#are the reason i became an artist and writer and that will always mean the world to me

[herssian]

the bioware games -> ffxiv pipeline is deeply real

#ffxiv has superior writing and you can quote me on that #but i don't mean it as a way to dunk on bioware #i mean i'm more than happy to dunk on bioware any day of the week but their stories and personal relationships found in their games #are the reason i became an artist and writer and that will always mean the world to me #and even with that being said ffxiv still has even more gripping and deeply personal writing which says something #all in an mmorpg. do you kn. do you know what that means #all of this in an O N L I N E G A M E #yoshi said 'you have to interact with others in this game BUT that just means you can cry with them please look forward to it' #i wish i had a way to show people how truly mindblowing the storyline is. how you feel right in the middle of it with stakes and choices #'your character can only nod though' that's more than the warden did in da:o wdym #anyway if you've ever thought giving ffxiv a try might be for you as an rpg lover #do give it a try. by the end of the first expansion (DID YOU KNOW THE FIRST 2 EXPANSIONS ARE FREE WITH THE TRIAL OF THE AWARD WINN--) #you will be mindblown EVEN if you feel the start was rough/grindy. and i can guarantee you from the bottom of my heart #that the story gets fourteen times better as you continue from that point #haha fourteen get it #anyway if you have the inclination and the time and you love good narratives give it a go #just ignore the neon frog heads in some of the dungeon cutscenes showing your party #one day that'll be you

[sunflowervoltwentyeight]

Happy 28th! Here is my October 2023 fic rec, organized by word count, from longest to shortest. Enjoy!

Babydoll Blues by devilinmybrain / @thedevilinmybrain (111k)

Louis is a high profile, filthy rich label executive who has the world at his feet - a music god.. Harry is the sugar baby trying to make a name for himself singing in shady bars and hanging off the arm of Louis’ biggest rival. What Louis wants, Louis gets. But what if the game gets too hot and hits a little too close to the heart?

Little Technicolor Things by scary_crow (72k)

Louis is a poor writer and recent university graduate, depressed, anxious, and living in London when he meets Harry, an artist with a secret who likes to paint sunrises and pretty boys from California.

Every Kind of Way by halos_boat / @halohamilton (68k)

"This shouldn't have happened so many times..." Louis trails off, dropping his head into his hands.

He hears Harry shuffle across the mattress until he's behind Louis, forehead meeting Louis' back as he let's out a heavy exhale, his warm breath causing goosebumps to form down his spine.

"He's my best friend," Louis continues, "and you're his ex."

"I know," Harry says quietly.

"Why can't I resist you?" Louis whispers, squeezing his eyes shut.

"For the same reason I can't resist you," Harry says, voice rough and throaty.

The kind-of friends with benefits AU where Harry lands up in the same group of friends as Louis after Louis' best friend dates Harry for a year. The first time they hook up, they agree it won't happen again. But when they do it again and decide on a casual arrangement, feelings start to get involved, and things get complicated.

Adore You by isthatyoularry / @isthatyoularry (66k)

“We invited our new acquaintances from uptown. You’ve simply got to meet their oldest son!” said his mother with a flourish, and suddenly it became abundantly clear as to why his parents had so adamantly demanded he join them in Deansville for the entirety of the summer.

Against his wishes, Harry spends the holidays at his family’s summer estate, and is reluctantly pulled into a courtship he didn’t ask for. Harry doesn’t want to get married, but Louis does. They don’t fit, but then again they really, really do.

Vaguely set in the 1920’s. Headpieces, jazz, fashionable canes, and flapper dresses, and that.

Mirror Touch by pink_heaven19 (58k)

“You know I can see colors in sounds, right?”

Harry nods, confused as Louis knew he would be.

“Well, I have another type of synesthesia, called mirror-touch. Have you heard of it?”

Harry shakes his head, and Louis can feel the tenseness in his shoulders and jaws slacking a little at the unexpected topic.

“It means I feel what other people feel. Literally, all the time.”

OR the one where Harry owns a second-hand clothing store, and Louis is a radio host. Louis has mirror-touch synesthesia, which makes him experience what people around him feel. He feels a lot around Harry.

Where the Tide Takes You, I Will Follow by pinkcords / @pinkcords (53k)

There’s no way around his departure, their inevitable fate. Harry will leave and he will return to London and when he sits in his new flat, wherever it might be, he will think of this summer and the warmth the sun brought him and the way it felt to be loved. He will compare all his future relationships to Louis and when they fall short, he will be disappointed. Harry knows this.

Or, Louis lives in Gloucester and Harry tries to find a way to stay.

Home Calls the Heart by itsmotivatingcara / @itsmotivatingcara (44k)

A series of unfortunate events lands Louis Tomlinson in the heart of Texas. After running from his life in London and a performative marriage, he leaves a scandal in his wake. Home calls the heart, as his Nana always said. Though her words couldn't be truer when he decides to take up her offer to watch over Hyacinth ranch while she travels abroad.

He figured the worst he'd have to deal with would be the meddlesome goats, some repairs and an errant spirit or two. That is, until the gorgeous Cowboy next door makes his presence known.

or

A romcom au.

2 A.M. Texts by everysingleday / @sun-lt (30k)

Harry has just come out and, with his best friend Louis’ support, he might finally be brave enough to go on a date with the guy he’s been chatting with on a dating app. Meanwhile, there’s a cat that wants to murder Louis, a fast-approaching deadline for Harry to find a new place to live, and this minor situation wherein he and Louis can’t seem to stop making out. It’s not a big deal. Louis is just being supportive.

—

aka, a practice kissing fic.

That Shirt You Hate by isthatyoularry / @isthatyoularry (15k)

“Soph,” Louis says to his female executive assistant. “I’m making more money than ever, and I have just realised that I have no one to spend it on.”

At thirty years old, Louis is past halfway to becoming a billionaire, and he needs to find the one. He literally stumbles upon his university sweetheart.

#28th appreciation #fic rec #larry fic rec #2023 fic rec #trackinghappily #trackinghome #hlcreators #monthly fic rec #1dficvillage #read

[bisexualunicronrunningloose]

Almost kisses and a stolen kiss

4 times Dream almost kissed y/n and the one time he did

Word Count: 3,732

Warnings: Pure fluff, Dream being Dream, Dream and reader are both idiots, Dream be is an ass in part 4 (but we love him 😂)

In the Garden - Dream POV

“I thought I might find you here. You know I can grow those just with a thought and a swish of my hand right?” Dream said as he walked toward y/n tending to some flowers.

“I know. But where is the fun in that? Plus I like how calming it is” she said standing up and brushing the dirt off her hands onto her trousers. “Also this way I feel like I’ve left my mark here when I’m not visiting.” She smiled up at him.

“You are one strange being. How did you manage to get dirt on your nose?” He spoke walking towards her. How was it possible she looked so beautiful without even trying? She was one of the most caring people he had ever met. And when she came for a visit to the Dreaming his day was always better.

“I got dirt on my nose? Haha that must have happened when I sneezed earlier” she tried to rub it off with her hands, but she only made it worse. “Did I get it?” She had such a bright smile that reached her eyes. He couldn’t help but smile back at her.

“Not in the slightest. You are only making it worse. Here let me.” He walked towards her and retrieved a tissue from his pocket and wiped the dirt off her nose. He looked down at her. He was leaning in toward her hand now resting on the side of her face when Jessemay came swooping in calling out.

“Sir, sorry to bother you but Luciene needs you for something” called the Raven as she landed on Dream’s shoulder. Dream held back a sigh and stepped away from her.

“Go, we can catch up later” she smiled giving him a little nudge in the shoulder.

“I will see you soon then” he spoke in a soft voice before turning around and heading back to the palace.

In the Library - Y/N POV

You were walking down one of the long aisles of books in the library. You ran your fingers along the spines of the books looking at the titles. The books along this aisle were poetry books and play scripts, smiling at the titles that you recognised. You suddenly felt a shift in the air behind you and you smiled. You turned around to find Dream standing behind you, arms crossed behind is back with a fraction of a smile ghost across his lips.

“It’s getting harder to sneak up on you” he spoke walking closer to you, looking at the books on the shelf your hand was resting on.

“Well maybe you just need to try a little harder” you joked leaning against the book shelf with your shoulder looking up at him.

“Maybe. Or maybe I don’t want to” he spoke softly and picking a small book of the shelf just above your head. He was leaning forward. So he was leaning over you. He pulled a way just as quickly once had the book.

“Have you read this one?” He asked revealing the title. ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ one of Shakespeare’s comedies. You had read it, countless of times

“I have. It’s probably one of my favourites of his” you reply

“You know. I met the Bard before he became the Bard. When I met him he went by a different name” he responded flipping through the small book.

“You did? When was that?” You ask moving away from the bookshelf and walking towards Dream who had taken a few steps back.

“I met him on one of my earlier visits with Hob Gadling. I over heard him talking about how he wanted to be a famous playwright. I spoke with him and granted him his wish” he spoke handing your the small book.

