#this is great i just keep thinking about things in different fonts always

[ghost--bot]

tumblr april fools 2024

[aryxchse]

who did this to you? | percy jackson x daughter of hera! reader.

a / n : didn't wrote about my husband in a long time now

warnings : blood mentioning, passing out, dark-ish percy, cursing, enemies to lovers, book percy is my babe fr

percy was never the guy who judged the book by it's cover.

he had every type of friends. clarisse, who was the daughter of ares, the second god he despised the most. annabeth, which was his father's arch nemesis athena's daughter. thalia, the girl he couldn't get along at the first but realised they were same in different fonts, which was the daughter of zeus. also the arch nemesis of his father.

he loved his friends deeply. he was loyal to them to death and he always believed that they weren't their parents. until he met you.

you were the daughter of.. well.. hera. ranking the first in his 'i-would've-killed-if-i-had-the-power.' list. and ares with a red marker under her.

the moment you felt his judgy and awkward aura around you, you decided that you should hate him. you tried to love him, which was easy, believe me. but you always thought he hated you too, so you get along with it.

percy jackson never hated you. he was just scared from you. scared from the way you sometimes did acted like your mother. and if you would've turned out like her some day.

but you never did. you were always the same gentle, sweet, caring and motherly girl. at least to others. percy jackson was just keeping up with your attitude, the attitude he created unknowingly.

until one day, you came back to argo ii from your quest with jason and annabeth, all bruised up. jason was carrying you on his back while annabeth held your hand tightly, tears perking in her eyes.

"percy, hazel, everyone! come here please!" annabeth shouted as jason put you down gently. you rested your back to some wood wall that you didn't recognised at the moment. annabeth still held your hand, and you smiled. blood running down from your lip. "annie, m' okay." you mumbled, squezzing the girls hand.

"don't talk love," annabeth caressed your hair as the others rushed up to the main deck. hazel rushed to your side, giving you some ambrosia.

"what happened?" you heard percy ask, voice weirdly shaking. you closed your eyes and the sun suddenly was gone with someone's shadow. "hey, y/n, look at me," someone cupped your face. you slowly opened your eyes and saw percy staring at you. he had that worried face you loved so much, but never saw directed to you until now.

"who did this to you?" he asked, also looking at annabeth and jason. "who did this to her, jason? annabeth?" he asked them. you heard jason sigh.

you heard some mumbles coming from jason before you fell asleep, too tired to keep staying up.

when you woke up, someone was holding your hand. it was annabeth, who smiled the moment she saw you woken up. you smiled back, warming up with her caring behavior. "hey annie."

"hey sweetie," she said, getting up from the chair and sitting next to you on the bed. "how are you feeling?"

"great," you answered. and you did feel great. you were all bandaged and the ambrosia you ate earlier gave you energy. "what happened after i passed out? what happened to the monster?"

annabeth had a grin on her face that you saw only in special occasions. shipping kinda occasions. "well, after jason told everything that happened to percy- you remember he's asking you who did it right?" she asked.

"yeah, yeah i do. the last thing i heard was jason mumbling," you explained and she nodded. "after percy finding out who did it, and you passing out at the moment, he uh.. destroyed the monster. yeah, i think that's the perfect word for it."

she giggle at the shocked expression on your face. "i don't think the monster will reborn even, that's how crazy he went."

annabeth caressed your hair, the gentle expression she usually had coming back. "aside from the jokes, he's really worried about you. you passing out did not helped him. i could send him here, if you want."

"that would be wonderful annie," you finally managed to whisper, smiling at the girl. she returned the smile and gave your hand one last squeeze before getting out from your quarter.

not so after, percy ran into your room and closed the door behind him. "thank gods," he whispered, rushing to you. he embaced you in a hug that could easly broke someone's ribs. but you only chuckled, hugging his neck. "hello shark boy, missed me?"

you meant this question to be a joke to wipe away the awkward sitiuation between you two, but he seemed to get this seriously. "so much." he whispered into your neck, caressing your hair gently. "thought i lost you for a sec, pretty."

the pretty was new. he called you many things, not mean ones of course, but many things. the pretty was new, and it wasn't meant to annoy you. this was new too.

"nah, you're not getting away from me that easy jackson." you chuckled, inhaling his scent. the first time you actually hugged him, and finally find out what was the fuss about his hugs. they were the best. the ones that made you feel safe from everything, even from your thoughts.

"i know, it was stupid of me. i should've guessed the y/n i know wouldn't leave that easly." he finally pulled away, quickly wiping his face with the back of his hand. was he crying?

"hey perce," you finally looked at his eyes. he never saw this soft expression on you, at least not looking at his way. at that moment, he was scared of what he could do to see you looking at him like that all the time.

"yeah?" he asked gently, holding your hands in his. you thought you should return the care, so you caressed his hands with your thumbs.

"thank you." you said. "for, in annabeth's words, destroying that monster. and for getting worried about me."

he smiled. a geniune smile you only saw giving to his friends. "anytime angel, would fight the gods for you." he said, looking at you with puppy eyes.

"i'm sorry for acting like the way i did," you said, ignoring the butterlies dancing in your stomach. "thought you hated me."

"hate you?" he shouted a bit, squeezing your hands. "i never hated you. i thought you hated me."

"i did!" you bluntly said, and that earned a chuckle from him. "because you judged me because of my mother!"

"no! i swear i didn't mean that to happen," he said quickly, sitting close to you. "i was just scared you'd be all.. mean like your mother. but i realised you weren't and i was so late to fix everything. you were already hating me."

you only sighed, and looked at your intertwined hands. it made you touch your foreheads, and he leaned to you gladly. "i was so scared i lost you before i even made it up." he whispered.

"don't worry, i'd haunt you." you laughed, and he laughed along with you.

you pulled away your one hand to caress his cheek, which he accepted the touch happily. his gaze suddenly flickered to your lips, and the next second he was leaning in.

"would you like to know another fact?" he said, grinning like a devil. you nervously smiled, thumb caressing his jawline. "what?"

"i wanted to kiss you for a sickingly long time now," he said quietly, leaning in until your nose touched. you prayed to every olympian that he wouldnt hear your heartbeat, beating crazy inside your ribs.

"yeah? i knew you had a thing for me," you teased, holding his chin in your fingers. he only continued grinning, his breath hitting your lips. "you were stupidly obvious about it."

"i don't give a single fuck," he breathed out before smashing his lips onto yours, eagerly kissing you. his hands cupped your face and you gripped his shirt.

the kiss felt like it was bound to happen. like it was a prophecy becoming true. you secretly knew this would happen eventually, because he indeed was stupidly obvious about his feelings. you always thought percy jackson hated you, but everytime you turned your head, he would be there. standing by your side.

you pulled away only to breath, lips still few inches away. "i had a thing for you too, if you couldn't tell." you chuckled. he let out a breathless laugh, annoyingly hot.

"yeah i figured it out," he said. then he finally looked away from your lips to stare deep in your eyes, grinning. "you're stuck with me now angel. prepare yourself to see me everytime, attached to you by the hip."

"when did i never?"

[knightotoc]

I always liked the riddle scene in the Hobbit, but I never knew what it really meant until I read the original just now. The main idea is lost in adaptations because you need to get into their heads. I knew it was a high-stakes version of a kids' game and a mythology/fairytale reference, but it still seemed pretty random and hard to believe, since these two are the last characters you'd put in a battle of wits.

But the scene is actually about how people's environments shape the way they think. Bilbo and Gollum are both so flustered that they can only think of what are, to them, very easy riddles. They keep feeling ashamed that they can't think of something harder, and confident that the other guy will get this immediately. But the other guy is stumped, because his mind works differently, because he lives in the opposite environment.

Solving the riddles isn't actually about being smart, but being empathetic in Bilbo's case and nostalgic in Gollum's. Bilbo is only able to comprehend Gollum's nasty way of thinking because they are in his lair, amongst the dark and fish. Bilbo is repulsed and even unable to guess Gollum's final riddle, only winning by luck (he stutters "I need more time" so badly it sounds like the correct answer, "time").

Gollum is only able to imagine Bilbo's pleasant answers by thinking back to his past, when he was a normal guy who lived with his grandmother near flowers, eggs, and cats. In this book, he isn't confirmed to be a former hobbit, but the parallel becomes more tragic with this retroactive backstory. Gollum indirectly tells Bilbo that time is the only thing that separates them, and Bilbo does not understand this. If Bilbo had the "more time" he requests, hundreds of years here in the dark, he would become like Gollum, wisdom at a terrible price.

The main theme of The Silmarillion is how immortality affects people. Elves are fated to live forever in the undying lands of Valinor. Humans instead have the "Gift of Ilúvatar," the great mystery of an unknown afterlife. Elves are counterintuitively jealous of this gift, since death allows humans to escape the music of Arda, the fate which defines all creation.

Bilbo and Gollum, who were so different in life that they could barely follow each other's thoughts, also end up with the opposite deaths. The elves take Bilbo to Valinor, while Gollum goes to the mysterious afterlife of the other unchosen mortals. (At least two elves, Lúthien and Arwen, chose this fate for themselves out of love for a guy. But generally this is the unchosen/fate defying route for souls to go.)

So during their first meeting, Gollum is the one who understands the destructive power of time. But in the long term, Bilbo will come to understand time as an endless font of wisdom and peace, since nothing can be destroyed in Valinor. We don't know how or even if the mortal afterlife experiences time; if Gollum's pessimistic definition would hold true, or if that, too, would eventually change.

[writingwithfolklore]

5 Things about working in a (small) publishing house that surprised me

My experiences definitely aren’t true of the entire industry. I work in a very small, very local publishing house as a marketing assistant, and I’m certain that you’d have a much different experience at Penguin Random House, or even another small house on the other side of the country. That being said, here’s five things that really surprised me about what I’ve seen from the industry so far…

1. Very few of the people who work in publishing are writers

Okay this was one of the biggest surprises but also kind of makes sense? Publishing is a lot about the business side of things—numbers and marketing strategies and event planning, etc. People who are talented in design and accounting and other essential pieces to book publishing aren’t necessarily good at or practiced writers, and not all people who love reading also love writing!

I guess this surprised me so much because I’ve never been a reader without being a writer, but we often actually rely on the author’s writing on their own works (summaries, bios, etc.) to populate the backs of books and other marketing. Including me, there are three writers in my entire office.

2. Big booksellers (think Indigo) release yearly cover palettes for book covers

When we’re deciding the colours for a book cover, one thing that goes into that consideration is actually the different palettes Indigo releases! They have different palettes for different sections they update every year. I imagine it’s to fit a certain look for their shelves for new releases, but it’s not something I had ever really thought about, or thought that they would care about!

