#i needed to develop them further so i'm glad it's all i can think of now

[goodluckclove]

I've been meaning to say something. (100 follower hot take)

Hey! Thanks for stopping by. I hope you've had a nice day. Why don't you rest with me for a while? I made some chocolate chip cookies - with shortening instead of butter, so they're very soft and very chocolatey. I made way too many and they aren't my wife's favorite, so I could use some help in eating them.

You're probably a writer, right? Or maybe you think about how you could be. Browse the tags here, or on other social media platforms. Maybe you used to write stories as a kid. I bet those were fun. Teachers might've thought they were impressive, or they dissected them line by line until the words didn't make sense in your head anymore. Either way, if you're here you're probably here for a reason.

(rant alert)

I dipped a toe in online writing communities on and off. My last attempt was forty-five minutes scrolling through the writing hashtag on Youtube Shorts (so TikTok, I guess? I don't know). I didn't like it. I really didn't. The thing that sticks out the strongest in my mind is one particular video where a woman claims that every story needs a second act plot twist.

Huh? Every story? All of them? Why? Since when? Who are you? What qualifications do you have to make a statement like that?

That's the common thread that makes a lot of writing spaces very uncomfortable for me. Successful writers are really only successful in their genre and for the given moment, so they don't have that much objective authority in the craft. And yet I see a lot of people deciding the things that you can't do in writing. Or the things you have to do, and how you have to do them. It was so much of Writeblr at first glance that I almost dipped out once again. I didn't, though, and I'm glad I didn't because now I get to watch some of the next great storytellers from across the world grow and examine and forge their way forward.

No one can teach you how to write. No, that's not true. Teachers teach literacy. Handwriting. Typing maybe - do schools still teach typing? Let me try saying it in a different way - no one, not one single person on this goddamned planet, has the right to tell you how to make a story.

I was supposed to get my MFA in creative writing before my first breakdown. My uncle stayed in the program I was meant to be in, and a few years after I dropped out he graduated. Recently I had the thought to look up his thesis novella, and as I searched I found myself regretting my decision to leave school. If I stayed and got to develop my writing in an actual class, with other writers and a knowledgeable professor, how much further along would I be than where I am right now?

It was bad. His novella was terrible. It was so bad I had a small existential crisis for, like, three days. He spent so much money on years and years of professional education and came out with a truly soulless story that read as if you prompted an AI to write the next Great American Novel. So if you think you need a writing degree to be a legitimate author, it could help connections-wise, but it ultimately won't be the thing that does the work for you.

Not all advice I see online on writing is bad. I find the people who are able to capture the "I" statements of therapy and phrase advice as things that have worked for them, or things that they personally enjoy, to be fine. Some writing advice can spark inspiration.

But if someone is the type of person to boil every story down to troupes and cliches, and then immediately say that every story that uses the trait they don't like is automatically bad for everyone? I'm dropping the kindness for a second - that's trash. That's a trash take and I see far too many writers use it as a reason to stop before they begin.

I don't like whump. I say my reasons in previous posts if you go back through my blog. But you will never hear me say that any story with whump in it is bad, because I don't know that. You might prove me wrong. I am an adult human being and I have the humility to admit that I can like something I didn't expect to. I genuinely enjoy the direction of The Human Centipede (only the first one) and if you cringed just now that probably means you haven't seen it.

There are so many types of books and movies and plays and comics out there. To enjoy a specific genre is fine, to ignore the existence of everything else is a really, really, really odd thing to do. Maybe someone will hate your story because they think everything should be Neil Gaiman, and therefore have no way to understand your epistolary high-Western. You are not the wrong end of that situation just for existing.

And at there is a definite threshold on how many writing tips you can gather before they stop being useful. If you find them interesting, that's one thing. That's fine. But if the culture of creativity online has made you feel like you need to educate yourself on every possible angle before you can write a story, you are actively harming yourself.

Imagine taking the level of structure you put on yourself in that way and putting it on children playing pretend in the backyard. Oh, Susie, don't you know that it's overdone for your Kitsune have dead parents? Xyler, shouldn't you ask someone else before you decide how Spiderman would react to this? It would make no sense and they do not need it. Kids will make a whole world out of nothing and it's the most fucked thing in my heart that at some point they get access to Reddit and dipshits start insisting that's wrong.

They aren't wrong and you aren't either. Your favorite creative influencer can't tell you your story, strangers on the internet can't tell you your story, your teachers and loved ones can't tell you your story. They can influence it, but they can't write it honestly the way you can.

You do that. That's the thing you do.

Man that makes me upset. I can't tell you how to make a story, either. If anyone sends me asks for writing advice the most I'll do is say what I've done before hopping into your DMs and starting a direct conversation. it's so personal to each individual artist, and I'd like to think that the people selling these classes and software and promoting these platforms haven't thought about that before. Otherwise it does feel manipulative. If you have a willingness to practice and imagine and really experiment with the possibilities, you are ready to write your story.

And if it doesn't work? Try again. That's what you do.

Stephen King has written roughly a thousand books and maybe five of them have decent endings. He is unimaginably successful.

I'm rambling now. I think I got that out of my system. I was really worried to say this out of fear of being too weird or somehow reverse-gatekeeping so hard that it circles back into also being a bad thing. I've just spoken to a lot of people who I still think of throughout my day, and I truly ache for them to get past the fear of creation. Because it's worth it. It's worth it and it's fun, even when it's messy and you're tired.

Let it Be just came on. Beatles. I haven't listened to The Beatles in a long time. Feels a little apropos.

I love you, reader. Reader, Writer, Colleague. Take care of yourself. Especially the little you, still sitting there in the backyard of your soul, bathing in the sun with their bare feet in the damp earth.

Consider joining them, maybe.

#writeblr #writing community #writers on tumblr #queer writers #authors of tumblr #on writing #writing #actually writing #writing resources #writing tips #writing help #writing advice #how to write #writing tips and tricks #writers supporting writers

[welldonekhushi]

Okay guys, I'm back and.. I needed a short break after what happened in the MWIII campaign. Words can't express how shocked I was when I reached the end of the campaign and.. it left me in confusion, denial, depression and anger.

I'm putting a "read more" below because, if there are people who still haven't played MWIII, I'll keep ya guys safe.

Our theories before were constantly revolving that who's gonna die and what worse is going to happen.. it first pointed towards the fate of Price or Gaz. But, turns out we were jinxed. JINXED.

The campaign was.. okay but at the same time I felt it was small. Quite rushed. I did have a light of concern over their release date when MWII was currently trending. I was reading others reviews of how they felt about the game and yes, I agree with the same. But I wanna talk about Soap's fate this time..

Soap, who JUST started his journey, like, the one who only appeared in MWII and hoped we would see him more develop in the further games to be just.. killed off? When were they moments away from achieving victory?

So only because it's called MW3 ✌🏻 and you wanted to give us all a nostalgic experience you'll.. give them the original plot treatment? Both Soaps in the Modern Warfare universes.. died under the hands of Vladimir Makarov but in different circumstances.

This is where I got a bit angry at Price because, why didn't you kill Makarov instead of taking him in custody in Verdansk?! That guy is a walking grim reaper, and if Price took that action before, not just Soap but MANY more lives would have been saved. Soap was a man who was ready to take immediate action but always got backed off because of being bound to orders.

The end scene when they took out his ashes.. it broke me. Like, how unexpected this can be? Well, though I know Makarov already gave a warning that he was going to kill him off in the heli scene, but.. it's just not it? Like, honestly, I was hopeful Soap would survive.. it's disappointing for me, as someone who loves him so much, like anything.

So ScarSoap's now an angsty ship? Because let it be for both universes — OG and Reboot, Scarlet's going to be left behind? Welp, I'm more sad now, lol.

Otherwise, the expectations I had for the campaign were somehow, not met to the fullest but let's talk about the good things.

Price killing off Shepherd. YES, THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT. I freaking knew that he was going to die and my prediction called itself right. But, now that Price killed a 4-star General, he's gonna go rogue. You mean, batshit, crazy and unhinged Price on the move?!

Julian Kostov. The man. Bro, like, when he was featured in the reveal trailer, I was just hoping that he'd play the role of Makarov well and guess what? He did! I absolutely loved how he portrayed the man and he looked intimidating and twisted like a true psychopath. Truly, he could compete with the OG!Makarov and it's proven! Hats off to the actor, really <3

Price DOESN'T die. Neither in my beliefs, Farah and Alex. A relief. A pure relief, for real. The trailers showed him passing out but glad he's good in one piece. But, did that happen for the cost of killing Soap? :')

Graves and Shepherd betray each other in the conference, LMFAO! Who knew they were going to turn their backs on each other. Graves really had nothing to do with this, he was just a man following orders.. the problem lies with Shepherd, and always has.

