#I'm almost done with my 5th book now!!

[owlwinter8]

My first bookbind!!! This is a back-to-back bind of call it peace by simaetha and fractal by Ias. I fell in love with how these two time loop fics foil each other, so I bound them together as a quarto! Parts of this bind are super janky but dang if I'm not proud of it anyway <3 Cover inspo: Infinite Day, Penabranca, Screenprint, 2018

[riiviir]

hey guys so I just started reading Flatland by Edwin A. Abbott and OMG AHSBNSBSBSNSNBSHZHSHDBFHGGHFHGRJ2KSHSBSNSK AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA I LOVE THINKING ABOUT THE RELATIVITY BETWEEN DIMENSIONS!!!!!!

[north-kieren]

Perma Shifting - as a successful shifter and my view on it (I just wanna yap that's all)

Earlier today I had seen a rather popular shifter speak about her shifting experiences and her not believing in Perma Shifting. This caught my interest, mainly because i myself am a Shifter who DOES believe in PS, and I also know a lot of successful shifters who also believe in it.

I overall just am very intrigued in the idea of what people mean by not "believing" in PS. Do you not believe in choosing to stay in your Dr? Or do you not believe in the ability in staying one exact reality for permanent? This is a bit of a wormhole I know, especially for shifters who plan on living multiple lives- for a very long time. How do you guys feel about immortality? In the sense of shifting away before death anyway.

Questions and curiosity aside, I personally believe in PS because of my own perspective. In my eyes, every Dr of mine is the same level of reachability as my Cr, like they're all in range of possibility if I chose so. When I shift, taking my MHA Dr for example - in my eyes, that place THEN becomes my current reality. Because it's where I'm currently at. I choose to shift back to the previous reality (my now current reality) and this has never happened without my intention behind it.

Take another example, my Navariah Dr.

This Dr is a place that isn't a media, or a book, it's a random and made-up fantasy world I had built in a whim and chose to shift to after I had gotten a taste of fantasy-esk realities from my Dragon Dr. I had shifted to this reality relatively quickly, and get this! I stayed for an entire 9 years and 7 months. That's almost a decade you guys.

The plan wasn't to stay that long in the slightest, I shifted purely to get a peek into the world I had created and see what it looked like and possibly use that sneak peek to form my decision on shifting back there later on. But guess what you guys?! This ended up being my top, longest shift I had ever done by far. Each month went by, and eventually my previous reality (my now Cr) had been a distant memory and pretty much old news. I wasn't worried about anything going on here at all while in Navariah, because I had gotten so caught up in that world and everything happening over there - the clock continued to tick whether I was paying attention or not.

Of course, I thought about my Cr often, but truthfully I hadn't started debating on actually coming back until the 5th year. In my opinion, this is a grand example of what it could look like/feel to shift and find that you have no current desires to shift back.

If I could shift, and stay in a Dr for almost an entire decade, who's to say someone out there hasn't already decided to spend the rest of their days in a Dr? Or at least, making that place - whatever it is - your new home Cr.

Do I ever plan on PS? I have absolutely considered it. Hell, if we're bringing TECHNICAL HERE🌚 I have, but not in some big revolutionary way. The Cr I am in right now is a place I've shifted to probably two years ago now (?) it's been a long time. Where I am now is a place that I had built for myself back then, and I live it everyday. However, there are other places i had given thought to staying permanently. Navariah, again, is a great example of this. I miss my life dearly there, I miss my family, I miss my friends and lovers, I miss my Dragons, I miss my magic, and I miss the lovely planet Navariah flourished on. The way the sun set and made the sky dance with colors and personality that my Cr's sky lacks. There's so many things that make me half convinced to leave everything and just go back home to Navariah.

But what about you all? What about HERE. I've spent the first quarter of my life in this plane of existence, with a constantly growing and changing reality as my Cr. I've built something here, and I feel that there's something I need to see out here. A teeny, tiny voice tells me that it'd be in my best interest to stay and find out - to experience. And so, that was enough to keep this place as my planted home-point.

For those who permashift, I support you wholly. I don't need details or a reason to, this is your life and these are decisions that are entirely yours to make nomatter what opinions I or anyone else may have.

Whoever you are, we believe in you.

[shrimpalbuspotter]

Do you have any thoughts on the future of Scorpius and Albus after the events of the play. And I mean a year or so after that. Maybe even into adulthood. Plz and thank you.

So sorry I got to this late. Yes, I do!

Well we firstly need to start with thinking about if they are definetly dating by the end of the changed play. From what we see, it makes most sense that they are an established couple, it's just at the very beginning of the relationship. I think maybe they confessed a month or so after the main events of the play, and they both awkwardly stumbled around eachother for a bit afterwards. It explains why Albus is so nervous about the hug. They've not made any real, intimate contact for a month now. So to me, they hadn't even asked eachother out at that point, they were just both aware that they liked eachother mutually. It's why Scorpius's "In this new version of us" would've been so impactful. Its the first, real admittance that they are something more now.

So since that's out of the way, we skip to 5th year! During the Summer, Scorpius and Albus would've been visiting eachother FREQUENTLY. The two probably spent alot of their time at the Manor, because Albus didn't want Scorpius to be surrounded by his annoying siblings. We'd have the whole "meet the parents" shtick where Harry works to make a good new impression on Scorpius (who is already a fanboy) and Scorpius squeals in unmasked excitement everytime he meets a new Weasley family member. Albus and Draco are already fond of eachother, but Draco still insists on taking him on bonding outings.

Now we are in school. Rose is back to being friends with Albus, so I think the Cronies (Polly and her crew) would back off. There's still teasing, obviously. Rose can't stop everyone from making snide comments, or casting a subtle tripping hex in the halls, but it is rarer. Its a stark difference from the boys experiences in first to third year (and a portion of fourth, where its all still quite fresh and messy, and Rose is still slightly irked by Scorpius). So they had some peace, it was nice!

Albus decided to start focusing more on his studies, since he has OWLS coming up. I've always headcanoned this, but I imagine he'd take Ruins and Artithmancy. These are two extremely difficult classes. He took them because Scorpius did. I imagine he'd drop Ruins fairly quick and replace it for Care of Magical Creatures. Studying is difficult for him and so he forms a study group with Rose, Scorpius, and some Ravenclaw girl. (He likes Artithmancy alot. Totally not tied into my hc that he'd be a math whizz in the muggle world.)

As I mentioned, Scorpius takes Artithmancy and Ruins. However... He drops Arithmancy for Magical Theory. Its not that he doesn't enjoy the class, he just prefers studying the intricacy of spells and magic in general. Albus throws a fit ofcourse, because now they aren't doing any electives together.

They have alot of their firsts in fifth year. They hadn't kissed until then, despite dating for almost a year. It was in the dorms, after Slytherin won a Quidditch match against Gryffindor, and they'd hidden away from the party in their room. Scorpius was reading a book aloud and Albus just leaned in to give him a little peck. It was awkward. It was embarassing. They didn't kiss again until a month after because they'd been rendered shocked for so long. (After this, little kisses on the cheek or head were common for them, if it was on the lips it was chaste. They still have no clue what they are doing, and it's pretty odd to suddenly display this affection to a person who was your bestfriend for years, even if you are hopelessly inlove with them.)

I'm going to very lightly go over their first time being properly intimate, and just say it was done as more of a thing they HAD to do rather than WANTED to do. Scorpius is on the ace spectrum to me so I think they'd very rarely engage in it anyway, but the first time wasn't much special. They didn't feel like they were any closer now than they were before. It was just a thing that happened (although both were still very flustered after the whole experience).

Albus finally got his Hogsmeade permission form, and they had many dates to Honeydukes on weekends. Albus also liked to pop in to visit Zonkos, where he frequently saw James ii and Fred ii. That was usually a sign to leave, because if James caught sight of his brother, he'd most definetly aim whatever joke he had in his hand towards him. Scorpius just enjoyed seeing his boyfriend having fun with his brother. It was sweet, if you ignored Albus's screams as he runs away.

Now adulthood? That's a very difficult question for me to answer. I've always been stuck on Albus's career specifically. But whatever!! This'll be nice and quick!!

Albus gets a cosy little muggle flat in Scotland, where Scorpius moves in but insists they add a floo network so he can go to work easily. Scorpius is a Mediwizard at St Mungos! He also experiments with creating his own treatments to work against wizarding ailments. Alongside this, he has a fascination with Curse Breaking, and likely would've entered into that as a career if he didn't go the Healer route.

Albus works in theatre, behind the scenes, on lighting/sound. He truly just wanted to get away from anything too magical. But I think he'd go to a muggle college or uni at some point, and get some sort of maths degree. Just for fun, he doesn't even use it. He doesn't even need to work, he just refuses to sit inside all day waiting for Scorpius to come home.

Also, they marry fresh out of Hogwarts, but they get engaged while IN Hogwarts. Seventh year. Nobody could talk them out of it, saying they should wait until they are a bit older to make such a decision, they were DEAD SET on this. The weddings small, just family, and its completely inside. Very quaint!

That's... All I got. So far. Honestly, I should think more about their future prospects outside of "married and living together huehuehuehe".

Thank you for the Ask anon!

[avastrasposts]

Big Sky Country - ch. 10

This chapter was a long time coming and I've been struggling with inspiration to write the final part of this story. There is only the epilogue left after this, but I can't say when I'll have it done. But, at least, I'm wrapping up Frankie and Aisling's story now, leaving them in a happy place with a lot of future ahead of them.

