#truly SO interesting. such a fascinating draft pick

[puckpocketed]

19/07/2024 - Tory Pitner joins USHL in Focus: 2024 NHL Draft Edition

My transcript of Tory Pitner's interview with Paul Allan for the USHL. Lightly edited where unavoidable for clarity. Extra context in (round brackets) and adjustments for ease of reading in [square brackets]. Text in bold are all my highlights, stuff I thought was very interesting.

There's so much to say about how talkative he is. It's rarely useless chatter, it's always answering the question and on topic, and it's clear that anything he says is informed and well-considered.

I love how much he seems to think about his long-term development goals, and how his entire junior career up to the draft (and now beyond) has been about pushing himself in the right ways, finding people who he can learn from, working and working and chipping away at his goals. It feels like he could tell all the scouts exactly what they're writing about him if they asked him to break down his own game. I get the feeling he knows exactly what kind of player he is and where he needs to improve. He says, with such certainty, that his hard work will pay off. Like he knows exactly what trajectory he's on and that all he has to do is work to get there.

I like the way he thinks about leadership and responsibility, how he simply wants it, and how when he sees leaders he admires he does everything to take lessons from them. I am not surprised he's worn letters for so many teams he's been on. He's had the C twice; during his U-15 year and for the Hlinka Gretzky Cup. He craves challenge. He studies the game and loves it dearly. He can name just about every person who has ever helped him get to where he is, and he attempts to do just that. He is so, so smart. I don't know how else to sell people on this guy - I think maybe one day he's really gonna be something, whether it's as a player or a coach, or who knows. But I think I'll leave it at that and let him speak for himself.

Paul Allan: Well we’re joined now by a very busy young fella named Tory Pitner, former Youngstown Phantom who’s about to start his college career at the University of Denver. We’re excited to talk about a couple things here with Tory, it’s been a busy two years for Tory… You’re from Greenwich Connecticut, you’re an East Coast guy, but it appears to me that before you ended up in Youngstown, you spent some time on the West Coast with minor programs there; with the LA Junior Kings, the San Jose Junior Sharks, and then prep school.

So let’s talk about your path to Youngstown first, and then we’ll talk about the rest of the time here. It looks like you’re in a dorm room there at the University of Denver, so we’ll talk about that in a bit, but let’s talk about your path to Youngstown. How did you end up playing for the Phantoms and how was that — playing in the USHL [United States Hockey League] — [as] a place for you to develop as a young player?

Tory Pitner: Yeah, for sure. [It] started out like you said, I was born in Greenwich Connecticut and then I moved to Northern California when I was pretty young, and then played pretty much there in the LA Junior Kings growing up before COVID hit. So I was in that kind of system in the West Coast. Really great spot out there, with great coaches — Brett Beebe, Derek (inaudible, unable to find him on any backdated staff lists) — a bunch of great coaches I had out there.

And then Covid hit, and I made the decision to go and play prep school at South Kent, which is a school in South Kent, Connecticut, and basically that decision was a combination of being able to be on the ice every day, guaranteed ice, being able to have my academics and my athletics all in one place on the Hillside. I went to South Kent, played for [Jamie Russel (Director of Hockey Operations, Head Coach)] there. Really loved my experience, I thought it was great for me. That was the first time I was able to get on the ice every day and I think it was big for me, both for my development and maturity. Being able to figure out a schedule that works for me, because the schedule we had at South Kent was pretty similar to the one we had in Youngstown, and now the one I have here at D.U. So, great stepping stone for me into junior hockey.

And then, that year while I was at South Kent, I was drafted into the WHL [Western Hockey League] with the Edmonton Oil Kings and then I was also drafted into the USHL, after the year was done, with Youngstown. And kind of made the decision shortly after the draft there to head to Youngstown for a [variety] of reasons. Being able to play U.S. college hockey was something that was always a dream of mine. When talking to both organisations, both teams, I thought that the USHL and college in general was just the route for me to go. Looking at myself as a player I [felt] like, ‘I’m gonna need more time to develop,’ and I think the USHL is obviously an unbelievable league for development, being able to go in there and play against guys that are three, four years older than you when you when you’re 16 is something that I really looked at, and I embraced that challenge and I loved that opportunity.

I thought that the travel for us in Youngstown was a bit different than everyone else, but I thought that was good for me to learn how to navigate the roads. And, you know, going through junior hockey now into college hockey, there’s always going to be travel, and then when you get to the NHL level there’s going to be a lot of travel — granted, they travel a little differently — but I thought we did a pretty good job in Youngstown at that. So just, ultimately, the decision came down to; I wanted to play college hockey and I wanted to play in the USHL because I thought that was the best development league for me to get to college hockey.

So I was drafted by Youngstown after my U-15 year, and then decided to head back to South Kent for what would’ve been my U-16 year, but I ended up going and playing up — playing U-18 for the first [part] of the year. I wanted to go and I wanted to be over-ready to go to Youngstown, and so I thought that going back to South Kent, it was still a great situation for me. I went back and then went and played my affiliate games with Youngstown, and through my affiliate games talking with coach [Ryan] Ward and coach [Andy] Contois and coach [Brandon] Gotkin and the whole staff they have there, and based on how I felt in the games — I felt a lot more ready than I thought I was going to, so it didn’t really feel like a jump to me up to the USHL, it felt more like a transition. And that was something that — you know at the beginning of the year I didn’t wanna make the jump prematurely, but after going and playing those games I really found that it was a league that I could compete in and one that would be best for my development moving into college. 

At Christmas I finished my semester of school and decided to transition to Youngstown and it was the best decision I could’ve made honestly — ended up finishing the year with them. I think I played around 40-something games with them at the end of the year. And it was great, being able to be in the locker room with guys like Chase Pietila (PIT), another USHL guy that just got drafted, and Chase was kind of a role model for me — I still talk to him to this day — but he was someone who really showed me the ropes, showed me the league.

And Youngstown in general; Andy Contois did a great job of teaching me how to defend at that next level which I feel like is something that, for me, moving on now looking back on my career is something I’m super grateful for. Even though it was only a year and a half ago, it’s something I feel like is now a staple in my game that, before coming to junior hockey, you never would’ve known certain nuances about defending that you do now. Andy’s a great coach, he’s worked a lot with me, I’ve worked a lot with him about certain things I need to develop and will continue to develop. We still talk pretty regularly, too.

Just being able to go up and play those games and be in a locker room with those guys — like Shane Lachance (EDM), being our captain, there isn’t enough to be said about Shane Lachance. He is probably one of the best captains I have and will ever have had. Seeing him as a leader and being around him and seeing his ability to connect with every guy in the room is something that I really tried to take from and emulate. That was really great for me. And ultimately being able to play with the group of guys we had my first year in Youngstown was great. [Being] in practice every day was the best thing for me, because you have [William] Will Whitelaw (CBJ), who was going a million miles an hour on you on a gap drill, that — you’re stuck in mud — so being able to learn those things and play against those guys… I think my first year there we had five NHL draft picks; I roomed with Jacob Fowler (MTL) so I got to see excellence right down the hall. That was really something that, for me, was a great experience, and kind of threw me into the fire a bit with junior hockey, and was the best thing for me and I loved every second of it.

And those guys, after winning the Clark Cup with them, it can’t be understated how much of a bond everyone had there. We were together — you know, everyone could’ve gone home after, but we all decided we wanted to stay together and just hang out, because we knew we were gonna miss each other as a group, and we still — our group chat’s still active. We still talk pretty regularly. I talk with a few of those guys that I got pretty close with pretty often. And you know, [them] taking me in as a 16-year-old and really showing me the ropes led me to being able to jump into my next year, my 17-year-old year, my draft year, and have an idea of how it’s going to look; because I saw Stratty [Andrew Strathmann (PIT)] and Whitey [William Whitelaw], and Brandon Svoboda (SJS), [Matthew] Perkins (VAN), Fowler, I saw them all doing NHL interviews last year, I saw how that whole process went. It kind of eased my nerves going into my next year, because I’d seen it, I’d known what it looks like.

Being in Youngstown, they do a great job of bringing in high calibre players to have that experience. Me and Luke Osburn (BUF) went along with that process together this year and I thought it was great for me and Ozzy to push each other all year, being able to play games. We had another good team, we had another great group of players, great group of guys. Obviously, it wasn’t the end result we wanted, we ran into a great Dubuque [Fighting Saints] team and we just weren’t able to get it done. But ultimately I thought that this year was a great learning experience for me, too. Having to take on a bigger role with the Phantoms was something that I really embraced, and loved the challenge of, and loved the opportunity to do. I’m super grateful for the coaching staff and coach Contois for giving me that increased opportunity. Being able to wear a letter for them is something that I was really proud of. They looked on me as a leader in the locker room to kind of show the other guys the way; I thought that was really great for me.

The [other] opportunities I had this year as well, like being able to captain the Hlinka Gretzky team was something that was a dream of mine. Whenever I found out about the tournament, I wanted to go, but I didn’t just want to go; I wanted to be a leader on the team and make an impact. And, you know, we were able to do that; win our first medal — since 2016 I think it was — with the United States. Hopefully the team this year can follow that up and bring home gold. Then, continuing into the season playing for USA again at the World Juniors — didn't get the result we wanted but that was another great experience. To be around the top guys in the USHL and play with other guys that have been drafted before, and talk with other guys, talk with the coaching staff… They brought some of the best coaches from the USHL along; to be able to pick their brain every day, we have guys from that coaching staff, like Mike Leone, he’s now coaching in the AHL and I got to be on the ice with Leo every day for two weeks, which was something that I thought was great for me. Being able to be around those guys, too, who are now going to step into college and be great college players before going on to having great pro careers.

So those opportunities coming back in my second year was something that was really great for me. And I was super fortunate to have that, and then getting the call to come into Denver this year, and now being able to take all that experience and transition it into college. In our first [skates (?)] here, I feel pretty confident, so that’s something that definitely prepared me and I’m really grateful for.

A bit of a long winded answer, but yeah.

PA: That’s awesome. I do have a couple of questions for you though, and a couple of observations that I always… Everybody who’s involved with hockey over the years talks about the small world and you mentioned Jamie Russel there. Of course, Jamie Russel is a former coach at Michigan Tech. and Chase Pietila is from the — I mean, I don’t know how many Pietilas have played at Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech. of the the years. There's a bunch of them.

TP: So many. And Adam is on our team again, he’s [Chase’s] cousin.

PA: But what a whirlwind for you, and I know the Youngstown organisation is extremely proud of you, a 2-time All-Academic kid, too. And I know, Tory, as you were making your — one of the things you sort of left out there was the recruiting process, and what you were juggling there, and how that went along for you. We’ll get to Denver and how you ended up deciding to go play for the Pioneers here in a sec, but I want to talk about this past year going back to the Clark Cup Championship season.

During your minus-1 draft year you end up playing for Youngstown, and what a great time to jump on board with them and contributing to a Clark Cup Championship, the first one in the organisation. That’s pretty cool, but then you touched on the Hlinka Gretzky invite and the World Junior-A Challenge invite, and then you get to go to the NHL draft, get selected by the Colorado Avalanche; and then you get an invite to the USA Hockey World Junior Summer Showcase. And you’re oh, by the way, starting summer school at DU with workouts and [getting to know] all your teammates. How are you able to juggle everything and keep a clear head with all this stuff, Tory? For an eighteen-year-old kid, that sounds like a lot of things to consider.

TP: Yeah, yeah no, it’s definitely a lot. But like I said to you before we hopped on the call: I’d rather be busy than bored. So for me, I always want to push myself. Instead of just sitting in bed and watching Youtube or something, that’ll be the time I do my homework from my summer school courses and everything like that. Being here, I really love the schedule because we’re up early, we’re working out early, and then we go to class and then we get to come back, we get to skate with all the pro guys out here. And then you come back and you do homework and you get to do it all again the next day. You’re really fully immersed in the whole culture.

