#honestly didn’t think these books would have this much impact on me

[intofolkloreee13]

When I think about the last chapter in The king’s Men when the foxes win against the ravens I imagine Long Live playing in the background and get wayyy too emotional 😭😭

[procrastinatingsoicanreadfanfics]

How would Vikings react to Ivar being remembered?

summary: it's in the title :)

notes: no warnings except for maybe mentions of death

tagged: @majesticwren @obsessiveformiyatwins @levithestripper @cookielovesbook-akie @leithdragon @demon-of-the-ancient-world @alicedopey, @ivarlover @batmandallyboy @akayxo09 @vrtualfairy @esme-viridian (hmu to be added/removed!)

masterlist | based on this request

Ragnar

Pretends he always knew (eugh he’s such a bitch ong)

Nooo I would never set my son out in the wild… meeee? No wayyy…

He takes credit for it for his ‘great parenting’ and ‘legend genetics’

If Ivar had any legend genetics, they came from aslaug

Aslaug

Proudest mom out there, acts like a soccer/pta mom when she hears

Aslaug actually always knew

She quotes her prophetic dreams from like, 853 AD?

“I knew since I was five years old.” (truth)

Lagertha

Okay? Who cares? What about Bjorn?

Totally not pissed that he may be more famous than she is (lie)

Defo sulks about it to torvi and then kills someone important to expand her own legacy

She’s in the fame biz

Bjorn

Bro throws a toddler tantrum

He will literally stomp the ground

“That’s not fair, I discovered the Mediterranean!!” (he says that in the stupid tone he gets in the later seasons)

So so bitter about it (he deserves that)

Ubbe

Ubbe’s smoking weed in America with Floki

He does not care

“That’s just bad taste from people from the future. Me personally? I’d admire the person who found a continent. Idk, that’s just me though.”

Gets over it the fastest

Literally just thinks that it’s so dumb of modern people bc Ivar is a silly little guy with anger issues

Hvitserk

Similar reaction to Ubbe, except he doesn’t have to get over anything

Just kinda shrugs, he’s too busy worrying about his own legacy

What’s he in the history books for? His cuisine skills?

Yeah, bro’s kinda busy managing his own shit and trying to stay alive

Sigurd

Don’t tell him

For your own safety

Will kill you and then himself

Ivar

Don’t tell him either

Never lets anyone hear the end of it

So so so annoying for a silly little guy

He just loves and hates himself so much that, at the same time, he so needs to hear this and also never, ever hear this ever at all

Floki

Floki is the same as Aslaug, he KNEW

Also, he takes credit for raising ivar and being a father figure (fair enough)

He’s a teeny tiny bit sad that ivar was friends (in a weird homosexual way) with Alfred though (kind of, and this only applies if we’re talking about tv show Vikings)

Honestly, Floki would be such a good source to add to the material we have of ivar

Ecbert

So mad he didn’t have a bigger impact on ivar

Also so mad that all the kids around him have such big legacies (Alfred, ivar) but not him??

He wants to get mentioned!! Footnotes aren’t enough!! He needs to be the main character, always.

Gets sad drunk over it way too long

[ordon-pumpkin]

Percy Jackson spoilers and criticism below.

I see people complain about how the show just has the characters figuring out things way too quickly (I completely agree with this.) Then I see people complaining about that criticism saying things like “Oh it makes sense! They would know that because Annabeth’s been at camp, Grover is a satyr, and Percy’s mom taught him about the myths!” However, there is a difference between them knowing about the stories and them IMMEDIATELY figuring each potential trap/situation out and zapping the energy from the scenes.

These same instances in the book usually involve a feeling of unease, something feels off, things seem kind of familiar, and it slowly dawns on them what they are dealing with OR they are escaping one situation to be thrust into another and don’t have time to think about it at all. There’s tension, there’s drama. I’m here for it. The show on the other hand? Oof.

Also the circumstances in which they encounter these situations in the book greatly influence how things go. They are human(ish) after all and them getting into these messes makes them easier to connect to as characters. Let’s break it down a little more there.

- With Medusa they were lost in the woods and hungry. The smell of food lured them in. They were hungry children dang it! From the circus lol (Honestly, this instance didn’t bother me too much in the show when I first watched it because it was early on before the knowing things too soon became an ongoing theme.)

- With the Lotus Hotel and Casino they were tired and feeling grimy, having just traveled in the back of a truck with a bunch of animals in horrible conditions. It was scorching hot outside. They were absolutely exhausted and wound up there where a doorman invited them in and it was a relief to have somewhere to take a break, recoup and figure out their next move. Once inside they had access to a shower! There were snacks. Plus the place was incredible. It also showed their interests with Annabeth being drawn in to trivia and city building games, Percy liked the bungee jumping! Grover played a reverse hunting game! Percy figured out the trap by asking a guy using 70s slang and dressed to match, what year it was. He kept asking and getting different answers. Then he was able to snap Annabeth out of it by describing spiders, which he knew she had a fear of from the Tunnel of Love ride. (This whole scene in the show was such a let down, so was the Tunnel of Love scene but I’ll leave that alone for now.)

- With Crusty they were on the run and dashed into the store. This encounter is one of my favorite moments of Percy’s quick thinking in the books btw. Also his absolute lack of hesitation to slice someone’s head if they mess with his friends. Percy is smart. He’s very street smart actually. In the book this scene shows that really well. (The way I paused the show in frustration and almost turned it off when the episode started already at Crusty’s with the line “I know who you are.” Like of course. That’s just how we’re telling this story now. Check. They met Crusty. And he doesn’t feel like a threat at all. But they met him I guess.)

The exhaustion and the circumstances in these instances in the book and getting into these traps aren’t the trio being “stupid.” They were moments that set up the situation to feel more relatable, alive, tense, and interesting. The show’s changes have taken away most of the tension from these scenes. Them knowing and catching on to things so quickly is lazy and it is incredibly boring. It just feels like they are checking off a list of places from the books they wanted in the show, while losing the entire energy and impact of those locations and scenes.

To me everything in this show feels like it’s at 20%. The humor, the stakes, the tension, the personality, the freaking lighting (why is so much of this show so hard to even see?), the whimsy, the magic, the charm. It’s all so dialed back and watered down. The book is a roller coaster of making you laugh and putting you on the edge of your seat with the tension and situations these kids get into. It’s campy, it’s intense, it’s crazy, and so energetic. The show feels bland in comparison. Idk how you manage to make Percy Jackson feel boring but they did it.

I’m not asking for it to be an exact copy of the book. I’m just disappointed with how dull it is. When it’s boring and it’s a scene that was the furthest thing from that in the original version then YES I’m going to compare it and wonder why there were changes to make it less interesting. In fact, my favorite scene in the show so far is actually the taxi in the parking garage scene. It captured the energy and vibe of Percy Jackson really well and it’s a scene not in the books at all. The energy is important and this show is lacking severely most of the time. It has some really good moments (back to that 20% thing) but overall it’s such a let down.

We have one episode left of the season and I don’t exactly have high hopes of it making things better. It just makes me sad because I wanted to love this series. The incredibly talented cast, a major studio behind it, passionate people being involved including the author, amazing source material… I look at all of the ingredients and it should be amazing. But I’m pretty disappointed right now.

[corpsepng]

Pls make a list of books you recommend to aspiring writers<3

Ok. Aspiring/burgeoning writer starter kit:

In writing anything you officially become a writer so that’s step one haha, no need to aspire too much. BUT. I’m going to soapbox for a bit using this ask as an excuse love u kissing u etc. So. This will barely be about books, but sort of the recipe of what I (personally and subjectively) think will help anyone who wants to grow their craft. (I know because I've been writing seriously for 14 years)

The act of writing is the best practice you can get but having a well from which to draw on creatively and skill wise in order to DO that practice is the trickier part. And sometimes we can be found lacking because we’re either NOT refilling that well enough, consciously enough, or only with the same sorts of things so it gets stagnant. This is a long one so I’ll shove it under the cut haha.

The recipe:

Study craft

Broaden horizons 

Diversify consumption

Consume with intention

Apply with reference

1) Study craft: this is the easiest to make sense of, right? I want to get good at writing so I read books about writing yada yada. Whatever you’re writing, it’s made up of a lot of moving parts, and you can dedicate time studying EACH PART, but figure out what you have the least experience with, or the most difficulty with, and start there. Also, before I go on to preach about why you shouldn’t solely stake your growth on some dusty old books, here’s some dusty old books I recommend:

The Elements of Style (strunk/white/kalman) (really quick and abbreviated advice, read every bit of this but remember: rules are important to know so you can decide which are worth following and which are in need of breaking for the pursuit of your goals. And nobodies perfect, or editors wouldn’t have a job)

Bird by Bird (Anne Lamott) (excellent work about fostering a process, important for everyone who finds themselves a little lost on how to just. Start)

Wonderbook (Jeff Vandermeer) (I haven’t read this one but knowing Vandermeers work this is on my TBR and I KNOW it’s going to be enlightening)

How to Read Literature like a Professor (Thomas C. Foster) (perfect for those who can see others stories working but unsure how to make their own work, I personally didn’t read much of this one but this will help people to more critically engage with what they’re consuming)

Save the Cat Writes a Novel/Joseph Campbells Hero’s Journey/On Writing and Worldbuilding/etc (all of these are on structure and craft in a concrete sense), I would recommend either choose one OR getting the abbreviated/digestible versions through YouTube because a lot of these can repeat themselves. I’m working on a playlist of writing craft/structure videos that I found helpful, so keep an eye out for that)

So. Studying craft should be a multidisciplinary process. Articles online, videos on niche media, books on craft or copying things from your favorites, looking for yourself in the movies you watch or fiction you read. Punctuation, prose, structure, rhetoric, character, world building, pacing, etc. Unfortunately, no matter how seasoned you become as a writer, you will always be learning new things about the craft itself.

It should be fun and I honestly feel like an enlightened little scientist when I see something that really cracks the open the magic for me (ex: scenes that serve more than one purpose are OF COURSE going to be more engaging that scenes with only one purpose- duh) (of COURSE magic systems should have a cost) (of COURSE the characters cant always win OR always lose)

2) Broaden horizons: consuming fiction and studying it is key to knowing how to reproduce it. We start with the training wheels of imitation before we ride away full speed into truly unique original storytelling. But the most impactful and thought-provoking stories are more than just fiction, so you need to know more than stories. Science, history, art, craft, math, music, cooking, psychology, religion, whatever!

