#honestly i get so much more writing done since i joined tumblr

[apompkwrites]

the school-bound kingscholar || leona kingscholar

masterlist characters: Mwezi Miji Trio (OCs), Leona, Ruggie (platonic) genre: Angst contains: (Brief) Swearing, Possible OOC moments (depending on how you view Leona and Ruggie [mainly Leona]) summary: Following the admittance of Night Raven College's newest freshmen, both Kingscholars begin to come to terms with the newest changes in their lives. notes: I AM SO SORRY FOR DISAPPEARING AGAIN OTZ. Unfortunately, my lapses of writer's block and demotivation have only increased since I last posted. I'm trying to get back into the hang of posting things (as evident by my art account suddenly coming alive again). ALSO! As you can tell by the formatting, I'm actually writing with proper grammar on Tumblr now! Right now, I don't plan to go back to reformat the older chapters, but maybe once I find the drive to do it, I will! Thank you, everyone, for being so patient with me, I really appreciate it <3 parts: [og post] | [previous] | [next]

Leona felt something knock the air out of his lungs. To Ruggie, who stood right beside him in a robe that was a few inches too long, it was hilarious. Seeing the very prince (well, second prince) of the Afterglow Savanna lose his composure was enough to make Ruggie let out a quiet "Shyeheehee" under his breath before he ultimately straightened his posture under Leona's pointed glare.

Nothing could have prepared Leona to see (Name) again. Honestly, he had long since come to terms with the fact that his little sibling was missing, lost to the Outlands and likely a rotting corpse in the middle of nowhere.

He's lying, he could never come to terms with that, no matter how much he deluded himself.

But they were here. They were here and they were walking closer and they looked exactly the same as he remembered them.

Well, obviously, not exactly. But they looked so familiar and yet so different at the same time. Leona didn't even notice the tip of his tail swishing behind him until he heard one of his dorm members complaining about a tickling sensation against his ankles. And that only caused Leona to grumble under his breath and snatch the base of his tail to stop it from moving.

By the Seven, had they changed. They seemed bolder and more confident compared to the last time he had seen them. The way their shoulders were no longer hunched forward and instead rolled back in a pride strut he wished he could attribute to someone who had come to accept their own status or the way their eyes seemed sharper rather than soft and wide with innocence. And their hands. By the gods, what happened to their hands...? No, they had changed severely, akin to the way Leona recalled seeing the royal guards before and after their training.

Something had happened, that much he could figure out. And as much as he wanted to advance the board, reach out, and capture them like a king in a game of chess, he couldn't. Not when they were surrounded by a queen and two rooks.

"Ignore him," Nuru advised, although his words were more of a formality if anything. He knew how well you could handle yourself, but this was a unique situation.

"I know," you replied curtly, flipping your hood back on and sidling up to Nuru's right side. Jabori immediately flanked your other side in turn, followed by Jabali. It was a familiar formation, one that the four of you had cultivated for as long as you could remember.

"It doesn't hurt as much as I thought it would," you whisper. However, the sharp pain lingering in your chest said otherwise.

Student after student soon began trickling out of each coffin, repeating the painstaking process of standing in front of the mirror, listening to its spiel about their innermost workings, before joining whatever dorm they were assigned to. Until finally, finally--

"We're done with orientation and dorm assignments?" One of the hooded figures lamented, his hand perched prim and properly on his hip. If you didn't any better, you'd assume that he was royalty or nobility. But, judging from his scent alone, he wasn't.

"Well, that ceremony was as boring as ever," Leona yawned, covering his mouth with his sleeve as he turned on his heels, facing the mass of hooded figures now under his care. "I'm going back to the dorm. If you're in Savanaclaw House, follow me."

He went to take a step amidst the other chattering dorm leaders before the doors slammed open, the handles banging against the wall from the force at which it swung. Leona groaned in response, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Psst, Nuru," Jabali called from his spot beside Jabori, leaning forward to actually see him. "Are you sure this is the right place? We're actually supposed to find answers from..."

Jabali paused and motioned out towards the commotion now terrorizing the mirror chamber. The little gray cat scampered around the floor, setting fire to whatever he could in some strange show of physical prowess and magical ability. "...These people?!"

Nuru said nothing at first. From where you stood beside him, you could tell doubt was beginning to creep up behind him. Lucky for him, Jabori decided to take the lead.

"This is Night Raven College," he points out, pulling back the hood of his robe by a hair to peer over at his twin. "Pretty much everyone here, especially the dorm leaders, are adept at some kind of magic. I mean, look."

This time, Jabori pointed towards the commotion, his finger following the way that the redhead shot a spell in the cat's direction, materializing a red and black collar around its neck.

"It's the best shot we have," he concludes, nodding in support of Nuru. That single gesture instantly calmed Nuru down, his shoulders no longer hunched up and his wings relaxing behind him. You merely smiled and patted his forearm in response. Jabali, on the other hand, grumbled under his breath and crossed his arms in begrudging compliance.

"Fine. But I'm not gonna get along with 'em or nothin'," Jabali huffed, rolling his eyes. Jabori laughed lightly at his brother's annoyance while Nuru let out a single huff of air.

"I wasn't gonna ask you too, either," Nuru hummed, glancing at Jabali from his peripheral. "Same goes for both of you, (Name), Jabori."

"Copy that," you nodded, the quiet chuckle that seemed to bubble from your throat disappearing the second Leona turned to face you and the rest of the new Savanaclaw members.

"You heard the headmage. I'm headin' back," Leona grumbled and, without missing a beat, brushed past the crowd and headed towards the door. Another hooded figure, one who had been standing beside Leona the entire ceremony, let out an exasperated sigh before raising his hand.

"Savanaclaw! Follow me," he ordered, earning a few half-hearted "Yes, sir"s from the rest of the huddled crowd.

You had to admit, it was pretty entertaining watching Jabali and Jabori marvel at the size of the campus halls. And Nuru too, if only he'd have more obvious reactions rather than just a single flick of a wing or a tilt of the head.

While the halls were nothing compared to the Kingscholar home, it was still pretty big. If you were any smaller than you were now, you'd probably react the same way.

"No way they need these doors to be this big," Jabali murmured, lightly elbowing your arm and pointing at one of the classroom doors. Your eyes followed his finger and a snicker managed to escape you. He wasn't wrong, those doors were freakishly huge, both in height and width.

Jabali went to comment on something else before he stopped, his eyes drifting over toward the new mirror chamber everyone had been led to. The doors were held open to accommodate the crowd, letting handfuls of students walk towards a mirror and get sucked into it, the glass rippling as if took wisps of bodies and left nothing in its wake.

"Savanaclaw House! This'll be your only way in and out of the dorm," the same hooded figure that led you all here called out. He had hopped up onto the lip of the mirror's decoration, using one of the rib-like sculptures as an armrest.

"Hurry up and get in! The faster you do, the faster you'll get to claim your rooms," he snickered before skipping ahead of the first dorm member and hopping into the mirror.

The prospect of first come first served seemed to spur on the first years, causing a near stampede of people trying to get into the mirror first. Nuru hooked an arm around your waist while Jabali did the same with Jabori, the two of them finding a single break in the crowd to get away, Nuru through flight, and Jabali through scaling one of the pillars by the wall.

Lucky for the four of you, the mirror seemed to accommodate more and more people as the crowd diminished. Perhaps through how many bodies reached a specific threshold, you thought. Regardless of the magical mechanics, it allowed Nuru and Jabali to let you and Jabori down after a few minutes.

"So many people," you grumbled under your breath, earning a quiet chuckle from Jabori. Nuru and Jabali nodded at your observation before the four of you hopped into the mirror yourselves.

Immediately, the four of you felt the familiar searing heat of the sun beating down on your skin. It almost felt like home if not for the increased heat coming from the fire serving as lights just outside the dorm's entrance.

Jabali and Nuru were the first to shrug off their robes, the former because he finally had enough of the stuffy fabric, and the latter because the heat was already starting to congregate around his feathers. You and Jabori followed suit, although the two of you merely hiked up your sleeves and flipped down your hoods.

Nuru shook out his wings and let out a soft grunt, one of his feathers falling into the sand beneath your feet. Turning to look over his shoulder, he shot the three of you a soft, almost comforting smile.

"Off we go, then," he hums, waving for you all to follow. If it were anyone else, you three probably would've found offense to a command as expectant as that. But it wasn't just anyone else. It was Nuru, the Guardian, and your dear friend.

The inside of Savanclaw was nothing really to marvel at like the rest of the school's campus. It wasn't cramped, per se, but it was quite a bit more tight than to your liking. Luckily, the walkway opened up the building quite a bit with the roped bridges connecting each floor.

Nuru scanned the room for a moment before his eyes landed on a room on the top floor, tucked all the way in the furthest corner. You figured everyone else left it since it was so far and their mentalities were focusing on that first come first served promise your leader from before declared.

