#ben 10 character library

[momolady]

2023 Year End Stats

Not to be stereotypical or anything, but for me at least, 2023 was an odd year. I bled for 6 months straight, dealt with the worst pain I still can't comprehend, had a hysterectomy, moved in with my partner, got some cats, dealt with a lot of stress, watched the world burn. Yeah, it's been pretty good to outweigh the bad.

But anyways! I've done the math and put together a list of my stories that performed the best this year. At least in terms of notes anyways. I'm also going to share my stories that didn't perform as well and hope they get the love they deserve.

Anyways, let's get on with the count down. Forty total stories have published on Tumblr this year. Sixty-six were published on Patreon. Top monsters were orcs (7), Vampire (3), Fae, Minotaur, Romm Monster, Lich (all 2).

Top Ten Stories:

10. Kahann the Naga

This one would probably be in my top ten favorites to write of the year. This dark, twisted romance between a lonely, isolated girl shipwrecked on an island with the dangerous and sexy Kahann struck the dark romance itch I've been wanting to scratch.

9. Keir the Orc

Comfy farm romance that features annoyances to lvoers. What else could you want? Orcs are always fun to write, I feel I could do it with my eyes closed, but thankfully I don't wanna do that.

8. Atharo the Lich

The pink lich, this one had imagery in it I couldn't get out of my head. the visions of this pink lich still huant me and I wish I could conjur such sstrong imagery still.

7. Asier the Drider

A simple premise we cann understand. Getting packages and ordering online is probably yhe msot fun we can have without leaving our homes. But what if your neighbor was annoyed by this? And what if that neighbor was a drider?

6. Auberon the Room Monster

The enchanted library. i think I've written more about the romance and mystery of bookstores an libraries more than anything. But this story was special, with lots of worldbuilding wrapped like a blanket around these characters. The room this monster stays in is the library, and who doesn't wanna spend time with that guy?

5. Marek the Vampire

This murky, dark, and swampy tale is one of those that stays with me. The idea of a different sort of vampire, one in the bogs and wetlands of a strange peninsula that gets flooded every year haunts me. The image of him is one of my absolute favorite creations and I hope I get to visit this peninsula village again.

4. Placide the Paralangua

This story marks the beginning and growth of my Charcourt universe. Liek Hearthway Hollow it's a town filled to the brim with straneg creatures, only it's the Paralangua, alligator type monsters who throw a festival every year to celebrate their history and the continued growth of Charcourt. Is it a cult? Maybe. There's a new five part tale of this area up on Patreon now.

3. Ben the Werewolf

Enmies to lovers, I think most people get on board with this trope. This tale of Hearthway Hollow delves into the relationship between two high school enemies who reconnect after years and manage to put aside their competitivness to find one another. The lead in thisstory is also Rowan's little sister.

2. Leraye the Demon

Demons are always fun. My demon characters have ways of weaving themselves in and out of the world we know, sometimes as proper members of society, often not. Leraye is one of those that visits our world as a full time member, seeing out the comforts of a Chinese bakery whose owners are a family with ties into the reality he avoids.

Florenz the Vampire Bat

This would for sure also be on my favorites of the year. This dark story wove together elements of fantasy, horror, and romance that I love to death. The lead is sophisticated and dashing, the lead is adventurous and excitable. The chemistry between the leads while writing this tale was so good.

The Ten Least Appreciated Stories

10. Juniper the Tiefling

I am deeply disappointed this didn't do as well as I expected. This story was based on characters me and my bff made for a one shot DND session. So this story was more personal to me than others. but more than that, I feel it had some of my best banter!

9. Rocco the Guard

Another personal tale based on ideas me and my friend came up with during a visit where we watched the Owl House together. I also greatly enjoyed the leading lady who was smart, spunky, and chaotic in the absolute best ways.

8. Ozzie the Werewolf & Tryfon the Naiad

It has a trans lead, it has polyamory, it was set in hearthway Hollow! I thought this story was serving up gold on a platter. But maybe people weren't in the mood for gold. The comedy in this is top notch, at least I thought.

7. Laertes the Fae

Another story where the dialogue I feel sparkles and pops with every interaction the characters had. This did only recently come out, so maybe it'll grow after this.

6. Ransom the Shapeshifter

Another personal story based around lore me and my bff created for our Stardew Valley characters. It also featured a nonbinary lead and monster, I thought people would be excited for this. I loved playing with the avant-garde sci-fi aspect and being a little weird. But maybe that's why people didn't like it too much lol

5. The Leshy

Another story that would be in my top ten for my personal favorites to write. I loved the complexity of the leading lady and crafting her has made her a personal favorite. The characters and world of this story will be one that stays with my thoughts as I think about the cozy, dark streets anfdthe moss covered steps of the buildings.

4. Jaqueline the Dullahan

This story has it all! Chocolate, Halloween, a sexy dullahan chef, and it's a lesbian romance. Maybe I don't have enough wlw readers but this story came from a ko-fi prompt I wrot and just grew into a full fledged story. I really enjoyed the atmosphere of this story and how it felt like a cozy fireplace with hot cocoa.

3. Beast the Symbiote

Beast is a character I have been wanting to get out into the world for years. She's such a complex villain character, and who doesn't love that. I feel like she is one of my coolest characters. Lucky Devil was also a character I had been dying to get out, she's been in my head since I watched Magi Madoka and she took form slowly over the years. She is in part based on me, and I want to do more with this lovely couple.

2. Fia the Selkie

I'm starting to see a pattern here. Male reader stories aren't ya'lls cup of tea? Too bad, I have some amazing male readers and commissioners I adore working for. Fia was this comforting warm blanket of a story. A struggling musician and the lovely Selkie he's come to be with. I really love this story, please check it out if you want some comfort.

1.Ria the Orc: an AU

I'm actually a wee bit pissed about this one. Another male reader, and Ria is a character I've come to absolutely love. This was written for a commissioner I've come to consider a friend, and writing for him has become an amazing experience. Ria and her beau have also become such real, loving characters in my head. This was an AU of the modern monsters Ria where she is in Obresh and participates in the Reaping. Who doesn't love Reaping stories? C'mon folks, give these ten stories the love they deserve!

Thank you all for an amazing year! Next year I will hopefully publish and you're going to see bigger and grander things from me, I owe that to all of you. Keep a look out for my Ozren novel hitting the shelf soon. Thank you so much and I hope I continue to write stories you love.

[torgerandsuzanne]

This weekend, all the major movers and shakers in Formula 1 have descended on Silverstone for the British Grand Prix. On track, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton will attempt to slow Max Verstappen’s seemingly inexorable charge towards a third successive title. Off it, their respective team principals, Mercedes’ Toto Wolff and his nemesis, Red Bull’s Christian Horner, will also do battle. But arguably the most significant power move made in motorsport this week may already have taken place. Its architect was none other than Susie Wolff, wife of Toto. And just quietly, she is hoping she may have triggered a revolution.

As managing director of F1 Academy, a new all-female single-seater series, she is currently thrashing out what she believes could be a ‘game-changing deal’ with F1’s 10 teams, which she hopes will boost female participation in motorsport like nothing before.

......

Leaning back in a chair in the library of the Monaco Yacht Club, Wolff lets out a snigger. ‘It’s true,’ she nods. ‘He really did once describe me as a donkey!’ We are talking about her husband, Toto Wolff. The donkey reference actually cropped up in an interview the couple gave to Ben and Georgie Ainslie’s Performance People podcast last year. In the YouTube version of the podcast, you can see Susie, by this point in hysterics, miming someone digging a hole ever-deeper. The exchange is a window into their relationship: playful, loving, with Susie giving as good as she gets. But it also says something about both of their characters. Toto is a high performer, there is no doubt about that. And Susie? Well, ‘donkey’ may be a bit harsh for a woman who once gave Hamilton a run for his money in karting. But she knows what her husband meant. ‘Don’t underestimate the donkey,’ she says, grinning. ‘It gets there in the end. I do have a lot of tenacity.’ She is going to need it in her latest role. 

There have been various attempts down the years to drive female participation in motorsport and achieve the ultimate breakthrough: returning a woman to the F1 grid. Wolff believes F1 Academy is different. For starters, it is the first all-female series launched and owned by Formula 1 itself. That means it is in F1’s interests for it to succeed. So whereas W Series, for instance, was given an enviable platform by the sport the fate of F1 Academy is far more intertwined with the brand. Not only will it compete on the F1 circuit from next season, but the two series will collaborate far more closely. Wolff cannot speak just yet about what that might look like, as the finer details are still being ironed out. Suffice to say there are some very exciting plans in the offing that she hopes to announce soon. ‘I think there are some forward-thinking team principals in Formula 1,’ she says. ‘I certainly feel a real commitment from within the paddock to help change things now.’ ‘When I met them all after my announcement in Bahrain, I said to all of them, “Please don’t think of this as a ‘woman’s thing’ being run by a woman. This is for the greater good of this sport. I hope it will add value to Formula 1 long-term. And we need to be on this journey together.” So far, the response has been very positive, I have to say.’ Wolff smiles. ‘But F1 Academy cannot just be about 15 young women racing. And we cannot have the sole purpose of trying to find the next female F1 driver. We have to stand for something much more. It’s about creating opportunity. How are we making motorsport accessible to girls? That’s why I’m spending a lot of my time in the world of karting right now, trying to understand, OK, who’s out there racing? At what level? What is stopping girls from racing? I think that’s where we’ve got to be really proactive. Because that talent pool is what we need to grow.’

