#It was fun exploring various lighting (something I have to experiment more with)

[zondearts]

Arisa

[elodieunderglass]

I'm not as familiar with LOTR as you are, so I wondered if you could tell me if my wild theory is completely off-base.

No one knows where the Hobbits came from, except that at some point they diverged from the line of men. No one knows much about the Entwives' appearance, but we do know that they fucked off a long time ago.

Could the Entwives have been dryad-ish and hooked up with the hobbits' ancestors and so be the foremothers of the hobbits?

Ah I think I saw that post! The concept has a lot of charm, and when the Tolkien estate loses its corpse-grip on the property in 2050 or so, I think you should write it and sell it 😤 I’ve definitely read some good takes on entwives in fanfiction that both leaned into canon and moved away, and I think that sounds like good fun to explore. A common theme in the fandom is playing with Yavanna, the Green Lady, being the mother or patron of hobbits. This isn’t canonical, but she’s a “green goddess” archetype and is married to Mahal/Aulë, the father of dwarves, which shippers often leverage to their advantage. You could do something quite charming there with Yavanna if you wanted to. We also know that Entwives loved gardens and orchards rather than forests.

Some things I would explore with this include:

what is going on with all these consistent ideas of people, races, women disappearing. We know that a lot of it is how Tolkien processed an almost OCD-like Catholic framing of “the fallen world is getting worse and can never be repaired”, war experiences, romanticism and other stuff stewing in his old man head. What are some ways you could show what’s stewing in your head? What does “people disappearing” mean to you? and why is it especially healing that they disappeared in order to make new families?

I think “they disappeared from their old kin and made new kin” is an interesting and weird thing worth wondering about!

- this would possibly make hobbits a more recent race than is implied. What does that mean to you?

- why are hobbits teeny tiny?

A very good starting point, that Terry Pratchett used a lot, is taking some grand statement in fantasy fiction, and making it reflect a different political reality. “Most dwarves are girls actually.” “Wizards parody academia, but, like, FOR REAL.”

I personally have a different take because of my own political feelings and framings! I have a lot of complex feelings about Tolkien chickening out of hobbits. For various political reasons I personally have to take the stance that they are fully human, fully indigenous, and have their own native language. and that their disappearance is less “teehee we lost them” or “O, the Catholic guilt of the Fallen World, how far we have fallen from the light of the two trees God’s sinless light” and a lot more “oh yeah I’ve seen THAT pattern before.”

If you have a political sort of lens on, someone telling you “yeah… hobbits came from nowhere 🤭 and then disappeared 🤷‍♀️ sad!” is a story that can also invite the response of “OHhhhh you wanted their LAND real bad, huh.” Like, we know what that means, right.

It’s a political stance for me. Hobbits have to be close enough to us to touch, and we have to be able to face that, and the fact that 5,000 media properties will chew on tolkienelves and sell them to you before even admitting to the 🤭 just makes it even more of a 🤨. To me.

…But I have literally just been elbow deep in my own demented fanfic thing that involves inventing a language just to swear in, to enable my standing on a box shouting HOBBITS OUGHT TO RESIST GOING EXTINCT ACTUALLY, based entirely on, I think, spite. Why do multiple authors publish orc football games (Terry Pratchett) and orc coffeeshops (Legends and Lattes guy) and do every damned thing with every bit of Tolkien’s corpse but refuse to look directly at hobbits. I am feral over this and wrote 59k words so far to damage and harm my friends

In conclusion I see a great story shape there about kindred and I think you should explore it and it should be about evolutionary biology and women and divorce and nobody being wrong.

And if anyone argues you with some podcast boy “well actually”, just bite them and do more character work and sit on their heads

[deonsx]

I really enjoy your works! Could I request some Nagi fluff where they both play a new video game together. Bonus points if it‘s Infinity Nikki and reader tries to get Nagi to play it 🤭 Thank you for service 🫡

It was one of those lazy afternoons where the world outside seemed to melt away, and you found yourself at home with Nagi. The house was quiet except for the soft hum of the television. You had just picked up a new game, Infinity Nikki, and couldn’t wait to try it out. The vibrant world of fashion, adventure, and design seemed like the perfect distraction from the everyday grind, and you knew Nagi might enjoy it if you could convince him

You were lounging on the couch, the game controller in hand, and Nagi was sprawled on the other side, his eyes half-lidded, clearly uninterested at first. He was absorbed in his usual, relaxed mode, his hair falling lazily into his face as he tapped his phone “Hey, Nagi,” you started, trying to sound casual, “wanna play something with me?”

He barely looked up, raising an eyebrow. “Play what? Another one of those games where you just run around and do random things?” You grinned. “Well, kind of, but this one’s different! It’s all about exploring, dressing up, and creating your own designs in this gorgeous world. Plus, you get to customize your character!”

He sighed, clearly uninterested, but you weren’t giving up that easily. “Come on, you don’t even have to take it seriously. Just try it out for a bit. It’s got tons of cool outfits, and the visuals are really pretty!”There was a pause, then Nagi slowly shifted, his head tilting as he stared at the screen. He glanced at you, a little smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Fine, but I’m only doing this because you’re begging me”

You beamed, holding the controller out toward him. “That’s all I need to hear!” He took the controller with a small huff, settling beside you on the couch. As the game loaded, the colorful world of Infinity Nikki appeared before him soft pastels, glowing lights, and delicate animations filled the screen

The first few minutes were spent in silence as Nagi stared at the screen, unsure of what he was supposed to do. You couldn’t help but laugh as he fumbled with the controls, clearly not used to the fashion-focused gameplay

“Okay, okay, just press the dress-up button to change outfits” you explained, your voice filled with excitement “Look, there’s a whole wardrobe full of outfits you can mix and match!” Nagi glanced at you, a little smirk appearing again “You really get excited over clothes, don’t you?” His tone was teasing, but there was a flicker of amusement in his eyes

“You have no idea” you replied with a laugh “Just wait until you see the accessories. The shoes are to die for!” As the game progressed, Nagi’s expression softened, and he began to show a bit more interest. He made his character try on different outfits, experimenting with colors and styles. His usual disinterested attitude faded, replaced by a faint sense of curiosity

“Okay, this isn’t… as bad as I thought” he admitted, adjusting his character’s outfit to make it look more stylish. “But don’t think I’m getting hooked or anything”

You chuckled, nudging him with your shoulder. “I’m just glad you’re having fun. You look pretty good in those clothes by the way” Nagi rolled his eyes but couldn’t suppress a small smile “Whatever, you’re the one who kept begging me to try it”

As you both continued playing, you became more and more absorbed in the game, trying out various designs and experimenting with new looks for your character. Nagi, despite his initial reluctance, seemed to be enjoying it too he even started offering suggestions for what outfit combinations you should try next “How about this? The lace dress with the flower crown?” Nagi asked casually, leaning over to point at the screen. His finger brushed against your hand as he gestured to the options

You blinked in surprise, a warm feeling spreading through your chest. “You’re actually getting into this now, huh?” Nagi didn’t respond right away. Instead, he just gave you a small, lazy grin “Maybe. I can’t let you have all the fun by yourself”

You both spent the next few hours playing together, laughing at the ridiculous combinations you both created, and even teaming up to complete in-game challenges. Every now and then, Nagi would lean in close to ask your opinion on an outfit or a hairstyle for the character, making you feel more and more connected to him

By the time the game session came to a close, the evening had turned into night, and you were both comfortably exhausted. Nagi stretched, letting out a yawn as he handed you the controller “Not bad,” he said, looking over at you with a satisfied grin. “I guess you were right. It’s��� kind of fun”

You laughed, nudging him playfully. “I told you so! And you were so reluctant at first” “Yeah, yeah,” he muttered, giving you a mock glare. “You win. But don’t expect me to admit that I like it too often”

You smiled, feeling content as you rested back into the couch, the warm, fuzzy feeling of being close to Nagi taking over. “It’s fine, I already know.” Nagi leaned back, a relaxed, comfortable silence settling over the two of you. For the first time, you both seemed perfectly content in each other’s company, sharing this silly, fun experience

Enjoy!

[lurkingshan]

Hi. I recently finished watching Coffee Prince based on a few recs posts that you had put out and MY GOD I'm so glad I decided to give it a try. (This was the first Kdrama where I got past 2 eps) I loved this sooo sooo much.

Do you have any recs for media (queer or otherwise) with similar strong characters as Eun-Chan? Even otherwise, thanks for your great rec posts!

Another Coffee Prince convert! Thank you for telling me, anon, it gives me so much joy every time someone gets to experience it for the first time. And I am not surprised Go Eun Chan captured your heart, everyone who meets her feels the same.

Since I don't know exactly what about Eun Chan captivated you, I am not entirely sure what kind of characters you are looking for. Is it her generosity of spirit? Is it that endearing mix of bravery and naïveté? Is it the way she keeps going through confusion and uncertainty? Is it that she is just so lacking in artifice and unapologetically herself? Or maybe it's her gender questioning journey that spoke to you.

Given that I am not precisely sure, I am just going to give you a mix of great dramas of various genres with strong characters that give me some aspect of that Eun Chan swag--feel free to come back and ask for more recs if you have something else in mind! In alpha order:

Be Melodramatic (Viki)

Shan found another excuse to rec Be Melodramatic? Must be a day ending in y. But seriously this drama is full of fantastic characters and there's a strong thread here about being yourself unapologetically and finding the people who love you for that.

Great Men Academy (grey)

Another character experiencing gender, but this time via a magical-unicorn-induced body transformation (don't ask I could not possibly explain it). This story is all about Love figuring herself out and the bisexual king who loves her in any body.

Healer (Viki)

Chae Yeong Shin is Park Min Young's best character ever and it's not close. She has a lot of Eun Chan's relentless spirit and optimism in the face of life's nonsense, and she's a spunky one. Healer is also just a great action romance with a lot of fun hijinks and a very swoony male lead, if you're into that kind of thing.

Joshi-teki Seikatsu (Life As A Girl) (grey)

Miki is an all-time great character. A trans woman rebooting her life away from home, she is more assured about who she is but has a lot of Eun Chan's core generosity and bravery. I love her so much.

Kieta Hatsukoi (Viki)

Chaotic confusion with a heart of gold, thy name is Aoki.

Koisenu Futari (grey)

Sakuko, my beloved. This show is about two people on the aroace spectrum connecting and finding companionship and family in each other, and it's so beautiful.

Light on Me (Viki)

Woo Tae Kyung is definitely sitting at the "unapologetically themselves" table with Eun Chan. And he has a love triangle, too!

My Lovely Sam Soon (Viki)

If you're up for an even older kdrama, I love this one to pieces. Kim Sam Soon has a lot in common with Go Eun Chan, in that she doesn't perform femininity the way people expect and she is trying to find her place in the world, all while crushing on a guy who feels very out of her league. This is a journey for both lead characters, and I was so moved by where they ended up that I burst into tears at the end.

She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat (Furritsubs)

My girls!!! I love every character in this show. I don't think it's possible to watch this drama and not find someone to connect with; it's all about exploring the many different ways to be a woman and finding the people who will love and respect you for who you are. And it's very queer while doing it!

Twenty-five Twenty-one (Netflix)

Na Hee Do is a legend, and not just because of the fencing. This show is her coming of age story and you will love her.

Weightlifting Fair Kim Bok Joo (Viki)

Kim Bok Joo, another heroine wrestling with her femininity as she navigates coming of age and changing relationships. She's fantastic.

