#cute worldbuilding? hell yeah

[icebrooding]

this is both super cute and super sentimental so i am all over it. kaushue probably still has his too Q_Q

#guild wars 2 #gw2 #my screenshots #look i am a SUCKER for sentimental stuff and this just hngh #cute worldbuilding? hell yeah

[aj-lenoire]

i’ll freely admit i was a big my little pony fan in my teen years (the last episode i remember watching is the one where they go to that town where no one has a cutie mark / everyone has the same cutie mark; i was like 16 by this point and coming out of that phase) and i’ll still have moments where i sit and be pulled back towards it a bit because it just has so much potential like, world-wise

like

cutie marks, okay? they’re your talent+passion and demonstrably completely unique. so if you’re on the run for whatever reason, is your cutie mark put up on the wanted posters alongside your headshot?

what are the cultural attitudes towards tattooing your cutie mark? in crimes where someone might damage a person’s face, that sense of control and robbing of identity, are cutie marks also disfigured in this way? do some ponies choose to reject their cutie marks and have them tattooed over or otherwise defaced? would some cultures consider it a crime in itself to deface your or someone else’s mark, even consensually?

and if you’re in, idk, witness protection or something, do you need to get it tattooed? are you forced to abandon your greatest talent and joy because that in itself, engaging in it, could get you recognised? what life are you left with? is it even a life worth living at all?

and in areas with lots of ponies, how does the socioeconomical aspect of a cutie mark function? how does every location seem to have every individual needed to function, like food, healthcare, education, etc?

is there some latent biological hive mind that decides ‘oh this village doesn’t have anyone in the agricultural sector—we need a couple harvester or farmer cutie marks so people can still eat’? in which case, what is the nature of free will and identity?

is the concept of a cutie mark a biological incentive to make propagating the species seem innately pleasing, like the rush of hormones after someone gives birth so the pain of childbirth is offset and they bond to the baby and they’re more likely to go through it again, furthering humanity?

like, your genes making you truly, deeply believe that harvesting food is your special talent, and your favourite thing to do, but is that just because the local area needed some more food workers and your personality, your self, evolved to fit that niche?? what even is free will?! what is selfhood??

or if not, is there a concept of being ‘reassigned’ to an area because hey! this city needs more teachers so we’re forcing some teacher ponies in this area with too many teacher ponies to relocate?? or are ponies whose cutie marks aren’t particularly ‘useful’ forced to do something as a job that isn’t their passion because elsewise they can’t pay bills? what’s the cultural consensus on NOT having a job related to your cutie mark? is it viewed negatively, or is it seen as noble? if it’s negative, does that negativity fall back on the system of government forcing them into this situation, or is the individual themselves deemed as defective by denying their true self?

would hiring for a job be swayed by seeing a pony’s cutie mark and knowing how well they fit? is asking for ponies with ‘X-type cutie marks’ allowed? is cutie-mark-discrimination a thing? is it illegal? is it even frowned upon?? or is it justified as ‘you want someone who will be the best at this job’? are you required to cover your cutie mark in job interviews?

what about those whose cutie marks aren’t easily accessible? what if yours is a creative endeavour but you can’t afford to make a career out of something so fickle as writing or singing or acting? it takes time to build up notoriety/a portfolio to the point you can live off it, so are you forced to take other jobs in the meantime? or are there ‘cutie grants’ where you can apply for money to pursue your cutie mark?

in that episode with starlight glimmer we get an idea of the cultural attitudes towards not living as your cutie mark indicates you should live and work as your mark indicates, but then also you have things like prince blueblood whose cutie mark (and therefore his talent and purpose) is uhhhhh being a prince?? so is the concept of an absolute monarchy just baked in to this species’ genetics? blueblood doesn’t even rule!! what does he do? at least with bees the queen is the one giving birth to all the new bees!

what if someone’s cutie mark is just, fucking, idk, murdering other ponies?? like they get that cutie mark as a preteen-ish and… are they just locked up for the rest of their lives, as a precaution? is the nature of pony society honour bound to find a way for them to explore and fulfill their purpose in some manner? and if we refer back to the biological niche theory, what would this mean? is it a sign that this area is too densely populated and the local land cannot sustain its size?

i’m going to extremes here but like… the worldbuilding, guys. the implications.

#to be clear this is not me trying to do that ‘edgy’ creepypasta thing where i make a cute kids’ show dark and gruesome #i’m just really interested in how you could extrapolate out the established rules of the world #also i just like how they look guys #they’re visually pleasing (which makes sense bc they’re designed to be marketed to pony-hell and back) and i like them #honestly the fact they don’t even really look like horses and have short—almost catlike—muzzles/snouts is a point in their favour for me #horses kind of freak me out #anyway yeah. extrapolating the worldbuilding implications of cutie marks #aj abstractions #my little pony #my litte pony friendship is magic

[kostektyw]

Villainess anime reviews

went on a bit of a binge, so here's a compilation:

I'm the Villainess, So I'm Taming the Final Boss

rating: lots of fun

one of the funnier entries on this list in my opinion, i actually laughed out loud multiple times

the protagonist is a capable and determined lady, as well as slightly unhinged which i always enjoy, i love weird women

breakneck pace, speedrunning like 3 games in the 12 episode, so it is the opposite of boring

this anime has everything: ducks, crows in bowties, crossdressing, ducks, video game brain rot, and ducks

Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss but I'm Not the Demon Lord

rating: at east somewhat interesting (still ongoing, episodes watched: 5)

aside from the gimmick a pretty standard isekai with pretty eh animation

a lot of this show is kinda boring, but there are still interesting and enjoyable moments

the protagonist is charming and probably the strongest part

i will probably be continuing to see what happens next so depending on that my opinion may change

The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: From Villainess to Savior

rating: charming

one of the series from this list that i enjoyed most, even if the story and the world are a bit simple, the characters and their struggles still work and aren't too difficult to get invested in

a bit more drama in this one, with tragic flashbacks (or whatever they're called if its abt an alternate plotline) that i found maybe a little too frequent

here the protagonist is also capable, driven, and quite traumatized, i wanna hold her in my hands like a baby bird

My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!

rating: cute!

the bisexual harem is a breath of fresh air

bakarina's dumbassery is a great source of comedy, she's also pretty lovable so the harem around her is believable. and i love a gal with a hobby

I'm in Love with the Villainess

rating: eh

kinda disappointed with this one, i was hoping for some fun gl story, but it could barely watch the first episode and had to force myself to try a few more in hopes it got better (it didnt)

the romance part felt more like harassment in those first episodes, and sure, ive read that it progresses further, but the protagonist didnt really endear herself to me with that

given the comedy tag on mal there were probably some jokes in it, i just couldn't identify many good ones

7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy!

rating: hell yeah! (still ongoing, episodes watched: 6)

the best one of all shows listed and the only one that's not an isekai

much more grounded, with good worldbuilding and another capable lady as the protagonist, but this one even more so, as well as much more mature

very pretty, even if i find some character designs questionable :v

definitely got me hooked and i will be watching more

#kostek original #kostek reviews #i appreciate this genre #if theres any more that i missed pls lemme know bc ive been basing my watching list on the word villainess in the title #villainess isekai #villainess anime #7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! #I'm in Love with the Villainess #My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! #The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: From Villainess to Savior #Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss but I'm Not the Demon Lord #I'm the Villainess #So I'm Taming the Final Boss

[keydekyie]

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕄𝕠𝕥𝕙 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔹𝕖𝕒𝕣

~Frequently asked questions~

Wondering what the hell that human-faced bear monster was that you saw on your dash? Can't figure out whether it's supposed to be scary or cute? Confused deeply?

Well do I have the solution for you: All your questions answered, and more!

First of all: what am I looking at?

uh... well, the creatures are called Kanai. They're basically a sphinx, a creature with a human face, but instead of the body of a lion, it's a bear! It's not that weird! (right?) Oh, and they're also the size of a house. Don't worry about it, it's fine. It's fine.

What is this setting?

The story is set in my headworld, which is a sort of an alternate-reality Earth, and specifically in a country called Kellabor. Here's a big worldbuilding dump if you're curious, but there's no need to read it all before diving into the books. You'll discover everything important along the way.

So there are books?

Yes! I've published two books in the series, and I'm working on the third. I have a masterpost explaining them with content warnings here.

Okay but what is the story, really? What happens?

It's a very PG slow-burn fantasy romance adventure story with a dash of horror.

Oh, so there's romance?

Yep! It's been planned that way since the first words I put down. If you get through the first two books and are wondering where the hell the romance happens, just remember: it's a slow burn. A sloooow burn. We'll get there.

How many books are there going to be?

So far, I'm planning on four. Originally, I had three planned, but the second one was getting too long and I had to split it in half. That's why book II: The Crossing ends on a cliffhanger. Don't worry, it's not going to take four books to get to the cute parts.

Is there going to be a happy ending?

Yes! Yes, I promise there will be a happy ending. Might not, uh... seem very likely, at times, but yes.

What's the inspiration behind this story?

If you want a long somewhat-spoilery answer, you can read this, but the tl;dr non-spoilery version is:

I wanted to write a story about a monster and a human where the monster is the one facing the ethical dilemma, and they come to be friends and care about each other. And go on adventures. And love each other.

Wait, so... are the giant bear monsters the good guys?

Um... yes and no. There really aren't clear good guys or bad guys in this story. I'm going to have to ask you to have a bit of an open mind, here.

Okay, but I swear I saw a gif of one of these monsters eating someone. Was that from this?

Yeah, that gif is from a side-project set in the same world. It's a little more explicit than anything that happens on screen in TMatB, but let's just say it's not... uncharacteristic. That's the dash of horror I mentioned.

Listen... it's the dash of horror that makes the cute stuff that much cuter. The horror is the flavor. Trust me on this one.

Wait so if the bear monsters eat people, how are they not obviously the bad guys?

It's complicated! You'll find nothing is black and white here in Kellabor. The country has a long, mysterious, complex history, and so do each of my characters.

Okay but... what happens, though? Who's this girl I keep seeing in these drawings? Why does it sometimes seem like they are enemies and sometimes not?

The protagonists start out in conflict in book I due to ✨circumstances✨. They have a lot of issues to work out. Depending on where they are in the story, drawings of them might show them being more antagonistic or more sweet. It'll all make sense with context.

I'm still confused...

Ask box is always open! ♥️

#tmatb #faq #writing #books #the moth and the bear

[autisticshadowthehedgehog]

ok question. silver is from an apocolypse future and went back in time to try and fix it right? i was under the impression that blaze was ALSO from that future and went back in time with him. but apparently she's a princess from another dimension? what?

Okay so here's the rundown:

Blaze was created for and introduced in Sonic Rush (2005), where she is FIRMLY established as the princess in a long line of guardians of her dimension's versions of the chaos emeralds, the Sol Emeralds, and the longtime rival of her version of Eggman, Eggman Nega. Rush Adventure expands her dimension's worldbuilding a bit more but Rush is important because Blaze makes her first friend ever (Cream, then Sonic)

Sonic Rush was popular

Sonic 06 was rushed as HELL. FAMOUSLY rushed as hell. They pushed that shit out with more glitches than lines of code

Blaze appears in that game as Silver's friend from his future. It is never established why or how she is there, and she only seems to recognize Sonic once– in the English Dub, in the Japanese she doesn't at all. Sonic does not recognize her either despite this occurring after Rush in the timeline. The two of them are in the same room at least once and do not speak to each other. At the end of the game Blaze is like "I'll seal the demon inside myself in a.... parallel dimension. yeah that sounds right" and goes poof and we never see her again

Except??????? Blaze couldn't have just poofed there girl has a whole-ass FAMILY LINE in a dimension with DEEP LORE like???

Also, aside from like. basic NPC quests? Blaze also doesn't speak to anyone in that game aside from Silver– it's not just Sonic she ignores. Not Mephiles, not Amy, not Elise. ONLY Silver. She is the only one to interact with him and vice-versa.

A lot of us read into that a lot of ways the but the honest truth is she was probably yeeted into the game late in development cause they realized Silver needed someone to talk to.

Other evidence for this is that her '06 profile mentions stuff about her that was not in Rush– for instance, an Elsa-Gloves Cape that she only had in Rush's concept art. This implies that they got the bare minimum information and just threw some shit at the wall. They were like "okay. cape, other dimension, fire powers. got it" and missed like. the emeralds and eggman and self-isolation and. princess

The best thing to come out of this tho is Blaze and Silver's brOTP. (or OTP if you're into that) Though the '06 timeline was erased, Silver and Blaze have a familiarity with each other in Colors DS that they can't quite place, and show up as buddies in a lot of media and it's so fucking cute I love them

tl;dr play or watch the sonic rush games

#blaze the cat

[bloodgulchblog]

Have you seen that YouTube video where some guy reads every Halo novel back to back and then reviews them? If so what did you think

The Brian David Gilbert one? Oh yeah, all my friends showed me it when it came out. (It was honestly kind of cute seeing how many people thought of me immediately.)

Rewatching it to refresh myself because it's been a couple years and a full-novel reread for me since the last time...

High fiving BDG because the Master Chief parts of The Flood were definitely the most boring parts.

He didn't have anything to say about First Strike which I think is a shame because I think it's better than The Fall of Reach and actually has A Theme I Find Interesting.

Rightful recognition of Contact Harvest as pretty damn good.

Rightful recognition of the Forerunner Trilogy as dense oldschool-style SF with deep worldbuilding. (Also the San'Shyuum thing.)

I disagree with him about, and have significant problems with, Kilo Five. He is correct that Kilo Five actually delves into some of the dark places in Halo in a way it really needed, and I would even say that its writing is extremely engaging by Halo novel standards. However, while he does notice the obvious parallels between what ONI is doing post-war and the kind of shit the CIA has pulled again and again irl, I think he misses some of the subtext I see where it feels like it justifies some shit a liiiiittle too much if you know the author's irl politics re: the military. He also doesn't seem to notice the character assassinations (particularly of Catherine Halsey) that I and a lot of other fans see/object to in those books. I kind of gaze into the middle distance with a haunted expression at the suggestion that these are the ones to read if you don't touch any of the others just because they are, ironically, so heavy-handed and feel like they treat certain kinds of evil as inevitable in a way that actually feels way worse to me than the excuse plot offered by the earlier/lighter Halo novels. (But idk, that's me? Nobody is committing a crime if they disagree with my frenzied insane person red string diagrams about Kilo Five.)

I'd swap Pariah for Dirt in the Evolutions anthology if it were me, but I think these are solid standouts.

Broken Circle is neat but really nonessential he's not wrong.

A one-sentence review of New Blood is probably not enough space to get into how fucked up the Spartan-IV program is, but yeah. New Blood is fun if you don't find Buck's first person narration annoying. (It comes and goes for me in that one.)

BDG you're an absolute sweetheart, I think Hunters in the Dark is kind of goofy in a way I cannot in good conscience ignore if I'm gonna review it. But it really really is so much fun and I love that one a lot anyway. The "it's like Halo 3... 2" observation is solid.

High fiving him again because I also found Last Light disappointing. And it is also a me problem.

Fractures!

Hell yeah these are all good pulls from Fractures, I would say Shadow of Intent is the pick of the litter in that anthology for me. Interesting that as a Kilo Five enjoyer he didn't single out Rossbach's World, which is the last we've heard about Osman and Black Box. (Also, that one is good.) I think Oasis is worth an honorable mention because I'm an Envoy stan, and the Forerunner stories are interesting but I wouldn't go for them if you don't already have a healthy interest in the trilogy.

