#( i've been getting busier and busier with each day and tumblr is taking up a lot of my energy right now i need to use for other things )

[pygmy-puffy]

i've been going through my online accounts trying to put everything in one place and delete the millions of project accounts I never use. This has sent me on a journey through years-old posts, when I just started posting fanart for the harry potter fandom. I was in a really rough spot mentally during those years and revisiting old posts makes me so grateful to this community for seeing me and interacting with me when my everyday life outside of tumblr was sad and grey. When I started feeling better and regained some sort of control on my life, I naturally started getting busier with stuff and stopped creating fanworks. These pieces and the community still hold a very special place in my heart though.

i deleted the original post of this illustration from an old blog, but I wanted to keep it on tumblr for old times sake. I think this was the second piece of art I posted ever. The following is the text I had written to go with it:

"I just wish that during the summer before his 4th Year at Hogwarts, Draco would begin to understand the true implications of sharing his parents’ views about the world. Horrified, he would distance himself from anyone with similar beliefs. A few weeks into the school year, he would even muster up the courage to approach Hermione, Ron and eventually Harry to apologize for what he has said and done. By the end of the year, Draco and Harry would have become civil with each other and would actually regularly study together outside in the shade of the trees. One day, they would be taking a break from studying, and Harry would pick a flower from the grass and pretend he is offering to Draco. With a light chuckle, he’d prepare to throw it back into the grass, but Draco would suddenly reach out and brush his fingertips across Harry’s wrist. They would look at each other for a long moment, tiny smiles curling up the corner of their mouths. Then in silence, they would enjoy the warmth of an early summer and a budding relationship that would change the course of the war."

[nikkxb]

Y'all, it's been a year.

I have some absolutely wonderful asks in my inbox. They've been bright moments over the last few months. I will get to them, but please know I see them.

I've written absolutely nothing since the Inu-spiration reverse bang in June. Not a single word. I'm not stressing about it, though I've received some lovely comments since then on a few of my fics. I've been slowly working my way through responding to those comments and I'll be taking each day as it comes. I have no promises. I know what I want to finish. I know what's important to me to work on. I cannot make any guarantees.

Work has been good. Stressful recently -- I switched over to an online booking system and have a small handful of clients who are fighting tooth and nail against the change. I knew this was coming and prepared for it, but it's still exhausting and frustrating to deal with. (On the flip side, it's been a fucking dream of an asset with a great majority of my clients.) And I'm getting busier, so there's that.

Personal life is...a handful:

Me and the husband are great. We're dealing with a few things in our relationship, but we're working through them and he's still my lobster.

My relationship with my family is great; their relationship, not so much. One sister has been having massive problems with her husband, to the point that we genuinely don't know if we'll see him next year for Christmas. It's been very stressful and very hard to talk about.

Two very close friends of mine are going through a divorce. It wouldn't be messy if he (my closer friend of the two) would accept the consequences of his actions and let her fucking go. But it seems like he's having to learn a lot of things the hard way and I'm not sure what will be left of our friendship when all's said and done.

Husband and I are in the process of buying the townhome we live in. It was sprung on us a little over a week ago and while I'm trying to keep everything organized, it's been a mess. And so incredibly stressful. It would be one thing if we were buying because we were ready to; another thing entirely to be buying because the alternative is to find another place to rent in the worst renting market I've ever seen.

I went to a book convention that was an amazing experience, spent a lot of money, bought a lot of books, met a ton of wonderful people. Started reading said books -- and I absolutely hated the first four I picked up. Definitely worried that I'll hate most of the books I bought, which has done wonderful things whenever I remember how much money I spent. /s (Silver lining is that those four books were only from two authors. Much easier to accept I don't like an author than a ton of unconnected books.)

My house is a mess. It's an absolute mess. The only clean room is our bedroom and I refuse to do anything but sleep and read in there. Everywhere else is cluttered and messy and disorganized and such a visual stress, I haven't been able to do anything. I'm sure once it's cleaned, I'll be able to decompress, but the house has been like this since the beginning of June and I don't know how to fix it.

That's the cut and dry of it. I tried to keep it condensed. I'm sure there's more.

A lot of good happened this year, too, but I'm mostly just letting y'all know I'm alive, I'm okay, and why I've been so silent. Hoping to see more of you in the new year.

Oh, did I miss anything? Is there really porn back on tumblr?

[mysteryinkkat234]

I posted 903 times in 2022

That's 903 more posts than 2021!

29 posts created (3%)

874 posts reblogged (97%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@aunty-venom

@sosuperawesome

@libellule2001

@agent-one

I tagged 55 of my posts in 2022

#adrian chase - 17 posts

#vigilante - 17 posts

#peacemaker - 16 posts

#fanfiction - 15 posts

#adrian chase x reader - 15 posts

#vigilante x reader - 14 posts

#moon knight - 10 posts

#fanfic - 10 posts

#adrian chase x oc - 8 posts

#vigilante x oc - 8 posts

Longest Tag: 113 characters

#people i've clocked him looking similar to: andy samberg. josh hutcherson??? an ex. australian doctor from house.

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Writing DID and Researching Moon Knight

Hey lads, gamers, gaymers, Ladies and gentlemen, been a while. Sooooo remember when I said I was thinking of writing Moon Knight stuff, well yes that’s gonna happen however it’s gonna take a lot more time because as you see in my the moon knight knight tags, a lot of stuff is happening.

Now, my knowledge of DID comes from online, I never met someone who was part of a system (or told me they were part of one) but most of my knowledge of DID is from the internet however sometimes that’s not a credible source, so if there’s any websites that are good for research, let me know. I really don’t want to get things wrong so once my first Moon knight story goes live, please let me know if I did something wrong so I can take it down and rewrite.

