#and those are just the ones I remember from researching at 4am

[norgeant]

Mhm yeah, they definitely did not go to the same award thingy, at the same time and place and posed in the exact same area for me to spot nearly 10 years later (2015)

They're so small !

Plus Lando won a similar award as Logan the year before (2014)

More to add to the norgeant lore 🗣️

Bonus pics?:

Them and their wonky bowties <3

[qqueenofhades]

For creative writing purposes, can you go into what a typical day is for a professor? Like what their teaching schedule looks like, when most fit in their research time, etc?

Ahaha, well. I don't want to just say "you can completely make it up," but also.... you can pretty much just make it up, and what is the case for one professor is definitely not going to be true for another. I have known people who will send emails at 1am and/or 4am, and actually finding and fitting in research time for most academics is also "lololololol what." So I can give you a roster of typical daily academic tasks and categories, and then let you know if that if you want to throw them up in the air and scatter them around in literally whatever-the-fuck order, there is probably a beleaguered academic who has done that, but with an even worse sleep schedule. So:

Most permanent faculty at a university are hired as assistant (tenure-track) professors. Once they pass the tenure-committee review (usually about 5 years into the job) they are appointed as associate (tenured) professors. Full professors are considerably senior and/or have been in the field for a long time and have a distinguished service record, excluding various wunderkinds who get it early (but are not common).

If the faculty is just teaching one class a semester or has an irregular appointment, i.e. they step in to teach when the university needs them, they are adjunct professors. You can gain a lot of cred and/or commiserating groaning in your AO3 comments by complaining about how little money the adjunct faculty makes, how erratic their schedule is, and how there is generally little-to-no actual career advancement possible in that position, unless they manage to reapply to a permanent post.

There are also a lot of Visiting Assistant Professors (and similar title), for 2- or 3-year/non-permanent appointments. Many institutions now also offer 1-year VAPs with only a possibility of renewal for 1 additional year or not at all. Those institutions should go straight to hell.

Most professors have 3/3 teaching loads, i.e. they'll teach 3 classes per semester (assuming winter/spring semester). Others have 2/2/2 loads for trimesters (also known as quarters). It can be more, i.e. 4/4, but that's for sucky entry-level teaching-only positions and someone in that role would be unlikely to have any research or service (i.e. institutional committee or internal college) commitments. They would probably also mostly be teaching introductory or freshman-year general survey courses. It depends on how much you want to torture your fictional academic.

Free food? Yes. You will see a healthy amount of the department there, whether faculty or student.

Please remember to have your fictional academic receive approximately 50 student emails a day wherein they ask something that is clearly answered in the syllabus or on the course website, and to see how polite they can possibly be in telling said student this.

Most grading is now done online, so the red pen is only metaphorical, but you can leave SO many Pointed Comments on Canvas Speed Grader. But if you want to torture Dr. Blorbo, you can have the e-grading system suddenly stop working, so they have to grade three classes' worth of introductory freshman history essays by hand. Not based on real events.

Likewise, there will be endless bullshit with the dean's office and/or central university administration, wherein there will be so many Urgent Budget Updates and Breaking News From The Chancellor and We Regret To Inform You We Cannot Hire Someone For That Position.

Related to the budget woes: they will ask you to do things like "make sure you print on both sides of the paper!" or otherwise "economize." Contemplating murder is acceptable and encouraged.

The administrative assistant in each department holds the entire department together. They will be extremely indispensable. Your fictional academic, if they know what's good for them, will befriend that person and/or grovel at their feet. Said person is also usually responsible for scheduling classrooms, which can cause all kinds of juicy drama in the academic fandom if there is One Particular Classroom that everyone hates and lo and behold, Dr. Blorbo is stuck there yet again. They will then probably also fire off multiple passive-aggressive emails attempting to correct the problem. The administrative assistant can grant and/or ignore these requests at their discretion, depending on how much beef they have with Dr. Blorbo and/or how motivated they are to solve their problems.

Department meetings! Who asked for them? Nobody! Who has to attend them? Everybody! They go on for two hours every other week (possibly more depending on how meeting-happy your department chair is) and you will wish for death!

Likewise, the department staff sending out passive-aggressive emails about how they really NEED one more volunteer for (insert university event here). Dr. Blorbo, if they are smart, will delete these emails and pretend they never saw them, but sometimes it may be unavoidable. Bitching and moaning will follow.

For research: it really depends on what academic field Dr. Blorbo is in, since the hard sciences, etc. look quite different and I, as a humanities person, can't speak to that. Most academics aim to fairly regularly publish a piece in a peer-reviewed journal; you can check Dr. Blorbo's field to see what journals they might be trying to submit a journal article (usually max. 8000 words, sometimes more) to.

This will go through a process called Peer Review, wherein two anonymous academics review your work (also anonymized to them) to make sure that you are not talking out of your ass. It is a running joke that Reviewer 2 will always, ALWAYS be more grumpy and critical and otherwise annoying. Invoking the specter of Dr. Blorbo receiving a peer review evaluation for their article will send a shiver down every academic's spine.

If Dr. Blorbo has recently finished their PhD, they may be working on converting their PhD thesis into an academic monograph. The most horrible part of this process, hands down, is reviewing proofs to make an index. Don't ask me how I know this.

However, academic monographs take a lot of time and work and most academics are mostly focused on publishing journal articles, book chapters (in collected volumes) or editing/working in collaboration with other projects.

Likewise: Dr. Blorbo will have to write book reviews. This is accomplished by the very scientific method of subscribing to various industry publications and/or email lists that will sometimes send out lists of books that need to be reviewed and solicit people to sign up. You will then receive a hard copy of the book (usually) and have 3 months or so to read it and write a review. The first 2 months of this, give or take, will consist of the book sitting untouched on the academic's desk as they remind themselves that they still have plenty of time to do it.

There can, however, be INCREDIBLE beef in book reviews, and while the standards of professional courtesy dictate that you don't go great-guns-flaming calling someone else in your field a moron (in more technical language), sometimes it is unavoidable.

Do they get paid for any of this extra intellectual work? Lol. No. No they do not. They don't get paid enough for their actual job.

Dr. Blorbo will inevitably hear some Hot Gossip about what nonsense has recently happened at which field-specific conference (where academics go to present research papers and network with other academics and make regrettable decisions at the open bar). They will then rush to secretly text all their other academic friends with OOH JUICY ACADEMIC DRAMA. Their friends will do the same whenever the opportunity arises to reciprocate.

Removing the coffee machine from the break room/faculty kitchen is grounds for mutiny.

Anyway. I am sure there are many, MANY more, but if you want an authentic slice of long-suffering academic life for Dr. Blorbo, this is all a good place to start.

[whiteraven90]

hello, I hope you're having a good day <33 I saw your recent post on my dash and I was STUNNED at the animated scene! It's insane to me I get to see your characters animated. Feeling blessed to be alive to see it, I am not exaggerating. You know, one of these times where you wake up and things are a little bumpy in your life but there's one thing that shines brightly you didn't know it could give you so much excitement? Yeah, that kind of thing ((:

I took my time for the past hour to reminisce over your blog again. It is one of the places I really love scrolling through and reading your writing. I had a question, if you don't mind me. The way you have improved is truly admirable. I know this might not be an easy ask to say "hey, how did you learn how to paint", so I'll ask this instead: I don't know how long you've been working full-time in art, but when do you make time for studies / drawing for fun? If it's not too much to respond to, how do *you* study? I remembered your posts with your redlines and wanted to ask how do you go about those, or if you switch your routines based on your needs (sketches vs speed painting backgrounds etc). The notes there were very interesting, seeing the mental exercise.

Pretty sure you have a fKTON of stuff on your plate, so please don't feel obligated to respond quickly or even at all. Thank you in advance for taking the time to read my message and for all the time you take to respond in general. Love reading your responses <3

Take care, ok? <3

I'm glad the animation made you feel better! I'll put the answer under the Keep Reading thingy.

I'm not entirely sure... I think I don't study as much as I should/could. I mostly learn as I go. Standalone studies are helpful, I'm just drawn to doing things that are more fun/satisfying to me or things that actively progress my creative goals. Imperfect illustrations for my stories, and incomplete research for worldbuilding! Many people learn faster than I, and those people do a lot more studies than I, but I have no info on whether they have more fun than I. Dopamine is rocket fuel, so it's important. :)

I'm always on the lookout for reference pictures, but I study almost only when I have a practical goal in mind, I guess. Studying is part of my job too, I think? As an indie concept artist I'm supposed to build a hoard of references and pull several new/sensible things out of them, and I think part of this process is understanding the material, and revisiting even what I already know. Illustration is similar. If I'm commissioned to draw an anthro alligator, it's time to study gators. It's not separate from work.

I mean, straightforward version: I wake up at 03:30, make coffee, and start working for myself until the paying work starts, lol. Brain is fresh before noon, and tired late in the evening just like everyone else's. It also helps that the city more or less shuts up at 4am.

The studies with the redlines... I do them when I fancy drawing characters or creatures but feel out of shape. I can get discouraged, feel like I forgot how to draw. I sketch if I plan to sketch, and paint if I plan to paint or want to study colors Drawing live models helps. Studying videos of people and things in motion. Hopping down rabbit holes about how/why things work (e.g. flintlock, Davy lamp, mansard roof). Drawing from refs. Hoarding refs. Trying different mediums (e.g. charcoal, 3D, etching). Small screenshot of one of my ref boards for the animation; I'd say I studied it a lot. How clothes move, what are good clothes, how do good clothes move, lion/tiger + human + eagle anatomy (from specific angles during specific motions if/when possible), how to dive roll, proper sprinting form, how to survive falling from a great height, spearfighting, pole vaulting, poledancing, lighting, colors, environment, kicked-up sand in motion, spear types, emu/cassowary/griffon vulture feet, etc. I didn't draw studies, unless you count the animation itself (I would).

[cara-delaney-author]

Blog post inside a blog post? It's more likely than you think!

Over on my website, I write monthly posts about the craft of writing, self-publishing, and sometimes tomatoes. For October, I've written up a little overview of my planning process - how do I go from idea to manuscript?

If you're curious, and maybe are getting a late start on your Preptober, go take a look!

Post pasted below the cut as well for your reading convience 👇

Plan a book with me!

Well. We’re here. Tomb of Heart and Shadow is finished, I’m just collection the last files I need to upload it to KDP and Ingram, and then off to the presses we go. This means that all the active parts are pretty much done, and it’s about time that I start a new project.

Plan a new project, I should say. Believe you me, I have learned my lesson, I’m not starting anything anymore without a solid plan. So why don’t you join me in my office, pour yourself a cup of tea, and let’s take a look at just how, exactly, I do all of that planning?

Step 1 – the notes That’s how every project starts – with some notes in my dump file that I keep on my desktop. At some point, when one random jumble of words stands out among the rest, I take that jumble and give it its own file. Everything goes in there. Every idea, character, setting, stuff I come up with during walks gets transferred from my notes app. I won’t use all of it, but it’s better to write something down and not need it than to wake up in the morning remembering that you had a brilliant idea at 4am but nothing else.

Step 2 – the elevator pitch This is about as classic as it gets. The dreaded two-sentence summary that distils the story down to its core concept. A mermaid and a pirate fall in love, and must work together to escape an angry ex-fiancé. A woman returns to her hometown and finds that everyone is behaving really strangely. When she starts snooping, she discovers a terrible secret. Two adventurer friends find a valuable relic, but when they take it, they accidentally unleash an ancient evil. They race against time to bottle it back up before one friend – and the entire world – becomes consumed by it. Now, this is not necessarily set in stone. If you’ve read my books, you’ll recognise the first two and notice that a lot is missing. That’s normal. This is just supposed to be a starting point. Since I’m not pitching to anyone at this stage, I don’t need it to be perfect, I just need it to be exciting to me.

Step 3 – the blurb Exactly what it says on the tin. For this step, I expand my elevator pitch into a proper blurb, like what you might find on the back of a book, or a store page. I give myself a little more space than what I would normally write as back copy, so roughly 250-300 words. Normally, I try to keep my back copy at around 150 words. This part is supposed to hit the big plot beats. That way, if I read it back and think “wow, there’s no way beat #6 would follow from beat #5”, I know that stretch of the story needs more work. But once I’ve got it all flowing smoothly and coherent, I move on to the next step.

Step 4 – the bullet point outline This is where the story really takes shape. I take the blurb, write down each beat as a bullet point, and then I start filling out the list around those beats. I don’t bother with details or any research that isn’t directly plot-relevant. For this part, I just need to get the story down on paper from start to finish. There will be lots of notes and comments here for later. If something needs foreshadowing, I will mark that. If a specific character development needs more setup, I will make sure to remind myself. If an aspect of the worldbuilding becomes relevant to the plot, I add a reminder to mention or explain that ahead of time, so as to not make it sound like I winged it in the scene. Since I write romance, I will also make sure to periodically note the relationship stage we’re in, just so I know that the progression makes sense.