Plot: In Big Sky Country we meet a cowboy version of Frankie as he returns to New York to patch things up with his "maybe girlfriend", but he also makes a connection with another woman, who makes this lost cowboy feel welcome in her Brooklyn bar. life doesn't follow straight paths.

Cowboy!Frankie x OFC Aisling

Warnings: None, this is all fluff

Word count: 4.6k

“Fish!” 

The loud whoop could be heard through the closed windows of the truck as the engine went quiet. 

“What the fuck are they doing here?” Frankie said, shaking his head while Aisling gave him a confused look.

“Do you know them?” she asked and Frankie nodded, pushing the door open. 

“Yeah, my friends from the army, but I don’t know why they’re here,” he said and got out as a tall blonde man bounded down the steps.

“Fish!” he yelled, a big grin on his face, but as Aisling opened the door on her side and stepped out, a look of confusion flashed across his face before he smiled wide at Frankie again. He was on him in a couple of long steps and Aisling couldn’t help smiling as he effortlessly picked up Frankie in a bear hug. 

“Benny, you’re fucking squashing me,” Frankie laughed, patting the man on the back to get him to let up on his bone crushing grip. Behind him two other men had stepped off the porch, another blonde man almost as tall and big as the first, but older, and a shorter dark haired man who caught Aisling’s eye and smiled at her. 

“Hi, I’m Santiago,” he said, coming over and putting his hand out to her. His handshake was firm and warm, she could feel the calluses on his palm, and it reminded her of Frankie. 

“Aisling, nice to meet you,” she replied as Frankie got a hug from the other blonde man and Benny came over with a bright, curious smile with his hand out. 

“Hi, I’m Benny,” he grinned down at her and she had a moment to think he really was the biggest man she’d seen until the other blonde man offered his hand and introduced himself as Will. It was like standing in front of a wall of men. The three of them, especially the blondes, wide as barn doors, all built in the same broad shouldered form as Frankie. He came over to her side just as she introduced herself to Benny and Will and got a big hug from the man called Santiago. 

“Good to see you, Pope,” he mumbled as the other man clapped him on the back. 

Frankie stepped back and stood next to Aisling, his hands deep in his pockets and looking utterly uncomfortable and confused under the brim of his Stetson. 

“Love the cowboy hat, Fish,” Benny chuckled, swiping it off his head and swapping his own cap for it, tilting the brim at Frankie with a two fingered “Howdy.” 

“Fuck off, Benny,” Frankie sighed with a smirk, “What are you guys even doing here?” 

“You invited us, Fish,” Santiago said, his eyebrows furrowing, “I sent you the details two days ago.” 

“Yeah, for the 15th, Pope,” Frankie replied but Will immediately shook his head. 

“No, the 5th, I booked it,” he said and Frankie pulled out his phone, getting Pope’s message out and seeing that the date was indeed the 5th. 

“Fuck….” he sighed, “I messed up the dates, I’m sorry.” 

“Yeah, we were kinda confused when you didn’t pick up the phone, but that explains it,” Will said, “We met Herb down at the ranch and he told us you were out on the trail today.” 

Frankie shook his head, his face deeply apologetic, “I’m really sorry, I wasn’t focused when I read your mail, Pope. I…I had other things on my mind,” he stuttered and no one missed his quick glance at Aisling who was starting to feel uncomfortable. 

“Yeah, we can see that, Fish,” Pope smiled at Aisling who felt her cheeks heat up as all four men were suddenly looking at her. 

“Sorry, I kinda showed up unexpectedly a couple of days ago,” she said with a grimace, looking over at Frankie. 

“So, how’d you two-” 

“Fish, show us your cabin and let’s get the grill going, we brought food and beer,” Will interrupted Benny, stepping between him and Aisling and grabbing hold of Frankie’s arm, propelling him towards the house. Pope stepped round them and easily hooked an arm around Aisling’s shoulders and got her walking towards the house with him, leaving Benny to catch up. 

“It’s nice to meet you, good to see that Frankie’s got some company out here,” Santiago smiled, “let’s see if we can dig out that grill, I think I saw around the side earlier. 

Thankful for Santiago’s distraction, Aisling helped him set it up while Benny hauled a couple of coolers from the back of their rental truck. Setting up a camping table next to the BBQ, they soon had it going just as Will and Frankie returned outside with plates and utensils for the BBQ. 

“Any outdoor seating, Fish?” Santiago asked and Frankie shook his head. 

“No, just the bench on the porch and a couple of deck chairs, stairs’ll have to do.” 

“Alright, man, sounds good. Cheers!” Santiago held his beer up to the group and everyone followed suit, clinking bottles and taking long swigs. Frankie caught Aisling’s eyes over the brim of his bottle and she gave him a small smile. He knew he’d have to field a lot of questions from the guys and he wished he’d had a moment to talk to her before they started asking. 

“Frankie, before I forget,” Aisling suddenly said, “Can you help me get my bag down from the closet, I couldn’t reach it this morning and I’ve got my sweater in it.” 

Frankie looked confused for a second while Aisling nodded towards the cabin and left the guys standing by the BBQ. Then it clicked. 

“Yeah, sure. Give me a second, guys, be right back.” 

He hurried after Aisling and followed her into the cabin. He knew her bag was on the floor of his bedroom, and not on top of any closet, and now he followed her in there.

“I’m sorry about this, Ash,” he said as soon as he’d closed the door behind them, “I had no idea they’d turn up today.” 

“It’s fine, ‘Fish’,” she smiled at him, “They seem really nice. I just wanted to ask you what we tell them? Do they know we met in Brooklyn?” 

Frankie shook his head as his hand flew up to rub his neck while he grimaced at her with a pained expression. 

“No, I haven’t talked to them in a while. Pope knows Eva and I broke up, I talked to him just after I got back from New York. But I didn’t tell him about you.” 

“Which one is Pope?” Aisling asked, taking his hand from his neck and threading her fingers through his.

“Santiago, Pope’s his call sign, like mine’s Catfish,” Frankie explained, “Will is Ironhead, Benny is just Benny.” 

He sighed and wrapped his arm around her waist, leaning his forehead against hers, “I wanna tell them everything, if you’re ok with that. Or at least, that we met in New York, that we’re….” Frankie trailed off, giving a small shrug before he continued, “I mean, we didn’t talk about this yet, what we are? Are we dating?”

“I’d say we are, Fish,” Aisling replied with a small smile, “And…I don’t know, they’ll figure out I’m staying with you so just tell them I came out here to stay with you for a bit? We don’t have to tell them all the details about New York.” 

“Pope knows I came back here from New York after Eva and I broke up, but he doesn’t know about the abortion. I’ll tell him eventually, but not now,” Frankie said, shaking his head. He knew he wanted all three of them to know the whole story eventually, so that they understood why he wasn’t with Eva anymore. But it had been such a long time since all four of them had been together, tonight shouldn’t be about him. “I don’t want to bring it down, or make it weird, just make it…easy? And I don’t want them to think I made some sort of rash decision with you and that this isn’t real, you know? I want them to know you and like you and it’s just been so long and-” 

Aisling cupped her hands around his cheeks, stroking her thumbs over the scruffy bear, “Frankie, it’s nothing to worry about,” she could see the anxiety in his eyes as he went through fifty different scenarios in just a few seconds, his head starting to reel, “If they ask, we just tell them we met in Brooklyn while you were there, and now I’m here to stay with you for a while and see where it leads, how about that?” 

Frankie took a deep breath and closed his eyes, letting his mind calm down as Aisling continued to stroke his cheeks, the soft touch grounding him. 

“Yeah, sounds good, sounds like a plan,” he sighed, opening is eyes and looking down at her, “What the fuck would I do without you, Ash?” he asked, giving her a small smile. 

“Without me all these questions wouldn’t be popping up,” she smiled back, leaning in and giving him a kiss, “But I don’t mind fielding them, I’ve been a bartender in New York, three ex-military guys is a piece of cake. C’mon, let’s get some BBQ going,” she grinned at him and put her hand in his again.

She still had a firm grip on it as they returned to the front porch, the smell of burning coal already drifting from the grill. Will glanced up and noticed, his mouth pulling up in a quick smile while Benny hauled the cooler of beers to the edge of the porch stairs. 

“The coals will need some time to get nice and hot,” Will said, giving the BBQ a final look before he came over to the stairs and sat down on the bottom one, stretching out his long legs as Aisling and Frankie sat down too. Frankie leaned back as he scratched through his sweaty curls and hooked his arm around her waist. Benny passed them both beers and Pope lifted his, clinking it with Frankie’s. 

“Salud, el pececito,” he said with a grin, “Good to see you again, man. And it’s really nice to meet you Aisling.” 

“Don’t fucking call me that,” Frankie huffed with a chuckle, lifting his bottle to Pope too, “And same, it’s good to have you here.” 

They all raised their bottles and echoed the sentiment, Ashling joining in and getting a warm smile from Will. She already liked him, he seemed stable and quiet, and in tune with what the other three men were feeling. 

“What does that mean?” she asked, “El pececito?” 

“Little fish!” Pope declared with a grin while Frankie sighed. Aisling laughed and patted his head, she was sitting a step above him and he’d put his arm around her as he leaned back. 

