#I thought it'd look best to have that as a later frame instead

[cheshirepirouette]

This still has a ways to go, but proud of my progress for today!

[magicalyaku]

I wrote this weeks ago and forgot to post it, oops. uAu March was hard with work and con preparation so I didn't read much. I thought it'd get better afterwards buuut ... it's even worse now. xD Oh well. That's for later! Here's what I read in March:

The School for Invisible Boys (The Kairos Files 1) (Shaun David Hutchinson): It's been a while since I last read something by this author. Missed it! Though, this one is middle grade, so it felt a little different. A little less strange. Like, for once, the monster is an actual one instead of just a metaphor (not that it isn't connected to one. I also wonder if that whole Catholic setting is intentional because the Catholic Church and young boys don't have the best history together …). So, yeah, I like his other stories better, but this one was pretty good as well. I really liked the main character, because while he was timid of some sort, he also was easily brave and bold when he had to (that whole "he was mean to me, so I set his project on fire" is obviously not something to encourage in real life, but it is badass and I have respect for it in a a story xD), and he was able to apologise when he realised he made a mistake. I wonder what the next volume will be about.

Gallowgate (K.R. Alexander): So apparently, 'gay boys and ghosts' is a thing I'm into. The other two series I read, Oracle of Senders and Sixteen Souls, I like better, but this one is also middle grade while the other aren't, so they're not that easy to compare. Gallowgate starts out really dark, like really dark. Poor kid. It gets more whimsical afterwards with the school being run by ghosts and a general morbid decoration of which I've never been a fan, but most kids probably eat this up. Some story decisions are a bit questionable in my eyes like when the adults tell the protagonist to tell them anything strange that happens to him, but when he does they go "oh, that's not possible, you must be imagining things" … How did they think, that would solve any problems? It is addressed in the story, so it's not too bad, but still. Other than this, it was quite fun and I wonder if there's going to be a sequel.

Skater Boy (Anthony Nerada): What can I say about this one other than I liked it? :'D It's a pretty basic story: delinquent boy falls for someone who is like his polar opposite, in this case a ballet dancer, and wants to get a grip on his life for him. But it's done well, doesn't feel stale or anything. All of the characters are nice, even if they aren't, the protagonist is likable, even if he isn't the type of person one would like to hang out with (for most of the story anyway). Friends and family are just as important as the romance part. Hm. It's probably like this: There's more to the protagonist than meets the eye, and it's the same for the whole story? Sounds simple, but there's an honest heart in it.

Icarus (K. Ancrum): By chance, here's another one with a ballet dancer. :'D This one starts out really strange. The chapters are so short, at the beginning they felt a bit disconnected. It took me a while to find my footing in this. I had to ignore all the headlines to not always get taken out of the flow with every new chapter. Which also means, I probably missed a lot of the layers of the story, that are implied by the chapter titles. But it's worth it! It's kind of a strange story, but it gets really warm (there's romance, but the friendship part is also pretty strong). It has things to say (there's intersex rep for instance, and a genetic disease (was it EDS? I don't have my copy at hand to look it up, sorry) and the writing invokes that eerie feeling throughout. If you put it in a visual medium, you'd probably have to be very careful about the framing because it's about art (among other things) and everything feels very artistic and intentional. It's good!

[ddwcaph-game]

Four New Traits!

Update: I've received some feedback and decided to reconsider adding the new traits. Check out this post for more information!

I'm not completely sure yet how these traits will work, but since this'll probably be the last ones I'll add in Volume 1, I've decided to add them in the next update and get some feedback sooner rather than later. They are:

💫 [Easily Distractable]

⚡ [Hyperactive!]

😳 [Socially Awkward]

🎒 [Super Organized]

A couple of years ago, someone pointed out to me that some of the MC's choices/thoughts have elements of anxiety/autism/ADHD and asked if this was the case. This was mostly unintentional on my part, and since it's an unfamiliar and sensitive subject, I thought it'd be best to not have an explicit choice for it, but fine if people wanted to headcanon it.