3. On that topic—publishing houses don’t sell to readers

My first day in marketing, my manager told me, “you’d think we’re selling to readers” I did think that. She said, “we’re actually selling to bookstores and libraries, they sell to readers.” How the money works is booksellers buy our books to put on their shelf. Everything they don’t sell, they’re allowed to trade back for credit, so we want them to buy big upfront, and then sell big to readers. Every book they send back is inventory we can’t get rid of and a “free” book for them down the line, so we don’t want books to come back!

If you want to support authors and your favourite publishing houses, buy from local bookstores who can’t afford to keep underselling books on their shelves for as long as say Indigo. If you really want to support authors, check out their books from libraries (yes really). Libraries are great because they buy books from publishing houses and can use the same one book to get into the hands of several readers, (in Canada) authors get a small amount every time a book is checked out (up to a certain amount so that the library’s entire budget doesn’t go to one book/author). Often, an author’s largest cheque is from libraries.

Unfortunately in the States authors don’t get the same boon, but still supporting your local libraries is just as good as supporting your local indie bookstores!

4. Soo many people look at covers, and soo much goes into creating them

I’m not really a designer, so I’m certain this wouldn’t surprise those of you who actually do graphic design, but they seriously look at every single detail and how it will benefit or hurt the sales. The placement of blurbs, choice of fonts, colours, subtitles, even the placement of raindrops for a rainy background, everything is discussed and tested and tried several different ways. So yes, DO judge a book by its cover, we work so hard on making covers perfect for the audience we’re trying to reach.

5. Publishing houses don’t necessarily have in-house editors, publicity, or other roles

I had always assumed that every publishing house had its own editors and publicists and what not. That’s probably true for the bigger ones, but if you’re being published by a smaller one (which you may be for your debut) you may be working with freelance editors and publicists who work somewhat with your publishing house and also with others as well. We have one in-house publicist, and no editors!

I wouldn’t turn down a publishing house just because they use freelancers (our freelancers are amazing!) but it’s important that they’re upfront about it. Huge red flag if they say they have in-house editors and they don’t actually—I would pass on a publishing house that lies to you.

Any other questions you have about the industry I’ll try to answer!

[halfagod]

i'm full of jb inspo today for some reason so here's a lil post-long night snippet i just wrote (it's basically just love drunk in a different font but i like writing drunk brienne ok)

Winterfell’s Great Hall is warm and bright, full of music and laughter and celebration. On the morrow, Jaime knows, he will have to reckon with the Starks and the dragon queen, and decide what in the seven hells he’s doing next; but tonight, he has a brief moment of respite, and all he cares about is eating and drinking and Brienne, getting quietly tipsy beside him.

He has never seen her drunk before, and suspects it’s her first time. He keeps an eye on her to make sure she doesn’t go too far, but there was ever a night for getting drunk, it’s this one. Like him, like everyone, she is just happily surprised to find herself still alive.

She is quiet, as always, but her cheeks are pink and she is freer than usual with her smiles. He receives them all greedily, committing each one to memory; she does not smile enough, especially not in this sweet, unguarded way. She is freer with her touches, too—leaning into him to hear him better, absently touching his arm or his shoulder while she speaks, knocking her knee against his under the table—but he tries not to make too much of that. It’s just the wine.

He doesn’t realise quite how drunk she is, though, until she excuses herself and attempts to stand, wobbling so alarmingly on her feet that he jumps up to hold her steady. She gives him another smile then, such a dazzling one that his heart jolts.

“Come, my lady,” he says, as smoothly as he can manage. “Let me escort you to your chambers.” He holds out his arm, and she takes it, blushing. If anyone, Targaryen or Stark, makes note of them leaving arm-in-arm, he doesn’t notice or care.

“I’m not drunk, Jaime,” Brienne informs him as they make their way towards her chambers in the east wing. She pronounces each word very carefully, but he is not convinced.

“I think you might be a little drunk, my lady,” he says, smiling.

She scrunches her nose. “I think you might be a little drunk.”

He’s had a few cups of wine himself, but he’s certainly far more sober than she is. He grins, falling into their usual back-and-forth. If there’s one thing he knows how to do with Brienne, it’s argue. “No, you are.”

“No, you are.”

“No, you.”

“No, you,” Brienne says firmly, then loses her balance and stumbles sideways, almost knocking him over. “Oh—forgive me—”

He laughs as he helps her right herself, and she laughs too, cheeks pink. “I think I win this one, wench,” he says.

She laughs again, a high, clear, girlish sound. He has never heard her laugh like that before, and it makes his chest ache to realise that Brienne has been always been capable of this sound and he is only now hearing it.

After strolling a little longer in companionable silence, they reach her chambers, and he opens the door for her. She smiles at him again before she enters – he is being spoiled with her smiles tonight, he doesn’t know what to do with them all – and he is struck, as he often is, by the beauty of her eyes. Perhaps it’s the softness in them just now, or the way they’re shining as she looks at him, but he feels moved to finally tell her: “You have very pretty eyes, Brienne.”

Her face slackens with surprise, and then, to his shock, those pretty eyes fill with sudden tears.

“What’s the matter?” he asks. Without thinking, he moves into the room, closing the door behind them. “Have I upset you?”

“It’s not your fault,” Brienne says quietly, sitting down on the bed. Tears are still streaming down her cheeks. Mystified, he sits down beside her.

“What is it? You shouldn’t cry, not tonight.” Not ever. “Tell me.”

She shakes her head, pain written all over her face. “I can’t.”

“Is it the battle? I know it was your first, and it was a terrible one. We can talk about it, if you wish. It might help.”

“It’s not that. But thank you.”

“Are you worried about your father?”

She shakes her head again, clumsily wiping her tears with the back of his hand. “He is well. I had a letter from him today.”

“Is it a man, then?” For some reason, that possibility makes him feel cold.

Brienne does not respond to that, and his heart sinks.

“Ah. So you’re in love,” he says, forcing lightness into his tone. “Well, they say love is pain. I can certainly attest to that. Who’s the man?”

“I can’t tell you.” Her voice cracks.

“Of course you can," he says gently. "I won’t tell anyone.”

She shakes her head, eyes on the floor. “It doesn’t matter. He’ll never love me back.”

“Then he’s a fool. It’s not that idiot Hyle Hunt, is it?”

Another head shake.

“Good.” Jaime casts around for other names to guess. “Is it that bastard of Robert’s? The blacksmith? He looks very like Renly.”

“Gendry? No.”

He finds himself at a loss. “Give me a clue, then.”

For a long time Brienne is silent, gazing across the room at the empty hearth. “He’s very beautiful,” she says at last. “And very brave. He is a man of honour.”

Jaime forces a smile. “Is that so? Is he a knight?”

“Yes. A great one.” Brienne looks at him then, her gaze direct despite the tears swimming in her eyes. “People say he’s not. They say that he’s a bad man. But I know better. He’s been very good to me.”

Suddenly the breath vanishes from his lungs. “Brienne...”

“He has protected my life and my honour. I would fight beside him in any battle. I would give my life for him.” She gives him a tiny smile. “But he loves someone else. I understand.”

Jaime fights to keep his voice level. “I think I know the man you speak of,” he says quietly. “And you’re wrong.”

“Wrong?”

“He doesn’t love someone else. He loves you.”

Brienne frowns. He can see her trying to parse this through the wine-fog in her mind. “No, Jaime,” she says, clearly thinking he has misunderstood her. “I don’t think you’re thinking of the right person.”

“Am I not?” he says, and kisses her.

He keeps it chaste, a soft press of his lips to hers. Her lips are soft and warm and taste of wine. It takes all of his willpower to pull away.

She is frozen, statue-still, and as he draws back to look at her he briefly fears that he has gotten it all wrong, that she hadn’t been speaking of him at all. Then a slow smile dawns on her face and she looks at him with wonder in her eyes, and he is relieved.

“Jaime,” she whispers. “How did you know?”

He laughs then, a ragged exhale, and kisses her forehead and her cheeks and her nose and her eyes.

“We should talk about this on the morrow,” he says. “When you’re sober.”

She scrunches her nose again, and he commits that look to memory along with all of her smiles. “I’m not drunk,” she protests.

“Oh?” he teases her. “Do you swear it on Oathkeeper?”

Her face falls, and he laughs. “Go to bed, sweetling. On the morrow, we’ll talk properly, and I’ll tell you all of the things I should have told you long ago.”

Her face softens. “As you say,” she says reluctantly. “Goodnight, Jaime.”

He can’t resist giving her one more kiss; a chaste one, on the temple. He feels buoyant, invincible, and suddenly the morrow is a far less daunting prospect than it had been a few hours ago.

“Goodnight, Brienne,” he says. “I love you.”

[sillysybilsden]

What are some good resources on Roman polytheism? Books, YouTube Channels, websites, etc. I’ve been feeling drawn to Roman polytheism specifically.

hey there! thank you for asking this question — I'm always happy to share resources on Roman polytheism.

first things first, I will go ahead and link my personal list of resources. there, you will find all of the books, papers and websites I've gone through and have found particularly useful when it comes to learning about Roman culture/polytheism.

I will nonetheless give you some recommendations on resources I would look into if I were to start my path over again!

DISCLAIMER: I am a revivalist. because of this, I will be recommending historical/academical resources. keep in mind that this is just the way I do things, though: every path is valid and you are more than welcome to follow another — no matter whether reconstructionist or modern.

1. "Roman Religion" by Valerie Warrior

this is a great book for those who are starting to approach cultus deorum. it gives you a wonderful introduction, after which you can focus on the aspects of Roman polytheism that intrigue you/draw your attention the most.

2. Nova Roma (Roman Religion section)

now, this website is the second resource I recommend to you. here, you will find plenty of informative articles on Roman polytheism — both the private and the public cults. even though many don't endorse this organisation because of some past allegations, its members are very knowledgeable. keep in mind that they have a reconstructionist approach!

3. "The Dancing Lares and the Serpent in the Garden" by Harriet I. Flower

now, this book is exceptional especially if you're looking forward to delving into the private cult — which, in reconstructionist/revivalist approaches, mainly focuses on the domestic deities. you will find a lot of info on Penates, Lares and the like. my very humble and very personal advice is that of starting with this kind of worship, for one very simple reason: since domestic deities are within reach, many Roman polytheists agree on the fact that you do not need to perform a ritus Romanus — Roman ritual — in order to leave an offering/interact with them.

this book can be very dense — both because it is academical and because the font is very small. I personally recommend taking your time going through it. if you need to stop, do so.

