on here)

Season 1 of AU (on my second blog)

Jekyll and Hyde, but in the modern world (I've been working on that for fun on the side, and I've decided to post the full story on Wattpad)

Revealing the identity of the secret blogger (I'll probably do it in this post, since it is relevant to this part of the story as well)

I've been so busy, y'all. Sorry for the delays.

I just want to make sure I have time to do everything as best as I possibly can, so you can enjoy it. I think it was less pressure posting the Steph's Crew dialogues and snippets because they were old pieces of work, and since the time I first wrote them, I've neatened it up and made it considerably better than it was... I know that the stuff I've shared isn't the final product, so I don't feel the urge to make it perfect. At least not to the extent that I do with all these other projects lol.

Hopefully this can help make up for lost time. I'll get to the other posts mentioned on that list as soon as possible, but until then... here's a summary of the third and final instalment of Steph's Crew!

Enjoy!

Keep in mind that I'm still working on this one. It isn't finished yet, but I wanted to give you guys a rough idea of how it goes. And prepare for this, because it's pretty unhinged lol. I collaborated with my sister on some of the wackier ideas...

Book 3 is titled "Story of a Broken Thing." It picks up where Book 2 ends off, more or less (or at least, it fills us in on what went down since the end of Book 2). If you can't remember how UVC ended, then here's a link to that summary:

But to put it briefly, the crew have successfully solved the mystery, Brelise have split up again, Bret's gone on tour with his band, Dalice are together, Bephanie is over, and Stephanie got arrested... but then escaped from holding. Nobody knows where she could have gone.

Which leads us to Book 3. It is set a couple of years later (I think about 5 years after Book 2 ended), and a lot of stuff has happened in all that time...

Dylan and Alice have broken up. Wasn't meant to be, I guess. But don't worry - they're still friends, and there's no bad blood between them or anything.

Victor and Jen have unfortunately split up as well, leading to Jen moving back to Texas. Alice decides to go with her. She's doing alright - currently taking some classes at a local college, and helping out at her old dance studio in her spare time. She's also still making YouTube videos.

Bret's band is still doing well. They're not touring anymore at the moment, but they are super busy recording a new album, and filming music videos. Plus, they have been asked to perform at the Jingle Bell Ball towards the end of the year, which is very exciting. Even though he has moved back to the UK, because of the nature of Bret's job, he can't just stay in London with his aunt anymore like how he used to... but he still comes to visit her as often as possible. And he and Elise are still close friends, so that's cool. He's been seeing other people over the past couple of years, though.

Elise and Charlie are together. She decided to give him a chance. They're really happy together and they seem to have a pretty healthy, solid relationship for the most part (they've been together for two years straight by the time Book 3 has started). Charlie still harbours some degree of jealousy/wariness towards Bret, though, since she's still really good friends with him. He's never once brought it up to her, though. But it becomes a big deal in this part of the story... more on that later.

Ben isn't really in this part of the story... at least not until towards the end, when Stephanie randomly decides to call him for some reason. But he's doing fine. Moved back to his cooking job from Book 1 lol. It was good money, and now he doesn't have another person to share it with! Wait, that sad-

And by now, Dylan, Connor (who has finally moved on from Daisy! Thank God), Elise and Charlie have all finished their university courses. Yay!

In fact, this is what kickstarts the plot. Dylan's family (we get to see them again in this one! Specifically his mother, her new husband and his younger brother Sam. I feel like we didn't get enough of them last time) is very proud of him for finishing such a long, tough course (3 years, + 1 foundation year + 1 year of masters), and they decide to reward him with an epic summer trip to Australia. And it is during this holiday that he sees Steph again (she's not in Australia btw - he sees her when he goes with a family friend to the Samoan islands).

She fills him in on how she got there. I haven't neatly worked this part out... but basically, Reggie helped her leave the country (idk whether to make him a villain or some kind of loose cannon/antihero type of guy. Like, he's awful most of the time, but he's also one of Stephanie's oldest friends, and he can be genuinely nice when he wants to be. Especially to her. He needs to be in trouble tho lol. I think the thing about him is that he gets away with his awful behaviour easily, whereas Stephanie is kind of forced to be held accountable, even if she actively runs away from the consequences of her actions sometimes...)

After that, she was stuck on her own again for a while and needed a job. So she applied for a job at a local Natia hotel (Natia is a famous line of hotels... kind of like Hilton, to give a known real-life example). She didn't have enough money for a cab or bus, so she had to walk the whole way there through heavy rain. By the time she got there, she looked terrible lol. But when she arrived, she bumped into a handsome young man who kindly helped her out. He got her a room and some clothes to change into, which helped in making a good first impression and whatnot. She got the job!

Later, she found out that the guy's name was Jordan Natia. The son of the hotel line founder (he also owns the hotel she got a job at). She thanks him for her help, and he invites her for dinner... and the rest is history.

And by history, I mean she ends up marrying him lol. Dylan finds out that she now lives at the resort that he and his family friend are currently staying at. She also has a baby daughter named Mia (short for Miranda. Not suspicious at all). She loves her life so much right now. She's always prided herself on being a strong independent woman who can take care of herself, but she's surprised at how much she's enjoying being a stay-at-home mother and housewife lol. She loves spending time with her baby, and she loves her husband a lot, too. He takes good care of her. However, similar to Ben, he doesn't really know all that much about her (Jordan goes through a similar arc to Ben's in Book 2, where he finds out the truth about Stephanie, and it changes the way he sees her. Minus the cheating lol).

Dylan is shocked at how much Steph has changed since the last time he saw her, but he's happy for her at the same time. He can see that she's genuinely happy and seemingly at peace, which is great.

Meanwhile, back in the UK, Charlie has decided to propose to El. He's taking it VERY seriously - even asked for her family's blessing and everything. They all said yes... even Adam lol (he's grown to like Charles by now). One summer evening, he pops the question (in a truly beautiful and romantic way btw), and Elise says yes in the moment, but she doesn't know if she truly feels ready for marriage yet. Something about the situation feels wrong to her, but she doesn't know what it is. However, instead of communicating her mixed feelings to her now fiance, she decides to distract herself with hangouts with her family and friends, as well as getting into her work and other hobbies, preferring to think about anything other than her problems (man, does THIS sound familiar lol). Charlie starts noticing a change in El's behaviour and it begins to really upset him (especially since Bret is one of the people she starts spending more time with, and we all know how she feels about him), causing more strain in their relationship. It only gets worse when they find out about Stephanie's whereabouts...

Dylan messages the others about his trip everyday through a group chat. One night he reveals that he's reunited with an old friend of theirs and sends a picture of him and Stephanie hanging out. The others are shocked. Elise especially.

The situation started becoming somewhat of a controversy in the news... people started talking about it more online, many blogs and news websites (including The Looking Glass) started covering it. Alice made a video on YouTube talking about it (and it came from the unique angle of her knowing the person from school and being their friend and everything. She didn't mention Steph by name, though). It blew her channel up.

The story of Stephanie's escape was quickly resurfacing back into people's minds after being forgotten for such a long time. And this wasn't good for Steph lol. Especially after finally making a life for herself that she was genuinely truly happy in.

But that's not the end of the story.