Step 5 – the narrative summary This is the point at which I start writing the story. I’ll take that bullet point list and turn it into an extremely shortened version of the story. For reference, the narrative summary for my space horror is 3900 words long, the summary for my next romance project 3500. This summary allows me to get a better idea of the narrative flow and overall feel of the story. I can tinker with my bullet point outline, add and change as necessary, and incorporate all of those elements I put in the notes in step four. This process can take anywhere between a few days and a few weeks, depending on how much I’m changing, whether some aspects of the story need restructuring, and also what else I’m working on. But it’s important to me to get this right, because it will become the foundation upon which the story is built. If this is flawed, the entire construction will be lopsided. Right now, this is the step I’m at. I finished my narrative summary, and now I’ll give it a week or so to sit and simmer before I get back to it for the next step.

Step 6 – the actual outline Now this one, I’ll be experimenting with again. I do very much like chapter-by-chapter outlines, because there is something extremely satisfying about being able to see these self-contained little bits of story that I can start and finish in a day if I want to, and that look really neat when I’m done. But while this was fine with single-POV, or a dual-POV structured A-B-A-B, I’m not sure how well it works, really, for dual-POV where the chapters don’t neatly alternate. So I might shift this step from chapter-by-chapter to scene-by-scene. I don’t think it will make a huge difference in the end, but it will make it easier for me to shift scenes around, and see the overall balance of the different POVs (especially once I feed it into Atticus and start working on it in there).

And once this is done, there’s nothing left but Step 7 – writing the story.

So there it is, my current process as I go through a project from inception to writing “the end” underneath. Looks like a lot? It’s really not. Truth be told, without the majority of this prep work, the actual writing process would take so much longer. Having it all laid out and ready to go makes it so much easier not just to find flaws ahead of time (and thus avoid extensive rewrites), but to write the actual book day to day, without getting stuck in research, character development, and wondering if the entire thing hasn’t gone wildly off course forty pages ago, and I just didn’t notice yet. If you’ve never tried planning a long-form project, maybe give this method a go.

Now, if you’ve been reading this blog or following my socials for a bit, you might be wondering: It’s almost November, and she’s outlining a new manuscript, is she-

No. I’m not. There will be no NaNoWriMo for me this year, and this time, I mean it.

I haven’t missed a year since 2011. It’s time for a break. So this year, on October 31st, instead of counting down to November to get my first 1000 words in, I’ll be chilling on the couch, watching The Fall of the House of Usher, having a drink or two, and when the clock strikes midnight, I’ll think: “Maybe I should go to bed.”

And that will be all.

– Cara

[keirou-kun]

So I'm pretty sure the double-spacing after ending punctuation is a holdover from typewriters, but I'm not sure and also it's 11:30 PM and if I dive down that research rabbithole I probably won't surface until 4AM, but considering that most people I know who still do it are either of an age bracket that typewriters were the norm, an age bracket where computer typing was still new when they were being taught in school OR of an age bracket where those of the first two were the ones teaching them, it makes sense to me. Double-spacing on a typewriter makes it easier to read and makes the sentences more distinct from each other, but it's not as necessary on a computer or with modern printers not being as blurry or streaky as they once were [modern inkjets are AMAZING compared to the ones from even just 20 years ago; I remember, I was there >>;;] and now with texting and smartphones becoming part of the norm, the double-space tradition is fading due to not being as necessary.

Also the spread of these poll results is hilariously fascinating to me for some reason XD

ppl have made fun of me for double spacing after end punctuation so i want to know if theres anyone else who learned that ur supposed to double space after end punctuation when u learned typing

example: This is cool. You are cool, too!

pls reblog for larger sample size

[handelplayssims]

New day and ta-da! We’re now a paralegal! And one of our promotion things is taking a bar exam! Evidently that was bugged to be impossible to clear. I would not have noticed that at all. Anyway, we’re gonna head into work today. Anyway, I’m glancing over at Meredith’s whims before work and hey, we totally can make a call to chat with someone before work starts. Hooray! And so off to work we go once more!

Haven’t seen this before but then again, haven’t played the Law career much at all. Yeesh. That’s tight. ...let’s go with accuracy, Meredith is a Good Sim, and that probably means a good amount of honor before reason. ...the text says that not reaching those hours means she got scolded and her promotion is a bit more out of reach. Well yeah, we don’t have level 4 research and debate yet! Ahp! But she returned with a familiar sight. The Fear of a Dead-End job is in! Welp! Tense moodlet for now and we’ll see about clearing it. In time.

Markus came home sad from overheating, as he was still in his evidently warm night time pajamas, needing to go to the restroom and having low fun. And sleepy. Poor Markus. Welp, potty and then auto-solve for fun gave us him asking Meredith for flash cards. What a smart kid. And now he’s hungry. Welp. I have some salad leftovers for him. Hmm. Fun need is still low but sleepiness is overpowering. I hope reading him to sleep helps with the fun need.

Man, I would tend to Meredith’s whims by inviting someone over to hang out and being friendly to a non-household sim but she has less than an hour until bedtime. Man that work-life balance is rough with keeping track of this one toddler. I’ll just have her call Moria Fyres, of whom, by the by, their relationship degraded into acquaintances, before heading to bed. Hopefully Meredith will feel better in the morning.

Neighborhood Watch!

Del Sol Valley: The Kay household recently moved in.

Good luck in the uber-rich house!

Today we actually wake up at 4:30 moderately well-rested! Enough to actually look at her whims. Be Friendly to Non-Household Sim again and Invite a Sim Over. ...the problem is that it’s 4AM. I don’t think anyone will actually be around or willing to do that. You know what might be an idea though? A morning jog! To at least delay some of the time. Gets Meredith out. Gets her outside. Gets her to see the sunrise!

We got another early morning jogger behind us. A vampiric one at that! Heh. Anyway, now she needs a shower after all of that jogging so back home we go. Anyway, it’s a work-from-home day. And we got...attending a deposition and filing a legal motion. Let’s head on off to that deposition then and then we can stay home.

...and I actually did the math for a typical day at the nanny. That would come out to 150 per day. Not horribly expensive but at this point, we have to live within our means considering we can’t pay bills for this home.

Oh and remember what I said about staying home? Yeah, Power Conservation is a thing within this neighborhood and today, electronics have been turned off. TO THE LIBRARY! After feeding ourselves, hopefully something in the fridge hasn’t gone bad, and bathing Markus. And feeding him. For he is hungry now as well.

So we’re off to the library. Our usual spot. We file that disposition and Markus busies himself with books. I did want to get his imagination all the way up to 5 but alas, he felt sad. And he was also sleepy so nap time. After that legal motion, I put Meredith on the research machine to skill up her research skill. It’s needed for that promotion, after all! And there we go. Research for finished for Meredith and Markus got his level 5 imagination skill! Now, normally, I would age up a toddler soon after they reach level 5 skills in everything because I find the toddler stage to be a bit boring. But it seems with the infant update, they cut down on the time a toddler is a toddler. He’s only 17 days away from aging up and with my dedicated 15 days per family, he’ll age up next time I visit this household. I’m fine with this! Just another week, or perhaps even less, with this family to go. Anyway, it’s time to put Markus to bed and Meredith to sleep.

Neighborhood Watch!

Adam Vogue in the Vogue household has started a job as a Palette Cleaner in the Painter career.

Strangerville: The McHenry household recently moved in.

New neighbors time!

Henford-on-Bagley: The Ota household recently moved out.

Cierra Wright in the Wright household has died. Cierra stayed in the sun a little too long and overheated.

Oh man, I recognize that name. RIP!

Clifton Kay in the Kay household has died. Clifton got on the bad side of a chicken.

Hang on. ...yep. That’s the person that just moved into Del Sol Valley. I don’t even think there are chickens up there! Alas.

[vinnieworld]

5 tips to boost 5 days of Productivity

We all love to procrastinate and most of us (including myself) have made sport out of this, but is this how we really should be approaching things?

The answer is NO.... apparently

So join me in my self evaluation of bringing you 5 tips how I avoided procrastination by being a bit lazy.

Being productive for a whole week when you have too much on your plate but you spend your entire weekend scrolling through social media... well me too :)

Though Mondays suck, its a brand NEW week so we can't let Mondays win and ruin out entire week right?

Tip 1 - Preparation before the week start

- Make a to do list - For the next day or the week

A short list of your most prioritised tasks e.g. starting that essay you been avoiding, even if it just picking the ttile

Make sure to not put too much pressure on these tasks

Keep it simple

DO NOT put too many things, be realistic only add things you know you can achieve

Little ramble on how this helped me :)

We all have those sleepless nights, especially when you have a 9am lecture/class the next day. Somehow you end up going to sleep at 4am still make it to your lecture on time, though the rush might be exciting this is not the way to start the week because your mind will get used to this so much and this becomes your normal routine.

Not going to lie, I am super guilty of this but I found out this not only drains my energy, it strips me away from my motivation and make me lazy all the time.

So one bazzare night I thought to myself what would I potentially want to do this coming week, so I got my phone started typing my "potential" to do list for the week, okay the list was quite long and seemed quite overwhelming, and I knew I wouldn't do all of this so though I made the list I didn't put too much pressure on this. When I checked back in the middle of the week I did most of the things on the do to list unconsiously. This was so surprising I never get things done.... what changed ?

Most of the time we put too much pressure ourself, that's why we procrastinate and they avoid the things we need to do. The minute the pressure is gone you get the urge to do your things even if you are unaware of it.

Tip 2 - Follow today's work TODAY

- Follow the lecture and make notes while you're attending the lecture

Take brief notes on what's on the slides

If the lecturer give extra info add those especially

DO NOT panic if you don't write everything on the slide, remember these are brief notes to for later revision

Speed is not important, what's important is that you have something written on the paper

when the lecture/class is finished fill in the gaps you left during it, do this right after while you still have the energy.

one page = one lecture (unless the lecture is 90 slides then its bit tricky)

Little ramble on how this helped me :)

I personally find it very hard to keep on top of things, especially with how different lecturers have different methods and speed with delivering their content. I tried many methods, recording the lectures, printing the slides, handwriting everything but it only made me bored of the things I was learning.

I can't stare at pages and pages of writing when I'm trying to revise, so best way for me to do this is if I have one page or two for the entire lecture. This helped me a lot of condense my notes, motivated me to keep writing and I felt accomplished by the end of every lecture.

Tip 3 - Keep one book for all your modules

- Invest in a chunky subject divider notebook

This is where you write the notes form the previous tip

One book to take to all your lectures, don't have to carry five or more

Write all the assignment and exams for that subject in the dividers (Kinda like a self-reminder)

Keep a general section where you write extra information that relates to the subjects (e.g. extra seminars, extra activity sessions, groups project notes, your own research for subjects, assignment preparation etc. )

Little ramble on how this helped me :)

Most of my detailed notes are digitalised, this is way easier then writing hours and hours of detailed notes by hand. But all the modules, lectures, practicals are separated so it's too much of hassle to find what I want when I want to have a quick glance at something.

Dividing the book by subject and seeing different content I am going to need regularly being on one place really is therapeutic for me, give me less stress so I don't have to spend time looking through pages of notes to find just one sentence.

Having one book for all my modules, helped me so much to keep on motivated to write notes and keep on top of it and when I revisit it, it's so pleasing to the eye.

Tip 4 - Write flashcards on the day

- Put little bit of extra into a flashcard

Once you finished a lecture, read back and pick the most key bits and write a maximum three sentences

Keep it very very brief

Think of pictograms for some words. e.g. little blog with stokes for a virus or a spark for electricity

Some info you can't fit on your page put it on the flashcard, like a diagram or a table

Little ramble on how this helped me :)

I am a sucker for flashcards, seeing them makes me so happy to revise. But making them when an exam is near is frustrating so if you make them before by the time you get your exam season you already have flashcards to revise from. How convenient!

Tip 5 - Write a sentence or research a bit everyday for your assignments

- Every time you feel like you done nothing today take a look assignment and write sentence - Take this step by step everyday and add information along the way

Pick a title first for whatever your assignment is

Do basic research on the title you chose

Do a basic plan

Improve on the basic research

Add information to the plan

and ect....

Little ramble on how this helped me :)

Doing assignments is tricky, very boring, they can be very long and stressful so we avoid even starting it until the day before it's due. Okay, we all work well under pressure but we don't really produce our best work under a day so investing little time everyday or every other helped me to produce more quality work than normal and it was less pressuring and stressful when I started the binge writing on two three days before the deadline, because all the research, preparation is done all I had to do was write and improve my work along the way.

I actually cannot recommend this enough because it saved me from a lot of breakdowns over my assignments. Just by adding something to it every now and then I basically finished my first draft by the time I actually want to start to write properly.

Bonus tip - Take the weekend off! - > If you're like me and get bored very easily with doing the work then follow these tips for the days you have school or uni, finish everything by Friday and take the whole weekend of .... TRUST ME you will be much more prepared for Monday.