“You mean to tell me you are the reason the world got William Shakespeare? You really do have soft spot for the arts and artists” you replied, after all this time of visiting the Dreaming and your conversations with Dream he was still able to surprise you.

“Artist, writers and musicians… they are all dreamers. And I as King of Dreams do like to keep an eye on them and see if they need some motivation” he replied. He closed the gap between the the two of you. He tucked a stray hair behind your ear and looked into your eyes.

“Dream… I…” you spoke softly

Lucienne came around the corner.

“My lord, Merv is here and he has a few things to report… oh..” she spoke. Dream pulled away in an instant his facial expression changing just as quickly.

“Of course. I asked him to check something for me” he gave you a slight nod and he followed Lucienne to go and speak to Merv. You watched as he turned around the corner. You let out a breath you that you had been holding. What was that… was Dream about to … no he wasn’t…. was he?

In Fiddler Green’s - Dream POV

Dream found her lying in the grass looking up at the sky and the clouds. He was perplexed at how she could just lie there and not do anything.

“What are you doing?” He asked as he stood next her looking down.

“Watching the clouds. What does it looking like I’m doing. Come join me for a bit.” She spoke looking up at him.

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea” he spoke.

“Oh come on, don’t tell me you can’t take just one afternoon or a few hours off from your duties of Lord of Dreams and Nightmares” she sat up a little resting on her elbows. “Please, even if it’s just for a few minutes. Just take a look at what you’ve created” she begged. Her eyes were so sweet and kind. He couldn’t say no to her.

“Maybe a few minutes” he sat down next to her and smiled

“How are you going to watch the clouds if you don’t lie down and look up at them” she lay back down pulling him with her.

“So you just lie here and look at the coulds? Why?” He asked settling down next to her. Looking up at the clouds

“It’s calming plus sometimes they actually look like shapes. Like that one there almost looks like Merv’s head. And that one looks like a raven feather.” She said pointing out at the clouds as they slowly floated by. He turned his head to look at her and she had the widest smile on her face. That gave him an idea, he turned his attention back to the clouds, there was one that was just a big blob and with a small thought he turned it into a sheep.

“Hey that one looks like a little sheep” she spoke with a giggle. He turned his attention to the next cloud and turned it into a four leaf clover.

“That one looks exactly like a four leaf clover. Wait … are you doing this?” She turned to look at him.

“What is that not allowed?” He said turning his face to look at her.

“No, you are supposed to use your imagination to try and figure what the look like” she laughed nudging him with her shoulder

“Well I was! I was using my imagination to make the clouds” he nudged her back. “Are you mad?” He asked in a serious tone

“I could never be mad at you. It’s sweet and kind. Thank you” she replied turning on her side to face him better and resting her chin in her hand and looked into his eyes.

He leaned up and forward to meet her eye level. And looked right into her eyes. “I’d do anything to make you smile. I don’t think I could ever take you being mad at me.” He spoke softly his eyes looked down at her lips for the briefest second then he sat up and slowly stood up. He reached his hand down to help her stand up.

“I better be off now. Lots of dreamers to attend to. Do you need help getting up?” He asked

“No I’m ok. I think I’ll stay here for a little while. I’ll see you later” she smiled lying back and looking back at the clouds. He looked up the clouds one last time and created a cloud that looked like a dog. He heard her laugh out loud as he was walked away. Her laugh was so infectious and couldn’t help chuckle to himself as he left her lying in the grass.

By his throne - Y/N POV

You walked into his main hall looking for Dream. You hadn’t seen him in a while and missed the little chats you had. You found him sitting on his throne talking to Merv. Your footsteps echoed in the vast hall giving away your arrival, catching the attention of both of them.

“Y/n! Long time no see.” Merv greeted you as he hopped down the stairs and gave you a hug.

“Good to see you too Merv. How have you been?”

“Oh you know. Can’t complain, I’ve been good. Busy but I like to keep busy. How have you been?” Merv asked

“I’ve been good. I’ve spent some time in the Waking world. I feel they are the brink of of success or chaos. I fear it is leaning more towards chaos. So I thought I would swing by a visit to see some old friends” you smiled

“Well I sure hope they don’t cause any chaos. Anyway I better be off lots to do” He turned and did a quick bow to Dream and he headed out the main hall.

Dream was still sitting on his throne looking down at you. You felt a small shiver run down your spine, his gaze was so piercing and held so much emotion in them. Even after all this time you still were unable to read him.

“It’s been a while since your last visit” he spoke from where he sat.

“I know. Like I told Merv, I’ve been busy watching the mortals. Don’t tell me you actually missed me” you spoke as you slowly made your way up the stairs, stopping halfway up to his throne. You didn’t want to venture to far up, you knew how he was about people approaching his throne without asking.

His eyebrows raised slightly at your last comment. “Merv clearly did. Lucienne also did along with some the other dreams. Your little garden did as well. Don’t worry I made sure none of your plants suffered.” He spoke as he stood up and made his way down the stairs and stopped a few above you. He looked down at you with those deep eyes that never gave anything away.

“You know you didn’t actually answer my question” you teased

“I didn’t hear a question in your statement” he responded in low tone taking a step closer to you. Your breath hitched in your throat.

“Did you miss me?” You asked looking up at him.

“Your absence was noted.” He responded taking one more step down so he was one the step above you. You didn’t know what you were expecting from his answer but his answer upset you a little. You took a couple of deep breaths.

“How have been Dream? You create any new dreams or nightmares lately?” You asked trying to move past your slight disappointment.

“There is a dream I have been creating… but it is not ready to be seen by anyone yet.” He responded never taking his eyes off you. You could have sworn his eyes darted to your lips for the briefest second.

“Oh come on Dream. You always used to show me what you were working on.” You teased

“Not this time. It’s not ready” he responded in a sharp tone.

“Aww come on. Can’t you give me a hint at least. Your creations are always so beautiful” you begged.

“No” he spoke his tone almost scaring you. You furrowed your eyebrows he had never spoken to you like that before.

“What has your cloak in a twist today Dream” you joked nudging his arm slightly. The second you did that you knew it had been a mistake. The temperature in the room plummeted and his eyes turned dark.

“I said NO. I would appreciate it if you dropped the subject. Why do you feel the need to push into others business.” He spoke in a cold voice taking a step down to look at you face to face. You took a step down to get away from his cold presence.

“I apologise Dream. I’ll drop it…” you tried to keep your voice calm.

“It is not just about my creations!” His voice boomed “You visit my realm whenever you see fit! You drop in whenever unannounced and without invitation.” He kept taking steps towards you and you kept taking steps backwards. He was growing taller and his face had grown dark. This was the nightmare side of him. The side he reserved when creating nightmares and visiting peoples nightmares, you had never seen it before and you were terrified.

“Dream… you’re scaring me” you spoke

“I am Lord Morpheus and you will address me as such! And you will never come back to my realm. Do you understand?” His voice boomed off the walls.

“You want me to leave and never come back? Fine” you spun around and began to walk out of the hall you stopped halfway and spun back around. “It was a pleasure visiting your realm Lord Morpheus. If it is not to much trouble could you say my goodbyes to the dreams and Luciene for me. I wish nothing but happiness for you Lord Morpheus. I apologise again for my over stepping” you bowed to him and turned back and walked out. You tried your hardest not to cry until you had left the palace and out of earshot of Dream. You made it across the bridge and out of the main gates before you broke down in tears.

Watching the Night Sky - Dream POV

He had finally gotten all his tools back, the dreams and nightmares were back in the Dreaming, rebuilt the Dreaming and had taken care of the Vortex. Now his next stop was to find y/n and see if she would accept his apology. He had been cruel to her last they spoke. He wouldn’t blame her if she completely ignored him or yelled at him. Lucienne had agreed to help him track her down mainly because Lucienne was pissed at him when she found out he had basically thrown her out of the Dreaming. They found her in the Waking world and now he was going to apologise for everything.

He found her sitting on top of a large pile of boulders looking up at the stars. He slowly walked up to her and made his way up the pile. He stood on the boulder next her and looked down at her not knowing what to say.

“You still need to work on the sneaking up on me Lord Morpheus. Though it has been a little over 100 years so I’ll leave this attempt up to lack of practice. ” she spoke in a cool tone not taking her eyes off the sky.

“Lord Morpheus? Not Dream?” He spoke quietly

A shooting star crossed the sky. “Did you know mortals make wishes on shooting stars? Last time we spoke you made it pretty clear I should address you as such” she spat still not meeting his gaze watching the star cross the sky.

“And I have come to apologise for my behaviour… I acted unfairly…” he began but she cut him off.

“Apologise? The King of Dreams and Nightmares has come to apologise for his behaviour.” She turned to look at him as she spoke. Her face dropped when she turned to him. “What has … what happened to you? Not to speak out of turn and risking your anger again … but you look awful, like you haven’t slept in years” she asked with a nervous look in her eyes.