Everyone always parrots “write what you know”, but what you KNOW can expand to influence what you write- so keep learning new things all the time and for fun, because you never know what could help your story. Your knowledge is not limited to experience alone, and research is your best friend. ASOIAF was so loved because George RR Martin loved not only fantasy, but British history. The Folk of the Air series is so loved because Holly Blacks special interest is faeries.

Note: this does not mean the study of OTHER PEOPLES trauma and experiences in an appropriative way, rather, become worldly. Because sure, knowing what a gunshot feels like adds realism, but I don’t care about realism if I don’t care about your characters or world. Science fiction is the best example of this: so many of those stories stick with us generationally because they’re pointing a lens back at humanity, asking big philosophical questions with science, which is something that touches us all.

But it doesn’t even need to be Big and Thematic like that. My dear friend @chaylattes has a project where she’s applied her love of plants to the world building AND plot, and has INVENTED whole plant species that enriched their work with something so exclusively Chay. No one else could write Andromeda Rogue because Chay, with specific interests and knowledge, put that specificity into the story.

3) Diversify consumption: surrounding yourself with more of the same means you’re going to regurgitate the same, derivatively. To be a hater for a moment: I can tell within the first chapter if someone only reads/watches one kind of media (m*rvel, fairy smut, grim dark nonsense, etc), and it’s distracting. When I read that derivative work, I’m not thinking about THEIR story. All I can think of is the people who did it first, and better.

Alternatively, the best work draws on the unexpected. Fantasy work taking notes from horror, science fiction including humanistic romance, romance with elements of mystery. RF Kuangs work feels so smart because she’s literally a PHD candidate who’s reading of academic writing. Cassandra Clares work is so interpersonally messy and hard to look away from because she watches a lot of reality television. 

Genre is less a set of cages to lock yourself inside of and more so the sections of a great big fictional playground- and you need to start playing. Rules, again, are guidelines that can be bent for the sake of your stories. I predominantly write scifi/fantasy/horror but some of my favorite stuff is literary fiction, historical nonfiction, thrillers, and poetry.

And if you can’t bring yourself to read different genres, it takes significantly less effort to WATCH different genres. Television and film are stories too, and can absolutely be learned from. 

4) Consume with intention: this is easier said than done. I, embarrassingly, admit that I did not have any reading comprehension skills until I was at least 19. I was consuming, but I wasn’t thinking a damn critical thought, just spitting it back out in a way that sounded smart.

Critical thinking skills (I say, on the website that historically lacks such a thing) are a muscle that needs to be exercised just as often as your writing muscle. Reading new work, studying craft, learning new shit- none of it matters if you can’t APPLY it all to a story. One can take a clock apart to learn how exactly it ticks, but it won't tell time like a watch until you put it back together.

The key is asking questions, all of the time about everything. That whole “why the curtains were blue” nonsense comes to mind, but if you want to be a good writer, (edit: a writer that cares about whether or not their work is vapid imitation of better work) learning to ask WHY the curtains are blue really does matters.

Ask why in ALL stories you consume, including your own. Why do Ghibli films make me feel calm? (Motifs of undisturbed nature, low stakes plots and quiet scenes of reprieve between action, characters that care about one another and aren’t afraid to show it) Why do I fly through a Gillian Flynn novel but take 8,000 years to read other books? (Concise descriptions, realistic but evocative premise, witty voice, contained and fast paced plot, an abundance of questions driving the mystery leading up to a satisfying crash of answers at the end) Why were the curtains blue, the coffee cup chipped, and the lipstick stain on the rim red instead of purple or pink? And why did the colors matter at all when the scene is about a father at a kitchen table? (You tell me!) Answers may vary.

You can put the work into learning the answer at the source (ie: listening to authors talk about their own work), or through the external interpretations of a critic (proceed with caution here), sure. These are even good when learning HOW to think critically if you don’t even know where to start. But your growth as a writer depends on your ability to answer your OWN questions. 

(Why do I feel tense in this scene? Is it because the character says they’re sweating and struggling to breathe? Is it because I’ve been told the monsters close? Is it because the sentences are getting shorter and the author keeps repeating descriptions of that monsters massive bloody teeth coming closer? Or is it because I know the gun in her hands has no bullets because another character already tried what she’s about to try?)

(Why do I feel sad in this scene? Is it because the characters mom just died? Is it because the character can’t even verbalize that sadness to others? Is it because none of the other characters seem to care enough to ask? Is it because of the wilted flowers in the corner? Or is it because there are daisies in the bouquet, and those were the moms favorite?)

I can nod and smile at 1000 opinions about “why X did Y and the end of Z” or “why X is Y and not Z” but how I felt when I consume something, how I was affected and how it made ME PERSONALLY answer my critical questions, that’s what’s important. That’s how we manufacture gay subtext in everything, because sometimes gay is a feeling as opposed to a fact.

Also, if those subjective answers are inconsistent among readers/viewers, the writer likely had their own intentions a little muddled. So, and I know I’m getting tangential but stay with me: romance. You know how you’re supposed to feel happy or convinced that the people falling in love are like, in love? And want to put yourself in that position or whatever? I CANNOT consume most romance media because it all comes off as categorically terrifying to me. I ask myself why the characters are doing what they do, reacting the way they react, saying way they say, and none of it feels romantic. I want to file a restraining order, and that’s the failing of the author, who did not make enough conscious choices in their work and accidentally created horror while writing their color by numbers trope slop of a “romance” novel. 

5) Apply with reference: is like taking all your ingredients and finally cooking. You want people to notice and respect when you add certain literary devices, descriptions, character choices, but not to the detriment of your work. Shows like stranger things are popular but divisive because their intertextuality and reliance on nostalgia bolster an otherwise unoriginal idea. They weren’t trying to reinvent the wheel, they were writing a love letter to Stephen Spielberg, and are riding that wave into the ground. But the fairy dick renaissance doesn’t feel nearly as palatable as season one of stranger things did because a lot of times they aren’t using the ingredients in their own way, rather, following the recipe to a T and selling it as new. Food really is the perfect metaphor and sorry in advance because I’m really going to run with it here lol. 

When I eat a meal, first of all I know I'm eating food, so don't try and trick me into thinking otherwise or I'll only get annoyed. I want to be able to taste all of what’s in front of me, spice, salt, sweet, bitter, etc and know what what you said you've fed me is really actually truly what I've eaten. One ingredient, or writing choice, shouldn’t overpower another, or surprise me so much I can’t take another bite. I shouldn’t try something you call “sauced and baked yeast patty garnished with fermented milk and smoked meat” and think “this shits pizza” because you didn’t even try to jazz it up more than what the instructions on the digiorno box said. I also shouldn’t bite into something you call a pizza and only taste bread because you really like bread and forgot that a pizza is more than just bread. 

But inversely, avoiding all ingredients gets you weird, nary inedible shit like charred milk reduction with lamb mist or whatever. Show me you have knowledge in your genre by referencing it AND remixing it, show me that you studied craft by foreshadowing properly or pacing well, show me you’re more than an AI writerbot by deepening your work with your unique and human influence, show me you read broadly by adding surprising ingredients, and show me that you mean every word you write because you made the curtains blue instead of yellow, and topped your pizza with pepperoni instead of pineapple.

Congrats on making it all the way through my rambling, hope I made sense and that this helped!

[kaiser-author-san-iii]

In Pursuit of Happiness | Various Genshin Impact Men x Reader

Okay honestly, did not expect such a response for this story. Haha. I’m not really a great writer either and even if I do have an idea, I force myself to continue the story despite having no plot. I just post. But thanks so much for all the love so far guys. This fandom has been really welcoming to me and its fun befriending people with the same love for the story and characters. 

If you guys are curious, yes, I post this along side ao3 and maybe even thinking about posting it on wattpad too but who’s to say. 

Well, due to popular demand, I shall post the second chapter. 

Not beta read/proofed, we die like Signora

First >>    Next>>> 

Summary: The task of an aunt was no easy thing, especially towards a rambunctious and curious nephew who can not sit still. After a bad car accident, the two of them awaken in the world of Teyvat where Y/n must do her best to not only keep herself and her nephew alive to find a way back home but to also beat back all kinds of suitors and become the pseudo mother to every child she meets and her nephew befriends.

CHAPTER 2: The Wandering Lady of Teyvat

People were getting more anxious and happen to be more rambunctious in finding the said Divine Creator.

Y/n had no bother in that as she was more focused in creating new works. It was a sight to see people, especially the women, swoon over the fictional Mr. Darcy after recalling as much as she could from the book. If she wasn’t going to read the books ever again if she doesn’t go back home, then she could at least write her favorite books for not only herself to enjoy but for others as well.

It was interesting to see children in Mondstadt to aim to become Spider-Man too, even singing the theme song.

Books were fun, but Y/n enjoyed taking walks just as much as she loved painting as she would always travel on foot with [Nephew’s name] following closely behind and when they got to a certain point, a few of their forest friends and creatures would pop out and follow them as well. Sometimes, Y/n would have a basket filled with food and her sketchbook since she would sketch the landscape. It was fun to draw the fantastical and beautiful vegetation all around her. It was especially fun to draw the creatures as well as it made her feel like she was a concept artist for a game or a show.

It made her feel like her favorite concept artists from her old world.

What she didn’t know was the powers as her being the Divine Creator were being unconsciously used as whatever she sketched and thought about would be created and brought to life somewhere in Teyvat. The creatures that she drew were at first confused at the world around them until they found more of their kind who then proceeded to inform the newly born creature of who created them – Y/n, the Divine Creator.

Y/n found it quite strange that the animals of Teyvat were always approaching her and her nephew. Heck, even the slimes and the hilichurls would approach them, attempting to do whatever they wanted like travel to Liyue and back or even go to Dragonspine. That was where the Pyro slimes came to use as they would hop around the two with Y/n taking notes and [Nephew’s name] waving at the Cryo slimes that were there, wiggling and emitting a warm aura around them. But there was just something about [Nephew’s name] and his connection with animals that seemed so natural. Even back home, he would always rave on and on about having a farm, a petting zoo, etc. It didn’t help that his dad grew up around a farm and helped raise animals.