This tangent is so fucking funny now that we know more things:

Oh BDG, oh buddy, it's really not for the people like you and me huh. (Disclaimer: I have no idea if BDG likes the Halo tv show or not and I have no desire to dig up evidence about it.)

Also, while you're here, this is the bloodgulchblog origin story:

Smoke and Shadow is fun so it's a little sad that when he ends that sentence with "whatever," I can't actually say he's wrong to. (Sorry Rion your part of the lore just.... hasn't... touched anything that touches anything else anymore.)

ENVOY IS GOOD AND EVERYONE SHOULD CARE ABOUT IT okay okay I'm cool I'm normal, anyway. Envoy is the Halo novel that restored my faith in reading Halo novels and reminded me that authors can care and know how to do nuanced, interesting themes in this space. It's great. Everyone in this book has war refugee trauma (except the Spartans which have Spartan trauma) and that's incredible to me. Please care about Envoy if you have spare room in your heart for Halo side characters.

I am cheered to see someone indifferent to the Veta Lopis stories, but I still feel petty for feeling it.

I don't have a lot to say about Legacy of Onyx here but it's always so fun seeing someone else suffer and care.

Bad Blood, the Blood is Bad now is a fun joke but lol yeah. It does have this very vital moment where Chief and Arbiter talk, though. For the first and only time in years.

PROPS FOR NOTICING THE YA NOVELS they're actually pretty nice.

"The Master Chief is the protagonist and boy does he shoot some people" is most of how I feel about Silent Storm and Oblivion too, I know they have their fans but Troy Denning's Chief books don't do much for me personally.

Renegades hadn't had its followup Point of Light yet but yeah, Spark stuff is interesting.

I had to remember that oh yeah, there are multiple books now that didn't exist when this was made. I wonder if he read them?

OKAY I THINK THAT'S ALL I HAD TO SAY as always if y'all want specific book opinions, I might have a tag for them. Or just yell in my ask box, I'm sure I can scrounge up some thoughts.

#halo novels

[chaifootsteps]

ayo! Anon who talked about that One Filipino Character Viv made (I’ll probably stick around, so just call me Studio Anon to track things) here, just wanted to air out some thoughts of the writing/worldbuilding/designs Viv had made because shitting on them is funny and it isn’t like she’ll take any criticism on them.

Something I always asked or wondered is like… where even is HB? Like, location-wise. Sure it’s hell, but… they never really specified the ring? Is it pride? Is it some other ring? I remember the whole travel-by-elevator system but I don’t exactly remember where it takes place…. It’s pretty problematic if the viewers of a show forget where the supposed main place of the ‘plot’ is placed. Because of that, it’s hard to figure out where everything else is in my head- Loo Loo Land is in… Pride? So does that mean HB is in Pride? Why have hellborns in Pride if overpopulation is an issue there…?

Also, why are the citizens of hell limited to imps and hellhounds? And yes I know there’s like, succubi and whatever those shark demons were (and as a fish enthusiast, it’s pretty telling if even they forgot those types of demons existed in the world), but they’re basically just imp bit different(tm). It’d make sense if there were different kinds of oml but we never really see that, so that was a waste.

Like, if gluttony had a beehive aesthetic you’d expect to see some bug-imps or something, not just straight up imps (they’re probably the crew’s impsonas but come on, it’s pretty sad that it was just Imps and Dogs in hell- kinda puts a bad idea that dogs go to hell or something tbh.)

Don’t even get me started on the designs of the sins, like wow.

When you think of these big, scary embodiment of sin, you’d want them to be a little threatening… right?

Apparently not, in Viv’s mind.

Like yes, it’s fun showing off the sins having more than one personality than just their sin, but that’s literally all they are. They don’t act like their sin. You know that Viv excuse- they’re in hell. Let them be awful? It’s not hard.

Sucks that the only embodiment of sins we’ve sin are just: imp but white (Lucifer, also kinda Mammon), bird (Asmodeus), or furry (Beelzebub). I don’t expect any of the other sins to be any different, I just wish that they could be the embodiment of sin and be a good character (not good morally, but decently written, but I doubt that’d ever happen), not just written out to be a total asshole so the uwu-good-sins can be all nice and cute.

It’d be cool to have a Greed vs. Lust battle, both having strong feelings of attachment to something/someone but no. They talk out their silly stupid feelings, eugh.

(Do let me know if you’d want to hear more of these thoughts- I’m a writer and designer myself and I absolutely love trashing Viv’s work because I can do better because I learn stuff.)

Pretty sure I.M.P. headquarters are located on Pride, which is how sinners are able to access them. Apart from that, yeah, it's a clusterfuck and a half.

By all mean, keep sending those thoughts! They're good thoughts!

#Anonymous #studio anon #viv stuff #actual blog post

[lululawrence]

lululawrence's November 2022 Fic List

Previous Fic Lists / Lulu’s List Podcast Masterpost

Happy 28th! Here are the incredible fics I was able to read this month. As always, be sure to show your love and appreciation for all of the hard work our fandom authors have put into their fics with kudos, nice comments, and (when applicable) reblogging their fic posts!

What If It's Us? by @chloehl10 / lovelarry10 (73k, M, Harry/Louis, Big Bang fic, famous/non-famous, bookshop owner Harry, singer Louis, fan Harry, secret identity, kind of, flirting, angst, online bullying, angst with a happy ending, this fic was so lovely and such a great read, i couldn't put it down)

someone save me (if you will) by @zouisalmightie / the_taste_of_ink (4k, M, Harry/Louis, Wordplay fic, Avengers AU, Hawkeye Harry, Black Widow Zayn, Iron Man Niall, Hulk Liam, Captain America Louis, action packed, violence, tension, happy ending, this fic gripped me from the beginning trying to figure out what exactly was going on and how it would be taken care of it and it was just such an amazing read, the world building was fab in such few words)

(Help!) not just anybody by @uhoh-but-yeah-alright / yeah_alright (4k, M, Harry/Louis, Wordplay fic, accidental date, coworker Grimmy, ot4 mount a rescue mission, it's hilarious, and there's such a great twist)

Playing Games With You by @ireallysawanangel / crimsontheory (3k, NR, Harry/Louis, Wordplay fic, part 1 of a series, Uni AU, friends to lovers, ish?, this is pre-slash in this part, but you can see it building up, the setup has me SO excited to read the rest of the series, i can't wait to finish it)

false security by @jaerie / jaerie (2k, E, Harry/Louis, Wordplay fic, part 1 of a series, flower fairy AU, kidnapping, rape/non-con, dark fic, the set up and world building of this is WILD and so fascinating, once again i cannot wait to keep reading this series, it's going to be so great, I can just tell)

Love's Extraction by @iamasphodelknox / asphodelknox (4k, NR, Harry/Louis, Wordplay fic, Star Wars AU, kind of, it's adjacent for sure, it's in that world even if it isn't Star Wars proper, if that makes sense lol, this fic was just stellar I loved it so much omgosh i can't even explain all the things i loved)

Rescue Mission by @vintageumbroshirt / 28sunflowers (3k, G, Harry/Louis, Wordplay fic, Dystopian AU, Rescue Mission, established relationship, tension, action, this fic was so intense from the moment it starts and it's just like WOW so much i loved it)

More Beautiful Than the Puzzle series by @ponymom-stuff / ponymom (7k, NR, Harry/Louis, Wordplay fic, Royal AU, cat herding, hahaha, famous/non-famous, secrets, this series was so fucking adorable and i loved the way everything was laid out and revealed to the readers, it was a lot of fun)

All Out of Love by @sun-tomato / SunTomato (33k, G, Harry/Louis, Big Bang fic, Soulmates, Cupid Harry, Cupid Niall, human Louis, supernatural fic, magic, holy shit the way the author created the entire world, and structured everything was fascinating and beautiful and heartbreaking and just, wow, angst, with a happy ending, but you do cry holy hell do you cry, at least i did lol, so fucking good)

Under a Bronze Moon series by @soidiallednine / soidiallednine (38k, M, Harry/Louis, Wordplay fic, I specifially read parts 2-6 this month, sci-fi AU, warring planets, Harry and Louis are enemies-ish, secret relationships, enemies to lovers, the journey they go on is truly incredible, action, danger, the worldbuilding is incredible, just all of it is so fucking incredible, it was one of my favorite stories i've read this year)

contentment series by @ohmydarlin / heartland (2k, M, Harry/Louis, Wordplay fic, I specifically read parts 2 and 3 this month, established relationship, Uni AU, Pride and Prejudice, so sweet and cute and lovely)

Camboy on Lockdown series by @reminiscingintherain / reminiscingintherain (12k, E, Harry/Louis, Wordplay fic, I specifically read parts 3-6 this month which were for wordplay, camboy Louis, quarantine, strangers to lovers, flirting, lots of smut lol, this entire series was so funny and hot and so amusing, it's such a fun read i loved it)

Where the World has Come Together by @londonfoginacup / LadyLondonderry (26k, M, Harry/Louis, Big Bang fic, fantasy AU, magic, protectors, halfling Louis, vampire Harry, secret identities, enemies to lovers, action, i don't think i can fully explain this fic to anyone but i fucking loved every moment of it)

Chasing, Searching, Dreaming by @parmahamlarrie / parmahamlarrie (46k, E, Harry/Louis, Big Bang fic, soulmates AU, friends to lovers, pining, all the pining, SO MUCH PINING OMG, grief, angst, with a happy ending, single dad Louis, kinda, he's newly become the parental figure for the little twins, this fic was so beautiful and the art was amazing and just wowowow)

A Friend's Gambit - Wordplay 2020 series by @laynefaire / Layne Faire (HisDarlin) (16k, T/NR, Zayn/Liam, Wordplay fic, I specifically read parts 2-5 this month, strangers to friends to lovers, wisdom teeth removal, this was so sweet and funny and just lovely from start to finish, these characters were so soft and i wanted to take care of all of them, and i'm in the series so you can enjoy me as a dental assistant hehe)

#28th appreciation #fic rec #my fic rec #fic list #fic writer appreciation #november 2022 fic list

[tiny-wooden-robot-fics]

Against the Tide - Thirteen

Rating: Explicit Pairing(s): Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez x Original Female Character, Silvio Ricci x Original Female Character Characters: Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez (Bleach), Silvio Ricci (Ikemen Prince), Olivia DuBois (Original Female Character of Color) Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergent, Pirates and Princes, Slow Burn, Action/Adventure, Worldbuilding, Angst, Some Subtle Racism, Sexual Tension, Political Subplot

Previous Chapter: Twelve | Next Chapter: Fourteen

Summary:

"I... don't know," she confesses. "I thought that maybe... you might not be happy if you knew I'd seen you that way."

"What way?" He peers closely at her, studying her face.

She shrugs, looking briefly away from him. "Sad. Vulnerable... jealous and hurt."

He expels a chuckle. "Yeah, well now you know."

“Know what?” She turns to look back at him.

“All the shit I hide from ya when I’m sober,” he exhales.

Read on AO3

“Well,” Silvio says, “I guess this ship isn’t a worthless piece of shit after all.” 

“Watch your fuckin’ mouth about my ship,” the Captain growls. It has noticeably less fury behind it than it would normally, Daisy notes. She wonders if it’s because he’s preoccupied with being worried about Olivia. “I told you we’d catch up to this bastard, didn’t I?” 

The Prince looks worried too, Daisy notices. His face is scrunched up into a scowl, and he’s fidgety. 

If she weren’t so worried about Olivia herself, she might think it was cute, the way these two tough men are both clearly wound up about her Lady’s safety. 

“He’s stoppin’,” Grimmjow observes, watching as the Sea Queen furls its sails. “The hell is he doing?” 

“They’ve clearly spotted us,” Silvio murmurs. He turns to face the Captain. “Could they be waiting to ambush us?” 

Grimmjow seems to consider his question. “Don’t think so. It’s not like we ain’t been in firin’ range for a while now.” 

“How do you know that?” Daisy asks. 

He turns to her, his hard gaze softening a bit as he speaks to her. “See, his ship’s near about the same size as the Hellcat,” he explains. “Means he’s got cannons about as big as hers. If mine could fire from here and reach him - and they can - stands to reason the same’d be true for him.” He pauses. “He ain’t fired yet, which means one of two things.” 

Silvio raises his eyebrows. “What?” 

“Either he’s waitin’ for us to make the first move, or he ain’t plannin’ to make a move at all.” 

Daisy chews her lower lip anxiously. “Captain… which do you think it is?” 

“I’d bet it’s that he ain’t plannin’ to make a move at all,” he tells her honestly. 

“And what makes you so sure about that?” The Prince looks skeptical, but there is nothing in his gaze to suggest that he disagrees with the Captain. 

“Like I said, he’s in firin’ range. If he really wanted to hurt the Hellcat, he’d have fired by now. He ain’t. And he knows we won’t fire ‘cause we don’t know where Livvy is and whether firin’ at the Sea Queen would hurt her.” 

Grudgingly, Silvio has to admit that the pirate makes a good point. He says nothing to this effect aloud, however. “So what now?” 

Grimmjow turns to him with a smirk. “Can’t sneak up on him,” he starts. “So we may as well go up and greet him proper, get right next to him and find out if she’s okay.” 

-- 

The noon sun is high in the sky by the time the Hellcat gets near enough to the Sea Queen for Olivia to see them. 

Jarron Barnes is standing next to her, his shoulders tense and drawn up. “I have half a  mind to tie you back up,” he tells her quietly. 

“Why?” She turns to face him. “Do you really think I would make a run for it?” 

“You might. The calvary is in sight, isn’t it?” 

It makes her sigh. “It’s a shame that I’ve been stuck on this damned boat with you for seventeen days and you’ve learned next to nothing about me.” 

“I know plenty about you,” he laughs. “Just not the things you thought I’d learn.” 

Olivia doesn’t want to launch into a discussion about what he thinks he knows about her, and so she keeps her mouth shut. 

“So who’s it gonna be - the Prince or the Pirate?” Barnes goads her. “Will they duel to find out which of them gets to rescue you?” 

“You really are insufferable,” she mutters. “I have half a mind to ask him to fire at you anyway.”

“I see I’ve touched a nerve,” he laughs. 

Olivia ignores him. 

--

“Come on,” Silvio says to Daisy once the sails of the Hellcat have been furled. He grabs her arm. 

“The fuck you think you’re goin’?” 

“Down to the local tavern at the bottom of the sea,” Silvio replies sarcastically. “Where the fuck do you think I’m going? I’m boarding that ship.”

“The hell you ain’t,” Grimmjow shakes his head. 

“Oh? And who’s going to stop me?” 

The Captain steps in front of them. “Like I said before,” he starts, his voice low and quiet, “you need to stop actin’ like you’re the only one with a personal stake in this. We came as a team.” 

Silvio’s blue eyes flash dark. “As far as I remember, the only agreement I made was to stay out of your way. I’ve held up my end of that bargain, now I’m asking you to do me the same courtesy.” 

“And I agreed not to kill you,” Grimmjow’s own blue eyes narrow. “So far I feel like I been pretty generous in puttin’ up with your shit, but my patience ain’t everlastin’.” 

“Um,” Daisy says nervously. Two sets of angry blue eyes look down at her. It unnerves her, but she inhales deeply to calm herself. “I do think,” she starts, “that we should talk about it before we… before we do anything.” 

As always, Grimmjow is the first of the two to concede to her. “You got a plan?” 

She thanks her lucky stars for the soft spot he has for her and takes another deep breath. “What if I went aboard the Sea Queen… alone?” 

