#the aurora thing is pretty cool i'd say :)

[lily-frog]

OLD ART JUMPSCARE

CLEANINGOUT MY OLD FILES AND BOY. THERE'S SO MUCH STUFF.

[well-if-you-wanted-honesty]

a compilation of folklore lyrics i felt (some a little to hard)

the 1: (the whole damn thing)

cardigan

I knew you Hand under my sweatshirt Baby, kiss it better, I

You drew stars around my scars But now I'm bleedin'

exile

And it took you five whole minutes To pack us up and leave me with it Holdin' all this love out here in the hall.

I'm not your problem anymore

You're not my homeland anymore So what am I defending now? You were my town, now I'm in exile, seein' you out

my tears ricochet

And I can go anywhere I want Anywhere I want, just not home And you can aim for my heart, go for blood But you would still miss me in your bones

I didn't have it in myself to go with grace And so the battleships will sink beneath the waves You had to kill me, but it killed you just the same

mirrorball

I'm still on that tightrope I'm still trying everything to get you laughing at me And I'm still a believer, but I don't know why I've never been a natural, all I do is try, try, try I'm still on that trapeze I'm still trying everything to keep you looking at me

seven

And I think you should come live with me And we can be pirates Then you won't have to cry Or hide in the closet And just like a folk song Our love will be passed on

Please picture me in the weeds Before I learned civility I used to scream ferociously

august

Back when we were still changin' for the better Wanting was enough For me, it was enough To live for the hope of it all Cancel plans just in case you'd call And say, "Meet me behind the mall" So much for summer love and saying "us"

this is me trying

I've been having a hard time adjusting I had the shiniest wheels, now they're rusting

They told me all of my cages were mental So I got wasted like all my potential And my words shoot to kill when I'm mad I have a lot of regrets about that

illicit affairs

Don't call me "kid," don't call me "baby" Look at this godforsaken mess that you made me You showed me colors you know I can't see with anyone else Don't call me "kid," don't call me "baby" Look at this idiotic fool that you made me You taught me a secret language I can't speak with anyone else

invisible string

And isn't it just so pretty to think All along there was some Invisible string Tying you to me?

Time, mystical time Cutting me open, then healing me fine

Something wrapped all of my past mistakes in barbed wire Chains around my demons Wool to brave the seasons One single thread of gold Tied me to you

Cold was the steel of my axe to grind For the boys who broke my heart Now I send their babies presents

Time, wondrous time Gave me the blues and then purple-pink skies And it's cool, baby, with me

mad woman (the entirety of it)

betty

The worst thing that I ever did Was what I did to you

I'm only seventeen, I don't know anything But I know I miss you

Will you have me? Will you love me? Will you kiss me on the porch In front of all your stupid friends? If you kiss me, will it be just like I dreamed it?

peace

And it's just around the corner, darlin' 'Cause it lives in me No, I could never give you peace

But I'm a fire and I'll keep your brittle heart warm If your cascade, ocean wave blues come All these people think love's for show But I would die for you in secret The devil's in the details, but you got a friend in me Would it be enough if I could never give you peace?

And you know that I'd swing with you for the fences Sit with you in the trenches Give you my wild, give you a child Give you the silence that only comes when two people understand each other Family that I chose, now that I see your brother as my brother Is it enough?

I'd give you my sunshine, give you my best But the rain is always gonna come if you're standin' with me

hoax

Stood on the cliffside screaming, "Give me a reason"

the lakes

Take me to the Lakes, where all the poets went to die I don't belong and, my beloved, neither do you Those Windermere peaks look like a perfect place to cry I'm setting off, but not without my muse

I want auroras and sad prose I want to watch wisteria grow right over my bare feet 'Cause I haven't moved in years And I want you right here

<3

all lyrics found on the genius lyrics site ;3

Taylor Swift - folklore (deluxe version) Lyrics and Tracklist | Genius

[comicaurora]

How old were you when you decided to start taking Aurora seriously? ("taking seriously" as in, deciding to start making it a comic, and putting work into making it come to life rather than it just be a dream project or a fun thought)

File dates indicate I first started drawing proper test pages for the comic at the very beginning of 2018 (a random snippet of a very early draft of Dainix's intro arc, just to get a feel for the comic tools in CSP) although I remember I had drawn up some short experimental intro comics probably as early as 2016, and I had full digital illustrations of some of the characters in my college application portfolio around 2013-2014, although I don't think any of those made it onto my current computer.

I started on the proper comic, like the actual illustrated pages that made it onto the site, in march of 2019, but it seems like I created those files as early as october of 2017, so it's possible I was playing with the sketch of the first chapter pretty dang early.

It's a little tricky to answer this question, because the very first form this story took was comics I drew in my old sketchbooks, so there was never a time when I didn't want to make it exist in some comic-shaped form. Initially I just wanted to make a story for me to read, because I was very bored and hungry for fantasy that wasn't boring, depressing or both. But somewhere along the line it occurred to me that I could make something other people would want to read too. I don't know exactly when I made that switch - I suspect it was fairly early in the process, because due to who I am as a person I have a very strong urge to share what I make. For me, just making the thing wasn't enough - I got so much more energy from showing it to people and discussing it with them than just drawing it for myself. I got zero interest or positive feedback from my peers in middle school and quickly resolved not to share anything until I was certain it was good, which in hindsight was a maladaptive attempt to avoid being bullied by people who, shockingly, didn't actually determine their bullying schedule off any internal logic I could work around. But it did motivate me to practice a lot and branch out artistically in directions that had previously not interested me. Having a distant but attainable end goal was exactly the kind of carrot on a stick I needed to lure my baby ADHD brain into actually sticking with something for a change.

At this stage I'd say it was firmly "I want to do this someday." Not because it wasn't practical or realistic, but because I wasn't ready. That's how it was through most of high school, though after I got my first drawing tablet and began exploring digital art around 2012-2013, things went from "it'd be cool someday" to "I have the tools I need to do this as soon as I'm ready." After that I started playing with drawing programs, acclimating to the weird experience of using a drawing tablet instead of pencil on paper, and even toying with a little simple cel animation with the built-in bare-bones app that came with my tablet.

The idea of drawing the illustrations for the videos I was starting to do came from the same impulse - I wanted to get better at digital art, and needed to in order to make the comic a viable possibility. Again, it let me trick my brain into focusing on getting really good at something, which was a practice I'd never been able to sustain for long without a concrete end goal in mind. Sticking with something for its own sake didn't work - I needed that delicious dopamine feedback to keep me going, and the constant rush of "I'm getting better at this and that's getting me closer to this thing I really really want" apparently did the trick.

But I actually think this is around where I started faltering - late high school and very early college, so like 2012-2014. Aurora was the first big writing project I'd ever really loved, and I knew from experience that first writing projects were usually bad. They were valuable for skill-building and refinement, but were they actually worth showing to anyone? Plus my notes/timeline file had gotten really massive and unwieldy at this point, and playing with the cast and story was turning into a chore of continuity rather than a fun exercise. It was getting bloated - rather than making the story go anywhere I was just adding little bits onto it every time they occurred to me. Every cool idea I was having had to be mashed into this one world I was playing with, and I worried it was getting out of hand. So I dropped it for over a year and spent my time playing with an urban fantasy ghost story concept instead. That got far enough in development that I still have a saved color swatch for it.

I played with it and built it out and felt more serious and cool with this Edgy Dark Adventure with a psychopomp vs an immortal witch vampire and a wild cast of colorful supporting weirdos, and then I realized I was really bored. Once again I'd built a cast of characters without a plot to actually use them, only this time they weren't even characters I particularly liked.

So I tentatively went back to Aurora. I think this can't have been much before 2014, but I'm not certain on that. And with the benefit of a year's time on the backburner, I'd boiled it down to the core elements I really liked and rendered out all the filler and padding I'd stuffed it full of back when I was just using it to store every cool idea and character I had. I was relieved to know that this story and cast of characters I liked so much was turning out to be actually worth exploring, and I went a lot harder on the worldbuilding and establishing an actual set of arcs and plots to keep the characters engaged and occupied by an interesting diversity of setpieces, side characters and events.