And I’d really say, just, how I’m handling it is; it’s the preparation I had before, from South Kent, getting to see what that model would look like — having school and hockey in the same place. And then being in Youngstown and travelling as much as we did; some of our bus trips, like when we went to Fargo for the Clark Cup, that was right in the middle of finals season, too. We’re busing 23 hours, we’re busing out to Fargo to play the [Fargo] Force.

You learn to prioritise different things. You learn how to manage your schedule pretty well. You know, it does suck. You can’t call your buddies as much. You can’t text, Instagram — none of that stuff really comes into play too much anymore just because you’re so busy. I really embrace it. And I think that it’s something — if I wasn’t busy I’d probably be a little more upset, if that makes sense. Like, I’d rather have this schedule where I’m constantly going and, you know, I think it’s pushing me. It’s a bit of [overload] training here in the summer, just with how much we’re actually doing, how much of a course load, how much lifts we have. Skating with the pro guys, too. Being out here at D.U., we have a great setup where a lot of the pro guys come back and skate. Being drafted to Colorado is great because you see Colorado guys coming into the locker room, you get to meet them, you get to meet guys in the NHL club and you get to skate with some of them sometimes. That’s really great for me in my development going into my freshman year here and ultimately to making the Avs.

But like you said, it's been a long summer, but it’s one I’m super grateful for, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

PA: Before we talk [about the draft], I do want to talk about your decision to go to Denver and play for the Pioneers, and the commitment process. How did the process — how did you decide that going to Denver was the best place for your development as a player and as a student?

TP: Right before the USHL Fall Classic, I actually started talking to a bunch of teams. I was previously committed (to UMass Amherst), but decided to decommit for reasons — just coaching change reasons, everything like that. So, I decided to decommit and the fit really wasn’t there anymore. Decommit, and then open up my recruiting process before the USHL Fall Classic, then go to the Fall Classic. And honestly don’t really focus on it too much. Just try and play my best hockey for my team, because that was my goal, that’s what I’m there for. It can’t be a distraction. But after the Fall classic I had a little bit of time off and I talked to a couple of schools, had a couple of Zoom calls. Right when I talked to D.C. [coach David Carle] and the Pioneers, I knew that it was probably the place I was going to end up.

Being a West Coast kid growing up there, they were the furthest West team before A.S.U. [Arizona State University] became a college hockey program. So growing up, you go to tournaments in Colorado, you always want to go to the D.U. games. You grow up like — I watched Will Butcher play (2013-17), and Will Butcher’s in the locker room now (25/07/2023 - Butcher has signed with Barys Astana, a KHL team; link, archive link). That’s so cool for me, and hearing those guys talk and what they see is the plan for me, what I see is the plan for myself, and both of those kind of aligning; it really just made the perfect sense. And obviously they have an unbelievable track record of developing NHL defensemen here at Denver, like if you walk through our locker rooms you look at the walls, NHL players are on the walls. You look at them and go, ‘they’re in the same shoes. I am there doing the same workouts. They were doing the same skate. They were doing the same schedule.’ And that really gives you confidence to keep working hard because you know that someone’s been through your path before, and if you keep working and you keep staying your path… and — not keep your head down — but if you just put your head down and work hard, then you’ll be able to achieve what you want to achieve.

After talking to them and hearing those things from the coaching staff — Ferg does a great job with the [defensemen] — Dallas Ferguson. Travis MacMillan does a great job recruiting, great job with the boards. All the staff here, there’s — I could list them all, but it really doesn’t do justice how much of a fit it really felt like, talking to them on the phone.

Once I really had that conversation, I felt that it was the best thing for me and kind of a no-brainer decision when you pull in where I grew up, how much success they had… And so I made that decision shortly thereafter, and I’ve been thrilled with it ever since. Kept in touch with them pretty much all year. Had a great open line of communication development-wise and just personnel-wise, just checking in and seeing how I’m doing as a person off the ice, how I’m handling that schedule that we have in Youngstown, just being that [travelled]. They were great with me, and now that I'm here, I couldn't be happier. All the guys here on the team are great guys and I’m really excited to be here and can’t wait to get started.

PA: You’re a two-time USHL All-Academic pick in your two seasons with Youngstown. Tory, have you thought about what you’re going to take for classes and what are you going to major in?

TP: Yeah, we just actually had that conversation with our academic advisor last week, so I’m kind of torn right now, but I’m leaning towards psychology. So what I’m going to do is my first quarter, I’ll take Intro to Psych and Intro to Business and Into To a bunch of those courses, because no matter what, they're all going to count for common core courses, so I kind of get to feel it out and see which one I’m going to take. Right now I’m probably leaning towards majoring in psychology. I’ll make that decision, we’ll all declare officially after our freshman year, so I have the year to figure it out.

But I’m really excited. I have a good course load, a lot of good challenging courses, a lot of fun courses, too, interesting ones. So it’ll make it easy when you're interested in the subject to be able to go in and learn and go to class. And it’s nice to be in an actual classroom again after two years of online school with the Phantoms. It’s something that you don’t really think about, but it definitely helps. And it’s nice for me as a kid that always wants to learn. I think that’s my mentality on and off the ice. It's just always wanting to learn, always wanting to get better. So I’m really excited for it. I think that summer school so far has gone well — knock on wood — grades are coming out pretty soon, but I feel pretty confident about it. So yeah, I’m just looking forward to it. And I think it’ll be a great experience off the ice in the classroom and both on the ice.

PA: Let’s wrap it up with your draft day experience in Vegas, Tory. Of course, you’ve alluded to it already; you were picked in the 6th round by the Avalanche and [inaudible]. That’s pretty cool. What were your thoughts, and tell us about the excitement that you experienced there in Vegas a couple of weeks ago? 

TP: It was a long day, I’ll give you that one. Got there with my family. We actually — we had a test on Thursday, so I took my test and I flew out Thursday night into Vegas and the draft obviously started Friday. And going into it, you kind of have an idea of a few teams that you thought could pick you, but you don’t really know where with how the draft’s going to shake out. You hear some things, but they don’t really hold true just because everything is crazy. You saw the draft. It went nuts after that third pick, pretty much everything changed. Just going in there, no expectations, just be grateful for the opportunity you have to be there and being able to be there with my family and my friends and some coaches, just people I hold close to my heart, was something that was super cool for me.

Busy week with everything we had, like dinners, breakfasts, meetings; everything like that with teams or with whoever — with your advisor, with your family. But it was ultimately a good time, you get to throw on a suit, get to go to the draft. The Sphere was obviously unbelievable; I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that in my life. I was probably cranking my neck to see who the next pick was at the top of the board there. It was a pretty cool experience being able to sit around all those great prospects. And then, you know, I talked to Colorado quite a bit throughout the year, stayed in contact with them, and so I felt that they were one of the teams that I could have gone to, and so every time they were picking I was on the edge of my seat a bit.

And then finally you hear your name called after a long day, it was something that — a lot of relief, and just joy, gratitude. It was an unbelievable feeling. Really grateful having the Youngstown guys there. I wasn’t able to go and say ‘hi’ just because of how busy it was, which I was frustrated about, but it was good to see people that you hadn’t seen in a little bit and really share that experience with everyone that helped get you there, because that’s what it’s all about. I wouldn’t be here without all the people in my corner, all the people that have coached me going up, my mom; like everything, they’ve all been there for me in the past. I wouldn’t be there without them and being able to be there and celebrate that and going to the Avalanche is something that is super special for me, especially being here in Denver growing up.

They have an unbelievable D-core right now, and so you know that, going into it, they have a high expectation. And then going to Dev Camp and meeting the staff, you understand what that high expectation is. You just go and you work your hardest and you try and improve your game and adapt it to whatever they need so one day you’ll be able to play at the NHL level. And being here at D.U., I said it before, but having them right down the road and having some of their guys come back and skate and lift here and train here is something that’s super cool for me to get to see. Then obviously D.U. had Sean Behrens last year, who’s going to the Avs now, so getting to hang out with all the D.U. guys that were at Avs Dev Camp was great for me, especially all the defensemen.

It was really a perfect situation because even though we had summer school we were still able to go, and we wouldn’t have been able to go to dev camp if it wasn’t in Colorado, so that was awesome for me. I couldn’t be more happy. I’m really grateful for the organisation for taking a chance on me. And now it’s my opportunity, and pretty much all I have to do right now is go and prove them right. Prove to them that they got a steal and just make sure that they made the right decision, and go out there and work as hard as I can. [I’m] happy that they feel — they like me as a prospect, and I really enjoy [being] in an organisation like that. Obviously they have a great track [record] for success and I hope to get out to a few games this year and watch and cheer them on.

PA: Alright Tory, thanks very much for joining us on your busy schedule. Looking forward to seeing your career progress. You still got a lot of stuff to do this summer with the World Junior Showcase in Plymouth. I was thinking about Zeev Buium being there, William Whitelaw, Jake Fisher, all guys that you…

TP: All guys I know, yeah.

PA: And then the rest of the way with the Pioneers this winter with your schedule, and then after that. So best of luck and thanks a lot for joining us, and enjoy the rest of your summer, okay?

TP: Thank you. I appreciate that. Alright, bye.

[sapphicromanoffxo]

Screen Time | n.r x w.m

ʚɞ°｡⋆ Pairings: Natasha Romanoff x Wanda Maximoff

ʚɞ°｡⋆ wc: 2.7k

ʚɞ°｡⋆ Warnings: phone sex, pillow humping, masturbation, praise kink, slightly implied somno, daddy kink

ʚɞ°｡⋆ Summary: sometimes, a simple video call is enough to have their much needed release.

A/N: This has been sitting in my drafts for a while now and I finished it right on time. 🫶

A gift for the birthday girl, @mikaila-m 🎂💚🪻 love lots 😘😘

╰┈➤ Masterlist

"What are you wearing, detka?"

Natasha’s voice echoed through the room as Wanda rummaged through her things, preparing for her nightly routine. They had been apart for a few days now, ever since Natasha was called away on SHIELD business. The details were classified, leaving Wanda in the dark, but she understood the necessity. For now, video calls were the only way to stay connected.

Wanda glanced at her phone, where Natasha's face filled the screen. Natasha looked stunning as always, with her red hair perfectly in place and her shirt neatly buttoned up with a tease of her cleavage. "Hmmm, I'm wearing the light blue dress you bought me," Wanda replied while applying moisturizer, the final step in her skincare routine.

"Can I see?" Natasha asked, her tone playful yet filled with genuine interest.

Wanda rolled her eyes but couldn’t suppress a smile. Natasha’s fascination with her never seemed to wane, no matter how long they had been together. "You've seen me in this night gown a million times. Aren't you tired of looking at the same thing?" she sighed, her voice tinged with mock exasperation.

"Never," Natasha said softly, her voice warm and affectionate. "I love looking at you, no matter what you wear. You always look beautiful to me."

Wanda felt her cheeks flush, the sincerity in Natasha’s words cutting through her usual defenses. Compliments from Natasha always hit differently, effortless, sincere, and capable of making Wanda feel seen and cherished. Despite the distance and the screen between them, Natasha’s words had a way of reaching Wanda's heart, reminding her how deeply loved she was and helping her appreciate herself just a little bit more every day.

"Alright, I'm going to show you, but first, close your eyes."

A wide grin spread across Natasha's face, and Wanda couldn’t help but smile in return, captivated by how beautiful Natasha looked even over a screen.