Silvio looks perplexed. “Why the fuck would you do that?” 

Daisy tries not to flinch at his tone. He’s just worried about Lady Olivia, she reminds herself. And it’s making him sound more upset than he probably is. “Because I don’t think they’ll try to hurt me,” she explains. “I’m just a lady’s maid, not important to this mission at all. And they might be more willing to let me see Lady Olivia than one of you.” 

“And what you plannin’ on doin’ once you get aboard?” Grimmjow asks her with genuine curiosity. 

“First, making sure she’s alright,” Daisy asserts. “That they haven’t hurt her in any way.” Her mouth turns down into a soft, pensive frown. “They’d probably let me talk to her in private. And I can…” She trails off. “I can check places on her that maybe nobody else would see.” 

The moment the words are out of her mouth, she regrets it. Both men look absolutely livid. 

“I’ll fuckin’ gut anybody---” Grimmjow starts, just as Silvio says, “That son of a bitch---”

“It’s just a precaution,” Daisy quickly interjects, waving her hands frantically to stave off the onslaught of swears she’s sure is coming. “The point is that I think I should go because they won’t see me as a threat,” she goes on, flashing them both what she hopes is a reassuring smile. “If one of you goes, well… they might immediately go on-guard.” 

They both fall silent. The Captain seems to be considering it; the Prince merely looks put-out. 

“I promise I’ll be careful,” she adds helpfully. 

Grimmjow turns reluctantly to Silvio. “She’s got a point,” he says.

The Prince shrugs. “I’m surrounded by fucking idiots,” he mumbles. 

“Listen.” Grimmjow leans down to look her in the eye. “I dunno about the pretty little prince here, but I’m only willin’ to let ya go under one condition.” 

Curious, she looks back up at him. “What’s that?” 

He reaches behind him, pulling a sheath out of his belt. “You take one of my guys with you, and take this.” He hands the sheath to her, placing it in her palm. 

Daisy looks down at it. In his hands, it’s a dagger. To her, it feels and looks like a greatsword. “I don’t know how to use this,” she protests. “I fear I’d only make things worse if someone attacked me.” 

“Just make sure the pointy end goes inside ‘em,” he laughs, “and you’ll be alright.” 

Uncertainly, she looks over at the Prince. He shrugs again. “So once you figure out whether or not she’s alright, then what?” 

“I-- I didn’t think that far ahead,” she admits. 

Surprisingly, this makes him laugh. “Fine then,” he says, when his laughter has subsided a bit. “Why don’t you send us a signal?” 

She nods, rummaging in her apron pocket. “What about this?” She asks, pulling her yellow handkerchief out. “If everything is alright, I’ll wave this.” She pauses. “And Lady Olivia will know what to do after.” 

--

“Daisy, thank goodness.” Olivia folds the girl into her arms once Daisy is safely onboard the Sea Queen. She pulls back a little to look at her. “Are you alright?” 

“I should be asking you that, Lady Olivia,” the girl smiles. 

“I’m fine,” Olivia answers, waving a hand dismissively. “Why on earth would they send you over here?” 

Daisy shakes her head. “They didn’t,” she answers proudly. “I volunteered to come.” She peers up at Olivia closely once more. “Are you sure you’re alright?” She asks again, concerned. “Did they hurt you?” 

“They didn’t, and I’m fine,” Olivia assures her. She watches, flummoxed, as Daisy pulls a bright yellow handkerchief out of her apron pocket and waves it in the direction of the Hellcat. 

“Our signal,” the younger woman explains at Olivia’s look of bafflement. “I told them that if you were alright, I would wave this so they could know.” 

“I’m sorry to leave you stuck with those two,” Olivia laughs regretfully. “I’m sure they must be a handful.” 

Daisy offers her a sheepish smile. “I was going to tell you they aren’t, but I think you’d probably know I was lying.” 

“Well, you’ve managed to keep them from killing each other,” Olivia points out. “So you must be doing something right.” She glances over at Jarron Barnes, who is watching them from a short distance away. 

“A touching reunion,” he remarks dryly. His next words are addressed to Daisy. “Now that you’ve seen with your own eyes that she’s alright, you’re going back to the Hellcat.”

“What?” This comes from Olivia. “Why would you send her back when she just got here?” 

“Because she’s going to deliver a message for me,” Barnes replies. “Tell the good Captain to put his best mate in charge and bring himself over here.” 

Olivia and Daisy both look at him in shock. Behind them, the young man the Captain has sent with Daisy - Kenny is his name - shifts uneasily. “Beggin’ yer pardon, but Cap’n don’t like nobody else steering the ‘Cat,” he speaks up. “It’s like his baby, y’know? Nobody touches the helm but him. ‘Less’n it’s some kinda emergency and he can’t.” 

“Then consider this an emergency,” Jarron Barnes shrugs. “As a matter of fact, you relay that message, Mr…?” He trails off expectantly. 

“Kenny. My name’s Kenny.” 

“Kenny,” Barnes repeats. “I’m entrusting this message to you, and I want you to relay it exactly as I tell you. Actually,” he goes on thoughtfully, “let me write it down for you. That way all you have to do is hand it over.” 

The two women exchange glances as Barnes pulls a small pad and a thin stick of charcoal out of his breast pocket. He scribbles something on the pad, then rips the page off and hands it to Kenny. “Tell him he has until sunset to get here,” Barnes declares. “If he’s not here by the time the last rays dip below the horizon, both these women go overboard. It’s written there, so you don’t have to say all of that,” he adds, his tone cheerful. “But the sunset bit? Make sure he knows about that.”

--

“Why him?” Olivia asks a few minutes after Kenny has begun rowing back to the Hellcat. “Why the Captain?” 

Barnes looks shrewdly at her. “Because I know he won’t insult my intelligence by throwing money at me in an attempt to fix the problem.” 

“No, but he’ll throw something else at you, I’m sure,” Olivia murmurs under her breath. Daisy fidgets nervously beside her, and she flashes the younger woman a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. Everything will be alright.” 

--

It is late afternoon when Olivia notices the activity on the Hellcat. For lack of anything better to do, she has spent most of the morning showing Daisy around the Sea Queen, and now the two of them are standing on the upper deck, watching as Grimmjow and Kenny lower themselves into a boat and begin rowing. 

“He’s really coming,” Daisy breathes. 

Olivia would love to tell the girl that she’s surprised, but she isn’t. She has known all along that Grimmjow would rather leave his precious, beloved ship in the hands of another man than to risk anything happening to Olivia. 

It is a testament to how much he cares about her, and the thought is responsible for the lump in her throat. “You idiot,” she mumbles. “How many times are you going to come to my rescue before you get tired of it?”

“What was that, Lady Olivia?” Daisy’s voice startles her out of her thoughts, and she turns to look at the lady’s maid. “What did you say?”  

“It was nothing,” she smiles. “I guess I was just thinking out loud.” 

--

As expected, Grimmjow is incensed. 

The second he sets foot on the Sea Queen, he closes the distance between himself and Jarron Barnes in a few short strides. The rest of the world, Olivia thinks, is moving in slow motion. She knows what is going to happen before it does, but she cannot get her feet to move quickly enough to stop it. 

She is only halfway to Grimmjow when his fist smashes into the other man’s face. 

Olivia has seen - and doled out - her fair share of punches. She knows enough to know that Grimmjow pulls his punch at the last second, very likely to avoid breaking Jarron’s jaw. Still, the sound of his fist hitting the other man’s face sounds overly loud, even in the noise of the bustling ship. There is a moment of quiet, a hush just as Olivia reaches the Hellcat’s captain. “Grimmjow,” she says softly, her hand on his arm. 

He spares her a brief glance, but his attention turns back to Barnes very quickly. “If you ever threaten me again, you son of a bitch,” he starts, his voice steely and unforgiving, “I will cut your fuckin’ intestines out and feed ‘em to the birds while you watch.”

Olivia’s heart is racing. She’s sure Barnes will retaliate in some way, and she fears what he will come up with. To her surprise, he simply shakes his head and puts a hand on his jaw. When he speaks, there is obvious pain in his voice. Still, he manages to chuckle. “Just as I thought,” he slurs. “Your soft spot for the lady is still there… and even better, your propensity to kill a man is still there, too.” 

Grimmjow opens his mouth to respond, his eyes flashing with what can only be described as murderous intent. Olivia tugs urgently at his sleeve, and finally he turns to her again. He looks positively worn out; there are dark circles under his eyes that not even his tanned skin can hide. He looks haggard, as though he hasn’t eaten or slept in days.

“You’ve been running yourself ragged,” she observes, reaching up and letting her fingertips caress his face. “All on account of me. I’m sorry, Grimm.” 

Despite how tired he looks, he grins down at her. “Couldn’t let this bastard show the Hellcat up, now could I?” 

She bites back a sob, throwing her arms around him and burying her face in his shirt. 

He lets her hold him closely that way for a minute, then gently pulls her away from him to get a good look at her. “You hurt?” He asks seriously, his eyes darting up to Jarron Barnes. 

Olivia shakes her head. “No,” she tells him truthfully. “I was worried that I would be… but aside from the initial roughing up it took to get me here, I’m fine.” 

“She’s more than fine,” Barnes interjects, his words still slurred. “She’s living better here than some of my crew.” 

Grimmjow's gaze turns steely again. “So now what?” 

“Now we go to Vora,” Barnes says simply. “The way we were heading before you got here.” 

--

“I tried to talk him out of it,” Olivia tells him later, in her cabin. “I tried to convince him to let you catch up with us, let us take him to Clario where he could air his grievances to the King and my father.” She shakes her head sadly. “It was no use, though.” 

“And once we get to Vora?” Grimmjow raises his eyebrows. “What’s he gonna do then?”

“I don’t even think he knows,” Olivia admits. She sighs. “With the exception of placing himself on the throne as self-appointed ruler of Vora, what he wants isn’t unreasonable.” 

“Go on,” Grimmjow says, looking at her quizzically. 

“As we learned before, he wants independence for Vora,” she explains. “He wants it to have its own separate government once more, to regulate its own trade, taxes, and resource allocation.” 

“So…” Grimmjow pauses, thoughtful. “Vora the way it was thirty years ago.” 

“More like fifty or sixty years ago,” she amends. “The way it was even before Vora and Clario formed a partnership.”

“Is that gonna be possible?” 

“It can be,” Olivia replies slowly. “The whole reason Vora asked Clario for aid in the first place was because they lacked the technology and resources to do it for themselves. Now that things have progressed, they want their freedom back. They want to be able to say who they trade - and don’t trade with. They want to mine their own minerals and choose how those minerals are used, whether it’s selling them to other countries or keeping them to further advance their own technology. They want to be able to build their own ships with timber from the trees in the Voraen forests.” 

He looks surprised. “Yeah,” he concedes. “That’s reasonable.” 

“The problem is that he’s going about it all wrong,” Olivia sighs, “and for someone who claims to want to lead, he hasn’t come up with any tangible solutions to those problems. And between you and me,” she adds, “I don’t think he would make a very good leader anyway.” 

“Not if his plans involve kidnappin’ people to get his way,” Grimmjow mutters angrily. 

“Exactly,” she agrees. “Which is why I wanted him to come back to Clario with us and present his case before the King, like any sane human would. But he refused, and I don’t think threatening to start a war with a bigger, more populated country with a stronger military force is how he’s going to see the change that he wants.” 

He nods, mulling over everything she’s told him. 

“I’m sorry that you got tangled up in this mess,” she offers softly, her tone rueful. 

Stunned, he looks over at her. “You got nothin’ to apologize for, Sae,” he counters, his own voice softening. “It’s partly my fault you ended up here in the first place - you only went out that night ‘cause you were lookin’ after me.” He shakes his head. “A grown damn man, mopin’ around like some heartbroken kid and gettin’ shitfaced drunk like that. Oughta be ashamed of myself. And I am.” 

“Ah, so you do remember,” she surmises. “I was hoping you wouldn’t.” 

“Why?” 

“I… don’t know,” she confesses. “I thought that maybe… you might not be happy if you knew I’d seen you that way.” 

“What way?” He peers closely at her, studying her face. 

She shrugs, looking briefly away from him. “Sad. Vulnerable… jealous and hurt.” 

He expels a quiet chuckle. “Yeah, well now you know.”

“Know what?” She turns to look back at him. 

“All the shit I hide from ya when I’m sober,” he exhales. 

But that’s the problem, isn’t it? You love the pirate, too. She curses Jarron Barnes for how his words are stuck on a loop in her brain. “Grimmjow…”

“You ain’t gotta say it,” he cuts her off. “Feels like you’re just gonna tell me somethin’ that’s s’posed to make me feel better but doesn’t.” He raises his pale eyebrows at her. “Am I right?” 

Had she been? She hesitates, thinking it over. “I don’t know,” she says finally, after a few seconds have passed. “I think I was just going to tell you how I feel.” 

Up to now, he’s been leaning on the taffrail, his eyes on the ocean in front of them. Now he turns around, his back against the rail and his eyes on her. “I’m listenin’.”

Olivia inhales deeply, letting the breath out on a slow exhale that gives her time to collect her thoughts. “I do love you,” she starts, her voice quiet. “I don’t know if I love you more or less than Silvio… or if I love you the same.” 

“Ouch. Way to stroke a man’s ego,” he chuckles wryly. 

She smiles at him, a little sadly. “I know it sounds horrible, and I’m sorry… but there’s no other way for me to say it right now. I’m still sorting my feelings out, and it’s much harder than I expected it to be.” 

“Guess I should be happy about that at least,” he jokes. “Means I’m still in the runnin’.” 

She reaches up, her thumb ghosting over his bottom lip. “You worked too hard,”  she gently scolds him. “And gave up command of your ship for me.” 

He nips at her thumb. “Would do it again if I had to.” 

“Why?” She shakes her head. “I don’t deserve that.”

“Wrong,” he smirks. “Sae… you know I’d go get the moon for you if ya asked me to.” 

Her eyelids flutter shut. Her heart feels like it’s bursting. “You shouldn’t say things like that.” 

Grimmjow looks at her again. “Yeah, maybe not,” he assents. “But what’s it you said before? I’m just… tellin’ ya how I feel.” 

It takes her a long time to be able to swallow past the lump in her throat and speak again. “I know.” 

--

“So… have you reignited the flame?” 

Olivia casts him a withering look. “I don’t know what you’re playing at here,” she starts, “but I don’t appreciate you doing… whatever it is you’re doing in an attempt to meddle with my personal affairs.” 

Barnes shrugs. “You seem to think I care enough about your personal affairs to meddle with them.” His tone is slightly mocking. It makes Olivia wish Grimmjow actually had broken his jaw - if for nothing else but to keep him from running his mouth. 

She says as much aloud. “I wish he hadn’t pulled his punch.” 

This makes him laugh. “As angry as he was, I was sure he’d pull his sword on me instead of just his fist. I’ve heard stories about him doing much worse to people for lesser offenses against him.” 

“I think you’re making a big mistake,” she opines, completely bypassing his statement. “I think you should go back to Clario and state your case to the King.” 

“I want this discussion to happen on my turf,” Barnes declares. “I want the Prince to see with his own eyes what Vora has the ability to do for itself.” 

“And I think that’s a great idea,” Olivia admits. “But you’re going about it all wrong. For Grimmjow, this is a minor irritation. But for Silvio - who’s serving as a representative of Clario in this instance - this is a lot more serious than just minor irritation. On top of that, you’re putting him in an incredibly difficult situation. Even if he sees the point you’re so elaborately trying to make, he alone doesn’t have the power to snap his fingers and magically make all your requests come to fruition.” 

