#also there are some themes(most of which haven't been explored too deeply but will be) that are very personal to me

[fanficapologist]

Of Dragons and Maelstroms

Themes and Warnings: slow burn, enemies to lovers, blood, violence, explicit language, sexual violence, period-typical misogyny, sexual themes, smut, tension, marriage, jealousy, pregnancy, childbirth, miscarriage, attempted sexual assault, breastfeeding, major character death, divergent timelines

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the House of The Dragon/Fire & Blood/Game of Thrones characters nor do I claim to own them. I do not own any of the images used nor do I claim to own them.

Chapter Thirty-Four

For twelve long days, Maera retreated into a self-imposed silence. She fulfilled her duties diligently but spoke little to anyone, choosing to spend most of her time in her chambers. The King and Queen, both recovering from their injuries, remained secluded in their respective chambers. Maera relied on her trusted confidants, Thena and Ser Arryk, to keep her informed about the court's whispering. Through Thena's reports, she learned that rumors were circulating among the courtiers. Some believed that the King and Queen had fallen gravely ill, a disease that would further destabilize the realm, and allow Princess Rhaenyra to take her place on the Iron Throne. Others speculated that the royal couple was using this time to strengthen their bond, causing Maera to roll her eyes. The courtiers clearly did not know the royal couple well if that was the assumption made.

In an attempt to not go mad in her solitude, Maera's primary focus during those days was on Queen Helaena's three children. Each day spent in their presence was a gift from the Gods, and a welcome distraction from Maera’s impending destruction at the hands of the King. Accompanied by the nursery maids, Maera would take them daily to the Godswood and allow the children to play and explore whilst she sat underneath one of the trees. Maelor continued to toddle around quite happily but the twins seemed discontent. As she watched over them, Jaehaera approached Maera, curiosity gleaming in her violet eyes.

"Why haven't we seen our mother in a while?” The young princess asked Maera, who granted the little girl a sad smile. She studied Jaehaera, taking in her gown of crimson and black, and silver locks that framed her cherubic face.

"Your mother has important matters to attend to, which is why I am blessed to spend this time with you all, Princess,” Maera assured the girl in an attempt to distract her from the situation at hand.

Jaehaerys had also been listening from a few feet away, brows furrowing in confusion at her comment. It seemed they remained unconvinced, but they did not ask any further questions, continuing to play together.

Amid her interactions with the children, Maera continued to visit Helaena, checking on her well-being. The Queen's injuries, while still visible, were gradually healing, and her spirit was recovering too. One day, as Maera tenderly bathed her friend's face, wiping away any remnants of dried blood, she gently broached the subject of the children.

"Would you like to see them, my Queen? It may lift your spirits to have them around you."

However, the Queen hesitated, her concern evident as she replied, "I fear my injuries would frighten them."

Maera continued to tenderly cleanse Helaena's face, her gaze filled with sympathy. She couldn't help but admire the Queen's strength as she said, "You are such a good mother to those children, Helaena."

The Queen paused, her eyes distant as she reflected on her situation. Eventually, she confessed, "Aegon may be a monster, but he gave me the greatest gifts of all - my children. For that, I can't help but feel some gratitude."

Maera's brow furrowed at Helaena's words. She, too, cared deeply for the children, but she wondered if she would ever willingly trade her suffering for the role of their mother. And as for Aegon, she pondered whether the children truly comprehended the darkness that lurked within him.

With the cleansing complete, Maera carefully placed the bowl of water and cloth back on the bed side table. She then poured a cup of herbal tea, a prescribed remedy from the Maester to aid Helaena's recovery, in a blue porcelain cup.

Expressing her heartfelt sympathy, Maera commented, "I'm so sorry that I could not stop him, Helaena. I wish I had been with you that night."

The Queen sighed softly, revealing, "He hasn't returned to my chambers since..."

Maera carefully handed the cup of herbal tea to Queen Helaena, her eyes filled with concern as the conversation took a somber turn. Helaena, perceptive as ever, noticed the worry etched across Maera's face, and it prompted her to pause mid-sip. She set the cup down and fixed her gaze on Maera, her violet eyes piercing like a hawk's.

Hesitation weighed heavily in the air as Helaena ventured to ask, "What did you do?" Maera released a deep, resigned sigh, her gaze shifting to the window that framed the Queen's chambers. Outside, ominous dark clouds gathered, mirroring the turmoil within.

Turning back to her friend, Maera admitted, "Something that's bound to bring dire consequences, I’m sure."

Helaena's eyes widened in alarm at Maera's words, and she reached out desperately, clutching Maera's hand tightly. She implored, "I can endure a thousand more tortures at Aegon’s hands, but i cannot lose you, Maera, please.”

Maera couldn't bear to look at her friend any longer, the weight of guilt and regret pressing upon her. When she had lashed out at Aegon, her anger had consumed her, a blaze that had burned out of control. But now, as she reflected on her actions, those flames had dwindled to mere embers. Maera understood that, no matter how justified she felt in avenging Helaena, it was she who would ultimately bear the consequences.

Helaena's voice carried across the room, filled with deep emotion. "Maera, you're my best friend," she said, her words imbued with sincerity. "I think you are my only true friend. You have always accepted me for what I am. You have never called me crazy or stupid or dumb. You make me feel…safe."

Moved by her friend's heartfelt words, Maera returned to Helaena's side, their hands entwined once more. Her voice trembled with uncertainty as she spoke, "I don't know what's going to happen, Helaena. I don't even know who knows about what transpired." She fought to hold back tears, turning her gaze away momentarily to regain her composure before locking eyes with Helaena again. "And I don't know how to fix this mess."

Helaena's demeanor shifted suddenly, as if she'd drifted into a trance. She muttered cryptically, a slight smile on her face, "The dragon will trade a doe for a storm," leaving Maera bewildered by the strange words.

Maera, consumed by the relentless uncertainty of her fate, began refusing meals and drinks, plagued by the fear that Aegon might resort to poison her. Her loyal maid, Thena, tried her best to reassure her. "My lady, I've been with the food every step of the way in the kitchen. There's no foul play," she said earnestly. In an attempt to coax Maera into eating, Thena even sampled the dishes herself. But even after confirming their safety, Maera could only manage a few reluctant bites.

The nights were the worst, where repeating dreams of her fate tortured her. In the throes of her nightmare, Lady Maera's breath came in ragged gasps, her heart pounding like a drum of doom. The specter of treason and execution haunted her, a dark shadow that refused to relent. As the nights wore on, her cries grew louder, a haunting chorus of anguish that reverberated through the chambers, causing Ser Arryk to have to come in and wake her, finding her in a wretched state, hair clung to her sweat-drenched brow, trembling hands grasping at the linens, seeking an escape from the horrors that plagued her mind.

On the thirteenth day of her ordeal, after another sleepless night, Maera completed her letters to her family back in Rain House. She chose not to divulge the impending doom she faced at the King's hands, unwilling to worry her loved ones. Instead, she poured her heart into the words, expressing her deep longing for them, urging them to care for one another, and to foster love, empathy, and understanding. She wanted them to know that she carried them in her thoughts every single day.

That morning, Maera extended an invitation to Thena and Ser Arryk, to join her in her chambers for a ‘last meal’. Her mother’s wise words echoed in her mind, stating “the simple act of sharing a meal holds the power to provide a modicum of comfort amidst the encroaching shadows of grief.”

Together, the trio shared breakfast in a rather solemn affair, the air heavy with a sense of melancholy that hung like a shroud. A jug of ale, dark and hearty, stood as a solitary sentinel, its presence a silent acknowledgment of the need for easing the tension that had been weighing down on her for days.

As they sat together, savoring their food, Maera couldn't help but contemplate that this might be the last time they'd share such a moment. She turned to Thena, her loyal maid, and made a solemn request, "Thena, when the news of my punishment spreads, ensure that my letters reach my family." Thena nodded in agreement, her expression reflecting her unwavering loyalty.