"Okay, baby. My eyes are closed," Natasha replied, her voice playful yet filled with anticipation.

Wanda picked up her phone, feeling a small rush of excitement as she moved to her bed. She positioned herself comfortably, lying back against the pillows, and stretched her arm up, making sure the camera captured the top of her satin dress. "You can open your eyes now, baby," she said, her voice soft and inviting.

Natasha slowly opened her eyes, and her gaze immediately lit up with appreciation. "Oh my," she murmured, her tone low and admiring. "What a beautiful sight. I can see your nipples peeking through."

Wanda felt a flush of warmth spread across her skin at Natasha's words and rolled her eyes at the same time for her naughty commentary. “You can't resist saying that, huh?”

“Of course. Your nipples certainly want to say hi to me so I acknowledged their presence.”

Natasha's cockiness is oozing through the screen and Wanda is itching to wipe off the smug look from her face. Wanda was about to say something about them behaving but Natasha cut her through.

“Palm your boobs for me, baby?”

"Alright, here we go," Wanda said with a sigh, rolling her eyes once again at Natasha’s request. Despite the playful exasperation, Wanda knew she could never truly say no to Natasha, especially when she looked so endearingly hopeful.

"What do you say when you're asking for something, hmm?" Wanda teased, a mischievous smile playing on her lips. She loved seeing Natasha squirm a little, knowing how much it amused her to watch the usually confident spy in a more playful state.

Natasha's eyes narrowed in a mock glare, but there was no hiding the affection in her gaze. "Seriously?" she grumbled, though the corners of her lips twitched upwards.

Wanda couldn’t resist pushing a little further. "Come on now, I've already taught you some good manners, and it's time to use them." Her voice was sweetly taunting, the kind of tone that always made Natasha want to both laugh and groan at the same time.

Natasha muttered something under her breath in Russian, the words lost to Wanda but the tone unmistakably grumpy. Wanda leaned closer to the screen, trying to decipher the muttered words, but all she could catch was the faintest hint of frustration mingled with affection.

"Oh, I didn’t quite catch that, care to repeat that so I can understand?" Wanda quipped, clearly enjoying every second of this little game. She knew Natasha was just as entertained, even if she wouldn't admit it.

“Fine, fine.” Finally, Natasha conceded to Wanda’s demands just so she can get what she wants and gave a big sigh before saying, “Can you palm your boobs for me, please?”

Damn it. Wanda said to herself after hearing Natasha's sweet voice which was also paired with batting her pretty eyes at her. How can she say no to her charming girlfriend? “See? It's not so hard to say please now, isn't it?”

Natasha chuckled softly and gave her signature lopsided smile. “Now will you do it, baby?”

“Careful, your cocky self is almost showing up again.”

“Please, baby. I've been stuck with endless briefing and my eyes need to see something else or I might blow this whole place up.” Natasha pouted at the screen, her puppy-dog eyes adding to the effect.

The witch chuckled at her girlfriend's antics, and can no longer resist how adorable Natasha looked.

"You're so cute, Natty. My poor baby."

Natasha rolled her eyes dramatically; she was never one to appreciate being called cute. "I still refuse to be called that."

Wanda only hummed in response and shifted the view of the camera down to her chest where her taut nipples are visible through the lacey top of the night gown. Her fingertips started to caress her collarbones with feather light touches just enough to tease her girlfriend.

“Oh Natasha, I wish it's you that's touching me right now.” The witch moaned while her fingers dipped further down her body and her deft hand slipped through the fabric, pinching her hard nipples lightly.

“That's right, baby. Make yourself feel good and think about how my rough hands will treat your delicious tits if I was there.”

Natasha's natural deep, raspy voice has an immense effect on her, sparking an instant and involuntary reaction. Without any physical touch, her body melts the moment Natasha's sultry baritone washes over her.

“Place your phone on the nightstand so both of your hands will be able to freely roam on your body.”

Wanda immediately scrambled to obey Natasha's command as she felt her body starting to tingle from the anticipation of what's about to happen. Phone sex is something that they have done plenty of times during the length of their relationship but the thrill for the sheer pleasure for something that is not tangible makes the yearning even more intense.

Once her phone had been successfully situated in her nightstand, with a view showing her full body in bed, Wanda laid back down again and heard Natasha's command again.

“Hmmm. Why don't you kneel in bed instead, grab your trusted pillow and place it between your legs.”

Wanda immediately bit her lips as she's trying to gauge what her lover's plans are but she's more than willing to oblige to whatever Natasha wants. She then positioned herself in front of the camera's view and kneeled with the pillow between her thighs.

“Remove your dress and lower your body, detka. Slowly hump on your pillow just the way you like it.”

Wanda did what she's told by removing the lacey slip on dress as slowly as possible. She also made sure to cup both of her breasts just to give Natasha a show since she's so obsessed with them, but her breath shuddered the moment her bare pussy touched the fabric of the pillow.

Her eyes flung open when she realized she's already wet from the little touches she gave her nipples and the subtle throbbing in her clit intensified further. But then it wasn't just her touch that has gotten her in this state. She knew that it was mostly Natasha's voice that made her insides flutter.

“Awww, isn't that cute.” Natasha’s taunting voice broke Wanda’s attention away from the pleasure building up in her core. “Tell me, baby? Are you wet for daddy?”

“Fuck, yes! I need you here baby.” The witch almost felt ashamed with how Natasha can easily manipulate her into a needy blubbering mess. “Come home and touch me, please.”

“Oh, detka. I wish I could touch you myself right now,” the redhead’s husky voice is adding more fire to Wanda’s pulsating pussy, hanging into every word that she's uttering “but to be honest, I very much enjoy seeing you pleasure yourself like this.”

“Daddy..” A whiny noise escape Wanda’s throat, a mix of protest and plea for Natasha to come fuck her senseless until she loses her brain into the gutter, splattering all over the ground. “But I've been a good girl! I followed every request that you have for me.”

“I know, baby. I know.” Natasha's fake sympathy was oozing out of the screen which caused the brunette to whimper in desperation even more. “Imagine that you're sitting on my face instead, with my hot and wet tongue lapping up your folds and sucking your clit tenderly.”

Wanda continued to move her hips back and forth, faster and harder, smearing her juices on the newly changed pillow case to perfectly set her pace into chasing her much needed orgasm for the night.

“That's it, sweetheart. You're doing a good job for daddy.” With Natasha’s lust-filled appreciation, she now wished she could teleport herself there, to experience this moment in its full glory and to bask in Wanda’s pleasure with nothing between them but pure skin to skin contact. She made a mental note to thoroughly enjoy every second with her girlfriend once she got back and reward her with her well deserved mind blowing orgasm.

“Please, I'm close!” Wanda screamed as fears that she may reach her high so soon and it hasn't even been 5 minutes yet.

“Hold it.” Natasha's voice was very stern and authoritative. “If you cum right away, I will have to punish you when I get back.”

“No no! Baby, I can't hold it. Please let me cum.” Wanda begged pathetically hoping that Natasha will let her have her release. But knowing her girlfriend, she might toy with her orgasm for as long as she wants.

“Wanda,” Natasha began her reminder for the young witch. “You understand that your orgasm is purely mine and I get to decide when and how you're gonna have it?”

“But baby–” Wanda’s protests were cut off right away by her lover.

“Go on. Cum without my permission and to you’ll see how hard I will make you suffer when I see you”

Wanda’s breath hitched at Natasha's threat as they locked eyes through the screen which made her halt her movements.

Breathe in, breathe out. Wanda silently whispered to herself to calm herself yet her heart was still racing from the intense stare of Natasha.

It's almost comical how aroused she has become even more upon hearing the redhead's warning and at the back of her head, there is a voice tempting her to disobey her lover. She knew Natasha would never do anything to intentionally hurt her but deep down, there could be something lurking behind that could potentially ruin her. She has already been subjected to punishment but her limits were never crossed no matter how bratty or stubborn she can be.

After a few seconds has passed, her throbbing pussy still hasn't subsided but she willed herself to hold on much longer and to listen to what Natasha wants.

“See? You know how to listen to me. I'm proud of you, pretty baby.”

A blush immediately crept up Wanda's cheeks from Natasha's praise and she averted her eyes from the spy.

“Perhaps, you can lay down on the bed instead and play with your clit this time. What do you think?”

Smiling inwardly, Wanda had gotten more excited with the next thing that she's being asked to do. If she plays her cards right and follows everything that Natasha says, she might be able to finally have the relief that she's been chasing. Removing the pillow between her thighs, she plopped backwards on the bed, showing a good view of her dripping pussy to Natasha. She can feel her juices leaking down to her ass and this made her feel like a dirty slut that she is.

“Oh my. What a sight.” The widow smirked at her girlfriend's state, her voice deepening as she took in Wanda's wet pussy. “I want nothing more to lick your essence, baby. God, you're so sexy.”

“Natty, baby. Please tell me what you want me to do.” Wanda’s sweet and sexy voice sent shivers down on Natasha's clit and oh lord, she badly wanted to jump out of the screen and rigorously suck Wanda’s stiff bud and lick her folds relentlessly.

“Lick your fingers first then spread your folds. Stroke your clit real nice and slow, detka.”

Wanda did what she's told and her senses are set alight when her fingers touch her sensitive, slippery core. With her two fingers, she slowly circled her clit which earned a deep moan from her throat.

“Oh, baby. That feels so good.”

“I bet it does, sweetheart. You're doing a good job for daddy. Now go faster.”

It seemed that Wanda's clit is on fire with how intense she's been rubbing it in all directions. From going up and down and then switching to left and right just to find the perfect pressure without her release being tipped over too soon.

With Wanda's back already arching off the bed and simultaneously moaning from the pleasure, Natasha watched it all with fondness in her eyes and couldn't help but to lower her hand to unbuckle her belt. Lowering her pants, she then placed her fingers between her folds. It's not a surprise for her to discover that she's also wet from all the visual stimulation that she's receiving from the younger woman. A small sigh then escaped from her mouth when she started circling her stiff bud. She can control not to cum right away but damn it, Wanda's sweet moans are pushing it.

This went on for a few more minutes with both of them moaning through the screen and it took a while for Wanda to realize what's happening. She used both of her elbows to lift her upper body then she saw Natasha sitting on the couch with her pants down and legs wide open while her head was thrown back.

“Daddy, fuck!” She whimpered at the current sight she's seeing as Natasha continuously fucking herself with her fingers. Her digits are going in and out of her roughly which caused for her left biceps to bulge out of her shirt. “I'm not gonna hold it for too long now if you look like that right now.”

“You've been a good girl tonight, Wanda.” Natasha opened her eyes and responded with a rugged voice. “Cum with me now, baby.”

Biting her lower lip in concentration, Wanda hastily rubbed her pulsing pussy as she neared her climax and gasped loudly as the coil in her stomach finally snapped within seconds which made her see stars behind her eyes with fireworks going off all at once that made her ears ring from the intense explosion between her legs.

The same thing was happening with Natasha as the wave of release washed over her, making her legs twitch involuntarily and her stomach tightening from the overwhelming onslaught of her quick orgasm.

It took awhile for the both women to come down from their high and their breathing eventually evened out within minutes. Natasha was the first one to fully recover and she went on to check her lover.

“Wanda, babe. You doing alright in there?”

“Yeah, yeah, just catching my breath.” Wanda replied, reaching for the blanket. “It’s gotten a bit chilly in here.”

The lingering passion faded, leaving only warmth and care between them. “You should get some sleep. It’s late.”

“When will you be back, Nat?” Wanda murmured in a sleepy voice, sounding so adorable that Natasha couldn’t help but smile.

Natasha stood up from the couch to button her pants and to also get ready for her next meeting. “You might just wake up tomorrow and I'd be already pounding inside you. I gotta go. Bye for now, baby.”