Thank you so much ya'll for reading this, I do ramble a lot but it's a part of me that I embrace so I hope this was helpful for you and make sure to tell me your thoughts and feelings.

Till next time Lovelies x

[hxrpooner]

Oh yay!!!

Your driving and cooking headcanons had me cry laughing on the floor since they, so unexpectedly, fitted the valorant agents >< so I really wanted your input on outside of training physical activities! (aside from what Riot already gave us like Omen knitting, Raze dancing and listening to music etc)

I just wanna thank you for even considering this!!>< Your stuff really makes me laugh and happy!

hmmm, let me seeee... agent hobbies...

- viper keeps some potted plants, but only cactuses. they're prickly, like her. plus they're the only things she can remember to water often enough to keep alive.

- it's already been confirmed canon that killjoy plays league of legends. i feel like she'd also probably play DOTA as well... i get that vibe from her. ironically though i'm not sure if she would be into first person shooters; maybe she gets enough of that in her real life that she wouldn't want to play it on her offtime

- she might also play stuff like Warcraft/Starcraft, and maybe some sillier stuff like Overcooked. she has very strong opinions on Warcraft III: Reforged

- killjoy hacking in video games...?

- i said in the driving post that phoenix probably is into old cars and i stand by that i think. he probably nerds out about it sometimes with brimstone.

- we can see in yoru's music video (that song sucks donkey ass btw) that he rides a motorcycle, which i think suits him pretty well. i think he's probably into customizing his bike -- it definitely has a custom paint job. 

- skye canonically does woodworking 

- chamber gives me the vibes of a rich kid who took music lessons growing up, so he probably plays the piano (and possibly the violin). he probably doesn’t get many opportunities to do it, nowadays.

- neon keeps a sketchbook. she does some graffiti-style art (i’m not sure she would do actual graffiti, though). she talks about it with raze sometimes 

- raze, jett, neon, and phoenix compete at mariokart. neon usually wins.

- sova has a secret stash of trashy romance novels 

- astra makes her own clothes. she has a tendency to impulse buy cool fabrics.

- obviously cypher's main hobby is spying on everyone else in the protocol and getting the latest gossip

- i feel like cypher has a Thing about always getting everyone the best birthday gifts possible (by spying on them to find out what they want). it's creepy but kind of endearing

- skye is insane about exercising. also canon. 4am morning runs. 

- i've mentioned sova watching nature documentaries in another post. i feel like maybe he and sage would watch the marine life documentaries together

- reyna does makeup stuff and likes to go get her nails done. she’s probably big on spa activities 

- i think the idea of breach making miniatures is really funny LOL. maybe he started doing it semi-ironically to develop his arms’ fine motor skills but at some point he just started doing it for fun 

- breach is into researching conspiracy theories. he doesn't REALLY believe most of them, but he kind of half-believes some of them for funsies. he probably shares this with killjoy 

- jett plays MMOs, but she’s too embarrassed to tell anyone about it. she has some super decked out high level characters 

- killjoy trolls internet forums

- reyna secretly plays animal crossing. you won't live long enough to tell anyone if you find out, though

- brimstone has a baseball card collection

- yeah brimstone is a sports guy. yeah woo football!!!! 

- i'm not really sure what kay/o would like to do besides training and cooking! maybe he draws? i feel like he probably has trouble with his sense of identity and what he likes to do, given that he's a robot

- omen has one of those miniature zen gardens that sage gave him as a gift. outwardly he scoffs about it but he treats it with the utmost care.

- viper watches tv dramas. sometimes she watches them with reyna. reyna prefers period dramas.

- astra draws and writes in a journal

- phoenix still has an old hot wheels collection from when he was younger. maybe he occasionally still adds to it if he sees a rare one he doesn’t have yet 

- neon does extreme roller skating 

- viper has a line about losing a bet with brimstone, so i imagine that brimstone, viper, sage, and maybe cypher have a betting pool about the other agents’ tomfoolery. they have a large pool going regarding who has a crush on who.

- sage probably tries to act like she’s above it a lot of the time but can’t resist participating.  

- cypher has like. a conspiracy wall of all the potential romantic relationships between the agents. 

- phoenix is trying to learn the guitar (maybe partly because he thinks it’ll make him look cool) but he’s not very good at it yet 

- yoru swims 

[kirishimasmom]

Let me tell you what I went through to FINALLY HAVE HIM.

A while back, I can't remember if it was 2021 or early 2022, this plush set went on preorder.

This is Shino's first and only official plushie. The others here have all had plushies, but most of them haven't had one in over a decade or more.

I could only find it on a couple of websites at the time, one of which was toywiz, which I don't trust after having multiple bad experiences with them in the past, so I ordered from another website which I can find no records of at this time or remember the name of, but I did research and find to be legitimate at the time.

Their original release date was early 2022, I can't remember the month, but I want to say sometime between March and May. But that came and went and they never came out. I kept waiting and waiting, with no sign of them ever being released anywhere I could easily access and also no physical photos of them from anywhere, only this stock image which is not the actual physical plushies but rather a mock up design.

I would often look for them on Yahoo Japan and Japan Mercari through buyee, but had no luck. My Figure Collection still had them listed as having come out in 2022, but only two accounts on there period had any of them listed under 'owned' and had no photos posted.

For a while I gave up and assumed they must have been cancelled. Because not a single one of them had ever shown up for sale even on Japanese sites. I was devastated, because all I've wanted for years is a Shino plushie.

But a few weeks ago I decided rather than searching for these specifically by character I would search buyee for "Naruto Tomonui"(but in Japanese) instead. I've done it before, and it usually brings up the many other Naruto Tomonui plushies there are. But this time, amongst those, I saw the first physical evidence these existed, an actual real life photo of Kankurou!

I about lost my mind for a minute because until then I was fully convinced these were not actually made. When I translated the title of his listing it translated to 'foreign exclusive'. I thought that was odd. I kept looking and could not find a single other plush from this set for sale on any Japanese sales site.

So I kept scouring google to look for more photos of them, trying in various languages. I ended up finding a photo of Gaara. Gaara has a Tomonui plush already, but it's in a different outfit, and this photo had the two of them side by side, so I knew it was the right one. When I reverse google image saerched it I found a French anime merch website that had actual real life photos of every single one of the plushies from this set except for Shino, Kiba, and Kankurou. It also had all of them for sale other than those three. I do want everyone from this set, but my main priority here was Shino, and then Kiba. So while I was super excited to see photos of the others (Lee is especially cute and I want to get him soon too), I WANTED TO SEE SHINO. AND ALSO BUY HIM.

I kept looking and mostly reached a dead end. I found someone on TikTok that owned Lee, another person on TikTok that owned Neji, and that's about it. I gave up for the night because it was 4am.

And then I ended up looking every single day for a week straight. After a while I gave up on finding photos of them and decided I should just try to find them for sale. I could only find them on European websites. European eBays and European anime merch sites. There was no sign they had released anywhere outside of Europe thus far. I figured maybe that was what that seller on Japan Mercari meant by 'Foreign Exclusive' but it seemed weird to me that they wouldn't even release in Japan.

Even weirder, when I found them on the Bandai website's list of items it said they had only released in the US. Maybe they will in the future, but so far the only non European website that has them for sale is ToyWiz, where the release date has been slowly pushed up over time for over a year and a half.

Now onto the next dilemma I had: All these European websites would not let me either buy the full set or pick a character. It was always a random selection. The ones that did let me pick did not have Shino. I finally ended up finding a website in Bulgaria that had Shino and let me pick, so I bought him and Kiba! But when I bought them my translation of the checkout process got messed up and my address was messed up. Thankfully I was able to email them to fix it immediately.

AND NOW THEY ARE HERE. ABSOLUTELY WORTH ALL THE HELL. I'll probably get the others when/if they are a little bit easier to get ahold of. I don't know why this was so difficult. But it was very worth it.

SQUEEZES HIM

[fonulyn]

fonulyn’s 2020 in fics

this is kind of exciting since in 2020 I did get a lot writing done, and it marks the second year in a row that I’m able to actually make one of these posts after that horrible not good at all terrible disastrous three and a half years when I wrote absolutely nothing. so it’s a triumph to get another one of these up! personal victory haha.

in total, in 2020 I wrote 148 fics, ranging from like 200 words to 34k (idk if those short things can be called fics but i just did). by pairing, there’s

13 of Joe/Nicky

58 of Piers/Leon

56 of Chris/Leon

(1 with Piers/Leon and Chris/Leon)

5 of the ot3 (Chris/Leon/Piers)

11 of Krauser/Leon

3 of Wesker/Chris (lmao still can’t believe this)

1 of Chris/Leon/Krauser

so. in retrospect, i did okay. 

it’s over 300 thousand words and I am kind of. surprised. and that is not counting the approximately 50k of wips i’m ignoring :’D

I’d also like to take a second to thank everyone who has ever sent me nice messages, commented on the fics, left reblogs or kudos, and the like. you’re what kept me going, I wouldn’t have gotten even half as much done otherwise.

without further ado, links to all of the fics under the cut! they’re organized by pairing, and the links take you to tumblr posts (bc I’m lazy) and a lot of them have a link in the post that takes you to ao3. (also can you see I put ~~so much~~ effort into naming the tumblr ficlets :’D feel free to laugh at me)

Joe/Nicky

a dog by any other name | 1,5k | The one wherein they end up owning a dog.

within the heart a flame of desires | 5,0k | Nicolo watches Yusuf have sex with others, desperately wishing he was with him instead. Until things change. He much prefers having Yusuf all for himself.

the world will wait | 2,4k | The one wherein Joe takes a lot of naps and the whole team gets to relax.

catch this | 650w | Every time Joe gets distracted (by Nicky), Andy tries to take him by surprise.

nobody’s perfect | 1,9k | Even immortal warriors have their weaknesses, Nile learns. Those just aren’t what she expected.

only in these arms | 780w | Nicky has trouble sleeping alone. Andy is a decent substitute, but only when Joe returns so does Nicky’s ability to get a decent night’s rest.

(please don’t explain) that time in Malta | 580w | Nile doesn’t think at first it would even be possible for Joe to be embarrassed. By anything. Until one evening, they talk about Malta.

cool it down boys | 400w | Andy gets no sleep. She gets revenge, though.

cowboy, baby | 340w | Nicky has the fashion sense of a sack of flour, and he is fine with that.

that day is not today | 4,9k | They struggle through the whole lab-experience. It isn’t the time yet to forgive Booker.

tea, soup and tlc | 2k | The one wherein Joe is not sick. At all. Nope. He isn't.

two drinks too many | 770w | Nicky is a little drunk. Joe loves him anyway.

safe haven | 3,9k | The one wherein everyone gets quality cuddles from Joe.

Piers/Leon

it was you that I found | 23,4k | Leon doesn’t really do relationships. Not because he doesn’t want to, but because he always seems to be so bad at them. Of course entirely by accident he manages to build one without even realizing it. 

unexpected visitor | 690w | Piers is forced on bed-rest. At least Leon stops by.

got me all tied up (never let me go) | 4,0k | Piers doesn’t like suits. Leon loves Piers in a suit.

not so subtle | 210w | “Soo, were you checking me out all night, or was that just my imagination?” Leon asks suddenly, Piers chokes on his drink in surprise.

nighttime fools | 4,8k | Piers and Leon get arrested for public indecency. It’s not their fault, honest.

piers isn’t sick, really, he isn’t (he is) | 670w | “Oh, hi,” Piers said immediately, a goofy smile slipping onto his face. Man, he was happy to see Leon. So happy to see him.  

so you’ve met Xena | 620w | “Xena?” Leon turned to look at Piers, decidedly unimpressed. “You named your dog after the Warrior Princess?“

you’re cute, you know | 680w | Piers took the opportunity the second their gazes met. He grinned, as charmingly as he possibly managed, and said “You’re cute, you know that?“

kiss the nightmares away | 470w | Sleepily Piers blinked, trying to make his eyes work properly. He squinted at the digital clock on the bedside, and its harsh red numbers that told him it was 3:30, and confusedly he turned to frown at Leon. “Why aren’t you sleeping?“

smooth talking, Nivans, very smooth | 1,4k | Piers can not control what comes out of his mouth.

dream a little (dirty) dream of me | 1,3k | Piers wakes Leon up. That's it.

your shirt is my shirt | 950w | With a sigh Piers grabbed the only shirt available that wasn’t battery operated and obnoxious. It was Leon’s, so old that the print had faded completely, leaving only faint outlines behind. And when Piers pulled it on he grumbled again, realizing how tight it was.

here for you | 620w | Leon can’t sleep, but somehow Piers makes his anxieties bleed away. 

grand plans | 260w | “Are you seriously going to wear that?”

new puppy | 430w | “Hey there little guy.” Leon bent down to pick up the little puppy, straightening again to hold it against his chest. His hands looked almost comically large as the dog was so tiny, and carefully he cradled it close.