He loved the animals and slimes so much that he brought back some of them to the Hilichurl camp they stayed at and nursed them back to health like the small songbird, a rabbit, and an enormous Hydro Slime he affectionately called Billy.

It was a strange day when Billy came to their every day lives as it seemed to have protected some other slimes that were guarding the path that lead to the Hilichurl camp from people. That was also something that Y/n picked up as people were afraid, even hostile towards the creatures that helped them so much. It didn’t seem fair as they were always a joy to be around. The Hilichurls were a hoot, dancing almost every night or when they are happy, the Mitachurls were these big protectors and [Nephew’s Name] had fun climbing up their backs or shields and they would always become a nervous mess when he was about to fall and always made sure to be mindful of their strength. The Samachurls were the wise ones, with one with an ability to heal, they were always there to help the others make a full recovery. They also helped Y/n with finding herbs and teach her about healing as well when the time came.

Her moment to shine came as she saw the big Hydro slime in front of her, giving her the hopeful and tired smile or at least what a slimes equivalent to a smile was. It kept looking at the young woman as she made quick work with the help of a Hydro Samachurl that was nearby as a Hilichurl held [Nephew’s Name] back as he was curious about the big slime.

It made a full recovery and [Nephew’s Name] grew attached to it to the point he named it Billy. With the slimes that he protected leading you to where the Hilichurls found them, Billy was protecting the slimes from the Knights of Favonius that were coming to investigate why the path they were in right now was fortified like a wall and the hilichurls were very aggressive to people these days. As a thank you for letting them stay with them, Y/n made sure to travel far away so as to not think that she was in kahoots with Hilichurls even though she was. She just didn’t want anything to happen to her new friends, especially since they were always helping take care of her nephew and he enjoyed their company.

As she was out, embarking in many paths and meeting new acquaintances, it was a sight to see that people made shrines of this Divine Creator. But the funny thing was that it had an uncanny resemblance to her own face, even gems the same color of her eyes right where the eyes should be.

… These people were serious.

She had to buy many cosmetics and remember all the make up tutorials she watched and studied under her sister to walk through cities as who knows what these people would do if they found someone that had similar features to her. It could go one way or the other – say that she’s blessed and highly favored by the Creator to have been bestowed a similar face or highly persecuted for committed blasphemy and hunted down like an animal for having a similar face.

If the people found out that the look alike can shapeshift, they’re going to tell the church.

Either way, she didn’t want to be involved much with the politics of this world, especially since she heard tell of the Fatui. What she’s been hearing were interesting and it would be best to avoid areas that they frequented, especially if she was with her nephew.

She will be damned if he ever got mixed with the wrong crowd of people in a fantasy world.

That and if she was reckless, her sister would murder her.

It sent shivers down her spine at the horrors she would endure if one hair out of line if they returned home. Such horrors gave her more chills than the icy winds of Dragonspine and Snezhnaya.

The good thing about being in a new world where neither of them had to worry about modern technology, school, or work is that they now had all the time in the world and with the ever-growing list of hobbies that Y/n partakes, she does lots of mineral and material collecting when she has the chance and even a few objectives to earn more mora in between the seven nations.

Money is money after all.

Spare no expense when it comes to her adorable nephew who she believes needs to be spoiled occasionally.

-x-

Today they were in Liyue, the two walking towards Liyue harbor, deciding to visit Bubu Pharmacy for a check up for [Nephew’s name]. She had full trust of the Samachurls, but she wanted a second opinion on her Nugget���s health.

Holding his hand gently, they climbed up the many steps to the grand building, but not before enjoying the scenery of the city and way to the pharmacy where they came to face to face with the receptionist, who happened to be a little girl with cute eyes and beautiful violet purple hair. She had to hold back her squeal as she found her so adorable before coughing lightly and flashed a smile.

“Welcome to Bubu Pharmacy. I am Qiqi.” Said the girl as she looked at the young woman, suddenly feeling warmth radiating from the lady that was looking at her. It mainly came from her, but she could feel slight hints from the boy that also stared at her with fascination.

“Hello Qiqi. I’m Y/n, and this is [Nephew’s name]. We’re here for an appointment for this one.”

“Appointment…” The girl suddenly made a focused face or at least how focused a zombie could look as she opened a book in front of her to then look up at the young woman again.

“Yes, appointment for [Nephew’s Name]. Dr. Baizhu will be here soon.”

She was already acting so grown up! Ah, her heart couldn’t take it as she almost fell over backwards if it wasn’t for her nephew holding onto her hand. She thought her nephew could be this cute, but this girl hardly even tried. Girls were always such a wonder as Y/n and her older sister always talked about either of them having a daughter and how they would spoil her rotten with lots of clothes though they already do the same thing to [Nephew’s name] already. But shopping for girl’s clothes was so darn rewarding,

Well, that is if they wanted to have a feminine clothing style. It didn’t matter to Y/n as they would be cute, nonetheless.

Dear lord, she’s started to sound like Elizabeth from Black Butler.

“Hi Qiqi! I’m [Nephew’s name]! I hope we can be best friends! I don’t go into the cities a lot.” The boy said sheepishly as he tried to get a closer look at the girl, who wore talismans on her body. She really was a zombie.

How cool was that?

Qiqi wore a dreary look on her face as she looked on at the boy, who was smiling at her. She hardly had time to leave the Pharmacy as she helped Baizhu quite a lot as the receptionist. Lately, it’s been getting a little hard because of the growing cold weather. After hearing all this, Y/n immediately went into mother mode and precured a blanket and scarf for the girl from her ‘Mystical’ bag of wonder that carried more that it should have.

Or at least that’s what Nugget calls it. He once saw his aunt pull out one of the axes for the Mitachurls.

Carefully wrapping the scarf around the girls’ neck and the blanket around the young girl, she stepped back to look her proud work, smiling at just how adorable she looked.

“There. If you need any more blankets, just say the word. Though you’ll probably have to look for me around the marsh.” She said a bit bashfully with [Nephew’s name] nodding more, probably thinking of having play dates with the zombie girl. Yes, his first friend that wasn’t a slime or a hilichurl was coming to fruition. Now if only his aunt could get the attention of a worthy man and it would all fall into place!

“I apologize for the wait you’ve endured.” There was a rich voice coming from behind the [H/c]-ette’s to see a tall and handsome emerald haired man. Yes, his hair was one of the first things to notice but the eyes were second as they appeared almost amber like – gold even.

Though the only thing that [Nephew’s name] bothered to notice was the-

“Snake! And it’s so pretty!” he cried out happily as he jumped forward and looked up at the albino snake wrapped around the man’s neck like a scarf. Back in their old world, there was the Caduceus, a staff with two snakes coiled around it – it was the official insignia of the public health service or anyone that worked within the medical field.

The snake seemed to bask in the attention as it lifted its head pridefully, looking at the young boy with interest.

“You are too kind, young one.” The snake said, earning a more awe look from the boy.

“And she talks too! An Albino snake that talks!”

Y/n had to cover her mouth at her nephew’s adorable fascination with animals again all while the albino snake seemed to already hold the boy in some high favor. Though, she didn’t escape the stare of Bubu Pharmacy’s doctor as she finally took notice of him and bowed lightly.

“Ah! Y-yes. Forgive me. And do not worry of our wait. Qiqi here was quite a delight with us.” She turned over to look at the young girl, smiling again as the doctor followed her gaze to see the same Qiqi be covered in a blanket and scarf all while it looked like flowers were floating around her as she gently snuggled more into the warmth that her new gifts provided.

“I see.” Baizhu was entertained to say the least as he looked at the woman before him, feeling as if she was quite familiar but couldn’t say otherwise other than feeling the warmth that radiated from her along with the young boy that she was with. She was a beauty, yes. And looked to be quite young, her [h/c] strands framing her face as she seemed to have quite a distant look. The clothes that she wore were a tad strange, making him believe that the woman in front of him was a traveler of sorts.

The two followed Baizhu to the back, [Nephew’s name] still talking to the snake, the two finding out her name was Changsheng.

Getting dressed into a gown, the boy soon answered all questions asked by the doctor and if he was stumped, Y/n would fill in.

The scars that were from a year earlier from the accident were still present and Baizhu asked about them.

“Treasure hoarders. He and I barely made it out only thanks to our family.”

The tone in the atmosphere darkened lightly but to Y/n and her Nugget, it was all just a fabricated story. Yes, you lost your family, but whoever was curious weren’t going to ask more about dead family members if that’s the story.

Changsheng having gotten close to the boy felt lots of sympathy as the boy had to see lots of horrors so suddenly. She felt sympathy for the mother as well, having to be the only one to raise the boy.

“I see. I’m sorry for your loss. I’m sure your son is blessed to have a mother like you.”

To witness the blushing face of the woman in front of her was blissful gift as Y/n quickly shook her head almost comically, her nephew laughing as the warmth from earlier had come back but this time it was much stronger.

So strong in fact that a certain amber-eyed archon noticed and almost dropped his cup of tea as he hurriedly stood to his feet and rushed out to follow where the warmth came from.

Back to Y/n, she finally attempted to speak.

“No. No! He’s not my son! He is my nephew. Well, I suppose I can see where people confuse us as mother and son…” she said, the blush on her cheeks still present as the emerald haired doctor chuckled in amusement.

“My apologies. I was in the wrong to assume. You two seem quite close.”

“Yeah! Auntie is very nice to me! She’s there for me even I know mommy isn’t here anymore.”

“Hey now. Stop that gloomy talk or else Dr. Baizhu won’t reward you with a piece a candy.” Y/n playfully pinched her Nugget’s cheeks, making him whine playfully but it did earn a laugh as Baizhu pulled up a small lollipop from his pocket. [Nephew’s name] then proceeded to behave, doing whatever Dr. Baizhu told him to just as they finished up, Y/n heard a voice.

‘Oh, great Divine Creator. Wherever you are, I hope that you are safe. Please, if you can hear me, please return to us. And keep my son safe wherever he is.’