I'll tell you the rest in part 2 of this summary!

[bcbdrums]

Given the fact that we were talking about our perceptions of certain kinds of ships in regards to Stein and how they suit or do not suit his character, how do you feel about smut/the relationship dynamics within Stein x character smut fics?

All righty then...! Here comes a very long rambling of my headcanons about Stein, his two primary relationships, and his relationship with those deeper intimacies. This takes some turns before it gets to the main point but well, I love talking about this man. Extremely long post under the cut.

Also - there are two blogs I tag at the very end of this post - you two feel free to ignore all my ramblings, just know I praise you both at the end and I still re-read your Soul Eater stories VERY regularly.

I'm truthfully still trying to reorganize my thoughts on this specific topic because 1) I have listened to many a headcanon from others on the subject and I always try to give validity to their thoughts even when they differ from mine, and 2) I've also read tons of smut fic with Stein out of sheer desperation for...well, Stein fic. (Come on Stein fandom where you at? Write me some gen fic too, lol)

I have not read too many fics of him with Marie cuz those always contain manga spoilers so I'm skipping those for now until I finish reading (exactly halfway through!). So what I've read is mostly Stein/Spirit smuts and just a couple with Marie, and I want to say….almost zero?? I think zero of those fics (and boy I've read plenty) have "hit the spot" in terms of what I would want for a Stein smut. They're good stories, in some cases great stories, well-written and thoughtfully conceived, but they're not fitting my headcanons and interpretations of who I see onscreen (and who I see in the manga so far).

All that said now… Some of my own relevant headcanons for him, and then I'll get more into fic of others.

I go back and forth toying with the idea that Stein experimented with intimacy just a little as a teen. He's not immune to puberty and hormones; he's human whether he likes it or not, which isn't to say mind over matter doesn't work for him. (Clearly it does, in staving off madness among other things.) But he's a scientist. He's curious. And I can see him justifying an experiment or two in his teen years. But they would in fact be just that, experiments. It's still a big maybe. I can't say for certain he would, it's the sort of thing like…if all the dots line up just right, he'd attempt it. If not, he wouldn't. And it would only be with those two people: Marie and/or Spirit. He doesn't trust anyone else enough. (Yes, I'm on board with the popular fanon that Marie was one of his other weapon partners after Spirit.)

Another teen headcanon... I can also easily see a sort of angsty distraction possibility for him. When he loses Spirit to Kami, I can see him getting into a "romantic" relationship with Marie as sheer distraction, and even misguided retaliation. Spirit "cheated" on him with another meister and abandoned him, so why shouldn't he do the same with another weapon? Which sucks for Marie but well she's not healthy about relationships any more than Stein or Spirit are. But this is just another sort of maybe-thought; another situation where all the dots would have to line up just right for him to go for it. But I can see it, no question, just like the prior thought.

As for Stein as an adult, at the point we see him in the show… While I think relationally he and Spirit have the most interesting dynamic to explore, the one he shows more openness toward is Marie. It's clear that he cares for her. And he doesn't fully understand that either. Now I don't think he wants to get into bed with her, or marry her, or anything traditional to a romance. But I also don't think Marie is going anywhere. Thinking post-anime now…. Unless he gives her a sign that there is nothing between them, I think she's staying put. But sadly for her, I think there is something between them... Sadly because, Stein doesn't know what it is, and it's not "love" the way that Marie wants it. It's just something he's unfamiliar with. Meanwhile she's devoted to him, poor woman.

Now, end of the anime… Let's talk about this…. Marie helps him back to sanity with her healing wavelength. But…then he's just "okay"? No he isn't. Look at that man. His dark circles are darker, his eyes are more haunted. That man has been living off madness and cigarettes for weeks. When is the last time he ate anything? Showered? Legitimately got any sleep?? How he's even standing up let alone fighting Medusa is beyond me, and then he performs freaking major surgery and then waltzes into the death room afterward like he's fine. Because...that's who Stein is.

Stein will fight until he is incapable of fighting anymore, to serve those he loves. Yes I said loves. And it is agonizing how much he strives to show his love for others, and it's something he doesn't even realize he has within him. He thinks he can't understand love? It's because he feels it so deeply and passionately it's beyond definition. Part of this however I'm also certain is motivated from his deep desire for purpose as an adult. The manga shows that aspect of his character even more-so than the anime (in what I've read so far). That man is desperate for purpose and to belong somewhere, with someone. He can't escape his human nature even if he doesn't understand it, can't define it, and even though it drives him crazy all on its own…

So bringing this back to Marie… End of the anime. I don't think Marie is leaving. She's gonna stay, help nurse Stein back to health and sanity despite his pretending he's fine (or perhaps even sheer ignorance of his condition), and Stein…is gonna be confused the whole dang time about his feelings for Marie. He knows he feels something but he has no idea what it is or how to process it. But "love" in the romantic sense he doesn't possibly consider, because well...his conceptions of that sort of thing aren't based in anything healthy (see: Spirit's relationships).

So yeah… She's not leaving. He won't reject her attentions because he does care about her, just not in a way he understands and also not in the way she wants. And as she starts to realize that he has some kind of feeling for her, I think she'd turn up the romance and she'd make a move on him. OR…she'd play the extremely...long...patient game, and wait for him to make a move on her, when it's within his comfort zone. And let me be clear… This man still does not know what love is in this traditional sense, does not understand love. He knows what physical attraction and hormones are and darn him he can't shake those either, but as an adult he wouldn't act impulsively on them nor would he confuse them with love. Stein is the ultimate master of mind over matter. If he were to sleep with her, it would be a choice; a decision he makes consciously and deliberately. I see this within the realms of possibility. But if he chooses it himself, if he's the one who makes that decision simply out of his wanting to…it would be a long, long time that that woman is waiting for him. But I do think it possible. The question is simply, how long will she wait. And she's also the type to try to stir things up (see: her behavior toward Joe in the manga). So who knows when they may end up in bed together... These dots are more complicated to align than those of his teenage years. And if Marie made the move first...I think he'd accept it. Because, see again, his wanting to belong with someone, and he knows he feels something different with Marie.

As for Spirit, well... Stein sees that Spirit likes women. And Stein sees that Spirit can't commit. I think Stein "loves" Spirit more than he loves Marie. First love, young love... Spirit is the relationship of his life, even though that's yet another thing he cannot possibly understand. I think that while part of him, the mad obsessive part, and the curious part, does want to be close to Spirit in the intimate way…it's not out of a healthy desire or even typical motivations. It would come from a desire to possess, from his deeply human but inexplicable yearning to be closer to the one he loves even though it's not the right type of love for that type of intimacy. Not really sure Spirit would be all-in if Stein were to make the move... I think Spirit would take persuading. It's another circumstance where all the dots have to line up just right, and in this case probably more while caught up in madness than in sanity. Because as previously mentioned… In his right mind, Stein knows that Spirit likes women and more importantly that Spirit cannot commit. And he's ironically smart enough to know not to attempt a traditional human romance with someone who cannot commit. I don't think Stein would himself attempt intimacy with Spirit in his right mind at all, unless something happened to make him utterly desperate not to lose the man... Another instance of, all those dots have to connect.

