#chronicle mysteries: recovered

[tybaltsjuliet]

here's the thing about charles dickens. [discussion of his antisemitism, misogyny, and racism ahead.]

his last, unfinished novel, the mystery of edwin drood, features helena and neville landless, heroic and sympathetic south asian (sri lankan, specifically) characters, and the racism they endure in an english town is relevant to the plot to the point where neville ends up falsely accused of murder. in the wake of the indian rebellion of 1857, dickens applauded the english brutality against "that oriental race," and called for genocide.

fagin is called "the jew" 274 times in the first half of oliver twist. an article in the jewish chronicle asked why "jews alone should be excluded from the 'sympathizing heart' of this great author and powerful friend of the oppressed." at first, dickens dismissed this, and claimed he was just being accurate about london's criminal makeup. but he was moved enough by eliza davis's letters to him on the matter that he halted the printing of the latter half of oliver twist so he could change the text and remove the antisemitic language therein.

dickens was an abolitionist who despised chattel slavery in the united states, and called emancipation a "moral duty." dickens didn't think black americans were intelligent enough to vote, and he wrote an entire character in bleak house who is a joke to be disliked and mocked because she'd rather oversee charity missions to help children in africa than be a proper mother and tend to her own family at home in england.

speaking of one's own family at home in england, dickens smeared his wife, catherine hogarth, publicly so he could justify separating from her and taking up with a younger woman. catherine hogarth was likely mentally ill, likely living with postpartum depression. she was also an author in her own right and loved her family dearly. her reputation never recovered in her lifetime from the claims he made about her. in dickens's novels, time and time again, from nicholas nickleby to david copperfield to our mutual friend to the mystery of edwin drood, men who menace and take advantage of vulnerable women are portrayed as the worst kind of villains, deserving of whatever grisly ends come to them.

charles dickens was both privately and publicly a raging asshole in many ways and the world would be worse off without him, because he wrote for bourgeois, comfortable victorians, the very people who so often failed to "think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys." in the same breath that he calls agnes fleming, who opens oliver twist as an unwed mother dying in a workhouse, "weak and erring," he dares to add that "i do believe that the shade of that poor girl often hovers about that solemn nook-ay, though it is a church." he calculated jo's death to the page in bleak house for maximum effect. but when he wrote of the orphaned crossing-sweeper, "dead, your majesty. dead, my lords and gentlemen. dead, right reverends and wrong reverends of every order. dead, men and women, born with heavenly compassion in your hearts. and dying thus around us every day," people listened.

i dedicated years of my life to reading him and studying him and thinking about him and writing about him and his novels. now, i turn to condemn him; now, i turn to justify him. i wish i had a time machine so i could shake his hand. i wish i had a time machine so i could publicly debate him. i wish i had a time machine so i could break his nose.

charles dickens gives me courage and hope. charles dickens makes me want to tear my goddamn hair out. he is everything i despise and everything i love about the victorian age in one; the term "a man of his time" ought to have been invented for him. the leaps and bounds the victorians made for progress in the public good are only matched in greatness by the extremity of their atrocities against their "fellow-passengers" on this earth. the way we think about nearly every modern social ill can be traced back to the 19th century; the way we think about nearly every modern idea of social justice can be traced back to the 19th century. every last one is writ large and small in dickens's novels. he and his age are the greatest contradictions in human history and that's why i can't shut up about them, ever, even when i am exhausted by them, even when i am inspired by them, even when it was two centuries ago and it shouldn't matter anymore, but it does. it always will.

#filthy victorians; they made me what i'm made of. #;swan has a word. #;the long nineteenth century. #;they who call the whole world brother.

[nobrashfestivity]

In 1803, a round vessel drifted ashore on the Japanese coast and a beautiful woman emerged, wearing strange clothing and carrying a box. She was unable to communicate with the locals, and her craft was marked with mysterious writing. This story of an utsurobune, or “hollow ship,” in the province of Hitachi (now Ibaraki Prefecture) is found in many records of the Edo period (1603–1868), and Tanaka Kazuo, professor emeritus at Gifu University, has studied the topic for many years. What drew him away from his main research area, applied optics, to investigate this curious episode? And what really took place?

“Like a Flying Saucer”

Tanaka says he began to research the ship after the deadly subway sarin attacks in 1995 by the Aum Shinrikyō cult. “There was a lot of coverage of Aum founder Asahara Shōkō's prophecies and claims to be able to float in the air. Yet the cult’s senior members were part of the scientific elite. I started giving lectures considering paranormal phenomena from a scientific perspective, which meant that I was collecting all kinds of materials for teaching, such as about UFOs in the United States and Japanese folklore. While doing so, I came across the utsurobune legend.” He adds, “Long before the American UFO stories, the craft depicted in Edo-period Japanese documents for some reason looked like a flying saucer. This was fascinating to me.”

UFOs became a modern sensation after the media reported US businessman Kenneth Arnold as having witnessed “flying saucers” on June 24, 1947. A flood of similar stories followed from around the world. Most famously, a UFO was alleged to have crashed to the ground near Roswell, New Mexico, in July 1947. “In the end, though, no wrecks or alien bodies were recovered,” Tanaka says. “There was only the ambiguous testament of witnesses. It was the same with all the other UFO stories from around the world—they were mysteries without any substantial evidence. The utsurobune legend, however, has a number of documents to examine as leads, so in this sense, for researchers it’s a mystery with substance.”

A book published in English by Tanaka Kazuo on his research.  There are similar oral traditions about “hollow ships” across Japan in the Edo period. Tanaka’s research is focused on the various documents that describe the 1803 incident in Hitachi and include illustrations of a beautiful woman and a strange vessel, although they cite different dates. One of the best-known sources is the Toen shōsetsu (Toen Stories), an 1825 collection recording fantastic rumors, which was written by the Toenkai literary circle and edited by Kyokutei Bakin, famous for his lengthy historical romance Nansō Satomi hakkenden (The Eight Dog Chronicles). Others are Nagahashi Matajirō's 1844 work Ume no chiri (Plum Dust), as well as collections like Ōshuku zakki (Ōshuku Notes), Hirokata zuihitsu (Essays by Hirokata), and Hyōryūki-shū (Records of Castaways), which gathers stories of foreign ships washed up in Japan and of Japanese sailors who came ashore overseas.

Picture 1-  Hyōryūki-shū (Records of Castaways) by an unknown author. The text describes the woman as being around 18 to 20 years of age, well-dressed, and beautiful. Her face is pale, and her eyebrows and hair are red. It is impossible to communicate with her, so it is unclear where she is from. She holds a plain wooden box as though it is very important to her and keeps her distance. There is mysterious script written in the boat. (Courtesy Iwase Bunko Library in Nishio, Aichi Prefecture)

Pictures 2 and 3- Unknown (maybe  Mito bunsho)

Picture 4-   From Ōshuku zakki (Ōshuku Notes; around 1815) by Komai Norimura, a vassal of the powerful daimyō Matsudaira Sadanobu. (Courtesy National Diet Library)

Picture 5-  From Hirokata zuihitsu (Essays by Hirokata; 1825) by shogunate retainer and calligrapher Yashiro Hirokata, who was also a member of the Toenkai circle. (Courtesy National Archives of Japan)

This post is mostly sourced from  nippon.com and japantoday

#japanese art #ufos #flying saucer #ukiyoe #set

[scotianostra]

On 20th May 685 The Picts won a decisive Battle , in present-day Angus, known as The Battle of Dun Nechtain or Battle of Nechtansmere.

A wee bit longer post than I normally give you, but it is a great story, the first part tells us how a battle against The Angles helped shape the country we now know as Scotland, the second is a tale from the twentieth century, both stories are connected, read on and enjoy.........

Known as 'Picti' by the Romans, meaning 'Painted Ones' in Latin, these northern tribes constituted the largest kingdom in Dark Age Scotland. They repelled the conquests of both Romans and Angles, creating a true north-south divide on the British Isles, only to disappear from history by the end of the first millennium - swallowed whole by the history of another group, the Gaels. Together they created the Kingdom of Alba.

The Picts took part in one of the most decisive battles in Scottish history - the Battle of Dun Nechtain (Dunnichen). If the Picts had lost, Scotland might never have existed. For the Angles of Northumbria it was simply a disaster - ending their domination of Scotland.

The Battle of Dun Nechtain was fought on this day in 685 AD and is one of the best recorded events in Dark Age Scotland.

The Kingdom of the Angles under King Oswui had rapidly expanded north, moving their frontier from the River Forth to the River Tay. Since 653 AD many of the major groups of people in Scotland - Britons, Gaels and much of Pictland - had been subject to the overlordship of King Oswui. In 672 AD, after the death of Oswui, the Picts rose against their overlords, expelling Drust, their Northumbrian puppet king.

The new King of Northumbria, Ecgfrith, wasted no time in wreaking revenge on the Picts. The Picts were massacred at a battle near the town of Grangemouth, where the rivers Carron and Avon meet. According to Northumbrian sources, so many Picts died they could walk dry-shod across both rivers. By 681 AD Ecgfrith had founded a bishopric at Abercorn on the southern shore of the Forth - a symbol of Northumbria's secure grip over the Picts.

The defeated Picts took Bridei, son of Bili, as the king of a much depleted Pictland. King Bridei was actually the cousin of his mortal enemy, King Ecgfrith of the Angles, but, in true Dark Age fashion, this didn't diminish their mutual desire to destroy each other. An almighty battle was on the cards.

The Chronicle of Holyrood gives us an account of the battle: "In the year 685 King Ecgfrith rashly led an army to waste the province of the Picts, although many of his friends opposed it...and through the enemy's feigning flight he was led into the defiles of inaccessible mountains, and annihilated, with great part of his forces he had brought with him." However, we need to keep in mind this account was written hundreds of years after the event.

The Angles were advancing up Strathmore, probably aiming for the Pictish fortress of Dunnottar, when they fell into Bridei's trap. Sighting a Pictish warband, the Angles set off in pursuit, then, as they came over the cleft in Dunnichen Hill, they found themselves confronted by the main body of the Pictish army. Caught between the Picts and the loch below the hill, the Angles bravely faced their doom.

The politcal map was altered. The Picts, Gaels and many Britons were freed from Northumbrian overlordship. Gaelic poets as far away as Ireland celebrated the battle's outcome. The Pictish frontier returned to the River Forth near Edinburgh and the Bishop of Abercorn fled, never to return. The Angles never fully recovered as major force in Scotland.

