#darkpoisonouslove

[intothewickedwood]

Ooh, you watched One of Us Is Lying! I love that show! I read the book last year and I thought it was pretty good but then I watched the show and while I don't like some of the changes they made, I think the show is actually much, much better! It treats all the characters as people, not just our 4 main characters. It was definitely a big surprise and I'm glad to see you've enjoyed it too!

Yes!! Just finished it last week after watching it over a few months! I wasn't expecting to enjoy it half as much as I did, but the mystery each season really kept me on my toes! It was so hard to keep from binging it. Definitely gonna check the book series out! Do you know if the book series continues from the shows s2 cliffhanger? That finale was incredible, but the cliffhanger to finding out it was cancelled!! It's a shame the characters aren't as fleshed out in the books. I loved how the show got me to like characters I initially didn't. I'll probably have to mix book canon with tv show canon where possible.

I'm glad you enjoyed it! I gotta know, who were your favourite characters/ships and what were your favourite parts? Did you guess the murderer in s1 and/or in s2?

[folkloristico]

Spoiler!

I was responding by explaining how I reimagined the Dragon Flame lore, but it was turning out to be a terribly long info-dump, so I just had to cut that part out—and I still ended up writing a lot. Sorry about that!

Basically, roughly 1200 years prior Bloom’s birth, a civil war forced the Court of Domino to find another way but childbirth to pass on the Dragon Flame to another guardian.

They succeed, but the ritual they come up with is complicated. That is because, when transmitted naturally, the Dragon Flame grows with its guardian, but to inject such an amount of power into a person all at once would kill them.

The solution is to seal the Dragon Flame under many locks; there isn’t a precise number, it mostly depends on the situation. Based on how many locks you intend to create, there are people—I haven’t figured out their names yet—who help the current guardian to keep the power under check while it’s being transmitted to the next one.

Nobody has ever succeeded to pass it on at will alone.

Until Daphne.

The war is particularly hard on her. On one hand, she is the guardian of the Dragon Flame—Marion still has fire magic and shares a link to the Dragon Flame, but what remains in the past guardians is just a trace, a faint glimpse of it. Daphne feels it should be her, more than anyone else, to be fighting Valtor and the Coven. But on the other hand, she knows Marion and Oritel won’t let that happen.

Having both been raised by strict parents (Marion’s mother and Oritel’s father were especially shitty), Marion and Oritel try to not make the same mistakes. As a result, they tend to overcompensate, and Daphne can sense that. She’s a smart, receptive child. She doesn’t want to see her parents more hurt than they already are, so she always tries her best to not let them down. She tends to keep everything bottled inside of her. She almost never fights back, never complains.

But she knows to her bones that the war is getting close with each passing day, and she cannot let the Dragon Flame fall into the wrong hands. She starts researching any other way she may pass on the Dragon Flame to someone else (her newborn sister is her first guess) should anything happen, and she tells no one. (Griffin suspects something, and in the first draft I have Daphne openly asking her for help, but I’m considering whether I should cut that part out.)

The Coven attacks, and Daphne actually manages to pass on the Dragon Flame to her sister. Then Domino is destroyed, Bloom gets sent on Earth—you know how it goes.

When Domino is revived, everybody is happy and ready to party, but the sentiment doesn’t last long as reality soon kicks in. Daphne is made corporeal soon after that thanks to Bloom and Griffin, but Marion and Oritel find her… changed. She’s tired, both physically and mentally.

She and Oritel get into a fight when Oritel says something condescending and he’s literally shocked at Daphne’s response, she’s never acted like this. Like—Oritel realizes—a young woman her age.

Returning to life is hard on anyone, of course, but Daphne seems to be suffering in a different way than any of them. She has missed so much, like anyone from Domino has, but it’s not only that. She feels incredibly old and young at the same time.

When Oritel discovers how exactly she was able to pass on the Dragon Flame to Bloom, he is… many things. Shocked. Incredulous. That’s what their fight is about, and it’s like the pressure of constantly keeping any emotion under control snaps in Daphne all at once. 