Secondly, researching Marc, Steven and Jake somehow became a difficult task, the Marvel Wiki being my only source because majority of stuff that comes up are articles talking about the show and wondering if they got DID right while also using the words ‘personality’ and ‘alter ego’ to describe Marc, Steven and Jake. Writers, Moon Knight is Marc’s Alter Ego, Clark Kent is Superman’s alter ego. But yeah researching this character is gonna be difficult.

So If you wanted to know where I was, I was feeling anxious because I’m scared of making people angry, please let me know what I got wrong in these stories and I just want to understand more of something that I barley know anything about

Thank you for being patient, if there’s any Moon Knight fanfics you want me to write, my dms are always open.

53 notes - Posted April 8, 2022

#4

Emerald Eyes (Adrian Chase/Vigilante x Reader

‘First’ post because I think tumblr hates me. I want to once again thank @redpool-fics​ for recommending this story and showing me around this great community.  If you want to request a headcannon/story idea, you can send me a message, don’t be shy. read my other stuff here. 

Gender Neutral Reader (They/Them)

Emerald Eyes - The Orion Experience 

It was a slow night in Fennels, except it usually is slow when the day is about to end, and Adrian was itching for his time to clock out because someone was waiting for him. For about two weeks, the same person showed up at Fennels, at the same spot, looking out at the parking lot. They were always reading something, and they didn't order much, just water or soda.

Adrian first talked to them when he was leaving, he wanted to ask about why they kept coming back to the same spot and weirdly almost at the same time. Their response? “That depends, would you like me to say I like looking at you?”

“I would say you would be lying.” Adrian talked back. They smiled and laughed at his remark, he was surprised how quick-witted they were. Soon, they sat across from each other and talked for minutes until they were forced to leave, but then they kept talking outside at the parking lot. It’s not like they didn’t talk about anything important, they went from asking about ‘why they show up every day to ‘why is so hard to find someone when you’re bisexual?’

There were nights when Adrian wasn’t working because he was busy being Vigilante, and soon, he joined the special ops team with John, Murn, Harcourt, Leota, and his new ‘best friend’ Peacemaker. He became busier because even though He’s out killing and out hanging out with his best bud, he’s still working as a busboy. Got to pay those bills somehow. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

One night, the group decided to regroup and go to Fennels…thankfully when Adrian wasn’t working, and that bookworm was still there, at the same spot. Murn was trying to give information about a new upcoming mission, but Adrian got distracted by the Bookworm, who was looking at the group. “Vigilante, are you listening?” Murn spoke with a commanding tone, but quiet enough so that other people couldn’t hear. 

Everyone looked over in their direction, when all eyes were on them, they got flustered and turned back to their book. “Who is that?” Harcourt asked.

“Just someone who’s been here - always wanted to talk to me,” Adrian said with no pause. There was some snickering in the group, mainly from Chris and John. “What?” Adrian asked, dumbfounded.

“You have a little crush, have you thought about asking them out?” Leota suggested. Murn was boiling with how distracted the whole group is now, everyone talking like he’s having a high school crush.

“I’ve been thinking about it, but I’ve been so busy,” Adrian explained, a little bit of sorrow in his voice, he liked them, but him working at Fennels and being Vigilante kept them away from spending time with each other. 

“Good, because we have more important things to talk about.” Murn has almost had it with this shit. However, encouragement from the group to ask them out. 

“Go get some tail man, they’re perfect for you.” Chris spoke up, making Adrian embarrassed. Without any roadblocks (minus Murn), Adrian walked over to them.

“You have an interesting group of friends,” They said bluntly, silently laughing as Adrian sat across from them, “especially the dude with the weird helmet, ‘get some tail man’.” They both laughed awkwardly.

“Yeah, but he’s my best friend so I know he’s encouraging me in a good way,” Adrian explained, looking back at the group: Chris was giving a helpful thumbs-up and dopey smile, while Leota was smiling, trying to silently tell him to keep going. “I’ve been meaning to ask you this for a while but I’ve been so busy with work and-”

“I know what you’re gonna say, can I ask you it,” they responded quickly, they’ve both been thinking about this for a while. “Adrian, will you go on a date with me? It’s up to you though, what you want to do on said date, because of how busy you are.”

Adrian was smiling wide, covering his face from embarrassment, but they decided to pull his hands away and hold them. “We can go like…,” he pauses, looking over at the group. Murn was groaning, holding his head, but Leota and Chris started miming a bunch of numbers, “I’m free tomorrow night, we can go out, maybe dinner?” He suggested.

“I like the sound of that,” they smile, they look down at their digital watch, and start packing their bag, getting out of the seat, but not until they ripped a piece of paper writing down their number, giving it to Adrian, “Call me and let me know if plans changed, got to go home and feed a pissy cat. See you tomorrow night.” They wink, kissing Adrian on the cheek before leaving Fennels. 

He was befuddled, walking back to the group: John laughing his ass off, Chris giving him a big slap on the back with a ‘good job dude’, and Leota giving a caring smile. Harcourt and Murn were so done: Harcourt leaving, saying that she was already aware of what was going to happen next mission, and Murn banging his head on the table.

It was a good night overall, Adrian now having butterflies for how his first date is gonna be, seeing their cute face, holding them close, pinning them down-. He was immediately snapped out of his fantasy while Murn was trying to get everyone back in order and discuss. But Adrian was still thinking of them, those eyes, that smile, laugh, and kiss.

