#rae writes a fantasy story

[raemanzu]

🌈💔🌨️ for Julian and 🐰✨❗ for Rosen for the OC asks!

AAHHH okay Julian 🌈 - Do you associate any colors with them? Yes, kind of a golden color. I think because Cal painted a very nice picture of him studying his scriptures in his room and in my mind's eye the light is very nice and golden. But also it's just the Vibe... kingly, prophetic color to me. Sunlight and heavy crowns.

💔 - Does forgiveness come easily or with difficulty to this oc? Can they forgive others? What about themselves? Gosh this is a really good question. I think he does have a lot of anger that is buried. Some of it toward himself, some toward others. So I think even if on the outside he can behave in a forgiving way, it's more a symptom of self-deception or a survival behavior rather than genuine forgiveness.

🌨️ - If this oc had a day free from all their responsibilities, how would they spend it? Drawing, painting, and talking to Ana or Rosen.

Okay now Rosen!

✨ - Tell something that makes this oc feel happy! Singing! And Julian's smile.

🐰 - How huggable is this oc? To Julian yes he is huggable. To most others he isn't particularly free with his physical space/contact.

❗- What are the highest priorities to this oc (at a point in their life of your choosing)? At the point I've written up to in the story, his highest priority is keeping Julian safe whether that be from physical or spiritual danger... but it's also staying close to Julian.

Thanks I really needed this!!!

[untold--stories]

Down Below

Fantasia and Sky are out on a morning walk when something wraps around Fantasia's paws and sends them falling far, far below.

POV: 3rd Person Warnings: Mentions of death Word Count: 3270

(Based on @theworldofprompts OC-Tober, today's theme word was "Trip", and the week's word was "A thin line" (and, well, the tripwire that starts the story is thin and in the shape of a line))

--------------------

It was a nice fall morning, still close enough to summer that the pale sun warmed Fantasia’s fur. Sky bounced in the air above him, as if she was hopping through deep snow, only that her paws were never even close to touching the ground. “So, like I was saying—”

But before she could finish, something tangled around Fantasia’s paws, tripping them and sending them tumbling to the ground.

“Are you okay?” Sky asked, flying a little lower to check up on her friend.

Fantasia opened her mouth to answer when the ground opened up, and they dropped. Sky called after them, but the ground closed as quickly as it had opened.

The landing was rough, pressing the air out of Fantasia’s lungs, and for a little while, all they could do was lie there and try to catch his breath. The thing he’d stumbled over, thin metal wire, was cutting into her legs; once the pain had subsided a bit, she carefully pulled it off, losing bits of spotted fur in the process. The only light down here were Fantasia’s flames and markings, bathing the cave’s walls in a dim red glow, almost spookier than complete darkness would have been. They took a little time to lick their injured paws, healing the cuts with their magic.

Now what?

Fantasia leapt up a wall, digging her claws in as well as he could, but after his second jump the wall crumbled. They lost their footing and barely managed to land on their paws, dirt showering them. So climbing wasn’t an option.

There was a single tunnel leading out of the cave. Fantasia walked to it, but hesitated. It felt like a trap—it definitely was a trap, judging by the tripwire.

He sniffed, but there was no sign of another Seldnac down here, only the scent of soil and stale air. What to do? He could follow the tunnel, he could hope for Sky to bring help, or he could try to dig his way out. None of these options was great, and if they chose wrong…

She took one timid step into the tunnel, then immediately retreated. Sky would definitely try to help, but would she be successful? And how far had the fall been, was it a height Fantasia could dig, or would they die of thirst before reaching the surface? What kinds of traps were hiding in the tunnel? Could they avoid them, or would they take them by surprise?

Fantasia panted as they paced the walls of the cave. Stop. Calm down.

He forced herself to take slow, deep breaths. Think. If he wanted to use the tunnel, she had to go now, or they might end up too weak to deal with whatever dangers lurked in it.

The thought made her shiver, and caused her to accidentally activate her barrier magic.

They deactivated the shield again. Someone had made this trap, and that person was presumably not an idiot, which meant that they had probably taken some precautions to make sure a Seldnac would have to use the tunnel. Maybe there were metal plates all around, or maybe something else to stop someone from digging out.

Fantasia stepped up to the tunnel entrance. She had no way of knowing whether it would even lead outside. But if the trap had any purpose, then there should be access for whoever made it somewhere, right? At least Fantasia hoped so.

He took a deep breath and activated the barrier again.

Fantasia’s paws shook as they took one step, then another. No traps so far. The soft glow of the barrier made it even harder to make out anything in the darkness beyond, but Fantasia didn’t dare drop their only means of protection. Every breath was shakier than the last, and they had to force their paws forward for every single step. The tunnel felt endless, but maybe Fantasia was just walking incredibly slowly. Still nothing.

Somehow, that only made Fantasia even more anxious.

The tunnel finally made a turn. Fantasia stopped and leaned forward, squinting past the barrier when something shot towards her. She yelped and jumped back just in time, and the object, a small stone, bounced harmlessly off the wall.

Fantasia’s heart thumped so hard he was worried it might just stop. Ten seconds. Thirty. A minute. No second shot. After another minute, Fantasia forced himself to return to the corner, shivering worse with every step. They leaned forward again, and—nothing. No second stone, no arrows, and nothing even worse.

One step, then another, and another, and Fantasia was around the corner. She continued down the tunnel even more carefully than before. Was the ground sloping downwards, or was that just their imagination? Fantasia desperately hoped for the latter. If this path really was the wrong one, they were doomed.

The barrier magic was starting to tire Fantasia out. They stopped, and after some more hesitation, Fantasia dropped the shield and sat down to rest for a moment. He felt incredibly vulnerable without the barrier, and his ears kept swiveling back and forth, trying to catch even the faintest sound, get the warning just a split second earlier.

Something was glittering in the red light, only a few meters ahead of Fantasia. She carefully edged towards it, stopping after every step to look for dangers. A noise sounded behind him, making him duck, but it was only a bit of dirt coming loose from the ceiling.

The glittering turned out to be an underground pond, the other shore just barely visible at the edge of Fantasia’s vision. It wasn’t too far to swim, but the water smelled sour; definitely not safe to drink, and they didn’t want to take a bath in it, either. But they did have to cross in some way if she wanted to continue.

A few logs swam in the foul water, smaller branches scattered between them. Even if the pond had formed naturally, those had to have been placed by someone!

Fantasia wasn’t too great at climbing, and if the walls were similar to the cave, then they were too brittle to carry Fantasia’s weight, but maybe they could jump over the logs… If the wood wasn’t too rotten, and if it wasn’t a trap. Not for the first time in their life, Fantasia envied Sky’s flying magic.

He wished he could turn on the barrier magic again, have at least a little protection, but that would’ve made it even harder to see where he had to jump, and with the choice between being vulnerable to traps and risking a fall into this water, Fantasia opted for the traps.

He gathered her paws underneath themself. If there’d ever been a moment she did not want to trip, it was right now. He aimed at an old tree stump, jumped—and landed on it. The stump swayed side to side as Fantasia looked around for the next piece of wood, the sour air stinging in their nostrils.

They made it to the next log, but it moved around more than the last, and the water touched the pads of his hind paws. It felt weirdly slimy, and Fantasia had to fight the reflex to shake their paws; she could not risk making the log move even more, or else she might end up losing her balance.

The next few jumps were uneventful, and the shore was close now. For a moment, Fantasia considered trying to leap all the way, but that jump would have been risky. Instead, they aimed at another tree stump about halfway to it. Their front legs landed on it—and crashed through the wood with a loud crunch, followed by a splash as the water closed above Fantasia’s head. He quickly got back to the surface, the water burning in his eyes and nose as they made their way to the shore. Soon, Fantasia pulled herself on dry land and shook her fur. The grimy water stuck to his pelt, though, coating him in foul liquid. Fantasia tried shaking it out again, but to no avail. The red light from their markings was dimmer now, and his skin soon started to itch.

She activated her barrier magic again and continued, slowly following the tunnel.

After a little while, a part of the floor gave under Fantasia’s paws and dropped a little, not far, just enough to startle them. Only a heartbeat later, whistling sounds filled the air, and Fantasia dropped to the ground right as something flew past above them. The whistling didn’t stop. More things Fantasia couldn’t quite make out soared past, and every now and then, something bounced off the barrier. It wouldn’t stop, so Fantasia, still lying on his stomach, crawled forward, just hoping that the barrier would hold.

He had to clench her teeth to keep it up, always expecting that the next thing would break through, that soon would be the end.

Then the attacks stopped. No whistling, nothing hitting the barrier, and instead—light! Fantasia waited as long as he could before dropping the barrier and looking around, paws firmly planted in place lest they ended up activating another trap.

She was in a cave again, larger than the first. The light was coming from another tunnel far above, just underneath the ceiling; it was faint, but it was there! Light had to mean an exit! They just had to get all the way up there.

Most of the cave was taken up by a large tower-like pile of dirt, covered in half-rotten wood. There might one day have been platforms or stairs attached to it, but if so, time had torn them down. Fantasia’s best bet were probably the rusty pieces of metal and the occasional stones poking out from the tower, then.

Fantasia carefully approached the pile. The cave was huge, and if they fell from that thing… But it couldn’t be too much worse than the first drop, right? And he’d survived that one. And, more importantly, she didn’t have much of a choice. If only his paws could stop shaking!

They mustered the rest of their magic reserves to activate the barrier one last time as they walked around the pile, trying to find the best place to start. There was nothing in reach of just one jump, so Fantasia had to settle for something else. Above her, a rock was poking out of the tower, right next to the remnant of a wooden ledge. Two, maybe three jumps should get them there, and if the ledge held, that should allow them to get on the rock.

If.

If the ledge held, and if they managed at least those few jumps.

