#it's a UNHINGED touch of worldbuilding. love it.

[liesmyth]

Why does everyone worships BOE? I mean sure the houses are bad.. but how does it makes BOE good? Have I missed something? Also I would argue that the Houses are not the colonial forces, after all they’ve all left Earth and colonized the space, and the houses at least are still operating within the solar system. Like we still don’t know shit about BOE - only that they are fanatics who speak strictly in hate speech and propaganda. Which is never a good sign. Like NEVER. They have culty names!!!!!!! Hello????

I think BoE are morally fucked and that’s very hot of them! I do think they’re slightly less morally fucked than the other side, ideologically. I think what the Houses are doing is very much imperialism, even though we don’t know enough to have the full details on the scope of it. We have John talking about ‘protectorates’, we have economic exploitation (but in a completely batshit way!) and forced relocation of refugees. BoE are also doing armed occupation of some New Rho segments but they don’t have a whole imperial infrastructure behind them.

I agree that we’re missing a lot of details re: House foreign policy & BoE - some more thoughts under the cut

We don’t know if the occupation is driven by a need for resources, or by pure militarism (revenge + perpetual war keeps the Houses under control) or by some other reason. We don’t know how many inhabited planets are out there and how many are occupied by the Houses and to which extent — the Houses can’t really expand beyond their home system because necromancy, so why are they occupying planets they don’t live in? Also, they ‘flip’ planets, making them inhabitable to native lifeforms, but also that seems to be on a much longer time scale than the human lifetime; can those be repurposed for habitation later on? We don’t know! It’s SO juicy and so much is missing.

We will probably get some information in Alecto. I don’t think we will get all information, mostly because I really don’t think the political background is THAT important to the story Tazmuir is trying to tell. She’s primarily telling a story about emotions, I think, not politics. But I think we’ll see more of where they came from.

Most of what we know so far points to BoE being an irredentist liberation group, but they also 100% do commit terrorist acts, like, on the page. They have the vague ultimate goal of getting rid of the Houses, but their day-to-day goal seems to be only to kill as many necromancers as possible, and they’re absolutely committed to getting there by doing shit like, burning people alive and shooting up public places without much care for civilians getting caught in the middle. Yea, Ianthe’s reasoning for calling BoE terrorism is coming from a place of moral fuckery, but MY reason for saying so is that they are committing crimines to foster a state of fear among the civilian population in the pursuit of political goals. They do that by burning people alive.

BoE also do have a cult-like attitude regarding everything Earth, but I’m not sure yet how we’re supposed to interpret it. There’s absolutely a benign angle to it (connection to a long lost homeland) but also I find it VERY juicy that after allegedly ten thousand years their culture is still mostly rooted on Earth. It doesn’t seem to have moved beyond the myth of their lost ancestral home; why are you still naming your kids after Shakespeare? Who has written the great tragedies in the last millenia? Their lack of cultural advancement (and technological!) is the main reason why I think there could be some time travel theories going on.

You’re right that we don’t know what their ultimate goal is, it could be more malicious than most of the fandom tends to assume, or it could be more benign. I’m very excited to find out but without ascribing any moral intention to who’s stanning who. I’m an equal side war criminal enjoyer, ALL women blowing shit up are hot to me <3

[johaerys-writes]

I ADORE your writing! Do you have any book recs? 💗

THANK YOU!!! I do have some book recs, and I'm going to separate them in two categories: a) all time faves (aka books that rewired my brain), and b) my fave books I read this year.

All Time Faves

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller: if you follow me for my patrochilles writing, then you already know I love this book 😅 It literally altered my brain chemistry when I read it and I have never been the same.

RotE: short for The Realm of the Elderlings series by Robin Hobb, it's like 16 books long and I recommend each one. Fitz is my pathetic little meow meow and the Fool is one of my favourite characters of all time. Read at your own peril LOL

Earthsea and Lavinia by Ursula K Le Guin: I'm on a quest to read everything Le Guin has written because her writing is just *chef's kiss*. I adore her prose and the way climaxes and conflict are handled, and I love the worldbuilding. Her Earthsea stories are just so wonderful and poignant, I particularly love the Tombs of Atuan and Tehanu. The latter is permanently on my reread roster, I read it once a year towards the end of the year when I start feeling blue because it's just so comforting. And I have to include my favourite quote:

"You are beautiful," Tenar said in a different tone. "Listen to me, Therru. Come here. You have scars, ugly scars, because an ugly, evil thing was done to you. People see the scars. But they see you, too, and you aren't the scars. You aren't ugly. You aren't evil. You are Therru, and beautiful. You are Therru who can work, and walk, and run, and dance, beautifully, in a red dress."

Please read it you won't regret it 😭🙏🙏

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte: another long time favourite and one I reread at least once a year. It’s just one of the best books ever written (sorry I don't make the rules). I'm not sure if that is where my love of childhood friends to toxic, copedepent lovers and of unhinged, violent men in fiction came from but it sure contributed to it LMAO. I don’t consider it a romance book but I do adore the way it handles love and romance, among other things. It's just so bleak and cynical but also highly comedic in places and I could talk about it forever. TL;DR please read it haha.

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong: I didn’t like this book very much when I first started it but it had become a favourite by the time I finished it. I've reread it several times (I think just this year I've read it twice), it's just so heartbreaking and beautiful.

Fave books I read this year:

Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat: technically I finished the trilogy end of last year but I still think about it a lot. It's very well written and imo the perfect balance of angst, plot, intrigue and horniness.

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik: I read it earlier this year and I literally can't stop thinking about it lol. It’s SO well written and very immersive and even though the plot itself isn't like... comforting, it felt like a great comfort to read it. Ever since I finished it, every time I start a new book I'm like "gah I wish I could read it for the first time again" haha. I'm going to be rereading it for Christmas I think!

The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells: another series I enjoyed a lot this year! I listened to the audiobooks and the VA is just so good, he's Murderbot in my mind lol. I should probably reread the last few books because my attention span was awful while I was listening to them, but overall they're very entertaining but also touch upon important issues in a really interesting way.

She Who Became The Sun by Shelly Parker-Chan: I really enjoyed this book, the plot, characters and worldbuilding was very interesting and I absolutely love the way that gender queerness and "otherness" was explored. I am eagerly awaiting the next book 👀

Villains series by V.E. Schwab: a highly entertaining read, I was pleasantly surpised by how much I enjoyed this. I love me a close friends to sworn enemies story, especially when they are obsessed with each other in as homosexual a way as these two LMAO. The supporting characters were also very well written which isn't easy to find in stories with such a busy cast. Once again, eagerly awaiting the next book!

[frostbitepandaaaaa]

20 questions for fic writers

tagged by @quarantineddreamer and @astromechs. thanks friends! <3

1. How many works do you have on ao3?

44

2.  What's your total AO3 word count?

654,506

3. What fandoms do you write for?

currently riding the Andor/Rogue One wave. i've also written for X-Files, Avatar the Last Airbender, Game of Thrones and Mad Max: Fury Road

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Ozymandian (3,322) GoT. my albatross. my unfinished season 8 speculation fic. jon/dany

Thumbprint Scar (1,514) GoT. modern au, my pride and joy honestly. i love this fic so much. jon/dany

Built to Love (1,174) GoT. arranged marriage fic. jon/dany

Symptom of Time (815) GoT. soulmarks/soulmates. jon/dany

Fire & Brimstone (517) GoT. pacific rim au. jon/dany

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

yes! it might take a few days/weeks/months, but yes! i am always so grateful to anyone taking their time to leave a nice comment, no matter how brief or incoherent (sometimes those ones are the best ones lol)

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Not Now, Not Then for sure, but i'm a fucking wimp and left it ambiguous anyway. also if they die together it's fine right? this is fine.

also, Ozymandian might also work for this because it's not finished lmaooooo

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

that's tough considering i try to end all of them happily. i'll probably say Symptom of Time, though, because at the end soulmarks and the magic behind them returns to the world. it's kind of ironic, too, considering that is probably one of my angstier fics.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

not since i wrote for Thrones, which is to be expected. but even then, i never got much.

9. Do you write smut. If so, what kind?

yes and it only ever seems to be intense and emotionally charged. it's all pretty vanilla, comparatively, i feel like. lots of oral sex is always involved and safe sex and hearty consent are my kinks, so.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

do crossovers include like... fandom crossovers or like... aus? because if it's a fandom crossover, then no. but i've written a pacific rim AU for jon/dany (GoT).

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not to my knowledge.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

non but i would literally die. i've had a few of my fics turned into podfics though and that was fucking surreal. (thanks @adecila).