“So ‘fish sticks’ isn’t so bad then, huh, Fishy?” she teased him as he groaned, knowing what was coming. 

Benny nearly choked on his beer as he snorted, spraying beer over his shoes as Pope and Will laughed, Will also reaching up and slapping his brother’s back. 

“Oh shit, beer totally just came out of my nose but it was worth it,” Benny coughed, wiping his grinning face, “‘Fish sticks’? I’m using that!” 

“Only Ash is allowed to call me that, Benny,” Frankie sighed as he playfully poked Aisling, “You are in so much trouble, cariño.” 

She winked at Frankie as Benny continued to laugh, “I like her, Fish, good catch.” 

“Any more fish references and you’re getting kicked out,” Frankie said with a mock serious tone, “Besides, I’ve heard them all before you know.” 

“Yeah, you need to update your repertoire,” Pope nodded, “No repeating decade old jokes.” 

Benny just shook his head, flipping Pope the finger while sipping his beer again. 

“So you guys met in New York?” Will asked, his tone casual but Aisling had the feeling he was subtly starting the interrogation part of the conversation, “Are you from there?” His clear blue eyes were friendly as he looked at her and she didn’t mind his questions. 

“Yes, on both accounts. I grew up in Brooklyn and I met Frankie when he walked into the bar I was working at, looking very much like a lost cowboy.” 

“I didn’t look that much like a cowboy, and I wasn’t that lost,” Frankie protested, “I just had some time to kill and your bar looked nice.” 

“You were wearing cowboy boots and a belt buckle the size of Texas,” she pointed out, smiling down at him as he chuckled. 

“Yeah, fair point,” he admitted, scratching his beard as he thought back to the day he’d walked into the bar. He’d been pretty lost, not physically lost, but mentally. He could still remember the feeling he had in his body as he walked down the street to Eva’s apartment, the long hours on the bus in his limbs, the worry in his head about how to handle the prospect of a child with her, how to live in New York. The temporary relief he’d felt in Aisling’s company from the start had been unexpected but flooded him and calmed in a way he’d never felt before. He looked up at her sitting next to him now on the stairs of his cabin, something he’d thought was an impossible dream just two days ago, and something loosened his chest. She continued telling the guys the story about their first meeting, and he moved himself just a little bit closer, tightening his arm around her hips. She felt it and dropped her hand to his shoulder, giving it a small squeeze in response as she smiled at his friends.

“You guys should’ve seen his face when I told him the price of the beer he’d just had, he almost fell off the stool,” she grinned, giving his shoulder another squeeze as she looked down at him with warm eyes. 

The guys laughed as Frankie shook his head in protest, but he was laughing too. 

“This little minx sold me the most expensive beer on the menu, claimed it was her favorite and then charged me fourteen fifty without even blinking,” he said, giving Aisling’s side a teasing poke as she snorted, “And then she had the balls to ask me if I wanted another one.” 

“It was a great beer!” 

“Yeah, but not worth fourteen fifty,” Frankie said, his brown eyes almost disappearing as he grinned up at her and she grabbed his chin between her thumb and fore finger, tugging at it lightly as she gave his nose a quick peck. 

“Totally worth it, I tell you, since you got me too.” 

Frankie looked as if he was mulling that over for a couple of seconds before he slipped his hand behind her neck and pulled her closer for a kiss. 

“Yeah, ok, worth it,” he smiled against her lips. 

“Enough,” Pope laughed, “this beer,” he waved his bottle at the two of them, “might not be fourteen fifty but I’m trying to keep it down, you know what I’m saying?” 

Aisling felt her cheeks heat up as Frankie pulled back a little, but his hand moved down her leg and he was still holding her close, his arm around her waist. 

“How’s ranch life then, for a New Yorker?” Will asked, taking a swig of his beer, the same easy tone to his questions. 

“I’ve only been here two days, but it’s good,” Aisling smiled at him, “Frankie gave me riding lessons yesterday and today we went out on the trail up into the mountains, it’s really beautiful and I haven’t gotten over how big and open it is out here, it’s just endless.” 

“Better than New York?” Pope asked, and something in his tone made Frankie look over at him, but the dark haired man just quirked his eyebrow back at him as Aisling nodded, she could guess what he meant too and she smiled at him. 

“So much better, on all accounts,” she said, looking over at Frankie, “Frankie showed me photos of this place before I came and I thought it was beautiful then too, but nothing compares to seeing it first hand. It’s just…” she shook her head like she couldn’t find the words to describe it, “I don’t even know, it just feels so much better, the air, the sky, the surroundings...” 

“The company,” Benny butted in with a grin and Aisling laughed. 

“Yeah, the company too,” she said and ruffled the top of Frankie’s head as he gave her leg a squeeze. 

Aisling looked over at the other three men again and grimaced, wrinkling her nose, “I…I guess it’s kinda weird for you guys to come here and find some strange woman in Frankie’s life,” she said, glancing at Santiago before meeting Will’s steady gaze, “You guys don’t know me and you’ve never heard of me, and I understand if you wonder what the fuck this is and who I am…” she trailed off but Will nodded. 

“I didn’t expect Frankie to have a new girlfriend, and I think we were all surprised to meet you, but it’s not a bad thing,” he reassured her, “We’ve know Frankie for a very long time, and I think we can all see the difference in him today compared to when we last saw him back in Florida. Whatever you’re doing, it seems to be working.” 

“It is,” Frankie cut in, “When things with Eva didn’t work out, the last thing I needed was to meet someone new, but with Aisling, it’s been easy from the start, well….” he stopped himself and looked at Aisling who had raised her eyebrows with a small smirk, “Ok, maybe not easy, outside circumstances made it difficult, but I never had to think about if you were right or not.” 

Aisling smiled at him, “You know I felt the same,” she said and wrapped her arms around Frankie, giving him a big kiss on his cheek as he grinned and the rest of the guys chuckled. 

Will shifted in his seat and took a sip off his beer while he looked at the two of them, seeming to consider his next words. 

“You look happy, Fish, really happy,” he said, pausing and looking between the two of them with a thoughtful look and seemed to change his mind about what he was going to say next as Pope glanced over at him. Instead he drank from his beer again instead, a small furrow between his eyebrows. 

But Frankie guessed what Will was thinking about, “She knows about my addiction, the PTSD, everything. I even told her about Colombia,” Frankie said, “I had to tell her, I need to go into this without any secrets.” 

Aisling nodded next to him, “This, between us, is…really new, but it’s good. It’s really good and I’m not scared by Frankie’s past, but I’m not going into it blind, I know he’s got a lot to work on.” 

“And you’re still clean, Fish?” Will asked. 

“945 days,” Frankie said without needing to think about it, pulling a small bronze chip from his pocket, “Never again.” 

“That’s awesome, Fish!” Benny exclaimed, reaching over and giving him a clap on the back, “You worked hard at it, it’s great to see something good coming into your life too.”  

“Thanks, Ben,” Frankie replied, rubbing his shoulder, “just a bit too fucking hard.” 

“Welcome to the mayhem, Aisling,” Pope laughed, “Never accept hugs from Benny.” 

“Fuck off,” Benny shot back but he couldn’t resist flexing his thick arms, showing off his physique. 

“I hope you’ve got a trip up on the trail with the horses planned for us too, Fish,” Will said, “we brought the gear for it.” 

“Yeah, of course, I planned with Herb after Pope called. We can go tomorrow if you’re all up for it?” Frankie replied, “You think you can handle another day in the saddle, Ash?” 

“Yeah, if we go slow. I’d love to go up there again,” she nodded and Frankie smiled, giving her hip a squeeze. 

“How about camping up there?” Benny asked, excitement showing on his face but Will just sighed and Pope cursed. 

“You want to go camping? Haven’t we all spent enough nights in tents?” he asked as Will pushed to his feet to check on the BBQ. 

“Yeah, seriously, Benny, I’ve done that enough,” he sighed, lining up the hot dogs and burger patties on the grill, “No more. 

“C’mon, I bet Aisling’s never been camping,” Benny pushed, pointing at Ash who was nodding. 

“I haven’t actually, and Frankie was gonna plan a camping trip for me, so maybe we can all go?” She looked at Frankie and then over at Pope and Will. Pope groaned and Will chuckled. 

“I’m not saying no to Fish’s girlfriend on the first night, I guess we’re going camping, Pope.” 

“Awesome,” Benny grinned, giving Aisling a quick nudge, “You’ll love it, we’ll get a big fire going, I make the best s’mores!”

The evening went on with the same theme, the guys were joking around, poking fun at each other and re-telling stories for Aisling’s benefit, their loud laughter echoed around the surrounding countryside as darkness fell. She sat tucked in under Frankie’s arm on the porch swing, Pope on the other side, while Frankie rocked the three of them back and forth. She looked over at him as his eyes disappeared in his face, doubled over with laughter from Benny’s story. He was telling them about a date he’d been on last month that had started with him bringing his date lilies, which she turned out to be allergic too, and ended when he brought her to a steakhouse, only to find out she was vegan.  

“I think I could’ve saved it after the lilies, I got her allergy tablets on the way to the restaurant, but the vegan thing….” he shook his head as the rest of them laughed, “you should’ve seen her face when we pulled up to the place and there was a big bull’s head above the door.” Benny made a grimace that sent them all into laughter again and next to her Aisling her Frankie almost choked as he took a sip from his beer. He winked at her as she patted his back, looking the most relaxed she’d ever seen him. It was easy to see that hanging out with old friends, sharing stories and just easy laughter, was doing him a lot more good than he probably realized.  