74 notes - Posted February 4, 2022

#3

Weak (Adrian Chase/Vigilante x Reader)

I don’t really know what else to say and I don’t remember what I put in my original post. So please keep in mind that there will be some slight angst in this story so keep that in mind. Please enjoy.  If you want to request a headcannon/story idea, you can send me a message, don’t be shy. Reader my other stuff here. 

Female Reader (She/Her)

Weak - AJR

She was a statue, not because she was beautiful, but because she was stone cold. Chris told me not to let her small stature trick me, she was a warden at Belle Reve with the mouth of a sailor and the force of a rock to the head 

When I first met her though, she greeted the group with the look of a hawk but soon warmed up when she was fully introduced. And soon, we started hanging out casually when I was working or being Vigilante. In private,  she was just as much of a dork as me, it was refreshing, but I was sure not to push certain buttons or my ass would be on the ground.

One night, she and I were on the couch in her house, watching a show we were way too invested in. Besides the show, there wasn’t a single peep in the house or outside, maybe a firefly or two. Until…

BANG BANG BANG

There was a loud banging from the front, oh shit, it might be police. She motioned me to go inside her room and shut it. I close the door and lock it, as I put my ear to it.

“What can I do for you, officer?” She responded politely to them.

“We came to check on you if you saw the ‘Vigilante’ around your neighborhood. There have been some sightings of them in this area.” The officer, maybe female, explained. 

There was a long pause. “I don’t think so. I don’t get out of my house so I probably wouldn’t have seen him.” She tried to calmly explain to the police.

  “You didn’t hear any noises last night, around 7-9 pm?” They continued to talk. Oh Shit, I remember that night, I was sneaking around.

After maybe twenty minutes, the police officers decided to leave, telling her to stay safe and have a goodnight. Once the door closed, there was a few seconds of silence…and then the soft sound of whimpering. I slowly opened the door to see her leaning on the front door, covering her face, her knees bunched up. This was maybe the first time I ever saw her cry. She had moments of happiness, embarrassment, anger…so much anger, but something like this is just…wow. 

I walk slowly to her, holding her close and she starts bawling at him, ‘empathy will get you killed’, I was told to be stone cold, no emotion but hate. Crying became an afterthought when a prisoner died right before me. I was not allowed to feel any sympathy,” I knew her history with Waller was swept under the rug, John and Harcourt were probably the only ones who knew anything about it."

"breaking every second, I feel... broken" doesn't make a ton of sense, maybe "bottling it up every second" or "pushing my feelings down every day

There was another long pause, of us holding each other, soaking in the quiet. I finally spoke up. “Sometimes though, it’s good to cry it out, you know that whole thing about how men shouldn’t be allowed to cry, well if I’m not with the group, or I’m not Vigilante, I’m…at home, crying until I fall asleep. I don’t think I have a reason to cry, it just…comes out.” I explained.

We finally made eye contact, her eyes were glowing from the tears, we shared a kiss, it was intimate but reassuring. For the rest of the night, we just lay on the front door, embracing each other, until she started to fall asleep. 

When I carried her to bed, I looked down and her sleeping form, she finally looked like she was at peace. And soon I was right next to her, and we slept for the rest of the night. 

79 notes - Posted February 4, 2022

#2

Think I’m in Love (Adrian Chase/Vigilante x Reader)

Well it’s been a while. So keep this in mind while reading this, this is for an OC, Kaitlynn Turner, so the punk aesthetic the reader has is based on that. If any of you are interested in reading more about her, let me know. Also this is inspired by Pitch Perfect, where Freddie Stroma’s character, Luke, owns a record store, those two scenes of him I cherish with my life. Anyway, I hope you enjoy. If you want to read any of my other stuff, you can read them here. If you would like to request a story, don’t be shy and hit me in my dms.

Female Reader (She/Her)

Think I’m in Love - Beck

“Why are we going to a record store?” Adrian asked Chris with confusion. After a day of radio silence from Murn, Adrian and Chris decided to have a day together to ‘bond’, by going to a record store that Chris went to with his brother, called ‘Brady’s Tacky Records’. However, when they saw the store for the first time in maybe thirty years, it was under new management.

The ‘Brady’s’ of ‘Brady’s Tacky Records’ was removed and was just called ‘Tacky Records’. It was cleaner and more…purple? As Chris and Adrian walked in, they saw a young woman, probably around Adrian’s age, her fast was covered by a pretty hefty book with the title ‘Uzumaki’. “Hey what happened to Brady?” Chris asked, walking closer to the desk.

“Well, Brady left town, I moved into town about a week ago, I bought his shop, some records were still here and I was threatened to leave town,” She lowered her book to face the boys. She had a very punk aesthetic with her: Piercing on the nose, ear, and eyebrow, the side-shave/mullet, “so yeah, I’m doing good. Anything specific you guys are looking for?” 

Chris was still a little confused, but Adrian was already looking through the stacks. “Got any hair metal?” He asked, trying to act casual, trying to get used to change.

“I know have Guns n’ Roses and Mötley Crüe. I may have some others because this lady and I assume her husband or boyfriend came in. You should probably check, I don’t remember, they were yelling at each other and I just told them to leave.”

“Oh yeah, Evan and Amber, you know one time, my friend and I-” Chris was then cut off by Adrain.

“No way! You have Paramore?” Adrian said with excitement, holding the album ‘Riot!’. The owner, instead of going around the counter like a normal person, she closes her book and jumps over it, a quick sprint and she was right next to him. 

“Yeah, I’ve been getting some more ‘newer’ albums, I’m close to the 2010s right now, I have albums that go all the way to the early 80s. Are you interested in buying ‘Riot!’?” She asked him, definitely trying to sell it to him.