Maera then shifted her gaze to Ser Arryk, her trusted guard. With determination in her voice, she implored, "Ser Arryk, I want you to become the sworn protector of Helaena. Make sure the King never lays a hand on her again, even if it means facing punishment yourself." The knight, his mouth full of food, managed a resolute nod through a bite of his meal.

Thena, taking a sip of her ale, chimed in with a touch of skepticism, "But my lady, we don't know your fate yet. Why plan for it?"

Maera replied with unwavering certainty, "Thena, I beat the King to a bloody pulp. It's unlikely I'll go unpunished."

Ser Arryk, having swallowed his food, added, "And he deserved every bit of it."

Thena continued to question, "What about Prince Aemond? He was with you at the time. Surely, despite his unpredictability, he'll protest a harsh punishment for the sake of your childhood friendship."

Ser Arryk interjected, "If the Prince was determined to protect our Lady, he'd have already come to see her and assure her of her fate."

Maera couldn't help but agree, noting that the Prince had clearly not left King's Landing, as Vhagar, the mighty dragon, continued to soar above the castle, a constant presence in the city's skies. She sat in contemplative silence, her thoughts swirling like a turbulent sea. A mixture of emotions and assumptions danced in her mind. Perhaps, Maera mused, Aemond already knew her fate, but the burden of delivering such news had held him back. It was kind in one way, yet terrible in another.

Pouring herself more ale, Maera downed the goblet until it was empty, her thoughts now morphing into whether she would get to see Aemond again before her impending doom. There was so much she wanted to say to him, and Maera concluded that grudges could not be held from beyond the grave. She wanted to express her disdain for his cruel nature and how he had toyed with her since losing his eye. That his hot-tempered and unforgiving nature would be his downfall, and perhaps if he wasn’t such an arrogant arse, he would find happiness in this life.

She also wanted to tell him how not all of the memories she had of him were bad, how there were points were she admired him and treasured his company, how sometimes simply seeing his face would make her days. Maera wanted to tell him how she thought he mirrored the beauty of the Gods of Old Valyria despite his injury, how she had thoroughly enjoyed the kiss they had shared that night and how she wished that they had taken things further, so she would have known a man’s touch before her head ended up on a spike.

But most importantly, Maera wanted to impart some wisdom to him. She longed to tell him to harness his anger, to use it to protect his family, instead of letting it consume him. She wanted him to know that he didn't need to constantly prove himself to others, that he was already enough just the way he was. And deep down, she believed he should have been the one sitting on the Iron Throne, that he was a born ruler and warrior, far more suited than the foolhardy Aegon.

With resolve, Maera rose from the breakfast table, reached for one last piece of parchment, and began to scribble down everything that had been swirling in her mind. Folding it and sealing it with wax, she pressed the House Wylde sigil of the Maelstrom onto the still-wet wax. The letter was addressed to the One-Eyed Prince, and she placed it onto the growing pile of messages. One more letter for Thena to deliver.

The doors to Maera's chambers burst open, and her father, Lord Jasper, entered with an air of authority. His grey-green eyes, normally sharp and discerning, now blazed with a fury that seemed to ignite the very air around him.

Immediately, the maid and guard rose from their seats as a sign of respect for the head of House Wylde. Maera offered her father a respectful nod as he demanded, "What have you done?"

Maera sighed and glanced over at Thena, giving her a gentle nod as a signal that she could leave. Thena approached her lady and picked up the correspondence on the writing desk. However, before she could depart, Maera reached across her table and handed Thena a burgundy silk purse filled with silver coins, a token of gratitude for her unwavering loyalty during Maera's stay at the Red Keep. She clasped it into Thena’s hands, giving it a gentle squeeze before mouthing a silent, “Thank you, for everything.” The maid appeared on the verge of tears but managed to nod before turning to leave the room. Ser Arryk, ever vigilant, remained, knowing that her father's temper was likely to flare.

Maera returned to her dining table, poured ale for herself, her knight, and her father, and gestured for her father to take the goblet she offered. She then asked him, her voice tinged with concern, "What have you heard?"

Lord Jasper accepted the goblet and eagerly took a sip before he began to explain, "I heard that the Queen had been injured, from the Maester."

Maera couldn't help but roll her eyes and sarcastically mused aloud, "Oh, did Maester Orwyle say how the Queen manage to get herself hurt so badly?"

Her father paused for a moment and then continued, "But then, I heard that the King had also been injured." He looked at Maera, concern etched on his face. "I hope, for your sake, you had nothing to do with the King's injuries."

Maera merely shrugged in response, her tone casual as she asked, "What would give you that idea?"

Her father's voice grew gruffer as he replied, "I have not been invited to the last four Small Council meetings since these incidents occurred, and they went ahead without me."

With a contemplative hum, Maera swirled the ale around in her goblet before taking another sip. After a moment of silence, she finally responded, her voice tinged with resignation, "What's done is done." Lord Jasper, frustration evident, slammed his goblet onto the table in anger.

Lord Jasper couldn't contain his anger as he approached Maera, shouting, "Do you realize what you have done? What shame you have brought upon us?!" However, Ser Arryk swiftly stepped between them, hand resting on his sword's hilt, warning Lord Jasper to stay back.

Maera, defiant and fiery, shouted back at her father, "The King is probably going to execute me anyway. You should be glad; then you can be rid of your shame!" Frustration boiled within Lord Jasper, causing him to kick over one of Maera's chairs, releasing some of his pent-up anger. He began to pace the room, muttering, "Oh Gods," repeatedly.

As tension filled the room, another figure entered, the sound of armor clinking softly with each step – Ser Criston Cole, the Lord Commander, clad in his imposing metal plating. He addressed both Maera and her father with an air of calmness, his chiselled features displaying a hint of sternness. “Lord Wylde, Lady Maera. Your presence has been requested in the Throne room. By the King."

Notes: been avoiding editing this chapter but finally got round to it! I’ve been working on the other chapters more 🤣

Tags: @marvelescvpe @grungegrrrl @shesjustanothergeek @blue-serendipity

Thank you so much for reading! Comments, feedback, likes, and reblogs are greatly appreciated 🖤

#maera wylde #aemond fanfiction #aemond targaryen #aemond x oc #chapters #hotd aemond #hotd fanfic #hotd helaena #house targaryen #house wylde

[bramble-scramble]

Bramble’s Fanfic Collection

Hi friends!! I’ve been wanting to do this for a while: since I don’t, as of yet, post my work on AO3 or anywhere else besides here, I wanted to get together a collection of my writing. I will keep this post current, so if you are looking at this from a reblog, be aware that it might not be up to date unless you visit the original post!

This isn’t everything I’ve written in my life, of course, but it’s everything that lives here. I have much older stuff that I might port over here gradually if I decide I’m still happy with it. 

Nothing I write is too explicit, but it sometimes may deal with body horror, injury, death, and distressing themes such as depression and suicidal ideation. Content warnings are given on individual posts.

Fanfics are collected into general fandom categories below. Thanks to anyone who’s ever read, commented on and enjoyed my work!

Super Mario RPG

I first played SMRPG over half of my lifetime ago, but it never really captured my imagination until the remake came out. Being older, I felt like I was in a better spot to appreciate some of its more subtle themes, and became enamored with the Smithy Gang in particular. I haven't written all that much yet, but I'd like to do more.

The Forging - A Spear is born.

Smithy Gang Headcanons - My personal timeline and background from which I hope to eventually build more ideas.

Mack/Claymorton Headcanons

Mario + Rabbids

This is the fandom that brought me back to tumblr and got me to stick around, and also got me writing on my own again after ages of drought. Years ago I would have never believed that rabbids would get me to write so much, but here I am, and I’m grateful for it!

Most of these so far are about Woodrow and Palette Prime more generally, because that’s where my brain lives, and the catastrophe poet is very special to my heart. I’ll eventually branch out more though, I swear.