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

yes. i am not good at it lol. (sorry @ashleyfanfic)

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

you know, recency bias and all that... but rebelcaptain seriously has me body and soul. i am pretty certain that i will never be over them. they just have everything-- two lonely, touch-starved, traumatized loners who finally feel some modicum of safety among each other (even if it was only for the briefest of moments)? two warrior babes with competency kinks? doomed by the narrative? one of them with a fucking abandonment complex and the other the one who always comes back? THE ANGST THE YEARNING THE UNHINGED-- okay i'll stop sorry. SO UPSET i never got in on the ground floor with these morons with Rogue One came out. (although, tbf, i was deep into the max/furiosa feels when RO came out and they're second place for my favorite ship.)

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

Ozymandian *sobbing*. i really, really wannt to but season 8 just stole all the wind from my sails my god.

16. What are your writing strengths?

imagery/setting descriptions. worldbuilding to a certain degree. i like writing dialogue but how good i am at it is another manner all together.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

inner dialogues. i feel like i either go overboard or never give enough. i'm also pretty shit at plot lmao. vibes?? i got you. plot?? fuckingn forget it i'm out.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

not sure if i understand this question?

19. First Fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter, un-fucking-fortunately. hi, i am a fraud.

20. Favorite fic you've ever written?

Thumbprint Scar i just love it sm. it has a special place in my heart and i did exactly what i wanted with that fic annd i think i mostly did it well. anyway.

tagging: @justwandering-neverlost @ashleyfanfic @andorerso @fulcrumstardust @luciechat @mosylufanfic and anyone else who wants to join in!

[amischiefofmuses]

TAG NINE PEOPLE YOU’D LIKE TO KNOW BETTER!

I. favourite colours: Red, purple or black. Especially when combined together in a gothic style. So specifically deep reds and plum purples, not so much the emo style of bright red and bright purples with black. Think regal vampire's castle.

II. favourite flavours: Barbecue seasonings, char on meat (steak or chicken wings especially), apple sweets, pineapple sweets, watermelon in any form and a nice warm spiced rum.

III. favourite genres: Fantasy and sci-fi that have deep world-building elements, found family stories in whatever form they take, horror, psychology and if any of these come with a touch of comedy then even better but I rarely enjoy pure comedy driven narratives.

IV. favourite music: I'm a bit polyjamorous, listening to whatever vibes with me at any given time but recently I've been listening to a lot of alt, folk, rock and indie. Think Will Wood and The Tapeworms, Neil Cicierega/Lemon Demon, Ashnikko - if it sounds a little unhinged then it probably scratches my brain just right.

V. favourite movies: Spirited Away, Van Helsing, Brothers Grimm, Dragonheart, Borrowers, Pans Labyrinth, Wolf Children, The Lost Boys, Tremors, Hellboy/Hellboy 2 - Fun fact, Hellboy 2 had a big influence on the writing of my Fae characters and their worldbuilding.

VI. favourite series: Adventure Time, Steven Universe, Helluva Boss, X-Files, 10th Kingdom, Stranger Things, The Owl House, Invader Zim, BBC Sherlock, NBC Hannibal and Charmed.

VII. last song: I only smoke to feel bad - KiNG MALA

VIII. last series: Probably Helluva Boss? If not, a rewatch of Invader Zim.

IX. last movie: Coraline! I'd actually never seen it before and watched it with friends (I was ashamed for years to admit I'd never seen it because most people assumed I must have given my vibes.) Was pleasantly surprised to see it also fit my usual love of Fae-themed things.

X. currently reading: Unfortunately nothing currently, my books are all in storage and I don't want to risk losing any while sofa-surfing. I was in the middle of re-reading Fynoderee by Alexander Caine Duncan before that though as I hadn't read it since I was a teenager.

XI. currently watching: Various youtube videos on unexplained mysteries. Mr. Ballen being a favourite.

XII. currently working on: Getting a place to live! Finally got the paperwork I've been missing today (and signed up to the local library!) so that's in progress. Other than that, roleplay replies and trying to make my blog easier to navigate.

tagged by: @handgiven tagging: @bdkrp @multianime @etherdwellers @universalextortion @woewept @bcund @hostilis @hannah-the-small & anyone else that wants to do it!! This is an open invitation!

[aquilathefighter]

If I may, 💞 and 💌for the writer's ask game! <3

Thank you Quella!!

💞 what's the most important part of a story for you? the plot, the characters, the worldbuilding, the technical stuff (grammar etc), the figurative language

I think I place the most importance on characters! To me, that's what fanfic is all about: falling in love with characters and wanting to continue their adventures in different situations! I focus really hard on getting their voices right and trying not to fall victim to common follies like flattening characterization or simply avoiding the negative aspects of a character.

💌 share something with us about an up-and-coming work (WIP) that has you excited!

So the next thing that'll be ready for posting is a little bit silly, a little bit unhinged and that is because it revolves around my current fixation with The Bad Touch by Bloodhound Gang. Extremely NSFW lyrics if you choose to listen haha, it is an absolutely ridiculous song and I can't stop myself.

Ask game here!

[hydrangeawise]

Because something something end of the year something, I felt like doing a small post on things I really enjoyed this year, in no particular order:

Sasaki to Miyano (anime): made my heart bloom like, idk, a meadow in spring or something. I've adored the manga for years, and the anime transported everything in this story so well!

Aurora - The Gods We Can Touch (music): uh, yeah. This album was released early in the year and I haven't stopped listening to it since.

Sabikui Bisco (anime): tackled me into the ground, has excellent worldbuilding & character dynamics, made me cry.

Shokei Shoujo no Virgin Road (Light Novel): probably the thing that got me back into reading physical books again, swallowed me whole, made me fall in love with many unhinged women (I'm still waiting on my pre-ordered copy of the fifth volume, I can be patient though).

Little Witch in the Woods (video game): very charming story so far! I'm a bit miffed that almost all my progress got deleted when I updated to the Beta version, so I'll have to redo a lot of things when I get playing again the next time, but still, very charming.

Frey & McGray series by Oscar de Muriel (books): I'm currently reading the 4th book. It's all very enjoyable, the character dynamics are intriguing, I enjoy the stories very much, and I'm looking forward to slowly making my way through the rest of the books.

Lycoris Recoil (anime): I still am very much hip deep in this. Takina still has my whole heart, thank you very much. I'm looking forward to the light novel & the manga. (I did write a lot of posts screeching about the girls).

Hello from the Hallowoods (podcast): I adore this podcast. With my whole heart. I'm slowly making my way through the episodes because sometimes I get easily overwhelmed when I'm listening to it, but - I adore it; so much!

Kitchen for Singles (series of short videos on YT): pure comfort to watch - I also started trying some of the recipes (and I may have adopted the tomato sauce permanently into my staple recipes).

The Cat Proposed (manga): uh, yeah. So this manga probably kind of preserved my sanity? In a "I found it when I was in a pretty not-good place and it got me back on solid ground" way, I suppose (maybe I'm being a bit melodramatic, but I truly feel like it did save some part of me). Charming story, charming characters, I have so so so much love for every single bit of it.

And that's it, I believe. This is what my cheese brain held on to for the last 12 months.

[thegayhimbo]

Orchid, sage, jasmine, palm tree

orchid ⇢ what’s a song you consider to be perfect?

Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley.

sage ⇢ what ‘medium’ of art (poetry, music, fiction, paintings, statues etc.) is the most touching to you? why do you think that is?

Music and fiction. Something about hearing certain beats or lyrics conveys how I'm feeling in a given moment and allows me a sense of catharsis. Likewise, I enjoy fiction for inspiring creativity and imagination in worldbuilding, themes, and characters.

jasmine ⇢ do you have a movie or book you loved but will never watch/read again?

The Harry Potter series. I think the reasons for why I've recently distanced myself from the franchise are pretty obvious.

palm tree ⇢ do you have a fictional villain you shouldn’t like but love regardless?

Maryann Forrester from True Blood. She's a monster, but she knows how to throw an entertaining party, and I enjoyed seeing how unhinged and chaotic she became.

Thank you for the ask! :)

[lonlonranching]

Rambles of the more fun sort:

So a friend and i wanna make an rpg (who is to say if this will come to life? At the moment, we are having fun just coming up with ideas about it, bouncing them off one anothers brain, excited when we come to the SAME conclusions. Excited when we don’t. It’s been great). We are starting to think about how we’d like to sort out the gameplay and style - and my brain goes to games like earthbound/mother and generally gba and pixel graphic type stuff (partly because that’s what we grew up on, and partly because, apparently, gba style games are shockingly easier to make versus my original idea to code a choose-your-own-adventure text-based rpg through my limited knowledge of python).