But ugh, the angst. Spirit abandoned him after five years... Stein is not going to willingly subject himself to possible heartbreak again. Plus, he does not think Spirit has forgiven him for the "experiments." I think he thinks Spirit only hangs around him now as an adult as his handler, despite desperately wanting his friendship again. But I think he figures it's a lost cause so he just takes what is offered and never pursues more.

Okay but before I digress further into my endless thoughts about Stein's and Spirit's relationship (I'll do another post for that maybe), back to the point of your question.

I am really not one for labels, partially because I don't understand them but also because I think the spectrum is just so deep and too much defies definition. But if I were to label him, I guess I'd go with...gray ace with demi leanings…?

The man is driven only by curiosity, about anything and everything. But the level of intimacy we're talking about is more than he ever wants to trust anyone with. It's always gotta be on his terms, and more often than not…his terms would be unhealthy.

So let's talk about what shows up in fanfic, since that was what the original question was about. And once again, I like to lend validity to everyone's interpretation. Just because it isn't mine doesn't mean it's wrong or shouldn't exist. But you did ask about MY thoughts, so that's what I'm sharing here.

Once again, I've barely touched Stein/Marie fic because I'm avoiding manga spoilers. In the one or two I've seen, he comes across as not connecting emotionally in the typical way, but knowing that there is indeed something different about being with her. He knows she cares about him, and he cares in return. But it doesn't come across as anything intimate on his side of it. This isn't a characterization I particularly like, because Stein as an adult... As I said, I think he'd choose that intimacy if and when he wants it. In the stories, it comes across more as him just doing her a favor, just going along. It doesn't sit right. But like I said, that's only two stories. For other Stein/Marie, I reserve opinion for later.

Stein/Spirit... Okay. I've noticed a great many commonalities in the fics I've read. And this isn't a taste or preference thing; like I said I have devoured almost every smut fic just in desperation for any fanfic of them. Would prefer more gen fic less smut personally, but anyway.

Most fics have Stein in the dominant role, Spirit in the submissive role. I understand that interpretation but it's not how I see them. I see them as equals if they were to get into that type of intimacy. There is often a lot of bloodplay, frequently madness on Stein's part, major instances of non-con, pet play, BDSM, sometimes light cannibalism... It all suggests an impersonal and unhealthy relationship most of the time, which again...is not at all how I see them if they were to become a couple. Could such things come about? Unhealthily, possibly. But darn me and my desire for happy endings.

These two men are so broken, that if they were to become a healthy couple...I feel like it would be slow, cautious...extremely hesitant. There is extreme distrust on both sides, and also misconceptions about how the other feels. Which...I will save that analysis for later. Focusing back on smut fic.

I have seen only a few that touch on the give and take in a trusting relationship (all by the same author) that come closest to what I feel is accurate to the characters onscreen as I see them, but still the emphasis is too much on lust. It still isn't hitting the spot for me due to a lack of that relational development... Make no mistake, the stories are great, but I personally am hoping for something much deeper.

In my view, Stein just does not seek out physical intimacy in that way. I don't think he can fully escape the innate human need for touch, but in terms of a drive to get into bed with anyone... I think the occasional human desire for it crops up, and he easily ignores it/packs it away because it's not useful to him. It doesn't bother him. He doesn't think about it.

So this is where that...gray-ace, demi vibe comes into play for my view of him. Talking about Stein here as an adult and in control of himself, not consumed by madness... This is I supposed a bit of a summation of my thoughts.

If he did get into a relationship with anyone (and again I think his only choices are Spirit and Marie), it would not be based on the physical at all. I also don't think he would rush into any relationship. It would be a long process before he trusted the person enough to consider them a romantic partner. And really, we could get away from the word romance entirely... Life-partner is a better word, in Stein's case. If the person wanted physical intimacies, I think he would be responsive to that. The other person would be in the lead, but in no way dominating. It would have to be an equal trust thing or else Stein would nope out hard. Stein would gradually learn what it is he likes physically, and how to give his partner what they want. He can come to enjoy it because this is his life-partner, the one he belongs with, the one who needs him and is part of his purpose. But again...the physical is not something that drives him at all. Not in how I see him portrayed onscreen or in the manga.

So, overall, in my point of view nearly all smut fics miss the mark. Now...the stories I've seen where I think the physical intimacy is nailed don't even get to smut. Those are the stories by @asymmetryestablished (AO3 NothingSoDivine) and their characterizations of Stein and Spirit defy description in any words I have. The other author who nails it is @wispforever (same on AO3) and the closest to physical intimacy they get is dancing, but my gosh still the characterizations are utter perfection. I will be re-reading y'all's Stein/Spirit stories forever.

I hope I did in fact answer your question, but overall, I was delighted to just spill out so many of my thoughts about Stein even if in summary form. Yes this was a summary... Okay. I'm done. Thanks.

[queer-ragnelle]

I would love your opinion on Black Sails! I was never able to finish it (even though I want to). Seasons 1-3 felt linear and natural in the way the characters were driven and motivated. Season 4 changed so much... undoing character growth, scrapping character beliefs for new motives that were narratively weaker, and using way more shock/gore than there had been used previously. I would love to know your opinions on it, and if I'm talking out of my ass on this. Love the show! Would love to finish it. Would genuinely love to hear you do a character analysis, if you felt up to it. Ty!

Hi Anon! I'm going to put this below a cut since it's not strictly relevant to this blog and yet I have much to say about it lol

It's been over a year since I watched Black Sails in it's entirety, but I'll go on record saying it's the best show I've ever seen. I love the writing, the acting, the costuming, the filmography, the music, the everything. It is [almost] perfectly balanced. Ironically I felt season 1 was the weakest and didn't take the same issues with season 4 as you did. My biggest criticism of season 1 involves the plot regarding Max's captivity on the beach. I think connecting her with Anne could've been achieved some other way (or even a similar plot just overall less sexual violence/quicker resolution). But even so, I still stand by that I recommend it, particularly to those who love a blend of historical and fiction/mythic characters.

I would love to see an Arthurian retelling on that scale and with that tone. Starz had produced their show Camelot in 2011, three years before Black Sails, and while that first season also has some issues, I'll forever be heartbroken it wasn't renewed. I fully believe they would have developed Camelot into an epic tale ala Black Sails, particularly with strong female characters and queer storylines. We could've had it all....

On that note, Black Sails was absolutely vital in my journey as an author adapting Arthurian legend in a historical 6th century. The meta about ambiguous storytelling subject to biased perception or outright misinformation and thus misconceptions about people involved in historical events fascinated me. On one hand you have Jack Rackham's obsession with his legacy, almost uncannily aware he's in a story and his limited time to leave his mark. Then there's Charles Vane's hanging in Nassau, when the history books say he died at Port Royal. It circumvents expectations, not with shock value (looking at you, Game of Thrones finale), but in service to the narrative by calling into question the validity of our accepted reality. Beyond that, it seamlessly blends historical figures, the cast of Treasure Island, and original characters created to incorporate more women and people of color into the narrative. Everyone's developed and fascinating and complex with clear motivations and fleshed out backstories (except for Silver, lol, which itself makes him compelling). Bernard Cornwell's Warlord Chronicles does similar things. He utilized Saint Derfel as his point of view character to analyze the Arthurian legend through a [semi-]historical lens. But I think Black Sails does it better. It also seems to transcend genre at times. It's adventure and action, but it's got everything from romance between a network of characters in all different Stiuationships to the horror of Flint's past haunting him (literally). And yet it never feels like too much. It doesn't lose track of what it's doing. Nothing set up is dropped or forgotten about. It's frustrating when the goal post moves yet again, but in a way which draws us in closer to the characters and makes us all the more driven to see it through. When another hiccup arises we must overcome, or even a devastating and insurmountable shock (Miranda....), it feels earned. Of course that was liable to happen. How could we have been so foolish to think things would have worked out?