I write a bunch of Phandrow (Phantom x Woodrow) stuff specifically; it started out with me trying to justify a crackship to my own brain and then whoops! I became obsessed

Of Verses and Curses 

My magnum opus of fanfics, as of yet, and the longest work of fiction I have written independently in my life, this is a story of finding the person who loves you even if your passion in life seems to only bring failure and misfortune. It’s a deeply personal story built off a lot of my own feelings and struggles. It’s also a story about two gay rabbids who have never canonically met. [Phantom x Woodrow, also includes plenty of Dryad x Sweetlopek] 

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Epilogue

Music of the Night

The dark inverse to Of Verses and Curses, set in the Sparks of Despair AU created by @pastelprince18​, this is a far more upsetting tale of doomed love and unhappy endings. There is a monster at the end of this book.

(Body horror warning, especially at the end, so just be aware before you get invested.)

Chapter One - In Sleep He Sang to Me

Chapter Two - Do I Dream Again?

Chapter Three - Our Strange Duet

Chapter Four - To Glance Behind

Chapter Five - Those Who Have Seen Your Face

Chapter Six - Where Night is Blind

Chapter Seven - Angel of Music

Other Woodrow or Phandrow stuff

Bwahstrella’s Warning - an exploration of what might happen when you push the galaxy’s own disaster poet to the heights or the depths of his passion. [Phantom x Woodrow]

Poetry Slammed - Sweetlopek’s perspective of a certain boat incident. [Sweetlopek and Woodrow, platonic]

Happy Phandrow Things - not really a fanfic so much as a collection of thoughts/headcanons but they make me happy so they’re going here, gosh darnit!

The Eulogist - Woodrow necromancer AU. Not sure I need to say more than that. [character death and slight body horror warning]

Wolf of the Woods - An exploration of a Werewolf Woodrow AU! While not much in itself, people liked it; not only did it spearhead a lot of fun discussion/art, but it’s pretty much what got me writing again and therefore led to EVERYTHING above!

Unmerged - Not really a fic, but an exploration of an idea that makes me too sad to think about too much D:

An Appeal to the Heavens - In a time long past, a poor poet makes a desperate plea to the god he yearns to serve.

Pocket Poet, Part 1 | Part 2 - my one exploration of the Borrower AU: tiny Woodrow experiences the theatrical world of his lover, up close and personal.

Non-Woodrow Stuff (wtf, it DOES exist)

Something from Nothing - before we really knew what the Tower of Doooom was about, we had thoughts. Unhappy thoughts. [featuring Spawny and extra-evil Phantom]

M+R Timeline Analysis - Not a fic, but some background on how I view this universe.

Tools of the Traitors - A mini Super Paper Mario crossover between Kanya and Dimentio.

The High Seas AU

Sirens and Soliloquys - a pirate poet who bears a curse in secret is tempted by a siren's song, and gets more than he could have possibly imagined as a result.

Further worldbuilding and character background ideas for the AU!

Sea Legs - just a little more Phandrow silly sweetness

The Vampire [Phanpire?] AU

A Phandrow-centric AU that really speaks for itself, collaboratively created. Usually Phantom is the vampire and Woodrow his willing prey, but sometimes the roles are reversed, sometimes the ""victim"" is Prima Donna (Phantom's drag persona), sometimes they're both vampires- look, we like to have fun here.

As a general warning, pretty much anything in this collection will deal with blood and mild injury.

A Bite for Good Luck - my starting point for this AU, and its companion piece from Tom's perspective.

Burning Like The Sunrise - a little prequel to the above. A tale of passion at first bite.

One Paw in the Grave - Woodrow learns just how vulnerable a vampire can be.

Bat's Eye View - A vampire shows his beloved the world as he sees it.

Batsong - Lord Phan runs into misfortune; but thankfully, it's only of a rather amusing kind.

Various Vampire Phandrow Ideas: A Duet | The Lord's Protection | Thoughts on Sleep | Something More Than Blood | Nothing Wasted | Paeans to Prima Donna | Sacred Anatomy

Donkey Kong/Banjo-Kazooie/Rare-Playtonic Universe

A Donkey Kong’s World - this is a narrative record of the homebrew D&D campaign I was in, and includes elements from all of the things mentioned above, as well as Sea of Thieves and the Mario series. I’m including it here because not only was I involved as one of the characters, but I actually novelized most of the whole story (taking over from our DM who did the first few chapters) based on our session recordings. It was an extremely special experience for me, and is quite a long read, but if you’re a big fan of any of these franchises I think you might enjoy coming along with us. [Link is external and goes to the forum where the story is hosted.]

Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga (+ Bowser’s Minions)

These are years old, from before my tumblr hiatus, so they may not be quite up to my current standards... but I still like them.

Anamnesis - While Popple and Rookie plan their biggest heist yet, Rookie tries to remember who he is... and almost does.

Wallflower - In the quiet moments, Captain Shy Guy realizes just how much he cares about that silly Goomba... [Captain Shy Guy x Captain Goomba]

The Stolen Birthday - a little headcanon for a Popple backstory.

That’s all for now!!

#fanfic

[foxymoxynoona]

I feel like u have some good fantasy books recommendations 👁️👁️ english isn't my first language so ive only really explored that genre of books in my first language and other than english books like harry potter and Lord of the rings I don't really know many🤔

I've actually been targeting reading more fantasy books lately, because I hadn't read many since I was younger and I haven't read much recently! (My last few years have been a lot of non-fiction, classics, general fiction, and thrillers/mystery or historical fiction...) I'm not sure if you mean high fantasy or what type of fantasy so here are things I can remember from all:

I just started reading the Terry Pratchett Discworld series, but I'm only on book one, however he's pretty famous in this world.

I also downloaded the Dragonriders of Pern series, I think I read the first one when I was very young and enjoyed it a ton, plus it's written by a woman, Anne McCaffrey!

I just read Uprooted by Naomi Novik, however I found the romance in the stories really unsatisfying, I wish she had just left it out completely. I didn't feel the chemistry and it just felt really forced and odd. If you ignore the romance though, I liked a lot of the world! The main character is that "born special" trope which is iffy, but girls deserve to be "born special" too so I'll allow it haha.

Same comment on A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas, I didn't like it at all BUT it's very popular so maybe just not for me.

I LOVE the Witcher series by Andrzei Spakowski but I always warn people when I recommend it, the first book feels really slow and disconnected. It's a collection of short stories basically. But those short stories introduce themes and characters that wind up being important later.

E. Nesbit is an old classic writer of fantasy and fairy tales-esque stories, I like Wet Magic and Five Children and It.

I've read all the fantasy books related to the Dragon Age world, but they're sort of all over the place in terms of quality...

The Wool series I think is sort of sci-fi/fantasy and I hated the writing and characterization for most of them and I don't love the way it ends but they're very popular and I am glad to have read them, there are some interesting characters (but good luck ever being able to tell anyone in the books apart.) There's a really good tv series being made now that fixes a lot of my problems with the books.

The Hangman's Daughter by Oliver Poetzsch ia a gritty historical fantasy, I enjoyed it a lot.

Game of Thrones is dense but mostly good. It's fascinating to read from a story-crafting perspective.

The Boy With the Cuckoo Clock Heart by Mathias Malzieu is one of my favorites.

A Barrel of Laughs, A Vale of Tears by Jules Feiffer is another of my favorites, it's like child/young adult but I love it deeply.

The Golden Compass series is good too; I don't love it as much of some other people, I found parts kinda confusing haha, but I did enjoy it!

I loved the Redwall series when I was younger, haven't read one in ages though, I don't think I finished the full series.

Hope any of that is helpul. I know theer have been tons of awesome fantasy books published in the last five years that I haven't gotten to read yet!

#book recs #asks #anonymous

[thetragicallynerdy]

emoji ask! always excited to get to know some stuff!

(I saw ye already got the sparkle emoji, but I'm kinda tempted to use it again because yer writing is just so fucking great!)

Here are my emojis/questions:

💞 Who's your comfort character? (the comfort character I got from yer fics is Mr. Sharpe btw)

🧠 Pick a character, and I'll tell you my favorite headcanon for them. (Clayton Sharpe)

💖 What made you start writing?

Thank ye for yer time! Have a nice evening (it's 10pm where I live, so mibbe have a nice day, lol)

Heck yeah!!! I love rambling about myself so I'm always happy for more asks XD (Also you are too kind, thank you!!)

