#i didn’t add some character’s because i believe they’re older.

[shigerussato]

in a pokemon high school AU, who (any characters you can think of) would be who? in like school roles/hierarchy?/ the classic mean girls, student council, nerd, jock, etc

sorry i took a bit to answer i was giving it some real thought lol never really thought of this. 😂

anyways! i think the student council and nerds would be the same people that being gary, clemont, goh, and i can see chloe, iris and the alolan girls being in that mix too lmaoo.

i could see ash, and kiawe / misty, and may being more in the sports groups.

ritchie, kenny and drew would definitely be in the music/theater groups.

todd, trip and zoey would be in the yearbook committee. possibly even serena would like that stuff!

i think paul would be the classic outsider who skates and has his headphones in all day ignoring the world around him lmao.

as for mean girls?? i can only think of ursula who (i think) is a cannon mean girl lmaoo. but i think that’s the only one that i can think of.

to channel in some palletshipping, gary and ash would be dating and be so nerd x sporty boy coded. 🫶🏻

[sabo-has-my-heart]

1500 Followers Event

*Gasps* Can you believe it? The day is here! The day is actually here! The day of….

Mitsuri: The 1500 Follower Event Poll!!!

Wait, what are you doing here?

Mitsuri: I’m… I’m here for the event poll.

Guest appearances aren’t supposed to be until the event itself…

Mitsuri: w-what? 

Well, I suppose I’ll make an exception this time. So, let’s tell them what the poll options are!

Mitsuri: Yay! Alright, well, with the 1400th follower (shoutout to @audrey-93 for being our 1400th) our wonderful Astra decided that she’d run a poll to let the followers decide what the 1500 follower event would be.

And what a great time to do it! During Election Season (In America)! So the options are as follows:

AU Event 3: AU Event 3 would be exactly like AU events 1 & 2 at 200 and 300 followers. Much like AU events 1 & 2, you will choose a character, choose an AU from those that I will put together, choose a prompt from the lists I’ll put together, and a please, thank you, or other form of politeness/pleasantry. Then you’ll send it in and if it follows my rules, then I’ll write it!

Open my inbox of 3-6 months: So I closed my inbox some time ago because I felt underappreciated. I felt like my followers and/or readers were treating me like some sort of writing machine that spits out fanfics without any sort of care about who I am as a person. This option would open my inbox to regular requests for a period of 3-6 months depending on what sort of requests I get. I would, of course, expect my rules to be followed and patience to be had, but I would open my inbox to requests.

Old Fic Rewrites: pretty self explanatory. You send in a request to rewrite one of my older fics. I’ll make a list of fics that I absolutely will not rewrite as well as a rule of how old a fic has to be for me to rewrite it, but in general, you’re asking me to rewrite a request. Depending, I may or may not add a prompt option to this. In which you, the requester, say “Please dearest Astra, rewrite this fic with this prompt.” and I’ll go, “Awww, how sweet of you to be so kind, alright, let’s see what I can do!”

Top To Bottom: This is a new one that was offered by one of my beautiful followers (named by me). What this means is that it will be reader (or character) x bottom!Character. Please Note that just because they’re bottom, does not necessarily mean they’re submissive. You can be a dom and be on bottom. Furthermore, this won’t be nsfw only. There will be sfw options! Do I serve smut? Yes. But this is an equal opportunity, all inclusive blog, meaning minors are allowed so long as they stay out of the smut!

Other: send me an idea! If enough people vote ‘Other’ I’ll take all of the other ideas and put them in a new poll!

None: you don’t want an event. You don’t want me to run an event. For whatever reason, you think that I shouldn’t run an event.

As a final note! I require 150 votes on this poll to run the event! That’s 1/10th of 1500 followers. I’m asking for a total vote count equal to 1/10th of the total followers to reach the milestone! That’s not that many. Heck, I have no way of knowing who voted and whether or not they’re a follower! You could message 150 friends and tell them “I’ll give each of you $2 if you go on Tumblr and vote this option.” (If you have this many friends and that much money, however, I think you’d be better off paying me, it would be much, much cheaper to pay me to run the event, lol). Or you could reblog this post as go “hey guys, vote on this for me!” whatever it takes to get 150 votes! Anything less and I will not run the event! I don’t care if it was 148, I don’t care if “I didn’t get time”. This poll will be set for 1 week! 150 votes! With that said, happy voting! (And happy voting season to all my fellow Americans. Please vote!)

[badfictropes]

Savior Complex in Teen Mom Danny Dp x Dc

(Warning: I enjoy these type of fics and prompts just expressing some of my frustrations about certain things. No hate towards anyone.)

So I want to start by saying I love mom Danny who is the mom of Dani and Dan if they are deaged or not and Vlad as Dani and Dan’s father but I find when people mix in dc they tend to make Danny into some poor abused thing that needs the big bad bats to save him and his children. Which in itself wouldn’t be such a bad thing but add in the Batfam stalking and manipulating Danny and it just irritates me.

In these stories Danny and his kids are on the run from Vlad usually or his parents and they end up in Gotham, good so far. Then they somehow catch the attention of the bats which is where I stop, to be fair at least half the time Danny or the kids get mixed up with a rouge or are revealed to be metas(or at least dc characters think so) which is its own prejudice I’ll come back to. So catching the bats attention; now I don’t mean to be insensitive but I would bet cash money that a mom(young in Danny’s case) on the run and hiding out with his kids from an abusive baby daddy is a dime a dozen in Gotham, I just can’t believe that teen pregnancy or young parents let along someone on the run from an abuser is all that unusual in a city like Gotham that the bats would have their attention and pity so utterly caught by Danny.

This is usually where Danny, Dani and Dan being mistaken for metas come in and like making the bats so suspicious and curious of Danny and his kids because the bats think they’re metas and might be dangerous just gives me prejudice. Like I refuse to believe there isn’t a population of metas in Gotham, so the bats intense interest in the Dannie’s is just annoying. So what comes after that is the Batfam stalking Danny both researching him CIA extensively and inserting themselves in his life and trying to manipulate answers out of him. Now we all know in the real world researching and investigating an abuse survivor and escapee like people write Danny being in this way would be a sure fire way of his abuser finding him and his kids but we’re not taking about the real world so we’ll ignore this, we’ll focus on the fact that it’s just creepy and invasive especially since Danny usually doesn’t even do anything criminal which is what the bats should be focused on, you know crime.

Inserting their way into Danny and his kids life is the real thing that bothers me. The bats just come off to me as being invasive and manipulative by forcing their presence and help on someone who didn’t ask for it and doesn’t want it when it’s offered. The bats are purposeful in inserting themselves in his life and not even just in costume but as civilians to, poor Danny who just wants to be left alone and raise his kids can’t escape them. The Bats seemingly unstoppable desire to know Danny secrets and past as if he’s not entitled to have things he wants to forget or doesn’t want anyone to know. Like I said Danny story in this trope is sadly not exactly unique especially when you take the ghost stuff out it, Danny being a young mom who got caught up with an older rich man who took advantage of him and left him running with two children is not something I see being an unsual story in a crime infested corrupted city like Gotham. So the Bats intense interest in Danny and his kids should freak him the fuck out especially when you add him trying to hide his ghostly secrets into it.

What I’m trying to say is we need Danny being freaked out and scared of the Bats who for some reason will not leave him and his kids alone. Like Danny just wants to live an ordinary life with his kids and the Bats keep inserting themselves into it trying to help someone that doesn’t want their help like they’re intitled to do it. Now I love the Batfam but we all know that getting involved with them and heroes in general is just asking for trouble to invaded your life and I feel like this Danny has had enough trouble for a life time. Write a Danny going past fear into annoyance and anger at more people ignoring his no and not staying out of his and his kids lives when Danny tells them too. And instead of Danny putting up with the Bats shit he just uses his ability to create portals to leave to another dimension or world or into the ghost zone or just move into another city quickly and unnoticed.

And I know things with Danny and the kids and Vlad aren’t the misunderstandings(which I love) the Bats think it is but even if it was that doesn’t excuse their behavior. If I was Danny who just escaped a bad situation with my kids I wouldn’t want any of the drama and potential trauma being involved with the Bats and other heroes could bring. And the way that people write no hero in DC seemingly knows the meaning of no I don’t need your help and no you don’t have to save me, doesn’t help my annoyance. The last thing an abuse survivor raising two kids needs is a group of wealthy powerful men trying to play captain save a ho. After all drawing the attention of the Bats will draw the attention of their rouges and that’s the last thing Danny and his kids need.

All in all I just don’t like the stalking, breaking and ignoring of boundaries, lies and manipulation the Bats employ all under the guise of trying to save Danny, Dani and Dan. And this isn’t me dissing any stories just me ranting about some of my problems with this aspect of my favorite DP AU(mom Danny, dad Vlad and kids Dani and Dan).

[lovebugs-and-snakecharmers]

LBSC Lukanette Month - September 2024

Welcome to LBSC Lukanette Month 2024! If you're in a hurry, skip on down to the prompt list below, but be sure to check out the rest of the post for information about where and how to post for maximum visibility. Just to be clear, even though we call it LBSC Lukanette month, ANYONE can participate. There's no membership card and you don't have to join the discord or follow the blog.

You will notice we have many more than 30 prompts here - because there's no such thing as too many prompts. This way you can pick and choose which ones speak to you. As with all of our events, the rules are quite laid back (although we do have some hard and fast rules at the bottom of the post regarding the type of content). You may fill as many or as few prompts as you like, as often as you like, in whatever order you like, in whatever format you like (sprint, minific, 30 chapter epic, whatever makes you happy). Our official event dates are September 1 through September 30, but if you post outside of those dates, we'll still reblog. If you're inspired to write something that you wouldn't otherwise have written, our goals are met, so don't fret about the rules - unless rules inspire you, in which case, take the first 30 or the last 30 prompts and write one prompt every day.