“Maybe not,” Barnes shrugs, “but he can certainly go a long way towards convincing the rest of the powers that be.” 

She mulls over his words. “He isn’t going to be happy about this in the slightest,” she says finally. “And because of that, you may have just decreased your chances of success by an exponential number.” 

“That’s just a risk I’m willing to take.” 

It’s clear to Olivia that nothing she says is going to change Jarron Barnes’ mind. She sighs unhappily. “You may regret that.” 

Previous Chapter: Twelve | Next Chapter: Fourteen

Tag list: @chrissie2003 @kryptoniteforsale

#tinywoodenrobot fics #black oc #bleach fanfiction #ikemen prince fanfiction #bleach #ikemen prince #ikepri #bleach grimmjow #grimmjow jaegerjaquez x oc #grimmjow jaegerjaquez #silvio ricci #ikepri silvio #olivia dubois #ikepri silvio x oc #silvio ricci x oc

[just-late-roman-republic-things]

Review: Cleopatra, Daughter of the Nile by Kristiana Gregory.

I won't claim that this is a good book, but it is one that I, personally, enjoyed.

It's a year in the life of Cleopatra as a preteen, and was aimed at preteen girls who read a lot way back in the 1990s. So this is a very sympathetic, somewhat nerdy Cleo who's just trying to survive while her older sisters jockey for power and her father struggles with alcoholism, all in the shadow of the Romans threatening to annex Egypt for themselves.

I liked the prose, even when I reread it as an adult. I like the worldbuilding and characterization, and a lot of the passages are still very moving to me. The plot is a bit thin, and Cleopatra doesn't exert much influence on the conclusion, but I found the rest of it good enough to forgive. Again, this is aimed at 10-12 year-olds.

There's just one problem with the book. One little paragraph. Teenage Cleopatra shares a romantic kiss with Mark Antony, who's in his 20s. It wasn't unusual for the time period, and nothing further happens, but I'd still expect the narrative to point out how weird this is in some way, and it doesn't.

Yeah...

Now, I don't believe books always need to explicitly state Bad Things Are Bad. I find that patronizing. Baby jlrrt understood that scene was just a cute fantasy for the sort of girl who gets a crush on her math teacher, the kind you never act on, but it's fun to daydream. I think most preteens would understand that, too.

But I also know that if I were a parent, I'd want to know about that scene before letting my kid read this, and I'd want to talk to my kid about it afterward. I'd ask them what they thought of the book, whether they thought the kiss was appropriate, and how they might distinguish safe dating partners from dangerous people. It could be a good opportunity for them to build their media literacy skills, and to learn about healthy relationships.

Some people will say "It's just fiction, fiction has no effect on reality." Others would say a book like this shouldn't exist because it could be a bad influence. Personally, I don't fall into either of those camps.

I think people who worry about kids getting abused should spend more time listening to kids, showing interest in their hobbies, and encouraging their critical thinking skills and boundaries. The most effective way to prevent child abuse isn't to ban depictions of it, but to give kids safe, supportive adults they can reach out to. Adults who treat kids' opinions and boundaries with respect, so the kids can learn to recognize people who don't respect them. And media like Cleopatra: Daughter of the Nile can be a safe way to bring up these topics, so the kids can recognize and avoid dangerous people in real life. Be thoughtful about it, is what I'm saying.

Anyway, that's just what I think about giving this book to kids. If you're mature enough to read this essay, and you want to read the book for yourself, go wild. The one weird passage here is nothing compared to Huckleberry Finn, Lolita, or hell, all the age-imbalanced relationships in Masters of Rome.

#i generally assume that readers are smart and can think critically about what they read #that they aren't blank slates who passively absorb whatever media tells them #but it's also good to encourage critical thinking especially for kids #kristiana gregory #cleopatra daughter of the nile #jlrrt reads #book review #media analysis #media criticism #child abuse mention

[midnight-in-town]

Choujin X ch33.2 be like

Azuma keeps on learning the hard way that he’s not the hero of Tokio’s story anymore

“if I can’t have the power, then at least Tokio should get it”

Bless Ely, this girl is the absolute soul of this story

oh Tokio, my sweet, very sweet, summer child (poor boy can’t take on the heat of the hero trope)

okay so yeah we definitely don’t stan a goddess cult leader who forces her “prophecies” on a whim onto people around her

finally, i have my doubts about how long that trio of theirs can keep on working half decently without Azuma someone eventually leaving but…

i do enjoy them, they’re cute xD

TL;DR

(additional thoughts on the series overall under read more)

So by ch33 or so, we finally understand the premises of this manga. Slow built-up stories usually don’t bother me, but with the rather shallow depiction of worldbuilding so far, the Choujin X series really mostly has the cast holding the spotlight. And by that, I mean the main characters. So I hope it’ll pick up, because I don’t really understand how this series currently gets a full serialization?

Honestly, I really enjoy the rather strained dynamic between Azuma (who lacks self control) and Tokio (who can’t seem to give it his all) and, as a mirror, the more trusting and complementary dynamic between Tokio and Ely. The dynamic between Ely and Azuma revolves more around Tokio than either of them, but it’s slowly developing on its own terms, which creates a nice contrast between them. 

Ely is an absolute ray of sunshine, who seems more sure of her goals only because she lives with the bad example of her mother as a constant reminder of who she might become, whereas Tokio was sheltered so far by his sister and Azuma and has trouble deciding on how he should live his life. Azuma’s more in a blind corner, because he can’t seem to let go of his knight in shining armor role that he and Tokio bestowed upon him when they were kids: I’d say it’s Expectations™ that would eventually do the most damage on him, but he might still manage to change paths in time. :)

However, the rest of the cast isn’t particularly interesting or well written.

Kagomura’s tragic backstory and Momoma’s obvious kindness are too cliché and don’t cut it for me, though I’d say it’s interesting that Kagomura’s predicament doesn’t put him more at the center of the story. 

Sandek is boring as hell despite supposedly being some kind of mentor and leader figure. 

I enjoy Ichiro’s character, though it’s interesting that he’s not more morally ambiguous considering the emotional strain his choujin powers should put on him. 

As for the villains, the guy in the noh mask is creepy, but for now they’re all nothing more than cultists who believe in the “prophecies” of a mad woman, or mercenaries who get paid for the job. 

Biggest issue with this series and why, in my opinion, it doesn’t get a lot of hype is the lack of worldbuilding. While we now understand the first chapter of the series thanks to the latest released chapter, Choujin themselves and their related powers are still a huge question mark ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. This is most likely because the pace is slow and we have two or three worldbuilding elements which make barely any sense. Specifically, it’s an issue because, without worlbuilding, it’s impossible to replace everything that happens within context. 

If Sensei were to spend a little more thoughts on the worldbuilding, I don’t doubt that this series could become more interesting than it currently is. I don’t know how well it’s received by Japanese readers but, if I’m honest, Ishida-sensei’s previous success with TG is probably the reason why Choujin X has a continued serialization, because I find that on every aspects, aside from the main characters, Choujin X unfortunately doesn’t stand strongly. :/

Soooo, to be continued.

#choujin x #otta ely #kurohara tokio #higashi azuma #so i reread all of it and #on the one hand i'm happy that Ishida sensei takes his time and does what he wants with his series #on the other hand damn sensei please give me context otherwise i can't get bothered to get invested into what's happening #with more worlbuilding this series could skyrocket into something very good #hopefully it'll come soon

[k--havok]

🖊️ for the ask game, for any oc you'd like!

🖊️Body writing? What would they write on their partner(s)? What would they want written on them?

Okay so! This is actually an idea that was floating around for Waking into Divinity! I even wrote a oneshot about it, so I'll go ahead and share that here! It's not writing per se, but demons in Waking into Divinity have special paints they can use on their bodies to amplify or nullify certain feelings and such. There are shapes and specific things they write on themselves in their demonic language, but usually it's related to poetry, sayings, or wishes for good luck.

The oneshot below is a little old in terms of lore, so there are some terms or some worldbuilding that is no longer relevant to the story.

Word count: 6,291 Warnings: Mentions of sex, mentions of violence, old writing Rating: 18+

--

Rylie sighed, smiling to themselves as they scrolled through old pictures on their phone. They leaned back against the couch, lost in their own thoughts. 

“Dinner,” Casrath said as he set a plate down in front of them. “Baked salmon sitting on a bed of asparagus with a glass of chardonnay.”

Rylie glanced up from their phone. “That looks amazing, Casrath. Thank you.”

Casrath grinned at them. “Anything for you, Rylie. I hope my skills have continuously improved for you.”

Rylie flushed. Keeping their phone balanced on one of their knees, they dug into the meal. Their eyes shone as soon as they took a bite of the fish.

“This is amazing. Like… really amazing.” They greedily dug their fork in for another bite. 

Casrath chuckled, his own blush gracing the tops of his ears. “Thank you, Rylie. That means a lot to me.”

As the two ate, Rylie continued to glance at their phone, still smiling, and continuously swiping through pictures. 

“Everything alright? You’re usually not this quiet.”

“Just enjoying the meal. And-- well, looking at some old pictures is all.”

Casrath tilted his head to the side. “Old pictures?”

“Yeah. When me and my parents went to DisneyLand when I was younger. See?” 

Rylie passed over the phone to him. “Um, don’t mind my clear awkwardness and growing pains, okay? I was 16 at the time.” 

“You were precious,” Casrath said, flipping through the pictures as well. In all of them, Rylie wore one of the biggest grins he’d ever seen. A pair of mouse ears sat atop their head in most of them. 

Younger Rylie had the same beautiful jade eyes, the same cute nose, and that same dazzling smile. Their hair may have been much longer, and their clothes a little ill-fitting, but that didn’t matter to Casrath. 

“I loved the Tower of Terror. It was my favorite ride there,” Rylie said. “Everything was amazing, actually. One day I’ll go again.”

Casrath chuckled. “I would take you there, then. If that is what you wish.”

Rylie shook their head, but their grin never fell. “Thank you, Casrath. I honestly miss it… even though I’ve only ever been there once.” 

“I understand all too well, trust me.”

Rylie nodded slowly, finishing their food and their wine. They swirled the last dregs of chardonnay around the bottom of the wine glass. 

“Hey, Casrath? Do you ever miss Hell?”

“Why, of course. You, and Earth, are most welcoming. But Hell is my home.”

A small tinge of red spread across Rylie’s cheeks. They pointedly looked away from Casrath, and swiped through their phone without really seeing the pictures to give their eyes and hands something to do. 

“So-- so I’m guessing… bedding me… isn’t the only reason why you want to take me, right? Or-- or is it?”

Casrath snorted. “That is merely one of many, many reasons, Rylie.” Scooting closer to them, he tapped his knee against theirs. “I would love to show you the lands I’ve conquered, the beauty of my keep, as well as some of the more mystical places. It is not all fire and brimstone, as you put it. There is much beauty there, and is as diverse as Earth, if not moreso.”

“I don’t think I can even imagine all that, but I’d like to try.”

“One day, you won’t have to even imagine,” Casrath murmured. He pressed a tender kiss right above Rylie’s ear. 

A shiver of delight raced down Rylie’s spine, but they tried to ignore it.

“What do you miss most?” Rylie asked instead.

Casrath rubbed his chin between two fingers. He relaxed back on the couch. “That… is a difficult question to answer. I miss many things, none more than another.” He wrapped an arm around Rylie’s waist, pulling them closer to him. 

Rylie could fight against his kisses, but not his touch. Never his touch. They sunk into his warm side, sighing softly. Casrath felt sturdy, strong, and simply comfortable. Although hard muscle covered every inch of his body, when relaxed, he made for the best of pillows. 

“Well, what are some of the things you miss right now? Like… I dunno. On your average Hellish day--” Rylie bit back a small laugh at their own joke, “--what would you be doing after dinner?”

“After dinner? Hm… let me see….” Casrath fell back into his thoughts. He idly rubbed circles with his palm across Rylie’s small love handles. 

“I suppose, after dinnertime, I would see to it that everything is as it should be. No incoming attacks, no major or sudden calls from Court, and I would retire and find whatever entertainment I seek in that moment.”

“What sort of entertainment is that?”

“Sometimes blood sports--”

Casrath paused at Rylie’s horrified look. 

“--I would not be participating, merely watching. It is a common and popular pastime in Hell.”

“Do, uh, demons actually, you know, die?”

“Well… yes. Of course.”

Rylie blinked slowly. “You know, I’m not ready to unpack that right now or process it. I’ll do so later. Uh, what other entertainment is there? That’s, um, not violent?”

“Well, of course there is popping some bottles of wine open and inviting some friends to the keep for a round of drinks. Sometimes I fly across my land, see whatever sights interest me most. Other times, I wish for more…” Casrath paused, and even his hand halted against them. “I suppose carnal pleasures is a fine descriptor.” 

“Ah, sex. Of course.” Rylie rolled their eyes.

“It is not always sex, Rylie. Sometimes I merely like watching--”

“Wait, so you’re a voyeur?” 

“Hm? No, no, you misunderstand me.” Casrath chuckled at that. “Why would I watch what I can have for myself?”

“Some people are into it,” Rylie said with a shrug.

“And that is fine for them, but no. I prefer… watching dancers.” 

Rylie blinked. Then blinked some more. They sat up and away from Casrath, turning in their seat to peer at him. 

“Wait, there are strippers in Hell?” 

“Dancers,” Casrath corrected, “is our term, but yes I suppose so. There are many dances that are performed. Some are separate from myself, and I merely watch. Other times… there is a more active role.” 

Rylie debated with themselves whether or not they wanted to pursue the conversation. Did they really want to know Casrath’s preferences when it comes to inhumanly beautiful demonic dancers?

Unfortunately for Rylie, their curiosity was one hell of a drug. 

“Um, how so?”

“Sometimes I have my concubines dance atop me. Other times, I dance with them. It is… a sensual experience.”

For a full second, Rylie’s brain short-circuited. Concubines. Dancing. On me. With them. Sensual.

Casrath frowned. “Is everything alright? Are-- are you overwhelmed?” Casrath scooted away from Rylie, giving them their distance and personal space back. 

“A-- a little bit,” Rylie admitted softly. “I don’t know whether to focus on the dancing aspect, you joining in, or the fact that you have concubines.” 

“Well, what would you be the most comfortable talking about?” 

“Um, the dancing. Definitely the dancing. Is there, like, poles?”

Casrath chuckled. “No, not exactly. There are many forms of dancing, and all have different requirements. However, no matter the form of dancing, we utilize different paints.”

“Paints? Like on your body?”

“Yes.” Casrath closed his eyes and leaned on his fist. “The paints are usually imbued with magicks. Or, other times, laced with special berries or dyes with… other properties.”

“What sort of properties?”

“Usually the paints enhance pleasure. But other times there are more functional uses, such as giving better stamina, cooling effects, and the like. Some grant enhanced swiftness, and others speed.”

“Sounds like a better use would be for, like, fighting then.”

“They can be used for battle, yes. Our paints--fa’loth is the term--have many, many uses.”

Casrath’s expression--so serene and graceful--pierced Rylie’s chest. Sometimes, they forgot just how far away home was, and how many amenities he was used to having were simply not available. 

Rylie couldn’t quite imagine Hell. They couldn’t imagine the scope of his land, the size of his castle, nor much at all. Everytime they tried, Lord of the Rings inevitably popped into their mind. 

But Rylie was certain Hell was no New Zealand. 