Now, these guys said we're gonna release the "full campaign" on November 10. You mean.. the early access didn't show much of the story? So there's hope? OR NOT? Sigh, I don't want to think about it.. I just don't. I've been delulu, haha

Anyways, these are my thoughts for Modern Warfare III! What do you feel about it, let me know in the comments!

#mw3 spoilers #cod #call of duty #cod mw #call of duty modern warfare #cod mw23 #call of duty modern warfare 2023 #call of duty modern warfare iii #call of duty modern warfare 3

[matan4il]

911 ep 705 first watch reactions

Of course 911 would "punish" the "You are the boss of you!" guy with an alien hand that attacks him, and does what it wants. Pooor Buck and Eddie paying the price for that...

Okay, love the storyline with Hen and Karen possibly eventually adopting an older girl. Too many shows just find easy, unrealistic ways to give their same sex couples kids, and I am really glad that 911 shows the reality of it, and that it is a more complex struggle for many, that it's an act of continuously choosing to be parents. That's actually an amazing, difficult thing, and it should be faithfully depicted and respected, for all of its heartache, and the little moments of triumph.

Buck and Tommy on a date, and Eddie comes along with Marisol? Love how Buck's bisexual awakening and coming out continues to involve Eddie so much. Tell me they're end game, even if they're not gonna get together right now, without telling me they're...

I did not need to learn Marisol is moving in with Eddie like this, with any build up, or even any sort of insight into the relationship, and nope, that does not bode well for them. IDK how 911 managed to do it, but they have somehow managed to give Eddie a love interest the show is even less invested in than Ana.

And the funniest bit, is that Marisol and Eddie's big development is only there to further Buck's journey anyway.

"You can never have too much closet space" LMAO the way 911 both made me laugh, and feel sorry for poor, baby bi Buck. XD

Hmmm. Were parts of this scene cut out? We don't get to see Eddie on his own date with Marisol, but constantly looking over at Tommy and Buck? Boo. I'm glad we at least got the BTS photos, then. But seriously, why!? That was gonna be so delicious.

Oh, Tommy's breaking up with Buck. I mean, good for him, and he ain't wrong after Buck's "after this, we're gonna go out looking for chicks" reaction, but man do I feel sorry for Buck. Him and Tommy might not be my end game (Buddie forever will be), but I do think this relationship could be good for our baby bi. Tommy being in the same profession, knowing what it's like to have this gap between who you are and the image of guys in your line of work, plus he's got more experience than Buck, is sure of himself, can help our boy figure himself out, and also Buck obviously does like his vibe. He deserves to be with someone he actually likes, not just the first woman willing to be with him that the plot pushed in his way.

Oh, baby Buck. :( You didn't even tell Maddie about Tommy. You really aren't ready it. But also (and as a Buddie shipper, more importantly), Tommy broke things off with Buck, but what is eating him up, is that he lied to Eddie. XD Yeah, this gonna end with wedding bells, sooner or later. On screen, off screen after the show ends with canon Buddie, or only in my head if 911 never dares make Buddie canon, I don't care. That kind of emotional devotion is not something that my hopelessly romantic heart can ignore.

OMG, this is how Buck comes out to Maddie? XD Via random pronoun mention, and as a by product of trying to figure out how to tell Eddie the truth? This is hilarious. lol It really makes it clear that, after all, the issue for Buck really isn't people knowing he is also dating guys (or checking their asses), even when it's the other closest person in the world for him, it's Eddie. Specifically. Buck's ready, even if he doesn't have the exact clear words yet, he's just not ready to tell Eddie. Can't imagine why. XDDD

What was that awkward post-sex scene with Eddie and Marisol? And the issues with her moving in are popping up a second after she has. But yeah, we have no idea who this woman is as a person, she's been a cardboard cut out so far, and then one of the first things we do learn about her, is that she would call her stuff better than Eddie's? Once again, this is not the stuff great romance is made of. Or... even just the stuff any kind of romance is made of.

Wait, Marisol was a nun, and Eddie didn't even know!? This whole ep is telegraphing in the news of how weird and awkward and underdeveloped this r/s is, not just for us as viewers who know nothing about Marisol, but apparently for Eddie as well.

And of course his Catholic guilt is gonna kick in now. I'd care, except 911 has given me absolutely no reason to. Seriously, I care more about Buck and Tommy after just 2 eps, than Eddie and Marisol, even though this is technically her 2nd season on the show.

Of course Buck went to find Eddie, and spotted him at the gym. Forever 201 vibes, with Eddie being the focus of Buck's attention. ^u^

I couldn't care less about Eddie's Catholic guilt crisis, and how it's actually a projection of what his real issues are with Marisol, but it's nice to see that as always, Buck's the one who can tell when something's off, and offer Eddie exactly what he needs (even when that's to talk to someone else, but Buck figures out immediately who the right person to address is), and then they just very naturally switch, because Eddie can also tell when something's off with Buck, and he wants to tell him something. Soulmates. THAT is the stuff that great romance IS made of.

:/ The imagery of Catholic nuns has not been around for over 2,000 years, please stop being ignorant about your own religion, and the very different way it looked in its early days.

Bobby is forgiven, he does give good advice, and his "her ex, the Lord" bit, which prompted that reaction from Eddie, is hilarious. XD

So... when Eddie is having issues with Marisol, he already knows he has to figure out how he feels about her, but instead of doing so, he goes to his safe place... Buck's loft.

Man, Eddie being into Tommy's choice of avoidning relationships with women, and hanging out with boys, after in the past, Eddie had dealt with his Shannon issues by running away from her, and re-enlisting in the army, where he gets to hang out with boys, when we all (Buck included) know why Tommy's "hanging out with boys"... I do like that if they want to (and hopefully they do), this further lays the groundwork for Eddie's own queer realization.

Buck and Eddie helping each other with their respective romantic problems, without realizing they are each other's respective romantic solution is gonna make me chew on my own fists. Again. But I'm not even a little bit surprised that Eddie was totally fine and accepting of Buck being bi, or that the first thing he thought of is how this reflects on them. Because their friendship IS way deeper and closer than normal for platonic friends, and Eddie's little reassurance is also an admission of that.

Man, for a second I was worried they also cut out Eddie in the loft, once more putting his thumb on Buck's pulse point possessively, in a perfect parallel to 303. I would have sued for emotional damages. But yeah, it says so much that the peak of emotional meaningfulness for Buck when coming out is in relation to Eddie, and that the scene itself peaks with Eddie, instead of finishing rushing out to take care of his own romantic business, hurries back to Buck first, to hug him, place his hand on Buck and give him orders. "Sure, you're gonna be dating this guy, but I'm still your real husband."

Well, at least Eddie amitted to himself and Marisol that he doesn't actually know her. But... I have never seen two people being both being so happy about not moving in together, and I'm supposed to think this r/s has a chance? Okay. Suuuure.

The scene with Buck going to Tommy to set things straight ready for something was lovely, it was nice seeing him excited, and get to choose, and hear he's wanted. But since the note Tommy and Buck's storyline in this ep should have ended on, is Buck showing Tommy he's ready enough to let others know he's dating a guy by inviting Tommy to come with Buck to Madney's wedding, then why is the very next scene playing the romantic switch again, making us think Buck's car just arrived at the wedding with him and Tommy, only for Buck and Eddie to walk in together? I see what you did there, 911.

Thank you for reading! If you're looking for more, you can find my s7 reactions tag here, and more of my Buddie meta and content in my pinned post. xoxox

#911 spoilers #911 #911 abc #911abc #911 on abc #911onabc #evan buckley #eddie diaz #911 meta #chimney han #maddie buckley #bobby nash #tommy kinard #911reactions #9-1-1 #henren #madney #118 firefam #fire family #hen wilson

[deerspherestudios]

Hello! I'm so glad to see that more and more people are falling in love with this game and that you get so many good comments from fans 🥺And I'm here with two small questions (if anything, you can ignore them, they're not that important hehe)

1. Cheea, I can't imagine how you combine your personal affairs and the development of the game, it introduces me to admiration. And I wanted to ask how do you manage to do this?Like.... Judging by your answers, do you already have a further plot on your hands? It feels like yes and I'm shocked

2.And the second question... Will we see those chickens again (T^T) ? These girls have won my heart, they are so cute! And Mychael holding Rosie in his arms won me over even more

Waaa tysm Natasha!! ;;v;; Your long time support means so much to me <3<3<3!