If you are having trouble finding a prompt that speaks to you, you can also check out the LBSC Smooch Roulette generator or take a look at our past sprint prompts.

Please make sure to tag @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers in the body of your post so that we can be sure to reblog your work and include it in our final summary post!

If you post to AO3 please tag LBSC Lukanette Month 2024 and add your work to our collection here.

Feel free to drop any questions in our ask box or join our discord group.

Blue

Pink

Blackout

Locked In

Getaway/Vacation/Road Trip

Out of Town

Street/Craft Fair

Laundry Snuggles

New Pet

A: says something stupid B: laughing "Shut up. I love you."

Broken chair

Big Changes/Little Changes

City Walks

Streetlamp

Music

Shipwrecked

Memory loss

Bonfire

Thief

Headphone

Escape

Dorm

Myth

Planetarium

Change

Voice

Opposite

Improvise

Complications

Fancy Dress

Silly Costumes

Stars

Scales

Compass

Rhythm

Lightning/Spark

Mischief

Notebook

Melody

Secrets/Surprises

"Do you trust me?"

"I can't believe our first date ended in the emergency room."

"Why do I feel like you enjoy getting yourself into danger?"

"Are you okay?" "That was really attractive."

"You're a terrible liar." "I don't know what you mean." "You're smiling."

"I missed my chance once. I won't miss it again."

Rooftop

Free fall

Fate

Concert

Bridge

Piercing

"It‘s not what it looks like!"

"I already take care of 18 little guys so what‘s one more?"

"Is that my hoodie?"

Ink

Fortune

Famous

Panda

"Love is a choice, and I've made mine."

"Look, I know I don't deserve a second chance. But I'm hoping you'll let me have one anyway."

Unexpected

Stage fright

Nail polish

First tattoo/piercing

Secrets

Promises

Learning to drive/ride a bike

Airport

Luggage

Regret

The Rest of the Rules:

NSFW responses are permitted but characters must be 18 or older and the fic should be tagged accordingly. This is a Lukanette blog and a Lukanette event, so while Lukanette does not need to be the main ship, it needs to at least be included or referenced and considered endgame (in other words, they don’t have to be together by the end of your work, but the intent is that they’re headed in that direction, and if they're not, it's a tragedy, not The Best Thing For Everybody). The decision about what qualifies for reblog rests solely with the LBSC moderators. If a piece hasn’t been reblogged within a couple of days, either the mods felt the piece didn’t meet the criteria or it was simply missed; you are welcome to reach out in the asks to inquire which.

[mal3vol3nt]

What are ur thoughts on natla?

i definitely have…. thoughts lol

but let’s start with the positives first i guess

i really liked the special effects and cgi. i thought the bending looked pretty neat, particularly the earth and fire bending (which isn’t surprising considering hollywood has spent decades improving the realism behind fire and explosion effects). the water and air bending looked cool too, but definitely didn’t look as realistic in my opinion. which isn’t a bad thing. it didn’t break my submersion or anything. tbh i thought the air and water bending looked more like they came straight out of a really enhanced video game

i liked what they did with the 41st division plot line. having that division be the crew on zuko’s ship was a really nice change from the original and humanized zuko’s character even more in my opinion. though i find it hard to believe that ozai would’ve allowed a freshly banished zuko to travel in such close quarters with a division he literally saved (something something about soldier loyalty wavering and army coups blah blah blah)

the scene of kyoshi possessing aang and getting rid of the fire nation soldiers on her island was honestly… amazing to watch. one thing about me is i LOVE watching the avatars go full avatar mode and give it to people, so that scene had me jumping in my seat cause she looked so damn cool (but i also have other thoughts about that scene and everything that led up to it that aren’t entirely positive lmao so not a complete win)

the casting for aang made me so happy. it’s no secret that aang is my baby, so if they did him dirty in casting i wouldn’t have even made it past episode 1, but gordon actually did such a good job with what he was given and i really wish the writing would have given him the chance to actually be aang. cause he has aang’s adorableness and goofiness (that we see from bts) so idk why it wasn’t utilized, but this isn’t the section for me to start talking about that

aang sending zuko away on the boat after the blue spirit rescue was everything. idk but it was done so gently and in a way that was just so aang that it makes me wanna scream

koh the face stealer. i don’t even think i gotta explain this one, but they did good with koh

so now lemme talk about what i didn’t really fw about this live adaptation. the negatives, if you will

(disclaimer: i have no issue with adaptations straying away from the original source material to make some changes or add some twists. in fact, i love it when they do. but the changes should add to the story and characters, not take away from them!! and that’s a short lil synopsis of my issues with this show)

them getting rid of sokka’s sexism. the reason the show got rid of this was because the creatives didn’t understand that the og show never presented sokka’s sexism as a good thing. he was constantly and immediately humbled when he said something stupid, and his thought process made sense for his character because he’s a boy who has never ventured outside his tribe. all he knows are the gender roles within his own culture and we see that throughout the show as he mets other people, he starts to realize that way of thinking is wrong. them removing this aspect of his character also got rid of the tension between him and katara. sokka undermines katara a lot in the og and it’s clear that that kind of underestimation is one of the fuels firing the burning anger within her. and it’s that anger, provoked by sokka’s sexism, that leads her to releasing the avatar and driving the whole show in motion. because they got rid of this, sokka and katara don’t really have any huge issue to work through, so they had to add in this weak older sibling vs little sibling conflict instead. katara blowing up because he treats her like a little kid does NOT have the same punch as her blowing up because he treats her like she’s incapable. and it also muddies the real dynamic between the two considering they’re both constantly taking care of each other due to them BOTH having to grow up quickly

sokka and suki’s development was done DIRTYYYY. again, because they got rid of his sexism, they had nothing for suki to challenge. he never questioned her legitimacy as a warrior. instead, he was immediately impressed and felt a lil insecure at how skilled she was. and she just immediately liked him cause he’s attractive ig. the whole sequence of them training together (which he didn’t even wear the kyoshi warrior outfit during DINT GET ME STARTED-) is literally just a few long minutes of them stopping to catch their breaths every couple seconds cause they’re so insanely attracted to each other. that’s all it is. suki thinks he’s cute and eyes him up and down (????? literally why), and sokka does absolutely nothing but stand there to attract her to him. SUKI??? the insanely talented warrior who humbles him multiple times, and who sokka literally begs on hands and knees to train under so he can work for her respect, was watered down to “pretty girl who likes pretty boy”

katara. literally just katara. what did they do to my girl? HOW DO YOU MAKE THE KATARA OF THE SOUTHERN WATER TRIBE BORING?? first off, water bending is not a struggle for her?? aang just gives her a very confusing pep talk where he says basically nothing, and suddenly she’s able to make a perfect water sphere without even really trying. nevermind the fact that before aang got there and spewed nonsense at her, she could barely make a ripple in the water let alone pick it up. she was also just handed the waterbending scroll—literally handed—and got insanely good off of that. no master needed, she just picked it all up no problem. the og show makes it clear that while the scrolls can teach you the basics, they do not compare to a real master. in the og, katara fights tooth and nail to get her hands on the scroll and then to later get a master. she’s so determined and works so hard to perfect her element that when she finally reaches mastery level, it feels like a reward. it feels right. but in this show, she literally doesn’t have to work hard AT ALL and only needs to hear a few encouraging words from other characters to become a master. there’s no real development in her skill. one day, she can barely make a ripple. the next? she’s sending ice spears at pakku like it’s nobody’s business. where was the development? it wasn’t there. and because she’s so good at water bending already, she has no real motivation or purpose. she’s not driven by her desperate want to learn how to waterbend under a master. she doesn’t have any real reason to be driven by anger cause what is she so angry of? sokka doesn’t undermine her. she’s already insanely talented at bending with no real training. sure, pakku won’t let her fight but that’s a stupid conflict. a stupid conflict that’s the result of them making her too skilled for a master. cause instead of her frustrated that he won’t teach her, she wastes time trying to get him to let her fight in the upcoming battle. but why does she need his permission to do that in the first place? it’s not like he’s gonna try stopping her? he and everyone else will be too busy trying not to die to care if she’s out there slicing people with ice. so really, katara is just there. she has no drive, no personality, no reason. and it feels insane to even be saying that about katara cause she’s literally katara. but natla fucked up with her and i am not about to forgive them for that

aang. i could scream. natla aang is not aang. it’s literally identity theft. where is the joy? the whimsy? the child-like qualities that make aang aang? he’s so fucking serious all the damn time. he’s 12 years old, freshly out the ice, and already behaving like he’s been at this avatar gig his whole life. he doesn’t play around or get easily distracted like he does in the early books of the show. every pitstop they make on their way to the northern water tribe isn’t the result of aang wanting to have some fun, but because people are literally telling him “hey, you should go to *insert location* because they need help and you’re the avatar”. in fact, their whole reason for going to the northern water tribe isn’t because he or katara need to learn water bending (she’s already so good and he just doesn’t feel like learning??), but because kyoshi took his hand and explained to him that something bad was about to happen and he needed to be there. literally every decision he makes is the result of someone repeating exposition we already know and telling him what he needs to do. the show literally walks the audience through everything that happens. it literally even explains to us countless times that aang is a really goofy kid who likes playing airball with his friends, but we never see it?? he never goofs. he hardly even smiles im not gonna lie. he just introduces himself as a super goofy person and we’re supposed to just take his word for it. why is he already so intense, man? not even book 3 aang was that damn serious all the time. them eliminating his joy and optimism and childishness literally makes him a shell of a character and it PISSES ME OFF. not to mention his dialogue is written like he’s always on the brink of breaking out into song. no shit i thought this show was a musical for a good few seconds cause i fully expected him to start singing when he was venting to appa 😭

aang’s “running away” scene. don’t piss me off. this show was so afraid of giving their characters any actual flaws that they got rid of one of aang’s biggest sources of guilt: him intentionally running away from the air temple. no instead, he was just clearing his head up in the sky “where everything makes more sense” and just happened to get trapped in a storm

kyoshi yelling at aang. this one goes hand in hand with the previous one, but i’m giving it it’s own bullet point. in this scene, she yells at him for running away and tells him that he better not ever do something like that again because now the world’s gone to shit and needs its avatar more than ever, essentially placing blame on him for 1) something that literally isn’t even his fault—unless they get rid of roku admitting his involvement in the war beginning—and 2) didn’t even happen?? aang didn’t run away in this version of the story. he just went on a ride with appa and got caught up in a storm. so why is kyoshi acting like it was intentional when the show makes it clear that it wasn’t?