As always, if you have trouble finding any of these, you can always hmu (off anon, because we don't share secret files in public lol). Hope you find something to enjoy among these!

[thelonelyshore-if]

I'll get here first! Perri NSFW Alphabet? please 🥺🙏

Perri Alphabet below the cut!!

A = Aftercare

Perri's a big cuddler. After sex they'd enjoy laying together, being a little silly and playful and flirty.

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

F!Perri enjoys her hips, while M!Perri and NB!Perri are both partial to their stomachs. As for their partner, Perri is kind of obsessed with hands.

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

The idea of being covered in a partner's cum drives Perri insane.

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

Nobody knows how kinky they are. They sort of feel like they haven't earned it, since they've never even had sex before.

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

Perri is a virgin! So everything is totally new to them.

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

They don't know yet! There are lots they're intrigued by, but they don't think they could pick a favorite until they've tried them.

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

Perri falls somewhere in the middle between serious and playful. They wouldn't mind having fun during sex and are certainly able to laugh and tease, but they also would enjoy something a little more intense/serious.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

They don't shave fully but keep it neat--and, considering their hair is often dyed some outlandish color, the carpet doesn't match the drapes lmao. Their body hair is a very light brown.

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

Nervous. Terrified that they're doing something wrong or they're going to embarrass themself. At least, at first. After they've done it a few times, Perri is VERY eager. Eager to please as well as eager to try new things. And they're a romantic at heart lol they'd love the more romantic aspects of sex.

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

Touching themself is one of the only methods that sort of works when Perri's dealing with their insomnia. It isn't a sure-fire thing, but sometimes they're actually able to get a bit of sleep after an orgasm.

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

Their praise kink is out of control tbh. They have plenty of others, but that's the big one.

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

They're intrigued by the idea of semi-public sex. Not full blown exhibitionism, but something like a parked car? The idea makes them squirm.

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

Perri's motivated by a combination of things--their own sex drive, their curiosity to explore their various kinks, and, maybe more than anything else, to get closer to their partner. Physical intimacy is so appealing to them and they crave it desperately.

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

There's a lot Perri would try tbh, but they're very much so not into humiliation. They've got enough insecurities on their own without adding extra ones in bed.

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

They've never done it, so at first I think they'd be very hesitant and unsure of themself. The idea excites them, though, and Perri's a fast learner. Ultimately I think they'll end up preferring giving, but only by a bit.

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

Fast and rough c:

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

Hmmmm…sounds fun and exciting. Perri would love to slip in a quickie right before their show starts or during a commercial break. Just something fast and dirty and probably badly timed.

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

There is so much Perri wants to try. That being said, they're a fairly hesitant person naturally. They'll need their partner to take the lead, at least a little bit, when it comes to anything that isn't something they're already curious about.

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

F!Perri and NB!Perri can both last for several rounds. They're very eager to make up for lost time. M!Perri feels the same way, but probably needs a bit more time in between rounds to catch his breath haha.

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

They have quite the extensive collection of toys! They're a collector at heart. That being said, I think they have their favorite toys and the others probably don't actually get much use.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

Perri isn't super interested in teasing their partner. Edging turns them on, however; they like to be teased.

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

For somebody so quiet, Perri ends up being quite loud in bed. A lot of little noises, mostly, but if you truly get them going they'll end up so overstimulated that they just babble whatever thoughts come into their head.

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

Perri doesn't know it yet, but eventually they'll realize how much they like being marked. Seeing leftover bites or hickies or bruises gives them an indescribable thrill.

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

They'll be fairly shy about undressing, although they're fairly comfortable with their body. Their freckles are even more prominent on their body than their face, which is something most people don't know. They have a super cute tummy.

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

Actually fairly high, and once they've actually started sleeping with a partner it will only get higher.

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

Most of the time, Perri won't be able to sleep after sex at all. Their insomnia is pretty severe. On a rare occasion, though, post-sex they'll be able to cuddle up and drift off. They absolutely treasure these occasions. Being able to actually sleep with their partner is like a dream come true.

[betterthanyalls]

Cheese I can't remember if you already did something like this so if u have feel free to ignore or just be like "erm I already did this actually🤓" but

TQuesters x fem/GN! reader (can either be platonic or x various, your choice) and it's just them all spending Christmas together in Modi's kingdom (or wherever this takes place idk) sitting by the fireplace or decorating the Christmas tree n allat, and y/n is like "damn I can't believe it's been this long" and it's just overall a very warm, cozy yet bittersweet nostalgia kinda thing as y/n thinks about all of their past adventures with all of her toon friends that they've made ever since this whole thing started ^^"

Once again don't feel pressured to do this especially if you've already done something similar and my dumbahh just forgot about it lol

YES YES YES ok so i mayyyy have gotten off track here BUT I HOPE ITS OK ALSO THANK YOU THIS WAS SO FUN TO MAKE AND MERRY CHRISTMAS GUYS if you celebrate it :) I HAD SUCH A GREAT CHRISTMAS AND I HOPE YOU ALL DID TOO THIS IS THE CHRISTMAS SPECIAL Taglist @cherryinsalemverse

Masterlist

Winter Wonders

Various x Reader

Toon Quest ~ Oneshot ~ Christmas Special Words: 2.9K Published: 12-25-2024

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You should’ve stopped when you could,” Bendy hissed with utter malice.

“Bendy… please. You don't have to do this,” the human girl pleaded desperately, trying to make her friend see the truth.

“You brought this on yourself.”

And with those words, the ink demon struck.

Plus four.

“I win,” Bendy grinned, laying down the +4 Wild card as his last turn.

“NOOOOO,” Y/n wailed, falling backwards from her cross-legged position on the hardwood flooring of the palace.

Their companions cheered at the game finally being won. Playing Uno with four humans and seven toons took quite a while. Meek and Don were sitting next to Ruck, who refused to play, on a couch with Felix on the other side. Cuphead sat with Mugman beside Y/n on the floor together. Bendy sat with Lucy next to him on the floor across from Y/n. Behind him, Oswald, Donald, and Panchito were distracted in their own conversations.

“You played horribly. Who taught you?” Ruck piped up from his seat. Although he ridiculed the teenager, there was no true irritation in his tone, but a smirk on the man’s lips. 

“Oh, shut up, old man. You didn’t even play,” Y/n complained playfully with a grin.

“I would beat you all; that’s why I didn’t play. It would’ve been too easy to win,” Ruck shrugged, leaning back into the couch.

Right as Y/n sat up, Lucy perked up with an idea.

“How about we all go into town? The winter festivities are taking place today!” Lucy clapped her hands in excitement. 

~~~

“How many festivals does this place have?” Cuphead muttered in awe, looking around at the seemingly transformed town.

Strung lights decorated every pillar, windowsill, gutter, and more. A grand tree stood up sturdy in the center of the town square, snow lying gently on its evergreen branches. Or, assumed evergreen. With how foreign the land was, it could be almost anything. Anyways, ornaments and even more lights were hung carefully into the flooding greens and whites of the flora. A bright, glimmering star sat on top of the fern, giving off a radiating glow.

Honestly, it was pure magic how the world was still visible as if the town wasn’t a current replica of the sun's brightness.

“You do this every year?” Oswald asked, wincing every now and then at the flashing bulbs.

“Yup! Each year the kingdom comes together to celebrate. It’s a breathtaking experience,” Lucy grinned, her smile almost as bright as the fluorescents. Did they even have fluorescent lights here? What made these things light up? Oh well, no worries about that thought.

“Ruck would have a heart attack if he saw all this,” Y/n muttered to Donald, who held back his own laughs. Ruck, Meek, and Don had all stayed back at the castle like normal.

“Go explore! Oh, the kingdom will adore having you all here!” Lucy chirped, having an arm wrapped around Bendy’s and strolling off. The ink toon didn’t seem to even want to leave the princess. 

Cuphead cheered at the idea of freedom and instantly bolted, Mugman in tow to keep his brother safe. 

“I don’t know how successful Mugman will be at keeping his brother safe,” Felix sighed with an amused smile, following the cups.

Donald had also already left beforehand when Lucy mentioned boat painting, dragging Panchito with him. This left Oswald and Y/n together, just like the last festival.

“This seems familiar,” Oswald joked, referencing the Namahadi Festival. Y/n smiled at the comparison. 

“Let’s hope we don’t meet Stinks this time,” she laughed softly as they both began their trek. A soft blanket of snow covered the ground, but there wasn’t a chill in the air.

The sound of bells jingling broke through their conversation. In front of the duo, an ivory horse was trotting along with a green wreath around its neck. Behind the steed, a sleigh was being pulled with an old toon holding the reins above. A sign hung on the side of the sleigh’s door reading ‘Free Sleigh Rides.’

Oswald and Y/n turned to each other with similar smiles.

“I think we’ve just found our first activity,” the rabbit offered.

~~~

The sleigh ride took them on a trail through the forest, allowing the toon and human great scenery. All seemed perfect— 

WHOOSH

A snowball flew between Oswald and Y/n, hitting the driver square in his head and knocking him off the sleigh. The sudden movement jostled the reins of the horse, frightening the beast.

In an instant, with no hesitation, the horse took off, dragging the duo behind it. 

Oswald and Y/n grabbed each other without a second thought, screaming in terror as the horse weaved through trees and around bends. The sleigh tipped side to side, threatening to flip over any second.

“THE REINS!!” Oswald shouted over the rushing wind.

“WHAT?”

Before Oswald could explain, the horse took another turn, speeding towards a young girl walking down the trails. Instinctively, Y/n jumped forwards and grabbed the whipping reins, managing to move the horse in another direction. Yet their speed never slowed.

With her upper half leaning over the driver's seat and her legs still in the sleigh, Y/n tried her best to slow the horse, but to no avail. They were riding straight into town. Oswald pushed the human to the front seats before hopping up next to her himself. He grabbed the reins with her, attempting to help steer.

“WHERE’S YOUR LUCK?” Y/n yelled above the galloping animal.

“I DON’T KNOW,” was all Oswald could spit out. The horse whipped its neck round and round to shake the reins off, only making the two drivers get flung more. 

Finally the sleigh arrived back in town, but not in the way that anyone would’ve liked. Oswald and Y/n were speeding down the streets, screaming in pure terror as they narrowly missed dozens of civilians. As they raced through crowds, Y/n turned to her right just in time to make eye contact with their other companions, who were staring in pure confusion and horror.

The human’s focus quickly changed when Oswald yelled again.

“WALL!”

Sure enough, directly in front of them was a brick wall. The horse wasn’t slowing down either. With only a few feet before collision, the animal took another turn. The sleigh tipped until it was practically perpendicular with the ground. Y/n and Oswald managed to stay on as the vehicle slammed back down properly with even more speed. 

Before any other words could be uttered, the horse whipped its direction around at full speed, causing both toon and human to fly out of the sleigh. Y/n managed to land face first in a large pile of snow, covering herself completely. Oswald, ironically, was not so lucky as he got stuck in the low-hanging branches of a tree.

The rabbit groaned in pain with stars dancing around his head and ears, leaning his head back slightly into the trunk. Bad move.

Without warning, the branches snapped, making him fall down into the snow, next to Y/n.

Y/n finally managed to pull herself from the frigid substance, turning to look at Oswald with a small pile of snow on top of her head. The toon was in the same predicament, looking to Y/n with snow covering his face. 

At an irritatingly slow pace, the snow slid down his face with Y/n laughing at the scene. 

“Are—haha—are you alright?” Y/n asked between her chuckles.