It is no coincidence that the Picts mysterious disappearance occurs at the same time as the creation of the kingdom of Alba. For many years Gaelic influence in Pictland had been on the rise. The Gaelic religion of Christianity had spread throughout Pictish lands and with it many Gaelic traditions. Furthermore, through a mixture of conquest and inter-marriage Gaelic or Gaelicised royalty had succeeded to the Pictish throne (a notable example of this being Kenneth MacAlpin).

Finally in 878 AD the Pictish king, Áed, was murdered and replaced by a Gael - Giric. Giric accelerated the Gaelic takeover of Pictish politics during his reign making the Gaelic language and traditions commonplace. Even after Giric was finally deposed in 889 AD future Pictish kings such as Donald and Constantine embraced Gaelic culture. By 900 AD Pictland ceased to exist. The reign of Donald is listed in the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba as a king of Alba. Pictland and Dál Riata had gone and in their place Alba - a Gaelic word for Scotland - was created. In this simple listing in an obscure book Scotland has its origins.

Fast forward over 12 hundred years to the 2nd January 1950, and a woman called Miss E.F. Smith, described as a spinster, was driving home from a party in Brechin at about 2am. Her car had skidded into a ditch 2 miles outside the area due to the treacherous road conditions. She still had another 8 miles to go so she continued her journey on foot. She felt oddly nervous as she walked along the minor road west of the A932, then she saw a number of strange lights in the distance near Dunnichen Hill. Turning south towards the village, she noticed figure in the field to her right, part of Drummietermont Farm. Each figure carried a flaming red torch in its left hand and they seemed to be searching the ground for something.

Miss Smith then saw shapes on the ground exactly like dead bodies. The figure nearest to her stooped down and examined several of these ‘corpses’, turning them over and back again, as if looking for recognisable faces. This scene lasted for around ten minutes, with Miss Smith’s dog barking throughout. Eventually she simply walked away. She only realised that the whole event was peculiar when she woke up next day and thought about it. Later she gave details of the experience to the Society for Psychical Research. She reported that the searchers wore garb like body stockings, along with tunics and flattened oval helmets. They appeared to be moving around the edge of the vanished mere, the shape of which was later traced by archaeological investigation.

Although this post battle manifestation has not been repeated. some motorists passing through Dunnichen on misty nights have caught sight of fleeting human forms which vanish before their cars hit them.

There is some skepticism as to how real Miss Smith’s sighting was. She was travelling very late at night and had already walked a number of miles, not to mention suffering a trauma from skidding her car into a ditch. The vision could have been brought about as a result of exhaustion and the effects of the cold. However, the fact that it occurred at the exact site of the Battle of Nechtansmere seems to be too much of a coincidence and it is unlikely that the woman’s dog would react to something that occurred only in his owner’s mind.

The pictures are of Pictish stones from around Aberlemno that perhaps tell the story of the battle.

#scotland #scottish #history #caledonia #alba #Northumberland #the picts #angles

[ashes-in-a-jar]

In my head, you’re a Magnus Archives blog. I mean, I know you obviously listen to other things, but In my mind it’s things like Welcome to Nightvale, Malevolent, Hello from the Hallowoods, The Sheridan Tapes, things like that, horror and supernatural.

So I had to do a double-take when I saw a Dungeons and Daddies post from you, I really didn’t know you listened to it. Then I see you reblog a Fawx and Stallion post, and now I’m just wondering how many podcasts you’ve listened to that I’ve also listened to.

Hahaha yes this blog has been mainly for tma stuff for years now, I still feel like I'm new to the fandom but honestly I've been here through a lot of it since the beginning of season 5

Buuuuut in the past few months I've stopped going into the tma tag regularly and been feeling a little detached from it, at least as opposed to before. My listen to tmagp has been way less interactive and I hardly reblog content anymore (which is something I like doing but because of various bad experiences on the internet recently I have yet to recover from I feel safer posting my own original posts rather than reblogging)

And that freed up a space in my mind to realize I've actually been listening to a lot of podcasts besides tma and it's honestly a shame not to talk about them more with others

I do listen to a lot of horror fantasy supernatural and science fiction podcasts! I also love a lot of dnd and ttrpg podcasts, I also love everything dropout and wish I could get into critical role but it's so big I don't think I'll manage it

I put under the cut a (quite long) list of the podcasts I have listened to and/or have notifications turned on

Anyone following me, you're welcome to send me an ask about one of them if you like them as well or want to hear about them!

I also put a list of podcasts on my to listen to list. Feel free to drop a recommendation for which them to listen to first!

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

Podcasts I'm caught up on (the lists are long so it's alphabetical without "the")

Ongoing podcasts

The Amelia project

Ask your father

A voice from darkness

Black box

Brimstone valley mall

Camlann

The cellar letters

Death by dying

Derelict

Eeler's choice

Ethics town

Fawx and stallion

Hello from the Hallowoods

The hundred handed

Levian

Lost terminal

The Magnus protocol

Malevolent

Midnight burger

The mistholme museum of mystery morbidity and mortality

Neon inkwell

New years day

Not quite dead

Old gods of Appalachia

The penumbra podcast

The program

Red valley

The Sheridan Tapes

The silt verses

The sound museum

Super suits

Tell no tales

Tiny terrors

Traveling light

Unseen

The vesta clinic

Victoriocity

The white vault

Completed podcasts

Absolutely no adventures

Archive 81

Borrasca

The bright sessions

Camp here and there

Descendants

Give me away

I am in eskew

Monstrous agonies

Parkdale haunt

The Magnus archives

Re: dracula

The secret of st kilda

Spirit box radio

Steal the stars

Time:bombs

We know none

Wolf 359

Wooden overcoats

Ttrpgs

The adventure zone

Campaign skyjacks

Chapter and multiverse

Dark dice

Dice shame

Dimension 20 (not a podcast but I listen to it like one)

Dungeons and daddies

Not another d&d podcast

Rusty Quill gaming

Worlds beyond number

Podcast on my listen next list:

The Alexandria archives

Alice isn't dead

Ars paradoxica

Believer

The Black tapes

Blackwood

The box

The bridge

Carrier

Counterbalance

The cryptid keeper

Darkest night

The darkroom

The dark tome

The deca tapes

The deep vault

Dreamboy (this one is nsfw so it makes me nervous lol)

Duggan Hill

The earth collective

Either

The far meridian

The fountain road files

The glass canon

Jar of rebuke

Kings fall am (I started but heard not great things about it)

Knifepoint horror

Kollok 1991

Less is morgue

The leviathan chronicles

Liberty

Limetown

The lost cat

Mabel

Maeltopia

Marscorp

Mirrors

Mockery manor

Next stop

The no sleep podcast

The orphans

The Orpheus protocol

Out of place

Paired

Palimpsest

The phone booth

Point mystic

Pseudopod

Rabbits

The right left game

Shadows at the door

Spines

Stellar firma

The storage papers

Stories from among the stars

Super ordinary

Superstition

Tanis

Tides

Unwell

Vast horizon

Victoria's lift

Video palace

Welcome to night Vale (I listen to this one very sporadically lol)

We're alive

Within the wires

Woe begone (I started but got stuck on episode 20ish but want to continue)

Wrong station

Ttrpgs

BomBARDded

Critical role (it's sooo long tho)

Dames and dragons

Dragon friends

Join the party

The lucky die

Queens of adventure

Realms of pearl and glory

Rude tales of magic

Skyjacks courier call

Three black halflings

#i should definitely update my blog description lol #podcasts #ask #mine #oh man thats alot of podcasts xD #hmmm i think i might main tag this so tma people will listen to more podcasts #tma #the magnus archives

[sincerely-sofie]

Gonna need to make an official poll for this at some point… HOWEVER:

What kind of content would you like to see from me after TPiaG is finished uploading?

I’ve got a lot of storylines I could pursue that are TPiaG-adjacent (like my 5,000 branching AUs), or I could try and continue the fic chronologically somehow. Alternatively, I could start a new fic with some original PMD characters of mine— or even try branching out into some more fandoms or posting my original work!

Here’s a list of some of my stuff I’ve posted about previously to provide some ideas, but don’t feel bound to discussing them alone:

Mortality Exchange AU: A TPiaG alternate storyline where Twig manages to kill Darkrai during the Dark Crater fight and becomes his replacement as the Legend of Nightmares.

Dugtrio Day AU: A PMD2 AU about a new Hero and Partner that revolves around a time loop, how it affects the Hero, and how she breaks out of it and deals with the aftermath.

Legends Lost: An original storyline set in the same universe as TPiaG, but starring an almost entirely original cast and plot.

Peepaw + Isekai’d Cat: A duo of PMD OCs— Necrozma and the once-human litten who helps him recover his true form by giving him hope— and their daily lives.

Paradox Fam: A group of PMD OCs starring a human-turned-flutter mane and said human’s adopted mother and father, a slither wing and iron moth, who hate each other’s guts.

Team Crypt: An exploration team of PMD OCs who solve mysteries in a manner that rivals the shenanigans of Scooby Doo and the Mystery Gang.

The Creeping Chronicles (at end of post): A fantasy story about bug people with trauma which has evolved rapidly and dramatically from when I impulsively uploaded a prologue in comic form.

Room 214: A stand-alone short comic about a reluctant exorcist and a friendly ghost that I think could be expanded upon into a broader storyline.

The Name-Oath: A two-part original story about a mortal woman who divorces a fairy prince after an ugly falling-out, and his desperate efforts to get back together.

THIMBLEQUEST: An original video game concept about a tiny moth knight who’s on a quest to find the seven holy thimbles and save the land from an ancient threat.

Unnamed Pokémon Gym Story: A mainline Pokémon OC that is a weather-enthusiast pokemon trainer and her golisopod who keeps bringing home injured bug-types.

Homebound: An Among Us fanfic featuring interspecies adoption, unlikely friendships, tragic backstories, and angst. A lot of angst.

Massive Art OC Dump: (This links to a summary of a lot of original projects with art associated with them.)

If you’ve got some time to share your thoughts or any ideas, please let me know!

Nothing is certain at this point, but I thought I’d start asking for opinions early!