By early college (2014-2015) I think I was back in the swing of things, determined to actually make the comic happen (once I was ready and good enough, natch) and enthused about rewriting the basic arcs and beats from scratch rather than touching that bloated timeline file I'd abandoned a year earlier. By junior year (2017) I have a distinct memory of doodling out the first designs for Tynan in my Greek Thought And Lit course, which is a pretty good indicator that I was getting committed to the granular parts of the story.

It wasn't until after I graduated in 2018 that I really started thinking about, you know. actually doing it. not someday, now. I was free from school and mentally decompressing from a decade and a half of nonstop stress and pressure, the channel had hit its first major jump and was actually making us a proper living so I didn't need to pivot to a job hunt like I'd feared, and if I didn't bite the bullet and start immediately I would probably just keep procrastinating it out of a mounting sense of guilt and insecurity until I couldn't bear to look at it again. Sure, I could still get better, but at that point I'd done enough headfirst dives into the unknown to conclude that it is literally impossible to fully prepare for something before you experience it for the first time. If I kept waiting until I felt ready, I would never start. So that's around when I started looking into building the site, drawing up the first three chapters and going from there. Sometimes you gotta say "fuck it", push yourself off the diving board and hope you figure something out before you hit the water.

[daisychainsandbowties]

hello hello doing a re read of star wars au, and i was struck with curiosity. what do you imagine camilas tattoos are of?? on initial read i pictured more abstract textual/geometric designs, but the more i think on it the more i’m super intrigued by what you had in mind. tattoos in sw are actually weirdly pretty rare? baring various prison/gang tats and like the dathomir cultural tattooing (side bar: lilith rocking some dathomirian tattoos a la maul?? hawt)

camilas tattoos are clearly deeply grounding for her with the whole becoming the light you need in the dark etc etc. i wonder if they are ceremonial or personal? does she share the same lines on her skin as her (pirate)sisters do? or did she meticulously consider where each drop of not ink was to stain her skin?

so the original inspiration for cam’s tattoos comes from my little obsession with bioluminescence. squid exhibit bioluminescent tendencies with incredible frequency, and of course there are jellyfish, and even on land there's foxfire, which is incredibly beautiful. so i just thought in a fic that's all about light and luminescence i'd be remiss not to include a reference to one of my favourite forms of light.

for one thing, the light-emitting molecule that’s chemically activated in biolumenescene is called luciferin, which comes from the Latin word meaning ‘light-bearer’. of course, anyone who wields a lightsaber is literally a bearer of the light, but i also liked the idea of the ocs in this universe as a group of people dedicated to carrying the light forward - through the literal dark and the shadow cast by the Empire.

the tattoos have no specific shape. i kind of imagine them as those bioluminescent algae (dinoflagellates i think) that glow when their environment is disturbed. they have this very Cherenkov radiation-type glow. so i imagine cam’s tattoos as a bloom of ever-shifting dots and lines and draperies of lightsaber blue.

they have no set shape or position or arrangement, which is why Ava sees them moving, curling up into cam’s palm, glimmering when touched. they’re not constantly in motion, but they do move, and cam does have some say in how, though the light has its own whims.

she can - and she would have for Ava, if she'd been feeling generous - shape them in certain ways, make glowing blue birds or dragons or darting scrap rats. she can form constellations - and like the ocs pendants the whole network of tattoos can, in times of real peril, spell out warnings for those who wear them.

most of the time the tattoos just form lines, or glow like stars, or sometimes just shine out from under the skin (think aurora borealis).

while thinking on cam's tattoos, i also read about coal miners who used to use the phosphorescent properties of fish skin as a very faint light source to avoid the risk of setting off pockets of firedamp. the idea in star wars au, then, is that the light does something like the opposite of this. it invites danger - which is why cam has to keep her arms covered up.

i was thinking of the canon ocs, who hunt things nobody can see, and twisted that around a bit to make the ocs in star wars au this radically visible group. as the Sith are so fond of saying about Jedi - they can’t hide what they are. and they refuse to.

it just seemed really cool to have a group of pirate-archaeologists carrying their faith trapped underneath their skin, and also having a very convenient light source in any dark place they might roam.

plus, i loved the idea of cam & her fellow pirates, with their dedication to being light, also having the properties of living organisms who are, literally, luminous beings. creatures who live in a world so dark they use their bodies to make light.

[nextinline-if]

hiiii <3

i played the demo just now, and i gotta say i loved it! i was so pleasantly surprised to see separate choices for gender and pronouns in character customisation - it's something I sadly don't see that often even in very inclusive IFs and it's also something that's making my whole experience a fair bit more comfortable. i identify as nb but i prefer she/her pronouns, even if pretty much any and every pronouns are ok for me - so i really wanted to say i appreciate that little detail!

i also liked the harbinger's oath - it's very cool how it stresses the importance of leadership and making a way when there is none, and not just, you know, staying faithful and loyal and stuff. the overall style, fashion and atmosphere are all very nice, the mix of ancient greek and victorian and original ideas is both familiar and new so it's hard to get bored!

oh, i loved the gods too. there isn't so many that either the author or the reader can get lost trying to untangle the threads of mythology, and you don't risk any of them being forgotten or becoming less prominent - it's nice! i loved the myths we've seen, the twins are charming! i thought I'd like to follow aurora since i usually go for sun aesthetic, but in this case i didn't really vibe with her. maybe it's because the 2 myths were mostly about euribia or at least her side of the story, so i just don't have enough info. so, here's hoping for some more mythology lessons in the future! ah, i also liked that fertility and love and marriage belong to different gods domains.

james and anna are dears, gotta tease them to marriage and (hopefully not) back :3

the ROs are... prominent, i guess? at this point i don't feel like the pc knows enough about them to see them for what they are, and i mostly used what i read from your blog to choose between them and orient myself. tbh I didn't quite like most of the flirting options (though it can be the case that I'm just picky lmao, don't take it to heart). i think i liked what you did with constantine - that some options aren't marked as flirting or anything but... they get a reaction from him, and in return the pc also reacts somehow. dialogues with him also feel less "cheap" - unlike some of the scenes where the so called flirting is just ogling or blushing and tripping over your words because of someone calling you lovely or something. constantine's scene also have this stuff but... to less extant? i think? i know it's some kind of imaginary world, but it's still hard for me to comprehend how a literal royal, a year before becoming the monarch, minutes after thinking "everyone is judging me i must be perfect" now goes around and makes a fool of themselves... but i still want to flirt! ugh! such dilemma! i loved margaret's first flirting option though - the one where pc asks anna to bring her another glass, now that was fun.

the "cold" options of dealing with f. were very nice too, i really enjoyed the balcony scene in the prologue!

anyway, sorry for ranting, and thank you for sharing the demo with us! wish you the smoothest progress and good inspiration and much free time to write! good luck 🍀💙

i was so pleasantly surprised to see separate choices for gender and pronouns in character customisation - it's something I sadly don't see that often even in very inclusive IFs and it's also something that's making my whole experience a fair bit more comfortable.

I'm so glad to hear this! I've found that it's really not much extra work on the coding side so I didn't think there was a reason not to add it.

the mix of ancient greek and victorian and original ideas is both familiar and new so it's hard to get bored!

yay! the last thing I want is for anyone to get bored playing my game aha I know it's a bit different and some people like things more traditional.

here's hoping for some more mythology lessons in the future!

there will definitely be additional myths.

the ROs are... prominent, i guess? at this point i don't feel like the pc knows enough about them to see them for what they are

The current demo is only a taste but the MC will be able to learn more as the story progresses and build friendship or romance as wanted. There are no straight "routes", as all characters have their own role to play in this story. I hope you will enjoy learning more about them. The rest of the chapters cover around a month of events each.

tbh I didn't quite like most of the flirting options (though it can be the case that I'm just picky lmao, don't take it to heart).

No worries, the flirting is something I added more shy options for because when I first released the demo, the feedback I received was that there weren't enough of those options. Also, flirting is the hardest for me to write about. But, my hope is that it will more natural and worthwhile in the rest of the game. :D

I may consider revamping the flirting that is available now but only after I get chapter 2 released.