“Just perfect,” Oswald grumbled, though a smile formed on his lips.

“What happened?!” The familiar voice of their favorite cat cut their discussion short. Looking up from where they both still sat in the snow, Oswald and Y/n watched their friends come rushing over.

“A horse went rogue on us,” Y/n shrugged, making Felix give her an incredulous look before putting his hand out for her to grab. The human stood up, brushing the extra snow from her clothes with a shiver. She looked over to Oswald, who was helped up by Panchito.

“You two aren’t allowed to go together alone again. Something always happens,” Bendy scolded, making Y/n and Oswald share a glance. Lucy, who was still hanging on his arm, nodded in agreement, looking Y/n up and down to see if there were any injuries. 

“Fine,” Y/n agreed, though she wasn’t too hung up on it. Her and Oswald would find ways to hang out no matter what.

“There was an ice sculpture walk-through nearby,” Mugman pointed out. “You could come with Felix and me, Y/n.”

Y/n debated the idea in her mind, but realizing she didn’t have many other options, she agreed.

“Alright, let’s go,” the human nodded gratefully. 

The trio waved goodbye to the rest of their group before walking towards the sculpture section of the festival.

~~~

“There is absolutely no way they made this by hand.” Y/n raised an eyebrow at an ice sculpture. It depicted an almost realistic Christmas tree, ornaments, lights, the star, everything. 

“Hey, look at that one!” Mugman pointed to a nearby ice statue. It was Y/n. If it wasn’t a blue hue and made of frozen water, that sculpture would’ve looked identical to Y/n.

“What are they feeding these people?!” Y/n exclaimed, looking closely at every detail the carver made. They made the ice look like the genuine fabric of her clothes. 

Felix didn’t even seem to have an explanation like usual. Instead, he was looking at a different form of ice. Following his gaze, the human saw an ice model of their group.

“This is insane,” Y/n muttered in awe.

The trio continued walking around, finding a small game to replicate the poses themselves.

The trio took photos and laughed at each other’s postures.

There were a few different scenes, like Y/n balancing on Mugman’s shoulders, Felix doing a handstand on top of Y/n’s hands as she held the cat up, or Felix holding Mugman up in the Dirty Dancing pose.

No matter what, the three companions had a blast. 

After a while and finishing their walk-through, they decided to leave the ice sculpture area. It wasn’t long before Panchito and Donald appeared behind Y/n. Felix and Mugman were in their own discussion, too distracted to notice.

Before any conversation could be uttered, Panchito dragged Y/n away quickly with a grin.

“Wh- Panchito?” Y/n asked once they were away from the two nerds.

“Lo siento, querida. We need three people for sledding, and we couldn’t find anyone else,” Panchito explained quickly, still dragging Y/n along with Donald next to him.

“Sledding?” Y/n tilted her head quizzically. Her question was answered as soon as Panchito let her go. Standing above a really steep drop, the three arrived at a sledding post with big tubes. A sign nearby read, ‘Three Persons Per Tube.’

“I see,” Y/n nodded with a smile.

Looking at the line, the three noticed how long it truly was and how slow it was. After waiting for a few minutes without the line even moving, the trio began to get antsy.

“What if we just go?” Donald suggested.

“Leaving would be boring,” Y/n pointed out, inferring that’s what he meant.

“No, not leaving the place. But the line. We can easily slip up there,” Donald explained, making Panchito get excited.

“Like spies!” The rooster beamed.

Y/n was a little weary about cutting. But her opinion quickly changed when she saw an empty tube not too far ahead.

“Fine, but we got to be quick,” she agreed. Looking around cautiously, the trio made a full sprint towards the free tube. Jumping onto it, the three sighed in relief when no one said anything to them. 

Y/n and the toons settled inside the tube before spotting a note on the side. ‘Follow the instructions given by the operator. Death is avoidable.’

Y/n turned to her friends slowly. 

“There are instructions?”

But before any of them could try to get help from the operator, the tube tipped forwards and began to slowly glide towards the edge of the hill.

“Death?!” Donald quacked, finally finished with reading the warning.

Opposite to his companions, Panchito merely cheered in excitement as the tube reached the edge. His cheers turned into disappointment when the inflatable vehicle came to a stop. 

Y/n and Donald sighed in relief.

“That was—” Donald couldn’t finish his sentence as the air-filled sled fell at full speed down the snowy hill. 

Screams filled the air, challenging the volume of the rushing wind. Since they chose a random tube, the three weren’t even on the proper path for sledding. 

“AAAAAAAAA” “WOOOOOO”

Two very different emotions were held by the three beings. 

Racing past civilians and objects, the sled was spinning in circles while still going down.

A giant stone was placed in the direction of their path. Without giving them a chance to panic, the tube hit the rock and was launched into the air. Their screams were suffocated by the vigorous winds. 

Looking down to where they’d land, Y/n got a split-second view of a certain skunk before hitting him head-on with the sled. Stinks fell into the snow with a yelp, lifting his head above to scream at the already speeding away sled.

“VENDOLEZ, YOU PIECE OF—” His screams turned into his native language, but the trio was too far from hearing range as they blasted through groups of people.

It wasn’t long before they finally slowed to a stop at the bottom of the hill. 

Panchito got out of the tube happily, like he did this all the time. Y/n and Donald were stunned for a moment. 

“We just hit Stinks with a sled,” Y/n murmured in shock before a large grin broke out onto her lips.

She got up, and Panchito grabbed her hands, dancing around excitedly at all the adrenaline. Y/n laughed and jumped with him as Donald stumbled out of the sled and threw up off to the side. 

When they all calmed down, another voice broke their joy.

“VENDOLEZ, I’M GOING TO MURDER YOU.”

Stinks was roughly 100 feet away with his friends, all radiating pure malice and hatred. 

Without waiting for her friends, Y/n turned and took off running. 

She heard her rival and his gang pushing through the other civilians, chasing her with no hesitation. Y/n managed to take too many turns for them to keep up, losing the hunting toons in a large crowd.

Y/n grinned behind her before running straight into another body. 

“Y/n?”

Y/n backed up and saw she ran right into Bendy.

“What are you running from?” The ink demon asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Stinks,” the human shrugged like it was a usual thing now. 

Bendy just nodded, understanding the situation quickly. 

“Well, Lucy just left to go meet her father again. So I have some free time; wanna go explore?” Bendy filled her in before his offer.

Y/n had literally nothing better to do than hide from Stinks, so she nodded to go along with her friend.

“So, any ideas on where to go?” Y/n asked as they began walking together.

“There was a light walk-through not too far from here,” Bendy told her.

“Then let’s go.”

~~~

It didn’t take long for the toon and human to reach the light walk-through, only to be met with a familiar ceramic.

“Heya, doll, Bendy,” Cuphead greeted excitedly. Bendy wanted to scoff but didn’t say anything.

“Hey Cuphead, we were just going to walk through. Do you want to come with?” Y/n offered. Bendy had the all-too-well-known urge to strangle his companion for the offer.

“Sure!’ Cuphead bounded next to them.

The trio walked for a bit. Cuphead tried to put an arm around Bendy, only for the ink demon to shove the dish away and into a bush. The inky toon grinned at Cuphead’s fallen form.

A little further in and towards the end, Cuphead and Bendy were walking behind Y/n. The toons were roughhousing without her noticing. Just as Bendy was about to push Cuphead to the ground, he got distracted.

Cuphead got out of the position and prepared to push Bendy in return, only to follow his teammate's gaze.

Y/n stood with her back to them, watching the colored lights twinkle. The illumination lit up her features as she turned back to look at the boys with a smile. Her eyes shone bright in the setting, radiance and glory emanating from her expression. 

Cuphead felt his entire being melt at the sight. Bendy was in a similar situation. Y/n had no mark of a warrior now but a goddess.

With what felt like eons but was only seconds, Bendy tore his gaze away and cleared his throat while nudging Cuphead.