I wanted to give it a shot just like I did with the gender stuff (which was enlightening for both me and my characters), especially because having a young MC gives me a unique point of view to explore them. So I thought about it some more, and I think I found a way to make it work without adding a lot of extra workload.

I know that it's a spectrum and there's no strict definition or a single correct way of presenting them, so instead I separated it into different traits that doesn't directly state that the MC is neurodivergent. Writing in first person makes it hard to account for in every variation in every choice, so I'm keeping it somewhat vague and hopefully this gives the flexibility that MC may be either undiagnosed, or just has those traits.

This is a bit long, so I'll go a little bit into detail how I plan to implement the traits below:

⚡ [Hyperactive!]: (+20% Silly, Doubles [Well-Rested] Stat Bonuses)

You can select this trait at the beginning of Chapter 1, where you choose how to react to the bell ringing. The choice is:

Finally! Sitting inside the classroom for hours is torture. Some people say I'm hyperactive—but I don't understand how some people can just sit around all day.

This will probably restrict most passive choices where you decide not to do anything, and add new flavor text when the MC isn't doing much.

💫 [Easily Distractable]: (+10% Bonus EXP, -10% Knowledge)

You can select this trait when looking at the Top 10 Students list while cleaning the classroom. The choice is:

It'd be nice to see my name up there with Wayne sometime. Understanding the lessons isn't that hard, but focusing on exams, assignments, studying—that's what's really hard. Wayne also struggles with not getting distracted, but he always knows how to keep me engaged when there's something more interesting than what we're studying.

This is a permanent version of the [Needs Improvement] Passive, with Wayne being MC's study buddy instead of JM. I hope the comparison with Wayne here is okay—I want to frame it in a positive light but I'm not sure if this is the best way. (The text after the choice mentions that if Wayne can do it, then MC can do it as well.)

In addition, the trait will also provide some unique flavor text and variations in certain scenes (especially long conversations).

😳 [Socially Awkward]: (+30% Introvert, +30% Reserved)

You can select this trait during Roselyna's introduction after she first hugs you. The choice is:

I stutter. What if I say something wrong? What if I misunderstood what she's saying—or she misunderstands me? Am I overthinking again? I don't wanna repeat myself over and over trying to explain.

MC's mostly comfortable around their friends, so I imagine this will mostly manifest in emotional scenes, when you meet a new person, when you discover a secret, interacting with B, or when MC has the choice of not being sure what to say (excluding their twin), and automatically default to that choice (with slightly different dialogue) if it makes sense. It would be exhausting to read if this affected every conversation.

🎒 [Super Organized]

You can select this trait along with the other organizational traits when packing your bag in Chapter 1. The choice is:

...and meticulously arrange my belongings/stuff by proper label and color. My bag is super organized, and it helps me focus this way.

Not much to say here, it's just a slightly different version of the [Organized] Trait.

***

This is very much new to me, so please let me know your thoughts, or if you have any concerns with the trait names, the wording of the choices, or something else. I'm not entirely sure I'm making sense here either. 😅

Anyway, I hope the start of the new year is treating you all nicely!

[wingsyliveblogs]

'Palismans' seems to be the OH's unique take on a cross between a witch's familiar and wand/Wizard's staff, which i've not seen any other form of media do so far- In fact, seeing how it's so well implemented here, I kinda want to see other variants of the concept in different media. Interestingly, I think Harry Potter got his Owl hedwig more or less at the same time he got his wand.

1. Yeah, it's a pretty unique concept! I quite like it.

One thing I thought was interesting about this episode was that the show didn't go out of its way to explain what a Palisman was; it just introduced the concept by name and trusted the viewers to figure out what it meant for themselves. We may get a more in-depth explanation of how Palismen work in the future, but it was a neat way to establish them in the story pretty naturally.

I don't know anything about Harry Potter and at this point I'm afraid to ask

2. Oh, that's a good point!

The design of the bus critter does seem reminiscent of longboats... just with feet instead of oars. That's a neat little detail!