We’ve been fleshing the main character out, who works at a used video game store (the ones that give you a nickel for a game and then resell for $150 - and a lot of the story is inspired by personal interest and where I live, and there’s a franchise like that here sooo projecting my own heavy anti-work sentiments and contempt for arbitrage and greed). I like when games give you some say in the character you play, in terms of their interests and idiosyncrasies, but at the same time, the creator is the one who gives that character a soul, or whatever you believe what someone is at their conception. and, that, can then be integral to the story at hand. How to find a balance (i dont have an answer, but it’s a hypothetical i’ll be thinking about elsewhere in the dome drain)

I am someone who is driven by character-based narratives, and more often, drawn to them. i like worldbuilding, actually I love it, but what I am interested in is how characters interact with the world. And, too, how the world then interacts with them. There’s a Butler quote from parable that has always stuck out to me: “all that you touch you change. All that you change changes you.” I’ve never been able to stop thinking about it, so it appears all around me, internally and externally.

on another note, but stay with me if youre here to begin with, because i swear itll all connect! Over the past 4 years, I’ve been writing a story, meaning i didn’t write any of it at all and it lives entirely in my head (and, in the air when I share with friends, on notebook paper when i want to draw out a joke, and, ok, about a million bullet lists on my google drive, so ive written a little - but do we count incohesive thoughts? I think I might have to, because that’s my whole entire life). It's about a kid in college named Newt who wanted more time to play video game but their RA job involved a lot more cryptids native to where I live than expected, and supernatural beings that aren’t really native anywhere (Back where I am in reality, I’m still holding out - just because I haven’t seen a vampire doesn’t mean they aren’t out there. Just because I haven’t knowingly met one, doesn’t mean I haven’t. I’d convince you I’m not unhinged, but I can’t convince myself). The story is also, if not largely, if not entirely, about having relationships that are unconventional.

I didn’t really understand myself while I was working on this little story. And that’s exactly why I created it. I desperately wanted to, and Newt, as well as the other characters, gave me an outlet for self-exploration. I wanted to consider concepts of relationships that felt “unrealistic” compared to what I saw in common practice - people who loved each other in different ways and different forms. And the way I was writing these, dare I call, love stories was through people being totally honest with themselves, and then naturally, with others. that had always been hard for me: honesty. i think sometimes it still can be. Call me a self-insert writer! Because honest to god I am. Every single character I write is a part of me I want to connect with.

Anyway, Newt becomes close to several different characters throughout the story (Gerb, another RA who has this sort of one-sided rivalry with Newt who actually just really wants to be liked by them; Carmilla, a vampire who finds an unconventional interest in Newt that makes her question her own notions of love; and the Sqwonk, which if im the first person telling you about the saddest western pennsylvania crytpid in my beloved hemlock backyards, boy howdy am i honored.) Gerbs and Carmillas relationships with Newt are very near and dear to me because they explore love in non-romantic contexts. the kicker is that i had NO clue i was aromantic at this point in time (heavily when i was still in my undergrad, so 2020 era). i think i confused a lot people describing these relationships, especially Newt and Carmillas, as i was very clear it wasnt exactly romantic, but it was just as, if not more, powerful (i caused so many 404 error blue screens for alloromantic/allosexuals - sorry! i was just as confused). the one thing i knew was that i wanted to experience the types of relationships i was writing, but at the time, i thought they could only exist on paper, in my head, in a reality much different than one with cryptids and leylines and witches and demons (it covers a lot - maybe one day ill get inspired to write about it more on here)

but im learning now that it really isnt that different ! or maybe that it doesnt have to be! that you can pursue and define relationships in a vast amount of ways. the one thing that has been helpful, is finding the way to communication that. i always felt indifferent about language - having remembered learning that language abides by the ways people need it, but i felt languge was only a barrier for me. i didnt know HOW to talk about about the ways in which i felt, to myself or to others. i wasnt sure how to use words to communicate. and while i didnt know how to talk about feelings, i innately knew how to feel feelings, even if they were buried deep. but i convinced myself most of the time my feelings were endlessly wrong. that i could feel the way others felt if i tried hard enough.

nope. not how that works! it just took me 24 years to figure this out.

ANYWAY, me and a friend are trying to make a rpg. me and this person are vastly different in infinite number of ways, but yesterday on a discord call i asked him what he was thinking to do with the main character, he told me he first wanted to enable some sort of attributes to signify gender and sexuality, but after coming out to him, he really wanted to, if i wanted to, make them aro.

I immediately turned my face away from the camera, for fear they saw 24 years worth of emotions surface on my pixeled face, and then i wondered why i still needed to hide that from them. realizing i didnt, i turned back, and told them I’d really like that

im even more excited to play around with this rpg idea now. here are my expectations: to try and make it. I don’t care if it's not good. I don’t care if anyone else plays it but me and my friend (I don’t even know if i fully want people too, beyond those i know either irl or on the internet corners im cozily tucked into). i really want to make a game about an aroace person. I really, really want to make a game about relationships. Relationships with yourself, with others, the world around. how they can change your life. how your life, and who’s in it, can change you.

[kmackatie]

💫 and/or 💞 for the fic writer asks :)

thanks for the asks! 💜

(ask me a fanfic writer ask)

💫what is your favorite kind of comment/feedback?

I honestly love any sort of feedback, but I have a soft spot for those that are unhinged yelling and also quotes of moments or lines that touched the reader. I really treasure knowing what resonated, and hearing that it was enjoyed.

💞what's the most important part of a story for you? the plot, the characters, the worldbuilding, the technical stuff (grammar etc), the figurative language

I have answered this one here!

[liesmyth]

Any fiction recommendations? I’ve repeatedly read Locked Tomb, natch. I’d love something similarly brainwork inducing but maybe a touch lighter. Also not fantasy or sci fi…I need something to listen to while I do a ton of chores, and those can be hard (for me) because the unfamiliar proper nouns get confusing. :/

anon!! I'm terrible at reccing anything based on “if you liked TLT” because TLT is like five different genres in a trench coat, but I TRIED (⭐) Here are some brainworm-y recs that aren't sff — where by brainworm-y I mean that they stayed with me for a while after I finished them, but aren't overly confusing. (most of them are books, but available on audio)

Podcasts: a tumblr pal recced me the deviser based on me liking the eldritch elements of tlt; it's short and horror-y, and I really enjoyed it.

I haven't checked out the new TMA yet but I see many TLT peeps who are enjoying it (or S1 of the original The Magnus Archives could be a good entry point if you haven't ever listened to it)

TV: Unfortunately I hardly ever watch live action stuff BUT if you haven't seen either IWTV (the series not the film) or Yellowjackets, I do rec those! There's a lot of overlap between these fans and TLT fandom on my dash. His Dark Materials also goes hard and you might enjoy it (dysfunctional characters! worldbuilding! religious weirdness!) but it has more sff elements than other stuff I've recced. Oddball out of nowhere but The Great is a fun show if you enjoy the meme moments of TLT + people being gleefully horrible + having feelings despite your best intentions

Animanga: Utena (!!!!!) also Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, which occupies a very similar space to TLT in my brain

Books!

✧ I went through my “women unhinged” goodreads shelf and found some books that are avaliable in audio format, and might appeal. These are wildly varied in scope and ngl the criterion was just “at least one person (besides myself) who enjoyed tlt also this book” and the similarities stop there. It's all vibes baby! Still, I tried

my heart is a chainsaw by stephen graham jones (horror, slasher), bunny by mona awad (horror, wildly unhinged), the witching hour by anne rice (horror, gothic)

matrix by lauren groff (historical, lesbian nuns), anything by sarah waters (historical fiction + lesbians), rebecca by daphne du maurier (historical, gothic)

the plot by jean hanff korelitz (litfic, thriller), sadie by courtney summers (thriller, coming of age). anything by gillian flynn (thrillers with terrible women).

✧ I really enjoy Tana French thrillers for the strong sense of place, great prose, and the complete emotional turmoil of her character-centric narratives. If anything sounds up your alley, I enjoyed the witch's elm + dublin murder squad series. They're murder mystery procedural but the messy characters really elevate the novels. Available in audiobook also

✧ American Elsewhere, technically scifi but set in New Mexico. Somehow, cosmic horrors who have taken over a quaint little town and worse! They are enforcing HETERONORMATIVITY upon it! They also have tentacles. The main character rocks

✧ Sundial by Catriona Ward: insane, gripping psychological horror. A mother and her unsettling daughter take a trip to the isolate desert ranch where the main chracter grew up. Surrounded by unsettling science experiments

✧ A Touch of Jen by Beth Morgan: when the parasocial relationship is so strong, it accidentally summons a hellmonster from another dimension

✧ SFF adjacent, sorry, but set in the real world (historical, tho) — Cuckoo Song by Frances Hardinge, a middle grade novel with fairytale elements that gave me more brainworms than any kids book ought to, mostly because I LOVED the main character. She occupies a very similar place in my brain as Gideon does. This is actually the only book on the list that I'm not sure is available in audio format, but if you get a chance and it's up your alley, I'd check it out

I hope there's at least ONE thing you'll like in here! lmk (also. lmk if you don't have access to a way to borrow audiobooks but would like to)

[moonloredraws]

What tyepes and how elves do you have in your homebrew d&d??! Like the worldbuilding is huge, and hope I don't bother you by asking.