Dev rambles below the cut:

1 - Honestly I'm not even all that good at managing my time for this project haha. I usually set aside time every Friday to work on the script, and working on the game itself (coding, sfx, artwork) is even more sporadic. But I still love doing it when I can, and I hope I can keep developing it to completion!

As for a plot, I sort of have one? I have some events in mind that I'd like to happen but I still need to connect them that doesn't feel jarring/rushed/sudden. I'm just figuring it out as I go haha.

2 - Plotwise I don't think we'll be seeing them again (for now). Day 2 is just getting to know Mychael and him showing you the ladies are a big part of that <3 But just know they're always around!

#mushroom oasis vn #cheea chatter #bts #i remember seeing your art for the first time and it made me so happy <3!!! #one of the OG fanartists waaa

[gabessquishytum]

I can't tell you how much I loved the Cow!Hob Cat!Dream fic!

I have further thots about that au.

Hob becoming Dream's emotional support cow. Dream was already a pretty good king. It's clear that he tries to do what's best for his kingdom and wants to protect his people. But he's also pretty clearly not comfortable with social situations. Having Hob is helping with that, though. When things get to be too much his precious milk cow suggests that he looks like he needs something to drink and coaxes him off to the side for a little bit of quiet to allow him to have some fresh milk from his teat while he pets Dream's hair and nuzzles him and it just helps ground his new king and gives him a breather so he can get his spoons back together and get back to things.

Also, Hob is very social and likes to meet people so Dream takes him out fairly frequently and that also gives him a chance to see how his kingdom is doing up close. He'd also be lying if he didn't enjoy showing off his lovely dairy cow. He always makes sure that Hob is decked out in beautiful robes that leave his chest bare, and that he's draped in jewels and finery that highlights all of his assets. Dream's kingdom is known for it's fine quality rubies that are mined from the mountains and the king takes great pleasure in making sure that Hob is dripping in them every time foreign dignitaries come to call.

Hob also just likes to be out in the sun. It's relaxing for him and as such Dream has developed a taste for fucking him senseless in lovely fields of flowers. And Hob has never been so well fed and cared for. He is insanely loyal to the King of Cats and is extremely proud to be his pampered pet. It's also feeding pretty hard into his exhibitionism kink and he doesn't think he's ever been as horny and well fucked either.

Yay, I'm so glad you enjoyed cow!Hob. I'm hoping there will be at least one more chapter!

I love the idea of Hob being like a combination of a fidget toy and a really soothing plushie for Dream to squeeze and cuddle when his duties get tiring. Its amazing how rubbing his cheek on Hob’s soft tummy and getting a few mouthfuls of milk will make him feel better. All the courtiers and even foreign ambassadors are so grateful for Hob’s existence, because he can calm Dream down from the most boiling rage! Hob has recieved many gifts from grateful people who are like "thank you for making sure the king didn't scratch my eyes out". Who knew that a docile, ordinary milk cow could have such skills in diplomatic relations?

And Hob being out in the sunshine and enjoying nature!! <3333 he loves rolling in the soft grass (naked) while Dream watches and swoons over how pretty he is. Dream swears he can taste the sunshine in the milk that Hob makes for him. He wants to lay there surrounded by sunflowers, hand feeding a massive punnet of strawberries to his beloved cow. Alas he has duties to attend to. But Hob will be there at the end, ready to snuggle up to Dream and present a leaking teat for him to suckle. Life is so much better with a pretty pet cow to love and dote on <333 and of course Hob always makes sure that his king has time to fuck him at the end of the day. He wouldn't want Dream to miss out on his soft, wet little hole. And the more he's fucked and fed and loved, the more he'll be able to provide for his King! It's a perfect cycle, and Hob can't wait to spend his whole life fulfilling his purpose: making delicious milk for his beloved Dream.

#the sandman #dreamling #nsft #catboys #cw lactation

[whispangleblogger]

I am not somebody that hops onto the "comic discourse" a lot. I usually prefer to talk things through with my friends and share opinions in private.

But since Tangle more or less got ignored so far i take the chance and talk a bit about her appearance in 64

She jumps in as a supportive character towards Whisper and helps her to prevent another breakdown. While yes, there was a scene in Urban Warfare that did the exact same thing, i feel like with issue 64 we finally see how strong of an impact this support actually has on the page. (I talk a bit more about Urban Warfare further down this post.) I don't even dare and call this bait (Edit: Not my words btw. i saw this used in another heated post. I personally never felt baited in any form. If anything, the girls relationship is one big highlight in these comics.) because it simply isn't. Here is a character that cares for her partner and also is uncomfortable with the whole situation to begin with. She has to decide where her priorities lie. Her reaction is to be expected to be focused on a trembling Whisper and all i can say is i'm glad we finally have a good depiction of that.

Tangle has the right to approach Whisper in ways i think no other character is able to, she earned it and it pretty much shows on this page. Softly taking down Whisper's mask and checking on her, the body language in these panels is chefs kiss. She's truly a bouncy girl, but it's good to see her being serious every now and then, i feel like it's a side of her that people usually tend to ignore. (And i really don't know why that is.) Evan Stanley does always an amazing job if it comes to showing Tangle in a different light or how she cares about her friends and loved ones. In regards about the current arc and even the last one, i feel like this post is a good chance to add my personal take to it as well, since it's been on my mind for a good while now. I feel like 64 finally makes a step into the right direction again.

To elaborate a little on that, i wasn't really a big fan of Urban Warfare, simply for the fact that it's pacing is all over the place. There were a lot of things that needed to be covered, to name a few: - new team building - Whisper's trauma - Lanolin introduced as a new character - a LOT of other teams jumping into the scene - the city itself all squeezed into a 5 book arc. One more book compared to a mini series that usually gives full focus to a set of chosen characters.

To make this clear, there are also good things in Urban Warfare as well but thanks to the fact how rushed the whole story felt in it's core it's a bit hard to enjoy the good bits as well...

Misadventures still deals with the same pacing problem and i believe that is where the real issue lies. As a reader/collector of the books and longtime fan of them, all i can say is:

I wish the comics would get their old, well cared, time for details back. Yes, a story like the Metal Virus was a long run but in the end it was a fantastic read. Mini arcs like Trial by Fire (Still one of my favorites), that focus on other things instead of the usual action, are also very important for character development and add a lot of depth to them. Endless Summer is a great example for such addition as well. These books provide insight into character interaction we usually don't see otherwise. Of course i have no idea how much SEGA is involved into everything if it comes to general decisions like how long one arc is supposed to last and when the next one should start.

(The next part is based on my personal taste, this has nothing to do with the general narrative of the books. I just want to share my thoughts about this since i really don't write them down a lot.)

As a little side note, i feel like Lanolin is a great character so far. Her stubborn and rule book like demeanor as a leader is refreshing to say the least. She also seems to be really close to how her creator ABT imagines her to be and i really appreciate that. But i can't help it and feel like her team dynamic with Tangle and Whisper comes of as rather… rocky ? On a combat level of things it works really good but on a friendship level it's somehow lacking atm. There is this boss and coworker relationship going on that feels more like real work. Obviously though she's new and needs more time to get better established. I guess we will see how this plays out in the future. I'm all in for a good or funny team dynamic but i also can't help it and feel like she works better as an addition to Jewel, running the restoration, the navigator typ that sends intel via com instead of a field combatant. Even if she proved she's good at close combat as well during her encounter with Whisper in 64. That being said, i am all open for surprises and more character development on her part. This is really just a "now" opinion and can easily change over time. I like the sheep, i really do.

#IDW Sonic #Whisper the Wolf #Tangle the Lemur #Whispangle #Just some thoughts i wanted to get out of my head #long opinion posts always take forever to write - language barrier demands extra brain juice - cries in german #Thanks to my friends SomethingSonicRelated - Honeydew - DillyWolf and ScurvyPiratehog for looking over this post #providing some additions as well #64 was a good read overall #the Whispangle moment was soft and needed #not adding more details about the issue in general since i still try to keep the theme of the blog as it's focus. #I think the post speaks for itself :> #There are still moments i hold really high and dear to me from the last arc #best example's probably my pinned post heh <3

[this-acuteneurosis]

Can I just say how much I appreciate the fact you don't stray much from the movies?

It's just so refreshing to see a fic that is built on a clear, unbiased and simple canon base. This way, as you demonstrated, a writer not only has the ability to further explore the main themes and ideas introduced in the source material, but they can also go ahead and naturally develop their own by branching out on those fundamentals. They can offer their perspective by using the source material to their advantage, instead of working against it or even worse, trying to include all contradicting canon aspects. Part of writing a fic is kind of like offering your input in a conversation/disagreement. You have to listen carefully to what the other person is saying in order to form your answer...If you're listening to a thousand different people who are all saying a different thing (in this case, The clone wars, legends, novels, comics ect), you won't be able to give an answer that makes sense, much less give a structured and stable opinion.