#stuff by sofie #pmd2 #pmd eos #pmd #pmd explorers #pmd sky #pokémon mystery dungeon #pokemon mystery dungeon #pmd ocs #pmd oc #pokemon oc

[mk-writes-stuff]

Writeblr and Whumpblr Intro

Hi everybody! I’m MK, he/they, and I don’t want to share exactly how old I am but I’m over 20.

I write work that teeters on the edge between classic fiction and straight-up whump, generally fantasy with a bit of sci-fi. I write a mixture of original work and fanfiction, mostly for Magic: the Gathering. If I get the courage, I might eventually post my finished fanfiction work on AO3, but I’m a bit shy of that right now.

I tend to write work that isn’t appropriate for younger people (minors please block the “18+ content” tag), and often discusses and shows abuse, both physical, emotional, and sexual. There are frequent depictions of trauma and mental illness. Please avoid my work or ask me clarifying questions if you want to avoid any of that.

Please feel free to message me and talk about my work, I love to talk about it! Or feel free to tag me in games - I’m a bit shy but I’m working on getting comfortable replying.

WIPs:

The Seven Station Chronicles:

Early writing phase, my main active WIP. Original fiction, space fantasy. Tells the story of a young woman coming into her own and learning to navigate the complex political landscape of the isolated group of space stations she lives on, with the reluctant aid of her unwilling bodyguard who has her own secrets, and all the complicated people they meet along the way. Four books planned. Full intro post is here.

To Kill a Dead Thing:

Early writing phase, mostly on hiatus. MTG fanfic. Loosely a sequel to my finished fic, but you can read one without the other. Tells the story of an elvish parole officer at the end of her tether with a mysterious figure that seems determined to break her to pieces, her human friend desperate to help and hold her falling-apart office together while she’s at it, and the chaotic people they meet along the way.

The Pirates’ Roost:

Told in a periodically-written series of nonlinear short stories. MTG fanfic, mostly unrelated to the others. Tells the story of a group of abused pirates escaping their abusers and recovering from trauma, primarily through the story of a young man’s ascent from the groomed plaything of a violent captain to the captain of the most successful ship on the sea. Intro post for the series is here, the wiki is here, and the story archive is here.

Finished work:

The Breaking of Kelsey Karlov:

Finished, needs minor editing. MTG fanfic. Tells the story of a human noble turned into a vampire by a violent vampire pontiff and their attempts to escape him while he pulls them ever deeper into his web.

#writeblr #whumpblr #writeblr intro #mtg

[moon-andstardust]

A fic rec list for comic Goldenheart(Ballister Blackheart x Ambrosius Goldenloin) as requested by @thatmaladaptivedaydreamer

putting it under read-more cause this got way too long way too fast :,)

1) Take a Step Back and Start Again by lc2l

A story about two partially broken, mostly fixed men; a small child and a cat.

2) Black Flag by wakeupnew

Ballister finds himself thinking of life two ways: Before Nimona and After Nimona.

After Nimona, he has an injured former knight for a houseguest, an alarming amount of goodwill from the general population, and a life to try to put back together.

3) Once bitten, twice spy by bewickedandlovely

Even now with his face covered in claw marks, Goldilocks' smiles did funny things to Ballister. Nimona hadn’t decided if Ballister was still a friend, but she knew for sure that she didn't trust Goldilocks. She had to make sure he didn’t use his weird smiles to hurt Ballister, because Ballister would be too much of an idiot to make sure of that himself.

4) Two Nights in Knights in Knight School by tehta

So, how did the teenage Ambrosius and Ballister get together, anyway? I suspect that, in canon, it was the simplest and most natural process in the world. In this comedy of misunderstandings, it is... not.

5) When There's Nothing Left To Burn (End Racism in the OTW) by strix_alba

Sir Blackheart could really use some down time to process recent events, but the kingdom (and a few people in particular) have other plans for him. Plan A involves adoring fans and discounts at the open-air market. Plan B involves hospital visits to make sure he won't need another metal arm. Plan C includes a mysterious treatise tacked onto the Institution doors, and posters with his name on them appearing across the city.

6) Lost in Translation by InfiniteCalm

Three months later and things aren't as simple as they could have been. You could talk complicated feelings through, but why put yourself through that? After all, Ballister is excellent at steadfastly ignoring both crushing loneliness and any sort of non-violent tension with erstwhile enemy, current friend, Ambrosius Goldenloin.

7) [a short pause] by nushkush

Goldenloin remembers the past, but not his part in it.

8) A Business Proposal by PlethoraofSweaters

Ambrosius chose success over love. That kind of decision always has its drawbacks.

9) you better watch out, you better not cry by meguri_aite

“If our Santa says she isn’t Nimona, we have to believe her,” Ballister says calmly. “Ginger biscuits, anyone?”

10) The Spirit of Christmas Past by tehta

Arch-nemeses Blackheart and Goldenloin are haunted by the spirits of Christmas past. Actual drinkable spirits play a significant role, as well.

(Basically, Ambrosius gets wasted and tries to call Ballister)

11) Death Will Be My Wedding to Eternity (and I Hope to See You There) by WizardoftheRainbow

A chronicle of the incredibly arduous emotional journey undertaken by one Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin, from his childhood to the end of Nimona.

12) Decision/Mistake by YellowFlannelFrog

After a scheme gone awry, Ballister takes an injured Ambrosius back to his secret lair (house) to recover. It's still early on in his villain days, and there are a lot of emotions Ballister keeps inside. And when dealing with Ambrosius Goldenloin, some of them are definitely going to come to the surface.

13) (Stuffed) Sharks Have No Bones by oflightningandstars

Ballister comes home with a surprise for baby Nimona. Baby Nimona likes pranks. Ambrosius is not thrilled. (Nimona Gay Dads AU)

#nimona #nimona comic #ballister blackheart #ambrosius goldenloin #goldenheart #ballister blackheart x ambrosius goldenloin #ballister x ambrosius #comic ballister #comic ambrosius #fic rec #fic rec list

[fenmere]

Guide to our work

If you are trans, non-binary, autistic, amistic (ADHD), disabled, plural (of any type), and/or therian/otherkin/alterhuman and enjoy novels with science fiction style settings, you might really appreciate our stories! If you want to practice using neopronouns, we've also got you covered.

Below is a guide to what we've done so far:

Systems' Out! is our very first novel, and the one we're the most proud of. Its writing is very tight, and is ultimately the best, non-spoilery introduction to our world. It's about a couple of systems and their friends trying out a new accommodation for their various neurotypes and bringing about a kind of revolution in the process (or participating in it, in any case). This story is largely about fighting deadly dysphoria, and why one might even bother. But it's also about the responsibility parents have for their children.

Ni'a and Outsider are sequels to Systems' Out! and elaborate on the characters' lives, tell what happens after (or during) the revolution, and delves into the problems and ethical dilemmas inherent in the world we'd created. They are also about the journey of recovering from trauma, and how your community might help to do that (if your community were supportive).

Crew is officially the fifth book of the Sunspot Chronicles, and follows up on themes and questions that arise from the first three books. Specifically, it covers some of the prehistory of the Sunspot and the culture of the Crew, and some of what they do behind closed doors. But it also delves into personally dealing with amnesia, shifts in identity, dissociation, loss, and bigotry. The ending may be described as bitter sweet. It can be read out of order with the fourth book, which isn't written yet.

Blood in the Duff is the sixth book of the Sunspot Chronicles. It is part murder mystery and part polyamorous romance novel, or hopes to be. It can be read independently of the fourth book, but probably should be read after reading the other books, particularly Crew. It takes place 110 years after the events of Systems' Out! and references many social and technological developments that come after. It features the return of Ralf, Morde's tutor, though! And is covering aspects of daily life and Sunspot biology we hadn't covered in the other books, including toilets. You want to read about Sunspot toilets, right? Seriously, we're pretty proud of this one. We've put more physical planning into it than any of the other books.

The Adventures of Molly Rocketcoil is a politically driven pulp sci-fi serial written by two of the characters from Ni'a and Outsider. It's fictional within the context of the above canon, meant to address the issues that the people aboard the Sunspot are facing at the end of that series. It's also an exploration of the drive to reproduce, alien relations, and comparing radically different cultures and personal development. It involves warp drive and exploring the rest of the galaxy, but with the effects of relativity still intact.

Even further from the canon, but a great introduction for anyone who wants something familiar, Star Trek Mercury: Two-Way Mirror Mountain is our one and only fanfic! It has the least use of neopronouns, and is a totally non-canon speculation of what might happen if the Sunspot buzzed Earth and the Kelvin time-line Federation. It's a sequel to a role playing game we played, and is written in first person perspective from the three members of a system who are captain of the U.S.S. Mercury. It includes a model for how we think the Federation would (or should) accommodate plurality.

It's totally OK if you read Molly Rocketcoil or Star Trek Mercury first. They are also perfectly fine entrypoints into our stories. They'll reveal some plot twists from the earlier books, but they don't explain in detail how we got there or what happens after, so they don't really spoil the stories. Also, everything is written from various different perspectives of unreliable narrators that have then been (canonically) translated loosely by a somewhat irresponsible publishing company, so a certain amount of interpretation and speculation is left up to you.

Completely outside of canon, but tangentially related, are our series of writing-prompted tumblr fics, Crime-Cat and the Deliverator. You will read almost nothing about the Sunspot or our system by reading these stories! But, you will encounter gay, non-binary villains full of queerness and super gayness. The Earth does undergo a bit of destruction. Just a bit. But that kind of happens sometimes when it's overrun by people with superpowers. And it is written in second person, because most of the prompts we used were presented in that way. If you enjoy imagining yourself to be a non-binary gay monster from outer space entering the world of supervillains, and having the cutest human partner you can imagine, this is absolutely the story for you. Also, "Kepekapean" is really just another word for Ktletaccete, but shsh.

#Science Fiction #plural fiction #trans fiction #autistic fiction #plural gang #positive plurality #non-binary fiction #normalizing neopronouns #Sunspot Chronicles #Adventures of Molly Rocketcoil #Two-Way Mirror Mountain #Light of the Abyss

[generic-sonic-fan]

Hey there, Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening!!

∇ -. old age/aging headcanon - about Rouge for the Ask Game

(Ask game is here! The prompt post got buried by AU day, lol)

Thank you so much for this ask! I'm sorry for my extremely tardy response, but merely thinking about the idea of Rouge aging while Shadow and Omega have to grapple with that sends me into depressive fits that I may not recover from*.