“Not long after we last spoke, when I told you leave my realm. One of my nightmares, the Corinthian left my realm and refused to come back. I went to the Waking world to bring him back and I was captured by a mortal who saw him self as a sorcerer of sorts. He stole my symbols of power and said he would free me when I gave him what he wanted. He held me captive and when he died his son still held me captive” he replied. As he spoke she slowly stood up and fully faced him. She slowly lifted her hand and reached up to his face and placed in on his cheek.

“How long did they hold you?” She asked looking into his eyes. He leaned into her touch breathing in a deep breath and taking comfort in the small contact.

“100 years, I was kept in that glass sphere for 100 years” he replied.

“How did you get away?” She asked looking at him in his eyes, but turned his head and looked away from her.

“Paul the husband of the sorcerer’s son, he wiped away part of the rune circle that was on the floor. I think he might have done so on purpose. It was enough to allow me to escape.” He said looking at the stars. “Do you wish for anything when you see a shooting star” turning back to face her.

“I do, but don’t ask what because I can’t tell you. Then the wish wouldn’t come true” she answered with a slight twinkle in her eyes. “Now that your free what are your plans? I assume you would want to get your symbols back and return to the Dreaming.” She said turning her attention back to the sky, she sounded a little sad.

“For 100 years the only thing that kept me from losing my mind was my goal to get my symbols of power and finding you and doing three things. I would have sooner after getting my symbols of power but I had to take care of The Vortex and begin to rebuild the Dreaming.” He said never taking his eyes off her profile

“There was a Vortex?” She spun back around. “And now you’ve dealt with that you’ve come to find me and apologise?” She asked sounding a little skeptical.

“I realise that the way I spoke to you last was cruel. You only wanted to know what I was creating. And banning you from the Dreaming was harsh of me. I know how much you loved … love visiting my realm” he spoke

“And I apologise for always stopping by with out asking” she cut in

“Still, I never should have lashed out. I never said anything about it. The truth is I always loved your visits and my day was always better when you would visit.” He took a deep breath “I’ve learned that apologising to friends is important, though I’m still learning on how to. So, I would like to apologise for my behaviour and banning you from the Dreaming. I would also like to tell you that you are more than welcome to come to my realm whenever you like, no need to ask before visiting” he spoke looking into her eyes that were shining with tears.

“For someone who is just learning how to apologise that was a really good one. Also that’s only two things. What’s the third?” She asked

“Always the observant one aren’t you?“ he spoke stepping onto the boulder she was on cupping her face in both his hands and leaning down brushing his nose over hers before placing a light kiss on her lips. He be began to pull away to look into her eyes to judge her reaction. But before he could she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him back in and kissing him back. He moved one of his hands on the back of her head and moved the other to wrap around her waist pulling her in closer to him. He pushed his tongue against her lips she sighed and opened her lips allowing him to slip his tongue into her mouth. She responded by chuckling lightly against his lips.

He pulled away and furrowed his eyebrows together. “What’s so funny?”

“You know how I said telling what you wish for on a shooting star is bad luck? Well there are three that I would rotate through. The first one, you would realise what an asshole you were and apologise” she said placing a light kiss on his left check. “Two you would let me come back to the Dreaming” placing a second kiss on his right check.

“And the third?” He asked

“You would stop being an idiot and finally kiss me” she placed a kiss on his lips. He pulled her in close to him and returned the kiss happily. She moved one of her hands into his hair gently tugged at it and he let out a moan against her lips. He gently turned her head to the side with his hand kissed her along her jaw and then her neck. He kissed her in the same spot and sucked on there leaving a small mark on her neck. She let out a sigh and shivered a little “Dream…”

“Hmm yes.” He said with head still against her neck. “Are you cold?” He said pulling away looking down at her.

“A … a little. Yeah” she shivered.

He wrapped her up in his long coat bringing her into his chest. She wrapped her arms around him and nuzzling her head against his chest.

“Better?” He asked with a light chuckle

“Umm hmm, better” she replied giving him a little squeeze

“What you say about heading back to the Dreaming?” He asked looking down at her

“I would love that” she replied

He gave her a kiss on her forehead and took some sand out of his bag and threw it in the air. And it spun around them in a swirl and he held her close as they traveled back to his realm.

#the sandman #dream #morpheus #the sandman x reader #dream x reader #morpheus x reader #fluff #dream is dream #the sandman fluff

[metvmorqhoses]

Hi! I never read the original trilogy before watching the show, only the crows books, but I agree with a lot of what you’ve said about Alina & Aleksander. It’s obviously a cruel and poorly fitting match. May I ask what kind of person you think would truly match Aleksander better?

So, here is the deal: while the right answer to this question might appear pretty obvious, since pretty much everyone in the fandom agrees that Aleksander deserves an equal, I have to confess that I've always found a big flaw in this otherwise, well, flawless reasoning.

Albeit I obviously agree with everything you said about Alina's (especially show!Alina) lack of... personality (to express it kindly), I think dismissing the general concept of book!Alina, at least in the way she should have been written had her writer any sense of artistic potential, might actually be a dire mistake in the proverbial grand scheme of literary things.

I'll explain.

It's indeed pretty easy to sketch out Aleksander's ideal match. He himself would tell you he'd need a mirror image of who he is in order to finally, finally, feel complete: someone to match him in power, but above all in his understanding of power; someone to match him in immortality, but above all in his experience with it; someone who shares his predatory eagle-view on existence and therefore sharp-sighted enough to look in his same direction and see the same clash of colors in dawns and sunsets turning morality and philosophy unforgiving black.

In short, Aleksander would need someone who shares his unique condition, but most importantly having already lived through each and every single stage of it (the same despair, the same fear, the same loneliness) and therefore being someone who just gets what it means, what it feels, to be him.

There's no doubt in my mind this is what the Darkling dreamt about in the dead of night, what he prayed for before actually finding the Sun Summoner. He prayed she had been out there all along somehow, each year he himself had existed, going through the same centuries of unforgiveness, of solitude, of horror, through the same desperate quest for an equal, for him, just as he had been looking for her, all that time, all along.

I've seen many amazing people believing this very same thing while exploring the possibility in both meta and fanfiction, and I absolutely get where they are coming from. But I'm afraid I have to disagree. As poets say, there's a huge difference between what someone thinks they need and what they actually do need.

Aleksander's perfect match should indeed be his mirror image, but the mirror image of the boy he once was (the boy who was in love with "all the colors one cannot see in the dark", the one who was moved by the mere idea of companionship and intimacy, who was brave enough to risk his own life for the sake of a little girl he had just met), and not of the eternal and lost creature he had become, no matter how shocking the mere notion would be to him.

Aleksander would need a person who reminds him of the unspoiled self that was torn away from him, of his original unmarred idealism, his profound appreciation for living before he became a mere stubborn and bitter habit, of the humanity he was forced to shed. And, above all, Aleksander would need to be able himself to perform this act of saving, protecting and cherishing this twin heart for the sake of that heart of his no one had cared to save in time.

I think seeing himself, his truer, unspoiled self, in his equal and being able to shield her from everything he endured, as a single beam of light in endless oceans of darkness, would be virtually the only thing able to save him in turn, finally giving his life a meaning no war nor time could steal away from him.

And this is precisely why I think the concept of Alina had real literary potential, had it been used wisely, because Alina was supposed to be exactly that - an Alexander who can still, materially, be protected, saved, someone with the strength of not treding her own humanity for comforting numbness and disillusion, not even while crushed by the weight of eternity, and, in doing so, allowing him to be human and bearably so for the first time in his eternal detached yet still excruciating exististing.

It's a pity, because at fleeting times both books and show did touch on this very topic, almost giving in, only to idiotically shy away from it for reasons that will always be beyond me.

#and instead we had this dumbness galore #darklina #shadow and bone #the darkling #the grisha trilogy #aleksander morozova #sab metas #one and one thousand stories lis told

[jewishbarbies]

Forgive me but I have so much I can say about this that it physically hurts that her fans believe this nonsense…

“she has always been on the frontlines of change in the industry and setting trends”

When?

“she literally changed the demographic of country music from just being for/about older women to teen girls”

There were female artists before that those “older women” listened to when they were teens. When Taylor’s fans are older women there will be a new singer that teens listen to. It’s how the music industry and freaking aging works. 

“she was one of the first people to really centralize social media in marketing”

She’s literally not. The singers that came up in the early 2000s are. They think 2006 is when the internet was being utilised for promoting singers because of Taylor. Google was invented in 1998. Social media & the internet was being used for almost a decade before. JLO is the reason google images was created for goodness sake.  

“she left RCA because she felt that even if they gave her a good deal they would diminish other writers on the label.”

Do they really think she’s the only so singer to leave or stand up to their label. Britney Spears stole her upcoming song from her label and released it to a radio station in 2004/05. 

“she unabashedly writes about her feelings as a young girl and a woman despite getting shit for it at every turn.”