Fantasia took a deep breath, ignoring the stench of the foul water that still clung to his fur, dropped the barrier, and jumped. The dirt here was denser than on the walls, and seemed to support his weight. What had their father told them about climbing back when they’d been a cub? Never look down, don’t think too much, focus only on what’s ahead, use your claws.

All good advice, though Fantasia had always struggled with properly following it. Her skill had to be enough for now, though. Fantasia pressed their hind legs against the pile, trying to push himself a little further up. The dirt still held. Another one, and now the ledge was in reach, right when the soil began to crumble, and Fantasia’s back paws lost their footing. Now she hung on with only their front legs, trying to find some place to put her back paws, but all she accomplished was kicking even more dirt loose. Not much longer, and the whole area would fall apart, sending Fantasia back to the ground. They wanted to yelp in a panic, but were panting too hard for that. His right front paw was starting to come loose, too.

They reached up, and her claws barely managed to grab hold of the wooden ledge. The wood felt far too soft for comfort, but it was better than the crumbling earth! Fantasia pulled himself up until both front paws were attached to the ledge, and over here was still enough dirt to put their hind legs, allowing him to jump on the rock.

She waited for a few moments, trying to get his breathing back under control. She was nowhere even near the mid-point, but she had to rest for a bit before she could continue. At least the rock seemed secure, there was no dirt falling away around it and it wasn’t shaking or slipping. But where to now? One of the wooden platforms had mostly survived the tooth of time, and Fantasia could’ve reached it with one big leap and a little bit of luck, but what if it was too rotten to support their weight? Then he’d have to start again from the beginning, if he didn’t break a paw in the fall. Better to look for something else.

In another direction was a piece of metal, red with rust. It was narrow, but big enough for Fantasia to stand on and jump off of.

Two climbing jumps over the dirt and Fantasia reached the piece. They were looking for a good place to go to next when a loud screeching filled the air, and the metal dropped sharply; Fantasia nearly lost his footing and barely caught himself when the metal slowed, but it didn’t quite come to a halt. She jumped, vaguely in the direction of something that had looked like a rock, just before the metal dropped to the floor with a loud clang.

Their front legs reached the rocks, but their back legs now dangled uselessly over the edge. They struggled, trying to find a foothold in the smooth stone, and after some sheer endless seconds, pulled herself up fully. Then the rock too, moved, and Fantasia could only jump further, digging her claws into the tower again. Where to now? She knew she didn’t have much time, or else the dirt might come loose again. Left? Right? Just straight up?

Fantasia tried up, climbing as fast as they could, until they spotted another rock out of the corner of his eye. But would that one hold? What if it didn’t? But what if the dirt came lose instead? Maybe they should try the wooden pieces? Or more metal? Fantasia’s heart was racing, he hated not having the time to think, to pause, to calm down, but they had to keep going.

He moved towards the rock and finally landed on it. It held. All Fantasia wanted to do right now was sink down and close her eyes, try to forget the whole situation, rest, wait for her heart to stop thumping quite so hard. But that would risk this rock coming loose, too. Fantasia should keep moving as soon as possible. So instead of resting, he looked around, trying to find the next ledge, rock, whatever could bring them closer to the exit tunnel. She was almost there. Only a few more jumps.

There, right across from the tunnel, was another metal platform. That should work, but he had to climb quite a bit. What if she couldn’t hold on anymore? What if the dirt was more brittle up there?

But Fantasia forcefully shook his head. He couldn’t wait long enough to think about better paths. She took some shaky breaths and jumped as high as they could, digging their claws into the dirt, paw after paw, slowly climbing higher and higher. The dirt held. Once or twice one of Fantasia’s paws came loose, but while her heart beat as if it wanted to jump out of her chest every time, he always found a new place to hold on to, until he finally reached the metal platform.

This time, she didn’t need to—nor dare to—look around and immediately jumped off it into the tunnel.

Now, finally, Fantasia could sink to the ground, eyes closed, panting heavily. He whined softly, even though he knew that there was no one here to come and comfort her.

It took Fantasia a few minutes to calm down enough to open their eyes and slowly get up again. She didn’t have enough energy to use her barrier magic, so he had to rely on just her senses to get through this tunnel safely. He walked carefully, eyes wide open and ears perked, as the light steadily grew stronger. It almost hurt his eyes after the dim tunnels.

Finally, the tunnel opened into a third cave, smaller than the other two. A tattered banner hung from the ceiling, too old and torn to read, and behind it was a set of stairs. Was that the way outside?

Fantasia wanted to run, but he forced themself to walk slowly, still on the lookout for traps, but nothing happened. Only a few steps up, and she was finally, finally standing on grass instead of dirt, lit by sunlight instead of flickering red flames. Fantasia wanted to curl up and cry once again, this time out of relief. How long had she been down there? Hours? A day? It seemed to be early evening by now. When she and Sky had come this way, it had been sometime in the morning, but was it still the same day?

Sky! Sky had seen him fall, she had to be incredibly worried! Fantasia wondered how far away they were now. She knew the tunnel had made at least one turn, but that was all he was really sure about. How should they find Sky? Or their way back into the city? Was Sky looking for them? She probably was, but where?

He tried sniffing the air to see if hers and Sky’s scent was anywhere, but the dip in that pond made sure that all Fantasia could smell was sour underground water. Their voice wasn’t loud enough that calling would be of much help, either. What else? Maybe if he came across another Seldnac, he could ask if they had seen Sky… That would mean talking to a stranger, but…

Luckily, a very familiar voice ripped Fantasia from their thoughts.

“Patches! There you are! I was so worried!” Sky landed with so much speed she kicked up quite a bit of grass and dust and showered Fantasia with it. Not like it made much of a difference, considering the state of Fantasia’s fur. “Are you okay? Are you hurt? Do you need anything?” Sky hovered again and circled Fantasia, as if looking for any wounds.

Fantasia nuzzled their friend. “I’m—I’m okay. Mostly. I promise.” Physically, at least. “How long… How long have I been down there?”

“A few hours, I think.”

At least it hadn’t been a whole day.

“Oh, I called some help, I’ll go tell them we’ve got you back safe and sound! As soon as you’re somewhere nice. The city is that way. Do you need anything? Food? Water? A hug?”

Despite of how tired they were, Fantasia couldn’t help but smile. “Mostly, a bath. And then what you said. And then some sleep.”

“All right!” Sky flew in a circle right above Fantasia’s head, then dropped to the ground so the two of them could walk side by side. “I’m so glad I didn’t lose you.”

Fantasia leaned down to nudge Sky. “And I’m glad I didn’t stay lost.”

They spent the rest of the way back to the city in silence, but despite that, or maybe because of that, Fantasia was more than ever happy to have Sky’s company.

[unkipt]

Hello! Just to start I love the world falling series and your writing :)

I was wondering if you have any historical inspiration for the world falling series? Like, time periods, places etc?

Keep being amazing and have a great day :)

hi! I'm so glad you like the series!

As for historical inspiration, oh boy do i. I'm a history major, so there is a Lot of things. I'm gonna do this by kingdom to make it easier if i can lol.

Ok, first, the End: The End is kind of a weird one because it's a blend of its older culture plus what Enderian, who is originally from the Overworld, brought with her and implemented when she took over. One of the main things is the use of rivers to separate the three old kingdoms, and the fact that the Shulk castle/the one the first fic takes place in is on water. A lot of borders historically were designated by water because it was the most consistent way to remember them since they didn't have modern tech, same with having cities on water because of transport, ease of farming, etc. Even though the End is an ice land, the rivers would still provide faster travel then through large drifts of snow. In the last chapter of WF the duke gives rae an elytra, though he doesn't tell him much about it other than the fact that it took craftsmen from all three kingdoms to make them, which was meant to be symbolic of a steady trade relationship between the three. that was slightly inspired by indigenous communities who would make art of some sort of pattern to represent allyships between various communities, and was also a fun way to tie in the elytra to the story (it will become relevant again in this fic, eventually)

The Nether: The Nether is fairly simple, in that it's meant to be a really warm climate, with lots of autumn ish coloured trees, so not totally realistic, but I tried to describe a lot of their fashion to be both unique and have some influence from their neighbours. Largely, i looked at warm climated areas irl, like india, or south america, and took influence from that, with the silks and light fabrics in a wide variety of fabrics. this was definitely also inspired by how Athena portrayed the Nether in their lore, but i tried to expand it a bit. as for political, it's sort of inspired by like 1500's ish germany, where there were many princes but one high prince (holy roman empire actually, i think?) so before netherum and soul, the princes would have been in charge of smaller areas, but then netherum and soul united all the lands into the Nether, and as an act of good faith they were elected as the King and Queen (this is more fantasy than fact based), but, all the previous princes, are still princes, so they are largely in charge of their own lands still, but they refer to Soul now, netherum in the past, about certain things. it's sort of a state situation? i was mainly thinking HRE when i planned it.

The Overworld: Admittedly, the Overworld is pretty plain. It's basically Canada inspired, since that's where I'm from, so that's where my brain goes. It's the most north american of all the kingdoms, with 4 seasons, but the northern parts of the kingdom are snowy most parts of the year, though not quite to the extent of the End. It also used to be about 4 different kingdoms, with Morningstar kingdom being the largest, so when magic hit and everything started going weird, the four kingdoms kinda came together under Morningstar, which then got renamed when Enderian took Rae and erased the name Morningstar from most memories. also, the capital of morningstar is crete. greek myth is not canon to the wf series, but ill be damned if i can't make references to it lol

The Aether: I have not talked about the Aether a lot! BUT cliamte wise I imagine it like England, where it's kind of mild most of the time, if it snows its fairly minimal, and it rains a fair amount. we're ignoring the scorching summers tho. I did also take inspiration from like Ancient Greece and Rome, just due to the Aether sort of having the rep in canon/in the fic of having the library or being scholarly. I also imagine a lot of their aspects of culture, like the wine, the art, etc. maybe not the nudity

The East Isles!: This was purely me wanting Ocie to be a queen. Again I kind of took inspo from like irish/scottish history, with britain especially. except in this case britain is the overworld, and not the aether, even though i just compared the aether to britain lol. other than that it doesn't really have any historical inspo

And thats it! the End and Nether are definitely the most historically inspired, but every once in a while i learn something new in one of my classes and i just kinda shove it in because its neat. there may very well be more, but this is what i can remember right now

thanks for the ask!

