#at least long enough to actually introduce the gay pirate

[gregorygerwitz]

would y'all still love me if I put fanfic aside for the night to work on my novel?

[childofsardior]

I just had a tought abt Foxy in FNaF - Ruin.

And his disappearance, in favor of Roxanne Wolf's character.

So...

We can see Foxy cutouts near Roxy's beauty saloon, and this specific Foxy looks like a cowboy - with clothes and hat - even if he keeps his pirate hook.

This is curious already, since this Foxy keeps the design and colors of OG Foxy - that if I am not wrong has always been showed as a "pirate" - even in FNaF - SB, when we see his statue in the Pirate's Cove and on cutouts and posters.

Plus, we see this Foxy near a Chica, dressed again in a Western style, but this Chica is clearly GlamRock Chica due to her feather colors and appearance - and NOT OG Chica.

Another curious thing is that Roxy's beauty saloon IS Cowboy / "Western" themed. And this is the same place where we find the Foxy cutouts, as we saw before.

So I was thinking...

It's possible that the character of "Foxy" actually existed as an animatronic in the Pizzaplex, maybe at the very first opening - or that he was at least planned to be introduced as a glamrock - but then, at some point, he was replaced by... Roxy, right? Since Freddy is the main star, Chica was already there (we can see GlamChica cohexisting with Foxy in the cutouts) and Bonnie was in the band before Monty.

Even "Foxy" and "Roxy" are similar names, so it seems even more obvious that Foxy was replaced by the character of Roxy at some point.

The thing I suddently thought was... what if Foxy and Roxy are the same character? Just, at some point, Foxy "transitioned" into Roxy.

Since they are sentient enough, it could even be by "Foxy" own choice, or maybe the Fazbear Ent. thought that the old pirate was a bit too unfitting for the glam gang, even after trying to turn him into a cowboy, and so they adjusted Foxy into Roxy (in this case Roxy doesn't seems to mind, so the important is that she's cool with it u.u)

This could be the reason we never see a glamrock animatronic of Foxy? Maybe the animatronic itself was in fact turned into Roxy, with some endo and cover adjustment.

I thought about this after talking with a friend that pointed out how lots of fanmade GlamFoxy designs have long hair like Roxy and a similar vibe.

And if this was true, at that point the Fazbear Ent. would have just keep the "original" pirate Foxy vibes for things like the theatre or the Pirate Cove - since Foxy was a very popular character - without the animatronic himself that now is Roxy...?

I know it sounds stupid but I swear in my head and in my native language it sounded so much better t.t

So in the end... despite Roxy being transgender or not (and if she canonically was, it would be SO COOL!! Considering we already have canonically gay robot couple!!!), the fact that the animatronic/suit & endo itself could be the same, but readjusted over time (when Faz Ent. decided to turn the saloon into a beauty saloon for example) could explain the "disappearance" of one of the main characters of the Fazbear Band - and would also mean that, at the very opening of the Pizzaplex, the characters where all "the OG ones", at least by name.

The only thing that it's a bit strange is the fact that Roxy is a wolf and Foxy is, well, a fox. But since they are robots, and since foxes and wolves are both canids quite similar in shape, I think it could have been easy enought to recolor / adjust some elements to turn a fox animatronic into a wolf animatronic.

That's it for now. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk!

PS. GO SAPPHIC TRANS ROXY HC, GO!

[ewdaviddd]

folklore think piece

for a lower case album such as this, i will be writing a lowercase think piece on the subject. i will not explain why. you get it or you don’t.

the 1: i have never been in love or any type of romantic relationship that left me with lasting feelings of any kind. but, on my fourth listen through of this song today, what once was just a promising and fun intro to this peasant girl summer gut punch, brought me to actual tears as i sat on the toilet in my lime green childhood bathroom as if i were mourning the one that got away (another great song). however, i am an expert on being hung up on the past, the “what could have been”, and made up hypotheticals. this song also introduces the film motif seen a lot in this album. i think dating an actor has really gotten to her. anyway what a killer way to begin, top notch stuff. how can a song be so fun and so soul crushing at the same time?

cardigan: when did taylor wear black lipstick? this is important to me. an old cardigan is an inherently bisexual article of clothing. that is not an opinion. i read it somewhere today and i believe it. this is the tip of the queer-coding ice berg in folklore, never fear. another reference, “tried to change the ending / peter losing wendy”. this year i wrote a movie script where both peter and wendy were both gay. coincidence? probably. basically this one is classic taylor poetry on every level and it being one of a trio in a larger story makes it that much better. yet again, high school romance is not a universal experience (like for me for instance) but haunting my “what-ifs” is going to haunt me for a long time. and the thought of someone saying i was their favorite cardigan makes me want to scream into a pillow.

the last great american dynasty: my favorite ts songs have always been the ones with detailed characters and stories and this one introduces the trope of the “mad woman” who comes back later on as well a long with many fun character details. at first this song is just cheeky and cute, very visual, a fun world to jump into. but then this particular stretch of lines makes your heart drop into your chest and reminds you why taylor isn’t just always fun and always cute and always creative, she also holds the ability to nimbly sock you in the gut when you least expect: “fifty years is a long time / holiday house sat quietly on that beach / free of women with madness, their men and bad habits / and then it was bought by me.” my jaw is still on the floor. and i’ve never bought a house myself. but i’ve spent numerous christmases having a marvelous time ruining everything (so i’ve been told) so this song still applies to my life.

exile (ft. bon iver): i’m gonna be honest. for as long as i can remember i have strongly disliked bon iver and i never remembered why. it is a matter of principle at this point. i just don’t trust him. but then taylor announced she wrote a song with him which filled me with tremendous anxiety. but i can rest easy. much like “the last time” this song is a ts and male artist collaboration i can get behind. also the film motif again: the only time i’ve left a theatre when i didn’t like a movie was never because movie tickets are so expensive and if i’m shelling out 11 dollars to sit in a chair, i’m staying the whole time no matter how bad the ending. but i probably would have left my sister’s keeper if i had seen it before if i’m being honest. so i get it. thats why i read spoilers for everything i watch before watching it, because the anxiety of worrying about how it ends make me not enjoy it in the first place. the end of this song: the call and response felt… ethereal? i felt like i was watching a broadway musical from the splash zone seats, crying as i was spat on.

my tears ricochet: this song is what i picture stepping outside in the middle of the night when an inch or so of snow has just fallen and i can see the flakes fall in front of a street light sounds like. or the scorned secret ex lover throwing themselves onto the coffin demanding to know why they weren’t enough.   which is to say it feels like a sign from some sort of god. yet again, haunting is brought up, an overt reference to the fact that this album will live in my brain rent free for eternity. for some reason this song reminds me of the relationship between hamilton and burr when burr kills hamilton. that could be because i just watched the disney+ recording last week. one lives, one dies, but neither survive, both pay for it. Which is a super romantic and understanding view on murder. both musical experiences equally chilling and moving. if i die under mysterious circumstances this will for sure be played at the funeral.

mirrorball: first off, this is my mom's favorite which is very important. also, it has skewered a very specific but also universal insecurity of mine; existing just to please others and yet miserably failing. it is comforting that ts is not a “natural’ and feels she must always “try try try” because i too lack natural ability, but also rarely “try” even just the one time. the best way i can describe listening to this song is walking through a silent disco where everyone else is listening to some classic lady gaga jam and you are listening to a calming lullaby sung very far away. but don’t let the soothing sounds fool you. it still will have you reflecting on what it means to look and be looked at. a dark rabbit whole, like falling through the looking glass. i’ve never actually read that book though so i could be wrong.

seven: i’m dumb and on my first listen of this song i thought she “hit her peak” at 7 clock as opposed to age seven. but i always saw taylor swift as someone with an early bedtime. also a fun discovery while writing this, “seven” is the 7th song on the track list. clever. although this song is young and innocent and so nostalgic for a time when screaming ferociously was a widely accepted form of expression, it also sounds like a very old secret someone is whispering to me. a love from long ago that lasts beyond the person being in your life, passed down to me and it all just sounds a little gay. not just because of the specific line to hiding in the closet. but that certainly doesn’t go unnoticed. when i was seven i was definitely in love with girls and assumed that was just what friendship was, playing pirates and making plans of running away together.

august: the eighth track for the eighth month. her mind. also my birth month so that’s special. controversial opinion: from what i’ve read most people seem to think illicit affair is the third song in the triage of teen love. i will strongly make the case that it's actually this one. first of all, the subject: a short lived summer fling, which is specifically mentioned later in “betty”. the central heartbreak of this song is liking someone who always belonged to someone else. yes, this song is a window into a different summer, far from pandemic central and the escapist imagery is delightful. but a whole song from the pov of the “other woman” to james and betty is just so much more fun. and there are two more specific lyrics that prove my point. “remember when i pulled up and said "get in the car”” you will see later comes back from the other person’s perspective. and most of all: the repeated line, “meet me behind the mall”? only teenagers make plans to meet up behind a mall. i rest my case. so now we have cardigan and august. two pieces of the puzzle.

this is me trying: i’m glad i now have a succinct message to send to anyone when they ask me what the hell i’m doing at any given moment. this song just sounds like regret and waste in the most self-assured and confident way. this is “back to december” with the training wheels off.  i have no apologies for my efforts at wasting all my potential. but in this song, taylor has opened her arms to me in a warm embrace and has forgiven me for all i’ve done wrong and reminds me to not take for granted the “try”. okay mom. i’m crying again, but okay.

illicit affair: this is the kind of thing that makes you feel sixteen, living in a dull suburb, while secretly screwing your 38 year old married neighbor who’s rich but wants to be an artiste. aka like a character in euphoria or something. it’s sexy and dangerous until you think about it and then it's just dingy and creepy. but this song starts and stays beautiful. most importantly, this song is too sad and depressing frankly, to be a part of the trilogy. we could never forgive james for leaving such a mess and making her a fool. you don’t want to be this girl. you want to walk up to her and shake her and yell “you exist and will not be ruined by any dumb man”. and that’s feminism.

invisible string: is it reductive if i say this one’s about joe? all my non-stan friends have asked me which ones are about him. we forgive them and point them in this direction. because it is lovely and beautiful that we are all tied to our soulmate for our whole lives before we ever meet them (because that would in fact mean that there is someone out there for everyone which might be naive or dumb but i am both of those things and whats the point of living if you don’t believe in the power of love). this honestly gives me “begin again” vibes in the best way. it’s red-era level with the wisdom of lover-era tay. sublime.

mad woman: the second mention of the “mad woman” as both taylor herself and the character in the story. as usual, tay stays calling out double standards and the manipulation of women into “going crazy” for expressing reasonable anger. I, personally, wish i could say “fuck you forever” without someone saying i’m “overreacting”. this is my least favorite song on the album and i’d still listen to it three times in a row and need to resist the urge to set a man’s lawn on fire. just girly things.

epiphany: i know she said this one is about her grandfather’s experience in the military but all i imagine is a slow montage of harry style’s character in “dunkirk” on the beach. and it’s beautiful. and much like my sophomore in high school self reading “all quiet on the western front” it evokes a pain from deep inside me that engulfs a loss i could never describe and a sadness too awful to witness. you will listen to this song and feel absolutely powerless to the will of the universe and it’s cruelty. and the faint but steady heart monitor beep in the background… i’ve never seen “grey’s anatomy” but i can imagine why it has so many fans sobbing. and let me end on this: two soldiers in some old war (meaning both men based on dunkirk) watching each other like this and living and dying together…gay.

betty: the first verse was pulled directly out of my subconscious fantasy of being in love in high school and it being so wonderful and painful and dramatic. and taylor riding a skateboard… is a mood. the song has been out for less than a week and it’s already a cold take to talk about how this is her gayest song to date (close runner-ups being reputation’s “dress” and “cardigan”). but of course i will still talk about it. the lyrics embody such authentic awkward gay energy (see the lesbian in booksmart for reference) and having been a 17 year old only three years ago, i can say with reasonably good authority that no 17 year old straight boy could stand in front of a crowd of peers and beg forgiveness from a girl he hurt. it’s just not realistic. these are all awkward, over-dramatic, young girls stumbling through love. and it’s awesome. james is the speaker of this song, and the subject of “august”, the summer fling that was never truly there due to james’ love for betty, the titular role of this song. thus completing the love triangle. and there are so many obvious references in this song to both “august” and “cardigan”. rhyming cardigan with car again makes me want to light myself on fire in the best way. i love it. “i dreamt of you all summer long” is the final nail in the coffin for the girl in “august” who was clearly just a place-holder. totally separate from taylor swift, my favorite word is porch. so the amount of times it appears in her lyrics is wonderful. say it out loud. it just feels nice. anyway, this song makes me want to be young and dumb and in love. the second can really only be tolerated because of the first and third. i hope the story has a happy-ending. if james were a boy i’d wish him the plague.

peace: the coming-of-age movie starring james and betty (and inez) is over. we have come to “the age” i guess. there’s a thought that’s gonna fester. if this song was just the line, “would it be enough if i could never give you peace?” over and over for four minutes it would still smash me to pulp and fill my body with helium gas. i can and will cause a car wreck when this comes on the aux. if this song is what being grown up is like (bare in mind grown up to me is like, 30) then i’m ready to be done coming of age. because i already worry if i’ll be at all enough for anyone and way too much for someone at the same time. but like all good poetry, this song isn’t about what it “means”, but how it “feels”. and this is new york city, the summer, pouring rain, a long walk home, desperately fearing and hoping they are there waiting for you.

hoax: a one-sided conversation between me and my stubborn clinical depression. i too, constantly stand alone on the cliff demanding a reason. one has not yet been presented. it operates both within and and against me. i could be bigger and stronger than it. but instead i tend to it like a prickly plant. (“no other sadness in the world will do”). there is nothing both sadder and funnier then the scene in “avatar: the last airbender” when prince zuko stands alone on a cliff screaming at the sky for lightning to strike him. i don’t know why this song reminds me so much of that. what a way to end such an emotional rollercoaster. it is so emotionally draining that it simply forces me to start folklore again from the top and listen to it all over again.  or take a long therapeutic nap.

there are no skips. and it will still surprise you on your 267th listen. proceed with caution.

i knew you, in a past life maybe. i have not met you yet, but folklore has made me believe you exist.