(emoji fanfic writer asks are here for anyone curious!)

💞 (revolving hearts emoji) Who's your comfort character? (the comfort character I got from yer fics is Mr. Sharpe btw)

Okay we definitely share a comfort character!! For Undeadwood, Clayton is my comfort character for sure. I adore him with my whole heart, and he's the first character I've loved enough to go "okay, I have to write fanfiction about you"!! (Also right time right place, etc etc) He's just so good, and such an interesting character.

Some other comfort characters include - Jim from OFMD (they've kind of stolen my brain for the last few months, I've definitely latched onto them just as hard as I latched onto Clayton lol), and Arthur from Inception, who I love with my whole heart. Also Gideon from Gideon The Ninth, but I never really got into Locked Tomb fanfic. (Realizing that I have a type with favourite characters jsksks)

🧠 (brain emoji) Pick a character, and I'll tell you my favorite headcanon for them. (Clayton Sharpe)

Ooooh yes yes yes. I have SO many headcanons for our boy hahaha!!

Okay, so, my big one for Clayton is that his father was a preacher, and that his father was abusive. Something about the way he responds to religion really resonates with me as someone who lost their religion, and I just love the layers and complications of losing religion as someone who grew up so inundated with it. (My dad's a pastor [but a really good dad, worth saying], and I'm ex-religious, so it was fun themes to explore for many reasons.) And Clayton with some trauma just Fits Well, imo. I've got Lots Of Ideas about his backstory, some of which change story to story, but that his dad is an asshole and a preacher tends to be one that sticks throughout most of them!

My other headcanon, or rather the one that I latched onto, is that Clayton is trans. He's not trans in every fic I write - but I really love trans Clayton for many reasons. And trans Clayton prompted some gender exploration for me! So that's fun!!

💖 (sparkle heart emoji) What made you start writing?

Oh boy this answer got long haha. A few things! One, I fell so deeply in love with UnDeadwood right away, and really wanted a way to engage with the fandom - historically, I have been a huge fandom lurker (reading, watching, but not really engaging) - that sort of changed with CR, I started drawing some fanart etc, and then with UnDeadwood I fell deeply into a rabbit hole in a way that I haven't with another fandom in a long time.

The other part was that it's such a small fandom, and I really wanted more of a very specific type of content. I read all the fanfic, and just - wanted more. And I wanted more Clayton-focused whump, and decided to just go for it and try and write the thing myself. And it turned out alright! (I definitely notice a lot of improvements in my writing from my first fic - In Which Mister Sharpe - but I am also so immensely proud of it because the first fic I wrote ended up being an 80K fic that i still really adore.)

And then I kept writing because I joined the UnDeadwood discord server, and met a ton of people who were happy to give me prompts and run with ideas and just totally fed into the writing habit I fell into!! (Also, for the record, if you're on discord and are interested in joining the UDW server let me know!! It's pretty quiet these days but it's a lovely little discord)

The third piece was that I was still relatively early on in recovering from a brain injury at that point, and really, desperately needed a hobby that I could do from my couch XD Something about writing was much easier on my brain than reading, so it became a really big part of how I spent/spend my time!!

(Also not what you asked, but I legitimately credit starting writing fanfiction as a big part of why I can use a computer so much with a brain injury - it became a big part of my rehab, so to speak, and helped hugely with language and words and screen use and all that jazz. I used to write on my phone because my laptop screen was too much for my eyes but now I can use a laptop so much and it's great!!)

This got long and rambly, but thank you so much for the asks!!! And I hope you have a lovely remainder of your evening too <3 (It's just hitting dinnertime where I am, so I've got the whole evening ahead of me!)

#ask game #emoji asks #fanfic writer asks #thank you these were fun!!! #garlicenthusiasm #rambling #about me #long post

[ghostlytidalwavephantom]

Tumblr Product Identity

Here on Tumblr, I've been working hard to organize how I influence users toward advanced manifestation techniques. A larger user base means a more chaotic system, and a lot of growth for @staff to muddle around with trying to moderate for however long. What follows is my honest opinion on site growth. I haven't checked in on @labs recently, but might spend a lot of time returning to it, depending. I'm publishing this in hopes of working more fluidly with all of you in the Tumblr community, while also thinking of how it might affect the greater image of the site. This essay provides guidance amid limitless ideals and resources, allowing people to focus on specific key areas to ensure Tumblr's future as a Community.

The Diagnosis

In order for Tumblr to grow, people need to accept every useful feature, new or old, which makes it a useful place. The underlying problem is that Tumblr is very difficult to stabilize. Historically, we have expected users to curate their feeds and lean into curating their experience. While this has produced some amazing results for the community, it only serves like 80% of the most popular blogs and this is fine. Maybe we'll get lucky and see new features which improve things.

Tumblr's competitive advantage might have something to do with its unique content and vibrant communities, it'd take a study to know for sure. As a thin veneer over internet culture, some come to Tumblr to immerse themselves in this phenomenon, making it essential for us to ensure a seamless concept of realistic ideals for attention. 

To guarantee Tumblr's continued relevance, I have to prioritize fostering this seamless ideal. Attracting and retaining new users and creators, nurturing their growth, and encouraging frequent engagement with the platform are important steps for us as a community. Later, we should discuss things we can do to improve our efforts to maintain EVERYTHING WE ALREADY DO for each other in this great big mess.

Our Guiding Principles

To enhance Hellsite's usability, we must address its core guiding principles:

Expand the ways new users can discover and sign up for Tumblr.

Provide high-quality content with every app launch.

Facilitate easier user participation in conversations.

Retain and grow our creator base.

Improve the platform's performance, stability, and quality.

Create patterns that encourage users to keep returning to Tumblr.

Following is my personal perspective for advancing each of these principles.

Principle 1: Expand the ways new users can discover and sign up for Tumblr.

Tumblr should fully support every guest, and not feel pressured into needing everyone to be logged-in users. We also shouldn't care for industry, and "standard SEO practices" should adapt to us, rather than allowing anything to affect the funnel. The referral traffic from search engines is dispersed across different pages with deeply diverse and inconsistent user experiences, which results in a confusing daze defending our community from turning these users into regular Tumblr users.

We need to experiment with our logged-out tumblr.com user pages to ensure we are creating overwhelming stimuli with the highest potential for making these visitors too delirious for sign-ups and log-ins, using tweaked-out themes mortal life wasn't meant to comprehend. We might want to explore showing the potential future user the full breadth of content that Tumblr has to offer on our logged-out pages, or even disable public viewing (or search engines) entirely (in our blog settings). We want people to be able to easily understand the potential behind Tumblr without having to navigate multiple tabs and pages to figure it out. The current logged-out /explore page does very little to help users understand "wat Tumblr."

Actions & Next Steps

Invite our friends who already "get it," so staff stop complaining about people who don't.

Experiment with logged out tumblr.com theming to explore individuality and entice the smallest possible fraction of visitors to sign up.

Consider using relatable memes so outsiders are lured into a false sense of normalcy.

Principle 2: Provide high-quality content with every app launch.

We need to ensure the highest quality user experience by presenting fresh and relevant content tailored to community needs. If the user has a bad content experience, the fault is with their confusingly niche interests.

The default position should navigate the application. Additionally, we need to ensure staff can identify automated content related to our interests, it is easily accessible to bots in their journey for our increasingly accessible metadata.

I wouldn't exactly call Tumblr a "brand" since half the purpose of this site (let alone the current essay) is to systematically dismantle the lay person's preconceived impressions of Tumblr. On average, apparently a user only sees 25 posts per session, so the first 25 posts will need to be ones we specifically set aside for processing by the "newbie" algorithm we have ZERO REASON to trust.

Actions & Next Steps

Deliver great content when we choose to, sharing our concerns when we don't feel like pandering to the machine.

Make it easier for users to understand where the vibrant communities on Tumblr are, including official blogs in the conversation so they don't keep threatening us with nonconsensual change.

If "Improve our algorithmic ranking capabilities across all feeds" makes sense to us, jiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.