“Oh, no, sorry, I don’t own a record player…at least one that works,��� Adrian started acting more awkwardly as she started leaning closer to him, “it’s just cool that you have all these songs,” he turns to see Chris cruising through the ‘Metal’ section. He then whispered into the owner’s ear, “do you maybe have any Aqua?” 

She smiled and pointed to the ‘Pop’ section, which was near what looked like a radio station. As Adrian was cruising through the albums and cassettes, his eyes moved up to see through the window into the station, there were so many big computers and DJ sliders. One of those machines didn’t look like something music-related, looked like a police scanner. 

The owner put her hand on his shoulder, making him jump. “Found it yet?” She said she had a bit of a condescending tone. Before Adrian could ask why she has a police scanner in the room, Chris interrupted them.

“All right fuck buddies, I got my stuff.” He said without a care. The owner takes him to the counter as Adrian follows. While she was counting the money, he could see that she was writing something down.

“You know, I’ve always wanted to listen to hair metal, I hope you enjoy them, sir,” she pushes the records to Chris, but before leaving, she slides a piece of paper to Adrian, to the point of having her hand in his, “and I hope you come back so we can talk alternative and 90s pop.” She winks, letting go of his hand and waving goodbye. 

They left the store, Chris feeling satisfied, while Adrian looked down at the piece of paper that she gave him. It was a phone number. Chris snuck a peek and was laughing. “Are you fucking serious!? I didn’t know who had the looks to kill.” He almost choked Adrian with his side hug. 

“She just wants to talk music-” Adrian explained innocently, however, Chris had a didn’t idea.

“Nah dude, a chick gives you her phone number, that’s an entry ticket to her PUSSY!” He yells ‘pussy’, embarrassing Adrian, jabbing in on the side. 

He turns around and sees the record store again. He could see her at the entrance, still waving at them, and Adrian waved back.

84 notes - Posted February 7, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

5 days til my birthday. Have a small Mandalorian x Reader I’m writing on my phone so it can be uploaded tonight! (If there’s any scenarios that you want to see Kaitlynn and Adrian in, or want to request a reader insert one shot story, fly into my inbox, don’t be shy)

True Romantic (Din Djarin/Mandalorian x Reader)

Gender Neutral Reader (You/Yours)

