#also on holidays now so maybe expect more art or something

[will-bonna]

chilling

[enchantedchocolatebars]

Witte Solstice - Chapter 31

Cover art by @leespinoodle.

Fic written by me (enchantedchocolatebars) and @leespinoodle.

Summary: It's winter in the Boiling Isles, and Caleb prepares to celebrate the solstice with his wife, his friends… and hopefully, with Beardo Philip! Philip swears he'll never partake in the satanic holidays of those demonic witches. But when Caleb invites him over for the solstice… maybe he'll find himself making an exception.

Ao3 version

(AAA, LAST CHAPTER!! I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS STORY IS GOING TO BE OVER AFTER THIS!!! 😭 😭 😭 Thank you to everyone who took the time to read it, and a special thanks to @leespinoodle for being my companion throughout this writing journey! I highly recommend checking out their works since they're a really talented writer. This story, in particular, will always mean a lot to me since it's my first ever completed collaborative fic with a friend. I'll always go back and reread it whenever I can. But anyway, yeah! Hope everyone has a Happy New Year + a flourishing 2025! I'm defo going to be taking a small break after this (TIRED), but expect to see more fics, fic requests, headcanons, written works, etc. from me in the future. I'LL ALSO BE GETTING TO THE ASKS IN MY INBOX!)

Enjoy!

Soft golden light arose in the sky the next morning as Beardo Philip gently stirred in his sleep.

When he awoke, he let out a longish yawn, sitting up in bed to stretch his arms.

His blue eyes soon began to survey the spare room he was in, recalling a few of the events from yesterday.

Philip remembers having spoken to Caleb, as well as being led into this room after their talk.

Fables such as "The Ant and the Grasshopper" and "The Lion and the Mouse" were also fresh in his mind... for some odd reason.

Slipping out of the quilt that covered him, Philip headed to the door.

...

Caleb sat at the kitchen table, nursing a hot whiskey tonic. He looked up as Philip stepped out of the spare room. "Good morning," he said softly. "How are you feeling? I'd imagine you have quite the headache."

The second Caleb said that, Philip felt the pain in his head return.

"Ugh, don't remind me...," he calmly groaned, taking a seat at the table. "I'm fine, by the way. Slept fairly well. You?"

"I barely slept a wink," Caleb admitted. "The last of the guests left shortly after dawn, so I just laid down for a bit before getting up to make myself a tonic. Would you like one?"

Philip gave a slow, restful nod. "A tonic sounds fine. Is it feasible for you to make tea as well?" he requested.

"Of course." Caleb stood to set a kettle on the stove. "Anything to eat? We have bread and pottage from yesterday's supper."

"I'll have bread," Philip calmly spoke to Caleb as he tried piecing together the sober apology he was planning on making to the elder.

In his mind, it was long overdue.

Once the tea and tonic were done, Caleb brought them over to the table, along with a loaf of bread and a knife. "Here you are. Something on your mind?"

"Thank you." With breakfast now in his possession, Philip took hold of the wooden teacup, curling his fingers around the handle as he brought it to his lips, blowing the steam that arose from the liquid.

After a long sip, he released a breath.

The tea was black and plain, just how he liked it.

He set the cup down.

Philip was unprepared for Caleb's question.

It was evident to the elder that there was something on his mind.

"Hm?!" Philip went, quickly shifting his gaze to his teacup as he saw his reflection ripple through the liquid like little waves until it stilled.

He soon sighed, looking up at Caleb with regretful eyes.

"It's just..." Philip sighed once more. "I'm… I'm sorry, Caleb. For yesterday. I... very much regret not making a genuine arrival to your party. And..." Philip drew a long, deep breath and let it out.

"... I apologize for not visiting you often. I know that Yule is over, but I had a gift that I wanted to give you. I'm not sure if it'll mean much now."

"A gift? You didn't have to bring me a gift. You know that spending time together would have been enough of a gift for me," Caleb said, sitting back down.

Philip nodded. "I understand. However, I still wish to give you what I made. It's something I know you'll find fetching. View it as a humble apology gift from me to you. Would you mind opening your hands up?"

Caleb tilted his head questioningly but held out his hands.

Reaching a hand into his pocket, Philip pulled out his gift and placed it into Caleb's hands.

Caleb held a cute, delicately painted carving of a small yellow duckling with an orange bill and black eyes that had white pupils within his palms.

The bill was meticulously crafted to make the duck look cheerful.

As a small gag, the duck's lively aura is complimented by a single squeaky noise that acts as a quack.

Caleb gently cradled the wooden duckling in his hands, marveling at the craftsmanship. He smiled softly. "Thank you, Philip. It's lovely."

With closed eyes, Philip returned Caleb's expression as he felt the heavy burden of shame and regret that he once felt lifted from his back by his brother's smile. "You're quite welcome." He soon opened his eyes.

"Also, Caleb, if it's not too much trouble, could you let your cardinal know that I offer my deepest apologies to him? Admittingly, I wasn't the kindest to young Pancake the other day."

"That's not his... Alright, I'll let him know," Caleb said.

…

After breakfast had concluded, Beardo Philip was ready to return to his cave.

He smiled a small, somewhat gloomy smile.

"I... guess this is goodbye then...," Philip spoke as he sighed, his tone soft and tender as he turned to face Caleb while standing near the front door, now dressed in his blue coat.

The brunette did his best to avoid sounding too down about his departure.

Caleb reached out to pull Philip into a hug. "Remember, you're always welcome here. Don't be a stranger, now."

Philip's smile went soft as he hugged his brother back, happy to be in his caring and kind embrace. "I'll make sure to remember that, Caleb Clawthorne."

[fictionfixations]

how in the hell did i not know this happened dude i joined an alien stage server to get pinged for alien stage stuff and for some reason im just not seeing the pings i dont know why 😭

also WHAT oh my god

im sorry im like so bad at noticing stuff IS THAT A MIC why am i acting so incredulous wait but thats a human hand PLOT TWIST ITS A DUET

wait could that be hyunwoo

first watch i was like ???? IS THAT A GUN POINTED AT HIM but i think hes pointing the gun at himself??? WHERE DID YOU GET A GUN

purple hands (or is it blue i literally cant tell). hes going somewhere. is it to the siblings?? it might just be me but for some reason i cant look at luka's expression and think ah this is how he looks when seeing smiling hyuna and hyunwoo

I AM INSANE FOR THESE TWO what are they drawing i have no clue

sooo that teaser huh.. 'wiege'..

normal hands. i think his hands had that purple blue tinge to it like it was turning it after hyunwoo died or something right? i might be misremembering. i genuinely cant tell if it has any meaning cause when i first got into alnst i thought his hand color and mizi's hair were related but no he just has like a condition i forget what exactly but it meant he had like less blood or something something sorry im so forgetful. and mizi was like excited to be on alnst (unaware bby) and dyed her hair and everything i think it was in like the interview of before round 1 happened and my heart hurt man :( ?? either that or it mightve been in the artbook i cant recall

but anyway

...valentines day huh??

or at least i think it is

i never remember holidays because i dont really care about them but i remember valentines only because i wanted to do something for kdj birthday and all i remembered was his birthday was after valentines so i checked and i did not realize how early valentines day was but surprise so now i know but

i dont know what to expect

i dont know what i want to expect

apparently according to the comments the morse code is 'ALIVE'

hahahaa i need ivan alive pretty please /hj

although.. dun dun dun fake out like mizi with till thinking mizi was dead (or missing at least) but we knew she wasnt except this information is not told to us beforehand

......although i dont really know if the injuries ivan sustained could be healed from?? i mean i have zero medical knowledge i cant really say but uhh. yknow bleeding out on the floor to where the puddle gets to kind of an alarming size imo i dont really think that raises ones survivability at all....

a part of me wants to be like AGHH FUCK LUKA but i have an awful feeling i might potentially feel bad for him

....id probably like luka if bruh wasnt targeting characters i liked which.......... in all fairness the participants of alnst is pretty low so theres not really one he could choose who i didnt like.........

and bruh probably has trauma and stuff

and i have no right to be like 'how dare he not uhh win with his own merit instead of using his opponents weaknesses against them to mentally unstable them' but lets be real here he IS just using whatever means necessary to survive

and its not like its even that long. i mean i dont know how often alnst happens but he won once, and hes put back into the fighting ring once more and for what?