This show gave me permission, and frankly, the determination, to experiment with my own retelling. The people who made Black Sails knew when to stay true to the past, drawing on facts to develop the story in accurate ways (such as utilizing the colony of escaped slaves to bring Madi and her people into the story (which also ties into Treasure Island in which Silver had a black wife!)) and when to follow the rule of cool (Jack Rackham in his definitely-historically-unviable-but-undeniably-cool shades). Literally life changing.

I don't think I could narrow down the characters enough to do a full analysis of one of them, I love them all for different reasons. But I did name my borzoi Long John Silver, so, I kind of have to talk about him, right? Well I think the character's lack of a backstory, ie his unwillingness to disclose it, acts as a surrogate for the viewer. We ride the wave with Silver, thrust into this predicament with the map and the gold and the very culture of Nassau's pirate trade whilst Silver somehow remains a blank slate mystery as he navigates this dangerous world with a quick mind alone. While Flint could certainly be considered the main character, and we're quite often in his head, his memories, his nightmares even, I don't think the viewer's supposed to identify as him so much as with him. Flint is Flint. But we are Silver. (Scary thought lol)

If you couldn't tell already, I'm long winded. :^) So I'll stop here and the real deep dive character analysis happens in my books. Gawain is just landlocked Flint if you squint<3 Thanks for asking about Black Sails! Everyone go watch it.

[santaclaushohoho1]

writing blog 4 you little bitch:

i got a lot of worldbuilding and basic plotting done in my head. motivations, archetypes, names, landscapes, architecture, races, culture, and images are swimming around in my head. most have been written down

tomorrow i am hoping to draw a map and start expanding on races and cultures in my notebook. writing draws ever closer. the cultures will probably change as i move on through the story, as i am sure the (college (subtle brag 😎 (shut up xxprogamerxx)) anthropology class i am taking will give me so many ideas i want to include.

george r.r. martin, stephen king, and andrzej sapkowski are providing a large amount of inspiration but it is not a crossover fan fiction where Jon Snow fucks Geralt and a mother, mother, daughter, son, and weird fucking uncle relationship forms between yennefer, sussanah, ciri, jake, and eddie (i listed them in their respective roles).

this is entirely original

i swear

i plan for the map to be super detailed and i would like to start tonight but i am wiped out so instead i am going to watch the click in bed, sleep, and start on it in the morning

if i dont wake up early enough to do mapping before i start school i will work on basic plotting and maybe design a couple languages

some will be ancient and out of use, but somehow still relevant to important things (fucking latin) and others will be used regularly, though most humanoids will speak my version of common

i also have 12 religions to create

this will be a lot of fun, and considering how much of my time i spend thinking about this stuff, i am hopeful i finish quickly

i ALSO developed a schedule that i will do for writing when the time comes around. my goal is 95,000 words, and i have mathed it out so that if i can write 3,750 words a week (not that much, 750 words, 5 days a week or 536ish words a day) then it will be completed in in less than six months. this is doable and also gives me a LOT of wiggle room, both to get extremely ahead of schedule (if i get really into it) or really behind schedule (if i can only bring myself to write 500 a day for a week, i have another 2 days to write that extra 1250) (for context, this is over 400 words, so i will need to write less than 2 of these a day, this only took me maybe 20 minutes but that's including going over a couple times with my eyes and with Grammarly to fix any spelling mistakes and grammar errors (as well as adding tags and this side note, we are more like at 547 in this whole thing, including the tags), i will not be doing that on my rough draft because that shit is supposed to be rough and editing it will kill my motivation so hard)

i got my shit together raccoon!!! woohoo!!!

[dreamingofmuses]

New Year's Resolutions: RP Edition

Howdy all, Ash here. I've been having a think while with family this week, and I've decided I'm going to implement some new 'resolutions' to try and help make writing in 2024 be way more successful than in 2023. This will include things from the running of blogs to jobs I really want to get finished. I'm putting them under a read-more to keep the dash nice and clean.

I will say, this has taken me an hour to write up, and I'd recommend you doing likewise if you think there's little ways you want to improve.

-

Overall Running of Blogs

I'm going to experiment a new approach to running the blogs. For this, I'm going to put all active blogs to low-medium activity. In other words, even if I am personally lurking on mobile, I won't be constantly writing things if I'm not able to. (Work is just about to get super busy and I'm anticipating chaos)

A queue/schedule function will be used for all blogs. I intend to dedicate one weekday evening to working without interruption on replies. Taking commutes to the city and family visits into account, this is looking to be a Thursday, which is the only day I am neither travelling to the city nor have a guaranteed family visit. Of course, this may fluctuate, but that's what I'm hoping to work with, assuming those things stay as they are.

However! What all this means is that I am going to tentatively take skullandbowties off hiatus. With that blog being quiet, it should be possible to juggle it better now. Plus, it's officially off-season so the demand for him from new blogs ought to be low. I'm very smart :D

I also plan to update all pinned posts. I am aware some of them are marking a vacation from months ago.

Individual Blog Maintenance

Create "New Here?" posts to add to the pinned posts/info tags. This is going to be a very quick crash course on what to expect from the blog, especially where some characters might diverge from fanon expectations.

FINISH. WILF'S. BIO. It's not actually relevant to anything being written on the blog itself at present, but I really want to flesh out his character and show that he was stuck in stories for years, decades even! The doc has the word count to 4,888 at this precise moment. This is a mix of summary and brainstorm. Since it's getting a 'little' out of hand, I intend to have a 'tldr' at the start that people can read, and then longer versions if they're curious to get the full story. Maybe even have it that they can jump to particular parts but... I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

Likewise, Noah's version of Space needs to be finished. This one is going to be a summary, but it's a case of making sure the pieces are in place sufficiently to have parts match canon Space, but also make it clear that there is a lot of differences between canon and what he went through, with his plot entirely spiralling away for 'Part 2'. This is at 5,794 words, and the ending has yet to be ironed out...

(I am going to stop creating needlessly long-winded projects for myself that realistically add nothing of value to my blogs. These two projects are exhausting...)

Theauthorlives is returning to a very small multimuse. Any muses that aren't ones I genuinely enjoy writing are being fully archived, unless they are muses that get no traction but I want to keep the possibility open. Details of that will be shared when I do this.

Redo some muse icons (not all of them!). Though the selection I have for particular sets is a lot, I still feel like I'm missing some expressions or poses. I would like to remake one batch of icons for three characters, and finish iconning a third. Replies seem to be shifting toward iconless, but I like them for asks or IC commentaries.