Y/n stopped, clutching her head as her suspicion of who she is to these people were proving her right so far. And of all times to be proved right… what headache. Literally.

This is giving her Kamisama Hajimemashite vibes.

“Is something wrong? Do you feel pain?” Baizhu’s voice was next to her and turning towards him, her [e/c] eyes seeing the worried look, followed by her nephew and Changsheng.

“It’s just a passing headache, Doctor. Perhaps I’ve neglected to eat and drink this morning in worry of my nephew’s health. He’s been such a healthy boy and hardly gets sick but nonetheless, I worry.”

“He’s a healthy boy. In fact, almost too healthy. It’s good for children to take a tumble or two, you know.” Baizhu watched the [H/c]-ed boy talk to Changsheng more, wanting to know more about the snake as they blissfully ignored the two adults.

“I’m aware. Again, thank you Dr. Baizhu.”

“It’s my pleasure. Be sure to schedule another appointment if you want to be up to date with his health with Qiqi.”

The doctor walked them back out to the reception with Qiqi waiting patiently, writing down the names for next months appointment. Afterwards, she took off the scarf and blanket only for Y/n to shake her head and smile as she handed them back to the girl.

“Keep them. We have plenty more. I have too much time on my hands that I forget how many I make.” If Qiqi could get any happier, she would if it wasn’t for the fact she hardly makes any expressions. There were far more flowers radiating from her as she snuggled closer to the blankets than before. Baizhu and Changsheng showed them off as they waved them goodbye.

After walking a certain distance, walking to a secluded spot of Liyue harbor, Y/n and Nugget held onto each other. There was a small playful glint in her eyes as she eyed the clear skies, unaware of one man walking closer to them as he followed them when they left Bubu Pharmacy. He could feel the warmth coming from both, yet the one he was mainly focused on was the woman beside the child, who gently talked to them, saying a few jokes before walking towards a secluded part of the harbor – away from prying eyes.

“Alright Nugget. Hold on tight, okay?”

“Got it!”

They walked further into the alley way and before the Archons very eyes, the two shot up into the air suddenly but instead of falling towards the ground, they kept afloat without the need of a glider. The woman and child looked as if they were walking through the skies of Liyue and only him did he notice the strange phenomenon.

They walked all the way to the direction of Dihua Marsh, where he made sure to follow them.

I’m a big howls moving castle fan okay and cause I'm still waiting on Baizhu so I can pull him! Ah, Qiqi is so cute and I will literally adopt her if I ever see her. Also I’m trying to make these chapters long not only as a challenge to myself but also to just make it feel like a light novel hahaha. Oh, maybe I can make cover arts and just scenes of the story when I have the time. I’m kinda excited. Also, Billy the Hydro Slime is our mascot/friend. We must protect Billy. Anyways, thanks for reading! Be sure to like, reblog, ask me to add you on the taglist for updates, maybe even share some ideas since I’m still figuring out the plot. 

TAGLIST: 

@axolotlboo  @crazypriestess

[eliotquillon]

just finished the rwrb movie and although i really enjoyed it (and was kicking my feet giggling the whole time) i do have a couple of major criticisms, some of which i think aren’t really the movie’s fault because they had to fit a whole book into 2 hours, but some of which left me kind of disappointed:

-i feel slightly icky that bea and nora got their screentime SIGNIFICANTLY reduced even after june got cut entirely (which i was upset about, but did understand). i loved zahra and adored her on screen but i do think it’s very odd that she is pretty much the only major female character in this movie since bea was nonexistent and nora got permanently spirited away to pez’s bed or something sometime during the second act

-it felt like a lot of the internal conflict in alex and henry’s relationship was very unbalanced and henry heavy - alex’s neurodivergence was erased, his bi epiphany was barely even an epiphany, and him not being explicitly kicked off the campaign after ellen finds out about him and henry essentially killed his whole subplot about realising he doesn’t need to have everything achieved at thirty and deciding he wants to apply to law school instead. which wouldn’t have been terrible but on the flipside it felt weird that we didn’t see very much of henry’s family considering how much they affect and shape his fear of being outed and his feeling of being in a glass cage - e.g bea’s treatment by the media during her active addiction (which was entirely erased), the extent of the tension between him and philip. felt like henry’s pov scenes were a super wasted opportunity for that and we were mostly just being Told about all of these things

-i am not actually that mad about oscar and ellen still being together lol but i felt like in the scene with oscar smoking the cigar on the balcony they were kinda building up to there being significant strain in his and ellen’s relationship that just wasn’t explored. especially since it’s clear oscar would never be able to be president because he’s not a natural born citizen + the sacrifice of his career for ellen’s is so much bigger now that he’s first gentleman in this version

-pacing in general was a bit off but the worst offender was the fact that there was a complete time skip between the alex henry confrontation/reconciliation and the outing. so much of the tension and desperation from that outing scene comes from the fact that the risk of it happening was slowly increasing throughout the book and it felt almost inevitable (the elevator cctv being leaked, henry having to fake date june) and honestly making it so abrupt weirdly reduced a lot of its impact for me

-similarly i actually completely understand why the richards plot / rafael luna plot was cut (i suspect republican election interference hits a bit too close to home after 2020) but my god was miguel a lame fucking villain and him being queer and hispanic erased a lot of the original commentary about racism and homophobia that the richards plot lent itself to. like in general this movie was a lot lighter than the book which is fine! but for a movie where the main subplot is a presidential election So Much of the political themes were heavily neutered or cut to the point that it seemed like the pressure on henry and alex’s relationship was disproportionately coming from henry’s side when in the book it was more balanced

again on the whole i really really loved this movie and i knew going in that certain changed were going to be made. and i hope more movies get made like it! these r just my Thots and i may change my mind when i rewatch it with my friend tomorrow

[desertfangs]

I NEED YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE ARMAND/DANIEL BREAK UP SCENE IN TVA PLS

Not gonna lie, I would’ve loved for a more polished version of this to have made it into the book, the potential is there IMO as well as all the elements that make Devil’s Minion such an explosive, intense, compelling ship. The fighting, the yearning, the weird sexual analogies (this one didn’t quite land but it kinda always goes back to sex with them, doesn’t it?), the kissing in between hurtful statements. Daniel using INSECT parts for his models, Pandora trying to make him pay attention to Armand, Armand being sad and kissing Daniel while trying to fix things, but Daniel being too far gone at the time to even register the impact of his words. I NEED MORE.

Anon, I have so many thoughts, my brain is spinning.

I'm not sure I'd want this in the book or not, it's so hard to say now. I was absolutely baffled by Daniel's lack of inclusion in TVA when it came out, and and then suddenly he's there in B&G mad and being cared for by Marius, and I had to do a lot of mental gymnastics to figure out how I thought he got from A to B. I eventually decided him thinking Armand was dead drove him mad, which made the most sense to me. That is clearly is not what Anne had pictured, but at this point I'm honestly pretty happy with that conclusion instead.

I'm trying to imagine how it would have felt if this was included in TVA. What else does that change? Is Armand still bitter and angry? Is he more regretful? Does this mean we get any of his POV of the Devil's Minion years, including their break up? (Because that is the piece I feel is most missing from that book and what I deeply wanted from it in addition to filling in Armand's background.)

The idea that Armand abandoned the island to mortal hands--a reference to him selling it, I guess--would absolutely break Daniel apart. It does feel very much like something he would be devastated by but I don't feel we're given enough on this one page to really understand what happened. Armand left the others? That doesn't gel with anything I've ever thought. Armand always struck me as the one who was holding things together and was then heartbroken when everyone else left. So I'd need a more context into Anne's idea of how things played out there.

That said, there are pieces I like!

I love the idea of Pandora and Marius looking after Daniel together and Pandora trying to get his attention.

"I have no maker!" I mean, if Daniel and Armand had a vicious fight and Armand all about renounced him and left him wandering to the point where the loneliness and devastation of it drove him mad, then this is absolutely something I can see him saying. The way he talks about how Armand doesn't make others so clearly he has no maker is so full of bitterness and resentment I would love to see a fic unpacking that (Someone should write it! Maybe several someones!)

Daniel building his worlds with found objects and weird shit is amazing. Like it's so deeply unhinged that I can't help but applaud the creativity. I honestly wish I'd known about this months ago because I can totally see this happening as Daniel sinks into madness and I would have loved to have added a scene to my fic about that where Daniel is building a little town on the floor of some seedy motel with bugs and matchbooks and rubber bands or something. It's delightfully freaking weird and I dig it.

I love Armand asking after Daniel, which is another thing I think was sorely missing from TVA. The fact that he doesn't seem to care where he is just explained by his assumption Daniel hates him, but it still feels exceptionally weird to me that Armand wouldn't even ask, particularly after he almost died, and he doesn't know if Daniel may have tried to follow suit? This whole big thing just happened and Lestat is catatonic on the floor, I'd be accounting for my loved ones, no matter how we left things.

Armand losing all his anger and bitterness (does he have that in this version? He must have some, right?) when he sees Daniel in a bad state, clearly struggling, and offering him comfort is so precious. But also can we talk about "I didn't mean to abandon you..." ????? Armand ABANDONED Daniel in this version??? I just... that's so wild, I have so many questions. And then he kisses him??? That is precious. Look, I have wanted an Armand and Daniel interaction during his madness since we learned Daniel was in Marius' basement playing with model trains in Blood and Gold. And I think I would have been okay with this if we got some satisfying resolution between them afterward - we can have this hurt, but we need some comfort to end it on, you know? And I don't think that would have happened. I think Armand would have left defeated and we'd have been stuck with that in our heads for decades until PL came out and we get one freaking line about them hunting together, so.

I think I am glad this version did not make it into TVA, but I would also love to read a dozen fics that try to make sense of all this because there are some delicious tidbits I think talented fic writers could explore and really work into something great.

