#the sheer amount of times i reread these chapters

[lindorthedragonslayer]

Kono Oto Tomare!: mobile wallpapers (640 x 1350) ✧ Feel free to use, but please don’t claim as your own~ { credits: #00041 }

[safyresky]

Frostmas Year Ten: Behind the Scenes

Prologue | Y1 | Y2 | Y3 | Y4 | Y5 | Y6 | Y7 | Y8 | Y9 | Y10 | Y11 | Y12

[To Read Frostmas: From the TOP | Year Ten]

---

Boy howdy! It was two years in the making but, at about 30k ish words, year ten is FINALLY finished and I can FINALLY say, out loud, that Jacqueline got fuckin FROZEN!

Lots I wanna share because Year Ten had the MOST edits out of all the years I’ve written so far. I do NOT want to know what Year Eleven will be like. Y10 was like, the HARDEST year to write so far! Let's get GROOVING

The Intro

I actually rewrote the intro after finishing the entire year. It was a weak start, originally, I realized after writing those three BANGERS of final scenes!

the version you SHOULD have read was only completed on the 13th, after being rewritten once the day before.

I almost didn’t write an intro for Year Ten. I actually think, when I started writing it, on Easter Day two and a half years ago lmao, I went right into the beginning of the year.

If I’m remembering correctly, I actually didn’t write the intro until after the All-Staff scene!

Scene 1: Bernard Machine BROKE

what the elf is elf version of what the fuck. v. important note

“We’re really in it now Jacqueline” is absolutely, 100%, the Frostmas version of this meme from The Good Place:

And oh boy, with Y10 of Frostmas? WE ARE REALLY IN IT NOW, JACQUELINE

OKAY SO one of the reasons I decided to do these BTS things was for all of the memes/references bc I find it FASCINATING that I can read these chapters and recall DISTINCTLY what I was doing/hyper fixating on at the time. Year Ten edition: Quarantine 2020!

First reference: Jacqueline deciding to go to Timmies

I was 100% projecting, a month into quarantine and I had NO IDEA if Tim’s was open and I was craving timbits and my iced capp of choice (which is also Jacqueline’s)

SO I WROTE IT IN

Two months in I saw they were open via drive thrus and I have a car so I got me that ding dang iced capp

HONESTLY, a lot of Canadians don’t actually like Timmies these days. Apparently, they’ve gone down hill. But Imma be real with you folks, ice capps HIT and I have yet to find a place with a similar drink that hides caffeine well enough for me to enjoy!

Stir-Fry: Best way to make a quick dins and get rid of leftovers

Okay, srs note now: thinking about what would drive Bernard to leave, without knowing what the canon relationship between Jack and B-Man is (tho most people HC that they HATE each other and B wouldn’t take Jack’s BS, and I support this) one of the hardest things I’ve done, to date.

like Jacqueline said in the intro, this is Bernard’s home! He takes care of the elves, they’re his fam! Like, everything considering Bernard’s decision is HEARTBREAKING and the only way I could think of that would allow Bernard to fully leave the picture is, well, him basically trading his “exile” for their freedom.

The conversation they have once B-Man has semi-processed grief is once again, me trying to work it all out

apparently a running frostmas theme for things I can’t figure out is to get Berline some food and watch them scheme. Hey, if it works it works ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Scene 2: Jack gets SERVED

fun fact: I added this scene in after writing about half of the chapter! It was reading very bad prior, since I had just summarized what Bernard did.

“you’re not you when you’re hungry” I think about that commercial a lot. Specifically the Betty White version

it’s also a gr8 Jack line, 100%

so thanks to snickers, i guess, for giving me free dialogue (🤫)

I actually really like this scene! I think it’s a v good villainy Jack scene!

Scene 3: All Staff Meeting

I hate all staff meetings. We had one MONTHLY in quarantine and by the time May rolled around, I never wanted to go to one ever again

SO LET’S MAKE THE ELVES GO INTO ONE! at least they got to go in person 😢😢

Idk why I had B-man give a spare set of keys to Quintin? It’s been so long since I wrote that part, and Quintin makes his way to the Valley in the later half of the year ANYWAY. I actually went back and edited the final few scenes to hint that Quintin splits his time

like some kind of divorce settlement

he and elfsburg divorced. he gets the shop every other week 😂😂😂

ALTHOUGH it IS before B-Man knows he’ll be able to relocate everyone, so maybe that was part of the reasoning?? See, this is what happens when you wip something for TWO YEARS. 30k later ur a mess

Also, hate that Quintin is spelt Quintin. Mostly bc spell check hates it. Sorry spell check, BUT THAT’S HOW IT’S SPELT IN TSC1 END CREDITS

Anyway I think Curtis deserves a little credit, as a treat, and I’m SOFT for B-Man being soft with the elves 🥺

especially since he gets really, really, really into the Resort stuff (that’s canon, you saw him in the last movie!)

Quarantine 2020 Reference: “And for now, it’s the new normal”

we’ve all heard it at this point, even B-Man apparently

also, totally forgot that I had established a LOCKDOWN before covid19 did lmao, almost thought it was another quarantine reference

Scene 4: Frost Mansion/Manor

was two scenes, fixed it to be one scene! one of the many, many, many, MANY edits I was doing up until I finally posted the chapter. This year took SOO MUCH EDITING

the Blaise making a room scene was literally just so I could show off that I finally figured out how warlocks worked in CS :D

AND I FINALLY GOT TO MAKE THE SALARIED/HOURLIED JOKE I’VE BEEN DYING TO MAKE FOR YEARS!!

Legates are salaried! That’s a Crystal Springs FACT

anyway I think about how jelly like the magic in tsc series is. do you? i think about it a lot. like, you could chose any kinds of sounds, and you go for slurping? icky

Scene 5: City Square; Scene 6: Meeting with Governor Blaise

This scene. was another one. that got rewritten way too many times. Idk what it is about Y10, but I could NOT get things sounding decent on the first try for like, MOST of the scenes! Except for the last one, lmao. I’ve had that written for a year :)

it was another opportunity for lore drop tbh, i’m shameless

on that note, I’d like to thank Assasin’s Creed: Valhalla for teaching me what a MOOT is, historically speaking! I read it and was like so THAT’S what CS does! Aight, neat!

“Blaise said with a grin, opening his arms” similar to how Jack said. three or four scenes back 🙃🙃 I didn’t even realize the parallel until the third in process read through!

(Scene 7 is the Council Meeting, and not much BTS info exists for it so we skip!)

Scene 8: Ley Lines

MY BIGGEST MOST GINORMOUS THANKS EVER TO @shittyelfwriter​ BECAUSE I WOULD NOT! HAVE COME TO THIS CONCLUSION WITHOUT HER HELP!

She had the brilliant idea of Christmas trees being like beacons? And chatted with me for a good two or three hours one winter evening in 2020 to help me workshop this idea!

there was another idea of the stockings delivering the gifts but it was knocked down lol, if the trees are calling in the gifts then why on earth would they come shooting through the stockings?

besides, stockings are their own spawn points!!! they gotta be filled with STUFFERS like FUZZY SOCKS, AND CANDY, AND CHOCOLATE!!

no idea how I connected everything together afterwards, tho. Maybe that’s why this year took two whole years to write 😲😲

anyway, yeah, no, thank you SO much as usual ana for being your amazing self FILLED with BRILLIANT ideas and letting me pick from your genius!! something something we stan??? is that meme dead yet?