3. Good to know! I can imagine that teeth work a bit differently in the Boiling Isles - though visually, there doesn't appear to be much of a difference, since...

...it looks as though Gus hasn't actually lost his baby fangs yet.

huh, I forgot about that Hexside tunnel... wonder when we're going to find out what's up with that?

4. Yeah, that was definitely a fun little bit of foreshadowing. And I agree with you - I think it'd be fun to see what Grudgby is like for real.

5. True! While I feel as though the reveal of Eda's Owlbeast form was enhanced by the stormy atmosphere of Episode 4, and she seemed a bit less overwhelming when framed in broad daylight, the expressions on her partially transformed form in this episode were a lot more unsettling.

6. That's fair! I didn't want to let the info I wasn't supposed to have about King influence my perception of his actions too much, but that's as much of a lost cause at this point as my opinion on Amity. Among the main trio, King is the least likely to think his actions through properly, and that's definitely because he's the youngest. I'm aware of that, so it's a bit unfair to him if I pretend otherwise.

Funnily enough, I had the opposite interpretation of Luz's actions in this episode - in Episode 6, she asked Eda for permission and was outright told no, and she got in trouble when she went ahead with the conjuring anyway. In this episode, it almost felt as if she was a little too eager to convince herself that Eda wouldn't mind and that she didn't need to ask her directly... which made me think that perhaps she was hoping that if Eda wasn't on board with her borrowing the staff, not telling her about it would reduce the risk of Luz getting in trouble, and she could play the plausible deniability card if Eda found out about it later on.

In the end, though, her personal sense of responsibility led her to face the consequences of her own actions head-on, while Owlbert did his best to cover for her with Eda, so we got the best of both worlds this time (with Luz acknowledging what she did wrong, but still escaping what would probably have been a pretty severe punishment).

7-8. Good points! Once it was revealed that the Bat Queen was a Palisman herself, I did guess that the glowy eye thing was a Palisman-specific method of communication, but it's interesting that Palismen are also able to communicate with their witch partners, since I don't believe that's come up before.

I wonder if there are any other Palismen that can speak "human" language the way the Bat Queen can, or if she really is the only one..?

At least Owlbert is certainly capable of expressing himself without words. I imagine most Palismen must be, since they can't always guarantee that they'll have someone around to interpret for them.

9. Haha, nice one! There sure are a lot of queens, aren't there?

do we know that the Emperor rules over the Isles yet..? ehh, it can be extrapolated from the information we already have, so it's probably fine

[ethanharli]

Requested: On Wattpad

Paring(s): Aizawa Shouta x Top Male Reader.

Warning(s): Angsty shit comin' up, fighting, villain attack, severe injuries, death.

DNI; if you use she/her pronouns.

_________

I don't know when it happened, but we slowly drifted apart. My eyes stung as I leaned against the wall in our hallway, my wings tucked in tight so he wouldn't spot me as I listened into his conversation, he sounded so happy..

It had been a month since we had our meaningless fight, and I was expecting us to bounce back like we always did, but not this time. From that day forward he barley talked to me, barley looked at me, and always came home later then usual. For a month I tried my damned hardest to make it up to him, I apologized until my throat went sore and tried to make him dinner, I played our song in hopes that would help but it went unnoticed. I even tried to take him out on a date since it's been a while, but that was in vein as well.

So now I just sit on the side, listening in on his conversations so I could find out what was wrong, but every time he called the person on the other line he seemed so happy, happier then he'd been ever before we fought. There was a time where I kept telling him I loved him, and he just shot it down telling me to 'Shut up already' then proceed to do whatever he was doing. I just don't understand what I did wrong.

"We can't tonight, [Y/n]'s home and like you said we can't have him finding out."

The breath was suddenly knocked from my lungs as my talons dug into my arms, ripping through my shirt and towards my skin as I starred at the floor with wide eye's.

No.

He, he couldn't be..