[mytragedyperson]

Thoughts I had while reading TCF chapter 10

The idea of little 5 year old Raon Miru being so desperate to escape his tormentors that he cuts into his own life force still makes me so incredibly sad. The idea that in canon there’s a world where Raon Miru not only died, but was killed by Choi Han. Can you imagine if Choi Han found out that this could’ve happened. I don’t think he’d ever forgive himself even if Raon 100% would. God this book has some sad moments, but even the novel within the novel is so sad. I know that’s a doomed world but this is actually insane. I also feel like this book does a really good job of exploring the butterfly effect or something similar. Literally one person changed, was transmigrated into the world, but because this Cale was different he made different choices, and each small choice he made, caused another change, some smaller than others, but all ultimately leading to their victory. Let’s talk about how him saving Raon changed a lot. For one thing, I don’t think, without him, he would’ve known Alberu was a dark elf. He might’ve been told or found out, but it would’ve taken longer, and he might’ve reacted differently. Because he had Raon, he knew Alberu was using magic to change his appearance, and had an aura or something that was different to the rest of his family. Then, in the forbidden forest, Raon recognised the dead mana or something, so when he next met Choi Han, he told Cale or something. Sorry, I’ve not gotten to that point in my reread yet so I might be misremembering but that was the gist. But his lack of a bad reaction to Dark Elves, allowed him to meet and form some sort of alliance and bond with them, while also improving the bond he had with Alberu. And there are so many other times where Raon or one of the kids were helpful, and The Birth of A Hero world didn’t have them. In fact, that could’ve been the start of the world being doomed, those kids, and Taylor, and Paseton dying. Just by bringing Kim Rok Soo to this world, things changed, but he had no real way of knowing, when he saved these people, the impact it would have, the knowledge it would give them. He just didn’t want to see kids, or anyone else, suffer. And just by refusing to let people suffer or die if he could help them, he gained allies, and resources, and information that they didn’t have in The Birth of a Hero, or if they did, they learned it too late. The fact that having one person change, the fate of the world changed. Each small choice, each small change, each time he does the thing he decides to do, it leads to a much bigger change and a much bigger impact later on, even if just because now all these people he’s helped have a common ally that they trust and respect. God I could and probably will go into more detail about this later on, but yeah. Moving on for now.

Also Choi Han was right that the dragon’s eyes being full of pain and sorrow but its mouth still smiling is sad. This is his first time being outside the cave he was kept on, he’s seeing the world for the first time, but he’s lost his rationality. He’s happy to be free but he hurt and lost himself in the process. And then you imagine Raon Miru (that means happy dragon, right?) the same adorable little dragon that threatens to kill everyone and destroy everything if anything happens to Cale. It’s heartbreaking, that’s heart breaking. Cale needs to hug Raon extra tight for me because he deserves all the love and affection, plus extra for the version of him that never got any.

I’m so happy Cale went out of his way to save Raon. Like, he didn’t have to do that, he chose to and it was the right thing to do, but so many other people would’ve probably not cared. This is another example of Cale being a good person and refusing to admit it. Let’s keep note of that, misunderstandings, every time someone just doesn’t question something, honestly everything, let’s just keep a note of everything. It’s not even like he can say this is selfish because he doesn’t plan to keep him, he literally gains nothing from this if everything goes according to plan, and he doesn’t care, he does it anyway. Also him saying that he can use the kids to justify adopting them will never not be funny, adorable and kinda sad, because he can’t admit, even to himself, that he just wants to keep them around.

I forgot this was still the interview scene. Damn, a lot of shit is mentioned in this scene, like from the scene with Hans before the interview to the end, we get a lot of information.

Also, the interview being about whether Choi Han can protect people and then the job actually not requiring him to. Beautiful. That thing I said yesterday about the interview scene being good for Choi Han because it gives him someone who believes in him and respects him still stands. But his first job more or less being an escort mission of find and bring these two people to me, with the two people being capable of protecting themselves? It takes the pressure off Choi Han to have to protect them and builds his confidence and belief in himself, while also providing him with a support system of some sort. And Cale doesn’t intend for this but it happens. And the fact that Choi Han, not only succeeds in the job, but also helps save the other wolf children? That probably did wonders for his confidence, for his belief in himself. Ugh, it’s so good.

Also, Cale claiming in his thoughts, to himself that he’s just gonna let Choi Han, Lock, and Rosalyn deal with the terror incident, only to make a whole plan to stop the attack. He’s so good at scamming people he even scams himself. That’s beautiful.

And then he makes it a secret between just them. He’s essentially telling Choi Han he trusts him with this more than anyone else. No wonder he can never get rid of Choi Han after this. And the best part is he doesn’t even realise he’s doing it, he doesn’t know the impact it has on Choi Han.

Also Choi Han is just kinda precious in a way I can’t explain. Like he seems like he needs a hug, but specifically a hug from Cale and his kids and Rosalyn and Lock. Tbf the entire Calefam kinda needs a hug.

Also for some reason I just got the image of early days!Hans hearing from Deruth he has to give Cale more money and just cursing in his head the entire time he goes because what is he even doing with all this money? He’s not spending it all on alcohol, he’s not drunk enough for that? He hasn’t been back to Billos’ shop and then remembering hearing from someone that Beacrox saw him buying a fuckton of bread and medicinal herbs and going into the slums and being like did he really spaen that much money on bread? How much bread did he buy to be spending that much money? Also why does Deruth give him his allowance in gold coins and cheques exclusively? No wonder he doesn’t wait for change and just says keep it, that would be a bitch to figure out for everyone involved. Also I’ll be honest I don’t get how cheques work in general but, like, he goes to three different bakeries for bread, and I know he paid for that with coins, was that first gold coin for the rest of the week? It was, right? Because otherwise my question was gonna be how does using a cheque at 3 different places work but the answer to that is it doesn’t, right?

God I love Ron just tormenting Cale with lemon things. And then he gets Beacrox and I believe later recruits Hans to help keep it going even when he’s not there? Or maybe Choi Han? I can’t remember who but I know he told someone to do it while he was looking for information on Arm. Maybe one of the kids? That would explain why he didn’t just say he doesn’t like lemon things. I don’t know. I’ll revisit this when I rearead that bit and remember who it was. Ron’s already admitted he knows something’s up. I feel like this is an attempt to figure out why he’s changed at first and then it just becomes their thing.

Also his plan to foist everyone off on Choi Han has already failed because Choi Han already knows he’s not leaving Cale, not if he can help it. So, sucks for Cale but, sorry, you’re already stuck with the troublesome people. But in all seriousness that’s probably for the best because they all need each other.

I’ve finally finished this chapter. I’ll be back with my thoughts with my thoughts during chapter 11, if I have any.

[goldrushenthusiast]

I’m gonna be honest, while TSATS was very fulfilling in terms of Solangelo, I feel like it kind of disappointed in…everything else?

Like I had so many hopes for this book! And while that may be a factor as to why it was a let down, I’m still gonna share them.

More Lester/Apollo content! More anyone else content!! We did get a small snippet of letting us know he’s ok (I think) but it would’ve been nice to have more of him, especially considering the prophecy mess and his own complicated relationship with Will. I felt like there were a lot of golden opportunities to at least mention him and the impact it all had on Will that weren’t taken advantage of.

More revenge, or commentary, on what happened to Nico with Cupid. Now, what we did get is ok, and I’m not criticizing that, but that kind of thing can really mess a person up. The fact Nico didn’t tell Will about it, and the fact that that whole thing was just…another part of his trauma? I’m not sure how to put it, but it seemed blander than it should have been.

More other ghost content! For heavens sakes, they’re in the underworld! I get the whole thing with not being spotted by Hades, but come on. Nothing about Jason’s ghost, that weird thing with Bianca (which is saved for #4), or an opportunity for anyone else who’d previously died was used. How cool would it be to see Micheal Yew’s ghost, and how that would help Will? It’d be great, and it felt like the underworld was just another place when it would have been better if they thought about the fact people they knew that were now dead there, were there.

BIANCA!!! BIANCA, BIANCA, BIANCA! I thought the whole grey part that Rick advertised, or at least part of it, would have been about Nico’s time in the labyrinth and Bianca’s death. It wasn’t. That’s kind of it for how I wished Rick would have shared more about her death and how it affected Nico, but now the whole ghost-remanent thing. Honestly, it was kind of weird. I liked the idea, I thought it was nice, but also, it was kind of weird. I just didn’t like it.

Other campers? I get that they had to wait a while to go to Tartarus, but we barely got to see any of their normal life at Camp Half Blood. We didn’t get to check in on Drew, or Meg, or anyone else from any of the series besides Will’s siblings. I thought it was kind of a letdown tbh.

Last one, and the most unrealistic, I thought it would have been cool to either touch on the fact that other religions exist and have Nico and Will meet Alex and Magnus. Not just because both relationships are queer, but kind of because, but also because we don’t know much about them now. Idk. I just hoped for other characters from other series, ig.

Anywho, sorry if this was so negative! I still liked the book a lot, but I just wish there was more. Of everything. As always, feel free to debate in the comments, or remind me of things I’m forgetting that would have helped.

[bi-lullaby]

So I really loved the PJO show. I wish we get a second season, and a fourth and so on all the way through heroes of olympus because it’s just so good. If you feel like reading my (NOT spoiler free) rambles:

- Percy’s loyalty and dedication to his mom is just so integral to his character and they RESPECT THAT.

- I really like what I’ve seen mentioned about how both casting wise and storyline changes wise there have been some adaptations that were less “lol lets change it” and more to connect better with today’s audience and cultural paradigm. Like Annabeth being blonde because of the stereotype of “the dumb blonde” that was so prevalent in the era the books were released versus her being Black showcasing the extreme undermining Black women go through instead, or Luke being less 00s/10s boyband boy looking and more tiktok softboy looking now, but also Sally being less 100% perfect and more active in the story and upbringing of Percy as both a hero and a demigod and Luke being less cool and detached and more… Sweet? Emotional?

- I did feel pretty meh about a few changes: Zeus immediately accepting that Kronos is scheming and is a threat (Ik they couldn’t know if they’ll get that far but it cuts the stakes of the third book by a lot if there’s no pressing time limit to get Artemis back to Olympus to convince the Gods into action if they’ve been Doing Stuff for two years now, and even the second book loses a little in regards to the behind-the-scenes political climate that leas to it being what it was). Luke going to every length not to kill Percy is such a 180° from the books it was a little jarring and I feel it cuts out how much of a Menace he was and how bitter/jealous he was of Percy. Like we could have seen their bonding and even Luke trying to recruit him but I’d still have liked to see the scorpion scene so the betrayal and anger and wariness Percy feels is that much deeper and bitter and personal like in the books.

