#anyway she's so invested on style's development i love her

[sanflawoah]

Black Myth: Wukong

More brainrot commentary because I'M NOWHERE NEAR DONE WITH GOING INSANE OVER THIS MONKE GAME.

Cursed texts and massive spoilers bellow. Lots of random bits and wee woo wee woo.

First of all, YEEESSS to everything well written big budget media with heavy cultural elements that isn't western centric. Love it 👏, a thousand more like this please.

HONESTLY can't get enough of the character designs. Watching the old tv show in my childhood got me imagining the JTTW characters as these cute human with animal ears. But since the game took a more serious and darker tone they took the character design to 1000. So many memorable characters with distinct style, drip, and combat.

Ok so whose idea was it to make some of the plants sentient and will beat your ass for daring to pick them up. I now have trust issues with ginseng and mushrooms

The toad bosses reminds me of Gamabunta. For a moment they also gave me a war flashback of Jedi Survivor's Oggdo-Bogdo, I want those things vaporised from earth 🔫🔫

Kang-Jin darkening the environment during her second stage, I legit thought it was a problem with my screen, until I found out other players had it too lmao. Also looove her design, silver loong with holographic glow, prettiest loong in the game

Boss musics are so LIT, I've been looping them for weeks

The Scorpionlord. First I saw him I was like HANZO HASASHI :DD??? But instead of hellfire, this time he uses venom. And the fact that the environments have autumn palette, connects me to MK 11 Shirai Ryu fire garden arena lol

an NPC called Starved Abomination. The name really sends me because ngl it's a relatable concept, I too became an abomination whenever I'm starving.

To punish Wukong for his lifetime worth of trash-talking, the game now choose The Destined One as shy and doesn't talk much except for when he screams during fights. All my grievances of expecting him to be chatty and noisy actually works out the more I understand the story. And turns out it was all part of his journey, you are meant to complete him by collecting Wukong's scattered senses. Lil introverted fur-ball of scream I love you so much. Since the NG+++ Wukong stance actually gave him voicelines, I'm guessing the Destined One is going to complete his development in actually becoming Wukong in the DLC.

Everyone and I mean EVERYONE had a beef with Wukong and now we gotta pick up after his mess. My poor Destined One walked into an area completely clueless and suddenly everyone is jumping on him because "REMEMBER THE THING YOU DID TO ME A FEW HUNDRED YEARS AGO??? WELL FUK YOU, NOW DIE."

~

🐱Yin Tiger🐱. First time I met him I was like ohhh who are you, you look so cool and kinda cute tho, look at those big boba eyes, pspspsps.

He's all busy with his hammer and zabuza sword, thinks you're so annoying for bothering his work. Then there's this "challenge" option and suddenly he rose and casually tossed his hammer to the ground, I was like wait I was just joking aYO I WAS JUST JOKING-, then proceeds to delete my HP in 30 seconds. Anyway I love how he appears big and heavy and yet moves so swiftly. Of ALL the tiger bosses in this game, imo he's the coolest and THE SANEST. I still can''t get over the Tiger Vanguard and Mad Tiger trauma, those orange cats are on a whole new level of insanity.

🕷️Fourth Spider Sister🕷️. I'm actually so INVESTED in her mystery, like why are you helping me? Why do you look so sad? Are those tear stains on your cheeks?? Why did the Immortal Crane said that I'm giving you "false hopes"? What were we in the previous life?

"Think about her, won't you? Should you feel like stirring trouble in your next life." WHAT DOES THIS MEAN, TELL ME. SHE SEEMS SO NICE THO, she's just a sad goth girl what did she do?? What did WE do?? And her journal entry is so interesting.

🐉Yellow Loong🐉. LISTEN.... I literally had to pause for a moment when I saw him. Cutscene plays and I was like Oohh it's going to be that type of charismatic character reciting monologue, and then I saw his name and it's THE YELLOW LOONG??? This suave horned man is The Yellow Loong??

Well damn I have to say that's one handsome loong. He's one of those elegant style fighters, my favourite genre, up there with Whiteclad Noble and Erlang Shen.

👁️Erlang Shen⚡. The way I turned up the volume when I heard Andrew Koji's Erlang voice.....It's just so.......pleasant to hear. Something about the way he did his voice, the smug taunts, the gentle almost-whispers, and the gROWLS???

I can't even with the entirety of Erlang's character design in this game, because dAMN BOI what a BEAUTY. I thought the game was going to make his appearance more mature looking, or even scarier, because that's just how it is with game character design formula, especially in games like this. But NOOOOO..... they made him ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL. His face, his voice, HIS MOVESS, the way they designed his martial arts so elegantly. When you perfect dodge everything with him, it really feels like a dance. I have to note that when sometimes you tried heavy attack on him aND HE SIMPLY JUST-.... took one step to the side.... THE ABSOLUTE SLAYYY DISRESPECT💅💅. Welcome back Isshin from Sekiro.

Also I just found out that depending on what transformation you're using, he's going to react differently on each. Particularly interesting one was when you use Azure Dust. Most of the time, when you transform, he's going to transform too and chances are he's going to one-shot you out of the transformation. He doesn't do that with Azure Dust for some reason, instead he got amused because Lmao returning back to your origin?. And this line, "Walking his path is no easy feat, it will test you relentlessly". SOMETHING SOMETHING ABOUT ERLANG HAVING THIS HIDDEN BURDEN THROUGHOUT THE PLOT IS DRIVING ME INSANE, I NEED THE DLC TO EXPLORE HIS CHARACTER MORE I'M BEGGING YOU GAME SCIENCE. You can't leave me hanging with his journal entry please I want him to have some peace and closure.

Powerful quiet character with hidden struggle, the bane of my existence, my beloved.

☂️🐉The Four Heavenly Kings🎸🗡️. MAN I love these guys, their fight feels so rewarding somehow, because after all those struggles with Erlang, they feel more like a reward battle for visual entertainment.

Aside from being relatively easy, they're just so fun to watch. I keep wanting to stall the fight just to see what move sets they could perform because their coordinated attacks are just SO COOL.

South king throwing the sword at us, joined by the West king throwing punches, and then the West king passing the sword back to South king. That brief moment of them passing weapons, they need to do more of that, so sick.

The North king combo with every other kings. The West jumping up using the North's umbrella, summoned the dragon, the South yeeting the sword, and the East buffing up the umbrella thrust attack with his Pipa magic. I'd hate to be a normal human citizen under them during that scene GODDAMN. I'd say the West is the game's favourite king because he's the one with the most screentime. He's the one with distinct glowing eyes and he was the most visible behind Erlang during the opening. The North being the coolest because WTF WAS THAT TYPHOON UMBRELLA WITH THE WEST'S DRAGON ROLLING WITH IT, AND THE MUSIC QUE, ABSOLUT CINEMA. The East probably being the chillest of them all because my man was just serenading the fight yo, I like how his fingers actually moves accurately playing the BGM. I know they're on the heaven's side, but for some reason I want them to be on our side if it's possible in the DLC. If we could get Erlang, then surely we can get them? They're too epic not to have.

🐒THE GREAT SAGE'S BROKEN SHELL🐒

THE MONKEY, THE MYTH, THE LEGEND. SUN. WU. KONG. THE SCREAM I SCRUMPT WHEN THIS MF SHOWED UP ON SCREEN. TEARFUL CHEER AND AND UNIMAGINABLE TERROR. AND WITH THAT BITS OF THE OG TV SHOW THEME MOTIF PLAYING WHEN HE SUMMONED JINGU BANG.

Who would've thought that we're going to fight our former self as a literal your greatest enemy is yourself concept. Like yO IT'S THE G HIMSELF WUKONG but now FUK I HAVE TO FIGHT HIM?? Look, sir, Mr. Great Sage, I know I've been playing around as you and I don't even know what I'm doing, I'M SORRY.

So now we're fighting zombie Wukong. He's literally soulless inside and his voice sounds demonic. YET STILL he radiates that lively asshole energy. You try pillar stance to get away from him, he does the same but his pillar is TALLER than yours. You try to walk off calmly, he does the same but then taunts you for it, eats a peach and then flicks the seed to your head. Kicks you to the sky and transforms his jingu bang into a pillar and plants it to the ground with you under it. He cheats by summoning kintoun and body slammed you. He summoned his clones to kick you in all directions only for the original Wukong to wait on the side yawning, then he kicks your jingu bang back at you like "pick it up bitch", and taunts you with his hand gesture to come at him. Ok now you're raging and you tried to pillar stance heavy attack at him, he's like "shut yo bitch-" and GRABBED YOUR JINGU BANG WITH YOU STILL HOLDING ON TO IT AND STARTS USING YOU AS A FLY SWATTER. Just as you think that these suffering couldn't get any worse, you tried to heal and he IMMOBILISED YOU, SNATCHED YOUR GOURD AND TOOK A SIP, decided that it tastes like shit and threw it back at you. Now THIS is the little shit that I know and love.

The whole time you tried to do a move against him, he returned the favour but better. You think your staff extension is long? Ok he'll extend his staff to a kilometer, and that's STILL him holding back. You can do ring of fire? His is bigger in diameter and burns brighter. The game had to nerf out his lore accurate skills because it's just so atrociously OP.

Ok so you finally defeated him? Just as he got dusted away he still managed to croak a last laugh.