Marion’s role in their conflict is complicated. Upon being revived, she barely feels like herself. It’s like she’s constantly on the edge of breaking into a million pieces, much like Daphne (and Oritel, too) is. Daphne’s current status is worse than she’d thought and she’s devastated. She feels like she has failed Daphne. It scares the hell out of Marion to think that she has tried so hard not to follow her mother’s example, only to retrace her footsteps backward to the same result—building a wall between her and her daughter.

Of course, having the Bloom situation to figure out doesn’t help. Instead of one, Marion is left with two daughters whom she can’t understand.

All of this happens around the same time Marion has offered Bloom to invite Mike and Vanessa to Domino, but it was before Oritel and Daphne’s fight, when Marion thought things were starting to settle down. There’s a lot of angst, but also some degree of second hand-embarrassment because they’re just standing there like 🧍

(I was actually planning to have Bloom walk in the middle of the fight, but having Marion being the one who does is even better. I love how the second part of my SotLK rewrite is basically family drama and suffering.)

[winxwannabe]

Hi! If I may offer my perspective on the livestream, to me at least there was a really tangible sense of community during the livestream and I think that's why so many people showed up. As many people on tumblr in general have pointed out, fandom as the long-term fans know it is dying. The engagement is just not what it used to be and you and @bloomvalyria engaging in this very direct way with other fans was really a great experience. It felt like having friends over in my room even though, as you said, we have differing ship tastes. So thanks for doing this!

Really appreciate the insight! I mean it when I say it was our pleasure to do, and we're so glad so many people enjoyed it. @bloomvalyria and I were joking that it'd be great to have 7-10 viewers, so to get over 100 was mind boggling. Winx Club may be a sinking fandom ship, but we're on it to the end.

[stellasolaris]

1, 7, 8, 20, 23

I have answered 7, 8, and 13 here and here!

1. the character everyone gets wrong

Sky. I was originally going to say Riven because I feel like he gets mischaracterized the most, but then I realized there is a good chunk of people who do understand his character. However, with Sky, I feel like there are usually two types of people: either Sky haters or Sky apologists. I do understand why fans feel strongly about him, but this type of thinking tends to pigeonhole characters in ways that are more about people projecting and presenting one-sided arguments than about the characters themselves. It's rare to come across a post about Sky that is not filled with unfounded biases and emotions, which is why I really appreciate it when people provide concrete examples or refer to the show when explaining their points.

20. part of canon you found tedious or boring

I'm sure I have mentioned this before in some other post, but I'm not a fan of the way Bloom gained her Enchantix. Not because of any particular issue. I just find everything about Pyros so utterly boring.

[wicked-storybrooke]

Looks like we're going to have to sail our ship pretty much on our own because so far we're the only ones with the Regina x Kathryn agenda. But do you have any specific thoughts on what you would've liked to see explored with the two of them?

I thought as much D’:. I hope there’s some fic out there for them. It’s on my list of ships to search for.

I would have loved if the show explored a tumultuous friendship post-curse break with Kathryn and Regina. After their feelings for each other would slip out during an intense argument, I’d have liked to have seen the relationship blossom into a passionate love/hate, rocky romance.

I’d have liked to see what Regina wanted to do to Kathryn and the traumatising results of that desire explored, with Kathryn being righteously very angry at first, and Regina taking a while to admit she was wrong. She’d eventually admit that part of the reason she wanted to hurt Kathryn was that that’s just her reaction to loving someone and not knowing what to do with that love. (Lol)

I think Kathryn would ultimately forgive Regina but she’d need some sessions with Archie and an explanation and sincere apology from Regina to get to that point.

I’d have loved to have seen Kathryn trying to help Regina fight her darkness, if only for Henry’s sake. But she’d really want Regina to be better for Regina’s sake as well, and so that they could all be happy together, without hurting anyone else.