- I’m of two minds about the entire Gabe arch. Like on one hand I do understand toning him down (including his demise) for the public’s intended audience, I even think it kinda goes along the adapting to new times by showing that the useless, insensitive, disrespectful aspect of a bad husband is harmful just as the “darker”, more explicitly abusive/exploitative and mean drunk book version, but on the other I feel like he had such an impact on Percy in the books (he’s literally the Oracle’s “mirage” for his prophecy, he thinks of his smell in tartarus), and I really had loved the line “you’ll fail to save what matters most in the end” coming true because Sally saves herself - although the post I’ve seen about his fate showcasing how his lack of respect was his doom did make me appreciate it a little more.

- The only castings (or maybe it was the directing and styling of them more so) that I can’t really get behind are Hades and Hephaestus. Hades felt like they were going for the Disney’s Hercules comedic relief one in a slightly toned down costume. None of the gravitas and intimidation, he didn’t feel like a god at any point. And Hephaestus was just… So different. He’s supposed to be a deeply secluded, antisocial, gruffy mechanic who’s self sequestered by his inventions and forges. The show version looked like an eccentric professor more than anything imo. Which I feel could be one modern retelling of Hephaestus in another series, but isn’t the one we had and, imo, doesn’t go as well with the rest of the vibe. Which is a shame bc I do feel like Timothy could have been used in a way that would work fantastically for those vibes.

- Lin Manuel Miranda’s, acting actually shocked me. I never really had a Hamilton phase but I am on tumblr so I was expecting something cringe and honestly, I thought it was good (and to bring it back to Hades: Hermes in sweats and a hoodie actually gave me the feeling of “this is merely a cover to a deep well of power” than Hades in his suit and dark colors ever did)

- Meanwhile, perfect Ares casting. Yes this man is beefing with (and losing to) 12yos but he’s also an ancient force that revels in bloodshed and carnage.

- Annabeth from the show encapsulates the character so well while also bringing her own notes to it. Like as time went on back in my peak pjo days I felt she got “Hermionified” by the fandom too much? And I lost sight of how fond I was of her but the show (and having reread the books) really rekindled that and made me remember why she is a force to be reckoned with and also someone that must be protected at all costs. I cannot express enough how much my fondness was reignited.

- Like I feel this could be a whole post but basically I feel the books showcase the “ideal” characteristics the gods and their kids could have versus how they wind up twisted into something else (Percy’s sea-like indomitable spirit vs several of his brethren’s ruthlessness and disregard for what’s good) and Annabeth feels like, beyond amassing knowledge for it’s sake… She wants to actually Learn, and in the show maybe even to a deeper degree than in the books and it is endearing and very enthralling.

- On that note, Leah, Walker… This is supposed to be a SLOWburn goddamit. Like in the books you can see where it’s headed but in the show they have such silly crushes I can barelyy stand it. My children.

- Speaking of Walker that kid IS Percy like you cannot convince me otherwise. Disney farmed him for this role.

- I actually really loved Poseidon having a british accent? Idk, something about england and nautical exploration and it feeling older and more… Powerful? Like the ocean

- And Zeus had all the “I’m the god amongst kings and king amongst gods” that I’d have expected from him. He was crackling with power and that was beautiful to see. What a tragic loss.

- Grover is my precious child (although I do wish we had gotten the silly, goat like details of him like eating cans and making the bleating noises). And since the last book I finished rereading was the Battle of the Labyrinth (where I cried like a baby at Pan’s death) watching this sweetheart getting all excited with his literal flower searches license? Made me wanna weep.

- Overall most of my criticisms that came to mind besides the alterations I cited came from being hushed because of too few eps and those being too short. Really really hope the next season (fingers crossed) we’ll get like, 15+ eps (and/or at least longer eps) so we can really sink into the meat and potatoes of it all.

[atopcat]

If you had the chance to change something about the dance of the dragons (TV show or book), what would it be? For example, how a character dies, which team a house is on,or an entire character personally. How would you change it to make the story better, in your opinion? 💙💚🖤♥️

House of the Dragon? EVERYTHING and I do mean everything!

Age appropriate actors, why are 20 somethings pretending to be women in the mid to late 30s one of whom is a grandmother?!

More body positivity, Viserys, Rhaenyra and Helaena are all canonically plus size. The excuse Sarah Hess used was disgusting and fatphobic.

Actual development of the characters, I sound like a broken record but omg this crapfest of a show has given me 0 reason to be invested in anyone.

The show should’ve been 13-15 episodes long instead of 10, everything felt so rushed because they were trying to cram as much in with little time.

Don’t make such drastic changes which completely ruin the characters goals and motivations.

Real female relationships. Rhaenyra was a girl’s girl surrounded by women: Laena Velaryon, Rhaenys Targaryen, the Strong sisters, Elinda Massey etc. Alicent was not her friend and she certainly wasn’t her only friend yet for all their airs of “feminist writing” the writers are just as allergic to female friendships as their GoT counterparts.

And most importantly:

FOLLOW THE DAMN BOOK! Condall and Hess have deluded themselves into thinking their fanfiction is better than George’s work and this underserved arrogance destroyed the show before it even began.

&

DON’T BE SO F*CKING RACIST! The treatment of House Velaryon is an actual joke, of Laena and her girls in particular. I talk about what they did to my dragon girls here (Baela and Rhaena rant), the Velaryons went from being the second most powerful family in Westeros to nothing more than props for white characters. It honestly feels like Ryan decided simply casting black actors is enough, fans shouldn’t be mad their personalities and storylines were ignored in favour of white characters.

With the books my feelings are a little more complicated.

how a character dies

Do I hate that certain characters die? Yes, but no one in the books died for the sake of dying if you catch my drift. They had to die when they did for the story to work. None of their deaths felt unnecessary, they all had an impact on the storyline, that’s what I love about George’s work if one person didn’t die then the events that happen completely change.

Aemma: there’s no civil war full stop.

Laena: Aemond claims Vhagar, loses an eye in the process and triggers the beginning of the inevitable civil war.

Laenor: it was at his funeral people finally called the Strong boys’ paternity out. He was Rhaenyra’s shield against the rumours, which is also why the whole fake death plot was dumb af.

Harwin: pretty much same as Laenor, if he doesn’t die then Rhaenyra has an easy solution to her bastard problem by marrying the man everyone’s accusing of being her sons’ real father. By killing him off she doesn’t have a quick fix, the ghost of Harwin Strong will haunt the Dance.

Lyonel: his death gives Larys control of Harrenhall and allows Otto to be Hand again.

Lucerys: he’s the trigger for the war, Rhaenyra stopped playing nice the minute she found out he died. We forget how evil kinslaying is in Westerosi culture, but she allowed it because she wanted revenge for her son.

Jacaerys: the Robb Stark to Nyra’s Stoneheart, his death triggered her paranoia and slow descent into madness. He was her stability, her rock, without him she already lost even when she finally sat on the Iron Throne.

The Strong boys in general had to die for the sake of everything that happens to House Targaryen post Dance. The only survivors have to be Aegon III and Viserys II. Aegon who was so traumatised he hated dragons and deliberately prevented them from being hatched. Viserys who continued the generational abuse, allowed his daughter to be maritally raped by his son, and usurped his niece’s throne using his own mother as justification for why women can’t rule.

George didn’t kill any of these characters for fun, they all served a purpose to the overall storyline and all their deaths mattered.

which team a house is on

Considering how much George loves his wolf pack it is a little cliche that House Stark is Team Black and House Lannister is Team Green lol, that being said it does make sense.

House Stark and the North in general are isolationists, very rarely do they involve themselves in Southern politics. Jace made a pact with Cregan, offering to make his son the next Prince Consort and gave House Manderly a marriage to Joffrey also. His alliance wasn’t that different to Aemond’s with House Baratheon, they’re not going to involve themselves unless there’s something in it for them.

It’s a nice twist to Robert’s Rebellion where House Stark is anti Targaryen and House Lannister stay loyal.

Jeyne Arryn saying “we women must band together” gives you the impression that they didn’t see Rhaenyra’s accession as a one off thing, they were expecting real change to happen in Westeros.

It also makes sense Team Green didn’t have as much support. House Hightower isn’t one of the great houses, Otto is a second son, Alicent isn’t a dragon rider, Criston is the son of a steward etc. Considering they started this war with the odds stacked against them hats off to them for managing to pull it off I say.

or an entire character personally

I don’t think I’d want to change character personalities, this godawful show tried doing that and look at the absolute mess they’ve made. George wrote well rounded characters, we know their individual motives and goals, he’s not the problem the show is.

That being said I do want more depth to them, especially Harwin because I really want to know what he was thinking when he decided to impregnate the Crown Princess THREE times. So fingers crossed George gets around to writing that Rhaewin novella I guess.

How would you change it to make the story better, in your opinion?

I’d put more focus on the maester conspiracy, Team Black vs. Team Green by itself is dull, reduced to nothing more than woman vs. patriarchy. Unlike Game of Thrones where you can argue in favour of over a dozen characters for the Iron Throne, the Dance is a lot more black and white which makes it more boring.

There’s no philosophical discussion, no critique, nothing to expand on etc. Focus on the maesters makes up for this, now we can have debate on whether or not they were justified in their battle against dragons.

Once the Targaryens lost them they became more dependent on other Houses, they were a stability but no longer a threat. I can see maesters argue about the dangers of Old Valyria, the desecration and blasphemy, the evils of incest and slavery as arguments to destroy the dragons. This is 100x more interesting than simply Blacks vs. Greens.

[ethe1c4in]

Growing as a reader

I just wanted to talk a little about my experience reading through the years.

I’m relatively young and I feel there’s so much for me to discover and learn and read about. I have been reading since I was 11-12, I remember picking up Carrie by Stephen King as my first book, and although to me personally that was a mistake for a first book, it didn’t deter me to continue and learn more.

I have had this realisation recently on how the internet has influenced my reading taste and that was the main thing I wanted to talk about in this post.