Que good ending animated cutscene with the JTTW plot in reverse serenaded with Celestial Symphony. Happy onions, happy onions tearing up the eyes. Crank the volume up, it's all coming together. That's Ba Jie, that's Sanzang, that's Wujing, that's horse.

MMMMMMM MONKE.

[everythingwasnormalhere]

never getting over princess kenny being the greatest style shipper ever

dude she's literally letting a guy sleep on her husband's bed she slays so hard

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Hedy Lamarr (Samson and Delilah, Ziegfeld Girl)—Look. I'm sure someone has already submitted Hedy Lamarr because she was spectacularly beautiful, and a very strong lady too: she fled both an abusive marriage AND nazi persecution at a very young age and rebuilt a life for herself pursuing her love for acting all on her own!! Her career as an actress was stellar; while she began acting outside of Hollywood (her very first movie, Ecstasy, won a prize at the Venice Film Festival), she conquered American hearts very quickly with her first movie in the US, Algiers, and then just kept getting better and better. If all this isn't enough, she was also an inventor: her invention of the frequency-hopping spread spectrum radio transmission technique forms the base of bluetooth and has a lot of applications in all kinds of communication technologies. I think that deserves a prize, don't you?

Grace Kelly (Rear Window, High Society, Dial M for Murder)—The literal princess of Hollywood (she retired at 26 to become princess of Monaco), her name said everything about why she was so hot. She carried herself with a grace and elegance you just don't see anymore. Her voice was sultry without being overbearing, and she had the ability to be sweet but suggest a deep sensuality at all times.

This is round 5 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Hedy Lamarr:

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The only person you can find both on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and in the Inventor's Hall of Fame--her radio-frequency-hopping technology forms the basis for cordless phones, wi-fi, and a dozen other aspects of modern life. She was also passionate in her efforts to aid the Allies in WWII (unsurprising for a Jewish-Austrian Emigree to America), and her name served as the backbone for one of the best running jokes in what is possibly Mel Brooks' best movie. Look, Louis B. Mayer apparently believed he could plausibly promote her as "The world's most beautiful woman". Is an entire website full of people going to be less audacious than one Louis B. Mayer? I didn't think so!

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Described as "Hedy has the most incredible personal sophistication. She knows the peculiarly European art of being womanly; she knows what men want in a beautiful woman, what attracts them, and she forces herself to be these things. She has magnetism with warmth, something that neither Dietrich nor Garbo has managed to achieve" by Howard Sharpe, she managed to escape her controlling husband (and Nazi Germany) by a) Disguising as her maid and fleeing to Paris or b) Convincing the husband to let her wear all of her jewelry to a dinner, only to disappear afterwards. Also she was particularly clever and helped develop Frequency-Hopping Spread Spectrum (I can't really explain it but anyway...)

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Her depiction of Delilah and Samson and Delilah just lives rent free in my head. The woman was gorgeous.

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One of the most beautiful women ever in film, spoken by many critics and fans. Beautiful shapely figure, deeper seductive voice, and often played femme fatale roles. She was also brilliant and an inventor. Mainly self-taught, she invested her spare time, including on set between takes, in designing and drafting inventions, which included an improved traffic stoplight and a tablet that would dissolve in water to create a flavored carbonated drink, and much more.

Gorgeous and brilliant pioneer of modern technology and the middle part.

Grace Kelly:

flawlessly beautiful and a literal princess

Her facial structure? Flawless. Her eyes? Stunning. Her hair? Gorgeous. Her style? Immaculate. Every second she’s on screen, she just exudes this elegance and sophistication. It’s no wonder she ended up marrying a prince. But she’s got this mischief in her eyes that is compelling.

She was so elegant, so beautiful and perfect I could cry for real. A fairy disguised as a woman.

the most beautiful of Hitchcock's "icy blondes". elegant, glamorous, she left hollywood to became an actual princess, I mean, COME ON

she's so pretty and refined and elegant! I'm pretty sure taylor swift's blonde hair red lip look is modeled partly after her

She's just so elegant, look at her all dressed up like a Barbie doll in the latest fashions. There's a quiet dignity about her.

Not only was she princess of Monaco she also is Stéphanie de Monaco's mother and yeah, vote for her she's soooo pretty That red dress in Dial M.... hot damn

To me, she is the first and only blonde. She earned it. Paired with Edith Head's costume design she is unstoppable. I dare anyone to watch her as Lisa Carol Fremont in Rear Window and not be completely blown away by her hotness.

SHE IS SO PRETTY AND FASHIONABLE!! Not only that but she has an alluring aura to her in whatever film I've seen her in! Rear Window is just one of my personal favorite films she was in, especially for her costumes in that. And how many actresses can you say was a princess consort in addition to being a famous leading lady?

[lost-in-fandoms]

Got caught up in my feelings last night and kept thinking about this until I was able to write it down.

Max's fingers moved deftly on Nicky's hair, braiding the long strands while reading out loud. It was a new book, something about a witch and a fairy being best friends and going on adventures, both of them endearingly invested in it.

Daniel took his place to the side of the door, leaning against the wall, eyes trained on the pair, as they both looked up to smile at him before going back to their story.

Max didn't do voices when reading books, he never had. At first Daniel had complained, sure that their daughter would only pay attention if he kept the reading as silly as possible, but then Max had started the new bedtime routine of braids and books. There was something in the way his voice changed over the dialogue, in the weird cadence of his, in his gentle rasp, that kept Nicky completely entranced in a way Daniel had never been able to replicate.

That and the hair styling. For some reason, whenever Daniel was the one to deal with elastics and bows and hairbrushes, things always turned out either wonky or tear stained or both. He had felt bad about it, felt like he was failing her, until Max had pointed out that he always struggled with getting her to finish all her food, and that if it had been up to him they'd be eating soup and various charred vegetables every night, and Daniel had felt better.

Max always knew how to make Daniel feel better.

"Page," Max said, pausing his reading to allow Nicky to turn the page, tying the braid off with a yellow elastic and tugging her closer against his chest, moving the hairbrush out of the way. They were almost at the end of the chapter, and Daniel smiled, knowing what was coming.

As expected, even before Max was all the way through the last page, Nicky started squirming, twisting to glance up at him, big eyes already pleading, but Max steadily finished reading and reached for the bookmark she was holding anyway.

"No, papa, please! One more?"

It was always the same. Max would finish doing her hair, finish their chapter and then she would beg for more. Honestly, Daniel couldn't blame her, not when he too would have liked to be sitting against Max's chest, listening to his voice.

"We had two already, because the other one was short," Max replied, kind but firm. He closed the book, pushing it to the side, then turned Nicky around so they could sit face to face, her little crossed legs bracketed by his spread ones.

Nicky was still pouting, but she had learned soon enough that there was no bargaining with papa. Not that Max didn't treat her like a princess and spoil her rotten, but he had rules, and rules were followed. Most of the time.

"So, what do you say?" Max asked, offering the book back to Nicky for her to hold, because just like Daniel she struggled to keep her thoughts straight if her hands were free.

Max had told Daniel once that this part was important for Nicky's development. That getting to talk through her ideas, offering opinions, making hypothesis for what was to come was good for the brain.

Daniel didn't doubt it, but he suspected that Max just liked to talk to her. Both their eyes were bright as they discussed what they had just read, Nicky bouncing slightly on the bed, unable to sit still, Max's hands moving in the air. Daniel loved them both so much.

When they were done, Max put the book down on Nicky's bedside table, turning on her ladybug nightlight and the lamp next to it, just as Daniel turned off the big light, leaving the bedroom bathed in warm shadows.

"What are you going to dream about tonight?" Max asked, tucking Nicky in and placing a kiss on her head.

"I will be a mermaid and I will find a big treasure!"

She was already clutching Bissit, her stuffed bunny, his name an unfortunate attempt of a toddler to pronounce Biscuit, and one of his ears ended up in her mouth as soon as she was done talking.

Max gently pulled it out, kissing her cheek as a distraction.

"Will I get some?"

"You will get one coin!" Nicky replied, giggling at her own mischief. Daniel could feel his own smile grow wider at the mere sound of it and Max's fake-offended face could not hide his fondness either.

"Just one?! What about daddy?" he asked, pointing at Daniel as if he was the culprit for the bad treasure sharing.

"Daddy will get..." Nicky paused, brows furrowed as she tried to think of a big enough number, "seventy-five!"

Daniel whooped as Max gasped in fake outrage, poking Nicky's tummy through the covers in retaliation, her delighted laughter filling the room.

Max sighed in mock resignation as Nicky quietened again, hand cupping her head gently.

"Will I at least get a good night?" he asked, his voice softer now.

"Good night," Nicky readily said, poking one hand out of the covers to grab his free one and bring it up to her lips, smacking a big wet kiss on it.

"Good night, liefje." Max gave her one last kiss before getting up, leaving an empty spot on her side, and Daniel knew that was his cue. Reading time was Max's special time with Nicky, but Daniel always got the last good night.

He kissed Nicky's forehead, one cheek, then the other, then the tip of her nose, listening to her giggles.

"I love you so much, baby," he told her, because he could never stop himself from telling her a million times a day. He was dreading the day she was going to become a prickly teenager and fight him over it. He hoped she never did.

"I love you too, daddy" she said back, because she was four and she still said it back every time.