An s1 au where Kathryn and Regina were a thing would have been awesome too. I feel like every season would be improved if they were romantic interests. Regina could have benefitted from genuine love and support from an adult with her best interests at heart in earlier seasons. A conscience, if you will.

And I’d have loved to have seen how Kathryn would’ve reacted to Cora, and for Cora to have tried to manipulate or hurt Kathryn in order to break Regina. So yeah, all the nice things xD.

[trashcankitty12]

11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 20, 21 for the unwritten fic asks (for any fic)

11. Is there any scene you can't wait for people to react to when reading? Why?

-So... I have a few, but this one is going to be about one from my Winx Club Final Season Fic (with my OC).

Without revealing too much, Valkyrie and Flora are going to have a confrontation with each other. One that's going to have ramifications throughout the fic and sort of put things in motion. Valkyrie is going to be on a path of 'I'm spiraling but instead of dealing with feelings I'm going to be working and shutting off feelings and just doing my job' and Flora is going to be deep in denial and lots of emotional pain.

Why am I excited for this? Because of the set up and the fact I've kept Flora and Valkyrie as relatively drama-free as I could... So this is going to be painful. In a good way. Probably.

13. Is there any unwritten/unpublished fics you haven't mentioned you're going to do?

-Yes. Several. There's my Hill House/Winx au (though I've briefly mentioned that one to you once or twice) and continuing the Left in the Aftermath au... And then I have a Miraculous Ladybug fic outlined... For like... Five seasons plus tie-ins because I'm impossible.

14. Is there any unwritten/unpublished fics you planned on doing, but now you're feeling like you're going to scrap those ideas?

-I wouldn't say scrap them... But I will putting them on the big back burner of 'maybe one day'. Like continuing with Tempest (harpy!Griffin) or the arranged marriage one or working on my Happily Ever After au (the prequel with Valtor and Griffin...)

15. Do you have any unwritten scenes that you think about a lot?

-So... Many.

A big one is a confrontation scene. And then there's a fight scene that may not be really a fight scene.

And, of course, there's two sort of scenes that happen in the same time-frame but at different places in which Bloom and Valkyrie discover interesting bits of their powers.

16. Is there any written scene that you think about a lot?

-Yes!

Oh I just wrote it not too long ago! (Nabu and Layla's wedding ceremony. The fucking world building and attempts to make it sort of realistic was... I'm proud of myself, okay? I think I did a good job with it and I'm proud of it. But I'll be understanding if it's not for everyone.) -For the tie-ins that happen before my Final Winx Season.-

20. Give a vague description of something that will happen without revealing too much.

-For my tie-ins with Final Winx Season-

-Roxy, Selina, and Miele are going on a hiking adventure together through Black Mud Swamp. What could go wrong?

21. Is there any unwritten fic that you don't know if you ever will write?

-Most of them really... Aside from finishing up this series with Valkyrie and my Hill House AU and the Miraculous Ladybug fic... I'm not sure about any others currently. Especially since I've been focusing, or attempting to focus, on my Original Works and some... Stuff that's going on in real life.

But I'm hoping one day to write them all.

Hell, I might even write about the next gen if I'm so a-minded to. (As my grandma says.) Or I'll write blurbs of what I would set up for them. I don't know though. It's up in the air.

[thegirl20]

Hi! Numbers 4, 7, 8 and 32 for the weird writing asks

4. What’s a word that makes you go absolutely feral?

Fucking turn. Honestly, about 95% of my non-dialogue writing is people turning. Turning back, turning around, turning to face other people. I think I write turn more than any other word and it bugs the hell out of me and I don't know how to stoppppp!!

7. What is your deepest joy about writing?

Getting to play around with characters' voices. My greatest joy comes when I'm writing a conversation, and it flows and it feels right for the characters. I love it when a voice comes like that. And my second biggest joy is someone commenting on my use of voices. That's a thrill every time!!

