#THE MOST TERRIBLE TIME OF THE YEAR

[greenerteacups]

hi GT!

Lionheart had me the moment you kicked it off with “it’s a nice day to start again.” Might i ask why you chose that particular line?

And, if you havent already answered to this emoji:

❄️

P.s: you have my eternal gratitude for creating the most brilliant piece of writing i’ll ever read. I shout about it from the rooftops, share it on my socials, requested my spouse to read it so we may discuss it together (in lieu of a present for my 30th birthday), et cetera.

I see from your URL you are a fellow lad of taste.

There's a couple things going on in the epigraph for Book 1. On one level, it's a lyric from the first muggle song I picture Draco listening to on his walkman at the end of the book, so there's a cute full-circle thing there. The second layer is the theme of change and redemption, which, in Lionheart, doesn't so much come from major moments or self-sacrifice, but from the slow, grueling, everyday work of living, and living better. It's a nice day to start again because every day is. You always have the opportunity to start making better choices, no matter what lies behind you. That's the thesis of any Draco redemption arc, right? You have to imagine that he could have chosen to be better.

And then thirdly, there's the audacity of doing a full Hogwarts canon rewrite, a good 30 years after the original books came out, millions upon millions of words of fanfic later, and basically asking everyone to read the same story they did the first time around, only different. So it's a kind of winking entreaty. It's saying to readers, many of whom are understandably wary of doing it over, zeroing out the characters to starting positions, and starting from the beginning with 11-year-olds all over again. It's going: "hey. That was fun, right? Why not do it again?"

#thank you so much for the compliment -- honestly it's terribly kind #i hope your spouse likes it. for their own sake also because by god that is so much assigned reading #you're iconic for that tbh. all birthdays should come with a syllabus #oh! and ❄️ ⇢ what’s your dream theme/plot for a fic #and who would write it best? #tbh i've wanted someone to write a really good pacific rim AU for years and years #and it has always fallen juuuuust low enough on my writing pile for me to never get around to it #like it's always the thing i want to write 3rd most and i only let myself have 2 projects at a time #not sure who would write that best - I think anyone who loves and Gets the movies #the premise of which is 'what if you and your soulmate could pilot a 50-foot mech by having mindsex so good it killed godzilla?' #and if you don't want to stand up and cheer just thinking about that i don't know what to tell you. perhaps you have never seen a movie #also like it's about love and trust and trauma and healing. AND killing really giant monsters #and it takes itself JUST seriously enough to nail all of that without getting mopey or goofy #movie of all time. someday i will kiss guillermo del toro on the lips #in my (delusional) world his oscar win was actually a belated award for pacific rim.

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

and so i return to my roots of eating half a cantaloupe in one sitting

#its so fuckign good... Deliciousness... #*gollum voice* so juicy sweeeeeet!!!! #except yk. instead of a fish its a glorious melon #this morning isnt Great but mmmmm i have a cantaloupe so its not that bad!!! #absolutely unprompted #what will i do today... fold laundry probably. bring in more wood. install my new mattress #oh im so happy to have a new mattress! ive been using the same one since *dial up tone* freshman year!! #so.. about six years. jeebus criminy on a crisis cracker no wonder its uncomfortable #maybe ill work on a crochet project for a bit too #shit ill need to start thinking about christmas presents. ~Its The Most Stressful Time of The Year~ #i need to finish my grampa's lap blanket... figure out what to make for everyone else... #'everyone else' four whole people. two parents and two friends smh #wait no. three people. i just need to finish what ive already started #or start over bc it looks terrible and i feel bad lol

[shevr]

#the two unavoidable obstacles i run into & often lose against every time i try to start drawing again are #first; past the initial success at doodling some stuff again : realizing i'm not that good at this actually #like compared to what it feels i could/ should be doing if i'd known how to keep practicing regularly for the last few years #if i knew how to learn if i knew what i was doing #that's fine that's ok i can make it better i just need to quit giving up too early #second the lack of inspiration actually #i run out of ideas fast because im out of practice with that too & i have nothing to say #i don't know ! i gotta learn everything again is kinda what it feels like most of the time & i'm terrible at it #i'll try i'll try #shevr #i'll quit ranting at lengths in the next posts this one's just a thursday treat ( for me ) #my lines

[mantisgodsart]

We have finally finished this project, and thus, The World's Worst Dating Sim is finally DONE! Just in time for April Fools Day. Now, with our six new contestants, choose, uhh... who's dateable? Or not dateable? This last batch was determined almost entirely by People Telling Us Who To Add, contains multiple AUs, and is... hmm. "Unconventional" may be a good term? Half of these are probably undateable but you can still shoot your shot.