I don’t mind the questions, honestly! But be ready for an INCREDIBLY long read because I love elves and I might as well go into detail with them, and most of the information and brain thoughts can be found under the read more!

Anyway, I have 3 different realms. Manala, which is my Homebrew D&D world, The “It’s an Odd Kind of Fairytale Universe” which... is my webcomic’s universe (I still haven’t named the realm OTL) and Ozarathan, which is the Elf Only Universe. 

Manala is the one I’ll focus on since you asked D&D homebrew but I’ll touch on the other two as well. Ozarathan’s elf types are a mix between the Manala and IAOKOFT elves but with SOME differences.

Now... onto my D&D elves!

Manala has 10 types of elves. Here, we have 9 pictured, and those are the actual playable races. I’ll get to the last ones once I’ve explained these ones!

Manala has 2 categories of elves. True Elves and False Elves. False Elves are Wood Elves and Sea Elves, the rest are all True Elves. The reason for this categorization is that Wood Elves came to be when Eladrin mixed with Amali (beastfolk, essentially kemonomimi) and Sea Elves came to be when Eladrin mixed with Triton. They have plenty of elven blood, but they’re removed enough that they have their own cultures and are not as afflicted by The Hunt as True Elves are.

The Hunt is something all True Elves suffer from and it’s an innate bloodthirst. Elves on Manala are incredibly unhinged, especially Eladrin and Shadar Kai, who were the first Elves to be created onto Manala, and Shadar Kai especially just tend to start eating prey while it’s still alive. The others at least have the decency to kill the thing before starting to eat it. Most elves enjoy raw meat, and if it’s still warm from the hunt that’s even better.  

That being said, High Elves (so Sun Elves, Moon Elves and Drow) try to move away from being so overcome by the Hunt that they immerse themselves into practising the arts, and most modern High Elves don’t even experience the Hunt anymore... unless they actually go out to hunt. Which they don’t, because they either raise livestock or assign certain individuals to hunt so that not everyone turns into chaotic bloodthirsty morons. Sea Elves have no remnants of The Hunt, and Wood Elves experience it in a completely different way. They don’t revel in the kill, they revel in the hunt itself and a hunting party can spend weeks away from home tracking down some kind of behemoth, running it ragged until it dies from stress. 

True Elves also have mostly matriarchal societies, and most men dress in very revealing ways. Piercings and Tattoos are common across all True Elves, and preference of Fabric depends on region and subrace, with High Elves and Eladrin enjoying silken and loose flowing fabrics that move well, and Shadar Kai preferring leathers and wool to fight away the harsh cold of the Shadowfell.

Now... onto more specific explanations of the races!

Shadar Kai. Shadar Kai are one of the two Original Races of Elves. They were created alongside Eladrin, and at first were put into the Material Plane before the Creators decided to split the Material plane into 3, which resulted in the creation of the Shadowfell and Feywilds. Shadar Kai are definitely the most unpredictable of the elves, The Hunt is incredibly strong in them, and as such they get very distracted by that need to go out and kill some poor beast. Because of this, the Shadowfell is relatively safe where Elven societies exist, pretty much anything that’s deemed a danger is ripped apart. Their Shadowfell sister-race, the Shadow Orcs, keep them at an arm’s distance, but even if there’s surface bickering, but the two races are very close and if a larger enemy comes, the two team up and their combined forces easily dispatch any dangers.

Shadar Kai are the largest of all the elves. Stronger, more ferocious, and definitely way more extreme. Their society employs very Art Deco styles, unlike the other Elves who prefer the more fluid Art Nouveau looking styles. Shadar Kai have tons of piercings, and as they come of age, they get large geometric tattoos that cover their entire bodies to separate the youngins from adults. Shadar Kai do not have very colourful natural colours. Their eyecolour ranges from all tones from white to black, and occasionally very pale colours of any kind. Their Sclera tends to range from grey to black. Skintones range from black to white, and this is true for their hair too. The exception is with Ghost Shadar Kai, who are born pure white except for their sclera, and the result is a very jarring humanoid. They have feathery growths adorning their skin, mostly on the face, but down the back, on the shoulders and neck, as well as forearms is also common.

Up next are the Eladrin, who are really crazy and obviously very very horny because they ended up creating the false elves all on their own. They’re native to the Feywild, but very often travel to the Material Plane, so Eladrin are much more common than Shadar Kai. Like their Shadowfell counterparts, they have growths as well, but it ranges wildly from individual to individual, and even their season. 

Eladrin can be pretty much any colour, and often have skin markings. They’re a colourful bunch. Eladrin men tend to be VERY ostentatious, and the less actually properly covering their skin, the better. But don’t let the bright colours, horniness and smaller size distract you, because the Eladrin are only marginally better than Shadar Kai when it comes to dealing with the Hunt. They’re a bunch of party animals but will definitely rip your throat out if they feel threatened.

Surface High Elves are the best at taking care of their Hunt instinct, and actually have it so under wraps that they have extensive cities filled with so much art of all kind that they make other races forget that Elves are actually nuts. Surface High Elves developed after certain clans of Eladrins began losing their connections to the Feywild after spending extensive amounts of time on the Material Plane.

(Elerath isn’t a Sun Elf but he presents himself as such)

The men dress a LITTLE more sensibly, but the sheer variety of High Elf fashion can lead to some... weird clothing choices. Surface High Elves don’t have the jewel tone range of their Eladrin cousins, but still come in all kinds of skintones, hair colours and eye colours. They do not have any growths of any kind, and actually have super soft skin! (poking elf cheeks is super satisfying) The main difference between Sun and Moon Elves is mostly their colour schemes and sleep cycles. Sun Elves are diurnal, Moon elves are nocturnal.

Drow developed from an offshoot of Surface High Elves when they travelled into the Underdark to protect the Surface from Aberrations that had started migrating to the surface and causing chaos. Unlike canon Drow, Drow on Manala are not as bad with their overwhelming misandry and the whole “treating men like garbage” thing doesn’t exist. They’re still strongly matriarchal, and men are held to a different standard, but in a completely different way. Drow men are THE most beautiful group of elves in the entire world, and most high ranking ladies have harems of handsome men who they protect with such overwhelming ferocity that it almost rivals that of Shadar Kai. So I guess Drow men still get the short end of the stick but hey, at least they get pampered?? (But if you’re a handsome man, your chances of getting out into the world is... almost nil)

The Drow are zealous worshipers of The Spider, the Archfey of Weaving, Protection and Good Fortune, and due to this, they work in tandem with various Drider, who in this setting are natural Fey creatures, not drow dudes who fucked up a weird and complicated ritual. (Can you tell that I hate canon Drow culture? Because I really do. Drow have such great potential so here I am, turning things on its head)

Drow skintones range from white to charcoal, and sometimes have a slight purple tone. Eye colours tend to be jewel tones, but yellows, oranges and greens are very uncommon. Hair ranges from white to black, but can also be bright purple.  The exception is with ghost drow, who are pure white. Even their pupils are difficult to distinguish from their iris so they look super jarring.

Wood Elves are a fun bunch. They don’t mingle with other elves as much, not do they associate with Amali much, but they have good relations with both. Most Wood Elf cities are hidden from the world at large since they tend to just keep to themselves and protect nature from other races, and to protect the other races from whatever lurks in the forest. 

They have ears with extra lobes attached, and many also have fur on the tips and the back of the ears. Some individuals even have furry manes that run down their spines! Their colours are basically any shade of brown you can imagine. They span the entire human gamut, also include greys, and sometimes are a little too yellow or red toned to be completely right. They also sometimes have stripes or spots on their skins!

Then there’s the Sea Elves! Unlike other elves, Sea Elves are not mammalian. They lack breasts, and their young can eat fish pretty much as soon as they’re born. Sea Elf Babies are born very small, but more developed and take a while longer to get to their adult sizes since Sea Elves are quite large when it comes to elves. They have patches of scales on their skin, and gills. They can breathe both above and underwater, and most large Sea Elf societies are underwater, built into cliffs by the coast

Any colour a fish is, they can be. As such, Sea Elves are seen as very striking individuals if they come from more tropical seas, and they become very sought after courtesans.

Elves in general are really horny. Unlike most media where elves are seen as aloof and standoffish and holier-than-thou because of their beauty and long lifespans, on Manala, ALL elf subraces are pretty easy to seduce. They enjoy the attention, and as a result, the entire realm is filled with half-elves of ALL kinds of mixtures. Also, gender is so fluid in elven society. An Elf picks how they present themselves and because of the ease at which magic is available, they can sculpt their bodies to fit how they wish to be seen. Elves said Trans Rights.

