#i started like. outlining something else that led me to think about this and then i just wrote this LMAO

[aerequets]

i very much appreciate how Yor, the strongest character, is so feminine

she’s obviously the physically strongest, and arguably the most mentally and/or emotionally strong. what i really appreciate is that this strength and her femininity are complements, instead of the two being treated as mutually exclusive like in many other media.

yor is soft spoken and gentle and kind to others. she feels emotions strongly and cries in front of others and shows her happiness. she has a natural inclination to take care of others. she is good with children, she is great at housekeeping. she may not be good at cooking but by gosh she tries; she wants to get better. she assumes the best in others and finds other women pretty and kind and admires them. she’s family oriented. 

yor is also insanely strong. she’s gone through extensive physical training since childhood, has multiple scars, has dealt with all kinds of people. she can kick a moving car, incapacitate a whole cow, take down a whole fleet of assassins, etc, etc. the list goes on. but despite all this and all that she’s been through, she didn’t become a tough, sardonic, mean-lean-killing-machine kind of character.

 what i’ve noticed in a lot of media is that there seems to be this kind of tradeoff that people think needs to happen in order for a female character to get “truly strong”. basically feminine = weak and masculine = strong. the character cries? not anymore she will never crack that poker face ever! the character cares for others? psh what no, care for yourself she’s not your maid. homemaking skills? useless, all she needs is the strength of her Fists and Harsh Words. she’s not like other vapid girls, she actually cares about the Real Important Fight which, undoubtedly, is also male-dominated. 

of course, all of this is set up as an opportunity for the male love interest to come in and “break down her walls” because women are just waiting for the right man to change them, but i digress.

why? why are the things that are inherently feminine deemed as inferior? 

a good example i can think of is cinderella, or to be more specific, an opinion about cinderella that was popular (and may still be, i dont know tbh): she is weak for needing a prince to save her. 

lets break this down: this girl gets emotionally, phyiscally, and mentally abused from her childhood into young adulthood by the people who are supposed to care for her. despite all this, she remains kind towards others and attentive in what she does. she seizes what she believes could be her one and only chance at freedom, however fleeting, and ends up catching the attention of the person who is ultimately able to pull her out of her situation.

yes, she didn’t bust herself out of the house and shank the stepfam with her glass shoe. but does this mean she is weak? is that kind of emotional resilience within someone after years of abuse what can truly be categorized as weak? 

anyways, all this is to say that yor is built up as the strong one in multiple ways, and the narrative doesn’t act like her nonmasculine qualities are somehow reductive or lesser, and i very much appreciate how rich her character is. i like so many things about this series man im just

#having post midnight thoughts #i started like. outlining something else that led me to think about this and then i just wrote this LMAO #yor is just so!!!!! #ALL OF THEM ARE SO!!!! #im not good at analyses or like in depth things like this but I JUST NEEDED TO GET THIS OFF MY CHEST #YOR IS SO GOOD OK #I WONT TAKE NO AS AN ANSWER #yor forger #spy x family #sxf #sxf yor #thorn princess #sxf thorn princess #my writing

[powerfultenderness]

neighbour!könig’s reaction when he sees a guy walk out of your apartment . need your thoughts on that

omg, the man is gutted! Absolutely heartbroken! Especially after you asked to sit on his couch like that! 😆 He gets jealous but if you aren't technically together, then he realizes that he doesn't have a right to be so jealous and is a little overwhelmed with sadness!

So, last night König deviated from my outline! How very rude of him. But despite a power outage this morning, he was all over this and provided some fluff of the hurt comfort variety!

Even before he joined the military, he was an early riser. The sun was just starting to rise when he stepped out of this flat and heard the door to your flat open. He turned, smile already lighting his eyes, when instead of seeing you, there was a man. He had a slender but muscular build; the sleeveless workout top he wore gave plenty of proof of the man’s definition. The man, taller than you, shorter than him, looked at him a little warily, good. The man gave him a subtle nod as if to greet him then went down the stairs ahead of him. 

A sense of smugness, along with the sinking feeling in his stomach at the thought of you with another man, washed over him as he noticed how quickly that man moved, how quickly he tried to run. König’s long stride made it easy to keep up, though, and he was only a step behind as the guy exited the building. He watched as the man practically sprinted to… guest parking. That was it then, you had had an overnight guest, a man. And König found himself jealous. 

-

He tried to ignore the bitter, pitiful, sensation that plagued him all day, but was not very successful. What was he supposed to think of when thoughts of you led to the sad reminder that you had chosen someone else? He certainly shouldn’t be thinking about using the man’s license plate number to find out more about him, where he worked, for instance. 

Now on his way home for the evening, climbing up the stairs to his flat, beer and food in his hands, he was met with another painful sight. The man was back, leaving again apparently, and you leaned forward, pressed your lips to the left side of his face, then again to the right side. 

“Alright, be careful!” You bid the man good night, “text me when you get home.” 

König wanted to sigh, he pouted underneath his hood. The way you had the capacity to care for others so much was one of the things he liked about you, but right about now, he wished you only cared for him.

“Oh! Hi, König!” You caught him before he could enter his flat.

He looked at you and tried to smile, but even he could tell it didn’t quite meet his eyes. "Hello."

“I have something for you!”

“Me?” You nodded, “hold on a sec, let me grab it!”

He unlocked and left his door open while you disappeared for a second, just so he could put his groceries down. You came back, knocking on the open door, with a plastic food container and a smile adorning your face.

“Come,” he invited you in, his prior sorrow temporarily forgotten at your friendly disposition. Friends, yes, maybe friends was ok.

“Liliana wanted you to have some cake! She said after all that candy you bought, you must have a sweet tooth!” 

He took the offered confection and set it down on the table, next to his beer. “It’s her birthday?” 

“No. She had this big performance today. The whole family gathered at my sister’s place to congratulate her. The place was pretty crowded, with my parents there too, so my brother stayed with me last night.” 

König blinked. “Your…brother?” Now that he thought about it, the man did bear a slight resemblance to you…

“Mmhm.” You nodded then tilted your head, “what’s up with you? Everything ok?” The man was your brother! 

König let out a loud and boisterous laugh. “Everything is perfect! Please thank the little mouse for me!” 

“Mouse?” You scoffed, “wait till you get to know her.” You’re pretty sure she loudly told you to take a slice of cake to your “nice neighbor man” to embarrass you in front of the family, little shit. 

He laughed again, “I would like to!” Because that would mean you incorporating him into your life even more! “Will you eat with me?” He asked once his chuckling faded.

“Well, I’ve had my fill of cake, but I’d love to hang out.” 

Oh, he’d love that too!

[More neighbor König]

#lieblinqs #könig x fem reader #könig x reader #konig x reader #blurb

[r-f-m-writes]

A Lark In a Hollow Chapter One

Really, she doesn't have a choice.

Lark barely remembers the huge shadow of a man sitting beside her in the dead heat of Mrs. Poppy's office at the children's home. He is silent, stoic, and completely terrifying.

Christopher Hollow.

Muscled.

Six foot five.

Storm blue eyes.

Dog tags outlined under the straining stretch of his black tee-shirt.

"Lark," Mrs. Poppy says, gently, "you're happy with this arrangement? You want to go with your Godfather?"

There's no money left for her to live off until she finds a job - if she finds a job.

Her Dad is dead.

Lark doesn't have a choice.

Lark Douglas didn’t know who Christopher Hollow was when Mrs. Poppy brought his name up to her on a hot Saturday afternoon in her office. The additional details that he had served with her Dad in Afghanistan and was her appointed legal guardian and Godfather did nothing to help jog Lark’s memory.

      In fact, it was a full week after Mrs. Poppy informed Lark of Christopher Hollow’s existence that the girl finally managed to scrounge up a single, short, fuzzy memory of the man.

         She was home.

         The door to their flat was open, the old ceiling fan had been turning in slow circles over her head. It did nothing to fight against the mid July heat that was so stifling and muggy it made her skin stick to the linoleum floors. She had sat on the couch playing with Labrador, her stuffed toy dog, when Mom walked in with someone.

        Lark was five, she thinks, and she hadn’t paid attention to anything that was being said, or looked at who had stepped the room after her mother. She only glanced up from where she was making her stuffed dog do backflips off the worn-down couch cushions when big, black boots stepped into her vision off the edge of the sofa.

       The man who stood in front of her was tall, wearing camo pants and a fitted grey tee-shirt. His face was hard to remember, but Lark thought he had sandy brown hair and the start of a thick brown beard. He had crouched down, setting aside a battered black duffle bag, looking at her like he expected something.

     Lark had only stared at him.

      Mom’s voice had a strain in it when she spoke.

     “Say hi to Chris, baby. He’s come all the way from the airport just to see you.”

     The man spoke before Lark had the chance. He had a deep, rough rumbly voice.

     “Don’t worry her about it, Lori. Been two years. I’d be surprised if Pet remembered me at all.”

      Pet.

      That was the only memory Lark had of Christopher.

      She wasn’t even sure it was real and not just something she had made up in the recesses of her mind as an unconscious effort to help herself fill in the gaps and feel less uncertain.

     She had lots of memories like that.

      Memories no one else could verify. Memories she wasn’t sure happened, but couldn’t shake as being real.

      This was what led Lark to where she stood at the top of the worn flight of wooden stairs.  Seventeen years old, dressed in clothes that didn’t belong to her, feeling entirely unsure of what the future would hold.

      Seventeen, and only three weeks and four days shy of her eighteenth birthday.

     It was ridiculous.

     Stupid, even.

     Why couldn’t she just wait it out at the girl’s home?

     Why was Mrs. Poppy was obligated, by law, to reach out to relatives Lark had never even heard of and negotiate with them down the phone, asking and then, after the eighth rejection, pleading with each of them to come and pick her up?

      “Just a month - no, no, you wouldn’t have to commit to adoption, Mrs. Tanner - not at all. I am only reaching out because Lark is your niece, and I am sure you want the best for her -”

     The list thinned, name by name. Lark saw them each time Mrs. Poppy opened the manilla envelope with her initials on it, glancing over the struck off phone numbers and feeling nothing.

    The rejections didn’t surprise her.

    She knew from lived experience how reluctant people were to help a stranger.

     It took less than half a week for them to reach the last one.

     His name.

     Christopher Hollow.

     He was who Lark was waiting for as she hung onto the banister, her dark eyes fixed on the panes of frosted glass in the door, anticipating seeing a shadow blot across the panels when he stepped onto the porch and rang the buzzer.

     Floorboards creaked.

     Lark moved too late when Mrs. Poppy stepped out of her office that stood at the side of the stairs. The stacked blonde beehive of her hair bobbing into the girl’s view as Lark tried to scurry back out of her sight.

    Too little, too late.

    The kind wrinkles around Mrs. Poppy’s eyes doubled and deepened as the sound made her look upward and spot Lark.

     “Lark, there you are! I was just about to come and find you, dear. Nip down into my office for a moment, I’ve got some things I want to discuss with you before Mr. Hollow arrives.”

    The old stairs squeaked loudly as the girl walked sheepishly down the grossly worn-out blue carpet runner, rounding the curved banister at the bottom to follow Mrs. Poppy into her office.

    It was sun warm inside, light spilling over the faded hardwood floor and shiny varnish of the big, brown desk, highlighting the dozens of ring-marks stained into its top by mugs of coffee past. Mrs. Poppy rounded the desk, having to skirt sideways between the edge of it and the rows of heavy metal file drawers that flanked the room on all sides.

   Taking her perch in a black wheely chair, the woman gestured for Lark to sit in one of the two big, green, retro velvet sofas that faced her desk.

      Sinking down into her seat, Lark folded her hands in her lap and looked at the woman, waiting to be spoken to. She had been thoroughly taught from a young age that she was to be seen and not heard. There had also been plenty of occasions when Lark wasn’t to be seen or heard. Those were moments when her half empty pink, princess wardrobe came in handy.

