#dang it's been a while since I've read the books

[secretariatess]

The thing about him laying into Lupin wasn't just that he chastised him for leaving his pregnant wife.

Lupin had tried to appeal to what James would've wanted, and Harry threw it back at him, saying that James wouldn't be too impressed with Lupin leaving his wife and child for an adventure.

And Lupin couldn't argue against that because James died trying to protect Lily and Harry. Facing Voldemort without a wand.

He also wasn't just an authority figure. He was the last connection Harry had to his father.

What was that that Dumbledore said? "It takes courage to stand up to your enemies, but just as much courage to stand up to your friends."

The most hardcore thing that Harry James Potter ever did was not, contrary to popular belief, the “there’s no need to call me ‘sir,’ Professor” incident, but instead was either the time that he

a) laid into one of the people he respected most in the world (and the only authority figure in his life offering him help in one of the most desperate situations he’d ever been in) for leaving his pregnant wife, going “man, you’re inhibited by your own self-loathing and fear? That’s rough. That really sucks. But you know what trumps that? RESPONSIBILITY. You brought a child into the world. You’re a father now. You’re scared? Walk it off. Walk it off AAAAAALLLL THE WAY BACK HOME. And say hi to Tonks for me.”

or

b) he willingly let himself be murdered, came back from the dead, walked back onto the battlefield, stared his own killer dead in the eyes completely unimpressed and called him “Tom”

[gothamite-rambler]

Jason read the book Wicked specifically to mess with people

Stephanie (eagerly leaning forward, eyes sparkling): God, I can't wait for this movie to come out already!

Cass smiled softly while nodding in agreement, her enthusiasm matching Stephanie’s.

Cass: After the antics from that actress, I have my doubts. Plus it'll be a two-parter—very strange decision.

Stephanie shrugged, her smile nonchalant as she waved off the concern.

Stephanie: Hey, as long as they can capture the essence of the original story, I’m good. I've been a fan since I was a teen; it was one of the few good memories with my ma. She saved up money for tickets—

Jason (interrupting casually while tossing around a stress ball, smirking): I wonder if they're going to add in the orgy scene. It'd be something to witness. A few people I’ve met would love it, but for the book, I felt like it was pointless to add.

Stephanie and Cass stared at Jason, their expressions a mix of between shock and confusion, unsure how to react to his comment.

Jason (shrugging, unfazed): We’re talking about the book based off that unpopular play, right?

Stephanie (slight growl): Unpopular?

Cass giggled, shaking her head, amusement dancing in her eyes.

Cass: J, you know that we’re referring to the very popular and highly praised musical.

Stephanie (confused, glancing between them): There’s no way you thought we were talking about a book with a— There’s a book?

Cass (nodding, with a grin): It’s what the musical was inspired by.

Jason (smirking, his eyes twinkling with mischief): Obviously, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire. A classic. They're making a movie out of the play? So odd.

Jason kept tossing the stress ball around, chuckling dryly at the absurdity of it all.

Stephanie (growing aggressive, fists clenching): You KNOW about the musical! Duke has played the soundtrack in the gym before!

With a sudden movement, Stephanie snatched the ball away, her furrowed brow revealing her annoyance.

Jason (crossing his arms, feigning innocence): I'm not into musicals like you two are, sorry. If there’s a book that came first, I read that. It’s always better than the adaptation.

Stephanie (exasperated, eyes narrowing): You are about to make a curse word slip out! Wicked is one of those cases where it was a billion times better than the book!

Jason (grinning, teasingly): I doubt it. You want to hear more about the animal orgy? I memorized lines.

Cass laughed, shaking her head, clearly enjoying the playful banter. She relished when her brother shared outlandishly disturbing facts, discovering which would elicit the best reactions.

Stephanie (shouting, hands on her hips): NO! Dang, first you ruined the movie It! I did not need to know what those kids did to each other in the tunnels!

Jason (calmly, with a smirk): I will let everyone suffer with that part of the book. I had to read that, and it was lengthy.

Stephanie (disgusted, crossing her arms tightly): Yes! Which is why I didn’t need you to read the entire section to me while we were tied up once!

Cass giggled gleefully as she leaned forward, her chin resting in her palm, elbow comfortably placed on the table, a playful smile illuminating her face.

Cass (playfully): You memorized it?

Jason nodded, a knowing smile on his lips, as Stephanie rolled her eyes in exaggerated frustration.

Stephanie (huffing, mock-seriously): Point is, you weirdo, let me live in my musical version of Wicked with no animal orgies! I will enjoy the film, and no one will ruin that for me!

Cass (with a sly smile, enjoying the tension): Don’t tell her about the book's sequel.

Jason (smirking, raising an eyebrow): Oh, you mean the one where that guy gets assaulted in his sleep?

Stephanie (throwing her hands up in exasperation): You both suck!

With that, Stephanie stormed out while Jason and Cass burst into laughter, high-fiving triumphantly.

[sakuraryomen01]

Valentino /Sukuna Ryomen x Reader/ .o8

warnings: asshole sukuna, college prep. school (aka bitch u at an expensive ass school), former friends to lovers, slow burned love, yuji is sukuna's little brother, some light teasing, more tutoring sessions, and Sukuna punches a pervert!

reader: female reader; 23 years of age, college prep.

plot: It's been years since you've moved from country life, since you've forgotten about all the things you used to love about your hometown and where you grew up from... you didn't think it'd chase you to college in the city after almost a decade..

words: 1.125k

fanfic masterlist: .o1 .o2 .o3 .o4 .o5 .o6 .o7 .o8 .o9 .10 .11 .12 .13 .14 .15 .16 .17 .18 .19 .20

a/n:: I've felt mentally drained so I'm going to finish this dang chapter holy frick did this take so long :D

. . .

Thank you for reading this bit! Enjoy! ❤️

. . .

Sleep didn't come easy to you, and it was expected. Seeing Sukuna in his vulnerable state, having him confirm a small doubt in your mind, and having Shoko spur on your aching heart.

It was a hard pill to swallow, but you needed to force it. You can't force someone to love you back.

Sukuna had his reasons, and it didn’t concern you in the slightest. You told yourself that as much as possible when you felt the need to say something to him after lessons and classes, or do simple things like ask about his day. When you wanted to ask, you bit your tongue and stayed silent. Sticking to the normal day to day chit chat between classmates.

Don’t bug him more than you already do. You say to yourself as you lift your fist up and knock on the door a few times.

There was a quiet "enter" from his side of the door, and when you did as told you didn't see Sukuna in the living room or kitchen like normal.

"Sukuna?" You asked, confusion filling your brain. You continued to wander around the dorm until Sukuna's bedroom door opened up, revealing a disheveled man.

His hair a mess, t-shirt lopsided and somewhat dirty, and boxers on full display. You quickly averted your eyes, trying to save Sukuna his dignity. "Hello to you too."

He waved before heading into his bedroom to change and look cleaner. Moving yourself to your usual space on the couch, you pulled out your things and started flipping through a notebook.

There was almost no noise, besides the random grunts of Sukuna shuffling through his things. Even your thoughts going quiet and jumbled with the notes in your book. Writing things down and not noting the shadow being cast over you by Sukuna.

"Hey, what're you working so hard on?" His voice broke your train of thought, making you look up at him.

"Uhm, tutoring?" You responded, a questioning tone in your voice. "Why?"

Sukuna sighed, resting his cheek against his fist, maroon eyes scanning your figure. "Don't you wanna have fun instead?"

The question catches you off guard and you chuckle, patting his knee in an almost loving manner. "I don't think you should have fun until you get better grades."

"God, you sound like my mother!"

You crinkle your nose as Sukuna's rather modest laughter fills the air. It had been a while since you saw a smile.

With a sigh, you straightened your posture and started to the session, seeing Sukuna's eyes begin to glaze over in a bored pout. You didn't like doing much studying either, but keeping your grades up mattered to you.

Sukuna knew this, watching you diligently work with him to help. So determined..

——

"..How are your parents?" He asked, his eyes lazily looking towards you.

It had been an hour since the tutoring had started that day, and Sukuna's mind was elsewhere. It was dull, the schedule he has wrapped himself into. It was the same thing everyday, seeing the hundreds of students around campus and ending up stuck in his dorm with you.

Talking about equations and random stuff he was already familiar with became tedious. Even though he was willing just to see you.

Never say that out loud though.

"Oh, they're fine," You answered, a slightly confused look on your face as you tapped the cap of your red pen on the notebook.

Sukuna raised a brow, scooting himself closer into your space, a small smile on his face. "That's not specific enough. I wanna know how they're doing."

I just told you– "Well, my dad's working on some project for the house apparently. He wanted to make a garden for it."

"Your dad's still the plant guy, huh?"

