#literally cried getting this

[ohraicodoll]

Thank you so much for Red. It’s crazy how much I relate to her. We don’t live in a post apocalyptic world but we all live in our own worlds and sometimes it can feel like us vs them which Red helps me to navigate. She has helped me to feel less ashamed about the way my brain has turned out.

She’s so cathartic and has shown me that even when someone is as rough and ready, or completely rejecting of anything good that comes their way because they ‘don’t deserve it’ or that they will wreck it that some people could them her regardless. If that makes sense.

I especially love the new Tommy x Red friend post that just made me feel so fucking validated again! The way that Red has unusual ways of showing her love/gratitude and the people in her life just try to understand it until they do with no questioning!? To be loved in a way that is so accommodating and significant blows my mind. I know you’re writing fiction but sometimes discovering that this very specific thing is addressed and taken care of by another human being in the world is insane and has given me a bit of hope for my future.

It’s so soothing and Cathartic to read your work . I spent some of my childhood in survival mode and it never truly leaves you. You’ve written it so realistically I am in amazement with every piece of the puzzle you post.

I wish I had an ounce of your talent so that I could explain my love and gratitude for you in a way that was comprehensible. I’m sorry, I just had to say something now though, I’ve been having a weird couple of days and your writing is one of my only forms of escapism.

I am so interested in what inspired you to create such a specifically complex female character like her. I consume a lot of media, have read and literally studied the new era of woman (still hard to give them a specific name) and no character has ever come close to Red. Your talent blows my mind.

Thank you Sam.

Oh goodness, did you make me cry ❤❤

I'm so glad you feel seen and feel a bit of representation and catharsis with her. That's just all I can hope is that you all love the characters I create and the stories as much as I do. You've all kept me motivated and inspired to write her (especially as fast as I have haha).

The idea about Red came because I kinda got tired of only finding pure smut or timid characters in the TLOU fic tag. I love both but Tess was not timid and was more the dominant in the relationship. And I fully get that Joel radiates "I'll take care of you" dom energy but at this point in the apocalypse I doubt there would be many people left that didn't have some aggression in them or that need taking care of. I love character analysis too much to do the same type of character.

I've always been drawn to rage characters. I wrote a whole book series when I was a teen centered around one. And I think I wanted to go back to that since my character in my Sandman series is the opposite. Dahlia is an exploration of trauma responses, especially around acts of anger because that's what I experience. But I started writing with action and violence and someone who is angry all the time and motivated by rage and I wanted to go back to it because writing a character that lacks the moral responses to killing is fascinating. So often we get characters that regret or are remorseful around killing and I don't think that's Joel.

So it was a combo of just writing someone who doesn't regret her violence, doesn't regret killing, and has been alone in the wild for a long time focused only on surviving that they never thought they'd get more. Someone who is accepted for their violence and rage. And that's Red. She is a bunch of fractured pieces held together with string with no coping skills and Joel and Ellie love her either way.

There's the her before the Outbreak, the her that was broken by her sister (who she sees in Ellie), there's the her that was with her group, the her after being alone for years and years, and then the her with Joel and Ellie. Joel never shies away from her and may actually be drawn to her more because of it since there's a piece of that in him. This story is about being seen and accepting your ugliness.

I think being able to jump all over her timeline and continuously build her has been so wonderful and fun. Requests and prompts have been great in building her (though I do change some to make sure they fit the world and who she is). I fully acknowledge she's not a reader but an OC but I cannot write a character who is a blank slate because your past and history dictate your personality and actions (and tbh, most Readers are actually OC's without names or descriptions. I'm old, the x Reader/You thing is new but also just a relabeling of OC's)

I don't know how other writers write, but these characters fully inhabit me when I focus on them. It's why it's hard to switch between stories and characters at time because I can only see through their eyes. I feel their natural body movements, their conversations flow in my head and usually I have to race to write them down somewhere for later. Red is very much a part of me and it's been a joy to explore her and bring her to you all.

So much love and thankfulness to you all ❤❤

[opikiquu]

my life a movie (PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR)

[axoqiii]

☕️🥞 sketch dump

[la-pheacienne]

George Martin, 2013: "In a very basic level winter is coming for all of us. I think that’s one of the things that art is concerned with: the awareness of our own mortality. “Valar morghulis” – “All men must die”. That shadow lies over our world and will until medical science gives us all immortality… but I don’t think it makes it necessarily a pessimistic world. Not any more pessimistic than the real world we live in. We’re here for a short time and we should be conscious of our own mortality, but the important thing is that love, compassion and empathy with other human beings is still possible. Laughter is still possible! Even laughter in the face of death… The struggle to make the world a better place… We have things like war, murder and rape… horrible things that still exist, but we don’t have to accept them, we can fight the good fight. The fight to eliminate those things.There is darkness in the world, but I don’t think we necessarily need to give way to despair. One of the great things that Tolkien says in Lord of The Rings is “despair is the ultimate crime”. That’s the ultimate failing of Denethor, the Steward of Gondor, that he despairs of ever being able to defeat Sauron. We should not despair. We should not go gentle into that good night".