“Yes,” Casrath murmured, more to himself than Rylie. “That is most likely what I would be doing right now.” After stretching his arms out to the ceiling, Casrath climbed to his feet and gathered their empty plates and wine glasses. “But, for now, it is time to do the dishes.”

“Here, let me. Since you cooked,” Rylie said. And before Casrath could object, they took the plates from his hands. “How about you go… and I dunno. You could always go to the club if you want to dance.”

Casrath tilted his head to the side. “Are you certain? I thought you preferred my stay here, rather than out with others.”

Rylie blushed a little at that. “Well, it sounds like you still have some energy left. And you know me, I’m always tired.” Rylie bumped their forehead against his shoulder. Casrath towered so tall above them, that his shoulder was all Rylie could reach with their hands full. 

“If you insist. But I shall not be gone all night long. I shall return before dawn, and before you wake.”

Rylie smiled at Casrath. “That’s no problem. Now, go and get ready.”

Casrath chuckled at their impatience. “Perhaps you are simply wanting some quiet, alone time inside. In either case, I do not mind.”

Rylie smiled at Casrath, but didn’t respond. 

It was true that sometimes, they did indeed want their quiet time alone. But tonight?

Tonight, Rylie had a plan tumble its way through their thoughts. 

As soon as the dishes were washed, Casrath gone, and Beepers settled in for the night, Rylie curled on top of their bed with their laptop. 

They didn’t mention it to, well, anyone really, but they had taken pole dancing classes before. Only a handful, before the cost outweighed their food budget. Their curiosity had taken hold of them during that time, and since their parents had already moved by then and weren’t watching their every move, Rylie thought it would be a fun activity they could try.

Fun was the best descriptor for their time pole dancing. The second was exhausting. The last, expensive. But all of it was totally worth it. 

They didn’t have a pole in their apartment to dance on. And besides the basics, they didn’t know too much. But with the slight knowledge of exotic dancing as a backbone, Rylie figured it wouldn’t be too hard to google around for some tips on lap dancing. 

Rylie didn’t bother to pretend it was the wine causing them to think in such a way. Living for so long with someone so incredibly handsome, who had the best kisses and touches, and who always knew what to say to make their knees weak left Rylie reeling. 

Their stomach twisted with a mess of butterflies and nerves as Rylie fought to keep their focus on the task at hand. They didn’t have long, but they wanted to do this impromptu… dance routine right the first time. 

Getting up from their laptop, Rylie dug through their dresser before finding, stashed at the very bottom, a set of Victoria's Secret lingerie with tags still attached. With it in hand, they meandered into their bathroom. They didn’t keep much makeup on hand--they barely had a use for the stuff. However, after digging through one of the many messy bathroom drawers, Rylie dug out an old set of Halloween makeup hidden beneath cotton swabs they did indeed use inside their ears along with the extra free toothbrushes as given by their dentist.

Rylie barely glanced at the date as they tore into the red, orange, green, and black body paints and glitter. Glitter held no interest for them, but they greedily grabbed the red, orange, and black.

Rylie avoided looking at themselves in the mirror as they undressed. They couldn’t afford losing their courage and confidence now. Not after tasting phantom kisses on their lips and with heat already pooling in the lowest pit of their stomach. 

Keeping their head down, Rylie cut the tags off the unused lingerie. An impulse buy with the aid of Jess whispering terrible decisions into their ears as well as a sale, Rylie regretted it as soon as they had gotten home with the little lacy number. Black on black, the bra had not just loops of lace and frills, but an underwire with plenty of padding. Unlike their sports or even balconette bras, this one had a deep plunge in the center. The underwear matched, of course, with high-waisted black straps separate from the lacy piece. As the only thong in their closet, Rylie found themselves more than a bit mystified as they slipped it on over their rear. 

A deep sigh worked its way between their lips. They wiggled and squirmed as they fought to get the unrelenting bra over their head without having to undo the strap in the back. 

Rylie hated the “swing it around” method. It always rubbed rough against their skin and nipples. 

Still keeping their head down, Rylie bit their lip. Did they dare look up into the mirror?

They already know what they would see. A fat slob. Unproportionate, with a belly that hung just a little too over the hem of the panties. Their breasts already felt off in the plunge bra as well. It felt like every movement would cause them to pop out in the front. And already, the tops of their breasts were spilling out. 

Rylie sighed through their nose slowly before peering up at themselves. 

Flush with heat and wine, Rylie froze as they stared at themselves. 

Indeed, their hair sat messy atop their head. Their skin remained blotchy. But the underwear didn’t hide in their chub rub or thick thighs. The high bands accented their hips, while simultaneously the black color slimmed their ass and breasts down. 

The bra was ill-fitting, but for once was too tight, not way too big. Victoria’s Secret was always weird in its sizing, Rylie supposed. They turned around, and bit their lip at the sight of their entire exposed butt. 

They had to admit, it did make their ass look good. And although the bra shoved their breasts up an uncomfortable amount that Rylie was not used to, they found that they didn’t… hate the set as they so vehemently thought they would. 

In fact, although the bra was ill-fitting, the thong remained surprisingly comfortable. They already didn’t feel the string, and it reminded them of not wearing any underwear at all, almost. 

Rylie smiled softly at themselves in the mirror. “Who knew,” they murmured to themselves. 

Grabbing the black Halloween makeup first, Rylie tilted their head in thought as they squirted a little of the paint onto the tip of their finger. Not dry, but definitely getting up there in age. Best to use it now then later, they supposed. 

In a way its saving money. Rylie chuckled. 

After debilitating a little too long at themselves in the mirror, Rylie decided to use the black on their eyelids in a mockery of eyeshadow. Afterwards, they grabbed their cheap eyeliner and slapped it on as well. 

The green of their eyes popped against the black background of their eyes and… outfit. They hesitated before adding any more. What else could they do that wouldn’t look too stupid and costume-y?

They stood alone in the bathroom for several minutes on end, going back and forth as to what to do. A quick Google search also brought nothing useful to the table, either. Rylie couldn’t quite understand what Casrath wanted and would look for. 

Furthermore, they didn’t want to assume. It was his culture, not theirs, after all. 

After a short and quick two-step pace in the bathroom, Rylie gathered up the costume makeup and instead left to the living room to put them on the coffee table. 

Digging out a packet of tea lights Casrath bought just in case the power went out again, Rylie set them up around the apartment. Checking the clock, Rylie waited another ten minutes before lighting all of them.

Several sat on the bar guarding the kitchen, four boxed in the line of costume makeup they left on the table for Casrath to use as he wished on them, and several more on the windowsill and next to the TV. After flicking the lights off, a hazy glow rose from the little candles, bathing the room in small and smokey clouds of light yellow. The flames flickered and danced, casting soft and playful shadows against the walls and furniture. 

Rylie bit their lip as their heart thudded in their chest. It had taken them nearly three hours. It was almost time. 

Their hands shook as they sat on the couch, curling one leg under another and leaning back. Rylie couldn’t quite fight the urge to bounce their leg. Biting their lower lip, a sudden small wave of nausea grew as the minutes stretched on. 

Perhaps they had too much wine to drink. Way too much. Or perhaps it was somehow laced with something. Casrath would never do something so devious. Or would he?

No, Rylie shook themselves, he would never. 

A tide of gooseflesh rose across their arms. They shivered. The candles brought barely any heat, and Rylie never liked sitting in practically no clothes at all. No insulation meant no heat. 

As a child, Rylie never thought through their decisions. They would always act before thinking, and would sometimes act through several steps of a process before realizing how wrong they were. Such as in science class, when they measured their baking soda and vinegar wrong to the point where the mixture bubbled over and across their table. Or, even worse, when they thought Maxwell Grant liked them since he kept pulling on their ponytail. Just the idea of a boy liking them, at that time, caused them to have a crush. 

The fallout of their confession of that elementary school crush still sometimes popped up in their nightmares. 

Now, Rylie found themselves sitting on a precipice. If they didn’t stop now, didn’t blow out all the candles, run into their room, change, and clean up quickly, the point of no return would come and go without them. And they would fall. 

Muscles tensed, Rylie sat up. All too soon, however, that familiar creak of the front door echoed through their apartment. 

Panic surged through them. Gripping the edge of the couch, Rylie’s eyes darted around. Grabbing a blanket off the end of the couch, they flung it around themselves, blocking the sight of their body as Casrath poked into the apartment. 

He blinked slowly, looking around at the candles before his eyes settled on Rylie. A soft smile tugged at his lips. 

“What’s all this?” he asked. 

Tongue-tied and still vibrating with anxiety, Rylie shrugged, unable to form words. They tugged the blanket tighter around themselves. 

Casrath moved smoothly over to their side, gliding across the carpet. He took off his leather jacket and hung it next to theirs on the wall. 

Rylie couldn’t stop their eyes from drifting to how his plain orange tee-shirt hugged his biceps all too tightly. Their body, already heated, flushed further. The fact that he wore his jeans way too low on his sculpted hips also didn’t help. As Casrath sat besides them, Rylie caught the whiff of alcohol on his breath.

But no musk. No sweat. No stench of sex clung to his body like a second skin. No lipstick stains covered swollen lips. Besides a soft blush and his easy smile, nothing else seemed out of place. 

Casrath eyed them and the costume makeup on the table. He shifted closer to Rylie, wrapping an arm around them. 

“Your eyes are mesmerizing in this light,” he whispered to them, his voice dark and husky. “And you painted them.” His fingers caressed their cheek, leaving ghostly trails of heat. 

That damned frog remained in Rylie’s throat. They nodded, unable to meet his gaze. 

Casrath hummed to himself. His fingers traveled lower to their neck, and he traced circles all the way down to the soft spot between their throat and their clavicle. 

Rylie tensed as Casrath thumbed the erogenous zone. A shiver danced up their spine. 

His eyes, heavy-lidded and dark with desire, flashed. “May I kiss you?” 

“Yes,” Rylie finally said. Their voice came out cracked from disuse and nerves. 

Casrath leaned in, dusted his lips over theirs, before dipping his head down and kissing at that small spot he just thumbed. 

Shocks of desire raced through Rylie’s body. A small sigh escaped and they tilted their head to the side, allowing Casrath further access to their throat as he bathed them in small kisses. His tongue darted out, swirling against every particular sensitive spot, leaving Rylie wanton. 

Their speechlessness finally broke, Rylie licked their lips with their dry tongue. “Cas?” 

“Hmm?” he murmured against their throat as he nuzzled them. 

“R- Remember our conversation from- from earlier? Today? Before you- Before you left?”

“Of course. I remember all our conversations, Ree.” 

Rylie’s brain short circuited again briefly. Mentally shaking themselves, they continued, “well… I know you miss your home and- and such and- well- you see. You see, I wanted to- wanted to do something nice for you. And you know, I thought. I thought, um--”

Casrath leaned in and silenced them with a long kiss. His tongue darted against their lower lip. 

Rylie moaned, and Casrath swallowed it gleefully. He nipped their tongue as Rylie tried to return the previous gesture. 

They pulled back with a small gasp, their face glowing pink, and peered up at him shyly. 

His voice, deeper than before, resonated with a dark timbre. “Will you be dancing for me, Rylie?”

Rylie nodded, unable to find their words yet again.

Casrath released them, and stood up to push the coffee table away from the couch to allow Rylie plenty of space. As he did so, he picked up the costume makeup. 

“I- I didn’t quite know what- what you wanted so… I know its not the same and the makeup is old but….”

Casrath held out a hand for them. 

Rylie hesitated. If they stood up, the blanket would fall away. They gulped. 

“Do you trust me?” he asked. 

“It’s not a matter of trust.”

Rylie hesitated again. 

“It’s a matter of tempered expectations.”

Casrath sighed through his nose. “What do you think my expectations are?”

Rylie looked away, frowning. “Whatever beautiful men, women, and enbies you had in Hell. Stronger, faster, with more stamina than any human.” Rylie scrunched up their nose. “Probably fitter and more flexible too.” 

Casrath’s hand remained hovering in the air. 

“And yet,” he said, “I have never had the pleasure of my tal’rith dancing for me. Nor the pleasure of a human doing so much to accommodate my needs and understand my culture. 

Rylie shrugged again. “That’s… that’s just the bare minimum, though.” 

“Not to me,” Casrath said. 

Rylie stared at his proffered hand, their heart thumping hard in their chest, and a bead of sweat rolling down the side of their temple. A burst of energy coursed through them, tensing their leg muscles. Far from the type to run, Rylie knew that, in that moment, they could have sprinted with ease. 

Rylie slid their hand into Casrath’s.

No more running. 

Rylie pulled themselves to their feet with Casrath’s assistance. The blanket fell away, revealing every inch of skin. Immediately, Rylie looked down at their bare feet, their entire face glowing in another blush as a second bead of sweat traced down the back of their neck. 

“Rylie.” Casrath’s fingers tilted their chin up. His eyes bore into their own.

They bit their lip, gulping again, shivering and sweating at the same time. 

For once, Casrath struggled to speak. He opened his mouth, then closed it again, then breathed their name a second time. His eyes roamed over their face before dropping to the rest of their body. Rylie tensed, curling their shoulders in on themselves, and crossing their arms over their pelvis. 

Breasts were breasts. But any further…. 

Casrath gathered them in his arms, pulling them close to his body before diving down to press a kiss against their lips. 

This kiss-- oh.

Rylie gasped, parting their lips for him to explore their mouth. They moaned again, pressing their own tongue against him to taste him back. This kiss-- this kiss had heat. It had teeth, as Rylie took the initiative for the first time, and nibbled on Casrath’s lower lip. 

This time, it was Casrath who gasped. And as he pulled away slightly, Rylie pressed onward. A surge of confidence filled them as they pressed their tongue into his mouth. 

Casrath’s mouth ran hotter than their own. The tips of his fangs brushed against them as they tasted alcohol on his breath, the scent of ash, and something woody and natural beneath. Almost like pine, but just off enough to give them pause. Casrath did not proceed in the opening Rylie gave him, but continued to allow them to explore his mouth just as fervently. 

All the while, his hands traveled down their back. He stroked their hips, running his hand from the top of that second black band, down the flesh it pinched outward and accented, and further down to their lower hip and leg. His hands circled back around, and ghosted up the round hill of their ass.

Rylie tensed for a squeeze that didn’t happen. 

Pulling away, Rylie gasped as the need of air overcame their own desires. They panted, staring up at Casrath with wide and wild eyes. 

The strange and sudden confidence didn’t diminish. It still worked its way through them, touching every nerve. For once, Rylie didn’t allow their brain to run freely ahead of them. They acted before thinking, grabbing Casrath’s hands and spinning the two of them around as to switch their positions. 

Casrath fell back against the couch, sinking into it. He spread his legs out and stared up at Rylie. They recognized that look of lust and hunger, with his lip partially curled, exposing a bit of his fangs. 

Perhaps the wine from earlier had been a good idea, Rylie mused for just half a second before realizing, with one last thought, that they had almost forgotten the music. 

“Casrath,” Rylie murmured, and the voice which came from their mouth was unrecognizable to them; dark, heavy with want, and smooth. “Would you mind putting some music of your choice on? Something… slow.” They tossed their phone to him. 

Casrath easily caught the phone mid-air. After a bit of fiddling, a low, sultry tune slunk its way out of the tiny speakers. Piano-based, but with a hint of string and a saxophone. He set the phone down to the side. 

“Perfect,” Rylie said, and they proceeded to shut the rest of their thoughts out. 

They placed their hands on Casrath’s knees, and slid their body between them. Shifting their weight from foot-to-foot, they shook their hips back and forth. 