You pout your lips as Sukuna's curled into a smirk. "Not always. He got into sports cars for some reason, even though he's a planet health guy."

Sukuna chuckles at this before starting to write a few things down in his notebook. You grumble with a slightly warm flush filling your cheeks. Either way, you couldn't really complain much, his smirk made you feel warm inside.

"Are you done with the questions I gave you?" You asked, leaning your head over and bumping your cheek against Sukuna's shoulder.

"Yeah, the last one stumps me though.."

After teasing him for a few moments about his blunders and getting side eyed for the next twenty minutes, you eventually were able to explain the problem before Sukuna pointing out how late it had gotten.

"I could order a pizza and you just sleep over again." He said as he put away his things, placing a hand on his hip. "It'd be best, this dorm is filled with shit drunk guys."

"Aw, you're so sweet," You responded, lifting your bag over your shoulder strap while hiding all the giddy cuteness inside you. "But it's just a five minute walk to my place. I'll be fine!"

There was a hostile look of discontent in his maroon eyes that read: How dare you say no to me?

A confused shiver was sent down your spine before you sighed and pat Sukuna's arm, heading towards the door. "I'll text you when I get home, promise."

Letting out a small grunt, Sukuna eventually caved and you went home. Although he did threaten that he'll give you a stern talking to if he didn't get a text.

He's got more layers than an onion.*

Though, as you made your way home, you bumped into someone. His hair was messy, sunglasses barely hanging onto his head with his hair pushed back, and pants dirtier than your crustiest sock. But his pink cheeks and glossy eyes didn't betray you in recognizing one of your weirdest friends to date.

"Satoru? What are you doing out?" You place a hand on the males exposed forehead and humming to yourself. "..Are you high, drunk, or sick?"

With a delayed reaction, a hiccup, and a pout, you got this. "My girl, you're judgy so muchy~ Let me life without demands!"

You raise a brow and scoff. I know he'll regret this drinking in the future.

"Fine, but I have to go home now," You say, patting the disheveled mans shoulder, a smile on your face. "Don't trip walking up those stairs!"

But as you said goodbye, Gojo leaned in and placed a soft peck on your cheek with surprising accuracy. You blink in confusion as Gojo smiles loosely and pets your head. "Don't hurt yourself either, Miss best friend chaser!"

Before words could process, or a thought was able to work the cogs in your headspace, there was a grunt and a very big "someone's jaw might have gotten broken" sound.

. . .

a/n: hope you guys have been doing well! srry i haven't posted in almost two months maybe really, so many things came up. I was worried about mental health for a while, wasn't feeling motivated to write much but then smthing else happened. Huge changes are happening so we might end up with another writer's drought lmao (I'm going to college soon and do adult things ⊙⁠﹏⁠⊙;;;)

*and if u didnt get the reference I'll scream*

Chapter Song Theme:

— Ariana Grande - God is a woman (Lyric Video)

taglist: @mageyboo, @mzladyd , @mysticwonderlandangel, @sukunaspersonalfleshlight, @kawaiipenguin20, @k-indie, @okkotsufav, @cafeinthemoon93, @pulchritxde, @bontenbunny, @deepinballs, @kleeboomed, @fallenfeversstuff, @fiierytearzx, @wo-ming-bai, @ririkaxbz, @instantgalaxysheep, @watyousayin, @z3r0art, @sukunaobsessed, @lik0, @sukunasfirstlove, @princesstiti14, @nemoyr, @ladywolf44005, @cat-mak20, @coffee-on-a-rainyautumn, @hxlalokidottir, @instantgalaxysheep, @domainofmarie, @the-moongoddess, @dark-n-dirty-duchess, @agentdedf1sh, @sukunastoy, @lyn-soso, @bao-yu-sarah-morningstar-wang-9, @heyitstacy, @lost-in-tokyo, @marksassybanana, @bozos-r-us, @gumis-girl, @p-3-4-c-h, @chaoticqueen33, @dxxny-loves-u, @l0tus-n-l0ve, @jiordeci

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[ell-arts]

hey Ella if Pac man and Cylindria had kids what will their design be and their names?

just curious and I am also a Pac man x cylindria shipper as well and has been my favorite otp since I watched the show

Oooooo I love this question 👀

Dang, if only I had some designs drawn out to show... one day I will!

So, some context first; I've actually already envisioned their kids a long time ago and already had oc's for them. Three, to be exact. They were made several years ago and were only shared in some old friend groups. But since their designs are quite old, I'd like to give them a redesign before I reveal them publically.

So no art to show yet, sadly. But I can share a bit about their names and personalities 👀 They each have nicknames!

Zachary - Named after his grandfather, Zaccy is the firstborn and only son of Pac and Cyli. He is a Yellow One like his dad, but takes after his mom in being smart and witty - definitely to the point of being a smartass, as his sister would tell you. His main hobby is reading books and annoying his sisters, but he also enjoys playing a few rounds of pac-pong with his family. While he does enjoy poking fun at his sisters, he actually sees them as his best friends and would give his life to protect them. He goes by Zac most of the time, but sometimes he is also called Zaccy as a fond nickname - paying homage to when Pac was called Paccy as a child. Appearance: Yellow skin, black hair, pinkish purple eyes. Personality: A goofball and a walking encyclopedia in one package. Witty and sociable, with a bit of a competitive streak.

Ovaline - Pac and Cyli's eldest daughter, who mostly goes by Ova. Unlike her father and brother, and very atypical of Yellow Ones in general, Ova has never really had a big appetite. She loves animals and dreams of becoming a vet one day. She often buds heads with Zac and gets into fights with him, but they always have each other's backs. Ova inherited her grandmother's red hair, and has a tomboyish flare like her mother. Despite this, she is a total daddy's girl. Appearance: Yellow skin, red hair, pink eyes Personality: A bit stubborn and ambitious, but fiercely loyal and valiant. She is a team player through and through.

Sylvaniel - Nicknamed Sylvi, she is the youngest sister and the only one out of her siblings who is pink - in fact, she is the spitting image of her mother. Soft-spoken and introverted, Sylvi is often shy around new people, but turns into a warm and optimistic force once you spend time with her. She often takes the role of peacekeeper between her brother and sister's fighting (but don't be fooled; she's been pulled into their shenanigans on more than one occasion). She was named after a princess from Cyli's favourite book. Appearance: Pink skin, black hair, blue eyes Personality: Though she may be shy and quiet, she is incredibly humble and has an aptitude for cooking. A cinnamon roll with a big heart and a gentle spirit.

[arwainian]

The F@tT Fic Marathon: Catching up finally.

🎉I have officially read the full Friends at the Table AO3 tag!🎉

My very silly quest has reached its technical end point after EXACTLY 10 months of intensive reading! It has been sometimes grueling, often delightful, and led to me developing intense opinions in directions i never thought possible to myself. But I have done it, and I am extremely pleased with myself.

To get some housekeeping out the way, I usually give recs upon a writeup, but since there were only three fics left for me to read i'm just gonna shout them out generally.

Fics 1981-1983

check out i'm too scared to say half of the things i do (when i picture you) by waltztangocache for partizan era Kal'mera Broun fantasizing about Valence and trying to keep from letting that slip through their telepathic bond

and if you like Christmas fic, fangirl_squee has got you covered with Fero "not liking Christmas" but being roped into it anyway, and the Bluff City Masks crew hunting down some Christmas mini-miracles

and like, if you're looking for something to read, remember every single writeup has come with at least one personal recommendation. it's all under the tag #fatt fic marathon (also a caveat that these recommendations come from my personal tastes, i might not have mentioned a fic during the marathon that's a favorite of yours and i hope you continue to deeply enjoy what you love even when it might not have hit where I would have liked)

if you would like to take a look at the massive spreadsheet I used to keep track of which fics I was set to read together, as well as other info like what season it was for, and word count, here is a link to it!

What next?

First of all, I'm gonna spend a good long time reading other things. I've accumulated a great big To-Be-Read pile of pleasure reading consisting of both real-ass books and other fanfic that have been put at a lower priority while I powered through this project. I have had fun, but it is high time for a Break to read and do other stuff for a bit. (*glances nervously at my unstarted secsam project*)

If you happen to like my thoughts about what I'm reading, this past year I tried to keep track with reading log posts. They got stripped down to the basics over the course of the year and Finals Season sorta took it out of me so there's nothing for the past couple weeks BUT. i like reading a lot and i like talking about it a lot. so that's all tagged as #cal reading log if you want to keep up with me and my reading

and, what shall happen to these writeups! I'm not interested in continuing these in perpetuity, but I may give a final send off one when the tag hits 2000 (i'm still deciding). otherwise, this is likely the end of them. I might still shout out inidivudual cool fics that get published as I read them, but that's just like, good fandom practice to spread around cool fanworks tbh, rather than this weird thing I've done. nonetheless, i hope y'all had fun watching this journey

and a final thank you to all of the lovely authors who have made fanfic writing their hobby and have chosen to share what they write with others. Thank you! it is extremely obvious that I could not have done this if they never put pen to page or fingertip to keyboard and did the dang thing in the first place. you've made some cool stuff and i like reading it.

