#Gulf Coast Inspired

[gulfcoastinspired]

Gulf Coast Inspired Book Previews

Check out the new coloring book titles we have started publishing for fun and relaxation on Gulf Coast related themes.

Welcome to the Gulf Coast Inspired (GCI) Book Collection! Here, you’ll find previews and links to all the unique books we’ve published, spanning an array of captivating themes like Gulf Coast nature, classic cars, pirates, and more. Each book is crafted with love and care to bring you the best in coloring, storytelling, and creative exploration. Whether you’re a fan of classic cars, an aficionado…

[shutterandsentence]

Remember, YOU are a beautiful and unique human being created in the image of God!

Photo: Sanibel Island, Florida

[weddinginspiration002]

🌴✨ Dreaming of a coastal wedding? Look no further! Discover the magic of Gulf Coast wedding venues and turn your dream into reality. 🌊👰 Dive into our article and explore the breathtaking beauty of this perfect destination for your special day. Let the journey begin! 💍💖

[nico-di-genova]

Prompt?? Request?? Idk what this is but it’s been stuck in my head and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it!!

——

Frat boy au where lance is super straight passing and acts really frat bro-y. But it’s Outside POV from another person in the college who assumes he’s probably homophobic and doesn’t treat women well/ all that stereotypical frat boy stuff. They complain abt fratboys all the time to their friends too and it’s this whole known thing in their friend group. Then they see him get into this super fancy car with a hot older man (nando ofc) and is like what’s up with that. Person keeps trying to ironically figure out if lance is part of the mafia or some other mystery. Turns out he’s in a loving relationship with his sugar daddy nando (person sees them kissing at a gay bar one night, among other things 😏) and after that they’re like damn wtf and have a change in perception of lance and can’t shut up about it and tells everyone “did u know lance is gay?!!” Other shenanigans ensue.

Bonus if they become friends in the end and lance tells them all the different ways and places nando fucks him.

I need you to know that this has unlocked something that I have been talking with my irls about for literally a month now. I will write this whole thing for you, but right now please enjoy this snippet and some Lore ™.

Also this may be so uniquely specific that no one will enjoy it, but I need everyone to know this has been my secret passion project for weeks now.

Logan absolutely despises group projects. He especially despises them when he’s partnered with perhaps the worst possible group of people you could be partnered with on an assignment that is responsible for a quarter of their grade. Other than the girl sitting to his left, her blonde hair pulled into a high ponytail, spreading out notes in multi-colored pen and highlighter, their table is the least inspiring of the lot. For one, there’s him, who had barely passed elementary calc. last year and was on his way to failing macroeconomics this semester. But it’s the two sitting across from him that instill a particular sort of dread.

“You going to Rusty’s tonight?” one of them asks, Esteban, tall and lanky and slumped so low in his chair that Logan can almost touch his feet even though he’s clear on the other side of the table.

The other one, Lance, broad and just as long as his friend, shrugs, “I don’t know, man. Getting kind of bored of it.”

Logan watches as Lance takes off his backwards cap long enough to ruffle at his hair before sliding the hat back down onto his head. There’s Greek lettering embroidered along back for some fraternity Logan doesn’t know the letters of, but is sure they’re assholes, nonetheless. He’s seen the way Lance strolls into class enough times, backpack slung over one shoulder, if he even bothers to bring it, his phone in the other. He wears his AirPods during class, which easily outs him as the elitist snob he is – the type of student who’s here partying on daddy’s dime, who wouldn’t know what the term ‘work study’ meant if it ran him over with the  bike Logan knows Lance keeps in the University Village parking lot. Logan couldn’t afford off-campus housing, but he knows Lance can, the bike is always parked in a resident spot.

The girl beside him shifts her notes closer, he turns his attention to her, so he doesn’t have to hear Lance recount his exploits at the local bar that is known for serving underage undergrads.

“You took all of these?” He asks the girl, mildly impressed. Her handwriting is neat, so neat it almost looks unnatural. She’s color coded them, bolded certain words and underlined others. Logan is suddenly ashamed of the chicken scratch in his notebook that’s tucked beneath his arm.

For those that don’t know, Florida Gulf Coast University is a school in Fort Myers (in south Florida, on the opposite coast of Miami). Their big draw is being “close” to the beach, realistically it’s like a 30 minute drive.

They typically attract local kids on scholarship, or rich northerners who are just looking for an easy education. But they do offer a unique golf management degree, and their claim to fame is that they’re sometimes decent in the basketball department (like 1 time in 2015 but they just will not let it go). They also somewhat have a reputation as a party school (tho I think Miami definitely more than them).

Being built predominantly around preserved land, FGCU also has a big “eco-friendly” outlook. So lots of walking paths, a course called colloquium that all students have to take, and the one everyone dreads because you have to walk through the swamp for part of it. Lucky for Lance, he would have attended during the COVID years, and thus could avoid the swamp walk because all courses were virtual.

He’d probably be a member of Alpha Epsilon Pi, the Jewish fraternity on campus. They’re lowkey, but also kind of throw the best parties, off-campus of course because FGCU doesn’t have official fraternity or sorority housing. In this world Lance has definitely drank jungle juice from a trash can with a nozzle cut into the base. He is aware of the existence of “Saturdays are for the boys” flags, frat boy Lance is something that can be both repulsive and endearing.

He has a car, but most the time he opts to take his bike places. Fernando first runs into him when he’s in his bike gear actually, which, you know, hard to resist that. Plus, picture Fernando being Lance’s backpack. Please envision it, it’s a very important image. It’s definitely happened in this universe.

Strollonso beach dates??? Yeah, 100% happened here too. One of the reasons Lance even ends up at FGCU is because of the beach, so you know his ass is there most weekends. He forgets sunscreen frequently, Fernando is used to applying aloe to his back after they’ve spent a long day on the boat. He probably has that sunburned warmth to him like 24/7. He never forgets his sunglasses though, so he also maybe has raccoon eyes.

Oh yeah, and Logan, being a South Florida boy, probably would have attended FGCU too. His tinder profile unfortunately probably does feature a photo of him holding a fish. Just Florida boy things.

Anyway, this maybe is nothing. But if you want to talk more about this au please feel free to message me/send an ask. And I will 100% be ready to ramble more about this ultra specific fic. A chapter coming after keep to the line this weekend maybe.

[theneighborhoodsave]

It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood 🎵

An upcoming save file that embraces the concept of “home” and explores what that means to me (and others!) The Neighborhood celebrates vibrant communities with a focus on family gameplay.

Meet The Neighbors 🏠

If you have any feedback, questions or stories to share about your own community I'd love to hear it.

Current progress, inspirations, etc. below ↩️

V1 is in progress- 100% completed and will include 2 completely rebuilt worlds with unique stories and townies. V1 is Willow Creek & Magnolia Promenade, inspired by the city I grew up in and the U.S. gulf coast region.