......

Wolff is uniquely well-placed to do so. Born in Oban she had a typically outdoorsy upbringing. Both she and older brother David, were put on skis and bikes as toddlers. Her parents, owned a motorcycle dealership and her father raced bikes competitively, so racing was ‘in the blood’. But, Wolff says, she was ‘never a typical tomboy’. ‘I had my Barbie. I had my dolls. I liked that stuff. But I also loved going fast.’ Eventually the family got a second-hand kart and that was it, although Wolff insists it was just ‘for fun’ until she was taken to a Formula 3 race at Donington Park one year and watched Jenson Button win. ‘That’s when I was like: “This is what I want.” After that I started racing in the European and world championships.’ It was at that point, too, that Wolff began to experience sexism for the first time. She had always been ‘the only girl’ in karting races. Or at least one of very few. But as her participation became more serious, so too did the feeling of being not just different but unwanted. ‘Funnily enough, half of my battle was with the parents of my competitors,’ she recalls. ‘For them, it was not wanting their sons to get beaten by a girl.’

Sometimes her own teams, supposedly on her side, were just as culpable. When she reached DTM, the German touring car championship, Wolff was famously made to drive a pink car. ‘I hated it,’ she says. ‘It was such a cliché. No one wanted to be overtaken by that car.’  Wolff recalls one particularly awkward episode when three-time F1 world champion Niki Lauda came to watch his son Mathias. ‘Mathias and I were teammates and it was a real thrill that Niki was coming to watch,’ she says, wincing. ‘So anyway, he walks into the garage, and all the drivers were in there, and without even saying hi to Mathias or anything, he took one look at me and said to Mathias: “Whatever you do, beat her.” Even Mathias was embarrassed.’ ‘Years later, when we obviously became friends at Mercedes I brought it up and Niki was like, “Yeah, I know. But I knew it wouldn’t have been helpful to Mathias if he got beaten by you.” I said, “But Niki, I was an impressionable young driver.” Obviously he was of a certain generation. But I think that still exists. That stigma. Not wanting to be beaten by a girl. The preconception that women are bad drivers. We have to change that.’

.....

In other times during Wolff’s career it has been double standards that infuriated her. Male drivers could advertise products or cash in on their celebrity. But when Wolff did the same she would be accused of ‘using her body’ to further her career. This is someone who had, and still has, a genuine interest in fashion. ‘It was frustrating,’ she admits. ‘I turned down loads of things. I remember being questioned about one shoot, with Vogue Japan. “What? You’re going to turn down Vogue? No! It’s one of the top titles…”’ ‘Ultimately, I think it’s about finding a balance and doing what you’re comfortable with. I had one golden rule. I would never date another driver. I wanted to look after my reputation and just be someone that was seen as credible. But I think this idea that you just put your helmet on and race and nothing else matters… that’s not the case. Take Lewis. What he brings to the table is his outstanding talent on track. But also, all of the stuff he represents off-track. So if anything, I look back and say, I should have gone even harder.’

.....

Does she believe she was held back? Wolff shakes her head. ‘I think I fulfilled my potential. If I look back now, with more perspective, I wasn’t one of the most talented. I had a lot of tenacity and a lot of determination. A lot of thick skin. So I look back with no bitterness whatsoever. There were a lot of tough moments, I won’t lie. But I also met Toto, which led me to where I am now.’ They met in 2009 when Wolff was competing in DTM. Toto, 11 years her senior and with two young children from a previous marriage, was the co-owner of HWA AG, which ran the DTM race programme for Mercedes. He proposed one year later on a boat in Venice (well, on a boat back to the airport after his original plan to propose at a romantic restaurant was scuppered when a couple they knew sat down at the next table) and they were married in Capri in 2011. Inevitably their relationship, her subsequent role at Williams, and rise through senior management positions at Venturi Racing, a Monaco-based Formula E team, to F1 Academy, have led to allegations of nepotism. 

‘I am completely fine with that because in the end, I know the truth,’ Wolff says. ‘I got the drive with Williams after I met Frank at a DTM event at Brands Hatch and told him I’d done a school project on Williams as a 12-year-old girl and it was always my dream to drive an F1 car. At the end of the conversation he said, “I’ll give you 25 laps at Silverstone.” It kind of snowballed from there. How much of that was Toto? It’s impossible to judge. But I feel I grabbed my chance.’ ‘Toto was never on the radio telling me how to drive a Formula 1 car. He wasn’t holding my hand telling me how to run a Formula E team. I did all of that on my own two feet. I know I’ve got what it takes to be successful, I don’t need Toto to open doors for me.’ She pauses. ‘I think in some instances, it can be very helpful having the Wolff surname, in others very unhelpful. But I wouldn’t change it for a second.’

Marrying up their schedules can’t be easy. The couple’s main home is in Monaco, but when we meet, Toto is back at the factory in Brackley, having just returned from the Canadian Grand Prix. He will fly out to take over parental duties from Susie when she heads to Zandvoort at the end of the week. ‘I don’t think we’re dissimilar to many couples who have busy jobs,’ Wolff says. ‘I have Toto’s schedule on my phone so I always know which country he is in, or at least when he’s coming home. And we just have to prioritise. If that means Jack and I jumping on a plane to wherever he is to make it work, we make it work.’  Wolff admits it is her who generally compromises. ‘Someone has to,’ she shrugs. ‘And right now it’s me, for sure. I’m based here. And Toto is in and out. It’s a big advantage that I understand the industry so well; why he has to be away, why he has to stay longer at the factory. All of that means I’m not giving him a headache at home when he does return. I get it.’

Have Mercedes’ recent struggles on track made things more stressful? ‘Actually I’d say he is in a better place than he was a few years ago,’ Wolff replies. ‘I think he had a moment in lockdown where he didn’t know whether he wanted to stay in the sport. But now he has really got the bit between his teeth again. Sometimes I’m in a room when he’s on a very difficult call and I’m starting to feel, “F--k, this is some serious pressure!” But he can just pile it on. It’s definitely one of his strengths.’ In 2021 the couple moved to Monaco from Switzerland, although they also keep a place in Oxford from which Toto can commute to the factory. ‘Believe me, I never imagined I would be living here,’ Wolff says, laughing. ‘Obviously I started coming out a lot when I joined Venturi. I’d leave cold, grey England and land here in blue skies. I just started thinking, it’s not so bad out here… It works for us now.’  As you would expect, Jack attends a school with the sons and daughters of other international jetsetters. ‘His best friend is Augusto Farfus’ son. Naila Rosberg is a year older, her sister is a year younger,’ Wolff says. But really, she insists, they do not have a lavish lifestyle. ‘My son spends every school holiday back in Scotland because I want him to have that balance. You know, this is a bubble. It’s not quite reality. So he goes camping with my parents.’ As for the Monte Carlo nightlife, Wolff says, ‘We keep ourselves to ourselves. The buzzing social life is just not my thing at all. You find your tribe but we spend so much time away, I’d much rather stay in during the evening than go out somewhere.’

Susie's interview with The Telegraph where she talks about F1 Academy, sexism and double standards she experienced as a female racing driver and her relationship with Toto.

[manygeese]

Part two to my playlist as Percy Jackson characters

PERCY JACKSON SHIPS AS SONGS FROM MY PLAYLIST

now with ratings! if you don’t agree, feel free to leave reasons that u do like the ship but please be civil abt it 👍 Warning i have not read all the books

these aren’t strictly canon guys and if u don’t like on of the ships ignore it and read the ones u do like :)

PERCABETH

PercyxAnnabeth. I can’t rate them anything but 10/10 I think because they are the foundation

“Stand By Me” by Ben E. King. Represents their loyalty to each other even as the world is going to hell :) “Nobody touches her” anyone?

FRAZEL

FrankxHazel. I think it’s cute but the age gap is weird but I like the devotion. Not my favorite but wholesome. 6.8/10?

“She’s Got a Way” by Billy Joel. Very wholesome, very pining-coded, very devoted. Reminds me of how Frank is over here like “I would kill myself for you” about Hazel in SoN

SOLANGELO

Will SolacexNico. I think it’s cute but I have not read the novel about them and have only read up to SoN bc my library doesn’t have MoA. 8/10, what I’ve seen in fanon is rlly cute

“Romeo’s Tune” by Steve Forbert. Very young love. Very frolicking in a grass field with my beloved.

JIPER

JasonxPiper. I don’t like it, it’s giving comphet. Literally built on a lie but they are besties. Romantic- 2/10. Platonic- 8/10.

“Our Last Summer” by ABBA. Again, young love, but more like a fling. Very reminiscent but also sweet. This is if I HAD to give them a romantic song.