the death of the moon spirit. the plot point about kuruk’s knife was so stupid LMAO i’m sorry it was pointless to me. and why did nobody do anything while zhao was attempting to murder the moon spirit. everyone just stood there 🧍 like hello??? more importantly, why didn’t aang do anything?? in the cartoon, he tries talking zhao down and zhao plays along like it worked, setting the moon spirit back down into the spirit water before killing it anyways. in this version, zhao never pretends like he isn’t about to kill the koi fish. and nobody makes a move to do anything until after it happens im crying 😭

aang becoming the ocean spirit. my main gripe with this scene is that it’s framed in a way that’s all about vengeance and just pure rage more than anything. but aang becoming the ocean spirit has always been, to me at least, a depiction of grief. it’s pain that the ocean spirit is expressing as it washes away the fn soldiers and ships. it’s done in a way that is, yes brutal, but also graceful and conscious. the ocean spirit is mindful of what it’s doing. it’s intentional and emotional. it’s not just striking anything and everyone out of pure rage, which is how this scene was choreographed and shot in my opinion

[videogame-ocs]

Happy Veilguard day for those who are celebrating!

As a result of Dragon Age The Veilguard coming out today I’ve been non stop thinking about my canon Worldstate so I’ve decided to explore where all my characters (and their love interests) from Inquisition and especially my canon inky is pre Veilguard.

I’ll start with my canon inky who WILL be making an appearance in my first play through of Veilguard starting today and I have the most headcanons about her:

(Former) Inquisitior Anya Trevelyan & (former) Commander Cullen Rutherford:

Anya Trevelyan is still pretty traumatised by the events of Trespasser. I mean she’s still clinging to guilt of not being able to persuade Solas to stop in that moment almost ten years ago.

But she’s now living on a farm just outside Redcliffe with Cullen…..and their children.

Anya and Cullen now have three children; Leon, Sophie and Dorian. Leon (Leo) is six, Sophie is four and Dorian is a ten months.

They occasionally see both sides of the family, Anya’s is a bit far to travel so is less frequent but they’re all pretty close.

Anya was adopted immediately into the Rutherford family. I mean she was adopted even before they properly met but afterwards they almost got adoption papers ready and everything. Mia is especially protective of Anya. But the two Rutherford sisters basically see her as a younger sister.

Anya’s mother, Lady Sophia Trevelyan is still convinced she’s the Herald of Andraste but Anya doesn’t mind this one person holding onto that belief. She only minds when she makes a huge fuss about it to her friends or fusses over and smothers her as mothers tend to do. Her middle brother Elias, does also believe that fact. Her father and five other older brothers believe Anya that she’s not the herald but still hold her achievements high when she visits and humours Lady Trevelyan and Elias’ belief.

Anya’s family treat Cullen as a sixth brother. Bann and Lady Trevelyan did accept Cullen’s request the propose and did kind of half suspect they were going to elope so they did make a clause that Cullen could propose if they had a wedding reception afterwards if they chose to elope. Lady Trevelyan is not entirely impressed by the decision though, and Bann Trevelyan is a tad upset he didn’t get to give his daughter away but Anya and Cullen have more than made up for it.

Cullen, of course retired from active duty after the Inquisition disbanded, but he still set up a sanctuary for former Templars who wanted to kick lyrium and for Templars who’s minds were too far gone from lyrium so they have comfort in their final days. So he’s away quite a bit but not all the time, he’s always back by the weekend.

Anya despite disbanding the Inquisition also never stops trying to find a way to stop Solas and make him see sense without violence. She has constant updates from Varric and Harding and former inquisition agents on the matter.

Speaking of Solas, Anya still sees him as a close friend, I mean he saved her life by severing her arm, and several times before then, of course she’s forever going to be grateful to him and view him as a friend. Which you know adds to the guilt she feels.

Anya gets phantom pains in her left arm stub. they’re more manageable than they were years ago when she still had the anchor and her arm. They’re more twinges now. Her friends got her a custom prosthetic arm which she wears most days. But she’s still kind of sad she can’t hold her children with two biological arms.

It took her a while to learn how to fight and adjust to life again after losing her arm, her speciality was two handed swords so she had to adjust to using them again. But she’s very skilled at it again.

She also cut her hair even shorter some time between trespasser & veilguard because it’s easier to manage (as someone who has a disability that means I can’t use my left arm as well and can basically only use my right, I can confirm this is true, I cut my hair short for this exact reason and my blorbo inky did too).

Anya still cares for her horse Chester. She still rides him about the fields and everything but he’s pretty elderly now.

Cullen’s Mabari, Captain, is still alive and absolutely loves the kids and Anya. He’s very protective of the children, and is usually either found following both Leo and Sophie everywhere or by baby Dorian’s side.

Anya does worry about the kids a lot, mainly because she has the whole Solas’ plan hanging over her head, knowing that her children might not live to adulthood, if she can’t stop Solas, well that’s not something you want to know or live with. That’s probably one of the main reasons why she’ll be jumping to help the Veilguard.

Cullen isn’t the only one who suffers from awful nightmares. Anya does too, maybe even worse than Cullen now. One day she’s going to have to explain to the children why she wakes up screaming and it terrifies her. Luckily Cullen is always there to reassure her and he’ll be there to support her when that day comes.

Solas also appears in her dreams sometimes, just watching. She doesn’t know if it’s better or worse that he refuses to talk to her.

There is still a chance she’ll become Bann of Ostwick in the future, Ostwick’s Bannorn doesn’t have a birth hierarchy when it comes to heirs so she’s aware that might happen. She intends to decline and pass on it should it happen, she never ever wanted it, similarly to how she never wanted to be the herald or inquisitor but she can turn that title down.

A more lighthearted one to end on with Anya for now, Dorian and Anya have bi weekly wine nights on a Friday, where they drink a glass or two of wine or any alcohol (or under some circumstances a non alcoholic beverage) and over the Crystal, catch up and talk about what’s going on in their lives. This is a regular thing, they do not miss it. Cullen looks after the kids if they’re still up and Dorian always schedules it in his busy schedule at the exact time every other week. The two best friends always make time for it.

Non inquisitor OCs below (because all of my inky’s are canon but they’re not the Inquisitor in my canon Worldstate, Anya is the only inquisitor):

Percy Trevelyan & Dorian Pavus:

Dorian is of course a magister.

But he does have frequent contact with Anya.

And Anya’s brother Percy.

Percy and Dorian got quite close during Inquisition. They both mostly were in the library in skyhold together, when Dorian was not out on mission with Anya. Percy, a circle mage fugitive, was recruited by Anya post Redcliffe to help research stuff, not that Percy needed recruiting.

So…Dorian and Percy were close. Very close.

So close in fact that they got married before Trespasser. It’s a secret so nobody knows….except Anya, Cullen, Maevaris and the main Trevelyan family.

Percy lives in Minrathous with Dorian most of the time. He’s Dorian’s chief researcher there.

Percy and Dorian frequently check in on Percy’s younger sister. Like I said, Dorian and Anya have wine nights, and Percy likes to check in on his younger sibling.

They have adopted an child, Felix although officially he is Percival’s child.

Bertrand Trevelyan & Cassandra Pentaghast:

Bertrand the oldest of the Trevelyan’s children is still an orlesian bard, so he returns to Orlais where he was recruited as a inquisition spy from.

But he now serves the divine (Leliana).

This allows him to be close to Cassandra who is on the exalted council.

Cassandra still revives the seekers. Bertrand goes with her.

Cassandra is still baffled by his choices and personality sometimes but loves him dearly.

Bertrand plans to marry Cassandra eventually when things are a bit quieter.

They both like to check in on Anya occasionally and see how she’s doing.

Thalia Lavellan & Solas:

Thalia is obviously, not happy.

She’s not miserable but she’s also not happy.

Thalia was supposed to keep an eye on the inquisition for her clan & work in the Herald’s rest but….she fell in love with Solas. Solas reciprocated and well broke it off.

But unlike Lavellan solas romance she didn’t get anything any closure or a talk until she discovered he was the dread wolf from rumours.

Solas still appears in her dreams and she desperately reaches for him in them but solas is actively keeping her at arms length.

Anyway she joined the veil jumpers in arlathan forest. Unknowingly close to a certain elf.

She has friends, she’s really good friends with Ashara, an older Dalish elf like her who is from Ferelden.

It’s not all doom and gloom but she’s still not over Solas and hopes that one day he’ll see reason or someone will make him see reason. Non violently.

And maybe, just maybe, their love will endure and he’ll come back to her.

[destinygoldenstar]

LIN (Total Drama/Disventure Camp OC)

Lin

"The Meek Cat Girl”

Lin is a shy, timid, and closed off teenager constantly referred to by her peers as 'The Cat Girl' because of her quirks and appearance. She's referred to by her family as 'The House Pet', and the favored her older brother who was much more successful. She made an attempt t boost her confidence with an indie animal business, but because she's easily startled and awkward, it failed and put her family in debt. As a last ditch effort to not have her parents sell her cat to pay that debt, she goes onto a reality show to try and win the money. Even if she has to be the pain magnet 'cat girl who gets scared at everything' on TV.

Design

Lin is a Chinese Canadian. This character is about Dawn’s height. That’s the character I used as the exoskeleton for her outline. But she is scrawnier in the arms and a bit wider in the torso, if it’s even noticeable.