A V2 is planned depending on how the project progresses- each version will add on new worlds with regional inspirations.

[itssimplythesims]

Upcoming lakeside restaurant, Alure, to open January 2024, replacing Beau's by the River Twinbrook, Georgia

Located in the heart of downtown, Alure brings a contemporary Pan-Asian twist to the traditional seafood dishes known to Twinbrook within a rustic and modern atmosphere that delivers an upscale dining experience, elevated by its beautiful view of the town's lake. Chef Minh's inspiration for Alure was born from her Vietnamese heritage and memories of her grandfather, who immigrated to the States in the 70's and lived his life as a Gulf Coast fisherman and shrimper. At Alure, Minh focuses on delivering home-style cooking with dishes that combine culinary artistry and healthy-living using wild-caught fish as well as local, organic ingredients.

[commiepinkofag]

Saving Houston’s LGBTQ history through thousands of hours of radio archives

1984 Houston Pride Parade 📷 JD Doyle

For years, hundreds of fragile cassette tapes sat quietly aging in a storage locker in Houston, Texas. Each plastic case contained hours of radio shows, made for and by LGBTQ people. The first shows aired in the mid-1970s. They continued, off and on, for more than 30 years -- a period that included the AIDS crisis, the women’s liberation movement and the rise of LGBT civil rights. A pair of archivists, Emily Vinson and Bethany Scott, have been working on preserving the programs, thousands of hours of them, online. … The shows aired on KPFT (90.1), Houston’s Pacifica station. One of them, Wilde ‘n’ Stein (named for Oscar Wilde and Gertrude Stein) started in 1975 and ran through the early 1990s. A late night show, After Hours, ran from 1987 until the early 2000s. … Over the years, the producers and hosts of these radio shows brought their listeners live street coverage of Pride parades, music that celebrated LGBTQ experiences and interviews with city council members, activists, local arts luminaries, and public health officials. Because it was on the radio, often late at night, closeted people could listen quietly and discreetly, without the fear of discovery that printed material might bring. Carl Han, a young Vietnamese-American, listened to the station’s LGBT programming at the lowest possible volume, as he told the radio show After Hours in 1992. “That’s how I discovered the Montrose [LGBT] community,” he said. “At the age of 15, I hit upon KPFT one night and turned it down real low so no one can hear.” He would go on to be a leading local activist, who at the time of the broadcast was the secretary of Asians and Friends, a community group serving Houston’s LGBTQ Asian Americans. Such content came as a revelation to 20-year-old Andrea Hoang. As an undergraduate at the University of Houston, one of her campus jobs was to help digitize and transcribe the shows. Hoang, who identifies as queer, was thrilled to discover the voices of Asian-American activists, including Han and After Hours host Vivian Lee, in broadcasts from before she was born. “They had so many people of color coming onto this show and spearheading these local movements,” she marvels, adding that she also loved learning about the vibrant LGBT music played on the programs so much, she made this Spotify playlist honoring it. The digitization of this audio history, says Vinson, would not be possible without three Houstonians who safeguarded the cassettes for so many years. Judy Reeves co-founded the Gulf Coast Archive and Museum of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender History. JD Doyle maintains an extensive website documenting local LGBT history. Jimmy Carper was a longtime host and producer of After Hours. …

Neda Ulaby | NPR | June 4, 2024

More On NPR >

Listen to Andrea Hoang's archive-inspired Spotify Playlist

[a-solitary-sea-rover-backup]

Underwater Urban Legends: Jacques Cousteau's Secret Discovery?

(Carthago vol. 3, “Le Monstre de Djibouti”, by Christophe Bec and Milan Jovanovic, 2013)

When I first got interested in ocean creatures as a little girl in the late 90s, we had several oversized white-covered books about Jacques Cousteau's ocean expeditions around the house that my parents let me page through, even though the text was way too small for me to read. A little later on, I read the Cousteau Society's young readers' magazine Dolphin Log/Cousteau Kids every month at the library, especially the selections from Dominique Serafini's comic book adaptations of the Calypso crew's adventures.

As an adult who's still interested in marine science, I've read several of Cousteau's books, and seen some of his documentaries. In 2019, I even got to hear his grandson Fabien speak at an event at the American Museum of Natural History.

Across film, TV, literature, comics, and even music, the Cousteau family’s underwater adventures are pretty well-documented. But one persistent bit of sea-folklore I've come across in various forms and places is an urban legend that at least one adventure wasn't. Somewhere in the world, these stories say, Captain Cousteau saw (or heard) something underwater that was so shocking that he kept it a secret from the world. (Except, presumably, from whoever is repeating the story.)

Could there be any truth behind this fantastic story? What was this "secret discovery"? And where and when did all of this happen? Like most urban legends, there are a lot of conflicting accounts and not a lot of proof.

I'd love to see a site like Skeptoid do a deep dive (heheh) into this story someday, but since they haven't yet, my research is below the cut.

A Secret Discovery?

It's alleged that after a submarine expedition, undersea explorer Jacques Cousteau said, "The world isn't ready for what's down there." (How Stuff Works)

As a reader and a writer, I have to say, this is an excellent pitch for a story. A world-famous explorer who witnessed all kinds of undersea wonders and environmental tragedies choosing to keep a remarkable discovery a secret for some unknown reason? Wouldn't you read that book? I'd read that book!

In fact, I did read that book! The French comic Carthago, first published in 2007 and translated into English in 2014, features a character based on Cousteau named Major Bertrand, a famous ocean explorer who made a discovery so shocking that he not only kept it a secret, but retired and lived the rest of his life onshore afterwards. The actual scene shown in flashback is a beat-by-beat retelling of the "Red Sea Monster" version of the story we'll discuss below. According to an interview with the comic's writer Christophe Bec, that scene (and the comic itself) were inspired by an article in the French paranormal magazine Le Monde de l'un découverte (The World of the Unknown) published in February-March 2001. That article is in French here.

Here are the broad outlines of the story as I've seen it in various places online:

Cousteau surfaces, shaken from a dive, OR

The Calypso crew recover either a shark cage that has been destroyed OR

An underwater camera or hydrophone that has recorded something

Cousteau says some variation on "The world is not ready for what I have seen"

Cousteau orders any film or audio recordings of the incident (taken by either divers, underwater equipment, or film crew aboard the ship) to be either destroyed or suppressed and hidden away in a safe

(Some accounts have people saying they actually saw the incident happen on TV, which is unlikely as I don't think any of Cousteau's documentaries were live broadcasts.)

Cousteau is so shaken by what he saw that he never returns to the site of the incident

The Red Sea Monster

The most famous and detailed version of the story, and the one Carthago adapts, sets the action in the Gulf of Tadjoura off the coast of Djibouti, near where the Red Sea meets the Indian Ocean. Investigating legends of a sea monster in a cove called the Ghoubbet al-Kharab, or Gulf of the Demons, Cousteau's team lowered a camel carcass within a shark cage. When the cage was raised, it had been badly damaged, perhaps even destroyed.