He stayed with her a little longer, petting her hair, one of the very rare times during the day they could both be still and quiet, but when her eyes had stopped drooping and stayed fully closed, he turned the lamp off and went to look for Max.

He found him in the living room, slowly folding the laundry Daniel had abandoned earlier.

"I would have gone back to it," Daniel said just to say it. They both knew he was never able to get through all the laundry without getting distracted.

"No, you would not," Max replied placidly, not even looking up at him, poking through the pile to find the sock matching the one he was holding.

"No, I wouldn't have," Daniel acquiesced, sitting down on the couch behind him, leaning forward to wrap his arms around Max's shoulders.

Max paused his search to tilt his head back, eyes squinting into a smile as he accepted Daniel's kiss.

"I love you," Daniel told him, because his inability to hold it back wasn't limited to their daughter.

"I love you too," Max replied, because he was thirty-four and still said it back every time.

[colibrie]

So I

I read the Rise x Star Wars crossover

AAAASJDHSHWWHDJSHHSDJCYYAHQNEDIXUSHSNSUXYXUAMABEVEYAYSUXXJSJSNSJAKAOAKSJSHGCYDHANSBDV

Everything hurts 👍

I LOVE the way you write. The descriptions of everything from Leo's numbness, to Donnie's memories of the temple, to Mikey's real life healthy way of processing emotions, to Leo's face man persona, to Donnie's box, to Raph being Raph and taking the blame, to Krang's perspective... ALL SO GOOD. I love the connection between the twins through the force. Absolutely immaculate.

I can't WAIT to see where this goes. Inquisitors vs Jedi is inherently angsty because of the bond once shared, but you've somehow managed to make it even more painful. Incredible!

@trilobitepunch 's art also adds so much. The style matches up with the writing perfectly, and the angles are so awesome. I especially love the use of shadows from Don and Raph's helmets. And the way Krang is drawn??? Terrifying. Absolutely accurate to Star Wars style.

I'm excited to see where this will go! The brothers working their way back together as Krang breaks Raph and Donnie down further and further... I of course hope that there will be a happy ending but I now from my own writing experience that the paths to happy endings are paved with miles of angst.

I just have some questions! Are you planning for April to make an appearance? When did Donnie build 5HE-DN and does Krang know?

Anyway, thanks so much for writing this wonderful story! I eagerly await further updates, but be sure to take your time and take care of yourself! Sorry it took so long for me to get around to it

*Takes deep, professional breath*

TXJXKTKTXXKTTKXXKTXKYGKXDDTKSKTXGKXKGXKGMGXKTURSTXKKTXSURFKYSTJXYKXKTSJTKTDTDKDKTOMIGOSHOMIGOSHOMIGOSHTHAANKYOUUUUUUUUUUUU!

This made my night! Especially because I just got done devouring your writing (which has me utterly emotionally wrecked. Sincere thanks for that btw!)

I am happy you've found so much to enjoy. As my first foray into the Rise fandom, it's been tricky at times trying to blend all the parts together into a cohesive unit. But I love writing description, and in tinkering with descriptions I feel like I've slowly gotten a better grasp on who these boys are. Shockly, (likely to absolutely no one) Leo and Mikey are the easiest for me to write. Donnie is the most difficult, but lucky for me I have my own brilliant genius!

Trilo is INCREDIBLE to work with. There have been times where I have been struggling to put a scene into words, and she returns with a page or a picture or a paragraph that just instantly helps things to click. I swear, it's magic! Her command of shadows, expressions, and body language are astounding, and there have been several scenes that tripled in length because her art inspired me so much.

We've built out much of how this story will unfold, and as a fellow angst lover (and self proclaimed angst fairy), I can confirm that there is a light at the end, but the path to reach it will push all four of them to the limit.

To answer your questions:

We debated whether or not to include April. We both love her character, but we ultimately decided that we wanted to keep the cast small so we could keep the focus on the boys.

5HL-DN is the fifth in a series of droids designed by Donnie. The first one was built when he was a still a child. He is by far the most sophisticated, and the one with the most developed personality. As for the circumstances around how 5HL-DN came to be.... spoilers. I promise you'll find out.

Yes, Krang knows about 5HL-DN, but he doesn't see him as particularly important. To Krang, droids are tools. Weak and easily expendable. He's aware that Donnie built 5HL-DN and he considers Donnie's investment in 5HL-DN to be a foolish weakness, but Raph is a much better and more effective tool to hurt Donnie with so Krang mostly ignores 5HL-DN. Plus, he has his utility in keeping Krangs favorite toy in the game....

This story is a joy to write, and I'm so glad my words can do justice for @trilobitepunch 's amazing art work. This au is a labor of love on both our parts and seeing it come together to get this kind of reaction is one of the greatest feelings. We are working on the next installments as we speak, so I hope you'll enjoy those as well! In the mean time, if you or anyone else has any other questions, feel free to ask!

[lia-land]

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

4/5 stars

Spoilers*

I love that the acronym is ACOWAR.

This was a good book, but my hopes were insanely high after A Court of Mist and Fury. This had specific scenes that I enjoyed, like the solstice and the High Lord’s meeting, but I got bored with all the war talk. It’s kind of like Taylor Swift’s Folklore and Evermore albums. Folklore was an amazing album as a whole, and Evermore had a few amazing songs, in my opinion.

The entirety of Feyre’s time in the Spring court was really enjoyable to read about and was a very strong start to the book. All of those chapters were on par with ACOMAF for me. There’s a lot of character development apparent there and I enjoyed SJM’s writing style here im not telling the reader about Feyre’s plans until after she had succeeded. Nothing really caught my interest after that until the conversation in Tarquin’s office, and then the High Lord’s meeting.

The only thing I explicitly disliked was how none of the main characters died. This is not to say that I expect a character to die in every series, but when you have as many main characters as this series has had, it just seems too convenient that they all live. Not just that, but Amren and Rhys did die, only for both to be brought back to life. I have read the rest of the series and cannot see any reason for Amren to have needed to come back to life. The excuse for it was also very rushed over, with Rhys saying that he just found her in the Cauldron when he was dead himself and brought her back. Her death did not surprise me at all as it just made sense and I felt like it was coming, but her revival confused me. Maybe she will have a purpose in future SJM books, but it would have been far more impactful if she had died and remained dead. It might have felt less out of place if Rhys hadn’t also died and been revived a few pages later.

Regarding Rhys coming back to life, I wish there was more justification on why the other High Lords chose to revive him. I can’t see why Beron and Tamlin would ever agree to do so, regardless of diplomatic pressure. Tamlin, I could maybe justify with his love for Feyre being so great, but even then, his character did not seem like the type to make such a sacrifice. I see absolutely no reason for Beron to have given his power. There obviously must have been one and I hope we find out in future books, because as it is now, it just feels like a convenient thing that happened for the sake of a happy ending. Potentially, I can also see why it might have caused some sort of refugee crisis since Rhys didn’t have an heir, but as it’s explained in later books, the Cauldron in unpredictable in how it chooses the next High Lord, so sometimes it's not the son of the previous High Lord anyway. Based on that, I assume the Night Court wouldn’t have been left without a High Lord, so we’re back to square one.

Mor, in general, was a very disappointing character. What even is her power? Her character would have made more sense to me if she didn't had a power, because what was the point if we never see her use it anyway? To be fair, in this regard, all of the characters were disappointing in the sense that we don't actually see their full potential. Feyre, especially, had so much potential with the magic of all seven courts and if this war was not an occasion for her to take full advantage of those powers, then what is? I know we see Rhys' beast form which he says he only resorts to when needed, but I was just expecting more from all of them. This didn't bother me much since I wasn't that invested in the battle scenes anyway, to be honest, so it hasn't majorly affected my rating.

I don't know how I feel about the ending. 1. Rhys and Feyre flying off into the night was a bit cheesy, but I'll live. 2. The death pact. I have manyyyy thoughts on this decision. On one hand, I completely understand that they are two people in love and witnessed each other die and never wanted to feel that pain again, but they are rulers. It is irresponsible and somewhat selfish in so many ways for the only two rulers of a whole court to make that bargain when they had no heir. This causes a paradox because they can either 1. never have kids, and leave the fate of the Night Court uncertain if they both die unexpectedly at the same time or 2. have kids and both die at the same time, whether expectedly or unexpectedly, which can have drastic effects on the child. I wasn't surprised when Feyre proposed such a reckless pact, but Rhys is 536 years old and has been High Lord for at least two centuries and I like to think that if he had thought of it in full, he wouldn't have agreed. (Although this is backed up by the Evil!Rhys theory, which I love to entertain so I'll let it slide for now).

In my review of A Court of Mist and Fury, I mentioned how I thought Rhys’ trauma from Under the Mountain was overlooked and I was hoping it would be acknowledged more in this book, but instead, Lucien faces something similar and that gets overlooked as well. I suppose it is on par with how our society doesn’t always acknowledge men’s trauma, but it would have been significant to have seen some sort of conversation about it.

I'm so embarrassed to say that the Cauldron scares me as of this book. The whole thing with it 'noticing' Nesta and then stealing Elaine in the middle of the night while 'singing' creeped me out.

[veilchenjaeger]

I'm reading a bit of the Couple of Mirrors manhua, but it's hard :( It does have more Yiwei, but I like the pacing of the drama so much better.

