#forewords

[world-of-wales]

��� 2 FEBRUARY 2024 | The Princess of Wales has penned a foreword for Centre for Early Childhood's new Shaping Us Framework that was released.

Catherine has said :

“To create a physically and mentally healthier society, we must reset, restore, and rebalance… That means taking a profound look at ourselves and our own behaviours, emotions, and feelings. It means getting much better at acting with compassion and empathy towards one another… better understanding how we can protect and build upon what connects and unites us… and acknowledging that society is something we build together, through the actions we take every day... At the heart of all of this is the need for us to develop and nurture a set of social and emotional skills which we must prioritise if we are to thrive.”

The new framework aimed at improving awareness of and knowledge about social and emotional skills to inspire action across society, as part of The Princess of Wales’ mission to create a happier, healthier society.

The first project to be based on the framework is due to be launched by Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales, later this week.

[sweatermuppet]

Blessed Be by Sol Rios, published in Ghost of my Ghosts

[bixels]

Finally posting my first Rarijack one-shot for the Grand Galloping 20s, "So This Is Love." This is the first time I've posted my writing (or written any fanfiction) in years and years, so lemme know what you think.

Summary: After a mutually unsuccessful night at the Grand Galloping Gala, both Miss Rarity and April-Jacqueline find themselves at their wits' end in the Canterlot castle gardens while the gala continues without them.

Preview: Polished marble sculptures and manicured jade hedges glistened by the light of the moon and her stars. The gardens of Canterlot Castle were beautiful. They would be much more beautiful if shared with another, Miss Rarity thought to herself bitterly. “Surprised to see you all on your lonesome out here.” She looked down the gravel path to a figure sitting at a stone bench. A woman, fitted in a fetchingly tailored pinstripe suit –– Miss Rarity’s suit actually, she designed it herself –– a perfectly curled ponytail –– she had spent nearly half an hour ironing out the flyaways –– and that obnoxiously drab stetson hat –– no relation to Miss Rarity. A half-spent cigarette fell from her lip, stamped out under her heel. ...

[anna-scribbles]

MY BEST FRIEND MADE ME A COPY OF CALL IT EVEN FOR MY BIRTHDAY😭😭😭

[ghostlypawn]

i can understand why someone may look at the material of great comet and decide that a modern direction is the way to go, i mean, the anachronisms are literally written into the score. even in the original broadway production the modern elements are visually present. so to set great comet in a modern seedy club isnt completely dissonant. the difference to me, however, is that those anachronistic elements have thematic purpose and by changing them you ultimately dull a lot of moments. having a modern set could be utilised as moscow being a modern unknown world that natasha has yet to explore, its a world anatole is familiar with which is reflective in his gaudy electronic musical motifs whilst natasha's sweeter classical motifs clash with the visuals of a gritty stage. in a similar way, this is also true of pierre who feels distant from moscow society. what i think changes about this though is that, for natasha, it makes moscow seem like a bigger spectacle than anatole (and i think its important for natasha's motives that anatole is the bigger spectacle). natasha goes to moscow and lives with her older traditional aunt. she goes and visits her traditional fiancés family. its only when she sees anatole for the first time does she experience the excitement of something new, something shes never experienced before. its only at anatoles arrival do the modern electronic beats fuse with the traditional/classical sounds we've grown used to, a refreshing excitement for both the audience and natasha. and so imo it makes sense for the set to reflect that disruption of tradition with anatoles entrance rather than have the traditional elegance be absent from the beginning. in the original production i think this was actually showcased with the lighting; the show had a candlelit feel with chandeliers and table lamps only for the audience to get flashbanged with LED lights as anatole makes his entrance and for the audience to get overwhelmed with flashing rave lights as we follow his character in the next scene, it's the same weirdly intoxicating feeling natasha felt, you try to look away but you cant stop looking. its also why i prefer the comet to circle back to that traditional lighting, as anatole leaves moscow he takes his electronic aura with him and the chandelier glows as if a natural order has been restored.