As the evening began to wind down, plans were made for the camping, the guys would go into Big Sky first thing in the morning for supplies while Frankie got the gear on the ranch ready. Aisling decided she needed some better clothes for camping so she’d join them too. Frankie shot her a worried look when she said that and Pope laughed. 

“Frankie’s scared we’ll tell you all the embarrassing stories if you go alone with us,” he chuckled, “don’t worry, Fish, we’ll save that for the campfire.” 

“Very helpful, thanks, Pope,” Frankie replied, beginning to stack the plates as he rolled his eyes, behind his back Pope winked at Aisling, “We should get a move on though, early start tomorrow to get all the gear ready.” 

It took a while longer, but eventually the three guys piled into their rented car and headed back to the ranch. Aisling yawned widely as Frankie locked the door to the cabin behind them and flicked off the kitchen light. She waited for him at the door to the bathroom and wrapped her arms around his waist. 

“You’ve got really great friends,” she said and Frankie smiled, nodding in agreement as he walked her backwards towards the counter, his arms on her shoulders. 

“Yeah, they’re good guys,” he said, “it was great seeing them, it wasn’t as weird as I thought it’d be.” 

“You’ve got people around you who care about you, Frankie, but you seem to be pretty good at forgetting that sometimes,” Aisling said in a soft voice as she caressed his back, lightly scratching as he hummed in agreement. 

“You’re not the first one to tell me that,” he admitted, “Herb has told me many times too, but I get too much in my head and think they’re better off without me, or that they don’t want me around while I’m a mess.” 

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re  dumb ass, Frankie,” she scoffed with a smile as she tugged at his chin, “a total dumb ass sometimes.”

She heaved herself up on the counter next to the sink and grabbed her toothbrush. 

“Gee, thanks,” Frankie snorted, but he was smiling too, “and you’re not the first person to call me a dumb ass, but hearing it from my girlfriend is always very heartwarming.” 

“Just making sure you’re aware, pass the tooth paste, please,” she replied, leaning forward as handed her the tube, and giving him a kiss on the cheek, “and I like it when you call me your girlfriend.” 

“I noticed,” he smiled, “it made your cheeks go all pink when I did it tonight, I’m gonna have to use it more often.” 

“If you do, I won’t call  you ‘fish sticks’ in front of Benny again,” she smiled and started brushing her teeth as Frankie rolled his eyes with exaggeration at her. 

“I will never hear the end of that, you have no idea. These guys do not forget. Gathering information for black mailing is literally part of our training for special ops.” 

Aisling grinned around her toothbrush and Frankie gave her forehead a peck before he began brushing his own teeth.

“What was that for?” she asked, tilting her head back to stop the toothpaste from escaping her mouth. 

“Yorrkuut,” Frankie slurred and Aisling giggled and rinsed her mouth, spitting in the sink. 

“No idea what you just said.” 

Frankie spat too, “You’re cute,” he repeated with a smile as Aisling slid off the counter. 

“Not as cute as you ‘Fish sticks’, see you in the bedroom.” 

Frankie gave her butt a quick swat as she slipped out of the bathroom, he could hear her giggling as she rummaged around in her bag next to the bed. He put away his toothbrush and grabbed the mouthwash as he looked at himself in the mirror. The man who faced him looked different, he was smiling widely, and even though the lines around his eyes were still there, his patchy beard changing to gray faster than he’d like, he looked brighter and happier. It was a change that had come in just two days and he knew it was because he was starting to see a future a lot different from the one he’d envisioned less than a week ago. And he felt different, he could feel it in his chest, in his stomach, and above all, in his head. It was all calmer, steadier, and he felt level in a way he hadn’t in a very long time. It wasn’t just a maybe now, it was starting to become reality, a reality he could trust in to be more long term even if there was work to be done. 

He rubbed his hand over his jaw as he rinsed the mouthwash around his teeth, studying himself; dark curls that were getting long, the gray at his temples, deep lines on his forehead, the faint scar on his left cheek and all the thoughts he could see rolling in his head. He spat out the mouthwash and inhaled deeply, still looking at himself, still calm. There was no flare of panic at thinking about the future, no fear. Just a steady confidence that he could do this.

You’ve got this, Morales, you can handle it. Whatever ‘it’ is, you can handle it because you got this far and she believes in you and so do your friends. 

He gave himself a crooked smile in the mirror, and flicked off the light, making his way down to the bedroom and Aisling waiting for him.

Tag list: @harriedandharassed @inept-the-magnificent@sheepdogchick3@readingiskeepingmegoing@noisynightmarepoetry@survivingandenduring @vabeachazn@amyispxnk@oberynslady @amyispxnk @thewiigers @lady-bess @missladym1981@peppermintfury@typewriter83 @anoverwhelmingdin @vabeachazn

[iwannascreameurekaa]

A giant list of fics in the making

Being written to POST

Junior Year

Chapter 15 and on. I'm trying to figure out to get to the end of the school year in that fic.

To Storm or Fire, They both Will Fall

Valgrace in Tartarus fic. First chapter is almost fully written. It's going to have about 40 chapters total and I want to write the whole thing out before I post anything about it so it might take a while sorry!

Where Art Thou, Emilio?

Romeo and Juliet but it's valgrace! Almost want to fully write this before I post anything so it might take even longer because I cannot for the life of me find an easily accessible and readable translation of the play :(

A fic about valgrace first kiss (not titled yet) based off a tumblr post I have been unable to find :(

Basically about valgrace trying to have their first kiss but Leo keeps burning Jason's lips 

Sequel fic to Realization, is it You? 

Qinter fic but this one is a time skip to the end of the tenth book and it's winter perspective 

Back To Life

My valgrace angst series that has two works so far and I'm working on more!

Being written but unable to post 

Use your body

I have the 4th chapter done. I am in agony that I can't post on the fic. 5th chapter is halfway done and there's supposed to be about 11/12 chapters in total and most of them are half written already. Can't promise that anything will be posted on this fic any time soon I'm trying to work it out! Again I'm very sorry.

Two solangelo one shots that go together (smut) ofc

First one is called "an apple a day keeps the doctor bent over and moaning for me" and the second one has no title but it contains one of my fav tropes which it the aphrodisiacs so yippie!! Same at use your body, I don't know when these will be posted and the first one isn't even done and the second is barely worked on anyways so...

Random stuff that might be posted if I ever get them done

Fun-Dip!

A cheesy valgrace kiss fic about Leo having a fundip flavored chapstick. Silly and unserious. It's been in my drafts since may and is barely halfway done. I have no motivation to finish or worn on it right now but I might be possessed who knows.

Will Solace on the Argo II rewrite

No title for this yet. First chapter is less than a thousands words written right now. And that's the only thing I have written too 😭😭 rough outline for it and idk if I'll ever finish it tbh. 

Fics that I need to update and am trying to update but idk what to write

I Don't Know Who You Are but I Love You 

YALL I PROMISE IM TRYING TO WRITE ANOTHER STUPID CHAPTER. I'm dying. Last time I update it was APRIL... my bad guys... um and it has reached 14,000 hits since then and I wanted to post a celebration chapter but I had no motivation. Ughhhhrhhwsiyfiwdh

Girl Alone (titled I Am Something a while ago)

I'm thinking about writing another chapter but I'm not allowed to post anything with sh in it rn and that's kinda the whole plot of girl alone so... yeah... I just don't wanna write something that I'm gonna barely enjoy writing and not even be able to enjoy posting it either it just makes no sense to me sorry 

Olympus

You bitches have been asking for another chapter of this for over a YEAR it's insane and I am grateful for it. I am currently rewriting the first three chapters cause I freaking HATE how I used to write and also like it sucked?? How do y'all enjoy this shitty writing dude I was so bad at writing smut 😭 anyways idk when they'll be updated and idk when a 4th chapter will come out but I'm always thinking about it 

The Soul I Hold

Eeehhhh I lost motivation for this. I always get little scenes in my head about what I want in this fic but I never know how to connect them so I gave up. I will probably pick this fic up again and finish it one day but these days I have ahead of me are not those days. 