Happy New Year Everyone!

[reginarubie]

Just read your new work and as much as I adore anything you write I must confess seeing the past jonsa tag hurt me. I just adore them and have been patiently awaiting for the day the jonsa inspires you again! I hope this doesn’t offend you, it was meant to be a compliment. I’m just awful at wording, like I meant your my go to jonsa author of choice so seeing that tag just left me with feels that your moving on but I know experimenting and dabbling in other ships are great for authors!! I don’t know I’m just in my feels I guess?? So many talented Jonsa authors have become in-active or deleting their works, discontinuing, etc and while I know it just part of life and I’m glad some still continue to write or are SELF PUBLISHING!!! (Although sadly they won’t share their official works-I hunt it down one day) I just feel an odd pang in my chest when another one goes down like dang I just wanna hold you all and never let go. God this sounds like I have abandonment issues, I’m just going stop now before I embarrass myself even more

Aw...hello!,

I am your to-go Jonsa author? That like made my day, so thank you! Also don't worry, you are neither pathetic, not have your embarassed yourself. You have just shared in our common love for Jonsa, which I still believe will be the open endgame of the books, tbh, and I could not appreciate you more for it.

Of course I love experimenting and for a long while I have been uninspired in Jonsa, mostly because I have been hyperfixated on Aemondsa (which I think Jon and Aemond share so much traits it's ridiculous), but I have not forgotten all my wips for Jonsa, to which I mean to return in the Summer (I am a perfectionist, procrastinator so unless I am on the wave of hyperfixation I am never quite satisfied enough with my work to share it, but the updates shall come soon).

You know what else shall come soon, because my muse actually is never satisfied with just one story and just one ship at time?

A new Jonsa story I have been keeping under wraps, a season 7/8 rewrite with specks of book canon as well.

Look, I'll even leave the edit I've done for it, and the summary. I plan to get it out by the end of June with the first chapter, so prepare your popcorns, seatbelts and fav comf food because I'll be back on my Jonsa shit again. And it's gonna be epic!

A song for wolves,

The South has a new queen, a dragon queen who wears her name like a true Targaryen. Mother of the Dragons. Mother of monsters. Dark mother, brought ruin, death and fire to the Realm, and put to torch her enemies. With Fire and Blood she has torn at the lioness of the Rock and the whole world shall bend the knee to this foreign conqueror, or endure become ashes. And yet, to the North a new enemy rises. House Stark. The ancient kings on winter, the last defence against death and ice; battered, exiled and tortured they rose again in the name of the King in the North. A bastard deserter and his sisters; a Lannister's wife and a girl. “They are Starks, and the northerners never forget,” When winter comes... You'll hear no lions roar... No stags grazing the fields... No roses growing in the meadows... No snakes in the sand... The krakens will freeze where they swim... The flayed men will rot and wither... No trouts swimming in the river and no falcons flying in the air... Not even the dragons breath will warm you in your halls. Only the wolfs howl in the night... Winter is coming.

As always, hope you stay tuned, and yes the edit's got better since I started to make them, but alas no, those clips, music and quotes do not belong to me, we all knew how things would go if they did.

As always sending all my love ~G.

[oonajaeadira]

For the Love of Fic: January 2

I've been doing my best to get caught up on a verrrrrrry long reading list. I know I sound like a broken record, but I'm a super slow reader (both in having the time to read and actual reading speed), and many of my favorite writers are bananas prolific, so it's easy for me to fall behind. My lists for the immediate future will probably be in character groupings, since that helps me organize and sift.

Today you're getting these lovelies in some fic I've been loving!

.

EZRA

Cross My Heart by @brandyllyn This wins for my favorite of the week. How can it not, when it is from my Secret Santa???? Brandy softens our scoundrel but keeps his dangerous edge which I really love and appreciate. This could have been your regular Gift of the Magi fic, but it goes above and beyond. Not only do these lovers do what they can to give each other the world, they get to keep their spoils too. My heart would follow his anywhere. <3

untitled by @brandyllyn So after reading Cross My Heart, I decided to catch up on the remaining Ezra fic of Brandy's I haven't read yet and I was not disappointed, not at all. If Ezra came to me for advice on how to touch a lady, I don't think I'd be able to hold myself together this well...

When They Disentwine by @brandyllyn Holy BALLS this is hot like fire. A little misunderstanding leads to some really delicious punishment--read the warnings. Do I like a little danger in my Ez? Fk yeah I do. Soft and dangerous. This serves.

Hold Fast to Dreams by @brandyllyn Here it is, friends. One of the most beautifully written, soft, wonderful Ezra stories full of books and hope and healing and it's rendered me nearly speechless. I don't know what else to say except DANG.

.

MAX PHILLIPS

Bangathon: Position: Reverse Cowgirl by @prolix-yuy Oh. My gods. I did not expect the soft. And yet. Here it is. And I am clawing for it. The moment he realizes he's actually into her kind of destroyed me. And I love that they're both in the same place...fkn hells. I swoon. This's the good stuff.

Negotiations by @prolix-yuy Another treat from LJ with a softer, yearning Max. Yes, he's got more ego than he should have, but it gets a swift, satisfying kick in the ass when he comes up against you. And do you ever give him a run for his money. A lovely little twist and sweet surprise.

A Rough (Pumpkin) Patch by @blueeyesatnight Can we all acknowledge how satisfying it is to witness Max get pouty when he doesn't get his way? And then twist things around to make his own fun? He may hate hay rides and pumpkin picking, but if you're the only two in the field, there may be more fun to be had....

I Wanna Do Bad Things With You by @chronically-ghosted I too would be tempted to tell Max to feed from me while we did the do. But you know what I am? A soft girl with a weakness for a build up. So imagine my joy when I found out this was a series in progress...one bite/drink/base at a time! And there are feelings? What! This is all my monsterfkr dreams with Max come true.

Polynesian Kiss by @morallyinept Listen. He's Max. He's your boss, and he's a vampire, and you're his PA. And blood donor. And bang buddy. And you just can't make it into work because your cramps are murder. Lucky you, you've just become a dispenser for Max's favorite treat, and he is here to FEAST. I love a man who loves his meal, and goodness does he ever enjoy you. TASTY.

Blood & Tinsel by @morallyinept Read the warnings on this one, because Max has his influence on and you're not submitting to his office booty call of your own free will. But you would if he'd let you. He doesn't know that. Yet. I love how Jett writes his reaction to that little tidbit....she's got this power-hungry jackass down.

.

EDDIE THE VAMPIRE

An Act of Kindness pt. 2 by @missredherring Oh my gosh, Eddie's become a rescue pup! He has nowhere to go and nobody to look after him and he was so young when he turned...he's so confused. I just wanna comfort the boy. It's a good thing Bella's here to look after the little darling. (Guest appearance by one Jack Daniels with mentions of Max Phillips and a Liam easter egg.)

.

WING PIT GUY

2023 Summer Kiss Prompt #3: Daniel (Wing Pit) - Distracting Kiss by @something-tofightfor Rachael's Wing Pit Guy is named Daniel and there's just something about him that's comfortable and goofy and total boyfriend material. (And he can clean a chicken wing bone in one smooth go.) You know that kissing him is gonna taste like sauce, and since he really loves his wings, you know that sauce is gonna be good. And real. And sweet. Just like this fic.

2023 Summer Kiss Prompt #11: Daniel Harper (Wing Pit) - A Kiss After Pain by @something-tofightfor It's finally time for a real first date, but before that, time to meet Daniel's dog. Raider is just a dog, doing dog things and doesn't mean to slip up. But istg if anyone here hurts Raider I will burn this site to the ground. There's a really sweet kiss in here and I am all for it. But I am having trouble deciding if I love Raider or Daniel more right now...

Smutsgiving 2023: Sweet Potato Casserole / Daniel Harper (Wing Pit Pedro) by @something-tofightfor First of all, marshmallow fluff is genius. Second of all, I don't care how sticky it is. I hate sticky and I would still allow supreme level boyfriend coded Daniel to cover me in it.

.

TIM ROCKFORD

Rockford & Roan Pt. 5 by @littlemisspascal There's a number of reasons why I'm freaking out about this chapter. It's dark. There's a body. Tim is mystereously cold and Roan is being warned not to be taken advantage by his less than perfect tendancies. Doubt is strewn. Our Very Good Boy Banjo is a little doggie king. And then there's the special guest star, complete with cliffhanger...and I'm in LOVE.