Already half asleep, Wanda suddenly registered what she’d just heard. But it was too late to respond—Natasha had already ended the call.

[rizzanon]

amazing update as always! i love seeing the different thoughts and processes everyone this update were going through, especially when you compare it to MC’s reasoning as to why she wouldn’t ask them for help before pursuing her lead and dying.

There’s Duke and Damian, who she had admitted would probably help if she asked. However, the similarities end there. She ultimately didn’t ask Duke for backup because she didn’t want to burden him or have to rely on him. With Damian, a mix of her own narrative of what his motivations to help her would be and how harsh his words would be while helping her are what stopped her from reaching out.

There’s Steph and Cass, who both seem to have a better grasp on what their relationship with MC was truly like by now and are at least facing it. It’s was especially interesting to see how Cass noticed all the tiniest details about her, got lost in understanding MC on a deeper level that only she retold truly understand, only to forget about the aspects of getting to know someone that help establish mutual connections, true closeness.

Then… there’s Tim. Sweet, disastrous, Tim. Ever since I started reading this fic I knew he wasn’t going to take MC’s death well lmao, he’s notorious for not taking death well, but I didn’t know how he’d actually react to it. The fight with Damian and the argument with Steph were well done and poked at thoughts i already had about his relationship with MC.

His relationship, or lack-thereof one with MC was always so interesting to me, especially since a good chunk of his Robin and Red Robin run was him making connections and allies out of people that even Batman didn’t/wouldn’t initially (or ever, sometimes) approve of. The fact that he didn’t with her was always so fascinating to me. I get it, she wasn’t exactly as fast as he was with picking up leads and the detective aspect as he was, but I feel like him letting his frustrations with that fester instead of outright saying it and letting it be solved via communication/arguing would’ve done loads to actually give them some sort of closer relationship. Though, maybe that would push her further away from him, MC back then might not have taken an argument with him well. And even now, both when we see his perspective in the regressed timeline and the original one after her death, I still don’t fully get his thought process, but I’m excited to see what happens next!

Also, interesting that Constantine (? probably, right? Or maybe an OC, who knows) is showing up now. Is he going to find a way to bring MC back into her original timeline/body? Should he? I kinda want her to wrap things up in the regressed timeline before she goes back to face her family in the original, also gives her more time to spend with Caitlyn and Adrien lol

This was a lot, i know, and a lot was just repeating things you wrote, but i just love it so much! thanks, im excited for the next part!

-🥐

literally couldn’t have said it any better 🫣🫣 i feel like you’ve generally got an idea of how i intended to have reader and the batfam characters dynamics be like 🫶🫶

as for tim, dw, his and reader’s lack of a substantial bond will be further explored in later chapters (hopefully HAHA) because it really does take two people to form a bond. reader definitely could have done stuff differently in the past that had led to their almost nonexistent bond. (backstory for them when? not that soon but it’s being drafted 🤭)

[isfjmel-phleg]

May 2025 Books

Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie (Broadview Press edition, semi-reread)

Broadway Press editions contain a lot of interesting supplemental material, and in this case it was interesting to see the evolution of the novel from earlier works. I hadn't read the play before.

The Annotated Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie, edited by Maria Tatar (reread)

On a whim.

Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold

As before, content warnings, but aside from that, I found what's essentially the second half of this story intriguing. Can't say anything intelligent about it, but I've picked up a collection of some further stories and will see where this goes.

The Television World of Pushing Daisies: Critical Essays on the Brian Fuller Series by Alissa Burger (reread)

Some of these essays were more interesting (especially the one on costuming), others I skimmed or skipped, but I love that there is a scholarly book on this very specific short-lived show.

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (Broadview Press edition, semi-reread)

Most of the supplementary material in this book was very interesting. There's a pretty thorough annotated list of film adaptations, but the similar list of book adaptations was oddly lacking. There are many print adaptations of TSG, especially from recent years, but the list included the graphic novel versions, The Painted Garden (a good choice--it interacts with the original text on multiple levels), An Episode of Sparrows (which has some thematic similarities but doesn't purport to be a retelling, so why include it), and that one recent retelling where the kids are aged up for romance purposes and the Colin equivalent is the victim of factitious disorder imposed upon another. No mention of, say, the lyrical and atmospheric The Humming Room, or A Bit of Earth which reimagines the cast as Desi, or The Edge of In Between, or The Secret Garden of Yanagi Inn--among others. The film list was so thorough that it seems odd that the book list would overlook the extent of the multitude of literary retellings.

Sara Crewe, The Little Princess, and A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett (reread)

Reread for textual comparison purposes. I've got a post in drafts about the play and how it differs from the initial short story and what it brought to the narrative that carries over into the final novel. And maybe another post about how Sara's character evolves with each version of the story. Stay tuned.

Jean and Johnny by Beverly Cleary (reread)

Not my usual type of book by any means, but I have a lot of affection for it because I acquired my copy as a child and because Cleary is an excellent enough author to make 1950s teenage crush drama engaging (in part because a lot of the story is actually about Jean's other relationships and her family's financial struggles).

Beezus and Ramona; Ramona the Pest; Ramona the Brave; Ramona and Her Father; Ramona and Her Mother; Ramona Quimby, Age 8; Ramona Forever; and Ramona's World by Beverly Cleary (reread)

I had a hankering. These are always a lot of fun. And now I low-key want to go back to Portland and see the park with the statues of the characters and do the walking tour of book-relevant locations. My grandparents used to live not too far from Klickatat St. but I've never actually been there.

Ellen Tebbits and Emily's Runaway Imagination by Beverly Cleary (reread)

No individual thoughts on these but I originally read them both when I was a child (checked out from air force base libraries), and rereading brought a lot of that back.

The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

This is another one of those books that I grabbed from our juvenile collection out of curiosity. Goodness knows I've developed a taste for sad clone child drama, but what. on. earth. There were some fascinating interactions here and truly horrifying situations, but the story itself was not cohesive, with the second part not matching well with the first.

Superman: The Persistence of an American Icon by Ian Gordon

I interlibrary loaned a huge stack of comics-related things in a desperate attempt to find sources for research. This one was not helpful to my specific needs (I was hoping for more of a character study, and would it kill someone to discuss Kon and not just the young Clark version of Superboy?) but adequately informational for what it set out to do.

Double Identity by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Interesting premise that wasn't explored to the fullest extent. SPOILER: There's going to be a lot more drama than was depicted to finding out that your parents cloned you to replace their deceased biological child.

Running Out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix

And this one was very intriguing and better thought out than the other Haddix book I read.

The Thing About Luck by Cynthia Kadohata

Kadohata did a lot of research about wheat harvesting and combines and it shows (and isn't always as interesting as the narrator seems to find it, unfortunately), and while there are some interesting family relationships here, there's not a lot of plot.

A Place to Belong by Cynthia Kadohata

Historical fiction about a Japanese-American family relocating to Japan after WWII. Poignant, like Kadohata's other historical fiction.

Shuttered Windows by Florence Crannell Means

Another one from the juvenile collection. I honestly hardly remember it.

The Sherlock Society by James Ponti

Long on Shenanigans but short on actually interesting characterization, which made this one rather a slog for me.

A Drop of Golden Sun by Kate Saunders

Imagine if Noel Streatfeild had written a book about a girl unexpectedly landing a part in a movie musical that's totally not!The Sound of Music. That's what this read like, and I enjoyed it a lot.

A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall by Jasmine Warga

Solid middle-grade book but nothing that I found particularly memorable.

Comics

Titans 1999 #1-19 + Secret Files and Origins #1 (reread)

Reread for research and to pay better attention to the stories as a whole rather than just zeroing in on my blorbo.

Superman Smashes the Klan (reread)

As I've said before, excellent. I need to track down the radio program that it's inspired by.

Young Justice 2019 (reread)

I read this quite a while ago when I was just getting into comics. Rereading it with greater knowledge of this universe...I didn't like it any better than I had before. Most of the characterization of the familiar characters was off, there should have been more connection with all the original YJ team rather than just the four big names, the added new characters didn't contribute much and the cast just kept expanding and expanding until it was impossible to develop anybody much, and the plot was rambling, muddled, and underdeveloped. There are some good Bart moments (especially dealing with his friendship with Kon), and the art is beautiful (there's a gorgeous spread of the original YJ team that includes everyone and I mean everyone), but it has nothing on the original series, and doesn't even make a lot of sense as a follow-up to it.

Superboy 1994 #0-25 (reread)

I have Thoughts. They'll be coming.

Superman: Action Comics: The House of Kent

The good news: Kon is back in continuity and getting a lot of love from the family. The bad news: This writer isn't getting him quite in character. Jon is now the designated quippy super, so Kon's distinctive way of expressing himself is completely absent. Even if he's confused and a bit angsty (as this story requires), he should still be deflecting that with humor, still have a tendency to showboat, still be masking inner turmoil with ostensible confidence and optimism. Instead, he felt rather bland, another face in a sea of characters who already look and dress very much alike.

(That was a struggle. I had to stop constantly and parse out whether I was looking at Clark or Jon a lot of the time, and the only thing keeping Kon immediately visually distinct was his leather jacket. Aging up Jon was a mistake.)

Superboy: The Man of Tomorrow (reread)

Better and more believable characterization of Kon and not a bad series on the whole (he finally gets a real hug from Clark after all these years!). But not quite capturing his voice, which should be a crucial point in a series that he's narrating.

(Also, if the narrative requires him to feel unneeded on earth, you need a better reason for him to not work with his YJ friends than "oh, they've got it handled and don't need me." Are you kidding? There's always going to be a place for him with his friends; they love him, and he knows that. It would have made more sense for, say, them to all be roped up in individual projects or working with their various mentors without time recently to work together.)

[thecomfywriter]

Why do you think Hilbert has so many simps?

okay! welcome to hilbert day! starting it off with a fun one. hi sol! thanks for the ask! let's get straight into it!

day five of tcw's 12 days of askmas--hilbert's peculiar fanbase [no spoilers]:

this is goofy because i think i actually know the reason why (unlike morreial). there are a couple of reasons i've picked up on for why hilbert has "simps".

(1) he's an interesting character:

i feel like this is the biggest factor, but i might be wrong. hilbert as a person might suck ass, but as a character, functionally for the narrative, he's FASCINATING. bro is mysterious. he's a villain, sure, but he's conflicting because in his pov, he's almost persuasive. not only towards alan, but (as i have experienced it) towards the reader as well. i feel like while reading hilbert's chapters, i found myself liking him more and justifying his existence in the story. he might be rotten to the core, but the guy exudes presence and a certain level of charisma that keeps him intriguing and entertaining.

plus, there's the entire desire to figure out what he's actually like. what is his true face? how does he look when he's not manipulating someone? who was he before the plot started? a big part of hilbert's character is the uncertainty behind his lore, which kinsa incites people to figuring him out. you almost want to make a definitive opinion about him, but each pov represents him in such conflicting ways, its hard to set your mind on if he's actually a good person or not. alan is deadset on believing hilbert has changed and wants to redeem himself. caramel refuses to even entertain the idea. morreial is just pissy at him, and cara has an odd sense of neutrality and fondness. soilaila hates him enough to try and mob him on the first day, but no one is actually arresting him for some reason. even without his limious status, he seems to hold the most power in this situation, and it begs the question why and how.