a little bit funny | 850w | So maybe Piers hadn’t slept properly in days, and the sleep deprivation was making him a little hysterical, but he didn’t even remember when a stupid comedy would’ve made him laugh so much.

for now our time is here | 4,4k | When Chris had told them to wait up and left them alone for a while, this probably wasn’t what he’d been expecting, but the second he’d closed the door behind himself the tension that had been brewing between Leon and Piers had snapped like a cord.

wanting too much | 1,1k | “Fucking hell, never do that to me again,“ Leon huffed out, clearly relieved beyond anything.

the prettiest agent with the prettiest hair | 1,2k | Piers stress-braids. Leon doesn't mind. And besides, Piers always undoes the braids whenever he's done with them. Until one night he forgets.

you can be the air that i breathe | 1,0k |  It wasn’t the first time Piers got punched in the face by a gigantic BOW so hard that the hit sent him flying. It was, however, the first time he was sent careening off a bridge and into the river below. And it was, definitely, the first time Leon saved his life.  

before I found you | 890w | The second Piers realized that the spikes covering the monster actually came off, and it was able to shoot them towards its attackers, it was already too late for him to react.

you don’t need to stay | 950w | Piers did his best to take care of Leon.  And as much as Leon appreciated it, he didn’t want to be a goddamn nuisance.

need me, baby, just a little stronger tonight | 2,1k | Leon really has to practice perfecting his poker face. At least he gets what he wants in the end.

be my valentine | 920w | “Are you sure?“ Piers asked for the tenth time, frowning down at the bar of Fazer blue chocolate. “I still think it’s… not a lot?”

you're the world that I wanna discover | 7,5k | The one wherein they buy a house, fall even more in love, and Leon reaches a breaking point.

call me (tell me what you feel) | 1,7k | Leon is stuck at the airport. At least he gets a nice phone call with Piers.

incentive to stay alive | 1,0k |  "Hey, Nivans, wake up,” he tried, but there was no answer, and he couldn’t help but let the worry in his voice. “Piers. Don��t you dare die on me. Chris would kill me if I let anything happen to his best sniper.”

blanket hog Leon | 880w | Grumbling, Piers turned around, and as he’d expected Leon was cozily wrapped in at least four blankets, leaving nothing for Piers, who was currently freezing his ass off.

I give you all I am | 2,0k | “Leon?” Piers approached in quick steps, watching recognition flicker in Leon’s eyes as he lowered his own weapon too. Leon was slumped against the wall, hunched over and holding his side, and there was something feverish about his eyes. Yet as soon as he realized it was Piers he gave a shaky grin, even if that was all he managed.

why are the gorgeous ones always taken | 810w | Piers blinked his eyes open slowly, expression scrunched up, and it took a long moment before he managed to actually focus his gaze on Leon’s face. When he did, a smile immediately bloomed on his face, and he even tilted his head a little. “Have I died and gone to heaven?” he croaked out, his voice rough from lack of use.

still intact | 1,1k | It took a week before the level of painkillers was correct and Piers woke up with a gasp instead of a scream. And the first thing he asked was for someone to kill him.

of guns and ...guns | 270w | Leon likes the way Piers handles his rifle. There’s drool involved.

always fashionable | 540w | Apparently having a crush on the well-dressed, professional Leon translated into being absolutely fucking in love with the sleep-mussed and squinty Leon.

misplaced phones and revelations | 660w | Chris finds Piers’ phone. Which turns out to be Leon’s phone. The two turn out to be dating. Chris feels kind of blind.

yee-haw! | 1,0k | Leon rides Piers. Wearing a cowboy hat.

you’re cute when you’re angry | 620w | When he’s stressed, Piers washes the dishes. Angrily.  

want to drink (with) you | 1,1k | Piers is an embarrassing drunk. Leon loves him anyway. 

and each one of us is a path somewhere | 22,2k | Piers gets thrown twenty years back in time. Into Raccoon City, 1998. He’d heard about what Leon went through that night, but he never thought he’d have to actually experience it himself. Together with bright eyed rookie Leon.

hold me close | 560w | Leon falls asleep against Piers’ shoulder. 

goatee man | 890w | Piers thinks growing a beard might make him look more manly. 

promises kept | 2,9k | Leon finds out Piers isn't dead after all. He's just locked up in a BSAA research facility with no one allowed in to visit.

stay with me tonight (stay until the end of life) | 2,2k | Leon doesn’t know I’m contacting you, but a fair warning, because I’m worried. He was found unconscious on the bathroom floor at 10AM. They took him to the hospital, but he checked himself out. Look after him, okay?  

4am | 760w | “What can I say,” Piers grinned against Leon’s neck, “I was dreaming of you.” He had no reservations about moving his hips, letting Leon feel just how nice the dream had been.

caffeinated | 550w | Someone gives Piers coffee. Leon knows what to do with that excess energy.

and i'm you and you're me | 7,0k | The one wherein Leon and Piers accidentally swap bodies.

girls’ day in bed | 780w | Piers and Leon wake up one morning with boobs and other assorted lady parts. It’s a fun day. (Spoiler alert: they have a lot of sex.)

worlds apart | 3,2k | Krauser kidnaps Piers to lure Leon to him. (feat. past Krauser/Leon)

not again | 530w | Watching Piers’ mutation brings Leon some very unfortunate flashbacks. (feat. past Krauser/Leon)

gorgeous | 300w | Piers calls Leon gorgeous.

the most comfortable pillow | 350w | Leon falls asleep with his head on Piers’ lap.

beautiful | 840w | Even after losing an arm and ruining half of his face, Piers is the most beautiful thing to Leon.

as seen in adult films | 580w | Piers doesn’t know one damn thing about dishwashers. He volunteers to fix one anyway.

never letting go | 260w | Leon is goddamn comfortable right here. He isn’t going to move a single inch.

nose kisses | 390w | Piers is cute when he’s cranky. Just ask Leon.

no other half could ever make me whole | 6,3k | The one wherein they get a scare and there's a proposal.

the luxury of being held | 690w | The fabric of Piers’ hoodie is the perfect place to hide. (feat. Theo’s amazing art)

just one step from heaven, one step from paradise | 2,7k | The one wherein Piers makes sure Leon doesn’t freeze, and they enjoy their vacation.

all is fair in war, love and Mario Kart | 600w | Piers sucks at Mario Kart.

Chris/Leon

if i never see all my dreams come true, the one that mattered the most was you | 5,9k |  Chris enlists Leon’s help on a mission as a clever ruse to make the man take a break he so obviously needs. 

and I don't want to know how slow the time must flow | 11,1k | Chris and Leon try to fight their way out of a castle and feelings take over.

you are my heart, you are my home | 3,2k | Chris is sick, and he’s being extra dramatic about it.

from the gates of longing | 5,5k | Chris volunteers to take Leon home, but ends up getting a lot more than he bargained for.

how to accidentally get adopted - a guide by Piers Nivans | 2,3k | Piers accidentally keeps calling Chris dad, and Chris and Leon sort of unofficially adopt him.

right here by your side | 1,9k | When Chris shows up to check up on Leon, four days into his self-imposed flu-exile, at first Leon wants to just throw him out. But then it turns into a relationship-building moment and suddenly he can’t mind all that much.

about time | 1,8k | Leon is freezing. Chris warms him up.

yet you'll lose yourself in me | 3,3k | The one wherein Chris is generously proportioned and Leon kind of loves it. (whispers: size kink)

beyond tomorrow | 1,7k | Leon ends up in the hospital after a mission, Chris hurries to see if he’s okay. Claire is already there.

look at those heart-eyes | 180w | Quickly Chris shook his head, reluctantly pulling his attention away from Leon.

there’s a cat in the sink | 220w | “There’s a cat in the sink, and we don’t own a cat.”

from the future | 300w | It’s 1998 and Leon comes face to face with himself, from 2017.

surprise redfield | 250w | “Don’t worry,“ Chris says, nonchalantly as if it’s an everyday occurrence that he’s standing in Leon’s kitchen.

need this feeling to last (there's no denying) | 2,4k | “Why don’t you fuck me yourself, you coward!“

something solid, something good | 520w | Chris was so warm, and that together with all the glorious skin-on-skin contact made Leon happily sink back into the embrace.

come closer | 520w | Leon is done with Chris being so careful around him.  

your arms around me | 690w | Chris woke up cold and alone.  

a needed break | 440w | Sometimes Chris got so single-mindedly stuck on a task that he forgot everything around himself.

the iron maiden | 820w | Suddenly it was hard to breathe, like he couldn’t fill his lungs with oxygen no matter how much he tried, to the point that his vision started to get blurry. 

robin hood: chris in tights | 480w | Chris’ face was twisted into a theatrical grimace as he tugged a little on the green tights we was wearing. They were like painted on and although he didn’t really have body issues in general, he couldn’t help but feel self-conscious about it.

luckless romance | 4,0k | Leon and Chris turn a drunken argument into something better. (Please note: The link takes you to the last part of six.) 

take my hand | 920w | The worst part, by far, is not seeing anything. There are sounds, people talking like he isn’t even in the room, machines beeping and doors opening, quick busy steps against the floor.

let me take you to the edge of the stars and back again | 3,0k | Chris takes his sweet, sweet time before he gives Leon what he wants.

I’m going to seduce you | 1,1k | Jesus Christ, they’d had sex. Leon groaned again, this time less because of the headache and more because he felt so unbearably dumb. He’d probably had the best sex of his life, and he couldn’t remember it.

a little help | 430w | Those fucking idiots, Claire thought for the millionth time, as she watched her brother give the biggest dumbest heart eyes at Leon, who was blissfully oblivious about everything going on around him.

the way to anyone’s heart (the answer is food, good food)  | 2,4k | Chris asks Leon to teach him how to cook. (Spoiler: Leon doesn't know how.)

oh the horror | 270w | “I seriously don’t understand why you want to watch this shit,” Leon groaned, pressing his face into Chris’ chest.

jealousy | 670w | Chris swallowed hard, downed the last of his beer, and took the leap. “I’m jealous okay.”

twist me up | 510w | Sure Chris had always known that Leon was flexible. Sure he had seen him even do these weird-ass yoga poses more than once. There was nothing new to it.

meet the parents | 600w | Leon brings Chris home for Christmas.

precious cargo | 930w | Chris lugs Leon around like luggage.

it's always been you | 870w  | The hardest thing for Leon was when someone he cared about was in danger but there was nothing he could do about it. And then Chris fell into a ravine.

come away with me (to another world) | 2,0k | Leon finally gets a vacation.

first time sucker | 930w | “I don’t know, because it’s fun?” Leon said. “I promise you, you’re missing out.”

read my scars | 1,9k | Chris learns about Leon's scars.

battered and bruised | 650w | Ignoring the bruises and scrapes he had, Chris turned around and sprinted towards Leon, gritting his teeth against the strain moving put on his side.

a different kind of proposal | 500w | “If you keep fucking me this good,“ he breathed out, unsure if Chris even heard the words, “I’ll have to marry you.“

welcome home | 370w | The door had barely fallen shut behind Chris when Leon was in his personal space, grabbing him by the lapels of the trench coat he was wearing so he could pull him in close for a kiss.

I’d always choose you | 280w | Ada was something they didn’t talk about. When someone, anyone, brought her up Leon clammed up and changed the subject. And Chris had tried to be understanding, had tried to be patient, had tried his very best to respect Leon’s boundaries with this. But Chris was only human.

fuck or die | 1,7k | Chris gets hit by a weird plant, and his hard-on just will not go down. Until Leon takes matters into his hands.

i need a hug | 470w | “I think,“ Leon sighed, but then it was like all fight bled from him and he slumped a little forward. “I need a hug.“

oh no there’s only one bed | 990w | “Don’t be ridiculous. It’s just one night. I’m sure you’ve slept with worse persons than me.”

the butt that became a pillow | 420w | Chris falls asleep on Leon.

like father like son | 2,8k | Leon finds out he has a son.

monster magnet | 1,1k | Leon didn’t know when it had become something he recognized so easily. When had it become so normal for mutated creatures to look at him with such unadulterated lust.

please be okay | 620w | Leon faints from sheer exhaustion. 

like father like... grandson? | 4,1k | Liam proposes to a girl but ends up with Piers anyway. Chris and Leon are the friendly neighborhood grandpas. Their grandson is adorable, and Leon thinks he takes after him. Obviously. (feat. Piers/OMC)

black lace | 790w | Chris gets to come home to Leon in thigh high black lacy stockings and matching lingerie, instantly sending Chris’ brains into an overdrive.

at least let me help | 790w | Leon opens the door an inch, Chris uses the given opportunity to slam it wide open. Metaphorically speaking.

bridal style | 200w | Leon refuses the medical check up. So Chris carries him.

dance with me | 1,0k | Wedding planning with two schmoopy idiots in love.

drunken cravings | 480w | Chris and Leon are drunk, hungry, and incapable of cooking.

blow me | 650w | Chris gets his brains sucked out through his dick.