@taylorswift 10/10 good work

@taylornation this had to be shared and i don’t have a twitter so

[nighting-gale17]

I was wondering if you'd be interested in a prompt I've been thinking about. (So buck isn't a firefighter never was, but eddie is and he gets excepted to 118 at the same time he does in the show. And over little conversions the firefam has with eddie they release that he is married to a guy named buck and has a disabled kid). Bonus points for British buck because I live like two blocks away from were oliver stark grow up, my older sister went to school with him

Thanks for this prompt! It was really cute and tbh I had a lot of fun writing it! So basically, in this fic buck never joined the 118 and tommy is still on the team. Hope you enjoy it!

Feel free to send me more prompts you guys :) I love writing these

5 times eddie mentioned buck and 1 time the team met him in person

[1]

The first time Eddie mentioned his husband was when he first met the team and Chimney caught a glimpse of the black band with a red line on his left hand. 

“Hey, man, you married?” Chimney had asked, a curious look on his face.

Hen watched as a lovestruck smile spread across Eddie’s face and he nodded, voice proud as he responded, “Yeah. Going on seven years, now.” 

“Wow. Pretty impressive.” Tommy let out a low whistle. “You’ll have to bring her around some time, man.”

“Uh, him. Actually.” Eddie corrected, a nervous yet defensive tone to his voice.

Hen felt a grin spread over her face as she clapped him on the shoulder. “Even better, then. My wife would love to meet the two of you.”

At that, Eddie’s entire stance visibly relaxed and his smile turned genuine. “He’d probably like that.” He perked up even more when Tommy asked if he had any pictures and wasted no time in whipping out his phone and fondly showing off a few pictures of their happy little family.

[2]

The second time Eddie mentioned his husband was when the earthquake hit. Hen had already gotten ahold of her wife and been reassured both her and Denny were safe in the house, just a little shaken up. Eddie had been staring at his phone while they sat in the ladder truck, eyebrows furrowed together in worry.

“Everything okay?” Hen asked, shouting to be heard above the roar of the engine and the sirens blaring through the air.

“Yeah.” Eddie glanced up briefly before staring back down at his phone. “Just trying to get through to my husband.”

“I’m sure he’s fine.” Hen reassured him. “The phone lines are probably just too busy for anyone to get through them.”

He gave her a small smile but it didn’t reach his eyes.

“Where’s he supposed to be?” she asked, because some buildings in LA are more earthquake-resistant than others.

“At school with our son,” he said after a minute, his smile softening a little. “He’s a special education elementary school teacher.”

“The school buildings here in LA are the safest place your family could be,” Hen promised as the ladder truck came to an abrupt stop outside of a high-rise. “They remodeled all of them a couple years back. They’re practically indestructible.”

“Thanks, Hen.” Eddie gave her a small smile, looking a little less tense than he had moments before.

“Anytime, Eddie. You’re part of the team, now.” she gave him a cheeky grin before she hopped out of the truck to survey the damage done by the earthquake.

[3]

“Hey, Bobby, can I talk to you for a second?”

Bobby glanced up to see Eddie standing on the other side of the counter, looking a little nervous. “Sure kid,” he put the bowl of meat he had been working on for dinner to the side and wiped his hands off in the sink. “What do you need?”

“I know I’ve only been working here for a few months,” Eddie began, rubbing the back of his neck. “But I was wondering if I could take a few days off in a couple weeks.”

“Is everything okay?” Bobby asked with a small frown. It was a little unusual for Eddie to make this request—he hadn’t taken a single sick day since he started, much less ask for a day off.

“Yeah, no, everything’s great.” He smiled a little sheepishly. “It’s my husband and mine’s wedding anniversary coming up and I wanted to take him someplace special for the weekend. If you can’t give me the time off, I understand,” Eddie rushed to continue, that nervous look reappearing in his eyes. “I know I haven’t exactly been here long enough to—”

Bobby raised his hand, cutting Eddie off in the middle of his ramble. “Take the time off, Eddie,” he replied with a fond smile. His heart ached for a minute when he thought about his own wedding anniversary—how excited he always was to spend the day with his wife every year.

Eddie breathed a sigh of relief and gave Bobby a bright grin. “Thanks, Bobby. I really appreciate it.”

“No problem.” Bobby’s smile turned mischievous. “You can thank me by helping me get the rest of dinner ready for the crew.”

“Yes, sir.” Eddie laughed, rolling up the sleeves of his uniform and joining Bobby behind the kitchen counter.

[4]

“So, Hen, you and Karen are going to be— what?” Tommy asked one day, tossing a bite of popcorn into his mouth and grinning proudly when he caught it.

“We’re going to be Sally and Jack Skellington.” Hen informed them, a small smile on her face. “Denny is going to be the skelly-dog, Zero.”

“Chim and I are going baseball players.” 

Chimney felt his cheeks flush hotly at the thought of the costumes Tommy had shown him the other day. He was never going to hear the end of it after the part, but, fuck, he had to admit they both looked hot in them.

“What about you, Eddie?” Tommy asked, craning his neck back to peer at Eddie sitting in the reading chair to his left. “What are you and your boo dressing up as?”

“Well, Christopher has been on a Pirates of the Caribbean kick recently,” Eddie admitted, a small smile on his face. “So we’re going as pirates. Buck is, as usual, going all out with this. He started seeing the costumes almost two months ago.”

“He’s sewing them?” Chimney asked curiously, a little impressed.

“Yeah.” Eddie’s gaze softened as he spoke. “He volunteers on the weekend at the children’s hospital to dress up as superheroes to cheer them up. He makes all his own costumes because he insists it’s cheaper for him to make them himself then buy it on the internet.”

Chimney let out a low whistle. “Damn, Eddie. Did you marry a Disney prince or something?”

Eddie let out a groan at that, a smile pulling at his lips. “Don’t say that around him—he’ll start getting ideas.”

[5]

Tommy loves Thanksgiving.

He loved other holidays as well (Christmas held a particularly special place in his heart) but at Thanksgiving, there was so much food. 

“I’m telling you, man, stuffing is one of the best dishes.” Tommy insisted, twisting and turning to look at Chimney for back up.

“It’s good.” His boyfriend acknowledged though it lacked enthusiasm. “My favorite is the turkey, though.” he shot Tommy an apologetic look.

“That reminds me,” Bobby cut in before Tommy could reply. “You’re all invited to our home for Thanksgiving this year. Athena insisted and it would be nice to be with everyone outside of work.”

“Yes!” Tommy replied immediately. “We’ll be there. Athena makes the best stuffing…” he sighed, his mouth-watering slightly just at the thought of the sergeant’s cooking.

“You can count us in too, Cap.” Hen answered with a small smile.

“What about you, Eddie?” Bobby asked, wiping his hands on a kitchen towel as he finished washing up the dishes.

“I would love to, Bobby, but Buck and I are hosting my family for Thanksgiving,” he said apologetically. “Buck tends to go a little overboard on holidays. He didn’t have the best childhood growing up so holidays are always a little extravagant at our house.”

“How extravagant?” Chimney asked curiously, his curiosity only growing when Eddie’s smile turned sheepish and he ducked his head.

“Well, I have a lot of family, so we usually have to end up cooking at least two turkeys, not to mention the side dishes. My abuela usually comes over to help but Buck refuses to let me into the kitchen.” he rolled his eyes fondly. “He practically takes over our kitchen for the entire day.”

“Remind me to send you my mashed potatoes recipe,” Bobby told Eddie, a small smile on his face. “I guarantee it’ll make his life a lot easier if he follows that.”

“Thanks, Cap!” Eddie shared his smile. “Mashed potatoes are his favorite so I think he’ll enjoy it.”

“Okay, but, onto the more important question.” Tommy broke in, face serious. “Does he make stuffing?”

[+1]

The first time Hen actually got to meet Eddie’s husband, Evan, or Buck, as they’ve been told he prefers to be called, it was at the annual Christmas party in the station. She’d been chatting with Karen about what color to paint the nursery when she spotted Eddie walking up the stairs with an, admittedly gorgeous, man at his side with an eye-catching birthmark on his left eye and a young boy on his shoulders.

“Eddie!” Hen greeted, smiling as he walked towards them in the kitchen and placed a casserole dish on the counter.

“Hey Hen, Karen.” He smiled, leaning forward and hugging Hen’s wife and placing a friendly kiss on her cheek. “You look radiant.”

Oh no, Hen thought to herself, watching as Karen blinked back tears and hugged Eddie tightly before she let him go. She was extremely emotional from the pregnancy and any time someone complimented her while she was pregnant she just about started bawling. It was as endearing as it was embarrassing.

“This is my husband, Evan, and our son, Christopher.” Eddie introduced them, a proud look in his eyes and a fond smile on his face.

“Hello. It’s lovely to finally meet you both.” Buck said, a friendly smile on his face.

Oh. OH.

If Hen wasn’t so gay she might’ve swooned.

“You’re British?” Karen asked, a note of surprise in her voice.

Buck’s smile turned shy. “I grew up in London—that’s where I met Eddie, when he was overseas during his first deployment.” he turned and looked at Eddie with a lovesick expression on his face. “We kept in touch and started dating when he was on his second deployment. Then I moved here to LA with him.”

“That’s so romantic.” Karen sniffled, leaning her head against Hen’s shoulder.

“Papa, cookies!” Christopher tapped on the side of Buck’s face, pointing to the decorated sugar cookies laying out on the table.

“Yeah, I see them, buddy.” Buck laughed, reaching up to grab Christopher and set him on the ground. “But you can’t have any cookies until after dinner, remember?” he crouched down and stage whispered into his ear, glancing up at Eddie. “But you and I can split one when your dad isn’t looking.”

Christopher nodded, giggling into his hand before Buck led them away, exaggeratedly checking to see if Eddie was looking before nabbing a cookie off the counter and scurrying away towards the couches where the rest of the team was gathered.

“He’s cute,” Hen told Eddie. “Like a puppy.”

Eddie’s reply was lovesick. “Yeah, he is, isn’t he?”

[homenum-revelio-hq]

Welcome (again) to the Order of the Phoenix, Amos!

You have been accepted for the role of non-biography character MAURICE CREEVEY with the faceclaim of Tom Sturridge! We really enjoyed reading through your application! The idea of a Muggleborn character who is actually not all that excited about going to Hogwarts is awesome! He’s resentful that he was taken away without a choice - resentful that he can’t go back and be the same person. We’re so thrilled to have him as an addition to the cast!

Please take a look at the new member checklist and send in your account within 24 hours! Thank you for joining the fight against Voldemort!

OUT OF CHARACTER:

NAME: Amos

AGE: 22

TIMEZONE: GMT

ACTIVITY LEVEL: You already have a pretty good idea of my activity. There is also plenty of time when I’m around and could be writing but I am either caught up on Fab or don’t have quite the right muse for him, so hopefully this new charrie can fill those gaps!

ANYTHING ELSE: nope

CHARACTER DETAILS:

NAME: Maurice Creevey

AGE: 24

GENDER, PRONOUNS, and SEXUALITY: Male, He/Him, Homosexual. Gender isn’t something he’s really ever thought about. He’s pretty content in that respect. He is quite unapologetically gay though.

BLOOD STATUS: Muggleborn

HOUSE ALUMNI: Ravenclaw

ANY CHANGES: This is where you can request a FC change or a change from something in the skeleton bio.

CHARACTER BACKGROUND:

PERSONALITY: 

To sum Maurice up very concisely, he’s angry. He hasn’t always been. He was a relatively happy go lucky child, full of endless energy and enthusiasm. Then he was plucked from his life and sent away to a school to learn magic. At first that was pretty cool, after all, every 11 year old wishes they had magical abilities, the difference being they get to grow up and forget those wishes and live normal lives. He has to live with his childish fantasies for the rest of his life. And apart from that, he appears to be in a world where muggleborns are being hunted and killed by an evil wizard and his crazy cult. To make things worse, they can’t escape back to their muggle lives because of all the damn secrecy laws. So yes, he’s angry, and a lot of his actions are fueled by that. Make no mistake though, Maurice is no Gryffindor, he doesn’t use his anger in brash reckless ways, he is more calculated. You may catch it crackling under the surface occasionally, but it would take a lot to make him properly explode. Even slurs like ‘mudblood’ would only make him roll his eyes and perhaps give a snarky retort.

Maurice is a Ravenclaw. He is a big believer that knowledge is power. He did fairly well at his subjects in Hogwarts considering he didn’t try all that hard. He did not choose this path and as a consequence, resented it. He would often get his brother who was a few years older, to send him muggle textbooks when he’d finished with them. He was fascinated by science and maths and history. Of course he had some curiosity for his lessons at Hogwarts, and the things he and his magic was capable of, but the element of choice was important for him. It felt like by attending Hogwarts, a whole area of understanding was suddenly off limits. As anyone knows, forbidden knowledge is the most desirable.

He likes to ask questions about as much as any other Ravenclaw, but he is also a big observer. He likes to take time to gather information before jumping into a lot of things, especially interactions with other people. He by no means stalks people, but a few minutes, to watch, take someone in, before starting a conversation is quite usual for him. It’s all about making informed choices.  As a consequence, unexpected interactions can throw him, making him more awkward than he’d like.

He can be arrogant, he has a conviction in his beliefs that can come across as condescension if viewed the wrong way. He can get frustrated when someone is not following his thinking quite as quickly as he’d like, which is why he’d make a terrible teacher. However, this works equally in the opposite direction. His frustration can be palpable when he doesn’t understand something, and these moments are when he is least in control. A lot of his acts of protest come from anger, sure, but also the frustration of not being able to fathom how things got so bad, why they can’t just make them better now, why people can’t see it for themselves. But usually he is quiet. Unless he is invited to speak, or is so damn angry the words won’t stop, he can keep his thoughts to himself until someone is listening and his words can have an impact.

BRIEF OVERVIEW OF FAMILY: 

Until the age of 11 Maurice grew up in a very normal, working class family in the midlands. His mother was a typical housewife, loving but somewhat distracted, staring out of windows whilst doing the washing up, leaving the dinner in slightly too long when listening to the radio. Maurice didn’t mind, he barely noticed, and she was excellent at bedtime stories, so what was there to complain about? His father was a miner, a tough, but humorous man. He worked hard, and he always came home dirty, but played football with them in the garden the weekends.

He has one older brother. Not the brightest bulb, but the kindest person Maurice knows. Maurice always thought him brave, in a quiet way. There is no one Maurice has ever looked up to quite like his big brother, even if they squabbled and scrapped as much as any other loving siblings.