I love how you were like "I know star wars is entering an era of a shit ton of spin off content with seemingly no end and most star wars fans know shit like who chewie lost his virginity to and what the kessel run is but screw this. The movies and maybe some late night wiki research is enough."

And you were right.

It's so funny, because I feel like I do ultimately stray pretty far from the movies. Not in terms of events I guess, but especially the prequels, I reject some of the underlying assumptions of what is said on screen and just treat it like fallible people strongly asserting opinions that no one calls them on. See: everything I ever assert about the Force/Anakin's "destiny."

I do think it helped me to stick with limited material. And it wasn't even because I saw all of this new SW content coming. I've mentioned this before, but when I started writing Don't Look Back (when it was just Like Fire and I naively believed I was gonna be done in 200k words, lol, rip past me) I hesitated a lot because as far as I was concerned, I wasn't a Star Wars Fan.

I'd watched the OT and PT multiple times. I knew that novels and games and cartoons existed, I knew people had consumed them all. I had been reading some SW fic because @mylongsufferingroommate had been sending me stuff they were enjoying and I was having fun with it. But like, I would never have called myself a Fan. I got goaded into writing this fic by people who knew me too well and really wanted a political thriller. I wouldn't have called them Star Wars Fans either.

Limiting myself to the six movies I had watched was a preemptive defense mechanism against a fan base I wasn't sure would want to accept me. My thin skin is my own problem, but every time I think about writing in a new fandom the same sort of nerves take me: what if my fanon is "wrong" and people are mean?

I guess what I'm trying to say is thank you so much to everyone who gave me a chance and encouraged me and were excited and shared that excitement.

And please, for the love of all the sky and stars DON'T GATEKEEP FANDOMS.

Don't tell people their canon is too big (@blue-sunshine-mauve-morning and @chancecraz have amazing fics that are much more compliant than mine to the broader canon, as a quick example), and definitely don't tell people their canon is too small. Walk away if you aren't enjoying something. Give compliments when you like something that is unique in a fandom you're familiar with. Be patient with people, be kind.

I could easily have given this story up if people hadn't been patient with me. I got comments as early as my first chapter from people who were angry with a single thing that I said and felt the need to tell me I was wrong. I could have left. I could have stopped.

I'm glad I didn't. But I wonder how many other people have.

#writing #people are so kind #fandom #stop gatekeeping #please #canon what canon #me just playing around in my own little sandbox #hoping you all are enjoying the show #anxious someone might steal my toys #or knock over my castle #yes I'm still like this #my thin skin problem

[justallihere]

And now for my absolute falling apart over this wonder that you're  writing and that gives meaning to my life :

!!!!! Alli!!!!! THEY FACE EACHOTHER ON THE BED!

when I read it... I melted

I felt like it was there specially for me 🥹

I was so happy!

And then it lasted 0.5 seconds because violet found out! (Idk if you answered this before: does she go back to sleep with Xaden after she finds out?)

AND boy oh boy how she found out! I am totally on board with the second signet theory. I will be shocked if cannon disagreezzz

I loved how you wrote the conversation about Xaden's second signet. I am surprised at myself for saying it, but it was less angsty than I expected... (Nvm I reread a bit and I was crying for Xaden, but that was my first impression lol, I guess that goes to show what a monster you made of me 😈)

If I were Violet I would be more upset about the second signet than about the venin (but maybe she is and I didn't  read it right?). What I mean to say is that the distance that Violet puts between them feels a bit forced, because she knew there were secrets there from the beginning. I would get it if she made clear it was about Xaden and not about the whole venin thing, but I don't think she did...?

But maybe i'm just among the few that want Xaden to suffer less :))) Or because her heart isn’t in it? She actually wants X closet not further but she wants to prove a point? :))))

What I love the most about how you handeled this AU is how they actually became friends before they ever get to the lovers part. See :going partying! together and walking! in chantara and  shopping! and sparring and planning heists!

I love them!  🥹🥹🥹

I have to go reread everything again now because I feel like I wrote this without doing my homework :)))

I am so NOT prepared for the suffering that is coming. I need it to be over fast so we can get to the fluff faster AAAAAAA!

Again, ALL THE LOVE! 🥰

Hi!

Thank you so much—I loved their cuddling. It’s what they both deserve tbh. Violet does technically get back in bed with Xaden after she wakes up from the dream and realizes about the venin but she doesn’t sleep—there’s a sort of throwaway line about it in the chapter after.

I’m glad you like the second signet theory. With what we’ve been given in canon so far there isn’t anything else that makes sense to me right now.

Okay so I just dug up this ask about Violet’s reaction that I think is a little more articulate about her feelings on the venin/Xaden/all the things but you’re pretty spot on in that she doesn’t really want to push him away but feels like it’s best for her in that moment to have some space between them while she works through all her feelings.

Their tentative friendship is SO important to their relationship development. Those moments that are mostly platonic but are the foundation for something more are the reason the slow burn works lol. They have to trust each other with the everyday things first.

Chapter 34 is the last of the major suffering and then we start in with the comfort finally 🫶🏻

#storm in the quiet

[dropthedemiurge]

Got prompted by @pinkkop but also partially this might end up as the controversial Thai BL post because the range of characters I'd defend with the passion is very wide for me:D

8 BL BOYS I WILL THROW HANDS FOR

Uea (Bed Friend)

This show isn't jokingly called 'A Tale of 1000 Traumas' for no reason, I mean – there is only so much one young adult can go through, and Uea has been through... well, almost everything. Tagging hurt/comfort fics on AO3 will result into red triggers all around. What fascinates me in this character is his resilience, too. He managed to go through everything with the sheer will power and knowing his own worth, what he deserves and what he does not. I am so glad the show made an active choice to send him to therapy and give him a considerate and loving boyfriend! He really needs both.

Sky (Love in the Air)

Again, no surprise that everyone would want to protect Sky. The acting was also chef's kiss in this show, I know I shouldn't be but I absolutely enjoyed seeing Sky getting triggered and sent to the red-lit room in his mind because this was pure cinematography, but irl I would just hug Sky with consent and never let him go. And kick Gun until he never rises up again too. I think Rain should've been given full freedom to avenge for his best friend. But this is also why I'm writing all these skyrain fics – because they are safe space for each other and I want to keep seeing it.

Rain (Love in the Air)

Ehem, like I said– the show has not declared it loudly but he's one of the most ADHD characters in Thai BLs if I ever saw one. He does not deserve to be mocked for his struggles and airheadness. I wish we saw more of him playing into his strengths beside taming a dom, instead of being infantilized by the show sometimes. Don't ask me to dive into full analysis though, I only could watch the PayuRain half of the show once so I'm going off vibes I remember, but I absolutely adore Rain and love reading fics that focus on his ADHD headcanon and how others understand and help him. And also those platonic BDSM tendencies he has with his best friend Sky.

Kawi (Be My Favorite)

For this guy, I would not fight the show or narration because they treated both characters and viewers with care, gentleness, wise teaching and love (Max is a harsh brat but that's his personality). I would actually fight the fandom: from people who hate-watched this show and refused to acknowledge it was amazingly done further than 'i might've liked it but ew screw this actor and novel the show was inspired by amiright don't judge me for liking it jk lol' to some individuals who missed the beautifully developed and portrayed close bond (aspec on at that, I'll stay firm) that spread across >10 years and different timelines and reduced Kawi to immature whiny weirdo who's scared to fuck Pisaeng ten times a day instead of one, idk. This show is a gem with many life-lessons and Kawi has one of the strongest and fascinating character development in Thai BLs that I've seen. Hands are being thrown.

Boston (Only Friends)

The creators of the show said the series didn't have any intentional message, but considering how many long discussions and poured out frustrations we had with some people, Only Friends definitely did Boston wrong. So what if he's a proud slut, should the show punish him for it while praising 'righteous' characters high on their horses? I don't think so. My guy was constantly filmed illegally and threatened by his hookups and friends, he's very hesitant about falling in love but he tried his best with clearly spoken offers, poly views and limits. I also see Boston kinda neurodivergent and/or demiromantic based on many lines he said about himself and his own view of people and relationships in the series. Nick might not be fully compatible with him, and I would throw hands for both of them, but if those two would communicate better, there would be no need for the OOC "twist" at the end. Their story could be beautiful, sad and realistic, instead Boston being kicked down in the street dirt by everyone after opening up about his heart and fears made me angry.