(2) bro was a dilf:

I KNOW THIS ANSWER IS WAY MORE UNSERIOUS THAN THE LAST ONE. LMAO. HEAR ME OUT.

hilbert in his prime is the entire reason why i personally started to feel conflicted about him. apart from being gorgeous (bruh... the luscious silver hair, the battle scars over his muscular body, the striking baby blue eyes, the slightly blushed cheeks and his maleficent smile? bye-- i had no business making him that majestic 😭😭), he also had this glory to him. there was a slight arrogance, but it almost felt like he deserved it. bro held the limious title for SIXTY YEARS. he went from being a nobody earth-elemental to one of the most powerful people in soilaila. he rose the ranks, got knighted by von doro herself, and became markum's biggest rival. he has this esteem to him that is simultaneously commanding and hot as balls.

THERE. I SAID IT. ARE YOU HAPPY?

all of hilbert's young chapters in sai just had me simping in the comments of the annotated draft LOL. i was so far gone it was embarrassing.

(3) the narrative:

the narrative purposefully tricks the audience a lot of the time, mainly because alan has the most chapters, and he sees hilbert in this truly respectable light. paired with how much magic hilbert knows, there's a certain degree of fascination to him that is naturally developed over the course of the book.

--

again, i could be totally wrong about all of these. for all we know, it was that one hilbert edit and the fact that bro has a v-line of the gods that caused him to develop his fanbase. you'd have to ask them. but these are personally my reasons for being on the fence with this guy. as i said previously, he's rotten to the core, but my god is he fascinating.

thanks for the ask, sol!

-- the holiday limited-edition tag list --

@wyked-ao3 @an-indecisive-nerd @drchenquill

@paeliae-occasionally @theink-stainedfolk @inseasofgreen

@thelovelymachinery @the-letterbox-archives @illarian-rambling

@bunnymermaidwrites @the-golden-comet @sm-writes-chaos

@leahnardo-da-veggie @corinneglass

[please tell me if you don't wanna be tagged i promise i will stop 🥺]

[branwendaughterofllyr]

OMG you’ve seen Elisabeth! I don’t know much about Austro-Hungarian history, but Elisabeth is such a fascinating character! That musical also really suits Alyssa, especially with how you depicted marriage as a tomb in chapter 8. In my country (I’m Asian), back in the day, brides would prepare burial clothes as part of their wedding preparations. It was a way to prepare for the unknown day of their husband’s death, but when I learned that as a kid, I thought, "Marriage really is like death!" It seems Alyssa is thinking something similar to what I did as a child lol To her, marriage is a threat, a compulsion on women, and honestly, considering the Targaryens, she’s not wrong. I don’t really like the Baelon-Alyssa pairing (sorry if you do!), and I think Alyssa barely had any real choices in her life. She was always the property of a Targaryen prince. I hope to see more of this Alyssa someday in A Poison Tree!

Oh gosh, I’m so sorry I took so long to answer this, I’ve had this sitting in my drafts for ages now. I took a bit of a break from both tumblr and my fics, which was nice but I’m back now.

Yeah, I really like both the musical Elisabeth and I think Sissi is an interesting historical figure herself, and I enjoyed Brigitte Hamann biography a lot. I think there’s a lot to the way life for a woman ended in a way when it came to getting married, it’s kind of the end of the line in some ways, and I love the detail from your culture about brides preparing funeral clothes, it’s so final and somewhat ominous? Especially if you ended up married far away before modern communication and transportation, you might be pretty much cut off from your family and prior life. I think Alyssa has picked up, both consciously and subconsciously, on all this, and Targaryen women in particular end up unhappy in marriage, it seems.

(I usually refer to Baelon’s Alyssa as “Alyssa T” for clarity. To distinguish from my Alyssa, haha)

I think partly why Baelon and Alyssa T are so popular is they are easy to romanticize because Alyssa T dies so young. She’s only 24 or so, and she dies before most of the succession crisis kicks off, and before their marriage can truly be tested by time and also family problems that comes with raising kids and being part a feudal monarchy.

Like think about how Jaehaerys and Alysanne might be perceived if Alysanne had died that young. That would be before the Saera scandal, before Daella’s death in childbirth, before Viserra’s death, before Jaehaerys continued to impregnate Alysanne into middle age against her wishes (and citing their mother who died in childbirth in her forties!!!! As a reason to keep doing it!!). They had a very intense romance when they were young, and it likely would still be intact as the great Targaryen Romance if Alysanne had died before all their later troubles. I would even argue that Alysanne and Jaehaerys are much romantic than Alyssa T and Baelon, considering their tragic childhood and later elopement against the wishes of pretty much everyone. (I think that Jaehaerys and Alysanne were intensely trauma bonded as children, considering that they were left all alone with their mother for years on Dragonstone and then in exile while Rhaena and Viserys 0.5 were both else where and then later dead, and their romance sprang from this intense bond, as it was the only way they knew how to conceptualize it with the normalization of incest in their family and there was the threat of separation by marriage hanging over them). Alyssa and Baelon are kind of thrown together because they are close as children, and really groomed to be in love. And then Alyssa dies before any of the major issues of JaeJae’s late reign really appear. We have no idea if she would have supported Baelon or Rhaenys as heir, if she would have supported her husband or gone against him, how she would have handled Viserys and Daemon’s marriages, how she would have dealt with Aemma or Rhea. And who’s to say if she would have supported Rhaenyra as heir, she very well may have supported Daemon as heir and built a faction for him at court. How would she have handled exhaustion from back to back pregnancies over two decades, the death of a child, or even menopause? She dies so young, it easy to chalk their marriage up as a happy and romantic one without any major problems because none have had time to appear. Alysanne and Jaehaerys were happy once too.

And this isn’t even getting into the bare glimpses of Alyssa T and Baelon’s personalities, which are pretty mixed in my opinion. I’m really not a fan of how both of them treated Vaegon, after Jaehaerys ordered Baelon to make him into a proper man, which Baelon did and even used Alyssa to shame Vaegon for not being masculine enough by having his sister come and mock him for not putting up a fight against her.

I’ll actually say that I’ve got a Baelon flashback planned for the next chapter that I’ve had in mind for ages that’s inspired heavily by this very incident with Vaegon. Baelon seems to have very much been his father’s enforcer, which doesn’t exactly endear him to me, and both of his canonical surviving children were pretty dysfunctional, which suggests some issues there, grieving widower or not. (And at some point, I think I will have my Alyssa reflect on the life of Alyssa T, as their lives take more and more similar trajectories with their marriages to second sons, but I don’t have anything concrete thoughts there.)

[festivating]

i love ur fic silk chiffon! it has inspired me to try and write a gelphie fic (im new and have not written one of them before or any fic) any pointers for new writers? you seem so good at words

INSPIRED YOU??? Omg I'm honored. I love art and making art and I love when people make art. I'm inspired by the art around me all the time so to inspire that feeling in others.. just surreal!!

Honestly not to sound generic but truly the most important thing to know when writing fic is to literally just have fun. You're writing in a medium that has zero rules. You can do whatever you want forever. Write what you want to read and don't put pressure on yourself :)

As for advice for new writers in general. Know your first draft will probably not match what's in your head and that's okay! You can always edit. A page with a messy draft is much better than an empty page. You're learning a new skill and that's going to take time, but like playing an instrument the more you do it the better you'll become! Patience is very important :)

There's a lot of resources online on storytelling and narrative structure and while I don't think anyone needs that to write fanfic, it can be a really fun subject to learn about if you're interested. I'm a nerd and I love the process of storytelling and I'm fascinated by the craft, and personally really love Brandon Sanderson's lectures because they feel very beginner friendly but that guy knows his stuff, and he uses lots of examples. This one is my favorite one and the one that informed my understanding of storytelling the most.

Also the easiest way to get better at words is to just read. Read as much as you can in as many genres as you can! You start picking up how your favorite writers do stories and use language and you implement that in your own writing without realizing. Since English is not my first language and I struggle with it, this is what's helped me the most.

Again, I don't think you need any of that to write fic if your goal is just to have a fun little no pressure hobby, but just in case you're interested! I hope that helped!

Thank you so much for the ask! <3

[kojoty]

I love hearing all your thoughts on RvB! I was wondering if you had any thoughts on Agent Connecticut (CT)?

Thank you! I enjoy thinking about these weird little GI Joes :) I will always take questions/shooting the shit about rvb in my inbox :D

As far as CT, she's... kind of difficult for me. I have a lot of issues with her character on a writing level. While on the surface I quite like what's set up-- someone who's very clearly against what PFL is doing, whistleblowing, working with insurrectionists, sowing discord and suspicion in PFL members, etc-- she's just... Unfortunately written very flatly.

To put it simply-- she feels like a rough draft of a character, and it makes a lot of her scenes that would and should be narratively impactful/rewarding just... Not.

A lot of it is Rooster Teeth's misogyny, obviously. They have a hard time writing women who are empowered and not just flattening them to 'badass bitch,' and CT most definitely suffers from this. But the biggest issue is the leverage of her relationship with the insurrectionist leader as structuring it as a flattened love story. I think it takes away a lot of her agency. Now, there's nothing inherently wrong with prioritizing or showcasing a romantic relationship-- York and Carolina's is usually my go-to for how Rooster Teeth does it right, but even there, you can see how a lot of the romantic narrative beats are the underlying text to support the actual PFL plot, rather than framing the romantic plot over the insurrectionist plot. I... Have a hard time putting this into succinct words, but there's just something about CT's storyline that really, really, really doesn't read well. It attempts to leverage her attachment to this man over her attachment to... Doing? A? Good? Thing? (Not to mention, I'm still really unclear of what the Insurrectionist goals even are.)

What could be a really fascinating portrayal of a character who is trying to navigate the truly heartbreaking, difficult, morally-grey aspects of revolutionary thought, her genuine care for her comrades, and her romantic love interest just so often is... like I said above. Flat. A rough draft. There's not a lot of nuance, or a lot of thought, and any depth here gets relegated to plot. That's the problem. CT doesn't have a character, she has a plot device. She is a plot device. At all points, every time we can get more from her, we get her regurgitating the parts of the plot RT wants us to get out of the story. She's... Kind of just a lazy Physical Moralization Of the Story?

Here's what they do right-- I really like the subtleties in her and Tex's relationship dynamics. Leaving the thumb drive in Tex's locker. CT's genuine concern and desire to let Tex navigate and figure out who she is. The righteous anger involved in that action, and their relationship. I don't know if I want that aspect to be explored more-- When you have a character like CT who just... spells out the plot for you, it's nice to have these subtle moments that don't try to wack you over the head with an ice pick about how to read the text. CT often seems to be used to spell the plot out to people, which I find to be more than a little demeaning. (Then again, I guess I can't fault them for having a fanbase that is probably not as invested in like. Media Literacy on the whole. lol. but that's mean.)

I think there's something genuinely heartbreaking in CT. Her relationship with Wash is fascinating, and I find the moments of her genuine frustration and the futility of trying to break through soldier mentality to be interesting. There's the bones of a really cool character, here, but it just... She just... Ugh.

If you can't tell, the construction of her character just frustrates me to no end, lol. So I'm sorry for this mess of a text, but this is a rough draft in and of itself, because trying to dissect her character is just... It's like staring at a brick wall that's been graffitied to say MAYBE THE DIRECTOR IS A BAD GUY, GUYS? ALSO I'M A WOMAN, DID YOU KNOW THAT? and it's just, simply put, kind of disappointing.

[ceilingfan5]

10, 12, 19, and 23 if you'd like!!

10. what is the longest amount of time you’ve let a draft rest before you finished it?

I'm still working on youtube au and I started that shit in 2021 so that one maybe? who knows how long it will take...but by god perhaps someday you will get to know....