Perhaps this happy set up, along with glowing school reports and a nice bunch of friends, was why he has always resented being ripped from that life and that path. 

When he was a child, he dreamed of being an astronaut, an archaeologist, a doctor, a lawyer, and what’s more, none of these were stretches for him, with his brain and desire for learning, he could have done it, he could have gotten out of the rows and rows of back to back terraced houses that he and his family were confined to. He could have taken them with him. But he was torn away and sent to Hogwarts, and his parents only vaguely understood, were proud, but in a distant way. His brother became a milkman, a job he enjoyed, but not one that paid well. He married young, his school sweetheart, and they are expecting their first child. They all seem happy enough, they have the things that matter, enough food to eat, a roof over their head, love, but Maurice can’t help but feel he could have saved them. The terror of living paycheck to paycheck, the mundanity of their terraced hells, or just never being able to treat yourself to that little bit extra. He remembered as a child, when his father would be on strike, the unspoken fear that filled up their home. He had wanted to save them from that.

When he would return home for the summer, he would act like nothing had changed, he wouldn’t speak of Hogwarts, or of his magic. He would pretend like he was no different from them, but something had changed and something had broken, and eventually he realised that something couldn’t be fixed. Getting his Hogwarts letter had been the beginning of the end for Maurice. He hated it when summer would end and he’d have to go back, but he also hated going home in the first place.

OCCUPATION: 

Maurice works as a sound engineer at the Wizarding Wireless Network. It was not something he expected of himself, more something he fell into. A job at the Ministry would have gone against all his principals. A deep hatred for ‘the man’ but also the wizarding world in general, he wasn’t about to go work in a place trying to keep it all ticking over, and bore himself to death in the process.

He considered more academic positions, but he’d had a hard enough time concentrating at Hogwarts. Trawling magical forests for new flora and fauna, or raiding tombs and breaking their curses had no appeal to him. Which largely left working class positions or the arts. It was not a tricky decision.

The newspaper was an option, but the fact that the Daily Prophet seemed to have a monopoly on journalism in wizarding Britain didn’t sit well with Maurice. Without another widely available newspaper to oppose their horribly biased reporting, what was the point? He would not be a puppet for their propaganda. For a while, he tried to write his own pieces, publish them independently, but that wasn’t entirely successful. The pieces were convoluted, preachy, and he had no audience, no one to either agree nor criticise him.

Eventually he wound up at the Wizarding Wireless Network. Again, it irked him that there was only one major company broadcasting, but at least they had a bit more variation, and whilst they did broadcast the news, the purpose leaned towards entertainment. It’s not a cause Maurice is particularly passionate for, but it’s not one he opposes.

As a sound engineer, he’s around for recordings and broadcasts, cleans up pre recorded audio, fixes equipment, just whatever needs doing that seems like it fit within his job title. Most of it he learned on the job, but it was fascinating enough to capture his attention, and similar enough to muggle radio not to infuriate him. It also introduced him to the world of pirate radio.

About 2 years after he started at WWN, his friend and mentor quit, and in his last few days, confided in Maurice that he was leaving to start his own show. Technically WWN was the only official broadcaster on wizarding radios, but if you knew how to get a frequency, you could broadcast whatever you liked. He and some friends were setting up a station out of someone’s garage, mostly to play the music the WWN spurned.

The idea lit a flame in Maurice. Of course, the fact that it was ever so slightly against the rules, and possibly the law, made it exciting. But the idea of broadcasting whatever he liked, even if there was no one listening, putting something out there, finite and unique.

So that’s what he does with his evenings at the weekends, he broadcasts late into the night and the early mornings. The Order gives him a focus, not just long rambling opinion pieces that sounds like the inner thoughts of a paranoid conspiracy theorist. He has found a purpose now. His show, it helps spread news, it helps spread information, it helps spread hope. Of course there is the tricky business of making sure the wrong ears don’t hear it, but he’s a smart guy, there’s a way around everything.

ROLE WITHIN THE ORDER/THOUGHTS ABOUT THE ORDER: 

Maurice joined the Order with best friend, Daisy Hookum. He was at the same Squib’s Rights March, right in the middle of the rioting, and landed square in the Order’s gaze because of it.

Maurice has always been an activist, even before graduating Hogwarts, he would hold small demonstrations, conquering whatever stage fright he might have for the greater good. Standing up on tables at breakfast to make impassioned speeches, chaining himself to statues and refusing to go to class, he even came very close to slashing a painting once before the painting’s occupant managed to talk him out of it.

Maurice has taken a lot of inspiration from muggle strikes and demonstration techniques. He remembers picket lines from his childhood, and grew up with the punk movement. He even had a bright red mohawk once before Daisy told him it really didn’t suit him.

These energies are what he hoped to bring to the Order. He recognises that Voldemort and the Death Eaters are the main enemy, but in his eyes, the Ministry are accomplices, and he feels just as violently about them. The Death Eaters may be the ones directly killing people, but the Ministry are letting them do it, even helping them to a certain degree. The fact that so many squeaky clean Ministry employees come to the Order to ‘do their part’ indicates to him, that there are just as many who are going over to Voldemort for the same reason. He wishes more of their actions were against the Ministry directly, but he can also do that in his own time.

Day to day, Maurice is generally a pretty good foot soldier, he isn’t crazy about the actual violence part, but he’ll do it if he has to. He’d like a louder voice at the table, but he knows how these things work, and he knows too many cooks spoil the broth. The fact that they are organised is enough for him. There is a system, and if he ever feels he needs to take something to the top, then he knows how to do that.

He has also brought his pirate radio platform to the Order. It’s a good way to spread news to people such as those being helped by the dissendium task force, and a good way to organise large groups of people. And also quite simply, it can raise spirits. Assuming that people tune in to listen. Maurice doesn’t think it’s quite being used to its full potential, but it’s getting there. The Order function on secrecy, whereas Maurice wants to inform the masses. There is clearly a conflict of interest. 

(I see this radio show as being very similar to the Potterwatch of the second wizarding war, and if it isn’t quite at that structure yet, then building it up to that during the game.)

I think although he is happy to fight with the Order, and be on the front line of the fight against You-Know-Who, his main motives are doing something about the International Statute of Secrecy, even if he is a little distracted by other things and other causes, it all really comes back to him having the choice to fight, to flee, to live his life where he pleases, taking the elements of both cultures and combining them. And he wants that choice for others as well. A lot of his anger and frustration is on a very personal selfish level, but he does recognise that he’s fighting this cause for people other than himself.

SURVIVAL: 

Being both muggleborn and publicly vocal in his opinions, does put a bit of a target on Maurice’s back. He’s had a few close scrapes in the past, but luckily that’s as much as they were. Making enemies with a lot of purebloods perhaps isn’t the most efficient way to survive this war. He doesn’t move around a lot, thankfully he’s never been traced to his home address and he wants to keep it that way. He rents a little place in Muggle London, clean and comfortable enough, but out of the way and non-descript. He wards it heavily, and takes great lengths to make sure he isn’t followed home.

He isn’t too bad at dueling, but it isn’t his greatest strength. Mostly he relies on quick thinking rather than brute strength. And paranoia. He’s seen what the other side is capable of, and he’s heard enough of Moody’s lecture like speeches to know how to watch his back.

Still, he can lay awake many nights, realising there that if he continues to fight like this, there is a large chance he won’t survive the war. Is it worth it? He usually falls asleep before reaching a conclusive answer. Needless to say, as a 24 year old, he is terrified of dying. He is just also too angry to let that stop him.

RELATIONSHIPS:

Daisy Hookum: Friends since first year, he and Daisy have a special bond. There are very few people who know him as closely as Daisy knows him. Even his family, who he loves dearly, can’t understand him the way Daisy does. They may have been brought together by class timetables and group projects, but what bonded them was their shared views of the world. Particularly as they got older, they could talk for hours and hours about their politics. They didn’t always agree on every point, but respected each other enough to hear the other out. Of course this wasn’t the only thing that kept them friends. They could have fun together, let loose, forget for a little while that things were so bad, forget how angry they were.

They joined the Order together, as they did so much together. But then Daisy left for her year in the muggle world. Since then the relationship has been strained. He understood better than most what she was trying to do, but the reality is still that he felt abandoned, and jealous, that she could go off and live her ‘muggle’ life. It’s become obvious since her return that Maurice’s idea of activism is now split from hers. She wants to take a more passive role, and Maurice couldn’t bear that.

Caradoc Dearborn: Caradoc is someone Maurice begrudgingly looks up to. On the one hand he is everything he despises, wealthy and pure blooded. But the way he conducts himself is something that Maurice admires. He can’t help but want to be in Caradoc’s good books. If he had an issue within the Order, he would most likely take it to Caradoc.

Mary MacDonald: Mary is a more recent friend. They were a few years apart at Hogwarts and so only got to know each other after they both joined the Order. A lot of Mary’s politics match up with Maurice’s, and apart from that they are very compatible on a personal level. She is one of the lucky few Maurice has let in. Of course it helps that she is muggle-born as well, he feels that with so few of them inside the Order, they really have to stick together.

He has never been the most social of people. It is not that he doesn’t enjoy company, more that he doesn’t settle. If he is going to spend time with someone, properly invest in them, he wants to be sure they are the right person. He does not do this consciously you understand, but he is constantly assessing and reassessing the people in his life. First impressions, as he’s found, are often misleading, but that doesn’t mean doesn’t heed them. He’s more inclined to search out the red flags than give someone the benefit of the doubt. The people who slip through the cracks however, get the best of him. The warmth, the wit, everything he’s been desperately been bottling up waiting for the right vessel to pour it into.

Generally, Maurice is going to feel some animosity for the richer, pure blooded members of the order, but he’ll tolerate them. He’s also going to be fairly uninterested in those who aren’t as active in the cause, or any cause for that matter. So maybe he’s made a few enemies within the Order, or at least brushed some people the wrong way. Or perhaps he’s been pleasantly surprised by others.

OOC EXPLORATION:

SHIPS/ANTI-SHIPS: No ships or antiships, I’m really open to anything. I do see Maurice as gay, so I think relationships with women would be unlikely, but I’m a sucker for some unrequited love plots, or maybe some confused one night stands. Basically anything is on the table.

WHAT PRIVILEGES AND BIASES DOES YOUR CHARACTER HAVE?

Well Maurice is a white male, so let’s start with that. I don’t think feminism is high up on his rank of causes, or racism, simply because I don’t think it’s played a huge role within his personal life experience. He probably doesn’t even realise a lot of the privileges he has as a white man.

He’s also gay, and whilst he is quite unapologetic about that, his sexuality seemed to be more of an issue in his muggle life than in the wizarding world, so it isn’t something he feels the need to fight about all the time. Again there are more important causes right now.

As a person who grew up in a working class family, he generally just resents the wealthy, and he won’t give them much chance to prove themselves to him either. This definitely stems from growing up poor, but perhaps if he’d been able to make his own fortune and save his family from their poverty, then he wouldn’t feel as strongly. In that sense it’s quite hypocritical. Now it’s also tied to the fact that the wealthy are the ones in control, both in the Death Eaters and their reign of terror, and at the Ministry, making and enforcing the laws that keep them all trapped and helpless. It hasn’t missed his attention that most of the wealthier wizards are pureblooded, so he’ll often lump them in with his disdain.

This works the other way as well. He’s willing to overlook a lot of shit that his working class/muggle born acquaintances get up to, forgive a lot of their sins. I don’t think he realises he does this, but it certainly happens.

He doesn’t necessarily hate the people who work for the Ministry, even if he has a dislike for the establishment and the way it’s run. He understands everyone has to work, and most don’t get the privilege of doing something they like or agree with entirely. There is a bit of time though where he’ll figure out their motives before he really trusts or likes them.

Law enforcement isn’t particularly in his good books either, but that is perhaps more linked to his view of how muggle police act towards protests and demonstrations.

When it comes to the issues of half-breeds, he’ll go along to the marches, he’ll sign the petitions, he’s probably up to date on all the latest views and opinions, but again, it’s not at the top of his priorities.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO? You already know I love this roleplay. I’m looking forward to being more active hopefully, interacting with a wider range of characters, playing someone who is quite different to Fab as well and stretching those writing muscles.

PLOT DROP IDEAS:��

I would love to see his pirate radio show have an effect somehow, either positive or negative (but maybe more positive at least at first, I’ve already done a lot of disappointing the Order with Fab).

I would love to see how his bloodstatus affects him. If he is genuinely more in danger for being a loud annoying muggleborn, it might be nice to work that into the larger plot somehow.

ANYTHING ELSE? I haven’t put whether he’s low level or mid level in the Order, I’m happy for either, wherever you think he’d fit best.

EXTRA FOR NON-BIO CHARACTERS:

PAST: 

Maurice Creevey grew up in the midlands, part of a typical working class family. His mother was a housewife, and his father a Miner. The strikes and picket lines his father was a part of were some of his first experiences with activism, and the spark didn’t stop there. Maurice was rudely torn from his happy muggle life by the revelation he was a Wizard and the letter ‘inviting’ him to study at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. With no choice but to follow this path, Maurice has resented it ever since. He didn’t waste his time there by any means though. This was when he got his first taste for activism, protesting in the great hall and demonstrating in classes. These habits followed him faithfully into adulthood, developing until he found real urgent causes. At the top of his list, was tearing down the Statue of Secrecy that traps all muggle-borns in the wizarding world whilst an evil wizard and his cronies are attempting to pick them off one by one, and also prevents the muggles from fighting back on their own terms.

PRESENT:

It’s his activism that brought him to the attention of the Order. He is a good soldier for the Order, willing to do what has to be done and follow orders dutifully. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have his own intentions. Maurice works for the Wizarding Wireless Network, and a few nights a week he hosts his own pirate radio station. Sometimes his broadcasts can get hundreds or thousands of listeners, all scared but hopeful, wanting to hear what no-one else is telling them, the news the papers won’t print, the the stories the WWN won’t air. The Order value their secrecy, but Maurice knows information is power, and knowledge gives you a choice. He knows he can use his show to the Order’s advantage if only it’s given a chance.

FC CHOICES: top choice is Tom Sturridge, I’m not very good at fcs so if you don’t think he fits I’m happy to go with recommendations!