OOC/Mun Related stuff

Following matters that have happened both online and IRL, I've decided to take a step back from actively engaging with people. My focus will be people that I have been in good communication with for the last twelve months (as well as people I don't talk to frequently but am on friendly terms with) rather than people I feel I have to 'chase' after. Saying that, I'm going to try and not let past experiences meddle with anything in with new writing partners - whether these are brand new to the community or people I've not had the chance to properly interact with prior to this. Just be aware that I might not be super outgoing at first. (This is where setting limits and boundaries is good practice, everyone! Don't sell yourself short, and don't spread yourself out too thinly!)

Which is where I now say I want to send even more asks! Not just memes or sentence starters, but general questions about headcanons or muse opinions. I want to get people thinking more.

My stance on Discord still stands, in that it's solely for OOC stuff, but I'm not giving it out to everyone. However, I have been in two group servers that have little-to-no connection with writing rp threads in them. I would hope that I can fully regain my sense of comfort using Discord as a whole.

Art related

Despite socially stepping back, I still want to keep some semblance of 'community' where my blogs are active so people don't feel isolated. For instance, I want to do something that encourages invasions of ask boxes. That was good fun to watch as the chaos began to spread, and when people are good-humoured to go along with my silly ideas.

I want to have one huge art-related event at some point this year. I'm not entirely what or how to do it, but I think it would be a great excuse to practice something. Portraits, comics, something like that. I'll have a think. (For those who remember, the water gun event was supposed to have an art conclusion but plans for that fell through.)

I want to try and upload drawn responses to heythereneighbor once a week if I can. Obviously, this is depending on how busy it is.

I'd also like to try doodling more on other blogs? But I'm not sure if this is even something people want to see anymore. People might prefer I focus on writing if I have free time instead of doodles or little comics.

... the writing blog. I need to do stuff with that in general. Whoops.

Finally, I want to do what I can to the best of my abilities on a particular day. I've always told people over the years that real life comes before rp, and I still stand by that. Whether I'm around or not every day isn't the end of the world. The communities I write in are a lot slower paced than they were when I started, which is great! I need to remind myself that I don't need to be writing just because I have a bit of free time.

[sancta-seraphina]

hiiiii ✨ will holiest be available to buy anytime soon? I was planning to read it after I finished paradise lost but I saw the old blog had been cleared out and links deleted…

Hi, sorry for the delay in replying c:

Holiest itself is currently offline—it was formerly on wattpad, tapas, and patreon, but I took it down because I've been making major revisions to the beginning of the story (apologies to everyone who has gone looking for it) and I also wasn't sure if that's how I wanted to continue publishing the story.

The old blog was made private when I switched to this new blog, so nothing on it is accessible (and I've deleted much of it anyway). The blog specifically for Holiest is still there, but there isn't much on it at the moment for obvious reasons...

I don't know when Holiest will be available for purchase, however in 2024, I will be on the lookout for some new beta readers for the revised version, if that interests you or anyone else on here (sidenote: I have a few editors in mind already, some whom worked on the original manuscript with me)

For anyone interested in reading any parts of the series (and [this page] on my blog has a list of all of my current projects), there have always been excerpts available on patreon, although these have also been getting revised and updated (and sometimes deleted when no longer relevant). [Patreon] is the best place to go for all of my content, although I do feel bad because it's behind a pay wall (albeit a very low-priced one: $1.00/month is the lowest tier, which gives access to writing, art, and digital downloads). I also update my IG stories almost daily, if that tempts anyone.

Sorry I couldn't give you a better answer than this, but it makes me happy that you're still interested in my work c:

[awellreadmannequin]

Writing update

So with the new semester starting up I have more time to write stuff that isn’t about intangible cultural heritage (psyche, my fiction still is about ICH, fuck you). I’m pretty close to finishing chapter two of >Reorient, which should go live sometime in the coming week. It looks like it’ll be about as long as the last chapter, which is pretty cool. After that, I’m going to put that fic on the back burner for a little bit. I have an idea for at least one more chapter after this one, maybe two? I want to do an engagement chapter for sure and maybe a shorter, fluffier wedding chapter? Honestly, I haven’t quite decided. I think I want the final chapter to be a graduation chapter (minor spoilers for chapter two), which might wind up being more of an epilogue/lead in for the sequel I’m planning.

But all of that will come later in the year, because before that, I want to finish The Cadet, as promised. As it stands, that story sits at around 10 000 words and I think I have about 5000 left to write. So I should be able to get that done before the end for the month. I think I’ll refrain from doing any major revisions for this version, since I’m probably just going to publish it on this blog. If I decide to do anything more with it in the future, it will probably require some substantial edits. However, for now I just want you guys to read it.

Once The Cadet is finished, I want to write the first chapter of a fic set in the same continuity as >Reorient, but twenty years down the line. I’ve tentatively (that’s al lie, I’m fairly certain this will be the final title) >Vriska: Reconcile and, shockingly, it’s about Vriska. I haven’t fully worked out the details, but the highlights are that Vriska turns up in the >Reorient timeline with significantly less time having passed for her than for everyone else. Terezi has not yet returned from paradox space and Vriska finds that she fully has no idea how to live in a world where things are just… fine? Since the theme of this fic will be reconciliation, I want to focus heavily on Vriska reconciling with herself, reconciling with her friends (specifically Kanaya, Terezi, and Karkat), and reconciling with her life-world. There will be vrisrosekan. I’m sorry, there just will be. There might be some vrisrezi too. What can I say, I love lesbian drama. In >Reorient, I’m trying to focus on Rose’s changing understanding of significance as she matures, so in >Reconcile, I want to focus on how maturing changes Vriska’s understanding of relevance. My plan is to make >Reconcile a bit — just a bit! — smutty. But, like, in a sex as plot device way not in a sex as pure titillation way. I don’t know, we’ll have to see.

After I get the first chapter of >Reconcile out, I’m going to switch between writing chapters of the fics until they’re both complete. The Cadet is intended to be a standalone story, but if it gets a positive reaction, I could be persuaded to write more stories in that setting. There’s some pretty neat stuff in Aeschia (that’s the name of the world, dw about it) that The Cadet never even touches. Like lesbian vampire Jesus being burned at the stake to absolve vampires of the need to feed on human flesh or the Cold War style arms race to develop psionic weapons capable of destabilizing the reality on a metaphysical level or even just a more in-depth study of elf genders.

One of my personal goals for the next few years is to publish more of my writing in public forums. While I’m hoping to get an academic paper published this year, I’d also like actually share my fiction with people more. I love writing and I have been writing short fiction on and off since I was twelve. However, I’ve never felt comfortable sharing it with anyone, so most of it never got finished. Having this blog and seeing the positive reactions that >Reorient has thus far received has made me realize how much anxiety was holding me back. Having an audience, even just a small one, has created the sense of accountability I think I always needed in order to actually finish projects that I start. So thank you, everyone. I cannot express how much I appreciate every single reblog and comment and kudos I’ve received in the past few months. You’ve lit a fire in me that cannot be extinguished. Hopefully. And don’t worry if fiction / homestuck / uh whatever the hell The Cadet is isn’t your thing! I’m doing another semester long course on feminist philosophy, so I absolutely will have more essays to share with you all here soon!