Nuru unfurled his wings and shot up past the bridges, making a beeline towards the unoccupied room. He didn't have to go that fast, of course, considering only a few students were lingering in the walkways who sure as hell weren't planning on making the long walk up there.

Jabali seemed to share their sentiment considering his frustrated "Damn it, Nuru" muttered under his breath. A long, drawn-out sigh escaped his lips before he trudged up along the nearest bridge, his hands shoved in his pockets and his robe slung haphazardly over his shoulder.

You and Jabori took a more relaxed walk up behind him, appreciating the familiar decorations that reminded you of your hometown. Of course, that appreciation turned into apprehension at the thought of Mwezi Miji now being unguarded by the main four.

What if something happened? What if they had sent word of an all-out war between themselves and the Dens and you hadn't heard of it since you all were knocked out in coffins? What if they were all already--

"On your right," Nuru called to you from the doorway, his hand shooting out to grab your shoulder. Ah, you had gotten distracted. Nuru shot you a concerned glance, his brows furrowed in the same way they always were when you got stuck in your head before he ushered you into the room.

Jabali and Jabori had already claimed their beds on the left side of the room, Jabali near the door and Jabori near the window. This left the entire right side open for you and Nuru.

The winged beastman glanced over at you, patiently waiting for your next move. You caught his glance and mustered up a small smile before heading towards the bed closest to the door. Nuru subtly lit up at your decision, a little skip in his step as he moved towards the window.

You managed to hold back a snort at his hidden excitement. He always loved the window spot. Maybe it reminded him of when he was small enough to fit through them back home.

"So, what's up with you and that new first year, huh?" Ruggie huffed as he walked straight into Leona's room, leaning down to pick up a discarded shirt and dropping it in the laundry basket. "I've never seen you react that way other than with them."

"Watch your words, Ruggie," Leona growls from the bed, his head already buried in his pillow. His back was facing Ruggie who still stood in the doorway, but with the way his ears were perked up, it was fairly obvious that he wasn't even close to sleeping.

"My bad," Ruggie snicked in response, holding up his hands defensively. "But, seriously, who was that? Someone I need to watch the pockets of? I mean, who else would it be if not roy--"

"Out," Leona demanded, his hand latching onto his pillow and launching it backward at Ruggie, the soft fabric turning into dust and scattering across the floor as he muttered the incantation under his breath. Ruggie yelped and scampered out of the room, throwing the door closed behind him before he could see the pillow disintegrate into sand.

Leona took a single breath through his nose before slowly sitting up. He rubbed at his face before reaching over to the desk placed beside his bed, his fingers curling around the drawer's handle and pulling it open.

Underneath notebooks thrown carelessly inside lay a single photograph. It was small, yet free of any creases. He lifted the books off of it before slipping the photo out, nearly cradling it in his palm.

Back when he first found the photo tucked neatly in one of his notebooks, he grimaced. It was an annoying keepsake, one that only served to remind him of the bothersome family waiting for him back home. But now...

Now the sight of his little sibling smiling ever so brightly while his older brother screamed in the background about a bug in his hair brought the smallest twitch of a smile to his lips.

taglist: @brokenncrown @help-meplz @destinationdesignation @rainys-personal-garden @kalims @sxftiebee @luxaryllis @auld-a @the-dumber-scaramouche @ayra2452008 @tinywho-man @spadecentral @justeclem44 @kenma-izhu @mulandi @sadimon @stormyovent0aster @sn00zl4x @f1fty-f1fty @bloomed-night-flower @madusas-girlfriend @b0nkers-papaya @arandomeroacher @randonamedcl @potabletable @meerpea @luvcalico @chlousp @prettyinblack231 @dindarasuum @elizaboba @ravenlking @reveristmain @lasignoramybeloved @poto-de-michi @sherryuki-callmeyuki @cadit-in-aestus-sidereum @valeriele3 @munchkinkazooie @venusdandy @Leviathansgamerbuddy @poorunfortunatesimp @yarnoverpullthru @potablee @sunnydaze4ever @anxious-chick @silvers-tongue @minteaspoon @kitty-chan33 @hornehlittleweeblet2 @letskeepitsimpleshallwe @atsuki-mitsuri @catgirlwannabe @miss-puregotti @havens-not-here @sacrificialwife1 @cherrykissesss890 @a-random-bored-person @shuriiiewrites @chaos-inperson @1midnightcoffee @mizucika @lunavixia @gasoline-eater @thesirenwashere @rainingdandelion @thomanok @BakabaneSimp @mariesakamari @steruberry @potatohuman04 @illnesscomm @blu3b3rri-p4yn3 @kahunap @turtleducker @BooPleg03 @twst-rui @rotting-nerium @devilfishcafe @marisely03 @angelthoughtz @valka-230 @kih-lux @honestlyyoungcandy

[soaps-mohawk]

So...

I've been doing some thinking about a couple of things.

This blog has grown considerably, even from its start and I appreciate each and every one of you so much. Your support never ceases to amaze me and I owe all of you a lot for giving me something to focus on this year instead of spiraling into insanity.

But

Things have gotten a tad bit overwhelming recently between trying to run the blog and trying to write. I find myself either having to ignore the blog to get writing done, or sacrifice writing time and energy to spend time on the blog and keep up with all the replies/reblogs/asks etc. Definitely not complaining, you all never cease to amaze me.

But, I am just one person and my brain only has so much power right now. So, I'm planning to take some (more) time off each week right now while I focus on writing and planning since we're getting into some serious plot stuff soon. So I'm planning to be on the blog three days a week for a while: Saturday, Sunday, and Thursday. That gives me some time to get some writing done as well as some time to rest my brain.

Saturday and Sunday of course to post the chapter and respond to replies and reblogs so I don't get super behind. Monday I'll have some asks queued up as well as maybe a few reblogs. I'll still use the queue Tuesday and Wednesday for reblogs/asks with spoilers as usual. Thursday I'll be on the blog answering asks from Monday - Wednesday as well as things I get that day. I'll queue up a few things for Friday since that day gives me a little break between to prepare for the weekend and posting the chapter.

I'll probably add more days as time goes on. You can still send in asks on the days I'm gone, but just know I won't see them or respond to them until later in the week. I already get behind by a couple days on asks anyway so that's not much of a change.

Don't feel bad for sending them either, I love getting all these asks, I just tend to get behind on days I spend more time writing.

The second order of business

has to do with my taglist. Most of you probably haven't noticed (which I don't blame you lol) but my taglist has gotten very big. Very, very big. It's just over 230 people right now, and I'm sure there will be others asking to join. It's quite time consuming to do all of these tags for every chapter (especially since we can't tag in blocks anymore) so I've been doing some thinking into how I can make it easier for me, and for you.

I know there's at least one blog I've heard of, though I'm sure there's more, that have made side blogs that they have people follow and turn on notifications for and just make a post on that blog when they post a chapter or fic, etc. I've been considering doing that since the taglist is a lot of work and time.

I've also seen blogs that have side blogs that just post chapters/fics and nothing else. I know quite a few of you only follow for the fic, so if anyone is interested, I could put together a side blog like that as well that you can follow and get notifications from instead of having to follow this blog and having to go through the probably 100 posts that I make a day 😂 (at least it feels that way for me)

Having a separate blog for the taglist too would allow me to schedule posts so I can have them come out a bit earlier than I get up for those of you across the world who stay up to read and have to wait for me to post in the morning when I get up (or later like today because I slept in). Of course Ao3 will get posted later because I can't schedule posts there, but at least for Tumblr I can have things post earlier.

So let me know what you think about the taglist side blog and the possible just chapters/fics side blog. Feel free to send in asks (anonymously or not) with your opinion. I might not answer them all (not tonight because my brain is fried and honestly i'm not sure if this is even comprehensible English) but I will at least use them to make the decision (or make a post with all of them and answer it as just one).

[thetravelingmaster]

Reasons Why you Should Check Out ROM

(readonlymind.com)

I've done a similar posts before for this site when I first joined up ROM as an author, but I feel like it deserves a little boost and some visibility out here as one of the many sites where one can enjoy erotic mind control literature. And also, because I'm a little selfish! I figure that if more people know about it, there's going to be more erotic stories to read.

Back when I joined, thanks to @arihi 's post on the matter during the 2018 tumblrapocalypse, I believe that there were barely 150 authors that published on the site, but as of today, that number has risen to 446. The list keeps growing and so does the variety of stories available.

Much like mcstories.com, the site is very easy to navigate and search through, even if you aren't 'logged in' as an author or reader. It offers us simple ways to search out and find the stories or authors we most want to read about. They've done an awesome job with the tag system so that regardless of which story you are reading, you can click on a tag to see what other stories that have the same theme.

It's a lot like a porn site actually, but for mind control themes.

And speaking of the tags...