[theladyragnell]

Ooh! Re: book recs for the new year, do you have any lesser known fantasy (or sci fi tbh) recommendations? Or better known but pre-2010s books - I've kind of devoured a lot of the modern stuff, and we have a shockingly similar taste in books

Ooh, excellent! I never actually know what's lesser known? So I'm going with things I haven't seen a lot of internet buzz about, with a decent amount of indie and self-pub. A lot of it will be fantasy romance, but I'll try for a variety!

The Devotion of Delflenor by R. Cooper (I'm going to keep trying until someone reads this piney piney lady knights book, damn it)

The Tea Princess Chronicles by Casey Blair

Salt Magic, Skin Magic by Lee Welch (a lot of people were talking about Seducing the Sorcerer by the same author a year or so ago, but I like this one better!)

Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky, and then if you like the concept behind that, try the Steerswoman books by Rosemary Kirstein

Ariah by B.R. Sanders is very worldbuildy and cool

Sharon Shinn flies under the radar sometimes but tends to have cool worldbuilding concepts, I'm midway through the Elemental Blessings series and really enjoying it

Felicia Davin's Gardener's Hand trilogy is great, and Davin now has a historical fantasy romance(/verging on erotica in places) epistolary series coming out, of which I've read the first, The Scandalous Letters of V and J is very fun.

I've only read the first of Effie Calvin's Ieflaria series of largely sapphic fantasy romance, but I had fun with that one!

I like Amy Rae Durreson, who usually writes m/m fantasy romance, try Reawakening on for size but be warned the second book has a plague in it

If you like middle grade, I really like Merrie Haskell's fairy tale retellings and her short stories for older readers too, she's very Robin McKinley-esque

(Speaking of, if you haven't read Robin McKinley, please do, any of her you can get your hands on but particularly her fairy tales and Chalice)

Three Princes by Ramona Wheeler is one I don't remember a lot about but the concept is great, it's the kind of alternate history I wish more people were writing instead of 18,000 "The Nazis/Confederates Won" books (and similarly, P. Djeli Clark's Dead Djinn books, though those have a much bigger dose of fantasy)

CJ Cherryh can sometimes be a bit dense for my mood, but I've read the first three books in her series that starts with Foreigner and there is SO much fun politics and worldbuilding. (I haven't read fantasy from her, just sci fi, sorry, almost posted this without making that clear, this is very much sci fi!)

Okay, that's what I've got for this exact second! I'm on a different floor from the bookshelf that has the most of my older fantasy on it, so there's not quite as much of that as intended, but it's what I've got in me!

[ravenmoon903]

Headcanon Masterlist

This is where I'm going to put new headcanons.

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO AGREE WITH ANY OF THESE

It took me an entire day to make this lol

This is long, be warned.

I edited it more right after I made it

Some headcanons changed from the original posts but whatev

Under the cut:

Project Sekai: Colorful Stage!

Virtual Singers

Hatsune Miku

Niigo

left handed

Kagamine Len

VBS

left handed

Niigo

left handed

KAITO

WXS

ambidextrous

Niigo

ambidextrous

Leo/Need

Ichika Hoshino

plays several instruments

joined the animators club in middle school and some kind of guitar group

when she was a bebe she had a miku themed nursery

Saki Tenma

Addison's disease (google it)

likes astrology and gemstones

Tsukasa sings her lullabies

Honami Mochizuki

baking club in middle school

hated apple pie til middle school

watches birds and has expensive equipment

Shiho Hinomori

secretly loves Wandasho and Momojan. Saki found out and told Shizuku

friends with Rui over Nightcord because they both like forensics

when she was a baby annoyed the hell out of Shizuku by touching her stuff

hates sudoku

More More Jump!

have a body positivity channel run by Airi

cooking with Airi and Minori at Minori's house (Samo got quite the attention, he has his own fanbase)

Minori Hanasato/Tenma

died from her bad luck and reincarnated into the Minori we all know and love /j

a Tenma sibling!

has a green hair feather

Haruka Kiritani

like to glassblow on a small scale

someone draw her as Elma from Yorushika please (begging)

when she was a bebe she had penguin themed toys

romance reader

Airi Momoi

actually Chinese (about the name, I can't explain it. Maybe her grandparents were Japanese and moved to China?)

likes to draw with Ena

when she was a baby she ate makeup

Shizuku Hinomori

likes sudoku

IQ of like 5 but EQ of 200

likes to garden

left handed

learned how to make hard candy

Vivid Bad Squad

Kohane Asuzawa/Tenma

her parents show her bebe pics to everyone they meet

played all the Mario games (Rae speaking here, Mario Odyssey is so good I could rant about it for hours)

likes to write fantasy stories at MEIKO's cafe

nothing scares her except public speaking

likes Taylor Swift but never told An

rollerblades

An Shiraishi

likes Taylor Swift but never told Kohane

loves kebabs but can't make them herself

skateboards

Hand In My Pocket by Alanis Morissette represents her so well

gonna be called Taiga's lil girl even when she's thirty tbh

Akito Shinonome/Shiraishi

adopted by Ken because he was done with Shinonome papa's abuse towards Ena

left handed

gets a motorcycle for his 21st birthday (all the Tenmas and some of their friends chipped in to give it him. he loves it)

when he was a bebe pancake nursery

takes pride in not drinking water

Akikoha headcanon: he plays guitar for her

Toya Aoyagi/Tenma

left handed

fluent in Russian, English, German and French for classical music reasons

sees MEIKO as a mother figure

mystery reader

Wonderlands x Showtime!

Tsukasa Tenma

left handed

was inspired by the Sing movies (guys they're fr so good anyways)

star themed nursery when he was a bebe

wanted a dog but his parents said no because they wouldn't be able to take care of it

good friends with Kanade because they both have a reason to be in the hospital a lot

Emu Otori/Tenma

when she was a bebe she also had a star themed nursery

Tenma sibling

IQ = 5, EQ = 200

cursed once and now everyone is scarred for life

Nene Kusanagi

extremely grumpy on her period

my wife :D

plays a variety of games on Steam, and has a Nintendo and a PS5

was born with gray streaks in her hair that faded as she got older

Rui Kamishiro

friends with Shiho because they both enjoy forensics

bribes An so he doesn't get caught doing things at school

took his mom's clock apart and put it back together at like 2 years old

ambidextrous

Nightcord at 25:00

Kanade Yoisaki/Tenma

plays a variety of instruments but is mostly skilled in the synthesizer

was born with darker hair and eyes but they faded when she got older

has cuts from trying to cook

Tenma sibling

left handed

Filipino

likes 80's music

Mafuyu Asahina

she can throat sing

plays electronic instruments and does vocals

she grew up eating spicy

Ena Shinonome

when Akito was born, she said 'bye bye baby' to him all the time (I did this to my own sibling so)

can't play instruments for the life of her

ambidextrous

takes pride in not drinking water

Mizuki Akiyama

does ballet

plays a bit of saxophone

when they were younger their sister made them bows and such

is the type to go to a country once and think they instantly know everything about that country

Tenma Siblings

they have a van which they decorated with star stickers and Tsukasa even put a sticker that said 'Star On Board!'

The Tenma family is Saki, Minori, Kohane, Tsukasa, Emu, Toya and Kanade

Stardew Valley

Sebastian

when he was a bebe hew had a frog themed nursery

had a salamander phase

hates mayo

keeps his room clean

left handed

reads comic books and magazines but also sneaks in some romance

Sam

hates tomatoes but likes pizza

Ado fan

had a very stereotypical childhood

left handed

Abigail

her parents fought about what theme to make her nursery. Caroline wanted a purple theme and Pierre wanted it to reflect the grocery store.

Caroline used to leave amethysts in her room but Abby would always eat them before she came back

likes to cosplay

Haley

preppy. not up for debate. mf Stanley and everything

has a blog for fashion, and Emily makes clothes that she really likes to post about

even though that she says quinoa is weird, she secretly likes it

her actual favorite food is curry

had a goth phase lmao (Emily doesn't use it as blackmail though)

wanted to become an influencer, but realized the industry fucking sucks

like wearing buns in her hair. AAHH IMMA DIE THINKING ABOUT HOW CUTE SHE LOOKS IN THAT SHIT AHH

Reddit lurker (meirl)

sharpie addict

Filipino (not up for debate) and can speak Tagalog, English, Indonesian and Spanish (Emily too)

types with ✨ too much

caffeine addiction for fun!!

Elliot

can't swim. Willy teases him for it sometimes

imagine him in a momojan outfit

Emily

left handed

Maru

ambidextrous

Penny

slight Southern accent

Jas and Vincent

likes to design buildings

dream of a proper school

made a terrarium but Jodi made them take it apart

Jas's full name is Jasmine

Vincent wants a dog but Jodi said no

they see Seb as a big brother, and Penny as a big sister

Willy

ambidextrous

Australian accent

Caroline

ambidextrous

Dwarf and Krobus

Krobus is ambidextrous

Dwarf is left handed

Clint

left handed

Marlon

left handed

The Disastrous Life of Saiki K

Aiura

has connections from her crystal ball

Our Life: Beginning and Always and Our Life: Now and Forever

Cove:

avid gamer

left handed

Qiu

skateboards

@wabatle

@stellas-starry-stories13

please do not copy or repost my work, and only use with persmission!