[soap-brain]

okay so i haven’t watched potc 5 and i can’t remember what the hell happened in potc 4 (except for mermaids. they were cool. also ships in a bottle?? confusion) but hear me out here

instead of keeping the narrative on whatever tf jack sparrow, who is arguably great at general mischief but rubbish at actual pirating, gets himself into this week while he’s basically running from some issues he can’t face for whatever reason, the narrative should’ve followed elizabeth

hear me out some more

potc 1 was about jack and him trying to get the black pearl back, but it turned pretty elizabeth (and will) centric and jack was just also present but mostly as comedic relief / to introduce the audience into the world of pirates

potc 2 was about will (and elizabeth) and jack was present as comedic relief / to introduce the audience into the world of pirate mysticism

potc 3 was elizabeth’s movie. like. she’s had ENOUGH of guys doing stuff and the stuff affecting her. she’s out there doing shit, she has a self care plan, and she’s gonna set the world on fire if it doesn’t conform to her. the girl carries her entire body weight twice over in weaponry to a chat with a pirate lord, and when her chance finally comes she walks into the meeting of all pirate lords, fifteen minutes late with a cup of starbucks and BOOM she’s their KING! she leads them into battle better than jack, will or even barbossa ever could’ve. she’s gonna go to MARS no matter if she has to walk uphill both ways

jack is funny. jack is fucking hilarious and he’s an amazing character to have in the main cast. but he’s completely useless as a solitary protagonist, because he sets out on a roadtrip without a map or even a car and then stuff happens to him and somehow, with a lot of luck and a lot of double crossing everyone, he flounders to the top. he’s not protagonist material, or at least doesn’t work if he’s the only protagonist.

will is... alright. he’s kind of the hurr durr morals kinda guy, which is fine, but characters like that (”i will save the beautiful girl because someone has to - and because i love her truly with all my heart!”, “i must save my father at whatever cost - even though i don’t really know him and there’s loads of other people i could help more easily at a larger scale”) are kinda.... boring. he’s a very good and upstanding guy, does what he believes is right and all, and i do love him, but as a character he’s kinda boring.

now, elizabeth though. she’s a completely loose canon and that’s what makes watching her so much fun. like, damn, she’s a spitfire! oh no i’m in my pyjamas and pirates are attacking my city? well imma fucking find a weapon and then parley with the pirate captain, threaten him on his own ship, lie about my identity, agree to marry a guy just so i can get what i want then turn my back on him, and when rallying a crew of pirates doesn’t work i just go and head into the lion’s den myself, and then i go and command a pirate ship during a battle and do it really well even though i have no previous experience. like. DAMN. where will has a three hour monologue about the dichotomy of good and evil, elizabeth just sees problems and solutions and if she doesn’t like a solution then she’ll go looking for a better one. she’s the kinda woman you want to have in charge of stuff, because she’ll get shit done and get it done well. it’s not really a surprise, then, that she goes to the meeting of the pirate lords and more or less declares herself king. where will has huuuuuge problems actually being a pirate and doing piratey stuff for basically the whole three movies, elizabeth is like okay, double cross norrington. double cross jack. become king of pirates. all in a day’s work (or three movies’ work, but same diff) as long as it saves her skin or gets her where she wants to be.

elizabeth is the one true pirate. jack is a wannabe criminal who’s just in it for the aesthetic and because he doesn’t want a 9-5 job. will is in it always against his will, always just to do this one last thing, resorting to piracy as a last ditch effort. elizabeth has a goal and she’s gonna walk over bodies for it.

so really potc 4 and 5 should’ve been about her. you’re really telling me that this girl who turned into a pirate at the drop of a hat, who was always confined to one role and at the slightest opportunity leapt out the door onto a ship is gonna be pirate king, fight in an epic battle between good, evil and the sea, finally bang her newly undead boyfriend who just sorta became charon and then go home and get back to her needlework until she can show off a well-mannered son??? give this lady half a chance and she’s gonna rule the world!

in conclusion if one day i can be half as awesome as elizabeth swann i can die happily

in conclusion also i’m gay and i like my women with swords

in a third conclusion it’s 2:30am and this post was not supposed to be this long but listen i have many thoughts about potc and i want a pirate movie with keira knightley

[silverbastardgoldenfool]

Realm of the Elderlings Ask Meme Thing

Created by @hermitknut and brought back by @elderling-magic

Thanks @blackandwhitemotley for tagging me :) this is gonna be unnecessarily long because I’m a messy bitch with too many feelings and not enough brain cells

Favourite RotE Book: God it’s impossible to choose properly so let’s just go with the one that always gives me flashbacks when I see it on my bookshelf: Golden Fool

Why: I was already deeply obsessed at this point and had laughed, cried and panicked countless times throughout the series BUT Golden Fool stands out because of the Fitz/Fool confrontation which all but gave me a panic attack. Sure, I’ve been overly invested in book characters my whole life but the fact I was like physically fuckin sweating just because these guys were having a verbal fight, which had nothing to do with the actual plot, is fuckin wild my dude. Also despite my distress I was thrilled in a way because I never expected Robin to address the homoerotic tension in the actual text - and I was even more impressed that she makes the Fool the winner in this fight. You feel for him (ouch!!!!!!!!) but he gets the last word and the whole time you’re on his side and wishing Fitz would just keep his goddamn mouth shut (unless he’s gonna use it to kiss the Fool). She makes you empathise with the Fool without compromising his dignity, without making him a pathetic pining gay stereotype. He is hurt, he is human, but Fitz is the fool in this exchange (forgive the unintentional pun). It’s crazy how this one scene defines this whole huge book for me but it overwhelmingly does. Man it fucked me up.

Top Three Favourite Characters: I’m excluding Fitz, the Fool and Nighteyes cos that’s just a given honestly and there are too many incredible characters to choose from. Also I’m going to choose three characters I think are exceptional on a technical level since that’s the easiest way for me to pick a few out.

1. Burrich - Forever fascinating to me because I disagree with him probably more often than not AND YET I love him so much. It’s seriously like I have the same relationship with him that Fitz does - and/or the same relationship many of us have with father figures. That weird thing where you can fundamentally disagree on some pretty important stuff, and he makes a lot of mistakes and probably irrevocably fucked you up in a lot of ways but you can’t help but love him because you know he’s not doing anything from a place of malice or pettiness or selfishness. He simply knows what he believes and is righteous to a fault. He’s always doing his best - whatever that looks like to him. There are so many things he says or does that make me amazed that I don’t hate him. I think in another series he is the kind of character I would hate. The fact that Robin makes me love him - and conflicted about that love - is a marvel.

2. Malta - I won’t harp on about this too much because we all know the deal. Malta’s early POVs were a tween nightmare. I had to skim them because they were so viscerally irritating. I guess it’s a huge testament to the writing that it really did feel like you were stuck in a tween girl’s head; the problem is that is the worst hell imaginable. It’s an even greater testament to the writing that, through some of the most masterful character development I have ever witnessed, you actually end up loving this girl.

3. Kennit - He’s such a monster that I hate actually saying he’s one of my favourite characters but it’s true. Especially from a writing perspective; it’s fucking witchcraft how Robin has you judging everyone around Kennit for falling for his charms even while you are in some way charmed by him. He’s intelligent, charismatic, enigmatic. You know he’s not a good person yet you enjoy spending time with him, you’re kind of rooting for him just because he’s interesting and you want to see what he’s going to do next. You even know - the narration straight up tells you - that most of his successes are down to pure dumb luck yet we still kind of buy into this persona of his. Absolutely brilliant writing. Not to mention his backstory, which is so tragic and compelling, and manages to explain his actions without excusing them. Without a doubt one of my top five favourite villains of all time.

Top Three Least Favourite Characters: Okay so again going for the writing angle; characters I just felt weren’t handled all that well on a technical level. Keep in mind that this is suuuuuper subjective. Also I can only think of two.

1. Molly - I’ve seen a lot of people assume that people who dislike her feel that way because she “gets in the way” of Fitz/Fool but that’s not true for me. I’ll try and keep this shortish because I have way too many feelings about this topic lol. Having read the whole series I wouldn’t change anything, but for a long time I really felt like the story would have been better if she wasn’t in it, or especially if she had not come back after Assassin’s Quest. Maybe that’s harsh, but I honestly just generally dislike the whole “first love, last love” trope (and in my personal experience have found it v toxic). I never found her character particularly engaging, but by the end of Farseer I had made my peace with her role in Fitz’s story; the way I saw it, she represented the life Fitz wanted but could never have. Of course you could argue then that it makes sense for Fitz to get her back once he is allowed to have a window of normal life - and that would be true EXCEPT the whole reason I saw her as a symbol and not a real love interest was because their relationship was TERRIBLE. It was seriously toxic and literally based on lies. I really felt what would have been healthy for Fitz at the end of Tawny Man would have been to find peace in realising that Molly was his past, not his future, and that what they’d had was teenage lust and not the stuff of soulmates. I don’t like the implication that Fitz was right to idealise this tumultuous, dishonest, immature relationship he had as a teenager all these years. Honestly this is why I was FURIOUS when I finished Fool’s Fate lol, even though I knew this wasn’t the ultimate ending. Now that I know where Robin went with this and that Fitz wasn’t really fulfilled in his life with Molly I don’t mind it as much but I still don’t love it. There was never enough of an honest, genuine, selfless connection established between the two of them for it to feel like anything other than an unhealthy fixation that Fitz projected all his unattainable fantasies onto. He never seemed to see Molly as a fully realised person which made it hard for me to do so. Also seriously, if I had been pining after my high school fling for the last ten years everyone would agree that the best thing for me would be to move on, not get back together with them. I’m not saying Fitz didn’t deserve his little bracket of peaceful years, but it just didn’t have to be with Molly. Sometimes not getting what you thought you wanted is the happy ending - I guess it’s just really jarring in a series that’s generally so subversive to get a standard fantasy trope like this. I really truly was shocked when Fitz got his feelings back from the stone dragon and his realisation was not “Molly is kind of just a girl I used to know a long time ago and our paths have long since diverged” but “yes no actually that girl I haven’t talked to in over a decade is my soulmate” like, wig in the worst way. ALSO SHE WAS FUCKING HIS DAD ALL THAT TIME. SHE BORE HIS DAD CHILDREN. HIS DAD HAD TO DIE SO THEY COULD BE TOGETHER. BRUH. Seriously it did feel like Burrich was sacrificed solely so these two little shits could get back together, and again, that was so infuriating and so not like these books. This and Burrich not being canonically in love w Chivalry are the only two points I actually get riled up about from a writing/critical perspective lol, every other flaw and quirk in this series I will absolutely pardon but for some reason these just get to me dude.

2. Starling - Promise this one is simpler lol. I always found Starling quite irritating “as a person” but didn’t mind her as a character. What I didn’t love was the way her lifestyle (promiscuity, independence, nomadic etc.) was kind of justified when it didn’t need to be, with the typical explanation that she’s only like this because she can’t have kids. It just felt really unnecessary, and it was even worse when she did get pregnant and basically just became a completely different person. But I’m generally touchy when it comes to female characters and fertility/pregnancy storylines as I just feel like they’re rarely done well. And I just really don’t like it when infertility is implied as a justification for character traits (usually traditionally male traits) that don’t need justifying.

Favourite Ship (of the floating kind): Paragon of course, we love a problematic fave.

Top Three Favourite Ships (of the people kind): Fitz/Fool, Sedric/Carson, Althea/Brashen (the only heteros whomst deserve rights)

Would you rather be Witted or Skilled: Honestly wouldn’t want either but if I had to choose I guess the Wit? I’d much rather be inside an animal’s head than another human’s no thanks bb

If you were Witted, what animal would you bond with?: If I’m still living in my current situation in this hypothetical then I guess a house cat. If I really get to go wild then I am absolutely bonding with a big cat, like a tiger or a panther IMAGINE THE SNUGGLES.

Would you rather live in the Outislands, the Mountain Kingdom, the Six Duchies, Bingtown, the Rain Wilds, Kelsingra, Jamaillia, the Pirate Isles, or Fool’s Homeland?: Dude I am so bad at visualising locations so idk lol, I guess queer utopia Kelsingra although obviously it has its drawbacks.

How were you introduced to the books? My mum had been telling me for years that if I liked A Song of Ice and Fire I would like Realm of the Elderlings. I was putting it off because there are so many books and I also knew how much she loved them so I was worried I wouldn’t like them and she’d be let down. But I eventually got so close to rereading ASOIAF (which I swore I wouldn’t do til Winds of Winter is released) that I decided to finally give RotE a go in its stead.

Share a quote you love: I don’t have a book on me rn but that part in Fool’s Errand when Fitz is talking about how the Fool has wandered into the place he’s been living for years and immediately, effortlessly made it a home is TENDERNESS BEYOND COMPARE ARE YOU KIDDING.

Tagging: if you see this and haven’t done it yet, consider yourself tagged!

Take the thing, copy and paste it into your own post, tag it “elderlings” and then tag as many people as you can that you know in the fandom.

[cbk1000]

So You Want To Read Literature In a Foreign Language

I’ve had a few language asks here and there and thought I would do a write-up specifically on reading in a second language, as that is A. My specialty and B. Most language courses are going to focus on speaking and listening comprehension. Which certainly isn’t a bad thing, but the vocabulary necessary to carry on a competent conversation in a second tongue is much smaller than what you’ll need to read even popular fiction, let alone books of more serious literary aspirations. I’ve arranged this list in order of approximate difficulty, but of course it will always depend upon the exact book/article/comic you’re reading and whether or not its vocabulary coincides with your own.

I’ll put this under a cut, as it will be quite long.

A few tips, however, before I get on with the list: the more you read, the faster you’ll improve, as with anything. If you have the time and drive to read an hour or more a day in your target language, you’ll be knocking out books in no time. In my first year of Russian I was reading for 2+ hours a day, and by the end of that year I was reading fluently with no help from English translations (as I used in my earlier months) and I could pick up just about any genre I liked. My Russian vocabulary, of course, was still not as advanced as my English, but I was able to read fairly complex literature and to understand the majority of the text.