8. If you had to write an entire story without either action or dialogue, which would you choose and how would it go?

This is not difficult at all. It would be without action. The hardest bit of writing for me is the stuff that goes in between the dialogue. If I could write just dialogue, I'd be happy. And I have written a few all dialogue ficlets. They're fine for short bursts but become a bit unmanageable after a while.

32. What is a line from a poem/novel/fanfic etc that you return to from time and time again? How did you find it? What does it mean to you?

Gathering her brows like gathering storm, nursing her wrath to keep it warm.

It's from Tam O'Shanter by Robert Burns and it's just stayed with me from the first second I heard it. I think it's so evocative of this 'sulky sullen dame' waiting at home for her 'blethering, blustering, drunken blellum' of a husband to come home from market the pub.

Close second is 'a hothouse flashed uniquely' from The Whitsun Weddings by Philip Larkin. It's such a nothing line, but it comes to my mind every single time I'm on a train in the summer. (You'd think the elaborate sex/train metaphor would be the thing that sticks out from that poem, but no, it's the hothouse.)

[mecharose]

Nelly + 96%. A typical weekend for your character is like…

oh god 💀

average Nelly weekend would be sitting alone in her house, half-watching reality TV and crime documentaries with her cat. while spiraling about whether The Cosmic Eyeball (that may or may not be real, ofc) is also watching reality TV with them...

clearly she's a #WeekendWarrior 😤✌️

send an ask based on your battery percentage!

[goblins-riddles-or-frocks]

Fic Authors Self Rec

Rules: When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers!

I was tagged by @chthonic-cassandra thank you so much!

Unmaking the Heart of the World (Grisha Trilogy, 116k+, Darklina, Nikolina, Zoyalina, ongoing) This is my time loop fic that is basically every opinion I’ve ever had about this series combined. It also laces in more general concepts I’ve thought about and wanted to try to work into a story for awhile— chiefly the meta aspect of time loops, time travel, and reincarnation tropes and how that can be an interesting way to engage with themes of grief and denial.

I think the sheer length sets it apart from my other fic because I don’t usually get to structure and develop a narrative in the same way in fanfic.

These Truths That Shape Us (Hellsing, 3k, gen) I like this one for the horror elements. It’s part of an informal collection of “sins of the father” stories, that’s mostly about Integra reckoning with her family, her legacy, her own sense of identity and values within that context, and how that ultimately defines her relationship with Alucard. This one specifically tries to bridge the gap a bit between Dracula, and Hellsing as disparate stories.

Ever Ancient, Ever New (The Locked Tomb, 3k, Dios Apate) I’m proud of this one because the style is so different from how I usually write. On the theme of false forgiveness, the premise is that Augustine decided to forgive John at the end of HTN and that John eventually forgives Mercymorn, and his way of doing so is resurrecting her again, but deliberately flawed and without any of her memories. It’s all from Augustine’s POV who genuinely loves and hates them both, and it’s my attempt at exploring how complicated and awful that group dynamic is.

The Scorched Sea (The Grisha Trilogy, 9k, Darknikolina) This is a role reversal AU. It was a really interesting challenge trying to preserve the characters while putting them in very different circumstances with different pasts. I like the character work in this mostly where it comes to Aleksander and how he might think and who he might be if he were younger and less powerful.

I have a lot of ancillary worldbuilding for this AU that I ever want to come back to.

Éminence Grise (The Grisha Trilogy, 37k, Darknikolina, ongoing) I struggled to pick a last one but I think this one wins out because it’s longer and occupies more space in my thoughts and so I favor it lmao. This started from a one off prompt I got on tumblr that spiraled out of control. It has more silliness and social hijinks than my average fic but is mostly concerned with all the manipulation that would be inherent to a longstanding relationship between Alina and Aleksander if he had been able to just keep lying to her the entire time and the amplifier plot never happened.

Tagging: @jammerific @akilice @hannahofathousanddays @tirkdi @darkpoisonouslove if you feel like it!