The search function is rather advanced. Not only can you click a specific tag to see which stories have them, but you can also use the 'advanced search' to combine them and refine your search. You can add as many as you want to really find out if a specific theme is available. In fact you can also exclude tags to make sure you only get the stories you truly want.

Of course, when you do find a story you like, the author name will be a link to their page, which will list their stories as well as an introduction about themselves if they chose to add one. Since the site is all about open discussion, they accept self promotion so you can expect to find contact information on authors you like or even a link to other sites they post on.

Another very useful thing you'll find on their page, which I haven't seen on any other MC site before, is the 'story suggestion' link. There, you'll find all the stories the author recommends.

I've found that it's a great way to discover other authors because if you enjoy someone's writing, there's also a good chance you'll enjoy reading the stories they've enjoyed and recommended. Plus, if the author is so inclined, they can do more than just list off a bunch of stories, but also add a comment as to why they enjoyed it. I personally try to always add a little something to entice those that end up on my list.

Another feature I truly enjoy as an author is the fact that you can always go back an edit your stories because you always have full control of what is posted. Honestly, if I had discovered this before I opened up my own website, there would have been no need for me to do it. Although, I might have been a little disappointed about the fact I couldn't add the lovely images that inspire me so much... hehehe

But regardless, as an author that has many stories with many chapters, I've quickly discovered how easy it is to organize my stories because I can add a new chapter to an existing story, which is great because the reader doesn't have to look for previous chapters. Plus, you can add titles and even small descriptions to each, which will show up in the story index. In addition, you always get a word count for each chapter (or full story in the story list) so you know how long it should take you to get through it.

Speaking of readers, the site offers a little more than just a well organized and searchable site.

Well... If you register that is!

You don't have to post anything though, so registering is simply like creating an account. What you get for registering are a few fun bonuses like the ability to 'snap' a story you liked. Which is basically the equivalent of a 'like' here on tumblr. As an author, it's always a great inspiration to add chapters when I notice that one of my stories becomes popular and I know readers want more. It's also a great indicator for readers, as you well know!

Another bonus you get by registering is being able to comment on each chapter. I love the comments section because it not only gives me the ability to get feedback, but it also allows registered people to tag each other and reply to comments. As an added bonus, once you register, you get access to a notification page and if someone's replied or tagged you, you'll be notified there.

Speaking of notifications...

As an author, I get a bunch of notifications every time a user 'snaps' one of my stories, leaves a comment or recommends it to others. But as a reader, I can also 'follow' specific authors and be notified when ever they publish a new story or add a chapter to an existing one. But hey, that could be bothersome too so you ALSO have the option of just following ONE specific story so you are sure to know when the latest chapter drops. I'll admit, I use this option a lot!

Another option you may notice in the above image is the 'Read Later' option. I've used that as both a place to list off stories I like to read multiple times, as well as the obvious happenstance where I find a good one I want to read, but don't have the time.

As you ALSO may have notice, there are well known authors publishing their stories there too. @scifiscribbler, @jukeboxemcsa, @darthkyra, @ellaenchanting, @hypnoticharlequin and @skaetlett, to name a few you might know from tumblr.

If you can't get enough of reading MC stories, then this site will definitely help to feed your cravings. It's still relatively new and small when compared to others, but so far, it's proven its potential for growth.

The more the merrier

TM

[edensrose]

˚◞❀˳ a proper farewell

god that title sounds dramatic as fuck so let me just clear things up immediately: no, I'm not leaving tumblr, I will still be very manageable to reach and interact. what I am drifting away from is the tolkien fandom — and since this place, despite my hardships, has meant so much to me - I decided to give it a proper little farewell, to the people who made everything count. along with a little explanation for my decision while shedding light on my experience. ( I'll try to be brief )

I joined the tolkien fandom while writing for thranduil, it's here I gained my following in the fanbase and things went quite smoothly. however, upon beginning to write for mairon, then melkor and then later the ainur — I saw an increase in hate anons. something I have experienced before, natural of a multi fandom blog, but never to this degree. initially I assumed it was because I was simply growing larger as a blog, and perhaps that is the reason — but from what I noticed, I was battling with a bunch of chronically online people who simply could not handle my love for. . . "problematic characters"

I never understood it, really. I never saw other ainur blogs getting the hate I did - I guess I'll truly never know. had I done something? was my writing just not good enough? were my vibes off? over the time I've been called things like two faced, fake, a romanticiser of abuse, lazy for not filing out requests, been told I shouldn't write reader inserts, told to kms and other graphic incidents ( such as people sending death threats and actual gore to my inbox ). this branched from burner accounts to anons, and I could just never understand why me. a quick gander at the #clownon tag and you'll find some of the instances in which I've been harassed.

I genuinely thought my writing was the issue.

which demotivated me from writing for quite some time. could I have turned anon off? sure, but that would have meant that the anons I'd frequently interact with would most likely not come around anymore. it meant a decline in requests, it meant just a crippling factor to my blog in general, so I chose to ignore. but it got hard to eventually. I was bullied for liking a god with big wings just because for crying out loud.

I've tried to fake being okay. fake being strong and unwavering about the hate, but I just couldn't anymore. and that's okay.

it wasn't all tears and hardships though. I have made very good friends through the tolkien fandom, many of which I consider close. from @bluezenzennie to @kiatheinsomniac — @a-contemplation-upon-flowers , @cilil , @someoneinthestars and so so many more. it'd take me forever to tag and honestly my heart is squeezing so much listing these few down already. they made fandom fun, whether it was our silly little play fights or collabs or you name it. those of you that have spent time to tell me about your day on anon or send in the nicest of things. I haven't forgotten them, and I cherish them, but it's time for me to go

am I sad? fucking of course. a part of me found so much comfort here and in these characters. I've spent hours on end developing lore for aus or designing aesthetics for writing — just writing and pumping out content or blogs, everything and anything I could do. and while I don't regret those times - the way I've been treated in response hurts. which is why I've made this decision.

I'm growing as a person too. I'm writing a book now, I've got an oc blog to promote that book that I'm working hard on ( @valentine-cafe ) , things are looking good. does this mean I'm just gonna disappear? of course not. I plan on staying around, getting back into request writing ( for other fandoms ) and still interacting and supporting my tolkien moots and friends. will I be writing or creating content for tolkien? probably not. at least not in the foreseeable future. the characters I once loved and cherished have now been ruined for me. I've been made to feel embarrassed for loving manwe and namo to the degree that I have, and I don't see myself being able to write for ainur without thinking of all the shit I've gotten for doing so.

regardless, I'll be here still. and while I might not be your local valarfucker anymore, I hope to be your rose still 🩷 thank you so much for two and a half years, I love you all dearly

[pryings]

TOA Anniversary Munday

thank you neffi for this template!!!

Celebrating TOA and the people who contribute to make our group what it is.

Repost, don't reblog. Only fill in what you feel comfortable sharing!

Happy anniversary, TOA! Here's to many more years spent together.

Name: ruaidhrí (said pretty much like the english name rory and if you want to spell it that way that's fine too, ik irish names throw people off)

Pronouns: he/him

Birthday (no year): 25th of october!

Where are you from? What is your time zone? i live in colorado and my timezone is MST

How long is your roleplay experience? i don't know exactly how many years since i sometimes have years where h don't rp but i've been rping on and off since i was 11-12.

How were you introduced to roleplaying as a whole? oh gosh, so ff.net used to have (maybe still has, i literally have not been on that site in ages) these like... forums? and i joined one for elder scrolls rp a little after oblivion came out. i was far and away the youngest one there but everyone was so nice in helping me turn my character into a proper oc with like... backstory, a real personality, etc. after that, i spent a lot of time using it to try and grow my creative writing skills.

How were you introduced to TOA? honestly i just stumbled across it randomly! i had just replayed a few fe games and was looking through some tags and thought it might be fun to try fire emblem rp (i'd done some on indie tumblr back in the day, as well as in an mfrp a little bit, but never fire emblem exclusive rp) so i sent arden to check it out and, well, here we still are.

Do you have any pets? simon (mini poodle), john hancock (tabby cat), and tim & geeb (fluffy black cats)

What is your favorite time of year and why? (Season, holiday, general period) early spring! i also like late fall for its temperature, but i dislike snow/sleet/wet socks so spring is preferable because it's not very snowy here!

What is your IRL occupation? blessedly unemployed (health issues have prevented me from working aha)... i used to work IT though!

Some interests and things you like/enjoy? i like birdwatching, reading academic articles about ancient civilizations, and making espresso drinks

What non-Fire Emblem games do you play? currently enjoying bg3 + doing a dragon age replay (in preparation for veilguard). outside current, i really like most single-player rpg type games (esp. with customizable character), stealth games (dishonored favorite), and Identity V is the first asymmetrical horror mobile game developed by NetEase for

Favorite Pokemon type & Pokemon: my favorite pokemon ever is alakazam (and its whole line) i've loved alakazam foreverrrrr! favorite type is steel, though! apart from my psychic baby most of my other favs tend to be steel types

Tell us some funfacts and trivia about yourself! oh gosh i'm so bad at fun facts...