Akk (The Eclipse)

These descriptions just keep getting longer and longer? Oops... I don't think I need to explain the desire to protect Akk – this guy has not stopped crying since a mischievous and passionate newbie managed to break through his 100m thick wall of composure, pokerface and sheer will to survive. And also through all the manipulation Akk faced from the people he looked up to. Akk and everything that he went through managed to rip my heart out, and I'm not kidding. If you're repressed, oppressed and/or struggling with money, desire to make your parents proud and can't help but feel 'disapproved' feelings for someone – meet Akk, he's very relatable. I'd protect him and you too.

Thua (The Eclipse)

*clears throat* I did say this post would get controversial. I can and I will consider 90% of the people who hate Thua as lacking media literacy :D But without getting into useless fandom discussions, Thua is a poor teenager that needs love and support to be able to find himself and his own voice. He's stressed out by a harsh step-father, constantly facing homophobia and mocking in school, has suicidal intentions and the only good friend who opposed homophobic students and teachers, who showed him safe space and helped reach out to his mother, encouraged him to speak out loudly... went behind everyone's back, started dating the main "bully" of the school who threatened every queer for months and decided to support him while silencing students' and Thua's voices. At least that's what Thua experienced from his POV. Would you throw hands? Thua did, and while I may not agree with how he handled the situation, I can't hate him. He finally stood up for himself and his own, tried to change the system, and I'd fight Suppalo school for him too.

Black (Not Me)

There's someone who doesn't need my protection at all! A second before turning into bloody merciless activist-fighter who doesn't shy away from murdering capitalists and cops, I would still want Black not to think he's better off alone. While antagonistic sexually-tense exchange of comas with his ex-best friend can count as one of the most delicious type of romance that happened in subtext not text, he still deserved to seek solace in his ex-girlfriend and (ex? they were so close, why Gram does not care about him at all when he returns? we'll never know) other activist friend's company. Also, fighting with his life to change something in how the country works and hearing 'nah, your twin is better, he knows how to fight with social media so we achieved more with him than with you' from his mentor and Black deciding that he should again ditch everyone he cares about...noo:( I need spin-off about him where he gets everything he really deserves.

#I think I could've picked up 2 more but I can't think of anyone else right now #writing these 8 has already filled me with fire xD #thai series #thai bl #gmmtv #let's say pat and pran are the 2 left and i won't need to explain anything #dropthemeta

[d1zzyrex]

♡A Care Package For The Cardinal♡

• fluffy comfort: y/n helps ground Copia bc mf never heard of taking a break

○°•♡♡♡•°○

It was never that difficult to tell when the Cardnial needed a break, even if you didn't know the man that well.

Look a little closer and you'd see upper clergy members in and out of his office at all hours of the day, ghouls being called every couple hours to refill his ink well, siblings called to bring him his dinner, etc.

But noone seemed to care, save for you and the ghouls.

See, Copia was one of the few clergy members which saw ghouls as equals and had gained their friendship and respect (despite how socially awkward he was). So when it was noticed by them that he was pushing himself harder than usual, they gave you a call. Well, more accurately, the ghoulettes did.

Ever the hopeless romantic, Cumulus adored the idea that The Cardinal had a crush on you, and when he confirmed it to her she nearly squealed with utter glee. You weren't as close with the ghouls as Copia, but you shared Copia's respect for them as equals, even having a sort of friendship with the ghoulettes. So when Cumulus approached you asking for ways to help get the Cardnial to relax you didn't think twice about it, suggesting and taking to developing a care package. You sought out herbs like lavender sprigs, chamomile flowers, and mint in Primo's garden. Even being able to retrieve a canister of jasmine tea from the kitchen ghouls, and, your favorite addition, a small sample-size bottle of lavender bubble bath solution.

Package assembled, Cumulus told you she'd deliver the care package herself but, unbeknownst to you, she had other plans. About 5 minutes before she was meant to meet you and pick it up she sent word that she was dreadfully busy, leaving you with the responsibility of delivering the package.

°•☆☆☆•°

Now standing at The Cardnial's door with the care basket held firm against your hip, you rapped at it three times. You heard a light rustle followed by a thud before the door was swung open worn-down Copia. You couldn't help but feel pity for the man, his eyes were dull and face sullen, he looked like a ghost.

"Si, how can I help you cara?" He muttered, breathlessly. He feigned a polite smile. It was like just talking took every ounce of energy left in him.

On any other occasion, Copia would have been mortified that you were at his door seeing him so worn down, but he was just too tired to panic. The light flush on his face was the only indication that he had realized it was his crush at the door. His eyes flicked down to the basket in your hands and assuming you were delivering him more work, he groaned mentally. He could just barely manage what he was working on now.

"Well," You began with a hopeful smile. "Cumulus and I made you a care package, Cardinal!"

You presented the basket to him with outstretched arms and a wide smile hoping to inspire one of his own.

His eyes went wide and he began to wring out his hands, his social anxiety back in full swing.

You made him a gift?

"Ah, gr- grazie mio cara, that's very kind of you..."

He trailed off, observing it and gingerly picking it up to further examine at his desk. Beginning to pick through it he smiled a bit, he knew the properties of the herbs well and couldn't help but feel a warm buzz in his chest that you had picked them specifically out for him. The tea was an even better find, he smiled giddily as he imagined sharing a pot of it with you. And then he found the last item.

Bubble bath solution.

Oh.

And again his mind wandered.

"Cardinal?" You asked, concerned with his silence. Did he not like baths?

"Ah-ha yes y-yes, thank you I adore this." He turned to face you with a shy smile with hands clasped in front of his heart, a sign of genuine gratitude. For the first time that week, he felt an actual smile grace his face. His face flushed a shade darker seeing your face light up at his praise.

"Of course! I'm glad to help anyway I can, you do so much for us."

You didn't know it but at that moment, Copia wanted to cry. That was the first time that week anyone had acknowledged how hard he was working. So with a bittersweet smile, he invited you to sit down and have tea.

°•☆☆☆•°

It didn't take long for Copia to get the tea ready, no, what took longer was the mental pep talk he had to give himself. He pried his mind from the work on his desk, the guilt of not doing it sat heavy in his gut, and when he finally sat with you at the small couch nestled into the corner of his office he was tense. Stiffly sat beside you, he offered you your cup.

"Thank you." You smiled, graciously.

He nodded back. A lull overtook the two of you

You examined the room around you. It was cluttered, papers stacked upon his desk with open books haphazardly strewn across them in various languages. He seemed to be translating something. The stack of discarded papers with scrawled out ink on them looked to be so.

Throughout all of the preparations and now seeing his state for yourself, one question lingered in your mind.

"Cardinal?"

"Hm?" He hummed, cup to his lips for a sip.

"Why do you push yourself so hard?"

He paused. He placed his cup down and folded his hands in his lap. As much as he wished he could just brush it off and say he was fine, that he was glad to work so hard, he just couldn't. He couldn't lie to you.

And so it all spilled forth.

°•☆☆☆•°

"That's fucked up, they shouldn't force you to shoulder so much!"

Wide heterochromatic eyes met yours.

"Er- I apologize that was inapr-."

He cut you off with a dry chuckle.

"No, your right." He sipped his tea and sighed.

"It's fucked up."

A solemn silence overtook the room, Copia stared down at his feet. You couldn't help but feel guilty, you wanted to help him somehow, in some way that mattered beyond a small 'sorry'.

You took a breath and reached out your hand to touch his shoulder.

Copia flinched, only to promptly melt into your touch as you stretched your hand to massage across the planes of his shoulder blades. His eyes fluttered closed, and he released a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding.

"I'm sorry Cardinal, you let me know how I can help." You whispered.

He looked down at his lap once more, his hands were clenched tight atop his knees and you could hear the squeak of his leather gloves as his grip tightened. His head hung, seemingly in shame, and a slight sniffle could be heard.

Suddenly arms were flung around your waist, the Cardinals head pressed into your torso, you could hear hiccups as something wet began to soak your habit.

You didn't have to think, and within less than a second you were pulling Copia closer to you and rubbing his back, his body stretching to lay across to hold you tighter. The two of you stayed like that; you holding him close, rubbing his back, and applying occasional pressure to ground him while he clung to your habit for dear life.

"Hey? It's okay, you can let it out. Let it all out. You're safe."

He whimpered at your words. It'd been so long since he'd heard such comfort, felt such warmth. He didn't want to let you go and as you began to stroke his hair his heart ached.

"Amore..."

••••••••••••

On some first post shit damn anyways yuh my ghost hyperfixation has been going great how about you?

#ghostbc #cardinal copia #copia #ghost band headcanons #ghost x reader #the band ghost #ghost fanfiction #papa iv #papa emeritus iv #ghost copia #thebandghost #the band ghost fanfiction

[666writingcafe]

Satan's Wish

What were you thinking about around the time the charm took effect?