[The Ghoubbet al-Kharab is the little inland bit at left almost cut off from the sea x]

The article in Le Monde de l'un découverte says this incident happened sometime before 26 June 1995, when the secret was revealed by a writer(?) named Stéphane Swirog, and that it had also been discussed on French TV in 1987. (I cannot find any information about a “Stéphane Swirog” online except in reprints of this story, although there is apparently an MMA fighter with that name. Is this one of those hoax articles with backwards names where “Goriws” sound like something hilarious in French that’s lost on me?)

This is a plausible part of the world to set this story, because Cousteau very famously did explore the Red Sea several times! A lot of his film The Silent World was filmed there, and his Conshelf underwater habitat was on the floor of the Red Sea off Sudan. In 2004, Cousteau's son Jean-Michel and grandchildren Fabien and Céline returned to these sites fifty years later for a new documentary you can watch here.

And we know Jacques Cousteau actually DID explore the coast of Djibouti in 1967-68! In his book Life and Death in a Coral Sea (1971), he says that when docked there, his crew, err, heard a strange story...

...we decided to visit the Goubet, a famous gulf of the Red Sea. Before leaving Djibouti that morning, one of our crew had by chance asked a local Arab diver about the Goubet. "Ah, sir," the man had replied, "it is a most extraordinary place. It is bottomless, and it is inhabited by monsters so large that they can drag down lines attached to 200-liter cans. Moreover, in 1963, Commandant Cousteau went there with Fredéric Dumas and his best divers, and they were so terrified by what they saw that they ran away." Naturally, we were eager to see the place in which, according to local gossip, we had earned so ignominious a reputation. I must report, however, that the Goubet was a disappointment. It is an inland sea or gulf that connects with the Red Sea by a narrow pass in which there is a very strong current, running up to seven knots. The surrounding area is very beautiful, and very wild, being dominated by volcanic mountains bare of foliage and marked in shades of red, yellow, and black. Once in the Goubet itself, we lowered the diving saucer to a depth of over six hundred feet without catching sight of even a small monster. The divers then suited up and went down also, but they saw nothing more remarkable than some very large sea urchins. There seemed to be very few fish of any kind. It is my guess that the "Goubet monster" of Arab legend was originally a manta ray, seen by some shepherd from a hill top. Manta rays are plentiful in this area, and it must happen occasionally that they wander into the Goubet and – because the inlet is so narrow and because mantas are not the most intelligent of beasts – have trouble finding their way out again. (Page 42)

(This is one of those "white-covered books" I still own a copy of!)

That's right, this story is so old it was told TO Cousteau in the late 1960s! It's the only version of the story he seems to have actually heard and commented on, and it was to deny the monster story.

It strikes me that two of the fearsome feats attributed to the Red Sea Monster— pulling air-filled cans/barrels underwater and destroying a shark cage— are things the shark in Jaws also does. While Peter Benchley’s novel came out in 1974, several years later, he did research sharks when writing it, so I wonder if “pulling barrels underwater” was just a bit of shark lore that was going around in the late 60s.

(At least the way it’s shown in the 1975 movie, the MythBusters showed a great white shark is strong enough to briefly pull barrel floats underwater but not to hold them there.)

The more embellished 2001 article post-dates Jaws and may be inspired by the cage-destruction scene in the film.

The Depths of Lake Tahoe

Apparently, years ago, Cousteau went scuba diving in Lake Tahoe. He emerged from the water shaken, but not with cold. He said, “The world is not ready for what I have seen.” (Jennifer Skene, “Rumors and Truth in Lake Tahoe”)

Another common account of the “secret discovery” story says that it didn’t happen at sea at all, but rather in the depths of landlocked Lake Tahoe, on the California-Nevada border. This is the version of the story most commonly associated with the “the world isn’t ready” quote. The Lake Tahoe version usually keeps things vague, speculating that perhaps Cousteau saw local legendary lake monster Tahoe Tessie OR a layer of hundreds of perfectly-preserved bodies of Chinese railroad workers or mafia victims floating eerily in mid-waters, OR some other mysterious thing too horrific to describe.

[Unspeakable horrors such as dinky maps found on Bing]

Both Tessie and the well-preserved bodies are urban legends seen discussed elsewhere without the Cousteau connection. Other legends speculate that the lake hides sharks, mermaids, an underground tunnel to Pyramid Lake, a crashed WWII bomber, and a fortune in gold bullion. Just your ISO standard set of underwater legends, really.

However, unlike the Red Sea, there is no evidence that Jacques Cousteau ever visited Lake Tahoe, let alone dove there!

According to other explorers who have explored the lake’s depths, the cold, clear waters do provide eerie visibility to the shipwrecks and sunken trees found there. While people have died in and around the lake and bodies are sometimes found, the more sensational claims of uncanny preservation and bodies eerily floating in mid-water, never rising or sinking, do not fit with Lake Tahoe’s known physical conditions.

The Screams of Hell

Indeed, the French diver Jacques Cousteau was swimming over Cuba some years ago, and he heard screaming noises at the bottom of the ocean. ... And Jacques Cousteau was so shaken up by what he had heard in the seas off Cuba, he never swam there again. ... He heard what he believed to be screaming, shouting, people being tortured, just as the Bible teaches. ("Ex-Catholics for Christ")

Yet another version of the story says that Cousteau heard the sounds of agonized screaming underwater, either while diving himself or recorded on a hydrophone, and possibly considered them the screams of souls in hell. These versions of the story tend to be vaguer, not always naming a time or place when this happened. (That version put it in Cuba, another in Greece, others vaguely “somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle”.)

That's probably because this version is just an adaptation of another, more well-known urban legend about Soviet geologists digging into hell and recording screams that has been repeated in various places since the 1980s. (You can see some of the problems with that story at the site linked.)

(Cousteau did explore Cuba’s waters in the mid-1980s as seen in the documentary, Cuba: Waters of Destiny. You won’t hear any screams from Hell in that documentary, but there is a guest appearance from Fidel Castro!)

Another religion-related urban legend about Jacques Cousteau is that he converted to Islam after discovering the Quran was correct about the mixing of the waters of the Red Sea and Indian Ocean. This isn't true, either. In some places I'd seen this repeated in the same context as an equally-untrue claim that Neil Armstrong converted to Islam after hearing the call to prayer on the moon, and misremembered this as a claim Cousteau had heard the call to prayer underwater for a less-disturbing twist on the idea that the secret discovery was something heard underwater rather than seen, but as far as I can tell, that isn't the case.