Morning, His Place by @words-are-fireproof A slice of life, an early morning in the kitchen with Tim before he has to leave for work. And yet, in just a short piece, there's so much detail and background given between the characters, just in the little things they say and do, the pictures on the wall, the things Tim forgets. Simple and lovely.

2023 Summer Kiss Prompt #5: Tim Rockford - Jealous Kiss by @something-tofightfor Black Days Tim has a hold on me, and Rachael's given him a lot of groundedness and depth. He's not surprised by much, except when he surprises himself.

Smutsgiving 2023: Apple Pie / Tim Rockford by @something-tofightfor Another Black Days Tim, and this one has him apologizing to his lady for not being home for Thanksgiving by utilizing his desk when she comes to visit him. Yes plz.

.

DIETER BRAVO

Star Boy by @ezrasbirdie I'm in love with the Star Boy and his Cool Girl so so much and this installment in the Starstruck Series was no exception. They have so much to navigate together and it can't be the easiest thing to date a movie star. But I'm willing to take the chance if he love love loved me this very much.

Misfire by @qveerthe0ry If it's something I'm fascinated and enamored of, it's a boy that comes untouched. Dunno why that's a kink of mine, maybe I just find it endearing when someone loses control. This one has no romantic or sexual connection to it though, and it's Dieter actually being embarrassed. I am not above smiling while watching that man be flustered and suffer a little.

Bravo, Dieter. by @juletheghoul If you haven't had a taste of Jules' writing (first of all, where have you been), then this is as good a place as any to start. Pretty writing, smooth Dieter, make up sex ahoy, and all the neck nibbles you can't keep your cool over....

Paint Me Like One of Your French Girls by @missredherring While there's some verbal teasing, this is a working relationship, but a good one. I mean, I don't know if I'm in the right crotchspace to let Dieter paint my naked body and be cool about it, but if I was, I would hope it would be as endearing as this.

Dress Me Up and Call Me Pretty by @morallyinept This is one of the hottest things I have ever read. Dieter is an absolute mess, his own worst enemy, and reader is an angel who gives him everything he needs--and discovers she likes it too. The LOVE. The kink. The marathon. The care. Just go. Go now and get your strap on.

Run Over By A Reindeer... by @blueeyesatnight Blue has such a good grip on Dieter and I love his perfect balance of shithead horny actor and genuinely nice horny guy. I laughed out loud at this multiple times too, because Blue's also good at Dieter's dipshit humor. This is definitely one of my favorites this season.

Smutsgiving 2023: Stuffing / Dieter Bravo by @something-tofightfor This is Dieter from Rachael's Locked Down series and I have a real soft spot for these two...and for this particular take on Dieter. He's someone who surprises you constantly, showing a disaster to the world while being actually put together underneath. Stuffing shows up in more ways than one here. As does mention of a raccoon....

2023 Summer Kiss Prompt #10: Dieter Bravo - A Kiss While Baking by @something-tofightfor This one is sweet in every sense of the word. Brownies, kisses, heartfelt feelings, a peek at a possible future... I love Locked Down Dieter so much and it's nice to see him domestic and happy.

Touch Me Touch Me Touch Me by @missredherring It's subby D time! This time with a free use kink and some audio erotica built in! At first I was a little sorry for our needy boy, but man, does he get it in the end....and how.

.

[kolbisneat]

MONTHLY MEDIA: September 2024

……….FILM……….

Army of Darkness (1992) Having now seen the original trilogy, it baffles me that all of the Evil Dead reboots exclusively lean into horror. Two thirds of the these movies are practically Saturday-morning cartoons! I love everything about this, from the humour to the puppetry to the insane haircuts.

Mad Monster Party? (1967) This is the first feature-length Rankin-Bass production that I've seen and you can tell the animators were invested in this one. 80% of the film is visual gag it's all so much fun. Zero complaints though I am a sucker for anything that lumps a bunch of public domain monsters together.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024) While I wish they'd gone with the original sequel premise (Beetlejuice goes to Hawaii), this is still a solid comeback. Does it all work? No. But it is a great pitch for a Beetlejuice limited series.

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018) Loved the original, loved this even more.

……….TELEVISION……….

Neon Genesis Evangelion (Episode 1.21 to 1.22) Okay didn't watch much of this in September but it's taken a nosedive into a pool of existential dread. I mean it was always there but it feels like the end is going to be a battle with conflicting ideologies instead of the Angels. Wild stuff.

……….YOUTUBE……….

The Sustained Two-Shot by Every Frame a Painting It's been years since EFAP posted a video and I implore you to check out their back catalog of really insightful film analysis. If you like this video, you'll like the others. VIDEO

The Question No One Asks Shigeru Miyamoto by Good Blood Great insight into game philosophy and design, as well as a unique lens with which to explore the Zelda series of games. VIDEO

AB Dictionary by Allison Bornstein For those who may not know, I have a passion...for fashion! I keep going back to a few core resources for inspiration and guidance and Allison Bornstein's youtube channel is one of them. She leans towards women's wardrobes, but this introduction to her approach is fairly universal (leaning towards personal style vs "wear this not that".) VIDEO

……….READING……….

Murder at Hazelmoor by Agatha Christie (Complete) Really digging into Christie's work has given me some more perspective on which sorts of mysteries I connect. This one, which spends some time with the suspects, but not as much as in other books, made it much harder to keep track of everyone. But dang if the endings don't deliver so much satisfaction that I can't help but finishing it and thinking "Yeah! That was good."

The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett (Complete) The Discworld series of novels are always great but sometimes one just really clicks for me. Loved the monsterverse setting, loved the politics, loved it all. I'm not sure I'd recommend this as a good entrypoint but if you've read any of the Discworld books featuring the Watch and you haven't read The Fifth Elephant, definitely check it out.

Richard Stark's Parker: Slayground by Donald E Westlake and Darwyn Cooke (Complete) Darwyn Cooke's adaptation are always so stylish I always feel a little sad reading it, knowing it's his final rework of the Parker series. And such a gut punch at the end when it says Parker will return. Darwyn Cooke has been such an inspiration for me and his work is incredible; please check out this series or the DC: The New Frontier comics OR his run on Catwoman OR his contributions to Spider-Man's Tangled Web.

FF Volume 1: Fantastic Faux and FF: Volume 2: Family Freakout by Matt Fraction, Lee Allred, Michael Allred, Laura Allred, Joe Quinones, and many more (Complete) I loved Matt Fraction's work on Hawkeye and Michael and Laura Allred's work on Silver Surfer so I was excited for this pairing...but it didn't really click. The writing felt surprisingly dated and even across the two volumes I felt like I was missing a lot of context. I wish I could recommend it but there are better stories from these creatives and about these characters.

……….AUDIO……….

Flight b741 by King GIzzard & The LIzard Wizard (2024) The beauty of King Gizzard's prolific output is that they have the freedom to experiment. Sometimes I don't connect with what they're doing, and sometimes they put out an album like this. Into it.

Shingangumi by Ginger Root (2024) The vibes are right on the mark but the majority of the album just kinda washes over you. Some of Ginger Root's singles are really catchy and it's a shame I haven't connected with any individual tracks just yet.

……….GAMING……….

Wonderland: A Fantasy Role-Playing Setting (Andrews McMeel Publishing) With the book's upcoming release, our Tuesday group decided to take a break from Oz and Neverland and do a few dungeon delves. It was a whirlwind that included a character death and exploring a secret secondary realm! If you want to read the campaign diary then it's over here!

And that's it. See you in October!

[im-outofideas]

an old new thing

fandom: good omens

w/c: 1977

summary: word vomit domestic life feat. crowley and aziraphale.

a/n: got dang this is all over the place!!! this is plotless fluff and very much self indulgent. self-soothing after season 2. also i cannot write kiss scenes for my life so it turnt stupid LOL. please do not pay it any attention and enjoy the rest 🫶

----

"What on earth are you doing?"

"Convincing you."

“Well.. I’m not convinced.”

“You will be.”

Crowley stiffened. Over the last six millennia, Aziraphale had used distance as a hand over Crowley. If he'd suggested a scheme slightly too outrageous, or gone out and done it himself before relaying it to Aziraphale, he wouldn't see the angel for a long time. It sure took a lot of patience, being his..frenemy.

To be fair, Aziraphale was much more tolerant of mistakes than the angels he’d been surrounded by for all of eternity. Much more forgiving than the demons Crowley reported to. It only took hunting the angel down (not a particularly difficult task; he was conveniently predictable) and a little dance before they were back on their Arrangement and regularly scheduled meetings. Still, the weeks of silence frustrated Crowley beyond anything. He's glad Aziraphale decided to do away with the silent treatment since the notpocalypse.