If a piece is too hard, put it down. I can’t emphasize this enough. Trying to read something massively beyond your reading level is frustrating and will only put you off. There were books I had to set aside in my first year and even beyond just because, stylistically speaking, they were over my head. I could follow the main story, but I was missing enough details/subtleties in the author’s style that I knew I needed to set it aside and try again later when I could fully appreciate it. There is absolutely no shame in this; get a few more books under your belt, and try again in a few months. I have now gone back and read several books I had to set aside; you’ll get there eventually. Some pieces are very difficult; I didn’t attempt Solzhenitsyn’s ‘Red Wheel’ series (which was the series that prompted me to learn Russian in the first place, since later volumes hadn’t been translated) until I had been reading prolifically for over two years. My dude is dense, and also wants to go over every minutiae of the fucking Duma’s every meeting with you. It was also around this time that I started reading poetry; it was just too difficult for me prior to that.

Most of all: have fun! Reading not only improves your vocabulary, it expands your understanding of a culture tremendously, and allows you an access to it that you can’t get through translation. Think of all the history you can read!! The primary sources!!

Anyway, away with this rambling introduction, and onward to the actual useful part of this post.

Adapted Classics: I found a series of these in Russian very early on in my studies, and you’d do well to see whether or not you can find something similar in your target language, especially if you’re a beginner. These are essentially long-winded summaries of well-known classics with simplified grammar, so that you can expand your vocabulary without breaking your head over more complex sentence structure that you can’t yet comprehend. I read a simplified version of ‘Anna Karenina’, ‘Jane Eyre’, one of the Sherlock stories, ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer’, and ‘20,000 Leagues Under the Sea’ this way. They were extremely useful in growing my vocabulary while not overwhelming me with long, meandering sentences that would utterly lose me in the beginning of my studies (Tolstoy, I love you, but this is aimed directly at you. I REMEMBER THE CITIZENS FLEEING MOSCOW. 200+ WORDS BEFORE YOU THOUGHT TO PUT IN A FUCKING PERIOD). 

Comics: Comics are great. I read some Star Wars graphic novels in Russian, a few manga, part of ‘The Walking Dead’ series, and also some Archie comics, which I used to read all the time as a kid. Not only do you have pictures to help with context, but you don’t usually have challenging descriptive passages to contend with. It turns out that Russians pirate just about everything, so I was able to find lots of sites with huge selections of comics available to read free online. Do a bit of googling and see if you can find something similar in your own target language.

Fanfiction: If you’ve followed this blog long enough, then you know that actually I got my start reading gay Captain American porn in Russian, and it was brilliant, thank you very much, and I bet you I was just about the only beginner Russian student on this planet who could barely introduce themselves but definitely could have had gay phone sex. Fanfiction is not generally written in a highly literary style, so it’s easier to follow. Moreover, you’re dealing with characters, tropes, and plotlines you’re already familiar with, and that familiarity helps enormously. While English is of course the most widely-used language on AO3, you have many language options to choose from, and in a large fandom like Marvel or Harry Potter, you’re bound to find something in your target language. You might check as well to see if any massively popular fics in a fandom you follow have been translated into your target language; I’ve noticed that quite a lot with Russian.

News Articles: News articles are generally written in a simplified language designed to be accessible by the average reader, who’s actually not very good at reading at all. I’m sure this varies somewhat by country and language, but here in the States most clock in at something like a 7th or 8th grade reading level, as that, depressingly, appears to be the average reading level of the majority of the reading public. They’re short and will introduce some new words into your vocabulary in an easily digestible way. Also: most big magazine publications such as Cosmopolitan and People have several  different versions of their websites. The Russian version, for instance, is cosmo.ru instead of cosmo.com. The French edition is cosmopolitan.fr. Figure out what designation your target language uses in place of .com and you’re in business (unless you accidentally get a porn site). Do I like Cosmopolitan magazine? Not particularly. Did it teach me new sex terms in Russian? Absolutely. And that’s what we’re all looking for, right? 

Dual Language: At around 4-5 months into my studies, I started reading dual language texts. I did this first with short stories, and later with full novels. This is not for everyone as it requires you to constantly switch back and forth between your native and target language, and especially if you’re farther on in your studies, this might muddle you more than help you. I found at about 8 months or so I had to take off the training wheels, as my vocabulary and grasp of grammar was good enough that looking over at the English text was actually confusing me, because I had gone from laboriously, awkwardly translating everything in my head to just reading it naturally. But in the beginning, it was a much faster way to check vocabulary, and it also helped me to sort out grammar by comparing it to my native language. All languages are trying to accomplish the same thing, which is to communicate; they just do it in different ways. But you can find a common ground even between languages that are vastly different, as English and Russian are. You can find some dual language texts, or you can do what I did, which is to put the English translation on an e-reader, and get hold of a hard copy of the Russian. I would always read the Russian first, and only if I was confused/missing a lot of words would I look over at the English text. Make sure you compare a couple of translations and pick the one that is most literally faithful, even if it’s not a great translation in and of itself. I used some English translations that I actually didn’t care for as a translation, but they were very literal and therefore very helpful in sussing the original text.  

Books You’ve Already Read In Your Native Language: It doesn’t have to be a book you have practically memorised (though that will certainly help). Anything you’ve read at least once in your life will do. You’d be surprised how much will come back to you, and how much context will help you figure out any unfamiliar words. I picked up the Russian translation of Ken Follett’s giant-ass ‘Winter of the World’ about a year into my studies. His style is neither particularly difficult nor...impressive, but as it’s the second in a trilogy that follows three generations of multiple families from WWI all the way into the Cold War, it has a lot of military and political terminology that you don’t encounter in everyday speech. It’s also over 1,000 pages, so it’s rather daunting in a second language regardless. I had read it once before in English, probably some five years before I read the translation, and going into it I really didn’t remember that much. However, while reading, I found that certain plotlines would start coming back to me, and helped a lot in piecing together unfamiliar terminology, in addition to the words I already knew. Don’t focus overly much on every single word and trying to remember what it is in your native language; trust me, you will absorb a lot from context. Just let go and let it wash over you.

Translations: Translations are almost always going to be easier than a book originally written in your target language, if the texts are of comparable difficulty. For instance: ‘Les Miserables’ is easier for me in Russian than Solzhenitsyn’s ‘The Gulag Archipelago’. Both are massive, rambling texts with long asides on history and politics, and in English I’d say they’re pretty equally difficult reads. Certainly neither is what I would classify as light reading. So why is ‘Les Miserables’ easier? Because in a translation I’m not dealing with uniquely Russian slang and turns of phrase. Yes, some of it has to be Russified in order for the target audience to better comprehend it in their native tongue, but generally speaking it doesn’t feel Russian, if that makes sense. I can tell pretty much as soon as I pick up a book if it’s a translation. Now, French isn’t my native language, but I’ve used it as an example because I’ve read quite a bit of French literature in Russian translation, and fairly difficult authors/texts at that: Hugo, Stendahl, Zola, etc. etc. None of these authors are light beach reads, but they’re also not difficult for me to follow in Russian. And anything translated from English is even more accessible; most texts translated from English into Russian I can follow very nearly as well as I can read the original English. When you’re dealing with a heavy-hitter that’s writing in your target language, they can get up to all kinds of shenanigans and word play; a translation, generally speaking, is not going to be nearly so experimental. 

Dumas: Why does Dumas get his own section? Because you should read him, dammit. HISTORY. SWASHBUCKLING. REVENGE. Dumas is fucking fun. He also has a huge oeuvre to choose from. Additionally, while he does have a lot of plotlines to follow (and this is the difficulty of Dumas when reading him in a second language) and you definitely need to get your historical vocabulary up to snuff, he is not an overly philosophical author. His novels are fun, action-oriented, and someone’s always eavesdropping on a Secret Political Conversation of the Utmost Importance. I’ve read quite a lot of Dumas in Russian (actually more than I’ve read in English) and they are easy, entertaining reads. You might get a little lost in the politics of the era, but unless you’re already familiar with them, you’d probably be a little lost in your native language as well. Don’t worry; people will start dramatically challenging one another to duels again very soon. Also: READ ‘THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO’ SERIOUSLY FOR FUCK’S SAKE DO IT.

[noodlemyoodles]

Voltron Season 8

Ok so I just finished season 8 and I have a lot of thoughts obviously so here we go. A few things before I start,

1. I’m writing this before going and looking at anyone’s reactions so these are only my own opinions

2. Yeah, I’m a klance shipper so though this isn’t just about klance I am biased towards our red and blue boys 

3. I have been watching voltron since the very first season and it has meant the world to me in that time, it has introduced me to friends, communities, and helped me figure myself out a lot so before all of this I want to say a major thank you to everyone on the voltron team and everyone in the fandom, regardless of any toxicity or any unexpected endings

With that let’s get into it.

1. The big glaring obvious thing in this season, Allurance. I actually don’t want to turn this into an allurance rant because I think there are a lot of other important things I liked and disliked in the season but this was definitely a biggie so I’m definitely mentioning it. I don’t think it was necessary or really had enough context and build up but it happened. It was more weird to me than anything but I definitely wish it hadn’t happened. That’s honestly all I’m going to say for now because the rest of my grievances against it come up more in context of the actual characters

Speaking of which....

The characters

Let’s start out easy

Pidge

I actually really liked her portrayal in this season, you finally got to see the bond with her family she’s been searching for throughout the show and some of the other key elements from some of her previous arcs without them becoming huge arcs of there own which has been criticized in the past. It also really reminded you that she is still a kid, more so than anyone else and I think that’s really important.

Hunk

I also liked hunks portrayal in this season, I know his character and depth has been lost a lot in previous seasons and replaced with more of a funny guy, scary cat, foodie act but this season I feel like they really managed to tie his love of food and cooking which had been kind of comical in the past to a real goal of helping others and diplomacy which is central to the yellow Paladin and they did it in a really nice way. They gave Hunk a dream and helped him reach it.

Now we get into the dicier portrayal’s

Shiro

Shiro was an interesting character in this season, he was badass as the commander of the Atlas but lost a bit of emotional depth and honestly wasn’t that prominent in this season at all. One thing I thought was really lost was his bond with Keith, it was just such a big jump from Black Paladins and Keith saying he loved him, that he was his brother to almost nothing. That being said I loved the return of Shiro as a paladin at the end and only wish it had happened sooner.

Keith

Ok, so, I am a major Keith stan, like I love him, he’s my absolute fav and I just missed him in this season. I know there has been a lot of Keith in previous seasons but it just felt like so many loose ends were left with this character. Every scene with real possibility to go into his character cut away to quickly or lacked certain dialogue or something. I’m talking his fight with Zethrid or him being left behind in Haggar’s mind, constantly we saw him left behind and separated from the others, things we know to be a huge deal for him yet it never went into it and that made me sad. What about naxela? His mom? His past? His fears? So much just felt abandoned and he felt far from what we know him to be. He makes a good Leander of voltron but that leader role felt pushed to such an extent that you lost moody, competitive, dark Keith, restless, diplomatic disaster Keith. The Klancer in me did love how moody or weird he got around Allura and Lance tho.

Next up, and probably the character I have the most of a problem with in this season, 

Lance

I don’t know where Lance was in this season, he was just missing. It was almost as if his only purpose as a character was as Allura’s boyfriend. Lance in this season was mature, solemn, and infatuated but in such a reserved way it was unrecognizable. Lance had been growing as a character and in maturaty but then maturity had come in determination, strength, awesome sharp shooting and broadswords, mastering too lions, holding the team together. This maturity came in the form of nervousness, caution, worrying for Allura, seriousness, it was just so far from everything we’ve come to know him as. Maybe the lack of jokes and cockiness was supposed to be growth but without the jokes they also lost the things the jokes covered up, anxiety and caring fro his team, passion. I almost didn’t realize how subdued Lance was until in one scene it showed him in his lion with a look of determination on his face and I was like he looks more like Lance in this shot than he has in any other and that’s just wrong. 

Alright, now for the moment you’ve all been waiting for

Klance

Before I mention Allura I want to put this in because obviously it didn’t happen but yet there were some super klance heavy moments and I just wanted more. Keith and Lance were more like themselves in these scenes together than any other and I just ugghhrheuhj. Even then though we were totally missing the friendly banter, the nicknames, the jokes, or even causal comments to eachother during the fights. THERE WERE NO MULLET INSULTS! I’m just sad, please keep making fan fics and art, I need it to fill a void in my soul.

Allura 

Allura has always been my least favorite but there were a lot of things I liked about her story line, dark Allura, ultimate sacrifice Allura, the Allura that misses Lotor (I wish there was more of that because those where some of the most emotional parts of the season) in the end there was just too much of her and I think that messed a lot with her character and the other characters too.

Secondary characters

- I loved the holts

- I liked Slav 

- Krolia didn’t speak until episode eleven (what’s up with that!)

- the generals were great and I Stan to space pirate lesbians 

- Kosmo is a very good boy

-MFE’s were pretty good

- I missed Shay but I loved her showing up like a bad ass

-I miss my marmora boys :(

The ending

Alright folks this is it, I liked the ending a lot because in the end no matter what happened that made me upset I liked how they all end up.

Pidge gets to finally be a teen again, a badass genius teen with an awesome family, also she never grows her hair back out or changes her name back, she keeps being her and I am so thankful for that.

Hunk gets to bring the world together one plate at a time along side his favorite people! I think there could be no better ending for him.

Shiro gets to do what he’s good at and kick ass with an awesome husband at his side (and do I think the whole shock gay wedding last scene was a bit gimmicky and super over delayed and should’ve been klance? Yes but let Shiro and his husband be happy)

Keith turns down being a leader, returns to the blades, get’s a new jacket, spend time with a dog twice his size. he kind of falls back into being him after the war and they never made Keith canonically hetero so thank god for that.

Lance, I honestly disliked his ending the most because after everything, against all odds proving to everyone he’s actually an amazing pilot and warrior he doesn’t follow through with that dream. And I understand that he’d want to spend as much time as he can with his family and enjoy that but I just hope that after a few years, he decided to travel the galaxy and keep being a bad ass along side his bad ass other half (Keith, if that wasn’t obvious). And in the end even tho I hated allurance I can except that it happened. Lance had a short good relationship with someone he cares about and now he’ll go on to have more relationships with lots of amazing people because he still has a long life, and maybe after enough time has passed he get’s together with the guys stuck by him through it all, the other half of a perfect red blue pair. And yeah I’ve essentially decided that after like 2/3 years Lance leaves the farm to travel and help people and the blades and the coalition, spending time with friends all over the galaxy and getting together with Keith, and after enough time has passed they go back to earth and settle down and start there own family.