thats not to say i dont think a modern set would never work or couldnt be thematically interesting. if i were to take a modernist approach i would evoke the feeling described above through costumes instead. having natashas costumes start very traditional/period-accurate and slowly fusing with modern clothing would echo anatoles corruption of her and how natasha forces herself to be what he wants. similar to most of their scenes, anatole/dolokhov/balaga/helene lend themselves to modern visuals. i think by making all the costumes glaringly modern you lose the contrast of natashas two worlds, the contrast of andrei and anatole. (in the original production its really the ensemble who wear the modern elements which i think plays into that idea of moscow feeling overworldly and unusual to natasha.)

i think the people who really suffer with modern costuming are pierre/sonya/marya. sonya/marya exist as a reminder of who natasha was before anatole and eventually their role is to try to ground natasha back into the real world they live. the modern elements are almost fantastical in nature, theyre a dream natasha's lost in. traditional costume is realistic and thus brings natasha back into the real world. pierre, to me, can exist somewhere in the between. andrei is the past, anatole is the present, pierre is the future. he is also the person who connects andrei and anatole, he is a perfect middle ground and i think his costume could reflect this. it makes sense for him to dress more traditional as he doesnt fit in with the kuragins/moscow society. i could see some modern elements being incorporated into his costume to suggest that he has a place in that world more than he believes. but i dont think it works if he's entirely modern because to an extent, he's right, he doesnt fit in with that world musically at all and he's the one to rid moscow of its electronic sound (by banishing anatole). he's the one who restores the balance because he has experience with both worlds. the bolkonskys also suffer with modern costuming re: andrei being the past and his family need to reflect that old stuffy dusty feeling natasha has become dulled by. because of all this, if a production has a modernised set AND costumes, i think the first 20 minutes (until the opera) can feel a bit discordant and almost confusing.

alls to say, i dont think a production of great comet having a minimalist set is inherently abysmal and harrowing. i mean take a look at the australian production, there were very few qualms about that. (they did however stick with semi-traditional costuming as some characters had clear 1800s inspired dress or russian-feeling elements to their costumes.) im interested to see if i can find a visual story with the all-modern clothes in the west end production and at the end of the day i would watch a bunch of strangers in jeans perform this show in a parking lot and still have good time so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ we live to love another day

[highrepubliczine]

✨ Special announcement ✨

We are thrilled to announce that Starlight will feature a foreword from renowned High Republic author, Cavan Scott!

Cavan Scott began his writing journey by submitting short stories to Doctor Who fanzines, and we are delighted and honored that he accepted our invitation to write a foreword for this project celebrating Phase 1 of The High Republic.

You can follow Cavan Scott at cavletter.com and instagram.com/cavanscottwriter

Preorders for Starlight will only run through October 13, so order your copy now!

✨Preorder your copy here!✨

*Starlight is a fan-made project. Starlight is not associated with or endorsed by The Walt Disney Company or Lucasfilm, and is not officially licensed Star Wars merchandise.

[quasi-normalcy]

It is, in retrospect, impossible for me to read this line except as the psychopathic serial rapist author having a laugh at the world that lets him get away with it. Honestly, fuck Neil Gaiman.

[anemonet]

Happy halloween!!! Aimed and fired mainly towards >> @choliosus for the @mcyt-halloween gift exchange, but happy to everyone else too :DD

[valewritessss]

Whenever I see someone that hates Percy because of “how he treated Nico badly” I just sigh and scroll

[renstrapp]

"the art is lively and appealing, with inspired use of color" [twirls hair] you mean it? Thank you Foreword Reviews! Read the whole review of How Could You, my debut graphic novel coming Dec 17 from Oni Press <3

[tired-fandom-ndn]

Never read book reviews because you will be enraged by people's lack of critical thinking skills and their inability to actually read what is on the paper.

[world-of-wales]

❥ 26 SEPTEMBER 2024 | The Prince of Wales has penned a foreword for Suicide Bereavement UK's 'At Your Side' guides, supporting serving personnel & the families bereaved by suicide in the Armed Forces community.