[jessepinwheel]

writer ask meme: 3, 9, 14?

3. Is there a trope you wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole?

there are a lot of tropes I fundamentally dislike. soulmate stuff, for one. anything that would require me to write a sex scene, for another. I'm not really into modern AUs either--I don't really see the appeal of putting the characters into a completely different setting divorced from the canon material. if I wanted to write that I would just write my own book.

9. Which fic has been the hardest to write?

well at this moment, race con, because it's the one I'm currently writing, the plot is insane, and it's still over 200k from finishing and I would like to have it in a form that's ready to start posting by may 4th next year. writing is an endurance sport etc

14. What’s the worst writing advice you’ve ever come across?

I'll be real I don't remember most of the bad writing advice I come across because I immediately throw that shit out the window. But I feel like most advice I've gotten about characters and character building has been bad. people who have followed this blog long enough know that I think characterization is a scam and all those "get to know your character" questionnaires of like are they neat or messy or what's their favorite color or drink and whatever is pointless. I don't care what protagonist man (gender neutral) likes to wear on the weekends. I'll come up with that answer if it's relevant to the story. all I care about from the outset is what they're trying to accomplish and what they're willing to do it and like. maybe one or two adjectives to have a starting point for what they do?

I do remember at some point reading an absolute dogshit take on chekhov's gun somewhere on tumblr that was like "having the gun on the mantelpiece and being forced to use it is bad story design it forces you to telegraph what you're going to do" or something (it's been some years since I saw this post) and like. the point of chekhov's gun is that if you have a gun go off in the second act, it had better come from somewhere that was shown in the first act (instead of from out of the character's ass) and also if you make a big deal out of something in the first act, you have some responsibility as a writer to follow through in the second act or you're just wasting everyone's time. the thing is, not everything is chekhov's gun, and readers won't be able to know what's what until the second act.

I also remember at some point reading a tumblr post that was like "all stories need to have a character arc" which is just. wrong. because not all stories are about character growth/devolution. sometimes stories are about things the characters are doing. I'm not going to say that philip marlowe really has much character growth from start to end and he doesn't need it because he's a detective and the problem he's trying to solve is trying to figure out what's everyone else's problem. there's nothing wrong with him being a static character, and saying that all stories need a character arc is kind of misunderstanding the nature of conflicts in a story.

ask meme for fic writers

[mistysblueboxstuff]

I know people ask who is Philip Quast but what I want to ask is how did you find about him and why you do you love him so much? No sarcasm, I would like to know genuinely

it could be sarcasm and I'd still answer this because i won't ever miss the opportunity to talk about PQ xD anyway not to bore you with too long of a story, i watched Les Mis the 10th Anniversary Concert somewhere at the start of 2018 and basically this was me the entire time

at that point i was still new to painting (barely two years in) and the thought of doing it for a living was but a distant dream. i had some tough years behind me, there are too many things to count and this is probably tmi as it is but my dad passed away in early 2016 after a year-long battle with cancer and i started painting as a way to distract myself from the pain, i felt like i was channeling all the bad things in my life into something good and meaningful even if my art was trash at the time but anyway i digress as usual but this is relevant to me finding comfort in Les Mis as the anniversary of my dad's passing away was approaching in February and somehow along the way Javert became my emotional support character and i finished and posted this painting on February 10th 2018:

it was my first of many Javert or Philip Quast pieces (though i had no idea at the time just how much Philip Quast himself would affect me as an artist and as a person) and i distinctly remember painting this

some time in March of the same year - i remember painting it on a particularly cold day, all by myself in the house, fire crackling in the old wood stove we had back then, and looking back i think i remember it so vividly because it was the first time in years that I've experienced some kind of inner peace, it was extraordinary and it was beautiful and somehow painting PQ has become a thing i do when i need to find that peace again, when I'm scared and anxious (and i am anxious A Lot) and when my depression is kicking my ass, i paint him and for a moment i can go back to that place of peace and contentment, however brief that moment may be. fast forward to July 2018 my blog was overtaken by Javert

my obsession with Javert has taught me so much, because i was constantly trying to find new and better ways to paint him, but it has also led me to find out more about my favourite Javert. well the person behind my favourite Javert really. I went and listened and watched way too many things he was in (many of them were bad xD) some days I'd listen to nothing but my PQ playlist, but most importantly i watched and read every interview i could find and I don't think one can comprehend just how amazing of a person he is without looking those up, he's a very private person but from what we know of him i think it's safe to say that he is kind and he is genuine and it's very hard not to love him for those reasons alone.

he's not on social media but at some point people started sending him my art (which i was terrified of, because he's so humble and i so thought my art would make him uncomfortable) but this was reassuring in a way

and so on February 10th 2020 he was given my art book and he was very kind and gracious and more wonderful than i could've ever hoped he'd be

i shall cherish this video forever xD a lot of things have happened since but his kindness and encouragement have been a huge part of me not giving up (not just painting but like life in general xD) and i love him for that too. i love how understanding and thoughtful he is, he's got so much patience and he seeks like such a warm gentle soul. my world has often been a dark place, with bad things and bad people all around, so i hold onto the thought that there are people like him out there - genuinely good people - and that's been one of my lifelines really. i know a lot of people don't know him and follow me for my other art (i do love other things too xD) but he's very special to me and so i keep painting him as a way to learn and to cope, and knowing that he doesn't mind (and in fact encourages me to "finish the hat" xD) means a great deal to me. I've never met him (though that's still a dream of mine) and I don't know him but i feel like I've gotten to know him a little bit through painting him so much over the years :')

idk if that's what you wanted to know nonny and I'm sorry if this is too long and boring but idk how to stop xD

[wayhavensecretsanta]

FAQ

Q: How do I sign up? A: Send a message to this blog and I will send you the link to the sign-up sheet. On this sheet, you can give some basic info about your OC(s) and their worldstate, to give the person writing for you an idea of who they are.

Everyone will receive their own sheet. The relevant information on there will be shared with the person that is matched with them.

You will get a reminder if the sheet is not filled in a few days before the deadline, but of course it’s not an issue if you decide you don’t want to participate after all. No reason needed.

Everyone who filled in a sheet before the deadline of 9 July will be assumed to take part. 

Q: What is the deadline for signing up? A: Sunday, 9 July

Q: When will I hear who my giftee is? A: Everyone will receive a message with the information of their giftee before 14 July.

Q: What is the deadline for turning in the fic? A: Monday, 14 August (09:00 CEST). If you have some final, minor edits after this, you can still do those before the actual gifting.

This corresponds to 17:00 AEST; 01:00 CST

Q: When will the fics be gifted? A: 20 - 27 August

Q: How do I turn in fic? A: The sheet with information about your giftee will contain a section where you should paste your finished fic. Once you have done this, send me a message saying you have turned in your fic. If you have some final, minor edits, you can still do those before the actual gifting.

Q: Why is the deadline for turning in fic before the gift giving? A: This is so that I have time to check if all gifts adhere to the rules. In case people had to withdraw, this will also give the back-up writers time to write something for that person's giftee.