......tbh i bet maybe the art book pages on like the aliens would tell me like idk maybe his. his. im blanking on the term. its guardian right? ??? maybe his guardian really really likes the glory even though he already won and got whatever prize there is at the end of alnst so theyre like again again

???

dont really get why but .. sure.

anyway i still havent gotten to reading them whoops i kinda forgot to

sorry i backtracked to look and i just noticed the hand holding the mic is human

it kind of looks similar to hyunas skincolor (or i might be blind idk man im bad with colors) and with the morse code..

what if thats hyunwoo

plot twist it was a fake out and luka doesnt like hyuna he likes hyunwoo LMAO nah there was like that one moment where i think luka was trying to kiss hyuna or something??

also i cant remember if he appeared in the alien stage introduction video. it was either he didnt appear or his child self did i cannot remember at all

but thats my theory ok hyunwoos alive

[cconfusedkat]

(shaking hands, functioning on three iced coffees, not beta read we just die) (LIL BRO TREATING THIS LIKE AO3Anyways yeah i did not read anything i typed here a second time so my wording might Suck Major Kuss)

Hey chat! sorry my holiday depression unfortunately kicked in, i had a ,, relatively decent Eid (cuz i dont celebrate christmas) ...? so i hope everyone had a relatively better holiday than i did… 💦

My friends often tell me i look like my art and i kinda see it. Hooray! Meeting the artist! Except i took matters into my own hands of making my own collage because I Do Not Have Enough Storage Space For Any Other Editing App

Additional shitpost ❤️ the art I've been most proud of are not actually in here, really! I'm mainly proud of the fanart i made for the few smiling critters AU's aaaall the way back feb-march but. I guess the stuff i liked the most i did this year was probably for the one who wilts? Im trying to think of stuff earlier than that. I noticed i definitely had an improvement in art, and i learned i do have a preference of drawing certain ways now too lmao- the fun of art! I hope to improve more in 2025 :-)

Herm,, all jokes aside, im glad people like my art...?? I am not a very Secure artist myself (already taking me five minutes to type that out and consider myself as an artist) so im SHOCKED when people Actually like my things. My doodles. The sometimes rare occasion of real art i put out there. Like! Wow! Thats crazy

Id have to say the same for youtube- im currently at 456 subscribers 🥺❤️ that is huge to me,, i wouldnt have expected me posting for the first time in years on youtube would result to me getting this many subscribers? ? .???

Im very, VERY thankful for the people ive met this year through fandom and generally. Unfortunately—for the past few months��Ive hit a really low stump in my mental health that limits me from talking to people without getting super drained, even on social media i kinda struggle with being active again. I am thankful for the people that continue to stick around and know im the way that i am,, one day ill be mentally stronger and everyone is gonna see my growth as soon as i can ,, Actually leave my own home and hopefully start a new. I didnt really consider that until one of my friends shared its experiences with me and i GENUINELY realized i can run away and get better one day,, there is a light at the end of the tunnel,, there IS,, but not now. Not today. Not in a few months. Itll take me years to heal but 2025 and ongoing years as i get more freedom to do so,,

UHHHH UHHH. ASIDE FROM CHEESY RANTING OF HAVING HOPES FOR THE FUTURE, YAPYAPYAP- i got a drawing tablet (again another thing my friend inspired me for- technically two major things in a row it inspired me for- hope in the future and drawing BWAHAHA-) and uhhh. HmMMOOHHH YEAH I REUNITED MY MEOWMEOWS! HOORA🎊🎊🎊🎊

my 2025 goals are not just improvement in art,, but in hopes of getting a full time job (since my last full time UMM. did NOT work out well! How am i gonna learn to pay my taxes on my own dawg,) and trying to get a place of my own since i missed out on that two years ago (or one? One year ago? I DUNNO..!!!!) , therapy and trying to heal better compared to my terrible stumps of 2022-2024,, i dunno what else but. Maybe working on my social skills at some point 🗿��� a far fetched goal is moving out of state completely and also going on testosterone but that is farrrr from now </33

Thank you lot for following and keeping up with my goofiness i gen did not think an animanga nerd with a passion of indie and mascot horror games could reach 510 followers within one year HELPPP thats crazy

On less serious goals though i hope on watching more animes than reading manga in 2025 BWAHAHAGAHSAJD i read manga more and anime is Extremely Rare for me to watch but both jjk and Beastars have all ive been watching as of recent lol- trust i will be such a geek (girl Please that is NAWT something to look forward to) (YES IT IS. HAVE YOU NO WHIMSY?)

[sitp-recs]

Do you know Drarry fics, where Harry is overworked and/or exhausted by his posr war life and Draco is the one who is instrumental in helping Harry? Xo

Hi anon! Sure, these are some of my favorites - I expanded your ask to also include anxious/apathetic/depressed Harry, hope that’s ok :)

Unseen by astolat (M, 11k)

When he wasn’t wearing it, he got jumpy, always waiting for someone to come at him wanting something—and now they did it even more urgently, if they ever saw him, because most of the time, nobody did.

Poor Unfortunate Souls by DoubleApple (E, 19k)

Draco is a potioneer. Harry is trying to save his sex-challenged marriage. Everything is a mess, but at least there's an octopus in the lobby.

Fearful Trill by Vukovich (E, 29k)

Harry should have come out and met someone when he was younger. He should have seen a doctor about the pain in his hip while youth was still on his side. Now, he's made his peace with dying young, but maybe not with dying alone.

This is Never Happening Again by hpleems (M, 32k)

“Potter,” Malfoy said, shaking his head. “Do I look like I care about your holiday plans? Trust me: this is *never* happening again.”

Open For Repairs by FeelsForBreakfast (M, 35k)

After the war, Draco works at a tv repair shop and Harry breaks things.

Touch by bixgirl1 (E, 45k)

When Harry is referred to a professional cuddler for the soothing power of touch, he’s dubious — even more so when the Cuddler who shows up turns out to be Malfoy. But in the years since the war, Malfoy’s changed, and over the next several days Harry is confronted by how much he still doesn’t know about this new version of his old enemy — and by how much he wants to learn.

In The Red by bixgirl1 (E, 45k)

When Harry goes looking for a vampire at a Creature club, the second-to-last thing Harry expects is to find Malfoy working there.

Unseen by Jackvbriefs (T, 47k)

Harry Potter finally has the chance to leave England and its expectations for The Chosen One behind for good. All he has to do is survive one Auror training conference overseas with Draco Sodding Malfoy.

Here's The Pencil, Make It Work by ignatiustrout (M, 49k)

Harry thinks "Why is Malfoy working in a coffee shop in muggle London?" is a much simpler question than, "Are you going to accept that auror offer and, if you don't, what will you do?"

Meet Me at Midnight by thestarryknight (T, 57k)

Harry was beginning to wonder if he’d ever make anything again when Malfoy stormed through the door of Harry’s furniture shop. Now Harry’s got an impossible Ministry commission to finish, and even less energy than ever to deal with his elusive muse. That is, until he stumbles upon the surreal and beautiful world of a mysterious fae creature…

Modern Love by tackytiger (E, 61k)

Harry Potter, of all people, knows that life isn’t always fair. And no one gets to be happy all of the time. But surely there’s something more—something better—than a rubbish Ministry job, and a lonely old house, and that feeling that everyone out there is doing a better job of living than Harry is.

The Way Down by lettered (T, 65k)

Harry is overwhelmed by his own power and fame and angst, so he's become a hermit. Draco Malfoy is tired of the melodrama.

Harry Potter and the elusive day off by pleasebekidding (E, 71k)

Auror Potter needs a fucking break. He is wiped. He is exhausted. He probably didn't intend to put himself into a magical coma but these things happen. And who cares, really? He is comfortable in a house where he has hidden away all the shit he can't deal with.

Kept in Cages by sweet_s0rr0w and art by ihopeyoubothstaysafefromharm (E, 76k)

Deep in the heart of the Ministry lies the Beast Division: a hidden room where ancient beasts roam, and winged creatures soar, and grumpy giant ferrets eat all your biscuits unless you keep them well hidden. Draco Malfoy would know – he’s been working there for five years now, after all.

I Am Not Who I Became by mab_di (E, 93k)

Draco left England after the trials and has travelled the world meeting wizards and Muggles from different cultures and with vastly different relationships to magic, each other, and the natural world. Now he's a fisherman in Finland on commercial vessels. Harry has been struggling since the war and has become a recluse while trying to write his autobiography. An invitation to the Hogwarts class of 1998's 15th reunion isn't welcomed by either of them, but neither could predict how the night, and their reunion, will upend their lives.