JRR Tolkien, 1962 : "One reviewer once said, this is a jolly jolly book, all the right boys come home [...]- this isn't true of course, he can't have read the story. [...] Human stories are practically always about one thing, really, aren't they? Death. The inevitability of death. . . . . . (He quotes Simone de Beauvoir) 'There is no such thing as a natural death. Nothing that ever happens to man is natural, since his presence calls the whole world into question. All men must die, but for every man his death is an accident, and even if he knows it he would sense to it an unjustifiable violation.' Well, you may agree with the words or not, but those are the key spring of The Lord Of The Rings".

"Lotr is all rainbows and unicorns and Asoiaf is nihilistic and grimdark". Wrong, and wrong. In all its hope and radiance, lotr often gets very dark, and despite all the death and suffering, the hopeful moments in asoiaf shine bright. The meeting point of these two is this: having hope while in despair, and even better, refusing to give up because you have to go on despite not having any hope left.

[mcmuppet]

i'm so unwell its not even funny

LANDO???? SHIRTLESS??????? TAN??? ON AUX PLAYING OLD MAROON 5???????

he's literally the man of my dreams i need him

credits to @/norrislando_fans on insta

[minzbins]

hoshi & tamtam 🐯

[bird-inacage]

Love Sea Episode 8 | "I'll Protect You"

[celendiar]

sometimes i think about the fact that charles rowland, the boy who stands up to bullies, who smiles when others don't have the strength, who gets mad for others but not for himself, who looked at edwin and all his hurt and went, "right, so, the world threw you away but i will spend the rest of my existence proving to you that you matter"

this same boy blinks back tears when faced with the fact the best person in the world, the person he loves most, is in love with him. this same boy says, with a heartbreaking sincerity, that he doesn't want to be the bad guy.

charles rowland is the kindest, sweetest, most caring soul there is, and he doesn't. believe himself. worthy. of being loved.

[sarcastic-clapping]

just saw one of those awful brain dead “standing next to art i could have made” tiktoks. about the portrait of ross. i’m going to end up on the fucking news.

[sherrymagic]

You're already the best gift I could ever ask for. Sweet talker. Am I?

Joong Archen as JOKE and Dunk Natachai as ZO HIDDEN AGENDA | EP. 10

[0spookymoth0]

If I see one more person say Odysseus cheated on Penelope I'm gonna rip out your ligaments like Typhon did to Zeus that one time

[princeyam]

champions of my heart

[a-little-bit-of-my-everythingg]

PEOPLE PEOPLE PEOPLE IT'S HAPPENIG IT'S HAPPENING!!!!!!!!!! I AM NOT OKAY I AM GOING TO DIE

IT'S 50TH HUNGER GAMES IT'S ABOUT HAYMITCH'S GAMES

SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UPPPPP

Given we know how his story goes that book is going to ruin me AND I AM SOOOOO HERE FOR IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am unwell

[flutteredvoid]

watched the mario movie and it made me wanna draw my fave mario girls!!!!

[gayofthefae]

I've been seeing people lately say Will and El being close is fanon but it's literally not. They were each other's only friends in Cali because they wouldn't have seen Jonathan much in school and had no other friends. They do what writers do, which is small but specific lines when you have minimal screentime to establish this. That's what 4x01 was FOR.

But yes. They aren't each other's #1 in the world, I'd say. Because they're close like SIBLINGS. They fight, in a petty, stupid way. They cheer each other on but they make little comments like "Will has not". But they also fix things together and go to work parties for their mom and eat breakfast and dinner together every morning.

Minimal screentime is not the same as fanon. They're close like siblings.

They lived together every day with no other friends for minimum six months. To claim anything else came from that is both illogical and a disregard of season 4 episode 1, which has their Cali screentime completely dedicated to establishing them with each other. I thought we were all for every inclusion being purposeful and meaning something?

I honestly think people just aren't used to getting wishes granted but I must comfort you, this is extrapolation, which is very different from fanon, though understandably confusable. We drew from the text what they gave us, we didn't headcanon where there were gaps.

All they do the entire opening episode of season 4 is love each other.

[toxicrevolver]

Tagged by @smushedmuffin to take this uquiz

Thanks for the tag!!!

My day has been far too long to explain to y’all how badly this has called me out right now.

Tagging (me pressure): @serendipminie @loveable-sea-lemon @we-survive-endlessly @haahka and anyone else who wants to participate can blame me