(*I'm exaggerating for dramatic effect, of course, but you get the idea. That is wonderful angst for another time. I want to keep this post cheerful, though, so without further ado-)

I headcanon that Rouge becomes a sort of mysterious wealthy philanthropist in her later years. By this point I imagine she's made BOATLOADS of money from both her thieving and government endeavors (much more so her thieving ones, but a few classified secrets sold to a few foreign countries also helps bring in the dough). She's definitely the one that funds Shadow, Omega, and maaaaaaaaybe Sonic and his friends whenever she feels like it.

(Sonic is included in her will, alongside the two other obvious picks. She hasn't mentioned this to him, of course, but it's there.)

She can't do heists anymore. That's okay- during her 20s, 30s, and 40s she got more than her fair share of daring and exotic heists. A 35-year career is no joke and as a result her gemstone collection is one of the most comprehensive in the world. Whenever any police types mention that most of her collection are things stolen, she blinks innocently and goes "I just bought it from someone, of course! You aren't telling me that I helped patron a thief, are you? I love my gems so much. . . I just couldn't give them up" *flutters eyelashes* and this gets most law enforcement to give up. If not, then there's always Omega.

She continues to bargain for any gems she wants the legal way anyway, finding the game of manipulation negotiation fun while also supporting her image as an innocent buyer. Otherwise, she's living her best life in a victorian mansion she fixed up, throwing dramatic murder mystery costume parties. She has a taste for fine wines and liquors, along with intriguing strangers. When one has nearly every gemstone one could possibly want to acquire, the next most valuable thing is a stranger who shows interest in them. (Either that or a stranger who's smoking hot. You get the idea.)

However, Shadow is still the one she splurges on the most, but it's not for his benefit. He asks that she give donations to causes he likes or organizations he supports. The local library of a small town that Shadow stopped in for the day? Suddenly receives a $50,000 check in the mail. Historical organization of descendants that chronicles lost Echidna tribe history? $100,000 and a fully-financed trip to Angel island to say hi to Knuckles. All of this is not to say that Rouge doesn't support these organizations herself- just that she often forgets that donating is a thing she can do with her money, and Shadow's prompting reminds her.

Her other biggest expense is Omega's munitions. This has allowed him to go solo from government work and to pursue his own lifestyle after the defeat of Eggman. Keep in mind that Omega's no chump- he still charges a pretty penny for his services -but Rouge's financial support is still a significant cushion around his autonomy that he's grateful for. Plus, it means that he can take charity assignments when he wants, which happens more often than you might think.

TL;DR: Rouge becomes an eccentric victorian robin hood millionaire that finances her friend's expensive hobbies along with her own.

#rouge the bat #team dark #shadow the hedgehog #e-123 omega #thank you so much for this ask!! this was fun.

[drawnaghht]

Yuichi Usagi - what's in a name?

I read "Senso" over the end of March and the last week and reviewed a bunch of interviews again and man i dunno how to post abt it but it seems that Yuichi Usagi is actually intentional as naming? And yes, Yuichi can be a last name also, but is still mainly read as a first name.

Like specifically it seems that it’s a reference to the ending of “Usagi Yojimbo: Senso” in a similar way to how the rest of the show is also intentionally an homage to that story as it’s main source of inspiration.

“Yuichi” commonly has the meaning "heroic first (son)" (雄一) and in the japanese subtitles, Yuichi is spelled as both 雄一 and ユウイチ - Yūichi. So let's take the japanese subtitling as additional canon as that’s how the character’s introduce themselves. (I'll link this Japanese-Names website as an online source for now since I'm not fluent in it myself.) The subtitles are based on the english dub of course, but it seems the japanese dub is similar on the name introductions for the most part (not a native speaker myself so I can only guess).

Spoilers for Senso if you haven't read it. I recommend you do, if really nothing else. It’s a really nice mashup of sci fi in Usagi Yojimbo, in a very “War of the Worlds” type clash. I really loved the foreword comic and the illustrations before the story. It's a really good story. Here’s a nice spoilerless review of it.

So from interviews we know that the Samurai Rabbit crew was inspired by and drew influences from six-issue book Usagi Yojimbo: Senso - you can see it in how the Makkine were designed and episode references (S2, ep 9 "Eggs!" - the falling martian ships are called eggs in “Senso”) and mainly the story outline of aliens invading edo-period japan.

So why give Yuichi Usagi a first name as a last name?

We see this backstory in "Willow Branch" in season 2.

The sword was lost. That is a storyline they included to make an interesting story out of it but to also connect the show and og comic in a different way. A "passing of the torch" in some sense, but also literally what the comic tells us about og Usagi and his swords. In Senso: "They are my soul. Pass them down to your firstborn… then to his [...] then down the line…” And in the show we see that Willow Branch is found and recovered by Yuichi and the sword accepts him as the next in line. The firstborn son.

So from this we can make the fan-theory that perhaps in the show canon, Miyamoto Usagi’s family maybe named their next firstborn in line Yuichi, to honor their forebear Miyamoto Usagi's last wish, again if we're going by the thought that this was inspired by "Senso". (Jotaro being his last surviving member in this verse possibly, we don't know here bc it's intentionally left vague to not spoil series-only viewers + keep the mystery open for anyone who decides to read the comic after the series for the first time). It could even be a possibility that they just kept that as a surname for sentimental reasons, because the family had women as first-born children for so long (if we assume based on Usagi's auntie and missing parents), but they wanted to keep that memory going for as long as possible, since the sword was lost shortly after Miyamoto saved Edo from Kagehito’s plan a 1000 years before Yuichi’s time. But that’s already just speculation from me as a fan of the cartoon.

And before die-hard comic readers swoop in, yes, in Senso the swords are not lost, but again, it’s an alternative universe story situation for the people making the show, and I find what they did was interesting.

The comic’s ending is tied into the world of “Space Usagi” as well, without spoiling it too much, which is a storyline Stan did in a space opera setting. The connection between being inspired by Senso which is tied to this story may also be why so many interviews and articles call Usagi Chronicles as inspired by Space Usagi directly, since both are spin-offs that take place in a distant future.

Or you know, it could also just be that they wanted an easy-sounding name for their main character to call that wasn't only Usagi, since they have two in the series: their own and the original.

But all in all, whether the name comes as a reference to the original comic, or from simple use of a common name, it can’t be ignored that this is just how the show calls it’s main character.

But you can still call him Yuichi, as that is what both the crew (his creators) and Stan Sakai call him when talking of both tbe Usagis. (Or, in the case of Stan, "my Usagi" and "Their/Samurai Rabbit/the show's Usagi") It could be that out of respect for the work the crew put into his series, Stan didn’t suggest more naming conventions for the character because he already liked the work and story the crew did. It could be that they put a pin in it at first and then got used to it as pre-production continued. Could even just be that he loled it right away. But I don’t find it that useful to speculate on that as much, because the cartoon we have is already made and finished how it is and well, we don’t know the exact authorial reasonings from the show crew side much, so Yuichi Usagi it is.

Though also, the way that his names are used in the show (Auntie mainly calls him Usagi and family usually adress via 1st name, Yuichi is never used mich beyond introductions) and how it's used in the interviews when talking about Miyamoto Usagi as well, it feels like they meant to give him two first names, and couldn’t decide on a surname-sounding last name so, Yuichi Usagi was left in the final script. But that's just my guess as a fan and viewer again.

Maybe other fans have had similar or better discussions about it? It would be interesting to know if the show has more japanese fans and how they find this, for example. What they think about how the show introduces him as Surname-Given Name, but then every other character switches to just calling him Usagi right away. In japan, people usually use last name+ honorifics when they have just met. But both Usagi's new friends and Usagi himself switch to first-name basis after their first day meeting each other and going through a few fights. Is it just because the show has a mostly western audience(my assumption), and we're meant to use his given name as an audience to be more familiar with him... or is it only because he's a rabbit and some of the characters (like Lord Kogane) don't really care more? Perhaps a 1000 years into the future, they've partially lost the use of some traditions?

In any case, it doesn’t feel like the show made that big of a faux pas naming Yuichi the way they did. Ould be that my guess is wrong and it wasn't as deliberate a reference to Senso. It seems a much higher possibility that they thought of that, thought it sounded nice and then kept it because it was an easy way to call him differently from comics-Usagi during production itself, but still getting to call him Usagi in the show-proper.

This is just me basing this on official interviews and the Senso book, but this just seems more likely than them picking a random name with no meaning to it. Of course, I could also be wrong, but based on interviews along, the showrunners and creative team seem so genuine in wanting to give the comic a good show that it doesn't make sense that they wouldn't research it. Or at the very least, ask about it from Stan himself or even just get a note from him about it, since he reviewed everything else. Candie and Doug (showrunners) even mention (in Comic Book Couple's Counceling podcast interview) how they really wanted to go deeper with research this time and art director Khang Le mentioned how they took a lot of cues from modern japan as well, from their research trips there.

I know this probably won't put any future discussions/rambling about this to rest among other fans, but well, just some thoughts on this. While I think it's probably kind of silly of me to be writing long essays abt a cartoon show I like, I do think it sort of warrants more discussion abt how we talk about characters and how we refer to them. For another show i'm a fan of for example, the character has an official name and a nickname, but the show itself consistently only used the nickname to let the reader be familiar with her. While characters like teachers and enemies might refer to them with their given name, even her full name, their family and friends mainly use the easier nickname. But it seemed that the reverse happened with that show's fandom, as the more unique given name became more used than the nickname the show itself gave us. And this was sorta the same thoughtprocess I had here with Usagi Chronicles.

Anyway, this has been a post x3 I meant to make this shorter and just about Senso, but I sorta started rambling more after the auntie and generations of female Usagi descendants theory x3

edit 5.05: fixed some grammar and sentence logic mistakes! added clarifications where ref was missing (CCBC podcast)

edit 13.06: I looked up the spellings for Yuichi as a last name and while it's similar, based on how it's written in the show, this supports my previous reading still. It still seems like it's meant more as a title almost, the same way naming would have been in old norse for example "Ivan's son" would become "Ivanson" or in english-language names, "Miller's son" would become "Millerson" (patronymic). So again, maybe Yuichi is meant as "first son" as the first name, but Usagi is his namesake because the family still wanted to honor their common ancestor, Miyamoto Usagi. That's the possible in-world reasoning, but with how much this crew put into the show, I wouldn't be surprised that they thought the same thing, that it's a nice way to reference the book Senso they were insired by, but also Miyamoto Usagi the character, who they were inspired by.