When I Die, I'll Let Go

I lost motivation for this one too. I have so so many ideas for this but I have no idea how to get them into words that make sense so I'm just going to keep making playlists for it until I get the spark back 

[lightthewaybackhome]

Watership Down by Richard Adams My rating: 5 of 5 stars 2024: I completely missed that last year was my 30th anniversary of when I first read this wonderful book. I will say that reading it yet again this year, I continue to have the same reaction: tears and loneliness when I finish. This book is like getting to go home and then having to leave over and over and over. A couple of new things this year: First, I decided that I'm going to alternate each year between the audiobook and the paperback. The years I read HP I'm going to use the audio book. Second, I somehow missed that Adams served in WW2 in the past, but always felt like he must have based on the way he wrote the rabbits. Lo and behold, it's in the introduction and I feel like an idiot. He did serve in WW2. You can really feel it in the book. Third, I was struck by the end when they listened to the doe tell a story about El-ahrairah and Rabscuttle and it's Hazel and Fiver's story. They had been woven into El-ahrairah's myth. For some reason that really stood out to me as something exquisitely beautiful. I'll miss my friends until next September. 2023: my goal was to read this book as quickly as possible, just really focus and soak it in. Man, I love this book. Every time I read it, I love it even more. The warrior story, Hobbit, Englishness of it all. It's just so good. 2022: Much like Lord of the Rings and Band of Brothers, this book feels like coming home. It's turned into one of my coziest reads and feels like very old friends. Each time I read it now, I'm struck by the WW2/Hobbit feel of it. The free rabbits stand up to the power-hungry tyrant and succeeding. Then, making life better for everyone. I love this book. 2021 re-read: finishing this on a cold, wet, lat November evening was perfect. This is the first time in years that I've read the book instead of doing an audio book. It took me a while to read it not in the narrators's voice, which made the reading slow going. Once I adjusted, I was fine. I love this book more every time I read it. It's such a perfect blend of fairy-tale, horror, nature documentary, and English warriors. I don't know why I'm always surprised by how hobbitish it is. The whole book is a bunch of Hobbits. Also, this time I was able to translate Bigwig's insult of Woundwart almost subconsciously. I just started laughing. I had to look one word up, but yeah, I just translated the Lapine into English. Again, just like reading Harry Potter, I don't understand how anyone who has read this book is buying into the idea that we can give up freedoms for safety without it becoming tyranny. It's never for the greater good. Love this book. Love it. ----- Third read through, so probably 4th or 5th time I've read this book. There were beautiful scenes that really stood out sharply, and I giggled at the creative cussing. But really, I just love everything about this book. ---- I just finished this book again as part of my Annual Autumn Reading. I love this book so much. I think I love it cause it's like reading a whole book just about hobbits. This is one of those books I love because I hate finishing it. I hate it. It just, I just cry and cry because it's like all my friends have kept running without me. ---- A beautiful story. probably one of my top five favorite books. Parts of it remind me of Lord of the Rings while others remind me of Band of Brothers. It has that very British Country feel that I love along with the mixture of happy and sadness, youth and old age, and then Just a hint of war. Beautifully done. View all my reviews

[arqueete]

New Year's Meme 2024

I've been doing this survey for probably at least 15 years now? It's from back in Livejournal days, when we had things that were like ask memes but we just answered all of the questions. Feel free to take this survey for yourself.

1. What did you do in 2024 that you’d never done before?

I saw a total solar eclipse!!! After regretting not seeing it in 2017 I resolved to make plans to see it this year. I ended up traveling to Columbus, Ohio for a couple days and staying with a coworker who lives in the path. We sipped cocktails on her deck as it passed over us and it was exhilarating.

I signed up for a subscription box from Bon Appetit that sends me five ingredients and recipe cards that use those ingredients. Of the 25 recipes I've received, I've made 17 so far, so I think I'm making good use of the box.

I walked across the Brooklyn Bridge on a trip to New York.

I visited the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum in Chicago.

For half a day, I worked in a store in the mall as part of a program at my job that put corporate office employees in the company's stores.

I adopted a letter through USPS' Operation Santa and sent gifts to some kids anonymously.

I saw The Postal Service in concert.

I started wearing a watch every day.

Two musicals I saw for the first time: Swept Away (on Broadway) and Illinoise (in Chicago.)

I saw Tim Rice host a concert of his music at a local theater.

2. Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions and will you make more for next year?

In 2024, I wanted to get my novel-in-progress beta read, and I did that! Two people read it and I realized I have a lot I'd like to change.

I wanted to figure out a way to start budgeting again now that I share money with my husband, but I didn't manage to follow through on that one.

I wanted to read every book on my book club's schedule--I almost made it, but skipped December's. I also wanted to re-read more books I already own, and I ended up re-reading four things from my bookshelf.

My resolutions for 2025:

I want to continue reading books regularly, and will be setting a Goodreads challenge goal of 20 books again.

I want to try more new video games. I'm going to shoot for playing at least an hour in a dozen games that I haven't played more than an hour in before.

I want to volunteer somewhere. My work gives me a day off for volunteer work and I've never actually used it.

I want to finish another draft of my novel.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Not this year. 4. Did anyone close to you die? Fortunately this year has been easier in that regard.

5. What countries did you visit? No international travel this year. We did go to Ohio for the eclipse (and I went in the summer for work), to Chicago to escape the RNC, and to New York for a bit in the fall. 6. What would you like to have in 2025 that you lacked in 2024? Last year I said I wanted less stress. WELL it was an election year so that was a lot to ask.

Sorry to go and soft launch huge life updates in the New Year's Meme, but the current plan is to start trying to conceive our first and likely only child this coming summer. It's really strange to admit! I don't have many friends with kids and there's this feeling like I am way too young to be planning this when actually I am 34 and this is very much the time to do it. The idea of being pregnant by this time next year is terrifying, though barring anything that makes us change our timeline, the idea of it not happening is also terrifying because that means it will be harder than we hoped. So! We'll see how that goes! 7. What date from 2024 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? November 5th. The election hit me really hard. 8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? I guess making the eclipse trip happen? It's weird to think how far back I resolved to plan a trip for a specific day in the future without having any idea what my life would look like. 9. What was your biggest failure? I think this year was a lot of getting by and I wasn't very good at managing "adult stuff." My to-do list was always full of things I was putting off, I had plants die because I wasn't watering them consistently enough, and we didn't keep a budget or keep the house as clean as I'd like. 10. Did you suffer illness or injury? I had a stubborn yeast infection and it took a long time to feel normal again.

11. What was the best thing you bought? I got a new laptop this year and it was really about time. I've been enjoying playing video games even more now. 12. Whose behavior merited celebration? I'm a part of a local community group for bisexuals and we accomplished a lot this year.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? I hate knowing that I had put everyone who voted for Trump back on the 2016 survey and now we're right back here again. 14. Where did most of your money go? Besides bills, probably traveling. 15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? A theater in my city put on the Deaf West version of Spring Awakening! It was so good and I went many times! 16. What song(s) will always remind you of 2024? The top song on my Spotify this year was "Without Your Love" by The Paper Kites ft Julia Stone because I listened to it on repeat so much while writing.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: i. Happier or sadder? Sadder. ii. Older or wiser? Wiser. iii. Thinner or fatter? The same. iv. Richer or poorer? Richer. 18. What do you wish you’d done more of? I meant to do more rollerblading when the weather was nice and then I didn't :( 19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Curling up on the couch with my laptop, especially while working, because it hasn't been good for my body. 20. How will you be spending Christmas? Christmas was a little chaotic schedule-wise this year. On the 23rd, my husband and I went out to dinner and opened our gifts for each other. On the 24th, we had dinner with his parents and brother and opened gifts at their place. On the 25th, we had a late lunch with his extended family, and then left to go have an early dinner with my family where there was some drama over some family members coming despite contagious illness going around in their household. It was a lot.

21. How will you be spending New Year’s Eve? We had dinner at a local brewery that had an event celebrating the Swedish New Year (so that they could toast at 5pm.) Then we went out for cocktails.

22. Did you fall in love in 2024? I celebrated my second anniversary with my husband (we went to a small plates restaurant we love called Odd Duck.) 23. How many one-night stands? None.

24. What was your favorite TV program? I'm struggling to remember what TV I even watched this year. I said The Bear last year but I guess I'll say it again?

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? I don't know that I knew anything about Robert F Kennedy Jr last year and now I have to worry about him. 26. What was the best book you read? I read so much this year! Last year I finished 18 books and this year I finished 27, blowing through my goal of 20.

The Beautiful Ones by Sylvia Moreno-Garcia enthralled me and I already can't wait to re-read that one next year. Her book Mexican Gothic impressed me a lot but also made me realize that I just can't handle books with horror elements, so I was so happy she wrote this book that is more of a historical fantasy romance to draw me back into her writing.

Some of the things I loved about that book reminded me of Mairelon the Magician by Patricia C Wrede, which was an old favorite, so I decided to track down a copy. I was really worried about picking it up again because what if it turned out to be terrible despite my great memories? But I actually devoured it (and its sequel) like I was a kid all over again.

The best nonfiction I read was How the World Ran Out of Everything by Peter S. Goodman, which talks about the global supply chain through the lens of how things went awry at the start of the pandemic. I came away from it feeling like I had unlocked really important context about how the economy works (and how much we're all getting screwed.) 27. What was your greatest musical discovery? Like seemingly everyone, I got into Chappell Roan this summer.

28. What did you want and get? Last Christmas I preordered a watch for myself (an automatic mechanical watch with a sea lion that swims around and around) and it arrived in the spring. I had some problems with it and ended up needing a replacement at some point, but now I have it and it's a comfort to me.