So that’s all (I know it was like super long) thanks again to the whole voltron community and if you think I’m going to leave the fandom anytime soon you’re stupid.

That’s all for now,

Uchuumi 

[amaranthine-inscriptions]

11/11/11 Tag Game

I was tagged by @thewordreaper, @aslanwrites, @graceomeallain, and @elizabethsyson to do this! All questions and answers will be beneath the cut! Sorry for taking so long! <3

Tagging: @metaphors-and-melodrama, @mvcreates, @isanyonetoknow, @whywritewhenyoucansleep, @kaatiba, @rainy-rose, @radley-writes, @nectareouswrites, and anyone else who would like to join! :D

My Questions:

1. Explain the title of your WIP. 

2. Based on the title of your WIP, what category or genre do you think it fits into?

3. Which character did you like most?

4. Which character did you like least?

5. Summarize your WIP in one written sentence or a one minute speech.

6. Is your WIP a one-shot or do you have sequels/prequels planned?

7. Which character do you relate to the most?

8. Which character is least like you?

9. Are there any lessons/morals in your WIP?

10. Besides your main WIP, how many other ideas do you have floating around? Tell me about them!

11. Where do you find your inspiration?

@thewordreaper‘s questions!

1. What colours do you associate with your WIP? The Vennadore Volumes (Already Introduced and In Progress) - Blues, Greens, and Purples in general. Just depends on what volume we are speaking about. Blues and greens for the first volume for sure because of the the whole pirate thing. :) The Aeonian Chronicles (coming soon) - Black, White, and Gold. It captures the aesthetic of the gods I have in my head and they play a huge part in this upcoming series.  Untitled Series Name (Coming Soon) - Soft Pink and Navy Blue. This is solely based on another dream I had. Just like the one above except WAY different. 

2. Summarise the beginning of your WIP in three to five words I’ll be answering this for the WIP that I’ve actually started writing for lmao: Farmer’s daughter living provincial life. 

3. What character do you like writing about the most ? Adelaide... OR Octavia. I haven’t gotten the hang of writing Eponia or any of her companions just yet. I’ve had Adelaide and Octavia for a WHILE which is why it’s easier and why I enjoy them a lot more. 

4. Did your plot ever make any major deviations from what you originally planned ? Well... I did have a completely different idea for where I wanted to go with Eponia’s story, but she decided she didn’t like that and took a life of her own and ran in a completely different direction, which is why I’m re-plotting her story. (Thank god I haven’t written too many scenes that would pertain to the previous plot idea)

5. Do you listen to music while writing? If you do, what kind? I DO. I listen to anything honestly. Right now I’m listening to my playlist titled “Got the runs?” and it’s full of energetic music that would help with cardio. And it hypes me up to write more. ^__^

6. Favourite animals of your main characters ! .... I don’t have any pets or animals planned out D: They’ll probably will be written in but I’m just so focused on making sure that the characters get to where I want them. And then maybe fluff it up a bit and include some animal companions or familiars. 

7. What was the inspiration behind your current WIP? For the Vennadore Volumes, I did HELLA world building because it was originally for text-based roleplay for friends and other members of a dying community. And one of my friends said that I should make it into a series and include the storylines that happen within this world that I created. That’s when I was inspired to start on this WIP. And start with a story that hasn’t been RPed out yet. And then start with separate stories that all tie in together somehow. 

8. Which author would you compare your writing style to? Uhhhhhh.... I’m not exactly sure and I’m afraid to answer this question cos I’m not sure what my style is like compared to a published author. 👀👀👀 Cos I am but a worm. 

9. Is there a new form of writing that you plan on attempting in the future? I’m not sure if there are new forms??? If there are, please tell me cos I really enjoy learning new things <3

10. What instruments do your main characters play/ play want to play ? If singing counts, then Finnick can sing and his voice is like an angel’s and might be the reason why Eponia likes him A LOT. (And cos he’s unusually attractive for a pirate lol) 11. Are there any of your characters you would love to meet IRL? ISOLAH. I love my gay baby and happy that she’s got such a supportive wife. <3 The other’s could probably get fucked lol (I love them all but I just love the captain of the Temptress)

†††

@aslanwrites‘s questions!

1. What are some influences for your WIP? For world building: definitely Tolkien and GRRM. Kinda a mash of the two with my own twist to it all. Which is why Vennadore is so massive. But for writing, I’m not sure.  2. Is there a writer or someone you would like to collab with? Or maybe even do a crossover with? Not off the top of my head, no. But I’m pretty solitary when it comes to writing. And I’m terrified of sharing my ideas with another person if I do have to collab with them. 

But I really do enjoy Libba Bray since I’ve read her Gemma Doyle trilogy at least five times, so I wouldn’t mind collabing with her.  3. What are some facts about the world you’ve created that you’d like to share but can’t seem to quite fit into the story yet? Lore stories about the races of Vennadore. Mostly because I haven’t gotten there yet. I don’t know if there aren’t any facts I haven’t shared on my world page.

4. What are you most excited about sharing with your WIP? Anything Adelaide related. She’s my baby and I can’t wait to write more on her story. 

5. What are your OCs favorite genres of music? Eponia: Either something soft with a soprano voice or an energetic dance instrumental Finnick and Isolah: Sea Shanties Solandis: Anything with piano or harpsichord Alarik: Unsure. He’s very difficult to place. But if it were modern: metal for sure. He’s a very angry person.  6. How good is your main character at cooking? Not very well since she refused to pay attention to any lessons in becoming a better lady that her step-mother forced her to go through.  7. What kind of comics would your OCs like? Cos I don’t know much about comics, I wouldn’t know what they would like. 

8. What inspired you to write your WIP? “For the Vennadore Volumes, I did HELLA world building because it was originally for text-based roleplay for friends and other members of a dying community. And one of my friends said that I should make it into a series and include the storylines that happen within this world that I created. That’s when I was inspired to start on this WIP. And start with a story that hasn’t been RPed out yet. And then start with separate stories that all tie in together somehow. ” Same answer from a previous question, but I love it any way c:  9. What other stories do you have in mind? OH BOY. I have a lot of ideas.. This is what I have listed in my notepad so far:

Hide and Seek (Supernatural) Characters: Jensen Hyde and Amelia Siek (OTP)

Supernova (Sci-Fi? Fantasy?) Characters: Caelestis

The Above (Post-apocalyptic) Characters: suspicious gays

Aeonian Chronicles (fantasy; it's about time) Characters: A golden goddess and her high priestess (otp)

Allure at Eventide, Beneath a Starless Sky, Below the Sun, Dreams, Painted Skies, and [character name] (fantasy) Characters: English lovers that started off as friends then enemies then to lovers. Man conveys his feelings all wrong and thinks the woman knows what he means.

10. Oh no! Your main character has been kidnapped! Who goes to find them? Who says “let it be”? Who forms a search party? And what does your main character do in this event? Finnick would go find Eponia cos REASONS. Alarik says “let it be”. Isolah and Solandis would probs get the crew together and form a search party while Solandis informs Ep’s family that she has been kidnapped but they are going to find her. Eponia is like “Uggggh, not again.” and makes plans to escape and go back to her original “captors” or her family back home if given the chance. 

11. What is your favorite kind of ice cream? MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP. 

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@graceomeallain‘s questions!

1. What’s the age gap between your oldest and youngest OC? If you count the upcoming addition to the Alilart family (Emric and Lysandra’s baby c:), 0 years to 60s (I haven’t decided because they’re a minor character. Like hella minor.)

2. If your MC was dropped in a high school setting, which clique would they fit in with? Eponia wouldn’t fit in anywhere, so she would be considered the outsider. So the outsider clique. Or the new-kid club. But she tries to be nice to everyone, despite her attitude problem. 

3. Which of your OCs is the funniest? Mmmmm... No one has told a joke yet and none of them are keen to tell me. So I’m going to say Alarik because he’s pretty crude. So I would imagine his jokes would just as bad, but somehow funny???

4. Who’s an early riser, and who sleeps in? The early riser would be Isolah. She is the captain of course. Eponia however despises waking up, she loves sleep too much. 

5. Which draft of your WIP are you on? Planning/First Draft :)

6. How many main characters do you have in your WIP? Depends on which volume but the first one has six. c: 

7. Which of your OCs is the best looking? FINNICK. Hot damn. 

8. What do your OCs do at Christmas? If nothing, why not? They share stories of their lives before becoming pirates, maybe make little gifts out of things they find laying around the ship. 

9. Do your OCs have any piercings? Not that I know of, but I am their mother and I’m sure they’re scared of telling me that they went and got a piercing at their best friend’s house. (So maybe lol)

10. What are their favourite foods and why? I honestly haven’t thought about their favourite foods D:

11. If your WIP has any couples, which is your favourite? It’s between Finnick and Eponia (an eventual couple), and Isolah and Solandis <3

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@elizabethsyson‘s questions! Round 1!

1. what’s a trope you hate? I feel like I don’t know enough about tropes to know which one I would hate. 

2. what’s a trope you love? I feel like I don’t know enough about tropes to know which one I would love. 

3. what’s your main character’s aesthetic? Eponia’s is hard to place. I would think her colour would be between light purple and a dark pink. Lots of books. Sleeping in. And that’s what I have so far. 

4. describe your wip using only verbs Oh dayum. This is hard.... Fighting, Loving, Escaping, Conspiring, Worshiping and maybe some other verbs as the volumes grow. 

5. how significantly does time feature in your plot? There’s a whole different time system for Vennadore that somewhat resembles our own, and also has it’s own history that could repeat itself. And to show how time progresses, it is shown and explained (hopefully well by me lmao). 

6. how many settings does your wip have? So far in the first volume, three. Home, Markets, Ship. And since Vennadore is massive, there is LOADS more to come. 

7. do your characters travel during the plot? Yes, most of them are on a ship. What are they doing on the ship.... That I cannot tell. 

8. which of your characters is most likely to die young? ... How young? Cos I could say Alarik or Isolah; they’re in their 20s and 30s respectively.

9. which of your characters trust vs. mistrust authority? Alarik? Since he is a criminal. And is now a slave under the captain and crew of the Temptress. 

10. what’s one theme of your wip? The first volume covers the MC discovering herself while in this strange, new place. 

11. would your story be better portrayed in animation or live action? Live action. 

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@elizabethsyson‘s questions! Round 2!

1. what’s a story you read as a child that sticks with you? The fourth harry potter book. That was my favourite growing up. :)

2. what’s your approach to diversity in your writing? I kinda just.... put it in there. I don’t know how else to put it lol

3. what’s your favourite online resource for writers? Since I’m obsessed with having a great name, the fantasy name generator site is amazing. <3

4. what programme do you write in? A journal ^^; But if I type it up, I use google docs cos word slows my computer down wayyyy too much. 

5. how do you backup your writing? I normally write in journals, but if I type it up in google docs, I normally would store it in my portable hard drive :)

6. do you print your stuff once you’ve finished it? Not right now since I share a house with other people (besides my partner) who need to print things off and printer paper isn’t exactly the cheapest thing in the world right now. 

7. do you post entire wips, chapters, just snippets, or nothing? Maybe a line or two since I’m on my first draft and everything is kinda a mush of clay. 

8. tag some writers whose wips you follow on tumblr and tell me why you follow them :c I feel bad cos I don’t really follow any specific WIPs. I do try to share others’ work to make sure my followers get to see that person’s hard work. I just feel too spazztic and out of focus to find WIPs. I just want to share others’ work ^^; 

9. favourite medium for sharing your stuff? Word of mouth? I don’t really have any thing to share my work on like wattpad or ao3 and I’m not sure which would be best since Venn could contain some adult themes and I want to make sure that it wouldn’t be removed because it violated rules. 

10. do you create art of any kind? talk about it a little I’m terrible at art, but I do have a sketch pad because I enjoy doodling a little. I just don’t do it too often because I feel like I can’t compare to the amazing artists out there. 

11. what’s your favourite non-writing/reading/story-related hobby? Singing or practicing an instrument (I have a clarinet, keyboard, guitar, and ukulele)

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@elizabethsyson‘s questions! Round 3! 

1. What’s the first book you remember reading? Do you know about the Mary-Kate and Ashley mystery books???? I remember those. And Goosebumps. Hell yeah. 

2. Have you ever invented a language for a piece of writing? YES. It’s the Untouchable Language or the mother-tongue of the Rah’al people. I only have some specific words but that’s it so far. 

3. Describe your approach to worldbuilding. When I was building Vennadore, I looked up questions to answer when building a fantasy world, that got me started. General stuff like population and different sections of the world. Then delved into specifics like races and their customs. 

4. Do you write in multiple genres? Which? Fantasy, Fiction, and maybe Sci-fi.

5. What type of villain do you most hate? A villain that gives you no reason to hate them. I feel like there needs to be a reason to hate them. Like how I hate Joffrey in GoT (cos he’s a punk). 

6. Do you prefer to type or write longhand or something else? I prefer to write longhand, otherwise I wouldn’t know what I was trying to say when I revisit my journal. 

7. How do you motivate yourself? I put on some hype music and do a little dance while I write. It helps since I spend a lot of time just sitting there thinking. 

8. Opinion on nanowrimo? I’ve never tried, and I’m honestly terrified cos I feel like I wouldn’t make the goal I would set for myself. But I’m happy that it works well for other writers. 

9. Top 3 songs on your writing playlist? I don’t really have a writing playlist, just whichever playlist I decide to write to whether it’s “Mood,” “Got the Runs,” or “Chill.” 

10. How do you come up with your characters’ appearances? I search for face claims eternally on pinterest until something screams at me that has that character’s vibe. 

11. Do you write your scenes chronologically? Never. My thoughts are way too scattered to make them do the chronological thing. 