- i can put both my feet behind my head but i can't touch my toes - my favorite non-ancient empire to read about is austria-hungary - my cat tim was rescued from Outside

How did you get into Fire Emblem? friend's cool older brother was playing a bunch of the games in a seemingly random order. when i'd hang out at that friend's house sometimes we'd sit and watch. i asked him to lend me some and he did!

What Fire Emblem games have you played? i have now played all of them! (last year when i answered this i hadn't technically played them all, but i'd seen playthroughs and watched let's plays of all of them at the very least)

First & Favorite Fire Emblem games: a bad translation of fe4 was first, por is still my favorite—but tbh there's not really one i dislike

List your 5 favorite Fire Emblem characters across the series! - KNOLL (promoted to number one he's my special guy) - reyson - canas - ashnard - pandreo

Who was the first character ever to make you go “ooh I like this one in particular” and why? Can be any context and reason! QUAN—i have such a distinct memory of seeing him come in but i don't remember my initial thought, only that he would have my heart forever

Any Fire Emblem crushes? 😳 vander. duessel. hardin.

If you’ve played (or are familiar with) the following games, who was your first S support? Who would you S support nowadays? - Awakening: first was sumia! i don't have a set nowadays because i've done a different one on each playthrough - Fates: first was xander, would probably still do xander if i were to replay - Three Houses: first was seteth, if i replay i'll go for hanneman - Engage: first was pandreo! next time i plan to do ivy though

Favorite Fire Emblem class? i like shapeshifter classes! beasts, dragons, laguz, etc. i just think they're fun to play with

If you were a Fire Emblem character, what would be your class and stats? Would you be playable? oh gosh, i'd be an infantry axe unit probably. middling starting stats but high growths if you really work at making me good (there would be heated debates over whether the necessary time investment would be worth it)

If you were a Three Houses character, what would be your affiliation? black eagles!

If you were an Officers Academy student, what would be your boons, banes and potential budding talent? axe boon, heavy armor bane, budding talent in faith magic (could be classed into an fe:a style war cleric and it would be my suggested goal)

If you were an Engage character, which nation would you originate from? i want to say brodia!

How do you pronounce TOA? 🤔 toh-ah

Current TOA muses: just knoll <3

Past TOA muses? robin, niles, almedha, reyson, hardin, iago, perceval, lachesis (i think that's all?)

Who was your first TOA muse? If you no longer have them, can you see yourself picking them up again? my first muse was m!robin and thankfully i am spared any temptation on picking him up as he is currently being written.

Do you believe you have a type of character you gravitate towards writing? (If you filled this out last year, has this changed in any way?) i'm kind of all over the place, aren't i? i like characters where i can poke at hidden depths but ones who aren't too closely guarded. i like characters who are shy, withdrawn, standoffish, guarded, etc. in some way but who open up when spoken to. i don't think this has changed since last year, i've been writing for a long time and kind of know my comfort zone.

Do you have characters or types of characters you don’t think you can handle writing, but wish you could? boisterous/loud and over the top characters always challenge me, but i've never really managed to make them work, which is a shame because i tend to enjoy lively characters!

What kind of scenes, situations etc do you believe you enjoy writing the most? (If you filled this out last year, has this changed in any way?) -i love writing threads where setting/scenery is a focus, where i get to sort of use the landscape as a bit more than set-dressing - i enjoy throwing my muse at characters who mistrust him for whatever reason, and like to explore the kind of slow, mutual understanding that comes from two people getting to know one another - i really just like putting him in situations in general, forcing him to socialize—he's a very withdrawn character so any excuse to have him meet new people is very enjoyable

Do you have any scenario in mind for your muse(s) that gets you thinking “man I hope I get to write this one day”? nothing specific! i have kind of an arc for him but it's loosely-defined right now

Favorite TOA-related memories? HAPPYLAND WAS SO MUCH FUN. sincerely i loved the interactions he had there <3

Present or past tense? i default to present, but adapt to what my partner prefers on this!

Normal size text, small text, no preference? small text, bolded dialogue. just easier for my eyes to take it in that way.

Got any potential muse delusions to share? 😉 oh gosh. i recently had to go down to just one muse because my health is not so good, but i will admit i already have a few delusions. if i can get myself back to a spot where i feel like i can write a second, someone may return.

[thevulturesquadron]

Hey remember that post you made a time ago about E9?

I agree with it all, but I wanted to talk especially about the rushed part, i.e Roberto and Rogue immediately going into the "villain guards" roles. It is missing a moment between them joining Magneto and the following fight against X-Men

What would you put as this moment? A dialogue? I've been thinking about this and I even want to write a fic, but my brain can't chose. (I've been leaning on Rogue reassuring Roberto somehow) So?

Many thanks! I love your blog bestie <33

– @unfortunately-obsessed

Hey sweet thing! 🌺 (your tumblr posts always put a smile on my face) Oh! I love this! If you write something I would kill to read it! For E9 I would have loved to see a moment on Asteroid M between the two, either when they set foot inside for the first time or before preparing for the ‘meet and greet’ with the X-Men. I feel like once in space, after the adrenaline wears off Roberto would worry about the choice he made. I like to think Rogue would sense it and maybe look for him. What if she finds him in front of one of the wide panels looking down towards Earth? She would probably start the conversation by saying something like ‘quite a sight from up here, ain’t it sugah?’ Having a moment between the two with a look over the ‘dying’ earth would put things into a certain perspective. I imagine Rogue being reassuring, as much as she could, but there is a fire under her skin as well that she needs to tame - when he shows doubt she’d tell him she’s been following Xavier’s ways for years and that his heart may be in the right place but he’s living in a past version of the fight. Things have changed in his absence and she’s done with putting the idea of peace ahead of mutant lives. She’d tell him that there is no right or wrong way of doing this, that if there’s one thing he can count on is that he’s never going to have to face anything alone. I like to think she’d ask him if he’s scared and when he’d ask her back she would answer honestly - ‘ yes’. She’d admit that after Remy died she was so lost in her anger, thinking she had nothing left to lose, but has since realized that that was not true. She’d look down the hall that leads to Magneto’s ‘throne room’ and she’d tell Roberto that being a mutant is not just about his powers, it’s about something more. And any mutants that are still out there are worth fighting for. Maybe Roberto would confess that the look in Magneto’s eyes scares him even if he stands by his choice. And her face would darken in worry. ‘That’s the other reason why I chose to be here. Erik’s a good man, sugah. But he’s been through a lot. And I refuse to lose him too - not to his pain, not to his anger.’ In Genosha he asked her for help, to be the balancing force that would keep him in check. She was angry with him back then, but seeing him now, seeing how the world treated all of them, she understood how vulnerable he actually allowed himself to be. If she was ready to be by his side at his best - she wasn’t going to abandoned him at his worst. And I would have liked to see one last exchange between them as they are making their way towards the Blackbirld. Maybe Rogue would sense Roberto’s internal conflict and that would strengthen her conviction. ‘They need us. The X-men, Magneto. Things will get nasty, so we need to be strong. Sometimes you gotta punch a fella you love to get them to sit down and listen. A blackened eye heals faster than a broken arm.’ She’d wink and punch in the door key to the hangar. Or something like that! I am terrible with dialogue but I would have loved a tiny moment that shows both the internal conflict they were going through and what stood behind their choices. Even a short reassuring hand on his shoulder and a voiceless exchange before stepping in would have been enough. Taking the mantle of the ‘bad guy’ so that others can fight their good fight with lessened consequences is often times an unsung tale.

[thelaurenshippen]

Hey Lauren! I've just finished writing my first novel, I'm also the writer/creator of the audio series Life & Death on the Rim (Star Wars fan audio drama), and I've started my own company Galactic North Productions. What I really want to understand is how other writers/creators who are successful and profitable got there. If there are any insights you can give me I'm all ears, whether that's associations, conventions, marketing, etc etc I just really want to learn. Very determined. Thank you!

hey!!! first off, HUGE congrats on finishing your first novel, that's an incredible feat and you should be unbelievably proud!!!! secondly, I hadn't heard of this podcast before but as a huge fan of both star wars and fan works, I am absolutely putting it on my tbl list right now!!!!

so. this is a great question. and a hard question. and one that I'm probably going to spend way too many words answering, if I know myself at all.

I think this question, in part, depends on what you consider successful and profitable! for me, it's meant being a jack of all trades - a lot of my work has come from being someone who knows how to make a podcast from soup to nuts and from being a person who a lot of people know. you've already done the hard thing: making something. that's your resume, now get the resume out there!