The Liars Department by DorthyAnn (T, 103k)

This is a story about Harry meeting up with Draco Malfoy four years after the war. And a story about Harry, well, not hating his job per say, but it's not like he has much to compare it to and it seemed fine. His whole life seemed fine. Then Malfoy came along with and his flashy suits and fast car making everything seem dull in comparison, and Harry... Harry couldn't just leave well enough alone.

What We Pretend We Can't See by gyzym (M, 131k)

Seven years out from the war, Harry learns the hard truth of old history: it’s never quite as far behind you as you thought.

Any Instrument by dicta_contrion (E, 131k)

Draco Malfoy wouldn't go back to England for anything less than an exceptional case. Being asked to figure out why Harry Potter can't control his magic might be exceptional enough to qualify.

where all the veins meet by eight_of_wands (E, 146k)

It's the summer of 1998. The battle is over, and Voldemort is dead, but Harry still has more questions than answers. Who is he without a piece of Voldemort's soul in his head? What is he supposed to do now?

[leeleemeemee1]

I know the winter updates getting fixed n all but i just gotta say my experience with it. (twisted/toon spoilers ig..???) btw, i have none of these toons! this is based on what i see!

okay first off with Rudie! I don't even have a problem with him, hes a cool toon with a silly personality! decent stats, very fun ability similar to flutters. His twister is also cool, hes the 2nd character to have a glow! except now you have to guess if its brughtney or rudie LOL (i prefer Rudie.. I hate you Brightney stop turning off the lights.) back to him and his personality, Qwel hinted that there was something eating yp at the back of his mind that he cant internally control. when I saw it I thought it was his nose.. and maybe- might be. or maybe its his holiday spirit.. theres barely any interactions on the wiki but he talks about christmas a lot and it kinda looks like some toons don't like it/confused.. i love Rudie though hes so cool 9/10

Nexttt up GINGER! shes so cute i love her design a lot.. I find it very cool that her and Cosmo are cousins, I really love related toons. Her personality is peak.. i love shy toons. im kind of confused about her introduction though? "Ginger may be a little shy but has an eye for design! Her art is frosted into delicate details on her favorite baked goods! Though the taste may not be as lovely as the looks!" (an eye indeed-) anyways.. I dont know if its implying that the taste isnt as good or if shes just REALLYYY good at designing. anyways i headcanon that the holiday toons visit on certain times of the year (probably canon bc her and cosmo's interaction..?) so every time she'd visit she would help Sprout and Cosmo with baking and whoever's doing the decorations.. for a holiday party! such a helpful gal.. NOT HER TWISTED THOUGH. IVE BEVER BEEN GENUINELY SCARED OF A FUCKING UNCOMMON TWISTED UNTIL THIS UPDATE?! Shes very slow yeah.. except sometimes i see her walking faster. :/ but when she spots you she will NOT lose you. atleast 25 seconds she'll stop.. when i played atleast. thankfully now it is 10 seconds. she does have a good eye after all! im just glad they changed it. i found it kinda unfair when it came to low stam toons.. 25 seconds? unless you had a stam regen item or someone taking her away from you you're just.. cooked. 9/10 for Ginger. amazing toon, not a great twisted.

OKAYY COAL! not much to say. she was a huge suprise.. (literally. that big ahh piece of coal i love her sm) stats are peak, similar to Pebbles'. Her ability is also helpful. it'll be very funny seeing toons fight for a medkit when they see it highlighted LOL. her Twisted is okay, not much of a problem since ive only seen her Twice. but blackout? HELL NAH! FYM SHE GETS TWICE THE SPEED? SHE ALREADY HAS A HIGH ATTENTION SPAN?!(8s) dear Qwel, stop making the pets terrifying. imagine a blackout Pebble + Coal. 😖 6/10.

Bobette! the first main after the confirmed 5! it feels very weird to have another.. and honestly? id rather only have the 5 mains we had. SORRYY SORRY! I am happy for Bobette though dont get me wrong, she seems like a VERY fun character! atleast i think! no one has her yet, how am i supposed to know! (actually i just found out someone already has vintage Bobette. you NO LIFER.) her stats are a problem though. 5 star skill check and stamina but everything else is 2 star.. theres no point then really?? the two stats that are pretty useless without its other, the speeds ofc. it made no sense to me. im glad they're changing it though! onto her twisted.. terrifying! Traumatizing! never again! ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!!! cute, really is.. imo shes more scary than pebble. she has the same speed (now changing to slightly less than him) if you pick up anything she will run to it. and thankfully on floor 20 you're guaranteed to get her! expect every 20 floors she duplicates according to the wiki.. thars not normal btw!!! shes made me hate this update i cant take it any longer i hate everyone here /j but seriously.. these twisteds are TERRIFYING. 9/10. shes very unique!

the update is amazing.. i love whatevrr Qwel cooks up for her fans! 9/10 update i will be playing rn!

HOLY YAP-🗣️🗣️☄️💥💥💥💥🔥

[thebarontheabyss]

Hey, wassup homie. If you have the time and patience, can you eat what I decided to cook 🔥🔥 (I am so cringe).

For the holiday season, I never experienced the joys of making gingerbread houses. So I hope to see such euphoria somewhere else. Your lovely cast decided to make gingerbread houses. How exactly good are said houses, what special decorations do they have, whose house is about to crumble to bits?

Hi there, bro! (Oh god the cringe 😭)

Firstly, I really want to express my deepest condolences about your gingerbread housing situation. Hope you are getting better!

Now for the prompt…

Death, ever the gentle soul, constructs a gingerbread house that's as sweet as it is wobbly. Constantly apologizing to the gingerbread for any perceived mishandling, their creation is whimsically lopsided, much like their approach to life (and death).

Lilith/Damien conjures a devilishly decadent gingerbread palace with sugar-spun flames and candied brimstone. The grandeur is impressive, but one can't help but wonder if a touch of hellfire wasn't used in baking.

Morgan/Morgana, as can be expected, first uses magic to conjure up an ethereal gingerbread house that shimmers with enchantments. Pepper, however, is quick to criticize this magical shortcut. Chastened, the witch tries a hand at mundane construction, only to end up with a crumbled mess.

Peisinoe crafts a theatrical gingerbread stage with cookie performers and an icing-draped backdrop; it's less of a house and more of a tribute to the arts. They will nonchalantly say that the stage is their house if you ask them why they made it.

Yaga meticulously assembles a gingerbread abode that epitomizes precision and efficiency. Each candy is methodically placed, each icing line flawlessly straight. Her grumbles about the frivolity of the task don't stop her creation from being the most structurally sound of the lot.

Hastur's creation mirrors his nature - stoic, imposing, and surprisingly intricate. His gingerbread fortress, complete with marzipan defenses and licorice guards, is not just practical, but also tastes the best.

With her innate cheerfulness, Shelly crafts a gingerbread house that radiates warmth and joy. Adorned with colorful candies and frosting with just the right amount of sweetness, the house almost resembles a bar - maybe a nostalgic nod to her own lost home.

Lastly, He Without Name creates something less of a house and more of an abstract representation of home. It's a minimalist structure, challenging the concept of a gingerbread house. The others will try to figure out what to make of it, but it's undeniably intriguing.

The Raven can't exactly build a gingerbread house, but he would definitely enjoy criticizing all the others.

[iraprince]

I adore all your art with cookie and was interested in Sapphicworld- but I’m curious (so plz don’t take this as a negative-) what exactly in your opinion sets it apart from other Queer PBTA hacks like Thirsty Sword Lesbians?

I’d just really like to hear your thoughts about it as a system and world especially given you are a indie developer yourself?

hi!! thank you!!

so, a few caveats before i start off — one, i actually haven't played many other pbta games (like for example i know Of thirsty sword lesbians + own a copy that i've poked around in but im not very familiar w it), so i honestly can't provide much in the way of comparing/contrasting it w other pbta stuff in the same vein, and my impressions of sapphicworld are pretty much just contained to the game as its own thing, not so much sapphicworld as a Type Of Game

and two, while i am a dev myself, i'm a huge novice! like, i'm proud of the stuff i put out and i love doing it, but i personally feel like my lack of experience is such that like, i don't think my opinions in this case are particularly informed by my own work as a dev or anything. all this to say im happy to answer this question, i think i just gotta tackle it from a different frame than what ur specifically asking!