Poplar St. - Glass Animals

~~~~~~~~~~

There were night where you couldn’t sleep, you would be snuggled up next to Din while on a planet, but maybe from how different suns and moons set on different planets, the less sleep you get. And Din knew this.

One night you two were in Canto Bight, a party planet to put bluntly, so sleep was a no go for all the yelling cheering coming from out the window. So instead of sleeping, you stared out the window looking out at one of the casinos.

“Lovely,” Din’s soft voice called out from the bed, unmasked, “it’s so late, please come back to bed.” He demanded politely.

“This planet never sleeps,” you retorted, “why should I?” You slumped more on the window. Din sighed and got out of the bed, walk towards you, only wearing some loose pants that he had.

“Trouble sleep,” Din stated, you nodded slowly, staring at the flashing lights outside. Din sighed, leaning close to you “so you wanna talk instead?” He suggested.

“That sounds nice,” you leaned into him, he let out a soft sigh, as he pick you up to put you on the bed, “I don’t know what to talk about though.” You admitted.

“Well, I have a story while we were walking around Canto Bight.” Din held you close as he recounted his tale to you, it was about when he was at the bar, a lady came up to him asking if he was with anyone, and he was. However the lady didn’t agree with him until he pointed at you, dancing your heart out on the dance floor, you looked so goofy according to him, which made you embarrassed. “She left me alone after that but I will say, even if you did you looked goofy dancing,” he chuckled softly, he leaned in close to your ear, “I’m so happy to be with you.” He whispered.

His hot breath on your ear made you shiver, you sighed in his arms as the story gave you some form of relief, a reminder that The Mandalorian, a cold-blooded man on the outside, but under that armor, was someone so sweet so shy, yet so understanding, and someone who truly loved you.

93 notes - Posted February 28, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[torilynnedestef]

Good afternoon Tumblr,

Long time, no posts.

I've been doing well for myself. Getting into the groove of things. It's now 6 months in my new job and I am learning new things each and every day. These next two weeks I am the only manager the team reports to. It was an adjustment at first but now I am in full swing of it and it feels amazing. To be responsible for a team is such a big responsibility. They depend on you for support and motivation. It is your job to coach them to perform their best. I am learning how to better communicate with them as well. It feels good to be coming into my own.

As for my personal life, everything just feels so natural and there is constant progression. Drew and I are growing as a couple, we are taking on more challenges in our professional life and therefore bringing in more financially. We communicate so well with one another. I always feel like we are on the same page. It feels amazing to put money into our savings and watch it grow.

30 feels so grown up to me. They weren't kidding when they said when a woman turns 30 everything changes for her. I feel more adult. Like I can take on the world really. I am more organized, clear-headed, and determined to self-improve. I prioritize my mental health and journal regularly. The only thing I don't do as much is prioritize spa days, which should happen every 6 months or so. So with that, I will schedule a spa day soon (note to self).

All of my friendships are so pure and beneficial. We don't see one another too often, especially now in the winter. It seems like once the cold weather hits people are a lot busier. Days are shorter so everyone is more of a homebody. Besides that, everyone is growing up and I love to see it.

Life is good. Let's see where it takes us.

xoxo,

Tori

[good-vs-evo]

got tagged by both of u so! here we go!

nine albums or songs I've been listening to lately x nine people I’d like to get to know better x tag game with no name

1. why did you choose your url? it's a silly little play on "good verses evil", based on the way i pronounce my name!

2. any sideblogs? if you have them name them and why you have them. uh. ahem. @ev-writes-things is my writing sideblog, @cafe-for-palestine is a sideblog i run with my friend to fundraise for palestine, and then there are three others we do not speak of

3. how long have you been on tumblr? uhhh. counts backwards. 2018...? or 2017!

4. do you have a queue tag? i know what a queue tag is but i do NOT

5. why did you start your blog in the first place? haha. the first version of this blog was a asoue fanblog... then it kinda spiraled! i got tumblr because both of my sisters did ^^ and i'm the only one still here...

6. why did you choose your icon/pfp? my friend drew it for me! ily @deliwobbe

7. why did you choose your header? wangxian,,, and it matched the green aesthetic hehe

8. what’s your post with the most notes? CLEARS THROAT LMAO IT'S MY BIG NONSENSE TGCF MULTISHIPPING POST... and maybe the post abt hualian...

9. how many mutuals do you have? i haven't counted them ummm... def around 20, maybe more? and there's a few i don't rlly interact with as much hdfshdjf

10. how many followers do you have? 111, the last time i checked hehe

11. how many people do you follow? a lot. i

12. have you ever made a shitpost? basically constantly actually. like all the time.

13. how often do you use tumblr each day? i'm not sure... it used to be a lot more but i got busier with g4g stuff!!

14. did you have a fight/argument with another blog once? nahhh

15. how do you feel about ‘you need to reblog this’ posts 50/50, it's a toss up lol

16. do you like tag games? what if i said no LMAO NAH they're fun :D

17. do you like ask games? they're awesome but my ask box is a black hole

18. which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous? i have no idea. maybe @astrowaffles? because vhas knew them already... and my artist friend but they. technically don't follow me HELP

19. do you have a crush on a mutual? probably not idk

20. what is the last song you listened to? listening to main character by will wood literally rn LMAO

21. what are you currently watching? the untamed C: and link click!

22. sweet/ savoury/ spicy? why is sour not an option :( prob savoury!

23. what is your current relationship status? single

24. what is your current obsession? (said with reluctance) tgcf...

25. what are nine albums/ songs you've been listening to lately?

take it or leave it by COIN

burn like a star by ahn ye eun and woo ye rin

unrestrained (the untamed closing theme lol)

60's baby by kidsnot$aints

is this what love is? by wasia project

backseat girl by isaac dunbar

sunburn by spill tab

ruler of my heart by bl8m

海岸引力 by 翟瀟聞 (had to copy paste that from spotify help)

STOP VHAS WHY DID U TAG ALL OF THE PEOPLE I EVER SPOKE TO THATS EVIL is this payback. fine.

summoning some of u back to tumblr (stares cae down /lh) @caeprus @deliwobbe @stellarhangout @muigiel @osamosa11 @littlemissmedicalmalpractice @gxlexii @yeyayeya and yeah that's basically everyone i know,,, no pressure guys!! :D

nine albums or songs I've been listening to lately x nine people I’d like to get to know better x tag game with no name

(thank you for the tag @lianhuajing !!)

1. why did you choose your url? uh. it was a play on "rose tinted glasses"

2. any sideblogs? if you have them name them and why you have them. nope!

3. how long have you been on tumblr? I think 2022? i knew about it before, just never bothered to make a blog