Most female artists who came before her have struggled with this. Dolly Parton would win awards and get up on stage and not be allowed to speak because her MALE partner spoke for her. Even though Dolly was doing all the work. 

“she's one of the first artists to successfully transfer genres from country to pop.”

This is just false. It happens all the time. Not to mention it happens with different genres and artists all the time. 

“she stood up against streaming when literally no other artist did, got them to change some of their policies”

Because she’s the only one that is selfish enough to publicly pick a fight with someone and pretend it’s got nothing to do with her own bank account. Even when I was a fan of hers I knew she was doing it for herself. 

“yet now the exact thing she was worried about has happened.”

Because she was greedy and arrogant and didn’t buy the masters when they were offered to her because she thinks she better than everyone. 

“her move into pop music was completely different than the type of pop that was being made at the time and it influenced pop for years to come.”

Am I deaf? She stuck to the pop model created by those before her to make sure she was successful. Madonna, Janet Jackson, Britney Spears, Billie Eilish they all took risks with their music and careers to push the envelope and change the sound of pop. Not Taylor “stick to the formula” Swift. 

“all before the me too movement.”

The act TS did herself was admirable but this sentence. This belief that this Swiftie (and potentially other Swifties too) have is a slap in the face to what this movement initially represented and what it meant for women who had endured this. 

“her rerecording process is the first of its kind to be this successful and others are now following suit.”

Wtf does this sentence even mean. They don’t know sh*t about her recording process especially in comparison to other artist. Are they seriously so deluded to think no artist was successful before Taylor. How can they compare her to anyone if they believe this. This statement alone makes it sound like she is the reason music is successful. 

“the way she publicized her fight to own her masters”

Yes for public sympathy cause she’s a narcissist. 

“she also basically started the crop top set trend of the mid 2010s”

One quick google search and this is what I found. “Although the crop top first gained prominence in the fashion industry during the 1930s and 1940s - the latter in particular due to fabric rationing in World War II” I’m sure if I spent more time researching I could find more. But I also know it became very popular in the 1970s with men and carried in through to the 80s and 90s for men and women. Then the 2000s was when the trend reignited. 

“heavily influenced the twee fashion of early 2010s”

This is not the compliment they think it is. This fashion trend is layered with the issues. Her racist fans probably love it because it’s a style that is deemed acceptable by those Hampton holidaying rich white mothers and fathers that got sent to boarding school in England when they were young (I hope that analogy makes sense). It was also equated to thinness particularly at the time it was popularised. Not to mention you google Twee and the pictures you see are if Jess from New Girl, Blair Waldorf from Gossip Girl (a character from a 2000s show) and Alexa Chung. 

Also such a bizarre way to end their long winded rant. 

They are all so blatantly ignorant and stupid. I wasn’t going to say stupid but it really is all it is at this point. They are stuck in this cult they can’t even make reasonable arguments anymore. It’s exhausting constantly being bombarded with them all in every facet of life. I see so many videos of Swifties singing her music in public settings like that video of them on the plane, if I was on that plane I’d have jumped out of it, and it’s just infuriating the lack of respect they have for the rest of the world. Yet they expect everyone to respect and worship their cult leader. It’s disgusting and exhausting. 

Sorry this was so long. I don’t have many followers and I know you’re a safe space for people who don’t like her. And I feel like this is something others might agree with. 

#Asks #anonymoose #anti taylor swift #swifties dni #long post

[anakirui]

i think we ALSO need to talk about this unit thematically (the sequel)

(someone needs to make me stop talking about Project Sekai Units)

i think this unit is very obviously the counterpart to mirai toshi (does that make them parallel units??? like how leo-vs, mmj-vbs, and niigosho are??? uhhhhhh idk im getting off topic)

but also i think this lineup is interesting because of the shared themes i can think of off the top of my head between minori touya and tsukasa

the first thing that comes to mind is their passion and how thats central to their characters. minori with idols and how we know what happens when she loses her hope to become one in the 2022 april fools au, while for touya and tsukasa, they (according to theirselves) "saved" eachother— without tsukasa, touya's passion for music would cease to exist, and without touya, tsukasa would've given up on his passion to make others smile.

i think i need to elaborate on the reason why touya's passion here is music because that just became a big thing with the first concerto which was the last event we had— so without spoiling too much, touya had genuine passion for classical music and actually wanted to be like his dad at one point, but it got complicated with yknow. harumichi. being a guy. that exists. and that isn't. the best of parents. yknow.

if touya hadn't met tsukasa, then touya wouldn't have stood up to his dad, meaning touya would've never met akito, meaning touya would've never continued his innate passion for music. that's basically what i wanted to say, yeah

so then another thing i think these 3 can be grouped together on is their work ethic. minori is always extremely hardworking, continuing to strive to be an idol even after getting rejected time and time again. uhm.

when it comes to hard work i think i don't need to explain tsukasa. towards the phoenix at the sky's edge is an event that exists.

and the first concerto is basically the same event but in a different coat of paint. so, erm. tota's not free, either.

idk this is more of me going on a tangent than me having a clear idea like mirai toshi. but maybe i am onto something

you may be wondering, "but wait ace anakirui #1 vbs lore defender— how does miss hatsune miku relate to these themes?"

well, my friend, i believe that since miku is the biggest vocal synth of all time— she can represent the vocal synth scene as a whole. and the vocal synth community is built on the passion of many producers and artists and writers and editors and all kinds of people— something that also requires hard work.

or something inspirational like that, i don't know. maybe i'm not cooking with this one. goodnight

#project sekai #colorful stage #prsk #tsukasa tenma #touya aoyagi #toya aoyagi #WHY DOES HE NEED TWO TAGS JUST CALL HIM TOUYA I HATE ENSEKAI FOR DOING THIS TO HER #minori hanasato #hatsune miku #MIKU MIKU OOO EEEEEE OOOOOOO #its 12:34 am help me #warera pegasus tankentai #我らペガサス探検隊！ #really messy post because im really bad at communicating my thoughts

[eemamminy-art]

I've been sitting on a fic that I finally finished after slowly picking at it for the last two years.

I feel like people don't really talk about this anxiety around sharing things-- I mean, there is always that anxiety of like, is it good, will people like it, stuff like that, but I guess for me the anxiety's a little different. Don't get me wrong I do have the other anxiety too, I'm very self critical and I do not have confidence in my writing in the same way that I (occasionally) have confidence in my art.

But the thing that's got me in a chokehold is well, that fanfic is complicated for me.

I barely read any fic at all. I barely write either, but I think a lot of writers will only put out a couple of things in a year anyway, but they're at least reading things during that time.

I've never been much for reading. Well, maybe when I was very young and just learning to read, but at some point it became really difficult for me. I don't have any official diagnosis and I always got good grades so there was never any cause to look into it, but reading has always been such an ordeal for me. I'll read a page and get so distracted in outside noises or my own thoughts that I have no idea what I just read. I have to concentrate really deeply for anything to sink in, create a voice in my head to read it to me, and even that sometimes doesn't work and I'm really slow. I use a screen reader and that does help but it still takes immense concentration for me.

Then there's just well, my pickiness. If it's boring or out of character, well that just makes it all the more difficult to focus. Too long and the screen reader's voice begins to drone and I tune it out and my thoughts wander away even as I scan the words going by. If it's not tagged well and I run into my trigger (which is often not tagged for at all) then I not only feel like I wasted my time but also am upset and lingering on the trigger for sometimes hours, sometimes days.

So then, what to do when I post a fic? What justification is there for anyone to bother with mine when I won't bother with theirs? Whether my reasons are good enough or not, whether it's easier for them to read than it is for me, whether you say fandom is give and take or not, I feel like I'm not upholding my end of the deal. You read mine, I read yours. Except I don't, other than maybe a handful of things each year.

And I know it's a problem. I know it makes people feel slighted. It's the same way I feel slighted when I try to engage with other artists and they don't give me the time of day or share my art in return, and then I begin to resent them for the rejection. I'm certain the same thing happens to me with fanfic, that I have all these reasons for why I rarely read fic, and then when I read the 2 or 3 fics that I can manage each year, it's a slap in the face to those who weren't among those rare few.

So I feel held back by it. I'm so bad at responding to ao3 comments too because I feel guilt about it, about not participating in the way everyone else does. So I was excited to finally think of an ending to this fic only to just... do nothing with it.

I have to wonder if anyone else experiences this? Or something similar? Or knows at all what I mean?