Bells in Random Order

Do you know Jacques Cousteau? Well, they said on the radio That he hears bells in random order Deep beneath the perfect water ("Perfect Water")

The Blue Öyster Cult song "Perfect Water" has the lyrics above, which may be a reference to the "secret discovery" legend and specifically the above idea that it was a mysterious sound heard underwater. The band is known for having many references to legends, conspiracy theories, and the supernatural in other songs. "Perfect Water" was on the album Club Ninja, released in December 1985, post-dating Life and Death in a Coral Sea but predating the most famous accounts of the “Well to Hell” story. I can't find any other sources talking about Cousteau and mysterious bells.

This website instead thinks the lyrics are referring to Cousteau's actual descriptions of walruses as making sounds similar to bells in his writings and films. You can hear a walrus making a bell sound here.

Ask Me Anything

During an AMA session on Reddit in 2018, Fabien Cousteau (FCNomad) was asked about three different versions of this story (Djibouti, Lake Tahoe, and Fort Peck Reservoir in Montana.) He seemed most familiar with the Lake Tahoe version.

sotpsean: Hello, Mr Cousteau! It's an honour. When I was a child, family lived in Djibouti, Africa,(my father was a French Foreign Legionnaire). There was a local legend about a "sea monster" living in Lac Goubet. I've heard that your Grandfather might have investigated Lac Goubet in search of this "monster". Locals have thought it to be a prehistoric shark cut off from the sea. I've always wondered if someone might be able to shed light on this subject. Have you heard of this? Thanks for doing this AMA! FCNomad: Great to chat with you. French foreign legion? Serious stuff. There are legends of "sea monsters" in every body of water out there. Until we explore them we will not know for sure ;-) Lets go see! [x]

-

HulkVomit: Why did your grandfather never want to dive in Ft Peck Reservoir again? Would you ever come dive in it? Account-002: I am also REALLY curious about this. My Dad thought it was because if the siltyness of the water, combined with a possible encounter with multiple giant catfish/paddlefish that put him off. FCNomad: That does seem plausible and potentially sound due to the potential risks. He was focussed on filmmaking and if you can't see anything its hard to tell a visual story… [x]

-

TeddysGhost: Hi there, I live at Lake Tahoe and it is a common story around here that your grandfather went into the lake once and when he emerged he warned people that the world isn't ready to see what's down there? What do.you know about that story? Is there even a shred of legitimacy and if so what did he see? FCNomad: Ive heard this rumor as well. We were supposed to investigate on a new TV series but we never got the chance… [x]

Conclusions

...yeah, all versions of this story sound pretty fake to me. Sorry.

As Fabien says, almost every body of water has sea and lake monster legends attached to it, because the world’s waters really are mysterious, unpredictable, and dangerous. But over time, your local legendary water monster can become familiar, almost a sort of community mascot.

When reading the archives of The Liberator, a famous anti-slavery newspaper published in Boston in the mid-1800s, I found several articles where the writers referred to the New England sea serpent in these kinds of familiar terms, since to Bostonians it was a “local” monster. They even called it “our American sea serpent”— the children and grandchildren of the Minutemen, still defining their identity as Americans, could boast that England didn’t have such a cool monster.

In modern times, of course, a local monster legend can also be a major tourist attraction. Most of the sites I found repeating the Djibouti and Lake Tahoe versions of the story were… travel sites for Djibouti and Lake Tahoe (especially diving travel sites).

To present your local monster story as “verified” by a famous underwater explorer like Jacques Cousteau makes it sound authentic. It certainly spices things up for people planning their vacations, especially divers. And to say that your local monster scared away a globetrotting adventurer like Cousteau who had faced so many other perils all over the world definitely adds to the “local pride” angle. In Djibouti, a French colony that was having a vote in 1967 about whether to become independent, a story about a local monster scaring away a famous Frenchman may have had an appealing nationalist undertone.

The writer for Le Monde de l'un découverte, however, probably just wanted to tell a rip-roaring sea story. The presumably-French writer, writing for a French magazine, would have been writing for an audience who had grown up following Cousteau’s adventures. Perhaps they combed his writings in search of any mention of sea monsters that could fit in their paranormal magazine, found the passage about Djibouti in Life and Death in a Coral Sea, and created a more sensational version that conveniently left out Cousteau’s own debunking. For an audience who had grown up with Cousteau, what could be more exciting than hearing about one more adventure of their late hero, totally new and unseen, and a discovery so shocking it was being kept secret?

And, like I said, it does make for a great story! No wonder it inspired Christophe Bec to write his own version! And with the decades-long tradition of fictional stories parodying and homaging Jacques Cousteau, I can’t blame you if this piece has inspired you to write your own version of the “secret discovery” story— just please, make it clear that your fiction is fiction.

[gulfcoastinspired]

11 Tips for Gulf Coast Nature Walks in Alabama and Mississippi

For me, one of the best parts of living on the Gulf Coast is the abundance and variety of ecosystems to explore year-round. I am trying to make a habit of exploring different nature trails early every Saturday morning. I often have a walking buddy, but occasionally find myself exploring alone. Here are some tips for older people like me who are interested in starting a routine of weekly nature…

[shutterandsentence]

“People who think too much before they act don’t act too much.”

– Jimmy Buffett

Photo: Cabbage Key, Florida

[tea-moon-ster]

O'Knutzy Week (late) day 4

O'Knutzy Vacation! In Italy!

So, this was meant to be for O'Knutzy Week (which has been over for a week now, but what is time anyway?) It's the first of two parts (pt2 is close behind!) and also a present for sweet Harzy! Happy bday bud. Have some love and be a lit nerd with me. Chraracters credits to the wonderful @lumosinlove, prompt and hosting credits to @oknutzyweek2023.

Prompt: Summer Vacation

“Lo, tell me that I’m a genius.”

“You’re a genius.”

“And that you love me.”

“I love you so, so much.”

“Yeah, you do.”

Logan raised an eyebrow at Leo. He was sitting on the couch with a proud grin on his face, his iPad close to his chest in the way Finn held his books after finishing them. He looked like a kid too excited not to speak, Logan noted. Cute. “You know that I love serenading you, but that grin tells me there’s something else. What is it?”

“So, we’ll be in Nice in August.”

“Ouais.”

“Did you know Nice was part of Italy once?”

Logan’s eyes widened in alarm. “Look, it’s better if it doesn’t come up while we’re there, or with my mother. People don’t like to…”

“No, Lo, I mean. It’s close. Literally so close.”

“Yeah, I went there once or twice as a kid. You…wanna go?”

“Could we?”

Logan went to sit on the armrest of the couch and left a kiss among soft curls. “We can do whatever we want, Peanut.”

Leo’s smile almost blinded him. “Great. Because I found something our Harzy will love.”

Logan let himself slide next to Leo, circling his shoulders with an arm. “Tell me everything.”

“Did he enjoy studying Romanticism in college?”

Logan laughed. “Butter, I distinctly remember him crying over Romanticism in college. More than twice.”