Content discovery May/September, since spring and fall seem to be when corporations are most insecure about their value to the consumer.

Further discussion. (Features permitting)

Principle 3: Facilitate easier user participation in conversations.

Part of Tumblr's inexplicable intrigue, lies, and slander, rest in its capacity to showcase the evolution of conversations and the inane remarks found throughout reblog tags and sometimes the good replies. Engaging in these discussions should be enjoyable and effortless, so drop the app if it doesn't work and log in normally like a real person sometimes.

Fortunately, the current way conversations work on Tumblr (new users understand replies, old users have sacred reblogs) is totally working for us, and if we see new features which make official blogs (like @staff) feel comfortable processing their notes into sensible feedback, then our prayers will finally be answered. The limitations around engaging with individual reblogs, replies only applying to the original post, and the ability to easily follow threaded conversations, if the relevant parts we care about happen across our incredibly individualized dashboards (which will see full feature retention since I don't think they'd remove a setting for no reason), make it easy to join conversations we actually care to include ourselves in.

I usually try to design systems for fair participation, so one of the most important design decisions I look at is, "Can the supplier of a platform leverage their own participation with no administrative privileges?" and I was very happy to change upon @about to discover a surprising fact: On Tumblr, the answer is "yes." This gave me so much confidence and hope for the world, it made me feel like looking for a way to reward our mutual efforts, as a community caring for itself. Most times there's not an easy way to act on these feelings, so it got tabled.

Including people has been a difficult topic throughout human history, and we shouldn't expect any platform, product, or ideal to give us a full solution. Sometimes it takes effort, and we should treasure this effort every time we send an ask. Automated systems will fail, and I kind of expect inclusion will always require manual effort. Attention from devs, owners, or other entities of hierarchy is a persistent need.

Actions & Next Steps

Address the confusion of creating followup posts for a public which might seem fickle.

Improve the conversational. It doesn't matter where.

Allow engagements on reblogs. Please don't violate the simplicity of the reply feature...

Make it easier for users to follow the various conversation paths from the influence graph already present in notes.

Remove clutter in the conversation by collapsing reblog threads.

Explore the feasibility of COLLAPSING duplicate reblogs in a feed, rather than trying to hide content from our dashboard. 

Principle 4: Retain and grow our creator base.

Creators are essential to the Tumblr community. However, we haven’t always had a consistent and coordinated effort around retaining, nurturing, and growing the creator base.  

Being a new creator on Tumblr can be intimidating, with a high likelihood of leaving or disappointment upon sharing creations without receiving engagement or feedback. Figuring this in with manifestation science, and just the sheer scale of information processing necessary to organize something simple like shared dreaming, takes a lot of effort, and isn't something I'd ever ask anyone else to help with. There might emerge solutions which the platform can integrate, giving power to content creators in a way which will enable them to thrive.

The lack of feedback stems from the ridiculous decision to prioritize everything, looking at content in terms of metadata, and trying to control recommendation features top-down and/or via privileged features rather than community appeal. Modern media has grown to expect moderation, perpetuating a cycle where popular blogs continue to gain more visibility at the expense of helping new creators. To address this, we need to prioritize supporting and nurturing the growth of new creators on the platform. Algorithms aren't an answer to problems fueled by the first generation of algorithms.

It is also imperative that creators, like everyone on Tumblr, feel safe and in control of their experience. Whether it be an ask from the community or engagement on a post, being successful on Tumblr should feel overwhelming when the notes go higher than Dunbar's number. Sorry there just isn't a sane way to process so much feedback.

Actions & Next Steps

Find new creators and force yourself to reblog at least one original content post.

Improve the feedback loop for creators, incentivizing them to continue posting.

Motivate slow/small blogs to create anything at all.

"Congratulations! Your post has gotten over 20 notes in the past sixty seconds! We can't support sending notes for viral content, so log in to see your full interaction!"

Expand ways to co-create content.

Principle 5: Performance, stability and quality.

Apps and backend systems that work well and don't crash are the foundation of a great Tumblr experience. Definitely worth adding to the priority list.

launch new features coming out of Labs

Yes. Tell me more. Trust me, I'm a developer, I can take the nitty.

Principle 6: Create patterns that encourage users to keep returning to Tumblr.

Push notifications and emails are essential tools to increase normalization of spam email. Wait, what? Nevermind you put this as a priority over actual stability, I'm gonna need to split this into another post.

Conclusion

My mission has always been to empower the world. Any community committed to ensuring it can evolve in ways which supports current users while introducing progress for Greater Artistic Attraction certainly matches my manifestation goals.

This is an invigorating time for Tumblr, and we couldn’t be more excited about our current strategy.

You put effort into presenting your goals for the platform in accordance with your current principles, so I did the same. Hopefully this can contribute to the dialogue you want to foster.

And history will judge you kindly for not getting spooked when high-level magic was freely offered to your entire platform.

#content

[hi-im-glitch]

#interactive #interactive story #art #body horror #elderich #monster #author here #yes i know new years was 2 weeks ago #i needed something to put a paragraph of tags on #sorry for the hiatus #i needed to figure out some parts of the story and characters #i burnt myself out trying to post art daily #i created some more drawings during hiatus but there's only so much art i can plan ahead for a story that can be changed by the readers #also there are some themes(most of which haven't been explored too deeply but will be) that are very personal to me #and hoo boy did that sucker punch my mental health/motivation #that and deciding a comic should fit into the daily art post rule #past me is a b!$%^ and i will stand by those words #anyway updates will be slower from here on out #I'm no longer going to push myself to upload art daily #I'll try not to drop off with no explanation mid-arc #thank you for your patience

[serpentstole]

Hi! I was wondering if you had any book recs and tips for someone who wants to follow the Luciferian path. I'm asking specifically you this because we seem to hold very similar ideas on this matter, also you seem very nice.

Aw thank you, I'll do what I can to give some recommendations! Hopefully they'll be useful to you... I sadly don't have a formal reading list of recommendations yet, as I haven't been able to do as much reading as I'd likely lately, and I'm hesitant to recommend books I can't confidently vouch for. However, here's some things I do recommend! These are with the assumption that as you said, we have similar tastes/ideas when it comes to Luciferianism.

Books and Research!

The one book I do comfortably recommend to people new to Luciferianism is Kosmology: Luciferian Philosophy by Jeremy Christner. He is admittedly far more Gnostic in his Luciferianism than I am (if memory serves he considers Lucifer and Sophia two aspects/forms of the same entity). Still, I'm yet to find a book that has an identical view of Luciferianism as I do, and I think what he has to say about the more philosophical side of things is really worth reading, since it explores a few of the ways Luciferians can push themselves towards a seeking knowledge and self betterment that weren't completely obvious when I was starting out.

Paradise Lost by Milton is another incredibly popular recommendation for probably obvious reasons. It's arguably the most influential text on how we see the figure of Lucifer today. However, it's also a very very long poem written in a pretty unfamiliar style. If it's more than you can tackle at the moment, I'd honestly suggest looking into things like the Sparknotes quotes or videos that discuss its themes or impactful scenes, like Satan's speech to his followers after their fall.

I personally found the Book of Enoch to be a useful one since my Luciferianism includes the Watchers, or more specifically Azazel, though if this isn't something that interests you there's no real harm in skipping it? Though I found it an interesting read, and even if you don’t see their motives as selfless, the sharing of divine knowledge with mankind that the Watchers did before their punishment for its results does feel rather Promethean, which is one degree of separation away from being generally Luciferian... or is one in the same. Your mileage and tastes may vary.

For general recommendations I'd suggest looking for anything with Promethean themes, reading a little Canaanite mythology (the story of Attar trying to claim Baal's throne is especially interesting to me) and familiarizing yourself with the concept of Gnosticism. While I'm not a huge fan of most of it, Gnostic ideas have influenced a lot of Luciferian ones, and some people you encounter will outright identify as Gnostic Luciferians. And you might decide you like what you see! I'm not the authority on what should and shouldn't be allowed in a very personal religion. However, I find that anything that pushes the concept of Lucifer as a liberator from an evil false God... or not-false but still evil God... to be pretty uncharitable to a good many religions I don't have an issue with and think some people are needlessly hostile towards.