        Mrs. Poppy placed a pair of up-swept cat eye spectacles on the tip of her tall, gently crooked nose, and took out a notepad. It was one of dozens she had, this particular piece of stationary sported Lark’s name on its front, written in black pen and then broadly underlined in purple marker.

       “Miss Douglas today is a big one for you. How are you feeling, hon? Excited? Nervous?”

        The soft slip of her southern accent calmed Lark some as she fought against the urge to fidget, keeping her fingers still in her lap.

        “Excited, Ma’am. Dad didn’t like to travel much, so seeing the Appalachians sounds like a real adventure.”

        Lark stuck a quick smile onto the end of her lie. She had rehearsed it in her head a hundred times since she was told the good news a week before.

        Christopher Hollow wanted her.

        He was driving the whole way down the coast from his home in the Appalachian Mountains to come and collect her. Lark couldn’t even comprehend where the Appalachian Mountains stood, just that they were stupendously far away.

        Mrs. Poppy grinned at Lark, genuine and radiant, as she wrote something in fast scratching cursive over and empty line of the notepad.

       “Always such an optimist, Lark. I’m sure Mr. Hollow will be delighted by you.”

        Lark’s left thumb twitched. When she smiled, it felt tight in the corners, “I certainly hope so, Ma’am.”

        And she truly did. Lark knew the way men behaved when they weren’t delighted by her.

~R.F.M~

         A fist gripped long, brown hair tightly enough to tear dozens of strands out of Lark’s scalp as she was dragged down the hallway by her head, the girl’s frame stooped almost to the floor as she clawed at the hands restraining her.

       “Fucking little bitch coming to steal from me? Think you’re slick, huh?”

         In honesty, Lark did.

        She had stolen from the man before on countless occasions, rummaging through the contents of his worn leather wallet, fishing out loose coins and dollar notes that wouldn’t be missed. Before, he was always too out of his mind to realize, so Lark had gotten greedy.

        Twenty dollars was a lot of money to people like them. She was foolish for thinking she could snatch it away without his notice.

       Lark didn’t know his name, or his age, or anything about him other than the fact he bought pot on Thursday afternoons and left the door to his apartment wide open with 90’s music playing full volume while he sat out on his balcony in a beat-up pink recliner, back to the living room, smoking.

         By all accounts, the man wasn’t very smart. But he was still a man, a man much stronger than Lark.

#ao3 original work #orignal character #orignal writing #ao3 writer #archive of our own #a lark in a hollow #original male character #original female character #original novel #original work #dead dove do not eat #dead dove fic #shortandsweet #short and sweet #sweet'nshort #rfmwrites

[thoughtyouwerentafraidofanything]

For you, baby

Pairings: pre-cult kai anderson x dom female reader

Summary: kai, your boyfriend is a little shy and you're on a mission to find out what he likes, sexually, and you think of something he might enjoy.

Warnings: infidelity, cuckholding, masterbation, swearing, watching others fuck, smut(kind of).

Authors note: I love the thought of sub pre-cult kai, this also just made me think of another plot to write, not my best piece but it will have to do.

(I currently have 6 drafts needing finished, all kai anderson)

"C'mon baby you've go to like, something" you smirk as the last word leaves your lips

"I don't know", kai huffs out as he plops himself down on your sofa," I haven't really.... explored".

You walk over to him, the dress you wore to date night was mid thigh length and would ride up with everystep you took, all throughout the night kai would watch as the already tight fabric would hug around your ass and thighs, and kai's eyes were glued to your increasing exposed thighs.

Kai practically gasped for air as he saw the bottom of your recent tattoo on the inside of your thigh, the red outline of his name made his heart run a mile a minute. You had gotten the tattoo for him as a surprise but hadn't shown him what it looked like, only what it was, and ever since he heard you whisper that your name was by your most sensitive spot he had been itching to see it himself.

"How do you feel about..." kai's tongue darts across his lips as his eyes cut from your lips, chest, and rising dress. You place your hands on his shoulders and turn your back to him as you sit on his lap.

"...ropes"

You could feel kais breath hitch, your hands held kai's as you dragged his larger hands down your thinly clothed body.

"..u-uhm.." his tongue Swiped again, having you this close to him always made his mind run blank, your head leaning back on his shoulder giving him a lovely view if your neck and cleavage, your fingers intertwined with his as you led his hands further and further down your curves letting him stop and squeeze at whatever he wanted.

"Hmm?"

Kai gulped.

"How about you, watching me..."

You turned your head to look kai in his eyes, " ..fuck someone else infront if you"

You could feel kais body shuffle under yours and watched as his eyes darted around the room and your body. You turn your body around completely, straddling your shy boyfriend as he tries to not look you in the eyes, pressing your hands against his cheeks you lift his head up slowly.

"Do you like that baby?"

"I-... I m-might.. just..."

You kiss his lips, excited to have found a gem your boyfriend tried to hide. Kais eyes scrunched closed as his head dropped to his chest.

"Don't be embarrassed baby, I'll do it if you really want it"

You began placing quick pecks across kai's face trying to cheer him up, what you said was true you'd do anything your boyfriend wanted, especially sexually.

"I.. can we just go to bed"

Kai ĺooks up at you and holds your hands tightly to his chest, you had a feeling he was trying to put on puppy dog eyes to just get this conversation over and done with.

You nodded and got off of kai's lap, his eyes shooting to your exposed underwear, you could see him getting ready to reach out and touch your legs but before he could you pulled down your dress and started walking to your bedroom leaving kai alone and flustered on your couch.

"No action tonight baby"

It had been a week since you discovered your boyfriends sexual interests, and it was all you could think about. Ever since you had started dating kai had been rather vanilla and kept his desires to himself.

You were at work typing away on your computer until someone all too familiar showed up.

"Hey y/n how's it going"

Bruce hicker was a boy from your work who joined 3 months ago, you worked in reception and he worked in business management. Ever since Bruce joined every morning you had been hit on.

One Monday he gave you a rose, on Thursday he got you tea from an extremely expensive cafe you had only ever been to once before in your 4 years of working. Today Bruce had gotten you a coffee from the same cafe aswell as a chocolate pastry.

"Hello, bruce. Having a good morning?" You question accepting the coffee into your hands but leaving the pastry infront of you untouched.

"It's good now that I get to see you" bruce had a wide smile plastered on to his baby face.

Bruce had a few inches more than you height wise, his body, from what you could make out, was muscle hidden under some fat, his hair was short and light brown although he would argue dirty blond and his eyes were Hazel coloured.

"Have a great day bruce" you smile and nod as you turn back to your computer and begin to type again.

"Do you have any plans for tonight"

Bruce looks you in your eyes as he leans against the reception counter and with a wink he continues, "I'm free"

Chuckling lightly to yourself you look back at bruce and see him raise his eyebrow at you along with a lick of his bottom lip and a small laugh.

"Bruce don't you have work to be doing right now"

Bruce leans his forehead against the reception desk and taps his fingers on the counter, he huffs

"Y/n, I've been trying to get you to go out with me for the past 3 months"

You stare blankly at bruce, pretending to not have noticed you gasp and raise your eyebrows," bruce I never realised I'm so sorry"

You had known ever since bruce joined 3 months ago that he had taken a liking to you just by the way he would look at you. Bruce would come down to reception and ask you if you wanted a drink as he was about to head out and get some for the others on his floor you would smile and accept his offer. Bruce would come down as you were packing up to go home and would ask if you wanted to go out for drinks with him and his colleagues later, you would ask who was paying and go.

You did feel bad about stringing him on for a whole three months but it was nice having a hooked puppy willing to do anything you said to get your attention.

You smiled and looked bruce right in his eyes placing your hand right ontop of his which was laid on the reception counter.

"I would love to go out later bruce"

And with that bruce left reception and entered the elevator with the biggest smile you had seen on anyone ever before.

22:09pm

You burst through your apartment door throwing your keys in a saucer by your door. Giggles filled the room as you and Bruce clung to eachother the alcohol in your systems making both your vision blurred.

"W-where are your * hic* glass..es"

Bruce wobbled over to your kitchen as you pointed and laughed at him from behind.

You and Bruce had gone to a bar near work and spent almost two and a half hours drinking and talking, piles upon piles of shot glasses and empty vodka bottles were scattered across your booths table.

Before leaving you and Bruce had both agreed that none of you were as near drunk as you thought you would be after that many drinks, it was until the cold air slapped you in your face that the alcohol bloomed in your system and made you not remeber how you got home.

"W-what the hell is going on y/n"

Kai stood in his underwear stunned at the sight of you, drunk, alone with a drunk stranger who was intact a man.

As soon as you seen kai your body seemed to turn sober, your vision cleared and you could see the horrified look on your boyfriends face.

Rushing over to kai you held your hands up to his mouth making a 'shushing' noise to keep him quiet, in your mind he was screaming his words, in reality he was whispering loudly.

Kai's hands immediately wrapped around your wrists as they began to pull your hands off if his mouth so he could question you even more about this very peculiar situation you were both in.

"I-I'm doing this....f-for you baby"

Kai's eyes snapped open extremely wide, he thought you had forgotten about your conversation from your last date night but he had been wrong.

Before he could try to talk you out of whatever you were planning on doing you spun around, the smell of alcohol pouring off of you, and stumbled over to bruce who was leaning over your sink mouth attached to the cold water faucet chugging the water like his life depended on it.

"H-hey bruce... do you m-mind if my friend watches us..."

Bruce straightened his back and wiped his face of water before turning around to face you, your hands were laid on his chest as you looked up at him.

"Will we be d-doing something...Worth w-watching" bruce smirks and you giggle as you both make your way to the two sofas, you and Bruce sit on one together and almost immediately Bruce's lips attach to your neck, his teeth grazing your skin.

You lock eyes with kai who was standing just a few feet away from you, his mouth hung open and deep breaths leaving his lips.

"Closer" you say out load and both men comply, bruce hastily positioned himself in between your legs and hiked up your thighs, kai slowly made your way over to the sofa opposite from you and Bruce and sat down, his eyes scanning over your naked thighs as his chest quickly moved up and down.

You committed to kai and kept your eyes only on him, bruce didn't seem to notice as his tired eyes were shut.

Slowly, kai pushed his hand into his boxers, shivering as his hands wrapped around his cock releasing some of the tension built up. He watched as bruce raked his hands all over your body, he watched as bruce quickly pulled your dress up and over your head leaving you bare in you underwear.

You wore a blue skimpy matching set just for tonight.

You heard the unzipping of Bruce's trousers but didn't care as kai's whimpers and grunts flowed through your ears, you could tell he was trying to be quiet.

Kai's hand began to move quicker as your panties were dragged down your legs, you grew hot as you seen kai's hand begin to move along himself faster and faster, his cheeks began to turn red and his breaths were short and quick.

He used his precum as lubricant and spread it all over his shaft, a groan left his lips as his hand now moved smoothly against his dick.

"Kai" your breath hitched as you feel bruce push into you the pressure making you arch your back off of the sofa, Bruce's hand shoves your bra out of the way to look at you completely naked, he had been waiting for 3 months for this to happen.

Pushing your thighs apart even wider kai's eyes almost shot out of his head as he released a loud groan at the sight. He could now see your pussy being fucked by a complete stranger, he huffed out in annoyance but refused to stop. Kai could feel his hips begin to rut up into his hand as your hands grabbed at your boobs, your fingers rubbing and pinching at your nipples as your eyes shut in pleasure.

You could tell all three of you were nearing your finishing point, and the thought of kai watching and getting himself off to you being fucked infront of him only made you wetter.

Tiredly, your hands clasp onto the back of Bruce's neck and instruct him to flip over, you now sat perched ontop of bruce, who still had his eyes closed even tighter.