BUT ANYWAY. i can still talk abt why im so excited abt sapphicworld in a way that has kind of outstripped other stuff in general, and for me it's about the world 100%. like i honestly spend close to no time thinking abt the fact that sw is even pbta to be honest. not that the mechanics + gameplay aren't important, bc they are thoughtfully crafted and well done and fun, and i'm saying that from the perspective of someone who playtested earlier versions that have now been reworked! it's just like, not what comes to mind first for me — what's exciting and fresh and irreplaceable abt the game in my mind is like. it is fully committed to immersing you in an extremely lush, strange, richly fleshed out world, one with a long history and folklore/mythology and a TON of really fun npcs who all have different subcultures and its own calendar with seasonal holidays and regional terrain with specific fleshed out dungeons/towns/etc to discover and even like, specific FOODS typical to each different region and and and and —

and maybe at first that seems kind of overwhelming, and tbh it is. when i first got into it and i was going thru the playtest document (which if im remembering right was like. ~300 pages shorter at the time than the current playtest doc) i DO remember anxiously thinking to myself "god this is a LOT and idk if i'll be able to retain enough of this to rp convincingly" etc etc. but like... it's just really compelling, and it does an incredible job of mixing humor and gravity and horniness in a perfect ratio that always comes across as intensely earnest and makes it equally easy to have a fun goofy time or a really emotional time, which i think is REALLY hard to do.

and while normally it's hard for me to get thru something that dense and long all i can really say is that i just straight up like it enough and was charmed by it enough to pick away at it until i grasped it and felt like i understood a bunch about the world, which also has a curve to it bc in structure and tone its very different from any of your... idk more Standard fantasy or sci fi worldbuilding, so it's not like u can immediately slot in ur expectations from other settings and just learn some new vocab words, it's a world that from my perspective also Functions differently than a lot of other fictional settings in a way that's a little hard to describe succinctly. (none of this is succinct to begin with but ykwim). it makes me want to gm my own campaign, really really bad, when usually i have always been absolutely Terrified of the idea of gming! idk man. it has a Flavor. it's full of Vapors. u get transported somewhere else reading it and playing it in a way i haven't experienced in a while and a lot of times after a playtest session i felt like my brain stayed behind in sapphicworld for a pretty long time.

i feel like i am sounding a little melodramatic and incoherent but like. genuinely sapphicworld is just a fictional world that i am really bone-deep charmed by and interested in and when i WAS reading thru the rulebook for those first days it did not take me long at all to find myself constantly thinking "i want to play in this world, i want to play in this world, i can't wait to play in this world," and i just think that's really special. and like — just as your curiosity abt comparing sw to tsl was not intended as a diss or a negative, what im abt to say is similarly neutral — im a person who sometimes finds it a little difficult to click with or feel excited abt a lot of the Queer Indie Stuff that i see get popular with other people, bc it just doesn't connect w my specific lesbian + trans experience; not that it feels inauthentic but that im like, oh, idk, i think these guys are just. not My Zone, ykwim. on the flip side so much of the humor and heart and transness and sex in sapphicworld is something that really resonates w me and just Clicks in a way that i have also found really special.

rounding myself off before i ramble for like five more paragraphs but just as one more morsel of something i like abt sapphicworld that is a little more concrete than me spinning around the room yelling "I JUST LIKE IT OKAY": one of the most fun parts of character creation is getting to mix and match your kind (sort of like ancestry/species, the form ur physical body takes) with a subculture. so u get things like a werewolf babe (cookie! babe being a subculture that focuses on being Like, Totally Hot), or a centaur knight, or a minotaur debaucher, or a vampire cowboy, or an organist (cthulu-y tentacle guy) scenester, or a skeleton wizard, etc etc etc etc — there are SO MANY to pick from that when i was trying to bait my friends into playing w me i couldn't find a convenient way to list them all so ppl could start thinking abt their characters. and every possible combination basically is interesting and amusing and fun and practically THROWS a great oc into your lap and i literally think i could amuse myself endlessly just Making Characters in sapphicworld and never actually playing w them.

[panting, disheveled] so tldr. i like it. uh. what sets sapphicworld apart from other ttrpgs to me is that i have fallen balls to the wall in love with the very soul of it to the point where i don't even really think about it in comparison to other games at all and it has just become an Experience to me and i suppose i cannot guarantee anyone else will fall into insane homosexual hysteria in the same way but here we are. HOPE THAT HELPS

(ALSO PSSST. idk if this is just perfect timing or if ur curiosity was specifically prompted by this but the @sapphicworldttrpg patreon DID just launch and if any of this has been intriguing u should check it out. okay mwah bye)

[destructive-delight]

Does the "asks about something you talked about wishing you got asks about being tainted" still count if I was wondering about your advent art thing prior to you saying that but previously assumed it was rude to ask things about something that was supposed to be advent themed (like a surprise?) so I didn't but now I am? If so, sorry for overthinking that before and feel free to chuck this ask into a fire and ignore what is below.

But if it is okay:

The mixing of darker pieces for you to put up in between the wintery ones sounds fun af, but after seeing what I think was your title poll back before you deleted it, it had me wondering then if the advent arts themselves had a running theme or story in them beyond the winter/holiday thing?

And are you open to sharing any winter activities or holiday things that inspired what is to come?

ahh i would be lying if i said it didn’t sting a little to once again only get an ask after basically explicitly begging for one. though… i suppose in this case i get why you were hesitant before… maybe my perception is skewed because of how i view my own posts, but unless it’s a vent post i consider anyone making/reblogging a post about anything an open invitation to ask follow-up questions about it, so i’m always disappointed when no one wants to ask me any, especially when i keep coming back to the same subject. you’re right though, advent implies some level of secrecy and surprise… i didn’t really consider that…

that being said, thank you for taking the time to send an ask anyway! i’m not gonna chuck it into the fire, i’m gonna gently place it besides the fire as i proceed to answer the question in the most roundabout and long winding fashion i can muster:

the title i was considering (and currently am still unsure about) wasn’t meant to imply anything about the theme… it came to me in a flash of inspiration when most of the advent pieces were already finished tbh (°v°;;) the thing is, i refer to my plans as “advent posting”, which to most people would imply that it ends on december 24th or 25th, but since the Big Holiday™ for us is new year’s and i wanted to draw wintery, festive AND new-years’s-y pieces with the last one being posted on the 31st, i figured i need to give it a less… denominational title. i came up with some cheesier ones that referenced my username and whatnot, but “countdown to crisis” is probably still the best one i got. a countdown to the end of the year makes sense, and i expect 2025 to suck hard, so a more positive or cutesy title would just feel disingenuous. also if ones internet brainrot is terminal enough one might catch the explicitly christmassy reference in there. in my mind it fits on every level. still makes me cringe tho.

but yeah, no, there's no real running theme (´_`)

a lot of pieces are just cosy hang out scenes, some are only on theme by virtue of the character(s) wearing warm clothing, though at least one implies that presents have previously been exchanged.

one or two travel scenes, simply because i love travelling in winter.

lying sick in bed with a cold isn’t specifically a winter activity, but it doth happen more often in winter, so there’s some of that too.

i think i will draw one more festive piece, although i’m not sure yet what the theme will be. maybe a visit to the christmas market (a winter activity i enjoy, but i’m afraid i might not have the energy to draw that many details) or some cookie baking (something i don’t usually do in december because we get so many sweets gifted at work, but i do like the idea of it).