I wish I could give advice about marketing and finding an audience, but honestly it's changed so much since I started out that I hardly know how to find an audience anymore. but the basic approach always stands I think: don't promo, build community. be authentic and enthusiastic, and hang out in online spaces that you're already excited to be in. share your passion with people. clearly you already know how to do that, making a fan podcast!

in terms of getting to know your peers, I always recommend people join the WGA Audio Alliance discord to get to know who else is working in the space and hear about events. I did meet a lot of people at events early on, but unfortunately a lot of those things don't exist anymore (or were one-offs to begin with) or were smaller, invite-only things. if you're in NY, LA, Chicago, or London, there are vibrant AD scenes, so seek those out and go to (or organize!) a meet-up.

knowing your peers is the single most important thing for getting jobs. with the exception of one cold outreach, every job I've ever gotten has been because I met somebody and vibed with them. stay in touch but not too much - don't email your industry contacts all the time, but every 8-18 months, reach out to folks and do a catch up zoom or coffee. but don't network just to network! get to know people whose work you really like. getting to know peers at your same level is just as - if not more - important as networking to those who are further along in success than you.

be incredibly findable. having the facebook page, instagram, etc. is great, but if you're a production company hoping to make money through providing services like producing, directing, writing, etc. (which is primarily how I've made a living - I don't really make money directly from my original podcasts), having a website is a must. if you don't want to pay for squarespace or wix, you can make a website through tumblr and then just buy a url and have it redirect (I wrote about this a bit in my production guide). same deal if you want to be hired as a writer - having a website or some kind of resume is huge. I'm not saying you need to have an instagram detailing your personal life or anything (for me, I get personal about my thoughts on social media, but I never post my family/partner/non-industry friends/etc. some creators have had massive success building mystery (lemony snicket, the team behind midst), but I have no idea how to do that lol

this is already too long, so to summarize: build a community, both in your audience and your colleagues, be very clear and open about the skills you have/services you provide, and, ideally, do a lot of different things that put you in front of a lot of different audiences. try a lot of things and stick with what works.

to speak more on my personal journey, just briefly: 90% of being successful in the art and entertainment industry is luck. I know that people always say that, and it sucks as advice because it's not advice at all, but it is just true. luck and timing. the only way to improve your chances are to make stuff, meet people, and be easily accessible.

I know that's all exceptionally broad advice - if you'd like to share more specifics about your career goals, I'm happy to get more specific too!

[alessandrxs]

HSHQTASK059

when did you join ? what made you join ? what do you remember from the plotlines that were current at the time ? where were you in life when you joined and where are you now ?

i joined back in 2018 , which is crazy to even think about because it's now six years later ! i remember having seen the group a few times in the tags but didn't apply until a few months later ... but when i DID pluck up the courage to join , it was just before the olimpiel wedding which was so fun to be a part of ! i think i was literally just starting a new job too around the time i joined , so it was changes all around , which was really refreshing !!

2. which characters have you written over the years ?

too many ... starting with prycilla , aurora , danilo , amon , kris , ale , renee , aalayna , omari , pretty sure i had a kelsey merrit at one point , eloa , the madelyn cline and drew starkey i had for seconds , i think there was a sofia carson in there somewhere too ...

3. what is your favourite plotline that you've been part of ?

being a part of the italy plotline was so fun ! i'm not good at politics by any means but being around people who had so many good ideas which would always boggle my brain bc i'm dumb as shit was so fun to be a part of ! but also , the egypt plotline will always have a place in my heart ...

4. what about other people's plotlines ?

so so SO many !! the english plotline , the french ..... i was always on the edge of my seat whenever they were written out on the dash waiting for the next person to reply so the tea could be dished out ! but honestly every single plotline was just so interesting and amazing to read that i was always in awe

5. who is your favourite character from the ones you've played ? why ? what made you love them ? what made them so fun to write ?

considering how many times i've brought him back after thinking his time was done , without a doubt my favourite would have to be ale ... i just feel like he became such a comfort character for me , especially since when i've been going through things he's always been the character i've reached out for to write ! but kris was also so much fun to write and then my fool of omari , he really was my comedic relief character !

6. if you could relive a plotline, which would it be ?

kris realising just how much of a prick his dad is and becoming firmly team silje <3 it was a defining moment for him , and now silje has a job and is in college !! she's doing so good !!!

7. is there a plotline that you'd edit now if you could ?

literally not a single one ! i loved all the twists and turns , seeing how things unfolded , it was fun to just be able to write them out and see where they led and go from there

8. what's a plotline you wish you would have been able to finish before closing or just write more of ?

definitely the egypt plotline ... it happened at a time where i really didn't have time to be fully involved in and i think it's just been so unresolved , if only life didn't happen 😔

9. what is your favourite ooc memory ?

the panic in the ooc chat when evy fucked up the counting bot when we were at like 300+ ..... AKJDNFKJDF there are so many moments that i'll cherish forever but this one is the first that came to mind !

10. where can others find you if they want to get in touch ?

i have a tumblr for indie / 1x1 purposes which is @gcdlybehaviour ( currently under co ) and a discord that's with the same name ! honestly feel free to contact me at either of them at any time !

11. what else would you like to say ?

thank u all so , so much for all the memories and making hshq such a special place <3 i joined at a time where joining groups had become such an anxiety inducing experience for me but everyone was so , so welcoming and it soon became a place of comfort and to just get away from everything ! i've genuinely loved writing out every single thread , plotting out every single plot and just being able to be in an environment where everyone has been like a family ! i'm going to miss everyone so much <3

[shxtodxroki]

hi! i'm a new hq blog hoping to grow a following! do you have any tips on how to grow a blog? (congrats on over 700 followers!!)

Aaaa this ask is so sweet I'm so sorry it took me a while to respond, I only just managed to go through and check my askbox! Honestly I'm honored that you'd even consider asking this to me lol, I don't fully know the answer to this since I still honestly feel like a small blog but here are a few things I think help not only with growing a blog but also a community around your blog! :D

Also idk if we already interact or not, but anon if you see this and we don't interact already I'd love to follow your blog and be friends! :D Anyways these are a few of the things I think help with growing a community and your blog in general! (Most of these are specific to writing blogs btw but some should be applicable no matter what kind of blog you are)

Join collabs! I know collabs aren't always easy to come across, and that the deadlines can seem daunting. But on the writing blog I had before this one, I found that doing collabs was a really nice chance to interact with other writers! It's so much fun getting to see how different people interpret prompts or themes, and it gives you the opportunity to make fellow writer/fandom friends which imo is one of the best parts of posting on Tumblr! I did a Christmas collab last year and it's one of my favorite things I've done so far on this blog personally :>

Reblog other creators' work and interact with others! Like I said before, making friends on Tumblr is one of the best parts of being on here, and a big part of that is building a community between one another! Along with collabs, I've found that a lot of friendships I've formed with other writers was from us interacting with one another's work! It gives an easy opening to conversation and like I said before, it builds a connection and a sense of community between writers so that we can support each other :> Plus when you're friends with other writers, you can bounce ideas off of each other which really helps both with creativity and with building bonds!

If you do match-ups, offer match-up exchanges! This is something I've only really started offering the past year myself, but it's really helped me interact with more of my fellow writers on here! Doing an exchange with other writers who are open to it gives you an easy way to get to know your fellow members of the community, and I've found that a lot of people I've done exchanges with (pretty much all of them, in fact) have been incredibly kind and are blogs I continue to interact with even after our exchange is finished :>

Do events! I know a lot of events are often focused on follower numbers, but they don't have to be! I've heard a lot of people say (and even found this to be true myself) that sometimes they don't send requests to blogs because they don't have any specific ideas they want to request. But I've found that holding events and offering people a specific list of prompts or some sort of "guideline" for event requests really helps people engage without having to think too much about it and gives you a chance to gain anew audience/keep them coming back for more, and it helps people feel more invested in your blog/writing if they get to interact with you!

Also, answer asks/do ask games! Admittedly this is one I wish I was better at, but doing ask games and being yourself on your blog rather than just producing content can help people connect with you more, and when people enjoy your presence on here as well as your writing, they're likely to keep coming back for more :>

These may all seem like basic tips, so sorry if I didn't help much, but these are some of the things I think have really helped me interact with others more on here! Also I know a lot of these are more focused around connecting with other community members rather than just general likes and such, but I've found that making friends or having followers who interact with you and want to keep coming back is honestly the best part of growing a blog which is why that's what I focused on :] I really wish you luck with your blog, anon, I'm sure it's absolutely lovely and as I said before you're welcome to DM me if we don't already know each other because I'd love to be friends :>

[emmedoesntdomath]

baby’s first fic exchange

I wanted to have this posted last night, but unfortunately, that didn’t happen, so here we are. I’m just going to start from the top, and work my way until now.

so, I tried running my first exchange back in february, before I even had an operating tumblr account. I set it up, I opened the sign ups…and then immediately panicked and took it all down, before anyone could see anything. I decided I was way over my head, and firmly swore to never try that again, ever.