Pushing the thoughts down I quickly headed towards our shared room, not wanting to be anywhere near him in fear that he'd hear the choked sob that ripped past my throat. My heart ached as I slowly fell to my knees, bringing my hands up to run through my hair, tugging on it harshly as I curled up into a small ball, my wings wrapping around me as a form of comfort as I tried to quiet my sobbing not needing him to hear me, nor needing my quirk to activate over my stupid emotions.

Hearing footsteps slowly coming down the hall I quickly ripped my hands from my hair, accidentally cutting my face in the process as I moved towards our bed, grabbing my duffle bag from underneath and quickly setting it down before stuffing clothes inside of it. I had originally came out there to tell him I was taking a job overseas, they said it was risky and they needed someone to get on the inside, so I took up the job without question, but now I know he wouldn't even care..

I didn't even feel the pain in my face as blood slowly trickled down my cheek, falling onto the bed sheets and floor as I moved around, "Where are you going?" My breath hitched as I stopped in place, not wanting to look at him after what I heard, the pain in my chest kept reminding me not to do it, that it'd hurt even more, but I didn't listen. Turning my gaze towards him I saw him leaning against the door frame with a brow raised slightly at my actions, until he noticed my tear filled eyes and cut up cheek.

"What happened-" I was stunned when he came up to me, carefully grabbing my face with his hands as he examined the gash, I didn't even know I was holding my breath until I let it out, feeling my body tremble lightly as I I looked at him. It had been so long since he showed this much emotion to me, so long since he showed he actually cared and I wanted nothing more then to lean into his touch and pull him into a hug, but the words of his conversation still flashed through my mind and I quickly took a step back from him, shocking him slightly ad I grabbed the rest of my clothes.

"Ah y'know.. Accidentally cut myself with my talons, you should know it happens a lot" I didn't mean to spit the words out as harshly as I did, but I couldn't control the rising pain and anger that flooded through my veins. So I stuffed my clothes in the duffle bag and used the ends of my long sleeve shirt to wipe away the blood on my face. "I'm going away for a while, I was asked to go on a mission overseas so I don't know when I'll be back."

Pushing past him I didn't dare look at his face, but instead I fiddled with the wedding band on my finger, reminding me that he and I had spent nearly eleven years together. But with a drawn sigh I took it off and placed it in my pocket, not caring for the eyes that bore into my back as I looked over at him with a pained smile. "I hope you have fun."

---

And as it turns out my suspicions were correct, Shouta has been cheating on me. Toshinori was hesitant on telling me but deep down I knew what was going on, I can still remember how I sat in the hotel room, letting out choked sobs and pain filled screams from how my world slowly crumbled down, shoving me back into a dark abyss I haven't been in for a long time. But I couldn't help the fact that I still loved him, he was the man I nearly spent my whole life chasing after, and when I finally got him everything felt magical, but it way only an illusion..

Smoke filled my lungs as my wings tried to bat it away as best as they could in the small space, the villains had found out that I was a hero and slowly everything came burning down. My clothes charred up as I carried a child in my arms, he couldn't have even been four and I tried my best to lull him to sleep, using my voice to calm him down as we fought through the debris. The other pro's said they'd be here shortly but things just seem to be getting worse as I limped forward, with no one in sight.

Catching a glimpse of a certain black haired male made my breathe hitch, not expecting him to be here, but I quickly pushed the thoughts away, getting the people out of here is more important. "Eraserhead over here!" I shouted through the smoke, watching as his eyes filled with relief when he spotted me. Moving past the fire he ran up to us and I handed the kid over to him, not bothering to make eye contact as I looked around.

"[Y/n] I need to talk to you-"

"Not now Shouta." I spat out, my instincts were going off even more then before and I felt like someone else was watching, "No I really-" And there it was, a small glimpse of silver quickly flying towards us. "SHOUTA MOVE!!"