He's taken up a new way to get Crowley to admit when he's wrong. Or to get him to admit Aziraphale is right. Rather than disappear, Aziraphale will cling. He’ll bother and bother and bother. He’ll talk and pout and follow Crowley endlessly until he’s had enough. Crowley definitely prefers this to the former method. He’d rather be annoyed endlessly than ignored for a little while.

Perhaps it's even why it takes so much longer for him to fold.

With that said, it's just so new. After 6,000 years of the same old routine, the affectionate turn in their relationship is taking some getting used to. It’s a bit much to handle in Crowley’s opinion. It's probably why Aziraphale does it so often, the bastard. He knows it's effective.

---

Two nights ago, Aziraphale had been reading on the armchair when the lights inexplicably went out. He picked up the lit patchouli candle next to him when a sound came from the darkness.

Aziraphale has cleverly stayed away from horror content most of his existence. Unfortunately, this made him very unaware of most cliches used in films. He was an excellent target.

“Crowley?” He tucked the book underneath his arm, using both hands to grip the candle closer to him. Another noise came from the left.

Aziraphale went to investigate. Crowley was meant to be in Glasgow for a boogie-concert. Both decided it would be better if he had gone unaccompanied. The last time Aziraphale attended a concert with the demon, a spill to his tartan coat had him miracle every narcotic on site into the chalky substance they put in candied hearts. There was a lot of confusion among the mosh pit, mainly about the lack of confusion everyone felt.

“Is that you, mister Mouse? I've told you, it's not safe for you here. There are snakes in this household.” Aziraphale called out, but there was no response. All noises stopped.

He went to the front door, intending to check the electrical box outside. He swung the door open. Aziraphale felt a presence somewhere out in the night. Dread filled his guts.

He chuckled to himself for being silly. The list of things which could harm an angel were short. Other angels took up a majority of it. Fear was one of the hundreds of human attributes he's indulged in during his time on earth.

He took a breath of courage, but choked on it when a two-headed, red goblin roared out from the side of the doorframe. Aziraphale screamed, dropping the candle and the book. The goblin quickly saved the book from hitting the floor, but the candle shattered. The ancient and quite ridiculously flammable carpet lit up instantly.

Aziraphale clutched his chest and shouted several incohesive ‘oh dear goodnesses’ while Crowley blew the fire out in a long, icy breath.

“Hm, well. Wasn’t expecting that.”

Aziraphale pushed past him. “Oh no, oh no..” he softly repeated until he was too far away to hear. The lights inside the bookshop flickered on. Crowley could now see the charred stain over the antique rug. He hissed.

The “oh no’s” were returning, growing steadily in volume, until it was shouted right near Crowley’s ear. Aziraphale appeared in the doorway.

“Look what you've done!” He whined.

Crowley stared at the spot in disbelief. “How did it go up so fast?”

“You startled me!” He continued indignantly.

“It's October, angel. Really, what do you use to top off these carpets? Petrol?”

“You burnt my rug!”

“...would explain the Bentley's recent behavior.* Actually, you dropped the candle. Seems terribly irresponsible to keep candles in an old bookshop.”

“You turned out the lights. I needed to see!”

“Right, well. Not a big deal.” Crowley pushed the armchair directly over the stain. “Good as new.”

“Not good as new, it’s still all ruined.” Aziraphale enunciated dramatically. “I expect you to fix it.”

“You're being ridiculous. You can't expect me to miracle it out tonight. The two heads thing took a lot out of me. You can’t even see it!” Crowley sat on the armchair, covering the gap - in which the stain was still very much visible - with his legs.

“I don’t expect you to miracle it out,” Aziraphale said. “I want it restored. Naturally.”

Crowley groaned. “Alright, sure. Fine."

“And a new candle.”

“Whatever you want.” he said spitefully.

“And company to Derren Brown’s Illusionist performance.”

“Never!”

---

Aziraphale is currently hugging Crowley from behind him, entrapping his arms in a one-sided embrace.

“No, I will not. Get off!” Crowley growled, pulling out his arms. Aziraphale remained hugging around his waist. Crowley huffed. “If a person makes a mistake, and then fixes said mistake, the mistake no longer exists and nobody owes anyone anything. I agreed to fix the rug. I’m not going to a silly magic show.”

“I’d hardly call it a mistake. The scare was certainly deliberate.” Aziraphale grumbled. “He who has done wrong unto another must make it up to thee who he wronged.” He made up.

“What, like… building interest? That's not how it works. Do all angels forgive like a bank?”

“Afraid so.” He hugged a little tighter. “Even though I've returned, I still haven't made up for… leaving.” The example seemed to spill out before he could ponder its appropriateness. “Didn’t do much good in the end, did it? So much was damaged. World nearly ended again. No, haven't even begun to make up for it.”

It's a tricky thing. Part of the healing process for Aziraphale had been to bring it up every so often, as casually as possible. Even during moments of domesticity. Perhaps one day they'd grow immune to the pain if exposed to it enough times. That was Aziraphale's logic, though sometimes he regretted ruining a nice moment with a sour memory. Crowley saw it more like a confession. A way for Aziraphale to relieve the guilt he felt. Guilt which hit him harder anytime he realized he was starting to feel happy rather than guilty. What a bitch, that guilt.

Angel’s felt nothing but guilt for over 6 millennia. Only for ever doing what he thought was right.

Personally, Crowley wished to never speak of it again. He didn't find it healing to reopen wounds. But he was working on his tendency to run from his fears, so he tolerated it.

“Course you have. I’ve forgiven you for that.” He softened.

“Yes, well..” I haven’t, he didn’t say.

Crowley squeezed the arm around his middle and took in a breath. “You can hold me however long you want, I’m still not going to the show with you.” He reminded Aziraphale despite not wanting to go. Perhaps he was running a bit. The subject is still awfully uncomfortable.

“It won’t kill you, my dear. It’ll only last six hours.”

“Six hours?? I’ll go mad. Add onto the week of you attempting all the tricks you've seen him do. Forcing me to watch. Forcing me to participate. No. You cannot make me- haha! You can’t make me go!” Aziraphale began to tickle around his grip.

Crowley tried to walk away, but Aziraphale followed surprisingly lightly on his back. Like a pair of wings. It would’ve been less frustrating if he had held Crowley solid.

“Let go!” He laughed.

“Oh, please come with me darling. We’ll have an incredible time. He won’t be performing here again for another year!” Aziraphale persuaded, pretending it was still his words doing all the bargaining.

“I- ehehe, piss off!!” Crowley stumbled over to the couch, legs beginning to give out under him. With a war cry, he suplexed himself Aziraphale-first onto the couch. His attempt to dislodge the angel failed. Infact, it only invigorated him. The hold around him tightened and the once gentle tickling turned deadly. Like a snake. Ironic.

There was an initial few seconds of kicking and cackling, before the laughter became true and bright. Still every bit as loud, but margins sweeter.

“GET OFF!” He shrieked.

“I think you’ll find you're the one on top of me. I’m quite frightfully stuck. I can’t seem to get out.” Aziraphale replied calmly. “Do you mind letting me up?”

Crowley struggled to sit up or wiggle off with Aziraphale still holding onto him. He dropped his head back and laughed in frustration. “Please!”

“Oh, alright.” Aziraphale chuckled. He stopped and let go. Crowley immediately rolled off the couch.

They both lay staring at the ceiling for a moment. Crowley turned his head to look under the armchair, directly at the charred stain. The cleaners wouldn't arrive for another day.

"Never do that again. Ever."

"I'll do it again the second your back is turned."

The threat made Crowley blush. There was another silence.

“Why do you want me to go with you anyway? I'll only spoil it with my complaining.”

“Nonsense. I enjoy most things more with your company. You could never spoil it.” Aziraphale stood up to straighten himself out. He stepped over Crowley, who frowned. Bastard didn’t even lend a hand. “But I suppose you’re right. I wouldn't want you to have a bad evening on my behalf.”

Aziraphale left the room without Crowley for the first time in two days.

“Hang on!” Crowley called from the floor. “What, that’s it? All that.. blasted effort into persuading me and you’re just letting it go?”

“Well, I tried everything I could think of. I figure you must dread to go if you're willing to endure all that tickling.” Crowley could hear him fiddling with cups. “I’ve stooped to torture. How you've corrupted me.” Aziraphale said low and fond.

“You only did it for a moment.” Crowley said as Aziraphale returned with a bottle of wine and two glasses. He furrowed an eyebrow.

“What’s this? You'll miss the performance if we start drinking now.”

“Oh yes, well… what's a year to beings like us anyway?” Aziraphale said gently. “Are you saying I could have convinced you if I kept going?”

“What? Ngk-no, no. I mean, maybe. F'ya did it long enough. This.. bloody corporeal thing. Right ticklish. But don't you dare!” he pointed at Aziraphale. He dropped his hand to his chest. “But the pestering. The hugging, I mean. I almost conceded there. Didn't, though. But that's only ‘cause I didn’t want it to stop so soon. Shut up!” he exclaimed upon seeing Aziraphale smile widely.