#personal #writing stuff #fandom stuff #ok to reblog #I'm just kind of rambling I suppose but I think about this whenever it comes to fic #it's such a difficult subject for me #idk what to do with myself really #when I try to read more I get burnt out immediately and it's not fun

[bots-and-cons]

How's it kicking Ony? I wanted to request something with a human that was previously attacked by cons but they fought back and ended up getting exposed to the cons energon and therefore their DNA. Nothing happens for a little while but slowly the human starts doing things that normally only a bot would do? Developing small habits and the sort. Like when someone is coming out from that big elevator they can tell from the EM field who it is without seeing them. Amusing example is all is calm until their head shoots up like a dog and says "Wheeljack is back!" Then Miko and Bulkhead go running without questioning it. Before he even leaves the elevator. Essentially what I want is some of the bots reactions to figuring out one way or another that the exposure has left the human with some Cybertronian DNA? Since it came from a con and wasn't newly processed energon. I know it wouldn't be a completely smooth so the new abilities may be uncomfortable sometimes. I imagine a human would be more sensitive to the fields since they weren’t born with the ability. I hope this isn't to specific; I've just seen writers not be able to write somethings cause it was too vague. For this I'd like to see Ratchet & Bulkhead if that's alright! Feel free to have some artistic liberties here🤙. I don't want the scenario to seem to unrealistic ya know what I mean?

I was kind of dreading writing this, because I honestly had zero ideas for this for the longest time. I just rambled a bit about whatever came to mind surrounding this topic, but I hope it's okay. Also as a side note, I have a much harder time rejecting someone’s request when they aren’t on anon. Which is a good thing (?) and I love seeing the same names over and over again, when the same people ask me stuff, because it makes me happy when I see people have been here for a while. Of course I see a lot of you in the my notifications, and some names or profile pics have stuck in my mind, but I appreciate you all so much 💜

~Bulkhead~

•Your new abilities have much more to do with your senses, rather than you body noticeably changing or anything

•Bulkhead was very worried when you first got exposed to energon, but there didn’t seem to be many bad effects after Ratchet’s treatment

•You of course started noticing the changes in yourself first, but you thought it was just the after effects from the energon and that they would disappear on their own

•You started being able to sense the bots in some weird way and in time you learned to differentiate the vibes you got and be able to tell them apart

•You didn’t even really notice it at first, you just started mentioning “Hey they came back” before anyone else even heard anything and you were right every time

•You’d always be waiting for Bulkhead outside your place when he came to pick you up, because you sensed him coming

•Bulk didn’t even really notice it at first, he just thought you had good timing, but when it kept happening, he started wondering why

•You also became stronger than you were before, not inhumanly so, but pretty damn close

•Bulkhead wasn’t particularly worried about the changes, since you didn’t seem too bothered by them yourself

•Sure you sometimes got a headache when you spent time with the whole team for a long time, because the energy fields/vibes got a bit too overwhelming

~Ratchet~

•Ratchet was of course very worried when you were brought back to the base for treatment after you got hit by the energon

•He did checkups for weeks after you were already feeling better, because he had a feeling you weren’t as unaffected as you seemed

•And he was right of course

•When you started getting these odd headaches after hanging out with too many of the team members at the same time, Ratchet was baffled

•He couldn’t come up with a reason for that, until you started talking about sensing these weird things before one of the team members appeared

•It never happened with the trouble trio, only with the bots, so Ratchet put it together pretty quickly after that

•There wasn’t any energon traces in you, because it had fused with your dna, so he couldn’t detect it with just a scan, he needed to look at blood samples, which June helped him with

•Smokescreen started wondering if your ability to sense the bots would also work with the cons, and he suggested you try it out

•Ratchet was of course vehemently against this, because he was not going to expose you to any more danger

•It did become a bit of an early alarming system for the team, because if you sensed an energy you didn’t recognize nearby, you knew it was a decepticon and could alert them

#transformers #tfp #transformers prime #autobots #ratchet #bulkhead #tfp headcanons #reader insert #platonic transformers x reader

[garoujo]

i just wanted to say a huge thank you for not only reaching 20k followers right at the end of the year but also 4 all of the kindness i’ve been shown on this blog ! fank yew 4 letting me have this little corner of the internet as a little safe space ^_^

i wanted to do my own sort of ‘year in review’ i guess so i could kind of throw a spotlight on all of my favourite fics / blogs / artists that have rly added to my time here with everything they do <3 if you’re not included pls don’t take it personally i hav smol brain + also couldn’t involve everyone since theres so many !

WRITING SPOTLIGHT 2022

a small list of all of my favourite pieces of writing i’ve read this year, mostly for my favourite blorbos <3 please read the warnings before proceeding on creators blogs + b4 reading !!!

WHATS TAKING A LIFE OR TWO [IF IT MEANS GETTING TO KEEP YOU] — hanma shuji. ( @hijackser ) this is my absolute FAVOURITE SERIES PERIOD. obviously i’m actually insane 4 hanma but no this series made me EVEN MORE INSANE ! i’ve reread it an insane amount of times, i think about it 24/7. it is my favourite piece of writing to even exist.

SHOW OFF — hanma shuji ( @killsaki ) dallas is probably sick of me talking about this fic but ILL NEVER BE OVER IT ! favourite stand alone shuji fic ever ! everything about it is soooo perfect n so insanely him i could cry <3 absolute favourite shuji fic in the world.

ABSENTEE LOVER — hanma shuji ( @shoyoist ) ive read this an absolutely criminal amount, words cannot DESCRIBE !!! how much i love it like it has such a special place in my heart i adore him in this ! rekha never disappoints w the shuji content <3

CLOUD 9 AND SICK DAY — nagi seishiro ( @iitoshi ) everytime kai writes nagi i absolutely eat it up + these little drabbles are on my mind literally always !!! i will never be able to get enough w how well he’s written here EVER !!!

BLLK BOYS WORKING IN A PIERCING SHOP — multiple. ( @pinteukr ) i literally just read this, specifically nagi’s part but i HAD to include it because i was a MESS !!! ABSOLUTELY DONE !!! it is so good + this imagery / au is EVERYTHING 2 ME <3

PROPOSAL — nagi seishiro ( @tcshi ) i read this a few days ago + it’s still on my mind constantly hes just SO IN CHARACTER ! EVERYTHING IS SOOOO RIGHT !!! would reread one million times after !!! infact i’ll reread right after writing this !!!

WHEN THEY GET JEALOUS — multiple bllk characters ( @lalunanymph ) SO GOOD !!! SO CRAZY !!! nagi’s part had my toes curling n my feet kicking like akajakaka dawn !!!! i literally ate up every character honestly i’d read anything from u <3

SUGARSTREAM — gojo satoru ( @satorhime ) THIS FIC CHANGED THE TRAJECTORY OF MY WHOLE EXISTENCE !!! literally thee reason i became like actually unhinged 4 gojo satoru . it changed me down 2 the core it’s TOO GOOD !!! FOR FREE TOOO ????

BLOG SPOTLIGHT 2022

a small list of some of my favourite blogs who are also amazing writers + i recommend with my whole heart ! again i can’t include everyone but just know ily <3 again please read warnings byf !!!

@saetoshis + @goroushis — multifandom [+ genshin writing blog] nsfw + dc !

@getoswhore — multifandom. nsfw + dc !

@bbiemilk — multifandom. nsfw + dc !

@tetsutits — multifandom. nsfw + dc !

@alhaithms — multifandom. nsfw !

@anantaru — genshin impact . nsfw + slight dc !

@blueparadis — multifandom. nsfw + dc !

@itoshi-s — blue lock. nsfw + dc !

@ilykento — multifandom. nsfw + dc !

@r-oronoa — multifandom. nsfw + dc !

@touyyes — mostly jjk but multifandom. nsfw + dc !

@510hz — multifandom. nsfw + dc !

@starlitheaven — jjk + hxh. nsfw + dc !

@torufilms — blue lock. sfw + nsfw !

@sailewhoremoon — multifandom. nsfw + dc !

@dilu3 — multifandom. nsfw + dc !

@shirohyorin — multifandom. nsfw + dc !

@saneminx — multifandom. nsfw + dc !

@takaholic — multifandom. nsfw + light dc !

@haruchiyos — multifandom. nsfw + dc !

@satorini — multifandom. nsfw + dc !

@ohsatori — multifandom. sfw + nsfw !

@suget — mostly jjk. nsfw + dc !

@bleubrri — multifandom. nsfw + dc !

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT 2022

a small list of the artists who i follow + love seeing on my dash ! they’re just so crazy talented it’s insane <3

@tinymaru — reine is the one who drew my emmie x nagi fanart in my header and they are so craaaazy talented <3

@kita-dynasty — laine is SO AMAZING !!! every single time she posts i eat it up i could look at her art all day !!!

@omiishii — i’ve followed jace for YEARS ! and he only gets even better it’s actually insane !!! it’s just so amazing to see their art whenever i’m on dash <3

@omiyours — remi made my theme for me + she is so CRAZY TALENTED i just think she deserves absolutely everything 4 sharing it with people and being so kind <3

if you don’t want 2 be tagged pls let me know + i can take you out but i just wanted 2 do a little round up and also thank everyone 4 all the support they’ve shown me on this lil blog of mine <3 i am so very grateful ! again if i’ve not included u i’m super sorry there were so many !!! I STILL LOVE U I SWEAR !!! yay 2 2022 tho >_<

#໒꒱ ₊˚ — recs ! #I TRIED 2 INCLUDE EVERYONE BUT I EAT UP EVERYTHING SERVED 2 ME ILY ALL <3 #if ur not included pls know that i still love u w my whole heart !!! I SWEAR !!! #but fank yew everyone 4 all of the support + you all being super kind #and also 4 letting me scream all over ur dash aboht my 2d bfs how embarrassing 4 me but hello o_o

[twentysomethingwereyote]

So guess what…..👀

⚠️⚠️Spoilers⚠️⚠️

I watched it and OMFG….. I can see where Miguel was coming from, but I also know that canon can always change and diverge from the mainstream of the timeline.