VALGRACE

LeoxJason. I love it so much it is canon in my mind. The fanart for these silly little guys is so cute but also they are the next Romeo and Juliet. I look at them and I go “OOF” in a good way. 10/10

“Beyond the Sea” by Bobby Darin. They’re always waiting for the right time but it never comes 😔. Sorry in my mind they are happy and live in a cottage. This song is optimistic though!!! Don’t think about it too hard

PIPABETH

PiperxAnnabeth. I think it’s cute but I think I haven’t seen them enough to really think about them. VERY COOL THOUGH!!! 7/10.

“High on You” by Survivor. They lift each other up and make each other better! Also matches the energy I think they’d have- hardcore, like U-Haul lesbians hardcore

VALDANGELO

LeoxNico. I think it’s sweet. I see it as a “getting together romantically after years of friendship” thing. They’re very similar to each other and they’d definitely bond over their pasts! 8/10

“Come and Get Your Love” by Redbone. They back each other up and give each other unconditional love, help each other unlearn bad habits, help each be better and all that :)

JASICO

JasonxNico. Again, haven’t seen a lot of canon content about them but I do know Nico gets outed to Jason and I think they’d just be friends after that. Like I don’t think Nico would be 100% comfy in a romantic setting? Romantic- 5.9/10. Platonic- 8/10.

“Sleeping With the Television On” by Billy Joel. They’re unsure of themselves, too shy to make the first move on the other, etc. Pushing each other away and all that pining jazz.

JERCY

JasonxPercy. They’re bros. All the way. I could see how it could go from bros to boyfriends, but I’m stuck in the bro mindset. Romantic-8/10. They could have a lot of fun banter. Platonic-10/10.

“If It Wasn’t For The Nights” by ABBA. They need each other, but they get mad at each other a lot :( Narrative foils!!!!!

RUEGARD

Clarisse LaRuexSilena Beauregard. Tragic, the parallels to Patroclus and Achilles and PARALLELING! Amazing. Personally, I really like the poly ship where it’s Clarisse, Chris, Selena, and Beckendorf (cuz i love Beckendorf and I think they’d be a great support system for each other). By themselves, 9/10. Points deducted cuz they only really interact in TLO.

“Only the Good Die Young” by Billy Joel. The title should explain everything.

VALZHANG

LeoxFrank. In the same vein as Jercy because they’re bros. I think a poly relationship between Hazel, Leo, and Frank could be sweet too. But by themselves, romantically, 7/10. Platonic- 10/10, would shenanigan together.

“It’s Not Unusual” by Tom Jones. They both give off very “jealous of their partners” vibes. Also they like the dance.

Reblog with any other ships you like! I might do a part two :)

[moseslikellamas]

♱𖣂 Redfork Menace ♱𖣂 pt.10

Benjicot Blackwood x Bracken!OC

Summary - Martyn begins to suspect his family is using his sister disappearance to further a senseless war. Shanda buckles under pressure while awaiting the trip to riverrun

Warnings - fem!reader, suspense, mentions of violence, depictions of choking, adult language, period typical misogyny, advanced misogyny, condescension, adult language, complicated family dynamics, feud behavior, misplaced rage, feelings of guilt, manipulation, benjicot brainrot, Kieran Burton fancast.

Word count - 2.5k

Shanda in the gold gown the Blackwoods lend her. Listen all I’m gonna say is the advanced misogyny tag is there for a reason. And we stan Martyn, the only character with a good head on his shoulders. If you hear maniacal laughter throughout while reading, thats me I apologize.

“It was her!” Royce insisted. “She was climbing the bank of the river back to the Blackwood side!”

There were murmurs around the room and Martyn had heard enough.

“How do we know you didn’t set the fire? I didn’t see you when it started, nor to help get anyone out.” He felt a prickle of pride when Royce’s face screwed up in an expression of anger.

“That’s ridiculous.” Royce huffed.

“No more ridiculous than you accusing our sister of conspiring to burn our own people!”

“You didn’t see her! Bloody Ben was right beside her, what more proof do you need brother?”

A whole hell of a lot more, Martyn thought.

“Yeah and he’s the same man that just had her sentenced to death Royce. She was probably trying to run away!”

“Enough, both of you.”

Martyn sat at his father’s voice, his brother hesitated a moment before following suit.

“Your loyalty is touching Martyn. But we can’t so easily dispute what your brother mentions. After all, she never told me of any plan to gather Blackwood secrets.”

Martyn groaned internally, he was surrounded by idiots.

“Harold, surely you know our sister wouldn’t conspire this way.”

Harold, another of their brothers, was in his thirties but had spent many days hanging with Martyn and Shanda when they were children.

“I agree with Martyn. Shanda wouldn’t do this.”

“We should wait and judge her behavior in Riverrun.” Responded Gerolt, who was a few years older than Harold and decently liked by Martyn.

Another murmur went through the room at the suggestion.

“Has anyone heard from Normon?” His father asked.

Normon was a brother of theirs who spent his time sailing. Last Martyn heard he was in Oldtown, bothering the citadel. Normon was barred entrance since books had a tendency to go missing in his presence. Shanda had every missing tome hidden in their family library. Silence followed his father’s question.

“That’s too bad. We could use him at Riverrun.” Amos had replied at last.

“What will our defense be?” Gerolt asked the question they were all wondering about.

“We deny it of course.” Their father responded. “We’ll say Shanda is only a woman. She can’t be held responsible for this. The heat got to her fragile mind.”

Martyn knew his father did not really believe this but his hand twitched towards his sword at the words regardless. It was this backwards rhetoric that had made Shanda feel the need to leave in the first place. It made his blood boil. He knew his sister was twice as smart as more than half of this room full of blithering idiots. Said idiots all nodded at his fathers words, lapping it up.

“Then we’ll talk about the Blackwood scum sulling her. Twisting her mind.”

Martyn was wound so tightly he was likely to shatter into a million pieces listening to his father talk about his sister this way.

“Maybe we could work in what you saw Royce. Use it as proof of Blackwood influence.”

That was enough for Martyn who stood harshly shoving his chair back and leaving the room, slamming the large wooden door on his way out. How his own family could sit there scheming ways to pin the blame on Shanda was beyond him. It made him sick. He would make his own petition at the trial separately from his father and brothers. Stalking off to a guard tower, Martyn vowed not to let his sister's name go down without a fight.

***

Shanda never heard any word from her family. If they were writing to her, the Blackwoods were holding the letters back. She missed Martyn horribly and wondered tirelessly why Royce had been so upset the other night. No answers ever came to her though. Benjicot had made it his mission to try and fill the familial hole in her heart. He never left her side, she’d tried everything to get rid of him. Bringing up his responsibilities, cursing him, trying to physically remove him from the premises. But each plan failed and eventually she had just let him be.

He would sit quietly and play with the long strands of her hair while she stared listlessly out the window most of the time. The date had been set for the trial in Riverrun but it was weeks from now. The Tully’s had invited damn near the entire Riverlands to bear witness and as such wanted to give everyone a chance to arrive. Raventree hall and Stone hedge were both only a stone’s throw from Riverrun, so she just had to wait. When she grew desperate to escape his presence she would go find Alysanne. Who seemed perfectly capable of driving her nephew away with only a harsh look. He would raise his hands in surrender and blessedly leave her alone for a few hours.

It was on one of these occasions that she had a peculiar conversation with the heirs aunt.

“He doesn’t like strong women.” She’d stated, frustrated with Benjicot’s attempts to steamroll her into going on a hunt with him.

“He’s always so condescending, talking to me like I’m some stupid child! I don’t know how you can stand to be around him.”

“Benjicot doesn’t dislike strong women. He reacts well to a strong hand. You’ve seen that.” Alysanne had responded, utterly amused by her rising anger.

That had only made her angrier. Did any of the Blackwoods take anything seriously? They were always laughing, as if life were one big joke. It made Shanda yearn for a conversation with Martyn.

“He doesn’t respect them then! Whatever, it doesn’t matter.” She had stormed out of the room her and Alysanne were in and had a guard guide her back to her room.

That was two days ago and luck was on her side. As the annoying heir was still out on the hunt he’d tried to get her to accompany him on. Shanda had no patience for hunting with people she loved, she wasn’t going to have any with her enemies. While he was gone she prayed to the gods that he would snap his leg while out. Or that his horse would throw him, he’d get an arrow to the eye. It couldn’t hurt to merely suggest to the gods that he meet a terrible fate. She knew it was unlikely to happen but it made her feel better for a while. She imagined herself being freed of the growing attraction she had to him. It left a bad taste in her mouth, to imagine going back to her boring life in the library tower. If she did get out of here, she would start seriously trying to leave Stone Hedge. She would miss Martyn but maybe he could come visit her, wherever she ended up. It would get him off of guard duty at the very least.

She had made up her mind to ignore Benjicot when he returned. No matter what he did, she had to remain calm and neutral. It was obvious he enjoyed riling her up, so she needed to be unaffected. That was easier said than done but regardless of how she really felt, she had to reflect nothing on the outside. She just had to wait for the trial and then she could get her life back.