[darkpoisonouslove]

https://www.tumblr.com/darkpoisonouslove/727109612064669696/how-far-do-you-think-they-couldve-get-if-griffin?source=share

I need a fanfic with this idea. With the trope found family.

I don't think the Trix would vibe with that final arrangement. I know I said that Valtor is convincing enough to charm them into staying and he is at least initially. He'd convince them that they'd gain nothing by freeing the Ancestral Witches because he knows them personally and they wouldn't share their power regardless of how loyal and useful the Trix have been. Meanwhile, he could certainly use three young, bright witches that got so far as to steal the Dragon Fire - something the Ancestral Witches couldn't accomplish in millennia. The ego boosting would work for a bit but Griffin did very much use the Trix and now that Valtor's been freed, there's no way the three of them will ever be in charge (not to mention having to watch Griffin and Valtor being disgustingly in love with each other).

I can see them sticking around in hopes of using what they know about Griffin's friendship with Faragonda to undermine her relationship with Valtor as payback for how she manipulated them. Maybe even creating a situation that would perfectly allow for Faragonda's murder so that Valtor will be disappointed when Griffin doesn't go through with it (and at least taking credit for setting Griffin up for success if by some miracle she does kill Faragonda).

However, Griffin does have the upper hand since she knows Valtor and can easily convince him that the Trix are too dangerous to keep around as they are descendants of the Ancestral Witches. They could be a threat to him, especially if they learn the truth about his servitude to the Witches and attempt to take control of him. Though, the fact that they are trying to sow discord between Griffin and him would be enough to motivate drastic measures on his part. He wouldn't care too much if he has to eliminate them.

So I can see them putting on a facade for the sake of finding a weak spot and then turning the tables on Griffin and Valtor. Maybe even teaming up with the Winx, who are at the end of their rope because of Faragonda's insistence on not harming Griffin, to take them down. That way they can also learn what the Winx know about the Ancestral Witches thanks to Bloom's search for her parents. The three of them succeeding into bringing the Witches back would certainly change the balance of power and create massive issues for both the Winx and Griffin and Valtor so I'd say that would be the plan.

Fuck, now I kinda wanna write that!

[intothewickedwood]

For @darkpoisonouslove

[folkloristico]

8, 20, 23 and 29 for the writing asks

Thank you for the ask!

8. Post an out-of-context spoiler from a WIP. 

I’m not sure if this refers to a written spoiler or a snippet spoiler…?

I’ll just go with the first one. From my Andros WIP (that might or might not be incorporated into my Domino/CoL prequel): Tritannus is not Nereus’ twin, and he’s actually from the same timeline as Daphne (they’re the same age; Politea as well), but because of some circumstances, he’s just a few years older than Aisha and the other Winx in my post-SotLK reimagination. In a way, what happens to him is similar to what happens to Daphne, though due to different reasons.

20. Do you prefer writing AUs or canon fics? 

Canon is my playground: canon-compliant if I’m satisfied; canon-divergent if I’m not, or if I want to try something new just because I think it would be fun. I have toyed with AUs every so often, but it only happens when I’m more interested in the dynamics between the characters than the plot itself. But seen as said dynamics depend on the plot and setting, it can be tricky. I prefer to draw AUs rather than writing them because this way I don’t have to think about plot or pacing, it’s just characters vibing. It can be done in a written piece as well, but I’m not really good at it. I get bored pretty easily if I don’t have a clear plan in mind. 

Take the Hogwarts!AU, for instance. I’ve written a bunch of them, and everytime it’s just the characters chilling. While I had fun writing those, I don’t really think of them as my best works. I’m also kind of a perfectionist and I fear I would be doing too much world-building for a more ‘serious’ AU, and I would likely never get to the writing phase. Kudos to those who can write thoroughly flashed AUs, seriously.