“Well, I believe the others are waiting for us at the castle now,” Bendy excused.

~~~

Laughter and chattering arose from a candlelit room. At a long dining table sat six humans and seven toons, all eating and talking joyously.

Y/n was telling Ruck all about her day and everything they did, including driving a runaway sleigh and hitting Stinks with a sled. The older man smiled at his great-niece, ruffling her hair in admiration. 

Everything was great once again. No worries, no terror, no adrenaline. Just one big family bond holding differing people together.

A loud bang sounded, making every being look at the windows instantly. Outside, crackling in the sky, fireworks rained down. Slowly, some of the group made their way to the windows to watch the celebrations light up the night sky.

Nothing could break this moment of harmony. 

Merry Christmas.

[moonineighthhouse]

🌙🖤 Moon in the 8th House: A Dance of Shadows and Light 🖤🌙

artwork by Bailey Black

🌙🖤 Reflections on 8th House Connections 🖤🌙

For some reason I attract these type of relationships like crazy. I've got it with my dad, my younger brother, my best friend, my exes. my boss, and my current boyfriend and probably more people that I don't know about. I have my moon in my 9th house-the house of personal growth, travel and adventure. so I always end up being the moon in someone else's 8th house. I've read a lot of stuff on the internet where people romanticize it. People need to stop doing that. It's can be intense, passionate, and depending on how emotionally healthy you and the other person is at the time of the relationship-it can trigger insecurities in both individuals-partly due to the intense bonding/passion-thus causing a control issue in the relationship. Yes, the psychic thing is very real with all 8th house relationship. It can be healing, painful or both.

Here is a simple oveview of what I've learned about the various positions in the 8th house.

Artwork by Bailey Black

Moon Conjunct Moon: You'll be each other's mirror. (I got this with my current boyfriend. My moon is in his 8th house along with our moon being only 2 degrees apaprt!) Whatever insecure issues you got-the other person will have the same ones also. I see this in siblings a lot. If you're in a moon/moon 8th house relationship like me-you must (not an option) do a lot of emotional work-you and the other person need to be highly evolved or know how to regulate your emotions. It's not for immature and or emotionally unhealthy people. It can end up being one of the most defining relationships of your life or it will become the biggest regret of your life.

Sun Conjunct Moon: This is the classic “we’re two sides of the same coin.” Expect a deep emotional bond that feels like you’re sharing a secret language. It'll feel like you've known each other since you were kids even though you just met them a few minutes ago. You get each other on a soul level but don’t lose yourselves in the process. This feeling can get addictive. Again, make sure you spend time away from each other-it's so easy to lose yourself in this type of relationship and when it ends...you just want to tear your heart out... (I just want to add that sometimes the other person for whatever reason isn't ready for an intense relationship like this and so they may not return your affection or worse they run away from you. Either way it's painful-just from personal experience. You just have to remind yourself-its them and not you!)

Venus Conjunct Moon: Welcome to the romance zone! This combo brings emotional connection wrapped in affection. You’ll find beauty in being vulnerable. If you have this with with your mother or a same sex sibling/friend...it's the friends for life. With this person in your life-you know you they will always got your back!

Mars Conjunct Moon: Intense animalistic raw passionate energy🎸🔥It can burn out very easy, it can also lead to intense competition if you're not emotionally healthy. (fun fact-Marilyn Monroe had this alignment with Joe DiMaggio. She famously broke his heart and he never got over it. After her untimely death-DiMaggio faithfully placed a dozen pink baby roses on her grave every week until the end of his life)

Mercury Conjunct Moon: This relationship is one of the best to have for those looking for one that'll last a life time. It's great for work colleagues. You two will never be bore together, you'll always be doing something, got tons of projects going on and communication? that'll be this relationship's super power.

Jupiter Conjunct Moon: Get ready for emotional expansion and spiritual growth. This combo encourages optimism and adventure in your relationship. You’ll inspire each other to explore new emotional depths and experiences. Just remember to stay grounded; not every wild idea needs to be acted on! 🎢🖤(I got this with a very close friend. All we have to do is look at each other and we'll start laughing for no reason. We turn into 8 years old kids when we get together. Not every wild idea needs to be acted on? Ya, we need to follow our own advice more!)

Saturn Conjunct Moon: Lots of stability and commitment but it can reveal fears and insecurities-but this can lead to lots of healing if you're open to it. A great combo of everything that's good in a relationship but make sure you communicate and talk to each other.

Pluto Conjunct Moon: This is where transformation meets emotional intensity. Not always an easy relationship. A lot of love/hate/frenemy enemegy. It's a transformative relationship technically but it can also bring out a lot of darkness/revenge plotting/I would say be careful with this one. Requires a lot of maturity not age wise but emotional maturity.🖤

Artwork by Bailey Black

[zorya-reads]

Princess in Practice | Book Review.

The Rosewood Chronicles, Book Two

Let me just start by saying, I devoured this book in four sittings—similar to the first one, Undercover Princess. That’s right, folks, this series is the cure for the dreaded reading slump. If it’s not obvious due to it being a pretty light read, but for me, this was perfect to end the days crammed with stress and studies.

I’ll admit, I approached Undercover Princess with expectations so low, that they were practically burrowing underground: This was confirmed by the first two-thirds of the book. The prequel, however, helped me warm up to the characters, who felt more like old friends than cardboard cutouts this time around (Don't get me wrong! They're still cardboards, but we're making slight improvements). The prequel seemed to have matured a bit more than what we had with Undercover Princess, which was way more :sparkles_sparkles: and Barbie-charm school. (Not that this isn’t still the case. Oh God.)

Characters

I was surprised by how clear the internal conflicts are from Jamie’s and Ellie’s side, which I didn’t remember during my initial read at the age of seven. I loved seeing how Ellie’s insecurities were showing through sometimes.  But especially Jamie’s character managed to keep me at the edge of the page countless times: I often found myself unsure of how he would react to various situations, creating a sort of puzzle-solving experience, trying to piece together the pieces of his personality. To me, this created a sort of parallel between the character and me as a reader, as it effectively mirrored Lottie’s perspective. She, too, is constantly trying to figure Jamie out, and her uncertainty allowed me to share in her confusion and curiosity. With this in mind, I adored the Jamie-and-Lottie side of the triangle, which had the most screen time and exploration this time around. (Revisiting their dynamic totally reminded me why my seven-year-old self shipped them. LOL) However, the focus on Jamie and Lottie came at the expense of Ellie and Lottie’s relationship, which felt underdeveloped in this book (or just cringe and rushed), and I especially wish that we had more of Ellie here. 

Aside from our charming trio: While I’ve started to appreciate the characters, they’re still flatter than a pancake. Most characters are plot devices, and it’s painfully obvious with Lola, Mickey, and the newly introduced character, Percy (oh wow, Percy’s important later? Groundbreaking!). Fingers crossed for some actual internal conflicts and growth because right now, they’re all vibes, no substance.

Plot, Themes

Another thing that surprised me, especially given my lack of prior knowledge and very very low expectations, was how it revisited and intricately wove scenes from the first book. These moments, which previously felt incomplete or unclear, began to make sense with the new information we gained, resolving many of the questions I had lingering after book one.  This finally convinced me that the series was carefully constructed as a whole rather than just an arbitrary extension of the first book—something I had strongly doubted back then. (Is it too obvious that I wasn’t a fan of the writing in the first book? Oops.) The theme of family, which is central to the narrative, was executed particularly well in both parts one and two: My favourite scene was the Halloween party, where the author brilliantly blended the fun, energy, and passage of time with the growing danger that shadows the story … candy, sweets and chocolate. :D The holiday spirit created a perfect backdrop for a shift in tone, and when Binah suggests a séance, to progress the subplot, it fits amazingly. Lottie and the gang sneaking off to perform was amazing to showcase Lottie’s disregard for her duty as well—tied in beautifully with the family theme. It was a chef’s kiss moment for me, truly! However, as much as I enjoyed the first two parts, the exploration of Lottie’s past, which climaxes in part two, loses momentum in part three. Here, I felt there was missed potential. For example, the opportunity to delve deeper into Lola and Mickey’s father to explore Lottie’s emotional aftermath, was largely overlooked. This left the resolution feeling incomplete.

minor pet peeve

Speaking of wasted potential, I’m still fuming over how chapters 34 and 35 weren’t expanded on. These chapters could have served as a major continuation of the book’s opening. I was genuinely interested in the looming threat to Lottie’s identity being exposed and how that would be resolved, especially given the underlying tension with Ollie. They didn’t even properly address it during their encounter from earlier in the book, which left this plotline badly. (And considering the underlying family theme it makes zero sense to not explore this further????) And don’t even get me started on Jamie and Lottie’s concerns about leaving Ellie unattended. Jamie’s dilemma, in particular, was practically begging for a few more pages, yet it barely got any attention. While the scene itself was intriguing, its placement immediately before another field trip completely disrupted the pacing, making it feel out of place. In fact, you could have removed the entire Ollie plotline from the book, and nothing would have changed. Personally, I’m still grateful for it—just a little—but I really, really, REALLY hope it gets the attention it deserves in the following books. Because as it stands, this was just not it.

Personal Thoughts

A personal revelation I found interesting was how wildly inaccurate my memory of the book was upon rereading it. Take the Lollie kiss scene, for instance. I vividly remember it happening because—apparently—both were poisoned, and while Ingrid was present, leading to the awkward aftermath. Honestly, I have NO FUCKING IDEA how my 7-year-old self managed to comprehend it that way. My best guess is that when I first read it with my mom, we got through only part of the book before stopping, and because we were reading at a much slower pace than I would’ve on my own, I likely grew bored with the story — I distinctly recall hating the whole Leviathan aspect. (Still do, Still do. My new most favourite evil evil idiot evil corp.) So, I probably sped through the rest of the book just to get it over with, which would also explain why I don't remember anything about the third book. Rereading it almost a decade later, however, really allowed me the space to understand the story more. It’s funny how much context and nuance can get lost on a younger reader, and how much more can be appreciated with time … or by actually READING than skimming.

I watched some of the promotional material for the books, and honestly, you can feel how much Glynn adores her characters and the world she’s built. (I mean, she was a boarding school student, so that checks out. But even then, Lottie gives off major self-insert vibes, doesn’t she?) However, it’s still evident that the book deal happened because of her YouTube platform, not because of her penmanship. And, yeah, that shows.

And while the writing is "questionable at times," I’ve somehow started having fun with it—though mostly in an “aww, look at my very naive younger self” kind of way—not taking it seriously at all. And on that level? It works. It’s ridiculous, addictive, and a total blast, so yeah, I’ll definitely be sticking around until book five.

Considering how surprised I was by a spoiler/twist I recently stumbled upon regarding book three, I’m pretty sure I’ll be going into the next book of the series completely blind. But I’m super excited about it, and can't wait to see where the story takes me next. *wink wink*

✧ Read All Chapter Reactions

[dawnleaf37]

@spiderwebd regretevator

Regretevator (Game) is similar to The Normal Elevator from older days of roblox, being that you enter an elevator and it will arrive on a myriad of different floors to explore, minigames to complete, or just . Funny Thing

The Regretevator (the actual Elevator) is an interdimensional form of travel that is used by various entities to get around. It is confirmed to be able to go Anywhere. and seems to be able to transcend time and space which is always fun

The game features 70+ floors currently, and has a certain style of humor to it, but what really makes it are the NPCs, interactable characters, some of which can enter the elevator and some of which cannot. Im going to recap the ones who will enter very quickly, so sorry for the imagespam here:

Mannequin_Mark

A mannequin(which is a species produced by a factory) named mark. Woodcarver as a job, has a coworker named Jim. Hates concrete. Southern accent. Divorced from Wallter.

Wallter

Used to be a human, drank cement, is now concrete. Generally nice dude. Thinks concrete is better than wood. Tall as fuck. Divorced from Mark.

PartyNoob

Often shortened to Poob. Loves parties if you couldn't tell. Can kill you if you slap them like 10 times. You can slap them. theres something so so so so fucking wrong with them holy fucking shit oh my god. oh my god oh my g Keep this asshole in Mind. Keep them in mind ple;as

Pest