***

Benjicot had abandoned the hunt after the fourth day. He had bagged several animals, including a wolf and decided he was done. Mostly he couldn’t stop thinking about the pretty Bracken stuck inside waiting on him. She would be so bored and lonely without him and it was his job to keep her entertained. Alysanne had sent him a raven yesterday, telling him about the amusing argument she’d had with Shanda. “She thinks you’re a woman hater, nephew. Are you mistreating her? She specifically mentioned condescension, maybe try not being yourself so much.” He’d snorted at that. Then he left after sunset on the fourth day, riding back to join her. He was a wreck of dirt and grass, so he had gone to bathe first when he arrived back. It was late, the ride had taken him well over an hour. She was probably asleep by now. The thought didn’t do anything to discourage him from looking in on her.

He dressed in a loose white shirt, he left the top untied in his rush to get out. His pants were loose and breezy in the humid air. He had dismissed the guard outside first before he slid her door open carefully. He did not want to wake her if she was asleep. Entering her saw her passed out on the bed and he left the door cracked open. He picked one of the wooden chairs from the table and quietly set it beside her bed.

Her chest was rising and falling steadily, her mouth was slightly open, relaxed in the grip of sleep.

He watched her for a tender moment before he decided to wake her up. He knew he shouldn’t but who was going to stop him? Half of the castle was still out in the wilderness, drunk camped around fires under the night sky. He stroked her head, smoothing her hair back from her face. Then he smirked before placing his hand over her mouth and using his thumb and index finger pinched her nose closed, cutting off her air supply.

It didn’t take long for her crystalline eyes to fly open, darting frantically around while she flopped like a fish out of water. He let go of her nose, allowing her to suck air in but didn’t remove his hand right away.

“Shhh. Calm down, it's just me darling.” He calmly stroked her hair while he repeated soothing words to her. When her shoulders relaxed, he removed his hand from her mouth.

“Hello,” he smiled at her. “Did you miss me?” He didn’t stop petting her head and she sleepily rubbed her eyes blinking up at him.

“What are you doing back?” She asked in a small hoarse voice that sent all of the blood rushing away from his brain. Using his free hand he wove their fingers together and rubbed circles with his thumb. He needed to keep his hands busy, to stop himself from doing what he really wanted to. Which was to pull her into his lap and kiss her until she was bright red and panting against him.

“I wanted to see you.” He said simply, staring into her pretty eyes. She turned a dusty shade of pink at his words and he relished in the sight. She was less on guard here, still sleepy and cozy in bed. He tried not to think about how easy it would be to climb in there with her. Instead he turned the question back on her.

“You didn’t answer my question.” He unwound their entwined hands, bringing his hand up to gently cradle her neck. He could feel her pulse pounding under his fingertips. “Did you miss me?” He felt her heart skip a beat at his words and he’d nearly moaned out loud. The old gods had blessed him and now they were testing his resolve. How long could he wait to have her?

She answered so softly he almost hadn’t heard her.

***

Benjicots hand was around her neck, lightly holding her still while he stroked the top of her head. It was ecstasy, she was vibrating on the inside. His was the vision of an angel, decked out in white. His chest was exposed from where he had forgotten to tie his shirt closed and it had sent her spiraling. She wanted to sink her teeth into his exposed skin. She’d been secretly delighted to be woken by him, even if she was momentarily scared out of her mind. When he said he’d wanted to see her as his reason for early return, she couldn’t help the blush that spread across her face.

“Hello, are you paying attention baby? I said, ‘Did you miss me?’” He very lightly squeezed at her pulse point.

In a few minutes he’d managed to make all of the resolve she had built over the last few days crumble. It was pathetic. So pathetically she whispered her answer. “Yes, I did.”

And she had missed him. Alysanne was fine company but Shanda knew she was keeping her from her normal duties. Alysanne seemed to run the entirety of Raventree, barking orders day and night at an army of men. It was admirable, but made their hangouts a bit strained. And she could only stare out the window for so long without going insane. She’d been trapped at home but here she was a prisoner. Unable to freely go wherever she wanted.

“You’re so perfect. Bracken or not, the gods hand made you for me.”

She felt lightheaded at his words. Why couldn’t he have died out in the field? She knew scores of Bracken ancestors were cursing her through the sands of time. But they were dead and she was so, so alive.

“My aunt mentioned that you think I don’t respect women.”

She’d looked at him with her face showing the shadow of betrayal she felt at Alysanne exposing her behind her back. That was on her for trusting a Blackwood though.

“I said you don’t like strong women.” She corrected him, refusing to meet his gaze.

“Oh I like strong women fine enough. You just aren’t one.”

Her stomach dropped into her feet at his words. He squeezed her neck harder, forcing her eyes up to meet his. “You want to be. Desperately trying to fill your mother’s too big shoes.”

She would’ve slapped him if she weren’t running out of oxygen.

“But you’re just a soft, pretty, weak woman.” He eased up on her neck, letting her gasp in some air before he cut it off again. She stared into his eyes, feeling her insides coated in flames. “You need someone to take care of you, tell you what to do.”

He took his hand off of her neck, letting her breathe properly and she sucked in air greedily.

He leaned in to whisper in her ear, his hand holding her by the jaw.

“You can’t admit it to yourself, embarrassed that you aren’t up to the task. But I’m not judging you baby, I like my women soft.”

She felt humiliated and aroused. And she opened and closed her mouth, trying to think of anything to say back to him. To deny the horrible truth he’d laid bare at her feet. But her mind was blank, still reeling. He filled the silence when she failed to answer.

“You don’t have to say anything. I know it's true and so do you. Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.”

He pulled back from where he was whispering in her ear and she knew her face would be washed blood red. She was trembling, overwhelmed. He looked at her with a soft pitying expression, like she was a wet cat who’d accidentally fallen in the pond.

“It’s late, you should go to sleep.” He didn’t rise to leave though, just went back to stroking her hair. Then he began to hum and slowly her heart stopped trying to escape her chest. She didn’t bother to remind him, he had been the one to wake her up. Instead she drifted off to sleep, her last thought being of how utterly screwed she was.

[chicken-draws]

Haven’t posted anything here in a while since I’ve been more active on Twitter and Discord. Here are some recent designs I did for Ben 10 characters for an AU

Hex

A mysterious magician who carries a coffin alongside him. Rumour has it that the coffin contains the remains of a deceased relative, and the man seeks to revive them by all means necessary. He owns a library that is said to contain infinite knowledge, and will allow any passerby to select one book to take with them. Their choice of book will determine their fate.

Charmcaster

A failed revival of Hex's brother due to the interference of a certain 10-year-old girl. As a child, Hope is naive and only acts upon a small range of emotions. However, she is also highly intelligent and unfathomably powerful.

[bibliophilecats]

Mid-Year Book Freakout

I saw this going around on booktube and @theinquisitxor's post and since I like this kind of book tag, here is my version.

1.Best Book so far in 2024: I actually read many highly enjoyable books this year - I gave 7/28 books full marks. Among those, I want ot highlight The Grace of Wild Things by Heather Fawcett. A bitter-sweet middle-grade novel, losely inspired by Anne of Green Gables (the author says it is a reimagining but to me it felt more "inspired by").

2.Best Sequel you've read so far in 2024: Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell. When I first heard that there would be more Simon Snow books, I was really sceptic (well, I thought "money grab"), but now that I have actually read the books, I am amazed at how much I enjoyed them. And while the second book in the trilogy is completely different in tone and setting and the third actually gets to the main story again, I loved that in the second book, we get to see Simon struggle with the fact that "the big fight" he had been trained for all his life was supposedly over and he was without any idea what to do now with his life.

3.New Release you haven't read yet, but want to: Sunbringer by Hannah Kaner

4.Anticipated Release for the second half of the year: I have big hopes for The Masquerades of Spring by Ben Aaronovitch

5.Biggest Disappointment: Julie Caplin's Secret Cove in Croatia and other books from that series. I read The Little Teashop in Tokyio some years ago and enjoyed it a lot - unfortunately, it seems that time was a fluke, a perfect alignment of circumstances because I tried three other books of hers and found them boring or DNF'd. The Croatia novel annoyed me so much, I had to refrain from throwing the book across the room (if I hate it, at least I might get a little resell money out of it).

6.Biggest Surprise: Yellowface by R.F. Kuang. I saw this book everywhere, which already put me off. And I do not particularly like the cover. My sister loved it though and convinced me to try it too. It was a good decision.

7.Favorite New Author: Darcie Little Badger. I love Elatsoe and hope to read more stories set in that world.

8.Newest Fictional Crush: none so far.

9.Newest Favorite Character: Mallory Viridian from Mur Lafferty's Station Eternity.

10.Book that made you cry: The Grace of Wild Things by Heather Fawcett

11.Book that made you happy: The Simon Snow trilogy be Rainbow Rowell.

12.Most Beautiful Book you've bought/acquired this year: Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands, UK edition.

13.Book you need to read by the end of the year: In the Serpent's Wake by Rachel Hartman. I have already forgotten nearly everything from Tess of the Road so I should probably read that one too. Actually, I want to read all sequels before I forget too much from the previous book(s).

I tag @linebetween @the-forest-library @lizziethereader @books-are-portals and everyone else who wants to do this.