I wanted the look to reflect the personality of the character and get you a good idea of who she is and what her archetype is supposed to be. As good as the reboot is and how I like the mundane looks they have, it’s hard to get a good idea what that casts personalities are with the exception of a handful. (Scary Girl, Axel)

So since this character is a more shy and reserved one, I decided to add a huge turtle neck collar to her jacket that she can use to put over her mouths when she’s nervous or whatever.

And because it’s, well, SUMMER, I made this jacket not only short sleeved but also loose, almost like the fabric is very thin. Then of course it’s easy to put her in shorts and wedges you often see in a summer outfit.

And as you can see in an ALT look, her white ‘sleeves’ are not actually sleeves or attached to her jacket at all. They’re arm bands. For protection. Again, closed off not very confident character.

She also has bracelets in certain colors… 🏳️‍🌈

Not only is the turtle neck way too big, and the ends of the jacket is very loose on her, but as you can see, the belt she’s wearing to keep it on her is also way too big. It’s so big that the other end of the belt is dangling behind her.

Two reasons for these choices:

It’s so that belt end can act as ‘a cat tail’, again, cat girl. It also helps that the buckle is a cats paw and she’s wearing cat earrings.

Its part of a story of her upbringing

These clothes were not originally hers. They’re leftover clothes borrowed from family members. Almost all her family members are huge in size, some flat out obese, others like her brother just being that muscular. Lin didn’t follow footsteps because she is squeamish with certain foods, more on this later.

Then there’s her hair and eyes.

From the start I knew I wanted to give her strawberry blonde hair and yellow eyes.

Yellow eyes are very prominent with cats. It also adds as a visual gag when sometimes, whether it’s from anger, intense distress, or in dark spaces, her irises take over her eye sclera and where her irises once were get replaced by her pupils.

Again, this is both a visual gag, but also a story reason why this is a thing with her.

A form of grounding in their house is getting locked in a basement, where it’s pitch black down there. Lin got locked in there all the time as a result, most of the time because her brother would frame her for things he did. And the parents would instantly believe him. All he had to say was “Lin did it” and that’s enough. So because Lin is down there all the time, she’s good at adjusting her vision in dark places. It’s not ‘night vision’, more so it’s her being able to navigate in the dark very well. (Challenge Advantage)

As for the hair, I think what sticks out the most is the ‘cat ears’.

The easy route would to just give her a cat ear headband. But not only did I think that was goofy, but it also leaned more to Pahketiew Island territory. So instead I had the cat ears be gelled up hair.

It 1) Gives a good silhouette for her. 2) Leans into the cat girl motif without being goofy. And 3) Again, a visual gag and an in story reason for it.

You may notice that in her swimsuit look, she’s a ‘wet cat’ in that look. This is a running gag that she gets wet more than any other character. (She’s not afraid of water, it’s just annoying.) And yet her cat ear hair gel does not get washed out at all. If anything, they look more obvious.

That hair gel does not come out. It’s permanent. When she was five and her brother was still sharing a bath with her, he got his hands on their parents hair gel, being a dumb kid and not knowing it was permanent, and messed with Lin’s hair without consent. So parts of her hair became stuck like that for the rest of her life. She decided to call them cat ears as a way to find solitude in that look.

The hair is strawberry blonde so she can resemble an orange cat.

I was gonna do her outfit black, but then she looked like a Halloween Character. So instead I went with a navy blue.

She also as a ‘commando Zoey’ look, even if it’s obviously not called that. I more so call it ‘Feral Cat’. No more sweet cute cat girl. She both takes her jacket off, showing she’s wearing a white camisole underneath and her white arm bands are indeed arm bands, and ties her hair up. She also does the same dirt on the face thing that Zoey did, but the way she does it makes it look like cat whiskers instead.

Personality

As the label suggests, Lin is a cat girl.

She doesn’t think she’s an actual cat or anything, (that’d be Pahketiew Island territory) she knows she’s a human, but she does have most of her quirks and personality resemble that of a cat.

First, she’s an animal person. She’s very knowledgeable about animals, so she’d absolutely shine in an animal-based challenge. She has studied vet medics, so she can also perform first aid when needed, especially with animals she doesn’t like hurting. She will only hurt an animal if they’re actively physically hurting her first.

Half the time it’s dogs that do that. Animals in the dog species really have something against her and she doesn’t know why. She’s more likely to get mauled by a dog than a bear.

She’s especially good with cats. She has a cat at home that is her best friend. It’s specifically ‘her’ pet. Her family hates the pet.

Lin has a dream of becoming a vet. A career her family wasn’t gonna pay for. Which was why she tried her indie project to get herself known. But she failed it because she made a stuttering fool of herself.

Because of Lin’s rather unfortunate upbringing, she’s a very timid and shy girl. She can be a kind and sweet friend when you’re nice to her, but there’s pretty little people who are nice to her. She can get angry out of self defense, but it depends on the person if that makes them stop.

So she prefers to stay closed off from the rest of her peers and rely on herself. She isn’t good with talking to people anyway, unless it’s about animals, as in a conversation, she gets nervous to speak, is the one often to make awkward comments, and make a stuttering fool of herself.

She thinks everyone is out to get her. Unless you prove you’re not.

She’s a loner as a result and prefers to keep to and rely on herself. She’s a very sweet kind and smart girl, but it takes a bit to see that through all the cat quirks.

It’s not just the appearance.

She’s really good at navigating in the dark (even if it’s not night vision).

Shes flexible and good at gymnastics (she took gymnastics lessons as a kid, but was forced to quit when her brother started taking debate).

She has a bad habit of always landing on her feet (gag).

She purrs when treated with affection, especially by someone she likes.

She hisses at people she doesn’t want around her.

She outright BITES people who try to hurt her.

Wet Cat. She gets soaked way more often than the others.

Scaredy Cat. She jumps and gets startled by pretty much everything. It’s quite easy to pull pranks on her and get a scared reaction.

Feral Cat. She can get mad out of self defense, and tries to play ‘the feral cat’ when she’s had enough.

But she’s not afraid of water, or dogs, they’re just annoying obstacles to her. Her actual phobia is being force fed. And eating gross stuff. She’s a sensitive eater with a very weak stomach. So Chef’s cooking would do her absolutely zero favors. (It’s also a good way of breaking her, whether that’s getting her to cost the team a challenge and get them to vote her off, or to absolutely fail first if it’s a merge challenge. Unless there was character development involved that would let her suck it up.)

She also does NOT say ~Nyah~. She only says it when she’s trying to tell people she doesn’t say it.

…that doesn’t count, right?

She has no human friends. Her only friend is her cat. She exists in her household as ‘The House Pet’, which is what her parents call her. Her parents clearly favor her older brother, an aspiring lawyer, who is much more successful in the economy and making them money. It’s not even subtle with their favoritism. “I don’t have a favorite kid but if I did-“

It doesn’t help that her brother hates her. He’s bullied her all her life and made the parents believe she was far inferior to him. Torment. Pranks. Personal exposure. Laughs at her expense. Even blaming his own wrongdoings on her so she gets punished instead of him. He comes off as a perfect kid, while she comes off as the dumb cat who can’t grow out of that furry look. Nobody wants a furry for a child, right?

Obviously that did a number on her self esteem and is why she acts the way she does.

That’s why her attempt at her indie animal business was the one time she tried to break out of her shell and try something that’d make her important.

But it blew up in her face because of her own flaws. And it put her family in debt.

Her family was obviously FURIOUS at her for the stunt and were ready to sell her cat, her only friend, if she didn’t find another way to get money and pay off that debt.

So that’s where reality TV comes in.

It’s either do that and try to win the money, or she loses her cat and goes back to a family that is so angry at her that they’d never forget her stunt.

So she goes for the show.

And of course they accept her because she’s be a cute pain magnet contestant. “Aw, look at this cute cat girl, she’ll jump and squirm and scream at anything! She can’t even form proper sentences in front of a camera, it’ll get great views!”

Normally she would never do this because it’s a lot of backstabbing people and bullies, and forcing her to do stuff she really doesn’t want to. But she does it anyway because she has to not only save her cat, but also get a second chance at boosting her self confidence and making something out of herself.

Lin is designed to be any sort of boot. Pre-Merge boot or Post-Merge boot. (Or even a finalist if you really want to push that narrative.) As a Pre-Merge boot she could be a gimmick character and a pain magnet character as the butt of most cat jokes. As a Post-Merge boot, while that still being true, she could get character development where she becomes more confident in her abilities, standing up for herself, and doing extreme things. Maybe even meeting some good hearted people on the show that love and care for her unlike her family, not as a cute cat girl, but as a person. Then as a finalist, well, she just succeeds at her goal and motivation by getting a shot at the money and saving her cat and proving she’s not a pushover. She could be any of these.

As for if she’s a Total Drama or a Disventure Camp OC, she could honestly be either.

Audition Tape

*Lin is setting up the camera in her room*

“O-okay, is this working? It’s- ITS RECORDING! Oh gosh!!!”

*Lin backs up, adjusts her jacket, and waves hi with nervous laughter*

“Um… hi. My name is Cat-Lin, I mean, Kaitlin. Kaitlin Nekos. Uh-but I prefer to be called Lin. Now, why should you accept me for your show…? Well, I’m an aspiring vet. I have some skill up my sleeve, not that I’m trying to brag. And I may not be as good at talking as I am to animals, but-“

*Cat meows. Lin picks up the cat to show to the camera*

“This is Dumpling. I’m doing this so my parents don’t sell her… but forget the scandal I did, if you’re aware of that or not forget I said anything, if you pick me I swear to try and do my best to be entertaining, well meaning, and courageous-“

*AIR HORN*

“NYAAAHHH-?!!”

*Lin jumps at the sounds and trips the camera stand. The camera falls on the floor and to the side. Laughter from a guy is heard*

“Not cool, Jason! Not cool!!”

Intro

Host : “And next up is a real cutie, Kaitlin Nekos!”