"Ugh." By that explanation, the same logic would have applied to the tickling.

“You could have just said.” Aziraphale smiled, bending slightly over Crowley’s head. He appeared upside down. Crowley looked away too late - a little smile was tugging the corner of his own mouth. “So, then, tell me. How can I convince you to join me?”

“Get me off this damn floor, for one.”

Aziraphale pulled Crowley up as though he were a feather, holding his hands. He scooted closer, straightening out the fabric over his chest. “And then?”

“Hm," he looked off. "I suppose you could give me a kiss. Might do the trick.” He said with a smirk and an old confidence in his words. He was grateful how well this communication thing was finally working out.

Both were flush when they parted. To Crowley’s dismay, a bit of steam trickled out of his ears quite cartoonishly.

“Look at the time!” he said, flustered again. “Ahm, better get a move on if we want good seats. Might as well be comfortable if we’re going to be there for six hours.” He hurried out the room to the front door. Aziraphale smiled and straightened with giddiness. How good the demon was to him.

“Bring the wine!” the demon shouted.

*referencing the headcanon that the Bentley and bookshop are in love with each other. 😼

[themissingnumbers]

Hello again fellas :) It's about that time again. Just a heads up, I don't think this is going to be super long like all of my other yap sessions. This is just me rambling about that one riddle that Carrion made. (And dang are they good at what they do-)

So, imma just be upfront and say it—I'm bad at riddles and I'm stumped. I've been thinking about it, trying to pick it apart little by little whenever I've had some quiet/free time and I've got nothing. WELL- actually saying I have nothing would be a lie. I don't have anything concrete, but I do have a feeling. It makes me feel a feeling that I can't really put into words. Like, I THINK that I get what it's trying to say, but I'm not sure. It's the mental equivalent of having really bad eyesight and squinting to read a sign across the street, thinking you know what it says but not being sure because it's too blurry. (If that makes any sense at all-)

However! I can tell you guys about the vibes I get from it and what I've got so far! (I'm probably reading this riddle all wrong, but here goes-)

Now, it's probably just my brain being weird, but I get like... Religious vibes from this stuff. Like- Murder(Slaughtered), Betrayal(Poisoned), and Sanctification(Enshrined) are all things that happened in the Bible I think. I also kinda get Book of the Dead vibes from it a little bit. Okay, lemme explain this.

For that "Remember the thirds, all that went wrong" part of it just really made me think of the Egyptian Soul. Now, I'm not the most experienced or well-versed in this subject, but I will try my best to explain it in a way that makes sense. The Egyptian Soul is made up of three parts: the Ka (the life force/essence separated from the body at death), the Ba (the personality of the departed), and the Akh (the Immortal Spirit, reserved only for the few that were deserving of Maat Kheru). Maa/Maat Kheru is a phrase meaning "True of voice" or "Justified." It is involved in ancient Egyptian afterlife beliefs, according to which the souls of the dead had to be judged morally righteous. Once the soul had passed the test, the Weighing of the Heart (which was deeply rooted in the Egyptian belief in immortality), they were judged to be Maat Kheru and were allowed into the afterlife. The phrase Maat Kheru was often used to denote a person who had died and become a god, and the Akh being the "transfigured spirit that survived death and mingled with gods." (God, I hope that all makes sense-) As for what went wrong: what didn't? Everything has gone bad for this man. He's been out of control since the moment he was born. He's not living—just alive. (On top of that, I'm pretty sure Arceus messed with this man's soul so, that too I guess-)

Anywho, uhhhh... this got long. Whoops- This entire thing could very much be me being too focused on the fact that at one point in the last Starry said that Fire could be seen as a Jesus Figure and be the source of heavy-handed metaphors, but I digress. Those are my thoughts for now. Hopefully, there's something good in there.

(Okay, I don't like to do this, but am I allowed to ask for a hint? Like, I'm usually against anything my brain considers a "freebie" but I am well and truly stuck on this. Hints have been allowed for other mysteries, but you didn't say if I could get hints for this one, so I just figured I'd ask. Alright, that's all. Have a good day/night y'all! :])

Referring to This Riddle

{Since it's my riddle, I don't mind clearing things up a little.}

{While I'm certainly a fan of the esoteric, I think you've gotten a little too narrow in trying to unravel it ^^}

{It's not a riddle with a specific answer, but rather serves as a sort of clue in the larger picture of things. I think to unwrap it properly, you just need to step back- Fire might be the focal point of the image, but as you pointed out in your previous analysis, there are others there too- both people, and objects.}

{All that to be said, your hint.} {The riddle is for the victims, not their executioner.}

[checkoutmybookshelf]

Chaol's Desert Adventure

Ok, this is going to be the MOST "your mileage may vary" review ever. I'm admitting to bias right up front because I was SO GROUCHY that I had to slog through Chaol's Desert Adventure after the end of Empire of Storms, and quite frankly this book could have been an email. There were exactly three plot-relevant things happening, and the rest of it was following characters I was never terribly invested in anyway. This book is not bad, strictly speaking, but I was mad about it. So let's briefly talk Tower of Dawn.

Hey, so I'm about to SPOIL THIS BOOK below the cut. This is your SPOILER WARNING.

The three plot relevant things are as follows:

Maeve is a goddamn VALG QUEEN

Nesryn managed to succeed in recruiting a bunch of absolutely-not-Tolkien-Eagles to the war and Chaol and Yrene solidified an alliance with Antica

Apparently a magically gifted healer can exorcise Valg demons and princesses from people.

All of which are good to know and substantially affect the overarching narrative and the shape of the war. Maeve being a goddamn Valg queen in particular is big...but mostly because Aelin is EXTRA SCREWED given that she's currently in Maeve's hands. The extra armed forces and the fact that Valg possession can be undone are also great to know and will absolutely be important...in the next dang book.

So...as for the rest of this book. We have basically two couples we follow: Chaol and Yrene as well as Nesryn and Sartaq. So let's just take them in order.

Chaol and Yrene

Ok guys, I LIKE medicalish stories. And I LIKE angst. This had stuff that I generally would have enjoyed, but...I just didn't care? Like I'm glad Chaol had his come-to-Jesus with his self-loathing and trauma--lord knows he needed to--but I did not care. He has been on this boat since book 3, and while he probably DID actually need a book to deal with his shit, but it took the overall series pacing and rand it directly into the ground at a point where as a reader, I was actively resentful of the digression.

There is every possibility that I would enjoy this WAY more had I not been chomping at the bit to get back to Aelin. But the journey that Chaol and Yrene go on is...honestly one I've read before. PLUS, I'm not sure I love the whole "fall in love with your healer" storyline. Medical ethics and medical power dynamics are fraught on a good day, and like...that's the LAST situation you want to bring sex into. And for all Yrene's insistence that she can and will remain professional...sorry hon, but from MINUTE ONE with Chaol, there was no professionalism. We just kind of moved through one kind of unprofessional behavior to another. And as a professional, Yrene should have KNOWN BETTER than to use Chaol as a teachable moment without his permission. If I were the Healer on High watching that shit, I'd have pulled Yrene up on that. Expeditiously.

But instead the Healer on High is just like, "She means well." Which...for crying out loud. Come on.

AND ANOTHER THING: I'm fine with the loophole to keep Chaol alive at the end of the book. There is even something romantic about the two of them being basically one and Yrene willing to pay any price to keep him alive. We also get some nice growth from Chaol about living with a disability. All that said, though? The "if one of you dies, the other one dies" thing is JUST BARELY less stupid than Feysand's death pact from A Court of Silver Flames. Like the sheer lack of agency involved is its only saving grace, because if they'd WILLINGLY CHOSEN THIS I'd have been so done.

Nesryn and Sartaq

I...don't really have anything to say about this one. Nesryn breaks up with Chaol via text, and honestly good for her because she deserves better. Sartaq is fine. I had zero emotional investment in these two. Again, your mileage may vary, I just didn't connect with Nesryn, and while I'm happy she has a better boyfriend and her family is safe, I had no other emotional connection to them. There wasn't even anything ethically dubious to be mad about like with Chaol and Yrene.

The pacing and technical construction of the relationship was competent and fine, and if you're a Nesryn stan, you would likely really enjoy this. It just...wasn't for me at this point.