Thanks for your feedback and thoughts! It sounds like you enjoyed it overall. I appreciate you giving it a go. I'm always open to feedback, whether I'm able to implement or change things depends but I'm eager to learn where I can improve.

Hope you have a great day!

Discord | itch.io | Ko-fi | Tag List | 1K Giveaway Rules + Entry

[fullmusicbardsquared]

I didn't realize you had only seen Sleeping Beauty lol. But basically:

-They all have protagonists that are extremely similar to each other; young girls (two of them being blonde, blue-eyed, and wear a blue dress most of the time) with some royal connection but are made to live the life of a commoner most of their lives. Them being "beautiful" is also always a significant thing

-They all have animal friends that they talk to and are helped by throughout the movie + the plot is sidelined for multiple animal comedy scenes (Cinderella was by far the worst with this)

-The antagonist is always a sinister older woman (two of them engaging in dark magic) jealous of the protagonist for their "beauty" or popularity or whatever, resulting in them abusing her as a kid. I'd say Maleficent was the best just because she was funny (she literally self-identifies as "evil" and was genuinely offended by the fact she wasn't invited to the royal party for the baby jsfkldsjfk) and she also has a cool fight scene at the end where she turns into a dragon, but she follows the mold nonetheless.

-Both Snow White and Cinderella are these "kind, fair" women that cook & clean and basically babysit other characters and seem to have infinite tolerance for the abuse they take. Aurora is the exception because she just kind of........ looks pretty, falls in love with a guy and then falls asleep I guess. I'd say she was the biggest non-character out of the three.

-Also, both Snow White and Aurora are very specifically cursed to fall asleep and then are awakened by being kissed by their "true love"

(^Cinderella is my favorite out of the three because this didn't happen to her jfsdklfjdks. I also liked how she had bits of personality beyond the other two like the way she immediately forgot to do her housework and became all ditzy and started staring off into space when she realized the prince had a chance of finding her again.)

-They each have a prince love interest that they fall in love with on first sight and barely has a personality/presence until they need to rush in and save them (I thought Sleeping Beauty was the least bad with this tbh because the prince at least has lines... but he was also kind of uncomfortable with the way he was grabby with her even before he had to kiss her while she was sleeping)

I rewatched each of the three movies today and came out feeling like I had watched the same movie three times. They have some different individual aspects but they still ultimately just kind of meld together into one big sludge of pretty colors and aesthetically pleasing backgrounds. I think they're worth watching at least once just because they're gorgeously animated and cultural icons, but like... if you've seen one, you've seen them all.

ah, i see. i definitely understand your viewpoint here, and to be honest i think that's why i never watched the other ones. i had already latched on like a leech and refused to try them on principle. i do kind of want to watch cinderella now, though, given your description of it.

from what little i know of the other prince people i can tell that like. philip is closest to being an actual character (he is completely chill with marrying a """random peasant""" and like obviously aurora isnt that but . still point in his favor ig) but yeahhhh the start of the dance in the woods is Weird unless you believe theres like betrothal magic or something silly like that going on

[icarus-suraki]

For the asks, 4, 22 and 27

4. mythical creature you think/believe is real

I do think there's got to be some kind of life on other planets. I mean, the Drake equation does make it seem possible. Now, do I think Little Gray Men (or White People from Space) have come to visit? Not really. I'm extremely skeptical (though I do love a good "real abduction" story).

I'm still holding out hope that Bigfoot/Sasquatch is real. I mean, there are all these stories from Native and First Nations traditions that match current pop-culture concepts of Bigfoot. Like, there's something that matches here and I'm curious as to what it might be. After all, it turned out the moai on Easter Island really did walk to their places, and indigenous people in North America learned how to make maple syrup from squirrels, as they always said. It's us white people who keep doubting people who actually know the truth.

I'd also really like unicorns and winged unicorns to be real, but that's because I am still a 6 year-old girl on the inside.

And I guess "fairies stand to reason."

20. favorite disney pricness movie?

Wait, princess movie? Oh man, um, okay... Uh...

Does Aladdin count? I know Aladdin himself is the main character, but Jasmine is a princess and she's pretty cool (and has a pet tiger). I saw that movie so many times on VHS that I could just about recite it from beginning to end lol.

Oh, sweet, I just looked up what the "Disney Princess" product line is and "[t]he franchise does not include all princess characters from the whole of Disney-owned media, but rather refers to select specific characters from the company's animated films, including in the franchise protagonists of animated films from Walt Disney Pictures, with eleven characters from the Walt Disney Animation Studios films, and one character from a Pixar film. The 12 characters in the franchise are Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan, Tiana, Rapunzel, Merida, and Moana."

So I'm going with Jasmine here.

Now if I can stretch the definition, Princess Leia Organa. Since Gisnep is like the Napoleon of corporations, taking over everything, and now owns Star Wars, and Leia is a Star Wars and is also a princess, she is therefore a Disney Princess. QED.

27. what's your favorite go-to outfit?

Garth from Wayne's World: jeans, Chucks (mine are low-tops), random graphic t-shirt, flannel shirt over it, black-frame glasses, awful hair.

Do I like it? Not really. Am I stuck with it? Pretty much.

Oh wait, that says "favorite." Okay, okay, so that's just my "default" outfit because I apparently hate myself. But my actual favorite that could be a go-to is...black skirt, black footless tights, black-and-white striped knit shirt, black cardigan, black flats. I like to think I look a bit like a Beatnik chick and/or French. All I need is a beret. And a cigarette. I've got the world-weariness and the ennui down.

Weirdly specific and unrelated asks...

ADDENDUM because I goofed:

22. do you have an emotional support water bottle?

I think I kind of do? Or I used to, at least. Working at the library, it was pretty much standard practice to have a water bottle with you at all times and in all places. I had a blue metal one that I liked...well enough, except that I had to hold it up in front of my face to drink from it and that got old. 

One of my colleagues, though, had a nifty Contigo bottle that had, like, a built-in straw to the thing. So you just flipped the mouthpiece up and, boom, like drinking with a straw. Now I won’t feel like I’m tippling the last drops out of the whiskey bottle anymore, hooray! So I got my own--in black and gray for some reason. In retrospect, I should’ve chosen blue or something.

Anyway, the new one also had a nice loop for my fingies, which the blue one did not (shamefully). And I hauled that thing everywhere with me for a long time. And it was cool when they put in those water bottle-filler things on the water fountains at a new library building--one I happened to be working in. 

Now that I’m not really...working...anywhere, I’m not using it as much (if at all) anymore. But, yeah, my boy Contigo there with the plastic straw format.

[oswildin]

For the Marvel Ships thing lol

I'm a student studying computer engineering, with focuses in green energy and robotics. I'm getting into simulations too. I'm developing a mental health app. I like being production crew for theater productions, singing, dancing, marching band, playing the saxophone, cats, event planning, soundtracks, anime, visual novels, the X-Files, conspiracy mystery plots in general...

I'm 21, agender, asexual, but not aromantic. 5' 7".

Uhh tbh I liked the Loki and WandaVision series more than any of the movies for sure, but I guess Thor Ragnorak?

"For Fruits Basket" from Fruits Basket (2001)? Or maybe "I'd Rather Be Me" from the Mean Girls musical? Like I could choose really there are a lot of lovable songs.

Well, I like a lot of quotes from the Fruits Basket manga, but they're all quite long winded. Well, here goes I guess.

I like to remind myself of this one:

"There were things that I wanted. Things that I pictured for myself. Parents who would embrace me. A home I liked returning to. A place where everyone smiled. A version of myself that everyone wouldn't leave... A warm place. A warm person. They exist. They're real." - Yuki Sohma from Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya

And this one always gives me chills:

"If only I could have lived my life without taking any wrong turns. If only we'd been born into a kind world, without anxiety, without fear. If we could live without hurting other people, and without being hurt. A world in which we always did what was right. If only we could have found a short cut, to the kind world we all hope for...

'You're wrong.' 'You're an idiot.' It's so easy to say irresponsible things like that about other people's lives...