*Lin is on the ride, face buried in her turtle neck. She gets off and comes face to face with the others*

Guy : *snicker* “Oh look, we got a cat girl.”

*Lin buries her face more and looks away from them*

Host : “Welcome to camp, Lin.”

Lin : “…”

Host : “Okay… well, go join the others and stand over there.”

*Lin nods and joins the others. A guy tries to touch her cat ear hair. She hisses at him*

~~~

*Another contestant trips on water sport equipment and splashes Lin*

Lin : *Moves her wet bangs out of her face and sighs*

~~~

*Lin’s part of the opening is her getting splashed by someone else and drenched in water*

[ackackh]

Hi happy talk shop Tuesday to my favorite writer!!💛 my question for u is what inspired the original characters in ur fics? Eddies family in our hemisphere & especially Sophia from the tulip- those characters are written soo beautifully and have stuck with me long after I’ve read them :’)

Also omg a new chapter of God is a Bluegill!!! how does it feel to be back writing it!

Lord not me crying in the club bc you called me favorite 😭💛

Ahah would you believe me if I told you I’ve been kicking around a different/updated version of Our Hemisphere for the past few months? No real promises and the original would absolutely stay as is—but I’ve changed so much as a writer and I have so many more ideas for those characters and I wanna write with them again!

-I’ve never been one to research The Real Guys when it comes to fic bc I’m working with a character and not a historical figure, and fandom at least seems to believe that Eddie has a million siblings so I wanted to hop on that train! My dad grew up as the second-youngest of 13 siblings and the absolutely wild shit they got up to? Incredible. And Eddie was so good at working with the guys in The Pacific I couldn’t help but picture him as the eldest, especially with my darling baby Ruthie, I literally love her so much, I just wanted to give Eddie someone he could pour all his love into and someone who would love him unconditionally. I’m the youngest sibling, I know all about idolizing older brothers.

-Joe, my other love, isn’t the villain of course, just someone with a lot of emotions he doesn’t know how to handle. He came out of the idea that there were lots of guys who 4F who became really depressed and sometimes took their own lives. Joe spent a lot of time resenting Eddie for having what he couldn’t. Then, even worse, he’s not even grateful for it, he comes home all fucked up over it and Joe didn’t even get to go! Add onto it that Eddie’s sleeping with a man and Joe just… can’t deal. He’s just sad, and he deserves better.

-fun fact, the Ruth in my newer version of Our Hemisphere does not immediately take to Eddie upon his return bc she literally doesn’t remember him. And now there’s this fuckin dude? Just in her house? Excuse me? She warms to him eventually tho, and then they’re inseparable

And omg Soph, my angel, my absolute shitster. When I wrote The Tulip I was friends with this girl who had a little sister who was like 3(?) at the time and she was sooo smart it was a riot. I based a lot of Sophia around that idea. She’s the kind of kid you love to death but who can’t stop getting in trouble because she’s so observant and has no tact (bc she’s in like, preschool). Lot’s of gray hairs for Walt. Ray only encourages her.

AHH THANK YOU FOR MENTIONING GIAB. I am like, beside myself with happiness that I’ve been able to continue it! And now that ch 3 is out it’s been way easier to continue into ch 4, which has like 2k words so far. I have so much story in my head here, like, it fucking goes places. Some shit fucking happens in later chapters and I can’t wait to show you!

[greenhikingboots]

The WIP tag game got me in the mood for writing, so I decided to finish the one that was closest to done. I previously had this in my docs as "Little Drabble." It's now called "Real." First part below the cut + a link to AO3 for the rest.

“And this… this my boyfriend Jon.” Jon’s eyes are on Sansa as she says these words, and yet he struggles to believe he’s heard them correctly. After spending the morning painting her bedroom and piecing together a new bed frame, they’re in line to order lunch at Turnip’s Cafe. Some sandy haired guy is facing away from the cash register and towards them instead. He turned around upon recognizing Sansa’s voice — she’d said something about what she wanted to order — and their conversation took off from there. Sandy Hair is all bright smiles and flattering words, and Jon assumed, at first, that he’s one of Sansa’s former classmates from Winterfell, an old friend with a long buried, nearly forgotten crush. Or maybe Jon’s projecting his own experience onto this stranger. But with Sansa’s lie lingering in the air, he has to question all assumptions. Because if Sandy Hair is from Winterfell, why wouldn’t Sansa say, “This is Jon. He was a couple years ahead of us in school.” Or, “Remember my older brother Robb? This is his best friend.” Or — well, honestly, anything other than what she actually said. And this… this my boyfriend Jon. Boyfriend? No, not even close. Jon and Sansa see a lot more of each other now that she’s graduated college and moved back home, but he’s never so much as called her just to talk or slipped his arm around her shoulder. Things just aren’t like that between them. So why say it? Why lie to this guy? And who the hell is he, anyway? “We finally had the talk,” Sansa says. Her voice is a pitch too high, too unnatural as she adds, “It’s official now. Still getting used to the labels, though, I guess. Boyfriend and girlfriend.” She makes a weird noise, almost like a squeal, and it finally hits Jon that his face must have revealed his surprise. That’s why Sansa’s making up an excuse, piling on the lies — and expecting him to play along as she does so. Well, alright then, Jon can do that. He is nothing if not committed to pleasing the Starks, especially Sansa as of late. He slips an arm around her shoulder — highly aware that it’s the first time — then extends his free hand to officially meet the guy ahead of them in line. “Sorry, I was staring at the menu board. Didn’t catch your name before,” he says. “Harry,” says Sandy Hair Harry, shaking Jon’s hand at the same time. “Sansa and I met at the Vale.” They dated in the Vale. As Sansa’s brother’s friend, Jon knows this. But as Sansa’s pretend boyfriend, should he? He isn’t sure so he tries not to keep his face indifferent. Easy enough given that he’s suddenly preoccupied with wondering what Harry’s doing in Winterfell. It's not exactly a tourist destination. “Some friends and I are doing a thru-hike at the Wolfswood this week,” Harry explains, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder, towards his friends already placing their orders. Sansa perks up. “Jon’s done that hike a million times,” she says. She leans into his chest, and he wonders if she’s getting further into character or just trying to subtly thank him for playing along. “Any tips for Harry?” she asks. Jon shrugs. The hiking trail in question is deceivingly difficult, but he’s not interested in prolonging their conversation with Harry. No, he wants Harry gone so he can start peppering Sansa with questions. Why are you lying? Why do you want Harry to think you’re seeing someone? Didn’t you break up with him? Wasn’t it pretty drama free? “No tips at all?” Harry asks. “Just the usual stuff,” Jon replies. “Pack an extra pair of socks. Drink before you’re thirsty. That sort of thing.” Harry doesn't look all that satisfied, but he nods anyway. It’s almost his turn to order so he tells Sansa how great it was to run into her, then tells Jon how nice it was to meet him. Finally, he turns away. Sansa whispers in Jon’s ear immediately. “Don’t let go yet.” Jon doesn’t. Instead, he pulls Sansa closer and looks at her expectantly. If she can whisper those short instructions, maybe she can whisper some answers to unanswered questions. “Not yet,” she says quietly. [Read the rest here.]

[chrimsonfoxdon]

Ooh question, you mentioned rewatching as an adult, and I'm curious, what kinds of things do you view differently now? I'm rereading the manga after a long time too, and the big thing I'm noticing is that I have more compassion now, especially towards characters who I didn't realize reminded me of myself and not in the best ways 😂 And especially during part 1 I found myself wondering why we don't see their parents more often (for those who still have them) and who took care of them growing up (for the others).

I have felt similar!! Ok I’m gonna maybe list stuff out on what I’ve noticed I view differently.

Very long post under the cut of me rambling (again)!

1. My Opinion on What I Consider Good Media Has Changed

Starting with this one as I feel it’s a big overarching thing that’ll dictate all my other opinions and thoughts. I’ve watched, read, and listened to A LOT of other series and media since I first started watching Naruto (also you know life experience and such), so I have a better idea of what is “good” media and what is “bad.” When I was younger, I considered Naruto to be the best of the best, but I don’t think that now (as far as anime that title now goes to FMA:B it’s very good please watch it if you haven’t oh my god). It has a lot of flaws, some endearing and others… not so much. Granted that’s any piece of media. Nothing is perfect (not even FMA:B). But despite that, I’ve also learned that it’s ok to still enjoy it!! Imo it’s not all bad, I mean, we’re still here discussing it yea?

I guess the TLDR of this part is: it’s cringe but that’s ok cuz life is short and we should enjoy the stuff we like.

2. Female Characters/Feminism

I feel like, while these are different topics, they’re very linked together in how I watch Naruto now so I’m putting them together. When I was younger, I didn’t like really any of the female cast (except Tenten). I found them “annoying,” to put it simply. Sakura always chasing after Sasuke?? Lame. Ino being obsessed with her looks?? Shallow. Hinata losing to Neji? Weak. I began to think that I didn’t like those characters because I didn’t like female characters mostly as a whole (which is kinda hilarious cuz I did start making Chihiro back then who does in fact identify as a woman LOL!!). But this negative attitude towards female characters not only leaked into how I consumed other media, but how I saw myself and other women irl. Like I distinctly remember believing that a woman could never beat a guy in anything. Which is uh… not true!! And kinda fucked up!!!

Now that I’m older I just realize that kishimoto doesn’t know how to write women all that well. Imo, it’s not the girls’ faults, it’s their creator. Which is disappointing but also freeing almost?? Plus, I can now appreciate what good they do have to offer!! (I talked a little about the konoha 12 girls and what I like about them in this ask in case you’d like details on individual characters)

I think also being exposed to other fans with differing opinions and views has helped me with this as well. When I first started watching I didn’t really go online (wasn’t a thing in Cuba plus I wasn’t really interested), so I didn’t really have other perspectives to bounce off of.