(oh! and if u squint...u can see Winter watching for frozie Jacquie)

Scene 9: The First Check In

Once again, i have Jacqueline noticing that someone looks slightly different to acknowledge changes in the movies! This edition: Curtis’s growth spurt and slightly deeper voice 👀

(the voice bit was shoehorned in very last minute 🤫)

I ALSO started dropping hints about how Curtis gets very into the Resort later on. I mean, I thought he was way too invested when Scott finds him at the Resort! He was not as disgruntled as any of the other elves were. I’m running with the subtext >:)

FUN FACT: this is where I left off when I initially started doing this Frostmas BTS. I had not made it very far. ONWARDS

Scene 10: Everything Moves Fast

My one regret with this chapter is settling on "New Elfsburg" before placing it in a valley. "Elfsburg Valley" is just so...chef's kiss

BOOM! ELLE DROP! I've got plans for Ms Elle come next chapter. You guys probably won't like it, but uh, I will enjoy the reveal immensely >:)

"saying you were part of Health and Safety went a long way with ordinary beings" -> I'd like to thank Doctor Who episode "Partners in Crime" for this one! I watched it a LOT during the two years of writing this chapter took. It was a rough two years and I was taking all the comfort I could get while isolated from my fiance and my family and LITERALLY EVERYONE

Scene 11: Bag Heist

oh my god this scene. this scene is so good for so many reasons

Jacqueline being an ass

Jack being an ass

God tier frozie sibling banter

Jacqueline acting almost EXACTLY like Jack would just to bug him--hammering home the theme of "becoming what you fear most >:)"

Also, it was so much fun to write! It was goddamn hilarious!

"Do your kids really want the flu?" I asked, hands on my hips. "Because a kid sneezed all over the place a few photos ago, and we need to sanitize this asap. Maybe even close it off for the day."

-> More Covid Nuggets lol

"Barry, right? You chased me out of storage the other day! I remember that, that was fun! How's your arm?"

-> Jacqueline is very much causing trouble and I am trying to really really reinforce that lmao. She's on a first name basis with some of the guards!

"Sorry Barry, but I have the high ground now" -> for some reason, my friend sir eng and my fiance got really into quoting that specific phrase re: Star Wars:

just before my household shifted and we went FULL lockdown, my (now) fiance (then boyfriend) came up for a visit and marathoned Star Wars with our friend Sir Eng while I was working

(I think that's how it went! May have been my other housemate, and then Sir Eng said it to Fiance and it went downhill from there. Idk man. April-Oct 2021 was kind of a blur)

it went downhill from there, haha. It was a popular turn of phrase up until Sir Eng moved out!

FUN FACT: Jacqueline has never seen a Star Wars :)

"That wasn't rhetorical, Jacqueline. Why is it you're holding Santa's bag? Don't you have citrus to freeze? Noses to get all runny?"

"Not until 3," I said, to more laughter.

Thank you based Spongebob for the ABOVE reference :)

Scene 12-14: It's DORMANT

So, my running gag for this year of Frostmas is basically this:

And it SHOWS in this scene, especially! More on that in a mo!

"The Workshop itself had been designed to be a bit smaller, to be ready in time for toy making. It felt a lot bigger on the inside thanks to some brilliant engineering on Quintin's end"

->this is 100% a dr who/British joke, a la this scene from Phineas and Ferb's Avengers crossover. It lives rent free in my head for whatEVER reason, especially since I never saw the entire episode!

but also, like, why WOULDN'T they have it be bigger on the inside? They're MAGICAL. SUSPEND THE DISBELIEF! anyway.

""At this point, I don't care how you got it. I'm just glad you got it." Bernard said, gently taking the bag off of my arm."

->and so it begins! B-Man literally does not care, he just wants to get this moving and try his bestest to save cribmas 🥺🥺

"Everything dies eventually. Even us," Bernard pointed out.

"You must be fun at parties," I said, thrown off guard.

they are at their WORST! BMAN IS DEPRESSED AF! JACQUELINE IS FROZEN AF! I AM THRIVING!

And Winter is in her element! She's got very mom energy. I'm hoping to explain why she's quietly lurking in the next chapter, but basically she has the BIG WORRY for both Jacqueline AND Bernard! She knows Jacquie's frozen, as we see in the final scene. she's doing her best to be there but NOT be overbearing

And Bernard is doing her a real big worry, too! Her mom senses are going crazy

(Winter would've been gr8 at being the next Mother Nature. She declined when approached by MN when the Legate Law was put into place. More on that in Into the Shadows!)

"If you keep clenching your jaw like that, you're going to need a night guard" -> You'll never guess who did, in fact, get a night guard around this time (last March)

if you guessed me, you are so correct lmao. again, one of those oh hey! I recall why this went in! What a crazy thing to look back at! anyway it's done wonders for stress headaches, and I'm positive Bernard would benefit from having one lmao

Ah yes. A bit of sillies before we head into the BERNARD DOES DUMB SHIT portion! Little Shop of Horrors was the first production I saw "post" covid. I quite liked it. The puppet for Audrey 2? AMAZING.

Jacqueline's Interlude

I just had to edit the Jacqueline interlude because holy guacamole, were there EVER spelling mistakes GALORE. It's like, did I miss that section ENTIRELY?! DAMN.

Anyway, it's kinda funny, I remember getting to that part and having to take a step back with all of the shit I was about to do--those three BANGERS of end scenes 😍😍--and straight up needing a moment to process it ebcause I couldn;t figure out how it all started

Mostly because Jacqueline was mum on the subject, if you can believe it. Can't blame her in the slightest, lol, but when ur characters get suddenly quiet while you're trying to tell their story? YEAH. IT'S A PROBLEM

SO. TAKE THE STEP BACK, SEE WHERE JACQUIE'S AT, AND THEN FIND A GOOD WAY TO GET ON WITH THE NEXT THREE BANGERS!

This was ALSO a fun spot to shoehorn in some ah, CS government lore >:) Do I know how their system works? YES! Do I know wtf it is? NO! But it seems to work for them so YEAH, ENJOY THE LORE

THE LAST THREE SCENES (14-16)

Looking back at these now have me cackling, I really went BAM! BAM! BAM! with a bat to everyone's knees, huh? Anyway

YEAH. WOW. you know, this whole section was unplanned. Like, the bag failing? Unplanned--kinda just happened as I wrote! Bernard doing the dumb shit? Not planned, but the moment I had the bag low on magic, I went ah. yes. Bernard would 100% do his best to help save it, given everything he's sacrificed and lost so far

And Jacqueline would be MAD about it, given the ENTIRE situation that Frostmas is/has caused and also, the FROZEN THING

My god, tho. I really feel for Bernard, you know? It's just. WOW. after all of that everything, you just really, really, really want, need something to go right. I feel like we've all probably been there before!

But yeah, everyone's really at their lowest low here

And even with their sibling-esque banter, Berline is still not doing so HOT

AND THEN THE KICKER! THE FROZEN-NESS! AH!

I had that final scene written for YEARS. I think since year 8 went up? My GOD. Been biting my tongue for WAY TOO LONG to try and avoid spoilers but boy am I GLAD it's OUT NOW! AH!

This year of Frostmas decked me lmao. WOWIE. Anyway, plz enjoy the Y10 bts! and the MEMES! I'm HOPING this kick starts my ass into figuring out why Y11 isn't quite VIBING rn 🤔🤔🤔

[gffa]

Do you have any Sith!Obi-Wan fics you can recommend? 🙏

Hi! You can do a search for Sith Obi-Wan in my bookmarks which brings up several or you can start with the novel-length ones that still live rent-free in my head even years after I've read them: Equinox by lilyconrad, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, 95.9k During the Clone Wars, Obi-Wan and Anakin crash on a remote planet and take shelter in the ruins of a grand estate only to find they are not alone. This fic was written for me, so I'm biased, but it's genuinely my favorite for the trope because Lily put all this thought into the undercurrents going on between the characters, because it gives such care about why any version of Obi-Wan would fall to the dark and what he would be like, because each chapter had moments of foreshadowing and care given to lush, beautiful descriptions and the creeping dread of the place. It's a gorgeous fic and I think even if someone doesn't usually like Sith versions of the characters, the way this one does it (created reflections, not that our characters are falling, so it's scratching the itch of how it's an extension of our characters, but our characters are not on that exact path), I would gently suggest this one.