[stargazinglesbian]

introduction ( ⸝⸝~ᴗ~⸝⸝ )੭⁾⁾

before i start, just wanted to say that i have an art blog!!! go check out @introvertedandscared if you want to see my drawings and/or writing (maybe, sometimes i post that kind of stuff on here too)

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if you have any questions about me or something else feel free to send me an ask (or dm if we're moots i don't mind). if it's too personal or i'm not comfortable answering it i'll just ignore it, so don't feel weird

i'm a white 15 year old australian citizen. my name (as of right now) is mars. i'm asexual, genderfluid, and a lesbian, but my labels are pretty weird a lot of the time, especially in regard to gender.

i use all pronouns except for she/her, including stuff like neos (although i don't have specific ones that i prefer)

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fun facts:

my favourite animals are sharks, moths, frogs, pigeons, and cats

my favourite cryptid is mothman, but nessie is a very close second

i play a few video games, although i wouldn't call myself very good at them. i don't mind though, i have fun playing them regardless

my favourite holiday is halloween

my favourite book is the spirit bares its teeth, and the paper girls comics are also a really great read (unsure weather to classify them as books or not?)

pink is my favourite colour, and orange is my least favourite

my favourite dinosaurs are parasaurolophus' and ankylosaurus'

i have a favourite moon phase (i have a lot of favourite things, i like shoving stuff in categories), it's a waxing gibbous

i'm in a lot of different fandoms, and blog about them to varying degrees. at the time of writing (10:53 on saturday the 26th of january 2025) i mainly interact with stuff about riverdale and dc comics, as well as just general Tumblr Things

always feel free to hmu about media recommendations

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a guide to my blog

my tagging is sporadic at best, but here i'll try and give you a quick guide to my own original tags (this doesn't include my personal reblog tagging system)

original post: any post that i create myself

mars: coming to you live!: my tag for live blogging while i'm watching tv shows or movies. this may also end up including reading books and/or comics in the future

mars' shezow reboot: my writings and/or ramblings about a side project i'm working on, which is the concept for a reboot of a childhood show of mine

ask: self explanatory, it's what i tag my asks with

empress: fairly empty as of right now, but it's a tag for a group of ocs of mine

small town freaks: another oc tag. this one is more substantial

av: my largest oc tag, as well as my most developed oc universe (pssssst. feel free to send in asks about any of these btw. like. sooo free. . )

oh alice: similar to mars' shezow reboot, it's what i tag posts for an alice in wonderland story concept of mine

all of this is subject to change, but i'll try and add any new ones as they come and go

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dni if you're homophobic, transphobic*, intersexist, queerphobic in general, racist, nsfw, maga, islamophobic, antisemitic or a zionist.

this is not a fully comprehensive list. i block at my own discretion. do not expect an explanation

*includes transmisogyny, i'm not putting up with any of that bullshit

[nexuschampion]

'Why can't he just be a regular guy' Valentine's drabble

@accioturtur

It was Valentine's yet again, and since it was the first holiday they celebrated together, it was a very important one to both of them.

This year, post-coming out to the world, post-ending the curse in the best case scenario, and post-having a few months to just....be, they decided it would be a perfect time to spend some time with Shadow's sister in California.

They started in Los Angeles for the actual day, reservations at one of the best restaurants in town, many stops to pop in and say 'hi' to friends, and a moonlight stroll on the beach. They had a beautiful rental overlooking the ocean for the night.

It was perfect.

Every year he felt even stronger about their relationship. Every year he wished he could ask her to marry him all over again, but since it had only been a few years it seemed silly to do a renewal of vows.

Excitement was never lacking on his side of the family so, spending more time with her more calm family was something they were both looking forward to. Once they got to her sister's home after their first leg of their vacation, they were prepared for a solid week of fun.

But, as lack of luck would have it, excitement simply followed them to California because why wouldn't it?

On the fifth day the two sisters and the not-so-little-anymore Claire were going to the mall to spend some time together just walking and talking. Not having anything else in particular to do with Carlos called out to deal with an emergency landscaping situation, Mikey decided to tag along, mostly to keep Claire entertained. The plan was spontaneous so he donned a half hearted disguise to keep himself from drawing too much attention.

It thankfully wasn't terribly busy on a weekday afternoon, so he didn't have to worry too much about being spotted. He wandered behind the two women with the toddler in hand, stopping whenever something caught her eye to either join her in her curiosity or offering answers when requested in her not so subtle toddler-ly way. When they reached the center of the mall, she ooh'ed and ahh'ed over the extraordinarily high ceiling, with a huge art installation of metal and wood sprawling across the center, sending sparkling lights all across the lobby, but Claire was more interested in the play area below it.

"We'll go down in a bit okay? Let's finish walking this top level first."

Disappointed, but more patient than he ever had been, she waddled along to catchup with her mother and aunt. By the time the rounded the end and found themselves in the same spot on the other side of the mall, Shadow excused herself for the restroom, claiming their earlier smoothies just went right through her.

The three of them waited, people watching and casually talking, for several minutes. A young boy, maybe 5 or 6, ran by them, stopping to stare down at the playground far below on the ground level through the see through railing.

He first felt it with whatever animal senses he had. It put him on immediate high alert though no one else seemed to notice. Without thinking about it he reached out for the boy, grabbing his wrist and pulling him away from the rail as he hoisted Claire up with his other arm. Sabrina barley had time to react when the entire ground started to shake violently, throwing her against the rail. She quickly scooted back over to the wall where Mikey had also retreated to.

"Been in an earthquake before?"

"Ah, not a normal one like this." He was watching everything around them, expecting a hole in the earth to open up and swallow them.

Sabrina looked at him, then shook her head in disbelief. The continued shaking made her unsteady. "This is....this is a really strong one. We should get to a better place. They usually don't last this long!"

Mikey nodded, not taking his eyes of the art hanging from the ceiling which was now starting to swing rather precariously. "Lead the way."

They found themselves in the doorframe of a shoe store, Sabrina explaining it was better than nothing.

Mikey's expression changed from very unsure about it all to panic in an instant. "Not better than that" he shrieked at the sight of the huge art piece suddenly flying right toward them, the cables furthest away snapping first, giving the whole thing momentum to swing their way before the cables closet to them snapped. He grabbed the two kids and did his best to push Sabrina further into the store.

He wasn't fast enough, with all the people involved, and the art came crashing against the rail, tearing through the walkway and into the shoe store. All at once he felt himself falling. He didn't have enough hands to grab all three of them and keep them from falling, but almost as soon as they started to fall, they stopped. He froze as he looked around them. The fall had been more like sliding. The collision had brough some of the roof along with the art, and when it tore through the floor it also started to sink toward the ground. The four of them were swept up with it, sliding down a chunk of the rubble and now were hanging very dangerously over the first level of the mall. Mikey sighed at the loss of his nice, quiet vacation, then got to work.

"Sabrina, hey, I'm gonna need you to do something okay?"

She was clinging to some a huge beam from the ceiling just above him, wide eyed and shaking, but not panicked. Her round eyes focused on him. For having such a shit father and timid mother, these girls sure had some balls, he thought. None of them did actually, and he put it aside to chuckle about later.

"Alright, so, I need you to climb up there and get off this ride okay? I know it's terrifying but I'm gonna be real honest with you. This whole thing is gonna go the rest of the way down..."

"What? How would you even know that? I can't even move I'm so scared! Is Claire okay? What about TT?"

"It's not my first 'building crumbling around me' so you know, you learn things when it happens a lot, Shadow's probably already organized a rescue downstairs. But this is what's important. Claire's in the safest place she possibly could be right here with me. And uh...this other little guy." He looked down at the kid he'd grabbed as they'd fallen. He still had a death grip on him, which was exactly what he hoped for. "But you, are not. I can't guarantee I could keep you safe. You're small enough that you should be able to make your way over to the walkway where it's stable. If we're lucky I can do the same and pass these kids over to you, but I doubt it."

"You want me to.....leave my baby?"

"With me, for a minute. Trust me. I've jumped off buildings higher than this. She'll be perfectly fine no matter what happens. ."

She stared down at him for a few seconds, conflicted.

Claire and the little boy whimpered.

"Not my first rodeo, kiddos." He met Sabrina's eyes, soothing the kids with a jovial tone but the words meant for her. "This is just another Tuesday. I've never had a kid hurt on my watch and I'm not going to start now."

Sabrina's expression turned determined, and she looked over to her destination. Slowly she pulled herself up and over toward it, the mass of metal and wood creaking ominously though she was trying to move as delicately as possible. As she slithered onto the safe part of the walkway, a man rushed over to help pull her the rest of the way. She stood, hoping to see Mikey behind her, handing over her daughter to the safety of her arms.

But, he hadn't budged. Even though he saw her stand up, he didn't move, and even looked like he was concentrating on something very far away. He glanced up at her with the tiniest movement of his head and he grinned and mouthed 'It's okay!' just before an aftershock shook the ground once again and the whole thing jolted turbulently and went crashing down to the first level of the mall.

In that moment he thought of three things. One, Sabrina was safe. Two, he really hoped Shadow had gotten everyone out of the way below. Three, he wanted to go up but things were moving so fast that he concluded he would have to go down with the rubble instead. He gathered up the two children tightly against his chest and did what he did best. Improvise.

As they usually did, the fall felt like it was in slow motion. Dodging what he could, deflecting what he couldn't, he expertly navigated the fall with a mix of using the rubble as leverage to leap in a better direction and swerving out of its way. He managed to get his feet on the ground somewhere in the middle, meaning there was a whole lot of debris about to fall right on top of them. He did his best to dance around everything falling around him, holding the kids close to his chest and bending over them so his shell would absorb the majority of any damage.