It would have been nice if we could have lived our lives without taking any wrong turns, but such a thing isn't possible. We fall, we stumble, we lose our way, make mistakes. And yet little by little, one step at a time, we keep on walking forward, with our own two feet. Even if we get beaten and bruised along the way, we'll eventually reach something, we'll eventually reach someone. Until then, we'll keep wishing.

So... Let's start walking."

- Yuki Sohma in Chapter 123 of Fruits Basket, written by Natsuki Takaya

It's kinda like the song situation here...

I ship you with… Shuri!

Things Shuri loves about you:

• For starters your brain is the thing she adores about you. And your heart, of course.

• She loves that you wear many hats and have many talents. She thinks you’re amazing.

• You’d met on a visit to Wakanda, business as always, but when you met Shuri the lines began to blur.

• You quickly became friends, and she loved hearing your stories of home.

• She begged you to play the saxophone for her. She was so intrigued by it. You learnt the instruments in Wakanda were very different from your own.

• So you did. You played saxophone for her, which she loved. Loved so much she insisted you teach her. Which was harder than it sounded.

• You made her watch the X-Files. She found it hilarious.

• The best part of her day was working with you.

• And if she could she would spend time outside of work with you too. Binging TV shows, going for walks, and even some karaoke nights.

• And so things slowly fell into place. Slowly and slowly the thought of going home was pushed to the back of your mind.

Your BFF: Steve Rogers - He’d befriended you when you began to work for Stark. You were a slight fan of the Cap, which broke the ice nicely when you met. He thinks you’re pretty cool.

Your Theme Song:

[queen-of-songs]

The Accidental Crush of Sansa Stark and the recurring annoyance that followed- Chapter 2 pt.1

"Sansa? If you could date any boy counselors here, who would you date?" Shireen, an adorable little camper asked as she walked all of them to canoeing. Sansa paused. Was her developing attraction that obvious? One of the golden staff rules was that there were to be no summer romances or if there was one, to be discreet to the point leadership didn't have any suspicions.

"She'd date Harry of course! Have you seen the way he looks at her?!" Beth giggled. "They would be like Ariel and...Philip!"

"Philip is Aurora's prince, Beth. Ariel's prince is Eric remember?" Alys shook her head at Beth. "I think Sansa would be happiest with Sam!"

"Sam likes Gilly, he blushes every time he's around her," Osha spoke up and the girls around her nodded in agreement.

"Sansa should go out with Dickon, he's so handsome!" Minisa sighed dreamily while Lyanna rolled her eyes.

"Can't you all see Sansa likes...." Lyanna began before Sansa interrupted her. "Girls, I appreciate you all comparing me to a Disney princess and wishing for my happiness. But I assure you, I don't feel that way toward anyone here."

Most of the girls seemed convinced by her little white lie and forgot about their question within seconds. All except for Lyanna. Lyanna stood behind while the other girls went down to the canoeing river. She tilted her head at Sansa in curiosity and Sansa took a deep breath.

"What is it Lyanna?"

"I saw you look at Jon at the pool yesterday."

"Lyanna, I had sunglasses on. I was looking at everyone in the pool." Sansa scoffed, hoping the defiant little camper would drop it. But Lyanna raised her chin with a sly smile on her face.

"Maybe that's true. But I saw you look at him a couple of times today at breakfast and you didn't have sunglasses then. You get a big smile on your face when he's around like the Disney princesses do."

Perhaps I should tone it down a bit.

Sansa took a moment to collect herself and sighed. "Lyanna, Jon is my coworker and friend. I smile when I see all my coworkers..."

"It's different with Jon. That's the way my mom looked at my dad before he died." Lyanna sadly smiled and quickly ran off to join her fellow campers, while Sansa stood in silence.

——————————-

"Girls, can I ask you something?" Sansa asked as she turned up the volume to skype her friends during break time. Margaery was in the process of making an anniversary gift for Theon, Dany was painting her nails so they could be ready for her date night with Daario, Missandei was painting a portrait for Grey, and Brienne was ordering a knife for Jaime's birthday.

"Sure, Sansa!" They all sang in unison.

"Am I being too obvious if one of my campers can tell who I am attracted to?" Sansa spoke quickly, hoping they missed it. But judging by how they were all looking at each other as if they were in the Brady Bunch credits, they did.

"OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Missandei shouted.

"I bet it's Harry! Margaery surmised.

"I think it's Dickon. Did you see the pics Sansa posted that tagged him in? They'd be absolutely perfect together!" Dany sighed happily.

"Well, are you going to tell us who it is?" Brienne rose an eyebrow.

"It's the guy I told you all about that pissed me off a few weeks ago. We've patched things up and he's really...cool." Sansa blushed and saw their collective smiles.

"You never told us Mr. Broody's name, what is it?" Margaery inquired.

"His name is Jon, Jon Snow," Sansa responded, and immediately Dany spat out her drink. "Jon Snow?! You like him?!"

"Yeah. Do you know him Dany?" Sansa asked, confused out of her mind.

"He's my nephew," Dany responded and Margaery's eyes widened. "Dany, how on earth do you have a nephew the same age as you?"

"Remember my older brother Rhaegar? Jon is his whoops kid after he had an affair while Elia was in a coma." Dany shrugged.

"Oh yeah! But you've never mentioned him before, why is that?" Missandei asked in curiosity.

"I didn't know he existed until he came to live with Rhaegar and Elia four years ago. He's hasn't been around much because he was either going to school or working at camp." Dany answered and Brienne leaned forward. "Dany, what were you going to add about Jon earlier when Sansa mentioned that she liked him?"

"He's a great guy...but Sansa, he has a girlfriend. Her name is Lysa Tully. He's been dating her for years. I am truly sorry, Sansa." Dany's face was full of sadness.

"Dany, don't be sorry! I'm glad you told me before I made a fool of myself. Now I can be more cognizant of my actions." Sansa put her hands in a heart shape and Dany laughed as she responded with heart hands back.

"But damn, I wish it were different. It would be so cool to have you as my sis...niece in law. Seven hells, that's so weird...."Dany began before all the girls cackled in unison.

Before long, Margaery narrowed her eyes. That typically meant she was vying for information. "Dany, give us the deets on Lysa."

"My brother and Elia think she's a character," Dany grimaced.

"That sounds like how my grandmother would describe Mr. Baelish and Mr.Varys," Margaery hummed.

"Rhaenys tolerates her and Aegon can't stand to be in the same room as her. My experience made me want to slap her, honestly."

"What happened?" Brienne inquired and Dany sighed. "She made Daario feel uncomfortable because he's not from "here," whatever "here" is supposed to mean."

"Oh. She's one of those types of people... ew does that mean Jon is as well???" Missandei rose an eyebrow.

"No, not by a long shot. Jon is super passionate about social issues and has always been involved in some way or another. He and Lysa got into an argument after she made Daario feel uncomfortable. She ended up apologizing, though I didn't think it was truly genuine. I think it was only to show Jon that she was "improving." Dany shrugged, while Brienne, Margaery, and Missandei collectively sighed. Sansa bit the inside of her cheek.

Of course, he has a girlfriend. He's good looking and has a kind soul. Who was I kidding? Well, maybe I can try to be his friend at least. Yes. That's what I'll do and my feelings will go away. They have before and they will now.

After making her decision, Sansa spoke up.

"Well ladies, enough about me and my sad crush life. Tell me about all your individual plans with your guys!!!!!!"

———————————-

"Sansa, you should go! I'm sure it'll be loads of fun!" Her co-counselor Mya exclaimed.

The leadership team decided last minute to have counselor late-night swim and Sansa internally debated if she really wanted to go.

If I am trying to friendzone my crush, shouldn't I try to limit the times I see him wet and shirtless?

"I'm really tired, Mya. I just want to take a hot shower, it's been a really long day."

It wasn't necessarily a bad excuse. It had been a long day. It hadn't even been five minutes after Sansa ended her skype call with her friends when she heard Dickon radio for her help. Two of the girls got into a fight during canoeing and poor Beth cried the entire time after she fell backward in the river. The next skill area didn't fare well either after Minisa got bit by a brown recluse and had to go to the hospital. Then later in the day, the porch swing broke off at the merchandise store and Lyanna sprained her ankle. Sansa had gotten well acquainted with nurse Thoros. Because she worked so well with the little ones, she typically made calls throughout the week but never this many in one week.