Also wanted to add that there are definitely parts of the show I laughed off before but you know, just are not acceptable nowadays. Mainly thinking of Shikamaru talking down on girls/women, Neji made a rude comment about girls too (that Tenten corrected him on tho thank you queen), and some bits that could be perceived as a little transphobic (I’m not trans tho so I don’t wanna speak for them on that bit). Its viewpoints that I feel are a product of the time, but does not make the overall series bad per se.

3. Seeing Other Children as a Child VS as an Adult

Ngl since I grew up with Naruto, I feel as if I will always see them as my peers in a sense. If anything, almost like the “older kids” in school. Like I don’t know if this is a common perception, but I remember when I was like in 2nd grade I saw 6th graders as like tiny adults, but then when I was in 6th grade I saw 2nd graders as like babies. Does that make sense?? Anyway, it’s interesting rewatching Naruto as an adult and seeing my “peers” when they were younger. I remember thinking that 12 & 13 year olds were badass and cool and practically ready for the real world (I was like 8 or 9 when I first started watching leave me alone), and being amazed at stuff like the chunin exams. Nowadays my brain just kinda goes “why are we letting these CHILDREN go to war???” It’s a similar story with like the sensei. Thinking they’re so experienced and old and… now I’m the same age as them and I’m still young!!

4. Might Gai is Cringe and I Love Him For That

The way I didn’t appreciate this man when I was a kid is a CRIME. Teaching his students (and friends) that it’s important to find joy in life is SO IMPORTANT and Gai just does an EXCELLENT job with that!! He strives to be a source of light for the people in his life, and to show others it’s important to smile and laugh from time to time. It warms my cold dead grownup heart what can I say. There’s a line in OG Naruto after Lee beats Sasuke in their fight before the chunin exams, where Naruto turns to Sasuke and Sakura as their cringing at Lee and Gai and says, “actually, it’s kinda sweet how they’re all hugging and stuff!” And that kinda summarizes my thoughts on them.

TLDR Might Gai is cringe but he is free and I love him so much for that.

5. Seeing Myself in Characters I Didn’t Before

Off the top of my head, the three characters I see myself in more so now than when I was younger is definitely Choji, Lee, and Tenten.

I was never popular growing up, especially when I moved back to the US after living in Cuba. Kids just didn’t wanna play with me or have me on their sports teams, so I was purposefully left out oftentimes, kinda like how choji was when he was younger. Rewatching that part made me cry honestly HAHA I saw myself so clearly. I’m also plus size so the beauty standards he has to deal with really speak to me. I remember Shikamaru telling him one time that girls don’t have to be skinny to be pretty and I would be lying if that didn’t give me a huge amount of confidence in myself.

Rock Lee’s story has always been top notch, but as someone who chose to specialize in a path that I didn’t really have natural talent for myself it REALLY speaks to me now. I’ll be 100% honest, I was never really one of those “been drawing since I could hold a pencil” kind of kids. I liked it, but I didn’t really consider myself any good until like 8th grade or so. Anyway, there’s this scene where Lee is crying at the training grounds cuz he’s scared that, no matter how hard he works, it’ll all be for nothing and that he’ll always be a loser, and uh… had to turn the show off cuz that struck WAAAAAAAY too close to home for me as an artist with a… let’s be real, a failing art business. Anyway, he inspires me though to keep going cuz this is what brings me joy. I may take longer than most, but that doesn’t mean I’m less of a person for it.

Tenten I’ve honestly seen a lot of myself in even when I was younger! But there’s this filler episode that goes into detail on how she tried really hard to be just like Tsunade, since that was her dream since she was little. Turns out she doesn’t have the capacity to do that (not being able to do medical ninjutsu well, etc), but she finds her own strengths along the way. What really spoke to me was letting go of your childhood dreams. It’s hard. It feels like you’re failing in a way. But Tenten was able to persevere and find a new and even better path forward for herself. And that’s just amazing. I love seeing that, and it helps me feel as if I too and maybe find my path.

6. Final Thoughts and Random Little Things

I think it’s also safe to say that I can pick up on story flaws (I’m looking at you 4th great ninja war arc) and inconsistencies (how the heck does the hyuga clan work wtf). It’s a long series and nowadays you can binge the whole thing in one sitting (I don’t recommend that please take care of yourself). Back in my day I had to wait a whole week to watch the next 26 minute episode with commercials in between. Also I was a kid. AHAHA!! But again, long series, so I’m sure Kishi forgot about certain details while he was being pushed to continue the series.

Also my views on certain things that happened in the series changed based on what I know what happens later, which I find to be quite fun!

Overall I still enjoy the series, both for similar reasons as I did back in the day (Neji) and for new reasons!! Flaws and all. Thanks for coming to my Ted talk

[shipcestuous]

Honkai Star Rail (submission)

I’m here to spread the love for Gepard x Serval from Honkai Star Rail. Younger brother x older sister, similar age (late 20s/early 30s?), important side characters. They’re non-canon but they have an intriguing dynamic that I find really shippable.

He’s pure Lawful Good, a military officer who’s kindhearted but a stickler for the rules to a fault, the family’s golden child, and described as “charming in his lack of charm.” She’s a former researcher turned cool mechanic/rock musician, the black sheep of her family, and a real Chaotic Good. They’re both incredibly stubborn and want what’s best for their home, but their clashing values bring them into conflict. But they also have plenty of respect for each other.

They come from the important Landau family, whose members tend to shine bright but not live to see old age. Because of that, Serval reflects they didn’t have a lot of moments to simply be brother and sister, as they were pushed to grow up and make something of themselves. Still, it seemed they sparred often enough as kids.

After Serval was fired from her important position, a lot of the family cut her off, but she and Gepard still talk regularly. When she is hiding the main characters in her house, he comes visiting, and he mentions leaving something behind during their last visit. It’s also mentioned how he’s asked her not to casually address him as “bro” and “Geppie” in public. And that he left flowers that he tried (and failed) to grow at her place (did he gift them to her?). The implication is, they see a lot of each other.

When the plot comes knocking, Serval teams up with the main characters to save her home in a not so law-abiding way. This eventually brings them head-to-head with her younger brother. She tries to reason with him. While he believes she genuinely thinks she’s doing what’s right, he still disagrees with her and it eventually comes to a fight. Another thing they have in common: they’re both quite badass. No worries, nobody is gravely hurt. (Serval reflects afterward that “brothers and sisters need to have a scrap once in a while to get back on good terms” and speaks of him fondly to the MCs.)

When the fight ends, she manages to convince him with proof, and he finds a loophole in order to technically abide by the rules while still letting her pass. At the end of the day, although they have different methods and ideologies, they both have the same goal of protecting their home.

Serval’s plan was originally to continue on the MCs’ mission with them—as they’re investigating the topic of her research (and it’s always been her dream to see it) and coming into conflict with her former friend—but she sees how Gepard is struggling to hold the line against the monsters threatening their home, and she chooses to stay behind and fight by his side. He’s her responsibility, never mind how they just fought.

There’s more to the story, but I think I’ve rambled enough about the plot already!

Since they’re both playable characters, you can also have them on a team together—at which point, if you add them both to the team, they have unique lines. G: “Stay alert, sis. This is a different kind of arena.” And S: “*sigh* You again, Geppie? Leave some fun for me this time.” And Gepard’s idle animation even has him trying to sing one of his big sister’s songs and getting embarrassed. How cute is that?

There’s also a side story where Serval considers leaving home with the main characters, and secretly it’s in order to escape her painful memories of her father’s rejection and her former friend’s betrayal. Gepard picks up on this and takes care to reassure her that she isn’t alone. Eventually, she decides to stay after all.

(They have other siblings, including another playable character named Lynx—the youngest of the family. Both siblings say Lynx is more similar to Serval than to Gepard. As you might imagine, he is protective and more stern toward Lynx, who thinks of him as a capable and good man. While Serval encourages her to do whatever she wants, she also wants Lynx to look out for herself and can be protective toward her just like their brother, just in a different way. The sisters are also in a band together! These are also good dynamics, I’m just obsessed with Serpard)

There’s also a bit of fanwork about the ship! There are two pages of fic on ao3, for example. We love to see it

--

Ooh, I love this dynamic! This sounds great. And I love how much time they obviously spend together, even though she’s on the outs with the rest of the family. Thanks for all of the info, Anon!

[juniorig0327]

Part 2 to this

Been looking at the Roman Gods recently and things like syncretism and how different their parentages are and it’s funny that I find out in some versions, Mercury (Hermes) dad is actually Caelus (Ouranos).

Which kinda put me into a bit of a rabbit hole because while I don’t believe the Romans had a great prophecy I do think I could work a prophecy of the “eldest gods” into it.

Because in this AU the Romans don’t really have “Great Prophecies” not really. They more so have Great Wars instead that may or may not have been prophecies but they don’t really have great prophecies like the Greeks do, not really.

Anyways, a few other things I wanted to do was have their be some sort of unofficial hierarchy I guess?

Because mostly in new Rome, there are like three main groups.

- Old Blood, which is considered at the top. They’re usually the ones in the senate. Think of them as the equivalent of like rich white people I guess. They’re typically legacies of powerful and important gods like Venus, Janus, Jupiter, and Juno just to name a few. They’re typically attached to older values and these were the ones which supported Octavian in the Second Giant War. They usually don’t have a lot of abilities involving fighting, but are more charismatic and have a way of words over the common people and the senate.

- Demigods of Gods in Triads (Jupiter, Janus, Juno, Minerva, Venus, and Mars aka the Capitoline Triad and Archaic Triad + Venus) They’re sort of in the middle and can overlap with Old Bloods. They’re typically treated with high respect because of their parents but typically don’t get any special favors compared to Old Bloods. They usually have more fighting prowess compared to Old Bloods and if they’re in a Cohort, they’re usually the Centurion (because they’re expected to, but these types of demigods from triad gods are rare so)

- Literally everyone else

- Children of Neptune (mostly by old bloods and senate, just because of the Romans aversion and experience with the sea in old times), Dis Pater, Pluto (because their association with Death), and Diana Nemorensis (and any gods/goddess heavily related to forests which I may have missed because of her association with forests which the Romans didn’t particularly like and were sort of afraid of.