As previously, it can be a platonic date if you want, you just can't be neutral. Deadlander Lambda belongs to @cordycepsbian and has been moved into our studio for duration of this poll. Profiles below the cut.

(we're linking the first poll here)

Deadlander Lambda - Maybe - Deadlander - Good question - At least a little bit

This, uhh...

...is this safe? We don't think this is safe. ..."Already had kids before"? What do you mean it's a parent?

...well, we can't get it out of the studio, so it's an option now? We guess? This... really doesn't seem like a good idea.

Rogu - He/him - Ant drone - Very rude to ask a gentleman that, don't you think? - I wouldn't worry about that.

A charming mystery from somewhere only described as "a faraway land", though he wasn't quite scheduled in this lineup, we think we can make an exception. This silver-tongued bug seems to be able to say just what's needed to get under your skin... and from the look of it, he's angling to take you somewhere private.

...come to think of it, haven't we seen that face before? On a poster, maybe? Well, it's not a surprise he's been modelling for things, he's certainly got a pretty enough face for it, but why do we feel... nervous, all of a sudden?

Carmina - She/(scribbled in)it - (illegible) - (illegible) - (illegible)(scribbled out with "No longer relevant" written in its place)

...where is she? She was meant to show up hours ago. What on earth could have held her up this long?

Pebbles - He/him - Moth ("iterator") - Juvenile (estimated) - Unclear

Right out of surgery, this one. While we're not sure if it's entirely responsible to include this one, and we certainly don't speak whatever language he's speaking... he's cute, isn't he? And looking for a home? Well, maybe if you're the sort of person who might want to rescue a domestic moth in a bad situation...

Wereweevil Vi - It/its (wereweevil form) - Wereweevil - 19 - Aro

Pre-existing hangups mean that you can only date this one in wereweevil form. Good luck.

Kina - She/her - Mantis (big) - Haven't asked - Also haven't asked    

Well, we assume that you can do less lethal than the bandit who people mostly know thanks to her former job as a corpse disposal unit, but some people might be into that sort of thing, honestly. Are you, perchance, also a mantis?

#our art #bug fables #finished #watercolor #ocs #other peoples ocs #deadlander lambda #monsieur scarlet #carmina #five pebbles #wereweevil vi #kina #valentines #or we're tagging it as such for organization its actually an april fools poll #we treat the two events with about the same gravity so it fits #for clarification purposes: five pebbles is several centuries old and would be very offended at being called juvenile #however he is less than an inch tall and built like a stick and doesnt speak bugnish at all #so he spends most of his time lurking beneath furniture and trying to bite people with his new mouth. much to the hospitals distaste. #although the wereweevil is vi or at least an aspect of her it is not a terribly sapient one #it is hungry and afraid and desperate and lashing out in search of any pack #in search of ANY connection it can find #and the only way it knows how to do that is by violently mauling everyone and everything in its path so uhh good luck bucko #wereweevil vi in normal form has way too many hangups over intimacy to agree to an outing and must be approached like a feral cat #we know about the normal timeline and we added extra years so that she has the time to acquire more problems #thus ends our FAQ. good luck #EDIT: typo in the tags. ough

[pearl-kite]

About 3 years ago FHR helped revive my drawing habit by giving me reasons to draw Gale again, and I did a lineup of them over time, as was the trend.

imo it aged poorly, and it was time for an update and an excuse to draw baby infant child

#kirehn draws #fallen hero #fhr #fallen hero retribution #sidestep #in theory the center is beginning of rebirth #perhaps even at a particular place at which food can be obtained #most of the time they're good at pretending things are good if they have to #so through most of retri they'd attempt to look and act a bit more chipper and healthy in general à la no. 3 #guys gals pals they had a great time until they had a terrible time in retri #they have not lost a fight since the regene in book 1 #too bad you can't win a fistfight against certain objects #¯\_(ツ)_/¯ #if they don't ultimately get a good ending I may cry #my child my baby my second oldest character who's existed for 16 years this year (!!!!!) #I like drawing plaid #pk:ocs #pk:gale

[atissi]

this is a joke. i hated business school.