Lex Talionis by intermundia, obi-wan/anakin & cast, NSFW, 187.1k Or, how Obi-Wan and Anakin fell to the dark side, obtained their revenge, and saved the galaxy in the process. My other favorite Sith Obi-Wan fic, this one is about how these characters fall to the dark, and the author takes his time with how it happens step by step, but also how these massive, galaxy-spanning changes happen, how it's a combination of how sexy the dark side can be but also how awful it can be, how much pain and hurt it can cause. There's so much care and effort put into this story, it spans such a huge story, that it's one of those fics I want to physically print out in special binding because it deserves to be a pretty set on my bookshelf.

wicked thing by imaginarykat, obi-wan/anakin & cast, NSFW, 124.2k the story of how Anakin exists in a perpetual state of intense embarrassment, Kenobi is enjoying it a little too much, and everything is, generally speaking, a gigantic mess. This is an AU where Obi-Wan never trained Anakin and is already a Sith when we meet him, and there's a reason it's one of the most famous fics in the fandom, because it is the most charismatic thing I've just about ever read, the sheer amount of dark side sexy charm coming off Obi-Wan is incredible, the tension between him and Anakin is delicious, and the writing/plotting of the storyline is superb. I could not put this fic down when I read it, there's a reason this fic helped really popularize the trope, because it's just so goddamned addicting and glorious to read.

Soldier, Poet, King by Glare, obi-wan/anakin & cast, NSFW, time travel, 106.4k wip Second chances are very rarely given, but the Force smiles upon two of its favorite children and returns them to a time before their actions have met their consequences. Anakin Skywalker, also known as Darth Vader, seeks redemption while Obi-Wan “Ben” Kenobi, disillusioned with the Jedi Order and its Code, falls to the Darkness. Trapped out of time, Master and Apprentice must once again work together to stop Sideous’ plans from reaching fruition and bring Balance to the Force—all the while dodging the Jedi, the Sith, and their feelings for each other. I think this might even have been the first Sith!Obi-Wan fic that I read and I know it remains dear to me because I reread it a year or two ago and got sucked in just as hard as before. Obi-Wan is dropped back into his younger body, feels like the whole thing is a bunch of bullshit, gets sucked into dark thoughts, and just goes full dark side dom on Anakin and fixing the galaxy through machinations and foreknowledge. It's so fun and it does such great service to Anakin's level of power, that this guy is an absolute dragon in the Force, but that he also very much wants Obi-Wan's hand on the back of his neck to force him to kneel to the one person he loves. Hnngggg, it really cemented me as a fan of this trope because of how well it scratches the sexy dark side dom/sub while they're both badass dynamic, I love it so much.

I'm still making my way through a lot of Star Wars fic, so if anyone has any more recs, feel free to jump in, especially if you have some gen ones, since I mostly read pairing fic for Sith!Obi-Wan (because I'm personally after the sexy dom/sub dynamic with it)!

[firenati0n]

roop's first rwrb fics aka fics that left an impact aka fics that kicked off her rwrb fic love aka fics that make her heart go weeeoooweeeooo <3

hello! this list was quite literally revealed to me in a dream just now...which means now you all have to read it. happy holidays. a gift for you.

i read RWRB when it released, but started reading rwrb fics earlier this year during some tough titty times...and have since discovered a gorgeous community of folks just pouring their hearts out into the fandom fabric, giving me the courage to start putting bits of my work out there as well. here are some of the works that were present in my life at VERY roop-specific moments this year:

First fic I sent kudos to (i caved and made an ao3 after reading this one lmaoooo): With so much of my heart (that none is left to protest) by @kiwiana-writes

First fic that forced me to send my first tumblr ask screaming directly at the author for my feelings: also With so much of my heart (that none is left to protest) by @kiwiana-writes

First fic I bookmarked with the knowledge that this fic would destroy me: all that glitters (is not gold) by @indomitable-love

First fic I reread immediately after finishing like literally immediately: Going Platinum by @cricketnationrise

First fic I sent to someone not in the rwrb fandom but is a fan of the au so i schemed that this fic would suck them into the rwrb fandom and I was successful: Rogue's Gallery by @orchidscript

First fic(s) I sent to a boy as a bizarre mating ritual that actually worked: lifelines by @indomitable-love, Am I the Asshole? by @everwitch-magiks, and i ask you how you're doing (and i let you lie) by @matherines (his first fics, he loved them btw)

First fic that made me ugly cry not because it was inherently sad but because i achieved emotional catharsis i was not expecting: One Too Many Mornings by @orchidscript

First fic that made me CRY LAUGH until i was wheezing: and history remembered. by @sherryvalli

First fic that was a WIP I followed and screamed with each update: Cold Cases, Lost Causes by @tintagel-or-cockleshells

First fic that made me run laps around my room in sheer stress: Nova, Baby by @cha-melodius

First fic that made me run laps around my room in sheer thirst: Show Me What You're Working With by @clottedcreamfudge

First fic that made me giggle and kick my feet and blush: No Sense or Sensibility by @inexplicablymine

First fic that made me cry buckets in a costco parking lot: i ask you how you're doing (and i let you lie) by @matherines

First fic that made me learn something new about myself and patched up a crack in my heart: Down By The Water, I Saw You by @myheartalivewrites

First fic that taught me something I didn't know and had me doing a deep dive on wikipedia for 3 straight hours: Moonlighting by @orchidscript

First fic that had me writhing on the floor in absolute agony: What Do I Know? by @three-drink-amy

First fic that made me stare tearfully at a wall in quiet contemplation: Help Me Hold On to You by @affectionatelyrs

First fic that had me slamming subscribe to a series faster than I could say "kinktober": Temperature's Up, 'Bout to Erupt by @sparklepocalypse

First fic that opened my eyes to a whole new world of tags and also a new part of my brain: In His Wildest Dreams by @myheartalivewrites

First fic that made me feel such insane amounts of pining and yearning and longing that i had to take a walk: but if you could see us from a distance, you’d know i’ve always been so close to you by @anincompletelist

First fic that made me rethink my life while sitting in a DMV lobby waiting to renew my driver's license: Deep Blue by @myheartalivewrites

First fic that made me stay up all night to comment on each chapter as I read it in one sitting: Omakase by @orchidscript

First fic that I reread and live reacted to the author 3 hours before my dissertation was due instead of finishing the damn paper: to the victor, the spoils by @rmd-writes

First fic that made me feel incredibly homesick and had me looking up flights at 4am: after hours by @dumbpeachjuice

And finally... First fic I ever wrote after reading all of these incredible fics and wanting to also put a little piece of silly roop out into the world: our world, mine and his alone (the midnight train to go) by me :)

if you made it this far, thanks for reading. love you all. <3

xoxo roop

[ddarker-dreams]

hmmm.... i have a question. not really a question, more like rambling actually.

so we know that n darling doesnt want to get attached with blade, she mostly sees him as her fuckbuddy for a bit which i think is funny, hence she is his long term long distance low commitment gf.

but im actually curious on blade's view on this relationship. does he feel mutual about this? i mean, clearly he doesn't, but im dying to know the specifics.

does he not prod on the topic because he knows n darling would ultimately be his anyway? (based on... whatever elio's script says) or does he just... not care for any specifics and just already considers her his gf without said gf even knowing 😭😭 actually both theories sound more or less similar.

im so excited for ch 5, ive been rereading nexus over and over again lol (and of course... ch 3 and 4 has the most reads for certain reasons im sure you know)

me thinking of a way to respond without accidentally delving into spoiler territory GJKJDF

i will say that the answer to this question is different pre and post chapter 4. i can come back and give the latter after chapter five is posted.