I do enjoy stories where other demigods are just startled or unsettled by other demigods because of their parentage and I wanted to add that to CJ too so I wanted to incorporate that here by looking up things ancient Roman were vary and afraid of and throwing it there. I think I’m about to start working on characters for CJ since that’s gonna be the main thing I need to do since we have nothing on what happened during the 2nd Titan war, then I can move onto the mist lifting and the implications of that. Then I can finally write!

[i-am-beckyu]

Does tubbo have a role in this au? If so, in what chapter will we see him? Since Tommy has no idea how big the world actually is, and then he sees it on a map, does he think the world is flat? What about his backstory? Did he get bullied back at the colony? If he did, maybe he flinches whenever someone raises their hand. Do the crafts ask where he came from? If so, what's his excuse? Do they believe his lie, or are they suspicious? How do colony's work in this world? Is the reason he was so small to begin something to do with his size shifting ability? What if he meets one of the old borrowers from the colony? What would his relationship have been with Tommy? Nice to him, pitying him, or bullying him. What would their reaction be to him size shifting? I want to know everything.

sorry if I'm asking too much, you don't have too answer everything. Have some cookies as an apology 🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪

-✨anon✨

So for now the main characters are just sbi. I may add other characters if I can think of how it ties in with the story but for now just them. (Although Tubbo and Ranboo are mentioned in this somewhere so you never know)

This is canon. Yep definitely canon. Im going to say in a previous house he saw a map on a table once and heard it was the world. But doesn’t realise it’s obviously not to scale but def thinks the world is flat. He has a very heated argument about this with the twins and refuse to think otherwise without proof.

Constantly. As I said he’s different. The borrowers of this colony really did not like that he was different and they made sure to remind him of that. They’d either outright ignore him or deliberately make him do the worst jobs possible. Some borrowers (especially the ones around his age at the time) would deliberately go out of their way and hurt him for fun. So yes. Tommy in the beginning flinches a lot when he thinks he’s about to get hurt or someone moves to fast. Takes a long time for him to not be so tense about it but everyone is very patient about it and understanding when he semi outlines the abuse. The trauma of it all still a bit too fresh in his mid for detail

Yep of course they ask where he comes from! The Crafts wanna know who they need to go beat up. But I’m not gonna say if Tommy does or doesn’t say yet. Mainly because I’m not sure. But if he hadn’t yet, he’d tell them after the reveal properly.

Colonies in this world work a lot like the one in the 1997 The Borrowers movie in terms of how they have civilisation set up. There’s traders and stores and all sorts of things but they’re spaced out heavily and more built in underground caves then sewers. It’s more common for borrowers to live in forests and such then towns, but they have tunnels connecting places everywhere. This is how Tommy went from living in the smack bang middle of nowhere in the forest to living as an innie borrower in a house. Most borrowers know of the tunnels so a lot of innie borrowers are actually traders in a sorts that they’ll live in houses and bring back the ‘exotic human Bean’ things to trade in the colonies. Tommys parents however we’re not born in a colony, tho they knew of them, and lived mainly outside. But they were not very kind people and when Tommy was born, it just became more obvious to them that their child was different and so rather than waste supplies on a child they now didn’t want, they abandoned him.

Yes. Tommy being smaller than everyone else is because of his sizeshifter abilities. Sizeshifters born are kind of stunted in height. It’s part of how you can identify them. They’re also just a lot thinner and more lanky in appearance because they have the ability to change size and this somewhat allows them to do that. (Or I think it’s just funny to describe Tommy as lanky) but yeah even as they get older, they’re just a lot weaker physically too which would be fine because their shifting sort of makes up for that aspect. So while Tommy is an inch shorter then everyone else his age in the colony, if he knew he could size shift, he wouldn’t have been hindered as much.

If Tommy ever met someone from the old colony again, I think he’d probably just run out of the walls to find Wil, Phil or Techno. I think itd probably be one of his bullies that hurt him the most and Tommy would just go into panic attack mode and run for his life while probably being chased by them. He’d then run screaming into the room for someone while the bully still pursues them, and then of course he shifts. They’d be terrified and book it back to the walls and get away as fast as possible, while Tommy receives comfort cuddles.

Tommy is just scared child that runs from danger. He needs therapy.

You can never ask too many questions. Ask me more! I need the distraction. Thank you for the cookies ✨anon✨! Have some more lollipops 🍭🍭🍭🍭🍭🍭🍭🍭🍭🍭🍭🍭🍭

[twizzydraws]

I think the difference between these two drawings is really interesting. They’re about 10 months apart, and I think there’s a good bit of improvement 🤔

• The posing/figure of Jack in the new drawing feels a lot more natural and proportional compared to the old one, especially around the waist/legs, and the set of his shoulders/arms

• The outfit of the new drawing feels more probable, like a more probable appearance in this situation (because it is lol, this drawing is inspired by Year 1 Comic 12!). If Jack were being angsty alone in the locker room, he would probably at least have his jersey off by this point. (Even though he still has his skates on for some reason? I figure the skates add interest to the composition idk)

• The background of the old drawing has a lot more extra bits of interest, but overall I feel like they retract from the overall composition rather than improve it. It kinda feels like the objects are added onto the drawing rather than belong and exist within the drawing

• More on that, I feel like the background of the new drawing has a bit more depth and shape, like it doesn’t feel as flat as the older one

• When it comes to the style change, this is a bit more subjective and up to preferences, but for this specific idea and execution, I kinda feel like the new drawing might work better. The drawing isn’t simply a portrait, but instead it’s the composition of a singular character as the focal point within a setting, and I just feel like I was personally able to execute that idea better in the style of the new drawing

• More on the style, the old drawing’s lines and tone/shade changes are way too sharp I think, and not very smooth, and it just distracts the eye instead of welcomes it

• The faces. I personally loathe the way I did Jack’s face in the old drawing. It’s SO wonky, I can’t believe I didn’t catch it before I uploaded it. But oh well, live and learn

• One aspect where I think the older drawing is actually better is in the shadows, specifically the shadows around Jack and underneath his legs. I think that in the new drawing I could’ve made his under-leg shadows a bit darker, so he felt more grounded within the composition

• Another tweak I would make if I could go back, would be to sharpen up the lines and shades of the upper left area of the drawing, around the hooks and back of the cubby, it feels a little flat to me

• Finally, one last change I would make would be to Jack’s head shape. It just seems a tiny bit small, or maybe angled wrong? Maybe it’s his hair, I probably could’ve spent more time on that area. That was the last section I worked on before basically being done, other than touch-ups and corrections, and by that point I was kinda losing steam and wanted to get it done with lol

Anyways, yeah! Those are my thoughts when comparing these two drawings, I figured some of y’all might be interested to hear a little bit about my drawing thought process haha

[corellianhounds]

Go on. Be free. Give us the commentary ⭐️

So I decided to go with a self-contained one-shot and chose Nightfall

(Summary for the story is a revised look at how Grogu was rescued during Order 66, and those events being what spurred him to heal somebody for the first time)

Spoilers below!

To begin with, the title Nightfall is a play on Operation Knightfall, the attack on the Jedi Temple during Order 66, giving the audience the setting. Order 66 happens in the evening, and one of the things I look for when writing any character (but here especially children) is what they’re afraid of; kids aren’t just afraid of the dark, but the danger they believe is lurking in the dark.

So the idea for the story came from the question “What would have compelled the child to display a rarely-found Force power like healing for the first time?” Healing another person’s injury is already a step beyond the child’s typical developmental years; children his age don’t typically know how to successfully help an injured person because they wouldn’t have the means, life experience, or awareness to do so. Children are meant to be taken care of. The fact the child is fifty in The Mandalorian means he would have been about twenty during Order 66; if we estimate by Yoda being 900 when he dies to mean he’s the equivalent of about ninety in human years, it would mean their species ages one-tenth of the rate we do— The child is about toddler-aged in the show but even if we round his fifty years up to about five years old, it still puts him at about two years old at the Temple. We know Force-sensitive children were found at very young ages and brought to the temple for training, but those formative years were going to be largely spent simply raising them. The child would have been taken care of and unlikely to be subjected to any rigorous training or even beginner’s combat

Which means it’s incredibly unlikely he would have been around anybody who sustained significant injuries of their own. Taking care of somebody else is a developmental stage that only comes after we’ve grown to the point of being able to take care of ourselves, and then developed the understanding that there are other people younger/less able than us who could use our help. The most he would have seen would have been initiates and padawans scuffed from training, or adults in passing who were already on their way to the infirmaries or healing halls. Neither of those are dire enough scenarios to prompt that level of effort from him

So naturally, what significant event could have happened in Grogu’s young life that would have not only exposed him to gravely injured people, but compelled him to help them?

One of the reasons for changing the child’s escape from what’s seen in TBoBF and Mando Season 3 is that I’ve always thought the depictions of the attack on the temple don’t really get into the viciousness of the attack, especially regarding the children. Obvs Lucas didn’t want RotS to have an R-rating and Disney+ isn’t going to focus on a bunch of kids getting gunned down, but I was dissatisfied in how the attack was shot in the Kenobi show especially since its depiction there was focused on the kids. Between Kenobi, RotS, and S3 of Mando I think the scenes of the Temple could have done a better job showing the urgency, chaos, and danger of what was happening on ground level. The Jedi are completely caught off guard and it’s utter chaos as they try and fail to escape. Part of writing Nightfall was to make the danger less of a bird’s eye view and more of a first person POV so the danger is a lot closer and more visceral. I toned down the initial scene of Grogu being carried by the older boy as the children try to flee because I do try to keep within the tone of whatever source material I’m writing from, but it could have honestly been a lot darker. I may go back and add to it at some point.