4. "Ritus romanus: make an offering to your gods"

this pdf will be ever-so precious whenever/if you will feel ready to include ritus Romanus in your practice. also, it also gives you an introduction on domestic Roman practices — how to set up a shrine, which deities to worship, etc.

BONUS: "Archaic Roman Religion" by George Dumézil and TIMOTHEVS

"Archaic Roman Religion" is a wonderful book when it comes to the history of Roman polytheism. even though many of Dumézil's theories are outdated, it is still very useful when wanting to learn about the differences between Archaic Roman religion, Republican Roman religion and Imperial Roman religion.

TIMOTHEVS, on the other hand, is a YouTube channel that shows you the way the theory of other resources may work in someone's practice. if I'm not wrong, there should be a couple of videos of them leaving an offering to Lares. to those who find it useful to have a visual reference, like myself, such videos are sooooo precious.

and I think this is it! I hope that this recommendations are going to be useful to you! feel free to ask more questions if anything's unclear and I'll be happy to help 🙌🏻💗

[liannelara-dracula]

Hi, can we have the diaboy's handwriting?

Hi Love,

Totally, this sounds so cool. For more explanation of if cursive is old or not you can refer to the comments.☺️😊

-Liannelara

P.S. For fun here is admins hand writing

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

Prompt

Requests are open

Rules

Warning:

*certain words have been/may be censored for Tumblr guidelines.

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

The Diaboys Handwriting hcs

Sakamaki

Shu

Fancy and kinda dark academia aesthetic but is definitely not readable to most of us.

It's in cursive of course cause he's archaic.

And he's pretty lazy, he like barely holds his pen.

He mostly writes in Latin that way none of his brothers understand but sometimes he writes in his demon language.

Although with all the tech now he literally does the voice audio type or anything he needs to write down.

It's so rare to see this lazy ass with a pencil in his hand lol.

Reiji

Its crazy but in cursive it is beautiful, like great penmanship.

But in print, Reiji shows a completely different side of himself.

He never writes in print because he finds that people may think he's vulnerable.

Reiji only writes his most personal thoughts in print and its because he never shares with anyone and can't be himself except for on paper.

So only sadness and angry are written in print.

It is canon that he once held a diary when he was younger so it wouldn't be surprising if he writes his feelings in print. I mean he's stressed.

If he had a lover he writes in print because he wants her to know this side.

Cursive is what he uses when he's doing chemistry or a grocery list.

Laito

The left is how he writes in his demon language its more secretive and mysterious. He hardly uses it tbh.

The writing on the right is usual, normal print/cursive writing.

It's not super fancy or plain.

It is plain but with a little flare.

His writing is pretty neat and clean.

Although he doesn't write a lot he does like to write about his sexual escapades.

Kanato

He alternates between the two.

The left is when he is more focused and maybe upset. But not mad.

If he was mad, he'd write everything in caps.

Although the right is when he is calm since it's cursive.

He uses both interchangeably tho.

What's actually nice about his handwriting is not that it's simple or because it's bold or small. It's what Kanato writes.

I seriously think he writes poems and he is really good at it.

I mean any girl could fall in love with how this man writes, especially if he writes about you.

And he has such a nice voice when he talks about his lover/love interest.

Ayato

It's a mess, he prefers to type.

He makes spelling and grammar mistakes all the time but he uses a pen.

He literally cannot read his writing sometimes and asks Reiji if he knows and his brother just gets really mad at him.

He crosses out so much stuff.

And he writes in any spot.

He doesn't stay on the line, the letters are everywhere.

It's super plain and he never writes in cursive because he literally does know what is the top or bottom of the paper after writing it.

Subaru

Very messy and always in ink.

There are so many scribbles and ink smudges.

He always writes in print because his cursive is unreadable.

He doesn't stay on the lines, his writing moves up and down.

It's very careless and free.

He writes very big.

And has a hard time reading his handwriting sometimes.

Kino

Different and kinda neat but has a lot of crossed-out parts.

Sometimes capitalizes things for no reason.

He can write in cursive but wouldn't choose to.

Although his writing style is unique considering the font.

He is also part of the ink-only squad.

He also likes to abbreviate a lot of stuff.

Is able to keep his writing in a steady line for the most part.

Mukami

Ruki

If he's presenting it's neat, if its for his own things its sloppier.

But still, no soul has ever been able to read it.

He does it on purpose.

Kou has always wondered what it says but he's never been able to tell if it's even in English or in the demon language. Like he has no clue.

Ruki does this in case something thinks about snooping.

He probably does write in his free time, and honestly, he writes a lot. I bet he has so many journals that are filled over the years about his life as a vampire.

So it's hundreds of years of the world all in these books of his.

It's honestly fascinating but no one can read them.

Though if he had a lover he may open up to them about it and share what is in there.

But he might be a tease and lie about what's in there to get her to laugh and throw a pillow at her.

Kou

Okay now although the content at the end of this letter (left) is yandere that's not the point.

I seriously feel he writes in a bunch of fonts and caps/lowercase just cause he's everywhere.

And this is usually how he writes to his fans because they think it "cute"

The right shows his usual handwriting tbh.

It takes a second or two to understand.

But it's not too bad.

He hardly uses his handwriting for anything tho.

Puts hearts on "I"s

Yuma

Messy, always messy.

He is just so sloppy.

You'd think that because he has good hands in a garden he'd have nice handwriting, but you're wrong.

He connects letters with each other, and he has spaces, eraser smudges, and even crossed-out words.

Although his paper is not clean and you can read the writing, well for the most part.

He does have a nice signature though.

Azusa

He has really neat handwriting.

Like it's easy to read, it's neat, and it's not super big.

But there's only one problem.

His papers are always ripped or crumbled, torn, worn out, or have watermarks.

Like there isn't one time where the paper is nice.

He seems like he doesn't know how to do cursive or rather he forgets.

He probably writes relatively small.

Tsukinami

Carla

Fancy cursive and then regular cursive.

He's never used print in his entire 3,000+ years lol.

If he is writing a very formal letter to someone important he uses the writing on the left.

If he is writing for himself or to his brother he uses the writing on the right.

Either way, no one can deny that he has good penmanship.

His signature is also really elegant.

He has his own signature style in cursive.

Something most cannot do.

Shin

Like his brother it is in cursive and very fancy.

The left is how he writes in a more formal setting because it is easier to read.

He always writes really neatly surprisingly, it's the founder prince in him.

It's always in a steady line too, you'd think he'd measure where he wanted to put the handwriting.

The right is his more loose and less legible writing. He uses this if his letter is informal and it is to someone he is comfortable with or has known for a while.

He doesn't really write in print unless its for school and he wants to blend in.

Because he's supposed to be a British exchange student it doesn't surprise me if most of his notes are in shorthand.

I think once he learned that no one uses cursive he decided to not use it that much and stuck to print.

Which probably looks something like this.

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˗ˏˋ 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑚𝑦 𝑤𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝐼 𝑑𝑜 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠 ˎˊ˗ ©𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟔~Present

[newtthetranswriter]

A Trans Soulmate Au

Word count: 2070

Summary: being trans and not understanding it can make having a soulmate very difficult.

Paring: Takashi Mitsuya X Trans!Reader

Warnings: talk of Dysphoria, internalized transphobia, talk of transition, if i missed any please let me know.

A/n: Welcome this one has a bit of angst but it ends happily I promise. I just thought it would be cute if in a soulmate au where your soulmate's name was on your wrist what would happen if you were trans but your soulmate had your birth name on their wrist. So this came to be. This takes place when Mitsuya is twenty so that's the reader's age as well. I tried to write it so anyone can read it whether you’re ftm, mtf or nonbinary, or if you just want to see the inner workings of this trans person's brain. I also want to state this is a rough written interpretation of some of the things I felt before I knew what being Transgender was, it will not cover what everyone feels or what they would feel in this situation. I hope you enjoy it and let me know what you think. Anyway requests are open, and remember to Hydrate or Diedrate. MINORS AND AGELESS BLOGS DO NOT INTERACT

Key: D/n means different/dead name, it can be anything but what you like being called I guess.

    I’ve known who my soulmate is for the past three months but haven’t told him yet. You may be thinking, why wouldn’t you tell him if you know he’s your soulmate, is he not a great guy or something? But that couldn’t be farther from the truth, my soulmate is Takashi Mitsuya and he is the sweetest guy to ever live. The problem is me. I don’t feel comfortable with who I am and who people want me to be. I’ve always felt like I’ve been living a lie, masquerading as someone I'm not, and honestly I’m scared to tell people the truth. What’s the problem with admitting your soulmates then, is probably your next question. Well I don't want to see the constant reminder of someone that’s not me on my soulmate's wrist.

    In our lovely world we live in your soulmates first name is written on your wrist from the time you are born. On my wrist in clean lettering is Takashi and I cherish it, but ever since I started noticing my feelings about myself I’ve kept it hidden so my soulmate can’t figure it out, because they shouldn’t be burdened with someone who is broken like me. When I met Mitsuya I was conflicted at first. I knew he was my soulmate because I saw D/n written on his wrist in the same font as mine, and obviously his name matched my wrist. He was so kind that I considered just telling him we are soulmates and dealing with the discomfort of seeing my given name everyday for the rest of my life, but my disdain for who people told me to be won, and I’ve kept it secret since. Or so I thought.

    It was the weekend and there was nothing happening with Toman at the moment so I was hanging out with Mitsuya and Hakkai. We were just chatting, covering topics like what we want to do in the future and how no matter what Hakkai and I will be Mitsuya’s number one supporters when he starts his fashion line. It was just a chill hang out among friends.

    “Seriously Mitsuya, if you need a model for a photoshoot or runway I got your back promise. I mean what are friends for?” I said brushing a strand of hair out of my face, not realizing my bracelets had slid up my arm.

     “D/n’s right, we’ll help in whatever way you need us to Taka.” Hakkai chimed in. “Anyway, other than being a fashion designer, have you thought about looking for your soulmate yet?” He asked Mitsuya to keep attention on him. 

     When the topic of soulmates was brought up I subconsciously rested my hand on my wrist. Feeling my bracelets out of place I quickly shifted them back into position. Hoping that the one person didn’t see the mark and figure everything out. I quickly looked over to Mitsuya and from what I could tell he was still absorbed in his conversation with Hakkai. I sighed in relief before deciding it was probably time for me to go home.