[zareleonis]

My Star Wars Top 10 of 2018

This year I fell massively in love with Star Wars, learned more about a galaxy far, far away that I ever expected and started this blog, first to liveblog Star Wars Rebels, and later to share my thoughts on whatever new (and old!) Star Wars media I came across. In honor of what, in my mind, was a really fun year for Star Wars, I wanted to share my top 10 list of my favorite Star Wars things that came out this year, across different kinds of media. Read more because it’s really long :P

Honorable Mention: Flight of the Falcon multimedia series (by multiple authors and artists)

Okay, if I’m honest, this gets honorable mention spot, mostly because I felt like putting it in top 10 when it’s really a BUNCH of comics and books would be totally cheating :P One of the more fun things to come out of Solo: A Star Wars Story, this series of loosely connected books and comics whose main connecting factor is the Millennium Falcon (and Bazine Netal’s hunt for it!) is an absolute joy. Cavan Scott knocks it out of the park with the ridiculously fun Choose Your Destiny: A Luke and Leia Adventure. IDW Comics does what’s it does best by bringing together some exciting and unexpected pairs of characters for the last couple months of Star Wars Adventures. In Lando’s Luck Justina Ireland gave us the coolest darn Princess in Star Wars since Leia, Rinetta Gan. And they’re not even done yet, with 2 more comics and Pirate’s Price left to go!

10. Star Wars: Scum and Villainy: Case Files on the Galaxy’s Most Notorious by Pablo Hidalgo

What an awesome and fun book! So much great art, and Pablo Hidalgo always gives 100% with his work. It’s such a creative concept, following Tan Divo and and his descendants, as they report on the criminals and rebels of their day. I completely geeked out over how it gave soooo much neat new information about characters and organizations from ALL OVER the Star Wars universe. It’s an absolute blast!

9. Solo: A Star Wars Story: Tales from Vandor by Jason Fry

This book is AMAZING. Even among the “replica journal” style books that Studio Fun puts out, it stands out as super unique, written from the point of view of the Midnight, the bartender at The Lodge on Vandor (where Han meets Lando), as if he is telling the story to a guest. It’s such a fun outsider’s point of view of Han and the other characters of Solo. The best part though, is the parts of the book that are just a shameless love letter to Star Wars Legends, with nods to stuff like The Wookiee Storybook, LEGO Star Wars: The Padawan Menace and several novels. Jason Fry’s love for the franchise really shines through.

8. Star Wars: Poe Dameron by Charles Soule and penciller Angel Unzueta

This year we said a bittersweet goodbye to Marvel’s monthly Star Wars: Poe Dameron and goodness gracious it was good. Between the Legend Found arc that was to be the original ending and the final The Awakening arc, where Black Squadron is reunited after The Last Jedi, this comic really touched my heart. The last couple pages of issues 25 and 31 still make me cry. :’)

7. Solo: A Star Wars Story directed by Ron Howard and screenplay by Lawrence and Jon Kasdan

THIS MOVIE IS CRIMINALLY UNDERRATED AND I’M MAD AT EVERYONE WHO LET IT FLOP. I’ll admit I wasn’t exactly desperate for a Han Solo Backstory Movie, but Solo was just AWESOME. Just some good, raw, Star Wars-y fun that you can’t help but smile the whole way through. It might not be groundbreaking, but it introduced some super cool characters in L3-37, Qi’ra and Enfys Nest, gave us Maul’s grand triumphant return to the public at large and has INCREDIBLY charming performances by Alden Ehrenreich and Donald Glover as the Han and Lando we all come to love.

6. The Mighty Chewbacca in the Forest of Fear! by Tom Angleberger

If Solo, is good, this kid’s book written to accompany it is even better. I mean, Chewbacca meets K-2SO meets Tooka cats meets teenage bounty hunter/librarian?? On a planet with scary monsters and a spooky evil Force user? Also Cassian is there?? And the daughter of This Funny Hat Dude from Return of the Jedi? Hell yeah!!!!!

The book is hysterical, ridiculously fun and I can’t recommend it enough. I just have to say if you do get it, try and grab the audiobook it’s got a full cast of voices for the main characters including Marc Thompson giving his best Shyriiwook as Chewbacca. I laughed so hard I cried at the narration and a K-2SO’s lines done out loud. You won’t regret it!

5. Star Wars: Women of the Galaxy by Amy Ratcliffe and eighteen awesome artists!

THIS is one of the coolest Star Wars books out there and a celebration of all the women we know and love (and sometimes hate) in a galaxy far, far away. It’s such a wonderful collaboration, created by all women (& non-binary) artists and author. I love that it’s got characters from practically everything—movies, books, comics, video games, you name it! We even got to see characters like Jas Emari for the first time which makes me SO HAPPY. it’s one of the books I come back to all the time just to flip through it and enjoy the illustrations.

4. Star Wars Resistance created by Dave Filoni and executive produced by Athena Yvette Portillo, Justin Ridge, and Brandon Auman

I LOVE RESISTANCE SO MUCH!! I didn’t quiiite know what to expect with the new animated series, but was super excited and it hasn’t disappointed one bit. It’s such a fun show and really enjoyable to have a Star Wars show that is almost just ‘slice of life’ compared to the others. The animation is so cool to me and the characters really cute. I’m ridiculously charmed by all of them, especially our main man Kazuda Xiono and really hyped to see where these characters go. It’s more happy and fun than anything, but I know it will break my heart to pieces soon enough (KAZUDA XIONO. HOME PLANET: HOSNIAN PRIME). I hope more people give it a chance because it really is awesome!

3. Star Wars Adventures: Tales from Vader's Castle by Cavan Scott and various artists

LET THIS BE MY LOVE LETTER TO CAVAN SCOTT AND ALL THE COOL AND AWESOME STUFF HE’S DONE WITH THE STAR WARS UNIVERSE!! I was soooo excited when these came out because it’s such an AWESOME idea, I mean? Star Wars Horror story one-shots connected by a wider plot??? YES PLEASE AND THANK YOU. Doubly so when they star Lina Graf, of the Adventures in Wild Space series by Cavan Scott and Tom Huddleston. I was soooo excited to see her again and it’s amazing to see how she’s grown from a young kid to a brave and capable pilot and Commander in the Rebellion.

Then the individual stories are just awesome. It was a joy to see Kanan and Hera back together again after Rebels (or, well, pre-Rebels). The Dooku story was just amazing and such an enthusiastic tribute to Christopher Lee as Dracula. The Frozen inspired Han and Chewie story was also pretty great and I LOVE that it referenced the events of The Mighty Chewbacca in the Forest of Fear! And, my personal favorite story, the spooky ewok story featuring a young Chief Chirpa and Logray was brilliant and I enjoyed getting a closer first-hand look at ewoks (something we don’t have much of, at least in canon!). All in all just an absolute masterpiece in my book and a great reminder of why IDW Comics’ Star Wars stuff has been so freaking awesome.

2. Join the Resistance: Attack on Starkiller Base by Ben Blacker and Ben Acker and illustrated by Annie Wu

I’M BACK AT IT YELLING ABOUT WHY MORE PEOPLE NEED TO CARE ABOUT THESE WONDERFUL, CHARMING LITTLE KIDS’ BOOKS!! This was such a perfect end to the J-Squadron kids’ story. To me, this series is such a hidden gem and I really hope more people give it a chance. It was wonderful how all the characters’ stories closed out. I loved seeing Jo finally openly defy his parents, Mattis putting his faith in the Force and his friends, the return of Klimo, AG-90 and Dec fighting as brothers but growing stronger for it, and Lorica becoming the hero everybody thought she was. There’s so many fun cameos, from Rey, to Hux to Poe and Black Squadron, with the backdrop of the actual climactic battle in The Force Awakens.

And, one thing I really want to talk about that I love, is how the book (in tandem with the first two) give us the first gay character in a Star Wars kids book, with Dec Hansen. I wish they could’ve said it a bit more explicitly, but we actually got the kid and his friends talking about it in the books? And, with most of the LGBT characters falling more on the “scum and villainy” circles of the galaxy, it’s so refreshing to see a brave and unambiguously heroic gay teenage starfighter pilot trainee. Like, holy shit that actually happened!!!! ANYWAYS READ THIS SERIES I LOVE THEM AND YOU SHOULD TOO.

Oh, also, Annie Wu’s illustrations are AWESOME and I hope she does more Star Wars stuff (Pirate’s Price, out in a week!)

1. Star Wars Rebels created by Dave Filoni, Simon Kinberg and Carrie Beck

I don’t think there’s way I could place anything but Rebels at #1. This show changed my life in so many ways and I’m just. ridiculously thankful it exists. without Rebels, I wouldn’t have this blog, I wouldn’t be up to my ears obsessed with Star Wars and I there’s so many friends I wouldn’t have either. It’s touched my heart in a way that.... gosh I don’t know if I can even think about anything that resonates with me quite in the way Star Wars Rebels has. Pretty sure most if not all of my followers have seen Rebels, haha, but if you haven’t. You won’t regret it. Well, you might. It hurts. I hate to say, but it does. But even if the end destination leaves you heartbroken and uh prone to randomly bursting into tears about it, you will never regret the journey. Everything I learned and experienced with Ezra, Kanan, Hera, Sabine, Zeb and Chopper is beyond precious to me and I’m thankful it exists because it made my year in so many ways.

[jadedbirch]

ARTIST CLAIMS ARE NOW OPEN!

If you have questions about some of these fics before signing up and want us to follow up with the authors, please shoot El an email.  Otherwise, read all 24 of these, and email in your top 4 picks!

SUBMIT CLAIMS BY APRIL 23rd

1. Good ships scuttled on the deep

His fingers follow flecks of blood down to the point of his captain’s cheekbone. A thin pink scar, no wider than John’s fingernail, marks Flint’s pale skin. Flint’s eyes close completely. “I thought it was a welcome,” John says. Silver and Flint become lovers following the battle on Maroon Island. S4 AU with established silverflint relationship and some canon divergences.

2. Pray For The Wicked On The Weekend    John Silver spends his days in a faded green pickup truck filled with salt-loaded shotguns and silver and holy water on the back roads of the United Stated hunting monsters and demons and things that go bump in the night, and he’s fine with it, because it’s the easiest way to forget what he’s lost. But there’s something coming, something that he can’t face alone. So where else would he turn but the best Hunter the US has ever seen. Even if no one has heard from James Flint since Thomas and Miranda Hamilton went missing.

3. patron saint of lost causes

It takes two weeks to get Flint off Skeleton Island. Or rather--it takes two weeks for the island to let them go. In which Skeleton Island is a living character and brings a host of nightmares through the mist which force Silver and Flint to confront the dangers of their minds. Featuring surreal dreamscape horror as Silver literally battles figures from his murky, unnamed past and Flint moving through a river of blood and ghosts until he and Silver finally meet in the middle. Influences include Guillermo Del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth and The Devil's Backbone and Maria Luisa Bombal's work.

4. Let It All Unbreak You Post season four. Alone in taverns, at different points in time, Flint and Silver ponder what went wrong with their different relationships. They drink, remember and regret. They reflect upon the little they had together, and regret not making it work after the war with Madi or Thomas, while knowing very well that the very reason it all went wrong is that they had changed too much, had given each other too much, yet were not brave enough to admit it to each other when it was still time.

(Ships: Silverflint, flint x miranda x thomas, flint x thomas, silver x madi) (Angst, definitely not fix-it, no happy ending)

5. Pirate Sex is In Vogue

My fic is a modern AU primarily through email correspondence between Silver and Flint, although other mediums (such as texting and phoning) will be introduced as the story evolves. Silver is a crack erotica writer and Flint is the librarian who just wouldn't showcase his books at the Nassau Public Library, despite the insistence of the latter. They become unexpected virtual pen pals after Flint sends a heated rejection letter and grow closer through their correspondence, helping each other confront the inner demons of their personal lives. There will be polyamory, since Flint is involved with Thomas and Miranda by the time he and Silver fall in love.

6. Tell me we're dead and I'll love you even more

In the year 1725, or thereabouts, John Silver finds himself driven by a winter storm into an inconsequential little port town, barely a speck on any civilised map. Returned to the life of a drifter, tired and rough around the edges, he is resigned to waiting for the weather to pass before he can sail on again to the next town, and the next, and the next. That is until he overhears a conversation in the inn about a local fisherman, one Captain Barlow, and his tall tales of tempests and becalmings, devils and sharks, and Silver finds a new future opening up to him, haunted by the spectres of his past. Whether landed in this place by fortune, or fate, or even divine intervention, he finds he cannot leave again without following this trail that leads from an old and half-forgotten tether knotted deep between his ribs to somewhere that feels familiar and safe, like home. The way won’t be easy; it’s paved with notable absences and painful unspoken truths, and there’s as good a chance as any that he’ll find a knife to his throat before he can so much as say ‘Long time no see, Captain’. Still, all roads do seem to lead to them baring their souls to one another in the dark, and Silver would be lying if he said he hadn’t missed it.

7.  An Epilogue

After the events of Treasure Island, John finds James and Thomas. There’s a gradual awkward descent to domesticity when pirates retire. Madi brings Jim Hawkins with her from London. This is the ultimate fix it where there are no unanswered questions and everyone lives happily ever after. SilverFlint, SilverHamilton, SilverFlintHamilton, SilverMadi

8. Stealing Hearts

A 1920s AU with Flint as a mob boss, fighting a corrupt police force/police system, and Silver as a thief who gets caught up in all of it.  

9. Space Raiders of Nassau

The space station Nassau is in open rebellion against the interplanetary Imperial Alliance.  Captain James Flint is in deep shit for rearranging the face of a fellow raider captain.  As punishment, Nassau's leaders assign an inside man to his crew, with a very convincing cover story (that they're married). Complicating things further is the fact that Flint's shifty new husband, John Silver, knows a lot more than he's telling about their secret mission. Their own survival as well as Nassau’s future depend on how successfully they can navigate the dangerous skies… and each other.  

10. The Pirate Captain's Wedding Once he has his hands on the thief Flint is willing to do whatever it takes to get the page from him. And then Billy & Gates say marriage is the only solution left on the table. Or rather matelotage – the time honored pirate form of matrimony. Billy says it’s the only way to regain the crew’s trust, by marrying one of them, and Gates agrees. For once Flint’s desperate enough to agree to it. He never expects to actually fall in love with the little shit. Canon-Era Season1/Season2 AU– with angsty developing feelings, public consummation, & There Is Only One Bed night after hot sticky sweaty night. 11. The devil's gotta' earn

Supernatural AU. James Flint has been a hunter for over a decade now and he knows people join this profession for plenty of reasons and few of those are happy ones. Some people just seek the thrill, some want to protect the so called innocent, some - like him - are out for revenge and John Bloody Silver apparently is just trying to get rich. [Borrows mostly from first seasons of Supernatural, little to no prior knowledge of this show required. Miranda lives, Thomas tragically does not. Lots of angst, few monsters of the week and a demon or two.]