Before being influenced by booktok or even booktube I would go out there to LOOK for books that interest me, picking books based on the their synopsis, of course the internet still used to inspire me to pick up some books, however at that point it felt like I was slowing building my own personal taste in reading, finding out what I like and want may not interest me as much, and because of this I feel my reading library was much more diverse and interesting at the mere age of 14 as compared to now. I used to read everything from kafka to John Green. And because I was reading all of these books because I genuinely was interested in them I feel like my overall year in reading were much more exciting.

Since being introduced to booktok and booktube, I have been able to find so many more books, many authors that I didn’t even know existed, and all of this does have a positive impact, in fact I have entire lists of books I want to read based on it being recommended online, however, I couldn’t help but notice the lacklustre feeling I have been getting with my reading experience these past 2 years. I noticed I was reading books based on their hype and if I saw a book being talked about more than 3 times I would be compelled to read them. That didn’t get me anywhere, as most of these books that were being hyped or talked about didn’t actually capture my attention and I still read them all, all of which lead to me having read all these books that I wouldn’t have even read in the first place throughout the year.

Of course, this is not me bashing booktok or booktube, I think it has to do with me. I get the urge to read a book if it is being mentioned more than a few times not realising that I don’t have to read every single book, I can’t possibly do that. What matters is reading the right books that suit you.

This is the reason I am trying to focus on reading books based on whether I am interested in their synopsis and plot and generally reading what I want to read. I also started this blog out of impulse to come here once in a while to talk and update. My idea going forward this year is to read all the books in my physical tbr (around 23 books) and re-read a bunch of books to kind of fall back in love with reading and books.

I am always up to taking recommendations online though, I hope to share my reads and eventually mutually share recommendations and have discussions here, or just chill honestly.

This was kind of like an introduction post talking about my reading goals this year, that’s all 🤍🤍

[gabrielle-kl]

Not Your Average Legacy ~ Sims 3

Challenge Created by: gabrielle-kl

Proofreading was done by the lovely Simphora!

Hi, my name is Gabrielle and ever since early last year I wanted to see if I could create my own legacy challenge. Going into this challenge I want you to know that it’s not just about making a sim and completing the tasks to beat the challenge. This is a legacy challenge, however, I made it with endless storyline possibilities; think of it as a narrative adventure game where the player's choice is heavily impacted!

~ R U L E S ~ 

I do not specifically have rules other than following each generation in order and no money cheats (Only cheat your money for generation 1 for the starting funds). 

If you play my challenge I would love to see your sims in action! Please tag me with #notyouraveragelegacy so I can see it!

Generation 01 - Writer’s Block 

Ah….ok that’s pretty much that! You pack your bags, check your bank account to make sure you have enough simoleons, and finally your laptop. Perfect, you're out the door leaving your small family and hometown to focus on the only thing that makes you feel like everything around you is in your control. 

Growing up you liked making crazy narratives where there was always a twist at the end. You love making others wonder how you are going to finish the story. Like every book, it has chapters and your chapter begins in your new town. Now, this isn’t smart on your part but you got your new place for dirt cheap. I mean it’s empty, it only has your basic household necessities, and it’s not that bad but could be a fixer-upper.

Ignoring the fact you have barely anything in your home you take out your laptop….and head to town. You spot a cafe, decide to chill there for a bit and start doing what you love….writing. You honestly quite like this cafe and decided to write in here often, almost like your Jughead Jones.  

Like every writer….sometimes we get stuck and can’t think of anything to write, you are under a lot of stress; I mean I don’t blame you, your home doesn’t even have a comfy couch, not to mention you are low on funds, like really low. Frustrated with yourself, you head home and try to figure out how you are going to pay bills and afford necessities. Yeah, you're going to need a job. 

Get started: Start with a house or apartment  that is practically empty it only has the basic household needs (ex: stove, fridge, bed, toilet, etc)

* When you start making money here and there that’s when you can start personalizing your home* 

Starting simoleons: § 200

Traits - Artistic, Bookworm, Frugal, Perfectionist, Shy

Lifetime Wish - Professional Author 

Zodiac sign & Favourites: you choose

Goals ~

Visit the same community lot 3 times a week to write stories on your laptop 

Complete the writing skill 

Try to befriend your neighbours 

Get a part-time job of your choice 

Find your spouse at the same community lot you always visit 

Adopt a stray

Have as many kids as you want 

C H O I C E 

This Generation has a choice for the player to make. These are choices that you could build off of and integrate into your storyline.

After a while you realize the job you have now isn't making you happy, yeah it pays the bills but it is not what you want to do.

The choices are: to quit your job or find a way to get fired then register as a self-employed writer. 

Generation 02 - You never really grew up

As a kid, you were always playing with the kids who lived in your neighbourhood along with your siblings. You would play at the park, build forts, have sleepovers, tell stories and watch movies super late. You did everything with them, but that didn’t last long. Unfortunately, things don’t stay the same; some of your childhood friends started to drift and do different things that interest them, which includes spending time with other kids. Even your siblings tell you they don’t have time to do these activities with you anymore. You lose all contact with your childhood buddies because all you want to do is what you always did with them but they find it childish but you don’t.

It hurt for a while and you found it quite difficult to build friends in school because none of them were interested. But that didn’t stop you from being a kid at heart, you would go to online chat rooms and talk to people online. You would talk to a bunch of people there and eventually end up texting and calling each other. It makes you so happy that you have people that you can connect with, that don’t find your way of spending time with each other childish. 

Traits - Childish, Excitable, Good Sense of Humor, Social Butterfly, Computer Whiz

Lifetime Wish - Super Popular (Don’t worry you don’t need to complete it)

Goals ~

Befriend the kids in your neighbourhood or even some school kids

Collect 5 butterflies or Beetles

Always accept to hang out with friends 

Call friends often 

Get the distance relationship status with all your childhood friends once a teen

Make four new friends and keep those friends 

Never move out of your childhood home

Have 2-3 Kids 

Have three failed part-time jobs (constantly getting fired) 

C H O I C E 

This Generation has a choice for the player to make. These are choices that you could build off of and integrate into your storyline.

The choices are: you rekindle a friendship with one of your ex-friends or fall in love with someone in your friend group.  

Generation 03 - Wild 

You’re quite the charmer, it stands out amongst your siblings. Hey, it followed you right to high school, you were that semi-popular kid but mostly annoyed everyone with slick remarks. Well, I guess someone finds you funny because you end up finding yourself in a relationship, the two of you just clicked. You would go on dates with each other in the most random places sometimes. 

College applications are starting and you have already applied, however, your lover tells you he/she doesn’t have any plans to go to college. You both decide that instead of breaking up, you have a long-distance relationship. 

While at college you’re having a blast, and you tend to throw big dorm parties, like cops knocking on your door-type parties. Dorm mates secretly hate you but at least you clean up after yourself…in the morning….they can’t be mad at you forever, right?

Juggling studying, partying and a whole relationship back home, yep you didn’t think this through; the stress is getting to you but you don’t show it. But then you do something that you might regret.

Traits -  Irresistible, Born Salesperson, Charismatic, Party Animal, Eccentric 

Lifetime Wish - Descendant of Da Vinci (Optional to complete)

Goals ~

Have a high school sweetheart and remain with them throughout University

Get a secret matching tattoo with your lover as a teen 

Complete the Inventing skill and Handiness skill 

Use the invention crafting bench 

Apply for University and major in business 

Join a Sorority/Fraternity 

Throw big parties every week while at University 

Graduate from University and join the business career 

Work on inventions throughout your life and sell them for a profit

Call your girlfriend/boyfriend back home often 

Hook up with four different sims at one of your parties 

Have one kid

C H O I C E 

This Generation has a choice for the player to make. These are choices that you could build off of and integrate into your storyline. So you did cheat on your high school sweetheart during a party at university. What do you do? 

Confess about cheating on your partner once you return home or never tell them what you did.

If you tell them that you cheated on them depending on how they respond, you can rekindle the love or let them go and move on. However, if you decide to never tell them you have to stay with them and have another secret hookup with one of your hook-ups from your University days. (That’s brutal….)

Generation 04 - Guilty Pleasure 

I swear you just let anything fly out of your mouth! Of course, you don’t see anything wrong with it but your parents do and they are very concerned about it. That however doesn’t bother you at all, as a kid you liked to obsess over the weirdest things and would not shut up about it. If it interested you, you made sure everyone around you knew about it too.

A lot of other people you know find the things you are into very strange and none of your friends are interested in them, they think it's weird and I don’t blame them. You pick up random hobbies but can never stick to one, you also like dressing up in random costumes doing these hobbies. You are in your own little world and to you, it’s your guilty pleasure. However, being a young adult and trying to please your parents at the same time is very tricky, so you get a job in the cooking business and try your best to be responsible and work hard in your career. But knowing you that doesn’t work out, does it? 

You check in with your parents every week and let them know how “amazing” you are in your career and how well life is going for you. It’s your way of showing them how much you've matured…..although what they don’t know can’t hurt them. You like to go to clubs and bars every weekend and sip a few drinks and go on stage and show the crowd how talented you are! Maybe a shot at stardom?…. Yeah in your dreams. 

On one of your weekly trips to the bar you get yourself into a pickle, how are you going to cover this up now?

Traits - Inappropriate, Heavy Sleeper, No Sense of Humour, Clumsy, and Insane 

Lifetime Wish - One Sim Band (Optional to complete)

Goals ~ 

Reach Level 5 in five different skills

Go out to eat with your parents / call them every week (while they're still alive)

Go to bars/clubs every weekend and have a few drinks before you get up on stage and do Karaoke

Have three good friends 

Get into two fights at the bar/club

Get Pregnant or get another pregnant sim from a random hookup

C H O I C E 

This Generation has a choice for the player to make. These are choices that you could build off of and integrate into your storyline.

Oh no! Now you’ve got a kid, what are YOU going to do? Either, keep in touch with the other parent, have he/she visit your kid and maybe this little hook-up could be more, or not? Up to you. Or after your child is born you keep the baby with you and never speak to the other parent again.

Generation 05 - Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?