Now... there’s one type of elf I didn’t touch on, and those are the Aetherians. The Aetherians don’t play much of a role on Manala because they’ve actually left. Aetherians are essentially Space Elves and they have WEIRD crazy powers. They’re the creators of the realm, but after they deemed their newest project complete enough, they left. Well. Most of them did. Two of them remain in the Realm but I’m not going to reveal their identities.

Aetherians are HUGE. They’re like. 9-10 feet tall, and have geometric grooves in their skin that glow. They also have floating crowns of shards above their heads. They’re a mystery, and were involved in the creation of the world, but aside from that almost nothing is known of them.

So uhhh yeah. Those are my D&D elves.

I’ll add a little bonus section of the Ozarathan Elves here as well because that’s fun:

I haven’t finished drawing the lineup so the anatomy is whack on some of these here’s a general idea of their sizes??

(Also in IAOKOFT) The Solarians – slightly scorched skin, tanned, warm grey/brownish sclera, live in high mountains, art deco style, very isolationist.

(Also in IAOKOFT) The Umbrals - Reskinned Manala Shadar Kai and Ghost Shadar Kai, cousins to Umbrals, very similar aesthetics

The Vokorians- Reskinned Manala Wood Elves. They have the same fluffy ears but also have tails.

The Hush-Hush – Reskinned Manala Drow and Ghost Drow, but also have tails.

The Maritimians- Scaled Skin in parts, fins and gills, often have tails. Freshwater and Saltwater varieties exist.

(Also in IAOKOFT) The Zephyrians- Elves with small wings. Often have feathering on their bodies, and also have feathered tails. Live in moving cities that get moved by the wind. Nomadic.

(Also in IAOKOFT) The Uzarians- High Elves, the most typical elves.

(Also in IAOKOFT) The Duneriders- Desert elves. Grey sclera, dark skin, have marks, offshoot of Solarians, but have rounded highly mobile ears.

[escapekissed]

Lucky do you have any favorite pieces of media from the psychological horror genre? Feels like its a genre that matches ur interests very well 👉🏽👈🏽

there are a couple that really speak to me!

first is rule of rose, which is a game that is incredibly formative to me. in a time where i was looking for representation as a young gay person and REALLY into looking up wiki pages for horror games, rule of rose showed me the symbolic trauma of puberty and toxic ‘love’ between girl children and the violence of patriarchal figures that i was looking for. it showed such cruelty but also such strength in its main character, and the symbolism? exquisite.... it also just has such a creepy atmosphere and the fact that the game is near impossible to play along with its shitty graphics for the enemies makes it so. peculiar and creepy in a very special way to me.

catherine is another atlus game near and dear to my heart, tho i dont  think i’m ever going to be playing full body for that exact reason. it’s a game basically about eugenics and misogyny, about gods&devils thinking of women as only reproductive objects and the men in their lives that ‘waste their reproductive time’ being tortured and killed for it, taking away a woman’s choice. i always thought it would be so interesting to do trans and lesbian takes on this game, and i have never really? stopped thinking about how this game is so thrilling in its themes of entitlement and stopping people’s freedom to love as they wish. this is also one of the only horror games in which the ‘human element’ actually interests me. so many horror games give u terrible people and i dont give a FUCK ABOUT THEM. but the way this game shows u just snippets of his life as a ‘break’ from the excruciatingly scary (to me, because time limits scare me LOL), stressful as hell puzzles. and u get to figure out the mystery of what is going on in people who would otherwise be boring to you, but in this game are shrouded in just enough mystery that ur actually interested in their boring day-to-day lives. its so satisfying just to drink with ur buds. its like really great gameplay to me tbh. i also just love katherine and catherine and they frusturate me so much and that’s exactly what they’re supposed to do which i LOVE. extremely effective atmosphere setting and worldbuilding, basically.

the lighthouse is my favorite horror movie tbh because it does suspense so well. the movie is literally themed around suspense, the suspense of not getting sexual satisfaction to completion, of being touch starved and lonely and repressed, of being able to hold ur boss but never kiss him, of being fed lobster but it tastes flavorless and bland and u can smell ur boss’s farts the whole time while he prattles on with disturbing sailor’s tales and barks out orders until he’s lulled into his drink. i honestly love this movie. and the acting is brilliant and unhinged

there’s a few indie games i really like that have been either formative to me or i just??? really like their vibe and i can basically tell from them i would like every game in the ‘genre.’

pocket mirror to me is like, this beautiful game about your own inner toxicity and escaping from yourself. i love indie 64-bit games like this, the background art is so beautiful, and while i’ve never played all the way through it because it scares me too much---i love ib and all the games in the ‘ib’ genre LOL.

doki doki literature club i know is a very strange game to like, but i enjoy it for letting the women be actual characters with their own thoughts and feelings. the pychological horror movie ‘i’m thinking of ending things’ is the exact opposite of this game.'i’m thinking of ending things’ is a backwards approach to feminist horror in my opinion. it’s from a male’s perspective of his hallucinations of a girl that once didn’t give him a second glance and his violence towards her in these fantasies. it takes itself painfully seriously. it pretends to deconstruct something that the director helped soldify (the manic pixie dream girl trope) in the public eye. doki doki literature club on the other hand, the passive character who ‘things happen to’ is the man. the active roles all go to the women in the game and what they do to themselves in order to be loved by not just a man, but the player, and in doing so they often become the all-knowing god of their own prison. like tell me that’s not the dopest thing u’ve ever heard of!

twilight zone is a big one for me but 5 episodes in particular have shaped how i view horror forever. ‘to serve man’---where the greatest, scariest thing in the world is not being able to understand the language another person is actually using and for them to manipulate u using ur own, actually wishing u harm as they placate you with your own interpretations. the episode where a rich man’s last will and testament is for his vain, selfish relatives to wear a mask until midnight that reveals symbolically how ugly they are to him. they bicker all night with petty squabbles, and then at midnight he reveals the mask has permeanantly shaped their faces to reveal who they really are and the abuse he suffered under them. the cornfield episode still scares the shit out of me as someone with an entitled younger brother whose entitlement and anger is often enabled by those around us, and i’ve always thought that it was such a good show of like, how patriarchy enables little boy’s violence. the episode ‘all the time in the world’ where an abused man with a shitty life is finally the last man on earth and he can do anything he’d like to do and all he wants to do is read but then he breaks his glasses. and finally! the episode where toys in a box come to life and bemoan their fate as they realize they will be trapped there forever in clothes and identities they do not recognize. these episodes always scare the shit out of me LOL.

besides that i really like. low-budget passion project indie games. the first that comes to mind is ‘the path’ which is about a family of four sisters of various ages all inspired by little red riding hood who stray from the path and are hunted by the woodsman. and then the game that YOU my dear myers! showed me! that haunts me to this day. basically a tape talks to you about the areas of a house and then starts to talk about the house as a living creature. and the living creature is hungry, without you inside it. the living creature is tired of being alone, it’s tired of being abandoned, it’s tired, and it’s eyes are empty with no one in the windows, and it’s mind is blank with no one in the bedroom, and it’s hangry there’s no one in its basement to feast on, to torment as it has been tormented by disuse.

last but not least, i really enjoy the book ‘sharp objects.’ which is not technically a horror novel. but it is about a serial killer, and about women and abuse and it has some of the best writing ever. so i highly recommend it AND the miniseries (watch the miniseries first then read the book bc the miniseries is like. directed better? but the novel is written and characterized better. it’s also very short u can finish it in like a day and a half).

honorable mentions for horror In General (not necessarily psychological horror) are: 1) the birdcage. i honestly consider this movie entirely unsettling. robin williams failing to portray a man that is actually attracted to nathan lane, which could be because they have simply been married so long but also is just awful to me in general bc it makes me feel like even our outwardly gay but still more masc gay men can’t love and be attracted to femme camp gays even when they’re married to them. the fact that both these men that could be so in love, that were so in love at one time, you can at the very least imagine, are told by their only son that they need to go back in the closet to impress some old ass republicans, giving the message that no matter how succesful you are in the gay community, no matter how bright and wonderful a presence you are, no matter how loving you are, no matter how much you love, no matter how interwoven you are in lgbt-ness, the straight people you love most will still try to change you to impress the wold. horrifying.

2) coraline. its children’s horror but that’s still horror baby! i think lately about how much the movie talks about mothers and birth. coraline calls whybie ‘why born’ and i just think about how much she thinks about creating a new life with a new mother, and how going through that small door into a long tube... it’s like crawling into a new womb and being reborn to a new mother that loves you. and that’s horrific from a feminist perspective in and of itself---that your child would feel so unloved and unimportant to you that she would literally... rather die in this life, technically, rather be ‘unborn’ to you and born anew to someone, someone just like you but better, someone just like you but what SHE wants a mother to be, feminine and skirted and smiling. and then there’s the fact that coraline only gives this up when she realizes her other mother basically wants to change her more to suit her liking in ways that would cause her pain, at which point she realizes this whole fantasy is a lie, not real, something meant to entice her and control her and make her ‘perfect’---the same way she wants her mother & father to be ‘perfect’ in a way that causes her to act out and hurt them. it’s psychological horror that’s technically not psychological horror in the best way, something you can really dig your teeth into, something that has so many layers to it. and the animation! gorgeous!