“Perfect."

•••

They spent two weeks in Nice, rediscovering the bliss of taking their time. They started their slow, quiet days with the sun high in the sky, rolling over in bed to find each other despite the heat. Nice was a constant flow of colors, sounds and touches that Finn never wanted to forget. It was the smiles and kisses shared for the pictures, and Logan showing them little villages on the coast and immense lavender fields. It was Leo’s hand dragging them around colorful markets, and it was Logan ordering meals in a quick and slightly different flow of French.

It was everything.

It was…a car?

Finn blinked. And not just some car. It was an old-style, red Chevy that shined under the sun, convertible roof and elegant lines. Finn swore had come out straight of an old movie. Leo and Logan were there, leaning on the car with two pleased, smug smiles plastered on their pretty faces. At their feet, their bags were packed.

“Hop on, sweetheart,” Leo smiled, rolling the slow vowels in his mouth as honey dripping from a spoon. “We’re goin’ on an adventure.”

Finn blinked again. “Guys, what…” The flight home is in a week. That’s not our car. Why are our bags packed? Did I forget something we had planned? Did something happen?

“We,” Logan interrupted his thoughts, opening the backseat’s door for him , “Are taking you on a trip.”

“We are on a trip,” Finn mumbled absently, but he stepped forward. He peeked inside. A pile of books was neatly displayed on the cream leather backseat. He  gasped and launched himself, making the car creak eerily.

“Harz,” Leo laughed. “The car is as old as it looks, hun.”

But Finn didn’t pay him any attention, as unusual as it sounds. He was busy studying the various books. A quick scan of the titles made him frown. The Greatest Romantic Poems. Romanticism in Italy. The Gulf of the Poets: inspiration for immortal verses.

“You guys,” Finn breathed. He passed a reverent hand on the book covers, as if he’d just found a treasure.

Logan squeezed his shoulder lightly. “Allons, mon rouge. We have a reservation for dinner.”

The road was a wonderful, continuous landscape of coasts and alps. Finn remembered it all like a dream the moment you wake up. Confused flashes and big emotions you can’t quite put a finger on. He remembered Leo’s tanned arms on the steering wheel and Logan’s hair dancing wildly in the wind. Hands reaching blindly for his knee and flipping the books’ pages and photos to understand what was happening. At one point he caught Leo’s smiling eyes in the review mirror. We can surprise you, too, Harzy. He guessed he’d turned pretty insistent at some point, too, because they explained him everything.

“There’s this bay with the cutest little villages,” Leo said as he raised the convertible roof and silence replaced the roaring wind. The sun was high in the sky, and Finn had gotten plenty of sun in the last few weeks. “And that’s where some of your favorite poets lived for some time. Shelley, Byron, others. And it was pretty close, you know?”

“So, Leo thought we’d make a little surprise trip. He looked it all up.”

“Well, Logan found the car and the books.”

“And,” Logan smiled, “A cooking class on how to make authentic focaccia, tomorrow night.”

Leo gasped without looking away from the road. His hand found Logan’s and brought it to his lips for a kiss. “Sweetheart, you didn’t.”

“It’s a cooking class with aperitif. We’ll have spritz with an Italian grandma.”

“I love you so much.”

“Yeah, you do.”

They laughed, but Finn just smiled and leaned back in his seat. He didn’t trust himself with words just yet. He focused on the group of colorful, crumpled houses that were getting bigger and bigger instead, wondering how did the stars align so perfectly that he’d ended up with two boyfriends like that. Two people that knew him so well, and cared so much to make all that fuss just for him. He leaned forward to take Logan’s hand and squeeze Leo’s shoulder, and received a squeeze back and a quick kiss to his hand. They must have understood what was going on with him, because they didn’t say a thing. They always knew what Finn was thinking- even when Finn himself had no idea.

They soon reached their destination, a white villa that looked directly on to the sea and stood regally against the deep blue. Next to the big entrance, a marble plaque. Finn squinted to read it, and his eyes widened. He remembered thinking fuck it as he let the grip in his throat, that had kept him on edge since the beginning of the trip, loose into watery sobs.

“Guys, what the fuck,” he cried. Leo hopped down the car and cooed him into a hug as Logan quickly made his way over and took his place under Finn’s chin. They just held him there, in between them, as he stared at the big house. “The Shelley’s villa. Shelley’s. They lived here.”

“It’s a hotel and museum now,” Leo explained, a smile in his voice and against Finn’s forehead. “Couldn’t let it pass.”

Finn held them tighter. “Of course you couldn’t.”

•••

The next few days passed in an enchanted haze. It was the crashing sound of the waves that woke them up, and later rocked them into gripping bedsheets and each other hard. They explored villages lost in time, enjoying their slow rhythms and careless calm. They kept themselves off the beaten path that the area had traced for tourists, and the villa itself was located out of the nearest town. No one would recognize them. Their days on the Italian coast were full of brighty colored houses that spied the sea, and midnights jump into the dark water to escape the heat.

As it turned out, Leo had kept one last surprise to himself just like Logan. Where the steps of the villa met the sea, a white motorboat was waiting for them. Finn let himself be guided onto the passenger seat as Leo took them far from the rocky shores, and Logan pressed smiles and kisses on him.

But it was on the third day that Finn’s own personal catharsis came to a peak.

He was more or less shoved into the car by a too excited Leo and an amused Logan for a short drive to a village close by. It was beautiful and colorful like the many others they’d seen, but it was at the top of a cliff that the magic was revealed. Old walls stood timeless and climbed up to a little church that faced the sea on its own; and behind the walls, a narrow passage on the side of the rocks went down.

Finn squinted in the sun to read the plaque above the passage. ‘“This grotto was the inspiration of Lord Byron. It records the immortal poet and daring swimmer…’” he trailed off, eyes widening. He turned, looking at the other two with an alarmed frown. “You guys are fucking with me. You… you’re just putting on these plaques in random places. To kill me.”

Logan laughed at that, patting his shoulder. “Ouais, Harzy, that’s exactly how things went. You didn’t notice Knutty slipping out of bed this morning while I was riding the life out of you.”

Finn opened and closed his mouth a few times, even more at loss of word. At least he could pretend the redness on his cheeks was sunburn.

“Stop thinking of this morning, Harz,” Logan called. “Allez, it’s Byon’s cave. You love him. This is the core of your Italian adventure.”

Finn studied the plaque a moment longer, before glancing at the passage with a sudden urgency. “So, this…this is where he composed his most important poems.” His voice trembled a bit.

Leo handed him the tote bag he’d been carrying around with a smile. “Inside there’s a notebook and your favorite pen, some music and a towel.”

Finn frowned. “You’re not coming with me? No, you two are my Italian adventure.”

Long fingers squished his cheeks around a kiss. “We thought we might give you some time, and then come and get you.”