[writeblrgarden]

PLANT GROWERS - MEET THE WINNERS - RAE

Meet Rae, who got third place in our grow a plant event in november! Rae goes by she/her, has a second degree black belt in kendo, and you can find her at @koala2all. She has been writing for about 30 years, primarily YA fantasy.

Tell us about the WIP you'd like to talk about today.

I'll be talking about The Pirate Knight. Being a pirate is all Nonie has ever wanted. Freedom, camaraderie, and a beautiful girl in port to welcome her back. But returning from a lucrative voyage, she finds her home in shambles and her bonny lass missing. Desperate to find her, Nonie makes a deal with the god of the sea. In return for helping return her lost love Nonie vows to become his holy knight, saving the weak and defending the helpless. Together with a cynical sorcerer, a naive orc, and an ex-girlfriend from a rival ship who promises not to rest until their mission is a success, Nonie sets out to prove that she can be a hero in time to save the love of her life. But when a world changing secret is revealed, Nonie will need the help of her friends to navigate the tempest.

Describe your writing process. Do you like to plan everything or are you more spontaneous?

I'm more spontaneous. I usually start a bit backwards actually. I know how I want a story to end, then where it begins, and the rest is a matter of figuring out how to get from point A to point B. Music plays a huge part in my process, as well. I often get inspired by a song for a set of characters or a situation, then I try to figure out where it can fit.

What have you found to be the most challenging and/or rewarding about writing?

The most challenging part of writing for me is that I often feel like I don't know what I'm doing. I'm just kind of winging it, writing stories that make me happy about characters that I enjoy writing about… but up to a year ago I didn't know what a beta reader was. My background is in theater, so I know how to frame a story in three acts… but without the background in creative writing, the imposter syndrome is real!

Below the read more is more of our conversation with Rae

What inspires you to write?

Books were such an escape for me when I was little. All those amazing worlds and vivid characters really helped me through some tough times. And that's what I want to share with others. The world is a hard place right now. I want to give readers a place that they can escape to, with characters they can empathize with as they face trials and overcome them. And maybe take a little hope with them when they're done.

Share some advice for other writers.

The best advice I ever got was from a Terry Pratchett quote. He said, "The first draft is just you telling yourself the story." I am definitely the type of person who dreams of the first draft coming out absolutely perfect. When it doesn't come out that way, I can tend to get a little frustrated. But after I heard this quote, I realized that the first draft is going to be rubbish. That's okay, and that's what editing is for. First, I just need to tell myself the story.

What do consider your writing strength?

Dialogue and worldbuilding are my strengths, for sure. I have such a strong sense of the world my characters find themselves in. My favorite technique is to not explain too much to the reader, but let them come across the world naturally as the characters navigate through it. It's my favorite way of experiencing the world of a story! Dialogue writing is so much fun. I love bantering with my friends, and imagining the banter between two characters is just as entertaining. I myself am a bit snarky (in a delightful way, of course) and that tends to make its way into at least one of the characters speech patterns.

What has been the nicest compliment you've received or what has been the toughest criticism you've received?

When I finished my first novel, I sent it to a knitting acquaintance of mine who happened to be a book reviewer as well. It was nerve wracking, since I had only let friends and family look at any of my writing before, but I had dreams of publishing and wanted to make the story as good as I could before I started sending it out. Her review came back glowing. Four out of five stars, and compliments about the worldbuilding, the characters, the plot, the dialogue. It was such a good feeling!

What do you love the most about writing?

My characters, and sharing them. I love making characters… ever since I was little. I get such a kick out of giving a character a backstory, and then seeing how they grow through the course of the story. Sometimes they really surprise me! And seeing them become important to the readers is really exciting, too!

[chocsbookblog]

Book Review: Long Live Evil

Title: Long Live Evil (Time of Iron #1)

Author: Sarah Rees Brennan

Narrator: Moira Quirk

Rating: 5/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for allowing me a copy of this audio book in return for an honest review.

Rae is 20 years old and dying of cancer, when a strange woman shows up in her hospital room and offers her the chance to go to the fictional land of her favourite fantasy series where she will have the chance to cure herself she doesn’t see a downside.  Upon waking she discovers she is in the body of Lady Rahela, The Lady Dipped in Blood, the heroines evil stepsister, on the eve of her execution, well that’s going to make things interesting…

Moira Quirk is an utter dream of a narrator, I had previously fallen in love with her portrayal of Gideon the Ninth so I was delighted when I realised she was reading this gem of a book.  The characters were all easily distinguishable from each other and she added heart and humour to the narrative.

Long Live Evil is such a fabulous story, I have had a book hangover all day over the conclusion, and can’t believe I’m going to have to wait for however long it takes to write the next one in the series before I get to dive back in.  I will be re-listening as often as possible, that's for sure.  The characters are complex, flawed, broken and believable, the fantasy world makes sense, the narrative was brilliant, the plot twisted perfectly, I was laughing out loud at times, gasping in shock at others, and even shedding a tear or two on occasion. 

Final thoughts: I am so in love with this book!  A fantastic take on the fantasy portal genre, told with both depth and humour.

Who would enjoy this: Fantasy fans, especially those who enjoy stories that poke fun at the damsel in distress trope. 

[magpiefngrl]

2023 Book Review

Photo Credit (original): Ed Robertson

I read 95 books this year. Here's some of what I enjoyed and what I didn't, in genre or arbitrary categories:

Fave SFF books

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (Susanna Clarke)

Spinning Silver (Naomi Novik)

All Systems Red (Martha Wells)

The Library at Mount Char (Scott Hawkins)

Mammoths at the gates (Nghi Vo)

Gideon the Ninth (Tamsyn Muir)

Amberlough (Lara Elena Donnelly)

Fab m/m romances

Seven Summer Nights (Harper Fox)

The Lodestar of Ys (Amy Rae Durreson)

The Scottish Boy (Alex de Campi)

Magician (KL Noone)

Heated Rivalry (Rachel Reid)

Also Role Model and The Long Game (Rachel Reid)

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen (KJ Charles)

The older ones

(recently published books can feel very samey after a while. The irony of these being old books but feeling like a breath of fresh air)

Tam Lin (Pamela Dean) (1991)

Swordspoint (Ellen Kushner) (1987)

Wise Children (Angela Carter) (1991)

Chronicle of a Death Foretold (Gabriel Garcia Marquez) (1981)

(more books under the cut)

Best atmosphere

The Likeness (Tana French)

The fun rereads

Scum Villain's Self-Saving System (MXTX_

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (MXTX)

The King of Attolia (Megan Whalen Turner)

Empress of Salt and Fortune (Nghi Vo)

The Ruin of a Rake (Cat Sebastian)

The unexpected delight

(it's a biography, and I never anticipated feeling so engrossed in one of them)

The invention of Angela Carter (Edmund Gordon)

The one that hurts so good

Checkmate (Dorothy Dunnett)

Didn't quite love the books but adored the characters

The Dreamer Trilogy by Maggie Stiefvater (my typical experience of her stories)

The meh

Bardugo's Nikolai duology

Schwab's Darker Shades of Magic

The dreadful and my only DNF

A Taste of Gold and Iron (Alexandra Rowland)

Most bitterly disappointing

The third installment of Hall's billionaire series How to Belong with a Billionaire.

Biggest book hangover

Seven Summer Nights and Heated Rivalry

Best book boyfriend

ILYA ROZANOV

Most bonkers book

The Library at Mount Char (Scott Hawkins)

The "not sure I liked it but it'll definitely stay with me"

Some Desperate Glory (Emily Tesh)

The writing craft book that actually offered a new insight

The Heroine's Journey (Gail Carriger)

Overall, a decent year. My goal of completing series I'd started in the past and hadn't finished meant I subjected myself to some less enjoyable books, but I also read some excellent romances and fantasy novels, and I really enjoyed reading some older books, a practice I plan to continue.

past years

2015 2016 2019 first half of 2020 top 5 books of 2020 2021 2022

[sparks-chaotic-cove]

Hello folks!

Welcome to my blog! It's a chaotic cove of writing, art, brainrot rants, and reblogs of course!

Name: Spark(s) (May also refer to me as: Sunset, Dawn, or Lizzy/Lizzie!)

Pronouns: She/her

Status: In a relationship! To keep my boyfriend's name private, I'll be calling him "Okapi" for now-

Interests:

Fablesmp

Mersmp

Siegesmp

life series

hermitcraft

mcyt

percy jackson

other rick riordian series

warrior cats

DnD

Etc

What I do/create:

Writing

Art

Theories

Characters

Worlds (story worlds)

Jewelry

I am a safe space for almost everyone. No pedos or zoophiles or people who entertain themselves by ruining other peoples' lives with zero care.

But I AM a safe space for Furries, Therians and Otherkins, people of the lgbtq+ community, religious folks, and literally anyone else, honestly. Respect me and I will respect you. Even if you do not respect me I will not go out of my way to make a mockery of you.

Please note that I am uncomfy with demonic imagery- this includes stuff like horoscopes, divination, mark of the beast, ouija boards etc. Zodiac stuff is fine, as well as characters who happen to be demons in a fantasy world! Additionally, I am uncomfortable with making a mockery of any religion. This includes Christianity (and further, Catholicism), various pagan traditions, Buddhism, etc.

If you are questioning why this is, I am Christian.

Keep in mind; if you would not insult a follower of Islam or a Pagan or Buddist or Hindu for their beliefs, do not insult me for mine. I am willing to discuss my beliefs privately, and civilly. I will not stand for a catfight purely based on your hate of others who claim to be of what I believe but by their actions reveal themselves to be unaligned.

----------------------------------------------

Tags:

SparkRambles (brainrot rambles, rambles about stuff, etc)

Sparkart / Sparkdraws(my art!)