Claire knows best | 610w | Chris tries to set Leon up with Claire. Then Claire does set Leon up with Chris.

chase the demons away | 940w | Chris struggles with nightmares, Leon is there to hold him through them.

dance me to the end of love | 550w | Leon struggles to learn to dance.

Piers/Leon, Chris/Leon

fate changed (we keep loving as if the story isn't over yet) | 34,3k | In hindsight, Leon knew the second he opened the door and saw Chris standing there, dressed in his service uniform, mouth pinched to a grim line and unable to meet Leon’s gaze straight. There was only one logical reason for it, only one way to explain why he was standing there like he would rather be anywhere else, and Leon almost slammed the door right in his face. --  Or the one wherein no one really knows how to handle their grief, but somehow life goes on anyway. (I’m still so proud of this one negl)

Chris/Leon/Krauser

hearts beating fast (let's make this moment last) | 5,7k | Chris gets invited in for a threesome. The clever thing would’ve been to refuse, knowing his unrequited, helpless feelings. But then again, he’s just a man.

OT3

double the fun | 3,1k | Truthfully, Leon hadn’t thought his day could get this much better. Everything had gone wrong from the second he’d woken up and he’d already written the day off entirely, until the moment Chris had looked him dead in the eye and asked “How do you feel about two at once?”

of cuddles and blanket forts | 620w | Piers and Leon build a blanket fort. Chris would think they’re idiots, but they might actually be kind of brilliant.

hair straightener or waffle iron? | 310w | Chris and Piers break Leon’s hair straightener.

the last piece of the puzzle | 2,7k | The one wherein two becomes three.

not alone | 2,3k | Completely on accident, Piers and Chris happen to be there to save Leon from a tight spot. Cuddles ensue.

Krauser/Leon

drive me crazy (your eyes made me crave for this) | 2,3k | It was the best sex Krauser had ever had in his life. That’s why he kept coming back to Leon, kept saying ‘yes’ every single time the man as much as hinted that he might be up for meeting. He was getting off, and he was enjoying every second of it, and that was the extent of it. There certainly weren’t any feelings involved. None. None at all. 

enjoying the view | 200w | Krauser likes ass-watching.

carry me to bed | 440w | Slowly Leon was coming back to his senses. Sweat was cooling on his skin, the hard surface of the table underneath him starting to feel uncomfortable.  

and I lied that we would be fine | 1,1k | Leon knows he isn’t supposed to be doing this. There’s a vague recollection of something more important, something he should be focusing on, but the vast majority of his world has narrowed down onto the slick slide of their bodies, on the cheap scratchy sheets on his skin, on the sound of Krauser’s voice in his ear, and he can’t bring himself to care.

yet never enough | 1,9k | Krauser likes mirrors.

of wanting | 400w | Leon’s laughter echoed in the room as Krauser pinned him against the wall, before shutting him up with a ravenous kiss.

better with you | 590w | Despite knowing Krauser had his back, Leon was genuinely surprised when the man sat down right next to him instead of telling him to suck it up and get moving.

breakfast | 530w | Lately things had slowly begun to shift. And Leon wasn’t sure yet what was going on. Or how he felt about it.

kill me now | 900w | It was more than clear how much Krauser enjoyed their frantic attempts to kill one another, and Leon’s traitorous body shivered in response, the memory of times long gone returning like no time had passed at all.

lust that I've already spilled | 1,4k | “C’mon, Leon,” Krauser taunted, grinning as widened his stance. “This cock isn’t gonna suck itself.”

will you just look at me | 650w | Krauser refuses to do feelings.

Wesker/Chris

I am the light that shall lead you to darkness | 1,8k | In all honesty, Chris wasn’t entirely sure how he’d ended up here: a panting mess, bent over a massive wooden table with Wesker holding him down laughably easily. 

the light to drown in darkness | 2,0k | Wesker craves Chris. So Wesker takes Chris.

love-hate-(obsession?) | 470w | Wesker is a lovesick fool. If he wasn’t also a homicidal maniac, Jill would almost feel sorry for him.

[milkybonya]

hello smiling anon here :) can you do astro as best friends? i hope you have a wonderful day :) thank you

hello anonnie i missed you ! hope you’ve been well <3

Astro as best friends

Warnings: food mentions

MJ

of course he’ll be the chaotic friend

he’s so loud and all over the place and continues to be like this even when you tell him to stop

he does it out of love for you, his friend, okay? >:(

but i also feel like he would be great to go to for advice

i feel as though there’s nothing clouding his heart and he’ll always give you really positive answers

“you don’t know what your dream is? that’s okay, there’s still time. for now, just have fun and live happily until then!”

he’ll always provide you with short but meaningful comforts like that ^

and his presence is like a ray of sunshine

the type to make you stay awake all night at a sleepover and then suddenly knock out cold at 4am

always wants to sing karaoke duets with you so he can hear your voice, especially if you’re shy, but if you’re not then he enjoys vibing out with you when y’all both sing so loud that you get kicked out!

ordering large sushi platters on Friday nights to eat while watching movies

always asks you if his outfit looks good and gets mad if you say anything other than “yes, you look fabulous”

Jinjin

sweetest, kindest most caring friend

it’s so easy to tease him - if you do, he just laughs through it

he’ll try to tease you too but it ends up not being funny, which then makes it funny and the two of you end up laughing it off

you could call him at 3am and he’ll answer

literally only had his phone notifications on at night for you in case you need to talk to him

if you’re down for it, he’ll love spending time with you in nature

fishing, hiking, those sorts of things!

but if not, then he’s also down to just chill at home

i think he’ll just always be ready to do anything and go anywhere you ask

no questions, he’ll just do it

so you end up spending many midnights driving around and jamming to some fun tunes

the type to offer to pay for things when you can’t and then he won’t even ask you to pay him back until you bring it up

coffee-shop hunting every weekend and always laughing at each other’s foam mustaches

Eunwoo

always teasing you

it cracks him up so hard that you can’t help but laugh along

i know Eunwoo is the type to do his research meticulously, so perhaps he likes to plan things out, but i feel like he’ll ask you on a lot of last-minute excursions

“i know it’s 4pm but do you wanna go to that beach that’s a few hours away?”

remembers important dates that you tell him about, like an appointment you’re scared for or an exam day or important day at work

so he sends you texts to cheer you up!

“[y/n], you’ve got a big day ahead of you but you can do it!”

i feel like he’ll be a friend who will stand up for you, especially if you’re shy

if he notices you’re uncomfortable, he’ll speak up for you and will remove you from the situation

he’ll just know you so well that you don’t even have to speak before he’ll give you a hug, a blanket or whatever it is that you need during your tougher days

takes studying seriously so whenever y’all have a ‘study date’, he literally does not talk to you and gets mad if you try to

(but then might apologetically treat you to a drink or something :])

Moonbin

I feel like he’ll be the type of friend to tell you things as they are

he’ll probably force you to work out with him LOL

or if you manage to work your way out of that, he’ll send you photos and videos of him in the gym all the time with captions like “look at my biceps. bet i can beat you in arm wrestling”

honestly just a sof and happy spirit of a friend

if you ever fight or anything, he won’t be afraid to apologize if he’s in the wrong

OH if you love food as much as he does, a lot of your time together will be spent trying to find new places to eat at

food challenges will be a thing

he’ll cook your favourite meal for you on your birthday every year

random dance parties in the living room at 3am when one of you sleeps over

if you also like to swim, you’ll spend a lot of time together at your local pool

gets upset when you don’t think as highly of yourself as he does

sometimes you just make eye contact with him and both of you start laughing for no reason

Rocky

he’s the quiet friend who shows his love through his actions

will give you the occasional hug if you’re into that

i feel like his text messages will be very dynamic and expressive

leading you to have deep midnight text convos

loves teaching you dance moves and praising you no matter what your level of skill is like

always asks if he can have some of your food but is reluctant to give you some of his

a friend who will give you the best advice - not too honest and pessimistic but also not too overly optimistic

always asking you to go to Starbucks with him

likes to get your opinion on what he’s wearing

loves to spend chill days at home with you

honestly sometimes y’all will just meet up to take a nap LOL

facetimes you when you tell him you can’t sleep

if he owes you for something, he’ll do the most random things in return like dropping off groceries at your house

this one time he lied and told you he broke his arm and needed help just because he hadn’t seen you for a long time and wanted you to come over

Sanha

lets you style his hair for him as long as he can also style yours

randomly makes bets/asks you to play games

“bet i can finish drinking my water faster than you!”

if he’s taller than you, uses this against you by always placing things you need out of your reach

but only he’s allowed to tease you about your height - if anyone else does, he will fight them >:(

lets you wear his clothes when you sleepover and laughs if they look weird on you

is the friend who uses the ‘i forgot my wallet’ excuse to get you to pay for things

and pays you back by blowing kisses at you

always begging you to play games with him

is mad at you for the entire day when you win

you’ll probably end up become his parent figure in the friendship

or you’ll both be two chaotic peas in a pod ;)

his advice consists of “just do whatever you want!”

but is always there when you need a shoulder to cry on :)

[spnfanficpond]

Pond Diving - Imagineteamfreewill

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

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

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

Name: Meg

Age: 20s

Location: United States

URL: @imagineteamfreewill

Why did you choose your URL: I first started out structuring my stories as imagines, and the “Team Free Will” part was pretty obvious.

What inspired you to become a writer: Reading Supernatural fanfiction inspired me to get back into writing, but I’ve always enjoyed it. My mom likes to talk about how when I was in Kindergarten, I drew a picture about how I wanted to be an author and now I write in my free time.

How long have you been writing: According to tumblr, I’ve been writing fanfiction since 2014, but I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember.

What do you do when you are not writing i.e. Job/Hobbies etc? I’m a music teacher, so I sing and play piano, and I’ve played a bit of cello and tenor saxophone as well. I love movies, baking, sleeping, and a few video games.

How long have you been in the SPN Fandom? I joined sometime around Season 8 or 9, I think. I don’t really remember!

Are you in any other fandoms and do you write for them? I really enjoy Marvel and I’ve read a lot of Marvel fics, but I don’t write for them. I like a lot of TV shows (New Girl, Parks and Rec, The Good Place, Outlander, etc), but I wouldn’t consider myself part of the fandom.

Do you do any writing outside of fanfiction? If so, tell us about it? I love to write poetry. I had a poetry blog at truenorth-ink a while ago, but I haven’t updated it recently at all. Most of my poems aren’t published or posted anywhere.

Favorite published author: I love some of the early series by Rick Riordan and I also really enjoy poetry by Nikita Gill and Atticus. Lately, I've really been getting into Leigh Bardugo's books.

Have you ever read a book that made an impact on your life? Which one and why?: I think "East" by Edith Pattou really affected me! I read it when I was in 6th-8th grade and I think about it often. I think it's something that really stuck with me and got me interested in fantasy books so much. I read it at least once a year.

Favorite genre of fanfic (smut, angst, fluff, crack, rpf, etc): I love angsty stuff, and most of the time I prefer it when it has some fluff mixed in. Straight fluff is often hard for me to read because I need something that’s more realistic for my own life and point of view. I also really like whump, but that can be a lot sometimes so it depends on my mood.

Favorite piece of your own writing: I don’t know if I have a favorite, but I loved writing Back to the Start (my mermaid series) and The Switch (a canon-divergent apocalyptic Reader x Sam series). Right now, I'm really enjoying my Consort series (a Goddess!Reader x Dean series). Creating my own rules in my own little universes is one of my favorite things to do, especially since I can’t always do whatever I want in real life.

Most underrated fic you have written: Empire. I loved getting to write Boyking!Sam because it was so different from my normal Sam stories and I did a lot of research for it. I’m pretty proud that the story never got too bloody or gory, too, so if you want some Boyking!Sam that’s not drenched in blood (for lack of a better term), I’m your girl!

Story of yours that you’d most like to see turned into a movie/tv show: Probably Back to the Start or The Switch. I think those two series would be amazing to see with J2, the rest of the cast/characters I included, and special effects! There’s so much I’d want to explore with both of them that I didn’t put into the series.

Favorite Tumblr Writer(s): @luci-in-trenchcoats, @sunlightdances, @supernaturalfreewill, @lipstickandwhiskey, @smol-and-grumpy, @percywinchester27, and @kaz2y5-imagines

Favorite fic from another writer:  I don’t think I could pick just one, but I’ve read all of @sunlightdances Dean fics multiple times. Her works got me through some pretty sucky times in my life and I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of her writing! I’ve also been reading her Bucky fics recently and it’s made me love Marvel fics even more than before!​

Favorite character to write: Sam Winchester

Favorite Pairing to write: Reader x Sam (Reader x Dean is a close second)

Least favorite character to write (and why): I don’t like to write for Crowley or Gabriel. Gadreel is hard for me even though I can do it, but I don’t understand Crowley or Gabriel’s personalities at all because they’re literally so far away from mine.