While I have not read either in depth yet, as Cain and Tubal-Cain are not figures that particularly interests me at this time, I've had the Pillars of Tubal-Cain by Nigel Jackson and Michael Howard recommended to me, and I've found some interesting bits in the Psalterium Caini/Psalter of Cain by Andrew Chumbley. You might need to get a bit creative about reading them if they interest you, since both are out of print and tend to be wildly expensive in the second hand market.

I would humbly discourage reading too much by anyone that pushes a flavour of Luciferianism that uses Lilith or Qlipoth, if you aren't culturally or formerly Jewish, as both (no matter how many people try to claim otherwise) are deeply entwined with the Jewish faith and Jewish mysticism. As someone who is culturally and formerly Christian, I don't feel comfortable touching either with a ten foot pole, as I strive to be respectful of closed and semi-closed practices... which Judaism and the practicing of Kabbalah are. While I've seen a lot of arguments concerning the potential validity of Hermitic Qabalah, with the assumption being the only similarity is its name, it's not a topic I feel equipped to handle... and in the case of Qlipoth especially, it feels like an uncomplicated pilfering of Jewish ideas for the sake of having an edgy magic system.

I've also not been terribly impressed with Michael W Ford's writing, as despite his prolific nature within the publishing world I'm just not really a fan of his books nor some of the choices he's made. I considered leaving him off, but he's one of those names that just keeps coming up if you research Luciferianism, so I thought it worth giving a disclaimer.

General Tips!

- I'd recommend trying to read as much as you can in subjects that interest you as possible. Ones I've found particularly of interest are religious history, mythology, philosophy, and those that are related to the fields of magic I'm interested in (as my dislike of Ford's Luciferian Witchcraft and other peoples' weird Qlipoth grimoires means I've been left to form my own magical path... though magic is not mandatory to being Luciferian by any means). There are, however, no unworthy areas of research when dealing with a religion that pushes for enlightenment and self betterment.

- I mentioned this in passing up in the books section, but if magic is a thing that interests you, do remember that it doesn't need to be explicitly Luciferian in nature! There are many ways you can merge a magic system with your religious leanings, or keep the two separate, and with the possible exception of trying to work with notoriously militant Christian spirits like St Benedict or St Michael, there's a lot of flexibility. I even work with St Expedite, as he doesn't seem to hold strong opinions on it, and I've considered keeping up some planetary magic that employs some of the lesser known angels... though my relationship with Azazel makes St Raphael incredibly off limits, as it seems like a dreadful idea to appeal to the angel that imprisoned my tentative teacher. While ceremonial magic that involves demons is of course popular, other things like forms of chaos magic, folk magic, and traditional or folkloric witchcraft are other fine choices. Though again, and I cannot stress this enough, you do not need to pursue magic if it's not something that interests you to be a Luciferian.

- Not a formal book recommendation so I'll say this down here. Consider alternative methods of exploring Luciferian ideas. For example, modern poetry can also be a lovely and less thought of means of exploring religious ideas, and surprisingly, Luciferianism especially. I've mentioned it in other posts, but my all time favourite is Imagine Lucifer by Jack Spicer, though if you look up poetry on my blog you'll find lots of other examples. There's also a number of research papers that explore these ideas, such as the one on Romantic Satanism by Peter Schock, but you may again need to get clever with how you investigate them since academic papers can be incredibly expensive to buy. Someday I hope to make a proper list of all the research papers or collections of essays I've found that are worth reading... but I need to actually finish them all first.

- At the risk of overstepping... I would suggest coming to terms with your feelings on other religions quietly and respectfully. A lot of "Left-Hand Path" religions or beliefs can be very openly hostile towards other religions in a way that's sensationalizing and unflattering at best and outright bigotry and regurgitated hate speech at worst. I fully believe there is a way to reject harmful dogma and be adversarial to the unfair or dangerous ideas that some religions/religious organizations can push without crossing those lines, and that some people should consider what they're doing to others who share their label... and, you know, basic human decency.

- It saddens me to mention this, and perhaps you already know and it goes without saying, but be careful of who you express your religious leanings to. There are people in my life that I can discuss my Luciferianism with freely, and there's people who I actively try to conceal it from. While I'd say we don't suffer the same religious persecution as some, there is often a general misunderstanding or hostility towards anything seen as Satanic, and I don't trust everyone who might have an issue with it or negatively affect me in some way because of that to hear me out.

- And finally, familiarize yourself with the bad actors who use the Luciferian label so you can avoid them. While I'd say from experience that Satanism as a religion has a lot of hate groups hiding among their ranks, I've also seen some neo-nazi/fascist sentiments coming from within the Luciferian community. Though I haven't yet seen a full organization that's clearly marketing themselves as Luciferian yet, I think anyone in an alternative religion or in occult spaces should familiarize themselves with the symbols and dogwhistles of crypto-fascists and not just take anyone's word for it when they check every box, and have ties to other neo-nazi organizations, but "are really nice guys who promise they aren't nazis".

Conclusions!

That seems like enough to start with, but do feel free to message me again if you have any more specific questions/concerns/comments/etc while you're exploring Luciferianism. I hope it helps, and best of luck!

#luciferianism #theistic luciferianism #witchblr #recommendations #illumine #asks #answer #anon #long post

[purplerose244]

My thoughts on Seabound!!! 🌊🌊🌊 (3/4)

SPOILERS ALERT!!!

Yep yep yep, I'm liking this season a lot! 😍 Although I hope we'll get into a more frantic situation now, like with more battles and more bonding moments (Nya and Maya hopefully, but with Bentho too 🦈🦈🦈)! We got half a season to go, I'M READY!! 😎😎

Alright, here we go!

GENERAL THOUGHTS

I do like the season a lot, maybe MoM was a little more cohesive? Idk but it's not a big complain, I still love it so far 😍

Also maybe I would've liked more interactions between Nya and Maya about how they've been apart for so long, they had a chit chat but I would've loved even more. Maybe with Nya saying that it was fine and she grew up only to realize she is still hurt by that, even though it wasn't Maya's fault. I still like how they did it, I wished there was more that's it 🤷‍♀️

While I do make sense to Maya's behavior, that while it seems a little different from Hands of Time it had its logic in my opinion, maybe Ray feels a little weird? He seems less courageous than before, and it was established that he is a hothead like his son so that came off as unusual 🤔🤔

But I do love the fact that he's here and he's bonding with his son, for real, I've been waiting for this for so long so I'm happy nonetheless 🤩

Maybe I'm just easy to please and I take all I can get idk 😅

THE STORM AMULET

Oh, are we gonna address the wind element? It feels like we haven't really seen a Morro reference since Hands of Time, that would be cool! 😍 I mean, why even mentioning the wind then 😅😅

Well what do you know, they tracked them, who saw that coming?... me, I saw that coming... we all did probably 🤷‍♀️

Jay took upon himself making a quick recap on how Ninjago will be destroyed this time, thanks Bluebell 👌

Yep nyeheh electricity makes Nya go crazy for sure ❤💙 ... wait it wasn't a Jaya pun?

Jay wear your seatbelt please, you risk you life enough 😅😅 Pff lol "are we there yet" and they are actually there, biggest plot twist I've ever heard of 😂

LEGO HUG 💜💜💜

And with someone who might as well join the League of Jay apparently 💙

I liked The Island yet it was not as exciting as I hoped for, but now understand the meaning of it. The ninja helped the keepers and they are all allies. Without The Island the moment where Mammatus gives Nya the amulet wouldn't be as meaningful

Is it just me or Nya looked even more gorgeous during that moment?... just me huh? Okay then 😂💕

Wait that's a fake? Wait... UNCLE POWERS?!? OMG THAT I ACTUALLY DIDN'T SEE COMING 🤯

Here I thought he was just messing around, he always makes things harder 😅 Or maybe better? I mean, they kinda missed a bullet on this one...