[pool-of-gwens]

the unofficial rules of reading comic books (in my completely unqualified opinion)

1. do not start by reading Alan Moore comics (speaking from experience,, they're good but I would recommend getting used to the medium and understanding the social context of them first)

2. adapt to any new information given and accept that you will likely never fully understand everything

3. you will eventually find that comic writer that you hate with a burning passion (everyone has one) (and if you don't, you will)

4. new 52 fucking sucks (there are a few exceptions)

5. sometimes they will set up a storyline and then drop it

6. you do not need to understand the context of everything you read

7. you do not have to read everything in order

8. most comics have arcs of about 5-6 issues, these will likely come out at trade paperbacks or graphic novels later

9. YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY HAS GRAPHIC NOVELS!!!

10. try not to get stuck, I know it's easy to just read batman or just read marvel comics but please try to branch out or try something new,,,, reading only X-Men is fun and all but sometimes you gotta read some Blue Beetle too

11. other comic fans have different opinions to you, that's fine

12. every single comic has a biggest fan and a biggest hater (this is okay)

13. support your local comic shop/comic fairs

14. comics can be very dumb

15. the biggest difference between Marvel and DC is the name of the publisher

16. most DC writers/artists have written/drawn Marvel comics and most Marvel writers/artists have written/drawn DC comics

17. You should check out other comic publishers like IDW, Archie, Dark Horse or Image,, or even check out local comic makers in your area

18. canon is the things that stay the same when a different person writes a character

19. at some point every comic fan will read these comics, House of M, Watchmen, One of DC's many Crisis Events, a Marvel comic where The Phoenix Ruins Everything, the Comic you Hate Most in the World, Probably Something Written By Stan Lee and The Sandman

20. no one stays dead except Bucky Barnes, Jason Todd and Uncle Ben

21. the nineties in comics were the nineties in comics

22. you must read comics that don't have batman in it (please I'm begging you)

23. your favourite cartoon was likely inspired by comics (or written by) a comic writer

24. someone else has a completely different interpretation of your favourite character (and both interpretations can co-exist) (it is the nature of a medium that has so many creators telling stories about the same characters for details to contradict sometimes)

25. comics are artforms, they tell stories, they can be beautiful and thought provoking and gut wrenching and heart breaking and hopeful (or they can be none of these things)

26. questioning character choices, small details and information given in the comics you read is the first step to analysing and engaging with the material (so you think batman should kill??? now think about why he doesn't.) (you believe magneto is right??? now tell me why he's considered a villain)

27. sometimes it's deeper than you think

28. sometimes it isn't

29. remember the names of the writers and artists you love, too often comic creators are under appreciated

30. Jeff is people too

(feel free to add more)

[ninja-muse]

So, as you can probably guess by this post, I've decided to continue posting wrap-ups after all, but not necessarily a review every month. (This month, for instance, I read a bunch of good stuff but nothing I wanted to rave about.) I'm still tracking this stuff for my own edification and I like coming up with snappy one-sentence summaries, so if I'm doing 90% of the work already…. You'll also notice that this year, for spice and transparency, I'm adding in where I got the books from, in case people somehow though I was buying everything.

Anyway, I've had a good start to my reading year, all told. Sadly I've already had a DNF—it's a great fantasy if you're moving from YA to adult, but I wanted something more—and one book that probably should have been a DNF but I pushed through to find out what was causing the horror stuff and … didn't get a good answer. But everything else was good!

I have not, however, done well on my goal of "buy fewer books". Mislaid in Parts Half-Known and the new Rivers of London comic were auto-buys, and The History of Magic is one I've wanted to read for a while but is now effectively out of print in Canada and unavailable at the library so when it showed up to work on sale…. My last book purchase was even more accidental; a semi-coworker reached out with their recent unhaul and asked if I'd like to take anything off their hands. I'd heard of Fantomina and it seemed up my alley—17th-century romance/erotic/feminist fiction—and the price was right.

Oh yes, and my work got Bookshops and Bonedust stickers. I had no choice there either.

And that's about it for updates! Click through to see everything I read this month, in the rough order of how glad I was to have read them.

The Phoenix Crown - Janie Chang and Kate Quinn

An opera singer, an embroiderer, a painter, and a botanist are drawn together by a businessman with a love for Chinese art. Out in February.

7/10

main character with migraines, 🏳️‍🌈 main character (sapphic), 🏳️‍🌈 secondary character (sapphic), Chinese-American main character, Chinese-American secondary characters, Argentinian secondary character, secondary character with permanent hand injury and PTSD, Taiwanese-Canadian author, 🇨🇦

warning: misogyny, anti-Chinese racism including slurs

Reading copy

Bunyan and Henry - Mark Cecil

When Paul Bunyan leaves the security of Lump Town on a quest to save his wife, he learns that the tallest tale of all might just be the American Dream. Out in March

7/10

protagonist with disfigured foot and chronic pain, Black and Chinese-American secondary characters

Reading copy

Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands - Heather Fawcett

When Wendell’s past catches him up at Cambridge, Emily and he set out for Austria to search for his door. They know it won't be easy but they weren't expecting this.

7/10

🇨🇦

Borrowed from work

The Book of Doors - Gareth Brown

Cassie inherits a magical book that lets her travel anywhere. Other people will do anything to acquire it. Out in February

7/10

Black and Japanese supporting characters; fat, Chinese, and Egyptian incidental characters

Warnings for gore and violence

Reading copy

How to End a Love Story - Yulin Kuang

Helen’s YA series is getting adapted and she’s in the writer’s room. Unfortunately so is the guy involved in her sister’s suicide and she’s never forgiven him. Enemies to lovers. Out in April

7/10

Chinese-American protagonist, 🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (sapphic, mlm), Middle Eastern-American secondary character, Chinese-American author

Warning: pre-book suicide, grief

Reading copy

Mislaid in Parts Half-Known - Seanan McGuire

When a student tries to force Antsy to work for her, Antsy and her new friends escape through a Door and begin a long trip home.

7/10

🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (multisexual, trans boy); Japanese-American, Black, Latino, fat, and albino secondary characters, 🏳️‍🌈 author

Purchased

Rivers of London, Vol 11: Here Be Dragons - Ben Aaronovitch and Andrew Cartmel

Peter Grant investigates a series of UFO sightings that have … wings and claws?

7/10

Black-British main character, Black-British secondary character, Muslim secondary character

Purchased

In The Pines - Grace Elizabeth Hale

A woman realizes the story of her grandfather stopping a lynching may have been very untrue, and digs into Mississippi history to reckon with what actually happened.

7/10

focus on Black lives

warning: racism, lynching

Library book

Bryony and Roses - T. Kingfisher

When Bryony tries to take a rose from a mysterious manor house, the Beast who lives there makes her stay. And there might be a curse he wants broken?

6.8/10

physical TBR/Christmas gift

Heartstopper, Vol. 5 - Alice Oseman

Uni is on the horizon and Nick’s unsure what he wants for his future. Charlie wants to take their relationship to the next level, but is he really ready?

6.5/10

🏳️‍🌈 protagonists (gay, bisexual), Black-British, Egyptian-British, Middle Eastern-British and Chinese-British secondary characters, Muslim supporting character, 🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (trans girl, lesbian, asexual), 🏳️‍🌈 incidental characters (nonbinary), 🏳️‍🌈 author

Warning: author supports Israel

Borrowed from work

Bad Glass - Richard E. Gropp

Something horrifying is happening to the people of Spokane. A young photographer sneaks in to document it.

5/10

Indian-American secondary character, Black secondary characters, 🏳️‍🌈 secondary character (gay)

warning: body horror, dubious consent

Library ebook

DNF

Sun of Blood and Ruin - Mariely Lares

Pantera fights to protect her city from Spanish colonists while hiding her true identity as a noblewoman. Unfortunately, the world might soon be ending. Out in February.

Indigenous Mexican protagonist and secondary characters, Mexican-American author

reading copy

Currently reading

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store - James McBride

The Black and Jewish residents of a Pennsylvania neighbourhood get along (mostly) but tensions build when the government decides to take a local Deaf kid to an asylum.

Jewish and Black cast, major character with chronic illness and a limp, secondary Deaf character, Black author

warning: ableist characters and institutions, racist and anti-Semitic characters

Library book

Eve - Cat Bohannon

A history of human evolution, through the lens of the female body.

reading copy

Music from the Earliest Notations to the Sixteenth Century - Richard Taruskin A history of early written European music, in its social and political contexts.

The Penguin Complete Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle Victorian detective stories

major disabled character

warning: racism, colonialism

Stats

Monthly total: 11 Yearly total: 11 Queer books: 2 Authors of colour: 1.5 Books by women: 7 Authors outside the binary: 0 Canadian authors: 1.5 Classics: 0 Off the TBR shelves: 1 Books hauled: 4 ARCs acquired: 5 ARCs unhauled: 5 DNFs: 1

[storyofmychoices]

The beginning of 2024 had definitely already brought it's share of challenges for me, but I'm hoping that maybe things will still be improving from here! Thinking positive!

Writing Goals

Where to even begin? I have probably 100+ WIP ranging from a scribbled idea on a post it to an outline that needs to be typed. I'd like to put a dent in that? So far each year, that list keeps growing instead of shrinking. I find that I'm more of the in the moment writer. It's all or nothing. Either I finish a piece in one sitting or it never gets done. I'd like to try to find more of a balance in 2024.