Do you have anyone you consider a mentor? No, although @lipstickandwhiskey and @kaz2y5-imagines really encouraged me in my writing!​

Do you have any aspirations involving your writing? I would love to write a non-Supernatural work of fiction to publish, but that’s a long way off.

How many work-in-progress stories do you have: Oh Lord, I have so many! I have at least four series and two one shots in the works right now. I've also got over 100 one shots/series plotlines written out in the notes on my phone and various Google Docs.

What are you currently working on? I’m currently working on a Cinderella series, my Underworld series, my Puer Rex series, my Consort series, an Author!Sam fic, and an Author!Dean fic. I also write stories for my Words series now and again.

“Pond Diving” - All About The Writing

What/who has had the biggest influence on your writing? Reading other people’s work. The intense storylines of @luci-in-trenchcoats ’s fics have gotten me to be more bold with my writing and the emotions and description in @supernaturalfreewill’s works have inspired me to let my work have more feeling.

Best writing advice you've been given: Not necessarily writing advice, but I was once told that anything worth doing is worth doing at least a little bit every day. Think about it—if you wrote even just five minutes a day, how much better will you get over the course of a month? A year?

Biggest obstacle you’ve faced in your writing: Repetition of words and commas. So many commas and so many uses of the same word over and over again. It’s a hard balance between using the word and using synonyms without sounding like I’m sitting there googling synonyms for “said”. I also tend to spend a lot of time on things that I think are super important but aren’t really important in the long run. I’m wordy as hell and my writing would be dull if I didn’t edit it as thoroughly as I do.

What aspects of writing do you find difficult when you write fanfiction? A lot of times I have these ideas that I think would make a great series but I don’t think through them, so planning out the plot of a series (or even a standalone fic) beforehand is something I struggle with.

Is there anything you want to write but are afraid to (and why): I would love to write more fics that have the characters dealing with severe mental disorders or that take place in a mental hospital, but I’m afraid that I’ll portray something wrong and solidify harmful stereotypes about what it’s like to deal with those things.

What inspires/motivates you to write: Honestly, just wanting to write things that I enjoy. Sometimes I get sick of reading other peoples’ stuff since it’s not exactly what I want, so I just write my own!

How do you deal with self doubt: Understand that sometimes it happens. You’ll doubt yourself—everybody does. If I’m doubting myself or my writing, I’ll take a break until I remember why I write. Then I’ll remember that yeah, writing for an audience is fun, but I write because I have cool ideas I want to explore, not because I need the attention or love of strangers. Lastly, I’ll reread my old fics, especially the ones I love, and then I’ll go back and edit old fics that I haven’t looked at in a while. That way I can see how I’ve improved and I don’t feel so terrible anymore! Reading my own fics is a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine, and I’ll read through my masterlists every once a while just to remind myself of the things I’ve loved, where I’ve been, and where I’m going.

How do you deal with writer's block: Like I said, I reread old fics and edit old fics that I haven’t looked at in a while. Seeing the things I’ve done before always helps to focus me. I’ll also read other people’s stuff or talk about headcanons with some friends to try and find some inspiration.

Do you plan/outline your story before you start: Lately I have been, but only because my periods of intense inspiration and productivity are getting farther and farther apart because of my job. I’ve found planning it out to be more and more helpful, especially for my series. A lot of times if I get a great idea, I’ll outline the whole plot or any significant details I want to put in that one shot/series so that I can come back to it whenever I have the time or I’m inspired for it again.

Do you have any weird writing habits: I write best in places that are unfamiliar to me or in places/times where I shouldn’t be writing. Class? Writing. Airport terminal? Writing. 4am when I have to be up at 6? Writing.

Have you ever received hateful comments on your fic and how do you deal with it? Not that I remember! I feel like there’s probably been one or two over the years, but I probably just got upset about it with my friends for a while and then got over it.

Conversely: what’s been some of your favorite feedback on your fanfic? A long time ago, when I was writing Back to the Start, I had one person who sent me asks for every single series update. I screenshotted them and saved them on my laptop. There’s one particular one where they say that they’re happier because of my writing and honestly, isn’t that what we all strive for? That people’s lives are better because of our stories? I’ve also had some pretty great friends recently who’ve made it a point to reblog and send asks/messages on all my works, which has been so meaningful that I never replied to the asks. They’re sitting in my inbox and I go through and reread them sometimes when I’m feeling down.

If you could give one piece of advice to a new and/or struggling writer, what would it be?  ​Write down everything. If you come up with an amazing piece of dialogue, even if it’s just one sentence or one person talking, or if you come up with something you’d think would be a great title… WRITE IT DOWN. It doesn’t matter if it fits into whatever you’re currently writing or not, it’ll come in handy! I don’t know how many times I’ve gone through my idea list and found really obscure lines/titles/inspiration that didn’t make sense when I wrote them down, but are now exactly what I need to finish a fic. Even if you don’t end up using it, jotting down your ideas is still writing, and that’s good practice!

[forallthatitsworth]

Seen as we are nearing the end of 2020 (finally) I felt like I should probably post for once and say a thank you to all the people who have made this year all the better! I have been a long term lurker, finding Choices back in March for a bit of escapism which came with the first lockdown and then quite quickly discovered the world of fan fictions. I finally caved and got an account again a few months ago to keep up to date with everything being posted but I admit I do the bare minimum interacting. I literally haven’t used Tumblr in like ten year (jesus) and can’t really remember how it all works so apologies!

@justanotherrookie your account was the first I found and I properly binged your whole AU series. I got hooked and ended up staying up till 4am reading it all. I love your Ethan and Denise and am hooked on every post! Your writing is unreal ❤️ @jamespotterthefirst the way you write your MC is so perfect that I now picture Ana De Armas when playing the game or reading any of the stories. I find myself going back to read your ‘Lovely’ and ‘Fake Husband’ stories so often cause I’m a sucker for the tropes. Plus, your Pictagram series is, ugh, SO GOOD! @the-pale-goddess OMG, your writing of Ethan and Tiffany is *chefs kiss* Your angst is heart-wrenching (in the best way) whilst the back and forth between them is SO rich and don’t get me started on the smut! I want to be them, is that too much to ask? @ao719 I have read almost every series on your masterlist and I have the remaining on my catch-up list. Your account is actually the reason I bit the bullet and signed up for Tumblr again as it was acting up when I was reading through your work and I just so frustrated I signed up. The way you write is so beautiful and the unique storylines. Charlotte from ‘Full Disclosure’ being my absolute spirit animal. @heauxplesslydevoted your masterlist is a work of art! Between your ‘Resentment’ series and the adorableness of the ‘Dress Up’ one shot. I’m a sucker for it all! Plus you write my favourite Thomas Mendez and I ended up replaying MOY after it all. @utterlyinevitable when I read your writing, it feels so honest. The self doubt and inner battles of Ethan and Becca is clear across everything that you post but it feels so real. I read all and anything you post. I would try to pick a favourite but it would be a struggle. @alwaysmychoices your ‘With and Without’ series is another one which I stayed up to silly hours to binge ❤️ love, love, love it! @perriewinklenerdie I originally read your ‘Ever Since I Met You’ series before I got an account and couldn’t for the life of me find it again! So happy to have found it again along with the rest of your writing. @starrystarrytrouble everything you write is SO good, even when I have like 20 odd open tabs still to read I will go back and read your work. The dynamic between your MC and Ethan is goals. Like really, where do you find somebody like him? @kat-tia801 you write so well that I think I’m now a Drake fan.. like really, in every series you create I am hooked! I can’t wait to see what happens each week and always make sure I have the time to read them after work in peace! @otherworldlypresents I just recently found your account over the Christmas break but the way you write Adrian and your MC, Agnes, is just all sorts of 💕 I can’t wait to see what else you write in 2021 I will have forgotten SO many people, so sorry! Basically if you write Choices, I’ll have read it and loved it.

Well that was a lot of rambling but I truly appreciate everyone who has been posting for the past nine months+ and keeping us all entertained. It can’t have been easy, this year has been a total shit show no matter where you live and everyone has faced different challenges because of Ms Rona! I have huge admiration for all those who write, you make it seem so effortless and easy but I know how much research and time it takes! I hope you all have a wonderful New Year with all the blessings for 2021! Time to bring in 2021 in style.. alone, with a cocktail and my PJs 🥂 xx

[c-c-cherry]

Canon fact; Kars and AC/DC adopted Wham and Santana Prompt: family bonding go

oh my GOD IM NOT EVEN KIDDING I MADE THESE HEADCANONS AT 4AM LAST NIGHT AND FORGOT ABOUT THEM UNTIL I STUMBLED ACROSS THIS GOOGLE DOC TODAY

And I just feel like I have to share them now so you know what my brain was thinking. Prepare to be subjected to my raw, 4am thought process, readers...

These are all crack I’m sorry

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

PILLAR DADS PILLAR DADS PILLAR DADS PILLAR-

Can we please make this a thing because I love ;-;

(Ok I don’t know how Pillar men babies work and I did no research but that’s what headcanons are for.)

-Ok I know this is impossible but consider our man Kars in all his glory, fucking LOIN CLOTH AND ALL but with one of those baby carriers strapped to his chest I’m sorry

-AC/DC learned crying as a tactic by watching the Pillar babies get attention from Kars whenever they would do it

-These bros have no idea what they’re doing but THEY ARE TRYING OKAY

-Wham/Wamuu is the favourite child and everyone knows it

-They do not know how to raise kids like it has been hundreds of thousands of years since they were children so they just kinda—forget

-They go terrorize the Hamon warriors as a family bonding activity

An actual conversation, probably:

“Come on, you can do it!”

*panicked screaming* “NO I CAN’T I FORGET HOW!”

“Just do the wind thing and kill the warriors!”

“You can do it!”

“NOooOOO I CAN’T~”

“Just remember your training!”

“FINE.”

*Wind noises*

*Terrorized screams*

*Instant praise*

-Do Pillarmen have to eat?? They probably have to eat once in awhile and I just imagine Kars and AC/DC dragging in different shit to get them to eat it because they don’t know what to feed them

-Wham/Wamuu went through a phase in his early...teen?? years (I don’t even know how these bros age but I don’t care) where he refused to eat anything but plants and fruit or some shit (homie basically became a vegetarian) but our boy still needed protein so AC/DC went out and hand-picked all these almonds and nuts and shit for him every day so he would still get that good nutrition

-They live in a cave together at some point and they each have their own corner of the cave to themselves and as punishment Kars will be like “GO TO YOUR CORNER” and they aren’t allowed to have dinner

-Kars will occasionally let down his hair and the pillar children are just in AWE at how long it is and AC/DC teaches them how to braid and they all weave flowers in his hair I don’t make the rules let me have this

-Kars teaches them how to do their makeup because they only learn from the best

-I headcanon that puberty for them is getting those horns on their head and that shit HURTS because it’s a giant spike growing out of your head so yeah that happened

-AC/DC is 10000% the fun dad and Kars is the strict dad

-I don’t even know what they would all do together...what would they do???

-Kars played Lisa Lisa’s legs like a guitar and string instruments were used in like 3000 BC which was like 3000 years before they went into those pillars...MUSICIAN KARS??

-He played them all songs and before you say he didn’t—he did.

-Pillar lullabies.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

This is what happens when I try to do things at 4am. I guess the golden rule is if you put “Pillar” in front of something, it automatically makes it something that they do. Will I make a pillar dad fic? You know what? Maybe I will. Wherever the wind takes me. 

[jostenneil]

Do you have any recommendations for small town romance books? Or found family books? Thank you!