In a blur I pushed him to the ground, the sound of the kid crying barley echoing through my ears as a numbing feeling spread throughout my body. Shouta's eyes filled with pain and tears as he looked up into my eyes, a cough ripped through my body as blood splattered over him.

Is that.. My blood?

My eyes slowly traveled toward my chest, seeing a metal spike piercing through it and barley making contact with the two below me. Blood flooded through my mouth and down my chin, forcing coughs to ripple through me as I pushed myself back some more, to give them space. "Y-ou.. Need to- go" I tried to speak, but most of it came out as gargled whispers, yet I know he heard me and was quick to shoot it down.

"No! I can't leave you here- I- I can get help-" The tears slowly slid down his face as he spoke quickly, rambling on until I weakly brought my hand to his cheek, watching as he took my hand in his and sobbed at the sight of me. "I'm so sorry [Y/n]" He choked out, while my vision slowly turned black, fading in and out of reality.

"It's okay Sho.. But you need t-o go" I smiled softly at him, my eyes beginning to flutter shut, "I.. Love you."

"I-I know.."

[littlesparklight]

Actually thinking further about this beyond the real-world consideration that Neoptolemos as the son of Achilles had more weight/was more interesting and looking at the actual narrative possibilities...

How many knows Teucer's mother is a Trojan? I don't actually think it's unreasonable that a large swathe of the commanders would know, since Herakles' raid on Troy (no matter how extensive/successful you consider it to have been) would have become well-known. But there's still leeway here to play it either way.

How well does Teucer know his mother? (This doesn't really matter for what I'm about to discuss, but the thought occurred and it's potentially sad.) Has he been pointedly raised out of her reach, or has he spent some time at all with her. In short, does he have any relation at all to his Trojan heritage, aside from the abstract knowledge that it exists? There's also the additional potentiality that, at some point he might have distanced himself, since his mother is a concubine and if he wants his father to look at him as as legitimately as possible, the less reminders of Hesione, the "better".

Ok, so, next thing.

Palamedes.

That is, the murder of Palamedes.

If one uses the more usual murder situation (possibly invented by tragedy), as was used by Aeschylus, Euripides and Sophokles, Palamedes is framed for treason, accused (and "proven") to have colluded with the Trojans/Priam to sell out the Achaeans.

In such a situation, whether it comes up then and there or just lingers, or perhaps flares up later for basically any reason at all, wouldn't a Trojan-descended commander, even a lesser one, situated right next to one of their best fighters, be highly suspect? Especially for every single man who isn't aware that Palamedes was framed - but even for those who do know that accusation was a sham, it'd bring out the possibility of actual treason to the fore.

In such a case, it doesn't really matter how "Trojan" Teucer is or isn't. He's suspect by his simple existence!

So of course you might not trust him to be the "right"/needed Aiakid - or he doesn't remind anyone of his parentage in the moment despite that it should be obvious, in fear of any sudden flare-up of anti-sentiment especially this late in the war.

And anyway, even setting aside Palamedes' murder via being framed for treason and instead using his murder via drowning, Teucer is still half-Trojan, and many powerful people would potentially know this, which again invites possible suspicion of disloyalty/potential treason, etc, even if it is never realised into accusations. It's just that Palamedes' murder-via-treason-accusation primes the ground for more acute awareness of this being an actual possibility.

On top of that, perhaps the fact that he has a Trojan mother genuinely "disqualifies" him, or that's what the Achaeans assume. He's not Aiakid "enough" by having non-Achaean blood, so he's out. This last one would be the kindest, if it's the only reason he's discounted, but even that one would potentially come with unearned distrust and suspicion of not enough loyalty.

Perhaps especially after his dead brother was treated so badly, given a lesser burial only by pure "grace" of Agamemnon.

Random thought and also proving how either much forgotten Teucer is, myth-wise, or how little he is actually considered his father's legitimate son/proper offspring (reminder, Hesione isn't Telamon's wife, she is merely a (captive) concubine).