OKAY, so. initial impression (after saving n darling from alister's knife attack in ch1), was... nothing really. a slight pull and nothing else. at that point, he knew the specifics of his job, which he didn't view differently from the hundreds of jobs he'd be assigned before. he doesn't usually bother thinking about the greater picture. he considers himself a weapon who will simply do as he's told until elio fulfills his end of their agreement.

for a while after that, he finds n darling kinda weird. he doesn't get why n darling thanked him and made her synalink offer when it's pretty obvious she doesn't like the stellaron hunters. it wasn't clear to him yet that in the same way he considers himself a weapon, n darling views herself an integral organ to eris. n darling's gratitude wasn't so much that he saved her life — but that he saved eris' 'life.'

he didn't actively try to understand her because he wouldn't care to. the sole reason he picked any of this up is just from the sheer amount of time they spent coexisting. it's inevitable he'd become familiar with her to some extent. there's that, and well... n darling is rather stunning. an assignment where he basically gets to stare at a beautiful woman for days on end isn't something he's complaining about.

what served as a turning point is the nectar guide incident.

(i didn't expect for this to get so long good god but here's blade's mental health going 📉 as his journey to tap n darling begins)

when he comes to, the sight he's greeted with is this high stationed individual weeping for him and desperately tearing her clothes in a attempt to stop his bleeding. he cannot recall a time when anyone has bothered to do so, since it's known no matter how awful an injury he suffers, he'll regenerate eventually. that aforementioned slight pull grows stronger.

regarding blade's reaction to n darling poking around in his psyche uninvited, that wasn't what actually upset him. it was the possibility he'd be less attentive to her safety if he were to go around searching for survivors. for some inexplicable reason, this irked him.

then, at this exchange in ch3:

“Can it really be considered a sin if it’s beyond your control?” 

“It won’t always be,” he replies. “Until then, I can’t allow myself to forget. You must get why.” 

You wish you didn’t. 

it finally dawns on blade that he and this diva-who-pretends-she-isn't-a-diva actually share common ground. that they're both stuck in this self-perpetuated cycle of guilt and admonishment for circumstances that weren't entirely their fault. he doesn't know what to do with this information and stuffs it away for safekeeping.

then another turning point goes down:

the dissonance between lear's id and ego/superego culminates to such a degree that n darling goes unresponsive, the psychic backlash is that bad. blade doesn't understand the specifics. all he sees is this woman he's begrudgingly intrigued by collapsing to the ground with blood rushing from her nose, while her noisy friend and quiet friend rush around. eventually, he can roughly piece together what happened from these tidbits: n darling's aversion to physical contact (seen in ch1 when he reaches for her wrist and she freezes up, then once more when she avoids him after the nectar guide incident).

n darling then confirms this: "What you’re referring to is a precaution my mother suggested. In the past, strange reactions have occurred after I came into direct contact with someone."

along with well-intentioned nona's exclamation: "i yelled at him that if he hurt lear you would turn his mind into goop"

blade wouldn't have thought to configure lear into things as soon as he did had nona not given this slip of information. he already had suspicions that lear and n darling had some sort of Situation between them, because lear isn't slick and makes googly eyes @ n darling like nobodies business, but this. this is different. he could write lear's googly eyes off as a crush, which is whatever. but n darling caring for lear to such a degree that she's fine with risking her wellbeing because she likes being around him that much? hence:

You’re so swept up in your thoughts, that it takes you a while to notice how Blade’s been staring at you. This in and of itself is nothing new. He’s been your shadow ever since forced this arrangement. It irritated you at first, but that blistering offense eased into acceptance. His vigilance felt befitting of a guard. Taking in your surroundings, assessing any threats; such is his prerogative. 

How he’s eyeing you now feels different. It’s as if he’s looking through you, not at you. 

“Is something wrong? You’re making such a scary expression,” you joke. 

at that point, blade is Not Happy to an extent that confuses even him (ch5 will go into why).

then he happens to be brooding in the distance, as he's prone to do, when he sees n darling looking absolutely defeated (post the convo with caicias and chrysus). he feels this need to do something about it, remembers how often she drinks that ambrosia tea, then makes some for her. he really was going to just leave it and then give her space, but, alas:

"Your body springs up of its own accord. You balance the teacup in one hand and reach out to him with the other, your fingers fanning out, ready to sink into whatever they can. Everything happens in the blink of an eye. Your free hand succeeds in finding a destination — settling on the abrasive finish of his bandages. 

You feel another texture alongside it. 

It’s smooth, cold, and visible through the interstices of his winding bandages. 

His skin."

this contact quite literally Awakens something in him (👁👁),

"Blade’s gripping your comforter hard enough for his knuckles to turn bone white. He’s leaning forward, as if ready to pounce, yet lucid enough to exercise some semblance of self-control. He reminds you of a starved animal trapped in a cage, salivating over a piece of meat hanging outside the bars. Goosebumps cover your body. This isn’t simple lust… it’s visceral, some primitive desire too overwhelming to be understood.

You’re the one he’s staring at with this unbridled yearning.

Yes, he’s teased you. Pushed your buttons and riled you up. Not so subtly flaunted the strength that lets him maneuver you like you weigh nothing. You might have status and mastery in your given field, but he’s participated in the annihilation of worlds; the end of civilizations that span back since time immemorial.

He should be the one in charge.

Yet as you stand here, witnessing how he tortures himself by not pouncing on you like he easily could, a thought is planted.

He’d really do anything you asked if it kept this from ending."

from this point to where chapter 4 ends, blade's brain is in some sort of caveman mode. he wakes up. thinks about fucking n darling. fucks n darling. waits around impatiently until he can fuck n darling once again. fucks n darling again. goes to (half) sleep. rinse and repeat.

not only is his mara manageable when he's around n darling, but he gets this thrill too? it's a high unlike anything he's experienced in the miserable centuries he's been cursed with immortality. he isn't really worried about the specifics of their relationship, so long as he can keep railing her on every surface around. n darling's body, how she carries herself with such confidence, the way she pokes and prods at him; he's obsessed. addicted. nothing short of feral.

every stage on his hierarchy of needs has been replaced with n darling.

[cerealandchoccymilk]

Trigun Bookclub: Trigun Vol.1, Chapters #00-01

all | next

lets fucking do this

I'm annotating every chapter of trigun, both the Japanese original print (reread) and Overhaul 1.0 (first read). Literally just writing down everything I notice about details, version differences, translation notes, etc. and also being gay about the characters. happy pride month

I had other stuff to do today yesterday so I only got through a little bit but pace will pick up tomorrow today (1 volume/week is faster than i thought...)

Here are the beloved non-analysis sillies...

And there are just so many annotation images so I just put the rest under the cut <3 read my notes boy

[edit: why aren't the images not being side by side like i want them to i hate this. here's the url for my blog page with correct formatting] [edit 2: i guess it's only on desktop, not on mobile. so that's good]

First thing I noticed was the difference in the number of volumes, or the number of chapters in each volume. In my JP copy, volume 1 ends at Chapter #07: Rem, while Overhaul (and I assume every version after the first JP print) ends at #12: River of Life.

Anyways onto the actual images

21st of July - !! didn't notice [that the July incident actually happened in July] during 1st read b/c months are only numbers in Japanese 11 hours after destruction - July incident was 2am

For some reason I thought he was standing this whole time. unneccesary details georg

Estimated age: 24 - Official age for his appearance? dang he's young Appearance - "Place of origin/birth," not "what he looks like" The worst kind of outlaw, and an unrivalled killer. - Added in a later version? (not in my JP copy but the phrase is familiar)

This blank space originally had the Japanese translation for the board.