Using your thigh muscles you began to move sliding up his cock and then slamming back down, kai's movements were growing sloppy, his hips were now thrusting up into his hand and his eyes were shut imagining his hand was you, imagining you being used by strangers infront of him.

Kai's tired eyes peaked open for one last look before he came, the sight of the blood red tattoo permanently placed on your thigh pushed him over the top.

He could see the thin out lining of his name on full display.

Throwing his head back against the sofa a loud moan escaped kai's lips but he didn't care, his hair was damp with his own sweat and his skin clammy, his chest heaved with every breath he took, his hand which was still tucked into his underwear was covered in his cum the inside of his underwear was also painted with it.

Hearing kai's exclaims of pleasure urged you to finish, after a few more thrusts your pussy was clenching around bruce enough for him to finally spill himself into his condom. You followed the two boys example and ground your hips down onto bruce one last time the pressure and pleasure finally spilling over making you almost topple onto bruce.

With a firm hand on Bruce's chest you road out your orgasm, your hips still rocking against Bruce's as your body gently cooled down.

You moan and look over at kai, who's head was leaning back staring up at the ceiling.

"D-did you like that...baby"

#ahs #ahs cult #kai anderson #kai anderson smut #smut #ahs smut #ahs cult smut #american horror story cult #evan peters #evan peters smut

[nkjemisin]

Hello, hope you're doing well. Love your work a lot :)

If you don't mind, I'd like to ask an open-ended question about the Great Cities Trilogy becoming the Great Cities Duology.

It's fantastic either way! I'm just curious about how things would be different, in different circumstances.

I appreciate your time. Wish you all the best ❤️

Spoilers for the Great Cities!

Thank you!

It's important to understand that when I start a new trilogy, I really only plan out the beginning and the end in detail. The rest is just general points I mean to hit in each book. So I can tell you some ideas I thought about putting into the books at the time, but I can't tell you exactly what I would've actually written if my initial plans hadn't gotten derailed -- I'm not that much of a planner, and I tend to change course midstream anytime I get a better idea for something. But here's what I wrote into the first outline.

Book 1: What you read

Book 2: Tentative title: "The City Hard Fought." America vs. New York. I'd been planning to have a demagogue president -- obvs inspired by Trump; I started working on developing this as a book in 2017 -- attack New York City to further his political ambitions. This would've taken the form of the president eventually threatening to bomb the city/all blue cities. At the time I came up with it, the idea seemed completely far-fetched and silly... Aaaaaaand then Trump started attacking New York City to further his political ambitions. I realized I really didn't want to speak some ideas into existence, and also that I couldn't make something like that funny when it was really happening and ruining people's lives. So I changed things up. The mayoral race would always have happened, but I originally intended to put the start of it in the background of the second book and have it culminate in Book 3. R'lyeh would've spent a chunk of this book being punished for her failures in Book 1, effectively taking the metaphysical stuff off the plot table for a while so human nonsense could move to the forefront. Aislyn and São Paulo would've ended up trapped in the Ur with her (hadn't fully worked out how), and that plot would've turned on Aislyn convincing R'lyeh to do a jailbreak. The end of the book would've been Manny's family calling him home.

Book 3: Tentative title: "The Last City" or "The City Unbowed." New York vs. everybody else. With the demagogue president dead (I was planning for him to get eaten by the Ur, painfully and slowly), things would've gotten metaphysical again, with multiple cities coming to life and causing chaos, effectively led by the newly-awakened Chicago. I'd intended the core of this book to be an escalating "cold war" between NYC and Chicago, with their star-crossed romance and Brooklyn's first 100 days as magical mayor (dealing with an ambitious senator attempting to use NYC to establish himself as the next big demagogue) echoing the politics of the living cities. Among other things, it would've turned out that the Ur was manipulating things to cause war between the living cities, via a traitor in Manny's family, in order to weaken the cities and cause the "falling to the bottom of the Tree" problem that you saw in TWWM. I always planned to end with the climactic "all the living cities march to war as ghostly giant robots" scene that happened in TWWM, but I'd planned for R'lyeh to fight alongside them, and they would've been fighting a manifestation of the Ur itself. Probably a Cthulhu-like monster -- but monsters aren't very interesting to me, so as with TWWM the real threat is the Ur's authoritarianism.

So, different but not that different. Not sure I would've been able to fit in everything I'd originally planned; when I first come up with a new series I tend to be big on ideas, but not all of them work when I start writing. As you can see, I retained most of the major plot elements I'd originally planned. I think the biggest loss was the character-specific subplots I had planned. Like, Veneza would've had a blowout with her racist father; Chennai's ancient avatar was going to try and seduce Padmini back home to take over from her (same subplot involving the risk to Padmini's visa status); Brooklyn would've been a badass mayor; Manny and Neek would've gone on some awkward dates and probably had at least one awkward morning after. I would've spent more time on R'lyeh as she basically starts to decolonize herself. We would've gotten a lot more of Evil Manny, and Neek would've had to talk him down/win him back at some point. Also, tentatively I'd originally planned that Neek's revealed name would be "Nueva." Glad I changed my mind about that one.

Sad that it won't happen, but there's always fanfic! (Don't show it to me tho. h/t @seananmcguire )

#answered asks #the great cities

[piglet26]

Alright, Is the Star Wars Fandom Sexist?

As you probably know Daisy Ridley signed onto do another Star Wars film. I welcomed this..... mostly. If they don't reunited the Dyad I'm very curious as to what would be the point (more on that later.) Well, I saw this quote from a recent interview of hers, "I think my take is things get blown out of proportion and the interactions I've ever had with people have been nothing but wonderful and supportive," Ridley said. "I've only ever been embraced. And I think we're going to make a great film."

Now whether or not Ms. Ridley actually feels this way.......she's intelligent enough to say just this. Undeniably, all of the men who have talked shit about her for the past 7,8 odd years will now have softened to her for simply not holding them accountable. Hey, that's the biz kids. Don't make enemies out of your audience. No man wants to be called a sexist even if he actually is one.

Is there sexism in Star Wars? Yes and no. It has never been a straight answer. Now if you ask a lot of men in the Star Wars fandom if they are sexist..... they'll say no. Why? Princess Leia of course! Padme! Strong women who directed men, issued orders and politically led. They did and do support these women. In fact, if you had asked me if the fandom was sexist prior to The Sequel Trilogy I would've said that the SWF is one of the most progressive fandoms for women and has been since the 70s!

Where did it all go wrong?

Well, maybe this

Or, this

Maybe just good ole fashion paranoia. Personally, I think it's a combination of all three. The minute Disney bought Star Wars the fandom was primed to distrust it. Change, for better or worse, was on the horizon. Hell, even worse, corporate change. It's Rage against the Machine raging FOR the machine. Least we forget how Star Wars started...... as a "fuck you" to corporatized assembly-line movie production.

However, we are not her to discuss whether The Sequel Trilogy was good. Debatable..... with the exception of Reylo. That's just iconic. We are here to discuss how on earth Daisy Ridley ending up bearing the majority of the responsibility for its failures. Maybe even more importantly the "Feminization" of Star Wars.

A sane person could tell that. The same people screaming "Star Wars is Dead" for the last seven years are still saying the eulogy. Still going on whining and complaining about it. There is a general rule when franchise start to go off the track - you ignore it was ever made. Godfather 3? Tokyo Drift? Never happened.

If you don't like what Star Wars has become then the first person on your shit list should be it's creator. George Lucas. George could've signed over Star Wars under the guarantee that whatever outline he produced for The Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, Disney HAD to stick to - he didn't. He could've signed on a producer - he didn't. He could've picked someone else except Kathleen Kennedy to replace him - he didn't. Somehow George Lucas has escaped any responsibility in what his life's work has become. Maybe the fandom got it out of their system after the Prequel Road Rage.

News that George Lucas's treatments were thrown out and the extended universe being cancelled didn't exactly calm down the public.

Maybe the next person should JJ Abrams and Kathleen Kennedy for for thinking that there was something wrong with Star Wars. Star Wars already was diverse. It already HAD strong females. Yet, there they went finding problems that didn't exist. Why? Money. Disney has a powerful female/family demographic. Star Wars a strong male demographic. Disney sought to combine the best of all worlds in one franchise and they were the company to do it. Look at what they accomplished with Marvel!

Then the announcement came that there would be a female protagonist. A female Jedi to be exact. I thought this was different and interesting. The men did not. What they saw in there head was THE FORCE IS FEMALE in flashing bright lights. This was it. Confirmation. Star Wars was about to get pussyfied. From the get-go Daisy Ridley's Rey was to be a focus, a target, for the mistrust, uneasiness and rage from the men.

Let's me be clear men are ok girls liking their stuff. As long as girls are not in a position to influence whatever it is they like, or rather "ruin it." Can you blame them? If a bunch of straight dudes came in and started writing Sex and the City I'm telling you- they'd ruin it.

The Force Awakens finally arrives and curiosity was able to lure in even the most salty man. Not to mention the possible joy of seeing Han, Luke and Leia on screen together again. TFA is a perfectly decent film. There were two glaring choices in this film. One, Han is killed. Two, Rey beats Kylo Ren at the end. All things considered we should not have been surprised what the internet had to say. Rey was a Mary Sue. Men who didn't even know what a Mary Sue was were even saying this.

The term “Mary Sue” was first coined in 1973. A young main character, usually a woman, who was portrayed as unreasonably gifted across every discipline: intellect, combat, the arts, etc. This character would often become respected (and maybe even loved) by main characters and would end the story by saving the day in heroic fashion.

You don't have to like Rey. You don't have to love her. Rey isn't even the greatest character ever developed, but come on! I wonderer if the people criticizing her even watched the movie. I heard criticism that Rey was too likable! Well, she's the protagonist. She's too pretty! That's a bad thing? She's too nice! She comes off really brash and naive actually. She's the greatest pilot ever! She flew once and not that well. Most of the criticism around Rey was disingenuous and petty as hell.

Many critics have taken the lazy route of she has no character arc or character, but that’s not a very observant take. Her yearning for family and her desperation for her parents to return, while understandable, made her vulnerable to Kylo Ren. Her loneliness made her ultimately vulnerable to anyone who would be nice to her. Now I understand there was no consequences for her faults. However, there can't be both criticism. She either doesn't have a personality, or, she has one, but doesn't suffer consequences for it.

“How could she fly the Millennium Falcon so well?” “How could she beat Kylo Ren when she’d never used a lightsaber before?” “How could she resist Kylo Ren’s interrogation?” The film answered most of these questions. Ironically, no one questioned the 8 year old Anakin Skywalker or the farm boy Luke Skywalker for being amazing or great at anything because of The Force.

She grew up defending herself in melee combat. Her quarterstaff is not a lightsaber, of course, but it was established early on that she has the instincts and the reflexes to hold her own in a fight. While I don't agree with Rey beating Kylo Ren I understand how it was accomplished. Pure, dumb luck. It was luck that Ren was physically and spiritually crippled during their confrontation. Not to mention he had the hots for you. Finn was able to hold him off mostly because Kylo was toying with him, but when he grew bored Finn ended up face first in the snow. No one questioned how Finn the janitor could wield a lightsaber.

Let's talk about Finn, or rather John Boyega. All things considered pretty lucky guy. He got a likable that he played well and got paid well. You wouldn't know it by listening to him. He complained bitterly. He attacked the fans. He attacked Disney. He attacked America. He got off Scott free with fandom. Most remember him with nothing but fondness. Maybe because he is black people feel slightly uncomfortable going after him. But, the women? No problem. Even when fans hate male characters, they talk about what they hate with nuance.

Daisy Ridley did her job and she went home. She carried on beautifully and respectfully with what she was given by the production team. That is all any actor can do. The same would apply to the girl who played Rose Tico. Yet, criticism of what was happening on screen started to bleed onto the actresses in real life.