YES. do i ever omg. a good chunk of these will be children's books if that is alright bc that's where my love for this mode of storytelling really birthed itself. well, that and the arthur tv show bc childhood me was positively enthralled by the idea of a group of friends all living within relative walking distance of each other and being able to eat ice cream at the same shop every afternoon. there was an intimacy to it that fascinated me, as silly as it sounds

the penderwicks by jeanne birdsall - this series is a loose, modern retelling of little women that mires itself in the atmosphere of comforting, lively niches and the mountainous landscapes of the american northeast. jeanne birdsall used to do around three to four years of research between writing each book and i think it lent itself so well to what she wrote bc i was pulled effortlessly into the plot each time. the sense of camaraderie between this small collective of people as you follow them across the course of many years is so endearing and it's probably the defining small town book series for me

main street by anne m. martin - most people know anne m. martin bc of the babysitters club. i know her bc of this series! it's about two girls whose parents die in an accident, so they're taken in by their grandmother. she lives in this quiet town where the sense of community is so intimate, esp bc she lives in a row house! there's about eight houses on one street all connected to each other through secret doors in their attics and the neighbors as such are very close. i love the depth of humanity martin develops in the characters, esp bc it really touches upon how each person you know is dealing with their own struggles that you may not be entirely privy to, and then there is a series long plot around the town's history that really helps to illustrate how community prospers and evolves over time

anne of green gables by l. m. montgomery - ok this is a bit of a self evident answer but nonetheless, i feel compelled to include it. this is probably the defining small town story classic, i think? the series builds itself upon anne's imagination and how that not only fleshes out green gables (and her other hometowns) in its simple beauty but also approaches the very real personas of the people she grows up with, as compared to her more romantic and idealized aspirations for herself. it's simultaneously an exploration in romance and realism through the lens of a small but growing community around anne, and montgomery's prose really makes it a magical experience. the romance is also to die for oh my god one of the best slow burns in history, nothing will ever compare to the pure drama that is anne shirley and gilbert blythe's years long love story

beartown by fredrik backman - the tone of this book is pretty drastically different from the other recommendations here but it's nonetheless one i would put forth bc it very closely analyzes the flaws in mindset that can arise from small town living as well. there's a lot of sadness and grief, but it manages to balance this fine line of critiquing narrow mindsets and resistance to change while believing in the ability of a community to come together and mature. it's just. . . very real, and i stayed up listening to it until 4am one night and couldn't stop crying bc the raw emotion of it all really touched me. the random closeness between certain members of the town really got to me, esp in the sequel novel, us against you. just be sure to check out the trigger warnings before reading

aurora county trilogy by deborah wiles - oh my god. ohhhhh my god. you would not believe the memories i have around these books. i remember listening to love, ruby lavender in the car when i was maybe ten or so and positively falling in love with this grieving ten year old girl, and her mom who writes about recipes using zucchini, and her grandmother whom she rescues chickens with. each book in this trilogy centers itself around a child dealing with the death of a loved one, and i think that is a very unique experience to read about, bc children are already dealing with enough at that age. they have to figure out how they're going to fit in, how they're going to navigate the rest of their lives without someone they love so much, and in this small town setting, how to share this grief with a bunch of people they don't want to share that grief with. the books are deeply sad and simply honest, but in a way that's very cathartic to read about at any age

because of winn dixie by kate dicamillo - it's been years and years since i read this book or rewatched the movie but here's another rec that centers itself in a child dealing with grief, albeit not grief over death, but abandonment and isolation. opal's bond with winn-dixie leads her to meet and bond with several people of the new town she moves to with her father, and those building friendships become a way for her to process her grief and move forward from it. i have very vague memories of it now but i remember enjoying how eccentric each of the characters was

beach read by emily henry - this is a much newer rec than everything else on this list but so well deserved! this made me cry my eyes out at 4am it was so crazy. january and gus are two people who knew each other in college and coincidentally meet again as neighbors in a small town, where both have travelled to try to beat their writing slumps and chug out a new book. as a way to challenge themselves, they decide to write a book within the genre that the other person excels at, and doing research along that vein allows them to learn a lot more about each other than they initially thought they did. there's a lot of grief underpinning the story, and the people in the town aren't necessarily a huge focus, but i think the quiet of the setting really allows the emotion to permeate the whole thing and drawn you in, bc sometimes you just have more room to think and dwell and reflect when you're in a quiet corner of the country

i hope these are sufficient for now, but lmk if you'd like recs within other media too! i feel like i have a good chunk of dramas and tv shows that speak to this narrative setting

[jq37]

The Royal Report– A Crown of Candy Ep 9 Safe Harbor

Out at Sea

We start this week on the recently commandeered La Fondue, milk raining down on our exhausted and injured PCs who are still reeling from Stilton’s betrayal. Most of Annabelle’s crew are even more badly injured so the PCs are forced to help sail the ship in a group skill check which 4/6 of them pass for a group pass. The gang watches the surviving enemy ships sail away and Jet considers blasting them with canons but the La Fondue doesn’t have artillery. Jet also asks Annabelle if maybe, now that they’ve saved all of their lives, they can break protocol and bring them to Candia instead of the Dairy Islands, a question she doesn’t answer at the moment.

(Edit: Wait! I should have called this section Sweet Life on Deck! Dangit! They better be on a boat again so I can use it!)

Most of the group start to fall asleep, understandable considering they’re living through the longest day of their lives, but Theo takes a second to talk to Cumulous first. He asks about Cumulous’s backstory and learns that the Spinning Star monks used to be able to teleport all over the place with teleportation circles made by Lazuli but, without her around to tend to them, they’ve been breaking down and are now unstable and dangerous to use. Him using one to get to them was a big risk and he really only made it because he’s one of the strongest monks. Additionally, as alluded to before, Candia being at war with the Concord released him from certain vows which allowed him to join the fight. They also bond over being the #1 and #2 Archmage Lazuli stans (or actually maybe #2 and #3 as we’ll find out soon) and Cumulous who is either really into magical weapons in general or magical weapons made by Lazli or a little of both gets emotional over Battlepop like he did over Sourscratch a scene before. 

The next day, there’s a funeral for the one sailor Annabelle lost in the fight. Ruby ties the milk-silk handkerchief from Primsy to her collar in solidarity. Speaking of, Primsy shows up--still injured from the attempt on her life--and invites everyone not to tea, but to a parlay. Clearly affected by the recent events, she declares that she doesn’t recognize the excommunication of Amethar and questions the church’s position on witchcraft considering all the witchcraft her Candian allies used to save her. She’s also pretty chill about the whole Stilton thing considering.

Primsy says she’ll help them but first wants them to fill in the gaps in Brie’s brief letter. Amethar explains about how he was excommunicated for still officially being married to Katherine Ghee. During an aside to this conversation, he drops what I naively thought was going to be the headline news from this episode: Caramelinda was engaged to someone else before marrying Amethar--Lazuli! It was for political reasons in part but also a love match and when Lazuli died, she ended up getting married to Amethar to at least maintain the alliance. Anyway, Ruby asks if Cara knew about Ghee and Amethar says no one knew except Jack, Belford (the priest), and Ghee herself (plus his sisters but they’re all dead). Annabelle and Primsy question whether Amethar didn’t try to have the marriage annulled and he says that he did right after the war but she couldn’t be found. Annabelle says that there are a lot of little islands she could have run to in the aftermath of the war (a smart move considering the target that would be on her back) and says that Dairy ships have a better chance at finding Ghee if she’s still around so she’ll help arrange that.  

They have a little convo-detour about various plot points:

Primsy asks how the Pontifex knew to ask Jack about Ghee in the first place. Ruby and Jet suggest she used magic or maybe found something in the files Ciabatta claimed had no Candian secrets. 

Annabelle questions the fact that Plumbeline would name Ciabatta as the successor right before having to swear on the Book of Leaves. That seems to indicate that either she’s not working with the Pontifex or the Pontifex wanted to specifically and publicly rule out Ciabatta as a possible candidate. 

Also, we learn that ex-communicating Amethar doesn’t take away his right to rule as Emperor. The Pontifex doesn’t have that authority, at least not on paper. But, as Ruby points out, she effectively has the authority by power. Still, if they can get the Book of Leaves and confirm Amethar was named emperor, that’s a huge point in their favor because he obviously wouldn’t declare war on Candia as emperor so the war would be without proper authorization and a violation of the Concord pact. 

Theo and Amethar speculate that the Pontifex doesn’t actually want to name a new emperor and want to just “provisionally” (but really indefinitely) fill the power vacuum herself.  

Anyway, Primsy reaffirms that the Dairy Islands are with Candia all the way and they continue to sail. They have 18 days before they land and Jet uses that time to finally read the rest of her banned book. You’ll remember that she already read about the first thing--the Profidian Heresy--which was an old, now heretical belief of certain members of the church that the Hungry One was as strong as the Bulb. We get a little bit of new info on that: One person who believed that doctrine and was later killed for it was a Veduit Priest (fight me Brennan) named Bartholomew Brocolpatch who was a mentor to a young Belizabeth Brassica. 

Onto the second term--the Ramsian Doctrine (did not clock the Gordon Ramsay reference until it was mentioned on Adventuring Party). It is a full, end times, Revelations, Ragnarok type thing. Ruby helps with this because she speaks Bulbosi (which is like Candian Celestial or church speak). Basically what it says is that the Bulb can’t win until the Hungry One devours the world and the Hungry One won’t devour unhealthy souls (Ruby translates “healthy” from the Bulbosi phrases “farm to table” and “locally sourced”) so in order to bring about the end of days, there needs to be a destruction of all the trash people or, phrased differently because the word for people and food is the same in Bulbosi--the junk food.

Even knowing what happens later in this episode, this still might be the thing I'm most mad at Brennan about.

Cumulous later calls a meeting of all the Candians and drops a little more exposition on them. He says that the reason that Candia has magic and the other kingdoms largely don’t is because his order of monks curates and tends to the magic of the realm while other kingdoms neglect their sources of magic. He also says that the church’s power comes from others not having it. After Ruby mentions that she sees Lazuli on a semi-regular basis through her magic, Cumulous drops the bombshell that his power comes from the Hungry One--though he doesn’t worship them. It’s just like a power source. They also discuss Jet’s research on the end of days stuff and Jet thinks maybe the move is to spread as much junk food as possible to delay the apocalypse.  

Homecoming 

After a long time out at sea, the gang arrives at Port Syrup at the mouth of the Cola River. As they sail in, they see three sunk Imperial warships and that the port is heavily defended. Clearly they got the memo. And we quickly see who gave it to them when Brie and Manta Ray Jack run up to meet them! Amethar is super happy to see his friends alive and they also confirm that Cal made it out and so did basically everyone except the Swirlies (RIP). The Jawbreaker castle--Castle Many-Licks--is under siege but it’s very hard to break into and it seems like most of the rest of Candia is doing OK.

Brie thanks Ruby for her help in finding Manta Ray Jack and then confirms Amethar/Theo’s suspicions that the Pontifex is ruling in the absence of an emperor (she says that until Candia is back in the Concord, technically, there can be no emperor). He also swears to duel Liam who truly cannot stop putting his foot in his mouth (this time about the church and a *very* confusing..complement?), after the war.

Amethar and Cumulous have a quick aside where Cumulous once again says that his mission is more to protect the magic of Candia than them specifically. It just so happens that, right now, those two things are pretty aligned.

As they make their way back to Castle Candy (w/ their Dairy Island friends), the citizens are pretty stoked to see them so it seems that war with the Concord has not lessened the populace’s love for their king. They take a pit stop and get a war update. The mountains are full of Imperial soldiers and random marauders plus there are reports of “Long Live the Queen” written in Imperial soldier blood on the side of a mountain which isn’t ominous at all. Also, there’s a call for all the help they can get to defend Castle Candy because an army from Comida is coming. Ruby tries and succeeds in communing with Lazuli who sends her a vision: to help Castle Many Licks troop-wise, they’d have to leave Port Syrup defenseless basically which would be a huge strategic loss. Meanwhile, the army coming to Castle Candy is full of discord so there’s a better chance at being able to muster (not mustard) troops there and be successful. The Dairy peeps say they’ll help as well and leave for Lacramore--except for Brie who holds down the fort in Port Syrup and Jack who goes with them to Castle Candy.

They make it there, at like 4am and Carmelinda is there to meet them, full weeping in relief at her daughters’ safe return. Cal is also there (with fancy new pants) and very happy to see Amethar. Caramelinda is less happy to see Amethar and you can clearly feel the tense conversation they’re gearing up for. The girls want to stay but Cara lays down the mom hammer and starts lecturing them. They all try to stealth away (non-daughters included) but Cara goes Full Mom and hits a Nat 20 to eyes-on-the-back-of-her-head notice. She stomps her foot and traps them all in caramel, demanding they all stop messing around and go to bed. Theo Messages her to give a quick word in favor of the girls and their maturity and battle prowess which Cara acknowledges.                   

Cal gets acquainted with Cumulous while Amethar follows Cara into their chambers for a convo that had me feeling like *I* was in trouble. She’s emotionally overwhelmed in a kind of understated and detached way as she talks to Amethar--she’s again openly weeping but not really about him. She doesn’t expect much from him. Him never telling her and hoping the problem would go away like a child makes sense. But his sisters knew which means Lazuli knew and never told her which hurts a whole lot more because, “Lazuli I loved with all my heart and this is just politics.” Ow. Amethar promises he’s going to do better. She doesn’t seem convinced as she leaves the room.      

Later (Note: I’m not 100% clear on the timeline since Siobhan says when they wake up but it seems like it’s still dark in the next scene), Ruby takes the “For Candia” note from Lapin and brings the rest of the PCs to the Sugar Plum Fairy’s standing stones to have a little funeral. Liam finds a peppermint seed and puts it down for Preston. Cumulous is also there and has the urge to meditate while everyone goes back to the castle.