29. What did you want and not get? After seeing Tim Rice do a fundraiser show at a local theater where they did a lot of Chess songs and he mentioned the plan to bring Chess to Broadway in 2025, I was hopeful that we'd either hear concrete news about that by now and/or that the local theater in question might put it in their upcoming season. No for both. 30. What was your favorite film of this year? Of the films released this year, I saw Challengers, Anora, and Wicked. I enjoyed all three and would see any of them again. It's hard to pick a favorite. I'm leaning toward Anora.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 34. I took the day off work and went to go see Wicked by myself, and then in the evening my husband and I got dinner at a place we love called Aperitivo. My birthday is always a little weird because it's so close to Thanksgiving, so I ate my birthday cake on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and then also saw The Muppet Christmas Carol accompanied by a live orchestra on that Sunday as a birthday activity.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Not staring down another Trump presidency. 33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2024? The summer was all about cute dresses again this year, while in the colder weather I was into oversized sweaters and men's shirts with the sleeves rolled up. I'm gravitating toward looser jeans and more comfort-centered looks. 34. What kept you sane? When I was stressing about the election in the later part of the year, writing postcards for Postcards to Voters was a way I channeled that anxiety. More generally, books and going for walks. 35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? I have a little celebrity crush on the stand-up comedian Taylor Tomlinson. 36. What political issue stirred you the most? The rise of fascism in the United States. This year it really felt like anything else I wanted to care about had to be secondary to that. 37. Who did you miss? I no longer have a membership at a pottery studio and while that seems to have been a good move, I do wonder what some of the people there are up to now. 38. Who was the best new person you met? Some new people started coming to the bi book club I'm in this year and I've liked meeting people that way. 39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2024: As we reach the end of 2024 I am feeling very disillusioned and like I learned a lesson about assuming that I live in a uniquely enlightened time where history might not repeat itself. The idea that my country or the world will come together to do hard things is not something I have a lot of hope about right now. I am focused on supporting the people in my community who share my values.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:

Some folks are born made to wave the flag Ooh, they're red, white and blue And when the band plays "Hail to the Chief" Ooh, they point the cannon at you, Lord

Creedence Clearwater Revival - "Fortunate Son"

[silent0utspace]

Rant about warriors for @jestersdlc

Long under cut

1/idk how many

So, I'm going to start with the first bunch of books for this one.

In Warriors, there are four clans: Shadowclan, Thunderclan, Windclan, and Riverclan.

There are also Loners, Rouges, and Kittypets. Loners are peaceful cats that aren't a part of a clan and don't have any anger toward the clans. Rouges are similar but are very hostile toward clan cats. Kittypets, however, are simple housecats.

Kittypets, examples being Firestar(his Kittypet name was Rusty) and Cloudtail(Firestar's nephew, didn't have a kittypet name), can be accepted into clans, although a rare occurrence. Firestar is the main character, and Coudtail is an atheist, so yeah.

Speaking of religion, there are two places the cats will go when they die. Starclan, the equivalent to heaven, or the Dark Forest, which is equal to hell. Only medicine cats and special main characters can have dreams of one of these two places, where they can communicate with cats there on any regular night. However, at the Moonstone or Moonpool (big stone/pond that reflects the moons light almost fully), any cat can communicate with starclan(typically).

Some notable cats from the first bunch of groups include Scourge, a Rouge leader of 'bloodclan', which isn't an official clan and is just a rogue(I just noticed my typos, and I'm not fixing them all) group. Then there's Tigerstar, but I'm going to make an entire different post highlighting everything that tom has done since it's a lot, and I hate him for it. Lastly, there's Yellowfang, an elderly she-cat who originally was Shadowclan's medicine cats until she came to Thunderclan and was eventually accepted, and she was super badass and fed poisonous deathberries to her own son while he was in the camp because he(I genuinely don't remember his name:/) was conspiring with TigerClaw to kill Bluestar(TC leader at the time).

Onto cat breeds, most of them in the forest seem to be less of the fluffy, round, conventionally cute kind, but also no sphinx cats oddly enough. (I'm only on the 4th or 5th group of books, so this is all a big YET from me) Most of the more fine-tuned breeds used to be Kittypets, hence Cloudtail's prominent fluffiness amongst the rest of TC(I'm abbreviating clans now, btw).

[lrlamauthor]

i wasn't sure if you would read the tags i'd leave if i reblogged your reply to my ask so i decided to just send you another ask! ha! i'll bullet point them this time bc i have quite a few things to say:

1. you can definitely keep my asks public, i really don't mind :)

2. never have i ever been so excited to open an email, and that too first thing in the morning. seeing your reply, especially that little treat at the end (!!!!!!!!!), had me smiling and kicking my feet in bed. i'm, impossibly enough, even more excited for Emberclaw now.

3. having more than one narrative position in a book is certainly ambitious and one that i haven't encountered in any other book so far, but it grows on you, fast (at least it did on me), and can be an acquired taste to some who are willing to give it a chance. i think you might just be the first author who has changed my mind completely on first person narratives and i owe it to your flawless delivery, of course (i'm biased, i'll admit). also, "narrative positions" was exactly the word that wouldn't come to me in my fit of excitement while writing my last ask; it was a tiny brain-fart moment on my part when i said "pov choice" instead haha.

4. this is more of an aside really but it once took me 400 pages (of a 800+ pages) to get into a book, so imho, 50 pages isn't asking for much. fantasy novels tend to be a little demanding! also, it was my first proper foray into epic fantasy. i then went on to finish the series despite the really, really, really slow start. the slowest. i think a reader can tell when the wait will be worth it though, almost like a gut feeling.

5. multi-pov is another polarizing aspect of books, but then again, it can be enjoyed if done well. i once read a book with 14 povs and gave it 5 stars. it wasn't even a fantasy novel, but a contemporary one! in comparison, your book with its 4 povs is pretty tame, and i think, even the norm for epic/high fantasy novels. personally, i enjoy being in the head of different characters! especially when you've got a big cast of them. also, that surprise 5th pov toward the end took me quite by surprise!! jaw, meet floor.

6. i do have a GR account! and i certainly have plans on leaving well-deserved, glowing reviews on both the book and audio :) it's the least i can do!

7. this one is more of a suggestion to those who might find the narrative positioning a little jarring: listen to the audiobook instead; it warms you up to it much faster!

i think that just about covers it. again, i cannot say this enough, but Dragonfall would not be the story i fell absolutely in love with had you not made the narrative (ha!) choices you did. i hope more people come to appreciate and love it as much as i do, and are willing to give it the fair chance it deserves <3

much love 💖

I think I'd see the tags! I'm so out of practice with Tumblr, but I have enjoyed coming back to it as I feel in some ways I can be more authentic over here rather than the more traditional promo over on tiktok and insta. Not that I'm inauthentic elsewhere it's just...here you can be a bit more off the cuff, I think?

1. Whew!

2. Aww yay! Interacting with readers is honestly one of my favourite things. I'm so excited when I hear from someone who got what I was trying to do. Releasing art for public consumption can be excellent but also hard. Dragonfall is probably my most personal book, so it being marmite made me so self-conscious. I always think about that Don Marquis quote "Publishing a volume of verse is like dropping a rose petal down the Grand Canyon and waiting for the echo." It's nice when you get the echoes back. :-)

3. I was inspired to be experimental after reading The Fifth Season, which is a masterpiece. I've heard good things about The Spear Cuts Through Water which also does cool narrative position trickery, I think. I also really love framing devices of people looking back, like in Assassin's Apprentice by Hobb (my fave author, as evidenced by the dedication). I'm glad I could open you up to all the opportunities of first person! I taught a class on narrative positions when I was a creative writing lecturer so I'm just very passionate about how form can marry function, hah.

4. Yes, four (technically five) is tame compared to some! I did seven in Seven Mercies and whew, that was a lot, even though technically my co-writer and I mostly split it up. My next projects will be 2 and then 1 as a bit of a breather. It is harder to balance multi POV, but I love the "heteroglossia" potential of storytelling.

6. Thank you!

7. I wish I could listen to the audiobooks of my books! I get too self-conscious or want to edit. I can say that Philip and Rachel did amazing jobs from the samples I head, though, and I was super excited they hired a nonbinary voice actor for Arcady. This was also my first time having more than one voice actor, which was neat.

And yes, I hope so too. <3

[taurus-spacecraft]

i saw you reblogged something about learning random facts and in the tags you mentioned andy warhol? could you please tell me a few things about him? :0 i'm studying him for my art GCSEs lol

YESS

(just note that i dont know all cool facts ab him just the general image for now)

WELL OKAY he was born 1928 and his parents were Austria-Hungary immigrats, hes mum was byzantine catholic and so was he for all his life he went to church almost every Sunday AND HE MEET JOHN PAUL II AND GAVE AUTOGRAPHS TO NUNS WHO WERE THERE

He started as a commercial illustrator theres a video showing technics he used for that , in the late 50s he started painting because he wanted his works to be shown in galleries and he did hes Campbell soup paintings, exhibited them in 1962 and that pretty much made him more known:DThe same year he bought a house and on the 5th floor created the factory decorated all in sliver paint and tin foil. It was relocated a few times but this one is the most famous. I belive most of his polaroids of celebrities were taken there but might be wrong lol. He was super obsessed with celebrities and fame which started when he was a kid and had to stay home for weeks after falling sick with sydenham chorea(it also made his skin and hair lose pigment for the rest of his life) and was collecting photos of celebs and writing to them

In 1968 he was shot by a radical feminist bc she didnt star in one of his films but he made it out alive, he was less social after that and became scared of hospitals. He kept making art, im his signature silk screen printing technic but belived he havent done anything good since the attack:( Also the woman who shot him ended up in a mental hospital, got out and has wrote him letters with pears.

He died basically because of his fear of hospitals he was moving his gallbladder surgery to the point when he actually did it it was very dangerous (and the fact that he was shot beafore and almost died didnt make it easier) he died because of complications after sugery but he did wake up! and made a call, then he suffocate i think

He stored things in boxes. I mean a lot of things. In a lot of boxes. They are called time capsules and im pretty sure they opened all of them, they included toe nails, old food, papers etc really ranodm thngs but his assignment whe help him to make the boxes said he knew exactly where he wanted to put what. So not random after all.