Mark Hamill shit talked the Sequel Trilogy - fair, enough. But why did you sign on? It he because he needed a job? Hondo wasn't a great leader. I agree. But, countless people ended up losing their lives due to Poe because he refused to listen to the female authority around him. Where was the fandom with their logic bitterness scorecard? The majority of the criticism I heard (Literally several videos on Youtube) was criticism towards Hondo for not telling a newly demoted soldier all of her plans.

Anywho Rey has this new movie coming out...........okay. Not sure who wants to come back for it other than her. After TROS and the fans most co-stars seem good doing other things. OG characters are killed off. There is one person with stunning jet black hair, 6'3, plush naturally red lips, a big dick, freckles and a heroic run that she's in a dyad with that would make this whole movie worth it. Do I faith they'll do the right thing and pay Adam Driver whatever they need to to bring him back? No. Cause there is a little bit of an agenda. For some reason love in the Star Wars universe doesn't do very well, but for the woman it's none existent. The concept that a strong woman doesn't have to die alone seems odd to the very people that want equality for women. For example I saw this comment, "Rey Skywalker is her own character and her continuing story doesn’t have to revolve around Ben Solo. Daisy Ridley’s return shouldn’t be overshadowed by fan expectation over Adam Driver returning."

Yes, it does. This film needs to work. I cannot stress that enough. You know people want to see this film fail. Reylo isn't purely for sentimental reasons (I WOULD SEE MY DYAD REUNITED FOUR TIMES IN THEATRES) Reylo is the biggest marketing advantage Disney Star Wars has..... you knew that when Solo flopped. Do the smart thing, put these people on mute and give us a iconic fight fuck scene.

Rey also wear clothes appropriate with her environment and match the physical needs of what she needs to accomplish like her male peers. Logical and refreshing. I hear the men mostly complain about the lack of hot women in their fantasy.

We could also talk about the sexism Carrie Fisher faced from the not only the studio, but the fandom for the crime of getting older and gaining weight. Her in a metal bikini is already in the spank bank - she contributed enough.

Again, neither Carrie Fisher nor Daisy Ridley in a smart world could ever really own that. Anymore than the Rose Tico actress could. Worse, they could never really tell the Fanboys what they really think of them. I love me some Fanboys, I do, but they aren't a perfect group of people. They just criticism everyone's work like they are. We're suppose to ignore the giant dump they take on anything and everything that comes out. I genuinely think the people beyond The Star Wars Sequel Trilogy sought out to create a great story. To honor what came before. In many respect they did. They aren't George Lucas though.

There is legitimate criticism towards Disney for how it has handled the Star Wars franchise. Currently it can't exactly be be described as quality over quantity. The writers seem like they are writing for early 00s Disney Channel rather a complex space political fairytale. Characterization has not been wonderful. Again, it's not simple. While Disney has not steered the ship perfectly. I would argue there was an audience sitting in ill will and waiting to be disappointment.

#reylo #star wars #ben solo #rey star wars #rey skywalker #ben solo deserved better #ben solo x rey #kylo x rey #kylo ren #adam driver #daisy ridley #george lucas #star wars fanart #star wars rebels #star wars the clone wars #star wars prequels #sw art

[greenzeppelin215]

My Led Zeppelin Reunion Odyssey

Like everyone else, I'd first heard rumors of Led Zeppelin reuniting in June 2007. I assumed this was just another in a long line of rumors that seemed to materialize on an almost regular basis.

I didn't think much of these latest rounds of rumors until I received a cryptic email from my Zeppelin associate in September. He said it was definitely on and would be announced the public in a few weeks. I had to promise not to repeat this information to anybody until it's been officially announced.

The rumors and web sites were lit up with speculation, theories, denials, dreamers, skeptics and nay-sayers. Finally the day came when an official announcement was made and the Zeppelin world on the Internet exploded. There was to be a concert on Nov 26th, 2007 in honor of Ahmet Ertegun with Jason Bonham joining the rest of the band.

I immediately calculated the odds of getting a ticket, getting off from work and traveling to London. I didn't even have a valid passport. So I resigned myself to hearing about it and seeing clips of it on the Internet. I immediately assumed I would not be going and didn't entertain the thought an set myself up for disappointment. Like 20 million other fans over the world, I registered for a ticket online and didn't seriously consider having a chance at winning a ticket but it was definitely worth a try.

However, a few weeks after the concert was announced in Sept, I got an email from my Zeppelin associate saying "Pack your bags". I didn't quite know what to make of it and wasn't sure what he was referring to or if he was playing some sort of practical joke.

I replied to his email and asked something like "Is this what I think it is?" He said it was and it was serious and came from "the Source”, a reference I knew to mean his connection with the inner circle within the band, Jimmy Page's manager whom he'd known quite well since meeting him in 2003 at the release and premiere showing of "DVD" in NY.

A few days later he forwarded me an email from 'The Source" outlining the itinerary for picking up our tickets:

TICKET COLLECTION

As you are a friend of ours, you won't be required to pick up your tickets at will call with the 20,000 other fans - you will however need to go to the Royal Garden Hotel at 2-24 Kensington High Street, London W8 4PT. Tel: [phone].

On Saturday 8th December, between the hours of 11.00am and 2.00pm, from the Royal Garden Hotel. Please ask for guest Mark Reiter in Room number 247.

On Sunday 9th December, between the hours of 11.00am and 2.00pm, from the Royal Garden Hotel. Please ask for guest Mark Reiter in Room number 247.

On Monday 10th December any uncollected tickets will be sent over to the o2 Arena. These may be collected from 10.00am onwards, at the box office at the o2 Arena.

Please note that you will be expected to provide ID in your name to collect your tickets.

A few things NOT to ask Marc:

Can I get passes? Can I get more tickets? Can I pick them up later? Are the seats good?

While you may be a friend of ours, that doesn't necessarily, give you the right to give him grief or to be ignorant - unless of course he really asks for it!

The show will start at 7.15pm with Bill Wymans All Stars. Led Zeppelin will be on stage at 9.00pm. The show will be over at 11.00pm…..

If you have any other questions regarding ticket collection please feel free to email me at [email protected]

Instantly calculating the odds of being able to find a flight, hotel, a passport and time off from work, I knew this would be a miracle to pull off. It all seemed too good to be true. It was all happening too fast.

It came out of the blue and didn't seem real. Would I have enough time to renew my passport? Would it all fall apart after getting a ticket when all hinged on getting a new passport? My old passport was needed to in order to get a new one and it sat 800 miles away in storage.

I didn't know if I could: 1) Get back to Philly or 2) Locate it and 3) Send in with enough time to be renewed and returned to me in time.

As it happened, I had to fly to Atlanta for work in early Nov. and I scheduled the flight to stop over in Phila. with a long layover.

I jumped in the rental car, drove to the storage place and immediately found the passport! Shortly thereafter, it was announced that Jimmy had broken his finger and the concert would be postponed until Dec 10th. Had the concert not been postponed, my worst fears would have been realized where I would have had a ticket but no passport. I actually did not have a ticket in my hand and was assured that I would be given one once in London. I booked a hotel and flight and everything seemed OK at that point.

Not so OK was the fact that our contact within Zep's camp was evasive and frequently unavailable. Our hopes we dashed and then a reassurance would come on the roller coaster ride that was getting tickets to the concert.

Many assurances were met with long intervals of silence that did not instill a lot of confidence that we, in fact, would have tickets in hand in London.

So travel plans made, I left for the airport only to be called by my boss asking if I was working that night. After multiple calls, I scrambled and found a replacement at the last minute.

Earlier as I was leaving, I superstitiously said that it would be a good concert if I'd seen a dog before the show. Well, I get to the airport and immediately see two German Shepherd working dogs. A good vibe straight away!

A long flight to London then met up with my two fellow Zep friends at Heathrow airport. The airport was swarming with Zeppelin fans from all over the world. The customs agent even asked if I was there for the concert. The atmosphere was buzzing with Led Zeppelin magic. Jumping on a train with our luggage, we were instantly identified as Americans among the Londoners. The plan was to get off the train and locate a particular hotel and pick up the tickets.

Arriving at the hotel, we were given the room number and excitedly knocked on the door. Upon entering the crowded room, we identified Jimmy's road manager on the cell phone and then sitting at a table making plans-mostly about tickets and passes. The room was filled with hangers-on, roadies, assistants and the obligatory model type named "Fern".

The 3 of us sat on the sofa as not to intrude on the proceedings. Finally, my buddy spoke with the manager and was told to wait.

Thirty minutes later, we were each given an envelope. It was spilling over with tickets, passes and multi-colored wrist bands. Huh? Were we given the right envelopes? These apparently were for VIP's as the passes were for rehearsal access, multiple after parties and everything a fan could possible want and more. I could only say "Thank you, thank you". We left the hotel and noticed a marble plaque on the ground that read "All Will Be Revealed". It was eerie.

Making it to the hotel, we had heard rumors of the stage crew also being there. I imagined Zeppelin style parties throughout the hallways. It has to be a rumor only as it simply would be too good to be true. We checked in to the hotel, the West India Quay Marriott which was $600/night when accounting for the exchange rate. I thought that rather steep but figured we were getting the tickets and passes for free so it was worth the expense. The girl at the desk said "It's taken care of". I looked at my buddy and didn't say a thing. We gathered in the lobby and asked "Did she mean what I thought she meant?". He thought so and we apparently were "comped" by the band. All 3 of us were staying at the hotel for three days for free. Unbelievable!

My two buddies went sight-seeing around London and to buy t shirts and souvenirs but I decided to stay in the hotel and rest from the long flight and avoid the gloomy, cold December weather outside. I hadn't brought warm enough clothing and could kick myself for not bringing my leather Led Zeppelin jacket!!

I stayed in and called friends from back in the States telling them I had made it to London and read all the Zep magazines I had picked up along the way.

One of the passes we were given was for the soundcheck/rehearsal. The O2 was only a mile away but we had to take a train to get there. We boarded the train and made it to the venue. We immediately met familiar faces and spent time with the Zep tribute band Led Zepagain, also members of FBO. While in line, we could hear the rumblings of "No Quarter" coming thru the doors.

After a thirty minute wait, we were escorted in to the stage area where we saw Robert, Jimmy, John Paul and Jason on stage casually working thru 'No Quarter',' Nobody's Fault But Mine' ,'In My Time of Dying' and a loose jam which was very cool.

There were maybe 100 people among the audience-mostly crew, charity people and contest winners. Robert got down from the stage and wandered around on the floor to listen to the sound and socialize with the crew and fans. I think one of the people he was talking to was his daughter or a close female associate who was laying on the floor right in front of the stage. During the rehearsal, Jason's son did a little drum solo met with a nice round of applause. Robert's voice sounded great and Jimmy's guitar sound was powerful! It was amazing to see the band rehearsing and in such a casual mood. It was the best of both worlds where they were the famous rock stars but also casual enough to just be themselves hanging out and enjoying the chemistry. All 4 band members seemed relaxed and upbeat. After about an hour, we were all asked to leave and were back in to the O2 corridors. From the performance we had just witnessed, we anticipated a powerful concert.

That afternoon back at the hotel, I got a call from one of my buddies who said "Quick, get to the lobby. Jimmy's guitars are down in the lobby in cases!". I jumped on the elevator and made it to the lobby but the gear had disappeared as fast as it had arrived. Apparently it was true that the road crew was staying at our hotel after all. But there were no hot groupies running the hallways, unfortunately.

Later that night, there was a planned social gathering at a local pub called "The Pilot" where Zep fans from different online fan groups had agreed to meet. Royal Orleans, FBO, Achilles Last Stand and representatives from the official forum were all meeting up that night at "The Pilot".

Nech, Mike and I wandered over to the Pilot thru the cold night. Images of American tourists waiting to be pounced upon by a stray werewolf (to quote from Nech, himself).