In a perfect world, here are some stories I'd like to complete:

Mal's proposal: I started this fic last February, and would really like to actually write it. I have art for it. I don't know what I'm waiting for, especially now that I have their Blades 2 AU proposal done 🙈

Laser Tag with Brylivia: This is just a short little drabble that I think is like 75% written. It's from 2 years ago. I really have NO excuses lol

Love and Scotch: This series fell away when I stoped writing Ethan (for a number of reasons). I'd love to finish this series. I had several more chapters planned but I might just skip some and at least get to what I envisioned as "the end" aka Thomas and Alex's HWU AU wedding and a big turning point for Ethan and Ellie.

#HollywoodHacks: Does anyone even care about this series? Anyone even remember it? I feel like no. I was really only writing it for 1 person, but they're not in the fandom anymore...It might not be the ending I'd planned or wanted, but I think I could wrap the series in 1 or 2 (tops) more chapters. I had hoped that the story would lead to me writing more for Ben Parks and my #LoveHacks MC but that never happened

Tipsy Nia x Daenarya: an anon requested tipsy Nia hitting on Daenarya and I started it but then never finished it. It's such a small drabble it seems silly to even include it here, but here we are!

Blades 2 AU: At the start of Blades 2 I was doing a great job keeping up with the book and rewriting the chapters to fit my vision for the characters. That kinda fell apart around Chapter 5. I'd like to finish that rewrite and see how Iliana fits into how the rest of the book happened. Last I wrote, Daenarya didn't even know she was pregnant.

Rayden and Lydo's Adoption: Mal and Daenarya have already decided to adopt them. I've also written them as a family. But, I've never written the actual story of Mal and Daenarya telling the boys they were adopting them and they'd be a family forever, so I'd love to do that!

Pairings I'd like to write more of in 2024:

Thomas and Alex: I used to publish 1 new story a day when I first started writing them. It lasted over a year, then it gradually decreased. Last year, I only wrote them 10 times! I know the lack of interactions with their stories, has definitely made me want to share less and just enjoy daydreaming for them, but still, I'd like to keep their story going, regardless of interactions, because they are so special to me. Plus, if I could wrap those two series above that they're in, that would definitely lift my RCD/HWU fic count for the year!

Nyx x Aerin: I LOVE NYX! NYX is incredible and I love love love them. Aerin is kinda fun too. I would love to develop these two more this year.

Trystan and Lilah: I've only written them a few times and I'd like to get to know them better

Beckett and Emma: I haven't written them in a long time and when I did write them it was for 1 particular series (them in Detention). With the Book Club replaying TE, I'm hoping I might be inspired to see what they're like outside of the library.

Troy and Astraea: I love these two but I haven't had time to explore them more. I don't think I'll have time to participate in the group reread right now, but I would still like to reread WTD at some point this year and keep developing them.

Daenarya x Maiele (@lilyoffandoms) + Mal x Tyril: In 2023, Lily and I started to develop these relationships more. I loved every second of that and I hope 2024 will bring us more of these four lovely characters.

Mal's Orphanage: Blades 2 destroyed the orphanage storyline. If PB wanted to steal it they should have done a better job of it. Like there was literally no point in them having that storyline since they abandoned it the first chance they got. I'd like to fix the Blades 2 orphanage storyline but then go back to focusing on my original orphanage because those children are my favorite.

Other Goals

Catch up on reading and be a more active reader

Follow and support new Choices accounts

Continue with the book club and other events I host but find a balance with hosting that I still have time to create and read/support others

Try my hand at drawing again. I had been drawing chibi's a while back and I haven't had time/the courage to try again, but @lilyoffandoms's incredible art journey this month has inspired me to add it to my list this year

Keep editing Aerin in the sluttiest Choices outfits I can find

Flesh out more of Olivia's pediatric practice and how she transitions from Edenbrook to Sunshine Pediatrics

Be kind to myself and let myself rest when I need it. I am my biggest critic and if you ask me what I'm good at, I'd say nothing and I would tell you everything wrong with anything I've ever done, including all of my pairings. I see the mistakes and I want to let myself see the good and focus on only that this year.

[pretty-nun-machine]

Drawing your favourite characters in that Steven Universe meme is OUT.

Drawing your favourite characters participating in Silent Library is IN.

Characters depicted list:- Kitt (Knight Rider)- Wario (as seen in Warioware: Move It!)- Ninjara (ARMS)-Menhera-Chan- Zapo (Nitrome's Fault Line)- Some random Kineceleran or XLR8, imagine whichever one you want idc (Ben 10)

Close up shots:

[mykingdomforasong]

First Line Game

The idea is to post the first line from the last ten fics you posted and see if there’s a trend. (Thank you for the tag @sadiebwrites!)

Today, they’d started at the end. (Twice Upon a Pointe, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Percabeth, T)  

2. Annabeth had a plan. She was going to go to Miami, watch him dance, and then take him back to her hotel room, where she would reveal the matching white lace bra and panty set she had on under her dress. (Divertissement, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Percabeth, E)

3. The hot sun of Dorne wasn’t dissimilar to the climates in the East. Din had hardly noticed a change since he set sail from Asshai and then Yi Ti on the far shores of Essos, bound, at last, for his homeland. The bronze and gold stone building and rich tapestries of Dorne were far more pleasant than the strange shadows of Asshai and the black stone buildings that seemed to bleed out of that darkness. (Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken, Star Wars, DinLuke Game of Thrones AU, E)

4. Tatooine sandstorms were deadly once they picked up. There wasn't any flying possible when they raged through the Dune Sea, so Luke was just glad that they'd been sheltered in the still-abandoned hovel that used to belong to Ben. (The Sand Storm, Star Wars, Skymandolo, E)

5. Han thought the Rebellion might be a good chance to get closer to the young man he'd turned his entire life around for, physically and emotionally. In his experience, military downtime was the perfect opportunity for some ... bonding. (Kiss Me Quick, Star Wars, Skysolo, T)

6. Bo-Katan frowned at her broken and bruised fingers. All four fingers on her right hand were splinted and wrapped, a harsh reminder of Moff Gideon’s near-victory and the destruction of the Darksaber. (The Forge, The Mandalorian, Bo-Katan/The Armorer, E)

7. "The gravity has been on the fritz," Han warned as they walked onto the Falcon. (Interesting Men, Star Wars, Skysolo, E)

8. When Luke had dumped him to pursue a Jedi lifestyle, Han promised he "wouldn't get in the way." (Attachment Issues, Skymandolo, E)

9. There weren't a lot of perks to being the Mand’alor. It was a position Din had stumbled into and continued to stumble his way through. (Familiar Faces, Star Wars, DinLuke, G)

10. Left Bank Books was named for Old Ben’s favorite spot in Paris. Or so he always said. For as long as Luke had known the old man, he couldn’t remember Ben leaving the state, let alone going to Paris. The bookshop rested on the corner of Main Street in Anchorhead Township (an equally baffling name from Luke’s perspective), and with the county library half an hour away, and the nearest mall over an hour, it had remained something of a town utility throughout the years. (Left bank Books, Star Wars, DinLuke, G)

Observations: I am 100% a character over settings person. If it were up to me, all characters would be having conversations and/or fucking in blank white voids. But for all that, I very rarely start with a line of dialogue. If you look at the dates of these fics, you can also see when the Star Wars brain rot ended, and when I relapsed hard back into the Percy Jackson fandom.

Tagging: @theydjarin @captainkappa @darkmagyk @steine-druff @grey-sides @phykios

[castawavy]

15 oc questions - tag game

I was tagged by @madeofcc (ty for the tag ben!) he answered for his ocs ic so I think I will too, and answer for my new ocs 💟

1) are you named after anyone?

ophelia: ‘I don’t think so! I know that there’s a Shakespeare character called Ophelia but she drowns... so I hope it’s not her- I think my parents just liked the name!’

lyra: ‘oh well... I was named after a star I think?’

ren: ‘my full name is laurent, but I don’t use it much. My mother was french so she picked the name, but she always called me ren’

jude: ‘errr no clue- my parents just named me randomly I guess, my little brother’s called ash’

2) when was the last time you cried?

ophelia: ‘god, all the time. I cried recently watching Mulan.’

lyra: ‘I’ve been keeping it together for awhile now.’

ren: ‘recently. I was opening up to a friend and I ended up crying, I was a little drunk though...’

jude: ‘my dad was in hospital recently and I felt like crying, but I didn’t. I know that’s weird of me, but it’s hard to’

3) do you have kids?

ophelia: ‘ew, no! I don’t even want to think about that...’

lyra: ‘no.’

ren: ‘erm, no. I’m way too young. also I’ve never really considered children, it seems more hassle than it’s worth.’

jude: ‘hah! no. I’d maybe like them one day though... but that’s something for another day.’

4) do you use sarcasm?

ophelia: ‘guilty!’

lyra: ‘not really. I don’t really like that type of humor. ophelia does it to jude alot.’

ren: ‘not especially. I’m more of a fan of self deprecation. I know... it’s not good but it’s how I’ve learned to cope, alright?’

jude: ‘no, it’s cheap.’ 😒

5) whats the first thing you notice about people?

ophelia: ‘their breath! if you have bad breath I notice right away eugh!’

lyra: ‘um. their eyes I guess, like, what colour they are maybe?’

ren: ‘I usually notice their mannerisms, like I always try to guess how someone is feeling based on their body language.

jude: ‘face mostly. I don’t know!’