You can’t stand your mom/dad (Gen 4 parent) everything they do is so questionable as if they have zero idea what's going on at all times; the majority of your free time is spent watching action channels on tv or playing with action figures. You spend most of your time in your room with the door locked and you don’t care to make friends with kids your age so it’s just you. No matter how much your mom/dad tries to please you, you do not pay them any attention. You like spy movies and you decided being a secret agent is your dream job no matter what the cost was. However, being in this line of work made you quite paranoid and all of a sudden you disappeared. Where did you go?

Traits - Perceptive, Genius, Ambitious, Good and Neurotic 

Lifetime Wish - International Super Spy

Goals ~ 

Have good grades in school (child to teen)

Move out of mom/dad's house once a young adult (Get a part-time job if you have to)

Max the Charismatic skill 

Have a high level of Logic skill

Have a high level of athletic skill (doesn’t need to be maxed)

Have a mediocre relationship with Gen 4 parent

Get a job in law enforcement (eventually, go into the special agent branch)

Surprisingly you fall in love with someone you work with

Have two kids 

C H O I C E 

This Generation has a choice for the player to make. These are choices that you could build off of and integrate into your storyline.

You've grown quite paranoid ever since you started working as a spy. You think that in the middle of the night, someone is going to come for you, I mean I don’t know who but you do.

Pack your bags and all your belongings, leave your spouse and kids behind, move to an off-the-grid location and lose contact with everyone you know. Quit being a spy to start a new “safe life” (that’s not messed up in the slightest, but hey who am I to judge) 

Or 

In the middle of the night, you decide to wake up your spouse and tell them to get the kids and pack their packs and meet you in the car. Because all of you are moving to a new home that is far far away from your original home to start a “new life”. 

Generation 06 - Globetrotter 

All of a sudden your life changed overnight. Literally! Everything you once knew before is all different now, nothing feels like how it used to be and they won’t even tell you why. No one will tell you why. You started acting up as a teen; going out late at night, staying up super late, fighting, you even ran away. You only made it to a park but that was cut short because one of your parents found you, your life is a complete mess. Honestly, I don’t blame you; but apart from being angry all the time you found a hobby you quite enjoy. 

Remember when I said you attempted to run away? Well, this time you steal your parent's credit card and sneak out at night to a completely different country. Who cares where it was, you just wanted to feel some adrenaline for once. On your adventure, you decided to start taking a lot of pictures of everything you saw and started engaging in conversation with the people who lived there. Your childhood was pretty much sheltered and even though your parents are frantically searching for you, you're too busy living it up overseas; might as well send a postcard!

Traits - Hot-Headed, Commitment Issues, Photographer’s Eye, Adventurous, and Kleptomanic 

Lifetime Wish - Blog Artist

Goals ~ 

Have a terrible relationship with Gen 5 parent (if they are still in your life)

Master Photography, Social Networking

Have above Level 5 in writing 

Go for a jog once a week

Have three different romantic relationships with sims from three different worlds

Be disliked by two sims

Go on vacation five times throughout your life or even more (you are a traveller, of course)

Have a Level 5-star blog (you blog about your travels)

C H O I C E 

This Generation has a choice for the player to make. These are choices that you could build off of and integrate into your storyline.

These are your choices: Life is moving fast for you and you are a busy individual. However, you do not want to have a job and instead of just working you find another alternative….your brilliant idea is to gamble to solve all your problems! 

Or 

You love your blog, you really do and you love your followers but you want more. You want to live life luxuriously and never have to worry about money. So you find yourself chatting it up with the celebs in your city, how? I don’t know but you find a way.

Hope you really enjoy this challenge as much as I had fun making it. Dag, Dag! :)

[garden-bug]

Star Wars is a mess guys

Why did Ahsoka feel like a fanfiction?

Also that might have been Grand Admiral Thrawn but it was NOT Mitth’raw’nuruodo. Thrawn is such a fascinating character and this show barely scratched the surface. It didn’t go into his motivation, his people, his background, his friends. It didn’t show why he’s so terrifying because of the loyalty he inspires BECAUSE he of his nature as an anti-villain. It felt cheap.

And where was Luke? This is the problem with it being live action. They can’t tell the story they need to tell simply because of the restrictions placed on them by their chosen medium. The scenes would have been more impactful as animation as well - it would’ve felt more familiar.

I was picturing Ezra’s face at the end, over the actor’s expression.

I think that says it all honestly.

I��m not denying that casting was brilliant and the actors were amazing. But that doesn’t mean this story as a live action will work.

It should’ve been animated or a book.

I’m glad I wrote my own version of Ahsoka and The Mandalorian S3. This just isn’t canon to me.

I don’t think Star Wars works anymore. The franchise is doomed if they continue trying to tell a story that they simply don’t have the parts or skill to tell.

It feels like Filoni is just doing stuff he thinks is cool like he’s writing a self-indulgent fanfiction. Except he’s banned from using certain characters, gay people aren’t allowed either (Star Wars is so, so hindered, limited and held back by how mainstream it is and how much Disney doesn’t want to dip their toe into ‘politics’ but that’s a whole other topic), and he can’t create anything too new or original or Disney gets scared (and so do the fans which is probably part of the problem as well).

God, Star Wars right now is like chewing steak for too long. It’s so dry.

Feel free to comment some links to fix-it or alternate versions of Ahsoka fanfics. I love stuff like that. This is mine:

[fake-daily-watcher-tweets]

Besties..do you think that Neil Gaiman knows the impact and importance of his work? The Green Brothers, do you guys think they know? James Dashner?? Uncle Rick?? FUCK.

Like i genuinely would not have made it past middle school without the Maze Runner series. The complexity of the characters was my gateway to millions of other great series, and while the books aren’t my favorite now as a 20 year old, I appreciate everything they did for me in terms of learning to read novels and mapping out in-depth plots.

I wouldn’t have picked my major or found myself able to go through long auto-immune treatments without Hank and John Green..hell I probably wouldn’t have passed my high school classes without them either. Would I have picked the major I did without Crash Course US History.. ?probably not..and gosh, did every single one of their books ruined my life? yep.. (I literally clutched my cluttered TFIOS copy everywhere I went for like 2 years😭). I just want to sit down and talk to them and just even try to understand why they think the way they do.. just gain any wisdom from them.. I have so so so so so much to learn..

and Rick, I genuinely wouldn’t have found understanding for my disabilities without his writings.. I had never seen a main character who also had ADHD/Dyslexia until I met Percy. Not to mention that Will and Nico were the very first gay characters I had been exposed to, and little 10 y/o me had no idea the importance of that for later on.. (Though I blame him for my on going greek mythology phase..not cool uncle rick.. not cool..also I blame him for the creation of one of the best musicals ever ok ok). This man literally shaped part of my life for the better. I have a signed copy of PJO and its my prized possession and I wish that was a joke.

and Neil, literally where do I start? This man’s writings were introduced to me my freshman year of high school and were one of the only things that kept me alive until now. I graduate COLLEGE next year and I genuinely do not know if I would be here if I didn’t have American Gods, Good Omens, and The Sandman.. and who knew that it was going to be Crowley.. of all the fucking characters in the world - that gave me the courage to come out to my friends. (Honestly, it only got worse after David took the role, I’m annoying about it now.. I love that man so much but also Michael <3). Do you guys know the hoops I would jump through just to have a conversation with him?? To thank him for literally everything his work has done for me?? AHHH.

Authors are truly some of the most amazing people. If they can have an impact on such a small, inconsequential life such as mine, just imagine what their writings did and do for others who are bound for such great things. It makes me so excited. Fuck, I cannot wait for my generation to grow up.

Its 6 am and I just got out of exam week (so I haven’t slept for like actually 2 weeks so I don’t know if any of this made sense but take a sip of water if you agree). Goodnight✨.

[silawastaken]

the way it genuinely brought tears to my eyes as i finished the last chapter of the soulmate au. like??? this fic has been my LIFE for the past couple months and seeing the update always made my week 😭.

though I actually cannot wait to see whatever else you write, especially the spinoff and two slow dancers!!! (i haven’t read chapter 1 of the spinoff yet but i WILL right after i finish writing this)

and i’ve also met some amazing people through this fic which is crazy to me because if i didn’t click on this work that one day i was scrolling through ao3 what would’ve happened?? it’s just so insane to think about honestly…and the discord?? everyone on there is so nice it feels like such a welcoming little community. even just going through and reading all the messages brightens my day.

I SWEAR one day i will bind this fic and dedicate some sort of shrine to it on my bookshelf. i will recommend it to anyone and everyone i come across. i will think about it from years to come. i will dedicate my future successes to this beautiful piece of literature.

maybe i’m a little obsessed but hey. the emotions i experienced whilst reading this were unparalleled and it HAS made an impact on my life and myself as a person. (me and my bsf make a bunch of inside jokes and refs about this all the time like ill fall asleep on call and she’ll go “omg dazai and chuuya from the soulmate au!!”)

just sayin people can shame fic readers/writers all they want but some things i’ve read on ao3 are literally published book quality and they have NO idea what they’re missing out on.

ahh sorry for my rant i just wanted to get this out there :D time to go read the spinoff!!

I'm surprised I'm not completely emotionally wrecked like ??? This has been my life for months as well, I've spent so much time on this it's insane, updating was always my favourite part of the day. I really do hope you like the rest of what I write, as much if not more than the soulmate au, though I don't think I'll ever get better than this tbh 😭

I also think about it a lot, what would I be doing if I hadn't posted the first chapter of this? If I had given up halfway? Genuinely, if it weren't for this fic, and the people I've met through it, I wouldn't be who I am, and I wouldn't be as happy or content as I am. I'd be positively miserable. Genuinely, the little community we've gathered is the best thing ever <3

If you bind this fic I'd love to see how it turns out, though a shrine does seem a little excessive lol 😭😭 but hey if you wanna recommend it I will not complain!!! You're not the only person who this fic has changed- surprisingly, because in my mind it's still the like four sentence idea in my notes app- and I also get it, I'm making references all the time 😔 i saw a tub of strawberries in the store and was jumping around in glee.

I don't think this was quite book quality, but I appreciate the sentiment 😭 I'm so glad you liked this so much, and I hope you like the spin off too <3