Like, half the reason why Zhou Heng is a really good antagonist is that you only gradually find out how fucked-up he really is, and that he is an antagonist at all rather than a run-of-the-mill dickhead. In the manhua, he threatens Zhang Wan with murder in the third chapter, and his whole, for lack of a better word, yandere-ness towards Xu Youyi is revealed so early, and that's just way less effective.

Xu Youyi seems much weaker as well, so far! Her resentments, her creeping realisation that she's stuck in a gilded cage, and her increasing unwillingness to take shit build up so slowly in the drama, and that makes her ice-cold attitude once she finally snaps so powerful. Same with her trust in Yan Wei - I much prefer the drama version where they met at the book signing but didn't leave enough of an impression to immediately recognise or care about each other! They grow comfortable with each other quickly, but Xu Youyi's motivation for insistently invading Yan Wei's life seems to be more of a "I like and feel safe around this person and don't feel safe around anyone else I know because my life is falling apart", rather than the immediate deep connection they seem to have in the manhua. The development of their care for each other is much slower and feels more natural, and as a result, I'm a lot more invested in their relationship in the drama. (I just don't like "love at first sight" stories, I think.)

Oh, AND the opening with the magician is so much stronger! The fact that Yan Wei barely cares about Xu Youyi when she kills Zhang Wan and had already started her revenge murders before she truly met Xu Youyi is so much better imo! And I think I just don't like this style of webcomic. Alas, I miss them, so I'll read it anyways...

[hyuccubus]

Writer Q&A Tag Game!

Tagged by the cool+radical @cheetoflavoredpasta!

1. What motivates you to write?

I'm in a unique position to answer that with a snippet from Target Practice, because it's practically what keeps me going.

People in things I like always have something to say. Profound, deep things that make me think about how I live my life, or change how I make decisions, or what I do, or even how I think. They don't need big words to move me. I want to say something like that before my life is over. I want someone to hear it, or read it, and their life to change because of me. I want to be the first domino that crashes right through the life of someone who needs it, so they can pass it on to someone, and they might pass it on to two people, and then I'll have been something.  I'll have a whole pile of people that I changed, in a good way.

2. A line/short snippet of your writing that you are most proud/happy of. If not maybe share a line of someone else's work you love (just please credit them)

This comes after a particularly harsh twist that closes out Book 1. I am so proud of what is said here that I can't help but want to share it, though:

“Love?’ she croaked, her voice hoarse from screaming and then saying nothing.

“Huh?” I managed to mutter, confused at that being what she’d taken away.

“That’s what you think you felt for her? Love?”

“Ira, I don’t-”

“Let me tell you something." When she spoke that threatening line, she was up on her feet with the agility years of martial arts had granted her, those strong hands that had saved me from drowning now gripping my shirt with white-knuckle fury. She yanked me close, so close that my eyes couldn’t possibly avoid those hazel irises, smoky in the dusk sun. “You don’t know a fucking thing about what it’s like to love a woman who didn’t birth you, you dense motherfucker. You wanted someone to validate you. Someone to help you believe that you have value, that you matter. You wanted to use her, and who was I to say anything? Doing something physical to a woman without her consent isn’t the only way you can use her, so you can feel bad about what I’m saying all you want, but you can’t pretend I'm wrong. I could see it in your eyes, Swift. I could see it in the way you let her walk behind you, in the way you didn’t make sure she was eating well, in the way you tried to impress her before you really knew her. You didn't care how she was feeling, you just wanted to know how she was feeling about you. And if you had the chance to go through with what you felt for her, maybe act out your little fairy-tale romance, she would have gotten sick of you always wondering how she felt about you, always absorbed in your own impossible fantasy. And you would have had the nerve to tell her she broke your heart when she told you so. That’s all men like you do, before you know any fucking better. You think you’re so special, so unique, that you’re above making a juvenile mistake like that. All we can do is hope you learn something when it does happen, rather than hoping it doesn’t happen at all. All you’d do if I told you was rebel against me, and then end up hurting her anyway. So don't say that shit to me. Don't talk about love. Just don't.”

5. What part of writing do you think you are the best at? (Yes stroke your own ego it's okay)

Definitely dialogue. I don't do much worldbuilding in the way so many of my peers that write fantasy do, and settings end up being the backdrop for the character interactions that really satisfy my writer's itch. I do take pride in the way my prose flows sometimes, I've developed a style I'm quite proud of, and I think I can only get better with time.

6. What do you enjoy most about the Writeblr community?

Everyone seems equally as invested in the art of creation as the results of that passion. It's a unique perspective I really value, as well as it feeling a little more tight-knit than Twitter, where I immigrated from.

7. A writing tool/device you use that helps you with writing? (It could be speech to text, a writing program etc)

I'm gonna cheat here, I couldn't write without a music player, silence is like kryptonite for my flow. I will say, I switched to Obsidian, and it's really helped my focus, since I was using Google Docs before that and the urge to click off to another piece of internet was always high. ... that still happens when I'm doing research, though...

8. A piece of worldbuilding that you like in your own story? (It could be the magic system, a particular place in the story, a law etc)

This is such a silly, inconsequential detail, but idk I love it

...There was a boy playing NavBall with another friend of his, pinching his fingers together over the display of his NavWrist and letting the projected ball fly as if out of a catapult, disappearing outside the radius of his unit to land in a projected target on his friend’s.

9. What piece of advice would you say to encourage others to write if they are having a rough patch?

The bad feelings always go away. Whether it's a battle with impostor syndrome you feel like you can't win, or a fear that your writing will never be noticed, nevermind hated, or a block you can't seem to escape from, it all goes away if you give it time. If you give up, if you ball up that paper or delete that file in an impassioned moment of despair, you don't get that time back. You don't stop caring about it. So take a breath, have a snack, take a walk, grab a shower, and let the bad feelings see themselves out. And then, keep trying 💜

Tagging some new folks I've gotten to know at the writblr-cafe! @the-down-upside-finch @hippiewrites @lexiklecksi, and anyone else who wants to participate, feel free to use this!

[ofmermaidstories]

hello! i’m sorry for the long ask ahead, i just have a LOT to say 😭

so I read surrender, your bakugo fic, around last year. i was new to the fandom then so i didn’t really know the characters too well, i wasn’t that deep enough into the story to be fully invested in anything. and neither was I a huge bakugou simp (I like the villains more, shamefully admits it) BUT one thing was for sure – you got me hooked. you pulled me into the bakugou simp train, and i didn’t expect that at all. effortlessly, you made me fall in love with him, and I hope you don’t mind that I’m letting it all out. I just think you deserve to know how much i appreciate your story! but anyways, I read the fic again because its just been a tough time for me, and I went back to it because I remember it made me happy, and I’m so glad that its still able to make me feel giddy and blushing like its my first time reading it.

first of all, i think surrender is an absolute masterpiece. i don’t have enough words for it (I’m literally rambling rn) but PLEASE. PLEASE ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT YOU HAVE WRITTEN SUCH A MAGNIFICENT STORY AND THAT THROUGH THE SCREEN, your stories bring joy and warms people’s hearts. I think your writing style is so beautiful, emotional, passionate, and absolutely intelligent. I love the way that the story is written in the characters’ voices yet still keeps the writing format of storytelling, I love the way that you’re able to flesh out their characters so much. these characters, the ‘reader’, they all feel real. they feel like real people, and having to witness the development of their friendships, the familial bonds between the heroes and us, and the bond with bakugou – its stunning. its so human, its so gentle, and its captured me by the heart. i think you have a gift for writing, and please never ever think otherwise.

i also love how the dialogues just feel so personal. every word they speak is so them, its right down to who they are as who you wanted them to be. i love how you made YN so kind, and that her quirklessness, while a source of insecurity, didn’t really hold her back from being the radiant sunshine she is. i am a SUCKER for grumpy man x sunshine sweetheart tropes, and you absolutely nailed this one. LIKE HOLY SHIT I was actually rolling in bed and kicking my feet in the air whenever bakugou just stares at us when we smile. i can actually feel reader’s radiance, such a gentle soul. and bakugou – I’m not gonna lie, I think bakugou is challenging to write (I’m a writer myself, and I struggle writing him in romantic aspects.) I definitely get the appeal of bakugou in smut one shots, but I always wondered, “how would bakugou fall in love?” how is he like when he’s in love? we all know bakugou isn’t gentle (reference to a scene where bakugou feels he is too explosive in YN’s flower shop, and I can’t help but feel its a good allusion to how YN grew up in a soft, peaceful, quiet yet fragile environment as a quirkless person and Bakugou struggles controlling his explosiveness, and I just love how he’s trying so hard to take care of it – to tackle gentleness with gentleness) and it made me wonder how Katsuki is like in soft romance. and you just... blew my mind. really. your fic made me see bakugou in a new light, a beautiful new light, and I love him. I’m in love with everything about your story, and I look forward to reading more of your works because I just want to say that you made me fall in love with fanfiction all over again.

i’ve been reading anime fanfiction since 2021, but life was tough. i eventually stopped reading and drifted away from fics, but now I’m getting back to it and I cannot thank you enough for lighting this fire in my heart. that your stories are making me feel warm and I’m able to love something again that I once cared about. also, side note, but I think you’re such a cool person! I’ve seen your interactions, and your art is so stunning. it looks so soft, so gentle, and if someone asked me how I want love to be, I would say I want them to look like your art.