I try my best to ignore MC's disheveled appearance. After all, they were just with Mammon, and knowing him, he probably wished for them.

There is a part of me that feels like perhaps they got a little too carried away, but that's besides the point.

"I was reading a book of fairy tales," I tell MC. "There was a scene in one of the stories where the villain kneels down at the hero's feet and surrenders."

"Did you picture yourself as the hero?"

"I tend to, yes." For whatever reason, my confession causes a smirk to develop on MC's face.

"You have an evil look on your face," I observe.

"That's because I'm thinking evil thoughts." MC runs out of my room before I can question them further, leaving me incredibly confused. They're clearly planning something. I just don't know what.

Unless...

No. They wouldn't do that.

Would they?

It's hard telling these days.

"I'm back!" they announce in a sing-song voice, drawing me back to reality.

"What did you do?"

"I found your villain." Right. The fairy tale.

"Was it difficult?"

"Not at all, actually. I knew exactly who to ask." I've never seen MC look this mischievous before. It's making me rather nervous.

And then it hits me.

"There's no way," I whisper. "He doesn't kneel. Ever."

"Excuse me? Who doesn't kneel?" Shit shit shit. This can't be happening.

My heart beat nearly drowns out all other sounds as Lucifer enters my room. Shutting the door behind him, he walks over to me with a shit-eating grin and kneels down at my feet.

"Is this good enough for you?" he asks, looking up at me with feigned innocence.

I'm shocked.

How in the world did MC get Lucifer of all people to agree to this?

"To think that this is all it takes to make you happy..." Lucifer pauses. "It's sweet, really. I didn't know you had this side to you."

"He gets it from you," MC chimes in, sneaking behind me and resting their chin on my shoulder.

I'm glad Lucifer closed my door, because if anyone saw what was happening right now, I think I might just shrivel up and die.

"So, what would you like me to do next?" Lucifer asks. "Shall I kiss your hand? Polish your shoes, perhaps?"

"What did you do to him?" My question comes out a bit harsher than I intended, but MC doesn't seem to care, for they merely shrug.

"I don't know what you're talking about," they respond.

"Surely you used your pact on him."

"No."

"Curse him in any way?"

"No."

"Agreed to do something humiliating in exchange?"

"MC did not coerce me to do this," Lucifer answers. "They simply told me your wish."

"That's it?" MC hums affirmatively.

"He's quite lenient, you know. As long as you tell him what you're planning on doing, he'll pretty much let you do whatever you want as long as it's not illegal or disruptive."

This has to be a dream. I glance at the clock on my nightstand.

12:05.

Looking back at Lucifer, I take a couple deep breaths. If the time on my clock drastically changes, then I know that I need to wake myself up from this weird ass dream.

Three.

Two.

One.

12:06.

Fuck.

This is completely real, and now I'm scared.

How much control does MC have over Lucifer to be able to simply ask him to kneel before me willingly with no repercussions?

Furthermore, do they have that level of control over other people?

If they do, then they are truly the most powerful being in the three realms.

#obey me shall we date #obey me mc #obey me satan #obey me lucifer

[frazzledsoul]

I really, really do not understand the argument that Rory would have been "shirking her responsibilities" by spending a summer in NYC with Jess and that somehow it is not abandoning her responsibilities to fuck her married ex twice (the second time after she knows he didn't actually leave his wife), freeze Lorelai out because Lorelai objects to the affair, and spend the summer cavorting around Europe with her grandmother. If Rory had any pressing responsibilities around Stars Hollow, she didn't stay to fulfill them. She got involved in a situation that was far more cruel, destructive, and selfish than running away with Jess would have been, defended her behavior as righteous, and then ran even further away to escape the fallout. Rory is not called out on how terrible and catastrophic her actions actually were, but Jess is forever paying for his sins and viewed as the truly irresponsible one, the destructive force that's going to ruin her life, the truly untrustworthy person whose sins will always, always outweigh Rory's, no matter what kind of damage she causes on her own. Why is he constantly held to task for his irresponsibility and the hurt his actions cause, when Rory is not? There absolutely nothing about her affair with Dean that points to her being responsible, trustworthy, or caring about the effect her actions have on others. Even months later, she still doesn't regret it and ends Dean's marriage by writing him a letter talking about her "special night" that "she isn't sorry happened."

Look, I'm glad she removed herself from the situation and tried to end it and she is not the primary person responsible for what happened. Dean initiated this affair and chose to lie to and mislead both Rory and Lindsey. That doesn't excuse her actions, and her behavior does not at all indicate that she is a more responsible person than Jess or that she's less capable of causing immense damage. Once she had that extramarital affair, she was in no position to lecture anyone else on responsibility or trustworthiness, to say nothing of fairly basic concepts of morality.

Jess made a request and went away once he was asked to. Rory helped destroy someone else's marriage. Their actions are not at all comparable, and he should never be viewed as the more screwed-up person at this juncture in season 4. He would actually never be the more screwed-up person when compared to her ever again.

That said, I'm glad she said no. Jess needed to move on from his high school mistakes and I frankly don't think it's in his best interests to be involved with someone who would do the kind of things that Rory did. If she's that messed-up that she'll cling to this affair in hopes of being affirmed and validated and defend her actions for long afterwards, then Jess does not need to be involved with her until she is able to move on from that and be better. She would have just ended up hurting him again, and probably far worse than she did in season 6. I think the only canon period when I would trust her to be with him and not hurt him would be in season 7 or at some time afterwards, because her stable period with Logan was a time period when she improved and was able to exist in a more mutually nurturing and mature relationship. Even in season 6, when she is responsible and most resembles pre-late S4 Rory, she ends up breaking his heart again while in the midst of trying to hurt Logan, and if she's capable of that kind of vindictiveness (not to mention that she's cheating again) then she's not really someone that he can trust. She should not automatically be assumed as a person who possesses that attribute, especially when she's done so much to hurt him (and others) over the years. That trust isn't automatic after a certain point. It has to be earned.

It would have been nice if Rory had gotten to keep her character development from season 7, but as we see in AYITL she did not. I would support a reunion between them afterwards, but only if Rory settled down, stopped cheating, and had shown she could be someone that could be trusted in a relationship. She should not always be considered the mature, responsible one whose actions should always be deemed as morally superior to Jess's. That Rory mostly ceased to exist after season 4, and her track record ever since has shown that she's the one that needs to prove herself to him.

#i'll probably regret this but.... #i am really sick of jess constantly being called on his sins and rory never being called on hers #his actions in season 4 are nowhere near as bad as hers turned out to be #rory gilmore #jess mariano #jess mariano defense squad #gilmore girls

[magpieinstitute]

Part 39 was absolutely fantastic, a great set-up for a series finale. Arthur is woefully under prepared to go into the Order of the Fallen Star, he's got many things on his mind and it's going to crash and burn and I can't wait to see how exactly that will happen.

Oh Noel... What a fascinating character, what a callback to the early days of the story! Finding out that he's Roland's old partner, and that he's been in the prison pits was a shock and a half! I absolutely love all the implications, the shape of the larger narrative that's emerging, it's so good!

I think it was extremely reckless of Arthur to spill the beans on John so suddenly, but I'm so glad it worked out and John got to have an actual conversation, a human connection with someone other than Arthur. He needed that so badly. To hear Arthur verbally thank John for his input in a conversation was especially great! And then John forgot...

This makes me perfectly sure that something deeper is wrong with John. It's not just pettiness, it's not resistance against Arthur's agency overpowering his own that he misses things or doesn't remember, there is something deeply off. He would not voluntarily forget a special experience like a conversation. Ever. It is deeply concerning and it makes me wonder if it's because he's a fragment and not a full Entity? That the further he drifts from the King, the more tenuous and shaky his grasp on his identity becomes until he can develop an actual self-image and form a new identity, free from the King. He cannot do that while he's so bound to Arthur. Arthur and John are individuals, but they're also one and the same. The one's mistake becomes the other's, they cannot be seen as separate beings. And for John especially, I think this is detrimental.

I think they need more discussions like they had in this episode where they ask each other what they're thinking about, what's on their mind. I think John needs to develop his sense of self so he can stand on his own without the King. And Arthur needs to respect that individuality more. Because John is right, he is a prisoner in there, as much as he's essential to Arthur.