#yuichi usagi #miyamoto usagi #samurai rabbit #usagi chronicles #aghht srtuc posts #aghht fantalk #long post #UY senso #senso spoilers #fan essay #english is not my first language #so there may be some grammar or sentence structure errors here and there #texty #been writing this for a whole week #tagramble #will give this a readmore link later #samurai rabbit netflix #srtuc #this is 7k words girl HELP

[mysticstars02]

Watchers of Chronicles EVOLv (Short Ver.)

“Various groups of children suddenly obtain the Youkai Watch devices at their wake…with no memories of their past. A journey to seek out creates fateful encounters along with their discovery of a ‘special power’ and ‘mythical youkais’…”

This is the Short Version of the Watchers in this AU. If you’re interested in lore depths, the Long version is there for you~ (WIP)

Introducing the Main Cast of Chronicles EVOLv!

Hoshi & Celecia

“The amnesic duo whom already obtained the Youkai Watch device…yet it emits a special aura? Throughout the journey to recover their lost memories, Hoshi and Celecia will meet and befriend youkais as they are slowly dragged into discovering the secrets of ‘Mega Yokais’ and the ‘mythical youkais’...”

Biology

Hoshi (He/Him)

A 15-year-old boy who is always energetic and enthusiastic. He woke up with no memories of his past, thus beginning his and Celecia’s adventure to recover theirs, hoping to learn their identity. He’s pretty chilled to everyone even himself.

Hoshi can get easily fired up when he’s in a mood of encouragement. He always thought he could set things right no matter what...yet it always ended up in a mess for him.

Celecia (She/Her)

A 15-year-old girl who cares for her friends so much, she's always there to support them, even Hoshi. She woke up with no memories of her past, thus beginning her and Hoshi’s adventure to recover their lost identities.

Celecia takes everything in a careful approach before she’s willing to talk it out that easily. Being pleasant and showing empathy to others lead to her will to help friends out of trouble…yet she isn’t aware of herself in some cases.

Youkai Watch Devices:

The Astral Watch

A mysterious Youkai Watch model that was already granted to Hoshi & Celecia after opening the capsules. While it possess similar mechanics to other watch models, this watch seems to wield...an unknown but greater power.

Whenever Starnyan/Komabula touch the Astral Watch, they sense a familiar aura?

Mega Evolutions (Mega Yokais)

A strange but powerful ability granted by Megi who gave the duo a mysterious orb as a gift that cause their watch to absorb it.

From mega evolving their youkai friends to a powerful group known as the "Youkai Keepers", Hoshi and Celecia will soon learn there is more than what they know about the Mega Yokais...

Main Youkai Companions: 

Hoshi’s Companion: Starnyan (He/Him) - A mysterious nekomata posing himself as a star. When someone asked if he comes from the Yomakai, Starnyan pointed to the sky and calls it “my home!”. Due to being unknown to other youkais, the Yokai Pad is unable to recognize it. Full of curiosity about the Yomakai and the human world, Starnyan wants to learn more because he was told, along with Komabula, by the stars. He claims they can talk but nobody believes them except Hoshi & Celecia

Celecia’s Companion: Komabula (She/Her) - A mysterious komainu that hides away from humans and yokais. She possess great spiritual powers. She wishes to learn about the Yomakai and the human world due to her curiosity. Komabula was told by the stars that she and Starnyan must learn about those worlds. She can’t remember the reasons for their arrival but she wants to reach that goal because she believes their accomplishment will make the stars take her and Starnyan back home.

Megi (He/Him) - A strange yokai who wears a yin-yang symbol on top of his head. He claims to possess all of that knowledge about the yokai’s hidden power & special form known as the "Mega Yokais". His goal is to complete his Mega-dallium of Youkais in hopes of fulfilling the “promise of a heart” he made in the past. Megi is an outgoing, talkative yokai. Whenever someone talks about the Mega Yokais, he will immediately rush over and tell all his findings so far until he really runs out of breath.

Zero (They/Them)

“A strange, mysterious child that spoke in few words due to the loss of emotions and memories at the same time. The 1st desire born for recovery, Zero ends up in an era where ‘the shadow and light dwells’, the great loss of the Watchers, and the disappearing rumor of the Mega Yokais. Perhaps the world will reawaken its sense…when Zero calls forth the power unknown to both humans and youkais”

Biology

A 16-year-old child who claims the title “Shadow Hunter” after waking up in the field of lilies. Their memories have already been wiped out right at their waking moment

Zero possesses unknown green energy that serves as their combat. In other cases, they’re not afraid to enter in a battle against aggressive or out-of-control youkais. Zero has a strong will to follow words that sound like a command, missions, or requests until the end. They never fail until what they believe is right for them to accomplish. Due to their little social experience, they speak in a few strange words.

Youkai Watch Device:

Model: Prototype

A Youkai Watch model that claims to be a prototype version. It's origin and the creation remains a mystery to both Zero and Lumi. This model must have possess similar mechanics of watch models yet it seems to contain a strange energy

And that energy is something Zero should know...

Mega Evolutions (Mega Yokais)

A battle against a "rampaging, corrupted" youkai, Zero's watch suddenly glows brighter and brighter: the powerful ability...Mega Evolution has return!

The rise comeback of Mega Yokais cause the greatest shock for residents in Yomakai. Surely, it should have disappear after the incident happen 5 years ago...perhaps there's more mystery to the origin of Mega Evolution?

Main Youkai Companion: 

Lumi (She/Her) - A special Ulumis who is tasked to find and aid the 'Shadow Hunter'. Lumi can get easily short-tempered but still remains her cool around. Just like the blue Ulumis, her fist packs a small but powerful explosive punch!

Rosiay Prioumi & Salfino Feiri

“The twin siblings who first attended Y-Academy, a school building with many wonders and fun awaits them! Their 1st school day would be expected to be normal…until the sudden rise of the school mysteries. Mistaken as part of the school’s culture, Rosiay and Salfino got dragged into troubles and mess caused by vengeful spirits…however, this is just the beginning. The beginning of a new power when two youkais appear in front of them…”

Biology

Rosiay Prioumi (She/Her)

A fierce, loud and naive girl who loves to make a ruckus whenever she wants. With a lack of wisdom, she has a good sense of willingness to fight for what’s important. She’s 14 and the sister of Salfino. Despite the mess she makes, Salfino doesn’t mind at all.

Salfino Feiri (He/Him)

A shy, quiet but also intelligent boy who enjoys reading books to pass time. He’s very talented in his skills (drawing and music performance). He’s 14 and the brother of Rosiay. His passion never dies whenever people envy him yet he’s easy to get surprised when Rosiay suddenly appeared out of nowhere

They always care each other no matter how far or where they are. When people ask about the gloves they're wearing, they hesitate at first and won't answer or they will quickly say it got into an "accident" and leaves

Youkai Watch Devices:

The Hero's Watch

A model device that was already equipped on the twin's arm after releasing a "seal" located inside of the mysterious, deep forest...

The mechanics of the Hero's Watch somehow acts differently than the other watches. The twins are unsure how their watches will work...yet the reveal of it's power will surely make a huge turning point of discovery

(A hidden power lies...but somehow unconnected to the youkais?)

Main Youkai Companions: 

Rosiay's Companion: Omi (He/Him)

Salfino's Companion: Afa (She/Her)

Twin yokais that dwells in the deep, unknown forest they called "Home". They love to play with the yokais including humans as well. With such childish behavior, the twins had orbs attached to their tails wielding a hidden power.

Omi & Afa can transform their capes into wings for flying. Omi is the brother of Afa while Afa is Omi's sister. The orbs attached to their tails had different powers: Omi's power is fire & Afa's is water

#yokai watch au #youkai watch au #yokai watch shadowside #y-academy #y school heroes

[tiredspacedragon]

Kopeke

First Impression: My first exposure to Kopeke was in Legends #8 Downfall, so this is an odd one. I didn't discover a lot of the pre-2004 story that existed outside of the Chronicles books until much later, so the first time I heard of Kopeke was reading about him, the newly appointed Chronicler, recording Hahli's account of the Mahri's mission. He doesn't exactly get much character there, my reaction to him basically began and ended with finding this new named character, who I assumed had been created for the book, interesting, mostly just for being the new Chronicler. I had a much stronger reaction when I encountered Kopeke later in much earlier material like MNOG, and discovered this was an established character who's been around since the beginning.

Impression Now: Oh he's lovely. I appreciate his uniqueness in being a Ko-Matoran who keeps to himself not because he wants to be alone, but because he's just shy. The little guy's probably a sweetheart once he warms up to you. I still find him a fascinating choice for the next Chronicler, though. Not that I think he's a bad choice; in fact it's very fitting for a member of the Chronicler's Company to become Chronicler themselves, especially the quietest of the bunch; but it makes me wonder if Greg had anything planned for the character going forward. I mean probably, given that so far being named Chronicler had been a euphemism for "you'll be a Toa in two story years."

Favourite Moment: I don't know if I have a favourite Kopeke moment in canon, honestly. That's the downside of being a character with so few appearances. That said, I do have a favourite Kopeke moment in fan content, specifically from Vrahno's Struggle in the Drifts. (Minor Spoiler Warning) Near the beginning of the video, Kopaka and Pohatu come across an ice sculpture of Kopaka, carved by Kopeke, left out on Ihu's hills because Kopeke is shy about his work. Pohatu notes the sculpture's quality, apart from the Akaku's scopes being on the wrong side. Kopaka then looks around warily before using his powers to reshape the sculpture's head so that the scopes are on the right side. Unfortunately, the sculpture is later destroyed in a confrontation with a squad of Kohrak, with most of it being completely smashed while the head is snapped clean off. At the end of the short, Kopeke ventures out to the site of the sculpture, taking in the destruction caused by the battle between the Toa and the Bohrok, until he finds the head of the smashed statue. He picks it up, examines it, notes that the scopes are on the right side, and says "Good," before unceremoniously dumping it in the snow and walking away. Perfection. (Spoilers Over)

Idea for a story: Well, Takua got his journeys across Mata Nui, helping the Turaga, solving mysteries, and facing down Rahi, and Hahli had her Kolhii tournament and her little quest to recover the crystals from those unexplained temples, so naturally Kopeke, as the newest Chronicler, is bound to go on a great journey of his own. I can see him tangled up in some adventure that has him crossing paths with the Toa and Glatorian as they seek out the Great Beings, perhaps even uncovering some of their secrets himself along the way.