12. a trope you’re really into right now

everybody knows i have a big giant weakness for fake dating it's truly ridiculous

19. the most interesting topic you’ve researched for a fic

honestly i just think researching is fascinating anyway? that's part of the play for me, so like, for example with revenge plus one as i've said before i got in DEEP with the cruise research, full on documentaries and cruise restaurant menus and MAPS, it was wild, but i mean like i love to play learning new things. i even did a bunch of research for school of fish

23. pick three keywords that describe your writing

ENTHUSIASTIC. VIBRANT. SCRUMPTIOUS

[inventors-fair]

Final Draft: Innovation Nation Runner-Ups

And here's the runners!

Overwhelming Growth by @izzet-always-r-versus-u

Man, flavor on battles is weird. It’s gonna be a while until I get used to them. This one piqued my interest though, because a leyline-esque effect that’s only active in draft seems like a ton of fun, while still being able to play the cards normally. This seems a bit too cheap for the normal cost, considering the versatility of free playing it, but I suppose since it’s easily removable, it probably evens out pretty nicely. What I’m curious about is, are campaigns by their nature going to be universal effects? Or is that just something for this one? Regardless, this is the kind of thing you could pull off in a single set and then never again, because the window of effects that you can allow to be on the field at the start of a Draft game without warping the match entirely is a very narrow one. Still, for that one set, it’s gonna make for an incredibly fascinating environment.

Riverbed Reejery by @halfsilveredmirror

This is a tricky one- not because of the card itself, but because of the logistics it implies. This is a wildly different form of tribal payoff than we’ve seen before, which is why I love it so much, but it’s tricky to both draft cards of the creature type you want, while also giving some of them up for your Kin pool. When you draft a second one of these, do you remove the first to guarantee your types, or do you take a risk? That tension fascinates me, but it also means that this set would have to be painstakingly constructed to make sure that getting the right kin types is neither too easy nor too hard. I’m less sold on the fact that there’s two types here, because either they appear separately enough that this would be near-impossible to turn on, or there’s enough merfolk wizards in this set that the ability is functionally identical to just picking one or the other for the condition. The concept here is fantastic, but there’s a lot of work to be done to make it a functional set.

Vindictive Vengeance by @just--a--penguin

Archenemy card #2 in the top 6, this one for similar reasons. This card is NASTY, but for 7 mana it feels appropriate. This card is playable in Archenemy, but also distinctly outside of it too, in any 4-player format. Ironically enough, it would immediately make you the archenemy (lowercase a) if you played this in a commander game. It is truly brutal when it guns down the Archenemy, but if you’re the Archenemy and you let your opponent hit 7 mana, you’re kinda asking for it. Ultimately, this card could probably have the knobs tweaked just a touch to make sure it’s really where it wants to be, but it’s such a solid concept that it just had to be a runner up.

See you in a few days for commentary! Holiday weekend here in Canada, so might take me a bit longer!

~judge @naban-dean-of-irritation

[vicstmichael]

Author Ask Tag

I was tagged by my amazing writeblr pal @scribe-of-stories! Read their post here, because Fleshtown sounds as fascinating as it does horrifying and I can't wait to read it someday! Also, I LOVED their writing advice for the last question. Definitely check it out!

I think I'm going to focus on 2 WIPs for this tag. My (STILL untitled) 90s rock band novel--click the tag to see more of what I've posted about that--and a dark marauders era fanfiction I recently started working on.

What is the main Lesson of your story? And why did you choose it? For my novel, I'd say the main lesson is that blood isn't a prerequisite for family. And that when you've found them you know... because together you can overcome any obstacle and rise to the top against all odds, and because when you truly see someone as family you love them despite their flaws and the mistakes they make. For the fic, I'll be honest, I haven't thought much about it yet. It's VERY new. All I was thinking was "DARK JEGULUS DARK JEGULUS" and... vibes? So, yeah. I'm a mess. But if I had to think about it I'd probably say it's that most bad choices are redeemable if you're willing to put in the work to change.

What did you use as inspiration for your worldbuilding? NOVEL: Oooh, this is a good one. I took inspiration from other works like Almost Famous and Daisy Jones and the Six for the rockstar vibes, and High School (the Tegan and Sara memoir) for the 90s vibes. I also wanted the general atmosphere to be very moody, so I took advantage of the setting (Seattle) and used the weather to manipulate that, which feels very Twilight if I'm being 100% honest. FIC: Well, I mean, that's fairly obvious. I took inspiration from the original HP source material. I also wanted to give it a very dystopian worst-case-scenario feel, so for that I took inspiration from another great fic I've been reading called As the Worm Moon Dies. Highly recommend it!

What is your MC trying to achieve, and what are you, the writer, trying to achieve with them? Do you want to inspire others, teach forgiveness, help readers grow as a person? NOVEL: This project has multiple MCs, so I'll focus on my boy Jamie. Jamie's goals are interesting because while most of the others in the band are looking to make it big and be super famous, all Jamie wants is to play music with his friends for the rest of his life. Also, he DESPERATELY wants to sort out his feelings for River and live an authentic life by his side. As for me, I'd say my goal is to show people that growth isn't necessarily lateral, and either is forgiveness. But no matter how bad things can get, as long as you're willing to put in the work and lean on your people for support, almost anything can be overcome. FIC: Regulus is just trying to survive, man. He's going through it. He's also trying to live with the choices he's made and (though he doesn't consciously know it yet) find ways to make up for them. Meanwhile, James is quite literally trying to save the world. Which is very him. He's also trying to overcome the cognitive dissonance he's experiencing when it comes to aligning his feelings for Regulus with his own personal goals and values. I don't know what I want as the writer yet, my dudes. Like I said, right now I'm just here for the vibes and the angst.

How many chapters is your story going to have? Unknown for both WIPs. Although my novel is currently up over 40 which I worry is too many. Mind you, it's still in the first draft stage so that will likely change as I cut and edit.

Is it fanfiction or original content? Where do you plan to post it? I'm HOPING my novel will be picked up by my pals at NineStar, and the fic will be up on Ao3 when it's ready!

When and why did you start writing? I started writing when I was 9 or 10, when I would make kids books (illustrations and all, haha) for my baby brother. All I had was printer paper, crayola markers and a dream baybeeee. Then I started writing short stories for youth magazines and contests, then in high school I moved onto fanfiction, and so on. As for why... I don't really know. It has always just felt natural to me. I've always known I was going to be a writer. It's what I feel best doing. I could never give it up.

Do you have any words of engagement for fellow writers of writeblr? What other writers of tumblr do you follow? I don't know how to follow Scribe's advice because it was just so damn good. So everything they said! I'd also like to add that there's nothing wrong with working at your own pace. As a neurodivergent author who goes months at a time without writing a single word only to suddenly and without warning embark on a three-week writing hyperfixation where I block out absolutely everything and everyone around me, I'm here to tell you that it's FINE. It's fine to take breaks, it's fine to take ten years or ten weeks to write a novel, the important thing is that you're writing it. Like Scribe said, don't let other people tell you how YOUR process should go. Deadlines are one thing, but all you can do is your best. What that looks like to one person may look completely different to you, and that's FINE. <3 Oooh shoutouts! I love shoutouts! Some must-follow writeblrs: @scribe-of-stories, @idgie-stark, @dewiwrites, @artcoffeecats, @rachaellawrites and @brieflyinfatuated!

Open tag! Any and all writeblrs are encouraged to play along!

[yoshigardenmoth]

Pointyhead OCs!!

(This has been in my drafts for over a month. I started redoing everything two weeks ago because I didn't like most of it)

Calling this AU "Interstellars in disguise"

Name: Fauna (left) Axel (right)

Age: 12 (both)

Gender: Female (Fauna) Male (Axel)

Species: Alien

Race: Pointyhead

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral (Fauna) Chaotic Good (Axel)

Fauna's Family: Cynthia (Mother), Astro (Father), Tip (Older brother), Scythe (Spider-cat robot who is a sibling/best friend figure for Fauna)

Axel's Family: Luna (Mother), Orion (Father)

Fauna's Personality:

Very curious girl that loves animals and reading about different ones from different planets. She's very blunt and open about what she truly thinks about something (apart from when it comes to her leader, Apex). She has a crush on Axel and enjoys showing her strength off to him, as well as exploring space with him. Whenever other Pointyheads pick on Axel, she's there to defend him verbally and physically if necessary.

When she was snuck onto Pacworld with Axel by Apex, she was very distant from the other pacworlders since she didn't trust them one bit. She did her best to be careful and cautious, so she didn't look odd for looking at a Hover Car like it was the most impressive thing in the universe; something a pacworlder wouldn't do since they see them everyday. She often read up on animals in books and found herself fascinated by things like tadpoles and dragonflies when she first found them up close.

She deeply respected Apex and believed yellow orbs, especially Pac, were the enemy and that Pointyheads would conquer Pacworld. This all changed during "Cosmic Contest" when Pac saved Tip and Apex from two ghosteroids. After Apex dimed Tip out and left him in the Netherworld to die, Fauna grew a deep hatred for him and didn't come back to Planet Pointyhead after she left Pacworld with Tip and Axel afterwards.

Axel's personality:

Quite shy but friendly towards others. He's always sticking by Fauna's side since she's his only friend and his crush. He's as curious as Fauna is and likes to explore the stars. Rather than animals, he's interested in learning how to build vehicles like the Pointyhead robots their planet has. He's incredibly interested in Fauna's robot friend 'Scythe' and likes to play with him, which Fauna allows as long as he (Axel) doesn't throw him (Scythe) around.

When Axel is on the mission with Fauna on Pacworld, he's the calmer one of the two of them and focuses on reading up on and observing the cultures and behaviours of Pacworlders. He also has to remind an aggressive Fauna that they're supposed to be disguised as Pacworlders so she shouldn't attack any that get close to them.

As well as Fauna, Axel respected Apex but didn't believe yellow orbs were necessarily the enemy; rather a power source to make their planet better. He did view Pac as a threat though, considering he managed to blow up Apex's robot and scared him and the army of Pointyheads he brought to Pacworld with eyeballs. During "Cosmic Contest" Axel lost respect for Apex after he left Tip in the Netherworld to die and was frightened by the sheer amount of hatred he picked up from Fauna. A few hours after the contest was over, Axel went with Fauna after Tip snuck back into Pacworld during the night to take her back.

Allies (applies to both of them as well as enemies and frenemies): Tip, Scythe, eachother

Frenemies: Pac

Enemies: Apex, Professor Pointybrains, Betrayus, Dr Buttocks, Ghosts

Fauna's Abilities: Shapeshifting, Shapeshifting Inducement, Lung adaptation, Immense Strength, Enhanced Hearing

Axel's Abilities: Enhanced Hearing, Enhanced Eyesight, Telekinesis

Fauna's Likes: Exploring the stars, Reading about different animals and creatures from different planets, Training her lungs and body, Shapeshifting into different animals or creatures to scare others, Hanging out with Scythe and/or Axel, Being around Tip

Fauna's Dislikes: People who hurt animals, Axel being picked on, Scythe being toyed around with, Tip being hurt (like in 'Cosmic Contest' when Apex left him), Pacworlders (Even after she leaves Pacworld with Tip and Axel she isn't a fan of them), Ghosts

Axel's Likes: Hanging out with Fauna and listening to her ramble about her interest in animals and exploring the stars, Watching Professor Pointybrains build and invent things, Fauna and Tip's cooking, Helping others, Trying to build and invent things

Axel's Dislikes: Mean people, Fauna hurting other people and being aggressive to defend him, Space worms, Ghosteroids, Ghosts

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

Synopsis:

When Fauna was two years old, her planet was attacked unprovoked which caused the Pointyheads to go to war with the aliens that attacked them. The Pointyheads ended up being victorious but many soldiers were killed, including Fauna and Tip's parents, which the siblings witnessed the death of.