Sparkwrites (my writing/poetry blurbs)

Sparksings (me singing)

Sparkrants (me ranting about anything)

Sparksilly (silly posts, pointless posts, joking rants, etc)

Sparkpoetry (poetry-)

Sparkgrows (Garden/plants)

----------------------------------------------

Fandom/archiving info tag(s):

Skyboundlog-Avicane (also just "skyboundlog")

Avicane

Skyboundlog

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Reblog tags:

Happybits - Happy videos/images/posts that make me smile

Writinghelp - Writing/worldbuilding tips

Artref - Art references

Quotes - Cool things I like to read, usually short quotes

Gardennotes - Garden related shenanigans and garden tips

Healthtips - Health related tips!

Chat sona archive:

BoundSMP:

Rune - Periwinkle spark (tazikki) Vast - Vincia, magpie holding a periwinkle Marcel - Zori - Scarlet tanager Sylph - Del, red throated hummingbird Armor - Zegari the Tegu Lizard

FableSMP: (over)

Wolf/Fenris - Garnet spark Rae - Vermillion spark Centross (x) - Keripa Momboo (x) - marigold bush / Poppy Icarus - nearby poppy Jamie - brown rabbit/bunny

MerSMP (Mostly over):

Gyn - Meridee Theo - red-stained remora Cella - pink pebble

Siege:

Mara(?)(zenni) - Junetia ("June")

Wild West SMP / WWSMP

Draxas - Cracked Lapis Scorpion (Lazip) Artisan - Axinite the Fennec Beckett - N/A RedBite - N/A

I do not have any other blogs currently! <3

Welcome to the cove, people from to and fro!

[iuteamstarcandy]

[TRANS] Last Fantasy Album and Song Introductions

ALBUM INTRODUCTION

IU, who filled the whole world with ‘Good Day’ last year, is finally coming back with a new album for her fans. IU's new album [Last Fantasy] is a full-length album that she has released 2 years after her 1st album [Growing Up] and this album was produced by Cho Young-chul, who created the ‘IU Syndrome’ last year. Producer Cho Young-chul focused on approaching and expressing IU's musicality in more diverse ways through this album.

The meaning behind the title of the new album, [Last Fantasy], is that the album depicts all the thoughts, imaginations, and fantasies of IU as she looks upon the beginning of her 20s, in this moment at the end of her teenage years and the album contains various sides of IU that music fans want from her through her songs. This 2nd full-length album, which contains a total of 13 songs, attracts much attention with the participation of the best musicians and composers in Korea. Musicians who need no further explanation, including Kim Kwang-jin, Yoon Sang, Jung Jae-hyung, Lee Juck, Kim Hyung-seok, Jung Suk-won, Kim Hyun-chul, Yoon Jong-shin, Lee Min-soo, Corinne Bailey Rae, G. Gorilla, and Ra.D, all participated in IU's full-length album.

As this is IU’s first full-length album in a long time, she put in all her efforts and sincerity from many different angles, to make the album more perfect. In addition to putting her own self-composed song on the album, IU participated in writing the lyrics for a number of songs, showing a more mature side to her musical sensibility and carefully considered what the right tone would be for each song, as she did her best to improve the completion of the album.

First of all, the first track, ‘Secret’, is the work of composer Jung Suk-won, showing intense charm as a song that opens the door to IU’s second full-length album. Featuring an arrangement that emphasizes a clear story development and contrast, the song begins with IU's clear tone and a lyrical melody, then develops gradually with vocals that become more powerful and the grand sound of rock opera. Standing at the center of the song, IU showed powerful vocals that led all the music with her. The second track, ‘Sleeping Prince’, is the work of Yoon Sang, a composer who brought out IU's deep emotions with ‘Only I Didn't Know’. This song, which was brought to life again with an innocent charm that only IU can show, allows the listener to experience clear and bright emotions as if one were watching a fairytale. Just like how composer Yoon Sang felt that it was fortunate that IU sang this song when she was a teenager, IU's cute vocals and the warm arrangement meet to produce this high-quality song.

The third track, ‘Holding a Star in My Heart’ is a song by Kim Kwang-jin that conveys a deep sound that cannot be described with words. IU's vocals that sound like she is calmly reciting the song, together with the slow-flowing melodies, give a comforting feeling and Kim Kwang-jin's voice at the end of the song is touching to hear. The song, infused deeply with composer Kim Kwang-jin’s unique emotions, appeals to different generations. The fourth track, ‘YOU&I’, the title track of this second full-length album, is a collaboration between composer Lee Min-soo and lyricist Kim Eana, who created ‘Good Day’, and conveys IU's diverse emotions and upgraded musicality. ‘YOU&I’ is a song that once again showcases the charm of IU's vocals, with a mysterious and strange concept of a teenage girl who travels through time into the future. With a composition that crosses minor and major chords, a musical arrangement that stands out with its colorful and fantasy-like feeling of real sound using instruments rarely found in pop songs such as harp and horn, the song also allows you to experience IU's diverse vocal expression ability.

The fifth track, ‘Wallpaper Pattern’ is the work of composer Yoon Jong-shin, which shows IU's subtle emotions. It is a song that combines lyrical melodies with IU's warm tone and IU's interpretation of the song stands out as she perfectly interprets poetic lyrics that express ordinary emotions experienced in our daily lives. In particular, composer Jung Suk-won participated in the arrangement, giving it a more detailed sound. IU's song of encouragement for all the uncles in the world! The sixth track is ‘Uncle’ with composer Lee Juck. This song was completed with a discussion between IU and Lee Juck and IU's ‘aegyo’ (cute) tone captures the hearts of uncles along with the bouncy melody of the song. Lee Juck's rap made by IU's forced(?) request and IU's shout-out to her uncles are highlights to pay attention to in the song.

‘Wisdom Tooth’ is the work of composer G.Gorilla, who is loved by fans for his unique emotions, and is a song about the heart of a girl who suffered the heartache of her first love. As it is her first love, IU participated in writing the lyrics, to express more strongly the heartache from the perspective of a teenager in a pure and fun way and IU actually wrote the lyrics of the song after talking to her mother, expressing her honest feelings. ‘Everything's Alright’, the eighth track with a fast tempo and exciting feeling, is the work of composer Kim Hyun-chul. The song, which depicts the cold atmosphere of fighting with a lover, brings out that atmosphere by combining the warm sound of the actual performance and the harmony of IU and composer Kim Hyun-chul, who also featured in the song, and has a charm to it that leaves a lasting impression.

The ninth track, ‘Last Fantasy’, is the work of composer Kim Hyung-suk, and sounds even larger in scale than you would imagine a movie soundtrack to sound like. This song, which contains the grandeur of the 50-member orchestra, is a grand song that lasts more than six minutes and overwhelms its listeners. It is an impressive song that expresses IU's present state at the end of her teenage years with lyrics that ask someone to hold her hand so that she doesn’t fall into her dream when she opens the door to reality. The tenth track, ‘Teacher’ is by composer Ra.D, which IU also participated in writing the lyrics for. It is a song customized for IU from the start and a lot of time was invested in writing the lyrics to include all kinds of thoughts and concerns that 19-year-old IU had. The calm acoustic sound and emotional vocals of IU and Ra.D are combined to complete the charming song.

The eleventh track, ‘The Abandoned’, is a self-composed song written by IU. ‘The Abandoned’, which gives the feeling of a deep darkness, is a song that IU has worked on for a long time, and goes contrary to the bright side of herself that she has shown so far. This self-composed song by IU brings out her deep inner emotions that we never imagined her to have, instilling another kind of expectation from her fans with regard to her potential. The twelfth track, ‘4AM’, is a song by British singer-songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae, with lyrics written by IU and the song was completed with a collaborative effort between the two. The lyrics draw attention with their depiction of the unstable emotions at 4 a.m. and IU's deep vocals that she has not shown before allows the song leave an impression on the listener. IU sang this song by Corinne Bailey Rae, a musician she has said she loves the most since her debut, and that makes the song mean a lot to IU.

The finale of the full-length album, ‘L'amant’, is a song that allows the listener to experience the musical emotions of composer Jung Jaehyung as they are, through his work. IU’s mournful and thick vocals that flow through the sorrowful jazz melody add to the flair of the song. This song, which was fully completed with IU’s song interpretation ability, is a song that allows us to imagine the future of IU who shows that she can pull off a variety of genres. IU's second full-length album can be said to be a record that will remind the digital music generation of the ‘value of the album’ just by the team of participating musicians and the high quality of the songs. Let us all listen to the ‘charm of music’ that IU, who is highly anticipated by fans for her musical ability that combines musicality and popular appeal, will present through this album.

Translated by IUteamstarcandy

Source: Melon

[lunarsniperwifle]

I havent posted in a while so here's a lil life recap!

I started HRT in august!! Woohoo!! Its been going really well, Im so happy.

I had a lil vacay with my parents after my Tia's wedding in October, read cover to cover a book (Legends & Lattes, very fun very cute, and gay) and its the first book Ive fully read in a few years and cover to cover in about 24 hours in many years. It really sparked a lot of joy and got me back into the reading mood. Plus the story hit like all my boxes (fantasy, coffeeshop au style, sapphic, retired adventurer, past coming to haunt and help).

Next thing I read was She Loves to Cook She Loves to Eat. SO. GOOD. i adore them, i cant wait for more (i think i saw the author is on break atm which of course is fine take care of yourself!!). Im loving where its going, that theyre older women, that theyre falling/have fallen for eachother but dont know how to bring it up and are hesitant BUT working towards taking the next step together. I cant wait for them to communicate, and kiss.