Because, if the Achaeans needed a descendant of Aeacus to participate in the war/Troy's fall, they wouldn't actually need to fetch Neoptolemos. They have Teucer, who is as much an Aiakid as his brother Ajax or Achilles or Neoptolemos is. But, given how much that's forgotten in favour of Neoptolemos, he clearly then doesn't count, for whatever reason.

[frogsandfries]

My self-esteem right now

I have to do something even just semi-creative today. I'm really tempted (and I'd be more tempted if I wasn't groggy as hell) to go out and find armloads of newspaper and be damned if I have to use my food blender, I need to sculpt.

Also, I'm not sure exactly if it's what I've been eating (mostly ramen and pasta, with little veggie or protein of any sort) or how (usually one meal a day), but I don't feel great. It could also be that I seem to have taken to sleeping for two or three hours in the afternoon, one or two hours in the earliest hours of the morning, and then three or four hours in the mid to late morning. A pattern which will not be sustainable, job or no. Ugh just really bad guys, really bad.

I'm half tempted to start a new embroidery. I'm very tempted to embroider my Harry Potter fan art graphic novel, even though I also have my own story, which is honestly more important to me than adapting a work in my own vision.

On that, though, I know on the one hand, it's just a story, but one of my characters was so heavily influenced by my friend and things are so different now that he and I have reunited...... the story kind of feels like a stupid, useless relic. I've been torn about finishing it for ages. On the one hand, I know I should finish these things that I start; on the exact opposite hand, I'm just not the person I used to be when I wrote. I haven't really written in so long, anything I write is discombobulated garbage..... I know the principle of the thing is to just write it, worry about making it good later. And honestly, the writing isn't even important if it's going to be a graphic novel anyway.

I dunno guys, I really should throw myself into some project.

I'd love to order a bunch of 15/0 seed beads and a bead loom, and loom a few of the graphic novel frames. It would be far faster than embroidery, and I think it'd look really cool. I could do a few on a loom and a few in peyote. I know I should finish the tarot card first, but I'm so tempted to at least linework a couple frames........

Maybe I'll feel better after a nap. It still stays light out pretty late, so I can probably get a nap and feel energized.

Last night was nice. We just hugged till the princess started texting him. She was being needy. He sent us both the same message basically begging for some peace and for us to stop using him as a go-between for a fight he really doesn't have time or energy to deal with. I'm not sure how she was upset, he might've said, but I think it was something to do with receiving the exact same message that he sent me. But anyway she interrupted what I thought was going to be him getting some desperately needed sleep because if he ignores her, she gets needier than I think I ever have and fussy and depressive. He says she's mature, but I really don't see it. Instead of respecting his need for peace and to let it drop, she kept him from sleeping. He really needs to explain that he needs to get more sleep.... she's such a brat. I don't get how she can just keep him up....I mean, sure I'm a brat, but when he asked me to drop it, I didn't ask if he sent her my message, I didn't ask why he sent me hers, and I didn't ask if there was another for me. I did mention that she was being a brat and he needed sleep.

I think he's made his wishes clear. I doubt this is the way things were supposed to go, but this is the way things have gone. If he wants me to drop it, I will do my best. Even if I have little desire to share with a bratty kid, I'm not going to do anything to incite anymore cat-fighting. I live with him right now, so I have the better deal right now. I'll do what I do, which is be patient and on my best behavior, yes even as I'm on my worst behavior. Even though it is terribly tempting to grab his phone while he sleeps and read his message, that's something he would expect; I have to be better than what he expects. I know his girlfriend is already fighting to be a better girlfriend than his last. I want to do one better and not have to fight it. I don't think he's going to choose. He's already said it's not important to him, and why should it be? I mean, she and I are both pretty dependant on him right now. Neither of us really have any cards to play against him. He's really effectively in full responsibility. Not to mention, he genuinely doesn't want to hurt either of us. He's definitely already hurt me in a big way. He doesn't have any desire to hurt his girlfriend, of course.

She might be a fussy brat, but I'm really in no position to complain. I may not be a rapist, but I sure am a horrible person......