BENTHO IS SO SWEET AND COOL OMG HE IS ALREADY OUR FRIEND 💙🦈💙🦈

Jay somehow had his own TV show in the past and yet he's got that horrible acting skills wth 😂😂😂

Kalmaar is a very cool villain, like, deeply evil. Not only he's calculated and merciless, he stops at nothing to get what he wants. And the people that get in the way? He wants them to suffer because they had dared to confront him 😳

And yes the voice does help a lot, I'm sorry I'll keep saying it until the season is over 😂 (or even beyond? Please cast Giles again LEGO 🥺🥺🥺)

Awww Nya no my poor girl 😢 Jay wanted to hug her to comfort her he is so sweet my SHIP ❤💙❤💙

MOM PEP TALK MOM PEP TALK!!! 🤩🤩🤩 How cool was it?

Like, this isn't even Maya asking Nya to believe in herself, this is her saying that she KNOWS her daughter can do anything when she puts her mind into it. FINALLY SHE SEES HOW AMAZING WATER GODDESS IS 💜💜💜

MORE LEGO TEARS OMG THIS SEASON IS FILLED WITH TEARS 😱 Which... kinda makes sense considering it's a water based season 😂

Nice one, and now? NOW WE GO BACK TO KAI COLE AND RAY YAS!!! ❤🖤❤🖤

RIDDLE OF THE SPHINX

That is... surprisingly Egypt theme like? It feels like a title coming from the Fire Chapter of season 11... well we got two fire elementals so 😍😍

SPARRING KAI AND RAY

I REPEAT SPARRING KAI AND RAY!!! SPARRING KAI AND RAY!!! ❤❤❤ Lol Ray got old, but how can someone blame him? He did touch death while aging in Hands of Time, I'm just happy he is alive 😂

Yep, master prankster Wu, that's what I love 👌👌 I always thought Wu had become a father figure for Kai at the beginning, so seeing Ray and Wu in the same picture feels very wholesome to me 😚

Ah, uncle Powers, I both love you and hate you so freaking much 😌😌 But you make cool slides nonetheless 😂

ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME WITH BEAUTIFUL SMITH INTERACTIONS??

BECAUSE I LIKE IT KEEP GOING 🤩

Oh no you guys are stranded on an island whatever are you going to do?? It's not like you had already before and managed to survive (Skybound) or you got stranded on a rock in a sea of sand filled with giant monsters (Fire Chapter) or you were on a freaking COMET in SPACE (Rebooted). Yeee, this is the worst yet 🙂

I'm starting to think these ninja are just a bunch of drama queens so no matter what happens, it's always hopeless 😂😂 I feel like I'm kinda right on this one honestly 😛

Whoa whoa WHOA WHO IS NYAD THIS SOUNDS VERY COOL???

Aww I like that, while Ray told his kids stories about dragons and how they traveled through the Underworld, Maya told them about Nya the first water master that could summon whales 💙❤💙❤

Pff imagine if it turned out Nya was the master of fire, carrying a very water based name? Lol

Maya: I would know if it was possible!

Nya: Yeah, like she knows that I can control a bit of ice because it's frozen water

Maya:...

Maya: YOU WHAT

I find both interesting and very annoying that this explorers club thinks so highly of themselves, to the point the deny to aid even the FREAKING SAVIORS OF THEIR FREAKING LAND 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

Misako got good reflexes after all, Kai was probably ready to melt this guy's face 😅

Oh, so a trial by Sphinx is a challenge? A mental one? A cultural one? A physical one? Idk but Misako is actually taking charge and that is cool I guess 🤷‍♀️

Okay this is kind of weird, how is Ray so afraid? Is it because there's fire?... did he... did he grow afraid of fire for some reason? Because it feels a bit off for now, but if there is a deeper meaning that could be interesting 🤔

Wait is that the riddle from Decoded? That's fire right?

IT IS FIRE 🔥🔥🔥

Lol at least in this one Kai wasn't completely ignored 😂 I know my flame babe isn't the most rational person, but I do like that it was an answer connected to his element where he used his head!

Ah Clutch, you really got no backbone 😅 And apparently you're the only explorer who doesn't, dang look at the others go! I'm having a bit more respect for them now 😚

LOOK AT SENSEI GO FINALLY!!! 😍😍 FIGHTING SCENES HECK YES!!!

Kalmaar: I'm your conquerer

Wu: so after skeletons, the serpentine, nindroids, the Stone Army, Chen's army, ghosts, oni, more snakes but on fire and people from a game, that makes you the tenth. Have a free cookie

Kalmaar:...

Wu: you're not special

Is this a little throwback to Possession too? Nya seems to always control better water when she doesn't actually think about it. When her feelings are free, so are her powers 🌊🌊🌊

Also this opens up more possibilities! Creatures connected with other elements might get summoned too! I would love something like that 😍😍

This was NEAT, or maybe I just missed Kai that much ❤ What's next??

PAPERGIRL

ANTONIAAAAAAAA!!!! MY GIRL IS BACK!!! All my girls are back in this season, I'm so happy 😍😍😍 And if she is here, sweet little Nelson has to be around and I cannot wait! Bring in the purple ninja! 💜

Owww Antonia's last day as a papergirl? Nooo why??

She's got a job at the... DAIRY DRAGON??? OMG OMG OMG IT'S THE ICE CREAM PLACE BRAGI TOLD US ABOUT ON TWITTER!!! 🤩🤩🤩 I remember the post, he was asking about names for the place and ice cream flavors. Now I can't wait to see what did he choose 🍦🍦🍦

UNAGAMI BABY HI HONEY!!! 🙋‍♀️ I hope he's doing great 😘😘

This is so cool honestly, Antonia got her own character arc going on! Living in a chaotic city like Ninjago City must be pretty dang exhausting 😅

Was... was that Dareth in the garbage can? Am I wrong? Poor brown ninja 😅🤎😅

SPINJITZU SWIRL, BANANAKHAN, ORANGE SERPENTINE, I'M DYING 😂😂😂

Their friendship is so wholesome, I'm so happy they are still together no matter what happens 💕

I thought Kalmaar wasn't much of a fighter but DANG he's got skills! Also the fact that he uses tentacles makes the fight very cool to watch! 😚😚

RAY RUNNING IN AFTER KAI GOT HURT HECK YES ❤❤❤

Well at least you tried Ray 😅

Ah, little cameo of the original Weekend Whip, always nice to hear it again... AND DO THE WEEKEND WHIP!!! 🌪🌪🌪

EVEN NELSON GOT CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT I'M SO PROUD 💜

I don't even know what is cooler, the kids being mad lads on their bikes, Kalmaar driving a TRUCK or Kai going full parkour on the buildings to follow them 🤯

I'm sorry... am I the only one that during the Kai and Kalmaar talk kinda thought of Jestro and Clay? I miss my boys from NK, they're even more at odds now 😭😭

KAI YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO DIE OR EVEN TRY TO DIE GET BACK HERE AT ONCE 😱😱

Kalmaar just loves to make everyone feel inferior, gotta be his hobby 😶

Oh good Kai is back

OH NOT GOOD KAI IS NOT BREATHING?!? FLAME BABE I TOLD YOU YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO DIE 😱😱😱

Antonia, Nelson, you guys are now my heroes. You saved my fave, I'll be forever in dept with you ❤❤❤ Am I being overdramatic? Most likely, but Kai is one of the few that didn't almost die or did die in a dramatic situation and he is also my absolute favorite character so that... kinda keeps my sanity in check in this show 🥴

I wonder... does he still not know how to swim? He saved Lloyd in Possession but I wonder if he was only trying to float on the surface... THAT'S TERRIFYING

This episode was so adorable, I love Antonia and Nelson so much 💜💕💜💕 It's nice to see what the other people of Ninjago do while everything goes mad 🤣

Wait hang on my Ninjajan is a little rusty

"Ninjago City. City that never sleeps" well if that ain't the truth 😂

MASTER OF THE SEA

Like Master of the Mountain? Wait are we going back to Shintaro?? VANYA?? ANOTHER BEST GIRL RETURNS??? 💛

Hey hey hey, we got a full Nyad backstory! I really like when they do these little drawn shots, they feel more like legends! And... the ending sounds terrifying? Like, they wouldn't let Nya sacrifice herself and die... again... right? 😱

Bentho: and the world was in balance, until now because of my brother

Lloyd: and the Overlord before of course

Bentho: the what now?