IT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME!! TIME ISNT LINEAR!

It’s a big tree that has branches twisting with one another and growing each and everyday. And if those branches collide and colapse with each other it’s not the end of the world. It just means that it’ll become something else, maybe something better or worse.

Miles, whether Earth-42 or Earth-1610, would always have his dad became captain, died, and become something more.

Even if the Earth-42’s Miles was supposed to be that earth’s Spider-Man, but turns into the Prowler as the result of his fathers death and the spider not being there.

Then that means even if Earth-1610’s Miles is an “anomaly “, he was always supposed to be something in his universe anyways.

Uncle Aaron would’ve passed on the mantle or at least mentored Miles into a villain. If we are going down this route, that would mean that canon whether followed or not does not matter then…

Because there is always a different timeline or universe that would be created to balance it out.

Just think about it, we create our own canons everyday with writing, thinking, hell even just talking about an idea you have for a story.

And yeah sometimes certain things don’t go the way that you want it but that means YOU can change it. They are called “HEAD CANONS” and “AU’s” for a reason!

It’s up to YOU as, the readers, the writers, the artists.

To change how you want it, and sure we can’t change reality itself that would be impossible and plus mistakes are what make us human anyway.

If anyone was perfect we’d be living in a whole different world were things are just okay but they really wouldn’t be. We would always feel like there is something amiss, that it’s feels wrong to our nature.

But in fiction, the stories, the songs, the comics…

WE can choose what to change and what to accept as is…

And I think that’s what Miguel kinda forgot, that canon doesn’t always mean it’s how things are supposed to go.

Hell there are a bunch of tv shows and movies that show you why canon isn’t always right, and sometimes it’s not wrong.

Okay I’ve said my piece, now I’ve seen the comments to my other post and I’ve told my sister about the idea. She said if I feel like I should write it to go for it and if I don’t to just leave it someone would write something similar anyways.

So… I might wanna take a shot at it, and don’t get your hopes up because trust me sometimes I will get sidetracked. And the story will end up going everywhere, then we both came up with another story idea will write another post to talk about THAT one.

Till next time, your girl is out 💙😙✌🏽

#spiderman atsv #miles molares #spiderman #miguel o'hara #gwen stacy #peter b parker #across the spiderverse #jessica drew #hobie brown #multiverse #marvel #spider man: across the spider verse #into the spider verse #itsv #pavitr prabhakar #spider woman #spider man 2099

[anakinsafterlife]

More thoughts on WOT (Season 2, ep 7 and 8)

The series continues to absolutely light the sky on fire, and yes I mean that literally, given the season finale. I know that there's been a lot of hate from certain quarters, expressed towards the television writers, but imo there have been so many smart changes made to compress the gargantuan source material that I honestly now see this as a completely different universe from the novels. In many ways, it's the universe that I imagined when I first read the books in the mid-90s, the potential that I glimpsed that still made me a fan when I was frequently frustrated by Robert Jordan's prose.

For example, the Forsaken were fascinating because they were different than other villains of the time. They weren't actually faceless archetypes. They were professional people who had been influential in their fields, as well as strong in the One Power, which made them useful tools for the Dark One. Over time, post-Breaking, people began to think of them as archetypal demons who had existed for as long as the Dark One had existed but when we were exposed to the Forsaken as individuals in the narrative, we saw that they were petty and venal and self-interested and nihilistic. The books do this well, but, dare I say, the television show expresses this more clearly. So far it has shown Ishamael as a man who is deeply depressed, who sees no point to living when the mistakes made in one live will simply be made in the next (and since he has empirical prove of reincarnation, there's no refuting this). He's tired of the cycle and wants out. Unlike what we know of the other Forsaken, at least from the books, his did not swear to the Dark One for material or artist or emotional benefit. He fully supports the Dark One's ultimate goal of breaking the Wheel for all time, and this is the reason why he is the devil's main man. (It's also the reason Lanfear did and must betray him, despite their closeness). Keep in mind also that his profession in the AOL was "philosopher." Presumably, this means that, like Lanfear and a couple of the others, he was an academic. He published or perished. His wrote nihilistic books that became very popular. Also like Lanfear, he personally knew Lews Therin. In the books, they knew each other well but weren't necessarily close friends. I think the writers have merged Demandred’s role with Ishamael's in the show, however, because they portray Lews Therin, Lanfear, and Ishamael as having been the best of friends, a golden trio. I adore the change and the tension and sorrow it brings to their interactions, but despite their closeness, these characters were still very different from each other. Unlike the philosopher Elan Morin, Lews Therin was a professional politician. His goals were practical, if not always tenable, his moral code (which is entirely of his own making) seemingly strict and unbending, by the commentary we've been privy to as well as the flashbacks (which are probably my favourite part of the whole show; the nuanced portray of Lews Therin is magnificent), and it was probably that endbending nature that drove his friends away from him.

Like Ishamael, Lews Therin also wrote books, but books of social theory and political commentary. He was less of an abstract thinker than both Ishamael (philospher/logician) and Lanfear (scientific researcher, probably a physicist). A scientist and a politician think very differently. While the former might painstakingly determine why a theory will or will not work, the latter is likely to simply insist that an idea is good and force it through--which is exactly what Lews Therin did. Despite evidence of a harrowingly poor outcome, he leads the attack with the "Hundred Companions," his closest supporters in the Hall of Servants, on Shayol Ghul.

Where am I going with this? Essentially, that there are no villains here in the mythic sense, just selfish people, and likewise there are no heroes, just people skilled enough to fight when required. Ishamael and Lanfear swore oaths for personal reasons. Lanfear supposedly joined the Dark One so that she could win Lews Therin back. I expect that's not entirely true, and she's probably harbouring a great deal of unexamined motive, but it is very human. And other Forsaken swore their loyalty to this extradimensional being that they actually know very little about for surprisingly silly and petty reasons. Sammael wants to be taller?? Asmodeon wants to write better music? Very genre blind. There is a great deal of artistic lore regarding selling one's soul to the devil for increased artistic ability, but we are talking about an eternity of damnation here, and the bill always comes due. So Asmodeon is not a demon or an archetypal villain. He's a man who made a stupid decision. And so are the they all, excepting perhaps Ishamael, who is the only one who seems to know what he got into (maybe he had a few ancient books of lore about deals at the crossroads in his library).

This humanization of "the bad guys" has been a theme throughout the show, and we have seen it again and again across political lines. In the finale, we see Lanfear and Ishamael sitting together, still friendly even in their antagonism. We see the antagonists making poor choices for very human reasons, like Liandrin wanting to save her son and then losing him anyway. Like Barthones becoming a Darkfriend to advance his position in the city and please his mother, only for his mother to retreat in horror and imprison him. These things render their choices absoltely moot, but their vows hold them in chains. With few exceptions (Lord Ingtar now and you know who later) no one ever tries to reject those vows, because these people continue to rationalize their choices as they go along, inventing new excuses for themselves, like Liandrin, who continues to serve even after Lanfear murders her son. It's brilliant and insightful, and it's the primary reason that I not only love the series but looked forward to examining it on a technical level every week.

The finale ending did not disappoint. Mat blows the Horn, and whatever anyone says, it makes so much sense that he was one of the Heroes already. My guess is he was Aemon the last time around, since Mat's always been closely tied to Manetheren. I love that Ishamael set him in to kill Rand too. That was wonderfully clever, since Ishamael does not wish to do it himself, and it displays his skill in manipulation to great effect and gives Mat a more active role.

Perrin is now fully a Wolfbrother (my personal headcanon about Wolfbrothers is that they were wolves in their previous lives). Elayne heals Rand's wound and sets their romance in motion, while Egwene is transformed utterly by her experiences. The girl from the Two Rivers is gone forever. In her place is a soldier with an iron heart. Moiraine (clothed in a costume that resembles that of an Asian warrior) does her part to proclaim Rand the Dragon Reborn (and there's a warning in Ishamael's statement that he is so very like Lews, when we just saw the extent of Lews Therin's ruthlessness in the flashbacks, so we can expect dire things to come as Rand undoubtedly will begin to unravel under the stress of war as well as the Taint). And Ishamael gets not only what most would say he deserves, but what what he desires: death. But he leaves a little surprise for Lanfear on his way out the door. Moghedien is so very creepy/scary and seems genuinely mentally ill. I love that they show her still in the clothes of the previous age, just awoken from her sleep and ready to do her absolute worst. It's a great starting point for the next season.