I also got into Im In Love With The Villainess and omg. I adore it so much. I watched when it had like 4 eps out, watched em all. And then immediately bought all the light novels, manga, and claires POV LN that were out. And then proceeded to read all core/main LNs in less than a week. Then Claires then the manga. I adore it, I fell in love with this story so fast and stayed up nightly reading almost one LN a day for a week. I think the 2nd one is my fave, and it makes me so excited for the anime and for the manga to get translated and released. I am dying for the 2nd one from Claires POV as well (im sure i could maybe find it online same with the manga since thats up to the looks like Lily/Yu arc now in japan) but i kinda wanna wait for the print to come out so i can physically have and read it like the others. Rae and Claire's story means so much to me, and especially Inori-san's writing in general and being serious about certain topics and actually diving into them. I hopw with all my heart it continues to be animated, i have a feeling we'll wind with the scales of love arc for season 1 and tease vacation arc for start of 2 (and probably go through to the end of LN 2 for season 2 mayhap?) It deserves to have the entire story told through animation honestly.

I also got the bloom into you manga (got the 1st one to read and see if id like it and shocker i do so i have the rest of the manga, LNs, and manga anthology on the way and might get the bluray of the anime eventually to watch). Ive really liked the 1st volume so far, it has me excited to find out how the story and relationship develops! Also wow! It was very fast at getting into the love feelings i was kinda surprised (pleasantly)

And then when im done with that have the Whisper Me a Love Song in my sights for the next yuri story to dive into and adore.

Its been a wonderful time. Im real happy :3

[raemanzu]

I started trying to write my fantasy story again and I wish I could hire someone who is actually really interested in it to ask me lots of questions about the characters to get my brain out of this rut lol

[unkipt]

What made you decide to have Rae as the main protagonist of the World Falling Series? Why did you decide to focus on End Duo and Bunker Duo?

short answer: funky end man /pos

long answer: it kinda started with the kind of fic i wanted to write? i've always loved fantasy, and that genre fits so well with fable, i thought it would be really cool to almost retell the story in a more medieval fantasy setting. rae is also one of my favourite characters (with caspian tied for first), so it was just sort of logical for me to want one of my favourites to be my protagonist, and rae fit better of the two for this one. as you may know, caspian is the protagonist of my other fic, hauntings of a not so dead brother, so he got his place to shine lol.

as for the duos, have you seen them?? /j actually though, when i decided i wanted rae to be in the end, it sort of just made sense for centross to be there, and i love their dynamic in canon so i was more than happy to lean into that in the fic. with jamie it was more that i wanted to play on some story aspects of season 1, with enderian sort of being the "big bad" of the fic (small teaser, i do intend on having all the "big bads" as big bads in this series, if not in order exactly as canon did it), and i always loved that jamie was rae's first assistant despite how involved athena got with a lot of the later research. jamie and rae have a bond in canon that i feel sometimes gets overshadowed by other duos, and they just mean a lot to me so i wanted to get the chance to highlight them a bit

thats basically it? they're all just funky dudes and i love them

[tonksiefea]

How I know You|| Original Fantasy Romance

So this is Chapter 1 of a story I've been working on. It's currently 17 Chapters and counting but I'm hitting that point in my process where I want to delete everything and never touch a computer again so I figured I'd got some reasonable people to tell me I'm right! LOL I kid! Thank you to @soinspiredbyyou Who kindly encouraged me to post it Summary: Raziel "Rae" Marsh is an anxious newly published author who moved to a mountain town to escape her loving but overbearing parents. Things get a little complicated when a Fantasy Writer meets a Forest Ranger who starts making her books seem a little more realistic than Fairy Stories ever should.

Chapter 1

“No. Mom, I'm fine. I promise, I’m doing great. You and dad do not need to come get me. I'm an adult. Yes, I’m eating, no I’m not dating anyone, yes the book tour went fine and the new house is beautiful. I even found a coffee shop to work in.” Raziel, who would not share her full name under penalty of death and instead preferred Rae, loved her mother. She really did. 

Rae got a lot of things from her mother. Her red hair, her green eyes, her freckles, her talent for language, and most of all her overwhelming anxiety and worry for the slightest change to her life. 

What she did not get from her mother was the woman’s constant insistence that she find a husband, settle down, and start pumping out children like she needed to single handedly re-populate the earth. That part she could do without. 

It was part of the reason Rae had taken the money from her first successful fantasy book, touted to be the next “Chronicles of Narnia”, and moved to a secluded mountain town in Colorado where the population fluctuated between triple and quadruple digits depending on the season. She much preferred the quiet town life to anything else and she was finally able to live her dream of a quiet secluded life as a hermit writer. 

“Mom, I gotta go! I’m walking into the cafe. I’ll call you when I get home. No, mom I’m going to write. I can't spend my whole time talking on the phone. Because, mother, it’s rude.” Rae rolled her eyes as her mother launched into another tangent that would take forever. “Goodbye Mom. I love you.” She sighed and hung up instantly feeling a surge of overwhelming guilt for hanging up. 

She knew her mom meant well and she loved talking to her but right now Rae just needed some quiet. She needed to delve into the world of her imagination and ignore reality for a good three hours or so with a mug of cinnamon coffee so big people would confuse it for a bowl. 

She took a deep breath of the silence and looked down the streets seeing the one or two off-season tourists that wandered through the town for hiking. Summer was about to end but kids were going back to school and this little town was nearly abandoned. Even most of the locals either lived off the land, or worked in larger cities just down the mountain. Somehow, without her mother’s voice in her ear, anxiety started to well up in her. Something else too. 

For the past year, any time she was alone, she got this feeling but any time she tried to pin it down it ran away. She was sick of trying to chase a ghost but she couldn’t quite bring herself to give up on it either. Something in her soul said this feeling was important and that she had to solve the puzzle. She was pretty sick of the urgent feeling in her stomach and right now was not the time. Anxiety she could handle, the other thing could wait. 

Rae walked into the door of the tiny, eclectic, coffee shop and looked around. She had found it the day before, relieved to find a place that wasn’t a chain. If anyone knew how anxious she always was they would have assumed she was the type to order everything on an app and use self checkout. Except there was a certain charm, in her opinion, about having the sort of social anonymity of having a place she was considered a quirky regular. A place where the barista knew her order and the check out guy knew how to bag her eggs just the way she liked. The sort of pseudo social bond that made it so someone would notice if you went missing but you were still a little bit of an enigma. It was part of why she'd picked such a small town. She wanted that place where everyone sort of knew each other.

Rae walked up to see the same woman from yesterday behind the counter wiping  it down and humming to herself. “Hey! Welcome back! So I guess the coffee wasn’t too bad then?” The woman greeted, warmly. She had a sort of spirit about her that Rae hadn’t found at the cafe near her parent’s house in the giant suburb where nothing really felt local, even the local shops. She loved Burbank, but she was thrilled to be rid of it.

“I loved it, actually. Had to come back and try another one.” Her tone was friendly and she was proud of herself for being able to sound confident even if she didn’t feel it with ehr stomach bubbling and twisting and her heart beating a bit too fast.

“You want the Honey Nut latte again then?” The woman asked, turning to the computer.

“Actually I was looking at the Cinnamon vanilla cappuccino.” She admitted. Rae had a huge soft spot for cinnamon. She loved the sweet and spicy mix. It felt sort of fantastical, like the sort of thing a fairy should drink.

“Oh! Good choice! It’s one of my favorites. Biggest cup I can find?” the barista asked, quoting yesterday. Rae was surprised but she supposed in a small town like this new people always stuck out. Not to mention she was the crazy red head with the coffee addiction that spent half her day writing in the back corner and muttering to herself while she wobbled the table. That probably helped make her memorable.

“Please and thank you!” She said brightly as she pulled out her card to pay. The Barista was quick to process the purchase and say they’d call her name when it was ready and Rae nodded turning to the room to get to work when she was stopped short. 

She looked at her table. Her table, she had quickly decided, was perfect.It had a slight wobble to fidget with when thinking and just enough light that she could see but not too much in the sun as to need to take off her sweater and she could angle her computer just so in order to not get glare. Yes, her perfect little table was another part of the charm and allure of this place. Except right now, her table had a man sitting at it. 

There were plenty of other tables, that wasn’t the problem. The thing was Rae was a creature of habit if nothing else. She liked normal and same and comfortable. She didn’t just want any table she wanted her table. 

She was the kind of person that was one mental breakdown away from having the same outfit in 12 colors just because it was comfortable. Finding a new table once she picked one took time, it took effort. Yes, she’d only had that table once but it was her table! Now her choices were go find a new one: torture! Or talk to the man and ask if he could move: torture!

“Iced Cinnamon honey Latte for Liam!” was called next to her and the man stood up. She quickly averted her eyes to look at the menu pretending she was busy. As soon as he was engaged with the Barista she quickly slipped to the table into the same seat she had been in the day before, thankfully not the one the man had been in, and opened her computer.

“I suppose I don’t mind a little company.” A voice drawled over her. It was deep, and sounded like it was amused, and absolutely terrifying. She looked up to see warm chestnut eyes and a beard and shaggy brown hair and sun tanned skin. He was taller than her but not by much. Other than looking a bit ragged he was just a normal, average guy. So why did she get the instantaneous need to flee? Oh yeah, because she stole his table.

“Oh umm Sorry?” She asked, she tried her best to sound innocent and confused. Maybe if she could play it off well enough he’d just give up and move. It was her favorite table after all. 

Mistakes were clearly made when he sat down in the same seat he had left. “My table.” The statement was simple and plain and was accompanied with a rather self satisfied looking smirk.

“No one was here when I sat down so–” Rae started powering up her laptop and pulling out notebooks hoping it would be enough to stake her claim and scare him off. That was until the man pointed to a black bag resting on the seat next to his. “Oh. I must have missed that. Sorry I can–” She started to get up with tense shoulders and probably too perfect posture.

“There’s plenty of space. I mean the table is meant for like seven people.” It was an exaggeration, but not by much. The big, round table had been useful because she had been able to spread out her notebooks and books and still had about half a table left for cups and plates. “Besides, looks like I won’t be here half as long as you will.” He mused.