Another thing I wanted to point out is Arthur's story. Meeting Percival again was a nice callback to a seemingly throwaway side point in an earlier episode, but the jury is still out on how important this second meeting will turn out to be. I feel like it's too coincidental, but we'll see where it goes. But the way Arthur told that story, it definitely means a lot to him. It's very introspective, and I think it reflects Arthur's fear that his end goals are going to be meaningless. Whenever John brings up separating them, Arthur glosses over it or dismisses it. I think he's gotten used to a passenger in his mind, and we already know he doesn't cope well with the absence of John. The woman is an interesting figure in that story. Is he hoping that something else will fill the void once he reaches his destination? I can't quite put my finger on the whole meaning yet, but I can't wait to return here in a year or so and cry about the inevitable gut punch it's going to be.

I'm also extremely amused by John asking if he's ever been in a fight (cold, calculating demeanour of someone not to fuck with my ass lol), promptly followed by one of the most violent beatings in a while. John's shock was delicious, but I think Arthur overdid it slightly lol. That aside, it was pretty funny overall.

In general, this was a great, well-paced episode and I am really looking forward to the next one. It's gonna be a doozy, I can feel it.

#malevolent podcast #arthur lester #john doe malevolent #part 39 #episode 39 #warning: rambling thoughts

[a-cloud-for-dreams]

Ok so I've mentioned this a bunch of times on my blog by now but I've been trying to speedrun all of the Choices books and I'm so glad I am because there are some underrated gems out there! I'm almost done with TC&TF Book 1 and that book had a ton of love interests so I was inspired to make a top ten list to organize my thoughts. This post will be under development as I play more books or change my mind lol

Top Ten Books/Series

Bloodbound Series - This book is literally one of the best series PB has ever put out. To be fair, it should be under Blades and TC&TF, I would argue that these three books deserve top place. But it would be harder to combine my Bloodbound explanation with the other two fantasy books so here you go. Contrary to most, I did like the first book, wasn't my favorite, but it was a good intro to the series. I like that the world slowly grew as we learned more about vampires and it felt complete and like it had something to say. Thank @gaiuskamilah for my further obsession with the series lol

Blades of Light and Shadow Book 1/The Crown and the Flame Book 1 - I couldn't choose but they're both AMAZING BOOKS ugh I can't say enough good things about them. The choices actually matter and the plot was so good. Every chapter had a purpose and the conclusion felt so satisfying. The scoring system and skills for both books was super cool, we need more books like them <33

Crimes of Passion Series - Definitely a Top Tier MC!!! I liked the mystery (Book 2's reveal wasn't great but the chaotic Thorne siblings make up for it) and Trystan is the best single LI we've had in a while, their dynamic with Rose was *chef's kiss*

Perfect Match Series - I LOVED this series and our friend group/love interests so much. They all felt like unique people with their own experiences and the plot was so amazingly intense. The finale of Book 1 was UNMATCHED we won't ever live to experience something that iconic ever again smh. It took a while for the plot to kick in, which is why it's lower on the list

The Elementalists - I'm a sucker for elemental magic systems/magic schools, and I love our friend group/family so much. Atlas is the coolest twin, and the whole sun/moon dynamic was fun! Being a powerful Sun-Att boosted my ego astronomically. I wish we got another book to see our mom more though

It Lives in the Woods - I like that the premise was relatively simple, along with the game mechanics. Your actions had real consequences and it was more immersive. The flash-forward in the last chapter was super sweet too and I like that the anthology was interconnected. This series also gave us an amazing friend group and set of LIs so I'm thankful <3

Open Heart Book 1 - Simply iconic, grounded in reality, and actually put together imao. It was one of the peaks of our fandom. This book is super nostalgic for me because I'm interested in the medical field, and it's the whole reason I'm posting Choices content here in the first place

Ride or Die - I adore this book. It felt complete on its own EVEN IF IT DESERVED A SEQUEL *side-eyeing PB* and it's a great coming-of-age story with a realistic teen MC. The ending was bittersweet and you felt changed by the experience playing the book

Nightbound - I liked the vibes and the idea more than the execution if that makes sense? I love the idea of Lamrian and how the MC is half-fae and super powerful, but the book didn't have enough time to showcase the supernatural world compared to Bloodbound, which focused on vampire lore. I can probably make a whole separate post on this but yea

The Royal Romance/The Royal Heir - I think, again, I like the vibes of the series more than the flawed execution, but because it went on for so long I kinda of got attached to the characters (mind you I didn't play or finish any of the books) but it's super fluffy and sweet and iconic for Choices history so here <3 a lot of the books like ROE, TRM, and TC&TF are interconnected so it's part of the foundation for the PB Choices Multiverse :) to be fair, it looks like they did a somewhat decent job writing the conflicts for each book?

I have a feeling when I finish Endless Summer, this list is gonna change...

EDIT: I totally forgot about The Heist: Monaco, but it was amazing! TRR/TH should be bumped down to honorable mention, I'll change it at some point-

Honorable Mentions

A Courtesan of Rome - The book took awhile for me to get through but my MC is legendary and carried the book so it's up here lol. I also liked that it felt like a historically accurate book?

Platinum - Cool commentary on the darker sides of fame and the music >>>

Veil of Secrets - The plot was interesting, one of my fave mystery books they've written! Also the characters >>>

Mother of the Year - Wholesome and felt finished, def one of the best single books. Also the antagonists were properly despicable so...good writing

Wake the Dead - It wasn't perfect, but I love zombie apocalypse stories and the idea of rebuilding our camp was so cool so idc how flawed it is <3

Foreign Affairs - The ending was rushed and the premise should have been rewritten but more on that on a later date. It was still fun for me to play

Desire and Decorum - I finished book 1 and I really liked it! it's basically the Choices version of Bridgerton, not historically accurate but super entertaining. The vibes and the LIs were amazing

Kindred - Pacing issues but still entertaining, I love the witch lore that they had in the book and the focus on building both platonic and romantic relationships so I'm not complaining

Top Ten Love Interests In No Particular Order

Trystan Thorne

Bryce Lahela

Kamilah Sayeed

Damien Nazario

Kaine Bell

Raleigh Carrera

Aerin Valleros

Jax Matsuo

Colt Kaneko

F!Hayden Young

Honorable Mentions (Again, No Particular Order)

Drake Walker (listen LISTEN I don't like that he sidelined other LIs, and I absolutely HATE how his character was a total contradiction, it was executed poorly, but I like the idea of his route if that makes sense. Some of the banter was cute and I love the whole grumpy x sunshine trope. I'm pretty sure he took a bullet for me lol)

Raydan Lykel (Solely because I haven't finished the series yet)

Mal Volari (He would have been in Top Ten but I had to bump him down because his Book 2 Route isn't working)

Tyril Starfury

Nia Ellarious

Prince Hamid

Tatum Mendoza

All of the Nightbound Love Interests are amazing I just couldn't fit them on the list

Gaius Augustine

Alana Kusuma

Rainier (Kindred)

Thomas Mendez

Flynn O'Malley

Olivia Nevrakis (she had so much potential omg)

Robin Flores and Sofia Russo (in my world, they're LIs just shush)

#playchoices #mir's musings 💬 #bloodbound #blades of light and shadow #the crown and the flame #crimes of passion #perfect match #the elementalists #it lives in the woods #open heart #ride or die #nightbound #the royal romance #a courtesan of rome #platinum #veil of secrets #mother of the year #foreign affairs #kindred #trystan thorne #bryce lahela #kamilah sayeed #damien nazario #kaine bell #raleigh carrera #aerin valleros #jax matsuo #colt kaneko #olivia nevrakis #gaius augustine

[chatonnoir]

What are your thoughts on ML smut fics and people writing and reading them? Is smut appropriate if characters are aged up, for example?

Writing and reading smut of ML is great and everyone who wants to do it should do it and have fun with it and this is a hard pill for some people to swallow but they don’t even need to be randomly aged up to 18 for it lmao

Slapping on "they're 18" doesn't actually do anything and y'all need to realize that teens can and do have sex at 17 or 16 or 15 or 14 and that's perfectly normal and okay as long as they’re well-informed and safe and not doing it out of any external pressure but just because they themselves want to. I have SO many stories from high school that are just peoples’ hookup stories. I knew people who were sending nudes in our first year of high school. I knew people who hooked up AT school. I absolutely knew people who were having sex in our first year of high school (note that this is the same age as Adrien & Marinette, their 3rd year of French middle school = first year of American high school). Guess what? I have friends who had sex at /13/! And guess what! This wasn't some terrible traumatizing thing! This was just two closeted gay teenage boys naturally exploring their attraction by hooking up in the very unsexy setting of our middle school bathroom. For them it's now just a funny story whenever we're being nostalgic about the awkwardness of middle & high school because they didn't know a goddamn thing about What to do (health class didn’t exactly give them a How To guide for that), so the consensus was that it was awkward and bad. And this further shows you how teens are more inclined to be sneaking around having bad or risky sexual experiences due to lack of knowledge if you force them to suppress and feel ashamed about these very natural human experiences & feelings.