(fun fact- emme doesn’t know how to keep her promises to herself.)

flash forward two months, to april, and a friend convinces me to create an actual tumblr account. she says it can be small, I don’t have to do anything with it, I could just be mutuals with her, and then talks me out of deleting it immediately, too. I make it through the first two-ish weeks essentially white-knuckling it, not knowing what to do, not talking to anyone, just reblogging parkner posts because that’s what I came here to do, okay.

and then I made that stupid post about wondering if anyone had any newsies asks.

and then crystal reblogged it.

suddenly, I was knee-deep in this fandom again; talking to people, making headcanon posts with @sparkedblaze, ranting about history until people took notice. and it kind of just,,, kept going??? I was sitting there the entire time, confused but having the time of my life, waiting for the other shoe to drop and for everything to go away again. and it didn’t. it SPIRALED.

at some point, we got close to the end of our headcanon posts, and I remember thinking, well, now what I am I going to do? I hadn’t really been posting new works, was stuck firmly in a writer’s block, and was bored. (bad things happen when emme’s bored.) and a tiny voice in the back of my mind whispered- fic exchange?

and suddenly we were doing a fic exchange.

on the first day that I officially opened the sign ups, we got fifteen. FIFTEEN. I remember, because I was with my friends and just staring at my phone in shock. that, of course, grew to THIRTY SEVEN SIGN UPS. WHICH GREW TO FOURTY TWO WRITTEN WORKS. WHICH LEADS US TO LITERALLY TODAY. WHAT.

it was a two months of absolute joy, guys. and throughout that entire process, I was figuring out the minor details behind the scenes, having so much fun and occasionally freaking out to @sparkedblaze. it was a definite learning experience, and I legitimately can’t wait until next time. it’s going to be even better than the first, and I will guarantee that.

now for the fun part, since we’re done with the stories.

first of all, thank you so so so so much to everyone who signed up and participated. it was such a joy to work with you all, and then get to see what you created. I know a lot of you at this point, and it felt like one big party most of the time. I can’t wait to do it again <3

second of all, an even bigger thank you to those who tried to participate, but couldn’t. there were a couple of you that couldn’t get an AO3 account in time, or we couldn’t figure out an immediate solution, and thank you so much for being willing to join us, and for your patience with me. I am very excited to see you all in our next events.

third, to our lovely pinch hitter @ill-say-anything-i-hafta. you stepped in with exactly a week to write a fic, and gave us something beautiful. I owe you so much for that, and I’m so eternally grateful to you. I am waiting anxiously to see what you do next, my friend.

fourth, to @thatoneandlonelyemo2005. mack and I tossed headcanons back and forth so many times during this exchange, and I legitimately would not have the fics that I did without him. <333

and- of course- @sparkedblaze. you wrote pinch hits, listened to my freak outs, begged to help more, told me it was going to be okay, and yelled at me when I needed a break. you have done so much for this, and honestly, you deserve the majority of the credit for the exchange’s success. I owe you literally everything. thank you so much for all you do. know how much I appreciate and adore you, please <3

see you all next time. thank you for everything you’ve done for me.

[ceasarslegion]

honestly i think if this site finally dies to a ceo meltdown (which might be the only thing that can kill it lmao) i think... it would be for the best to just leave this place and the communities it fostered buried

I won't go to cohost, or bluesky, or anything. Y'all can catch me on my already made social (1) (discord. Im not giving anybody my facebook account with my full name on it after the death threats ive gotten over the years here) if you want, but this site has been going downhill ever since the advent of cringe culture and ace discourse circa 2015. It feels like recent months have been hurtling towards the logical conclusion of the turbo-echo chamber this site exists in. I seriously miss the era where it was just superwholock jokes and the only drama you'd hear about was the occasional bone-stealing witch level shit that everybody would go "lmao what" about and then go back to their regularly-scheduled movie discussions. Maybe i'll go back to pinterest at most and spend the rest of my time in fandom and furry forums and AO3. It would compel me to write and draw a lot more.

And honestly, I think tumblr finally getting the plug pulled on its long-dying life support may be legitimately helpful for a lot of the users who yanked this site's culture away from that and into the echo chamber. They might like, go outside for once. I know "touch grass" is a cliche or whatever but I do think a lot of this echo chamber can be chalked up to sitting on the computer all day and never getting exposed to anybody outside of your self-imposed internet echo chamber. Go outside, get some fresh air.

Also, it won't be the end of the world. If your free time and happiness is really that contingent on any one social media site then it may be for the best to take it away from you. Learn how to entertain yourself without it. There's a whole world out there to explore. Find something else to do. Pick up new hobbies, look into events in your area. Get really into some weird niche hobby and spend all that time doing that instead of just posting on a different website if this one's finally done. Remember that 4chan guy whose life turned around after he got really into raising shrimp instead of discoursing on 4chan all day? Maybe it's time to find your shrimp raising hobby instead of just posting the same things and perpetuating the same cycles on a different site.

I'm not saying to go full amish and abandon the internet altogether but i am saying that if this website has consumed so much of you that the prospect of it imploding is this upsetting to you, maybe you need to start raising shrimp for a while. I think it would be good for you.

Idk man, I'm chilling in my chair here but if it goes, she goes. I'll find something else to do, but this site hasn't been the tumblr I stuck around for for a long time now, so it won't be the end of the world for me if it ends. I'd just grab my favourite mutuals discords and head out to get more into the furry fandom and write more fic instead. I never wanted to be exposed to this much of the everything on this site anyway, I joined for the memes and the fandom content way back in 2010 and then just never really left.

[topazshadowwolf]

hello there :D

I’ve never done an ask before so here it goes.

to my favorite creator on tumblr!

I have always had this theory that Dust and Horror are very fidgety and often need to do something with their hands, I have always thought that sometimes Horror, Dust and Error (I know Error isn’t in this story but he is in mine) would just sit by the fire and do their own fidgety crafts, Dust does origami since it is delicate and takes time distracting him from his thoughts, Horror likes to cross stitch, and Error knits. I was just wondering if they do anything like that, maybe a fidgety craft like that could help Dust with his nerves and baby depression (it helps me :D).

Lastly, I saw someone mention the boys coming out to Nightmare, what are your head cannons on their sexualities?

I love your work and can’t wait to read more, take your time and have fun. And here, a sketch, Gooptales and Sky children of the light

Hello!

It's okay, I honestly get nervous sending in asks myself. Welcome to my ask box, and feel free to send in anything anytime. I try to answer most of them I recieve.

And what an honor to have such a title! Thank you!

I love your idea! It is nice for the boys to have hobbies to occupy their minds and hands other than mischief! Really, what you shared is a pleasant scene I could see playing out.

For HNBD, though, it would be mostly Killer with his whittling once he takes up that hobby. Dust just likes reading, and is good at sitting still and letting his mind drift off into space adventures in his book. Maybe one day, he will try writing one. But right now, he just would rather read. Horror, with his hunting that he will start, likes leather working as not being wasteful extends to more than food to him. To him, using 100% of an animal he kills is how he honors and respects the creatures that sustain him. Cross likes training, gaming, and occasionally sketching and journaling. As for the Growing Up

GoopTales offshoot, well, the boys do join clubs which will kind of answer that. Cross joins track and field as he stays fairly active. Horror doesn't join on at the school, Nightmare helps him find a hunters club, and he also decides to be a boy scout. He's an outdoors kind of guy. Killer ends up joining the drama club and taking such classes. He finds a love for Shakespeare, and it makes Nightmare so happy to hear him in his room practicing his lines. Plays are perfect for him, but he can't read them while sitting. Reading has been difficult for him since his soul was mutated, but since lines are split up, and it is meant to be read aloud, with voices, he can focus on it. As for Dust, he didn't want to join any at first, but Killer kept dragging him along. Eventually, he slips away one day and finds the chess club... he also finds out about the creative writing club and joins both since they meet on different days.

I honestly don't feel like discussing that, sorry. Just know, my main ship is Soriel, and if I see a Sans, I want to give them a Toriel, and if I see a Toriel, they should have a Sans. That's the way my brain is programmed. I do actually have a Toriel picked out for Dream. But trying to not spill all my Soriel headcanons all over the UTMV too quickly. XD (After all, there is FuzzyNight, then my fics I am slowly writing when in romance moods: The HouseKeeper for Killer and Soul Fire Blues for Dust. I think that's enough for now)

What an adorable drawing! Thank you so much for sharing this! I will have to add it to my collection of art! I love seeing them following Nightmare like little ducklings. It warms my heart. And love the cape you gave Nightmare!

[tumblebagel]

I'm not sure how to make this post, because I know that Valerie is very much active on this site and very well may see it.