I was especially looking forward to meeting up with Annie Hollinshead, the organizer of the Knebworth event planned for the following August and Kevin ,a native Brit who I'd been in contact with for years but have yet to meet. Annie and I had been corresponding by phone and Skype for the previous 6 months in preparation for the Knebworth event and a book of collected fan stories to be given to Jimmy on his birthday for the previous 6 months or so. But I had yet to meet her too.

Upon arriving at "The Pilot", I met up with Kevin and Annie where I recounted the afternoon's events at the rehearsal.

There was a festive atmosphere at the pub where long held friendships were renewed or realized in the real world for the first time much like Annie, Kevin and myself. We met up with a guy who claimed to have recorded the Honolulu 71 concert who presented us with photos and his story of being at that concert.

There also was a guy from Sweden outside the pub looking for tickets. It was a great environment but all three of us were absolutely starving as none of us had a thing to eat since arriving. The rush of events and location of the venue and hotel did not lend itself to access to restaurants. The pub had no food at that hour and we were all about to pass out. We made our way back to the O2 which was the closest place that had any food at that hour and split a pizza with Annie, Kevin and a mate of his. I think we finally got to bed back at the hotel around 2 or 3 am.

The day of the concert, we all met up in the one hotel room and did multiple checks for tickets, passes, wrist bands and identification that we were told would be required to get in to the building. After a frantic search for a misplaced ticket, we headed to the train station.

We boarded another train and met a few fellow Zep fans from all over the world, including a group of drunken British business men and another American. Arriving at the O2 , the atmosphere was cold but electric with anticipation. Fans spilled in and were spread out all over the place. The news media had camped out all over the grounds of the enormous venue grounds, covering the hottest news story all over the world for that day and days afterwards. I said to nobody in particular “I wonder if there will be any celebrities here"-not realizing this event was THE social event throughout all of Europe for everybody including non-Zeppelin fans. Models and celebrities from all over had descended on the event as the place to see and be seen. A huge inflatable blimp outside the venue reinforces the omnipresence of the might Led Zeppelin. I was thinking how nice it would have been to have actual airships flying over the O2.

We arrived at the door and were let in just on showing our wrist bands. We weren't even asked to show our driver's license or any of the checks put in place to prevent ticket scalping. It would have just taken too long and the security was not enforcing the identity checks put in place, at least not as strictly as had been announced.

We then made our way up the ramp to where our seats were and realized the seats were in the VIP area!! At this security check point, they were looking for cameras and recording devices with a metal detecting wand. Jimmy's road manager was there and came over said to the security guy "It's OK, these guys are OK" and were let thru the line without any bother. We were seated to left of the stage up on the 2nd level from the floor. At some point, I grabbed a sandwich which I think was $18. The seats could NOT have been better. We were up about halfway of the first section on Jimmy's side of the stage.

One of the guys ran in to some friends and went on a quest to find other friends from Europe. I met up with a fellow American and FBO member who now lived in the UK and we hung out talked about the show and who else was there we knew. One of my buddies made it down to the side of the stage and was talking with the crew who were guarding Jimmy's guitars by the stage. He came back and said he also spoke with Brian May from Queen who was there with his girlfriend. A few minutes later there was a buzz to my left as Marilyn Manson arrived with his actress girlfriend (Evan Rachel Wood). And I could have sworn I saw Nuno Bettencourt sitting to our left. (it turns out that it was him).

The warm up acts were given polite applause but nobody was interested. It was awkward for them as nobody was there to hear them. Everybody was only there to see Led Zeppelin and it was painfully obvious to the bands on stage (Foreigner etc.) and to the fans. There was a really nice filmed tribute to Ahmet and then a very nice filmed documentary of the band.

Then I noticed Jimmy come to the side of the stage and was stretching his legs limbering up before the show. Finally the lights went down and a roar came up thru the crowd.

The first chords of Good Times Bad Times raised the roof. It was a powerful, palpable sound!

The set list continued as follows: Ramble On Black Dog -"Good Evening" announced Robert. He commented on Ahmet and the fact that there were fans from 129 countries at the show. In My Time of Dying-Powerful For Your Life- Was met with a huge roar. It was rumored to be played at the show but nobody was certain it would actually be played at the show. Trampled Under Foot (During the beginning of each song, I dialed my buddy AJ was at work who was recounting which song was being played to his Zep fan office mates.) Nobody's Fault But Mine No Quarter- Very powerful. Since I've Been Loving You-Great Dazed And Confused was great with Jimmy using his bow and the laser pyramid. My friends Annie and Kevin were in the front of the stage at this point and I was happy that she realized her lifelong dream to see Jimmy in concert which she had never done up until this night. Stairway To Heaven introduced by Robert as "This is for you, Ahmet" then "We did it Ahmet" afterwards. The Song Remains The Same Misty Mountain Hop Kashmir was the highlight of the night. Robert's vocals were great and the visuals were perfect and mesmerizing. The crowd reacted to this song the most. Someone threw a bowler hat up on stage at this point, in dedication to John Bonham, I assume. Jason Bonham came to the front of the stage and turned around to face Robert, Jimmy and JPJ in an "I'm not worthy" gesture. -Encore: Whole Lotta Love Rock And Roll

After the lights went up, I noticed that Richard Cole was standing 2 rows in front of me. I elbowed Mike and whispered "That's Richard Cole!!". He said "How do you know?" I just knew as I'd seen an interview with him on the E! Channel and he looked the same as in the interview. In the meantime, my buddy from NY spotted Mo Jones making her way out of her seat beneath us and to the left. He spoke with her briefly but she didn't recall him from their meeting in NY in 2003. She was there with her grandchildren and preoccupied with them. We reluctantly filed out of our seats and the place was buzzing. There was a bottleneck in the corridor as friends and fans were mulling around talking about the experience. My buddy was talking with Warren Haynes from Government Mule who was really nice. A minute later, I noticed Ben Harper and his girlfriend Laura Dern walking around. I took the chance and tapped her on the shoulder and told her that I loved the movie "October Sky" which is one of my favorites. She lit up and said "Thank you!" and was really sweet. She's tall! I could see that her boyfriend asked her what I'd said to her and I'm assuming she told him I commented on the movie. Meeting her was icing on the cake. An actress from one of my all-time favorite movies after the Zeppelin show! So we gathered together and were looking for how to get to the backstage area. There was a group of us all lost and apparently looking for the same place. Richard Cole was standing among us and looking for the same place. The elevator was crowded and he got on the next one. We found the corridor leading to the backstage area and got in line with our wristbands prominently displayed. Who was standing in line in front of me? Richard Cole, of course! Amazing. He's pretty tall too…six feet two, I would say. I wanted to reach out and talk to him but thought better of it. I regret not at least saying "Hi" to him. We entered the back stage area and got something to drink. My buddy and I found an area to stand and observed the crowd pass by. Eddie Kramer walked by! (I’d met him at a record convention in 1988 so I immediately recognized him). Lulu the British singer was there too. Lots of model types were milling around. The atmosphere in the backstage area was electric with anticipation of any of the band members showing up, of course. A small group gathered in front of us: Richard Cole, one of the guys from Oasis, Chad Smith, the drummer from Red Hot Chili Peppers and a few other cool musicians stood around talking about the concert. Richard Cole was maybe ten feet in front of me the whole time and I really wanted to ask him for an autograph. But he was on his cell phone most of the time and I didn't want to intrude. It turns out that my buddy managed to get a photo with him which was cool. Damn, I should have been more forward with that! So were standing around and all the sudden a murmur covers the room like a wave. Jason Bonham shows up to our left. He's with his son and is surrounded by maybe ten people including my buddy who has a nice conversation with him. I could tell that Jason was really gracious and really friendly with all the fans. A few minutes later, Jimena Page makes an appearance. Like a streak across the room, she disappeared somewhere among a crowd, I think because I didn't see her after then. However, Jimmy's son, James Page Jr was there to my right and had a conversation with my buddy from NY. (He was very indifferent to being a world famous guitarist's song according to my buddy and apparently very down to Earth from what my buddy told me of their conversation) About 30 minutes later, John Paul Jones arrived surrounded by 15 people. He was glowing and obviously happy about the performance. He was inundated by questions from all around him. Again, I was so tempted to try to talk to him but didn't want to intrude and probably couldn't have penetrated the throng of people around him.

A few hours had gone by. JPJ and Jason stayed about an hour or so. Finally, ushers came in and announced that we all must leave. After much prodding, we were forced out of the backstage area and made our way to the after party at the Indigo Club. After another line and wrist band checking, we entered the Indigo. Solomon Burke, the blues artist was on stage. What I would assume were record company people and friends of the band were milling around. We were all pretty tired at this point but managed to stick around until three am or so. Not much was really happening at the Indigo but we hung out and made the most of it. Finally leaving the O2, we attempted to flag down a taxi. We were told that it would cost $100 or so by a rather rude taxi driver who wasn't interested in taking us anywhere so close as our hotel. We were starving, tired, elated, and cold and lost in the area around the O2. We even tried to flag down a regular bus and a double decker bus for two hours. We finally grabbed hot dogs off of a vendor working out of a cart there for working people on their way to work at five am.

Eventually we got a gypsy cab who took us back to the hotel. My flight back to Chicago was at 11:30 am that morning and Heathrow was all the way on the other side of London which entailed taking 3 trains to get to the terminals. I slept for an hour and left the hotel at seven am where I toured the London subway system to get to the airport and board the plane. Lots of hung over American Zep fans were on the shuttle bus and plane on the way back to the U.S. Everybody was recounting the previous night's events….still buzzing from the once in a lifetime experience. Fortunately the plane was almost empty and I stretched out across 4 seats to sleep the whole length of the flight back home. Carrying my cache of souvenirs, I made it to the rental car and back to the hotel. That night I went in to work and recounted the whole story to my fellow co-workers. It all had not sunken it that I was actually there. A few weeks later, I had all the mementos framed from this amazing trip. http://i1060.photobucket.com/albums/t450/fsmith90951/IMG_0146_zpspoqn7f2t.jpg

#led zeppelin

[taperwolf]

Huh, realized something sad about My Dress Up Darling — specifically from the third episode of the anime — that I hadn't seen anybody else talking about. (So probably either I'm grasping at straws or everybody thought this went without saying, but there you go.) Details follow:

Basically, the conclusion is that the events outlined in Gojou's dream/flashback that opens the first episode formed such an outsized impact on his psyche because he was still recovering from his parents' untimely demise.

This conclusion comes from many things, but primarily comes from the episode 3 scene — corresponding to chapter 7 of the manga — where Gojou is talking about why he doesn't use the word "beautiful" lightly. He talks about, and we see, briefly, when he was first introduced to Hina dolls; it's part of the same sequence we see part of at the start of the first episode, and in more detail in episode eight when he's reflecting on his grandfather's happiness then when talking to Juju. But something about this time strikes me as important.

"I'm an only child," he says, "so the first time I saw a Hina doll was at my Grandpa's place."

Now, later, other family members, like his cousin Miori and her mother, are mentioned as working in the family business (ch. 74), but it's obvious that Gojou's father didn't. We don't know why, nor do we ever really hear why Gojou hadn't been to his grandfather's before that time. And we don't know exactly how old he is, though it was young enough that he hadn't really had potential friends before the trauma he went through with Non-chan.

The conclusion I can't help but come to is that that scene — where the solemn little boy is led into the Hina doll shop and imprints so strongly on their beauty — happens when he's arriving at his grandpa's place, because that's where he'll be living now. It's very, very soon after his parents' deaths. Grandpa just wanted to connect with his grandson, show him what he does, and was surprised and gratified when Gojou really fell for the dolls, and found a real passion.

And it's that very vulnerable little boy, hurt and lonely and trying to reach out and share the beauty he's found, who's harshly rejected, because a boy liking girls' dolls is "creepy".