At least, he did until felt a massive blow to his shoulder from a late falling beam that had toppled under the pressure from the level above. He felt his shoulder pop out of it's socket and blood that wasn't soaked up by his hoodie running down his arm. He cursed under his breath, but otherwise didn't react.

Once things seemed to have settled, he peeked up and surveyed the damage. As he suspected, he saw Shadow in front of a group of people, clearly having pushed them back earlier in the event. When she saw him, she ran over, grabbing poor Claire from him so he could unwrap the little boy from his body.

They both turned at a shout of their names. Sabrina was running toward them, how she got downstairs so fast he wouldn't probably never know. An older man trailed behind her, the same who had helped pull her to safety.

Sabrina collided with Shadow with Claire between them, crying. The man who was behind her trotted up to Mikey. At first he thought he might be wanting to say thank you or something, but as he got closer the little boy relinquished his grip and desperately reached for him.

"Pedrito! Are you okay? Are you alright? Your dad is gonna kill me if you got as much of a scratch!" He thanked Mikey profusely, but he just nodded.

Mikey stood for a moment, collecting himself. His cover was certainly blown. Everyone was staring at him. Or maybe at the kids. He was still a little dazed due to the pain in his shoulder. He didn't really want to hang around after that point, but managers of the mall were appearing, insisting everyone be checked out by EMTs. Mikey declined, but was relieved that both Claire and the boy had a clean bill of health, along with anyone else that had been nearby. No injuries.

Another aftershock shook the mall again, and at that the four of them were more than happy to go home.

When they got there, Carlos, who had rushed home after the quake, was quickly filled in and he reported that he'd already checked the house for damage. Mikey nudged Shadow and announced that he really needed a shower to rinse out the debris from his many little crevices. It was like fiberglass in your swimming trunks, and he couldn't bear it another moment.

Once alone, he plopped down on the guest bed they'd been using.

"Need a little help please" he asked, lifting the sleeve of his injured arm up for her to grab with his good hand.

She instantly knew as soon as she touched the sleeve. "Mikey, why did you hide this?" Black hid things far too well in her opinion. Gingerly she inched the sleeve down, wincing at the deep lashes that littered his shoulder. It looked like it had been split open with a sledgehammer.

"No biggie. Didn't want to worry anyone."

"Tsk" she clicked at him. Shoulder out? You haven't moved it at all this whole time."

He nodded. When his hoodie was completely off he stood and walked over to the bathroom door. He sucked in a deep breath and closed his eyes, then slammed his shoulder against the frame to push it back into place.

"Better?"

He nodded again. "Anything terrible on the shell? Feels alright."

She inspected his shell, running her finger over random chutes. "No, nothing major. A few little scratches."

"Is this just, normal for you guys?"

The new voice caused them both to turn toward the door to find Sabrina, expression concerned, fearful and a touch angry all at the same time.

Mikey winced before he grinned. "Just a regular Tuesday. Welcome to our life."

[goobie-goo]

was gonna fix the formatting but hhh so much work hhhhbgrggr

WORLDBUILDING

kismadoré

play on kismet (destiny)

something to do w a tree— the diff parts of town are called diff parts of tree. ex: the docks are called the roots -> (tree) bc ehe world tree

kisamadoré (called kisa/kisi for short… or kiscity… kis-city…) — KISMA MEANS HOME? maybe ‘free home’?

“refugee city” is an outsider’s nickname for it ig? i dont remember wiritng this much. i mean,, it IS refugee city after all.

Day of the Krow (DotK) - July 23rd

- town dallas n copperheads made during wilds arc made a holiday for dallas after his death called ‘Day of the Krow’ (DotK) to celebrate their independence and dallas’ leadership and mourn his death. lots of happy fesital stuff, not sad. imagime halloween, dia de los muertos, and the tangled damce scene.

- mass candle lighting and dancing all night. mariachi band all night

- face-painting and henna are common stalls, along with a giant poster for finger-painting

- people wear compass necklaces all day. OG copperheads wear their og necklaces from their squad— the next gen ones are silver and not bronze.

Remembrance Week - july 21-27th (HHAHSKDNS TODAY???? I DIDN’T REALIZE)

- a week of festivities decided to mourning the losses of loved ones from in the walls. again— lots of happy festival stuff, not sad.

- people gift mourners marigolds, gladiolus, chrysanthemums, white roses, or forget-me-nots.

- people will keep them in their house or on their person the entire week until midnight the last day, where people will gather to the lake-side then send the now wilted flowers gently down the lake. this represents a funeral passage* and letting your loved one pass on peacefully and with love.

- *lots of people who died didnt get a funeral because of mistreatment by the guards or their bodies were never found/disposed of already.

- theres quiet pockets for grievers if you need a break. theyre full of people who will support the mourners, talk to them or help get their mind off depressing thoughts.

- mass candle lighting ceremony

culture

- LANGUAGES

- english, japanese, russian, german, arabic, spanish, A LOT- basically any language

- kisman (mixed language for city)

- kisma means home

- hábi means mom

- PHRASES

- “blowing on a dandelion and waiting for it to sing” -> wishing for something/having a dream but not actually putting any effort into making it happen

- CURRENCY

- theyre nomads, dont have a currency bc focused on survival -> more bartering and community based to keep everyone alive. kinda carries over when the city is developed fully years after dallas’ death. -> in detail, more of a “hey, does anyone have ____ that i could borrow?” (several voices overlapping saying yes, they do and yes, they can borrow it). no need to buy anything, really.

- music

- doesnt matter what genre. the people are loud because we are alive! we are free! rejoice!

- many people love drums and violins and EDM though. be as loud as you can be. violin is popular because dallas loved it a lot and played many songs with it during the rebellion arc (specifically inspired by lindsey stirling).

- genres

- phonk, electro-swing, folk, electro-violin(?), will wood, etc

- clothing + accessories

- flowy clothing- dresses similar to flamenco or chicano? i have an image ill put at the bottom

- different designs but still has the BIG flowey and ruffle

- lots of jewelry and bells that make noise connected to them

- ankle bracelets and the ones that are on your feet also normal.

- jingly accessories in general are big

- piercings are common and people dont shame them.

- same w tattoos bc art is loved and appreciated. “your body is a temple and you choose how to decorate it” kinda thing

- bright clothing is common but its not expected. actually-

- NONE OF THIS IS EXPECTED!! people are accepted even if they dont dress according to the culture!

- food: (WIP)

- snow cones/ice cream

- funnel cakes

- baked potatoes

- tex-mex food is common

- dance:

- many different cultures mashed together

- commonly southern culture mixed with mexican

- flamenco, 20s flapper/charleston?, street dancing, country swing, boogie woogie(?), line-dances, some indigenous dances (LOOK INTO THESE)

- street dancing is very fast paced and not choreographed. you just join in and dance however you like.

- something like the kingdom dance scene from tangled

- dancing until dawn is common on holidays, esp DotK (day of the krow). people start the festivities at sunset and dancing starts at night. its party all night!

- some people dance in the rain to show thanks to The Syzygy.

- lots of clapping and stomping, swishing and swaying -> noise -> jangles bc accessories (or just the action makes noise) -> happy bc “we are alive and we must show it” kinda thing

- art:

- painting is big- esp finger-painting with kids

- all art is seen as sacred. no art is better than the other.

- nature connection

- animism elements

- nature is to be respected!

- its like a spiritual connection to nature but without the religion stuff

- people often get blessed by eyeless*. similar to holy water but in the eyeless respect-nature-way and not God-blessed-this-water. its more like ‘be more connected with nature’

- people dont stop everything when it starts raining. often people go outside and play in the rain. dancing in the rain is also common (rain dances) -> however you must go inside when you hear thunder to respect it or else it will get worse (superstition)

- people also dance FOR rain

- bc of this, gardeners and farmers are VERY important

- flowers

- carries over from the flower symbolism used during the rebellion arc

- crow & copperhead symbolism (bc “krow” and the Copperheads. dallas’ symbols and also bc copperheads were a group. the vets are still around btw)

- the stars are important too bc people who follow The Eyes consider the stars as members of The Eyes looking down on them. like,, the stars are Their eyes. therefore, throughout kismadoré, theres a lot of star and eye symbolism.