So, uh, hi. If you're reading this, I want you to know that you're an amazing person. Genuinely a big inspiration in my life. I'm going to express a bit of disappointment and sadness in this post, but I want to make it explicitly clear: I am not disappointed with you. This isn't your fault, and I need to make sure you know that. In all fairness, I DO know you know that. I read the confession. I just want to make sure that you REALLY know. Progressing a story that's hurting you more than its inspiring you is not worth it. Nobody deserves that. Emotions are messy and complicated and I'll be over it eventually. C/K/C looks amazing, and I cannot wait to see what you do next.

With that in mind, we get to the heart of this post. An incredible comic, only 1 and 1/2 chapters long, called Goodbye to Halos.

I discovered the comic right after I discovered I was trans. Literally the first thing I did after my egg cracked was look up: "trans webcomics", and there it was. Safe to say I didn't know that I was getting into SO much more.

I was instantly hooked by the worldbuilding. Even before it started to branch out, the visual contrast between skyport and lionsbridge was so striking. And as a developing artist, I got to see firsthand things I didn't know were possible to do with color. It was about at the time that I got to the "Why can't love just be a matter of fact?" page that I understood I was truly reading something special.

While reading I discovered parts of myself that I didn't know were there, like the often repeated philosophy that refusing to care about people is, in the words of the comic, "just so boring". The complexities of gender expression. Body positivity and the concept of non-sexual nudity.

I binge read the entire comic up to until Fenic waking up under the dragonfly. From that point I was glued to the page every day, constantly checking for updates.

The future of the comic has changed a number of times since that point. Including art style changes, hiatuses, video entries, and reboots. Until yesterday, the last I had heard was that the world of GtH would continue in a reboot-esque way with Unsave the World, a story developed in the same engine as C/K/C, focusing on Clarissa and Selin.

As, anyone interested in my blog will note, I am very new to Tumblr. Only joined recently. Yesterday, I had the idea to seek out Goodbye to Halos content, and Valerie Halla, which is where I got the confirmation that lead to this post.

"[Goodbye to Halos] was a hiatus when it went on hiatus. it took me a long, long time to come to terms with saying that it’s probably not just a hiatus, though. i will always love that story and those characters, and their spirits will live on in what’s to come, just like portside stories before it."

I... slept on it. I was distressed at the time. Honestly, I think writing this right now is still me working through it. Like I said before, emotions are messy.

But. That's it. Part of me is fixated on the word "probably", but the rest of me understands that thinking like that is only going to hurt my views on it over time. Not worth it to poison the past.

I've spent the time between that and now thinking, as much as it seems I've only done sulking that whole time. And from my thinking, I've come to a decision. I've figured out how to come to my own "don't be sad because it ended, be happy because it happened":

I'm going to make

So Much

FUCKING FANART

You're not gonna believe it. If I feel inspired by this story, and my brain's not satisfied with how the characters/worldbuilding/themes have been explored, I'm gonna do what everybody's done before me since renaissance painters after reading the Bible.

I'm going to make a frankly ridiculous amount of unofficial fan content, and when my brain finally burns out, I'll be over it and I can finally move on.

Look out Tumblr, I'm about to start chopping onions

[bubblegum-blackwood]

🤲what do YOU get out of writing?

Ah good question. I feel like that's a complicated one that's not so straightforward to answer.

TL;DR - idk I like it :] and I like people

I've been writing fiction since I was nine years old. My teacher had us do some creative writing in class, and I fell head over fucking heels for the concept! It's crazy to see how much I've grown since then 😂 but I kid you not, I've known I wanted to write for a living since I was nine years old. I did it once and was like yeah . . . I like this. Funnily enough, I started out writing fanfiction, although at the time I hadn't heard of that word or that concept. My sibling and I had a game we called "Kid Wars" - essentially, we RPed being Star Wars OCs. My character was a female clone of Jango Fett (how did I come up with that as a small child and then The Bad Batch happened????????? will never get over that) who secretly joined the Jedi Order and fell in love with Obi-Wan 😂😂😂 ah, children. This origin story is never not funny to me. Anyway, over the years since then, it's slowly evolved into something nearly indistinguishable from Star Wars (I've mostly just kept something that vaguely looks like the Force and some OC names and arcs, but the worldbuilding is entirely original, and I had so much fun with it!)

But I digress.

It's ironic to me because even though my writing days largely started with terrible self-insert fanfiction I since then only wrote original works and even railed almost as vehemently against fanfiction as Anne Rice herself! 😂 But I spent some time on Tumblr and I caved and read Burden of my Days by @hekateinhell and have never been the same since. And now I have 36 fics and counting!

What originally drew me to writing as a kid is just the whole idea of making shit up. I've been making up silly lil stories in my head to keep my insomniac ass busy at night since I was in kindergarten, and when I realised I could write them down? When I realised I could get paid money for that shit??? Hell yeah! I can make a career out of doing something I genuinely love doing, and I'm so grateful that it's even an option for me because I have no clue what I would have told people I wanted to be when I grew up otherwise. As I've gotten older, I've understood more about what exactly I enjoy about writing (which allows me to take inspiration from the books and shows I like without copy-pasting every minute detail that I don't actually need) - it's people. I like people, I like knowing what makes them tick, I like watching them fuck up and I like watching them interact with others. It's part of what draws me to psychology and sociology, too. I just genuinely enjoy stories. I could eat a well-done character arc for breakfast, honestly. And that's what gets me about the writing. My books don't need big grand plots, the conflicts largely are not centered around big bads with large armies, it's all about people and the relationships they have with others within the narrative. (Don't get me wrong, though, I have fantastical elements - vampires and ghosts, especially, are quite abundant in my stories).

Plus, there's something about the actual process of writing that just gets me in a good mood. Sometimes the executive dysfunction or general life fatigue makes it hard for me to get myself to pick up the pencil, but when I feel motivated, DAMN, the juices be flowing! Sometimes I get in the zone and I just know what happens next and the words just come to me and it feels good, honestly good. I can agonize over it for hours sometimes, but crafting artful sentences to paint a picture with words is such a powerful feeling. I just can't imagine how my life would have turned out had I not discovered how fun it is to write.

And with fanfiction? To me, it's all about connection. To look deeper at the text, to identify what you like about events or characters or pairings and make it your own, to really know the book you love so much. But not only that, then also you get to connect with other fans! You get to get excited together, be proud together, maybe even make friends through it! You get to talk to people!!! And I think the value of that can never be understated enough.

Anyway. I've rambled plently now 😂 thanks for the ask!

[ciaossu-imagines]

to be honest rhe "choose violence" asks are all compelling! I can not pick one soooo

just pick which you would like to answer! I would love to hear your thoughts on all of it but I want you to decide how much you can and want go answer

Okay, but thank you so much for wanting to hear my thoughts on these and for giving me the freedom to decide which I felt comfortable chatting about. Since no particular fandom was requested, I did just kind of general fandom answers and hope that my answers amuse, cause some thinking, or at least don’t piss off people too much!

The character everyone gets wrong

Honestly, I live and die by the thought that everyone has the right to interpret a canon character however they wish. They’re not hurting anyone, viewing the character differently or even completely opposite to how they’re written in canon. No matter how OOC I think their portrayal of the character is, I don’t think it’s any of my business, as long as they’re having fun. I say this but…there’s one minor exception and it comes back to my days in the Harry Potter fandom. I have seen so many excuses made for Severus Snape, so many rewrites of him as this tragic heroic character, the paragon of knowing what it is to love truly and deeply. Nah, my dudes. Snape was a racist sad sack incel who felt entitled to Lily’s love and called her slurs when she didn’t return it. Having a bad past, being bullied? That’s no excuse for him literally not caring if this chick’s husband and child died, as long as he could have his shot with her. That’s no excuse for him literally joining what was basically magical KKK. That’s no excuse for him growing up to become such a huge bully towards literal children that one of his students literally had him as their greatest fear. Tragic hero my ass. The man wasn’t fully evil and he did do good, in the end. But he wasn’t such things of myths and legends and he can exist as both a horrible person and as someone who did good things.

Screenshot or description of the worst take you’ve seen on tumblr

I really do hate just the recent trend in fandom of not interacting. I don’t just mean that people have stopped interacting with posts and with artists and writers, though that is most definitely true and it’s incredibly frustrating to see. I mean it in a larger sense than that. Going from what fandom was back then to what fandom is now, I really do feel like overall, there’s less interaction between fans. I don’t even know how to explain it but I remember how easy it used to be make fandom friends. There were super active Discord servers, yeah, but even before that, you’d make friends commenting on people’s fics or through writing fics on ff.net. There were active writer’s groups for fan writers where you’d get to talk to people, both about writing fics and fandom in general. There were lots of rp boards. You’d get interaction just making fandom-centric music mixes. You’d get lots of interaction hosting a blog like mine. No matter how introverted you were, you could always find a safe place and friends in fandom. But it feels more and more like it’s hard to find any of those things now. It feels like somewhere along the way, fandom became almost commercialized and now it’s consume this thing, move on. Put out this thing that takes hours of your time for a handful of likes and be grateful for that because you’re only supposed to create for the simple joy of creation (which yes, creating fandom stuff should be fun, but if it was only ever done for the reason of enjoyment, there’s really no reason to share it – people generally share fandom stuff because they’re excited to share it with fellow fans, they’re looking for that interaction and that feedback and for other people to be excited with them) and then move on. It feels like it takes a shit-ton more time and energy now to find those fandom spaces to meet people and make friends in and it’s just not a trend that I’m really the biggest fan of, though this is, of course, just my view and perception of things and maybe I’m wrong.