     Standing up, I addressed my two friends. “Well it was nice talking with you guys but I should get going, I have some homework I still need to finish.” I quickly turned not catching the slight frown on Mitsuya’s face. Waving one final goodbye, I left Hakkai’s house and headed on my way.

     I had reached a park a few blocks between my house and the Shiba residence and decided to sit and clear my head. “That was way too close.” I said to myself as I sat on the swings.

     “What was ‘too close’ me almost finding out that you are my soulmate and having been hiding it for who knows how long?” Said the voice of the one person I didn’t want to face right now. “Come on D/n, when were you gonna tell me? Did you just not like that the universe chose me for you to be stuck with for the rest of your life? If that was the case why did you hang around me so much?” He started asking questions.

    Fighting back tears cause I knew where this conversation would go, I tried to argue. “You know that’s not true Takashi. Why would I hide it? I didn’t know, I didn’t want to assume anything.” I lied, trying to play it off as me not knowing for sure.

    He rolled his eyes at that. “Don’t lie about it. You constantly wear bracelets to cover it up, obviously you’re embraced to have my name on your skin. And don’t Takashi me, if you can’t admit we’re soulmates don’t call me that.” He said with a harsh tone he normally saves for assholes he has to beat up.

    “I swear I’m not embraced, it's just easier if you don’t have to deal with me as your soulmate.” I said finally taking the blame even if I knew he wouldn’t believe me.

    “Are you sure? Cause it seems like you’re just making excuses. What did I ever do to make you want to hide that we’re supposed to end up together? If it’s the fact I’m in toman then i’ll leave it, pass on the title of captain of the second division to Hakkai and retire.” He started to sound almost desperate. Like the fact I hid this was hurting him. “Just tell me what I need to do, for you to accept me.” At this point there were faint tears streaming down his face. 

    I froze, Mitsuya never cries, he didn’t even cry when Mana started school. It hurt to see him stand here and offer to leave his friends for me. He loved toman, maybe even more than he loved fashion design and sewing. I couldn’t just sit here and watch him beat himself up over something that was really all my fault, so I broke down completely. 

    “It’s not you Takashi. I love everything about you and I would never ask you to quit Toman, that’s like asking Takemichi to stop crying or asking Mikey to stop riding his bike. The problem was never with you, I hid the fact we are soulmates because I’m broken. I’ve always been broken. I don’t know how to explain it but I just feel like my body is wrong. Like I was born in the wrong one, like a mistake was made. Everytime I look in the mirror I hate what I see. I've tried everything from affirmations, to body positivity exercises but it’s all wrong. I hid the fact we are soulmates because I hate my name. It doesn’t fit, it’s wrong, I don’t know what is right but that there on your arm is not me.” I ranted out, expressing my feelings about myself for the first time out loud. “I could bear going through life hating a part of my soulmate that he can’t change, so I hid my mark and hoped that by some miracle you would find someone else that shared this name and had Takashi written across their wrist even though I know it’s impossible. I don’t want you to have to live with someone who hates themself.” Tears were streaming down my face and I didn't notice Mitsuya moving to hug me.

     “We’ll get through this together. I know your feelings are probably hard to understand and are confusing. I’m not going to pretend like I fully understand, but I will help you through it. We can look for a therapist to help you work through it and understand. We can try anything you want to make you feel more comfortable. If you truly hate the name on my wrist I’ll keep it covered so you don’t have to see it, and you can tell me what you want to be called. You get to pick what I call you so I know you’re comfortable with it.” He said resting his head on mine as silently cried into his chest. “And when you’re ready I will help you tell the gang and if anyone dares to make fun of you or disrespects you they’ll have to answer to me. We’re soulmates for a reason, and I’ll stick with you through everything.”

     I couldn’t help but smile as I pulled away from him only enough to look him in the eyes. “Thank you Takashi. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you in the first place.” He just returned my smile, placing a kiss on my forehead. “As for what to call me, I’m not sure yet but I think for now you could just call me soulmate when talking to me. You can call me whatever you want to when talking with others though.” I said, earning a slight chuckle from the lavender haired man holding me.

    “You got it Soulmate, now take off your bracelet and give it to me.” I did as instructed revealing his name written neatly across my wrist. I watched as he smiled at his name before slipping the bracelet on his own wrist covering his own mark. “Now that that’s out of the way, what do you say to going out for some ice cream and maybe a movie?” He asked as he laced his fingers with mine.

    “Sounds fantastic.” I replied excited to start this new journey together.

Timeskip to a few months

     It was a relatively quiet day, I had just spent the morning cleaning up my room and getting ready to go out with Takashi for the day. He was supposed to be here around one and I was so excited to tell him some great news. You see, over the past couple months I found a therapist who helped me figure out that there is a name for my feelings and that’s gender dysphoria, and most people who experience it are Transgender. With the help of my therapist and the support of Takashi, I’ve started my transition. I’ve made some great strides in making peace with my feelings and presenting the way I see myself in my mind. The only thing I had been stuck on was a name. That’s the news I was ready to share with Takashi. I had finally chosen a name.

     Checking the clock, it was about 12 so I decided I should finish getting ready even though there was an hour before Takashi was supposed to get here. As I was picking out my shoes for the day I was interrupted by loud knocking on my front door. Checking the clock again to see it was only 12:15 I was confused, Takashi isn’t supposed to be here for another 45 minutes. Trying to push my concern aside I went to open the door. “Takashi, you're super early.” I said as I swung the door open, being greeted by a very frantic Takashi.

     “Thank god you opened the door, I have to show you something.” Before I could even respond he was pushing into my apartment not even bothering to take off his shoes. “I don’t know how or when this happened but when I was showering I noticed something strange on my wrist and when I looked at it, my mark had changed to this.” He said frantically moving the bracelet that normally covered his soulmark to reveal it had in fact changed.

      I couldn’t help but laugh, my laugh caused a look of shock to cross Takashi’s face. Before he could continue with his mini panic I decided to explain. “It’s ok Takashi. Everything is fine, in fact it’s amazing that your mark changed, it just proves we’re soulmates even more.” He looked confused at my statement. “I finally picked my name, it's Y/n” I said, clarifying what I was getting at.

     The look of confusion melted away into one of the biggest smiles I have ever seen on his face. “Oh my god. That’s fantastic Y/n. We have to celebrate.” He said immediately falling into using my new name. Hearing it come from him made me smile more than I already was.

     Having his support through everything has been a blessing, I’m glad my bracelet accidentally fell that day. If it hadn’t I would still be hating myself everyday, but instead I’m learning to love myself and showing everyone that no matter what society says you have to be you don’t have to listen.

[andreal831]

Can you rank all the fathers of TVDU?

Ranking of TVDU Fathers, Worst to Best:

14. Giuseppe Salvatore

Giuseppe did almost nothing redeemable as a father. He emotional and physically abused his family and then killed them when they tried to help the vampires. At no point did it seem like he loved his children. Maybe when he tried to stop Damon from running out to save Katherine, but even that felt more like a reflex than fatherly affection. There's literally nothing positive I can think to say about him which puts him at the very bottom.

13. Joshua Parker

Similar to Giuseppe, Joshua does very little to show love for any of his kids, let alone Kai. I also always have wondered where the Parker parents were as their children were running for their lives from Kai. Jo was stabbed in the stomach as she attempted to save them, but no parent came to help.

Joshua always put the the coven over his own children. He gets points over Giuseppe because I think he did care about his children, other than Kai, but just cared about the coven more. Still a terrible father who was willing to risk his children for the good of the coven.

12. Mikael

Mikael was awful, but he isn't the worst simply because, at some point, he did care for his children. All of them, including Klaus. He beat and abused them in his own twisted way to make them stronger so he wouldn't lose them like he lost Freya. He went about it in a terrible way, partly we can blame on his own upbringing and the time they lived, but then he spent a thousand years hunting down his children and tormenting them. While his main goal was Klaus, he still was willing to kill the rest of them for standing by Klaus.

None of this justifies his behavior, but he gets points over the other fathers simply for caring to some extent about his children.

11. Richard Lockwood

Yet another toxic masculine father who emotionally and physically abuses his child. Richard is Mikael if he had been born in the 20th Century. Richard is such a great example of an abusive parent because he is closer to what we see in reality. He is a textbook narcissist who could charm the whole town while abusing his son in the shadows. Tyler and Carol were better off after he died.

These bottom four are honestly all interchangeable. They are all the same character, just different fonts.

10. Bill Forbes

Bill not only tortured his daughter but also abandoned her before she became the thing he hated. While Liz initially is scared of Caroline, she comes around and protects her daughter from Bill. While Bill comes around at the very end of his life, he never apologizes for torturing her or trying to kill her. He potentially could have been a better father if he had lived longer, but during his life, he was pretty terrible.

9. John Gilbert

Yes, John sucks. But not because he wanted to keep Elena away from vampires. That actually moves him up the list. He sucks because of his lack of involvement in Elena's life. It's fine that he wasn't ready to have a child when Isobel got pregnant, but the fact that he didn't bother stepping up, even as Uncle John, when Elena and Jeremy lost their parents really shows his character. Then when he did get invovled, all he wanted to do was control her.

He does end up sacrificing his life for Elena, which also earns him so points. For the most part, he was an absentee father, but he showed up at the end when it mattered.

8. Klaus Mikaelson

While Klaus is typically viewed as one of the best parents in TVDU, there is a lot to be desired. Especially when you actually focus on his first child, Marcel. Klaus made the decision to adopt Marcel and then continued to throw it in his face, even getting angry at Marcel for succeeding in his control over New Orleans.

With Hope, we do see him be more loving, but this love tends to come off as controlling and possessive. Klaus is so worried about being a bad father to Hope, clearly showing us he didn't view himself as Marcel's father or his understanding that he was a bad father to Marcel. He then proceeds to put himself over Hope's needs for most of her life. Ending with him, unnecessarily, sacrificing himself when Hope needed him most.

I did have trouble placing him since he does seem to want to do right by Hope, which is more than most of the fathers on this list. So he gets points because he does love his children (bare minimum) and would do a lot for them, but at the end of the day, his narcissism wins out.

I'm including a link to a longer discussion I've had regarding Klaus here.

7. Jackson Kenner

Jackson was a good stepfather to Hope, but he could have been a better father. There were numerous times that he walked out on Hope and Hayley, including one time when he calls Mary in without letting Hayley know he is leaving Hope. Jackson tended to hold the Mikaelsons against Hope. He definitely loved her, but he often viewed his role as her babysitter rather than a father. We never really get a moment between Hope and Jackson where it is clear he views her as anything other than Hayley's daughter.