A long sigh escaped from Casrath’s nose as Rylie used their fingers to walk their hands up his legs, bobbing their head and shaking their hips in-time to the slow, waltzing music. Before their hands reached his crotch, they let go, standing back up to instead drag their own fingers down the side of their face, and then further down the side of their breast. 

Rylie allowed their eyes to fall shut and submitted themselves to the will of the music. They continued to dance, following altered steps of their previous pole-dancing class. The steps remained small as they danced closer and closer to Casrath, trailing their own hands down their body, across their face, chest, and hips. 

As they opened their eyes, Rylie reminded themselves that they were not the flexible type before trying to fling their leg over his shoulder. Instead, they slid their leg against the outside of Casrath’s, leaning forwards, and planting their knee next to his hip. 

Rylie sighed softly against Casrath’s lips, which now were only a few inches away. 

Casrath fidgeted. His eyes continued to roam over their entire body. His chest rose and fell in his own hard pants as he sat, tensed as a bow string. 

Rylie shot him a cheeky grin. 

That broke Casrath. He lunged forward, hooking his fingers around their hips, and dragging them onto his lap and into another dizzying kiss. A growl mingled with a purr rumbled in his chest, nearly drowning out the music. He ravaged Rylie’s lips, but rather than submitting, Rylie’s own deluge of an attack met him. 

They bit back harder, rubbed their tongue just as hard against his, and kissed his lips just as swollen as theirs. Rylie locked their fingers behind his neck, leveraging themselves to better position themselves on his lap. 

Casrath shifted beneath them as well, pulling them ever closer into his chest. Rylie’s knees sat outside Casrath’s upper thighs and their clothed crotch sat right above his own. 

With their heart still beating hard in their throat, Rylie pulled away from Casrath to gasp for air. Their hands and body no longer shook with unwarranted shivers. 

Casrath’s purr remained, and he rubbed circles into their hips with his warm palms. The touch was neither soft nor too rough. 

They sat back, peering down at Casrath with their head cocked to the side, barely a thought sparking in their mind. 

Casrath stared up at them with ever darker eyes. That demonic orange flame within raged, but for now, remained contained. 

The music, that soft piano, teasing string, and playful sax, still swirled around the both of them. 

Rylie smirked. Catching the beat of the music, they shifted their weight back and forth, a slow start to build to a full gyration. 

Casrath released a long, low moan at Rylie’s machinations. As Rylie rocked their hips back and forth along Casrath’s crotch, they trailed their fingers across his clothed chest, tracing nonsense shapes into the fabric. They watched, enraptured, as his eyes fluttered close and his lips parted yet again as another moan escaped from him. 

Heat pooled in their lower belly, and Rylie felt something unfamiliar, but all too knowable, shift beneath them as he hardened. It brought yet another smirk to Rylie’s lips, but this one a little more uncertain. 

When Casrath’s eyes flashed open, Rylie braced themself to be flipped around, for those lips to crash into theirs and for him to seize and conquer them. But instead, Casrath leaned in, and traced his nose against their own. His hands left their hips as he picked up the fallen costume makeup from the couch, and popped the lid open.

“May... I- I paint you?” Casrath breathed against their lips. His words bled into his heavy pants. 

Rylie merely nodded. 

Casrath squirted orange paint onto his fingers. He rubbed his fingers together, smoothing and thinning out the paint, before reaching up to brush his fingers along Rylie’s neck. 

Rylie shivered as the cold paint met their heated flesh. 

Rylie couldn’t see what Casrath was doing, but they could feel his fingers as he painted long, jagged lines down either side of their throat. He curled those lines toward their clavicles, before lifting his fingers, and then painting an unrecognizable, geometrical symbol. 

Casrath continued his own machinations, trailing his fingers to continue similar symbols on Rylie’s shoulders and down their arms. Rylie glanced down, watching as Casrath curled the paint around their biceps before drawing the same symbol on the back of their hands. 

The symbol was a simple one; a polygon with 6 sides, and yet in a shape similar to that of a Valentine heart. A dot between the sqggggggggggggguncertainty hitting them like a freight train. Up to this point, without a mirror, Rylie easily ignored the presence of their stomach. They didn’t have to look and see how it hung over the hem of their panties. Nor did they have to pay attention to how it already pressed forward and into Casrath’s own muscular front before even their breasts did. 

Not that they wanted that. A flatter stomach by itself would have been fine. 

Slowly, Rylie squeezed their eyes and shook their head back and forth. No. Not right now. Not when they had been on top for so long--

“Okay,” Casrath murmured, and his lips ghosted against Rylie’s once more in a tender kiss. The cold touch of his painted fingers brushed along their hips and thighs. “Is this better then?”

Rylie nodded. They leaned their forehead against Casrath’s. Carefully, with Casrath guiding their hips as he painted them, Rylie started to gyrate their hips once more. 

It was hard not to brush against his erection. Contained by thick denim against the side of his leg, everytime Rylie found themselves accidentally brushing their wet panties against it, Casrath shuddered. Using his shoulders as leverage, Rylie once again caught the wave of the looping music, and dove back into their wicked dance. 

Rylie played with Casrath’s hair as he decorated their body further with the red costume makeup. This time, he added details to the orange markings, crossing over the previous orange lines in twisted and detailed filigree. Casrath traced a line of red following their temples down to their jaw, curving beneath and connecting it to the orange alongside the sides of their neck. 

His heavy breathing continued to billow against their face with every shared touch. 

And as Rylie found themself lost within the sensation of his hands and the music, a soft moan slipped past their lips as they continuously ground against Casrath’s need. 

Then, he started to grind back. He snapped his hips upwards, rubbing himself back against them. 

God. 

Heat pooled in their own core, winding it tighter and tighter. 

And as Casrath reached around to grab a massive handful of their ass, squeezing hard and pushing them down against him harder, Rylie found themselves whimpering softly at their own need. 

Their eyes flashed open. They were not the fittest, and as such, already their hips and knees were beginning to hurt with the effort of keeping themselves upward. 

Casrath didn’t close his eyes, nor did they leave Rylie’s form. He raked his sight up and down their body as he continued to squeeze and fondle their ass, pressing them further down into him. He leaned in, but rather than kiss their lips, he instead nipped their clavicle before moving downwards to press the flat of his tongue against the tops of their breasts. 

He dragged his tongue in a long, sizzling lick across the top of their chest. He pressed another kiss between their breasts, right where their cleavage began. 

Rylie threw their head back as Casrath dragged another moan out of them. 

“We- we need to stop. I- I mean. I don’t want to but--” Rylie panted. 

A growl rumbled in Casrath’s chest, but with a long sigh, he pulled back. His eyes remained dark, his eyebrows drawn in, and his mouth parted in heavy breaths. 

“Yes. Yes, I-- if we do not….”

Casrath wrapped his arms around Rylie. He shifted their weight, tucking them into his chest. He buried his face into the top of their head, breathing deeply. 

“...If we do not, I will not be able to stop myself any longer from taking you right here,” Casrath murmured. 

Rylie flushed, but they nodded. “Oh.” They bit back their words, their begs for Casrath to give in for once. For him to flip them around, pull off his pants, and for him to fuck them right into the couch. 

No, Rylie told themself. We can’t. Not yet. It’s not time yet. 

“You-- you are a devious one, Rylie Hill,” Casrath said with a small chuckle underlining his words. He easily picked Rylie up off his lap to instead tuck them into his side rather than on his noticeable erection. 

“Only sometimes,” Rylie said. The smirk didn’t drop from their lips. “I- I don’t know if I did anything right. I’ve never really given anyone a, uh, lapdance before. But- but I wanted to do something nice for you. I don’t know.” They looked away as their senses came trickling back, and with it, embarrassment. “Sorry if I was heavy.”

“Rylie….” Casrath leaned his cheek on the top of their head. Picking the blanket up off the ground, he draped it over the both of them before turning the music off and hugging Rylie close. 

“You were wonderful. I do not have words in this language to explain how much what you did means to me. Nor do I have words to express just how much I enjoyed you.”

Rylie flushed. “Um, I don’t think you need words….” they glanced down at Casrath’s now covered lap. 

Casrath chuckled. “Indeed. But no, you are not heavy to me at all, Rylie. I am much stronger than I look.” He nuzzled the top of their head. “I- I know you will want to wash up soon, but- but do you mind staying here, with me, for a little longer?”

Rylie smiled softly. “Oh, Cas….” They turned, and pressed the smallest of kisses against his lips. “I don’t want to leave yet either. I can wash up in a little bit.”

Casrath’s purr grew louder. He picked Rylie up to put them back in his lap, but this time he held them almost bridal-style -- settling their head against his shoulder. 

“Perfect.”

#writeblr #writeblr community #my writing #lanx writes #am writing #writers on tumblr #wid #waking into divinity #casrath #rylie #old writing

[lilyeon]

ive been on a light novel kick recently

lemme summarize some thoughts on them:

7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! 1-4: i thought it would be a standard "hypercompetent female lead in medieval europe" story and it was for the most part, in terms of convenient contrivances to make whatever whimsical actions that Rishe takes, but i appreciated the set dressing, at least. Rishe is funny and the repeated time loops makes for an entertaining premise.

The 100th Time's The Charm: She Was Executed 99 Times, So How Did She Unlock "Super Love" Mode?!: god this sucked. this honestly felt like reading a novel published by an 8 year old. so fuckin juvenile

A Lily Blooms in Another World: sometimes all you need is some simply girls who love each other.

The Apothecary Witch Turned Divorce Agent: interesting world with just enough worldbuilding, i liked that it didn't get explicitly romantic at the end, and I really enjoyed Carla's brazen attitude. Either she fit really well into the world around her, or the world was written to support her character, but either way, she felt like a complete product of her world and upbringing in a way that was really refreshing.

Did I Seriously Just Get Reincarnated as my Gag Character?! 1-2: there sure was a whole lot of talk about how much her character absolutely sucked despite being the most powerful being to the point of absurdity. i know the point is the contrast between game mechanics and expectation vs how she would be as a function of the world, but man that point was harped on a lot. as a protagonist, gotta say, trans as hell, that won a lot of points with me. "oh i'm suddenly my off-main RP character now? guess i'm a girl now, full-on. hell yeah" now that's the true trans rep we need

The Drab Princess, the Black Cat, and the Satisfying Break-up 1-2: it was alright, i feel like i would've been more invested if everyone wasn't secretly in love with her though i suppose it is an interesting subversion of the usual "plain boring princess" trope that everyone is actually super on-board for her to become queen. she's a deeply tragic heroine, honestly, and i don't think that's the intention at all.

Saint? No! I'm Just a Passing Beast Tamer 1: if this was a oneshot i'd be chill with it but the fact that it carries on somehow makes me feel so tired.

Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss But I'm Not the Demon Lord: i read the manga first and this was just more of the same. it's cute, i like Yumiella as a protagonist for the same reasons i like Carla from Apothecary Witch. i wish we had a bit more on Alicia's whole deal because she could've been interesting at the end there but instead she just made the whole thing boring as fuck. probably my favorite moments in the novel were Yumiella grinding the boss for drops and the Patrick confession scene for two different reasons

The Alchemist Who Survived Now Dreams of a Quiet City Life 1-3: i had access to 6 volumes but i had to stop in the middle of the 3rd one. i was displeased but willing to continue in the first novel when one of Mariela's first actions as a protagonist is to engage with the slavery thing, but willing to put that aside, but then we had several monologues about how much slavery sucks alongside diatribes about how it's Jay's/Sieg's/etc's own fault that they got sold into debt slavery. the chapters in the 2nd and 3rd novels where Jay is there being absolutely fucking miserable and you're expected to nod whenever the book says "Jay didn’t reflect on his own part in this at all, spewing resentment instead." made me fucking incensed. my breaking point was in novel 3 where a minor protagonist just straight fucking rips one of his teeth out after strangling him and replaces it with a Pain Tooth of Make Your Slaves Obey More, and it's immediately followed with that above line. just. jesus fucking christ.

The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash 1-4: hey speaking of slavery, in this one they spent 2 novels telling the main character she should buy a slave, and then she gets there and is like "man this is kinda fucked actually" and doesn't, so good for her, but i read it immediately after Alchemist Who Survived so i was a little pissed at the fact that slavery was also a thing here because please that's not a system that is necessary to your world stop fucking doing it

ROLL OVER AND DIE: I Will Fight for an Ordinary Life with My Love and Cursed Sword 1-4: anyway not to continue talking about slavery but if you're gonna have it, do it like this one did, and make your main protagonist claw her bloody way out of slavery with incredible brutality and swear that she'll kill more slave traders if they lay a hand on her girlfriend. that part was great. shame it gets mega fucking transphobic at the end though, that whole bit about Mother being explicitly textually transgender and then not using the correct pronouns for her, the genitals = sex = gender segments, the gross parts where they discuss how Mother "isn't even a woman, yeah that tripped me up too, how gross is this dude". fuck that. the fight scenes and fucked up body horror parts are great though. and it's got a manga by minakata sunao, which is a shame given [gestures at novel 4]

She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 1-8: honestly i enjoyed it more than i was expecting. mira's cute, this is another one of those trans-as-hell novels where the protag is like "i guess im a girl now! this is great!" but i do find it incredibly unsettling how everyone is commenting on her looks and whatever if she's supposed to be, essentially, a 12 year old girl. deeply gross anime bullshit aside, it's fun. i thought i had more thoughts on this one so i was saving it for later in this list but honestly thats all i got. gross sexualization/infantilization of a young girl, but otherwise just a fun little fantasy jaunt

A Tale of the Secret Saint 1-4: fia's an idiot, i want more of her taking control in battle situations and less waffling about Great Saint abilities and fake-deep "political" """intrigue""". if you say any of these stupid-ass old men are her love interests i will throw a knife at you, and if the book goes in that direction even slightly i will Murder. canopus's devotion in the last novel was borderline for me dropping it. the manic obsession/devotion to fia is supposed to be humorous, i think, but it just comes off as deeply unsettling when the novel reminds you, as it often does, that fia ruud is a 15 year old (reincarnation of an incredibly sheltered woman who died at 18, so honestly even her mental age doesn't add much here). i know this is one of those chill life fantasy novels but i honestly want fia to serve actual consequences for the insane shit she does, not just passing-by mentions of having to do more laps or take training more seriously or being teased by her superiors or whatever. it's fun enough to keep reading though, i guess.

#light novels #im not gonna tag all of these individually #thats too much of a pain in the ass #spoiler warning for any of the novels i mentioned here

[kimetsu-no-yabai]

I love how stylistic Demon Slayer's worldbuilding is. It doesn't bother with pseudoscientific explainations. Every single worldbuilding decision can be boiled down to either "because it looks cool" or "because it further cements the central theme about love".

Why is Kanroji's hair pink and green? Obviously no one's hair will change pigment to match what you eat. Because it makes her look cute and interesting to look at. And that already improves the viewing experience, so it's good.

How the hell do "breathing styles" increase your fighting skills to inhuman levels? Why does it create elements out of thin air? Because it's cool, duh. I'm sure the in-universe scientists will figure out in a century or so, but that's not really Tanjirou's problem, is it. If it works, it works.

How the hell does "inherited memories" work?? Memories aren't genetic. Who cares. It gives us a cool way to learn about Muzan's past without getting it all at once when he's about to killed, the way it's been with every other demon. If there's a demon that doesn't deserve sympathetic backstory presentation, it's Muzan. Also it's a cool extension of the theme of "love never quite dies, even in death". Even love from people you've never met, towards people you never knew, builds you and your world. Just like all the nameless demon slayers who have died, people from previous generations let us live the lives we have. KNY is a story about love so this tracks.