23. Is writing the beginning, middle, or end of the story easiest? Hardest?

For me, that depends on the fic. My writing process is never quite the same, and I always start from whatever scene comes to my mind first. My main current WIP for Winx started from the very end, and I progressively made my way backwards—maybe too much. Another WIP of mine, not Winx related, started right at the beginning, and I’m kind of struggling with the end right now. Yet another one has a huge chunk from the middle missing because I was like, “I will figure this out later,” and… I haven’t. As a non-chronological writer, the easiest part is whichever comes first; conversely, the hardest is the one that comes last.

29. What’s something about your writing that you’re proud of?

I never thought it would come a day when I would say this, but—descriptions. Borrowing from canon as I do, I’d realised I’d become somewhat lazy with my setting. In this regard, writing for Winx has helped me a lot because it was the first time I explored so many different places—though my main focus remains on Domino, Andros, the schools on Magix, and sometimes the Fortress of Light. Might also have to do with the fact that I picture those places somewhat different from canon, and so I want the reader to see them as I do. The palace on Domino, specifically, is completely different in my imagination. Whether I’m writing CoL or the Dominian family—I’m not sure there’s even a distinction there at this point—my main setting is almost always the palace, and I really want the reader to get that vibe I’m going for. 

[writingisartdarling]

I can honestly imagine Griffy having the best dance moves and then she teaches her niece (aka Fara's daughter) to slay on the dance floor against her mother's wishes because to quote her "every woman should know how to move 'em hips".🤭 I can just seeee it!!

Just had to share this thought with you @griffinswitch @darkpoisonouslove because well I'm sure you get it. Griffy's simply gotta have the best dance moves in all of Magix.

And no, I'm not doing this instead of reading for the final exam I have on Friday...

[stellasolaris]

Music Poll Tag Game

Rules: Put your music library on shuffle, then list the first five songs that come up in a poll to let people vote for which one they like the most

Tagged by: @darkpoisonouslove – thank you so much for tagging me! 🫶

Since I don't know who's still active here, I'm tagging anyone who wants to do this! Feel free to say I tagged you.

[bloomvalyria]

Top 5 songs Right Now

Thanks @darkpoisonouslove for the tag!

(btw im currently deep in my taylor swift depression era and I don’t want to hear shit about it. get out of my inbox right now.)

1. Midnight Rain (piano version) by Taylor Swift (actually it’s a YouTube video)

The original was good. This was better. And you know how I know? Because the recordings of it keep getting taken down and iT’S ANNOYING THE HELL OUT OF ME

2. Lament by: Ramin Djawadi

Ramin Djawadi with a piano and cello is the death of me. That man is a master of emotional scores, and I will fight anyone who says otherwise. Also if you have an iPhone I highly recommend playing the Background Noise Rain sound along with it. It’s an Experience™️

3. Carolina by: Taylor Swift

This song struck a chord with my southern soul. It’s like a mystery depression folk song —right up my alley. (And no I haven’t seen the movie. Don’t plan on it.)

4. Showed Me (How I Fell In Love With You) by: Madison Beer

It hits. I can’t explain it. The vibes of this song are just fucking immaculate.

5. Labyrinth by: Taylor Swift

this song gives me such lighthearted sparxshipping vibes. the “uh oh / im falling in love” lyric is them when they meet on the staircase. “bLoOm yOu DoN’t mAkE tHe RuLeS” i actually do make the rules. in fact there’s a rule that states that i make the rules. we had a meeting.

Honorable Mentions:

Protector of the Realm by: Ramin Djawadi

when i hear this song i can’t ever not think of daemon picking up the crown. but the first image that always pops into my head is the look on rhaenyra’s face when viserys turns to look at her before ascending the throne. And the pure disbelief and love on her face at seeing her father come to defend her one last time … my poor heart weeps.

Pacific by: Chase Petra

this is the song I scream into my steering wheel while I’m driving! (I’m also using it to retrain my singing voice because COVID slaughtered my vocal chords and breath control.)

Right Where You Left Me by: Taylor Swift

look I already said I was depressed. what more do you want from me?

i guess if you would like to participate in this, consider yourself tagged!