"That's true but Sansa, you've been such a trooper today. You deserve a break." Mya reasoned.

"You were there too, Mya. I wouldn't have survived today without you, honestly. In fact, why don't you go tonight and I'll go tomorrow?" Sansa responded.

"Are you sure, Sansa?"

"Absolutely."

"Aww thanks, Sansa." Mya smiled and hugged Sansa tight for a few seconds before going to her room in the cabin to get a bathing suit.

"Oh by the way Mya, I'd wear the blue one. Harry blushes a little when you wear it." Sansa looked at her nails while Mya's mouth slightly dropped.

"How did you know?! I thought I was hiding it well."

"You are! I'm the only one who can really tell because I'm a big sucker for enemies to lovers so I can tell by the little things."

"...Harry blushed a little when I wore it last?"

"Yeah and I'm pretty sure he was going to say something before one of his campers jumped in the pool with his stuffed kittens." Sansa and Mya began chuckling as they remembered the sweet little boy who wanted to prove cats weren't afraid of water.

"Well thank you for the heads up, Sansa." Mya began to leave before leaning back in the doorway. "Should I wear my braids up or down?"

"Do whatever makes you feel confident."

"I'm going to wear them down. Harry Hardyng, here I come." Mya sang as she left the cabin into the hall to go change.

"Sansa?" a soft whisper woke her up and she could see Mya's outline by the bed. Sansa rose up on her elbow and she could tell Mya wanted to talk out in the hall. She followed her out quietly and then sat against the wall.

"Mya, how was it?" Sansa rose an eyebrow and a deep blush appeared on Mya's brown skin.

"It was wonderful. We... we kissed under the water. It was magical." Mya sighed happily and Sansa's heart leaped with joy.

"Did anyone see you two?"

"Surprisingly and thankfully, no. Everyone was distracted by Sam and Gilly. He finally asked her out!"

"Sounds like a good night for everyone it seems." Sansa smiled and closed her eyes for just a moment before Mya spoke up.

"Do you like anyone Sansa?" Sansa opened her eyes to see Mya have an eyebrow raised.

"Erm... not really." Sansa lied and Mya scoffed as she began redoing her braids.

"Are you sure? Because I'm pretty sure I saw you staring at your former pool duty partner a bit the other day. Is that why you switched?"

"For one, for some reason, I thought Jon was going tonight before I remembered he and Harry are co's this week. Two, it doesn't matter how I feel."

"Why doesn't it matter, Sansa?"

"Because he has a girlfriend." Sansa's voice cracked a little and Mya's face filled with sorrow.

"I'm sorry I brought it up, Sansa."

"It's okay."

"What's your game plan?"

"My game plan? I want to become his friend and try to friendzone him."

"Friendzone your crush, hmm. I've never heard of that before. How are you going to do it?"

"Ask him about his girlfriend, what he likes, try to steer from anything super personal, keep a healthy distance, and....I'll talk about guys I find attractive."

"Besides Jon, who else would you want to go on a date with at camp?"

"Not really." Sansa shrugged.

"Any guys back home?"

"Um sort of I guess? If you count teammates/friends Robb brings home during breaks. His is name is Pyp. He's really cool and kind." Sansa smiled.

"Ooh tell me more!" Mya rested her face on her hands as the girls did during storytime before bed.

"He's majoring in Civil Engineering. He plays left wing on the hockey team at White Harbor, he's pretty good. I wouldn't be surprised if he was drafted in the WHL. He's pretty funny and a movie buff."

"Why didn't you go on a date with him then?"

"I was scared after everything that went down with Waymar, that I was a little hesitant to date."

"What did happen with Waymar?" Mya questioned.

"I made a fool out myself for him. I wore different clothes, dyed my hair black, and I even started going by my middle name to seem "cooler" to him. I..." Sansa shuddered. "I gave him special favors in the hopes, he just so he'd finally see me. One day, he texted me to meet up with him at his house and I went over thinking that he was going to ask me to be his girlfriend. I got there and the door was wide open. I thought it was a bit strange and I went in, worried if Waymar was okay when I heard noises coming from his bedroom. I opened the door and caught him having sex with my former best friend Myranda. I closed the door and ran down the stairs. Waymar and Myranda came down right before I left. Waymar forgot he texted me and tried to apologize while Myranda just smirked at me. I asked her 'How could you?' and she said 'You're the biggest fool to ever think you had a shot with Waymar and I only became friends with you to get to him along with your money. Who would anyone ever want to date someone like you? You're a stupid and ugly little girl. Oh, you're crying now. How sad? No one's ever had the guts to tell you that? You're sasquatch with no curves or boobs."

Sansa looked down at the crown, while hot tears streamed down her face. Mya gathered her in her arms as Sansa sobbed.

"You know what Myranda said about you isn't true right? You're beautiful on the inside and out. Hell, I wish I was as tall and skinny as you." Mya whispered while Sansa shook her head.

"Mya, you're beautiful."

"So are you! Being tall sounds great, I don't like always having to crane my neck to look at Harry when we're bantering. The pool is probably one of the few kisses where he won't have to practically bend down to kiss me. Don't get me started on being curvy and having to find jeans that don't feel like they're not suffocating my thighs and butt while having a huge awkward gap in the back." Mya ranted. "Don't be hard on yourself, Sansa. You're amazing, you need to believe that. The girls love you, I love you, your other friends and family love you, and everyone at camp does. You need to love yourself."

"Thank you, Mya. You're right, I do need to work on loving myself." Sansa smiled.

"That's the spirit!" Mya high fived her and then they heard the door open from Mya's room to see Beth's face full of tears.

"What's wrong Beth? Did you have a nightmare?" Mya asked, her voice full of concern.

"No, I..." Beth's lip wobbled. "Miss Mya, I woke up and I realized I don't have any more underwear for the rest of the week."

"How many did you bring Beth?" Sansa asked as Beth sat down in between her and Mya.

"My brother packed me six."

Only six for Sunday through Friday? I'd pack at least twelve or fourteen... Wait! It's only Tuesday?!

"But it's only Tuesday Beth, how did you go through six?" Mya's eyes widened.

"I... I peed myself a bit on Sunday when I was waiting for the bathroom after I took my shower, so I had to change. Monday, I got my unicorn undies wet from the shower after I dropped them. I asked Lyanna to get some out of my bag. Today, after I fell in the water I got scared I was going to get leeches so I changed into my last pair. I just keep getting bad luck!" Beth started to tear up and an idea popped up in Sansa's mind.

"Beth, are all your dirty clothes in a bag?" Sansa asked.

Beth nodded and Sansa sighed in relief.

"Okay, I'm going to wash all of your dirty clothes in the washer and you'll have your five pairs clean again."

"Won't people judge me for re-wearing the same undies again?"

"No, it's none of their business and besides sometimes I wear the same undies when I don't take a shower for a day if I didn't sweat." Sansa shrugged.

"Same." Mya agreed and Beth looked at the both of them in amazement.

"Thank you so much, Miss Sansa and Miss Mya!" Beth hugged them both and went back into Mya's room.

"What. A. Night," Mya exclaimed and Sansa couldn't help but agree.

"Drinking coffee right before lunch?" Jon asked as Sansa filled her coffee mug.

"Yep. I'm exhausted, I had to wash one of my girls' clothes because she didn't pack enough underwear. She was upset and it broke my heart. Yesterday just wasn't her day."

"Beth right? She's a sweetheart." Jon smiled before he took a sip of his tea.

"She definitely is." Sansa nodded in agreement.

"Is she your favorite this week?"

"We as counselors aren't supposed to have favorites." Sansa attempted to be stern as Jon rose an eyebrow and narrowed his eyes. Sansa began laughing so hard that her nose snorted and coffee spilled down her nose.

She grabbed a napkin and dabbed at her nose, refusing to make eye contact with him.

Seven hells, why must I embarrass myself in front of hot guys??? Why can't my laugh be sweet and adorable???

"I like your laugh, it's cute. You should do it more often." Jon's deep voice broke into her reverie and she lifted her eyes to see a small grin on his face.