You can download the resources below -

[gynandromorph]

idletry might end up being the first comic i've made that doesn't have to be prefaced with "it's heavy"...... instead ideally it'll be some nebulous difficult to define "it's fucked up"

[gingersnaptaff]

hi anon again and no you didn't bore me at ALL!! i loved hearing about the welsh arthurian mythos and i want to know more. please tell me where i can read about them and tell me interesting facts you like about it!!!!!!!!

Anon, I am hugging u. Thank u for saying I didn't bore u!!! So glad u liked my mad ramblings!!!

Okay, so The Mabinogion is probably a good place to start. It contains four branches of Welsh mythology which sorta ties into Welsh Arthuriana because some of the gods (Manawydan, Pryderi, Gwyn ap Nudd, Mabon ap Modron, Bendigeidfran's head.) pop up in both. Also, it contains Culhwch and Olwen which is a tale concerning Arthur's cousin Culhwch going on a quest with Arthur and his knights so he can marry Ysbaddaden Pencawr's daughter, Olwen. It's believed to be the earliest-written Arthurian romance preserved in manuscripts. It also contains three other Arthurian romances which are either Welsh tales that have been adapted by De Troyes and then back into Welsh but with a twist, or just based on French romance tales that have been repressed for the Welsh. (Idk really know which one is true but they're all fun!!!)

There's also the tales of Lludd and Llefelys (a personal fave.), The Dream of Rhonabwy (a fictional dream containing Arthurian characters but also actually REAL LIFE Welsh ruler Madog ap Maredudd.), AND The Dream of Macsen Wledig which is essentially one man's quest to bonk a hot lady in Caernarfon. (Tbf, Macsen Wledig is somewhat of an Arthurian figure in his own right cuz he too is seen as a Mab Darogan (prophecised son) in Welsh Culture because he united the Welsh under one banner, and then died, and then Wales immediately split into kingdoms again.)

You can either access Charlotte Guest's translation which I am sure @queer-ragnelle has scanned, or Sioned Davies' new translation which has handy dandy footnotes and such.

There's also Gwyn Jones and Thomas Jones translation which uses a lot of the medieval language but was also made into a beautifully illustrated book by Alan Lee (An illustrator who is famous for LOTR illustrations). Jeffrey Gantz's edition is, I think, the most recently published edition but you can tear Sioned Davies from my COLD DEAD HANDS. Or, if you like poetry, one of my old English lit lecturers, Matthew Francis, has done a poetry version of the four branches! It's amazing!!!!

Also, Naxos has an audiobook version read by Matt Addis which uses Guest's translation but is good for listening to. I love it.

(You'll also want Trystan ac Essyllt, 'The Triads of Britain' and 'The Arthur of the Welsh' which are written by Rachel Bromwich, and I recommend O.J. Padel's 'Arthur in Medieval Welsh Literature' for more on how he's portrayed through that. And if you like modern re-tellings Seren Books has a box set of them! Each one is a re-telling of each branch of the Mabinogi, Culhwch and Olwen, the three romances, and the others. Very fun!)

Now in terms of my favourite things: Peredur being Urien's first cousin irl made me be like WHAT? Like, they're SO interconnected it's MADNESS. Urien, Owain, and Peredur are all related. Also, the fact that Welsh Arthuriana has swallowed up eight irl monarchs (Edern ap Nudd, Cunedda, Owain, Urien, Geraint, Peredur, Macsen Wledig, Cynon ap Clydno (Owain's sister, Morfudd's, lover), and Cynyr Ceinfarfog (Cai's dad), one poetic genius (Taliesin - who wrote about Urien as it goes!!! BTW read the tale of Taliesin. Sjdddkxk. The Jones and Jones translation has it, the Davies translation of the Mabinogi does not.), Emrys Wyllt who was the inspiration for Merlin, and sixty-seven thousand gods, as well as a few saints.