“Come on, Rouge,” Logan came at their side. “We know you’re dying to have your poet moment. We’ll be right here.”

Finn stared at them for a second, disbelievingly, then drew them both into a hug, squeezing as hard as he could. “I love you so much. I love you, love you, love you.”

Carefully, he started to go down the steep passage. Only a slim railing kept him from the risk of falling, but Finn found he couldn’t slow down as he jumped from rock to rock, ignoring Leo and Logan telling him to be careful. After a sharp turn, the cave appeared. Finn kept his breath as he wandered inside, nose up to the dark walls and the landscape the grotto framed.

He felt his eyes burn. He remembered reading again and again poems about that place- so much that it felt a bit like coming home. Hell, he’d done it all; he’d read, recited, written essays and annotated every line of those pages. Of those clouds at the horizon. The fact that he remembered everything so vividly was infinitesimal compared to the realization that Logan remembered, too. Quiet nights in their Harward room, only a small light in between them for Finn to read to him. And Leo…oh, Leo. So careful to everything Finn as much as breathed on. It was easy to picture him putting that trip together in silence, without leaving anything to chance.

He took a seat on a rock, taking it all in. The rocky cliffs, covered by the lively green of pines, ended abruptly into the sea. The gentle rocking of the waves arrived at his ankles. Finn understood what the poets were so desperately trying to communicate through their bleeding lines. What they’d been lacking before they found that paradise, and why their lives and poetry would forever be tied to those shores.

But the only thing Finn could think of was them.

Logan’s smile that morning. And every morning before. And every morning forever.

Leo jumping into the crystal blue water, and his smile resurfacing before anything else. He looked like a nymph appearing from the waves. His own personal muse. His hero that would not end in tragedy.

Finn closed his eyes and breathed.

When he exhaled, messy ink had filled pages on his lap, and the sun had lowered a bit.

“Wow.”

Finn turned, to see Leo and Logan staring mesmerized at the sea, holding hands. Leo raised his free one to him, mouth still half open. Finn got up, and squeezed it as he joined them, keeping quiet as if not to disturb the waves.

They breathed together. Finn’s eyes were wide and a little red. He licked his lips. “I wrote some poems for you."

•

•

•

Notes: this was a pretty self indulgent piece, more fluff will come in pt2! Hope you enjoyed!

[spnfanficpond]

Pond Diving - @spn-fanfic-reblog-writes!

Welcome to today’s Pond Diving Spotlight! We hope that you enjoy this little insight to our members and perhaps even find some useful tips for your own writing. Happy reading!

Want to volunteer, send us an ask or DM @mrswhozeewhatsis! We’re looking forward to learning more about all of you! Not sure what PD is, you can learn more here.

“Don’t Be Koi About It” - All About You

Name: Laili

Age: 38

Location: Gulf Coast, USA

URL: @spn-fanfic-reblog-writes

Why did you choose your URL: I made a bunch of blogs at once and realized I wanted to make sure readers knew what the blog was about.

What inspired you to become a writer: Reading. My imagination. Drawing. I was never big on reading “educational” books. I’m not a fan of Tolkien or C.S. Lewis. I don’t like wordy stories. I read each word and imagine everything I read in a deep detail and texture. I’ve always written and write stories when I can’t find the story I wanna read. I was always told to write the story you want to read. Sing the song you wanna hear. I only publish them because I know I’m not the only one interested. I can’t be. Why would I want to write it if it’s just for me? Someone else, even one other person, is interested.

How long have you been writing:  Most of my life. Writing fanfic since 2022.

What do you do when you are not writing i.e. Job/Hobbies etc?  Reading fanfic. Stay-at-home-parent or -house person, illustrating for bangs and fests or friends, watching tv/movies, hanging out with friends.

How long have you been in the SPN Fandom?  Since Supernatural the tv series came out in 2005.

Are you in any other fandoms and do you write for them? Moon Knight. Yes. The Boys. Yes. Highlander the series. Yes. Star Trek. No. Dark Angel. Yes. RPF. Yes. Medieval, fantasy dragon-focused stories. Want to. Futuristic and high magic stories. Want to. Urban fantasy. Yes. Modern AUs. Yes. Mortal Kombat: Conquest. No. Doctor Who. No.

Do you do any writing outside of fanfiction? If so, tell us about it? 

Poems, songs, and original fiction—usually urban fantasy, sci-fi fantasy, or similar. I have two novels I am working on. 

One is based on the A/b/o trope and how it’d affect humanity. It’ll follow a family. 

The other is an urban fantasy where a psychic woman meets an angel who has lost their faith in God and she guides him through her own day-to-day living back to God. I didn’t mean for it to become a religious fiction book. It was meant more as a supernatural romance but after discussing my idea with a friend, it’s how it went. 

As some with religious trauma, you’d think I wouldn’t write this. I’ve been more active on that novel than the other.

Favorite published author:  so many to choose from…. Christine Feehan, E.E. Cummings, Robert Frost, Robert Asprin, William Sears (NOT the doctor), Laurel K. Hamilton, Erma Bombeck, Berkeley Breathed, and more.

Have you ever read a book that made an impact on your life? Which one and why?:  

 I think all books make an impact but their degree depends on the reader. 

You’ll probably laugh but two of the first books that I can remember that I read…well, my Mom read to me so many, many times were “The Napping House” and “The Circus is Coming”. 

“The Napping House” by Audrey Wood, published in 1984. It was probably more on how she told the story and she always spoke with enthusiasm and energy to show how everyone experienced what was happening. The story is about a different sort of family who naps during a storm, and they all literally sleep and cuddle on one another but get awoken. Despite all the troubles and disturbances, they take it in stride and go outside to play together since it isn’t raining anymore. They rolled with the punches and kept being positive about it, not caring what caused all the issues to begin with. Blame didn’t matter. 

“The Circus is Coming” A picture parade by Hilary Knight, published 1978. It’s beautiful. The art is gorgeous and it’s out of print. It isn’t easy to find. It is a way to be in a fantasy world and live outside it. It shows you the wonderfully, gorgeous and exotic circus parade and the regular kids running alongside it. It has a “Barnum and Bailey’s circus” resemblance to me but true artwork in a book that anyone could see and touch. It’s very silly, very gorgeous, a wonderful imagination, and very realistic. It allows the reader a way to get away for a while and it’s so encompassing, both pages every time take up the art.

Favorite genre of fanfic (smut, angst, fluff, crack, rpf, etc):  fluffy, a/b/o, and smut. I love angst with my fluff or hurt/comfort. 

Favorite piece of your own writing: Imagine You’re Dating Vampire!Dean

Most underrated fic you have written:  Bedtime Routine. It's a kid fic and fluffy.