4. do you have a queue tag? don't kill me, what's a queue tag?

5. why did you start your blog in the first place? I had some Thoughts about Blue Lock and wanted to post meta for it

6. why did you choose your icon/pfp? uhh Flora.

7. why did you choose your header? Reo is one of my Blorbos and I just really liked that panel of him

8. what’s your post with the most notes? probably the "do you download fics" poll

9. how many mutuals do you have? about 20? i don't remember

10. how many followers do you have? 120?

11. how many people do you follow? 91

12. have you ever made a shitpost? yes. i think.

13. how often do you use tumblr each day? an hour?

14. did you have a fight/argument with another blog once? nope

15. how do you feel about ‘you need to reblog this’ posts meh. some of them are funny i guess

16. do you like tag games? yep! it's nice interaction

17. do you like ask games? i do! but uh. it's a silent empty void here. an echo chamber, if you will.

18. which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous? i have no idea but i see @kingsandbastardz a lot in the mlc community

19. do you have a crush on a mutual? nope

20. what is the last song you listened to? 若梦 by 周深

21. what are you currently watching? i just finished The Double! probably starting on Dashing Youth next

22. sweet/ savoury/ spicy? savoury!

23. what is your current relationship status? single

24. what is your current obsession? The Double,,,,

25. what are nine albums/ songs you've been listening to lately?

若梦 by 周深

如故 by 张碧晨

如初 by 张碧晨

借过一下 by 周深

万物不如你 by 张杰

Our dawn is hotter than day by Seventeen

Hitorijana by Seventeen

my music taste is kinda...i tend to stick to a few artists...

26. tagging (no obligation to do this!) @randomingoftherandomness @good-vs-evo @chrysofightme @bbcphile

[lizzybeth1986]

Quick Thoughts on TRR Book 3, Chapter 7

• Compulsory Warning: This is going to be a long post, and it's going to show up in full on your dash. I've put a read more, but lately Tumblr (mobile, at least) has begun to apply the "read more" only to reblogs.

• I liked this chapter. Last chapter was amazing IMO, this chapter was keeping up that momentum to an extent.

• Title: Haute Culture. Until now I didn't realise this was an actual term 🙈 Google tells me it means "cultural activities or items that achieve the highest standards" and that "although initially used as an offshoot of haute couture, it really seeks to define anything that is unique and exclusive in the cultural world (as opposed to the fashion one)".

• That kind of fits what we're helping Hakim do - attempting to get Cordonia entered into the International Artists Association so we can convince him to come to the wedding. But it's also about the MC beginning to understand Cordonian culture and how its ways of living differ from location to location (esp if you take the diamond scene with Liam).

• Alternate title: Kiara Whomst? No kidding. Homegirl is practically a non-entity in a story revolving around her fucking home. Her agreement to come for the wedding happens in, like, less than a minute (I counted), and we're way busier exploring the problems of her newly-introduced brother than anything involving her. I will speak later on why I - personally - find this a little problematic.

• So Hakim is both a Duke and a diplomat, and Joelle uses her art connections to "solidify alliances for Cordonia". (Joelle was also briefly mentioned (but not by name) in Book 2, as being friends with Ana de Luca, which was why Kiara was able to arrange a photoshoot at such short notice).

• So far we have seen only two Dukes so far who have been heirs to their ducal estates: Hakim, who owns Castelsarreillan, and Bertrand who owns Ramsford. There's also Neville and Rashad but both are in line for inheriting Cormery Isle and Domvallier, respectively, not Dukes yet.

• A lot of the heirs we have met so far have been women. Krona is Adeleide's, not Godfrey's (and Madeleine's by inheritence, until which time she is Countess of Fydelia). Portavira has been in Emmeline's family for generations (and will pass on to Penelope). Olivia is the duchess of Lythikos and its sole surviving heir. I find the way these women take charge and choose what matters to them (committment to the duchy for Emmeline, a good time for Adeleide, vengeance and support to the Crown for Olivia, serving Cordonia for Madeleine) quite intriguing.

• Madeleine is...spectacularly bad at her job. I mean spectacularly. She's great at handling the media and holding press conferences but her people skills...eek. To say she has none is being kind.

• Like look, I appreciate the work that goes into these dossiers and note cards, but what's the point of passing them down to the MC at the very last minute? To "peruse at leisure"! Where the fuck is she going to find time for "leisure" when your summarized information itself is so vague that she and her friends have to run around to do sluething so they can make sense of any of it? We had to butter up Penelope to find out what should have taken two seconds for Madeleine to guess (if it hadn't been for her mammoth ego), and here we need to sleuth on our own to figure out how to convince Ezekiel. Bertrand, Justin and Maxwell would tell us stuff in the last minute too but at least they'd ensure we went there prepared. Sorry but I really am not impressed.

• So here's our outfit for the day:

...eh? What is this.

• I like that owl armlet tho. Interestingly enough, Kiara and Olivia seem to have very similar house colours! I'm wondering is Lythikos and Castelsarreillan are part of the larger historical Abanthus duchy? But that would only make sense if Castelsarreillan and Lythikos is close to each other, and if Lythikos is the next logical stop. Which I doubt it is, because I think Olivia's duchy will be one of the last few to visit.

• MY MANS IS BACK HE JUST COMPLIMENTED MY OUTFIT. HE ALSO GIVES TINY KISSES ON THE CHEEK LIKE HE USED TO.

•

The last time my dude spoke French it was to call me the love of his life 😍😍😍

• I highly doubt anything happened between Drake and Kiara beyond a harmless crush from her side. Wasn't he the one maintaining that women always preferred Liam and didn't bother much with him? I highly doubt he'd have even guessed Kiara's feelings until the MC explicitly pointed it out to him (tea party), and I don't think they'd have any LI cheat on the MC while they're still romancing her (Nope. That particular badge of assholery is reserved for the MC in Book 2 lol).

• I mean even if she isn't likeable for whatever reasons, that doesn't warrant the kind of vitriol she gets in this fandom sometimes. All she's done is some harmless flirting. It's not a crime to have a crush on someone.

• Ooh I like Zeke! And I like the relationship he shares with his sister (Kiki, tho? Seriously?). Kiara isn't shown having very close relationships with people (and tends to operate based on alliances and advantage, which is normal considering her background and interests) but she has interesting relationships with the people she does love. With both Penelope and Ezekiel she tends to employ a lot of 'tough love'. She cares for them and is fiercely protective of them, even though she scolds them and tells Penelope she needs to toughen up. Her admonishions are hardly helpful, but they do come from a place of concern.

• Ooh. Ezekiel seems enthusiastic and joyful around Penelope's dogs, but can't let it show. Interesting.

• Wow we finally remember Constantine has terminal cancer.

• Drake why are you so insistent on seeing flags in Kiara's home 😂