"You should make more dramatic faces and jokes then," Sansa smiled back and Jon laughed a little.

"Noted." Jon nodded and then his eyebrows knitted together. "I just realized you didn't go to last night's late-night."

"Nope, besides doing Beth's laundry, I took a hot shower and talked to Mya out in the hall for a bit."

"Oh, Mya? Harry had heart eyes when he came back to the cabin last night. About damn time something happened."

"Mr. Jon? Did you just curse on campgrounds?" Sansa dramatically exclaimed and Jon chuckled as he shook his head.

"I sure did, Miss Sansa. Am I going to lose points now?"

[traveleroflostlands]

Would you be willing to talk about walking wheels? I'd love to learn more

Sure! I’m no expert though. I know them as Walking Wheels, but they’re also known as Great Wheels. 

The museum I worked for was primarily focused on the 1850s through 1860s in the Pacific Northwest, mostly related to the people who came over on the Oregon Trail. A lot of the artifacts date to those periods, and often come from descendants of those families. There are a LOT of spinning wheels, when a lady I fondly refer to as the Spinning Lady came by she basically nerded out over all of them, and was the only visitor I saw actually lie down to examine the workings of some of them. (I loved visitors like her, because I always learned something new!) 

Anyway, below are a couple pictures of the walking wheels there.

I wish I had pictures of the others in my phone because the differences in how and by who they were made is really interesting. The two pictured above and blow show indications of being made by someone with more advanced experience in woodworking and cabinet making, whereas there’s another there that was clearly made by someone who stuck to just making the basic wheel rather than adding pretty details. 

Walking Wheels or similar are actually one of the oldest forms of spinning wheels in Europe (I can’t say I know very much about their origin other than that). Basically you used your hand to run the wheel, and walked back and forth to spin. (here, I found a pretty good video!)

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqzyhxT_c-U

As spinning wheels developed they became smaller and more efficient (in some regards). My personal favorite wheel is actually in the Old Aurora Colony Museum in Aurora Oregon. It was once of those odd places founded as an attempt at a Christian Utopia that happened in the late 19th century, there were about 600 individuals that lived and owned things communally (the group drifted apart after the founder died). Their woodwork became famous in the area, in fact the museum I worked at has a lovely old bench from there. Back to wheels, my favorite is a walking wheel that was adapted for a lady who used a wheelchair, so she could spin while seated by using a pedal. It’s very cool and still works!

That’s about all I know off the top of my head! I’m going to tag @systlin, I suspect some of their followers might know more!

[insearchofnewdreams]

the deal of 2017

So I've been getting alot of asks as to why exactly I dont enjoy taking photos and like.."why such a hard body neg???"(in most cases) (now I've deleted these asks and I've been kinda pushing the topic to the side because I really dont like reminiscing about this shit. It's disgusting to me and going back makes me feel gross even though its technically been about three years [June of this year])

I need to learn to let things go and hopefully this will help me,although I'm sorta past the ordeal it's still on my mind now and again.

Before I go any further I'd like to give a few warnings. So if you're uncomfortable dont r e ad but uhm. There are mentions of suicide and the original topic pertains to some n/s/f/w

.

.

.

. Early 2017 [after my birthday, in April] [I was 17 ]

My friends and I met a man by the name of Blake,on Twitter in 2017 upon first meeting him he was a really cool person. Our biggest interest as a group was cosplay and Batman,specifically Riddler. Over the course of a few weeks we'd gotten pretty close and [I was crushing it was a weird time for me emotionally]

Almost a month or so of being friends I came in contact with my friend[we've now been friends for almost three years,we met due to this situation] (we'll call her Nigma) Sweet girl who I see as a little sister.

I wont go into heavy detail but Blake was being accused of doing/saying nasty ass shit torwards girls. And Nigma and myself were "main targets"

We didnt believe the accusations

At first.

Nigma myself and Cam brushed everything off until four months later.

September of 2017

By this time we'd become pretty inactive on Twitter and had created a discord group.

Myself,Cam,Nigma,Blake and his girlfriend [whom of which I dont want to talk about because she's not super involved in the point of this story]

My idiotic brain had crushed on Blake pretty hardcore and around his birthday (june,july idfk) I'd confessed how I felt and that I wasn't sure what to do and perhaps it was time to cut ties incase I did something dumb.

Unfortunately that dumb thing did indeed happen. Blake had also confessed his feelings for me and took it upon himself to devise a plan as to say I was his 'personal secret'

This relationship..if you want to call it that lasted until September and in that short time span I was convinced and told it was okay to send photos of myself

[Yes,im talking about shit like nudes which I stupidly took..and sent.]

It was almost a daily thing..sending photos,videos. He'd call me at any hour of the day, almost got me in trouble a few times

Attempted phone sex and a few other things.

Two weeks into September I received a wild spam of Facebook messages from Blake,he was angry. Blaming ME for something

Not even 20 minutes later his girlfriend went off and said someone must've hacked into her boyfriend's phone,sending me photos.etc etc. You get the point

Now I'm sure at this point you're probably asking" but Aurora??? Why didn't you tell someone sooner ?? Your parents?? His girlfriend???"

I did. And that was part of the problem.

I told his girlfriend what he was doing and she didn't believe me. I sent her screenshots of our conversations and she told me I was a liar. I was too scared to tell my parents,in fact to this day they still dont know that this went down. They never will

[Now still to this day from the last time aly and I spoke to him for the FINAL time he still says he didnt send me those nudes and that it was his friend who hacked into his phone. But he WAS the one who said he loved me. Personally I still dont believe the whole friend thing but we'll leave it at that]

At the end of 2017 Nigma and I agreed to never speak of Blake again,we'd remove him from our mind (in her situation he was also sending messages but I won't share that info)

For just about all of 2018 I would receive messages from random accounts,as well as Blake's. Apologizing, asking if Nigma and I were okay,and that he needed to speak with us.

The first few times we ignored it,until late 2018 and..this is essentially how the conversation went. [These kinda aren't in order I apologize]

Basically the gist of this conversation was that he wanted to be friends again and

after dealing with almost two years of drama,anxiety,disgust,self hatred,manipulation and so on. Nigma and I both said no. We felt it was safer without him in our lives (and honestly without him it has been so much better,we havent run into any drama whatsoever)

In response he tried to retaliate and claim that I blamed him for everything, a d that I wasn't taking my share for what /I/ had done

[After the September ordeal I informed my close friends of the situation,told them what was going on. I felt really fucking bad bc I stooped so low for basically nothing.)

I hate this type of behavior I really do.

After this conversation Nigma and myself have not heard a peep not even from a random account so by that standpoint we're pleased.

But for me personally I still have moments of anxiety,I still have times where I look at myself and I get extremely uncomfortable because it reminds me of a time where I exposed myself for someone who was being a fucking creep n' that I didnt see it sooner.

Not to mention he said he was keeping tabs on Nigma and I. It creeps me out and I sincerely hope he never comes back

Sorry this is long but I hope that partially explains why I'm uh...so????????¿¿¿

Yea.

[scoutdrafted]

Tell me more about the characters in Aurora Hearts!

Anon, my hero, saving me from my burning desire to talk about the characters by asking me about the characters! :D

So the main cast of the mainline story is as follows:

Marise Gaumont. She/her, age 25. She's the main character and the one who gets the most POV focus. The normal character stuff you'd want to know is that her entire deal (and a lot of what drives the plot) is that she loves to cause problems on purpose... for a good reason! Really! She's somewhere from adept to expert in three martial arts, a minor YouTube celebrity, quite pretty, and also just DEAD SET on chaos. Luckily she has good heart. Unluckily, that good heart sometimes is the driving factor when really she needs to use her head.

Ainsley Madison. She/her, age 23 at the beginning but quickly turns 24. Ainsley's got a fairly standard tragic past... but don't let her know you know, okay? She does everything in her power to come off as cool, calm, collected, and completely fine and unharmed by her past. Unfortunately... she's not good at lying. She's a little bit of that lovable sort of pathetic, but underneath that soft girl appearance is a warrior heart that she's trying very hard to find out how to use.