My favourite fact about Welsh Arthuriana is probably that Gwalchmai and Peredur probs had a relationship, Arthur is canonically in love with his boat, Cai literally says 'if u held my dick like that I'd die.' in Culhwch and Olwen, and Gwenhwyfar's a fuckin GIANTESS. 😍😍😍😍 I have many more facts but like I don't want to clutter the feed!!!!!

Hope my rambles were helpful in some way! Have a good day/night, anon! ☺️🧡

[lowpawly]

I'm so so serious like can someone please tell shuzo oshimi like. someone has had to have told her right

[yoonia]

— Hello and welcome, 2025!!

I’ve already written my reflection and recap from 2024 on my 2024 Tumblr Wrapped post so I won’t say a lot more about the past year except to say, “Thank f*ck it’s over,” and, “I’m glad I survived...for now.” 

I’ve also shared my main goals for 2025 on the same post, but overall, I’m really looking forward to be able to get as many WIPs out as possible this year and finish a ton of series that have been on hiatus for a long time. I also have some new ideas that are begging for me to write and release, and I’m really looking forward to it. I hope you’ll stay tuned for my future plans as well. 

How to follow/keep up with my updates

On Tumblr — you can follow my updates and posting schedule through my “Schedules & Progress” post. I also share monthly psa posts to share what fics I’ll be working that month and sneak peeks of my WIPs 

On Patreon — I post monthly writing journal which details my overall WIP plans, progress tracker, and my daily writing progress (with daily written word count and details of what I’m working on that day). This is also where I would usually rant while I write, whether it’s about my writing process or my day to day life, so you can get a closer insight of how I work and write and keep up with my daily progress and maybe get a glimpse of what's happening in my life to know why I'm not around lol. I also share teasers of my WIPs that I don’t share on Tumblr. I might start doing this on Ko-fi as well this year as I’m prepping to open my Ko-fi shop

On social media — I post sneak peeks and links to my updated fics on X which you can use to keep up with my writing, either those updated on Tumblr or other platforms (AO3, Wattpad, Inkitt). I’ve also created an account on Bluesky to specifically share my writing progress. I might also use this account to share sneak peeks of my original stories instead of X

How you can support me and my writing

Like, kudos, comment, reblog — pretty much any of these basic ways you can do to support a writer on Tumblr will be much appreciated. Seeing you in my notifs and reading your comments and feedbacks have been extremely helpful to give me the motivation (and oftentimes, the inspiration) to continue writing. Please don’t stop. And I’m not just talking about me. Please support other writers the best way you know you can

Say hi — it's so easy. My ask box is always open. Just talk to me from time to time and let me know there's someone there and that I'm not (always) talking to a void lol. I know that, due to timezone differences and my hectic life outside Tumblr, I might get back to your message rather late. But I'll be there to answer and say hi back

Patreon subscription — your monthly subscription on my Patreon account will help me A LOT. In return, I always share exclusive contents that you can only find here. You’ll find spoilers, deleted scenes, explicit scenes, fic teasers, a glimpse of my storyboards and inspiration boards. This year, you will also get access to my Writing Class (with downloadable practice sheets) and a first look at my original stories

Ko-fi donations and commissions — I have been limiting my commissions due to the fact that I still have a couple commissions need to be done, but I’ll be opening it up again this year. I might not open as many slots as I usually do with the amount of work I have in line and many writing plans scheduled, so feel free to contact me if you’re interested. Or, you can simply drop by and send me donations through my Ko-fi account here

What I’ll be working on this year

This is normally where I show you some teasers of my WIPs. But I have so many WIPs to catch up on and I’ve also learned that I don’t always get to keep up with my own plans and I don’t want to leave you hoping and hanging while I’m suddenly inspired to work on other things. If you haven’t caught on with the WIPs hinted on the banner above, here are some visuals to show you what will be my main focus in 2025.

Note: they will not be released in chronological order and some may take time to finish. Let’s see if you can guess which fics these visuals represent and if there’s any of the fics you’re excited to see listed in this.