Grogu noticing and recognizing Anakin comes from a longer criticism I have of the flashback being used in TBoBF and how it was done with Luke: there doesn’t seem like there’s a reason to make the kid relive that memory if Luke wasn’t also going to see it. It has no bearing on the rest of Grogu’s training or Luke making him choose between two parts of his life, identity, and who he considers to be his family.

What would it have been like if Luke “Famously Not Attached to His Own Father” Skywalker had seen Knightfall, led by his own father, from the perspective of a child that night? How would Luke have been affected seeing Anakin himself killing dozens of children? What conflict does that introduce in Luke? How does it affect his relationship with Ahsoka and what she says about Anakin? What story elements could have been explored if the writers had actually thought about the implications of what they included in the show?

That story couldn’t be told in The Book of Boba Fett not only because there wasn’t time, but because Luke shouldn’t have been included in the first place because he draws too much attention away from the main characters of the shows he shows up in. I already don’t think Luke should have been included at all, and I think the way he was was done poorly. At that point just cut him out and streamline your story without tying it to a pillar of the original source material because you’re not even including him in a meaningful way when you do

I had Grogu seeing Anakin as more wraith-like and less like a man, alluding to the descriptions I’ve seen of Sith being more like creatures once they’ve lost that humanity, and when I initially wrote the first draft of it I had written Anakin with a red saber. The exact wording I had was “a bloodshine blade,” which I really like the sound of, and for a moment I considered keeping it red anyway since it was already an AU of canon, completely forgetting the entire part of the original trilogy where Luke was given Anakin’s lightsaber 😆😅 My compromise to keeping it blue was that I was able to describe it as “a sky-blue blade,” instead, the description a nod to Anakin’s last name, which I still find narratively satisfying in a different way

(It also left room for me to note the color of Grogu’s blanket being red like it is in the show, something I think ties him to the flashbacks Din has of his childhood where he and his people are wearing red robes)

I really did and do love Kelleran Beq’s character. His entrance and actions were so strong and heroic and I knew I was going to keep him as the one who rescued Grogu from the temple, and I wanted to focus more on him as a person and cut out the speeder chase to the rendezvous because I didn’t feel like those were necessary. I wanted to strike the balance between somebody lethally efficient with a blade and still careful and capable enough he could fight one-handed while cradling a child. He and Din are mirrors of each other in that way, and I wanted Beq’s steadiness and resolve under incredible duress to be the haven Grogu clung to in the storm. It’s a dichotomy I really admire in the warrior hero types and I enjoyed getting the chance to write it

(This may seem like a crass thing to note, but I found as I was writing that “Master Beq” didn’t… sound right 😅 I changed it to Master Kelleran and used Beq or his title on its own in other areas to keep it from being repetitive. Pro tip for writers: See what your writing sounds like when read out loud and you’ll find the edits to make your story read and sound smoother as a result.)

I also wanted to change the first thing Kelleran says to the boy because the line “Everything’s gonna be alright, kid,” is… patently false, given the circumstances. Even if he and Grogu escape unharmed, Grogu knows objectively that everything is not okay and will never be the same again. Having Kelleran say “I’ve got you, child. We’re going to get out of here.” is confident, truthful, reassuring, and gives Grogu an understanding of their objective. Kelleran isn’t staying to continue fighting the clones— He’s there to get Grogu to safety.

Following that with the brief moment he has mourning the fallen padawan who’d carried Grogu that far was important to show that dichotomy again, the sorrow and tenderness of a master seeing another life cut short but still owed the acknowledgement of their death paired with the understanding and clear mind of someone who keeps their cool in the heat of battle and unforeseen betrayal. I wanted to be sure to capture how adaptable and adept Kelleran was; Grogu needed a sense of hope in the most chaotic and heartbreaking time of his young life

I’d had the visual of a Jedi master or student choosing to leap from the temple towers out and down to the Coruscant cityscape below for a while, and I figured there was no time like the present. It stands out to me for a number of reasons, and I like the contrast of Grogu being held to his protector’s shoulder as they escape in a controlled fall, versus Din as a child being held to his protector’s shoulder as they fly upward to safety. I specifically had Beq tell Grogu “Hold onto me,” because I also imagine that to be the second thing Din’s rescuer said to him as he picked him up and they flew away.

When referencing the Force I tend to use terms that refer to the ocean because I write it as a force of nature. No one can command the depth and breadth of the ocean no matter how hard they try; staying near land and near others on the shore is the light side of the Force since you are in a place where your ventures into the sea are still able to remain under your control, provided you have the right understanding and techniques, and it means you are capable of seeing the bottom and reaching those who are drowning or lost at sea. To me the dark side of the Force is the temptation of more power the farther out you go. The dark side promises immense power, but it’s easy to be swept up in the current and pulled out far beyond your reach and understanding. By the time you realize you’ve succumbed to temptation by taking small steps further and further out into the water, it may be too late to escape (Unless somebody is able to reach you with a lifeline and pull you back in). The phrases “a tidal wave of force,” “waves of sorrow and grief ebbing like the tide,” a hurricane, “a harbor in the storm,” and describing Grogu’s instinct to heal like “a fish knowing how to swim” were all done purposefully in the scenes where Beq and Grogu use the Force (even in the background).

Beq having a laceration on his arm is meant to parallel the one Din has in Season 1, episode 2 when the child tries to heal him for the first time.

The phrasing “fate’s design changed just enough” is a nod to the song Rapunzel sings in Tangled when she heals somebody:

“Heal what has been hurt;

Change the Fates’ design;

Save what has been lost;

Bring back what once was mine.”

And I think that’s all the big points! Thanks for letting me ramble! 💕

Director’s Cut Ask Game

[moonlightreal]

Witch series books

Let’s read some witch series books!  The library only gave me one new series to add to the older series I had spread all over my floor last week, but it was a great one.

Ruth Chew witch books 1969

This isn’t really a series, though my library has them listed a “matter-of-fact-magic series.” they’re unconnected books with similar themes. Children encounter harmless magical items and have fantastic adventures. If you are a magical being who enjoys childrens’ books, these are a must. I think What the Witch Left was the first one I read.

Witch Saga 1975

Phyllis Reynold’s Naylor’s classic series about a girl’s battle with an evil witch. Lynn believes her neighbor Mrs. Tuggle is a witch, but she’s a kid and nobody believes her. So it’s up to Lynn and her friend Mouse to keep Lynn’s family safe. 

Spell Casters 1998

Eleven year old Sally is surprised when a mysterious girl arrives at her house. It turns out Lucinda is a witch who’d like to live as a normal girl, or at least live away from her strict grandmother! But Grandma doesn’t want to lose her powerful grandchild and sends Lucinda’s nasty cousin to bring her home. The two girls and their friends get into mildly fun witch-at-school escapades. This series isn’t brilliant but it’s a fun little series.

T*Witches 2001

Twins Cam and Alex were separated at birth, because together their magic is immense and the villainous Thantos wants to control them. They meet at age 14 and the fun begins!

My memory of these books is that they were good but a bit bogged down with teen issues and lots of characters-- the girls have the nonmagical friend posse, witchy friends, boys, their parents, and their magical guardians who all get screentime. The magic is rhyming spells and concentration, with no potion recipes or other witch”craft” that I remember. There’s also a whole witchy world with witches at different levels of education. And the girls are as angsty as anyone would be if they just found out they’re adopted witches under threat from a villain. I wanted to love these but found myself getting lost in the details.

There was also a movie. Or two, even.

Magical states of America 2001

John Peel is a wildly prolific author (he also did the Diadem series) but this silly little series is my favorite of his. It’s lighthearted fun.

The premise: there is an alternate America where it’s magic instead of science and everyone is the opposite gender from in this world. Chris in the magic world has become aware of an evil plot and who can he call on for help if not… himself? Chrissie is quite surprised to be pulled into a magic world but soon she’s got a familiar critter of her own and the alternate-universe twins and their friends are off to stop an evil sorceress!

Night Witches 2001

aka The Witch Trade and sequels. Abby is the last child in town after the other kids were kidnapped. A mysterious boy washes up and soon the two of them are swept up in an adventure to find the missing kids and help the Light Witches stop the evil Night Witches from stealing the Ice Dust that gives witches their magic. There are two more books, we get into time travel along with lots of sea travel and wacky characters. This series is “fine” in my book-- it’s not bad but it didn’t grab me. Instead you should pick up:

The Everyday Witch 2002

Beatrice is twelve, and ready to be judged as an Everyday Witch or a much awesome Classical Witch. But the testers can’t decide, so what should they do? Send Beatrice and her friends to break a curse cast by an evil sorcerer of course!

These books are crackerjack! They’re fun to read, funny without being childish, have friendship without friend drama, worldbuilding, goofiness without being too goofy… they are great.

Fortune Tellers Club 2002

Not exactly witches but published by the big witchy publisher Llewellyn, the one wiuth the lil moons on the spine. Most of Llewellyn’s attempts at kids and YA books fall flat in my opinion-- and theirs too, the website’s YA section currently lists 2 books-- but this series works. Juniper and her friends are fans of fortune telling and use different divination methods, some they invent themselves, to figure out their kid issues. Because this is fiction every fortune telling method works perfectly and the girls encounter other mystical events like a ghost and a pair of magic sunglasses. The series isn’t amazingly brilliant but it is a solid good read if you want to inspire yourself to try some divination. Or just, you know, enjoy some books.

Thirteen Witches 2021

Rosie lives a sad life, until she finds herself suddenly able to see the magical world! It turns out that she is the last of the witch hunters, heroes who try to fight the thirteen witches responsible for all the evil in the world. Soon Rosie has found her own good magic and she and her friend Germ set out to save Rosie’s mother and end up on an adventure to destroy all the witches with the help of a ghost, a few other witch hunters, and a tardis whale.

These are very well done. The witches are uniquely evil, the characters are great. I immediately grabbed the second book next time I was at the library.