•

CALLED IT

• "It is [international news] for those with an interest in Cordonian politics". Hmm. Francesco does have ties to the country - his wife is Cordonian and he has had old friends there (namely Hakim and Liam's mother) - but this does have the possibility of meaning more...or being a red herring (if we're connecting him with Sons of Earth and they turn out to be red herrings themselves, that is).

• Aw man I feel sad for Hakim. Esp considering they'd been friends in college and once Constantine became king it became so one-sided with Hakim trying to keep the bond alive and Constantine being so focused on his kingdom that he barely visits. I feel like this is meant to be a bit of a contrast to Liam, who keeps his friends close and ensures they know he's there for them as Liam, their friend, and not the King. Running a kingdom is important, yes, but these friends are the ones that ground you and allow you to remember that you are a human being who needs human connections, after all. Somewhere along the line, I think Constantine missed out on that.

• Would perhaps someone like Hakim have held Constantine back and prevented him from going down the destructive path he tread during the last few months of his life? Would a Hakim have maybe knocked some sense into him, told him "look, you asshole, orchestrating sexual assault is never okay"? Was Constantine so knee-deep in his own mess because he left behind the connections that would have grounded him? Is this where Liam seems to have a clearer perspective of his balance between being a man and being King?

• So far, both Hakim/Joelle and Landon/Emmeline have actually been pretty good in terms of showing respect to all their guests, especially Drake. Penelope's parents seem confused by some of the things Drake tries to do but seemed pretty alright with him otherwise (and he has confessed to looking up to them as examples of what he wants to be as a Duke), and Hakim openly admires Drake for what he has done for Cordonia (if Kiara turns out to be Drake's alternate LI, this might mean he may not have too much trouble getting along with her father).

• Hakim seems like a caring and indulgent parent to Ezekiel, even though they're vastly different, but doesn't seem to adequately understand to what his son wants.

• Kiara tells us this rather than Hakim (diplomat that he is), but the trip to Switzerland is more out of the stress and worry that comes with having your child become collateral damage in an attack against the Crown. Honestly...I understand that. The events of the Homecoming Ball are bound to be a lot more personal to Kiara's family than to most of the nobles.

•

Can we just talk about how immensely brave Kiara must be for agreeing to go back to the place where she was wounded without too much prodding? (I have my problems with this, but more on that later). She'd been stabbed at Homecoming Ball, yet when the MC points out what it would mean for Cordonia if she didn't come, she accepts in a heartbeat. And can we also talk about how no one seems to appreciate her for being able to take this decision under these circumstances? No one in the books, and so far as I can see very few in the fandom.

• Joelle is from the Loire Valley, which is super super famous for its vineyards. It's also celebrated as being home to France's longest river, as being one of the places St. Joan of Arc liberated from the English during The Hundred Years' War and where Leonardo da Vinci spent his final years. Pretty fitting that the story makes her a painter from Loire then!

•

I feel like Joelle's painting being that of an apple is going to gain some importance in Chapter 8. Esp considering that we've just come off the destruction of the orchard at Applewood and this festival is meant to ensure Cordonia gains recognition on the world map. We see her just once this chapter, but that painting seems important. I think it's planned to be just an exhibit, but winds up as a centrepiece, thereby getting Joelle to agree to attending the wedding. Maybe there will be a larger story about her art and its connection to Cordonia specifically next week, IDK.

• If you make the MC say "I don't really 'get' art" ("I mean, is it a pipe or is it a metaphor?"), she makes a René Magritte reference xD Particularly to his famous La Trahison des Images painting:

• They're laying it pretty thick with the clues for Zeke's love for animals. First his brief happiness on seeing Merlin and Morgana, his instant connection with Penelope, his insistence on watching a documentary on "custom canine orthotics" when Joelle asks him to entertain the guests. He also makes references to Binet and Pavlov with specific reference to dogs.

• Also I think Penelope telling him no one has understood why dogs matter to her the way he does is one of the sweetest moments this chapter.

• Lol @ Zeke completely forgetting the human beings he's supposed to be hosting while talking about how sad it would be to make the poodles watch the humans drink wine 😂

• Zeke is also a wine connoisseur: something he brushes off as a result of having a vineyard for a backyard. When you're so familiar with a particular area of knowledge that has been part of your childhood, it makes sense that you will not see it as a big deal the way others will.

•

Ugh. I'm not very comfortable with today's Olivia - Drake exchange, ya know? It's obvious she asked Drake that question on purpose. It's obvious that she wanted him to embarrass himself. I usually like their exchanges in the books because the two usually give to each other as good as they get. But here you can tell Olivia had the upper hand in this conversation, and she was merciless about using it. It's a good thing that Zeke attempted to smooth things over by letting Drake know he had some sort of a kindred spirit in him, but it doesn't exactly make it better.

• There's a moment in this book I'm fond of, but I will not discuss it in detail over here (I'll leave that for Liam's group scenes essay). It's this one:

That's a lovely moment because Drake half-teases half-calls Liam out on his privilege, and Liam admits he's wrong and learns from it. You guys see why I love this guy? 😍 (I think it also emerges out of a slight bit of tension from Drake's side - considering he is uncomfortable with this conversation on wine altogether and is a little on edge from the exchange earlier with Olivia, one which played into all his insecurities).

• I feel a little weird about Drake calling Liam "Your Highness" tho lol.

• The rest of this scene is pretty good. It allows you to choose your wine for the wedding (with Hana doing her version of a wine personality test xD), prepares you for the next scene with Zeke, and allows your LI to highlight their "major crisis point" to you.

• All the LIs get to air out their issues to you...all except one. Drake tells you about his struggle with fitting in with nobility. Hana fears she's nothing but a collection of skills. Maxwell worries not being as "special" as the rest of the group, and Liam? Liam remembers the past and what it took for them to get to this point, and states he wants to buy a hundred bottles of the MC's favourite wine to commemorate this moment. This confirms for me that Liam's biggest hurdle is his own reluctance to share what troubles him.

•

I really, really liked this bit in the diamond scene.