(I'm still uncertain whether Gojou's father and grandpa had a falling out, or if the dad just wanted to do something else and lived far away; this reading feels more like an estrangement, because you'd think he'd have been to visit his grandpa earlier if there wasn't something preventing it. Miori's mom is mentioned as the doll factory's hairstyling expert, but her dad's role, if any, isn't mentioned; I'm guessing that Miori's mom was Gojou's dad's older sister from her family resemblance to Grandpa, and that her dad does something else, but I don't have any solid evidence.)

#sono bisque doll wa koi wo suru #my dress up darling #wakana gojou #spoilers #my dress up darling spoilers

[phoenixyfriend]

Keep having thoughts about "Anakin gets some very specific amnesia circa late S6, remembers most things but does not remember Padme, she sets up a meeting with Obi-Wan and tearfully explains that she's pregnant, and they're Anakin's, and she has no idea what to do when he can't even remember her, let alone the activities that would have led to the kids."

Meanwhile, Obi-Wan is trying to talk his pregnant sister-in-law through a mental breakdown about her definitely-going-to-be-kidnapping-targets unborn children

(Note: This was definitely inspired by me thinking about the amnesia plot in Undead Chosen One by @igaveyoufairwarning, as well as more generic amnesia plots. That said, the specific 'Anakin cannot remember Padme' element is the only thing I've lifted.)

Anyway, here's a plot outline for a fic I won't be writing.

Ventress is in that nebulous period post-break from Dooku, where she's still not a good person or anything but she's sort of poking herself away from being a Sith. She's stopped by home and learned some spells and is trying to figure out a way forward.

She gets. Weird dreams. Like. Really weird dreams. There's a really tall humanoid guy with wings that might? Be a god? And an old dude calling himself Father? And there's an owl? Something about Skywalker fucking over the galaxy because of his love for non-Jedi. (That's not actually what they said, but she wakes up disoriented enough to forget most of the details.)

Ventress decides to take matters into her own hands. There's a spell. There's rules. She looks into Skywalker's life and, since his mother is dead, it looks like the non-Jedi he actually cares about are his soldiers, Amidala, and the Chancellor. Also Tano, but Tano only barely isn't a Jedi, so she doesn't count.

Ventress has seen Skywalker compartmentalize the soldiers. She has not seen him compartmentalize Amidala or Palpatine. She has targets. She enacts.

Anakin is captured. He's got his memory messed with. He's out of it for days, and nobody's sure if he was drugged or got a head injury or what. He comes out of it and is... he seems alright? He asks if anyone's heard from Ahsoka since she left. Nobody has. He's upset. Obi-Wan is just relieved that Anakin didn't get the same treatment that Ratattak had been for Obi-Wan and Alpha-17.)

Obi-Wan semi-jokingly mentions that Senator Amidala's been worried about him, as one of those 'hey I know about your relationship, please confide in me' moments from TCW. Anakin's response is "who?"

Obi-Wan thinks this is a "play dumb, not that dumb!" moment. He laughs and takes it as a joke. Anakin is not joking. He is very clearly not joking. He is in fact panicking when Obi-Wan tries to make him be serious by showing him a photo of Anakin and Padme talking during some meeting or other a few months back, because he does not remember this lady, and he feels like he probably should, given how relaxed he is in the picture, and how pretty she is.

Obi-Wan also panics, and calls up all the medics and then starts trying to figure out who the nearest Jedi healer with mind art training is. There isn't really anyone nearby, so they resign themselves to going back to Coruscant since they were on their way anyway, having completed a rescue mission.

There are tests. There are conversations. They try to figure out if he remembers everyone else on the ship. He can identify most of the troopers that he's had reason to interact with, and only misses a few that he'd barely met, and that people would have expected him to forget with a mild concussion or a few days of bad sleep anyway.

They get to the Temple. More tests. He recognizes all the Jedi they bring up. Someone brings up telling the Chancellor, and Anakin agrees because the Supreme Commander should know if there's a memory-modifier running around and targeting Jedi, right? Right.

Padme keeps comming, but Anakin's comm has been confiscated by Obi-Wan. He doesn't know how to tell her. He messages her that Anakin is alive, but suffering from some memory problems. He doesn't specify past that.

Obi-Wan waits until that's all settled and, upon someone asking if they should tell Amidala before she starts trying to investigate with the handmaidens, awkwardly dancing around the 'we don't know what their deal is but we all remember these two youngsters making out in the Geonosian arena, right?' thing that nobody says out loud, Obi-Wan offers to be the one to go tell her. It's only right, and he knows her better than any other Jedi, now that Anakin's not... himself.

Obi-Wan gets to Padme's. He accepts some tea, and assures her that Anakin is physically healthy, and then slowly and carefully explains what happened. He doesn't say what he thinks has been going on with those two, but the door is open for Padme to comment. He still thinks they can fix this. Padme is shocked enough to be a little numb, and eventually he leaves, chivvied out by Threepio.

A few days pass. Getting the memories back is getting less and less likely. Someone is running interference with the Chancellor. Anakin hasn't even asked after him, so people know it's serious. Obi-Wan gets a comm from Padme. He goes to her apartment.

She's nervous. She has tea, but it's not made as well as usual. Her eyes are red. She wants to know if there's been any progress on returning Anakin's memories. There has not. She wants to know if she can trust Obi-Wan with a problem that involves Anakin. He promises that she can. She asks if Anakin remembers anything about their time on Tatooine. Obi-Wan tells her that Anakin didn't even remember his mother was dead, so no, not really. Padme makes a comment about how that might be for the best, and there is a short conversation about how Shmi died in Anakin's arms after weeks of torture. Obi-Wan doesn't follow up on that, because whatever Anakin did, he doesn't remember it, and it's definitely not the point of Padme calling him for help.

She tells him that she's pregnant, and they're Anakin's, and she doesn't know what to do. Obi-Wan is... immediately filled with dread. This situation is significantly more complex than before. Padme asks again if there's any chance of Anakin remembering her, because she doesn't know how to tell him about his children. What if they're Force-Sensitive? Won't they be even bigger kidnapping targets than just as a politician's children? What can she say once people start asking? Unmarried, unplanned pregnancy can kill a career, and if her husband doesn't remember her--

Obi-Wan does not comment on 'husband,' because he's a bit busy going over to put his arm around a crying pregnant lady who is apparently his sister-in-law. It's very awkward. He says that they can test right after birth, and if one or both of the twins--and it'll probably be both or neither, because that's how the Force tends to work in twins--are Force-Sensitive, they can go to the creche, if Padme agrees. She'll be able to check in on them, Obi-Wan would be happy to keep her updated by comm, and Anakin would be able to visit without feeling pressured to leave the Order for a commitment he doesn't even remember making.

This is not super helpful to Padme's specific fears, but it allays some of it. There are options. There are plans. Obi-Wan asks what she'll do if they aren't Sensitive, and she says she doesn't know. Without Anakin, and with Naboo still needing her, she doesn't think she'll be able to raise them as her own. Probably, she will ask her sister to raise them, or one of the handmaidens. She's starting to calm down, just enough that Obi-Wan is also losing some tension.

Anakin comms Obi-Wan. Padme freaks out a bit, and all the calm is gone. Obi-Wan answers, without letting Anakin know where he is, and receives the question 'Why is the Chancellor comming me directly? And asking to see me? Isn't that supposed to go through official request processing, or the council if it's a military emergency?

Abrupt realization that Anakin also doesn't remember Skeevy Sheev. Obi-Wan stuffs away his comm, heads for the door, and realizes Padme's following him only once he's gotten to the elevators. She insists on coming to the Temple with him. He can't stop her.

They get there. Obi-Wan doesn't have to ask Padme to stay away from Anakin for a bit, just for her own peace of mind. She knows as well as he does. Instead, she takes his suggestion that she see one of the Jedi healers that's got obstetric training for Force-Sensitive pregnancies, especially in non-Sensitive carriers, and Padme agrees. It's twins, they're both apparently future Force Sensitives of middling to high power (it's hard to tell this early, but they think so), and Padme's crying in the Healer wing.

Obi-Wan and the Council decide to obfuscate and tell Palpatine that Anakin is on a medical hold and can't talk to him right now, or for the foreseeable future. It'll work for now.

Obi-Wan asks if Anakin wants to see Padme. Anakin dithers, and then says that since he doesn't remember her, and she does remember him and probably cares a lot about him since Obi-Wan seems nervous, then it'll be painful for her, so it should be Padme's decision. Anakin will be basically meeting a very pretty stranger.

Obi-Wan goes to Padme. He asks if she'd like to see Anakin. She asks if Anakin's been told about the pregnancy yet. Obi-Wan says no. Padme asks if he can tell Anakin for her, before they see each other. Obi-Wan does not want to do this, but he will.

Obi-Wan goes to Anakin and, as delicately as he can, explains that Padme would like him to know some information and have time to digest it before they talk. He explains the pregnancy.

Anakin is... stricken. He's got babies on the way with a woman who loves him that he, personally, doesn't know.

From there it goes... somewhere? IDK. Anakin tries to figure out how to coparent with a stranger that loves him. Padme tells Obi-Wan the absolute bare bones of the Tuskens thing, which Anakin doesn't fucking remember, and things are awkward across the board. Nobody wants to punish Anakin for getting married when the marriage is... spiritually null and void, basically. They need him, and it's not like punishment would serve any purpose whatsoever. If he'd remembered, there'd be consequences of some sort, at least some kind of hearing, but like this? No. Not really.

Padme continues to be sad and pregnant and the kids end up in the creche and she probably avoids Anakin for a long time, because a huge appeal to her was their shared history from TPM, which he doesn't remember, and without that... he's trying to force himself to love her again, and she can't stand it. Seeing him hurts.

This does spiral into a fix it, at least in the sense of preventing O66 and wrenching the Republic away from becoming an Empire, but my main mental image is the scene where Padmé sobs on Obi-Wan about being pregnant with the children of a man who doesn't remember loving her.

#star wars #Padme Amidala #Anakin Skywalker #Obi Wan Kenobi #pregnancy #Anidala #amnesia au #phoenix posts #the clone wars #asajj ventress

[bi-bard]

I'm Crossing My Fingers for Something to Hold - Twelfth Doctor Imagine [Doctor Who]

Title: I'm Crossing My Fingers for Something to Hold

Pairing: Twelfth Doctor X Reader

Based On: Outlines

Word Count: 623 words

Warning(s): none

Summary: Traveling with the Doctor offers (Y/n) more of a purpose than they have ever known before. Not that the doctor would ever believe that.

Author's Note: This feels super short, but it does what it needs to.

Part One of March [Release Date: 4/5/2023]

Part Three of March [Release Date: 4/9/2023]

YEARBOOK - SLEEPING AT LAST WRITING CHALLENGE MASTERLIST

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

Running with the Doctor was great.

I had never experienced something that felt so important yet so... freeing.

For just a while, I was nothing beyond the goodness I had achieved. I wasn't my title. I wasn't the actions of the members of my family that came before me. I was just... there.

I never thought that I was going to get the chance to experience such a feeling.

The Doctor and I were taking a rare break from running around and saving galaxies. He insisted on sitting on a bench and admiring humanity. He had a dear love for Earth and the people that walked along its surface.

"This is nice," I said after a while. "Being able to just sit here and... watch."

"You make us sound like stalkers," the Doctor replied.

I rolled my eyes. "You know what I mean."

He didn't speak up.

"I was always so focused on holding up a legacy," I explained. "I never got to truly appreciate the people and all that they did. Not truly. But now, I feel like I am seeing so much more than just what's best for the survival of most. I am able to do good that doesn't have such weight and history attached to it."

"Good for the sake of being good," he added.

"Exactly. I love my life. I truly do, but this... this feeling is like a cloud has been cleared from my mind. It's beautiful."