- side note, bc most people in the resistance followed The Eyes, most people in kismadoré do as well. its not forced onto the Eyeless, though.

- community

- bowls of dried petals are kept on the bridge over the river that leads to the lake so you can send a message to your lost one whenever. there are also little messages carved into the wood telling you that everything will be okay.

- these petals also function as a wishing fountain!! (not only the acorns) you make a wish to your/other’s ancestors, The Eyes, etc.

- “it takes a village to raise a child” thing. everyone is connected and close.

- games

- 42, chess, hide n seek, capture the flag, (WIP)

- MISC

- wind chimes, wind spinners, bottle trees, wishing wells but they wish on acorns bc they dont have coins for currency, flower wreaths, candle, weather vanes, COMPASSES

- busking

- street vendors!! all for farmers market and small lemonade stands. magicians too!

- cleansing w salt + throwing salt over shoulder, banging pots and pans (WIP)

* some term for people who follow the family (the eyes). they call themselves that bc, as mortals, they dont have Eyes like The Keepers do. (aka they arent all-knowing)

the image of the dress i was talking about! in my hometown, we had a fair on the square and thered always be a group of women who would dance in these dresses on a lil wooden stage. its one of my favorite things to see whenever im able to make it (which is hardly ever nowadays) (theyre the ones who inspired this btw) ->

im…. i…………

i want to live here so badly xi you have no idea

this little town…… they make noise because they are ALIVE goddammit and they will tell the world…………………

im. obsessed??? with the community mentality and the acceptance as like. a metaphor for not only leaving behind the physical Walls but also the social ones as well. im. unwell..

[korgbelmont]

Choices Insiders January 2025

Happy New Year to all! Hope 2025 has been good for everyone so far.

Here we go once more with the latest Insiders!

Looks like it's an all new team for this next book and going by the description, it sounds like the MC will be a coach of some form. It also sounds like that this time we have more than one Love Interest.

When I first saw the cover for this, I thought it was going to be a potential poly book, but that is definitely not the case from this description.

This sounds like it could be quite interesting, wonder if perhaps it will tie into The Phantom Agent with the Love Interest being a Phantom or if it will be something completely new.

The whole pilot book thing is an interesting one, and for some reason, I get the feeling it could just become the thing they go for rather than releasing books as a whole. I will admit, these are a couple of the many books I haven't got to yet.

When I learned of Best Served Haute ending with just five chapters, it was a bit strange given that some of the assets for it weren't used. And then I saw that they were working on more stuff for it which made me think that they'd rushed to release something unfinished, but now it sounds like it may have been one of their pilot books or something.

I have seen a lot of good stuff about Plus One (again, one I haven't got to yet), and I'm glad that those who enjoyed it are getting more. The wording though makes me think it's just going to be a small book rather than an official BK2.

I remember seeing the video posted about this from Holiday Bake Off. However you can't expect AI to get things right. Maybe they should take a step backwards and get actual people to do their art.

This is the first time where the FAQs have actually felt like questions people have asked.

I'm intrigued as to what Paths Not Taken is, but without any information, it'll just be a case of waiting.

Looking forward to Immortal Desires 3, curious as to who or what the villain will be. I also still stand by the theory that MC's mother will somehow end up a Vampire.

Interested as to what Terror Fest Origins is as I feel like it can't be about Stabby Joe as that was revealed throughout the book. Only one way to find out.

So I guess this is kind of a confession time, I haven't really looked at any of these. I've done the first chapter of Bitten, and that's it. I still have two chapters of Blades II to finish, and I haven't looked at Crimes Proposal either. I do plan to check out Years Apart and Plus One, it's just a case of actually getting to it haha.

Best Served Haute is the first book of the year, since it's only five chapters, I'll have a look at it. Definitely intend to check out The Spy I Married, and I'll more than likely check out Our Summer Crush.

One more new title with My Fake Valentine which I'm guessing is going to be a pilot book as well. Without any information it's hard to say much on this.

We also get Alpha 2 next month which I'm interested to check out given what I've read about the plot.

Inheritance is also beginning it's Wide Release. I haven't seen anything about this, but I'll check out the first two chapters and see what it's like.

I was surprised to see that Blades BK3 had finished up with just 16 chapters, I know this was the case for BK1, but 2 is a bit longer and I thought that would be the case for BK3 as well.

That's it on this one. Quite a few more pilot books. I have to admit, when I first saw the announcement about them, I didn't fully understand what it meant, but now I've got the idea haha

Happy New Year and keep safe!

[flowersandbirdsflyingfree]

oh shiiiii being fed before finals :o3333

i'm not too picky with what boomer shooter he's from, but postal was my hyperfixation for almost a year (graduated to special interest), maybe not p4 dude bc he's more father than daddy if you get what i mean.

for me, I'm a 5'2" transmasc fella, buzzed black hair, with mixed ancestry. I wear grungy clothing, usually with surface-level alternative bands (MCR, ICP)

people called me both militant and silly. i don't open up easily, but once i do, expect random noises, niche quotes and a running mouth. have mommy AND daddy issues. i have a fascination with numbers (not so excellent at math, though, think like dates and statistics), and an affinity for "little guys" (critters, creatures), sweets, and clowns. i dabble in weed and drink alcohol (my go-tos are gummies and rum n coke)

i play video games, draw cartoons, and am on a quest for knowledge (thank the auDHD) about my hyperfixations and special interests. for example, i tend to take pictures of irl graffiti to study different graffiti artstyles. as for MBTI, i'm xNTJ (flips around between INTJ and ENTJ a lot)

as for partners, i get romantically interested in men AND women, not sexually. a handful of fictional crushes i had/have are blonde and buff, but i think a sense of humor and compassion is WAAAY more necessary to win my damaged heart. (probably improper grammar)

thanks for reading and have an excellent holiday!!!!!!!!

Hello there! I hope your holiday is great as well. To be honest, both matchup and Postal exclusively, there was already an answer for you:

Postal 2 Dude

You already are on the same wavelength in terms of style and mindset. The Postal Dude also a bi king who has a taste for blondes typically, but just like you it doesn’t matter. It’s the heart that counts. Thank God you’re actually one of the good ones in this world.

He really loves your ICP shirt! Every now and then, he tends to sing a few of their tunes to himself while running errands. He might put on some of his fav bands in the car radio if you ever wanna listen! They’re usually 90s grunge and nu-metal bands. Ph8 is one of his favorite bands.

The both of you can just take a few hits of his bong (or chew some gummies its up to you) and lay on the floor during your highs to just infodump wherever the night takes you. He’s impressed how much brain you’ve got stored in there. He’s… something else. His stoned attitude ranges from “ha ha peen its” humor to “did you know if you rupture someone’s achilles heel real bad, it sounds like a gunshot and is pretty much permanently damaged forever?”

It’s pretty often for him to kick down doors and trespass wherever he pleases. He’ll gladly help you go to places like the city or abandoned buildings to study some graffiti art. Dude is also a backup bodyguard against any bad strangers lurking in the area.

I can also see you two making friends with little critters all the time. Maybe you encourage his softer side more when you feed the stray cats roaming about Paradise. One of them regularly visits to affectionately rub up against your leg. You name him Toki and check up on him every day by the restaurant district where he usually stays. Dude says he can’t be kept as a pet to prevent conflict because of a certain someone Champ

The Dude has more issues than a copy of a Freudian Monthly magazine. But he isn’t as hard as he lets on. You’ve been more patient with him than he feels he deserves. But you also get the struggle. Someone who knows the world isn’t sparkles and bullshit yet keeps going has a resilience he really loves. He won’t say it directly unless it’s late enough. But he damn well shows it in the way he treats you well.

[tctteredwings]

if you’re hearing VOGUE by MADONNA playing, you have to know NATHAN YOUNG (HE/HIM; CIS MAN) is near by! the FORTY-ONE year old PHOTOGRAPHER has been in denver for, like, NINE YEARS. they’re known to be quite COCKY, but being FREETHINKING seems to balance that out. or maybe it’s the fact that they resemble RYAN GOSLING. personally, i’d love to know more about them seeing as how they’ve got those DESK FULL OF EMPTY COFFEE CUPS, A CONSTANTLY BUZZING CELLPHONE, A PLAYFUL SMILE AND A WINK vibes. and maybe i’ll get my chance if i hang out around the RIVER NORTH ART DISTRICT long enough!

tw: adultery

ABOUT.