What was the last straw that made you finally block that annoying person?

People can be rude and mean to me all they want, but being mean or rude towards any of my friends or readers? Instant block from this particular blog. Stealing work also earns you an instant block. On my personal blog, just being ignorant towards people will make me pre-emptively block you, even if we’ve never interacted. I figure if people are that comfortable using this platform to hate, then they’re probably not people I’m ever going to want interacting with me or my art.

Common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

Characters do not have to be rewritten so that they’ve never done anything bad, excuses don’t need to be made wildly to excuse every bad thing they’ve done, they don’t need to be rewritten to be perfect – always doing the right thing, communicating so healthily and with proper therapeutic terms to the point you have to wonder when this character went through extensive therapy, super strong mentally and emotionally but still able to be vulnerable, no flaws besides a few superficial ones that everyone easily forgives except for those bad guys to be interesting and ‘good’. Characters can and should be flawed, characters can and should make mistakes and do the wrong thing every now and then. Writing a character who isn’t universally loved and right and good, writing a character who does horrible things or has views that aren’t kosher – none of those things make the character OR ESPECIALLY THE WRITER a bad person. Writing a character with not-so-great views doesn’t mean the writer holds those views. Basically, be able to separate the writer and the character and know that it’s okay for characters to be well…human. To mess up or be massively unhealthy and to still like them despite that. I hate washing down of a character to sanitize them, I really, really do, both in canon characters and OC’s because it just makes them feel flat to me, and I’m really sorry to anyone whom that offends.

Worst part of canon

I completely understand, as a writer, that it’s almost impossible to fully explore every character in your work, to delve into all their backstories and to give them all their days in the spotlight. That’s the worst part of any canon work to me – there’s never enough space and time in a properly done story for us to really get to know all the characters and because of that, there’s always going to be at least one or two characters who remain forever flat and unloved, despite how interesting they look and seem. Thankfully, that’s what fanfiction is for and I’ve often found fics for these characters that really endear me to them and shape how I view them.

Worst part of fanon

You guys all know how I’m going to answer this. You guys all have heard me rant and rave about this a million times – it’s the tendency of fandom to prioritize and make only romantic relationships important. Two characters can’t have a meaningful relationship and bond without secretly wanting to fuck, or so some parts of fandom would have you believe. Two characters can’t be just close friends without secretly wanting to date each other. It completely disregards how important platonic bonds are, how much familial relationships shape us, how strong a bond hatred towards another person can forge, how much we rely on co-worker relationships, on student/teacher relationships, how literally important relationships of all kinds and shapes are. It also kind of erases the existence of aromantic people and characters. Some people are just generally not interested in romance in any sort of way, and they deserve to find plenty in fandom to latch onto just as much as people who love romance do. I am not saying romantic relationships are bad and should be stopped when it comes to fandom stuff. Go ahead, ship, fill your boots, as long as you’re respectful about it of course. Tell me all the fluff and cute things about these relationships. Fine. But I firmly believe that other types of relationships should be more loudly explored in fandom as well, without people automatically taking that discussion and turning it into an automatic ‘well, yeah, that’s because they’re in love with each other, duh?’

Worst blorboficiation

Okay, I’m not answering this one so much as I’m admitting to be an old fuddy-duddy. Leaning on a cane, shooing people off my yard, and grumbling about the new-fangled fancy speech. In other words, I don’t know what this word means, please someone explain it??

That one thing you see in fanart all the time

I will say this plain and clear and take any harsh feedback on this. If you’re only using AI to create ‘fan art’, you’re not an artist and you’re using a tool created through theft of artist’s actual hard work. I see AI art more and more frequently and it vaguely pisses me off every time.

You can’t understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc.)

I really don’t see the appeal of romanticized yandere or of the A/B/O trope, but that’s just me. I ask that people don’t share things along those lines with me and as long as those boundaries are respected, other people can fill their boots with those tropes and enjoy because people are allowed to like things I don’t really get!

You’re mad/ashamed/horrified you actually kind of like…

NOTHING. Repeat with me – cringe culture is dead. I am allowed to like any and everything I like without having to worry about whether it’s ‘cool’. Cool is a social construct that is perpetually changing and feeling guilt or shame because you enjoy something that other people are telling you is wrong to enjoy is a waste of your time and mental energy. Don’t buy into that – enjoy what you enjoy! Talk about it, create for it, let it live in your head and let it make you happy.

Topic that brings up the most rancid discourse

Sorry, not sorry, but it’s shipping. I’d say about 80-90% of fanwank and fandom arguments and drama and fights in fandom boil down to ‘I don’t like what they ship/they ship something different from me/they ship the character I love with themselves and that pisses me off/they’re shipping the wrong way wah wah wah’. Honestly guys, it’s a large part of why I don’t really ship. I mean, growing up in early aughts fandom that 80-90% was 95-99% of fandom wank, since I grew up in the days of Ichigo/Rukia or Ichigo/Orihime and Sakura in the Naruto scene and whether she belonged with Naruto or Sasuke or whether she belonged dead because she was standing in the way of the boys being together and what do you mean, you ship with an OC? And that OC? They’re trash and mary-sue and you’re dumb for making them, especially shipping them with my fave character and after living through all that wank and drama, I just can’t really find it in me to want to ship outside of just shipping all my friend’s OC/self-inserts with their respective fictional others. There’s much less wank when you’re just supporting friend’s ships and getting into them and when there is, I can easily be like ‘I ship it because you see that character there? My friend made that gorgeous beast. Do you not have eyes, Susan? Can you not see how wonderful that character and ship is? No? Go see the fucking optometrist then.”

Common fandom complaint that you’re sick of hearing

Okay, I know the KHR fandom will tear me apart on this one and I sort of apologize in advance. But honestly guys…I want it as much as the next person, since the anime was nowhere near what the manga deserved, but we’re never going to get a reboot. I mean, it’s been 14 years since the anime ended. God, do I feel old typing that out. I do think the best we can hope for at the moment is really just a good English dub, hopefully a full one, that will revitalize the fandom a bit and maybe a couple small one-shot manga’s or spin-offs for other media.

[pinwheel-plant]

cyrus hale death party (or: tumblr user pinwheel-plant’s ssgn Thoughts)

okay first off i didn’t preorder this one bc i was 1. lazy and 2. just…relying on the special edition Being There when i went to get it , so going to the bookstore was stressful for approx. 5 seconds when i got to the sg section and it Wasn’t There, until I realized it was on a special new releases shelf

anyways. ssgn. what the hell (<- my honest reaction to like half of the things in this book)

The Things, categorized in no particular order:

1. actually committing to the school being Done For for the entire thing AND presumably for a book/a few after this . damn like 😭 rip st. smithens u were fun while u lasted

2. murray……like he never goes away it’s really funny. but also joshua return??? i hope the other (former) SPYDER kids come back too, maybe some new ones.. anyways the end actually left me wondering where the hell the series is gonna go now, because of a few things, namely

3. CYRUS IS OLD AND THEY ADMIT IT like, they actually are starting to disobey him? and get RID of him on the mission?? like that’s a huge development actually, Cyrus has been such an integral part of the hales and the series as a whole that the team deciding he’s losing his edge (and therefore his role as De Facto Leader) is really cool and i hope sg sticks with it (im telepathically forcing sg to stick with it right now….u better do it)

4. zoe……

5. okay but like actually zoe is FREEEEEEE from the Stupid Love Triangle that was never a love triangle and actually hasn’t been viable for like, 3 books now? SHES FREE!!!! and she joins the small but somehow existent club of “canon lgbt sg book characters” while being a major!character!! it’s not much tbh but we’re getting there…hopefully it gets developed more in later books (like the very next one im so serious @sg) this was nice but let’s aim for More Zoe Character Development

honestly this whole book was somehow exactly what I expected but also not? bc it is Certainly A Spy School Novel but im actually curious how it’s gonna play out later. now i need him tk write faster tbh i can’t wait Another Year! yaaay!! (ever since I caught up [around…ssbi?] it’s been misery. like…why do I have to wait a year… I know why and I know this man has a whole family but still im impatient 😭😭

anyways thank you for reading 🫡 I’ll hopefully come back with more ssgn analysis™️ but this was just me hitting down thoughts so I don’t explode