but yes, thank you for sharing your fics with us. its really beautiful, I wish I could say more because it really does mean a lot to me, and I want writers to know how appreciated they are. I’M SORRY THIS WAS TOO LONG, BUT LIKE THANK YOU AGAIN SO MUCH PLS HAVE A NICE DAY AND I HOPE ALL YOUR WISHES COME TRUE

Also an addition BUT I WANT BAKUGO SO BAD 😭😭😭

anon. 🥺 you’ve had to wait a while for this reply, and i’m so sorry—but i kept lingering over this message, like a little talisman. warding off insecurity and doubt. 🥺 i wanted to like—idk! give you a response worthy of your attention. reflect the sparkle and warmth of your words back to you. 🥺 especially considering how you mention that things have been a little tough, lately. 🥺

i’m glad the fic could be a distraction—or something fun. 📖🌷 welcome aboard the bakutrain! lmaooo. he’s such a funny, particular character to be into, i think; like canonically he’s such a lout! a horrible little gremlin! and with villain stannery it’s understandable, like, they’re villains LMAO, you expect them to act and react in certain ways—but when a hero character is so consistently unpleasant? idk, it’s just fun LOL. but i guess that’s also the attraction, at the end of the day, right? 🥺 in the same way that the tension between good and bad is so important to villain characters and their stories, i think a contrary character like bakugou is so much fun in a romance—because how does he fall in love? 🥺 he treats everyone—villain, hero, civilian, peer or mentor—the exact same way, so what does it take to get him to let his guard down and like, idk, stop barking at people??? you’re so right; that passion of his translates so well to smut one-shots, where it can be so easily physical. it’s just—how do you make the leap from being in bed together to being in love??

this is why i love the grumpy x sunshine trope too, though. 🥺 i know it’s a trope built on exceptions (you’re the one that softens him up; you’re the one he shows that side to), but i just—idk! those exceptions bring such a great emotional payoff, with a character like Katsuki. i think of like, kiribaku or bakudeku as examples—they’re absolutely ships that also rely on another character to be emotional foil to Katsuki. 🥺

i’ve said this before and i’ll keep saying it forever, but Weeds/surrender’s Reader is my baby. 🥺 my favourite child. i’ve always had a soft spot for quiet girlies—people who aren’t explosive personalities or need to like, shoot for the stars. people who enjoy tending to their lives or the people around them. romance is so often (by necessity) filled with Big Personalities—characters who can move a plot forward with like, action or passion. but the reason i was so attracted to the idea of x Reader fics in the first place was the promise of wish fulfilment that came with it—and i wanted a gentler character to be apart of this world. 🥺 i wanted Katsuki, who’s so used to sizing people up and learns so late what it means to truly rescue people, in canon, to like… meet and see someone he otherwise might not. to meet and see and then choose, because there’s something amid his determination and his strength and his fury that wants and responds to the optimism and doubt and sincerity in Weeds. 🌷🪻🌿🪲

idk anon—your words were so kind. 😭 getting this ask meant so much. 🥺 i hope things get easier. 🥺 whether that means backup arrives, or the universe cuts you a break—whatever you need it to be. i’m glad you found your way back to fics; you deserve to enjoy them when things are calm, too, so here’s to the immediate future easing up and letting you read them in peace. 📖💕

[midnightmah07]

i can say I’ve been basically IN LOVE with every detail of, not just your art style, but also with Daisy x Ruggie content (; ω ; )ヾ(´∀`* ) They are so cute—

But also, I am really invested in Perse (speciafically her lore, like gimme some of the gossips on her 👀👀) and Jeanne’s relationship with Kamlin, such cuties.

ALSO, that post you made on Daisy seeing Ruggie in her dreams, I need more info on thaat PLSSS it was so cute- (this video is living rent free in my mind)

I am on Lady Gaga mode and wil say it with all the words in the vocabulary… I AM YOUR BIGGEST FAN OF ALL‼️‼️ (anyway)

BTW CONGRATS ON THE 300 FOLLOWERS °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖° you deserve THIS AND WAYY MORE

Ughhh- I am speaking too much🥲🥲

HELP DW ANON I DON'T MIND AT ALL LIKE DKEJDOJDKDKD

I'm so happy u like my babies!! It makes me so glad!🥺

I was waiting to play book 6 so I could flesh out Perse's backstory since her character is intertwined with Idia and Ortho and I didn't know much about them other than basic vignette knowledge, but now I'm playing the book (hating it btw why are they making me play these mini games I'm going absolutely insane bc of them /hj) and I have an idea of how she would fit in their story! I'll update it in my oc masterlist soon but also be aware that there might be some changes bc I'm not finished with book 6 yet

aLSO Jeanne and Kalim are so so sweet to me, I think out of everyone of my oc x canon they were the first ones to get into a relationship, they're just easy going and I feel like with Kalim's personality it isn't that hard to push their relationship forward; Jeanne was very much only interested in Kalim for his money in the beginning (a pirate gotta pirate y'know) but she felt bad after a while since Kalim KNEW about it and was still really nice to her- she developed a crush against her will and I low-key think Kalim had a crush from the start

And about Daisy seeing Ruggie in her dreams... Basically a few weeks before Daisy wished upon a star to finally have a home with people who love her and was isekai'ed to twisted wonderland bc of said wish, she started having dreams about someone and she had no idea who it was — Ruggie was the same! They had like constant dreams about each other for a few weeks before the events of the game actually began. They didn't really recognize each other from those dreams bc the images and the voices were never clear enough, but they did have like constant deja vu moments when they started talking and they always seemed to think the other was way too familiar for someone they literally never saw in their life-

Welp this became a whole essay😀 I hope you liked reading all of this tho, and ty for congratulating me and for liking my OCs!!💙

[wisebeth]

firstly, when you get this, you have to answer with 5 things you like about yourself, publicly then, send this ask to 10 of your favorite followers (non-negotiable, positivity is cool) ✨

Oh my god, I'm so late to answer this, I'm sorry.

Let's start with something lighter first lmao. 1. My style/aesthetic. That's something I'm very very proud of, not trying to sound self obsessed, but I think I have great taste in outfits.

2. Optimism. It was originally a survival instinct to cope with everything I was going through but now I am genuinely not as pessimistic and hopeless as I used to be and I know regardless of what I'm going through now, no matter how bad or scary everything, especially adulthood seems, will be good again. It gets better, it always does.

3. My personal growth. I used to be a lot more insecure and hateful about myself, my communication was terrible, I was extremely immature and stupid and made a lot of wrong decisions whose consequences I'm still facing today. I don't think past me had anything nice to say about myself. I hated myself.

I won't say I'm still the best version of myself but I have grown to be kinder to myself, to hate myself a little less and love myself a little more. I hold myself accountable for my mistakes and forgave myself because I was still a child. I have developed a much positive outlook on life, I have stopped emotionally investing in people who clearly have a negative influence on life and focusing on the people who genuinely care. I love the progress I have made <3

4. How I intensely feel things. Maybe I won't be allowed to describe it perfectly but I have a lot of thoughts, and a lot of feelings for everything and everyone I met. I still daydream of the fun we had on school picnics in 2nd grade and what I could have done to make it more memorable, I still think of the first fight our first friendgroup had and smile a little wishing I could go back to those days. I still wish one of my old online friends who I knew for just two months will come back, she left social media three years ago. I never heard of her again. I have a lot of ‘what ifs’ thoughts about my ex boyfriend even though things ended in good terms but I can't stop thinking sometimes how it was when we were in love, because it was one my genuinely happiest moments. I psychoanalyse every new person I met. I still harbour feelings for my highschool crush, it's been four years, school is over but little does he know I still act as if I am 14 when I talk to him. There's so much, so much I want to talk to him about.

I love this about myself, I love that every person I have met has taught me something and left me an irreplaceable memory, even if they were present for a short time. I am thankful that I could feel things so deeply.

5. Writing. I like my writing, I'm not the best at it, I don't even think I'm good enough to be called average but I know I can articulate my words well and convey what I feel. And I feel at peace rereading my journals, notes app or my analysis on fictional characters here in tumblr. My favourite hobby.

Anyways, this got longer than expected but thanks for the ask Daanya, I enjoyed talking about this!!

[abbababbasblog]

I wanted to post my old theories on here about the Sjm universe and connections. A lot of what I wrote was fresh after I finished CC2, so there is most definitely plot holes, but I’d like feedback. I just recently discovered @emilystheories on tik tok so I might go back and try to make connections/changes to my theories to make it fit. Anyways here are the theories and I’d love to have feedback!