Story of yours that you’d most like to see turned into a movie/tv show: Domestic Destiel #1 OR In The Mood

Favorite Tumblr Writer(s):  ​(not all of them but a lot) @spnexploration @zepskies @luci-in-trenchcoat @holylulusworld @moosekateer13 @riley-phoenix @impala-dreamer @malicmalic @zationao3 @sharkfish @redamber79 @butterflysklinky @quietwingsinthesky @destielshipper4cas @thoughtslikeaminefield @wigglebox @naughtystiel @niche-patische @wisteria-lodge @a-deed-without-a-name @valandrawrites @anyreiart @queerwolfsstuff @punk-is-notdead @almaasi @omegadeanlovesalphacas @no-gorms @lizleeships @envydeanwrites @nickelkeep @baconandpie1 @sitruunavohveli @peachonified @unforth @starlightoffandoms @seidenapfel (There are tons more not on Tumblr!)

Favorite fic from another writer:  Pack by @spnexploration​

Favorite character to write: Dean Winchester

Favorite Pairing to write:  Destiel

Least favorite character to write (and why):  “Evil” characters because it’s hard for me to understand them and write them well. I love a good bad guy, truly, especially when you don’t realize they’re the bad guy until it’s too late. Those are the best. The ones you love and break your heart.

Do you have anyone you consider a mentor? I guess K.M. Weiland since she has the website helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com and she explains all aspects of writing stories with examples, so much. It helps so much. ​

Do you have any aspirations involving your writing?   I want to be a published fiction writer on the NY Times Best Seller list. 

How many work-in-progress stories do you have:  lol! I had to make a list and counted, 94, that I have every intention to write. (This does not include the bingos I haven’t even touched yet or worked on.)

What are you currently working on?  Waiting for my beta on my Spn Sabriel Bang fic (to be posted August 11th). I’m working on an a/b/o series that leads to a polycule (destiel x reader).

“Pond Diving” - All About The Writing

What/who has had the biggest influence on your writing?  My Mom. She’s the reason I haven’t kept writing when I would lose interest. Now, I can add so many fandom folks I met on discord or tumblr that have helped keep me going, especially when my depression starts getting to me. It helps so much. Thank you is not enough to say.

Best writing advice you've been given:  When you start writing, write what you know. Read and read and read but read good authors.

Biggest obstacle you’ve faced in your writing: Depression. It lies and wants you to give up on everything. It makes you focus on yourself when you should be focused on those around you and your mutuals.  

What aspects of writing do you find difficult when you write fanfiction? Finishing. Stopping the plot bunnies from dominating my mind while I’m writing. 

Is there anything you want to write but are afraid to (and why): Triggering aspects of mental health. I’m worried no one will want to read it. I’m worried I’ll end up triggering someone or myself as I write it. Well-written negative mental health episodes in stories have triggered me and I was surprised. I knew how to handle it because I have a lot of different coping skills I’ve been taught and practice but I recognize not everyone has that.

What inspires/motivates you to write:  Life. Other people’s creativity. Stories I want to read that no one has written yet. 

How do you deal with self doubt:  My family, friends and mutuals are huge ego and mood boosters. Taking a break does help and getting different perspectives on the situation or what’s going on can make a big difference.

How do you deal with writer's block: Change how I’m being creative. Instead of writing, I’ll draw or paint or do photography. My goal is to always be creative or artsy. It’s ok to do other things than write. 

Do you plan/outline your story before you start: Honestly, it depends on how I come across the idea. I tend to do half and half. If I outline, it’s basic stuff and then I’ll write, sometimes I’ll go a different direction than my plot line which is acceptable. Just depends on where the characters wanna go.

Do you have any weird writing habits:  I write on my phone. lol! I also collect office supplies but I think that has more to do with being close to my dad whose trunk used to be his storage when he sold office supplies. 😊

Have you ever received hateful comments on your fic and how do you deal with it?  Not for my fic writing that I can recall. Honestly, I ignore them. I will talk to close friends about it to help me process it and reduce my anxiety but I just ignore them and delete the comment.

Conversely: what’s been some of your favorite feedback on your fanfic?  People asking me to write more, even on one shots. People telling me that they love it.

If you could give one piece of advice to a new and/or struggling writer, what would it be?  ​

I have two and I can’t remember who said them.

Just write. It doesn’t matter what you write, just write.

Write the story you want to read. 

Those are two things I think of when I’m staring at blank paper or a blank screen and nothing comes to mind. That last is why I write what I write. Sometimes I don’t even know that’s the story I want to read until it’s done. 😊 

[artifacts-archive]

Bowl (Tecomate)

Olmec

12th–10th century BCE

This bowl is in a full, round shape with a small opening at the top. A potter carefully built this thin-walled vessel using a coil technique with a kaolin-like clay, finishing it with a light-colored slip and burnishing the surface, which displays small pitted losses. The vessel type is known as a tecomate (“gourd”), named after the gourds that inspired their original form. Some of the earliest ceramic vessels in Mesoamerica took the form of gourds captured in the more durable material of fired clay. Tecomates were important receptacles for community feasts, and many were subsequently placed in burials as important funerary offerings. While numerous tecomates are said to be from highland sites such as Tlatilco and Las Bocas in central Mexico, the comparatively heavy, thick walls of this example suggest that it might be from one of the Gulf Coast Olmec sites such as San Lorenzo or La Venta.

source

[lightlessentwine]

so you may remember when i made the silly post about how the divine towers would loosely indicate Malenia's tower as being about where the Everglades are when compared to the Chicxulub Impact. this wventually spiralled into a ton of fragmented discourse..- but someone on Facebook in "Elden Ring Tarnished Posting" made a comment where i had revised my wording and relayed the post there:

This made me think a little bit. Now, the climates don't perfectly align, and we are already aware that the Lands Between are more akin to a condensed Earth than just the area of mexico and the southern US. However.. this does not mean that the inspiration for the landscape couldn't have been at least inspired by the Gulf Coast. from here, I talked to my friend @seardrax on Discord.