6) what’s your eye colour?

ophelia: ‘I have brown eyes, like my parents do!’

lyra: ‘I don’t know err, black eyes I guess?’

ren: ‘brown’

jude: ‘brown’

7) scary movies or happy endings?

ophelia: ‘happy endings! I hate sad endings! I was devastated at the ending of The Haunting of Bly Manor- I even like when horror ends happy and I was really rooting for them!’

lyra: ‘scary movies. I love horror, but I don’t watch fims much’.

ren: ‘I’m not really into horror.’

jude: ‘spoookeh! I love a good horror, the more gory the better too, like, I wanna see blood and guts.’

8) any special talents?

ophelia: ‘well there’s my affinity, anything I draw with magic on paper comes to life, i’d say that’s pretty special!’

lyra: ‘what? like my affinity? I can read minds... I’m a psychic, but I don’t know if that’s that special... a lot of people have a psychic affinity.’

ren: ‘I’m really good at painting.’

jude: ‘dude, watch this!’

9) where were you born?

ophelia: ‘los angeles!’

lyra: ‘I don’t really know to be honest... I was abandoned by my mum at a mall so... yeah.’

ren: ‘lyon! but my parents also lived in london for awhile.’

jude: ‘new york. god I miss it...’

10) what are your hobbies?

ophelia: ‘errr I watch a lot of reality tv, I also play simulation games like the sims, stardew valley- those kinds of games’.

lyra: ‘I play a lot of video games. I really like Destiny, but also horror games like Dead by Daylight, and Resident Evil- yeah, I play a lot of games, just look at my steam library instead maybe. Sometimes I stream them, but I don’t use webcam so...’

ren: ‘painting and drawing... I don’t really do much else, but I like this one game I have on my laptop called Mini Motorways- it’s really relaxing’.

jude: ‘watching movies, reading comics, playing guitar... I like a lot of things, and I watch a lot of Youtube as well! I also play basketball.’

11) have you any pets?

ophelia: ‘no... and my mom wouldn’t let me get a snake’

lyra: ‘oh yeah, we have two dogs. a pomeranian named apple and a sausage dog called bean- my dad’s are really bad at naming animals’.

ren: ‘no, but there’s a cat with socks that comes into my garden sometimes.’

jude: ‘we have a cat. she loves me more than she loves my mom-heh’.

12) what sports do you play / have you played?

ophelia: ‘HA. I don’t ‘sport’.

lyra: ‘next question.’

ren: ‘I sometimes play football with my friends. I do it socially, I’m not that interested in sports.’

jude: ‘oh ya, like I said earlier, I play some basketball sometimes!’

13) how tall are you?

ophelia: ‘five foot eight! I’m pretty tall actually.’

lyra: ‘I’m about five three.’

ren: ‘err, five foot ten I think- I haven’t checked in awhile though.’

jude: ‘six one. you can measure me if you like, I’ll prove it.’

14) favourite subject in school?

ophelia: ‘I really like geography and textiles.’

lyra: ‘art is the most relaxing... I hate school to be honest’.

ren: ‘art, but I like history a lot as well.’

jude: ‘errr physics, or maths. I like maths as well.’

15) dream job?

ophelia: ‘I’d like to work in media! working on a tv set would be really fun, or a costume set!’

lyra: ‘if I could earn money playing video games I’d do that. yeah.’

ren: ‘well, I’d like to be an artist but that’s not always realistic. My second choice would be a job that doesn’t cause me any stress, or working outside somewhere...’

jude: ‘I haven’t really thought about that.’

im gonna tag @itsmariejanel, @sadnesshotline @rebouks @pralinesims @astralsi and @verthu ! (but don’t feel like you have to hehe) 💟

[melaschnie]

last book i...

thank you for the tag @dreamofghosts! even though you're misinformed about how much i currently read lmao

. . . bought

i used a 15% off deal just a week ago to get three books i loved and wanted to add to my shelf (Here we go again by Alison Cochrun, Where sleeping girls lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, and Icebreaker by A.L. Graziadei) and one that i haven't read yet but wanted to wait for the paperback release (What you are looking for is in the library by Michiko Aoyama).

. . . borrowed

from the library: Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli

. . . was gifted

my dad went through a bunch of his work-related books recently, i chose a few of them to keep so technically like 10 or so of those? but for fun that was Erebos by Ursula Poznanski (i WILL read it soon. this year. i hope :') )

. . . gave/lent to someone

it feels like so much more time passed since then but i lent em my copies of The Chalice of the Gods and The Sun and the Star, both by Rick Riordan.

. . . started

The Only Light Left Burning by Erik J. Brown

. . . finished

Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

. . . gave 5 stars

Where sleeping girls lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé (which is why i had to get a physical copy!)

. . . didn't finish

We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal. i read 25% of it but didn't care about the characters and the plot

tagging @ben-learns-smth and @la-galaxie-langblr (if you'd like <3)

[emblemxeno]

I distinctly remember that guy saying he hangs around blogs like yours and teavee’s (even when directly asked to stop because he was harassing people) because he “even agrees with your takes about Fates!”

I mean, it’s no secret that he’ll say anything to cover himself, and the fact that he’s now trying to pick at liking Fates now is a bold-faced lie. Classic overcompensating. Nobody cares about his desperation for the Scarlet Soulsucker to be right, nor his obsession with Engage being bad, so he’s just going for the next thing. And I’m not really sure who he’s kidding, because at most it just proves that he’s a bit of a bully to kick an already disrespected group of people, and considering he already has an extensive harassment history… we already knew that he’s a bit of a bully.

I know that doesn’t mean it’s not frustrating for you, though. I respect the patience you’ve held so far. He must be very unfulfilled in his regular life to try to get attention this way, and that makes me feel a little sorry for him — but not more sorry than I feel for you for having to deal with his insecurities when you didn’t ask or want to. I sincerely hope he finds a better outlet for his emotions someday. As for you, I hope that you continue to take him with a grain of salt. Your ability to consider multiple angles and different opinions when observing a story makes you a strong critical thinker. Any attempt from him to say otherwise is just him trying to deflect his own issues onto you.

People love to flip the script when it's beneficial, because they have no solid stance on anything beyond feeling personally attacked for daring to dislike what he links his online identity with. It's sad as you say, and thanks for the kind words on my patience.

But man. Maaaaaan. Even when I'm playing other games that aren't Fates, I still get a fucking "Fates liker, he must smell and think stupidly" stigma attached to me. All cuz 3H is treated as a sacred cow among certain sects of its fandom and daring to criticize the game's extensive faults for its sloppy execution in its video game narrative-which lots of FE fans and casual gaming fans agree with-means apparently my own interests must be scrutinized as compensation.

3H is utterly surface level and filled with fluff and bloat with its storytelling, and fails to significantly connect its worldbuilding with the gameplay, beyond a few hidden skills. That's a common opinion, people just don't realize because it usually taks the form of "why doesn't Faerghus have snow in its maps," "why are so many maps repeated" "why does Garreg Mach not change with seasons" "why don't each nation have different outfits or classes to differ them," "why isn't there more unique music for each faction," etc. 3H thrives off dumping information relentlessly on the player, hence why Tomas tells you explicitly to go to the fucking library to read more lore. That's what I make fun of, cuz it's the devs being proud of sending the player to stand around and read history books for 10 goddamn minutes. And things like supports, where most of the signifcant character growth take place, take 4x as much work as they did in past games to obtain for roughly the same quality reward.

That's just how I feel, and getting attacked and laughed at by weirdos on a whole other site for an opinion I share on my own fucking blog? That proves that person has no damn life beyond posting "gotchas" against people who can't respond cuz they don't know he's posting about them, and having his internet buddies stroke his ego afterwards. He's the Ben Shapiro of Fire Emblem/3H discourse.

[rickie-the-storyteller]

WIP Title Meme Tag

Thank you very much to @rbbess110 for tagging me to do this! I've never done this one before.

RULES: Post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the most intriguing title, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! Then tag as many people as you have WIPs. (this part is optional tho)

The thing is... all my writing files are all over the place lol. That being said, I have some good titles that hopefully you guys will like a lot! I'm looking forward to seeing what you guys ask about my work.

Most of my file names are chapter titles.

Steph's Crew: The Misfit Manifesto

Exam Week

The End (of February Mocks)

Life with B

Nothing but the Truth

A Million Lives (and all of them suck)

Suspended

Life Without B

Why I Could Never Be a Rebel

Detention

The Aftermath

Bret 2.0

Half Term

Ben's Leaving Party

It's Too Late to Apologise

Climbing Uphill (slowly but surely)

Figuring Life Out (it sucks, but it's necessary)

Times Are Changing

Moving On

Alice's Sitcom-esque Family

I Have a Crush on You

Where Are You, Ben?

How to Get Back on Track

Movie Night's with El

I Miss My Man

Is This What Love Is?

Boyfriend

Anything Could Happen (almost)

Honeymoon

Library Sessions

An Unexpected (and Unwanted) Visitor from the Past

Drunk, Lonely, Miserable Losers

We Don't Talk Much Anymore... and It Sucks

A Night to Remember

A Night I'll Probably Never Forget

Where's Steph?