This first one is more opinionated on the book mixed with some theories:

——PART 1——

⚠️SPOILS TO TOG, HOSAB, AND ACOTAR ⚠️also this might be hard to read because my brain is fried and I’m getting a bunch of ideas all out at once, so I apologize if what I’m saying is too all over the place

Honestly at first glance I really enjoyed HOSAB , I thought it was interesting. But after reading the opinions of other people, it does bring me to the realization that in regards to character depth and development, a lot of the characters didn’t have the elements that I normally love. What I mean by that is there wasn’t enough backstory or explanations that truly made us attach to a character (that’s my opinion/experience though). With Acotar I got SO invested with Feyre and her interests. Painting was what she loved to do, and it was a part of her and expressed many times. Same with Aelin and music. I feel like Bryce loved to dance, but it didn’t have the same effect as Feyre and Aelin with the things they love. The book definitely felt like it lacked the three demential characters we are so used to when it comes to Sarah’s writing, and I feel like that’s why a lot of people feel that Hunt and Bryce’s love story became flat and rushed. Look and Rhys and Feyre. Although their story is different, things still took time and they learned a lot about eachother before falling in love (and ultimately mating). Same with Aelin and Rowan, a lot of things went down in order for them to have a relationship and back it up. There were events that just made Feyre/Rhys and aelin/rowan unique and attention grabbing. But with Bryce and Hunt, it just doesn’t feel that deep. That’s why I don’t think hunt is end game. Don’t get me wrong, I do like them (especially their cute little moments in the first book with selfies and watching tv), but I think Sarah is truly just trying to mess with us. At the end of HOSAB hunt gets the halo put back on directly from an asteri, and we know his mind gets messed up. I feel like there will be a fight between him and Bryce in the next book and being mates will over power it…but I’m low key hoping hunt dies. DONT GET ME WRONG I LIKE HIM!! I promise I do, but think about it. Bryce has not gone through as much as either Aelin OR Feyre. I’m not saying she can’t be badass without mountains of trauma, but it’s not Sarah’s style to give us a more simple character. Aelin with through losing her parents, her first love, slave camp, death over and over and over, but pulled together and came out strong. Feyre went through poverty, bad relationship with Tamlin, and trauma under the mountain. These women were to the point of breaking but came out stronger. I know the argument can be made that everyone has different lives at that they shouldn’t be compared to the pain of others, and Bryce almost committed suicide in the first book because of her depression and everything else along with losing her best friend. But it just doesn’t feel like that’s all she’s going to go through. I think since Bryce doesn’t have as much trauma as Feyre or Aelin, it makes people like her less because there’s not enough to back her actions up. ANYWAYS I KNOW I KEEP LOSING MY POINT…but what I’m trying to say is although Bryce has gone through heavy stuff, I think she has GOT to be in for a lot more trauma in order to live up to the character development and expectations we all have. I THINK Bryce will lose her mate. Which sounds crazy, because Bryce lost her best friend and it took 2 years to pull herself out of it. Losing her mate would be devastating, but with ruhn saying she should be queen, and the whole asteri mess, I think she will have to pull through and win the war FOR hunt. I don’t know, and I haven’t done enough deep diving into Easter eggs in each book, but I just finished HOSAB today and SO MANY THOUGHTS CROSSED MY MIND. I plan to reread all her books and pull out Easter eggs to help come up with a more solid theory to how things will work out ( and how this crossover will workout)

Speaking of the crossover, I feel weird because I like Feyre more then Bryce, so it’s like, UGHH that I’m reading from Bryce’s point of view. I’d LOVE to see how the inner circle is dealing with the situation. But that brings out another point that people made, that ACOTAR characters will kinda overshadow CC’s story. I do think it’s awesome that the crossover happened because across all three books there has been world walkers(idk if that’s the official name or not but that’s what I call the beings that travel to different worlds), and it’s great that the books are in the same universe, I think it could be amazing if she intertwined all three books into this dope war between the asteri and the three worlds we came to love (and also Hel). It all depends on how she approaches it. I’m confident in her abilities to write this story beautifully, but she’s walking a very dangerous path in regards to how she exactly brings acotar and tog into CC

Anyways that’s all I’m gonna say right know, my mind is all over the place but if you made it this far then please lmk what your theories are, and please fact check me too because I’m going to do research on the books to come up with a solid theory on everything.

❗️And as for the relationship comparison at the beginning^ bottom line is that I think Bryce and hunts relationship got flat because I think she will lose her mate, so maybe her relationship isn’t supposed to be as deep as the other two books, because Bryce’s story doesn’t finish with a mate. Maybe Bryce’s story is about freeing the worlds from the Asteri, losing her best friend and mate in the process, but bringing peace back to her world and others. Who knows though? Maybe it’s a long shot but it’s an interesting theory. She’s always commented how she doesn’t need a male and is and independent baddie, maybe that’s a hit that she will truly not have a male by the time the series ends.

Okay I’m done for real this time, but let me know what you guys think

[aspidities]

How's the GF?

Perfect in every way capable

I may be biased but I just like her so much you guys 😍

J is good! She started a new job with a nonprofit helping low income folks get free WiFi and she makes Sexy Grown Business voice during her zoom meetings which I appreciate. She has also been my best friend, biggest fan and ultimate ‘hey let me test drive this porn idea on you’ supporter. We both go through depressive periods and we both go through overwhelming emotions but over time it feels like we’re just getting better and better at communicating and navigating our way through that as a team. Some days it feels like she knows what I need even before I do, and most days she makes me feel more ‘me’ than I do. Couldn’t pick a better peach if the whole tree fell on me.

We’re very domestic now because we’ve been living together for over a year but we still do date nights, game nights, puzzle dates and lots of things together with the dogs, so it always feels fresh and new to me. Honestly though, the nights we spend snuggling and watching tv are always the most satisfying. Recently we tore through the White Lotus (Jennifer Coolidge 🙌) and are working through the third season of His Dark Materials because we’re both massive Pullman fans, but we’ve also detoured into some stupid fun shit like Bee and Puppycat, Koala Man, and recent reinvestment into rewatching American Dad and Arrested Development (say that back to me but faster). J also plays a lot of city-building and civ-style games so we watch those YouTubers and she’s made me get invested in a SIMs play through recently so that’s how you know it’s love.

Anyway I highly recommend her, 11/10 stars, seven thumbs up.

[hbxplain]

Part 1.2: Pride

3,500 words - Tu, Tigh, Miss Lane briefly

No warnings

next chapter of seven lovely sins! i think this one's pretty cute. we get to see tu and tigh's relationship starting to develop, and watch tu battle with her own emotions--i don't think any of the other demons start liking their mortals as quickly as tu does... except for maybe ileao, who is secretly very soft.

anyway, here we go!

☼☼☼-

Tu looks at the date on the calendar, the 24th of May. It’s crossed off, along with every other date on this month.

She sighs and flips to the next page. She crosses off June 16th.

Okay. So things haven’t gone as planned.

The thing is, Tigh is really fun to hang out around. And with how much he and Sienne hype her up all the time, it’s hard not to get invested in the solid air construct she’s been working on for the past month. And Aeryn makes really great coffee, so maybe she spends half her time at CC Brews instead of cooking up new schemes to get Tigh to fall to his own pride.

Pride which he actually has absolutely none of, if Tu’s being totally honest. She understands why this is a cold case, now; the man breathes like he expects to have to apologize for it. Sure, he’ll infodump for hours about the very concept of eximium as the basis of all magic, or the various niche practices in use for training that magic, or whatever ridiculous new tech he’s working on. But it’s always with an unhealthy dose of self-deprecation, of “it’s really not that great” and “it backfired again yesterday” and “I wouldn’t have such high expectations” and “I just don’t want to make you think it’s anything amazing.”

Tu doesn’t get it. Sure, back when she was alive as a mortal, this tech wasn’t even being dreamed of… but still, even for today’s standards, his stuff is amazing! Sienne’s too, but where Sienne seems more focused on finding a safe way to augment her own body with tech, Tigh—who does plenty of augmenting research too, don’t get her wrong—does a lot more cutting edge eximium research. She still doesn’t completely understand what his current biggest project does, since he’s quite cagey about it, but she knows it has something to do with isolating eximium, which sounds groundbreaking as hell. Back in her day, they barely understood what eximium was—they just knew it was fucking important, because it gave them their magic.

Tigh, though, seems to understand each molecule. He knows where it comes from, what it’s for, its lesser-known properties, how to control and shape it—hell, he has jars of it in powder form on shelves along the walls, and he has a cube of solid raw eximium decorating his desk! Tu doesn’t know how a man like that can have such low self-esteem. Doesn’t he know he’s smarter than all of the scientists from Tu’s time combined?

Her phone dings. It’s Miss Lane—of course they wanted to style the ‘hellphones’ like smartphones, of course they did. “This is taking a while,” the message reads.

Tu scoffs. Of course they’d say that, as if they’d do any better. They just like being passive aggressive, Tu thinks.

“It’s a cold case. Chill out,” Tu replies. She feels very proud of herself, and then wonders if she’s ever made a pun before of her own accord or if Aeryn’s love for them is just rubbing off on her.

She scrolls through the news on her phone. There’s an article about a small section of a park becoming a protected landmark due to the fact that a popular magic user whose magic manifested as forced silencing had stopped a voice-based villain in that very park years earlier. Another article boasts how a famous magic family has moved to Clemen City so their son can get the best magic tutoring available. One more article about how a small village nearby was pleased to welcome a fire-based magic expert for a short visit before he continued his travels.

How can a world with so few magic users be so focused on magic? How can they favor magic over everything else when so few of them can actually do magic?

Tu loves her magic. Tu loves herself. But sometimes, just sometimes, she isn’t proud of either one.

☼☼☼-

Tu is sitting, alone, at a table covered by a tan tablecloth. She has arranged her silverware four times while waiting for Tigh to arrive, and she is getting bored.