Actual name is PartyGuest. Builds robots. Steals money from you. Speaks Japanese. Yes they are a bug beetle to be specific. Asshole

Lampert

Found in the 3008 level yes theres a 3008 level yes i love it. Germophobic, clean everything. Zoomies he is zoomies. Despises Infected, but knew him as Kasper

Infected

Diseased when he bought a freemodel with a virus in it. Perpetually trapped as a scene kid. Had a cat. No longer has a cat. Used to be named Kasper, infection made him forget

Unpleasant

It;s the fucking unpleasent gradient meme. does jackshit. some people headcanon that it ate infecteds cat and i think thats the funniest shit

Split

Species called a fruitaur or something, banana-snail-horse-dog-girl. Hosts a wipeout-like show named Splitsville. Lesbian. canonically has feelings for bive

Bive

Completely made of hair. Conspiracy theorist. this is just touch tone telephone. canonically has feelings for Split. may seem crazy but she Knows things

Reddy

It;s freddy from fnaf but for Red Ball Diner, go look up gregoriah regretevator and tell me how gender he looks

DrRETRO

Animal Jam emote. framed for many crimes. Also knows things. Shoots lasers out of her eyes that will either kill you or heal you. meows

Gnarpy

that fucking cat everyones nuts about. Alien. Abducted Spud! and did shit to them. proud xe/they swag. was redesigned cause the creator was an ass :/

Spud!

yes the exclamation point is part of the name. was a camp councilor, got abducted by gnarpy and experimented on, is this now. that line is his mouth btw. if you click it 200 times it will explode. please be nice to them :(

Pilby

Clown fired from job after to bad of stage fright. They are just a sad thing tbh

Prototype

lovely little robot, if a bit glitchy and unfinished. VERY nicey ! a researcher, learns info on everythings for their database! my friend made this one :3!

FleshCousin

(invasive)Species of shapeshifters. Repeats words back at you in jumbled wordsalad. they dont seem malicious i dont think . my favorite. ever. the best

Jermbo

a cat

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

There's more NPCs but i just covered the basic ones(new one being added soon made by my friend as well :3333333333)

BASICISH LORE SHIT:

this is MR

it is an effigy for a spirit and when it enters the elevator it has a chance to cut the lights and burn any NPC in the elevator. EXCEPT FOR FUCKING POOB. the spirit that inhabits MR is also the same one that protects poob. and if you look close at the game youll see POOB SI FUCKING EVERYWHEREi have to stop here before i go fucking insane but the basic premise is these two are tied and i dont know why or what how whatthe fuckkkk theres a whole lot more like theres a damn religion surrounding it and symbolism of the axolotl sun which means something but fuck FUCK!!!!

[keekee-23]

Date Night

A Y/N x Damian Priest Fluff Fanfiction

Damian Priest and Y/N had been together for a couple of months now. They were on the hunt for something exciting to do, something that would make their blood pump with excitement. Y/N suggested they visit the carnival in the city nearby, hoping to experience something new and create lasting memories.

The sounds of laughter and music filled the air as they arrived at the carnival. It was bustling with people, and there was an energy around them that was infectious. The two of them roamed around, taking in all of the bright colors from the rides, the smells from the street food stalls, and the happy faces that surrounded them. Y/N grabbed Damian's arm, pulling him along so that they could explore more.

As they walked around, they became more drawn to each other, their arms linked together with each step they took. Eventually, they found a quiet corner away from the bustle of the crowd, where they shared a deep kiss full of passion. Neither of them wanted to end the moment as they were lost in one another's embrace.

Eventually though, they had to part from each other to get back to exploring the carnival. Their first stop was the street food stalls: Damian enjoyed deep-fried Oreos while Y/N devoured her funnel cake. After satisfying their cravings, they decided to try their hand at some of the carnival games.

They found a game stall with a sign that read “Knock down the cans and win a prize!” Damian had always wanted to try this game, and he eagerly handed over some coins to the man running it. He stood several yards away, and after a few tries, he managed to knock down all the cans in one throw. Y/N cheered him on, delighted that he had won the prize.

“What did you get?” she asked excitedly, eager to see what it was.

“A teddy bear!” Damian said, lifting the plush toy up for Y/N to see. She smiled and thanked him for the gift before kissing him on the cheek.

The two of them then proceeded to play other carnival games such as throwing darts, ring toss, basketball hoops, and other various games where they were competitive with each other, laughing and having a lot of fun.

Once they had their fill, they moved on to the rides. Y/N's eyes lit up when she saw the Ferris wheel and grabbed Damian's hand eagerly.

“Oh, let’s go on that one!” she said, pointing at the enormous wheel.

Damian felt his stomach drop as he looked up – heights had never been his forte. Y/N seemed to read his mind and lightly grabbed onto his waist.

"Come on," she said encouragingly, "it'll give us a beautiful view of all the lights, and I'll be with you the whole time. It will be fun, I promise."

Damian looked at her skeptically but couldn't resist her sunny smile. He sighed and nodded. “Alright, I guess we can go on the Ferris wheel.”

Y/N smiled and grabbed his hand, leading him towards the Ferris wheel.

As they waited in line, Damian and Y/N watched the others already on the Ferris wheel, spinning around slowly in their bright blue and green cars. The night sky was a brilliant canvas of twinkling stars, and the glowing lights of the carnival made for a beautiful sight.

Once they were settled into their car and the wheel began to move, Damian held tightly onto Y/N’s hand, trying to focus on the beauty of the night sky, instead of the dizzying heights. Y/N looked over at him, her eyes full of understanding and compassion. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze, and Damian could feel some of his fear dissipate.

As Damian and Y/N ascended to the peak of the Ferris wheel, he couldn't believe his eyes. He was confronted with a night sky illuminated by billions of stars that glistened like diamonds stretched out against a deep sapphire blanket. The lights from the carnival twinkled in the darkness below them, looking beautiful and inviting.

Damian felt a sense of awe as he took it all in, forgetting for a moment his fear of heights. Then he became aware of the wonderfully warm sensation that was coming from Y/N's small hand intertwined with his, squeezing him affectionately and giving him strength. They looked at each other, eyes aglow with love. He smiled tenderly and said, “I'm so lucky to have you here with me.”

Y/N blushed as a gentle smile lit up her face. "No," she said softly, her voice caressing him like a summer breeze. "I'm the lucky one because I get to share this beautiful moment with you." She leaned in and planted a passionate kiss on his lips.

The Ferris wheel descended, and the two stepped off. Damian had a feeling of lightness and joy in his heart, a feeling that had been a long time coming. As they walked away, they both knew that this carnival had become a special place for them and that the memory of this ride would stay with them forever.

[presidenthades]

Once again, I am doing a series of my behind-the-scenes thoughts for The Golds while I do light edits for formatting, typos, and continuity. Here’s Chapter 4!

For this chapter’s title, I picked the Crone’s lyrics from “The Song of the Seven” because Old Willow—who is a crone, as a wise older woman—is so important to this chapter.

Detective Aegon was one of the things I was most excited about as I wrote this fic. The idea was born when I read that TGC interview where he said Aegon is “intelligent and has a keen eye for the weak spots for others.” I extrapolated that as Aegon being observant about what makes people tick, which made me think about Sherlock, then I realized my version of Aegon would love being a detective. He gets to run around the city, meet interesting people, and feel a bunch of adrenaline/endorphins/dopamine.

I think Aegon is also very driven by the pursuit of dopamine. In canon, this manifests in his heavy dependency on wine and sex. In this verse, he gets tons of dopamine from his interactions with Jace. But since Jace is preoccupied with the pregnancy and governance and court, he’s deprived at the moment. So in this chapter, he explores his newfound detective hobby which makes him a bit less dependent on Jace for gratification—but not much. Still a simp for his wife 🥲.

Aegon is a night owl, Jace is an early bird. This isn’t an issue in the early days of their marriage because…well, they’re pretty much having sex whenever they’re in the bedroom, and sleep is optional 😂. But the honeymoon period tapers off right around when they discover the pregnancy, and it’s also when Jace’s LIWs are getting accustomed to their roles. The LIWs in particular are jarring for Aegon. LIWs are supposed to have lots of access to their mistress’ rooms, which isn’t a big deal in a traditional marriage where the husband and wife keep separate rooms, and the husband usually sends a message in advance if he wants to “visit” his wife at night. But Aegon has moved in with Jace, and whereas he views the LIWs as intruding on his private time with his wife, the LIWs view him as impeding their ability to do their job.

I decided that Arryk likes Aegon more than Erryk does (another reason the twins choose different sides in the Dance), and that’s why Aegon thinks Arryk is more fun. Erryk was more judgmental during Aegon’s debauchery days whereas Arryk was more chill. As a result, Aegon learned to tell the difference between them, because he wanted to be sure which twin he’s been saddled with. But Aegon likes to mess with people, so he deliberately gets Erryk’s name wrong because Erryk is annoying/inconveniencing him by dragging him to Viserys.

In the show, Aegon/TGC throws some truly hateful glares at Viserys, but at the same time his dialogue shows he longs for his father’s approval. Here, Aegon clings to that resentment (simmering not burning) but is much less interested in Viserys’s approval. He has plenty of approval and affection from Jace, so even though it stings that Viserys doesn’t care, Aegon can shrug it off more easily because he has something/someone better.

Viserys’s story in the show about the horses and coloring, and various comments about how he would’ve been happier as a simple country lord than as king, inspired me to give him amateur agricultural interests. He’s never done any actual farming, but he likes to read about it and daydream about his alternate universe life.

As I hope I made clear in the scene, Viserys is having this conversation for Jace’s benefit rather than Aegon’s. His favoritism for Rhaenyra’s line continues to abound in this universe, and he follows the old-fashioned school of thought that pregnant woman should refrain from having sex, ostensibly to protect the fetus.

In an early draft, Alicent was the one who had a similar conversation with Aegon to leave Jace alone. Alicent’s desire for this conversation was born from her own experience of being relieved not to have to continue having sex with her husband while pregnant. But I changed it because a) Alicent already has enough haters and I didn’t want to add fuel to the fire, and b) it was more thematically appropriate for Viserys to have this talk, since this is a story about Aegon’s journey to fatherhood and I always planned for him to have some kind of “confrontation” with Viserys near the end of the fic. So I needed another scene that highlights the friction between Aegon and Viserys…also I had a lot of fun with the agricultural metaphors 😂.

When Aegon wanders the city at the beginning of this chapter, he is content but aimless. Although he thinks this is exactly what he wants—freedom to do nothing of consequence and just run around—deep down he wants something more purposeful. He needs some kind of goal/target or he falls into a bored malaise, as he does later in the chapter. The detective adventures eventually fill this need, then later taking care of Jace after her kidnapping, then eventually assuming a role in the game to protect his family.

House Tyrell has no history of being kings, and they still seem like they’re finding their footing as lord paramount of the Reach at this point in time. House Hightower is a very old and revered house with a history of being kings, so I feel like Aegon and his siblings may have inherited an ancestral disdain of the Tyrells 😂.

Jace loves roses, but I imagine a Tyrell lady at the garden party getting snooty about how “roses are so very Tyrell.” Similar to Jace’s feelings about colors, she feels like sigils—especially something as common as a rose—shouldn’t belong to any one family.

I did a lot of research about pregnancy for this fic. I came across a few stories of pregnant people getting nauseated during sex because of the jostling movements. I thought that would be very unfortunate for Jace and Aegon…so I made it happen 🙈. And it adds to Aegon’s growing feeling that his presence is a burden during Jace’s pregnancy.

The LIWs are there to make Jace’s life easier, not Aegon’s. So Jace views them as very helpful while Aegon (who is actually a “private” person at heart re: how he wants to live his life) sees them as intruders. This change isn’t sudden but gradual, taking place over the span of several weeks, like the frog in boiling water metaphor. It doesn’t occur to Aegon to protest until it’s too late, and even then, he sees how the LIWs are helping her a lot and he doesn’t want to take that from her. So he doesn’t say anything to Jace.

The LIWs have a designated solar they could hang out in, but they’re eager to stay close to Jace while she’s ill and nauseated. I also think they’re following Rhaena’s example, and Rhaena is used to having free rein to Jace’s rooms. And I don’t want to throw even more shade on Elinor, but her crush on Aegon is compelling her to go to Jace’s rooms fairly early in the morning in the hopes of catching him shirtless 🤭.

Overall, the line “there was no room for Aegon in Jacaera’s chambers when her ladies occupied it” encapsulates a lot of his feelings of being squeezed out of Jace’s life while she’s dealing with so many other things.