Jackson and Klaus are fairly tied, but at least Jackson never murdered anyone in front of her or tortured her mother. They both love their children, but hold things over their children that aren't necessarily fair. They also both let their pride get in the way of what is best for the child, creating more instability in the child's life.

I go more into this discussion here.

6. Rudy Hopkins

Rudy essentially abandoned Bonnie after Abby had already abandoned Bonnie, leaving her in the hands of Grams because he didn't like witchcraft. He only comes back when Carol dies and they ask him to be mayor. While he does say he agreed to take the position to be close to Bonnie, it seems odd since he's been missing from her life for years, even after Grams died. But when he comes back, he is probably the most present parent we get outside of Liz.

Rudy tries to protect Bonnie from the supernatural world and even herself, trying to stop her from harming herself to help her friends. He does lose some points for abandoning her and trying to control her, but at the same time she was just a teenager so I get him wanting to protect her from the supernatural. I hated that he never even knew Bonnie was dead since they had been rebuilding their relationship. The scene of him being killed broke my heart for Bonnie.

He is leagues better than most of the fathers on this list simply for loving his daughter and showing her how proud he was of her. I mean, he was one of like two parents at graduation (granted most of them were dead at this point).

5. Alaric Saltzman

This is a hard one, mainly because I've not fully watched Legacies. I did once love Alaric with his relationship with Jeremy and Elena. He stepped up just because of his relationship with Jenna, but it was clear he cared for them outside of that. He stuck around after Jenna was killed and even was still there for them when Jenna needed a break. However, he doesn't seem to carry that same loyalty to his own children.

While I have issues with how he treated Caroline in TVD in the last couple of seasons, it was clear he would do anything for the twins. But then in Legacies, from what I've seen, he seems to prioritize Hope over his children. He runs the school and barely helps his own children feel comfortable, let alone the others kids. My theory was always that it was his way of getting the last win over Klaus. He stepped in and raised her to be his weapon, which he knew Klaus would hate. Even his relationship with Hope seems problematic.

He's fairly high on the list for his behavior in TVD but loses massive points for his behavior in Legacies.

4. Declan

I'll be honest, the timeline with Declan confuses me a lot. It seemed like Hayley and Declan were still in early stages of dating, yet he seemed to have a long relationship with Hope. This could make sense if Hayley and him had started off friends, but Hayley breaking up with him in order to focus on Hope confuses me more. If he was so invovled in Hope's life, this wouldn't be necessary and I would think he would have reacted differently, like trying to get invovled with Hope. But season 5 is terrible writing so moving on.

It does seem that he was an active father figure to Hope. Likely the only one she really remembered. From his conversation with Klaus, it sounds like he's known Hope for a few years at least and was still invovled in her life while she was away at school, even teaching her to drive. Hope also is very protective of Declan, showing how much she cares for him. I wish he would have been more focused on Hope after Hayley died, I get he just lost his girlfriend, but as a father figure, he should have stepped up for her because lord knows no one did.

I honestly ranked him this high more for what the show wanted him to be rather than what they allowed him to be. Season 5 was too short to bring in another father figure for Hope when they could have just used Alaric to make Klaus jealous. But, Declan gets extreme points for being willing to fight Elijah and Klaus to protect Hope.

3. Father Kieran

Kieran may not have been their parent, but it is clear he stepped up and took care of Cami and her twin brother. And then when they lost Sean, he helped Cami through her grief. In his last moments, he spent them trying to protect Cami.

While he valued his role in the city, he valued Cami more. Even threatening the vampires to stay away from her. I only wish he would have told Cami the truth when she confided in him that she was losing her mind.

2. Jonas Martin

The Martin family deserved so much better. Jonas had a moral code, but he had to bend it to "rescue" his daughter. He would do anything for his children and proved it time and time again. Losing Luka broke him and I'm almost thankful that he died before finding out his daughter was willingly working for Klaus. Even in his anger he was still focused on saving his children, restoring Bonnie's powers and telling her how to defeat Klaus.

My only issue is that he seemed to put Luka in jeopardy in order to rescue Greta. But he was desperate to save his child, so I can understand it.

1. Marcel Gerard

I love an accidental father and Marcel is the perfect example. He rescued Davina and took her in, yes partly because he wanted a powerful witch, but he grew to love her and became incredibly protective over her. My only complaint is that he seemed to pull away at times and leave Davina to her own devices when she definitely needed a parental figure or some adult guidance. But I love that he made Vincent step up when he couldn't.

Marcel would do anything for Davina and he proved it. He went up against his own family for her. He protected her from their enemies. He loved her no matter what she did, even when he disagreed with her. They have one of the best bonds in TO. I wish we could have seen more of them in season 5 or in Legacies.

Honorable Mentions

Vincent Griffith - Vincent losing his child is not discussed enough. But even though he couldn't be a father to his own child, he stepped up for Davina. He even was a surrogate for Freya and Keelin (I'll always be confused by that). I just know he is actively invovled in that child's life. Ansel - I didn't put him in the main list because we don't actually see him interact with Klaus much. Yes, we can say he was clearly protective of Klaus when Esther brought him back and theorize how he would have been as a father, but it's just a theory. People like to blame Esther for keeping Klaus from Ansel, but he was right there watching as Mikael raised and abused Klaus. He never once stepped in. Yes, I understand there are reasons and have even defended Esther's decision to keep it all a secret. But we can't blame Esther and not also hold Ansel responsible for Klaus' childhood. Grayson Gilbert - I mentioned Miranda in the other post so I felt I had to bring up Grayson. We, again, don't know much about him. His children clearly loved him, but his torturing supernatural makes me question if he would have reacted the same way Bill had. Katherine's Father - Forcing his daughter to give away her child is awful. Yes, it may be a sign of the times, however, he still sucks. Hayley's Father - We also don't know much about him so I'll just repeat what I said about Hayley's mom. He agreed to his daughter's arranged marriage when she was an infant and that he sacrificed his life to protect Hayley. From what we are told, it seemed like Hayley's parents were on the right side of the war, but it is hard to say. Matt and Vicki's Father - We don't know who their father is, but I don't think it's fair to judge Kelly for being terrible without at least mentioning him. He also sucks. August Sienna - We also don't see August ever interact with his children, but the fact that he is raising them in a cult is a red flag. Elijah Mikaelson - No, Elijah was never a father, but his siblings/parents definitely pushed him into that role early on. Elijah had the potential to be a good father, we see this in the few moments he had early on with Marcel. However, his love for his siblings blinds him and makes him do terrible things while allowing his siblings to do terrible things. Not a great disciplinarian.

[st-asya]

Okay, so my passion is whatever my current hyperfixation is and commenting something everyone has already commented. Here we go.

•••

Pilot

1. Things did not go as planned...

Love the way the colour of the font switches to red instead of staying some basic white as the rest of the text, cause my life always does the same, metaphorically speaking, when shit happens (well if somebody typed everything that happens in my life). It's like honey, red means passion and your passion (one more) is turning every single thing in your life to shit when you wanna change something really bad, so imma change the colour for you not to forget that you're gonna fuck something up. Right off the bat, symbolic. Red is my fav colour btw, wonder why (it's, as fall out boy said, a sign (×5) indeed).

2. Pirate bard (?) sounds pretty nice (and beautiful), I already like Frenchie.

3. The "what we're about do will be perilous" speech.

(Why did I instantly think about Lord Farquaad, what's wrong with me?)

And oh my God, the whole bit where Stede talks to the crew is borderline ptsd-loaded flashback, cause I used to work as a teacher so I had to talk to the kids ofc and say something to a class full of students who looked at me the exact same way.

4. Wee John's raised hand and saying that they gotta talk about whatever they're gonna take part in and Stede's enthusiastic yes, damn that hit too close to home. These kinda students are a blessing, btw

5. "We talk it through as a..." and the reluctant ass "crewwwww", my ptsd horrors persist, but so do I. That's the exact same experience I had at work, there's no difference.

6. "Keep it straight if you can" (they couldn't, in fact, keep it straight). Love the way there's a place for choice, cause it's not an order, it's a pretty mild (gentlemanly, see what I did there, huh?) request. Love the way it's not strictly needed (and completely forgotten as the story goes on).

7. Lucius's face expressions throughout the ep are my normal face expressions, wonder why people don't usually think I'm friendly and always ready to chat actually (that's prolly cause they can't read my mind, that's on them duh).

8. "I'll be your robber here today", we all fell for him right this instant, didn't we?

It reminds me of the time I worked as a shop assistant (my career choices are a mess, I know), cause essentially that's who I was, I just had to word it slightly differently so customers would give us their money willingly.

9. The leg crossing and uncrossing is just... Yeah. Idk how to elaborate, I just get it. Completely in character for the character, let's put it that way.

10. The arts and crafts bit is the school experience all over again, I cannot shake this feeling. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed being a teacher a great deal (that's exactly why I don't work as a teacher anymore, yeah).

11. Going from making dresses to being a pirate sounds precisely like my careers changing plans, really.

12. "Do you think Blackbeard's crew sews?" Holy shit, I'd love to see Izzy sew.

13. The mini speech about cats, why is Frenchie so adorable omg

14. Not killing your captain for the sake of hearing the story in full sounds like a solid idea, ngl

15. The complete collective aversion to Lucius's wooden boy voice pls. Turns out Stede stays alive only cuz the crew doesn't want to hear Lucius read, that's loyalty right there.

16. "I've made a mistake, I'm not a pirate, I'm an idiot". Well, omitting the pirate part, it's as relatable as it can possibly get. Ouch

17. Eye. No thoughts, just eye.

18. Stede hiding from the navy is me hiding from my problems, we've got the exact same style of solving them.

19. "It's always the quiet ones", cause usually it's the quiet ones who have to put up with all the shit there can possibly be and they're usually accused of being soft at the same time, I mean you cannot blame Stede for snapping, that's what Badminton deserved (I sound way too bloodthirsty, don't I...)