Fauna grew up being taken care of by Tip and rarely spoke to anyone else. The older she got, the less she remembered of her parents until all she got were reaccuring nightmares of their death. Fauna discovered she could shapeshift when she was five and did that as a way to cope. She tried to hide it but Tip and Apex found her in the form of an alien ghost. Apex found her interesting while it took twenty minutes for Tip to calm Fauna down and get her to change back to her regular form.

When Fauna was seven years old, Tip had to go on a mission that would have him be gone for over a month. He was worried about leaving Fauna alone for a long time so Apex had Professor Pointybrains make a robot friend for her. This is how she ended with a robotic cat-spider she named Scythe.

Meanwhile with Axel, he had parents but they were too busy for him and didn't care about him. When he was ten years old, he left his home and met Fauna who was riding Scythe's back. He was fascinated by the cat-spider robot and asked to play with him. The two ended up bonding that day and Fauna took Axel back to her house so she could have someone to play with.

Two years later, Apex manipulates Fauna into shapeshifting herself and Axel into Pacworlders so they could spy on Pacworld. In "Robo Woes", Fauna and Axel sneak out of Apex's robot once the crowd of Pacworlders and the military are gone. From there, the duo researched and observed everything they could about Pacworlders and life on Pacworld. After Apex's robot is blown up due to the explosive reaction from Pac's titanium form, Fauna and Axel view Pac as a threat.

In "Invasion of the Pointyheads" Fauna and Axel watched the ghosts and Pointyheads through an invisible drone Axel built. After it seemed like the Pointyheads had won, Fauna wanted to join them but Axel told her to wait. After Pac made the Pointyheads retreat with eyeballs, the duo remained on Pacworld.

In "Cosmic Contest" Fauna and Axel watch Pac save Tip and Apex from two ghosteroids, which makes them question everything they've been taught about yellow orbs. After Apex betrays Tip, Fauna begins hating the former while Axel feels disappointed in himself for respecting Apex. After the Contest, Tip sneaks back onto Pacworld at night and reunites with Fauna before taking her and Axel to a different planet. They weren't going back to Planet Pointyhead since Tip was a traitor for helping Pac and the former wasn't going to leave his sister ever again.

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

P.S— The story does continue after Fauna and Axel leave Pacworld and they do meet Pac again in the future.

[freewriterewrite]

Sci-Fi and Reality Crash: Two books that have impacted my view on writing

Even More Fantastic Failures

Failure is the best way to learn how to be the best. So many historical figures failed early in their careers but outworked everyone else. This book shows how success is not about luck. It is about persistence and hard work, especially after failure. Obama is the first example in the book. Obama is one of the most inspiring people in American history. Even he had doubters. After he lost his race in 2000 for the House of Representatives even, he was sent away when he showed up at the door of political conventions. He had failed time and time again. His losses weren’t close either. Yet somehow, he would be president just eight years after this devastating loss. He never lost hope. I found this first chapter about Obama inspiring. It shows how someone can go through something “career-ending” and have their dream job. President of the United States. This book's chapters start with an engaging style, throwing the reader off by telling them a false narrative. For example, the chapter about Nick Foles talks about how, just five years before his Super Bowl MVP, he was the first overall draft pick. Everyone saw this coming, right? No. This is false; he backed the previous number-one overall draft pick, Carson Wentz. Nick Foles started his career as a backup for Michael Vick. He was the 8th quarterback selected in his class and was seen as a developmental backup. He quickly became a fan favorite and an interesting backup. He played great in his second season and even made a Pro Bowl. But he broke his collarbone and was unfortunately traded to the Rams. It was a new team, and he had the starting job. But after his poor play, he was benched and sent again to be a backup quarterback. Nick Foles had to make a difficult decision. Should he continue playing football? I never knew he was ever considering retirement from football when he was on the Rams. But at the end of the day, he decided to stick it out and was on the Cheifs the following year. He was the backup for most of the season again, but he was working hard and playing well with minimal opportunities. He also learned a very valuable lesson. How to have fun again. He barely even played much, but he found how much love there was in the football game. He was traded again back to the Eagles. He worked hard all season behind the young Carson Wentz. Wentz had a devastating injury at the beginning of the playoffs. Nick Foles stepped up and led his team to the Super Bowl. They were against the defending champs, the dynasty, and the New England Patriots. Tom Brady vs the backup Nick Foles. Nick Foles not only won the Super Bowl but also caught a touchdown pass and won Super Bowl MVP. He was on top of the world and achieved everything a player looks forward to. He never gave up, accepted his failures, and decided to have fun. I think we can learn from both of these inspirational people. Obama and Nick Foles. They both achieved something extraordinary in their professions. I think Obama is a more significant achievement, but the comparisons are fascinating. I loved this book; it had many amazing stories of hope, inspiration, and perseverance. It talked about Greta Thunberg and Beyonc,e too. It had excerpts of facts about different cultures, such as when fireworks were discovered. It is a fun visual book as well as inspiring and informative. Luke Reynolds did a fantastic job writing this book, using his teaching skills, taking these real stories, and putting a slight creative twist on them. I love learning about real stories told by really creative people. This book should be read by anyone aspiring to achieve big goals. I know I will be rereading it soon.

Lies to Cover the Toxins

The first book in the Silo Series, Wool, has some fantastic writing. It has truly inspired me as a writer in many ways. I love the metaphors and connections to Romeo and Juliet. The main character, Juliette, doesn’t even have any lines at the beginning of the book. Point of view switching is something Hugh Howey does very well in this book. He is the author of the Silo Series and plans to complete it soon. In 2021, he announced that he would start writing the fourth book, which fans had much anticipated. Wool has also gained popularity on Apple TV from the new TV show. Another good piece of writing Howey has in this book is suspense. There are a lot of suspenseful moments throughout the book. 

The book is set in an apocalyptic futuristic version of Atlanta. It is set inside underground silos that stretch hundreds of floors. The outside air is toxic, and nobody can go outside. When someone breaks a severe law, they are sent outside to clean the cameras that get dirty over time. The cleaners always die, and one man's wife got sent outside for looking too far. He wanted to be sent outside as her theory was that it was fine outside, and they were being lied to. IT controlled the cameras and built the suits. They were the technology and science group of the silo. He was the sheriff, so everyone was surprised when he was asked to be released outside. He saw it was spotless and gorgeous outside. He promptly fell over and died, taking off his helmet to reveal his visor was a lie. 

Howey gets you started with the sheriff and makes you think he has discovered that IT had been lying to them. It turns out they let their cleaners see a world that once was before they died in the toxic outside air. The beginning hooks you in and gets your brain working—theories and mystery all around, and you don’t know what to trust. Then, the book brings you to the mayor’s point of view until she gets killed by IT. Nex,t it jumps to Juliette and other side characters as Juliette gets thrown outside and escapes to another silo. None of the silos know about the other. The twists keep on coming as you find out there are more and more silos. It is written in a way where it can be mysterious and naturally give you background information about why the silos are connected. 

The antagonist was also really well written and easily hatable. I liked how Howey made sure these characters were widely different even though they all grew up in the silo together. Economic tensions are brought up as different levels have other responsibilities. These levels in the silo are spaced enough and give characters room for different personalities. Character interactions and relationships felt natural and furthered the plot. 

Romeo and Juliet comes up a lot in this book. Juliette is taken to the play when she is younger. Once her mother dies, she moves to be a mechanic, which is at the bottom of the silo and is the least appreciated. She is chosen for sheriff by the mayor, and while up at the top, she meets her love interest. He is a stargazer, but he works in IT. This isn’t revealed until much later. They meet while he is stargazing, and I think that is perfect. It feels natural for someone to want to be interested in the outside; he even learns about constellations and Earth's rotation. They had no record books of the world before the apocalypse. This also refers to star-crossed lovers, when two people are in love but can’t be together due to fate or family. I love the wool metaphor as well. The book's name comes from the tool the cleaners use on the cameras. Their routine is described in great detail, and it is almost tradition-like. They use a piece of wool to clean the cameras. This is a metaphor for the wool being pulled from one's eyes. The lie is revealed that the world is toxic, and IT might be to blame. 

Wool has encouraged me to write more in these ways. I have always been interested in sci-fi stories, so this was interesting, and I will definitely be taking inspiration from it for future stories. I am excited to finish the book series, short stories, and television series just released. I recommend it to anyone interested in a good apocalyptic and dystopian tale.  

[lokavisi]

This has been sitting in my drafts for a solid month now, so I figure now's as good a time as any to actually respond like I've been meaning to. I'm gonna put it all below a line because I have lots of things I'd like to share. (I've also talked about most of this on my blog before, so a lot of this might not be new to followers who have been with me a while.)

Tiny trigger warning: mention of a noose

Tiny DNI minors: some mentions of my sexuality (If you truly wish to read, I respectfully ask you skip the chunk of text that starts with "Ok now for some more lighthearted ones." You can pick back up with the last chunk of text starting with, "I could go on.")

I've been working with Loki for about 4.5 years now. I think we both have moments of, "Why are you still around?" every so often. Loki is fiery and airy energy to the max, and I'm so earthy I'm practically a rock. (If you're familiar with Astrology: my sun, moon, and Venus are in Virgo, and my rising is Capricorn. Earth, earth, and more earth.) but the answer is always, "Cause I like you," or, "You're family," or, "You're interesting to have around." Below are some moments of my time with Loki that I don't think I could ever forget, even if I tried.

When I first invited Loki into my home, I offered libations for who I'll call the "heavy hitters" of the Norse pantheon, which naturally included Loki. It was fascinating because the energy of our apartment that we lived in at the time shifted so dramatically. It felt like a party was happening when it was just my partner (now wife) and I physically in the space. But I felt one lone presence sitting at the altar table where I left the drinks. I recognized it as Loki only because he looked like Marvel's Loki. I found it incredibly odd. Later, I took the time to actually connect with them, and learned that they had been waiting to talk with me that night, and that they took on the Marvel guise so I would unquestionably know it was them (as I worried I wouldn't be able to recognize them as a shapeshifter). He kept that shape for a good few months before I started seeing red hair and generally less clothing. (Sometimes they'd just wear a loin cloth, and that was more for my sake than for theirs. I'd say about 50% of the time he's just shirtless, and the other 50% he's normally dressed for various seasons/weather conditions.)

Those first few months together we largely had a teacher/student relationship. It seemed like Loki's way of showing his value and building up trust between us. One night I was meditating out on our deck, and I believe I was burning some offerings and/or incense. I remember feeling his "monster" children around me. A young (or at least average dog sized) Fenrir nuzzling me, a baby Jormungandr wrapping himself around my arm, Hel sitting next to me to rub my back, and Loki saying, "You are family here among us." A relationship with Angrboda followed, as well. I do now have more of a relationship with Sigyn and have spent a little time with their children together, too, but I do feel most at home when I'm around Loki's Jotunn family. They all still feel like family, though.

Over the past year I've attended some guided journeys, rituals, and workshop run by a friend of mine who is a spiritworker. (They have a friendship with Loki, though I don't think they primarily work with them.) Loki has been my guide through all of them and there have been some seriously heavy moments. Here are a few:

- We were at a forge to create a weapon to help me break bonds. As it began to take shape, I could see it was a dagger. At that point, my friend (leading the journey/ritual) asked us to name this weapon. The first thing that popped into my head was the line from the Marvel Loki TV show, "Love is a dagger." I immediately shut that down. (I love Marvel Loki, too, but I make a point to distinguish the two of them.) But Loki was like, "No, that's it. What better weapon to free yourself with than Love?" I couldn't really argue with that. A little later in the journey when we were looking in a mirror at our bonds, one of mine manifested as a rope around my neck. For whatever reason, I just couldn't bring myself to cut it off. So Loki took the dagger and cut the rope for me. I was then able to grow to the size of a giant, and he was proud of me for embracing my giant (Jotunn) self.