We see his serious expression already! I don't remember '98 doing so this early on so it's pretty notable to me...

Just thinking about how Vash counted each individual gunshot being fired during all that chaos... dear god.... During my first read/watch I thought it was just silly Rule of Cool protagonist moment but not really. This guy actually has Insane perception, either from being a plant or sheer practice. Or both.

Also immediately after all that, I really love the way the aftermath is shown here. The only things you can hear are the creaks of the light and the crying boy. It really brings out the tension in the atmosphere.

Finally, something other than unneccesary bits! If you look at the flooring under the toy gun, the perspective lines are pointing SW-NE. This corresponds to the flooring on Vash's right, whose right arm is also suspiciously out-of-frame... This is definitely the moment he took the toy gun. I can't express the amount of Holy Shit I felt when I realized this. The detail!!!!! man!!!!!!!!!

There's a little translation error here - it should be something like "Even if he were still alive, he wouldn't be able to move an inch!"

One of my favorite Vash moves with one of my favorite Tumblr heritage posts.

This is not really based on any drawn details, but I think this is the moment that Vash readies the toy gun, puts it in his pocket, and picks up the ketchup. Do Not trust this man when his arm is not visible. Also finger still in gun <3 doing his part blocking one bullet at a time

And here we have Vash's first COOL cool moment!!!!!! cue my homo screaming. goddddddddd im so mentally unwell about him. agh I also absolutely love when Nightow does that thing where he screen-tones a character's skin just because. It pops!! It's unique!! I love it!! I eat it up every time!!!

Here's where I realize that Vash's hair antennae are pointing straight up. I should be on the lookout for when he makes the transition to the M-shaped antennae we know and love.

Also, a little untranslatable joke from the Japanese version. In Japanese, this guy calls out at Vash like "And you, don't provoke him!" except it's written with the kanji for "Hunter" (狩人 karyūdo), with a ruby pronunciation note saying "you" (おまえも omaemo). These kanji/ruby mismatch jokes are never not funny and it's so sad that there's no way to keep them in without doing...this lol

The "I counted!" reveal never fails to get me. holy shit. I love the little boy's expression when he gets his gun back :) You helped!!! and you don't have to have the real deal to be cool as balls!!!

Just lumping this with the previous two because it's a tall image, but another small translation error. Rather than being about doing harm, he's talking about recieving it (～～はゴメンだ is a hard-to-catch phrasing/idiom; it's already been discussed with the translator on a different instance). It should be more like "[...But] nobody likes getting hurt, right?"

THE GIRLIES YIPPEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not including the dialogue because. y'know. At least they get (accidentally) Bonked by Millie :) get their asses

Here, the order suggestion is made by somebody off-screen, but in the first edition, it was made by the cook himself. (left image annotation says "the storekeeper(cook) is so nice!")

That's it for chapters #00-01! I'm going to keep having Category 5 Autism Events every day aren't I.

It's literally 1:20am as of finishing this post because my computer won't stop crashing. Posting this first thing in the morning tomorrow <3

Also, the Japanese copy of the annotations will be in the reblogs for anyone who wants to see them. The emotions are Rawer and they're phrased way less awkwardly... if you can read them lol

[checkoutmybookshelf]

Re-reading The Fellowship of the Ring for the First Time in Fifteen Years

Hi, Hello, Welcome! The conceit of these posts is pretty self-explanatory. I read the Lord of the Rings for the first time at age 17, in the middle of my parent's divorce (it was messy, we're not going into any details). Needless to say, I remember pretty much nothing about that read, and I would like to give the books a fair shake of a re-read. That's what this is, and there will be spoilers throughout!

I usually do full-book reviews, but if ever I was going to do a chapter-by-chapter re-read, it would be for LotR. The rules are that I'm going in as blind as I possibly can (I have watched the movies and have absorbed like...a reasonable amount of lore from existing on the internet as a millennial) and I'm not doing any research beyond like, defining words for myself as I read. So here we go, and I hope you enjoy rereading with me! Let's talk "A Long-Expected Party."

The first chapter of ANY book has a lot of work to do. The first chapter of THIS book has...rather more to do than most. Which is why I was kind of floored by HOW MUCH of it was dedicated to establishing how godawful the Sackville-Bagginses are. Like, when Tolkien said,

He remained on visiting terms with his relatives (except, of course, the Sackville-Bagginses)

on literally page one of chapter one, I was over here going "relatable, my dude." I also taught The Hobbit for an Intro to Literature class when I was getting my PhD, so I also knew that they had overtaken Bag End and were on the verge of declaring Bilbo dead and taking over his life and estate. I also knew about Lobelia stealing the spoons. I was ON BOARD with the Sackville-Bagginses being the godawful relatives that not only we do not like but also we legally cut out of their inheritance. I was cool with that, it was fine. I got it.

THEN IT KEPT GOING. They get snobby about attending the birthday party. They only showed up because the invitation was inexcusably fancy. They got offended about Bilbo's speech. They talked shit about him on his birthday at his party. They bulled into Bag End to insist on seeing the will, and stole stiff while they were there. They insulted Frodo's parentage and the Brandybuck side of his family IN FRONT OF MERRY, the most famous Brandybuck of the fellowship. And then Lobelia has the sheer goddamn nerve to be offended when Frodo stops her from stealing his shit, calling her on her bullshit, and kicking her out of his house.

Did...did Tolkien have an aunt that he had a massive, lifelong beef with? Because IT SURE SEEMED LIKE IT. Although passively aggressively gifting her the remainder of the set of spoons was just A+ shitty relative management on Bilbo's part, and I deeply appreciated that he can do both sincere and pointed gifting.

So, when I watched Dom Noble's LiA on Fellowship, I was like, "I don't actually know if I agree that the hobbits would vote Republican, Dom." Let this be my public apology for doubting Dom, because HOLY TITS YES, YES THEY WOULD. It literally took a gaggle of hobbits two "Well I heard"s to get to "Primula pushed Drogo out of the boat and he pulled her in after him" like it's a murder gone wrong. And no matter what the Gaffer said, nobody would hear different after "murder" came up.

And speaking of the Gaffer...his name is Ham. Ham Gamgee. Ham and Sam Gamgee. What the Jolkien Rolkien Rolkien Tolkien was happening with this name, John Ronald??? I demand to know! And no, not even Bilbo calling him Master Hamfast makes "Ham Gamgee" any less ridiculous.

Now, let's talk Gandalf for a sec. I know there are plot reasons that Gandalf doesn't initially know that Bilbo's ring is THE ONE RING, but like...their first conversation weeks before the party tells us that Gandalf has concerns. And yet he still is cool with Bilbo HANDING THE RING OFF TO FRODO??? Even if it's just a weirdly powerful, not inherently evil ring, Frodo is basically an 18-year-old (33 in hobbit years) with no life experience and no sense of how to manage a magic ring. Gandy. Wizard, buddy, friend. This is not like...a great plan. Yes, you get Bilbo off the ring cocaine, but you've just exposed Frodo to it. And this is BEFORE you know it's holding a bit of Sauron's soul. If you taking it is a bad idea, there has to be a secret third option that isn't "Leave it with Frodo." That all said though, Gandalf was SUPER prepared to hand fireworks to LITERAL CHILDREN and hammered hobbits at Bilbo's birthday, so he's clearly not the guy you call for safety or babysitting.