He was also openly gay beafore the gay liberation(he once submitted a series of man nudes to an exhibition but they rejected them and wanted to make a book, named cockbook. No comment needed on that), lived with his mom until he was 42, she moved in with him in NYC when he bought the house i mentioned earlier amd they had 20 cats all named Sam very important information. And he wore wigs, made in italy i think bc we went bald too quickly, he didnt style tehm and once a girl took his wig of and he wrote in his diary that we wanted to push her of balcony for that, i was surprised i was sure it was real hair lol

I CANT THINK OF ANYTHING ELSE TO SAY NOW I HOPE YOU ENJOYED MY MONOLOGUE

[ma-lark-ey]

✪ malarkey's intro post 2.0 ✪

░!! have you done your daily click? !!░

░ greetings & salutations. since my original intro post is kind of messy, I'm making a new one!

ー name lark / magnus

ー age / birthday twenty / may 5th

ー pronouns he/him/they/them

―●○◎ other socials/blogs ◎○●―

― archive of our own: ma_lark_ey

― spotify: malarkey

― discord: ma_lark_ey

―●○◎ fandoms i'll tag/post:

all for the game (the foxhole court) / harry potter / the marauders era / red, white, & royal blue / percy jackson / magnus chase / check, please! / the extraordinaries / simon snow (carry on) / the mortal instruments / taylor swift / hermitcraft / the adventure zone / dimension 20

―●○◎ also, here are my fics that I still think are readable. ◎○●―

(otherwise known as, the collection of fanfictions I actually think are well written and not the ramblings of a lunatic (re: not written in a cripplingly intense hyperfocus.))

Separated by fandom

Carry On ―

― Winter Gardens [NR/6k]

"Simon Snow was (almost literally) scooped out of the trash by Davy Cadwallader when he signed his contract to become 'the next big thing' at just thirteen years old. Now, at eighteen, the years of sidelining his health in the name of his producer's standards are catching up to him, and the public's beginning to notice. It probably doesn't help that his boyfriend's vague-posting insults to his producer, either... Or that people are onto the fact he even has a boyfriend."

― are not created equal [NR/4k]

"Carry On where Everything Is the Same(tm) except Simon Snow is Deaf. And also autistic. Baz has like an ounce of emotional literacy but that's less important."

Dungeons & Daddies ―

― is that my face!? [G/36k]

Nick decides to go to church camp with Grant just so he doesn't have to be alone. He wasn't ready for... Whatever the fuck he's got himself into. This kid has his face, and for what? Nick's heard of dopplegangers, but this is just absurd. Much more absurd that they have the same fucking name.

― day:/time: [G/3k]

In which Grant Wilson haphazardly keeps a diary of his first few days in Faerun and the set of twins weirder than the Oak's that have taken him under their wing.

― apples never fall far [G/3k]

Henry always saw his transness as an afterthought, a part of himself that burdened others to hide away and talk about as little as possible. Lark always saw his transness as something that permeates his identity, affects each and every way society treats him. Something as innately a part of him as autism. Both have always seen their transness as a piece of them they cannot change, even if they tried.

― Stampler: A Documentary by Paeden Bennetts [G/10k]

what if the boys never went to Faerun? What if faerun didn't exist and they were simply kidnapped by their grandparents? what if, over a decade after the fact, young film major Paeden Bennetts, the youngest kidnapping victim, gathered the doodlers to film a documentary with a true to story recount of the events?

― laundry basketball [G/3k]

Grant is struggling with cleaning his room due to a hard hit of Depression, so, he calls Terry to come help him. And who's to say if they kiss once or twice? It's not gay to kiss the homies.

The Extraordinaries ―

― you're alive in my head. [NR/3k]

"should've kept every grocery store receipt / 'cause every scrap of you would be taken from me. / Watched as you signed your name... / ...All your closets of backlogged dreams / and how you've left them all to me. / What died didn't stay dead." OR: Five times Nicholas Bell missed his mom and the one time he didn't

Harry Potter ―

― this was a therapeutic chain of events [M/71k] [ongoing]

"Sirius Black was not looking for a relationship. He had a book to finish, deadlines to meet, and too many issues to drag another man into his life. He's already got two roommates and a toddler to worry about. Remus Lupin was not intending to look for a relationship. Between the service dog, the chronic illness, and the special interest in the Marauders book series, he doesn't have much game, either. James Potter did not even have the time for a relationship if he wanted one. He had a toddler, surgical residency hours, and Sirius to keep an eye on. His hands were full. Regulus Black had never even considered finding a partner. His brother gave him too many abandonment issues for that shit. He could never stoop that low. And then they all wound up in the same bar one night."

― never learned to read your mind [series] [T/132k] [ongoing]

“I’m trying to raise you to be a functioning adult, Albus. Do you want me to just stop being your father? Would that make life so much easier for you?” Albus knew that sometimes the things he said were needlessly cruel, and he didn't care. This was one of those times. “God, sometimes, I wish you weren’t my dad.” His father tensed, and what he said was so much crueller than anything Albus could ever come up with. “Well, sometimes, I wish you weren’t my son.” Or: Five times Albus ran away and the one time Harry followed him

― these hands of mine were clumsy, not clever. [G/43k]

OR: I toyed with the idea of Harry and Ginny having a kid by accident soon after the war, and Harry entering such a deep state of depression afterward he decided it be better he walk out on them than the stay and let his son watch him suffer and now we're reaping the consequences with an eleven year old Potter with daddy issues

Percy Jackson & the Olympians ―

― The Side-Effects of Being the Hero [T/2k]

Percy had always known he was neurodivergent, but since his adventures in saving the world from evil beasts and immortal beings, his mental health has only declined. He's been doing well since the fall of Gaea, but the weight of even causing that much damage weighs on his shoulders, leaving him in harsh nights. Nights like this one.

― home sweet home [NR/4k]

In which; Annabeth never goes home during the Olympian's series. Instead, it's not until after the war with Gaea she makes the ultimate decision to try to reconnect with her family

― wisegirl is live! [T/11k]

Fans piece together that popular streamer B4ckb1t3r's companion, Wisegirl, bears a striking resemblance to kidnapped seven-year-old, Annabeth Chase. Even down to the same name. Isn't that just crazy?

― i wanna know, do you play DnD? [G/3k]

In which: Heroes of Olympus (highly abridged) is actually just a high fantasy DnD campaign of a bunch of kids in their late teens trying to have a good time. That's it.

Magnus Chase & The Gods of Asgard ―

― it's just our bringing that gets us out of hand [M/146k]

After two years, Magnus had grown rather content with his life. He had friends, he had a girlfriend, and he had figured shit out. And then his Uncle Frederick rolled in and said, "I'm claiming legal guardianship of you. Let's move you to New York!" And now he's enrolled in therapy. Lucky Magnus. Or: A No Gods AU where Magnus DID go with Annabeth and Frederick when they came to Boston. Also canon is optional, fun fact.

Red, White, & Royal Blue ―

― CHECK(MATE) [T/14k]

"It's such an unexpected pairing, a hockey player and a punk star. How'd you too meet?" "Oh, well, it's really silly. It actually started when Alex's fans started..." "I met Henry because my Tumblr followers started this elaborate hoax about us being best friends." "And, let me guess, you ran with it?" "Oh, June, you know I commit to a good bit."

― Shouting Into Nothing (AGAIN?) [T/19k]

"How about this," Alex offered, "If I win AOTY, I announce Henry and I in my acceptance speech. If I don't, we do it your way." OR: Alex is a world famous pop punk star, Henry is still the Prince of England, and the public is onto them. (formerly: my songs know secrets you're sick of keeping)

― it's nice to meet you, prince perfect [M/5k] [ongoing]

Two years ago, Mary Windsor passed away at the age of 86. Two years ago, her youngest grandchild, a talented young female singer/songwriter who performed under the stage name 'Prince Perfect,' disappeared within the month. Now Prince Perfect is back from the dead. With an endless amount of cryptic messaging leading to a hidden away album for fans to discovery. An album named 'henry.'

Unprepared Casters ―

― you're on your own kid, you always have been [G/1k]

In which a nameless citizen of the Fey wild contemplates the recent happenings with the Sun (or, Suns) and Moon.

― find a penny, pick it up! [G/2k]

A brief summary of the early life of the eldest Lovejoy.

┌ below are my personal tags & what they mean !

[vanhelsingapologist]

LMAO I am currently in ACOTAR hell. As in, I read all the books and so on (halfway done with the last). I am weirdly invested, drawing fanart and ranting about it. I dragged like 2 more people down with me because I won't suffer this alone, like it's book covid or something.

I can't say it is good. I can't recommend it. And yes, the first (and 5th) are the only ones where I had some positive enjoyment.

The first....I mean you're right - the start is so slow and unless you super vibe with the Tamlin-Lucien-Feyre dynamic there is not much there at all. The last third was fun tho for sure. Iono, it was like a 3/5 for me. Nothing special, nothing terrible. It was....fine.

BUT OH BOI THE REST. Everyone claims the second book is the best of the series and since I didn't outright hate the first, I picked it up with cautious excitement. THE BETRAYAL. I was so mad. I never hate-read anything so HARD. I was pissed at the shit this book pulled lol. I felt like the author was gaslighting me. Or tried to - and it only made me angrier. But I couldn't stop either. And it went on with the third. I just felt so weird, like I was reading different books than anyone else? Yet I had to go on because it kind of felt like some weird office drama that was clearly not meant for me but I am invested now.