More stories should do this, I think. Do away with tedious worldbuilding and just go with what's cool and what furthers your emotionally resonant themes.

Of course there's some science and logic behind the fancy breathing styles, but clearly they have very different laws of physics and biology from ours. And that's for the in-universe scientists to figure out, not the readers. Can you imagine if they told us the intricate details of swordsmithing practice just because swordsmithing is important in this arc. Yeah, as with how the swords are made, we don't need to know the in-and-outs of the other worldbuilding aspects.

#my post #demon slayer #kimetsu no yaiba #writing #obligatory side eye at honkai 3rd's moon arc. i will never forgive you.

[ghost-town-story]

Hello and welcome to the thing I've been excited to do since July, aka holy fuck CoFaS is 10 years old now

So a few years ago, I went and reread the very first story I ever wrote and it was....... a fuckin time. So when I realized CoFaS was turning a decade this year, I thought it would be fun to do the same thing (reread and comment in a tumblr post as I go), but taking one piece of advice from the last time I did this.

Aka this is gonna be a drinking game lol

The rules are simple: 1. Drink whenever I cringe 2. Drink whenever the nickname "kitten" is used to blatantly pad the word count (because I do remember that is exactly the way I got to 50,006 words that year lol)

So, I've got my emotional support bottle of wine, some snacks, a sleepy kitty, and the old doc pulled up. Les go.

A quick aside, this is the reason why it's an emotional support bottle of wine:

A gift from a while ago from somebody who knows I go by Starlight online :D

Alright, les go

And immediately gonna pour one out for the awful age gap we have here. Blah blah blah, not all age gaps are bad, but considering Aiden starts out 11 and James is 19........ *takes a big fuckin drink*

At least the wine is good lol

Ah yes, establishing from the very first line that CoFaS is peak "Aiden gets hurt/traumatized and I'm having fun doing it"

I'm also counting moments where I just pause and start laughing bc oh god what is this description as cringing lol but yeah Aiden and Sirius had the most awkward relationship to write for the longest time and it really wasn't until pretty recently that I actually started to nail it down and it stopped being so gotdamn awkward

Also right now there's literally no plot. Ok to be fair there's no overarching plot of CoFaS other than "snippets of Aiden's life" but there are arcs usually but. We're three chapter/scenes in and there's not even an arc going right now. It's just. setting up characterization I guess?

Also lmao at my worldbuilding. In my defense I was what, 15 and in the middle of high school shit? learning how to write on the fly? not gonna hold it against tiny me but I'm still gonna smh

Yeah this age gap is not sitting well with me anymore. Not at fuckin all Do I want James and Aiden to be cute together? hell yeah would I rather James be like..... 14 in this scene rather than 20? hell yeah

Look I understand I wanted to show the traumatic event *sparkle sparkle* but I just. That's not how flashback dreams work at all *source: mild amounts of research I've done since then. Also the fact that I doubt he would remember shit with so much clarity from when he was two and passed out for part of it

One credit I will give to past me here though, I still don't know if that's actually how two-year-olds act lmao

Okay so at least part of this is gonna be me reading shit and going "lmao that's not how it works anymore!" scene: Aiden wakes up from a nightmare, wants his dad to comfort him how it would go now: wakes up from nightmare, will absolutely refuse to tell anybody about it except maybe James or Lexi. And only if they heard him wake up Sorry Aid, you have daddy issues now lol (and mommy issues. More of those tbh)

Okay I'm so fucking glad I scrapped that bit of worldbuilding bc why??? would only 1 of the 4 nations have a special name????? that allows others to control them????????

James you are 20 and he's 12 do not darling him

Also lmao at the number of times I describe somebody by their age rather than ya know. their fuckin name

Also we still have not had any arc that lasts more than 2 scenes and we're on page 4. On one hand: yeah fair writing fun offhand scenes is still a thing I do. On the other: I posted this to Figment oh my god. Anybody expecting a coherent story just gets this fuckin. mess What the fuck did I even put for the summary on Figment? I hope it was something that explained "hey this is a gotdamned mess with no overarching plot other than Aiden's life" lol

RIP Figment. You were the real one and I simultaneously mourn your loss and am glad you don't exist anymore cause I don't want people reading my old stuff but I wouldn't have the heart to delete it myself

Anyways I literally just said that and we reached an arc that has at least 3 scenes!

Oh no I spooped my cat cause of my laughing this one caused by the fact that I never fuckin specify how healing works at all. Just that it works enough to cause the maximum amount of whump I guess. That may not be the right word but bruh I am nearly through a glass of wine by now lol

babby Aiden is babby. and mildly a mood lmao

James, you need to stop fuckin flirting with a 12 year old one day I'll stop yelling about this. that'll be when Aiden is actually old/mature enough to be flirted with

“Dad’s not really the comforting type.” THEN WHY THE FUCK DID YOU ASK FOR HIM 3-4 CHAPTERS AGO????

this age gap shenanigans is gonna give me an aneurysm i swear and i don't know if it's better or worse that Sirius is endorsing these shenanigans

Alright kitty has woken up and says it's break time so i'm making this a mandatory "go bury your face in nearby fluff and regain sanity from this nonsense" moment

Alright, had my break for snaccs and arguing about whether or not I'll be sober in 36-48 hours (long story), time to get back into the shenanigans also we're on page 5/77 and i'm about 1/3 through the wine. hence why the questions of sobriety in time for dnd sunday. anyhoot

AND IMMEDIATELY INTO THE WARRIOR CATS SCENE

okay so like. ya i was a warrior cats kid sue me lmao. so this next fucking scene (or maybe the next next there might be a leadup scene) is basically me going "i want the clan leaders meeting!" and having absolutely 0 justification otherwise. so ya. it is entirely for drama and to introduce "hey lookie all these other elementals none of whom we care about except for kinda Flame!" (and now I care a lot about Water too. Rip fuckin Earth lmao)

and another drink for fuckin what the fuck descriptions

yeah okay this bit of dialogue basically hits the nail of why i fucking hate the fuckin special name for Flame thingy. just a la "don't use that name." "it's your middle name deal with it" and like, Sirius is not meant to be seen as an abusive father! neglectful, kinda yeah. absolutely Does Not know how to talk/relate to his kid? abso-fuckin-lutely. full on abusive? no. but that bit of dialogue veers into sketchy/abuse territory and i don't like it

thank you to Lexi for interrupting this round of "James stop fucking flirting with a young teenager when you're 21"

I seriously don't think I actually named Sirius until this point, 7 whole pages in some mild clarification, I write in wall of text style. this current scene is 2 pages long with no proper paragraph breaks so. yeah

Ah yes. another thing that's different now, Fintan's entire characterization lol

you know, I'm just staring at this scene like "this would be a great set up for some plot" but at the same time I know that this is it. It's this fight and then these wolves are never showing up again. guess they got beat up in one fight! cool beans!

Kiddo you're way too alert for somebody who's hovering on the edge of consciousness lmao

For once we have some James characterization that I still like! aka he's a dumbass more concerned with other people's (in this case Will's) health than his own!

Oh god I posted this scene on the NaNo website as a snippet from the story. And I can tell you with 100% certainty that this fuckin scene was inspired by the Kingdom Keepers series (that I haven't read any of since like, 2013 probably lmao)

Oh yeah! this was when Will had selective mutism! but also. Aiden, James is periodically flirting with you and hanging out with you a ton. How do you not know this world's equivalent of sign language by now lol

Look, I still absolutely fuckin love dragons, but I just.... why here?? especially since I'm 90% sure they're never mentioned again??????

Okay, so I may have fallen asleep after only 10 pages, but in my defense I was tired from work/shit sleep schedule, and half a bottle of wine Did Not help lol. Anyways, onto day 2 and the rest of this scene (and arc if I remember correctly)

Lexi is a menace and a treasure and I gotdamned love her lol. I'm making it official she's the saving grace of 2013 CoFaS and we're not gonna talk about what happens to her yet

Oh Will you sweet awkward not-yet-a-sassy-sarcastic-bitch of a child <3

And again. Would much rather James be like, 15/16 in this scene than fuckin 21

I lied. There's one more scene to finish out this arc whoops lol

Again with the fuckin out-of-body experiences to show important plot points. like bitch just change perspectives you're gonna do it later anyways!

Two things I love *sarcasm* about this 1. I did no editing even when posting this to Figment. I coulda gone back and just made this random nameless healer Seren, but nooooooo Did Not think about that until now probably 2. Logically, why the fuck is James in this scene? Boi is getting invited to shenanigans he should not realistically be invited to lol

I like how I can recognize which arc this is from Sirius's first line bad news: I dislike this arc for many reasons now. tldr don't like it cause of compulsory/systematic heteronormativity, forced/arranged marriage of a goddamn 14 year old, more sketch age gaps (tho 5 years is better than the James/Aiden gap of 8), and the fact that I 100% fridged Lexi cause said systematic heteronormativity made her get in the way of my ship.

Anyways Sirius and Aiden interactions are still so awkward and ngl, I'm looking forward to [redacted unless you know of the CoFaS rewrite] bc it'll mean the end of the awkwardness

And James is immediately jealous. It would be kinda cute in an angsty way if he wasn't 22 (to clarify, jealous but trying to hide it cause he ain't gonna fuck up his sister's and best friend's "happiness")

Protective older brother speech? yeah okay questioning Aiden about if he actually loves Lexi? okay back off ma dude (also fun aside: my oldest brother "threatened" both of my exes while I was dating them. Cyrus was terrified of him for basically the rest of the time I knew him. Screw went "lol bet". So while these incidents were still a few years off for 2013 me, yeah I can see what inspired James's speech here lol)

OH MY GOD JAMES THAT'S HOW YOU GET EXECUTED FOR REGICIDE FUCKIN HELL

also lmao at the tiny-me not swearing bits

oh look, a perspective shift! wonder why I didn't use that earlier *deadpan stare*

Okay James is being a solid angsty drama queen this entire scene, which fair angst whatever but I gotta object to one thing and that is I don't really think losing your wings and watching someone you love marry your sister are really comparable here dude

also bud have you even asked Lexi if she loves Aiden or are you just assuming this is a marriage of convenience from all sides? (I sincerely don't know the answer for 2013 CoFaS. The answer for rewrite is yes love all around baybe)

heh, telepathy is just ported over from the OG universe just cuz

This also might've been the origin for Will calling her Lex and James calling her Lexi. Maybe. It's quite possible.

Oh James. You're such an overdramatic pining asshole lol

And that wedding scene is making me honestly contemplate finishing my glass of wine except it's a bit too full but several drinks are in order cause 1. No idea (then and now tbh) how "typical" weddings work 2. more broody jealous James 3. the knowledge of the gotdamn fridging to come 4. oh yeah the middle name shenanigans as well

oh and we immediately skip straight to the fridging! okay! goddamn! no goddamn martial bliss scenes for these two! nope just immediate "yeah Lexi's dying now" god I feel so bad for Lexi in this

Yeah okay maybe it's the fact that I'm a slut for angst but this scene was.... pretty good? like

Aiden let out a sound that was almost a hiccup, and he bit his lower lip hard to prevent any more sound from escaping.

goddamn that's a line I'd still use now tbh is the scene perfect? no Is it the best thing I've read so far of CoFaS? probably

also fun fact this is Alec's first appearance as a character. And it's the reason why in Band AU/basically anywhere else he appears he dyes his hair burgundy, cause that's his hair color in CoFaS. Callbacks yo

James. James now is not the fucking time. have some gotdamn respect for Lexi and stahp

I think this scene is gonna finish off my emotional support wine. We've got James flirting at inappropriate times! We've got awkward af Sirius trying to be a good dad! We've got more James flirting! and being mildly manipulative! fuckin hell!

Ya okay I know I like drama but this shit is hella toxic

Look I have no idea how old Aiden is right now but I'm gonna solidly say he's still too young for you to darling him James especially right after that emotional rollercoaster you put him through

"'If you're jealous,' [James said]" I'm sorry sir who's the jealous one in this relationship cause I'm pretty damn sure it ain't Aiden

Oh my god Aiden is 16. For fuck's sake man

"As James approached his room, which he rarely used now, and Aiden’s, which he was in far too often to be proper," I'm not giving y'all the end of this line but I like it lol

Yeah this is. definitely a sign of how I've changed over the years past-me: doesn't like unhappy endings at all, therefore *magically* gives Aiden his wings back bc it'd be too sad if he didn't have them now-me: BITTERSWEET SYMPHONY BAYBE (aka he has stumps of wings and they never grow back. just enough for tattered feathers and bitter reminders)

and Awkward Sirius makes an immediate reappearance! and like, cool, you're cool with your son being gay, but maybe you should be having an issue with the fact that he's 16 and James is 24 ffs

“[Dumb] names have power.” “I know. You tend to use mine a lot when I’m being unruly.” I! Hate! This! Worldbuilding! Thank Fuck It's Scrapped!!

Wait. Wait wait wait. so whoever gives them the dumb name-- actually fuckit i'm too tipsy again to explain this I'll just quote the snippet

It’s not just the name itself that has power, but who gives it to him. For example, if your mother had been the one to give you your [dumb] name, then you would have been loyal to her, even at the cost of your wings.

THEN WHO DID ACTUALLY GIVE AIDEN HIS NAME???? I'd assume it'd have to be a Person of Flame due to ya know. It being a Flame thing but like. Then who??? Fintan????? some rando????? not Ashton cause he wasn't born yet (at least in redone canon but still they're close enough in age that he would have been unborn or babby af) but. who the fuck gave Aiden his name then?????????????? We don't get a fuckin answer and I'm not sure I ever had one!!!!

so sometimes I have to laugh cause otherwise i'd have to scream "what the fuck" at this and i have neighbors and it's currently 10 pm and I like to have the moral high ground thank you very much (over their dumbass yappy dog who barks at 1 am sometimes) but anyhoot I start laughing and woke up my kitty so while she bullies me I'm implementing another "bury face in the fluff and maybe get a snacc" break

Alright have gotten some snaccs again, bullied nats for a bit (<3), discovered that bubbly pink moscato is sadly Not It and broke out the second, non-emotional-support bottle of rosé. Time to continue Also we're now 22 pages in. we're doin great lol

they're married now and i'm still smh at how fuckin young Aiden is for this relationship. goddamn I like how I aged Aiden up for all of the main tragedies but I made them hit way fuckin harder in the rewrite. (he's 16/17 in original, ~20 if i remember correctly in rewrite) (also 2 vs 8/10? for wings)

Ah yes, an actually reoccurring antagonist: humanity :P

also yeah baby me did not like the thought of her uwu-baby characters actually killing people. p sure I made the faceless waves of enemies in the OG story robots for that purpose, and now James is just knocking people out cause he don't wanna kill how the fuck did he get promoted to head guard at this rate Sirius what the fuck is the state of your guards Do I think irl murder is bad? yes! do I think that characters and stories are a different matter and there's a lotta nuance! also yes! is this shit that may get me "cancelled"? probably!! but fuckin hell rené's arc in the superhero wip is gonna cause that anyways!

meanwhile I'm pretty sure Will just electrocuted like at least a dozen people and I'm fine with that XD "unconscious from electrocution" now I'm not doctor and I don't want to concern my dad by texting him "hey if you get electrocuted is it 100% chance of death or like 50/50 between death and unconsciousness?" and my selo (med student) is probably asleep by now, but I'm gonna go out on a limb and say if they're unconscious, they're probably pretty dang close to death *take everything said just above with a grain of salt. again, i'm not a doctor, i'm tipsy, and i don't feel like googling this shit lol

Okay I distinctly remember this bit was inspired by this series I read called Eon/Eona? specifically the part where the emperor had the necklace of his position sewn to his throat. pretty fuckin metal for it to stick with me better than the title of the books lmao. But yeah. That's where the initial idea of the leaders' "necklaces" came from

James is once again a dumbass about his own health in favor of worrying about others! (this time Aiden)

90% sure this isn't how the medical side of this works

seriously why can't the kid have a sedative or three lol

and some potential gross medical negligence here but hey, who's counting! what doctors are gonna read this shit! (maybe selo, if she read the original while it was up on Figment lol but that was well before she was a med student)

absolutely not the point but something got corrupted somewhere in the what, 4 computer swaps since this was written? and now there's just a random "emoji error" box at the end of this paragraph and I don't know why lol cause I swear I never put emojis of any sort in my official writing (except for stuff that was explicitly characters texting) and definitely not at the end of the paragraph where Aiden's about to go to his father's funeral

ok it wasn't technically medical negligence cause James basically discharged himself against medical advice/medical attempts to keep him in bed lol

I am fairly certain that unless Alec is on a chair right now, that action should be impossible without Aiden leaning/crouching down, except I just say "reach". ffs and Aiden's definitely standing so i really dunno lol

Yeah I just couldn't write formal ceremony stuff for shit lol

There's so much going on that I'm just like. man. what the fuck. so much drama. so much sketchy stuff happening in the name of "i love you"

oh it's mild flashback time to a different POV okay lol

okay so. James. how do you not know about Aiden's fire powers? bc again. known each other for basically Aiden's whole life and also. pretty sure Aiden saved James's life earlier with them (but i don't remember cause i was tipsy when I read that last night and I don't wanna backtrack lol)

okay again. I have no idea how two-year-olds work. but i get the feeling this is...... not quite right?