At work earlier today, they were working on their respective projects—beside each other, of course. Tigh had been going on and on about some science shit, but Tu had been thinking “What makes a man more prideful than having a really pretty girlfriend?” so Tu had cut him off to say “Do you wanna meet somewhere after work? Just you and me this time,” and he had grinned and given her this weird, knowing look, almost like she and him were in on a secret together, and she’d said, “Great! What about that new landmark in the park, the one for the magic user with the anti-sound powers-” and he’d laughed and said “Hell no!”

And she’d blinked at him for a bit, just trying to process what went wrong, until he laughed again and continued, “Nothing against you, I just don’t like that hero. What about dinner?”

She’d been too relieved by the first aid he’d just applied to her bruised pride to care at all about how weird that was. She’d accepted.

And now here she is, and there’s no sound hero in sight (Tu can’t for the life of her remember that dumb hero’s name), but Tigh is late anyway.

“Table for two?” asks the waiter, in the passive aggressive kind of way that makes it clear he doesn’t think Tu’s second person is coming.

“Yeah,” Tu says, nearly a sneer with all the defensiveness that crops up in her chest. “He’ll be here soon. Give it a minute.”

She really doesn’t wanna have to go home and spend the whole night thinking about what went wrong. In a fully self-aware way, she’s not sure her pride could handle it. Also, she hates how much she cares. She knows this is just a job, that she’s trying to boost Tigh’s ego but shouldn’t be putting her own on the line. She shouldn’t be this attached, she shouldn’t be this invested, and she definitely shouldn’t be this vulnerable.

Tu glances at her phone. It’s only been half an hour since she got here, right on time, but it feels like longer. With a glance at the door and a long, tired sigh, she pulls up the messaging app to text Tigh something totally normal like “haha of course a big man like you had better plans,” except she can’t really figure out how to word it in a way that doesn’t sound bitter.

But then the elegant bell above the doors rings twice, and Tigh bursts through like he tripped over the threshold. “Hi,” Tu can just barely hear him saying to the wait staff, his voice interspersed with quick breaths. “I, uh- My friend Tu probably got a table—hopefully still has a table—uh, is she back there…?”

The waiter who’s been badgering Tu looks at Tigh like he’s seen a ghost. Tu takes great pleasure in the shocked bulge of his eyes. “You’re… late,” the waiter says.

Tigh huffs out a laugh. “Uh, yeah, trust me, I know. So…?”

The waiter shakes his head and points back towards Tu’s table, and when Tigh sees her looking at him, his whole face lights up and his entire body straightens. She can’t help but to wave at him when a tiny smile creeps onto her face despite herself.

“Tu!” Tigh says, hopping the railing to the raised platform her table is on. He slides into the chair opposite hers, and the chair’s legs rattle against the floor as it settles unevenly. “Hi, fuck, I’m so sorry!”

She laughs without entirely meaning to when he almost knocks the salt shaker off the table with his hand gestures. “Like the waiter said,” she says wryly, “you’re very late. I’m kind of angry, honestly.”

He grimaces, nervously playing with the tablecloth. “Yeah, I- You know what? That’s fair. That’s totally reasonable. I didn’t mean to be late, something blew up in my face, uh, literally, so I was running behind a little, uh, and anyway I totally get it if it’s too late and you have to leave.”

“You want me to leave?” she asks, raising an eyebrow. “Wait, no, go back to the explosion thing-”

“I do not want you to leave,” Tigh says, groaning and running his hand down his face. “Sorry, yeah, I think the explosion knocked my social hardware loose.”

“You mean you aren’t always like this?”

“Tu!” he laughs, relaxing a little.

She rolls her eyes, leaning forward to rest her elbows on the table. “Explosion?”

“Right, yeah, uh, my project kind of just… I mixed the wrong chemicals and then gave it way too much power.”

“Were you hurt?” she asks incredulously. She can’t believe he didn’t tell her the answer to that question first. She can’t believe she had to ask.

“Oh, uh- Well, not a lot,” he says, still showing her that stupidly genuine smile of his. “Might’ve knocked a few screws loose, y’know- That was a joke, by the way. I am not a cyborg. Uh, but I’m working on it.”

Tu laughs again, shaking her head. “What’s wrong?” she asks with a soft smile.

“Huh?”

“I mean, why are you talking at a mile a minute?”

Tigh’s eyes widen, his hands instantly falling to his lap. He looks almost stricken. “Oh. Sorry, my bad-”

“No!” Tu says quickly, a little too loudly in her haste. She wrinkles her nose and sits back, regaining her composure. “No, sorry, I was just… worried. It’s okay if you talk fast. But you sound kind of nervous, that’s all.”

Tigh’s posture slowly relaxes, and he nods in understanding. Tu finds herself relaxing alongside him. “Well,” he begins, slowly, “I guess it’s just…”

He’s nervous about going on a date with me, Tu thinks excitedly. She knows she shouldn’t be excited, but she is.

“I’m not the best at explaining things,” he says after a moment of pause. He’s looking down at his hands. “I’m just afraid I won’t be able to explain any of this shit to you without sounding like I’m speaking gibberish, and then you’ll lose all interest because of my shit explanations.”

Tu blinks. She narrows her eyes.

“…What?” she asks.

He tilts his head, the picture of confusion. “What’s wrong?”

Tu leans forward, just as confused. “What- What do you mean, explaining things!?”

“You wanted me to get you up to date on all the newest eximium research, right?” he asks, furrowing his eyebrows. When she doesn’t respond, he bites his lip for a second and then continues, a bit more uncertainly. “‘Cause I was talking about the eximium statistics for my project and you looked really confused, and then you cut me off and asked to meet up without Sienne. So I thought your last place hadn’t taught you any of the new-era eximium information, and you didn’t want Sienne to know you were confused, but you needed help. I- Was I wrong?”

Holy shit. He’s not even being prideful, thinking he knows more than her. He just saw she was confused, saw she wanted to be alone with him, and figured the most logical conclusion from those two facts together was that she wanted a crash course on science, without any embarrassment from the coworker she hates.

Good god, this man is an idiot.

“No, you were right,” Tu grits out, forcing a smile through clenched teeth. Maybe he isn’t interested in her after all. Then again, what kind of guy wouldn’t be interested in someone like Tu? Like, just look at her! Unless- “Are you gay?” she asks bluntly.

Tigh blinks. “…Bi,” he says simply. “Uh. You?”

“Also bi,” she says back. Huh. So then why the hell doesn’t he like her? No way he’s that insecure, he’s gotta at least know he’s good-looking, and the world’s leading eximium scientist to boot… Could it be that he’s really just a new brand of stupid?

“So,” Tigh says awkwardly, a light blush across his cheeks, “Where should I start?”

Tu sighs, resting her chin in her hand. “Wherever you want, babe.”

Tigh’s blush worsens—has she not used that term with him before? God, he’s dumb. “Right, yep, cool. So, skipping all of the old stuff you probably know and jumping right to present-day discoveries…”

“You know what?” Tu asks, on a whim. She’ll be here all night hearing nerd shit anyway, she might as well actually get caught up on all the discoveries that have been made since she died. “Start at the actual beginning. Tell me everything.”

Tigh looks surprised, but he shrugs and hurries on, his excitement growing visibly. What a nerd, Tu thinks a little too fondly

“Cool! Discovery of eximium, the first time humans realized we had metal in our blood…”

He talks for hours. Every so often, he says, “I’m not boring you, right?” and Tu says “No, of course not” even though she only understands about half of the words coming out of his mouth. God only knows why, but she doesn’t mind. She’s enjoying herself.

When they finally decide to leave—not because Tigh has exhausted his knowledge of eximium history, but because the restaurant is closing—Tu asks, “Split the bill?” and then starts rifling through her purse when he nods in agreement. Only after checking the inner pocket for the third time does she realize and admit to herself that she left her wallet at home.

“Fuck,” she says without thinking. Oh, god, how embarrassing. Tigh is definitely going to laugh at her. Fuck, she messed up—will she even be fit for the mission after this? There’s no way he’ll respect her after she made such an embarrassing mistake, she might have to tell Miss Lane she’s compromised-

“I can pay!” Tigh says, already handing his card to the waiter (a new one, since the other has long since gone home). “Buy me a drink from Aeryn’s sometime and we’ll call it even.”

He doesn’t say it snidely, like he’s judging her for not being able to pay. He doesn’t smirk afterward, like he thinks he’s better than her now. He doesn’t grimace, like he realizes she’s not worth his time.

“It’s fine,” he says gently, his voice carrying softly across the table and snapping her out of her panic. His smile is one of care, not cruelty. “Tu, I forget my wallet all the time. Can’t tell you how much I’d owe Nora if she ever held me to it.” He reaches across the table, lightly resting his hand over hers. “It was just a mistake, okay? Not the end of the world.”

“Not the end of the world,” Tu repeats, the fog slowly clearing from her mind. Her face flushes with heat when she fully comes back to herself, but she doesn’t feel as mortified as she probably should. Tigh makes it feel like it doesn’t matter. “Right, yeah, obviously,” she laughs, nervous but no longer scared.

At some point, the waiter returned with Tigh’s card. He squeezes Tu’s hand and then slips the card back into his wallet. “I can walk you to your car?” he offers.

She scoffs, trying to force up a playful tone to cover the dregs of her embarrassment. “What, you think I can’t take care of myself?”