Q: What if I, as the gifter, have a question for my giftee? A: The gifter will only be revealed to the giftee when gifting their fic. However, it may be that you’ll have questions about the giftee’s OC or pairing. For this, tumblr’s anon asks feature is perfect! Not only is this a way to get your question(s) answered, but who doesn’t like getting asks about their OC?

If the giftee has this feature disabled, or you feel like the question is better asked in private, you can send it to this blog as PM. I will then act as intermediary between gifter and giftee.

Q: What if I, as the giftee, forgot any information that the gifter should know? A: In this case, please send a message to this blog. I will make sure the gifter gets it.

Q: What if I won’t be able to finish the fic before the deadline? A: If, for any reason, you won’t be able to finish the fic in time or at all, let me know! Please don’t hesitate, but reach out as soon as you realise this will be an issue. I know life happens This way, we can work something out to make sure the giftee will still receive a gift. 

Q: Does it have to be a romance fic? A: No. If you have a great idea centred on, for example, the OC and their BFF—or maybe the member of UB that they get along with the least—that’s 100% fine! The only requirement is that the story includes the giftee’s OC, as it’s written for them, after all.

Q: Is art allowed instead of fanfic? A: This exchange is a fic-only exchange. If it goes well, there might be more exchanges in the future that also include art, but since it is my first time organising something like this, I decided to keep it smaller and stay with something I’m more familiar with.

[slowdripsunrise]

ooookkkkkk so its been like. months since i last updated this blog so here we go im just gonna write my feelings out about the books i've read i will try to get through all of them but maybe won't i'll stop writing when i get bored soz. spoilers for many various books under the cut!

ok. first book i read since i last updated my reads on here was i will greet the sun again by khashayar j khabushani! this was such a beautiful piece of work and i really recommend it for anyone who needs a good cry, but still wants a happy/not extremely tragic ending. the writing was beautiful and i think one of my favorite scenes/settings was the beach... the way it was described. as well as the way iran was described, it was so lovely even though there were many bad memories attached to it. that and the K's relationship with Johnny were my fave parts. it was so sweet reading about them and even tho i read this a while ago so i don't remember much, this story has stuck with me throughout... not so much as the exact scenes, but the feelings and emotions i was feeling while reading it. definitely recommend!!!

next i read the life changing magic of tidying up by marie kondo! this was a great little book about organization and lifestyle and i recommend to anyone who maybe wants to get a different perspective on organization! i read and finished this before bed one night, woke up, and started reorganizing and cleaning up my space lmao. no it didnt stay that way, but the effort was there. i don't think that this book is necessarily life changing, however it does offer new ideas about tidying up, and gives some good tips on how to go about it. one of the things i thought pretty relevant to me were the steps in which u should organize, or choosing one thing to organize and only doing that one thing. like doing all of the clothes in the house at once, or toys, etc. instead of a room at a time. for me, i get distracted very easily if i'm doing 4 different things at once, so this is something i wanna try out more! the way the book is set up too makes it easily rereadable, just for a refresher, which i like lol

next i read braiding sweetgrass by robin wall kimmerer!!! 5/5 stars one of my top books i read this year 100%. easily. this book was wonderful and engaging and informative and i absolutely loved it. the way the author weaves facts and information along with the story and narrative is so lovely and makes me want to pick up her other book, gathering moss (i think) immediately. this shit was addicting! the stories from her life and the stories from her culture and history were so captivating and immersive oh my god. i think some of my favorite stories of hers where the ones with her students. the camping trip in the marsh (i think it was a marsh. some sort of wetlands....) was lovely; as well as the stories with her daughters. AND THE ENDIGN OHGHHHH MY GOD i had shivers literally all over me. like almost cried not out of sadness but awe of her writing. there were times i almost cried of sadness tho. 5/5 i need to read more from this author.

next - ok. OH KAY. oh also ive decided i'm just going to group all of the books in a series together, especially when i read them all pretty close in time to each other, because a lot of times they all blend together in my head. all this to say - i read the all for the game series by nora sakavic. i went into it knowing it was about gay people that play made up sports and maybe a little bit of mafia esque action was going on. i came out of it extremely entertained and needing to read the next one in the series LMAO this shit was so awesome and epic. 5/5 stars. i've aged out of YA so i usually steer clear of it (especially some of the newer ones. it feels like so much of YA has lost all amounts of trust in their readers and focuses more on publishers and algorithms and such but. whatever) however this is a tumblr classic and you know what i wanted to read something fun and entertaining so thats exactly what i did. i've seen a lot of people ok not a lot a couple people point out that the writing isn't good or isn't super high level or whatever. who give a shit. idk i feel like people are trying to justify liking or reading something that most would consider "bad" or "immature" or. idk the exact word im looking for, ig like a guilty pleasure?? theyre trying to justify it by saying things like "oh yeah, i know the writing is bad But the characters-" or "oh yeah its written like fanfic but-" like yall its fine. it's chill. calm down. personally i didn't think the writing was bad. i thought it was average. also there's nothing wrong with writing a fanfic-esque story, the problem is you people can't suspend ur damn disbelief for more than 2 minutes and have fun. sorry that was a huge rant that wasn't even about the book back to the books I HAD FUN. she did what she needed to to. will i read the sunshine court? yeah probably if i remember. would i recommend this to everyone? no. only people with taste. this was a blast definitely look up trigger warnings tho like. there was more mafia involvement than i originally thought there would be lol. characters slayed. relationships between them were fun to read about. go foxes.

ok this is long so i am going to end it here we are not even close to done but i will try to remember to continue going through everything and then maybe i'll try and compile some of my stats from storygraph for like an end of year thing even tho it's more than halfway through january lol.

[isaksbestpillow]

Hi Siiri! So I often watch stuff when I see it on your blog because you honestly have excellent taste. This time I watched Sangatsu no lion after I saw that post that had the Bump of Chicken video. I'm obsessed with that band and the show sounded perfect for me. I finished the entire anime today and I loved it so much!! I wish there was more. So anyway I just wanted to say thanks for reblogging that post lmao. Also what other anime/manga do you love and recommend?

Hello!! Omg another Bump of chicken listener in the wild!! I love them though I haven't been vibing with their last few songs as much. Fujiwara Motoo has a genuine talent for writing profound lyrics using mundane words, he's great!

I've become such a boomer regarding anime that I really don't know any of the titles currently relevant, but I can recommend some of my forever faves!

Natsume yuujinchou/Natsume's book of friends: My beloved, my dearest, my most favourite. Natsume Takashi is an ordinary, introverted high school boy who lives in rural Kumamoto prefecture with his foster family and a fat cat. Except that his cat is no cat at all and Natsume is no ordinary boy because he can see youkai (spirits). Some of those spirits are angry, some sad, some funny, some lonely. What they have in common is they've all got beef with Natsume's late grandmother who has sealed their names into a book. The episodes revolve around Natsume and his cat sidekick setting free the trapped spirits they encounter one by one. It's the best anime!!! It's so calming and melancholy and nice. With 29 manga volumes out, the story is still on-going.