- We were practicing past life healing. When we delved into a past situation, I was surprised to discover it was a moment of trauma in my actual current life. (I'm still sussing out why that is, but that's another story.) Needless to say it was difficult to look at that trauma happening to me, but it was necessary in order to heal it. Loki held me tightly, making sure I didn't avert my gaze (as much as I wanted to) while also being a source of comfort. The guide (my friend) then instructed us to practice various techniques we discussed, one of which was removal from the situation. I looked at my energy body in this past experience and felt unable to remove it, but Loki picked up my past energy body. He carried it out of that house, into my car, and drove us to the Starbucks down the street from where I currently live. It was nighttime, and he parked then handed me a warm drink. My wife and I will go through the drive thru at that Starbucks later in the evening/night, park, and then have conversation while we drink. So not only did Loki remove me from that traumatic situation, he brought me somewhere familiar and comforting to me to help me finish out the work during that particular journey.

I could go on and on, but I hope some of those stories gave you some insights into Loki's personality and what it's like working with them. Just remember that when things get heavy, they'll always lighten the mood. Anytime Loki makes a very serious, genuine point withe me, they always end on a joke. Joy is at the center of everything they do. All the shadow work they'll guide you through is to get you to a place where joy comes more easily. All the chaos, challenging the order of things, is to get you out of your comfort zone to live more freely and authentically. Being your true self and finding joy (and helping others do the same) is the core of Loki's teachings and being, in my experience. You will never be bored with them. Ever.

Ok now for some more lighthearted ones:

- One time I was offering sexual energy to Loki, so I put on my Loki playlist to signal, "This one's for you." Right as I'm about to cilmax, Spotify decided to add I Touch Myself by the Divinyls to the playlist. I had to laugh. Like, that seems a little too on the nose there, doesn't it, buddy? 🤣 I also remember after a job interview that I was really nervous about, he and blasted this song in the car and sang along. It was a great way to let the residual anxiety out.

- Once a friend and I were discussing our general frustration with pagan spaces focusing too much on sexuality to the point where those spaces are not safe for children/minors. I specifically spoke to how frustrating that is in regards to Loki because Loki is so great with kids. He has a lot of them! And that sense of play and imagination is just so Loki, so it's frustrating to me that a lot of spaces focus on sexualizing him and center godspousing because it limits people's ability to see and experience Loki in other ways, like in a more familial context. (This is when I got a push from Loki to start working with the kids in my UU community.) So after this conversation with my friend I feel Loki getting a little pissy. They were apparently upset I was trying to desexualize them. I explained that I want no such thing, but to rather remind people that there is more to him than just that. He agreed that that's important. I was like, "Yeah, I want to help kids connect with you," and for some reason I still felt that pissy energy. I was like, "What, you don't want me working with kids so you can connect with them?" Loki was like, "No, of course I want you to do that!"

Me: So why are you mad?

Loki: Because you didn't ask me if that's what I want.

Me: But it is what you want, right?

Loki: Of course!

Me: So why are you mad?!?

🤦 The lesson here is to double check that the Work Loki wants you to do is actually the Work Loki wants you to do. I guess. They can be ornery sometimes lol.

- One time my wife went to get some pieces of chocolate to offer to Athena and Freya (two of the deities she works with), and she felt like Loki being like, "Hey, I'm here, too! I'd like chocolate, please!" And my wife was like, "No, you fucked my wife today," and that apparently shut him the fuck up and he noped right out of there. 🤣 Loki has such a bizarre relationship with my wife. It's a hoot.

Dear Lokeans and Norse Pagans,

I just want to hear your experiences with Loki.

I've been 3 years now into Norse Paganism and Loki...But it still feels like too short time and that I still have to learn so much. He has guided me to a great transformation of myself through this time....yet I think the snake has more skin to shed. I just need to hear more opinions and experiences.

Also he is such a hard deity to get over. I don't know if it's him who doesn't let go or me...But I like it...I really like working with him...

[txttletale]

Because I'm curious now, what are your favorite TTRPGs? One of my personal favorites is the Kids On Bikes system and its variants for their simplicity and ease of access for new players.

so first of all--kids on bikes is very cool. it’s a nice rules-light game with a pick-up-and-play vibe. haven’t ever run it myself but i feel comfortable seconding your recommendation. anyway here’s some of my FAVOURITE TTRPGS.

Blades in the Dark is probably my enduring all-time favourite game. it’s a little flawed in places but its core loop is pure fucking elegance at play. flashbacks (you can spend stress, a metacurrency, to have done something in the past) and resistance (you can also spend stress to evade something bad that happens to you) are two of my favourite mechanics in any TTRPG ever. every player character gets to be a competent badass while also facing real, tangible danger with every moment. not to mention an incredibly well-fleshed out and evocative setting in the gaslamp fantasy nightmare city of doskvol.

Eidolon: Become Your Best Self is a game that dares to ask questions like, ‘what if jojo’s bizarre adventure was good’ and ‘what if persona, also, was good’. characters manifest the power of their souls as weird freaks with incredible powers. the ‘reveal your master plan’ mechanic works much like BiTD flashback mechanic and a smart combat system where enemies get stronger as you fight them really makes this the perfect vehicle for creative character-driven superpower-based combat. if you subscribe to the developers’ patreon you can also get access to the draft of the second edition, which does some really cool fucking things like replacing dice rolls with a tarot draw.

Lancer is the game for people who like grid-based tactical combat. it has incredible tactical depth, well-thought out mechanics that interlace perfectly--and best of all, you get to design and customize your own mech from a truly dizzying array of options to find all sorts of fucking insane synergies between abilities like ‘teleport whenever you attack somebody’ or ‘do more damage the more you overheat’. it also has a very comprehensive suite of GM tools that make it a breeze, and even fun, to create and run a balanced encounter with clearly defined and narrativly interesting goals for both sides. i’m not too into the setting for reasons i’ve talked about elsewhere, but fortunately as long as you can accomodate ‘mech combat’ into your setting, none of the worldbuilding is load-bearing to the game’s core appeal.

Microscope is totally different from a lot of TTRPGs in that it’s noit about playing characters, but about creating a world. it’s a beautiful collaborative storytelling tool with deceptively simple tools that can easily add up into your table creating a world that’s way more intricate and eclectic and fascinating than anything one of you could have come up with on your own. good for creating TTRPG settings but also good just as something to play for its own sake!!

Dream Askew would probably round out my top five, but i’ve just posted about that one here--so instead i’ll give this slot to Nobilis 3e, a game that might not be one of my favourite games to actually play, but is genuinely fascinating to read and sit with, a fucking masterful work of both design and literature, something that so distinctly creates a world and a tone that it’s instantly magnetic. not for everyone, but worth checking out.

[gryffinwall]

The Five Hills I'd Die on for Girl Meets World

Soooo, it’s been a minute since I’ve written anything. I fully intended to get this up on the blog at least a month ago, but you know how it goes. This has been sitting in my drafts for quite some time, so without further ado, I present to you the five hills I will die on when it comes to Girl Meets World. In (mostly) no particular order:

Lucas picked Maya originally

I’ve written about this in the past, so I won’t spend a ton of time rehashing everything. But to this day, I am fully, completely sure that Lucas originally picked Maya in Upstate. Go back and watch that scene with the perspective that he was going to pick Maya, and then watch it again with the perspective of him picking Riley. See which one tracks and which one doesn’t. It was Maya, 100%. If nothing else, that smirky, flirty expression Lucas has on his face when Maya grabs his shirt is a dead giveaway. That is not the face you make when you’re about to reject a girl for her best friend.

Of all the hills on the list, this is THE hill I will die on if I could only pick one, that’s how strongly I believe it.

Riley & Farkle were endgame

The above may be my number one hill, but this entry isn’t too far behind. I know I’m not alone in believing that had the show been renewed, even for one more season, we would have seen a development in the Riley-Farkle relationship. Throughout the show, and especially in the third season, we see Riley and Farkle have a deep connection, a much deeper one than she has with Lucas (and deeper than what Farkle has with Smackle. Yeah, I said it!). They truly, deeply, genuinely love each other, and based on what we saw in the third season, it looked like the writers were setting it up for them to develop romantic feelings as they got older. In Boy Meets World, Topanga’s dad admits he used to be scared that he’d find Topanga in the basement (i.e., making out) with Shawn but realizes it was Cory he should have been afraid of all along. My hunch is that we would have gotten a similar callback had the show gotten renewed.

There are also some fascinating parallels between Topanga and Farkle, and I’m totally sold on the argument that he is the Topanga of GMW, not Lucas. But that’s another topic for another day.

The girls’ friendship was actually kind of toxic

We can all agree that the Rilaya friendship was one of the best parts of the show. They loved each other, supported each other, and would do anything to help the other out or spare their feelings. However, they each did something to the other that was ended up being pretty hurtful.

Riley, of course, is largely at fault for getting Maya to believe that her (Maya) growing up, maturing, and wanting to be a bit more responsible was somehow a bad thing, something that needed to be “fixed.” Maya was finally embracing hope and taking herself more seriously…and Riley put a quick stop to that because it “wasn’t her.” Oof. It ended up reverting Maya to her season 1 self, which is not a place Maya really wanted to be.

Maya, meanwhile, was the co-founding member of the Riley Committee, which sheltered Riley from life’s harsh realities and disappointments to the point that her growth was stunted. Despite Riley being a smart girl living in New York City, she apparently had no idea about war, poverty, homelessness, famine, etc. Maya and the others made sure her feelings were protected – they didn’t tell her about Pluto losing its status as a planet because they knew she’d get upset - but it resulted in Riley being immature and naïve to the point of being ignorant. Not a good look.

Neither girl had malicious intent; in fact, they both thought they were in the right to say and do the things they said and did. They would never do anything to intentionally hurt the other, but it ended up happening anyway. I would have loved to have seen this get addressed on the show, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be.

Girl Meets Belief is a super interesting insight into all dynamics of the core four’s relationships

Full disclosure, the original draft for this post ended up being significantly longer than it is currently, and it’s all because of this hill. It made me realize that I want to write a separate post about it, simply because I find said insights so fascinating. So I won’t go into too much detail right here and now. All you need to know is that I think this is a crucial episode to the series since it explores the relationships between our main four so perfectly. We see every iteration of the characters paired up together, and we see why every dynamic works the way it works. Idk, I’m kind of obsessed with it, and I will have more on that soon.

The story wasn’t finished

My last hill, and it’s a big one: I don’t think the story was finished. And not in the sense that it got cancelled somewhat unexpectedly; I mean that I personally think had the show gotten renewed, we would have seen some of the stories from season 3 come back in a future season. I wholly believe we were going to come back to the “Maya became Riley” story and find out that she, in fact, did not become Riley, that Riley was wrong about all of this, and that it was a simple case of Maya growing up. And that while Riley has undoubtedly been a significant influence on her, Maya did all the work herself to become a better person.

I also believe it was going to get revealed that Riley and Lucas didn’t act like a couple for a reason. They were going to learn the important lesson that perception of a thing doesn’t make it so, particularly when feelings are involved. In other words, they were going to find out that their sweet seventh grade crushes didn’t translate to genuine love between two teenagers – and that’s okay! Their lack of chemistry and lack of seeming like an actual couple, to me, was a pretty big hint that there was something more going on beyond “bad writing” and Disney channel restrictions. A shame we’ll never know for sure, but this is my gut feeling on the matter.

And there you have it! If you have any hills you’d die on, send them my way, I want to hear them. Hope you all had or are having a wonderful holiday season, and cheers to 2023!