(conversation with @thesweetestclementine)

#CONTEXT: we were talking about the james somerton bullshit #anytime someone at a party asks me what i majored in i say 'marketing and finance but i hated it the entire time i promise im normal' #can confirm though that 80% of business majors suck ass at writing let alone coming up with original ideas #in first year we had a mandatory business writing class because it had gotten so bad among previous cohorts #and everyone i talked to hated it because we had to read actual books and the professors were lit. phds with actual standards #'they mark way too hard i got 60% on everything' have you considered that this is a. skill issue. #also 60% is just. expected for certain humanities courses lolll at least in business our grades get curved #so you're only hurting your GPA if you write worse than everyone else lol. but good luck with that #anyways that's just a fraction of why my classes were terrible. but the writing thing annoyed me the most when I was doing group essays. #beepbeep.txt

[wonder-worker]

"The newly widowed Elizabeth (Woodville) was exceptionally vulnerable. Several of the trustees responsible for her jointure refused to hand over the manors that were meant to sustain her in her widowhood. Moreover, her brother-in-law, Edward Grey, had seized estates that her son Thomas should have inherited from his paternal grandfather, while her mother-in-law’s new young husband, Sir John Bourchier, had prevailed on Lady Ferrers to settle her principal properties on them jointly for life, ensuring that Thomas would have to wait far longer for this inheritance too. Rivers and Scales were pardoned in July 1461 and swiftly moved into the Yorkist establishment, which perhaps explains the success of the chancery suits Elizabeth launched to regain her jointure. Her son’s inheritance proved harder to recover. By 1463, Rivers was often in (Edward IV's) company and on his council, but Elizabeth needed someone with much stronger influence over the King. She turned to a distant kinsman, William, Lord Hastings, the King’s chamberlain. Hastings drove a very hard bargain for his aid but it was probably amid these negotiations that the King’s desire for Elizabeth was kindled."

-J.L. Laynesmith, "Elizabeth Woodville: the Knight's Widow", "Later Plantagenet and Wars of the Roses Consorts: Power, Influence, and Dynasty"

#historicwomendaily #elizabeth woodville #Elizabeth really had terrible in-laws #And these people weren't even the worst of them - that particular award goes to Richard of Gloucester #As complicated as her first widowhood sounds it was a breeze compared to the literal nightmare she went through during her second. #Honestly though: part me wonders what Elizabeth's first marriage was like because we know absolutely nothing about it. #The marriage itself is a blank slate but the fact that her husband's parents & siblings were so indifferent and uncooperative #to her - and their own kid-grandchildren?? - after he died indicates that his family may have been rather dysfunctional imo? #Certainly they (or most of them) don't seem to have cared about the wellbeing or dignity of his young and newly widowed wife which #doesn't exactly suggest closeness or support during the marriage itself from their end. #Elizabeth doesn't mention John Gray in her deathbed will either though she mentions Edward IV. She may have thought it was #'inappropriate' to mention her first husband beside her significantly higher-ranked second husband...but she DOES mention her son by #her first marriage - which would have drawn attention to it anyway - alongside her royal daughter so that's unlikely to have been a reason. #Maybe it was simply the passage of time? She and John had been married for very few years and she lived such a different life after that #So it's possible that her first marriage simply seemed very distant and faraway to her. #Alternatively it may have simply been undivided affection for Edward IV (her husband of 19 years who she married for love) #which fits well into the relatively personal nature of her will. #Of course we don't actually know anything about any of this and this is all pure wild speculation on my end...but I'm curious. #It's really a shame how little we actually know about Elizabeth's life - made worse by the very limited primary records of Edward IV's #reign and the fact that his chamber records don't survive. And it's even more frustrating that this is so rarely actually acknowledged #by historians. I'd argue we know far more about the life & interests of most other 'prominent' women of the Wars of the Roses #(sans the Neville sisters) than we do about Elizabeth Woodville.

[gilgil-machine]

I wish some people never had access to internet at all...