Chihayafuru: The best sports anime ever!! Chihaya, Taichi and Arata are three childhood friends brought back together by competitive karuta, which is an agility and memory based sport that uses ancient Japanese poetry. There's friendship, romance, sport, poetry, what else do you need! I love it so much. The characters are great, they all have their strengths and weaknesses in karuta and outside of it, especially Chihaya who is super likable without being a Mary Sue type. With fifty manga volumes out, the story is still on-going. I just wish they'd go polyamorous because even after all these years I can't decide whether I ship Chihaya more with Taichi, Arata or her idol/nemesis Shinobu haha.

Shouwa genroku rakugo shinjuu: Freshly out of prison, a yakuza discovers the world of rakugo (traditional Japanese story telling), but his mentor is haunted by the ghosts of his difficult past in this stunning queer period piece.

Mushishi: A guy wanders around the country in search of supernatural powers known as mushi that can possess and harm people. This is what would happen if Natsume Yuujinchou took up drugs and smoking.

Heike monogatari (2021): A stunning feminist retelling of the birth of one of Japan's oldest epics.

Yojouhan shinwa taikei/The tatami galaxy: A guy tries to restart his freshman year at university over and over, each time failing to get the outcome he desires regardless of what he chooses or changes, steadily snowballing to a mental breakdown and existential crisis. This one is a classic with a very unique style in art and direction and the most amazing line you must accept that you are the person here now and you cannot become anyone else but that person.

No 6: This anime pales in comparison to the book series that's such a vivid, visceral portrayal of the indomitable will to live even when dying would be easier, but it's still nice viewing. Queer teenagers take on an oppressive government and some killer bees. The books though!!!! They are so great!!! It's a shame they aren't available internationally, but then again I'm not sure how well they'd work in English because so much of their rhythm and tension tempo is achieved in ways that disappear when you remove Japanese from the equation. Pov is an especially tricky area because Japanese doesn't have personal verbs or mandatory grammatical subject which allows for shifting pov and narrator and time.

I'm probably forgetting something, but these are some of my forever faves!! I didn't mention Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood because I think everyone knows it already, but it's my most favourite favourite.

[sholiofic]

Not sure if this is all the same anon, but I got a series of anon asks last night about Biggles, so I figured I'd answer them all together:

AHHH OMG BIGGLES FANFICCER AAAHHHH Hi :DDD I'm so happy to see this oh my gosh, I hope you will do the Biggles Holiday Airdrop next year too.

Thank you! :))) I will definitely do it again, assuming I'm still this hooked and haven't gotten distracted by something else by then.

(TFATWS people: I DO still plan to write more of that, too! Just in case you’re getting worried. I have WIPs to finish! And prompts!)

Also what blogs do I follow for Biggles stuff? I'm very excited! BIGGLESSSS YAAAAY!

:DDDD

Unfortunately, there’s really not a fandom for it on Tumblr, that I know of. Philomytha is the person who got me into it, but most of her Biggles fandom presence is on Dreamwidth, as is mine. I definitely recommend checking out her Biggles tag there! Most of the Biggles fandom discussions that I know about are on Dreamwidth - there’s also my Biggles tag - and I understand there’s a fairly active Discord edit: actually it’s an old-school forum, I am corrected!  https://bigglesforum.net/forum/index.php

Any headcasts, headcanons or fav. depictions of Biggles & co?

I don’t do fancasts for books - I mean, it’s fine for people to enjoy fandom that way, lots of people do, but I get mental pictures of them when I’m reading that don’t match any actors, and I like it that way.

Headcanons - I have a few! One of them is that I don’t think Biggles is correct that EvS is primarily motivated in the post-war years by hatred for Britain. My general read on that situation is that *Biggles* thinks that it must be about Britain, and about him personally, but 95% of it isn’t. EvS has his own things going on, he’s deeply depressed and very trapped in the situation he’s in, and I feel that Biggles doesn’t recognize the extent of it - Biggles assumes it must be personal because he can’t imagine that EvS wouldn’t be doing all of this of his own free will, but actually it’s mostly just EvS being too miserable and caught in a trap of his own making to realize he could walk out of it if he wanted to.

Favorite depictions - Do you mean in fic? There is A LOT of amazing fic in this fandom; I was really impressed how good it all is! I recommend in particular reading everything by Philomytha, Sheron, Edonohana, Scioscribe, Blackbentley, and Rietta89. And that’s just for a start. The quality of fic in this fandom on AO3 is really fantastic; you can’t go wrong! My reading is focused most heavily on the Biggles-von Stalhein relationship, but there are also well-established Biggles/Algy and Ginger/Algy contingents. Actually, just going through the Holiday Airdrop authors should give you lots to read!

'WWI fiction' is the tag used to dump stuff relevant to WWI fandom in, heads up if you want more WWI ppl to read the early Biggles stories :)

Thank you for letting me know! :) I probably won’t use that for most of what I write because it really doesn’t pertain to WWI, but I’ll keep it in mind if I do stories about that time period.

And, if you *are* all the same anon, welcome - feel free to hang around. :)

[pmdttas]

Hello everyone!

Thank you all so much for voting on the poll! It gave me a feel of what you guys wanted when it came to asks and the upcoming comic!

While the poll was pretty fairly split, there were more people favoring that I keep the comic on this blog, so that’s what I am going to do!

Here are all of my official plans:

- The comic will be hosted here. I don’t have a definite schedule yet. Being completely honest, this is my first time doing a comic (I’ve experimented in the past, but nothing ever really got off the ground). This story has pretty strong planning so I will try to update at least once a month. I’ll create a more official schedule later on!

- If I ever go on hiatus, I will pin a hiatus post to the top of the blog. Hiatuses will usually be due to family/work related conflicts or vacations. If there is a hiatus posted, please do not send asks about when I will be back. You can ask if I’ll be back on the hiatus post, but I’d rather keep questions like that out of my ask box.

- I’m going to retcon (sorta) the first two asks on this blog. They are still relevant, but mostly to later in the story. So asks should be based on the current timeline (spoiler: don’t send asks about the prologue unless it’s to the OOC, because they likely won’t be answered til muuuuch later).

- While asks will still be answered, the comic will take priority over asks unless they are asks for the OOC (me).

- This entire comic is an experiment for me! Meaning I might change up my style, how I do backgrounds, panels, etc. Please understand that this comic is mostly for me to have fun with it and share the story, so artistic consistency might sway! That being said, I might make changes if I find a way to produce comics faster but still keeping the level of quality that I find to be appropriate. It’s all up in the air, but I hope you’ll stick around!

- I’ve already finished the prologue (it’s a bit short, but that’s intentional just to give readers a taste), but I will not release it until I’ve finished the first scene of Chapter 1. I want to keep a buffer of one scene between posting when possible. Meaning, scene 1 will release after I finish scene 2, and so on!

- Any additional side art of the characters will be posted on my regular account @rising-in-the-ash! I might repost it onto this account if I feel like it.

- It should be noted that I don’t plan to make any money off of this comic! I’m doing this for fun! I’m an adult with a job and other responsibilities, so my real life will take priority (this shouldn’t be too shocking lol). Also, making money off of a property I didn’t technically create has some legally grey ickyness. If you want to support me, you can commission me!

If you read all of this, bless you, I know this was long! I’m very excited to share this story with you all and I hope you will enjoy it!

Thanks for reading!