He scoffs right back. “Please,” he says, grinning. “You could kick my ass into next week.”

“‘Into next week?’” she laughs, shaking her head and following him to the door. He walks backwards to be able to look at her, and his eyes crinkle with joy. “No one says that anymore!”

“Yesterday you called something ‘nifty,’ what the hell are you talking about!?”

Tu is still laughing when they step out into the parking lot. Tigh scans the pavement and then tilts his head, narrowing his eyes. “Hey, you did drive here, right? I don’t think any bus routes are active this late.”

“Nah, I just walked,” Tu says, waving off his concern. “On air. You know how it is.”

“Tu, it’s cold!” Tigh says, sounding exasperated. “And you’re not even wearing a- Jesus Christ, Tu, you’re a maniac.” Despite his words, he slips off his jacket and drapes it over Tu’s shoulders, and she feels warmth in her cheeks again as she pulls it tight around herself.

“Yeah, well, tough,” she replies, rolling her eyes and pretending her heart isn’t beating double time. She glances around the parking lot. “Anyway, looks like you didn’t drive either!”

Tigh pulls a ring of keys out of the pocket of his skinny jeans and presses a button on a car fob, and Tu hears a ridiculous vroom sound for several seconds before a hovering motorbike zooms around the corner and skids (metaphorically) to a stop in front of her and Tigh.

“You think so?” he asks with a shit-eating grin. She rolls her eyes again, and his smile turns softer. “Hop on, I’ll drop you off outside your apartment.”

Tu bites her lip, considering, but… well, why shouldn’t she indulge a little bit? Just because she’s Pride doesn’t mean she can’t have a little Gluttony, a little Greed, a little Lust, just for fun.

“Okay,” she says quietly, nearly a whisper. Tigh gives her a smile that makes her feel warmer just by looking at it, and then he puts one leg over the bike and dramatically revs the engine—such a theatre kid. He gestures for Tu to get on behind him, and she nods just to hype herself up. Then she hops onto the seat, immediately putting her arms around his waist for stability (just for stability, she swears) and leaning her head against his shoulder (that one’s harder to justify. Maybe she’s cold). “Helmets?” she asks after a moment, her voice muffled by his shirt.

“No fuckin’ way this bike is gonna let you get hurt,” he says, the most confident she’s ever heard him. “If you have so much as a scrape when we park, I’ll turn it into scrap metal.”

She’s pretty sure the bike can’t register threats, but then again, it’s clearly a custom job by Tigh. If any vehicle would respond to human pleas, it’d damn well be his.

“Fine, then. Show me what this thing can do,” she challenges him.

“Hold on tight,” he says playfully. She resists biting his shoulder just to be annoying, but before she can argue the pros and cons, he’s taking off.

The hoverbike flies across the streets, a foot or so off the ground at all times, the engine revving in a way that almost sounds pretty. When they come up too close behind another car, Tigh squeezes the handles and the bike rises further into the air, zipping over the car as though it were simply part of the road.

“Tigh, you criminal!” Tu yells over the wind, and Tigh’s laughter quickly joins her own.

“It’s not a crime if they can’t catch me!” he shouts back, and Tu laughs again and knocks her head against his shoulder.

“The cops would disagree!”

By the time they reach Tu’s apartment, it’s only been a couple of minutes, but Tigh’s hair is a windswept mess and Tu think she’ll be combing out tangles for days. All the same, it’s worth it for the glow of his smile, the rosiness of the cold air on his cheeks, the way he glares threateningly at the bike when Tu has trouble getting off.

“So?” he asks, a little breathless.

“So what?” she replies, turning her nose up.

He huffs, a smile on his face. “Tu, come on!”

“It was great,” she relents, too easily for her liking. “It was really, really great, Tigh. Thank you.”

His face flushes pink, and he looks down at his shoes. “Oh, I mean- Yeah, ‘course, you’re welcome. Any time.”

Tu can’t help herself. She leans forward, has to tilt her head up just a bit, and- and at the last second she redirects, kisses his rosy cheek instead of his lips, and quickly pulls back. She feels her own cheeks turning red, but she doesn’t let herself look away; she looks Tigh in the eye, now that he’s making shocked eye contact with her, and smiles confidently. “I might take you up on that,” she says. “See you tomorrow.”

“Yeah,” he says dumbly, his eyes wide as saucers. “Yeah, always.”

She shakes her head fondly and walks to the door of the apartment complex, buzzing herself in and heading toward the steps. She glances back just for a moment, long enough to see Tigh holding his hand over his cheek, looking totally shell-shocked even as a large grin spreads across his face.

The extra month was worth it.

☼☼☼-

taglist: @wildswrites, @ceph-the-writing-spook, @jezifster, @mallthologist, @original-writing

[rubydracogirl]

I really been following your writing for a bit now. I got hooked on your 2020 kinktober, and I fell in love with your writing style.

(I'm a particularly big fan of the chapters with lamia!swap Sans, and drangon!Ink and Error. I love how you spend so much time on crafting the universes of thoes chapters. I got so invested in the worldbuiling that i forgot i was reading a kinktober fic until things got spicy)

Anyway, I've really been enjoying this year's kinktober. And I love your latest chapter, and how it continued on from the first.

Now I'm flooded with small scenarios where the swap bros slowly fall for MC from a distance.

Like, Dans had built up a friendship between them, then going home and gushes to his brother.

Papyrus, between the brief glimpses he gets from his window, and Sans's gushing, started to develop a crush as well.

Also I now have the image that in the previous winter, MC tried to shovel her driveway.

The brothers look out their window just in time to see MC-- having NOT lived in a town literally named after snow-- fall flat on her ass.

The brother's immediate reaction is to rest their head in their hands and sigh dreamily. 'She's perfect ❤️'

SJSJSJS FIRST OF ALL THANK YOU. World-building is not something I consider myself to be very good at, so that really means a lot. Those two chapters of the 2020 Kinktober series were some of my favorites too. (I’m considering doing another, unrelated Lamia AU story this year, but we’ll see.) 

I’m so glad you’re enjoying the Dumpster-Fire series! I’ve been having a lot of fun with them myself; I got very burnt out after 2020, so it’s been awesome to get back into the swing of things, albeit slowly XD

I was surprised that there seemed to be a desire for a part two to the first chapter, but also excited because I love Underswap as an AU, and I had so much fun writing that first scenario. I have this incredibly long list of things I want to write, but doing more stories for Underswap would be so enjoyable. I love the scenes you painted with them getting to know Reader as a neighbor. Super cute and wholesome >///<

Thanks so much for reaching out, it really made my day ^_^

[astererer]

after like days and days of trying to write this out i finally have the time to share some Aster Lore w y’all :)) slapping under the cut bc it got a wee bit lengthy

born into a family of flying taxi cabbies, like there’s at least one person every generation who grows up to be a cabbie — family tradition of each child receiving a rookidee as their first pokemon when they’re like. 5 years old. constant bird companion

used to be a shy child — could be very talkative around family and pokemon, but tended to struggle with interacting with other people a lot to the point that she dropped out of her initial gym challenge attempt after winning a single gym badge. not wanting to give up entirely tho, she spent a few years working on her confidence and tried again when she was 14, still riddled with anxieties but more mentally prepared and armed with coping strategies for if she started to feel overwhelmed

mostly took part because winning gym battles means getting a cash prize as well as the badges. had absolutely zero intention of reaching the finals and facing leon but somehow managed it anyway. and won. like it was a close fight, practically a draw, but a victory is a victory and she got crowned champion of galar

then within 2 weeks she just quit. up and left. packed her bags and ran away to travel (which was her original plan anyway). no notice to the league itself, aster simply went home, told her family she couldn’t handle being in a role she didn’t really want in the first place, and disappeared off to kalos. turns out there’s a lot of pressure that comes with being a reigning champion, both in a business sense and due to everyone in the region knowing who you are, making it impossible to go anywhere without being hounded by strangers, and aster was like “nah not dealing with this. bye lol”. after a brief statement from her family where they confirmed she left of her own volition, leon got his title back and any media circus about aster’s extremely early retirement was promptly killed.

spent the next few years exploring different regions before deciding to settle in unova, at first in nacrene city, but moved to nimbassa after a year — the art scene in nacrene city is cool and all, but nimbassa just has so many things to do for fun and is also just a more central location.

aster’s personality has changed between abdicating the galar league and the present day. over the course of a decade and experiencing new things + meeting new people near constantly, she’s become more outspoken and relaxed, able to talk to total strangers with relative ease. also developed a flair for dramatics, which can be seen in how her battling style has evolved over time

doesn’t really have a job. currently makes most of her income by visiting black city every few days to battle other trainers in the tower, or helping out an artist friend back in nacrene city with any odd jobs that need doing. aster likes not having an actual job, she’d rather be able to spend as much time as possible devoted to her hobbies and her team, than have to take orders from another person or deal with the responsibility of giving other people orders.

loves movies. like outside of pokemon, film is her favourite thing in the world. since moving to nimbassa city aster has been building up a collection of blu rays and dvds, to the point that she has entire shelves full of them, floor to ceiling. any genre is good in her eyes, she’ll watch anything whether it’s a corny romcom or a surrealist horror. has also started investing in better sound systems and a projector, and is currently in the process of turning her apartment’s living room into a home cinema sort of deal.