I read in a fanfic somewhere (no idea which fic) the theory that dragons are assumed male until they show signs of gestation or lay eggs. I like this theory because it helps explain why so many dragons seem to be male, and F&B has a line quibbling about the rumor that Vermax laid eggs at Winterfell (I think it’s Eustace who lambastes the theory that dragons can change sex). If Vermax did lay eggs, the “assumed male until otherwise proven” theory jives with him being called male previously. Also, I don’t know how dragon anatomy works, but one can assume that it’s difficult to tell males and females apart as hatchlings, and by the time they develop reproductive parts, you don’t really want to be examining them too closely.

I also wanted to make Vermax female so she and Sunfyre could parallel Jace and Aegon. Jace’s first pregnancy coincides with Vermax’s first gestation, and there’s some foreshadowing with Vermax’s three eggs later 👀. Also, I make the dragons’ personalities reflective of their riders’. Vermax is very docile and calm, while Sunfyre is a horny daredevil.

In this chapter, Aegon is still struggling to come to terms with impending fatherhood. He can’t help but feel like the pregnancy has been coming in between him and Jace rather than bringing them closer together, he’s got a lot of his own daddy issues to work out, and he’s still in a “I do what a want, no responsibilities” mindset. But even now, he secretly wants to grow and mature out of this; he imagines placing a dragon egg in his child’s cradle, and it gives him some warm fuzzies.

I imagine there’s a lot of conflict between the maesters and Targaryens whether it’s safe for pregnant women to ride dragons. The maesters wouldn’t consider it safe to ride horses, and riding dragons seems even more dangerous. Meanwhile the Targs are confident in their dragon bonds protecting them. My headcanon is that Rhaenyra and other female dragonriders, unless they’re exceptionally bold/reckless, at least spend their first pregnancy on the ground to be safe. But if that pregnancy goes well, they’re a lot more confident about flying during later pregnancies. Jace is already a cautious person by nature, so she would abide by the maesters’ recommendations.

Jace honestly doesn’t need to/shouldn’t do so many Small Council things right now, but she’s an overachiever. In the modern world, she’s the kind of person who volunteers for all the extra projects at work so she can prove herself. Aegon calls himself a lazy person with a skewed sense of what is urgent, but in this case, he’s actually right about Jace doing too much. One of his weaknesses: he thinks Jace is so perfect that he hesitates to tell her when she’s in the wrong.

Ever since the witch shouted at Joff during the wedding parade, Joff has been thinking a lot about her. She’s been trying to research what the witch said but she’s reached a dead end, so now the only avenue is going straight to the source. I dropped hints in Chapter 2 of the Handbook that Aegon was Joff’s curse tablet dealer, so she goes to him for help. Aegon is a skeptic about witchcraft at this point in the story, but we know that changes later.

Joff has a talent for insulting Targ men where it hurts. Daemon bore the brunt of it in the Handbook, but now it’s Aegon’s turn with the “big baby” comments 😂.

I’ll probably come up with more backstory for Old Willow in Joff’s fic. I imagine her to have genuine powers of some sort (foresight/prophecy at the very least). She isn’t super powerful, but the people around her respect/fear her as the real deal. She makes her money mostly by doing non-magic witchy things, like brewing moon tea, which is in higher demand and more affordable than the occasional curse tablet.

Joff has a prickly personality, but she can and will fight people in defense of her sisters 🤺.

The puncture wounds on Old Willow’s body are from the longshoreman hook that the Tyroshi sometimes carries around. Her death is over-the-top because, as is established in later chapters, the Tyroshi is a sadist. He decides to kill her because she supplied the love/beauty charm to the whore Daisy, so he deems Old Willow guilty as an accomplice.

Because Joff has been thinking about Old Willow a lot, she’s also been thinking about the curse tablet she used several years ago. I’ve deliberately been ambiguous in the story text about what exactly Joff did with the tablet, but many readers have pieced together that Laenor’s death was involved somehow. So Joff has been thinking a lot about her father’s death, and the guilt she’s feeling seeps into her reaction to Old Willow’s death. Old Willow’s death does greatly inconvenience Joff’s little quest, but Joff is also feeling a lot of things about murder victims and the loved ones they leave behind.

Old Willow’s murder was very different in early drafts. Originally the Tyroshi wasn’t involved at all, and Daisy was the murderer because she blamed Old Willow for the love/beauty charm wearing off, and the random whore on the street played a bigger role in helping Aegon investigate. But as I reassessed how I wanted the second half of the fic to go, I reorganized the side characters’ roles and reduced the unnecessary minor characters so they didn’t distract too much from the main story.

Aegon sometimes makes questionable decisions (is it really a good idea to bring a 9-year-old princess to Flea Bottom without any guards at night?), but he has a few “eldest sibling” instincts that foretell what he’ll be like as a father. He tries to keep Joff out of actual trouble (don’t anger the locals, don’t open the bottle that might be poison), shows empathy to her (realizes this must be the first dead body she’s seen even though Joff acts dark and morbid), and gives Joff time to sort through her messy emotions about the witch’s death (lets her investigate the hut instead of immediately dragging her out—although he could also be criticized for letting a kid linger around a dead body). Basically, as a big brother/uncle/good-brother, he’s pretty indulgent and lets Joff explore her interests so to speak, but he intervenes if he suspects imminent danger. After Cheeseball is born, Aegon is understandably very protective of him. But when Cheeseball grows old enough, I see Aegon as being willing to let him run around and potentially fall and scrape his knees, because that’s just a natural part of life and relatively harmless—but Aegon would absolutely stop Cheeseball from running off the edge of a cliff.

I made Joff an early bird because I wanted to thwart the trope that dark witchy character = night owl 😄.

Bethany likes teasing Elinor about her crush on Aegon, hence the little exchange about Elinor making a good posset. But if Bethany suspected Elinor actually wanted to seduce Aegon (which she doesn’t), I think Bethany would draw the line and might even tattle on Elinor. We see in Chapter 5 that Bethany takes her duty to Jace seriously when it matters.

Aegon is right about Jace not enjoying gruesome murder stories, and telling her about his and Joff’s adventures right then would’ve kept her awake for a long time. But his quality time with Jace is limited so he doesn’t get a chance to tell her about it before the feast disaster. The miscommunication trope can be tricky because it’s so easy to make the people involve ridiculously stupid for plot reasons, so I was trying my best to lay the foundations for genuine reasons they wouldn’t have the opportunity to talk to each other. And the miscommunication doesn’t last for long. I think it’s a week at most between Aegon and Joff going to Flea Bottom and the feast.

Just like Vermax and Sunfyre parallel Jace and Aegon, I wanted Syrax and Caraxes to parallel their riders. Rhaenyra has plenty of thoughts about Aegon as Jace’s husband, but she views it as a good thing if a couple has a healthy sex life, hence Syrax’s lack of concern. Meanwhile Caraxes shares Daemon’s antipathy toward Aegon/Sunfyre 😂.

Gyles is jittery because the Tyroshi has been increasing his demands for payment, which Gyles can’t fulfill. A little foreshadowing for later in the chapter.

I priced a bottle of moon tea at three pennies because that’s the price of a fresh fruit tart during Robert’s reign. Ignoring things like inflation, I thought that was a good benchmark: affordable for the smallfolk, but for a whore who’s barely making it on the streets, she has to choose between the moon tea or eating that day. Aegon has selfish motivations when he gives her the entire crate in exchange for information, but it’s a huge windfall for her, especially if she can sell or trade the moon tea she isn’t using herself.

Old Willow warns her customers that magic always has a price (a recurring theme in ASOIAF). I’m sure she warned Joff when she first bought the curse tablet, and the consequences of that event led Joff to stop digging as much into magic the last few years. But Joff is tempted when she gets her hands on the glass candle, and she learns that lesson again later in this fic.

Aegon compares the whore to a courtier because he’s realizing that all people are fundamentally the same, they just wear different clothes and have more or less money. No matter what level of society, everyone loves gossip/scandal.

The rumors of Daisy’s death are not entirely true, but they’re not too far off the mark, and you can see how the rumors developed based on the true version (as told by the madam). Usually the rumors are worse than the truth, but in this case, parts of the truth are even worse than the rumors.

The description of the Garden’s building is intended to evoke a sense of lukewarm attempts to prettify something miserable at its core, like the girls who work there. I added the detail of the woman drinking on the roof because if she falls and breaks her neck, oh well, it’s not like her life was that great 😢.

Undercover!Aegon is the obvious next step in the evolution of Detective!Aegon. Other than his hair color, he doesn’t have as striking Valyrian features like Aemond and Daemon, and he’s mingled enough with the commoners that he can imitate their mannerisms. (Just imagine Aemond trying to pull off that disguise 💀.)

Even though Aemond is right there, Daeron chooses to run to Aegon for advice on girls/women instead. Aegon actually managed to marry the woman he wanted while Aemond is stuck in a flirty limbo, so Daeron concludes that Aegon is the more successful brother 😂. S2 might change my mind, but S1 Aemond is NOT a womanizer/smooth talker/expert on the fairer sex. The same applies in this AU, although Aemond is fairly well-versed in one particular woman…but even so, he still puts his foot in his mouth a lot.

Aegon is NOT shy about nudity lmao. He seems pretty content to loaf around in various states of undress in canon, and so is he here.

I love writing parallel scenes. In Chapter 3, we got Jace having sisterly bonding with Joff and Helaena, and now it’s Aegon’s turn to have brotherly bonding with Daeron and Aemond. And again, Aegon’s traits as a brother foretell what he might be like as a father. He caves underneath Daeron’s puppy face and indulges Daeron in a city outing so he can buy presents for Joff, but when they’re about to enter a sticky situation with the investigation, he tries to send Daeron home. Just imagine what Aegon will be like when Cheeseball gets his first crush 🥰.

Aegon’s statement “I never make Jace angry” was the universe setting him up to make her angry 💀. But Aegon was also kinda right about how groveling stops Jace being angry, because we see him talk his way out of the doghouse in Chapter 5.

I am convinced by the Episode 8 last supper scene that Aegon and Aemond have some brotherly telepathy going on, and that telepathy is even stronger in this verse where they’ve spent more time together in the Stepstones. Hence their ten-second silent exchange where they plan what to do about the mysterious noise in the hatch.

Notice that Aegon instinctively reassures Ronnel and cleans him up a bit. Big brother/dad instincts coming in 🥰. Aegon categorically refuses to help Ronnel with the bathroom (Ronnel wasn’t asking for help anyway, he was asking permission to go), but when it comes to his own kid? See Chapter 10 and how Aegon very studiously helps Cheeseball pass gas 😂.

Gyles and Ronnel know who Aegon is, but they call him “milord” because they aren’t used to interacting with highborns and they figure that address is suitable for anyone of noble birth. Aegon isn’t fussy about addresses and titles so he never corrected them.

Aemond has been doing his homework about dockworkers while at Driftmark. He wants to impress his future grandfather-in-law 😆.

Daeron and Ronnel are the same age, but Ronnel looks younger. Daeron has grown up on a rich diet and ample physical training. Ronnel has never gone hungry, but he doesn’t get as much variety in his diet as Daeron does, and the physical labor that Ronnel does (helping his father make pies) isn’t very conducive to body-building.

Daemon followed the Targbros because he’s nosy and curious about what would get all three of them out of the castle on an important day for Aegon. He got bored during the shopping trip and but became intrigued again when they discovered the abduction, and now he’s piecing together why Aegon has been acting so oddly the past week. Daemon is sticking around for the adventure so he can gather more information about Aegon’s doings, and because a kidnapping ring in the city is something that would interest most people. But also I think Daemon has been bored with domesticity and he wanted a bit of adventure 😂.

This is the point when Aegon forgets about the feast. His acquaintance/sort-of-friend has been violently kidnapped. That’s a big deal! And this is the kind of adrenaline rush that he enjoys. If he did remember the feast, I think Aegon would still embark on the rescue mission, but he would’ve at least sent a message back to the castle (or convinced Daeron to bring the message back).

I am sorry (not really), but I couldn’t resist making the pun “a stream of grizzled seamen trickled through” the brothel 🙈.

Yes, the madam got very excited by the prospect of three pretty Targaryen men. Can’t really blame her.

The madam mentions her “halfwit” guard. This is actually the brother she mentions in Chapter 6, whom the Tyroshi kidnaps to force her into helping him. I imagine the brother as a sweet and innocent guy, so I like to think he makes it out of the ordeal just fine and returns to the Garden. All the girls there like him, and he’s a large guy (I keep imagining someone like Hodor), so he can intimidate most customers who get too rowdy.

Currency fluctuates a lot in the ASOIAF universes, but at one point a gold dragon is the price of a horse. So that’s a lot of money Aegon is offering the madam, although of course as a prince, it isn’t much money to him. 100 gold dragons is apparently a reasonable ransom for a younger son of a noble family, so when the madam asks for 50 gold dragons for the building, she’s basically saying two of her building is equivalent to a ransom for Oscar Tully or Garmund Hightower.