Noelle Gallagher. She/her, age 22. If you got a personification of Wikipedia and basically any typical magical girl and then made them have a baby, you'd have someone really close to Noelle. She's a dreamer, an optimist, and everyone's best friend. She's also an aspiring historian and amateur linguistics enthusiast who won't hesitate to drop the grittiest historical details like they're normal things to talk about. Plant mom and magic powerhouse.

Elena Carromero-Ortega. They/them, age 28. So... Elena's number one thing is that they're a Mystery. They don't talk about themself. At all. Some people think they're shy, but they have their reasons... reasons that are revealed in the end of the first act, which is available to read now. I will say here that they're pursuing a theatre degree, they have a really cool purple streak in their hair, and they are the straightman of the group (metaphorically speaking, as they are neither straight not a man).

There's also a lot of supporting characters... hardass officer Delaney Agnor, Noelle's bff and roommate Becca, a senator whose very name is a spoiler, and a very awful Karen-type woman named Sylvia St. John. And many more, but I'd be here all day if I gave you ALL the characters.

[lotus0kid]

Hey, Lotus! How’s your Saturday going? I’ve been scrolling your blog and you have some A+ content here. I particularly like the post about body diversity in children’s literature. Do you have a fave season of OUaT? Any fave characters or ships, in addition to Rumbelle?

... That's you, Santa... isn't it? I'll assume so. Anyway, Saturday's been good- got my chores done in the morning and then went for a big walk in Central Park. Now I'm tuckered out and waiting for dinner time.

Thanks for the kind words. I'm just your average Tumblr magpie, collecting and sharing pretty things and funny things and information of varying degrees of importance. Though... the amount of rules and regulations I have for how I organize my queue every day is maybe not exactly average.

I'd say the first season of OUaT doesn't have much in the way of competition, so. As for other ships and characters... Neal and Emma/Neal were cool in canon (*heavy side-eye*). Ruby was also cool (so is Emma/Ruby). Uh, I like when Jefferson shows up as Rum's sassy work friend in fics. Leroy, Astrid, Archie, Mulan, Aurora, Abigail, Ariel, Cruella, Ursula- all fine choices to populate a story.

[mrcarterwilliams-blog]

TEXTS: CARTER ✉️ PARKER

Carter: Hey, dude.

Carter: So uh.. it's been a bit since we sorta spoke. Like, not at school at lunch. How are things?

Parker: Hey.

Parker: Things are pretty great actually. Even with everything that's happening. I don't think I've ever been this happy. How are you, man?

Carter: Yeah, they're good too. Things with Rora are awesome. I'm glad you're happy.

Parker: Same for you.

Carter: So I was thinking.

Carter: It's been a while since we chilled. Y'know, just you and me. Was wondering if maybe you'd wanna hang like old times? Play Playstation or something, eat pizza.

Parker: That a dude's night?

Parker: Yeah. I'd really like that.

Carter: Yeah? Awesome.

Carter: Maybe Marissa and Aurora can have like, a girls night or something and we can have a bro's night.

Parker: I think that'd be real cool. I'll talk to Marissa about it. I'm sure she'll be okay with it.

Carter: Sweet. And I'll mention it to Rora.

Parker: Say like, this weekend?

Carter: Sounds like a plan.

Parker: Alright, I'll keep ya posted.

[fluffi]

so should i reply in tiny font or just regular font?

hybe should do better in spreading out the comebacks of the groups under them :/ they're already at a huge advantage, might as well use it strategically. AHA streaming mvs is so convenient for a multi. the filler vids i could use in between could be mvs from the other groups that i stan. also you know what, i still haven't watched a single final performance bc im waiting for a friend to watch with me :D

i have a chinese movie recommendation in case you want something to cry over. i still love its ost and it's been months since i watched it. i'm not sure if you watched it already but more than blue. i've never cried over a movie as much as i cried for that one. the angst *chef's kiss*. i'd do anything to wipe my memory of it and watch it again for the first time.

also sungchan is mc-ing in inkigayo every sunday! and honestly, what the hell is nct hollywood :D but a part of me thinks it's just going to be a bunch of asians living in america like johnny that'll be a part of it. just a hunch tho. imagine having all 4 units coming back in a year with like 1 unit per quarter of the year. i'm not sure if sm even has the money to do this, especially when they filed bankruptcy recently.

and i've seen a lot of twitter memes saying taro's ghosted stans T_T alexa play ghosting by txt T_T sm come on give him smth to do, you're wasting talent.

the mall didn't burn down entirely (like from the outside it looked fine). the ventilation system caught fire so it was more internal—ceilings and all that. covered things with soot(?) and ashes so the entire mall was closed for nearly 2 years. and hey, i've experienced a school fire too back when i was younger. i, too, thought it was nothing but a fire drill until i saw the charred remains of the buildings behind our school : D thankfully, no one died.

the new nct track is for a samsung commercial AHAHA it's funny because nearly everyone uses apple TT_TT and the mv screams neo culture tech tho (well as it should lmao). yes, i was talking about that part in hot sauce but yes, it grew on me too.

ateez really know how to do a performance. they put the standard so high for me when it came to performing. their facial expressions and overall stage presence just impresses me. it's been a while since i've seen idols draw me to them by those standards.

ah, the long stan list! good luck in getting through it and i hope you do have fun as you go :] (also you can check out aurora by ateez and whiplash by tbz. the songs popped up in my head as i was typing this reply, you might like them)

ohhhh, what was the pd48 scandal? i don't watch survival shows so i don't know any of the stuff going on. would you care to elaborate? about their disbandment :(( i hope you're okay now tho! are the other girls still debuting in new groups? anyone eyeing an acting career instead of being an idol?

YES, A PATTERN IN THE BIASES (if you count an analysis of two ppl as a pattern, that is.) because it's the same pattern i have for my biaswreckers :D jake & seungmin, not only do they have the same animal to represent them, they have the same 'golden retriever' type of personality that just makes you go all soft. ygwim ;n; i wish i could elaborate but both boys just devastate me in the same level and my friends pointed out that they were quite similar in some aspects.

jaemin used to send really long bbl messages :< like if there was anything he loved most it was nctzens and it was obv in his messages. speaking of dream, album repackage news today! idk what to feel bc my hot sauce albums haven't even arrived yet :D + i'm dead br0ke.

how do you even manage to read 30k TT__TT i cant handle long fics bc of my attention span :D also, yes, i found the user now, i'll check if i'll like their works soon. <33

YES YOU SHOULDVE BEEN THERE T_T what a day that was. i think seungmin is still sweet and active in bbl. not a single cent goes to waste with him. also i think i'll post the drabble some time this month.

and oml seungmin vs jake :o let's see how that goes O.O XDD

clickity-clackity AHAH do you have a mechanical keyboard? :c i wanted one too but i haven't got around to saving up for one. but yes indeed, typing asmr v relaxing \m/

sunny hyuck day, fullsun sunday, fullsunday T_T feels were very strong that day. i kept seeing edits on my twt tl and i would just s o b : D i've only stanned nct for a year but i've seen him grow so much i just wanted to crie i love him sm :') yk my mom didn't cook spaghetti for my birthday, but she cooked for hyuck's? : D

and i checked ur recs blog and indeed, full of nct T_T

also have i mentioned that your desktop thing amuses me so much HAHAH i got confused for a sec if i had twt opened or tumblr. plus, i've been wanting to mention that i noticed that our mobile themes are opposites. black and red, white and blue. it's cute XDD <3

help, people have been telling me that our asks are long but i highkey love it. i added a ‘keep reading’ for the mobile users though, sorry in advance hh.

honestly, both works. tiny font saves space but regular font does more justice for my poor eyes haha. its your call!

hybe comebacks :( yeah enhypen got lucky because they came back right before cb season so they got three wins (yay)! on the bright side, txt just got their first win and bts has six wins, so it all works out i guess. omg yes, the streaming thing is perfect. i stan like 20 groups so i have a never-ending cycle of filler mvs and its always so helpful. ooh for the final performances - you wont regret watching any of them! literally wild, kingdom's budget and talent are wild.