• Both Madeleine's chapter and Kiara's chapter deal with family issues, and the group's attempts to resolve them. But I think it feels a lot more natural and much less forced here. Kiara's family is one that's trying to support each other as much as they can, but needs just that little push. With Madeleine's we were doing most of the heavy work of getting them to reunite, and it was exhausting.

•

No you wouldn't.

• I'm particularly interested in how they will show Zeke handle both the estate and his studies, if that's the path they might take with his story. I like that he has some measure of support from Kiara, who he states has been encouraging him for a long time to follow his dreams. She appears to be the only one who pays attention to that side of him, and possibly in next week's chapter she might actually have his back when he finally tells Hakim the truth.

• Can I say I LOVED the dinner diplomacy scene??? LOVED. I love food, and I love exploring how it is a signifier for cultural identity and marker of home. It's why my absolute favourite book genre is that of the food memoir, because it allows us to see how it shapes a person, a community. (Story Time!) A great example of this is one of my favourite memoirs (not a food memoir per se, but I love the bits where they do talk about food) - Ghada Karmi's In Search of Fatima - where she speaks of the sense of displacement her Palestinian family felt in England (they were forced to flee from their home in Jerusalem in 1948) through food. Below is a passage that involves the first time Karmi and her mother tasted the English crumpet:

I like them to this day, but my mother, whose tastes never deviated far from our native Arab cuisine, clearly did not. Later, she adapted the English crumpet into something more fitting for the Arabic palate. The crumpet was fried in butter, then soaked in syrup and then finally topped with a large dollop of thick cream [...] When English visitors came to our house and were served this dish by our mother, they had no idea that what they were eating was a homely English crumpet.

(I have a similar story about how my mom and I once followed the recipe for the French dish chicken a la king, only to discover that it was too mild for our spicy Indian palates. In a panic Mum and I tossed in some turmeric, chili powder, coriander and garam masala. "Your father will burst a blood vessel if we ever tried to serve him this," my mother said, "I'm never making a French dish again ever".)

My point is, this scene isn't just about how to behave at the dinner table. It's an education in Cordonian culture. It captures the myriad identities and sensibilities of its people, from different regions, climates, backgrounds, in the form of food. The MC needs to understand her people and their histories, and Liam is serving her this information on a platter. Literally.

• Liam's been referring to their wedding night quite a bit these days. I'm telling ya, that man has something up his sleeve 😂

• Uh oh. Francesco tells us in the morning that there's been "a disaster" at the art gallery, but we'll have to wait till next week to figure out what it is. This could go three ways:

1. There's some random issue, which may get quickly resolved and allows the MC and her group of friends to save the day somehow. Joelle's painting may be involved in a larger way that they'd planned.

2. The attackers - irked by the way the MC, Liam and their group managed to uplift spirits at Applewood - make the gallery their next target and destroy it. This looks like it would lower morale, force Francesco to cancel and Hakim to consider the trip to Switzerland as final when BAM! the group saves the day. Joelle's painting will definitely be involved.

3. If Francesco is involved in Possibility 2 somehow, then there is a chance they might show clues. But I still have my doubts.

These are the things I feel we might tackle next chapter:

1. Joelle's issues. There surely must be more going on and I'm confident that painting of hers might feature in a large, patriotic way next week.

2. Hakim's worries and fears. He is worried about Kiara (perhaps more than she is about herself!), disappointed in Constantine, and altogether reluctant to have anything to do with the Crown. There may be a chance he will discover the truth behind why Constantine couldn't make it, be confronted with what Ezekiel wants, and an opportunity to help him move past his very legitimate fears. A combination of some or all of these will eventually factor in with his agreement to make it to the wedding.

3. Francesco. If there are connections he has to Sons of Man, now is the time to show it. However, I feel we still might have a chance to extract information about Liam's mother. Remember how the Cordonian history scene mentioned we would get an advantage later? One possibility is that it might unlock an extra scene with Francesco about Liam's mom next chapter. Let's see.

• Overall I really liked this chapter and I thought there were plenty going on. Ezekiel x Penelope was sweet (it broke my heart a little to not have Maxwell x Penelope, but that's okay), Kiara's family overall was nice, the diamond scenes were amazing...buuuuut Kiara was barely there 😑

• I have a bit of a problem with this. Kiara is the only courtly lady mentioned who was injured in the attack at Homecoming Ball. She's the only other person besides Drake and Justin to physically suffer from it. She was wounded. With a knife. As a member of the Cordonian court. You can't tell me that won't affect a person in a significant way. Yet there is so much more focus on her older brother than there is on how the current climate must have made her feel. My other problem is complete lack of screenspace in her own home. Let me elaborate:

• Convincing Madeleine to join the tour? A whole freaking chapter plus a diamond scene. Along with an exploration of her family, her issues with her parents, and what she has gone through to get to this point.

Convincing Penelope to join the tour? A whole freaking chapter plus a diamond scene (which I didn't mind, actually). Along with an exploration of her anxiety issues, her closeness to her support animals and how Madeleine's behaviour has affected the way she looks at court.

Convincing Kiara to join the tour? Takes less than a minute. I'm serious. The entire scene - her recommendation of Zeke showing them the estate included - clocks around 58 seconds from beginning to end. And her own brother (who I love, he's amazing, but who we've never heard of until today) has way more importance in her story at the moment than she does.

• I'm hoping there will be more of her tomorrow, but I highly doubt it. There's already way too much going on, and Kiara has already agreed to make it to the wedding. I loved her drive and determination to do something for Cordonia in that scene, but I feel she deserved more than that.

• I feel like a broken tape recorder saying this - but when was the last time Maxwell had anything substantial to do? He and Bertrand have barely there, and Maxwell is supposed to be an LI. So far Liam has had 3 individual scenes, Drake 2, and Hana 1. Why hasn't Maxwell gotten one yet???

• I feel like next chapter we won't get a Liam scene, and that's more than okay. He's gotten two major scenes in two consecutive weeks, it's time for the rest to get some attention now.

• Next chapter is Chapter 8! In Books 1 and 2 these chapters ended up being the one where all the LIs got a diamond scene each (hot-tub/piano/cellar at Lythikos, and runway/Eiffel Tower/meeting Savannah in Paris). There's a chance that might happen, except maybe the scenes may be given to Hana, Maxwell (I hope!) and Drake. That is...if the writers remember Maxwell is an LI and deserves individual scenes 😒