3) finally i have recently watched annihilation. and it kind of changed my life a little bit.... so often we’re used to viewing monsters as either 1) malicious or 2) romantic/sad/sexy. but the monster in this movie is literally a metaphor for cervical cancer. 

to me, the monsters and the corpses and all the beautiful scenery in this movie, in every color u can think of, a muted rainbow of flowers and nature at its best and most bizarre and sprawling. i often say that monsters are beautiful, but tbh, i feel like... somehow i always mean that in a way that is near-fetishitic, somehow self-depcrating way, where i want to consider what other people think is ‘ugly’ is ‘beautiful to me’ because what i am also ugly to other people as a monster to the cishet white patriarchy. there are things i consider beautiful, certainly, purely beautiful. but when i talk about monsters being beautiful, it is in the way the sublime is beautiful. it scares me, it haunts me, i love it, i want to possess it as part of me, a totem to carry in my back pocket to make the strength in my own ugliness stronger.

when i saw the monster in this movie (SPOILERS) i was immediately unnerved at this bad cgi abomination that bloomed from the most beautiul cgi cancer death cosmos imaginable. it scared me and i had to sleep with a light on for 2 days after LOL. but i was also moved by its gentleness. by the fact that the cervical cancer alien, when it tried to hurt you, wasn’t trying to hurt you at all. it was simply copying your movements. in the movie, it says that the creature wants nothing. it was simply copying. it was simply changing. it’s a prism of nature---and it corrupts yes, and it can hurt people and things and turn them into scary but still terribly unique and beautiful things that also kill---but the movie says that it wants nothing. it simply exists. it’s a part of nature, same as us, a part of the same universe and cosmos, despite being alien to us and stange and hurting us sometimes in ways that it doesn’t understand.

i don’t know. if i quite believe the movie when it says that, though. because i think if you copy someone, like a child would, you are trying to understand them. you are trying to understand yourself. you are trying to form yourself in another’s image when you have none, and you are failing at that, and hurting people and creating monsters in the process, but you are trying as best as you can to be whole and beautiful and sane like the lovely creatures you’ve met on this earth, or this body. to be part of something great and beautiful. to be part of another world.

maybe it doesn’t want anything. but do WE want anything as children, when we copy adults? why did the bear and the alligator try to eat our heroes if they were not hungry? did the bear and the alligator not WANT to eat? i think everything wants to live, and everything wants to grow, and if it can learn to live better and grow better it Will learn even if that is not its explicit intention. does the alien have feelings? does nature? do we have to personify things to understand them? no. does personifying things make us understand them less? no, yes, sometimes. we ask animals and nature to copy us, follow us, so that we can understand them better. the relationship in between----from the hurt, from the pain, from the droughts and the food shortages and the hurricanes and the fireworks---forms from our kindness and understanding. that our crops are useful, and the man-made mutation of our crops and the help of the ran and the sun is also useful. that our animals may not love us, but they need us, and we love them for putting their paw on our thighs to be pet, for following us into the bathroom even when we just wanted a moment alone.

regardless of its intentions, the alien, cancer, every creature, every human, they simply want to grow. in copying others---in trying to touch, to change, to understand, and be close---we learn to live in the same body, learn to live in the same world. the togetherness--the new sight the prism brings---it’s beautiful. it is beautiful to copy, however poorly. it is beautiful to try. we all shape others to our own standards---we sometimes forget we too, were made in own own perception of others’ image.

[forestal-ramblings]

Burn the witch 2

More amazing worldbuilding , I loved all the little dragons being normal things.

The paper having a reverse edition is a nice touch.

Ninny hair really looks like a pair of ears , or I'm just furry projecting ?.

Oh so it's one of this extreme friendship jealousy things , I mean the girl looks unhinged.

Bruno shows up ! Kubo excels at making badass characters and this boy surely looks like one.

[writings-from-the-hart]

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Just as promised this is the beginning of the three-part post about answering @quilloftheclouds questions for my Wip Renegade. To kick things off I’m going to start with Modes of Transportation, I thought about adding pictures but that’s time-consuming and would make this post longer than it already is. So if you guys want to see some pictures of the Modes of Transportation in Renegade let me know, I post them! 

Modes of Transportation

The world of Renegade is a mix between Tron: Legacy and Blade Runner 2049, a blend of both cyberpunk and post-apocalypse dystopia. For a world set two millennia past ours (2200) transportation isn’t what most people from our generation would think it to be: there aren’t flying cars, skyscrapers don’t serve as spaceports, and people don’t regularly take trips to the moon or live on Mars. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t cool futuristic modes of transportation, most that travel on something known as The Grid (a network of synchronized power that runs below every interstate, highway, street, and connects at the center of each City-State like hubs to give every citizen of the Republic power). Without The Grid life wouldn’t be able to function, the world would find itself in cold darkness or in other locations scalding heat of the sun without means of protection. 

The Grid runs like ley-lines, connecting everything in the Republic to make it work like one giant machine, these lines can best be seen at night and truly showcase how vast the network is. It’s like a collection of different colored lights running along every surface in the world, some following vehicles. The Grid distributes power to transportation, homes, factories, and other buildings in the Republic. 

HyperExpress

This is the bullet train of the future that can travel up to 2,000 mph, it utilizes a vacuum tube in order to reduce air friction and increase its speed. Not only is HyperExpress an ultra-fast bullet train it also serves as a kind of subway for all Caste citizens, not only the higher/wealthy ones. The HyperExpress system runs much like the railroad did when it first started laying track in 1830′s America, it’s the veins and nervous system of the Republic when it comes to transportation, stretching from one City-State to another across all connecting contents. Both cheap and highly efficient. 

Air-X 

Flying cars aren’t an option for civilians, scientists in the Republic tried to make it happen but after many try fail cycles it was deemed safer to not put the public in such contraptions. So only Air-X remains, the only commercial flying vehicle in the Republic skies. These are unmanned, piloted by A.I or small Androids, freight containers with a small cab build into the front. Using Air-X frees highways, interstates, and the oceans from unnecessary cargo shipment by vehicle or ship and instead acts much like a miniature plane of sorts. Small shipments use hover technology in their motors while larger shipments passing overseas use twin-jets or quad jets depending on the load.

ePath 

Much like HyperExpress there is a network of tube-like structures following smaller highways in City-States civilians in both the middle castes and high castes can use who: ride electronic bicycles, electronic scooters, or even walk. The system is at least 17ft above the road, keeping pedestrians a safe distance from motorized traffic, is climate-controlled all year round, and also offers conjunction points were either 1.) City-State district limits begin and end or 2.) A transportation module such as HyperExpress is available. This allows civilians to hop off ePath and use another mode of transportation or walk directly about the City-State as they please. 

ThunderHaven 

Human beings have been entranced with the idea of flying for decades and pushing the limits of that idea, ThunderHaven provides that extra push into the unknown. Following in the steps of countless airplanes and military jets that have both teased and pushed past the sound barrier this is the super-fast plane that not only pushes past and surpasses the sound barrier, it full on blows it away entirely. ThunderHaven travels 8 times the speed of sound and is also capable of breaking out of Earth’s orbit and touching the stars if it pleased. Its design is sleek, made of the finest materials to keep the body both lightweight and strong, and also windowless. Fear not, inside passengers have a choice between a real-time visual of outside the plane or movies. ThunderHaven has three travel classes for each caste: low, medium, and high. 

Electric Vehicles 

Just because cars don’t fly in 2200 that doesn’t mean they don’t hold their usual allure if anything cars in the Republic are far more diverse and better suited for Earth (as well as people). Pulling power straight from The Grid once a vehicle is in motion, tends to stay in motion running on pure liquid energy without producing climate-damaging greenhouse gases and nitrogen oxide. They can travel for miles and never need to stop to charge while within City-State limits (near a central hub) because The Grid is most powerful there, however, once beyond City-State limits and in outer rim districts/Outlands The Grid is less powerful and vehicles need to recharge after 600 miles. Most vehicles are outfitted with solar panel cells built into their framework, so they remain lightweight, efficient, and ready to charge at a moment's notice if you’re in the outer rim districts/Outlands. Any caste of citizen can own an electric vehicle, what varies from caste to caste is the classification of vehicle. 