He gave a slow look over her bag of books and papers and pens and highlighters, it always looked near to bursting at the seams. His look had her blushing from embarrassment. Then his eyes slowly moving over her face like he was drinking in her appearance. His look had her flicking her eyes shyly down to her keyboard and suddenly feeling very warm in her comfy knit sweater. 

“Thank you. It’s just that this is the perfect table. It’s the right distance from the window to get light but not be too warm or reflect on my screen and it’s got a little wobble that I can play with when I’m thinking.” She explained in a rush. Why was she telling him this? Why did she want to tell this guy everything she’d ever thought? 

She fought the urge to look back up to the chocolate eyes of the man in front of her. She did not do relationships. She had knocked aside every single person who had even looked her way for as long as she could remember. This guy wasn’t even her type! Sure he was handsome in his own way, and he had a great voice but she wanted something else. She just wasn’t really sure what that was.

“Good to know I have good taste.” He said with a tone that had her looking up in panic. It sounded so weighty. Was he complimenting her? That was very daring. “In tables.” He clarified like he could read her mind.

“Right.” She said, nodding and trying to remind herself to breathe. There was no way she was letting this guy get to her. She was just a nervous person. So why was this guy so disarming? Why was he terrifying in a totally different way from every other human she’d ever met? Why did she want to know more about him? “You do. So umm… do you–”

“Cinnamon Vanilla Cappuccino for Rae!” The barista called. Rae nearly tipped her chair over when she shot up like a bottle rocket.

“That’s me!” She called. The Barista, thankfully, just smiled warmly and motioned to her with the coffee. Right she had to go over and get it. “Be right back. Can you watch my stuff?” She asked the mystery man as she, much more carefully, picked her way around her bag and towards the counter. 

She felt so stupid. Genuinely, she felt like an idiot. She had just made a total fool of herself and her anxiety was flaring like crazy. Her heart was pounding a thousand miles a second and her palms were sweating and her stomach was even a little nauseous. She took the coffee and the Barista smiled kindly.

“He’s the last new guy, moved in about a year ago. Nice guy but I’ve never seen him talk to the same person that long.” The barista commented. What was that supposed to mean? Was she special?

“Oh. Yeah well I tried to steal his table so...” Rae trailed off awkwardly. Maybe she should just go home and never leave her house again. She took a sip of her coffee and comfort washed over her body. “Wow.” She breathed for the first time in what seemed like forever. “This is great!” she complimented savoring the sweet and spicy flavor that made her feel magical.

“Told you! It’s my favorite. Enjoy.” The Barista turned in a way that clearly dismissed her.

Ok, so she couldn’t leave until she finished her coffee now. She looked around the empty cafe, empty except for her table that had the guy at it. She tried to pick another place to work but every single one just had too many glaring issues. That one really was her perfect table. So she just had to deal with the guy. Besides, something in her told her that if she moved the guy would just follow. A traitorous part of her loved the idea too.

She moved back to her seat and nodded a greeting to the guy sitting there. “Thanks.” She said putting her coffee down and moving to sit. 

“That’ll be 20 dollars.” the guy said with an impish smile that made her stomach flip uncomfortably and had her flopping into the seat she had just been trying to sit gracefully in.

She was a scared wreck 99% of the time but the other 1% of her personality was all redhead. Instantly her face flared red and rage boiled in her blood. “Excuse me?!” She asked, her chin cocked down and teeth clenched almost as tight as her fists.

Instantly his hands raised in surrender but his face was entirely covered in a smug smile. “Joking.” He assured with a wave of his hands to draw attention to his surrender. “Good to know you’re a fighter though.” He commented, taking a self satisfied sip of his own drink.

A fighter? She was not a fighter! She was a runner and a hider or a freezer at best. His words soothed her somehow though. It was like he was seeing someone completely different than who she was but for some reason she really wanted to be that person. “I just couldn’t believe you thought your services were worth 20 bucks.” She countered. “Maybe Five…cents” Was she teasing him? She was pretty sure she was teasing him. Where had she learned to tease random men in coffee shops?

“Ouch.” He said covering his heart like he’d been wounded but his smile was impossible to miss. It lit his face with an impossibly enchanting glow. She couldn’t take her eyes off the way his eyes crinkled in the corners or the way his laugh lines framed his lips. She ripped her eyes forcefully to her coffee and took a long drink of the soothing cinnamon. She hoped the drink would bring some much needed reality to her boggled mind. “I’d be happy to show you just what my services are worth.” He offered and she caught sight of him wiggling his eyebrows up and down.

A laugh caught Rae by the throat and she nearly choked on her coffee as she snorted. Coffee assaulted the back of her throat and splashed all over her computer screen from her coughing. Oh God she looked like an idiot. “Sorry.” She choked out as she put down her cup and desperately tried to get her breathing and hacking under control.

She looked up to see an empty seat where he had been. He was gone. She tried to insist to herself that she wasn’t sad or upset or anything even remotely like it. She was glad that she had her table to herself. The problem was that inexplicable feeling was instantly back. It was like an itch inside of her ear so deep there was no way to scratch it. She hadn’t realized but for those brief moments talking to this strange man, it had been gone. Now that he was missing it was back. She didn’t know what to make of that. It was like her skin was crawling, looking for something. Her eyes darted around the shop, without her permission, to see where he went.

“Don’t go dying on me, now.” His voice pulled her instantly to look next to her. “I know I’m funny but even I’m not that funny.” He joked offering her a napkin. She tried not to feel relieved seeing his face there smiling like he was hilarious. She reached up taking the napkin and wiped her face as he sauntered back to his seat and dropped himself haphazardly into it. 

“It just took me by surprise.” She insisted, not sure what to do with herself. Why was she so relaxed with this guy around? Why had it felt so cold when she had thought he left? 

All this was a lot to think about and she was supposed to be writing. She winced as soon as she looked at her screen and saw it covered in drips of coffee. That was going to be gross to write through all day. She wiped the screen but it just wiped streaks of cream and sugar across the surface.

“Everything ok there, kid?” His voice called for her attention again. Somehow the nickname, which should have been demeaning, didn’t set her anger ablaze again. It seemed so casual, almost natural. Not that the man in front of her could possibly be too much older than she was. She was in her mid thirties and would probably pin him at around forty, maybe younger.

She sighed in frustration at the streaks on her screen needing to be careful of the LCD screen but there was no amount of wiping that would fix this mess. “Fine it just– my screen is a mess now. So it looks like I won’t get any writing done. My publisher will love that.” She sighed, closing her screen probably a touch harder than she should have.

“Publisher?” He asked with a tilted head. He didn’t really look surprised, which surprised her. She could say he looked vaguely curious, but even that was too strong a word for the expression he was portraying.

“Yeah I um,I guess you could say I’m a writer. Or at least I wrote a book and it got published so, write.” She said instantly, self conscious. This was the part that always felt awkward and wrong. Plus it got two reactions, half the people were so excited they instantly wanted to be her best friend and get a free copy, the other half were patronizing and passed the words off as her  bragging. “Now I’m supposed to write the follow up.” She explained awkwardly. “It’s supposed to be a series.” She was babbling again. “About fairies.” She finished. 

God why couldn’t she have written about something so much cooler? Why wasn’t she writing about dragons or werewolves or even bigfoot! Why was it fairies? He would think she was twelve. Why the hell did she care what he thought?

“Fairies are cool.” His voice was so casual she couldn’t stop herself from looking up with what she was sure was a stupid, hopeful face. 

“Yeah. I mean, I’m not talking like two inches tall with butterfly wings or anything. They’re more like elemental forces. They’re mostly warriors and guardians. It’s not as dumb as it sounds, I swear.” She tried desperately to defend her book and let out an awkward laugh. She was trying not to give into the overwhelming shame and embarrassment she currently felt. 

She never talked about her novels to anyone that wasn’t her mother or her publisher. Even her dad hadn’t actually heard much about her book. She’d given him a copy of the first round of printing but it was still sitting untouched next to his armchair in California. This stranger actually looked interested though. Not even complimentary, not amused and mocking. He was just passively curious.

“What’s it called? I’d love to read it.” He said, taking a slow sip of his iced drink. Why was he drinking an iced coffee? It may not be fall yet but the colder weather had already stolen into the mountains enough that she needed a sweater.

“I have a spare copy at home. Maybe I could bring it to you tomorrow?” She offered.

“I can’t be here tomorrow.” Why was she disappointed by that? She nodded, refusing to let her face fall but either she wasn’t as good at hiding her emotions as she wanted to be, or he was more perceptive than average. “I work on call in the ranger outpost up in the national park. I’m on three days off two. But I’ll be here Friday? Maybe I can pick it up then?” he offered. “Buy you lunch to pay you back for it?” He looked hopeful. That was a surprise. The look in his eyes made it seem like he was holding his breath as much as she was.

“Sounds good. I’ll be here.” She agreed with a shy smile. Had she just agreed to a date? Three days from now she had agreed to a date! Maybe it wasn’t a date. Maybe he was just being nice.

“It’s a date.” He commented with a smirk. Ok so definitely a date.

“Yeah!” She shouldn’t be this excited. She was never this excited. She hated dating. Ever since she got dumped at her ninth grade ball for the class siren by the local captain of the jousting team. ‘Real life terms Raziel!’ she chastised herself. She wrote too much. It was the ninth grade semi-formal and the head cheerleader and the captain of the football team, whom she’d had no business dating anyway.

Her mom always warned her about getting too stuck in her stories. They were always telling her if she wasn’t careful she’d never come out. 

“You want me to see what I can do with that screen?” The man’s voice shocked her out of her self-reflection.

“Huh?” Rae shook her head blinking away the voices fighting behind her eyes and flashes of wings and gossamer. 

The man nodded his head to her closed computer. “Your computer screen. I might be able to clean it off.” He offered. “Can’t let you get behind because of my attempted murder.” He joked.