That probably hits all the key things from me for this opening chapter, so other than calling out how cute Merry and Frodo are when Merry has Frodo's back as the Shire descends on Bag End to claim or just straight steal shit, I will sign off for now. Key takeaways were that the Sackville-Bagginses FUCKING SUCK, and Gandalf was super cool with exposing Frodo to basically magical cocaine.

[tokiro07]

Was talking to a customer today about media consumption, specifically about the benefits and risks of binging

I've talked about this concept a number of times lately it feels like, but this particular conversation helped me realize a nice framework to look at it with: while binging is quick and to an extent feels good (i.e. "I finished this series in X amount of time!"), it greatly reduces the amount of anchor points that one can form to become attached to the media in question

For example, when I was reading Dungeon Meshi, I ended up reading all 90+ chapters in the span of three days; Dungeon Meshi is made up of a lot of small arcs, each lasting only a few chapters, and I ended up reading all of them in the same context (sitting on my couch at around the same time of day) with minimal exposure to outside factors (other readers, sharing what I was doing with my family or friends, etc.)

Aside from key moments, like those that were particularly funny ("an exact duplicate...?") or particularly emotionally impactful (the ancient magic, Senshi's youth, post-Dungeon Rabbits, etc.), I feel like I couldn't really relay the events of the story to someone else without missing a lot of the best bits because, again, by binging them I ended up mashing all of the events together in my mind. I didn't even end up reading it at a particularly noteworthy time in my own life, so reading it so quickly meant that it didn't end up connecting to my personal life either

Compare to say, One Piece, which I hadn't actually read in its entirety until Gear 4th was revealed; I realized that the significance of this moment may have been lost on me, so I decided that this would be a good time for me to fill in any of the gaps in my knowledge (i.e. Davy Back, Skypiea, Water 7, etc.) and read the full-color version

At just shy of 800 chapters at the time, this process took me approximately three weeks; some chapters I read lying on my bed, some I read sitting in a chair, some I read during breaks in college. Some I read while listening to Three Days Grace, some while listening to 10 Years, some while listening to Rise Against

Even though I was binging One Piece, the sheer amount of time it took me to actually do so ended up giving me a ton of opportunities to create anchors; I remember different contexts, outside conversations, and most importantly, the impacts that they had on me

Rereading Punk Hazard at the time was definitely the highlight, as it altered not only my reading experience but my involvement in the fandom and just generally how I lived my life. Because I was reminded of Monet, I started looking into the theories surrounding her, which led to me looking into other theories and finding forums like Oro Jackson. Monet herself became the ultimate anchor point for me, as she retroactively became the frame of reference that I have for my entire One Piece experience

Reading One Piece took so long that it ended up being a defining segment of my life in and of itself, whereas the time spent reading Dungeon Meshi was so small that it barely registers as a single event, despite the fact that I think it's extremely high quality and a story I highly recommend

It's like when you're studying for an exam - you can't just cram the night before, you'll wear your brain out and only really remember the first and last things you read particularly clearly; but if you space it out and give yourself time to rest, you'll have multiple beginnings and endings that you'll remember a lot better than you would have otherwise, both because they're each their own isolated incident that you can think back to while also giving yourself enough time to recover

So when you're consuming a new piece of media that you've really wanted to get into but you were too late for the live updates, please consider regulating your experience. Limit yourself to 10 chapters a day, or one arc per day, or whatever's the most conducive to that particular medium. Just resist the temptation of "just one more, it's so good and I've got time for it"

You may have the time for it, but like eating a bag of candy, you're going to end up overdoing it and regretting it because A) you don't feel as good as you would have otherwise and B) now you don't have it when you want it later

[scepterno]

my 3rd time rereading insulting indif and once more I am laughing hysterically at the skatoony mentions. I swear the show could've been a fever dream. really love ur writing(noahs internal struggle HITS) but also am slightly relieved ur writing this chapter more slowly. for ur own sake mind u. I saw the sheer amount of words u had written in like a month and I was like. ok maybe it's rushed. it was infact lovely to read. so my next thought was. ARE THEY OK?? anyway really like it. gen q tho, how the hell do u always have such funny texts between alejandro and noah??? I swear everytime it feels so organic.

hahaha wow thank you so much for your kind words (and the re-reads!) skatoony was a fever dream not only to us, but to the cast as well......

i think i wrote like 150k words in about 2 months. which is probably a record for me? it helps that i write during downtime at my desk job... and also at home as my main hobby (more than i draw, funnily enough)

it's also much easier to write for total drama since the characters are so modern, and north america-based. i dont have to spend as much time researching (like i do with ranking of kings or other anime I've recently written for) or editing dialogue to fit a certain time period or region i don't belong to

something i personally pride myself on is my ability to adopt a character voice in my head. when i write conversations between characters, it's less that im writing and more like im listening to them actually speak, and i just happen to be recording what theyre saying by writing it down

ANYWHO i don't think the speed i write at really has anything to do with the quality of my work. like this most recent chapter im writing... well, let's just say im not TOTALLY happy with the quality of it, even though i've been taking my time with it. but then again, i have very high expectations for myself so im kind of a perfectionist... it's why i reread my own chapters at least 5 times before i post them X_X

i hope you guys enjoy the next chapter! it's around 11k now, so probably close to done. i think this will be the second to last chapter in the fic!

[millennialgrandma]

August 2023 - Retroactive Words Recap

I spent the entire month of August traveling for work. That being said, I read a surprising amount of words.

Things I Read

I finally read another tradpub book this month, and it was an absolute fucking delight. I also reread a lot of disgusting smuts because at this point, they're stress relief comfort reads. Oh and, uh, I watched RWRB in August, which sparked a deeeeeep hyperfixation spiral that I have been holding at bay by SHEER FORCE OF WILL until I have the time to allow it. I'm being very brave about it.

Fiction:

Forget Me Not by Julie Soto (approx. 114,400 words)

Nonfiction:

Fanfiction:

Complete: (approx. 167.8k)

YUCK! by @the-francakes (hansy, E, 17.7k)

Reread: Hey, Princess by Madzola (dramione, E, 20.6k)

Nymphs of the Forbidden Forest by dirtyuncle (harmony, E, 13.1k)

A Most Unexpected Encounter by PhoenixofSlytherin (hermione/draco/theo/harry, E, 5.2k)

Reread: Stupid Games by @senlinyuwrites (dramione, E, 5.8k)

Reread: Confessions by @teacupniffler (hermione/draco/theo/pansy, E, 12.2k)

a taste by @frumpologist (sirius/ginny, E, 1.5k)

sex ed in 6 steps by coffeecatsme (firstprince, E, 9k)

When God Closes a Door (he should do it properly) by @clottedcreamfudge (firstprince, E, 6.5k)

we really like your vibe by AlterMortem (haladriel, E, 3.5k))

i will crucify my dreams to be on your side by AlterMortem (haladriel, E, 4k)

Reread: Good Girls Get to Sit on Santa's Lap by @whimsymanaged (dramione, E, 3.3k)

Reread: No Regrets for the New Year by @whimsymanaged (dramione, E, 2.8k)

Reread: Sucker 4 U by @whimsymanaged (dramione, E, 2.4k)

Reread: In-Class Demonstration by @whimsymanaged (dramione, E, 2.3k)

Right Way Down by @uselessenglishmajor (dramione, E, 16.6k)

Off the Ground by @pacific-rimbaud (dramione, E, 2.9k)

casualties by littlefoolswritings (darklina, E, 17.4k)

Lemme smash by @zeebee3 (dramione, E, 6.4k)

Would You Rather by @zeebee3 (dramione, E, 14.5k)

WIPs: (approx. 5.9k)

A Rake of Grangerous Proportions by @excluded-narrative - Chapters 1-3 (hermione/multi, E, 4.3k)

Change of Plan(t)s by @whimsymanaged (NOW COMPLETE) - Chapter 2 (herbadbottom, E, 1.6k)

[macfrog]

I apologize in advance - im so sorry this is gonna be so fucking long, but i just read the latest chapter of clm and i am in awe of your writing! This just might be one of the best things i have ever read!! So so talented! Your words in this chapter are so so gut-wrenchingly beautiful and poetic, i reread a lot of them a few times just to try to capture the feelings they evoked in me. Here are some of my favourite sentences from this chapter, followed by my commentary aka praise for your extraordinary brain and magical writing pen.