Whump time!!

ah yes, overprotective James

yeah for the most part that wasn't bad until the last fuckin bit. You know, Sirius may be dead now but I think Fintan decided he was immediately going to step into the role of "awkward father figure" for Aiden smh

whump whump!!

ah yes, the ol' "christianity apparently exists in this universe cause i'm very raised catholic!"

babby Alec!!!! again not sure if I'm writing him right for a two year old but I don't care right now it's babby Alec and Ryder! (oh yeah Ryder is also originally from CoFaS lol)

"I'm Sky. Look I'll show you my dad is Sky." Alec honey you have wings that's proof enough that you're at least part Sky oh now you mention the wings! smh child

okay it's official Alec and Ryder are carrying the story with their cuteness cause I don't have to facepalm every time they flirt (when they're older) cause they're actually close to the same age! no sketch ass age gaps here!!

lmao Ashton's first bit of actual characterization. He's not bad as a character, just... underutilized probably

Alanna-now-Laguna! now the babbiest of babbies now that Alec's eight

but good news I think we're at the age where I can reluctantly be okay with the Aiden/James relationship.

oh yeah! I didn't exactly forget but I definitely got surprised by the revelation that Aiden's mother and the guy who helped cut off his wings were actually married

Okay actually I wanna outline what the fuck is happening a la Ashley (Aiden's mother, gonna be renamed like Ashton), Sirius, nameless guy, and Ashton (at least in the rewrite version, though 2013 was mostly similar) so. Ashley and nameless guy are married for love. partners in crime and all that jazz Sirius has a mild crush on Ashley since basically he's a teenager, but due to unspecified war between the Sky and Flame, obviously does not act on that until his father dies and Sirius goes "hey Fintan. Wanna end this war and do political marriage stuff wink wink" So, (this is specifically rewrite lore), they get married, with the stipulation that their first child will be the heir to the Sky, and their second will be heir to Flame, as at the time Ashley was Fintan's only child and therefore the heir to Flame. Ashley is Not Happy, but since marriage to nameless guy was basically secret shotgun wedding, Fintan doesn't know and she doesn't want to tell him about it. Plus, she's like "nah let's keep going with this war stuff I kinda hate Sky." well due to political shenanigans she gets strongarmed into the political marriage, but she and nameless dude conspire that okay, if she has to do this, then she's gonna take down the Sky Kingdom from the inside, using her child the heir of the Sky (Aiden) She refuses to have a second child, which Fintan catches onto after a while, and either planned or a happy accident, Ashton is born and declared the heir of Flame Ashley then kidnaps Aiden once his wings grow and cuts them off so he'll look a better Flame puppet, things backfire and she gets caught and imprisoned for that, with nameless guy slipping free of justice

and apparently in the 2013 version Ashley and nameless guy planned to kill off Sirius if Aiden was born Flame, and when he was born Sky they cut off his wings basically out of spite so there's that, and also planned to throw Ashley under the bus for cutting off Aiden's wings so nameless guy could keep their evil plans going.

also apparently I used to not be consistent whether I used Sky or Air. Cause Aiden's referred to as a Child of Air here, but in the title it's very specifically Child of Flame and Sky, and I've definitely standardized it to be the Sky by now

Aiden honey it's the simplest fucking code and Fintan practically gave it to you I'm begging you to be smart honey no Fintan has to be explicit before Aiden gets it okay *disappointed sigh in my blorbo*

and again with the knocking people out, not killing them shenanigans lol

whump and trauma time!!

damn that's gotta be not hygienic, an operating table stained with blood that's about 2 decades old

that's called a concussion my dear Aiden <3

yeah okay that's some fuckin racism right there (to be fair, framed as a bad thing, but still. sheesh)

another cat break. she's very pretty and purrsuasive what can i say?

James, honey, I understand what you're going for, but this is a shit way to comfort your very traumatized husband right now

okay and immediate 180 into cute teenage Alec and Ryder shenanigans, okay lol

Alec you wannabe-suave motherfucker lol

Ryder: blushes red Me: but his blood is blue!! And if it's later in this version that I mention James blushing blue or something like that I'm gonna take a drink for this mistake. I know I def fixed that by like, the rewrite lol

Ah yes, Alec is taking after his uncle :P aka please honey, I know you're being romantic, but get a fucking yes outta him first before you start kissing him also I'm 90% sure I've swapped their personalities now lol like CoFaS Alec: wannabe-suave and flirty CoFaS Ryder: awkward, unsure of how to react Band AU Alec: unsure of how to react when cute boy flirts with him Band AU Ryder: friendly and outgoing and willing to flirt with cute boys

Okay he did get a yes this time so baby steps in the right direction!

goddamn nerds lol

Okay this is both a. the origins of the kitten nickname for Aiden and b. the origins of the fox association i sometimes have for Alec

"The cat didn't answer, being a cat" I LOVE THIS SO MUCH

do do do do do WHAT DOES THE FOX SAY? Alec: the fox says fuck off (I have that as a reoccurring joke between Alex and Jason. Cause Jason's a fox shapeshifter in OG/ASTHC canon and they are my 2013-2015 meme children)

Yeah I definitely swapped who's the more uuuuuh... dom is the best word I can think of in this relationship

lmao somehow despite knowing Alec since they were both ~2 Ryder somehow doesn't know that's a nickname

Also, Alec having premonitions of the future is what inspired Lexi in the rewrite to have them as well. Alec inherits a decent amount from his mother: her premonitions, her purple-tipped wings, I can't think of more rn lol

Okay I do like describing Alec as ashen because. He looks more Flame than Sky lol

Aiden no stop that that's shitty parenting!

and Alec has a very valid reaction to Aiden and then Ryder continually using his dumb name! good for you Alec! "I would have never told you if I knew you would abuse it like this!" Ah. see this? this hurts in an "Alec honey you're so fucking right" way

Ryder that's real fuckin shit of you to be like "ok come here I'll comfort you" only to immediately turn around and try and control your boyfriend again. I know you have orders from his dad, but that's still really fuckin shit of you dude luckily Alec has the proper response of slapping Ryder and calling him out on his bullshit

i like how outta all the characters, Ryder is the one who has no restrictions on killing people. At the beginning of this arc he was introduced as training with James to be part of the royal guard, and now like 3/4 scenes later he's just straight up killed at least 2 people on screen. goddamn ma boi

“Knife training 101,” he said, almost irritated. “Stab them, don’t get stabbed yourself, try to aim for the head or heart. Understand?” fuckin lmao

welcome to the trauma boat Alec! your dad will help you get acquainted. probably

hello deus-ex-machina my old friend, you've probably appeared before but this is the most blatant to me

You know, the thought just occurred to me: Sirius with Aiden: kingly duties come before parental duties Aiden: yeah that sounds about right Aiden with Alec: Parental duties come before kingly duties Alec: you have king stuff to do and that obviously takes precedence over me

That line is a goddamn quote and I don't remember from what book potentially a Shadowhunters book??? update I looked it up and the answer is yes and of course it's a malec quote lol i'm still fucking soft for malec despite not having read any shadowhunters books since high school let me live (fun aside: i got selo to read those books and she came to tennis practice and yelled across the court "WHAT THE HELL IS UP WITH ALL THE INCEST" and i just died laughing and told her to wait for whatever the book was (CoG, if I remember correctly is when the incest is revealed to not be incest. not that I cared that was/is my least favorite ship) ANYHOOT)

yeah okay that whole bit is making me laugh harder than it should. curse you wine lol

anyways this was 100% the origin of Willow and Wisp before I coopted them for Nova!

oh my fucking god so the chapter that was origins of Aiden = cat and Alec = fox apparently was added later, potentially near the end of that NaNo. You know how I know that? cause I remember having to edit this scene for continuity and it's still awkward as hell!

poor babby Alec. he's doin his best and also nobody has told him "hey your boyfriend's alive" yet

god Rowan is just. a fuckin cardboard cutout of a character. he has no personality beyond what's necessary in the moment

Aiden this is not the way to deal with your son grieving his boyfriend just fuckin tell him ffs

I do appreciate Aiden just full naming Alec and not dumb naming him when he's like "Alec stop doing the dumb thing you're doing"

more Aiden whump! and cute Alec and Ryder reunion dawww

"Aiden was struggling for something to distract him from the pain, to distract his mind from the fact that his entire forearm was cut open and the skin peeled away for wires." goddamn my dude. you're really having a rough time aren't you lol

Oh my god I just shifted POV in the middle of a scene goddamnit

sir i really doubt you could avoid a gunshot at basically point blank range lol

And at this point, I fucked up bc Alec escaped in the last scene, and then I had him fighting alongside Ryder in this scene until I remembered continuity is a thing and went back to fix it lol

James sir water is not a softer landing than sand, especially from high up lol

oh my god i remember that i was gonna make that a thing throughout all my universes, and then i never did except for maybe the original OG James and Aiden story that got scrapped XD

and another pov shift in the middle of a scene smh

they are both such stubborn bastards omg

yeah of course they've been happy too long we've gotta add the misunderstandings plot in :P

Ah yes some good ol' fashioned sexism :P

yaas bois communicate like the fuckin adults you are

oh those nerds

so we're winding up the "story" which means major time skips now!

oh this is..... not the best way to kill off a character, but hey, i guess i wanted to get one last stab in at Aiden huh?

good lord that was...... something. later chapters were better than earlier ones, though that may have been because the level of tipsiness was higher lmao. but also I just like drama more and the early chapters were a lot more awkward setting up shit while later ones were "hey have actual situations with consequences!" if that makes any sense. If not, that's cool, i'm hella tipsy anyways

anyhoot, kudos to past me for doing that while being in high school + doing theater (pretty sure we were close to if not putting on a show during november) + finding time to binge watch Sword Art Online + all the shenanigans required of being a functional member of the family. I have no idea what I was on during high school but gotdamn would I like a hit or three now lol

So, two nights and 1.5 bottles of wine later, I bid you adieu. have fun, don't die, don't get kidnapped, I'll see y'all with my last couple spotify wrapped prompts soonish and then in February ✌️

#writing #shitposting #specifically: #shitposting. #cofas #ramble ramble

[mdhwrites]

Ruby Gillman Trailer

So... This trailer has theoretically been living in my brain for the past day and I want to talk about it. My first thought was just “This is cute. Looks neat. I’ll keep an eye out for it and maybe see it if I get the opportunity.” Theeeeeen someone made art of the mermaid and kraken kissing and I mean that’s just perfect. There’s even a lot of good potential for shipping there with the person who is defined by their powers and what they are and the person who doesn’t care about any of those things. The attraction from the mermaid to the kraken is immediate and obvious and filling in the gaps could be fun. Which actually brought me to stage two: This trailer is bad... but in a good way? It fails in just making an audience interested as it also defeats the purpose to watching it for people who mostly care about the big plot points rather than the journey. After all, we know her powers, see her first accidental transformation into full kraken mode, see the villain’s super mode reveal, get it confirmed that it ends with a kaiju fight, see how superfluous the love interest will be, etc. like that. When people talk about trailers showing the whole movie, this could actually be used as a textbook example of it... With one exception: How it does it also easily facilitates fandom interaction. The main designs are shown fairly clearly, with their variants being shown as well so artists don’t have to fill in the gaps left out by lack of references, the plot of the movie is clear so you can take educated guesses on what they’ll do so the movie won’t as easily contradict fanfiction made before it, etc. like that. Hell, you could just try to write a fanfic that’s effectively the movie with those guesses. It’d be like those cheap knock offs of hyped up movies like “Atlantic Rim” that you would find in old video rental places. I... I swear I’m 26 (one month away from my birthday to the day actually which is actually pure coincidence). So... Here’s the multiple levels of thought in full: This idea is neat. I like monster girls and monster girls trying to fit into human society is something I’ve enjoyed enough to write multiple times in multiple ways! The last book I released had a dryad in it even. Oh! Yeah, this antagonist and protagonist actually have great potential for a sapphic romance and we KNOW how much I love those. My first proper length novel, instead of novella, was based on a popular werewolf girl falling for a nerdy human girl after all. You do know so much though that you could try to take the same premise and flip it in time for the movie to come out. Books would have a way easier time with a deadline of ‘this Summer’ than making a movie yourself though. You’d have to be able to pump out a whole book’s worth of chapters in like a week, let alone if you don’t have practice with mermaids. Of course, I am well documented as having experience writing mermaids, and even more hostile ones at that. With all that said... There’s MORE than enough differences between Ruby Gillman and the story percolating in my head right now. There won’t be a race based rivalry, it’ll be focused on a romance rather than shoving it in there because apparently it needs one (that’s really how the trailer makes it feel for Gillman) and just the shift from the two being entirely against each other from go to actually working together and getting closer inherently requires a very different story. As well as the fact that a book can’t get away with the main character being blue and people just theoretically ignoring it (I’m curious what the explanation for that will be) and the fact that a kraken might be hated while a mermaid is loved in the world has already led to worldbuilding that will play into the romance, the climax, themes and character arcs. This also isn’t me trying to say “I’m gonna outdo Dreamworks!” It’s more my silly way of announcing a new project I’m going to try and focus on and try to get done in like two-three months. I know I can more than easily do it if I can get my mind to work with me so... we’ll see but my mind is excited and I think it’s a fun, silly experiment. I am a little sad that it means I likely won’t be writing fanfiction for the movie before it comes out though like I did with Wenclair and Wednesday. Again, I think Ruby and Chelsea already have a good possible dynamic together but my job as a professional writer takes precedence unfortunately.

#ruby gillman teenage kraken #Teenage kraken #Rambles