20. Oul's "might as well enjoy it while it lasts" speaks to me on more levels than I'd like to admit. I love Olu's levelheadedness (is this even a word)

21. I love the way all the flags are up there, it's important for everyone to be included, love this detail so much.

•••

So that's basically just a retelling of the plot with bits of my tho(ugh)ts, tried not to digress too much and not to make it way too personal (initially there were 31 points😅). I'm just genuinely curious to know what the dynamic of my perception of the series will look like at the end, so dear diary, 🎶be prepaaaaaaaared🎶

[arwainian]

Reading This Week 2024 #30

This week took me to the very final page of the notebook I have been keeping my reading journal in since last October! which is very convenient, but also now i have to dig around my book shelf to find what half used notebook i want to convert toward this purpose. As a heads up I skimmed some articles this week I wont be including, but there will be a subsection in started/ongoing on books from the library that I've tested (lots of holds coming in at once) and whether I'll pick them up again or not

quick question, this log jumps between different genres pretty wildly [academic work on sexual violence to cute romance manga back to academic work on sexual violence]... would anyone prefer if i also sorted by genre/type? or are we cool with me mostly sticking to the timeline that i actually finished reading stuff? because my life and reading experience really does flip back and forth between these things

Finished:

settle the tab by blacksatinpointeshoes on ao3 reaching a point where I can return to friends at the table fanfiction after the post-project break is such a godsends bc there is so much good fic to catch up on! this fic by bsps (if you remember, an author i really loved during the reading project) is about Grand Magnificent being miserable and drinking martinis, a drink for people who hate themselves

The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang, audiobook read by Emily Woo Zeller this book was blurbed by Shelley Parker-Chan, author of She Who Became the Sun which I am obsessed with, so I picked The Water Outlaws up on a whim when I saw it at the library a few weeks ago. i ended up having an easier time starting the audiobook just because it fit well with my chores and errands after I returned from visiting family. if you like badass women and chinese-inspired historical and fantasy action, go check this out! I had a good time

"Toward Acknowledging the Ambiguities of Sex: Questioning Rape Culture and Consent-Based Approaches to Sexual Assault Prevention" by Tuulia Law, Ch.12 in Violence Interrupted: Confronting Sexual Violence on University Campuses a really loved reading this. it gives a good history of various feminist approaches to sexual violence, and says some things that have been on a mind in my research. love to have a place where i can justify and cite my opinions (btw, cause the title is ambiguous, its about acknowledging that Obtaining Consent(tm) does not always prevent sexual harm for various reasons, and consent-based approaches often individualize the broad social issues at play

A Sign of Affection, Vol. 1 by suu Morishita, translated by Christine Dashiell shojo romance between polyglot boy and Deaf girl. not really feeling the chemistry between the leads, but I finished the first volume for the lush art and how sign language is represented in static images. not sure if i'll continue with further volumes but i might check out the anime

"Thinking Woman-to-Woman Rape: A Critique of Marcus's "Theory and Politics of Rape Prevention"" by Kelly Anne Malinen a very incisive critique, a great and critical literature review on different feminist theories of rape (including radical feminist text with their gender essentialism). i will definitely be using this in my writing!

"The Font of Liberty" by Elizabeth Porter Birdsall, narrated by C.J. Lavigne on the Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast i kinda forgot what this is about.... newspapers in Les Miserables era France?

Go For It, Nakamura! and Go For It Again, Nakamura! by Syundei, translated by Amber Tamosaitis the art style for this is charming, the disaster gay is at absolute maximum disaster for comedic effect, and it really does get you shouting "just make a move! you have a good chance!" at this shy teenager's crush on his outgoing classmate/friend

"Sex Wars and the Contemporary French Moral Panic: the Productivity and Pitfalls of Feminist Conflicts" by Cornelia Möser provides a much needed outside perspective on the U.S. feminist "sex wars" between "pro-sex" and "anti-porn" camps, and reminds me of the need for a multiplicity of approaches: what feels empowering for some overlaps with what feels oppressive for others

Refusing Compulsory Sexuality: A Black Asexual Lens on Our Sex-Obsessed Culture by Sherronda J. Brown, audiobook read by Yu-Li Alice Shen if you are not, like me, a graduate student familiar with writing on anti-black oppression and on asexuality, a lot of this stuff might be new to you. but me as I am a lot of this felt like fairly obvious comparisons/parallels/intersections, so reading it was a bit tedious. however those chapters were worth getting through for Chapters 10 and 11. Ch.11 gives a pretty thorough amateur history of different namings of asexual experiences in theories of asexuality prior to the internet age (its not new!), and Ch. 10 does a really beautiful and compassionate re-reading of the lives of Langston Hughes and particularly Octavia E. Butler through asexuality and aromanticism

Gyo: The Death-Stench Creeps by Junji Ito, translated by Yuji Oniki the volume I read also included "the enigma of amigara" fault as a backup story! excited for the shelved by genre episode on it. made me go eugh.

You've Always Been There by kingofwickedskulls on ao3 if you really wanna leave, I'll never make you stay by hornyonside (birdlord5000) on ao3 first is pickman/collette hookup, second it jesset/brnine hookup, both are nice!

Just Sex? The Cultural Scaffolding of Rape, Second Edition by Nicola Gavey maybe the best book I've yet read on rape culture, and specifically on the gendered aspects of all kinds of sexual violence (pressure, coercion, etc) and let me be specific that the praise I am heaping on it is specifically for the 2nd edition, which in a completely new chapter contextualizes the way the arguments of the 1st edition were written and limited by its time of publication, as well as eloquently expanding on some of the arguments which had at first given me pause with reliable qualitative research. this makes me want to go out and write a gender based analysis of sexual violence against and among trans people, like Gavey calls for in her acknowledgement that a lot of her argument relies upon presuming she's talking exclusively about cisgender subjects

Started/Ongoing:

Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle, audiobook read by Mara Wilson reading this for queer lit book club! currently on audiobook for the sake of doing chores and not reading everything with my tired tired eyes

How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu reading for sff bookclub which i have been absent from for a bit! this is short and written in an experiemental style, so I'm excited to get deeper into it

Boys Run the Riot, Vol. 1 by Keito Gaku, translated by Leo McDonagh, Status: DNF This is a manga about a closeted trans boy, Ryo, starting a fashion branad with his cool slack off held-back-a-year classmate Jin. It was very cool to see a manga with a trans protagonist, but I'm not interested enough in the fashion stuff to stick it through all the volumes, and the art style didn't grab me enough to want to finish this one... Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid, Status: to be continued! the cover of this book was done by an artist i like so I'm checking it out, first chapter or so it promising fairytale inspired stuff Black Water Sister by Zen Cho, status: to be continued! looks popular, its queer modern fantasy i think? first chapter is intriguing

Reading Plans:

continue with book club reads more articles on sexual violence there's a book on feminism and foucault i need to read i have stone butch blues out from the library i am slowly crumbling to dust under a pile of books please help

[gisellelx]

Twilight Advent Calendar, Day 3

Dec. 3 - Pick one deceased Twilight character to draw or tell us more about. How would the Twilight universe be different if they were still alive?

"Or Does It Sag"

(~2,000 words)

December 3, 2023 Ashland, Wisconsin

Bella had been the one to break this particular dam.

It was a problem they all suffered from, if Edward were honest. The world changed so quickly around them, and it was easy to lose track of new possibilities on offer, especially when they were personal. An advancement in engine mechanics; sure, Rosalie would keep on top of that. A contemporary pianist rising to new fame; Edward would be aware. And with his daughter, these days, it was simple to be aware of other things he would once have not noticed: memes and new phrases, fashion trends too pedestrian for his sister to pick up on, Greta Gerwig and Christopher Nolan opening polar opposite films on the same weekend.

They all would forget, often, that the world changing might mean that certain things they had taken for granted needed reconsideration. That over time, the arc of history bent toward making the impossible possible.

His wife was sitting with their daughter on the the piano bench, Renesmee’s hands aglow from the white Christmas lights his mother had strung on the banister in the foyer. The tree would come later—Christmas Eve, their tradition since that very first serious fire hazard Carlisle had lit in the room of an inn on the shores of the Bay of Fundy, trying to coax, if not joy out of Edward, at least something a bit more like delight—but the house was already filled with other greenery, the air thick with the scents of white pine, ripened pinecone, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Across the room, Alice and Esme discussed the tree’s placement, how big it would need to be, as they hung ten stockings on the mantle in order by their entrance to the family: J, R, B, J, A, E, R, E, E, C. Although Edward knew Carlisle and Esme always hung them all anyway, this would be the first Christmas since the pandemic had begun that all ten of them would be filled. Jasper and Emmett had taken their Christmas cheer outside on Esme’s orders, and Rose had followed them, the living embodiment of the saying that behind every great man was a woman rolling her eyes.

And then there was Carlisle, whose newest schedule thrust him into two weeks of boredom at a time, curled up into one of the wingback chairs in his socks, staring at a page dense with text in the smallest font on his Kindle, but only pretending to read.

It had been earlier this year. Seventeen years of marriage, nearly nineteen of a relationship, and somehow Edward had never mentioned this crucial fact to his wife. They had been at the Toulouse house, discussing their next visit to the States, when Edward had mentioned something about his sire’s past; the knowns and the unknowns, and had let slip a crucial bit of missing information, a basic fact everyone had always taken for granted would forever be irretrievable.

Bella had just blinked at him a few times, and then, in the cutting way she had, offered, “Edward, haven’t any of you ever heard of Ancestry dot com?”

It had taken Bella all of twenty-four hours. A new account. A deep dive into church registers in London, 1600-1650. The parish records of one Saint James Aldgate, kept from 1625-1668 in a cramped handwriting that looked for all the world like Carlisle’s, which, when remarked upon, had only earned him a large eyeroll from his wife. “Edward. I know you think Carlisle sprang fully formed from the head of Zeus”—this time it was his turn to roll his eyes—“but you do realize that at some point someone had to teach him to write?”

And so they had pored over the records of births and marriages, baptisms and deaths, until they found her. Married, just barely twenty-two. Dead, just shy of twenty-four. One child, baptized the day she died. And the name, lost to the centuries until now.

They had presented this information for Father’s Day. Printouts of the pages; the dates, the eerily matching handwriting. Carlisle had swallowed deeply, thanked them, and shortly thereafter, left the room.

He hadn’t spoken of it. Edward hadn’t been sure if it had been an offense.

The composition under his daughter’s nimble fingers was over forty years old now, otherwise sounding like any other contemporary piano piece except that something about it sounded wintery, a musical affectation of the rapid whooshing of the Wisconsin wind against windows Esme had insisted upon keeping single pane. And as Edward listened, he let his mind drift along with his family's. It will need to be shorter. Esme, contemplating the tree. An expensive pair of earrings, no a necklace, no earrings, and…goddamnit, Emmett as Jasper tried valiantly to hide his holiday thoughts from his wife.

Pride, in equal measures, Jacob and Bella, listening to Renesmee at the keyboard.

And then…a little girl. Well, no, Edward realized at once. Not a girl, a child. Blond hair hanging in ringlets down to thin shoulders, a hat in the child’s—his—hand. The hat, falling to the ground from an open fist, as the dress swung around the child’s ankles, the hair flying in the wind as the child—the boy—giggled, racing into a woman’s round, pregnant belly.