"Your dimpled blush blurs back into checkboxes and scrawled handwriting. You’re gone again. He’s in a white office, and the gentle lapping of the water on the pool’s edge fades into the headache noise of a fan humming, and he feels the warmth of your gaze on his skin turn into the cold, harsh spotlight glare of Lois’s eyes on him." WOW!! In the words of the one and only t swift: its giving movie, its giving cinematography. I can see this exact scene in my head like im watching a great fucking movie! These words combined together to form these sentences are obviously laced with some sort of magic because when i tell you i am not well i mean i am INSANE over this piece of A-R-T.

NEXT-

"It’s just: this time, your dad’s at your heels like a bloodhound. A little less sharp, maybe. Blind as a fucking bat, sure. But he can smell something’s up. And he’s circling it, nose to the ground, drawing nearer and nearer to the pair of you with each step." How? How do you do it? Tell us, please. Your way with words combined with how fantastically skilled your use of language is makes me write a ridiculously long message in your inbox screaming about all of it. All of it.

"Her voice is like ice down the back of his shirt. He stares at the machine, red light blinking like a rag to a bull. He could walk over to it and smash the ever-loving fuck out of it with his fists until it’s dust on his coffee table. Until it shuts the fuck up, stops interfering with his fucking business.

And then he thinks about Lois, and her cream blouse, and her red nails, and her big, blue eyes, and her soft drawl and everything about her that is so entirely opposite to everything about you.

And how much – despite how nice and friendly, or funny and good-natured she is – how much he hates her right now, and how much he fucking loves you." Its the imagery for me. Joel bby i love you and i get it. I love how you combined his aggressive thoughts and big, red feelings with something so tender, so beautiful, so soft. Ugh the duality of man. The power of a writer.

"He’s good at pushing feelings down, good at turning them away from the sunlight like faded pebbles. But this is different. It’s a different kind of hurt.

It’s unresolved, it’s an open wound. It’s you. And it’s every time he hears REO Speedwagon, every time he pulls a flannel over his shoulders and catches the scent of your perfume on it, every time he’s flicking through the TV and catches a flash of a hospital setting, it’s a pair of hands deep inside the wound, pulling it a little wider.

It aches. It stings and it aches and it winds.

And then he turns the pebbles around. Back to the shade. Over and over and fucking over." You have created such strong visuals throughout this whole chapter and i dont know if this was hard for you to write, but i feel so proud of you! I dont know how you felt during the writing process of this chapter, if it was tiring, or aggravating, or infuriating, but i can just imagine the sheer amount of joy and catharsis i would get from putting a period at the end of the last sentence here. The way you compared joel pushing down and hiding his feelings, something so vulnerable, to the pebbles metaphor, something so firm, and hard, and solid, is astounding to me. But its a contrast as much as it is the same thing. Especially because those feelings are as solid as pebbles. Especially because they can bruise you and scrape you up like pebbles can. And if you step on them, it only hurts you. I love your writing.

Also, sarah is so sweet in this chapter and i loved her reaction to seeing joel having a hard time. So so sweet.

"He’s staring at the end of your bed. Thinking about you under him, gripping onto his shirt, his hand between your legs. The very first time. And every other fucking time since then. Which one was the threshold? Who pushed who?" 📣POETRY

"As he passes the stairs, he pauses. Leans on one foot, head tilted to listen out for any sound of life. Any fucking sound – the creak of a floorboard, the squeak of a door handle. Anything to keep him here. Anything." MY HEART IS BROKEN. THIS BROKE ME. I AM GONE. I AM NO MORE. Put these words under "cause of death".

TL;DR: you. are. a. genius. Thank you for this chapter, thank you for this series, it is one of my favourites, and to quote you: i have no idea what youre laced with, but you got me.

(pls keep in mind that im writing this while running on no sleep, i hope you can understand everything, english is not my first language so i hope i expressed myself clearly and was articulate enough)

i have sat on this ask for 2 days now and i keep coming back to read over it and cry a little more each time. i cannot begin to tell u how appreciative i am of this 🥺🧡

there are few feelings that hit as fucking hard as receiving messages like this and reading how much someone has connected with something you've written...so thank you thank you thank you. it means the world and more. i don't even know what to say

[inlocusmads]

Trystan's reading addiction (a headcanon):

Has a personal library collection of over 1,000 books and treasures them more than he treasures weapons.

Rigorously attends book signings and author meet ups. Is a part of at least three book clubs which is a massive safety hazard because he just gives his name without any reluctance.

Has a soft spot for pirate stories or stories set at sea.

Books are just everywhere in his house. Under the TV stand, on the kitchen counter, on the coffee table. He even has some next to a bunch of towels. Nora freaks out when she discovers a Stephen King novel next to an assortment of skincare products.

Reads like an absolute storm. He finishes books at an insane speed - like he can sit and get through a 500 page book in three hours.

Rereads a lot. His books are not in the best condition. Some are annotated with post-its or uneasy scribbles. Others are torn across the edges or they smell like coffee or faint perfume.

Has to buy at least five more books if he steps out at any given instant. It becomes a riot because Nora's trying to hold all of his literary purchases and he's just walking down the aisle, picking them out like outfits.

He's definitely fancy as frick; must have a glass of wine or a stiff drink because you never read sober.

Travels with books too. Even if it is to the nearest grocery shop. He's also got tons of EPUBs in his phone, which also freaks Nora out and the fact that he pays for additional storage space to put digital prints of his books on his phone.

Constantly references something in his conversation. It's always "Oh this case reminds me of this--" and that's it. Nothing gets done. Nora's listening to Trystan talk on and on about the intricacies of the plot and a dozen literary devices employed in the text and they've already forgotten about the case they had to get to.

Remembers everything he reads but cannot for the love of God remember what month it is.

Supports local libraries by making liberal donations. That's how he meets Sonja Dormer and everyone else. He's always been an avid supporter of local businesses mostly because they don't pass judgemental glances when he brings a cart ton of books to the cashier and Nora going "I suggest you stick around to see because it only takes him eight hours to finish ten books and it is pretty awesome."

Trystan constantly shoving new books at Nora's face. ("No I don't want-" "THIS IS THE BEST BOOK YOU WILL EVER READ!" "You said that about five times")

He's also the kind of person to learn a whole new language so he can read books in them. That's how he learned Polish, Ukrainian and Serbian in the span of a couple of months.

Definitely a crier. Nora would have to spend hours trying to comfort him and tell him that though the characters are gone, the stories live on and they won't be killed.

While being the life of party, he definitely brings a book to any large gatherings. Or a phone with books in them. Even during one of those NYPD commendation parties they received when they tracked down Sonja's killer. Nora found him at a desk reading the last chapter of the Book Thief.

Instead of suggesting songs to listen to, he's got a playlist of book titles on his phone at all times.

"Oh but the book is better." "This scene wasn't in the book." "It isn't a true adaptation."

Trying to write his own story but only managing to finish one sentence before cracking his knuckles and going "Whew, what a day! This must be what Isaac Asimov felt like!"

Having a soft spot for campy af adventure stories because he's dreamt of something like that for a long time.

Having signed copies because he'd rather take care of his books than get a bite to eat.