So yeah, uhm, I'm stuck in the corner with all the hated characters having a weird party idk. Help!!

I don't mind a slow start! I even love a slow start, but I feel that 200 pages of that book should not exist. The world-building didn't justify a book that long. I really feel like the love interest could've been compelling but he was so overshadowed by literally every other character, which was bad because most of those characters were just not my cup of tea.

I liked Lucien! I think he and Feyre had weird, red-hot tension and my friend made the joke that it was like "someone had told Maas that Lucien and Feyre got on too well, so she went 'fuck, fuck' and started writing him out."

I also thought Rhysand was incredibly creepy, and it was so obvious what they were setting him up for. I had a deep, fundamental problem with his seemingly 'morally grey' characterization when I think 'morally deficient' would've been more believable to commit to. Personally, I think the justifications he offered for certain actions were shoddy, which is disappointing because I don't think he's supposed to be a villain. But he'd make such an interesting one! I love villains and I think if the book had just committed and made him villainous then I could've really been down for some apologism. I'm almost angrier that they won't admit that he'd fucked up and instead went "well, it's justifiable and it was even KIND of him."

All that being said, I really appreciate your perspective. I think the end of the book was so much fun too, and I feel so sad that I just spent half the book wondering how the hell it was going down. I'll hit you back up once I've read the second.

[nofacednerd]

how does someone coincidentally become your blorbo 3 times

okay listen adsfsdfhds

Flashback with me for a sec to 5th grade. I am 10 years old and the scholastic book fair is in town babeyyy its the event of the season for nerdy little weirdo children like me. I end up grabbing a comic book off the shelf (it was Ms. Marvel) and this began my love of comics/superhero hyperfixation.

Then, back in like 2019ish I kept getting ads for Lower Decks on youtube, thought it looked funny, watched the first episode, thought Boimler was a silly little guy, but I hadn't seen any Star Trek before so I just... Didn't get like half the references? So I decided that I was going to have to watch the entirety of Star Trek before watching Lower Decks. Because I am Me I immediately spend the next 4 years telling myself that I'm going to watch Star Trek and never actually doing it.

LATER in 2019, the MCU has done me too dirty and Marvel comics start to bore me. The new Shazam movie comes out and suddenly DC comics has me in a chokehold. I've always liked Superman, like, conceptually, but I start actively watching shows and reading the comics now. I blame Young Justice (the original comic run, NOT the CN show). I spend the next few years in quarantine yelling about Robins. At some point, during one of the Fandomes, they announce MAWSM and show off really early concept art (remember when Lois was white? I do. Bad times.) and I am immediately hyped as fuck for it

THEN, flash forward to last summer. 'The Boys' is trending on tumblr bc the new season just aired. I was incorrectly under the assumption that the show was closer to it's comic counterpart and that it was just an edgefest for 14 year old neonazis so I was confused as to why it was trending on tumblr of all places. I click on the tag and immediately the first post is about "The Boys Penis Explosion Scene" and I go 'Well what the fuck does that mean'. So then I spend like an hour scrolling through the tag, once again making very inaccurate assumptions about the plot of the show, then I finally give up on trying to figure out what the fuck the Penis Explosion Scene was via tumblr and just watch the actual show. Almost immediately I latch on to the sad, wet cat, traumatized, neurotic little weirdo that is Hughie The Boys (he just like me fr fr) Then like a few months later I find out Jack Quaid is also going to be voicing Clark in MAWSM, which I was already excited for. Flash forward to THIS May. I come home for summer break, tell my brother I want to watch Star Trek, I find out that it would take 2 years of consistently watching Star Trek to watch everything, gave up, watched Lower Decks anyway, heard Boimler and went. 'WAIT A FUCKING SECOND'

And that's how the same guy ended up playing 3 of my favorite silly little guys entirely by sheer coincidence

[lucy-the-cat]

Priority List (Factoring in Poll)

Rereading the Iliad - I need to get Castor and Pollux's characterizations right, which means consulting the source material. On book 17, will prob finish in a week or two (hopefully a few days so I don't have to take out a new copy bc I'm returning home).

Writing Daughter of Zeus - still stuck on chapter six, making progress. Will prob take min all summer to get the first draft out

Answering asks - I'm almost finished with my backlog from a few months ago, just need to finish the swoonworthy mareven moments one which I need my copy of book one for that I left at home . . . so finishing up with a week or two bc I go home on wednesday. I did get one long ask recently and six more asks this morning and another one as I was typing this so this is still a priority but not really one I think I have to announce

Bday present for a friend - first priority after DoZ and the Iliad bc May has hit. Back up plan is to show her what I have of my first draft of DoZ if it's not finished by her bday, might show her anyway as a bonus lol, as well as what I have of my Hera poetry collection bc she wrote me a novel for MY birthday, which is insane (affectionate). With a few notes about some of the jank in it of course. Hopefully finished on Wednesday on the ride home (several hours, I'm not driving) but you won't see it til the end of May.

Stay in the Light - May 9th maybe? May 10th? physical classes have ended, papers due on the 5th, extension potentially to 6th with missing assignments due on the 10th

Rebel's Song - next chap by May 14th prob

Blood Deep - Same, or the 21st

Iron Will - the 17th? the 28th? we'll see

Second bday present for a friend - will start on the first day of June, will move to after DoZ on June 21st. Start of a fun longfic, will prob take a while to conclude. Trust me, you'll like it

Red Ruse first draft edits - finally at a place where I might make changes, we'll see. proper update (like a new chapter) by the end of June I think.

Red Ruin chapter one - First week of July at the earliest, but it won't be posted until the whole fic is halfway done.

Blood of the Covenant chapter three - Update by early June

God's Cursed - June 7th?

renegade - finish by June 14th I think, will save for Maven's Birthday

bad ideas and champagne bottles - idk june 21st? Mareven week day 5, pretty simple

Roman Holiday - I thought I would have more trouble writing this bc of my medical issues with NSFW stuff atm, but I've been scrolling through some NSFW tags and got ~ I N S P I R A T I O N ~, and I think I can combine them with some good character moments. Posted in June, maybe even May

Solar Eclipse chapter two - low-ish on the list, also in the process of discovery writing. update July 1st? Maybe before that

Jon POVs of Canon - shaping up to be a multi part series, like 3-5 oneshots. Will post one every week of October leading up to Halloween, so starting new ones in July. Finished first one lol

another friend bday gift - part of an ongoing series, might take a lot of words lol. Finish end of June? post in August

fourth friend bday gift - non rq fandom, mythology related, will share with her in August

first new Lover's Curse chapter - Beginning of July

Newblood Queen - pains me how low this one is on the list, but you voted. July 7th? 14th?

So like 12-14 (I counted like three different numbers) updates by July 14th scattered across that many fics (a lot of them are being saved for later/or are related to originals). I think I can do this now that I have free time and less pressure. Hopefully I get more out because I want to have some long fics finished by the end of the year . . . anyway

[libertyreads]

Book Review #23 of 2025--

The Thrashers by Julie Soto. Rating: 3.75 stars.

Read from April 4th to 5th.

Before I get into the review, a quick thank you to both NetGalley and the publishers over at Wednesday books for allowing me access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review. The Thrashers follows an elite group of friends who are everything everyone wants to be. Either you're in. Or you're out. Jodi Dillon was never meant to be one of them, but Zack's her childhood best friend so she's in. Then Emily Mills, who desperately wanted to be a Thrasher, dies and the whispers about the Thrashers begin. As do eerie messages and stranger occurrences that escalate until it becomes clear--Emily isn't done with them yet. The Thrashers comes out on May 6th and is available for preorder now.

I want to start by saying that I was so unhinged about the first two-thirds of this book. I was so emotionally attached to these flawed, messy characters that I was on the edge of my seat for the entirety of this book. It was easily sitting in a 4.25 to 4.5 star range for over 85% of the book (yes, that is a specific point in the novel) and I was so completely unwell about two of these characters. Julian Hollister is my morally grey baby and I love him. Jodi Dillon is the strong, courageous, righteous young woman we all aspire to be. Also? This is how you do a contemporary enemies to lovers. (It can be argued that we never go from enemies to lovers, but I know what I felt in my heart.) I've always struggled with that because it's a trope I loved to see in Fantasy novels but never got to see it go far enough in contemporary novels. I want the enemies to TRULY be enemies. I want to see the lovers truly be lovers. I enjoyed the way the story unfolded and the way the plot points all came together at the end. Well, almost.

The actual ending of this novel is the only major flaw for me. When I realized that [SPOILER AHEAD] Emily was truly haunting them I lost a lot of the respect what the characters had gone through. [SPOILER OVER] I felt like the ending cheapened the stress and anxiety that all of the characters were feeling as the investigation and case were hanging over their heads. And, also, how dare you make me fall in love with a character and then give them that ending. It's rude, and kind of hateful, if I'm being honest.

Overall, I had such a good time. I read the whole book in basically 24 hours and I so rarely find books that just consume me like that. I feel so bad for not giving this one a higher rating given how much I enjoyed it, but I just cannot get over the ending. I DO think this is great for fans of Mystery/Thriller novels (not just YA, either). And I also think this is great for people who like a little "What if" with their ending.