"Well, that has nothing to do with me," he shook his head.

"What do you mean?"

"That goodness was always there," he shrugged. "You just needed a chance to express it. I had nothing to do with the goodness that you always had."

"But you gave me the freedom to use it."

"Oh, please, you would have found a way regardless of whether or not I stumbled into your throne room."

"Why can't you accept that you had an impact on another person?"

The Doctor didn't respond to that question. Instead, he decided to steer the conversation back to the original topic, "You can hold onto it. After you leave, I mean. Being good for the sake of being good."

I accepted the redirection, "I want to, but I am not sure my advisors would be quite as excited about ignoring my history and the legacy of the people."

"Charlie would be."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Why do you think that?"

"Because he's in love with you," the Doctor said it like it was the most obvious statement in the world. As if I had to have known about it before now.

"What," I scoffed. "What could possibly give you that impression?"

"I can see it," he replied. "It's all in the eyes. He softens around you. It was honestly quite annoying to watch. We had more important things to focus on and he was over making heart eyes at you."

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"Maybe now that the static is gone, you'll be able to see what everyone else has."

I chuckled and shook my head. "Let's just... go back to watching your precious people."

"Or maybe your feelings have led you to deny that they could be reciprocated."

"Shut up!" I snapped.

"Oh, never. Shutting up is not my thing."

"I could tell."

There was a long pause between us. Neither one of us spoke a word for what felt like ages.

And then, the Doctor spoke up again, "So, when did you start to catch feelings for Charlie-"

"Doctor!"

"Curiosity is our best strength. Don't punish me for indulging in it!"

I covered my face with my hands.

Maybe this freeing feeling wasn't worth putting up with the strange man with the blue box.

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

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#twelfth doctor fanfiction #twelfth doctor x reader #twelfth doctor imagine #doctor who imagine #doctor who fanfiction #doctor who x reader #imagine #fanfiction #x reader

[crackedpumpkin]

Ohmygod bro good job getting your coffee cause I would’ve barely survived that too!!! Good looking people in general really just be paralyzing people for some reason 😭

Cafe hopping really is fun tho, now that I think about it I have a similar story too with fumbling words. I went to this craft store for the first time and was tryna look for string cause I wanted to make those necklace bottle things, I asked the two people working in English, and since they had a hard time communicating with me they literally ran to another working person then running back to find me in the small shop! I didn’t get string in the end but I got the bottle! Could’ve avoided that if I just spoke my native language- but I didn’t cause adults (the older ones in my family) usually made fun of me for it 😭

The little moments really make the big things!! Both of you, amazing writers, no lie. I’ve been thinking of writing too so is it okay if I ask what the advice was? /nf

Michael gets arc’d! No more chip docking! But genuinely based of you to put that much care into your characters and stories 💖

Yes please I didn’t even know fruit-ade is an actual word- I was just making things up-

i aspire to one day be that pretty.

Please the way I wheezed- fr though, never be afraid to speak your own native language! My second language is Chinese and I am horrible at speaking it under pressure. I even got laughed at by my boss - that's how bad it was lmaooo, but honestly i don't really care. I'm just happy it makes people smile and laugh at it alongside me^^

As for the advice given by blake, it was focusing about the small things that led up to the big moment! This is purely my own interpretation though, but essentially always justify their actions. For example, if i make babes fall for miles outta nowhere then it's a little sudden, right? There's gotta be some form of catalyst that caused it in the first place.

Especially in the situation theyre currently in. Neither are entirely sure what they are yet, besides employer and employee. Before even progressing to being lovers and stuff they gotta form some kinda bond first, right? So the main thing for me was how to justify each step in their relationship.

Aka, is it reasonable for them to warm up to each other by this stage?? Or are they still on rocky terms with each other? It's honestly a fun challenge for me to write, because it gives me a chance to put myself in their shoes more thoroughly.

Even irl, there's gotta be a catalyst to make you fall for someone in the first place, right? Maybe one day you notice their eyes are really nice, or maybe you like the way their laugh sounds. Even before that, it's the little things that they do to make you feel safe in the first place :) relationships dont form overnight, after all~

"i would need to read the full thing through but a good rule of thumb for progression is either feeling it out and reasoning through if their reactions make sense or making it clear that time has passed between chapters and giving it a little suspension of disbelief" - @buthowboutno-spamming

bro, when you start writing please tag me in it!! I would love to read your work, and i know you can do it!! Honestly take it from me - dont take things too seriously. Writing is meant to be fun, not stressful. Like, when blank canvas started out it was just for shits and giggles and goofy and fun. thats what i was aiming for the whole time, and i wanted people who read my fic to hopefully smile or even do the lil nose huff thing we all do when we find something on the internet funny ^^

I'll add on a little advice of my own - feel free to ignore it lolol, but essentially:

I find it really helpful to have some form of plan or outline for your fic. Mine s constantly being adjusted, but it helps so much when you write your chapter and maybe realize oh wait iwanna do this here and do that there, and you know where everything should go like a puzzle piece! Something else I'd say is that there doesnt always have to be drama lmao, sometimes a sweet heartwarming fic is enough. You're enough.

Again, the little moments matter, right? That's why in chapter five i just kinda did a little hangout session :)

And omg when i say i am thrilled to write michael's character arc fr. an eureka moment hit me outta nowhere and immediately i RAN to tell @theblindhag because she has been honestly nothig but supportive and an absolutely lovely human bean. Which also kinda reminds me: having a good friend listen to all the crazy ideas in your head is so amazing fr, and i hope you have/will find that friend. Honestly, feel free to send in asks whenever - id be more than happy to have a chat or chill out!

I'll make a post on the fruitade soon, its like 1am where i am rn lmao. keep your eyes peeled for it anon!! it's the actual easiest to make, trust.

As a little bonus extra, allow me to share a little moment from upcoming chapters :)

#CPRambles

[ineffabildaddy]

1, 12, 22 :)

hi!! thank u for showing an interest in my writing ehe

do you daydream a lot before you write, or go for it as soon as the ideas strike?

it depends!! for fics that i know are gonna be longer than 1000 words, more often than not i do a lot of daydreaming, and i effectively start writing it in my head (usually at work lol) before i put anything down on paper/on the screen. but then, i'll get ideas for things that i know will be short - like, a line will come to me and i'll need to expand on it immediately - and i can basically bang those out straight away (not that they're very good lol)

12. do you outline your fics? if so, how detailed are your outlines? how far do you stray from them?

it depends!

the most detailed outlining i've done is for just up the stairs, a fic i wrote with @foolishlovers which @omens-for-ophelia illustrated (final chapter up soon), because 1. we all needed to know what was going on before we started writing/while we were writing and 2. i was directly responding to things someone else had written/ideas someone else had had (which was really really fun!!!!) so inevitably it led to far more notetaking than i would usually do

i usually just keep step-by-step outlines in my head, because largely there is far more porn than plot in my fics lol, but i do make detailed notes about certain moments as i think of them before i start writing, or once i've started writing but i've not got to a particular moment yet. that said, it's very rare that i forget anything i intend to put in a fic luckily

i very rarely stray from an outline - only if i find something realllly isn't working, like with this fic, for example - writing chapter 6 involved writing a bunch of different outlines that inevitably didn't work the way i wanted them to, so i just had to write some face-sitting and vibe with the horny side of things eventually ldkflkjfg

22. do you title your fics before, during or after the writing process? how do you come up with titles?

it really depends on the content of the fic - in the beginning, i titled my fics with quotes from the actual fics themselves, but after a while i started using song lyrics/song titles most of the time because i couldn't always find a way of doing that which sounded good. i find titles really really difficult and i wish i was better at them😭

#good omens #ask game #fanfic #ineffabildaddy

[itwoodbeprefect]

belated writing emoji asks, if you still feel like answering

🤡🦅👀

(these look weirdly big for some reason, apologies!)

ooh, this looks like an interesting horror story. a GIANT clown is about to be attacked by a HUGE bird but unbeknownst to either of them... disembodied eyes (BIG ones)... are watching... 👀 (but bigger)

🤡 What’s a line, scene, or exchange you’ve written that made you laugh? & 🦅 Do you outline fics or fly by the seat of your pants?

hee, you and @luredin had similar brainwaves it seems, because she also started with both of these in the same order! i answered them here, but i can come up with another example for the clown: in Johnny Lawrence vs. The Computer: A Tale of BOOP (a cobra kai fic) i was definitely cackling while writing some of johnny’s internal monologue around tech. he’s canonically awful with it to the point of parody (he's never owned a computer before! he's not a nerd!), which is obviously a great starting point, and this fic is essentially about johnny (briefly) drunkenly trying to catfish daniel and then getting mad about it, while he also just doesn’t understand how anything works:

The thing that makes the internet so great and also so much worse than the real world is that everything is really impersonal. You don’t hear people talk, you don’t see their faces, and you sure as hell can’t kick their ass through a wifi. So who’s gonna know if Johnny decides to play a prank on LaRusso and pretend he’s someone else? Who’s gonna figure out he’s not Jennifer Smith, a hot single mom with really great honkers who’s looking for a strong man to sell her a car?

Johnny types the email, sends it, laughs to himself about it for a bit (LaRusso is going to look so dumb if he thinks Johnny is actually a hot single mom with great honkers) and then wakes up hungover the next day and forgets all about it.

Until his computer goes BOOP.

There’s a fresh email in his internet.

there’s also a bit where he feels pretty smart for knowing that his email adress has a typo in it, because even he knows it’s email, not gmail - and a reference at the end to johnny having ongoing email exchanges with “half a dozen African princes with really naïve ideas of money management” (because there’s a scene in canon where he gives his information to all kinds of spam/conspiracy websites, iirc), which is of course a very obvious joke, but i just like the idea of that a lot. everyone’s wasting their time in those interactions, and they probably all deserve it.

👀 Tell me about an up and coming wip please!

well. for the starsky watches westerns fic i’ve recently been googling pretty cowboy hats, and it led to what’s probably going to be the first kiss scene! i keep changing the color of hutch’s hat though, so that’s yet to be decided.

also, yesterday i finally watched 1971’s zachariah, which was exciting because a) i learned i should have done that much earlier (not the painful warhol-esque experience i was dreading at all!!! honestly an almost perfect movie! and oh my god, that poster) and b) it (arguably together with blazing saddles, and maybe one or two others i still need to actually watch) throws a delicious spanner in the works for the central thesis of the fic so far, which was something like “if you’re a queercoded cowboy (in the movies), you’re probably going to end up dead (so what does that mean if i see us in them)” - and i’m sticking with that, but it’s great to be able to paint in more than one shade. (not only does zachariah not die, he gets a happy end! with his cowbff boyfriend buddy partner! after they start the movie by shOOTING A HOMOPHOBE. like i said, an almost perfect movie, and very exciting stuff to me.)

i also wrote some louise content (the guinea pig, i’m stubbornly keeping her as a part of this) that i could probably have used for the clown answer. while they’re watching red river:

“That’s a nice-looking gun you were about to use back there,” says Cherry Valance, and Starsky, his eyes newly opened, is left almost breathless from the impact.

“Don’t look,” he says, and cups a hand over Louise’s little face, because what’s happening on screen - those guys fondling each other’s guns, making them go off - it’s downright indecent.

send me emojis (if you want)!🌈  

#thank you for playing!! 🎉 #ask #* #by the time i'm posting this the emojis seem to have shrunk for me so i have no idea how these will post #but for anyone reading this later. they definitely were very big. can confirm #cowboy fic tag

[littlebittykittycommittee]

Gaster + acronyms

(This is something I feel that people have probably already discussed before, but I've never seen it and it made me really happy with something I'd been on the fence about before, so I wanted to write it out in case someone out there like me had the same hang-ups and might like to read this.)