Other Stuff

So... this book. This book does that "generic foreign" thing with Antica where a metric ton of Asian and desert cultures are imported wholesale and flattened into one "generically Asian desert" culture and...yikes. Like, the backstory is basically just Genghis Khan and the Mongols, there were Tibetan influences, Egyptian influences, and some stuff that even felt vaguely Moroccan. Like...we just took a bunch of cultures and mashed them up and flattened them. It's not great, and it really doesn't feel respectful in terms of cultural detail use. It does feel like SJM went "ooh, these feel unusual and foreign, so I'm dropping them into this book!" Which... *baps her with a rolled up newspaper*

Chaol's injury and recovery was handled...better than I expected. There is real growth and the move from self-loathing to self-acceptance is done fine. I particularly liked that Shen was there, and that Chaol had a little moment of internalized ableism and Shen called it out. It went objectively too quickly, but the peer support that Chaol accepts after realizing that Shen uses a prosthetic arm felt on point and better done than I would have expected.

SJM does kind of...have her cake and eat it too as far as "kill or cure" goes, because Yrene does heal his broken back, he walks again. But then the Valg princess breaks it again, he literally dies, and then comes back with some level of physical impairment. Which...y'all...it was fine as a dramatic climax, but way to cover all three possible options in about as many pages to avoid anyone yelling about how this was wrapped up. I could go into this more, but I'm not that invested in this book and this character. She did all the things and ended it with a wedding. Yaaaaaaaaaaaay...

Now if y'all would excuse me, I'm going to go inhale Kingdom of Ash, because I'm not done being mad about the Empire of Storms cliffhanger.

[nancypullen]

Geez

It's the 19th of May and I haven't posted since late April. That's a sad state of affairs on this ol' blog. Since my last post we have celebrated Jamie's birthday and Mother's Day, two noteworthy occasions. In the near future we have Tyler's birthday, Father's Day, and Matt's upcoming trip to Ireland. Plenty to look forward to and celebrate, June should be a delight. On Saturday the library hosted a celebration of our renovations and re-opening (even though they been open since January). There was a ribbon cutting, food and drink, and a good crowd. I spent five hours in the children's area applying glitter tattoos to lots of small hands and arms.

This little guy was thrilled with his glittery blue Batman emblem. He stole my heart.

I actually put lots of books into those little hands as well, so mission accomplished. After working all week and then surviving enjoying a busy Saturday I didn't do much of anything on Sunday. We browsed the auction house. Do I need this globe?

Probably not. I'll bet the countries are outdated and if it doesn't open up and become a James Bond style liquor cabinet, what good is it? I'm 100% sure that I don't need this gal around giving me body issues.

Is it just me, or does she kind of look like Caitlin Jenner? I talked the mister into cruising into the Starbucks drive-thru while we were out. I'd had a headache for two days, and darned if an iced caramel macchiato didn't cure it. I guess there's something to be said for caffeine and sugar. I enjoyed every drop. Once home, Mickey went to his office to work on photos and I puttered. I checked out the gardens and gave everything a pep talk. The mister has been murdering moles so I have high hopes that the grass will fill in and flourish. At this point I'm willing to spray paint the dirt green. I ended up on the porch, which is looking so pretty. I'll have to snap some pics and share them. I don't know why a pretty porch makes me so happy, but it does. For dinner I cut up some chicken thighs and made bourbon chicken in a skillet - no actual bourbon involved. It's basically that yummy food court chicken. The recipe is apple juice, apple cider vinegar, low sodium soy sauce, ginger, garlic, pepper, and brown sugar. After the chicken cooked I thickened the sauce with a little cornstarch slurry and served it over rice. I topped it with a little diced green onion and sesame seeds to make it pretty. Normally I'd have tossed in some broccoli florets but I didn't have any. There was a crunchy cucumber in the frig so I sliced that up for our veggie. I probably should have made a salad, but I'm just so dang tired. I've started questioning my Oregon Trail viability. That was always how I judged my health/fitness - whether or not I'd survive walking beside a wagon for four or five months. I knew I could do it, even enjoy some of it. Now I know I'd be jumping off at the first trading post. I'd be selling maps in Missouri at the jumping off point. I don't feel good, I don't look good, and I'd just be dead weight in the wagon. Leave me, save yourselves. All of that to say that I've become a bit of a bore. I work most days and get home after six (sometimes eight) and my routine is the same - eat dinner, watch Jeopardy, take a hot bath, read in bed. Ho hum. Where's the fun? I've lost my magic. I really need to find my way back to playing with words and paint and paper. I miss it. I feel like a hypocrite saying that. Before taking the position at the library, I was lonely, isolated, longing for friends, and looking for a purpose in this dull town. Now I get to talk and laugh with nice people at work, I certainly have a lot to do, there aren't enough hours in the work day to finish everything (I have a deadline hanging over my head right now that is stressing me out!), and I actually do feel a little appreciated. The paycheck is a nice bonus. So I suppose I got what I wished for, I just didn't want it nine hours a day. I don't have a life. Right now the library is very short staffed, and I think everyone is stretched thin. Most people have no idea of how much work is involved in keeping a public library not just open, but relevant. The programs that we offer, the community outreach, the technology that we have to stay on top of, the daily tasks of keeping track of a large inventory, fielding reference questions from patrons and finding the resources and answers they need, processing materials that come and go in large tubs, the list goes on and on and that doesn't even include just the regular check-ins and outs. My calendar also includes a lot of children's programs - tomorrow I'm working with Petite Picassos, another day I'll be making bee hotels with a group of twenty, don't even ask about Bubblepalooza (guaranteed bad hair day). I've actually managed to get a month ahead in gathering materials and planning for displays. I have some birds to paint, but otherwise I'm ready. Getting ahead on some things means putting others at a lower priority - which is why I have an online training class for Beanstack, the software we'll use for all of our summer reading programs, still on my to-do list. I'm supposed to have it completed by the 22nd. Maybe if I don't get it done they'll fire me.

I just want my life back. Not even all of it, maybe just half. I wanted to be a volunteer. Help.

Okay, I've whined enough. It's past time to get my clothes ready for the morning, pack a little lunch, and pray that the building burns down overnight. Just kidding. Kind of. Sorry for this mess of a post, I just wanted to keep this blog alive. It tells the story of my life since 2007 and I'd hate to let it fade away now. I suppose everything runs its course, but I'm not ready yet. Thanks for staying this long and reading this far. Sending out lots of love tonight. I hope it finds you. I also hope that joy finds you - we can all use a healthy dose of that. It's most often homemade. I'll be back during the weekend. Until then, stay safe, stay well, stay hopeful. XOXO, Nancy

[risu5waffles]

sales play, post-game

at least i managed to luckily avoid the Nazi merch shop. it was closed. i hadn't realized it was the Nazi merch shop until i'd pulled up to it, was like "heeeey... the name didn't ring bells, but i remember this place."

i suppose that it shared a name wiv a well-known realgore video might have been a clue (tho', in the only concession i'll make, i don't know when it got that name, so there might not be any connection aside from synchronicity).

but i did a whole whiparound to about five shops, and i managed to fail utterly. in fact, i achieved the exact opposite of my aims, in that now i am the proud owner of a dead-tree format This Is How You Lose the Time War, and a collection of Dykes to Watch Out For. which is, i think, the last of my flash cash on hand. so... yeah.

it has been a good trip for books, even if i couldn't find any Unbeatable Squirrel Girl.

easy access to books that i can directly engage wiv instead of beating my head against language... it's squirrel nip to me. but dang if the prices are fucking killers.

there were a couple shops in the mall up in Syracuse, so i wound up spending way more time in there than i'd normally want to. was the first one i've been in in a while that was actually mostly fully stocked wiv shops, if not actually wiv people. place was just too dang big tho', and i dunno why, but it was really cranking my anxiety by the time i was on my way out. something about all these shops, doors thrown open, lights on, stock in and attractively arrayed. staff at ready. breathlessly eager for a public that just isn't there, and won't be coming back. bugged me way more than fully dead and abandoned places i've been.

i also grabbed a Taco Bell burrito, which i think was the first time i've had Taco Bell since high school. it has not noticeably improved, tho' it was vaguely tasty, and if not as cheap as it used to be, at least it was comparatively cheap. they did manage to spell my name right on the order, but then pronounce it as rizuko, which... faaa... i mean, they were close. they tried.

saw this cutey on the way out the mall.

just check that baby out. a real biggie too.

i did find a nice shop, Play the Game Read the Story if you're up Syracuse way, that said they could have the owner look my comics over, and call back wiv an offer, but the timing probably won't be while i'm still in town. i'm going to try taking them down to this nice place me and Jilly went by in Elmira. and see if they might take them off my hands, and if that doesn't work out, drop them off back in Syracuse. have mum pick up the money, and she's welcome to keep it.

the shop down in Elmira is Heroes Your Mom Threw Out for anyone down in that neck of the woods. i really cottoned to that place. easily the most disorganized shop i've ever been in, but it felt like a place that understood comics as things to be read and enjoyed, and not so much collected for money later. also, the guy running the register knocked 2bucks off that Marvel Rising book up there for reasons i cannot fathom, but surely appreciate.