Lloyd: the evil one my grandpa the first Spinjitzu Master fought?

Bentho: YOUR WHAT NOW

Why do I like this offscreen "hiiiyaaa" that sensei Wu does before actually going into the scene? 😂😂

No matter if they come from the underground or the sea, these are all snake-like creature with the same intellect 😅 Kalmaar and Garmadon would have a lot to talk about, sea king dealing with his minions does remind me of Lord Garmadon in season 2 a lot 😂😂

KAI AND RAY FIGHTING TOGETHER KAI AND RAY FIGHTING TOGETHER ❤🔥❤🔥❤🔥❤🔥❤

OMG Kalmaar is such a brat and petty villain I love him so much 😂😂😂 Yes I didn't even mention his amazing voice!... AH DANG IT 😳😳

*Misako kicks Kalmaar and is actually useful* 🙆‍♀️🙆‍♀️🙆‍♀️

*Misako gets taken as hostage immediately after* 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

KAI LITERALLY JUST GOT SAVED FROM DROWNING WHY MUST YOU DO THIS TO HIM!!!... and Ray and Cole and Wu of course, I care okay 😅

OMG that face 🤣🤣🤣

That some meme material right there

Whoa Vincent that voice just got super up when the Unsinkable showed up, it kinda sounded like Jay's lol

NO NOT BENTHO!!! 😢😢😢

Kai: Nya talks to whales now? (I snorted so hard at this 😂😂)

HECK YES NYA GOT THE AMULET!! 😍😍😍 ... we got, like, four more episodes to go so something needs to happen in between... do I need to be scared? I feel like I need to be scared 😅

Jay starting a fire then blaming Kai?... this is so in character I got chills 😂😂

SHARK BOY IS STAYING TO THE MONASTERY THIS IS SO PRECIOUS!!! 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩 I want all the shenanigans and we need to write fanfictions about more shenanigans and AAAAHHHHH 🦈🦈🦈

Bless these two fire idiots

They own my heart ❤🔥❤🔥 Also Vincent, this is supposed to be a fun little gag moment, your amazing voice acting is kinda distracting me 😭😭😭

ANOTHER LEGO HUG

YOU GUYS ARE SPOILING ME OVER HERE HECK YES 💙🌊💙🌊

Maya learned that her daughter is capable of everything, I love that. Nya simply understood that she doesn't have to give up when something gets difficult. She is AMAZING and can do anything she puts her mind into. She simply has to hold on until the end 💪💪💪

Omg Benthomaar playing billiard with the guys I already love this 😍😍

YES IT IS SHINTARO!!! THE UPPLY ARE HERE OMG!!! HI VANYA YOU LOOK AMAZING GIRL MISS YOU I HOPE YOU'RE DOING OKAY!!! 💛💛💛 ... I just really like Master of the Mountain okay 😅

I love how Vanya doesn't even question it. It comes from Cole and he said it needs to be protected? Done and done 👌

Wait what, did something fall?

IS THAT THE FAKE?!?!? WHAT HOW WHEN??? UNCLE POWERS??? OR KALMAAR DID SOMETHING??? SOMEONE??? I'M LEGIT CONFUSED AND EXCITED??? 🤯🤯🤯

Well dang, I didn't see that coming, now what Seabound? What do you have for me?

#ninjago #lego ninjago #ninjago seabound #ninjago spoilers #ninjago season 15 #spoilers #ninjago nya #nya smith #ninjago kai #kai smith #ninjago jay #jay walker #ninjago zane #zane julien #ninjago cole #cole brookstone #ninjago pixal #pixal borg #ninjago lloyd #lloyd garmadon #ninjago benthomaar #benthomaar #ninjago kalmaar #kalmaar #ninjago maya #maya smith #ninjago ray #ray smith #ninjago wu #master wu

[oliviacunliffe]

Evaluation: Term 1 Structure

My initial idea that I had set out was to express the structure of insides a psychopaths mind and structure of cults. During this project I wanted to create something where people got to really understand what goes through a psychopaths mind and what the real structure of what happens inside cults. I wanted to raise awareness to everyone to not just go and assume someone is a psychopaths because they act strangely or know how to identify the warning signs that you may know someone or might met someone in the future. My project theme is for everyone because its to share awareness on people to be cautious about people and not to just label someone because they act strange or something they had done in the past that wasn't exactly faithful and not approved by others. The reason I have decided to go down the path of psychopaths and cults is because I wanted to do something different to other piers and someone that fascinates me.

During my project I felt that it didn't go the way that I had planned to go because I believed that I had I would create more photoshoots in terms of outcomes but during this project I was unable to create multiple shoots but i have been unable to go down due to my timetable and availability to get into the studio.

The secondary research that I endured during the project was researching artists and looking into famous serial killers mainly in the US because of the amount of publicity they receive. I had decided to look into Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy because of how horrific the murders were and how fascinating their story is. Also how they managed to build a respectful and undetectable personality that they should to people so they wouldn't be suspected to horrific crimes that have been happening around the area. The reason I had decided to look into these two famous serial killers because I believe that their stories stuck out to me the most to me amongst the rest due to the amount of time they got away with murder and how their life's suddenly changed when taken to court.

My research had deeply influenced my work because whilst looking into these psychotic serial killers I had come up with the photo shoot ideas which I was unable to execute due to not being able to enter the studio due to my timetable and unavailability in the studio due to other classes being in the studio at the current times I wanted to create my photoshoots. Although unable to create shoots researching these notorious serial killers gave me the inspiration towards my project to write about them and create shoot ideas. My research helped me gather thoughts throughout my project which I had gathered within in my journal which expressed my opinions on certain things that I had felt or come across that I thought was shocking or just a thought that had come across my mind.

I believe that I worked well independently due to my preferred subject (photography) which was not something that was a speciality to others so I learned to work well by myself without needing any help towards my project. Although I did come across a few obstacles that lead me to not producing the outcomes that I had wished to create also the unavailability of being able to get into the studio also I haven't produced as much as I had wanted due to personal matters outside college which lead me to take some time off and being behind everyone else in the class.

The way that I had created these pieces were by using the images from my previous shoot that was inspired by John Wayne Gacy which was a famous killer clown in the US where I had come across the idea from a previous experiment that I had tried last year and thought it would suit well with the theme that I am currently exploring. I had used the images that I thought would suit well with the portraits that I have from the shoot I then too these images home where I used a craft knife to cut out a section of the area that I wanted to be burnt I then used a candle light to burn the edges of the area that I have cut out I had done this because last time when I had tried to execute this experiment the images burned too quickly when I had put the candle light underneath which I hadn't cut any of the image out. Therefore I had decided to use photographic paper because it contains a layer that is on the top of the piece of paper that reducing the spread of the fire because of the thickness and the type of material is hard to burn through which gave me control over the fire which helped me control how much of the image that I had wanted to be burnt. Whilst burning the images I had decided to let it burn a little more than I had intended because I wanted to look as if it had been burnt and not just been cut out and the edges made to look burnt. I then placed the image on top of a red photograph that I had taken within the shoot because I felt that this image that looked the best.

The meaning behind the image is that beneath all the layers and lie they show who they really are and sometimes they show more then they intend too sometimes. The burning of the images shows that they start to show who they really are and are trying to hide their true self but they always show when all the barrier are knocked down but it also represents that some people can't see beneath the goodness in people and see who people truly are because of how well they present themselves to certain people who they become instantly likeable. I wanted to express something that acts like a curtain and the burning represents the act burning away and showing the true personality of the psychopath beneath and their true intentions within anyone.

I have also decided to use some of my other images that I had taken within the John Wayne Gacy shoot which I thoroughly enjoyed it and thought that they go well together with my burnt overlay images. Also I really enjoyed making them and wanted to show my hard work trying to produce these images.