So, for a long time I was like "man, I love the twist about what LV and EXP really stand for in-universe, but the acronyms are a little rough. I wish there was a more elegant alternative to use."

Because LV/LOVE = Level of Violence and EXP = Execution Points is a fun reveal that hits you really hard at first, right?

But as a real acronym, it's real rough! LV = Level of Violence looks fine, but Level Of ViolEnce ain't right, and then EXecution Points doesn't really work at all as an acronym and even worse, there's no good solution to it (like, be fair, how many words starting with "X" would even work there? good on ya for figuring something out, Toby).

But then I realized something.

The same issue with "improper" acronyms can be said of one W.D. Gaster.

So we know Gaster's first name is Wingdings. We can safely assume this because Entry No 17 is written in wingding font, making him one of the few characters who uses an alternate font; this is also true of Sans and Papyrus, who speak in their own font. They are skeletons named after the font they speak in. Gaster's notes are in wingdings and he is commonly assumed to be a skeleton, so following that trend he'd also be named after his own font, making his first name Wingdings. So then, is his full name Wingdings Gaster?

It's possible, but first let's propose an alternate theory: let's say Gaster named LV, EXP, etc and possibly outlined what it all means. I know "Gaster did it" is overused a lot, but in this case I think it actually works really well!

So, let's say Gaster's first name is Wingdings, which seems to fit his initials if you apply the same improper acronym reading to his name as with EXP and LV. WingDinGaster. This leaves the "aster" part of his name as a surname, which works because Aster is another type of font.

So reading his name normally, we would assume his name is Wingding Aster or as the followers might refer to him, Dr. W. Aster.

However, following the Undertale acronym "system", it could instead read as WingDinG aster or Dr. W.D. Gaster.

Much of Gaster's work that he did in life is unclear, all we know for sure is that he created the CORE and we don't even know when he did that (whether he is a long-lived monster who did it when Asriel and Chara were alive, or is a monster with a more normal lifespan whoonly sometime within the past decade or so prior to Undertale).

(Tangent #1: Some speculate he might've also drawn up the blueprints for the Determination Extraction Machine, started the determination experiments, and/or participated in the timeline research Sans mentions; I don't like thinking that he was behind so much of the research because it undermines how that was all Alphys' storyline, her breaking new ground with the discovery of determination leading to the creation of the Amalgamates and Flowey, and giving Gaster credit for that doesn't sit right with me since it puts almost EVERYTHING Alphys did as Royal Scientist (for better or worse) in Gaster's shadow. I'm inclined to think the determination experiments were all Alphys (all the notes other than Entry 17 seem to only be from Alphys, the different writing styles seem to be reflections of her outlooks and don't match what we can be pretty sure as Gaster's writing with the all-caps style), though he might've first drawn up the blueprints with intentions of using them for something else (perhaps prototypes to the Gaster Blasters, that Alphys repurposed as determination extraction machines, perhaps provided them by Sans) and him focusing on researching timelines might help explain why he was scattered across time and space; depending on how he was researching that, it could've believably led to something going wrong like that.)

Since so much of his other work as Royal Scientist is unknown, let's say that Gaster researched and went on name/label and write up systems for these units of measure: EXecution Points, Level Of ViolEnce. If you want to go with the fanon that HP actually stands for HoPe, he can be the one who named that, too.

(Tangent #2: Since hope actually makes up part of the monsters' soul, it would make sense that it is literally the lifeforce for monsters, and could be considered the monster equivalent of determination.)

In my opinion, it'd make sense for Gaster to have researched and invented these systems. Depending on when you think he was alive, he was likely either there before Chara joined the royal family (a time when monsters are implied to have been so fearful of humans still that they hid as far back from the barrier as possible, all cooped up in Home/the Ruins) or present when the fallen humans were ordered to be killed and their souls collected (when monsters expected to wage war against humans when the barrier was broken, and before that be ready to kill any humans who fell in). Consider that with how powerful humans are, that they can so easily wound and even kill monsters just by hitting them with enough negative emotion, and this is widely known enough to be put in children's textbooks. In other words, regardless of his time period, it would make sense for a Royal Scientist to have researched human aggression and how powerful killing makes them; know thy enemy, right?

Also, as I mentioned at the start, these aren't proper acronyms: LOVE for Level Of ViolEnce, EXP for EXecution Points. If we assume Gaster named them though, it would follow the same pattern we see with his own name. That might be a quirk of his personality (he seems like a weirdo, can't rule it out), or it could be because his primary font is so wildly different from most that it sort of functions as a separate language and thus "translations" might be a little funky. Wingdings being his natural way of speaking but being hard for most to understand, and him having to learn to speak in a second font, would explain why his notes for himself are written in wingdings, but why when he talks to us, the players, he speaks in a non-wingdings font, probably used to people not being able to understand him at first.

It would also tie in with Gaster being an entity so associated with breaking the fourth wall (found only in easter eggs, speaking directly to players, hijacking Toby's Twitter account), for him to be the one who researched and named the concepts of EXP and LV that turned our understanding of those things as players, on their heads. Hell, since even our earliest pegging of him (a contemporary of Chara and Asriel) would put him in the 2010's, maybe Gaster even named those units of measure as a riff on RPG tropes on purpose, maybe out of a very dry sense of humor or maybe because he's an even bigger nerd than any of us have possibly conceived. As a man of science, I can see him researching human technology that fell into the Underground, and like his successor would with anime, I can see him being an RPG geek.

The bottom line: In this case, I think if we say "Gaster did it!" wrt the funky acronyms, it actually fits shockingly well and gives us a little more about him to talk about.

#undertale #undertale theory #wd gaster #text #this is interesting to no one except me (sad loling) #god i have no idea who'd even be interested in this #but it bugged me so much until i hit on this and now i love it #toby if you actually planned all this out you are fr a genius #this was bugging me for AGES dudessss #long post

[savedpeople]

🔪🎃 savior verse this time

Send ‘🔪🎃’ for a starter where our muses are carving pumpkins together | Not Accepting | @mercyprevaild

"I told you it was something good! I ever lie to you, Rick?"

Still, one probably wouldn't expect to be led up to the meeting room to... carve pumpkins. But here they are, just the two of them, a pumpkin each (and Lucille, of course, sitting across from Rick, but she's without a pumpkin of her own), a Neil Young album Negan managed to get his hands on playing softly in an old CD player, and some drinks, for good measure.

"So, why me?"

This is about his wives, he's sure, assumes Rick's mind still hangs on the fact that Negan has a plentiful amount of young women who he makes clear he still spends time with. And why not them? Negan sees the question coming a mile away, in fact he's surprised it takes him this long and part of him really, really wants to ask back, 'You don't know?'

But he doesn't.

"Come on, even a guy like me needs company every once in a while." That's not what he's asking. "I mean don't get me wrong, Lucille here is great, but she's not really into carving, as it turns out. More into the bashing and smashing side of things, you know?" He glances at her, then his pumpkin, and chuckles to himself. "Heh... smashing pumpkins."

He swears he hears Rick laugh through his nose.

"And, just so you know," he continues, sticking his knife back into said pumpkin, "I did invite your kid." Sort of. More like asked how he'd feel about pumpkin carving with him, already knowing his answer, without a mention of Rick. "Know what he did? Rolled his fucking eyes at me. So he missed out on some fun father-son bonding shit, with a side of Negan."

Rick hums, and Negan catches the mildly amused look on his face. He continues carving the jagged outline of a mouth for a moment before adding on, casually, "At least somebody's getting some bonding time with his Daddy."

In an instant, a chunk of carved-out pumpkin is whipped in his direction, hitting him square in the shoulder. Negan only doubles over with a snort, nose scrunching up in laughter as it falls to the floor beside him.

"Negan."

When he looks up he expects to see the annoyance he thinks he hears in Rick's voice, and it's there, but when their eyes meet and the laughter is still in his chest and on his face, after a moment he thinks he sees something else there, too.

His smile softens, just a little, and he clears his throat and drops his gaze to bring his focus back to the activity in front of him. Rick seems to do the same.

"I am... enjoying this, Rick." Negan speaks up again after a bit of Harvest Moon-filled silence. "Truly. Enjoying doing this with you, specifically." I picked you because I like fucking spending time with you, and I'm pretty sure you like spending time with me, too.

His chest feels weird at the thought and for a second he wishes he could take Lucille to his own goddamn head.

"Any-fucking-way," his voice more dramatically booms this time, as it often does, not letting whatever moment was starting to happen there last any longer. Great recovery, Negan. "I don't know about you, but I cannot fucking wait to chow down on some pumpkin seeds later."

#mercyprevaild #a very belated pumpkin carving date <3 #✘ || First one's free ( asks ) #✘ || Savior regan ( canon au ) #✘ || We are the saviors ( canon verse 1 )

[myspacepoet]

Go OFF I wanna hear about this au 👀👀👀

HI ANON. um this is gonna be a long one.

so basically its a dnd inspired fantasy au, with the party as their dnd characters, classes pulled from this post , definitely didn't have to scrounge through my save blog for that, by @/elekinetic, if they didn't already have them. because it's real and true.

basest plot outline i can possibly give you is as follows; as young children all of the members of the party were Marked somehow for Evil and Villainous purposes, or perhaps Good and Benevolent purposes, but it stands that they marked. (by whom? well. tch. heh.) this mark comes with this innate.. pull? i guess? to the other members, but not strong enough to be noticeable, more of a seeing the others and thinking "oh! there you are! i've been looking for you!" despite never meeting before. the group starts as mike and will finding each other, before it all kinda spirals and they form a little adventuring party, led to their next destination by their faithful cleric, who alongside the original pull, feels another drawing them all to wherever the universe decides they Need To Be.

that's like. the concept i guess? i really don't want this to run too long so i'm putting more ideas and villainy and art and such under the cut :-D be warned i hate most punctuation and i love to ramble.

OK SO. first of all edward and henry are twins so jot that down. something Terrible and Unspeakable happens to the rest of their family when they're like 12ish and they run for the hills, eventually stumbling upon the mansion dwelling of a reclusive and moderately to severely insane mad... scientist? not entirely sure what brenners fantasy world equivalent profession would be. anyway yeah its brenner the twins are tricked duped swindled and had until theyre locked in his basement and become his newest experiments.

brenner is basically training them to be his guard dogs/weapons of mass destruction and is doing. canon typical things to them. until henry's like hey maybe you're right the world kinda does suck but id be sad if it all burned to the ground :-( i don't see how that's helping. (this is possibly spurred on by a spot of creelarke and scott chilling in gardens and teaching him that not all science is bad and mean and also that brenner is kinda full of shit) and for this grave crime he is locked in the attic.

vague handwavy magic plot bullshit (motives? where were going we dont need motives) blah blah edward has Marked/Cursed the party members woah oh noo!!!

this is mostly a vehicle to think really hard about fantasy byler and lumax and pre-UD-esque henry interacting with the party through their dreams to aid their Great Quest so try not to breath on it too hard. it may or may not fall apart.

OK ART YIPPEE YAHOO LETS GO

side note i know jack shit about dnd races and quite frankly do not care. i said dnd inspired not dnd were going TYPICAL FANTASY RACES ONLY I'M TALKIN ELVES HUMANS DWARVES AND SHIT ELSE.

they all have a more casual outfit for downtime and one for traveling and/or battling etc etc. you get the gist. dustin and lucas aren't done yet and you'd have to take drastic measures to get me to do anything other than type rn.

also have some doodles bc i like you :-) ft. a henry and miwi's first meeting.

i have way more thoughts (particularly regarding max and mikes backstories and mikes oath and 8 thousand other things). but i don't wanna be annoying.

final thing is that for extra credit you are welcome to listen to the moon will sing by the crane wives and think about this au's henry okay byyyyyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee (slowly fading away)

#byler #byler au #not in the mood to tag thats all ur getting #the void screams back #jessies art