ooh, I don't watch any cdramas lmao. i want to but i can barely finish kdramas. if its a movie ill watch it! ive never heard of more than blue but ill check it out <3 where can i watch it?

yes yes i have just realized that sungchan is yujin's co-mc! i watched their special stage (which is literally adorable) and was today years old when i realized that the dude is sungchan pls. nct hollywood was so unexpected and i still have mixed feelings about it now. LMAO JUST ASIANS LIVING IN AMERICA...help. that would be interesting (?) but the concept reminds me of those horrendous awesomeness tv shows. lets hope sm pulls this off well and proves me wrong. lmao all 4 units coming back would probably happen, but i hope none of them get overworked :( i constantly feel like mork lee has four clones :'( also...sm filed bankcruptcy??? dang, what happened?

ugh omg yeah shotaros talent is seriously being wasted in the basement right now. as for fires, scary T-T i wasnt that fazed by them until the australia wildfires happened, and i learned about the consequences of fire and got really scared. its good that the entire mall didnt burn down though! although its weird that no one is opening it :( schools really need to tell us the difference between drills though, it might be dangerous for those rebellious kids.

yeah i just realized that the nct track is an endorsement which partly explains why i cant listen to it. the mv's visuals are stunning!! the set and people are so gorgeous aa i cant

oh yeah im not an atiny but i have acknowledged since 2020 that they have one of the best, if not the best stage presence and expressions on stage for 4th gen. i think their only worthy competitor would be stray kids actually. theyre truly one of a kind and all of them are cute especially that yeosang guy. i will definitely check out your song recommendations though!

oof the pd48 scandal is extremely complicated. to condense it in a few statements: all of the girls' rankings have been rigged since the very beginning and it was rumored that they already had their end group before the show even started. it was like this for pf48 and pdx101 (group x1) which was why x1 disbanded within a month of debuting, and izone were on hiatus for like 4 months. im not the best at explaining stuff like this haha, but i think you get it. you can check out yt or search up 'pd48 scandal', a ton of articles and videos. as for new groups, nothing has been made clear yet. theyve only made instagram handles for now and appeared on variety shows haha. as for acting career, hyewon was supposed to do acting but was forced to join pd48 so maybe she'll continue acting afterwards? nothing is confirmed yet!

lmao two similarities, its okay it counts. ah, true, i can see their similarities now that youve mentioned it, as well as how jeno is kind of like that. however, i am currently attached to jaemin so we'll see what happens from there hehe. i swerve easily.

jaemin on bubble grr, that would be a whole experience. from the bare minimum of vidoes ive seen for him wbk jaemin is so whipped for czennies. ah yes repackage! i saw the post on instagram and went to the comments to see everything screaming ‘iM bROke!’ and it was lowkey hilarious lmao. kpop is really trying to suck our money T-T.

ope the longest fic ive read is like...40k words i think? and it was by jeonginks. ill read anything eiko produces lmao, theres always so much substance in her work. ooh, tell me what you think of luvdsc’s stuff, i just finished binging their entire masterlist lmao.

seungmin vs jake yeah, i havent been catching up on skz enha content because im still obsessing over the dreamies but when that saga is over then im going to focus on my ults lmao (which might include dream soon, hehe).

yes yes i have a mechanical bluetooth keyboard that i use to connect to my computer! it literally sounds amazing lmao, its only 10am here but i feel like im going to doze off from the clickity clackitys already. i cant wait for you to get one! tell me when you do, we can match hehe.

hyuck is an aodrable brat please. hes like the best comedian of nct at this point, so hilarious and filled with variety i love him. he rose up my bias list pretty fast too. LMAO YOUR MOM IS SO COOL I LOVE HER ALREADY. if only my mom would cook for my ults’ borndays.

yes my rec blog is a mess right now, ill organize it soon haha.

omg thank you and yes my website theme is one-of-a-kind. even i get confused when i open it or edit it, and i constantly get comments about it. also i just realized our opposing theme colors and i love it! its adorable.

[snowbooker]

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Okay, the concept for this book? SO cool. The lore and worldbuilding is compelling and like nothing I've seen before. I was so excited to read this book. That's why I rated it three stars but no higher, because in terms of the execution, I was highly underwhelmed.

The inconsistency of narration really took away from the smoothness of the book as a whole. Randomly switching POVs in the middle of the chapter, along with an odd three or four spaced gap? Stilted. I couldn't get used to it no matter how many times it happened. I don't enjoy saying this, but it looked like a mistake every time. I'd see the weirdly long gap and go, "Oh gee, whose head are we going to be in now?" because there is no pattern to it or any indication as to who was going to be narrating before just going full throttle into whatever it is that character is doing. One time I thought I was in Aurora's POV but I was in Locke's and only really noticed when there was some comment about the suppleness of Aurora's waist.

And the writing itself. There were some lovely quotes and parts that were really nice, but then I'd hit something weird and be jolted out of the book. The inconsistency of epithets for the characters (especially the storm hunter team) messed me up on multiple occasions. And Aurora's name. I say this with the understanding that her changing her name is an integral part of the story, and I thought that was really cool. If it was done consistently. Aurora is referred to as Aurora, Rora, and Roar. However, through the beginning two thirds of the book, those names are all jumbled. Even after a specific line (that ended a chapter, no less!), that Aurora needed to "be Roar" from now on, she's STILL referred to as "Rora" in the next chapter during her narration. It ruined the effect of the whole name change / character growth thing for me.

So that's the writing. Now let me get to the romance. Because oh boy.

This book was published in 2017. It concerns me that a young adult novel so recent has such a questionable romance.

Aurora is 18. Eighteen. That's a high school senior or college freshman. Locke is, what, 30? Mid-twenties at least. His age is actually weirdly avoided at one point, as though Carmack knew him being this old was kinda gross and dodged it so as to not actually get in trouble. So Locke could technically be 20. But he's written like he's at least 30. Maybe if ages weren't mentioned (or carefully not mentioned) so much, it wouldn't have been so creepy, but it's a Big Thing that Aurora is 18, because of Stormling duties and whatnot. AND on multiple occasions, Locke refers to Aurora as "little girl." Yeah, that's a jab at her naivety, whatever, but when he says it, he means it. And Aurora is constantly in the position of "No!! I'm not a little girl!! I'm an adult!!" which is scarily similar to an older man manipulating a young girl into doing things via saying she's "not old enough."

And then!!! Oh God, and then. Locke training Aurora and making her "prove” herself. Ugh. Locke is mean to Aurora. Their banter is rarely actual banter, it's legit fighting where Aurora has to justify her existence. I'm not saying Locke should be her bestest bud, but the fact that it's set up that Locke is pissy with her because he likes her is very "boys will be boys, he pulls your hair because he LIKES you" and I thought we started leaving that stuff behind in 2016. Evidently not.

Their first "kiss" was awful. I hesitate to call it a kiss because it felt more like Locke was smashing his face against Aurora's because he couldn't handle all the sexy man-pain within him. And their second kiss, the big dramatic one in the rain? I felt like I was reading a harlequin romance, which is fine, I'm not judging, except for the part where this is a young adult novel. Don't get me wrong— I'm not saying YA can't possibly talk about sex or have kissing, I'm just saying that's not what YA is about. I don't know. The romance read like an adult paperback, except before publishing they went through and put "18" in for Aurora's age and slapped a YA label on it. And I felt like the romance with Locke was actually detrimental to Aurora's growth, not beneficial or freeing or whatever. Actually, I thought she and Bait would have been cute (but Bait is sixteen, AND pretty much there so he can flirt with Aurora in order to make Locke jealous. Joy.)

I actually really, really love the storm hunter characters. All of them except Locke. If Locke was cut out and the story was about Aurora finding a new family within the storm hunters, and they all got better character development that didn't revolve around Locke's relationship with them, then I'd be super duper happy. I adore Jinx and her dynamic with Aurora ad the team, and would love to see more of her. And again, I really, truly love the concept. It's clear Carmack put a lot of effort and love into the lore of this world and its magic. I respect that. That's why I kept reading. I thought the idea was awesome, so I slogged through the problems. I might check out Rage, just for the worldbuilding, but I have to say I'm not going to buy it like I did with Roar.