TW assault, TW r*pe

#this is one of the main reasons why I don't get into the fandom that much and just stay in my own personal bubble #I already have a bad relationship with gilturia and I just can't see those two together without having a bad taste in my mouth #despite the fact there's a lot good art with those two #and I know that not all gilturia shippers are like that #and I understand that most of them ship those two because they just look aesthetically pleasing and look good together but still... #I can't just look calmly at those two especially knowing their background and how Gilgamesh actually treats her #and honestly because of such moments sometimes I feel disgust towards Gil (obviously) but I also feel disgust towards myself #for liking such terrible character #and honestly I fear that someday because of such moments I would stop liking him or even start to hate him #but I don't want that because despite his negative traits he still is well written and very deep character that has a lot of layers to him #plus he helped me to get thought a lot of hardships especially after these past two years throughout which I got attached to him even more #and his quote that he said to Hakuno ''No matter what adversity you face there's no other way for you but forward'' #cheered me up a lot of times #sorry for the rant #I just had this things building up in my chest and these tweets just made me kinda snap #my ramblings #personal

[fragmentedblade]

Also, Velite/Argenti actual OTP. What's that post about the hero walking into the story and the friend aware of the tropes walking alongside them right into danger because even if they know, because they know, they can't let the hero go alone?

#Let's see if I find it but yes they made me think of that post #They also made me think of Stei.nbeck's telling of the story of Lyon.el and Lancel.ot together #How Lancelo.t takes his nephew with him to teach him the way of a true knight and Lyon.el goes alongside him mocking him at first #but soon deeply moved by Lancelo.t's purity and devotion and... his loneliness and tiredness #That scene in which Lyon.el teases Lancelo.t about love and he can see for a moment Lancelo.t almost want to kill him #but then drink his fury and get terribly tired. How Lancelo.t tells him he wants to rest under the tree and Lyon.el asks #what shall he say to his friends when he tells them about this part of the journey‚ to which Lancelot replies to tell them just #that he was tired. That he was more tired than he had ever been. Tired as if he hadn't slept for seven years. And that he needed to rest #And there‚ watching him sleep‚ with what sleep is for a knight since it's being seen in their most vulnerable‚ Lyon.el gets deeply moved #by this man‚ feels protective of him‚ and like he can no longer mock him or his bizarre ways #Well‚ that's what Velite and Argenti reminded me of #Also I adore that book but I love that scene in particular. I think all the time of the wording of those seven years Lancelo.t speaks of #I talk too much #I should probably delete this later

[felizusnavidad]

taylor swift lyrics that keep u up at night?

*takes a deep breath*

remember looking at this room, we loved it cause of the light now i just sit in the dark and wonder if it's time.

(oversharing in the tags)

#i know it's not the most obvious choice and i think i've never talked about this line before #but i think it will keep me up at night for the rest of my life #so when i heard you're losing me for the first time i was in a very similar situation #most of you don't even know i was engaged and had the most terrible break up this year #it's easier when someone breaks up with you #it's much harder when you have to make that decision #and the hardest when you know you made this decision already but you're not sure if it's actually the time... #and i feel like both taylor and i knew it was the only option but we were never 100% sure if it's time to go #if that makes sense #i did eventually #i still remember moving into our apartment 3+ years ago when we were still happy #and then spending last six months of our relationship alone in this apartment knowing it's going nowhere and i have to leave eventually #and moving out in june to my own small cozy place i live in now #but i never even got closure #so i still didn't fully recover #and it will haunt me forever #trust me this line always makes me cry #ugh #sorry for that #i still miss him sometimes even tho he was a bad person #thanks for the ask tho #i feel like i wanted to say all of that long ago and you just gave me a perfect opportunity to do that #so i'm grateful ❤️ #yes i got your letter yes i'm doing better*

[meat-loving-meat]

Trying to make Vanyel and Staven’s relationship as unhinged and weird as possible

#I think that they would make each other so much worse #I’m imagining a dumpster fire so terrible that the families stage an intervention #they’re not romantic. they’re not platonic. they’re not fraternal. they’re not antagonistic. whatever they are it’s worse than any of those #their lives are tangled together forever but only Vanyel gets a second chance. Staven is alone forever #and Vanyel is both the closest he can get to what he lost and the most painful reminder of what he lost at the same time #they facetime for hours every day for a month and then don’t talk to each other for three years. #being in the same room as the two of them together is unbearable. #Vanyel tries one (1) time to explain what’s going on to his therapist but gives up halfway through bc it’s one of those things that is both #inexplicable to an outside AND something he doesn’t want to fix #anyway. this dynamic might evolve and change as i write more of it but for right now i think weird™️ is the play #gay herald in a squirrel suit