12. touch me James is a widow, bartender and owner of the gay-bar “The Rainbow“. After Thomas' death it had been John who had lift him up. One day one of his usual dancers - because what is a gay bar without your occasional striptease - can't perform. John offers to fill the space and James has to face that John is more than just a friend. Slow burn and StripperJohn!AU

13. Adamantine Flame Flint is a forest god called The Flame and Silver is part of the cult that worships him that resides on the fringes of the underworld. 14. [Title TBD] Silver never met another werewolf before. Well, realistically, he knew he must have because he wasn't born a werewolf so someone had to have done this to him. But that didn't count since his memory of the whole incident was lackluster at best. He knew others had to be out there somewhere though and he wanted to find at least one, just to know he wasn't all alone. Flint was surrounded by werewolves all his life. Always part of a family, always knowing someone cared for him. Knowing he had someone to care for. The memories were as vivid as ever, of a time when he cared for someone. But they were gone and he knew he was meant to be all alone. 15. set my soul on fire

Nothing quite like getting out of prison to make a man feel like pulling off the biggest heist you’ve ever heard of. But he can’t do it alone - he’s going to need some money, a plan, a crew, and of course, his partner. His incorrigible, oral fixation-having, blue-eyed devil of a partner. Who is this smooth, seasoned con man with his eyes on the prize? James fucking Flint, naturally. And his partner? John Silver.Viva Las Vegas, baby.

16. cat dad

Modern au. Flint's life is fine. It's quiet and it's fine and he's fine. Well, except that his upstairs neighbor is a dick and his relationship with Miranda is strained and maybe quiet isn't all it's cracked up to be. But then a one-eyed cat enters his life and with it one John Silver. Flint's not sure how he feels about that, but he's working on it. Plot includes cat shenanigans, cooking, fluff, and feelings. 

17. [Title TBD]

A post-canon rendition of the Silver and Flint reunion wherein rather than seeking each other out the two are brought back together by outside forces. There’s a wedge of sour history and new lives built between them but love and desire become hard to deny when every path you set out on to leave someone behind sends you hurdling straight back to them. Treasure Island divergent/ignorant, though I pull some things from TI including the bird. (Includes SilverMadi and FlintHamilton as side-pairings, warning for canon Black Sails side-character death.) 18. The Spark

it's a Girl Genius AU

That's it, that's the whole shtick. It's basically the plot of the show, but clockwork-punk with mad geniuses (of course Flint is one), Urca being chock full of Aztec tech a'la Mysterious Cities of Gold, and dr. Howell and colleagues taking medicine to some quite Frankenstein levels - convenient with so many characters who should know better than to fucking die.

Also John Silver might be a construct.  The prosthetics are not nearly as complicated as in treasure planet, but at least one person has a gun arm? dirigibles are "Supposed Not To Be Invented Yet", but not for the lack of trying. Silverflint revolves around having "The Spark" and personhood and is shaping up heavier than i intended... luckily they will have plenty of people to set them to rights - i'm aiming for a happy polyfamily forming in the background.

19. he’s funny that way

1920s Atlantic City. Everybody knows the only way to leave crime boss Eleanor Guthrie's business is through a funeral - either delivering the sermon or laid out in the casket. Still, Flint leaves anyway, because he likes to make his life as difficult as possible. Case in point: his new partner, the scruffy, irate, one-legged racketeer with a pretty mouth, a quick tongue, and a rye recipe even Pussyfoot Johnson wouldn't spit out. His new partner's making sure he's not joining the church and taking a celibacy vow anytime soon - but will anyone be able to save Flint from his early - or long overdue - grave?

20. Ship to Wreck 

"I don't know if you've noticed, Doctor," Silver snaps, incredulous, "But every moment the Captain is unconscious in that bed is another step away from five million fucking dollars. As if that weren't enough, we're locked in a ridiculous show of force with a madman who seems keen on blowing us sky high unless we concede to his demands; we've got a crowd of men up top losing their Goddamned minds because they've been promised a fight that we cannot presently even hope to deliver; and--" Silver pauses, exhaling hard. "Actually, you know what? There is no and.  I’d say that’s about enough shit to make us all a little tense, wouldn’t you agree?" "Hm," Howell says, mildly. A post 204 fic in which: Flint gets a fever, Silver has a panic attack, and Howell gets a migraine. Includes, among other things--Silver trying and failing at playing nurse; Silver trying and failing at controlling his feelings; Flint being dazed and delirious and soft; some singing, some yelling, and heavy doses of mutual pining. Love, obviously, turns out to be the best medicine. 21. More Than One Odysseus

Reunion fic, about two years after 4.10. Quite a lot of talking and a little of the following: fishing, sex, hunting, bathtubs, Jewish surnames, books, stories and Terra Australis. Canon-compliant, not TI-compliant. A few animals killed (for food, not sport).

22. Seedlings

"If there's anything I can help you with-- Or if you'd like to order flowers for an upcoming occasion--"

"All right, honestly?" Handsomely disgruntled customer looked Silver dead in the eye and said, "I'm looking for a gift that says, 'You are making a dreadful mistake, and you will regret these actions for the rest of your days. Call me when you've figured out what a fucking hash of things you've made.'" He spoke the way some people chewed tinfoil.

Silver felt two things: lust like a plague of locusts, and the words 'uh-oh' waft through his brain.

On the second anniversary of the worst day of his adult life, John Silver─temporary florist, burgeoning gardner, and former thief─meets James Flint. It is only love at first sight for one of them. (Or is it?)

23. The Curse of Aeaea

Inspired by the connection between Flint and Odysseus: Silver and Flint find themselves dealing with a very Circe-like situation. Once the curse affects Silver, they have to figure out a way to end it or be trapped on an island that’s not on any map.

(Animal Transformation, Body Horror, Poor Coping Mechanisms, Circe’s Curse, Odysseus, Post-Season 2, Pre-Season 3)

24. With Strange Aeons Months after the disappearance and presumed death of Captain Flint and Long John Silver, Max smuggles Jack and Anne to Oglethorpe’s plantation. Thomas learns that not only do the three of them have a friend in common, but he is not the only one whose dreams are haunted by a strange city and a terrifying name. Meanwhile, Flint and Silver try to escape an island trapped in time, impossibly built and impossibly old. Along the way they’re forced question reality, each other, and themselves.

And in his house in R’lyeh, dead Cthulhu waits dreaming. (Prior knowledge of Lovecraft is fun, but not required.)

[soyouareandrewdobson]

The basic overview of Dobson’s entire work catalogue is as followed: Patty (1 vol) His pro LGBT comic about a high school bully who dresses up like the elementary school niece of Bob the Builder falling in love with a goth chick named Nadia. Terribly sketchy in term of drawing quality, never gt past the first volume of around 150 pages. Characters got later redesigned in the worst manners. Ironically his least fetishized work regarding lesbians despite some stupid sex puns. Percy Phillips (2 vol + some loose pages) Detective Conan meets Sherlock Holmes. Average detective with asshole tendencies solves crime. Detective is supposedly gay, not that it matters in the stories. He sold it online and at his stands, no real pags have survived.

Legends --> Alex ze Pirate (1 vol Legends, 2 vol Alex + some loose pages) The most damaging development imo. Legends as a starting point for Alex and her “friends” started off as story driven, the first volume introducing the main characters but then ending on a cliffhanger when some pirates shoot at Alex with a cannon. Never got past the first 70 pages long volume though, as sells were abysmal. Some scans of potential volume 2 pages exist, but are f low quality and show just how Alex is a Mary Sue. Two volumes of Alex ze Pirate would be published sometimes between 2008 till 2011 and that was it. And their quality is abysmal. Like Dobson put actual fan art of his characters and by other contributors in pages of it to fill empty space.

Formera (2 vol) Isekai about some kid in a random world where he and a cavegirl travel around and get in conflict with some guy in a robe. Most anime trope inspired thing of Dobson. Never got to see more than 50 pages of it, as certain people on kiwifarms forgot to upload the rest of it.

Danny and Spot Not John from Garfield and NOT Heathcliff/Marsupilami getting on each others nerves as gamers. Shitty anti PS3 propaganda by someone obsessed with his Wii.

Some newspaper stirp idea about an elf terrorizing a random guy

SYAC enough said about that abomination His Miraculous Ladybug comics Unfunny and surprisingly off model

That Adventure Zone comic terrible adaptation of podcast episodes as he sticks too much to the scripts

Cabin’s Rest Aborted faster than Lindsay Ellis fetus.

Not counting his web comics, has Dobson ever made other book series besides Formera, Alex Ze Pirate and Legends? Also, is he still making them? Or did he give up after people realized that his books were crap and didn't buy them?

There was one more called “Andy’s Hat”. It was a sort of “comic anthology” of a bunch of short comics he’d made at the time.

And no, he stopped making books a long time ago. Pretty sure they just didn’t sell that much and the publisher just didn’t renew with him.

[rhetorical-ink]

Rhetorical Ink Reviews: “Justice League”

**JUSTICE-filled Spoilers Below**

As a kid, I grew up with DC and Marvel Comics (mainly Sonic the Hedgehog via Archie but I digress). When “Marvel vs. DC” became a film rivalry, I was really surprised. Marvel, which had been filled with gritty, political series, was now more light-hearted and comic-book-y, and DC, which had been colorful and full of comic book cheesiness (with the exception of solely Batman), was now darker, grittier, and more serious and political. 

So, anyway, going into this movie, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Thus, here are --

My Top Ten Thoughts on Justice League:

10. I want to start with some things I liked (one of which I will save towards the end): The Flash. Ezra Miller was one of my favorites parts of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and he shines in this so well!  His awkward, quirky humor, and his innocent charm works so well in this! He stole all of the scenes he was in, and I will have Pet Semetary stuck in my head for a while now, thanks to his macabre humor. He’s easily my favorite addition to the cast.

9. Likewise, while it took a little time to get used to his character, I really liked Cyborg; the actor that played him did a great job of balancing the humanity still inherent within him and the Kryptonian technology controlling much of his body. Plus, that “booyah” towards the end of the film had my younger brother very happy. I was worried he’d be a throwaway character, but he had plenty of time to shine and his interactions especially with Wonder Woman were great!

8. Aquaman was hit or miss for me -- when we see Jason Mamoa being completely badass as his character -- I’m all in and all for it. The updates to Aqua Man are great and he’s CERTAINLY not cheesy here. I will admit, his “bro humor” came off as flat sometimes, but he was a nice shot of humor when we needed it (and the lasso of truth scene was funny). However, there was just way too much rushed for plot convenience in this movie with him. I feel we needed an entire movie with Aqua Man’s backstory, him meeting Bruce, explaining his culture. You know Wayne Enterprises could have gotten a sweet submarine built that would let Bruce go down to Atlantis! There’s an entire scene that is completely rushed through that basically just sets up some weird antagonist-behavior from Amber Heard’s character, and sets up that Jason Mamoa has a trident-like-weapon. He could have just showed up with the weapon and we wouldn’t have questioned where he got it from...because...well, he’s AquaMan! Also, play that scene below on repeat -- forever.

7. This leads to things I didn’t like about the film -- the biggest flaw being that everything is so. rushed. I felt like this film had the same issues as the latest Pirates of the Caribbean film -- instead of breaking this up into at least two movies of set up and pay off, this movie sets things up VERY quickly, and then the pay off happens right at the very end. I liked being introduced to these new characters, but the introductions weren’t long enough to answer all my questions nor to get invested in these characters. I just wanted the movie to take its time, especially since we aren’t getting a “setting up” group of films like the Marvel Universe has done -- DC just kind of skipped that and went straight to the main event! 

6. It probably doesn’t help that Steppenwolf is a generic villain -- world conquest, blah blah blah -- he starts out with interesting concept about turning people into para-demons...but we never see it in action! Wouldn’t it have been more gut-wrenching to see Cyborg’s father turned into one of those? Or another friend/guard on our side against them? I feel that he was a wasted opportunity and he just became “generic villain of the month #4.” And that doesn’t help any movie at all.

5. Okay, getting into some real spoilers here, but I just...didn’t care for the way they handled bringing Superman back. I wondered how they were going to do it...it doesn’t quite make sense, though, because at the end of BvsS, we see dirt rise off of the grave site -- but what brings him back has nothing to do with that...so what was its purpose at the end of that film? And apparently bringing him back means he has no memory -- until Lois Lane dues ex machina’s her self right there! While there was part of the Superman return I liked -- listed below -- I just felt it was too rushed, again, and that his “dark” side for the time it was out there, was just too much for the movie -- even if corn fields can turn him back to normal.

4. A tiny note, but I do love Jeremy Irons as Alfred. I think he does a wonderful job -- you know who also does a wonderful job? Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, though she’s slimmed up since that movie, and I’m not quite as much of a fan of skinny Diane as opposed to more athletically built women.

3.Ben Affleck is okay as Batman here -- he’s still no Keaton, but he’s alright better than Christian Bale. I thought at times, his character seemed “off” and the “gay panic” moment between he and Batman was just cringe-worthy. Come on, we know you’re setting him and Wonder Woman up together. I mean... But honestly, my biggest problem in the movie besides pacing was:

2. CGI. There was too much of it in this movie. I knew from a previous spoiler that Henry Cavill had his mustache for Mission Impossible 6 digitally erased -- I mean, couldn’t he have just shaved? It was such a distraction, having known it. Also, at times Steppenwolf and his minions looked like a World of Warcraft cut scene -- and the CGI was SO obvious when it was CGI versions of our heroes -- I could just feel the movie being dated as I watched it. I was just so disappointed by it. At least the Deadpool 2 trailer made the CGI look okay and as if it wasn’t completely filmed in front of a green screen...seriously, DC, you have the budget. Real sets. Less CGI green screen.

1. Now, I told you all I would save something I liked for last -- this movie, oddly enough, reminded me again of the DC comic book era. Once Superman comes back and isn’t in an amnesiac state -- the entire film took on this almost-charming, old school comic book atmosphere, without being the cheesy Joel Schumaker mess. Superman actually felt like Superman! It was good to see that -- I just wished that the movie had been less CGI, more consistent in tone, had more time to develop character and story, and had less of a generic plot and villain.

Justice League isn’t as good as Wonder Woman, but better than Batman Vs. Superman -- so take that for what you will and go out and see it for yourself if you can!