Wiith advanced permission to post, we had a little conversation that kinda branched off a bit.. but it posed something very interesting that i never considered; i would have never made the observation if not for Seary and it hit me like a train (pt. 2 for convo images)

[writingwenches]

about me: call me Ed or Eddie~ In my 30s, I work too much to afford to live. Currently live in my own perfect apartment, it’s too expensive, but I’m surviving! I recently moved from an extremely conservative area of the USA Gulf Coast to one of the most liberal states in beautiful mountains with perfect weather. Life’s a struggle, but it’s fun with good buddies! Hit me up anytime, anywhere~

words of fiction

Freedom From (Peasant OC; rags to riches plot) + family tree (fic spoilers) + mothers side Aemma Velaryon (Rhaenyra's nightmare daughter/worst enemy) Aegon and the Targtower Family Roadtrip (family bonding) Helaena and Her Gays (Helaena's queer in my AU)

links

Westeros Zodiac • AU Canon Character Lore • Face Claims to Use • Ask Games ��� Other's OCs • Fic Recs • Role Playing Guide

disclaimer — feel free to use any of my characters as silly lil pawns or side characters or target practice in your own stories. If anything here gives you muse, use it! Message/Tag me, I’m excited to see where it takes you~

original character tags

Aemma Velaryon

Rhaenyra's eldest daughter. She is angry, and sad, and everything in between. Currently a ward of Queen Alicent. [aesthetic inspiration – Hozier singing "Take Me to Church" at the Victoria Secret Fashion Show]

Lynora Lannister

Grew up as a lowborn peasant, in the backwoods of the Riverlands. She is living in a horror story. Be careful what you wish for, you might just get it. She generally has no idea what is going on in this game of thrones. She can not yet read, she grew up thinking the Freys at The Twins were Lord Paramount of the Riverlands. The targtowers/courtly ladies have convinced her that Lord Larys Strong is the father of Rhaenyra’s bastards rip

Cinda Lannister

Younger Sister to Lord Jason Lannister, Lady of Coin for the Red Keep, First Lady of Honor to Queen Alicent. Childhood crush of Aemond Targaryen. Her age is described as "almost too old to bare children." Aemond has proposed to her on numerous occasions through his youth (and beyond) and she has refused him every time. (Lady of Coin makes sure the cooks/servants have the coin they need to perform their job, a “lower” job, fit only for a women, because it requires speaking to servants lol)

Pyter Royce

The Lord of Runestone, inherited after the mysterious death of his aunt Rhea Royce. He has no proof, but he knows the Targaryen scum was to blame, and he plans to take his revenge on whichever Targaryen he comes across first.

Rahul Qorgyle

Former heir to Sandstone, but after being kicked in the head by a horse, he developed a mental disability.

Beal Marlow

A theater troop actor from Essos, angered the wrong Prince of Astapor and had found himself hiding from the Good Masters in Westeros. He has become a legendary playwright in King's Landing, stealing his ideas from diaries of Old Valyrian's before the Doom. Looks suspiciously like Rahul Qorgyle.

Maeria Estermont

The feisty daughter from the second richest house in the Stormlands. Her parents are known for being embarrasing and harassed Maeria a place in the Red Keep as one of Princess Helaena's Lady in Waiting. Maeria thinks the princess is batty, and has a hard time holding her tongue where insults are concerned.

Oletta Redvyne

the heir to The Arbor, a dragon pit is currently being constructed on the island, mentally engaged to Aegon Targaryen since the age of three, has shaped her entire personality around him, there is no option other than Aegon. There is a small chance she is poising him. (Face inspo: Havana Rose Liu)

Ivyanne Tyrell 🏳️‍🌈

engaged to Aemond Targaryen on numerous occasions against her will, trapped in the Red Keep, living in a horror story. Aemond Targaryen’s number one hater, a sword lesbian. The only child to Lord and Lady Tyrell, there is a rumor she was caldron made. She would rather die than marry a man, and her parents seem to think removing a few fingers could make her see reason. They were wrong. If she is to die, she will die free. On again, off again with Helaena. What started as a way to annoy her nemesis, Aemond, Ivy sometimes finds herself dreaming of the princess. Ivy believes that Lyn MUST marry Aemond, if she has any hope to be free of him. (Face inspo: masc Kirsten Stewart in a dress)

Cordelia Lannister

Younger niece of Lady Cinda Lannister, by way of an elder brother. Both Cordelia's parents passed when she was younger, as has been living as a ward of Cinda, in the Red Keep, most of her life. She is supposed to be a friend to Princess Aemma, but she finds the princess extremely tiring. She has never had to make a decision for herself, and doesn't know if she will ever be able to. She doesn't want the life planned out for her…but what other choice does she have? Her age is described as "almost too young to bare children."

Tatsu of Nossos 🏳️‍⚧️

A Nobleperson from Nososs, a place ruled by dragon lords long ago, but they all died out. Legendary fighter, “dancing master” to Lady Ivyanne. Living as a trans woman in King’s Landing. Maesters are fascinated by Nososs, but most refuse to speak with her for close-minded reasons. Wants to go home more than anything else in the world, but knows she’ll never be able to (unless…)

Emelda Florent

Niece to Queen Alicent, through the Queen's Mother, Lady Floret. Emelda is the only daughter to the current Lord Floret. No one seems to get her name correct, choosing the simplified “Emma” instead. She longs to join the Faith of the Seven, but her father is requiring her to marry to improve their station even higher. Why can't having one queen in the family be enough?

Ima Shett

Thinking is hard, and it is nice when other people do it for you, just like how Lady Ima does her reading, by having someone else do it for her. Illiterate by choice, for the grace of the gods. Life would be so much simpler if Ima could marry her brother, the future Lord of House Shett, Ser Qyle Shett. She is reminded that this is a disgusting thought every time she brings it up, even though the Princess Aemma "gets" to marry one of her uncles. It's just not fair.

Joy Waters

An unremarkable girl, born in a brothel to a whore in King's Landing named Joy, how original. Everything changed for Joy the day a young Prince Aegon Targaryen found himself in her company. He had brought a long a costume for her to wear, and she obliged, and he left, not bothering to take back the scrapes of fabric. But, this was no ordinary fabric, this was the uniform of a maid of the Red Keep, a prestigious position, not held but just any daughter of a whore.

Ryver Erenford 🏳️‍⚧️

The Bolton's got most of their inspiration from the horrible tales of Red Ryver. Born into the body of a woman, Ryver longs to be the best knight and man the Realm has ever seen, even if he has to murder everyone along the way.

Oswalt Frey

The ally, best friend and follower of Ryver. Os once spit his pants in front of a filled crowd of a tourney. His manhood was legendary, and its the current courtly gossip about the Freys. Os is pretty embarrassed by the whole situation.

original lore

Nososs

geography based on Japan, on the other side of the known world, pre-Dawn society, former dragon lords, noble pilgrims

House Stone

Inspired by Mongolian culture, the Newest House of the Seven Kingdoms, sworn as loyal vessels to House Stark, and named a noble house by King Viserys I Targaryen after their economic rise from the sale of ice.

Vaestal Virgins

Old Valyrian Goddess of Luck, Dragonfire, Virgins and Dragondreams // Inspired by the Vestal Virgins of Ancient city of Rome

Tropicos

Coming Soon...

[randyzorra]

May I offer you my iteration of the boys before the angst sets in

This is my Ronin Raph au/iteration/timeline, I've pulled inspiration from 2003 and Rise.

Raph and Leo are both the oldest siblings, twins if you will. Raph is an alligator snapping turtle (like in Rise because it fits so well) and Leo is a common snapping turtle.

Donnie is the middle child and based on a Gulf coast box turtle.

Mikey is the youngest and I took some creative liberties with his coloring but he's based on a leaf turtle!