Rocks Fall 

Ruby and Jet see, as their mom walks out of her study, a piece of tearaway lingerie in her desk as she locks the door behind her. And it’s not Jet’s. You know the girls gotta investigate that and Ruby, of course, gets a Nat 20 to pick the lock. In fact she doesn’t have to pick it. She approaches it with an air of mischief and it yields to her, opening without her even having to break out her thieves' tools. They find a letter from Lazi Fierce (interesting name choice) of Lazi Fierce Lingerie who apparently has been spying on them for their mom since they were little (which is funny considering she seemed outraged about their buying lingerie in ep 1). The letter also cryptically refers to something she’s keeping hidden in the attic of her shop and that she needs to leave and she doesn’t know when she’ll be back so if Cara needs it, she should go get it. Much like Siobhan/Adaine stealing that book in S1 of Fantasy High, there is no way the girls were gonna get that info and *not* follow up on it. They grab Liam and go.

With a 25, Ruby easily picks the lock and...we cut to Cumulous. 

As he’s meditating, the Sugar Plum Fairy appears to him in a traditional, cutesy form. Cumulous sees through the glamour and asks what she wants. She says she wants the magic of Candia safe, same as him and says she would owe him a boon if he brought the royal family (who she needs safe) to the Great Stone Candy Mountain. She says there’s safety there for them and Candia’s magic. Maybe not in the way Lazuli planned but this is a better plan. Cumulous says he’ll think about it.

Calroy finds Amethar and takes him to the ramparts of the castle to have a guy chat and also talk strategy. As they get up there, Amethar sees that there’s a ton of soldiers in tents out in the fields. And then he feels a knife in his back. Brennan asks for 3 Con saves.

Water dagger.

He takes 34 points of damage (about half his HP) and is paralyzed as Cal starts to monologue about how he’s always hated Amethar for being so lucky. Fifth in line and somehow makes it to the throne while he’s stuck having to wheel and deal for everything he has. He reveals that he had Rococoa killed when she found out he was selling weapons to Cersians AND that the tents in the field aren’t all Candian tents. Some of them are Ceresians. He got Stilton interested in Primsy. He set up the cheese ambush. He worked with Alfredi to get the water daggers to Kerradin. He told the Pontifex about Ghee (he was in that conversation you’ll remember). He *also* says that, in her younger days, the Pontifex had Citrina (who he claims to have actually liked) killed in the street by Vegetanian knights. 

“I wonder if they’ll call you Amethar the Unfallen after this.”

Boom, Amethar is sent over the castle walls. 

Jet, Ruby, and Liam are in the attic and they see a gleam of golden light from a chest where something is clearly being held. Brennan makes everyone roll Initiative as they walk in and Liam sees four shapes in the room move, all masked, dressed in black, and holding water-steel daggers.  

Ally scrambles for combat dice--because this is a STORY episode what is HAPPENING--and attacks for, in total, 67 damage to one guy who smells of sourdough and does not drop. He hides and Ally, in a burst of realization, puts together that it must have been Ciabatta, something confirmed by Brennan’s coy smile as he rolls a million dice.

Emily and Siobhan hold hands and brace for whatever’s coming. 

Ruby is hit by a dagger and Jet, it seems, is hit by two (since she takes 6 saving throws to Ruby’s 3). Ruby takes 49 damage (down to THREE) and Jet takes 53+51, dropping her and poisoning her. She has to make a death save with disadvantage (bc of the poison) which she passes.   

Ruby wants to stay and fight but Liam and Jet insist she run so, visibly distraught, she casts Invisibility on herself and runs for Theo. Liam casts Rope Trick, grabs Jet, and brings her into a little pocket dimension with him. Ciabatta takes off his mask and tells his men to find them and they say, “Yes Imperator.” They leave. We’re out of combat.

But Jet still has death saves to make.

Nat 1.

That’s two fails.

Liam tries to make a DC 15 medicine check to stabilize her or at least give advantage but fails.

She rolls again.

Nat 1.

As she lays in the Rope Trick, bleeding out, Liam trying his best to stanch the wound, Jet feels a glow on her Locket of the Sweetest Heart. Ruby feels the glow as she sprints over the bridge back to the castle and as she reaches the other side, the glow extinguishes.    

“Tell Ruby I love her,” Jet says to Liam, not from her body, but standing above her body. “And tell her she did the right thing.”

The spirit of her aunt Rococoa shows up to ferry her to the other side.

“Good job soldier. You got her home. Ruby’s gonna be alright. Work’s not over. There’s plenty we can do from this side. You ready?” Oh, hell yeah she is.

Which brings us to Theo who is in the castle, looking for other knights, when he finds Sir Toby in his room, butchered. The door is slammed and locked shut behind him by some of Cal’s men who taunt him about eating Toby’s corpse to survive. But Theo isn’t just a brawn guy. He’s the ward of Archmage Lazuli. He casts Knock and the door flies open.                    

Cumulous hears shouting from the castle and runs towards it immediately.

And Amethar is still falling.

Brennan says he has the time to make 3 checks to come out of paralysis. He comes out of paralysis on his first turn and, as is mechanically useful and narratively appropriate, goes into a rage. As he falls he thinks about Ruby doing that slick aerial arrow shooting last ep and Jet stabbing that dude with him during the ambush. He sees a point of light across town cross the bridge and go out and he *knows* Jet is dead. If he wasn’t raging before, he’s raging now. He falls and takes 72 points of damage, halved to 36. He’s still up. Amethar the Unfallen, yet again. 

The sounds of war erupt and that’s where we end our ep.

Safe harbor my ass. 

In Memoriam

Oh, Jet.

I’ve known this was something I was going to have to write for ages now. I’m honestly only surprised this wasn’t the first one. Jet has had a date with the Grim Reaper for ages now and it was just down to confirming the date and time.

The moment she said, “I go on top of the carriage and lay myself perfectly to protect Ruby,” she might as well have started picking flowers for her grave. Her willingness to throw herself in harm’s way to protect anyone she held in any regard without the slightest hesitation was always going to be her downfall. A noble end to be sure, but still an end. And it sucks that, if she had to die, she didn’t die in a blaze of glory in battle, but she made the most of her senseless death. She died, telling Ruby to run, wishing she could have done more to save her, telling Liam to make sure she knows that she’s loved and that she didn’t abandon her, she did the right thing. Not a single thought for herself, only for her sister. 

Jet, who never wanted to be queen and now never will be.

Jet who longed for war and fell right on the cusp on the biggest one in years.

Jet who was forced by circumstances to step up and did so every time. 

I didn’t include her last exchange with Rococoa in the recap because I wanted to use those lines here. 

Her aunt says, “I have bad news. If you thought the adventure was gonna end, it’s not.”

“Well,” Jet replies with a slight smile, “if you thought the adventurer was gonna die, she definitely fucking wasn’t.”

The Bastard Jet Rocks. RIP.

1 Million Years Dungeon 

That damn cake bastard and his stupid fancy pants. I KNEW it I KNEW it I hate that I’m right but I KNEW IT.

Not that it was a crazy puzzle as a viewer. In a story like this there *has* to be a traitor to the king and for someone to be a traitor, they first have to be a friend. And Cal has been *real* friendly.  Brennan thought he could throw us off the scent by saying that Cal was is his DMNPC, as if we don’t already know he’s the enemy. That’s just more evidence for the pile baby! I SEE YOU VILLAIN. 

But damn if it didn’t still hurt when it happened. After what he’d just been through? That’s just insult to injury, or vice versa I suppose. And in a story ep???? Brennan?????

Wild that he waited 20 years to off this dude and then monologued his entire plan and didn’t wait to make sure Amethar--the famously Unfallen--was dead though.

Anyway, absolute BASTARD MAN (and not in the cool Jet way). I need him DEAD and I need that to happen ASAP.

(Also, this is more on Brennan but full-circling Lou’s “shit/piss” running joke with a MURDER ATTEMPT? That’s an extra year dungeon my guy.)

Sunnyside Up

“You’ve struck me. Why have you done this? It was wee and gentle but you've struck me nonetheless.” I love Primsy with my whole heart. 

The “slam down big style” line was, like, moderately funny when I first heard it but every repetition in and out of game made it exponentially funnier. 

“If we have to follow the rules, you have to follow the rules!” 

“Everyone needs to stop making sworn enemies. We already have enough.”

“I sentence you to death.”/“No let him do it.” and then his, “Later.” So good. 

It didn’t *end* funny but I maintain that that the, “There’s a *war* going on,” back and forth between Jet and Ruby was gold. 

This isn’t actually from the episode but everyone roasting Brennan with full lies when he gets up to use the bathroom in the Adventuring Party is one of the funniest things Dropout has ever put out. Also, Murph taking Brenna’s cookie story and Murphing it is very good. Just watch this week’s AP, even if you don’t usually. 

Things I’m Concerned About

Going into this battle ep, Ruby has THREE HP and Amethar has FIFTEEN. Like I know Rococoa said Ruby would be OK but I hope that has some mechanical effect because IDK ABOUT THAT.

Is Lady Donetta w/ Cal or was she just a pawn, like Primsy?

Also, idk if this matters but I can’t shake the thought that Cal murdered the Swirlies. Like it’s very probable that they just suck but the thought struck me. 

Don’t love that it seems like Cal is going right for Cara this ep. Hopefully Theo (who Big Brained on that clutch Knock) can help her out and, if not, it looks like she has some skills of her own. I’m pulling for her. 

How out the window is the format? Like, I’ve been concerned about a random combat ambush for a while now--partially because of the genre and partially because of how story heavy the tourney ep was. Things have been bleeding through already and now, at the halfway point, it seems like a plausible time for Brennan to fully throw the rulebook out the window and be like, “Game’s changed y’all.” They didn’t roll for initiative at the end of last ep. I wonder if that’s logistical or somehow relevant (like, are they going *right* into combat or not).

AHHHHHHH, OK, Jet’s death. As much as I felt it coming, ouch. And not just ouch for me Ouch for everyone. I am so worried about how this is going to break Ruby specifically. Like, poor Cara--she *just* got her daughter back only for her to die in her old stomping grounds because of a letter *she* had--poor Amethar--he’s outlived his firstborn who he saw safely through battle and loved more than anyone besides his other daughter, just like he outlived all his sisters--but Ruby? This is going to CRUSH her. She egged on the sneaking out. She ran instead of staying to try and help (correct move but total guilt trip). She’s never been alone before. I know we’ve all been kinda tense for whatever that, “Family is vulnerable,” line from Siobhan in the trailer is but man I’m *so* much more tense now. I wonder if she’s gonna take a class tweak like Liam did (I know he had more of a reason for it but still curious). 

(Also, Theo who’s whole purpose in life is protect the Rocks family having Jet die and Amethar almost die in one night? RIP to that dude’s mental health.)

Note: I recognize that there’s a theory floating around that Cara set up what happened as an ambush and is evil but I refuse to consider that and if that makes me boo boo the fool in two episodes, so be it.

Seriously though, Concerned about whatever that “Long Live the Queen” stuff is. Like it could be referring to Cara but it could be referring to someone else entirely. Either way, sketchy.   

Lol also the health food-pocalypse. That’s a thing. Extremely wild that that’s not even close to the headline of this episode. 

I may have trusted Lapin by the end but I do *not* trust the Sugar Plum Fairy. Whatever’s going on with her and Cumulous? Do not vibe. 

Ciabatta better be toast by the end of this show. This isn’t a concern. This is my Denny’s order. Toasted Ciabatta with a side of dice I can pour down Brennan’s throat.

Five More Things

So, Emily’s new character. I have two thoughts. One (and this was suggested to me by @buck92) is that she’s playing the Queen’s Champion--Ser Amanda Maillard who’s been mentioned twice--once in the first episode by Theo and Sir Toby and once this episode as part of the war effort (leading troops south). A named character doing important things but with no art sounds like a possible backup PC. Also, Emily getting to play this cool knight who Murph’s character is slightly jealous of would be A Dynamic. The other strong possibility is the Sugar-free chocolate warlock Brennan mentioned in episode 1 when they were on the way to Comida. I thought they were gonna get jumped by that character and they weren’t which makes me think that’s a PC too. It would also make Emily 3 for 3 on warlocks! 

RIP to all of us who made the Bread Wedding joke before the season started. We were right, but at what cost. 

Ruby talking about how it doesn’t matter what she does because she’s not next in line and then having Jet suddenly die and instantly becoming crown princess has painfully Big Amethar Energy. 

Also, a nat 20 to break in and find the letter and then two Nat 1 death saves? The dice REALLY wanted Jet dead. Addendum: Almost forgot! Liam *just* learned Twinspeak! Like, off. What a narrative hand-off having that happen right before Jet died. It was like written in the stars.

It’s just a little moment but I loved Cara including Liam in her lecture with a little, “You are included, Liam.” 

One More Thing!

This has been circulated a bunch already but I still wanted to shout out this very good video edit by @breadddie! It hit me real hard man. 

Also, I don’t think I can link this properly without tumblr getting mad at me but this animatic with Amethar’s Fall set to What’s Up Danger on Twitter is excellent!

Edit: Here’s a link to an ask where I link to the animatic! Novatank is the artist’s @ btw.