Unpopular opinion: I don't know if this is an unpopular opinion so much as an uncommon one because so few people care about it, but I've never been a fan of Kopeke's redesign. I definitely prefer the sand blue Komau over the dark gray Matatu. I mean on the one hand I get it, they wanted to release Kopeke as a set alongside Matoro in 2003 and they didn't want both of them to have the same colour scheme, so they made Kopeke gray. Fair enough, but they didn't need to change his mask too. The lore explanation of his Komau being damaged in Kolhii practice and him choosing a Matatu to honour Nuju is nice, but I don't think it was necessary. Especially since it makes Kopeke less unique among the Ko-Matoran. Both Nuju and Kantai already have the Matatu covered, but no other known character in Ko-Koro wore a Komau. Like, it's not really a big deal, I just think his original design is better for him, that's all.

Favourite Relationship: Maybe a cop-out, but I enjoy Kopeke's relationship with the Chronicler's Company as a whole. We don't get to see him actually interacting one-on-one with very many characters ever, so I make do with enjoying his place in this group dynamic. I like to think he'll settle in eventually as he gets used to having these friends and slowly, but steadily, opens up to them.

Favourite Headcanon: So, in MNOG, Kopeke says this to Takua: "Wisdom is ever the burden of the Turaga. I do not expect it from you." Which is just a vicious thing to say. But Kopeke isn't really portrayed as rude otherwise, just shy, so I like to think that he didn't actually mean this as an insult. He probably meant it as a reassurance, as in "Hey, it's the Turaga's job to know what's going on all the time, I don't blame you for not being totally on top of things." And then after Takua left he probably spent the next while kicking himself over how incredibly rude he accidentally sounded. Poor guy.

#bionicle #kopeke #ask game #shy icy friend #and supposedly ko-koro's greatest athlete as well #a snowball sling champion #actually that might be my new favourite kopeke headcanon #guy's got an arm like a catapult #he can scoop up snow #shape it into a perfect sphere #and hit anyone square between the eyes with it #in under a second #he's like a machine in a snowball fight #in fact he might get a little too into it

[tangeroniconfuseroni]

Hello! I absolutely loved reading all of the Sherlock Holmes adventures as a child, and I decided that I might like to add to the universe in my own (albeit insignificant) way! This is a super niche fanfic that only really makes sense if you've read it, and I tried to be as close to the original style as possible. The story takes place during The Holmes of the Baskervilles when Holmes disappears onto the moors to investigate closely without being bound by the societal burdens that staying with Henry Baskerville would carry. The story takes place in the form of diary entries, and well....I hope you enjoy it!!! 💕

The Holmes of the Baskervilles

Introduction: "It has recently come to my attention that in Mr. Sherlock Holmes’ most recent case, that chronicled in my narrative, The Hound of the Baskervilles, the reader has been most unfortunately deprived of a vast portion of the proceedings through the timely disappearance of Mr. Holmes onto the moor. Fortunately, Mr. Holmes himself has agreed to provide his diary entries for the missing interval. Despite his absent-minded nature and the abysmal conditions of the moor, together, we have managed to recover the following passages, which may serve to satisfy the curiosity of the readers and solve what has become a mystery in its own right; that of the Holmes of the Baskervilles." -Watson

Baskerville Hall, Oct. 2.

"If matters came to a crisis I should endeavour to be present in person; but you can understand that, with my extensive consulting practice and with the constant appeals which reach me from many quarters, it is impossible for me to be absent from London for an indefinite time. At the present instant one of the most revered names in England is being besmirched by a blackmailer, and only I can stop a disastrous scandal. You will see how impossible it is for me to go to Dartmoor.” For some time prior, I had been aware that Sir Henry would wish to return to the home of his noble ancestry. It is seldom that a young nobleman returned from the excitement of the colonies does not wish to settle into his ancestral comforts. After our encounter with the bearded man, it was quite apparent that our adversary would be an exceedingly sharp one, and it was of the utmost importance that he should not think me too keen on the chase. I am afraid that Watson’s affectionate accounts of my cases had rather popularized my abilities, and it was impossible for me to accompany Sir Henry myself. Fortunately, the public does not quite give Watson the credit he deserves, and as such, I am provided with the perfect accomplice to send to Dartmoor in my stead.

Baskerville Hall, Oct. 4.

The incidence of the boot had been a vital one, as it had revealed to me that we were dealing with an earthly hound, rather than a spectral one. It is also important to note that I prepare for Dartmoor with another instructive revelation; the slight whiff of perfume detectable on the warning letter to Sir Henry indicates the presence of a lady in the matter. It seems the Stapletons may perhaps be worthy of further investigation.

I again visited the district messenger offices this afternoon to inquire after the availability of the ever-faithful Cartwright. He would have made a worthy addition to the Baker Street gang, but his use lied in his current occupation, “I will be wanting an assistant in Coombe Tracey tomorrow morning, and I think you will do nicely.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Noon at Paddington station tomorrow then,” I flipped him a shilling and left for my next destination, I would be needing more appropriate attire for my excursion.

Baskerville Hall, Oct. 5.

I will remark that our bearded man is quite more keen than I had imagined. The mishap with the boot had given me the impression that we were dealing with an amateur, but his subsequent recovery, and his artful deception in giving my name to the cabman, left little doubt that our man was not quite so inexperienced as I had first imagined.

I saw Watson and Sir Henry off at Paddington before stepping out into the foggy London morning. Before my eyes could adjust to the harsh light of the morning sun, Cartwright appeared before me, a pale, ghostly apparition in the haze. I glanced at my pocketwatch, “a minute late are we?”

“Sorry, sir,” his obedience was commendable, and I thought certain occupants of Scotland Yard might take a lesson or two from the lad.

“No matter, we’ll leave for Coombe Tracey by the one o’clock train. You haven’t told anyone of your whereabouts I hope?”

“No, sir.”

“Very good.”

We arrived in Coombe Tracey, a dull town barely surviving on the patronage of random passers-by and the benevolence of the Baskerville estate. I secured lodging and left Cartwright to his own devices. Every town has its little corners occupied by any number of ruffians, and it is most suitable to leave young boys to find their own companions rather than have them cooped up in a room. Besides, young boys are useful in their unique ability to find their way into places their seniors can not, and it is best to let them fend for themselves.

Baskerville Hall, Oct. 6.

I ventured that day into Dartmoor, finding the fog of the night cleared away and the sun shining brightly. It was in such favorable conditions that I made my first impressions of the moor, and of Baskerville Hall. The manor was a commonly English looking one, save for the dark, ominous atmosphere that surrounded it, trouble was brewing in the moor, and it did not bode well for our young heir. I walked briskly along the path, past various boulders, seeking a suitable spot for an overnight encampment. I spotted the familiar, roundish figure of my companion and with him, a slender man with a net cast awkwardly over his shoulder. The odd pair was meandering towards a dreary looking abode which I recognized as Merripit House. I stooped behind a cluster of rock and listened, “I had a school, it was in the north country,” his next thought did not make it through the harsh winds, but a moment later I managed to catch him saying something quite remarkable, “much of my capital was irretrievably swallowed.” Already I had been quite suspicious of these Stapletons and here was further proof. A massive fortune, a final heir, and this Stapleton character in need of funds. Still, it is vital to not be drawn too keenly into one theory or another. It remains necessary to observe as much as I can, and for that, it is necessary to become acquainted with the moor and its occupants. I will have to become one with the moor.

Upon further examination, I was able to locate the Grimpen Mire, Dr. Mortimer’s humble property, and the abode of a certain Mr. Frankland, who had a curious telescope perched upon his roof. None of this was particularly new to me, as I had already visited Devonshire “in spirit”, as Watson liked to put it. I did, rather fortunately, chance upon a suitable shelter in the form of a cluster of small, cylindrical huts. They looked to be some sort of prehistoric shelter, but unlike my admirable friend Watson, I have little interest in the doings of a people long gone. Here I would camp, and here I would uncover the mystery of the Hound of the Baskervilles.

Baskerville Hall, Oct. 9.

Watson’s dutiful reports have not thus failed me, and though it has been a while since the last, I have been busy with the influx of information I received in that. My post is being forwarded from Baker Street to my lodgings in Coombe Tracey, so there is little delay in my receiving my dear friend’s communications.

I have ascertained that Mr. Stapleton was indeed a schoolmaster in the north, and perhaps more importantly, that Miss Stapleton is not quite a Miss, but rather a Missus, the wife of Mr. Stapleton. Of further importance is the fact that the “Stapletons” are not even that; my inquiries suggest that Roger Baskerville, the brother of Sir Charles, did in fact have a child in Latin America, and it is this same child (bearing his father’s name) who returned home under the pseudonym Jack Vandeleur, eventually adopting another alias: Stapleton. Every second, I feel my grip tightening around the pair, but alas, I have no proof of their cunning little scheme.

Baskerville Hall, Oct. 10.

In spending last night on the moor, I observed a most noteworthy occurrence, although I am inclined to think that it is not related to our case. I was in the stone hut which was serving as my temporary residence, and observed a light appear in an upper window of Baskerville Hall. It flickered and moved, and on shifting my view from the Hall to the moor, I glimpsed a light mimicking the movements of its brother in the window. I stole out in the direction of the light, closing down the distance as quickly as possible. I glanced back towards the manor and watched as the lantern left the window and made its meandering way across the moor. Evidently, we had the same destination, but I managed to arrive first. Diving behind a stunted tree, I watched as the lantern came closer and closer, revealing its bearer. A tall, slender man, aged, but still handsome with his carefully trimmed beard, appeared from within the mists, it could only be Barrymore, the butler. He carefully approached an insignificant looking stone ledge carved into the hill facing the Hall, and knelt before it, speaking to whatever sinister character hid within. I could not make out the mumbled whispers through the heavy pattering of the rain, but I watched as Barrymore pulled from within his cloak a large bundle, and passed it over the ledge. I had been receiving similar bundles from Cartwright, containing Watson’s forwarded correspondences and some supplies, and surmised that the bundle was of a similar nature to my own.