The only thing that I really missed from The Great Hunt, and hope will show up soon in some form, is the journey through the Portal Stones that reveal alternate pasts and futures for the characters. I do wonder if it might have been thematically replaced by the tea that reveals past lives. This is one of my favourite innovations in the show, and actually something that's been my headcanon since I was a teenager reading the series for the first time. There had to be some reason, I thought, that these people of the far future treat reincarnation not as a matter of religious faith but of concrete, undeniable reality. They know with absolute certainty that everyone dies and is born again, endlessly. They know that when the Dragon comes, the title will not be symbolic, but one that belongs to the man who was factually Lews Therin Telamon in a previous life. That is why they fear the Dragon. Because he will be the one who broke the world, come again. And so there must be a proof, a way of truly knowing that souls are reborn. My idea was always a ter'angreal, but perhaps the tea is a psychotropic substance which opens up the pathways to the soul and its migrations. And of course, the way of demonstrating that these aren't just hallucinations would be to access memories of a recent lifetime and track down physical proof of it. So I was delighted that someone saw the necessity of such a proof in the world of WOT, just as I always did.

I've already seen that Season 3 was confirmed and has begun production, and I am so excited to see it and all of the new exciting changes and directional choices!

#the wheel of time #season 2 #the wheel of time spoilers #rand al'thor #lanfear #ishamael #mat cauthon #egwene al'vere #perrin aybara #moghedien #the one power #the dragon reborn #lews therin telamon #meta #personal

[thethirdromana]

I have a big clump of thoughts that have been prompted by reading the LOTR newsletter and Dracula Daily at the same time. I haven't quite figured them all out yet, but I'm going to see if writing them out helps.

Specifically the thing I'm interested in is how these books relate to the time at which they were published.

Let's start with the Lord of the Rings. No matter how much I know that the Lord of the Rings was published in the 1950s, there's always a record scratch moment when I'm reminded of it, for instance by discussion of connections to World War II or even World War I.

Because it feels older, right? That's not just me? It feels like it could plausibly have been published in the 1850s rather than the 1950s. A tweet that I now can't find claimed that the Lord of the Rings is among the only exposure that people today have to non-modern ways of thinking. It's a story that Tolkien consciously crafted as mythology. It should feel old, it's supposed to.

But there's also a relationship between this and the response to Tolkien. There's a quote which I also now can't find, which could equally plausibly have been from Ursula Le Guin or some random tumblr post, which says - to paraphrase - Tolkien is the father of all fantasy, and fantasy writers either accept that (Robin Hobb, Brandon Sanderson) or yell "you're not my real dad!" and write in conscious opposition to him (NK Jemison, George RR Martin, in very different ways). But there's no escaping him.

[Edited: @elven-child suggests this could have been Terry Pratchett, who said:

J.R.R. Tolkien has become a sort of mountain, appearing in all subsequent fantasy in the way that Mt. Fuji appears so often in Japanese prints. Sometimes it’s big and up close. Sometimes it’s a shape on the horizon. Sometimes it’s not there at all, which means that the artist either has made a deliberate decision against the mountain, which is interesting in itself, or is in fact standing on Mt. Fuji.

... which I like better than the Oedipal Tolkien-as-father version.]

Game of Thrones was published in 1991. Assassin's Apprentice in 1995. And those are just the examples I chose from books that I can see from where I'm sitting right now. The all-consuming influence of the Lord of the Rings happened very fast after its publication - again, being published in the 1850s would feel more reasonable for the depth and breadth of its cultural impact. It feels like that should take longer!

Then there's Dracula. Which is as consciously modern as the Lord of the Rings is consciously... historic? Medieval? It's remarkable how little effort it would take to move the story of Dracula to the modern day - if Dracula's castle has no wifi and dodgy mobile phone reception, the rest of the story can play out pretty much as-is, with WhatsApp messages standing in for the telegrams and emails for the letters.

(The only bit I would struggle to believe is that Van Helsing could travel back and forth to Amsterdam that often on the Eurostar or Ryanair without once being delayed.)

That's fascinating to me because Dracula is also a call-back to an older mode of writing, just as Tolkien drew on Norse sagas and Old English literature. An epistolary gothic novel is very 18th century. Even in terms of the late 19th century gothic revival, Dracula came along pretty late - Carmilla was 25 years earlier. But instead of the weight of the history of gothic literature dragging Dracula backward, it feels like Dracula drags the rest of it forward instead.

In some ways, I think this is literally what happened. The horror tropes of Dracula became the horror tropes of 20th century cinema, and the result is that the content and themes of gothic literature are familiar to us. We understand most of what Northanger Abbey is parodying even if we've never read the Mysteries of Udolpho or any of the other novels that Austen satirises. The effect of Dracula's popularity has been to keep itself current in ways that Bram Stoker could never have anticipated or planned.

I'm not sure I've figured out exactly what my point is here, but it was fun to think about anyway.

#dracula daily #lotr newsletter #lotr #dracula #long post #ty if you made it to the end of this ramble

[northern-passage]

Hello! I have a few questions as someone who takes great inspiration from brilliant works of interaction fiction and similar methods of storytelling. I hope you don’t mind me asking!

1. If there something that draws you to the current format of interactive fiction storytelling rather than something such as a visual novel? Do you enjoy it more, is it less costly, easier for you, etc…?

2. What are some of the most prevalent difficulties in writing within the medium?

3. What do you wish you knew before you began writing interactive fiction?

Keep up the incredible work, I always love seeing what you post and create <3

ohhh these are fun questions :-) thank you!

question 1: i actually tried to do a visual novel first! but it is a LOT of work. i managed to do some sprites and a few backgrounds before i gave up. if i was to try and do it again i'd have to pay another artist to join me which just isn't feasible for me right now. i suppose the things i like about IF could be applied to VNs too, but i like what interactive fiction adds to whatever narrative you're trying to tell. the medium itself is a part of the story, if that makes sense. it can't exist without the main character who can't exist without a player to guide them. i like giving the player choices & i like taking them away. i like how vast the genre is, and i like seeing how other people use the mechanics and code to pull off some really interesting & unique stories.

question 2: hmmm i think what gets hard for me is just fatigue... when you write big branching narratives, you have to write a lot of tedious shit, hahaha. like currently with blood choke i've been working on the same conversation for about 3 weeks. there are dozens of variations of it, depending on who the mc is, what choices they've made, and how the other character feels about them, and whether or not the mc went with her or went with someone else means the conversation has to be shuffled around elsewhere in the chapter, and it's all extremely extremely tedious. it feels like you're writing so much, but it's literally just one conversation, one scene in the entire chapter. but you have to write it about 20 times. so it's easy in IF to run out of steam very quickly. i definitely think that's what happened with me with tnp, i hit a huge block after writing all of the combat variations in ch2, i was just so exhausted & knowing that i would have to write even more complex scenes at the end of the chapter accounting for all of it was very demoralizing. BUT i feel like my long break has helped quite a bit and i am excited to get back into tnp next month 😈

question 3: this one is tough... i'm not really sure, to be honest. i've been here for a while now and i feel pretty comfortable for the most part. i was a reader & a lurker before i started writing so i got to see a lot of the way other readers treat writers before i became one, which was helpful for me. i think if i could go back i'd tell myself that this was going to be a way bigger project than i anticipated. and also tell myself that this is my hobby and i should be having fun, not stressing or worrying about making money or pleasing other people. of course i want people to like my work and i appreciate their support, but that shouldn’t be the only reason why i'm writing… i’m writing because i want to.

#thanks again :-) #ask #anonymous

[arceespinkgun]

Transformers and its cop history is so... I don't even have the words, the strangest thing to me is that initially Prowl is the Autobot military strategist. He's not a law enforcer or even has a role of security in the Autobots. His alt mode is a police car

With how many continuities Transformers and new designs for characters have had (most notable is Michael Bay live movies popularising Bumblebee as a sports car and making it more prevalent in Transformers media onwards, compared to his original Volkswagen Beetle alt mode), it surprises me that Prowl has remained with a police car alt mode or has been given roles more reminiscent— if not blatantly stated, to be a law enforcer

Why has this persisted? Especially when in recent years law enforcement has notably been under criticism (to put things lightly). There is no actual reason for why Prowl has to be a police officer or have an alt mode of a police vehicle. It's not really an integral aspect of the character's personality at all and yet that's how everyone characterises Prowl as, "The Cop." Which is through no fault of their own really because he's been a cop/cop vehicle in every appearance he's had from my knowledge. I have always been slightly uncomfortable with Prowl's (unnecessary, imo) connection to law enforcement, enjoying the character and his actual personality becomes difficult because he is so heavily associated with law enforcement/being a police officer

Well, I think it's pretty clear why this has persisted. And I was actually thinking about something similar recently, which is that the version of Barricade who has a police car alt-mode is a really, really strange character because he wasn't created or portrayed as an ACAB statement, but instead he was meant to subvert the idea that cops are safe people who should be respected. Like, we as an audience are expected to share a base assumption that cops are good guys, and it's frankly embarrassing and gross that this approach to the character has been featured as late as IDW2. Analysis of how Prowl has been utilized under the cut:

Of course, Prowl's original alt-mode was a Nissan Fairlady Z painted to be a specialized police pursuit vehicle as used in Japan, so basically a sports coupe repurposed into a cop car for police chases. And he had this design because he was pretty much just a reissue of the Diaclone police car toy. As you mentioned, the character himself wasn't a cop originally—instead, I would say his vehicle mode more metaphorically represented the characterization he had, in which he will stop at nothing to "pursue" his goals and will radio his leader constantly when he doesn't know what to do.