Dragging Nora to book club meetings, ComicCons and just having his mind explode at the sheer amount of merchandise and books they've got there.

The glove box in his car has a book in it. He never travels without one.

the duality of "oh I shall add this to my TBR." and "Nora I believe I have a problem. I have over two hundred books to read."

[sayakxmi]

[Magi reread] Night 53: Savior

Kinda processing the fact that there's like 23 chapters left of this arc. I'm not ready.

Ok, it kinda hits differently when you've read SnB.

I am genuinely disgusted

Yeah, fair reaction

Remember when Morgiana was actually doing things? Pretty cool

Grl, I get why you react the way you do & it's awesome, but also ffs let him process a single thing that's happening.

She does remember

I get it but for the love of god, first Morgiana, now Sahbmad, just let the poor man breathe for a second.

I need you to know that I am glaring at this man.

Like, good, but still. Man.

Honestly, the sheer amount of pressure that's been put on him is unreal.

Ughhhhhhhhhh. First of all, sitting by Aladdin's bed & talking to him & just admitting how much beyond him this entire situation seems.

Massive "can someone be proud of me, like, fuck, I'm trying" energy.

: ' )

Bro, I'm just sad. Idk, low self-esteem/confidence is just such a relatable thing that it's difficult not to empathize.

Not to mention, while everybody excepts things from him (except from Sinbad who kinda gave up on him), Aladdin's probably the only one who simply believes that he can do it, and promises to help. While everybody else demands something, Aladdin actually gives. And now he's gone, and Alibaba has to figure that stuff out on his own.

This is both such a Sinbad thing to consider, and such a Sinbad conclusion to come to. Like, sorry the guy gets overwhelmed by everything being awful at all times for the past half a year+

She does seem a ittle not happy, indeed

I've told you what I believe is the reason she considers Alibaba her savior, more than Aladdin or even Goltas. Which also turned out to be the case, given that one night flight extra. It's not about one grand gesture. It's all the little things he'd done combined - that one month or so in Qishan that he spent making sure all of Jamil's slaves were alright and had the means of living a free life.

You go, girl.

Oh, he's going to ruin your plans so hard

[lovelyelbowleech]

the sheer amount of times🙈 i have reread war crimes/games🙈 esp since the reunion🙈 and that’s not even counting the amount of times i’ve reread just the chapters since the reunion🙈🙈🙈🙈 jeeeeeez i love this fic so much lol i’m currently back in like chapter six of war crimes and screaming/crying

Aww I am glad you enjoyed enough for a reread! (or two) I hope you continue to enjoy! ❤️

Thank you for the ask!

[bonesandthebees]

HELLOOO WAVES WAVESSS I READ CHAPYER 1 OF ROSES LETS GOOO I am also very Eepy bc I just came back from work so I don't have that big of an ask bUTTTT this chapter was great holyshit I'm so excited to read spruce and snowflakes analysises like holyshit there is so much food, all of the little hidden meanings in everyone's words?? Like bro. Bro. I feel like every single word was consciously decided and well thought out. Every little thing is important and that is one of my FAV things in fics. I feel like there's gonna be a lot of foreshadowing in this fic. Also oooh :00 Tommy's playing a bigger part than I was expecting, I am now so?? Curious? Omgggg

God I am eating up these vibes so much Bee I love this so much already actually like this is SO lovely, reminds me a lot of the high fantasy novels I used to read which are my fav vibes ever :)) def like late summer reading eueueu this is gonna be fun to reread I can already tell omgomgomg

Why do I feel like Wilbur being blinded by the sun is going to play a bigger part in the story . You've mentioned it twice now I am Staring

Uhm I'm worried by Wilburs sheer amount of confidence about Niki being chosen. Makes me think maybe, just maybe, he is wrong

oh man I already love tntduo in this I am so excited rahhsss

LETS GOOOO SANDDUO TIME BAKRBAKDBKABDKSBDJBDKDBE

I love Phil

Also . Is Wilbur. Is he saying. Is he saying Phil is THE most powerful man . I am eyeing him. I am eyeing him so hard

"Of course I trust him" what if I cry .

Ranboo once again a spy LMAOFJFKGKGK I feel like everyone's gonna get war flashbacks to stars dhfjfkfk

Ooohhh mannn the tension is already high oohhh mannn I am so scared for this fic /pos

I'm so excited actually like . So excited. I am also incredibly tired so this is shorter than my normal asks FHFJ but just know that I am actually. Like. Holy shit I love this so much already Bee idk how to express this I'm so excited omhogmgogmg

This fic is already so cool. Like. Aaaaaaaaaaa

Okay I'll end this before I repeat myself for the thousandth time BUT JUST KNOW I HAVE A LOT OF THOUGHTS. A LOT OF FEARS

Also I'm not going to be surprised if this ends up being my fav long fic from you. Like I am so biased towards medieval vibes but I also just?? Idk I'm really enjoying this first chapter and all of the levels of complexity that's involved. I just think this fic is going to be very, very fun :))

now that i've finished rose ch 2 i'm scrolling way back in my asks to answer some rose asks so hi icy :)

oh yeah writing rose so far is very much like writing stars in the sense that i have to be so careful about every word i use. I think things over so much and the dialogue especially has to be so carefully balanced. tbh it kind of makes it maddening to write but it's worth it it's worth it

I tried to keep tommy's level involvement a bit of a secret until I posted the first chapter, but yeah, he's actually a major player in this. I can't wait for you guys to meet him next chapter rose!tommy is going Through It

soooo glad you like the vibes I'm having so much fun with it so far. I can't wait to get more immersed in the atmosphere of everything

the sun can blind you when you look at it from a certain angle idk maybe I just thought it was a fun description and there's nothing else there :)))

rose!tntduo are SO fun you guys don't even know

if two people have a gun, who is the most powerful person? the one who pulls the trigger or the one who tells them where to point and when to shoot?

rose!sandduo makes me eat the walls phil trusts his son and loves him so much but also ohhhh their dynamic is so complicated

LMAO LOOK i didn't make ranboo a spy on purpose to reference stars it just sorta worked out that way c!ranboo is just a little hypocrite like that

i'm so glad you're enjoying it so far!! it's definitely going to be a brain shift going from glass to this and I'm already feeling the struggle but once I switch over I know I'm gonna get so into it I'm so excited to dive into this world and to hear everyones thoughts

[transhawks]

Have you read "Once more with clarity" by TheEclecticEccentric on AO3? I think it's my favorite dabihawks fic currently (maybe even fav mha fic)

it's about Endeavor going back in time (to the day Touya burned on the mountain) after the last war to fix his mistakes but because he is Endeavor he still messes up trying to all of sudden be a good parent (and husband)

the complexity of Touya's (and the Todoroki family's) relationship with him gets addressed very well and many characters get the spotlight, including Hawks who is not the joyful chill self we often see in fanon but a rather complex character like in the main series

I have read it though I'm a little behind since I decided to wait till it's done to catch up. Like five chapters behind, I think.

It does make the "childhood" friends trope between them somewhat believable, and it's complicated as all hell. The author write well. And I do like that Enji immediately fucks up, too used to yelling and physically getting his way that it takes over his initial fear. I need to reread but I think some of the earlier characterization is now a little uncanon when it comes to Dabi, but it was published before the Shouto/Dabi fight. But it's still very readable. I actually really like the relationship with Dabi and Shouto here and the emphasis on both of them understanding each other from their neurodivergency.

Also I need to shoutout the author for just the immense amount of words they write. I'm like floored ALL the time when I read their fics because of the sheer volume.

I think if you're a person who likes back-in-time Fix It fics, actually want to read Endeavor trying to do better (and still sucking lmao), and dabihawks friends as kids and HPSC-awful training tropes in your fics, it's something you'd like.