“Carlisle,” the woman scolded gently. “You’ll wake your sister. Quiet, child.” A glance across a room, firelight dancing from the hearth, where a cradle sat on the floor, a warm glow across the cheeks of a plump toddler. Then the warm laughter again, a hand caressing the swell that was to be the third child. A boy, Edward knew somehow, through that strange alchemy that was his own mind and the mind he knew almost every bit as intimately. Then the boy, scooped up, held tightly to the ample bosom even as he giggled and squirmed. The imagined scent—roses, fresh air, sweat, soot.

As quickly as it came, the whole scene vaporized, replaced with live piano music, the scent of resin, Esme’s gentle laughter, the glow of LED twinkle lights. Edward looked up, catching eyes from across the room. A muttered excuse, and the sound of denim on upholstery as his sire excused himself, nonchalantly, as though he’d forgotten something.

But when he hadn’t returned ten minutes later, Edward also made soft noises about needing to find something, pressed his lips to the crown of his daughter’s head, and said, “Keep it up, Sweet.” His wife, ever perceptive, looked up from the bench.

Carlisle? she mouthed, and Edward nodded.

The house wasn’t large. The two of them had chosen it for themselves a hundred years ago, only later to share it with the woman Carlisle had, in all his impulsivity and to Edward’s initial dismay, saved from her own attempt at death. Following a scent—especially this most familiar one—was easy, and a moment later, Edward found himself in the study. His father’s chair was turned toward the wall, staring at a bookcase full of all manner of tomes organized in some system which after a century, still remained impenetrable even to Edward.

He didn’t say anything; it wasn’t as though he could sneak up. They both said nothing, the only sound in the stillness of the room their inhalations and exhalations.

“A sister?” Edward said finally. The head turned, and two pairs of golden eyes met.

“And a brother,” Edward added, and Carlisle shrugged.

It was the 1640s. Six would have been common.

“That’s not at all what I was commenting on, and you know it.”

Carlisle gulped. Edward came closer, perching himself on the perpetually messy desk.

“I wasn’t even sure you appreciated the gift,” he said quietly. “You’ve said so little about it.”

The blond head shook furiously. “I’m sorry. I’m grateful. It’s just—”

A flurry of images. The boy, giggling again. Older, hair shorter, wearing breeches this time. The sister, just as towheaded, her long ringlets dancing behind her as her brother pulled her through a small churchyard, scattering the handful of hens which lived there. The woman, a stern and wry look on her face, bouncing a toddler in her arms. Then blankness, again, the cutting off that Edward knew, like the slamming of a steel door, as Carlisle closed off his thinking to protect Edward from things he did not wish Edward to be privy to. Then came the sensations: the twist in the pit of the stomach, the raw, searing grief as fresh as it ever had been.

When this quiet had continued for several minutes, Edward spoke up. “You would’ve died, you know.”

A nod.

“And none of us would be here.”

Rosalie’s face swam suddenly in Carlisle’s mind. Not necessarily a bad thing.

Edward raised his eyebrows. “You’d trade us? Esme?” A pause. "Me?”

His father bit his lip, an uncannily human fidget that had once been put into his repertoire on purpose, but had now become so ingrained it was just part of him. The image shifted again: a series of flashes, rapid, one after another. The boy, school-aged, holding bravely still while the woman bandaged a knee. A teen, lifting a playful toddler out of the sacristy of the church—the sacristy remembered, the toddler imagined. A fourth child, Edward realized. The towheaded boy grown tall, his face the face of the young man Edward was used to. Clutching hands with a woman in white, anxiety and adrenaline and joy as he stood before an altar, the woman beaming at him from the first pew. And finally, the woman, older, her hair graying, as the young man placed a squashed-face infant into her arms.

Edward knew this part now, understood that Carlisle was so deeply content that he lacked the ability to imagine a family other than the one he had. That his dreams had a way of mixing the present with the past with the imagined, as though all of it were true. That if Edward had been able to lift the imaginary bride's veil, he would've seen the woman whose voice he could still hear floating down the hallway. That the infant being handed over in the memory now was the only infant Carlisle had ever imagined having: even though he had met Edward at age 17, he had a firm idea of what he would’ve looked like at six pounds. No hair—redheads were usually born bald—a grip surprisingly firm for a one-day-old infant. He saw the way the imaginary Carlisle beamed as he handed the bundle over to the woman. The way her eyes halfway closed in delight. Edward felt in the memory the way the baby felt in the hands, and recognized the way Carlisle’s mind was mixing this imagined baby and his imagined weight with a concrete memory from September, seventeen years before: Edward’s daughter; Carlisle’s palms.

I wish she could meet you.

Swinging his legs off the desk, Edward let out a bark of a laugh.

"Carlisle, you’re the one who believes in heaven. You really think she hasn’t?”

The image which surfaced this time was so similar, it was hard to tell if it was Edward’s alone or Carlisle’s, or both. The woman, fully gray haired now, her face wrinkled and her hands beginning to show liver spots. Sitting in their living room, laughing and giving tree advice to Esme, listening attentively to Renesmee, joking about Edward and Carlisle with Bella.

“Come on, Carlisle. If she’s anywhere, she’s here.” He hopped off the desk. “And you hiding in your office is probably not what she’d want.”

The nod came slowly. I suppose you’re right. He ran a hand through his hair and attempted a smile. Standing, he placed a hand on Edward’s shoulder. “I am glad you’re here. All of you. Even though the house is way too crowded.”

He chuckled. “We’ll leave before New Year’s.”

“Is that a promise?”

Edward punched Carlisle in the bicep, but they both laughed. Carlisle gestured to the door.

Come. Let’s see what your mother has figured out about the tree.

Edward nodded, and followed Carlisle’s steps. But at the door, his sire stopped, gazing back toward the desk where Edward still stood. The young boy resurfaced, lying against the woman, the girl, still asleep, the unborn infant a flutter under his brother's rib. Slowly, the boy's eyelids, too, grew heavy.

Carlisle blinked, snapping his mind abruptly back to the study. The boy was replaced by books. Thank you for giving her back to me.

And Edward saw it. Obscured by two pieces of mail, but still on top of the pile, the scent of Carlisle’s fingers still fresh, as though he’d rifled through it as recently as this morning. The envelope that he’d prepared, lettered in Bella’s handwriting, given for Father’s Day. The name, lost to time, resurfaced with technology, and with it, memory, imagination, grief, and somehow, love. As he moved, he brushed aside the bank statements on top, leaving the whole envelope visible as he exited the room.

Sarah

it read.

Closing the study door, Edward turned out the light and headed back toward his family.

Masterpost/Prompts Montage Masterpost

[fitzs-space]

For this shape shifting Hermits, what all can they shift into? Does it end as just people? Can they do animals? Can they do mobs? CAN THEY DO BLOCKS? The last two would be amazing for pranks, imagine going to work on your build and some of the blocks start moving.

now a thing to consider is how each of them shapeshift, cause they all do it in their own ways. So get ready cause you've unlocked a headcanon rant

Cause I've got a lot of shapeshifter ideas when it comes to the hermits and I haven't had a chance to talk about them all over here. So pspspsp Im talkin about Etho, Mumbo, Gem, Ren, Grian, Jevin and Xisuma

Cause Etho? they rely on more illusion based shenanigans. Are they still able to physically shapeshift? of course, they have to look like a mandred (human/elf/fae/ anything mostly around that vibe) somehow as a kitsune. illusions just are easier. so would Etho turn into an animal to fuck with people? most definitely. They just like to stick to whay they are used to most times thogh, so sometimes a player would see just a random white fox wandering around Ethos base and brush it off like its just some pet, and they'll let people believe that, it's easier then explaining it all to players, and it lets them fuck with everyone more if they don't know that fox is Etho. The main victim is Bdubs, who is always ranting about this huge fox that's just always around his base that messes with him all the time, and all the other hermits think he's just slowly going insane because surely its just a normal fox what do you mean.

Grian most definitely shifts into animals to mess with people, why would he not? can he shift into blocks? no not really, but that does not stop them from not so subtly making blocks float like its moon big part two? the guy takes full advantage to fuck with players as much as he possibly can. Grian's just able to shapeshift cause they are able to alter reality, and have mainly chooses to use those ability's to mess with people. she also just likes to make subtle changes to his appearance just for fun, and helps him just look mostly normal by player standards. Its that whole "Grians a watcher" thing, He mainly just shifted to hide the affects being a watcher caused on their body, and nothing else, but as she leaned to be more comfortable with himself again he just started having fun with it. And so we het to have a parrot Grian one season then they will have a day where he's got Dragon wings instead just for the fun of it.

Mumbo frankly can't do anything other then just "Mumbo but in a different font". cant blame the guy, he's still fairly new to this all shapeshifting thing. He always keeps the mustache though, mainly cause its funny. Would he shift into animals? yea but its either a mumbo shaped pig walking around again, or you'll see a disgruntled cow walking around with a suit and a mustache. Can he become a block? yes, but he is not allowed to anymore, no one wants a repeat of Mumblock Jumbo. Scar is still traumatized about it, Scared for life if you will- Generally no one really wants to see the process of Mumbo shapeshifting because its just, a lot,,, the whole "You'll see the bones under his skin move" and "what in the great voids name is that". Mumbos fine with it all happening, no one else if fine after seeing it is all /hj

Ren and Gem are fairly similar in how they shapeshift, seeing as its just Mandred to moblin (sentient mobs more or less). Can they shift into an animal? yes, but only one basically. Both of them do prefer to stay in a more middle of the rode state with their forms though. Gem will tend to shift to a more elven appearance while on empires to help her look more like a different character, and sometimes with Mcc she'll choose to appear more elven when she doesn't want to deal with doing athletics with big horns in the way. She does enjoy being more deer like while on hermitcraft due to the amount of other hybrids on the server though, nothing to due to how she accidently traumatized Joe that one time cause good void if Gem doesn't look like human Cleo when her hair is down, nothing like that Ren's taken a bit to get comfortable with being a wolf hybrid, he's gotten there in the end though. The guy didn't even let himself show off his wolf ears willingly in public until the end of season 7 really. Ren does differ from Gem in how he is more a werewolf, so he's forced into a full transformation every month, and that's partly fed into him not being comfortable as a technical hybrid. He doesn't really enjoy that whole "not having full control of self" thing that happens, and it can bleed into him being worried about hurting other players even when he isn't in full transformations. Luckily for Ren, hermitcraft has plugins to help with that! so If he accidently bites someone they wont gain the same curse! can't say the same for last/3rd/double life though,,,

Xisuma can technically become any from he really want to, but that's the key word here in that they just don't really want to, you know. It takes time and effort to create a new form for ones self and they are frankly pretty attached to the one he already has. Can the guy shift to an animal form or even a block? not at all, and wouldn't want to if they could. Instead he's just got two states he'll stick with, that being what is probably best described as a nimbus cloud of sentient void, and the pathetic soggy wet cat of a man everyone has come to love. EvilX cant shapeshift, it's not really something that bothers them, it does feed into that "Hes just a failed clone in the end" redirect, now That's what bothers him.