Speedsters: These are unhinged, drag-racing, high-performance “cars” with a design that primarily revolves around speed and elegance, most high caste citizens own Speedsters due to their designs and the materials that go into creating them. It’s costly. Speedsters usually never adventure past inner City-State districts because many are low clearance and wouldn’t survive the rough terrain of outer rim districts/outlands. Much of a Speedsters appeal originates from the sleek design they take on: wheels built tightly into the frame not bulky in any way, smooth aerodynamic design, and many resemble “classic muscle cars” from the past giving drivers a nostalgic feeling. While they are pretty to look at and comfortable to sit in people are also drawn to what lies underneath, a powerful engine that pushes past all known boundaries of horsepower.  Speedsters can be defined in two simple terms: powerful and fast.

Cycles: These are vehicles that are not allowed on ePath and resemble sport motorcycles in design. Cycles are extremely slender, hold up to usually only one person (driver), and have tire technology called tilt-tread to allow the cycle to perform tighter turns without risking the driver. The front wheel is locked forward so steering is done by tilting Cycles, not turning the front wheel (why tilt-tread is so crucial). However, when attempting certain maneuvers a pair of small fins spring out behind the driver to aid both balance and braking.  Speed can be increased by twisting the twist throttle back towards the driver (located on the right-hand side handlebar). Most Cycles also come with small twin jets seated by the back wheel, this allows faster speeds to be reached efficiently. Unlike Speedsters, Cycles can adventure beyond inner City-State districts and endure some of the rough terrains of outer rim districts/outlands pose. All kinds of citizens from Castes ride Cycles due to their affordability and ability to go beyond inner City-State limits. 

Trail Blazers: Rugged, usually larger than all other forms of electric vehicles, Trail Blazers are designed to do as their name suggests: pave new ways through the wild territory without being stopped. These are the vehicles that can easily adventure into the outer rim districts/outlands without a second thought, large tires paired with reasonable ground clearance to avoid hazards the terrain may pose and not sink into softer ground due to roads becoming less frequent the further they adventure. Trail Blazers adapt to the terrain around them by extending spikes from its tires for better traction and adjusting its suspension for either better ground clearance or shock absorption. Only high caste military personnel drive these vehicles. 

Roadsters: The last classification of Electric Vehicles, these are sporty vehicles that sit between the Speedster and Trail Blazer category. Their primary design isn’t based on speed or being able to survive the unforgiving landscapes of outer rim districts/Outlands, instead, it’s comfort mixed with style. Built with enough ground clearance to adventure into outer rim districts/Outlands while maintaining a sporty design these vehicles are made for the middle caste families. Roadsters are often referred to as “the family vehicle”, outfitted with a third-row seat (unlike most Speedsters and Cycles) that is roomy and comfortable it’s the ideal vehicle for traveling in groups. 

And there you have it folks, the modes of transportation in the world of Renegade! I had so much fun basically spilling all my thoughts about this fictional world I’ve created and fallen in love with. If you have any questions or want to know more just send an ask or anything! Part two of worldbuilding questions for the world of Renegade is the Social Structure. 

[tamakomarket]

as requested on twitter

i use tumblr literally once a month at this point in my life and this time its for the vanven fic rec list someone requested over there

under a readmore so i don’t stretch any dashes

the word counts and au/canon tags all vary, but as a general rule of thumb these are all sfw! ill post ratings too tho

god, there are so many

tide me over, love and life - G, 9k, modern au. vanitas used to be an amazing part of the swim team but finds himself distracted and his times slowing lately. ven, the team manager, takes it upon himself to help vanitas out. very introspective heavy, featuring beautiful turns of phrase and a laid back pacing appropriate for your favorite slice of life anime. this is probably my favorite vanven fic, tbh

Heart Is Where The Home Is - G, 341k, canonverse. one sided roxas/vanitas. this is VERY LONG but its 1 the fic that got me into vanven and 2 in my mind, THE GOLD STANDARD FOR HEART HOTEL FIC. it bounces back and forth between two plotlines - a messy vanitas redemption as he and ven learn to live with each other, and how things get complicated once roxas and xion join the hotel. the characters are all amazingly written, the worldbuilding is very in-depth, and it also features one of the best written xion arcs i’ve ever seen in fic. DEF worth the read

You’re not the boy you used to be. - T, 176k, modern au, namixi sideship, mentioned terqua, sorikai, and leaisa. HUGE FOCUS on the friendship between vanitas and xion. hahaha you really thought i wouldn’t write a rec list and NOT include my own fics? blease. this is a story about grieving an abusive parent that got distracted by a romantic subplot. it’s a non-linear fic, following three different parts of vanitas’s life at the same time. there’s a xion quote that sums it up best imo: “We carry our childhoods with us. For better or worse, we still do. But we can be better from where we came from. We always can.”

Belief, Faith - G, 2k, post kh3-vanitas-somehow-redeemed-au. also my fic. vanven go on a trip and vanitas struggles with being accepted and loved. very introspective-heavy.

my heart’s on the (drum)line - G, 9k, marching band au, rokunamixi as a secondary ship. my last fic! this is 100% a romantic comedy in fic form, featuring the most obtuse vanitas ever seen. vanitas gets a huge crush on ven and is legit too stupid to figure it out, so he spends all his time being angry and melodramatic instead. props to his long-suffering best friend namine, who obsessively polishes her flute to blind the people who are mean to her and is a complete disaster about her own crushes. 

Only You - G, 2k, canonverse. a heart hotel fic. waywardriot wrote an entire series of fics for vanven week and while i recommend all of them, this one is my favorite! basically vanitas finds redemption through the power of love. its cute as heck. 

Salvation - G, 17k, canonverse, wip. a post-kh3 fic where vanitas is taken in by the guardians of light and very slowly redeemed. eventual vanven. no romance yet, but i LOVE how vanitas is written here (so much bitterness! he’s like a wounded feral anime) and i especially love his interactions with kairi and xion here. 

Chains Unbroken - T, 72k, canonverse, side terqua and sorikai. post-kh3, post heart-hotel where vanitas gets to chill with the rest of the squad. he was stolen by xehanort and forced to become one of the 13 darknesses and it broke his heart, so ven and pals look for a way to help him out. the pov rotates between multiple characters, so you get a good look into many different relationships here!!! i especially love kairi here, too. 

Codenames - G, 4k, modern au. vanitas is a secret agent and ven is the little voice in his ear keeping him on track. well-paced, funny, cute, and with enough intrigue to make the heist aspect super gripping! 

we follow our own steps - T, 13k, canonverse. post-kh3 where vanitas doesn’t die, but finds himself with nothing other than his intense attachment to ven. this vanitas is SO fun and SO snappy, and learns how to be something other than completely unhinged. it’s also adorable and very sweet.

has no one ever? G, 390 words, canonverse. all lower-case, but it’s so short that it doesn’t bother me. this prose is ABSOLUTELY lovely and sad and it’s exactly what it says on the tin - ven helps vanitas clean up after a fight. vanitas does not understand what a gentle touch is. it’s good. 

As He Sleeps - Not Rated (but sfw), 1.5k, canonverse. slight body horror warning. this features some BEAUTIFUL PROSE and it reads the way being in a dream that isn’t-quite-bad-but-isn’t-good feels. the kind of dream that you KNOW affected you deeply but slips through your memories the moment you wake up. fitting, since it’s a fic about ven’s dreams as he sleeps during the ten year gap. featuring some beautiful metaphors and comparisons to vanitas as a fallen angel. this makes me want a canonverse fic where vanitas is somehow alive and acts like a knight to ven’s sleeping body. please. someone grant me this wish.

Habit - G, 2k, canonverse. ven develops this weird habit of seeing vanitas at night. it develops into something more. very sweet, very cute, a good read overall.

heart to heart - G, 1k, canonverse. vanitas finds out ven is in love with him through their empathy connection. also adorable. 

Come, My Purrloiner of Nightmares - G, 1k, modern au. LOOK. I JUST. IM A SUCKER FOR THE “CUDDLING DURING NIGHT TERRORS” TROPE

recovery is a long road (but there’s no traffic) - T, 10k, implied terqua and a bigger focus on the individual relationships between the wayfinders + vanitas than romance, canonverse. a REALLY GOOD post-kh3 fic exploring the wayfinders + vanitas healing after the big war. the prose is lovely and the exploration of every character is beautiful (AQUA IS MY FAVORITE IN THIS FIC, ACTUALLY) 

ok these last two are in french but uh, look, LOOK. they’re readable with google translate. there are some weird translation things but these plots are good enough to push past that

Safety Lock - T, 10k, superhero au. LOOK. I LOVE SUPERHEROES. I *REALLY* LOVE SUPERHEROES. the worldbuilding here is SOOO MUCH FUN. ven is part of an agency of superheroes called the guardians of light, and when local supervillain vanitas starts stirring up more trouble, ven takes it upon himself to stop him personally. it’s what ya gotta do, when you have a shared past the way they do. it is SUCH a fun read and ven is SO MUCH FUN, it’s just a good time all around. 