I was aware of only one other person, besides myself, desperate enough to brave the elements of the Devonshire nights; the convict, Selden, who had recently escaped custody and was last seen near Coombe Tracey. It was odd enough that Barrymore was aiding an escaped murderer, and worthy of further investigation, but unfortunately I could not abandon my post on the moor to inquire as to the meaning of this incriminating behavior, as the Stapletons continue to present themselves the likelier suspects. Besides, Selden and his actions are hardly of interest to me, that is a matter for the good folk at Scotland Yard.

Baskerville Hall, Oct. 14.

It has been quite a while since Watson’s last report, and even for all my inquiries, I have had very little new intelligence. I continue to closely watch Devonshire’s residents, as often as possible, but little happens in the banal towns of the English countryside. I have found though, in my experience, that it is these lulls of rural apathy which are often the most dangerous. I am inclined to think that people cannot bear boredom, and that when they are over-exposed to it, they seek stimulation, devolving either into the use of substances, or cleverly thought out crime. Very often, it is the dullest days that explode suddenly into the most violent ones.

In other news, I have finally received another letter from Watson. He reports that the young baronet has taken a liking to Miss Stapleton, and has begun journeying to Merripit House almost daily. It is obvious, to say the least, that a young man recently come upon a vast fortune, seemingly possessing all the advantages of a comfortable life, would seek one last crowning achievement, a wife, and hence, would fall victim to the seductions of a young woman as attractive as Miss Stapleton. I had suspected it, but Mr. Stapleton’s designs in turning a wife into a sister are becoming ever more apparent.

A criminal is often loath to abandon a tried-and-true method, especially one that has worked so perfectly, and it is exceedingly common for this persistence to go awry, ending in the inevitable capture of the suspect. Though he has displayed his wits quite cleverly to this point, I suspect that Mr. Stapleton’s plan is not an entirely new one. One must applaud the genius of the whole thing; a Baskerville cannot be attacked within the safety of his own home, and yet, the whole thing must be made to seem like an accident. The one glaring problem was that of drawing the target out at the opportune time, and this, Mr. Stapleton had solved brilliantly through his strategic use of the attractions of the opposite sex. He had carefully fostered in Sir Charles an affinity for Ms. Stapleton, using her to lure the baronet out of the safety of Baskerville Hall and into his awaiting clutches.

Now, I cannot fathom that Mr. Stapleton brought the seemingly real hound with him from the north, and Coombe Tracey has no animal dealers. It is likely that the beast was acquired in London, as the transport of the animal from anywhere else might have been enormously difficult. I have sent back to London, asking another of my young associates to inquire at every dog dealer to ascertain which of them had sold a particularly menacing black hound within the last few months. It is unlikely that Stapleton did not buy it under a pseudonym, cunning as he is, but it will nonetheless serve to confirm my suspicions and allow me to gauge exactly what evil creature could be so fearsome as to strike a living man dead.

Baskerville Hall, Oct. 15.

Last night was a most exciting one, though it yielded little in the way of evidence against the Stapletons. I was sheltering from the cold, harsh moor winds when I heard a deep, mournful cry fill the ambience of the night. It repeated, each moaning, cheerless howl carried by the wind across the lonely countryside. As Watson is often eager to write in his reports of my cases, I am a man of little emotion, diving without caution into the most dangerous situations when the desperate hunt for a suspect deems it necessary. Even so, I willingly admit that even my heart was pierced by the sorrowful moan. I sat there, crouched in my stone hut, frozen as if by a curse, unable to think, unable to move, silently awaiting what I was sure would be my doom.

As the cries halted, the curse lifted, and I cast away my coverings; the hound was on the hunt, and I had to find the damned creature before it found its prey. The howls had come from the Grimpen Mire, but even I could not navigate its treacherous path, especially at night. Sir Henry would most certainly still be in the hall, and so it fell to me to protect the only other unfortunate soul who the hound might find worthy of a hunt. I did not feel sorry for the man, murderer as he was, but to have one’s throat ripped out by a ferocious dog is a punishment I do not feel inclined to mete. As I crept carefully towards the crevice, approaching from behind, I detected movement somewhere further ahead. I dropped down, not particularly well hidden, knowing that Selden’s candlelight would attract the eye of any potential observer. As I tried to discern who this fellow onlooker might be, he, or rather they, jumped out from behind a boulder, recklessly running towards the crevice.

I deeply appreciate my dear friend Watson’s company, and find him an altogether agreeable and rather intelligent accessory to my investigations. His rudimentary insights often enlighten me when I am myself lost in thought. Alas, I cannot say that his actions here were well thought out, neither agreeable nor intelligent, displaying near-primitive thinking that I could in no way justify. He had brought the very man he was protecting, from the safety of Baskerville Hall, out onto the moors to chase a murderer, on a dark night when the howling of the hound could be heard distinctly through the unfavorable weather conditions. Barely managing to hold my tongue, I watched in silence as Selden leapt from his hiding place and sprinted off, with Watson and Sir Henry following suit. I hissed a curse and ran after them at enough of a distance to avoid being seen, and yet close enough to ensure that I would soon be with them if they were to fall into a precarious situation. Selden was quick and his pursuers not very much so, and yet they kept on the chase for an annoyingly long time. By the time they grew tired, we were far from where the hound’s cries might have been discernable, but in our chase, we had come to a rather advantageous view of the vast moor. I scaled a jutting granite stone and looked down onto the accursed land, hoping to catch sight of the hound or perhaps its caretaker.

There was nothing to be seen this cold night, and as I pondered, I heard a shrill cry behind me, of course Watson had seen me. I disappeared into the rolling fog that seemed to always lay thick in Devonshire and returned to my stone abode. Selden was gone, the hound could no longer be heard, and the danger, I think, had passed, at least momentarily.

Baskerville Hall, Oct. 16.

I must admit that after my initial irritation of the night passed and I received Watson’s latest epistle, my heart warmed considerably, and I found myself thinking that the adventure was, in a way, quite amusing. Watson’s earnest correspondence, his description of the “spirit”, and his production of acceptable context regarding his and Sir Henry’s decision to galavant upon the moor at such a precarious time left me with little choice but to admire the good man’s bravery. What else could explain it?

The report confirmed the relationship between Selden and Barrymore as well as Stapleton’s suspicious behavior regarding his newfound sister. It was of interest to me that Ms. Stapleton seemed keen on her relationship with Sir Henry. Either Mr. Stapleton’s charm was wearing off, or she was playing her part in the plan a little too well. Regardless, Ms. Stapleton crossed me as an intelligent, willful woman, and I thought I might have a rather more difficult case on my hands if it was the wills of both cunning husband and clever wife which I now opposed. If Ms. Stapleton’s loyalty to her criminal husband wavered, I might have rather a good chance at catching my man. The appearance of the perfumed letter received by Sir Henry upon his arrival to London suggested this very wavering, but I will have to seize this quickly disappearing opportunity before it is irretrievably gone.

I was having my lunch at Coombe Tracey (the morning hours did not hold much in the way of revelations on the moors), when I received a response to my earlier inquiry regarding the purchase of a hound in London. My associate, a certain Wiggins, had found a number of purchases that matched my descriptions, but one in particular had stood out to the sharp lad. The purchase of a “menacing bloodhound and mastiff cross by a Mr. Jack Vandeleur in April of the same year.” Now finally Stapleton had slipped, but alas, I still lacked evidence worthy of the jury. I had my man, but I needed now to ensnare him in a trap. A confession would be impossible considering how skillfully he had eluded me, and his wife was not to be underestimated either. I would have to catch him in the act, and I would have but one chance; the day Stapleton decided to set his beast on Sir Henry.

Baskerville Hall, Oct. 18.

I have forsaken the comforts of civilization, namely those of Coombe Tracey, in order to commit myself fully to watching Stapleton’s every move. It is impossible to tell when the fright of Sir Henry’s nocturnal adventure will wear off and he will set out to visit the woman of his affections. Sleep, I am afraid, is a luxury I no longer have, although the prospect of dreaming has never held much allure for me, reality is far more fascinating than the fancies of the mind.

I received by the hand of Cartwright, another correspondence from Watson. It was dated the 16th of October, meaning that it had been delayed a day in London. Time was of the essence, and the mere difference of a day could be the difference between a guilty verdict and an innocent one. Watson had gleaned further information about Sir Charles’ death from Barrymore. It seemed the woman that had coaxed the good gentleman to his death was not Ms. Stapleton, but a Mrs. LL.

Now the trick to establishing a steady source of information in an unknown environment is simple: become acquainted with the local barkeeper. My man of choice, the landlord of the Cromwell Arms, had supplied me with any number of useless scandals about the townsfolk, but I remembered from his ramblings, the mention of a Mrs. LL, a certain Laura Lyons, daughter of Mr. Frankland. She had, if my recollection is correct, married a ruffian, and was seeking funds to secure a divorce. The mystery now became seemingly more clear. Sir Charles had been lured out of Baskerville Hall not by Ms. Stapleton, but by Mrs. Laura Lyons! This explained the warning letter from Ms. Stapleton. The lady had grown suspicious of her husband, and he had found it necessary to turn to someone still freshly caught in his charm. He would have known, from his conversations with Dr. Mortimer (disguised as innocent chit-chat between neighbors), that Sir Charles was weak of heart, and susceptible to the dangerous sway of superstition. He convinced Mrs. Laura Lyons to make a false appointment with the baronet, and having lured the gentleman into his wicked trap, scared the man to death with the very object of his nightmares: a spectral hound.

Watson also noted that Barrymore knew of a stranger on the moor, and Selden had conveyed to him that he had seen Cartwright delivering my parcel. I had taken precautions to avoid our being noticed, but alas, had not predicted a spy in the swamp among us. It seemed that for the time being, the occupants of Baskerville Hall had not discussed the mystery man with Stapleton, but if they do, I am sure he is keen enough to catch on that I am watching his every move. I have no way of ensuring that the secret is kept, and thus, I will have to strike soon.

Baskerville Hall, Oct. 19.

I rose with the sun, slightly damp, but none the worse for the wear. Finding sleep on the cold, wet rock was not so hard when the excitement of the chase was so near. The smell of the freshly dampened grass invigorated me, I could nearly smell the end of our case. I fancied the hound would find me a worthy adversary, even its terrible howl could not faze me now. I left my stony abode and made my way to Merripit House for a quick inspection before I left for Coombe Tracey to question Mrs. Lyons.