And then Jevin, and the guy just doesn't really have a solid shape to begin with really. Sometimes he'll wake up with a good shape day, sometimes he sleeps weird and ends up in a Long Jevin kinda day. And yea he can really become any shape or form he wants, its just all blue slime though, just get a weird blue slime shaped sheep walking around sometimes, kinda like those bubble people form that one SpongeBob episode. And Jevin is one of the few shifters who can become a block and get away with it! and he chooses to mess with the redstones the most, but most times it backfires when he just sits as a block for long enough and ends up afk//asleep only to wake up in the latest redstone contraption of one sleep deprived Mumbo who couldn't notice a neon sign infront of his eyes, much less being able to realize a slimeblock is not blue. Or in some game breaking machine of one Docm77 who, though he wont fully admit to it, is a little bit colourblind and it is not his fault that the tone of slimeblocks is near exact to Jevin.

I just went off the rails a lil here, but I hope you enjoy the chaos thats stuck in my mind

[toxicanonymity]

Hello Toxy 💙

I have a question for u if it’s not too much trouble, is there any writing advice u might have to offer ?😇

I’ve written stuff before, but that’s like many many years ago but I’ve been thinking about trying that again for a long, long time and yesterday I actually started writing something. It’s very much a self insert story written firstly for me combining my experiences with my fantasy. What I’ve written so far is mostly prologue containing of character description and just from the third person perspective, honestly I’m scared to get into dialogue and writing from different perspectives. And let’s not talk about smut it’ll take a long time before I get there but scary nonetheless 🫠🫠

Well, anyway, I hope you have a great day and take care of yourself 💙

Hello! I'm honored you ask. . . Sounds like you're off to a great start. IRL provides great inspiration. I can share some thoughts as an amateur who's still learning. Thanks for asking, and have a great weekend 💙

Dialogue

Take your time finding the character's voice if you don't hear it yet. You can focus on what's being said, then go back and adjust it for how.

If you have a long line, say it in your head or out loud and see whether it feels like a long time for someone to be talking without interruption or anything else happening. Relative to the situation.

You can include little non-dialogue things that aren't too distracting but remind the reader about the rest of the setting.

What is it in the conversation that makes it your character / makes it your story? As opposed to being dialogue that could be from anything.

Body language and nonverbal communication.

If you want to practice / work on developing a certain character, you could write yourself a blurb in a different situation.

Remember you can always go back and edit. You can start with a rough idea of what you want them to say. So don't worry about all this up front.

General things that help me

Commiting to a "bad first draft" I can improve on.

Using brackets for things to come back to. Like [She gets her period].

Describing what's happening without thinking about the quality of "writing."

Focusing on communicating what's in my head, sometimes even in the mentality of sending a long text to a friend if stuck.

Changing up which font & page color I write with.

Writing stuff I feel like, trusting my gut and not worrying about whether anyone will think it's weird.

reading / IRL book club, listening to audio books. Whatever genre you feel like. I don't read romance, but all reading helps. I'm still learning new words (looking at you, jonathan franzen 🙄). And my experience as a reader reminds me to give readers more credit for how much they'll pick up on and be able to keep track of / follow.

Saying "fuck it we ball," lol. Which I'm doing with this post, because otherwise I could overthink and take forever.

Things that have not served me as well

Keeping stories and plans mostly in my head with a chaotic scattering of notes and chunks spread across 4 applications, sometimes in multiple untitled files per app. this ""worked"" for a long time but caught up with me mentally.

When you're ready for smut, we can go there 😅

And feel free to follow up if you want to talk about anything specific. I don't have all the answers, but my inbox and DMs are open.

[sastielsfandom]

There's a lot of stories I've been told by elders, teachers, cousins, all about what it was like to be taken away from their parents. Or at least attempted to be taken away.

Certain ones stand out the most in my mind. I used to be really involved with church, my entire family was. So we were close to our pastor.

Outside of church my mom was helping her with some things and I remember when she started to open up about her experience with boarding schools.

I sat there and listened as she talked about it. She was one of the ones who'd get in trouble for talking in her native tongue. She learned to stop because some punishments you simply didn't come back from.

She cried talking about when they cut her hair. She didn't understand why her parents were sending her away, she didn't know until she was older they had no choice.

She didn't get very far before she went inside, it all being too much and she didn't want us kids to hear the worst parts.

Even though she wasn't there anymore, she became a pastor who had incredibly short hair. She hardly spoke her language, and at that point she was one of the elders. It still affected her long after and it took me a really long time to see it. Because she was always wrapped up in native clothing, had beaded pieces. She clearly was still within her culture, there just were some parts she never returned back to.

Recently, although she talked about it when I was little too, my Mom talked to my little sister about the sweeps they'd do on reservations.

They all recognized the vans that meant every native child had to hide until nightfall, if you were caught, you weren't coming back.

You couldn't just run inside to your parents, they'd go from house to house, if you were there, they could take you and your parents couldn't do anything about it. It was legal.

All their parents could do was warn them about the vans and beg them to hide until it was safe.

Her and whoever she was with, friends, cousins, siblings, they'd stay out of sight until nightfall. The only thing protecting them was the fact that the vans couldn't be there at night.

It was a part of their normal, you see those vans, you hide and make sure they don't see you. It didn't matter if they showed up in the morning, you didn't exist until they were gone.

It's really no wonder why she still hates vans to this day, she won't buy one even though they're great to fit big families, like ours. And she's always aware of cars but vans especially.

I can't help but sit here and wonder if ICWA is overturned, are my sisters going to have their own stories to tell?

It's already bad how many Natives are taken away because of CPS, if it wasn't for my tribe helping us close the cases opened against us, I would've been. So many of my cousins were, it wasn't unusual for my Mom to open her home to them because they would run away. They knew she would help them. We all knew how bad they were treated, but we couldn't adopt them all. I think my Mom would have if she could've. But it was enough for a lot of them to just have a spot to stay, knowing someones looking out for them who won't judge them.

We need every little bit of protection even now to keep native families together. That fact that this is being attacked right now is so deliberate and Natives have been shouting for people to see that.

This is a pattern, not a coincidence. So many generations have their own stories about how native kids were taken away. Hell, my generation, we have ours! It's always a legal system that we have to fight that non natives ignore. It's a different font, but same story.

Boarding schools were legal, the reservation sweeps were legal, and CPS and foster care, again legal.

The genocide for natives never stopped, it just takes a new form. This is just the latest version. Don't stop talking about ICWA, be loud about it! Don't let them overturn it!

[fandomanimatic-tournament]

Fandom song animatic tournament: Side A Round 1

Your Stupid Face - Kaden MacKay

"I just really like your face You don't have to look so happy I'm not really into love that you flaunt In some glittery font But if that's what you want Make it snappy"

Ready as I'll ever be - Tangled the series

"So gather around now (ooh) It's time to sing It's bittersweet (ooh) but it's a hell of a silver lining I tell the same old stories As y'all get your wings And I get better every time I kiss a weathered cheek And watching doves fly Sooner than me I guess I'm ready, ready as I'll never be"

Remember that we're voting on how Iconic they are for ANIMATICS, not for the song itself. In order to make things fair, the tone and mood of the song should not affect how iconic it is (for example, a serious song should not be considered more iconic than a joke song just because it's serious)

Propaganda and animatic links of the songs under the cut:

Your Stupid Face - Kaden MacKay

Propaganda:

Ultimate enemies to lovers potential as it starts with tge singer hating the other party and slowly growing to love them. Also has an excellent tma animatic (haven't watched any other animatics for it but a quick search shows there's a lot)

Animatics with the song:

Helluva Boss Stolas x Blitz

Don't Starve Together Wxwood

The Magnus Archives

DSMP TNTduo

Toilet Bound Hanako Kun Mitsuba Animatic

HFJONE Sodapack

Ready as I'll ever be - Tangled the series

Propaganda:

I can list at least three full animatics for this song for every major fandom I have ever been a part of, and still it's so hard to find them because there are so goddamn many

It's an absolute banger from the absolute King Alan Menken, originally from the pretty underrated Tangled the Series. I've seen animatics for this for like every fandom I can think of, and it deserves it because it slaps and has great vocal performances from Jeremy Jordan and Eden Espinosa.

i'm pretty sure this song is more well known than the show it came from is lol. i looked up "ready as i'll ever be animatic" on youtube just to confirm and counted 20+ of them, and i didn't even finish scrolling. it is a genuinely really good song from a /surprisingly/ good show that imo is super underrated. i definitely would recommend checking it out if you get the opportunity!

it's a fandom song that transcended its fandom and became a hit for twist villains.

The song really fosters creativity with how many animatics can create a darker AU where the usual protagonist (or a close associate) is made to be the antagonist because of injustice suffered and the other characters have to fight against them

I've seen *at least* one animatic of this song in almost every fandom I've looked into

It has a lot of Animaniacs because it is sung by an ensemble cast It is good for demonstrating a lot of different conflicting perspectives of characters for your big dramatic fight and its catchy and I love it

I mean everyone loves a scenario where one of the main cast becomes a villain for tragic reasons and the rest of the characters have to fight them while dealing with the betrayal and attempting to make them see reason

How in the actual hell does a song from a Tangled spinoff series go this spectacularly hard? More to the point, how does it have an animatic/AMV for practically EVERY FANDOM IN EXISTENCE?! Yeah, most people know it from that one Warrior Cats MAP, but there is SO much more. Not to mention the bucketloads of people who used this song for their own OCs, which is always a bonus.

Animatics with the song:

Star Vs The Forces Of Evil

Miraculous Ladybug

Sander Sides

Danganronpa V3 fantasy AU

BNHA Villain Deku Animatic

DSMP

Please keep in mind that I don't know all the media and fandoms of the animatics provided as examples and I don't have the time (nor the will) to research them all. Don't come into my notes or my ask box complaining about them being included, I will simply block you. HOWEVER, if a ship animatic includes a minor and an adult, do tell me, I'll remove it.