Eux, premiere partie (translation: Them, part one) - T, 38k, au. i have a huge weakness for a very specific type of story and that is “really rich kid is, for whatever reason, unable to leave their mansion and their life changes drastically when someone new enters their life” and this story is 100% that. the world outside vanitas’s family’s property is dangerous, filled with these people that aren’t really human anymore. ven is a bodyguard hired to protect vanitas, mostly from trying to escape the mansion again. thing is, the mansion is just as dangerous for vanitas as the world outside. i will be real with you the xion here is SUUUUUUPER OOC, and while she is a compelling villain in her own right, the role she plays and the personality she has here is something more akin to larxene. even then. EVEN THEN. the worldbuilding is SOOO GOOD, the relationship between ven and vanitas is very compelling, and the way vanitas is written (as this very bitter kid) is AMAZING. there’s so much mystery and intrigue about the world outside the walls vanitas inhabits, and there’s a ton of angst but it’s just. ugh. it’s so good. i love it especially for this line here, re: what desperation does to us: “Hunger, especially. It is she who destroys what remains human.”

there are other fics i have read and enjoyed but these all are like, top tier (or at least high tier) for me!!! looking at them all in a group its very obvious what kind of tropes i like

[areiton]

Recent Fic Recs

Everything of mine by rei_c (Steter, Teen Wolf)

"I've been sleeping a lot," Stiles says. "I'm not eating. I don't have any energy. My mind isn't working as fast as it used to. I feel run down. Breathing hurts, sometimes. My hair's started to fall out. My muscles spasm. And before you ask: yes, they've run tests. I went to the hospital over in the Valley and they checked everything -- ruled out everything. The most they can come up with is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome but I don't fit all of those symptoms and --."

He stops there, looks down, away from Peter's eyes. "What?" Peter asks, gently.

It takes a moment for Stiles to steel himself, to meet Peter's gaze, to say, "I know what it is. Why I'm sick, I mean."

"Please, Stiles," Peter says. "Tell me."

or

When the nogitsune and Stiles split, their bodies got mixed up and torn apart, leaving Stiles to inhabit a completely magical construct. He needs an anchor to the physical world in order to survive and when he can't wait any longer, he goes to Peter Hale.

This was so lovely. I really loved the change in dynamics, that Stiles was the one with all the power. Plus, post-nogitsune fall out? So much win.

***

i have always been the storm by stilinskisparkles (Sterek, Teen Wolf)

"You’re all headed out to Oklahoma in a week.”

Derek snaps his head up, stares at him in horror, “No, boss.”

“Yes,” Finstock insists in a steely voice. “The NSSL have been on at us for a year about some decent exposure, and I think you’re just the team to do it.”

“I haven’t done weather since college,” Derek protests.

Boyd snorts again, presumably because he’s thinking back to the time when Derek and the weather last collided and he…. well, didthe guy into the weather for a brief, wonderful, terribly foolishtime. But, Boyd needs to shut up before Derek punches him on the nose.

I just really loved how fluffy and sweet this was. Very lowkey angst and fantastic friendships all around.

***

chestnut kisses by unloyal_olio (Sterek, Teen Wolf)

A kissing game goes horribly wrong.

(Or a high school AU, in which Stiles's love saves Derek from the clutches of Kate Argent.)

Note: Chapter one is the experimentally formatted original. Chapter two is the edited version with conventional formatting.

High school fluff and angst and Derek being adorable and Stiles pining and it was perfection.

*** anchor by thegeminisage (Dargent, Teen Wolf)

Derek insists on coming along with Chris Argent and the Calaveras on the hunt for Kate, so he can see her dead for good. While following her trail back to Beacon Hills, they come to understand some hard truths about both each other and themselves, and struggle to find the reason why, after losing nearly everyone they've ever loved, they're still here.

I loved loved loved this. The slow build, the way Derek dealt with his sexuality and need to be close to Chris. Chris dealing with his trauma. The delicious slow fall for each other--it was gorgeous.

***

steady hands by thegeminisafe (Dargent, Teen Wolf)  

Twenty-four hours after the death of his sister, Chris Argent wakes in Derek Hale's loft with his hands trembling too badly to load and fire a gun, and no matter what he does, he can't make them stop. He made a promise to protect Beacon Hills in Allison's stead, but now he has to decide how he carries on her legacy when he doesn't know if he can fight, if he can ever lay his guilt to rest, and if he's truly capable of doing good when he has already done so much harm. 

This fic. It was so good?? I love when falling in love with someone doesn't fix everything. Because sure, they're together--this is a direct followup to Anchors--but Chris is still so fucking damaged and it's so damn GOOD. Read it, friends.

***

breathing you in by lavenderlotion (Steter, Teen Wolf)

“Good morning, kiddo,” his dad said, and the words hurt.

All Stiles wanted to do was step forward and let his dad hug him, allow his father to give him comfort. His father's hugs had always been all-encompassing, the way he would fold himself around Stiles and hold him as tightly as he could.

Stiles stepped around him, careful not to let foreign skin touch anything that was special to him.

Anything he loved.

I really really loved this. The way Stiles struggles with being in his post-nogitsune body, and the way Peter and his dad take care of him? It's perfect. I want more. SOOOO MUCH MORE.

***

i could by julibean19 (Steter, Teen Wolf)

Stiles froze. He knew that voice. The way it said his name. He was immediately brought back to a dark parking garage, sharp claws biting into his neck, red eyes flashing, and a jaw practically unhinging to swallow him whole. A shiver ran down his spine as he finally placed it.

The man in the shower was Peter Hale.

What business did Peter Hale have with Stiles? Why was he laying out Stiles’ clothes and making him healthy lunches? Why did Stiles wake up wrapped in his 20,000 thread count sheets with a wedding ring on his finger? What was happening?

This was lovely and angsty. I'm a huge sucker for amenisa fics, and this one was done incredibly well.

***

once upon a dream by gryvon (Sterek, Teen Wolf)

Stiles has been dreaming of the Hale family burning alive since he was a child. After being locked in Eichen for a year, Stiles learns to keep his visions to himself. That doesn't stop him from keeping an eye on Derek Hale while he waits for Kate Argent to make her move. Only watching Derek becomes loving Derek and stopping Derek and Kate from getting together turns into Stiles dating Derek Hale. He's in love with Derek but his visions haven't stopped, only now he has to watch Derek die with the rest of his family. He'll do anything to keep that dream from becoming reality.  

This was lovely. Just so lovely.

***

mangata by aretemis69 (Sterek, Teen Wolf)

The place chosen for the speed dating is nice, close enough to the shore that the sun warms the shallow waters and washes everything in blinding white light. Long, thin shadows crawl all over the hills, dancing over pinkish sand and pale rocks, following the swirls of the surface.

When he looks around, Stiles can see various spots marked out with colorful stones, all organized in a loose circle and numbered with small shells. In the center of it all is a massive signboard in human plastic, glinting under the sun.

It is, objectively, the nicest place Stiles has ever been this miserable in.

-

Or the Sterek mermen speed dating AU where Stiles is unlucky in love (until he isn't).

This is such a lovely little fic. The worldbuilding is beautifully done and the sweet pining is perfection.

***

the darkness inside by isthatbloodonhisshirt (Sterek, Teen Wolf)

The sheriff watched him for a moment, then he sighed and turned slightly. He reached out to open a cabinet door beside him, and pulled out a shelf. It was on a track, so it rolled out of the cabinet fairly easily, and held a small CCTV. Derek frowned and inched his chair to the side a little bit so he could get a better angle.

He was looking at a teenager, or someone at least young enough to be the same age as Scott. He was sitting on a bed in what looked to be a larger room, the area he was in surrounded by four glass walls, with his legs crossed and head tilted.

He was also staring directly into the camera, as if he knew someone was watching. A creepy smile slowly slid onto the teen’s face, and he held up one hand, wiggling his fingers in a slow, eery wave.

Derek felt his mouth run dry. He didn’t know who this kid was, but he didn’t like him.

“Who is that?” he asked quietly.

“That,” said the sheriff, “is my son.”

This? This is the perfect nogitsune possession fic EVER. It's gorgeously done and the way Derek can tell the difference between Stiles and Nogitsune is heart-wrenchingly perfect.

***

could frame thy mortal by orphan_account (Steter, Teen Wolf)

It’s normal. Spending every waking second watching Hale is normal. In many ways, Hale is his whole universe: tracking his movements, waiting for what he does next, wondering what he’s thinking. The only outside stimulation he gets otherwise is the shower visits, and even then it’s only when Chris is the one taking him that he gets any engagement.

Stiles knows Hale like he knows the water pipe. The sixty two bars that line the side of their cage. Like the minute of cold water that hits Stiles’ skin before the heat finally comes in the shower block. "

Held in an Argent facility, never knowing who he can trust, Stiles pays for his survival with the only currency he has.

I loved what Stiles is, and how far he'll go to survive and Peter in general is perfection. It's gorgeous.