Aegon claims not to care about royal titles or privileges, but he can still be a snob about things like carrying around a ridiculous amount of money (he’s got people for that). As Queen Clarisse Renaldi once said, “It’s not appropriate for royalty to jingle.”

“Help me, I’m drunk” was 100% inspired by “Get help” from Thor 3. I feel like all the distraction names are pretty self-explanatory. But in pretty much every variation, Aegon is the distraction because he’s a showboat, while Aemond ninja murders everybody.

One of the warehouse guards uses the phrase “pretty girl,” which is Aegon’s pet name for Jace, so that triggers him in addition to everything else.

The rescue is when Gyles becomes Aegon’s number one hype man. I had to delete some scenes with Gyles later in the fic because they didn’t flow well, but there’s a scene where Gyles says he wants to teach his son good values like loyalty, and he cites his loyalty to Aegon as an example.

The Garden’s girls stick around to watch the arrests. The night’s events improve their opinions of the Targs (Aegon in particular). There are other factors, like Aegon’s chill managerial style and him selling the brothel for almost-free to Liane, but this is part of the good karma that pays off later when Jace needs help.

Aegon does enjoy the gratitude he receives for the rescue, similarly to how in canon he laps up the crowd’s adoration during his coronation. So that dopamine hit adds to the appeal of continuing his detective work.

The Gyles & Ronnel reunion makes an impact on Aegon because it’s the first time he’s really seeing a loving father-son relationship and affection. It’s sort of a turning point that plants a seed in his mind of what sort of father he wants to be to his unborn child, because now he has evidence there’s an alternative to what he grew up with. Also, note how Aegon feels like a voyeur to this emotional intimacy, but he’s entirely unaffected by physical intimacy like what happens at the brothel.

Originally the chapter dragged on longer with a scene where the Targs help Gyles and Ronnel move their stuff into the Red Keep, because Aegon offers Gyles a job on the spot. There was a whole comedic bit where Gyles reveals the giant cheese wheel that got him into trouble with the Tyroshi. But I decided it would be better to end the chapter where it did, with Aegon realizing his mistake 🤭.

Chapter 5 commentary here

[bookaddict24-7]

REVIEWS OF THE WEEK!

EVERY WEEK I WILL POST A VARIOUS REVIEWS I’VE WRITTEN SO FAR IN 2024. YOU CAN CHECK OUT MY GOODREADS FOR MORE UP-TO-DATE REVIEWS HERE.

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8. That Time I Got Drunk & Saved A Demon by Kimberly Lemming--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

First five-star read of 2024 🙏🏽

My friends have read this book and LOVED it, so I don't know why I'm lowkey surprised by how much I enjoyed this. I thought it would be a cheesy and slightly boring read (I didn't read the synopsis, okay? Sue me.) But what I got was SO far from that. Full of adventure, heart, sexual tension, and hilarious sass, I found myself laughing and paying rapt attention.

I loved the MC and her responses and commentary. I can see myself re-reading this just to highlight all of her sass. She's one of those contemporary characters set in a fantastical world that helps keep these kinds of stories light and fun. There's a scene where the demon just stares at her like "Okay, so we are definitely getting married" and I don't even blame him. This woman is a BADASS.

I loved their exploration of their world and how quick it was. Some readers might want more setting development, but honestly? I'm happy with how light and straightforward it was. I also really liked the side characters and how the demon just takes out anyone he wants, especially if they threaten the MC.

This was fun and everything I wish that other cozy fantasy book had given me. The new editions of the other two books have already been preordered 😌.

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9. The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

THE THING ABOUT JELLYFISH perfectly encompasses the tortures of middle school, the changing of the people we once called friends, and the effects of grief and how a child's mind may twist in ways that might help them comprehend the reality of death.

Ali Benjamin does a fantastic job of drawing out the history of her MC and her friend. The way they both changed and how the MC came to choosing to stay silent verbally for the majority of the book. Watching her trying to find reasons for why her friend has died was heartbreaking. I can't imagine being a parent in that situation, where you know you can't help your child comprehend the change in their reality.

Also, middle school is a cruel place for a lot of kids (hi, I was one of its victims) and the levels of evil some of these kids get up to is truly astounding. It broke me a little watching this friendship fall apart and this poor, young MC having to remember the last moment she saw her friend alive.

Sometimes things just happen and this whole book is, ultimately, a great source for children grieving. Life can be messy, confusing, and sometimes heartbreaking. Benjamin's novel is beautiful and this is another one of those middle grade books that I think adults AND kids should be reading.

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10. The Skull by Jon Klassen--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

If no one has read any other Jon Klassen books, then they're in for a surprise. If they have, then they'll recognize the eeriness of his writing.

You can't tell me that the hat books aren't creepy (there's a couple of pages where the big fish CLEARLY eats the little fish in the long grass). This guy is morbid and props to kids' authors who can write a book both for kids and adults.

The artwork was beautiful as always and the story was a very, very quick read. Perfect for those 5-7 year olds who want to try something themselves but don't mind a talking skeleton or skull.

This also got reeeeeeal dark at one point and I was just thinking of how some of the Gen Alpha kids are.

Highly recommend--especially for those littles who love a little spooky with their bedtime stories.

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11. The Fiancée Farce by Alexandria Bellefleur--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Romantic, at times funny, spicy, and full of characters I wanted to punch in the dick, THE FIANCÉE FARCE was entertaining from beginning to end.

Much like many of my reading experiences, I jumped into this without knowing what I was getting myself into and imagine my joy and surprise when the trope of "marriage of convenience" popped up. I loved watching these characters fall in love with each other, and I loved seeing the thwart the horrible people in their lives. I also loved that one of the MCs has a massive love for reading (shown through her family's bookstore).

Was this the best romance I've ever read? Not really--it had some pretty obvious climactic points and some very over the top villains--but it held my attention and I fell for the couple. I loved that one helped the other find her confidence that had been stripped from her at a younger age.

One of the things that keeps me from giving this a five star rating is how...in a bubble this story feels? Like, we meet other characters as they serve their purpose (as is the usual) but if they're not in the scene, it's like they don't exist. There's one scene where one particular character doesn't speak and it's a pretty pivotal moment for the reader to pay extra attention because this is a huge hint about this character, but Bellefleur doesn't even hint at it? It's like that character is deleted from the scene. This is like taking the adage of "when you're with me, I only see you" and using it to the max.

Other than that, this was an entertaining and sexy story of proving assholes wrong and falling in love despite you believing that you're not deserving of love. Highly recommend for enough looking for a cute romance full of family drama and fake relationships!

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12. Ana On the Edge by A.J. Sass--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Such a powerful story!

One of my favourite messages that ANA ON THE EDGE could potentially give young readers that it is OKAY to be in the process of trying to figure out who you are, but also that it's okay to not have all of the answers at once.

We see the MC struggle with their identity and their relationships throughout the whole book, especially because their world has always seemingly had such clear cut gender norms (Ice skating is a huge part of her world). I can't even imagine trying to find who you are when everyone around you is imposing who they think you are on you.

I also enjoyed that we got to see some of the more pivotal relationships in the MCs life and that messy in-between with friendships when big changes happen--like sudden schedule changes, or new friendships blossom. While this book tackled pretty big topics, I liked that its core it was still truly an MGLit book that explored the importance of friendships and keeping the good ones alive (even when life gets a bit hectic.)

Finally, I adored the relationship between the MC and their mom. I loved that they were a team and even though it took a little bit of time, they had some good communication between the two of them. There were some heartwarming moments and I loved seeing them understand each other better as the story progressed.

I think this is another great LGBTQ+ book to have in my back pocket for when I need to recommend great Queer books to readers!

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13. Mindy Kim & the Birthday Puppy by Lyla Lee and Dung Ho Hanh (Illustrations)--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It's been a while since I picked up the last MINDY KIM book but this was just as cute as I remember the last two books being. There were some moments that made me tear up a little, but I'm just an emotional mess sometimes.

I loved seeing Mindy come into her own with her brand new puppy. A couple of my best friends have a puppy and as I read Mindy's adventures (or misadventures), I thought of how difficult it was for my friends to parent a brand new puppy. This is a kid's book, so I'm not surprised Mindy was able to be so successful so quickly, but in reality, puppies are a lot more work than what was shown here. BUT this didn't take away from the story at all! I love that this could be a really great resource for littles who want a puppy, but need a further understanding of the responsibilities behind it.

And much like the last two books, there were some important topics explored here: how families might look, grief, multicultural traditions, and responsibilities one might take on.

Another great addition to the series and I'll hopefully be reading the next one soon!

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14. Suddenly by Isabelle Autissier--⭐️⭐️.5

I had a lot of expectations for SUDDENLY by Isabelle Autissier, but we all know expectations are sometimes the death knell of a story. The cover enticed me, the synopsis further pulled me in, but the clunky translation full of thesaurus-level words and the random time-jump totally took me out of the story.

Normally, I DNF books that aren't working for me because hi, I have a massive TBR to get through before I die. But I will give Autissier this: she wrote a very intriguing beginning to her book. I wanted to see these characters survive and thrive in their new environment. A morbid sense of intrigue had me continuing the story as they mercilessly killed creatures I never thought someone could kill so coldly, and as they had massive introspection about their super privileged lives (and their first world ignorance about their importance in the grand scheme of things.)

These two characters were severely unlikable, but I couldn't help but get attached. I felt such a mixed bag of emotions towards the FMC and when the time jump happened, I felt further disconnected from not just her, but the story as a whole.

I'll be blunt: the second part of the book (or more like 3/4 way through the book) ruined this for me. I understand the importance of seeing the story of the "after" but I hated it. I think it went from being an interesting exploration of survival and humanity to the superficial experience of society marking you as a hero for surviving. I get that this is also the point: the further examination of how society is in (the character's) reality vs. the truths they realized about the societies they had grown in and how wholly unprepared they were for the battlefield of survival. I get that, but I still disliked it. From there, I felt like the story dragged and my attention wavered even more.

And don't get me started on the ending--the page I thought was going to be the last page was a better last page than the actual last page.

Overall, I liked the first half of the book. Despite the dark aspects, the gut churning choices, and the heartbreaking conclusion, I enjoyed that part. The second part of the book brought the whole story down for me.

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15. Fake Dates & Mooncakes by Sher Lee--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

FAKE DATES AND MOONCAKES was a pretty straightforward and easy read, but listen, it was FUN. This felt like I was experiencing a K-Drama or C-Drama. It was such a good time--the dramatic twists, the threats against the middle class guy dating the rich guy, and the CRAZY RICH ASIANS-like trip and event? Freaking amazing. LOL the love interest literally waits for the MC outside of his school standing by his Ferrari. This is juicy Asian-drama level stuff and I ate. it. up.

The romance was adorable and sweet and I won't lie, I sometimes forgot these were teenagers--not because of anything gross, but because these two were so mature in their actions and how they interacted with each other.

The familial relationships were so sweet and I loved how they clearly had each others' best interests in mind whenever something pivotal happened. They were adorable and I loved them.

Reading this was like experiencing some of my favourite Asian dramas again, with a dash of CRAZY RICH ASIANS. It wasn't an earth-shattering read, but five stars for solely being entertaining and making me smile with giddiness. If you want a cute gay story with some truly cute moments, then you might like this--especially as a read for when the warmer weather finally returns!

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Have you read any of these books? Would you recommend them?

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Happy reading!