I also do remember one early comic in which Prowl uses his alt-mode to tell humans to evacuate a dangerous area, and I think there's something to be said for a cop car being a logical choice for a disguise because it can be utilized in ways like that.

Sometimes people say that the Prowl from TFA (who I do really like!) manages to escape problematic implications such as copaganda, but while I do really appreciate that reinvention of the character, he really doesn't. I mean, he still turns into a police vehicle in that series, and the show pushed for him to become friends with a cop who has bigoted beliefs.

What's at the heart of the complete disaster area Prowl became are writers and artists who have base assumptions that inform their work. Writers who are privileged and believe copaganda are just going to do things like this. That's why Prowl became more and more of a cop over time. When those writers and that artist working on IDW2 had a comic sign off on police brutality and showed the proto-Decepticons using an altered version of a real-world anti-racist slogan, that's why, and it's why in the creators' apologies they reveal they never even thought about what they were implying—probably because these issues don't really impact their lives. This is how copaganda even ends up in things like Rescue Bots.

Fandom is guilty here as well. Before Prowl as an angry controlling cop existed in canon media, fans were writing that in their fanfictions, and this portrayal became more and more popular and started to leak into canon over time. And then when it started to appear in canon media, people ate it up and didn't want this characterization to be reverted, and it still persists now. So no, there's no reason Prowl had to be this way, but he has been, it's a pattern, and it has to be addressed in official media at some point. And to be honest, I don't know how it could be... like reverting him to an earlier characterization and having him turn into something else would be nice, but then it's kind of sweeping the history under the rug. Deleting him from existence or having him be a villain wouldn't work because he's literally the Autobots' logo. Maybe it could be tackled by both reverting him to an earlier characterization and having him go through a character arc in which he learns to grow beyond black-and-white thinking or something? He's definitely always had major flaws even before this whole mess, so it could work.

And before somebody comes at me with something like, "Okay but IDW Prowl isn't copaganda and is fine because the story is critical of his actions," I'll say this: okay, but if Nick Roche was going to create a character to explore that, why did he choose to make him a gay, mentally ill, disabled guy? Those are the traits of people who cops murder and oppress. It's like JRo with Chromedome—why would he choose to have one of the first prominent gay characters in his story not only be struggling with addiction, but be struggling with an addiction to violating people and causing them irreparable harm? It's just a different form of problematic.

#Prowl #Barricade #my analysis #transformers #also I feel like when it comes to the other roles Barricade fulfills Shadow Striker does it better

[lastoneout]

Like yeah it has been kinda wild to see tumblr's attitude about comments and reblogs change so much and tbh a lot of it I don't think can even entirely be chalked up to tiktok or twitter users cuz in the 11 years I've used this site we have gone from:

- Early 2010s tumblr where we added stuff to reblogs all the time, no one cared, posts can got so long they glitched your dash and we basically legit has to scroll uphill in the snow both ways to reblog anything bcs the buttons were at the TOP of the post

- To tumblr fixing posts so the reblog/like buttons were at the bottom(which we loved) and made it so reblogs didn't glitch your dash(which we all complained about) but that also made posts Longer which created the era of "sorry my follower added that dumb comment to your post" and "I had to go back x reblogs to find a version of the post without these pointless comments" jokes

- Which then lead into the era of "how dare you leave this in the tags" which tbh felt like a huge correction from the pervious mentality bcs we convinced everyone that adding comments to posts was Bad and so we missed good additions and interactions to the point that screencaping good tags and adding them quickly became common practice

- And around that same time we started seeing people just straight up reblog posts less which has been an ongoing problem

- And then we got into the whole "prev tags" thing where people legit didn't even want to screencap tags anymore for fear of being impolite and causing us to again have to hammer it into people's heads that You Are Supposed To Interact With Posts

- Only for us now to have a site wide epidemic of people who just don't reblog stuff at all which has built on the previous shift and now driven home by users from other sites who just don't get how tumblr works and (mostly) refuse to learn

So yeah, the attitude around it has changed so much and it's honestly kinda fascinating to watch. And I mean I am not trying to get on a high horse but tbh I always hated the "sorry my follower added a dumb comment" jokes because it DID drill it into people's heads that interacting was bad and I think everything after has been us trying to fix the damage that did, which isn't helped again by people from tiktok and twitter who think rebloging things is Wrong for some reason.

Anyway that to say please interact with posts, no one really cares if your comment is bad/un-needed/whatever because the unique humor of tumblr is built on a giant game of "yes, and" and when you refuse to reblog or comment or even so much as screencap funny tags we lose a lot of what makes this site great.

Put yourself out there, comment on the post or in the tags, screencap funny tags and add them, interact with people, share posts so people will SEE them, and especially reblog posts by artists and writers to support their content!! If you feel bad spamming people's dashes just put stuff in your queue so it gets spaced out or just don't care bcs that's how tumblr works and if you don't like that you can just unfollow someone or leave for another website that does work the way you want it to. It's that easy.

#tumblr meta #I guess?? #idk I only just woke up #long post

[sibillascribbles08]

I'd love to hear about your hcs for Splinter's dad.

-silverphoenixflame

Aw yay it showed up in my inbox this time !

And okay : )

Going to ramble a bit and preface this with some of my thought process so I'll drop a readmore at some point

So while doing a lot of thinking about Splinter/Lou Jitsu (I'm a sucker for storylines of empty fame) I started wondering why we never hear him mention his father or see him in any of his memories. He's not there when Atsuko (his mother) dies like it's heavily implied he went to live with his grandfather.

Which like, okay, could be a number of reasons his dad isn't around. Divorce, death, went missing, who knows? (I know the writer reason is just "we don't want to design and introduce a character who does nothing and would literally just be there for one episode" but let's work with what we've got.)

Anyway while thinking about it I thought again about the fact that I hc that Atsuko was dead before that conversation with Yoshi (mostly due to how her kimono was worn and how she just disappeared) and the reason she appeared was some Hamato spirit projection shit (like they showed up in Splinter's room why can't they do this to I guess).

And for ages I assumed she died because of SOMETHING to do with the dark armor, which is why Sho is explaining it during that scene (even if it's in a very easy to digest way for a boy who is like, what, six??) which is how I came to the conclusion she died while fighting the Foot Clan to defend part of the armor.

Ah, but then what if it wasn't just that, what if the person who killed her (and she killed in turn) was also Yoshi's father.

Bear with me I promise it makes (some) sense.

Because even if the artists didn't want to design a father figure for a flashback scene it does seem odd not to design one to include when all the ancestors pop up. Like that's the ENTIRE Hamato family right there, including his grandfather, so why doesn't his dad pop up? Probably because he never fully became a Hamato, possibly because his loyalty lied elsewhere.

The way I picture it in my head, a young foot recruit is given the task to find a way to infiltrate the Hamato clan and learn about the locations of all the armor pieces. So he does this the easiest way he knows how, by winning the affection of the somewhat rebellious daughter of Sho. (I have my own hcs that Atsuko was just as adamant about avoiding family responsibility as Yoshi was (he had to get it from somewhere right?? (ignoring the whole trauma part of it I mean))). So they hang out, and date (?), and he makes himself look good to the rest of the clan so the marriage is approved. Get married, and things are going smoothly, but then a kid enters the picture.

And since, you know, HE'S part of the foot clan it's decided that at some point when he's still very young, Yoshi should be brought to the Foot Clan to be raised properly.

But as soon as Yoshi comes around, Atsuko starts noticing something is off. And eventually she catches her husband communicating with the Foot Clan, and hell kinda breaks loose for a bit.

The jig is up, the Hamatos try to kill him outright but he escapes, but vows to one day return for his son. That's when Atsuko gets serious about her family legacy.

They fight more than once, but eventually one of those fights ends with them both being fatally injured, and while Atsuko manages to reach her father she begs him not to let Yoshi see her like this, and not to tell him about his father. Hence the spiritual goodbye later.

She always wanted to tell him the truth herself, but he never really learned how to contact her, and she still hasn't gotten the opportunity.

Anyway yeah, she went from loving this man to never hating anyone more in her life, hence "We do not speak of him."

#scribs speaks #rottmnt #lou comes back wrong #thanks for asking ! #I'm also just a sucker for the added layers of tragedy you know?