Name: Nathan Young Nicknames: Nate Age: Forty-one Date of Birth: 5th November 1981 Birthplace: Manhattan, New York, USA Current Location: Denver, Colorado, USA Occupation: Photographer Romantic/sexual orientation: Biromantic/bisexual

Nathan was born in Greenwich Village to Enid and Marc . They were big in the community, always doing charity work and volunteering. His father even ran for major at one point. He was expected to get involved, too, but he really wasn’t interested.

All he wanted was to take photos, so at 16 he got a part time job at Starbucks and bought all the equipment his parents refused to. The rest was history as they say.

Eventually drifted away from his parents, the relationship with his younger sisters also suffering as a result.

In his senior year he came out as bisexual and dated a guy from the hockey team for a little over six months, up until college pulled them apart anyway.

The New York Film Academy was his chosen college. He briefly dabbled in movies, but in the end decided to stick with photography, landing an internship at a major fashion magazine shadowing one of the photographers as soon as he graduated.

He worked his way up the ladder, starting with fetching coffee, basically doing everybody else's shit. It took a couple of years, but in the end he got where he wanted, finding himself being headhunted for Vogue, GQ and Vanity Fair.

At 24 he met his soon to be wife on a shoot, she was pretty new, majorly awkward and he fell for her in a big way.

It was proper whirlwind romance, in the space of a year and a half they were married and had a child. Within a couple more years their family of three became four... and then there was the dogs, too. Three of them in total. Fluffy Pomeranian's his wife was obsessed with. They set up home in the Upper East Side and could haven’t have been happier.

Up until Nathan cheated on her anyway.

Flirty in nature he was always chatting people up, just a way to get people to ‘fall in love with him’ for the benefit of the camera, but six years after he first got married, things went a little too far.

He confessed straight away and within a year they were divorced, his wife granted full custody of the children.

Deciding on a fresh start, he up and moved to Denver, setting up his own studio in the city a year later.

His daughters are Lyndsey ( 16 ) and Jessica ( 14 ), who he sees during the holidays for the most part now, the pair coming to stay in Denver with him ever since.

He’s still a flirt, something that will never change, but he’s failing pretty dramatically at getting back on the dating scene. His job is his life now, though, and a lot of his time is dedicated to that and spending time in his studio.

TIMELINE.

1984: Manhattan, New York 2005: Manhattan/Los Angeles 2014: Denver, CO

HEADCANONS.

Despite his protests in the debate over whether to get a dog or not with his ex-wife, he’s found he’s actually quite fond of them now. After spending six years having miniature breeds yapping at his heels, he chose to adopt a Doberman within a couple of months of moving to Denver.

Nathan is a keen reader and considers himself a bookworm. It’s a little known fact about him, but he adores the classics, and his favourite book is War and Peace. One day he hopes to write something himself, although knows it will probably only end up being a photography book or a pictorial of his years taking photos.

WANTED CONNECTIONS.

- two younger sisters; their relationship was strained when they were younger, but I imagine it’s something that’s improved over the years. - ex-wife;  they were together around 7 & a half years. a proper whirlwind romance that ended in disaster. - ‘the fling’; the person he cheated on his wife with. it would have been in la in 2013 with someone who works/worked in the arts industry. ( I’ve always head-canoned that they were male, but it’s not set in stone. ) - exes pre-2008; anyone he dated in nyc (possibly la for v.short term things too) before meeting his wife at 24. - failed dates since arriving in denver; he’s been on numerous & they’ve mostly been a disaster. - one night stands; before & after the wife. - people he’s photographed; either for a magazine in the past or since setting up his studio in the city. - jogging buddies; he jogs every day, so I imagine there’s a couple of people he chooses to go with. - good friends; those he’s close to and spends most of his time with. - confidant/closest friend; someone he can talk to about anything and always come to when there’s a problem. - fellow book nerds; he’s big on reading, so just people he can enthuse about literature with. - bar buddies; those he frequents the bars with.

[stargazeraldroth]

Okay okay okay, so- Hear me out. I’ve got an AU (…AM? Alternate Multiverse?) idea that could go the way or horror, humor, or both, spawned by your mention of the evil team in your Pokémon AU. I’m never gonna do anything with this, but it made me laugh and I wanted to share it and see where you’d go with it (your AUs/AMs are fun sue me!!!).

So. Consider this, if you will- Dream and Blue decide to try and be a lil silly with Ink for whatever reason. Payback for a prank? April Fool’s? The reason isn’t important, what’s important is that they decide “go big or go home” and enlist a few AUs to pretend to worship Ink as a god in some weird, Ink-oriented cult. Why a cult? Who knows, maybe they got drunk and ran with it. Maybe they were feeling chaotic. The idea is that Ink will go to these AUs, find the “fake cult,” and try to figure out what the hell happened, this isn’t in the script??? Before Dream and Blue eventually reveal their Dastardly Prank (and they intend to reveal it, they abide by the confuse don’t abuse rule!) and have a good laugh together!

Except there’s one teeny tiny… Itsy bitsy little problem with that.

Somehow, someway, the AUs didn’t get the memo that the cult was meant to be pretend, and now there’s a real, actual Ink Cult spanning the goddamn multiverse that’s rapidly growing. There are rituals and prayers going around, they’ve heard whispers about sacrifices (of what, they aren’t sure- art supplies???), someone started a goddamn holiday, it’s all a mess, really.

Depending on how you take it, you could go a humorous route and have Blue and Dream frantically trying to hide this from Ink while fixing the entire mess, or at least mitigating it somewhat (stop trying to sacrifice actual people- they don’t care that it’s willing, use cupcakes or paints or something!!!), to varying degrees of success… Or you could go a more horror oriented route of Dream and Blue frantically trying to keep their friend out of the grasp of his rapidly growing worshippers, all while wondering how everything went so damn wrong and stars, they’re so sorry, Ink-

Anyways yeah, Accidental Cult AU/AM go brrr.

Ah, splendid. I just call all of my alternate multiverses AUs, it helps me with consistency and everyone knows what it means. I don't know which idea I like better, the funnier one or the more horror-oriented one. So! I'm going to address both of them separately!

Also I'm glad to hear you find my AUs fun to read about, making AUs is one of my biggest hobbies rn-

~Funny Version~

For once, Ink's not the one who caused the problem. This is already going wonderfully, my baby's innocent

The idea of the cults trying to sacrifice actual people to Ink is hilarious. I can picture Dream and Blue trying to discourage it by saying that Ink doesn't condone this kind of behavior, which is true, but with varying degrees of effectiveness. Ink will, however, accept food and art supplies any day of the week

They have to enlist CORE's help in tracking the cults' activities, much to CORE's displeasure. How did they let the situation get so out of hand? They're sorry, CORE! They didn't think this would happen!

I can't tell what would be funnier: Ink being painfully oblivious of their involvement (how did the AUs even find out about him? He keeps himself well-hidden, he thinks!) or Ink being entirely aware, but pretending to be dumb. He wants to see if they can handle it on their own, first

Just the image of Dream and Blue trying to keep the cults hidden from Ink is golden. Especially if they eventually cave and tell Ink about it, expecting him to freak out... only for him to either wonder how they did it or him laugh and tell them he already knew about them

Imagine the cults have like, shrines dedicated to Ink. Little Ink statues

What if, in this version, the cults aren't even all that dangerous? Their rituals are more along the lines of "We must pray to the Protector and give him offerings, so that he may ward the Destroyer off from our world!" Just silly things like that

~Horror Version~

Dream and Blue's efforts to stop the cults from using live sacrifices are less successful here

You mentioned they're trying to keep Ink away from the cults, so let's take a look at what might happen if they were to get him

They wouldn't do anything bad to him, of course, but it's a very... odd situation. Ink's being surrounded by these cloaked figures showering him with praises and worship. And when he tries to leave, they won't let him, so he kinda... has to resort to extremes

Maybe the cults start treating Dream and Blue as Ink's messengers or heralds, of sorts. Not just to "deliver his words", but to also relay the cults' prayers and wishes

Alternatively, maybe some cults start going even more rogue and scheme ways to capture Ink and use him to change things about their world. Surely, if anyone would have the power to change things, it would be their lord? They didn't get the memo that Ink doesn't create or control AUs, only protects them (like half of the fandom)

Maybe a cult tries to force Ink out of "hiding" and answering their summons by capturing Dream or Blue and preparing to sacrifice them

I wonder how they might react to PJ and Gradient...? Being the children of Ink, surely they'd be respected. But being Error's children, too... maybe some groups don't take too kindly to their existences