[theromaboo]

tag someone you want to get to know better

I was tagged by @just-late-roman-republic-things (dang you got tagged by catilina. cool)

Favourite color: Red :)

Last Song I Listened To: Havana in Classical Latin. Oh my gosh, it's so good! The singer's pronunciation is phenominal. I think I listened to this song a hundred times this week. The way I enjoy songs is that I find one that I like a lot and play it on repeat until I find another I like :)

Favourite Movie: Hmmmmmm... This is a very hard question. I don't really watch movies. But, I did watch Mio Figlio Nerone more times than I'd like to admit so I guess that's my current favourite movie!

Currently Watching: Nothing right now, but the second I'm less busy, I'm rewatching Domina! It's my favourite show by far. No piece of media has ever made me feel things Domina has made me feel.

Currently Reading: A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum: Murder in Ancient Rome by Emma Southon. There are a few things I don't really like about it, but it's overall a fun book to read. And because this book is pretty much just a list of anecdotes about killings back in ancient Rome, it is definitely a good starting point for anyone who's interested in that. If you find an interesting anecdote, you can research more about it!

Currently Working On: 1) Art. Yesterday I suddenly got inspired to draw and I have been drawing a lot since then! Better draw as much as I can while it lasts! And 2) I'm currently trying to study more Latin and Italian. Those two are easily my favourite languages, but I'd have to say I prefer Latin over Italian (sorry Italian).

Current Obsession: I'm currently not in an obsession obsession, where I get so obsessed, I start getting worried about myself.

My ancient Rome interest was actually started by an obsession obsession. I got a bit interested in Claudius, then I got very interested in Claudius, then I got worryingly interested in Claudius, then I got interested in him to the point where the only thing I thought about from waking up to going to sleep was Claudius and I literally did nothing but think about Claudius and read books and watch videos about Claudius for like a week. A neat thing that happened is that I was unable to become bored from Claudius. My attention span is normally awful and I become bored very quickly, but this obsession managed to bypass that and so I was able to binge-read extremely long and dry and old history books about Claudius without ever getting tired at all. But then, when I eventually stopped being so obsessed with Claudius, I was already too far in and I had learned too much about Rome to ever go back. After that, I had a few other obsession obsessions, such as Britannicus, Caligula, Domina, Tiberius, but they were never as strong as the original Claudius one. I sometimes wonder what happened there, but I'm glad it happened.

However, right now, no obsession obsession.

But of course, I've had my early Roman Empire/late Roman Republic (but mostly early empire) special interest for quite some time now, and everyone I know would say that I am Obsessed with it. Recently I have been very very interested in the early years of Octavian (like everything Octavian did before 27 BC), which is honestly quite a bit earlier than I usually like. Nowadays I have been interested in earlier and earlier parts of Roman history! (aka going from really liking the late Julio-Claudian dynasty last year to really liking the early Julio-Claudian dynasty this year. It's a bit slow).

I'm tagging @germanicuscaesars and @athelstan-anglecyning and @scribl1ta and @a-passing-storm and @octavianiscougarbait and @alienmythologist.

[walkawaytall]

Fannish Year Review - 2023

snagged from @diplomaticprincess

1. your main fandom of the year: Star Wars -- after like three years of feeling way-too-sensitive about the series, I decided to take that whole Marie Kondo approach to fandom: keep what brings you joy and throw the rest into an active volcano (or...something like that. It's been a minute since I read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, but I'm sure that's an accurate synopsis that Marie would be totally fine with on her book's dust jacket). And then I started writing fanfiction, which has been fun.

Though...though...I did revisit The Hunger Games this year and made my bestie into an HG fan, so that series has certainly played a part.

2. have u watched a film this year: I've only been to theaters twice this year -- once for the Return of the Jedi 40th anniversary rerelease, once to see Barbie. I don't think I've watched many new things this year, to be honest. Mainly rewatches.

3. your favorite book this year: Oof, my reading list is embarrassingly short this year. Probably Nine Liars by @maureenjohnsonbooks. It's the 5th book in a YA mystery series and love that entire dang series so much.

4. your favorite album or song this year:

Album: Stick Season by Noah Kahan

Song: Probably "Happier Than Ever" by Billie Eilish, but I'm honestly not certain

5. your favorite tv shows this year: I think I rewatched Severance twice this year, so...Haaaa...

6. your favorite tumblr community this year: Han/Leia, but I also follow some Little Women accounts that I've quite enjoyed.

7. your best new fandom discovery of the year: I did start watching Ted Lasso, but kind of forgot about it, though the show is delightful. I feel like I've been very hyperfocused on Star Wars stuff this year tbh.

8. your biggest fandom disappointment of the year: You know what, I rarely hate on specific ships publicly, but having one of my posts in which I was spitballing a headcanon involving Tarkin and Leia having an absurd rivalry while she was like 16-19 years old that was similar in tone to Jack Donaghy and Kaylie Hooper from 30 Rock (a relationship that is entirely not sexual on account of Kaylie being fifteen when she first pops up on the show) reblogged multiple times with Leia/Tarkin shipping tags might just have been the most disappointing fandom-related thing to happen to me personally this year. I don't even know if this is the type of answer the question was looking for, but uh...it was definitely the most disappointing.

9. your tv/movie boyfriend and/or girlfriend of the year: I'm...not entirely sure how to answer this tbh.

10. your biggest squee moment of the year: I've received a lot of really nice comments on my stories this year, but there have been a handful left where I really felt...seen? if that makes sense. Like, the commenters wrote something where I felt like someone fully understood what I was trying to do, which doesn't always happen, and those have definitely been exciting moments for me.

Self-service tagging today!

[stormblessed95]

Danmei anon here!

Ahhh! I didn’t think Id get a reply so soon! Heaven official’s blessing (or tgcf as its more commonly called in the fandom - it’s short for the chinese name tian guan ci fu) is actually not what the untamed is based on . It’s based on the founder of diabolism.) bit tgcf is a great choice (it has an anime too in netflix under the same name) and both books have the same author - mo xiang tong xi or mxtx for short. She actually has another book called scum villain’s self saving system which i also recommend. Theyre all fairly long-ish but i think tgcf is the longest one.

Danmeis are actually pretty varied and has so many sub genres. I recommend using novelupdates so you can see how many they are (and you can cater the tags to your own preference) here: https://www.novelupdates.com/series-finder/?sf=1&gi=560&mgi=or&sort=srate&order=desc Danmeis are actually webnovels (like ao3 but for original works, some of them are free some you need to pay) and since they’re in chinese, they’re only accessible to non chinese speakers thru translations unless they’re published. Novelupdates has links to translations for each novel, as long as they haven’t been officially slated for official english translation and publication. Some translators will password lock theirs until you provide proof that you bought a copy off of the authors site of choice like JJWXC as a way to support the author which i fully support!

For other recommendations from other authors i really liked so far:

Mist

The Little Mushroom (widely favorited in the danmei community and has been published in english)

Golden stage (also published in english)

Qian Jing Jiu (very plot heavy and actually the first danmei i bought! It’s infamously so plot dense and has so many characters that the translators have a separate list for them and you actually need to read it lol)

Nan Chan

First Class Lawyers

Joyful Reunions

Cherry Blossoms Upon a Wintry Storm (I’m reading this now and it’s so good!!!)

FYI, please take note of the trigger warnings for wach books because some of them are pretty brutal and triggering (perfect example is Husky and his White Cat Shizun, that one has a pretty long list of TWs and I don’t go near it at all) 😭

Some danmeis are so freaking long tho like I saw one with 700+ chapters and translations are still only in 300+ 😭

Also for non gay (but very plot heavy) I recommend Omniscient Readers Viewpoint!!! It’s a Korean webnovel but the english translation is very good and the fandom is very active! It’s around 400 chapters long I think and has an ongoing webtoon too.

As an Asian, I can say that the asian literature has a tons of stuff that I can’t find in fhe usual mainstream community!!! Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading tgcf and I’m excited for your thoughts when you finish it!!! And if you dive into another danmei too!!!

I've been told! Same author, but different story! Lol so I was wrong, but I was close! I'll look into all of these! Thank you! I'm always open to new recommendations! And after I finish the book, if I like it, I'll probably look up the anime to watch then too! I'm going to the bookstore today actually, so idk if these will be there or if they will only be on the site you sent, but I'll keep my eye out! And if anyone else has other suggestions for me to check out while I'm out! I'll check out Novelupdates later tonight too! I'm in the middle of TGCF clearly as well as another novel I'm annotating with a friend and a 1.3+ million word fanfic. Fanfics should count towards goodreads reading goals because dang. Lol but I will be looking for something new soon, so thanks! And if you want a post about my thoughts/a review of TGCF, let me know. Or if you just want to DM me and I'll share my thoughts with you, please feel free to do so! 🥰 I'd love to Chat books with you!