As I strolled casually back to my place on the moor, I caught the slightest whiff of smoke. I knew of only one man who enjoyed this particular blend of Schipper’s, the only man brave and bumbling enough to haphazardly walk into the cave of a dangerous stranger. I walked toward the hut chuckling at my friend’s stupid courage, “It is a lovely evening, my dear Watson.” I recognized his gasp of surprise, and coaxed him from the hut, “I really think that you will be more comfortable outside than in.”

Postscript: “Ending here, should bring the reader up to the point at which I met Mr. Holmes and we concluded the remainder of the adventure together. I believe that the included entries account for the entirety of Mr. Holmes' disappearance on the moor, and I hope that the reader will find their curiosity over the mystery-of-sorts satisfied. The reader will be glad to know that Mr. Holmes has agreed to write a short note, which I have included below." -Watson

“Watson has requested that I write a note for the epilogue of what has apparently become quite a mystery. I believe Watson’s narrative accounted for most of the details, but have provided my version of the adventure for posterity’s sake. I thank the reader for their curiosity, and ask them to remember that much changes between a happening and its recording, and that although my dear friend Watson’s accounts are entirely engaging, they often stretch the truth." - Sincerely, Sherlock Holmes

#fanfic #fanfiction #sherlockedit #sherlock holmes #sherlock fanfic #watson #Sherlock pov #writing #writers and poets #victorian

[ooihcnoiwlerh]

It would've been my dad's birthday this weekend and it's been a lot to deal with emotionally.

He and I had problems; he was a decent man but had a lot of internalized daddy issues due to his combination of hero worship/disgust with his own father, who was a self-made (by inflation standards) millionaire who was also a mean drunk who physically abused his sons, verbally abused his daughter, and cheated on his wife (my grandmother who was a wonderful, intelligent, kind woman who was also significantly more attractive than he was.) My dad was a decent man who was able to either hide or compartmentalize his trauma both from childhood and from being a Vietnam war veteran and a recovering alcoholic who quit drinking around thirty, about fifteen years before I was born, but for everyone saying he was a great man I remember his repressed anger from everything. I saw all of his repressed daddy issues and his temper. He was never at any point physically abusive towards me, my mom, or my older sibling, but he was sometimes verbally and emotionally abusive and I'm sure that was his father speaking through him, because my dad both realized that his father was abusive but also adored him. And my dad was a community figure. He was active in the twelve step and alanon programs, was active in his church, and was a good person. We also had a fight that led to a screaming and crying match hours before the job interview for the job I have now that led to us not speaking for six months, at least in person. We started speaking again when he got sick with Omicron back in January 2022. He died March 2022, on his fourth hospital stay. He and I parted on good terms. I wasn't mad anymore, he wasn't mean. The last time we spoke properly, I was visiting him in the hospital and there was Chronicles of Riddick on the Si-Fy channel and we were riffing it Mystery Science Theatre style.

I needed to have my deck repaired. I am casual friends with some of his friends from church, and among them is an architect whose son died this year, and whose son was my age and born with a congenital heart condition. He spear-headed the task of having my deck rebuilt and everyone was so kind. I paid for the supplies and also food and drink but they did not request reimbursement for labor. Everyone tells me what a great man he was and I know that, I understand that, but I also have those memories of him almost trying to be his father. He was a good person who overcame a lot, but there was the ugly part of him.

I also kind of miss him. Sometimes I dream about him or want to ask his opinion on certain things and I can't. Certain music will make me cry. He passed early March 2022. I saw him die. I signed the death release forms at the hospital, and I was too numb to cry then. The following morning me, my sibling, and my brother-in-law went into his house---now my house--and we saw daffodils sprouting, and I thought of the line in Hadestown in the Road to Hell Reprise: "Everyone looked and everyone saw that spring that come again. It's a sad song...and we're gonna sing it again." I'd been putting on coffee because that was all I could think to do to be useful and that's when I started crying. I still cry whenever I think about that song.

#parent death #rambling

[jasminewalkerauthor]

Chronicles of the isles stories as aesthetics

Chronicles of the isles is a collection of short stories that follows a group of pirates as they collect ancient artefacts and attempt to stop the return of a cursed god.

Most stories take place in very different locations to eachother, so to get a glimpse into what the isles universe is like, here are the mood boards for each part.

Part I: Ship's graveyard

Ships graveyard follows the origin story of the Titans, a pirate crew that the isle's stories centre around. More particularly, Catherine webb, a runaway bride who quite literally runs into a pirate captain's second hand on a beach. The majority of ship's graveyard is spent trying to recover a family heirloom that has been stolen from Catherine. If you like pirates of the carribbean you would like the ship's graveyard stories.

Part II: A village called murder

In a village called murder we get an insight into Catherine webb's family. It is made up of two stories, the first going back in time to follow a young Cassandra Lawrence (Catherine's mother) as she tries to catch a small town serial killer after the murder of her father, and the second where the titan's meet Catherine's brother Curtis as they look for an ancient artefact. This is the storyline for fans of sherlock holmes.

Part III: Selenia valley

Selenia valley is for the fans of the classic fantasy story. The titans are invited to a masquerade ball hosted by one of the most highly regarded families which soon turns dark as they get blackmailed into breaking a curse and finding a pearl necklace before sunrise.

Part IV: Cirque d'etoiles

Cirque d'etoiles focuses around a mysterious circus that only appears for three months of the year and then disappears over night. Lana one night finds that her younger sister Molly is being led away from home by members of the circus and finds that the circus is locked in a magical contract where they must kidnap one child to become part of the act whenever they leave a location.

Part V: Metaloc

The titans are on the run, wanted for a crime they didn't commit. After running into a fellow runaway they find that they need to pulloff a heist at one of the most important royal balls of the year.

Part VI: the lotus forest

The titans meet with an old friend in the region of the lotus forest in hopes of gaining an audience with the queen. This leads to them entering the tournament of champions, a deadly competition where there can only be one winner.

Part VII: The dissappearing islands

The titans enlist the help of another old friend as they try to reach the mysterious dissappearing islands, legendary islands that only seem to appear once every century as they try to piece together what happened to the last group of people to set foot on the island.

Part VIII: Deep lagoon

The titans are summoned to the court of xymor, god of the ocean (among other things) in order to be judged as to weather or not they are worthy of being in possession of a powerful artefact.

Part IX: Draig cave

The titans make an unlikely alliance for a quest to venture deep into a system of caves as they discover more and more about the guild of the divine, an ancient group of warriors who used to roam the isles. Fans of merlin and dnd would like this storyline.

Which one do you think suits you? Let me know!

'Chronicles of the isles' is out now and available here:

#dnd #booklr #dnd story #merlin #bookish #ya fantasy books #fantasy books #pirates #witches #ya books #writeblr #writers of tumblr #chronicles of the isles #writing #bookworm #book blog #fantasy #shadow and bone #secret of moonacre #bbc merlin #dragons #crimson peak #penny dreadful #fairytale #booktok #bookstagram #reading #book recommendations #book reccs #book review

[admirableadmiranda]

Hi.....just saw your random facts....can I ask your top 10 fav books (fiction) that you had? Sorry for asking another random ask.....Thanks....

No worries, anon! Love to talk about random things! It's a lot of fun!

Top ten books... it'll be top ten books at least of today. I could easily compile a top fifty.

Catwings series by Ursula K. Le Guin. Really simple children's stories that are some of the first books I can remember reading and are still some of my favorites.

The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley. A completely different heroine from so many I'd read as a young kid and she still stands out to me today. Just a beautiful comfort read.

Modaozushi by Mo Xiang Tong Xu. A much more recent entry into this list, but it has soared up to one of my favorite books of all time due to wonderful characters, beautiful complex plot and a something about it that continues to engage me after more than a year of focusing on it.

Ciara's Song by Andre Norton and Lyn McConchie. A Witch World book that is set mostly outside of the big plots, but is a story about an orphan who grows up to be happy even in the midsts of her world being at war and so much loss.

Dealing with Dragons/Calling on Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede. Two of the Enchanted Forest Chronicle books and I cannot pick one above the other. Dealing with Dragons is the funny and charming series of a princess who is utterly bored with her life and decides to go become the princess to a dragon instead. Calling on Dragons is the quest to recover a magical sword featuring a no-nonsense witch, the same princess who is now a queen, a clever magician, two cats and a rabbit who's manage to transform himself into a donkey. Makes me laugh and grin the whole time.

Corambis by Sara Monet (the last book in the Doctrine of Labyrinths series) Specifically just this one. After three books of the leads struggling to overcome the absolutely miserable upbringing they had combined with the miserable present day, they actually begin to make something of it and find some sort of peace and happiness all the while dealing with a mysterious clockwork engine that seems to be gearing up to try and kill everyone around them.

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. A lot of gently poking fun at typical fairy tale tropes combined with a very sassy narrator and a romance that leans into constant bickering that I actually enjoy.

The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. McKillip. This one I can't quite put my finger on why I love it so much other than that it is haunting. It is not the happiest of stories by any means, it is about a young woman who has lived alone with only many mystical animals called by her family who is in search of a mysterious bird called the Liralen, one of the last strange beasts not in her menagerie, while below the kingdoms seek to control her and her mysterious animals in their wars.

Deerskin by Robin McKinley. If the previous book is somewhat haunting, this one definitely is. It is a retelling of the fairytale of Deerskin/Donkeyskin/Catskin, where the fairest queen in the world dies and makes her husband promise to not marry anyone again unless they are as beautiful as her. He swears that he will not, but cannot find anyone until their daughter comes of age and resembles her mother exactly. Deerskin is a much darker take on a dark fairytale, yet there is some light and hope and it ends on a gentle note. Not a story for the faint of heart, but still one of my favorites all the same.

Sunshine by Robin McKinley. If at this point you haven't guessed that she's one of my favorite authors, then I don't know what to tell you. Sunshine is a bit of a departure from the others, it is a modern day story set in a world in which vampires and werewolves and such are real, and our protagonist is an ordinary baker who makes the mistake of traveling out on her own to a lake where she is shortly snatched away by vampires to torment an old enemy of theirs, where it turns out that Sunshine is a little more than they were prepared for. Full of lavish descriptions of food, a lot of sass and snark and a world that gives you just enough description to be starving for more.

Thank you so much anon! I hope you enjoyed my desperate attempt to wrangle all my faves into some sort of order.

#asks #anon #anon asks #I could talk all day about my book collection #I've only read like half of them #but eventually I will read them all!