The important thing is that they know how to be safe and how to treat their partner and how they should be treated so they can have their boundaries respected. There's a reason kids literally start getting sex ed from age 10 - because they're about to (or might even have already) start puberty and soon are going to start being horny as hell (sadly packaged with also being greasy and pimply and awkward and insecure) and need to understand what all of that means and know how to be safe before they inevitably start having urges and possibly wanting to act on said urges. It's also very normal to not want to have sex yet as a teen because everyone grows and develops differently and people have different sexualities and levels of libido and no one should feel like they have to do it in order to be seen as cool or mature -- but your experience also isn't universal and just because you didn't care for sex or want to explore your sexuality in your teens doesn't change the fact that plenty of other people did. You can't decide for everyone else that just because your teenage experience didn't involve horny teen shenanigans or because you were raised to be deeply religious that All Sex Bad And Impure And Sin And Teens Thinking About Sex Or Desiring Each Other Is Abnormal And No One Should Even Know Sex Exists Until They're 25.

I'm honestly so glad I was already an adult and had already had my fun exploring and figuring out my sexuality through smut fics of highschooler characters while I myself was the same age before a large part of the younger gen Zs collectively decided to turn fandom in to catholic school. I was living with abusive controlling religious parents, and I was trying to become comfortable with myself as a hormonal teen who was suddenly having thirsty thoughts about not only boys (while having "no dating no boys no premarital kissing ever you can't even hang out with male friends" hanging over my head and never being allowed to go out) but also girls (knowing full well that wasn't something my parents would ever be okay with) and was trying to come to terms with being lgbt, all while trapped in an environment like that. Sneaking around my parents trying to date wasn't exactly something I had the mental fortitude for at 14, especially not when they were abusive and I'd already had that fear instilled in me knowing that the consequences would be a lot worse than being grounded (and I didn't have superpowers to help me escape out the window and go frolic with my beautiful and strong superhero girlfriend 😔). And on top of all that, how was I supposed to become comfortable with and own my attraction to girls when heteronormativity was all I knew and when all I had were (what I thought to be) straight friends and I had no idea how they'd react if they knew? What were my other options if I couldn't explore any of this in real life yet? Highly fetishized hardcore graphic lesbian porn made for the straight male gaze on the oh so welcoming and safe-looking teen-friendly website that rhymes with Corn Tub?

No. I explored the attraction I couldn't explore in real life through steamy f/f fics of sports anime girls lmao. Female characters who were 14-17, the same age as I was, living the same kind of experiences as me! These fics were written by adult wlw in these fandoms, so they were depicting realistic, non male-gazey attraction between teenage sapphics that was relatable to me! And I found a safe haven to explore my sexuality through fandom on tumblr & through fanfics. When I was in my first year of high school I had just discovered and started reading smut fics, and I soon after had the funniest experience when an old lady teacher of mine literally told the class that she literally never read for fun as a kid.... until she discovered her mother's hidden smut novels, and then she was hooked. Needless to say I loved this woman lmao and hearing her proudly admit that out loud was a comfort when I had just kind of started doing the same thing in secret. In fact, I was reading WAY more smut between ages 14-17 than I do now because back then I was a closeted hormonal teen, and now as an exhausted but more hormonally stable adult I just crave the comfort of “what if blorbo 1 fell asleep on blorbo 2 .... and they were both secretly pining 😳”

I actually had this ask sitting in my inbox for like a month and a half until I saw this post talking about and reccing smut fics, and then read @kasienda​ ‘s fic which was recommended in that post and was heavily focused on sex positivity and realism and I was hit with a wave of “yes!!!!!!!!! you’re both so right!!!!!!!!!!” and was finally compelled to answer this ask. The fic even made the characters 17, rather than following the arbitrary requirement to age them up to 18, as a protest and to once again remind people that teenagers can and do have sex. (Side note: the other subversion I really loved was where, instead of following the usual fanfic trope where Plagg is like “ugh gross the hormonal teen humans are doing their weird mating rituals again” and either interrupts them or just groans and complains about them making out, this fic had Plagg be like “I hate watching these miserable teens be miserable about this complicated secret identity pining nonsense so how about I just make things easy and straightforward and get them in a room together so they just hook up already!!!!!!” because the former trope gets annoying to me sometimes and I honestly found this take on Plagg so refreshing and endearing and believable lmaoo)

tl;dr: I think @jennagrinsoverml​ put it really succinctly in her fic rec post: “I think that written fiction is a wonderful and SAFE way for people (even, no ESPECIALLY minors) to explore things that they're interested in or curious about before actually engaging with those things. And, especially in the case of sex, I certainly think it's a lot better than many of the alternatives like porn or trying things before you're ready. A lot of people will engage in sexual acts before people think they're old enough to read about those same acts and I think that's ridiculous.“

#answers #long post #Instead of coming for people writing smut about cartoon teens based on their own experiences and in a way that lets teens safely explore #their own sexualities the claude frollo wannabes in the fandom should focus that attention on the #pathetic grownass 25+ year old men who go after real life 13-19 year old girls because being with young inexperienced girls makes them #feel oh so manly and in control and women their own age have wisened up too much for their comfort & are able to recognize their inadequacy

[thevillanonyan]

I just finished reading the lookwood and co books and wow I'm blown away by how emotionally impacful they are. The books have their faults for sure, like some of the comments about George and Holly (the latter of which get resolved at the start of creeping shadow) but overall these are very well written.

The dialogue is probably the most accurate example of young people talking I've ever seen, with the relentless teasing they force on one another which is what basically proves you are friends in the UK.

The descriptions of all the ghosts and environments are also very realistic to how you would perceive them. Stroud writes the books from Lucy's perspective and whenever she walks into a room or describes a person she constantly refers to other people or daily things when talking about their appearance. This is a very interesting way of showing how we (in general, but this is especially true for children) relate things to one another in order to understand them and I've haven't seen the use of first person writing done this well in a while.

I would've liked Holly and Lucy to get closer than they did. Even though it make me uncomfortable, (as it could have a bad impact on young readers) some of Lucy's comments and reactions to Holly (I can speak from experience) are disgustingly accurate to how young girls veiw one another. I think it was essential that they grew and made friends with one another after they argue in the hollow boy and I was glad to see this happen, but I maybe would've liked to have seen them become a even closer, it's more accurate that it takes time but again I worry about the impact it could have on the books' child audience.

I really like how the character of Quill Kipps was handled. He's the only young character in the books who doesn't have his talent and who we see lose his talent over the series. I think it added important world building to show how a young person navigated this sudden change. We are shown that before becoming more associated with lockwood and co, kipps is very lost in his life, he gets blacklisted from most other agencies and can barely make ends meat, the books even mention kipps dealing with new found loneliness becaue most of his friends fell out or lost contact with him as he was no longer working. These subtle details add so much to his character, even though we don't get many out right emotional moments with him as we do the others, we can still understand and empathise with him.

I was expecting there to be more locklyle in the books but I'm actually glad there wasn't. I think it's important in children's literature to show characters liking one another and developing that accordingly but I also think it is important for it to be accordingly. Relationships take a long time to form, especially when you are young and don't necessarily understand your feelings and I don't think its a bad thing for Lucy and Lockwood to take a long time to get together (considering their circumstances, their first priority also needs to be surviving). I think Stroud could've pushed it further and (im trying so hard not to spoil the final scene) had them say out loud that they love one another which they don't. I think if we get another season it would be nice to see more locklye than in the books but again, it's so unusual for books not to push the romance too far that I'm not even mad. I also like that, (this is a very low level spoiler) Kipps doesn't get together with anyone at the end on the books. He's the only main character who doesn't appear to be in a relationship and again, while I think its important to show characters liking one another in children's literature, I also think it's almost more important to show characters being happy on their own. Childrens media is so full of romance and it often has a bad impact on young consumers. I'm always so suprised and relieved when I see a character who is single and happy being that way, it is just as important to show kids that you can be mature and loved even though your not in a relationship. It fits well with kipps' character too! At Portland Row, he has found a place where he doesn't feel under pressure or like he has anything to hide, he also has friends who actually care for him so he is happy and contented for the first time in a long while.

Essay over, I love this show I love these books. Go. Read. Them.

(Also, flo's backstory was so heartbreaking and makes me love her character wayyyyyy more than I did. Very. Well. Written. It happening as a story lockwood tells to calm lucy down aswell *chef's kiss* no notes)

#lockwood and co #anthony lockwood #lockwood & co #l&co. netflix #lucy carlyle #l&co #quill kipps #holly munro #george cubbins #george karim #l&coaw2023 #florence bonnard #flo bones