Leaving on a Jet Plane

The Beginning (of our final exams)

Epilogue (Stephanie's letters to her friends)

There. That's all the chapters in order (at least, I hope it's in order... idk tho). Something about this story that's really fun is that each of these chapters is in the perspective of a different character! Originally, it was just in Steph's POV (it was supposed to be her journal). I'm still very much in the process of editing this one, so some of these could still change in future (some of these chapter titles are way too long imo).

Steph's Crew: Unreported Violent Crimes

This is the sequel to the first book! I've only started it a couple of months ago... so there aren't quite as many this time. It's not quite finished yet, but I'm definitely going to add more chapters to this later!

The News Report

So, Some Guy Died Last Night...

Pillow Talk

The History of Stephanie and Ben

To Take Matters into One's Own Hands

Visiting an Old Friend

Stephanie's Upbringing

I've Never Had a Best Friend

The Story of Em and Jack

This is a story that I'm posting on Wattpad! I've already posted chapter 1, but I've got all these other chapters in the works as well:

Jemily

Flashback #1 (Elementary School)

Friends

Summertime

Meeting Mom

Jen's Party

Flashback #2 (Freshman Year)

"You broke me."

Back to School

"I think I loved you."

The Best Friend Zone

Flashback #3 (The First Breakup)

Square One

Thinking about the Future

Homecoming

Together

Be Good

"Let's NOT fight about this."

Fast-forward (College)

Another story that I'm planning to post on Wattpad is my Five Seconds Flat series... but I'm not going to post any of my file names/chapter names here, because it's literally based off of the Lizzy McAlpine album of the same name lol. All the chapters are titles from the album. Here's a link to it in case you want to see it, though (the album is awesome, btw. Hope you guys enjoy it!!):

AU

(I'm posting this series here in September! So you guys will get to see this very soon... I'm super excited! There are 10 chapters this time - this story has an ensemble cast of characters, and each chapter has a new focus character. There isn't a single "main character" - though some characters appear more than others)

1: “Starting Point" (focus character = Zephyr)

2: “Meet Cute” (focus character = Eurydice)

3: "Just This Once…" (focus character = Caius)

4: "Junebug" (focus character = Juniper)

5: "New Friends" (focus character = Cassius)

6: "Don’t Be a B-word" (focus character = Avalon)

7: "Say it with Chest" (focus character = Isadora)

8: "Things Shouldn’t Be Like This" (focus character = Adara)

9: "Hey, Brother" (focus character = Xander)

10: "Shut Up, Marcy!" (focus character = Marcelline)

Imma tag these people to do this next: @fayeiswriting, @kirsten-is-writing, @e-s-willswriting, @jay-avian, @clairelsonao3, @sarahlizziewrites, @mjparkerwriting, @silverslipstream, @winterandwords, @exquisitecrow, @elizaellwrites, @writingalterras, @thecreakywriter, @sam-glade, @hollyannewrites, @ryns-ramblings, @autumnalwalker, @toribookworm22, @blind-the-winds, @falesiacats, @j-1173, @gummybugg, @jessicawestonauthor, @thelavenderwriter, @jay-avian, @mysticstarlightduck

[lunieloon]

Intro Post!

Heyo! My name is Emmet/LunieLoon! Welcome to my blog! :>

This is mostly a place to scream about my ocs, but I'll reblog other posts as well!

Basic Stuff to know:

● Pronouns: He/They

● 22

●YouTube , Twitter , Website

● Autistic, possibly with a side of ADHD (Various other things too, if you wanna know just ask :P)

● OCs and Infodumps are common here! Please ask if you have any questions! (Please I love talking about them XD)

Fandom Account: @tinycatlady

More details on OC storylines under the cut!

Storylines/Characters are divided into 2 groups! Lunieverse and The Sideline Continuity!

Lunieverse is divided into 10 main stories:

● SpaceAges 1: The story of a prince and an alien becoming friends after being washed out to sea together. It's also the story of family secrets being revealed and dealing with the consequences of them.

Main Characters: Stephenson Ken Royden and Spacey Cosmos

Supporting characters: Jackson Royden, Morgan Creek, Starlet Cosmos, and Comet Cosmos

Side Characters: Kingsley Royden, Harriet Creek, Juniper Creek, Lillypad Creek, Rosebud Creek

[Master Post Here]

● Color Coded: The story of a guy finding his own path in life instead of following the ones set out for him. Also the story of him and his friends adopting a kid from a dumpster and finding a secret library?? All while in high school.

Main Character: Blu Ponds

Supporting Characters: Glinda Lights, Petey Silvers, Alexander Ponds, Petal Thorns

[Master Post Coming Soon!]

● SpaceAges 2: The story of an alien taking a prince to his home planet to visit his sisters and show him how he used to live. Also the story of them realizing the societal structure they have is kinda messed up and advocating for changes to make a good life accessible to everyone.

Main Characters: Spacey Cosmos, Stephenson Ken Royden, Starlet Cosmos

Supporting Characters: Comet Cosmos, Howard Y'Doin?, Adorelle Curtsey, Delilah Fourpoints, Edwin Gilden

[Master Post Here]

● Let's Get Lost: The story of a college dropout who's best friend finally convinced them to run away with him. Friends to Lovers who build a new life for themselves away from their hometown.

Main Characters: Regio Corona, Lyall-Dean Kedves

[Master Post Coming Soon!]

● S.H.I.P. Kids: The story of a newly-turned immortal teenager trying to get the other immortal teenagers she's with to enjoy life again. Also the story of the oldest immortal there learning to like humanity again after all he's seen.

Main Character: Bea Lex

Supporting Characters: Salley Feist, Samuel Lex, Marty Libros, Betty Libros

Side Characters: Vance Armor, Zak Armor, Kyle Clementine, Ben Feist, Blaise Burns, Pheobe Davis

[Master Post Coming Soon!]

● SpaceAges 3: The story of a prince and an alien getting ready for their wedding. Also the story of them rallying people together to save humanity from extinction.

Main Characters: Stephenson Ken Royden, Spacey Cosmos

Supporting Characters: Jackson Brian Royden, Morgan Creek, Royden Allen Cosmos, Comet Cosmos, Starlet Cosmos, Kingsley Royden, Harriet Creek, Juniper Creek, Lillypad Creek, Rosebud Creek

Side Characters: Bea Lex, Salley Feist, Samuel Lex, Marty Libros, Blu Ponds, Glinda Lights, Petey Silvers, Alexander Ponds, Sunny Ponds

[Master Post Here]

● Pixelville: The story of a guy who's haunted by the ghosts of his ancestors trying to warn the world of impending doom. Also the story of the same guy being invited to the biggest content creator house ever because everyone thinks his videos is a very detailed ARG.

Main Character: Perplex Jones

Supporting Characters: Mimi James, Todd Tussle, Skylar Routina, A.K. Williams, Robert Jones, Rob Jones, and Robbie Jones

Side Characters: Sandra Boxx, Peter Carro, Alexis Caro, Charlie Carro, Lukas Liqueur.

[Master Post Coming Soon!]

● Red Velvet Cheesecake: The story of a disillusioned intern trying to move up the corporate ladder. Also the story of them reconnecting with their childhood best friend and getting swept up into a world of spies and conspiracy.

Main Character: Velvet Estrella

Supporting Characters: Charles Edam Chezboi, Lukas Liqueur, Flora P.W.

Side Characters: Luke Stonedge, Anne Sity, Daisy Duro, Ophelia Gemm, Stanley Rufus.

[Master Post Coming Soon!]

● Squad Of Lovers: The story of 4 young adults learning how to be functional adults and exploring unconventional paths after highschool graduation. Also the story of them searching for normalcy as tensions rise between the different planets in the solar system.

Main Characters: Mea Mine, Jerry Jar, Amelia Ace, Devin Dran

Side Characters: Aiden Arg, Miranda Dand

[Master Post Coming Soon!]

● Detainment Institute for Super Powered Youth: The story of a guy with time powers being thrown into a detainment unit on his 17th birthday. Also the story of him learning to trust people, and realize that his future is his own to create.

Main Character: March Calendar

Supporting Characters: Ener Gee, Faith Trutelle, Connie Miller, Agil Tyler, Speedi Zip

[Master Post Coming Soon!]

The Sideline Continuity is separated by casts of Characters!

I Am My Own Downfall!: The story of a guy named Louie who keeps finding alternate dimension versions of himself in his closet.

Golden Oath: The story of a fallen god finding refuge with other outcasts outside a small village

Harmony's Edge: The story of a violin player being transported to a world where music = magical powers

As Different As...: The story of two people who had nothing in common finding out they have god-like powers and having to work with each other to keep the balance of the world in check.

Mutiny Collectables: The story of a band of pirates searching for rare items that correspond to their special interests.

The Bridge: A mad scientist and his lover keep popping in at the right moments. They know more than they let on. Who are they? Why are they here?

Sideline is more of a concept/for fun project of mine- so updates on their stories will be sporadic and most likely will be in different media formats! The one thing to remember with it though: it is always in chronological order.

And that should cover it for now! Hope you peeps like my blog :>