[willowfey]

starting to think maybe waking up with an anxiety stomachache every single morning and then needing to spend the entire day trying to get rid of said anxiety just to maybe have a few minutes in the evening of feeling relaxed before going to bed is perhaps not normal

#the first thing i do when i become conscious is check my phone to make sure nothing terrible happened to anyone i love while i slept #i never ever ever have plans and if anyone Else has plans i feel sick with anxiety until they’re back from them #if i have smth planned that week i feel completely tense and on edge until it happens #i didn’t used to be like this i hate hate hate it #i used to feel safe in my little house in the forest where i knew everyone in town and knew my way around with my eyes shut #it’s still the only place in the world i feel safe. that’s so unfair #my separation anxiety is ridiculous. if my mom goes to the store and doesn’t answer a text right away i start panicking #if my sister goes to a class or smth idk what to do with myself until she gets back #if i’m in the shower or have the fan on or headphones in suddenly i’ll think i hear someone shouting and i’ll have to quickly turn it off #ever since i moved here it’s been getting worse. i don’t feel safe here to begin with i feel so out of place it’s unreal #but then covid and trauma with my mother’s health and my uncle dying and multiple relatives getting sick and things happening to my friends #i know i have ptsd from very specific things that happened and i live on a hospital path so every day i hear sirens #and every time i do it fully triggers an anxiety attack in me for at least an hour. and my mom too #since being here my hometown burned and friends i thought would never grow apart did and my brother moved out #i know a lot of that is just Being In Your Low Twenties but also some of my worst trauma has happened in the last handful of years and now #now i’m just always scared. always uneasy. always worried. never fully relaxed. never feel fully safe. & idk how to be myself through that #i’m always paranoid and i never trust people irl anymore. ppl my mom or sister meet. i am so suspicious of them constantly. #if anything small changes at all i can’t handle it. my ability to deal with change has gone so downhill #in the last 5 years of being here i realised i was autistic which led to me unmasking a bit and that. comes with pros & cons doesn’t it #my own health has declined. my body changed a lot in ways i wasn’t prepared for and i had to get rid of most of my comfort clothes #sometimes i just wanna sit on the ground and cry about it and not have to also be the one that picks myself back up. y’know??? #but at the very least i’d love to just wake up One Day w/o feeling sick with anxiety already. just one day i want to wake up feeling rested #i want to be myself again but can i start with not being scared? not being tired? i don’t know what to do anymore #i just watch my comfort videos and read my comfort fics and stay in my daydream world

[francis-ford-kofola]

Christopher Reeve as Superman confronting Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor in SUPERMAN (1978) dir. Richard Donner

#superman #superman 1978 #superman: the movie #christopher reeve #gene hackman #lex luthor #richard donner #my best friend and i were talking about coppola's the conversation #and he said that they must have done some terrible things to gene hackman's hair in that movie #since he had a receding hairline there and not in superman which was shot four years after that #and like no he also had a receding hairline in superman #you just couldn't see it most of the time because of those ridiculous hairstyles (affectionate) they used to make his hair look like a wig #ok i'll shut up #my gifs #<3

[hellsite-hungergames]

This is the universe getting back at me for living all those times I should have died

#I’m making this sound like something terrible when most people would be happy to get this news #meanwhile the last time this happened I had a year long breakdown and right now when it’s happening I’m repressing my emotions

[novantinuum]

ahhhh lmafo i see it’s once again the season of stupid ass crit posts about AO3 being run purely by donations, and also stupid ass posts that assume that people donating to AO3 because of their love and appreciation for it is somehow taking away support from other charities and donation drives

#this always gives off vibes of that meme that is just like... 'terrible! local man is having a fun time while 11 year old girl #from states away is missing' #like in my mind... #quite frankly people donating to AO3 are doing so as if they are paying for Entertainment #as if it's a podcast subscription or streaming service #they're saying thank you for the work the site owners do at keeping this archive away #this is barely an overlapping cause with charities at all in terms of where most folks are coming from... donating to it #so all these posts just come across as super bitchy to me #jen rambles