[tequitoclown]

Being AroAce: A rant about finding myself as aromantic and asexual.

[pt: Being AroAce: A rant about finding myself as aromantic and asexual. End pt.]

CW: Bullying, medical issues, aphobia, 13+ for very light talk of sexual activities.

Disclaimer: These are MY experiences and do not reflect everyone who uses this label or similar. I am only speaking for myself and acknowledge everyone will have a different experience!

As a kid, I never quite understood the appeal of having a romantic partner. I specifically remember others talking about how they'd love to get married. How it must be the best feeling ever to find "The One™"! I never quite understood it. Any time I asked questions, people treated me like some sort of alien. Like most things, I just pretended I wanted it too. Saving myself from being laughed at was more important.

Movies. TV shows. Video games. They all had the same romantic themes, and I never understood!

"Spend your entire life with the same person?" I thought. "Wouldn't you get bored of each other and need a break? It seems a little scary. What if that feeling fades?" If I had said that out loud, I'd probably be made fun of.

I told myself that I'm too young. I was a late bloomer is all! When I grew up, I'd finally understand. Best to keep my head down for now.

Fast forward to me being a teenager, a little worse for wear. I didn't have many friends, and while everyone else was watching movies or going to sports events, I stayed in while playing games. Between dealing with the loss of a very close family member and fighting for a diagnosis of an unknown medical issue, let's just say I was a mess.

Of course, being a teenager brings with it the awful blessings of puberty. I overheard people talking about their body count and thought it was really weird people were fantasizing about killing people. I was then informed that meant how many people you've slept with.

"Oh, zero."

"You'll find the one!" They'd say.

"... Eh, whatever."

Now everyone around me was having sex, and I still didn't understand!

The couples cuddling and making out in the hallways annoyed me. Was I jealous? I didn't know. Emotions are too confusing to understand.

"Why didn't I get it yet? Am I broken? Do I have a medical condition? What's wrong with me?! Why couldn't I have been born NORMAL!"

So many emotions. None of them made sense.

In high school I started to explore LGBT+ spaces to differing levels of success. I didn't know much, and finding resources was daunting. With intrigue, I explored various labels and communities. My gender was a whole other story I won't get into here, but my sexuality was still a mystery.

Eventually I had decided I was a bisexual with an incredibly low sex drive. I was equally attracted to both binary genders, and I just couldn't find the right person was all!

Of course this assessment was wrong, as I still hadn't stumbled upon the asexual label or considered it as closely as I should have.

I went through high school. Now I was being teased for not only being single, but for being openly LGBT+ as well. Life wasn't going great.

It took until my 20s to really give the asexual label a closer look. I had read about so many labels and I finally looked through them with an open-er mind. I was asexual, and then after a failed relationship, I realized my aromanticism. Finally, I had found myself.

So how am I doing in the current day? Mixed, but mostly positive.

It feels so weird to be alienated from something nearly everyone views as important. Dates, apps, crazy exes, weddings, kids, families... It feels so distant from me. I hear my friends confide these things into me and I'll never understand it fully.

I think that's where my biggest issue lies. I'll never understand romantic or sexual attraction because I'll probably never feel it. I barely feel human at times because I am missing out on something others view as crucial. Some call it a requirement!

I also have some romantic desires that will likely never be fulfilled. I'll probably never have my first kiss, or someone who's willing to cuddle like couples do. I'll never lose my virginity or anything like that either.

Yet these things give me power. I feel complete on my own, and I always have the company of my friends. I'm happy alone, and I know that's okay. There are others like me and we're strong together. I don't have to fit in with society's fucked up standard of normal to be who I'd like to be.

"Can't you wait to find your other half?"

"Shut up, I'm complete as I am."

[eldritch-elrics]

tunic.... it's good <3

the randomness of the guidance you're given (oftentimes you can just miss various manual pages if you're not exploring carefully enough) leads to some really unique experiences. like, first time i got to the quarry i accidentally entered it backwards (from the mountain entrance), which was just so scary and cool. if i'd gotten any of the pages mentioning the quarry beforehand, i don't think it would have stuck out so much, because i would have been prepared!

i'm also very much enjoying slowly piecing together the story. the ziggurat was VERY cool. top tier vibes. couple of real "what the fuck?" moments.

i'm currently doing my last key-area, the eastern forest, and after the quarry/ziggurat it's honestly a little bit disappointing. you're almost definitely meant to find this one first, and accordingly (at least so far) it's way easier. (or maybe i'm just overleveled at this point or something?) that's just the risk you take with this sorta soulslike structure though!

speaking of souls things: what the fuck, i count 2 possible dark souls 3 references??

the way that the crystals drain your max hp instead of just your hp, same way the irithyll dungeon guards do. i was soooo delighted to see this absolutely evil mechanic be incorporated into the most fucked-up feeling area.

the guys with the candles in the eastern forest really feel like the ds3 library guys. this might just be coincidence but "candlestick as a weapon" feels very ds3 to me. idk

also the hyper light drifter influence becomes extremely obvious in the ziggurat. hehehe...

another random thought: why is the game called tunic? of course it calls attention to the protagonist's (very link-y) outfit, and it also sounds kind of like the title of fez, but fez's title refers to a clothing item that gives the protag his game-defining power, whereas tunic's protag doesn't seem to have a special tunic or anything like that. i suppose we will see!

final thought: i think i said this before, but the fact that you can't mark up your map in-game (perhaps we're meant to print it out and write on it that way, hehe - that's fun but i don't want to do that) is really a shame. it's a step up from fez's lack of a map*, but a major step down from everything you can do with the map in animal well. there have been a bunch of times in tunic where i've seen random objects (like the tuning forks!) that i've assumed i could interact with once getting a new ability, but had no way to indicate their locations other than taking screenshots (which is a bit unhelpful). also i JUST realized that there are flowers that indicate bomb-able walls and i am soooo mad i missed that before. but again, the whole structure of the map doesn't lend itself well to going back and finding secrets you missed... which is annoying in a game with so many secrets...

*edit: currently replaying fez and yeah i have no idea why i misremembered it as having no map? fez has a very comprehensive map! way more useful than tunic's!

[enbyzombies2]

Infodump about this fic challenge (it's yours) /works/47312905

shore thang!

so i'm not quite sure what specifically inspired the fic. i think it was reading some other gen fics about rico coming back to get revenge on stan and the stan twins dealing with that, specifically how ford would react to that situation. but then i thought about how rico (or a person in general, since rico is just a name to us, he doesn't have an actual character. it's just easier to ascribe to the fanon of who rico is) would get revenge on stan, and well. his brother is right there. stan cares for his brother and spent 30 years trying to save him and bring him back to his home with stan-- wouldn't it be just perfect to take that from him again?

the conceit of the idea was just "what if ford got kidnapped" and then it sort of spiraled because. well, i was horny, and stockholm syndrome always interests me in kidnapping stories. not only that, but ford has dealt with captivity before, in both the metaphorical sense of his relationship with bill and the physical, literal sense of his time being captured by bill. he's also probably got some bad experiences in the multiverse (which i also want to write about). in a billford context, it makes you wonder if ford has some hangups about connecting with someone in certain ways, romantically and physically. ford seeking out abusive relationships because it's what he's used to or thinks he deserves is something i think about sometimes in various contexts and it's super interesting to me.

if ford is a masochist (whether by nature or because he was trained to be such), then wouldn't it be interesting to explore that in a non-consensual context? at least, i thought it would be interesting. i've always pondered those kidnapping and cnc fantasies you see on tumblr and wonder like. if this were real, how similarly would it play out? i'm a big daydreamer if you couldn't tell, so that goes on in my mind a lot. also, the idea of reluctant arousal is fun to me (and the subject of another fic i have in the works (i have 200+ notes in my notes app and all of them are ideas for fics about ford jysk. when i say i'm insane about that old man, i'm insane.)). also i like to see ford get tossed around, but that's obvious i think.

so. that was that part. then i was like, what would rico even do with ford? probably nothing, right? just keep him captive for ransom. but ford is stubborn and annoying- he would complain and talk shit and be arrogant, and a supposedly violent man like rico would probably knock his lights out over it. a little torture never hurts anybody. and the idea that, again, ford is a masochist and reacts to this treatment a certain way, and that gets his captors attention? well, it's a trope i've seen played out in tumblr cnc posts as well, and it's pretty interesting to me. i mean, what do you do in that situation? but really, the idea of nonsexual torture turning sexual is just really fun.

so i supposed the whole 'au' is just "rico kidnaps ford for ransom and while stan is figuring out how to get him back, ford becomes a bit of a pet to rico". rico gets to keep ford and play with him however he wants so long as ford remains good (though, i don't think he would particularly mind an excuse to hit ford or punish him in other ways). ford gets a little bed and everything near rico's desk and maybe they tried to collar him to it but ford freaked out because of bill memories so they try cuffing him before realizing he doesn't need any enforcement. he's a good boy, especially under threat. maybe part of that threat is towards stan, too, which influences him to be good much more than the promise of harm to himself.

in the fic, i imagine it's later in the scenario where rico has decided that ford is good for more than his own personal pleasure, and can be used for his personal gain. i think he just likes humiliating ford and wanted an excuse. or maybe ford is paying off his brother's debt! how sweet of him!

i could probably relate this somehow to like. horror stories about the cartel, and maybe even the weird tendency of gravity falls to make major criminals latino, but i don't think anybody wants to hear about that when they're jacking off to m/s fantasies.

anyways, the plan i had for another fic was just a simple ransom video, but it would be slightly different than how i imagine it all working out like how i described above. i said above nonsexual torture turns sexual, but this fic i have in mind is sort of like a porno plot of "ransom video where they have sex with the captive" kind of thing. ford is smug because 1) he's good at sucking dick and 2) he knows stanley is gonna get him out of there eventually. which is slightly different than the above scenario too because ford seems more submissive and easier to break in the above, and has less faith in stanley.

ok that's what i've got for now. tube in next week for nothing because i'm beholden to no schedule.

[acaseforpencils]

Dan Misdea.

Editor's Note: Be sure to check out Dan's new children's book, The Light Inside, available this week!

Bio: I've been contributing cartoons to The New Yorker since 2021. My work has also appeared in Air Mail, Narrative, The Times, Weekly Humorist, The Golfer's Journal, and a few other publications. My first children's book, The Light Inside, is available now.

Find this print here!

Tools of choice: I brainstorm ideas on printer paper with a .38 Uni-ball Signo RT and sketch the roughs I submit to The New Yorker on my iPad.

For now, my finishes go on Bristol vellum (Canson) with graphic liners (Rotring), oil-based colored pencils (Lyra), and various blenders. Occasionally, I'll use a solvent to blend and fill larger areas, or an ink wash if the drawing calls for it. I used to finish all of my cartoons digitally, so there has been some trial and error in finding the right tools.

There’s no specific reason why I switched to traditional tools. It sounds corny, but it was just something I felt the urge to explore. I feel a stronger connection to my work now, and the creative process is way more enjoyable for me.

All materials are subject to change at any moment.

Tools I wish I could use better: My golf clubs.

Tricks: Allow yourself to experiment and remember to have fun.

Tools I wish existed: A magic tool that could scan my work and edit it to perfection all at once.

Misc: If you’re an aspiring cartoonist, I would suggest reading A LOT of cartoons.  Try to notice how the pros compose their drawings and craft their captions.  You’ll eventually gravitate towards certain styles and voices, and I think that will help shape your own values as a cartoonist. 

Links:

Website: https://danmisdea.com

Instagram: @dan_misdea

The Light Inside: Buy my children's book, The Light Inside, here

Curated Cartoons: Buy my original cartoons here

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If you enjoy this blog, and would like to contribute to labor and maintenance costs, there is a Patreon, and if you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee, there is a Ko-Fi  account as well! I do this blog for free because accessible arts education is important to me, and your support helps a lot! You can also find more posts about art supplies on Case’s Instagram and Twitter! Thank you!