She laughed even though it wasn’t a good joke and nodded. “Sure.” she said, opening the lid. “All yours.” He took a napkin and pulled a bottle of water out of his satchel pouring a bit onto the end and ran it lightly over the screen. 

Rae watched in awe as the streaks cleared up and dried like he’d used one of her screen clothes instead of a napkin and water. “My hero!” She said with a smile looking over to see his brown eyes right next to her. He was close enough to her she could smell woods and smoke and see little lines decorating his face and disappearing into the thick hair of his beard. It was an alluring image to be sure. Almost made her forget to breathe.

“Liam.” His voice was deep and so sexy and horribly distracting. Clearly she was quiet long enough that he felt the need to clarify. “That's my name. Liam.” That woke her up.

“Right! Sorry! Rae.” She introduced in a rush. 

“Short for…?” He prompted. 

“Something horrible.” She informed flatly.

“It can't be that bad.” He insisted with a smile.

“It really is.”

“What Rachel? Rainbow? Ray of sunshine? Raymond?”

“Raziel.” She burst out if only to stop his insane guesses. She stopped short, her eyes going huge when she realized she had just said her most hated name to a total stranger.

“Hm interesting.” Was all he said. “See ya Friday, Raziel.” He said her name quietly with an impish smile. It was like he was keeping her name a little secret between them. Somehow it didn't sound quite so horrid coming from him which really was a magical thing for him to manage.

“See you Friday, Liam.” She couldn't fight the smile. Her phone started to buzz and she looked down seeing her mom's contact and huffed. Her mother could not know about this. That was not happening. She wasn’t sure if she would be able to stop thinking about it but just the image of her mother learning about the coffee shop forest ranger felt like a threat. A threat she didn’t have time to unpack right now. Those chocolate eyes and the feelings behind them would be unfolded at a later date. For now she had other beasts to battle.

“Hi mom!”

[masonhawth0rne]

What I read in March

Hoo boy, it's taken me a while to get around to this again, huh? I want to say March was a busy month, but it's too much of a blur for me to remember what was going on. I feel like I was climbing a lot (I've taken up rock climbing, have I mentioned?) but otherwise, I have no clue where March went.

Anyways, I got some good reading done!

Edge of Infinity, ed. Jonathan Strahan ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Analysis & Critique: How to Engage and Write about Anything, Dorsey Armstrong ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Will of the Many, James Islington ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

And Put Away Childish Things, Adrian Tchaikovsky ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Gold Coast, Kim Stanley Robinson ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year Vol 11, ed Jonathan Strahan ⭐️⭐️⭐️

New Rules & Guidelines From HR for Working with Humans (ss), Derin Edala ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Angel (ss), Derin Edala ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Martian: Lost Sols (ss), Andy Weir ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Forever Peace, Joe Haldeman ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Merciless Waters, Rae Knowles ⭐️⭐️

Dune Messiah, Frank Herbert ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐���

The Cursed Heart, Derin Edala⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Lair of the White Worm, Bram Stoker ⭐️

Pacific Edge, Kim Stanley Robinson ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Phytophthora Nosferatu (ss), J Corvine ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Minty Fresh, J Corvine⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Labyrinth of Dreams, Derin Edala ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Angels Before Man, Rafael Nicolás⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Lure, Tim McGregor ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Fascination, Essie Fox ❌❌❌

There were a couple of surprises for me this month, some were nice surprises, and some were...somewhat less than nice surprices. It's good, gotta have some surprises to keep you nimble.

The Will of the Many by James Islington was the first surprise, I had thought I'd like it well enough, the concept seemed interesting, and it turns out that it was actually fantastic. A smooth take on the dystopic genre, with a great attention to detail, and handling of social forces on the characters. The scifi elements might have come off as a bit silly if they'd been handled less skillfully, but over the course of the novel the real horror of the hierarchy becomes ever more apparent. Also it ends on a killer cliffhanger--where is the sequel??

A slight disappointment was that The Gold Coast and Pacific Edge, books two and three of Kim Stanley Robinson's The Three Californias Trilogy were...just not quite as good as the rest of his work that I've read. I found that TGC focussed too much on the 'futuristic party boy hedonist' archetype that I find stultifying in fiction, and while the surrounding worldbuilding was interesting I just could not stand any of the characters.

PE on the other hand was kind of...boring? Now don't get me wrong, I love boring books, but it was boring in the sense that I was reading it feeling like 'ok now when's the story going to happen?' there are only so many softball games which are metaphors for small town politics and romantic relationships that I can sit through. The other problem with PE, I think, is that it is aggressively middle of the road. In the other California novels, the protagonists have Forces to Push Against, but PE is set in a kind of idyllic postcapitalist cooperative, where small town politics is the biggest thing going on and the main conflict of the book can be solved with a strongly worded awareness campaign. Like I GET what was being done, but I also feel like this one could have been a third as long as it was and carried the same weight, but perhaps with fewer softball games.

Dune: Messiah was a nice surprise, I only read Dune last year, and I really enjoyed it, but I've only ever heard that the series goes downhill after the first one. Absolutely not! I'm really looking forward to reading the rest of Frank Herbert's Dune books!

The two real clunkers this month were The Lair of the White Worm by Bram Stoker, and The Fascination by Essie Fox. Both for similar reasons, actually. There was a whole lot of racism going on, in ways that were, y'know, disappointing but not surprising from a guy writing shock novels a hundred-and-something years ago, but really pretty upsetting from a novel that was published in 2023 and has lots of very positive reviews.

Having read several Stoker books now, I found that there was little of the sort of charm that I've come to expect from his writing. The characters were kind of flat and unpleasant, and the antagonists were evil for the sake of being evil. I'm actually surprised that this is one of his later works, because it reads as so much less sophisticated than the other things I've read.

The Fascination was the gift that kept on giving, if the kinds of gift you like are things like racism, ableism, and biphobia which seem bad at first, and then keep doubling down on themselves. The book also has an air of smug superiority, presenting sequence after sequence of exploitation dreck and then turning smirkingly to the reader like 'see I bet you assumed [something racist, ableist, biphobic, etc]'. The end of the novel hinges on a big reveal, which is that...one of the focalising characters has a disability. Which should, apparently, reframe how we've understood the character from the beginning, and which should shock us out of our assumptions that people with that disability couldn't be main characters. Or something.

I think it takes a lot of work to write something that makes the disability representation in Game of Thrones feel subtle and nuanced.

There was so much wrong with The Fascination that I could probably spend another several paragraphs listing them, but to be honest reading the book was unpleasant enough, I don't really feel like spending my evening reliving all that. My final criticism is that the book is insufferably twee and self satisfied. There was not one sentence that made me think that it was worthwhile to read.

To end on a positive note, all of the indie books and stories that I read were delightful! I've included links to most of them above, and it's really refreshing to read stuff that is smart, well written, and which actually has something interesting to say, even if that something is 'hey wouldn't it be super fucked up if there was a vampire in your flower bed?'

Anyways, that's enough for this month!

[hey wait, psst, did you know, I've got a novelette? It's available now: https://books2read.com/u/3kOvKn ]

Stars awarded at my whim

ss=short story

[ferrocyan]

thinking i'd repost my answer to this wol question bc it gave me a bunch of neat thoughts

from @.PeachyArts1031: #wolqotd I’ll never tire of “To be loved is to be changed” Our WoLs/OCs have all changed. But tell me- Who has your WoL/OC’s love changed? Who has grown due to spending time with your OC? An NPC? Maybe another OC even? What impact has your character had on others?

i'm vibrating w so much emotion abt how tart's love has changed lue-reeq but i shouldn't bc that's the point of writing fic lol. i will however indulge in thinking about how it doesn't even have to be my oc specifically. lue-reeq is always changed by the wol caring about him

his character development is incited by how despite the wol not having any incentive to help him whatsoever, they still care enough to seek him out when he's missing. it turns out he matters! beyond the money he can give his hirelings as payment, and the fame that his family would gain from his deeds, lue-reeq matters to someone!

reeq's flaw is that he just thinks of the destination and doesn't care abt the journey. who cares abt procuring bait, what matters is we catch the prey. who cares abt the virtue's past, what matters is we kill her. and this v obviously stems from how his father treats him: not giving a single shit about how reeq's doing, only if he's successful yet or is he still asking for allowance. who cares abt the hard time he's having, the danger he's facing, what matters is that he makes his father proud by being the best hunter. this ends up extending towards the wol in an awful way when they struggle w the echo. who cares abt their pain, what matters is that they're performing their job badly. they're keeping reeq from achieving his goals, *the only thing that matters*. no one cares abt lue-reeq, so he doesn't care abt anyone either.

this parallels renda-rae's outlook, though in her case it was born from survivor's guilt, and it wasn't that no one cared about her; she just didn't let anyone in out of fear. but the outcome is similar: she didn't care if she died, the only thing that mattered was avenging her friends. and then ardbert and the others had to be like WE CARE YOU THOUGH!!! so now it's the wol who has to show lue-reeq that they care him!!

isn't it neat that they're both changed by love. for renda-rae it's literally so profound that it influences her after death. andreia looks for her friends first bc the journey w them matters more than killing prey. reeq also changes bc he knows he matters to the wol. it opens his eyes to the value of the journey to get there, not just the destination. the effort he puts in matters to someone, even if it won't have the best result. so in contrast to his earlier behavior, reeq insists that he should procure materials for the wol. i think it's a good way to show his development, esp bc he's bad at it!! but it's ok bc he did it himself, and that's what wol taught him. reeq becomes a better person bc we care him :'D

i love the shb physical dps role quest soooo much. i know everyone says it's the weakest story of the bunch, but like we all agree it's still pretty good at least bc of the silly catboy's character development in it. and it brings me a lot of joy to think that said character development happens bc we show him some love for once!!

anyway fetch quest fantasy xiv gives me a character who does the fetch quest for me one (1) time and i'm insane abt him forever. i hope they do this again someday